Chapter 22
Chapter Summary
"When the colors fade and it turns to grey,
We'll calmly walk away, walk away from the fray,
When the structure falls and all else fails,
We will build it once again." - Once Again, Tristam
Chapter Notes
See the end of the chapter for notes
Sakura finds herself at a loss.
There are few people she know in this reality that she hadn't known in her past one - and thinking of them in the same light as when she was twelve makes things creepy.
Now, they're all either her own age (and almost all of them already getting married) or younger than her.
The fact that Kakashi is eleven while she's twenty-five is beyond strange.
I wish things were simpler, Sakura thinks as she sits beside the koi pond, watching the fish swim around.
There are five fish in it now.
She can't help but wonder how many more there will be by the end of this bloody war.
Sakura runs her hands down her dress. It's in the same style as the others - sleeveless, with a slight v-neck, and a slit that goes down the front of it from hips to feet. But instead of the blue or the green one, this one is a bloody shade of red. "Perfect for these times, really." She muses as she fastens a silver Uzushio hitai-ate across her forehead and a black Konoha one around her hips. She's going to the Suna border for once - so this time, she wears tight shorts under the dress instead of leggings.
"How do I look?" Sakura asks, flicking her long braid over her shoulder. It reaches nearly to her lower back, and she turns to face Kushina.
"You look good. Ready for war." Kushina says, sighing longingly. She slumps against her desk, frowning at Sakura. "Why won't Sarutobi let me go help? I hear the Hachibi is giving everyone hell on the Kumo border - I could go there. I could help Minato…" She trails off, sighing glumly.
"I'm sorry, Kushina." Sakura says sincerely. She knows all too well what it's like to be put aside, having to watch from afar, helpless to do more. "I really am."
"I know." Kushina mutters, folding her arms and resting her chin on them. "You look good, senpai. Very pretty."
Sakura blinks, surprised, before smiling. "Thank you, Kushina. You look very pretty too, you know."
To her further surprise, Kushina blushes deeply at that. "Minato always tells me that."
So does Jiraiya to her, Sakura can't help but think. She hesitates, mulling that for a moment before speaking. "Kushina, what's your opinion of Jiraiya-sama?"
"Jiraiya?" She repeats incredulously. "He hits on me! Constantly!" Sakura blinks at the unexpected vehemence. "And then he claims to be a gentleman. And have you seen the kind of things he writes? He showed Minato a chapter of something he's working on - I've never seen him go so red in my life." Kushina complains loudly.
"Ah."
Icha Icha was already being written, then.
"Why do you ask?" Kushina asks, taking a couple deep breaths to calm down.
"Someone wants me to have an arranged marriage with him."
"Terrible idea, he'll sleep around."
"I agree." Somewhat.
She somewhat agrees.
He hadn't slept around during those last few months when he'd gotten closer and closer to Tsunade. He knew how to treat a woman right, Sakura can be sure of that. But she can't be sure that he'll treat her right.
"Why don't you marry Inoichi? He's smart and… senpai?"
"Don't suggest that." Sakura shudders deeply. "Never suggest that."
"Um. Okay." Kushina says uncertainly.
Sakura just nods sharply at her and turns away, adjusting her dress as she does.
Sakura turns twenty-six while having a drinking contest with Jiraiya and Tsunade.
She wins.
She also goes home with Jiraiya that night, becoming the latest dirty rumor in the process.
"I can't believe you, senpai!" Kushina complains vocally over the throbbing pain of her hangover.
She could cure herself if she really wanted to, but she feels she deserves the suffering.
So does Kushina, judging by how loudly she's speaking. "I can't believe you actually slept with him." She pauses. "You did have sex with him, didn't you?" She asks with a tiny sliver of hope otherwise.
"Yes. And I should've stayed there and had more." Sakura complains, leaning forward to rest her head on her desk. "It'd be better than this yelling in my-"
"YELLING? I'M NOT YELLING!" Kushia yells.
Sakura grimaces and covers her head with her arms.
Sakura's twenty-six when the war starts to wind down.
Kiri slowly retracts its forces, a silent and paperless surrender that they'll never admit to. Kumogakure retreats after Sarutobi finally gives in and sends both Tsuru and Kushina on Killer B while Minato goes for A. Together, the three took down the two of Kumo's strongest with only a little effort.
They limped home after that, but unlike giving in like Kirigakure, Kumo clings to the land that they'd stolen from Shimogakure. Konoha, so long as they don't toe the territory lines, is content to ignore that.
Suna, who they'd barely had any conflict with, focuses entirely on Iwagakure - same as Konoha - and they become almost-allies.
Until Iwagakure offers up a peace treaty.
"We have to concede land." Sarutobi tells the war council grimly, "but it may be our best option. At this point in the war, we'd be foolish to ignore an offer like this."
"That's a decent chunk of land they're asking for, Hokage-sama." Chōza, the new Clan Head of the Akimichi Clan, pipes up.
"We'll negotiate it down. I suggest we let them keep sixty percent of what they're demanding." Shikaku says, pointing to the scroll Sarutobi had laid out between them all. "They want almost a third of the land north-west of us. We can't give them that - the daimyō would never sign off on it."
"No, he would not. Nor will he agree to sixty percent. Forty, and no higher." Sarutobi murmurs, exhaling a lungful of smoke. "If I leave you to be my negotiator, Shikaku-sama, will you be able to get them to agree to that?"
Shikaku hesitates, looking over the treaty for several long minutes before he nods. "Yes, Hokage-sama." He says with confidence. "I can."
The end of the Third Shinobi World War comes suddenly.
So suddenly that Sakura's head spins a little when it's officially announced. Suna and Kiri have backed off, Kumo is pretending to not still be itching for battle, and Iwa's treaty is officially and publicly signed in Konoha.
And just after Sarutobi signs his half of the treaty, he turns and places his hat on Minato's head.
The coronation for the Yondaime Hokage is huge and explosive, the man far too famous and popular for his own good.
"Kushina-chan is going to have her hands full with this one." Jiraiya says from her side, startling her a bit. Tsunade and Dan are just a step behind him, but Orochimaru is nowhere in sight. Caught looking, Jiraiya offers a small, pained smile. "He's off sulking." He explains flippantly, but she can hear the worried undertone. "He wanted that hat more than anything."
"He's going to have to admit defeat here." Tsunade chimes in, folding her arms across her chest before she suddenly glares at Sakura, who blinks in surprise. "Don't you dare think about taking over my hospital, Uzumaki-san. That's my hospital."
"I wasn't thinking about it at all." Sakura admits, and this time Tsunade looks a little taken aback. "I have too much on my shoulders with my Clan as it is. And for some reason, Nara-sama has taken it upon himself to nag me into getting married."
Jiraiya makes a strangled, choked sound at that and Sakura absently reaches out to pat his arm.
"Don't worry, you and I are going to be bachelors forever. I wouldn't dare ask you to give up other women for me." She teases.
Jiraiya blinks rapidly, and then glances down at her with a teasing expression. "What if I offered?"
This time she freezes.
Absently, she notes that Tsunade does the same, her brown eyes widening like saucers.
"I was kidding." Jiraiya clarifies, but there a hint of nervousness that makes her wonder.
"Would you offer?" Sakura asks incredulously and gets a faint shrug for that.
"We do work well together. And the sex is fantastic."
Dan makes a choked sound, uncomfortably clearing his throat. Tsunade blindly reaches back to swat at him, her intense stare locked on the two of them.
"It is," Sakura admits. "But I don't think I can make an honest man out of you."
"Ah, you're right." Jiraiya sighs heavily, like a great weight is on him. "I could never settle for just one delightful rear end, no matter how-" He's cut off by Tsunade punching him in the face at the same time Sakura elbows him in the ribs. "-beautiful," he finishes in pained squeak.
"You're coming with me, you little asshole." Tsunade growls, dragging Jiraiya by his ear while Dan watches helplessly. "It's time you learn how to properly treat a woman."
"Are you going to teach me the ways of love-" Another punch. Dan winces and bows politely to Sakura before following them. She watches them go, Jiraiya staggering alongside Tsunade and Dan a few feet behind.
When they're gone, a strange weight settles over her.
The war is over and she should be happy - but something is missing. Something big.
Her hand rises up to cover the seal tattooed on her left bicep.
Where are you, Black Zetsu?
What are you up to now?