Who: Sakura, Izuna

What: action/adventure

Summary: The world ended, and waited a moment, and began anew, but not in any way either of them could have expected. They have to go sideways and under and all the way from here to there if they wish to set things right.

Warnings: nothing particularly horrible

-/-

Prologue

(the crossroads)

-/-

She opens her eyes.

She closes them again and inhales deeply, drawing in as much air as she can. It feels as if she has forgotten how to breathe, as if her lungs have been in disuse for days, and it's almost painful now that they expand in her chest.

It smells like earth and grass, and a little bit like rain – familiar scents that put her in mind of late spring or maybe early summer when she leaves the window open before going to bed and next morning awakens in a room that might just pass for a forest, so fresh and fragrant and full of promises is the air.

She opens her eyes again and looks at the blue sky above her.

Feather-like clouds are strewn across its wide expanse, drifting slowly on the wind. The sun is rising, its first rays spilling over the horizon. A bird begins to chirp hesitantly, stops, then picks up the song again, almost triumphantly.

It's dawn, she thinks.

She has always liked waking up at dawn.

At dawn, she has always thought, one could almost believe the world was young and new again, a world in which she could be new too, weightless and carefree, and wouldn't that be great-

"You've got some nerve if you can smile like that when all your friends are dead."

-/-

She glares at him from across the cold ashes of the yesterday's fire.

"They're not dead!"

"As good as dead then." He keeps his voice flat, almost casual, and is immediately rewarded by the pained, desperate look on the face of the kunoichi. It lasts only a split second though – she pushes back her pink hair, purses her lips, sticks out her chin and looks at him with obvious disgust.

"Don't you dare say that! They're only sleeping, and you know it."

"Do I? Do you know it? You're guessing and choosing to believe your wild guess because if you don't, you'll have to accept the truth. And the truth is that they are dead or – yes, indeed – dying in their eternal sleep."

"They are not – will not – die! Will you stop repeating this over and over again? I will find a way to save them. I swear I will, whether you believe it or not. Suit yourself." There it is again, he thinks, that defiant expression, that completely unreasonable, idiotic confidence. Does she really believe a world gone mad is a place where she can just hope her way through every hardship?

He feels inexplicably angry all of a sudden.

"Good luck with that," he sneers as he gets up to his feet and turns away from her.

She hates him – as well she might – and he finds a strange sort of pleasure in it. It is sick and unnatural, perhaps, but some part of him seems to believe that by drawing her further into panic and despair he can lessen his own fear.

No, not fear.

His rage and indignation.

How can it be, he thinks, that he is back to find his whole clan massacred instead of ruling this land, as it should be. How can it be that some little upstart, good-for-nothing excuse for a kunoichi who doesn't even have a bloodline limit dares lecture him, of all people, about his brother's crimes and presume she knows better.

He should have never agreed to accompany her in the first place.

He should just leave her and be done with it.

"Wait, where are you going?"

Somewhere where she will not follow him. Except...

"Wherever I want to go. What business is it of yours?"

"What do you mean – what business is it of mine? Didn't we agree we were in this together? You said you would help me!"

"I changed my mind. Your constant yapping gets on my nerves. Do you even know how to be quiet?"

She stares at him in utter disbelief. A moment passes in silence, and for some reason, he feels uncomfortable under her gaze.

She sighs in exasperation.

"You know what? I can't even believe I'm saying this – and this early in the morning, too! - but I'm beginning to think I would be better off with your brother. Because of the two of you, he may be insane, but you're obviously the bigger jerk."

"What?"

She pauses, looking away from him, then heaves another sigh. Suddenly, she no longer appears so young and childish.

"I really don't know why you insist on hating me," she continues tiredly and a little sadly. "I mean, it makes no sense. You never met me before... Hell, you were dead until recently. And now you're alive and the first thing you do is decide to insult me and make my life difficult. As if the it's not bad enough already."

"Well, what do you want from me?" he asks impatiently and realizes that he actually does want to hear her answer. It is... important, for some reason.

He doesn't like the idea.

She straightens up and looks him in the eye again, her gaze steady and unwavering,

"For starters, I really want you to give it a break. I can't fight this... whatever this is that's going on and you at the same time. Stop trying to provoke me. Please."

He remains silent, waiting for her to go on, and indeed she does.

"You can see how things are. It's all wrong. It's.. warped, somehow. I don't know what happened with Madara's Infinite Tsukuyomi, why I'm not asleep or why you are alive, but I know I want to save my friends. Naruto, Sasuke, everyone... I want to save them. I want to make things right. I want my life back! And I'm not sure I can't do it alone. There is only so much one can do alone."

She hesitates a little, then takes a step toward him, then another, until she is standing so close she could touch him if she wanted to. He can see her every eyelash, every line of her face.

He wonders why he is not pushing her away. He really should.

But she looks so impossibly alive, the only human being beside himself who is alive in this endless dreamland, that he finds himself oddly reluctant to do so.

Her hands are balled into fists and her face is drawn, but she does not flinch or stammer, nor does she try to skirt around the issue.

"I need your help. You have the Mangekyo Sharingan. You are Madara's brother, you knew... you understand him and his jutsu. If anyone can actually help unwind this horror, I believe it's you. I'm asking you to help me. I promise that I will do whatever I can to help you too, if ever you need something from me."

She falls silent, waiting for his answer.

The forest is whispering softly around them, and her eyes seem darker and deeper with all the lavish green reflected in them. He realizes that he is staring at her and breaks the eye contact immediately.

"Fine," he says abruptly and leans down to pick up his sword from where it is leaning against the trunk of a nearby tree.

"Eh? Izuna?..."

"I said, fine. I will help you."

He glances at her face and is both disgusted and elated to see it light up as she beams at him.

"You will? Really?" She appears to be stunned – has she been expecting him to refuse? Probably yes, he has given her enough reason to do so, after all.

"Yes, really. Now stop with that look, will you, unless you want me to reconsider my decision."

Except it's not like he has anywhere to go.

It's not like anyone is waiting for him either.

There is only Sakura

A broken, shattered world and a girl who wants to save it by gluing the pieces together, he thinks grimly.

He couldn't have found a better moment to be resurrected, indeed.

-/-

(to be continued)

A/N: well, it's been a while. I was asked to write more SakuraSasuke stuff, to be honest, but there're so many wonderful stories about them already, so I decided to chose another Uchiha. It's a bit more interesting this way... But I promise you'll like my version of Izuna! Oh yes :)

Next time: we'll learn how Sakura managed to get so unlucky

Please let me know what you think!