Naruto had glanced at Sakura five times in the past minute. Sasuke watches with a kind of a wry amusement, because if this is the blonde's idea of subtlety, he didn't want to know how he acted when he wanted to be obvious.
It takes ten minutes for Naruto to finally break and blurt out, "So – Sakura-chan, you're really from the future?"
Though their sensei hadn't actually forbid them from asking about the future, it felt like an unspoken rule to not to. That was how logic held, after all – that, and that was how it went in the science fiction manga he had inadvertently became a fan of (not that he would admit it to anyone, least of all Uzumaki Naruto.)
"Yeah, I really am," Sakura says.
"Then – am I Hokage?" Excitement in his eyes, Naruto leans in even closer to their resident time traveler. "At least give me a hint, Sakura-chan!" Typical, Sasuke thinks with a scowl.
To his surprise, Sakura answers. "You're not," she says, but even before Naruto's expression could make the shift, she continues, "but I guess I should say, 'not yet.' You're twenty-two – plenty of time. And you're a hero of the village."
Naruto blinked, his voice going humid. "I-I'm a hero of the village?" He squeaks. "The villagers… like me?"
She nods. "I think there's at least five kids named after you by now. I wouldn't be surprised if the villagers haven't already set up a Naruto Day."
Despite the fact that Sakura was obviously exaggerating (or even making everything up) for his benefit, Naruto didn't seem to notice, his eyes getting slightly wet.
Sasuke sighs. In truth, it was difficult to resist interrogating the future Sakura himself. It was stunning how much his teammate had changed, from a vapid, annoying fan girl with no actual investment in the shinobi life… to an obvious adult, who held herself with a confidence and assured manner that made Sasuke acutely aware of the fact that, despite how she looked, she was not a pre-adolescent genin.
And… as a jounin, she must be strong. Would she teach him? As much as he despised the younger Sakura's crush on him, it was a way to get her assistance – not that there was any that she could give. But the current Sakura seemed to have abandoned that crush, for she didn't look at him with anything more than a faint amusement, and as glad as he was that that was over… it also meant that she had little to no reason to train him.
"Are you strong?" He asks curtly. "Show me."
"Oi! Don't be so rude," Sakura admonishes. "Not even a 'please'?" Sasuke 'hmphs', turning away slightly. He might be interested, but he wasn't desperate – he had his pride.
"Please, Sakura-chan!" Naruto jumps in, practically begging. For once, he's grateful for the blonde's interruption. "Show us a cool technique! All Kakashi-sensei's been showing us are boring stuff."
She visibly reconsiders it. "You can't tell anyone what I show you, alright?"
Naruto nods eagerly, while Sasuke makes a sound of vague agreement. "Alright, see this tree over here?" Sakura points at one of the larger oaks in the forest, with a diameter of at least eight feet. They both nod. "Now, I'm going to use a fourth of my usual strength, because I don't want to cause too much damage. But look –"
She reaches out to the tree and taps it. For a brief second, Sasuke is disappointed, but what did he expect anyways? Did he really think that-
And then, reality catches up. A loud 'fwoom' sound of breaking wood splits the air and Sasuke pushes an arm over his eyes to avoid flying wood bits. When the dust clears, he warily opens his eyes – and blinks in shock, even as Naruto yells in excitement next to him.
Half the tree's trunk was gone, broken down into dust and small pieces of wood and bark. Where Sakura's finger had met the trunk was a huge crater, which extended almost to the other side of tree – and was that a glimpse of the forest on the other side?
"Wahoo! That was so cool!" Naruto cheers, running to the trunk and peering into the hole curiously.
"Be careful," Sakura cautions. "The hit should have landed right in the middle, so the tree shouldn't fall over… but don't get hurt." The blonde gives her a thumbs up and a bright grin.
Sasuke stares mutely at the remainder of the tree. That strength… If he had that kind of power – "Teach me," Sasuke demands, whirling around to meet Sakura with the full force of his stare. "I need – I need you to teach me how to do this. Please," he adds, remembering her earlier words.
Sakura meets his look unflinchingly. "Why do you need it, Sasuke?" He says nothing, unwilling to tell his personal secret of – of that man, when she adds, "It won't help you much against Itachi, you know."
He sucks in a breath out of shock. "You know," Sasuke says accusingly. "You know about – that man –"
"I know about your brother, if that's what you mean," she says in a tone that tells him that she knows exactly who he's referring to.
"Do I kill him?" He demands. "Do I –" Get revenge? Avenge the clan? Stop the memories, of the screams and tears and blood –
"I can't tell you," she says.
"You told him about the villagers," Sasuke growls. "Why can't you tell me about – that man?"
"That's something you'll have to find out on your own. But." Sakura gives him a look. "What I can tell you is… things are not what they seen. Like Kakashi-sensei said. Look underneath the underneath."
"What the hell is that supposed to mean?"
"I know you loved your brother," she says. "You've told me in my time that you might have been one of the only people who had ever understood him. Do you think he would be the kind of person to kill his family for power?"
"It doesn't matter what I think," Sasuke says shortly. "He… He still killed everyone."
"Then why did he leave you alive?"
He couldn't help but grit his teeth. "He thought I was weak –"
"There were babies, children younger than you," Sakura says. "I've seen the medical reports from the medic-nin in charge of the autopsies. There were Uchiha on the compound weaker than you, who he still killed. What your brother wanted was for you to get stronger, to –"
"-to pose a challenge to him," Sasuke interrupts. "He wanted a worthy opponent. He wanted me to have the same eyes he had –"
"Maybe," she says, annoyingly casually. "…Maybe not. Maybe there was another reason. But do you think it's worth it, to get the power you need to beat him? That's what he wants, you know – for you to throw away everything for revenge, so that you can fight him. Are you going to do what he wants you to do?"
He's quiet, at a loss for words.
"It's just a thought," Sakura says, smiling.
Chie hadn't known what to think when the strange shinobi had asked her for directions.
She was an old woman, a widow for a decade now, and in the entirety of her long life, she had never ventured out much farther than her merchant village on the outskirts of Fire Country. It was rare to see shinobi in this part of the land, so far from any of their villages. And here one was.
If there was one thing she learned about shinobi, it was to be respectful to them. Regardless of the circumstances, it was very dangerous to enrage a trained killer.
"I apologize, shinobi-san…" She replies, voice wavering, shifting the weight of her bags slightly to ease the ache of her hands. "I am not very knowledgeable about locations so far from this village…"
"Eh, it's fine!" He announces cheerfully. "Wave is by water, right? So if Tobi just keeps going south… he'll make it eventually! Thanks obaa-san!"
Honestly, if she hadn't known for sure he was shinobi – and what else could he be, with the strange outfit and knife pouches strapped all over his body? – Chie wouldn't have pegged this unusually cheery man for a killer. More than anything, he seemed like a child – or a brain damaged adult.
"If that's all, shinobi-san…" She says slowly. Chie took the same route home for her weekly trip for groceries, but it had only been in the last few years or so that they have become increasingly difficult. The weight of her bags had become painful, and she fought to urge to put them down.
"One more thing, obaa-san…" Despite the fact that the man was wearing a mask, she got the feeling that he was grinning. "…Can Tobi help you carry your bags home?"