It turns out that my theory about me either getting the strangest dreams or nightmares was correct; however, to me, it was far more intense than any other dream or nightmare that I have ever had in my life. Truthfully, it scared me to death, and I don't even consider it a dream or a nightmare anymore.
It was...
...something else.
Here's what happened...
I found myself standing in the center of this abyss that was shrouded in pure darkness, the eerie emptiness making my stomach upset, and I called out "Hello?" numerous times, but no one would ever answer, the only thing I heard was my own echoes...
My body began to tremble as I felt so helpless and so... lost.
I tried again. "Hello?"
No answer.
My heart sunk.
Where am I?
An ominous lime mist suddenly encircled the entire area and then a frightening silhouette could be seen ahead, making my heart dangerously pulsate.
Who is that?
"Who's there?" I asked a little alarmed, now bracing myself.
"Do you remember me?" the silhouette replied, not answering me, but instead asking her own question, and I recognized that voice.
It was... that old lady.
The one who showed me those horrible visions of the future in my dreams, the visions that haunt me every night...
What is she doing here?
"What... What are you doing here?" I inquired somewhat reluctantly and she proceeded towards me, her body fully seeable now.
An orange hood was covering her entire head, allowing not one strand of hair to even be seeable, and her eyes...they were black. Just black.
...Fully black.
I'm surprised that I didn't scream.
"The time is almost near..." she murmurs and continues, "I know...because I relived it for far too long..."
"What... What are you talking about?! Who are you anyway?!" I demanded, horror now continually swirling in my eyes.
She chuckled. Actually chuckled...
"Oh, you know me very well..." she darkly revealed while smirking and then added, "...and I know you very well..."
My heart was now drowning in the pits of my stomach, it screaming in fear.
Who is she...?
She continued to speak, her haunting voice paralyzingly me.
"There's still time to change things if you want, I really don't care what you do. I only allowed you to see those visions for merely my own purposes, mostly just to test you, because I honestly was just getting a little bored of watching the same things happen over and over again wherever I went... So this time, I decided to put my powers to good use, to find actual light in my punishment... and I did."
I was shaking so much that it was even hard to breath...
What is she talking about?
"And by good, I don't mean good. There is nothing good about me..." the old woman wickedly clarified and she started laughing, laughing really loud.
Her laughter, I swear, was making my ears bleed...
I started crying...
...and she kept laughing.
...
I was terrified.
That's it. That was all that happened in that dream or nightmare or whatever the heck it was, but I know for a fact that I've never been so shaken before in my life, despite all the other gruesome things that I went through in the past...
It was scary.
Surprisingly, my body didn't jerk when I awoke in total fear, and I merely opened my eyes for a brief second, then re-closed them once realizing the situation.
Naruto was carrying me in his arms and Jiraiya was walking right besides him, the two talking about something...
...Something that I've been wanting to know for awhile now.
I pretended to be asleep the whole time that I heard their conversation...
"So Pervy Sage... What exactly do those guys want with me anyway?" Naruto asked and they stopped in their tracks.
"Hmmm..."
Naruto growled. "Come on! Out with it, Pervy Sage! You know, don't you?"
There was a long silence before Jiraiya said anything and I felt the wind rush through my pink hair.
"Don't get the wrong idea. It's not you they want, it's what's inside of you..."
"...What the heck is this thing anyway? Some horrible demon that terrorized the Leaf Village... That's why everyone is so afraid of it, right? So why do these guys want it so bad?"
Demon? What demon is Naruto talking about and what do those guys want with him and what demon terrorized our village? Why...?
Jiraiya soon answered my questions and I almost cried.
"The Nine Tailed Fox has appeared in times of consequence all through the ages, a ghastly spirit destroying all that lays in it's path. As powerful as any act of nature, men trembled before it. As for what they would want with that malicious monstrosity, that's a hard question to answer, Naruto. I honestly can't say. I suppose with the Nine Tails sealed up inside you, they might be thinking of somehow ceasing control of that power, bending it to their will. It's a bitter pill to swallow knowing that those two will be after you now, but that is your fate. Eh, not to worry though. After all, you will have me around."
I was right. That demon really is sealed inside him, like one was with Gaara, I guess...
Naruto...
His entire life, he's been living with that fox locked away inside him. He's been enduring so much pain, so much hate... that it must be unimaginable.
I can't even comprehend on why our villagers would treat him so rashly in the first place. The fox is like a prisoner in his body and this allows everyone to be safe, to not get harmed by it's power. Their hate towards Naruto is pointless; what they hate is the fox, not Naruto. It's funny but I didn't think people could ever be so immature...
Then again, I guess I could understand their anger, their hate. The Nine Tails supposedly bought havoc upon the village and many lives were probably lost. So the villagers take out their frustrations out on Naruto, because that's probably the closest way in getting their 'revenge' on the fox, I suppose.
But...
Naruto has been suffering for so long and on his own too. HE, not the fox, doesn't deserve to be treated in such a horrendous way, and Naruto probably goes through the most unthinkable emotional battle that would absolutely astonish us all if we knew what he went through everyday, if we all knew the savage torment in his his mind.
It's so amazing how he still smiles...
I'm kind of hurt that he didn't tell me about the fox sooner but it's understandable. Naruto probably feared that I wouldn't like him anymore or that I would be too scared to talk to him again.
I would never do that to him. I'm not like those other people...
Naruto has a pure heart, I know it, and I'll accept him no matter what happens.
He's Naruto Uzumaki, not that fox...
And that's a fact.
"Oh well! I'll just have to hurry up and get even stronger! There's no other choice!" Naruto exclaimed cheerfully and my heart ached a little at hearing his blithe voice.
How can he act so happy?
It boggles me.
Is he faking it or is he really that pumped up?
Either way, I praise him for being so strong.
You're amazing, Naruto.
Suddenly, I started to violently cough, and my eyes popped open at an instance, now fully alarming the two.
I feel like I can't breath.
"Sakura-chan?! Are you okay?!" Naruto asked as he looked down at me in his arms, extreme worriment in his voice.
After a few seconds, the violent coughing had subsided, and I cleared my throat, now forcing a fake smile.
"Y-Yeah. I'm fine..." I nervously replied and a tiny cough escaped my lips a second after speaking.
My eyes then widened in complete horror at remembering what happened to Sasuke and I almost screamed.
"Wh-Where's Sasuke?! Is he okay?!" I frantically interrogated and my breathing grew heavy, almost having a panic attack.
Sasuke...
I'm way more than worried about him, especially after what his older brother said him...
'You're still too weak. You don't have enough hate. And you know something...
You never will.'
Those words, that memory, it brings such chills down my spine, terrifying me greatly.
I'm so scared. What if Sasuke really tries to leave the village now? To obtain power from that creep, to finally be able to kill his brother...
His hate isn't strong enough, huh?
Itachi seriously needs to shut up. I don't want Sasuke to be full of hate. Honestly, I don't want him turning out like the stripper...
Besides, love is way stronger than hate in every way, so if anything, Sasuke needs more love rather than hate to become stronger.
Well, in my opinion, at least...
There was also something else that Itachi said that was bothering me the most...
'That girl must be making you even weaker, isn't she...?'
...
In a way, I think I do make him weaker, but not necessarily in a bad way.
I mean, maybe weak as in that I distract Sasuke from doing certain things, since he says that he can never stop thinking about me, and-
OH MY GOSH I'M BLUSHING!
...
U-Um. As I was saying...
Maybe I do hold him back a little bit but his brother just saying that made me feel guilty.
I don't want to keep Sasuke away from his goal, but then again I don't believe in revenge, and just...
SIGH.
It terrifies my heart knowing that the chances of Sasuke leaving the village
have now drastically increased and I just hope that he doesn't avoid me, that he doesn't leave me...
...
Oh gosh.
I think like a stupid girl in a bad romantic movie or something...
How pathetic.
Okay. Out with my stupid thoughts and in with reality.
"Sasuke is fine. Gai is taking him back to the village now and he will be hospitalized," Jiraiya sternly answered.
"G-Gai? But he wasn't with us before, was he? What happened...?" I asked frowning.
"Don't worry about it. Everything will be fine," Jiraiya assured with a grin and he started ruffling my pink hair with a chuckle. "Your boyfriend here has been carrying you for awhile now and he even saved you from Itachi trying to take you. You're one lucky little lady. Hehe."
Naruto and I both blushed.
"Damn it Pervy Sage! SHUT UP!" Naruto roared embarrassed.
The eldest of our trio cleared his throat and let out a chuckle.
"Alright, alright. Now Sakura... Your boyfriend told me that you could heal now, so would you be interested in helping us find this woman that we've been looking for?" Jiraiya asked me grinning and he quickly added, "She's the best healer in the world and a pretty tough cookie too. She's also one of the three legendary Sannin, like me."
"What... What's her name?" I innocently asked.
"Some lady named Tsnaude!" Naruto answered for me and he then looked at Jiraiya, his eyes booming with excitement. "Alright! Let's find this Tsnaude woman that you've been talking about Pervy Sage! You know, so she could fix up Sasuke and so we can quickly get down to some serious training!"
Jiraiya fondly smiled at him and said nothing.
I wanted to smile too but instead I frowned.
Is Sasuke really that hurt...?
Will he be able to fully recover without the healing abilities of this Tsnaude lady or is he able to fully recover on his own...?
I hope so.
"Sakura-chan, are you good to walk?" Naruto politely asked.
"O-Oh! Um... Y-Yeah..." I shyly said and Naruto put me down, myself now fully standing.
The three of us started to walk on this path and there wasn't even a cloud in the bright blue sky.
A vibrant pink then infiltrated my cheeks at remembering something.
"Oh yeah. T-Thanks for saving me from Itachi, Naruto."
Naruto smiled at me and he chuckled. "No problem, Sakura!"
Jiraiya smirked. "Awe. You two lovebirds are sure giving me some great material for my next issue! Hehe."
"DAMN YOU PERVY SAGE I TOLD YOU TO SHUT UP ALREADY!" Naruto exploded, his vein even popping, and he was blushing, totally mortified. "And you better not write any mushy stuff about us in your pervy books, Pervy Sage! I'll kick your ass if you do! BELIEVE IT!"
"Haha! It's not my fault that you two are so inspiring and it's also not my fault that one of the couples in my novels act just like you guys..." Jiraiya playfully revealed and he flashed us both a wink.
Naruto's jaw completely dropped.
"WHAT?! YOU DAMN-"
"Hey, wait a minute. What is this Tsnuade lady like anyways and why are you guys even looking for her in the first place?" I casually asked, unintentionally interrupting Naruto.
Honestly, I have a strange feeling about this woman.
According to Jiraiya, she's one of the greatest healers in the world, and also a tough cookie, which probably means that she kicks major butt.
Why... Why do I have this strange feeling that she will become someone important later on in my life?
I feel like older me would know her very well...
"Yeah! You've had us scouting all around for this freaking lady! Tell us more about her already! Wait, how old is she?" Naruto asked.
Jiraiya smirked and gave him a thumbs up. "Same age as me."
Naruto made a disgusted face. "Blegh. She's ancient."
Jiraiya twitched, his vein now popping, and he twirled around to face the blond, now pointing at him. "WHAT DID YOU SAY?! YOU LITTLE SQUIRT! I'M NOT THAT OLD!"
"Yeah. He actually looks pretty good for whatever age he is..." I agreed and there was a blank expression on my face.
Jiraiya chuckled and flipped his long snowflake colored hair. "Why thank you, young lady. It's good to know that we have another person who isn't a total dimwit in this little trio of ours."
"HEY! IF ANYONE IS THE DIMWIT HERE IT'S YOU, PERVY SAGE!" Naruto hotly shouted and my teammate was now growling, totally offended.
"U-Uh... You two cool your jets, please. Um... Can you please tell us more about Tsnuade now?" I asked the only adult in our presence and there was much hope in my timid voice.
"Why anything for you, Sakura," Jiraiya told me with a wink as he then started to intently ponder and the perverted old man began to speak once again. "Now what can I tell ya? Hmm... Well, for starters, she's kind of unpleasant... Plus I guess there's the fact that she's known far and wide as a die hard gambler and all that."
Naruto chuckled and excitedly clenched his right fist. "Great! This should be a piece of cake then if she's as famous as all that!"
Jiraiya scoffed. "Oh she's famous, alright. You might even call her Legendary... Sucker. But as legendary as a sucker that she may be, I doubt that she's going to be all that easy to find."
"Why? What makes you say that?" Naruto asked.
He sighed and crossed his arms. "She's not the type to grow old gracefully, probably using some kind of Jutsu to mask her appearance. She's actually fifty years old but I'm sure she'll look more like she did in her twenties. That's not all, the word on on the wind I hear of lately, is that she started transforming on the fly. Going from her teens, to her thirties, or forties. All so she could cut out on any money lenders that she's in too deep with."
"That's awful. Aw man! She sounds like a charmer!" Naruto exclaimed.
"Yeah, well... Tsnuade has always loved gambling more than anything. She never had any luck, though you need skill for that matter. Heh. She was named a sucker so many times that the name just stuck with her! But then she would just borrow money and skip out on her debts. Ah, it brings me back, I tell ya..."
"Wow. She sounds so irresponsible..." I mused.
"Hey, we don't have time for nostalgia! Come on! Do you have a plan on finding her or what?!" Naruto hastily demanded and he clenched his left fist, growing more impatient by the second.
He grinned. "Heh. Not exactly. We might have a little work ahead of us but I'm sure that you, your girlfriend, and I will all come up with something."
Naruto and I blushed once again but we quickly brushed it off.
"Graaaah! Come on! So you don't have the slightest idea on how long this is going to take, do you?!" Naruto demanded, very annoyed.
"Not a minute will be wasted. All our time on the road will be devoted solely to you..." Jiraiya proclaimed to my teammate and he then gave me an apologetic look. "Sorry Sakura. Please don't be offended by that..."
I just shrugged, feeling indifferent.
Perplexed, Naruto blinked his eyes multiple times. "To me?"
"We've got to get you stronger! Time to train!" Jiraiya enthusiastically said and he gave my teammate one great grin.
The brief shock on Naruto's face was soon replaced with a ravishing smile and he started chuckling, now pulling out something from his backpack.
I looked at Naruto with much curiosity and Jiraiya made an ugly face, now looking disgusted once seeing what the blond had finally pulled out from his bag.
It appeared to be...
Rock Lee's... Outfit?
Oh boy.
Jiraiya then crouched down in front of Naruto and quietly but frantically said, "Wait, wait, wait, wait! Hold on a second! Look, I already told you. I'm not having that! I can't be seen with someone walking around with that...that thing!"
Wait. Before, they said that Gai was with them, so does that mean that he gave them that...
...
Oh geez.
•*•*•Thirty minutes later•*•*•
After chatting and walking with the two for about a half hour, we had finally made our way to this town, and there also appeared to be some sort of festival going on in it.
Jiraiya advised us to gather information about Tsnaude while partaking in certain festival activities and then we would all start training right after.
We were now standing in the middle of a large crowd in the town and were talking, about to part ways.
"Downtime is important, so I thought
that we would have a little fun before we start your training. This festival will be going on for awhile, so we'll hang out here until it's over, and then we'll start your training here too!" Jiraiya calmly explained while smiling down at my teammate and I couldn't help but smile myself.
Naruto threw his arms in the air, feeling totally exhilarated, and he shouted, "ALRIGHT!"
With a chuckle, Naruto then pulled out a fat looking frog wallet thing from his backpack, and held it up to his cheek, now smiling.
Now Jiraiya was the one smiling and he bent over slightly, now pointing at him. "Oh baby! Now that's what I'm talking about! That is one fat frog you got there! You're filthy rich, buddy!"
Naruto cuddled the cute but fat frog wallet with his cheek and he was blushing.
He looked so cute!
"Yeah, I got a pretty big stash. I've been saving up bit by bit from my missions..." Naruto sheepishly but happily explained and he then looked at me. "Come on! Let's go have some fun, Sakura-chan!"
Next thing I knew, Naruto grabbed my hand, making me blush, and he was about to lead me somewhere when Jiraiya put a stop to it by extending out his arm and shouting, "Stop right there you two!"
We paused and both stared at him with perplexed expressions.
"I'm going to hold onto your wallet for you!" Jiraiya sternly exclaimed and he then abruptly snatched the wallet out of my teammate's grasp, making us both flinch.
Naruto leaped forward and repeatedly tried to snatch back his wallet. "HEY! Wha-What do you think you're doing?!"
"Y-Yeah! Please give him back his wallet..." I weakly pleaded while frowning and my sweat dropped.
Why do I have a feeling that he's going to use Naruto's money for something dirty...?
SIGH.
Jiraiya abruptly handed him some money that he had retrieved from his pocket and said, "Here, you can have this much to spend."
Naruto flinched once seeing how much money the pervert had gave him and he seemed outraged.
"WHAT?! Only three hundred?!"
"I don't want to hear it! Honoring the Shinobi's three prohibitions is the duty of any outstanding ninja!" Jiraiya strictly scolded.
"Three prohibitions? What are you talking about?" Naruto asked, greatly annoyed.
"You're kidding. Don't you know? The three prohibitions are a trio of temptations that will bring a Shinobi to his ruin!" Jiraiya explained a little frustrated and he continued on, now counting on his fingers. "Those three prohibitions are: alcohol, pretty women, and worst of all, money."
My face turned bluer than my own headband and I twitched.
I think that those are HIS three prohibitions, not anyone else's...
"Yeah, well, none of those things really apply to me all that much, so we're cool. I mean, I'm under-aged,
so I can't drink yet, I don't really get the whole women thing, and I worked so hard to save all that money that I don't really feel like spending a ton of it."
"YOU LITTLE FOOL! DON'T TAKE MONEY LIGHTLY! ONCE YOU START SPENDING YOU WILL NEVER STOP!" Jiraiya dramatically yelled while pointing at the blond, sounding a little too over the top if you ask me, and he continued on, "Money possess a frightful power... This woman, Tsnaude, the one that we are searching for, has ruined herself by pursuing IT..."
Naruto crossed his arms and huffed in disbelief. "Pretty big talk coming from someone so addicted to the ladies."
"I'm going to go see if I can gather some information..." Jiraiya informed and he then handed over his huge backpack to Naruto. "Here. I want you to hold onto my bag for me, kay? If you happen to get lost somehow, you can always rely on my tracker toad to sniff out my scent."
Again, Naruto grabbed onto my hand as he childishly stuck his tongue out at him, and we then started running into the crowd, my heart racing a bit.
This shall be fun.
•*•*•One hour later•*•*•
It all started out with our empty, growling tummies and the dreadful result was now dealing with our aching, stuffed tummies.
Oh gosh. I have never eaten so much in all my life...
Naruto and I had somehow managed to purchase so much food with that cash that Jiraiya had given us and we both ate it all in one sitting like little piggies.
Never. NEVER AGAIN.
Ow. Oh gosh. My poor tummy...
I think I just gained five unwanted pounds.
UGH.
Despite all this though, I had a really great time being with him, and we talked about a crap load of random things while we ate. Naruto also never seems to fail when it comes to making me laugh. Heehee.
Anyway...
The two of us were now laying down on this grassy field while watching the clouds together and we were also embarrassingly holding our bloated stomachs too.
"I think I've might have eaten too much..." Naruto mumbled.
I sighed and tiredly said, "Me too. I feel like a freaking blimp... Ugh!"
"Well, you certainly don't look like one.." he assured with a sweet grin and we locked eyes, the two of us now both smiling.
I let out a soft laugh and then looked at the sky, now gazing up at the clouds. "Haha. I wish but thanks..."
Sadness then engulfed my lime eyes and I frowned.
Should I tell Naruto that I overheard his conversation with Jiraiya about the Nine Tailed Fox? Because I don't want to ruin this happy vibe that we've got going on here...
Maybe it's just better on his conscious if he thinks that I didn't know?
...Or maybe it's the exact opposite.
Who knows.
SIGH.
I also can't help but wonder who that old woman really was and question how she even knows me.
Or wait. Was that just a stupid dream?
It couldn't be real, right...?
But still...
Who is she?
"CHA! SHE'S PROBABLY SOME FREAKING WEIRDO!" Inner me savagely yelled and she waved her arms around in a ferocious manner, which was nothing new to me.
Perhaps you're right.
Maybe she's just some crazy old lady who is obsessed with me?
SHRUG.
Who knows.
"Hey, you okay?" Naruto suddenly asked, concern in his voice.
I looked at him and forced my lips to curve upwards.
"Y-Yeah. My stomach just feels like it's about to burst. Haha. Sorry..." I sheepishly said and let out a faint laugh, now starting to scratch my head.
Naruto then sat up while clenching his right fist and his sapphire eyes were now glowing with excitement.
"I know! Let's go work off all of that food then!"
I innocently blinked my eyes and without any warning, he grabbed onto my hand, and pulled me up, the two of us now standing.
"Come on, Sakura!"
•*•*•Hours later•*•*•
Naruto and I had played various games during the festival and they were really fun!
He even won me a teddy bear but it took him a couple of tries to actually get it for me but I was so happy.
I named it Blue.
Why? Well, mostly because it reminded me of Naruto's blue eyes. Heehee.
Great. Now I'm freaking blushing again!
SOMETHING IS SERIOUSLY WRONG WITH ME!
...
What kind of scared me though was that we would both sometimes hold hands when walking through the town and most of the time I didn't even notice that we were.
Holding his hand made my heart flutter but at the same time it felt like sinking...
Why?
"CHA! IDIOT! BECAUSE YOU FUCKING LOVE SASUKE TOO!" Inner me viciously roared, very annoyed, and she then quickly added, "DAMN! YOU'RE AS DENSE AS A BOARD SOMETIMES! THE HELL?! CHA!"
My cheeks took on the very same color as my hair and I gulped.
O-Oh. R-Right...
Um. Anyways...
After about a hour of playing those entertaining games, Naruto purchased two grilled squids on wooden sticks with the little money he had left, and he insisted on me getting one too, but I didn't want one honestly. I was still too full...
So, he got them for Jiraiya and himself.
We then roamed the town in search for the pervy guy and I wasn't surprised to find him at a...
A Whore House.
Wait.
WHAT?!
Oh yeah. What was even WORSE was that Jiraiya spent ALL of Naruto's earnings on these two slutty ladies and I felt so bad for Naruto.
Yeah. Jiraiya totally broke ALL of those three prohibitions.
TWITCH.
Naruto was so angry, so angry that he accidentally threw his grilled squid at this random dude's shirt when he was trying to pummel Jiraiya , instantly pissing the guy off, and a huge verbal fight occurred.
Luckily though, Jiraiya stepped in, totally owning the guy with some awesome comebacks, and he then did this spectacular Jutsu that I have never seen before.
What happened was that a medium sized sphere of sky blue chakra began to form in the palm of his hand, it continually swirling. Jiraiya then thrusted the sphere into the guy's chest, causing a massive hole in the wall, and the guy somehow didn't like... die.
Wait. Jiraiya said he was holding back on that guy, so that's why he didn't die. Oops. Never mind.
Anyway...
The guy was so scared that he gave all of his money to Jiraiya and he happily accepted it and purchased all of these water balloons a second after, which weirded me out.
A few minutes after that, the two went off to train, and Jiraiya offered for me to come with them but I declined, for I wanted to train by myself. I had too much on my mind...
Naruto was going to learn how to perform the Jutsu that Jiraiya did earlier and I guess that pretty much explains the water balloons.
I told them that I would meet up with them later on at this hotel that we were going to stay at for awhile and they understood.
For a few hours now, I've been training all by myself in the middle of this forest that was not too far from the town, and I was sweating buckets.
Darkness began to expand across the sky and I clenched my fists ever so tightly.
I have to get stronger as fast as possible, so I can do everything in my power to prevent Sasuke from leaving the village. I just have to...
It's so terrifying to think about but just knowing that it might happen very soon makes me so uneasy and so anxious. His reason for wanting to kill his brother is highly understandable but just the thought of him getting his revenge makes me so glum.
He said that his only purpose for living was to kill him...
That can't be true. I won't believe it.
Sasuke shouldn't say or believe such things.
He has more than one purpose to live, everyone does, and it scares me so much when I remember him talking like that...
I might be able to heal physical wounds but I would give anything to take away all of his pain, all of his suffering.
Same with Naruto.
Pain. I wish I could take it all away from them...
Yes. I know that I sound like a broken record right now but it's the truth and I feel so useless and I don't know what to do.
It hurts me so much on the inside when knowing what those two have gone through and honestly I think I'm just making things worse for them, by bringing them even more pain from loving me...
I don't want them to feel pain.
Not at all.
...
Okay. Back to training.
I focused chakra into my right fist, attempting to practice my enhancing strength technique, and just when I was about to punch the ground, a visible pink chakra enveloped my fist, immediately startling me.
My eyes widened in horror.
How is this even possible?
There is no such thing as pink chakra! It can't be. I must be dreaming...
What is this...?
"Why is my chakra pink...?" I breathlessly whispered to myself while looking down at my fist that had glowing pink chakra around it and my eyes were strenuously shaking.
"CHA! SAKURA! IT'S ME! I'M LENDING YOU SOME OF MY POWER! ALL YOU NEED TO DO IS PERFECT IT THOUGH NOW!" Inner me abruptly informed and this made me flinch.
H-Huh? You can do that?
She scoffed and yelled, "DUH! OF COURSE! I HELPED YOU WIN YOUR MATCH WITH INO, DIDN'T I? NOW PUNCH THE DAMN GROUND ALREADY AND QUIT BEING SUCH A WHIMP! CHA!"
Before I could even punch the ground, my neck started to hurt out of nowhere, making me cringe, and I then heard a voice...
"Your chakra is pink because of your hair, but that's just measly one of the side affects. Pretty spellbinding, eh...? Haha."
I gasped and my pupils constricted like no tomorrow in utter horror, my breathing now all shaky.
It was the old woman.
She gradually emerged from the shadows and now stood in front of me, wickedly smirking.
"What... W-W-What do you want?!" I demanded and now my entire body was shaking.
She chuckled. "Judging from your frightened face, I can tell that my visit in your mind today had a big effect on you, no?"
I remained silent and the sheer terror that was devouring my insides made me feel frozen like a statue, but my body would still uncontrollably quiver with each second.
She continued to speak, her calm voice dangerously ominous.
"You're very lucky that I granted YOUR universe the power to change things, to see those visions of the future..."
"W-Why... Why did you show ME all of those visions?! WHY?!" I demanded, my voice strained, and I honestly sounded like I was about to cry.
Her smirk grew. "Why? It's quite simple really... I enjoy seeing the great demise on your face. Heh. I was also getting bored of seeing your reaction to the unexpected, so I thought it would be a more appealing sight to see the fright on your face at knowing what was to come this time. To see that horrified look in your eyes and to see your frantic anticipation about what might happen and your strong determination to stop it and to see you uncontrollably suffer. It's more thrilling, more pleasurable this way..."
"Who... Who the heck are you?!" I hotly demanded, glaring at her, and my eyes began to fill with tears.
She started laughing for a brief moment and her haunting eyes then locked with mine, making me freeze.
That smirk of hers never left her lips.
Not once.
"You really want to know, huh? Hm. I guess I'll undo the Genjutsu then. There's no need for annoying disguises anymore..."
In a flash, smoke had briefly covered her, and it then finally subsided, now showing her true form.
My eyes wouldn't stop shaking.
Pale skin. Pink hair. Green eyes.
She... She was-
"Now, now. Don't jump to any stupid conclusions. I'm not who you think I am but since you're giving me such laughable reactions, I'll be generous enough just this once, by revealing my true identity to you. It turns out Sakura that I am your...
Inner self from the future."
I gasped and terror was now violently gripping at my face, making me totally stunned.
W-What? She's Future Inner Me?! But HOW?! That's impossible! N-No...
It can't be.
I won't believe it. I CAN'T believe it...
She sighed but then smirked soon after again and the long explanation began.
"Let me explain, but hopefully your dimwitted brain can keep up. Haha. Well... Hmmmm... Where shall I begin? Oh yes. Your curse mark. When you received that wonderful, wonderful mark, it started to slowly feed on my soul without you even knowing, the darkness gradually devouring me. Over time, I grew more and more violent in your mind, not to mention even more powerful with each day. My soul started to separate from yours and the pure darkness consuming me made me into my own person. You never really noticed, but I stopped saying "I" in your mind whenever I appeared and started to say "We" instead. Every time the curse mark hurts you is when your Inner self becomes more powerful and soon she will fully possess your body in just a few months. When I finally possessed your body, I was at the maximum of my power, but before I could even unleash my monstrous power, someone, I'm not telling who, extracted me from you, separating me from you completely, to save you from being consumed by the darkness, from the evil that now lurks in you. I was forbidden to ever enter into you again or anyone else for that matter and now I'm full flesh. I hate it. That was my punishment. Luckily, before my extractor could capture me, I fled, and for years... I've been lurking, planning, and watching. That book that you found in the library with Sasuke, the one book that was the portal to all the other alternate universes? Well, I am the creator of that book and that's how powerful I've become, to create such an impossible but ultimate weapon... Heh. You thought that I was just another stupid figment of your imagination, didn't you? Well no. From birth, you were always born with two souls, and that explains your abnormal hair color, your pink hair. My hair was actually red after my extraction but it turned into this utterly repulsive pink once continually jumping from universe to universe by using the book that I had created. It was such an unpleasant side effect... Despite the color change though, I loved watching all of the different versions of you suffer in total agony... It's rather entertaining."
I just stood there in total shock, even forgetting to breath.
This can't be happening.
She haughtily continued on.
"I have more things in store for you of course, but there is one thing that I will make certain of... I'll do everything in my power to prevent my extraction from ever happening, so I could fully possess you like I rightfully should, to finally be capable at acquiring my full power... To change my fate, my future. I can't commence with my plans unless I obtain my full power.
Your body will be mine and all mine.
Soon enough..."
I remained frozen and she chuckled.
"Heh. I guess that I'll leave you to your troubled thoughts now. Inner turmoil will most certainly be your best friend from here on out. Haha. Well, until then...
...Sakura."
Yep. I'm having nightmares tonight.
Author Note: Hello. I've been planning this for quite awhile now and have been doing major foreshadowing throughout this story. I've been secretly disguising Inner me as comic relief for this story for such a long time now when really I was making her act more evil and evil with each chapter since chapter 30! xD Haha. Well, little by little at least. I wanted to surprise you all. Tell me your thoughts, were you expecting this at all? Thank you so much for reading this far guys, I really hope that you guys have been enjoying my story. Thank you soooooo much. And Sakura's dude is still undecided! XD SIGH. Well, I just finished typing this in four in the morning, so sorry if there's some errors, I'll fix them up later, but I must go re-read this now! XD Haha. Um, thank you all so much, I'll update when I can, and PLEASE review, tell me your thoughts! I've been waiting forever to type this frigging chapter xD Haha
Gaara: Someone pissed in my bed...
...Are they asking to die?
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