19/4-17: Now beta-read by Reppad98, thus with minor fixes.
I forgot to write some things last time:
I'll update once a week. The chapters will vary slightly in length, but won't deviate much from the first, I think.
The story happens before anything about Kaguya is revealed (ca. episode 400 of Shippuden, that's as far as I've come), so that's why Madara is still considered to be the 'evil mastermind'.
Thanks to my sister and one of my best friends for reading through the story, it definitely helped and was a big confidence boost! :)
Thanks to Reppad98, who once again agreed to be my beta reader :)
And thanks for every review, all the favorites and followers! That made me really happy :D I hope you'll like the rest of the story!
Disclaimer: I don't owe Naruto.
Chapter 2 – First days in wonderland
Sakura
Many things had labeled Sakura's life, changing over the years, culminating into some pretty impressive labels. Hokage's apprentice. Top medic. Super strength. Behind them were hours and hours of endless training to go beyond her limits. It was all stripped away in this nightmare, a trap yet to spring. But it would. No one who got sucked into the Tsukuyomi arrived on the other side of consciousness without serious trauma.
This dream world seemed nice, all bright and innocent genin days. Sakura moved through it all as the bystander she was. Watching was like moving in a really realistic dream. After the 'introductions', she sort of wandered aimlessly through town. Her new, wonderful apartment didn't exist, so she went to her old home. It was kind of fascinating how she still felt hunger and taste and tiredness inside the illusion. So she ate. Slept. In her dreams she could hear the screams of people dying, the clash of weapons and the rage of unfathomable power. At least she was spared the visuals, and everything was sort of muffled.
The next day, there was little else to do than to shuffle over to the training ground, and go through the motions of the bell test. She almost arrived later than the fake Kakashi, completely unintentionally, of course. Her 'teammates' were thoroughly pissed that she was late, not hungry, and completely calm. She toyed with the thought of actually making an effort for the bells, but decided against it. The test was something between Team 7 and Kakashi-sensei. Doing it with these... fake... No. Just no. So she mostly watched as 'Naruto' and 'Sasuke' did their best, and dispelled the 'illusion' when her time came. Illusion within illusion... It was rather clever. Naruto was tied to the post, and Sakura started to feed 'Naruto' even before 'Kakashi' could hide, just to shut up that rumbling stomach. Surprise, surprise, they were declared the new Team 7.
They would try to interact with her, and they were really convincing. Or rather, he was. Madara.
It was rather embarrassing, actually. She was so sure she had stayed clear of his Mangekyo-stricken eye, she wasn't even that close. After five years of intimate dealings with the Sharingan, he still trapped her as if she was a pure fresh genin.
What did he even want with this? How could he possibly gain anything from trapping her in these memories? Why her of all people? There was no real intel to retrieve, and if he wanted to traumatize her, bringing her to her happiest time was a pretty shitty method. In addition, if he was going to kill her, he could have skipped this and just chopped to it. She had no illusions in that regard, she was no Shodaime Hokage Hashirama to put up an epic fight. And Madara was definitely not a kindred soul, aiming to make the last second of a random enemy's life a happy one. So the only conclusion was, he expected to benefit from this – Sakura just hoped and prayed that she would not give that to him.
Naruto
His precious Sakura-chan, his sweet fairy tale ninja princess, was mad. As in Crazy. She had always been a little rough from time to time, but this new Sakura-chan was violent. Almost dangerous.
She currently stared at the Teme. Not in the incessant fan-way, but in a creepy, strange way. She was staring. Intensely. Sometimes she would poke him in the arm or stomach, mumbling things like 'It feels so real!', while Sasuke would give her a death glare and move away. She just followed. Teme got all the attention. Always. Not that this was good attention, even coming from Sakura. Still, a poke or two wasn't so bad, and she was very pretty with her intrigued face. Sasuke didn't know how to appreciate it, of course. The bastard had too much good coming his way, and he was throwing it all away. Stomping on everything like it was trash.
Sakura extended her hand again. Unperturbed by how Sasuke leaned away, she grabbed his sleeve and used her free hand to yank his hair.
"Stop that. You're so... annoying!"
Sasuke was trapped. And Sakura's reaction was instantaneous. Explosive. Glorious.
Her hand yanked back and formed a fist, which was planted right in the Teme's face. It was hard to breathe after that, through fits of uncontrollable laughter. Naruto could in fact not remember anything more hilarious. He let gravity and grass take him.
Even in his mirth, there was no way to not notice Sakura, though. Her eyes went so wide, they might pop out. Then she let out an ear piercing shriek. Not the oh-the-horror-I-punched-my-precious-Sasuke-bastard shriek, but one of pure victory. Accompanied by movements – was that dance? And this was his Sakura-chan, grinning wildly while she yelled a stream of "That felt so good! Wow! This was like a hundred therapy sessions, in one second flat! I should have done this years ago! Oh, Naruto and Shishou will be so proud! Do you think I should do it again, Naruto." He hated how she said his name when she talked to him. But punching the Teme? Great!
"Yeah, definitely!" It was important to be supportive. Wouldn't want that fist anywhere near himself, and punching made Sakura-chan happy. Naruto took a glance at the bastard. Sasuke was out cold. He'd been hit hard, and out of the blue, and he had not even tried to block. After all, nobody really expected Sakura-chan to be this dangerous, especially not to her precious Sasuke-kun. Naruto didn't think Sasuke would call Sakura annoying again. He reluctantly modified his answer. "But maybe you should wait 'til he's conscious again, Sakura-chan."
"Huh? Oh. I guess. Oh, Naruto should have seen this." She looked upon her victim with a pure, dreamy expression.
"I did. I'm right here, you know."
"Ah, sure you are, Naruto." She was so strange. And her sarcasm was becoming rather irritating, but to say so out loud… No way! Teme might deserve some creds' for having the guts – but that action was clear stupidity.
Sakura continued to speak to air, and occasionally to Naruto. She talked to him with that voice, always, always with the sarcastic tone, like she did to everyone nowadays. She changed when she talked about people rather than to them, her voice would be all warm and fuzzy. It was irritating how air was given regard and respect like that. These were the moments she was completely lost in her craziness.
Sakura
Her next nightmare was particularly nasty.
There was not much to see, barely blurred shapes sometimes. She was disoriented, and in pain.
She could sense the stench of blood, and the accompanied shrieks as another person died. The sounds of battle were ebbing out at the end of her dream. She felt alone, abandoned, and the silence which came afterwards was deafening by itself. Smell became her only contact with the outside world.
Behind the blood she could sense decay.
Sasuke
On the third morning, Sasuke finally exploded. "What did I ever do to you? Why the hell do I deserve this?"
Sakura was taken by surprise, her eyes widening as her hand stopped in midair on its way to his hair. The next second she was laughing, without mirth, without happiness. Her sound could have frozen the earth. "Please. What did you not do? How about abandoning us, trying to kill Naruto, trying to kill me, sacrificing your new teammate, going on a complete rampage as the revenge obsessed person you are... And even though you helped us in the end, I'm highly skeptical about your motives. Not that it matters anymore."
Her words were spinning, deforming and reforming in his mind.
He was not the cold-hearted killer. He was not that man. And he never would be. He would seek power, and bring justice to his family. He would never fall to those lows she described. Anyway, she was delusional and thus her words could be disregarded.
"Actually, I'm not even talking to the real Sasuke, so of course it doesn't matter." Sakura added this little afterthought, proving his point perfectly.