it's been a while.
title: epinephrine
pairing: sasuke/sakura, shikamaru/ino
summary: you wish this were just a game.
chapter: 1/5
notes: i finished writing this almost half a year ago, but felt it wasn't on par with my other works with the crappy ending, so i never posted it. but it'd be a shame, because i put a lot of work into it, so it's here. yay.
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epinephrine
you’d better be faster than them, or you won’t survive.
-
-
-
Sakura sped up her pace, feeling oddly excited as she walked down the streets of Kyoto. “This is going to be so awesome.”
“I know, I can’t wait,” Ino gushed with the same amount of enthusiasm. “Imagine the money spent on this! The science it took to make it! They’ve been working on this for like, what, fifteen years?”
“Yeah, no kidding. We were still children back then.”
Just up ahead was a small crowd, composed of people around the same age as them. They were standing in front of the newest arcade in the city-famous for its new simulation game-almost the same as living your actual life, all the way down to your five senses. Sakura and Ino were excited to try out their new game-they’d been looking forward to it since its announcement a little over a year ago.
“Hey, that guy’s kind of cute.” As they joined the crowd that was waiting for the store to open for the first time, Ino pointed to Sakura’s left. She glanced over, and caught the gaze of a certain boy-dark hair, and even darker eyes.
“Scratch that,” Sakura said, finding herself a little short of breath. “He’s really cute.”
“Beautiful.”
“Yeah.” She tore her gaze away from the boy’s, and spotted someone else, not too far from him. “I think that guy suits you more. Attractive hair.” The boy she was referring to was standing in a slouch, with his hair tied in a high ponytail, reminding her of a pineapple.
Ino considered this for a moment. “Yeah, probably. He looks easier to push around.”
Both girls laughed, and immediately forgot about the boys just a few feet away.
-
“Oi, teme,” Naruto muttered, elbowing Sasuke’s ribs. “Those girls are staring at you.”
“I don’t care,” he retorted, but looked, nonetheless. It was the one with the alarmingly pink hair that caught his eye first-she had surprisingly green eyes to match. Their eyes locked for a small number of seconds, before she looked away.
“She’s kind of cute, isn’t she? The one with the pink hair. But the blonde one is way hotter-”
“I said I don’t care,” Sasuke said sharply. “If you’re going to drag me along with you to this stupid arcade, the least you could do is shut up for five minutes.”
“Aw, Sasuke-kun,” Naruto cooed. “I love you too!”
He was about to say something witty to confuse the blonde, but a silver-haired man just exited the arcade, quieting the entire crowd. He had a handkerchief covering his mouth, and Sasuke resisted the urge to snort-it looked ridiculous.
“On behalf of everyone who had helped make this happen,” he said, sounding bored, “I would like to announce the grand opening of this arcade.” The crowd immediately began to flood into the building, nearly running him over. Naruto cheered loudly beside Sasuke, before making his own mini-stampede, and he resisted the temptation to just turn around and leave. In the long run, that’d be more painful than actually staying.
He walked at a slower pace, beside Shikamaru. “Man, this is such a drag,” the other boy said, cleaning out his ear with his pinkie.
The inside of the building was dark, lit up by the blinking, colorful lights of the various arcade games. Some people stopped to play them, but the majority of the crowd continued on until they were near the back of the building, where the simulation game was.
He found Naruto clambering into one of the seats, and he took the one beside it. Shikamaru sat himself on his other side. On the screen in front of him were the words, flashing and somewhat intimidating, WELCOME TO 2113.
2113 was only twelve years from now, he thought vaguely, before pressing the start button. Immediately, the screen changed, showing one paragraph of a back-story.
The world is at stake. The country is in a civil war, and it’s up to one courageous person to set it right. People are being modified and built into weapons, pollution is staining the skies, and innocents are dying. Will you be the one to save the world, or will you be the one to lead it to its death?
(Warning: Images may be offensive to some individuals, and feelings of hunger and fatigue will not be omitted from the game.)
Despite the cliché and lame language, it caught his interest. He pressed the next button.
GOOD or EVIL?
He contemplated this. “Naruto, which one are you picking?”
“Huh? Pick what?” The moron still wasn’t done reading the back-story.
“Good or evil?”
Naruto snorted. “Good, obviously. But you seem kind of evil to me, so I don’t care if choose that. I’ll just kick your ass!”
Sasuke rolled his eyes, and chose GOOD. He was then presented with the different roles he could play: hero, friend, or weapon (defect). A smirk graced his lips-a defected weapon sounded interesting. He chose that.
“Obviously, I’ll be the hero!” Naruto boasted from beside him.
“Don’t,” Sasuke warned. “You’ll be the first to lose, and then you’ll have to wait for us to finish.”
“What the hell, Sasuke!”
“Be a friend,” he suggested. He wouldn’t admit it, but being in a simulation game without that face would be somewhat lonely. Simulation games were big. They were a completely different world.
“No!”
“I’ll treat you to ramen afterwards.”
Pause. “Fine.” Sasuke rolled his eyes. Predictable.
SINGLE PLAYER or MULTIPLAYER?
He selected MULTIPLAYER, and noticed a green light on the side of his chair light up. He waited patiently, until one of the employees of the arcade approached him. It was the one who announced the grand opening.
“You’ll be allowed three lives,” he said. “The entire game runs for about three and a half hours-but your session will be cut short, of course, if you lose. If at any time, you would like to quit the game, approach the nearest person with a bright yellow shirt. You can either save and pay for a memory chip, or just abandon it.” Sasuke nodded in understanding. “Good. Now, I’d like you to close your eyes and relax-your game will begin shortly.” He closed his eyes, and tried not to tense up when the man brushed his bangs out of his face. Something cold and smooth was stuck to his temple, and then another one on the other side. This continued until he had about four or five on his head.
And suddenly, everything went quiet.
-
“Try something new,” Sakura suggested. “Like being evil.”
“Sounds good,” Ino agreed. “The pamphlet said that there was more strategic planning involved than there was actual fighting for the evil side, so it should be interesting. Are you going to be good?”
“Yeah, probably. I don’t have an ounce of evil in me.” She grinned at her best friend, before selecting GOOD on the screen.
HERO
FRIEND
WEAPON (DEFECT)
“Do you think I should be a friend?” she asked Ino, who was in deep thought as she stared at her screen. “It seems easy.”
“Why don’t you try something different too? It’s just a game, after all.” The blonde leaned over so she could see Sakura’s screen. “Pick hero.”
“No, are you kidding me? I’ll lose before you know it, and everyone in our session will lose!”
Ino rolled her eyes. “Didn’t you read the pamphlet? If you die, the computer automatically takes your place. You’ll be the only one whose time will be cut short.” Sakura considered this for a moment.
“I suppose that’s okay, then,” she said hesitantly, still unsure. She didn’t want to be the main role-she’d never been in the spotlight. That was Ino’s job. But it did sound interesting-and she and Ino would be enemies, so it’d be cool if they were able to have some sort of faceoff…
Knowing she’d regret it later, she selected HERO.
It was all too soon when the stimulators were placed to her head. Her heart was beating erratically-she couldn’t do this. She’d die in the first ten minutes. What a waste that would be.
“I’ll see you on the other side,” Ino said eerily, before giggling. She couldn’t help but smile too. This was just a game. An arcade game, no less. If she lost, she could just play again with a few easy tokens.
“See you on the other side.”
-
When things started to make sense again, she was in a completely different world.
If there was a sun, then it was hidden behind thick, grey clouds. Buildings were old and worn, and people were grimy and dirty. A nearby playground was scarce of equipment, but there was still a fair number of children playing in it, making their own games, their mothers standing a little ways away, keeping a wary eye on them. There were several homeless people sitting around, chatting with each other.
The entire place reeked of smoke and death.
If anything, Sakura thought, this place looked real. Frighteningly real.
She looked down and inspected herself. She was still wearing her normal clothes. She peered at her surroundings, looking for a clue, a hint that would help her start the game.
“Excuse me.” She started when someone called out to her. Turning around, Sakura saw a middle-aged woman-she might’ve been beautiful, if not for the dirt streaked across her cheeks, the gauntness of her face, or the rags that she wore. “You’re not from around here, are you? You look rather healthy and well.”
Which was true. Compared to her, Sakura would’ve seemed filthy rich. She shook her head. “I’m not familiar with this place.”
The woman smiled a little. “Well, I don’t suppose you’d want to stay here, would you?”
She didn’t know what to say, so she shrugged. “I might.”
“Well, the street over there used to be where people would get picked up by taxis-I doubt there are anymore actual drivers, though. The last time I checked, there were still a couple of taxis that haven’t been taken.”
“Why don’t you get out of here?” Sakura asked, feeling guilty for just taking a vehicle and leaving this dump.
This time, the woman’s smile was sad, broken. “Thank you for your concern, dear, but where would I go? This entire country is a mess. And someone like me wouldn’t be able to do anything for this country.”
And as strange as it was, Sakura seemed to have knowledge of this place. The war was sparked by a small revolt up north against the government and its totalitarianism, and it led to inspire others. Revolts became coup d’états, and coup d’états became the civil war. The government was winning, with its military force, and their new weapons-modified humans-but its opposition was holding fairly well, too, with their large numbers and slowly developing technology.
The war had lasted for seven years, now, with no sign of stopping.
“Perhaps a hero will come along,” Sakura wondered aloud.
“That’s wishful thinking,” the woman chastised. There wasn’t even a single gleam of hope in her eyes anymore. “Thousands can’t stand up to them-what made you think one could?”
“You never know.” Smiling a little and bidding goodbye to the woman, Sakura turned around and headed in the direction of the taxis, hoping that there actually was one that would function properly. It would be more convenient if she had a vehicle.
The streets she walked were bare. There was the occasional restaurant and store open, but most of the buildings were closed down. In every alleyway were frightened women, abandoned children, and ragged men who had finally given up.
Sakura made a mental note to start sponsoring a child in Africa once she was finished with this game.
When she reached the street the woman earlier had pointed out to her, there were two taxis. One of them had a flat tire, so she immediately went to the other one.
And then, out of nowhere, the store across the street exploded, and a body slammed right into the yellow vehicle.
She screamed.
-
Huh. This was pretty cool. He had a gun.
Naruto inspected his reflection in the dirty and dusty window of an empty shop. He was generally wearing his normal clothes, save for the gun at his belt, and the coat he had on. Upon rummaging through the inside of his pockets, he found an array of weapons-a pocketknife, hand grenades, and a tranquilizer. There were even extra bullets for his gun.
This was so cool.
Pulling out a hand grenade, he tossed it from hand to hand, wondering if it actually worked. Did his pain receptors work, too? Did things hurt?
He glanced at the empty store in front of him, and grinned.
Well, there was only one way to find out. Pulling the handle of the grenade, he threw it hard at the window, shattering it in the process. After a few seconds, he figured he should back up a little-and then the explosion game, the shockwave sending him flying back against something. He felt his spine snap-or something like that; he couldn’t quite feel anything-and the store he had just thrown the grenade at was burning. Blearily, he held a hand to his face-his skin was peeling off from the heat, burnt and not looking like skin should.
Nothing quite hurt.
He sighed in disappointment. It’d be so much realer if there was actually pain.
A scream sounded in the general area, but it came out muted. Naruto looked around-there was that pink-haired girl that was in front of the arcade. Her large green eyes were wide with fear, hands clapped to her mouth, and he felt a little honored at being stared at by such a pretty girl.
He felt some discomfort in the back of his head-maybe he cracked his skill. See, that was another flaw-you wouldn’t even be able to assess your injuries if you couldn’t feel the pain. What a joke this was.
But he figured he was dying, with the way his vision was blurring and darkening. He was beginning to lose control of his limbs.
Well, damn. He didn’t expect to die so quickly.
-
The person who had slammed into the taxi was now sitting on the ground, eyes only half-open. Sakura stared in horror-there was blood trickling down the side of his head.
“Are you okay?” she asked tentatively, eyeing the store across the street. It was burning, the flames licking at the plaster and wood, crackling as it encased the door. Her attention returned to the boy-he was blonde, with whisker-like scars. His eyes were slowly closing. “Hey-hey!” Her eyes widened in horror as his body went slack against the taxi, a chilling horror creeping up her spine. She pressed two fingers against his neck. No pulse.
She had just experienced her first death.
Okay. That was okay. All she had to do was pull the body out of the way, take the taxi and drive off. She’d be experiencing a lot of deaths-she’d better get used to it.
Just as she secured both of her arms underneath both of the body’s to haul it to the side of the road, he stirred. Eyes widening, she dropped him immediately and backed away. When she watched, breathing heavily, she noticed the trickle of blood on his face disappearing-and slowly, his eyes fluttered open.
He was a player.
“Hey,” he said groggily, standing up on unsteady feet. “Did I die?”
“Uh, yeah,” she said, swallowing. “How do you feel?” It was the strangest thing, to see a corpse just suddenly come back to life.
“Fine, actually.” He rolled his shoulders. “I’m Naruto, by the way.”
“Sakura,” she said. “What role do you play?” If he wasn’t on her side, then she was screwed-she had no weapons on her. And judging from his death, she’d reincarnate right here, and probably get killed again.
He narrowed his eyes at her. “What role do you play?”
She crossed her arms. “I’m not telling until you tell.” But even as she scanned his person, she noticed she was at more of a disadvantage than she had previously thought. He had a gun. And who knew what else he had under that bulky coat of his.
They had a small staring contest, and Sakura thought she was going to lose-but then Naruto started laughing.
“You’re cool,” he said, grinning. “I’m the friend. Whatever that means.”
A part of her sighed in relief. “I’m the hero.”
It was silent for a moment, before he burst out laughing again. She frowned. It wasn’t that funny, was it? Something told her that this game wasn’t supposed to be getting people laughing.
“Aw, this is awesome!” Naruto said, draping an arm over her shoulders. “I suppose that makes us partners!”
“Uh, yeah,” she said, inching away from him, hoping he didn’t notice. “That’s great.”
-
Sasuke looked around, assessing the situation.
There were at least twenty outside of the door and windows, and with what he had, he couldn’t take all of them down. So that only left one option: kill as many as he could, and then run like hell.
Grabbing his gun holding it at the ready, he slid across the wall, inching closer and closer towards the dirty, fogged up window. Closing his eyes and counting to three, he backed away and ran straight towards it, his shoulder making contact with the glass before having it shatter all around him, like deadly crystals. He could hear the shouts of alarm, and he shot his gun wildly, hoping it hit some of them. He could hear their guns being shot as well, and one bullet tore right through his shoulder, though he felt no pain.
Fishing in his coat and grabbing the last grenade, he pulled the handle before dropping it to the ground, so they wouldn’t see it. And then he braced himself and ran.
It was a few seconds before they began closing in on him, their shouts and gunshots growing louder. They probably weren’t even trained soldiers, with the way they were aiming-
The grenade went off, and all he could hear was the explosion.
Faster. He could feel the shockwave right at his heels, and he continued running-he had to say, his enhanced speed and endurance really came in handy with getaways like this. He was glad he chose to be a weapon.
When Sasuke glanced over his shoulder, he saw flames, and the remaining soldiers standing there, staring at him hopelessly. He smirked, and continued on.
If his role as a defected weapon was on the GOOD list, that meant he contributed towards the success of the hero and his friend. So that meant, his first priority was to find this hero. And Naruto. He didn’t forget about Naruto. (Actually, a part of him wished he did.) He finally slowed down to a stop in the empty streets of an unknown city, in a country that mattered even less, panting a little.
Now, if only he knew where he was.
-
“Oh. Well, this sucks,” Naruto said when the taxi came to a halt. “It’s out of gas.”
She didn’t suppose there were any functioning gas stations around, so she opened the door to her passenger seat and stepped out. “Where do we go now?”
He frowned. “Well, if we continue north, then we’ll reach the capital city. I’m pretty sure that’s where everything is.” He scratched the back of his head. “What are we supposed to do, anyway? Overthrow the government?”
“Something like that.” Sakura sighed when her stomach growled. There was probably no food anywhere.
And that was when it started.
It was a rumble at first, distant and almost inaudible, but as the seconds ticked by, and as Naruto chattered about how he’d like some ramen right about now, it became louder and louder. Sakura’s eyes widened and she looked around, seeing people running out of their homes with small packs slung over their shoulders-some carrying children and some just bolting for it-there was something seriously wrong, and-
“What’s happening?” she asked to the closest person-it was a young boy, barely even ten-he had wide, frightened eyes and a dirt-streaked face.
“P-Planes,” he was barely able to stutter out. “Bombs.”
Her heart stopped at that. “Bombs,” she whispered. Bombs meant explosions. Explosions meant death. “Are there any bomb shelters nearby?” she demanded to the child, who had begun crying. “Where is everyone going?”
“T-To hide,” he whimpered. “I can’t f-find Mommy…”
Without thinking much of it, she scooped the child into her arms and ran past Naruto. “C’mon, unless you want to die a second time!” She didn’t get a chance to see his expression, but he quickly matched her pace-running, running, running-following the other people who were scrambling for their lives-
The planes were getting closer-and she didn’t know why she was so afraid, because this was just a game-
The first bomb was dropped, just a few miles away-the shockwave sent her and Naruto flying to the cement ground. She tucked the child’s head into the crook of her neck in a desperate attempt to keep him safe, and swore when she made contact with the ground, hard.
“Get up!” Naruto’s voice was fearful, desperate-she was roughly pulled to her feet, and they were running again.
She could see where the people were disappearing-there was a shelter, just a block away-but it was so far-
Although her pain receptors were dulled, that didn’t stop the fatigue from rolling in. She had never been an athletic person, and her legs were burning from the exertion, her lungs on fire like thin sheets of paper. She slowed down against her will, and watched as Naruto began to outrun her.
Come on, come on-just a little more-faster, faster-
She made it in the moment the second one hit.
The ground shook from the impact, and she held the crying child close, feeling close to tears herself. The sleeve of her hoodie was ripped, and she stared at Naruto, both of them wide-eyed and terrified.
“Why would they bomb a place like this?” Her voice came out shaky and weak.
“Probably to kill off the rest of us. Just so there’s no chance of resistance.”
“But that means wiping everyone out!”
“The government is like that.” Naruto shrugged, as if it was a light matter. Sakura’s nostrils flared with anger. It was not a light matter-people were dying, and-“It’s just a game, Sakura. Remember?”
She closed her eyes, taking a deep breath. Just a game. Just a game.
She released the boy from her hold, and watched as he crawled into a far corner, sniffling and crying and utterly alone.
-
“You’re really getting into this, aren’t you?” Ino looked up from the operation table, to her personal assistant-slash-bodyguard. She couldn’t help but grin.
“Of course. It’s just a game-I might as well go all-out.”
-
It was about an hour after everything settled down before anyone dared to move.
It was the mothers who moved first; tugging their children by the hand and hurrying home-or what used to be their home-to see if there was anything left. Judging by the number of bombs dropped, there should be some places that weren’t completely demolished.
“Let’s go,” Naruto said, voice hoarse from not having used it for a while. He stood up and brushed himself off, but Sakura remained sitting, hugging her knees to her chest. She felt numb. She couldn’t think, couldn’t feel-there was a nasty gash on her upper arm from when she fell from the first bomb, bloody and most likely infected if she didn’t treat it soon, but all she could think of were the people-
“Sakura.” Naruto’s voice was firmer this time, and he held out a hand to her. Swallowing and licking her dry lips, she took it and let him pull her to her feet. “Let’s go.”
“Where?” she whispered.
“I heard there was some person near the sea who sold food and offered shelter,” someone said from beside them. Sakura looked over-judging by his appearance, he was probably a homeless man. “No one really goes to him, though, since we’re all so poor.”
She and Naruto glanced at each other. “I think I have some money,” Sakura said, patting her jeans pocket. She pulled out her wallet. “Do you think this counts? It’s from the real world, after all.”
The homeless man scrambled to his feet and gaped. “You’re rich,” he breathed, chapped and dirty hands almost reaching for the bills. “What are you even doing here?”
“I’ve got some too!” Naruto pulled out his own wallet-a small, worn-out frog-but he had significantly less money than her. “This would be enough, right?”
“More than enough.” Sakura pitied the way the man was eyeing her wallet-she pulled a couple of bills out and pressed them into his hands.
“Use it well.”
The man looked like he had just seen an angel. “Thank you so much.”
Her lips pressed into a thin line, and both she and Naruto climbed out of the bomb shelter and back out into the world.
Debris was everywhere. Dust was still settling, and some buildings had been reduced to just small fires-some men didn’t hesitate to gather around them and keep them alive through the cold night that was to come. Sakura held her breath at the sight, and forced herself to look away. “The sea,” she said to Naruto. “Which way’s the sea?”
“Um…that way?” He pointed to their left, and she caught sight of a sign-but it was dirty and bent and she couldn’t read it.
She sighed. “Might as well try it.”
Naruto tried to keep a light conversation going while they walked, but she couldn’t take her mind off of the people who lived here. The farther they went, the more corpses they saw-some already rotting and decomposing, swarmed by flies and maggots.
For a game, this was terrifyingly real. She looked away from a toddler that was lying still in the arms of its dead mother-either dead or almost there. Her eyes flickered from one side of the street to the other-scanning their surroundings, always, keeping a lookout for landmarks in case they got lost. She tuned out most of Naruto’s talk, and her pace quickened as she turned into a deserted supermarket.
“Sakura?”
“They might have some food,” she muttered, scanning the aisles and heading straight for the one that had candy and chips and other junk food. It seemed that she wasn’t the only one with this idea-the shelves were almost bare. She snatched the last bag of Doritos, and continued to search the store.
“Yes, they have instant ramen!” Naruto shouted in triumph a few aisles over. She couldn’t help but smile a little.
“No one probably thought to take these, since there’s no hot or clean water anywhere,” she said, joining him and taking a couple of packages. “You can eat these raw though, right?”
“Yup!” He nodded enthusiastically. “I do it almost half the time!”
She shuddered. “Great. Let’s eat. I’m starved.”
-
Sasuke scowled when his jet pack ran out of batteries, causing him to slowly sink to the ground as the engine died. Now he had to wait for the thing to charge again before he could make anymore notable distance in his travelling. That took hours.
It was time to sleep, then.
He ignored the pain in his abdomen as his stomach growled. Well, if anything, he was patching up his survival skills. Folding up his jet pack, he searched for a place to rest. He passed one man who was wearing a bright neon yellow shirt-he had seen several in the past couple of hours. Just as he was about to turn away, the man flickered.
Sasuke squinted, and made his way closer. The man was flickering in and out of existence, like a hologram.
Without a second thought, he turned on his heels and continued searching for a play to rest. It was probably a small glitch-it’d be fixed soon.
He found a torn-down building, and figured it’d be enough. He carefully stepped over debris and sat down against the wall on the inside; it was enough to hide him from anyone outside. He only needed enough time for his jet pack to recharge and to sleep a little.
Holding his jet pack closer, Sasuke closed his eyes.
-
“Oh.” Sakura stopped walking. “Oh.”
“Huh? What’s up?” Naruto stopped too, looking back at her with curious eyes. The hairs on her arms stood on end, and she felt as though a bucket of ice-cold water had been dumped over her head. She stared at the building that was right in front of them.
“The library…”
He followed her gaze. “It’s just a library. Don’t worry about it.”
“No, Naruto. Not just a library. It’s the library.” Her eyes traced the building; the half-destroyed sign, the broken glass windows, the ripped and burned books inside-the counter, the tables, the computers-“This is our library.”
“Huh? I don’t get it.”
She looked around frantically. “This is Kyoto. This destroyed city is Kyoto.”
He shrugged. “So? It’s not surprising, really-games base their locations off of real places all the time. D’you know how long it’d take to make an entirely new country?”
Sakura closed her eyes and took several deep breaths. Not real. Not real. Just a game. Just a game.
Why was this getting to her so much?
“That way,” she said shakily, pointing to their right. “If this is based exactly off of Kyoto, then the coast should be over that way.” Her hand was trembling, and she quickly shoved it into the pocket of her hoodie. Naruto gave her a look before continuing on their way.
“Well, now that we know that, it’ll be easier to navigate around, don’tcha think? And the place we need to get to will be Tokyo, probably.”
“Tokyo…that’s far from here.”
“We’ll probably get some other form of transportation sooner or later. Geez, haven’t you ever played games before?”
“I’m only playing this one ‘cause it’s a simulation game,” Sakura muttered. “I just wanted to see the result of science.”
Naruto laughed, and wrapped his arm around her shoulders and pulled her close. “You’re funny.”
She smiled grimly. “Hilarious.”
-
Ino grinned and placed her hands on her hips, standing back and admiring their handiwork. “It’s beautiful.”
Shikamaru yawned. “It’s nothing much.”
“Are you kidding me? With your ideas and my technique-this is perfect.” She smirked. Let’s see how Sakura fared against this.
The weapon slowly blinked and sat up robotically, remaining silent. It was quiet between her and Shikamaru, until he asked, “What should we name him?”
She thought for a moment, before grinning wickedly. “I think Pein is a good name.”
“Pein it is, then.”
-
The first thing the person asked when the door opened by a crack was, “Do you have any money?”
“We do,” Sakura confirmed, before they were allowed in. It was a bare little house; just a couple of armchairs and an old television. Naruto made a beeline for the armchairs, letting himself fall into one and sighing loudly.
Heaven.
Sakura was off near the door, discussing money or something with the guy over there, but he didn’t care much. They’d been walking for so long-he just wanted to sleep. And have some ramen.
“Naruto!” He cracked an eye open, and saw Sakura waving at him. “C’mon! We have a room for the night!”
“Who was that guy back there?” he stage-whispered once the door was shut behind them. “He looked kind of creepy.”
“Oh, Yamato-san is very nice,” Sakura said cheerily as she rolled her shoulders. The way they cracked kind of scared him-it just wasn’t right for a girl to be able to do that. “He’s making us dinner right now.”
Naruto scanned the room. “I get the bed!”
“No you don’t,” she said shortly, shoving him out of the way. “You get the floor.”
“Why?”
“Don’t you know it’s common courtesy to let the girl get the bed? And obviously you don’t care about getting dirty!”
“I do!” he exclaimed-but even that, he knew, was a lie. Under her glare, he whimpered a little and backed away into the corner. Sakura was scary. “We could share,” he offered meekly.
“No.”
After dinner, she went straight into the bathroom to shower, and exited nearly an hour later. Under normal circumstances, he would demand what took her so long, but with the way she looked so ragged, he didn’t want to bother her.
(That didn’t stop his eyes from widening and gluing themselves to her when she stripped down until she reached her undergarments.)
“What?” she asked haughtily. “I’m not sleeping in those clothes! They’re disgusting!”
“This is just a game, Sakura…it’s okay…”
“No, it’s not okay!” she wailed. She looked on the verge of tears. “Game or not, these clothes are disgusting!”
Which lead Naruto to wonder when they’d meet up with Sasuke. Sakura was cute and smart and really great to be around, but without someone to constantly berate, he felt…empty.
No homo.
-
It was still dark when Sakura awoke to the feeling of a cold blade pressed to her throat.
a/n: so, uh, comments would be nice. this idea came from heir apparent by vivian vande velde, a book i read back when i was in elementary and fell in love with. i only took the concept; the plot is a little darker and whatnot, and this is my first attempt at anything of this genre, so i'd really like to know what you think!
pairing: sasuke/sakura, shikamaru/ino
summary: you wish this were just a game.
chapter: 1/5
notes: i finished writing this almost half a year ago, but felt it wasn't on par with my other works with the crappy ending, so i never posted it. but it'd be a shame, because i put a lot of work into it, so it's here. yay.
next chapter >>
epinephrine
you’d better be faster than them, or you won’t survive.
-
-
-
Sakura sped up her pace, feeling oddly excited as she walked down the streets of Kyoto. “This is going to be so awesome.”
“I know, I can’t wait,” Ino gushed with the same amount of enthusiasm. “Imagine the money spent on this! The science it took to make it! They’ve been working on this for like, what, fifteen years?”
“Yeah, no kidding. We were still children back then.”
Just up ahead was a small crowd, composed of people around the same age as them. They were standing in front of the newest arcade in the city-famous for its new simulation game-almost the same as living your actual life, all the way down to your five senses. Sakura and Ino were excited to try out their new game-they’d been looking forward to it since its announcement a little over a year ago.
“Hey, that guy’s kind of cute.” As they joined the crowd that was waiting for the store to open for the first time, Ino pointed to Sakura’s left. She glanced over, and caught the gaze of a certain boy-dark hair, and even darker eyes.
“Scratch that,” Sakura said, finding herself a little short of breath. “He’s really cute.”
“Beautiful.”
“Yeah.” She tore her gaze away from the boy’s, and spotted someone else, not too far from him. “I think that guy suits you more. Attractive hair.” The boy she was referring to was standing in a slouch, with his hair tied in a high ponytail, reminding her of a pineapple.
Ino considered this for a moment. “Yeah, probably. He looks easier to push around.”
Both girls laughed, and immediately forgot about the boys just a few feet away.
-
“Oi, teme,” Naruto muttered, elbowing Sasuke’s ribs. “Those girls are staring at you.”
“I don’t care,” he retorted, but looked, nonetheless. It was the one with the alarmingly pink hair that caught his eye first-she had surprisingly green eyes to match. Their eyes locked for a small number of seconds, before she looked away.
“She’s kind of cute, isn’t she? The one with the pink hair. But the blonde one is way hotter-”
“I said I don’t care,” Sasuke said sharply. “If you’re going to drag me along with you to this stupid arcade, the least you could do is shut up for five minutes.”
“Aw, Sasuke-kun,” Naruto cooed. “I love you too!”
He was about to say something witty to confuse the blonde, but a silver-haired man just exited the arcade, quieting the entire crowd. He had a handkerchief covering his mouth, and Sasuke resisted the urge to snort-it looked ridiculous.
“On behalf of everyone who had helped make this happen,” he said, sounding bored, “I would like to announce the grand opening of this arcade.” The crowd immediately began to flood into the building, nearly running him over. Naruto cheered loudly beside Sasuke, before making his own mini-stampede, and he resisted the temptation to just turn around and leave. In the long run, that’d be more painful than actually staying.
He walked at a slower pace, beside Shikamaru. “Man, this is such a drag,” the other boy said, cleaning out his ear with his pinkie.
The inside of the building was dark, lit up by the blinking, colorful lights of the various arcade games. Some people stopped to play them, but the majority of the crowd continued on until they were near the back of the building, where the simulation game was.
He found Naruto clambering into one of the seats, and he took the one beside it. Shikamaru sat himself on his other side. On the screen in front of him were the words, flashing and somewhat intimidating, WELCOME TO 2113.
2113 was only twelve years from now, he thought vaguely, before pressing the start button. Immediately, the screen changed, showing one paragraph of a back-story.
The world is at stake. The country is in a civil war, and it’s up to one courageous person to set it right. People are being modified and built into weapons, pollution is staining the skies, and innocents are dying. Will you be the one to save the world, or will you be the one to lead it to its death?
(Warning: Images may be offensive to some individuals, and feelings of hunger and fatigue will not be omitted from the game.)
Despite the cliché and lame language, it caught his interest. He pressed the next button.
GOOD or EVIL?
He contemplated this. “Naruto, which one are you picking?”
“Huh? Pick what?” The moron still wasn’t done reading the back-story.
“Good or evil?”
Naruto snorted. “Good, obviously. But you seem kind of evil to me, so I don’t care if choose that. I’ll just kick your ass!”
Sasuke rolled his eyes, and chose GOOD. He was then presented with the different roles he could play: hero, friend, or weapon (defect). A smirk graced his lips-a defected weapon sounded interesting. He chose that.
“Obviously, I’ll be the hero!” Naruto boasted from beside him.
“Don’t,” Sasuke warned. “You’ll be the first to lose, and then you’ll have to wait for us to finish.”
“What the hell, Sasuke!”
“Be a friend,” he suggested. He wouldn’t admit it, but being in a simulation game without that face would be somewhat lonely. Simulation games were big. They were a completely different world.
“No!”
“I’ll treat you to ramen afterwards.”
Pause. “Fine.” Sasuke rolled his eyes. Predictable.
SINGLE PLAYER or MULTIPLAYER?
He selected MULTIPLAYER, and noticed a green light on the side of his chair light up. He waited patiently, until one of the employees of the arcade approached him. It was the one who announced the grand opening.
“You’ll be allowed three lives,” he said. “The entire game runs for about three and a half hours-but your session will be cut short, of course, if you lose. If at any time, you would like to quit the game, approach the nearest person with a bright yellow shirt. You can either save and pay for a memory chip, or just abandon it.” Sasuke nodded in understanding. “Good. Now, I’d like you to close your eyes and relax-your game will begin shortly.” He closed his eyes, and tried not to tense up when the man brushed his bangs out of his face. Something cold and smooth was stuck to his temple, and then another one on the other side. This continued until he had about four or five on his head.
And suddenly, everything went quiet.
-
“Try something new,” Sakura suggested. “Like being evil.”
“Sounds good,” Ino agreed. “The pamphlet said that there was more strategic planning involved than there was actual fighting for the evil side, so it should be interesting. Are you going to be good?”
“Yeah, probably. I don’t have an ounce of evil in me.” She grinned at her best friend, before selecting GOOD on the screen.
HERO
FRIEND
WEAPON (DEFECT)
“Do you think I should be a friend?” she asked Ino, who was in deep thought as she stared at her screen. “It seems easy.”
“Why don’t you try something different too? It’s just a game, after all.” The blonde leaned over so she could see Sakura’s screen. “Pick hero.”
“No, are you kidding me? I’ll lose before you know it, and everyone in our session will lose!”
Ino rolled her eyes. “Didn’t you read the pamphlet? If you die, the computer automatically takes your place. You’ll be the only one whose time will be cut short.” Sakura considered this for a moment.
“I suppose that’s okay, then,” she said hesitantly, still unsure. She didn’t want to be the main role-she’d never been in the spotlight. That was Ino’s job. But it did sound interesting-and she and Ino would be enemies, so it’d be cool if they were able to have some sort of faceoff…
Knowing she’d regret it later, she selected HERO.
It was all too soon when the stimulators were placed to her head. Her heart was beating erratically-she couldn’t do this. She’d die in the first ten minutes. What a waste that would be.
“I’ll see you on the other side,” Ino said eerily, before giggling. She couldn’t help but smile too. This was just a game. An arcade game, no less. If she lost, she could just play again with a few easy tokens.
“See you on the other side.”
-
When things started to make sense again, she was in a completely different world.
If there was a sun, then it was hidden behind thick, grey clouds. Buildings were old and worn, and people were grimy and dirty. A nearby playground was scarce of equipment, but there was still a fair number of children playing in it, making their own games, their mothers standing a little ways away, keeping a wary eye on them. There were several homeless people sitting around, chatting with each other.
The entire place reeked of smoke and death.
If anything, Sakura thought, this place looked real. Frighteningly real.
She looked down and inspected herself. She was still wearing her normal clothes. She peered at her surroundings, looking for a clue, a hint that would help her start the game.
“Excuse me.” She started when someone called out to her. Turning around, Sakura saw a middle-aged woman-she might’ve been beautiful, if not for the dirt streaked across her cheeks, the gauntness of her face, or the rags that she wore. “You’re not from around here, are you? You look rather healthy and well.”
Which was true. Compared to her, Sakura would’ve seemed filthy rich. She shook her head. “I’m not familiar with this place.”
The woman smiled a little. “Well, I don’t suppose you’d want to stay here, would you?”
She didn’t know what to say, so she shrugged. “I might.”
“Well, the street over there used to be where people would get picked up by taxis-I doubt there are anymore actual drivers, though. The last time I checked, there were still a couple of taxis that haven’t been taken.”
“Why don’t you get out of here?” Sakura asked, feeling guilty for just taking a vehicle and leaving this dump.
This time, the woman’s smile was sad, broken. “Thank you for your concern, dear, but where would I go? This entire country is a mess. And someone like me wouldn’t be able to do anything for this country.”
And as strange as it was, Sakura seemed to have knowledge of this place. The war was sparked by a small revolt up north against the government and its totalitarianism, and it led to inspire others. Revolts became coup d’états, and coup d’états became the civil war. The government was winning, with its military force, and their new weapons-modified humans-but its opposition was holding fairly well, too, with their large numbers and slowly developing technology.
The war had lasted for seven years, now, with no sign of stopping.
“Perhaps a hero will come along,” Sakura wondered aloud.
“That’s wishful thinking,” the woman chastised. There wasn’t even a single gleam of hope in her eyes anymore. “Thousands can’t stand up to them-what made you think one could?”
“You never know.” Smiling a little and bidding goodbye to the woman, Sakura turned around and headed in the direction of the taxis, hoping that there actually was one that would function properly. It would be more convenient if she had a vehicle.
The streets she walked were bare. There was the occasional restaurant and store open, but most of the buildings were closed down. In every alleyway were frightened women, abandoned children, and ragged men who had finally given up.
Sakura made a mental note to start sponsoring a child in Africa once she was finished with this game.
When she reached the street the woman earlier had pointed out to her, there were two taxis. One of them had a flat tire, so she immediately went to the other one.
And then, out of nowhere, the store across the street exploded, and a body slammed right into the yellow vehicle.
She screamed.
-
Huh. This was pretty cool. He had a gun.
Naruto inspected his reflection in the dirty and dusty window of an empty shop. He was generally wearing his normal clothes, save for the gun at his belt, and the coat he had on. Upon rummaging through the inside of his pockets, he found an array of weapons-a pocketknife, hand grenades, and a tranquilizer. There were even extra bullets for his gun.
This was so cool.
Pulling out a hand grenade, he tossed it from hand to hand, wondering if it actually worked. Did his pain receptors work, too? Did things hurt?
He glanced at the empty store in front of him, and grinned.
Well, there was only one way to find out. Pulling the handle of the grenade, he threw it hard at the window, shattering it in the process. After a few seconds, he figured he should back up a little-and then the explosion game, the shockwave sending him flying back against something. He felt his spine snap-or something like that; he couldn’t quite feel anything-and the store he had just thrown the grenade at was burning. Blearily, he held a hand to his face-his skin was peeling off from the heat, burnt and not looking like skin should.
Nothing quite hurt.
He sighed in disappointment. It’d be so much realer if there was actually pain.
A scream sounded in the general area, but it came out muted. Naruto looked around-there was that pink-haired girl that was in front of the arcade. Her large green eyes were wide with fear, hands clapped to her mouth, and he felt a little honored at being stared at by such a pretty girl.
He felt some discomfort in the back of his head-maybe he cracked his skill. See, that was another flaw-you wouldn’t even be able to assess your injuries if you couldn’t feel the pain. What a joke this was.
But he figured he was dying, with the way his vision was blurring and darkening. He was beginning to lose control of his limbs.
Well, damn. He didn’t expect to die so quickly.
-
The person who had slammed into the taxi was now sitting on the ground, eyes only half-open. Sakura stared in horror-there was blood trickling down the side of his head.
“Are you okay?” she asked tentatively, eyeing the store across the street. It was burning, the flames licking at the plaster and wood, crackling as it encased the door. Her attention returned to the boy-he was blonde, with whisker-like scars. His eyes were slowly closing. “Hey-hey!” Her eyes widened in horror as his body went slack against the taxi, a chilling horror creeping up her spine. She pressed two fingers against his neck. No pulse.
She had just experienced her first death.
Okay. That was okay. All she had to do was pull the body out of the way, take the taxi and drive off. She’d be experiencing a lot of deaths-she’d better get used to it.
Just as she secured both of her arms underneath both of the body’s to haul it to the side of the road, he stirred. Eyes widening, she dropped him immediately and backed away. When she watched, breathing heavily, she noticed the trickle of blood on his face disappearing-and slowly, his eyes fluttered open.
He was a player.
“Hey,” he said groggily, standing up on unsteady feet. “Did I die?”
“Uh, yeah,” she said, swallowing. “How do you feel?” It was the strangest thing, to see a corpse just suddenly come back to life.
“Fine, actually.” He rolled his shoulders. “I’m Naruto, by the way.”
“Sakura,” she said. “What role do you play?” If he wasn’t on her side, then she was screwed-she had no weapons on her. And judging from his death, she’d reincarnate right here, and probably get killed again.
He narrowed his eyes at her. “What role do you play?”
She crossed her arms. “I’m not telling until you tell.” But even as she scanned his person, she noticed she was at more of a disadvantage than she had previously thought. He had a gun. And who knew what else he had under that bulky coat of his.
They had a small staring contest, and Sakura thought she was going to lose-but then Naruto started laughing.
“You’re cool,” he said, grinning. “I’m the friend. Whatever that means.”
A part of her sighed in relief. “I’m the hero.”
It was silent for a moment, before he burst out laughing again. She frowned. It wasn’t that funny, was it? Something told her that this game wasn’t supposed to be getting people laughing.
“Aw, this is awesome!” Naruto said, draping an arm over her shoulders. “I suppose that makes us partners!”
“Uh, yeah,” she said, inching away from him, hoping he didn’t notice. “That’s great.”
-
Sasuke looked around, assessing the situation.
There were at least twenty outside of the door and windows, and with what he had, he couldn’t take all of them down. So that only left one option: kill as many as he could, and then run like hell.
Grabbing his gun holding it at the ready, he slid across the wall, inching closer and closer towards the dirty, fogged up window. Closing his eyes and counting to three, he backed away and ran straight towards it, his shoulder making contact with the glass before having it shatter all around him, like deadly crystals. He could hear the shouts of alarm, and he shot his gun wildly, hoping it hit some of them. He could hear their guns being shot as well, and one bullet tore right through his shoulder, though he felt no pain.
Fishing in his coat and grabbing the last grenade, he pulled the handle before dropping it to the ground, so they wouldn’t see it. And then he braced himself and ran.
It was a few seconds before they began closing in on him, their shouts and gunshots growing louder. They probably weren’t even trained soldiers, with the way they were aiming-
The grenade went off, and all he could hear was the explosion.
Faster. He could feel the shockwave right at his heels, and he continued running-he had to say, his enhanced speed and endurance really came in handy with getaways like this. He was glad he chose to be a weapon.
When Sasuke glanced over his shoulder, he saw flames, and the remaining soldiers standing there, staring at him hopelessly. He smirked, and continued on.
If his role as a defected weapon was on the GOOD list, that meant he contributed towards the success of the hero and his friend. So that meant, his first priority was to find this hero. And Naruto. He didn’t forget about Naruto. (Actually, a part of him wished he did.) He finally slowed down to a stop in the empty streets of an unknown city, in a country that mattered even less, panting a little.
Now, if only he knew where he was.
-
“Oh. Well, this sucks,” Naruto said when the taxi came to a halt. “It’s out of gas.”
She didn’t suppose there were any functioning gas stations around, so she opened the door to her passenger seat and stepped out. “Where do we go now?”
He frowned. “Well, if we continue north, then we’ll reach the capital city. I’m pretty sure that’s where everything is.” He scratched the back of his head. “What are we supposed to do, anyway? Overthrow the government?”
“Something like that.” Sakura sighed when her stomach growled. There was probably no food anywhere.
And that was when it started.
It was a rumble at first, distant and almost inaudible, but as the seconds ticked by, and as Naruto chattered about how he’d like some ramen right about now, it became louder and louder. Sakura’s eyes widened and she looked around, seeing people running out of their homes with small packs slung over their shoulders-some carrying children and some just bolting for it-there was something seriously wrong, and-
“What’s happening?” she asked to the closest person-it was a young boy, barely even ten-he had wide, frightened eyes and a dirt-streaked face.
“P-Planes,” he was barely able to stutter out. “Bombs.”
Her heart stopped at that. “Bombs,” she whispered. Bombs meant explosions. Explosions meant death. “Are there any bomb shelters nearby?” she demanded to the child, who had begun crying. “Where is everyone going?”
“T-To hide,” he whimpered. “I can’t f-find Mommy…”
Without thinking much of it, she scooped the child into her arms and ran past Naruto. “C’mon, unless you want to die a second time!” She didn’t get a chance to see his expression, but he quickly matched her pace-running, running, running-following the other people who were scrambling for their lives-
The planes were getting closer-and she didn’t know why she was so afraid, because this was just a game-
The first bomb was dropped, just a few miles away-the shockwave sent her and Naruto flying to the cement ground. She tucked the child’s head into the crook of her neck in a desperate attempt to keep him safe, and swore when she made contact with the ground, hard.
“Get up!” Naruto’s voice was fearful, desperate-she was roughly pulled to her feet, and they were running again.
She could see where the people were disappearing-there was a shelter, just a block away-but it was so far-
Although her pain receptors were dulled, that didn’t stop the fatigue from rolling in. She had never been an athletic person, and her legs were burning from the exertion, her lungs on fire like thin sheets of paper. She slowed down against her will, and watched as Naruto began to outrun her.
Come on, come on-just a little more-faster, faster-
She made it in the moment the second one hit.
The ground shook from the impact, and she held the crying child close, feeling close to tears herself. The sleeve of her hoodie was ripped, and she stared at Naruto, both of them wide-eyed and terrified.
“Why would they bomb a place like this?” Her voice came out shaky and weak.
“Probably to kill off the rest of us. Just so there’s no chance of resistance.”
“But that means wiping everyone out!”
“The government is like that.” Naruto shrugged, as if it was a light matter. Sakura’s nostrils flared with anger. It was not a light matter-people were dying, and-“It’s just a game, Sakura. Remember?”
She closed her eyes, taking a deep breath. Just a game. Just a game.
She released the boy from her hold, and watched as he crawled into a far corner, sniffling and crying and utterly alone.
-
“You’re really getting into this, aren’t you?” Ino looked up from the operation table, to her personal assistant-slash-bodyguard. She couldn’t help but grin.
“Of course. It’s just a game-I might as well go all-out.”
-
It was about an hour after everything settled down before anyone dared to move.
It was the mothers who moved first; tugging their children by the hand and hurrying home-or what used to be their home-to see if there was anything left. Judging by the number of bombs dropped, there should be some places that weren’t completely demolished.
“Let’s go,” Naruto said, voice hoarse from not having used it for a while. He stood up and brushed himself off, but Sakura remained sitting, hugging her knees to her chest. She felt numb. She couldn’t think, couldn’t feel-there was a nasty gash on her upper arm from when she fell from the first bomb, bloody and most likely infected if she didn’t treat it soon, but all she could think of were the people-
“Sakura.” Naruto’s voice was firmer this time, and he held out a hand to her. Swallowing and licking her dry lips, she took it and let him pull her to her feet. “Let’s go.”
“Where?” she whispered.
“I heard there was some person near the sea who sold food and offered shelter,” someone said from beside them. Sakura looked over-judging by his appearance, he was probably a homeless man. “No one really goes to him, though, since we’re all so poor.”
She and Naruto glanced at each other. “I think I have some money,” Sakura said, patting her jeans pocket. She pulled out her wallet. “Do you think this counts? It’s from the real world, after all.”
The homeless man scrambled to his feet and gaped. “You’re rich,” he breathed, chapped and dirty hands almost reaching for the bills. “What are you even doing here?”
“I’ve got some too!” Naruto pulled out his own wallet-a small, worn-out frog-but he had significantly less money than her. “This would be enough, right?”
“More than enough.” Sakura pitied the way the man was eyeing her wallet-she pulled a couple of bills out and pressed them into his hands.
“Use it well.”
The man looked like he had just seen an angel. “Thank you so much.”
Her lips pressed into a thin line, and both she and Naruto climbed out of the bomb shelter and back out into the world.
Debris was everywhere. Dust was still settling, and some buildings had been reduced to just small fires-some men didn’t hesitate to gather around them and keep them alive through the cold night that was to come. Sakura held her breath at the sight, and forced herself to look away. “The sea,” she said to Naruto. “Which way’s the sea?”
“Um…that way?” He pointed to their left, and she caught sight of a sign-but it was dirty and bent and she couldn’t read it.
She sighed. “Might as well try it.”
Naruto tried to keep a light conversation going while they walked, but she couldn’t take her mind off of the people who lived here. The farther they went, the more corpses they saw-some already rotting and decomposing, swarmed by flies and maggots.
For a game, this was terrifyingly real. She looked away from a toddler that was lying still in the arms of its dead mother-either dead or almost there. Her eyes flickered from one side of the street to the other-scanning their surroundings, always, keeping a lookout for landmarks in case they got lost. She tuned out most of Naruto’s talk, and her pace quickened as she turned into a deserted supermarket.
“Sakura?”
“They might have some food,” she muttered, scanning the aisles and heading straight for the one that had candy and chips and other junk food. It seemed that she wasn’t the only one with this idea-the shelves were almost bare. She snatched the last bag of Doritos, and continued to search the store.
“Yes, they have instant ramen!” Naruto shouted in triumph a few aisles over. She couldn’t help but smile a little.
“No one probably thought to take these, since there’s no hot or clean water anywhere,” she said, joining him and taking a couple of packages. “You can eat these raw though, right?”
“Yup!” He nodded enthusiastically. “I do it almost half the time!”
She shuddered. “Great. Let’s eat. I’m starved.”
-
Sasuke scowled when his jet pack ran out of batteries, causing him to slowly sink to the ground as the engine died. Now he had to wait for the thing to charge again before he could make anymore notable distance in his travelling. That took hours.
It was time to sleep, then.
He ignored the pain in his abdomen as his stomach growled. Well, if anything, he was patching up his survival skills. Folding up his jet pack, he searched for a place to rest. He passed one man who was wearing a bright neon yellow shirt-he had seen several in the past couple of hours. Just as he was about to turn away, the man flickered.
Sasuke squinted, and made his way closer. The man was flickering in and out of existence, like a hologram.
Without a second thought, he turned on his heels and continued searching for a play to rest. It was probably a small glitch-it’d be fixed soon.
He found a torn-down building, and figured it’d be enough. He carefully stepped over debris and sat down against the wall on the inside; it was enough to hide him from anyone outside. He only needed enough time for his jet pack to recharge and to sleep a little.
Holding his jet pack closer, Sasuke closed his eyes.
-
“Oh.” Sakura stopped walking. “Oh.”
“Huh? What’s up?” Naruto stopped too, looking back at her with curious eyes. The hairs on her arms stood on end, and she felt as though a bucket of ice-cold water had been dumped over her head. She stared at the building that was right in front of them.
“The library…”
He followed her gaze. “It’s just a library. Don’t worry about it.”
“No, Naruto. Not just a library. It’s the library.” Her eyes traced the building; the half-destroyed sign, the broken glass windows, the ripped and burned books inside-the counter, the tables, the computers-“This is our library.”
“Huh? I don’t get it.”
She looked around frantically. “This is Kyoto. This destroyed city is Kyoto.”
He shrugged. “So? It’s not surprising, really-games base their locations off of real places all the time. D’you know how long it’d take to make an entirely new country?”
Sakura closed her eyes and took several deep breaths. Not real. Not real. Just a game. Just a game.
Why was this getting to her so much?
“That way,” she said shakily, pointing to their right. “If this is based exactly off of Kyoto, then the coast should be over that way.” Her hand was trembling, and she quickly shoved it into the pocket of her hoodie. Naruto gave her a look before continuing on their way.
“Well, now that we know that, it’ll be easier to navigate around, don’tcha think? And the place we need to get to will be Tokyo, probably.”
“Tokyo…that’s far from here.”
“We’ll probably get some other form of transportation sooner or later. Geez, haven’t you ever played games before?”
“I’m only playing this one ‘cause it’s a simulation game,” Sakura muttered. “I just wanted to see the result of science.”
Naruto laughed, and wrapped his arm around her shoulders and pulled her close. “You’re funny.”
She smiled grimly. “Hilarious.”
-
Ino grinned and placed her hands on her hips, standing back and admiring their handiwork. “It’s beautiful.”
Shikamaru yawned. “It’s nothing much.”
“Are you kidding me? With your ideas and my technique-this is perfect.” She smirked. Let’s see how Sakura fared against this.
The weapon slowly blinked and sat up robotically, remaining silent. It was quiet between her and Shikamaru, until he asked, “What should we name him?”
She thought for a moment, before grinning wickedly. “I think Pein is a good name.”
“Pein it is, then.”
-
The first thing the person asked when the door opened by a crack was, “Do you have any money?”
“We do,” Sakura confirmed, before they were allowed in. It was a bare little house; just a couple of armchairs and an old television. Naruto made a beeline for the armchairs, letting himself fall into one and sighing loudly.
Heaven.
Sakura was off near the door, discussing money or something with the guy over there, but he didn’t care much. They’d been walking for so long-he just wanted to sleep. And have some ramen.
“Naruto!” He cracked an eye open, and saw Sakura waving at him. “C’mon! We have a room for the night!”
“Who was that guy back there?” he stage-whispered once the door was shut behind them. “He looked kind of creepy.”
“Oh, Yamato-san is very nice,” Sakura said cheerily as she rolled her shoulders. The way they cracked kind of scared him-it just wasn’t right for a girl to be able to do that. “He’s making us dinner right now.”
Naruto scanned the room. “I get the bed!”
“No you don’t,” she said shortly, shoving him out of the way. “You get the floor.”
“Why?”
“Don’t you know it’s common courtesy to let the girl get the bed? And obviously you don’t care about getting dirty!”
“I do!” he exclaimed-but even that, he knew, was a lie. Under her glare, he whimpered a little and backed away into the corner. Sakura was scary. “We could share,” he offered meekly.
“No.”
After dinner, she went straight into the bathroom to shower, and exited nearly an hour later. Under normal circumstances, he would demand what took her so long, but with the way she looked so ragged, he didn’t want to bother her.
(That didn’t stop his eyes from widening and gluing themselves to her when she stripped down until she reached her undergarments.)
“What?” she asked haughtily. “I’m not sleeping in those clothes! They’re disgusting!”
“This is just a game, Sakura…it’s okay…”
“No, it’s not okay!” she wailed. She looked on the verge of tears. “Game or not, these clothes are disgusting!”
Which lead Naruto to wonder when they’d meet up with Sasuke. Sakura was cute and smart and really great to be around, but without someone to constantly berate, he felt…empty.
No homo.
-
It was still dark when Sakura awoke to the feeling of a cold blade pressed to her throat.
a/n: so, uh, comments would be nice. this idea came from heir apparent by vivian vande velde, a book i read back when i was in elementary and fell in love with. i only took the concept; the plot is a little darker and whatnot, and this is my first attempt at anything of this genre, so i'd really like to know what you think!