Bygone

Part 3: Stranger

Bygone

Part 3 • Stranger

It was a warm and nice day. The sky littered with clouds with the sun peeking out. A warm breeze disturbing the trees. The chirping of birds made sure the day wasn't spent in silence.

All which greatly disturbed Sakura. It tugged at her senses and reflexes. Pulled her to a time that isn't anymore — that never will be (she'll be sure of that). Constantly jumping and waiting for an attack was slowly wearing her down. No longer able to achieve any sort of sleep (even when in war she could sleep). She was exhausted and wired, never a good combination in a shinobi — especially a war veteran.

It's been perhaps a month now since she first awoke in her old bedroom. After leaving the Land of Waves, Sakura set her sights on anywhere besides the Land of Fire. It was too close to home, to the place she's seen get destroyed countless times, to where all her loved ones (not her loved ones, they aren't hers) are still alive and young and naive.

The thought of just how naive they were (are) almost makes Sakura sick. She loves her village, she truly does with all her heart, but she will admit that there are problems in its teaching. How she wished they'd been a bit harsher, wished they'd been more invested in their shinobi career. There was a lot she wished was different.

Sakura releases a deep breath through her nostrils.

But that's the whole reason she's here, isn't it? To make things different. To make things better.

And that's why she's currently in the Land of Hot Springs, or more specifically: Yugakure, the Village Hidden in Hot Water.

She remembers the reports she's read from Then. Yugakura was largely responsible for most of the peace that was held, having been the "village that has forgotten wars". But it was a shinobi village first and foremost. And it was the birthplace of one of the many deadly S-classed missing-nin.

Sakura remembers the aged looking report. It was dated just a month or so after Yugakura declared its transformation from a military force. There was a bit of a massacre, the report had stated, by the number one shinobi objected to its transformation. The shinobi became a missing-nin after he slaughtered his fellow Yugakura shinobi.

While she never met the man herself, she'd recognize the man responsible for Asuma's death anywhere. Shikamaru was very thorough in his report on that mission.

But here in the past, she can't help but feel like she'd disappoint everyone — especially Naruto. Her breath falters remembering her brother in everything but blood. She remembers his smile, warm aura, his encouraging words. Sakura sips on her tea, internally fighting to remember the good times. She had sat down in a small cafe by the window to watch the people walk by.

To watch as a silver-haired teenage boy saunters by, cursing and glaring in his bad mood, a triple bladed scythe over his shoulders.

She's almost startled by how young he is. He looks to be in his mid-teens. It made sense, the reports she's read described him to be in his twenties but knowing he was immortal, they couldn't be certain.

With a quick scan of her brown eyes, she's already noticed several things.

He doesn't wear a necklace or medallion, Sakura remembers there was a mention of it within Shikamaru's report. He had noted that it was connected with the God he followed: Jashin.

She's read up on the religion that surrounds the God. It's an old one really, information on it is hard to come across. So she wonders, how did he come upon it?