Dual Realities

Sakura scanned the currently empty training ground, hopefully thinking it would stay empty for a few more hours. She was seated comfortably leaning against a tree with her legs stretch on the grass filled ground. Turning her emerald greens eyes away from the peaceful scenery of the well kept training ground to the old and well used scroll in her hands. The scroll was just about the many and different usages of chakra, the scroll itself has much more knowledge than the common uses because this scroll came from the Hokage's Archives and Sakura is so grateful that the Sandaime lent it to her. The scroll dated back from the Sengoku era and was first written by Senju Tobirama after all, the Sandaime's teacher.

The weather was great, the sun was shining and the wind was blowing a cool breeze throughout the village of Konoha. Sakura would have been contented. She would have been at peace. She woke up early, got in a decent jog and went back to her new apartment for a shower and ate a very satisfying breakfast. She should be happy.

And a part of her is, but somewhere deep inside of her she isn't.

Because this wasn't her Konoha in the first place.

This Konoha was just a poor imitation of her Konoha. Sakura didn't know how it happened, or why it even happened. It all started from that mission that Tsunade sent her on. The mission specs themselves were questionable, yet Sakura doesn't know why Tsunade made her go with it. Now that Sakura thought of it, Tsunade had been acting weird all morning that day, when she was handing her the mission personally.

It was as if the blonde woman was unsure of herself and what she was doing but was doing it anyway because someone most likely told her to do so. But Sakura doubted someone could sneak past all the security her Konoha has to offer and get pass the blonde Hokage herself to place some sort of controlling jutsu on her.

Sakura couldn't remember much about the mission, which she found weird. She remembered going to the Valley of the End because the mission specs told her to do so. The mission was about helping a man gather some artifacts that were recently discovered. She met up with the man, but the man himself Sakura was having trouble picturing. She remembers old greying hair with white robes... but then that's all it. Sakura only remembered a glimpse of the man she was supposed to meet.

Sakura knew right away that this was somehow the old man's fault.

After meeting the old man, the visions got blurry. Sakura remembered meeting the old man during nightfall and then Sakura only got blurry visions of landslides and someone shouting her name. It sounded like Naruto; the lovable blonde idiot must have gone after her.

"Sakura-chan!"

After that, nothing. No matter how much Sakura tried, she couldn't remember anything as to how she got here. In this godforsaken place that reminds her so much pain. It was already a year after the Fourth Great Shinobi War and everyone was trying to piece themselves all back together back at home.

Here, Sakura keeps seeing smiling faces of dead people, living, breathing, and so very much alive. It was damaging her psyche.

Everything would have been perfect. Everything was healing back in her time. Naruto was Hokage in training and his Inauguration Ceremony was only a few weeks after her mission. Naruto and Hinata got married after the war and had two children. Ino and Sai soon got married and made their own small family along with everyone else. Chouji with Karui, Lee with Tenten, and surprisingly, Shikamaru with Temari. Everyone was slowly and surely moving on, Kurenai has a child to be kept distracted as time goes by and she still visits Asuma in the cemetery. Hinata, Tenten, Lee, Gai along with everyone else visits Neji as a group from time to time too.

Everyone was fitting back to their lives. Except her.

Sasuke never did come back to the village and Sakura was busy bustling around healing people injured from the war. Everyone back there kept asking for her. Even in the other countries like Mizu and Kumo.

She never found the time for herself or to build her own family.

It wasn't only because Sakura was the Godaime's apprentice; it was because Sakura could heal anything. Wounds are easy to heal with practice, it was the mental scars are hard. But for Sakura, it was just normal for her in fixing them. Sakura just talked and made the people she talked to remember that they were human and still have lives to finish. Sakura enjoyed befriending so much people, although she wasn't Naruto.

Sakura was so lost in thought and in her scroll that she completely missed the sudden bright signature that appeared in the vicinity.

The swish of her now longer than ever pink hair was her only warning before Sakura felt someone behind her and breathing down on her neck. She can feel the spiky blonde locks of the sudden intruder tickling her cheeks and ears.

"Sa-ku-ra-chan."

Sakura closed her eyes and prayed to Kami for patience before exhaling through nose. But it seems her companion thinks her anger management was taking too long and leaned down to take the scroll that is old and fragile from her lap and hands.

Abruptly opening her eyes, Sakura turned around and aimed her sharp viridian eyes towards the blond grinning playfully at her in his jounin uniform.

"Dammit, Naruto! I told yo-"

"Why do you insist on calling me that?"

Minato feels insulted and he can't help the slight jealousy that sparked in him when this Naruto came into the conversation.

"I'm not Naruto. I'm Minato."

Sakura paused in surprise before realization struck her and she just narrowed her eyes at the young hotman in front of her in warning.

Minato, located at the right side of the pinkette, leaned down close to her face with a sexy smirk on his face.

"Say it with me, Mi-na-to."

With a huff, Sakura redirected her gaze down towards the ground because looking at the cobalt blue eyes filled with something Sakura can't name is making her feel jitterish and excited at the same time. Her viridian eyes locked on the scroll she was earlier reading in Minato's hands, already rolled up. The pinkette looked back up to the cobalt blue eyes of the blonde in front of her with a small frown on her cute petite face.

"Give me the scroll back, Namikaze."

Sakura bit out, she doesn't want to see this man. She doesn't even want to breathe the same air with him. But, alas, the Sandaime had other plans and made Sakura a fixture in the persistent blonde's team. It wasn't that Minato's attitude was horrible; it was the opposite in fact. He was pleasant, warming, welcoming and it hurts because it reminds her so much of the people she might never see again. He reminds her so much of Naruto that it's painful to be in the same vicinity as him.

But the man was persistent and stubborn like the son he will have. Always appearing in the hospital, orchestrating plans to have her suddenly see him in the streets when she was doing groceries, making sure to keep his eyes on her during their training sessions and making something up to make her stay long enough for a team dinner.

It's just so hard to stay away from him.

Minato frowned at the pinkette, why was she so damn stubborn. The blonde soon-to-be Hokage was sure he gave hints and already downright told her that she could call him by his first name. Why is she being so difficult? Looking back down at the pinkette, Minato wanted to pinch her cheeks because it seems she's stuck in her own world again. Minato took his time in scanning the fine beauty in front of him.

The dark brown shorts make her legs look whiter than it already is and the deep green shirt with a low cut compliments it. The colors were just so Konoha that Minato can't help but feel more adoration for the pinkette. And since the green shirt was so low cut the pinkette wore a mesh sleeveless shirt inside the fitting but somewhat baggy shirt.

Minato wonders where this woman had been in all his life. She just appeared so suddenly one day, all decked in shinobi gear in his team's training ground, an irritated pout on her face, with a scroll signed by the Old man Sarutobi that an additional member will be joining them from now on. Minato became curious.

Who was this woman? Where was she from? Is her pink hair natural? Is she from Konoha? If she's from Konoha, why haven't Minato or his friends seen her around before? Does she have a family? Is she an Uzumaki with her pink hair?

Questions invaded Minato's mind at that time but he dismissed it and just continued with training his team along with the new addition. Minato's interest was piqued when the petite pinkette offered to train Rin in the ways of medical ninjutsu, Minato approved of course. And after the training session was finished, Minato immediately went to the Hokage Tower and promptly bombarded the old man with questions.

To Minato's huge disappointment, most of them were not answered. Her pink hair is natural. She's from Konoha, and just came back from a long term mission in anbu. No, Sarutobi doesn't know if she's related to Kushina and...

Sarutobi stared at the determined cerulean eyes of the blond before him. Minato's face was prompting him to continue in his talking.

"... As far as I know she doesn't have any relative left and is currently living alone. As for other information about her, well, why not ask her yourself, Minato-kun?"

Minato swore that the smile the old man gave him made him want to pull his blonde hair out in pure irritation back then. But Minato was fine; he just needs to figure this puzzle on his own then. So, he asked around about the pinkette discreetly, he observes her habits and just her in general, and the blonde man makes sure that he "accidently" bumps to her every day.

Call Minato obsessed, he doesn't care. He has come to enjoy the pinkette's company, it was refreshing. She was witty, intelligent, strong, beautiful, quiet, understanding, has a temper, and the list goes on. The pinkette quickly became friends with Minato's friends like Kushina and Inoichi.

Although, privately, Minato thinks its okay if the pinkette doesn't see Inoichi much. Minato is not selfish, no, it's the opposite in fact. Minato is normally a giving person... he just wants to keep this woman to himself. That's all, where's the problem in that?

"-nato! Minato! Konoha to Minato!"

Minato blinked a few times before looking down on the cutely scowling pinkette in front of him.

"Yes?"

Guess Minato got lost in his thoughts too, oh well. At least she was calling him Minato now.

"I said give me the scroll back and stop following me."

The viridian eyed woman said with a narrow of her eyes and irritation was all over her face.

Minato raised a golden eyebrow with that ever so arrogant smirk on his face that makes Sakura pummel him into the ground. Sakura's emerald eyes glinted in warning at the blonde but Minato doesn't seem to notice it.

"No. And don't be so presumptuous to think that I would spend my entire morning to look for you, princess."

Not that Sakura needed to know what Minato was saying was actually true and that he does spend some (most) of his mornings planning to "bump" to her for the day or just search for her in general and whatnot.

Sakura growled lightly in being called princess before looking at the side of her left with an embarrassed blush on her cheeks. The blonde was invading her personal bubble and Minato doesn't seem to notice it as he is still bent in a ninety degree angle with his face slightly above of Sakura. Sakura puffs out her cheeks, of course this blonde idiot wouldn't follow her because of a crush. That used to be Naruto, but at least now that whiskered idiot has Hinata. This blonde idiot on the other hand, must be just in the vicinity and wanted to annoy her.

'Yeah right.'

And here's her Inner adding her two cents.

'I just don't think these meetings are mere coincidences, it is happening way to often these past weeks.'

'... When you say it that way, you're kinda right. I've been seeing this blonde idiot everywhere at least once a day.'

Minato just watched on as the pinkette's face switch from one to another. The blonde man found it cute that the pinkette is so open with her emotions and that she can turn from being happy to mad in less than a minute.

'You should talk to the Blonde Sex God. He's been staring at you for the past few minutes.'

Sakura, now suddenly aware that she's been quiet for quite a while, blushed even harder. Directing her jade eyes towards the blonde annoyance, Sakura lets out a sigh of exhaustion.

"Just give me the damn scroll."

"Kiss me."

"Yeah. Sure whatever- wait what?! Hell no!"

Sakura just realized what the blonde bishie just asked for and shouted her own answer while backing up further against the tree she was leaning on. Sakura noticed that the blonde was closer than before.

Minato smirked at the pinkette's reaction. It was so cute. Moving closer, Minato's eyes became half lidded as his eyes took note of the chest breathing heavily, accentuating her breasts. Minato felt as though his control is being stretched to the max when the pinkette's tongue darted out and wet her red supple lips.

Sakura just sat there while trying to anywhere but the young and single blonde in front of her. This isn't fair, why does she always have to fall for the guys she can't have? To Sakura, this Namikaze is as good as married and currently has a son that is also her best friend.

Minato's eyes darkened even more when the pinkette's viridian orbs connected with his. The pinkette opened her mouth to talk and Minato's eyes quickly became fascinated by that part of her face. He wonders what her voice would sound like screaming his name...

"Minato, I-"

"Sakura-chan! I heard that you guys are going on a mission!"

The pinkette's sentence was halted by the one and only Yamanaka Inoichi as the stupid, in Minato's humble opinion, lighter shade of blonde jogged towards them from the entrance of the clearing. The Yamanaka was directly behind Minato and so the other male did not see Minato's eyes narrowing in frustration and his eyebrow twitching in annoyance. The female in front of him was too distracted at looking at the other male behind him to notice Minato's irritated face.

Minato held back a scowl and just pouted as the viridian eyed woman looked back at him with an eyebrow raised in question.

The pupiless blonde man was already near them and Minato sighed inwardly but outwardly his smile was strained and his eyebrows twitched in seeing the other blonde's equally strained but innocent looking smile.

"Minato, you're here too huh? Guess this is perfect! The Hokage is requesting for your presence, Minato."

Inoichi said while smiling and closing his eyes. And when he opened, it seemed as though lightning went between him and Minato while the cute little pinkette was as clueless as a cat.

'Screw you, mindfreak.'

'I'll just take her from your dirty hands, yellow furball.'

Sakura bit back a sigh and just snatched her scroll from Minato's hands which earned a surprised face from the spiky haired blonde. The pinkette stood up and dusted her legs and pocketing her scroll in her ninja pouch attached to her belt.

"Sakura-chan, Inora and I missed you! She said to invite you to the flower shop today and stay till lunch since you have a mission to prepare for tomorrow."

Sakura thought about it before smiling at the Yamanaka, just trying to forget what just happened earlier between her and Minato. It was just a joke by the blond cerulean eyed man, a cruel, horrible joke but a joke nonetheless.

"Sorry, 'Noichi. I've been busy the past few days."

Sakura shoots the future blonde Hokage a look, to which said blonde just grinned innocently at, before continuing.

"I would love to visit the flower shop. Haven't been there for a while, so why not?"

Inoichi nodded and he smiled while cheerfully replying back.

"Great! I'll escort you there! It's my family's place anyways. But first we need to stop by some place for some dango."

Sakura's eyes lit up in excitement at hearing the word dango before turning towards Minato who was trying to refrain himself from scowling at the mind controller and slice his ass with his cool wind jutsus but oh how Minato is so tempted to do that.

"See you, Namikaze. Just leave the mission scroll in my office at the hospital on the desk. I'll stop by to pick it up later."

Minato didn't even get the chance to reply as the pinkette was pulled away from him by the ass Yamanaka and Minato took great effort in not reflexively pulling the petite woman back to him.

"Yeah, yeah. See ya, Minato!" Inoichi yelled back to the other blonde man that was currently radiating a black aura around him.

'The son of a bitch.'

And then Minato was left irritated and annoyed beyond belief, alone in the training field. But most of all, he was fucking damn jealous of the Yamanaka efficiently stealing the pinkette like that.

Minato couldn't fathom as to how the hell Inoichi became so close with the pinkette. And why did the mindfreak gets to be called "'Noichi" while he was stuck being called "Namikaze" on most occasion? It was so unfair.

To be continued~

Here ya guys go! Another InoichiSakuMinato fanfic! Really though, I have no idea where I got this three way pairing. It just slipped into my mind.

Anyways, I received a review telling that my grammar sucks in another story of mine. And if you are reading this, I just wanna say I am so sorry for not being good in grammar and that I have made mistakes. I'll write better in time. I'll also fix whatever grammatical errors I made when I have time or when I feel like it.

Thank you for the reviews, my lovely readers!

- Torikki J. ~