Finally it was done, and I released her lips. Hinata blinked up at me in confusion.
“Sakura? You’ve never done it like that before. Is this some kind of test?”
“Nope. It’s a crossover loop,” I replied.
“What exactly did you just do, Sakura?” Naruto asked from behind us. Hinata squeaked.
“Like I said, I actually know how to do this right. I’ve shared about a year’s worth of loops with Hinata here, and she actually remembers it all. Hinata sweetie, say hi to the real Naruto.”
“Whoa. Sakura, that’s amazing,” Naruto said. “Can you show me how to do that? And…um…hi, Hinata,” he trailed off awkwardly.
Hinata stared at him with huge eyes, and I could feel her trembling slightly. “Go on,” I whispered, and gave her a little push.
“Naruto-sama!” She threw herself into his arms so fast I almost thought she’d teleported, and kissed him for all she was worth.
Since the loop was already blown at that point we retired to one of the smaller hot spring resorts south of town for a little private time. We went over the situation with Hinata on the way, which led to my trying to explain what Naruto’s technique had actually done to me. Naruto was apologetic all over again, but I don’t think he really understood my talk about aspects and mindscapes. Hinata seemed disturbingly thoughtful, and I realized I’d never actually explained my little mental quirks to her. Was she just worried that I was nuts, or had she heard of something like this before?
I resolved to look into that in a loop or two.
An hour later we were safely hidden away in a suite with a private hot spring, under assumed identities with no resemblance to our actual selves. Naruto left a trio of clones behind, of course, just to make sure no one had a reason to come looking for us. Hinata ensconced herself in Naruto’s lap about five seconds after the door closed, and despite my good intentions I had to stifle a snide comment. I wasn’t exactly happy about her being there instead of me, but if anyone needed cuddle time with the real Naruto it was her.
Naruto noted my reaction, and gave us both an uncertain look. “Um…problem, Sakura?” He asked hesitantly.
“I think she just needs her own Naruto to snuggle,” Hinata pronounced. “You’d better do something about that before she gets grouchy.”
“No, I just…well…” I floundered.
“You’re right, Hinata, I’m being rude.” Naruto set her on her feet and vanished in a puff of smoke, from which he emerged a moment later as twins. One of them swept Hinata off her feet and back into his lap, while the other approached me with open arms. “I’m sorry this loop’s been so screwed up, Sakura,” he said seriously. “Let me make it up to you?”
“You two make it awfully hard to be grumpy and possessive,” I chuckled. “Alright, Romeo, I’ll forgive you for accidentally scrambling my brain. Just don’t do it again.”
“Never,” he reassured me, as strong arms and even stronger chakra embraced me. I sighed, and let myself relax against him.
“I wish I could just spend the day like this,” I said after a few minutes, “but we don’t have much time. Have you made any progress on finding a way to end the loops?”
“Not really,” Naruto admitted reluctantly. “I still can’t beat Orochimaru, and even if I could I’m not sure that would be enough.”
“Maybe not,” I admitted. “The Kyuubi said he could show you how to break out, but we’d have to wait a few centuries for the whole thing to ‘run down’ enough first. Which implies it might end on its own eventually, but that could take even longer. I still think the fact that the loop resets whenever we fail out of the exam is a big clue about what’s going on, but that doesn’t mean all we have to do to end it is pass.”
“You talked to the Kyuubi? How the heck did you do that?” Naruto asked in surprise.
I pushed my Naruto down on the couch so I could have a lap of my own, and made myself comfortable with a smile. “I told you I was good at mental techniques,” I told him. “I used a Yamanaka jutsu to visit the prison, and traded a little information. Which reminds me, he’s aware of the loops and he seems to be making progress on getting free. When you die in my loops now he doesn’t die with you. He only has five tails left after he escapes, but that’s still more than enough power to destroy Konoha.”
Naruto’s arms tightened around me. “He didn’t..hurt you, did he?”
I sighed. “Only my pride.”
Hinata whispered something to her Naruto. He looked shocked, then concerned, then sympathetic. I turned away.
“Um, anyway,” I tried to change the subject. “I’m still not sure what caused the loops, but I’m pretty sure the whole thing is centered on you.”
That distracted them nicely. “Huh? Me?” Naruto asked. “What do you mean?”
“At first I thought it was Team Seven, but I’ve never met a looping Kakashi. Have you?” He shook his head, and I went on. “Right. Then I met the looping Hinata, but she seems a lot younger than we are even accounting for the fact that she spent a long time doing short loops. I think whatever happened pulled you in first, and then spread to the people you care about the most.”
He frowned. “But I barely knew Hinata before the loops…oh.”
“Exactly. She’s younger because she wasn’t pulled in until later, after you got to know her. The only problem with the theory is we haven’t met a looping Iruka yet, but we could easily have just not noticed. Usually the only time we see him is when we open our scrolls in the forest, so if we’re all trying to act normal it would be easy to miss each other.”
“Hmm. You might be on to something, Sakura.” He scratched his chin in thought. “So, if someone else gets pulled in that I’ve only gotten close to in the loops, that would mean you’re right? And if it happens to someone you or Hinata know, it means it isn’t just me?”
“I think so,” I replied. “That would be Ino, Anko, Tsunade or Shizune for me. Or maybe just Ino if it has to be romantic feelings.”
“Hana, Tenten or Temari for me,” he began, then stopped and blinked in surprise. “Wait, romantic? You and Ino?”
I blushed a little. “Yes, Naruto, I like girls too. I, um, I hope that doesn’t bother you.”
His eyes flickered between me and Hinata. Oh, boy.
Yeah, we know what you’re thinking about, my other self chuckled. I wish.
“Um, no, no, not at all,” Naruto stammered awkwardly. “I just, um, I always thought that was the technique…”
Hinata giggled. “Oh Naruto-sama, you never change. You never realized Ino was her first crush? Why do you think she was so jealous when Ino started chasing Sasuke?”
“Hey, it wasn’t like that!” I objected. “I’d been looping for years before I figured it out, and even then it was only because…well… it’s kind of embarrassing, actually. Let’s just say that Sexy Technique can lead people to do a lot of crazy things, but sometimes you wake up the next day and decide you don’t regret it after all.”
Hinata and I shared a laugh at that, but Naruto’s chuckle seemed a little forced. “So, ah, what’s with the ‘Naruto-sama’ business, Hinata?” He asked after a moment. “Not that I mind a pretty girl calling me that, but you’re the one who’s practically a princess.”
“Blame my crazy counterpart,” she answered ruefully. “She’s completely fixated on you, and to be honest a lot of it stuck. I’ve been able to sort out most of the parts that I know you wouldn’t like, but the ones I’m not sure about are a lot harder to deal with.”
Naruto frowned. “I remember she was pretty messed up,” he said slowly. “I wish we’d had more time together, but I’d already blown off the exam before I realized she was looping. Man, we need some kid of signal to tell each other when we’re sharing a loop. But what does that have to do with…wait. Sakura, did you…?”