So this is the NEWLY revised version of chap3. This is NOT the revised version a year ago. Read my profile if you're wondering why. So tell me what you think about this revised version. Read the story carefully. Some of the changes are important to the storyline and there are many subtle hints of something important happening in the future.

Be forewarned of the usual mistakes such as grammatical and factual errors.

----Italics means thoughts, dreams, and flashbacks----

Disclaimer: Why would you think I own Naruto? Who do you think I am? GOD????

The Perfect Soldier

Sasuke found himself on a small hill in his family's plot of land during the summertime. And he wasn't alone. In front of him was the 17-year old Sakura, wearing a long gray skirt with a short-sleeved white dress shirt and her long pink hair running freely in the breeze. She even had the red ribbon tied on her hair. But for some reason, this Sakura was hugging her knees and crying, making Sasuke feel this uncomfortable ache in his chest.

"Suke! What took you so long? Where are you?" she sobbed. She must be desperate, for Sakura stopped calling Sasuke "Suke" when he requested it during junior high.

Sasuke walked up to her, "It's okay now. I'm here."

Much to Sasuke's confusion, Sakura continued to cry. It was like she was in pure anguish and deaf to everything around her. But Sakura cried harder and curled up into a ball tighter, shielding her head with her hands. As Sakura's sobs becoming increasingly harder, the more Sasuke began to panic, not knowing what was causing her distress. Sasuke tried to calm her down by shaking her, only to have her violently push him away. It was when Sakura pushed Sasuke away did he saw what was terrifyingly wrong with her.

Sakura's tears were red as blood. Her clothes were stained with blood.

Sasuke paled from the sight and tried to approach the traumatized cherry blossom. But suddenly Sakura gave out a bloodcurdling scream. Sasuke clenched his eyes shut and covered his ears.

Then silence.

Sasuke immediately reopened his eyes to find himself in a dark void with nothing but his echoes. Like every single time, this was how it ended; he kept running and calling out for her in this darkness. But everytime there's no answer but his echo.

Sasuke clung to his last bit of hope when a burst of light came before him. He was transported to a stormy autumn day but it was so dark that it looked more like night. And Sasuke wasn't in the hill this time, but at a familiar cemetery during a huge downpour.

Then Sasuke caught sight of long pink hair in the distance. When the raven-haired man confronted the pink haired woman, he couldn't believe this was the same Sakura he saw seconds ago.

Sakura's once lively emerald eyes are now completely empty and numb. She was like an empty shell, couldn't even feel the rain pouring down on her. Her skin was almost white as ghost and heavy dark circles were on her eyes. Her black clothes clung to her skinny frame and her once beautiful long hair was disheveled. In front of her is her family's tombstone. Sasuke wasn't sure if the river running across her cheeks were from the rain or from tears.

"I'm very sorry that I am worthless. I am such a disappointment."

"That's not true, Sakura!" Sasuke tried to get closer to her and help her.

But to Sasuke's horror as he got closer, he noticed Sakura was holding a pistol.

"No…Sakura. What are you doing?"

Sakura numbly stared at him. "Have we met before, sir?"

Sasuke felt like his heart stopped. "It's me! Sasuke! Don't you remember me?"

Sakura stared at him stolidly and then looked away…and slowly placed the pistol next to her head, her finger clung to the trigger.

"NO!!! Don't-"

"Sasuke! Wake up, you bastard!"

Sasuke was instantly awake and grabbed Naruto by the collar. Sasuke was definitely not pleased having to see this idiot first thing when he wakes up. Yet Sasuke was grateful Naruto woke him up from that terrifying dream. It felt so very unsettlingly real…. But Sasuke kept his cool and frowned at Naruto.

"What the hell are you doing in my room?"

"You kept shouting in your sleep! Almost everybody in the hall heard you! Even Shino's complaining! You know Shino NEVER complains, unlike Shikamaru. Do you even know what time it is?"

Sasuke groaned when he saw the time - 1:28am.

Naruto grew concerned, "I'm more worried about what made you act like that. It's that dream again about your childhood girlfriend, right?"

How could this idiot still be so loud and fully awake this early? Though tired as hell, Sasuke managed a scary death glare, "That's none of your business."

Naruto didn't noticed the dangerous aura coming out of him, "I know…but this is the first time that dream made you do something so dramatic like that. It's never been that bad before."

Sasuke's glare intensified, "Get. Out."

Naruto recognized that tone and quickly dashed out. Sasuke sighed and fell back onto the mattress, drenched with cold sweat. He stared at the ceiling and thought about his nightmare. With a dream like that there's no way he'll be able to go back to sleep. As much as he hated to admit it, but Naruto was right: this time the dream took a very terrifying turn.

Usually his nightmare ends right when the bleeding Sakura gave out a bloodcurdling scream. But this time the dream took a dramatic step further. Maybe this dream was a metaphor to something, something beyond his understanding.

"Well whatever that nightmare meant, I hoped it wasn't a prophecy."

Meeting Konoha 12

Two days after Thanksgiving, Kakashi suggested they would introduce Sakura to the rest of their squad since Sakura lived apart from the military quarters. Only A-rank soldiers were allowed to live in private residences. Combat medics also live in the military quarters, but since Sakura is the only other female in the Konoha military branch she remained in her own public residential quarters.

And so Team Kakashi had to go to Sakura's public housing for nurses to pick her up. But the most troublesome part of the ordeal is that the team had to wait for Kakashi (which always take a LONG time) and then they could go find Sakura, since Kakashi was the only one in the team who knows how the military and hospital transactions worked.

When Team Kakashi reached the dorm, they noticed two young men guarding the building after they passed through the main entrance. The two men seemed to be younger than Kakashi but older than the B4s. They were wearing the black uniform that resembles the city's police force.

"State your business, soldiers," the soldier with a black bandana demanded once they saw Team Kakashi passing the security desk.

"My team and I are picking up Combat Medic Haruno Sakura…." Kakashi looked at the men's names on their badges, "Kamizuki Izumo and Hagane Kotetsu. I believe she resides in Room 207."

The other man, Kotetsu, was now looking up the files to confirm what Kakashi said. Once that was confirmed, Izumo handed a clipboard to the team.

"Sorry for the inconvenience. We need to keep records of who's visiting the residents. We don't like this shitload of paperwork and signing things but that's policy…even if we adamantly admire the legendary Hatake Kakashi."

And so Kakashi the B4s signed in their names and passed through the security checkpoint.

"Captain, since our squad is getting three new members or three combat medics, wouldn't this mean we have to change our squad name from Konoha 12 to Konoha 16 or 15, counting out pervy-leader?"

"Well Naruto you need to remember the idea that Sakura and other combat medics don't consider themselves as a part of the team. Remember what I told you the other day at the hospital?"

Immediately the team were silent.

Kakashi cleared his throat, "I assume the name will remain as Konoha 12. But this isn't too important to get worked up about it. Commander Jiraiya didn't seem to mind this either and won't be for a while since he's going to one meeting after another. We're only an assignment to Sakura, nothing else. So she would say that she shouldn't be counted as a part of the squad."

From Kakashi's words, Sasuke's heart stopped beating for a brief second.

"Is that what I am to her? An assignment?"

Kakashi gave three knocks on door 207 and was answered in a matter of seconds. Sakura saluted to her captain.

"Good morning, Captain Hatake-sama, Uchiha-san, Sai-san, Uzumaki-san."

Sakura was greeted with a "Hn" from Sasuke, a fake smile from Sai…and a thunderous stomach from Naruto.

A red hue was forming on Naruto's face, "Sorry! I didn't get a good breakfast."

The rest of his team sighed in exasperation. Sakura remained emotionless but stepped aside for the team to come in. Sakura bowed politely.

"In that case, please come in and I shall cook some breakfast. Breakfast is the most important meal of the day, after all."

So the four men entered the combat medic's humble abode. Once they entered the threshold and living room, there was nothing but four white walls, a clock, and a window. The kitchen connecting the living room has a table, two matching chairs, and a few pots of herbs for cooking. But there were no accessories to lighten up the room at all. The place was practically naked!

That did not sit well for Sasuke. With the nightmare still fresh in his memory, Sasuke had this bad feeling if the things he saw and the words Sakura said were really from her or her subconscious. They say that a house is not home unless the occupant makes it so and that a home reflects the occupant's state of mind. With the room being so stale, it resembles Sakura state of mind: empty.

"Sakura," Sasuke said this in the most casual way as he could, "what did you do for Thanksgiving?"

Sakura should've caught on to his subliminal message. Sasuke couldn't help but rub his anger and frustration and hoping to see if Sakura had any sort of reaction from it. Sasuke could've sworn Sakura tensed a little…though it might be his wishful thinking. But then Sakura answered a bit hoarsely,

"Nothing, Uchiha-san. I just read and sleep."

"That's it? That's all she did in a 24-hour span?"

Sakura's routine was even more mundane and zombie-like than Sai's "normal" routine. Now along with her eerily mundane routine, Sasuke questioned further on Sakura's real state of mind. But before Sasuke could go deeper on the issue, Sakura bowed apologetically and changed the topic.

"I'm sorry that I do not have enough chairs and mats for all of you. Would it be too burdensome if some of you sit on the floor? I assure you the floor is clean. I never had visitors before."

"Don't worry about it, Sakura-chan. I mean we're already bothering you for a free meal," Naruto scratched his head sheepishly as he sat on a chair.

Sakura shook her head, "My purpose is to serve you. So you do not need to apologize for anything."

Sakura gave Naruto a simple fruit salad and a loaf of orange bread. Naruto gave Sakura a frown and Naruto never frowns!

"Is something the matter, Uzumaki-san?"

"It's not ramen."

Kakashi sighed while opening his book. Sai smiled as he drew.

Sasuke rolled his eyes, "Dumbass."

Before Naruto could fight back, Sakura intervened. "As much as I disliked being involved in such bickering, but I'm afraid I must agree with Uchiha-san, Uzumaki-san. Eating ramen every meal is unhealthy. Even though my purpose is to take care of you, you should be careful about yourself and your health. Eat more fruits and vegetables, Uzumaki-san. I'm sure Hinata-san had told you this before."

Like a 5-year-old eating spinach, Naruto pouted and reluctantly ate his first bite. Naruto's expression changed completely once he swallowed his food.

"Whoa what's in this bread, Sakura-chan? It's good!"

Sakura bowed in gratitude, "I made the bread from scratch. I mixed the dough with tomato paste and some herbs and spices."

As Sakura returned to the kitchen to make coffee for everyone, Sasuke got a sense of nostalgia. Sakura had always been a great cook. Ever since her mother passed away, Sakura learned how to do domestic chores very well in order to fend for herself while her father was out on missions.

Sasuke fondly remembered the times when they were in middle school. Sakura would make his bento for school and they tasted delicious. His personal favorite was this very same tomato bread Naruto is eating. He would even save some of it for basketball practice after school if he got hungry. And when they were in elementary school, sometimes Sasuke forgot his bento his mother made. So when they had lunch, Sakura would share the lunch she made for herself with Sasuke.

But those days were the past.

Sasuke was brought back to reality when a cup of hot black coffee was seen in front of his line of vision.

"Here's your black coffee, Uchiha-san."

"Hn."

Sasuke wasn't into coffee so much. But since he'd only 3 hours of sleep last night, coffee could do some good. When he took a sip, he was surprised how intense the caffeine was. That really woke him up. Sakura must've made this type of coffee often for herself. Does this mean she needed these to keep herself awake when she has her own nightmares?

But now that they're fully awake, Sasuke and the other two guys noticed how apprehensive Kakashi was and he was more so when Sakura approached him with his coffee. This was very uncharacteristic of their one-eyed captain to act this tense; this would normally happen while they're on a mission. It was obvious to the B4s just by knowing his habits. Kakashi's cautious eye kept flickering back and forth between his book and Sakura. Not only that but Kakashi wasn't even reading his book anymore, for he never even flipped a page since he opened that book.

And the young men couldn't tell if Sakura was aware of it or not. If she did, she didn't show it. It didn't make any sense. All this time Kakashi had been so welcoming and friendly to her. But now it looked like he was more on the defensive side. What was it about Sakura that bothered even the great Hatake Kakashi?

The uncomfortable atmosphere suddenly shifted when Kakashi got a "youthful" call from his mobile….

Team Kakashi and Sakura left Sakura's dorm and was heading to the military base a few kilometers away. Kakashi got a challenge from another captain of their squad, Maito Gai. Kakashi, as always, seemed laid back about it and casually reading his porn along the way. Sai had his emotionless expression while Naruto and Sasuke were apparently annoyed by Gai's proposal, since this wasn't the first time Gai challenged Kakashi. All these "challenges" weren't even challenges at all - more like child's play.

But the three B4s weren't only acting this way because of Gai's petulance. Once they entered the military base almost all the military men were staring at them, or rather at Sakura, the only female in the base. It wasn't the sneering kind of way (though for some it was), but the lustful kind of stare. Sasuke, Naruto, and Sai were rather unnerved by the amount of scrutiny they're getting. For Naruto, he liked being the center of attention but not in this kind. For Sai and Sasuke they preferred being mostly unnoticed by people. This entire situation was unintentionally brought forth by their female member of the team and this slightly annoyed them.

Yet it didn't look like Sakura was bothered by the attention she's getting. She was looking around the military base with wonder and curiosity. This must be Sakura's first time in the military base. If she did notice the men, she disguised it well. Kakashi didn't seem to be bothered either; he was concentrating on his book while walking. Maybe Sakura and Kakashi were both blocking the reality of people staring at them.

They saw a flash of green and black in the distance and four young men standing behind the figure.

"You are 36 minutes, 12 seconds and 7 milliseconds late Kakashi!" cried a man with a bowl-like haircut.

Team Kakashi (except Sakura) rolled their eyes and so did the men behind the youthful man.

"Let's not do this, Gai."

"No more excuses, my eternal rival! It is time to break our 50-50-tie once and for all! It is time to show you that I am greater than you!" and Gai did his notorious "nice guy" pose. Everybody could've sworn they saw stars around his teeth and they twitched in annoyance…even Sakura.

"Perhaps I should introduce her to your team, Gai…and then we could do whatever after that," Kakashi replied as he flipped his page.

Gai arrogantly chuckled, "You're just stalling the inevitable, Kakashi. I know I can get intimidating sometimes, Kakashi."

"Hm? Did you say something Gai?"

"Oh that burns me up, Kakashi! You think you're so cool and all that! But one day I will bring you down with my power of youth!"

Ignoring Gai altogether, Kakashi introduced Sakura to the subordinates of Team Gai (inciting his youthful fury even further): Inuzuka Kiba, Rock Lee, and Hyuuga Neji. And then Team Kakashi saw the additional member of Gai's team, the combat medic. The combat medic had soft and delicate features and did look like a woman, which explains why Naruto thought he was a "she." The two combat medics immediately recognized each other and bowed to each other as proper greetings to colleagues working in ROOT.

"It's good to be working along with you, Haruno-kun."

"Likewise, Haku-sempai."

"You know this Haku guy, Sakura-chan?"

"I know her too, Naruto."

Team Kakashi and members of Team Gai turned towards Neji, who was casually leaning against a tree and folded his arms. Sakura did not want to greet that man first because of the disparity of her rank; Neji was raised in a disciplined family and properness is important for the Hyuugas. Also Sakura wasn't too familiar with Neji except knowing him through Tenten and Hinata.

Sakura politely saluted the long-haired brunette, "Good morning, Hyuuga-san."

Neji nodded back in acceptance, "I have heard of you from my fiancée and Hinata-sama and so I held no grudge against you, since both held you in high regard. The disparity of our rank does not affect our connection."

This time Sakura bowed politely, "Thank you, Hyuuga-san."

Then a mini-Gai approached her like honey is to bees.

"Well hello, my youthful cherry blossom! My name is Rock Lee and it's a youthful pleasure to meet you!"

"That's the spirit, Lee!"

Like his Gai, Lee did the "nice guy" pose and was a little bit too close for Sakura's comfort. The first thing Sakura noticed was how much this man resembled Captain Gai in every angle. Sakura had to bite her tongue in order to control herself from reacting to this weirdo. She did noticed how Sasuke and among others were very uncomfortable with Lee pursuing her like this.

And so, Sakura carried out what she was trained to do: salute to her "superior," "It's a pleasure to meet you, Lee-san," Sakura spoke in a deadpan way.

Lee was in total disbelief and his jaw dropped. Waterfall-like tears were pouring from his eyes, "How can this be?! With my connections with the youthful Gai-sensei surely I would not be rejected-"

Before Lee could say any further, a giant dog tackled him on the ground and barked. Naruto and Kiba, the dog's owner, burst out laughing that they almost falling on the concrete. Even Sasuke, Sai, and Neji smirked. Haku and Sakura just blankly stared at the dog.

Kiba tried to stifle his laughter, "C'mon Akamaru! Get off Bushy Brow!"

Akamaru barked and returned to his master. As Sakura get acquainted with other members of Team Gai, Gai finally pointed his finger at Kakashi.

"Alright, Kakashi! She's already acquainted with all my youthful men! Now nothing remains but to settle our score! Will it be push-ups? toe wrestling? Stamp-licking? What will it be, Kakashi!"

Kakashi closed his book and pretend to think this thoroughly as possible. Then a glint in his eye, "I got one."

"What is it, Kakashi! Tell me!"

Everybody watched the two captains with utmost suspense.

"Rock, Paper, Sissors."

Insert mass anime-style fainting. Gai jumped back up, "We did that already, Kakashi! I swear we're not doing that again!" Gai gave his accusatory finger at him.

"Then let's have Haku and Sakura face off; see whose combat medic is better. How's that, Gai?"

Kakashi was met by a brief moment of silence. And then…..

"WHAT A YOUTHFUL IDEA, KAKASHI!!! I couldn't agree more!! Bring it on!"

Sasuke immediately objected to the idea. "Kakashi, this might attract attention, which we're still getting too much of."

Neji agreed, "We can't arrange a fight like this. It might get out of hand."

Gai, being Gai, disagreed. "Nonsense, my youthful Neji! This is how men resolve their issues! Youthful men must solve rivalry with manly ways!"

Sai cut in, "This isn't the same, Captain Gai. It's man vs. woman and an unfair match."

"We can't have the youthful cherry blossom get hurt!"

Much to Gai's dismay his disciple of youth, Rock Lee, was disagreeing with him. Naruto and Kiba were siding with the rest of the subordinates. Kakashi ended the dispute by having the combat medics' consent. After all, they're the ones who're doing the fighting. Haku and Sakura had been silent during this whole ordeal and now all eyes were trained on them.

After long consideration, Haku spoke first, "I accept the offer."

Now all eyes turned to the pink-haired combat medic.

"I will accept the offer if the fight is a fair one. That means only ninja tools and taijutsu. No other outside dangerous tools."

Sasuke stopped her, "No Sakura. It's too dangerous. Even if this is by the rules, you'll get hurt."

Sasuke wasn't sure if he should still care for her safety or let her have her way. But when Sakura agreed to fight a guy (though feminine) out of her own free will, Sasuke's instinctively became worried for her.

Sakura slightly winced from Sasuke's tight grip. To be honest, Sakura was a bit intimidated by him. Sasuke sets the perfect example of a soldier. His body is perfectly sculpted, tall, and well built, though not as severe as professional bodybuilders. Still, if he were to wrap his arms around her, he could well squeeze the life out of her. Then there's his eyes. His gaze was piercingly sharp.

But knowing this is one of those rare moments where she has the freedom to choose without strings attached, Sakura's answer was firm. "I may be a woman but that doesn't mean I'm weak, Uchiha-san. I will be alright."

Sakura gave her own strong grip on his hand with her free one for reassurance, before releasing Sasuke's grasp a little bit too harsh for his liking. Sasuke stuffed his hands in his pockets, turning his palms into fists inside them to hind his anger and frustration.

Team Gai and Team Kakashi went to a soccer field nearby to have their fight. The fight will have a maximum of 5 minutes unless one of the two surrenders or unable to battle. The first thing Sakura and Haku did was to take off their military vest. To the B4s astonishment, Sakura's vest made a loud "thud" sound once it landed on the earth. The vest must weigh even heavier than a bowling ball! She must be physically strong if she was to wear that heavy thing all the time.

"Haruno-kun, your gloves should come off."

Sakura looked at her custom-made black gloves, which has electromagnetic conductors on the knuckles. When the user applied force on those gloves upon contact, the user knock the wind out of the victim but also give the victim a shock level depending on the amount of force the user applied. In short, this seemingly simple glove is very advanced and dangerous.

"You're not entirely honest yourself, sempai." Sasuke could've sworn there was a tone of amusement in that emotionless facade of hers as she replaced her gloves with bandages.

A small grin appeared on his soft features. "Caught me again."

Several acupunture needles fell out of Haku's armbands and tshirt, much to the surprise of Team Kakashi.

Sakura knew Haku wasn't a guy who fights dirty. In fact, Haku was one of the only few guys who didn't pick on her or thought of her like a whore. Reversely Sakura had a lot of sympathy for Haku. Haku's father was an alcoholic and Haku was told that he was abusive to his family. It didn't take a genius to know what happened next since Haku was placed in the orphanage by the police and the government. The two medics held each other in high regard. This "sneaky" scheme seemed almost like an inside joke of some kind.

Before the fight, Haku and Sakura gave each other a respective bow. They were ready for the fight.

They started their battle poses. In each other's eyes, they secretly told each other they will not fatally harm each other.

Sakura started the fight. She charged head on towards the dark-haired man with a mean right hook.

All the men thought the same thing: "She's fast!"

Haku didn't have enough time to react and was projected at least 7 feet back. While Haku halfway got up, Sakura charged head on with a kick, only to have it blocked by him. Haku counterattacked by swinging her across the field by her ankle.

Sakura landed on her feet, albeit not as gracefully as she'd liked. Haku wiped the blood off his mouth from Sakura's powerful fist. The two fighters had their poker face on, trying to size the other up, not even noticing the cheering from the sidelines.

"Go Sakura-chan!" Naruto shouted to the woman while the other members of the team remained deathly quiet, some silently nervous about the outcome of the fight.

"Haku! Haku! You're the man! Show her just how youthful you are!" Neji and Kiba stayed far away from their captain, embarrassed with his enthusiasm. Lee had waterfall-like tears onhis face, torn as to whom he should root for.

After a long glaring battle, Sakura and Haku continued their fight. The match seems like there's no end to it; both fighters' skills were evenly matched. Blows met with blocks, kunai deflecting kunai, and shuriken deflecting shuriken. 2 minutes left. As the two combat medics threw the last pieces of shuriken at each other...

"Forehead Girl!"

It took Sakura a fraction of a second to avoid Haku's attack and then another to see a blonde haired woman waving at her several yards behind Haku. It looks like she had company as well. Things turned for the worst.

"Oh no! They're right behind him! Once Haku avoids my shuriken and kunai, Ino and the others will get hit!"

Before Ino and another woman cried the fear out of their voice box, a large man stood in front of the women. The tall and well-built man caught the weapons with little difficulty while a few kunai were shot down by bullets.

The soccer field was deadly still for a few moments. A brunette woman with two hair buns next to Ino unloaded her service revolver and placed it back in her holster underneath her black skirt police uniform. Sakura continued to run towards the three women and the giant man in front of them.

"Ino-san, Tenten-san, and Hinata-san are you alright?!"

Ino, the blonde girl who called Sakura earlier, fell down on her knees, feeling like wax. Hinata was terrified out of her wits and began to weep. Tenten, the brunette, was unfazed.

"Don't worry, Sakura! Team Asuma's combat medic took care of them, as you can see for yourself. I shot down the rest of them-"

"You didn't, Tenten. I did."

The ladies turned and saw Neji holding his signature sniper rifle, the Fareye.

Tenten pouted, "No you didn't. You're just too damn stubborn to admit that you weren't the knight in shining armor as you'd imagined."

"Hn," Neji looked away to hide his blush.

Naruto ran towards Hinata and pour a bottle of water on her face. "Hinata-chan! Are you okay?!"

Hinata opened her eyes, only to see Naruto's concerned face within millimeters from hers. Hinata's entire face turned into a deeper shade of red and returned to the realm of unconsciousness. Sakura and Haku approached the tall man who blocked the weapons.

"Juugo-sempai, are you injured?"

Juugo dropped the weapons. There were a few cuts across his body. Haku and Sakura pulled Juugo off to the side and both treated his wounds. Meanwhile, the rest of the squad and the women were trying to calm the situation down a bit.

"Troublesome woman, you shouldn't be walking in when a battle is going on. It's common sense. How troublesome."

Ino huffed, "Well we're just here to find Sakura! What's wrong with that?!"

"Can't you find her at another time? There's no rush, Ino," said Choji as he eats his potato chips.

Tenten sighed, "Hinata and I decided we need to talk to Sakura about me and Neji-kun's wedding. And since Sakura will be very busy, we thought we should discuss the issue today."

All the men turned towards Sakura, who paid no attention to them as she and Haku treated Juugo's cuts. The word "wedding" and "Sakura" didn't seem to match each other in one sentence.

Neji did a poor job at concealing his blush, "Tenten, what are you planning about for the wedding that is needed to be done this early? We're not getting married until summer."

Hinata, who finally regained consciousness, spoke. "Don't you understand, Neji-niisan? You and Tenten-chan have no voice in this engagement except with the wedding plans. Of course Tenten will make the most of this."

When neither Neji nor the guys spoke a word, the ladies went to Sakura's side.

"Are all of you alright?"

"Sakura, stop being so uptight about everything. We can take care of ourselves so worry about yourself."

Sakura could see the sadness in their eyes and decided she would not protest this time.

"I will do my best…. Now what is it that you need to ask me about?"

"Hinata is going to be my Maid-of-Honor while Ino is doing the wedding decorations. I want you, and possibly Ino too, to be my bridesmaid."

Everybody in the squad was baffled by the proposal, especially Team Kakashi. Sakura, being a "military woman," didn't fit the frame of delicacy. Team Kakashi were increasingly intrigued, especially Sasuke. Sasuke couldn't even imagine what this Sakura would look like in a long white silky dress.

But what surprised Sasuke the most was that all this time Sakura had close connections indirectly to him through his squad members' girlfriends. Sasuke knew Tenten and Neji have an arranged marriage sometime ago. As for Naruto's and Hinata's relationship, Sasuke guessed they'd met each other through Neji and Tenten and the relationship wasn't too long ago. Shikamaru wasn't the type to say these things so liberally unless it was absolutely necessary so Sasuke didn't know when he and Ino met either.

"But how come I've never ran into Sakura at all during these 5 years? With these close connections, I would've seen Sakura at least once. Where exactly was she during these 5 years? What have she been doing all this time?"

Sakura had this small blush on her face yet she remained passive.

"I'm overtly flattered, Tenten-san. But I don't think my current image would be pleasant with guests. And certainly your family."

"Nonsense, Sakura! Those high-society people don't know anything! And besides, it's not their wedding so they have no right to say whom I choose to have as my bridesmaid. I want you to be my bridesmaid because you're one of my closest friends and I trust you. Isn't that good enough of a reason? Please do this. For me, please?"

Sakura was speechless by Tenten's speech. Sakura couldn't believe these women will still hold her in such high regard even after all the things that she'd gone through. In the end, Sakura yielded and agreed with a respectful bow.

"If it brings you joy on an event that should be your happiest day of your life, then so be it. I will do my best, Tenten-san."

"Enough of this pathetic feminism! I say we should take a youthful picture of our entire squad! Now I know Jiraiya-sama is in an un-cool meeting, but his youthful and fiery spirit shall remain with us!"

A whole series of groans and complaints came afterwards. Pictures were lame and part of the past, though Asuma and Kakashi didn't mind it too much. The whole Konoha 12 Squad was like a surrogate family to these soldiers, even though the combat medics were somewhat alienated. Through the craziness of it all, all of them had this silent respect for one another. So after long persuasion, the younger generation of soldiers consented for a group photograph. Team Kakashi will be on the left side of the photo, Team Gai will be in the middle, and Team Asuma will be on the right. Hinata got a camera set and will take the photo while Tenten and Ino stood behind her.

For Sasuke, this was an moment of irony. During his younger days with Sakura, they captured so many of their happy memories on camera, immortalizing their memories on photos. But those were happy memories. And now here he was with Sakura in which this moment wouldn't classify as a happy memory, was being captured into photo as well. Will this be last photo - last chapter - of their relationship?

But then Juugo nervously muttered, "I sensed a very disturbed animal."

Juugo was answered with a screech from Ino. All eyes followed to the direction of Ino's pointed finger and only to discover Kiba's dog Akamaru…about to urinate on them.

Almost all members of the squad let loose in uproar and panic…and then the camera flashed.

It was a memory of a humorous disaster, the combat medics looked straight at the camera, unfazed by the scene…but everyone's reaction was priceless. Gai, Lee, Naruto, and Choji had the most expressive reactions, looking like they were squealing or were about to "worship the throne." The silent types of the squad: Neji, Sasuke, Kakashi, Sai, and Shino, had a "what the fuck?!" reaction. While the rest of the team: Shikamaru, Kiba, and Asuma had a very disgusted or annoyed expression on their faces; Asuma even spat out his cigarette.

As Sasuke would look at himself and Sakura standing next to each other in that photo, Sasuke would realized that this moment might not be the last for the two of them.

"Looks like this wasn't too bad after all."

It's been a long day for Kakashi. Kakashi had never felt such a tidal wave of emotions inside him for such a long time. It's been awhile since he'd felt regret, guilt, nostalgia, and confusion all at once. Kakashi was not pleased about this new tide of change, especially when it reopened dark corridors he'd selectively shut off. Until today he had successfully blocked memories of her out of his mind.

And this was all because of his combat medic, Haruno Sakura.

Although Sakura herself had done nothing, it was the events involving her that set him off. Kakashi did not like to reopen the history that involved his younger days as a soldier. The only exception was his team, which consisted of Gai, Asuma, Yamato, himself, and Uchiha Fugaku as the captain. But the memories he spent with several other members of his squad had always been a touchy subject. The Icha Icha series were very helpful!

When Jiraiya told his team to get a combat medic, Kakashi tried to block out any past reminders of her. Even worse, the medic was a female; another way to make him remind himself of her again. Another bombshell was his assigned combat medic's name. Kakashi thought he'd never hear the name Haruno again. And of all places, he ran across it here, in the military! Kakashi was practically raising his former squad members' offspring! And when he thought of Captain Haruno, he thought of her again. Damn Karma.

He knew he was stalling the inevitable, but Kakashi tried procrastinating from going into KMH. During those 3 hours Kakashi had tried to muster his courage to go inside to confront memory lane. Eventually he had to face the music and go inside, much to the impatience of Naruto and the others.

Fortunately, Kakashi felt relieved that Sakura never brought up his relations with Captain Haruno, her father. Otherwise Kakashi would've felt confronted and tortured to tell Sakura about his personal involvement with her father. It seemed Sakura didn't recognize him at all, which made some sense since he had only met her once during Haruno Kasumi's funeral 14 years ago. But things turned a complete 180 this morning when Sakura said those words:

"…You should be careful about yourself and your health."

Those words totally blew Kakashi's mind. Those were the same exact words she said to him when he noticed her for the first time. Those were the words that taught him the value of teamwork, friendship and of course, love.

The squad had an offense mission at Yokohama and ran into a hell of a lot of trouble. After escaping that dangerous mission and retreated back to Konoha, Kakashi applied pressure on the slash wound on his left eye. There was no hope of recover of that eye except an implant. A young female of medical profession carried out the transplant. Yet Kakashi remained unfazed.

During the entire operation, it was uncomfortably silent and Kakashi had no mood to talk at all. After the operation was finished and the eye bandaged up, she spoke:

"Thank you for all that you've done for me…but you should be careful about yourself and your health. Hatake-san, even though you don't believe it, but I think there are still people there who cared about you."

At that moment, Kakashi was drawn to her. She was the first one to make him less of a killing machine and more as a human being. She was also the one that taught him to love, without her knowledge.

But because of his foolish pride, she was dead; it's been 9 years already. Kakashi had the opportunity to stop her, but he didn't. One side of his mind, his human side, wanted her to stay. But his military side believed she was an obstacle and she would be better off gone. And he got what he wished for, and now she continue to haunt him today. Luckily, training new recruits like Naruto, Sasuke, and Sai kept him distracted. But the guilt of him being responsible for her fate still lingered.

Kakashi let out a heavy sigh and closed his book. Reading this stupid porn won't get him anywhere. He never enjoyed them that much anyway. Kakashi came to the conclusion that he had to face his past and visit his comrades. And so Kakashi somberly headed off from the park to the cemetery and looked for the proper grave. Once he found it, Kakashi was surprised to see a tall, older man with dark hair standing before it. The middle-aged man had a strict look on him yet his onyx eyes had a glint of sadness in them. He was dressed like a professional.

"Captain Fugaku!"

The man named Uchiha Fugaku was surprised for a brief second. "There's no need to call me 'Captain' anymore, Kakashi. I've retired from military life well over 9 years now. I'm more surprised that you're here to visit him. I come here often and this the first time I see you here."

"I'm here because I need to give Captain Ikichi the respect that I should've given him long ago. But that incident kept me from facing Ikichi-san," Kakashi slowly took off his eyepatch and then faced Haruno Ikichi's grave, "For that, I'm truly sorry. It was an un-honorable thing to do."

Then Kakashi faced Fugaku, "And I should also offer my apology to you as well, Fugaku-san, since you are a close friend of his. My faults dragged both you and Ikichi-san with me."

"There's no need to apologize. You should move on, Kakashi. That's what she would've wanted."

"Don't you think I've already tried that?" Kakashi's eyes narrowed.

Fugaku chuckled bitterly, "You have a point. You and Sasuke have a lot in common. Both of you refused to let go of your pasts."

Kakashi nodded sadly, "I know you and Sasuke haven't talked for awhile and you're worried about him, Fugaku-san. Don't worry he's more or less doing fine…but I do worry about his emotional state. He has personal issues to deal with like me."

Fugaku sighed, "I'll leave and give you your space, Kakashi. My wife gets pretty upset when I come home late for supper."

Kakashi nodded but his thoughts were far away, paying no attention to Fugaku's departure. Kakashi wasn't even sure how long he'd stood there in front of the Haruno Family tombstone. Finally Kakashi spoke:

"Captain Ikichi, I was a foolish man. It was my own foolishness that you lost one of your subordinates. It was my pride that I let her die. I'm sure Fugaku-san had told you this before, but Hayate Gekko, Tatami Iwashi, and Namiashi Raido had been KIA not long after your passing. I couldn't help but think that the outcomes would've been different if you were still alive. I cannot change the past, so once again I'm sorry for causing you to be involved in my personal dealings and gave you so much pain."

The sun was setting and the autumn leaves continued to flow with the autumn chill. Kakashi stuffed his hands into his pockets.

"Your daughter is on my team as a combat medic. I could only guess if you approve of her doing something like this. Nevertheless," Kakashi's eyes soften once more, "I will repay my debts by taking care of your daughter. She's in good hands. I hope you will be satisfied."

Kakashi put back on his eyepatch and saluted. Kakashi left the cemetery just as somberly as the way he came in, never looking back.

What Kakashi didn't notice was a shadow hiding behind a tree few feet away from the Haruno gravestone. Once the figure was certain the masked soldier was gone from the property, she emerged from her hiding spot. Sakura's cold and emotionless eyes stare into the distance where Kakashi went, absorbing as much information as she can from Kakashi's words. Although she looked unmoved, her gloved hands were closed into fists. Whether it was from shocking realization, grief, or anger, it was hard to tell.

"You never had to apologize, Captain Hatake-sama. My father was always a forgiving man…but he would never approve of me. Not even now."

End of Chapter Three

So this is the slightly "newer" version of chpt3. Sorry for making some of you rereading this. And just to make you feel better after rereading this shit, a female character from another anime will show up next chpt! Yes, this ff will be a small crossover! Don't worry, this story will be a Naruto story. Do you want to know who she is? I'll give you a hint: military. I'll post the reviewer(s) who gets the right answer!

Please review and send me your ideas. And constructive criticisms are totally welcomed! And if you have questions, don't hesitate to ask! If you wish to re-review my edited chpts, you can do so anonymously. But use a name which I know who's who.

And as always, visit and review CrAzY-SiLLy-Me's profile and her stories. Her creative mind was the only way to make this fanfic possible!