a/n: baku is a real japanese mythical creature, but i certainly took some design liberties with it and made it much bigger and more horrifying and Miyazaki-esque. This is fanfiction, after all.

Seek: Chapter Twelve

The Forest Sage

"Miss Sakura."

"Huh?" Sakura asked, startled, and sat straight up, nearly decapitating herself on a low-hanging tree branch. She had fallen asleep on the great slug's back as it had carried her through the forest.

"Shh," the slug shushed her before continuing in whispered tones. "Wake up. We have arrived at the heart of Shikkotsu."

Sakura rubbed the sleep from her bleary eyes and peered at her surroundings from her perch on the slug's back. It was dark out - perhaps dusk had fallen, or perhaps - and more likely - the denser foliage did not allow much sunlight to filter through to the forest floor. The trees were thicker and closer together, allowing very little maneuvering space for the giant slug; the smell of moss and damp earth were overwhelming.

With a jolt, Sakura realized that she was surrounded by smoothly undulating, shapeless dark masses of all sizes that crowded the forest floor. Slugs. Hundreds of them - some even larger than her current guide, but most were only slightly larger than herself. They moved without purpose or rhythm, hordes of plasma and slime, and whispered amongst each other too quietly for her to make out the dim light did not allow her to see if Katsuyu was present.

"The temple of Shikkotsu is in front of you," the slug whispered, directing her attention straight ahead.

When Sakura's eyes finally adjusted to the shadowy, mottled light, she gasped.

Before her, the mass of slugs had parted to show a long, straight dirt path that led to a mammoth stone temple. The path was lined with roughly-hewn animal statues - slugs were the most heavily featured subject, but Sakura also recognized bears, wolves, cats, and boars, as well as many creatures she could not name.

The temple itself was an enormous affair; its true height was obscured by the trees that crowded around it. She could not think of a single larger structure that she had ever seen, with perhaps the exception of the gates surrounding Konoha; Sakura imagined that the edifice rose quite high above the forest based on its girth alone. The entire temple was constructed of gray stone, concealed with an overgrowth of vines - with the exception of the door, which was composed of glossy, rich wood.

If the temple was intimidating for its size, then the double doors were equally so for their intricacy. They were delicately carved - at this distance, Sakura could not make out the designs, except for what appeared to be two human handprints where one would expect handles to be.

"This is where sages are consecrated," the slug murmured. "Now close your mouth and come down from there. You look like a guileless fish. Or worse, a toad."

Sakura did as she was told and slid off the slug's back, to join the throng on the forest floor. The other slugs brushed up against her, their slimy skin brushing against hers uncomfortably, and pushed her forward towards the path; her guide followed closely behind her until they reached the first statue of the pathway.

"Welcome," the slugs whispered.

"We have been waiting," the slugs whispered.

"Why is your hair pink," the slugs whispered.

Sakura looked back to her guide and pointed toward the temple. "Is Baku in there?"

"Yes," the large slug said. "Baku is waiting for you inside of the temple. You will go in alone. If Baku finds you acceptable to be the new Forest Sage, then you will begin your training today, with me."

"And if I'm not found acceptable?"

"Then we shall worry about that when the time comes."

Sakura rather thought that she should worry about it now, as when the time comes was often far too late to worry about such things. The slug obviously sensed her unease and pressed against her arm reassuringly.

"My child, you are quite young, that is true. But you are clever, kind, and unendingly loyal. There is a reason that I was tasked with carrying you to the temple."

"Because I probably would have gotten lost?" Sakura said, trying her best to sound lighthearted.

"Yes. And also because I am one of the keepers of the temple. None are allowed to enter without my assent, and I do not grant passage to those who are unworthy. You are worthy, and all of the slugs have gathered here today to offer our support… and our blessing."

The sea of slugs hummed in agreement and swayed in unison, jostling Sakura about like she was a raft afloat in a slimy ocean.

"But before you are allowed to walk the path, I must ask you a question. And before that, I will share some of your own history with you; your teacher, Tsunade, came here seeking power, just like you. But she was unable to separate her grief and resentment and sorrow from her soul any more than she could separate the stars from the sky. So she could not be accepted into the temple."

Sakura ran her fingers over the soft moss covering the stone statue before her. It was a boar, ugly tusks jutting from its rough-hewn jaw. She knew just how deeply rooted Tsunade's heartache was, and how deeply it was carved on her heart. Sakura wondered if Tsunade had once stood in front of this very temple, only to walk away empty-handed for the depth of her grief.

"Have you settled your soul, child?" the old slug asked gently.

"I've made peace with it," Sakura said quietly and honestly. She had confronted every demon her heart had caged. They might never leave her, but they were at rest, and that was the best that she could do.

"We can sense as much." The slug bowed its great head. "And because of that, we will allow you to proceed. You will walk down this path, and when you reach the temple, place your hands on the doors. Present your chakra to the temple, and if it is pure, you will be allowed to enter. You will find Baku is waiting for you there."

Sakura nodded and swallowed. "And you'll be out here, right? You'll be waiting for me?"

"Of course," the slug murmured. "I will be right here, regardless of the outcome. But now you must go, for Baku is an ancient and impatient creature."

The slug then nudged Sakura forward with its great head, and she stumbled a few steps further down the pathway. She turned back to glance at the slugs one last time.

"Go," her guide called out to her. "With our blessing."

So Sakura turned back around and slowly walked down the dirt path, glancing uneasily at the statues that flanked her way. They seemed… alive, somehow, their eyes following her as she walked. She shuddered.

When she reached the great stone doors, she paused. She pressed her palms into the carved hands and closed her eyes, inhaling deeply; then she allowed her chakra to flow out into the wood. It glowed green for a moment, and then the doors slowly creaked open.

With one last glance at the slugs gathered behind her, she entered the temple.

Immediately, the doors shut behind her, locking her inside. The inside of the temple was bare, damp, and poorly lit - the only light source a single small window situated far too high for her to reach. The drip of water echoed through the room, a grim and mournful chorus.

Sitting on a bed of moss crowded against the cold stone wall was the forest spirit. It was as large as a house, larger even.

It was not quite a wolf, nor a bear, nor an elk, but it had the ugliest attributes of all three. It had the head of a moose but the slitted eyes of a cat, with matted brown fur and fangs too numerous and too big for its grotesque muzzle poking haphazardly out of angry bleeding gums. Saliva frothed and dripped from its open maw. Antlers crowned its ugly head, and its ribs poked through its fur. Its cracked hooves alone were as large as Sakura's entire body. On the ridges of its spine sat a folded pair of tattered leathery wings.

"You do not find me pleasant to look at," the creature heaved, and its rancid, damp breath felt hot on her face. "You humans have forgotten me."

Sakura froze - she knew that voice, and knew it well. The voice of this… thing was the same multi-timbre voice that had woven in and out of her nightmare in the cave. She would know it anywhere.

"Do you speak?" the creature growled. Its voice moved like a boulder being pushed uphill - slow, grating, pained. The sound of its labored breathing filled the room, echoing across the damp stone.

"I know you," Sakura said carefully, keeping her voice even. "I know your voice... It was you in the dream, wasn't it? You were the little girl."

"Indeed. I am Baku," the creature rumbled. "Baku, the dream-eater, they called me. For many millennia, that was the only name your kind knew me by… then I withdrew to this forest many centuries ago. It was I who visited you in your trance, I who rummaged through the deepest crevices of your mind… and I must say, you interest me, child."

"How so?" Sakura asked, not sure she wanted to be found interesting by a creature with fangs larger than her body.

"For someone so lacking in natural talent and skill to come here takes courage. I find that charming."

Sakura stiffened. That did not sound like acceptance to her - it sounded like the precursor to being eaten. She considered running, but decided against it - she wouldn't make it very far anyway.

"But you also possess a certain strength of spirit that reminds me much of the last boy who stumbled into my temple, seeking what you seek. Yes, you share many qualities with him indeed; I hear your people made him into something of a leader in the end. Annoying in every way, but teachable - like you. I made him into a serviceable sage in the end."

Sakura let out an imperceptible sigh of relief. Perhaps she would not be eaten after all, which was the best that she had hoped for. And - with any luck, Baku might even answer her burning question. "Who was he? The first forest sage?"

"Senju Hashirama, your people called him," Baku heaved. "I called him useless, which he learned to answer to eventually."

"Senju Hashirama the first hokage?" Sakura asked, astonished.

"Was that his full name? A bit of a mouthful, if you ask me," Baku said distastefully.

"He founded my village," Sakura said quietly. "He was one of the most powerful shinobi to ever even exist. I didn't… I had no idea he…"

"What, he didn't tell you who taught him everything he knew? The ingrate. You will do no such thing, I hope."

"Of course not," Sakura breathed, the implication of Baku's behest not lost on her.

"Haruno Sakura," Baku said, as if savoring every letter of her name. "She who would become the second forest sage. You are very similar to him indeed. I recognize your soul - I thought you were Hashirama, when you first appeared in Shikkotsu. But the winds tell me that his soul is elsewhere. So I wonder, who have you been that once was one of mine?"

"I wouldn't know," Sakura said honestly. "I think I've only ever been me."

"Impossible, but no matter. I will remember eventually. Sit, so that we may talk business." Baku motioned with its fanged muzzle toward the stone floor.
Sakura sat as she had been taught by her first slug guide, crossing her legs and placing her hands on her knees, palms facing upward.

"I shan't waste time. I do not like humans," Baku hissed. "You had no right to change the earth as you did, to steal the homes of the plants and animals that came before you and were defenseless against your gifts. The earth will rid itself of you someday. But until then… we must coexist."

Sakura bit her lip and swallowed nervously, eyeing Baku's large, glistening fangs. "By coexist, you mean…?"

"I am not some gentle nature spirit that your people like to romanticize. I am older than you can imagine. Death does not bother me. Killing does not bother me. You humans are so fleeting; who am I to care if one of you gets snuffed out a few seconds before you are due."

Baku lowered her great head until she was inches from Sakura's face. The creature's fetid breath grazed her skin, and Sakura's spine stiffened, the hairs on the back of her neck standing on end - still, she stood her ground.

"But that is for another time," Baku said, withdrawing. "Your time is not now, and it is not for me to decide. You belong to the forest now."

"Does that mean...?" Sakura said breathlessly, staring up at Baku's hideous face.

"It means nothing but that the forest likes you, and the forest has been wrong before," Baku hissed. "As for myself... After examining your thoughts and mind, I chose to give you a gift. While your body was sitting in the cave, I made a… modification… to your tenketsu. I made them receptive to natural energy. Those stupid toads lack the skill and resort to melding their bodies with their humans… repulsive."

"Thank you very much," Sakura said respectfully, her stomach still churning nervously.

"The world is stretched very thin, child," Baku hummed. "And it gets thinner every passing day. And when the madness within bursts forth - and it will, sooner than you think - humans will be on the warpath… it would be advantageous for Shikkotsu to have an ally amongst them."

"Of course," Sakura murmured.

"You and I would enter into a contract. Much like you have with the slugs now; when you are in danger, I would come. And when the forest is threatened… it is you who would come to us, then."

"You mean you would be my new summon?

"No, I'd be your new master who might deign to rescue you when you inevitably get in over your head."

"Oh."

"I do not like humans," Baku growled. "But human chakra is a valuable resource. It has different… proclivities that are unmatched in other species."

Sakura shifted uneasily, her hand itching to touch the seal on her forehead.

"Human chakra can create. Other species can augment or destroy, heal or execute; when mixed with natural energy, these abilities are simply enhanced. But humans… humans alone can create, when exposed to the correct conditions."

"I've heard that before," Sakura said, remembering Academy lessons that taught the uses of ninken or other summoned animals. "Human tenketsu are structured differently, in a way allows chakra to build upon itself to facilitate physical bonds."

"And just like all chakra capabilities… combined with natural energy, that ability is amplified. And combined with natural energy from Shikkotsu specifically, and your nature release, the constitution of your creations takes a certain… root."

"I have earth release," Sakura supplied. "And water release, but it's a bit weak. I had to learn it for my jonin promotion."

"That is good news, then. I had expected to have to teach you one or the other, since you will require both as a forest sage."

"What do you mean?" Sakura asked, starting to feel a bit lost.

"When you combine your human chakra, with its power to create, with your earth release and your water release… and then you add natural energy, what do you assume you gain the ability to create? Earth release, water release, and nature combine to form…?"

"Holy shit," Sakura breathed, the implication of Baku's words dawning on her.

"No. Wood release," Baku said, clearly confused by her statement. "Why would it be… never mind. It's wood release."

"Mokuton is a sage art," Sakura said, amazed. "Hashirama's wood style. It came from you… from Shikkotsu."

"Of course it did," scoffed Baku. Sakura would have sworn that the creature sounded amused, if a thousand tortured voices could sound amused. "You think that boy just invented it on his own?"

"I never really knew," Sakura admitted, too excited to be chagrined. "I think we all just figured he was born with it or something."

Baku huffed, as if offended by the lack of credit. "Treacherous boy. Too interested in combing his hair, if you ask me. Now, onward… if you wish to become what Hashirama once was, then an exchange must be made."

"An exchange?" Sakura frowned. "I haven't got anything to exchange."

"As I said, human chakra is a precious resource," Baku growled, eyes flitting to the seal on Sakura's brow. "A resource that you have in spades."

I don't like the sound of that, Sakura thought. "My natural chakra reserves are pretty small."

"The chakra stored in your seal would be enough for Shikkotsu to flourish for over a year. Many trees could grow… the perimeter of the forest could expand by a league or more in any direction. And the fauna, as well, would thrive. Many young could be nurtured into adulthood."

Sakura was silent.

"And in exchange for your generous gift… I can only imagine the forest would meet you with similar generosity."

"Meaning?" Sakura asked carefully.

"The power that Hashirama had was only a fraction of what he could have been given."

"Oh," Sakura said softly. Hashirama was one of the most powerful shinobi… ever, she thought numbly.

"And wood release is not the only power that Shikkotsu could grant you. If you were to return every now and then with fresh chakra to put forward, it might be inclined to share such arcane abilities with you. And of course, your chakra would return to you as quickly as it always does."

Sakura didn't really feel inclined towards messing with arcane powers. She felt that she was already in far over her head, that she was getting far more than she had bargained for. This giant fanged moose-wolf-bear-cat thing wanted all of her chakra… for what? A few trees? But in exchange for the kind of security that wood release would offer… Sakura thought she might be an idiot to turn that down. And she didn't consider herself an idiot. She remembered the kinds of things that were waiting for her outside of the forest…. this would certainly even the playing field.

"So, will you accept? Your chakra stores for unparalleled strength?"

For a moment, the only sound was the steady dripdripdrip of the water from the great stone walls while Sakura found her voice.

"I accept."

"Then you will be the new forest sage," Baku affirmed, and planted one giant hoof in the dirt with a thud.

Where Baku planted its hoof, the ground erupted in an outburst of flora; small vines began creeping up its leg, and wildflowers blossomed in the new grass. The vines began reaching for Sakura, twisting through her fingers and up her arms.

She allowed the vines to tug at her chakra; the sensation was bare but intoxicating, leaving her feeling dreamy and delirious. The vines grew warm and began to emit a delicate golden glow as they wrapped around her, fragile viridian tendrils climbing up her arms and neck. She closed her eyes, enjoying the sensation.

Sakura felt the vines moving her body, lifting her arm and pulling on her chakra in an unfamiliar manner - the way the chakra coiled and swirled through her hands was foreign to her but pleasant, and so simple that she wondered why she had never thought herself to manipulate it that way. It was warm, like submerging her arm into a hot bath; she let herself sink further and further into the warmth, willing the feeling to deepen and spread across her entire body-

"Stop, child. You will break my temple," Baku growled.

The sound of Baku's voice startled her, and the feeling escaped - the vines began to retreat, slithering down her skin and back into the dirt.

Sakura opened her eyes and gasped. In front of her was standing a tree - and not just any tree. Clouds of pink blossoms dotted the branches and pink petals swirled through the air to the ground.

She staggered against the stone wall beside her, suddenly overcome with fatigue, as if all of her chakra had been drained from her at once. The vines receded from her limbs, crawling back across the earthen floor to Baku's hooves. She touched the symbol on her forehead - her seal was empty, completely bereft of the chakra she had been storing away since the end of the war.

"They have extracted their price," Baku murmured. "And they like you."

Sakura stared up at the tree in awe, head spinning dangerously. "Did I grow that? Was that me?"

"It was," Baku confirmed, dipping her giant head. "And I hope you remember how you did it. I don't want to have to teach it to you again."

"I think so," Sakura said wearily. "All of my chakra is gone."

"The slugs were going to beat it out of you anyway. It's better to train with your chakra stores depleted. You will grow stronger faster without it."

Fucking slugs.

"Did you mean to grow a cherry tree?"

"No." Sakura had grown too fatigued for answers any longer than a few words. She placed a hand on the bark. The tree felt warm, like it had been basking in the sun, and it was strong and solid under her palm. She ran her fingers down the wood softly.

"You have power and fear in spades, child, and if you can control both then I might make a good sage out of you yet."

..

..

..

Two weeks after Sasuke's strange dream, he was struggling to forget it, although not for lack of trying.

While he had not had any other dreams of the same magnitude, since that night his dreams had changed slightly. Most notably - and amongst other, less significant dreams - two nights ago he had fallen asleep and spent the whole night walking through a densely wooded forest. He'd come upon a river that he'd followed until he reached a small waterfall, and behind the waterfall was a cave with calf-deep cold water, and inside the cave he could hear faint, mumbling voices that were far too quiet to be intelligible.

Of course, what Sasuke did not know was that the forest was Shikkotsu, the cave was really the Rocks of Rumination - where Sakura had quite recently sat in a trance for two weeks - and the voices were not, in fact, unintelligible, he just wasn't really listening. To Sasuke, he'd had a dream about some weird trees and a weird cave, and since nobody died and there was no blood, he counted that as a victory and did not think about it too much.

And he wasn't thinking about it now.

He was lying in the grass of an empty training ground, his one arm carelessly flung outward, as he stared blankly at the clouds that were drifting against the baby-blue sky.

It was a beautiful day. A gentle, warm breeze was whispering through the grass and over the treetops. A ladybug crawled over his finger and settled on his fingernail.

Exhausting himself with training had proven ineffective in stopping his racing thoughts. Once upon a time, that had been a successful tactic, when rage was the emotion that he was trying to silence and he had a goal that he pursued with a single-minded fury.

Now he had nothing but his memories, and he found they were not so easily vanquished.

Hard to shine when you're standing between the sun and the moon.

In his dream - the big one, the one where Sakura had been there - her hands had been warm and soft. Different from how he'd known them to be, when he'd come home for good. Her hands were always so dry, cracked from washing her hands so often at the hospital. She used a hand cream that smelled like jasmine; when he'd been in her apartment a few weeks ago, he'd picked it up and held it in his hands and thought he might actually throw it through her bedroom wall in frustration and anger. Then he'd put it back carefully, although he didn't know why - it's not like she could care that he had moved her lotion.

Once they started, memories were hard to stop.

The first time Sakura fell asleep in Sasuke's apartment, it was on his couch - ruined by Naruto also being asleep on his couch at the same time. Sasuke had passed out on his armchair that was too soft. It had been a long night for all them - Sakura and Naruto had decided that something needed to be celebrated, and had dragged Sasuke across town to find which bar had the best peach sake. The two of them had declared it a fourteen-way tie and Sasuke's apartment had been the closest when they decided the night was over. Sasuke had been remarkably sober, but decided he wouldn't make them walk home that night. When he woke, soft yellow light was filtering in through the blinds that he'd been too tired to close when they got back.

Across the coffee table, Naruto started groaning. Sasuke closed his eyes - it was too early for a conversation.

"Shit," Naruto sputtered. Sasuke opened his eyelids just enough to see Naruto sitting up and rubbing his eyes.

"Hey, kid. Wake up," Naruto said quietly, poking Sakura on the shoulder. A sleepy hand batted his fingers away. "You're gonna be late for work."

She grumbled something incoherent and pushed his hand away.

"C'mon, Sakura. Up and at 'em."

"Don't wanna hear it," she mumbled, burying her head in her arms. "Lemme sleep s'more."

"Don't make me do it," Naruto warned, cracking his knuckles, and she groaned again.

"I'm up, I'm up," she sighed, sitting. "What time is it?"

"Almost nine. You gotta go."

"Why do we always make such bad decisions?"

"It's not a bad decision for me. Not like I gotta be at the hospital. Want me to walk you to work?"

She stood and gathers her hair into a ponytail. It still looks like she slept on a couch that she didn't mean to sleep on. "It's okay, you go back to sleep."

"What time are you off?"

She shrugged. "Won't be later than 7."

"I'll come by and walk you home if you want."

Sasuke shook his head to dispel the memory. He didn't ask for any of this. He stood and brushed off his pants; the afternoon hours would be ending soon.

He walked home and thought about making dinner, but decided against it. He'd been home for less than an hour when Naruto let himself in.

"You're supposed to knock," Sasuke grumbled.

"Why? You're my reincarnated brother. What's yours is mine," Naruto said cheerfully, flopping down on Sasuke's couch.

"No. What's mine is mine, period," Sasuke muttered.

"Anyway, there's a reason I came over. Choji is having a thing tonight and I think you should come. Shikamaru is going to be there."

"No. No way."

"Yes way."

He knew he was going to regret letting Naruto into his living room for the fifteenth time in a month - he'd had a bad feeling. "I'm not going to a party."

"It's not a party!" Naruto said, exasperated. "Shikamaru said he wants to talk to us and it's just a bunch of people you already know at Choji's house. Like, ten people tops. People you went to school with, you don't have to be so antisocial all the time!"

"Sounds like a party to me," Sasuke grumbled, wishing once again that he had both of his arms so he could cross them. "Can't we just meet in the library or something?"

"And have a bunch of village employees overhear us? No way. Listen, everyone will be nice and buzzed, no one will be paying attention to us, and Shikamaru can tell us what he wants to tell us, and then you can come back here to your creepy apartment."

"It's not creepy."

"It's so creepy. You have, like, one lamp and a mattress in your room."

"That's not creepy. It's efficient."

"You are so weird. Anyway, come on. Don't you want to get to the bottom of things?"

And so Sasuke went to a party, not without his fair share of grumbling.

Almost immediately after arriving at Choji's house, Naruto abandoned Sasuke (with a direct order to socialize), as he felt the inexplicable need to shout with Kiba over things that didn't need to be shouted over.

After catching several surprised glances turned into averted eyes, Sasuke settled for leaning against a table and watching the party - and it was definitely a party - go on around him. This was a horrible idea.

And of course—because this was just how his life always worked out—it got worse. Ino found him and let out a surprised exclamation of Sasuke, what are you doing here?

He could tell from her voice that she'd already had her fair share of alcohol. He could also tell she could hold it just fine.

"Y'know, none of us here hate you," Ino said, leaning back against the table.

"Uh. Thanks, I guess," Sasuke said uncomfortably.

"You think we do, but we don't. Especially me and Shikamaru and Choji, we get it, mostly. We've all got big clans, big families... and after my dad died, I wanted to do evil things to the people that killed him. I can't imagine if it was my whole family."

Ino took a swig of whatever was in the cup she was holding, and Sasuke forced himself not to raise his eyebrows. He had been told that it looked… judgmental when he did that.

"And then we all learned the truth, about your brother and Danzo and all that. You still did a lot of fucked up shit, and that wasn't cool. Like, really not cool - you hurt all of us, somehow."

"I, uh… I'm sorry," Sasuke apologized, and although he meant it, he wasn't sure if Ino was really looking for an apology, or just looking to hear herself talk.

"So, just... you don't have to stay away from us just because Sakura's gone, okay? You're still one of us. She wasn't your only bridge off the island. You just have to show up."

For a moment they were both silent before Ino spoke again.

"But if you betray Konoha again... I know we couldn't bring you in the first time. But nobody will be trying to bring you home alive the second time around."

"Well... thank you, I guess?" Sasuke said again, still unsure if he was supposed to respond or not.

She patted him affectionately on the arm, and he stared after her as she sashayed away. Naruto sidled up to him, drink in hand.

"I caught the tail end of that," Naruto snickered.

"Eavesdropping is rude."

"Making me chase after your stupid ass for two years was rude," Naruto said, scandalized. "I'm allowed to eavesdrop on your conversations. It's how you make it up to me."

"I didn't ask you to do that," Sasuke grumbled. "Where's Shikamaru?"

"Upstairs, waiting for us. Let's go."

a/n: I wonder Baku the dream eater is up to with Sasuke... and what Shikamaru is planning! I included some fluffy bits just because I like writing them. Also, obv Hashirama was super powerful, Baku just has a bad attitude. Hope y'all enjoyed the new update. I'd say this story is about 1/3 of the way complete. It's my birthday in two days and I'll be officially elderly so who knows when I'll kick the bucket now, y'know?