Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

The Oto Nin had her by her hair, and Sakura bit her lip to bite back the scream that wanted to erupt from her throat.

Was this how she was going to die? Being so . . . . weak like this? So pathetic?

No! She . . . . she had to save Sasuke! She had to save him!

'What about Naruto?'

Sakura flinched, but not from the pain of her hair strands being pulled, but from the words in her mind. She had completely forgotten about her other teammate, who, from what she had seen from the wounds on his body, had probably suffered much worse than what she was going through.

'You're right about that little blossom. Looks like something tried to digest him!'

She winced again. How could she even think of just Sasuke at a time like this?! She had to protect Naruto, too!

'And how are you going to do that? Hm?'

She . . .  she could -

'Looks like no one is going to save Princess Sakura anytime soon. Is this how we're really going to die? In an ugly forest like this?' The voice let out an annoyed sigh. 'What a bother. And I wanted to live long enough to find a cute guy to kiss!'

Sasuke is cute!

'You only think that because every other girl does as well. Little Blossom, you can't lie to me, I am You.'

"Hey, boy-chaser? Why so quiet, hmm?" The female oto nin, Kin, Sakura thinks her name is, pulls her up higher by her hair, and pokes her cheek with her senbon needles. "Comeee onn, fight back! I really hate disgusting swines like you, ya know! Always focusing on your pretty little hair and outfits."

'Little Blossom.'

Sakura slowly cracks her eyes open, staring at red eyes. The red-eyed girl looked identical to her, with long pink hair and a small smile on her face. 'I don't want to die.' Inner hums. 

". . . .Neither . . . .neither do I. . . "

'Good! Then, let me take control, ok? At least until the exam is over.'

"Have you gone insane already? That was quick. You're already talking to yourself! Haha!"

Sakura ignored Kin easily, focusing on Inner, who had outstretched her hand towards her, patiently waiting for her Outer Self to agree. "We . . . haven't done this before."

'Well, first time for everything, no?'

". . . .Please . . . .help me. . . " Sakura whispers, allowing the wave of exhaustion that had been plaguing her to finally hit, with the last thing she sees being Inner's amused smile and a flower petal appearing in her red eyes. 

'I asked Mommy about you, Inner.'

'Hm? What did she say then?'

'That you're me! And I'm you!'

'I guess that makes sense. I am you, and you are me-"

'-We'll always be together-'

'Until the very end.'

Kin watches the girl as she goes silent, her head drooping slightly. Then suddenly her hands flash, and Kin let out a scoff as she realizes she picked up a kunai. "That won't work on me, little girl-"

"Who said anything about it being for you?" The girl raised her kunai to her hair. "In order to fight, I need to you know . . . free myself."

"Wait - what are you?!"

Slash.

Kin stumbled back as her grip on the pink hair suddenly grew limp, but quickly steadied herself with a scowl. She watched as the girl got up, raking her hand through her now short hair. "Sigh. . . and I really liked my long hair," she mumbled. "Well, I'll grow it back out when I get out of this forest. Now, it's time to deal with you three." 

Kin let out a growl, rushing towards her as she noticed her hands move through hand signs. "Who do you think you are!?" She growled, placing her senbon needles on her hands and rushing towards the pinkie, slamming into her back -

- Only for the pinkie to disappear into smoke and reappear as a log.

Kin's eyes widened. "Replacement technique..." 

"You're so smart!" A voice whispered from behind her, making Kin gasp and throw her needles behind her in instinct, but she merely poofed out of existence again. How had she not sensed her!? Where was she now!?

"Kin! Behind you!" 

"Huh!?" Kin blinked when she heard Zaku shout at her, turning her head to see bright red eyes next to her. "I really don't like you, Little Bells." The pink haired girl smiled, poofing when Kin punched her out of existence. "You hurt Sakura, you know? That's a crime!"

"Shut your mouth!" Kin roared, rushing towards her with rage fueling her senses. "Shut it, you whore!"

"Whore? Well, that's a new one." The pink-haired girl hummed, poofing once again into a log, making Kin let out a scream of rage. "You look so cute when you're angry, Little Bells." 

"I'm over here~"

"Oh, you missed! I'm right here!"

"Oops! You missed again!"

Kin let out another scream of frustration, rushing towards the girl who was merely staring at her with amusement, red eyes flashing with pure joy. "Shut up and fight me!" She switched her senbons out for her kunai, and when she got close enough to the girl, close enough that she wouldn't be able to think of escaping, she stabbed the girl in the chest, euphoria filling her head as it finally hit dead center, and the girl didn't poof away. "Ha....HAHAHA! I GOT YOU NOW! I GOT YOU NOW YOU BIT-"

POOF!

"ARRGGHH!!!"

"HAHAHAHA! OH! THAT LOOK ON YOUR FACE!!! HAHAHAHAH!" The girl cackled, leaning against the trees surrounding them. "Ha...haha...ok that's enough teasing, I suppose." She straightened up, moving her head to the side to avoid the kunai thrown at her. "Hey, while you were fighting me, where did your teammates go?"

Kin scoffed. "Ha! You think you can scare me like that? They're right there...." Kin trailed off as she turned her head to the side, eyes widening at the sight before her. "D...dosu?"

Her teammate was in a state where her mind couldn't even understand what it was witnessing. His arms were dislodged from their sockets, legs sliced roughly off, allowing blood to pool around him. 

And his head.

"D-Dosu! How could this have happened!"

"H...help me..."

Kin gasped, turning her head to the side with her eyes widening. "Zaku!"

A large python slowly wrapped its long body around the boy, his face growing blue due to the lack of oxygen as the snake choked him. "Kin...h...help m..me-"

"You were so focused on beating little ole me that you neglected to help your friends from the hungry snakes." A voice whispered next to her ear, and Kin turned her head to snarl at her, only to suddenly freeze. The girl had her hand in a simple hand sign, and her red eyes flashed with amusement as she whispered out her technique. 

"Kanashibari no Jutsu" 

'I . . . I can't move.'

"Even a weak little genjutsu with no staying power can be mighty based on how it's used, Little Bells." Pinkie smiled at her. "This technique I'm using? All D-Ranks."

She suddenly used her free hand to grab her hair, yanking it up high, making a scream erupt from Kin's lips. "Take a step forward, and she's dead." She said, making Kin blink rapidly to see Dosu and Zaku alive and safe! 

"A . . . an illusion..."

"Seeing isn't always believing, Little Bell. Now!" The pinkie pushed her forward, the invisible chains that seemed to be holding Kin down getting tighter as she stepped on her back with her foot. "Your scroll, please!"

Chapter Text

Inner doesn't remember when she came to being.

Actually, that's a lie. The moment she became aware of herself was when Sakura's uncle placed his hands on her, and all she felt was rage.

That was when she, well, they, were five.

Inner looks at this little pink-haired girl with bright green eyes and stares at her with curiosity. Then only one thought flies through her mind. 

Mine.

'Hello.'

'Hello! Are you my Inner?'

'I suppose so. I am in your head after all.'

'Do you have a name, Inner? It might get confusing if we both go by the name Sakura, you know!'

'Hmmm. For now, Inner Sakura is ok, right? It makes sense to me at least.'

'....I guess so. Well! It's nice to meet you, Inner Sakura!'

'And it's nice to meet you, Outer Sakura.'

Outer Sakura controlled their body as the years went by, while Inner merely watched from the back, absorbing all the knowledge Sakura learned and practicing it deep within her home.

Sakura has always been the most precious thing to Inner, and the one she would give everything and anything to protect. 

Which is why Inner found herself digging the heel of her shoe deeper into Kin's back, eyes staring at the other Oto-Nins. "Your scroll, please!"

Inner watched with a small smile as the one with the holes in his hands let out a loud 'TSK' in annoyance. "Do you guys not understand the concept of teammates? Odd, but not surprising. Well. . . ." Inner got down to one knee, letting go of Kin's hair only to use a kunai to stab it into the ground, then reached into Sakura's pouch to retrieve one of the last few ones she had left. "Might as well just kill her-"

"YOU BITTCCCHHHH!"

Inner exploded into smoke, with a log replacing her just in time to duck the wind blast Zaku had sent her way. The pink-haired girl leaned against the tree she had teleported next to, blinking with confusion when she got sight of pale blue eyes. 'Ino? What was she doing here?'

The two stared at each other, Ino with wide ones and Inner with confused ones. Then, Inner rummaged through Sakura's purse, letting out a sigh when she realized she only had five kunai left. "I should have made her pack lots of weapons'

'So. . . .sorry Inner'

Inner blinked when she heard Sakura's voice come through, then a small smile grew on her face, and she sent affection and love towards her host. 'It's alright, Little Blossom. We've learnt from our mistakes now, haven't we?'

'Y. . .yes. . ."

Innner bit her lip in thought, then glanced at their teammates who were still passed out. The genjutsu she had placed on Kin -  Kanashibari no Jutsu - was one that could only be used once, and she had to keep the seal up at all times.

Which was going to be difficult, because she had to fight and protect her Sakura and their teammates.

Their body had perfect chakra control, allowing Inner to weave illusions with ease, but they didn't have enough chakra.

Well, what had their mother said before? Fake it till you make it.

Blinking her red eyes at Ino and giving her an amused smirk, Inner focused back on Zaku, who had sent a wind current her way, but she merely stepped to the side and watched it destroy the tree she was leaning against. She giggled, tucking some of her now-short hair behind her ear. "You're so cute! Thinking a little bit of wind can stop me!"

Inner watched as Dosu, the other boy, moved back to face his female teammate, crouching down to grab her hair and a kunai coming out and poised at her throat, much to the shock of Inner and no doubt the Konoha genin who were still watching.

"You would kill your own teammate?" Inner asked quietly.

"If she fell to the enemy's jutsu, then she's outlived her use," Dosu answered uncaringly, kunai pressing in to draw a drop of blood. Inner watched as Kin stiffened, the genjutsu she had placed hindering her from moving away in fear.

The pink-haired girl merely hummed, cocking her head to the side. "You Oto-nin sure are strange....and quite frankly disgusting."

The four of them (yes, Inner had not forgotten about Zaku) froze when they heard the soft sound of feet walking their way. Inner glanced from the corner of her eye to see Sasuke walking towards them, who looked much different. He was covered in black marks, almost like waves in a pattern on his ivory skin. His eyes were blank, the Sharingan blazing with power as he took in the scene before him.

Sasuke turned his head to stare at Inner, appraising her. "Sakura, who did this to you?"

Red eyes silently stared at her teammate, then Inner smiled, taking a small step. In another life, she probably would have begged for him to run. In another life, Outer Sakura would be in so much pain and have wounds all over her body, making the anger in Sasuke's mind grow more and more.

Well, that was another life. Who was she to stop her teammate when he looked so powerful in this moment?

Raising her hand, Inner pointed at Zaku. "He did it," with an amused glint in her eye. She moved closer to Sasuke, placing one hand on his shoulder and leaning closer to his ear. "He hurt me so bad, Sasuke....the girl did too, but I did my best! I was able to defeat the girl, but he was so mean to me."

She felt Sasuke tense up, and a smirk grew on her face. She gently patted his shoulder and walked away, ignoring the battle with ease as she moved towards Naruto.

'He's hurting them!'

'That is the job of a shinobi, Little Blossom. Let him have his fun, ok?' Inner hummed to Sakura, sitting down next to Naruto and letting out a small tired sigh. She shifted closer and slowly raised his head to place it on her lap, patting his head as he slumbered.

'When do you think he will wake up?'

"This is Naruto we're talking about. He'll be back up and running in no time, believe me."

'. . I guess you're right. But . . . But I'm still worried."

'About Naruto? Now that's a first.'

"Yeah... shocking, huh? But . . . . but he's my teammate, regardless of how annoying he is, isn't he?"

"GYAH!"

Inner blinked and raised her head to see Sasuke on top of Zaku, the Uchiha pulling his arms. "He's going to tear his arms off...." 

POP!

The forest went silent. Sasuke straightened up and threw the pair of arms he had torn off the Oto Nin, then tossed them to the side. "Now, let's go to your legs-"

'Inner! Stop him!'

'Why? He's having fun."

'Inner please!'

That 'please' made Inner freeze, then let out a soft sigh. Removing Naruto's head from her lap and placing it back on the cloth Sakura had used for a pillow before, Inner got up and walked towards Sasuke, glancing down at the armless bleeding Zaku. 

She then turned her head to stare at Sasuke and leaned closer to him. "This is boring now, Sasuke. Let's go."

"He hurt you."

"Wow, look at you being so possessive of us. That's a first." Inner giggled. "Sasuke, as much as I would love for you to continue your fun, our body hasn't rested for a long while, because we had to keep watch over you and Naruto. Let's take their scroll and go."

Sasuke glared down at Zaku, pressing down on the boy's legs again, making him let out a shrill scream. He eventually let out a huff, stepping off his body and taking a step back. Inner turned to face the other two members of the Oto team, and outstretched her palm. "Scroll please. If not, I'll allow Sasuke to go all out again."

"Don't treat me like a dog."

"Hmmm. Cat will suit you better anyway."

Dosu caught their attention as he slowly held out a scroll- an Earth scroll. "You're strong. Too strong for us to take on. Let us leave, and we will give you the Earth scroll." 

"Dealll." Inner walked closer and snatched the scroll from him, then walked back towards Sasuke and waved at the Oto Nins. "Have fun not dying! Let's go, Sasuke."

Watching as her black haired teammate picked up Naruto and tossed his body on his back, and then Team 7 was off, leaving the rest behind.

The two remained quiet, leaping through trees with ease (well, ease in Sasuke's part; Inner was getting pretty tired, but she merely gritted her teeth and pushed through her exhaustion.)

"Can't you go any faster, Sakura?"

"I'll bite you."

Sakura raised her knees closer to herself, watching through the TV screen that showed the outside world through Inner's eyes, how everything was going.

Inner was so strong . . . . even with a weak body like theirs, she was able to defeat Kin and hold the opposing team back enough until Sasuke woke up.

But Sakura. . . what did she even do? She truly was the weak link of the team.

'Now what makes you say that?"

"Huh!?" Sakura blinked, turning her head to see red eyes staring at her with amusement. Her other half crossed her legs over the other and placed her elbow on the chair handle so she could place her chin on her palm. "Inner...when did you get here?"

"A few seconds ago. You were so absorbed in your thoughts, you didn't even notice me." Inner pouted, faux tears forming at the rim of her eyes. Her other self got up and walked towards her, her much longer pink hair trailing to the floor as she forced Sakura's knee to straighten out, then placed her own knee between her legs and leaned forward, cupping her face. "There's no need to be sad, you know."

Sakura stared up at Inner's red eyes with her wide green eyes, then tears started dripping out, and she let out a hiccup. "But . . . but I wasn't able to help Sasuke-kun or Naruto! I nearly got them killed! I was worthless."

"Shhhh." Inner shushed her, wiping away the tears that dripped down her face. "Wasn't it you who tried your best? Wasn't it you who set up all those traps? Wasn't it you who bandaged our boys? All I did was play a little trick on their minds. It was you who did most of the work."

Sakura closed her eyes, pushing her body forward so she could shove her face into Inner's chest, wails escaping her mouth. She hugged Inner as her other half hummed and brushed her hand through her now short hair. "It's ok now, Little Blossom. Inner's got you. Cry it all out, after all, our mind is the safest place for us."

That was all the girl could do at the moment.

Simply cry.

"My sweet Sakura..." Inner whispered after a while, gently pushing her so she could cup her face again, red gazing down at green. "Do you want me to front when our body wakes? Or-"

"I-" Sakura hiccuped. "I . . . I want to take control of our body."

"As you wish. For now, let us rest, ok? We don't have that much time until the next part of the exams." Inner hummed, standing up and tugging Sakura to stand with her. "Tomorrow is a brand new day after all."

Sakura stared at her twin, raising her free hand to wipe away her tears. "Hmm...maybe tomorrow will be better than today."

"Hehe."