Genuine Kagebunshins

By Inner Self

This chapter wasn't here before but I figured more story was needed. Its like a....

PREQUEL

Haruno Sakura was well on her way to becoming a legendary medic. She was receiving the proper training. She was already at the point where she could act as a mentor to others who showed promise in the field. A year after beginning her training, Haruno Sakura introduced her best friend, Yamanaka Ino, to the art of healing.

By the time they were almost fifteen, the war on Akatsuki was proclaimed by the Godaime Hokage, Sakura's mistress, Tsunade. The two, medic and aspiring medic, trained vigorously during the down-time they received. By the time that Haruno Sakura and Yamanaka Ino were sixteen, both held an advanced knowledge of healing for their respective levels. In fact, Sakura was fully certified and tailing behind Shizune in talent.

The war raged on and ninja they knew, including Sakura herself, had come close to death at the hands of the Akatsuki. Akasuna no Sasori, Hidan, and Kakuzu had been eliminated. Chaos was enveloping the land, but the two still kept up their practice. Weeks after an encounter with the Immortals, Ino had taken the certification exam and passed by a considerable margin.

Although Sakura denied it, Ino saw her tutelage under Sakura as the reason for her success. She was truly greatful to her friend. "Hounto ni, Forehead-chan," her nickname still stuck even when being praised by Ino, "I have not been more greatful to anyone except my parents! I also feel like I can trust you…"

Sakura scoffed at this, "Ino, we're friends. I trust you, too."

"This is different. I feel like I owe you a lot!" Ino placed her hands on Sakura's shoulders. "You're trust within my family is also secured. So now I'd like to bestow you, my friend and mentor, with a family secret. When you go on missions, you'll be able to take a part of me with you."

Sakura looked at her friend with curiosity rimming her eyes. "You've discovered a new technique?"

Ino's delicate brow furrowed. "Huh? Oh, no, I was speaking metaphorically. So do you want to learn the Shintenshin no Jutsu or not?" Sakura threw herself at Ino in a bear hug. Once Ino restored some lung capacity, the two had headed towards clan's concentrated sector of Konoha, otherwise dubbed Little Yamanaka.

Sakura was taught by Ino under the supervision of her father, Inoichi. Sakura had the transfer technique pretty much under her control after two weeks of practice. "Now Sakura, be sure to use it only outside of combat," Ino made sure to add her piece of advice, "BUT whenever you activate the technique, you MUST go through with it. Otherwise, there are sure to be dire consequences." Ino had added a stern look to her words for an added affect.

"I'll keep that in mind, Ino. Arigatou," Sakura had said. The next day, Sakura was sent to Naruto's house. Tsunade, Jiraiya, and Kakashi had decided that the time was right for starting another search for Sasuke. It was agreed that in order to find Sasuke, it would be faster to capture his brother. His brother had been spotted within the last 24 hours near the valley of the end by a genin team that was no match for him and forced to retreat.

Team 8 was assembled, consisting of all members but Kurenai. Team 8 and Sakura's team, along with the extra members, Sai and Yamato, met an hour later at the main gate. It had started raining minutes after they took off towards their homes to pack. Everyone made sure to wear matching parkas.

Their search for the Uchiha slayer ended abruptly when a variable impeded their search: the Akatsuki known as Tobi. Sakura eyed Tobi warily. His personality was unusually bright. Naruto had rushed in dangerously as the others provided backup. Sakura stood in the background. Someone had to be level-headed about the change in scenario. So as Naruto swung at "Tobi" with futility, Sakura analyzed the suspect. He was short for a man and he wore a mask that left one eye, the left one, concealed. His body was neither physical nor doppelganger. He had a mock simplemindedness, Sakura concluded. He was playing with them; all of them. He was not the idiot he wanted them to believe, yet, he was going to go against their two platoons. She had to do something fast, but rushing in like her chuunin peers was out of the question.

Sakura nearly gasped when she saw his demeanor change to a quiet malice. Kakashi and Yamato sensed it, too. The leaders quickly drew up defenses that reached everyone but Naruto, who was too close to "Tobi", and Sakura, who was too far away, which was ironically the wrong place to be in this combat scenario. Sakura decided she would bear the brunt of an attack as long as she could help Naruto.

Sakura was preparing the seals Ino had taught her as the leaders had just fortified their barriers. A swirling black aura burst from where Tobi had once been fighting, burning Naruto before he was thrown into the forest. Kakashi looked behind him to where he thought Sakura was and cursed.

Sakura's legs were planted into the ground and she was not thrown when the scortching fire licked at her face. The kinetic energy was stronger than the blaze that came along with it though. She had just recovered her balance when a hand reached out and gripped her neck. She couldn't breath.

"You, my dear, are the weakest link," Tobi whispered in a new voice, hard, dark, and taunting. "Why bring along a medic? They get in the way and merely prolong death."

Her eyes were painfully held shut. Her fear would have crushed her if it had not been for his words and Ino's as well. 'Finish what you've started, Sakura. Finish and eliminate him as a threat.' Sakura realized at this point that Shintenshin had another use, and if he was going to bring her death, she was taking him with her. Her seals were already done. All she had to do was release her combined soul and chakra energies.

Sakura could feel his breath in her face and his sadistic amusement. She detached herself as much as she could from the pain and lack of air and opened her eyes to face her enemy as she put forth her plan to end him. That was her mistake. His eye was bleeding and his mask was off. She could feel the intense heat once again. His eye began to swirl into the form of a pinwheel.

She felt her worst nightmare come alive around her before she truly detached from her surroundings. She saw her body floating in the abyss. She was still trapped, but the memory had stopped.

"Well, no matter. There's more than one way to deal with you." He activated his doujutsu again. She saw her body falling through the abyss and dove after it. She had caught it by the hand and entered, traveling up to the head. As she got to the neck, her mind began to feel a horrible pulling sensation. Sakura had to endure the worst migraine of her life as she journeyed upward to synchronize with her body.

He was going through her memories. It was hurting more and more with each passing second in the void. She remembered getting knocked out on a bench by a certain Uchiha, an unrequited love. "Ah, it seems I can use this to my advantage," he mused. Sakura started to open her eyes. She wasn't able to focus on anything. She could feel the immense pressure of his hands restored to her neck. A blinding flash of light encompassed the area around her in the once-void. The world returned to her as he let go of her. The blinding light returned but was soon replaced by the void.

Her body plummeted at what felt like a hundred kilometers per hour. Out of nowhere (literally) a mass crashed into her and the pain in her head exploded once again. She could not think, merely feel, as she would for hours to come.

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The "abyss" is the transitional plane between the worlds. She had almost gone through until he read her mind (literally), decided to spice up her adventure, and threw her in again.

I'm going to fix the rest, too. This does not coordinate well with the confusing mesh of ideas that WERE the story. Thanks to the reviewers, I've been convinced that more information was needed. I'm also changing the POV from 1st person to 3rd person omniscient and limited (is that allowed?) Basically its Muggleland focused w/ an insert that uses 3rd person omniscient (that needs to be written) for the next chapter. So ch2 is probably going to be non-existent anyways. Yes. Yes it is. Or applied to a different setting.