Three weeks after taking in the rain orphans, Sakura settled into her spot at the table and took a large chunk of cooked fish from the rather large fish Jiraiya had caught for them to eat for dinner that night "Wow" Yahiko stared at it in awe.
Konan giggled at him and Nagato remained silent like usual, Sakura was actually rather worried about the boy and hoped to talk to him tonight if she was given the chance "Thanks for the food" they chimed together before digging in.
Later on that night, Sakura was presented with her chance to talk with the little redhead "Nagato, is something the matter" she asked sitting down next to the boy, Nagato jumped in fright before peering at her from beneath the fringe of his bangs.
"It's nothing Sakura-sensei" Nagato sighed and wrapped his arms around his knee's "Why is this country always caught in the middle of war" he whispered hoping his favored sensei would tell him something to ease his mind.
Sakura smiled sadly at the little boy and wrapped a comforting arm around his shoulders "I know it sucks Nagato, but think about it if the war hadn't been going on, none of you would have met Jiraiya and I" she brushed his bangs to the side to peer into his rinnegan less violet eyes.
In this time period Nagato was just a normal little boy and Sakura thanked the kami for that, he didn't need the burden of rinnegan, she was pulled from her internal musing as Nagato smiled at her "You always know what to say Sakura-sensei" he huddled into her side before looking out to the distance.
"Not always, sometimes I'm wrong" Sakura sighed softly to herself, Nagato didn't hear her admission and that was the second thing Sakura was thankful for, the redhead really was a gentle soul and if it hadn't been for Danzou's interference last time he would have remained so.
Jiraiya paused in the door way of the little hut they had chosen to live in while training the three orphaned children, despite only knowing them for three weeks, he had noticed how much Sakura cared for the children.
The attachment to the orphans had been instantaneous for Sakura and to be honest it freaked Jiraiya out a little but as the time wore on he himself got attached to the three children, but hearing her speaking with Nagato only furthered his suspicions.
So when the pinkette and redhead headed in, before Sakura could crawl into her bed, Jiraiya grabbed the woman by the arm and hauled them through the still open door to get some of his questions answered, he had waited long enough after all.
"Your not normal" Jiraiya started and Sakura cocked a slender pink brow at him "I mean who are you really because sometimes you don't act like Orochimaru's sister" he inquired smirking inwardly as wariness entered Sakura's emerald eyes.
Sakura cursed silently before deciding to just get it over with "Your right Jiraiya, I'm not really Orochimaru's sister, I come from the future and the kami have deemed it necessary for me to save as many people as possible all while fixing their mistakes" she shrugged.
Shocked at the blunt statement because he certainly hadn't expected the pinkette to tell him the truth Jiraiya floundered for a moment spluttering in surprise "Your serious then" he asked and Sakura nodded once, Jiraiya knew then that it was the truth.
"How many people know of this fact" Jiraiya asked wanting to get as many details as possible, who knew when he would have another chance to find out what happened to him in the future, then again Jiraiya didn't think that Sakura might not tell him.
A sheepish smile crossed Sakura's lips before she bowed her head "Sarutobi-sensei, all the Uchiha's, Lord First and Lord Second, Kakuzu and the silent protector of the village Zetsu, along with Lady Mito and two others Kosho, and Simon Inuzuka" she finished ticking off her fingers.
Eyes widening at the amount of people who knew Sakura's secret, Jiraiya felt honored she would tell him the truth as well "So how come you've never told us before, I mean I'm sure Tsunade would understand" he asked wanting to learn more.
Sakura heaved a sigh at that "The time wasn't right but when we go back after training Yahiko, Konan and Nagato, I'll tell them though only Tsunade-chan and Orochimaru-ni" she said out of habit, and Jiraiya took his turn to raise a brow.
"So what happens to us in the future or is it the old future" Jiraiya asked as they settled on the porch to watch the storm, they were safe for the time being, Sakura rolled her eyes before deciding to appease her white haired teammate with some information.
"Your still a pervert" Sakura snorted when Jiraiya sulked at her "You've written a book series" she added in and by the happy look on Jiraiya's face she could tell it had given him hope to finish off the book he was currently already trying to write.
Jiraiya paused before asking another question "What of Tsunade and Orochimaru then, do you know them in the old future" he asked before recoiling at the look on Sakura's face, obviously whatever it was wasn't to good.
Another sigh before "Tsunade is a drunkard, thanks to me saving Nawaki, and possibly her future lover then that won't happen this time around and Orochimaru well" Sakura grimaced "He's a bastard in the old time line" she finished avoiding looking at Jiraiya.
Appalled that one of his closest friends had turned to evil ways even in the old future, Jiraiya slapped his knee and said "Well not on my watch this time around Orochimaru won't get a chance to be evil ever again" Jiraiya announced.
Sakura giggled before looking off into the distance as Nagato had earlier, "We should go in and get some rest" she stood as the first flash of lightning streaked across the already darkened sky followed by a loud rumble of thunder that shook the hut they all lived in.
The next morning, after breakfast, Jiraiya stood and addressed his three pupils "Alright you three lets go out and get some training in, Yahiko your with Sakura, Nagato, Konan with me" he split the orphans up and opened the door.
Yahiko happily took his place next to Sakura as they trudged through the rain and mud to their designated spot several meters away from the hut "What are you going to teach me today Sakura-sensei" he clasped his hands behind his back as he faced Sakura.
Peering into the orange haired boys brown eyes, Sakura ran through a list of water jutsu she could teach Yahiko and came across the perfect one and setting up a target for him to practice with, her emerald eyes glittering in amusement she turned to Yahiko with a smile.
Tensing at the mischievous smile on his pink haired sensei's lips, Yahiko took a large gulp of air after he figured out he was holding his breath "The jutsu I'm going to teach you is called raging waves" Sakura ran through hand signs and Yahiko memorized them one by one.
"How did you know I had water nature chakra when I haven't even told you yet" Yahiko pouted, it was a mystery how Sakura knew most things about him but still he was glad she had figured that little fact out because he would have floundered on explaining.
Sakura grinned sheepishly before she thought of an excellent explanation "I have the same water nature chakra and we water users have to stick together, I have felt that same nature with in you and viola" she coughed.
"You want me to try the jutsu right" Yahiko's cheeks turned a dazzling red when Sakura flashed him a pretty smile, before he turned to face the makeshift target she had set up for him and formed the hand signs he had memorized before "Water Style: Raging Waves" Yahiko called.
Sakura watched as a short wave of water spewed from Yahiko's mouth falling just short of two feet of hitting the target "Good but add more chakra to the jutsu next time" she instructed confident that Yahiko would get this jutsu before their time was up for the day.
Yahiko took a deep breath and ran through the hand signs again, this time he held his breath and let his chakra build up before finally "Water Style: Raging Waves" Yahiko shouted and his eyes widened at the amount of water that spewed from his mouth to utterly destroy the target.
"Well done my little protege" Sakura grabbed Yahiko in a hug and swung the orange haired boy around laughing merrily as she did so, stunned at the move, Yahiko merely held onto his sensei for dear life until she decided to put him down again.
Swaying on his feet Yahiko held a hand to his forehead "What else are you going to teach me Sakura-sensei" his words were a little slurred from the dizziness he still felt but Sakura got the gist of what he was trying to ask.
Ruffling Yahiko's orange hair, Sakura grinned down at her first ever student "The next jutsu is called Water Shuriken" she announced going through the hand signs for his sake then creating another target for Yahiko to use.
Nodding sure he wouldn't mess up this time, Yahiko rapidly created the hand signs to his newest jutsu, knowing that after this he would join Nagato with Jiraiya, he called out the jutsu "Water Style: Water Shuriken Jutsu" Yahiko narrowed his eyes in concentration and sent the shuriken sailing.
Sakura clapped her hands "Good Job Yahiko, though your aim is a little off, by the time your ready to go off on your own you'll have perfect aim you can count on it" she praised him and Yahiko flushed in embarrassment, this caused Sakura to snicker silently at him.
"I'll send Konan your way" Yahiko beamed at her before sprinting off in the direction he felt his two teammates and second sensei, it only took a few minutes before Sakura's emerald eyes sought out the small form of the little girl trudging towards her looking more than a little sullen.
"Hey Sakura-sensei.." Konan trailed off with a pout "How come guys are strong aren't there any girls that are strong either" she stared at her female idol, hope shining in her amber eyes, and Sakura smiled sweetly at the little girl before holding up a hand.
And to Konan's awe, Sakura shattered the ground beneath their feet "Yes, girls can be strong as well Konan-chan, myself and Tsunade along with several others" Sakura stated wisely when she was stood before her little pupil again.
Adoration shining brightly within those amber eyes, Sakura instantly knew what Konan was going to ask "Will you teach me that along with medical ninjutsu, I don't want to be left behind by my teammates ever again" Konan begged her sensei.
Rubbing her nose as it dripped a little with the cold rain, Sakura grinned "Of course but I'm going to warn you now it's not going to be easy" she peered down into the amber eyes and found only determination within their depths.
Konan nodded "Yes, Sakura-sensei, I'm ready" she announced only to end up flat on her back "Ouch" the blue haired girl winced and peeled herself off the ground, "Sakura-sensei what did you do that for" Konan whined and ducked low to avoid the slow swing.
"First rule about being a medical ninja Konan is being able to dodge and still heal in the midst of battle because if you were to ever be caught then your team is pretty much a goner" Sakura stated the first lesson and Konan eyed her warily.
"So what all I have to do is dodge, that's easyyyyyyyyyyyy" Konan screamed in shock as she was sent sailing into a rock, she knew then that it hadn't been a bright idea to brag about her nonexistent dodging skills and Sakura was none to happy with her about it.
Sakura shook her head slightly in disappointment "Don't get so cocky Konan, remember this is only the first part of learning how to be a medic" she announced as the girl slid down the rock to land in a heap "Now get on your feet" Sakura commanded.
Rising to her feet, Konan narrowed her eyes in determination, "I promise I won't let you down Sakura-sensei!" she vowed and leaping forward, Konan successfully avoided getting slammed into another rock though Sakura did sent her rolling through the mud a moment later.
"Another thing don't close your eyes Konan" Sakura scolded harshly, if she didn't then Konan would miss the entire point of this lesson and then it would be completely useless training the little girl in medical ninjutsu.
Konan's face twisted in disgust as she slipped on the mud and found herself buried in it once again "Got it" she mumbled finally able to get to her feet with out sliding to her doom again, Konan's eyes widened a second later and got slammed in the gut.
Sakura grinned this time as Konan kept her feet firmly planted on the ground and leaned back on her hands taking the blow in stride "Nice work, be flexible" she praised encouraging the blue haired girl to do her best more so than ever before.
A small smirk spread across Konan's lips as she cartwheeled backwards and kicked out with her feet hoping to catch her sensei off guard, but Sakura had suspected such a move and merely grabbed Konan's feet and swung her over her shoulder landing face first in the mud again.
"Ow" Konan cried softly feeling pain in places she never thought possible, then she took a deep breath and with a mantra clear in her little mind went about getting bashed into the ground only dodging the bare minimum until it was time for the switch.
Rolling her eyes, Sakura healed Konan as much as she could before sending the girl back to her teamates to train with Yahiko, Nagato trailed over to her looking more than a little sullen and she wondered just what had the boy down this time.
When Nagato was stood before her, Sakura eyed him with thinly veiled curiosity "Is there something you wish to ask of me Nagato" she leaned down to be eye level with the violet eyed boy, that's when Sakura realized he was crying silently.
Sniffling, Nagato rubbed at his eyes "Sakura-sensei, Jiraiya-sensei said something about how pain only makes you stronger why can't there be peace in the world" he hiccuped out and Sakura wrapped her arms around him pulling him in to her warm embrace.
Tears gathering in her own eyes, Sakura kept them at bay so she could speak to Nagato properly "Nagato, I to wish there was peace in this world, but the only way to achieve that is through fighting" she leaned back to stare at the trembling redhead.
Crying subsiding now, Nagato stayed wrapped in Sakura's arms for a good long minute, there he felt safe like nothing bad could ever touch him, then the moment was over and Nagato straightened ready to learn all he could from his favorite sensei.
Getting to her feet after releasing Nagato, Sakura inhaled deeply before exhaling "Okay Nagato, Jiraiya has told me that you have trouble with your aim so I'm going to teach you a few little tricks to help you get better" she pulled out regular shuriken, kunai and senbon.
Blinking at the decidely sharp looking weapons, Nagato became nervous and took them into his hands "First thing you should try to understand is that each weapon is different feel the difference in weight" Sakura asked trying to encourage Nagato to improve.
Slowly, Nagato held out each of his hands and nodded "The kunai are heavier, while the shuriken are light, but it's different with the senbon needles because they are the lightest" he announced happily glad he could contribute to this lesson as well.
"Very good job" Sakura clapped Nagato on the back gently "Next is accuracy" she pointed at the makeshift target and set the redhead the standard five feet away from it, "Now just throw them don't add any power yet" Sakura instructed to the best of her abilities.
Nagato took the kunai in hand and after Sakura adjusted his stance and helped him adjust his grip on the weapons, he sent them sailing at the target, not all of them got stuck but at least it was an improvement from the other day.
"Did you see that Sakura-sensei, I actually hit the target this time" Nagato became excited for the first time in Sakura's presence and she smiled sweetly at the little boy, who blushed a dark red at the realization he was behaving like an excitable child.
Sakura grinned teasingly at Nagato before ruffling his hair "It's okay Nagato, you shouldn't be so serious, live a little, enjoy your life while you have it" she announced before having him throw the weapons some more until their time was up.
"See you back at the house Sakura-sensei" Nagato called over his shoulder as he sprinted back to Yahiko, Konan and Jiraiya, the pinkette would be going to the river to catch their dinner and bring back whatever supplies she could.
Later on after dinner, Sakura crawled into her bed roll and had just closed her eyes to drift off when a shadow fell over her blocking her limited view of moonlight, knowing instinctively who it was, she shifted over and the little boy slid in next to her.
"Good night Nagato" Sakura murmured wrapping her arms around the little boy and pulling him to her chest, the redhead snuggled into her embrace comfortably as he had for the past three weeks and both of them fell into a restful sleep.
