Sakura glanced at the figures beside her. While enemies becoming friends was strange, she had encountered far stranger things in her life – besides, there were more important things at stake here. While Deidara and Itachi were wondering at the explosions, Sakura knew what had happened; Naruto had released the Kyuubi, and if the situation warranted that, Naruto must be fighting one of the hardest battles in his life. At the end, Sakura knew she would be needed.
Before her self-appointed bodyguards could react, she dashed from their grasps.
Hold on, Naruto, I'm coming.
The training ground was in ruins when Sakura arrived. The Akatsuki hadn't followed her – they weren't paid to look after her, after all, she thought with disgust. Another explosion shook the grounds around her, collapsing another small shrine. Sakura looked up to see the Masked Man flying through the air, crashing into a small bridge, collapsing it. She was about to rush over to contain him, to help, anything, when she froze.
A hateful aura swamped her, thick like tar and with a burning taste that singed her mouth. Sakura resisted the urge to gag as she sank to her knees. Slowly she looked behind her, terrified and wide-eyes. Behind her stood the form of the Kyuubi, panting, blood dripping from its teeth, obviously injured, but still alive as it rasped a low growl at her. Even bowed in pain, it seemed to block out the moon.
The hairs on the back of Sakura's neck stood up.
Between blinks, it moved like a flicker – Sakura jumped and scrambled backwards as the Kyuubi came nose to nose with her.
Where's Naruto? She thought desperately.
The Kyuubi's jaws opened wide.
Sakura shut her eyes tightly as she prepared for death.
Pain raptured her world.
Distantly, Sakura heard her voice scream, but as she gained consciousness she felt…disconnected. While she knew she was waking up, the world around her was black as pitch, and she felt like she was floating – she couldn't feel her physical limbs, but somehow she still got that impression.
Suddenly, a booming voice echoed around her head – she could less hear it and more feel it.
You will do, it said.
W-what? Sakura thought in panic. The feeling of another presence in your head wasn't something she would recommend. It felt intrusive on a whole new level, and if she could feel her stomach, Sakura suspected she would throw up.
W-who are you? What do you want? She tried addressing it. A shudder ran through her as a nasty booming laughter rang out.
You will be my new vessel, little girl. As for who I am, you may call me Kurama.
Sakura gasped.
That- that's impossible! Naruto is- he can't be-
The Intruder is nothing to do with me. Menma will die soon, I need a new host.
Menma? But wasn't he-
The pieces slid into place. Menma was the Kyuubi host in this world, and obviously the Masked Man Naruto was battling. Naruto must have him pinned, for the Kyuubi to acknowledge his imminent defeat. But then why-
Sakura felt the Kyuubi tsk impatiently.
The boy took me on as a host of his own free will – where there is no struggle, there is no seal. I can come and go as I please. Over the years within the runt's mother I have come to enjoy the symbiosis of Jinchuuriki and Biijuu – I have no wish to run rampant and be hunted down by you shinobi. Since the boy will soon be dead, I need a new host – you are the closest, and strong enough to hold me, I think. But it seems I will have to take…steps to ensure we are joined.
As the full scale of what was happening dawned on her, Sakura began struggling, trying to wake herself up, to connect to her body, to stop this.
No, no I will not be your host! She yelled.
Sakura screamed as another bolt of pain ran through her.
Be quiet, girl! Do not resist this – once my seal is in place, we will be joined. When we are one, you will realise, like the boy did, that our joining brings more power to you, and safety and comfort to me. Now let me work.
Once more Sakura tried to escape whatever power had a hold over her, but before she could do anything, the Kyuubi presence swamped her again. Pressing in from all sides, Sakura was forced into unconsciousness.
When she woke up, Sakura felt sore from head to toe. She let out a long groan and rolled onto one side, biting her lip as every part of her body screamed in pain. She tried to get to her feet and faltered, before trying again. This time she stood, internally cheering for that small victory. It was only then that she realised her tops were sticking to her stomach. She looked down to see her outfit encrusted with blood.
Frantically, she pulled her jacket off and lifted up her top.
"No way." She breathed.
Carved into her stomach was a jagged seal, spiralling outwards in ragged lines. It was hardly a work of art, or if it was the artist was drunk, and it was obviously made by someone in a rush. Already the cuts were healing over, fading to raised fresh pink lines.
Sakura could only stare at her stomach in disbelief. This wasn't her life, this didn't happen to her. She didn't want to happen to her. Sure, sometimes Sakura was depressed about the leaps of power Naruto and Sasuke made, leaving her behind, but ultimately she was happy being Just Sakura. Naruto could keep his crazy kidnapping/sealing/whatever adventures.
It looked like the universe didn't care what Sakura Haruno wanted.
Even though she could no longer feel Kurama's presence, Sakura knew something had changed. The world around her seemed clearer, more in focus, she could smell the lingering sulphuric smoke of Deidara's explosive attacks.
The most unsettling thing for her though, was the power she felt. Sakura had never had a huge chakra reserve, and now she felt energy humming in every part of her body – it felt like subtle pins and needles. Was this how Naruto felt all the time?
She was pulled out of her musings by the sounds of a fight nearby. Remembering the fall of the Mas- Menma, Sakura quickly retrieved her jacket before sprinting to where the battle had started up again.
Coming up to the shrine where she had seen the body land, Sakura spotted Naruto dodging Menma's kunai swipes. There was something off about Menma though – when he'd hidden behind the mask he'd been fighting savagely, more powered by rage than tactics. Now, though, his movements were swift and agile, his fighting style elegant in its form. Naruto was losing.
She saw the scarlet glint of the Sharingan just as the Kyuubi's energy bubbled from Naruto's body. Sakura felt a sick thudding in her heart, almost a tug as she watched Menma stand over her friend's body. But it wasn't Menma's voice that issued across the clearing; it was Madara! Sakura grit her teeth; the man responsible for their predicament was standing right there! Yet, she couldn't let herself be controlled by revenge - right now the important thing was to stop the Bijuu being extracted!
With a yell, Sakura kicked off of a nearby rock, sending herself into a spinning high kick.
"ARRGGHHHHHHH!" She yelled.
She missed, instead shattering the ground beneath her feet. The shock ran through her legs, but she ignored it, keeping an eye on the figure of the enemy as he jumped backwards. In the back of her mind she noted the thud of Naruto's body landing, the extraction having been interrupted.
"Naruto, get a hold of yourself!" She yelled, hoping to wake the idiot. Pale and still as he was, Naruto looked dead.
Don't let him be dead, she begged.
As she and Madara faced off across the smoking crater, the enemy smirked.
"I've obliterated his memories. He can no longer do anything!"
Sakura's heart skipped a beat, but she didn't let it show on her face. She grit her teeth and fingered a kunai. She sank low into a battle stance, shielding Naruto's defenceless body.
"I won't let you kill him." She stated firmly, gripping her knife tighter. She breathed in.
She breathed out.
The strike of steel upon steel rung out as kunai flashed in the night. Sakura dodged swipe after swipe, trying to spot an opening in Madara's guard. She dropped, ducking under his arm and swiping up with the knife, but her enemy moved, and the tip flew harmlessly through air. Hopping back, she mirrored Madara's movement – strike, block, dodge, strike, dodge, dodge, block, block, strike-
She was getting tired. She was fast but her enemy was faster, and he was giving her no time to recover in between attempts to gut her. One strike cut off some pink hair, and absently Sakura noted she needed to cut it again.
Sakura jumped back again to avoid the kunai, and Madara took the opportunity to strike at her. She blocked at the edge of the pit she'd created. Block, strike, strike, dodge-
She moved them to safer ground, barely landing before avoiding the path of the kunai again. As she turned, Sakura though she saw Naruto's eyes opening, but before she could look again, Madara had come in close.
Dodge, strike, strike, strike, block, block, dodge, strike-
Sakura moved back, right hand flicking open her leg pouch. Madara was on the other side of the field, but wouldn't stay there for long – he was already running at her. Her fingers pulled shuriken after shuriken from her pouch, flinging them from her hands with practiced ease. They flew straight through the air, but Madara's kunai slapped them from the air.
She was running out of options.
And time.
Before she could do anything else, Madara was before her, grinning madly in Menma's body. He thrust his kunai at her face, and only quick reflexes saved Sakura from losing an eye. She blocked the thrust with shaking arms, adrenaline rushing through her, but she missed the hard kick that drove into her stomach.
As she was thrown through the air, Sakura felt a pull inside of her, and a pang of pain erupted from her seal. She felt something give in her body, as though something was shifting-
A hard body caught her mid-air, and Sakura looked up into the blue eyes of her friend. The Bijuu inside her roared, but retreated into its cage again. She grinned.
"Naruto!" She exclaimed. He grinned back at her.
As they landed, Madara smirked at them, Menma's body poised for battle.
"You actually managed to wake up." He said, and there was a faint hint of respect in his voice. Before she could think better of it, Sakura growled at him in anger.
"I could never forget." Naruto said, covering up her slip. What a dork, Sakura thought fondly, relief easing the fear she'd been feeling ever since Naruto had fallen unconscious. She moved a step closer to him – he was her friend, practically family despite all the times she yelled at him, and she was going to protect him.
Sakura caught herself – protect Naruto? She wondered where this sudden surge of protectiveness had come from. The stickiness of her bloodied shirt gave her the answer.
Kyuubi, she thought. No wonder Naruto acted so animalistic sometimes – she supposed Kurama must sometimes bleed through the seal. Sakura wasn't sure she liked the Kyuubi influencing her emotions, not that there was much she could do about that until they were back in the real world. She was still hoping the Kyuubi might just dissipate once they returned.
Beside her, Naruto vanished in a puff of smoke, reappearing in front of Madara with his clone. They started their favourite Rasengan attack, while Naruto kept on talking.
"This Rasengan and my name are a precious legacy left behind by my master that I'd never forget!" He shouted. Sakura's heart dropped; did Jiraya mean so much more to Naruto than she did? It made sense on some level – Jiraya had known his parents, he'd trained Naruto every day for two years, but still, the thought that Naruto wouldn't have remembered Sakura sent a wave of displeasure through her. Another growl slipped from her lips.
"The book he wrote was called "The Tale of the Gutsy Ninja", and the name the two heroes chose from it-"
Naruto's clone dissipated.
"-was mine!" Naruto exclaimed with a wide grin. As he stood proud before his enemy, Madara just smirked.
"Hand over the Bijuu and perish in this world." He demanded. Sakura felt the tug at her seal again, as though her Kyuubi was displeased. She wondered if Madara had noticed the missing Bijuu from Menma's body, or if he was too focused on Naruto's Kyuubi to realise the Bijuu had abandoned his vessel.
The Sharingan shone bloody as Madara attacked. Naruto pulled a kunai from his coat, and the sapphire light of the Rasengan left a trail in the dark as he ran at his enemy, flinging the blade from his hand.
"I'm not Menma!" He shouted.
Sakura watched as the kunai missed Menma's face, not slowing down Madara at all as the two ninja met in the middle. Like a hammer strike to an anvil, the Rasengan was a flicker as Naruto slammed it down on Madara's back, sending him crashing to the ground in a cloud of smoke.
"I'M NARUTO!" Naruto yelled, pinning Madara to the rock.
The explosion rocked the clearing, sending up a bigger cloud of smoke and rock as the Rasengan exploded in a wave of chakra Sakura could taste in the back of her throat. She jumped back at the shockwave and watched in fascination as Menma's body was flung from the cloud, crashing into a nearby boulder.
Naruto followed in a flash of yellow, landing at Sakura's feet.
"Naruto!" Sakura dashed over to him, worried as she saw the scraped and cuts on him. By this point she shouldn't really worry about her errant team-mate; he was made of sterner stuff than most people, but she was a medic, and it was hard to supress the healing instinct she'd developed over the past few years.
With a grunt, she pulled her friend up.
Urgh, Naruto, you weigh a freaking tonne, she thought as she hauled the groaning man up by one arm.
Madara's disembodied voice floated out to them again, shock underlying his words.
"There's a technique I haven't been struck by…in about sixteen years." He said, displeased.
The two friends looked out in horror as Madara's body rose from Menma's battered form, bathed in purple light.
Naruto, not one to give up, lifted his head, forcing words from his throat.
"Madara…I still…" He began.
Sakura glared up at the masked figure, biting her tongue against the tirade trying to spew from behind her lips. Her lips twisted into a snarl.
"But this time-" Madara spoke over Naruto's feeble threats. Suddenly a chain dropped from his hands, and with a flick of his wrists, the links lashed out at them.
Sakura realised Naruto couldn't move, and she couldn't move him in time.
She dropped him.
Sakura was prepared to face Madara head on, when a flash of red and yellow jumped before them. She could only blink up at the backs of Naruto's parents as they faced down their son's attacker.
"Minato-san! Kushina-san! You two- how?" She asked in shock.
Kushina grinned back at her.
"You've got Minato's kunai!"
Eh? Sakura turned to see Naruto looking flummoxed, before rummaging in his robe and pulling out the trident headed kunai. Sakura resisted the urge to facepalm.
"I don't know who you really are, but I can't treat you as a stranger." She heard Minato say. As she watched, Naruto's face crumpled. She remembered the birthday scene she'd witnessed – how happy they all looked, how Naruto had finally got his dream to have a real family at home, who were glad to see him, who loved him with all their heart. He must have finally told them.
Sakura's heart ached for her friend.
"This too, must be fate." Madara contemplated.
"Oh well, I guess I'll let you hold onto the Kyuubi for me a little longer." She could practically hear him shrugging as he spoke. Somehow Sakura doubted Madara would give up the Kyuubi so easily. As she thought that, Naruto flung his father's kunai in the air, almost grazing Sakura's hitai-ate.
It struck its target, shattering that calm scarlet eye, but inside Sakura knew Madara had let himself be hit – whether he was running out of time, energy or he believed he would lose against Minato and Kushina together, Sakura didn't know.
Inside her, Kurama growled in victory.
In the following silence, Minato turned to his son's double.
"Who was that man?" He asked seriously.
Sakura watched as Naruto steeled his face. He looked every inch the Hokage her dreamed of being, with his father's robe, and his back straight as though marching into battle.
"The mastermind behind everything that happened." He explained.
"Everything went wrong because he threw us into this world."
Naruto was prevented from further explaining as Menma's body began to glow from across the clearing, emerald light shining from his form. All four turned to him.
A startled gasp erupted from Kushina, stepping forward as though not quite believing what she was seeing. With a louder cry she ran to her son's side. Sakura turned to Naruto, who was watching the scene with dispassionate eyes. Or what he thought was dispassionate; Sakura fancied she could see the pain Naruto was feeling at this moment, seeing the mother he dreamed of having run to the aid of his enemy, who had turned his back on everything Naruto would give up the world to have. From the corner of her eye, she saw Minato join his wife and son.
"Menma!" She heard Kushina cry.
Abruptly, Naruto turned away from the scene, hiding his face from Sakura's worried gaze.
"Then-"
She startled as Naruto's form began glowing, looking down at her hands as she did too.
Well, it's time to say goodbye, she thought wryly, not that I have anyone to say goodbye too. I guess it'll be hello, in my case. Sakura smiled at the thought of seeing her parents again, her mother who nagged at her laundry, her handwriting, her tomboy clothes. And her father, who made bad jokes about everything, and poked her forehead in greeting every morning. Coming back to an empty house had been grand for the first day they'd been in the genjutsu world, but after that it had been…well, lonely. Lonely was even too soft a world. Soul-sucking might be right, knowing you could come home at every hour in the morning and nobody would be upset with you, because nobody cared.
"Naruto, are we-" Are we leaving without saying goodbye? She wanted to ask, but Naruto looked so miserable, hands clenched at his side, she couldn't. If he didn't want to put himself through more pain, it wasn't her place to tell him to.
"You're going home, to the place you came from?"
Sakura turned back to the Namikazes, as Kushina and Minato looked back at their son from another world.
"I guess this is it." And Sakura thought Naruto might not be the only one in pain at the parting. Kushina sounded sad, even as she held her real son in her arms.
For a moment Naruto didn't say anything, and Sakura worried they might be gone before he did. But then he smiled.
"Thanks for coming to rescue me." He said, and there, there was her friend, the boy who loved everyone under the sun, even if they caused him more pain than he'd ever deserved.
"I know we didn't get to spend much time together, but I really am grateful to you. I've never experienced anything like this in my life." His words broke at the end of his sentence, and Sakura felt her eyes well with tears in sympathy. In that moment she wanted to hug Naruto, to give him all the love his parents never could. But she didn't, because they were only friends, something that could never live up to the dream of Naruto's parents.
"Thank you for cooking for me. Thank you for worrying about me, for getting angry with me," Now Sakura could hear the tears he was choking back, as he swallowed convulsively, as his hands flexed and clenched at his sides in distress.
"Thank you for being full of life…thank you, from the bottom of my heart."
And then Sakura was crying, she was crying for her friend, for her brother who was being ripped away from his strongest desire in the world, for the boy who was walking away from the most love he'd received in his life with a brave face. She was crying for those tears Naruto couldn't shed before those people who looked like his family, for then he'd never be able to leave.
Sakura cried for Naruto, and she couldn't bring herself to regret it.
Without another word, the light brightened, and swept them away.
"AAAARGH. AUUURGH, URGH. AHH!" Sakura yelled, as agony ripped through her body. It felt like her intestines were being pulled from her body with a red-hot poker. Curled up on the ground, Sakura spat a wad of blood onto the ground, before another wage of pain made her scream and curl up again. Tears squeezed from the corner of her eyes.
"-kura, SAKURA-CHAN, SAKURA!" She heard Naruto yell faintly, hands shaking her shoulders. She just continued screaming at the pain inside her.
Be quiet, girl. The Kyuubi growled inside her. It too, sounded pained.
W-why- what's happening. W-we're back h-home, why are you-
"URGH!" She spat blood again.
Idiot girl. I am pure chakra, and chakra is energy. This world is attempting to destroy me, but energy cannot be destroyed. The seal will protect us in a moment, it will anchor me to your body, to your world. Until then, deal with the pain, girl.
Sakura couldn't help the tears that were rolling down her face. Vaguely, she heard Naruto make a clone and send it off to the hospital, while the real Naruto carried on trying to talk to her.
Without warning, the pain faded, and all Sakura could do is lie there in the playground, gasping for air as tears dried streaks down her cheeks. Naruto's frantic face broke into her line of sight.
"Sakura, Sakura, are you alright? I didn't notice…there's so much blood." He babbled.
Sakura was listening to the satisfied grumbling of the Kyuubi inside her. She had felt the seal spring up between them again like a wall, but this time she could clearly feel Kurama behind it. It seemed her Kyuubi hadn't faded away like Naruto's coat, after all; it was here to stay.
It took a moment for Naruto's words to penetrate Sakura's mind.
"Urgh, what?" She asked, lamely, as she sat up. Naruto pointed to her stomach.
"Your shir- Sakura, your face! Are those-" He asked, confused. He was peering at Sakura's cheeks.
Puzzled, Sakura put her hand to her cheek and froze as she felt the ridges beneath her palm. She stroked down her cheek and she didn't have to check the other side to know what was branded on her skin now – four whiskers on each side, like claw swipes in her skin.
"How-" Naruto couldn't seem to finish his sentences, brows furrowed.
Sakura opened her mouth to explain, when a puff of smoke announced the arrival of a medic-nin.
The man in white took in the situation before him; one male, the originator of the clone, unharmed, one female, stomach wound. He calmly knelt down beside Sakura.
"Do you feel you can move?" He asked.
Sakura tried to wave him away.
"I'm fine, I'm fine, I'm not hurt. These are…from someone else. I just gave Naruto a fright, that's all. I don't need to go to the hospital." She tried to brush him off.
The medic nin just frowned.
"It's nothing to be embarrassed about, even the oldest ninjas get injured sometimes, miss. If you need to go to the hospital, it's no good trying to get out of it."
This time Sakura frowned.
"No, I really don't-"
"Ah, sorry, man, that was my fault, I over-reacted. I remember now, that stain was from one of her enemies." Naruto jumped in, rubbing his head abashedly. The medic nin frowned at him, looked from Naruto to Sakura and back again, before getting up. He frowned down at Sakura, who was still sat on the concrete, and Naruto, who was crouched beside her.
"Well, if it turns out you overlooked something, do drop by the hospital. I'm needed back at the hospital. Have a good…night." He said sarcastically, before disappearing as he'd come, muttering about kids and wasting peoples' time.
When Sakura looked back at her friend, Naruto was staring at her with a strange expression on his face.
"Your stomach wound is healed, isn't it?" He asked quietly.
"It wasn't really…a wound as such." Sakura replied, equally subdued. She wasn't afraid of telling Naruto – she had planned to tell all the important people anyway; her parents, Naruto, the Hokage. People. She hadn't anticipated that she would have to break the news so quickly, though, she thought she'd at least have some time to get used to it herself.
Briskly, she unzipped her jacket. She lifted up the bottom of her top to show her seal. When she'd last checked it the cuts had begun fading to light pink, but now the colour had deepened to a dark rose, making the spiralling seal prominent against her pale stomach. Whether it was because the Kyuubi was from another world, or because the Kyuubi himself put the seal on her, she didn't know. Sakura didn't particularly care right now, either. All she cared about was the face Naruto was making right now, that combination of shocked, scared, and hit by a brick at a high velocity.
"Shit." He muttered.
Sakura was forced to agree.