E.H.

This is probably one of the most hard-worked on chapters I've written thus far. I'm hoping to get this done in the next chapter without rushing things. As for the line-up afterwards, I have a lovely Werewolf prompt from electrickpanda; Romeo and Juliet from SilverIcy; another prompt from SilverIcy "Quotes from the Star Trek Fan Comics", and then I have a prompt of my own I'm going to post, Great Escape by P!nk. After that? I'll need some more prompts lovelies! Also, if you sent me a prompt and I haven't done it yet, PLEASE let me know! I probably didn't see it!

Rated T
Sentient Shadows of the Past
Part Three

A sigh practically echoed around the room. The Sandaime Hokage pinched the bridge of his nose as he stared across his desk at the four ANBU operatives and one miffed pink-haired petite woman. The fact that two of said ANBU operatives were bleeding from under their masks without either showing signs of masks being damaged said quite a bit about the woman that didn't seem like she was much to handle.

"I don't suppose asking will solve anything…?" He stated tiredly.

Sakura merely shrugged and nodded at the bleeding ones. "They grabbed my chest. They paid for it."

One of the ANBU to her left, a non-bleeding one, shifted in place. Even Sarutobi could see the desire to snicker. He shook his head. "I'm more concerned as to why it too not one or two of my elite force, but four to restrain a young woman."

If looks could kill, Sakura mused. "I was doing my job as a medic. That old hag down there defied all manners of protocol, couldn't spare any time to train a young woman with so much potential, and then had the audacity to tell me that it was her hospital! Since when does a hospital belong to one person! I can see why Tsunade-sama hated the old bitty."

Sarutobi blinked and straightened in his seat. "Tsunade? How do you know Tsunade?"

Sakura mentally kicked herself for that slip. That…that could have been avoided. She wanted to smack her forehead but seeing as how both arms were being held in a firm grip by either side… "It's a…long story." She sighed.

Seeming to understand his need to not pry, Sarutobi nodded in wise understanding. "You do realize the man you operated on was a council member…?"

"Nope. Names don't matter when you're healing people, sir. What matters is that Nobara Rin was almost done with a beautiful healing job when that woman threw open a door! What if the patient was a high risk of heart failure? She would have killed a patient in a matter of moments by bursting into a room like that! Rin, doing all she was supposed to do was startled! Her first hospital, hands-on procedure was interrupted! She wasn't to blame for the incident that followed! Not to mention the fact that if your hospital staff was properly effective, he wouldn't have been in there at all! He'd been admitted at six-forty-nine am…am! We were there are three! It should never, ever take that long to get to a simple patch up job!"

"I see you're rather…passionate about you position as a medic."

"I was taught by the best."

"So it would seem. It says here Inari-san wants Nobara's status as a medic nin stripped from her…"

"Please, Hokage-sama…don't take this away from Rin-chan. She's the best medic I've ever seen in a long time. If anyone has to take blame, place it on me. She only did what I trained her to do. If that was wrong, than I am to be held accountable. Rin…Rin has a beautiful gift that makes everything pale in comparison. To rescind her status as a medic nin is to sign several death certificates down the line in the future."

Sarutobi sat back in his chair with a raised eyebrow. He blew out a long sigh with smoke tendrils dancing up from his pipe. "I see…well then, I suppose you should go find your student then and make sure she knows she's still medic ninja material. It'd be a shame to lose that talent over a mistake, hm?"

Sakura smiled in relief. She moved to bow only to roll her eyes. "I'd bow, but the boys won't let me."

Sarutobi waved his hand. "You're free to go." Several bows and the whisper of leaves falling were the only indication that they'd heard as they disappeared from the room. The other two ANBU that always guarded the Hokage were still there, but they hadn't been man-handling her. A knock sounded on the door. "Come in."

Minato stepped through the door and paused at the sight of Sakura. He moved to stand beside her and bowed. "You called for me, Hokage-sama?"

"Yes. I have need for your team. I know Kakashi's promotion is tomorrow on his birthday, however…some recent events have arisen that need to be addressed. As you know, the Kannabi Bridge is a large beacon for Iwagakure nin to gain supplies and troop aid. It is going to prove beneficial to us if we take it out. Team Minato is to head out ASAP tomorrow morning to destroy that bridge."

"Hai, understood, Hokage-sama."

Sakura had heard of this incident before but for the life of her couldn't remember exactly why it sparked such a vehement reaction. She wanted to scream at them to stop and reconsider but she didn't know why; and honestly…even if she did…that certainly would have screwed several events up in her future. She settled on just standing in the middle of the room bewildered as to why she was being allowed to overhear this all.

"All right. Have all five members of Team Minato prepared to leave. Here are your mission details. You're both dismissed." Minato took the scroll with a smile.

Once they were free of the tower, Sakura turned to Minato with a frown. "There are only four members of Team Minato."

"Well, now there are five." He shot her sideways glance.

Sakura's brow continued to be furrowed until she caught on and blinked rapidly. "Me?" She pointed at herself in bewilderment.

"It would appear so. Now, what was all this ruckus I heard of a certain pink-haired woman in the hospital today causing a bunch of fuss?"

"Oh, her?" Sakura laughed lightly while scratching her chin. "She just got a little upset over nothing…well, a lot of something but nothing she couldn't handle…"

"Ahh…and four ANBU having to forcefully remove her constitutes more than 'nothing she couldn't handle', wouldn't you agree?"

"…only a little bit…"

"I have to admit, I thought of Kushina when I heard about today's events. But mostly, I'm concerned about Rin-chan…"

"Where does she usually hide out when she'd upset?"

"Since it's rare when she's upset enough to hide, it's uncertain where she'll be. My best guess would be training grounds three. After that, probably the Hokage Mountain. If not there…I'm sure Obito-kun can find her."

"Why not Kakashi?"

"Obito-kun has a…knack…for knowing where Rin-chan is when she's upset."

A heavy thread of guilt flashed through her abdomen. Like Naruto when he was always chasing after me… "I see. I'll try to find her."

"All right. I'm sure she'd prefer getting the news of our mission from you anyways."

"If she doesn't hate me…" Sakura grumbled. Minato shook his head.

"Rin-chan doesn't hate you. She's probably embarrassed and believes she did something horribly wrong. She's always been the type to blame herself first."

"Sounds familiar." Sakura nodded and turned to head off in search of the brunette.

…..

"You're certainly not the easiest kunoichi to find."

Sakura smiled at the younger girl who turned to blink up at her. Rin sighed and turned back around, hugging her knees. "Sensei told you where to find me, didn't he?"

"He gave me a few ideas." The pinkette sat down atop the Nidaime's head among the spikes for his hair. She mimicked Rin's position, pulling her knees up in front of her and staring out over the village.

"I screwed up."

"No, you didn't."

"Yes I did! I severed an artery! I-I could have killed him!"

"And that wouldn't have happened if that old bad, Inari hadn't burst into the room howling like a cat in heat!" Sakura pushed the imagery aside to keep herself from becoming nauseated. "Look, your form was perfect. Everything was done with the best expertise. Even I would have jumped like that if someone had burst in yelling like that."

"Inari won't let me set foot in that hospital again, I can guarantee it."

"Well, then it's a good thing that the Sandaime is going to protest to that isn't it?"

"What?" Rin looked at Sakura in shock while the pink haired woman grinned triumphantly.

"I spoke with him myself."

"When the ANBU dragged you off?"

"Uh…eheheh…yeah…when they dragged me off…" Sakura looked away sheepishly.

"You're really lucky they didn't decide to kill you on the spot."

"I know. I think two of them will forever want to."

"You really shouldn't sound too pleased about that…"

"I know."

Rin giggled and shook her head. "Thanks…"

"For what?"

"For…for doing everything you did for me."

"Hey, that's what a sensei does. They put their faith into their student and fight hand, tooth, and nail for them. Because we know…" Sakura nudged Rin's shoulder with her own playfully. "Just how amazing our pupils are."

Rin smiled brightly and Sakura felt her entire spirit lift with it. "You and Minato-sensei are a lot alike in that way, I guess."

Sakura blinked and turned away with a light blush. She, Haruno Sakura, had just been compared to the Yondaime Hokage. She...really was flattered. Scratching her chin she snorted. "Yeah, yeah. Next thing you know, people will be calling me the Pink Thunder or something else just as ridiculous." Both shared a glance before bursting into giggles that had them holding their sides for several long minutes. Sakura caught her breath and wiped a tear from her eye. "We should head back. We've got a mission in the morning…"

Rin perked up. "Really? Where to?"

"Kannabi Bridge. Sandaime wants it blown up so that Iwagakure's supply lines are cut off."

"This is going to a big mission. With Kakashi-kun's promotion to Jounin and everything!"

"I guess so." If only she could remember why it was so important, then she wouldn't have this distinct pit in her stomach that kept roiling with an angry vengeance. She stood and helped Rin to her feet. "Race you there."

"You're on."

…..

The next morning came early. Annoyingly so. Sakura rose and grabbed the pack that Kushina had given her the night before. She couldn't hold back the joy she felt inside at the fact that she'd made such a kind friend here. Even if it would only be for…well…however long she was in this time, it was well worth it. She felt like she could really picture and see most of Naruto's quirks and speech patterns now. She had a face and personality to go with each of parents. It wasn't like trying to solve a puzzle now. He was who he was because of who they were. And she wished he could be there now to see how much they loved him even before he was conceived. No wonder Naruto was such a good person inside and out. His parents were the same.

Shouldering the pack, she moved out from the room and smiled at Kushina who was finishing going over Minato's pack to be sure he had everything. The blonde man stood by with an amused yet slightly exasperated expression on his face. "Ohayou…"

"Ohayou-ttebane…" Kushina muttered distractedly. Minato sighed.

"Ohayou, Sakura-chan."

"Are you sure you packed everything?"

"Kushina, my love…you've been over the pack now five times. I'm certain if I was missing something you'd have found it by—"

"Aha! You did! You did forget something-ttebane!" Kushina jumped up and pointed at him before rushing to the bathroom. Sakura stifled a giggle at his expense.

He looked at her with a bemused pout. "Just wait until she checks over yours."

"She packed mine."

Minato groaned lightly and rolled his eyes to the heavens as though to ask 'why him'? Kushina came out of the bathroom and held up a pack of floss victoriously. "You forgot floss-ttebane!"

"Ah, how silly of me. To forget floss. I'm certain this whole mission would be an absolute disaster without it." Minato teased his wife with a good-natured smirk. Kushina planted her hands on her hips before raising her right hand to point at him.

"Oi! What if you needed it for some other non-conventional use? Eh, dattebane!? Then you'd not have it!"

"Hai, hai…" Minato put his hands up in a placating gesture. He stepped forward and drew her into his arms to kiss her forehead before Kushina could get too riled up. "I love you. I'll miss you. I'll be home before you know it."

"You'd better be! And in one piece, dattebane! You too, Sakura-chan!"

"Hai, I'll be sure he's in one piece."

"Good. Now go and make me proud." Kushina nodded as she straightened Minato's collar and stepped back. Sakura followed the tall man out of the house and snorted.

"Don't you start too."

"Oh no, wouldn't dream of it." Sakura replied drily while keeping her giggles to herself. They arrived at their meet-up place. Minato took a seat on a boulder in the training grounds while Sakura situated herself against a nearby tree. It wasn't too long after that Kakashi showed up.

"Hm. I'm surprised you managed to drag her out of bed." The silver-haired teen stated as he glanced over at her. Minato chuckled.

"She's not like a child, Kakashi-kun."

"Hm."

Sakura rolled her eyes at him. "I'm capable of being on time to missions, unlike some."

"I'm always on time." Kakashi looked confused and Sakura had to kick herself mentally. This wasn't the same man from her time. So…what had changed him so drastically from the brat he was into the annoying lackadaisical person he was in her life. Her thoughts were cut short as Rin appeared.

"Ohayou, minna-san." The brunette stated as she drew near with a smile. "Ohayou sensei, ohayou Sakura-nee, ohayou Kakashi-kun."

"Ohayou, Rin-chan."

"Yo." Kakashi stated with a bored wave. In that instance, Sakura felt the strongest pang of home-sickness she'd had in a while. That was her Kakashi-sensei. "Now that we're all here…"

"No we're not. Obito-kun's not here yet." Sakura protested earning her a glower from the younger version of her sensei.

"He's late. Therefore, he doesn't matter. Let's go, sensei."

"Now, now, Kakashi-kun…"

"It's not like we didn't expect it, Kakashi-kun…" Rin stated softly, trying to placate him and smooth the situation over. Sakura tried not to be reminded of herself as she tried to placate Sasuke. Though, Rin was far more tactful than she. A fact she regretted greatly. She felt the pinprick sensation of chakra approaching. She glanced once at Minato, noting that he didn't seem all too worried about it. She scanned the field and then settled her vision on Kakashi as he moved a little closer to the tree line. The sound of something snapping, like a vine, filled the air briefly before a cry. A body thudded roughly against the floor of the forest, skidding to a halt in the grass at Kakashi's feet. Obito groaned and looked up hopeful at Kakashi.

"Did I just make it in time?"

"Nope, because you're late! Obito!" Kakashi leaned bent with a hand on his hip. "Kono baka! Just what time did you think we were meeting?! If you're a full-fledged ninja, you should naturally follow the rules and regulations strictly!"

It took everything within Sakura not to bark out a laugh at that. Rules and regulations? Since when did Kakashi ever…oh…right. This wasn't the same man she knew yet. She moved to say something but caught Minato's subtle gesture for her to stay put. Narrowing her eyes, she huffed a long sigh under her breath.

"No…on the way, I had to show the way to an old woman carrying luggage…plus there was something in my eye…" Obito argued back and Sakura had such a flashback to not only Kakashi's poorly worded, lame excuses…but of Naruto too. It made her want to laugh and cry at the same time.

"What? That's a lie!" Kakashi barked back.

Sakura barely contained her snort there. Minato finally turned and smiled at Obito. "Hey, don't talk like that Kakashi! You went with the old lady, didn't you…Obito?"

"I carried her luggage too."

"…you're a real pushover." Kakashi grumbled. Sakura did scoff this time. Kakashi shot her a look that clearly stated how he felt about her input. In reply, she stuck her tongue out at him. His eyes traveled back to Minato. "You should be getting angry at Obito. Every single time. Those ninja who don't follow the rules and regulations are called trash!"

"What is your problem?!" Sakura snapped, pushing off the tree. "So what if he's late? We're only a little off of our timeline. Your yelling at him is pushing us further off schedule."

"Tch." Kakashi looked away from her and Sakura ground her teeth. Oh, how she wanted to teach him a lesson. However, brutally maiming her future sensei? Not the best call.

"Have you no kindness in you?" Obito grumbled after he placed a few eye drops in his eye. He rubbed at it while glowering up at Kakashi. "It's always about the rules! The regulations! Just shut up!"

"Hey, hey! Don't you two ever stop? You're in the same team, aren't you?" Rin put her hands up in a placating gesture toward them both.

Kakashi turned to glare at her next. "Rin, you're too easy-going towards him…this is a very important day for me…"

"Yeah…yeah it is…" Rin sheepishly closed her eyes and smiled gently.

"Eh? What was it again?" Obito drawled. Sakura grimaced; bad call. They began travel toward the border as Minato explained.

"Well…today Kakashi is inaugurated as a jounin, just like me. To make missions efficient, myself and his team will be split, since the military of Konoha has hit an all-time low now."

"Split…then…" Obito trailed off, glancing at Kakashi's back.

"Yeah, that's right! Kakashi will become the commander of your three-man team. And I'll be on my own with Sakura for this mission."

"I told you about it before…Obito. To give Kakashi-kun a present…"

"…sorry…I wasn't listening."

Sakura, behind them all chuckled softly into her hand. Kakashi turned and made a face at Obito. Minato pulled out a unique looking kunai with three points. The wrapped handle had some form of writing on it as he held it up with a grin. A Naruto-esque grin. Kami how she missed Naruto right then…

"I'll give you this! It's a special kunai! It's a little heavy because of its odd shape, but when you get used to it, it's easy to use. Take it with you on your mission today." Kakashi took it from Minato with a low murmured 'domo'.

Rin turned and dug out a small box wrapped up. "This is from me! Here! A personal medical bag…you've improved so much that it should be easy to use!"

Another low 'domo' came from Kakashi before he turned to Obito with his hand held out to receive a gift. Obito twitched and stared at his hand. "Wh-what's with the hand?! I didn't do anything for you! Absolutely nothing!"

"That's fine…make yourself useful…carry my stuff for me."

Sakura knew it was coming before Obito growled and snapped at Kakashi. He pointed at the silver-haired kid in anger. "It's a mystery how you ever became jounin!"

"I don't want to talk to you about it."

Obito began to shake in anger as he tried, actually tried to hold himself together. A feat Sakura saw and wanted to tell him that it was okay to lose his cool right now. Especially with the brat being such a jerk to Obito. Then again, Sasuke…had been similar to Naruto…hadn't he? And she'd fawned over him and ignored Naruto. Now that she could see it from another perspective, even if they were different people, it stung her deep down.

"I am Uchiha Obito, of the Uchiha clan! I will surpass you! As soon as I awaken this sharingan!"

"The Uchiha clan are all elite ninja, aren't they…? That's what I thought but…"

"What?"

"You guys, quit it!" Rin pleaded as she approached them both.

"Can I explain the mission now? We're almost at the border."

Sakura sighed in relief as the two boys quieted down. They continued forward and found a large boulder to set the map on. It amazed her how fast they'd traveled even with all the bickering. Minato took up his position and laid the map out. She sat, with her legs dangling off the boulder to his left. Kakashi took up her left, then Rin, then Obito closing the circle on Minato's right. Minato laid his finger on the map.

"It's this line. Currently Tsuchi no Kuni is invading Kusagakure. That's this line. Of course the enemy are Iwagakure Ninja…we have information that there's already about a thousand of the enemy ninja at the front line. If they continue advancing like this…"

"Although Hi no Kuni also borders Kusagakure, if we wait too long it'll be too late." Kakashi stated frowning at the paper before them.

Sakura shifted and was beginning to feel uncomfortable. She knew about this war from records and history books. She glanced at Kakashi. She didn't remember him stating too much about his team's involvement…if ever. Then again, the name Kannabi Bridge kept rolling around in her head making her feel distinctly ill. What happened? Why couldn't she remember? "So what kind of approach would be the best advised to make?"

Rin looked at Sakura with a smile and then back to map with a serious expression. "Looking at this advance, their rear support should be smooth too, shouldn't it?"

"Our current mission…" Minato settled his finger over a particular point on the map. "Is here...we need a lot of ninja to hit the enemy's front line. Because of that, a few selected ninja must go sabotage them."

"The…bridge…" Kakashi stated in understanding. "So it's a sneaking mission?"

"Yes. Team Kakashi…you mission is sneak in behind the enemy, and destroy the bridge that they need to receive supplies. Then withdraw quickly."

"Hai!" The three said collective.

Obito turned and looked at Minato worriedly first before then turning to Sakura. "What about you…?"

"We will engage the frontline directly. To divert them away from you." Minato held his hand out over the map. "Right, this is Kakashi's first time as commander. We'll go together to the border, but from then on, the mission begins!"

Sakura laid her hand atop Minato's, Kakashi laid his atop hers, Rin then was next, and then Obito. All as one they cried, "hai!" as they pulled their hands back.

…..

They traveled on through the day and into a large, strangely forested area. The trees seemed to be growing the largest mushrooms Sakura had ever seen in her life. She knew around where they were; even heard of this place before. She couldn't remember if she'd ever traveled through this area before. She was sure she had…she just couldn't remember so many—her attention was drawn away from the surroundings immediately. Chakra. Someone was nearby and it wasn't one of their team. Kakashi stopped and dropped his hand into a signal of stop. She had to admit, she was impressed. She was picking up at least twenty of them. She shot Minato a knowing look and he returned it.

"Be careful everyone. There's twenty enemies…maybe it's a kagebunshin no jutstu." The blonde leader stated quietly.

"It looks like it." Kakashi stated, drawing Sakura's attention. He shot her a quick glance before he returned his eyes to the field. "Sensei…I'll head in. Please cover me"

Sakura stifled a scoff at his big attitude. Minato shifted and narrowed his eyes slightly. "Don't be hasty, Kakashi. You should be the backup."

"Sensei, I'm the commander today, right? This is an excellent time to try out my new jutsu!" Sakura watched in amazement as Kakashi's hand began to glow with his chakra. What sounded like birds beginning to chirp as his chakra took on the blue-white form of lightning sparks emitting from his palm. He glanced once more her way. Minato threw his arm out in front of the eager teen and looked to be clenching his jaw. Sakura couldn't be sure if he was irritated or worried. His face was unreadable as Kakashi stared at him from the corner of his eyes. "Even if there's a lot of enemies, this jutsu can do it in an instant. It's the same as your nickname. Besides…"

Minato let out a slow, careful breath that Sakura was pretty sure she was the only one to hear.

"Now, I'm the commander."

Sakura turned a little. "Ka—"

"It's a rule that the student follows the commander's instructions, isn't it? Sensei?"

Minato removed his hand and closed his eyes as his hand came before his face in his version of a reluctant agreement. Kakashi was off in a blinding flash of light, bursting through the giant root they had taken cover behind. She watched in awe and a little bit of indignant anger at his audacity. As he moved, she slid some kunai from her hip holster and noted with some amusement that Minato did the same. She predicted the enemy nin's move as a few clones began to target Kakashi with kunai and shuriken. Minato and Sakura both flung kunai to counter them. She didn't have time to register Minato's movement until he was no longer beside her and taking out one clone, then instantly beside another and another and so on.

She cursed as a flare of chakra came at them from behind. Turning, she charged her fist and as soon as the ninja attacked, her fist flew and collided with the clone's head. The clone dispersed in a poof. As she turned back, Obito was about to be attacked by another clone emerging from the ground. She breathed a sigh of relief as Minato flickered into sight, taking the clone out.

"Don't be careless!" He stated before moving out of sight again.

Obito shook and nodded as tears gathered in his eyes, "H-Hai…"

She came to kneel beside them and protect them better. She smiled quickly at Obito and nodded back to what was going on. She saw it happen quickly and gasped, holding her breath as Kakashi was about to be injured badly. Minato appeared just in time. He grabbed Kakashi and moved him out of mortal danger before flashing them away from the zone. He set Kakashi back near the other two and Sakura. He slid his travel pack off his shoulder and before it hit the ground, he was gone. Sakura could see from where she stood where he'd gone. Knowing how this particular battle would end, she turned to distract the two with Kakashi's injury, not that it had taken much. It really was only a few moments before the future Yondaime Hokage was back with the team. Rin had set to healing Kakashi's shoulder.

"Kakashi's injury isn't minor. For now, we'll retreat back to camp."

"I'm fine!" Kakashi argued.

Obito shook his head aghast at the other boy. "What do you mean, "fine"?! You selfishly went your own way against sensei's orders and did something crazy!"

"I don't want to say anything to you. To the 'Elite Uchiha', a coward and a crybaby!"

"That…there was something in my eye and the tears were to get it out!"

"Do you know 'shinobi rule twenty-five'? The rule that says 'a shinobi must never show his tears'!"

Rin sighed. "Oi…you two, quit it…"

"Take it easy you two." Minato finally barked out. Sakura stood to the side with a heavy sigh and her arms crossed over her chest. She shook her head and turned away from them. It was hard to see how this brat would become the team-leader she respected. "Kakashi, of course rules and regulations are important but…that's not all there is to it. I'll tell you, you must also be able to cope with the situation."

"Hah! Look!" Obito pointed in Kakashi's face earning him a sharp glare from both Rin and the silver-haired teen.

"Obito! As for you!" Minato started back up. "You were wearing goggles, so you couldn't have had something in your eye. If you don't control your mouth, not only your mouth but your mind will also become weak. And one more thing; Kakashi…that jutsu you used…you shouldn't use that again. A trust all concentrated on one point. Of course, you have the destructive power and speed but…because the speed of your movements are so fast, you can't see your opponent's counter. Because of that, it's an incomplete jutsu. Before we separate, I'll say it again. The most important thing to a shinobi is 'teamwork'!"

All three teens looked down in shame. Sakura closed her eyes and let out a soft sigh.

"All right…let's move out." Minato stated tiredly as he turned and began to walk. Rin stood and followed first then followed by Obito. Sakura followed suit but paused by Kakashi. He reached down and offered him her hand to help him up with a small smile. Kakashi looked up at her blankly for a moment before he sighed and took her hand to stand. It was funny, even as a teen he stood almost as tall as her. She clapped her hand over his uninjured shoulder.

"Regardless of how foolish your actions were, you still did a good job. Minato-senpai is right though. Teamwork is the most important thing. Come on…we don't want to fall too far behind." Sakura continued forward after the rest of the team and coincidentally missed the small flushing of color on Kakashi's cheeks from under his mask as he followed her.

The trek back to camp was silent and loaded with heavy thought and feeling. She set up her bed-roll and laid down. Rin faced her and plucked at the grass in thought. Sakura snorted and reached over to lightly flick her hand. "Stop glowering! You look like the kid who got caught with their hand in the cookie jar! Did you notice something about the reprimanding…?"

Rin frowned, "…what…did I miss?"

"Minato-senpai spoke mostly to the boys. Rin-chan, you did what you were supposed to. Does it bother you that much that he scolded them?"

"…not really. I guess, kinda…it's just hard to hear Minato-sensei upset. It hurts."

Sakura hummed in thought and nodded. "Yeah…I know how that goes. At least your sensei is kind though when he's upset. My sensei would make us run laps for hours or get us the most degrading missions possible to teach us a lesson in 'teamwork'." A chuckle escaped the pinkette. "And then my shishou…she would literally throw boulders at me to get my act together."

Rin's eyes bulged. "B-Boulders?!"

"Yes. But she taught me everything I know about being a medic and a capable fighter."

"I…I'm impressed. The way you just punched that clone away…it was pretty cool."

"Hehehe…" Sakura scratched her chin. "Get some sleep, Rin-chan. We're going to need it for tomorrow."

"Hai…"

…..

Morning came with an odd, misplaced sense of calm. To be honest, it un-nerved Sakura. She woke before the three younger ones. She wasn't surprised to see Minato awake already. She packed her items quickly and moved to sit alongside him on the boulder. The sounds of rustling forms waking filled the air as the three teens began to repack their items as well. Rin insisted on checking Kakashi's shoulder. Sakura was facing his back when he removed his shirt and coincidentally mask as well. She stiffened and blinked.

"You let people see your face?" She blurted incredulously before thinking it through. Kakashi turned slightly, just enough for her to see his jaw bone but not his face.

"…uh…yeah. Why?" He sounded utterly confused.

Sakura blinked and looked away, clearing her throat. "Oh, nothing. I just…thought you liked seeming mysterious and all that with the mask. I didn't think you ever took it off."

Rin giggled. "It would seem more mysterious if you never took it off, wouldn't it?"

Kakashi snorted and turned back to face away from them as Rin re-wrapped his injury.

"It's pretty much healed completely now. But if you overdo it, the wounds will open up."

"All right…" Kakashi sighed in response to Rin. He tugged his shirt back on and his mask along with it. Sakura felt disappointed that she didn't sneak a peek like she'd wanted to. Maybe next time, she thought to herself.

Minato shouldered his pack, looking back at them. "Okay! Let's head off!"

"Hai!" They, including Sakura, stated as a team. Their travels took them into the huge, giant bamboo forest. Sakura did remember this place. She inhaled deeply and ran her fingers along a few of the bamboo shoots. Kakashi was walking not too far from her. He shot her a quizzical look that she blushed at.

With a shrug she simply explained, "I like the way bamboo feels…"

"You don't get out much, do you?"

"Hey now…" Sakura frowned. "No need to infer I'm a hermit." Instantly Jiraiya popped into her head. A bittersweet emotion settled over her.

"Hm. Hermit crab, more like."

"Are you saying I'm crabby?"

"If the claw fits."

Sakura couldn't help the small snort of laughter. She covered it quickly with a cough and a shake of her head. She caught the upturn of his lips under his mask. If he wasn't barely thirteen and she wasn't eighteen at the time, she'd have admitted he was rather cute. Not to mention the fact he seemed like he was trying to flirt with her. A weird, weird combo indeed since this boy would eventually become her sensei.

Minato slowed and turned to the three of them. He nodded at Sakura to move to his side. She did so without needing to hear the command verbally. "From here, we split into two groups. Everyone, do your best. It was only by chance that the enemy yesterday was scouting alone. From now on it'll be team battles. Take care…"

"Let's go, commander." Obito stated with a sideways glance away from Kakashi. It shocked not only Sakura but Rin as well. By the wide-eyed look on Kakashi's face, it had caught him off guard too. Minato, however, simply smiled at them.

"Right…let's go! Sakura!" Minato stated, raising his arm.

Sakura nodded and managed to catch the look Kakashi threw at her. Did he…wink at her? She ignored the slight flutter in her chest and merely winked back as the word, "scatter!" sent them all on their respective ways.

Traveling with Minato was quieter and quick. She didn't mind, however. They used their chakra charged feet to literally move silently and speedily through the surroundings. An hour passed like this. Minato slowed a bit and Sakura shot him a curious glance.

"We're getting closer." He answered her silent question. She nodded in understanding. He suddenly sighed and rubbed his brows. "You don't think I was…too hard on them yesterday, do you?"

Sakura smiled and laughed lightly. "Hard? That was hard? Trust me…you were kind on them while being honest and blunt. I'm impressed, actually. I can see where Kakashi gets his leadership from." She caught the slip-up with a mental curse.

Minato didn't seem to think much of it as he smiled appreciatively. "Thank you."

"Don't thank me. I'm being honest."

"I appreciate in any case."

"How far are we from the frontline?"

"Maybe twenty minutes. If we walk." He grinned.

"Then, I suppose we should go ahead and get a move on then, hm?"

"Sounds like a plan."

Whooooooeee! So much actual manga text! Yes, I did indeed go through the manga and that's why it took so long to get this updated. I had to re-read each bit carefully and rescribe the brilliant work while tweaking the situation for Sakura to fit into the scenario (and for the sake of not getting my butt in trouble…I DON'T OWN ANY OF THE SPEECH I USED FROM THE MANGA!). I hope it wasn't cheesy and horribly done because damnit…I TRIED REALLY HARD ON THIS ONE! I HOPE I did well. Let me know how you guys feel about it! And no…this isn't done yet. I was originally going to have this be one chapter, then it morphed into two, and then three, and now four. We'll see if I can finish this in FOUR! Haha! I'm laughing at my hopeful thinking…

Anywho! If any of the Japanese was confusing, shoot me a pm or comment to ask me! I'll happily translate!

Erika Hearken