Time Braid

3. Exploration

Disclaimer: I don’t own Naruto.

“Tsunade-sama, what would it take to convince you to take on a student?”

The legendary medic-nin looked across the poker table at me with eyes bleary from too much alcohol and too little sleep. “More booze than you can afford, little girl.”

These loops have been hell on my illusions.

“Two thousand ryo? That wouldn’t last me a week, kid.”

“You think I’m for sale? In your dreams, little girl.”

“I don’t care what happens to Konoha, kid. You’re a fool to think it matters.”

Yes, Tsunade was a tough nut to crack. But the travel was interesting, and it gave me plenty of time to wade through the academic side of medic-nin training.

“So long, legendary sucker. Come back when you’ve got more money!” The casino owner slammed his door in Tsunade’s face. She growled at the closed door for a moment, but then she slumped.

Shizune, her assistant, didn’t look pleased. “So, we’re broke again. I suppose that means we’re back to sleeping in a field?”

“I might be able to help with that.” I said quietly, as I faded out of the shadows. I was in sexy form, but dressed in fatigues and a chuunin vest to downplay my looks.

Tsunade gave a skeptical snort. “Let me guess. All you want is my necklace?”

“Hardly. My name is Sakura. I’m a junior medic-nin in…well, let’s just say Sarutobi-sama has been preparing an answer to Root. The Hokage understands that you won’t return to the village, but I’ve been sent to ask if you would be willing to train me.”

“Why me?” She asked suspiciously. “Konoha has plenty of instructors.”

“Because none of them know what to do with a student who learns every technique on the first attempt. Because there are so many unfortunate accidents that can happen to a rookie chuunin in a hospital. Because you have life-saving techniques no one else in the world has discovered, and the Hokage hopes to find someone in the next generation you’d be willing to pass them on to. He didn’t explain his reasons to me, but those are my guesses.”

“Hmp. The old goat made talking me into it part of the assignment, didn’t he?”

“Yes. To be honest, I’m terrified I’ll screw this up and you’ll send me packing. I’m not exactly the diplomatic type.”

“Is he offering mission pay?” Shizune asked. She’s always the practical one.

“Eight thousand ryo per month, not including my expenses. Oh, and I took the liberty of clearing your debt with that yakuza boss up in Twin Falls Gorge, so we’ve got a nice place to stay if you like.”

Tsunade raised an eyebrow. “He’d better be alive, kid. The yaks ban you from the whole network if you start killing off their bosses.”

“I know, I know, it’s nothing like that. I just pointed out how the last tournament he invited you to was rigged from start to finish, trotted out a few of his boys doing tearful confessions, and pointed out how badly things could go if certain parties decided the whole thing was a setup aimed at you in particular. He was happy to write off your debt, even threw in free passes to the hot spring resort next door.” My smile turned nasty. “I started my career as a genjutsu user with an infiltration specialty. No one’s cheating at anything while I’m around.”

Tsunade laughed and mussed my hair. “What a cute little kid. Ok pinky, we’ll see if you can make the grade.”

It was a great scheme. As my knowledge grew I just adjusted my cover to match, and after a few days of testing we’d pick up more or less where I left off. Tsunade never bothered to check up on my story, and the more I knew at the start of the training the more interested she became in teaching me. Occasionally I’d mess up the initial introduction and she’d blow me off, but that just gave me a chance to spend a few weeks getting practical experience at the hospital back in Konoha. A dozen loops later I was better than most professional medic-nin, and still improving fast.

The pattern also gave me a chance to travel, which in some ways was just as important. Tsunade never stayed in one place for long, and the slightest change could send her haring off in an unexpected direction. I got to see most of Fire Country in those loops — or at least, most of the bars, casinos and hot springs in Fire Country. It was a lot of fun seeing so many new things, especially after spending so long stuck in Konoha.

I suppose I was also growing up a bit, because their reactions to me slowly changed over the repeats. At first I was only interested in Tsunade’s techniques, and she seemed alternately amused and annoyed by my eagerness. But each time around I learned a little more about my teacher and her faithful companion, and she was such a font of knowledge it took years for me to absorb it all. Somewhere along the way Tsunade stopped being a caricature of a gambling addict, and became a real person to me.

It was painful to really see her. Once she was the most promising kunoichi in the elemental countries, a legendary medic-nin whose discoveries promised to revolutionize medicine. Now she was reduced to a broken wreck of a woman, hiding from a past too painful to remember and a future too bleak to contemplate. Her whole family gave their lives for Konoha in one way or another, and she’d given years of service in the field despite the fact that anyone with a brain would have wanted her running the hospital instead. But when her growing hemaphobia left her unfit for duty she was ostracized by most of the village, and forced into retirement. Now she survived on a pension arranged by a guilty Hokage, and a few investments Shizune had somehow managed to hide from her. But she was still an incredible ninja, and when she managed to set aside her pain she could still do things that amazed me.

“I wish there was more I could do for her.” I confided to Shizune one evening after Tsunade had collapsed in a drunken stupor. “I don’t know how you’ve done this for so long.”

“You’ve helped more than you realize.” She answered softly. “This life was killing her before we met you. I think it gives her hope, to teach another young prodigy. You remind her of herself when she was young, you know.”

I ought to, since I’d spent a dozen loops learning how to show just enough resemblance without going overboard enough to be suspicious. For a moment there I actually felt guilty about it. Then I saw the way Shizune was looking at Tsunade, and many things suddenly became clear.

“You love her.” It wasn’t a question.

She froze.

“Don’t worry, I’m not going to tell. I can see how awkward that would be. Besides, if she hasn’t seen it by now…”

“She doesn’t want to.” Shizune whispered. “She’s so lonely. But she’s lost everyone she ever loved, and she doesn’t dare take another chance. Besides which, she’s only interested in men.”

“I wonder…”

Teaching Tsunade the Sexy Technique was not one of my better ideas. The result was three days of drunken debauchery that reduced poor Shizune to tears. Then one morning Tsunade woke up surrounded by the remnants of the last night’s orgy, and stopped her own heart. Note to self: using mind-affecting jutsu on people with mental problems is dangerous. Don’t try it unless you actually know what you’re doing.

Of course, I didn’t spend all my time studying with Tsunade. I did a lot of snooping while I tried to get that pattern down, digging through confidential personnel files and the Hokage’s mission records in search of information that might help. At first it was fun ferreting out village secrets, especially once I learned how to avoid getting interrogated by ANBU. For a ninja village Konoha’s security really sucks.

But the more of Konoha’s secrets I learned, the less fun it became.

I learned that the Hyuuga kept members of the branch house in virtual slavery with a seal that could kill them on command. The current clan head was pitting Hinata and Hanabi against each other in a contest to see which one would inherit, and which would become her sister’s slave. If TenTen ever did land Neji they’d put the seal on her the day after the wedding. But the whole thing was an A-rank secret, and anyone who warned her would face prison or execution.

I learned that Anko was permanently barred from promotion because she was once Orochimaru’s apprentice. Never mind that he used her as an experimental subject and then abandoned her because she wasn’t psychotic enough for him. Never mind that she was more than qualified to be a jounin, and she’d done more to prove her loyalty than anyone else in the village. She was marked expendable and sent out on all the dirtiest missions, the kind even most ninja would refuse. She didn’t have that option. She always carried out her orders, at god knows what cost to her soul, and when she returned with her hands covered in the blood of innocents the clan elders took it as more proof of her dangerous insanity.

I learned that the Fourth Hokage, one of my personal heroes, defeated the Kyuubi by sealing it inside an infant. Worse, the infant was Naruto! No one was sure what effect being a prison for the most powerful of the bijuu might have on a young boy, so what did they do? They warned civilians to keep their distance, left him to live alone, and had ANBU keep an eye on him 24/7. No wonder the adults always seemed cold to him — they were afraid he’d be possessed by the monster that almost destroyed Konoha!

I was starting to hate my own village, and that wasn’t even the worst of it. I’d been reading the low-security records, the ones that dealt with things that were too well-known to be kept secret from professional spies. The Hokage’s high-security vault was protected by seals I had no clue how to bypass.

But it was big enough to hold thousands of horror stories.

“The worst of it is, we really are the good guys. The nice ninja village, where academy graduates don’t have to murder their classmates to become genin and teams hardly ever get executed for failing a mission. Can you imagine what it must be like to grow up in Stone, or Mist?”

No wonder so many ninja go crazy. Maybe we shouldn’t be so eager to get out of the loop.

“Maybe not.” I shook my head, and downed another shot of stolen sake. “I think I understand Jiraiya and Tsunade better now. But just because they’ve given up doesn’t mean I will.”

Hell no. When Naruto is Hokage things are going to be different.

“You really believe in him, don’t you?”

Don’t you?

I thought about the boy I’d known in the academy, and what he’d done on the mission to Wave. Then I thought about the young man who’d described Gaara as a ‘big teddy bear’, and talked casually about becoming strong enough to beat an enemy who could raise the dead.

“Yes. I do.”

That’s the spirit! When we get out of this thing he’s going to become Hokage, and we’re going to be his Sage-level partner. We’ll build a better Konoha together, if we have to kill every one of these old bastards to do it.

After so many depressing discoveries I really needed some fun. Fortunately there were lots of possibilities close to home for that…

“Ino, now that we’re friends again will you teach me that that possession technique of yours?”

“No way! That a clan secret, Sakura!”

“I’ll teach you my Sexy Technique if you’ll show me your possession technique.”

“Oh, I wish I could, but that’s a clan secret. How about my Hair Animation instead?”

“Heaven Viewing Technique!”

My inversion of the Hell Viewing Technique immersed the target in erotic fantasies drawn from their own subconscious, so it was no surprise that Ino moaned and squirmed against me. We were both in Sexy form, cuddling in her bed after an afternoon that made the infamous Sasuke Three-Way seem boring by comparison. “No more! Mercy, Sakura! Ino-kitten needs rest!”

I laughed and hugged her again. “Ok, sweetie. Hey, want to do some training tomorrow? I’ll show you my techniques if you show me yours…”

“Oh, you! You know I can’t teach anyone my clan techniques unless…wait, are you asking me to marry you?”

I laughed. “I would if I could, love, but I think your dad expects grandkids someday. Now, maybe if we found the right guy…”

“Sasuke! No guy can resist two girls, right?”

Oh, brother. I’m not going there again.

Ino was another tough nut, but others weren’t nearly as bad.

“Hey TenTen, I’ve been looking for someone to trade techniques with. You interested?”

“I don’t exactly have a lot of them.” She answered cautiously. “What do you have to offer?”

“Your throwing art counts as far as I’m concerned, and I know you make your own storage seals. I can show you Invisibility Art and all three Mirage variants in trade. That would let you cloak traps and thrown weapons with illusions, mix illusionary weapons in with your real ones, and make enemies burn dispels to figure out where you are unless they’ve just got incredible senses.”

“Wow, I had no idea you were a genjutsu mistress. You’re on!”

“Hinata, you can see really detailed chakra flows with the Byakugan, right? Would you mind helping me figure out how some of my techniques work?”

“I don’t know if I can describe what I see well enough to help.”

“How about if I teach you an illusion technique you can use to show me?”

She smiled quietly. “I’d like that.”

“Anko, what would it take to convince you to teach me some of your ‘H’ techniques?”

The busty assassin lowered her dango and eyed me suspiciously. “Aren’t you a little young for that, kid? Where’d you hear about that anyway?”

“I’m an infiltration specialist. Who do you think I practice on? As for the age thing: Sexy Technique!” I posed, and nearly fell out of my top as it stretched to contain my new assets. “Oops. See why I need training? I’ve got some neat genjutsu I can trade if it makes a difference.”

She snickered. “Cute. There’s more to infiltration that having boobs, kid, and enemy ninja aren’t like the boys at the academy. But I’ll give you a shot. Give me your best come-on. If you can get me in the mood in five minutes I’ll take you home and give you a few pointers.” She leaned back in her chair and reached for a dango stick, obviously expecting me to be too chicken to make a pass at another woman in the middle of a crowded restaurant.

“No problem, Anko-sensei. Heaven Viewing Technique!” She choked and dropped the dango as I slid into her lap, her senses filled with erotic images conjured by her own mind. I put one hand on her chest, and continued my assault. “Sexy Victim Technique!” She lost a few years of age, and I could practically feel her control melting away. “Is that good enough, or should I keep going until my time runs out?” I whispered in her ear.

She dispelled my illusion with a one-handed seal, and body flickered us both to a nearby roof. Then she pinned both my hands over my head with one of hers, and leaned over me as her other hand slipped under my top. She held me down easily despite my frantic squirming, and the sudden hammering of my heart drowned out everything as she leaned in close enough to kiss me.

“Ecstatic Immolation.”

Searing pleasure burned through every nerve in my body, and I shrieked in ecstasy as I lost all awareness of my surroundings.

It occurred to me some time later that I should have thought twice about asking a woman like Anko to teach me seduction techniques. But by then I was gagged, blindfolded and bent over a table with my ankles tied to the legs, and my bound wrists secured to something utterly immovable on the other side. My aching nipples brushed against the rough wood as she did agonizingly delightful things to my exposed sex, forcing me to shudder and writhe in response. At that point it was a little late for second thoughts.

The next loop I somehow found myself lingering outside that dango place again, blushing at nothing and muttering to myself.

What are you waiting for? Get in there and get us a teacher already.

“But I’m not like that!” I protested. “She’s so… and she made me… I just…”

Yeah, she’s a kinky pervert who enjoys blowing our minds, and you’re shocked that you actually liked it. Get over it. Look, if it helps just remember that no one will ever know unless we tell them.

“Well, yes. But what if I end up like her?”

Kinkiness isn’t a disease, dummy. Just don’t use Sexy Victim Technique on her, and she won’t go nuts with the chains and clamps and stuff this time. Remember how she apologized when it wore off?

“Yeah, I know.”

Then what are you waiting for? Learn her techniques and you’ll be able to blow Sasuke’s mind any time you want. Or Ino, or the real Naruto, or anyone else you decide you want.

“Heaven Viewing Technique! Sensitization! Ecstatic Immolation!”

It took a big bite out of my chakra reserves, but by the time I was done Ino was a sweaty, panting puddle of girly euphoria. She gazed up at me adoringly as I ran my hand through her hair and kissed her forehead.

“Rest up, kitten. Tomorrow we’re going to start training together, and you’ll need your strength. I’m going to teach you some of the techniques I’ve been using, and you’re going to teach me your clan techniques.”

“Anything for you, Sakura.”

“You know, kid, it’s really too bad you’re such a natural at this.”

Anko was stretched across her bed in her usual careless sprawl, still naked and sweaty from our latest training session. I was rather proud of the fact that I could make Anko sweat.

I was rather sweaty myself, sprawled sideways across my instructor’s bed with my head resting on her incredible abs. I’d nearly passed out twice, and was still floating near the edge of that helpless euphoria seduction specialists use to get secrets out of their victims. But I wasn’t about to admit that, so I forced my brain back into operation.

“Would it be better if I sucked?”

Anko chuckled. “Not for me. But you’d probably be a lot happier in the end. Seduction specialists have crappy lives, kid. You spend half your career sucking up to people you hate so you can betray them, and the other half doing the same thing to people you like.”

“I don’t plan on making a career out of it, sensei. I’m going to be a medic-nin like Tsunade.”

“That old bat will never train you if she finds out you’ve been studying seduction techniques. Neither will anyone else, for that matter. There are so many wild tales out there about secret brainwashing techniques, no one would dare let you get that close.”

“Hmm. Are there secret brainwashing techniques?”

She snorted. “Who needs brainwashing? Fuck a guy any time he wants, make him think he’s the best lover you’ve ever had and you can’t get enough of him, and he’ll do anything for you. With women you just sweep her off her feet and blow her mind every few days, but spend the rest of the time looking at other women and acting like you might leave. Step up the techniques every couple of months and you can keep most people in that ‘stupidly eager to please’ phase for years. Of course they’ll end up addicted if you aren’t careful, and then things can go south pretty quick.”

“But real brainwashing? Well, keep someone helpless for a few days and you can do enough pleasure/pain conditioning to count, assuming you’ve got a strong enough stomach for that. But that’s almost impossible to arrange, and any other approach does so much damage the victim ends up a zombie. Hey, what’s wrong?”

I was thinking about Ino betraying her own clan after an afternoon in my arms. Maybe it was a good thing I’d done that on a short loop.

“Anko-sense?” I asked quietly. “How do I have a relationship with a normal person? Without making them end up addicted or brainwashed or something?”

“Like I said, you’d be better off if you weren’t so good at this. Pick strong-willed ninja, teach them the resistance techniques early and don’t get too carried away. Assuming you can find anyone who’ll even take the chance.”

Yes, I was exploring all sorts of new frontiers. Between the anonymity of the loops and my alter-ego’s constant encouragement I experimented with a lot of things I’d never had the courage to think about before, and most of my old insecurities were gradually left behind.

I spent several long loops as Anko’s apprentice, just to see what life was like for a known seductress assassin. No, it wasn’t pretty. Neither was the loop where Ino and I publicly admitted our relationship, although it could have been worse. At least her clan was liberal enough to take me in when my parents disowned me for being a lesbian.

After that experience I actually went back to boys for awhile. But Kiba was only interested in getting into my pants, and he was so easy to manipulate it got boring fast. Sasuke was as cold to me as ever, and Shikimaru somehow picked up on my new skills and avoided me like the plague. That didn’t leave many options unless I wanted to make a play for an older man.

No, I’m not going to talk about the Jiraiya incident. I was disguised as a nineteen-year-old chuunin, and there was a lot of sake and a complicated plot to get him to teach me seals involved, and that’s all I’m going to say about it. Except, my god, that technique had to be S-rank. One minute I was artfully wrapping him around my finger, and the next I was eagerly helping him take my panties off. Not only did I never even get a chance to resist, I was actually happy that he’d turned the tables on me!

But that’s all I’m going to say about it. If Naruto ever asks why I’m so respectful towards the old goat, I’ll just have to make up an excuse.

I was finally reaching the limits of what I could con Tsunade into teaching me when a hope I’d nurtured for years now finally materialized. It was the start of the loop, just after the written exam in fact, and I’d been going through the motions on autopilot while working on other things. I’d decided to spend a few loops doing jutsu research, and I was trying to decide which of my long list of ideas I’d work on first.

But instead of heading off to train on his own like he usually did Sasuke hung back while the room emptied, and came over to my desk.

“Sakura.”

I looked up into a pair of Sharingan eyes. Not the two-tomoe Sharingan he’d gained before the loop, but the black pinwheel of the Mangekyo Sharingan.