Chapter Text
“I hate liars.” Naruto says to her while the snow is blowing around them in a flurry. His usually bright blue eyes look darker as they narrow at her.
She remembers this day being the day she told him she loved him, at the Kage Summit.
Naruto scoffs then closes his eyes and begins walking away, the flurries of snow picking up and creating a white wall making it difficult for her to find him.
‘Wait! Naruto, I love you, please don’t leave me, STOP!’ She tries to shout but her voice won’t work and her legs are too heavy for her to chase after him. The snow piling up around her with incredible speed. She looks back up to find Naruto but she has lost sight of him.
“Naruto! NARUTO!”
She jumps up from her bedroll and moves from the figure above her, she swallows hard trying to wet her dry aching throat, was she screaming just now?
“Bad dream?” Kakashi asks her, she looks up at him and finds his grey eye staring intently at her. She immediately gets up to her feet and goes for her bag to get changed. Still shaken from the dream she shakes her head hoping he will take the hint and leave her be.
“I’m fine, I’ll be ready in a second.” Her voice comes out thin.
“Good, cause we are moving out in ten.” Kakashi walks out of the tent. She takes a deep breath and rubs her face. Why did she have to have that nightmare? It’s been ages since it happened and her Naruto died knowing she loved him, but this Naruto brought up those old feelings that she is just a sh*tty person and just using this Sakura’s body.
Maybe she should start meditating to see if she is around in her head somewhere… maybe the merge knocked her out and she hasn’t woken up yet. Maybe she ended up like Inner. She starts to attach her gear and kunai to her body straps, fortunately today is not nearly as hot or humid and feels like an average 75 degree day.
She walks out of the tent and spots Naruto and Sasuke looking over their packs, she turns her back on them and starts to break down her tent while eavesdropping on the both of them.
“Aww man, your mom packed you that, I love those!” Naruto whispers but is loud enough for Sakura to hear. “Give me some later!”
Her head snaps back to them, Sasuke's mom?!
A soft chuckle. “No worries, she packed extra for you, idiot.”
Sasuke smiles and turns catching Sakura’s stare, his smile drops and he walks away.
She’s alive!? Sakura quickly turns from Naruto’s curious gaze and continues dismantling her tent. She only thought Itachi was still alive…. Then if the Uchiha’s are still alive then… She kneels down to pick up the tent sticks but can’t help but stare down at the ground while a million thoughts come up.
The Uchiha massacre was the start of so many things for Sasuke but it wasn’t the beginning of Konoha’s problems. If the Uchiha’s are all alive then that would mean Obito is possibly alive… her hands start to shake with anger, if he’s alive then Madara is still out there, and then the Zetsu’s… Meanwhile she is on this C rank dilly dallying when she should be trying to investigate why the Sage even planted her in this dimension. What could it be… was it because things were slower moving now that Danzo is dead. She’s missing something.
Something grabs her shoulder and the fear of Obito and Madara has her quick to pull out her chakra scalpel and she rushes at them with a calculated panic. She’s not gonna get jumped here, no one will touch her again! She’s met with resistance, her wrist blocked and another move later she’s on the ground looking up at Kakashi.
“Breathe, Sakura, you’re safe.” Kakashi bends down and offers her a hand.
Sakura closes her eyes to avoid looking at him further. The thought of her own Kakashi and all he went through before and after taking on Team 7 has her clenching her fists. She gets up and finishes up with her tent.
“Hey,” Kakashi is behind her, “You have a lot on your mind… When Itachi told us what he saw I couldn’t begin to believe it-“
This Kakashi’s so different, she thinks as this one continues rambling trying to comfort her. Her Kakashi would have picked up an Icha Icha long ago and would be more subtle. Did Obito’s death really change his personality so much. She almost starts to think of the more recent times when Kakashi was under control of Danzo along with the rest of them, how his silence but presence was the only comforting thing during that time, but she can’t begin to think of that now.
He’s stopped talking and is staring at her, “I’m fine, thank you Kakashi.”
They join the others who are waiting for them. Sai has his scroll out and is twirling it his his hand looking in the distance. Naruto is busy stretching his legs and Sasuke is sharpening a kunai. Tenzo is looking over a map underneath a tree.
“We should get there in a day now. Once there we drop off the scroll we should be good to go.” Kakashi says to them.
A puff of smoke appears abruptly next to Kakashi. Sakura snaps her head over at the familiar sound and her heart bursts when she spots Pakkun. The little dog sniffs the air and turns to her his eyes widening for a second before looking back to Kakashi.
“The Hokage wants you back ASAP once you’re done here.” Pakkun looks over at Sasuke with a look that makes him uncomfortable.
“What?”
“Nothing kid, listen, Kakashi, keep your pups focused. Konoha wasn’t the only one who experienced that heat wave. Suna was in a state of emergency and over fifty were reported to die from the heat, mostly elderly but Suna is asking for assistance if this gets worse. The Hokage sent out a team to scout the area as well as experts in meteorology. Keep your guard up.”
Sakura looks over at Naruto hoping he would mention something about Gaara but he doesn’t mention anything. Is Gaara still Kazekage, or did that whole thing change if the invasion never happened? Speaking of… She almost smacks her face when she’s startled into realizing she forgot all about Orochimaru.
How could she even forget the snake bastard… well he did end up helping them in the end but still, she’s such an idiot. Why couldn’t the Sage bring Shikamaru here instead, Kami, whatever problem she is here to fix is out of her expertise.
“Thank you, Pakkun.” Kakashi nods.
The pug walks over to Sakura who has gone pale from the news. Could this be a sinister effect from her dimension hopping, or could this be Kaguya, could be anything… She looks down at the ninken. Pakkun was always there for her when times were hard, Kakashi had a habit to summon them when she was close to break downs. His poor summons were not meant to be therapy dogs but more often than not that is what he summoned them for, for her.
“You smell different, what happened to your cherry shampoo?”
“I ran out.” She whispers feeling the boys stare at her.
“We will talk later, Pakkun.” Kakashi tells Pakkun who takes that as his cue to leave.
…
They meet with the Daimyo of the Land of Tea and hand over the scroll. The Daimyo, who is a middle aged man, grabs the scroll with a wavering hand. He looks pale underneath the traditional garb despite his darker complexion. Sakura watches the man wearily, he’s showing signs his health is deteriorating. He puts the scroll to the side and thanks them then waves them off. Sakura pauses, who is she if not a healer? She cannot in good conscience leave here without offering her services. As her team is walking out the door she turns to the Daimyo.
“Daimyo-sama, I couldn’t help but notice you seem unwell.” She bows deeply, “I am a medical ninja, if you want I can offer you assistance before I go.”
The Daimyo pauses and his guard straightens immediately, “You insolent Konoha ninja-“
A hand raised from the Daimyo has the guard stopping his tirade.
“You seem sincere, then by all means.” He beckons her forward.
Sakura immediately goes over to him, “Does it hurt to breath, or do you just feel weak?”
She asks scanning his body with her chakra checking over his vital organs.
“I have been unable to eat anything solid for a while, I can’t remember the last time.” The man sounds exhausted.
“You last ate at the tea banquet, Daimyo-Dono, that was almost two weeks ago.”
“If it were poison or an allergic reaction you would know.” Sakura says but decides not to mention that if that were the case the guy would most likely be dead already if his medics were anything to go by. Sick for two weeks and they haven’t checked him yet? She notices Kakashi is waiting for her by the door. She checks his stomach and finds a small mass, it could be benign but this Daimyo definitely has a tumor.
“Daimyo-sama, you have a small tumor near your stomach, here.” She has her palm where it is, “You will need surgery immediately and they will check to make sure it’s benign. You must let your medical staff know.”
The Daimyo looks shaken and so does his guard. “You’re sure?”
She nods and takes a step back. “I am sorry for this news, Daimyo-sama.” She bows and takes her leave. The Daimyo says nothing further.
Kakashi and Sakura walk back silently to the team. “You possibly saved his life.”
“Possibly.” She says blandly.
“You said before you were trained by Tsunade.” He states. “Exactly how much of her techniques do you know?”
Sakura smirks, “We can spar later when we get home, Kakashi. I’ll show you exactly what I learned from her, then you can go to your check-up with Tsunade-shishou.”
Kakashi blanches at that having completely forgotten about his check up he has been ordered to go to once they’re back. “Well…” He rubs his neck.
“Don’t tell me you forgot! Kakashi!” Sakura whirls on him with an exasperated look on her face. “You are going if I have to drag you to her myself!”
…….
Their travel back to Konoha is uneventful and Sakura decides it’s best if she stays to herself. Before she was able to banter with them but that was before Naruto lashing out at her. She sighs and looks down at the kunai she’s sharpening. She will do anything for him and so while the team is quietly speaking while on their quick break she decides to try meditating and clear her mind in search for Normal Sakura.
“Let’s go,” Sai says to her snapping her out of her meditation. “Breaks over.”
She nods at him and puts her kunai in her leg holster.
They are in diamond formation with Kakashi in the lead, Sasuke and Naruto behind him followed by Sakura and Sai with Tenzo taking the rear. They are on their final stretch and are going through the forest with their typical speed so they should be about an hour from home.
The birds and animals are unnaturally quiet, sometimes when they pass by quickly through the trees you can hear the birds and squirrels. Sakura takes out her kunai to be ready, she can’t sense any chakra but she knows something is ready to happen. Her instincts has her dodging to her left as a crack sounds off with blue light blasting down from the sky above knocking them from the trees. Sai besides her disappears from her view and so has everyone else after the clash of lightening has them sailing into different directions.
She lands on the ground and looks around for their attacker but only a rumble of the sky can be heard. Sakura turns to look for the others, Sai has taken a spot into a tree above her.
Another flash of light strikes down with a crack to the ground besides them.
She takes off and hopes that Sai is also going for a place to hide, as this isn’t someone attacking them. This is an actual severe lightning storm they are witnessing. She is sure of it. She spots Naruto in his orange glory back to back with Sasuke looking for the enemy.
“You guys!” She shouts over the wind that has picked up, the air now heavy with humidity seems to swallow her voice. “It’s a storm! Take cover!”
They don’t seem to hear her or they’re ignoring her, whichever it is she has to get them out of the open. Naruto is holding out his kunai but is abruptly putting it away and takes off with Sasuke in her direction. Relieved she meets up with them, breathless from the fear taking over. There is no fighting mother nature like this. They glance at each other quickly to check they’re okay, fear evident in their eyes as well.
Sai and Tenzo are together on the opposite side of the field underneath a rooted shelter Tenzo crafted.
Sakura spots Kakashi with his back straightened and his head toward the sky, his hair flying in every direction as he stands on a thick branch above in the trees. He waits and just as quick as the lightning above strikes down towards them he shouts releasing his Raikiri, the lightning bolt releasing from his hand collides with the one from the sky redirecting it upwards. The tremendous boom echoes over the sky and the air around Kakashi crackling still with lightning as sparks of fire rains down around them. Smoke shrouds the trees as another bolt of lightning too quick for Kakashi hits a tree besides them lighting it aflame.
Kakashi jumps down to them and shouts. “Time to go!”
Tenzo shakes his head and shouts over to his captain, “We can’t outrun this Kakashi! We need to take shelter! Get over here!”
And that is how they all end up underneath Tenzo’s root shelter.
“This is crazy!” Naruto shouts.
“Stop shouting!” Sasuke snaps at him. Naruto apologizes and looks over at Kakashi.
“Sensei, you’re seriously the most badass guy I know!” Naruto exclaims, they all nod agreeing.
“Yeah, how did you know that would work?” Sasuke asks him, “I want to try that.”
Kakashi’s laughs wearily. “Yeah, I didn’t know it would.”
Tenzo shakes his head, go figure, this guy. "You’re something else.”
Sakura sighs and looks over at Sai who has his eyes closed. “You okay, Sai?”
Sai nods, “I’m just glad I wasn’t on my hawk during that…” He then looks to Kakashi. “What do you think this weather is from? I don’t recall there ever being an enemy that can do this kind of attack. And I didn’t sense anyone nearby who could have been the cause for this.”
Kakashi sighs. “Unfortunately, I don’t.”
A moment of silence, then, “I do.”
Kakashi looks over at her in surprise. Naruto’s mouth drops and looks like he might say something but decides not to.
Sakura stares down at her hands, the soft rumbling from above seems to be passing by slowly. It won’t take her long to explain and by the time they leave they might even understand her… Not completely of course but it’s a start.
“Kaguya is a goddess who has powers outside of this realm, she was one of the most horrifying enemies we ever faced. When it came to Kaguya we didn’t have energy to have enemies with other lands… It was a time we all banded together, we all lost together…”
Sakura rubs her face. “The world was ending due to this celestial being… and I wouldn’t be surprised if she followed me here.”
Kakashi feels a cold chill go up his spine, this was exactly what they feared and she’s admitting to it.
“Why do you believe she would have followed you here, Sakura?”
Sakura takes her face from her hands and stares at Kakashi, her lips curling into a snarling smirk. “Because I punched that bitch in her face.” She laughs. "With the help of my teammates, of course."
Kakashi and Tenzo share a look.
She continues,“But this I cannot be certain. I don’t know if this is all related, this may not even be Kaguya, but it would do you all well to be prepared for a war that may happen due to her following me here. I am sorry, for what it is worth, we did defeat her and we didn’t see her again. But that doesn’t mean she was to be gone forever, it’s just I died before that ever happened.”
Sasuke heavily sighs and rubs his neck. “And you haven’t even told the Hokage yet… Kami Kakashi.”
“Wait, what if you do somehow get our Sakura back and you go poof or whatever, does that mean this crazy lady will know you’re not here?” Naruto asks her.
Sai looks over at Naruto, “I think my cold heart has rubbed off on you.”
“Ew, why you gotta say it like that! I’m just asking!” Naruto crosses his arms glaring at the ex-ROOT member.
“I’m guessing Itachi knows this since he was in your head.” Sasuke says still glaring at Kakashi.
Kakashi meets the glare with a lazy stare then pulls out his Icha Icha paradise.
Sakura shrugs. “I don’t believe Kaguya would care which version of me she demolishes. She is a goddess, Naruto, one that my Naruto also helped destroy." She looks at the blond and grabs his hand once more. "I will do everything in my power to try and get your Sakura back. I already planned to meet with Itachi when we get back to see if he can find her.”
Naruto stares back then down at her hand and nods. "Thank you."
Tenzo peaks out of their shelter and smacks Kakashi’s arm holding his book. “I think it’s stopped. Let’s get going.”
“You sure we don’t want to hunker down here for another hour? We already have to report our reason for being late.” Kakashi sighs.
Naruto rolls his eyes while getting up and Sasuke shoves him out of the shelter. Sai smirks over at Sakura, “Well if you can defeat a goddess once, a second time should be easy.”
"Right," Sakura scoffs and looks over at Kakashi who is woefully putting his book back into his pocket. “Don’t forget you gotta meet up with Tsunade after your report with the Hokage!”
Kakashi turns and smiles, “Trust me, Sakura, when I make our report he will have forgotten allllll about it!”
