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Chapter Text

A simple mission, Tsunade and Kakashi said. Crossing an ancient ruin on the outskirts of the Land of Sound seemed peaceful for two of the Leaf's most powerful ninjas. But when, through Sakura's carelessness, Naruto touched the strange seal carved into the stones, a light enveloped them - and in the blink of an eye, darkness came and then everything changed.

When they both woke up, they weren't in the same place. They were in front of the gates of Konoha.

- That's not our village ‐ said Naruto, frowning as he looked at the Konoha gate, where the Leaf symbol had been replaced by something... more elaborate. A carving of half sun, half moon.

- That's... - Sakura murmured, touching the ground, feeling the strange chakra pulsing in the air. - Some kind of parallel world. Maybe a curse or something, my God Naruto, you had to keep touching things out there.

- Oh come on! - Naruto grumbled, but he knew they were there because of his carelessness and curiosity

When they entered, they began to notice the differences. The streets of the village were more modern, the ninja wore different uniforms, and... their friends, were the most changed.

- Ino with short hair? E... Shikamaru wearing white? - Naruto commented, putting his hand to his mouth

But nothing prepared them for her. Hinata.

Sakura saw her first, in the center of the village, talking to a very different version of Kiba. Hinata's hair was loose, falling in soft waves down her back. She wore a tight, sleeveless, high-necked black blouse and short shorts that showed off her legs. But it wasn't just her clothes.

It was her posture. She walked upright, her head held high, her eyes intense. And when she saw Sakura and Naruto hiding, she didn't look away. Because you can't hide from the Byakugan. She smiled at them from the corner of her eye and walked towards them with a confidence that made Sakura swallow.

- Sakura, Naruto, I see you're back from your mission, it's good to see you both - said Hinata, looking directly at Sakura. Her voice was deeper, firmer.

Sakura remained motionless for a second. Naruto nudged her arm, trying not to laugh. It seemed like deja-vu to him, Sakura had only ever gotten silly like that with Sasuke, and not even then.

- H-Hinata...? - Sakura asked, trying to disguise her gaze slipping to the other girl's legs - Your legs are well... discovered

- Are you all right? - said the confident version of the Hyuuga, taking a step closer to Sakura, who instinctively stepped back. - But you seem more... shy, what did the mission do to you?

- Yeah, I think she hit her head too hard - Naruto replied, holding back a laugh.

- I... yeah, I think that's it.

- If you need help, you can tell me, I don't like to see you hurt - replied Hinata, tilting her head slightly. Her pearly eyes drifted discreetly down Sakura's body - who had turned red up to her ears.

Naruto laughed. Receiving a deadly stare.

- I should have filmed that. - he whispered

- I'll let you rest, I have training. - Hinata said goodbye to them both and walked off in complete confidence

Sakura opened and closed her mouth a few times, but nothing came out. While Naruto seemed more than excited.

And with each new meeting with his alternative friends, the situation only got stranger. Shino, for example, was super chatty. Sasuke... was kind. But nothing affected Sakura like that bold Hinata, who wasn't afraid to tease her with glances, double entendres and subtle touches on the arm during conversations.

And what was worse? Sakura was enjoying it more than she should.

- We have to find a way back - she said on the second night, staring at Naruto. - They think we're from this reality...

- Or do you just want to escape from Hinata's fatal version?

Sakura snorted, covering her face.

- She looks at me, Naruto, as if she knows I'm thinking nonsense just by seeing her in that clingy blouse!

Naruto smiled, resting his hands on the back of his head.

- Maybe this reality is just showing you something you already feel, but haven't had the courage to face.

Sakura looked at him, saying nothing. It was the first time that someone had told her in all words about their newly acquired feelings for Hinata and the irony was that Naruto was the one to tell her.

And at that moment, lying on the bed of their lodging, she knew that, whether or not she returned home... she would have to stop running away. From this Hinata. From her Hinata.

Chapter Text

Konoha - or the strange, alternative reflection of it - seemed increasingly surreal.

Naruto was having a great time, in fact he was the only one of the two.

- Dude, Sasuke here gave me a hug! A hug, Sakura! - he laughed, as they walked through the streets. - I could live here in peace!

Sakura, on the other hand, no longer knew how to survive all this. Ever since that alternative Hinata had started to charm her without the slightest shame, she could hardly think. What's worse, everyone there believed that she was the Sakura of that world.

No one asked questions, which was a joy. She and Naruto had discreetly assumed the identities of their counterparts. The plan was to find the reverse seal and return. But in the meantime... well, certain situations were getting more and more complicated.

That evening, a smiling version of Temari invited them to relax in the public restroom.

- Everyone's going - she said. - Even Hinata. It'll be good to de-stress.

Sakura froze.

- Hinata's going...?

Naruto patted her on the back. Smiling from ear to ear, he too had been invited by the boys.

- Relax, Sakura. Bathroom! Steam, towels, hot baths! It's practically a ninja spa.

But it was a bit much.

Sakura entered the women's wing, trying not to look out of place. The structure was similar to that of the original village: tatami mats, changing rooms, a bathing area with stone ofurots. Some women were already there, including the alternative version of Ino, who wore her hair shaved on one side and looked like a rebellious rocker. Sakura remembered to tell Ino about this when she returned to her reality.

- Late, huh? - said Ino, laughing. - Hinata's already in the shower.

Sakura swallowed.

"I just need to get in, keep my eyes on the tiles and get out alive," she thought, taking a deep breath.

But the universe had other plans.

She entered the bathing area and, like a stroke of genjutsu, there was Hinata. On her back. Naked. Long hair loose, wet, falling in curves that left Sakura not knowing where to look. Or how to breathe.

Hinata turned slowly, her face bathed in steam, and smiled.

- At last, Sakura.

Sakura froze. Literally. Her gaze caught between her eyes and... Perhaps a little lower.

- H-Hinata! You're... uh... very relaxed, huh? - she said, trying to smile and not die right there, because it would be ridiculous.

- Are you always this shy after missions? - Hinata asked, tilting her head slightly. The water ran down her shoulders, accentuating her presence even more. - Or are you looking at me in a way that means something else?

Sakura turned around so quickly that she slipped. She fell with a soft thud and a muffled groan of humiliation.

- I'm fine! Everything's under control! - she shouted, trying to stand up with dignity, her face completely red.

Hinata laughed. A light, teasing laugh.

- Are you always this adorable?

Sakura almost ran to the furthest of the hot tubs, sinking up to her neck and mentally begging for the return seal to appear soon.

On the other side, in the men's ward, Naruto was relaxing, unaware of the chaos going on. Sasuke stood next to him with his eyes closed and a slight smile, while the other boys chatted.

- This is paradise... if Sakura freaks out and wants to stay, I'll support her!

But Sakura just wanted to understand why that Hinata made her so mad. And even more... why she was beginning to wish that her Hinata would look at her like that. For God's sake, she was already calling Hinata her own.

She wasn't just dealing with an alternative version. She was facing a hidden desire - one she hadn't even known she had until recently.

And the mirror of that reality didn't just show different people... it showed who she could be if she stopped running away.

Chapter Text

Sakura pulled Naruto by the arm, crossing a wide street where children were playing with wooden kunais. Their eyes scanned everything - faces, flags, symbols. Being there was like being in a dream stitched together from distorted memories.

— We have to find a way back, Naruto! We can't just stay here.

— But why not? — he asked, but now with a different glint in his eyes. — Did you see how Sasuke treated me? He... Hugged me!

Sakura rolled her eyes, still holding the blonde tightly. Even though she found it equally incredible that the Sasuke of that reality was so loving towards Naruto.

— That's not our Sasuke! You know that. He may be kind here, but that doesn't make him real! It doesn't make any of them real.

Naruto stopped, forcing her to face him.

— He looks real. They all do. Maybe... maybe this reality is better.

Sakura was silent for a moment. She had felt it too - the warmth of the streets, the absence of tension, of fear. But along with that, the chill that went down her spine whenever she felt Hinata's chakra approaching. That Hinata. So different. So... confident. And Sakura was confused.

— They think we belong there — Sakura muttered, trying to change the subject. — Have you ever tried talking to someone about it? Tell them we're from another reality?

Naruto hesitated, scratching the back of his head.

— I tried Kakashi-sensei... but he just laughed and said, "That's a good one, Naruto. Another one of your stories." — Naruto snorted in frustration. — It seems that, for them, we've always been here.

Sakura bit her lower lip. They were stuck. At least for the time being. And they had to find a way out of there.

Suddenly, she felt a chill at the back of her neck. The familiar chakra... intense... elegant.

— Naruto — she whispered, her body stiffening — it's her. It's her again.

— Her? Ah... — he smiled mischievously. — Hinata?

— It's not funny! — hissed Sakura, turning to disappear down an alley. Running away like a scared little sheep.

Naruto stood still for a second, watching his friend run away from Hinata. But not just running away from the confident girl, but running away from herself, perhaps. And for once, he didn't sneer. He just watched her disappear, while in the distance, the Sasuke of that reality called him to train.

A Sasuke who laughed with him. A Sasuke who stayed.

•

Training ground 7 was almost identical to his reality - the wooden stakes, the marks on the ground, the sound of the swaying leaves. But the difference was there, standing before him.

Sasuke.

The one without the weight of hatred in his eyes. Without the wall of resentment between them.

— You seem distant — said Sasuke, throwing a kunai at the target with absurd precision. — Is something wrong?

Naruto wanted to answer. "You're not real." But nothing came out.

— I'm just... thinking.

Sasuke watched him with that clinical look, but... it was different, that look was softer.

— You're important to me, Naruto. I don't know what I'd do if you weren't here. — The voice was firm, almost harsh, but sincere. — It's strange to say this out loud, but... I feel like I can be more myself when I'm with you.

Naruto felt his chest tighten. It was everything he had always wanted to hear... but not from him, not from that Sasuke.

— I feel that way too," he murmured, his eyes fixed on the ground. — I just don't know if it's right.

Sasuke approached him, putting his hand on his shoulder.

— What is right, Naruto? Sometimes there's only what we feel.

•

Later, when the two ninjas were ready for bed. Naruto had been quiet until then - which for Sakura was already a sign of trouble. He turned over in his bed and looked at the Kunoichi.

— Let's find the seal and get out of here as quickly as possible. — Naruto said firmly, determined

Sakura just nodded, knowing that perhaps her friend, who seemed to have loved this place, was beginning to understand what it meant to want to stay there, with people they knew but who weren't who they wanted to be.

Chapter Text

The two of them were walking through Konoha's old underground library, a place forgotten by almost everyone - except Naruto, who remembered seeing it on one of the village's old maps. He carried a makeshift torch while Sakura looked at the inscriptions on the walls covered in moss and dust.

- Are you sure the seal is here? - Sakura asked, frowning.

- It's the only place that has records of interdimensional teleportation jutsus. If it's anywhere, it's here," replied Naruto, more seriously than usual.

She nodded, her eyes scanning the wall until she found something: a circle of ancient seals with unstable symbols. It pulsed with irregular energy, as if time were stuck in a loop.

- I found it.

Naruto approached, but before they could activate it, soft footsteps echoed behind them.

They both looked back and saw Hinata. The Hinata of that world. But there was something different about her presence that night: she wasn't seductive or playful. She was... serene. Almost sad.

- Are you really leaving? - she asked, looking only at Sakura.

Naruto decided to remain silent and wait. Sakura hesitated. The silence fell thick between them, until he approached slowly.

- This place... was more than just a strange mission. This place showed me things that I was trying to hide from everyone... and from myself.

Hinata smiled tenderly.

- Like the way you feel about me?

- No - Sakura answered honestly. - Like what I feel... for her. For the real Hinata.

Her pearly eyes widened slightly, but there was no hurt. Just a painful understanding.

- You love your Hinata.

- I don't know if I can call it love. Not yet. But now I miss her. The gentle way she talks to me, the way she smiles when she thinks no one is looking. I... miss her even though I never really had her.

Hinata approached and held his hand gently.

- Then come back. And tell her that. Or at least... show her. Sometimes you don't need words to be heard.

Sakura nodded, her eyes watering, and squeezed the other woman's hand.

- Thank you, Sakura. For not trying to trap me here.

- I never wanted to trap you," whispered Hinata, with a soft smile. - I just wanted you to see yourself as I did.

Sakura let go of her hand affectionately. Then she turned and walked over to the seal, where Naruto was already waiting.

He looked at her with an encouraging smile.

- Are you ready?

- No. But we never are, are we?

And with one last look at Hinata, who had helped her find herself, she activated the seal.

Light enveloped them both.

And then, the world collapsed - as soft as a waking dream.

•

Sakura and Naruto fell to the ground with a dry thud. They both grunt in pain and as they look around and feel, they realize they're back.

The first person they told what had happened was Kakashi-sensei, who looked at them with amusement and flashed his thumb saying "You did better than I expected, Tsunade and I already knew about this danger, that's why we sent you."

Naruto had to hold Sakura back so that she wouldn't attack the sensei. This led to some swearing from the rosy-cheeked girl and an amused apology from the man. Naruto was laughing at that moment, feeling that it was good to be home.

- That old man, he's going to pay me back - Sakura muttered on her way to the house, her arms crossed and her steps heavy

She stopped as soon as she saw a figure so familiar to her. Hinata was at one of the stalls buying what looked like some fruit, she was concentrating and at that angle it was so perfect.

Sakura then thought about the alternative Hinata had said. She had to have courage.

- Hinata? - she called out, before her courage faltered.

The brunette raised her eyes in surprise. Seeing the Kunoichi walking towards her.

- Sakura-san! Is everything all right? I heard that your mission... was complicated.

Sakura took a deep breath. Snorting as she remembered Kakashi's apology and Tsunade's smile.

- It was. That's why I... wanted to, um, see if you had time tomorrow. Maybe for tea?

Hinata blushed slightly - the familiar timbre of shyness - but nodded with a small smile.

- I'd love to.