Naruto Prompt

Protagonist: Sakura Haruno

Story Type: Sakura-Centric

Original Title: Fractured But Never Broken

Original Ship: Sakura H. x Ino Y.

Story Idea: Some say that with every universe there is a dimension divided from every decision made by the people who live it, and that sometimes those dimensional lines can be blurred enough to return to the original, although never completely.

Sakura Haruno wasn't like every other child. She was short for her age, was a foreigner, had a family too big for its three story condo, pink hair, and a large forehead to top it off. She even had a level of intelligence that made trouble for social activities and was ostracized from a young age because of all her differences... but this was not what made her feel like she wasn't like every other child.

No, her problem lay with the replicas of the many selves inside her head that just wouldn't shut up. Unbeknownst to her, they were the result of the various hers who had aged through different experiences with all ending the same way where the future was destroyed by gods among men named by wars and their believed only solution was time travel. The plan, was, apparently to take back their childhood and change the past to make a better future but the dimensional lines had long since blurred and although time still existed, the worlds within it were fractured and they were only able to complete their mission halfway. Eventually the many fractures in time had led to the many futures to shatter and the dimensional lines have crossed over and blurred, forcing time to snap back into place starting with the beginning of time, where all this trouble began. But unlike everyone else who was erased from existence by resetting the future, the ones who caused this mess, the many Sakuras were instead absorbed into the original Sakura's consciousness to remind her of what is at stake and prevent this from happening again, without physically influencing the original's actions themselves.

One may call it multi-personality disorder, others say schizophrenia, maybe even an unknown blood limit... all Sakura knew was that she was getting advice, opinions, and facts from all sides and there was never a dull moment for - or peace of mind.

She ended up dubbing each Sakura based on their most outstanding characteristics, the one who was obsessed with Sasuke to an extent that frightened the original she named "#1 Fangirl or Fan-chan" and the one who loved Sasuke but understood there was no coming back for him (and slit his throat when she was sixteen after he had merciless drove a chidori through her chest.) Her favorite Sakura was twenty-six and deeply loved a girl whose name escaped her but taught her what love was opposed to number 1's obsession with the idea of being in love as a civilian-born girl with a guy with an unkind background with physical redeeming qualities.

Each Sakura came from a different background, a different story based on the decisions around her, some more darker than others, but at the end of the story all of them were related. All of them were Sakura.

And she's be damned if they broke their promise for a better future.

And then there's the wisest of them all, who makes sense of all the others and instead of causing the original to question everything, she encourages her to thrive in her environment. She's known as the Innermost Sakura or "Inner" by the original Sakura Haruno who knows that everything she could do, everything she can be is not the question they should hold at stake but rather what does she WANT to do? Who does she need herself to be?

Her dimensional selves also appear to be not permanent, fading from her consciousness once the original time of their death has passed leaving the original with only the memory of who they were and what they left behind to teach her. What her legacy was to herself.

Who is Sakura Haruno?

Notes: This prompt is a bit longer than my others because it started out as a pet-project to me but with everything going on and the commitment this story appears to need I have it on good authority this will be collecting cyber-dust for a few years. So, as much as I would love to keep this story to myself, I am placing it for adoption.

Whether you take this as your own or are inspired to make another story out of it, by all means, it is yours. Of course, one of these days I may come back to make this a story but for now, who knows. It is after all a prompt so there is no story to give credit to. Whatever we chose to do from here is our own choices. More than one person can adopt a prompt because it's a prompt. There is nothing to give credit to in the makings of this story and nothing to lose.

So, whatever you chose to do with this, if you chose to do anything at all, you have my good luck on the endeavor.

Sincerely,

- Gothic Rain