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The second February 2nd Naruto experienced had been a relief, full of hugs and tears and sheer gratitude that his friends hadn’t died. Would never die, if Naruto had anything to say about it. Sasuke, Shikako, and Sai had also been pretty determined for the previous day to not repeat itself, and the day passed without anyone getting so much as scratched.
This made the third February second really confusing, and the fourth very frustrating.
By the fifth, Naruto was ready to tear out his hair.
The first thing Naruto did in the morning was go to Ichiraku’s for breakfast, where he was greeted by Teuchi, “You’re up early today, Naruto! Here for breakfast?”
Naruto smiled, “You bet! One bowl of miso ramen, please!”
Teuchi frowned, and Naruto did too as he knew what he was going to say next, “Ah, sorry, Naruto. We’re out of Miso right now. Something got into our stores last night. We’ll have more by tomorrow though!”
It was still February second, then. They had gone backwards again.
Well, at least he had a nice bowl of ramen for breakfast! After he finished eating, he made his way to Team Seven’s usual training ground and ran into Kiba and Akamaru, out on their morning run, just like the days before. “Hey Naruto! You’ll never believe what Akamaru did last night!”
“Let me guess,” said Naruto tiredly, but with some amusement “he saw Tora and decided to chase her around the entire village, and you both ended up in a garbage dump.”
Kiba blinked, “Wha-huh? How did you know? Oh man, has word gone out already? Man, Shino’s gonna have a field day with this.”
Naruto laughed, “Nah, I guess I’m just a really good guesser.”
And with that he ran off to meet his friends, hoping at least one of them had figured out how to put a stop to all this.
Shikako, as always, had him covered. “I’ve figured it out! It’s really simple, actually.”
Sasuke rolled his eyes, “You’ve found a seal on this creepy death stone that makes time reset itself and it’s simple?”
“Shikako is an expert on fuuinjutsu,” Sai pointed out, “so it’s clearly simple to her.”
Shikako pointed at the seal she had written in her notebook, “Yeah, I mean, it’s really weird. But we’re the only ones keeping our memories, so it’s not too complex. I just need to break off this one line here, and replace it with my own seal, and things will go back to normal.”
“Wow, you’re so smart, Shikako!” Naruto said, unable to make heads or tails of what she had written down, “let’s get going then! Ichiraku’s not selling any miso ramen until tomorrow! It's been awful!”
“I mean, I could fix everything right now but…” she trailed off, thinking for a second. “I don’t know if we should leave? For now, at least.”
What? “But Shikako! We keep having to stop that crazy seal from exploding and then the same stuff keeps happening! Kiba’s told me the same story about Akamaru chasing Tora five times now.”
“Yeah, but we know how to fix the seal problem, now. It took us about 10 minutes today. We’ll only get better. And if Kiba’s story annoys you, just avoid him next time. Or say something different.”
“The question is,” Sasuke interrupted, “What do you think we could learn from repeating this day?”
“Well, think about it. No matter what we do, we always wake up at five o’clock in the morning, completely the same. We can do all sorts of stuff and it’s gone the next day, our actions have no consequences.”
Naruto couldn’t see where she was going, with this. What was the point of doing something if it would go away? “So what, you want to pull a funny prank on someone but not really?”
“I think she’s talking about doing something more important”, Sai interjected, “We can dig for information and gain access to knowledge far beyond the scope of what can conventionally be discovered.”
“You’re right, but I was also thinking more on the lines of, we can try and kill someone. Someone normally too dangerous to even try.”
She gave a quick glance to Sai, so fast Naruto almost even notice, and he knew who she was talking about. The person who put seals on Sai and who made him lie to Baa-chan. The person Shikako refused to talk about.
Sasuke folded his arms, “I already thought about that. Itachi and Orochimaru are both over a day’s travel away. Who else did you have in mind?”
“A bigger threat. Someone I don’t even know if we can take down, but this way we can at least try. And even if we fail, we’ll learn something important, at least.”
And with that, Shikako sat down and began to explain.
“This would be so much easier if I could just save my notes. We’re wasting so much time.”
Sasuke looked up, hand not pausing as he drew up Shikako’s notes from the last loop. “We have all the time in the world.”
“We have seventeen hours. And the notes are only going to get longer.”
They were at their usual training ground, as always, finishing up with what had become their routine, the past few weeks. Sai was running late, as he had needed to distract Danzou for their current plan to work out.
Sasuke was glad to have the distraction of writing out pages upon pages of notes, each morning. It was methodical, required little thought, and was something Shikako needed. Most importantly, having a task to focus on stopped him from waking up each morning and running to try and kill Danzou on his own.
Learning about Danzou, ROOT, Danzou’s arm, and about Shisui and Kotomatsuki had made him furious. Shikako and Naruto had to physically restrain him for days after, so he wouldn’t just go off and die with no plan. Despite death not being permanent, Rule One was still in effect, even if it wasn’t always followed.
But Sasuke didn’t want to think of just how many times he had seen his teammates die.
Which was why, instead of dwelling on the past, and how much he wanted to kill Danzou, he could transcribe Shikako’s notes, as quickly and efficiently as possible, with a shadow clone helping him along. He’d get to witness Danzou’s destruction eventually. For now, he could be helpful.
Naruto sent off the last of his own shadow clones and sat next to Shikako, “Ne, Shikako why don’t you just not write stuff down, then, if it’s too much work?”
“Because then the experiments we’re doing won’t be science, just us screwing around.”
Sasuke handed the completed notes over to Shikako, “I’m surprised you haven’t just invented a way to keep your notes stored away and accessible. Didn’t you once say storage seals were ‘time-space dimension warping bullshit’?”
Shikako laughed, “Yeah, I’m not touching that kind of bullshit, especially when it could break us out of the loop. Besides, it would take even more time. Months, probably. It’s not worth it.”
“Hn. You’re so close to removing Sai’s seal. You won’t need your notes as much, then.”
It was interesting, just how much sealing knowledge he’d picked up just by having to copy Shikako’s notes every loop. Enough to know Shikako was crazy, but then, he’d already known that.
Shikako smiled, “You do realize as soon as I’m done with Sai I’ll find some other elaborate project, right?”
He gave her a half hearted glare as Naruto said, “It’s gonna be so nice when Sai gets better and we won’t need to talk around the whole killing Danzou thing.”
That sobered Sasuke up. Sai’s seal was an abomination, and he’d suffered from it countless times. ROOT was terrible, and the knowledge that something like that had happened in Konoha made him sick. “Not having to talk around the issue will help. And Sai will finally be able to tell us everything about the secret bases and where the good intel is.”
“We’ve already gotten most of it, I think. Naruto’s done a good job keeping tabs on Danzou, and we’ve investigated all the bases we can. Sai’s good at talking around the seal.”
Sasuke shook his head, “I think there’s a few things we’re missing.”
“Do we need to get everything?” Naruto asked, “I thought we decided Hironobu’s shop is where we’ll kill him, because he visits every night and we can make it empty. Baa-chan can figure all the details out after.”
“We need all the information we can get,” Shikako pointed out, “We’re still learning everything we can. The poison detection seal he used last time was a complete surprise, though I should have seen it coming.”
The conversation halted as Sai approached the training ground, coming to a stop beside Sasuke, “I have informed my superior of a possible infiltration on the west side of the village. We should be free to investigate the eastern area.”
Shikako grinned and beckoned Sai over, “Great job. Now sit down. I need to look at your tongue again. Naruto, Sasuke, make sure you’re out of there when the 3:41 messenger hawk makes him change positions. We’re not testing base security measures this time.”
“Yeah, we’ve only gone over this a dozen times. I know.”
Sasuke got up with a stretch. For their fifty-fourth February second, things were going all right.
Sai was still as Shikako finished removing his seal. No matter how many times it happened (129, his mind whispered) he would never get over the feeling. The knowledge that, for the next eighteen hours he would be unshackled, and helpful to his team.
Normally, after his seal was removed, his team would eat breakfast together and discuss the day’s objectives. Today, though, nobody was talking. Even Shikako, who was always in motion, making plans and working, was sitting back for a while in silence, though she did pull her notebook out, and scribbled furiously.
Naruto broke the silence. “Well, that sucked.”
Sasuke snorted, “That’s an understatement.”
“We managed to kill him, at least.” Shikako stated woodenly.
“Not in any useful way. We’re not doing that again.”
They had killed him, yes. But half of Konoha had died, screaming and writhing in pain. The whole city, a ruin.
It wasn’t the worst end of the day he’d experienced, but it was close.
Sai spoke up, “Perhaps our mission is simply...unattainable. Our opponent is incredibly strong and skilled. Perhaps we simply can’t stop him, no matter how much we try.”
Of the four, Sasuke and Shikako were better at not letting the repetitive nature of the time loop and their constant failure affect them. Naruto would have periods of restlessness, becoming frustrated and bored when there was no clear progress.
And Sai was afraid that their mission could not be completed. Every time they failed, every time Sai had to watch one of his teammates die, the pit in his stomach grew, and he was convinced their efforts were in vain. Perhaps Danzou truly was inevitable.
“What?!” Naruto jumped from his chair and turned toward Sai, “We can’t just give up! Danzou’s the worst! We’ve gotta stop him!”
“We’re only on the one-hundred and eighty-fifth loop,” Shikako said, “hold off on that dread until we hit the thousands, at least.”
Dread? That was ridiculous. Sai had never experienced such an emotion before.
“It could be worse,” Sasuke stated, not looking at anybody, “Much worse.”
Shikako nodded, “Sasuke’s right. We’re changing things, little by little. No day has ever been exactly the same. There’s always been something different. We’re not stuck in some… endless loop of unchanging cause and effect. Forced to watch the same tragedy over and over.”
She faltered, for a second, before her eyes took on a determined glint and she continued, “We can kill him. I wasn’t sure, at first. But we’ve done it before. We just need to do a better job, and ensure the collateral damage is non-existent, next time. We’re so close.”
“Yeah!” Naruto cheered, “The dumb old man can’t win forever!”
“I know!” he continued, “Instead of worrying about that gross guy, we should do something fun today! Like go to Shikako’s house and pet the deer! You always love it when we visit the deer, Sai!”
Sai didn’t love visiting the deer, he simply found their aesthetic visually striking, and their presence and attitude a novelty. Nothing more. Nonetheless... “Perhaps a day in which we recuperate our energy from the previous day will increase our chances of a successful mission tomorrow.”
Sasuke smirked, “One of these days you’re going to say ‘yeah, let's take a break’ like everybody else.”
“This isn’t a break. It’s a field technique to ensure the long term success of our mission.”
“Yeah, I guess we deserve some time off, after all this,” Shikako said, “I’m going to visit Shizune afterwards, though. I had an idea about countering the anti-poison seal.”
Visiting the deer made it hard to focus on anything bad, or related to their mission at all. As he sat there, sketching the herd’s leader and admiring the majesty of his antlers, one of the does came by and laid down, resting her head on his lap before promptly falling asleep.
Shikako looked over from where she was giving one of the deer a salt lick and smiled, “You look about ready to fall asleep yourself there, Sai.”
Sai shook his head, “Don’t worry, I’m fully combat ready. Because of the loops I’m receiving a full uninterrupted five hours of sleep every night. I’ve never been so well rested in my life.”
Some form of emotion flashed across Shikako’s face, but it was gone before Sai could wonder what it meant. “Well, the deer here are used to people sleeping on them. It’s really interesting, how quickly they’ve warmed up to you. Normally it takes them longer to trust someone who isn’t a member of the clan.”
She had an interesting look in her eye, like she was trying to figure something out, but Sai didn’t want to question her. Shikako continued, “That one’s pregnant, you know, due in May.”
Tentatively, Sai reached out a hand to stroke the deer’s head. “Really?”
“Yeah, and baby deer are the cutest animals in the world. You’ll have to come visit, so she can introduce you to her baby. She’s taken such a liking to you.”
She said it so easily, like it was a fact that Sai would be around in May. That he was truly a person she valued, and wanted to talk with. That Danzou wouldn’t win, and he’d be able to see the deer again, one day.
Sai gave the closest approximation of a smile he could manage, and hoped it would be enough, “I would like that very much.”
Sai was unsure of the chances that they would succeed, but, at times like this, beside his smiling and determined teammates, his friends, the knot in his stomach lessened, and was replaced with a light buoyancy that made him think everything would be alright. This feeling, he had learned, was called hope.
Hironobu’s Bakery was engulfed in flames. Inside, all the cakes and tables and counters were burning, giving off the scent of burnt sugar and charcoal. But Shikako didn’t care about that. She cared about the three people surrounding her as she emerged from their shadows, and the body on the floor.
“Is—is he dead?” asked Sasuke, who was clutching at Danzou’s severed sharingan arm.
“Yes,” panted Sai, who was closest to the body and drenched in blood, “he’s gone.”
Naruto launched another rasengan at the body, for good measure. The flames roared higher.
It had taken two hundred and thirty eight tries. So many elaborate, complicated schemes and countless deaths and temporary casualties. But they had done it.
It wasn’t even one of their more elaborate plans that did the trick. Just subtle manipulation and a lot of setup throughout the day, followed by a seal etched inside his nightly snack, and poison in his tea. Then it had just taken a few minutes of fighting, of removing his arm and Shisui's eye, to ensure he wouldn’t be able to cheat death.
She and her team stared at the body for a few seconds, waiting for it to move. To reveal another grand trick of Danzou’s to yet again come back from the grave.
Nothing happened.
“I don’t know.” mused Shikako, “the building is burning down. Hironobu may be upset, and he's been so nice to us. Maybe we should try again?”
Sasuke gave her a flat look,“It’s just a building. No one’s dead. Let’s end this.”
“I agree,” said Sai, as he moved towards the safest escape route, “It’s been February second for long enough.”
“Woohoo!!!!!! We’re gonna get so many bowls of miso ramen tomorrow! ”
It was over, they had won.