A month and a half after meeting her, Sakura was working closely with Missouri. Every few days Missouri was calling her about something. Missouri appreciated Sakura's diverse knowledge from their first meeting, and once she verified with some of her contacts that Sakura was the real deal, they worked together to support other hunters and on some of Sakura's own hunts.

Missouri was convinced now that Sakura's strange ability to remain out of her sight was a result of the monster that killed her parents. It had taken two weeks to do so, but gradually she had won Missouri over. She also convinced Missouri help her find answers. She shared with her the materials she gathered from the British Men of Letters and the theories she made up about the creature being from another dimension, a place that was also out of Missouri's sight.

And thanks to Sakura's persistence and acting, Missouri finally offered up what she needed: a meeting with the infamous Winchesters.

Sakura could hardly wait for the scheduled meeting to get their approval to see their Men of Letters library.

One thing that she knew now more than ever after spending so much time with Missouri was that Sam and Dean Winchester truly and deeply cared about helping people. She could not believe the foolish things they did thinking they were helping over the years, but she at least knew she was dealing with good-hearted people.

She was going to meet them first in a public place over a meal to talk. She would ask for their help first with finding answers about her parents' killer and then for their help with a hunt. Even if they hesitated to help her find her answers, they were suckers for helping someone on a hunt. Once she had them on the hunt with her, she would prove herself to them and hopefully sway their decision to let her access their books.

The days seemed to drag on as Sakura waited, running scenario after scenario through her head. Everything might go perfectly well, and she still might be stuck in this world.

Every night the dreams decreased in intensity. The faces of her precious people were no longer glued to the back of her eyelids. She had some dreams in which the people of this world mingled with those of her world, the lines between the two becoming blurred in her subconscious.

None of this was to say she had given up or even wanted to stay here instead of return home, but as the time had passed, she couldn't help but wonder what kind of a life she might build for herself if she was trapped here permanently.

She shook her head to dispel that train of thought once more.

She focused instead on the hunt she would present to the Winchesters for their help. It couldn't be anything too easy; they would doubt her story if she said she needed help with one measly ghost. It didn't have to be world-ending either. She'd heard from hunters connected to Missouri how they went out of their way to help them with a hunt involving more than one monster.

She didn't have to wait too long before she found evidence of a small nest of vampires operating half a day's drive in Nebraska. She would send her clone posing as Mabelle K. Lee (she chose something as close as she could come to an Americanized version of her mother's first name paired with Rock's last), the yoga instructor. The clone would use ninjutsu and genjutsu to spy out the situation and disperse to notify Sakura instantaneously.

Sakura smiled to herself as she thought of how she chose green yoga pants of varying shades on purpose for the clone's wardrobe. Her smile faltered a moment later.

She had used names and physical traits of her precious people to honor them, but also for her own comfort. The only name or trait she hadn't been able to bring herself to use yet was Sasuke's. She'd rather use nearly anyone else but him. It was too painful to imagine his first or last name being a part of her identity let alone his physical features looking back at her in a mirror.

She didn't expect romance from him anymore. Her feelings hadn't changed, just her expectations. She had hoped from the moment he appeared in front of her on the battlefield that they might at least become friends again.

Were they ever friends to begin with though? Sakura thought back on their relationship.

Sasuke didn't seem to know she even existed as young children. She first noticed him eating a tomato off by himself. She had certainly heard of him before that, but him eating alone was her first actual memory of seeing him.

After that she watched for him closely, drawn to him. She concluded that this feeling must be a crush. She had been so excited to tell Ino the day she figured it out.

Sasuke didn't spare her a glance most days as they progressed through the academy, but every now and then, she did manage to catch his eye. He didn't glare at her like he did some of the other girls clamoring for his attention. That was a positive sign, right?

Students were dropping out at an alarming rate as the years progressed. Anyone could be a ninja if they wanted, but it seemed few were willing to put in the work. Sakura didn't mind since it gave her an ever-increasing opportunity to get closer to Sasuke. The fewer girls in her class, the better, though her only true feared competition was Ino. Sasuke seemed to tolerate Ino a lot more than the other girls. And why wouldn't he? She was from a ninja clan like he was, she was highly skilled, and she was gorgeous.

Sakura's memories of Sasuke during those days were always dimmed by the fierce competition she felt with Ino. It was one thing she regretted, though even as she thought more on it, she would not be who she was today without it.

The biggest change in their relationship – though it was hard to call what they had in the academy a relationship – came when they were assigned to the same team. Sakura smiled a bittersweet smile as the memories flashed through her mind of the bell test, the times on the training field, and the seemingly endless D-rank missions. To this day those were still some of her most precious and treasured memories.

She thought of how much her perception of Sasuke changed over that time, but her feelings only grew for him. She recognized that same emotion from the day she first laid eyes on him – the desire to see him smile because he looked so sad and alone. She gradually became more dependent on him, in a way. She grew as much as she did as a genin because he was both brutally honest with her and encouraging. She wasn't too sure she would have stuck out the ninja life without his belief in her those early days and her burning desire to get him back when he left. Naruto did those things for her as well, especially when they reunited after his trip with Jiraya to train, but it wasn't the same.

She thought back on their brief meeting with Sasuke at Orochimaru's hideout. She saw him standing there, so much older and colder. It broke her heart again, seeing him lonelier. She wanted to hold him close, to soothe his pain and anger.

She thought back to that terrible day in the land of Iron. She remembered how wrapped up in darkness he had been. She remembered how desperately she wanted to rescue him, even if it meant killing him.

She supposed that they hadn't quite been friends, but they could have been. Hopefully, they could be friends when they saw each other again.

The day before the meet up, the clone she sent up to Nebraska dispersed. Sakura wove the signs for another clone to resume the previous clone's duties in Kansas. As the henge of a middle-aged woman with twin brunette buns slid over the clone, she gave her a nod to leave.

She went over to the desk in her apartment and began printing the needed news articles. There really was a nest there, and she could tell the Winchesters that she didn't want to walk into a nest alone. It really was true that the other hunters she had worked with the past month were busy; she had seen to that herself.