Hey guys we're coming to the last hurdle of 2024 December! You have been amazing sticking with me and my stories and I'm so glad to be able to write for an amazing reader like you. I hope you'll continue to enjoy my works. I also wanted to thank you for all the kind messages of support and condolences. I've mentioned I recently lost a loved one and it's been hard. I'm afraid it's also affected my work and I've had to play catch up which is why I couldn't update Kunoichi amongst Heroes this time. However I will be updating through December. Thank you for understanding and I hope you enjoy these chapters.
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Sakura couldn't have been more relieved to set sight on the ends of the desert at last. She was tired. Not fatigued from the blistering heat, as much as the suffocating silence that filled the atmosphere of the group. After their encounter with the sand benders that stole Aang's bison, they were all carrying more than just their own packs to the ends of the sand and the entire journey was full of awkward silence. Sakura guided them through in a few hours, giving all of her water and whatever provisions she could to allow them to keep up with the kunoichi's stamina.
Toph practically rushed past everyone and dived straight into the soil, finding the energy that had been taken away in the sandy climate. "Finally! No more desert!"
Everyone else was hunched over, trying to complete those last few steps out but Sakura could see the way their bodies slumped as they shed the weight of fear. No longer stranded in the desert, the air was already cooler to the touch. And fatigue could finally grasp them fully without the fear of fatality that weighed down the conscience in a barren land.
They only had to continue a few minutes through the foliage before coming to a source of water with coverage of rocks creating a wall of privacy. They claimed it for camping. However, they were all so tired that no one even had the energy to set up the tent. Sakura offered to take care of everything.
Sokka, slumping down near the water, asked, "How is it possible you have so much energy when we just got out of that frying pan?"
Sakura smiled and shrugged. "You guys rest, I'll handle everything."
Katara looked grateful but concerned. "Are you sure, Sakura? You don't have to do all the work alone,"
"I'm sure," Sakura reassured her. "You all need a break. I'll get the camp set up and find some food and water."
While the others took the opportunity to rest, Sakura set to work with remarkable efficiency. She gathered wood for a fire, set up the tents, found a variety of wild foods in the forest, and even managed to catch some fish from the lake for their dinner.
As the fire crackled and the smell of cooking fish filled the air, the group started to relax a bit more. Aang, still brooding but visibly less tense. Eerily calm even. But when they were all settled into a rhythm at the fire, Aang decided to broach the topic of Sakura.
"Sakura," He waited for her attention to be fully focused on him before he continued. "You said you needed my help right?"
Sakura swallowed a piece of fish, "Yes, but do you really want to hear about that right now?"
"I do," Aang said. "I was upset earlier, but I'm ready to hear you out now. So you don't need to hold back."
The moment she had been anticipating seemed to have come at a most unexpected time. Although Sakura prided that she could handle the unexpected after her recent turn of events, perhaps the world was trying to humble her with a curveball. As this was something she would've preferred to prepare for. When she was in the desert, she had all this time to herself and had run a play-by-play through her mind, now she felt a bit caught off guard. It didn't help that Aang was keeping more of a monotone lately.
Nonetheless, Sakura wasn't willing to miss this opportunity. Smacking her hands together, she leaned back and took a breath to extinguish any fires on her tongue that could cause a mistake.
"Um," Not the first thing she wanted coming out of her mouth, "You know about the spirit world?"
"Yes, I've been there a few times."
Sokka added, "He is the bridge between the two worlds,"
"Alright," Sakura twiddled her fingers, pulling at them to crack her knuckles. She started with returning to her village and was stopped when she mentioned the sky opening up and literally swallowing her.
"You were sucked into the sky?" asked Toph.
"I was hit with a beam of light," Sakura said carefully, "And somehow I think, was taken to the spirit world."
Katara then interjected, "How can you be sure?"
"Well, it didn't feel like a normal place, um and there was this thing, a figure flying, I'm not sure what it was,"
"That does sound kind of spirit worldy to me," Sokka raised his hand.
"Anyway, I ran from that and the next thing I know I'm waking up here, with no idea how to get back home…" She gestured with her arms.
Aang frowned, "So you went through the spirit world, I can understand that. But why can't you just go back to your home?"
Sakura bit her tongue, pushing out her cheeks, "Because I'm sort of…not from this world."
The forest's voices were no louder than ever over the crackling fire, as no one from the group could bring out their voices for a few minutes. Minds overlapping with thoughts indulged in untangling this nonsensical information as quickly as they could.
Katara blinked, "When you say 'not from this world?' does that mean you're from the spirit world?"
"No, but I was brought here through the spirit world, at least that's my hypothesis."
"That doesn't make any sense," stated Toph. "And how can you not be from this world? You're human aren't you?"
Sakura reaffirmed that was correct, "I am human, but I'm not a human from this world. I'm.…from another version of Earth I guess." Sakura licked her lips trying to gather her words and thoughts to corrolate.
"How can we be sure you're even telling the truth?"
"Sokka!" Katar scolded her brother for his lack of tact.
"I'm just saying this whole thing sounds fishy, where are you really from?"
"My home is Konohagakure, it's a village in the Land of Fire,"
Sokka fell over the log he was seated at, "Land of Fire, as in Fire Nation?"
That had everyone standing to attention as if they had just noticed a snake lurking under the foliage, and Sakura had anticipated this reaction, which was why she remained calm.
"That's not what I meant. I'm not from the Fire Nation," Sakura assured, taking hold of her scarf, she pulled the fabric over her head revealing her pink hair. The staring only intensified with loud gasps, only Toph was confused.
"What, what is it? Did she do something?"
Sokka rubbed his eyes, "Is this a trick of the light or is your hair pink?"
Sakura shrugged, "I've been told that's odd, but in my world, there are people with all types of hair color, including blue, yellow, pink, green, purple, red, and more."
Toph tilted her head, "I don't know what any colors look like, but is it weird to have pink hair?"
"Try impossible," Katara said, still entranced by the sight. "Did you dye your hair?"
"Born this way, I know this might not be enough for you to take my words as the truth but it is." Sakura turned to Aang, "That's why I was looking for the avatar. To help me return to my world,"
"Are you sure you're not a spirit?" Aang asked.
"100% human, just not from this plain." Sakura raised her hand, "So what do you think? Can you get me to the spirit world?"
Aang's eyes strengthened to convey his thoroughness in thought for this matter, "As far as I know, spirits can take people to the spirit world, but I'm not sure how we would get you back to your world if we did that. I think we'd have to figure out if a spirit brought you here and which one. If I can talk to them, I might be able to find out why you were brought here and convince them to send you back,"
Sokka pulled his lip, and his eyes were narrowed with the usual skepticism, "I'm still not convinced this whole spirited away another world scenario of yours is true. Even if your hair is pink as….I can't think of anything to compare that to,"
"Blossoms," Sakura answered, "It's in my name,"
"Right…." Sokka stretched out, looking around the campfire to support the belief that this was absurdity, but no one was backing. "So basically you're an alien?"
"Well," Sakura paused before nodding, "Basically, I guess that's….appropriate."
"I think the sun has fried your brain,"
Sakura was adamant, "I'm telling the truth. I want to get back home and you're my best clue of finding the way to do that."
Aang sighed, lowering his staff "I'm not sure about any of this, especially involving the spirit world. Or if what you're saying is even true."
Sakura nodded, understanding his skepticism. "That's fair. But I don't have any more leads. I don't mean to inconvenience any of you, but this is all I have. I'm not meant to be in this world, but for some reason, I was brought here. If I can find out why, maybe I can find out what to do to get back,"
Aang pondered for a moment. "If this is true, and a spirit did bring you here, we need to figure out which one. Maybe they can take you back."
Of course, finding the key to this door wasn't going to be easy for her, but Sakura didn't want to let it tear her down. "Thank you, Aang. And while I'm here, I'll help you out in any way I can, including finding your friend,"
Aang averted his eyes, sitting down again. "I just want to get Ba Sing Se and inform the earth king about the eclipse,"
"This still sounds completely insane," said Sokka. "And now we're traveling with an alien. I think I'm getting indigestion,"
"Weirder things have happened," Katara attempted to placate.
"Still human though," Sakura pointed.
"And a bender too," Katara added.
Sakura raised her eyebrow in confusion, "What? I'm not a bender,"
"Huh?"
Sokka interjected, "You've gotta be, how else were you chucking those boulders back in the desert?"
"Um, I used my chakra,"
"What?"
Everyone settled back around the campfire, trying to resume their meal but the pleasantries and comfort weren't the same as everyone was just buzzing with questions for their new companion. And that night had stretched out, as they forgot about their fatigue to sate their curiosity. Where they learned about the concept of Chakra and shinobi.
Sokka, who had been the most vocal throughout the evening, couldn't resist asking the first question. "So, Sakura, this chakra thing you mentioned—what exactly is it?"
Sakura paused, considering how to explain the concept in a way they could understand. "Chakra is the energy that flows through all living beings. In my world, we can harness it to perform various techniques—like healing, enhanced strength, or even creating elemental attacks. It's similar to bending in a way, but it's also very different. Although I'm not entirely sure how bending works either,"
Aang opted to give her explanation on the basics of elements, who better to learn from than the avatar?
"Bending comes from using a person's own chi within their body to influence an element."
"And only the avatar can use all four elements," Toph added.
"A person can bend when they extend the influence of their chi beyond the body to interact with the environment." Katara said, "When you think about it like that, your power does sound very similar, chakra,"
"I guess so, but I think you'd consider mine more versatile. I know people in my world who can manipulate all of the elements as well, although based on the nature of our chakra, we usually have an affinity to one. But we can still learn from others,"
That took everyone aback. "So it's like you have a bunch of avatars in your world," said Sokka.
"Well, we learn to control our chakra through years of training, and it can be used in a variety of ways depending on the ninja's specialty. The way we manipulate our energy is through hand signs," Sakura opted for a demonstration, she stood up and walked over to the water. She performed a series of hand signs, she then put her fingers to her lips, and a stream of water shot out toward her.
Sokka gaped, "What the heck?"
"Did you just…" Katara pointed. "Spit water out of your body?"
"I used my chakra to create the water, in theory, I could do the same with the other elements but that kind of skill takes years of training."
"That's my water release, but I'm not as versatile in manipulating the elements like you are, though on the other hand, it seems you all aren't as versatile when it comes to manipulating your energy into other abilities."
"That's amazing though," said Aang.
Toph crossed her arms, her blind eyes staring ahead as she processed the information. "So you don't need to be born with it like bending? Anyone can learn it?"
"In theory, yes," Sakura replied. "But it requires a lot of discipline and control. Not everyone can master it. My specialty is medical jutsu,"
"Healing?" Katara asked and Sakura clarified yes, "You definitely sound like a water bender. I can also use my bending to heal,"
Sakura smiled, "It does sound similar, maybe I should just tell people I'm a water bender,"
..
..
..
They ended up having a late morning, after a long night chatting around the campfire until it died out. Sakura not only shared information to help Aang and everyone else understand her situation, but they also shared more with her about this world and the stakes they were currently carrying traveling with the avatar. As in the entire world.
Since coming to terms that she was now in another world, Sakura's turmoil had settled, but there were still embers burning in the pit of her stomach. But after hearing the full extent of what Aang, Katara, Sokka, and Toph were enduring, she was a lot less concerned for herself. For now, she was willing to do whatever she could to help them.
Before continuing with the journey, they decided to enjoy the waters that they had missed so much in the desert. Toph sat at the edge of the water kicking up her feet, Sakura and Aang were already in swimming and Katara had climbed to the top of the rocks. Sokka was looking through the maps to find their next travel route.
'This isn't bad,' Sakura thought diving under, to catch sight of a school of fish scattering away from her. She turned her body to face the surface, the sun reflecting through and over her, Sakura blew out some bubbles. 'I can wait,'
Katara appeared from the top of the watering hole. She jumped off the edge and into the water where she bent a huge wave that sent Aang and Sakura flying out onto land and splashing the forms of Sokka; Toph and Momo. Sakura and Toph laughed when the cold water cooled off her sunburn, but Sokka was less than pleased.
"Look what you did to the maps from the Spirit Library!" he exclaimed, holding up the drenched parchment. "Thousands-year-old maps, sure splash some water on it,"
"Sorry," Katara apologized, wringing out her long wavy hair, before flexing her arms and bending the water out of the map.
Everyone then gathered around Sokka and the map to see what course they would be taking from here on.
"So we just got out of the desert and we need to get to Ba Sing Se which is here." He pointed to the map "It looks like the only pass connecting the south and the north is this sliver of land called the Serpents Pass."
Sakura raised her hand questioning, "That looks like looks like a risky route,"
"This is the only way to go, it's not like we have Appa to fly us there."
Katara frowned at Sokka's nonchalant attitude "Shush up about Appa can't you at least try to be sensitive?"
Everyone looked at Aang who gave them a blank stare in return. "Katara it's okay, I know I was upset about losing Appa before but I just want to focus on getting to Ba Sing Se and telling the Earth king about the solar eclipse."
"Then to Ba Sing Se we go; no more distractions," Sokka said folding up the maps.
As everyone got ready to move out they heard a voice call out from behind them; although this was far from hostile, they still put up their guard. But turning around they saw a man and two women dressed dominantly in green, an indication they were from Earth Kingdom. One of the women was also heavily pregnant.
"Hello there fellow refugees." The man greeted as the kids gathered together to meet the other travelers.
"So are you guys heading to Ba Sing Se too?" Aang asked them.
"Sure are, we're trying to get there before my wife Ying has her baby." The man explained rubbing his wife's stomach with a delighted smile. He introduced himself as Than.
"Great, we can travel through the serpent's pass together." Said Katara
Their smiles dropped at the mention of the passage, eyes wide looking at the youngers in disbelief.
Ying spoke, holding a hand slightly over her mouth, "The serpents pass, only the truly desperate take that deadly route."
"Deadly route....nice pick Sokka," Toph said sarcastically, punching Sokka's arm.
"Well, we are desperate." He retorted trying to rub away the chances of a bruise.
Sakura tilted her head to the side, "Are we? Wasn't it you who said that was the only way we could go?"
Sokka glared back at Sakura, "Okay; who invited her?"
"You should come with us to Full Moon Bay, ferries take refuges across the lake it's the fastest way to Ba Sing Se."
"And it's hidden so the Fire Nation can't find it," added Ying
Peaceful Ferry ride or deadly pass?
The answer was hardly up for debate.
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THAT'S ALL FOLKS! Hope you enjoyed this chapter and Remember to stay strong!
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-Commission: Demon slayer x My hero academia
Kunoichi amongst Benders (Avatar x Naruto crossover) ( 9, 10, 11, 12, 13)
-Kunoichi amongst Heroes chapter (73, 74, 75)
-Kunoichi amongst Heroes WHAT IF SPIN OFF: Dorms and Exams
-Kunoichi amongst Pirates chapter ( 30, 31, 32)
-Crossroads of Fate chapter 22, 23, 24, 25
-Through the Looking Glass chapter 28, 29, 30, 31, 32
-(SEQUEL) Through the Spyglass chapter 1, 2, 3, 4, 5,6
-SPECIAL HALLOWEEN CHAPTER: Shinigami amongst Shinobi
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