Just Imagine

Chapter 25

Third person pov

"What was that?" Kakashi hissed at Sasuke. They stood outside the bathroom door, waiting for the cheerful Ima to finish showering. Sasuke stared at the ground, his fists clenched. He didn't want to tell Kakashi, but he also knew the man wouldn't let it go. He didn't want anyone knowing about Ima and her powers. The prospect of someone else knowing scared him.

"Ima can do things." Sasuke grumbled. "It's nothing."

"Sasuke, she made the sun set again. While it was in the process of rising. That isn't 'nothing," Sasuke." Kakashi kept his voice low. The girl in the shower, now, mildly scared him. He didn't doubt that she meant no harm, but who had the ability to reverse time like that? Even more so, even the clocks turned back. Everything reversed, even Tsunami's boiling tea. It was absolutely terrifying, that sort of power.

"Her imagination is too powerful, okay?" Sasuke glared up at Kakashi, who flinched. "That's how I met her. She imagined that she had a friend in that... place. She's the one who made the wilderness, okay? When I'd fall asleep, my mind would visit there or something, and my body would stay here. For some reason she's been forced to leave..."

Kakashi's breath hitched in his throat. Ima stepped out of the bathroom, fully dressed and dry before he could respond. She smiled a bright, sweet smile at Sasuke. The boy immediately softened. "Good shower?" He leaned against the wall casually, as though he hadn't just broken a huge secret to Kakashi. "Yeah! It was nice." She smiled brightly, her eyes alight with joy.

Kakashi took in a deep, shuddering breath.

This girl... they couldn't let anything happen to her.

~

"These woods are nice, aren't they?" Ima smiled up at Sasuke as they walked through the woods. Sakura's eyes narrowed as Sasuke dramatically, and cheerfully, swung their interlocked hands back and forth between them. He was acting like a love struck boy in a cliche movie. "Hm, they are." He gave a half-smile. "And no goblins."

"Goblins?" Naruto perked up. Kakashi's shoulders tensed, and he glanced back at the pair. Was that where Sasuke had gotten all those random scars? From things like that? "Yeah, some of them were okay, but you couldn't ever trust them." Ima smiled brightly at Naruto, who welcomed the attention with open arms. "That sounds awesome, believe it! What else did you see?"

Sasuke tightened his grip on Ima's hand. "Oh, a lotta stuff. Sasuke did a lot of the fighting. He wasn't good at mapping though." She grinned at him cheekily. Sasuke rolled his eyes, not flinching like his teammates and sensei did when a broadsword suddenly appeared in his hand. He tested out it's weight, looking rather bored. "A little light." He shrugged. "But I like it. The hilt gives good grip."

"How'd you do that?" Sakura couldn't keep her curiosity at bay. A broadsword, one that looked like it'd come straight out of a fairy tale, had just appeared in Sasuke's hand. It just poofed into existence, and neither he or Ima were affected! "Oh, it's just a thing I can do." She shrugged. "Oh, Sasuke I um... you should... I'm sorry."

"It's alright, I can smell it." He said softly, squeezing her hand. "It isn't your fault. I know it's hard to control sometimes. It'll be okay." He soothed, smiling softly down at her. Naruto twitched, and Sakura flinched. Kakashi's eyebrows raised. What was Sasuke talking about? Plus, he was being way too... emotional. Kakashi was thrown off by it. Brooding one day, an open book the next. It was another terrifying thing from this day.

Sakura let out a scream when some sort dolphin creature with ostrich legs burst from the trees, cackling. Red beams of light shot wildly from it's eye, and an orange substance spouted from the hole on it's head. Kakashi stumbled back in surprise, and all Naruto could think to do was duck and cover.

Sasuke pulled back the sword and threw it with practiced precision. It buried itself nearly to the hilt in the creature's head, and it fell to the ground. Ima and Sasuke began to walk together again, as though nothing had happened. Sasuke, although, was noticeably tenser. Ima's secret was coming out. He had to protect her. 

He squeezed her hand harder, pulling her even closer.

"That was a good throw!" Ima chirped, swinging their hands back and forth. Sasuke smiled down at her, a warm smile that he knew his team wouldn't see. They were too far back and too shocked to noticed, he was sure. "Thank you. And that was a good sword." He joked quietly. He needed to keep everything he could about him and Ima private, starting now.

"Thanks! You're the best." She smiled, tilting her head. "We sound married, don't we?"

This had happened before, but Sasuke's heart still fluttered when he felt the wedding band slowly form around his ring finger.