This is chapter 9, I hope you'll like it :)
Thanks to Reppad98 for betaing this, and for everyone that supports me through this - for every review, favorite and follower, thank you :)
Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto.
Chapter 9 – Enter! Sai!
Naruto
They were waiting for Sakura, as usual. Their first team meeting after the second round of the Chūnin Exam – which they all passed, of course – and she was late. Kakashi had showed up, amazingly, with his nose buried in one edition or another of Icha Icha. He seemed relaxed, but something must be up for him to be only half an hour late. Sasuke was restless, and Naruto itched for some training himself. He was really pumped and ready to improve, and he would certainly be amazing when he beat Neji next month and avenged Hinata. Thank goodness for Sakura, or Hinata might have been seriously hurt right now.
Finally Sakura emerged from the tree-line, meeting them with a smile. Only problem was, she wasn't alone. In her hand was another, very pale hand, which belonged to an equally white arm, the body and face of a boy. The boy smiled brightly with tightly closed lips and eyes, but the friendly gesture provoked a crawling feeling in his gut.
"I think she replaced you, Teme," Naruto mumbled to his other teammate. He got a predictable glare in response.
"Hi guys. This is our new teammate. Take good care of him." Sakura's smile never wavered, even though Sasuke remained stony silent and Naruto eyed this new person skeptically. Kakashi-sensei lowered his book and smiled back, that traitor. He obviously knew about this, so why didn't he stop it, or at least tell them.
"Pleased to meet you." That creepy smile didn't change, and from Sakura's flint gaze piercing them, they had to accept this, and quickly, or suffer the consequences.
"What's his name?"
"His name is Sai."
"It is?" Astoundingly, Sai was the one to question the statement.
"From today forward it is." Sakura sighed tiredly.
"Did you choose my name?"
"You could say... both yes and no, I guess."
"Is that a way of getting acquainted? Should I choose a name for you, too?"
"NO! Nonono, that's not necessary at all. You absolutely don't have to give us any names, or nicknames. At all." It was truly rare, seeing Sakura-chan panic like that, and somewhat amusing with how her eyes grew big while her arms flailed wildly. "I'm simply Sakura, that's Sasuke and Naruto, and that's our sensei, Kakashi. He's always late." Sai traced each person as Sakura-chan pointed them out to him.
"Says my cute pupil, who happens to be the late one today," Kakashi-sensei retorted with a smile.
"Yes, and I do wonder whoever I might get that from."
"I'm Uzumaki Naruto, and I'm gonna be Hokage, believe it!"
Sai's pitch black, expressionless eyes shifted to Naruto. The creepy smile was still in place. "I just met the Hokage. From what I've seen, you don't fit the role at all."
"You! Take that back! I'll-" His fist collided with Sakura's flat palm, only inches away from the goal of eradicating that stupid, irritating smile. She didn't let go before he relaxed, and didn't stop her reproaching glare before he looked down. Damn.
"Sai! You can't say things like that. You have to understand, or for now at least learn, that words can hurt people too. You can't say everything you're thinking." Sai seemed to take in Sakura's words, mulling them over. "Naruto, cool down. You'll be a great Hokage. Someday. Even though those qualities are buried deep, deep within you and nearly impossible to spot yet." Another heavy sigh, and fingers started massaging a point between her eyes. "We've just been at the office. I fetched Sai, and the Third confirmed our mission."
"A mission now?" Sasuke pierced her with a frown and seeking eyes. "What is it?"
"We'll use two Sannin to fight off the third. We have a month to find them and bring them back. Jiraiya-san should be at the hot springs, doing some research." Sakura-chan cast a disgusted glare at that orange book which always made Kakashi-sensei giggle with that faraway look. "As for Tsunade-shishou, we'll have to hit the bars and casinos, and, well, follow the trail of newly rich gamblers, I guess."
"We were supposed to train for the third part of the Chūnin Exam." To this Naruto nodded his consent enthusiastically.
"You can train on your way there. The tournament probably won't finish anyway." She shrugged indifferently. Surely missing the finale of the Chūnin Exam should initiate more of a reaction? "This will be a great opportunity for Sai to get to know us, too."
Sasuke seemed less than happy, but he didn't protest at all, and had apparently no trouble accepting her crazy demands. Naruto got the distinct feeling he lacked a piece of the puzzle. One would think their sensei would step in to explain or take control, but Kakashi was content to just sit there with a knowing smile. Somehow, Sakura had become sort of an authority person in their group, a leader. She had this air about her, demanding attention and respect. She expected her mad fantasies to be taken seriously, and everyone fell in line for her. It truly suited her, somewhat, but it was strange and unsettling at the same time. She was just a girl his age, after all, and with certain issues to add.
"You all know my story, or part of it, anyway. But Sai needs to hear it too. If some of you have any questions, I'll answer them if I can." Sakura's gaze passed over them, before her focus shifted to the pale boy beside her. "The thing is, I'm from another world. I used to be a seventeen years old kunoichi. I was a medic nin at the battle front in the middle of a war. Suddenly I was here, probably because of a certain jutsu gone wrong."
As used as he was to hearing her crazy talk, it had been a while, and Naruto couldn't completely hide his amusement. Sakura-chan could be very entertaining, after all.
But Naruto was the only one smiling.
Sai absorbed her tale with rapt attention, and Kakashi-sensei listened somberly to her words. Even Teme seemed to take her seriously, for some reason. Again Naruto was the only one... left out of this understanding they had going on between them. And Sakura-chan spotted his slight smile, because her eyes seriously saw everything, and one pink eyebrow lifted in a silent question. By now everyone was looking, and though Naruto loved attention, somehow this time it was uncomfortable. They all knew something he didn't, and they were all so serious, listening to Sakura, and- "It can't possibly be true!?"
Sakura fell back in the grass, while Teme and their lazy sensei sighed heavily. "Didn't you listen earlier? You were there when I told Gaara, Temari and Kankuro about the Chūnin Exam." Sakura's slightly muffled voice reached them from between the grass and wild flowers.
"But... there was ramen. And... you say stuff like that all the time, so I kind of... blocked you out? You know... ramen..."
As she scrambled herself to a sitting position, Sakura-chan bestowed him an absolutely exhausted look. None in their little circle seemed to think that ramen was a very compelling argument. "Ah, I see. You are what they call an idiot," Sai chimed helpfully, that bastard. Teme smirked, and Kakashi-sensei suddenly had his face securely hidden behind his book.
"You…!"
"No fighting!" With Sakura's sharp voice Naruto found his fist coming to an abrupt halt. Slowly he sat down again. "You better behave from now on." She glared at him as if he'd been caught eating her favorite food. Her eyes found Sai next, thankfully. "Sai. Don't say things like that. You're antagonizing your teammate for no reason."
Naruto found himself chorusing a docile "yes" along with Sai.
"Anyway, as I was saying, I'll answer your questions if I can. I'm still not sure if events happened similarly here as in my world, but my knowledge might be of some use, hopefully. At least we dodged one potential disaster." Naruto watched Sakura watch Sasuke, as they were doing a lot recently. Every time it seemed they had a whole loaded conversation, in those few seconds. There was a shared comprehension between them, binding them together. He wondered when Sasuke had figured out the truth about Sakura-chan. What had she told him? The Teme was in no way indifferent to Sakura anymore. Maybe they ended up together in the future, in her world…
How did everything play out? The final stage of the Chūnin Exam was in a month, and Sakura already knew the results. Where were they all in one year, or three? Sakura, with her determined eyes and steel resolve, knew.
"Sakura-chan, what happens to us in the future? Do I… manage to get strong? Do I…" Who was the Hokage where Sakura came from? He couldn't ask her, suddenly, if he managed to achieve that goal.
Sakura looked between Naruto and Sasuke, and a small smile played on her lips. "Yes, they became very strong – for genin, that is." Her mischievous grin was uncharacteristic – pure evil.
"Genin!?" Naruto's voice reached embarrassing heights, but he couldn't help it. He felt faint, all of a sudden. Genin, after all.
Sasuke voiced their frustration. "After four years, we'll still be genin?" Kakashi-sensei snickered behind his mask, but really, shouldn't he take some responsibility? He was their sensei, after all.
"Well, because of certain events… it just happened to turn out that way. Of course, by then everyone else in our group were either chūnin or jōnin."
"Of course." Sasuke sighed in defeat, and Naruto joined in.
"Kidding, kidding." She laughed openly. Naruto felt immense relief, though. "Mostly." Yep; true, evil smirk.
"Cheer up!" Sakura smiled brightly. "They became super strong. Probably on par with the former Kage." Both Sasuke and Naruto brightened. That were very good prospects. At least if she spoke truly.
Sakura sobered, finished with her joke (hopefully)."Especially working together."
Naruto felt there was a message at the end, what with Kakashi-sensei nodding enthusiastically (for being Kakashi, at least). Naruto didn't really see the need, they were already pretty decent as a team. Before Sai came, at least. Sakura-chan also improved a lot recently. She didn't fight them, and found ways to work together. It was a huge difference from before. Sakura-chan was changing again. In the end, she was their teammate… right? "Say, Sakura. If you're with us, what happened to our original Sakura-chan?"
Her smile vanished. Everyone suddenly watched with huge, shocked eyes. No way... Nobody had thought about this, apparently. Sakura-chan had lived in Konoha for twelve years, and shared their academy days. Nobody that knew the truth had cared enough to ask. Sakura herself averted her eyes, as if the tufts of grass by her feet were so interesting. When she spoke, her voice was soft and shaken. "I… don't know. She could be… it could be that we switched places. If we did-" She had trouble speaking, her words sounded forced and strained. "-there is no way a genin would survive a place like that."
It was impossible to grasp her words, to fully understand her. After all, Sakura-chan sat right before him, healthy, alive. Still, somewhere another girl, their Sakura, was alone and scared or... nothing. Because their Sakura was a genin and not super strong, in a place she was never supposed to be exposed to, with nobody there to protect her. And she... died... that way. While her real teammates played pretend Team with someone else.
"It's not your fault, Sakura." She glanced up from her crouched position, and once again she silently connected with Sasuke. Her eyes were gleaming wet. Seeing the Teme calmed her, while Naruto had brought her pain with his question. He hurt his precious person. His sister (and it was okay to call her that, because Sakura-chan said so).
"There is another possibility. I might repress her, while I'm here. Maybe she can see everything, observe us, but is unable to communicate, something similar to the Yamanako jutsu. Or she may be dormant, her consciousness, inside me." Naruto found himself hoping, fingers crossed, that the last explanation was true. "If someday, she… if I disappear and she comes back… promise me, please, that you will take care of her. As a fresh genin, with no experience, cast back into this world so late, she'll need help. Even if she's silly." Sakura looked at Kakashi imploringly, and he seemed to understand. "Ugly." Her voice was forced this time, but Sai, whom she stared down, looked at her with a blank face, maybe a bit confused. "Insensitive." This was apparently meant for him. Her eyes were pleading, an entirely unnecessary apology. "Or annoying." Naruto couldn't read her face, but Teme responded by slowly letting a smirk form. It was sickening to watch, but it seemed important for Sakura-chan, so he let it go. Sakura finished with a bow. "Please, support her."
Of course he would, he would do this for her. For them both. "I promise, Sakura-chan!" Her smile contained relief and gratitude. Overwhelming trust, that he would keep his promise.
Although Sai looked rather confused at this point, both Sasuke and Kakashi nodded solemnly. "Thank you. All of you. I'll rely on you. You are my family, after all. Team Kakashi." Sakura-chan was calm and serene again, as she should be. Happy.
As an afterthought, she stated calmly: "They never got promoted from genin, though. That was in fact true."
Both Naruto and Sasuke groaned loudly.
Sakura
"Why are you here? Go back to sleep." Sasuke's gruff commando greeted her as Sakura plopped down beside him.
"I'm having some problems in that department, actually."
"I see. You look terrible."
"Aw, thank you Sasuke." She batted her eyelashes just for effect. "Any more compliments, and you might outdo Sai." He turned away from her grumblingly.
"I meant, you should try to sleep anyway. You're worn out, and it's starting to show."
"Don't worry, I won't slow you down," Sakura answered dryly, gazing into the night. "I haven't slept well for ages, actually. I sort of hear this noise every time I fall asleep."
"What noise." It was a question, but of course it sounded more like a demand. His questions always did.
"Don't know. It's repetitive. A sort of ping, or beeping?" She sighed, rubbed her forehead where a headache threatened to form.
Naruto joined them with shuffling feet, still trying to rub sleep from his eyes as he sat down beside Sakura. In the silence she could hear their breathing synchronizing with her own, and the small sounds of life around them. The smell of half burned logs from their campfire tinged the air, warding animals away. Sakura imagined seeing Konoha's lights filter through the leaves, even though they left that particular scenery behind hours ago. The morning sun slowly spread its tendrils in the eastern horizon as Naruto broke the silence. "Ne, Sakura, what's the strangest thing about being in the past?"
She could answer something and everything, supposedly. "Maybe seeing everything, as it stands. There's all sorts of things I forgot, and when I see them again I realize how much I missed that particular thing."
"Like what?"
"Well… walking down the streets, the smell of the flowers from the Yamanaka shop, the old bridge, the old Ichiraku ramen stand-"
"What?!"
"Shhh, baka, you'll wake the others. I'm sorry I said that. It's just, in my world Konoha was leveled not so long ago. There was just a crater left. Although we started rebuilding, it's not the same, you know. At least nobody died in that attack." Thanks to Naruto. Her companions, especially one of them, were uncharacteristically silent. Sakura opened her eyes to check upon them, and was greeted with the inside of Naruto's gaping mouth, as well as two pairs of big, disbelieving eyes.
"Sakura-chan…" Naruto took her hand, and it felt warm and safe. Maybe this was a comfort for both of them. On her other side, Sasuke put his hand on top of hers, and their fingers intertwined.
"The hardest part… That's seeing people I didn't think I would meet again." Although with her encounters with Edo Tensei victims, she should have been immune. It went on continuously for a while, after all, to the extent that nobody was surprised anymore. It still hurt, of course, and what she experienced now on nearly a daily basis was something else entirely. Both hands clutched her even tighter.
Naruto looked at her with understanding and compassion in his blues, enough that pressure started building behind her eyes, and a lump formed in her throat. "Do you miss it? Your place?"
Of course. She felt her chest tighten and constrict, old and new pain making it hard to draw air. "Of course I miss it." She could distract herself, pretend, until someone kindly reminded her and those curtains were snagged away. Naruto still watched her, unaware and expectantly. She forced herself to smile, but it probably came out as unconvincing. "I miss my friends, and family. I miss the feeling of having a shared history, and to know each other well enough that we can convey our feelings with just a glance. To bear this pain together. Here I'm alone, the only one with my feelings and the responsibility of knowing." Simply put, she felt terribly alone.
"They were my loved ones, after all." The pressure on her hands tried to convince her otherwise, doing for her what another person should have experienced. Still, she could pretend like this, for a little while at least, that they were her boys.