JAEGER WAR (an anime + Avatar fanfiction)

Episode 10 - Tied To You (Water)

Central City, Amestris, Sixth World. An hour ago.

The three stared at the huge city in the distance, an ocean of grey and green like nothing Sakura had ever seen before.

'So... Eren is there?' Sasuke broke the silence, pointing with his head at the city.

Reiner hadn't said a word since they had entered that new world, passing through a tunnel carved on the mountains near to Ba Sing Se. Sakura turn to stare at that sad, broken man. She couldn't believe he was the one who almost killed her and Sasuke, back on the woods. He looked so... defeated.

'I don't know, actually. The Soul Stone is the only one Eren didn't know about. That's why he needed Armin.'

'Armin?' Sakura repeated as a question.

'His best friend. He...' Reiner trailed off, lost in his thoughts. 'He probably knows where the Soul Stone is, beyond the fact that it is on this world.'

Sakura sighed and squatted down, vacillating. 'That's not a very promising trail.'

'But I can catch his attention,' Sasuke said. 'I can make him come out.'

'You're gonna need something big for that.' Reiner muttered.

Sakura followed Sasuke's gaze to the city, and the shadow of understanding numbed her senses. 'Sasuke, no.'

The Uchiha didn't answer, just took a step forward. Sakura grabbed his wrist, making Sasuke face her. Somehow, wearing that black eye-patch made him even more menacing.

'I have to do this,' Sasuke sentenced. 'If Eren notices the capital city of this world is being attacked by the bearer of another Infinty Stone, he will come. There's no other way.'

But Sakura knew that look in his eyes, that sick determination. The ninja shook her head with anger. 'You just need to fight him, don't you? You can't stand the idea of someone being more powerful than you.'

Sasuke turned his back on her, closing his fists. But Sakura wasn't finished.

'You said you were going to change, remember? That you needed to find your redemption.' She scoffed, bitterly. 'I knew you wouldn't change. You're just an angry kid with egomaniac aspirations.'

With impossible speed, Sasuke simply pushed Sakura with his open palm, sending the ninja flying away. Reiner gasped, but didn't move.

'Sorry, Sakura.'

Sasuke prepared himself to jump towards the city... Just as something pulled him from his cape, making him crash against the hard rock in an explosion of dust. Sakura, now in front of him, stared at Sasuke with fire on her eyes.

'You're not gonna defeat me so easily,' she hissed. 'Not anymore.'

Standing up with a grunt, Sasuke jumped towards Sakura with a whistle of wind. The girl jumped too to meet him mid-air, her fist ready. The blow reached Sasuke's body at full-strength, turning the Uchiha into a cloud of vape. Sakura gasped, eyes wide-open, now staring at the fallen tree trunk.

A shadow clone!

Sakura turned to see the last Uchiha running towards the city and screamed, 'SASUKE, WAIT!' before jumping after him.

Katara stared at her reflection on the small puddle in the middle of the training arena. She looked up at the ceiling to see its source: a leaking from above. The girl inhaled deeply and extended her hands towards the puddle, fingers trembling. She tried to find whatever source of waterbending inside of her, anything. Her mind went back to her training sessions with the stolen scroll, or with Master Pakku. The freedom she felt as the water twisted and curled with her will, how everything made sense. How she made sense.