:: Chapter Two

"Sakura! Do you not plan on going to the academy today? Isn't today important?" came the question from the first floor of the house. The shrill voice reverberated in the hallway, reaching Sakura like tentacles of a nightmare that gripped her body and would not let go. She felt panic settling in her chest that was unbecoming of an experienced ninja like her. From the faint throbbing in her head she could tell that a headache was threatening to emerge. Her situation was none like she encountered before. How was it even possible that this was not a work of an enemy's genjutsu? If it was time travelling… it couldn't be, it just sounded so far-fetched in her troubled mind.

Sakura's ears picked up the sound of footsteps ascending the stairs and her mother came into view. They appraised each other for a moment, her mother with her questioning eyes, and hers calculating and anticipating any movement that would betray a friendly presence. Sakura clearly noticed the change in her mother's appearance: her mother was younger-looking, with less wrinkles and worry on her face. The older Haruno appeared different—younger—than the last time Sakura saw her, and that was before she left for the war.

"Well?" the older Haruno pressed on.

"Y-yes, mom. Of course," she managed to blurt out. Her face was warming up from the mix of emotions brewing inside her, and the faint throbbing in her head was now a full-blown headache as she tried to theorize how it was possible that she was restored back to her younger self. She fought every urge to charge at her "mother" because even though the ninja inside her was on high alert, unbelieving, and ready to engage in a fight, her familial side was withholding her.

She was brought out of her thoughts when she felt her mother's cool palm on her forehead.

"Are you alright?" her mother inquired with worry evident in her voice. "You look sick."

"No, mom. I'm fine, really." She assured, instinctively stepping back in defense. She offered a smile when her mother frowned at her defensive response and it worked, because her mother retrieved her hand and returned the smile.

Mentally, Sakura berated herself for getting caught in her thoughts but at the same time, she took note of her subconscious' failure to alert her of an approaching danger. Maybe, just maybe it meant that her mother was no danger and that there was no illusion and no enemy.

What could she make of her situation then?

There were two things Sakura was sure of right now: she was healed and alive, and she was restored back to her younger body including her mother. Whatever happened to her, whatever powerful jutsu it was, affected not only her but also her mother. It was feasible that everybody else had been affected, and they were all in their younger body too. If anything, this put them at a great disadvantage against the enemies, turning the tables once again in favor of their opponents.

However, further analysis told her that her mother was not aware of anything that should be happening right now. The mother she remembered had been overcome with worry because of the impending war and so far, there was no indication that her mother was even aware of how she had been so severely injured she should have been dead right now! She just woke up from a possible coma and yet her mother displayed no signs of surprise nor relief.

She was about to ask her mother questions regarding the war but the older woman was already ushering her down the stairs.

"Well, you should rush now or you'll be late." Her mother gave her a gentle push towards the stairs, the smile on her mother's face doubling.

"But mom, what about the war? What happened? Is it over?!" Sakura managed to ask. She would have asked more questions, one after another now that she got the chance, if not for the fact that her mother burst into laughter.

When her mother managed to get a grip of herself, she cleared her throat and directed an incredulous look at her. "What are you talking about Sakura? The war was over before you were even born. Is this another one of your tests?"

Sakura's response was caught in her throat. As impossible as it sounded, she concluded that not only was she restored to her younger self, she was thrown back into the past altogether. How else could her mother not know? And her mother had no reason to make light of such a grave situation. If her deduction was correct, then this meant that everybody else would be at the academy right now. If they did not show any sign that it was unusual for them to be back in their younger selves, then that would only further solidify her current theory.

Her mother walked with her until they were at the door with Sakura being half-dragged towards the entrance. "Let me know who your teammates are going to be!" her mother bid cheerfully, hugging her briefly before giving her a quick wave of goodbye and promptly sliding the door close.

Sakura stood at the front porch, her mouth agape, eyes staring at the dark finish of their wooden door. 'Team selection? We are going to be assigned to our teams today?!'

Directing a small amount of her chakra to her feet, Sakura hopped up to the roof. This would be the fastest way to the academy, and she would be able to observe the village from this location.

From her perch on the roof she saw the cliff where the faces of the previous Hokages were carved and Tsunade's face was not on it. Sakura shook her head for a second, feeling a little lightheaded due to her current predicament. Observing the people down below, they all looked calm, going about their daily lives with no worries or anxiousness.

The morning wind was still cool on her skin causing her to shiver a little. She took one big breath to calm herself down; she must not panic, if this was not the enemy's effectuation, then they were all relatively safe. Sakura decided she must look at this logically and little by little if she ever wanted to figure out what happened to her.

Whatever was waiting for her at the academy would definitely substantiate this outrageous notion of her being back in the past. So many questions were running in her mind right now that only experience was preventing her from slipping and falling headfirst into the streets below. First thing first, she had to absolutely confirm if she really was in the past and if she was the only one who was aware of this. Her destination would help her with that. After that, she could puzzle out how she ended up in this state in the first place.

Anticipation and curiosity prompted her to quicken her pace.


Sakura landed on the grassy field next to the academy. From this point, she chose to walk instead, passing the swing tied to a huge tree that was the closest to the academy. She had to be careful not to attract any unnecessary attention if she really was in the past and if she was the only one who was aware of this.

The academy was just as she remembered it. She easily found her old room, and by the time she reached out to slide open the door, she had to force her hand to stop from shaking. Slowly exhaling to steady herself, she proceeded to slide the door open and the sound of excited chatter welcomed her. Everybody was talking at once, unable to contain his or her excitement for passing the exam and graduating from the academy.

"Hey Sakura!"

She turned towards the direction of the voice that was loud enough to stand out above the noise of the room. There was no mistaking who the owner of that voice was. The sight of him, wearing that obnoxious orange jumpsuit once more and a blush adorning his whiskered cheeks, brought warmth to her. She never realized how bubbly and happy he used to be. The war had forced all of them to mature at a rapid rate, and it had taken all the innocence and joy away from them. For a moment she stood by the entrance unsure of what to do. It was just so bizarre to be standing there on what was before a memory of the past and was now very real once more.

"Sakura!" came the voice again.

"Hey, Naruto," she greeted back, giving him a tentative smile as she walked towards where he sat. The act caused the blonde boy's face to redden ten times more, reducing him to a stuttering mess.

Sakura felt amused by his response; she never really paid that much attention to his feelings before. When they were put under the same team she had been annoyed more than anything, and after he came back from his training with Jiraiya they both got caught up in the wave of events that led to the war. There was not enough time to sit down and ponder about matters of the heart.

Remembering where she was and how everyone was behaving—like someone who just passed their examination and just graduated from the academy—Sakura was jolted back to her present predicament. Each student in the room was acting normally relative to the current situation. There was nothing amiss about their actions, nothing that would indicate that they also found it bizarre to be in their younger selves again. They were all giving off an aura of innocence, something only present in students fresh from the academy.

It was not a dream, nor was it a genjutsu...

Finally coming to grips with her situation, she would have launched herself into another round of questioning and forming theories after theories to sort out all her thoughts if Naruto did not interrupt her from her musing.

"Come sit next to me, Sakura!" he invited, patting the spot next to him with a wide grin on his face.

Her knees were shaking from the overwhelming emotions bubbling inside her. Thankfully, she managed to keep a straight face as she sauntered to where Naruto was sitting. She was so caught up in her present circumstances that she completely forgot the very person who was sharing the same table as Naruto.

"Sasuke!" she blurted out upon finally noticing the brooding boy who simply ignored her little outburst. She should have been prepared to see him considering that she was back to her twelve-year old self along with everybody else. Still, it had only been a couple of minutes ago that she fully realized that the impossible had happened to her and that she was somehow thrown back into the past. She was too caught up in her thinking that it did not occur to her that being in the past meant that Sasuke would be back in Konoha too.

Seeing the dark-haired boy beside Naruto with his chin resting on his interlaced fingers like he often did, and very far different from the man she had attempted to kill but was unable to, Sakura felt tears sting her eyes. She was able to stop herself from crying though. It would not be good to be making such a big scene, and it would be difficult to explain why she would suddenly burst into tears just because she saw Sasuke.

Deciding to go with the flow for now and sort out her far-fetched situation later when she was by herself, Sakura walked past Naruto to sit between her two teammates. She felt light, but this time it was because of happiness. No matter how bizarre her situation was, it weighed little compared to the fact that she was sitting between Naruto and Sasuke again like how it used to be a long time ago. In sync with the growing sense of happiness within her, a resolve slowly formed in her mind then: she would preserve this peace and she would preserve this Team 7 for as long as she could.

The best course of action she formulated at that moment was to stay out of anybody's radar and blending in with everybody else. Moreover, no matter how upsetting it was, Sakura figured she would have to pretend to be that annoying little girl that she used to be many years ago, unless she wanted people questioning her for her sudden change in behavior. But at least she could tone it down a notch—a huge notch, especially because that crush had blossomed into love, now that she knew more about Sasuke and she managed to see beyond just his good looks.

Glancing at Sasuke, Sakura was about to greet him enthusiastically and ignore the fact that she just exclaimed his name not too long ago if not for Naruto appearing in front of him, scrutinizing him through narrowed, blue eyes. Then the boy behind Naruto, in a moment of disbelief, pulled his arm back to rest his elbow on the table behind him, effectively knocking Naruto off balance.

The scene was like a slow motion for her, and even her reflexes were not quick enough to stop Naruto from plunging face first into Sasuke, leading to their inevitable kiss.

"Wha..." she stared at the two choking boys, dumbfounded. A wave of memory washed over her, and she could say it was like a déjà vu, although this one was real. She remembered how disgusted she was that Sasuke lost his first kiss to Naruto and not to her, and how she was ready to beat the blonde boy into a purple pulp.

This time she reacted differently. A surge of laughter erupted from her, and she had to hold her sides and wipe tears of mirth from her eyes. As fate would have it, even the years she spent training under the legendary Tsunade was not enough for her to stop her teammates' kiss a second time around. By the time she regained her composure, Naruto and Sasuke were done vigorously cleansing their mouths and were now looking at her like she had grown another head.

"Eh, Sakura. How was that funny?" Naruto drawled, wiping his lips a second time around with an upset look on his face.

"Sorry! Sorry..." She giggled again, unable to stop herself. "It shouldn't be funny," she continued, clearing her throat to erase any remnants of laughter in her system, "Actually yeah. It's not funny! I should beat you right now, Naruto, for stealing Sasuke's first kiss!" She half-heartedly cracked her knuckles, directing a menacing glare at Naruto for added effect.

It worked. Naruto visibly shrunk against Sakura's sinister aura, but before she could proceed with her threat Iruka entered the room, effectively quieting the class before him.

"Starting today, all of you are real ninjas. But you are still genin. The vigorous journey that lies ahead just started," he addressed the class. "As genin, you will receive missions that will help the village. Today, I will assign you to a three-man team, with a jounin who will train you and guide you through each missions..."

Sakura drowned out Iruka's speech to further assess her situation. Her last memory of the war was Naruto's frantic expression, as well as the massive pain caused by her injury. How did she end up in the past then? Her logical mind declared it impossible, but she was in the past now, was she not? Since it was a plausible feat, it would definitely require a substantial amount of chakra to bind a soul to its past body. She was on the verge of death... and Naruto was the last person beside her.

Naruto!

She glanced at the boy beside her, clad in his obnoxious orange jumpsuit and trying to focus on Iruka's speech. The last piece to this puzzle was Naruto. He had the Kyuubi inside him, an entity with an infinite amount of chakra. Naruto must have asked the Kyuubi to heal her in a final attempt to save her, and because her body was beyond repair the Kyuubi chose to bind her soul to her younger body. That would also explain why her memory was intact. It all made sense now. She was brought back to the past because of the Kyuubi. It gave her a second chance at life.

"Team Seven! Haruno Sakura," called Iruka.

Nodding to show that she had heard the chuunin's call, Sakura made a silent promise to herself. She would not waste this significant opportunity. This time, she would do everything she can so the war would not have to happen, or so that at least they would be better prepared for it. This time, she would do everything she can so they would not lose Sasuke in his drive for revenge. This time, she would make sure that she did not watch their backs anymore.

Sakura felt herself smile at this promise.

"Uzumaki Naruto..." Iruka called after he mentioned her name.

"Yeah!" Naruto stood up enthusiastically, fists extended in the air.

"... and Uchiha Sasuke!"

"Hell yeah!" Sakura exclaimed, imitating Naruto's earlier pose.

Indeed, she would not waste this chance.


To be continued.