DISCLAMER: If I owned any of this it wouldn't be a fan fiction would it? See the logic?

Naruto

Day 14-Dusk

I look out my glass window observing the last glimmer of golden rays turn ever darker and redder as their source withdrew from the world. I always feel a melancholy during this time of day, not simply because I know what lurks outside all too giddy that the cursed sun isn't there to damn them, but because I have nothing left to preoccupy myself, giving me too much time to think. After all, standing here in my wooden fortress atop a lower mountain summit, what is there to do? It's quite spacious and cozy mind you, so far comprised of two floors furnished with the essentials that I've acquired in the past two weeks, my needs are met well. However it's also very devoid of what I crave most, a need I can't sate and am constantly reminded as every one of my footsteps echoes in my hall, crying out the same question and never met with an answer.

Why am I alone?

I am protected in my small fort, safe; I've accumulated a bountiful amount of resources in the mines I've created. Better armor, tools, and weapons I've stockpiled, each day yielding more as I continue to grow my one man empire, innovating, improving, learning, the only pursuit being to find if there are any limits to what I can accomplish, and find a way to break them in two. That is my life during the day, by night I don't go out, by night all I can do is ponder, rest, and dream. Some nights I have dangerous thoughts, to equip my armaments and go out into the cold dark blanket to challenge those monsters, to test myself against them if only to find out if I really am strong enough to live in this world. Only the base, self preservation instincts keep me within sanity, as much as it damages my ego to say this, but I have little else to live for.

How long will I stand? To what end will this come other than one of two? I struggle all my life, risking limb and a few precious treasures until my body is too lame to even get out of bed, to simply lie there until I never move again and this body of a strange animal within his crude palace is claimed by the world he fought so hard against? Or more likely I make a mistake, I don't see the shadow of a creeper behind me, or a lucky arrow makes its mark ending me before I get the chance to lie in my bed to wait until my last breathe passes.

When you're the only conscious being that exists, with the ability to change the world around you does that not make you a god? If so then it's no wonder why gods create other beings to be by their side, the definition is irrelevant with nothing to compare it to. In the end however, all gods desire love more than anything. To give and receive it; for all to become better by it.

As my steps echo through my hall I hear something else. I count an echo, another, and not my footsteps. To confirm this I stop right in my tracks, and a sound reverberates through my hall not of my making. A knocking, from my door that led out into the unforgiving wilds.

An electric chill snaked around my spine slithering downwards. Never, not once has any enemy I've encountered been able to gather the wits to make such a sound. A zombie would bang and try to smash at the door, groaning and moaning in that irritating way it does, and they were easy enough to deal with. Nothing else, not a creeper, skeleton, or spider seemed to have the ability to pound against the door and were content to stand at attention, waiting for their prey to come out, which usually resulted in a few well practiced impalements and slices. But what was happening now was entirely different. The knocks were controlled and even, sequenced in three at a time. This of course suggested something that was not only bipedal with hands, but something that knew properly how to use them, something with an intellect.

In my mines, my senses would whisper to me, even though I was surrounded by lights, had checked every cranny around me I always felt a subtle pair of eyes on me. I would look around and find nothing, not a skittering or a groan, but absolute silence. I would always shrug it off, but I knew, in the corner of my eye, in the dark recess you could never reach something lied in wait. A shadow that left a splinter in your brain that you could never pull out.

The knocks continued, and silently I went to a nearby chest of mine, and grabbed the hilt of an iron blade. Just as cautiously I approached the door, mouth turning dry and heart working twice as hard from a minute ago. My hands were jittery yet at the same time responded less to more controlled commands. Instinct was a driving force now, and every fiber of my being primed to repel the invader, for I knew my life depended on it. A hesitant hand reached for the knob, shaking, chilled to the bone, but nonetheless obeyed me. I sprang the door open and poised myself to strike.

What I saw shocked me to the core, I never could have predicted such a thing in a million years.

Sakura

Day-14 Dusk

An arrow is knocked into my bow as my back is braced against a tree, my haggard breathe passing only through my dry burning nostrils to minimize the amount of sound I create. For the moment I do my best not to give away my position, and I need the element of surprise on my side. The bone frame of a man also wielding a bow was only a few paces from me, and we had been exchanging fire for a small while now, evident by the litter we've left in the bark of several trees. At this point he has not even touched me, either because I am too nimble or he is a lousy shot, in any event I have made plenty of hit marks on him, and one more should end this without fuss. By my count there are thirty-two arrows in my possession, obviously more then enough for one skeleton but they are still precious, after all he isn't the only thing to mark me as a quarry.

I peered behind the bark, and there it stood with that permanent grin, which would be misleading considering the way he scanned the area in a rather dumbfounded manner, he had no idea where I was. Nothing audible came from me as my arrow took its sight to the skull, I pulled back the string to its maximum as the potential energy mounted, begging to become kinetic. I held my breath to steady my body as much as it could, although my lips were tugged upward with satisfaction at the last moment as I released. It fell over in a heap clacking against itself, and that was the end of that.

Two weeks ago I woke up in this miserable world, no memory of anything before, except some general knowledge excluding history, and strange talents in creating things. All that I knew for certain was my name: Sakura. This whole time I'd been on a private quest, to find out what this world was, and if possible, to find others like me. Up until very recently those goals didn't seem likely to be met, two nights ago though I spotted what looked like a light in the night horizon and naturally investigated. Each night I would see the light, still where it was before and would know that I had gotten closer to it.

Now that I am close enough, I see it for what it truly is, a structure atop a low summit, lit by torches along its walls: civilization.

Sakura

Day-14 Night

I stood at the door, heaving a little from the more than brisk hike up the mountain. I wonder who could dwell in there, what they would look like, or if they would even welcome me, but of course it was either face their judgment or carry out my own sentence in the wilds. The choice was clear. Even so, when my hand knocked upon the door three times it was soft and rather timid.

No answer, they probably didn't hear it. I emboldened myself and knocked more assertively this time, again in three, and again no answer. I knocked once more and this time the door sprang open. I froze at the sight of a young man with sword in hand ready to impale me, I couldn't resist yelping, and apparently neither could he.

We both stood there for a moment, in disbelief, somehow not fully registering that we were actually staring into the eye of another human being. His stance softened, as did his manic oceanic eyes, and we simply stared at each other as if looking upon the most astounding thing in existence, because to us, this was true.

And as we continued to gaze we felt…we knew one another. Yes, that crazy golden hair, the marks on his face, he was even wearing the ridiculously colored jumpsuit. I heard a word escape his lips, "Sakura".

And I knew his, "Naruto," he could hear from me.

Flabbergasted would be a gross understatement, and almost comically we continued gaze at each other not speaking another word, for we could not find any. It seemed though that Naruto became aware of this enough to at least mutter these words, "I, uh, come in, come in. I'm pretty sure you don't want to stay out there right?" he said blinking and attempting to compose himself. After permitting me to enter he shut the door behind me, and I took that moment to behold his makeshift stronghold, and I must say, I was impressed with the resources he managed to gather.

Naruto it seemed though had an anxious look in his eye, and I wouldn't be surprised if mine reflected the emotion. Again we found ourselves transfixed, staring at each other as if expecting some grand event to appear by our meeting. Naruto spoke first managing a rather skittish "Hi."

"Hi," I replied to him in a similar fashion.

We both noticed the pattern of using a few words followed by awkward silence, the boy in front of me seemed to find this even more uncomfortable then I did. "So…how are you?" his throat released softly.

"Oh, no worse for ware," I replied simply.

This was getting us nowhere.

Naruto had a look of growing impatience, but retained his composure when saying, "So, is there anyone else with you?"

To this I frowned, "I was hoping you had others with you, maybe even explain how I got here."

At my statement Naruto looked at me with a mix of apprehension and disappointment. "You don't know either?" he asked with disbelief in his voice.

"Either? What do you mean 'either'? You know my name so I assume you know what's happening right?" I threw the question back at him.

"I don't even know how I knew your name!"

"Well I don't know how I know yours."

Naruto's fists clenched at his hair as if threatening to pull him out, frustration pouring out of his body, and this gave me apprehension as I took a step back. He seemed to stammer a bit, "This, this doesn't make any sense." The boy who I half knew looked at me with want, as if doing so could extrapolate the answers we both desperately needed, "We know each other but, we don't know why, or how? Sakura who are we?" he pleaded with desperation coursing though his voice, like he'd been told a painful truth and was asking me to tell him that it was not so.

But I couldn't give it to him, to heaven I wish I could, I wish I had those answers that could wipe away the disappointment and despair that crept on his features. I felt like I had more than underwhelmed him, disappointed someone I held dear even though a few minutes ago I wasn't aware he existed. And in truth his frustration was becoming my own, and his pressing of the subject was tearing at me, and I couldn't take it anymore. "I don't know!" I cried, releasing the tension within me, and at this Naruto seemed to shrink from his interrogative and needing stance. I could see he hadn't meant to make me uncomfortable, and he gazed at me in an apologetic manner, to which my face receded to gentle forgiveness.

Still, we hadn't made any progress so far, and I wondered what he was thinking at the moment.

Naruto

In one fell swoop, my hopes had never been lifted so high and then come crashing down so rapidly in the time I have been conscious. I was elated beyond compare, and then utterly devastated. I had hoped that if anyone could help me, give me purpose or perspective, that I would finally get some sort of closure. But this was not to be it seemed.

I was indeed greatly disappointed, however, and though this frustrated me to no end I knew that I had to count my blessings. I looked at her, her features and form so familiar as if I had seen them everyday, and though I recall no history of her or she of me. In the least we were together again, that is if this really is an "again".

I gave an apologetic look for my outburst forcing one of her own, to which she smiled at me in reconciliation, and I mentally thanked her for her understanding. "Well," I started, wanting to put that small episode behind us, "we may not know how or why, but that doesn't matter as long we're together I suppose."

Her smile brightened, "True enough, though I hope you don't lose your cool anymore like always."

My brow furrowed bemusedly at her asking, "How do you know what I always do? We barely even know our names!"

"Because I'm always right, and you know it too!" she retorted with her raised chin as if to smugly look down upon me.

In my throat I felt a laugh bubble up to the surface, and I felt no reason to hold it back. For a moment, emotions that not moments ago were as a distant dream as catching the sun welled in me. My laughter filled the room without an ounce reticence, and not long after I could hear Sakura's joining mine fervently. It was like everything else yielded to this moment, permitting us to feel unburdened, and innocent. This joy, I feel as though I've missed it dearly.

Because I've missed a dear old friend. She was really here, in front of me, and nothing could take this moment ways from me.

SssSSSS Boom!

Except that, that would about do it.

Loud though it was, and I instinctively ducked in response, my home seemed to remain untouched, from the inside at least. The explosion however wasn't far off, and normally I would simply be glad that the terrible phallus had...for lack of better phrasing, gone off early, were it not something reaching my ears that did not at all blend with the boom.

A very human, guttural shout, from outside.