The night after Tsunade healed Hayate, Sakura sits on her bed and spreads her summoning scroll across her lap. She's home with her parents, both deep asleep in the room next door.
Do you think this will convince Shisui? Sakura asks, nervously smoothing out the note in her hand, he replied to my last letter, so maybe he wants to be friends again.
Do you want to be friends again? Kagami replies, folding her arms.
Sakura looks down at the note, carefully written in her own special code. The one Shisui learned just so they could talk in secret. She was creating it when they first met, and her failed Katon jutsu nearly blew up in her face.
I want to know why he did it. I want to be able to talk to him like before. I felt safe with him. He knew so much about me – more than anyone but you – and he only ever wanted to help. The Shisui I know wouldn't hurt me for no reason, Sakura says quietly.
Kagami hums, sounding thoughtful, He did help separate us. I feel a lot more alive now I'm not drowning in our mind. If he truly was your enemy, he could have done much worse than what he did – as far as I know, he just looked through our memories.
I thought you would tell me to avoid him forever, Sakura replies, a note of uncertainty ringing through her thoughts. Kagami sends back a calming pulse.
This is your life, Sacchan, not mine. You need to make your own choices. Don't worry about what I think, Kagami says lightly.
But I'll always worry about that! Sakura thinks back, puffing her cheeks out, I care about your opinions just as much as mine. They almost are mine!
Kagami just laughs.
Sakura scrunches up her nose, then finishes her note with a flourish. Her mother always twirls her pen when she's done writing, so Sakura does the same. She's getting better at writing neatly, even though letters are just tiny pictures, and she's not very good at drawing at all.
The letter to Shisui is a direct response to his own letter, and it says:
Dear Shisui,
I'm glad you like the weather. I wish I'd seen the doggy cloud. I do like rain, how did you know? I only splash in puddles if I'm wearing my special puddle boots. I'm short, so sometimes I sink in deep puddles. That's fun at first, but then it gets very cold and often muddy. I hope I get tall soon. As tall as my mother. She's taller than you, but not as tall as Genma. I think I would like to be as tall as Genma, so I could see the trees better, but I'm not sure if my dresses would still fit. Genma never wears dresses, and I think that's a shame.
I'm sorry your parents aren't here anymore. I didn't know that. I thought you had dinner with them every night and had someone with you when you were sick, like I do. Is there anyone like that for you? You should have someone with you all the time, but especially when you're sick. I don't like being sick, because my nose stops working and I get wheezy at night when I want to sleep. But it's okay, because my parents make me soup and pat my back. If you don't have parents to do that for you, I will.
Because I'm still your friend, Shisui. You did a very bad thing and it hurt my feelings a lot. I won't say it didn't, because that would be a lie, and I don't like lying to my friends. Thank you very much for Momo's scarf. I didn't know it was your mother's. You can have it back if you want. I don't think Momo knows it's very special. He drools on it when he sleeps.
You shouldn't hate yourself. I'll fight anyone who hates my friends, even if they're my friends too! I'm not going to say that I've forgiven you just yet, because I don't know why you did it. You probably had a very good reason I just can't understand because I'm not very big, but I want to try. Can you please tell me, so I can find out if I forgive you? I think I will. Even if I don't forgive you, I miss you too much to hate you.
Ino says she's my best girl friend. Naruto is my brother.
I think that makes you my best friend, Shisui.
I love you lots and lots. More than ramen, more than sake, and even more than dumplings! (I'm not allowed sake, but I'm still allowed to say it)
Please don't forget me,
Your best friend for forever, and even more than that,
Firefly
Sakura smooths the paper out, putting beside her on the bed. She places a hand on the summoning scroll across her lap, taking a moment to visualise the birds' temple home.
She takes a pin out of her hair, curly locks spilling around her face, and presses the sharp tip into her thumb. It stings, but only for a moment, and she delicately smears a ribbon of blood across the scroll. She pushes chakra into the seal, a moment of copper and spring water blending in the air, and whispers the technique's name.
A puff of smoke blows her hair out of her face. She coughs in response, wafting it away.
She concentrates on her parents' mingling aura. There's no sense of disturbance or awareness, they're both wrapped in contentment as they sleep down the hall in their room.
Manami flutters her wings pointedly, the smoke instantly vanishing in the wake of her annoyance.
"Sakura-chi," She coos, "I wasn't sure if you would ever get around to summoning one of us! But never mind, you did a beautiful job. What do you need, hatchling?"
"Hello, Manami-san," Sakura whispers, not wanting to wake her parents, "Would you mind delivering a letter for me, please? It's for Shisui. He lives in the Uchiha Compound, I think."
Manami puffs up, feathers bristling, "You don't know where this Shisui lives and you want me to deliver a letter directly to him?"
"Oh, well, I suppose I could ask one of Kakashi-sensei's dogs to – "
"Ask a dog?" Manami repeats, aghast, "As if some common mutt could do my job better than me? Have you ever seen a pigeon of such rare and exquisite breeding as myself?"
"No, most pigeons aren't nearly as fluffy as you are," Sakura says earnestly.
Manami coos, turning around in a circle to show off her gleaming sand-coloured feathers and white throat, "Quite right! Very well, I'll take your letter to this Shisui person. I just have to find him. What does he look like?"
"Curly hair and big eyes," Sakura says promptly.
"How tall?"
"Tall."
Manami sighs.
xxxxxxxx
Itachi rarely finds himself with an hour to spare in his day, but today has been unusually slow and uneventful. Sasuke is playing at the Senju house with Naruto, and Fugaku is busy with clan matters he still deems Itachi too young for, so Itachi has ended up walking the streets of Konoha with the vague aim of heading to the training grounds and sharpening his skills alone.
He only sees Shisui because he was looking for birds, head angled up towards the tallest branches of Konoha.
Shisui is sat alone in a tree, his legs dangling off the branch, his expression distant and his posture listless.
Itachi frowns. Ever since their cousin Miho was murdered and displayed in the Compound, Shisui has been strangely cold. Itachi remembers seeing the two cousins laughing together once, Shisui's face bright with mirth, Miho struggling to contain her giggles. They were friends. It never used to bother Itachi that Shisui had so few people close to him – he was the same, after all – but now Itachi is always surrounded by the Monsters and clansmen, he can't help but regard Shisui with an odd kind of frustrated pity. Shisui is amicable, friendly, and easy to talk to, so he shouldn't be so alone. It must be some kind of self-inflicted solitude, because despite Shisui's recently-worsening reputation, he is a very popular figure amongst shinobi.
Itachi makes his mind up quickly, walking up Shisui's tree with just the right amount of chakra.
Shisui greets him with a strained smile, which fades almost at once, "Itachi… when was the last time you climbed a tree like a kid? You know, just by pulling yourself up branch by branch, not caring how much slower it might be to do it that way?"
Itachi hesitates, confused by the non-sequitur. "I… can't remember ever climbing a tree without using chakra."
He is strangely anxious about how Shisui will react to his answer, but all he does is nod, unsurprised.
"You have been smiling a lot less lately." Itachi ventures, setting himself on a branch next to Shisui's. "Is something wrong?"
"I've been faking smiles a lot less lately," Shisui corrects, "I thought it wasn't good for me to always pretend to be happy. Maybe I wouldn't know what it felt like when I actually was happy, if I was always faking it. But now, I guess I'm just worrying people more."
Itachi fights the urge to fidget, not wanting to display his concern and prove Shisui right. It was difficult, since his cousin changed so suddenly, without warning turning cold and quiet. It might be Miho's death alone that had done this to him, but Itachi had an inkling that there was more to it. He remembers Sakura's melancholy after reading Shisui's letter on her birthday.
"Shisui… what happened with Sakura?" Itachi asks, watching the lines around his cousin's eyes tighten in response. "I didn't read the letter I delivered for you, but I saw her face when she read it. I just what to know the truth."
Shisui tips his head back against the tree, his headband reflecting the dappled light from the leaves above. He sighs, a tiny curl to his lips – almost a smile, but not quite. "…You used to call me Shi-Shi, you know. When we first met. I thought you were so cute. Such a good kid. So kind, so polite. I wanted you to have a better life than I did. I failed."
Itachi opens his mouth to protest, the words coming to him automatically – you never failed me, you were the best thing that happened to me back then. The only good thing before Sasuke – but Shisui shakes his head before he can say anything.
"I failed you, Itachi. I watched the world twist you until you felt you couldn't be a kid anymore. You had to be an adult in a child's body – and not just that, but perfect, too. In every way. I failed to protect you from the worst of our profession. So, when I met Sakura, another child genius… so kind, so polite… I thought, 'Here's my second chance. I can get it right this time.' I tried so much harder. I trained her in secret, kept her from the more dangerous techniques, tried to encourage her to keep playing like the child she still was… I gave her dogs to keep her happy… I thought it would be enough. But it wasn't." Shisui's body language is bare, unmoving, giving nothing away at all. He looks down, his curls falling across his eyes, veiling his gaze.
Itachi cautiously interjects, "Sakura has mentioned in the past that there were people who hurt her. But she said they were all dead. Do you know – " He cuts himself off this time, unsure of where he was going with the inquiry. He just doesn't want to think about the guilt in Shisui's voice.
Shisui gives him a long, measuring look, "They're long gone. Don't worry. That's not what this is about. It's – " He winces, gritting his teeth against the words struggling to emerge. Itachi narrows his eyes. It's not like Shisui to hold his tongue, especially not with such a pained look. Shisui rolls his eyes, changing the subject, "Don't think I gave up on you, by the way. Sakura was never a replacement for you. You're not twisted, despite everything you've been through. I… I'm never serious, so when I really mean something, no one ever takes me seriously. But I mean this. I'm proud of you."
Itachi's throat aches like an invisible grip has closed around it. He swallows painfully, eyes pricking, "Shisui… I appreciate…"
Shisui gives him a wry smile, "You know, for someone who gets so many compliments so often, you're pretty terrible at handling them."
Itachi's shoulders jerk in a poor approximation of a shrug, still feeling awkward and raw, an exposed nerve, "I… It's different when the compliment comes from someone you look up to."
It's Shisui's turn to look awkward, "You've got terrible taste in role models."
"I don't think so." Itachi replies.
Shisui just closes his eyes, leaning back against the trunk. His expression is closed off again, unreadable.
"I'll be going, then," Itachi says quietly.
Shisui's eyes flicker beneath his closed lids, but he doesn't otherwise react.
Itachi sighs.
As he jumps out of the tree, a pigeon settles on the branch next to Shisui's head, a little scrap of paper tied to its foot. Mission orders, Itachi guesses glumly.
He hangs back for a second, watching Shisui read the letter.
Shisui's face flickers through a hundred different microexpressions. He reads the letter three times, then holds it to his heart. He closes his eyes and bites down on his knuckle.
Itachi frowns, then slowly approaches his cousin once more.
Shisui flickers next to him, his face set in determination. Itachi steps back, startled. Shisui puts his hands on Itachi's shoulders and draws him close.
"There's someone I need you to meet."
xxxxxxxx
The last time Shisui saw Yamaguchi Takumi, he was blinking rapidly in confusion, the effects of Shisui's sharingan still burning his retinas.
He'd gone to Takumi's house, fully expecting to find Izanagi there, determined to fix things for good. Instead, he'd met the real Takumi.
His eyes flicker.
Takumi's caught in a split-second, not even enough time for his smile to fade.
"Agree to help me with whatever I need," Shisui tells him, heart heavy with regret, "and forget this conversation ever happened."
"Of course, Shisui-kun." Takumi says brightly, not even the subtle layers of Shisui's genjutsu enough to dim his smile.
Shisui hadn't stopped there.
Itachi follows him obediently enough down the path to Takumi's house, not stopping to question what Shisui wants with the man.
Shisui knocks, feeling the seal on the door flare in response.
Itachi hangs back, a little awkward.
Takumi answers the door a little too quickly. Shisui suspects he sensed their approach before they even reached the fence.
"Hey, Takumi-chan," Shisui says, a faint note of apology in his voice, "Can we come in?"
Takumi glances between them, a polite smile automatically lighting up his face, "Of course!"
The moment the door shuts behind them, Shisui signs need privacy to Takumi, who responds with a surge of chakra at once, blanketing the entire house.
"He knows about the guy," Shisui explains, gesturing to Itachi. He grimaces. He still can't say Izanagi's name, thanks to the man meddling in his head. He guesses it would be hypocritical to complain.
Takumi makes a noise of understanding, "You want his help? I thought you were worried about dragging him into all this?"
Itachi is looking very confused and annoyed at his own confusion.
"He's already involved. I told him about the guy when I first encountered him. Well. A little after that."
"You are referring to the man who calls himself Izanagi," Itachi says, frustration evident in his voice, "I sensed the privacy seals activating. Why are you avoiding the use of his name?"
Shisui flails impotently.
"Izanagi used a technique to prevent Shisui ever mentioning his name or explaining what he did," Takumi says helpfully.
Itachi's head jerks up, his gaze sharp, "Then how do you know about it?"
"Shisui communicated it through another method. He used his eyes on me to remove Izanagi's orders, allowing me to remember all the times I encountered him in the past," Takumi explains.
"He said he fills the gaps in Takumi's memories," Shisui mumbles, "So I figured maybe I could unfill them."
"At first, I assumed Shisui was the man in the mask I suddenly remembered attacking me," Takumi says, a little sheepish, "It took some time to convince me he was innocent. But after that, we formed a plan."
"It's not that great. My teacher always said I was the worst at strategy," Shisui shrugs, "We've got Takumi-chan's captain to follow Sakura wherever she goes, since he's the only one confident he could do it without her bodyguard noticing. All we really know about that guy whose name I can't say is that he wants to get inside Sakura's head, and that she's repelled at least one of his attacks. She's his target, so we're going to wait for him to try it again, and Tora will summon us as soon as possible once he does."
Shisui rolls down his sleeve and reveals a seal inked in blue on his wrist. Takumi flashes a matching one on his forearm.
"I designed the seals. Tora has the master seal, which summons the bearers of the secondary seal – myself and Shisui-kun. We'll be ready for a fight at all times until Izanagi attacks, so we won't be caught unprepared when Tora activates the seal," Takumi explains.
Itachi gives them both a dubious look, "It seems… needlessly complicated. Takumi-san, why don't you just go to the Hokage with what you know, as you can communicate it and Shisui cannot?"
"I don't trust the Hokage," Takumi says casually.
Itachi stares, aghast.
"I have my reasons. But it's not just that – we don't know who Izanagi is, where he came from, or what he truly wants. The only thing we have is the element of surprise. The more people know, the more chance we have of losing that surprise, especially as Izanagi has a habit of stealing other people's identities," He says, grimacing, "He's pretended to be me for months at the very least. Who can say he hasn't done the same to others? The very people we might go to for assistance against him? We took a risk going to Tora in the first place, and now you."
"Why did you tell me?" Itachi asks.
"I was hoping you could do for me what I did for Takumi," Shisui gestures helplessly to his eyes, "Get rid of you know what. I want to be able to talk about that damn bastard, explain myself to… Anyway, I wasn't going to ask you – or anyone else from the clan – because I didn't want to drag any of you into this mess, so… if you don't want to risk – "
"Don't insult me," Itachi says flatly, "Your plan is ridiculous, but there is no force in this world that could prevent me from helping you."
"Wow!" Takumi says, impressed. "Your cousin is so cool, Shisui-kun!"
"I know," Shisui says smugly.
"Your plan is still ridiculous," Itachi emphasises, "And it relies on Sakura being placed in danger. Why not attack Izanagi the next time he tries to use Takumi-san's identity?"
"Tora can't watch Sakura-chan and me at the same time, and I can at least defend myself if Izanagi attacks. I've set up some new defences that should give him a headache. Sakura-chan is only a child, and we know he's repeatedly attacked her and shows no signs of giving up. I'd rather he hijack my life once again because Tora was watching Sakura-chan rather than something bad happen to her because he was watching me."
Itachi sighs, "Ridiculous. But… I suppose I can see some attempts at logic, here. I'll do my best to undo his orders, Shisui. Do you want me to begin now?"
Shisui nods, almost vibrating in anticipation. He's so eager to be free of Izanagi's insidious mental touch. He's tired of questioning his own mind, tired of wondering if his thoughts and actions are his own or the result of Izanagi's meddling. And most importantly, he's eager to tell Sakura everything, just like she asked him to. There's no guarantee she will forgive him, but she'll know the truth. It's the least he owes her.
"Just one thing first," Itachi says, drawing short of reaching for his cousin, "Promise me you aren't deliberately endangering Sakura so you can appear the hero and save her just in time."
Shisui's eyes widen in shock, "I – what? I would never – "
"Bear in mind that after I undo Izanagi's orders, you will be able to tell me exactly what happened between you and Sakura," Itachi warns, his voice low and uncompromising, "And I want the truth."
Shisui blinks, faltering, then looks down at his feet. He coughs, voice coming out hoarse and one harsh word away from cracking, "That's not why I'm doing this. If I thought going to the Hokage would help Sakura, I would. If I trusted her bodyguard, I'd tell him. If I thought Tsunade-sama would believe me, I'd tell her. I… I always want to trust people with precious things, Itachi, but I always end up losing them. I can't keep losing, Itachi."
Itachi regards him with a long, searching look, then his face softens, "I understand. I'm here for you, as always."
Shisui gives him a smile, unpractised and much dimmer than the kind he used to give out all too freely.
Takumi looks pleased with the two of them. He doesn't seem to have noticed how much trouble Shisui has looking him in the eye. He didn't just remove Izanagi's orders, after all.
"Agree to help me with whatever I need," Shisui tells him, heart heavy with regret, "and forget this conversation ever happened."
As Itachi's eyes flicker red and meet Shisui's, he thinks about how if you stop placing worth in trust, you become untrustworthy yourself.
xxxxxxxx
When Tora finally summons Shisui, it feels like activating his Shunshin just at the right moment – a sudden rush of adrenaline, a flinch, and a perfect landing.
He opens his eyes and sees Sakura dangling in Izanagi's grip, his mask inches from her face. In a flash, he hurls a kunai at Izanagi's head, and speeds to Sakura's side, catching her before she can even begin to fall.
Whatever genjutsu Izanagi had wreathed around the two of them snaps.
Sakura looks up at him with astonished eyes, "Shisui!"
It tugs at his chest, just like always.
He gives her his best grin, sincere and bright, "Hey, Firefly. I'm not too late, am I?"
Sakura's shock fades to caution, her eyes flickering between his face and Izanagi. Her smile, when it comes, is faint, "No. What are you doing here, Shisui?"
"A good question." Izanagi says, lowering his hand from where he'd been clutching his mask. To Shisui's immense satisfaction, there's now a deep crack across the porcelain face. "How did you know I would be here?"
Shisui grins, as sharp as a mouthful of glass. He spreads his arms, indicating the figures all around him, "I had help."
Takumi and Tora stand in close formation, both armed to the teeth. Takumi even managed to grab a huge scroll, which is tied to his back. Tora is in full ANBU garb, with twin brass knuckles gleaming wickedly on each hand.
Itachi isn't far behind Shisui, looking coolly analytical, taking in the situation. Shisui hadn't wanted Takumi to mark him with the seal, but after Itachi undid Izanagi's orders and gave Shisui the assurance that his mind was his own again, he couldn't exactly leave him behind. Especially not after Shisui told him the truth of what happened with Sakura.
"You disobeyed my orders," Izanagi says flatly, "I warned you what would happen if you interfered with my plans for Yamaguchi."
Tora bristles, stepping forward, but Takumi shakes his head ever so slightly, instantly quelling his approach.
"You broke your word when you killed Miho," Shisui accuses, his voice low. Sakura straightens up in his arms, her face creased in worry.
Izanagi pauses, then laughs, "Is that what caused this little rebellion? One chuunin hardly seems worth all this fuss."
"It isn't just Miho. You've been using Takumi for far too long. You manipulated me into hurting Sakura. You've been threatening her for months. It's going to end here and now. I warned you, didn't I? I said I'm going to be the reason you stop breathing," Shisui says.
He gently places Sakura onto her feet, giving her a reassuring pat on the back. Then he stands up straight, eyes flashing red, hands poised to form seals.
"You're not getting away this time," He says, his voice hard and uncompromising.
"Are you going to let him kill me, Petal?" Izanagi asks, head tilting towards Sakura, an eerily slow movement.
Sakura bites her lip, brow furrowing deeply.
"Don't worry, Sakura," Itachi says kindly, "This isn't your fight."
For some reason, this only makes her face darken even more.
"I'm surprised you would bring your favourite cousin with you. I thought for sure he's what convinced you to attack Sakura on my order," Izanagi says, his tone light yet every word enunciated and deliberately chosen.
Sakura's eyes widen. Shisui feels a sickening swoop in his stomach. Not like this, he thinks helplessly, I wanted to explain it all to her later, when she was safe!
But Sakura's cheeks puff out crossly and she jabs a finger in Izanagi's direction, "I knew it was your fault! All this time Shisui's been avoiding me and he hurt me and it was all because you're so mean all the time! I – I hate you!"
Itachi's eyebrows shoot upwards in surprise. Shisui can't blame him. It's the first time he's ever heard Sakura say a harsh word to anyone.
Izanagi is silent for a long, unnerving moment.
"I already told you," He says slowly, "I didn't make him do anything. I gave him a choice with many options. And he…" Izanagi's mask turns in Shisui's direction, glinting in the sunlight, "He chose poorly. He was free to warn anyone of my plans whenever he wanted – my order to keep quiet was designed to only work if he followed out my request to invade your mind. He could have gone straight to the Hokage, freed Takumi, and spared you. He chose the easy option, Petal. He chose to hurt you."
Sakura trembles, holding her hands up to protect herself from the words.
"I didn't want to!" Shisui shouts, making her jump. He forces himself to calm down, self-hatred curling in his gut. "I'm sorry, I'm so sorry, I thought if I pretended to follow his order, to invade your mind and then not leave a backdoor like he asked – I thought just the appearance of obedience would be enough. I could explain to you why I did it and keep my family safe. I thought I could explain."
Sakura rubs her eyes with her sleeve, looking away.
"Do you see?" Izanagi begins, triumph in his voice.
But then Sakura shakes her head, lilies spilling from her curls. "No. I don't know why you tricked Shisui into doing that, and I still don't know why Shisui did it. But I know I should have told Shisui about you the first time we met, and you hurt me," She says steadily, looking up at him with dry eyes, "When you broke into my mind and made me see horrible things. I didn't tell Shisui because I thought I could make you good, and that if he knew he would only worry and try to fight you. I thought we could be friends, Izanagi-san. I should have known from the moment you hurt me. I know now."
Izanagi steps forward, ignoring Shisui's glare.
"Friends can hurt you worse than enemies," Sakura says calmly, "But friends feel bad when they hurt you, and they say sorry. You're not sorry at all, are you? Shisui feels so bad it's like he's bleeding. You don't feel anything."
"Petal – "
"You're not my friend and you never will be," Sakura takes a deep breath, as if steeling herself, "That makes you my enemy. I'm not going to go with you, and I'm never going to let you in my head again. You should just go, Izanagi-san."
Flowers unfurl from Sakura's palms. Shisui abruptly remembers no one is supposed to see that, and flashes over, closing her hands with his, but it's too late.
"Mokuton," Izanagi says with detached interest, "Now where did you get that?"
Tora and Takumi shift uneasily.
Itachi gapes at Sakura.
Sakura grimaces, her little hands trembling in Shisui's, "I'm not very good at it. And I don't know why I can do it at all."
Itachi's stance firms, his gaze hard. His resolve to protect Sakura has clearly only strengthened from the revelation.
"The orders you left Shisui were far too complex to be anything but the work of the Sharingan," Itachi surmises, a snarl on his face, "You are either an Uchiha, and therefore a traitor, or a thief."
To Shisui's surprise, Izanagi laughs.
"I'm the traitor?" He says, his voice turning lethally sweet. "Why don't you tell them what I saw in your mind, Sakura-chan? Then we can all see who the traitor really is."
Sakura looks as confused as the rest of them, "I don't…" She winces sharply, a hand coming up to press against her forehead. "I don't know what you mean."
Shisui works it out, quick as a flash. Sakura's kekkei genkai had shown her Itachi in Akatsuki's colours. Izanagi must have seen that in her mind and known what it meant.
He sees the bewilderment on Itachi's face, and vows that he can never, ever know the truth.
"Anyway, I meant what I said," He interjects smoothly, dropping Sakura's hands, "You're not leaving this place alive."
"You're very pleased with yourself," Izanagi says slowly, "I suppose you think you have me trapped?"
"We think we're gonna shred you to pieces, asshole!" Kitagawa shouts, dropping from above to stand in front of Sakura and Shisui. "Let's see if you've got any skills beyond attacking a man from behind while he's babysitting! Which was not cool at all, man!"
"You finally woke up, huh?" Tora says wryly. "I found you hanging in a tree. I figured it was this freak's handiwork and cut you down, but I couldn't rouse you."
"Thanks for leaving me to die alone, I guess," Kitagawa says grumpily. There are livid purple marks around his throat. Sakura's hands twitch forward, clearly wanting to heal him.
"You survived, didn't you?" Tora shrugs.
"And this is the extent of the cavalry?" Izanagi raises his arms, gesturing to the group at large, "A boy, a chuunin and two jounin?"
"I'm here too, you know." Kitagawa grumbles.
"Where are the ANBU squads?" Izanagi continues. "The specialised forces sent by the Hokage to deal with internal threats? You knew enough to plan for this… and you still neglected to tell anyone important. What will you do if you are not enough to stop me?"
Shisui steps closer to Sakura.
"What if I told you… none of you are enough?" Izanagi asks, his voice barely above a whisper.
"I'd tell you to think again," Tora says coldly, hands flashing through seals. Everyone else tenses for battle, but Izanagi does not react.
Enormous lizards emerge from the smoke, each one slate grey with pale, forked tongues.
Izanagi tuts, "Hm. Not enough."
Takumi uses the hand that was in his hair to seize the scroll on his back, unfurling it with a splash of blood across the ink. A short sword appears in his hand, crackling with blue chakra.
Itachi readies his shuriken, eyes flashing.
Izanagi sighs, seals forming quicker than Sakura can see. A puff of smoke later, and another Yamaguchi Takumi emerges from where Izanagi once stood.
Tora tenses.
Takumi clutches his sword, looking stricken.
"Have it your way, then," Izanagi shrugs, wearing an unsettlingly nonchalant look on Takumi's face, then flies at Shisui and Sakura.
Shisui lets go of Sakura, his hands flashing seals. He completes them before Sakura can fall, catching her just as a mass of crackling green chakra swarms them. They are now surrounded by an enormous, glowing warrior, brandishing a curved sword.
"Susanoo," Shisui intones.
Izanagi stops short, just as Kitagawa's sword glows blue.
Kitagawa doesn't move, but his blade zips through the air, heading straight for Izanagi. He parries it with a single kunai, ducking under its hilt to rush at Kitagawa.
The blade returns with a whistle and Kitagawa leaps on it, floating over Izanagi's attack.
The lizards burrow underground.
Tora forms seals, golden fire billowing from his fingertips, outstretched towards Izanagi.
"Taichou?" Izanagi says in Takumi's voice.
Tora halts, the fire trembling in the air.
Takumi leaps through it, his sword slashing straight at the impostor's face.
Izanagi jumps back, right as the lizards emerge from underground, latching onto his back with sharp fangs.
"Nice one, Takumi!" Tora yells.
Kitagawa flies up, bringing his sword down onto Izanagi's unprotected head.
Izanagi flickers, then Kitagawa goes flying, breaking through a tree. His sword warps away, spinning into the dirt.
Sakura gasps, trying to wriggle out of Shisui's arms, but he stays rigidly unyielding. He is not going to fail. Not this time.
"Maybe you were right, Uchiha!" Izanagi shouts, his voice sounding well and truly alive for the first time Shisui can remember. "Maybe I do have a Sharingan. Do you want to know where I got it?"
Shisui is trembling with unspent rage. He stays silent.
Kitagawa is crumpled on the ground, deathly still.
"Did anyone ever check Uchiha Miho's eyes?" Izanagi asks. "After the funeral?"
Shisui bites back a gasp, horror shuddering through him.
"She won't be the last to die, I promise you that!" Izanagi swears.
Then he half-stumbles drunkenly, confused, a blade in his back.
"No," Itachi says coldly, "You will die next, as recompense for your sins."
Izanagi reaches up to touch the tanto jutting out of his shoulder. He gives a ragged laugh, "You? You lecture me about sins?"
"What did I see in your head, Sakura?" He shouts. Sakura clutches Shisui's shirt, eyes wide. "Tell me about Uchiha Itachi's sins!"
Itachi is staring at Sakura, wide-eyed in confusion.
Shisui shakes his head, then slowly lowers Sakura to the ground.
He glares right at Izanagi, then the green warrior around them moves, its mighty arm crashing down.
Itachi leaps away nimbly, but Izanagi stands still.
Dirt flies up under the great blow.
Izanagi emerges, unscathed. His Takumi disguise is gone.
Shisui growls, then Susanoo's ribcage opens, firing a thousand chakra needles at Izanagi.
Nothing.
Izanagi stands still, his head tilted slightly in mock-pity, "I really did think you had more to offer, Shisui. Perhaps you could do more if you were not stuck behind that shield, cowering with the child. Don't you want to fight with the grown-ups? Or are you happy to play the coward forevermore? Or… is that your true self, Shisui? A coward?"
Shisui trembles.
"No, he's not!" Sakura yells. "Shisui is so much braver than you know!"
"It's okay, Firefly," Shisui says, giving her a faint, painful smile, "I know what I am. I know what I've done."
"You were the youngest member of the clan to ever manifest Susanoo," Itachi says urgently, "And you are still the only person in living memory to perfect it! You kept me alive through ANBU even without being with me, because I had someone to aspire to, a friend to return to! You are not a coward, Shisui!"
Shisui hangs his head. I'm so tired, he thinks. It's times like this where he wonders if he's just a little bit broken.
Sakura stands up, reaching a hand out for Shisui to hold.
Tora circles around Izanagi, giving him a wide berth. Takumi mirrors him on the other side, looking for an opening. Tora's brass knuckles are glowing, chakra extended like claws.
"What will you do?" Izanagi says, delight lighting up his voice. "Will you fight with your family? Or shelter your friend?"
Shisui takes a step forward, head still low. Another step. One more.
"I think," He says, raising his head to reveal a smirk, "I'll do both. Kage bunshin no jutsu!"
Over twenty clones emerge, leaping from the trees to surround Izanagi.
Sakura gasps.
Itachi smiles, gripping his shuriken.
"Remarkable," Izanagi says, despite his tone sounding anything but impressed, "It is very difficult to manage the constant chakra drain of clones and Susanoo at the same time."
Takumi touches a hand to his chest and a seal flares to life.
The ground beneath Izanagi's feet shifts. Tora throws golden fire in his path before he can steady himself, then Itachi snaps his tanto out once more, aiming for Izanagi's chest.
Izanagi vanishes, reappearing a few feet behind Takumi. He slams the hilt of his kunai against the other man's head. Takumi crashes to the ground.
Tora yells out something indistinct yet clearly desperate.
Shisui's clones pile on Izanagi, each one as fast as Shisui himself. They attack in blurs, Izanagi just barely dodging their blows by a hair, staggering back under the force of the onslaught.
Izanagi grabs Kitagawa's abandoned sword, slicing through a group of clones.
Tora charges, landing a spinning kick on Izanagi's chest, sending him back a few feet. Izanagi whirls around, gripping Tora's head and dragging it down to face-level. Tora slackens at once, hitting the ground soundlessly.
"Katon: Hōsenka Tsumabeni!" Itachi shouts, hurling his shuriken along with a blast of fire with unerring precision.
Each shuriken meets their target: one clips Izanagi's wrist, forcing him to drop the sword before he could stab the unconscious Tora, one ripping through his shoulder, the rest peppering his side in a blaze of flame.
Izanagi's head jerks up and then he rips through the clones between him and Itachi, appearing behind the smaller boy. Itachi's fast enough to whirl around to meet him, but not fast enough to dodge the heavy blow he deals to his face.
Itachi smacks into a tree and sinks to the ground.
Sakura cries out, "No!"
Takumi, Ryuu, Itachi and Kitagawa are all motionless on the ground.
"We're not done yet, you son of a bitch." Shisui growls.
The clones all pull out swords, then dart around Izanagi, too fast to be seen. Invisible slices cut through Izanagi on all sides, sending him reeling in all directions.
Izanagi ducks, kicking Kitagawa's blade into his hand, then shoots over to Sakura and Shisui.
Izanagi brings the sword down –
And shatters Susanoo.
xxxxxxxx
Shisui grips Sakura tight and leaps into the trees, his chakra a mess of panic and fury.
Sakura pulls her hands free, bites her lip and smears the blood across her thumb. Kagami helps her twist out of Shisui's arms, then she slams her hand down on the branch of the tree they're in.
"Kuchiyose no Jutsu!" She yells. Kagami's chakra surges forth.
Rokurou and Saburou emerge, neither looking pleased to see her.
"Ah," Rokurou says distastefully, "The small pink one."
Shisui stares in shock.
Izanagi is watching them. A strange mixture of amusement and anger mingles in his aura.
"One get help, one stay to fight, please!" Sakura orders.
"Well… I am the eldest," Rokurou says unctuously, though he glares at Sakura, "I ought to fight. The smallest should choose flight."
Saburou sighs, clicking his beak, "I suppose that is I."
He flaps his powerful wings, nearly sending Sakura off the branch, and takes off, flying well out of Izanagi's range, though the man doesn't spare him a glance.
"Pestilence and plague," Rokurou curses, "I ought to fulfil my half, I suppose. Very well. And the target is? One of these plentiful soon-to-be corpses, I hope?"
"No!" Sakura glares. "The masked man!"
Izanagi turns, his arms open in welcome.
Rokurou tuts, then turns his gaze on Izanagi. Chakra wells up in his stomach, then he opens his beak and purple mist emerges at a surprising rate, billowing towards Izanagi. The mist strips away the bark of the trees it touches, and they are left to rapidly decay.
Izanagi replaces himself with his cloak, leaping up into the tree opposite Sakura's.
"Not enough," He taunts again, sounding almost as if he was enjoying himself, "Call it off or watch it die."
Rokurou flies overhead.
Shisui leaps, snatching a kunai out of the air as it sails towards the vulture.
"Leave! Leave, Rokurou-san!" Sakura yelps in alarm.
"Always a pleasure," Rokurou says with heavy irony, then he disappears into a puff of smoke.
Wretched chicken, Kagami snarls.
"We have to delay him until the other bird brings help," Shisui says quietly, facing away from Izanagi, "Do you think you could help me distract him?"
Sakura nods, not wanting to risk speaking in case Izanagi sees her lips move.
Shisui goes to jump off the branch, but Sakura catches his sleeve. She hides her face behind him to stop Izanagi seeing.
"I forgive you, Shisui," She mouths, then gives him her best smile.
He blinks down at her, then breaks into a dazzling grin, "Thanks, Firefly."
Before she can react, he's already down on the ground and exchanging blows with Izanagi.
"Are you going to stay up there, where it's safe? You always were so weak, Sakura," Izanagi says.
Sakura does not flinch.
She reaches out, and Kagami answers.
"I've not been weak for a very long time," Kagami replies, then chakra shoots through her legs and she springs high into the air.
Izanagi leaps back.
Kagami crashes back to earth with an almighty bang, her leg caving the forest floor in and ripping trees out of the ground.
She jumps out of the crater just as Izanagi flies at her, and she hurls a punch at him – she misses, but the force of the hit is enough to knock him sideways.
Shisui is a blur, never quite in the way but always hovering on the sidelines.
He's fast enough to dodge her heavy blows as she rains them down with impunity, free to hit without needing to aim. As a result, Izanagi is immediately on the defensive, contorting and whirling around to avoid getting decimated.
Shisui is giving her a wide berth, clearly intimidated by the wind whistling around her fists as she punches again and again.
Kagami doesn't care.
It's been far too long since she's let loose.
"Is that you?" Izanagi asks suddenly, nimbly dodging her kick. "The other soul in Sakura's mind?"
Kagami grits her teeth and says nothing. She's had to listen to his manipulative monotone for far too long. She has no interest in encouraging him.
"Are the things I saw true?" Izanagi presses.
Kagami spins, splaying her hands on the ground and kicking out with both legs. There's still a disappointing lack of impact as Izanagi dances away, and she gets back up with a burning desire to see him broken beneath her feet.
"Was Naruto really dead? Or did you abandon him in his hour of need?" Izanagi asks, his voice an insidious whisper.
Kagami falters.
(The blade goes deep, and Naruto sags beneath it. His eyes are flat and dead, just like Ino's, and Sakura waits for him to move, for the Kyuubi's chakra to unfurl with a monstrous roar, but nothing happens and she waits and waits and dies along with him – )
A hard shove knocks her out of it, Shisui dragging her out of the way as Izanagi flicks kunai in their direction.
"It's not real, Sakura!" Shisui says, eyes wide and panicked.
"Yes, it is!" Kagami snarls.
That's the problem. The dreams are reality. The life she leads now, bitter and twisted and trapped as nothing more than a warped reflection of a better version of herself… it's no life at all. Her world may be on fire, but at least she is real when she's there. Burning is agony but at least it's something.
("Die," Sasuke says with absolutely no emotion or investment at all. He's killing her and he doesn't care. He yanks the sword up and then swings it down once more. The pain hasn't lessened, it hasn't numbed, it's a constant wildfire ripping through her and she's reduced to begging, pleading for it to end, but Tsunade's training was intensive and Sakura's automatic healing is relentless.)
Kagami kicks off the ground and just barely brushes the edge of Izanagi's sleeve, sending him flying.
(Sakura manages to look up, blinking blood out of her eyes, and sees Ino's beautiful face. She's sprawled out next to Sakura, almost close enough to touch. That's the problem with almost, Sakura thinks as Sasuke's hand draws back for another blow, it's worse than never. I loved Sasuke and never stood a chance, I loved Ino and we almost, almost – )
"It was all true!" Kagami roars. "Everything I went through, everything I suffered, it was all real and it is never going to happen again!"
She draws her fist back just as Izanagi rushes her, and finally, finally hits.
His mask smashes, Kagami's knuckles grazing the fabric underneath for just a split second, and then Izanagi soars backwards with the force of the blow.
He crashes through branches and tree trunks, leaving grooves in the earth as his body ploughs to a sudden, painful stop. He manages to catch himself, gloved fingers dragging through the dirt. He doesn't bother to cover his face, as it's already wrapped tightly in bandages. His eyes are cast in shadow.
He laughs raggedly, "I've seen your death, little girl. He drives his hand right through your back, doesn't he? Do you think he was aiming for your heart? It is such an easy target, after all."
Kagami snarls, shoving her fist through a nearby tree and flinging it in his direction.
Izanagi dodges it, still laughing, "Touched a nerve there, didn't I? He carved your heart out – no scraped it, and left pieces behind. Enough that you still believe you're human, but you're not. You're nothing but a broken shell, a corpse dragging behind a child. That's right! I've seen what you are, Kagami. That's what you call yourself now, isn't it? You're a lodestone, an anchor around her neck, a leech desperately clinging to life. And for what? Vengeance? You've had plenty of chances for that, and done nothing. You're no use to the world locked up inside her head. I can set you free, and use your knowledge and strength to change the world. She can't do it. Look at the allies she's surrounded herself with! Ten times her strength, and still so very weak. I am not weak. I can break your shackles and help you make a difference – cut the head off the snake before it bites. You owe it to yourself to do something with the chance you've been given. Or are you content to live it all over again through the eyes of a helpless child? Watch them die once again? Ino is so small and harmless right now, isn't she? How would it feel to see her second chance be snuffed out before it can really begin?"
Kagami looks down at her hands. So small. Unscarred, without the thick skin she once worked so hard to develop.
"What would you have me do?" She asks, clenching her fists.
"Sakura, no!" Shisui says, alarmed. His eyes spin, so she grits her teeth and looks away.
She can almost feel Izanagi's smile widen.
"I only need to access Sakura's mind, and then transfer your consciousness into my own. It wouldn't harm her, or you. You would be free to tell me everything, and point me in the right direction to finally enact your vengeance. You would not be chained in my mind."
Kagami smiles back at him, "That's the trouble. I'm not chained in Sakura's mind anymore. Shisui freed me first."
Izanagi's smile slips.
Shisui stares.
"And you're right. I could have had my vengeance over and over. Sasuke is only a little boy right now, and he trusts this version of myself more than he ever trusted me. I could kill him. I would kill him. But somehow, through all the endless visions… dreams… nightmares of things to come, Sakura brought me back to life. She saved me by reminding me of who I once was. And who I can be again. I don't need your help to change the world. We've already done it."
Izanagi shakes his head, the bandages around his mouth set in shadow, a dark slash of an angry frown, "Fine. I tried to do this the easy way, because if I break your mind by accident then there's no retrieving it. But it seems as though the easy way is no longer an option."
"I don't – " Shisui begins, his voice low in warning.
Izanagi flickers in front of him, Kitagawa's sword back in hand and already swinging.
Sakura sees Sasuke's pitiless eyes.
She witnesses Naruto lose hope.
She watches Ino fall to the ground.
Kagami moves.
When the sword goes through Sakura's little chest, Kagami takes every ounce of pain for herself, leaving nothing to spare.
"No!" Shisui screams.
Even Izanagi's eyes, dark and obscured, seem to widen.
Kagami can do this. She has died a thousand times. She can live just this once. For Sakura.
She seizes Izanagi's hands around the blade's hilt, refusing to let him move away. The sword has ripped through everything inside her, but it's not enough. The pain is familiar, every bit as agonising as it was before.
Izanagi tries to pull free, but Kagami is stone.
Shisui is weeping next to her, his hand uselessly pressed against her side.
"I've got him, Shisui," Kagami says, words slightly garbled by the blood in her mouth, "Finish this."
Shisui is wretchedly sobbing her name over and over, but it's not her name anymore. He's crying for the infant who is peacefully sleeping inside their mind. No one has cried for Kagami besides herself in a very long time. She doesn't know if anyone mourned for her when she died, if Kakashi found Team Seven lying broken, entwined with Team Ten.
Saburou cries out overhead.
Kagami falls asleep gratefully, oblivion a welcome respite from the never-ending agony of living.
Sakura wakes up with her hands gripping Izanagi's, Shisui's arms wrapped around her, and Kitagawa's sword stabbed through her chest.
She can't feel any pain, just a very sluggish flow of blood barely escaping around the blade.
"Izanagi-san," She rasps, "I'm going to let you go, and you're not going to come back. Okay?"
Izanagi's hands twitch beneath hers.
"Sakura! Firefly, oh, don't – " Shisui gasps, the rest of his sentence swallowed by a sob.
"You can't come back, because if you do, I'll fight you again… and I'll win," Sakura says seriously.
Izanagi nods, his veiled gaze heavy on her face, "Perhaps. But, if you survive this, please bear in mind… If life in Konoha should prove unbearable, I will always be an option."
Shisui's arms tighten around her.
"Bye bye, Izanagi-san," Sakura says.
She lets go, expecting him to disappear at once, but instead he supports the blade and allows Shisui to prop her up in his arms, keeping the sword from doing any more damage to her.
"Why did you do all this?" Shisui says, his voice hoarse from tears.
Izanagi pauses. "To you? Because you remind me of someone I used to know. To her? Because I need her help to return to someone I dearly miss."
Sakura stares up at him. If she had known that from the start, she would have done everything she could to help.
But Izanagi must know that.
He ignores her questioning look, and finally flickers away.
Shisui cradles her, his chakra a maelstrom of panic, terror and heart-wrenching grief.
Sakura tries to pull the sword out herself, but Shisui immediately clutches her hands, terror spiking in his aura.
"No! You have to leave it in, or all…" Shisui's voice fades, the reality of the situation clearly dawning on him again. "Firefly…"
"I can't heal myself while there's a sword in my chest," Sakura tries to tell him.
He can't seem to hear her, "I'm so sorry, I can't believe I ever – "
Sakura uses his distraction to rip the blade out, ignoring his howl of horror.
She falls back, hair spilling across the grass, and it's almost like cloud-watching with Shikamaru might have been, if this day had gone as planned.
Instead, Shisui's eyes are wild and his hands are pressing too hard on her wound, violent tremors rushing through him.
Sakura calms herself, closing her eyes to Shisui's terror, and places her hands on her chest.
Kagami wakes just enough to help out, pouring chakra into the wound.
"Sakura!" Tsunade shouts.
Shisui flings himself to the side, looking up at the older woman with almost painful eagerness.
Tsunade takes over at once, her hands shaking hard at the blood, her chakra rippling as panic thrashes inside her.
Saburou is sitting in a nearby tree. Oh, Sakura smiles to herself, he must have gone to get help at the Senju House. I guess he wouldn't know many safe places in Konoha.
Shizune reaches in to lend a hand, eyes dark with determination.
Tenzo kneels at Sakura's side, next to Shisui, his chakra a wash of fearhorrorpain, crashing against each other over and over. He distracts Sakura with a daisy chain between his fingers, eyes wet with unshed tears.
"I'm not going to die," Sakura whispers. Not this time, Kagami agrees.
"Never." Shisui promises, his voice hard.
Thank you for saving Shisui, Onee-chan, Sakura says.
You're welcome, Sacchan.
xxxxxxxx
Sakura doesn't remember everything from that day in the Nara Forest.
She knows that after her condition was stabilised and she was whisked away to hospital, the other members of the group had been healed and had all refused to seek further treatment, keeping their involvement a secret. She knows Shikamaru was found sleeping safely in the grass, still wreathed in Izanagi's heavy genjutsu. He knew it was there, he just couldn't be bothered to break it. When he was told what happened was a training exercise gone wrong, he told them he didn't care if they didn't want to tell the truth, but he didn't want to have to sit through them lying. That was time he could spend sleeping.
Tsunade tells Sakura that as far as the Hokage and the Council are concerned, what happened in the forest was another attack by ROOT. Kitagawa hasn't been punished for failing to protect her, but he's been beating himself up enough on his own. There hasn't been any sign of Izanagi since the fight. Sakura hasn't even sensed a faint note of midnight blue and broken glass.
Sakura woke up the day after the battle in the woods with two dogs on her chest and her parents sitting at her bedside. She apologised to them for always being in hospital, and they scolded her through tears for being silly. Her brothers had burst into the room along with the rest of the Monsters, Itachi hanging back and looking guilty. She soon put a stop to that by opening her arms out and pitifully calling his name. He was powerless to resist, and he gave her a long, gentle hug, even after she offered him her little finger instead if he still didn't like hugs.
Naruto had bounced on the bed and told her he'd protect her from all the bad guys, because she'd promised to be there when he became Hokage, so she had to get better quick, and he'd make sure no one ever hurt her again.
Sakura had pulled him into a hug, slow and tender, tears pricking at her eyes. Naruto was the reason all of this started, and she would never forget that. The first dream had been an omen of what was to come, but she was getting very good at changing things for the better.
"Don't get hurt again, Sakura-nee," Naruto had whispered in her ear, sounding choked.
"I'll try, Naruto," Sakura had promised, hugging him tight.
Finally, on a warm morning when she was due to come home, Shisui came to see her.
"Hey, Firefly," He says, his smile warm and gentle, "Did you miss me?"
"Of course," Sakura replies at once.
Shisui sits down on the bed, patting Momo with a fond look. He strokes his mother's scarf, a little rough around the edges, but still the same blue fabric as before.
"I said it before, but it's worth repeating." Shisui says, his voice very serious. He takes a deep breath, messing with his curls, and says, "I'm sorry for everything. I'm sorry for being a coward and ignoring you when I first encountered Izanagi. I'm sorry for betraying your trust and hurting you. I'm sorry for prioritising everything else above you. I'm sorry for believing for one single second that causing you pain was even an option, let alone the best one."
Sakura scrunches up her nose, trying to think of the best way to make him feel better.
She lights up, remembering something.
She slowly moves her hands through the seals he's sure to recognise, stopping just short of completing them.
"Katon," He says, smiling, "That's how we met."
"You hurt me that day, too, but I knew you were nice because you said sorry and I could feel that you meant it. Nothing's changed. You're my best friend, Shisui."
Shisui ducks his head, suddenly bashful, "You said as much in your letter… I… It's the same for me, too. Whether I beat the odds and we stay friends forever, or there ends up being a very good reason you've never dreamt of me… I'm glad we met."
"Me too."
"And… could you thank your big sister for saving me, please?" Shisui says sheepishly. "At least… I'm pretty sure it wasn't you, since you were all scary, throwing trees with one hand and roaring."
"It was Kagami," Sakura confirms, smiling, "She didn't mind saving you."
Shisui laughs, "The weird never stops coming with you, does it? As much as I want a peaceful life, I'd probably miss hearing all your bizarre revelations."
"Like Mokuton," Sakura says, very quietly.
They both fall silent for a moment, remembering.
"Izanagi, Itachi, Takumi and Tora all know now… possibly Kitagawa, too – " Shisui sees her guilty face and rolls his eyes, " – okay, definitely Kitagawa. We can still keep this under wraps for the most part, but… I'm worried about Izanagi."
"You shouldn't be," Sakura says serenely, "He won't come back. I felt his chakra. He was very upset that he accidentally stabbed me."
"As he should be!" Shisui snorts. "If I ever see him again… I'm gonna run the other way, because I've had enough with the weird mind games."
Sakura nods in solemn agreement, then gasps as she remembers something.
She pulls a little book out from beneath her pillow, putting it in her lap and stroking the cover. "I asked Okaa-san to get my dream diary from my room. She thinks it's just a diary about boys in my secret code, but it's not. I wrote down all of the dreams I've had so far, and only you can read it. I've filled this one up, so I thought you could have it."
"You would… you trust me with this?" Shisui says, taken aback.
"With everything, Shisui," Sakura says firmly.
Shisui smiles. It matches his chakra, bubbly with happiness and contentment. "Thanks, Firefly."
xxxxxxxx
Sakura isn't supposed to know about the cake, but Kitagawa may have let a few details spill with a wink and a pat on the head.
She's thrilled and not bothering to hide it when Tenzo leads her down the path to the Senju House, knowing everyone is following behind and all of her loved ones are safe and nearby. Tamotsu greets her with desperate barks, his bum wiggling with excitement at the sight of her. Momo and Misa bark right back, tails wagging furiously.
It's the first time Sakura's left the hospital since Izanagi's attack. She's bracketed by her parents, her mother holding one hand, her father holding the other.
Shizune is carrying Naruto, moving to avoid being tripped by Tamotsu as he dances at her heels, trying to reach his owner. Kai shadows her, his face for once free of a scowl, instead faintly amused. Airi is for some reason dressed as Tsunade, which had given Sakura a shock when she saw what appeared to be a slightly deflated Tsunade with completely the wrong chakra. Kitagawa is on the roof, which Tsunade hasn't noticed yet, because if she had she would be yelling a lot about expensive tiles and clumsy burglars.
Shisui was going to be here in time for dessert. Kakashi was supposed to already be here, but they'd guessed he'd be late and gave him the wrong time to trick him into punctuality. Genma and Kabuto promised to swing by after they finished their work for the day.
The Uchiha are a slow, dignified procession behind the more chaotic Senju clan. They're all dressed for a funeral, or maybe a nice, fancy afternoon tea. Mikoto is wearing sparkly earrings, Fugaku doesn't look quite as angry as usual, Sasuke's in sky blue, and Itachi is walking carefully with a very large green rabbit in his arms. He and Sakura have scheduled a playdate between Mr Minty and Miss Magnolia.
Ino and the rest of the Monsters will be here soon.
Sakura can't wait to see them all again.
A messenger waylays Tsunade at the door, but Sakura rushes past and dances into the house, thrilled to be back. Her parents follow her example, twirling down the hall, always happy to dance at any opportunity. Her dad's been able to dance a lot more since Kagami healed him.
Sakura rushes into the garden to see Tenzo's guinea pigs. They squeak at different times, almost making a little song out of their noises, and Sakura loves hearing them sing. There seems to be more than there was last time.
The tree she grew with Tenzo is growing even bigger, cherry blossom just starting to bud. Tenzo's garden is in full bloom most of the time, but occasionally he likes to go back to the start and watch them all blossom once more.
Misa runs in a circle under the tree, then abruptly squats.
Sakura gasps, "Good girl! You good girl!"
Momo cocks his head, listening to the praise, and swiftly follows suit.
Sakura gasps again, "Both of you! Weeing in the garden like good dogs! Well done!"
"Why are we cheering?" Sakura's mother asks, poking her head out of the door.
"Misa and Momo are weeing!" Sakura announces.
"Great." Sakura's mother says, not quite managing to match Sakura's enthusiasm.
"Always knew they had it in 'em!" Sakura's father yells.
Sakura beams at them both, "I knew you'd be happy, too."
Sakura's mother's face softens. She steps out into the garden, opening her arms out for a hug, "With you, honey, how could we be anything less than happy?"
All three of them hug for a long time, until Misa launches herself at Sakura's father's knees, sending him toppling over.
They all laugh, her dad the loudest, and sit in the grass together.
Sakura looks up at the treehouse.
Everyone she loves is either here or on their way.
It's such a bright, happy thought. It fizzles in her mind like a firework.
I'm so glad you gave me my dreams, Onee-chan, she says cheerfully, I wouldn't have so many lovely days without you here.
Kagami smiles, the terrible drip-drip of blood long gone, the twisted chains absent from her arms, now free to hold her up as she sits and watches the world through Sakura's eyes, thank you for only ever taking my advice when it was actually good. If you'd listened to me every time… I don't think you'd be anywhere near as happy as you are. I'm glad things turned out this way.
For a long, peaceful moment, they all sit in companionable silence as bees buzz by and butterflies hover over the flowers.
Then –
"Sakura!" Tsunade hollers. "Why does the messenger from Suna have a battleaxe with your name on it?!"
Hello, friends!
Phew. That took a while, huh?
I wrote a lot of this while tired out of my mind, but quite frankly that's when I get most of my writing done, so that isn't saying much. Regardless, if it's terrible or just doesn't make any sense, it's the sleep deprivation that's the problem. Not ME. Ha ha ha...
I have LOVED writing TFLA. I'm loving plotting the sequel. Please follow me for updates so you don't miss the very first chapter of The More it Takes Away!
I made a discord for this fic, which I rarely use because I am terrible, but it's a fairly reliable method of contacting me. If you want to join, please send me an ask on tumblr.
Ryuu/Tora has komodo dragon summons. Is it realistic that so many characters in my fics have summons? No! Do I care? DOUBLE NO
It's nearly 4AM and my mind is unravelling with every minute. I feel like if I stay awake any longer, I'll uncover the secrets of the universe.
If you want to read something that reminds me of TFLA/inspired TFLA, I have some book recs for you!
(All of the following book recs should be read in the super cute Puffin in Bloom editions if possible!)
Heidi by Johanna Spyri
A Little Princess by Frances Hodgson Burnett
Little Women by Louisa May Alcott
Anne of Green Gables by L.M Montgomery
All of the above books feature spunky, optimistic heroines, often in less than ideal circumstances, with compassion and character growth always the central focus. I hope if you read them/have already read them that you love them as much as I do!
Anime recs: (Ones that remind me of Time Flies Like an Arrow)
Cardcaptor Sakura – One of the most precious shows in existence.
Chi's Sweet Home – CATS!
K-ON! – A very sweet, cheerful slice of life anime about cute girls forming a band.
Yotsuba!
Polar Bear Cafe
MY Love STORY! (Okay, it's not about kids or overly cute stuff, but it's still adorable and unbelievably optimistic)
Sakura will be about eight years old in the sequel, by the way. So many of you were worried I'd skip straight to her being an adult and there'd be no more cute kid stuff at all! There will, but it'll be tempered by emotional maturity and more complex friendship rituals :D
I'm so sorry for how long this took to write, but in my defence, I am an idiot.
I love you guys a lot, so thank you for being so patient with me when I was slow to post or made a million mistakes per chapter.
(Btw, in case any of you were wondering... I beat NanoWriMo with three days to spare. Somehow)
Quick poll because it's the last one:
What was your favourite part of Time Flies Like An Arrow?
Mine was the comments, which made my day every time. Thanks, you guys! 3
(Dogwatch Pupdate: Three very good dogs are very happy in two homes that they get to spend lots of time in getting belly rubs, head scratches, and best of all, they're fed far too often, because they're all very good at looking desperately hungry when they've actually just stolen Tsunade's burnt roast ham)