Date: 6/1/13
Rating: T
Genre: Angst, Drama, Time Travel
Prompt: Just before meeting Sasuke for the first time in Shippuden, Sakura gets a premonition (a message from her future self?) about the future events leading up to fighting Madara and the truth about the massacre.
Sakura knew something was up when she suddenly found herself face to face with, well, herself. But then again, the whole scenery changing from the Konoha training grounds to a misty nothingness should have been her first clue. "I'm in a dream," she said quietly as she stared at her own face. "That's all this is. Yeah, a dream." Sakura closed her eyes and pinched herself. But when she opened her eyes, nothing had changed. She pinched herself again and then looked at her doppelgänger, wide eyed. "I'm—I'm not waking up."
But her other self only rolled her eyes. "Sakura," she said, walking closer to her, "this is a not a dream. Yes, you're asleep, but you're not dreaming. I'm you from the future, and I have an important message for you."
Sakura took a step back. "A message?"
Her future self—or whatever the hell she was talking to—nodded. "It's about Sasuke-kun." She paused, slightly hesitant. "He's going to try to destroy the village. "
She gasped. "Destroy—destroy the village? But why? Konoha has done nothing to him! Itachi's the one he's after—"
"But that's it!" her future self exclaimed. "Itachi wasn't responsible for the Uchiha Massacre. I mean, he was, but he was only following orders made by Danzo and the rest of the Konoha council."
Sakura brought her hands to her face, shaking her head, unable to comprehend what was happening. "So let me get this straight," she said, sliding her hands downward so only her eyes were exposed. "You're saying Konoha planned the massacre?"
She sighed. "Yes. Now you have to stay calm. I know this is a lot to process, but you need to listen to me very carefully." Future Sakura took a deep breath, taking a moment to gather her thoughts before she continued. "Sasuke-kun doesn't know this yet, but he will. And when he finds out, something will happen to him; he won't be himself. He will resent the village, and he will join Akatsuki."
But Sakura had heard enough. "You're lying!" she yelled as she began to pinch herself again. She didn't care that she wasn't technically in a dream. If she was asleep, there had to be a way to force herself to wake up. "I don't believe you!"
"Sakura, you have to listen to me!" Her future self grabbed Sakura by the shoulders and shook her. "Look at me! Stop fidgeting. I'm telling you this for your own good, so you won't make the same mistakes. Don't be reckless. Don't make hasty decisions. Everything will be okay."
"How do you know know?"
"Because Sasuke-kun will—"
Sakura jerked up into a sitting position. She rubbed her eyes and looked around. She was back in her room; though, she never really left in the first place. A soft noise to her right caused her to jump, but it was just a fallen picture frame. Sakura raised her brow. There was no breeze. Her window wasn't even open.
Sliding off her bed, Sakura quietly walked over to the windowsill, the coldness of the hardwood floor against her bare feet sending shivers up her spine. Carefully, she lifted the picture frame, curious to see which one fell, and gasped when she saw that it was her old Team 7 photo, taken when they were all still genin. It almost seemed like a sign. She thought about her dream—premoniition?—again, wondering if what her future self told her was true, wondering if it actually happened.
It just felt so real.
Sakura shook her head. "No," she said softly. "It can't be true. It was just a dream." She looked at the photo again, her thumb tracing the contours of Sasuke's twelve-year-old face. "Yeah, just a dream."