Aerith hummed quietly to herself. She was on her knees, planting flowers in her new garden. Her parents had been a bit bewildered at first at her request to do something with the little piece of land they had, but they had agreed soon enough, happy to see her taking interest in something other than the ninja arts. Her headband was tied around the top of her head, like usual.

She turned to her companion who was lying on the grass, hands behind their head, looking up at the clouds in the sky. "What do you think, Sasuke?" she asked, using his new name, mindful of their probable audience. She glanced at the window. Her parents weren't the kind to hover, but it was her first time bringing a boy home, and she had been rather...enthusiastic over him in the past. Then again, this was who they were now, and she should probably get used to it. She didn't want to, but it was nice, being around her boys again.

He held up a thumb. "Looks good!" he said, before flinging his arm back, sprawled out. The Kubikiribōchō lay next to him, and the hand landed on the hilt.

"I'm glad," she said, smiling at him, a little sad. Even now, Shin-Ra left scars. He never let the sword leave his sight. It was a far cry from the young SOLDIER she'd met. Still, even now he trusted there was good in people. She wiped her forehead with her hand. Her face darkened momentarily. One good deed didn't erase a lifetime of sin. Then she smoothed her expression, so Zack wouldn't see. A bit of dirt smeared with the sweat and turned into mud, leaving a dark streak on her forehead. She paid it no mind, instead looking at her work. The garden was shaping up with yellow and white daffodils and columbines planted here and there, alongside the path. Only a small dark patch of earth remained near the gate.

Aerith concentrated, curling her fingers deep into the loose dirt. She sent a tendril of her power in the rich loam, closing her eyes, breathing deep and in a steady rhythm. She sent it down to where the seeds and bulbs were planted, reaching out, caressing it, encouraging it to break out and take root, to reach out for the warm sun and touch the sky. Then ever so slowly, she felt it unfurl, reaching up. She fed them more of herself, and they grew rapidly, breaking through the earth and exploding into color.

When they were done, they turned to her, not the sun. She dusted her her hands on her shorts before standing up. She held out her hand to Zack, who took it gratefully and rose to his feet. "Shall we?" she asked.

He nodded, snapping the cleaver into the rough harness he'd made for it, and they started walking into town. Aerith tugged at her hair, pulled back in its usual high braid. She felt a little self-conscious, tugging at her ribbon. She hadn't worn it since she got her headband, and even now it felt a bit presumptuous since she and Ino still weren't friends. She hadn't really had anything else to wear though, and it didn't feel right leaving her hair loose.

Zack noticed her movement almost instantly. "I can get you a new one," he offered.

Aerith sighed. "I don't know if that would make things better or worse, honestly. It was a sign of our friendship."

"You and ribbons, huh?" he asked. "Strange what follows you."

"Ino gave this one to me," Aerith said softly, fingering it. "We were fighting over you. It was such a silly childish thing, but wearing it now feels too much like gloating."

He reached down and took her hand. "You're not the gloating type," Zack said. "You guys were always fighting over me, huh?" Zack mused. "I didn't get it then, and I don't understand it now. Friends are like," he gestured widely, sweeping out his hands, looking for a word. "You know?"

She nodded. "We were friends for years," she added. "And it ended just like that. Even though it was a silly infatuation before, now that I know it's a sure thing—" With that she ducked her head down, twirling a bit of her fringe. "I just don't know."

"So sure of that, are you?" Zack teased.

"You died, Zack." She stopped walking, pulling away from him, linking her hands together behind her back and looking away from him up at the sky. She couldn't bring herself to look at him. "Trying to get to me. How can I be surer than that?"

Zack made a wounded noise behind her, but she plowed on, not sure what she was trying to say. "And I didn't know. And then along comes Cloud, and he acted so much like you, and I just," she started to tear up. "I didn't know," she said, huddling in, wrapping her arms around herself. "I never knew. I felt, but I wasn't sure."

Zack moved so he was facing her, putting his hands on her shoulders. "You didn't know. You didn't know. Hey, it's alright, it's alright," he said, taking his hand and cupping her cheek. He used his thumb to wipe away her tears, pulling away to wipe the other side with the back of his hand. "I've got you."

She started crying in earnest. Zack pulled her to his chest, tucking her head under his chin. He held her for a long time as she cried herself out, muttering soothing nonsense. "Hey now, it's alright," he said, stroking her hair. "I've got you."

"You died," she whispered to his shoulder. "And it's my fault. You died trying to get to me. I wish I'd never sent those stupid letters."

"We've had this talk, remember? You said it yourself, Sakura. 'I don't like people taking blame that isn't theirs.' Bad things happen. It was no one's fault." He tilted his head to the side. "Except maybe Shin-Ra's." Zack hugged her tighter. "Want to tell me about it?" he asked. "I want to know about how you and Cloud became friends."

"You don't remember the Lifestream?" she asked, voice colored with surprise; he'd startled her out of her tears. "But you had such a strong will you were able to manifest!"

She felt him smile as he reached up to scratch the back of his head. "Nah, not really? Am I supposed to?" He asked, eyes wide. "Is this one of your fiddly power things?" he said, wiggling his fingers at her face before finally tapping her on the nose.

She grinned, rubbing her eyes. "Yes! I'll tell you all about it. Later though," Aerith said, looking around. People were filling the streets as the markets started to open in the early morning, and while they had privacy before, they were standing on a main thoroughfare, and well, Konohagakure was a ninja town. Never could tell who was listening. "For now, let's go shopping! I want a staff again!"

Aerith grabbed his hand and Zack took it gladly, smiling at her. They ran down the street laughing, Zack leading, and darted into Kurogane's, one of the weapon shops he liked to frequent.

"Ugh," Shikamaru said to himself, having caught the tail end of the hug and the nose boop and Sakura grabbing Sasuke's hand and the dash to the weapon shop. "This is going to be so troublesome," he said, thinking of Ino, or more importantly, Ino's falcon-like screech.

Team Seven hadn't been in town long, but there were already rumors spreading about their mission to Wave and about the shinobi themselves. They'd changed. Shikamaru didn't pay them any mind usually, unless he was forced to listen by Ino, and it was a rare day he pre-empted her in gossip. If she didn't know about this already, he wasn't going to tell her. That way, he still might get some peace today.

All he had wanted to do today was hang out with Chouji and watch clouds, but, nooo, Ino had to invite them to a team lunch. Still, Shikamaru watched the door of Kurogane's for a long moment. Something bothered him, and it was more than Sasuke's smile (which was downright unsettling). People-watching wasn't as fun as cloud watching, but it was a good skill for a shinobi to learn, a good way to practice deciphering body language and how people interacted with one another. The way Sakura and Sasuke orbited around each other now, compared to how they interacted in the Academy? Night and day.

It spoke of a long friendship and mutual love, not a one-sided infatuation. They were just so at ease with each other. No hesitation at all. Each knew what the other was okay with. Not like it would be if it were a new thing. And Sasuke comforting her while she was crying? Sakura letting herself be unattractive in front of the Uchiha with snot dripping down and red-rimmed eyes? And had that been mud on her forehead?

It's like they were different people.

"What a total drag," Shikamaru said aloud, sighing. Now he was curious. Great.

Aerith and Zack met Cloud at Yakiniku Q, where they were seated immediately at their usual table. It was one of the few places Cloud didn't have to worry about dirty looks. Zack immediately threw some food on the grill in the center of the table, while Aerith gushed about her new purchase.

"Look at my staff, Naruto! Isn't it pretty?" Aerith asked, pulling it from her back and laying it across the edge of the table. "Sasuke has good taste!" Zack reached over to flip some meat on the grill.

"Bōjutsu?" Cloud asked. That was right. Bōjutsu wasn't a common practice in Hi no Kuni. The only person Aerith could think of off the top of her head that practiced it was the Third Hokage. There was a girl a year or so ahead of them in the Academy that studied a little, but she studied a little of everything when it came to weapons.

"Yeah!" Zack said, pumping his fist into the air. "She kicks ass. Kicked my ass right out of the training ground. Her staff is awesome!"

"Oh?" Cloud asked.

"Yeah! It's made out of chakra conductive reinforced Mokuton wood. Hard as steel," Zack said, rapping it with his knuckles. "Cost me an arm and leg, but with the A-rank pay coming in from Wave, I can afford it. Sakura's definitely worth it."

It was pretty, Aerith thought and Zack could afford it. He didn't hesitate to spend it on her, and it was impolite to refuse a gift more than twice anyway, no matter how expensive it was. It had been a plain dark rod when they'd bought it, but she had fed it with her power, and pretty soon it was covered with an intricate pattern of vines and bright pink cherry blossoms. It channeled chakra too, and she could use that to grow or shrink the wood. That was the thing about Mokuton: it was still living even without roots. It would just go inert without chakra.

"Damn," Cloud muttered. "Nice, Can't wait to spar with you, Sakura." He looked her over, paying close attention to her forehead. "You realize you've got a streak of mud there?" He flicked it.

Aerith smiled. "Yeah, I know," she said, waving him away.

Cloud addressed them both. "Found anything for me yet?"

Zack shook his head. "We were really lucky to find Princess," he said, patting the massive blade next to him that had a seat of its own.

"Princess?" Cloud raised an eyebrow.

"Yeah, just thought of it. Sounds so much better than Executioner's Blade, don't you think?"

Cloud shrugged. "I guess. But I do need something, sooner rather than later. It figures Sasuke would have good taste in long, hard objects," Cloud said, face deadpan. Only the truly observant, like Aerith, could catch the small quirk of his lip that meant he was teasing.

"Hey now, you can't say anything! It's twice now we've slept together that you've turned into an unrepentant cuddle-monster." Zack said accusingly, pointing at Cloud with his chopsticks. Cloud just stared at him blankly. "I'm seriously scared for my virtue."

Aerith snorted into her plate. "What virtue?" she said. Zack pouted at her.

Ino's head snapped up from the corner table of Yakiniku Q where she was waiting for Shikamaru and Chouji. Wait, What?

Cloud let out a sigh, "Sasuke, I—"

Zack ruffled Cloud's hair. "Don't be embarrassed, man. I think it's cute."

"It was, you know," Aerith said, nodding solemnly. "You make a cute couple, Naru-chan."

Oh my God! What is Sakura on? Ino wondered as she choked on her water. Weren't she and Ino supposed to be fighting over Sasuke? And she was giving up to Naruto so easily?

Cloud slapped at Zack's hand, sputtering at Aerith's accusation. "Would you stop doing that?"

"Nope," Zack said cheerfully, big grin stretched across his face, "I don't think I will." He tapped his jaw. "You still look like a ruffled chocobo."

Ino shook her head, rubbed her eyes, then looked again. Nope, Sasuke was still grinning widely. Sasuke had ruffled Naruto's hair. The smile made him look more handsome, though for some reason, it was a little creepy. Sasuke's face didn't seem like it was supposed to work that way. And he was being cheerful. And teasing and joking. What!?

"Sasuke," Cloud said, drawing out the syllables of his name as Sasuke slung an arm around his neck and gave him a one-armed hug.

"Did you just whine?" Zack asked, bewildered, while Aerith just ate some of the barbeque.

"Sasuke," Cloud said again, this time in more of a warning tone. He didn't move to push him off, though.

Ino boggled. They were sitting quite intimately, especially for teammates that supposedly hated one another, while Sakura sat a little to the side.

"You really like saying my name, don't you?" Zack mused. "Sakura will get jealous," he sing-songed. "Oh Sasuke, Oh Sasuke," he said with a breathy moan, wiggling his eyebrows and rubbing his face against Cloud's shoulder. Cloud pushed him off, and Zack fell to the floor.

Ino just sat, stunned. She gathered her wits, formed a hand seal, and pulsed her chakra. The scene didn't change.

"Who said we couldn't share, Sasuke?" Aerith said, primly sipping her tea, then throwing more meat on the table grill. "Jealousy is overrated." If Zack and Cloud didn't want to eat, that was their problem.

Zack's jaw dropped.

So did Ino's.

"I hate you both," Cloud said, crossing his arms, pale pink dusting his whiskered cheeks. Huh. Aerith didn't think Cloud still had a blush response, after everything he'd been through. Sometimes it was nice to be wrong.

Zack recovered quickly, getting up and ruffling Cloud's hair again, before clinging to his arm like Aerith and Ino used to do. "Aww look, Sakura, he said he loves us!" Cloud pushed him away again.

Aerith rolled her eyes. She knew what he was trying to do. Zack was attempting to cheer her up at Cloud's expense. It was working, too. This was so like him, even though she knew his family was still on his mind.

She and Zack shared a significant look, and then almost as one, they latched on to Cloud's arms.

"Naruto-kun!" they chorused.

Cloud just grunted. "Hn. Fangirls," he said, in a perfect imitation of Zack before his awakening.

Zack released him, standing up, indignant, hands on his hips. "I'll have you know I'm not a fangirl. I'm a very manly man."

"Fanboy then," Cloud said, using his now free hand to snag a bit of barbeque. "Fanperson."

Aerith tugged at Zack's sleeve. "You do realize you're around twelve, right?"

Zack mumbled something under his breath, but Aerith let it go. "The point stands, you know. I'm a very manly boy." Aerith couldn't help herself. She laughed.

"The manliest!" she said, toasting him with the dregs of her tea.

"Shikamaru, Chouji!" Ino whispered. "What took you so long?"

"Nothing in particular," Shikamaru said. "Why?"

"Look!" Ino said, gesturing wildly at a table about ten feet away. "Sakura! It's just ugh!"

"I knew this was going to be trouble," Shikamaru groaned. Sure enough, Sasuke was gesturing animatedly while Naruto pulled the quiet and brooding look, every now and again interjecting a comment before lapsing back into silence. Sakura too, confirmed his earlier opinion by not doing anything that could be perceived as flirting. She just sat there calmly, focusing on her meal with—wait a minute, was that staff what they had been in Kurogane's for? The vine and flowers on it were real, and while Shikamaru was no sensor, he would bet it was Mokuton, simply by the color of the base staff and the live flora. She'd shortened it and placed it on her back. Sasuke still had that massive sword.

So much for a quiet lunch.

"I don't get it," Chouji said, crunching on a bag of chips. "They look like they're having fun and being a team."

"Exactly," Ino said. "They don't get along. Like at all. Hinata told me. Haven't you seen Team Seven at all since they've been back?" Ino said. "Look at them! Since when is Naruto the quiet brooding one and Sasuke the loudmouth? Since when does Sasuke even eat with forehead girl—Oh," Ino said the last part quietly, stopping in the middle of her tirade.

"What is it now, Ino?" Shikamaru said, rolling his eyes. It's not like he wasn't curious either, but Ino was getting really riled up. Just like he feared.

"Her hair. It's up and braided. And she's using my ribbon," Ino said blankly.

"Your ribbon?" Chouji asked, curious.

"I didn't tell you, 'cause it's not like you care, but I gave her that ribbon. She stopped wearing it. Now she's wearing it again. Like she just doesn't care. About our rivalry or anything. She can't have won. Not without telling me, right? Right?" Ino said, turning to Shikamaru.

"Or maybe she just needed a ribbon?" Shikamaru offered.

Ino made a noise of frustration, slammed her hands on the table, and stalked out of Yakiniku Q.

"I don't get it," Chouji said again

"Me either," Shikamaru said.

"Girls!" they said in unison.

"Hey, Kakashi-sensei!" Sakura said as he walked into the training grounds.

Kakashi nodded his head. "Sakura." He watched as she moved through another kata with her bō, her movements smooth and practiced. Naruto sneaked up behind her, but she hit him hard in the chest, and he disappeared into a puff of smoke. When she finished, he said, "I didn't realize you had staff training."

Sakura inclined her head. Kakashi wondered if she realized she had a wide streak of mud on her forehead. "Yeah, in another lifetime," she grinned.

It rang of truth for some reason, so he moved on, adding it to his mental list. "It looks like a solid weapon." Ornately decorated, though. And he'd been around Tenzou enough to recognize the wood release when he saw it. He kept his thoughts about Sakura in the back of his mind. Was healing a part of mokuton? He couldn't remember. "Where are Sasuke and Naruto?"

"Oh, they're here and there. Literally. I think Naruto's practicing with his shadow clones while Sasuke's fighting his clones with Princess," Sakura said, taking a big gulp of water from her canteen. "Naruto ambushes me now and then. I'm sure he's doing the same to Sasuke."

"Princess?" Kakashi wondered. "Dare I even ask?"

Sakura shook her head. "I wouldn't. You will anyway, though."

"You're right," Kakashi admitted.

"I'll spare you. It's the former Kubikiribōchō," she said.

"I see," said Kakashi, though he really didn't. "Princess? Really?"

Sakura shrugged. "Sasuke said it was too long of a name, and not elegant enough for such a pretty lady? Something like that, anyway," Kakashi blinked. He really had to get used to this. It hadn't gotten any easier with time.

Finished with her water, and pocketing her canteen, she turned to him. "So Kakashi-sensei, do we have a mission today?" Sakura clenched her fingers into a fist, like she was looking for some action. "I thought today was our day off."

"No, I actually need to go talk to the Hokage, actually. I just came by to check on the progress of my dear little students," Kakashi said, shrugging.

"No need to lay it on that thick, sensei." Sakura said, crossing her arms. "I'm sure you're getting lost on the road of life right now, or going the long way around to avoid a black cat, right?"

Well, he had been on the way to the Memorial Stone. But he wouldn't let her know that. "Aa. Something like that," he scratched the back of his head. When had he gotten so predictable?

Before he could form a response, Kakashi felt a spike of chakra and he and Sakura leapt to the side as a crevasse formed where they were standing, followed by a yell and the thud of metal hitting the ground. Naruto stood, his hands on 'Princess' at the head of it.

"Whoohoo! Go Cloud!" Sasuke yelled, running into the clearing. He had scratches all over his skin and was filthy with mud and blood covering him. "'Braver' right?"

"Yeah," Naruto said, wiping sweat from his face. "But it wasn't supposed to do that." Naruto looked bewildered. It was a face Kakashi was used to seeing from Naruto, but he hadn't seen it in a long time.

"That crack is what, a quarter mile?" Sasuke guessed.

"What were you trying to do?" Kakashi asked, curious despite himself.

"We have to enhance our muscles with chakra in order to lift it. The next logical step is to channel chakra through the weapon to increase the damage or area of effect," Naruto said, "which I did."

Kakashi put his face in the palm of his hand. "No. That is not the next logical step. Naruto, do you even know if the metal is chakra conductive?" He thought Naruto was getting better. But he was still a reckless idiot.

Naruto was the one to blink. "What does that matter? That just makes it easier. It heals itself. Does that count?"

"The sword heals itself?"

"Yeah, see that long scratch?" Naruto sliced his palm wide open on the blade, and sure enough, the blood dissipated while the sword reformed. It healed itself almost as fast as Naruto did.

Kakashi pinched the bridge of his nose and looked up, a rare show of annoyance. "With blood. Of course it does. Just as a test, Kakashi touched the sword and sent a little chakra into it where it immediately rebounded and would have given him a burn, if not for his gloves. "Look, Naruto, I don't even understand why it's not shrapnel right now. Your chakra control is terrible."

Naruto shot him a glare, like he was asking him what the big deal was. Sakura piped up, "It's like channeling materia without a bracer. It can overwhelm the material and melt or explode. It's supposed to be impossible."

"I never had a problem with it," Naruto said. "Not once I learned."

Kakashi couldn't believe it. "Show me," he said.

Naruto did, pulsing his chakra into the blade. He channeled it in slowly, matching the chakra of the blade like it was nothing, before converting the natural chakra of the blade to his own chakra, which Kakashi highly suspected was wind, considering the furrow in the ground. It took him about five minutes before the blade erupted with a blue halo of visible chakra.

"Uh, guys? I think you should step back. Just in case," Sasuke said nervously. "It kind of got out of hand earlier." Not being stupid, the other members of Team Seven stepped back.

Naruto raised Princess high with one hand over his shoulder, then swung horizontally in an arc. The chakra left the sword at blinding speed, and cut down a tree that was about twelve feet in diameter like it was nothing, stopping only when it sliced a boulder behind it almost in two.

"Unbelievable," Kakashi murmured, stunned.