A first glimpse of the actual Interdimensional Agents (IA)—and they are making out 😂
Little bit of background about IAs: they’re basically just teams of people/beings who can travel through different times and dimensions with the task to reduce chaos and damage, and track lost/stray/trespassing beings from a time/dimension they’re not meant to be in and bring them back to where they’re supposed to be. They works in the shadows and, while they can interact with things and beings in other times and dimensions, they strive to leave no lasting impact/impression.
Of course there are exceptions where certain dimensions are aware of multiverses and aIternate dimensions where there are no worries regarding the consequences of them interacting with anything in those dimensions (for now, I call them “cross dimensions” but I’m not sure if I’m gonna stick to it …although it has grown on me)
Each team are from different dimensions (are you sick of the word dimension yet? Because I’m getting tired of typing it lol). TobiIzu are from one, and SasuSaku are from another. Although both are canon divergent with the whole shinobi thing, it does divert immensely. Especially after they get chosen as IAs (and especially for tbiz)
There are three main IA teams in their side of the adjacent universe/dimension. The other team is just another alternate of theirs (so Tobirama, Izuna, Sasuke, and Sakura in one team). Still haven’t finalized their designs yet, but Tobirama and Sakura are supposed to be sorcerers/magic practitioners of some kind, and Izuna and Sasuke (respectively) are their summons/familiars (I’m not sure if I’ll stick to it, but for now, Izuna and Sasuke are Tengu but can shapeshift into various different animals, not just birds). I have a general vague idea about how they’ll look but I haven’t found the right references yet 😔… We’ll get there!
(There is a being that chooses the IAs but idk what to call them yet. But their role/capabilities would be very similar to The Watcher from marvel’s What If…?)
Something smells like earth, something akin to fresh cut grass but with a hint of sweetness. The light scent wakes him up, haunting the edges of his sleep in the most comforting manner.
Sasuke stirs from his slumber, a sensation of softness blanketing him. As he blinks away the remnants of sleep, he takes in a sea of pink petals and pale-yellow pollen surrounding him, twinkling in the first swirls of early morning light. It’s pink; so many different shades of pink. A bright, confident pink covers everything: covering his cloak with petals, dusting the tips of his eyelashes, wiping away the deepest midnight from the heavens. Sasuke rubs the rheum away from his sight. He doesn’t remember falling asleep, much less under an annoyingly pink tree. He moves to clear the petals from his shoulder when a fleeting moment of confusion gives way to realization. Sasuke picks up a single petal, letting it dance between his fingers.
‘Ah,’ he thinks to himself, ‘Cherry blossoms. Hanami is over.’
A slight breeze plucks the singular sakura petal away from his grasp. In its place, the wind deposits at least twenty more. Each petal sits at his lap, taunting him with tiny fragments of memories that he's tried, unsuccessfully, to suppress with every step Sasuke has taken away from Konoha. The more he tries to clean himself, the more vividly they return. He brushes the pollen off, but it sticks to him stubbornly.
The weight of his thoughts is heavy, even if the petals themselves are light. Konoha, his home, is where Sakura remains. Every step he's taken since leaving has been in search of redemption, to atone for his past and to become someone worthy of her affection. But with each step, instead of distancing himself from the memories, they've only grown clearer.
But one memory stands out, a moment that both binds and distances him from Sakura: their first kiss before his most recent departure.
That night back in Konoha, the world was shrouded in inky blue. It's the eve of Sasuke's departure, the once vengeful avenger deciding to place himself on a path to redemption. His sins and mistakes litter the air around him like a tempest of debris, pulling Sasuke away to clear the air.
Sakura sat with him on the old training grounds that night, shouldered hunched up and looking away from him in frustration. She knows he's leaving. He heard the beat of her heart from where she sat next to him, not knowing if it broke all over again for him.
His mismatched eyes, once burning with hatred, grew tired of his own failing tongue. Why couldn’t he do this? Why couldn’t Sasuke just say those three little words? Years of listening to Orochimaru’s half-truths and having to speak only the words that advanced his goals had stunted Sasuke. He couldn’t bring himself to even think of the right combination of words to explain his departure. And now Sakura was mad at him. Should he give up? Should he just get up and leave?
"Sakura," he heard the sound of his own voice reach out, the usually cool and calm voice betraying a hint of desperation.
‘Trying,’ he thought. ‘I need to keep trying.’
She looked at him then, her green eyes shimmering with unshed sadness. "Stop," she stated, trying not to hear anything to make her more upset. “I don’t want to hear it.”
Sasuke shakes his head then, the weight of his decision making him avoid her gaze. "I need to find myself, Sakura. I need to make amends."
A few seconds passed between them. Sakura’s own silence wrapped around Sasuke, stretched in his heart with fibers. Before his defection, Sakura's voice had been a constant in Sasuke's life, filled with chatter, laughter, and unwavering affection. Every moment of Sakura’s quietness served as a stark reminder of the distance he'd placed between them.
"But you’re leaving us. Again," she emphasized; voice barely able to stifle her anger.
Sasuke tilted his head, his eyes searching hers for permission. A surge of newfound determination rushes through the nerves deep within his body. Sasuke cradles her chin within his single hand as if she were a delicate petal. He is done trying. If his lips won’t transform his need into words, he could put them to much better use.
For the first time, their lips met. A whispered gasp escaped from Sakura’s mouth before melting against him. He twined his fingers at the hem of her shirt, twisting the white trim closer. Her hands found their way to his hair, her nails pulling whisper-soft groans from deep within his chest.
In deep in the rumble of his heart, he can see it: He can see himself getting tangled up in Sakura, falling in love, getting married, having children, being happy, having a family again. Sasuke can see it all. But Sasuke doesn’t deserve any of it. Not yet.
Soon – much too soon for his body’s own liking – Sasuke draws back. Sakura’s fingers grazed her just-kissed lips, the echo of his touch blooming across her rosy cheeks.
Sasuke gently pulled her against his torso, twin heartbeats thundering under clothes. He rests his chin atop Sakura’s head, breathing in her light scent and letting her pink hair cloud his vision. It’s just that simple, just that easy now to let those three words finally cascade from his tongue. He says, “wait for me."
She nods, trying to hide her overt excitement. "Always."
The next morning, he left.
Now, as he rubs the petals between his fingers, Sasuke remembers it all at once.
He remembers the look in Sakura's eyes that would've loved him for a lifetime and yet he left it all behind. Sasuke told himself that he was doing it for her, to become a better man, someone she deserved. Yet now, covered in a million reminders of Sakura, and Sakura, and oh, god, Sakura, he questions whether he's managed to achieve that.
He remembers the exact sensation of Sakura's fingers brushing against his hand, the texture of her skin, soft and warm. The muted sound of her laughter fills his ears, so familiar that it might as well have been yesterday.
Sasuke remembers a shared bento under a tree. He can almost taste the rice balls Sakura made for a young Sasuke, sprinkled with just the right amount of salt and filled with pickled plum. The tartness of the plum, combined with the saltiness of the rice, creates a dance of flavors in his mouth. The weight of that day, of sitting beside her and sharing food after a hard day of training, comes flooding back. He remembers her joy beside him, her easy breathing, the way the sunlight dappled through the trees and played on her face, and how he had caught himself stealing glances.
Resting his head against the trunk of the tree, he closes his eyes and lets the memories wash over him. The way her eyes light up when she's passionate about something, the soft timbre of her voice when she's explaining a medical technique, or just the simple warmth of her hand when she reassured him during their most tumultuous times.
Sasuke remembers Sakura. Adorned head to toe with a million tiny cherry blossom petals, Sasuke remembers Sakura all too well.
The sun has begun to clear out the colors of dawn, transforming purple skies into golden light. It is morning, and Sasuke knows he needs to continue forward on his path. He knows he still has a long way to go, many challenges to face. But no matter how far Sasuke goes, he's still got her all over him.
