The Realisation

Sakura left the Hokage tower and headed straight to her apartment to pack for the mission. On reaching her apartment, she wasn't surprised to find that there was someone inside already. And she knew it was her blond team mate. Every now and then Naruto would sleep on her couch, complaining that his apartment was not as cosy or tidy as hers'. But she knew it was because he felt lonely and she was fine with it.

"Hey Naruto, I'm leaving for a solo mission tonight." Sakura told him with excitement-filled voice.

"Sakura-chan! Why are you going on a solo mission? Why is Kakashi-sensei sending you alone? It could be dangerous Sakura-chan. Where is it?" She was felt a bit irritated that Naruto couldn't come to the fact that she could take care of her selves.

"Naruto, it's a patrol and report mission. Besides I can take care of myself." Sakura raised her voice just enough so that Naruto would get the irritation in her voice.

"Of course, Sakura-chan. You are one hell of a kunoichi. Be safe. Since you're leaving, maybe I should go and ask teme if I can spend the night there, ne Sakura-chan?" Naruto asked

"Good luck with that! And bye. See ya soon."

With that Sakura left her apartment with the backpack which she packed during her short conversation with Naruto. She didn't pack much anyway. It was going to be a short mission. She always had most of her medical supplies with her. So she just grabbed a change of cloth, her shuriken pouch and a few scrolls.

As she signed out at the main gate and jumped through the forest to her destination, about 4 hours North to the Valley of End, she couldn't help but wonder what would happen if/when Naruto goes to the Uchiha Compound.

Flashback

"Ne teme, Team 7 is back again." Naruto gleamed happily at Sasuke.

Sakura stared at Sasuke from the corner of her eyes. She couldn't face him. She didn't know what he would say, how he would react. It like she didn't know the Sasuke standing in front of her. Of course, she never knew Sasuke Uchiha, to start with.

"Team 7 is no more Naruto. I do not wish to be a part of any team. Do not seek me out. I would like to spend the rest of my life in solitude in the Uchiha Compound. May be one day I could forgive myself for all I've done."

Well, that was not as bad as she thought.

With that Sasuke disappeared in a swirl of dead leaves.

Naruto stared at the place where Sasuke had just disappeared.

Her heart felt heavy. She didn't like seeing that pained expression on Naruto's face or that distant look in his eyes.

'But we've forgave you Sasuke. How long will it take you to forgive yourself, and realise that by running away you hurting us, all over again!'

End of Flashback.

Three hours went by. She was close to her destination. Luckily for her she hadn't yet observed anything 'unnatural.'

Maybe she should take rest for a few minutes. Sakura perched on the branch of an unnaturally tall tree in the vicinity. It gave her a good view of the nearby areas. It was full moon today. The forest was silent, save for an occasional howling of a distant pack of wolves, or the hooting of owls. A clearing to the North caught her eyes. It looked a bit fresh, maybe a week old. Someone was here before, but she knew it was not part of a conventional trade route.

She heard the sound of leaves moving, of something moving on the ground below her.

Sakura took a kunai from her pouch, got ready for a fight. For all she knew, it could be a harmless little rat. But still one can never be too careful.

But no, it was definitely not a little rat. But whether it was harmless or not Sakura couldn't decide at the moment. Whatever she saw, Sakura was pretty sure she had never seen anything like that before in her life.

A silver deer; No, it was not exactly silver; it looked like it was made of chakra, glowing in the dark. It stood with the light coming from its body forming a circle of light in the darkness of the night. The undergrowth hid its face from Sakura's view. Sakura shifted her position, to get a better view. The branch she was sitting on cracked just a bit. But the sound was enough to alert her little visitor.

It turned in the direction of the sound. Sakura was quick to take notice of the fact that its hazel eyes were eerily human. Before she could take in any more details of the strange deer, it fled. Her instinct told her to chase it, but logic told her to flee to the Hokage tower and report what she witnessed. It was never good to go up against the unknown.

But 'fuck logic'. She ran after the deer. The light coming out from its skin was a dead giveaway. But still found it extremely difficult to keep up with its speed.

The undergrowth was starting to become thicker. Sakura found it extremely difficult and painful to keep up, with thrones and bushes reaching up to her waist.

It was slowing down, and Sakura could see a cave ahead. The deer was running into the cave. No, she was definitely not going into a cave. It could be a trap, it must be trap. But before the deer went in, it turned and gazed at her; like it was beckoning her to follow. Or maybe it was her just her crazy imagination.

Should she go inside? Her instincts were telling her to go, it was not warning her of danger. Certainly her instincts had always led her to the strangest of places. It was her instinct that told her that Sasuke would leave that day.

Somehow, even without her consent, her feet carried her towards the cave. She should go in. She gripped the kunai in her hands tightly. Carefully stepped into the cave. It was dark inside, too dark that she wondered where the beautiful creature fled to. Something was not quite right. The ground beneath her was not steady. Something was shifting below her.

In a second, the entire cave started coming down. Sakura was a quick thinker. In times like these she knew she was not supposed to panic. She held her hands above her head and tried to build up a chakra shield above her head. Sudden pain erupted through her body. Like something was stretching and pulling every part of her body. She closed her eyes tightly and tried to maintain the chakra shield.

Suddenly she could no longer hear the sound of the rubbles falling down. The pain seems to have reduced. She opened her eyes slowly. Bright light; It was in contrast to the dark cave. It took her some time to adjust to the light. When she did open her eyes, she was surprised to find herself in an alley.

She was on guard. She slowly walked out of the alley. She found herself in a busy street.

'Kai!' , she whispered.

Nope. It was not a genjutsu. Then! What could it be? It could be a transportation jutsu. By why would someone do like that?

First, she had to find out where she was. She kept walking and looking around for any signs that would tell her where she was. It was definitely a trade centre. There were all kinds of goods on sale. From fabric, to fruits, to a variety of weapons, some of which looked a bit too out of fashion to her.

She went to a fabric store nearby, seeing as how eager the salesman was to greet her.

"What can I do for the beautiful young lady over here? Come in. We have the most precious silk from over all the 5 great nations. Look over here, this red silk would go great with your pretty pink tresses." The man exclaimed at her, surely expecting her to buy something from his store.

"Oh, I'm sorry, but I came to ask to for something else. I'm here for the first time, and it seems I got lost. Would you mind helping me out a bit?" Sakura asked and put forth her most innocent smile.

"Young lady, don't be surprised. The streets of the Sarraiyu are a puzzle for most of the newcomers. Where do you wish to go to?" The man asked definitely sounding happy to help.

There was a reason why Sakura was called a bookworm during her academy days. She had read hundreds of books from the library on geography, history, art and literature. She also had the ability to retain most of what she read. So, when the man told her she was in Sarraiyu, she was quick to recall that it was the trade capital of the Fire Country. She also knew that there had to a nearby port here, from where she could catch a ship to port Tarfa, from where she could easily find her way to Konoha.

"Um, could you please tell me how to reach the nearest port. I have an urgent need to reach Tarfa." Sakura replied.

"Well, you're lucky it's only a few minutes from here. Take the first left, then take the second right and turn left from there when you see a red flagpole. After that..." The man was cut off before he could finish.

"Would you mind repeating the first part. I mean, it's a bit too confusing." Sakura gave him a toothy grin.

"Or maybe I can just give you a map." The man took out a map from his drawer and handed it over to her.

Sakura was extremely grateful to this man.

When he saw her searching her pouch for money, he quickly added "It's for free the pretty lady. Young ladies like you shouldn't get lost!" He said and Sakura got the implication in his words.

"Thank you so much sir." Sakura replied. Anyway she had very less money with her as she was not expecting to get lost in Sarraiyu of all places.

"Don't thank me young lady. Just buy something from here when you come the next time. Have a happy journey." The man waved at her as she started walking in the direction he pointed.

Sakura opened the map. She was a bit surprised. The trade routes linking the place seemed to be very few. She was expecting the place to be a bit more developed, being the trade capital and all.

'As per data collected till January, 1567' was written below the map.

What the hell, how could that man possibly give her a map that was 22 years old. She would just have to ask someone else for help.

"Excuse me sir, could you please tell me how to reach the closest port?" She asked another shopkeeper.

"Young Lady, you seem to have a map with you, why would you ask me then?" The man asked with a bit of irritation in this voice.

"Oh, sorry, it is a really old map." Sakura looked up at him apologetically and turned the map towards him so that he could see that it was pretty old and useless.

"It clearly seems new enough to me, being updated 2 months ago." The man replied, this time clearly irritated.

It was then that Sakura noticed the Calender hanging inside the shop.

It was showing 'March, 1567'!

No, how could that be possible. She quickly turned to the next shop.

"Excuse me, could you please tell me the date?" She asked.

"Well its March 2nd, young woman." The man replied.

"The year please?" She knew how ridiculous it must've sounded but she just had to make sure that the man in the other shop was completely insane.

The man looked at her, clearly a bit too surprised.

"1567, Why young women, have you lost your mind?" The man asked her.

Sakura felt like the world around her was spinning. No, she couldn't panic now. This has to be some kind of really advanced genjutsu, intrinsically woven with many layers. It has to be. Otherwise, how could it be...

'Kai', Sakura whispered again, this time sending more chakra to her brain, expecting the world to change around her and show her the genjustsu master.