A/N: Merry Christmas/Happy Holidays/Seasons' Greetings/and everything else!
A/N v.2.0: If you want a hint as to why Sasuke and Neji are acting they way they are, there's a subtle clue in Miyako's dialogue with Sakura. As always, thanks for the reviews, and thanks for reading!
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Chapter 6: The Awakening
The setting sun cast its dying rays over the lush green landscape of Konoha, lines of red and amber that streamed through the treetops to rest upon the ground as bright flecks of dancing light. The inside of the small cave hiding Sakura was only dimly illuminated by the delicate interplay of light and shadow that moved fluidly along the walls. Sakura, however, had eyes only for the image in front of her. Her throat was constricted by fear, supressing a bloodcurdling scream as she stared transfixed at the back of the cave.
Sakura saw the figure of a young woman, which she judged to be at most ten years older than herself. The image was neither opaque nor steady, allowing her to just barely make out the contours of the back wall through its rippling figure. With ever heightening discomfort, Sakura found that it was looking straight through her with eyes that were a void. Not silver, like Hinata's. Not merely colorless. A cold, intangible but definite emptiness lay behind them. They were completely barren. And, as Sakura realized in a sudden jolt of understanding - lifeless.
"Oh god..." whispered Sakura, her breath coming in desparate ragged gasps. She collapsed weakly against the nearest wall.
(Hi Sakura)
Sakura found herself shivering uncontrollably. Tearing her gaze away from the spectre, she managed to force out weakly, "Who...are you...?"
(Sorry if I scared you)
Shaking her head via a series of jerky movements, Sakura lied unconvincingly, "No, you don't scare me."
The image stood, wavering slightly as it did so. Sensing its movements, Sakura tried to slow her rapidly beating heart, braced herself and looked up once again.
(Don't worry)
Perhaps sensing Sakura's hesitation, it knelt down beside her and extended a translucent hand. Sakura stared it, uncomprehending.
"Aren't...you a ghost?" asked Sakura slowly, her breathing gradually returning to normal.
It shrugged.
(I guess)
"So you're not real. You're speaking to me in my mind. Doesn't that mean that I can't touch you?"
To Sakura's surprise, it smiled slightly.
(You can make me real)
Sakura's curiousity got the better of her fear. She sat up slightly. "What? How?"
(In your mind, see me and know that I am real. Then focus your chakra where you can see me)
It watched intently as Sakura slowly processed the words. Her mind was still reeling slightly from the shock of all she had seen and heard, but after a moment's consideration Sakura decided that the spectre's instructions were not any more strange than its very presence to begin with. As such, she closed her eyes and complied.
"Settle down," she mentally berated herself. "Breathe. Calm yourself. Focus."
As Ino had discovered during the Chuunin preliminary matches, Sakura's mental discipline was extremely strong. Soon her racing thoughts had been quieted down and forced into a dull murmur in the back of her mind.
"Imagine her to be real," thought Sakura. This also was not a difficult feat for her, the possessor of an active imagination. More often than not the true challenge was keeping it in check. Thus, it was not long before she had formed a clear picture with which she was satisfied.
Holding the picture in her mind's eye, she called upon her chakra. It responded quickly, and soon she could feel it flowing easily throughout her body, awaiting her direction. Here she hesitated, contemplating as to how to proceed. Rather than lose the progress that she had made, she elected to stay motionless, eyes shut firmly, concentrating every ounce of her energy into the task at hand. An undetermined amount of time passed. Sakura lost herself in the depths of her mind, deeper even than in training meditation, forcing herself deeper still...
Suddenly, something at the subconscious level clicked. Chakra poured into and flooded the circulation lines in her head in an exhilarating rush, pooling at the rarely used tenketsu attached to the brain. A thrilling surge of an unidentifiable feeling passed through her, but she did not allow herself to be distracted.
"Focus..." she told herself. Her new mantra.
Behind closed eyes, Sakura saw swirling, throbbing eddies of every imaginable shade of shockingly sharp color. The interweaving patterns, seeming chaotic, were teasingly suggestive of an underlying governing dynamic. The overall image that she beheld was breathtakingly beautiful. Almost loathe to disturb the natural progression, she exhaled slowly, calming them down into a neat pattern, coaxing the stubborn lines into a form of her bidding...
A flash of light shocked Sakura into opening her eyes. Unsure of whether the flash had been in her mind or actually before her, she clawed at the side of the cave to pull herself upright. A moment of disorientation set upon her. Then just as her vision cleared, she felt a hand on her shoulder.
"Just as I expected. Well done, Sakura-chan," came a voice from beside her.
Sakura turned her head cautiously. A black haired girl smiled cheerfully at her, her hand still extended. Sakura blinked.
"Hi," the girl said, tilting her head to one side, raising a pair of brown eyes to meet Sakura's emerald gaze. "I'm Miyako."
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First, Kakashi made sure no one was watching. Then, in one swift motion he spun around to land a well-placed, chakra aided kick on an unsuspecting tree in his backyard. Landing lightly, he looked up just in time to watch it begin to slowly topple over. It was a carefully calculated moment of release that was intended to make him feel better. It didn't work.
Irked by what the two ANBU from the clearing had told him, Kakashi had immediately gone out in search of Anko. Barely concealing his hostility under a veneer of cold civility, an hour of trading thinly veiled threats had yielded nothing but a suggestion from Anko as to where he should go. He had briefly considered killing her on the spot, but though the option was an attractive one he decided that it was probably not in Sakura's best interests. Therefore he had gone straight home instead.
He sat down on the fallen tree and leaned forward, resting his elbows on his knees. The search for Sakura was now under ANBU jurisdiction. Even Gai had agreed with the ANBU that they were best qualified to handle the unusual situation. Kakashi, however, knew that he was infinitely better qualified to judge just how unusual this situation truly was. He would bet on his life that they knew nothing of the story that Tsunade had told him, nor of the voice that Sakura heard. Whatever reasons they were given, their orders would only extend as far as locating and placing a rogue genin in custody. His gaze swept across the backyard to fall upon the file that Tsunade had given him, which he had carefully placed on the ground upon his return. Getting up slowly, he picked up the file and went inside. Even if he couldn't officially take part in the search, he could at least help Sakura by figuring out what was going on. Still completely dressed, he fell onto his couch with a heavy sigh and prepared himself for a long night of reading.
The following morning, Sasuke and Naruto woke to find a note from Kakashi instructing them to meet at his house. "Even I can't be late if you're meeting me at my own place," the note had read. Sasuke had snorted before crumpling it up and throwing it away. Naruto had found it hilarious. Both were suspicious.
Sasuke and Naruto had accidentally met about ten minutes away from their destination, and grudgingly walked the rest of the way together. After a few minutes of walking in complete silence, Sasuke couldn't take it anymore. Naruto had been looking at him strangely out of the corner of his eye the entire time they had been together. He turned abruptly to face his teammate.
"WHAT?" barked Sasuke impatiently.
Naruto didn't bother denying that he had been staring at him. Instead, he scratched his head and said sheepishly, "Ne, Sasuke...what's this I hear about you and Neji?"
Ironclad proof that word travels fast in a small community. Sasuke merely grunted in response and kept walking.
Naruto jumped in front of him and poked him in the shoulder. Sasuke looked up, irritated. "What do you want," he asked, in none too friendly a tone.
Crossing his arms and glaring, Naruto demanded, "I want to know why you two were fighting! I accidentally overheard Gai-sensei talking to these ANBU people, and they were really serious!"
Sasuke smirked. "Accidently, eh."
"You're missing the point!" said Naruto hotly. "They think there might be something wrong with Sakura-chan! And they think it might have something to do with you two because you were both acting so weird! And they still haven't found her! And ANBU are out looking for her! ANBU! Why?!"
When Naruto stopped for breath, Sasuke asked cooly, "Are you done?"
Naruto nodded reluctantly. Sasuke sighed. "Firstly, whatever is between Neji and I is none of your business. Stay out of it." He couldn't bring himself to admit to Naruto that even he didn't entirely know what had motivated that day's events.
Holding his arms rigidly at his side, Naruto's hands clenched tightly into fists upon hearing Sasuke's cold words. Naruto gritted his teeth as Sasuke finished, "And about Sakura...if you care so much, ask Kakashi when we get there."
At this, he resumed walking at a brisker pace, leaving Naruto to catch up.
Upon hearing the peal of the doorbell Kakashi opened the door to let his students in, idly noting as he did so that they did not appear to be on speaking terms. He shrugged to himself. Nothing special. Even after all they'd been through together, it still happened fairly often.
Naruto, the first to enter, bounded in through the door and looked around curiously. "Hey, hey," he said excitedly. "You've got a pretty nice place here, Kakashi-sensei."
Sasuke stood on the welcome mat just inside the door, looking to one side disinterestedly. "Kakashi-sensei. Why are we here?" he asked quietly.
Indicating a table in the living room, Kakashi merely said, "Sit."
When they were settled around the table, Kakashi gave them a brief overview of the recent happenings. He chose to omit only Tsunade's story, which he still felt was of questionable relevance. Even Naruto stayed quiet as he spoke, his widening blue eyes the only indication of his surprise. When Kakashi finally finished, a moment of silence passed before Sasuke leaned back in his chair and said calmly, "So what are we supposed to do about it?"
Naruto narrowed his eyes. "Sasuke, you bastard! Of course we have to go rescue her!"
"Baka!" answered Sasuke, dismissing Naruto with a icy glare. "We need to find her before we can rescue her, and even the ANBU can't find her." Turning his attention to Kakashi, who had been observing their exchange with some interest, he said, "What is it that you want us to do?"
"Nothing," came the matter-of-fact answer.
Naruto jumped up, seething. "What?!" he exclaimed. Pointing an accusing finger at Kakashi, he yelled, "You're just going to leave her out there? That's..."
"Enough!" said Kakashi in an authoritative voice, also rising from the table. Naruto's mouth clamped shut. Kakashi walked to where Naruto was standing, and patted him on the head. "Sakura is under my command. She is my teammate, my student, and my soldier. Do you think that I'd stand idly by and let harm come to her? I will see to it myself that Sakura is found and her situation resolved. Understand?"
Naruto nodded, slightly ashamed at his outburst. Kakashi's voice grew a bit softer as he continued, "But I can't do that if I'm worrying about you two and dealing with the consequences of your interference."
Sasuke pushed his chair away from the table and stood slowly. "So what you're telling us is to keep out of your way."
Kakashi turned to face his protege. "Not exactly," he said. "It's true that I want the two of you to stay away from the actual search, but I also need you to do some background research for me."
Naruto's ears perked up. "Hnn?" he said. "What kind of background research?"
Kakashi's mask hid the small smile provoked by Naruto's sudden change of expression. He explained, "I don't know Sakura that well, but you two have been her classmates for a while. So if you could compile a profile of her and give it to me tomorrow, that'd be great."
"What exactly are you looking for? Her diary?" deadpanned Sasuke.
Ignoring the sarcasm dripping from Sasuke's voice, Kakashi said lightly, "Pretty much anything and everything."
Naruto nodded enthusiastically. "Anything to help Sakura-chan! I'll come up with the best report ever!"
"Naruto..." Kakashi said, a slight wariness creeping into his voice. "You have to work with Sasuke on this, okay?"
Grumbling, Naruto indicated assented with a curt nod. Sasuke glared daggers but said nothing. Hearing no verbal complaints, Kakashi ushered them out of the house with more cheerfulness than he felt. Once he had shut the door behind them he headed straight for Tsunade's file, his facade of optimism promptly withdrawn. He flipped through it listlessly, having gone through it multiple times the previous night to no avail. Kakashi shut his eyes and let his thoughts take over.
The parallels between Miyako and Sakura were striking, to be sure. Kakashi sighed. But Miyako loved a Hyuuga, whereas Sakura loved an Uchiha. Miyako's sensei was an Uchiha, but even though he was known as Sharingan Kakashi, he was not of the clan. The only Hyuuga with a part in this story, Hyuuga Neji, had no prior connection to either Sakura or Sasuke, or at least as far as he or Gai knew. Where did everyone fit in? What was the connection? Maybe Sasuke and Naruto would turn up something that would shed more light on the affair. Maybe. Hopefully.
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"I can't believe I let you talk me into this," said Sasuke.
Naruto grinned mischievously. "I'm great at breaking in," he said proudly, as he searched through Sakura's room.
Eyeing the room door suspiciously, Sasuke muttered sullenly, "I'll keep that in mind." Then, reaching out just in time to catch a falling picture frame, "Hey! Be careful!"
Naruto didn't bother to look up, busily at work. "Yeah, yeah."
After what felt like an eternity, during which Sasuke was certain that they would be caught, Naruto finally found what he was looking for.
"Sakura-chan's diary!" cheered Naruto.
"Be quiet!" hissed Sasuke, shoving Naruto towards the window. "Let's go, let's go!"
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Night fell over Konoha.
Inside the sheltered atmosphere of the cave, Sakura stared wide-eyed at Miyako, who was busily inspecting herself.
"Hn, not bad," Miyako mused. "My skin was a bit darker though."
Sakura gulped. The exhilaration had faded, allowing apprehension to briefly regain control of her.
"Hey now, don't look so down," Miyako said comfortingly. "You've managed to do something that only one other person has ever been capable of."
Hesitantly, Sakura asked, "And that other person I'm assuming is you?"
Miyako's expression darkened visibly. "Was me," she corrected quietly.
"Sorry," said Sakura. Once again, curiousity loosened her tongue. "So who are you? Were you from this village?"
Laughing at Sakura's outburst, Miyako once again reached a hand out to her. "Why don't you let me show you?"
Something about Miyako led Sakura to believe that she could be trusted. Before she could stop herself their hands were touching palm to palm. Without being told, Sakura closed her eyes and cleared her thoughts. Then, in a flash, Miyako's memories and emotions became one with hers, as clear as if she herself had been there. When her eyes reopened, Miyako was smiling sadly at her. "So you see."
"I think so," answered Sakura slowly. "But...why me?"
"Not everyone is capable of what we are, Sakura-chan," explained Miyako. "It requires extreme intellectual potential, coupled with surpreme chakra control. Even those with only one or the other may be able to sense me, but probably not see me, let alone give me physical form."
Sakura said half-jokingly, "Well, that makes the first thing I can do that others can't."
Miyako turned an earnest gaze to Sakura. "But, Sakura-chan, you have to see! People with rare intellects like ours are not given nearly enough credit in this world."
Slightly taken aback by Miyako's passion, Sakura merely listened as Miyako continued.
"There exists a double standard in people's perceptions of strength. Strength based in intellect has always been seen as a mere supplement to one's physical abilities. The minute anyone claims to have mastered their mind, they are met with skepticism - whereas those same people would have no problem believing reports of special physical abilities, no matter how ridiculous those reports may be."
Sakura nodded. "I see what you mean."
Miyako stood up. Sakura followed suit, straightening and dusting off her dress as she did so. "Sakura," said Miyako, her tone serious.
Sakura stopped abruptly and looked up, her body suddenly tense.
"I can clear the path for you. I can give you the knowledge that I attained. And I can show you how to use it to the fullest. But you have to trust me."
"Miyako...chan," said Sakura hesistantly. "I hope you don't take offense to this, but I just want to know. Why are you doing this? I mean, I understand that we are very similar, but..."
Miyako gave a little laugh in response. "I would expect nothing less from you, Sakura," she said good-naturedly. Miyako heaved a sigh and looked at the ground before giving her answer. "You saw my life, Sakura-chan. I made a lot of stupid mistakes. You may not see them as such, but that's because you're on the verge of making those same mistakes yourself."
Sakura's eyes widened in surprise.
Miyako continued, "I was already in a downward emotional spiral when I discovered that I could perform mind-jutsus. No one believed me and I was too depressed to be cautious about my investigations, so by the time I perfected them my mind had sustained a lot of irreparable damage. I decided to find a way to preserve what I had learned before my degeneration came to a head. I found a way to bind my consciousness to this plane, but it meant effectively committing suicide."
Placing a hand on Sakura's shoulder, Miyako finished softly, "I waited for thirty years for right person, someone who could see me, someone like I was. You ask why? It's because my life had no meaning, but by giving that someone the opportunities I never had, in death my life may be redeemed."
Tears welled up in Sakura's emerald eyes, but when they met Miyako's gaze they were burning with determination. "Miyako-chan," she whispered, holding her hand out. "Let me help you find peace."
A/N v.2.0: If you want a hint as to why Sasuke and Neji are acting they way they are, there's a subtle clue in Miyako's dialogue with Sakura. As always, thanks for the reviews, and thanks for reading!
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Chapter 6: The Awakening
The setting sun cast its dying rays over the lush green landscape of Konoha, lines of red and amber that streamed through the treetops to rest upon the ground as bright flecks of dancing light. The inside of the small cave hiding Sakura was only dimly illuminated by the delicate interplay of light and shadow that moved fluidly along the walls. Sakura, however, had eyes only for the image in front of her. Her throat was constricted by fear, supressing a bloodcurdling scream as she stared transfixed at the back of the cave.
Sakura saw the figure of a young woman, which she judged to be at most ten years older than herself. The image was neither opaque nor steady, allowing her to just barely make out the contours of the back wall through its rippling figure. With ever heightening discomfort, Sakura found that it was looking straight through her with eyes that were a void. Not silver, like Hinata's. Not merely colorless. A cold, intangible but definite emptiness lay behind them. They were completely barren. And, as Sakura realized in a sudden jolt of understanding - lifeless.
"Oh god..." whispered Sakura, her breath coming in desparate ragged gasps. She collapsed weakly against the nearest wall.
(Hi Sakura)
Sakura found herself shivering uncontrollably. Tearing her gaze away from the spectre, she managed to force out weakly, "Who...are you...?"
(Sorry if I scared you)
Shaking her head via a series of jerky movements, Sakura lied unconvincingly, "No, you don't scare me."
The image stood, wavering slightly as it did so. Sensing its movements, Sakura tried to slow her rapidly beating heart, braced herself and looked up once again.
(Don't worry)
Perhaps sensing Sakura's hesitation, it knelt down beside her and extended a translucent hand. Sakura stared it, uncomprehending.
"Aren't...you a ghost?" asked Sakura slowly, her breathing gradually returning to normal.
It shrugged.
(I guess)
"So you're not real. You're speaking to me in my mind. Doesn't that mean that I can't touch you?"
To Sakura's surprise, it smiled slightly.
(You can make me real)
Sakura's curiousity got the better of her fear. She sat up slightly. "What? How?"
(In your mind, see me and know that I am real. Then focus your chakra where you can see me)
It watched intently as Sakura slowly processed the words. Her mind was still reeling slightly from the shock of all she had seen and heard, but after a moment's consideration Sakura decided that the spectre's instructions were not any more strange than its very presence to begin with. As such, she closed her eyes and complied.
"Settle down," she mentally berated herself. "Breathe. Calm yourself. Focus."
As Ino had discovered during the Chuunin preliminary matches, Sakura's mental discipline was extremely strong. Soon her racing thoughts had been quieted down and forced into a dull murmur in the back of her mind.
"Imagine her to be real," thought Sakura. This also was not a difficult feat for her, the possessor of an active imagination. More often than not the true challenge was keeping it in check. Thus, it was not long before she had formed a clear picture with which she was satisfied.
Holding the picture in her mind's eye, she called upon her chakra. It responded quickly, and soon she could feel it flowing easily throughout her body, awaiting her direction. Here she hesitated, contemplating as to how to proceed. Rather than lose the progress that she had made, she elected to stay motionless, eyes shut firmly, concentrating every ounce of her energy into the task at hand. An undetermined amount of time passed. Sakura lost herself in the depths of her mind, deeper even than in training meditation, forcing herself deeper still...
Suddenly, something at the subconscious level clicked. Chakra poured into and flooded the circulation lines in her head in an exhilarating rush, pooling at the rarely used tenketsu attached to the brain. A thrilling surge of an unidentifiable feeling passed through her, but she did not allow herself to be distracted.
"Focus..." she told herself. Her new mantra.
Behind closed eyes, Sakura saw swirling, throbbing eddies of every imaginable shade of shockingly sharp color. The interweaving patterns, seeming chaotic, were teasingly suggestive of an underlying governing dynamic. The overall image that she beheld was breathtakingly beautiful. Almost loathe to disturb the natural progression, she exhaled slowly, calming them down into a neat pattern, coaxing the stubborn lines into a form of her bidding...
A flash of light shocked Sakura into opening her eyes. Unsure of whether the flash had been in her mind or actually before her, she clawed at the side of the cave to pull herself upright. A moment of disorientation set upon her. Then just as her vision cleared, she felt a hand on her shoulder.
"Just as I expected. Well done, Sakura-chan," came a voice from beside her.
Sakura turned her head cautiously. A black haired girl smiled cheerfully at her, her hand still extended. Sakura blinked.
"Hi," the girl said, tilting her head to one side, raising a pair of brown eyes to meet Sakura's emerald gaze. "I'm Miyako."
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First, Kakashi made sure no one was watching. Then, in one swift motion he spun around to land a well-placed, chakra aided kick on an unsuspecting tree in his backyard. Landing lightly, he looked up just in time to watch it begin to slowly topple over. It was a carefully calculated moment of release that was intended to make him feel better. It didn't work.
Irked by what the two ANBU from the clearing had told him, Kakashi had immediately gone out in search of Anko. Barely concealing his hostility under a veneer of cold civility, an hour of trading thinly veiled threats had yielded nothing but a suggestion from Anko as to where he should go. He had briefly considered killing her on the spot, but though the option was an attractive one he decided that it was probably not in Sakura's best interests. Therefore he had gone straight home instead.
He sat down on the fallen tree and leaned forward, resting his elbows on his knees. The search for Sakura was now under ANBU jurisdiction. Even Gai had agreed with the ANBU that they were best qualified to handle the unusual situation. Kakashi, however, knew that he was infinitely better qualified to judge just how unusual this situation truly was. He would bet on his life that they knew nothing of the story that Tsunade had told him, nor of the voice that Sakura heard. Whatever reasons they were given, their orders would only extend as far as locating and placing a rogue genin in custody. His gaze swept across the backyard to fall upon the file that Tsunade had given him, which he had carefully placed on the ground upon his return. Getting up slowly, he picked up the file and went inside. Even if he couldn't officially take part in the search, he could at least help Sakura by figuring out what was going on. Still completely dressed, he fell onto his couch with a heavy sigh and prepared himself for a long night of reading.
The following morning, Sasuke and Naruto woke to find a note from Kakashi instructing them to meet at his house. "Even I can't be late if you're meeting me at my own place," the note had read. Sasuke had snorted before crumpling it up and throwing it away. Naruto had found it hilarious. Both were suspicious.
Sasuke and Naruto had accidentally met about ten minutes away from their destination, and grudgingly walked the rest of the way together. After a few minutes of walking in complete silence, Sasuke couldn't take it anymore. Naruto had been looking at him strangely out of the corner of his eye the entire time they had been together. He turned abruptly to face his teammate.
"WHAT?" barked Sasuke impatiently.
Naruto didn't bother denying that he had been staring at him. Instead, he scratched his head and said sheepishly, "Ne, Sasuke...what's this I hear about you and Neji?"
Ironclad proof that word travels fast in a small community. Sasuke merely grunted in response and kept walking.
Naruto jumped in front of him and poked him in the shoulder. Sasuke looked up, irritated. "What do you want," he asked, in none too friendly a tone.
Crossing his arms and glaring, Naruto demanded, "I want to know why you two were fighting! I accidentally overheard Gai-sensei talking to these ANBU people, and they were really serious!"
Sasuke smirked. "Accidently, eh."
"You're missing the point!" said Naruto hotly. "They think there might be something wrong with Sakura-chan! And they think it might have something to do with you two because you were both acting so weird! And they still haven't found her! And ANBU are out looking for her! ANBU! Why?!"
When Naruto stopped for breath, Sasuke asked cooly, "Are you done?"
Naruto nodded reluctantly. Sasuke sighed. "Firstly, whatever is between Neji and I is none of your business. Stay out of it." He couldn't bring himself to admit to Naruto that even he didn't entirely know what had motivated that day's events.
Holding his arms rigidly at his side, Naruto's hands clenched tightly into fists upon hearing Sasuke's cold words. Naruto gritted his teeth as Sasuke finished, "And about Sakura...if you care so much, ask Kakashi when we get there."
At this, he resumed walking at a brisker pace, leaving Naruto to catch up.
Upon hearing the peal of the doorbell Kakashi opened the door to let his students in, idly noting as he did so that they did not appear to be on speaking terms. He shrugged to himself. Nothing special. Even after all they'd been through together, it still happened fairly often.
Naruto, the first to enter, bounded in through the door and looked around curiously. "Hey, hey," he said excitedly. "You've got a pretty nice place here, Kakashi-sensei."
Sasuke stood on the welcome mat just inside the door, looking to one side disinterestedly. "Kakashi-sensei. Why are we here?" he asked quietly.
Indicating a table in the living room, Kakashi merely said, "Sit."
When they were settled around the table, Kakashi gave them a brief overview of the recent happenings. He chose to omit only Tsunade's story, which he still felt was of questionable relevance. Even Naruto stayed quiet as he spoke, his widening blue eyes the only indication of his surprise. When Kakashi finally finished, a moment of silence passed before Sasuke leaned back in his chair and said calmly, "So what are we supposed to do about it?"
Naruto narrowed his eyes. "Sasuke, you bastard! Of course we have to go rescue her!"
"Baka!" answered Sasuke, dismissing Naruto with a icy glare. "We need to find her before we can rescue her, and even the ANBU can't find her." Turning his attention to Kakashi, who had been observing their exchange with some interest, he said, "What is it that you want us to do?"
"Nothing," came the matter-of-fact answer.
Naruto jumped up, seething. "What?!" he exclaimed. Pointing an accusing finger at Kakashi, he yelled, "You're just going to leave her out there? That's..."
"Enough!" said Kakashi in an authoritative voice, also rising from the table. Naruto's mouth clamped shut. Kakashi walked to where Naruto was standing, and patted him on the head. "Sakura is under my command. She is my teammate, my student, and my soldier. Do you think that I'd stand idly by and let harm come to her? I will see to it myself that Sakura is found and her situation resolved. Understand?"
Naruto nodded, slightly ashamed at his outburst. Kakashi's voice grew a bit softer as he continued, "But I can't do that if I'm worrying about you two and dealing with the consequences of your interference."
Sasuke pushed his chair away from the table and stood slowly. "So what you're telling us is to keep out of your way."
Kakashi turned to face his protege. "Not exactly," he said. "It's true that I want the two of you to stay away from the actual search, but I also need you to do some background research for me."
Naruto's ears perked up. "Hnn?" he said. "What kind of background research?"
Kakashi's mask hid the small smile provoked by Naruto's sudden change of expression. He explained, "I don't know Sakura that well, but you two have been her classmates for a while. So if you could compile a profile of her and give it to me tomorrow, that'd be great."
"What exactly are you looking for? Her diary?" deadpanned Sasuke.
Ignoring the sarcasm dripping from Sasuke's voice, Kakashi said lightly, "Pretty much anything and everything."
Naruto nodded enthusiastically. "Anything to help Sakura-chan! I'll come up with the best report ever!"
"Naruto..." Kakashi said, a slight wariness creeping into his voice. "You have to work with Sasuke on this, okay?"
Grumbling, Naruto indicated assented with a curt nod. Sasuke glared daggers but said nothing. Hearing no verbal complaints, Kakashi ushered them out of the house with more cheerfulness than he felt. Once he had shut the door behind them he headed straight for Tsunade's file, his facade of optimism promptly withdrawn. He flipped through it listlessly, having gone through it multiple times the previous night to no avail. Kakashi shut his eyes and let his thoughts take over.
The parallels between Miyako and Sakura were striking, to be sure. Kakashi sighed. But Miyako loved a Hyuuga, whereas Sakura loved an Uchiha. Miyako's sensei was an Uchiha, but even though he was known as Sharingan Kakashi, he was not of the clan. The only Hyuuga with a part in this story, Hyuuga Neji, had no prior connection to either Sakura or Sasuke, or at least as far as he or Gai knew. Where did everyone fit in? What was the connection? Maybe Sasuke and Naruto would turn up something that would shed more light on the affair. Maybe. Hopefully.
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"I can't believe I let you talk me into this," said Sasuke.
Naruto grinned mischievously. "I'm great at breaking in," he said proudly, as he searched through Sakura's room.
Eyeing the room door suspiciously, Sasuke muttered sullenly, "I'll keep that in mind." Then, reaching out just in time to catch a falling picture frame, "Hey! Be careful!"
Naruto didn't bother to look up, busily at work. "Yeah, yeah."
After what felt like an eternity, during which Sasuke was certain that they would be caught, Naruto finally found what he was looking for.
"Sakura-chan's diary!" cheered Naruto.
"Be quiet!" hissed Sasuke, shoving Naruto towards the window. "Let's go, let's go!"
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Night fell over Konoha.
Inside the sheltered atmosphere of the cave, Sakura stared wide-eyed at Miyako, who was busily inspecting herself.
"Hn, not bad," Miyako mused. "My skin was a bit darker though."
Sakura gulped. The exhilaration had faded, allowing apprehension to briefly regain control of her.
"Hey now, don't look so down," Miyako said comfortingly. "You've managed to do something that only one other person has ever been capable of."
Hesitantly, Sakura asked, "And that other person I'm assuming is you?"
Miyako's expression darkened visibly. "Was me," she corrected quietly.
"Sorry," said Sakura. Once again, curiousity loosened her tongue. "So who are you? Were you from this village?"
Laughing at Sakura's outburst, Miyako once again reached a hand out to her. "Why don't you let me show you?"
Something about Miyako led Sakura to believe that she could be trusted. Before she could stop herself their hands were touching palm to palm. Without being told, Sakura closed her eyes and cleared her thoughts. Then, in a flash, Miyako's memories and emotions became one with hers, as clear as if she herself had been there. When her eyes reopened, Miyako was smiling sadly at her. "So you see."
"I think so," answered Sakura slowly. "But...why me?"
"Not everyone is capable of what we are, Sakura-chan," explained Miyako. "It requires extreme intellectual potential, coupled with surpreme chakra control. Even those with only one or the other may be able to sense me, but probably not see me, let alone give me physical form."
Sakura said half-jokingly, "Well, that makes the first thing I can do that others can't."
Miyako turned an earnest gaze to Sakura. "But, Sakura-chan, you have to see! People with rare intellects like ours are not given nearly enough credit in this world."
Slightly taken aback by Miyako's passion, Sakura merely listened as Miyako continued.
"There exists a double standard in people's perceptions of strength. Strength based in intellect has always been seen as a mere supplement to one's physical abilities. The minute anyone claims to have mastered their mind, they are met with skepticism - whereas those same people would have no problem believing reports of special physical abilities, no matter how ridiculous those reports may be."
Sakura nodded. "I see what you mean."
Miyako stood up. Sakura followed suit, straightening and dusting off her dress as she did so. "Sakura," said Miyako, her tone serious.
Sakura stopped abruptly and looked up, her body suddenly tense.
"I can clear the path for you. I can give you the knowledge that I attained. And I can show you how to use it to the fullest. But you have to trust me."
"Miyako...chan," said Sakura hesistantly. "I hope you don't take offense to this, but I just want to know. Why are you doing this? I mean, I understand that we are very similar, but..."
Miyako gave a little laugh in response. "I would expect nothing less from you, Sakura," she said good-naturedly. Miyako heaved a sigh and looked at the ground before giving her answer. "You saw my life, Sakura-chan. I made a lot of stupid mistakes. You may not see them as such, but that's because you're on the verge of making those same mistakes yourself."
Sakura's eyes widened in surprise.
Miyako continued, "I was already in a downward emotional spiral when I discovered that I could perform mind-jutsus. No one believed me and I was too depressed to be cautious about my investigations, so by the time I perfected them my mind had sustained a lot of irreparable damage. I decided to find a way to preserve what I had learned before my degeneration came to a head. I found a way to bind my consciousness to this plane, but it meant effectively committing suicide."
Placing a hand on Sakura's shoulder, Miyako finished softly, "I waited for thirty years for right person, someone who could see me, someone like I was. You ask why? It's because my life had no meaning, but by giving that someone the opportunities I never had, in death my life may be redeemed."
Tears welled up in Sakura's emerald eyes, but when they met Miyako's gaze they were burning with determination. "Miyako-chan," she whispered, holding her hand out. "Let me help you find peace."