chapter 12
Sakura woke to the sound of splashing water.
Turning over in her alcove she saw a fish flopping relentlessly against the side of the cave wall at the cutoff point of her barrier seal. Pushing her covers off of herself she smiled and walked to the end of her cave. Using her chaka, she bent over and pulled the fish along in a small bubble of water, and out of the river.
"Looks like it's fish for breakfast." Sakura crouched down, released the chakra from her hand and picked the fish up by its tail.
With one quick slap against the wall of her cave, the fish was dead, and she had breakfast without having to lay a trap for it. Looking back over her shoulder, she mentally marked the place she had found the fish. She would need to move her seal to close the gap left in her jutsu. Underwater seals were tricky like that sometimes. If the seals weren't placed just right, the barrier could have gaps in them.
Which is how she had gotten her fish this morning. It must have swum in easily enough but couldn't swim back out having found itself trapped within a pocket of her invisible barrier. Hum, Sakura thought while stoking up her banked fire from the night before, maybe she ought to leave it. She might catch more fish that way.
It wasn't as though she had to worry about enemy shinobi finding her cave. While she didn't want to be over confident, she knew she was most likely the only person in this world with chakra control. She was not as good of a sensor nin as the Lord Second or fourth, she wasn't even as good of a sensor nin as Sasuke, but there wasn't any chakra in this world.
The likelihood of someone finding her cave was nearly zero.
Fifteen minutes later, her fish gutted and cleaned, Sakura skewered it onto a shaved and pointed stick. Tilting the stick so that the fish was closer to the flames than the base of the stick, she stuck the stick in the ground to roast her fish at her leisure. It was almost like she was back home in the forest surrounding Konoha, or out on a mission.
Sakura watched the flames dance around her fish, watched the oils rise to the surface of the skin, seep, and fall into the coals at the base as her mind began to wander.
Back in Konoha she had read the Lord Second's personal notes over and over again. She almost had them memorized word for word. Tobirama Senju's flying thunder god technique bent the laws of time, propelling the jutsu caster forward through, but only for a very short period of time.
Seconds, minutes, not decades.
Additionally, the caster remained in their same dimension, or world. The similarities were there, the theory of time travel was the same and yet it was completely different.
However, Tobirama Senju's jutsu wasn't the only time bending jutsu that she knew of. The Fourth Hokage used the Lord Second's jutsu but Shisui Uchiha, who was also known as Shisui the Teleporter, bent time and space differently than the Lord Second and Fourth.
The body flicker technique that Shisui had invented allowed him to move so quickly that often enemy shinobi saw multiple images of the Uchiha moving faster than their eyes could follow him, Making it appear as though he were leaping through both time and space to attack them.
Sakura unfortunately, hadn't had access to the Uchiha archives, so she wasn't able to research exactly how Shisui's jutsu worked. Nor had she been able to ask Gaara of the Sand, the Kazekage about his sand teleportation technique.
As fascinating and as powerful as those teleportation jutsu were, they weren't powerful enough to send someone to another world, perhaps crossing over several multi universes and dimensions. It was daunting, but she wasn't going to give up.
If quirks were like jutsu, and she thought they might be, then there had to be a way to figure this out. Every jutsu had a weakness, so too then, in theory did every quirk. She just had to find it.
With her knees drawn up and her arms wrapped around them, Sakura continued to watch the fire, heard her fish snap and pop as it cooked and ran each line of each of the Lord Second's journals through her head over and over again.
The Lord Second used paper seals and the Lord Fourth used engraved seals. Picking a rock up from her cave floor, Sakura drew the Lord Second's teleportation seal on the floor beside her, then the Lord Fourth's.
She had never looked at them side by side but now that she did, she saw it. She saw the similarities of course but she also saw the differences. What did it mean? Sakura tapped her finger nail on the rock, stood up, walked around the drawn seals looking at them from different angles.
It was so simple, it had to be something that she just wasn't seeing because she had seen these seals so many times before that she was blinded by their familiarity. Crouching down she drew each seal again, and again and again, over and over until her fingers hurt. What was it?
She threw the rock to the ground in her frustration, then kicked it into the river with a bit of chakra. It pinged off the edge of the granite shelf, flew across the river and exploded against the cave wall across from Sakura into a thin cloud of dust.
Sakura's eyes went wide as she watched the dust swirl and blend with the air of the cave, just like Kurogiri's warping mist quirk did. She bit her bottom lip hard thinking furiously. Kurogiri was a teleporter too wasn't he, but he could teleport others too, not just himself. It was a quirk though, not a jutsu right? What did that mean? She needed to know more about quirks and how they worked. She needed to know exactly how quirks differed from jutsu.
She needed to talk to kurogiri.
"Well, I'm fucked." Sakura dropped down next to her fire. In order to speak with Kurogiri, she would have to subject herself to Shigaraki's attention.
"Not worth it." She told her fish as it continued to snap and pop next to her fire, but she was lying and the fish knew it. Aside from the possibility of finding her answers at UA, Kurogiri was a decent lead when she had nothing else.
She was sure it was some sort of teleportation jutsu or quirk that had brought her here, it had to be, because she knew of nothing else and the possibility of it being something she had never heard of, something she didn't know existed yet...was something she couldn bear to contemplate right now.
She would have to talk to Shigaraki. She groaned. Reaching out she turned her fish to the other side.
"Lucky dead bastard." She glared at the fish who glared back.
"She has a healing quirk as well as a power up quirk." Endeavour boomed into the phone. "Yes, I've seen her use both, she's...talented." Endeavour told the Principal of UA, Principal Nezu.
"I don't think I've ever heard you compliment anyone so sincerely before. Endeavour, of course, she can take the entrance exam with your son. As you know we here at UA are always looking for new and talented students, and a healing quirk you say? How exciting!" Nezu swung his legs back and forth under his chair as he spoke with one of his top former students of all time. "Have her come with young Shouto to the exam this friday. I look forward to meeting her, no doubt she will pass with flying colors if she is half as talented as you say she is."
"You know, this reminds me of the time when…" Nezu adjusted his cup of tea on his lap, sat back in his chair and began the tale of the first time he met Recovery Girl.
Endeavour gripped his desk phone and laid his head on his desk. The Principal must be drinking tea. He was always so long winded when tea was involved.
Sakura stood outside of the old run down bar by the book store and looked up at the cracked and broken windows, then down to the iron bars across the former front door. This was where she had been when Kurogiri had abducted her via warp gate. Did he know she was here? Should she do something to let him know she wanted to speak with him?
"Oh! Miss! It's you, thank goodness, I was hoping I would run into you again."
Sakura turned to her right and saw the woman she had helped the first day she had been here. What had her husband called her?
"I'm Shi, you might remember me? You saved my husband and got all of our money back from that horrible villain?" Shi held both of her hands to her chest, looking at Sakura with hopeful eyes.
"I remember you and your baby, of course." Sakura smiled. "How are you? Have you had any more trouble?"
The woman smiled a pleasant sort of smile of resigned patience. "There's always trouble in the city sweetheart. Would you like to come into the book store? I'd very much like to make you a cup of tea, as a proper thank you?" Shi asked. "It's the least I can do for what you did for my family." The woman added.
"Well…" Sakura looked back at the abandoned bar in front of her. "Maybe for just a moment."
"Yes of course! I'm sure you are a very busy hero my dear, it will be just one cup of tea, I promise. My husband is inside, he will want to thank you too." Shi led the way around the corner to the door of their bookstore, across the alley from the abandoned bar.
With one last look over her shoulder at the bar, Sakura stepped inside the bookstore, the sound of small tinkling bells filling the air.
"She went into the book store?" Tomura stared at the surveillance camera for their bar in Musutafu. "Why would she go into the book store?"
"Was that not the same bookstore that got robbed, Tomura Shigaraki, the first day the kunoichi was brought to our world? Perhaps that is why." Kurogiri added an onion to the gin he had poured Tomura then pushed the martini to his young master.
"Hum…" Tomura continued to watch the monitors. He could see her, half of her body, as she sat near the window in the book store talking pleasantly to an older woman. If only the camera was two inches to the left he might be able to read her lips.
"Are you not pleased Tomura Shigaraki? Surely the young woman is at the old bar to see you, why else would she choose such a destination?" Kurogiri asked. "Do you wish for me to send her a warp gate?"
"Not yet. Let her have her praise. Let her have a taste of what it's like to be a hero." Tomura's eyes were glued to the screen. He couldn't look away, not after what had happened last night. "Let her come to me on her own. Just like Master said she would. I have nothing to worry about. She's there isn't she?" Tomura jabbed the monitor, his fingertip covering the half of Sakura's head that could be seen from their camera angle.
"Indeed she is Tomura." All For One's voice came from the monitor at the end of the bar. "Well done."
Shi set a steaming cup of matcha tea in front of Sakura with a smile while baby Kenma drooled and sucked on his teething ring.
"We're so glad to see you again, hero. I'm afraid we didn't get the opportunity to thank you properly last time, for saving our profits for that day and for healing my arm." Haru, Shi's husband lifted his formerly injured arm, wagging it up and down like a chicken. "Your quirk is amazing!"
Sakura blushed. As famous and as well known as she was in her world, it still humbled her to hear such sincere gratitude, but she didn't want to give them the wrong impression. "I'm glad you are okay and I was happy to help but I'm not a hero."
Haru and his wife shared a marital look.
"We know you are not a registered hero, but you're a hero in our eyes miss, um…" Haru smiled kindly at Sakura.
"Sakura." Sakura inclined her head respectfully. "Registered hero?" She asked them.
"I knew it! You owe me twenty thousand yen Haru!" Shi clapped her hands together and nudged her husband in the ribs with her elbow. "I told you she wasn't from around here! Death Arms said you weren't registered, that you shouldn't have helped us at all, but I told him if you hadn't helped us, we would be flat broke right now! After the string of robberies lately, we might not even be in business right now if it wasn't for you Sakura san."
"The Heroes try, but they don't always show up in time to get our losses back, they catch the villain more times than not, but that doesn't cover damages or what was stolen." Haru explained, digging into the back of his pocket for his wallet.
Haru pulled a few bills from his wallet, rolled his eyes and handed them to his wife. Turning to Sakura he said in a mock whisper, "I let her win that bet, just so you know. I already knew you were a foreigner. Only someone who didn't grow up here would rush in and help a complete stranger like that, without caring about the consequences."
Sakura looked from husband to wife, both of them were smiling, both of them were grateful for her assistance and both of them had said she would have gotten in trouble for helping them.
"So, you have to be registered in Japan to help people?" Sakura asked, slightly confused.
"Well, yeah." Shi cocked her head to the side and gave Sakura a half smile, then frowned when she realized Sakura wasn't being sarcastic or joking. "You...didn't know?"
"Well, not then and I'm still learning the rules here but that guy's reaction makes a lot more sense to me today than it did when I chased that thief and healed your arm." Sakura nodded to Haru. "I have to have a license to help people right? I heard some boys on a bus talking about it."
Haru spoke first before his wife could steal the spotlight and began to explain the rules and regulations of quirk usage to Sakura, how you had to take a licensing exam, register your quirk and pay a bunch of processing fees annually to become a Pro Hero.
By the time he was done explaining the entire process from start to finish, Sakura's head was swimming and she was beginning to understand just how much trouble she could have gotten in if Kurogiri hadn't sent her his warp gate, if Shouto hadn't grabbed her hand in the park and raced them back to his house.
"I didn't know." Sakura looked down at her hands. She felt ridiculous. No wonder Shouto had acted how he had, no wonder he was so worried about her. She had already thanked him for helping her with the police, but she would have to thank him again. He had risked quite a bit for her, she understood what that lie meant now, what he had really done for her.
"It's okay, just be careful." Shi ducked her head to catch Sakura's eyes. "Haru and I have always said they are far too harsh on heroes, that back in the day was the way to go, you know? Anyone who wanted to help did and could!" Shi clapped her hands together and smiled at Sakura.
"We're grateful." Haru hugged his wife and kissed little Kenma on the head. "Who knows what would have happened if you hadn't stepped in and helped us."
"Yeah." Sakura drank the rest of her tea quickly. "Thank you for the tea. I'm sorry but I have to go. I'll come back later this week. I want to look at some of your books but I need to get a little more information before I know what kind of book I'm looking for." Sakura rose to her feet and bowed to the little family who bowed back.
"You're welcome here anytime Sakura san, please, anytime." Shi said warmly while Kenma drooled and Haru nodded enthusiastically.
"Thanks." Sakura smiled.
It was kinda nice. These people, this small family, wasn't any different than the people back home. They were grateful for her help. They were civilians, much like the civilians of Konoha were. Shop keeps, just trying to make a living. It warmed her heart to know she had helped them, that they didn't see her assistance as a burden or felt she had done something wrong.
Sakura walked out of the book store, turned left toward the abandoned bar and looked up at the windows again. Moving along the side of the building into the alley she peered into the dark. Two steps into the narrow alley, she was engulfed in a cloud of purple mist and black smoke.
"Kurogiri, just the man I wanted to see." Sakura stepped out of the warp gate into Shigaraki's crappy bar.
"Kunoichi." Kurogiri bowed politely to Sakura. "It is a pleasure to see you again. May I get you a drink?"
Sakura's eyes darted to Shigaraki at the end of the bar, by the monitor, eyed the red curtain hanging loosely along the adjacent wall, then turned to the bar and sat on the opposite end that Shigaraki was sitting, and nodded to Kurogiri.
"What may I get for you kunoichi?" Kurogiri plucked a champagne flute from the rack above his head with a graceful hand and set it before Sakura so she could see anything he poured into her glass.
"Pineapple juice." Shigaraki said from the other end of the bar. "Right?" He turned on his bar stool, slid off the top and walked over to Sakura.
"Or do you only drink that from vending machines?" He sat down on a stool two bar stools away from her, leaning forward over the wood and grabbed a beer from below the counter.
"I don't know. It depends." Sakura tucked a loose strand of hair behind her ear. "Are you going to attack me?"
"Depends…" Tomura turned to face her, two fingers holding his beer on his knee. "Are you going to provoke me?"
Sakura laughed. Okay. Yeah, Shigaraki had been a little hard to read in the beginning but maybe, after last night, she was beginning to understand him a bit more. He wasn't that bad, she could concede that much. She had come here on her own hadn't she? She would give him that much, her understanding.
"Pineapple juice." Sakura nodded to Kurogiri as Tomura smiled behind his bottle.