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Fighting Fate

Chapter One – Sacrifice

(Song: DBSK- Love in the Ice)

He'd healed all the girls wounds, and though she would still feel pain, she'd be fine.

Now she was out cold, sprawled on the bed and snoring rather loudly. He was going to be honest, it was really annoying. However, some said that when in deep sleep people tended to snore.

He was going to believe that, she had just died after all so he figured that he'd cut her some slack and let the injured recover.

His gaze shifted from her limp form to the pitiful selection of books that he'd bought and never read because they were way to trashy . They all had terribly atrocious writing ad very much made him want to cringe.. but right now he was stuck in a ridiculously small cabin with an unconscious, therefore unamusing girl, and some dusty furniture. There was shit nothing to do, so he figured why not?

Leaning back in his chair he picked up a book and flipped it open.

"I love you.. that's why I'm leaving you!" As she yelled, she shrugged on her clothing as fast as her hands could aid her. "Don't you understand? If me husband finds out, he'll kill you!"

She was leaving him he couldn't believe it. He had to convince her to stay. "Then give yourself to me one more time, I need you!"

He reached out for her and kissed her with fiery passion. "You're so beautiful! My love, my dove!"

In response she moaned, and pulled him closer.

Wait, there was something wrong with this picture.. what was that noise? Those moans were of the pained variety, not pleasure filled as they should be.

Was there something wrong with his imagination? Or.. He looked up.

The girl stared back at him with bleary eyes. Ah, she was the one making those unappealing noises.

It was quite the transition though. Going from an almost sex scene, pathetic as it was, to looking at some bedraggled pink haired girl.

He'd have to say... he preferred the sex scene.

Nodding towards the flask of water on the stand beside the bed he picked up the next book.

"If you're thirsty, drink."

Sakura sat up but didn't move, she was thirsty but all she could think about were the screams of the villagers and her comrades. Their last moments were imprinted in her memory, and every time she remembered she felt overwhelming guilt that she couldn't do anything to save them.

She had never failed a mission like this. Never experience this feeling of loss. Sure she'd barely known her teammates for this mission but they had still died.

What was the freaking point of being the disciple of one of the legendary sanin if she couldn't save them? Sure, she'd learned super strength because of her amazing chakra control, but what use was that with her shitty taijutsu abilities? If she couldn't even touch her target, what was the freaking point?

She tried to hold back the miserable sound that was building in her chest but it escaped anyways.

The man with the blue and gold eyes glanced up at from his book. It wasn't that hard to get distracted. The book he was reading was just as crappy as the last and the girl was rather loud. He wondered if he should just leave. He'd fulfilled his quota of good things to be done and she was awake now and all.

Yes, he'd leave but despite reaching this conclusion he couldn't stop himself from asking.

"What's wrong?" He wasn't sure why he asked, he really didn't want to know her woes. Maybe it was some forgotten echo of the bleeding heart he used to be thousands of years ago.

She glanced up at the stranger that had saved her. She didn't want to tell him about Tadoshi and Shiro; both chunnin who were only a few years older than her. She didn't want to talk about how they'd been assigned a simple B ranked mission that had turned out to be so much more than they could handle. How they'd died.

"Who are you? Why'd you save me?" she said instead.

He stared as her in a way that had her shifting uncomfortably. She'd never seen eyes that were so unusual. His gaze was piercing and otherworldly. The longer she looked into them the more she realized it was the disinterest and coldness in his eyes that gave her chills. It wasn't just that though. He seemed dangerous. Dangerous, and very, very strong.

"You were at the right time and place. I was feeling nice." Well when he put it like that it didn't sound like the best of things did it? But really, he'd never found the appeal of being anything but honest. "Are you better now?"

"What?" She looked up from where she'd been playing with the hem on her shirt.

"Are you better? I want to leave." He was very, very bored.

"I, yes.."

"The nearest town is in the east."

Then he was gone.

She stayed in the empty cabin staring into space for a long time. When she had been bleeding on the cold unyielding ground, she'd thought that if she were given a second chance she would do whatever she could to change herself for the better. And she would. After coming to that resolution, she mustered up the energy to walk unsteady out the door.

Looking around, she found herself in the middle of a forest. No wonder the man had told her where the town was. She didn't have a map and she had no idea where she was.

Though she was exhausted, she started trudging east. She had to get back to Konoha and report her mission failure as well as the deaths of her teammates.

An hour later she stumbled across a clearing with an old women hunched over a dying flame. This was odd.. people wouldn't usually camp at this time of day.

She gave a start when the old woman spoke.

"Sit down." Her voice seemed to be rusty, as if she hadn't spoken to anyone for years.

Sakura didn't know why she listened. It could have been curiosity, or maybe even the fact that she felt she could drop. She certainly didn't go around talking to suspicious looking old hags.

"Who are you?"

"I guess you can't tell huh?" The old woman laughed bitterly. The grotesque scar on her face was illuminated even more so by the red of the fire. As her cynical smile faded, she looked up and met Sakura's gaze. "I'm you."

Sakura fought not to recoil at both the words that had been spoken and the ugly scar. The bat was crazy! What was she talking about? It was only when she froze staring in shocked silence at eyes as green as hers, that the old woman continued.

"If you think the devastation from losing people you barely know to death is bad, I don't think you can imagine loosing everything you actually care about. Naruto, Sasuke, your parents, your sensei's, everyone. Even your home."

"That would never happen! They couldn't die they're to stro-" This sounded like bullshit! What was this lady on? But she wondered.. how did she know all of the names of the people she found important?

"My! How naive I was!" As rotting teeth flashed, she heard bitter laughter again. She stared into a face manged by a scar, a face that looked nothing like she looked now, "Now be quiet, I don't have long. In my time, after being saved by that man, I return to Konoha and resume training under Tsunade. Seven years later all ninja nations are attacked with the tailed beasts by a man who calls himself Madara."

"Madar-"

"He was lying though. He wasn't Madara. He was so powerful that even the strongest could barely touch him. We had no idea who he was until it was to late."

"...who was he?" Should she really believe this? She wanted to deny it all.. but though her face had changed the eyes remained the same. The same bottle green she faced every time she saw her reflection.

"He is the Sage of Six Paths." What?

"What? How-" The Sage of the Six Paths was revered as a hero! He should have died years ago, there was no way he could have survived all this time.

"I have no time to explain the why's of things.. The weaker of the ninja and the villagers were wiped out. Konoha was the last to be wiped out. Naruto managed to injure badly but even he fell after awhile. It was terrific to witness. When the ground was hit by a powerful attack some ruins were unearthed. While trying to help the people that were still alive I came across a forbidden scroll on the ground. I don't know what made me open it while people were dying around me, but when I did, I realized it was for time travel. After that.. I ran."

"How could you?" Sakura was horrified. She would never abandon all her comrades in battle!

"I had too! Everyone was dying faster than I could heal them! Even after my near death experience; when I vowed once more to become stronger, try harder than I had before, I was still weak! Even as an accomplished medic-nin I could do nothing! At the very least if I ran I could go back and tell you how to fix things."

By the end they both had tears in their eyes. The older of the two took a deep breath and touched her scar.

"After that I hid away. I was very lucky I was never found." She looked up, lost in her memories, "It took me 5 years to perfect this jutsu. It was so intricate and there were so many stipulations I had to prepare for." She took another deep breath and looked back at Sakura, "And now here I am. I have a few more things to tell you."

"What?"

"I think you need Sasuke. I don't know what happened to him and frankly I hate him. Maybe it's irrational to blame him, but everything went wrong after he left. He is strong though. That's why you have to stop him and Naruto from fighting. You need him on your side. I don't think you have a chance at victory otherwise. Even then I don't know if it'll be enough. And Sakura.. you have to find another way to get stronger, training with Tsunade wasn't enough. Maybe nothing will be enough... but still, try."

Sakura stared hard at the ground. She didn't know how to react to all this. The things the older woman had spoken of seemed so unbelievable that she could hardly comprehend them. Despite this, she never wanted to see this future that even marginally compared to what she'd been told. So she would do everything within her power to stop it from happening.

She looked up.

"Your skin!" she exclaimed, rushing over to her counterpart, "What's wrong? How do I help you?"

The Sakura from the future smiled sadly.

"The creator of this scroll didn't want this jutsu to be misused. One of the stipulations was that if this jutsu was activated the user would be required to forfeit their life. It not only utilizes chakra but also your life force. That's why I look so old."

What was the point of living anyways? All those she loved were already gone. At least now this Sakura would have a chance at happiness. So what if she couldn't see it for herself?

"The Sage of Six Paths is only known from the story, so not much is actually known of him. During those seven years that I was in Konoha I came across some information about a forgotten library. I believe there will be information you can use there. It's an ancient library after all. I'm telling you this in case you don't come across the same information. Now you know to look for it."

As the cells in her body died, the old woman touched the scar that ran from her forehead, to the corner of her chin on the other side of her face. "You know I always wondered if there was special significance to this scar... Perhaps it is my repentance for running from battle. You know I almost wish I hadn't."

Sakura watched helplessly , unable to tear her eyes away, as the woman that could be her future was reduced to ash.

Maybe it was her imagination, but when she felt a particularly strong wind, she thought heard, Do what I couldn't.

It took her her two more hours to reach the city the man had told her about. There wasn't much to keep her going except the soldier pills she'd found in her pouch. By the end of the journey she was aching, starving and stumbling every once in a while.

As she walked into a large town that seemed to cater to gambling the the first thing she did was head to the nearest tempura booth in sight.

Fumbling through the pouch on her thing she deduced that she had just enough to buy one meal.

Thank God she thought sliding into an empty stool.

While Sakura waited for her meal to be made she shifted restlessly, drooled subtly, because she was really looking forward to some food, and worried about what the hell she was going to do about the future. During these last few hours it still hadn't sunk in.

When she finally took the first decadent bite of the only food she'd had in who knows how long, she turned to her left, glancing around in curiosity, and promptly spat some of it out in shock.

Needless to say, her nameless Savior was not freaking happy.

At. All.

He turned mismatched eyes to her and sneered.

Oh Goodness, when he did that, he looked terrifying. She couldn't really put the feeling into words except to say, when he just looked at her with no expression on his face she got chills. So when he was looking at her with that 'I'm pissed of at the freaking world' expression she felt sort of sick.

"I'm so sorry!"

If this was a normal situation, in which he'd just turned around and saw her, he would have said a simple 'Oh, it's you', but at this moment he'd just been spat on. Firstly he was in a bad mood, and secondly that was not a something you did to someone who saved you.

No wait... he could take this calmly. No Problem.

She hastily grasped a napkin, "I was surprised to see you there!" and promptly tried to wipe aside the bits she'd spat on him.

He snarled leaping out of his chair. So much for calm.

Damn woman.

While she hastily got up to follow him, she thought morosely of her uneaten food, it would remain uneaten. Maybe it would still be there when she got back?

"I'm so, so sorry! I didn't mean it!" She got a shove for trying to step in front of her.

Now normally being shoved aside, albeit viciously, was nothing compared to the vast array of wounds she had received over the years. Thus, this wouldn't have phased her in the least if she hadn't been extremely hungry, weary and still recovering from wounds that had killed her.. So in this not normal situation... it knocked her unconscious.

The thud her body made when it hit the ground had him turning around.

He stared at her for a few moments. He wanted to just leave her there... but what is she died? The effort he'd put into saving her would be in vain. Which would mean he'd wasted all his time nursing her back to health... for nothing.

Sighing he reached down and slung her over his shoulder. Now where was that inn he'd been staying in for the past few days.

Sakura couldn't help but think that this situation was glaringly familiar. Here she was on a bed near death, this time from staving, exactly like last time and there was the man who had saved her was sprawled in a chair leafing through what looked like a gaudy romance novel.

The only things that was different was this time they were in a shoddy hotel room and her saviour glaring at the pages of his book, possibly attempting to set it afire with his eyes. What was his problem anyways? All she'd done was spit a little food on him. Was that why he was angry? It was nothing a hot shower couldn't fix. It was actually surprising how he seemed so different. Before he'd been the very embodiment of cool and composed. Now he just seemed... pissed off.

He looked up realizing she was awake. While she sat up, he walked over, picked up a tray of food, and thrust it at her.

"Here eat this," he said rudely, "We wouldn't want you passing out again."

Really? He sure could hold a grudge. Sure she was sorry, but there only so any ways and times you could convey it before giving up because the person you were offering it to just couldn't stand a damn apology.

What a jackass. It's not like she'd been having the best of days lately either! You didn't see her in some snit.

"Listen! I'm sorry! It's not like I endeavoured to starve myself so when I finally found you after three days of following you, I could spit on you and then pass out in my efforts to apologize." Lowering her voice dramatically she whispered, "It was all apart of my evil plan."

He stared at her, unamused.

"Just eat your food girl." He said, annoyed.

Just like that she deflated. She reached over for the food that he'd placed on the bed when she hadn't taken it. Eating the food mechanically, she gazed listlessly at the floor. How the hell was she supposed to stop Naruto and Sasuke from fighting? They were on a completely different level than her. Reason and begging hadn't helped before.

She felt tears slide down her checks, saw them fall into her food. How pathetic was she? She was crying just like always..

The man looked at the pink haired girl in annoyed apprehension. What was her problem? Sure he was a little annoyed but that was no reason to cry, why the hell did she keep doing this around him?

"What's wrong now?" God, he might as well resign himself. Was she going to have, god forbid, a breakdown? "Look I'm sor-"

"I'm weak, useless, and I can't change anything." she wailed.

"I'm sure that's not tru-" he began.

"No! Everyone's going to die because I'm to weak to change things! It's always been like that! Even after I vowed to.. to become stronger and rely on my own strength rather than others, my teammate's still died. One of them saved me and he died for it, the other got injured and I couldn't heal him fast enough!" she trailed of on a sob. "I was both to weak and not skilled enough to make a difference! Now I have to change the future... otherwise everyone's going to die! I don't know what to do..."

He sighed irritably, he couldn't stand females sometimes. "Look, unless you know this for sure, just calm the fuck down."

"But I do!" He tried not to flinch, really he did.

"And how would you know that?"

"I was walking here and I came across this old lady..."

Once she started talking she didn't stop until an hour had passed and her saviour was fully engrossed in what she was saying. Was it even a good idea to tell him this? Well whatever, just telling him about this was making her feel better. He might not have been the most sympathetic person ever, but at least he listened.

By the end of her really long explanation the man found himself... interested.

He couldn't say he wanted to be involved directly... but maybe he'd help the girl out. She after all looked quite pitiful and not at all capable of saving the ninja world at the moment.

"Hmmm... you say you're weak? Well I have an offer to make you."

"...What?" That expression on his face looked downright conniving..

"Let me train you. You'd have to travel with me but I can make you stronger than you've ever imagined. You don't have the potential to be the strongest, but you can be one of the strongest."

"Train me? Who are you?"

"You can call me... Dai."

"I've never heard of you! I'm the apprentice for one of the three sannin. Do you think you're stronger than them?"

"You haven't heard of me because I don't like people knowing who I am," he sneered. If there was one thing he didn't like, it was being called weak, "and I know I'm stronger than your master."

"I can't leave my village to train with you! I'd be labelled a missing-nin..."

"Are you not willing to sacrifice for those you care about? You'll be able to protect them if you let me train you. You said you had to do something different than your older self. This could be it."

"I... don't know.."

"Say yes, you won't regret it."

Biting her lip, she looked up at him, "You'll help me? For how long?"

"5 years. And I'll train you. I'll give you the means, and it's up to you to use it."

"Don't you care about the ninja world?"

He shrugged, "It doesn't directly affect me, so not particularly."

"You're acting so cold..."

"Yes or No." he said, getting irritable.

Could she sacrifice her life in Konoha so the events that she heard of, would not come to be?

"Yes, I accept."

Looking at her hunched figure he couldn't help but add, "It won't be easy."

Back straightening, eyes suddenly determined.

"I know."

Preview:

"You're saying... that for the past five years , in which we've seen neither hide, nor hair from you and, in which we've all believed you to be dead... you've actually been fucking ALIVE?"

"..."

"Is. That. What. You're. Saying?"

"...yes."

Tsunade was still as terrifying as ever. Not that she'd expected any different or anything...

AU: So Firstly: I changed the title of this fanfiction to "Fighting Fate"

Secondly: This story is existing under the assumption that instead of Naruto going off to train with Jiraiya for 3 years, it is instead 6 years. Sasuke trains with Orochimaru for 6 years also. The events that just occured happens after Sakura has been with Tsunade for a year. Sakura will be 19 in this actual story.

And Lastly: If anyone is interested in beta-ing (including the last and this chapter) this story, please let me know. I'm looking for someone who can correct faulty grammar and is well-versed in character development. Thanks.

I would love to hear what you think so far. Please drop a review.