The Weight of Shadows

Chapter Two: the crickets sing a song for you

"Sakura," she corrected. "I'm Sakura or did Lothien not give it away?" she asked, a smile on her face as she wondered what life this Naruto was from. Silently, she prayed it was from one of the ones where she'd been a good teammate. And from one of the ones where he actually knew who she was, otherwise, it would be a tad awkward to explain...

Fortunately, he knew, and he was rather pleased to see her – hence why she assumed he was from one of those cycles, or another, similar one. He greeted her as one did an old friend, and Sakura could only laugh as he recounted tales from their previous life. Vaguely, it stirred memories up, but the Elemental Nation Cycles were too common, and most of them were much too similar.

"So, how many times have you reincarnated?" she asked, even as they sat a little apart from the main group of their expedition. Was this his first thousand? Or had she missed him before?

Naruto tilted his head then, confusion written all over his face. "What'd you mean how many times have I reincarnated? This is the first one!" He laughed then, but it soon died away as he realised she wasn't laughing with him. "If you're here, then Sasuke must be too... You think we've all reincarnated here together? The good ol' Team Seven luck, eh?"

Sakura's smile felt as though it was frozen to her face. Because it was different, his situation, that was. "Naruto," she said. Her voice felt so far away. "This is my five-thousandth rebirth... and it's the only time I've come across another reborn soul."

He frowned at her then, before he broke into laughter, rowdy and heartful laughter. "That's a mean joke, Sakura!" He chuckled. "There's no way someone would be able to stay sane through five thousand lives. How would they even count them? You'd lose track of them, that's for sure."

"Naruto—"

"Do you reckon Sasuke's appearance has changed too?" he asked, smiling at her so sweetly that she let the issue drop. Maybe it was better for him to be ignorant to what she had been through? Maybe it was for the best that he didn't know how many times she'd met an untimely end?

She only smiled then, deciding she could indulge him. "Who knows?" she murmured. "I guess we'll know when we find him..."

Naruto was an optimist. Always had been, and he probably always would be. Sakura had learnt to adjust, and she was slowly learning the value of temperance and patience. She had learnt optimism after so many cycles of death and rebirth. She had learnt to find her own joy in bleak worlds, because she refused to sink into the lethargy-inducing clutches of depression – when every day was a struggle to climb out of bed and face the horrors of whichever world she lived in.

Who knew? Maybe Sasuke would be there too.

Sakura wasn't holding out too much hope for that. She was simply glad to see a familiar face in a world it wasn't supposed to be in. Maybe she could figure out a way to bind Naruto's fate to that of Arda? That of the elves'... Then he wouldn't be forced to enter the same cycle that she had. Well, if it was the same cycle of death and rebirth she was stuck within.

A smile curled at her lips then, wider than she remembered. "I'm glad you're here, Naruto," she said, basking in the warmth of the familiar grin send her way in response.

::

"Oh, foolish little lost star..."

::

Life #7000

Dragons.

It was always dragons, or so Sakura found. Her fate seemed to be tied to them in some manner, or some strange form. Life Six Thousand had been dedicated entirely to dealing with their threat in the north. Something of a mistake, that decision had been, she realised in hindsight – because she was actually fairly good at slaying the damned things, even without her trusty war hammer from Life Three Thousand.