006- Video; Action for Blackthorn

[used_friendship]

[Action]

[It is early in the evening when he finally begins to stir. A hand slowly reaches up to rub at tired eyes as they blink into focus, Naruto staring up at the ceiling above him. Immediately he frowns as memories of new and old jumble together. It had felt like a dream, though it couldn't have been. Why didn't he have chakra? Oh yeah- Johto.

Feeling the presence of someone else in the room distracts him as he turns his head to the side, immediately greeted with the sight of long, flowing red hair.]

....So when are we going to Violet? [You hit hard enough to knock him out Mom, he'll concede this time.]

[Video]

[A little time later the Pokegear shows Naruto sat on a bed as an excitable Carnivine is wrapped around his shoulders, happily chewing on his head once again. Some things never change!]

So--yeah. I guess that thing happened to me, y'know, when people fall asleep and have the dreams? But they're not real dreams? [Descriptive as always. On that subject though, there are some people he wants to talk to. He should probably send them some private messages.]

Oi Neji. Sasuke. I wanna talk to you guys.

[...Or just do it that way instead. He has a pretty serious look about him for once, so they should probably get in contact with him.]

[With a huff he moves around and attempts to unwrap the Carnivine from around him. Since he has it on, he may as well ask that question he had before the coma stuff happened.]

I'm still gonna go check out that dragon place up here, the one Tenten told me about. What's the best dragon type out there? I have Ryūka-chan already, she's a Charizard now and she's grown really strong.

Comments

[punches]

Yeah... I worried you might be. [ Her shoulders pick up for the first time in weeks. No longer is she burdened by keeping secrets from him, but has the role reversed? ] I'm sorry I didn't tell you before, but you were so happy here.

[ Then his mother left and she couldn't even do it then. What a rotten teammate she's been. ]

You're mad at me, aren't you? I can't blame you... I'd be really mad at you if you kept a secret from me, so you better start catching me up. If I hear about it from someone else other than you, I'll beat you so hard you'll sleep for weeks even.

[ ... the effect of the hug is lost when she's threatening him like this, isn't it? ]

[believeit]

Why would I be mad? [Alright- he is a little upset that nobody caught him up, but he doesn't really hold it against her or Neji, not really.[

[He can catch her up, though. Unlike a lot of the others, he feels as though he can talk about it easier with her.]

You want the good news or the bad news first?

[punches]

Bad news. [ Instantly said.

Isn't he so glad she's a little pessimist when compared to him? ]

If this is about Neji, I already know. I, I should have done something more, but I was--[ Augh. ] Sorry, just tell me. I'm listening.

[believeit]

[He sorta hoped she's go for the good news first, because there is a lot of bad news. Welp.]

I know about Neji, yeah. You should've told me about that y'know. [Not that he could have done anything about it.]

It's not just that, though. We found out who the fake Madara guy is. [He straightens up a little more, to look at her properly. This is a serious conversation, after all.]

Do you know? [His name had been thrown around the battlefield numerous times, but he doesn't know who heard it.]

[punches]

[ Her fingers loosen their hold on him just a bit as he scolds her for that. ]

Sorry, but I was leaving it to Neji... Shouldn't he have the final say in who knows? [ Maybe she was meant to tell Naruto, but her reasoning was justified in her mind even if it was wrong. ] You were happy and then the stuff with--oh, that guy.

[ At least it has always been easy to tell what she's thinking. Sakura's weaknesses is how expressive she is and so when her eyes avert his own, it gives it away more than she would care to admit. ]

He's here with us. [ Even now she has trouble saying "Obito". ]

[believeit]

Yeah, I guess. I'm gonna go yell at him about it later. Or not, I mean, it's wrong to yell at someone for not telling you they're dead, yeah?

[She doesn't need to give a name for Naruto to know that she knows. Perhaps he should be mad about that instead, for not telling him. But instead he wonders how she even managed to deal with knowing it. He's still fairly aggravated over the whole thing.]

Yeah. Obito.

[Yet another sigh escapes him. he is sighing an awful lot tonight.]

I haven't told my Mom and Dad yet. [How can he even begin to?]

[punches]

[ There's no point to yelling at him about it. Besides, shouldn't he be angry at her? Maybe she hasn't revealed all of her training just yet. ]

I didn't get a chance to tell them either... That boy--[ His name is too hard to say right now, even after their heartfelt conversation earlier this month. ]--isn't the same person. What has happened to him in his future... is it really fair for us to hold him accountable?

Naruto, do you think they should know? [ Why is the smart one asking an idiot for the strategy again? ] It'll change everything we've done here so far.

[believeit]

I dunno. I dunno. It doesn't mean anything to him yet, and yeah he's annoying sometimes, but he's not like-- bad?

It's not just the war though. He was the guy that.. you know. That day when I was born..

[The sentence trails off as Naruto hangs his head, staring at the floor instead of her. He loves his parents, and wouldn't ever want to upset them. But should they know the truth behind he man that caused their deaths?]

[punches]

That guy...

[ At least she's back to squeezing him tightly. Don't go leaving her again anytime soon, okay? ]

If you want, I'll go with you when you tell them. [ As support and maybe as a shield from his mother's punches. Those kind of hurt. ] It might be better if there's two of us to confirm it and... I don't know, this situation is messed up. It really is.

[believeit]

Yeah, it is. I should tell them though, right?

[With the extra squeeze it only just occurs to him that she's actually still hugging him. He's a little hesitant as he finally moves his arms, bringing them up rest on her arms. Hey, he's gonna make the most of it while he can.]

But hey, it's not all bad. I got good news too, remember?

[punches]

I think so. [ Swallowing hard, she finds what strength she can in the warmth of his embrace. ] Obito and I spoke a few days ago... um, a little bit before you passed out actually.

He knows already. He knows and since that information is traveling, there's no telling who will find out. Now's the time to make our loyalties known even if it means some people get hurt in the end. No matter what you decide though, I'll be there beside you. [ She's only soft right now because she's just so glad he's back alright! ]

Oh, but the good news? Wait, there's good news? [ There can't be anything good happening, can there? ]

[believeit]

Mmn.

[Alright, he will tell them. Something like this probably won't be kept secret for long, anyway. Probably because of him, oops.]

Thanks, Sakura-chan. And yeah, there's good news.

[A few things could be counted as good news a this point. One more-so than all the others, though. One that matters to them more, as Team 7.

It's a little weird to be saying this as he's hugging her, though.]

....Sasuke came back.

[punches]

For us? [ There goes her hold on him out of instinct as her hands fall to the side, only held in place by his own. ] He returned...

It was for us, wasn't it? He didn't come to join with Obito, did he?!

[ Naruto said it was good news and returning to fight alongside Obito would have been bad so she naturally assumes that yes, Sasuke's returned to fight with them. ]

Right, Naruto? Is that right? [ The girl before him isn't the strong and independent one he's come to known the past few months, but instead the weaker one who's eyes were set on the back of their teammate. ] Naruto, come on. You have to tell me more than that!

[believeit]

[His hands soon drop down. He knew she would be happy about this peice of news. He's happy that she'll be happy. He is too, though.]

Yeah, with us. I dunno he just, showed up! With er- this is weird, but with the Edo-tensei's Hokages as well? My Dad was there.

[And finally, he begins to smile again.] But yeah! All three of us were fighting together, and we were really kicking ass!

[OH YEAH.] How come you never told me about your thing like Granny Tsunade? [He's tapping his own forehead.]

[punches]

Wha--really? [ Now she's gushing with cheerfulness all over again.

Though it mostly is attributed to Naruto smiling and being alive. Who cares about the war now that she knows Sasuke's returned to fight with them? ]

Wait, all of us were fighting together? Like a team?

[ Realizing that she's interrupting him she shakes a hand as though to ask him to dismiss all of that before brushing her bangs back. There's no mark there now, but knowing that he knows about it meant something major must have happened. Was the battle finally in their favor? ]

Eheheh, what's a girl without her secrets? I had to work hard to be able to keep up with you two, don't I?

[believeit]

Like a team!

[What war? Talk about mood whiplash, he's suddenly all happy again.]

And Sasuke summoned this giant snake? And I had Gamakichi,he's got huge! And then you summoned Katsuyu and she was huge too! Team Seven is awesome!

[punches]

Wow, I did that too?

[ She must have really gone all out, but if Naruto and Sasuke did that, well, she had to join in! ]

Does this mean the war is over, Naruto? We must have won, yeah? No more casualties, just ending what needs to be ended!

[believeit]

...Not yet. But we've gotta win, right? We were doing pretty well before I, y'know. Woke up here again.

[After smashing the shit out of Obito whoops.]

[punches]

That's it?

[ Sakura was hoping for a conclusion of the war after all of that, but of course Naruto just ends up disappointing her all over again.

... Well, it isn't too much at least. She's still smiling after that. ]

He returned, huh? You don't have to worry about that promise anymore, Naruto. We're a team again. It might not be that way here, but we are back home... back where it matters.

Ha, can you believe it? I can't. I'll beat you up if I find out you're lying to me, okay?

[believeit]

It's not my fault, I just woke up then!![It annoys him too, not finding out what else happened!]

You know I wasn't doing it just 'cause of that promise.

[It was for himself just as much. But she's right, they don't have to worry about it. Well, not here, at least.]

Why would I lie about something like that? Hmph!

[punches]

Huh, then you were just as interested in bringing him back to Konoha?

[ That sets her mind at ease a little more. Naruto's grown up and doesn't value that kind of selfless promise. Gone are the days of worrying about Sasuke now though. All they have to do is tell him together that he returns and then maybe he'll come join them here in this world.

They can be a team together again. ]

This is great news, Naruto. I, I don't know what to say to any of it. Haa, Tsunade-sama is going to be ecstatic when I tell her!

[believeit]

Of course I was. He never stopped being my friend y'know?

[e is thinking the same. They can tell Sasuke, everything will be okay. Maybe he will come hang out with them more?He hopes so.]

Heh, yeah. You should tell her, if you see her before I do.

[punches]

All of that training... [ Tsunade is going to be so proud of her little girl, she just knows it. ] Sasuke returning...

Yeah, this is going to be great!

[ They're going to be a team together again and nothing in this world is going to take that away from them. At least that's the way she's thinking. ]

I'm glad you woke up. I was speaking with people about those who fall into a comatose state and sometimes they don't wake up for months. I, I was worried you would be one of those people. It was selfish to think that because you're needed back home, but... [ Shedidn'twanttobealone. ]

[believeit]

Sakura-chan.. you were worried about me? [Aww.]

But of course I was gonna wake up. Can't waste time here by just sleeping can I! [If anyone could will themselves out of a coma it would be him.]

[punches]

[ That one earns a punch from her, provided she can hit him this close. If it does, he may notice that it's a lot softer than usual, even for Johto!Sakura. ]

You spent enough time sleeping. [ Hmph. ] A whole week's worth... Your parents were the ones who were worried, not me! Once I knew what was happening, I went on with my life here as though nothing had happened in the first place!

[ She can't quite look him in the eye when she says all of that. ]

My Pokemon egg hatched, for starter's!