[Action: Where the rivers meet in the village]

[Sakura's arrival in Luceti comes with a short, bitten-off yell of surprise and a splash as she drops into the icy water. The white-clad figure vanishes underwater, then reappears, struggling, fighting to surface long enough to catch her breath. It's shockingly cold, iced over in places -- although thankfully not where she fell -- and even if she knows nothing else yet, she knows she must get out of the water.]

[Flailing, gasping, reeling in shock from the sudden cold, it's extremely difficult for her to get atop the water as a ninja would normally go -- but she's too cold to swim properly, she knows that all too well, and with the ice besides, she has no other choice.]

[She's proud of her own strength and control, and she makes herself display it now, pushing up out of the water and working her way until she is balanced by chakra on the surface.]

[Now, though, she's exposed to the bitter air, soaking wet, with nothing but a thin, backless white dress to cover her. And she's freezing.]

[She makes her way toward the shore, where there's a journal waiting for her. Unfortunately, there doesn't appear to be a warm blanket or anything like one. Just the journal, with her name on it, and a biting chill to the air.]

[Video]

[Sakura's hair is is still damp when her face appears on the journals. She's managed to get dry and warmed up -- and much more warmly dressed than when she arrived -- but she looks disoriented, worried, and worn.]

I don't know what this place is, where it is, why it is. I'm not sure I even want to speculate. But if there's anyone... familiar out there, anyone who knows me -- I'm here.

Sa...kura-chan, wasn't it?

[Might not be a warm blanket, but there's this dude clad in a black coat. One that looks rather cozy, really. And once Sakura makes it back to dry land, he raises an eyebrow and inches closer.]

Looks like you could use a hand.

[Rock Lee is at the side of the river, clad in only a pair of plain shorts. While he... is washing his tights in the freezing cold river. Because of course he had to do laundry in challenge mode as well.

And then his brain promptly freezes when Sakura rises from the water in a dress. His brain needs to process this, before words can be a thing.]

[And that's not a familiar voice - then again, she's met so many new people with the joint army, she can't rely on that anymore.]

I'm sorry, do I know you?

[She sure is rising from the water in a backless, soaking wet white dress. Yup.]

Wh- Lee, what are you doing?

[Because the first thing she notices is how he's hanging out in his shorts in the freezing air.

And staring at her. Shriek.]

LEE!

[Crossing her arms over that very clingy white top, even the teeth-chattering cold not enough of a distraction. Being angry totally warms you up!]

[Stranger, but one who seems at least vaguely friendly. Sakura's going to take what she can get here.]

I could, yes. What.... where am I?

[As she makes it to shore, she forms a couple handseals and presses a suddenly-glowing hand to her own chest - a quick medical technique to try and stave off hypothermia. It won't hold her for long, but it's something.]

[His eyes only briefly drift downwards, but really he's just overwhelmed with surprise. All this time has passed, and suddenly, Sakura is here. Right in front of him.]

Sah- Sah- Ssss....

Sssaaaaahhh...

SAKURA-SAN!

[And as if on instinct... he tries to leap into a hug.]

[Holy shit what is he-]

[LEE IS HALF-NAKED AND TRYING TO TACKLE HER]

[THERE IS ONLY ONE ANSWER TO THIS.

IT INVOLVES HIM GOING FOR A NICE LITTLE FLIGHT COURTESY OF HER FIST.]

[And he is lovingly greeted by Sakura's fist. Maybe this wasn't so good of a first impression.

He rockets back until he slams into a nearby tree and slides down it to the ground in a daze.]

[She stays where she is for a moment, in the follow-through of the punch, then pulls herself back together, arms wrapping tightly around herself as she tries to warm up.]

[Now that she has a moment to look around, she has about a million questions to ask, and Lee is at least a familiar face. But she'll wait for him to look like he's recovered from the hit before she starts asking, and in the meantime run through a warming jutsu to try and counteract her current state.]

[He slowly climbs to his feet, rubbing at his jaw, but still smiling.]

H-hello... Sakura-san. I apologize...

[It's Lee, it's normal; she says the first thing that comes to mind, focusing on the immediate.]

You've got to be freezing - what are you doing out here in just that!

[She's shivering; the warming jutsu she used is having a tough time contending with the temperature and her sodden state.]

[He takes some hesitant steps closer, ignoring any signs of shivering on his own body. While his forgotten jumpsuit floats lazily in the river.]

Training and laundering. Both in one! It is important for my body to endure the cold in all states of wardrobe. But... that is beside the point. Sakura-san - you are here!

If you don't know, then you don't know, but I know. Intimately.

And what exactly is here?

[She takes a step back, not really willing to be that close to Lee in his shorts, and repeats the warming jutsu; she's still soaking wet and it's cold out.]

[That's just the start of her questions -- but something is bothering her about Lee's behavior, something that makes her feel cautious about blurting out too many too quickly.]

[Well, that is the best way to assure a girl that you're completely on the up-and-up.]

I'm sorry, what?!

Here is... It is called Luceti. [He looks around uncertainly.] This will be very hard for you to believe. Very hard! But... We are trapped in another world entirely.

In another world.

[She contemplates that for a moment, then comes to what seems -- to her -- to be the most logical assumption.]

[Madara. The Jyuubi. Their plan to trap the entire world in an unending illusion.]

Does that mean... we lost?

[Normally, Temari tends to avoid journal posts such as this, simply because answering them is just - to borrow a word - troublesome. But seeing as how the Konoha invasion has begun... (Again.)]

Sakura?

Ah... [His eyes narrow at the mention of the war. Of course, she wasn't from before like Shikamaru and some of the others.]

No, Sakura-san. This is something that is even... beyond what was happening back home. Shikamaru-kun confirmed it for me; Madara is not involved in this.

[So far, she's just following the lead of whoever responds to her -- it seems the simplest solution.]

Temari?

What is this place?

[It's very, very good to see another familiar face.]

[She doesn't answer immediately; that response gives her a lot to sift through -- and ties in to some of the things that are bothering her about Lee.]

[Finally, she gives a small nod.]

If there were an easy way out of this, I wouldn't be meeting you here. [It's not a question.]

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SAKURA-SAN!

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[Action] The worst first impression, man

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