"By the way, the classified document I brought back from twenty years ago… has it been helpful to you?" Naruto suddenly stared at her and asked.
"It's useful, but not that useful." Sakura led him to a small lounge at the end of the laboratory, where no one usually came.
"What do you mean?" Naruto asked, though his hands had already taken the initiative, slowing Sakura's pace. She couldn't help but turn back and shot him a playful glare.
"There's no way to separate them. The best we can do is share the body," Sakura explained, "The file contained some top-secret experiments, but they weren't entirely accurate."
"I'm hesitant to try it because if it fails..."
"Then let's put it aside for now. We'll deal with it when the time comes. I'll think of other solutions." Naruto said as he scooped Sakura into his arms, his hands sliding smoothly down to her soft legs.
After some time together, Naruto suddenly looked up and said, "I'll put your research on hold for now. Let's deal with the issues inside your body first, then we can worry about everything else. Those things aren't as important."
"Um." Sakura responded softly.
Unable to hold back, she leaned in slowly to kiss him, her lips gentle and tentative. The door to the room closed tightly, and the lab fell into complete silence.
…
The summer heat often brought sudden rainstorms, without any warning.
Dark clouds seemed to roll in out of nowhere, and the sky over Konoha quickly became overcast. After a brief lull, heavy rain poured down, accompanied by a sharp drop in temperature. As a bright fork of lightning cut across the sky…
Boom!
Sakura's pupils dilated in shock, her hands instinctively clenching Naruto's back. She gasped for air, as if she hadn't breathed in a long time. Suddenly, her main personality awoke, snapping back into consciousness.
Naruto immediately sensed something was wrong, but the timing couldn't have been worse. Sakura stared at him in confusion, seemingly disoriented, and as realization dawned on her, she was about to scream.
"Wait! It's not what you think…" Naruto quickly covered her mouth, but she bit him hard. Within a second, tears streamed down her face, and she let out a muffled sob.
Her tears were a little cold, and the frightened look in her eyes and the depths of her pupils were as if she had just had a nightmare.
Left with no other choice, Naruto pulled back, but he didn't remove his hand from her mouth. Instead, he spoke to her with a calm but serious tone, trying to explain, "You've been asleep for six years. This is all a misunderstanding. Please don't shout. We're in Konoha Hospital's research lab. I'll explain everything to you."
Pink Sakura sobbed quietly beneath his hand, her face wet with tears, her emotions a whirlwind of fear and confusion.
Her eyes flashed with a storm of complex emotions as she stared at him, tears flowing uncontrollably.
Her sobs muffled against his palm, but they echoed in the quiet room.
Naruto's mind went completely blank, and panic was overtaking him. His first thought was, 'What happened to Dark Sakura? Where did she go? Did she fall asleep?'
However, Pink Sakura's personality had awakened, so he couldn't just ignore her. He could only comfort her first and wait for her to calm down before asking about Dark Sakura.
The sudden shift in events had caught him completely off guard, especially under these circumstances. His heart was pounding, and the fear of losing Dark Sakura was gnawing at him.
"Sakura, did you hear what I said?" He repeated the question.
This time, Sakura nodded weakly. Only then did Naruto, with a complicated expression, slowly release his hand from her mouth.
The small break room was a mess, and Sakura lay there in a daze for a while before slowly sitting up.
The atmosphere became quiet. The curtains weren't drawn, and outside the window, the storm raged on, the wind howling as the heavy rain pounded against the glass. A cold draft mixed with raindrops blew in, filling the room with a damp chill.
Naruto stood, and Sakura sat there, looking at each other in silence. Neither said a word as they listened to the storm outside, both trying to calm their emotions.
They stayed that way, allowing the silence to linger in the confined space of the break room. In the dim light, Naruto opened his mouth, instinctively wanting to ask if Sakura knew about Dark Sakura's existence.
But he swallowed his words when he saw Sakura reaching for her clothes scattered on the floor.
Sakura stood up first, but she did not openly face Naruto completely.
She turned slightly, one arm crossed over her chest, and crouched to pick up her clothes. The situation felt strange, like she had transformed from one person into another… Showing that Pink Sakura had indeed returned.
Even though it was the same body, it felt as if she were a completely different person. Whether it was the look in her eyes or her micro-expressions, everything radiated an overwhelming sense of unease, even though no words had been spoken yet.
Switching role halfway through had made the whole situation incredibly awkward.
As Naruto glanced over, he saw Sakura wiping her face with a tissue. Then, with a complicated expression, she raised her head and looked at him. Her gaze remained focused above his neck, avoiding looking any lower.
"Naruto… could you put some clothes on?"
Her words snapped Naruto out of his thoughts. He was still thinking about Dark Sakura, and when he heard Sakura talking, he hurriedly responded, "Oh, right, right," and fumbled to put on his clothes.
His mind was a mess, and in his rush, he almost put his shirt on inside out.
Once both of them had composed themselves, silence fell again, brief but palpable. Another flash of lightning streaked across the night sky, prompting Naruto to break the silence.
"Since you're not saying anything, I'll assume you've calmed down." Naruto said as he pulled over a chair and sat down, maintaining a bit of distance between them.
Outside, the rain continued to pour, heavy enough to create a mist that obscured everything beyond the windows. Thunder rumbled, and the downpour showed no signs of letting up.
In that moment, Sakura gripped her thigh tightly, her eyes scanning the small, dimly lit room. The air was thick with a humid, earthy smell, tinged with a lingering sense of intimacy.
She knew all too well what had just transpired. After all, she had felt it clearly, but Naruto's words made it difficult for her to accept the current situation.
'I had been sleeping for six years?'
"I understand you must be confused right now, and I'm willing to explain everything. But before I do, I want to ask you… can you sense another version of yourself?"
"Huh?" Sakura looked up, her eyes filled with bewilderment. She's like the young girl she had been six years ago, standing lost in the rain, but now, everything was different.
"I mean the other personality. For the past six years, it's been her in control of your body." Naruto said, "You suddenly woke up just now, so..."
"I want to know… can you feel her presence?"
"She…" Sakura's expression became more complex, but she was starting to understand the situation.
'So it was another me who was doing that with Naruto? And now, I've woken up in the middle of it? If that's the case, is he… worried about the other version of me?'
"I can feel that it. It feels like she's asleep…" Sakura admitted hesitantly, suddenly feeling a little wronged, "Are you planning to wake her up?"
"Uh…" Naruto hesitated, unsure how to answer. Trying to be gentle, he asked, "Do you still remember the Medical Ninjutsu? Or do you two share the same memories?"
"No." Sakura shook her head
"I do need to wake her up." Naruto said cautiously. "I'll explain everything, and in the end, this will benefit both of you. But let me help you remember some things first. Where should I start?"
"Well, let's start from when Sasuke defected," Sakura suggested. "That's when everything started changing…"
And so, Naruto began recounting the events, starting from six years ago when Sasuke defected from the village and her personality started to shift. He spoke of the days when everything began to spiral, all unfolding like pages from a book in the archive of Dark Sakura's memory.
It wasn't all that complicated, and the six years of experiences was condensed into about ten minutes of explanation by Naruto.
Sakura listened in disbelief, from her becoming Tsunade's disciple to how she and Naruto's lives became entangled.
Finally, they reached the point where their strange relationship was revealed, and the realization that her body had already been 'used' hit her hard. She suddenly felt dizzy, as if she had taken a long nap only to wake up and find the world had completely changed.
"… Sasuke?" Sakura asked.
"He defected." Naruto said lightly, "He is now an S-rank Missing-nin and is on his merry way of revenge. If you want to confirm it yourself, I won't stop you."
Sakura lowered her head, then spoke in soft voice, "My mind's a bit of a mess right now. I want to go home and be alone for a while."
"That's fine." Naruto stood up and made room for Sakura, and then added, "When you've sorted your thoughts, come find me. I'm at Konoha's 404 Street."
"Your situation is a bit special right now. I have a way to help, but it requires the cooperation of your other personality."
Sakura seemed completely unaware and walked out the door with a numb expression. Naruto watched from behind the door, frowning all the time, but still let Sakura leave first.