Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto.
The cherry blossom impact
02
They had won.
They did it.
Words couldn't describe the rush of emotions that overcame her. Joy, sadness, happiness and grief. They mixed together within her in equal amounts as they returned to the previous battlefield by using a portal Sasuke opened with his rinnegan. Sakura gave the place a once over to make sure there weren't any more threats lurking around when she spotted the figure of the four Hokages waiting for them in the distance, standing near the cocoons.
Naruto was the first to react, pumping a fist in the air, a bright grin on his face he ran all the way to his father who welcomed him with an equally bright expression.
Sakura's heart warmed at the scene unfolding before their eyes. All of her life she had taken her family for granted, the many memories they shared, good or bad, were a given in her life since the moment she was born. She had always known Naruto didn't have parents but she had never given it much of a thought on how it had affected him. Until now.
Father and son shared a loving hug and Sakura averted her eyes, feeling like she was intruding in a private moment.
'We won the war.'
It didn't matter how many times she repeated that same sentence in her head it didn't make it more real to her. She couldn't wrap her head around it. It seemed surreal that only moments ago they were fighting Kaguya Otsutsuki, the creator of chakra and the mother of the Sage of six paths, and Sakura had landed a punch on her so strong that one of her horns fell off!
She had punched a goddess and lived to tell the tale!
She studied her knuckles, the skin was tender and bruised, blue and purples tones marred her pale flesh as proof of her endeavour. Sakura clenched her fist then, a pang of pain shot from the cuts that covered her hands, no doubt the result of fighting without her gloves on.
Not that she had much of a choice since she lost them a while back, long before Kaguya even showed up. Sakura clenched her fist again, digging her blunt nails on her palms as a way to release the remaining adrenaline from her body.
She was buzzing with energy after the battle, almost bouncing on the spot as the taste of victory was still fresh on her. She felt like she could conquer a whole country right now. By her side, Kakashi-sensei sat down, leaning on a rock for support. Like her, he was trying to process everything that had happened on his own way.
Sakura wasn't blind to the sadness lingering behind his eyes, no doubt he was replaying Obito's last moments in his mind. She was all too familiar with Kakashi's survivor guilt not to notice when he was having one of his episodes.
She had to intervene, "Sensei," he looked at her, eyes barely lifting from the ground, "I'm sorry about Obito. I know he was our enemy but despite everything he did he was still your friend..." Kakashi's stare softened a bit, the corner of his eyes wrinkled as he smiled, a gesture she returned.
Kakashi's expression felt, a shadow fell over his face, "He did questionable things under Madara's and Zetsu's orders, but yes, he was still my friend."
"He did horrible things, but at the end, his heart was in the right place. Without his aid we wouldn't have make it out." She comforted her sensei.
His words made her think of her two teammates. Naruto and Sasuke, despite their differences and their many fights they always somehow found a way to work it out, which was exactly what they were doing now.
Sasuke stood a few feet away from them, his heated gaze set on Naruto who had cut short his conversation with his father to address his friend.
Sasuke spoke then, "I will become the next Hokage." He announced confidently and something in his tone made Sakura pause, he wasn't saying that just because he wanted to steal Naruto's dream. "I will rebuild Konoha from its ashes. Destroy the corrupted system that rooted itself under the Hokage's very eyes." He said, voice low, unwavering, "The Uchiha clan will take back what belongs to us."
His eyes found hers and Sakura gulped at the intensity of them but she held her gaze, and unable to stop herself she questioned his motives, furious by his bold statement, "Are you insane, Sasuke-kun?!" Her voice came louder than intended, "We just ended a war and you want to start another?!"
His jaw clenched, his face remained the same, "You wouldn't understand, Sakura. You never did." He concluded with a note of finality on his tone that made her stomach twist anxiously.
She shook her head, "No. I guess I never did." She admitted, eyes narrowed, "But I can't let you do this. You're not going to take away Naruto's dream. I won't let you!"
Her blonde friend came to stand on her side to pat her back, giving her his usual smile, "Leave him to me, Sakura-chan. Is about time I kick his butt again." He said, cracking his knuckles.
He was pushing her away and they both knew it. Sakura opened her mouth to retort, but the words died down in her mouth when she saw the look on his eyes.
She couldn't understand Sasuke, but Naruto did. He knew something that she didn't, he knew the reason as to why Sasuke was speaking such nonsense and he wouldn't tell her. Refused to do so.
She glanced at Sasuke's waiting form and Naruto patted her back one last time before he started to walk away, increasing the distance between them. Sakura stood there, rooted on the spot unable to move, to do anything to stop her boys once again.
She wanted to stop him. To yell at him not to leave her again but the words got stuck in her throat, leaving a bitter taste in her mouth. She had tried before, once upon a time when she was a 12 years old girl who foolishly thought that she could stop Sasuke from leaving if she confessed her true feelings.
It hadn't worked before, back when they were closer. Why would it work now, years later when the last time they saw each other they had tried to kill each other?
She grew angry, at them, at herself, at everything. Why did they always choose to leave her behind? To repeat the same story once again? Why?
Her questions were met with silence. She had no answers to give herself to lessen the blow to her pride.
Defeated, Sakura watched them go. The awful realisation that this might be last time she saw one of them shook her to the core. Blinking away her tears, she spun on her heels, not wanting to see them walk away from her again. Instead, she focused on the area, embarrassed to find that their argument had been witnessed by the worst possible audience.
The reanimated Hokages stood near the cocoons, all but one. She could recognise Hashirama's kneeling besides a body a little further from the tree.
Sakura swallowed her embarrassment, making her way to them at a leisure pace, not before shooting Kakashi a quick glance to make sure he was alright.
"Go on, Sakura. I'll stay here to catch my breath." He smiled at her, adjusting his position on the rock. "Oh, and Sakura," he called and she stopped, "Don't worry about them. Naruto will take care of it."
Like he always does. Was left unsaid by both of them.
"I know, sensei. Shout if you need anything."
"Will do."
Sakura resumed her pace then, part of her wishing she had stayed by his side but she knew Kakashi was dealing with his own demons at the moment, and honestly she didn't want to talk about hers right now so she opted to distract herself.
After all, being able to speak with a shinobi legend was a once in a lifetime opportunity that Sakura wasn't about to waste.
She approached the second Hokage since she was the most familiar with him. The Sandaime might've of been the Hokage from her youth but she never knew the man well enough to strike a casual conversation with him, and Naruto's dad was out of the question since she had no idea what to tell the man besides the fact that Naruto had a horrible childhood thanks to a certain old man and some mean villagers.
So the second Hokage it was.
She stopped at a respectful distance, a small smile on her lips, she was about to talk when a booming laugh interrupted her. Sakura's gaze followed the sound, locating the source with ease since Hashirama's body was shaking to contain his laughter. Confused, she made a mental count before coming to the realisation of who was the man talking with the first Hokage.
"I thought Madara was dead." She mentioned to Tobirama, still watching their interaction with curiosity, unknowingly inching closer to him.
He grunted, "So did I." He agreed, "But it seems evil never dies." He said bitterly, "Not even the past of time can change the nature of that clan." He said, staring into the direction her teammates had gone off to.
"So it seems," she said as she ran a hand through her hair, flashing the seal in her palm without meaning to, "Have they always been like that?"
Before he could answer, Yondaime Hokage cut him off.
"Is that a chakra sealer?" Minato asked, awed, looking at her palm, "May I?" He motioned to her hand and Sakura nodded, offering her hand for him to examine, "I never seen a seal like this." He commented thoughtfully, meeting her eyes, "You were going to seal Madara's chakra before he was attacked?" He deducted, recalling the moment the kunoichi had leaped in the air, with this very same arm extended towards Madara. "That was a smart idea." He complimented.
Sakura blushed a bit, shaking her head, eyeing the second Hokage who had remained silent during the exchange, "Actually, it wasn't my plan. Shodai and Tobirama-sama were the ones to come up with it. I was just the one to execute it- Well, tried to." She finished lamely, retiring her hand from his.
He smiled at her, looking just like Naruto whilst doing so, "Don't sell yourself short, Sakura-san. From what I saw I could tell you would have succeeded if it weren't for Zetsu's surprise attack."
Tobirama finally spoke, startling her as he did so. She had forgotten he was there, "Yondaime speaks the truth. It was a well thought off plan. That creature's intervention was unforeseeable for all of us."
Sakura heard the hidden compliment in his words. Sheepishly, she nodded at his words, not trusting her own voice. After a short pause, she spoke again, this time she addressed Minato, "Yondaime-sama, can I ask you a question?"
"Of course, Sakura-san!"
"Would it be possible to remove the Hiraishin seal from my back?" She turned around, perfectly conscious of what she was about to do. She lifted her shirt all the way to her mid back, where the seal was located. She tried not to flinch when his fingers traced her skin.
He hummed, studying the intricate design with an analytical eye. The pattern was familiar to him since he had studied Tobirama's notes to create his own version of the jutsu. Unfortunately, he had no idea on how to remove it.
He had implemented the marked kunais on his own technique to avoid things like this. It was surprising a genius like Tobirama hadn't foreseen something like this happening. But he had marked the girl on purpose, hadn't he? Unless he didn't know himself that this could happen...
Not wanting to antagonise said man, Minato cleared his throat to get Sakura's attention.
She fixed her shirt before turning to face them, a pink tint spread all over her cheeks and she expectantly waited for his response.
He hated to be the bearer of bad news, "I'm sorry, Sakura-san. But I have no idea how to help you. While my technique uses Tobirama's one as base, I'm afraid to inform you that they are very different techniques. I can't help you." He finalised with an apologetic smile.
She sighed, deflated by the news, "So I'm always going to have a part of your chakra with me?" She asked Tobirama.
He nodded stiffly, "And Hashirama's as well."
Sakura sighed again, "Excellent. I can't wait to explain this to my parents." She muttered, lifting her hand to study the seal with a frown.
"The chakra sealer is going to fade. But his chakra will remain on you."
"I can live with that. But I won't be using any bikinis around anyone ever again."
"Bikini?" Tobirama repeated the foreign word, "What is that?" He inquired, brows creased in confusion.
Minato took mercy in Sakura's horrified face, "Is a piece of clothing women wear at the beach." He explained for her.
She gave him a thankful smile, "Yes. Just a simple piece of clothing." She wasn't in the mood to explain the scandalous swimming attire to Tobirama's sengoku's mentality.
That was the last of their conversation as it changed to different topics.
(...)
The morning came and brought with it the end of Sasuke's and Naruto's battle. The battlefield had grown quiet since the deafening explosion of chakra caused by their respective attacks and after waiting for a few minutes, when the sky had finally turned blue, she rushed to their side, ready to mend whatever pieces were left of them with Kakashi hot on her heels.
She made her way to them in record time. Their battered forms rested in the middle of the valley of the dead, laying next to each other in a puddle of their blood. If it weren't for the soft rise and fall of their chest she would've mistook them for corpses.
Heart beating wildly, Sakura jumped to their side. The green glow of her chakra illuminated their bruised faces, highlighting the dark circles around their eyes and allowing her to see clearly the soft look Sasuke was giving her.
"I'm sorry, Sakura." Was all he said and all she needed to hear.
She could never demand more than he was willing to give.
"I know, Sasuke-kun. Let me patch you up so we can return home, okay?"
If only things were so simple.
Once Sasuke had ended the Mugen Tsukuyomi and every one had been released from their imprisonment it was time for the Edo Tensei technique to be released as well.
Naruto was already talking with his dad, tears clouding his vision as he spoke.
For the second time, Sakura looked away to give them space when Hashirama called for her.
"Sakura-chan!" He had a big grin planted on his face, "I guess it's time to say goodbye?"
Sakura nodded, surprised he wanted to say goodbye to her. They had only known each other for a few hours and yet, he treated her like a long time friend, "I believe so, Shodai-sama. It was great meeting you- and your brother." She added once she noticed Tobirama standing not far from them, arms folded over his chest. He barely raised his hand to bid her goodbye, arms still crossed. She acknowledged him with a small nod and a wave.
Hashirama patted her head, "Take care, Sakura-chan. Please look after Tsuna-chan for us."
He started to walk away to stand by his brother when she talked, suddenly emotional, "Hashirama!" She called, forgetting to add the honorific in the heat of the moment, "I will learn how to do the mokuton. I promise you!"
He grinned proudly at her as he took his place. His skin started to peel revealing the white flesh of Zetsu underneath. The wind carried the pieces away, hurrying the process. His features softened, taking a more serene appearance full of melancholy, "And I'll be watching you." He pointed upwards, "From above." That was the last thing he said before his soul left the living world once again.
Sakura sniffed loudly, unshed tears stung her eyes as she tried to blink them away, she looked up then, filled with determination, "I will make you proud, Hashirama-sama."
(...)
This chapter is dedicated to: the anon guest that was my first review. EternalTrajectory, TeruBaka, Lotus2Life, Mei fa-chan and gene44.
Thank you for the lovely reviews in chapter 01. I must admit I was a little nervous to post this but I'm glad to know so many people are liking this!
S/N: Sakura will arrive in the past in the next chapter.
Question:
Should Sakura go with the Uchiha brothers or with the Senju brothers once she arrives?
