The Beginning.

There was the sound of a trickle. Slow, soothing, quiet. Gentle.

Sakura awoke in shock, eyes flying open, adrenaline coursing through her veins. She should be dead, she should not be breathing, she should not be able to move-

Stabbing pain shot through her body, beginning at her feet.

Never mind. She couldn't move.

She let out a pained groan, every breath was labored, every twitch set her nerves on fire. Her sense slowly trickled back, beginning with the sounds of her own pumping blood, followed by the feeling of the cold, damp ground beneath her. Sakura struggled, wincing at the sandpaper feeling of her lids cracking open.

She gasped.

The sky was blue.

Blue like the color of the water in Konoha on a spring day.

Blue like Naruto's eyes.

Blue like her tears.

Sakura fought her way into a sitting position.

It was then she noticed her right arm was back where it belonged, reattached to her shoulder. She flexed her fingers experimentally, eyes wide with wonder, amazement, and fear.

Where was she and what happened? Did someone save her? Was anyone else alive?

Her eye bad eye was suddenly alright; she could see through both. She glanced around the clearing, scanning the dense forest of thick, tall trees that towered over the small clearing where she sat.

There was not logical explanation for the reason she was suddenly alive, for why she could suddenly move, for why she was untouched.

Her clothes were in tatters, ripped, torn, and burnt, reflecting her injuries – or rather – where her injuries should have been. Underneath the fabric, her skin was unmarred, devoid of the scars that she had accumulated from the war and over the years. Her hair, while still short, fell neatly around her face, clean, silky, not indicating the days of hard fighting. Her chakra, while present, was nearly empty, which was to be expected. However, she lacked the rest of her supplies, ranging from her typical gloves to the weapons pouch she carried.

What had happened?

There was a gentle sound of rushing water in the distance, possibly from a small creek or river. Blinking away her confusion, the medic clambered to her feet, staggering in the sudden loss of blood from her head. Resting her hand on a nearby tree, she steadied herself before limping off to the direction the sound was coming from.

The forest was dead silent, with only the sounds of her feet hitting the forest floor as she slowly made her way to the river. Not a single bird, cricket, or leaves seemed to sound. It was as if she were in a vacuum; there was nothing, save for the trickle of water.

And she knew silence. There was silence in the aftermath of a fierce battle, when all the birds disappeared and the animals fled the scene. There was silence in the wake of destruction. There was silence in death.

As she drew near, more sounds reached her ears. Sounds that mirrored the clashing of kunai and the roar of chakra.

"I-impossible… everyone is dead… Kaguya killed everyone…" she gasped to herself, moving just a little bit faster.

Hope bubbled, pushing her faster through the trees. Her feet shuffled along the ground as she rushed towards the sounds. The edge of the tree line broadened in her line of vision, and the sounds of fighting drew closer. Sakura, unable to contain her desperate joy, let a smile break across her face. Maybe it was Naruto. Maybe it was Sai. Maybe it was Kakashi, Sasuke, Shikamaru, Choji, Ino, Yamato-taicho, Hinata-.

Her thoughts were interrupted with the familiar sound of metal flying through the air. Metal gleamed, and she barely managed to dodge a kunai flung her direction. Staggering, she caught herself against a tree, eyes wide with surprise. Peering through the leaves, she let out a gasp of horror.

There, eyes blazing but surprisingly devoid of the cursed eyes, was Madara Uchiha, very much alive, angry, and younger than what she remembered.

In fact, there was someone else with him. A face she recognized immediately.

How could she not, when it loomed over the cliff of her home.

"H-Hashirama Senju…" she whispered.

No longer was his skin cracked or his sclera dark, indicating an extended reanimation. Instead, he seemed as alive as she were. Shockingly, his hair was short, styled in a bowl cut.

In fact, both persons lacked their distinctive battle outfits, and if Sakura were to venture a wild guess, they seemed to be around 10 to 12 years old.

"Who are you? Are you a spy? Why are you trespassing on these grounds?" Younger Madara demanded, kunai held up and pointed at her general direction.

"H-hey now. Don't be hasty. She doesn't look like a threat." Hashirama interjected.

Sakura could barely contain her surprise. Standing in front of her were two legends, one that founded her village and the other that destroyed it. Yet, here they were, as children, acting as if the end of the world did not happen. They were friends.

"Well? What are you doing here?" Madara demanded.

Time travel.

No it was impossible. She was supposed to have died. There was no reason for her to be sent back to the past…

Unless she could change it.

She was suddenly snapped from her thoughts when a figure blurred towards her. Her instincts kicked in and before she could stop herself, the kunai Madara held was twisted against his own throat, tip hovering dangerously close to his exposed neck as she held him, face pressed into the dirt ground.

"Hey! Let him go!" Hashirama cried out in anger, wood springing up around him.

"Woah! Wait! I'm not here to attack you!" Sakura exclaimed, letting Madara go and leaping out of the way.

"Oh yeah? Well, why did you attack me first? And I've never seen a woman that can move that fast! You must be a kunoichi!" Madara declared.

"Hey! I take offense to that! I'm a shinobi! And you were the one that attacked me first!" she retaliated, dodging the fireball sent her way.

"Ha! You, a shinobi? No way!" Madara shot back.

"Oi… are you sure we should be fighting her? She looks much older than us…" Hashirama called out uncertainly.

"Oh yes you will be. We'll talk once I beat you into the ground." Sakura snarled, eyeing the boy in front of her.

Silence filled the forest before the three figures sprung into action.

The pink haired medic leaned over the two panting figures.

"Nice spar. Next time, think before you decide to call me not a shinobi." Sakura exclaimed cheerily, grinning down at the prone forms of Hashirama and Madara.

There was something powerful about being able to best the founders of Konoha.

"Wow… You sure are strong…" Hashirama panted.

"Sakura. My name is Sakura, and you better use it!" she exclaimed, grin splitting her face, eye wrinkling into a curve.

It hurt.

It hurt to try to be a person she was not. The cheer should belong to Naruto. The smile should belong to Kakashi. But now that she was alone, she would have live on. If not for herself, for them. For the possibility to change the future. To protect her precious person with the opportunity she received.

Because she was Haruno Sakura, and she came back to the beginning to change everything.