She figured out, pretty quickly, that today was the day that she would be going to the Land of the Waves. It was written in all of the little notes she'd pasted on her wall as a young girl. Sakura had to smile in amusement at the little messages: "Kick ass!" "You tell 'em who SAKURA HARUNO is!"

Childish, Sakura mused. But sweet.

Sakura rummaged through her belongings and packed her essentials, making note to discard all the cosmetic accessories and clothing she'd packed previously. With a sigh, she wrapped her weapons carefully and tucked them into the easily accessible slots. Her coughing fit returned, and she reached for her medication, only to realize that she had none. Disturbed, she decided to finish up quickly and head for the closest pharmacy.

It was still early, so the places were still closed, but Sakura had no time to wait. There was no way she'd last the entire mission - one she knew would be extremely strenuous - without them. Quietly, she stalked towards the closest place and did a quick transformation jutsu, morphing her features into that of the manager's. Her fingers touched door, and she sent a shock of chakra through the keyhole to move the lock; she then proceeded to delve into the counters and bagged what she needed, placing the money into the cash register.

Once she passed the pharmacy's cameras, she dropped her transformation and felt herself shrink to her actual height. As she turned the corner, she bumped into a man and dropped her things out of shock. It was unusual to find a civilian awake so early, after all. Sakura apologized automatically, bending down to pick up the bottles of pills. The man bent down to help her, and it was only when Sakura looked up to see his face that she stopped in her tracks.

He was not so much a man now, but a teenager with the maturity of an adult.

"Uchiha," she whispered, shocked. She hated the way her body unconsciously trembled, the way she recoiled at his touch like a freaking baby. She told herself to snap out of whatever trance she was in and hastily gathered the bottles. He didn't have to say anything for her to sense that he was disturbed, and she honestly couldn't blame him. She was weak, thirteen-year-old fangirl Sakura - with medication fit for a cancer patient.

She didn't give him a chance to say anything, though, and quickly teleported her way back home. It wasn't until she got back to the confines of her room that she realized that weak, thirteen-year-old fangirl Sakura wouldn't have known how to do that.


It was cold, Sakura noted, as she stood at the gates waiting for her team. Sasuke had arrived shortly after her; they'd shared a brief glance before she had turned away coldly, opting to read from a medical textbook that she'd brought with her. She needed to figure out what kind of medication her younger body would be able to cope with, after all.

Naruto appeared towards the end of the hour, and Sakura could not help but smile at his presence. Young Naruto was every bit as positive and as charming as the older Naruto, only more innocent, more inane.

"Sakura!" he beamed cheerfully. "Are you ready for this awesome mission? I'm going to be so, so cool-"

"Shut up, loser," Sasuke cut in snidely.

"What'd you say, teme?" Naruto screeched, side-tracked from his claim entirely. She shook her head, sadly looking between the two. If only things stayed this simple, forever.

Kakashi arrived, late, and just as it had happened years ago, Team Seven headed out towards the horizon. They reached the Waves by the end of the day and intercepted Tazuna. She looked at the man shrewdly, and he seemed to squirm even under a thirteen-year-old's scrutiny.

For good reason, she muttered to herself. Sending children into the hands of S-ranked criminals.

Sakura sighed as they walked slowly. She half-wished to carry the man on my back and get to shelter already. Something about traveling through the dimensions of time had taken an unusual toll on her body, and even with the endurance she'd slaved to achieve, she felt fatigue at the corners of my mind. They continued to shuffle slowly in their group when they crossed the spot where their first ninja battle had occurred.

Not this time, Sakura thought grimly, and with a practiced motion, slid a kunai from her leg. Within seconds, it flew through the air and hit its target: the giveaway puddle in the middle of the road. The water disintegrated and in its wake, all that was left was the form of two men in gear. The kunai had speared through both of their bodies, entering at the chest of one man and exiting the back of the other.

The looks she got were of alarm, confusion, and surprise. Naruto was simply paralyzed from the blood; it seemed to take Sasuke a moment to piece together the events before it dawned on him that she had eliminated an enemy before he'd even realized there was one; and Kakashi just seemed startled by the fact that his useless girl had sent the death blow.

"Let's continue before more come for the man," Sakura said quietly, prodding Tazuna in the back. He seemed startled and somewhat shocked to be commanded by a pink-haired girl, but complied nonetheless. It was enough for Kakashi to confirm that what she said was true. They moved quicker after that, and Sakura did her best to ignore the stares on her back.


Kakashi fell into step beside her and she waited for his words. They didn't come for a while, but that was to be expected. Kakashi was a man of few words, and Sakura assumed he was looking for just the right ones.

"Yes?" she asked quietly, searching his eyes - er, eye - for something. Anything.

He cleared his throat. "How did you..."

"It hasn't rained in months," Sakura said simply, remembering his own explanation with a shrug. "There was only one explanation."

"Ah," Kakashi said, dropping the subject. Sakura knew he was in no way dissuaded; she could feel his eyes on her for the remainder of the walk.


It wasn't until the next night that they came across Zabuza. Perhaps because they'd wasted no time at the first encounter, they'd somehow prolonged the time between them; either way, she wasn't complaining. Another night's rest had returned energy to Sakura's body, and I felt fresher.

"Stay back," Kakashi warned, just as he had the first time around. Naruto and Sasuke obeyed, and Sakura followed, simply waiting for her opportunity. The fight replayed in the same manner that she remembered, with Kakashi and Zabuza fighting by the water. The mist was thicker this time, though, and it was the first time that she realized that any of her actions had a lasting effect on the future. Something as simple as finishing off the earlier ninja with her kunai had delayed the fight and altered the conditions.

To her horror, she was beginning to realize that these conditions in no way favored Kakashi. In fact, with the way he was sluggishly moving, it had turned the tables almost entirely.


This time, Zabuza made no move to encase Kakashi in a dome of water. Like any experienced ninja, Sakura saw his arm go up in a movement of execution, and she knew she couldn't stay still no longer. Not if she didn't want to see another one of her loved ones fall to oblivion. Sasuke took a hesitant step forwards, but Sakura pushed him back and dove into the situation almost subconsciously. His sword came down towards her and she barely caught it in time. Her arms shook under the pressure of the sword, but she kept pushing her weight into the kunai. With a sharp burst of chakra, she forced him backward.

Kakashi was shocked, to say the least; his cry of warning had gone silent, and he only stared now.

"Dispel the mist," she said, her voice clear in the silence.

Zabuza, who was intrigued to say the least, laughed. "And why would I do that, little girl?"

"Are you not confident enough to win without it?" Sakura countered. "Keep it up, then."

Her words hit home - right at the male ego - and, sure enough, the mist dropped. She couldn't help but smirk. Men were so alike. So proud and easily influenced by power and hierarchy. He came at her again.

This time, Sakura avoided the blow completely. They danced around the perimeter of the water, him jabbing, and her foreseeing his attacks, even without a bloodline trait. He seemed frustrated by this, and Sakura took that into account. She continued her work.

It wasn't until several minutes later that she pulled the chakra strings that she'd laced around his body without his knowledge. She brought chakra to her fingertips and cut several tendons and muscles, until his entire body lay limp, unable to move. The sword he held dropped to the ground, and Sakura cut two more points: one that allowed him to open his eyes, and another that temporarily stopped his pulse. He was a dead man, practically; but Sakura knew he could still hear whatever she said next.

Kakashi struggled to stand beside Sakura and knelt to assess her work. Her chakra strings had torn into his skin, but aside from that, her work was clean. He felt for a pulse, and when he found none, nodded. "He's dead."


Haku came, just as she had remembered, and she heard Kakashi telling the others that he was one of those hunter ninjas that took care of criminal bodies. Sakura went along with it, but before Haku could leave, she flash-stepped to his side.

"Your work with Gato," she said dangerously. "Leave it be. Go somewhere else. I know you can still hear me, Zabuza. Mark my words - the next time we see each other, you won't be so lucky. I'd advise you to take this chance and go far, far away. And this child here; I'd advise you to cherish him. You will not always be so lucky to have him by your side."