Hello everybody! I'm trying to make earlier updates as an apology! I hope you accept it lol. Anyway, this chapter has many things going on, I hope you all can understand it :D

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or any of its characters is any way, shape, or form. :)

Chapter 11: Hiroto

Although true to Sakura's word, she did end up going home to prepare a lunch for Sasuke, she had other motives for her abrupt leave.

'They seem so close...' she couldn't help but think with a frown. Could he really kill Shisui...? From what little she knew about actually obtaining the Mangekyou, the user had to experience tremendous loss -history had made it seem common for the user to be the person doing the killing, if only because it increased the likelihood of obtaining it. So clearly, for it to have happened Itachi must hold a great deal of care for Shisui -she could see it with just their brief meeting.

Clearly, Itachi wasn't so one-dimensional as she had first thought he would be, and she realized with disappointment that it would be harder to kill him if she came to see a compassionate side of him that actually held some sort of empathy and remorse.

The walk to the Uchiha Compound had been quick, and preparing Sasuke a meal even quicker, seeing as Mikoto had done an excellent job at creating food that Sasuke would enjoy, which left her with an hour of free time to do as she pleased. And with this thought in mind, she stead-fastly made her way to the Hokage's office, who was neither too surprised nor to expectant to see her. "Good afternoon, Sakura-san." he greeted her.

"Good afternoon, Hokage-sama." she stated with a bow, and then quickly approached the Hokage.

"What brings you here?" as he stated this he leaned back into his chair and shifted the pipe at his mouth.

"I'm having a hard time fitting in to this timeline." she admitted quickly, without even bashing an eyelash. "Although, I suppose this is to be expected. All of my teammates are currently six to seven years old, so it's not like I have much of anyone to converse with." she shrugged. "I was hoping there was something I could do in order to kill time. Perhaps get some hours in the hospital, or something." If nothing else, it would be a nice source of income, seeing as she had only taken up one mission since she had arrived, and other than that she was living off of the funds of the Uchiha, something she knew Fugaku would definitely have his qualms with if it didn't seem like she was carrying her own weight.

Sarutobi seemed to contemplate this. "Unfortunately, your medical training can only be accounted for by the Tsunade of the future. As such, you're a medic with no standing. I can't ensure you a position as a doctor, but perhaps a nurse for the time being, until you gradually make your way up the ladder." he instead suggested.

"That'll do." Anything to keep her busy would help, truth be told.

"Alright. I shall notify you of your instructor within a week's time. Don't worry about the paperwork, I'll get it sorted out." And so with a bow, Sakura was off to get Sasuke, who would be getting out of school any minute now, and together they would make their way home.

'Home...' the word lingered in her thoughts for several minutes as she walked. Was this perhaps a home to Itachi? A genuine home?

'Surely not.' Sakura couldn't help but scoff at the thought. How could he possibly be happy what with his father dictating his every move? If she didn't know any better she would say Itachi's revolt was entirely Fugaku's fault for driving the kind into the brink of madness. Clearly becoming an ANBU captain at the age of thirteen didn't just happen, and it was clear to Sakura that he had been pushed over the edge, insane prodigal skills pushed aside, in order to obtain the status he had today.

And it was a pity, especially considering the fact that Itachi could actually be quite pleasant company (at least in her eyes) when he seemed to be truly at ease. She had only seen slight glimmers of this side of Itachi, but it had been an enjoyable change of what she was used to with Naruto or Sai, or even Kakashi-sensei. But with a frown and a shake of her head, she decided to stop these kinds of thoughts. 'You're over-thinking things, Sakura.' she reminded herself. With or without a conscious, with or without empathy or remorse or kindness, her mission did not change. If he was the one wielding the weapon, it was her mission to stop him, and there was nothing more she could do about it.

The walk to get Sasuke was not at all long, and no sooner was Sakura succumbing to the joyous banter that Sasuke often partook in while in her company -but why wouldn't he, when his brother hardly spoke, his father was un-approving of such exuberant tones, and his mother often had no time for him between her wifely duties and matriarchal demands as well?

Sakura was a refreshing change to his life style, one which he had, and would continue to, take advantage of.

Sasuke was pleasantly surprised to find his nii-san already home by the time that they had returned, his meal already set for him to eat on the dinner table, although he had no clue if this was Sakura's doing, or his own brother's, not that he truly cared. "Welcome home, Sasuke." he greeted Sasuke curtly, although there seemed to be a flicker of emotion within his eyes that Sakura had not missed.

"Itachi-niisan!" Said nii-san was sitting next to the unoccupied seat before his food, an indication that he would sit with Sasuke whilst he ate.

A rare occurrence in and of itself, but one he would not question. As such, he jumped up onto the seat, even as Sakura exited to the kitchen, if only to bring him a glass of water, and then promptly sat on the other side of Sasuke. "How was school?" It had been Itachi who first broke the silence, Sasuke ever so pleased with the development.

"It was great!" And so he began to tell his tales, and his epic victory in the shuriken test they had done in school, and even his effortless acing of their newest test -a victory he had to emphasize by going to his backpack to procure the aforementioned A.

"Well that clearly warrants some sort of victory feast then." Sakura stated with a smile, partially wondering if anyone ever treated Sasuke with such luxuries whenever he achieved such greatness in the eyes of a kid -because surely, whatever Itachi was accomplishing at Sasuke's age far exceeded that of Sasuke's own merits, something she assumed Fugaku had not, and would not forget any time soon.

Sasuke's eyes seemed to widen in anticipation. "Y-You mean it, nee-san?"

"Hai. Of course, after you finish all of your food. We can go out and get you some ice cream, how's that?" From her pre-teen years, Sakura had come to find Sasuke's love for all things sweet (and tomatoes too, not that Sakura could ever understand it), and she assumed things would be no different now.

"Will you come too, Itachi-nii?" Sasuke seemed to plead, some sort of hope in his eyes. Truth be told, Itachi always seemed a little more gentle, a little more social when his father was not home (or in the village, better yet), so it was no coincidence that Sasuke was taking advantage of it.

"Of course. This is a celebration." there was a ghost of a smile on his features, even as he poked Sasuke on the forehead with two fingers -a compassionate gesture, it seemed to Sakura, although she was surprised to even have Itachi agree to Sasuke's request.

Decidedly, Sasuke wasted no time in devouring his food, not caring to indulge in conversation right now (there would be time for that, after all). And after he was done, he even went as far as walking his own dishes to the sink and washing his hands, and then running to the door and putting his shoes on hurriedly.

Sakura sighed, rolling her eyes slightly at the antics of the younger Sasuke, as he hurriedly ushered them towards the door. "Hai, hai, we're coming Sasuke-chan."

The walk to the small ice cream parlor had been pleasant, no real conversation between the trio, even if Sasuke marched on with Sakura's hand in one hand, and Itachi's own in his other, almost as if he were proud of his company; showing off the the entirety of the village that with him were the two strongest, coolest, and not to mention youngest ANBU's in all of Konoha, his brother and make-shift sister respectively. And it was true, even as they walked they seemed to sort of alert the crowd, if not because it was a rare sight to see Uchiha Itachi, sole heir to his clan, out and about in the streets, then because of the company of the strange pink-haired kunoichi, who had made a startling buzz throughout the village shinobi and the townspeople who had seen her small outburst when defending the Nine Tailed Fox.

The streets were busy amid the late after noon bustle, the sun just beginning to set over the horizon -but it had not made Sakura miss the small hints of orange she had seen amidst the crowd, a color indicative of only one person.

'Naruto?' she couldn't help but think in hope, her eyes scanning the crowds with purpose, an act which Itachi had not failed to notice.

Once they had gotten closer to the location in which she had first seen him, she found him walking down the streets with his hands shoved in his pockets, his head hanging down low, perhaps to not attract any attention from the civilians who had yet to pin-point him as one Jinchuuriki.

Itachi could visibly see the spark of excitement in Sakura's eyes at the sight of him, and was not at all surprised when she raised a hand (the one not currently grasping on Sasuke) and began waving it, to try and catch his attention. He couldn't help but recall the last time she had seen the Uzumaki (as he knew the boy to be) when they had been walking Sasuke home.

Yes, he had stuck around that night despite her telling them to go on without her, if only to find an explanation to her peculiar actions. He had been surprised to discover that she had left them in order to protect the boy, a complete stranger to her as far as he knew, although he had gained a new sense of respect for her by her actions. Clearly, she was fiercely loyal and could not stand for any injustice, be him a demon or not.

"Naruto... Naruto-kun!" she called out to him, trying to catch his attention.

It seemed to have worked as his eyes shot forward, towards the sound of the voice, until his eyes landed on the figure of Sakura, her hand still raised to help him pin-point her location.

The happiest grin of all times was not at all hidden by the small boy, who shot out of the crowd and began running towards Sakura, taking this as an invitation to see the kunoichi he had not seen for over a week now. But it had taken him until he was just a meter before Sakura to actually notice her company, and when his eyes landed on Sasuke and Sasuke's own landed on Naruto, there seemed to be a rigid sort of tension that filled the air.

"You?!" both of them pointed accusing fingers at each other and they shouted out in unison, almost as if they had been practicing this their entire lives.

"How do you know my Sakura-neesan?!" Once again, they spoke in unison, which seemed to only further fuel their anger.

"Your Sakura-neesan? She's my Sakura-neesan!" Once more, and upon hearing each other's words, they settle for growling at each other, their foreheads meeting as they tried to intimidate each other.

Itachi raised an eyebrow as he stared at Sakura. "You seem to be quite popular, Sakura-san."

Sakura chuckled hesitantly (Was this a joke? It was, right? Itachi had just told a joke, she wasn't going crazy, right?). "Apparently..." What would her life have been like if they fought for her attention like this during her Genin days, she couldn't help but wonder.

"Tell him you're my Sakura-neesan!" And so they both turned to look at Sakura expectantly, and she could do nothing more than roll her eyes at the antics of her two future teammates (it was cute now, but the sad thing about it was, they were doing this well into their teenage years before Sasuke left -and she was sure that, had she stayed, this may have probably continued all their lives).

After the confusion had been settled (but not necessarily their over-protective, territorial disputes), and Sakura had declared that she could be shared, they had gone to get ice cream just as promised, although their party of three had now grown in size by one.

They had all sat down on a nearby bench, but due to the lack of space, Naruto had offered (or more like volunteered) to sit on Sakura's lap. This only further angered Sasuke, although he did concede to sitting on his brother's lap (not that this was not a victory in and of itself), although he did send angry pouts towards Naruto, who only further began to annoy him by sticking out his tongue childishly.

Despite this, it was clear to Sakura and Itachi that Sasuke and Naruto were enjoying their time with each other, despite their rivalry in anything and everything they did, from throwing away their trash to racing back to Sakura, to even who would hold her hand. Eventually, they settled for a short walk, in which they were bound towards the direction of home. It was late, and Sasuke had school in the morning, so clearly they could not stay up much later.

Sakura had offered to walk Naruto home, but he had declined very quickly (a claim supported profusely by Sasuke, if only because he didn't want Naruto to hog his nee-chan), although she strongly suspected this to be because he did not want Sakura to see his poor living conditions, clearly ashamed and embarrassed.

"Don't worry about me, Sakura-neechan! I'll get home just fine." He offered her a grin and a thumbs up. "But thank you for the ice cream. Next time I'll definitely treat you to some ramen for your generosity, Dattebayo! Or I'll make you my wife!" And even though his statement made Sasuke blush profusely as he parted his lips to argue against this, he wasted no time in running the opposite direction that she and her two Uchiha companions were walking, leaving Sakura with a small smile on her face.

"I'll hold you to your word then, Naruto-kun!" she shouted after him.

He paused and turned to face her, a blush now adorning his own features, before he turned once more and ran even faster.

"Nee, you're not serious, right? Why would you ever want to marry Naruto?" He scowled, pulling on her shirt to capture her attention, attempting to hog all of her attention now that Naruto was gone. "How did you even meet such a loser?"

"Both of us are way too young to even consider marriage, Sasuke-chan, don't be so naive." and so she ruffled his hair lovingly, as she, Sasuke and Itachi once more returned to their walk home, Itachi as quiet as ever. "As for my first meeting with him... I met him casually while walking the streets of Konoha. You'd do well by befriending him, Sasuke-chan." she muttered absent-mindedly.

"No way! He's even failing at the academy. What good could possibly come of being friends with him?" Sasuke cringed at the thought.

"With that kind of attitude, he'll end up surpassing you while you're not looking. He aims to be Hokage, you know?" she stated, clearly amused with Sasuke's reaction. "I think he can do it if he works hard enough." From the sidelines, Itachi couldn't help but notice that she looked so serene -so mature and all-knowing when she spoke about him, a ghost of an expression on her features, as if her eyes were distant.

"Well then I'll become Hokage for you, Sakura-neesan!"

Sakura laughed. "I guess that makes him your rival, nee Sasuke?"

"Pffft. He'll see..." Sasuke declared boldly, half mumbling to himself all the reason why he was cooler, and all around better suited to become Hokage, and absent-mindedly, Sakura's future husband too, not that Sakura was paying all that much attention to it as she thought about Naruto. Now that she thought about it, she didn't know much about Naruto's young childhood life, although she had an idea about the poor quality. Perhaps she'd be able to change this slightly.

And with this thought in mind, the three of them made their way home, Sasuke begging for Sakura to take him out again some time soon. By the time they arrived home, it was already nearing Sasuke's bedtime, so Sakura made him wash up and go to bed, before she too bid Itachi a good night and retired to her bedroom and slowly drifted off to thoughts of a more mature Naruto, and how his life could possibly be affected if she intervened now.

Not one soul stirred within the Uchiha Compound, Sakura asleep and as such completely oblivious to the interactions inside her head, in particular that of a Fate Kami and an heiress of time's past.

Although lacking a physical body, the remnants of Kikyou's chakra allowed for a metaphysical manifestation of herself to be created amid Matsuro's personal dimension, one in which they could speak peacefully as they had done before long ago. Her appearance manifested itself, one not unlike Sakura's own. She was older; mid thirties, if she had to be given an age, with pink her paler than Sakura's own, and emerald eyes a few hues darker than Sakura's own, but just as full of emotion and fire. Even the same big forehead was the same between the two, although Kikyou's more mature figure seemed to accentuate it in ways Sakura could only ever hope to when she grew up.

'Matsuro-sama.' Kikyou greeted the Fate God, already accustomed to her appearance.

'Greetings, Kikyou.' Matsuro stated warmly, a smile framing her features. Kikyou said nothing more for a long time, knowing that Matsuro must want something from her for her to have been called at specifically when Sakura was asleep, and as such when Sakura could not realize that they were conversing about things they didn't want her to overhear. 'I wish for you to look into a matter for me.' she began casually. 'My brother, Taiyou, seems to have broken his connection to the realm of the Kamis'. I fear he may be in trouble, and I'd like you to locate him.'

Kikyou's expression turned serious. 'Do you know his last whereabouts?' Kikyou asked.

'Iee. Only that he was sealed within an ancient sun artifact. Other than that, I am afraid I am useless.'

'It will take time, then.' Kikyou stated with a nod. There were only two ways to track, one being by connecting to bell flowers across the Shinobi Lands to be able to sense for chakra patterns or signatures similar to that of Matsuros', or physically leaving Sakura's body to search for it herself, a method which was a lot more taxing on herself, and would also take longer. 'Had he gone missing in the previous timeline?' Kikyou couldn't help but wonder.

'Iee. Us Kami's are not affected by the flow of time. Sakura's presence here must have something to do with what happened to him.' Kikyou nodded, understanding the theory behind this. The butterfly effect was not something that anyone could predict, after all. Sakura's entrance into this timeline could affect even people halfway across the Shinobi Lands, and for the most random and smallest of reasons too, so it was hard to accurately predict what had happened to Taiyou.

'Onto other matters, when will you tell Sakura? She'll need time to prepare'

'Soon, but not yet. She is far too busy right now. She should focus on the opportunity that has presented itself upon her now, instead of worrying about the future.'Matsuro smiled. 'Everything will be fine.'

Something had awoken her in the middle of the night, although Sakura hadn't been sure what. Although she had tried to fall asleep once more, she had grown restless, and as such decided that maybe a glass of water and a late-night tinkle would calm her nerves.

But when this didn't work she instead settled on opening her window and allowing the cool night breeze to calm her.

What had woken her up?

She had heard it then, a rustle in the trees nearby, although Sakura had at first believed it to be either a squirrel or a cat, or some other miscellaneous animal -but the rustling had stilled immediately upon her noticing of it, and nothing had come out, even after several minutes. By that time, Sakura became aware of the fact that this perhaps was not an animal, although this by no means meant that she was going to go and wake Itachi and alert him of the possible threat just yet.

Without moving away from the window, she grabbed a couple kunai from her desk drawer, a habit of placing weapons nearby while she slept. She waited a few more seconds before she casually turned around, almost as if she were going to return to bed, but within an instance she had hurled one kunai directly into the bush. But instead of hearing freak out an animal or perhaps imbed itself within the tree behind it, she heard a twang of metal, something or someone clearly having deflected the kunai.

'Intruder.'

Sakura's eyes were golden and ablaze with adrenaline within the next second as she hopped out of the window and onto the floor -she didn't care that she was clad in frumpy pajamas or that she had no shoes or weapons (save for one more kunai gripped in her hand) on her being -this intruder, whoever he was, was too close to home, too close to Sasuke-kun, and she wouldn't stand for it.

The intruder, decidedly caught, let out a small chuckle. "That's not a very nice way of greeting me after so long, Sakura-hime."

Sakura's eyes narrowed. "Who are you? And how do you know my name?" And why was he calling her hime, of all endearments? Did he possibly know she was the heir? That was impossible, she had only been here for about a week or two.

"So you can't recognize my voice. You've been gone for a while haven't you, Sakura-hime?"

Her heart beat pulsed dangerously. "Come out now." she threatened instead of answering him directly.

"Alright, just don't throw another one of those -I barely dodged it." He put his arms out of the bush, almost as if showing her that he wasn't attacking, but that didn't mean that Sakura wasn't prepared for one nonetheless-

-That is, until she saw the very same golden eyes she had staring straight back at her. "Hiya Sakura-hime."

The kunai she had suddenly dropped to the floor as she took in the sight before her, a lean male, no older than sixteen, with black hair. Seeing her face expression change into complete shock, he took this time to deactivate his eye technique only to reveal hot pink eyes, eyes that could only belong to a male cousin that Sakura hadn't seen or heard of for over a decade. "H...Hiroto?"

He was alive -he had to be, for no one else could fake the lineage he had just revealed to her, and she couldn't help but wonder how he was alive -he had to have survived the massacre, which meant he had done so in her timeline as well. Did that mean that he was still alive then?

"The very same." And there it was, that typical, sloppy and cheesy grin that he always wore upon his face, and that was when Sakura broke down, tears streaming down her face as she rushed towards the awaiting arms of her elder cousin. "Hiroto!" she couldn't help it, couldn't hide the overwhelming emotions pouring off of her in waves.

This was her cousin! Her most beloved cousin, the one she had thought dead for eleven years of her life, who had helped her escape from the Massacre and had sacrificed his life for her own.

Was Marika-nee alive too? What of Himawari, and the two other kids whose names Sakura couldn't recall anymore?

"It's nice to see you too, Sakura-hime." Hiroto's smile turned gentle as he wrapped his arms around the weeping kunoichi. And so he held on for nearly five minutes, until she finally broke away and asked the question that had been begging to come out.

"But how?"

"Don't underestimate us Harunos' Sakura." he merely stated, pausing for several seconds before he bothered to elaborate. "We managed to escape undetected and created our own make-shift home wherever we could find one."

We -Sakura took it to mean that they were all alive and well, a fact the relieved her greatly. "And why are you here now?"

"Well, to inquire why it is that you're in the body of a thirteen year old, obviously." Hiroto stated. "Although Marika and I theorize it's Matsuro's doing, right?"

Sakura nodded. "Let's talk elsewhere." Sakura stated, looking around. "I'll be back, just wait here and stay hidden."

"Aye aye, Capt'n" Hiroto grinned. "I'll be back in my bush." He turned and waved nonchalantly, and Sakura couldn't help but roll her eyes, although she turned to hop back into her room through her bedroom window.

She changed quickly, namely by switching out her pajama shirt for a sweatshirt, and her pants into sweats, and was quickly rushing out the door, until she ran smack into Itachi, her face nearly colliding with his chest (why was he even that much taller than her?), but she deftly avoided it. "I sensed an intruder in the premises, Sakura-san. Is everything alright?"

Sakura blinked, hiding the flinch that wanted to escape her. She had hoped he would not sense him, but she supposed if his presence had woken her up, then it would have most definitely woken him up too. "Gomen. An old-time friend came to visit me. No need to feel alarmed, Itachi-san. I'm just going out to converse with him for a little bit."

Itachi nodded. "Should I wait for your safe return?" he instead inquired.

"Oh, don't worry about that. I'd hate to keep you up, Itachi-san." Sakura instead shook her head.

Itachi nods and side-steps so that Sakura could walk past him, and with a nod she was on her way out of the house. Itachi cared not to linger on Sakura's friend, although he briefly thought back to how they had embraced right outside the house -yes, he had come to her window just in time to see it.

Was this perhaps more than a friend to her?

Nevertheless, he didn't particularly care, and so with this thought put to rest, he turned around and returned to his bedroom.

"So I take it you know about Matsuro-sama, then."

They were at a food stand, Sakura assuming that Hiroto had yet to eat. Correct as she had been, the food stand was currently deserted, and seeing as Hiroto was henge'd, he fit right in and they were able to converse in peace.

"Hai." Hiroto nodded.

"I thought I was the only one to know about her." she admitted honestly. "I mean, the only reason I discovered her was because of Tsunade-shishou -the Hokage of my time."

"And she knew of Matsuro?" Hiroto asked, clearly surprised.

"I believe she did, yes." Sakura nodded in agreement. "Not that I have any clue as to how she came across this information."

Clearly, Tsunade knew more than she led on, but he wouldn't comment on that. "And how far back have... you know, come?" Hiroto stated, not exactly knowing how to ask his question.

"Eleven years in the past from my timeline." Sakura explained. "I was eighteen before coming here, with no idea that any of you were still alive." The implication was clear, and Hiroto had an idea that this was more than likely because in her timeline, they simply no longer existed, a thought that bothered him, although he didn't show it.

"So why travel here? Why now? And why at this age?" he couldn't help but ask.

"That's... privy information." Sakura sighed. "But it has to do with Uchiha Itachi."

"ANBU Captain, right?" Hiroto could recall his name quite vividly, truth be told.

"Hai, the very same."

"Well, I won't pry then." Hiroto stated. "Where is Matsuro-sama now?"

"Well, when I activated the jutsu to come here, I unsealed her from the scroll she had been in. In a matter of speaking, she's sort of... in my head, I guess you can say." Sakura shrugged.

Hiroto nodded in understanding. "How long are you going to be here?"

Sakura sighed. "For a few more months. Truth be told, I'm not entirely sure if I'll even be able to go back to my own timeline."

Hiroto hesitated to comment for the slightest of seconds. "Hai. Using Matsuro-sama for such a technique may lead to complications. Her power is limited, after all."

"Limited? She's a Kami." Clearly, Sakura was confused.

"A Kami who gave a majority of her power to that of the Haruno Clan. As such, she stores and gathers energy from us." Hiroto explained. "Which wouldn't normally be that big of an issue, but given the fact that we're now limited in numbers, she doesn't have much of a pool to draw from." Hiroto explained. "As such, maybe she had enough strength to send you back in time, but maybe the same could not be said for sending you back to your respective timeline."

"And how does one go about replenishing that energy?" Truthfully speaking, she was only asking because this was clearly the only reason she would be unable to return to her timeline -and what would her life be like having to watch Naruto and Sasuke grow up without her, with no recollection of everything they had done together and been through? It honestly pained her to think this could be an option.

"The Harunos' typically held a ritual of some kind -I'm not too knowledgeable in the specifics, having never been alive for one before, but essentially we give her our own chakra to replenish her own reservoirs. In previous years, we wouldn't be affected by it at all, but because we are limited in numbers, she would have to draw chakra in larger portions from those who are alive."

"And that would kill us." Sakura assumed.

"Potentially; more than likely, but we can do nothing more than speculate at this point, right?" Hiroto chuckled.

"Are we the only clan like this? Surely not; we're not the only ones with a kekkei genkai."

"No, we're not." Hiroto confirmed. "But most other bloodline limits deal directly with elemental techniques. Fire, for instance. And because noble clans are not the only ones with access to Katon jutsus, the Sun God, for instance, does not rely on one specific group of people to sustain him. Matsuro-sama is the Goddess of Time and Fate. Her power and lineage is localized."

Sakura supposed this made sense in a complicated way. "So how long will you be staying?"

"No more than a few days." Hiroto stated. "The primary reason for this trip was to make sure you were the real deal; and that Matsuro-sama was safe, of course. Now that we know this, I should go inform Marika. It is not safe for us to be out in the open like this; we're still highly prized, Sakura-hime. You should be careful too."

Sakura nodded wordlessly. "I know. Regardless, it's not like I know clan techniques that scream Haruno anyway." she shrugged.

"Well, maybe we can change that -given you have the time, of course." Hiroto offered with a small smile.

"Time for Hiroto? Always." Sakura chuckled. "In the mean time, where will you be staying?"

"Don't worry about me Sakura. I'll find a way to locate you tomorrow, okay?"

Sakura allowed a small smile to frame her features. "Hai. It's really good to see you, Hiroto." her words were earnest and innocent, not that Hiroto could understand what it was like living eleven years of her life without knowing of their existence.

"Likewise, Sakura-hime. Go get some sleep; I'll see you bright and early tomorrow."

Although reluctant to leave her cousin after just finding out he was alive, it was her duty to take Sasuke to school tomorrow morning (and make his breakfast), so Hiroto was right. She bid him a goodnight and quickly ran down the streets, leaving Hiroto to finish up his small meal in relative silence.

He threw money down on the table, and then made his way to an unlikely location: the Hokage tower.

It was a late night for the Hokage -not specifically because he had overworked and had a lot of paperwork to handle, but mainly because he wanted to get ahead on the week's work. Nearing midnight, it was no surprise that he was not expecting a visitor, especially one he had not seen in near years.

"It's nice to see you are doing well, Hokage-sama."

Although alarmed, the voice did not seem to hold malice, and so he looked up to meet a pair of pink eyes -the very same he had seen the night of the Haruno Clan Massacre. "Haruno Hiroto." Sarutobi leaned back into his seat, shifting his pipe around in his mouth, his paperwork momentarily forgotten. "I'm surprised to see you here."

"Are you really though, given Sakura's current time-traveler status?" Hiroto chuckled, bowing respectfully towards the elder man.

"I suppose I was expecting some sort of repercussion to her actions." Sarutobi reasoned with a small smile. "I take it Sakura knows of your well-being now?"

"Hai. I just came from seeing her." Hiroto confirmed.

Sarutobi nodded. "And of the others? Are they well?"

"Hai, we're all doing just fine, Hokage-sama." Hiroto nodded once more.

"Then what do I owe this pleasure to?" his hands were folded atop his lap, as calm and patient as ever.

"We're being targeted by an unknown organization, Hokage-sama. As I speak they're narrowing down on our location. Although this is not news to either of us, it will be for Sakura. We can't have her in the crossfire." Hiroto reasoned. The only reason that they were doing this -that Sarutobi was funding their living supply covertly, and they had yet to return to Konoha, was to keep eyes off of the very jewel hidden within its depths. "In any case, they must think we have the heir, which is good for us, but it also puts us at risk."

Sarutobi nodded in understanding. "And what is their affiliation?"

"Namely Sound."

Interesting; this was not something he would have assumed: perhaps Kiri or Iwa, but definitely not Oto. "Is this a threat you can handle alone, or should I intervene covertly?"

"We'll be fine for now. My biggest concern is Sakura. An infant Sakura isn't so much an issue as a pre-teen prodigy alongside the likes of Uchiha Itachi going out on missions. Pink and green are both characteristics commonly associated with the Haruno, after all, and having them step out of the village is bound to attract wandering eyes."

Sarutobi nodded, understanding Hiroto's concern. "I understand, Hiroto. But Sakura came here to accomplish her own mission; I am no one to deter her of this. If she believes that she needs to go on these missions, then she will, regardless of what you or I tell her." he reasoned.

"And are you aware of what her missions is?" Hiroto raised an eyebrow.

"Vaguely, yes." Sarutobi sighed. "But these are affairs neither of us should meddle in. The Hokage of her time is Senju Tsunade -you'd honestly have to speak with her." And since this was impossible for him to do, seeing as he'd have to be eleven years in the future to do this, this was Sarutobi implying that he drop this topic. Sarutobi paused for the briefest of moments before he stood up and walked around his desk. "Here is some more money to help you along." as he said this his hands shuffled around his robe and pulled out a small lump of coins. "Regrettably, this is all I can do for you for the time being." Sarutobi frowned. He wished it didn't have to be this way, but keeping their lives secret was his priority. The more people got involved, the more loose ends there would be in the long run.

"You have done more than enough." Hiroto shook his head in denial. "Although I wouldn't be opposed with a place to say for the next few days while I sort out some affairs with Sakura."

Sarutobi nodded. "That can be arranged."

"Sayuri, Daichi, Himawari, it's time for training!" Marika was not polite in the slightest as she barged through the door of a small cabin, an excited smile on her face. Unsurprisingly, she found two out of the three aforementioned kids up and ready for the day -one Haruno Daichi was not. "Daichi it's almost noon." Marika frowned in dismay. He was laying on a futon, blankets over the entirety of his face to black the sunlight streaming in from the window.

"I've been trying to wake him up for the past hour." Sayuri stated, staring boredly at Daichi.

A muffled sigh was heard. "I'm up." he slowly removed the blanket from his face, squinting to try and adjust his eyes to the light. Truth be told, he had simply feigned sleep in hopes that Sayuri would leave him alone and not force him to train earlier than planned with her and Himawari.

Sayuri rolled her eyes while Himawari giggled, but they both made their way past Marika and out of the cabin door without waiting for Daichi. "Hurry up already." she called out to Daichi, scowling.

Marika chuckled. "Just start warming up while I wait for him girls."

"Hai!"

"Hn."

Although it took Daichi a little while longer just to get up (he had remained staring at the ceiling cursing his luck for a bit), eventually he had made his way outside, followed by Marika, to find Himawari and Sayuri already warming up with a spar. Truth be told, he wasn't particularly tired or anything, but training four to five times a week was a little too bothersome to deal with -especially with the likes of Himawari, already much more advanced than him, and Sayuri determined on catching up.

"You guys can stop for now." Marika halted their sparring session momentarily, which caused them to stop and look at her confusion.

"Will we be working on something else?"

"Hai." Marika acknowledged with a small nod. "But before that, a little history lesson."

"History lesson?" Sayuri raised an eyebrow in confusion, as the two of them approached Marika and Daichi.

"Although this will only apply to you two," she stated casually, staring at the two young girls, "it is an essential technique arising from our bloodline."

"And why not Daichi?" Himawari asked curiously.

"Because this particular trait has only arisen within the females of the clan. A reason we are led by the Clan matriarch. My Okaa-san." Marika stated, sitting down, and waiting for the kids to do the same. "It's prerequisite is to have unlocked the Flower Eye, of which only you have Himawari, but in time Sayuri's true potential will unlock as well."

Sayuri nodded, accepting the fact that Himawari, despite not being that much older than her, was far more advanced (albeit begrudgingly). Himawari on the other hand, looked up at Marika with excitement clearly seen in her eyes. "So what is it?"

"Hana no Ketsugo." Marika began. "I was not taught this until my advancement into Chunin. But given the circumstances and your rapid growth, I believe with some training you'll be able to accomplish it."

"Hana no Ketsugo..." Himawari repeated slowly.

End of Chapter

:D My goal was to have it updated by a week! I think I made my mark. :D I'd like to thank all my reviewers from last chapter cuz they were super supportive, thus the week update which if you think about it, is much better than 1 month… now don't u all agree? :D

Wish Upon A Wall

Hyuugalove001

CrAzYaNiMeFrEaKgUrL

Just-let-me-go

YukiGakamo1 (thnx for reviewing 3 times! :D)

xxxVanstarxxx

moonshine86

ita-sasforeva

VALLED

Gaarasakuralovers

And lost but not least…

Goddess of the Innocent

And thanks to all my other reviewers too! This is a somewhat early update as a thanks for all of the support from all of you!

Now… I would really appreciate it if you would review! I'm getting started on the next chapter as you read this exact message and I'm hoping you are all willing to wait 1-3 weeks… I promise it won't take me a month this time!

Next Chapter: Haruno Secret Technique (this chapter is mostly with the other Harunos' but there will still be some sakura, Itachi, and Hiroto lol :D )

Also, sorry of you see many mistakes! I'm bad at checking my things and it takes me such a long time to do that! If I did, I wouldn't have made my goal… I apologize!

I am looking for a beta for this story, 'Somewhere We Belong' and 'Her Love'. So please, if you want faster updates… I'm really in need of one! :)

Marzy-chan :)

Rewritten.