She stirred. Her body felt numb. She tried to pry her eyes open. But they seemed to have stuck together. After what seemed like an eternity, her bleary eyes opened. Her foggy mind tried to process her environment as she sat up. Where was she? She must've passed out or something. She appeared to be in a room of sorts. It was traditional room, she guessed as she took in the tatami mats and the fusuma doors. She was sitting on a futon. She looked down at herself and found every bit of her skin bandaged. She tried to stand up but her legs didn't even move a millimeter.

Just then a sound interrupted her pathetic attempt of trying to move. She turned around to meet face to face with Orihime. "Sakura!" she exclaimed, dropping the clothes she held and rushed over to the kunoichi. Sakura found herself enveloped in a bone crushing hug. It hurt a bit but she decided to endure just for a little moment. Soon enough, several footsteps were heard outside her room and she saw Rukia, Chad and Uryu enter. "Sakura!" the female Shinigami exclaimed and rushed over to her. "H-Hey Rukia," she croaked in a hoarse voice. Rukia gave her a teary smile as she held her hand. "Sakura, how are you?" Uryu asked as he knelt beside her. "I'm fine," she replied with a weak smile.

Suddenly, the fusuma door was opened with great force. "Where is she?!" a voice bellowed. Sakura turned her head at the sound of her best friend's voice. "Naruto," she said as her eyes blurred with tears. "Sakura-chan!" he said as he rushed over to envelope her in a bear hug. He was careful to avoid pressing her too much. "I'm sorry. I shouldn't have let you get hurt," he said, his words laced with sincerity that almost broke her heart as he hugged her closer. "It's okay. I'm fine now," she replied as she buried her face in his chest. 'He smells nice,' she thought.

"Sakura?" another voice said. She pulled away from Naruto, blinking away her tears and looked at the redhead who was looking at her with bewildered eyes. "Ichigo," she breathed. Everyone had quietened around them. Ichigo stood frozen from his spot at the door. She was awake, she was finally awake after so long! Seeing that the Shinigami made no movement, Sakura forced herself to stand up. Her feet felt like jelly and hurt as though she was being struck by a thousand senbon. Several exclaims of "Sakura, you're hurt!" rang in the room but she chose to ignore them. She noticed that she was dressed in a black yukata.

She took several baby steps before her knees gave out and she slumped down. But before she could hit the ground, arms had encircled her from the frong and helped her kneel on the ground. She looked up to see Ichigo staring at her with the most intense look she had ever seen. "Hey," she said in a weak voice. Her only reply was being hugged fiercely. She returned the hug with the same force, which surprised everyone including herself. He pulled her closer and she snuggled deeper into his chest. "Don't ever do that again," he said in a strained tone, inner conflict and turmoil in his voice. "I won't," she replied in a reassuring tone.


"How long was I passed out?" she asked Naruto who was standing beside her. They preparing to meet with the captains. They were in the Soul Society. "About three weeks," he replied in a matter-of-fact tone. "Three weeks?!" she said disbelievingly. He nodded. She had just woken up a week ago meaning they had been here for almost a month. "Gosh," she said to herself. They were dressed in the ninja attire which had been sewn by the tailor there and had their Konoha hitai's proudly on top of their heads. "What happened to Katsuro?" she asked. "He's dead," the blonde replied in a monotone voice. "One of the energy balls from the Fragor hit him," he explained. "Oh," she said.

"You may enter," a voice said from inside. The two looked at each other before opening the door and entering. There were about eleven people who she sensed as very powerful, six sitting on one side in a traditional style. There were also other people sitting behind them. At the head, there was an old man who was sat in a dominating manner. She also noticed Rukia, Ichigo, Orihime, Uryu and Chad sitting alongside the other eleven plus many others she didn't recognize. There was a busty blonde with orange hair who was staring at her with something akin to amusement. A guy with red hair was looking at her skeptically. There were also several raven heads in the room and a smiling pink-haired little girl sitting on a bulky guy's shoulder. 'Creepy,' they both thought.

The two sat in the middle and stared straight at the head. "Greetings to you. My name is Genryusai Shigekuni Yamamoto, Captain Commander of the First Division and Captain of Gotei 13," the elder man introduced himself in gruff voice. "Chojiro Sasakibe, Lieutenant of the First Division," the man beside him said.

"Soi Fon, Captain of the Second Division." "Marechiyo Omaeda, Lieutenant of the Second Division."

"Retsu Unohana, Captain of the Fourth Division." "Isane Kotetsu, Lieutenant of the Fourth Division."

"Byakuya Kuchiki, Captain of the Sixth Division." "Renji Abarai, Lieutenant of the Sixth Division."

"Saijin Komamura, Captain of the Seventh Divion." "Tetsuzaemon Iba, Lieutenant of the Seventh Division."

"Shinsui Kyoraku, Captain of the Eighth Division." "Nanao Ise, Lieutenant of the Eighth Division."

"Kaname Tosen, Captain of the Ninth Division." "Shuhei Hisagi, Lieutenant of the Ninth Division."

"Toshiro Hitsugaya, Captain of the Tenth Division." "Rangiku Matsumoto, Lieutenant of the Tenth Division."

"Kenpachi Zaraki, Captain of the Eleventh Division." "Yachiru Kusajishi, Lieutenant of the Eleventh Division."

"Mayuri Kurotsuchi, Captain of the Twelfth Division." "Nemu Kurotsuchi, Lieutenant of the Twelfth Division."

"Jushiro Ukitake, Captain of the Thirteenth Division. "Rukia Kuchiki, Lieutenant of the Thirteenth Division."

Sakura almost forgot their names. They were so long but she managed to recite them all. She guessed Naruto had been lost as soon as the leader said his name. "Sakura Haruno, chunin of Konohagakure no Sato," the kunoichi introduced herself. "Naruto Uzumaki, future Hokage of Konohagakure no Sato, dattebayo!" the blonde introduced himself loudly. "Quiet down, you baka!" the pink-haired medic seethed hotly and smacked him on top of his head, momentarily forgetting where she was. "Gomen Sakura-chan," the blonde whimpered. A cough from Ichigo brought her back to reality.

"Sorry," she said to Yamamoto as she smiled sheepishly. "Gomen nasai," the blonde said in a low after receiving a glare from the medic. "It's okay. I would like to thank you on behalf of the Soul Society and our world for defeating Aizen. You defeated one of our greatest threats," the elder Shinigami said. "You're welcome," the two ninjas replied as they both bowed. "If you don't mind me asking, how exactly did you defeat him?" the man with dark hair and a pink floral kimono on top of his Shinigami attire-Shinsui-asked. Naruto looked at Sakura expectantly which prompted her to speak.

"I used chakra," she replied. "Chakra is a combination of both spiritual and physical energy, unlike reiatsu which is only spiritual energy. Because chakra consists of two interjoined parts, it is more powerful than reiatsu because of the presence of the additional physical energy," she went on. "I first noticed this when Naruto grazed Rukia's side with his Rasengan. It was a small graze but the damage was quite serious. As I encountered many Hollows, I studied why they seemed to be easily defeated when Naruto and I attacked. I came to the conclusion that it was chakra. During my fight with Aizen, I decided to test my theory again. When Naruto hit him with the Rasengan, the Hogyoku cracked only a tiny a bit. At that moment, I knew how to defeat him. I had lure him close enough to him that I would have access to the Hogyoku and ultimately kill him," she explained. Everyone seemed to nod at her words.

"I also have the Strength of a Hundred Healings technique. It allows the user to survive any attack through recreating any injured part such that you can even survive being cut in half. My master taught me that. Even mine was still premature, I could tap into it at the last second and deliver the final blow. Plus, Aizen was getting reckless and he sort of underestimated me so it was easy," she finished, smiling at the last part. After a moment of silence, Yamamoto spoke up. "Quite impressive if I may say," the elder commented with a grandfatherly smile. Sakura blushed lightly.

"Now onto more urgent matters. One of your own by the name encountered Katsuro worked with Aizen to bring you here, am I correct?" the man said. They both nodded. "I hear that he died during the attack of the Fragor," he said. They nodded again. "I'm sure both of you want to return to your own world," he spoke. Their faces immediately brightened up. "I have spoken with all the Captains and we've discovered a way for you to get back home," Yamamoto said with a smile. Sakura beamed and Naruto grinned cheekily. "We are to proceed as soon as possible if we want this technique to work but I guess you have to say goodbye to your friends. So maybe we can delay a bit," the elder said. "Thank you very much, Yamamoto-taichou," the pinkette said. "Yeah, thanks oji-san, dattebayo!" the blonde exclaimed as he gave him a thumbs up. Sakura bonked him in return which made everyone laugh in return.


"I guess this is goodbye then," Sakura said as she stared at her friends for the final time. They were standing at an open space away from the town. The Captains were on the other side, waiting for them to bid each other farewell. No one replied her and she had no problem with that. They didn't want to part but they had to. "Goodbye Sakura," Chad said as he stepped forward and hugged her gently. "Goodbye Chad. Take care," she replied. "Goodbye Sakura," Uryu said as he also stepped forward after Chad had retreated at the back of the group. "Goodbye," she replied as she also hugged him. Sakura turned to Orihime who was looking at her with tearful eyes. "Goodbye Sakura. Take care of Ino and all your friends, and tell them I said hie," the orange-haired girl said as she embraced the pinkette. "I will," she said as she returned the hug, her eyes stinging with tears. "Don't give up on Ichigo," the medic nin whispered in her ear. "I won't," she replied in a teary voice.

The kunoichi moved to Rukia who was smiling, though her face displayed a huge amount of inner turmoil. "Goodbye Rukia. It was such an honor meeting you, Lieutenant," the pinkette said as she pulled her into a hug. "It was nice meeting you too," the raven-haired girl replied. "Take care of Ichigo for me," the kunoichi whispered in her ear. "Sure. You take care of Naruto for me," the girl replied. "Always," Sakura replied. She turned to Ichigo who had a faraway look in his eyes. "Ichigo," she started. "It's okay. You don't have to wish me well. I'll be fine here. You just make sure to take good care of yourself at home," he said as he gave her a tender smile. Sakura smiled in return. "It was nice meeting you," the Shinigami said as he hugged her. Sakura returned her fifth hug that time in less than ten minutes.

Naruto gave each of them farewell handshakes and even Orihime a quick hug. He wasn't much of a goodbye person. Though it pained him to leave them, he had to go back to Konoha. That's where he belonged. With clueless Sai, Kakashi-sensei, Captain Yamato, Pervy Sage, Granny Tsunade and Sasuke-teme. He turned to Rukia and the girl avoided looking at him. "Rukia," he said softly. She turned and looked at him with teary eyes. "I guess this is goodbye then," he said as he stepped closer to her. "Yeah, I guess so," she replied in a quiet tone. Seeing that he couldn't use the Talk no Jutsu to express his feelings, he decided to take the big step.

He had read it countless times in Pervy Sage's novels and hoped that he wouldn't lose his head. He could do it. He was a ninja with gutsiness. Surely this thing wouldn't scare him, right? He closed the distance between the two of them and placed a soft, slightly forceful kiss on her lips. It lasted for five seconds and he withdrew. He looked at Rukia who was gaping at him like a fish out of water with flushed cheeks. "B-Baka!" she seethed with feigned anger as she punched him on top of his head. "That hurt," Naruto said as he rubbed the sore spot but he caught a smile on her flushed face. He smiled in return.


The two ninjas were standing at the edge of a cliff. "We're going to open a portal to your world but it'll only last for fifteen seconds so be quick. Are you ready?" Yamamoto asked. They nodded. He placed his zanpakuto in front of them before stepping to the side. He muttered a few inaudible words and slammed his palms together. The two began to glow white. "Take care," he said as the two began to fade. They turned to see everyone waving at them. They waved back. Sakura connected eyes with Ichigo. An unspoken communication passed between them. She had to do it.

Pushing chakra to her feet, she ran towards Ichigo. She ignored the several gasps of shock. Just before she faded completely, she stood in front of him and placed a well-deserved kiss on his lips. Ichigo stared at the smiling girl in shock before she completely faded away. A beat passed before Renji came from behind Ichigo and slung an arm over his shoulder. "Awww, I never knew you were the lovey-dovey type," he teased as he grinned. His reply was being punched off the cliff.


They were falling and they found themselves in the Hokage's office. "Naruto! Sakura! What are you doing here?!" Shizune exclaimed as she eyed the two ninjas who lay on top of each in the middle of Tsunade's office. "You better have a good explanation for this to come to days early of your mission," the blonde sneered annoyedly. The two ninjas stood up and looked around the office. "We're back home!" Sakura exclaimed. "Oji-san did it, dattebayo!" the blonde said as he punched the air. Tsunade stared at them quizzically. "U-Umm, sorry shishou," Sakura said as she smiled cheekily, sensing her shishou's dangerous aura. "Care to explain why you're home early and overjoyed to be here?" the blonde tried to control her temper. "We travelled to another dimension, dattebayo!" Naruto exclaimed loudly. Hokage and assistant eyed them as though they had grown a second head.

Boy, they had a lot to explain.


I'm done with this chapter and story. Troublesome to write if I may say. About the chakra part, I was quite aware about what I was doing but thank you for the description. It's my second fic and first completed fic. The first one, Back to Zero, is still in progress. I'm going to write another one called Hajimeru. Hope you enjoy it. Read and review.

Till next time.

Tozoonana.

AfricanFire