My Crazy Secret (Sakura Haruno fanfic)

20

Even though I destroyed about half the bridge, the village decided to thank us anyway and celebrated.  Many people came up to me and shook my hand, although it was a bit awkward.  We ended up staying for about two more days.

On the day we were supposed to go, I packed quicker than everyone else and went to say goodbye to Tsunami, Inari, and Tazuna.  I found Tsunami with a person, a very familiar, very stupid, very annoying person.  My face broke into an instant smile, "Haku!"

He looked over to me, "Yo, Sakura, I wanted to see you guys off, actually, just you.  The others can die."

"Shut up," I said, trying and failing to hide my smile, "If anyone sees you, you're dead."

"I know, but I got something for you," he dug into his pocket and pulled something out, "hold out your hand."

I did as he instructed, "This better not be a salamander or something like that."

He rolled his eyes, "Relax, even if you're supposed to be a boy, it doesn't mean you can't have something like this," he dropped the object into my open palm.

I picked it up to inspect it.  It was a delicate necklace, made with silver and a small pendant hung from it, sparkling pink and green jewels clustered on a flat plane to look like a small bunch of miniature sakura blossoms.

"Who'd you steal this from?"  I asked, "This kind of thing isn't what you'd see on a normal person."

He clutched his chest, "I'm hurt, you think I stole your present?  I bought it, using the money we stole from Gato."

"It's beautiful, Sakura," breathed Tsunami.

I fastened it around my neck and suddenly felt the surging energy in me go from a tidal wave of power to more of a manageable, trickling stream.  "What the heck?"

"I remember what happened on the bridge, the pink jewels help stabilize magoi, the green does the same for wakfu, and the metal is a silver alloy commonly used to do the same for chakra."

"Pretty and practical, thanks, Haku."

"Don't mention it, I owe you for trying to kill you anyway, plus with how many time's you saved me before, I'm not sure this would be enough to make up for it."

"This is way more than enough, I'm stabilized, and that means my energy signature's harder to detect.  This can help me survive."

"Good to know.  I gotta go now, but visit later, 'kay?"

"Got it, bye Haku."

Haku left, and Tsunami placed a hand on my shoulder, "Sakura, I have something for you as well."

"Oh no, Tsunami-san.  I don't need anythi-"

"This will help you understand what's going on in you, and don't worry, we have more copies.  Kaiza wrote them based on his old travels, but never sold that many so we got a lot of them anyway,"  she said, handing a me a thick paperback book.

"Oh, thanks then," I accepted the book, scanning it's cover.  It looked old, and a thin layer of dust had settled on it, despite Tsunami's best efforts to clean it off.  The front had a picture of an activated zaap portal, its once bright colors worn with age.  Still, it looked well taken care of and crisp, as if no one had ever opened it.  Its title was written in neat italicized hiragana: The People of Every Dimension.

"I remember how hard it was when I was a girl your age.  I had crushes on boys, secrets from parents, and quite a few awkward moments.  It must be even harder for you, so even if you have no parents, I hope this can teach you a bit about yourself and how to handle it."

"Thank you, Tsunami-san.  I have next to nothing from my old home, this is amazing," I breathed, running a hand over the cover.

She smiled, "Consider it a gift from both me and Kaiza."

When the others finished and were ready to leave, they got gifts a well, an old Uchiha relic that was kept safe in their family for Sasuke, a pop-up ramen cookbook (and a fair bit of advice on not gluing ramen to your head) for Naruto, and a new book for Kakashi-sensei (though the adults refused to tell us what it was about when we asked).  

When we went back to the bridge construction site to wait for the boat, I had an idea.  With my new power range, I should be capable of pulling it off too.

"Oi, can you clear the bridge?"  I asked my team, "I think I can finish it for them."

Once the bridge was cleared and I was given permission, I planted my hands into the ground just outside of the working area and concentrated, I could feel Haku's necklace working.  Thick, powerful trees grew, branches intertwining.  Vines grew above to better connect the gaps and solidify the road.  A few minutes later, there was a stable, fully functioning bridge, made completely from fruit bearing plants.

"Interesting idea, Hikari," said Kakashi-sensei, both a travel path and a source of harvest."

"Might required more maintenance though," said Sasuke.

"Teme, there's water right there!"

"Salt water, idiot.  The ones in the sea are salt water type plants anyway, and these plants can live on their own.  All they need is some occasional trimming."

"On a bridge this big?"  asked Duckbutt incredulously.

I rolled my eyes, "Better than needing repairs and painting all the time."

I stepped out onto the bridge and stomped my foot a few times, no Fanalis strength, of course.  "Come on, aren't we going home?"