Happy New Year! Another year of Thrill seeker. Woohoo!

Chapter 95. After the battle.

Sakura stretched her senses, but the ship was far out of reach. She clicked her tongue in annoyance and gave up the chase for now. Something about that ship made her uneasy, but she couldn't recall why. Shaking her head, Sakura left the matter for the host to figure it out. With the battle ending, the host would wake soon and presume control over the body.

Turning back to the audience, she found the shinobis unharmed, if a little shaken, nothing therapy couldn't help. She searched the crowd but saw no threat. Well, none that could challenge her anyway.

She powered down, disconnecting from the power source that caused her evolution. Her form dissolved like ink in a river. The gold faded from her eyes, and the black marking returned to the seal on her back. Her horns shrank to a manageable size, and her outfit returned to her red qipao. She returned to her form before the evolution.

The shinobis fearfully backed away, except for the leaf; the other villages knew what it was like to have a crazy Jinchuriki.

She locked her sights on the towering tree and moved toward it when she spotted familiar faces.

Sakura turned to the sight of three Leaf shinobis approaching her.

Long blond hair dangled over Shikaku's arm as he carried his teammate. Shikaku and Choza landed near her, staying in a one-knee bow out of fear. She turned to face them and noted the man who acted as her puppet's communication hub. Maintaining communication was difficult in all the chaos, but he held on well. Inoichi was unconscious in Shikaku's arms, pale as death, and looked on the brink of it. Pity flashed on her face as she walked over to the team. She reached down and touched the Yamanaka's forehead.

His mind was cold, and he shivered in the darkness. Sakura glowed like moonlight as she approached his shivering form. Pale blue eyes looked up at her, and she smiled reassuringly, her green eyes twinkling.

"You did well," she praised him. "Everyone is safe, thanks to you." He gave her a weak smile and looked about to fall asleep. She wrapped her arms around him, and suddenly it was warm. He heard the sound of seagulls and opened his eyes to a beach. The wind brushed against his skin, and he realized he was in swim shorts, his ponytail undone. It was a long time since he went to the beach, and then it was for a mission.

"An illusion.," he concluded.

"Stay for as long as you like," Sakura told him. "It will repair your psyche the longer you're here, so take your time." she stood to leave.

"Don't you think you're doing too much?" he asked. The wind danced through his hair even as Sakura stopped walking. "Before the connection broke, I felt it," he confessed. "I felt as though I was burning alive."

Sakura said nothing.

"How can you?" he didn't know what to say.

"How can you do that to yourself? How do you go on? Why are you doing this?"

All that seemed silly to ask a shinobi. Shinobis do what they must to protect their village; it is their duty. Everyone expected to die on the battlefield, so what Sakura did wasn't so odd. What confused him was where she got the conviction. Her parents were kind people and spoiled her with love. Why was she acting like she had a duty too heavy for anyone else to bear?

"Don't worry too much, Yamanaka-san," Sakura said in a sweet voice. "We won't die."

She left before he could respond.

"Won't die?" he echoed. "What the hell was that supposed to mean?"

The rush of water was his only answer.

Sakura opened her pale eyes and pulled away from the sleeping man, leaving a seal on his forehead.

"Let him rest," she ordered.

"Is he gonna be ok?" Choza asked, worried.

"The longer he sleeps, the better he will feel," she told them. "Don't worry if he sleeps for three days."

Shikaku sighed in relief, and he held his friend tighter.

"Thank you," he bowed.

"We should be the ones to thank you," she smiled. "You did a great job. We were able to rest easy thanks to your hard work."

Shikaku looked at that disarmingly bright smile and couldn't help but sigh. It was his first meeting with the Yamanaka heir all over again. Back then, Inoichi was a brat who prided himself on reading people and deserving them easily. It was only a shame his partner was a lazy Nara heir with no care in the world.

"Get some rest as well," she said, leaving. "We still have some more things to take care of. When this is all over, let's have a drink!" she waved as she walked away gracefully.

Shikaku watched Sakura's pale hair sway in the wind as she walked away. Only when she was out of earshot did he sigh and fall on his back in exhaustion. Inoichi didn't make a sound on the ground, his head resting on Shikaku's arm. Shikaku looked up at the clear blue sky. Unlike most, he witnessed the fight between Sakura and the former Kages. You didn't need to be a Nara to figure out what happened.

"We."

She ate them. Sakura ate the Kages like a death god.

"Shikamaru," he groaned. "You need better taste in women."

Choza looked at his teammate with confusion.

Sasuke was floating in a pool of water, the constant dripping, a melody to his tired ears. The cool liquid wrapped around him like a blanket, and he sighed, content. He wanted to forget everything and stay like this. He felt her hand brushing through his hair in this moment of peace. He leaned into her touch, the feeling familiar to him.

"Sasuke," she called. He hummed in acknowledgment, his eyes still closed.

"Don't go."

He opened his eyes at her words, looking up at her in confusion. She was crying, something he didn't see often. "Don't leave me," she said, her body trembling. He reached up, a question on his lips when he suddenly woke. He was surrounded by pink. Looking around, he realized it was the inside of a flower bud.

Memories flash of his fight with Ina and Kisame, and he grits his teeth; he clearly remembers Sakura hovering over him before leaving him behind. He covers his eyes with his forearm and grits his teeth in frustration. How long was he going to be so weak? He felt like he was always watching her back, even as he tried to save her. How pathetic. His lips trembled.

"Sasuke-kun!" he flinched at the call of his name. He looked at the walls of the bud and heard footsteps coming towards him.

Kakashi and Sakura's puppet entered the space and stared at the bud in the center. As the cuts they received healed, they wandered over to the object in awe.

"Is he inside?" Kakashi asked, following the scent to the bud. Unless the boy was beyond the bud, he was likely inside.

Sitting up, Sasuke touched the pink walls, his handprint showing through the petals. Kakashi flinched back at the scene, not expecting the genin to do such actions. Sakura's puppet stepped forward, grabbing the edge of a bud as Sasuke had before. She pulled with all her strength but couldn't move the petals. She growled and kicked the bud in frustration. The room trembled, and she cursed as she fell. Kakashi chuckled and stepped forward, taking her place before the bud.

"Sasuke, move back a bit," he commanded, tapping on the petal. Sasuke complied and heard the distinctive sound of birds screaming. Kakashi held the wild lightning Chidori in his hair and aimed it at the bud.

"Chidori!" he announced, and the sound of a thousand birds filled the air. Lightning lit the space as Kakashi pushed.

"What?" Kakashi exclaimed when the attack had no effect.

Suddenly, Kakashi's chakra was absorbed, canceling the technique. The man stubbled from the chakra lost and fell back, dizzy.

The bud pulsed, and the petals of the tree shifted with agitation. They wanted to rip Kakashi apart for attacking, but he was on the "Do Not Kill" list.

Sakura's puppet runs over to the down man, nervously glancing at the petals above.

"You okay?" she asked, helping him into a seating position.

"Yeah," he groaned. "Just tired." Sakura's puppet didn't believe him and scanned his body for injuries. She frowned when she found none. She looked up at the petals around her and realized they were healing him. She sighed and walked over to the bud once more. The lightning attack didn't leave a scratch. Just what was this thing made of?

"Sasuke," she called. "Is there anything you can do from your side?" the Uchiha frowned and looked around, but there was only space to rest comfortably in this bud. He placed his hand on the bud and pushed, but it didn't move.

"I think Sakura sealed it," he called back, receiving a frustrated sigh.

"Why didn't she give us a key," Sakura's puppet hissed.

"No need."

They spun around to face the woman.

Pale hair danced in the wind as Sakura floated from the branches above.

Kakashi stared. He saw the transformation, but seeing and being in her presence were different experiences. She was nothing like the Sakura he knew: her hair, eyes, and skin were pale; she looked like a porcelain doll. Her pale hair was longer than before, brushing against the back of her knee. The two horns atop her head would take getting used to, and he tried not to stare at the anomaly, but he didn't know where to rest his eyes. Sakura's form had changed, and everywhere he looked was an anomaly. Why did his students have to give him such grief?

Shakily, he stood as Sakura's heels touched the branch they stood on. Sakura's puppet fell to one knee, her head bowed in respect.

"Boss!" she announced. "Congratulations on your victory!"

"We can hardly call that a victory since they got away," Sakura said flatly, walking past her puppet. She stood before the bud and brushed her palm over the surface.

"What's the situation with the Jinchuriks?"

"Right!" The Puppet responded promptly. "All hosts are accounted for; they are all gathered at the root of the tree with the genins and puppets," she reported.

Sakura tilted her head to the side as though in thought.

"Hayate Gekkō," she said thoughtfully. Kakashi's eyes went wide, and he stood at attention. That was a special Jonin he knew. He also knew his girlfriend. Why was Sakura asking?

The puppet paused; a Springfly landed on her shoulder with the information.

"He's currently in the underground bunker with Tsunade," she reported.

"And the woman?"

The puppet gulped.

"She is also underground, though injured from the Kage fight."

Crack!

The wood gave away under Sakura's heel.

"Is that so?" she asked, her voice dangerously low. "And that fight…"

It was outside the dome," the puppet replied. "We weren't aware of it. After you summoned a tree, the Kages disappeared, except for Yagura, who we protected."

Sakura went silent, and Sasuke, who was listening to all this, grew restless.

"So we couldn't stop it completely," she muttered.

"Sakura?" Sasuke called unsure

"Sasuke?" she wondered, her voice soft. " Are you awake?" Sasuke was silent for a moment.

"...Yes," he said. "I'm awake."

Sakura stroked the bud lovely and released a pulse of chakra that caused the bud to bloom.

"Madara's chakra," the puppet noticed. It was no wonder she couldn't open it.

The petals parted to reveal the Uchiha rising to his knees, ready to leave the cage.

He locked eyes with Sakura and stared.

Sakura tilted her head to the side in question, but Sasuke's eyes widened.

"Sakura?" He tried.

"Yes?" She replied.

"What?" he started and stopped short. 'What happened to you?' went unsaid. Sakura smiled knowingly and responded to the unasked question.

"It's only temporary," she said.

Sasuke sat on the edge of the bud turn flower, taking some of Sakura's pale hair in his hand. He rubbed the silky lock as though to reveal the pink below. He looked up at her, horrified when it didn't change color.

Sakura smiled at his desperate face and stroked his cheeks lovingly, ignoring the way Sasuke flinched back. Her hands felt cold against his feverish skin. Their eyes locked as Sakura rubbed his cheek before moving her thumb over his lips. Sasuke stilled, and Sakura's stare became more intense.

Just then, a group of guests joined them.

The air grew heavy with chakra as nine individuals came into the space. Sakura broke eye contact first, looking back at the people who ruined the moment. The nine Jinchurikis stood before her, their eyes wild with tail beast influence.

The genins in charge of them were slow to arrive, panting as they finally reached their charge. They looked around before locking on Sakura and her abnormal form. They had seen it before; of course, they had witnessed the battle of gods just moments ago. Seeing Sakura like this, instead of in her original form, made them uneasy.

A series of thuds rang out as the Jinchurikis, including Naruto, fell to one knee.

"We pay our respects to the great Sage!" they said in Union. The voices didn't match the faces, and Sakura realized the tail beasts had taken over their host's body.

"Welcome Home, Mother!"

The Genins stared in horror, even Sakura's puppet had a "What the Fuck?" face. Kakashi was on the verge of fainting, and deep inside Sakura, past her pale eyes. Madara was laughing his ass off.

Next Chapter

January 15

Until Next time

night song~