Looping, oh the fun! (Naruto)

Ch11 Nakamura Tenzoi

The same event had occurred in not just Sakura's household, but also in many other houses.

"This is my first time reading a poem like this! I never thought a poem can also be a story!"

"People nowadays always write about their love, their pain, sadness...etc. It's getting old. Now is the time for more creative poems like this! Nakamura Tenzoi has opened up a new path to poetry!"

"I had never felt so emotional towards a fictional character before! Usually when I read a love/hurt/comfort poem, I would feel a little sad. But never before had a poem left such a heavy imprint in my mind!"

"Now is Nakamura Tenzoi's era!"

"I wonder what will happen next!"

"I want to know more about that servant who looks like her... Is this supposed to be a hint for something...?"

"Same here. Not sure if anyone noticed, but it's the servant who destroyed the Green Country, not the evil girl..."

"I, however, am curious about that Blue boy. What would he do after he found out the cause of his love's death?"

"Wait! Did no one notice the Red lady? I wanted to know more about her..."

"Actually, I'm more curious about the author than the story itself. To be able to write such an amazing poem, the author must not be a beginner. But I had never heard the name Nakamura Tenzoi before."

"Same here. Does anyone know who he/she is?"

"Or maybe 'they'?"

While the readers were in chaos, the creators of the chaos were currently sitting in the Academy, waiting for their team to be announced.

"Team 7, Uzumaki Naruto..." Iruka announced. In the corner of his eyes, he saw Naruto's smiling.

"...Haruno Sakura..."

Eh? Weird. Both Naruto and Sakura didn't react.

Unbeknownst to him, Naruto had gone through this day too many times to care about it. While Sakura was too engrossed in the poem she had read that morning to care.

Alright...well, how 'bout this!

"...and Uchiha Sasuke."

Something's wrong. All three of them didn't react!

Well, at least Ino's acting normal.

Indeed, unlike Sakura, Ino was currently groaning and hiding her face in her arms while Shikamaru was smirking at her from aside.

"Your team sensei will be here after lunch break. Dismissed!"

Sakura was eating her lunch alone on the stony bench. On her lap was Daughter of Evil she had cut out from the newspaper.

She read it again and again...

No matter how many times she read it, she'd still want to read it once more. In other words, she's completely captivated by this poem.

Suddenly a figure landed in front of her. Sakura glanced up and met Ino's eyes.

"Ino-pig! What're you doing here?"

"Isn't it obvious, Forehead girl?" Ino smirked and pointed to her team, who was eating on the rooftop. "I saw you eating here all alone, so I came to pity you."

"Oh."

Ino was confused. Why didn't Sakura talk back to her like usual?

"Hey Forehead girl!"

"What?"

"I'm talking to you!"

"I know."

Alright. Something's definitely not right.

That's when Ino noticed the scrap of paper on Sakura's lap.

"What's this?" She grabbed it before Sakura could stop her.

"Give it back! Or I'll kill you!" Sakura roared, her eyes blazing with fire, and ripped the paper off of a stunned Ino's hand.

Ino was even more confused, if possible. "What's the big deal?! It's just a paper! Or is it your love letter to Sasuke-kun!?"

"Are you kidding me?! Big deal? This is a HUGE deal!" Sakura sat down and shook her head as if she's pitying Ino. "Sorry but I'm not interested in Sasuke anymore. You can do anything to him and I wouldn't care," Sakura replied calmly.

Ino was flabbergasted. Sakura, not interested in Sasuke? Had she woken up in an upside-down world!?

"I mean, Sasuke is only good-looking and has good grades. But..." Sakura traced the name Nakamura Tenzoi carefully with her index finger, a blush slowly creeping onto her cheeks. "Tenzoi...Tenzoi...is much better. I don't know who he is or what he looks like, but...his poems can make me happy. Because of his poems, I look forward to tomorrow. Because of him, I have a reason to live. Tenzoi's poems taught me that just blushing and heart-pounding isn't true love. True love is what gives me the strength to live to see tomorrow. It is what makes you happy..."

Ino slowly backed away from Sakura. This...is definitely not the Sakura she knew.

Her gaze dropped onto the paper.

And that paper must be the reason.

"Let me read it!" She sat down next to Sakura and took the paper.

Ten minutes later, after many curses and tears, Ino sighed and handed the poem back to Sakura. "I think I know what you're talking about now."

"Finally. Took you long enough." Sakura folded the poem carefully and placed it in her pocket.

"I always thought Sasuke is my true love. But now I realized...that's not true love. No one had ever made me so emotional before. Not anyone, and definitely not Sasuke." Ino wiped away a tear. "He's always so cold, and every time he rejects me, I feel so hurt, so rejected. But Tenzoi... Reading his poem gave me energy. It made me look forward to his next poem. It taught me that I have emotions other than my crazy fangirl-like love towards Sasuke. I cry for the death of all those innocents. I curse the evil wench. I pity the Green Country. I wonder about the Blue boy. I ponder about the mysterious servant that looks like the evil girl..."

"Exactly. I, too, realized, I don't love Sasuke. I love Tenzoi and his poem." Sakura smiled. "Does that mean we're rivals again? Not over Sasuke, but over Tenzoi?"

Ino giggled. "When are we not rivals?"

From afar, Shikamaru and Chouji ate their lunch while staring at the strange sight of the two opposing girls laughing together. This day just got weirder and weirder.

AN: Just a clarification. I did NOT write the poem Daughter of Evil. It's the English translation of the Japanese lyrics of a Vocaloid song under the same name. It's the first song in a series called Evil series.