Primavera

by Aplin

Summary:

Sakura Haruno wakes up from a coma to a world so similar, yet so different from her own.

She's not quite sure how she ends up with two different sets of memories: one from a reality where she's a badass ninja, and another where she's an unassuming teenager among superheroes, aliens, and gods. Or is she?

People say that the flower that blooms in adversity is the most rare and beautiful of all, but Sakura thinks she'd rather be the strongest.

Notes:

This is just something I came up with. Will try to update regularly. Comments are always appreciated!

Chapter 1: Awakening

The last thing she remembers is the slickness that clung to her skin as a deafening crack rang out, like the sound a tree makes just as it's about to fall. She thinks she hears her name being called but her vision blurs into darkness before she can respond. In the split second before her mind ceases all thoughts, it whispers comfort to her. Inexplicably, calm washes over her and she lets her body go limp. The next second, she is drenched in panic.

The first thing she registers is the flexible tube inserted into the back of her hand as the erratic beeps of the heart monitor alert of her awakening. Her name is called by several unfamiliar voices from people she doesn't recognize but it feels like she should. She only recognizes one of them. "M-Mom?"

Teary green eyes not dissimilar from her own stare at her. Her mother smiles shakily, reaching out a hand to smooth down her hair mussed from days spent on a hospital bed. "Sakura… We've been waiting for you." Her mother says.

Sakura shifts her gaze to the others in the room. There is a man with dark brown hair cropped close to his scalp and an angular mustache with sideburns. He is familiar but at the same time not. Beside him is a pre-adolescent boy who is a stranger to her, but the way he looks at her suggests she meant more to him.

It takes her a while to identify the man. His hair may be different, but those eyes and the way he said her name tells her that he is her father. She blinks in confusion when she is suddenly engulfed in arms smaller than her own. The boy is silent as her parents gaze warmly.

"Who are you?" She asks.

The boy freezes, pulling back immediately. His eyebrows furrow as he gapes at her. "Are you serious right now?"

"I'll call the doctor," says her father, shock evident on his face as he hurries out of the room.

Her mother bursts with a steadier stream of tears. "Sakura, honey, this is your brother," her mother tells her, "Don't you remember him? Daiki, your brother?"

Daiki chokes down a sob. Sakura lifts her hand to comfort him, but he pushes off of her and runs out the door. "My brother?" Only then does she realize that although she clearly had no trouble communicating, she wasn't speaking in her language. So she does, in rapid succession: "Where am I? What happened? Why - Why can't I remember… This can't be real, it must be a genjutsu."

Mebuki looks at her daughter in devastation, swallowing harshly. "Let's wait for the doctor, dear."

Sakura brings her hands up to her face and sees soft hands. These were not her hands. This was not her mother. Her breath quickens.

Her father, Kizashi, soon comes back with a doctor. Her supposed brother lingers behind the doorway. He hides when Sakura turns to look at him. The doctor starts speaking, but the only words that resonate with her were coma and retrograde amnesia.

The rest of the day is spent with her parents attempting to reassimilate her on all that she has missed, but it did little to help her connect what memory she had to her reality. Now and then, she would get flashes of what seems like two different sets of memories.

She is released from the hospital just a week later. Her memories are foggy, and some of them seem so wrong. Daiki remains his distance from her, but the way he looks at her makes her feel guilty.

They tell her that she could take all the time she needed to rest before starting school again, but this confuses her. School? Hadn't she graduated already?

Her mind felt like two pieces of different colored clay being forced to mix together. Some parts blend together, and some heavily contrast. Sakura lays on her bed - no, not her bed, but they say it's her room so it must be her bed. But this isn't her room. Everything, even her own body (but is it really hers?) feels distorted.

Today is Sunday. Tomorrow is Monday. She had been in a comatose state for two months.

Yesterday, a tall girl with curly hair visited her. Although Sakura didn't recognize her fully, her mouth opened with her realising and exclaimed, "MJ!" The girl, MJ, was surprised but pleasantly so. MJ introduced herself as Sakura's friend, and her family seemed to know her well.

MJ stayed the entire afternoon. Even though Sakura didn't really know her, MJ seemed to understand and didn't pressure her. She brought over a backlog of assignments that Sakura would have to submit by the end of the month and helped her start on some. Sakura managed to pick up fast after MJ explained certain concepts or formulas.

When MJ pulled out a black rectangular object from her pocket, Sakura peered at it curiously and asked, "What's that?"

MJ looked at her in astonishment. "It's a phone." Then a flash of pity crossed her face, but it was gone in a second. She tilted it to show her Japanese friend. "You can do a lot of things with it. You can talk to people, watch videos, listen to music, play games, read just about anything you want to learn."

They pushed Sakura's assignments aside ("I'll come back and help you tomorrow," said MJ.) and nibbled on the snacks Mebuki offered them as MJ answered all of Sakura's questions and caught her up with current events, such as the baffling existence of superheroes like the Avengers. 

Speaking of…

Sakura takes out her phone, which her mother had given to her earlier, and peers at all of the tiny icons. Tapping on what MJ said was called Google, she types "amnesia."

Retrograde amnesia pops up, as well as dissociative amnesia. She clicks on the latter.

Dissociative amnesia is a type of dissociative disorder that involves inability to recall important personal information that would not typically be lost with ordinary forgetting. However, the memories might resurface on their own or after being triggered by something in the person's surroundings.

She clicks on a few articles. One of them mentions false memories, so she inputs this in the search engine as well. She reads about a man who lived a life while comatose. He had a wife, children, a job, and everything was perfect. Then, he wakes up.

Sakura is hit suddenly of more memories from a different life. In it, she has pink hair and glowing hands that can cause earthquakes and heal broken bones. In it, she has friends that can jump on trees and summon talking animals. In it, she has parents who can fight multiple people at the same time, but no brother. No MJ. No Avengers. No aliens.

A scream escapes from her throat. Her phone clutters to the floor.

How can these memories be fake when it feels so real? She stares at her hands. Her soft, uncalloused hands. She clenches them into fists and slams it on her desk, but it barely flinches.

"Sakura?" An uncertain voice calls from behind her closed door. It's Daiki. "Are you alright?"

She wipes at her eyes aggressively. "I'm fine."

Daiki is silent for a moment. "Okay. I'm just across the hall if you need me," he says quietly.

"Thank you," Sakura whispers.

She waits for his footsteps to disappear before she attempts to call on the energy she saw in her memories. But nothing happens. Memories of another life, of days spent with MJ and two other boys their age, poring over books and quizzing each other, of movie marathons and sleepovers, of brown eyes and shy smiles.

She lets these memories pass by, but the last one lingers. Her mind whispers the name Peter to her.

Before she could stop herself, her hand dials a number. Sakura holds her breath. She nearly throws the phone across the room when she hears a hesitant voice say, "Hello?"

"H-Hello," she says. "Is this Peter? MJ… said you're one of my friends."

He is silent for a moment. "Yeah, it's me. How are you?"

"I'm fine. I don't remember much, honestly… but the doctor said there's a chance I'll regain all of my memories back."

"That's, that's great," Peter says, relief coating his words. "Sorry I didn't visit you."

"It's alright, really. I don't think I would've recognized you anyway," she says.

"Oh." His voice drops. "Um, why did you call me?"

Sakura scratches at her brow. "I don't know. Muscle memory, I guess. Just wanted to talk to someone."

"Oh," he says again. "So when are you coming back to school?"

"Tomorrow. I've already started working on some of my assignments, and I passed my time at the hospital by catching up on subjects. I'm trying my best but," her voice cracks, "it's kinda overwhelming."

"Don't rush yourself, Sak." He whispers gently. "You just got out of a coma, your body's still recovering."

"I think it did plenty of recovering during those two months."

"Still, Rome wasn't built in a day. You're progressing, which is great, I mean," he says, "I didn't expect you to call me, but here you are."

Her face reddens. "What do you mean?"

She could almost hear him smile. "We used to call each other and just talk whenever one of us couldn't sleep," Peter tells her. Images of countless nights pass through her thoughts.

"Really?" She asks. "Were we best friends?"

"We are," he says.

A stab of pain slices at her mind as she glances at her feet. "You used to buy me random socks."

"Yeah. Did MJ tell you that?"

"No." The corners of her mouth rise. "I remembered. Just now."

His voice is soft, but happy. "That's great. It means you'll recover in no time. Just believe in yourself. If you believe it, it can."

She gasps, dropping her phone as her head is assaulted with images of a blond-haired boy with whisker marks on his cheek and bright blue eyes. A masked man with one eye covered and silver hair that defies gravity. A boy with dark dark eyes that turn into blood red.

"Sakura?" Peter's voice filters through the speaker of her phone.

Sakura picks it up and tells him, breathing heavily, "I gotta go."

"Wait -"

"See you tomorrow." She hangs up.

Last week, she woke up from a coma. But before she did, she lived a different life. A life of perseverance, camaraderie, death, and life.

She is Sakura Haruno, kunoichi of Konohagakure.

Chapter 2: Not In The Swing Of Things Yet

The bell rings and everyone rushes to pack their things. The teacher at the front raises his voice to remind them of their homework. Peter keeps an eye on a fair-skinned girl with a dark brown bob as he hoists his backpack over his shoulder. He notes with mild panic that she is turning to face his direction and he promptly drops under the table.

 

Ned rolls his eyes, waving at the girl with an exasperated smile. She smiles back with a hint of confusion and leaves the room. “She’s gone, you can stop cowering,” he deadpans.

 

“I’m not cowering!” Peter denies, peeking over the table. Ignoring the weird look his teacher directs at him, he and Ned proceed to walk to their lockers. He sighs, hanging his head back. “I just can’t face her, not yet. It’s my fault she got into a coma.”

 

“It is not your fault,” says Ned. “You were in Germany, remember?” Imagine Ned’s surprise the night before when he accidentally finds out that his best friend is actually the vigilante from YouTube, Spider-Man. He took every opportunity he could to ask Peter whatever question came to mind.

 

After the teenage crimefighter quickly shot down every absurd assumption Ned had, he explained how he got his powers and filled him in on recent events.

 

“If I wasn’t in Germany, none of this would’ve happened to her!” Peter shoots back.

 

He twists the code on his locker in a flurry and opens it with a touch of aggression. He takes a deep breath to calm himself, eyes automatically flying to a polaroid he keeps on his locker door. In it, he has his arm over the shoulder of Sakura while she poses with a peace sign.

 

“You saw what happened to Delmar’s,” Peter murmurs. “I was there last night and even then I couldn’t prevent it from happening. In fact, it probably wouldn’t have happened at all if I didn’t intervene in the robbery.”

 

Ned pats him on his back as Peter glumly stares at the polaroid. “Hey, man, you saw something  was wrong and did your best. At least now you know what you should’ve done better so that next time something like that happens you’ll be prepared.”

 

Peter listens, a tiny smile making its way on his face. Ned clamps his hands on Peter’s shoulders. “‘Let the past die,’” he says then pauses, looking at the paler boy expectantly.

 

“‘Kill it, if you have to.’” Peter grins at his best friend in gratitude, then they slip onto their secret handshake.

 

“What’s up, losers?” MJ greets. She raises an eyebrow when Peter slams his locker shut. Behind her is Sakura, who smiles at them in greeting.

 

“Just talking about…” Ned pauses when Peter gives him a look. “Uhh homecoming.”

 

Sakura tilts her head. “What’s homecoming?”

 

Again, Peter is hit with guilt. Sakura had started attending classes again earlier that week and although she was catching up pretty fast with the topics she missed, it seems like her amnesia affected all kinds of memories. Just yesterday, Sakura had asked who Iron Man was and if he ironed clothes for a living. She also spoke in Japanese at times without realizing it, which Peter didn’t even know she could do because she never did it before.

 

“It’s an event to celebrate the first football game after classes start,” answers MJ, “and an excuse for teenagers to wear fancy clothes and dance in a smelly gym.”

 

MJ turns to face the boys. “Asked anyone yet?”

 

They both shake their head, although Ned glances at Peter with an indecipherable look. MJ nods, walking ahead towards gym class. “Good, we’re going as a group.”

 

Sakura scurries along, smiling at them both. “See you guys at the gym.”

 

Ned shakes his head in amusement when Peter gazes after the girl, her bright red sweater making it easy to pick her out from the crowd. The shorter boy doesn’t even notice when Liz, a senior he’s had a crush on since last year, walks by.

 

“Liz just waved at you,” Ned tells Peter.

 

Peter doesn’t even blink until Sakura rounds the corner. “What?”

 

Ned raises his eyebrows at this, half-surprised and half-amused.

 

Ignoring him, Peter walks ahead to follow the girls into the gymnasium. From the distance, Peter can see Sakura tie her hair up into a tiny ponytail. Was she always that cute?

 

----

 

Sakura forces her upper body to raise while MJ holds onto her bent knees - although it looks more like the curly-haired girl is using those as a bookstand. Utterly frustrated with her body’s lack of stamina, she presses her lips into a thin line and pushes herself to keep going. Diagonal to their mat is Peter and Ned, who have yet to cease their whispered conversation.

 

“I’m pretty sure you already passed the required number of situps,” MJ drones from behind her book. “But by all means, continue.”

 

“Exercise only makes a difference when it starts to hurt.” Sakura pants after every word.

 

“Since when did you like exercising?”

 

Sakura lets her back hit the mat for a beat to reply, “Since I woke up.”

 

“Today or last week?” MJ asks.

 

“Last week.”

 

MJ shakes her head and makes a disgusted noise.

 

“So,” Sakura says breathily. “Are we still on for that sleepover tonight?”

 

“Mm, can’t. I’ll be busy doing nothing.” MJ looks at the sweaty girl with a playful smirk as she turns a page.

 

Sakura rolls her eyes. “If ‘nothing’ entails watching Buzzfeed Unsolved until 2AM, we can do nothing together.”

 

MJ opens her mouth to reply, but a sudden voice interrupts her. She and Sakura turn to face Ned when he shouts, “Peter knows Spider-Man!”

 

Both girls glance at each other with a slight look of ‘What the hell?’

 

Peter scrambles to his feet, mindful of the many pairs of eyes watching him. “No, I don’t! I mean -”

 

Sakura lays her hands flat on the floor, sweat dripping on her slightly above average forehead as she curiously surveys the scene before her.

 

Flash, who Sakura had the pleasure of being reintroduced to earlier that week when he told her it was “fine if she dropped off the decathlon team since she would only be a liability,” immediately perks at the opportunity to humiliate Peter. He slips down the rope and cockily approaches them while saying, “They’re friends like Coach Wilson and Captain America are friends.”

 

“Captain America’s the guy from that box with moving pictures, right?” Sakura asks MJ, who sighs at her friend’s description of the TV monitor.

 

“I’ve - met him, yeah,” Peter nervously says. “A couple times. It’s - um - through the… Stark internship.” His voice gradually lowers until the end.

 

Flash tilts his head. “Really?” The look on his face suggests that he doesn’t find this believable.

 

“Yeah, well, I’m not supposed to talk about it .” Peter turns to glare at Ned, who only stares at him open-mouthed. Meanwhile, Sakura has long since returned to her sit-ups after she glanced at her watch and saw that class would end soon, although she does keep on listening as Flash taunts Peter.

 

MJ quirks an eyebrow when Peter seems to consider bringing his supposed friend Spider-Man to Liz’s party. She glances at Sakura who looks like she sucked on a piece of lemon.

 

The bell rings and everyone stops their activities. Sakura groans and stands wobbily, leaning onto MJ as they walk to the girls’ locker room.

 

Sakura rubs at the sweat on her skin with a small towel, with a hint of aggression that has MJ eyeing her with a knowing look. She chews on her lip then pouts before turning to the quieter of the two. “You know… I don’t think I remember going to a party.”

 

MJ rolls her eyes.

Chapter 3: Without You Things Go Hazy

Sakura is unable to explain the warm, tingly feeling in her stomach as she and MJ walk up to the house. The music only seems to get louder with every step. Ahead of them, she can recognize Betty Brant chattering excitedly ("Do you think Spider-Man's gonna show up!?") to Liz who flicks her eyes to the newcomers and smiles. 

She waves feebly to the senior before MJ drags her to the kitchen. Her curls disappear behind the refrigerator door. "You want anything?" 

"No thank you," Sakura declines. She rubs her arms while looking around. In the distance, a crash can be heard followed immediately by laughter. "So… This is a party."

She sees Flash bobbing his head to the music and fiddling with the controls. The stream of partygoers don't seem to be decreasing. Alcohol is passed around. 

"Don't see what the fuss is about, if you ask me," MJ tells her. She rinses an apple and bites into, looking behind the shorter girl. "Look who's here." 

Sakura whips her head around. She first sees Ned and his hat, then she sees Peter. The butterflies return full force. "H-Hey!" Her voice squeaks. 

"Can't believe you guys are at this lame party," drones MJ.

Peter locks eyes with Sakura, both of them struck frozen for some reason. The spell is broken when Peter cracks a smile at her, which she returns. 

Ned looks at MJ, bemused. "You're here too." 

MJ raises an eyebrow. "Am I?" She says mysteriously, then leaves with a crunch of an apple. 

Sakura doesn't want to leave yet. She wants to stay. Here. With him. But a voice calls out to the two boys and she feels her feet carry her next to MJ.

Sighing, she follows her friend to the couch. "You're right, this is a lame party." 

MJ bumps her shoulder with Sakura's as comfort. "Just talk to him. Please. I cannot stand another day with you guys gazing longingly after each other." 

"I don't gaze after him!" Sakura denies, her ears resembling tomatoes. Her eyes dart after the brown-haired boy for a second, but he’s too busy talking to Liz to notice. "Besides, he keeps on avoiding me." 

They both wince when Flash starts taunting Peter. They watch as the latter eventually leaves.

"Well this has been a complete waste of my time," MJ mumbles. 

Sakura thinks the same silently, but outwardly flashes her friend a smile. "The night is young, MJ." She dashes off to the kitchen. 

MJ furrows her eyebrows as the half-Japanese girl hands her a red solo cup filled with alcohol. "This is so unlike you. Are you okay?" 

Shrugging her shoulders, Sakura tilts her head back and drinks it all in one gulp. She beams at MJ. "See? I'm perfectly capable of taking care of myself." 

MJ begins to say something ("Wha--") but then Sakura snatches her cup and gulps it down as well. She regards her friend with curious eyes. Already, the short girl is back with more alcohol - only this time she brought a whole bottle. MJ's eyebrows shot up to her hairline. "Woah, Saku-" 

"Relax, would you?" Sakura pours herself another cup. "I honestly don't feel tipsy." 

"Sakura, don't be a dumbass over some boy! This is the first time you've ever drank, and your parents would kill you if you go home like this." 

Sakura blinks. "Really?" Was it really the first time she drank alcohol? Her brain says no, but the vomit that bursts from her mouth says yes. Luckily, she manages to grab a vase. She pities the poor soul who would have to clean it up. 

"Can we go already?" MJ sighs, but dutifully helps Sakura pull her hair back. 

Words get stuck in Sakura's throat as she is hit with a memory of a large-bosomed blonde woman, a girl with short raven locks, and her (with pink hair!) toasting glasses and chugging bottle after bottle. Her stomach makes a gurgling noise as she stands to her feet. 

"I think I just remembered something…" 

But that can't be a memory. Because Sakura doesn't have pink hair. Nor does she have toned arms, or calloused hands, or muscled thighs. That vision of her could only be fake. Something her mind made up while she was in a coma. 

"Nevermind, it's nothing." 

MJ hoists one of Sakura's arms over her shoulder and together they start walking to the door. They pass by Flash who was starting a chant with their classmates. "When I say Penis, you say Parker!" 

Sakura finds herself shouting to him as MJ drags her away, "Hey, have you ever noticed how your initials are literally E.T.? That explains so much, really." 

Flash splutters behind them. On the way, they pass Ned who was talking to someone on the phone. "Ooh is that Peter?" 

"Yes," Ned says in surprise, "Wait, no--" 

Sakura grabs the phone and presses it to her face, "Heeey, Pete! Where are youu?" 

"Sakura? Are you--are you drunk?" 

"No, I'm not even tipsy I promise!" She hiccups. "I miss you Peteyy." 

"I-I-" 

Sakura feels the urge to vomit once again. She grabs around blindly for a container. When she's finished, she realizes that she puked on Ned's hat. "Oh… I'm so so sorry, Ned." 

MJ lets out an aggravated sigh. Ned looks like someone kicked his puppy. "It's alright, Sak." 

"I'll buy you a new one," she tells him. "Maybe even two. Or five. Or ten! You could share them with Peter." 

Ned shakes his head, sharing a look with MJ. "It's really fine. You guys take care." 

"Bye Neeed." Sakura giggles as MJ pulls her away.

They walk home together, having been neighbors since Sakura moved last year. But Sakura doesn't remember that, MJ thinks with a frown. She keeps an eye on the drunk ("I'm not even hic tipsy!") girl as they near their homes.

It had only been an hour into the party when Sakura got drunk, so thankfully her parents wouldn't be home yet. MJ reaches for the keys on Sakura's back pocket. The latter giggles and says in a whisper, "That's tickley." 

Once the door is unlocked, MJ drags her friend inside. They quietly creep past Daiki's room where zombie screams can be heard. The curly-haired girl sighs as they finally enter Sakura's room.

Sakura jumps on her bed. She bursts into tears. MJ feels a mixture of exasperation and a migraine coming together.

"It hurts, MJ," cries Sakura. "My head is constantly in pain. I can't distinguish between what's real and what's not. My mind tells me that we used to have movie nights every Friday night, although it doesn't tell me why we don't do that anymore. It also tells me that animals can talk and that I don't have a brother. It's like I have two completely different sets of memories!"

Sakura directs her swollen-eyed stare to MJ, who fidgets. "And you guys won't tell me what really happened the day I got into an accident. It's always some vague bullshit." 

MJ sits down beside her. "I'm sorry. We're just trying not to overload you with it," she explains, "especially since you're already cramming tons of schoolwork information inside your brain." 

"Why does Peter avoid me?" 

MJ looks at her with uncertainty. "I think he feels guilty." 

"Why?" 

"The day you got into the accident… You were supposed to meet with Peter for a project but he didn't show up. Apparently he was away on his internship and forgot to tell you to reschedule. Before you could leave, the cafe you were in was being robbed. You were so stupidly brave." MJ's voice wavers in a brief moment of emotion. "You stood up when the robber pointed his gun at an old man. The robber pushed you back." 

As MJ was saying this, Sakura sat quiet, listening. Her mind conjured hazy images as MJ went on.

"You hit your head pretty bad." 

"Oh," says Sakura.

"When Peter got back, he visited you everyday. He talked to you while you were… asleep." 

"Why won't he talk to me now?" Sakura asks. "It looks like he wants to, but at the same time like he doesn't." 

"I don't know, Sak. Maybe you gotta make the first move."

They stare out her window, where the stars wink at them. Sakura presses a hand to her head. Neither of them notices the weak greenish glow it emits.

 

 

The next morning, Sakura waits near Ned's locker to apologize. She's been kicking herself mentally since she woke up.

"Hey."

Sakura jumps. Wide green eyes connect with shy brown ones. "Peter!" 

“Uh, Ned told me you got pretty drunk last night,” Peter says. “I didn’t even know you drank.”

Sakura nods her head jerkily. “Yeah, yeah, no. It was a mistake. I thought I could handle it.”

“Yeah…”

They were silent for a moment.

“I’m sorry!” “Wanna hang out?” They say at the same time.

Sakura blinks, tilting her head. “Sorry for what?”

“Just… everything,” Peter whispers. “I know we haven’t been as close as we were before… you know.”

Sakura shrugs her shoulders as her fingers fiddle with the hem of her shirt. “That’s the thing, though. I didn’t know how close we were before, because you won’t talk to me or help me remember.”

“That’s true,” the brown-haired boy admits. He can’t look her in the eyes. Then he shifts his gaze up and suddenly they’re locked in a spell once again. He can’t help but note that her eyes looked greener than the last time he saw her. He clears his throat. “How have you been?”

“Fine.” Sakura can’t find another word for it. “I guess.”

“Let me make it up to you.” Peter looks at her hopefully, fingers tight around the straps of his backpack. He feels nervous when she doesn’t reply. Tentatively, he lowers his left hand to touch her right hand. He doesn’t understand why he’s doing this, but he intertwines their fingers together.

An image of them shoulder to shoulder as they watch a movie in his room with Ned and MJ flashes quickly in her mind.

Sakura opens her mouth in quiet surprise. She slowly brushes her thumb with his. “Okay.”

A smile stretches Peter’s face, which Sakura reciprocates. They hastily let go of each other’s hands when they hear Ned call for them in the distance.

“I’ll call you tonight,” Peter promises.

Sakura beams at him. “Can’t wait.”

 

 

He didn’t call her. She chucks an eraser to the wall.

Sighing, Sakura returns to her notes, deciding to study for nationals instead. They would be going to Washington, D.C. the following day. She had a good grasp on all of the subjects, but it never hurts to review.

She doesn’t see the crack where she threw the eraser.

Chapter 4: Don't You Know Me By Now?

It was like watching two different movies in a split screen. On the left, a pink-haired girl. On the right, one with dark brown hair. Their surroundings seem to blur. Sakura can only see the back of each girl’s head, both of which seem to move in unison as a hand appears despite the blurriness.

Both of these happened at the exact same time: The pinkette gurgles out a scream as the hand goes through her stomach, while the brunette lets out a gasp as her head hits the floor. They fall simultaneously. Blood drips down at the same pace.

Everything seems to spiral. The images of both girls are sucked into what seems to be a black hole and everything succumbs to darkness.

The mirror image of Sakura materializes in front of her. She drinks in the appearance of the other Sakura, noting the blood that stands out in contrast to the black and white coloring. On the other Sakura’s forehead is a set of characters that reads “Inner Sakura” - a name that sparks recognition.

“Who are you?” The world is quiet except for her whisper.

Inner Sakura replies, “I am you.”

She raises her hand and Sakura involuntarily mirrors this action. When they clasp hands, Sakura sees . Her knees tremble as her heart beat rapidly in her chest, the sound only becoming louder as a voice - her voice - echoes everywhere. Like an endless bucket filled with water, memories pour over her and flood into the space around her. Wherever she looks, a different memory plays out for her.

When the water reaches her chin, she tilts her head back. Suddenly, the water seems to defy gravity as it is pulled into the black sky. Time stops and each memory is presented to her as frozen drops of water.

Inner Sakura lets go of her hand, but the effect on Sakura lingers. “Don’t you know me?”

Stiffened, Sakura doesn’t answer. Inner Sakura repeats herself: “Don’t you know me by now?”

“I don’t understand. Why am I here?”

Something pulls her to one particular drop. She touches it with her fingertip. Colors are brought to life, almost blindingly bright.

This is what she sees:

She sees herself - her brown-haired dainty self - enter the cafe alone. She walks up to the counter and orders two cups of cappuccino. She sits down at a nearby table and fiddles with her phone as she waits for her name to be called out. Just as she sends a text (“Hey, I’m here. Where are you?” She thinks for a moment before adding a smiley emoji.) to someone with the contact name PetPark, screams slice through the air inside the establishment. She finds herself instinctively dropping to the floor as a masked man brandishes a firearm to the barista paralyzed in fear.

“Open it up,” he hisses. He points the gun to the cash register. The barista blubbers but follows his command. Body shaking, the barista pushes the necessary buttons. The masked man keeps the barrel pointed at her.

He looks around the cafe to see all but one on the floor. An old man trembles as he tries to slowly lower himself. The masked man growls, and swings the gun to aim at the old man.

The people in the cafe cry out in protest, but one look from the man shuts them up. Sakura grits her teeth. Despite her fear, she stands and picks up the chair she was sitting on. A logical person would have stayed put and called 911, but Sakura was incapable of thinking logically for the only thing she could think of is how that old man could be anybody’s grandfather.

The man shouts at the elder, whose joints seem to lock in place. “Get down!” He repeats this phrase multiple times, his anger increasing each time. He cocks the dangerous weapon in his hands. “I SAID GET DOWN!”

As soon as he shouts this, Sakura smashes the metal chair to the side of his head with a resounding noise. The gun drops to the floor, fortunately without setting off.

She squeals in shock when the man swipes at her feet, landing on her side. The other customers, composed mainly of students and elderly, watch anxiously. The man grabs her hair and pulls roughly. Sakura could feel a few strands rip from her scalp. “Bitch!” The man swears at her. She struggles against his stronger arms.

He brings her head down to meet the hard floor with a CRACK.

Sakura sits up on her bed, breathing heavily. The phantom pain from her head lingers. She brings a hand up to soothe it.

She doesn’t understand how or why, but when two version of herself from two different dimensions were hit at the same time it must’ve triggered something that brought one version into the body of the other.

It doesn’t feel like one version taking over; more like both versions merging together. From the moment she woke up, Sakura had great difficulty remembering anything and each memory always brought sharp pains to her head. Now, everything seemed clear. Memories from both versions now reside in her mind.

But the question is: are the memories from her other self real?

One way to find out.

A glance at her clock tells her it was only around four o’clock in the morning. Any other day, she might’ve just went back to sleep. Today, she has an urge to prove to herself that she was capable of causing earthquakes with a single punch and healing people from the brink of death.

She approaches her wall. Placing her hands on the flat surface, she breathes in and out deeply with her eyes closed. She imagines a bright ball of chakra inside of her and reaches out to it. Eyes now open, she lifts one foot and presses it to the wall. She lifts the other one.

Sakura can barely contain the giddiness she feels when she stuck to the wall. She walks up  the wall and ceiling until her hair is hanging around her face. She crouches and jumps lightly to the ground.

While her chakra control might be working perfectly, she didn’t have the same stamina and physique she remembers having. It was an improvement from when she first woke from the coma, but still not enough. Fortunately, she had been exercising daily although without any explanation as to why. Now, Sakura understands that her body must’ve realized she needed proper exercise should she regain her former strength and abilities.

Her mind working overdrive to plan where and when she could train, Sakura starts to count push-ups. Her strength could be enhanced with chakra, but Tsunade taught her that raw strength could be just as powerful. She remembers Rock Lee briefly with fondness.

And so, this is how she spends one and a half hour of her morning.

When her phone rings, she realized it was six o’clock and time to get ready. She takes a quick shower and dresses herself in an oversized gray shirt tucked into a high-waisted skirt the same color as her Decathlon blazer jacket. She slips on a pair of socks that looked like kittens and black flats.

Before leaving, she stares at the mirror for a moment and wonders if Midtown High allowed students to dye their hair.

Sakura grabs her flashcards and places them inside her bag, then locks her room behind her. She walks into the kitchen and greets her family with a chirpy, “Morning!”

“Morning, sweetie,” her mother greets back while placing pancakes into a plate.

Her father flashes her a big grin as he ate his breakfast. It was still a bit disconcerting to see him without his big cherry blossom-shaped hair. Her brother mumbles out his greeting.

Sakura realizes how Daiki must have felt when she couldn’t remember him. “Hey kiddo, when I get back from Washington do you wanna hangout at the arcade?”

Daiki perks up. “Really?”

“Of course!” Sakura replies. “We got a lot of catching up to do, don’t we?”

Even though Daiki was only her brother in this dimension, her merged self’s love for him only doubled since she regained her memories. They finish their breakfast in a jolly mood.

Later on, she meets MJ in front of the school, standing with the other Decathlon members. Her friend nods at her behind a copy of Invitation to a Beheading by Vladimir Nabokov. (She makes a mental note to borrow that book later on; it seemed interesting.)

Sakura doesn’t expect him to be there, but she still feels disappointed when she couldn’t find Peter. Just as they start trickling into the bus, he’s suddenly there.

“Hey, It’s Peter.” Abe exclaims.

“Guys!” Peter jogs up to them. He glances at Sakura. “I was hoping maybe I could rejoin the team,” he tells Liz.

Flash pushes through the front. “No. No way. You can’t just quit on us, stroll up, and be welcomed back by everyone,” Flash spits to Peter.

“Welcome back, Peter!” Mr. Harrington interjects obliviously. Flash frowns. “Flash, you’re back to first alternate.”

“What?!”

Abe makes it clear to him: “He’s taking your place.” Everyone else chortles at Flash’s expense.

MJ sighs beside Sakura and decides to intervene before they became late. “Guys, can we go already? I was hoping to get some light protesting in front of an embassy before dinner.”

Mr. Harrington considers this for a moment. “Protesting is patriotic,” he says. “Let’s get on the bus.”

Sakura bows her head to avoid looking at Peter and goes ahead of him.

The whole ride to Washington is spent reviewing in quickfire. Sakura’s ears rang from the neverending ring of the call bell. Peter ends up sitting in front of MJ and Sakura, so it was hard for her not to stare at the back of his head.

She manages to answer a few questions herself, thankful that she regained her memory on her studies as well.

Before she got into a coma (It was NOT an accident, no matter how everyone tried to sugarcoat it to her. A man smashed her head to the floor. She was lucky she was alive!), Peter had already begun distancing himself from her. Even before he got his internship. He was telling the truth when he told her they used to call each other every night, but before she woke up they already went weeks without really hanging out together. It was always one excuse after another.

So maybe she shouldn’t be surprised he wasn’t making an effort to talk to her anymore. It didn’t really matter anyway. She has bigger problems than Peter Parker.

Chapter 5: A Fire In Me Burns

Notes:

It's been a long while since I last updated and for that I apologize. With the pandemic and finishing my thesis, I just couldn't focus on writing. I’m a bit unfamiliar with AO3 tags - could you recommend any that would help reach a bigger audience? I'll also be increasing the length of the chapters! 

Her body sways lightly in movement as the bus drives over a speed bump. Even though her green eyes are fixed upon the tall figure of the Academic Decathlon Team captain, they burn to glance over the wavy brown locks in front of her. Sakura didn’t even know it was possible to stare through your peripheral vision.

His hair is gelled back, as usual. Sakura knows how curly it actually was in its natural state, which she prefers. For not the first time, she wonders how it would feel like to run her fingers through his hair.

She blinks when her eyes go dry, clearing her throat. Damn hormones.

“What is a small proteinaceous infectious disease-causing agent that—?”

Her hand rings her bell, and she chirps the answer, “Prion!”

Sakura pretends not to beam when Peter turns to her with a smile soon after he answers a question correctly. MJ likewise pretends she’s not sketching the face Sakura makes when Liz captures his attention once again, in her Crisis Notebook which she hides behind a book to avoid Liz’s ire. This does not escape Sakura’s notice, however, and she receives a pointed glare.

Ignoring her friend’s sniggers, Sakura looks up when Peter stands and moves to the back of the bus where Ned is situated. She swears she doesn’t mean to, but chakra flows to her ears and enhances her hearing.

“Hello?” Peter greets to his phone. He mumbles something about a tracker. “Uh —yeah, no, it’s just a school trip. It’s nothing.”

Figuring it was just his Aunt calling to check up on him, she plugs in her red earphones to the voice of Freddie Mercury. She leans over MJ to look out the window as they cross Arlington Memorial Bridge, and then to the windows on the other side of the bus to gaze at the Washington Monument.

The differences between the civilizations in her two sets of memories were becoming easier to sort through, but it still feels like she's in the middle of an identity crisis. Still, she has finally accepted her situation. 

Sakura wonders if time is at a standstill in her other reality. (She remembers Peter rambling about the possibilities of a multiverse.) Is it possible that she is one of two selves, or just one self alternating between realities?

Whichever it is, she knows that it would be best to start seriously training as soon as possible. 

So far, all she has been able to do is establish that her perfect chakra control has followed her. However, her body in this reality is… less than satisfactory. Her muscles have improved since she first woke up, but a few weeks were not comparable to the years she spent in her other reality. Assuming she would be staying permanently, because she didn't really know how to get back, then she figures she could work her body and endurance up to her standards. She has all the time in the world. 

One curious thing is that she can't remember what happened to her in the other reality before she woke up.

Sakura has considered the possibility of a genjutsu, but she has no recollection of one that could conjure fake memories while retaining the real ones. 

She's way in over her head, that's for sure. 

Not to mention academics has her scrambling to make time for training. 

Another frequent distraction for her is currently having a vehement whisper-conversation with his best friend at the back of the bus. An adorable yet confusing distraction. (She never thought she would have feelings for anyone after Sa—) 

She is brought out of her reverie when the bus stops in front of a building. There is a bright blue banner with "United States Academic Decathlon" printed on it. The team disembarks and brings their belongings with them inside. She makes sure to smooth any wrinkles out of her jacket before entering. 

The building looks bigger inside. When Peter and Ned walk in front of her, she is stricken by a dark, pulsating energy. She glances at them in suspicion as they walk toward a booth to register themselves. 

"Everyone, stick together!" Liz reminds them. Mr. Harrington mumbles an agreement. 

Someone remarks about the size of the building, and Sakura finds herself nodding as she looks around. Groups of students in varying uniforms walk around. She feels a touch of nerve at the sight of the competition. 

Paired with MJ, they break away from the rest when they get to their room. Inside is a room with two beds and a nice neutral color palette. There are framed photographs of birds for some reason.

MJ throws down her book on the bed closest to the door. "Mine," she says. 

Sakura rolls her eyes in fondness. She jumps on the bed and spreads her limbs like a starfish. Sleep would've welcomed her if not for her friend's sudden weight. "Oof!"

Squealing, she wrapped her arms around MJ and rolled them over. Her hands immediately went to tickle the usually stoic girl.

MJ's cheeks nearly hurt from containing her laughter. "Stop moping about that loser!" 

"I am not moping about Peter!" Sakura denies. When she sees MJ's smirk, she realizes that she just outed herself. "Ugh, shut up. My mind is already jumbled enough without adding him into the equation." 

"And any equation with him is unsolvable?" MJ inquires teasingly. 

Sakura sighs and flops back on her bed. She mumbles, "More like I don't want to solve him." 

MJ rolls her eyes and sits up on her own bed, cracking open her notebook. "Don't move. Your expression perfectly captures your misery." 

Screwing up her face, Sakura throws a hand over her broad forehead. It's silent for a beat as she considers something. Then, "I have… something to tell you." 

"Oh? Did you remember something?" 

She shifts slightly, facing her curious friend. "Kinda. Yes. Well, I'm not exactly sure if it's real ." 

"Interesting. Continue." 

"I know that aliens and gods exist, and that's pretty unbelievable. But the fact that it's happening to me is hard to grasp." 

MJ hums. "Let me guess, you're actually a talking snowman?" 

"Good guess, but no." Sakura lets out a deep breath. "I think… no, I know that I'm a ninja. Although shinobi or kunoichi would be better terms." 

"Okay," her friend says. "You're a ninja." 

Sakura looks at her in disbelief, wondering if she is being patronizing. She stands up and faces the wall. "I can prove it!" 

"I believe you," MJ tells her. Sakura trusts her, but doesn't know if this is true, so she presses the sole of her foot to the wall. MJ is lowkey looking at her like she's crazy, but then she sticks her other foot as well. 

Eyebrows up high, MJ watches as Sakura walks on the wall, then hangs upside down from the ceiling. It was similar to Spider-Man's ability to crawl on any surface. It was cool, but… "How does that make you a ninja, though? You’re just like that Spider-Dude."

Sakura pauses. "Fair enough." She jumps down into a crouching position. “Should’ve known that wouldn’t be enough to convince you. It's the only thing I know for sure I can do, since I only started believing in the alternate reality theory this morning."

"Maybe I should list down what I remember I can do," she mumbles, tapping a finger on her chin. 

Pointing with her thumb to the blinking digital clock on their nightstand, MJ says, "We've got about an hour and a half until dinner. Better get started." 

The former pinkette ties her hair up and whips out a fresh, new notebook.

Sakura lists down what abilities she remembers having. She puts a tick mark next to the lone thing that she has successfully attempted. 

Perfect chakra control. Check. While she’s able to walk on solid surfaces, she had not tested it on any body of liquid yet. There is a swimming pool in Midtown Tech, but there is nary a moment when she could be alone to attempt it. This control should allow her to successfully cast all of the basic E-rank and D-rank jutsu such as henge , kawarimi , bunshin , rope escape, cloak of invisibility, and so on, although she hasn't been able to try them out yet. 

Shadow clones. She can’t hold one for more than twelve hours, and creating more than one is a bit tricky for her as she’s no Naruto. Best she can do is five, but not for very long. She'll have to attempt it soon, as shadow clones would be useful for training and studying. 

Mystic palm technique. She could start out with small cuts and bruises, maybe on her headaches too. Until she’s sure of her skill, she’s not able to inflict bigger wounds on herself to heal, as they would be trickier. She would have to make do with fish, just as she had when Tsunade first started training her. (Note to self: buy a fish. And an aquarium.) 

Chakra scalpel. Sakura didn't frequently use this in battle, preferring to use it in operations, but it does work for offensive attacks. 

Chakra-enhanced strength. Although successful in coating chakra around her fists and legs – ears and nose as well, but that was to enhance her senses – she hasn't found anywhere to try out her strength, knowing it would most likely cause infrastructural damage. 

Poison extraction. Not exactly something she could test out at the moment. She does like having poison-coated weapons, but she doesn't have access to neither poison nor any weapons. She’ll worry about that later.

Summoning. Haven’t tried it yet due to her doubt in it actually working. If it did work, then Tsunade would’ve already had her reverse summoned. Not much hope for this one. 

Taijutsu. She didn’t really have a specific style due to her civilian upbringing. It’s more like an amalgamation of the academy katas and various moves she’s picked up from friends. She'll have to work on her muscles first.

“That's all I can remember for now." Sakura sighs. 

MJ's expectant look prompts her to bring her hands up to a familiar position. Although it is the first time to attempt it, a clone of herself pops up next to her. A second later, a shadow clone appears on her other side.

Astonished, MJ waves her hand to clear the smoke. "Are they tangible?" She goes to poke the one on the right, but it passes through. She does the same to the other, except it makes contact. "I thought ninjas were supposed to wear black and wield katanas." 

Sakura replaces herself with MJ, who stumbles when she finds herself between two fake Sakuras instead of in front. "Well, you can if you want." 

"I can run really fast," Sakura offers, "but there really isn't any space in here for that." 

MJ looks like she believes her anyway, after such displays of breaking the laws of physics.

"Are you telling me a coma gave you these abilities?" 

"No. Yes. Um, kinda?" 

The self-proclaimed ninja/shinobi/kunoichi dispels her clones. The memories of the shadow clone come back to her. "It's like the coma allowed me to journey between two realities." 

MJ's face looks like it could fit right in her Crisis Notebook. "What?!" 

"I know it sounds weird, but it's like both souls of mine merged or something."

"What, like Harry Potter and Voldemort?" 

"No, of course not! That's completely different! I'd say more like, like—" She scrambles for an appropriate reference. "Garnet from Steven Universe , only not a fusion by physical form. It's gotta be real because how else would I have done what I just did?"

Pulling Sakura's flailing arms down, MJ tries to make sense of everything. "If both souls from both realities are stuck in one body and one reality, what about the other one?" 

"I don't know!" Sakura shrugs helplessly. "Maybe it's in a coma?" 

"What's the other reality like?" Her friend asks her, sitting down. 

"Children who want to become shinobi or kunoichi have to enroll for the Academy. Most graduate at twelve years old, like me. From thereon, you become a genin and are placed in a three-man cell led by a jonin. You can get paid through mission assignments, which can range from capturing a cat to assassinating a noble. The rankings in order are: genin, chunin, and jonin. There are other special rankings, but these are the main ones. I was a chunin before I woke up. My most recent memories from the other reality are a bit hazy for me."

"Assassination? You've killed?" MJ doesn't know what to make of this. 

"That reality had different societal norms!" Sakura defends herself. "I haven't killed anyone here yet." 

Eyes bugging out at the 'yet,' MJ raises her hands as if requesting for a timeout. "Woah, woah." 

"I'm not gonna kill anyone." Sakura groans. 

Just then, a series of knocks interrupt their conversation. They exchange a look before one of them opens the door. Mr. Harrington announces that it's time for dinner, and both girls join the rest of the team. Sakura's eyes instinctively flicker over to where Peter is, and her feet follow. 

Their eyes meet and they awkwardly smile at each other. Ned and MJ roll their eyes at the duo. 

The cafeteria of the building is far better than the one in Midtown Tech. It's buffet style, for one, and everything is free. Everyone gathers their meals of choice and sits together. Sakura finds herself sitting next to the object of her reluctant affections. 

Before anyone can dig in, Liz speaks. "I hope you guys don't study too hard tonight, because there is a thing such as too much studying. Don't stress out and just believe in yourself, guys." 

Mr. Harrington nods, adding his two cents. "Yes, yes. No staying up late. Let's dig in!"

Everyone has their own conversations around the table as they eat, but Sakura keeps silent in favor of her food. Her metabolism has been increasing, and for that her portion size is noticeably larger. Peter's hand bumps into the bare skin of her elbow.

Blood rushes to her ears as her heartbeat skyrockets. She rubs her arms as goosebumps appear. 

"You cold?" Peter whispers to her, leaning ever so slightly to lend his body heat. 

She shoots him a small smile. "I'm fine," she squeaks. 

He returns it with a smile of his own, before biting into his pizza. "Sorry about the other night. I got held up by the—" 

"—the Stark internship," Sakura finishes for him. "Yeah, it's cool. Don't worry about it. I had to catch up in time for the Decathlon anyway."

"I'll make it up to you." 

That's what you said last time. 

"I'm glad your memories have returned," Peter says softly. "I also noticed you're wearing some cool socks." 

She glances down at the stretched face of Shrek peeking over her shoes. "Only the coolest wear them." 

Peter hikes up his jeans to show her his socks which depict an image of Donkey. Somehow, this makes her heart flutter. Despite her earlier frustrations over him, they share a grin. 

"So." She tucks her hair behind an ear. "Ready for tomorrow?" 

"I was born ready," he replies in mock smugness. "Ask me anything." 

Sakura hides a smile behind her cup of water. "What are the first one hundred digits of pi?" 

The boy in a blue hoodie scoffs. "That's not even a challenge. Give me something harder." 

Do you have a date for Homecoming? 

Shaking her head, she turns back to her meal. "You heard Liz," the girl you like , "no studying too hard." 

They drift off to another topic, but soon they've turned to other conversation partners. Sakura wonders if Peter is affected as much as she is by their proximity. 

Later, they all return to their rooms to rest. Sakura sees a small bruise on MJ's forearm. With her hand, Sakura emits green chakra over it which soon fades the bruise away. 

MJ has since calmed from her astonishment earlier. Raising an eyebrow, she quips in an unimpressed tone, "Thanks. Not just for the healing thing. For trusting me." 

"Of course I trust you. You're my confidant! You're the only one I've told." 

"Let's say your full abilities return," MJ starts. "What do you plan to do with them." 

Sakura pulls out numerous stacks of colorful flashcards from her bag. "Might as well do some good with them. What's the use of having them if you don't use them, right? I figure if anything like the Chitauri Invasion happens again, I can help any civilians caught in the cross-fire." 

MJ hums in approval. "No plans to assassinate me?" 

"Trust me, MJ, I'm as conflicted as you are about that. I'm like the freaking Winter Soldier! I can't control what I did in the past because technically that wasn't me, just a version of me." 

"A version of you who is now one half of who you currently are."

Well, MJ's not wrong. Sakura offers a stack of flashcards to her. 

"Look, I promise I'm not a murderer. Other me even had to go through a mandatory therapy session after my first kill," she explains. "It was my job! Once you graduate from the Academy, you become an adult. Well, in the other reality at least." 

MJ takes the flashcards and flips through them. "I'm not judging you or anything, you're still you, I just can't imagine actually killing someone." 

"It's not like we do it because we enjoy it, you know. It's kill or be killed. We're soldiers serving our country. When you see a veteran you thank them for their service, not condemn them for putting their people's lives above the enemies'." 

Nodding in thought, the taller girl surrenders. "You've got a point."

"Besides, I was an iryo-nin. A medic ninja," she clarifies. "We prioritize healing."

"Can you heal mental illnesses with your glowy hands?" 

"Unfortunately, no. Those are a bit delicate, so we have specialists for that."

The conversation drops after that, and they focus on their respective flashcards in a comfortable silence. Sakura is in the middle of a yawn when someone knocks on their door. Not even waiting for the door to open, the voice of their captain says, "Team bonding time! Wear a swimsuit; we're going for a swim. Meet up in five minutes!" 

"Sounds like fun!" Sakura shouts to the door. She directs a questioning look to MJ. "You feel up for it?" 

MJ shrugs, hopping off the bed and stretching. "Sure, why not?" 

Must be why we were required to bring swimsuits , Sakura muses to herself as they change. She had debated with herself whether or not to bring one, and ended up throwing a red halter top one-piece with front ruching at the last minute.

She and MJ find fluffy white towels in the closet. They drape it over their shoulders and head out, turning the lights off as they go.

The rest are already ahead of them, running excitedly to the elevators. They elect to take their time, chatting idly. 

Sakura turns quiet when she sees Peter, with his hood up, gazing after Liz. She smiles when MJ nudges her, a silent Are you okay? 

She waves as Peter finally turns around, but he stops dead in his tracks when he catches sight of her. His mouth is slightly agape, while his doe brown eyes widen. 

Flustered, Sakura doesn't even notice the smirk MJ directs at the two of them. The trajectory of his eyes leaves a trail of fire on her body. Their eyes finally lock. 

Peter gulps, bringing down his hood to ruffle his hair. He fumbles over words for a second. "Beautiful, you—wow." His voice is a near whisper, but she hears it almost as if he whispered it directly to her ear. "H-Hey, guys." 

Positive that MJ will tease her later for this, she thanks him nervously. Then, "Will you and Ned be joining us?" 

"Oh, no. Ned wanted to catch a few extra hours of shut-eye," he says with a shake of his head. His eyes never strays from hers. "I'm just gonna walk around for a while, get some fresh air. Yeah." 

Sakura can't explain how, but she knows he's lying. Maybe it's the way he grips tightly at the strap of his backpack, or the way he shifts his weight to and from each leg. His energy feels uneasy.

She nods anyway. It was probably about that internship of his; he always acted weird about it. 

"See you tomorrow then." She and MJ start to move again. "Take care." 

Peter's eyes follow her as they leave. He takes a deep breath and turns to the opposite direction. He runs toward a door that reads 'FIRE ESCAPE' and quickly strips down to his boxers. The cold air only greets him for a moment before he puts on his suit, then he's off.

Well, he's supposed to be off. 

His enhanced hearing picks up the sounds of laughter and the splashing of water. Despite his duties, his feet carry him to a glass roof that overlooks his teammates at the pool.

The first thing that captures his attention is the bright red of Sakura's swimsuit. He notes that her hair is once again tied up, revealing the creamy expanse of her neck and shoulders. Her smile is radiant as she flicks water at MJ, who is trying to ignore her. 

His gaze shifts to another girl. Liz sits at the edge of the pool, with a pleased expression as everyone seems to be having fun. He feels guilty to not be a part of it, and for dragging Ned away from a night of enjoyment.

He stands up and puts his mask on. 

Chapter 6: We Met At The Day's End

Notes:

Here's another chapter as a treat for you all! I keep having sudden bursts of motivation to write. Let's hope this continues for a long time!

"I have half a mind to pull you into this pool!"

Strands of wet hair cling to Sakura's face as she eyes the relaxed figure of MJ, who only turns a page purposely loud in response. Huffing, she cups her hands to collect water. She flings it forward to splash against MJ's feet. The next response is a middle finger.

The lights underneath the water reflect off a dreamy glow. Sakura backstrokes away from her friend to join the others in the middle of the pool, engaging in what seems to be a splash war.

A giggle erupts from her chest when she strikes a torrent of water directly at Flash's face. He glares at her, then grins as he enacts his revenge. He isn't all that bad when his mouth is shut, an unfortunate rare occurrence.

She goes to lay on her back and float, but a streak of red and blue prompts her to pause. In an attempt to be inconspicuous, she pushes her head down while her eyes shift at the corners. A familiar face looks down from the glass roof, wearing a sullen frown. He doesn't notice her gaze, and is gone almost as soon she glances at him.

Peter?

It was too quick for her to discern what he was wearing, but something nags at her to follow him. However, by the time she emerges from the pool he most likely would've left already. She doesn't specialize in sensory techniques, and is only adequate at tracking.

But there is another way to get information.

She grabs hold of the bars and pulls herself out of the water. Wrapping her towel around her shoulders, she whispers a quick Be right back! to MJ.

Briefly looking around for cameras, she then conjures a shadow clone and subsequently casts a henge over herself. Her arms snuggle against the warmth of the fading blue hoodie she now wears.

Her clone goes back to join the others while she ventures to Peter and Ned's room.

"Hey, what's up?" She tests with Peter's voice. "Peter Parker picked a peck of pickled peppers." Oh how she could listen to him all d— Not the time!

Bringing a hand up, she raps at the door three times. Almost immediately, it flies open and reveals the expectant face of Ned.

"Why are you back so soon? Did you forget something?" Ned asks her quietly.

She plasters a smile on her – Peter's – face. "Um, yeah. Can I come in for a sec?"

Ned opens the door further and she dashes inside. The room is identical to her and MJ's. A laptop sits open on one of the beds, next to an elliptical object that emits a purple glow. The same malevolent energy she felt earlier surrounds it.

It is not dissimilar to chakra, the life-force energy, but it's imbued with something akin to killing intent.

"Let's go over the plan real quick," she rushes. "Just a refresh of everything."

Ned looks at her in confusion. "You were just here."

"I – I got nervous and blanked so I went back." Her excuse sounds feeble to her ears, but Ned seems to buy it.

"The tracking device stopped at Maryland, so Spider-Man's" – her eyebrows fly up – "going over there to check out the evil lair full of alien weapons" – What the hell? – "ruled by that guy with mech wings" – she tries not to seem flabbergasted – "to investigate what evil things they have planned."

She nods quickly, soaking up the bizarre information. Spider-Man? Peter? Peter's that sticky web guy, Spider-Man?

"Cool, cool, cool."

Ned tells her, "If you're not ready, it's okay, man. No one's forcing you but you."

"You're a good friend, Ned," she says. "You're gonna look back at this later, bring it up to– … me, and laugh nervously."

"What?"

"Gotta go, see ya!"

She dashes out of the room and into the nearest fire escape she can find. There, she stops for a minute or two to process everything. Despite how much distance Peter's constant absences have wedged between them, he's still her friend. And maybe she feels something a little too friendly for him. Knowing there's a high chance she'll be regretting this, she changes her appearance once again.

Gone are Peter's body and clothes, she's back in her own body now with slight alterations to her voice just in case. Clad in a dark green ankle-length cloak and a blank mask, Sakura heads off to Maryland.

It's a complete idiot move, going in blind with no weapons and a vague idea of what's going on, but she wants to finally get to the bottom of Peter.

Err… Okay, maybe that sounds a little weird.

Well past midnight, the streets are void of commuters. Few vehicles litter the road. She stretches her legs, coats it with chakra, and sprints towards Maryland.

Although not exactly the speed she prefers, it enables her to weave through any obstacles she encounters on the road. She tries to get a feel for Peter's chakra signature. It takes her a moment before she locates him on top of a truck. She falls back a distance to avoid alerting him.

Sakura keeps her eyes on the boy in spandex as he jumps to different vehicles now and then. It's nearly half an hour later when he finally jumps off the truck he's on and rolls to a stop on the grass. She hides behind a tree about thirty meters away.

Peter – Spider-Man – crouches behind some vegetation next to a gas station. He jumps gracefully atop the signage. Sakura watches him from the opposite side of the road, taking a peek at what he's looking at and straining her ears. At first, she thinks he's talking to himself, but then a not-quite-human voice responds to him.

"Hey, Suit Lady, what are they doing?"

Her cheeks burn beneath the mask as he squats and gives her an eyeful of his shapely posterior. (She promises she's not a pervert. He just has a nice butt. She appreciates it.)

"Do you wanna hear what they're saying?" It's a feminine voice, robotic in a way.

"I can hear what they're saying? Uh, yeah!"

"Activating Enhanced Reconnaissance Mode."

Sakura moves closer to him while he's distracted. She wonders where he got the suit, almost missing the homemade one he had before. For a reconnaissance mission, Spider-Man isn't so quiet or subtle. Anyone passing by could see him from his position. Not to mention that he keeps on talking, whether to himself or to that lady she's not sure.

She braces herself when he seems to shift, readying himself to spring into action.

With a strange hand sign, he shoots a web.

He falls flat on his face.

Secondhand embarrassment washes over her and she winces when he lets out a loud pained grunt. It's clear to her that, despite being months into his superhero persona, Peter is still quite inexperienced and amateurish.

There's a series of fumbled web-shooting and scrambling, in plain sight of the men he's following, before he hides and climbs on top of the gas station building. It's a miracle how they haven't seen his debacle with the flashing sign.

A line of trucks appear suddenly, followed by something in the sky. It's a winged man covered head-to-toe in leather, with something similar to a heavy-duty gas mask that has glowing green orbs.

The man drops an object on one of the trucks. It causes a purple rectangle to form, and he drops through it and into the truck, leaving behind his pair of mechanical wings attached to the truck by some wires. Sakura stifles a gasp as she recognizes the energy.

She follows the truck while keeping herself hidden in the shadows of the trees. The technology is unlike anything Konoha has.

Spider-Man silently jumps on top of the truck and pokes at the translucent purple energy, then crawls to the side to hide.

The man soon jumps up, this time with a full bag of whatever. Whatever it is, it's not his to take. (She guesses it's probably related to the alien weapons that Ned mentioned.)

Spider-Man slings a web to the bag and brings it to him, at the other side of the rectangle.

"Hey, big bird!" He taunts. "This doesn't belong to you!"

Her cloak whips behind her as she runs, thankfully not loud enough to garner their attention.

'Big Bird' attaches himself to his wings, then lunges at Spider-Man, who ducks and fires a string of web at him. It doesn't do anything, much less stick.

"Suit Lady, what was that!?"

"You told me to choose."

Sakura intercepts the man as he goes after the vigilante once again. She rears her fist back and, with an almost feral growl, punches the winged man's gut.

"Woah." Spider-Man lets out a sound of astonishment behind her.

Wavering in the air, the man is forced back about ten feet before he regains control of himself. She could almost feel his glare through both of their masks.

Her body is nearly shapeless underneath the cloak. Spider-Man doesn't have a single clue who this person is, especially since they don't seem like the talkative type.

The man flies forward once again, aiming for the boy behind her. He reaches a hand to snag the black duffel bag, almost pulling Spider-Man into the rectangle as he refuses to let go.

Spider-Man yanks it back with a force. He nearly falls off the side of the truck if not for the stickiness of his feet. Sakura grabs him by the arm and throws him to the other side.

Any sound the vigilante makes is hard to make out against the wind. He clutches the bag to his chest and jumps off the moving truck.

Hoping her friend flees, Sakura reinforces her efforts in bringing down the man. When the purple energy disappears, she slides across the truck underneath him and leaps to latch on his back.

She grits her teeth together as he brings them higher in the air, leaving her feet to dangle.

Her hands reach under his armpits to slap them over either side of his head. As she increases the pressure, she could feel the material of his mask bending under her strength.

Her head bumps hard against a streetlight. It snaps in half, its bulb smashed to bits.

From how close her head is to his, she could hear his noises of pain. The next thing she hears is her gasp for breath when he lets them crash to the side of the road, her back carrying the brunt of the fall.

She's dragged along with whatever move the man makes. Her cloak tears at the friction and soon her flesh leaves trails of crimson.

Unable to hold it in, she lets out a pained cry. "Gah!"

The man takes control of his wings. For retribution, he stomps on her ribs heavily with both feet before taking off. During times like this, she always tries to keep positive.

She's positive she has at least three broken ribs.

The pain doesn't stop her from rolling over, but it prevents her from standing up again. She could only watch helplessly as he, rather shakily, retreats with the help of his wings.

Sakura doesn't know how much time has passed when suddenly she feels Peter's chakra signature right next to her.

She squints up at him through the holes of her mask. He waves his hand in front of her. He seems to be talking, but it's almost like she's under water. She can't understand a word he's saying.

Spider-Man, sans the black duffel bag and faded yellow backpack, shakes his head. He pulls his mask up to his nose. She reads his lips.

"Whatever you do, don't close your eyes!"

Nodding weakly, she lets him pick her up on his back. He forces her hands together around his neck and she tightens her hold. He makes that same peculiar hand sign from earlier, only this time it successfully latches on a tree. Like a slingshot, the web brings them to it.

Webbed secure to the trunk are both of the bags. He lands them on a branch that's big enough to handle their weight.

Sakura slumps forward, and he frantically pulls her to his chest before she can fall. He carefully leans her against the tree. He brings his face within her eyesight.

"You're okay, you're safe now, alright? Can you hear me now?"

She nods, closing her eyes. But even though she's still wearing her mask, he seems to know. "Don't close your eyes! You might have a concussion."

She's disappointed with herself. Her body cannot keep up with the strain of the last hour, but thankfully no secondary memories rush to her so she knows that her clone is still with MJ.

Bringing up her hands in an attempt to calm the vigilante, she pushes herself up. She asks hoarsely, "Are you hurt anywhere?"

"What?" Spider-Man looks at her incredulously. This person who looks like they just got ran over is asking him if he's okay? "Don't worry about me, worry about you! You've lost a lot of blood from the looks of it."

Sakura shakes her head and brings his ear closer to her lips. "I can heal you."

"No," he denies her offer. "Save your strength."

Her hands once again glowing green, she instead brings it up to the wounds on her back. If only there were blood-replenishing pills in this reality…

The white eyes of his suit seem to widen as her skin knits itself back together. "That's so cool!"

When her wounds are fully healed, she brings her head back to stare at the stars. She shivers as the wind blows, still weak from the blood loss. He takes out his Decathlon jacket and blue hoodie from his backpack and wraps both around her quivering body, layering them.

"Hey, Suit Lady, can you please check their vitals?" Spider-Man speaks to the voice in his suit again.

"Certainly," she affirms. A beat, then, "Four fractured ribs: one on her left side, and three on her right. Approximately 27% of blood has been lost. If the average human loses more than 40% of their blood, death is imminent."

This piece of information seems to distress her friend. "Death?! No, no, no… This is all my fault! I shouldn't have left them alone with the bad guy."

"I would recommend several blood transfusions."

Sakura breathes heavily, each breath like a stab to her chest. "N-No need. Please, just give me a few hours to rest. I'll heal myself. Thank you for saving me, I can take it from here."

"Save you? I left you to fend for yourself!" Peter still hasn't pulled his mask back down. He bites his lip as he considers what to do, and her eyes zero on that single course of action. "I'll stay with you until you can heal yourself. Then I'll leave."

Despite her urging for him to leave her, she feels relieved to hear his words.

"I still can't let you go to sleep yet, though," he continues. "I'm not entirely sure how concussions work, but in the movies it's generally frowned up."

Huffing, she hesitantly traces the hood of her cloak. Miraculously, it had stayed up even after everything. "Okay. Talk to me, because otherwise I might die of boredom instead."

"That wouldn't be ideal. Uh–so, you got a name?"

She holds out her hand to signify stop. "My name is not important."

"Well, people call my Spider-Man," he offers. "That's 'Spider' hyphen 'Man' just in case you were wondering."

"I wasn't."

He laughs nervously, "Right." He gulps before continuing. "How about we name my suit's AI?"

"Is that who you were talking to earlier?" She asks curiously.

Nodding, he twiddles his thumbs together. "I kinda feel bad for calling her Suit Lady, you know? I think I should probably give her a name. Like Sakura…"

At the mention of her name, she snaps to attention.

"No, no, no. That's–that's weird. Probably." He groans, putting his head on his gloved hands.

"Why would that be weird?"

Peter peaks over his fingers to look at her blank mask. "She's my… friend." He notices that her voice is slowly starting to lose its croaky quality.

She tilts her head. "That's weird?"

"Considering the fact that I like her, yeah."

Butterflies flood into her stomach, almost overpowering the sharp pain in her chest as she nearly chokes in surprise.

"But then there's this other girl, Liz… I kinda like her too."

Trying not to sound dejected, she says, "Oh. Then I guess both those names are out."

"Yeah," he smiles as he looks down at the forest floor several meters below. Sakura wonders which girl he's thinking of when he smiles like that.

He perks up. "How about Karen?"

"It sounds nice," she replies.

'Karen's voice joins them with a hum. "You can call me Karen, if you'd like."

"We still have to name you, though." Peter points at Sakura. "I'm gonna quickfire a bunch of names and you just let me know if you like any."

She nods, not as pumped as he is about this naming game.

"Stronghold." – "No."

"Badass." – "No."

"The Hooded Bandit." – "I'm not a bandit."

"Hooded Healer?" – "No alliterations."

"Shadow Hunter." – "Cheesy."

"Treehopper." – "Hell no."

"Green Medic?" – "No."

"How about Suckerpunch? That was the very first thing I saw you do when we met." Peter finally suggests something semi-decent.

Sakura thinks about it. "I'm not opposed to it." The first two syllables are rather similar to her real name's, but as long as she keeps up with her clones then her identity shouldn't be a problem.

"Great!" He grins widely. Only then does he remember that his mask is still pulled up. He gives her one last smile before his mouth is covered.

She misses it already.

 

 

 

 

Suckerpunch's shoulders are beginning to droop. Peter grasps for a new topic to keep her from falling asleep. "You from around here?"

"Not really, no. But you're not from around here either, huh, Spider-Man? Here for superhero business?"

Trying not to sound nervous, he tells her, "Yeah, you could say that." He clears his throat. "Thank you for helping me with that bad guy, by the way. I know you were probably wondering what the hell was going on, but thank you."

"It's no problem at all, seriously. It's my social responsibility to help people in need, you know?"

He nods at her words, grateful she understood. "Exactly."

A pleasant silence stretches between the two of them. He's busy fiddling with his webshooters, looking through the various options. He sorta feels overwhelmed, but there's no way he'll admit it to anyone.

While he asks Karen about the refresher course of the suit, Suckerpunch sits there almost motionlessly. If not for her irregular breathing, he would've thought she was asleep. As if she feels his stare, her head turns to face him and he snaps his head back forward as fast as he can. There might be a tinge of red on his cheeks due to embarrassment.

Something about her feels familiar.

He wants to talk more, because she's so interesting, but there's not much to talk about between two virtual strangers with secret identities.

Peter's mouth stretches wide in a yawn as exhaustion finally hits him. He rubs his eyes through the mask and stretches out his joints.

"If you're tired, I can keep watch for the first two hours," his companion offers. "Karen can take over while you're asleep."

"Nah, I'm fine. I've had my fair share of all-nighters. I once stayed up to write a paper about sleep deprivation."

She snorts at this.

After a while, he decides to check out what the bird man was planning on stealing.

He cuts down the duffel bag's web before he falls deeper into his tiredness. The first thing his hand comes into contact with is some spare parts, then a helmet/mask thing, until finally he grasps another glowy thing like the one Ned currently has in his possession.

Suckerpunch watches him as he does so, which is pretty unnerving with that creepy mask she has on.

"Hey, it's like the glowy thing. I have another, my friend has it," he explains to the cloaked individual. "We don't really know what it is, but we're hoping to find out."

"Don't you feel that weird energy leaking off of it?" She leans closer to examine it in his hands.

He turns it over his hands, as if looking for what she's referring to. "I guess. I have this tingle sense thing that alerts me to danger, and it kinda makes my sense buzz. It's like static."

"That weird glowy thing," the AI interjects, "is an explosive Chitauri energy core."

At this revelation, Peter tries to drop it as softly as he can back in the duffel bag, inching away from it. "You mean we've been carrying around a bomb!?"

Karen's voice is calm. "It would require radiation to transform it into an explosive state."

Peter grapples for his backpack, bringing out his phone only to be greeted with no signal.

"Why do you even have that thing in the first place?!"

"I have to get back to my friend!"

"Wait!" She grabs him by the wrist before he can websling away. "I'm coming with you. We have to dispose of the bombs safely."

"I'm all for teamwork, but if you lose any more blood you'll probably die!"

She shakes her head stubbornly. "This is nothing. Take. Me. With. You."

Her grip on his wrist becomes way too tight before she lets it go. (He could almost hear his bones squeak in protest.)

Very much intimidated, Peter concedes and holds his hands up as if to placate her. "Fine, but don't haunt me if you die. Can you stand up?"

Suckerpunch takes one bag over each shoulder, while Peter carries her on his back again. The sky is starting to brighten, while birds begin to chirp. He still has a few hours to take care of this whole situation before the Decathlon competition takes place.

The tall trees around this area provide him with an easier setting for his webs. He swings, he jumps, he leaps for third the time it took to get there in the first place by truck.

His companion gets off his back when they finally land on top of the United States of Academic Decathlon building.

He directs her to the fire escape, where thankfully no one is loitering in. "Wait here. I'll be back with the Chitauri core."

 

 

 

 

She has barely nodded when he zips past her. Sakura uses this moment to dispel the clone currently sleeping. The rush of memories don't hurt as much as they used to.

Sakura hoists Cindy over her shoulders. Her fellow half-Asian shrieks in delight as they battle against Flash who has Abe on his shoulders.

Next.

When MJ finally puts her book down, Sakura sees her opportunity. With a battle cry, she charges at the taller girl and brings them both underwater. She is snorting gleefully while MJ whacks her behind the head.

Next.

"Make way!" She shouts, going as far as she can from the pool. Then, she runs back, performing a perfectly executed flip into the pool. Everyone cheers.

Next.

Although not close with the senior girl, Sakura strikes a conversation with Liz about the upcoming sites they could go to after the Decathlon competition the next day. Liz is simply too nice to hate over a boy.

And finally.

"What the hell did you say, you punk?" She roars. The pool is silent at last, while everyone eyes the two in front half in anticipation and half in fear.

Flash puffs his chest and lords the extra height he has over her. "You heard me, Whore-uno."

The juvenile nickname he has for her doesn't faze her, no. It was what he said before.

"Pathetic Penis Parker doesn't deserve his spot on the team. Mr. Harrington probably feels sad for the little orphan." He chuckles. "That's the only reason he gets to come and go as he pleases."

Her green eyes look almost like acid in her anger. "You'll shut that thing you call your mouth if you know what's good for you. Not only does it spew shit, it smells like it too."

Everyone exchanges a shocked look with one another, even MJ who doesn't expect this personality shift of her best friend's.

Flash scoffs. "Or what?"

Sakura, too enraged to even think of the consequences, corners him to the wall. His sneer falters in his face, showing a hint of fear. She whispers to him menacingly, "You'll see. Try me."

She grabs her towel off a chair and marches away.

MJ snaps into action, taking her stuff and running after Sakura. Everyone else is too shocked to move, still processing what just happened.

When MJ catches up to her in their room, she whirls Sakura to face her. "What happened over there?" She demanded.

"Flash is a dick, through and through." Sakura's nostrils flare.

"You're an idiot," MJ tells her.

"An idiot or a loyal friend?"

"Definitely an idiot."

Of course her clone is as reckless and hot-headed as she is. She thought she had finally managed her anger for the most part, especially since this reality's Sakura is a lot more peaceful than her other self, but alas.

Sighing, another shadow clone pops up and immediately goes back to their room. Her chakra is way, way low. Last night was the most strenuous thing this body had ever experienced, and it shows. She'll see how much she regains in the next few hours before she tries to replenish her blood and heal her ribs.

The Flash situation from last night is still fresh on her mind, but she doesn't regret it.

Not one bit.

Notes:

Comments are always appreciated! I also look forward to any criticism :)

Chapter 7: Hope Dangling By A String

Notes:

Hey! I'm trying to post at least once a week now. This one's a bit shorter than the last one. Do you prefer long or short chapters? Let me know! Also I edited something from the first chapter due to continuity error; I said Spider-Man saved her, but then I contradict myself in the second chapter when I said he was currently in Germany when she first got into a coma. That's all - enjoy!

The wall is cool against the skin of her cheek.

Exhaustion dripping from her pores, she lightly runs her fingers over her ribs. They beg for her to unleash her healing chakra upon them, the pain only making it harder for her to ignore the stench of blood caking her back.

Sakura doesn't know how long she sits there waiting for the boy in red and blue.

Spider-Man.

Although familiar with his heroic deeds, it was only last night that she saw him in person. The revelation of his secret identity has her reviewing Peter's constant tardiness and shifty behavior from the past year.

Now that she thinks about it, Spider-Man did first appear just as Peter distanced himself from their group. Even Ned had complained about it. She first thought that this was due to her, that maybe Peter was getting freaked out by how quickly they became close after she transferred last year.

It was hard to talk to him about it because he often left her texts on read, and always left classes as soon as they were dismissed. Just as she decided to confront him, his Uncle Ben… perished. No, he was murdered. Sakura didn't know the details, but she had heard a carjacker did it. To this day, he's still on the loose.

She couldn't find the right timing after that.

The distance between them seemed longer than ever, until one day they bumped into each other.

Sakura waved goodbye to MJ as they separated ways at the corner of the street, right next to an electronic store. She sips the last drops in her coffee cup as she stops at an alleyway. (It was probably too late in the day for coffee, but she was planning on staying up to finish a paper.)

Launching the cup at the dumpster, she turns to leave when an indignant Hey! stops her. She turned before she could recognize the voice, but by then it was already too late.

A head popped up from inside the dumpster. Choking in the middle of his sentence, Peter dropped back inside.

Sakura spluttered in shock.

Part of her considered bolting. Part of her wanted to walk right up to him and force him to talk to her. She blurted out, "Sorry!"

"It's fine," he muttered.

"What?"

"I said it's fine!" Peter repeated in a louder voice.

"Okay," she said. "... What are you doing?"

It was silent for a while. Sakura wondered if he didn't hear her or perhaps he was ignoring her. Hesitant steps took her to the dumpster, where Peter sat amidst broken computer parts.

He stared hard at the circuit board in his hands, which began to tremble when she appeared beside him.

"Peter, are you okay?" She asked.

"Yeah. Of course."

He still wouldn't look at her. She was glad that he at least replied; it was the first time they've spoken to each other in weeks. She wanted to be mad at him, but after what he had to go through recently it felt incredibly selfish.

Taking a deep breath, she pushed his chin up to face her. He jerked when she did, almost hitting the back of his head on the wall of the dumpster. Like magnets, his eyes sought hers. "I'm sorry," she said, "for not being there for you."

He started to shake his head, but she interrupted him. "I was mad at you at first, because we don't walk him together anymore or talk on the phone before falling asleep. We don't smile at each other in the hallways or have movie marathons every week. I waited for you to apologize so that we could go back to the way things were before…"

Peter's undivided attention almost made her drop her hand, but he took it in his and nodded for her to continue. "But then I realized that communication is a two-way street. And I should've tried to talk to you sooner."

He gripped tightly at the softness of her fingers, kneeling atop the garbage to come closer to her. Sakura squeaked as his surprisingly firm arms enveloped her frame.

Her fabric across her shoulder soon became damp. He burrowed his head further into her neck. Blinking her watery eyes quickly, she rubbed his back in comfort while he sank into her embrace.

"I'm so sorry, Peter. Everything's going to be okay."

She had coaxed him out of the dumpster soon after and they talked it out at a nearby ice cream store. It turned out that sharing a big bowl of ice cream was perfect for a cathartic conversation. They left the store with sticky fingers, full stomachs, wide smiles, and a promise to meet up again the next day.

They never did get to meet.

That day, Peter was once again nowhere to be seen at their meeting place. And it was on that day that she fell into a coma.

Now here she is, waiting almost an hour for him.

It seems even 'Suckerpunch' couldn't escape from his flightiness.

Sweat builds up on her forehead as she breathes in short pants. That clone switch took a lot out of her chakra reserves which is admittedly not much in the other reality, moreso in this body. It's only a matter of time until her henge slips.

Where the hell is Peter?

 

 

 

 

Peter flinches when someone in dark green walks by. Chewing his lip nervously, he palms the Chitauri core through the pocket of his decathlon jacket. The other one sits in Ned's own pocket.

Despite his guilt at ditching Suckerpunch, he's relieved to not miss the Decathlon.

He leaves his bag with the rest of the team's personal belongings, guarded by Mr. Harrington. He almost bumps into Sakura, whose phone slips from her hold. Peter instinctively catches it with one hand, the other landing on her waist.

"Sorry!" He wrenches his hand back. "Here's your phone."

She takes it with a small upturn of her lips. "Thanks. I'd say good luck, but I don't think you'll be needing it."

"You too," he says.

His eyes follow her as they surrender their phones to the staff and go inside the auditorium. It's only when the competition starts that he focuses his gaze at the front.

Hours ago, he had woken Ned up as soon as he changed out of his suit and explained to him what the glowy thing really was. Peter had also told him about the mysterious masked person who helped him against the bird man but Ned, unlike Peter, was instantly suspicious of the masked person's motives.

Ned thinks that she wants to use the Chitauri core for her own nefarious plans. Although Peter doesn't share the same opinion, he knows that Ned's got a point and that he can be a bit naive at times.

So he left an injured person behind.

But she said she could heal herself, Peter says to himself, She's probably already up running around punching bad guys and helping ungrateful strangers like me.

The competition goes on without a hitch, with MJ securing their win. He almost feels like a normal teenager again when they all jump into a group hug, Sakura smiling at him the way she used to before everything fell apart.

If his touch lingers on her back for a few seconds longer after the hug, no one seems to notice.

Today is turning out to be one of the best days of his life.

 

 

 

 

Today is turning out to be one of the worst days of her life.

Sakura wakes up hours later, miraculously with her henge still intact but with no sign of the vigilante. The sunlight filters through the window of the fire escape. The angle of the shadows tells her that the competition must be over already.

She knows that Peter doesn't recognize who she actually is, but it still stings that he left her despite knowing how much blood she lost.

Taking a moment to reinforce the henge, she then catalogues her injuries and—after checking her chakra reserves—heals them all. She also heals that pounding headache of hers.

Sakura supposes she could give him the benefit of doubt… for now.

If he wants to do it all himself, she would let him.

She shunshins successfully back to her and MJ's room, startling a surprised yell out of her friend when she poofs into existence. Cherry blossoms swirl around her and litter the floor. Not missing a beat, Sakura dispels her clone and henge, then jumps on the bed. She almost groans as her back meets the mattress.

"Has that been your clone the entire competition?" MJ exclaims. She glances incredulously at the petals.

"Yes and no," Sakura replies. "You've been with a clone since my bathroom break last night. Which reminds me—I didn't threaten Flash! Not technically!"

MJ scoffs at this. "Then why was he glaring daggers into not only you but Peter as well? I don't think the loser even noticed. He was too busy making googly eyes at your clone. Which reminds me: why the need for the clone?"

"He was NOT making googly eyes at me! Did you see how red he got when Liz complimented him?"

"Of course I did, I even got a sketch of his face." She shows Sakura, who takes a moment to appreciate it. "But you didn't see him sniffing your hair. It's a bit creepy."

Sakura throws a shoe over at MJ, who barely dodges. "Enough about that! I had a clone take my place because I was busy stopping a guy with mechanical wings from stealing alien weapons. Then I passed out from exhaustion."

She mentions neither Spider-Man nor Peter. He has his reasons for keeping his identity secret, as did she.

"Cool."

"Congrats on winning us the competish," she says. "What's up next on our itinerary?"

"Mr. Harrington's giving us time to rest before we head on to some tourist spots. First up is the Washington Monument, but I don't feel like entering a monument built by slaves."

"Oh, I'll keep you company."

MJ shakes her head. "Nahh, you can go on ahead. Can't let your clone have all the fun, right?"

"I regain every memory my clones have, you know."

"Can't imagine secondhand memories to be all that fulfilling. You gotta be there in the moment yourself, experience it firsthand."

"I think you just want to see what happens when I'm left in a small metal box with Flash."

"You know me so well."

"Do you think Peter knows what happened? Or Ned?"

MJ shrugs as she checks her watch for the time. "Those two losers are in a world of their own."

"Do you think Peter'll get turned off?" Sakura asks worriedly. "Guys don't like girls like that, do they?"

"Looks like we'll have to find out. It's time to assemble," MJ says. She ties her jacket around the waist, while Sakura lets hers hang over her shoulders.

They both left their bags, preferring to not lug them around while they flitted from tourist spot to another. MJ carries a book along as they filter out and join up with the other decathletes.

It feels like deja vu when Sakura's eyes meet with Peter, but this time she looks away and sticks close to MJ.

Her friend notices this and nudges her with a questioning look. Sakura shakes her head and twines their arms together. "It's nothing."

It's not like Peter left me behind, she thinks. Spider-Man left Suckerpunch behind. Still a dick move though.

All Sakura wants to do is sleep the rest of the day away.

Everyone else is loudly talking to each other, their morale at an all-time high. Flash seems to be the loudest even though he barely had anything to contribute. He clutches the trophy to his chest like it's his firstborn child.

"You sure you don't mind?" Sakura asks MJ.

"Need to catch up on my reading anyway."

Sakura lingers beside her until she sees Peter break away from the rest and go towards them. "On second thought, see ya later."

He opens his mouth to greet her, but she pushes past him. A mixture of hurt and confusion paints his face. She hears him ask MJ, "What's up with her?"

She goes through the full body scanner, then joins the others in the elevator just as the doors start to close. Flash scowls at her when she bumps into him. Sakura returns an even darker look. He proudly caresses the trophy. 

Next to her, Ned rolls his eyes. He and Sakura exchange glances in a moment of Flash-is-a-dick solidarity.

Sakura clears her throat to get Flash's attention. "Do you know how stupid you look carrying around that trophy which you barely had to work for?"

Ned whispers to her, "He looks like a squire ordered by his knight to carry his winnings."

"I think he resembles a donkey forced to carry his owner's wares."

Mr. Harrington shushes them, although Sakura catches a glint of amusement through his glasses. "Let the tour guide speak, guys."

The tour guide in question looks like she would rather be anywhere else.

Sakura could relate. But anywhere's better than standing next to Peter, for the moment.

Her clone from earlier only had the original's memories from the point of casting the jutsu, so the clone didn't know that Peter had left Sakura behind.

He must be feeling whiplash from my shift in mood. But why should I feel guilty when he doesn't?

As the tour guide drones on, regurgitating information Sakura already read about, a purplish glow in Ned's backpack has her bristling in anger. Not only had Peter left her behind, he didn't dispose of the Chitauri cores thereby endangering them all!

Her hands curl into a fist as she takes in slow deep breaths. Calm down. The Suit Lady—Karen—said only radiation would trigger it to explode.

Her eyes widen in realization. The x-ray! Surely Peter would've realized they have radiation? But it has been a while since their items were scanned; maybe it doesn't emit enough radiation to trigger an explosion.

Just then, as if to make matters worse, the tour guide says, "The enormous volume of marble and granite that make up the Washington Monument all contain natural radioactive particles."

Fuck. This day just got a whole lot worse.

 

 

 

 

Peter scratches his head in confusion when Sakura runs away from him. He turns to MJ, who smirks at him, and asks, "What's up with her?"

"The English language cannot accurately describe the complexity of Sakura's mind," MJ replies. She gestures for him to take a seat. "Why aren't you with the others?"

"I was kinda hoping I could talk with Sak, but she seems a little annoyed with me for some reason."

He sighs and stares at the tall obelisk, admiring its sunlit visage as clouds slowly drift by. He fiddles with the straps of his backpack. "You were great out there, by the way."

"You too, nerd. See how fun Decathlon can be when you actually attend?"

Peter nods, smiling. He really does miss it. Maybe he can try to fit it more into his Spider-Man schedule?

Something nags at him. He feels like he's forgetting something.

"Did you know that Washington DC is fairly radioactive? The soil, pavement, and granite all contain low levels of radiation." MJ flips through her book as she says this little factoid.

Alarmed, Peter jumps up. "Radiation?! But it's just low levels, right?"

MJ squints suspiciously at him. "Actually, radiation levels increase with height. Don't you know about cosmic rays?"

He neglects to reply, too preoccupied with staring at the monument's full height of 555 feet. He gropes around his bag for the Chitauri cores and, when he only finds one, realizes that Ned still has the other core.

Peter whips around to fake a grin at her. "Of course! Cosmic rays—I could talk about them all day! Speaking of radiation, I gotta go take a leak."

Flabbergasted, MJ asks, "What kind of urine do you have?" But Peter is long gone, already looking for a porta potty.

He covers his face before he goes inside, just in case people see him. When he reemerges, it's as Spider-Man. (A little girl shrieks at his appearance.)

Spider-Man shoots a web at a tree and slingshots himself towards the monument as far as he can. He runs the rest of the way there and reappears next to MJ just as a rumble goes through the building. He looks on in terror while MJ notices him.

"My friends are up there!" She points upward.

In a deeper baritone, he says, "Don't worry, ma'am, everything's going to be okay."

Spider-Man pushes through the growing crowd and jumps, sticking to the side of the building. With his enhanced hearing, the frightened screams of his classmates seem louder than they really are.

 

 

 

 

Sakura recognizes the signs as soon as the anxiety attack hits. Although not at all close with Charles, the bespectacled member of the Decathlon team, she has frequently partnered with him for projects in the past.

She motions for the others to stay close to the walls. "Don't crowd him! Nobody touch him! He's having an anxiety attack."

Charles has his head bowed with his hands over his ears, hyperventilating as the elevator screeches with every slight movement. Sakura could see him attempting to breathe evenly.

"Listen to me, Charles," she says softly. "Can you breathe with me? Let's set a rhythm, okay?"

She's closer to him than everybody else, but still maintains a few feet distance. She proceeds to inhale and exhale deeply, satisfied when Charles follows along.

"That's it, Charles. Slow and steady. The staff will be here shortly and we'll be out in no time. Do you feel cold? No? Okay, are you thirsty?"

When he nods, she glances around to silently ask for a bottle of water. Mr. Harrington throws her his tumbler in a panic, which she catches with ease.

As Charles gulps down the water, the tour guide speaks up to calm everyone. "I know that was scary, but our safety systems are working. We're very safe in here."

A voice calls out to them, "Everybody okay down there?"

Sakura locks her hands together to help the tour guide open the escape hatch. She keeps her feet shoulder-width apart.

One by one, she hoists the rest of the team up with Charles as the priority. Mr. Harrington and Liz hover nearby just in case anyone slips. Sakura can hear the loud spinning blades of a helicopter somewhere outside, along with someone shouting through a megaphone.

She makes a face when Flash rushes for his turn, briefly considering dropping him as the trophy comes close to stabbing her face. She decides on jostling him pettily.

"Don't worry about the trophy!" Liz admonishes him.

Flash's frantic climbing causes the elevator to groan and slide down further, inciting yells from everyone. Two staff members pull Flash up.

Then, the elevator drops.

Four of them—her, Liz, Mr. Harrington and Ned—remain inside, with everyone except Sakura screaming. Her brain is at an overdrive, trying to think of a solution to save everyone. Just as she's about to grab everyone and attempt to shunshin them out, something stops the elevator.

They drop unsteadily to the floor. Hair sticking to her sweaty face, Sakura lets out a relieved sigh.

Suddenly, they're falling once more. But only for a while.

Spider-Man appears through the escape hatch and lands on his back. This causes the elevator to continue its descent yet again.

He shoots a web outside the hatch and finally the elevator is suspended. Sakura shies away from him when he glances at her, unsure if he'll recognize her as Suckerpunch.

"Hey, how you doin'?" He says in a thick New York accent. "Don't worry about it, I got'chu."

Ned hollers in excitement, jumping. "Yes. Yes!"

Sakura feels queasy when the elevator shudders. She clamps a hand over her mouth.

"Hey. Hey, hey, hey, big guy! Quit moving around!"

"Sorry, sir. So sorry."

Spider-Man grunts as he pulls at the thick strands of web, slowly bringing the elevator to the closest set of doors. "Alright, this is your stop. Go, go, go, go! Everybody out!"

Sakura lets everyone ahead of her go to safety. When only her and Liz are left, Sakura hears the elevator ceiling crack under Spider-Man's feet and swiftly pushes Liz towards the outstretched arms of their teacher.

Liz screams as Mr. Harrington catches her, eyes teary when the elevator plummets with Sakura still inside.

"Sakura!"

Adrenaline causes her legs to lock up, and so her jump isn't high enough for her to grasp Spider-Man's gloved hand.

In a flash, the floor of the elevator disappears beneath her feet. She's left hanging literally by a thread. She tightens her hand around the web as Spider-Man pulls her towards him.

He takes her hand firmly in his and guides her to Mr. Harrington.

"So, uhh—is everyone okay?"

Placing her hand over her thundering heart, Sakura nods and smiles at him in gratitude. Then, her ears pick up Karen's voice.

"This is your chance, Peter. Kiss her."

Sakura freezes at this and stares into the white eyes of his suit. Would he really?

He stares right back at her.

His web breaks.

Spider-Man falls headlong into the shadows down below, followed by a little spider-shaped drone.

"Thank you!" Mr. Harrington says belatedly.

Flash pulls her away from the open doors, leaning down to yell at the disappearing vigilante, "Are you really friends with Peter Parker?"

Sakura wants to kick him.

Chapter 8: Why Do We Have To Be Enemies?

Notes:

Thank you so much for your feedback! I’ll try to do my best to write more about Sakura and Peter's thoughts and feelings during their POVs, and sorry I’m updating so late! But keep an eye out for the next chapter, which I’ll hopefully be posting before December.

The ride back to Queens is mostly silent, with Sakura shooting Charles worried looks now and then to see how he's festering after the whole elevator debacle. Not everyone in the bus was unfortunate enough to be caught in the middle of it, but looking up at the monument outside knowing your schoolmates are in grave danger can be hard to process. Eventually, when one of them–Sakura thinks it must be Flash when she sees the trophy waving about at the front–loudly exclaims, "I just met Spider-Man!"

Just like that, the silence is broken and everyone is chattering to one another about their experience.

"I almost threw up when it happened—"

"—oh my god, we almost died!"

"Lucky I didn't join you guys—"

"—my mom's been calling me every thirty minutes..."

The cacophony of voices makes her wince and rub her head, still exhausted from last night and today's stressful experience. She's seated at the back of the bus, away from MJ who only nodded at her in understanding when she passed by.

Her ribs still ache underneath her shirt, her healing skills not quite up to par with her other self. She doesn't try to heal it again, knowing she must conserve her chakra. It would be best to practice first, anyway.

She gazes out the window as the sky turns orange. The color reminds her of her teammate, Naruto. He brings with him memories of a place called Konoha, and flashes of people – Kakashi, Ino, Yamato, Sai, Shizune, Tsunade, Sasuke'sbleedingeye andthechirpofathousandbirds—

Sakura whimpers.

"Sak, hey."

She jumps and grasps tightly at the hand on her shoulder. Peter stares at her wide-eyed, and she lets go in a panic. With a pained smile, Sakura says, "You startled me."

He goes to sit beside her and she wills away the memories to think about later. She gulps when his knee bumps into hers.

The sudden warmth of his presence brings comfort to her.

"How are you holding up?"

"I'm doing fine," she says.

"What are you doing back here?" He asks her softly, the tender look on his face making her heart skip a beat. "All by yourself?"

(She remembers someone who used to have the same effect on her, but he never cared about her like Peter did.)

Shrugging, Sakura crosses her arms, chewing on her bottom lip.

"Just thinking. What happened today was… I'm just tired. What about you? Where were you when it all went down?" She asks him, but of course she already knew. Except she wasn't supposed to know.

Peter is such an open book that she wonders how she didn't notice before what an awful liar he is. He can't stop fidgeting when he answers, "I had to go to the bathroom."

Rather belatedly, that's when she feels that same pulsating energy of a Chitauri core. Her eyes drop to the bag on the seat next to Peter, then flicks back to those soft brown eyes.

Distrust and betrayal comes over her. Sakura leans back, her voice sarcastic, "Riiight."

Peter furrows his eyebrows in confusion, and she's such a hormonal teenager that she inwardly gushes at how cute he is while still inwardly seething in anger.

"If you don't mind, I want to take a nap."

"Sure," he says hesitantly. His eyes search her for any hint of deceit. "I'll just be over there. With Ned. If you need me. Just–text me if you need anything, alright?"

Not likely.

"Okay."

He coughs into his hand awkwardly. "Right, I'll be going now…"

She turns back to the window, pretending not to notice how forlorn his trudge back to his seat is.

Her head is jumbled all over. Would a journal help her sort her memories better? She rests her head on the window, closes her eyes and misses the warmth next to her. She plugs her ears and listens to instrumental music in an effort to ease the headaches.

Again, the images of her precious people from the other reality cloud her mind but although she longs to reach out to them she knows she's alone in her head. Is there even a way to go back? Does she even want to go back? Here, she can't even protect anyone properly, not with this body. But something seems to tether her to this place.

Kizashi and Mebuki had pelted missed calls one after the other to her phone while everything went down back at the monument, televised nationwide with great scrutiny largely due to Spider-Man's presence. Everyone was confused as to why he would be in Washington when Queens was his territory, and netizens speculated theories ranging from Avenger missions to causing the whole thing himself for attention. Only Sakura knew the truth.

Finding out his identity had surprised her, but she understood. When you have the power to protect, people with the power to harm would flock to you and everyone around you. What she couldn't understand is why he would ignore her idea to dispose of the cores and instead recklessly carry around such volatile objects. Even after a demonstration of its danger, Peter still has the other core with him.

She wants to trust that he can handle it, having been in the streets for months now, but maybe he's not ready for such a responsibility.

Sakura regrets snubbing him, since she's blown her chance to take the core. Perhaps there is another way?

She considers disguising as Sucker Punch later at night to shadow Spider-Man, but there's no guarantee that he would be bringing the core with him to patrol. Still, it's worth a shot.

When the bus slows to a stop outside Midtown High, she shakes herself out of her thoughts. A crowd is waiting for them, and she sees her parents and brother surge forward as the bus doors open.

"Sakura!" Her father takes her into his protective embrace. Beside him, her mother is sniffling, slightly tear-eyed in her worry. Daiki latches onto her as soon as Kizashi lets her go.

"Were you one of the students inside the elevator?" Mebuki asks, voice trembling. Sakura can see her still in her lab coat.

She nods and is crushed into another tight hug. Her brother doesn't seem to want to let her go.

Sakura is briefly distracted when she catches sight of Peter with Aunt May, but she stubbornly looks away when he glances back. She waves goodbye at MJ as she and her family leave to go home.

They pass by Charles, being interviewed by Betty Brant for the school news. He's flailing his arms around and talking excitedly, much better than the condition he was in before. He smiles at her in gratitude when he sees her, to which she nods and smiles back.

Betty turns to her, brightening. "Hey, Sakura! Care for an interview? I heard you were—"

Sakura cuts her off, shaking her head vehemently. "Oh, no, I'd rather not."

The blond seems to want to continue persuading her, but a look from Sakura instead has her saying, "No problem! Take care."

The Haruno family pile into their small car and arrive back home without any trouble. Sakura is about to head over to her room, an excuse at the tip of her tongue, but one look at her brother has her hesitating.

That's right, I promised to hang out with him after the Decathlon event.

Conflicted, as she has planned on tracking down Spider-Man during his nightly patrols, she says, "I'll just freshen myself up a bit."

Kizashi nods as he and Mebuki head to the kitchen. "We'll call you down when dinner's ready."

Daiki sits at the living room and gazes at her hopefully. "Pick a movie, I'll be back in a jiffy."

Sakura rushes to her room and feels for her chakra. With such strain in a short amount of time, it's only about a half full, but she figures that one clone wouldn't hurt. Plus, she plans on not wasting anymore chakra until she can work on increasing it.

One clone and henge later, she's off.

Next time, Daiki, she silently promises as she lands outside her window. She didn't really like using clones for things other than training or missions, as she thinks life is meant to be experienced firsthand.

She makes a stop at Peter's apartment window first. Quickly checking for his signature and finding none, she slides it open and enters his room.

Everything is in a state of disorganized order.

Various appliance components litter his desk, pieces of crumpled paper overflow in the bin, some clothes don't quite make it into the hamper.

There's a photograph of them on his nightstand. They're with Ned and MJ, but Peter has his arm around her and they have matching grins on their faces. She lingers on this before reminding herself of the task at hand.

She can't feel the energy of the core anywhere, but still makes the effort to look around.

When it's clear that he brought the core with him in his nightly duties, she gives up and leaves the same way she entered.

The moon lights up the streets as she darts from shadow to shadow. It's late enough to not be wandering off to yourself. Many are in bed at this time, but New York isn't called the City That Never Sleeps for nothing.

Sucker Punch spends hours looking for the vigilante in blue and red. She yawns quietly behind her mask as she sticks to the side of a building, in an alleyway.

If I don't see him in the next thirty minutes, I swear I'm sneaking into his room.

As if the spirits heard her, a man in a muscle shirt and a woman with bright yellow highlights stumble out of a door from which music blares out. They both lean into a kiss. From where she's hanging, it looks consensual but she keeps an eye out.

When they both start undressing each other, it gets too awkward for her.

Okay, spirits, I get it. I have no love life. You don't need to rub it in my face, y'know.

But then the door opens once again.

"What the fuck do you think you're doing with my girlfriend?!"

The woman pulls away from the man, addressing another one who has a large snake tattoo on his right arm. Yellow Highlights sneers at Snake Tattoo, with a rude gesture. "Fuck off, Heath."

Muscle Shirt laughs mockingly at the other man's face. He pulls Yellow Highlights flush to his body, groping her shapely bottom, which she wiggles appreciatively.

"I think I'm about to do her."

This sets Snake Tattoo off.

He lunges at Muscle Shirt–whose pants are down at his ankles, rendering him unable to escape. Yellow Highlights slaps at Snake Tattoo's back, but he's too busy mashing Muscle Shirt's face into the ground.

"Get off of him, asshole!" She shrieks, her hits not even causing him to flinch.

Sucker Punch doesn't really feel like breaking up this fight. For one, it's not any of her business. She'd rather not have a love life if it's as tumultuous as this trio.

Muscle Shirt somehow procures a small knife, but Snake Tattoo unarms him in a quick movement. Yellow Highlights screams when he raises it up threateningly, the knife glinting dangerously.

"Stop it, man, we can talk it out," Muscle Shirt pleads.

In a flash, Sucker Punch jumps off the side of the building, straight for Snake Tattoo. She punches the man in the gut. He stumbles away from the other man. She stabs–with her fingers–at his neck.

Snake Tattoo immediately goes down.

Sucker Punch snatches the knife before the other two could grab it. Yellow Highlights is blubbering as she checks over Muscle Shirt's injuries. He groans pitifully when he's jostled.

The knife is turned over in her hands, the sharp point away from the two lest they think she would hurt them.

Yellow Highlights doesn't seem to think so. "Thank you so much for your help…?" She trails away.

"Call me Sucker Punch." As much of a jerk Peter can be, she's grown rather attached to the name he's given her secret identity.

"Sucker Punch," the woman repeats. "Thank you."

Just then, the man she's been looking for all night long makes his presence known. He does so by stealing the knife in her hands with his webs. Spider-Man quips as he looks over the weapon, "Let me guess… It's not what it looks like?"

Despite his mask, Sucker Punch knows his face drops when she turns around and he recognizes her. She raises her hands to placate him, moving slightly to cover the two still on the ground. "It's not what it looks like."

She leaps upward as Spider-Man unleashes a net of webs. Yellow Highlights shrieks when she and her lover are caught in it, the material of the webs hardening.

"What the heck are you doing here?" Spider-Man splutters, shooting web after web at her.

She dodges each shot gracefully. "I should ask you the same question."

"I work here! Kinda." He flattens to the ground as a trash can flies over his head. "Woah, watch it, will ya?!"

She jumps a few times between the two buildings in the alleyway until she's on the rooftop of one of them. He's behind her in a second, hot on her tail as she leaps from rooftop to rooftop.

"Oh." She considers for a moment. "I should ask you a different question: where is the Chitauri core?"

He neglects to answer her question, bombarding her with his own: "What were you doing back there? Were you mugging them? Seriously?!"

She retorts heatedly, "Do you have selective hearing or did you not hear me when I said it's not what it looks like?"

Unlike anywhere in the Elemental Nations, there's no clearing anywhere to safely fight it out without harming civilians. Sucker Punch decides to run up a tall building under construction, hoping for minimal casualties.

She's not unfamiliar with the concept of 'Fight first, ask questions later,' something which a lot of shinobi tend to utilize.

She can feel Spider-Man's surprise and alarm when she sticks to the surface of the building, quite similar to how he does. ("How are you doing that?!" He shouts at her.)

Finally, they arrive at the top.

"Can you finally tell me what's going on?"

Sucker Punch shakes her head and extends her palm out. "Give me the core."

"I'm not giving you anything, much less a bomb!"

"You would rather expose all of New York City to its danger?" She clenches her fists at her side, frustration coating her voice. "You have the nerve to abandon me, now you think you have the right to ask me questions?"

Spider-Man is in a defensive pose, ready for anything she might hit him with. "I didn't know whether I could trust you or not," he says. "You could be planning on using the core for evil!"

"You are such a child!" She snaps.

He reels back. "No I'm not!"

"For the record, I was helping those two. If you used your brain to think instead of jumping to conclusions–"

Her vision is suddenly impaired. Her mask is swallowed by the web on her face, courtesy of one Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man.

You don't want to talk? She growls in her mind. Fine. Have it your way!

She cocks her fist back, the glow of her chakra lighting up her side of the roof. Spider-Man stares at it worryingly. Sucker Punch pours all of her frustration for the man–the boy behind the mask and punches him off of the building.

He lands on the roof of another building below, but there's a visible crater where he lands.

Cradling his side, he watches with wide eyes as she disappears with a swirl of cherry blossoms then reappears in front of him. He braces himself for another hit, but she only grabs at his suit and pulls him close to her mask, now sans web.

"I'll ask again," she says threateningly. "Where. Is. The. Damn. Core? If you tell me, you won't see it or me again."

"I don't negotiate with bad guys," he replies shakily. "You're not getting anything from me."

He slumps back to the ground when she lets her grip loosen. When he springs back up, she's nowhere to be found.

 

 

 

 

Sucker Punch curses herself as her body feels the worst of the exhaustion. Technically, testing the limits of her chakra is a good thing since that's the only way it could grow, but she's not comfortable with draining herself outside of training. Thankfully her henge is still intact and her clone hasn't dispelled yet.

If the core isn't in his room and it's not on his person then he must've stashed it somewhere. But where in New York could it be?

She hides in the shadows once more, following Spider-Man's every move.

He has laid on the rooftop for close to twenty minutes before he groans into a standing position and swings away. She's hot on his heels.

She can soon feel where his destination is supposed to be, the malevolent energy of the core reaching out to her from a dark alleyway where he has hidden his backpack. Frankly, she's surprised it hasn't been stolen.

He pulls the core out to double check that it's still in there.

Sucker Punch weaves a basic genjutsu layer over him, where he sees himself dropping the core back to his bag but from her point of view she can see it land on the ground instead.

Smirking in triumph, she waits for him to leave.

When he's gone, she slinks out of the shadows and takes the glowing purple Chitauri core. A storage scroll would be handy right now, she muses. Good thing I know the seal for it. Although not as good as Naruto with fuuinjutsu, she knew some basic seals that he taught her.

She doesn't have a scroll or any piece of stationery with her so she just puts the core into her pocket.

What a night.

She didn't expect Spider-Man to be suspicious of her and her intentions, which put a damper in her plans. In retrospect, he was smart to be suspicious. It's still frustrating to be thought of as a villain when all she wants to do is help out.

She might've been a little too rough with him too, and the punch might've been a little bit unnecessary. She can be a bit hot-headed at times, honestly.

No doubt he would be even more distrustful of her when he finds out that the core is gone. But she has no choice, now does she?

How can she trust him when he can't trust her?

It's hard to separate Peter Parker from Spider-Man. They're very different people, but ultimately they're the same person. So why does she feel guilty for feeling the slightest bit resentful toward her crush?

For the first time since she merged souls, she wishes she's back in her other reality.

Sighing, she makes the trip back home.

Boys suck.