(Tim Seltzer, seltzer@seltzerbooks.com) Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto. I do not own Wedding Peach.
I do not own any great quantity of money or property. I'm a STUDENT; that's
why I'm poor, okay?
Author's Note: There's been a lot of questioning about what the
others in the Shinobi world have been doing in this story... especially
Sasuke. Okay then! I will give a little bit of attention to him in this
chapter, due to popular demand — by which I mean a very devoted reader
has been pestering for him to show up, and you know who you are.
Just a simple question: are there any Sakura fans out there who CANNOT
stand the sasusaku pairing? Don't get me wrong; Naruto is cool, and I love
Lee's passion and personality. Either of them would treat her like a lady
if she went out with them. There's just something interesting about sasusaku...
Don't get excited; I'm not giving any clear-cut pairings in this fic yet.
This is just an invitation to suggestions.
'That's right, Sasuke-kun. Swallow it. And get it over with. Friends
come and go. The only thing you can put faith in is family... oh, right.
You have no family.'
Orochimaru felt Sasuke's agitation through the walls. The boy was restless
in his sleep.
'When it is over, you will become stronger, my pupil.' The snake-like
man gave a hideous grin, and continued to walk down the hallway.
Sasuke tossed and turned in his bed. He wanted to forget that report.
He wanted to become entirely ignorant of the fact that his former teammate
was missing. He did not hate her while they were on the same team — and
she was a friend of sorts. A little too persistent, maybe, but still a
friend. Sasuke would never admit it, but he was truly worried about her.
There still was hope for her safety. No body, no murder, they say. The
hunter-nins found nothing. There was still a good chance that she was alive
— unless the largest piece of her remains could pass through a needle.
Still, being dead was better than other things, especially in this world.
One could be tortured. One could be kidnapped and be sold as a slave.
'What if she were raped?' The raven-haired boy flinched at the thought.
Her screams echoed in his mind.
And Sasuke wasn't able to do anything. Because he wasn't there to save
her. She was always fragile, always weak. Were she alone in the wilderness,
she had zero chance of surviving: rabid, hungry beasts prowled the forests,
and there was always some idiotic gang who liked to pick on helpless travelers.
Were she in a village or a town, the only way she could survive would be...
selling her...
'NO!!!' his mind yelled. 'Stop thinking about those things!'
Sasuke always saw the pink-haired girl as an emblem of stability and
happiness. Whenever they met, her reaction to him was always the same:
the repetitious, annoying "Sasuke-kun!" that came after him. Whatever the
situation, she always looked out for his well-being.
He didn't know what to think about her loyalty to him. Sasuke was eternally
damned to vengeance; he had no time for companionship. Until he paid his
brother back for what he did to his family, he would have no peace. Itachi
could have finished him off along with the rest of them. Instead, he spared
his little brother, to live — to live, and suffer, in the guilt of not
dying with his family; with the morbid knowledge of his own helplessness.
Sakura... she had family. She didn't know what it was like to be abandoned.
'Okay, so maybe I did something about that when I left,' he thought.
Yet she still had Naruto, Kakashi... and her parents.
Sakura begged him to stay. She sobbed pathetically, then yelled that
she loved him. He threw biting words at her. She threatened to scream when
he started to walk off. He performed a nerve-tap to knock her out.
That night was the last time he ever saw her. That damnable scene repeated
in his mind as he rolled in the covers, trying to find a comfortable position
on the bed.
Sakura never should have gotten attached to him in the first place.
She had the logic and analytical skills, so why didn't she tie all those
brains together with real life? There was nothing to be gained by giving
him affection, especially when he made no effort to return it. He was too
engaged with freeing his own conscience.
'Silly little girl,' Sasuke thought as he gripped the sheets. 'Annoying
as hell. I want to...forget...'
A shudder traveled along Sakura's back. She sat in the middle of a large
room. In five minutes, Scarlett, also known as the Super Love-Angel Salvia,
was due to come into the empty dojo hall. This was like waiting for the
first lesson with Tsunade.
The door slid open. Scarlett was in her civilian clothing.
"Good morning, Scarlett-sensei," Sakura said.
"Sakura, I want to congratulate you on your first win," Scarlett said
as she walked into the room. "It especially surprised me that you already
knew how to utilize ki. It was... different in the way you used it, but
it was used well."
"Thank you."
The angel walked over to Sakura, and pulled her up from the cushion
she was sitting on. "Now, Sakura, among the entire entrants of the tournament,
your level of ki is the lowest — even lower than the pure-blood humans
who are entered. Now let me explain ki attacks according to different races.
"We celestials have worked with spiritual energy for our entire lives.
Pure-blood humans, in contrast, literally forced their own to surface and
grow, if they do any martial arts at all. And the ki you are using is entirely
human energy. Either way, you have less ki and less experience."
Sakura hung her head. 'Figures,' she thought.
"...However," Scarlett continued, "when you look at potential, there
is a small possibility that we could tap either the angel or demonic power
in your spiritual system. Therefore, I'm going to teach you kendo."
Sakura blinked. 'Kendo? How would a style of swordsmanship help develop
my chakra?'
Scarlett grinned. "I know what you're thinking. But here's how it works.
I can tell that you pent up your feelings, which is very good for battle.
One should never let emotions interfere with a clear perspective — politicians
and soldiers alike have problems with this. However, when it comes to developing
ki attacks, emotions can be used as a power source."
(( "EAT SHIT!!!" Naruto screamed. He slammed a fist down the giant snake
Orochimaru stood on, which was probably a thousand times his weight.
Sakura was frightened. 'Naruto... He's really out of control... But
since when did he get this strong?!' ))
Sakura thought this through. "Wait a minute," she voiced. "For humans,
isn't that kind of power reserved only for those who had life-time training?
And my angel and demon blood is useless!"
"Celestial beings have it easier; that's true. But humans can develop
it as well, and you already have some experience in using ki. If you can
learn to channel a specific emotion while retaining your concentration
at the same time, you will have a chance in producing ki attacks. Yes,
I know it sounds contradictory: control your emotions while using them
as a power source. But it works."
"So... why kendo?" Sakura asked.
"Your skills in the martial arts are good. I can tell that you've had
an exceptional professor or two."
(( Gai did a thumbs up, and one of his teeth sparkled. Lee returned
it with the exact same pose, with the exact same twinkle. ))
"Yes... you could say that they were... unique," Sakura admitted.
"However, I can see that you should specialize in the martial arts of
weaponry. I'm not saying you should forget your empty-handed techniques
— anything you've learned will prove useful later. But the kendo type I'm
going to teach you will be a little different from the kendo you might
know."
With a burst of feathers and light, the angel snapped into her battle
uniform. Sakura jumped. When the light faded, Angel Salvia held her palms
up. They started to glow with chakra. The aura from her hands molded and
twisted itself into a beam of light, materializing into a beautiful sword.
Sakura looked on in awe.
Angel Salvia held the sword up and gave a mild swing with it. It hummed
lightly, melodious and hypnotizing.
"As you see, I can control my ki to make a weapon. These work just as
well as metal weapons if you want to cut flesh. But they are very good
if you want to channel ki attacks through them."
"But doesn't that take a lot of chakra?" Sakura asked.
"Yes, it does drain your 'chakra', as you call it." Scarlett pointed
her sword at the kunoichi. "Listen to me, Sakura. There's only a small
chance that this training for you will work. What we're about to do may
end in failure. I've worked with half-demons and half-angels before, but
you are different. You are the first human of our dimension to have an
equal amount of both angel and demon blood. The only way to solve your
problem... is to meet one of my friends."
The sword in her hand disappeared, and Angel Salvia chanted a few lines
in a strange language. A door suddenly appeared in the middle of the room.
Sakura stared at it.
"Open it. Look in," Scarlett egged her on.
The kunoichi did not budge. "You're not going to push me in; are you?"
she asked with suspicion.
Scarlett laughed. "No. You will have to push in yourself."
Sakura twisted the knob, and peeked in the door. It was a complete black
void. Where was the person that Angel Salvia was talking about? "Nobody's
there," Sakura said. "I can't even feel any chakra coming out."
"You have to go in and see," Scarlett said.
Sakura walked in, taking tiny steps. She kept going, until her form
disappeared completely into the abyss.
'Good luck, in whatever decision you make,' Scarlett prayed as the door
closed.
It was pitch black. Sakura could only see her own body, which seemed
to give off a sky-blue glow amidst the dark space.
"Hello?" she called out.
There wasn't even an echo to answer her.
"Is anybody there? Damn it, aren't I supposed to meet someone here?!
HELLO!!"
"Hello, Sakura," a cool voice called from behind her. Sakura tensed.
She knew that voice anywhere.
Floating there was a glowing image of Sasuke. His skin was clearer and
paler than ever. A disgusting smirk was on his face.
"You know, I wish you never came onto our team," he hissed.
Sakura returned the smirk, knowing that this was just a duplicate. "You're
not Sasuke," she mused.
The image continued to speak to her, using Sasuke's appearance and voice.
"You were weak, and you still are. Even in this new dimension." The look-alike
floated over to her.
"Don't listen to him, don't listen to him..."
"Nice try, Sakura, but all your emotions are exposed here. Stupid bitch."
"Fuck you!" Sakura replied. "Naruto was right; you are a bastard!"
"At least Naruto is stronger and has better character than you. ...You
know exactly what I am, right?"
"I know, Jackass," Sakura snapped. "You're the embodiment of all my
shames and fears."
"You were never good in fighting, you know that," the image pointed
out. "You never were meant to be a ninja. The only reason you graduated
the academy was because you were book-smart. And that was because," he
snorted, "you wanted to stay with me." He laughed. "You are SUCH a moron!
I bet you didn't even think that I would betray the village."
"You're right!" Sakura yelled. She knew it was stupid to argue with
this duplicate as if it were Sasuke himself, but it was nice to get things
off her chest. "I WAS a silly little girl. And I see that now. But that
doesn't mean I can't keep on being a shinobi."
"You always wanted security, and just that," he continued. "Whoever
has that want is not fit to be a ninja. You should have married yourself
off to a rich, KIND man once you graduated from Ninja Academy."
"Shut up!" she snarled.
"But do you like it?" the image asked. "Do you like the idea that you
have to kill people? That you have to risk not only your life, but the
lives of your friends? And do missions just for money?"
Sakura was silent. "No." She sighed. "I guess I don't."
"Then why are you even trying to go back to that dimension?" He crept
up from behind her, and started trailing his fingertips down her arms.
She shivered.
"Okay, you're definitely not Sasuke," she said. "Although that's kinda
nice... Oh, why the hell do I have to say everything out loud here?! It's
really pissing me off; SHAANNAROO!"
"Oh, come on, you know you like it," the fake-Sasuke grinned. His hands
encircled her waist. "But think about it. You're here in this dimension.
Here, there is peace, and security, and moreover, you BELONG here. You
were born here, you live here, you die here. The only reason why you were
in the Shinobi world was because your angel and demon parents wanted to
save you, you sweet little thing..." He then began to gently kiss her neck.
"Okay, now that's creepy as hell!!" Sakura yelled as she brushed him
off. "I can't enjoy THAT when it's so damn obvious you're NOT Sasuke!"
"Sorry, sorry!" he said casually as he lifted up his hands in apology.
"Anyway, I want you to consider this. The god of memory can give you something."
He pointed at himself. "Actually, you're looking straight at him. I," he
tossed his head, "can erase your memories of the Shinobi world."
The words took a while to sink in.
"What?" Sakura asked.
"You heard me right. The god of memory is giving you, Haruno Sakura,
an offer. If you want, I can give you a clean slate. Just start over. Be
happy."
"Happy?" Sakura snorted. "Your logic escapes me."
"You would have no memories of heartbreak, of loneliness, of anything
from the Shinobi World."
"My friends and family over there are worried SICK!" she said. "I can't
just LEAVE them there!"
"I can erase their memories as well," the god replied as he caressed
her cheek. "You would start a new life here. And they will go on with their
own lives."
Sakura gulped. "But... my mom and dad... I'm their only daughter."
"They would never know. They would never remember you."
Sakura's brow furrowed. "Didn't you hear me? I AM THEIR ONLY DAUGHTER!
You mean that you're going to take away their experience of having a child?!"
"I can place an orphan with them, and they will have the same, wonderful
— and dreadful — experience of raising a kid. Besides, you know how spoiled
of a girl you were."
"I wasn't spoiled!" she screamed. She paused. "Was...I...?"
The god kissed her forehead. "Of course you had your good sides that
they loved. But... in their eyes, you could have been better." Using the
momentary doubt on Sakura's face, his arms comfortably slipped around her
form. "Why don't you start over? In a better place, where you have the
chance to become stronger, be acknowledged, and moreover, have a chance
to make OTHERS proud of you and rejoice in your existence. More than you
ever have in that cursed Shinobi World."
"Forget...everything?" She nuzzled into the god's arms. "You can really
do that?" she asked in a whisper.
"EVERYTHING. Even those awful things that Sasuke said to you." The look-alike
smirked. " 'You really are annoying.' ...See? Isn't it painful when I do
that?"
It did hurt. It really did hurt.
"I don't even know if I fell for Sasuke because of his looks or for
himself..." Sakura mumbled. "But... there's got to be a catch. What do
you want from me?"
"I want you to be happy." The god stroked her pink hair. "What other
point is there in being a god of memory? Everything will be fine. I erase
your memories, I erase the memories and fiddle with the records over there,
and you just... have a life here. Take out the bad memories, and start
anew. I just want to... ease your mind."
Sakura gazed into the god's face, or rather, Sasuke's face worn by a
god. She would forget Sasuke and all the pain he caused her. She would
forget all of her failures. And everybody back home would just... forget.
Forget. Forget.
If you have questions, comments, or suggestions, please tell me! If
I suck, by all means tell me. In an intelligent manner.
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