Unwinding Time
by Reveri
Votes:
Please vote for a pairing already listed here~
ShikaIno: 6
GaaSaku: 7
NejiTen, ShikaSaku: 10
NejiSaku: 11
NaruHina: 17
SasuSaku: 24
Okay, so I'm thinking of wrapping up the Land of the Waves arc by the end of the next chapter. This means that voting will also end by the beginning of next-next chapter; in other words, Chapter 11.
In the mean time, enjoy the next chapter of Unwinding Time~!
Chapter 9: Second Time Around
An eleven-year old Sakura returned home, heaving a sigh as she did so. There was something different about her today. Her favourite red ribbon from Ino, which she normally wore around her head as a headband, was strangely missing.
"Sakura!" a woman in her early forties, presumably Sakura's mother, entered the hall. Seeing the dejected look on her daughter's face, she sighed sympathetically. "What's wrong?" she asked.
For a moment, Sakura didn't answer, but looked away ashamedly. Finally, the young academy-student could longer take it.
She sulked, "I stopped being friends with Ino."
The Haruno woman raised an eyebrow. "Why?"
"Because…well… I hate living in her shadow!" She wiped away a stray tear. "I want her… to see the real me."
Sakura's mother frowned. "You told her that and she agreed?"
The pink-haired adolescent sighed. "No, not exactly…"
"Hmmm?" The Haruno mother raised her eyebrows, leading the girl into a roomy, gleaming kitchen. The middle-aged woman had peachy-orange hair, tied back into a braid. She unloaded an assortment of groceries into a small fridge.
"I told her I wanted to become rivals. For Sasuke-kun!"
"Sakura… he's just –"
"He's just a boy! I know mom!" Sakura shouted, irritated. She then calmed herself down and forced herself to talk normally. "It's just, well, I wish I hadn't. I love Sasuke-kun – " Sakura's mother scoffed - "but I still wish Ino could've been my friend." Sakura sat on a stool, burying her face in her arms.
"I wish I could go back in time," she muttered childishly.
Sakura's mother laughed. "I know you may be the first kunoichi the Haruno clan has had for quite a while, but you can't expect to be able to do everything."
"I know, I know."
She smiled lovingly at her daughter. "So, Sakura-chan. If you could go back in time, what would you do?"
Sakura frowned, resting her head on her right palm. "I'd… I'd talk to Sasuke-kun earlier! And maybe…" she paused. "Maybe I'd take back my words with Ino."
"Well..." the peach-haired woman smiled. "Everything happens for a reason. If you turned back time, there wouldn't be any meaning to life. Right?"
"Eh? What do you mean?" Sakura chirped.
"Maybe you'll find out someday. Now, help me unload these, will you?"
Sakura exited the washoom, clenching the black scroll tightly in her fist. It would've been so much easier for her to simply reveal her situation to her team, but the three of them would definitely doubt her - after all, time travel had been unheard of until Tsunade's invention.
She had been so eager to save the ones she loved she didn't stop to consider how hard of a task it would be. And as the novelty of time travel and wore off, Sakura was beginning to realise what exactly this mission entailed.
Her, saving Konoha?
What a joke.
Even as a chuunin, the most Sakura had been able to accomplish was being a reputable medic-nin. But as a kunoichi?
She had failed. She had failed to save her friends and just when she could have fixed it all, she was messing it up again. Sakura Haruno was still the same old weak ninja who relied on others.
"It's hopeless." she muttered, hugging her knees once she had entered Tazuna's living room.
"What is?" It was Naruto. He had just finished another massive breakfast and was stretching casually.
"A-ah! Naruto!" Sakura leapt out of her seat and chuckled awkwardly. "Nothing, nothing! I-"
"I'm not an idiot, Sakura-chan." Naruto scoffed. "I saw you! You're acting just like Inari was yesterday. How many times do I need to tell you people that nothing's hopeless? We will beat Zabuza even if it costs my life, believe it!"
"I-"
"Don't give up before you even know the result!" Naruto crossed his arms, grinning down like a bright ray of sunshine towards Sakura. His look was contagious - soon Sakura willed herself to smile too, even though she felt far from smiling at the moment.
"...Thanks, Naruto." Inwardly, she sighed. She couldn't help but feel better with his encouragement, even if her worries lay elsewhere.
"Don't mention it, Sakura-chan!"
As if Naruto had not just scolded Sakura, the pair then exited the room, both engaging in light conversation.
A lone eye, hidden by the shadows, narrowed.
"Right," said Kakashi cheerfully, eyeing his three students. "Naruto, you're to stay here today. Sasuke, Sakura -"
"HEY!" interrupted Naruto, glaring at his superior, "Why am I the only one staying?"
"Because, " retorted the jounin, rolling his eyes at the brat, "We need you to protect our ramen stashes."
"Ooh, I see!"
"..."
"No, you-" Sakura hissed, cutting herself off before she could say idiot. She momentarily fell quiet as she remembered a scene that had happened like this not too long ago, before Naruto... "Nevermind," she muttered, looking away so as to not reveal the flicker of hurt that flashed in her eyes.
"Eh?" Naruto turned to look at his female teammate, furrowing his eyebrows in confusion.
Kakashi sighed, letting Sakura's awkward actions slide for now. "Naruto, I was only joking. I need you to guard Tazuna and the others. The chance of them being attacked..." he paused, "is not very likely, but we must take necessary precautions."
If Naruto had been happy about protecting Team seven's hidden ramen supply (not that they had any), he was estatic at this more recent task. "Alright! A special task for me! I'll do it to the best of my ablilty, believe it!"
"Right. Anyway, Sasuke, Sakura. You two will be accompanying me to guard Tazuna and the bridge today, as usual." As an afterthought, he muttered, "Something tells me today's going to be a long day..."
Immediately after Team 7's brief 'meeting', Sakura began packing up some supplies into her worn-out pouch. Today was the day she would battle Zabuza and Haku... and this time, for real. She clenched her fists determinedly, staring at the contents of her pouch. A few meters to the right, she noted Naruto was holding a small cup of ramen. He stared at it for a few seconds, his face blank - oddly uncharacteristic for the so-called loudmouth ninja. Sakura frowned. Just how naive had she been four years ago? Each day she noticed more subtle things about her teammates - the way Kakashi would not flip a page of his Icha-Icha book for several hours, obviously in deep thought. The way Naruto's face temporarily lacked any emotion. The way Sasuke gritted his teeth and clenched his eyes shut when he thought no one was looking. She felt a stab of pain each time they did this, like their pain was her pain.
"N-Naruto," muttered Sakura. Naruto straightened up, looking at Sakura. A grin quickly spread across his face.
"Yes, Sakura-chan?"
"You like ramen?"
"Of course I do!" proclaimed the blonde, hugging the ramen cup close to his chest like a baby.
"Why?" the kunoichi looked at him in the eye.
"E-eh? Obviously because it tastes good, Sakura-chan!" Naruto seemed confused. He raised an eyebrow.
Sakura stared at the ramen cup Naruto was holding. She recognized the labels on the cup - it was the kind sold in bulk, numerous and cheap. She knew Naruto had not bothered to mention that it was also because ramen was cheaper than fresh produce.
"Cool," she muttered absently in reply, though Naruto had already redirected his thoughts elsewhere.
A young girl dressed in a blue sweater and navy shorts held her mother's comforting hand as she walked through the streets of Konoha. The sun was slowly beginning to set - it's warm orange glow began to lose its touch. The girl looked no older than five or six.
She had been talking nonstop to her mother about the "handsome" boy she had seen in the park the other day.
"He could do those "gootsus", mom! "Gootsus!"
The older woman chuckled. "Don't you mean "jutsus", Sakura-chan?"
"Aah.. yes." The little girl blushed, her lips curving into an innocent smile.
"Well, I'm not surprised. He is an Uchiha, after all."
"Uchiha?"
"Yes, sweetie. Now, why don't you -"
"Mom! Look! Look!" The girl's attention had been stolen by a large, smooth sheet of parchment that had been taped on to a tall metal pole.
The sheet read:
Kononoha Ninja Academy - Now Accepting! in big block letters. A small list of basic requirements as well as a hand-drawn picture of a kunai followed.
"I wanna go!" shouted Sakura, jumping up and down in excitement. "I wanna do some of those cool jutsu!"
"Oh?" the older woman said, raising an eyebrow. "Are you sure that's the only reason why you want to go?"
"Well..." the girl grinned. "I would like to see the boy from the U-Uchwa-"
"Uchiha," corrected the mother.
"Uchiha clan again," finished the pinkette-haired girl. "Oh please, mom! Can I go? I promise to be good!"
"Well..." the mother frowned. Clearly, she knew what becoming a kunoichi would entail. "We'll talk about it with your father, okay?"
"Alright!" shouted Sakura, grinning wildly.
Sakura sighed. With no conversation at all as they steadily travelled to the bridge, memories were beginning to reenter her mind. Back then, she had thought of being a kunoichi as a game - something purely learned from books and a nice teacher. Until she had been to the Land of Waves, of course. From there, everything changed.
The trio soon reached the bridge. Very few workers were there, Tazuna himself included. It was obvious that more and more were growing weary and doubtful of the treacherous and impossible task that lay ahead. Even those who stayed were beginning to get hopeless. The lack of enthusiasm did nothing to stop Tazuna's spirit, however. While others paused for a break, he plowed on, hammering a nail, carrying a piece of wood, glancing at his carefully-drawn diagrams.
And then she felt him.
Tiny droplets of moisture were beginning to fill the air. Sakura narrowed her eyes, trying to sense any presence.
Zabuza was coming.
Kakashi, Sakura, and Sasuke all tensed and all assumed a fighting stance at the same time. The brief warning was not enough, however, as the atmosphere immediately filled with mist.
"We meet again..."
The trio tensed, all pulling out a kunai.
Omg I'm sorrry : This chapter was so short! Just wanted to update what I've done so far. I've got everything planned out for the Chunin exams and beyond, but this arc is stumping me. xD Until then, back to more planning :P