Long-ass note, but you need to read it anyway. Sorry for any mistake grammar. If you already read this before, skip to the chapter below.
First: I'm sorry for the long wait. Life is a bitch and I'm not happy with her. Not one bit. Update from now on will be SLOW. It could take weeks; months before a chapter come out. If I'm lucky (which very rare to happens), you will have 1 chapter per 1 month. If not, you just have to wait longer. I'm sorry. Though, I will not abandoned any of my stories, which mean that I will finish all my fic, one way or other, it will just take a very long time. I not complained though, I have all my life for them. And once my parent let me buy my own PC/laptop, I will be able to write more, I hate writing in an internet shop, so many people keep staring at me -_-!
Second: I'm no good with grammar, past tense and the like. I got them when in exam and class, yet I always forgot about all the tenses when I'm writing, don't know when to use what. Most, if not all, my knowledge of English come from years of reading story, I just read and understand the word perfectly, but if you ask me if there are any mistake grammar or not, I can't tell you much. When I'm writing, the word just come out in my head like what I had know them from all the time I saw it in other fic, like a copy machine. A machine that can't change anytime soon. It's weird, but that me, I'm always weird. So unless I get a beta, there will always be mistake in my story. That why I need a beta, one who can put up with the long time between each chapter, which probably when you will have no contact from me. I'm not talkative; I'm only good with listen and give comment when needed.
Third: I have so many ideas, it all in my head, but I'm not one who can write what she think out most of the time, especially when it come to my story. I can image it just fine, but write it out is very hard, not to mention write it in a foreign language. I have read all my fic again, and I have to say that they are poorly written. I can't even look at them the second time. I'm furious, and ashamed. But no matter how many times I try, I don't know how to make them better. As pathetic as it is, it is still my writing skill, it's something that had been a part of me for as long as I can remember and I'm hopeless in change it. Maybe in the future I'll be able to change them. For now thought, I can only put in more words, change how thing go a litter, it not much, but that all I can do for the rewrite chapter. If you have time, do read it and give me a review, would you? I apologize for the trouble, though saying this doesn't mean I want anyone sympathetic or such, I am not a bad writer. While my story is not up to standard of other author in here, I'm still proud of them, of writing them, and what I write in my language had never been listed as bad by anyone, I know of a fact that it is the opposition. I'm both the best and the worst at the same time, you can understand it whatever way you want.
Last: I'm taking ideas; meaning if you have any idea for my story, any of them, please tell me in a review or pm. I have lot of idea for new story, and basic idea of my current story, but that about it. I would love to hear what everyone has to say. Be it pairing, fighting, weapons, anything, just send it to me and I'll see what I can do with it. No OC though, I hate them, the only reason I have OC in my fic is because I can't find characters that fit the role of main character's background in the manga. I will also take characters from other manga and put them in my fic where ever I need them, that way I can limit the OC.
Finish all that? Then go and read the chapter you all have waited for so long. I hope it good enough.
Thank you so much, Fionlao, my beta for help me fixed this chapter. And kamizumishinji, even if you not my beta anymore, I still thank you for everything, hope you enjoy this chapter.
Tile: Right the Wrong.
Author: Akinos
Summary: -AU- 10 years after the 4th great shinobi war, there nothing left in the world. Naruto sacrificed his life to in a desperate attempt to send his friends back in time. Now in the past, his friends must change their future to right the wrong.
Pairing: NaruHinaSaku.
Rate: M
Warning: OOC, violence and lot of thing that has to do with rate M, this is a ninja world after all.
Disclaimer: I do NOT own Naruto.
== Chapter 3: Waking up and Planning ==
Gaara opened his eyes to the bright sun light of Suna. It took him a few seconds to realize that he was in his old room in the Kazekage mansion. The one-tail shukaku screamed something about murder and killing in the back of his mind, but he ignores it. Gaara turns his head to look at the village outside his window. Suna, his home. The home he had lost in that ten year of war is still standing, as beautiful as ever. No more people or buildings destroyed, no more dead. His sister and brother are alive, and most of all, his fiancé, Matsuki. Because of the war, they never had the chance to get married. But not this time though, he'll make sure of it.
Gaara sighed; the demons were yelling way too loudly for his taste. They were starting to get annoying. At a time like this, he wished Naruto is here, the Rokudaime would know what to do to shut the demon up. He was the best sealing master in the future after all. Speaking of Naruto, that old fool, he will make sure to give that baka a lesson the next time they meet. Didn't that fool know how much it hurt to leave him behind? Weren't they friends?
"Idiot." Gaara mumbled and tries to forget about Naruto for now. He has a home to take care of at the moment, and thinking about Naruto would only bring him sorrow and guilt. He doesn't need it right now. He will deal with it later when they meet again.
"Now, how do I do this and not scare the hell out of my siblings?" was Gaara's last thought before he opens the door of his bedroom.
==8==
Ino used to think that she knew better than everyone when she was young, when she was nothing but a naïve, little girl. It's had taken Asuma's death to let her have the first taste of what real life is. And then the war comes, and more deaths come along with it. She had saw it, she had heard it, and she had felt it. The life she never wants to live through again.
Sitting by her bedroom window, looking out at a peaceful Konoha, Ino could feel the happiness she hadn't felt in what seemed like forever, rise up in her. No more war, no more blood, no more death. A singer teal falls down her cheek, and then another, more and more. She just sits there, letting her feelings out with the tears, until she can't cry anymore.
A knock in the door brought Ino out of her thoughts. She looks up as her door opens to reveal Sakura behind it. The pink-haired girl smiles at Ino, a sad yet warm smile.
"Sakura," Ino greeted.
"Ino," Sakura said back.
Two small words but means so much; they hug each other in the remainder of Ino's room, glad that the other is back and safe. When Ino let Sakura go, she could see that her friend's eyes are a little red, a look in the mirror could say the same about her own eyes. But then, who care? Not her anyways.
They talked for a bit, before Sakura reminded Ino of the meeting they (the time-travel group) had planned to have if they all come back safe. Exactly, it had been Naruto who told them to meet up in the Hokage Mountain the day they wake up, that way, they will know if any of them didn't make it back. So, ten minutes later, Ino was ready to leave her house and face the biggest challenge of her life.
But when Ino closed her bedroom's door, something on the wall caught her eyes. A photo of Uchiha Sasuke. She feel anger rise up. That traitorous bastard, how in the fucking hell did she like that bastard before? Ino was about to take the photo down and tear it to pieces when an idea come to her. She took out three kunais in each hand and thrown them at the photo. Only two hit their target, one hit the wall and the others fell out. It surprised Ino, making her freeze for a second before it came to her of what had happen. Her skill was no longer as good as it had been in the future. She had lost all of her skill. Her younger body did not have the power she had before.
"Damn it." Ino cursed. Now she has to train all over again. Life sucks.
==8==
By the time Neji arrived at the top of the Hokage Mountain, Kiba and Shikamaru already here. Shikamaru was sitting in the branch of a tree looking out at the village while Kiba sat under the same tree, playing with Akamaru.
In the future, Kiba had lost Akamaru to Orochimaru in their fight two months before the final fight. At least, Kiba had revenge by killing Orochimaru with the help of Neji, Hinata and Sakura. Kiba was never the same after it. And it also in that fight that Hinata had been injured badly, even Sakura couldn't heal her. It's one of the reasons she didn't come back with them, she could not survival long enough for the time travel back. Even if she could, she wasn't going. Neji knew Hinata love Naruto and she would not leave him behind, no matter what. And to say the truth, a part of Neji was really glad he got sent back. He always wanted to see his Tenten again, wanted to see a peaceful Konoha, wanted to see no more war. He longed for a home.
Of course Neji was willing to stay behind and let Naruto goes back. He knew Konoha need Namikaze Naruto, not Hyuuga Neji. But it was not how fate had went by, and there was nothing Neji could do to change that now.
"Hey, Neji!" Kiba waved when he saw Neji walked toward them.
"Yo." Shikamaru said before turning back to look out at Konoha.
"Good morning, you guys are early." Neji said, sitting down next to Kiba.
"Yeah, can't sleep much with all the new voices around." Kiba said. Neji guessed that he meant the morning noise from his clan and the people in Konoha. It's the same for him. Too much joy to sleep. Neji had to restrain himself all morning from doing something that he knows will embarrass him when he sees everyone in his clan. He still has too much pride to keep for that.
Neji sat next to Kiba, waiting for the others. Less than ten minutes later, all of them arrived. Ino and Sakura sat cross Neji, while Anko was standing at their right. Izumo sat near by with Kotetsu.
"Sooo, what next?" Kiba asked when no one seemed like they would say anything. They looked at each other a little before Shikamaru decided to break the silence.
"I'll write down a few things we will need to do. Not much for now, we need to keep a low profile." He takes out a scroll and let it fall to Kiba. Everyone gather around Kiba to read. Kiba mumbles a "Low profile?" before open the scroll and read it out loud.
List of things need to do.
1- Train.
2- Keep our knowledge a secret.
3- Act like your younger self.
4- Try to get others ninja to train without tells them anything.
"Very...Nara's style." Ino commented, with the others nodded and agreed.
"He right though. We do need to train to get out skill back." Izumo said.
"Yeah, god knows we need it for the future batter." Kotetsu added.
"Too bad we can't have our power in the future here." Ino said wishfully.
Sakura shrugged, "Well, you can't have everything you want."
"Sakura-san is right. We just have to train hard, no time to complain about it." Neji said. "I'll ask Gai-sensei for more training in my team. Maybe take Hinata-sama with me too."
"Leave Hinata to us. She will be more comfortable training with her classmate." Sakura said.
"Hey, she is my teammate. She should train with me." Kiba yelled.
"No. You forgot how shy Hinata is at this age? It's will be easier if she with us." Ino said.
"But..." Kiba said.
"How about you all train together?" Shikamaru cut in. Really, you'd think they'd act more like adults after all those year? But then again, it wasn't everyday you get to travel back in time. They deserve to relax a little.
"Yeah! Call the others in your class to train too. This way, you all can both become stronger and become friends faster." Anko said. Izumo, Kotetsu and her had already planned to train together on their way here.
"Good idea. Kiba, you ask Shino, Shika will ask Choji, I'll ask Hinata, Sakura get Naruto. Let's have lunch together today at the academy." Ino said. She gets a "sure" from Sakura, a "fine by me" from Kiba and a "trouble" from Shikamaru. The others just nodded their head.
"That takes care of 1 and 4. Then 3, we'll manage somehow. But about the 2, are you sure we should not talk to the Sandaime?" Neji ask Shikamaru.
"Yes. If we told him, he may do something that will change the future. And we may lose our chance to kill Orochimaru in the chunnin exam." Shikamaru said.
"But we can't let it happen like last time. Besides, I'm not sure if we can kill Orochimaru with the power we have now. A few months training will not be enough." Kotetsu said.
"'Course it not enough. But who said we will fight alone?" Shikamaru ask back, a smirk make its way to his face.
"Hm? What do you mean, Shika?" Kiba ask.
"Trust me. Orochimaru will have a very big party welcome him back to Konoha." Shikamaru answered and waited for the others to catch on. When they did, they broke out laughing.
"Have I said I love you before, Shika?" Ino asked playfully.
"Too much to count." Shikamaru answered in a boring tone that didn't match his eyes.
"Talk about killing. Should we kill that bastard, Sasuke?" Neji's question stopped their laughing. Everyone's moods become darker. Shikamaru let out a deep sigh. Sakura bit her lips hard draw blood, her fists turn white. That name brought back too many painful memories, too much hate. She then felt Ino's hand touch her shoulder for comfort.
"Yes, we should. That bastard does not deserve to live!" Kiba shouted.
"Yeah. Think about all the victims he killed, we can save them all by kill him now." Said Izumo next.
"We will not kill him." Shikamaru said before anyone could say anything more. Kiba, Izumo and Kotetsu looked at him like he has gone mad. The others only look at him with confusing. So he continues. "While I agree that future Sasuke deserves to die, please remember that he has not done anything at this age. No, Kiba, hear me first. If we kill Sasuke now, there will be too much chaos that comes after that, we can't be sure that it would be good or bad. I do not want to risk the future just because of some stupid revenge."
"Then what are we going to do? We can't let that bastard run to Orochimaru again," frowned Kiba. Izumo, Kotetsu and Neji nodded.
"He will not. We'll take care of him if he chooses to run out again. We know when it is after all. In the meantime, let's try and pull him to our side, he can be a good ally in the future." Shikamaru said. No one says anything right away, but after thinking about it for a moment, they agree.
"...Fine, but if the bastard does not change, I will kill him." Kiba said. He'll let that bastard live for now, but one wrong move and...
"Cheer up, Kiba. We can't kill him, but we can still pay that bastard back by making his life hell. There are a lot of things worse than death." Anko said and smirked at the look on others' faces.
"...What? ...Oh, I see." Said Kiba, a grin broke out in his face. Soon, everyone was either grinning or smirking, thinking of all the things they could do to the Uchiha, except Shikamaru and Sakura. Shikamaru only shook his head at everyone, and Sakura still had a troubled look on her face.
They chatted with each other for about half an hour after that, planned about the training, the chunnin exam. And also about what Kabuto and Orochimaru should do with the traitor, Mizuki. In the end, they had decided on what they needed to do. Now they only have to wait for the right time.
===8===
If someone talked to Naruto when he wakes up this morning, it would be Sakura. She would be there with a warm smile and breakfast ready for welcome him. He'll ask "Really? I knew it. Sakura-chan would fall for my awesomeness someday." and run out, towards his house. Once out of eyes sight, he'd stop and snort at his stupidity. Yeah right, like he will believe it.
Naruto is not an idiot, no matter what people think of him or what he had done outside. He understood life more than a lot of people, how could he not, with the life he had lived those past years? He just chooses not to show it outside. It had been such a long, long time ago when people could see his real self…even himself.
The cheerful act had become a part of him. It had taken over so … completely … that he would have trouble acting any other way around others.
It was a sad life, but what could he do? This is his personality now.
Anyway, it is how and why he knew that Sakura would never be there in his house in the morning, or in the afternoon, or in anytime of the day for that matter. She simply has no reason to come to his house. Really, he makes sure of it. Why do you think he always asks her for a date in school? He knows she likes Sasuke, then why? To annoy her, of course. Sakura can't stand it when he asks her out, with that much annoyance he caused, she must be brought to hate him. She would never bother to look at him in anyway, much like the villagers. Well, there is a part of him that did like her, Sakura is beautiful after all, and he would never forget that little pink-haired girl who smiled at him before she was warped in the population's opinion of him. But that part was also why he knows that he can never be with her, so it's better out this way.
That doesn't stop him from dreaming about her from time to time, though. The Sakura in his dream was just as pretty as she was in reality, her long pink hair free dancing with the wind, her lips were smiling and her eyes on him was that of a warm and loving look. Sometimes, he dreamt of her as his wife, he was the Hokage, and she was a strong kunoichi. They had a mansion as a house and lived happy with little pink and blond haired kids. Sometimes, he is a powerful shinobi coming to her rescue from the evil enemy when no one can. Or occasionally, it's them on a date, sitting under the sunset, talking, laughing and sharing a kiss with each other. That dream is simple, but he likes it the most. Because the feeling in it is more real than others, it is what he always wished in reality.
Like right now, she is sitting in his bed, leaning a bit towards him, her eyes have that loving look, and her hand lightly brushed some hair off his forehead.
"Good morning, Naruto." She smiled and filled his chest with a feeling of happiness, something that he didn't feel often. Yes, it is a nice dream indeed. He must have said that out loud because Sakura laughed and said: "It's not a dream, Naruto."
Right, like he hasn't heard it before.
"Don't believe me? How about this?" She said and hit him "lightly" in the head, which is really hurt by the way.
"Itai… That hurt, Sakura-chan!" He shouted, any romantic feeling completely vanished. She only laughed harder. Damn, this must be the real Sakura-chan then. Wait, that means she is really sitting next to him, in his apartment, in his bed?
"AHHHH!" He yelled, and tried to get away from her. It ended up with him fallen out of bed.
"God, Naruto, you bakka. No need to be that surprised." Sakura continued to laugh.
"..Wh..What? Sakura-chan?" He asked from where he sat up in the floor. What in the name of ramen is going in here?
"Yup, it's me." Sakura nodded, somehow she had stopped laughing. However, she was still smiling though.
"How…what…why?" He stuttered, trying to find the right questions for this situation. But since this had never happened before, or maybe he was just too surprised, he couldn't find it. Luckily, Sakura understood perfect of he wanted.
"Well, I want to share my breakfast with you so I came here. Since the door was unlocked, I get it easy. You should lock it next time by the way." Sakura started to say. "You were sleeping, I couldn't help it, and you look so cute. I can't understand why I didn't see it before."
He blushes at that. This was the first time someone complimented him about his looks, and that someone was Sakura no less. Wow, the god out there must really, really like him today.
"Anyways, when you wake up and start to think I'm a dream, I just feel like hitting you. And…well, I did just that." Sakura finished, a little embarrassed at what she did.
Naruto sweat dropped at this. 'That is so like Sakura-chan...' thought Naruto, then he shook his head to clean his thoughts before asking.
"So... Why are you here then? You never... I mean not that I don't like you here, but... Don't you hate me?" Naruto stopped for a moment when he sees the flinch that rippled almost violently through Sakura's body. The guilt in her eyes was real and painful. But why? It made no sense for him.
Just as soon as the emotions came, it's disappeared just as fast. Sakura smiled again at Naruto before saying.
"A lot of things had happened to me yesterday, but it also opened my eyes to this world. I realized what a fool I was, and I want to change that. Starting with you, Naruto. I'm sorry for all the wrong things I did in the past. Will you let me fix my mistakes?" Sakura said with as much honesty as she could put in her voice, never breaking eye contact with Naruto. Years of fighting by his side in the war had let Sakura get to know the real Naruto buried up under that cheerful personality, and she wanted nothing more than to have his trust, to pull the real him out. She wanted her Naruto back.
To say Naruto was surprised was not enough. He was shocked, he was... was... What wasthat word again? Naruto couldn't find it. Never in his life has anyone (minus the old man Hokage, Iruka and the people at Ichiraku ramen) even given him anything other than the cold treatment, much less apologize to him. This is unreal, yet it was happening right now in front of him. And he knows Sakura would not lie to him, her eyes told as much. A whirlwind of emotions and thoughts swum around in his head.
After a solid full minute of silence, Naruto finally let out a chuckle, then a full laughter after that. Sakura was confused until he looks at her and grinned.
"Let start out again. I'm Uzumaki Naruto, future Hokage. Nice to meet you." Naruto held out his hand.
"Nice to meet you, Naruto. I'm Haruno Sakura, future best kunoichi." Sakura grinned too as she took his hand after a moment of hesitate. They grinned at each other for a few seconds before letting go.
"Ne~ does this mean you agreed to go out with me, Sakura-chan?" asked Naruto.
"No, Naruto. Stop dreaming."
==8==
The next chapter will about their week before the genin exam, I'll try to bring it up soon, not promise anything though :).
See that box down there, write a few words in it, then click the blue button that said "Post Review". It doesn't take much time, so please do it, will you? I would love to see what everyone think about this chapter very much. Thank you all for reading and review, favorite and follow this story.
