Guess what's back for the third time? This fic! I'm honestly glad I brought it back again. Maybe this time I'll be able to get to the end! Leave a review after you read!

Sakura's fist collided with the heavy black punching bag. Upon each aggressive slug, the chains suspending the punching bag wailed in protest. She took its metallic creaking as a sign of progress. Unsatisfactory progress but progress regardless. The young woman surmised that it would take a few weeks to build up the same strength she had again. Three months of downtime was far too much for her to bear any longer. She refused to lose ground and she refused to fall behind. Sakura had to resume training now. Even if her coach advised against it.

Vigorously, she delivered five more of her most bone crushing blows to the bag, the last of which sent a hot spike of pain into her shoulder. Grunting loudly, she grabbed her shoulder in a vain attempt to ease the pain.

Damn.

God- Damn.

She'd thought for a brief, shining moment that she was healed enough to do intense training. It seems that went out the window right quick.

A dim figure entered the room, becoming instantly illuminated under the hot lights.

"Sakura? What are you doing here? I though we agreed to try some light intensity training in a month." They scolded, wrapping their hands, coating them with chalk and slipping on a pair of gloves.

"I'm training for a tournament tomorrow and I'm gonna need this room for training. I suggest you go out and not waste your last day of summer." They said, nudging Sakura out of the way to reach the punching bag.

Was Summer ending today? Call her crazy for not noticing. Sakura's time consisted only of planning for next year when she'd be able to really compete again.

"It's not like I have any friends to hang out with today. They're all out so I don't see why I can't hang around here." Sakura protested. Hoping if she still couldn't use the training equipment, to at least run the track.

Her coach's expression dropped and they rubbed their forehead in frustration.

"Sakura, I appreciate all the hard work you put in, but I'm not going to allow you to spend your whole life here."

"Dorian... I guess I'll leave. Still, don't have anything to do."

Dorian frowned at the girl, they wished their student knew how to be a more of a normal kid as opposed to a professional MMA fighter sometimes. Hell knows Dorian would have killed for freedom back then.

The coach blinked at Sakura expectantly. She'd get it. She always got the blink.

Sakura looked at the floor in disappointment shuffled to the bench to pack up her gear and head out. (forcibly)

Hardheartedly, she walked away from the gym. She wouldn't be fighting like she used to anytime soon would she? Her throat constricted as she slogged through her perceived failure in her head.

If only she would have dodged the kick, maybe the outcome would have been different...

Sadly, the young fighter rifled through her bag to find her phone. Tomorrow would start the last year of high school. Great, not even in school and world-ending calamities were already piling up. Might as well make the best of today.

She scrolled through her contacts, looking for a willing victim to keep her company.

Hinata: On vacation.

Ino: At the spa.

Kiba: At the shelter.

Tenten: Working.

Naruto-

Wait, Naruto didn't do much. Him perhaps.

Sakura almost texted him but quickly remembered that the foster home didn't pay for texting. She'd have to call. Shit.

...

"Hello?" A lively voice asked.

"Naruto! Are you doing anything today?"

Oh please, please don't be busy.

"Sorry Sakura, school starts again tomorrow and I haven't gotten any of my readings done."

Of course, he hadn't done his work.

"What have you been doing this whole time?" Sakura questioned, bemused with the antics of her friend.

"...Sleeping, and video games... and anything that isn't school related." He replied, getting the message loud and clear. Should he have read? Yes, did he care? Not while great distractions existed.

Sakura was not impressed.

"We might not be able to hang out today, but we've still got Ino's party on Friday night." Naruto reminded her.

Ino's parties were great- the best really. Money goes a long way for entertainment but parties were far from Sakura's mind at the moment.

"I'm not going to be there this Friday, homework's gonna be rough this year." It was true the workload would be heavy but that wasn't why she didn't want to go. Candidly, she'd rather spend a quiet night at home if she couldn't train. Ino was nice, but house parties generally weren't Sakura's thing.

Needless to say, Naruto didn't take it lightly. "What?" He cried "C'mon Sakura, it's our last year of High school! After this year, I'll barely get to see you or Sasuke!" Goodie, a guilt trip. Sakura refused to let him get to her.

"Isn't Sasuke free this weekend?"

Naruto said nothing for a very long time. "Something's up with Sasuke and I think it's because he found out his brother's in the Akatsuki."

Startled by the very notion of Itachi straight A- heir of a large fortune- graduated a whole year early- Uchiha being in a gang like the Akatsuki prompted Sakura to press the phone closer to her ear as if she would somehow get all the details this way.

"You better have a good reason to think that." She said, ready to discredit him at any second.

There was a snort from Naruto's ends. "Hell I do, Sasuke told me."

Sakura gulped, her heart sinking a little as she came to understand that the first drama of the year would come before school started. Great. More importantly, she had no clue how to react to the Uchiha situation. She's been Sasuke's friend for years, she had no reason not to trust him, yet Itachi seemed like the last person to betray his family. Some things just seemed wrong about this?

"Hey, Naruto?" She said thoughtfully.

"Yeah?"

"I'm going to look into Itachi's involvement with the Akatsuki further."

Naruto sputtered loudly followed by the sound of his phone dropping on the floor. "R-really? Do you honestly Sasuke wants you in his business?"

"All three of us are really close. If we could give his family clarity, it could help a lot. Sakura assured.

"Clarity?" Naruto echoed. "If you think it'll help then I'll be with you all the way!" He chimed.

With that, Naruto, terrified of losing daylight to cram his reading in, ended the call allowing Sakura to walk home in silence.

Sakura got home right as the light of dusk began to die. Wearily, she walked into the perpetually quite house, into the family room to turn on the tv and clambered up the stairs, pushing past mounds of fighting equipment to get to her room.

Hours burned away as Sakura laid in her dark room on her bed with her phone in hand. Scrolling through the multitudes of pictures of her friend, Hinata in a white sundress against a golden sunset, Sakura sighed in envy. If only she could have another week to sit on the beach. But no, she'd be living it up in trigonometry.

Bored and anxious for the next day, Sakura rolled off her bed and walked to the window, opening it to let the hot wind wash over her face.

The last year... the girl thought about it absently, not willing to fully accept the implication. Moonlight cast a long shadow on the floor. It crept further and further with time. Sakura turned to find her shadow looming over her on the wall. Maybe she should get to bed.