tampered | RP Log: Ongoing

Sakura narrowed her eyes at Naruto as he stopped midsentence, arching a brow when he didn't finish. Somehow, his explaination didn't seem to match up to the amount of worry that had been in his voice before while speaking of Sasuke, and if it all wasn't so confusing, she might have pressed the matter more.

"You were never a very good liar, Naruto," she sighed, giving him a look but dropping the subject. His reaction to her comment about their heights made her grin, however, and she folded her arms across her chest and laughed.

"I suppose. It's just strange, is all. I feel very small," she wrinkled her nose. "And looking up to you is weird," she added, tilting her head to the side and studying his face. Still the same Naruto. Just... not.

"Well, ya got me..." Naruto said, smiling and laughing sheepishly. "But if we come from different times, it doesn't matter... does it? I don't even know what point that Sasuke-bastard comes from... but all that matters is the here and now."

Taking Sakura's hand into his own, he looked down at her and smiled reassuringly, "I won't lie to you, Sakura-chan... Sasuke betrayed us and left, where I come from. I promised you I'd bring him back... if I'm able to do so much in this world, I will."

A sadness panged sharply in his heart, then. His teammates, Sakura and Sasuke of Team 7, the former loving the latter and the latter loving no one but himself and his stupid revenge... where did that leave him? It didn't matter, really, for he had made a promise to the Sakura in his time and he would keep it no matter what.

"Let's go find Sasuke, okay?"

Sakura had been doing a lot of open mouthed gaping lately. And staring. Her teal colored eyes went wide again as she gazed back up at Naruto in shock. Sasuke-kun had actually done it, then? He must have... he must have gone off to Orochimaru. She knew that was going to happen! She knew it all along.

A vague sort of numbness washed over here, and she lowered her gaze to their hands again, listening to the words Naruto was saying. He had promised her that he'd bring Sasuke back? And even though he was apparently not the same Naruto she had left behind in Konoha, he still cared about her, and Sasuke, their team and was going to keep that promise.

Amazing. Grown-up Naruto was surprising to say the least. Sakura looked back up at him and squeezed his hand warmly. "What happened to you, Naruto? You're grown up. You really are," she shook her head in awe. "Thank you," she added, understanding at least some of the significance of the promise he had made to her, in some other time and place.

Smiling wryly, she tilted her head at him. "Sasuke-kun's going to be pissed that you're older than him now, too," she giggled.

Indeed, the Naruto standing before her was not the one she remembered, but that didn't mean he cared any less about his team. In fact, the years of vigorous training he spent with Jiraya was proof of that. Stubborn was as stubborn did, and this one Uzumaki Naruto kept his promises until the very end.

Bonds were the most important thing, after all.

"I made a promsie to you, Sakura-chan," he said softly, expression falling somber as he did. "And no matter what happens... I intend to keep it. I could care less how that bastard feels about me being older... it's a moot point, now."

Perhaps this was some sort of divine intervention, giving him another chance to keep Sasuke away from Orochimaru. Even if it was, he vowed he'd get back to his own time and place to rectify his mistake of letting Sasuke go so easily.

"I'm not ever. Ever. Going to let Team Seven fall apart... okay? Count on it!"

Finding herself staring at him again, Sakura remained silent for a few moments, just looking at him. Naruto had always had a fiercely stubborn streak, a need to prove himself, to keep his promises and to do whatever he thought was right. It just seemed a bit different now. Stronger.

No doubt, though, that Naruto himself was stronger. He obviously had a few years on her, and Sasuke too. It would be interesting to see the two of them meet, this Naruto knowing what he did.

It was rather overwhelming, to say the least, and before she could think about it, Sakura found herself throwing her arms around Naruto, having to go up on her tiptoes again. The hug was brief, and tight and lightning quick, and in an instant, she had backed away again. Her cheeks were tinted with a faint blush, and she looked fairly embarrassed, but she met his gaze with resolve in her eyes.

"Alright, Naruto. I believe you," she nodded determinedly.

Eyes widened in disbelief as the younger Sakura hugged him, however briefly. He couldn't rememeber Sakura ever doing that to him, and he felt himself shy away somewhat in attempt to hide his blush. Though she wasn't the Sakura from his time, she was still Sakura, still the girl he cherished.

"Thanks, Sakura-chan. That means a lot," he said quietly, squeezing her hand, which he hadn't let go. "I'm never going to let Sasuke get away from us, alright?"

He could not express his appreciation to her in words, so he opted to squeeze her hand again. "You want me to tell you everyting? About what happened? I don't know... it kinda doesn't mean anything, now that we're here, but it's important that you should know, I think. If you're both like anything from the world I come from, Sasuke will try to leave us again."

Naruto, out of anyone, knew what Sasuke meant to her. He wouldn't lie to her or pretend any longer. She should know. Besides, the more prepared they both were this time around, the greater a chance they had at stopping the past from repeating itself. Even though Naruto believed he could stop Sasuke this time around, given their difference in strength if Sasuke was as young as Sakura, he wanted Sakura to have the chance to fight for the sake of their team as well.

The Sakura he remembered had gone so far as to prove them all wrong, in the area of her potential. She had nearly killed both himself and Kakashi wish one single blow. It was there, just needed a little bit of nurturing.

If Tsunade-baba wasn't there to do it, Naruto would help. Sasuke meant that much to him. If they both had to tie him down so he didn't go anywhere, all the better. Maybe with both Naruto and Sakura laying the smackdown, the bastard might actually get it.

Looking at the Naruto from... the future, she supposed, suddenly made Sakura realize that she was always taking Naruto, her Naruto from whatever Konoha it was she came from, for granted. He was always looking after her and helping her, even though most of the time, she treated him terribly. She was always too busy trailing after Sasuke.

Either way, she was lucky to be on a team with the two of them. Even if she was the weakest person out of the three of them, even if she was always more than a few steps behind them, she truly cared about them both.

"Would you? Tell me everything," she nodded slowly, not wanting to hear it and dying to hear it both at the same time. It was going to be bad, she knew it, and would probably break her heart, but maybe it was something she needed to hear. Besides, Naruto was offering, even though he looked like he was a little reluctant to tell her.

"I... I had a feeling Sasuke might do that," she admitted, chewing anxiously on her bottom lip, looking back up into Naruto's face. "I guess I was right," she laughed softly, but it held no happiness. The thought of Sasuke leaving, of betraying them, left a horrible feeling in the pit of her stomach.

"But please. Tell me?" she asked quietly, gazing at Naruto sincerely.

Not really understanding anything himself, Naruto knew it was best he try to explain it Sakura nonetheless. Sasuke had been the only one person to truly accept him, above anyone else, above even Iruka-sensei and the Third Hokage, and he was the one Sakura loved the most. Sasuke's betrayal was something he dealt with every day, not quite understanding the reasons but nonetheless, he had always been resolute in bringing the Uchiha back to the fold. Sasuke's betrayal hurt the most, but he could only imagine what it had done to Sakura.

He wanted to understand Sasuke in every way, shape and form. Not knowing drove him crazy. Not knowing what it was like... and yet knowing at the same time, for he considered Sasuke a brother, above all. They had both lead very lonely lives, in the beginning.

Naruto frowned down at Sakura, though the smile never left his lips. "Alright... you deserve to know.

"I don't really get what's happening here... that you don't know... but Sasuke, where I come from, deserted us. He left us for Orochimaru, so that he could be more powerful." Naruto released her hand and took a few steps ahead of her, crossing his arms and looking towards the sky. "I tried... I tried to get him to come back. You asked me to bring him back..."

Naruto shot a pained smile over his shoulder at her. "But I couldn't stop him. So... I went with Ero-Sen'nin to train for a couple of years. In that time, you trained with Tsunade-baba, and when we met up again... we set out to find him. I was so damned close to finding him--"

His fists clenched and his teeth grit, thinking about how close he was exactly.

"--and then I was brought here."

Not knowing what had happened, Naruto was just glad for this chance to start things over. "I don't know why you're both younger, but maybe this is our chance to do things over. And I promise, Sakura-chan, you'll have Sasuke again. You know that, right?"

It was bizarre, hearing a story about herself and her friends, about things that hadn't happened yet. Turquoise eyes widened again as Naruto continued speaking, although deep down, Sakura wasn't all that surprised to hear some of it. Ever since the second part of the Chuunin exam, in the forest when Orochimaru had bitten Sasuke and given him that mark, she had been slightly terrified that the raven-haired boy would leave them for him.

And she was right, unfortunately. Something twisted in her stomach at the idea of her and Naruto being left behind. Glancing down at her hand, the one Naruto had been holding, she noticed with a slight jolt that it felt oddly empty now. Strange. It was all so strange.

It sounded like Naruto, along with trying to get Sasuke back because he was friend, had tried so desperately to get their team member back because Sakura had asked him to. Did what she said to him have that much of an impact on him? She'd never considered this, really. Over their time together in Team Seven, Naruto had started off annoying the hell out of her, always getting in between her and Sasuke, fighting and bragging about kicking anyone's ass. Slowly, she had grown used to this, and had come to understand the two of them, to a degree.

She was just an observer, though. She had grown up with loving parents, a comfortable life, while Naruto and Sasuke had been orphaned and left alone. They had risked their lives for her so many times, and Naruto had even saved her once. Just once, she wished she could return the favour. But as of yet, she hadn't been able to.

And here he was again, helping her. It was amazing. She really did take him for granted.

And Sasuke-kun. The thought of him leaving the village practically ripped her heart out. Sakura squeezed her eyes shut tightly, not saying anything for a few moments.

When she opened them again, they were shining with tears she refused to let fall. "Naruto, Sasuke-kun was never mine to begin with," she whispered softly. "But thank you. I'll help you, alright? I'll help stop him from leaving, so you won't have to do it by yourself. I always make empty promises, but you? You stick to them," she murmured. "I'll help," she repeated.

"But you like him," Naruto pointed out, with somewhat sadness and not just a little envy in his voice. Sadness that he'd, no matter what, would always be the oddball left out, and envy that he might always be deadlast even to Sakura in the end. In a matter of seconds, however, he sobered up and chirped, "Stop denying it, Sakura-chyan. You've always like him! Who wouldn't? I like him, too."

Perhaps not in the same way she did, but he liked Sasuke just the same. Deep down, Naruto and Sasuke were generally the same. It pained him to see Sasuke to leave in the manner that he did. It pained him even more to see Sakura crushed by their teammate's betrayal.

"He's not a bad guy, just... he had a different way of going about things. I don't like it, but I think..."

Naruto offered his hand out to hers. "I think that.. between the both of us... Sasuke might begin to understand. We're his friends, right? We're a team! And..."

His lips curled into a bright smile, bright enough to rival the sun itself. A smile he truly felt because, in the end, he knew everything would be alright. He'd make sure of it. "We'll always be together."

"Well, yes," Sakura blushed lightly again, quirking a brow at the hint of jealousy in Naruto's tone. "But that's never mattered to him," she sighed. Obviously. If she had had to ask Naruto to bring Sasuke back, it must have meant that she couldn't do it herself and had to ask for help. How typical of her.

Looking down at Naruto's offered hand again, Sakura reached up to take it, squeezing it again and nodding. "We are a team. The best," she agreed. "I think you're right. I hope you're right, Naruto," she smiled genuinely at him, very grateful for his infectious optimism and sunny smile.

Needless to say, this is not what she had expected meeting up with Naruto to be like. She expected to find him causing trouble, or eating furiously, and her having to end up dragging him off after a few swift punches to the face to get his attention.

Instead, she found herself face to face, and hand in hand, with an older, wiser and more mature Naruto, with a window into their future, or what could have been their future. It was all still a little mindboggling, to say the least.

Curiously, Sakura took a step closer to him and peered up into his face. "Hmm. So, tell me, Naruto. Do you still have a crush on me now?" she asked bluntly, raising an eyebrow.

But Naruto didn't think any less of her for it. It was alright to be weak sometimes he thought, in matters such as these. If he hadn't been weak he'd have stopped Sasuke completely with the fox demon's help, but his feelings had gotten in the way and he could not deliver that blow that would keep the other man from leaving. He had wanted Sasuke to realize for himself that was he was doing was wrong. That he and Sakura, and Kakashi-sensei, that the entire village cared and didn't want him to travel down such a dangerous and self-destructive path.

Sakura was a feeling creature, someone who had loved and lost and ultimately gained strength in hopes of triumph, and Naruto thought that, above all else, waranted merit. It wasn't much different from what he himself had done.

Her question almost made him fall over. A crush on Sakura-chyan? Though his focus had shifted mainly to Sasuke over the years, that underlying crush from their childhood had still remained. He'd have been lying if he told her otherwise. Still, he feigned ignorance, for times were different and this Sakura was not the same and there were more important than his love life to worry about.

"What are you talking about? Of course I love Sakura-chyan... just as I love Sasuke. I'm not letting either of you out of my sight again!"

Sakura snorted softly. "Come on, Naruto. You know what I'm talking about," she prodded, narrowing her eyes at him, though for once, it wasn't out of anger or annoyance. Well, maybe slight annoyance. But mostly just for emphasis. Sakura still had his hand in hers, so it wasn't like Naruto could get away any time soon.

"If you don't, just tell me, hmm? I'm just curious," she explained, smiling at him a bit coyly now. Even Sakura had to admit that she had a fair amount of respect for this version of Naruto. And yes, shockingly enough, he was rather good looking on top of that. There was something about him. It was completely strange and somewhat startling for her to even put 'good looking' and 'Naruto' in the same sentence, but it was true.

"You used to. When you were younger, remember? Don't think I didn't notice. I'm not as dense as you are," she smiled teasingly. "Besides, I heard you a minute ago. You sounded jealous," she added, swinging his hand in hers back and forth distractingly, watching his face curiously still.

"I have another question," she perked up. "It's kind of selfish, but... what am I like? Where you came from? You said I was there..." she trailed off, another light blush on her cheeks.

"What do you mean, 'dense'? Jeez!" Naruto wrenched himself away from her, hiding his ever-present blush as he turned away. "Now you're just asking too many questions! And I was NOT jealous!"

The cat was out of the bag. He'd never heard, straight up, that Sakura might have been aware of his feelings towards her. It made him uneasy, anxious and uncertain, as he had been years ago. For her to acknowledge him that way... it was something that not even his future self was prepared for.

"Did you hit your head when you came here, or something? That's not important, now. And yeah..." He began, in an effort to answer her question. "You... where I come from, you're really strong! You have it within you, Sakura-chyan. Took lotsa training under that Tsunade-hag to bring it out in you, but you it's there! You're not apart of Team Seven for nothing, you know. I've never thought of you any less... you just..."

Naruto turned towards her, rubbing the back of his head and smiling shlyy, "Quit making me say all these things. It's embarrassing. I think we should go find Sasuke now..."

As she had said earlier, Naruto was a terrible liar, and Sakura could see right through him. Anyone could right now, judging from how he had quickly pulled away from her and was trying to hid his face. "I'm asking too many questions? That's great, coming from you, Naruto," she laughed, shaking her head.

"And yes, dense. Hinata has, er... had? I don't know, Hinata has or had a huge crush on you and you never noticed. I, on the otherhand, notice things like that, especially when the person in question is on my own team," she smiled mischievously. "And I can also tell that you were too jealous," she added. "Girls are more intuitive than boys," she shrugged.

The silly, smug little look on her face faded as Naruto began to describe the Sakura he knew, and her eyes widened once again in shock. She was strong? That was more than a little hard to believe, judging from her strength at that very moment, but...

She blushed again a bit, but smiled as Naruto became bashful again after praising her. This Naruto was easier to talk to. She'd only felt like hitting him a few times.

"Sasuke-kun..." she murmured, sombering up again. "Should we tell him everything we know about... him? Everything about you?" she asked, raising her eyebrows.

"Hinata?!" Naruto whirled around to face her, completely shocked and dumbfounded that he himself hadn't noticed such earlier on in life. Then again, Naruto had always been a very one-track mind kind of guy, and there wasn't much that distracted him. "That's crazy..." Nevertheless, that anyone from his youth would see him in that way, he thought that it was pure insanity, and he blushed hard. Hinata was a sweet girl but he never...

"No, I don't think we should tell him," he told Sakura in response to her questions about Sasuke. "I think that... fundamentally... people are the same. He'll seek out the same kind of power in this time... there's no point in us telling him what happens. He's going to do what he wants, because he's a bastard like that." The fists at his side clenched. The hurt, the betrayal, surfaced then, and a dark shadow passed over his eyes and perpetual smile.

Naruto wouldn't let Sakura see it. Instead, mustering all his strength, he turned to her and beamed brightly. "Maybe this is my chance to do things over. I'll stop him this time, Sakura-chan, you'll see..."

Giggling in amusement at Naruto's reaction to that little revelation about Hinata, Sakura merely nodded. "Yep," she replied. "She did. Does. Something," she shrugged, the whole time difference between them confusing her again. Who knew if the Hinata this Naruto knew still had a crush on him. And funnily enough, Naruto was still dodging her question. Ah well, she'd harass him about it later. It didn't seem like he was going anywhere any time soon.

Then again, none of them were, it looked like.

Nodding again, this time seriously, Sakura had to agree. "I think you're right. But Naruto, if Sasuke-kun is going to do what he wants, how can we stop him?" she looked at him skeptically, a bit downtrodden at the thought. Sasuke was just as stubborn as Naruto. They both had things they wanted and pursued them ruthlessly and with passion.

Blinking at the sudden dark expression on Naruto's face, Sakura quirked her head to the side, never having seen such a look on his face. But it disappeared as quickly as it came, as Naruto seemed determined to remain optimistic. For her, it would seem.

She couldn't help but smile back. It was contagious. "Mm! And like I said, I'm helping. I'm not going to be a useless member of the team anymore, Naruto. I'm going to do something. Prove myself," she informed him determinedly. She reached out and this time, took Naruto's hand in her own, squeezing it tightly in a show of support and determination.

Sakura's guess on Hinata was as good as Naruto's. He hadn't noticed anything pecularliar since the beginning, would probably forever remain ignorant to any shows of affection or admiration in the future. Hinata, however, would never stop being a dear friend. It was what was most important, above all else.

"No, we'll stop him," Naruto began, brow set and frown curling his lips downward. "Even if we have to break both of his legs, we'll stop him. I don't care how strong he gets...

If he gouges my eyes out, I'll curse him to death. If he cuts my legs off, I'll bite him to death. If he cuts off my head, I'll stare him to death. It doesn't matter. In the end, he's as good as mine. He's no different than me, Sakura-chyan..."

He squeezed Sakura's hand, looking down towards her with an energetic smile. "Then, when we get him, we'll go eat ramen together, okay? ...uh. Does this world have a ramen shop we can visit?"

"Well, I'd rather none of that happens, if you don't mind," Sakura shuddered, shaking her head, eyes wide. "I'd prefer both of my best friends in one piece, and not trying to kill each other, although that's hardly stopped you before," she remarked, raising an eyebrow at Naruto once more. Sakura hated when the two of them fought. Why did boys have to be so damn competitive?

Sakura wasn't sure how all of this was going to end up working. If Sasuke really wanted to leave them, how could they stop him? From the sounds of it, this Naruto had had a very hard time of it.

But at his remark about ramen, she had to laugh. "Well, if I ever had any more doubts about whether or not you're really Naruto, they're long gone now. I haven't seen any ramen shops, so far," she replied, looking exasperatingly amused.

"Eh? Well, there better be at least one ramen shop!"

Naruto sighed despairingly after his quick surveying of the square turned up nothing. All he could see were numbered buildings, an odd backdrop set against the plethora of people that looked just as strange. He hadn't taken much time to really look around and let it all sink in before meeting up with Sakura. Inexorably, his gaze fell on the carousel. After a few silent moments of staring at it, he decided he'd spent enough time observing. That thing was just damned creepy.

"Man. What is UP with this place?! And any idea where Sasuke might be? Or... anyone? Is anyone else here besides us?"

"No one really knows, I guess," she shrugged, looking up at the carousel with him, eyeing it warily. Sakura looked back at Naruto again and nodded.

"Sasuke-kun said he was near the cafe. As far as I know, he, Kiba, Hinata and Kakashi-sensei are all here somewhere. And that Chuunin exam judge, the one who died. He's here too," she explained, looking thoughtful and still a little surprised by that.

"I haven't run into any of them, though," she added. "And as far as I know... they're all from where I came from. But I could be wrong. I assumed you were the same Naruto I knew before I actually saw you face to face," she smiled, shrugging again. It was still all more than a little confusing.

"Exam judge?" The Chuunin exams were a while ago for him, and leave it to Naruto to forget little details like the identities of their examiners anyway. He blinked and scratched his chin as he tried to put a face to the title. "Exam judge, exam judge... exam judge?

"OH! The coughing guy? He's here? Alive? How's that?" Beyond perplexed by that, Naruto rubbed at his head. It was beginning to hurt. First the field of candy flowers, then the carousel, then finding Sakura two years younger than him, and now the dead were coming back to life?

Unless, of course, the exam judge came from a different point in time, but thinking of all the possibile reasons why made his head throb. All that mattered was that he was alive, he supposed.

Whatever the guy's name was. Naruto made a mental note to ask.

Naruto looked more than a little confused, and Sakura rolled her eyes in amusement and nodded. "Yes, him. His name is Hayate, I think," she replied, folding her arms again and absently drumming her fingers.

"It's probably connected to the same reason that you're older than me, and we're stuck in this strange city with no exits," she shrugged, glancing around them again. "Whatever that may be. Like I said, no one seems to know. Maybe we're supposed to figure it out."

"I've been staying with some friends that I made, but I was thinking," Sakura continued, switching subjects. "When we find Sasuke-kun, we should get a place to stay together, don't you think?" she raised her eyebrows inquisitively. "The three of us? And then we could try to find the rest of us who are here and get back..."

Sakura paused again and frowned. "If we find a way back, you'll go back to wherever it is you came from, and I'll go back to where I came from, but that won't be the same place..." Now Sakura's head was starting to hurt.

Feeling very much like his head would explode trying to figure it all out, Naruto shrugged his shoulders and dismissed it all with a carefree laugh. "Well, whatever! Things'll work out, somehow! I think you're right, now we should find a place to stay! We'll drag Sasuke on over and make him stay with u--"

Naruto stopped abruptly. Someone was saying something. He tilted his head back and looked towards the sky, as if the speaker would pop out of the clouds. Cocking an eyebrow, he listened hard so that he might figure out what it was saying. He remembered that voice; it was the same voice he heard when he arrived in the city.

It promised destruction. It promised to stroke his massive hero-complex. It promised both the end and the beginning and was laced with something that grabbed at him and pulled him in. The look in his eyes became distant and his head felt light.

"Hey... hey, Sakura-chyan..." His voice was so detached, it felt like it hadn't even come from his own body. "Do you hear voices?"

Blinking as Naruto stopped short and started looking up at the sky, Sakura felt a shiver run down her spine, sending goosebumps along her bare arms and legs. Shuddering a little, she looked up with him, but didn't see anything. For a moment, she thought she caught a whisper, faint and fleeting, but it passed quickly, and she didn't hear anything above the murmurs of conversation as people walked by them.

Naruto sounded really strange, and Sakura lowered her gaze back down to him, looking at him oddly. "No... nothing unusual," she replied slowly. He still wasn't looking at her, and sounded distracted and far away, as if he was daydreaming about ramen or kicking Sasuke's ass. Except that usually when Naruto daydreamed, he had a stupid smile on his face and muttered nonsense. It was different this time. And a little unnerving.

"Naruto?" she said softly, stepping closer and resting her hand on his arm carefully, still watching his face warily. "Are you in there?" she added, waving her hand in front of his face.

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