A slightly AU-ish fanfic with a somewhat OOC Sakura. This is a mostly Sakura-centric fiction that focuses on her and the decisions she makes. Of course, this is my take on time travel. Sounds cliché, but hey, my brain is telling me to go ahead and write this.
*Warning*: terrible humor up ahead, some bad/coarse language, an out of character Sakura with a very insane and sarcastic but more mature Inner-Sakura, attempts of time travel, maybe some plot holes and things/circumstances not explained by the author, and perhaps some terrible characterization of certain characters, and maybe some cliché references used, using some references from other types of work and literature, and maybe some breaking of fourth walls, and terrible naming of chapters/titles, a slightly CRACK!Fic, terribly written fight scenes, with violence and blood included, and my fail attempts at humor.
Disclaimer*: I do not own Naruto/Naruto Shippuden both anime and manga. All rights belong to Masashi Kishimoto himself. The story image is not mine, it belongs to the rightful owner. Also, I do not own any quotes directly used from the anime and manga or any other types of work and literature.
~Any similarities to characters, settings, scripts, or stories from other pieces of literature or media are purely coincidental. However, ©This story belongs to me, Whimsical Gypsy.
~~~Anyway, regarding copyright... mind that the disclaimer is present in every chapter. It is right up there before the story, in BOLD. Now, I get it, a lot of stories have similarities in plot and story wise... but, that doesn't mean it's copyright or plagiarism or the author stole it from another author. Some have similar ideas and they coincide. So, some of them are just accidental coincidences, so please DO NOT make any FALSE ACCUSATIONS. Please think and use your head before you post anything. Other authors, like me, might be unaware that there are other stories out there that have the same ideas, plot and other similarities... but it doesn't mean it is plagiarism.~~~
Ch. 1: Back to the Starting Line!
The sun shines brightly, the birds chirp happily, the citizens of Konoha greeting each other amicably. It is the perfect day to… spend time with our dear Sasuke-kun!
However, that is not the case with our certain coral-haired kunoichi. A pink-haired girl lays asleep in her pink bed with her equally pink pillows and pink sheets; completely asleep and unaware of the dangers that lay just outside her openly wide windows. She must have left her windows open last night with the pale pink curtains swaying gently against the morning breeze. Her unbelievably long hair forms a semi-blanket around her fragile form, the long strands are just as long as her height.
"…Mmgh… time travel… scroll… war… Tsunade…" she mutters in her sleep, turning over with a frown on her face. She must be having a nightmare or a flashback in her sleep, with the way she toss and turn and her hair scattering across the entire bed.
When suddenly, "I WANT RAMEN!" the pink-haired girl screams, sitting up and jolting awake. The sudden motion nearly startled her and she unceremoniously falls off the bed, dragging her silky magenta sheets with her. "Ouch!" Sakura Haruno, a nineteen-year old time traveler, who hails from the Village Hidden in the Leaves and the one and only prized student/apprentice of the Legendary Sucker/future fifth Hokage of Konoha, Lady Tsunade.
"Oh god… Oh Kami! I just had a nightmare! Sasuke running off to some pedophilic creepy snake man and getting molested and Naruto died by the hands of Madara fucking Uchiha! Then we lived in some fucked up alternate universe after his Moon's Eye Plan was a success and then—" the girl opens her eyes and groans at the bright sunlight burning her alabaster skin and jade eyes.
Oh my god, will you just shut up! It's fucking six forty-five in the morning and the first thing you do is scream like a crazed Narutard maniac and fall off your bed like the clumsy little Genin you used to be! Get a grip Sakura, it's your time to shine and kick some major ass! Now get your pretty little ass up and do some training! There's a reason why we were sent back in time to fix some loop-holes! Screw the academy, we need to make sure we still have our mad skills under Tsunade's tutelage.
"Huh—Wha…?" Sakura mumbles, slightly disoriented and discombobulated by the fact that there is a talking voice in her head. The first sign of madness or perhaps a mental illness, Sakura does not know which.
Well, duh! It's me, your inner! It's been a long time, but I'll be your guide in this crazy and wild adventure! Since, uh… you kind of lost your memory and… well, you're basically a new Sakura. That explains why you're not the Sakura I know…
"Wait… did you just say you're my inner?" the girl shakily stands up and scans her old room. Memories flooding her mind in an instant and the smell of fresh peony invading her senses triggers a nostalgic feeling. Sakura reminiscences for a moment before straightening herself and taking a deep breath before exhaling. Her old dresser still stands as where it used to be as well as her bed beside the huge open windows along with her vanity stand and mirror. She strides towards the floor length mirror and scrutinizes herself. "I look just like… my Genin self from years ago…" Sakura whispers, touching the cold glassy surface.
Damn right! And how the hell did our beautiful rosette hair reaches the floor?!
"…You're right, Inner! Since when did my hair grow out that long?!" the coral-haired kunoichi rakes through her soft and silky locks.
Must be from the time travel… didn't we like, had a mishap or something? When we suddenly shrunk and turned into a twelve-year old, I guess it had something to do with it? Maybe a mutation or a result of time travel?
The young Haruno snorts at her inner's monologue. "Maybe… I mean, we did get to meet him."
"SAKURA, DEAR! You're going to be late for school!" her beloved mother shouts from below.
Oh shit, it's time for school already?! Glancing at her alarm clock, Sakura nearly rips off her white nightgown and runs to the bathroom. Her inner quietly snorts, but decides not to comment. Then looking at the calendar on the wall before jumping into the showers, Oh well… it's only two days before graduation day. It wouldn't hurt to skip two days, right?
Yeah! We should definitely skip! I mean, we are already Tsunade's number one apprentice, well… maybe next to Shizune, but it doesn't hurt to skip school and train instead! Let's head to the nearest training grounds after breakfast!
Wait, what if Iruka-sensei drops by and tells mom that we didn't show up? That's not good! Instead, inner snorts once again and Sakura frowns. Turning on the water and lathering shampoo into her hair, she brainstorms on what to do in this timeline.
Well, I guess I can send a clone in my place instead to avoid suspicion. That should work!
That's a great idea! Now we can show whose kickass this time! CHA!
Sakura merely rolls her eyes as she rinses out the shampoo from her hair and nearly using half a bottle of conditioner. She reminds herself to drop by the supermarket later to buy her necessities.
(^.^)/
Standing in front of her open dresser in only a fluffy beige towel, Sakura scans all the lined up red qipao-styled dresses with short sleeves or no sleeves. Well, that is a fashion disaster and Sakura scrunches up her face in distaste at her terrible fashion sense. There is no way in hell she will wear that red dress and those dark green spandex shorts and the standard blue ninja sandals. That's just screaming 'bad fashion sense' in the eyes of fashionistas and stylish clothing aficionados out there. Shaking her head, Sakura decides to buy a new whole set of outfit before the day ends and reluctantly wears her old Genin outfit.
I agree with you! Let's change to a newer and fresher look! We dress to kill, sister!
Sakura agrees wholeheartedly and combs her ridiculously long hair with an ivory comb. She winces when strands of pink locks fall to the floor. Then sparing a glance at a dull kunai sitting atop her vanity stand, she makes her decision.
…
Another day, another dawn, Sakura Haruno strolls through the friendly streets of Konoha with a blissful and content expression on her face. She already sent her clone off to the academy after greeting her mother with a kiss and cleaning her plate empty. Feeling satisfied, she stretches her arms in front of her and smiles at her new hairstyle. That's right, it took her a good half an hour to braid her Rapunzel-like hair and keep it from touching the ground. She decides not to cut her hair this time, opting to keep it long for a while before cutting it. If she wants to get stronger, it doesn't matter what hair length she has, as long as it doesn't hinder her movements.
Besides, this time, Sakura Haruno is not the girl everyone once knew. She will take on the world with inner-Sakura at her side. Inner cackles madly, plans on top of plans already forming. She also made back-up plans just in case things don't go according to plan, after all the future is limitless with numerous of possibilities. Oh and that includes annoying the resident Uchiha among many others. Sakura smirks inwardly, forming ideas of her own. She can either let nothing happen and let things progress the way they are supposed to or she can change things up a bit this time around.
However, our coral haired kunoichi picks the third hidden option. Screw the timeline and blow everything up with some smashing of boulders and making giant craters along the way seems the best option. Well, stick to the original script and only screw things that will not have a negative outcome or dire consequences. After all, Naruto needs to become stronger in order to defeat Madara and his opponents. Then Sas-gay—er, Sasuke needs to learn to control his power and anger and perhaps accept the truth that his brother is not the antagonist. Too much things to do, so little time…
If I change things too much, the outcomes will turn out completely different! There are consequences to pay, but if I only change certain things that won't affect the timeline for the worse, then it should be fine. I decided, it's about damn time I become stronger.
Strengthening her resolve, Sakura heads towards the nearest training ground with much vigor. At the same time, she wonders how her clone is coping as well.
Meanwhile at the Academy…
Sakura's clone wonders why her teacher is later than usual, glancing at the hyperactive blond sitting a few rows in front, she snickers. Perhaps he fell for one of Naruto's childish pranks… again. She shifts her gaze towards her ex-crush, staring at his wild chicken ass-like hair. "Pfft…" the clone muffles her laughter, sooner or later someone would notice her odd behavior. She decided not to sit next to Sasuke nor Naruto this time, instead she sits next to Hinata.
"Say, Hinata… who do you like in this class?" Sakura clone asks her seatmate. She fully turns towards the shy Hyūga heiress, expecting her answer.
Immediately turning beet red and stuttering her reply, "W-w-w-what d-d-o y-you m-mean, S-Sa-Sakura…?"
"Come on… you like someone, don't ya?" coaxing her with a grin. "I think I might have an idea…" pretending to look around the class, Sakura successfully manages to make the heiress squirm. Hinata stutters in embarrassment, hiding her face in her hands.
"N-n-no! I-I-I I don't l-like anyone a-at all…!" she squeaks, face flushed and her pearly white eyes wide in shock.
"Too bad, I know you like Naruto very much." Sakura gives her a sly smirk and Hinata's face explodes in a colorful array of different shades of red. Bull's eye! This is good blackmail material! Now, if only I can divert Naruto's attention from me to Hinata, my life would be perfect! NaruHina for the win! The clone chortles inwardly to herself, ignoring the weird looks from her classmates.
Back to the real Sakura…
It has been approximately six hours since she started her usual training régime. Sakura lays on the solid earth, facing the mid-day sun. Short in breath, sweaty and sticky skin, her once braided hair now a mess, and covered in dirt and grime. She already managed to heal all her cuts and bruises from her wild training earlier. Glad to find that her chakra reserves are much larger than her twelve-year old self—but still not on par with Naruto or Sasuke's nor same as her nineteen-year old self—it was still satisfying to see the ground easily cave in from a single enhanced punch. It looks like she still has all her acquired skills from her older self, enough to make the young girl giddy with excitement.
She turns her head to survey the already obliterated training ground and a wide grin forms across her smudged face. The ground littered with giant meteor sized craters ranging from a three meter radius to six meters wide and ten to fifteen meters deep. Every tree within the vicinity are destroyed and splinters scatter along the ground. The dummies for target practice have seen better days, kunai and shuriken stuck at every inch, leaving nothing bare. It almost reminded her of the cruel and harsh training with Tsunade.
Ugh… stupid emo flashbacks… and time travel… Wiping her forehead, she slowly stands up to leave.
CHA! We just destroyed one of the training grounds, like a boss! It looked like Tsunade had one of her wild and drunken rampages!
Inner, don't even start… I'm tired, we should go home and wash ourselves then go shopping. Sakura looks down at her torn and filthy clothes and trudges her way home, muscles sore and covered in grime with her hair looking like a rat's nest. This would be the start of something… new.
Well, first chapter done. Short and almost straight to the point, but hopefully I'll make the later chapters longer. –sigh-
Not much is explained about Sakura time traveling to the past, but that's another story for later. It's just simple time traveling, not like she used a TARDIS or anything.