Summary: As everything she had ever known is turned upside down, Sakura strikes out with her newly founded team in a perilous time when friend and foe alike can become complications. AU. MultiSaku. Sakura centric. SakuraHarem. Sequel to "no good gift (goes unpunished)." Multi-chaptered.
Pairing(s): SakuraxNaruto, SakuraxSasuke, SakuraxSai, SakuraxGaara, SakuraxDeidara, SakuraxSasori, SakuraxKisame, SakuraxItachi, SakuraxHidan, SakuraxKakuzu, SakuraxTobi, SakuraxMadara, SakuraxPein, KakashixSakura, KibaxSakura, ChojixSakura, ShikamaruxSakura, HakuxSakura, ZabuzaxSakura, LeexSakura, NejixSakura, ZetsuxSakura, KimimaroxSakura, KabutoxSakura, ShinoxSakura, SuigetsuxSakura, JugoxSakura, ShisuixSakura, IzunaxSakura, KotetsuxSakura, IzumoxSakura, GenmaxSakura, KonohamaruxSakura, YamatoxSakura, BxSakura, CxSakura, DaruixSakura, MenmaxSakura, JiraiyaxTsunade, OrochimaruxTsunade, (implied) AxTsunade
Genre: Adventure/Romance/Friendship/Humor/Angst
Warnings: some cursing (they are teenagers!), general OOC-ness, dark and sometimes suggestive themes
Notes: Alright, so shit is about to get real. I just want to say in advance that people change, not always for the better. I'm pretty sure that some of you are going to be upset with what is going to happen in this chapter but hey, it's all important to the plot. Sometimes people have to break to become better and stronger.
Chapter Summary: In which Sakura gets physical; there's an empty seat; Sasuke makes poor decisions (to no one's great surprise); and an old friend reappears.
"the gifted and i"
Of Insight & Inner-Personas
-8/26-
Captivity was boring, Sakura decided. She was completely unable to tell if it was day or night as time passed slowly. She also wasn't sure how many days it had been since Tenten's betrayal. It would be hell to adjust when she got out. If she got out.
So, she'd fallen into something of a routine. Sleep, wake, think and eat. It was a quiet and monotonous life and Sakura knew many of her skills were being lost in the complacency of everyday life. She did her utmost to work out and stay in peak condition, but there was little else she could do. Her muscles were in decent shape, but the Gift-inhibitors glowed up at her tauntingly at all times. Meals were the highlight of her day, as it was the only time that she had any form of human contact.
Menma had quickly become a new, but steadfast friend. He was funny, engaging and charming, but best of all he understood that Sakura sometimes needed to just eat a meal in silent contemplation. Every meal, without fail, the two would end up intertwining their hands. It was an intimate form of companionship and if it had happened before her capture Sakura would feel embarrassed and wary. She did not dole out such intimate, pseudo-romantic gestures often. However, now she was desperate for friendship and touch from any source, despite the fact that she had yet to see Menma's face.
Like clockwork, the door sprang open. Sakura, eager for human contact, practically bounded through the door, making her way to her seat with practiced ease. She plopped down, smiling when she heard Menma's greeting from the other side of the room. Sakura ate the food quickly, left hand already seeking out Menma's own. She hid a smile with a bite of food when she felt his warm, calloused hand wrap around her own.
Simple human contact meant a lot to her right now. Sakura twined their fingers together, trying, once again, to decipher Menma's facial features. The room was much too dark to see in and Sakura gave up with a sigh. Her fingers lingered over the cool metal of the chains that pinned him.
"What'd we do to deserve this, Menma?" Sakura asked softly, feeling utterly miserable and useless.
She could feel his shrug under her fingertips. "Some of us have all the luck," he replied, his voice equally as quiet and solemn.
"How long have you been here?" she questioned sympathetically, trailing her fingers over his roughened palm.
"Long as I can remember," Menma said, affecting for a casual tone that honestly came across brittle. This place had obviously left its mark on him.
Sakura inhaled sharply. "They've had you your whole life? How have you survived?"
Menma once again shrugged. "Life's always been like that for me. They pull me out, prod me, test me, force me to my limits and take down results but…" he hesitated. "All of that was put on halt when you got here. In fact, I didn't start eating in this room `til you arrived. They used to bring the food to me."
Sakura's brow furrowed. "But that means…" she trailed off, horrified by the thought that just crossed her mind.
"That means?" Menma prompted, rubbing his thumb over the hollow of her wrist.
Sakura jerked her hand away as if burned. "I-I've got to go!" she exclaimed, running back to her own room without a glance back at her only friend in this hell.
Sasuke glanced over at his silent and furious team as they walked through the airport. Everyone was on edge and no one was willing to say why.
"Ah," Kakashi spoke finally, glancing up at the sign. "This is our terminal. We have about a thirty minute wait for our flight. Get some rest."
They all headed over to the seats, plopping down casually. Sasuke tensed when he saw the space left empty between himself and Sai. That was where she sat on missions. Naruto glanced at the empty space, eyes misting over with bitter tears. He quickly laid an arm over his eyes, feigning sleep. Sasuke gracefully ignored it, knowing that he couldn't insult Naruto around the sudden lump in his throat anyway.
No one moved to fill the seat. No one said anything about the empty chair.
It wouldn't have felt right for any of them to take her seat. After all, who could fill the role that Sakura Haruno did? She was the peacemaker of the team, always ready and willing to step in when their fights got too rough. Sakura had no qualms about arguing with any of them either, always ready to combat Naruto for his foolhardiness, Sasuke for his arrogance, Sai for his social ineptness, and Kakashi for his love of pornography. Sakura never turned her back on any of her teammates though, even when she was angry with them. She displayed a level of love and openness that none of them had ever found before in their lives.
In turn, they did their best to shield her from harm and show her their affections in their own ways. Sai often drew her beautiful pictures of landscapes and faraway places that Sakura decorated her room with. Naruto never failed to share his ramen with her, even if it was his last box and he always had a warm hug ready and waiting for her. Sasuke displayed his care by gifting her with practical and oftentimes expensive weaponry and scrolls to be used on missions. Kakashi always took the time to bring her new techniques she could learn and utilize or rare trinkets that he found on solo missions. Each of them expressed their love in a unique way and Sakura always understood and accepted it unflinchingly.
And now, she was gone, and there was a gaping chasm where she should be.
Sasuke clenched his fists, ignoring the way that his own eyes were misting over. "I'm going to grab a drink," he grunted roughly.
"Don't tarry too long," Kakashi said, voice rough with sentiment as he looked at the empty seat. Sasuke's stomach twisted.
Sasuke stood up and strode away after the team nodded. He ground his teeth as he passed by the individuals who had decided to join them on their trip. B and C were standing casually, but Sasuke knew that they felt unwelcomed to share in Team Seven's grief. A had decided that, in a magnanimous gesture of good will, that two of his most gifted and skilled students would be joining them. Sasuke understood the politics behind the move well enough from his time in the clan. A wanted his own eyes and ears involved in the situation that was soon to boil over back in the Konoha sector. Since A himself couldn't leave Kumo unguarded, he had to settle for some of his agents.
Sasuke made his way out of the terminal, checking his stride and making sure to look as inconspicuous as possible. He had to be for what he was planning on pulling off. He made his way over to a bathroom and quickly and systematically removed his belt and other tracking devices from his person. If he thought too hard about this decision, Sasuke knew he would regret it.
With nary a wince, Sasuke yanked out one of his back teeth, the tooth that was marked with the Uchiha crest and had a homing device inside. He stared down at the uchiwa fan with a sad look on his face. His mother would hate him for what he was about to do. With a pulse of his lightning affinity, Sasuke overpowered the small device, frying it. He threw it in the trash along with the rest. He was shedding the past and moving on. Sasuke pulled out his phone and swiped it open. He dialed the number, the taste of blood and bile acidic in the back of his throat.
No going back now.
"Kabuto, how quickly can you get a car here?"
Sakura paced her room in a frenzy, hands gripping her hair in annoyance. The fading muddy brown locks fell into her eyes, irritating her all the more. She hated the hair dye; she hated this mission; she hated the Gift-inhibitors, but most of all she hated the Council.
Her cheeks flushed; a mixture of intense embarrassment and acute rage. "How…how dare they!" she snarled.
Sakura turned, flopping onto the bed with nary a sound. She groaned, loud and low. She couldn't believe the audacity of the Council's actions. Wait, no she could, which honestly made the entire situation even worse. Her arm came up to cover her eyes, the bright red glowing screen of the inhibitor taunting her.
Ever since she had arrived at the Academy those many years ago, she hadn't had any peace of mind. Sakura had been constantly harassed and heckled, whether the source was rogue organizations, meddling clans or, worst of all, the Konoha Council itself. Everyone in the Gifted world, it seemed, wanted a piece of her. The Academy wanted her for her valuable Gifts, but everyone else it seemed wanted her one purpose and one purpose only.
Brood mare.
Sakura blanched, absolutely disgusted. She did not desire to be a mere tool in anyone's game, especially if the game was one of breeding. Sakura had known for quite some time that there were many people in the Gifted world interested in her, not because of her abilities or Gifts, but for the progeny she might produce. After all, what if she had girls who inherited the Gift from her? Sakura herself was an anomaly and many were banking on the idea that she herself might have some special gene that she could pass on, thus revitalizing the Gifted community's female population.
Sakura privately thought the idea had little merit. She was, after all, an anomaly, born to two unGifted individuals with no history whatsoever in the Gifted world and she, by some odd quirk, managed to manifest her own Gifts. Personally, Sakura, with all of the research she had done in the area, did not believe that any children she had would inherit the Gifted gene from her.
Still, she had dedicated her life, mind and her body to the Academy. Sakura was a giver and she had given and given and given. What more could she give? She'd sacrificed so much for her life among the Gift community and this was her recompense? Locked away in a room, only allowed to leave to meet with her…candidate?
Up until this point, Sakura hadn't understood the meaning behind being locked away in this cage with only Menma as her company. Now however, with the information that Menma had inadvertently given her, Sakura knew exactly what the Council was playing for. She shook her head with a sneer. It was a seriously half-assed attempt. The Council had put her in a room with no explanation and only allowed her to have contact with a complete stranger who she couldn't even see. Did they really expect something to come of it? Sakura shook off the uneasiness that filled her when she thought of the way that she so easily and desperately sought out physical contact with Menma. It was normal to want to touch someone and make sure that they were real and not a mere figment of the imagination.
She hadn't seen her parents since joining the Academy. She'd been told, upon arrival that they were welcome to visit anytime that they wished, but she personally could not leave the premises. They never did. So, Sakura had written letter after letter to her parents in the hopes of one day having them reply. They never did. Finally, a letter arrived from the same address and Sakura, at thirteen years old, had been overjoyed. The letter had, however, been from the new residents of the address and they had kindly but firmly asked that no more letters be sent their way. Sakura had complied, never telling her friends why her eyes were red and swollen for the following week.
Sakura couldn't help but wonder how different her life would be if she'd turned out normal, if she hadn't been the anomaly that she was. Would she be in high school, frantically preparing herself for college? Sakura shook her head, knowing better than to follow that rabbit trail. It would lead only to further pain and disappointment.
Sakura pressed her hands into her eyes, rubbing circles and vindictively reminding herself just how bad it was for her body to do so. What did she care? She was trapped here and there were so few people she could trust. Everyone she knew continued to betray her and let her down in some way. Between losing so many of the Academy's students to Akatsuki's defection from the school without care for those around them to Tenten's calculated decision to hand her over to the Council, Sakura was sick of feeling her heart break.
The Gifted world had been nothing but a pain to her since she'd first entered the Academy. Yes, she had made many friends and grown, but the constant betrayals and backstabbing were whittling away at Sakura's very tender heart. She couldn't take anymore without either becoming very bitter or letting her heart turn callous. Sakura chose the latter.
There was only one person she could trust: herself. Everyone else had managed to disappoint her.
Sakura rolled over curling into a ball and entering into a meditative state.
There was someone she needed to speak with.
Naruto drummed his fingers across his leg, more than slightly antsy. Though he had not had too much experience with airports, the memories of the last time he'd been there were not helping to inspire a sense of calm. In fact, Naruto's anxiety was maxed out as his gaze darted around the crowded terminal at random, reading their faces, expressions and body mannerisms. Anyone could be an enemy.
"Where's the bastard?" he asked, drawing the irritated glances of his teammates and their unwanted companions.
"Calm down Naruto," Kakashi sighed, bringing his book back up to read, disinterested and unamused by Naruto's unrest. "You know that the unGifted really like Starbucks; Sasuke's probably in line waiting."
Naruto scoffed, hunching over in his seat with a pout. He fidgeted, watching his teammates. Kakashi was reading his disgusting but habitual porn while Sai was sketching. Naruto frowned. He knew that they were both trying to cope with Sakura's disappearance, but seriously? Naruto wondered what Sakura would do in their place. He sure as hell knew she wouldn't be sitting around pathetically; she'd be out in the field raising hell for those who dared to touch her precious people.
Naruto groaned, digging the heels of his hands into his eyes before standing abruptly. "I'm gonna join Sasuke," he stated aggressively, looking at his companions, daring them to tell him not to.
"By all means," Kakashi said drily, turning the page of his book.
Naruto tucked his hands heavily in his pockets, before heading away.
Sakura looked around the monochromatic landscape with interest. "Huh," she said quietly. "And here I thought the sky was red here...I guess that was Tsukuyomi's influence."
Sakura began moving, surprised by how barren the landscape happened to be. There was literally nothing, aside from a barely defined line between the "sky" and the "ground." She walked, on and on, for what could have been hours on end or a mere few seconds. Time did not exist here.
After all, this was her mind.
Finally, Sakura stopped, plopping herself onto the ground with a huff. "And here I thought that I might actually have something in my brain."
"It's not your brain," a voice replied helpfully.
"Inner?" Sakura asked, whirling around. The monochromatic version of herself was nowhere to be seen. Sakura threw her head back against the ground. "I'm going crazy," she muttered to herself.
"No," the disembodied voice replied. "You just aren't going about this the right way."
"So what should I do?" Sakura questioned, frustrated.
The voice didn't reply.
By this point, Sakura was beyond frustrated. "She kicked the grey-toned ground in anger. "Would it kill for there to be some color in my mind?"
Suddenly, color bled into the environment all around her. The ground, (No, the grass! she declared to herself gleefully), was the most vibrant green she'd ever seen. The sky seemed to be caught in a glorious, endless sunset. Sakura caught her breath involuntarily. It was beautiful, more beautiful and indescribable than anything she'd ever seen. It seemed somehow familiar. Yet, at the same time, it seemed…off.
Puzzled, Sakura plucked a blade of grass twirling it through her fingers. "Where is she?" she asked quietly, staring at the grass and trying to piece everything together. It was just so confusing.
"Where is who?" the voice replied from right beside her, sounding amused.
Sakura whirled around in surprise, overjoyed when she caught sight of her own features played back to her in neutral tones. She was really looking rather rough. "Inner!" Sakura declared. "What is this place?"
Inner Sakura shrugged. "It is what you make it. This is your mindscape."
Sakura glanced down at the grass still fisted in her hands then up at the oranges and pinks of the sunset. "I did this?" she asked uncertainly.
"Yup," Inner replied, popping the "p" loudly. "You asked for color so you got color. If you ask for a chair, your mindscape will give you a chair."
"Wow," Sakura said faintly. "Why does it seem so…wrong?"
"Hm?" Inner Sakura looked around them. "Oh, if you mean the colors, it's because these are unfiltered by your senses and environment. What you perceive in the outside world is polluted, but here, in the mindscape, everything is undiluted. Each of these colors is the purest it can be, which is probably why it seems saturated and wrong to you."
Sakura nodded, still reeling from the overload of knowledge. "So, I made this place up?"
Inner Sakura shook her head. "Not exactly. You have the ability to imagine anything and everything you want in your mindscape, but human beings are limited. You don't have ability to create something without pulling inspiration from something else. Humans just don't possess the capacity to create something out of nothing. My guess is that as this is your first time in the mindscape, you were influenced by your emotions when you conjured up this design. What were you thinking about?"
"I was…looking for shelter; for safety," Sakura replied, embarrassed by her perceived weakness.
Inner merely shook her head. "Sakura, it isn't weakness to seek out help." At Sakura's surprised glance, Inner scoffed. "I'm in your head; that gives me privy to the things you experience."
"Can you read my thoughts?" Sakura queried, slightly wary of the idea of a being, no matter how benign, knowing everything about her.
"Sort of?" Inner Sakura said with a shrug. "Not really. I can generally pick up on some of your stream of consciousness-" At Sakura's confused look, she clarified, "I can usually hear at least a portion your meandering thoughts, the unconscious thoughts that you have throughout the day. Thoughts that you consciously ponder? Hell no. I know that it works a bit both ways as you've picked up on my stream of consciousness a few times…" she trailed off, embarrassed, before rallying. "You know, some of your more violent proclivities may have resulted from my thought stream."
Sakura released a startled laugh. "I think that I already had a bit of a tendency toward violence."
Inner Sakura laughed as well, relieved that Sakura wasn't freaking out. Though, considering her rough introduction to the Gifted community, there was probably little that got to her. "Well, to get back on track, you were thinking about finding safety…what's the first memory that comes to mind when you think of protection?"
Without warning, the mindscape shifted. Sakura clutched her head, dizzied by the radical shift. By the time the mindscape had stopped spinning there were five more figures with them.
"It's-" Sakura cut herself off, confused.
"Yeah," Inner Sakura continued, watching with interest as the scene started to play out. She'd seen this one before, what seemed to be a long time ago. "It's you."
Naruto edgily strode toward the nearest Starbuck's, eyes alert and weaving through the crowd, always prepared. He could feel his Gift flare at the thought of a fight but he tamped it down, frowning. Naruto's Gift had always been rather volatile and in childhood had an embarrassing propensity to manifest as red tails of all things, but it had never been like this. It felt like his Gift was about to burst from within him, boiling over in raw, pure energy.
Naruto scowled, placing a hand to his stomach and doing his best to focus. While he was the lousiest of Team Seven at meditation, he did know a trick or two thanks to the others needing him to stay calm on recon and surveillance missions. He took a deep breath, centering himself and imagining his Gift as a tangible being. Naruto pictured the large, red beast and took his hands and shoved it deep down within him. With a sigh of relief, he continued on, shaking his head slightly at the odd feeling.
Whatever, he had more things to worry about.
Mind back on task, Naruto scanned the customers at Starbuck's, finding no sign of Sasuke. He double and triple checked to make sure. No Sasuke. Naruto curled his hands into fists, before taking a deep breath. No problem, he'd give him a ring.
Naruto pulled the cell phone out and quickly punched in Sasuke's number. When an automated voice declaring that the number was disconnected came up, Naruto allowed himself to start to worry. He stuffed his hands into his pockets, at a loss as to what to do.
Suddenly, his phone rang. Quickly, he yanked out the phone, answering the call without checking the ID. "Sasuke?" he demanded angrily.
"No, Naruto, this is Mikoto Uchiha. I tried getting in touch with Sakura, but she wasn't answering," the feminine voice replied.
"Hey, Mrs. Uchiha!" Naruto declared, feeling dread pool in the pit of his stomach. "What can I do for you?"
"Well, it's just the funniest thing," she replied without a hint of levity in her voice. "But Sasuke's specially made Uchiha tracker has just been terminated. Do you know why?" Her voice was hard.
Naruto's stomach plummeted. Sasuke had told the team about the tracker before, in the midst of griping about family affairs. It had replaced one of his back teeth and was very difficult to remove. Very few people outside of the Uchiha clan knew about its existence.
"I'll call you back, Mrs. Uchiha," Naruto stated, distantly surprised and impressed that his voice didn't quiver or shake. "Something's come up."
He hung up the phone before turning and pelting back in the direction he'd come.
It seemed to take forever to make it back to the correct terminal. He skidded to a stop, panting. Noticing the lack of their other teammate and the current dishevel about the present one, Kakashi closed his book and Sai stopped drawing, a pucker forming between his brows.
"Guys," Naruto fairly growled. "We've got a problem."
Sakura gaped at the scene playing out before her, feeling and ignoring the familiar prick of tears. She was on the rooftop of the Academy with her newly minted team, the same day they were all selected to work together. Sakura bounded to her feet, preparing to dash over but checked herself and crumbled in upon herself for a moment, despair crushing in around her. "They can't see me, can they?"
Inner Sakura watched her with worry. "No, they cannot," she rejoined sadly. "I'm sorry."
Sakura moved closer, feeling the warmth of the tiles of the roof seep into her bare feet. The sun hit her face and Sakura gasped at the true feeling of heat. It all seemed so real. "How can I see myself?" Sakura asked, confused. "After all, I was the observer in this memory."
Inner Sakura smiled. "The mind is a very funny thing isn't it? The thing is, you don't see things with just your body." At Sakura's quizzical look, she continued, "Your Gift is constantly 'seeing' things for you. It's how you're able to sense other people. Your Gift permeates a certain radius, maybe a mile around you. So you absorb information unconsciously with it." She paused for a moment, chuckling. "Your mind is also very good at filling in the gaps in memory as well."
Sakura nodded, transfixed by, well, herself. She was sitting on the edge of the roof, talking and laughing with Kakashi as her teammates fought in the background over what appeared to be a bar of chocolate. Right, Sakura thought, we celebrated with contraband s'mores. Izumo and Kotetsu gave me the ingredients. "How long ago was this?" Sakura asked quietly.
"Three or so months," Inner Sakura replied.
Sakura sighed, running a hand through her hair. "She looks so…innocent, guileless. Like there's nothing in the world that could bring her down and break her." Inner Sakura gave her a worried look. Sakura ignored it, laughing bitterly, staring at the sunset that her memory-self was watching with a bright smile. "She has no idea what's coming. The people who will betray her trust, again and again and again. How used and worthless she'll feel…and to know that it's only been three months since she…since I was that idealistic…" Sakura cut herself off, crying now.
She wanted her teammates, wanted that security that she had felt on the roof when she knew nothing about her upcoming trials. Sakura desperately wanted to feel that idealism again, the very same idealism that had resulted in many, many betrayals.
Sakura felt oddly cold arms wrap around her in a cruel mockery of what she sought. This, more than anything else, was what grounded Sakura. After all, there was no going back and absolutely no use in dwelling on the past. Finally, with a shuddering sigh, Sakura lifted her damp eyes to Inner Sakura.
Inner had a disconcerted and slightly guilty expression on her face. "There's something we need to talk about."
Sakura nodded, watching as the joyful scene faded away completely, the monochromatic scheme back in place along with a simple, white table and two chairs.
Most of all, Sakura just wanted to be whole again.
-8/26-
Complete
-8/26
So, it's important to note that the two storylines are currently on different time frames. Sakura is, technically ahead of the rest of Team Seven, seeing as only a few days have passed for them. Sakura, on the other hand, has been captive for weeks. Thankfully the time lines will merge in future chapters.
Sorry for the long hiatus, I got interested in other fandoms but I haven't abandoned this story!
Which Hidden Village would you like to visit in Naruto?
-jay
