IT WAS THE SECOND WEEK of school and Sakura had already built herself quite the reputation without even realizing it.
To her classmates she was aloof, silent, a genius. She never really meant to be the first two things—she was usually a lot more livelier than that—but she was just so bored. The lessons were things she had already learned over a decade ago and the only thing that gave her the littlest bit of stimulation was history. English had stopped being a challenge to her and this was proven by the fact that she was able to have a full-length conversation with Present Mic the week before.
It really wasn't her intention to appear to cold to her classmates either. Her mind was just full of thoughts that were more pressing matters than the trivialities of homework or upcoming tests or whatever it was her classmates liked to gossip about.
She also noticed that they liked to gossip about her too, when they thought she wasn't listening. Sometimes it would be hurtful, mean jabs from jealous kids. Most of the time, they just thought she was some sort of genius from the amount of her high scores she'd get. Then there was the talk of her athletic ability, which she was also stellar in. She didn't bother to use chakra either and just performed as any average civilian would do (but faster since she wanted to get the activities over with). All in all, they thought she was perfect golden girl.
It was weird hearing that... Back in the Academy the prodigy child was Sasuke, yet in here it was her.
Rumors about her being Recovery Girl's assistant had spread too. Some of her classmates thought she was trying to be a hero, which earned her some envy. Especially from one student: the boy who sat next to her. He had been giving her glares for some time and she had an inkling it had to do with her status as 1-C's Golden Girl.
Even now she could feel his glare as she explained to their homeroom teacher that she was to accompany class 1-A to their USJ field trip as a substitute for Recovery Girl, who had received a last minute urgent call from the hospital.
Chibana-sensei, who was dressed in a light blue pinstripe suit, beamed and gave her the 'okay'. "You go and enjoy yourself then, Uchiha-san! Tell us all about the hero class, yeah?"
Sakura smiled politely and nodded before leaving the room, Shinsou's glare disappearing once the door slid shut.
A bus was waiting for outside of the building but the second she stepped out, she froze. Standing outside the bus was a familiar, scruffy looking man.
Ah shoot! It's that Eraserhead guy! She wondered if he recognized her. Judging by the expression on his face as she drew closer, the answer was yes.
"You." He said.
She gave him a sheepish smile. "Hi. You... you must be Aizawa-sensei..."
He grunted in reply. "You're the kid who broke the law. Where's the other one?"
She winced. "Um, he doesn't go here. And again, we're really sorry about that. Erm, anyways, I was sent here to substitute for Recovery Girl since she had an emergency at the hospital."
"Yeah, I'm aware of that. I just didn't realize the substitute would be a kid with no respect for the law."
Another wince. He sighed in resignation and turned around. "Forget it. Just get seated."
She nodded. "Yes, sir."
She stepped into the bus and was met with twenty pairs of confused stares.
"This is Uchiha Sakura, she's Recovery Girl's assistant and will be substituting for her since she has other duties to fulfill. Treat her with respect because she's the one in charge of healing any injuries." Aizawa introduced.
She gave everyone a small wave and went to go find a free seat. She had never been in a bus before, but she already preferred it more than trains. At least she had a place to sit here.
She spotted Shouto sitting beside a window, the seat next to him empty. "You mind if I sit here?" She asked.
"Go ahead," he muttered.
Flashing him a grateful smile, she plopped down beside him. The bus started to move and that was when everyone erupted into chatter. She ignored most of it, instead focusing on the... questionable attire these kids were wearing. One guy didn't have a shirt but had sleeves on, one girl wore a red leotard with a plunging neckline, and everyone else was wearing something uncomfortably skintight. Except for Shouto, but his left side was entirely covered with ice so he didn't look any better either.
She knew heroes liked to wear hero costumes, but did they have to make it so... illogical? Sure the tight fit was best suited for performing acrobatics, but surely they'd feel uncomfortable wearing something that clung so tightly to their skin, wouldn't they? And what if it the weather was hot? They'd be sweltering under those outfits (except Shouto since he was literally half ice).
Before she could mull over it, one of the students spoke to her. It was a girl with short brown hair and pink cheeks. "Ah, excuse me, Uchiha-san?"
"Hmm? Yes?"
"Were you the one who healed Deku-kun last week, by any chance?" She asked.
Sakura frowned, not recognizing the name. "Deku-kun...?"
"A-ah that's me," a familiar voice squeaked. Sitting next to a frog-like girl was the greenette who constantly broke his bones.
"Oh! Midoriya-san! Nice to see you again. Let's hope you don't break your bones in this rescue exercise, okay?" She highly doubt her healing would be needed for a rescue exercise, but who knew with Midoriya in the class.
The brunette gasped excitedly. "Ah, so it is you! I'm Uraraka Ochako! Deku-kun talked a lot about you after you healed him!"
Midoriya turned red as he waved his hands frantically. "N-no, it's not like that! You got it all wrong! I just thought your Quirk is cool! By the way, I never really got it's name...?"
By this point almost everyone was leaning in to hear it.
"It's called Chakra. It allows me to heal." She answered, not bothering to give any further explanations.
"Ooooh, did you give Midoriya a little kiss in order to heal him?" A blonde haired boy with a black streak running down his hair asked teasingly. It only made poor Midoriya grow even redder.
"No," she chuckled. "My Quirk doesn't work that way." She really wished they'd stop asking about her 'Quirk' because she didn't want to answer any questions relating to it. She could tell they were going to ask anyway, and she could even feel Shouto's curious stare on the back of side of her head.
She can heal? He thought, frowning slightly. I thought it had to do with her strength... How on Earth was she able to hold on to that window ledge while carrying me at the same time?
Before anyone could start bombarding her with questions, the attention was stolen away by the frog-like girl sitting next to Midoriya—Tsuyu.
"Your Quirk resembles All Might's," she stated simply, and Sakura could literally see that Midoriya was seconds away from a heart attack.
"R-r-r-really?! N-no way! I mean, I..." He stammered.
"Hold up, Tsuyu," the red haired boy—Kirishima, she remembered a fellow pinkette call him. "All Might doesn't get hurt, though. They're already different in that way. But that sort of simple strength enhancing Quirk is awesome! You can do a lot of cool stuff with it! Not like my hardening," he said, raising his arm. Sakura nearly jumped as it suddenly hardened like a jagged rock.
Whoa, she marveled.
"I'm good in a fight, but it's real boring. Not flashy at all!" He frowned.
"But don't forget that heroes also have to worry about popular appeal!" A blonde haired boy exclaimed. "My navel laser is both strong and cool. Perfect for a Pro."
"As long as you don't blow up your own stomach!" The other pinkette in the bus snorted.
Sakura listened on with a furrowed brow. These students were worried about... their image? These kids were going to be the future of Japan, tools for their society to use in the face of injustice, and they were fretting over something as insignificant as popular appeal?
It reminded her of her younger years when she was an Academy student up to her early days as a genin. She was terribly naive, only concerned about her physical appearance and never putting on any work other than for academics. She learned her lesson the hard way and if these kids don't open their eyes soon, they were going to follow into her footsteps.
"You wanna talk about strong and cool? That'd be Todoroki and Bakugou!" Kirishima grinned.
The spiky haired blonde sitting in front of her clicked his tongue in annoyance.
"But Bakugou's so unhinged he'd never be popular." Tsuyu stated bluntly.
He, for lack of better words, blew up. "WHAT'D YOU SAY FROG-FACE?!"
Great... Sakura mentally groaned. Another guy with Naruto's level of volume...
"See." Tsuyu croaked, pointing at the aforementioned loud-mouth.
"We've only barely started socializing and already you've made it abundantly clear to us the unpleasantness of your steamed turd of a personality," Kaminari sassed.
"Yeah, okay, Mr. Vocabulary, how about I kill you?!" Bakugou threatened.
Who raised this child? Sakura genuinely wanted to know.
The bus slowed to a stop.
"We're here. Look sharp, now..." Aizawa announced tiredly. He stepped out of the bus first while everyone else filed out. They were led to this massive dome-shaped building. When they stepped inside, Sakura was speechless. Inside was a large area divided into eight sections, six of them mimicking a specific type of disaster scenario.
I wish we had this at the Academy...! She thought enviously. Was this sort of thing available in all hero schools, or was UA just special? Nevertheless, this world would never cease to amaze her.
"WHOOOOOA! Is this Universal Studios Japan?!" The class gawked.
A man suited in a weird, puffy costume and helmet walked over to them. "There's the flood zone, landslide zone, conflagration zone... etc. Every disaster and accident you can imagine. I built this facility myself. I call it... The Unforeseen Simulation Joint!"
"It's the Space Hero: Thirteen! He's a gentleman hero who does his best work in rescue scenarios!" Midoriya squealed, giving Sakura horrible flashbacks of her fangirl days.
"Oooh, I love Thirteen!" Uraraka beamed.
"You must be Uchiha Sakura, the assistant Recovery Girl mentioned. It's nice to meet you." He said to Sakura.
"You as well, Thirteen-san." She replied swiftly, giving him a respectful bow.
He turned his attention back to the class. "Before we do, I have or two points. Or three... four..."
That's a lot of points, everyone thought.
Thirteen went on to explain his Quirk, Black Hole, and the dangers it comes with. Sakura listened intently, intrigued by his ability. Black Hole could suck in and tear anything apart. It was impressive and would be well-suited for shinobi duties, in her opinion.
But alas...
"Your powers are not meant to inflict harm," he stated, as if reading her thoughts. "I hope you leave here today with the understanding that you're meant to help people. That is all! I thank you for listening."
Aizawa sighed once the speech was finished. "Great. First off..." Behind him, a black mist could be seen. Sakura was immediately on high alert. She didn't exactly have good memories when it came to mist (*cough*—the Land of Waves Mission—*cough*) so she was the first one on guard.
"Aizawa-sensei," she called out to warn him.
By the time he turned around and the other students started to notice it, the dark mist had spread into... a portal?! Strangely enough, it reminded her of the portals Sasuke would create whenever he traveled throughout dimensions.
Two hands came out and then... another hand? No wait, that was some man's face wearing a hand over it...
Things keep getting weirder and weirder...
"Huddle up and don't move!" Aizawa barked as more figures kept exiting the portal. "Thirteen! Protect the students!"
"What the heck is that?! More battle robots? Like during the entrance exam?" Kirishima wondered.
DO THEY LOOK LIKE ROBOTS TO YOU, CHILD?! Sakura wanted to scream.
"Don't move! Those are villains!" Aizawa exclaimed, and that was when the students started to panic.
"Villains?! No way!" Someone shrieked. "What villains would be dumb enough to sneak into a school for heroes?!"
"Sensei, aren't there intruder sensors?" The black haired girl—Momo—inquired hurriedly.
"Yes of course there are...!" Thirteen replied.
Why are we still standing here? Sakura wondered. Shouldn't they be fighting back? The targets were right there. Sakura glanced around at all the frightened faces and came to a startling conclusion.
Don't tell me... these kids don't actually have any prior experience?! But they're fifteen!
Before Sakura could do anything first she felt it.
Chakra.
She looked down at the central plaza where the villains had gathered. Aizawa, after ordering Thirteen to evacuate the students, had jumped in and started defeating them left and right with his oddly sentient scarf he always wore.
Darkness covered her from above. She turned around saw the dark mist looming over them—except this mist had a pair of eyes. Kirishima and Bakugou had jumped forward to attack it only for the mist to envelope everyone.
When she opened her eyes, she was surrounded by heat. All around her was a city on fire. I must be in the conflagration zone, she realized.
Not only that, it was infested with villains. That same chakra signature was here too, only stronger.
"U-Uchiha-san!" A voice coughed. She whirled around to see the tailed student—Ojiro, she recalled—rushing towards her.
"Ojiro, right?" She asked, but didn't wait for a confirmation. "Stay behind me. I have an idea."
Ojiro looked like he was going to ask 'what?', but she had already turned her back to him. Her hand rapidly formed the 44 hand seals necessary. Then, she shouted: "Suiton: Suiryudan no Jutsu!*"
Water gushed out of her mouth like a geyser. It formed into a red eyed dragon, crashing into the villains while simultaneously putting the fire out. Within seconds, the whole zone had been cleared out. It was overkill, but she needed to end this quickly. Someone here had chakra, and she had no idea if they were friend or foe. Either way, she needed Ojiro to get to safety.
She turned back to said boy and ignored the gaping look he was giving her. "There's still someone else here, someone who evaded my attack. I'll deal with him, okay? You get out of here and get to the front entrance. Avoid the central plaza if you can—that's where most of the villains are."
"Y-you sure you'll be fine here?" He asked uncertainly, his tail swishing behind him.
She nodded firmly. "Yes. Be safe."
He nodded briefly before taking off. Once he was gone, Sakura immediately jumped for the top of the buildings and started searching, soaring through the air.
This chakra... it's slightly familiar. She swore she felt it before. A long time ago. It was somewhat dark... but calm. It wasn't lashing out like most vicious chakra signatures. No, wait a second. She had definitely met this person before.
She jumped down to the street.
"...You..." A deep voice spoke.
She turned around, her jaw dropping. "Y-you?!"
Uchiha Obito?! Her mind screamed. He had died, yet here he stood. He looked exactly the same as the last time she saw him... Except this time, his hair was back to being black and his body was no longer half-white from Zetsu. The right side of his face was still heavily scarred from his incident though, but at least he had both eyes.
"Y-y-you're supposed to be dead...!" She spluttered, her green eyes scanning him from head to toe. Hold on a second, what the heck was he wearing? Tan cargo shorts with an unnecessary amount of pockets, a loose floral button-up with bright pink flamingos scattered over the fabric, and brown leather sandals with calf-length socks?!
Who the hell dressed this guy...?
"You're Kakashi's student..." Obito blinked, looking equally as stunned as her. "Hold on, what are you doing here?"
"What are you doing here?! Aren't you supposed to be dead?!" She freaked out.
"Uh—well—I—yes? I don't really know..."
"How can you not know?!"
"Look, all I know is that I woke up here naked yesterday and these guys picked me up!" Obito explained.
"Why are you wearing that?" She motioned to his... ensemble. Of all the outfits she'd seen so far, this was the worst.
He frowned and glanced down at his clothes. "The guys said this was 'in'..." He mumbled.
Oh honey, you've been lied to, she thought, but pushed the matters aside. "Why are you attacking the school?" She demanded.
He gave her a confused look. "Huh? What school? I was just told we were gonna attack UA."
She nearly smacked him. "You—! That's the school!"
She could've screamed as the dumbfounded realization sunk in on him. "Ohhh..." He muttered softly to himself.
This is the asshole who started the Fourth Shinobi World War, she thought, wanting to pull her hair out. The world almost ended because of him... but all this time he was a bigger moron than Naruto!
"You were just gonna attack a place without even knowing any details?" She questioned him, arms crossed and feeling very much like a disappointed mother.
"Hey, I was walking around in commando when they found me, and they promised me clothes and dango," he said defensively. "But forget that. What the fuck is going on? Where are we and how did we get here?"
She stayed quiet for a while. This was a precarious situation they were in; she didn't know if she could quite trust him despite him changing sides at the end of the war and the building was still full of villains who were trying to kill innocent school kids.
"It's a long story," she began. "But I need to know this: whose side are you on right now?"
"Yours." He replied instantly, giving her a serious look.
She let out a short breath and nodded. "Good. Come on, I'll explain it on the way, but right now I need your help defeating all the villains that came here with you."
"Villains?" He asked as they started running out of the building. "You mean missing-nin? These guys are actually shinobi...?" He gave her a look of disbelief.
She shook her head. "No. Well. They're something like that. They're criminals, but they're definitely not shinobi..." She sighed. "It's a long story..."
─────•~❉🌸❉~•─────
It took her a while to explain everything, but Obito managed to get the gist of it. He was stunned to say the least. His guesses were confirmed: he was truly alive again and they were all stuck in a different world. It was like some outrageous story that came straight from a fantasy book, except they were actually experiencing it.
Even more stupefying was that Kakashi was here too. He didn't know how to feel about that, but his gut churned every time he thought of his old friend. They may have been on better terms at his time of death, but it had been nearly ten years since then. There was a chance Kakashi got passed the grieving period and grew to resent him.
He'd totally deserve it but... it still hurt.
Sakura, meanwhile, was busy scanning the area as they dashed through the USJ. They made it in-between the Flood Zone and the Landslide Zone when she suddenly spotted Shouto running towards the Central Plaza.
"Todoroki-kun!" She called out, landing beside him.
Shouto nearly jumped out of skin when she appeared. He recovered quickly and stared inquisitively at her and the man on her right.
"Todoroki-kun, are you hurt anywhere?" She asked, quickly going into 'medic' mode.
"I'm fine," he replied curtly, eyes narrowing at Obito. "Why do you have a villain with you?"
"He's on our side," she explained hurriedly. "We're going to help Aizawa-sensei at the Central Plaza—you head over to the front entrance, okay?"
He frowned, "Wait, I'll go with y—" They were gone before he could even finish his sentence. One second he was just talking to them, and then in the next he was speaking to empty air.
"...What the hell?" He muttered.
"Why does he look like that?" Obito couldn't help but ask. "Like he's split in half."
She snorted. "You're one to talk."
He fell silent after that. She had a point.
The situation was bad when they reached the Central Plaza. Villains littered the floor, but Aizawa was completely battered. A large dark creature stood above him, its brain exposed to the world. It had it's massive hand wrapped around Aizawa's head, nearly crushing his skull. Standing next to him was that creepy hand guy. A few meters away at the Flood Zone, Sakura spotted Midoriya, Tsuyu, and that short grapehead guy watching on in horror.
"Nomu," the hand guy said, and Sakura stiffened in shock. "Kill Eraserhead."
"Come on," Sakura muttered to Obito, who nodded in understanding. He had been debriefed on their search for the 'Nomu' and knew what to do.
Before the Nomu could do anything, Sakura was already at its side in an instant. One hand was glowing green and with a swift swipe, the hand crushing Aizawa's skull was instantly sliced off. In the next second, she used her other hand to punch it away, sending it flying several meters before it laid in a crater, twitching.
"Obito!" She shouted as the man appeared beside the crater.
"Got it," he grunted, activating his Mangekyo Sharingan. The air around it rippled and suddenly, the Nomu was gone.
Silence enveloped them, but she promptly ignored it and fell to her knees beside the battered hero.
"How—what—" He spluttered uncharacteristically, blood spurting from his mouth.
"Shh, don't worry about that, Aizawa-sensei. Let me heal you first." She said soothingly.
Aizawa really didn't know what to say. He was in an immense amount of pain, but even the pure shock of witnessing what just happened was enough to numb it down. Wasn't this girl supposed to be a healer? With a healing Quirk? How did she manage to reach him as quick as lightning, slice off the Nomu's hand, and punch it into the ground so hard it created a crater? And who the hell was that other guy who made the Nomu disappear?!
At least he wasn't the only one struggling to compute this. The man child with a hand over his face had completely broken down. His arms dangled limply at his side and if his face wasn't covered, everyone would've seen how far his jaw dropped.
"Wha—how—you—?!" He spluttered, then he stomped his foot on the ground like a child throwing tantrum. "Who the hell are you people?! You're cheats! Hacks! You weren't supposed to beat my Nomu like that!"
"Where did you get that name?" Sakura demanded. It was an odd question, Aizawa noted.
He let out a strangled growl. "You...! I'll kill you—!" He darted forward, but the man with the portal Quirk appeared in his way.
"Our Nomu has been defeated," the deep voice stated. "It's time for us to take our leave, Shigaraki Tomura."
"NO!" The man child screeched. "I'm not leaving! These guys are cheating! They—they—!" But the other man wasn't listening. His mist started to wrap around him and that was when Obito stepped forward.
"Hey—" He began, only to be interrupted by the loud sound of the doors bursting open.
"I AM HERE!" A voice boomed and a chill ran down Obito's spine. Flashbacks of Might Guy attacked his mind. Holy fuck, he hoped that beast wasn't here too. That'd be a nightmare. That man whooped his ass twice and nearly did the same to Madara, and he was the closest thing to a shinobi god.
He looked over at the doors and was relieved to see that it wasn't Might Guy. Instead, it was some super bulky blonde guy whose threatening demeanor quickly deflated into confusion when he realized that all the villains had been neutralized.
And two had escaped.
Shit, Obito cursed. My bad...
─────•~❉🌸❉~•─────
Sakura's first school field trip ever and it ended terribly. She blamed it on the Team 7 curse.
After the two villains teleported away, more heroes and authorities filed into the USJ. Not that it was necessary at that point because the only villains left were the ones who were defeated. And Obito, but Sakura was trying to get him released.
"Aizawa-sensei, please listen, he's not with the villains!" Sakura protested, watching as the authorities slapped on a pair of handcuffs over Obito's wrists. They were called Quirk inhibitors, used to cancel out a person's Quirk. It wouldn't do a thing to Obito, but she didn't voice that out loud.
Rather than replying to her, Aizawa pulled out another pair of Quirk inhibitors. Her eyes widened in realization. "Wha—you're arresting me too?!"
"Not exactly." He said, clicking them around her wrists. She didn't bother to fight back since she knew she could easily break them. "But I've got a few questions for you."
"A few questions?" She echoed.
"You've been lying to us." He said, giving her a cold stare. "About your Quirk... and the fact that you're in league with a villain who attacked the school."
Oh she was so glad that the other students had already been picked up by their parents because this was just embarrassing. Her cheeks flared with emotion, but she didn't say anything to defend herself. It was no use anyways. Might as well go along with it as to not cause any trouble.
He seemed to appreciate her silence. "Alright, I'll be taking you both to the station. In the meanwhile, I'll be calling your guardian since I'm not allowed to interrogate you without your guardian present."
Kakashi was her guardian, she remembered with dread.
"Then I hope you're ready for a long wait..." She mumbled weakly.
— author's note —
* On Sakura's wiki page, it says her nature types are earth, water, yin, and yang. Yet I've never seen her use any of the jutsus... But whatever, I just liked the thought of Sakura spitting out a water dragon from her mouth.
The villains who picked up Obito basically dressed him up as a tacky tourist dad XD this is how the convo went:
Obito: ...Are you sure this sort of style is 'in'?
The villains, nodding excessively: Oh yes definitely. It's the latest fashion here.