"You'll come with us. Back to the Hidden Sand." Gaara says, outstretching his hand to me, and the only reason I can focus on his voice is because of his scent.
Gaara found me in Sasuke's apartment on the floor, in a tearful rage.
I tore up the floorboards, looking for the scroll I had sealed away with my blood once I got back to the village. The team I was assigned with encountered no threats. The mission was more or less peaceful, unless you count the lord crying and whining about how long the journey was.
We're escorting you across the fucking country. By carriage, no less.
And this young lord, after seeing me, actually tried to ask my teammate how much I cost.
Wanted me to be part of his "endless" stream of concubines, no doubt.
Offered a lot of money to the Hidden Leaf for me, saying that he knew about the Hidden Leaf's current financial struggles. Said he'd be doing us a favor.
Tch.
I was so sick to my fucking stomach. Not to mention, I was head of the mission. I planned the safest route across the Land of Fire, since I knew the forests so well. The other three shinobi with me were under my command. Lady Tsunade made it so that I was in charge of the route, while the others were there for guarding. I had disguised myself by making myself look older; around mid-twenties since the lords were expecting jonin as their escorts.
My team was made up of men, but they were young and 'wet behind the ears' in terms of their jonin status. Han, one of my teammates, told me that this was his first escort mission of this caliber; he was very nervous. Most of them spent the majority of their time as jonin going after rogue nin.
They were so nice and sweet, probably too afraid to say anything to the pompous young lord about his inappropriate language and behavior.
They kept giving me apologetic glances each time the lord opened his mouth. I waved them off, letting them know there was nothing they could do about it. I kept having this weird feeling of deja vu the entire trip, like something big was going down.
But since I was on a mission where the lord was watching me like a hawk, with his creepy ass stare, I couldn't go into a vision to check and see what was happening. He had me at beck and call for just about every damn thing.
I intended on reporting on the lord back to Lady Tsunade. I know she won't stand for this, and this'll probably be the last time we escort him anywhere. The scroll she gave me on him told me he was a new young lord. His father had just died, and he took up the mantle in his place.
Jackass was probably a pompous playboy who stayed out partying all night on daddy's money. Now that his old man kicked the bucket, he's forced to take on duties he never wanted so he could keep his lifestyle. Dude's not even all that rich compared to other lords in the region for him to be acting like he can get away with the bullshit he pulled on the trip.
To make matters worse, I got my first period on the way back to the village after the mission ended. No cramps yet, but something tells me a werewolf's cramps are gonna pack one hell of a punch.
Yay womanhood.
I mean, I'm happy and all but. . .
. . . yeah.
'Nuff said.
The closer I got to the village, the stronger the feeling of deja vu became, until I had a blinding headache. I let Han and the others report back to the Hokage on the young lord's behavior and other details about the mission. They were so excited to do the report and emphasized that they'd tell Lady Tsunade about the young lord's behavior as they scurried off, but I couldn't appreciate it at the moment.
I felt like I was about to pass out.
I practically sprinted to my apartment, losing consciousness just as I burst through the door. I hit the floor and a rush of visions came to me.
About Sasuke leaving the village. The mission to get him back.
Oh, it was that?
How could I forget that?
Well no matter.
It didn't happen anywa---
Then I saw the truth. It still happened; just differently then I remembered.
Sakura was hospitalized instead of Sasuke, that much I knew. Sasuke and Naruto started fighting and it led to them having an all-out battle on the roof. Sakura, newly discharged, sped to Naruto and pulled him back as he went at Sasuke with his Rasengan. Kakashi pulled Sasuke back as he sped at Naruto with his Chidori.
Sasuke saw the damage to the water tank and got furious.
Sakura and Kakashi tried talking to him, but he left.
Sakura found him later that night trying to leave. And here's where things get different. . .
She didn't offer to go with him. Instead, she asked why he was leaving without me.
. . .
. . .
*vision*
. . .
. . .
"𝘔𝘰𝘳𝘪𝘬𝘰, 𝘫𝘶𝘴𝘵 𝘭𝘪𝘬𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘵 𝘰𝘧 𝘺𝘰𝘶. . . 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘩𝘰𝘭𝘥𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘮𝘦 𝘣𝘢𝘤𝘬."
"𝘞𝘩𝘢𝘵?! 𝘛𝘩𝘢𝘵'𝘴. . . 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵'𝘴 𝘣𝘶𝘭𝘭𝘴𝘩𝘪𝘵!" 𝘚𝘢𝘬𝘶𝘳𝘢 𝘺𝘦𝘭𝘭𝘴 𝘢𝘵 𝘩𝘪𝘮 𝘪𝘯 𝘮𝘺 𝘷𝘪𝘴𝘪𝘰𝘯, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘐 𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘺 𝘧𝘦𝘦𝘭 𝘮𝘺𝘴𝘦𝘭𝘧 𝘤𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘮𝘺 𝘮𝘰𝘶𝘵𝘩 𝘪𝘯 𝘴𝘩𝘰𝘤𝘬. "𝘕𝘢𝘳𝘶𝘵𝘰 𝘪𝘴 𝘥𝘦𝘧𝘪𝘯𝘪𝘵𝘦𝘭𝘺 𝘢𝘵 𝘦𝘲𝘶𝘢𝘭 𝘣𝘢𝘵𝘵𝘭𝘦 𝘴𝘵𝘳𝘦𝘯𝘨𝘵𝘩 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘺𝘰𝘶, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘮𝘺 𝘣𝘢𝘵𝘵𝘭𝘦 𝘴𝘵𝘳𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘨𝘺 𝘴𝘬𝘪𝘭𝘭𝘴 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘰𝘯 𝘱𝘢𝘳 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳𝘴 𝘸𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘚𝘩𝘢𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘨𝘢𝘯 𝘢𝘤𝘵𝘪𝘷𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘥! 𝘠𝘦𝘢𝘩, 𝘐 𝘴𝘢𝘪𝘥 𝘪𝘵! 𝘐 𝘥𝘰𝘯'𝘵 𝘭𝘦𝘵 𝘮𝘺 𝘱𝘳𝘪𝘥𝘦 𝘤𝘭𝘰𝘶𝘥 𝘮𝘺 𝘫𝘶𝘥𝘨𝘦𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘪𝘯 𝘣𝘢𝘵𝘵𝘭𝘦 𝘦𝘪𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳! 𝘐 𝘮𝘢𝘺 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘣𝘦 𝘢𝘵 𝘴𝘢𝘮𝘦 𝘣𝘢𝘵𝘵𝘭𝘦 𝘴𝘵𝘳𝘦𝘯𝘨𝘵𝘩, 𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘮𝘺 𝘴𝘬𝘪𝘭𝘭𝘴 𝘪𝘯 𝘰𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘢𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘴 𝘩𝘦𝘭𝘱 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘵𝘦𝘢𝘮. 𝘔𝘺 𝘢𝘳𝘤𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘺 𝘫𝘶𝘵𝘴𝘶 𝘩𝘦𝘭𝘱𝘦𝘥 𝘪𝘯 𝘣𝘢𝘵𝘵𝘭𝘦 𝘢𝘨𝘢𝘪𝘯𝘴𝘵 𝘎𝘢𝘢𝘳𝘢! 𝘞𝘦 𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘴𝘵𝘳𝘦𝘯𝘨𝘵𝘩𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘸𝘦𝘢𝘬𝘯𝘦𝘴𝘴𝘦𝘴, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘪𝘵'𝘴 𝘯𝘰𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘰 𝘣𝘦 𝘢𝘴𝘩𝘢𝘮𝘦𝘥 𝘰𝘧. 𝘞𝘦 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘱𝘭𝘦𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘦𝘢𝘤𝘩 𝘰𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳! 𝘞𝘦'𝘳𝘦 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘸𝘦𝘢𝘬, 𝘚𝘢𝘴𝘶𝘬𝘦, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘯𝘦𝘪𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘫𝘶𝘴𝘵 𝘣𝘦𝘤𝘢𝘶𝘴𝘦 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘭𝘰𝘴𝘵 𝘖𝘕𝘌 𝘣𝘢𝘵𝘵𝘭𝘦 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘕𝘢𝘳𝘶𝘵𝘰!"
Oh shit. She really said that.
Okay, I see you hun.
𝘚𝘢𝘴𝘶𝘬𝘦'𝘴 𝘴𝘤𝘰𝘸𝘭 𝘢𝘵 𝘚𝘢𝘬𝘶𝘳𝘢 𝘧𝘢𝘭𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘴 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘢 𝘮𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘐 𝘲𝘶𝘦𝘴𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘸𝘩𝘺 𝘶𝘯𝘵𝘪𝘭 𝘩𝘦 𝘢𝘯𝘴𝘸𝘦𝘳𝘴 𝘩𝘦𝘳.
"𝘐 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘧𝘦𝘦𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘨𝘴 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘺𝘰𝘶."
HO-LY.
SHIT.
A confession from Sasuke instead of Sakura!!!
Ayo, be fucking for real right now.
I can't believe this!
This is amazing!
"𝘛𝘩𝘦𝘺'𝘳𝘦 𝘤𝘭𝘰𝘶𝘥𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘮𝘺 𝘢𝘣𝘪𝘭𝘪𝘵𝘺 𝘵𝘰 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘬 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘺𝘰𝘶. 𝘈𝘯𝘥 𝘕𝘢𝘳𝘶𝘵𝘰'𝘴 𝘣𝘦𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘦 𝘤𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘨𝘺, 𝘪𝘯𝘴𝘪𝘴𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘸𝘦'𝘳𝘦 𝘧𝘳𝘪𝘦𝘯𝘥𝘭𝘪𝘦𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘯 𝘸𝘦 𝘢𝘤𝘵𝘶𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘺 𝘢𝘳𝘦. 𝘐'𝘮 𝘥𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘱𝘭𝘢𝘺𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘯𝘪𝘯𝘫𝘢 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘨𝘶𝘺𝘴. 𝘐 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘢𝘯 𝘢𝘤𝘵𝘶𝘢𝘭 𝘮𝘪𝘴𝘴𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘐 𝘯𝘦𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘢𝘵𝘵𝘦𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘰."
"𝘐 𝘥𝘰𝘯'𝘵 𝘣𝘦𝘭𝘪𝘦𝘷𝘦 𝘺𝘰𝘶. 𝘐 𝘥𝘰𝘯'𝘵 𝘣𝘦𝘭𝘪𝘦𝘷𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘺𝘰𝘶'𝘳𝘦 𝘫𝘶𝘴𝘵 𝘧𝘳𝘪𝘦𝘯𝘥𝘭𝘺 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘕𝘢𝘳𝘶𝘵𝘰. 𝘠𝘰𝘶 𝘈𝘙𝘌 𝘧𝘳𝘪𝘦𝘯𝘥𝘴. 𝘈𝘴 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘧𝘦𝘦𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘨𝘴 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘮𝘦. . . 𝘐 𝘸𝘢𝘯𝘵 𝘵𝘰 𝘣𝘦𝘭𝘪𝘦𝘷𝘦 𝘺𝘰𝘶. 𝘉𝘶𝘵. . . 𝘐'𝘮 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘰𝘣𝘭𝘪𝘷𝘪𝘰𝘶𝘴 𝘭𝘪𝘬𝘦 𝘔𝘰𝘳𝘪𝘬𝘰 𝘪𝘴."
Huh? What's that supposed to mean?
No way. . . does she mean. . .
𝘚𝘢𝘴𝘶𝘬𝘦'𝘴 𝘦𝘺𝘦𝘴 𝘸𝘪𝘥𝘦𝘯 𝘪𝘯 𝘴𝘩𝘰𝘤𝘬, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘚𝘢𝘬𝘶𝘳𝘢 𝘴𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘴 𝘩𝘦𝘢𝘷𝘪𝘭𝘺.
"𝘐 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘬 𝘱𝘢𝘳𝘵 𝘰𝘧 𝘮𝘦 𝘩𝘢𝘴 𝘢𝘭𝘸𝘢𝘺𝘴 𝘬𝘯𝘰𝘸𝘯, 𝘚𝘢𝘴𝘶𝘬𝘦. 𝘈𝘯𝘥 𝘐'𝘮 𝘴𝘰𝘳𝘳𝘺 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘺𝘰𝘶'𝘷𝘦 𝘣𝘦𝘦𝘯 𝘳𝘦𝘫𝘦𝘤𝘵𝘦𝘥. 𝘉𝘶𝘵 𝘐'𝘮 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘨𝘰𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘰 𝘣𝘦 𝘢 𝘳𝘦𝘣𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘥 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘺𝘰𝘶. 𝘐 𝘸𝘢𝘯𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘵𝘰 𝘣𝘦 𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘭 𝘣𝘦𝘵𝘸𝘦𝘦𝘯 𝘶𝘴; 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘨𝘶𝘪𝘭𝘵 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘮𝘦 𝘦𝘯𝘥𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘶𝘱 𝘶𝘯𝘥𝘦𝘳 𝘐𝘵𝘢𝘤𝘩𝘪'𝘴 𝘫𝘶𝘵𝘴𝘶. 𝘛𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘮𝘺 𝘥𝘦𝘤𝘪𝘴𝘪𝘰𝘯, 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘧𝘢𝘶𝘭𝘵. 𝘈𝘯𝘥 𝘐'𝘥 𝘥𝘰 𝘪𝘵 𝘢𝘨𝘢𝘪𝘯 𝘪𝘯 𝘢 𝘩𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘵𝘣𝘦𝘢𝘵 𝘵𝘰 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘵𝘦𝘤𝘵 𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘵𝘦𝘢𝘮𝘮𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘴."
𝘚𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘢𝘭𝘬𝘴 𝘤𝘭𝘰𝘴𝘦𝘳 𝘵𝘰 𝘩𝘪𝘮, 𝘱𝘶𝘵𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘢 𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘰𝘯 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘴𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥𝘦𝘳.
"𝘐'𝘮 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘢 𝘯𝘢𝘪𝘷𝘦 𝘭𝘪𝘵𝘵𝘭𝘦 𝘨𝘪𝘳𝘭 𝘢𝘯𝘺𝘮𝘰𝘳𝘦 𝘸𝘩𝘰 𝘥𝘰𝘦𝘴 𝘸𝘩𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘴𝘢𝘺 𝘣𝘦𝘤𝘢𝘶𝘴𝘦 𝘐'𝘮 𝘣𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘥𝘦𝘥 𝘣𝘺 𝘮𝘺 𝘭𝘰𝘷𝘦 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘺𝘰𝘶. 𝘐 𝘶𝘯𝘥𝘦𝘳𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘩𝘰𝘸 𝘴𝘦𝘳𝘪𝘰𝘶𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘪𝘴 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘺𝘰𝘶. 𝘈𝘯𝘥 𝘔𝘰𝘳𝘪𝘬𝘰. 𝘐'𝘷𝘦 𝘢𝘭𝘸𝘢𝘺𝘴 𝘶𝘯𝘥𝘦𝘳𝘴𝘵𝘰𝘰𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘺𝘰𝘶'𝘥 𝘭𝘦𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘥𝘢𝘺. 𝘉𝘶𝘵 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘖𝘳𝘰𝘤𝘩𝘪𝘮𝘢𝘳𝘶?! 𝘞𝘩𝘺 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘵𝘢𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘔𝘰𝘳𝘪𝘬𝘰 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘺𝘰𝘶? 𝘐'𝘮 𝘴𝘶𝘳𝘦 𝘴𝘩𝘦 𝘩𝘢𝘴 𝘢 𝘣𝘦𝘵𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘱𝘭𝘢𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘯 𝘩𝘪𝘮 𝘵𝘰 𝘨𝘦𝘵 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘴𝘵𝘳𝘰𝘯𝘨. 𝘚𝘩𝘦 𝘭𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘜𝘤𝘩𝘪𝘩𝘢𝘴, 𝘵𝘰𝘰. 𝘚𝘩𝘦'𝘭𝘭 𝘢𝘣𝘴𝘰𝘭𝘶𝘵𝘦𝘭𝘺 𝘥𝘦𝘴𝘱𝘪𝘴𝘦 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘭𝘦𝘢𝘷𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘣𝘦𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘥. 𝘐 𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩𝘵 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘵𝘸𝘰 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘮𝘪𝘴𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘨𝘰 𝘵𝘰𝘨𝘦𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳."
𝘚𝘢𝘴𝘶𝘬𝘦 𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘯𝘴 𝘢𝘸𝘢𝘺 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘮 𝘚𝘢𝘬𝘶𝘳𝘢, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘴𝘰𝘮𝘦 𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘴𝘰𝘯, 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘷𝘪𝘴𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘸𝘰𝘯'𝘵 𝘭𝘦𝘵 𝘮𝘦 𝘴𝘦𝘦 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘧𝘢𝘤𝘦. 𝘞𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘩𝘦 𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘯𝘴 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘧𝘢𝘤𝘦 𝘣𝘢𝘤𝘬 𝘢𝘳𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘥, 𝘪𝘵'𝘴 𝘣𝘢𝘤𝘬 𝘵𝘰 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘴𝘪𝘨𝘯𝘢𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘦 𝘴𝘤𝘰𝘸𝘭.
"𝘐 𝘥𝘰𝘯'𝘵 𝘤𝘢𝘳𝘦. 𝘚𝘩𝘦'𝘥 𝘫𝘶𝘴𝘵 𝘣𝘦 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘢𝘺, 𝘵𝘦𝘭𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘮𝘦 𝘸𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘵𝘰 𝘥𝘰 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘩𝘰𝘸 𝘵𝘰 𝘥𝘰 𝘪𝘵. 𝘐'𝘮 𝘴𝘪𝘤𝘬 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘪𝘳𝘦𝘥 𝘰𝘧 𝘪𝘵. 𝘐 𝘤𝘢𝘯 𝘥𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘰𝘯 𝘮𝘺 𝘰𝘸𝘯."
No fucking way.
Is he serious? In the way? Fucking arrogant.
Little.
LYING.
BASTARD!
I thought we were in this together?
Well, FUCK YOU THEN!
Can't believe this. I don't want Naruto to spend his life going after you, Sasuke.
Everything's gone to shit.
What am I gonna do?
𝘏𝘪𝘴 𝘦𝘹𝘱𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘴𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘴𝘰𝘧𝘵𝘦𝘯𝘴, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘩𝘦 𝘵𝘢𝘬𝘦𝘴 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘭𝘦𝘧𝘵 𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘥, 𝘭𝘢𝘺𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘪𝘵 𝘰𝘯 𝘚𝘢𝘬𝘶𝘳𝘢'𝘴 𝘤𝘩𝘦𝘦𝘬. "𝘈𝘯𝘥 𝘺𝘰𝘶'𝘳𝘦 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘢 𝘴𝘶𝘣𝘴𝘵𝘪𝘵𝘶𝘵𝘦 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘢𝘯𝘺𝘰𝘯𝘦. 𝘐 𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘭𝘪𝘻𝘦𝘥 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘺𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘐 𝘧𝘦𝘭𝘵 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘭 𝘸𝘢𝘺 𝘣𝘦𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘦 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘨𝘰𝘵 𝘪𝘯𝘫𝘶𝘳𝘦𝘥. 𝘞𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘳𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘪𝘨𝘯𝘰𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘮𝘦 𝘢𝘧𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘢𝘵𝘵𝘢𝘤𝘬 𝘰𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘓𝘦𝘢𝘧. 𝘐 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘨𝘰𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘤𝘳𝘢𝘻𝘺 𝘪𝘯𝘴𝘪𝘥𝘦, 𝘸𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘢𝘵𝘵𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘴𝘩𝘪𝘧𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘢𝘸𝘢𝘺 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘮 𝘮𝘦."
𝘚𝘢𝘬𝘶𝘳𝘢'𝘴 𝘤𝘩𝘦𝘦𝘬𝘴 𝘩𝘦𝘢𝘵 𝘶𝘱 𝘳𝘦𝘥. "𝘚𝘢𝘴𝘶𝘬𝘦-𝘬𝘶𝘯. . ."
𝘏𝘦 𝘭𝘦𝘢𝘯𝘦𝘥 𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘰 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘦𝘢𝘳 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘸𝘩𝘪𝘴𝘱𝘦𝘳𝘦𝘥, "𝘛𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘬 𝘺𝘰𝘶. . . 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘺𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨."
𝘛𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘩𝘦 𝘬𝘯𝘰𝘤𝘬𝘦𝘥 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘢𝘴𝘴 𝘰𝘶𝘵.
𝘏𝘦 𝘸𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘚𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘥 𝘍𝘰𝘶𝘳.
𝘚𝘩𝘪𝘬𝘢𝘮𝘢𝘳𝘶 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘰𝘳𝘥𝘦𝘳𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘣𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘩𝘪𝘮 𝘣𝘢𝘤𝘬 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘨𝘢𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦𝘥 𝘢 𝘵𝘦𝘢𝘮 𝘵𝘰𝘨𝘦𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳. 𝘐𝘵 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘮𝘢𝘥𝘦 𝘶𝘱 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘢𝘮𝘦 𝘮𝘦𝘮𝘣𝘦𝘳𝘴 𝘢𝘴 𝘣𝘦𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘦 𝘦𝘹𝘤𝘦𝘱𝘵, 𝘚𝘢𝘬𝘶𝘳𝘢 𝘪𝘯𝘴𝘪𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘰𝘯 𝘫𝘰𝘪𝘯𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘤𝘩 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘤𝘶𝘦. 𝘕𝘢𝘳𝘶𝘵𝘰 𝘳𝘦𝘧𝘶𝘴𝘦𝘥, 𝘴𝘪𝘯𝘤𝘦 𝘴𝘩𝘦 𝘰𝘯𝘭𝘺 𝘫𝘶𝘴𝘵 𝘨𝘰𝘵 𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘩𝘰𝘴𝘱𝘪𝘵𝘢𝘭.
𝘚𝘩𝘦 𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘦𝘯𝘥𝘦𝘥 𝘰𝘯 𝘨𝘰𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘸𝘩𝘦𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘩𝘦 𝘢𝘱𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘥 𝘰𝘳 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘸𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘴𝘩𝘦 𝘮𝘦𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘮 𝘢𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘨𝘢𝘵𝘦.
𝘕𝘢𝘳𝘶𝘵𝘰 𝘴𝘢𝘪𝘥 𝘰𝘬𝘢𝘺, 𝘭𝘦𝘵 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘱𝘢𝘴𝘴. . .
𝘈𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘬𝘯𝘰𝘤𝘬𝘦𝘥 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘢𝘴𝘴 𝘰𝘶𝘵.
Jesus Sakura. We gotta work on your spidey sense.
That's twice now.
𝘛𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘭𝘦𝘧𝘵, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘵 𝘪𝘴 𝘩𝘪𝘴𝘵𝘰𝘳𝘺.
. . .
. . .
*vision ends*
. . .
. . .
I wake from the vision and immediately go into a rage.
I ransacked the apartment.
Senselessly tearing up his bedsheets, ripping up the curtains with my claws, breaking furniture with my sound-based bark and howl attacks. Anyone could've walked by and thought they heard a ferocious beast gone berserk.
That's how I felt too.
I was so angry; all I could see was red. All I could hear was my own howling screams of agony.
Of betrayal.
I was duped. Sasuke lied to me and I am actually. . . surprised.
Tch. He never changed from his anime counterpart I saw in my past life.
"We're in this together." I actually fell for that shit?
He's selfish.
He's arrogant.
He has hubris.
Excessive pride to the point where it will spell his downfall.
That's his role. I can't change that no matter how hard I try.
I tried to save him. Tried to get him to see that he's not "all that and a bag of chips," like he thinks he is. But trying to do that without shattering his pride he's been developing since childhood was extremely difficult. He led me to believe I was succeeding in my task, though.
He used me. He was always using me.
Hello? You fucking knew this MORIKO!
How'd you still fall for this?!
Just how stupid can you be?
You're not his family.
Blood is everything to him.
And you're not family by blood.
You were never accepted as family.
Deep down. . . you knew that.
You always knew that.
Hot tears stream down my face as I throw the dining table through the window. It breaks in half at impact as the glass shatters. I make my way into the kitchen to find our kitchen set. We only needed two, one for him and one for me. I recently started buying more plates and bowls since he had become more lenient on who was allowed over. I started making food for more than just Naruto. Kakashi, Kiba, Hinata. . . anyone who visited, I'd make them a plate of food if they happened to come over while I was cooking.
Sharing food with friends and family makes me happy. It's something my mother from my past life would do when we had guests over and food to spare.
"Food brings people together," she'd told me once.
"If nothing else to bond over, a full belly will quell the ferocious of hearts."
"Betcha a pot of gumbo could stop wars," my grandmother Rosie said.
"And let's not forget a pot of goat curried." My mom answers from the stove. The aroma of said food filled the kitchen.
"Really?" Five-year-old me says. "How 'bout Mom's mac n' cheese?"
My mother and grandmother laughed. "Sure." They said in unison. I couldn't help but smile, thinking of all the angry men on the TV being happy once they tasted Mom's delicious food.
You can't be angry while eating good food, I thought back then.
Sasuke didn't like having so many people over, but that had changed recently.
Tch. Now I know why.
Didn't matter who came if he was planning on leaving.
I pull out all the dishes he routinely used and smashed them to pieces. I threw them on the walls, out the window, and crushed a few underneath my feet.
I just needed to break things.
Anything.
Everything.
I was FURIOUS. And sad, and humiliated, and a whole bunch of other emotions.
I promised myself I wouldn't be the naive, extremely self-conscious and socially awkward little black girl I was in my past life. I'd live my life the way I wanted, without restraints. I'd be bold, daring, not hold my tongue for nothing or nobody. That I'd continue to be family-oriented above all else, protecting those I cared about and not fall for sweet words of those who don't keep promises.
But I did. I was naive; it never stopped for me.
I just refused to believe that I didn't change.
I left the kitchen and entered the main room. Sinking to the floor, I ripped up the floorboards.
Pulling out my box of classified information on the Narutoverse, I noticed the seal on the box was broken.
Someone went in here. Sasuke?
No. . . Is that why he left? Did he find the unfinished scroll I made?
I start rummaging through it, looking for the one scroll I had sealed away in blood.
It detailed Orochimaru's plans for Sasuke. The scroll read like Orochimaru was the key to Sasuke getting stronger, because that's how my vision showed it.
But I believed he could get stronger without going to him. Since I could see all the jutsus and battle techniques future-Sasuke would use, there'd be no need for him to go to Orochimaru. I never wrote that in the scroll, though. It just detailed everything I knew on Orochimaru and possible hideout locations.
It's not here.
Damn it Sasuke!
Within minutes, I'm back into a tearful rage, punching holes in the floorboards. Sasuke's scent is everywhere, though very faint, since he took most of his belongings with him. The scent is stronger than I remember, but still carries the signature tomato sauce scent, mixed with the now sickeningly sweet aspect of his scent. It always calmed me, his scent. Even now, which only angers me even more as I attempt to stay angry by destroying everything with his scent on it.
His scent was familiar and filled me with memories of home.
Of Momma Mikoto. Of the Uchiha Clan. Of his rare smile and even rarer laugh.
But now I can't stand it.
How ironic.
Sour-pus Sasuke has the sweet scent of. . . well, I guess the closest match would be a strawberry. My favorite fruit.
Tch. Ain't that a bitch.
I could never quite describe what the sweet scent reminded me of until now. It smells the same as it always has, but somehow, I know something's changed. But what?
I close up the box of scrolls and use a blood seal to lock the contents away.
I've finally stopped my howling and barking, and I look around to assess the state of the apartment.
The roof looks like it's ready to cave in.
I should leave, but I can't bring myself to.
I can't move.
Looks like I've used up all my energy.
A broken mirror shard by my thigh, reveals to me that my Sharingan is activated.
I've reached my third tomoe in each eye. Sasuke's should be like that now, too.
Nice. Thanks for the traumatic sense of betrayal, Sasuke.
Or maybe I should blame myself. I was naive and led myself into thinking I could save the sorry bastard from a fate that leads him to walk in darkness his whole life.
Now Naruto's gonna spend all his time going after Sasuke instead of going after his dream. I didn't want him to put his dream on hold. He deserves a life without restraints. Sakura and Naruto will spend the next few years depressed as fuck, and Kakashi's gonna feel like he failed his students.
I curled up into a ball and began to sob quietly.
"I messed up so bad," I sobbed to myself. "How do I fix this? How do I fix this?" I repeated to myself, feeling completely hopeless.
I fucking hate you Fate. Destiny.
Whatever the fuck your name is.
I'm terrified of you, but I didn't let that stop me from trying to help my friends and family.
Maybe I should've.
I hear muffled grunts and a slight hissing sound in the background and look up, over the front door I left open earlier when I first barged in the apartment.
A Hidden Leaf nin, an anbu member by the looks of the mask, is directly in front of my crumpled form on the floor, with a sword aimed at me.
Root.
The hissing sound appears to be coming from sand that now surrounds the hilt of the sword and the lower body of the Root member. It wraps around him like a snake does its prey, squeezing him until I hear several bones crack. He goes limp, and I can smell the scent of death starting to come from him as the sand releases him gently on the floor.
The sand retreats from the apartment, and my eyes follow as it enters a gourd on the back of a young boy with fiery-red hair.
Gaara.
He and I remain staring at each other for a solid minute. His pale, teal-colored eyes against my bright violet eyes. Neither of us speak, and I'm stuck trying to comprehend the situation we're in. My tears stop falling, as I become more confused than upset.
"You were very loud. This apartment complex was shaking. The entire village heard you and thought they were under attack by a vicious beast." He says to me 2 minutes into our staring match.
Did he see the whole thing? How long was he there?
"Oh. Um. . . sorry? I was having a bit of a mental breakdown, but I'm all good now." I lie, laughing away the awkward feeling that's decided to settle in the air.
"No you're not." He states, pointing to the dead Root member on the floor. "By the looks of your headband, you're a chunin Leaf nin. You had your guard down. This man would've killed you. He followed you along with 6 others from the gate entrance of the village."
He did? I must've not sensed them since I fell into a vision.
Wait SIX?!
"Wait, you said six?" Gaara nods and turns his head back. I follow his gaze and see Kakashi walking up the steps to the apartment. He reeks of human blood, but not his own.
The Root came after me.
Makes sense. Danzo tried to get to me while the whole Sasuke-abandoning-the-village commotion was happening.
When our eyes make contact, he rushes past Gaara and kneels before me, checking for injuries.
"They had their blades dipped in poison. You didn't get hit, did you?" He asks.
I shake my head slowly, starting to feel numb from my meltdown earlier.
He sighs heavily in relief.
Danzo. I'm on his radar and he tried to kill me.
He didn't try to kidnap me to find out what I know.
He just wants me dead.
"You're not safe here. The Hidden Leaf is too dangerous for you now. Come on Moriko." Kakashi tries to pull me to my feet, but I resist.
My head feels like it's in shambles as I process all that's happened.
Sasuke's gone.
Naruto's in the hospital.
So is Lee.
Neji.
Choji.
Shikamaru.
Kiba.
Akamaru---
The wind picks up, and a breeze from the outside blows past Gaara and comes straight to me.
Gaara's eyes light up as the sound of my name from Kakashi. He steps forward and Kakashi steps to the side as Gaara outstretches his hand to me. "She can come with us." He tells Kakashi, then turns to me, and the only reason I can focus on the conversation is because of his scent.
Back when he first came to the village, he had sand covering his skin. I could barely smell him, mostly just his sand and some fruity smell. Now, it's different; more specific.
His scent is. . . intoxicating.
It's still very earthy, but with a hint of citrus and fresh rainwater.
And it's so strong. . .
It smells so good. . .
And calming. . .
"You'll come back with us. Back to the Hidden Sand."
Holy shit.
Gaara's my mate.