x. Dilemmas
Sakura's browed furrowed together, her eyes straining against the fire's dim glow to see the pages of her journal. She began writing:
April 14—
Things I can remember:
a dark forest
strange, black tattoo's on Sasuke's face
giant monster made of sands
Sasuke from the future –
She paused, her pencil hesitating by the last word: "future." It sounded even more farfetched when she wrote it out. Her lips pressed together into a hard line as she deliberated on erasing the entire entry.
Kakashi's voice cut through her thoughts. "I didn't know you kept a diary."
She looked up to where her teacher sat across the campfire. They had been traveling all day, and Kakashi wasn't as sprightly as he used to be. He was rolling out the stiffness in his shoulders, wincing every time the bone cracked in the socket. Naruto and Sasuke had left to catch dinner from the nearby stream. It was just Sakura, Kakashi, and the invisible choir of crickets.
"It's not really a diary," Sakura said. "I'm trying to keep track of what I can remember."
"Ah, you mean your memories from the future."
"Well…yeah…I guess…" Sakura muttered, feeling as if she were admitting that she believed monsters were under her bed. She dropped her gaze, her green eyes considering her handwriting. It was night, and the cool air that settled around them carried the dark scent of damp soil and leaves.
"Sensei?" She asked after a long time.
"Hmmm?" Kakashi answered distractedly, having moved on to working out the cricks in his neck.
"Do you think I'm crazy?"
"Well," Kakashi said as he tilted his head to one side. A series of loud pops escaped from his vertebrae. He sighed in relief. "Taking into account that you can't say much about the future, the story is difficult to believe. There are two likely answers." Kakashi held up his pointer figure. "The first: you're clinically insane."
Sakura forced herself to nod in acknowledgement. The same speculation had been gnawing away at the edges of her thought like an unwelcome rodent— the possibility that she may just be loosing her mind. "And number two?" She asked, hoping the answer would be slightly more optimistic.
Kakashi's lifted another finger. "Number two, is that your memory loss is a result of your moving into a different branch of time."
"A different branch of time?"
Kakashi dropped his hands and nodded. "Most people tend to envision time as a linear event. If we were to use this model, and think of the future—the future that you come from—as 'B' and the current time as 'A,' then you would have moved backwards in a straight line from 'B' to 'A,'" Kakashi explained as his pointer finger drew an invisible line across the air. "Some people suggest that time might even be a closed loop," he said as his finger lazily whirled, tracing circles.
"Then, I shouldn't have lost my memories," Sakura observed.
"Right," Kakashi nodded, inwardly grateful it was one of his brighter students who had warped through the space-time continuum. God knows what explaining this to Naruto would have been like. "But what if time resembled more the branches of a tree, instead of a straight line?"
Sakura's brows furrowed. "The branches of a tree?"
Kakashi picked up a stray stick from their pile of firewood and made his way around the fire. He crouched down next to Sakura and began to sketch something in the dirt. The flames crackled loudly in the silence as Sakura watched her teacher. He started with a straight line and went back to draw smaller lines coming out of it. Then to those smaller lines he added more lines, like the branches of a tree. "Now, using our last example, let's say that this is your future, 'B,'" he said as he wrote the letter 'B' at one end of the main line. "And this is the present you're at now, 'A,'" he continued as he wrote out 'A' at the other end of line. "All these points where the line branches off can be seen as places where you've made a decision. Let's just call them 'decision points' for clarity's sake." Sakura began to see where he was going with this.
Kakashi tapped the tip of his branch at the point labeled 'A.' "Let's say after you got blown back here, to the past 'A,' you are now moving forward again towards 'B,' your future." He began tracing his stick along the main line, and stopped when he hit a fork. "However, this time, you make a different choice, and instead of heading towards 'B,' your choices moves you to a new branch." The tip of his stick trailed one of the smaller auxiliary segments on the diagram. "Suddenly, you're getting farther and farther away from future 'B.'"
"And my memories between that 'decision point' and 'B' no longer exist," Sakura surmised.
"In a way, yes and no. This map that I've drawn is a very, very, simplified version of what I'm trying to explain. These decision points," Kakashi pointed to one of the forks again, "don't coincide with just 'major' decisions, but all decisions. For instance, let's say I have a choice between eating toast or having a bowl of cereal for breakfast. The me that chooses toast heads down one branch and the me that chooses cereal goes down another. Then these branches split off again, and again, and again. It's a permutation on an unfathomable scale. Do you see?"
"I think a little," Sakura said with her hand placed thoughtfully on her chin.
"This concept suggests that multiple realties lay parallel to one another. Your memories of the future haven't technically been destroyed, you've just moved onto a different branch."
"But why is it that I can still remember some bits and pieces then?" Sakura asked.
"Let's go back to my toast and cereal example," Kakashi said patiently. "Although the two different choices created two different realties, we can assume that both realities are headed in the same general direction, creating similar realties, and maybe even converge at certain points. In addition, the way I've drawn this diagram implies that these events are physically separated from one another, but who knows how these parallel realities are actually manifested. They might be completely separate from each other like this branch diagram. Or the realities may exist on similar planes, and you're actually very, very close to your parallel reality, in a physical manner of speaking. "
Sakura's brain was beginning to hurt. "How do you know so much Kakashi-sensei?"
"It's a teacher's job to know things," he replied lightly and mussed her hair affectionately. "You don't look very satisfied."
"Well…your explanation is great and all, but it assumes that I am from the future. What about possibility number one? That I'm actually just a total nut job?"
"That's easy: that monstrous strength of yours and the medical jutsu. Neither of which are skills you've demonstrated before, unless of course, you just purposefully wanted to keep your poor sensei in the dark."
"No that's …" Sakura trailed off. A beautiful woman with blonde hair and hawk-like eyes suddenly brushed against her thoughts. "Tsuande-sama," Sakura said softly to herself, as if reading the name off the dusty cover of a long forgotten book.
Kakashi smiled. He had figured as much. "There's a start. Maybe you can try remembering more about her. It may lead you to other pieces from the future." He leaned over and lightly tapped her open journal. "That and the night from the wave country."
Recognition flashed across Sakura's face. Of course! How could she have forgotten that night? She clapped the journal shut on her lap, buried her head in her hands, and moaned. "Kakashi-sensei, why am I so bad at this?" She despaired.
"Well, not everyone can be a prodigy at time traveling," Kakashi consoled.
"Sensei, I feel like you wouldn't have had too much of a problem," she replied sullenly.
If Kakashi had an answer, it was lost forever when Naruto's cheerful voice rang out from nearby. "Hey! Dinner time!" A few seconds later, he and Sasuke emerged from the shadows, holding a wet bag of cloth that was tied off at the top. Sakura noted that both boys were also thoroughly soaked, their teeth chattering as water dripped from their hair and face.
She stashed the black journal away in her pack, and hurriedly pulled out her towel. "What happened to you two? I thought you guys went fishing, not swimming."
"We did go fishing! See?" Naruto crouched to place the makeshift bag on the ground and untied it, revealing a small bounty of silver fish, their scales glinting against the dancing firelight. He then unzipped his jacket, peeling waterlogged material off of him. "It's just that there was this huuuuuuge monster of a shark—"
Naruto squawked with surprise as Sakura yanked the towel over his head with an unimpressed expression. "You fell in, didn't you?"
"Nuh-uh! That—"
His excuses deteriorated into muffled protests as Sakura began to rub his hair, perhaps a little too furiously.
Meanwhile, Sasuke shucked off his wet shirt and rooted around his pack for his own towel. Naruto had slipped and fell into the river, which had been fine by Sasuke, until the idiot had tried grabbing onto him for support, taking him down with him. Of course, this had resulted in a heated in the likes of "clumsy dumbass" and "selfish asshole."
Sasuke's hands grazed the bottom of his pack. He frowned and began pulling out items out one by one: an extra set of weapons, toiletries, a bottle of solider pills, some spare clothes, but his towel had yet to make an appearance.
"Sasuke-kun."
He looked over his shoulder. Sakura stood with a smile on her face, the towel hanging between her hands like a net. "Did you forget your towel?" She asked a little too sweetly.
His eyes shifted to Naruto, who sat with eyes spinning and hair looking as if he'd just been buffeted by hurricane-force winds.
"I'm fine," he muttered and turned away.
"Don't be silly Sasuke-kun, we wouldn't want you getting sick on a mission now," Sakura said.
Sasuke stiffened; she was standing right behind him. Before he could react, his field of view disappeared as she brought the damp towel down over his head.
"Hey!" He shouted angrily. He raised a hand, prepared to wrench her arm away when she began to rub the towel gently through his hair. He paused, his hand hesitantly wavering, unsure of what to do. Slowly, he lowered it, letting it drop to his side.
Sakura continued to work the towel through his hair. "About last night," she started carefully, testing the waters ahead. "I'm…sorry for lashing out at you. I was really tired and frustrated."
Sasuke's gaze unconsciously strayed to the ground, suddenly feeling as if he was backed against a wall.
"It's fine."
Silence closed in on them, but it was less charged than before. Wordlessly, he reached back and grabbed Sakura's wrist, pulling it away, though not unkindly. Taking a dry shirt, he stood up and nodded towards the fire where Kakashi had begun skewering the fish to roast. "Come on, it's time to eat."
Sakura smiled knowingly and followed after him.
Kakashi's face softened when Sakura sat herself down by Sasuke, relieved that he wouldn't have to play peacemaker between the two. He watched his students—Naruto burning his tongue on the too-hot fish, Sakura scolding the blonde, and Sasuke trying to appear as if he hadn't burned his tongue either— over the dancing flames, the mask hiding the shrinking edges of his smile.
He had remembered Sasuke's words in the forest.
"She suddenly started going on about how I'd kill her and accused me of leaving team seven, Kakashi, I think there's something wrong with her. She's crazy"
Although Kakashi would have never admitted it out loud, a few weeks back he would have been inclined to agree with the young Uchiha's assessment of Sakura. Well, crazy wasn't exactly the most positive choice of words word, but after happening upon his female student choking out Sasuke, he had been somewhat concerned by her mental state.
He was still worried, but now for different reasons.
"I'd kill her and accused me of leaving team seven."
Kakashi wondered: how prophetic could those words be?
.
.
.
Emerging from the eternal fog and backed by rolling hills carpeted in lush, green grass, Amakusa had long served as an important port city for the Fire Country. A jumble of dark, ancient buildings crowded against the narrow streets, which were alive with the busy hustle of merchant carts and travelers.
Sakura, Sasuke, and Naruto stood back against an old inn, transfixed by the traffic swarming around them, so different from their own villages' quieter pace. Kakashi himself had gone inside to get directions to the Tea Shop where they would be meeting their client, Murata-san. The three of them were cocooned in their traveling ponchos, having been greeted by a thick cover of mist upon their arrival. Apparently clear skies were few and far between here in Amakusa, the fog rising off the ocean perpetually trapped behind the barrier of hills. Sakura looked up, spotting a slice of the blank, gray sky peeking out between the rooftops.
"Man, this weather sucks," Naruto grumbled next to her, shaking out his hair with one hand. The mist had dusted his hair with a fine covering of dew.
Sakura reached over and pulled his hood over his head. "Hopefully, it'll be better out on the ocean."
"I doubt it," Sasuke said. "The East Sea isn't exactly famous for it's climate. And anyways, Kakashi did warn us."
"I know, but I still didn't think it'd be so…damp." Her mouth twisted into a little frown. "I wish I had brought warmer clothes."
Sasuke thought about the spare woolen sweater in his pack, but before he had the chance to even consider mentioning it, Kakashi stepped out of the inn.
"Kakashi-sensei!" Naruto perked. "Did you get directions?"
Their teacher nodded. "Let's go."
.
.
.
Like the rest of the old city, the teahouse was seeped with age, though it was far from being decrepit. Rather, it had grown stately with time's passage. Inside the wooden tables were well-worn but polished, and the handsome paneling on the wall quietly spoke of a long, distinguished history.
Sakura kept her hands wrapped around the beautiful clay teacup, it's uneven surface as black as night. The steam from her drink carried a light, fragrant scent—a characteristic found only in the highest quality teas. This was an expensive establishment, and across the table, their well-dressed client looked more than able to afford it.
Murata Isamu was a middle-aged man who, with his shrewd sense of business and a little bit of luck, had done exceedingly well as a ship merchant. Sakura noted the tiny flowers embroidered on the sleeves of his haori; a small detail, but even she could tell they were stitched by a masterful hand. He sat with the uncomfortable rigidity of a highly self-disciplined man, and his stern gaze hinted at a strict, unbending spirit. However, Sakura did not miss the softness around his eyes, telling of a kindness that lay not too far beneath the surface. Fortunately for Team 7, wealth had not deprived him of his humanity and he addressed their teacher with all due respect.
"For the past few years, the Tenkyuu Pirates have begun plaguing these waters. Just last winter, we lost two ships to those thieving savages. It will be a relief to my men and myself to know that we will be guarded by Konoha shinobi. Although, you must excuse me for saying this, I had been expecting a somewhat…" Isamua eyed the three children before him. "Older…group…"
"Oi! Old man, don't you underesti—" On either side of him, Sakura and Sasuke slammed Naruto's face into the wooden table, effectively shutting him up.
"Rest assured Murata-san, my students and myself are more than enough for a band of pirates."
Isamu nodded, satisfied. Sharingan no Kakashi's name had reached as far south as Amakusa. The famous shinobi's presence alone would be enough to allay his crew's fears: an important consequence. As of late, he had picked up on an uneasy atmosphere lying over his men, though he could not blame them. What happened to the crews plundered by the Tenkyuu had yet to be discovered; bodies were never found and survivors, if there were any, had yet to return. Under such circumstances, the men's fear was understandable, but Isamu knew from experience that out on the open waters, fear could turn into something more dangerous if left out to fester.
"There is one more thing." Isamu's sight fell on Sakura who, until then, had been preoccupied with keeping her blonde teammate quiet. Sensing the attention, she looked up, still holding Naruto in a headlock.
"Please, continue" Kakashi nodded, though he already had suspicion what the other man was going to say.
"We do not allow women on our ships."
.
.
.
Language/Culture stuff_
Tenkyuu – Rain from a cloudless sky
Amakusa – some rando Japanese town name I found. For those who have too much time on their hands, if you're willing to pull up a map of the Narutoverse on google, my ficitional Amakusa is located somewhere on the coast between Land of Fire and Water. Yey.
The no women allowed on ships thing – totally a thing in western cultures back in the day. I'm not so sure about Japan, but let's just go with it since Naruto has a bunch of ninja's flying around and blasting chakra energy balls from their bodies.
Author's note_
1. Omfg. An update in less than a year? WHAT IS HAPPENING TO WORLD. OH THE HUMMANITY.
2. Idk why I just said that last part. I've always wanted an excuse to use that phrase.
3. There was a blizzard so campus pretty much shut down. What do you when you get snowed in during college? Homework? The correction answer: WRITING FANFICTION BITCHEZ. Sorry for the unnecessary aggression. I've been trapped indoors all day. I feel like a little hamster in a ball. So tiny. So confined. Halp.
4. Also, if you actually just read all of that, you might be able to guess what region of the country I currently hail from (hint: just google "WHERE IZ MUCH HISTORIC SNOWFALL IN AMURICA 2015")
5. PS. Sakura's journal thing looks like a black moleskin. Ya know. For the people like me who think about stuff like that.
6. PPS. The part where Sasuke tells Kakashi about Sakura being the craycray (the jerk. How could you do that to ur waifu?): Chapter iv.
7. PPPS. Sorry for making Kakashi the exposition fairy (sort of. Not really). Also. I am in no way, shape, or form a physics person, so if you have issues with the accuracy of my YeyTimeTravel!explanation then I must first pose you this question: WHY ARE YOU FOLLOWING A SERIES WHERE THE MAIN CHARACTER HAS A GIANT DEMON FOX SHOVED IN HIS GUT? HMMMMM? Priorities, man, priorities.
8. Px4s. Thank you to everyone for your kind words of encouragement! Please feel free to leave any comments/feedback/ or rabid notes of love (trust me, I luv reading about ur feelz). You can leave hate too, but I probably won't pay attention to it unless it's well written. If you're going to take a shit on my lawn, you might as well wipe your ass afterwards like a civilized jerk, right?