Authors Note: Hello everyone! This chapter shall be the first one of the time skip chapters. Hopefully you like the way I'm doing them. I'm not sure if you've figured it out but the nine previous chapters have all been in the month of August. This chapter will begin with the last two remaining weeks of August. Also for the reviewer who was asking about Sakura's parents, they are OCs I created. I had explained in chapter two why I had done it that way; but I do hope you guys know that there will be more changes, this is Fanfiction after all.

Talking "Yo!"

Thoughts 'Yo!'

Inner/Demons "Yo!"

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto just my OCs and plot.

Better Days

Sakura's POV

~August~

Our departure from Konoha went better than I had expected. Madoka and Kioshi had gotten up early and said their goodbyes to their friends while I had slept. It seems that the people who knew me wanted to personally see me off on my first trip.

Marianne and Yashiro came to see me off along with Chouko. They all gave me something to remember them by, which I thought was silly since we weren't leaving permanently. But Inner said to just accept it politely, which I was going to do so anyways.

Yashiro gave me sweets. A bag filled with candy that he had made for my journey. That was very nice and I knew I would enjoy his gift. Marianne was next, she gave me a cute dress, that she had made. It was a dark blue dress with silver butterflies on it. She went on and on about how I would just love to travel. Her dark brown hair and cheerful personality reminded me a lot of one of my friends from my world, while her hazel eyes were just like my cousin's.

Chouko was the last one and she indeed surprised me with her gift. Instead of a dress or shawl that I thought she would give me, she gave me lots of books and scrolls. The books were on the history of the villages and the scrolls were the forms of the traditional dances from the villages. I really liked the gift and I promptly ignored Inner's remark of me being a bookworm. I insisted on carrying my own gifts, so Kioshi made it easier by sealing them in a scroll so I could place them inside my bag.

After our hugs and farewells we began our journey to reach the land of water. Our first stop was to the Land of Valleys. Since Madoka and I were not as skilled as ninjas we had to walk for a long time. I didn't mind much since I enjoyed seeing the scenery and the exercise would be worth it.

It took us about a week to arrive at the Land of Valleys. This place wasn't that well known to me since they didn't talk much about it in the anime/manga. The Land of Valley was surprisingly a beautiful place. It was like its name suggested, filled with valleys. The landscape here was breath taking and sadly we didn't stay for long and started walking to the Land of Tea; which Madoka was very excited about.

The Land of Tea was a small country but also very beautiful and relaxing in its own right. My training with Kioshi had been picked up where we last left it; and I could now move my chakra a bit more comfortably without losing it every five seconds. The Land of Tea was very famous for its tea-houses; which we had stopped at for quite a number of times. Madoka had even bought a few tea herbs that her father would like on our journey there. Thus far the trip was going great and I could only imagine what the other places were like.

~September~

On the first week of September we had made it to the Land of Udon. We traveled by water to get there which was a fun experience. The Land of Udon, famous for its noodles was a small island that had its own unique beauty to it. Madoka who was still teaching me about etiquette took the time to properly show me the correct way of eating noodles and other meals. It seems that on this trip she had taken it upon herself to teach me about eating correctly. Which shocked me considering all the formal steps one needed to take during certain gatherings.

The second week was spent by crossing the distance by boat to get to the Land of Water. There really wasn't anything to do, so Madoka and Kioshi took this time to teach me. Madoka's lessons were the usual strict yet informative ones; while Kioshi's were proficient but tiring. By the middle of the third week I was still working on my chakra, trying to familiarize myself with the other chakra producing organs.

On the last week of September, we had finally arrived at the Land of Water. Kioshi had said that it would take another week or so to arrive at Haruki's house. So the last of the remaining week of September we spent walking. It was very interesting to see so many places in this world that I once thought weren't real, but I must admit that it was pretty amazing to see new things.

Kioshi and Madoka, although subtle, were making us take longer routes than usual. My theory was that they didn't want me to see the state in which this country was in. I did in fact remember in the anime/manga when Team Seven went on the wave mission. The state in which that village was like made me very sad and the feeling only worsened now that this was to become my new life.

~October~

The first week of October was exciting. We had finally arrived at Haruki's house and I was flabbergasted. His house, which I had imagined to be as normal as ours, was more of a traditional clan house. I figured he liked the traditional style over the modern one but it still surprised me.

We were welcomed inside by what looked like ninjas. My guess was that he had body guards around the area. We were quickly led inside the house, going through the nice long hallways until we came to a stop. The guide opened the shoji doors and smoothly motioned us inside. An elderly man sat inside the room, and I knew he was Haruki from the memories I had seen before.

At first glance the man looked strict and cold, but once he laid eyes on us, his whole demeanor changed. He grinned widely and his once stone cold eyes filled with so much feeling. He sat comfortable on a blue pillow by a finely crafted rosewood table. A white ceramic tea set was on the table and he sat there with such an impressive look.

"Welcome Home! Oh little Sakura! Come here, you've grown so much!" He stated happily with his arms open in invitation. I could tell right away that Madoka and him were related without having been told. They had similar features and although his eyes held some silver they were still blue like Madoka's. I walked out in front of Madoka and bowed in front of the man.

"Hello granddaddy." I said formally. From what Madoka and Kioshi have told me, he was a man whom liked etiquette as much as Madoka. I did try and keep my voice soft and mimicking that of a worried child's. It must have worked since he smiled and came over to me.

"My sweet little Sakura, how have you been?" He asked me before kneeling down to my eye level.

"Great, granddaddy!" I said as he gently picked me up. It was awkward for me at first, being in the arms of someone new. However, the way in which he tenderly held me made me realize how much he truly cared then words ever would.

"You speak so well for a child your age. Has your mother been teaching you?" I nodded and smiled at his question while he smiled in return.

"Come, let me show you around Sakura. I am sure you don't quite remember anything." We spent the whole afternoon having a tour of the place and talking about our travels so far. Dinner went by pleasantly and during that time I found out that Haruki was skilled at not only baking, painting, but swordsmanship. He told me that he used to be a samurai. From then on he found out from Kioshi that I was in the process of learning the ways of a ninja; and when he asked me if I wanted to learn how to wield multiple weapons, I practically jumped at the chance.

The rest of the first and second week we spent practically alone. Haruki was attending a meeting for who-knows-what, so we just had our regular trainings. We trained in the numerous gardens that he had; and Inner made sure we remembered the whole layout of the house.

On the third week, Haruki returned. My first lessons with him went great. He taught me the history of samurais and weapons. He was a different kind of teacher as opposed to both Madoka and Kioshi. He came off as strict to anyone new but when he spoke to family or friends he was probably the nicest and wisest guy I knew. When we were at the end of the week, I had finished learning about the weapons he was going to teach me to use.

In the last week of October, I had finally completed the forms for the traditional dance of Konoha. Even though I could now complete all the forms in the correct sequence; I still lacked the elegance Chouko had. Chouko said that elegance would come to me from practice and the love of dancing, meaning I still had to practice a lot. Madoka had also told me that we were almost finished with her lessons, which I'm sure she means just the beginning. Kioshi and Haruki's lessons were the only ones I still felt completely new and inexperienced in.

~November~

The month of November in the Land of Water got really cold and Madoka said that it would only get colder. On the first week, Inner and I started to practice the forms to the traditional dance used in Water. We also got to practice with the basic weapons Haruki had provided. He was teaching me how to wield Katanas, Tantos, Spears, and many more. With Kioshi, my concentration on my chakra was getting better at finding it much easier; however, I apparently would become too concentrated and forget about my surroundings.

The second week was fun for both Inner and I. We went to a festival, which was the first one I had been to in this world. Inner and I were very excited to see the different atmosphere in town.

Haruki had given me a yukata to wear, which I just adored. It was a deep purple color with white petals scattered all around the bottom hem line. The obi was a light pastel pink color and tied in an elegant bow behind me, courtesy of Madoka. When we had arrived at the festival my eyes took in all the beautiful decorations. We played many games on the stands and ate delicious food. After having so much fun, our week ended with a display of fireworks that were very beautiful in the festive night.

Not much happened on the third week. There was a ton of training and new lessons from Madoka. She was teaching me all about kimonos and yukatas now. I had always wanted to learn more about them in my other life and now was an opportune time to learn.

Inner and I felt very accomplished on the last week. We could finally get a bit of my chakra out of a tenketsu. Although it was a very small amount, everyone was proud of me which only influenced me to get better. Kioshi even said that soon I could start placing some of my chakra in my weights at the rate I was going at.

~December~

Madoka had been very right about it getting colder. The weather was so cold that if we didn't need to go outside we wouldn't. Inner and I both wanted to see the snow here in Water, because Haruki was telling us how magnificent the scenery was in the snow.

On the second week I found out that Kioshi was starting to take my training more seriously. He made me practice outside...in the cold, and it had finally snowed too. He said it was to help me endure any climate. And he said that we would be travelling to the Land of Wind afterwards so I could practice in the heat as well.

He was so serious he took me with him on his trips to the market every time he went. It was so cold even with thick cloths and a small blanket I still shook. Kioshi made me carry some supplies while he carried and bought other things. It was tortures but I endured.

"Outer...do you think Suna's as bad as everyone says?" I thought about her question as I looked around while waiting for Kioshi.

'I'm sure it is. I mean it is a desert where it gets really hot in the day time and freezing cold at night.' I said while looking around. The market place here in the village was big and the roads covered in snow made it look tranquil.

I continued to look around at the many shops when my sight stopped on a protruding...foot? It was near the corner of a building, boxes and litter where scattered out on the ground. A foot could be seen sticking out behind the boxes, or, at least what I assumed to be a foot. I turned my head to the right, noticing that Kioshi was still looking for the right stuff Madoka asked him to get. Seems like he'll be here for a while and now would be an opportune time to go investigate.

I quickly walked off to the other side of the street. It wasn't that far and I just needed to make sure no one had fainted or something in this weather.

"Why would any sane person faint or worse sleep in the snow?!" I ignored Inner in favor of concentrating on where my foot stepped on the mushy snow. I neared the boxes and grabbed a hold of them for support. I peeked around them and froze... A small child was laying on the ground hugging himself, clearly freezing.

'Oh no!' I moved closer to the child and completely froze for a completely different reason than before.

'Inner! This child can't possibly be Haku can it?' I asked her for clarification and Inner's eyes almost popped out.

"What?! That cute, dangerous boy from that mission in the future?!" I nodded rapidly and gulped as she started to frantically ascertain me that yes, he was in fact Haku.

"What should we do?" She asked frantically. I shook my head negatively. If my memory serves me well, he wasn't much older than me I think….and by the looks of it, this was indeed how the flashbacks depicted his past to be like. Homeless and helpless.

'Uhm, he's not that much older than me so he should be about six years old.' I quickly looked over to Kioshi. He was still looking for the things on the list and apparently hadn't noticed me leave yet. I turned my attention back to Haku.

'Around this time Zabuza finds him. I think we should let things play as they did, only so they can meet. Their deaths were avoidable but their meeting inevitable.' Inner nodded and I quickly started to take the blanket off of me. It would serve him better than me.

"What the heck are you doing? It's so cold?!" Inner exclaimed as the instant bite of cold air hit what little of my skin was exposed.

'Exactly, and he needs it more than we do.' Gently, trying not to wake him, I placed the blanket on him. His shivering died down by a lot and I sighed out in relief when he seemed to still be sleeping.

I looked inside the bag I was carrying and took out some wrapped bread and placed it by his arms. I was so glad he was not yet an experienced ninja, he would have definitely woken up by now. Having our paths crossed was enough, changing things was not an option at this point. However, technically things must have already changed considering our meeting here of all places. I was pretty sure Sakura in the anime/manga had nothing to do with him prior to their mission.

I backed away slowly and quietly. When I saw his eyelashes flutter and his hands twitch, I froze; but then mentally kicked myself and ran, not turning around to see if he saw me or not. The rest of the day went uneventful, except for the part where Inner and I saw Kioshi get scolded by Madoka for forgetting the bread. Sorry Kioshi, but my consciousness overrides me speaking out the truth sometimes.

The third week of December was challenging. Since I could now produce a small amount of chakra and place it in my weights, I had become stricter on myself, and put more weight on them. I'm sure if Kioshi or the others knew how much weight I had on my limbs they would freak, so I kept them hidden under gloves. As the saying goes, out of sight, out of mind. The weight was really tiring but I pushed myself to train.

The last week after many hours of practice, Inner and I discovered that if she were to unblock my thoughts at the same time that I touched someone, we could communicate telepathically. We found out by accidentally testing it out on a young child. He got so excited that we were afraid he would tell and adult, so we ended up telling him it was magic. Since he was young, he easily believed the white lie. We had been training that skill since we learned we had it, but so far, we still didn't know much. That had been our first successful achievement on that ability and I doubted we had reached its limit.

~January~

The first week was absolutely hectic. We were preparing the house for a family dinner party so everyone was busy helping out. This would make it the first time I would meet the whole family on Madoka's side. The dinner was at the end of the week and would start three days later in order to let everyone have time to arrive. I was in charge of greeting the relatives and escorting them to their rooms. They were all very nice people and I could tell which ones were related by their features.

The second week commenced the party. Everyone had arrived and had gotten situated. It was mostly comprised by adults with a few children and teenagers. The kids I had met had all completely decided to stay as civilians except for three of them and the younger ones who couldn't decide yet. The ones who wanted to be ninjas were still a little young to officially learn but a little older than me. Nonetheless it still shocked me how few of them wanted to become ninja, not to mention if they would still want to in the future.

The dinner party was fun and I had easily made friends with the children and adults. They left on the third week and my routine went back to normal. I finished my basic katas but Kioshi said for me to keep practicing until they flowed without even thinking. The last week I finished half of the water dance forms, and it was my favorite as of now. The moves were slow but swiftly picked up in power. Madoka said it was the most elegant dance out of all of them and I couldn't help but to agree.

~February~

The weather on the first week was going back to a tolerable level. I could now walk outside in the chilly wind a bit more comfortably. My busy schedule seemed to only grow which now consisted of waking up, morning exercise, eat breakfast, etiquette lessons, training with Haruki, eat lunch, practice new ability, read, eat dinner and then sleep. The lessons were leaving me exhausted day after day with this tiny body.

On the second week of February I had fainted. Turns out that if Inner and I use our secret skill for longer than one hour we can't handle the memory over-load. We made everyone worried as they said I slept for three days. To them it seemed as if I had been pushing myself too hard but it wasn't the busy schedule, as I was used to that, but in fact it was the nameless skill we had acquired. Inner and I decided that we would practice that skill only for a few minutes, and little by little we'll be able to go on longer. What was left of the third week was spent on recovering. Everyone said I would have to take it easy, so they made one day of the week a rest day.

The last week of February was easy and simple enough. My training was to practice all the basics, since I was recovering. I felt better than before, but they were still worried I would push myself again. Most of the time I could only have etiquette lessons or bake with Haruki and Madoka. Nevertheless, that experience was an enjoyable one.

~March~

My birthday was coming up soon and we were getting ready to have a nice small dinner party with just the four of us. The whole first week was spent cleaning the house; while the second one was used to find something for me to wear. Inner was very excited for our birthday, although she was still a little sad about being away from her Sasuke. She calmed down a lot from our trip and I felt the distance served a greater purpose for her than I first expected it to.

I was awoken with exclamations of happy birthday and hugs from everyone, even the guards congratulated me. The day was simple and nice, just the way I preferred it to be as opposed to a grandiose party. We spent the whole day together which was a nice change from all the training and separations. I received gifts from them and placed them in our room to open later. Dinner was amazing as they had the long mahogany wood table decorated with beautiful flowers of all types.

There was also a lot of my favorite foods. Inner was practically drooling inside my head from all the variety. After dinner, there was dessert to which it was my turn to drool. Madoka and Haruki both helped make things and they had all turned out delicious. Since they knew I loved any type of pastries they made many different things. So many in fact I didn't even know where to begin.

At the end I was presented with a cake and told to blow the candles as I made a wish. Inner and I both agreed on our wish simultaneously. We decided to wish for a better future. When we were eating the cake I finally realized that we were officially three years old and that time was going by a little too fast for my taste.

'Inner can you believe it's been about eight months since I came here?' I started as I walked the outside hallways.

"It's amazing how time flies by. How much longer do you think we will be here?" She asked, a question I was thinking about as well.

'Probably not that much longer. We do have to go to Suna and some other places I think.' I said as I turned a corner. The night air was soothing and the blissful atmosphere was something I was grateful. It may not have been my actual birthday, however it felt just as loving as my previous years. The time really did go by fast and I was both excited and scared for the future days to come.

I finally arrived to my own personal room here in Haruki's house and slid the shoji doors open. It was a beautiful room one that I could live in forever and not mind it. Unlike my childish pink room back in Konoha, this one had more mature colors and themes. It suited my eighteen-year-old self better.

The color on the walls was a rich mahogany like the rest of the house and the windows were rounded and traditional. My bed was a crème color with red accents just like the rest of my furniture. There was nature surrounding me on the outside while on the inside many flowers decorated my room.

As I approached the small black coffee table in the center, Inner and I decided to open Madoka's present first. The table was practically littered with presents.

Opening up Madoka's present, she had gotten me a book containing information on tea leaves and other herbs that were edible. I was happy with the book, because it would help me take my first step into Medical Ninjutsu. Madoka had also gotten us some silk clothing that was only found here in the Land of Water. They looked elegant and comfortable, and I was sure to use them later on.

Kioshi's was next, and his present was a bit heavier.

"Open it! Open it!" Inner was very excited to the point of jumping all around. Since we opened the first one, she had started to try and guess what the others would be.

"I bet he got us ninja stuff!" I smiled and rolled my eyes at her guess.

"Maybe, but just because he's teaching us how to be ninjas, doesn't mean he will get us ninja stuff." I opened the gift and was surprised to see a whole ninja set of kunai, shurikin, ninja wire, and explosive tags. It had its holster there in black with a small white Haruno symbol stitched in the middle. There was also a letter attached to the present.

"Ha! I told you so!" I rolled my eyes at Inner's childish antics as I unfolded the paper.

"Whatever." I mumbled as I read through the letter.

To my lovely Sakura,

Happy birthday Sakura! Today you turn three years old. You are already starting to see what path you want to take in such a young age. We are all very impressed and proud that you wish to follow our footsteps, as you have probably noticed only a few ever want to in the family. Sakura, my advice is for you to do whatever you think is best. Only you can ever decide what path you want to walk on. I wish you the best of luck on whatever you decide and hope you know that we will always love and support you.

Love Kioshi

As much as I wanted to tear up and cry, Inner was already crying and wailing enough for the both of us. So I settled on a smile and a heart filled with so much joy. It was one thing knowing that I would be living here, but understanding what that entailed was another step to take. One I felt I could accomplish with all their support.

Haruki's present was really going to be a surprise. I have no idea what he could have gotten me. When I opened the gift, I laid my eyes on a scroll. It was a deep burgundy red and the haruno symbol on it. He attached a note to the scroll as well.

Dear Sakura,

You are growing up so fast. I still remember the day when you were born. You were so small and frail that I worried for your future, and yet, now you already have such big goals. There will come a day when you don't need me anymore, but for now I will teach you everything I have learned. My present to you is not to be opened unless you are in a life or death situation. You can unseal or reseal the summon any time; but it shouldn't be used for trivial situations. You are a bright girl Sakura, and I know you will be able to handle anything. I will give you my love and support always.

Love Haruki

If Inner was crying before, she was bawling now. She couldn't even make one coherent word.

"That was so nice!...sniff..." I chuckled at her tear stricken face. I picked up the wrappings to throw away when I noticed a small box.

"What's this?" I asked, trying to figure out who could have gotten me another present.

"Don't know but open it and find out!" I did as she suggested and opened the lid of the box.

Inside was a beautiful silver chain with three tear drop crystals. They probably weren't as expensive as the one Tsunade had that could buy mountains but they still looked quite pricey.

The many facets on the crystal glimmered when light hit them and considering how much they radiated with such little light surprised me. They really were beautiful and I would always treasure them.

One was a clear white color which reminded me of Haruki's pure, kind personality. So clear and unclouded with the wisdom only he seemed to possess. The next crystal one was a bright red, which most likely was picked by Madoka, since it was her favorite color. Its light sparkled with the love and passion she held for all that she endured in life. They were truly dazzling.

The last one was a green, the exact shade that reminded me of Kioshi's eye color, which was only a shade darker than mine. This without fault would remind me always what I was fighting for here. It was a beautiful gift that I knew I would always wear and treasure. I gently placed it around my neck and smiled as it glistened even brighter.

"This was by far my favorite!" Inner exclaimed with unshed tears. The message behind the chain and crystals not missed by either of us. The clear message that we will always be together was rooted deep inside my heart.

"We should add one of our own whenever we can." Inner nodded in agreement to my suggestion as I fiddled with the chain.

"This day was great!" Inner squealed happily as I turned around quickly to head back and thank everyone for their gifts. The days would surely only get better, they absolutely had to.

How was the time skip chapter? Did you like it? I hope so, there will only be one more time skip chapter like this to cover the next year. After that, Sakura will return to Konoha so keep reading and thank you for the positive reviews!