A/N: This is kinda important. The story is hereby renamed. This is because the name of this series is 'Fate's Garden'. And technically it has around four parts. The first of which is the story you're reading at this moment, Anomalistic. But I just know myself too well, and I know that if I declare this story complete and then make the next part its own separate story it will never get written. So I'm just putting it all in one story and calling them different parts and renaming this thing as a whole. :D I'll be working on the next chapter soon, and it will be a the first of Part 2, which will be entitled 'Fox Den'. This story is still the same story, just has a new, all encompassing title.

Fate's Garden

Part 1 - Anomalistic

Chapter 8 - Meeting the In-laws

There was something particularly striking about the day of their second death. Several things were strange about it really, besides the fact that they were dying again, of course. For one Sakura was quiet. She wasn't rambling or chattering on and on when they showed up for their usual team meeting at twelve (supposedly set for ten). It was a beautiful day by the standards of late winter. They'd been in this universe for a whole year now. In fact, after looking at the calendar that morning Sasuke remarked it was the one year anniversary of their arrival. In their home world they would have been sixteen. In this one they were thirteen. The growth brought acne, growing pains, and voice breaking. Of course despite this they were getting a bit taller, which Sasuke appreciated more than either of them. It took me four years to be significantly taller than Sakura, alright? Cut me some slack. Naruto would never forget the day Sasuke said that. If only because he admitted it.

The sun was shining, the winter bare trees were showing signs of regaining their green attire, and a slight breeze induced only the slightest chill. It was a good day. They were heading out for a short messenger mission, something they could have probably entrusted to a messenger hawk. But their father figured he could send some genin instead. How flattering. Naruto and Sasuke slouched against the rail of the wooden bridge. Sakura was doing the same against the rail opposite them. She was staring at her shoes, scuffing them on the wood. Though in their old life Sakura was a slightly nicer person, she was still mean. Yet by the time they'd been together as a team for a year they'd all been a bit closer to each other. They were more of a small family than colleagues. Which, considering genin were seen as working shinobi of the leaf, that's really all they were, co-workers. But in this world, it seemed as if Sakura's ranking in the socialite network was forming a tall thick barrier between them. She was keeping herself from being something more than a fellow nin to them. While it kept them mostly professional it also inhibited them in some ways.

While other teams were becoming close knit family units, Team seven was becoming a strictly formal, well-oiled machine. Other teams were getting to know their members so well they could conduct missions with nearly no communication, working out elaborate formations and tactics. Team seven came up with plans on the spot and worked independently; divide and conquer. It worked for them now, when they needed little to no teamwork to take on the missions handed to them. But in the future they'd need to be a little more cooperative. Thankfully for Naruto and Sasuke they didn't have a future to wait around for. Today they were going to die, even if they didn't know so in advance.

Kakashi strolled around the corner of the butcher shop that stood next to the bridge. As he came to a stop at the base of the bridge he eyed them all knowingly. Sasuke and Naruto were tired. Their father had gotten some bill accepted by the council, some reformation or other. Their mother had insisted they celebrate by going out to dinner and a late movie. When they got home it was already late, yet Kushina still thought it a good idea to have ice cream before bed. But, of course Kakashi knew this. He'd met up with them for their celebratory dinner. What Kakashi didn't know was why Sakura wasn't reprimanding him for being late, as she did every day, despite her now knowing full well he would always be late for all of time.

"Sakura-chan…you're so quiet." Kakashi stated.

"Did you bring the scroll with you?" She asked stiffly.

"Hm?"

"For the mission, the scroll we're going to be delivering to the border patrol today?"

Kakashi blinked his one visible eye and nodded, pulling it out of his flak-jacket and waving it in her face to prove he had it. Sakura snatched it from his hand and marched past him and around the corner. Naruto and Sasuke shared a withering look and heaved their tired backs off of the stiff wooden railing. With Kakashi at their side they shuffled through town and towards the gate. If they were lucky Sakura was waiting for them there. She might, however, have started on ahead anyways since she appeared to be in such a foul mood.

Their teacher whom had been a large part of their old life seemed to be an even bigger part in their second. He was seen as part of the Namikaze family, as a sort of uncle to Sasuke and Naruto as he'd been their father's pupil, and only one to be still alive. So for Christmas, birthdays, and other such family events he was usually around. Jiraiya even made an appearance every once in a while, and the first time he did Sasuke and Naruto nearly had an aneurysm. If they'd thought he'd been a crotchety old man before then there was surely no words to describe him now.

"Do either of you know why Sakura-chan is so upset with us?" Kakashi asked.

"What makes you think she's upset with us in particular?" Sasuke retorted, "Maybe it's just that time of the month."

The three men shuddered. The issue was effectively dropped after that. Sakura was standing ramrod straight, glaring at anything that moved. Though she was still at the gates was encouraging, she was still just as hatefully quiet as she was before when she'd stormed off. The three of them sighed and joined her, but as they headed out, they made sure to walk a cautious distance behind her.

By the end of the day Sakura's grueling pace had gotten them nearly halfway to their objective. They were all exhausted. Even Sakura, who had remained entirely unflappable all day was looking a little winded. As they always did they divided up the jobs of setting up camp. Sasuke would set up the traps around their campsite, Naruto would go get dinner, Sakura would get the firewood, and Kakashi would set up their tents. Once everyone had finished their usual jobs they settled down around the fire to eat their dinner. Sakura had used the fish Naruto'd brought back to create a fairly decent soup. Though none of the men present were avid seafood fans they enjoyed it to a certain degree.

The second odd thing was that when they lay down to bed, Sasuke had his first vision in months. In fact, the only one since he'd seen Gaara. Sure enough, when Naruto and Sasuke had checked the records to find information on the Kazekage's youngest son, Gaara was not listed there. He'd truly disappeared from every version of the world.

Sasuke laid down in their tent on Kakashi's right, Naruto on the other side of their teacher already fast asleep. He stared at the slightly dipped in ceiling of their tent. As he watched the dying firelight weave shadows on the ceiling and the door and the walls of their meager shelter he noticed the edges of his vision begin to blur. It was as if one eye was seeing the tent and the other was seeing something else entirely. He screwed his eyes shut in an attempt to keep the double vision from making him nauseous. But when he opened them again he was lying down in tall grass. A bright blue sky above him, illuminated but no sun in sight.

"What are you doing here mortal?" An agitated voice demanded, "I was sure that we'd secured the borders of our realms from your entry long ago."

Sasuke grunted at the effort it took to move as he forced himself to sit up and look around. A raccoon with rich tawny fur and large black rings around her eyes glared at him. She stood a fair few feet taller than him yet she was still slouched, slinking about in the grass. Her large bushy tail was swinging from side to side in frustration. But as soon as she began inching towards him with hate in her eyes a smaller raccoon leapt in front of her. This new coon had darker fur that was a more red brown than his fellow's golden hide and startlingly blue eyes. His eyes had a thinner rim of black around them and they were warning the other to stay back.

"Son, what on earth do you think you are doing?" She growled.

"Leave him alone, mother. He has done nothing wrong-"

"Nothing wrong! How dare you-"

"He did not come here intentionally. Even if he did, he's just trying to understand what is happening to him. You cannot condemn him for that."

"I can condemn any mortal I want! I am my father's firstborn, I am the goddess Shukaku, and you are my kit, you have no right to oppose me and my decisions."

"Mother, calm down." The younger coon sighed. A long suffering posture had decorated his shoulders now, which were slumped in exasperation.

"Why do you protect him?"

"Because he is the mate of my cousin, and you would do well to remember that! Do you not remember your own nephew?"

Sasuke wanted to protest this notion of being anyone's mate but couldn't summon up any words. He was being defended from the wrath of an angry goddess. Whatever defense this kindly god utilized was thereby fine with him. But as the argument grew more and more heated, Sasuke realized something. This god that was protecting him was…Gaara. What did Shukaku say the last time he saw her? He will come into his form splendidly. His form…this was Gaara!

"Gaara!"

The auburn furred coon turned away from his mother to find the source of the loud interruption. When his eyes alighted on Sasuke the coon was suddenly a tall young man with bright red hair and blue eyes. He sat down before Sasuke and greeted him with a bone-creaking embrace.

"Sasuke-kun!" He offered a warm smile, "How are you?"

"Fine. How about you? You were a giant raccoon a minute ago."

Gaara chuckled at that, "I am doing well. Mother doesn't particularly like mortals, you'll have to excuse her."

"Excuse me? Son, I am right here."

Sasuke rolled his eyes and laughed nervously. He was quite aware that however amusing Shukaku's anger might be, she could send him right back to the mortal world if he angered her. For several weeks after he'd first told Naruto about the visions, about this garden and the gods, Naruto had pestered him with questions. Then, he'd given him questions to ask the gods should he have another glimpse of this garden. But now that he was there, in the realm of the gods, it seemed as though he'd forgotten nearly all of them. Gaara smiled at him and helped him out of his thoughts.

"C'mon, let's go have tea with your future in-laws."

Caught off guard by the sudden invitation all Sasuke could muster was a feeble, "In-laws?"

In-laws, there were so many of them… Sasuke entered the large lavishly furnished living room and was astounded by the amount of people and animals present. It was a scene out of a fairytale book. Bright colors faded into warm muted tones that seemed to distract him from so much as breathing. There was one huge window in the slanted ceiling that lit up the whole room. Directly beneath it were two massive black panthers curled up together in a loving embrace. An even larger panther was lying just outside the circle of light watching them sleep. There were couches set about the edge of the room and chairs littered about the center. Large rugs of various shapes and sizes overlapped and often left vast expanses of wood floor bare. Pillows were everywhere, blankets too. Occasionally there would be a small table of any sort of shape imaginable, and on its top would be a tray of tea and some type of snack. The snacks could be anything from raw meat to luscious looking cakes and fruits and cheeses.

Sitting, all sunken in, on one particularly large sofa was a short old man, fat, bald, and aging. The size of the furniture in which he was so immersed dwarfed him. Sitting next to him on the couch was a man wearing a large turtle shell with three short tails poking out the back. He appeared fairly old and he was having a lazy, half hearted conversation with the older man at his right. On the other side of the short man was petite red bird with a long flexible neck like a flamingo, and the head of a swan. Its long four tail feathers were like those of a peacock but moved like those of a cat. Its head was resting peacefully in the short man's lap where he was stroking its smooth crimson feathers. On the floor at his feet were the two beings' own offspring: four red birds and three turtles, dozing in the calm afternoon.

On the other side of the room, in the corner were two men who appeared to be the youngest of the group, one Sasuke recognized immediately was the Kyuubi. The other was a man with ears like a jack rabbit but were snow white, he had long legs bent with a few more joints than a human's, and eight thin, spindly white tails. Dancing about at his feet were two small white jack rabbits, who were playing some sort of game which involved chasing each other about and nipping at each other's heels. Their father didn't seem to notice hardly at all. In a chair nearby was a short and squat beaver with dark green fur and five thick flat tails. Only one smaller beaver could be seen lolling about on the larger's belly but Sasuke guessed there might be four others somewhere.

Sitting on the floor near the panthers, sipping tea and playing a game of pai show were two graceful women. One had short brown ears like a deer and long elegant horns. Six short tails poked out from under her robe but were almost covered from sight by her long white hair which cascaded down her back. Her opponent was a much taller woman with silver scales for skin and long talons where her fingernails should be. She tapped her deadly claws on the wooden floor as her seven thick scaly tails swept across the floor lazily. No children could be seen near them though Sasuke was sure he heard excited chattering from a room somewhere in the massive home they'd entered.

As soon as Gaara, Shukaku, and Sasuke entered the room everyone stirred, their attentions fixated on the doorway. Several of the larger animals, and humans tensed, clearly displeased with the presence of a mortal. The only one who didn't seem to mind too much was the old man, though the Kyuubi didn't particularly mind either seeing as Sasuke was his kit's 'mate' and all. Sasuke bristled at the thought but again said nothing.

"Ah, my daughter and my newest grandson." The old man grinned as he approached them, which required disentangling himself from seven of his grandchildren. How he did so with such grace, Sasuke would never comprehend.

"Hello father."

"Hi grandpa."

"Um….hi?" Shukaku shot him a glare when he deigned to speak, but Gaara merely chuckled.

"Yes, hello, Sasuke." The fat man nodded, "Shu, Gaara, how bout you go sit down and have some tea."

Shukaku shuffled off as did Gaara. Leaving Sasuke alone with this man he knew and yet didn't know. The man rested one hand on his shoulder and nodded as if answering some question Sasuke had asked him. But Sasuke hadn't said anything.

"Sasuke, there is no need to be in such a rush. You will be here when it is your time to be here."

"You mean I'm going to come here with Naruto…when all is said and done?"

"Ah, Sasuke, always so curious…"

"I'm not curious, I need to know! Naruto needs to know!"

"…but don't you have somewhere you need to be?"

Sasuke gasped as he was suddenly sitting up in a cramped tent. Kakashi and Naruto were shifting next to him, both giving him an odd look. Sasuke wanted to tell Naruto what he'd just seen, heard, where he'd been. But he didn't have the chance, suddenly there was someone in their camp, and they'd managed to get past all of their traps without setting any off. In a flash all four of them were out of their tents, forming seals, hurling kunai, but none of them were prepared for what came next.

Their fire was swept up in the air all around them, spreading through the trees surrounding their camp. Everything was ablaze, and their attacker had disappeared. There was no clear escape route as everything was blocked off by flames. Smoke was making their eyes water and filling their lungs at painful speeds. Kakashi had the thought to try a water summoning jutsu, but there was no moisture in the air for him to use. Even if he'd managed to summon up any water it wouldn't have been effective. With the smoke making it harder to breathe and the heat exhausting them there was nothing that Kakashi could do, or really any of them. Kyuubi was making his attempts to create some way to get out of there but as all mighty and powerful as he might be he was still subject to smoke inhalation in his smaller, bound form. Naruto found him and handed him a Kunai and lifted one of his own up weakly. He gestured for him to do as he did. Sasuke nodded; his vision going and his nose running. He felt like he might pass out at any moment.

Naruto took his kunai and held it over his heart. Gathering chakra into his hand he forced the blade through his jacket and into his chest. Sasuke watched as Naruto fell to the ground, the light fast leaving his eyes. Sakura and Kakashi were coming near him, trying to stop him from doing the same. He stared down at his hand holding the kunai and looking to Naruto. Whether he killed himself now or he let himself die slowly from the effects of this agonizing inferno, he would die. It was a fact. Sasuke was never one to be afraid of death. Mimicking Naruto he focused chakra on his hand to give it a bit more strength, and then he plunged the kunai into his chest and through his heart. He didn't even have the strength to scream as he fell to the ground. He could feel his heart trying to pump around the kunai, but soon he could see Kakashi and Sakura falling too. The last thing he saw was Naruto's face, empty, soulless for the person within had moved on already. As he could feel his last bit of energy leave him he saw the flames vanish, doused by a powerful geyser of water. Standing around them was an elite ANBU team, from Konoha. They parted to allow an tall man with a walking stick and his arm in a sling to hobble into the clearing. He opened his mouth to speak, and everything went black.

End of Part 1.