Last edited: 7/7/2012
Title: One Last Chance
Summary: For the first time in her life, Sakura would not be the weak link. A time-travel fict.
Author: River Flows Backwards
Beta: None, but searching
Important Notes: Special thanks to Unintentional Liar for all your help. Hopefully, I can write something that you will enjoy. ^^
This is my first fanfiction: questions, comments, suggestions, flames, cookie recipes, and grammar corrections are all welcome! Anonymous reviews have been enabled for those of you who do not have an account or want it. If you see any flaws (major or minor) please tell me! Enjoy~!
X.x.X
The soft light of morning lit the room as Sakura shot up with a start, her mouth open in a silent scream as her breath came in short puffs of air and a hand reached for a phantom object just out of reach.
She had been having a terrible nightmare.
It was one where Sasuke came back to Konoha and everyone was dead. Kakashi and Sai and Tsunade and her parents... all of them were dead.
Dead.
She put shaking hands up to her face, pressing them against her cheeks and eyes as she tried to calm herself. After a few minutes she had composed herself and she drew her hands away from her face.
Cherry blossom covered walls met her eyes, and something immediately struck her as off. It hadn't been since Sakura was almost eight that she had that wallpaper in her room and she had long since gotten rid of the white, child sized furniture that was pressed up against the walls as well. Jade eyes blinked when they lay eyes on the mess of toys scattered across the floor. And was that-
"Mana-chan?" she asked aloud, her voice one of wonder as she studied the slightly worn stuffed animal rabbit laying on the floor. She had gotten it when she was just a baby but when her family had moved when she was ten, it had gotten lost. "I haven't seen Mana-chan since-"
She suddenly broke off, a hand flying to her throat as she realized that the voice coming from her throat was not the mature, older sound that she had gone to sleep with. It was now high, and childish, and… not her.
Suddenly, many things were coming to her attention that hadn't before: like how the bed she was sleeping in was huge compared to the rest of her and pulling her pink frilly bed covers off, Sakura found herself dressed in silk pajamas that she hadn't worn since she was at least six. Her feet were tiny, her hands slightly chubby with baby fat and she didn't have any of the muscle mass that she had gained from years of hard work and training as a ninja. Gone were her calloused hands and her scars. In their place was smooth, unblemished skin that had never worked a day in its life.
Goosebumps raised the hairs on her arms and her mind began running through possible explanations and scenarios to explain what was going on as Sakura scrambled out of bed and ran to the mirror hanging low on her wall. She stumbled as she went, moving in a mess of clumsy limbs that she wasn't used to working.
"Oh my Kami..." she whispered in awe and terror, "I... I'm..."
Large jade eyes widened on the face of a six-year-old little girl with short bubblegum pink hair that ended just below her chin. She saw her reflection shoot through various emotions all in one moment, eventually settling on realization as the end of Sakura's dream came back to her.
"...a kid again..."
'Time travel.'
The words appeared in her mind unbidden and Sakura knew then that her dream was in fact reality and that her half-crazed prayers had been answered.
She swallowed, and whispered a quick prayer of thanks to Kami which was quickly followed by a rush of warmth that she somehow knew to be acknowledgement of her words.
After that moment of enlightenment, Sakura simply sat there, in front of the mirror, as she tried to figure out what to do - where to start. Should she show her abilities as a kunoichi immediately? She could let certain skills be played off as natural talent and then just seem to pick things up instantly. If she were to do that though, wouldn't she be labeled as a prodigy? Yes. So then should she play out the role of a little girl with no self-confidence and take the part that she originally did until she became genin? If she were a lower rank, she would be placed with Naruto more likely than not. But if she were a higher rank, then maybe Sakura would have more influence and gain more information about some of Konoha's more... dangerous secrets. That could end up helping a lot. But at the same time she would be further from both Naruto and Sasuke. Sakura needed to keep a close on both of them (though for very different reasons).
Sakura was at a loss of what to do.
The only thing which she did know was that she would need to figure it out soon. Things needed to change and she needed to start now. Changing too much would probably make things more difficult to predict in the long run, but she was here for a reason her goal in the end was to make sure that things did not end the same. The first thing that she would work on would be...
"Naruto!" she exclaimed with a grin, but it faltered slightly as she remembered his coffin being lowered into the earth; soon to be covered by dirt and never seen again. He had died with a smile on his face.
But now he was alive, she reminded herself. He was a little kid and more likely than not a hyperactive moron... but he was her moron. Sakura would take what she could get.
The first thing on her list was to find him and befriend him. After that... well, she would just have to figure it out as she went.
Just then there was a knock on her door and Sakura had to school her expression as her mother walked into her room with a smile on her face. Her hair - a darker, redder shade of pink than her daughters - was pulled back into a short ponytail at the base of her neck and an apron was tied around her waist.
'Mama...' she thought as her heart clenched painfully.
Both her parents had been crushed when a set of explosive tags went off nearby and the violent vibrations caused their house to collapse in on them. They were the first of many.
"Good morning Sakura," she greeted cheerfully. "I didn't know that you were up already. What are you doing on the floor? C'mon. I made pancakes - Daddy is already at the table."
Sakura swallowed and gave a small nod, pushing all of the bad memories from her mind.
Giving a wide grin that only children could seem to manage, Sakura hopped off of the floor and trotted over to her mother before blinking and doubling back to grab her rabbit. Once she was standing in front of her mother and with Mana-chan in one hand, she held up her arms and gave her the sweetest look possible.
"Pick me up?" she asked.
"Sure, Honey."
And as the adult turned child was carried down the stairs and to her familiar dining room, Sakura felt completely happy.
As she reached the bottom of the steps, a dark blonde haired man with a newspaper spread out in front of him met her sight and she watched him cut through a stack of syrup drenched pancakes. He saw Sakura just then and smiled, green eyes shining.
"Morning Sakura," her father greeted.
"Morning Daddy!"
So maybe she was back in the past with no plan and no idea of what to do… but her parents were alive, Konoha was whole, and she was going to have chocolate chip pancakes for breakfast.
'I think I can do this.'
XxXxX
Two weeks later Sakura was on the outskirts of one of Konoha's many parks, being carried in her mother's arms.
"Go have fun. I'll be back around four, okay? Kuroruni-san will check in every half hour to make sure you're alright. She lives right across the street, in case you forgot."
Sakura's mother set her down and sandaled feet touched the soft grass as she looked around herself. It was 12 o'clock and Sakura had just finished eating lunch when her mother told her that she needed to go to a meeting in town. Her father was at work and since she was now just six, Sakura couldn't just be left at the house alone. So she had been taken to the park, Sakura realized with slight dismay. How was she supposed to change things at this rate? Ever since she woke up, someone had always been near - watching her and coddling her. Treating her like a child. Which she was now, Sakura had to remind herself. But it didn't mean that she liked it...
For weeks now, Sakura had been trying to find time to herself so that she could leave and find Naruto. She'd tried when her parents were asleep at night, during her nap time, when her parents went to work and even when they went to the bathroom once. But always, one parent was in the room. Or she had a babysitter or she realized that being three feet tall meant that she couldn't exactly reach past the handle to the lock to open the front door to escape. Nor could she jump out windows. The only time that she had to herself was late at night and then she would do some strength exercises in order to begin building muscle mass and some chakra ones since she couldn't leave.
Now it was Saturday and her father was gone at work and her mother had to go to a suddenly announced meeting at her workplace. The usual babysitter was sick. And yet she still wasn't alone.
'I don't want to play at the park with a bunch of spoiled civilian children!' she thought and wanted desperately to speak her mind.
But all that came out her mouth was, "Yes Mama."
Haruno Yume smiled at her daughter, ruffled her hair, and turned to leave.
Sakura sighed deeply as she watched her mother's figure grow smaller and smaller until it disappeared. Now alone, Sakura knew that she had no choice but to stay. Someone would be coming by very often, so she couldn't just leave nor could she create a clone and walk out for two basic reason. Firstly, Sakura didn't know how to make any solid clones and second she now had an extremely small chakra capacity so she wouldn't be able to do it in the first place.
"Damn it," she muttered and tucked a stray hair behind her ear.
Without much enthusiasm, Sakura walked over to the swings and past the screaming children from ages three to twelve that were running around, screaming and climbing all over the jungle gym and speeding down the slide. It was unusual, but all three of the swings were empty at the moment. After tugging down the edge of the flowery red dress her mother had insisted on her wearing, Sakura smiled slightly and climbed onto the wooden seat and began to kick her legs forward and backward to get moving and gain momentum.
Soon, she was moving in long, high arches; back and forth, back and forth, over and over and over again. Sakura tilted her head back, watching the sky as she moved and kicked her tiny legs all the while.
It was a cool day and there were barely any clouds in the sky. The squeals and shrieks of playing children drifted through the air and Sakura ignored them, opting to watch the sky and enjoy the air rushing across her skin instead as she thought.
'Where am I going to find Naruto?' she asked herself. 'I think that he was still at the orphanage at this age, but I'm not sure. If he is, I don't know which one to go to because he never told me. If not, then that would mean that he was living in that apartment. But how to get to either of those places without mom knowing...? I-'
"Wow!" a voice filled with awe broke through Sakura's thoughts and jade eyes blinked in surprise. As she swung back, the girl took in the little boy standing at the foot of the swing-set, cobalt blue eyes wide and childishly impressed, tanned face smiling and framed by wildly spiky hair that flopped into his eyes. Three black scars marred each cheek. She swung forward. He had on a simple black shirt with an orange swirl on the front and neon orange shorts. His clothes looked to be a size too large for him and dirt was smudged on them and, she now noticed, his hands and knees.
Naruto.
'Things just got a lot easier.'
"How'r ya gettin up so high like that! I dun even know how ta swing yet cuz no one'll teach me!" he babbled excitedly. "But! I've never seen anyone get that high before 'cept the really big kids. But your little, like me, an- Whoa! Was that a flip? Oh my gosh! How did you do that!"
After her second swing forward - since seeing Naruto - Sakura had released her hands and jumped off the playground swing, tucking and flipping in midair as she did so; landing with a grace that was unnatural for a six year old. Not that the blond ball of energy before he noticed - he just saw a cool trick.
Sakura brushed the skirt of her dress off and grinned over the fact that something so small could excite him so much. For all of his complications, he could be so simple sometimes.
"I wanna learn how to do that! That'd be so cool and then I could show the Old Man n' he's be so impressed n' then maybe he'll take me to go get some ramen 'n I'll getta see Ayame and Old Man Ichakaru. That'd be awesome. So will ya teach me? Puh-leaseeeee? I promise I'll do somthin' for ya in return n' everything! Like, you could come with me for ramen once I show the Old Man my new trick n' stuff!"
Her eyes were wide as she listened to him talk. Sakura had thought that Naruto talked a lot when he was younger and she hadn't thought that anyone else could say so much so quickly other than Ino, maybe. But listening to this child version of him talk...
"- So then I was all like 'I wan't miso ramen! A real big bowl!' and then he was all 'Okay'. 'N so I got it and so if he'll do that for me when I learned how to write my name, then he'll definitely buy me and you ramen cuz you will've taught me 'n stuff! So -"
Sakura decided that she must have had it very easy.
"- And when Ayame said that the Old Man and Old man Ichakaru laughed a lot so I laughed too just cuz everyone else was laughin 'n-"
"Do you talk this much to every person you meet?" Sakura interrupted with a wry grin.
Naruto just blinked at her before shrugging and rubbing the back of his head sheepishly.
"Nah," he told her. "I just got all excited cuz of your cool trick 'n all and I thought that maybe you could teach me so tha-"
Sakura held up a hand.
Naruto shut up.
"I heard you the first time, silly."
"Right! So, uh... what's your answer?"
Sakura cupped her chin and assumed a thinking pose even though she already knew how to reply.
"Hmm... well," she said slowly.
"Please please please!"
"Sure!"
"Yes! Heck yeah! Oh my gosh just wait n'till I show this to the Old Man! Ramen, here I come!"
All of the sudden he froze; on one foot, both hands raised in the air, fisted. A look of realization lit up his face and he nodded to himself, resumed a normal standing position, and clapped a fist into his open palm.
"Oh yeah! I just remembered somethin!"
Sakura raised an eyebrow.
"What?"
"I don't know your name yet."
Sakura blinked and realized that she was right, having forgotten that he didn't know her yet. That this was the first time that they met in this time.
"It's Sakura. Haruno Sakura," she told him with a smile and held out a hand.
As he reached out his hand towards hers, there was a split second where he hesitated and withdrew his hand slightly before he grabbed it and Naruto shook her hand enthusiastically.
"Uzumaki Naruto. Future Hokage!"
They both grinned at one another before Sakura dragged Naruto over to the swing beside her and began to instruct him.
"You said that you didn't know how to swing yet, right? Well, we'll start with that," she began, and decided that she liked how he hung on her every world like it was gold and was also slightly sad that he had never had someone to teach him to swing until now. "So, first thing first: you need to swing your legs forward and backward - no! No. Not like that. Move them both together - not that scissor mess..."
RFB: So, the first real chapter is done! *random applause* SO now all that's left is to review! Tell me what you think and if you have any questions, comments, ect or if there are any errors.
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