Note: Another one! On the short side, but necessary.

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto.


Chapter 29

Days passed and Sakura was working at the hospital and was dreading the wedding which was happening in a week from now. Trying not to think too much about it the past week, she overworked herself and once she was done, she had been making her way to the Senju library until the morning only to repeat the whole process again and again. By working so much on her research, she gained an understanding of seals that she did not have before and the one she worked on in order to travel back to her time was coming along nicely. Not that she was sure of what she was doing with it, but it made sense. She was far from being done, but it was a beginning.

Never during her time at the Senju compound had she ran into Tobirama. He probably knew that she was there and was the one avoiding her… Which made her feel miserable. Tobirama had been avoiding her and she was missing him. His presence. The safe feeling she had when he was with her. Their newly acquired intimacy.

These past few nights, she barely slept and when she did, she was waking up startled by her damn nightmare. One other thing that made her anxious was the person following her. She had chased shadows three times already to no avail and she started to wonder if she was crazy. She was certain that something was not right, but she just could not figure out what it was.

Of course, almost the whole village was aware of the fact that Tobirama and her had been in a fight and people were looking at her differently. The Yamanaka and Hyuga leaders even tried to shoot their shot with her, but she had turn them down. The Yamanaka understood and offered her his friendship, which she took gratefully, but the Hyuga had shown his displeasure and removed his offer to let her look through their fuinjutsu scrolls which did not bother her since she had everything she needed at the Senju compound.


Getting out of the library, Sakura walked to Hashirama's office and found him and Madara bent over some papers. She knew that some new people had arrived a few days prior and were getting settled. It was probably giving them some more work. Clearing her throat, she caught their attention and they smiled at her.

"Since I know that you tell everything to Madara, I wanted to let you know about the progress I made on the time-travel seal…"

Both men invited her to sit with them and for a few minutes she gave them information about the things she had found and what was missing. They both gave her their input, seals not being their strong suit, but it helped her to have another perspective. It was a fact that was unspoken between them all that Tobirama was the one that was well versed in seals of all kinds. Especially the time traveling kind.

Noting important information on a scroll, she fidgeted with her necklace, which did not go unnoticed by the men, who exchanged an understanding glance. She did not want to go back…Once she was done she raised from her chair and smiled.

"I will be at the hospital if you need anything…" Both men nodded and the Uchiha leader escorted her to the door, giving her a side hug and she left the office.


Tobirama had been tasked to grab some files and when he came back to the office, the door was slightly ajar. He could hear her voice, discussing about the seal she was working on. She was working on a time travel seal? And his brother was helping her? Tobirama felt dizzy for a moment. When he heard her walk to the door, he transported away, before to go back in the office. When he appeared in front of their desk, Tobirama's fiery gaze went from of his brother and Madara.

"What was that about?" His voice was cold and with the two men's facial expression he knew they did not take him seriously for some reason. Which angered him more.

"Sakura-chan is working on a time-travel jutsu to be able to go back home." The way his brother voiced his thoughts like it was not that big of a deal made him livid.

"And you won't stop her?!" Seeing this outburst from Tobirama, Madara straightened and his sharingan spun into life.

"It was her choice and with everything she did for us, we cannot take this away from her." Seeing how outraged Tobirama was Madara's anger flared. The white-haired mand had no right to be angry right now. Trying to control his voice, Madara took a deep breath. "Do you know why she decided to work on this thing to begin with?" Tobirama shook his head. "She did because she thought that you didn't want to have anything to do with her. That you would be better without her here. I can't believe you told her that you'd rather had let her drown!"

Tobirama could not find anything to reply. He did not say those exact words to her, but the meaning was the same no matter how you looked at it. Avoiding his brother's and Madara's pointed looks, he glanced outside the window. When he spoke next, his voice had lost its anger and was somewhat resigned.

"She never had the intention to stay, did she?" A frown found his face and leaving the folders on the desk, he walked out before they could answer.


Sakura reached her office and grabbed her lab coat before to walk down the corridors. She then entered an exam room. A Uchiha male was there waiting for his checkup since he went through a surgery a few days prior. He came in the hospital often and she had heard that he was seeing one of the nurse, but knew nothing more. Other than to him, she was the "Senju whore." like he had put it so nicely. Getting to work, it took her only a few minutes and when she was done, and the man stayed silent. He had been silent the whole time, looking at her intently. It was testing her patience and she did not feel like dealing with another mean Uchiha clansman. Meeting his eyes, she snapped.

"What?" The man sat straighter on the exam table and clasped his hands on his knees.

"I am sorry Sakura-sama, I did not mean to stare." He blushed lightly. "Your eyes are truly breathtaking." She scoffed and signed his charts. Yeah, since when do you care about my eyes? Gathering everything she stood and nodded towards the door.

"You can go now." Sliding of the table, the Uchiha gave her a mysterious smile and left the hospital with a bounce in his step.

Frowning, Sakura left the room, almost running into Mito. The Uzumaki grabbed her hand and pulled her out of the hospital without a word. Sakura could barely keep up with the woman's fast pace.

"Mito, what are you doing?"

"Sakura, I took the liberty to get you something that you will appreciate. A gift of some sort."

"I can't come, Mito, I have-"

"Work, you always have work and I tried to get you to come for the past three days but I could never find you. Ama will take care of the patients, you are coming with me. Now." Following the Uzumaki, Sakura rolled her eyes. Hopefully, this would not take her whole day.

To her surprised, they entered the shop where Mito had her dress done for her wedding. Without knowing what was happening, Sakura got shoved into a changing room and a soft kimono was given to her.

"Not again, Mito! I do not need another kimono! I hate to-"

"Hush, try it on, you'll thank me later."

Not looking at it too close, Sakura put it on and tied the obi with some difficulties, which made her curse more than once. Coming out, she faced a mirror and froze, seeing her reflection.

The kimono was breathtaking. It was made from the soft red material and the obi was pink. To make it fitting to her, the sakura flowers embroidered at the hem and the sleeves were subtle. The really loved to put her namesake on her clothing didn't they? Sakura looked at Mito.

"Seriously, Mito, you need to stop gifting me elegant clothing. It's-"

"It's not the best part…" Raising an eyebrow, Sakura questioned her silently. Grabbing Sakura's shoulders, Mito made her turn and when she saw the back of the formal clothing, tears filled her eyes. On the middle of her back was the crest of her family. The white outline was standing proudly.

"Our conversation got me thinking… and I came to the conclusion that we need to have the Haruno be a part of the history, since you stopped the war."

Sakura was still admiring the kimono and barely registered what her friend had said. When the words hit her, she faced Mito and brought a hand to her chest.

"But-" Not finding any other words, she just shook her head. Mito laughed.

"I talked about it with Madara and Hashirama and they both agreed."

Grabbing her necklace nervously, Sakura exhaled and looked into her friend's eyes. Seeing her doubt, Mito grabbed her arm and gave her a mischievous smile.

"We need more important women in Konoha's history, if what you told me about the future is anything to go by." For the first time this week, a real laugh escaped Sakura's lips and she shook her head.

"Leave it to you to make such plan… Thank you so much for that." Mito gave her a soft look and held her hand.

"Don't thank me. It is only normal for you to have the place that you deserve here. And the idea for the kimono came from Hashirama and Madara."

They laughed and Sakura thought that this wedding could not be that bad after all.


She had gotten back to the hospital, but Mito had informed her that there would be a dinner at the Senju compound that she should not miss, so she agreed to go. The heads of some clans and the founders would be present, which meant that she would probably run into Tobirama. She did not really want to go, but it would be considered as impolite if she did not at least make an appearance.

She arrived a few hours late since she had things to take care of beforehand and some more training to do with Ama. At least, that is what she told herself while she changed. It had nothing to do with the fact that he would be there. And that they both would not have any way to avoid being in the same room. Deciding to wear something simple, she put on her long black pants and a red long sleeves shirt.

She strode into the compound and found the dining room with ease. All the men were already eating and stopped when they saw her. The Huyga head was there as well. Sakura nodded her head at him, and he returned the gesture, though coldly. There would be plenty of time for them to clear the air after her rebuttal. Obviously, she had hurt the man's pride.

It had happened a week ago when he tried to invite her to a "formal" dinner with his clan and he had been a little too forward with his intentions, thinking that she was easy or something. She had slammed the hypothetical door in his face quite hard by mentioning that if there was another purpose for her to go there, she was not interested.

Not expecting her to come, Tobirama almost choked on his food when she entered. Sakura spared a quick glance his way and focused her attention on the Yamanaka who stood up to escort her to the empty seat at the table.

For some reason, Tobirama wanted to rip off the man's head and break the all the bones in the hand that was resting lightly on Sakura's lower back while he was guiding her across the room. He could not hear what he said but he made her laugh and the sweet sound reminded him of a morning where he had been kissing her and touching her. Her laugh during their moment had been so soft…

A hand on his shoulder made him turn his head. Madara gave him a hard look and shook his head. Trying to contain his anger, Tobirama gulped a cup of sake and filled it up again. Madara rolled his eyes. The young Senju was a contradiction. He did not want other people to get close to Sakura, but did not want to fix things between them. He really did not know how to act with women…

Hashirama who saw his brother's behavior could only imagine the worst. Tobirama was not a drinker and by how fast he had been drinking, this would definitely be an interesting night. Or a terrible one.


Sakura could feel his crimson eyes boring wholes on the back of her head, but she would not give him the satisfaction to give him her attention. He told her that he could not care less if she was there or not and considering the way he avoided her since the truth about her past was revealed, he was serious about it. She would talk to him if he decided to act like an adult, but at the moment he was far from doing so.

The dinner went well and Hashirama took the honey wine out. Sakura decided not to drink that night since she still had a few things to work on the day before the wedding. Sakura was answering all sorts of questions about work and medical techniques asked by Hashirama, laughed with the Yamanaka, and had interesting conversations with Madara. She could feel the young Senju's eyes on her the whole dinner, but tried to act like it was not bothering her. Inside, it was killing her. She wanted to grab the man and shake him so he could realize how stupid he was being. She had no clue where they were standing. He was sending mixed signals and it was frustrating to say the least. Taking a deep breath, Sakura smiled and continued the conversation she had started with Madara about the misuse of some katon techniques.

Tobirama was feeling the effect of the alcohol and started to regret his decision. As the night went on, he could only observe her. The way she would smile but it would not quite reach her eyes. The way she was grabbing the necklace he gave her from time to time… When people moved to another room, he saw her go in the garden and after a few minutes, he followed her, the alcohol making the decision for him.

When she heard him, she turned around, startled. Her eyes widened in surprise. During the whole night, he did not say a word to her, and now that people were not around anymore, he was following her?

"Tobirama, what are you doing here?" Her voice was sharp, and her face neutral. She could see that he was slightly impaired but did not point it out.

Tobirama stopped in front of her. She was even more beautiful than he remembered, and it angered him when his heart skipped a beat.

"Why didn't you tell me?" Oh? So he could ignore her whenever he wanted but then could demand answers? Sakura clenched her fists and took a step back, looking at him dead in the eyes.

"No, we are not doing that right now. Sober up and then we can have this conversation."

"I am feeling perfectly fine to have the conversation now."

As she tried to leave, he grabbed her wrist and pulled her to him. He wanted an answer. Pulling harder than intended, she crashed against his chest and looked up at him with her fiery green eyes. He snapped. Forgetting why he had been mad at her to begin with, he grabbed the back of her neck and sealed his lips on hers.

At first, she did not react, but the tumult of her own emotions, his closeness, his scent, the way she had missed him, everything tugged on her heart and she could not help it when she melted against him. The way he kissed her was unlike anything she had ever felt. It was hungry, yet desperate and overpowering. She could taste the sake on his tongue, sweet and intoxicating. It took her knees to almost give out before she pushed him away, panting. Anger rose back in her chest. Why was he doing this to her? Why kissing her after all of this? A shuddering breath left her and before anything else could be said or done, she turned her back on him and left the compound, running.

Watching her disappear, Tobirama let out a curse. He could not explain what happened or why he had done this either. He just did. The way she looked at him before to run away made his heart ache. She had looked at him like she did not know him anymore. Like he was a stranger. It had obviously been the wrong thing to do… Getting some kind of clarity, he made his familiar hand sign and appeared back in his room, wondering if he had only made things worst.


Between all her thoughts and her panting, Sakura heard a ruffling in the bushes, so she stopped. She did not have any weapons. But the same feeling was following her. Someone was there. Again. She continued walking and the ruffling happened again. She tensed but continued her walk. The ruffling getting closer, Sakura grabbed a rock and threw it in the bush at the exact spot she heard the sound. She almost fell backward when a small cat came out, running past her. All of this fear for a cat?

Shaking her head, she finally made it back home. Getting into some more comfortable clothes, she laid in bed. Rain and pine tree smell surrounded her, and she had to squeeze her eyes shut to survive the wave of pain that crushed her heart again. Had he even heard her when she told him she loved him that day?

Exhausted because of all the thoughts swirling in her head, she fell asleep.


Two hours later found Tobirama in his bed, wide awake and sobering up. He had this squeezing feeling in his chest. Seeing flashbacks of her broken arm and bloodied face, he sat abruptly in his bed. Getting up, he put on his armor and left. He had to make sure she made it home without any trouble.


After all the emotions that she felt that week, when the nightmare assaulted her mind, she decided to let it hurt. She watched the whole thing. When she was healing Naruto, she did not realize, but he had touched the back of her neck, and then his heart stopped. What was the meaning of it?

A familiar voice behind her filled her eyes with tears.

"Sakura-chan, don't cry!" Turning around, she was facing Naruto, bright blue eyes searching hers. Without thinking she wrapped her arms around him and held him tight. "Sakura, I can't- breathe!"

Loosening her grip, she smiled apologetically to him. Rubbing the back of his head, he laughed.

"What are you doing here?"

Like he forgot why he was there for a moment, his surprise face scrunched up and then he raised his finger in the air.

"Ah! Yes! I need to tell you to use the seal on him."

"On who?"

"You'll know when you'll see him!"

"Naruto, what am I doing here, in the past? How is that even possible?" Naruto's blue eye were filled with sadness. Bringing her closer to his chest, he whispered in her ear.

"Sakura-chan, you are here because-"

Feeling a strong chakra outside of her house, Sakura woke up, startled. Holding a kunai, she moved the curtains to see a flash of white disappear behind the trees. Tobirama... What had he been doing there?