AN: Note that I do not own Naruto, Naruto Shippuden, or any of the characters from either Anime. This work is a fanfiction written out of my love for the series and not in any attempt to make a profit.
Proofread by: Author
So, I am planning something special for chapter 100 but can't say I actually know what it should be. I am considering writing a chapter twice as long, but can't promise anything but the usual length. Besides, I need to go back and begin some serious edits. I've realized that I use both the expression "Jutsu" and "Techniques". Both of them essentially mean the same thing but are a matter of how you decide to translate it. Much like how I'm sticking to characters using "Sensei" rather than "teacher". I need to pick one and stick to it, so I'll be doing that, amongst other things.
I can't believe someone actually figured out what Sakura has in her forehead from the last chapter. I thought I was being subtle, but the first guess was scary in its accuracy. Great minds think alike much? Oh well, here's some more goodies in the form of a chapter. Enjoy.
Chapter 99: Aftermath, who are you?
Sakura hissed in pain as the skin on her forehead pulled away, revealing the nerve and exposing it to the air. The "eyelids" immediately closed back up.
"W-what?" Sakura asked, unable to comprehend just what it was she had just seen. She was stunned, creeped out, and disgusted.
"Well, I'm not certain I'm the best to explain exactly what happened, but it seems that you nearly ran out of Senjutsu chakra, and as your transformation began reverting back, something went wrong. It seems that after remaining in your Sage mode for so long, your body adapted, and as the transformation came undone, your body subconsciously fought to keep the transformation going, focusing your remaining Senjutsu chakra on that nerve. The pain you experienced was from your skull attempting to close around an active nerve, wringing it for all it was worth. Somehow, this conflict seems to have made the transformation advance even further than it ever did before, and as a result seems to have become permanent, in a way. They had to suppress your chakra to preserve what you had left." Kakashi explained, letting her understand the seal placed on her.
"It's… uh, kinda cool?" Naruto tried to cheer her up, wincing as he heard himself.
"Idiot," Sasuke muttered, but neither of them really felt like arguing in front of Sakura at that time.
Sakura tried to digest the fact that her own body had nearly killed her for a moment, before reaching up to touch the "eyelids" on her forehead. They twitched in response, but remained close, while the nerve underneath them didn't seem to react to her touch, making her frown. "W-what even is it?" She asked, lowering the mirror and looking up at Kakashi, her teammates doing the same.
Kakashi shrugged, before looking down at Naruto and Sasuke. "Before I discuss it, it'd be best if we were alone. Naruto, Sasuke, if you would?" Kakashi told them. Naruto looked like he was about to object, but Sasuke stopped him, and they both left in silence.
Once the door closed behind them, Kakashi let out a deep sigh and began explaining. "They couldn't tell for certain, but from what they could deduce, it's a third optic nerve. It is hard to tell apparently. Since your brain is so different from ours, but that's what they deduced from the available evidence." Kakashi told her, which only served to confuse her and Heikō further.
"Available evidence?" Sakura inquired.
"It seems that with the human-sage transformation you go through, it is not as minor as was previously assumed. Your body is currently in a form of half-mode, focused on your forehead, sustained by your passive generation of Senjutsu chakra, but the medic-nin found signs that your entire body changes on a genetic level whenever you enter full out human-sage-mode." Kakashi revealed, sending Sakura's and Heikō's minds reeling from the revelation, wondering what it meant for them. However, Kakashi wasn't even finished.
"As soon as they realized, they took a sample in an attempt to see what exactly they could find out about your Kekkei Genkai. Unfortunately, the results are classified as an S-class secret, so even I don't know the results." Kakashi told them, although the classification itself spoke volumes.
"W-what does that mean… for me I mean?" Sakura asked, only to frown as Kakashi shrugged, and shook his head.
"That, I can't tell you. Although, your contribution during the attack, or as some are now calling it, the Konoha Crush, has earned you a lot of recognition. You're being considered for Chūnin." Kakashi revealed, wearing his signature one-eyed smile.
"What?" Sakura asked, a little confused before her eyes widened. "Wait, the attack! You said it's over, what happened?" She demanded to know, and Kakashi chuckled slightly.
"Yes, it's over," Kakashi confirmed, before turning towards the door and raising his voice. "You two can come back inside now." He informed Naruto and Sasuke, who opened the door and stepped back inside again. "We're discussing what happened during the attack now," Kakashi informed them.
"Ah, I beat Gaara!" Naruto exclaimed, cheerfully, and Sakura couldn't help but roll her eyes, while Sasuke did the same.
"I know Naruto, I was there." Sakura reminded him.
"Well, you didn't see the end of it," Naruto told her, pouting slightly.
"Either way, after you all managed to stop Gaara and his teammates, which is something we will have to discuss as a team later, things turned in Konoha's favor. Many of the Otogakure Shinobi either attempted to flee, or surrendered. Although, the majority sadly fought until the end." Kakashi explained although he didn't actually sound all that sad about it.
"What about Suna, or Orochimaru?" Sakura demanded.
"Orochimaru died." Sasuke supplied, giving Sakura one of his rare smiles, while Sakura felt a sense of relief wash over her before she realized that wasn't the end of it.
"And Suna surrendered. Well, at first they retreated, giving up the attack, but once they found out that the Kazekage had in fact been Orochimaru, they officially gave up. While most escaped, we have some of them in custody, including the two you brought in." Kakashi explained.
"Two?" Sakura asked, surprised, as she distinctly remembered there being three Suna Genin they had fought. Sakura looked over at Naruto, wondering if he had ended up killing Gaara in the end.
"Kankuro woke up and managed to escape while we were… distracted," Sasuke explained.
"Oh," Sakura answered, feeling a bit relieved that Naruto hadn't killed Gaara. It felt wrong to consider Naruto a killer. A thought that made her remember that she was already one, as she felt bile rise in her throat. "What about the Hokage?" She asked, worried, and trying to keep herself distracted from the memory of her kills.
"He'll live. Although his condition was bad, he'll survive. That is part of why you gained so much recognition during the attack, Sakura. Because of you, the ANBU was able to assist the Hokage and prevent Orochimaru's escape when he tried to leave. Unfortunately, not all of the ANBU made it, and the Hokage was gravely injured, even though he is alive." Kakashi explained while Naruto looked uncomfortable and sad. Sakura remembered what kind of relationship Naruto had with the Hokage, and understood that it must have been pretty bad for Naruto to be like that.
"I see… So that's why I'm being considered for Chūnin. What about you guys?" Sakura asked, looking to her teammates, only for Naruto and Sasuke to scowl in their own way. That is to say, Naruto was visibly upset, while Sasuke was less obvious about his annoyance.
"It's not fair! I defeated Gaara, and yet we haven't heard anything!" Naruto complained, crossing his arms in annoyance, while Sasuke confirmed it with an annoyed huff.
"Now, now. A lot is going on in the aftermath of the attack. Be patient. There weren't really any witnesses to see your achievements, and those that were there could be considered biased since they were all from Konoha. Sakura's own consideration for promotion is also highly questionable for similar reasons, as the only ones awake were our defenses and our attackers. Most of the judges were unconscious as a result of the genjutsu, and only the Hokage could really weigh in on the decision, even though most of the ANBU are willing to weigh in and testify." Kakashi told them, putting a hand on each of their heads and ruffling their hair.
Sasuke was quick to duck out from underneath Kakashi's hand, while Naruto continued to pout, allowing it. "Still not fair. The old man still hasn't woken up, and everyone will be leaving in two days!" Naruto proclaimed, sounding as if he was objecting to the fact.
"So, now what?" Sakura asked, feeling lost and drained. Life until that point had been interesting and exciting to a degree, but following the attack, she felt as if they had reached a climax, and that things would just go downhill from there. She felt a bit as if she no longer had a goal to strive towards, even though Heikō was quick to supply her with memories of everything they had yet to achieve.
"Well, first and foremost, you need to recover. I'm almost certain that you'll be out in less than a day, right in time for the funeral, and after that, there's a lot of work ahead of us, regardless if you are promoted or not." Kakashi assured them.
"Funeral?" Sakura asked, her heart caught in her throat as she feared what Kakashi would tell her next. He nodded sadly before answering.
"For everyone who died before, during, and after the attack. Unfortunately, there were losses on all sides. The council decided to hold a single funeral for everyone that died in the village at once. It'll cut down a lot on time and resources for the funeral while giving everyone in the village the opportunity to pay their respects." Kakashi explained how things would be going.
"Oh," Sakura answered, relieved. She had feared that Kakashi would tell her that someone close to her had died. Of course, after that came the guilt, as she felt terrible for feeling relieved at hearing that people had died. Heikō assured her that there was nothing wrong with being selfish about it. It was natural to care more about those close to you than about those that were practically rangers.
"And after that?" Naruto asked, hoping Kakashi would elaborate.
"Well, the rebuilding efforts have already begun, although they're slow, for now. Everyone is more concerned with cleaning up and taking stock of what we have.
Naruto's face scrunched up in what seemed to be disgust. "I can still smell the fires." He complained. For a moment, Sakura was confused, Heikō sharing her confusion before it dawned on her.
"Corpse burning. No funerals for the enemy. They have to be burned to prevent attracting pests and disease." Heikō explained, making Sakura glad she had missed it. Although, it let another question surface in her mind.
"Um, how long was I out?" Sakura asked, intending to catch up so that she could plan on what she'd be doing first once she was out of the hospital.
"About a day and a half. You didn't miss much." Sasuke answered her, and Sakura suddenly felt a bit thrown off.
"He seems… different." She thought, looking at Sasuke in an attempt to put her finger on it.
"It's the way he looks at us," Heikō informed her, supplying Sakura with memories so they could compare. From what Sakura could see, Sasuke's look had over time lost a lot of the negativity he had felt for her. She hadn't even realized it was there in some cases, but now that it was gone, the difference was as clear as day. She supposed she should have gotten the hint back when he called her annoying, but she hadn't… The thought made Sakura frown and re-evaluate herself. Heikō caught on to her concern and began working her way through their memories at a terrifying speed. Something felt wrong, and Sakura couldn't tell what, but she had noticed it now. What worried her, and in turn, Heikō, was that it felt a lot like when Heikō had changed their personality.
Sakura felt scared. Suddenly. She couldn't trust herself. How long had she been affected, what was affecting her, and what had it done to her as a person? Who was she, if not herself? Some of her panic must have shown because Sasuke was suddenly frowning before a look of worry took over instead.
"Sakura?" He asked her, snapping her out of it. Looking over at Naruto and Kakashi, Sakura shook her head in an attempt to clear her thoughts.
"I'm fine, sorry." She lied, while Heikō presented Sakura with what she had found. Something that made Sakura's guts drop, as she realized that for a significant part of her life, she had been under the effects of a genjutsu.
AN: And so, more cliffhanger. I'm not doing this on purpose, I swear.
More mind fuckery going on, and I'm not even halfway done… What is this story coming to?
Coincidentally, the ending of this chapter actually had me change what Heikō found multiple times. This part is a bit of a turning point for the story, where I decide where I wanted to take it.
I will now mention the different Ideas that I had. Originally, the idea had been that Heikō would have found a third personality/identity within their mindscape. There are a few reasons why this wouldn't work. The two main reasons are because the story was never written with this in mind, and I don't want to drastically change the story because of a spur of the moment idea. Another reason is that it would completely change the dynamic between Sakura and Heikō. Sakura's and Heikō's roles are currently that of the Id and Superego, while they both share the traits of the Ego. Sakura mainly represents the Superego, while Heikō mainly represents the Id. However, neither of them is just one or the other. The idea that a third personality would join them would serve no function, and making them a personality that mainly acts as the Ego would imply they've been missing it until that point, or simply make that personality superfluous.
So, that idea was scrapped faster than I could decide what I want to wear in the morning. Next, came the idea that Sakura's childish self would instead be what was found, but that also didn't feel right, as it would imply Sakura lost them at some point and that they manifested separately from them.
After that, came the idea that they would find a foreign Sakura in their mind. One that wasn't from this universe, one that had detected the changes they've gone through and decided to teach them, to avoid some cruel fate she herself had suffered in her own world because it could be avoided with proper guidance. I decided that that was my overactive imagination trying to add unnecessary flair to the plot. While canon-friendly to a degree, it is not the direction I want to take this story in, so I decided against it. Besides, it would open the whole "multiverse" can of worms and provide a lot of spoilers and such for Sakura. While I admit, the allure of reincarnation stories has me considering writing one or two here and there, that, or similar ideas do not belong here.
Coincidentally, I have begun writing on another Naruto fanfic besides this one, but it is still in its early stages, and I have been rewriting the first chapter, many times over, due to how hard it is to make the plot canon-friendly. I plan to experiment a bit with this other story before I ever upload it, but it seems like I'll end up writing longer chapters for it, without any consistent updates.
Feel free to PM me questions and whatnot, be it about this story, or the other one. As a preview, I will post the Summary I have for that story for now.
"Another child besides Naruto is labeled as the Jinchuriki, to give Naruto, the son of the fourth Hokage a better childhood. After all, a clanless, civilian, orphan matters far less than the Hokage's son. Sakura wishes she knew why she was shunned by everyone. She wishes she had parents."
I plan to call this fanfic "Scapegoat" but I have little time to actually develop the story and concept for now, since I am determined to put most of my energy into this one until it is finished.
