19/4-17: Now beta-read by Reppad98, thus with minor fixes.

I'm finally back, and ready to post this story. I wrote this periodically for about a year, and often I had to prioritize other things first. I also wanted to finish it before I started posting, as I knew this would be longer and more difficult to write, and I had to make sure I actually could finish it.

Possible spoilers up to episode 400 in Naruto Shippuden.

So this will be a 12 chapter story about Sakura, Sasuke and Team 7, in a setting similar to time-travel.

I would love feedback, and I hope you like the story :)

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto.

Stumbling in a world of possibilities

Chapter 1 - Arrival

Sasuke

This was stupid. They would only drag him down; the dobe, the fangirl, and to top it off, their jōnin sensei who managed to get hit by an eraser. How would that help his goal in any way? Strength would certainly not come by listening to ramen rambling. Worse yet, he would have to endure that clingy, giggling, baby of a girl. She had obviously never experienced anything bad, to be able to treat the life of a shinobi lightly, and for her lips to create a smile like that. His new teammates were already disappointing, on their very first day.

"I like... Well, the person I like-" Here we go again...

But they didn't, because Sakura grew very silent. She was pretty shallow, so there was probably not much more to say.

"Last guy." Their Sensei apparently agreed, as he indicated for Sasuke to introduce himself.

"My name is Uchiha Sasuke. There are many things that I hate, and there aren't a lot of things that I like. Also, I have an ambition-"

"Kai!"

It was that girl. Interrupting him, she had no manners at all, did she? She didn't look too good, though. Her eyes had widened to previously unknown dimensions, and they were transfixed on their new sensei. Her hands were shaking as they came to clutch her head, and she toppled over. All small movements became jerky and awkward. It was just the strangest transformation he had witnessed, in the span of seconds. And then her mumbling started.

"Not real... not happening... must get out of this..."

"Um, Sakura-chan, are you okay?" A tentative hand reached out from the Dobe to rest on her shoulder, but she swatted it away, which actually sent the idiot flying. She didn't even seem to register that. Their new sensei casually looked over the railing, before sitting down again, meaning the Dobe was probably ok. It was widely known that the idiot could survive almost anything, anyway.

"Kai!" Sakura stole a glance at her surroundings, but quickly curled in on herself again. Kakashi-sensei looked on with what must be mild interest. "Kai! Damn it! This is not happening... kai! Kai! Kai! Kai!" She continued like a broken record, as if the next time would work to dispel whatever she thought herself trapped in. Finally her hands gave up, and came apart in her lap. "This is ridiculous! What does he think he can achieve with this anyway?"

"Who is 'he'?" In spite of himself, Sasuke was curious. It's not every day you witness a mental breakdown, after all.

She lifted her eyes. Slowly, ever so slowly she met his gaze. There was confusion there. Perhaps fear behind that, and really her eyes were just a storm of emotions. All wrong, coming from a girl like her. And then she flinched away from him. She made no sense. She was quickly becoming an annoyance. Well, more than usual.

"Sa...suke." She dragged out his name, as if tasting it. Ugh. And no 'kun.' Where did the suffix go? "Amazing. This is so convincing."

Her hand lifted, fingers poking his nose in an almost contemplative way. He produced his best glare, but she just laughed. It was highly offending.

Sakura started walking back and forth with the coordination to rival a drunk, still muttering. It almost seemed like she tried using her brain for once. Then again, her sudden giggling might indicate otherwise. Even stranger, Sakura flung her arm around the shoulders of their new sensei. "Well sensei, have any tips for me? What am I supposed to do with you all, hm?"

Kakashi just stared blankly into nothing, his eye slightly wider.

"Tell me, what's the meaning of this?" she shouted up to the sky with a death glare. She had already lost the potential-teammate status, and was quickly deteriorating from 'mental breakdown' to 'borderline crazy.' Or perhaps she really was drunk? At twelve, that would normally be unthinkable, especially for such a 'goody girl,' but her behavior told another story.

"Why don't you start by finishing your introduction?"

"Is that it? Interrogation? Gain my trust, make me relax before all intel is sucked out? What do you possibly hope to gain from that, in the middle of this? I don't see how I can help with anything, even if I was inclined to. Which I'm not, obviously."

Their sensei raised his eyebrow, probably contemplating this new burst of nonsense. Intel? Well, that was ridiculous.

Kakashi didn't seem to know what to do with that statement either. Then he seemed to settle on something, while Sakura became increasingly fidgety. "That's it? Why did you join the academy if you don't even want to cooperate? Do you not realize the implications of a team?" He did not seem as friendly inclined towards the weird girl anymore. Sasuke could sympathize. He had always tried to keep his distance; after all, she was a... fangirl. In retrospect, that had been a wise decision. He had had no idea how crazy she really was.

Sakura put her hands together again, slowly, as if the thirteenth time would be the charm. Very precisely her hands formed the seal, and her "kai" was strong and clear. Nothing happened, of course. Sakura let her hands fall with finality, and opted to look at Kakashi with renewed interest. She looked fascinated, like a puzzle was somehow slowly put together again.

"I had at least expected a thousand deaths by now. Is this meant to be psychological warfare? Am I supposed to break down from all this? Nostalgia, or the memories you tamper with?" She was definitely... intrigued, with a little bit confusion stirred into the mix, and a dangerous gleam in her eyes which had no business appearing in twelve year old girls. "Wouldn't that be more effective on Sasuke?"

What was that supposed to mean?

"Never mind, he's probably too cold to care." This was quickly becoming extremely insulting, coming from a girl who knew nothing, who didn't even have a firm root in reality.

"So tell me, Sakura, why exactly do you believe yourself trapped in a genjutsu?" Kakashi drew out the question nonchalantly, still sitting totally relaxed. Sasuke had no idea how he did it. He could feel his every muscle only a thought away from springing into action. To retreat or put her out of her misery, whichever he deemed best.

"Please, what else could it be? I know what this is."

"And why is that?"

"You tell me. Sharingan is your specialty, not mine."

The transition from inquisitive to dangerous was instant. "How do you know about my eye?" Eye… His? NO. No. Not possible.

"How could I not know, you're the one who trapped me." Sasuke quickly focused on their sensei. Could it be true?

"I didn't put you in a genjutsu, Sakura."

"Like hell you didn't. What do you call this? Why even bother with the act? I know none of this is real."

"Everything here is real."

"Fine." She slumped down beside him with an air of finality. Sasuke discreetly put some distance between them. "This is ridiculous, but fine. I'll play along." She was still talking nonsense. And then she looked around with an amused tilt of her lips. "Where did Naruto go?" She said the Dobe's name with a sarcastic tone, but he had no idea what that was supposed to tell them. Briefly he wondered if his name would be said with the same dry amusement.

"Well, your friend went over the railing when you swatted him away." Their sensei seemed to have come out of his pensive attitude, and was now friendly as ever. Weird. Then again, Sasuke's whole team was weird.

"I did?" She seemed genuinely confused. She walked up to the railing and looked down. Oddly enough, her movements were fluid again, graceful even, all awkwardness gone. The transition had been so gradual he hadn't really noticed it before. He hadn't thought that anyone could recover from a drunken state that quickly, or otherwise the mind adapt to the body like that. Then again, Sasuke had never touched sake.

Sakura leaned over the edge. Sasuke hoped she was contemplating the sight of her fallen comrade, and her own involvement in said event. He would probably never know. In any case, she seemed to come to a conclusion. She walked, straight over the railing and back, Naruto in tow.

This girl... She wasn't fazed in the least by having to carry a boy heavier than her own weight, straight up a vertical wall. Could it be some sort of drug? A shinobi pill of some kind? Those were strictly illegal for underage people, though. Even for genin they were only available in special cases.

"So, sensei, gonna tell us about the test now? The whole 66% failure rate, rattling us up a bit? Tell us how important it is to starve ourselves before tomorrow, hm, Ka-ka-shi." Test? The girl hadn't even understood that they passed. At least her stupidity was unchanged.

Kakashi was for the first time openly surprised. "Actually... Yes, I was coming to that. Since you already did the honors, Sa-ku-ra, I'll just say this: You'll all meet me tomorrow at training ground 7 at 5:00 am. Don't be late." Sakura snorted at that last comment, mumbling something resembling "Yeah right."

There really was a test? What was the meaning of- Their sensei promptly poofed away, leaving this already messed up team behind. Smart move. He would need to learn that one.

Sakura... In less than thirty minutes, this girl had displayed emotions and abilities far beyond what she should have been capable of. Her grim face and hard eyes were the very opposite of her earlier behavior. Even her voice was different. No shrill singsong fangirling, only a continuous stream of madness. Maybe she had a split persona, and this other side of her never surfaced before – at least not in his presence. Sasuke would never have believed it an hour ago, but he prayed to Kami for Crazy-Sakura to disappear, and Fangirl-Sakura to resurface.

Kakashi

He always visited after meeting the new hopefuls, before enduring the bell test, the disappointment and the reminder of his own failure. They put everything into perspective. He saw himself clearly, with all black in front of him, and the names of his precious people.

This time there would be no time to visit the memorial, as he had planned earlier. They would have to wait, and he would be stuck with this... problem. An entirely unexpected complication.

"Hokage-sama, there's something seriously wrong with one of my students."

Perhaps there would be time later, even if, ironically, he would be late going there.

"Really? You've only had them for a few hours. And you asked for Naruto. You knew what-"

"It's Haruno Sakura. Sakura is the problem, not Naruto."

Bushy white eyebrows rose in surprise, and the Hokage put down his pipe. "How so?"

"We were in the middle of the introductions. Suddenly she started to act out. Convinced she was trapped in a genjutsu, and even suggested I'd done it – with my Sharingan, no less!"

Fine wrinkles borne of worry started to form on old Sarutobi's face. "Did you notice anything unusual up 'til that point? How was she before she started acting strange?"

"She was completely ordinary the first minutes. Then as she was about to introduce herself, she suddenly became a different person."

"Do you think she's a spy? Do you think she's the real Sakura?"

"I... honestly don't know. If she was a spy, she would be the worst, most obvious spy ever. She seemed genuinely confused and panicked. She wasn't subtle at all, in fact she didn't try to hide anything. She even talked to us as if we knew what had happened to her, as if we caused it. And her chakra signature didn't change. If anything, it became more distinctly hers."

"Do you think there's any immediate danger?"

"No. I don't think so. I'd like to observe her, see if anything changes."

"I will allow this, for now. Report back if you notice anything suspicious." Kakashi nodded his consent and started to form seals. "Actually, report back anyway. I'd like to know their progress." The office disappeared in a swirl of leaves.

A/N:

Kai - "release", used to dispel genjutsu

Dobe - "loser/dead last"