Woo! Chapter four. I am happy to see this story has gotten a couple views! It warms my soul, honestly. :')

"What do you mean no longer training me is necessary?"

"Just a hypothesis."

No one really recalls when Sasuke last showed that much emotion on his face, but he was completely exasperated. He still did not have enough power to defeat Itachi. If Orochimaru thought for a second that he was going to become his vessel without killing his brother first, or Orochimaru himself…

"I'll still follow through for mere amusement, but it is no longer necessary. You can kill Itachi, me, go on a rampage and kill every single person in Konoha for all the world cares. I have a feeling it will only be temporary. Things will soon change."

"Who is bringing on this big change?" He nearly spat the sentence out. Orochimaru's cryptic messages always got on his nerves.

"You should have more respect for Orochimaru, Sasuke. Although you are notorious for having little respect to the most important of people in your life." Kabuto had a way of speaking that always came out condescending. They were all annoying to Sasuke. "Like, Sakura, was it? My, she was a special one. Perhaps the only one that will bring a great change, in time."

Sasuke was well aware that Kabuto had escorted Sakura directly into Orochimaru's hands. He was a pretend snake, that one. Just a cheap copy of Orochimaru.

"Whatever."

The man with snake eyes smirked, and licked his lips. He remembered a time when he had it like that, too. He can still remember how beautiful her golden hair reflected in the sun..

"Where..?" Sakura slowly blinked her eyes as if the blinks would wipe away the nightmare of Sasuke leaving. She heard a slight cough, it almost seemed nervous.

"Shisui saw you pass out in the woods and brought you here to the hospital. Are you okay? Perhaps it was it was a side-effect of the jutsu?" She inwardly groaned, of course he had been there. They are suspicious, or curious. Lord Fourth was standing by her bed side with true concern written on his face. She knew that she should follow traditions and customs when addressing her Hokage, but he made it so hard for her. He was so sincere, and truly worried about a child going through her own crazy crisis.

"I saw myself. At least I'm fairly certain. I've seen baby pictures. I saw my parents, and when I went to get closer… Shortly after getting closer, I felt sick and fainted."

"That's.. I- I'm not sure I've ever heard of such a thing truly being used, but- I must tell you, and please don't run. All of this seems eerily similar to the jutsu I was trying to tell you about earlier." He looked so much like Naruto, but spoke like a true man of wisdom. He radiated intelligence. Naruto won over everyone with his charming smile and big heart, and his father won over everyone with his gentle kindness. She felt comfortable around him, and trusted him. Perhaps if he hadn't passed away so soon he could have changed history all on his own. Would she see that play out? Assuming she could not find a way out of this.

"Please, go on. I need to hear it. I can't live in denial." Apart of her knew that it really wasn't genjutsu. It was her affinity, after all.

"Okay." He smiled at her reassuring her, but it fell short when he began to relay his research. "I will try to be blunt with this, as hard as it may be when you look so young." He smiled another warm smile. It warmed her that he already could sense she didn't appreciate beating around the bush. "This jutsu is tricky, and I have found no accounts of it ever being attempted. There are great side effects that come with it as most forbidden techniques do. It nearly drains most of the caster's chakra, and it reduces the age of the person it is cast on. There was slight indication that the two of the same person running into each other could be dangerous, but it was more of a theory since it was never recorded that it had been attempted. The whole research on the jutsu seems very spotty. The oddest part about the research is it seems fairly new, but there are a few pieces of the puzzle that seem nearly ancient."

This was a lot to take in. She was also feeling useless knowing that Lord Fourth was investing so much time into this research when she knew his plate must have already been full. She decided to voice her concerns.

"Why have you not left the research to me? I know you must have a lot going on.." He smiled at her nervously.

"Well, I don't mean any offense to you, but after careful consultation with my most trusted adviser- we came to the conclusion that; although, we trust you. We can't simply allow you full access to forbidden scrolls.." She understood. She was once extremely loyal to one thing more than Sasuke, and that was Konoha. If she were put in this position to listen to her tales, she would be skeptical as well. Sakura couldn't help but wonder who he had consulted with. She wasn't sure she felt comfortable having the higher ups of Konoha knowing her situation. It may lead to questions that she is more than happy to avoid.

"Who did you consult? If you do not mind me asking?"

"Kushina. I apologize, I know that this is your business more than it is mine to tell, but she is the reason I am the person I have become. Believe it."

With all the craziness that was this situation she let out a small giggle, that soon turned to a long string of laughter. She wasn't sure what set her off, but she was assuming it was the use of her knuckleheads famous line. Minato looked thoroughly concerned, and it only made her laugh harder.

"Right, well, there are some other things we should discuss.." She made the Fourth Hokage nervous! Sakura let one more small giggle escape before she finally put on a serious face.

"Please, I apologize for my rudeness, go on."

"It's quite okay. Well, there are a few topics we must cover. Your identity, living situation, and what you plan to do in between research. I believe we should assume that this is not an illusion, but in fact very real to be safe. We must wonder what your story should be, and choose an alias to go by. You are perceived to have no parents, and you surely can't be around the newborn version of yourself. I think it would be more suitable to stay at the residence you were in last night, and join the academy as an orphan. These things are common amongst the wars that have plagued the shinobi world. Do you have any skills in your time? Have you attempted to use them?"

"Aa. That plan seems most suitable. As for my skills, I once trained under Lady Tsunade. I have exceptional medic skills for the brief training I did have with her because shortly after that I, then, had training from… another ally." She intentionally left out that her additional training was from Kabuto. "My strength also matches Lady Tsunade, in my time." Saying 'in her time' left a bad taste in her mouth. It made it all too real. "But, no, I haven't tested out my strengths. I'm not sure if my skills have been reduced with my age. I plan to go find this out once I am out of this hospital. I can attempt to concentrate on my medic skills for now. Come here, Lord Fourth. If you don't mind."

Without hesitation and complete trust the Fourth Hokage moved closer to her side and just in her reach. She put her small hand on his arm, and burrowed her brow in concentration. Minato mused that such focus looked rather strange on her childish features. He was surprised when her hand let out a green chakra glow, and he felt the familiar warmth from a ninja medic's hands. Sakura's chakra seeped into his body and made its evaluation, relaying it back to her. At least she knew he was healthy. She also knew that her medic skills seemed to be intact. Her chakra reserves may not be as great, but she could make do. Now, to test her strength. She turned her hand on herself and did her own assessment. She didn't notice any trauma from her faint earlier, so she took that as the sign she was good to go.

"No wonder she has the Hokage's attention! We have another exceptional shinobi in the making!" Shisui's smile practically blinded the two others in the room. Sakura couldn't help but to compare him to Naruto. She silently prayed he hadn't heard anything, though. She was sure he wouldn't disrespect the Hokage enough to eavesdrop. What was he doing here?

"Thank you, Shisui. I heard that you brought me here." Sakura removed herself out of bed and sent a light bow his way. "What brings you to my room?"

"I haven't left since I brought you here. As I went to leave I ran into Mikoto! She finally pushed the little sucker out." Yes, he definitely reminded her of Naruto. Wait! That means that Sasuke has finally came back into her reality. This was all too much. "I waited with Itachi, but we finally got to meet the little guy, Sasuke Uchiha. Anyways, I figured I'd come up here to check on you since I was in the same place."

Sasuke…

"How kind of you." She had always been the polite one. "I am feeling much better probably more thanks to you. I was just about to go to the training grounds to stretch my legs. See you around!"

Sakura bowed, as means of a goodbye, to the one man that knew the truth. For now he was her main consultant. She supposed Kushina, too, even if it wasn't first hand. As she made her way through the door, and out the hallway she heard footsteps shadowing her own behind her.

"Hey! Do you mind if I come with you? Itachi may be preoccupied with his new sibling, so my night is free." She kind of did mind, but she for the life of her couldn't think of an excuse. After a small internal battle she reasoned that a sparring partner may just be the thing she needed to test her skills. She had heard how powerful Shisui was, and that he was a genius in his own right as well. It would be good practice. He was probably about 3 years older than her current form, but that shouldn't matter. She was technically supposed to be older than him, right?

"Sure," was all she offered as a response. She just wasn't in the mood to make new friends here. Sakura would never admit his livelihood that resembled her old teammate brought her comfort, though. She looked back to notice his bright grin had returned.

"Great! Let's see what you can do."

They made it to the training grounds just as the sun had began to set. Had that much time passed already? Sakura's heart clenched when she noticed the nostalgic three wooden posts sticking out of the ground. The fond memories of simple times. Their first sign of teamwork. Her mind almost always settled on Sasuke, but she had to admit her heart always went out for Naruto, too. Just in a different way. She missed them both. Why couldn't she have been sent back to this time with Sasuke? What will being here do?

She was nearing two full days stuck in this time. All she could do was hope that research would pay off, and hope that she can make use of this time. Lord Fourth's plan was a good one, and she intended to register for the academy tomorrow. For now, she needed to test a few things out.

She had been lost in thought ever so briefly, and Shisui was far more observant that Naruto. He could tell she had a lot going through her mind. He wanted to take her mind off these things. He often saw the same look in Itachi, and it was just heartbreaking seeing such young children growing up faster than adults. He would be the one to rid Itachi and now, Sakura's darkness. He wanted to end wars all together. So, he did what he did best. He flashed a smile at Sakura, and got into a stance.

"I should warn you," as he flexed, "I'm pretty strong." Sakura's emerald, sea green eyes nearly popped out of her head as her thoughts were halted. He was just as rambunctious as Naruto, but she did not like to be underestimated. His distraction worked.

"It's on." Sakura leaped back and slid along the ground with her hand out to center her. She noted that Shisui didn't activate his sharingan. He wasn't taking her seriously, yet. She had to remember not to be too cocky, she wasn't exactly sure if all her skills were still in good use. How would monster strength look on a 6 year old? At least she had confidence in the skills that Kabuto had taught her. He was a tricky one.

Shisui didn't want to be the first to make a move, he wasn't sure what was too rough and what wasn't enough, but he needed to test her out. His sharingan activated as he took out three kunai. Each one laid between his fingers, he was going to aim slightly away from her, just to see how she reacts. He pulled his arm into himself and flung it back to hurl the three kunai at the young girl. She didn't even move a muscle.

"I may not have eyes like yours, but even I could see the trajectory was off. You're going easy on me. I won't get stronger that way." She was right.

Sakura took this time as a chance to truly test her skills. She ran towards Shisui with great speed from pumping chakra into her feet. Using the same technique she leaped into the air, and gravity took over and led her back down to the ground with her fist first. The velocity in which she moved was inhuman.

"Cha!"

Shisui momentarily thanked his eyes, and moved out of the way flawlessly. Sakura landed, and loose dirt arose all around her. When it finally cleared, Shisui nearly fell over. There was a decent sized crater surrounding Sakura's fist. She had her strength still. Inner Sakura jumped with joy. When Sakura looked up at Shisui, she was pleased to see he was appreciating her skills. He looked shocked, but he also admired her work.

"You know, you never did give me your name..." Sakura cursed herself for not considering one sooner. She had to think quick for a befitting name… She recalled her childhood with Ino and her expertise in flowers. She supposed staying true to her real name wouldn't hurt.

"My name is Kosumosu."

"Like, the flower?"

"Yes."

"You punch really hard for a flower." Sakura couldn't help but let out a long laugh. It felt good. She hadn't had laughed like that in a long time.

"Come on, don't tell me you're done already?"

"Never!" They laughed as they sparred for the next few hours, never going easy on each other.

Itachi peered down at the newborn baby in the sling around his body. His little brother. A life. A new life.

Birth… Death… Birth… Death…

Life is Born. Life dies.

Life is… A battle.

He would protect this life with all his power. All the tragedy that he has seen in his life would never stop him from loving his little brother, always. Little did he know, there was another person with monster strength that had the same convictions as he. Sasuke's future was safe in their hands.

Not too sure how I feel about this chapter since it was mostly just setting up some stuff for the future! Little Sakura goes to register to the academy in the next chapter, and what if she runs into baby sasuke? o: I appreciate that positive reviews I have gotten so far! :3