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Chapter 53: Warning Signs and Departures

The first signs that Gaara was acting out of the norm were not very prominent to the five-year-old Sakura until she stopped to think about them. Things such as the sand scattered throughout her hospital room or Gaara constantly being by her side, no matter the time of day or night, seemed almost normal…until the first time the boy tried to follow her into the restroom, and then the subsequent flow of sand under the restroom door after she had told him to wait outside. But still, it hadn't seemed too weird. Sakura understood that she had been gone for a long time and that Gaara was worried she'd disappear again. She had figured that once he knew she was home to stay, he'd calm down and quit being so jumpy. The fact that he was jumpy had been obvious since…well, since she was well enough to think clearly at all.

After the second time that Sakura had had a healing session with Yashamaru she had realized that Gaara was on edge whenever his uncle entered the room. At first she had thought it was because of those seven ninja that entered the room along with the wheelchair-bound man—If Sakura hadn't seen them in the room before and if Gaara hadn't already been holding her hand comfortingly, she probably would have been more frightened of their presence than she was. But Yashamaru had smiled and acted as if there was nothing out of the ordinary as he had come to tend to her wounds again, so she hadn't thought to ask why these strange men were in her room. In fact, the moment Yashamaru started his examination, all of her attention had become glued to the medic as she tried to figure out what he was doing to fix her. It wasn't until he was removing the tight bandaging from around her chest and she felt something move inside her sharply that she remembered there was anyone else in the room.

The sharp pain had made Sakura involuntarily gasp out and clutch hard at Gaara's hand as her eyes instinctively squeezed closed. What occurred next went by quickly and yet almost seemed to happen in slow motion. As Sakura opened her eyes, she had seen Yashamaru's attention and hands hovering over one side of her chest. She had seen Gaara's sands shoot up from the floor. The next thing Sakura knew, all but one of the seven ninja had weapons out, and the one who didn't had somehow materialized beside Yashamaru and had pulled the man and his wheelchair away from the sand. Sakura didn't get to see what happened next, however, because she was smothered in darkness.

At first Sakura had simply been too startled to comprehend what was going on, but by the time she realized that Gaara had covered her and himself in a dome of sand to protect them from harm, she was already starting to hyperventilate. It was the strangest thing. Sakura had never been afraid of the dark before, but for some reason panic had set in with the sudden total darkness—perhaps because she hadn't yet realized why her sight was suddenly failing her, or maybe it reminded her a little too much of her vision of Keiko's death. Whatever it was, if not for Gaara's hand still holding hers, she might have truly freaked out. Instead she had reached for him with her free hand, whimpering in fear. It was then that Gaara had said in a low voice that was probably supposed to be comforting, "Don't worry, Sakura, I won't let him hurt us again."

If Sakura hadn't been so afraid, she would have been confused. Instead she had started crying about it being dark as she tried to pull herself towards Gaara—and then she had felt another stab of pain—this one different in quality from the first, but nearly as painful—and had released Gaara to clutch at her side as she started crying for a very different reason. Gaara's hands were on her shoulders before she heard his terrified voice asking her what was wrong. She couldn't answer—her breaths were coming too quickly, and each breath sent another burst of pain through her side. Gaara's arms were around her and his voice was wavering in her ear before the sand started to crumble around them. Sakura had never been so thankful before to see light again. Her breathing eased a bit, but her pain continued with each breath. And so, in her desperation to make the pain stop, Sakura had called out to the one person in the room, she would later learn, Gaara had mistakenly been trying to protect her from. She had called out to Yashamaru and begged him to make the pain stop.

Yashamaru's reply had come all the way from the room's door, where he was circled by all seven ninja. "I was trying to, Sakura, but Gaara won't let me near you." Perhaps this should have clued Sakura in that something strange was going on with Gaara—she had never known Gaara to stop a doctor from treating her before—but at the time, the statement's true implications flew right over Sakura's head as Gaara had responded harshly to Yashamaru's statement.

"You hurt her!"

Yashamaru had an odd look on his face—a mix between annoyance, exasperation, and something else…something Sakura would later determine was fear—as he intoned in a relatively calm manner, "Her wounds hurt her—I was trying to help her, and I cannot tend to her from across the room."

Gaara was already opening his mouth on a retort—something about not trusting a liar—when Sakura managed to gasp out her friend's name, trying to catch his attention. Sakura wasn't sure if it was her voice or the fact that her hand had grasped his shirt, but the red head cut himself off to turn all his attention on her. In Gaara's eyes, Sakura could see the boy's worries about herself and his fears—why he looked so frightened, she didn't know, but she recognized it and could relate. Whenever she was that scared, she always wanted someone to hold and comfort her. Even though she was in pain, Sakura forced a smile onto her face as she gave her friend a weak one-armed hug.

"He's telling the truth," she had said, trying not to wince in pain, "He wasn't trying to hurt me."

At the time, Sakura hadn't realized how strange it was that Gaara's response to this was for his face to harden and his voice to lower as he said, "But he did…and I won't let him ever again." It wouldn't be until much later that Sakura would wonder if Gaara hadn't said this while thinking of the explosion.

At the time, all Sakura thought to do was shake her head and say, "But he wasn't trying to hurt me, and I really want him to come make it stop hurting." Perhaps it was something in her voice, but Gaara immediately nodded, then turned to look at Yashamaru and nodded again.

Yashamaru had wheeled himself forward, flanked by two of the ninja. He ended up informing her that one of her ribs had shifted when he removed the bandages and had been irritating her diaphragm—and then he warned her and Gaara very plainly that what he was going to do to fix it might discomfort her. Apparently Yashamaru was a master of understatement, because the feeling of bone moving underneath her skin, trailing along an already irritated muscle and then starting to regrow with what felt like needle-sharp projections of pain…was much more than Sakura would term mere discomfort. Still, Sakura managed to get through it and the rest of her checkup (which included him healing the remainder of her concussion) without another sand-tastrophe occurring.


After everyone had left and Sakura had awoken from a nap feeling refreshed, the little girl began to tell her best friend about the books she had read while in the past, thinking that some of the medical info she had learned might make Gaara less jumpy about seeing medics do things to her (the knowledge certainly did wonders for her nerves). Sakura was just explaining what her first aid book had said about setting broken bones and how it related to a story Karura had told her about having broken her finger in a door when she was eight…when the realization hit her what exactly she was telling the boy. Sakura froze, her eyes going wide and her hands flying to her traitorous mouth. It was only at that moment that Sakura realized how natural it had been to just tell her best friend about the past and his mother…it shouldn't be that easy.

Hadn't there been things Kirsche had said she mustn't tell anyone? Sakura's mind was in a rush as she had tried to pin down what she had revealed to Gaara. She could remember what she had just said, and what she had told Gaara the day before…but she knew she had told Gaara other things too…and yet she couldn't remember what it was she had said. Had she told him about meeting her aunt and her dad? Had she mentioned his family? Wait, of course she had, she had just been telling him about his mother? What about Megumi, or Keiko, or Aniki? Had she told him that she could have dreams of the future? Had she told him she had physically traveled to the past? She didn't know…she couldn't remember…but she did know it was too late to take it all back.

It was Gaara's voice that broke her out of her shock. He was right in front of her face, asking, "…all right? Is it your tooth?" It took Sakura a moment to realize what he was talking about. Yashamaru had told her she had chipped two of her baby teeth, but that they weren't bad enough to need medical attention. Clearly, because she had covered her mouth for no apparent reason, Gaara had thought they were hurting her. "Should I go get someone?"

Sakura was just shaking her head no when a sigh carried across the room from the door. "Sakura…"

The pink haired child's eyes jerked towards the sound in time to see Kirsche leaning against the closed door calmly as sand began to shoot towards her. If Kirsche had made any move, Sakura might have thought that she had done some sort of Jutsu, because Gaara's sands suddenly stopped midair, three feet away from Kirsche, and then rounded back to swirl protectively around Sakura's bed. Kirsche must have foreseen such a thing, though, because she didn't so much as bat an eyelash. When Sakura looked to Gaara questioningly, he only briefly met her glance, shifting closer to her as he did, then turned back to look at Kirsche through the gaps in his sand. If Sakura hadn't suddenly remembered that Gaara had done something similar before at just the mention of Kirsche's name, she might have been afraid or angry—it was a toss-up—but because she did remember, Sakura only felt slightly worried and mostly exasperated.

"She's not going to kidnap me, Gaara! I already told you that…didn't I?"

"She doesn't have to kidnap you to take you away to that New Suna again." Gaara responded, his voice tight. Sakura felt the blood run out of her, her eyes darting to Kirsche, hoping she hadn't heard what Gaara had just said. It was a hopeless hope…as was proven by how Kirsche was now covering her face with one hand as she let out a long sigh. Sakura felt cowed, and the elder Hoshi hadn't even said anything yet.

When finally Kirsche looked up, her familiar smile was on her face, and for once, Sakura couldn't tell whether it was real or not…although the little voice in the back of her head told her it probably wasn't. "Sakura," Kirsche began, pushing away from the door; she then halted in her steps as the sand wall began to solidify more between her and the bed. This time Kirsche rolled her eyes even as she raised her empty hands in the "I'm-no-threat" gesture. "I promise you, little Gaara, I am not here to hurt or remove Sakura from your presence."

When neither Gaara nor the sand budged, Sakura came to Kirsche's defense, "If she says it, it's true, Gaara. Kirsche never lies." Gaara's response was to remind Sakura that when they had first met Kirsche, the woman had promised not take Sakura away. Sakura's retort was almost immediate, "No, she had said she wouldn't take me away from Suna; and she didn't! We never left Suna. We just went back to New Suna—well, I guess it was actually Old Suna, but it seemed new to me then and—" Once again Sakura snapped her hands over her mouth as she turned to look at Kirsche, abashed with herself.

To Sakura's surprise, Kirsche chuckled. "You don't need to look so frightened." Immediately after saying so, however, the gaiety left Kirsche voice, and her smile turned sad. "I'm not going to punish you, Sakura." By the time Sakura realized Kirsche was speaking in the Ancient Language rather than the common tongue, the elder Hoshi was already adding, "I won't punish you more than you've already punished yourself." Sakura winced, her mind immediately going back to when Kirsche had warned her to wait for her in the time stream, and not to move. Although Sakura couldn't remember what had made her disobey Kirsche, she knew she had already known the price for moving would be to end up in the hospital; Kirsche was right—she already had been punished, what with all her broken bones, cuts, and bruises…not to mention the unknown amount of time she'd be stuck in the hospital.

Slowly, not quite believing it, Sakura asked in the common tongue, "So…you're not angry…that I told Gaara?" Sakura couldn't quite see why, but if Kirsche wasn't angry, it was a good thing.

Kirsche shook her head, and Sakura instantly felt relief wash through her. Not even the elder Hoshi's next statement could stop Sakura from relaxing against Gaara with a smile. Still speaking in the Ancient Language, Kirsche replied, her smile now businesslike, "It's hard to be angry when I knew there was a fifty-fifty chance you would…but Sakura, you should not reveal this to anyone else…and if you haven't already, I would suggest you not inform your friend here about being able to choose to See visions of the past, present, or future. Although I doubt he would tell anyone, if he did, it is highly likely that that someone would try to use you for their own benefits. This boy will not…well, not in any way that is truly dangerous to you, anyhow…which is another reason I'm not really angry. Out of everyone you could have slipped up to, he's one of the safest."

Sakura took all of this in in silence, feeling lighter with every word Kirsche said. She'd have to ask Gaara what she had told him, but she didn't think she had mentioned Seeing any visions other than in her dreams…and she couldn't choose what she dreamed, so that didn't count…right? As if reading her mind (or more likely, her face), Kirsche said softly, "It might even be a good thing that you've told him a bit, because I doubt you'll be able to hide it when you have Walking Dreams…and, I suppose, should you ever get caught in a vision while you're awake, he might be able to cover for you…if you need covering for." This last part she said with a shrug, as if she doubted it would ever come to that, and then turned her eyes to the red head and spoke, finally, in the common tongue. "And you, boy…I would appreciate it if you'd look after Sakura when I'm gone."

Gaara's eyes widened in surprise, but it was Sakura who nearly tumbled off her bed in shock. "You're leaving?!" Sakura exclaimed and then winced at the slight, subsequent, throb in her half-healed ribs.

"Not quite yet, but soon enough…yes. I told you before, Sakura, that I had limited time available for me to teach you." If she had, Sakura certainly didn't remember it just then as her heart clenched with the fear of losing the one person who had been as close as a sister to her over the past few months...or weeks, depending on one's viewpoint.

There were tears coming out of Sakuras eyes as she whined, "But you can't leave! There's so much I still don't know! You still haven't taught me how to—" here Sakura's voice broke off as she caught herself about to slip up. Later she would realize Gaara hadn't even noticed her voice hadn't simply broken because of her emotions. The look on Kirsche's face, though, told Sakura that the older girl knew exactly what she meant.

Once again, Kirsche responded in the Ancient Language, "I had planned on arriving earlier…but as you know, it didn't happen. I'm afraid that, with the way things are, you and I will not have any private lessons in my remaining time. I'll teach you what I can when I can, but I doubt you'll be in any shape to actually practice any Hoshi techniques until right before I leave…and perhaps not even then." After a brief pause, in which Kirsche studied Sakura's face, she added with a gentle smile, "But don't worry, I've brought an updated version of the Journal for you to keep when I'm gone. I picked it up for you during my travels…just in case you decided to do what you did. It will tell you what you need to know…and anything else, you'll just have to figure out on your own." After a brief pause, Kirsche shrugged and added, "It shouldn't be too hard. I learned most of what I know on the fly when I was first starting out. At least I was able to give you a head start."

Although Sakura was confused and disheartened at the news, she nodded and tried to smile. Her heart was too disturbed for her to wonder why Kirsche had to leave. After that, Kirsche stayed to chat with her and Gaara (well, more like at Gaara, because they boy never responded) for only another few minutes before saying with a wink and a smile that she had better leave before she overstayed her welcome and that the next time she visited, she'd bring the Journal.

Only after the door closed did Gaara's sands begin to drift back to the floor. If Sakura's mind hadn't been on all that Kirsche had just told her, she might have said something to him about it. Instead, after staring at the closed door, lost in thought for who knows how many minutes, Sakura turned to find that her best friend was staring at her. She stared back. When Gaara didn't say anything, Sakura decided she might as well speak first. The problem was, she didn't know quite what to say.

After stumbling over a few false starts about reasons for speaking in other languages and Kirsche's maybe-lessons, Sakura finally managed to say what she was trying to say. "Gaara, could you please not tell anyone what I told you…about New Suna…and about my…Eyes? I wasn't really even supposed to tell you, but since I did…could you please just keep it a secret between the two of us?"

Gaara's answering smile was brighter than the sun as the boy nodded almost exuberantly.

It wasn't until that night, when she was on the edge of falling asleep, that Sakura understood why his smile had seemed so bright…it had been the first time he had shown a true, happy, smile since she'd returned.

Of course it was a good sign. Why wouldn't it be?


One day, as Yashamaru was replacing the bandages around her torso as Youko saw to her legs, Sakura finally thought to ask when her parents and Gaara's siblings were going to come visit her. Up until that point, Sakura had been thinking that they must have just happened to visit when she was sleeping or that they had visited during those times she couldn't remember, but it had been days since she had fallen back into a normal sleep schedule, and they had yet to appear. Youko nearly dropped her roll of bandages, but Yashamaru didn't so much as bat an eyelash as he answered simply, "They can't."

Sakura jerked in shock, her face starting to go pale as terrible thoughts overwhelmed her. Had they gotten hurt somehow? Were they sick? Sakura might have even voiced these thoughts had not she noticed the way the seven ninja in the room were suddenly shifting nearer to Yashamaru, as they had on other occasions when Gaara's sand had started to move. Sakura instantly turned to Gaara, who was glaring at Yashamaru, who merely met his eyes calmly. Although Sakura wasn't sure, she had the strangest feeling that the only reason Gaara was glaring and his sands were shifting was because of her reaction to the doctor's statement. Why one might cause the other, she didn't know, but right or not, Sakura decided to reach out to gently grasp her friend's hand as she asked Yashamaru why.

The answer the doctor gave was better, at least, than the possibilities Sakura had come up with. "They can't," Yashamaru intoned as he finished off her chest binding, "because the Kazekage said so." This, of course, made Sakura ask why once again. Even Gaara looked interested in the answer, because he shifted forward on Sakura's bed, his eyes slightly narrowed as he studied his uncle. As both children stared at the man with questioning eyes, Yashamaru's face turned thoughtful. When finally he spoke, it was carefully, "Because of the…situation…only myself, these guards and a few others have permission to enter this room until…"

When Yashamaru's pause lasted too long, Sakura repeated, her eyes wide, "Until…?"

The blond medic waited a while longer before hesitantly saying, "…until he…determines…how he wishes to…proceed."

Which, as far as Sakura was concerned, explained nothing. She was about to say something about it when Gaara sidled closer to her and asked in her stead, "What does that mean?" From the way all the ninjas in the room stiffened, Sakura could guess without looking that Gaara's sands were probably shifting on the floor.

Yashamaru sighed, looked around the room, seemed to come to a decision, and then met Gaara's eyes squarely. "It means that your father is still deciding what he…will do…about Sakura in the future."

Gaara's eyes narrowed, "Like what?" When Yashamaru didn't respond right away, he added, his sands now clearly starting to rise, "I won't let anyone take her away again!"

Yashamaru's response came surprisingly quickly, "Neither will I." For once that day, there was not a hint of waiver or hesitation in his voice…in fact, he looked strangely determined, given how emotionless he had been all day. Whether it was that or something else, Sakura didn't know, but for some reason Gaara's eyes opened wide with shock at Yashamaru's statement.

Sakura couldn't help but roll her eyes at both males. She wanted to reiterate that she had not been kidnaped and that Kirsche's having taken her away once had had nothing to do with the Kazekage, but she bit her tongue. She wasn't sure what she could safely say without breaking her word, yet again, to Kirsche. Instead, Sakura reached out first to pat Gaara's hand and then Yashamaru's as she said with gusto, "No one's taking me anywhere! Especially not that Meany-head!" For some reason Sakura couldn't fathom, Yashamaru gave her a strange look.

"Sakura!" The little girl jumped as her aunt barked out from beside the blond medic, "Watch your manners. You don't call people names—especially not the Kazekage!" Sakura hung her head in submission and pouted. She knew Youko was right; it wasn't good to call people names, and she hated it when people made fun of her and called her names…

…but Katsu was still a Meany-head.


That evening that Kirsche slipped into Sakura's room and remained unnoticed until she cleared her throat. Gaara jumped in surprise and his sands rose into the air once again, but this time the sand did nothing more than that. Kirsche immediately procured the Journal and explained that she was going to be teaching Sakura a bit more about her Hoshi Kekkei Genkai, and that he could stay so long as he didn't interrupt or ask her what she was learning. Gaara wouldn't know what was being said because the entire lesson was to be taught in the Ancient Language. Of course Gaara agreed. Sakura had already informed him that Kirsche would probably say as much.

Once Kirsche settled on the edge of the bed, completely ignoring Gaara's hanging sand, the lessons began. That night Kirsche informed Sakura on more of the Hoshi's culture and warned her about the effects eclipses could have on her Kekkei Genkai before she started to show her the movements necessary to call forth a vision of the future. Sakura didn't have the heart to tell her that, since she had seen what damage her interfering with the future had caused back in the past, she wasn't sure she wanted to be able to see the future anymore. It was frightening. The lesson ended and Kirsche slipped out of the room, with the Journal in hand, only a few minutes before a nurse came in to check on her. It was only when the nurse started fussing about her still being awake that Sakura realized Kirsche might not be one of the few people Yashamaru had said were allowed in her room.

Sakura waited until Kirsche returned the next evening to bring up the subject. When she did, Kirsche looked pleasantly surprised. After patting the little girl on the head—and then ruffling Gaara's hair when he glared at her for having done so—Kirsche explained in a light voice, "Oh, no, they aren't particularly happy with me right now, since I was the reason you disappeared. They can't do anything to me since I had your parents' permission to teach you and Haruka, at least, understood that I would be taking you elsewhere in Suna for a time, and technically I didn't break any laws—I even helped save one of their own—but, they're still angry and they don't think I should be around you. Therefore, I had to sneak in, since I still have some to teach you." With a shrug, Kirsche added, "So long as I don't actually do the Jutsu I'm teaching you, no one will notice I'm here, not even your watcher."

"Watchers?" Both Sakura and Gaara asked at the same time.

Before the sands could start shifting too much, Kirsche added with a soft smile, "Of course. I don't know what the Kazekage will decide quite yet regarding Sakura's future, but I can tell you this: he wants what is best for Suna, and right now, what's best for Suna is a safe Sakura. Therefore…" Kirsche added, an interesting gleam in her eyes as she met Gaara's look, "If you happen to come accost such watchers, I would suggest you think twice before getting angry. They are not meant to be a threat to Sakura." Then, breaking eye contact with the boy, Kirsche turned back to the little girl in question and spoke in the Ancient Language, "Now, how about I teach you how to only look a few seconds into the future tonight. You might not think much of it now, but you probably will later in life." With a nod, Sakura settled in to study.

The nightly lessons flew by quickly, and before Sakura knew it, the week was up and Kirsche said goodbye for the last time, leaving Sakura with the Journal and a kiss on the forehead. Later Sakura would learn in a dream that Kirsche had left Suna by the front gates, an emissary of the Kazekage's effectively telling her 'good riddance' as she walked out of sight…and then literally vanished. At the time, though, all Sakura knew was that Kirsche was leaving her, possibly for good. That night, Sakura cried herself to sleep in Gaara's arms.


It took another two weeks for the Kazekage to seemingly come to a decision. She was now allowed to have visitors. Sakura had been ecstatic to first see her parents and then, that afternoon, Gaara's siblings. Later Sakura would find out, when she overheard a conversation between two of the medic's guards, that Yashamaru had 'talked sense' into the Kazekage…and that the visitations had been a 'near thing', whatever that meant.

It was the second time Temari and Kankuro came to visit that Sakura noticed something a little strange. Gaara was avoiding his siblings, and they were avoiding him. Rather than bring up the oddity, though, Sakura did everything she could to make all three forget whatever was bothering them. Her plan almost seemed to be working, too, until Kankuro abruptly asked her what she had been doing while she had been gone (she had already told them all that she couldn't say where she'd been), and then, when she hesitated, not sure how to answer, he ordered her to. When she still didn't answer, he raised his voice and made little fists as he shouted at her.

Out of all the children in the room, Temari was the only one who had realized what Kankuro was about to do before he actually started yelling, and she had been trying to stop him. Unfortunately, her frantic attempts at subtle waving went unnoticed until it was too late. Gaara's sands were in the air as he detected Kankuro's hostility. A moment later, two ninja were in the room protecting his siblings. Yet another moment later, Sakura lightly whacked Gaara's arm, making everyone stare at her. Unperturbed by everything going on in her room, Sakura scolded her friend for overreacting, then apologized to Kankuro and made Gaara do the same…and then she made Kankuro apologize to her for shouting. Kankuro grudgingly obeyed after one of the ninja gave him a little push. In his rush to get the apology over with, Kankuro stumbled and would have fallen if Sakura hadn't reached out to him. Sakura would have been dragged off of the bed by Kankuro's weight and her awkward angle if both Gaara and Temari hadn't come to her rescue. After that, all four children ended up laughing, and the awkwardness of earlier, though still present, was swept under the rug.

It wasn't until a similar incident occurred months later, after Sakura had been released from the hospital, that the little girl realized something truly strange was going on with Gaara and thought that maybe the explosion had something to do with it. The strangest thing was, at the time, she had no clue why she automatically made the connection between the two events…because neither the explosion nor her injuries had been brought up at all.


Well, I hope that's not too much of a cliff hanger for you. I would have updated sooner, but I had to write a part of the next chapter before I could post this, just to make sure there wouldn't be anything contradictory…the good news is that means part of the next chapter is already written.

As you may have noticed in this chapter, and as you will surely notice in future chapters, Part Three will not be quite as linear in presentation as Parts One and Two. There will be unavoidable time skipping, seeing as no one wants to read every single day of Sakura's life story from age five to twelve, and there will also be a number of occasions when we (the viewers, not Sakura) will go back and forth in time to show how one event came about based on multiple past events that may or may not have originally been viewed as important.

My life is still busy, so therefore my free-writing time is still limited, but I hope you understand and will continue to support me. As always, I will try to update in two weeks (so around June 19th), but I can't promise anything. That said, I always appreciate reviews and constructive criticism (though I will not tolerate flamers), so let's move on to the pretty list!

Thanks to: moodymel (Well, he will certainly come in again, I just won't say how), The Punch Lord (It's nice to hear back from you. Reading the entire thing that quickly really is an achievement. You'll find out about Sasori eventually. You are certainly right that there will plenty of changes to the timeline, though some things will stay the same as well. I hope you'll enjoy the changes that do occur), & SnowWolfSpirit (Yes, Sui-Chan, I had to show how he was still human. I know we've already talked about some of your review before, but I forgot to tell you last time that there was another reason why Kirsche said what she did, and it was to make sure that if Sakura did decide to disobey, she wouldn't run off into a different part of time, as she had been tempted to do. As for Team 7, you'll have to wait for Part Four for them to come in most likely) for reviewing!