Author's Note: Yet another Naruto fic, one of many in planning. This one was a bit more insistent than the others, and once my fingers start typing I can't really stop them. Canon AU, and time travel is involved. Will contain Sasuke/Sakura, Naruto/Hinata, Shikamaru/Temari, Ino/Gaara, Neji/Tenten, Asuma/Kurenai, and probably some other side pairings I'm forgetting about. The title comes from a song by Killswitch Engage.

Disclaimer: I no own. I no make money. Pity me.

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Chapter 1: Clinging To Memories

She was exhausted. They'd been running most of the night and all day just to get there, and now they were doing battle. The others in their group had split off early on, Shikamaru and Ino going to take on Karin while Chouji, Neji, and Shino took on Suigetsu and Jugo. Naruto and Sakura, of course, faced Sasuke head on. They believed that this was it. This was the time when they would finally bring him back to Konoha.

They were wrong.

The battle started off slow, but after a few minutes of feeling each other out, the three were locked in an all out war. Even if someone had been able to join in, they wouldn't have. This was something that went much farther than just a simple mission. The wounds that were inflicted were both physical and emotional, and it raged on with nary a sound. No words were exchanged between the three, only fists and jutsu and bladed weapons.

It could have went on for hours. It could have went on for days. None of them noticed the time, not until it grew almost too dark to see clearly and Sakura finally did the unthinkable. She tripped.

Right into the path of Naruto's oncoming Rasengan.

It might have been a hallucination, but she could have sworn Sasuke said 'no' right before shoving her out of the way and taking on the full brunt of the attack. In an almost obscenely delayed reaction, he stood for another moment before being blasted back.

"Sasuke!" Her voice mingled with Naruto's, both full of pain, utter anguish, as they rushed towards their fallen ex-teamate. Sakura elbowed the blond out of her way as she dropped to her knees to check the damage. It was then that she knew they wouldn't be bringing Sasuke back. Not alive, anyway.

She didn't know she was crying until she saw her tears on his face. "Sasuke, you idiot. You idiot." It was all she could say. All the pretty speeches, all the words she'd been longing to get out of her system, all of them fled her, and all she could do was cry and watch him die.

She felt Naruto behind her, his body shaking hard and the muffled sounds of sobs filling the air. Sasuke's eyes opened, and they were finally back to black, back to just normal eyes, eyes that she hadn't seen since she was twelve and he left her, left them all. She felt something on her hand and looked down to see his fingers grasping at it. Ignoring the blood that pooled on the ground beneath him from the massive chest wound the Rasengan left, she grabbed the questing hand, his fingers slick and hard to hold on to.

"It wasn't worth it."

It took her a moment to realize he was dead, and by then she could hear a high, keening wail sound out over the otherwise still forest. When her throat started feel raw, she knew it was coming from her. Naruto was tugging her away, away from the body, away from Sasuke-kun, and all she could do was cry and scream and kick at him and wish that the hurt would go away, that he would go away and Sasuke would come back and call her annoying, and that would be okay because he would be alive and there to do it and not dead on the ground, dead in this forest, dead dead dead.

-----

Scarred fingers traced the words on the monument, the ones she could have found in her sleep. Uchiha Sasuke. It had taken Naruto and her four months before the Hokage had consented to put it on there, and Sakura suspected that it was only because Tsunade knew that she would never get anything done with them constantly harrassing her.

It was a month after that when Naruto had left, his orange-clad form a growing speck on the horizon. Jiraiya had taken him off for more training, but the now-quiet ninja did not disagree. He blamed himself for Sasuke's death just as much as Sakura did, and neither one could stand to look at the other for too long anymore. She didn't see him again until two years later.

He always came back, he was a ninja of Konoha, after all, and was still tied to this village, just as firmly as before. Only now it was more like a chore, a necessary evil, to be done and over with as quickly as possible. He never took on missions while he was there, and he never progressed beyond the rank of genin, even long after everyone else had made jounin.

It wasn't until a year and a half ago that him and Sakura had finally sat down and talked, but even then they couldn't talk about that night. He'd professed his love for her, asked her to marry him, to quit being a ninja and run away together. She'd put him through her living room wall. He'd left the next day and didn't return for another six months.

They were broken, the both of them. She could now understand why Kakashi was the way he was, and she had enough pity left in her to extend to him. It wasn't like he talked to her anymore, anyway. He'd taken Sasuke's death just as hard as his two former students, and he had the added benefit of no guilt on being the one to have done the deed.

Now here she was, ten years to the day since Sasuke had left the village, standing before his name (and not him, not ever him, she couldn't go to his grave because he would pull her right under to lay there with him, and she wouldn't protest at all), and thinking about the past. There was no more future, not for her, and not for Naruto.

"He wouldn't have wanted you to be like this."

If she cared more, she would have hit him for that. As it was, she sent a mild glare at the blond ninja. Somehow she knew that he would be here today. "You're one to talk."

"I tried to move on, if you remember." She didn't really want to, and hated him for bringing it up.

"No, you tried to run away. I guess we've both done that, though. Every day since- since then." She let her hand drop back to her side, turning to fully face him. "Why are you here, Naruto?"

He looked at her, eyes sad and longing for something that she couldn't give. "To make things right."

She snorted. It sounded bitter. "It's too late for that."

Naruto looked down, stuffing his hands in his pockets and fiddling with something. "It- it might not be. What if..." His head snapped up to look at her, and she took a half-step back before realizing it. "What if you could go back? Make things right? Would you?"

She stared at him, incredulous. Of all the things to ask... "Of course I would, you idiot! Don't you think I've thought about that, every day? Don't you think that I wish I could go back, change things, make him stay?" Her hands tightened into fists. "Don't you think at all?"

He fidgeted, then pulled out of a scrap of paper. It looked old and had rust-colored stains on it. Most likely blood. Hesitating for a moment, his expression grew firm, but there was still a lingering sadness in his eyes.

"I'm sorry, Sakura-chan. I'm sorry for everything. I'm going to make things right now, though. I'll fulfill that promise I made all those years ago." He brought one hand up to his mouth, biting his thumb, then let it hover over the paper.

She reached out to him, looking concerned. "Naruto, what are you-" She didn't notice the blood from her hand, caused by her nails biting into the flesh of her palm, drip onto the paper. She did notice Naruto's surprised gaze, and his screaming.

"No! Sakura, it was supposed to be me! Sakura!"

But Sakura couldn't hear him anymore. Everything went white, then dark, and twenty-two year old Sakura Haruno knew no more.

-----

She was woke up by a loud knocking. Who the hell could that be? No one ever visited Sakura besides Ino, and even she had slacked off as the years went on and the pink-haired girl had become more and more unresponsive.

The knock repeated itself, louder this time, and she shot up into a sitting position. "What?!"

The knocker paused. "Don't take that tone with me, young lady. Now get up and get dressed, or you're going to be late for your first day."

She looked at the door in shock. That was definitely her mother's voice. But mom's been dead for over a year.

Scrambling out of bed so fast she nearly tripped herself in her covers, Sakura ran into the bathroom and stared at herself in the mirror.

Her twelve year old self stared back.

-----

It was only through a miracle that Sakura not only managed to not faint, but to get ready ("Ugh, why did I ever wear this get-up?") and leave the house without crying all over her mother. She was a minute late to the school, but no one noticed, not even Naruto. She took a seat in the back, the shock slowly wearing off.

I'm twelve. I'm twelve, and I just started as a ninja. Today we'll get our team assignments.

At the thought of 'team', her eyes moved over the assembled genin before resting on two distinct heads. One with black hair, one with blond. Naruto and Sasuke. She could barely stop the tears this time, and it was only through pinching her arm that she didn't break down sobbing. They looked so young. So far removed from how she'd last seen them.

Sasuke, beautiful as ever, sharingan gone and a hole through his stomach as he lay dying...

Naruto, older and sadder, and she wished she could have returned his feelings, but her heart had died six years before...

She stood up before she knew what she was doing and went down to their row. "Hey, Naruto."

He looked up at her, blushing, and she smiled a little. Definitely the Naruto of ten years ago. "Sakura-chan!"

"Can I sit next to you?" He looked stunned at that, and scooted over a little so she could sit next to the aisle. It was a good thing, she wasn't sure she could handle even looking at Sasuke right now, never mind sitting next to him. "Thanks, I appreciate it. I didn't want to sit back there all by myself." She wasn't sure why she was talking to him like this. Maybe she had missed being able to do it. After he came back the first time, when they were fifteen and not broken yet, she'd realized how much she'd missed him, and had immediately latched on to his friendship, that bond of the original Team Seven that no one could replace. "So, are you nervous?"

"I- I, uh..." He looked nervous, but she had a sneaking suspicion it wasn't because of the team assignments. It made her a bit sad. I love you Naruto, but not like that. She would have to deal with his crush for now, and try to dissolve it as gently as she could. Perhaps redirect it. She knew Hinata had been in love with Naruto when they were younger, maybe she could try to play a bit of matchmaker. Naruto deserved all the happiness in the world. All the happiness that she just couldn't give him. "N-no, not really..."

Iruka-sensei came in then and started explaining things. Sakura frowned a little. It felt like something was off. Something was supposed to have happened and didn't. She looked at the two boys beside her. Oh yeah! Sasuke and Naruto kissed on accident. She remembered how angry she'd been at the time. It didn't happen this time, though. Am I already changing history?

He started reading off the list of teams, and she stiffled a laugh at Naruto's reaction at being placed on a team with Sasuke. She almost snuck a look at the dark-haired boy, but restrained herself. She was just barely getting her emotions under control right now. She had to be absolutely fine when they met with Kakashi-sensei later. He would be able to detect anything out of the ordinary, and she didn't want to tell him about this. At least, not quite yet. The past six years of his silent coldness had placed a black mark on their relationship, and she would have to build trust with him from scratch before she would be able to open up to him again.

She tuned in to her teacher soon enough to hear the tail end of his speech. Once it was over and they broke for lunch, she turned to Naruto. "Do you want to eat together?" Her heart almost broke at the expression on his face at those words. Was he really so starved for attention? Did everyone ignore him that much? She knew the reason why - the demon that he held inside him. She promised herself she would make sure he knew he was wanted around this time.

"Yeah!" They stood, but Sakura hesitated before leaving.

"Give me a second, okay?" Without waiting for a response, she went over to one of the few people left in the room. The white-eyed Hyuuga heir, Hinata. She was by herself, and Sakura found this a little odd. Still, Hinata had always been quiet, so she supposed that she just hadn't come out of her shell enough to have friends yet. The team assignments would change that. "Hey, Hin- ah, Hyuuga-san? Do you want to eat with us?"

The girl looked startled, then shot a look over at Naruto, a blush stealing over her cheeks before turning back to Sakura. "I- I w-would-"

Not letting her finish her statement (Sakura had decided that the girl was going to interact with them, whether she liked it or not), she grabbed the other girl's hand, dragging her towards the door. "I knew you would! We're going to the nearby park. It'll be nice to sit outside."

Ignoring the odd look Naruto shot at her, she led the two younger genin out to the park. They spread out on the grass, and Sakura was about to reach for her lunch before remembering that she hadn't grabbed it during her hasty departure this morning. "Oh, no..."

Hinata looked at Sakura, then down at her lunch. "You c-can share m-mine, H-Haruno-san..."

Sakura shot the girl a bright smile of thanks, scooting over to sit closer to her. "Thanks, Hinata-chan." The girl looked surprised, but pleased, at that, and Sakura berated herself for being so familiar with her. Have to remember that I don't have quite the same relationships with these people that I did before. Her hardest loss would probably be Ino. It had taken years for her to build their friendship up again after Sasuke, and once he was dead Ino was the only one who'd stood beside her, even if she had faded with time. Sakura hadn't blamed her.

They ate and talked, though it was mostly her and Naruto, and Hinata whenever she prodded her. She could tell both of them had their problems; Hinata was extremely shy around Naruto, and Naruto still saw Hinata as the weird, quiet Hyuuga girl. It would take a lot of work, but she knew she could do it. She would. Hinata would make Naruto happy. Plus, it was easier to focus on that than her own problems.

Towards the end of the meal, Naruto suddenly looked pained. Making some half-hearted excuses, he took off, clutching his stomach. Sakura was suspicious. That's impossible. That's just what Sasuke did when- Oh my god, it was Naruto using a henge! She found she couldn't be mad at her teammate, though. At least now I know why he was asking about Naruto.

When he returned the three of them headed back to the classroom. They met up with Sasuke along the way, but he was silent on the way back, which Sakura was thankful for. He kept shooting her odd looks, though, which was a bit disconcerting. Probably because I'm not hanging all over him, like I usually would be. She'd have to get over this, and fast, or someone would definitely notice something was up.

They reached the academy, and everyone split up into their teams, leaving with their jounin sensei. Sakura waved to Hinata when she left with Kiba and Shino, and was heartened when the shy girl waved back. Soon, her, Naruto, and Sasuke were the only ones left in the classroom. Just like last time. At least some things will never change. The sky will always be blue, the grass will always be green, and Kakashi-sensei will always, always be late.

After a while of waiting, Naruto set his 'trap' for Kakashi-sensei. Sakura didn't try to stop him this time, just laughed behind her hand when Sasuke remarked that no jounin would fall for that. The statement was soon disproven by a thwack as Kakashi-sensei stepped through the door and got hit on the head by the eraser. She allowed herself to laugh along with Naruto. Even knowing what she did about the man, it was kind of silly for him to get hit by an eraser.

"Hm... How can I say this? My first impression is... I don't like you guys." Sakura restrained a sigh, while Kakashi-sensei looked smug.

Another bad first impression? Check.

-----

"Okay, let's begin with some introductions."

They'd moved up to the roof. Sakura could barely remember a time when Konoha was this... bright. No clouds of gloom hung in the sky, the people were moving about their business freely down below. There was no threat of attack from first Orochimaru, then Sasuke, then Akatsuki. It was simple. Peaceful. She hoped it would stay like this forever.

If she had any say in it, it would.

At the lingering silence, she realized she was the one who had to speak first. "What do you want to know?"

Kakashi-sensei shrugged. "How about... your likes, dislikes... dreams for the future, hobbies, stuff like that."

"Hey, why don't you introduce yourself to us first?!" Good old reliable Naruto.

Kakashi looked slightly put-out. Well, he didn't look anything, but Sakura had gotten to know his facial expressions from his lone visible eye over the years. "Oh, me? My name is Hatake Kakashi. I have no desire to tell you guys about my likes and dislikes." Sakura snorted, then covered it with a cough. He looked at her oddly before continuing. "Where was I? Oh yeah. Dreams for the future... hm. Well, I have lots of hobbies..." Yeah, like reading those filthy porn books and mourning over your lost teammates. She shot a look at Sasuke and felt that last part was a bit uncharitable.

Naruto cut in. "We just learned your name! That ain't fair!"

Kakashi-sensei ignored him. "It's your turn. From the right."

The blond straightened a bit. "Me, me! My name is Uzumaki Naruto! I like cup ramen!" Sakura let her head drop into her hands with a sigh. She caught a glimpse of a smirk on Sasuke's face from the corner of her eye. "What I like even more is the ramen at Ichiraku, especially when Iruka-sensei buys it! What I dislike is waiting three minutes for cup ramen to cook! My dream..." Here he paused, and Sakura leaned forward slightly. "Is to become Hokage, and have everyone acknowledge my existence!" Sakura smiled at that. I'll help you make that dream come true if I can, Naruto. "My hobbies... pranks, I guess."

"Next."

Oh no. No no no. Here it comes. Sasuke was next. Sakura tried not to pay attention to his words, but couldn't help but hear every one.

"My name is Uchiha Sasuke. There are tons of things I dislike, but I don't really like anything. And... I don't want to use the word 'dream', but... I have an ambition. The ressurection of my clan, and... to kill a certain man."

In her original time (and it was odd, how it was getting easier to seperate the two), he'd only achieved the second goal. It seemed he'd forgotten all about the first, and as a result, the Uchiha clan had died with him, leaving Kakashi-sensei the last living user of the sharingan.

It wasn't worth it.

Even now, his last words haunted her. What had he meant? Fighting them? Leaving Konoha? Joining Orochimaru? Killing Itachi? Had he been thinking about starting a family, regretting the path he'd chosen because it had never allowed that? She would never know, and hopefully, would never have to find out. She wouldn't let it get to that point, not again.

She knew Naruto was shocked, but she could see the knowing look on Kakashi-sensei's face. Of course he knows. He's not some naive kid. He knows the horrors that Itachi wrought. I wonder if he had a hint of the extent Sasuke would go to for revenge, though?

"Okay, lastly, the girl."

That snapped Sakura out of her thoughts, and she struggled for a moment to answer, panic setting in. What should I say? I can't answer like I did last time, I just can't.

"I- um, I'm Haruno Sakura. I like... uh, being helpful, and being with my friends, and I dislike-" death "pain." She let out a breath, forcing herself to relax. "My dreams for the future are... to make this world a better place, and to help my team achieve their dreams." She ignored the stunned looks from Kakashi-sensei and Naruto, and the slightly calculating one from Sasuke. "My hobby is reading."

There was silence for a few moments before Kakashi-sensei continued. Sakura used the time to pull herself together. "Okay! That's enough of that. We will start our duties tomorrow."

The sinking feeling in Sakura's stomach was only compounded by Naruto's outburst. "Alright! What kinds of duties?"

"First, we are going to do something with just the four of us."

"What, what?!"

"Survival training." She swore he looked as if he wanted to fail all three of them right then and there. We were probably a hassle to him, weren't we? Well, he'll definitely be surprised tomorrow. I'll show him how much teamwork this team is capable of! "I'll be your opponent."

"What kind of survival training?" she cut in, not allowing him the time to gloat. He looked a little disgruntled, but replied.

"Of the twenty-seven graduates, only nine will be chosen as genin. The rest will be sent back to the academy. This training is a super difficult exam with a failure rate of over 66!"

There was a few seconds of silence, then - "WHAT THE HELL?! But we worked so hard! Then what was the point of-"

Sakura cut him off, standing up, a determined look on her face. "Don't worry, sensei. We won't fail. You won't get rid of us that easy." She smiled down at the two boys. "Right, guys?"

Naruto looked up at her, a wide grin on his face. Even Sasuke looked a little proud of her, a slight blush on his cheeks. Aw, that's so cute! Ugh, wait up there girl, he's twelve. So are you. No fawning over the child. "Right, Sakura-chan!" He stood up as well, pointing at Kakashi-sensei. "Hell yeah! Bring it on old man! Whatever you throw at us, we'll beat you!" Sakura was suffused with happiness - real, true happiness - for the first time in over six years. She felt Sasuke rise next to her, and they stood as one unit, for the first time. Naruto clenched his fist, pumping it into the air. "Together, we can do anything!"

Kakashi-sensei looked a little stunned, and Sakura smirked, smug. "Ah, well, be that as it may... Bring all your shinobi tools. And don't eat breakfast, you'll throw up." He brought some papers out of his vest, handing them to the three genin. "The details can be read on this print out. Don't be late tomorrow."

He took off. Sakura looked down at the sheet, then at her teammates. Sasuke was studying it intently, while Naruto looked a little lost. "Uh... don't listen to what he says." They both looked up at her, making her blush. "About the breakfast thing." She got blank stares for her trouble. She sighed. "Look, he's supposed to be our opponent. Our enemy, right?" They nodded. "Would you listen to an enemy shinobi if he told you to not eat before fighting him?" Sasuke looked as if he was catching on to her reasoning, but Naruto was still confused. "If you don't eat, that makes you a weaker opponent. He can beat you easier. Got it?" Naruto finally grinned, nodding his head. She made a face. "Just... don't eat whatever it was that caused you to get sick today." He looked embarrassed, and glared at Sasuke when he smirked. Sakura felt like banging her head against the tree behind her.

"Just... be prepared for anything tomorrow, okay? We can work out a strategy when we get to the meeting place." She waved goodbye to them, then took off as well.

She had a lot of work to do before tomorrow, and not much time to do it in.