Chapter Text
We did it.
Sakura thought, as Sasori stood motionless afar. Chiyo's seal had worked and suppressed Sasori's chakra; he was powerless. Sakura could see Chiyo looking exhausted. The fight was no easy one, after all.
Sakura could see from the distance Chiyo dropping to her knees, the poison's effects taking in. She wasted no time and made a run for her, needing to give her the antidote. Who knows how much longer she'll last?
Just as Sakura rounded one of the rocks, something rose behind Chiyo. There Sasori stood from a fallen puppet. He'd managed to avoid the seal by transferring his heart and mind to another of his puppets. There he held a sword, ready to strike Chiyo from the back.
No, I'm not going to make it.
Sakura frantically thought as she tried to run as fast as she could. Sasori raised his sword, to which Chiyo could do nothing but turn her head and watch as death would come from the sword held by her dear grandson. Sakura couldn't let it happen. It'd be too cruel.
Sasori's sword took the final swing to gather strength, and finally brought it down so the blade would hit its target.
SWING
...
Sakura could feel the cold metal through her body, a weird feeling. It was both painful and fascinating. But that did not matter, because she'd saved Chiyo from the death of the sword. Maybe she isn't so useless after all.
Though if she wasn't useless, she would've stopped the blade altogether without even taking the blow.
Well, no matter. She was going to die anyway, so why ponder over the past and what could've been? Right now would be the time to ponder over her loved ones. Try to imagine their faces for the last time. That was said to happen at the doors of death anyway, seeing all your happiest memories come together for the last time.
Must be true then, since why else was Sakura seeing all her loved ones at the moment? There was Naruto smiling at her while slurping down ramen. Or the time he gave her flowers, hoping to steal her heart through bribery. Oh, and there was Ino from when they were little and she'd given her that red ribbon, or told her she was cute. Or the time they got over their stupid rivalry and became friends again. Ino was probably going to be mad at her for leaving her like this.
There was Tsunade teaching her how to heal, or passing down her wisdom to her. There was Kakashi reading his porn book, but never being late to protect her. There were all her friends, all smiling and joking around.
And then there was Sasuke. Twelve-year-old Sasuke, always being mad in a cute way, always having a serious face. But then there was Sasuke who was smiling, even if it was a small one. Sasuke who let her hold him when he was injured. There was Sasuke who wasn't so obsessed with revenge.
Sakura could see her vision going dark. Chiyo was saying something to her, but all Sakura felt like doing was smiling. She'd done it. Saved Chiyo, and now could go in peace.
When Sakura opened her eyes, she wasn't in the rubble of the cave anymore, nor was she in her bed. She was on her back, and what felt like water? Her sight was filled only with endless skies and clouds. Sitting up, she found nothing but water and clouds. It looked like it went on for hundreds of kilometers. Her clothes were not ripped or stained red with blood, but looked brand new, with no cuts or stains. There was no wound either.
Looking around, she could see no land. Was this heaven?
Had she really died?
Then, from the corner of her eye, there seemed to be a girl—maybe a year or two younger—looking aimlessly into the distance, with her back to Sakura.
"Hey, do you know where we are?" Sakura asked the girl, who did not even move an inch.
The girl had dark brown hair, which was sectioned into two pigtails at the back. Her skin was as pale as a snow bunny's. Her clothing looked brand new as well, consisting of a yellow sweater, a less vibrant yellow turtleneck, a thick brown belt around her light pink skirt, and dark brown ankle-high socks with chocolate brown shoes.
"Hey," Sakura tried again, but yet again no answer. Just as Sakura was about to stand up and walk to the girl, she turned around and smiled.
Sakura stilled.
The girl had dull green eyes. They were more yellowish-green and less vibrant than Sakura's own, but still beautiful. Though the girl did have some pretty big eye bags, most likely caused by stress.
Just as Sakura was about to say another word, the girl waved, and Sakura blacked out again.
This time, when Sakura came to consciousness, her eyelids felt heavier, and there was beeping all around her. She was in a hospital. Just from the smell alone, Sakura could tell. She relaxed. It seemed after the fight with Sasori, Sakura had been taken back to Suna and was now resting in their hospital. Naruto must be worried sick by now, beside her bed. Or maybe it was Kakashi sitting there anxiously. Well, it was of no matter.
Wait.
Why couldn't Sakura recognize who was beside her bed? And about that, why couldn't she feel anything around her? It was like there was something missing, but Sakura just couldn't place what.
...
Her reserves. Her chakra. Why couldn't she feel her chakra? Where's her chakra? Did she have chakra suppressors on? But why would she be restrained?
While on the hunt for answers, Sakura opened her eyes in panic and sat up, which she immediately regretted. A pain shot through her left rib and head. Did she break a rib or something?
Before Sakura could even process where or what was going on, a woman—who smelled heavily of perfume—hugged her and started crying into her shoulder.
"Ah, Nina, baby, don't scare me like that," she cried. "You know I could've had a heart attack when I got the phone call from the police. Thank God you didn't die from that car accident."
The woman pulled back to look at Sakura's face, still holding her. Her hands went from Sakura's shoulders to her face. The woman had dark black hair with a purple hue to it and dark brown-purple eyes that looked like they had been shedding tears all day.
"You know, Nina, you died for three seconds! Three seconds!" The woman fell into another crying fit, burying her head into Sakura's shoulder again. But all Sakura could do was stare straight ahead in shock.
Nina? Who the hell is Nina? And car accident? I've never even ridden in a car. And who is this woman?
Sakura's head was a mess of questions, and she was near a breakdown from all of this. Looking down, Sakura saw that her hair was brown, not even a hint of pink in it. At that point, Sakura was starting to tremble. She stood up, pulling away from the woman, who tried to keep her from getting up, saying she'd reopen her wounds. But Sakura didn't care. And why was she so short and weak? Her knees trembled as she tried to find a mirror in the room.
The room she had woken up in was a decent-sized private hospital room. Large windows overlooked the city, though beige curtains currently covered them. A door stood on the far left wall. Beside the bed was a small table with flowers and fruit on it, next to the chair the woman had been sitting in. A heart monitor stood on the other side of the bed. Opposite the bed was another door, which led to the bathroom.
Staff started coming into the room, most likely because the woman had called them or because Sakura had ripped the IV from her arm. But she didn't care. All she cared about was looking in the mirror.
The moment she did, she regretted it, because the person who looked back was not Sakura.
...
The person who looked back was the girl from that cloud place. Could that have been real and not just some dream?
Nurses and doctors dragged her back to her bed. Sakura just let them. As they began running tests on her and asking her questions, Sakura didn't care to listen or answer. Her mind was a storm. Could she be in a genjutsu? No, she'd know. Was it a dream? But it felt too real.
PINCH
The nurse put a needle through her arm, and it hurt. So a dream was out of the question. Then what was this? Had she died and been reborn? But then why wasn't she a baby? None of this made sense.
Maybe it really was a bad dream.