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[punches]

Mahogany Town is pretty great all around, don't you think? [ Just a couple weeks ago, she was back in New Bark Town and she's made it this far? ] I guess it's an unfair advantage knowing people who can use Fly and get you from place to place pretty quick. No complaints here though!

[ It might have been difficult to tell where she was had she not announced it. There's aluminium bleachers stacked up behind her and she's picked up a new shirt with longer sleeves. Not that she'll need it for much longer as spring is approaching, but it's nice to wear at a skating rink. ]

There's a couple people I know who have been here for a long time, like, long enough to actually grow here? What happens when they return to our world? Wouldn't someone back home notice the changes? [ Of course they would, everyone in Konoha has an astute memory and something being off physically is a red flag that something's up. A red flag that can't be ignored easily. ] It's a concern because a few of my comrades have returned home after living in this world long enough to change physically so I'm concerned about their fate.

Doesn't it change our future? Wouldn't I remember something since I'm ahead of them in the timeline?

This topic must come up a lot here when people get sent home, but I've wondered it myself since... well, I left? [ But she didn't return home. This is something she's not interested in making public information however, so she just frowns in favor of an explanation. ]

Oh, I think Naruto's finally got his skates on. Time to see what's so fun about sliding around on ice--but hey, will you leave me your answers? Just a little should be enough to give me peace of mind.

---

NOTE | Sakura will reply to all messages a few hours after she's done trying to distract her teammate~

Comments

[believeit]

[Because we are doing this. We are making it happen. He sure does have his skates on and he is trying to walk over to her, waddling slowly in an attempt to not fall before he's even on the ice.]

I'm ready!

[punches]

Sorry, sorry. [ Tucking her PokeGear back into her bag with a smile that's more real than fake. ] I thought I'd take a picture of you before you get all bruised up.

[ WHAT A VOTE OF CONFIDENCE. ]

[believeit]

I'm not gonna get bruised up.

[He probably is...]

Anyway, you ready to go?

[punches]

[ If the ice doesn't do it, Sakura's fists will. Being bruised is a requirement when she's around him 24/7. ]

Yeah, yeah, I'm ready. [ Not entirely, but she's graceful enough that losing her balance is unlikely. ]

Do you do this a lot? This kind of recreational activity seems like a lot of work and is accident prone.

[believeit]

Uh.. no? I came here once before, last year some time but that's it. [waddle waddle waddle, he begins to make his way towards the ice.]

Anyway, it looks fun!

[soundmind]

I haven't been here too long, although my birthday passed and it'll be a year next month, but...I feel like when--or if--you go back, all the changes you went through here are reversed. Time is really strange, when someone from my world visited he said that I was never gone.

[punches]

Reversed?

[ Doesn't that mean everything they encounter in this world is pointless? She knew that people didn't remember things when they left, but if the changes were physical as well... ]

Sorry, but how does that even work? You can't just ungrow.

[soundmind]

I wouldn't be surprised if there was some Pokemon that could reverse time like that. In that case I'm pretty sure you could be made to..."ungrow" and forget everything you learned or knew in Johto once you return to your world.

Sorry, but I don't think there's a straightforward answer for what's going on here. It's really impractical to put your faith in that idea, I know, but you sort of have to muster up a lot of faith in this world.

[punches]

[ So what? Do they just exist in this world where time doesn't flow properly for them when they leave it? She's asking Sakura to place her faith in something she can't wholly believe in, but denying her seems to be rude for the time being. ]

There's gotta be another theory to it--an angle or something that's commonly overlooked. [ Yeah, maybe there's someone here who just doesn't bother to talk about it due to the approach others take. ] A lot of things here are impractical, but you're right on that.

It takes a lot of faith to not get frustrated over these matters.

[soundmind]

[She knows it sounds totally stupid, just like the reactions of what talking about her own world has gotten. Maka's own practical mind has been puzzling over the mystery frequently but finding nothing concrete (that is, nothing that sounds basically like "it's magic")]

Yeah...it does. You know how I said that someone from my world said that I never even left? He was from the "future" and was only here for a brief time, as in, only here for one day and then gone just like that! I feel like something similar to that happened before, but something's messed around with my memories. Ugh, it's really frustrating.

But if there's another angle...I'd be interested to hear about it, honestly. All I've really heard from anyone else is "that's just the way things are" and it's not very satisfying, and having to regurgitate it to someone newer feels awful and not comforting at all.

[Well...depending on who it is she's talking to, anyway. For someone that's died like one, erm, associate she spoke with recently maybe it's comforting in a really backwards way.]

(Video)

[bestofthebest]

(Rainbow's face pops up on the screen, somewhat confused but understanding the questions Sakura asked.)

I think my friend Twilight mentioned it before...she says that back home, time freezes for everyone and when we get back it's like we never left.

(Of course, she can't help but laugh at the thought of Naruto...on skates?!)

Hehehehehe~! Really? You've got Naruto actually wearing skates?! Let me know how he does!

[punches]

[ Time freezes for everyone would make sense if she didn't run into people from both her past and future. What does it mean when that happens?

But there's a more important topic to discuss. One that's less grim. ]

Haa--he'll do just fine! If you think I'm going to let my teammate make a fool of himself where everyone can see, you better think again.

... well, unless he says something to really piss me off! [ There's a 75% chance he will. ]

I'm so sorry about this! RL really kept me busy and now my laptop's on the fritz ;_;

[bestofthebest]

(Rainbow can't help but laugh and grin at Sakura's confirmation.) From what I've seen about Naruto so far, he should watch his step on the ice!

(Staying away from grim topics works for her.)

its okay I hope everything works out soon ;;!!

[punches]

Ha... yeah, you're right about that.

[ Laughing nervously. ] Maybe that's why he invited me along. Patch up his cuts and ice his swollen ankles. Ahhh, it'll be just like it is back home!

Thanks! Supposed to get it back today

[bestofthebest]

Hehehe, really? That's all you did back in your world for him? (A beat.) Probably not his reason for wanting you along. You 2 have known each other for a really long time, right?

[islandshore]

Some people might say that you'd get knocked back to the age you were before. I guess that's possible, but we have no way of knowing for sure.

[Riku shakes his head, drumming his fingers on his hips.]

Personally, I think it's just as likely that us being here creates... I don't know, some kind of split timeline. Something to set us apart from the people who pop up without memories, since Sora wound up disappearing, coming back as a blank slate, and then popping back later with memories from a previous stay.

[punches]

What.

[ Unfamiliar with the name Sora, it takes a moment before it registers in her mind that it must be someone he knows meaning that... ]

Someone you knew came here, then disappeared, then arrived again with no memories only to disappear again with them returning from the first stay? If that's so, there's no telling who all might return to this place?

[ Split timelines huh? Makes sense and would explain why she doesn't recall anything from home. Biting her lower lip in thought, she considers the validity of his theory in silence. ]

[islandshore]

Actually, it was more like... he left, came back with no memories from the past, left again, came back from the same time period as the second time just without memories, left again, came back with memories from his second stay, left another time but came back with those same memories... and then disappeared again, came back from the future without memories, and has stuck around ever since.

[DEEP BREATHS. God, that was long winded, but then, that's just how it's been with Sora. Confusing, too.]

Point is, this place is unpredictable when it comes to that kind of thing. You never know when someone'll return or, if they do, whether or not they'll actually remember the place.

[punches]

[ That was definitely long winded, but she's following along. Whatever 'system' there may be in place for this world doesn't seem to follow logic so applying it in the first place is foolish. ]

That's way it seems, I guess.

You sound experienced, you know, kind of as if you've gone through this a fair bit. Does it get any easier?

[islandshore]

It's kind of a mixed bag.

[He slumps, sweeping a hand through his bangs.]

Sometimes you luck out, and your friends stick with you for years. Other times, they disappear in the blink of an eye. Lose them enough times, and it wears you out. Reminds you that you're stuck in the same place, getting older while they're still the same.

[He's 19 now, and if Kairi showed up, he doubt she'd be much older than fifteen. Kinda a rough spot.]

[Video]

[gardentrainer]

I've been told that I've been here before, but I have no recollection of any instances of being here before now.

It doesn't make a lot of sense when you've been here for so long, but no one seems to be aware of it. What I'm guessing is that because we're dealing with multiple universes, we're also dealing with different flow of time. My theory is that time doesn't move at all back in our original universes.

It's also possible that because time doesn't flow over there, that any changes that happened here doesn't affect us back home. Kind of like we kind of exist in both places at once where our existence back there doesn't shift. Maybe like an out of body experience? Only even more dramatic.

[punches]

[ Now that's got to be strange. Sakura's a hundred percent sure that if someone told her she had been here before that she might have decked them out of surprise. ]

Multiple universes? Different flow of time? Out of body experience?

[ While uncertain herself, she manages a half smile. ] Sounds like you're pretty well versed in those areas. What's your best guess on the subject?

[gardentrainer]

[Jade was definitely was confused! It's so weird to be told you were here and not remember anything from it!]

I don't really know, to be honest! The mechanics have no pattern. I've seen people who arrived from different points in time, so this universe must be different. My guess would be kind of a mix of everything, maybe? Maybe there's more to it than that.

I don't think we'll ever find out, either.

[punches]

It's definitely worth looking into at any rate...

[ How they can further study it is beyond her, but if she just continues to talk about it with others, maybe their opinions can influence her own. ]

A mix of everything sounds about right--at least when it comes to my own experience and those of my allies here.

[gardentrainer]

It makes sense though. That many things are happening at once. It must be rather complex for the system to even grab us. Maybe that's why we come from different time periods. The amount of work it must be to grab us can cause an inconsistency with time because of the complexity.

I wish there were more information that could help us figure this out.

It would be something else if we could learn to control what it is!