And yet again I find myself writing another story while I still have half a dozen or so unfinished stories. I can't help it, I'm afraid that idea will vanish or someone else will write it. So I've decided to write this story.
Disclaimed: I do not own Naruto or Avatar The Legend of Korra.
"Cmon Billboard Brow, I'm telling you this will be the best thing that'll ever happen to you," the blonde squealed with unrestrained glee. "And by that, you mean opening a forbidden scroll of the Second Hokage. You know that the Nidaime is famous for making high level jutsus," the pinkette replied as she rolled her eyes. "Not to mention deadly jutsus," she added as she crossed her arms over her chest. "Deadly but useful. Look at Naruto, he learned the Shadow Clone Jutsu and it literally helped him save the world!" Ino said as she waved her arms dramatically around, drawing the attention of the bystanders. "This is Naruto we're talking about, son of heroes, Child of Prophecy. Everything is bound to work in his favour," Sakura spoke as though to a toddler. She sipped her tea then proceeded to eat her anko dumplings. "No. I'm not doing it. He made the Impure World Reincarnation Jutsu which brought back Madara Uchiha who almost destroyed the whole world. Let's not forget the people we lost because of that," the medic said, reminding the both of them the loved ones they had lost in the war. "I know my dad and many other precious people died in the war but they died for a good cause. And it's not like the jutsu will bring another Shinobi war. I'm telling you," the Yamanaka retorted but the pinkette remained steadfast in her decision.
Ino groaned loudly as she pulled at her hair. It had been a month since Sakura had been kidnapped by Kido in an attempt to lure out Sasuke and she had kicked his ass. She had successfully launched her clinic in Suna, with the help of her best friend of course. Everything was going according to plan and she couldn't wait to move to Iwa and Kumo. Naruto and Hinata were going steady as with Shikamaru and Temari. Ino and Sai were still a budding romance. She was beginning to feel left out as most of her friends were in a relationship, even Chouji had hooked up with Karui. She had doubted whether or not Sasuke would truly come back for her but their last encounter, or almost encounter, had calmed her nerves. She couldn't help but be paranoid sometimes. How long was he going to keep her waiting? She couldn't keep waiting forever. The obstacles which had made their love forbidden were long gone and she was more than willing to start a relationship with him. All that was left was to Sasuke to come back to Konoha already. Bit by bit, her patience was wearing thin and she was beginning to doubt how longer her feelings would last but alas, she didn't let go of a lifetime's worth of love that easily.
"Don't be such a sour bum, let's go and learn about multiverses!" Ino pleaded, trying to look convincing yet adorable at the same time. Sakura shook her head no. The Yamanaka heiress slammed her palms on the table as her features darkened with anger, glaring at the medic with all her might.
"Remind me why I'm doing this again," the Haruno deadpanned as Ino dragged her towards the Hokage Mountain. "We're going to learn about the Nidaime's theories of the multiverse," the blonde replied. Sakura let out a tired sigh. "You know, you told me that Otsutsuki goddess Kaguya could open portals between different dimensions. Maybe we could learn how to do that," her best friend said optimistically. "And if it requires a human sacrifice?" the pinkette queried. Ino was silent for awhile as she pondered on her answer. "Then I'll just have to sacrifice you," she replied nonchalantly. Sakura facepalmed. "And what good will it do to shift between dimensions?" she asked again. "We could go to a super awesome world with super awesome powers for a vacation!" the blonde exclaimed. "For an adult, you're ridiculously immature," the medic commented dryly.
They arrived atop of the Hokage Mountain, standing where Tobirama Senju's face was directly below them. Ino jumped down and landed on the nose, Sakura following suit. The two moved along the stone structure until they arrived directly in front of its left eye. The Yamanaka performed a set of hand seals which were unfamiliar to Sakura but she decided not to question her. She placed her palm on a familiar spot and the stone began to tremble. It moved upwards, revealing a dark stairway. They both activated fire chakra on their palms which lighted up the way. They descended down the old dusty stone stairs. Sakura noticed how Ino removed more than ten genjutsus during their descend.
After what seemed like an eternity of stairs, they came to a library of sorts which was roughly the size of her office at the hospital.There was an old wooden desk in the corner with with a similarly old and wooden chair then came the dozen or so shelves fillled with scrolls and books. There were five candle stands in the room. Another wooden table was at the centre, long and not too wide with ink and brushes on its surface. Different seals were activated all over the walls. "This is where the Nidaime did all his researches. Some of his scrolls are kept at the Hokage Tower but majority of them are here," the blonde explained as she lit candles in the room. There were discarded scrolls and weapons littering the floor. "No doubt you did this," the kunoichi said as she motioned around the room. "I was curious," Ino replied. "Why would he keep his works here?" Sakura thought out loud. "To keep them away from the likes of Orochimaru," she replied her friend's question as she rummaged through the desk. "The only people who know of this place is only you and I. No one else knows," Ino told her. "And why would you do that? The Hokage deserves to know that this place exists in order to protect it!" Sakura growled, her temper flaring.
"Chill out, would you? I didn't discover it myself. During the war, someone told me to search for this place if I survived the war," Ino said offhandedly as she waved a white scroll as if to emphasize her point. "And who is that if I may ask? What if he wanted to trap you? Or kill you? I don't know, maybe start another war!" the medic sneered. "I don't know, he was some black haired dude with curly hair, said his name was Kagami and was a student of the Nidaime. He looked like an Uchiha. I sealed him pretty quickly because he was a terrible flirt," the Yamanaka retorted. "He looked cute though," she added in which Sakura snorted. "Look Billboard Brow, if it was a trap I would've been dead ages ago. But I'm not, I'm alive and breathing. I wanted a chance to share this with someone I trust but when I actually tell that person, all I get is being scolded," Ino explained as she frowned. "Sorry Pig, it's called being paranoid," Sakura replied with a slight huff, smiling a little.
Ino beckoned her to come over. She had opened the white scroll with a lot of notes scribbled all over and some seals drawn. They had to scrunch their eyes in order to see because the handwriting was so small.
"Proceed with caution. Do not attempt to activate the seals, they are still being worked on.
I, Tobirama Senju, have been researching on the theory of the multiverse, a theory of having different universes which are connected one way or another. After the success of my Edo Tensei Jutsu, I learned that there might be things still not discovered which are actually possible. The theory of the multiverse suggests that just like a spider web, in which different webs are connected to form one single unit, there are different universes which are connected. It's like a story, where the writer chooses to write in a certain storyline but what about the storyline? A different outcome of a story based on a what if? It might be one universe with different dimensions, or different times as we are yet to explore different parts of the world. Or even the spiritual realm where different spirits interconnect. A situation whereby you are something in this world, and something else in a other. Or in another world you don't exist. All these are possibilities which lie beyond the human mind and cannot be comprehended easily."
"Damn, couldn't the Nidaime use a bigger handwriting? All this crap is making my eyes hurt," Ino complained as she peered angrily at the scroll. "You should try using glasses," Sakura suggested. "I'm not the one who has to stay coped up in an office filled with paperwork the whole day, maybe you should try using them," the blonde replied hotly. Sakura ignored the jab in favour of trying to decipher the seals. After a few seconds of staring at a bunch of gibberish, Sakura abandoded the scroll in favour of looking around the library. Ino had taken the scroll, trying to read the seals written. There some words written in kanji and some in a language she couldn't understand.
'That's the kanji for the opium poppy, a flower which represents forgetfulness,' she thought as she frowned. 'Why would the Nidaime draw flower symbols on a seal? Why would he even use flowers in the first place?' she asked herself. Her eyes skimmed over the seal and she found herself looking at the kanji for orange lilies. 'Orange lilies, representing hatred, pride and contempt,' her mind supplied. She found another kanji for the petunia flower, for deep resentment and anger. "What in the world is this seal?" she thought out loud. She continued to glare at the seal.
'But something's missing,' she told herself as she stared at the unfinished seal. She summoned chakra to her fingertip and began tracing the seal on the scroll. More and more kanjis began to pop up at an astonishing pace that she could no longer keep up with deciphering them. Her finger finally made its wau at the center of the seal, on an all too familiar kanji, Katsu. She panicked as the scroll began to glow and she threw it as far away from her as possible, landing right on top of Sakura's head. The pinkette looked at the blonde with an annoyed stare. "Stop throwing stuff at me," she scowled as she moved to remove the scroll. "Sakura!" she shouted but all was in vain. The medic had disappeared in a puff of smoke. Ino stared at where her best friend had been standing, bewildered. "What in the world just happened?" she asked no one. Gears began spinning in her head. "Wait a minute, what am I doing here?" she asked herself. She looked around the library. "Did I come with someone?" she asked again. 'I feel like I'm forgetting something,' she thought. "Meh, whatever." She spent another ten minutes looking around the room before she left the place.
She made her way back to the village and passed Shizune on the way. "Oh, Ino, just the person I was looking for. Lady Tsunade is asking for you," the black-haired woman said. "She said she needs you at the hospital," she added. "Why doesn't she call..." the blonde stopped mid sentence. "Doesn't she have an apprentice or something?" she asked as if trying to recall something. "Yeah, I am her apprentice as well..." she couldn't finish. "I can't seem to remember her." The two women stared at each other. "There's no way that Lady Tsunade would have an apprentice without me knowing," Shizune spoke with a laugh. "Yeah, probably a figment our imagination," the blonde did the same.
As Ino made her way back to her compound after her shift from the hospital, she met Naruto on the way. "Hey Naruto," she greeted. "Hey, how you doing?" the jinchuriki greeted back. "Nothing much," she replied casually. "I get you. With Hinata at the Hyuuga compound, it gets lonely. I mean, I have Sasuke as my only teammate after all, apart from Sai," he complained. "Yeah yeah. See you later," she waved as she walked away before the blonde could complain how he was the only one who didn't have a female teammate as bit by bit, Sakura Haruno began to fade away from her memories.
Mako sighed. Having to use one arm was becoming more annoying by the day. The Turf War was over, finally. Kuvira had repented and Korra was back to normal. Despite the abolishment of the monarchy, Wu was still the King of the Earth Kingdom. There was no better candidate for that position more than Wu in his opinion. Asami was still healing from her father's death. He dared not to think about Korra and Asami's relationship. In his opinion, it was taboo as he was not supportive of homosexuality but in order to protect his friendship with the two girls, he made it appear that he was supportive of them yet in reality, he was disgusted by it. It just didn't feel right. Not mention they're both his exes so disapproving of their relationship made him jealous. He wondered how Lin managed to work with Tenzin after having been in a relationship in their teeenage years. Because he clearly felt awkward around the two girls when they were not fighting a battle to save the world and their lives.
He stared at the paper on his desk, the handwriting sloppy. He was still getting used to writing with his left hand. 'Bolin should be the one writing this report,' he thought, his anger slightly rising. His younger brother had joined the police after leaving the Earth kingdom's army. Poor boy had felt betrayed after he was deceived by Kuvira into thinking that he was doing good yet he was indirectly supporting her plans to take over the Earth kingdom and many other terrible things she wanted to do. Thus he joined the police working alongside his elder brother. They made a pretty good team, Lin commented. Between the two of them, Mako was the good cop and Bolin was the bad cop, something which surprised him as he always thought himself to be the bad guy.
Bolin had a date night with his girlfriend Opal Beifong. While he was busying enjoying himself, Mako was stuck in an office writing a report with his left hand. Not to mention he was still a bachelor. Being in a relationship wasn't a top priority on his list but still it got lonely sometimes. He stopped himself before he began to reminisce his time with Asami and Korra when they were his girlfriends. That was different time and different life, he was a changed boy, scratch that, man. He was 24 years after all. That didn't stop the tinge of envy every time he saw Bolin and Opal together. He quickly scribbled as much gibberish as he could before he stormed out of his office, the report in his uninjured hand.
He stopped before Lin's door, took a deep, calming breath before knocking on it. A muffled reply told him to come in. He entered and made his way to her desk, the Chief of the Police. "Chief Beifong," he greeted. "Mako, good to see you. What are you doing here?" she asked as she stopped writing. The firebender shoved the paper in front of her face. "Where's Bolin?" she asked, her eyes scanning over the report. "Date night with your niece," he replied. "Your handwriting's terrible," she said as she placed the report on her desk. Mako grunted a reply. "You're in a bad mood," she pointed out. The dark haired boy just stared. "I get the feeling of being alone, people like us aren't meant to be in relationships, they never work out. Maybe we should get drinks together, just the two of us," she said in a teasing tone. "No, wait. That's a terrible idea and very weird. I'm old enough to be your mother," she spoke seriously before he could reply. "Uh, yeah. I'm just gonna go now," he said, feeling a bit awkward at her previous proposal. The Beifong waved him out.
He exhaled deeply as he stood outside the police HQ, his breath a white puff. Winter was coming soon and it was going to hit hard, he thought as he shivered at the cool air. Republic City was a sight to behold at night and he enjoyed the quiet and peace of watching the city at night, alone. "I'm gonna freeze to death if I spent another minute outside," he said to himself and made his way home.
"I'm home!" Bolin said in a sing song voice as he entered their two roomed apartment. It was situated at the edges of Republic City, near the Air Temple. "Could you be more quiet about it?" Mako called from the kitchen. The earthbender made his way to the kitchen and found his brother cooking stirfry, dressed in his nightwear consisting of white vest and blue shorts. "Oooo, what's for dinner?" he asked as he pointed at the pan. "Didn't you eat on your date?" he asked with narrowed eyes. "Now now Mako, don't be so sour that you don't have a girlfriend. That's how I felt every time you went on a date with Asami or Korra," Bolin said sympathetically as he hanged an arm around Mako. "Why does everyone think that I'm upset that you have a girlfriend?" he asked out loud. "I'm upset that you didn't bother to write a report of our last case knowing very well that I can't write with my left hand," he said as he shrugged the earthbender's arm off his shoulder. "Sorry Mako," the younger said seriously. "But when you're in love, somethings are just hard to remember. Like writing a report when you should be meeting with your lover. That's just the way it is," he added dreamily. Mako rolled his eyes.
"I got a letter from Grandma Yin," he said as Bolin went to his room to change. "That's great. What did she say?" the earthbender asked from his room. There was a slight shuffle of clothes before Bolin made his way into the kitchen dressed in his nightwear. "The usual. She was asking about work, how we were doing, our health. She said she was lonely these days since cousin Tu is always working. She also mentioned that she has a new friend, some girl with an unusual hair color and a pretty face she wants to hook me up with," he said with an eye roll at the last part. "I wish people would stop treating my bachelorhood as a curse. I don't want to be in a relationship," he sneered. "Sorry Mako, it's just us being caring," Bolin replied with a sympathetic smile. "Yeah yeah, whatever," he sighed as he waved the spoon he was holding. Cooking with his left hand wasn't much of a problem. "Could you cut the tomatoes?" he asked Bolin. "Yeah, sure thing."
I'm trying to write longer chapters than I usually do. So there's my first chapter. Hope you like it. Don't worry about my other stories. Imma update em still. Read and review.
Tozoonana
AfricanFire
