A/N: To explain the chapter system- there are the truths (in this case, Underneath the Rivalry) and the revelations (3 each- Naruto, Sakura, and Sasuke, although not always in that order). Sometimes they’ll change, and numbers aren’t assigned to people, they’re just a counter for how many people have had that specific revelation. Confused yet? Don’t worry, it’ll make sense when I’ve got more than two chapters…

 

I drew Sakura and alter!Sakura way back when, along with little sketches of everyone else (even though I can’t draw the back of Sasuke’s head for the life of me), but I have no scanner to show you all the beautiful mediocrity of my art skills. Excuse me while I go pout with my computer paper and mechanical pencils.

 

Summary: A jutsu experiment sends Team 7 into a dark world where Naruto’s been hokage of the ruined Konoha since he was 13, Sasuke murdered Itachi at 9, and Sakura’s trying to kill both of them. What’s going on? And how can they get back to their own world, when they barely know how they got there in the first place? SasuNaru, SakuIno

 

 

Reality in Alteration

 

Revelation 2- Underneath the Rivalry

 

 

Deep in the forest, Sakura stared at herself.

 

Pink hair, save bangs, hung tied in many long, thin braids was held back from her eyes with the usual forehead protector, cold mint-green eyes stared right back at her, and an outfit of tight white pants and a long red jacket with her symbol on the back over a tiny dark blue shirt that left nothing to the imagination were the only physical differences between the two…oh, wait, no, there was a-

 

“WHAT THE HELL? I’M MARRIED?!” Sakura shrieked, pointing at the silver diamond ring on the other Sakura’s left hand.

 

“Engaged, actually, now who the hell are you and why are you suicidal enough to try and find me?” other-Sakura snapped.

 

“Wow, this is some kind of genjutsu,” Sakura said appreciatively.

 

“I was about to say the same thing,” other-Sakura said dryly, and flicked her hand.

 

Immediately, ten leaf-nin dropped from the surrounding trees and surrounded the two Sakuras. All, Sakura noted, had the Haruno ring on their clothing.

 

A ripple of movement emanated from behind her, and Sakura lashed out. Her fist met another fist, both perfectly aligned, both in the same stance, both wearing the exact same black gloves. Mint eyes met cold mint eyes.

 

“Who do you work for?” the other Sakura asked coldly. When Sakura made no move, either to answer or attack, the other glared. “The hokage? Uchiha? WHO?”

 

Sakura took a moment, then glared right back. “I work for Tsunade, and myself.”

 

“Wrong answer!” the other Sakura shouted out, lips curling into a snarl, and attacked. Red coat billowing out behind her, her punches and kicks came at a speed she’d never been able to achieve, furiously on the offensive. Sakura held herself at bay, but barely. The match rolled and jerked through the ring of ninja, the ground shaking from the force of their battle.

 

And suddenly, she was frozen. No, not frozen…!

 

“Good job, Ino-pig,” alter-Sakura said, a strange smile on her face.

 

Sakura’s mind panicked, watching her own body shrug. “She was easy,” her own voice said. “Now get to the whacking, forehead girl…unless you’re feeling kinky?”

 

And what the HELL was Ino doing with her body?! Sakura shut off her mental awareness, refusing to see what the blonde girl was making her do.

 

“Ino, stop that! It’s creepy.”

 

Sakura was tempted to kiss herself…or, whatever. This was so confusing.

 

Her own voice laughed. “Fine, Haruno-san.”

 

“That’s creepy too!” This Sakura sounded like a thirteen-year-old! How the hell had someone like HER managed to get Sakura under Ino’s shintenshin? It was embarrassing. Ino would never let her hear the…end of it…

 

…why was she suddenly so sleepy?

 

“Goodnight, Sakura,” Ino’s spectral voice whispered into her ear, and she could feel phantom lips on her forehead as she drifted off to sleep, a strangely contented feeling seeping into her limbs as that soothing darkness consumed her.

 

-

 

“-they want a Haruno Sakura, they’ll get one,” her ears picked out Ino’s voice.

 

“Not to mention if she’s a spy, the entire effort will have been for nothing,” Shikamaru’s voice added in, still sounding as bored as Sasuke when Naruto wasn’t around.

 

“And the possibility this is some innocent clone of me?” Was that HER voice? What time was it, anyway? Oh shit, was she on a mission? What was going on?

 

“Haruno-san…she’s awake,” Hinata’s shy voice came out, closer than the other three, and Sakura opened her eyes, and stared at the remains of her friend.

 

Half of her face was horrifically burned, the flesh white and puckered. The other side was the same beautiful woman she’d become over the years, but a shadow hung over her white Hyuuga eyes.

 

“What happened?” Sakura whispered.

 

“I’m sorry, Harun…um, miss, what do you mean?” Hinata asked, obviously confused as to her pink-haired compatriot’s question.

 

“Uchiha Sasuke happened,” other-Sakura said quietly, and Hinata turned bright red, pulling the hood of her jacket up over her face.

 

Green eyes met green eyes, and Sakura glared at her alternate self. “Sasuke would never do that to anyone.”

 

“Rules out spy,” Shikamaru muttered. “She’s too stupid to be believable.”

 

“Who are you?” the other Sakura asked, ignoring Shikamaru’s cutting remark.

 

Sakura took a deep breath. “I’m Haruno Sakura, chuunin, Team 7, of Konoha. I’m apprenticed to the hokage, Tsunade, and I’ve known Uchiha Sasuke for almost half my life. He would NEVER do that to a friend.”

 

The others in the room had frozen as soon as Sakura mentioned Sasuke’s name, eyes wide and startled as she barreled through the words.

 

“Everyone out,” the other Sakura snapped. Shikamaru and Hinata immediately complied, frowning as they crept out of the strange wooden hut before either Sakura looked away from the other.

 

Ino, however, stayed.

 

“Ino. Out.”

 

Ino glared. “I have every right you do to stay in here-”

 

“OUT.”

 

The blonde’s fists clenched, and with a final glare stormed out of the hut, the leather flap snapping against the side of the shelter with a vicious force. Both Sakuras winced at that.

 

“And she was in such a good mood,” alter-Sakura sighed, and pulled a stool up next to Sakura’s cot. “Now, are you going to honestly answer my questions?”

 

“If you’ll do the same,” Sakura snapped. The other Sakura nodded, and began.

 

“How old are you?”

 

“Seventeen, nearly eighteen. You?”

 

“Same. How did you find the base?”

 

“I used to play here when I was younger. Who are you engaged to?”

 

“Ino.” Sakura choked, but Other Sakura plowed right along. “Are you still a member of Team 7?”

 

“Of course. Why aren’t you?”

 

Other-Sakura sighed, rolling her neck to release a bit of tension. “That’s a long story.”

 

“Give me the short version then,” Sakura snapped.

 

Other-Sakura gave her an appraising look. “Are you sure you want to know this?” Sakura nodded. “I was assigned to Team 7, which I’m sure you remember. Sasuke and Naruto-” there was a strange burst of anger at the name “ – kicked up a pretty good rivalry, and I had a huge crush on Sasuke at the time. But, we managed to mostly make it work, and got stronger.

 

“The years and missions went by, and soon it was time for the chuunin exam. Ino and I beat each other up and didn’t make it into the finals, and Naruto and Sasuke made it through with practically no problems. But during the finals… after the fight, Naruto was standing just outside the barrier when the third hokage died, and then…I don’t know what happened, other than everyone but Sasuke in a twenty-meter radius ended up a charred, crackling corpse.

 

“After that, things…changed. Some guy named Orochimaru was after Sasuke, and of course Naruto wasn’t about to let that happen, so he and Sasuke disappeared for a while, leaving me and Kakashi behind to worry ourselves to death. When they came back, they were…different. And they told us to prepare, that the snake guy would be coming in a couple years. Naruto ended up as hokage after that, and he and Sasuke got engaged a year later-”

 

“…What?” Sakura blinked, half in shock and half absorbing the information.

 

Other-Sakura frowned. “What, they’re not married wherever you’re from?”

 

“NO! And I’m not marrying Ino, either!” Sakura snapped, and Other-Sakura looked like she’d been slapped. A cold fury wrapped over Other-Sakura, veiling her face.

 

“When you feel up to it, you can leave. This-” she pulled out a simple, thin wooden disk on a plain silver chain. A Haruno ring. “- will let you come and go from the base. And…if you did bring the rest of your team…STAY WITH THEM. I’m not responsible for what my people will do to them if you aren’t with them. We’ve learned to attack first and question later.” Without another word, Other-Sakura swept towards the exit.

 

“WAIT!” Sakura shouted out, and the alternate version of her paused, turning back. “Ino…does she…do I…I mean, do we…”

 

Alter-Sakura smiled that strange, small smile from before. “Yeah, we’re in love. Is it really that surprising?”

 

Images swamped her mind, visions of flowers and battles, hair falling to the ground and moments where the screams were more comforting than any other interaction could ever be. Of a little, shy girl, and her guarding, caring, beautifully annoying best friend.

 

“Actually, it really isn’t,” Sakura finally said. Other-Sakura let out a kind-hearted laugh and shook her head, the pink braids flying. “What should I call you anyway?”

 

Other-Sakura thought for a moment, then smiled at her. “Haruno-san. Everyone else does, after all.” With that, the alternate Sakura walked out the flap, letting it fall back into place with a simple muted fwap.

 

Sakura fell back into the bed, questions and shadows plaguing her mind. What in that scenario could have made Team 7 break up, not to mention make her- HARUNO-SAN, she amended loudly in her head – want to kill Naruto and Sasuke? Not to mention attack before talking…

 

It didn’t take a genius to figure out something very, very wrong was going on in this genjutsu. And she was going to get to the bottom of this lunacy if it killed her.