Chapter 24
Chapter Summary
"So don't let them steal your light,
Don't let them break your stride,
There is light on the other side,
And you'll see all the raindrops falling behind.
It's a revolution, and we'll make it out tonight." - Revolution, Diplo
"I'm pregnant," Kushina tells her, smiling brilliantly down at her. Sakura looks up from her desk, staring at Kushina in shock. "I'm pregnant. Aren't you happy for me?" Kushina demands, her smile vanishing. A frown takes it's place - but not a worried one at Sakura's stunned silence. Instead, it looks angry. Black forms around Kushina's left eye, washing across the left half of her face, and her frown becomes furious. Her eye glows yellow. "Aren't you happy?" Kushina spits out demandingly, her left hand shooting out.
It's covered in black and she seizes Sakura by the throat-
Sakura wakes up with an inhale so sharp she chokes on it. She coughs and sputters, sitting up for a moment - but dizziness has her laying back down. My head, Sakura thinks, hand rising. She touches her throat briefly, just to double check, then rubs at her eyes.
Her vision is greyed but clearing now that she's prone again.
She pulls her hand back, holding it over her face.
Her fingertips tremble and so does her next breath.
What's wrong with me?
She'd done an examination when she first started to feel ill and found nothing wrong. Tsunade herself had examined her and came to the same conclusion.
But the evidence is right in front of her, shakily hovering above her face.
A small chill goes down her spine.
What's going on?
It's not until a month later that Sakura realizes.
Understanding hits her like a brick to the face, and for a moment, all she can do is stare blankly out the window behind her desk.
It's July, she realizes.
Sakura Haruno is going to be born in eight months.
She's been feeling off for a month and a half.
No, Sakura thinks, heart rate picking up. There's no way that's a coincidence, but what does that mean? She wonders, absently watching the breeze rustle the trees in her backyard.
"There can't be two of the same people." She murmurs, mind spinning.
But no, that isn't quite right either. Technically speaking, there already are two of her - one hasn't been born, but she's still alive. But it's also not a coincidence, which means she's missing something.
But what, then? Can there be two, but only if they're split in half?
One Sakura weakening while another Sakura grows stronger every day.
She's not sure, but one thing is clear.
She's running out of time.
Her hand rises to grip her tattooed bicep so hard her knuckles turn white.
Black Zetsu, where the hell are you?
She feels weaker with each day. It's not much of a difference, but it piles on, growing worse and worse. She gets dizzy every time she stands, and if she's on her feet for too long, she starts to pass out. Kushina, pregnant and settled into her new home, isn't around enough to harass her about it much - but it's clear she still worries.
It's fair enough.
Sakura herself is worrying quite a bit.
I'm running out of time, Sakura reflects, standing out back and looking at the koi. Akihito, she thinks, gaze following one fish in particular. What do I do?
She doesn't get a response.
"I feel huge." Kushina whines, rubbing at her belly.
"You don't look it." Sakura reassures her.
Minato's gone off on some diplomatic mission (to Kumo, which she isn't supposed to know, but Tsuru went with him and she always blabs to Sakura) and Kushina stays with Sakura in the meantime.
"I feel it." Kushina repeats plaintively.
Sakura gently pats her shoulder and passes the woman a stick of dango. They're out and about for the moment, mingling with the general populace. So long as she eats (and steathily munches a chakra pill here and there), Sakura feels more or less alright.
More or less.
Kushina chews down the dango, then eyes her contemplatively. "You don't look any better than when I left."
"Which is incredible, because I thought for sure it was you making me ill." Sakura says blandly. Kushina kicks her under the table and Sakura hisses softly, wincing at the pain. "Kami, you're rude."
"I'm impatient and you're stalling. What's wrong with you? Are you still sick?"
"Still not sick, still just stressed." Sakura lies confidently. Kushina huffs loudly, not convinced but not informed enough to argue. "How about you? Is pregnancy treating you well?"
"I'm miserable." Kushina proclaims, waving her empty dango stick for emphasis. "Miserable! Minato's gone and this little brat keeps trying to play kickball with my insides." She bitches, scowling at the stick. "If I didn't love it so much, I'd punch my own stomach."
"You're far too violent for your own good."
"Considering I'm still alive, I'd say my violence has done me just fine." Kushina sniffs, silently snatching another dango stick. "Besides, someone needs to keep Minato in line. The poor guy still gets nervous when he's standing up to people."
"I somehow doubt that." Sakura says blandly.
"Well he doesn't stand up to them like I do."
"Few people do, Kushina." Sakura points out and the woman huffs again.
"You're my best friend. You should be supporting me without question."
Sakura pauses at that, blinking.
Best friend? She wonders, startled. But maybe she shouldn't be. Without Akihito, Kushina was probably her closest friend as well, though Tsuru was her closest advisor.
"Sorry." Sakura says belatedly. "Everything's awful for you, Kushina. I'm sorry." Sakura commiserated and Kushina shoots her an approving look.
Then she goes back to complaining, and Sakura pretends to listen and nods sympathetically at all the right places.
It's bizarre to think that she's listening to the woman speak about an unborn Naruto.
It's even more bizarre to think that none of her friends have been born yet, either, but are all either on the way or soon will be.
This life is getting more and more complicated.
Naruto hadn't had much time to tell her about his mother. They'd been in the middle of a war when his clone had spoken to her, and she only knew the bare minimum. Tobi used Kushina's weakening seal to unleash the Kyūbi on Konoha, and Kushina and Minato had died sealing the beast.
Memories of Gaara in the aftermath of his bijū removal flicker through her mind and Sakura grimaces.
Kushina had had the Kyūbi torn from her. But that wouldn't happen this time.
She, Tsuru, Tsunade, Sarutobi and his wife Biwako, all stand in Minato's office, listening to the former Hokage's plan. "We'll have to ward off an area outside of Konoha to do this. I'm relying on you two, Tsunade-hime and Sakura-hime, to treat Kushina while Biwako is acting as her midwife. Tsuru, you and Minato-sama will be focusing on keeping the Kyūbi in his place."
"We can do that." Sakura glances at Tsunade and Tsuru, getting nods from both.
"Of course we can. It's overkill to have us both on duty." Tsunade says with an imperious sniff that has Minato sighing softly.
"I know. But it's my wife." Minato reminds them, sobering Tsunade.
"Right, of course." Tsunade nods.
"I'll be able to hold in the Kyūbi for a little while, at least, but my chains are intrusive." Tsuru warns. "Bulky and such."
"That's fine. Your chains are a last resort for us." Minato says tiredly, reaching up to rub at his eyes. "I'd have Rin with us, too, but two jinchūriki's in one spot sounds like a bad idea."
"You don't need three medic-nins of our calibre anyways, Hokage-sama." Sakura chimes in, exchanging a glance with Tsunade. Rin and Shizune were both progressing rapidly under their respective teachings, and it would only take time before they caught up. Shizune, with her limited chakra, would never be able to learn to use the Yin Seal like Tsunade - but Rin was a jinchūriki now, and she had the potential.
She might even be able to use it like Sakura does, if she can control the Sanbi to use that much of it's chakra.
"True." Minato admits reluctantly. "It'd make me feel better, though."
"You're already going overboard. In fact, I'd like to make a suggestion." Biwako cuts in, frowning at Sakura. "I'd rather we station Uzumaki-sama within Konoha in case things go poorly and we need a medic of her calibre, as you say, in the village."
Sakura blinks at them, glancing at Tsunade again - and ignoring the shiver of wrongness that always goes through her when she looks at the woman. The woman offers a faint shrug. Sakura looks back at Biwako and the past and present Hokages. "That sounds fine to me. It'd be smarter to cover all our bases." In case Black Zetsu somehow pulls off the attack like he did in her first life.
"I suppose." Minato says uneasily. "That would be smarter."
"Stop worrying so much!" Biwako suddenly barks, sharply enough that Sakura twitches a bit. "This is why women are the ones who give birth! All you men do is stand around and act like you're the one suffering!"
"I'm not- I didn't mean-"
"Oh, stop it!" Biwako huffs, cutting of Minato, who looks far too much like a boy getting scolded by his mother. It'd be adorable, if it weren't for that fact that he's the one running a nation. "Tsunade-hime will assist me. If you're so worried, her apprentice can come too, so long as she knows to stay out of our way."
"Shizune's an excellent medic. She'll do fine." Tsunade says, shooting Biwako a slightly annoyed look.
"Then that's settled. Tsunade-hime and her apprentice will join us, while Sakura-hime and her apprentice remain here to be on the safe side." Biwako says firmly, leaving no room for argument.
Not that Minato even tries to argue. He just nods and sighs again.
Poor guy.
"We're assigned to Kushina's protection duty." Obito tells her, kneeling in front of the koi pond and making faces down at the fish. He's eighteen now, and sometimes when she sees him from the corner of her eyes her heart leaps. He looks so much like Tobi that it startles her - but when she really looks at him, the differences are enormous.
He's carefree and young, not bitter and angry. His scars aren't as severe, especially when he smiles.
"You're in the same team?" Sakura asks, watching the fish swirl in front of Obito. They're clearly eager for food, but Obito's holding out on them, too busy playing.
"Of course." He says absently, gaping his mouth to mock the fish. "I told you, Kakashi'd be lost without me." He glances at her, flashing her a grin. "Besides, we work too well together now for them to separate us."
"Good." Sakura acknowledges, frowning softly. "Good."
Obito's Mokuton - which Sakura officially speaking has no knowledge of - would be invaluable, alongside Tsuru's chains, at keeping the Kyūbi at bay.
"You alright, Sakura-senpai?" Obito asks, looking over at her with genuine worry. "Rin thinks you're sick, and you're not doing much to prove her wrong."
"I'm fine." Sakura lies. She's not fine. She feels weaker every passing day, and she has no idea what'll happen when the other Sakura is actually born, but for now…
For now, there was one too many Sakuras in the world, and she was tasting the backlash of it.
"I've been having trouble sleeping is all." She half-lies, because she's definitely having sleeping trouble but that's not all of it.
She's also constantly dizzy and uneasy. Her vision goes dark anytime she moves too quickly, like there's not enough blood in her body, and she's tired all the time.
Sakura exhales slowly, ignoring the concerned look Obito shoots her. "Tell Rin to come by first thing in the morning, will you?" She asks and Obito arches a brow before nodding.
"Sure thing."
"Stop tormenting the fish."
"Sorry."
Rin shows up first thing, as promised, and Sakura looks at the girl intensely. "I think it's time I teach you what made me so famous, Rin." Sakura says, gesturing for her to follow. She leads Rin to her office, seals scattered across her desk.
"It's time you learned my fūinjutsu."