Chapter 7: The Shattered Glass

Naruto wasn't sure was motivated him more. The fact that the sacred, super-important crystal orb was lost in a mailbox, or the string of curses and violent possibilities that flew of Sasuke Uchiha and Sakura Haruno's mouths as they chased him there. At last, the trio reached the mailbox.

Naruto hurried to it and retched in open. He grabbed fistfulls of mail and threw them out. Sakura caught one floating in mid-air and examined the envleope.

"Ino? Ino's been writing to you?" She said angrily, and the letter was snatched out of her hands by Sasuke, who just thre it to the ground himself, anyway.

"Would you two mind you own business and quit recking my mailbox. Move!" He shoved Naruto aside and looked himself.His hand hit the end of the mailbox, and he growled.

"Gone," he said in a dangerously low tone.

"That makes no sense! There was no adress on it so how could it have be mailed?" Sakura exclaimed.

"You think someone took it?" asked Naruto.

"There no way we can find it now, thanks to you," Sasuke said coldly, glaring at Naruto. Naruto crossed his arms.

"No, I know how we can find it! We'll just find that crazy old bat again and ask her where it is!"

"How the hell would she know where it is?" Sakura boomed at his stupid idea.

"Well-!" Naruto defended himself best he could, but a bit indignantly. He pouted like a child. "Well she should know! She's like-magic or something! It's our only hope, we have no leads to who took it! I'm sure she'd know!" It was true. In his heart, he was almost positive Madame Mokoko would know.

"Yeah, well, I don't suppose you know where she is!" Sakura said, again angrily. The other two looked at her curiously, as she seemed to be her old self again. They didn't know if that was a relief or not...

"She's in the nextoutpost town over," Sasuke said in a falsely nonchalant way.

"How can you be so sure?" The pink kunoichi questioned.

"Do you think that all the stuff in the fair just comes to Konoha? No, it moves around. It should be in the next outpost town of-"

"Of Ebtsutu!" Naruto finished. For a moment, he was hopeful.

"We have until tonight," Sakura commented dryly. "You really think we'll make that deadline?"

"We have to try." Naruto would not be deterred. He was so sure that the next visioin would have the answers..."

They three were pretty suspiciousas they dashed from the Konoha gates. Before that, Sakura went through mysterious means to obtain a pass that she waved in the air so that they got through, unquestioned. When asked about it, she refused to say anything.

"I got it, that's all that matters, alright?" she barked back.

Within a half-hour, they reahced the outpost town Sasuke was talking about, Ebtsutu. Sakura was actually surprised to see carnival lights and decorations and streamers exploding around the town. Hope filled her again, and the searched for the Fortune Teller's Tent. It wasn't too hard, except that twice naruto stumbled in the wrong one. The Wrongs ones happened to be an all-you-can eat buffet (Sakura had to practically pry Naruto out) and a brothel (In which Naruto was thrown out).

At last they came upton the famillair tent, with the bobbing orang lanterns swinging omniously above them. Naruto reached out a hand and opened the flap. He disappeared in. Sakura and Sasuke followed.

Even Sasuke's sharp eyes took a while to adjust to the unpleasent dimness inside the tent. It was more eerie than before, and he felt Sakura's hand slip on his and squeeze. The dark haired boy advanced foward indifferently, until Sakura hand fell and a mystical voice boomed in front of him.

"Behold! You enter the ten of Lady-"

"Skip it, lady, we know it all!" Naruto said. There was a shocked pause, and the lights flickered on and an old, odd woman adjusted her large glasses.

"Ah yes, it's you." Naruto was to busy trying to blink the light spots out of his eyes from the sudden change of light to reply.

"Y-you were expecting us?" Sakura's thin voice implored. The old woman, garnished with clanking and rattling jewels, nodded and clasped her hands.

"Lady Laokomu knows all," she smiled.

"Wait- you aren't Madame Mokoko?!" Naruto cried, still rubbing his eyes.

"No, I am. I change my name every town I visit. I don't like pursuers." Naruto narrowed his eyes.

"Well, we have a favor."

"Mmm hmm," Lady Laokomu reponded knowingly. She reached under her desk and pulled out something that made them gasp. In her hands were the very same crystal ball they were sure they had lost! The devil-ish smiled Lady Laokomu was wearing was very daunting.

"But-! But why do you have it! What a rip-off! A hoax!" Naruto shouted indignantly, pointing a finger at her.

"The Crystal Orb always comes back to it's true master," she said.

"And I bet you want us to pay to get it back," Sasuke asked.

"No," she said surprisingly. "Actually, I didn't expect you to come looking for it. When it returns itself to me I sell it to another interested soul." All three sweat-dropped.

Naruto thought.

"So give it back!" The blond demanded. "That's a rip-off!"

"You're the ones who lost it, hm?"

"It was all Naruto's fault! It won't ever happen again," Sakura said quickly. Lady Laokomu handed off the ball to Naruto.

"I expect to see you again, soon," she said. They thanked her and eagerly left the tent. It surprised them how dark the sky had become; time seemed so indefinite inside that orange lantern tent. And now, they hurried to a secluded spot where the crystal ball would show them another vision.

Somewhere between Konoha and Ebitsutu, they found a nice, lonely clearing. It was small and shdy, but open to the sky with a few large rocks protruding upwards. Each sat themselves on the largest one, and placed a hand on the now glowing orb. It became brighter and brighter, and with the blink of an eye they where in the village.

"Asuka! Asuka, where are you going?" asked a blonde girl about the same age as the child.

"To the Hokage's office, I'll be right back!"

"Oh, okay." The blond girl didn't think it was strange at all that her friend was heading there.

Flash.

"You're finished," an older Sasuke growled, and raced towards his elder brother, who stood still.

Flash.

"I would like to now present the award for Most Outstanding Medical Achievements in the Village Hidden in the Leaves," A man was saying before a great crowd in a building they have never seen. "The award goes to... Sakura Haruno!"

Flash.

The small pink haired girl reached out a hand and knocked a few times on the door that said Hokage's Office.

"Come in," a deep voice said. The girl pushed open the door and-

CRASH!

Naruto and Sasuke jolted back into reality upoen hearing a startling crash. Shards of glistening glass where scattered all over the ground and was panting with her eyes squeezed shut. Dumbfounded was hardly the word. Neither Sasuke or Naruto could will any words to rise from their dry throats.

Sakura, however, leapt to her feet.

"I broke it! I couldn't stand it! What if..." She gazed at the broken pieces that were once the crystal ball. Her green eyes were reflected back at her.

"I'm sure I did the right thing," she concluded, but still couldn't face the others. Naruto mouth was hanging open, and there was a blank look in Sasuke's eyes. Finally, he stirred.

"You broke it..." It was a statement.

"Yes, and now we can all break out of it's spell!" she said, snapping her fingers in front of Naruto's eyes. "What's the point of living if you alreayd know what's going to happen, huh? Like telling the ending to a book! Right? Right?" She aimed this more towards Naruto, who was just completely speechless.

"Right before she opened the Hokage's door," he said at last, hoarsely. He swallowed.

"We're telling Lady Laokomu what I did, then returning to normal life. Let's go." She began to lead the way, but not for the reasons she pretended. As sure as she sounded, she hadn't meant to break the Orb. She panicked, and threw it. And she wasn't sure what the other's reactions would be, so she walked faster, fearing Sasuke's wrath and Naruto's disappointment. And those reactions were there, she just refused to look at them as the two boys followed her back, fuming.