Author's Note: Over one hundred comments? Thank you everyone so much! I love hearing everything you have to say! I love your speculation and what you liked about this part of that one. This chapter was a little hard to write and I don't really like some of the language used here. It's nothing too horrible, just a bit of a heads up! Let me know what you all think! Thanks again! Enjoy!

Disclaimer: I own nothing!

Warnings: Nothing much, maybe language.

Word Count: 6,957

A few other Senju women - three - and two tall little brothers, who were bullied into coming along, came with Sakura and Salma, and two Uchiha women and one man came as well. Sakura walked in the middle with Salma to her left and the Senju on her left while the Uchiha walked on Sakura's right. Everyone was content with talking within their clan, sending looks occasionally at the other side only to quickly look away when someone from the other side looked back.

Oh, and they stared at Sakura too. Which was extremely embarrassing. No one said anything to her, but everyone just stared. As she walked through the two compounds with Salma, who was a bit uncomfortable in the Uchiha compound but managed to look composed enough to be respectful, people just stared at Sakura like she was some alien. Truthfully, she spent little time around the bulk of the two clans, keeping mostly to the medical tents, but if she knew people would be looking at her like that, she would have insisted on waiting for Salma and whoever decided to come along, somewhere else. Save herself from the awkwardness of their gazes. She was the only one there who wasn't part of one clan or the other.

Sakura didn't think she would have minded being the only Haruno there. But walking through the two compounds today, she wished that there were dozens of Harunos walking around too so she wouldn't feel so out of place.

They make it to the nearest town and shop around, somehow managing to stay as a big group. People gave them curious looks. Uchiha and Senju walking about, shopping together. Sakura could hear people whispering about the rumors that the war was in fact over. Among other things like: Hashirama killed Madara and took the Uchiha in as a protectorate clan. Or, that this 'peace' is just a charade that won't last for too long. Things of the like.

Every bad word coming out of the people's mouths made Sakura want to crack the village in half with her heel and dare they say such horrible things about the founders of her village to her face. Somehow sensing Sakura's killing intent, Salma made a show of staying close and leading Sakura around, trying to keep her busy and not ease dropping on what everyone was saying.

"Bastards," Sakura grumbles, letting Salma drag her over to a shopping stall.

"It's okay," Salma says softly, picking through the fabric in front of her. "It's alright to let them think what they will. We know what's really happening. The peace is real and through our unity will we make the rest of the world believe it irrefutably, not our strength of arm," Salma says sagely. Linking Sakura's elbow with her own to keep her close. Normally Sakura would be annoyed that someone would go that far just to keep her in line, but it was probably for the best. Sakura doesn't exactly have the most control of her anger.

"Salma, would you like to spend the night at my new place tonight?" Sakura asks, hoping that she managed to make an actual friend. She liked the Senju well enough and as childish as it seems, she also wasn't sure she was ready to go to bed that night in an empty, unfamiliar home.

The brown haired girl perks up in surprise, then smiles. "Yes! I'd love to," she says, a fresh pep to her step. The two girls, still arm and arm, continued to work their way through the village, a little more excitement for the night time. Sakura is relieved that Salma was still young enough to be on board with sleep overs. Perhaps Salma knew Sakura's not-so-secretive ulterior motive and felt bad. But either way, Sakura's glad she accepted.

Once they returned to the soon-to-be Leaf Village, Salma helped Sakura drop her things off before Sakura helped the Salma and the rest of the Senju haul blankets and clothes and medical things like bandages and creams and a wide assortment of random, miscellaneous things for the people of the compound. Sakura waited for Salma to pack an overnight bag, wish her immediate family, which was her husband's brother, his wife and their two children, and heading back to Sakura's house. They spent a great portion of time moving some furniture in - Sakura mostly moved the furniture, being the stronger of the two and more mobile in her shorts - while Salma made some dinner from ingredients she brought over from her house.

Over dinner, they talked about all sorts of things, mostly Salma. She grew up as the youngest of two children. Her father died in the war and her mother grew sick when she was fifteen and just passed away the previous winter. Her brother is married and is currently trying to have children. She had been living with her husband's older brother and his family since her mother passed and she was left all alone with hardly a way to provide for herself. She aids her brother-in-law's wife, who was pregnant at the time with their second child, with the other kid while she was on bed rest and has integrated into part of that family.

Her husband was eighteen when she married him at thirteen. His name was Seiichio and his elder brother is Keiichio. Keiichio's wife is Rin and eldest child, six year old daughter, is Keke and their youngest is a boy named Kenchio. Salma likes it there with them, she feels like part of the family and they treat her real nice. But she admitted that it was hard to see Keiichio, who reminded her so much of Seiichio. They apparently looked and acted very similarly. Salma liked the familial connection there, but was terribly lonely.

"Since you've come around, Sakura, things have been a little less lonely," Salma says kindly. "Thank you for having me over tonight. I think Keiichio and Rin could use some time with just the four of them, you know? I've been a burden on them for a long time."

Sakura nods, smoothing out her bedspread next to Salmas before sitting down on the eloquent red, white, green and black swirling designed comforter. Once they finished dinner and cleaned the dishes, they moved to what Sakura has deemed for her room and set up their beds for the night. Sakura turns to face the young woman as she sits down on hers.

"I'm not sure how procedure is on this. And stop me if this is insensitive to ask, but what do you do now? Will you ever remarry?" Sakura asks slowly, watching the long haired woman closely to see if she is offended by Sakura's words.

Salma shrugs her shoulders, picking at a loose thread in the blanket. "I can marry again. I just..." she sighs, "...don't know if I'm ready. I have to really like him and I want Keiichio to like him too. He's... you know, the closest thing I've got to Seiichio... his opinion means a lot to me."

Sakura nods slowly. "I can understand that. But can I overstep my boundaries a little bit here?" Sakura asks, knowing that she's a little intrusive when it comes to people's private lives. Definitely something she picked up from Naruto, but at least she has enough curtsy to ask first as opposed to Naruto's method of just barging in head-long without thinking about the other person's feelings. That counts for something, right?

"Sure," Salma says, finally looking up at Sakura.

"I understand that this Keiichio guy is important to you. but keep in mind that it's your life. I'm not saying piss on the guy, but just know that if you love someone, everyone else's opinions shouldn't matter, you know?"

Salma nods a bit, smiling faintly, but not truly convinced. "Yes, I understand. I'll consider it, most definitely. But for now, there is no one interesting to me." A moment's pause before she looks up at Sakura with her own bright green eyes. "Tell me, Sakura, is there anybody out there that has your attention?"

The pink haired medic blushes deeply. "N-No!" Sakura's heart is suddenly pounding and in her mind's eye she can see a certain Uchiha boy that has been the object of her affections for a very long time.

The Senju woman smiles playfully, reaching up to the back of her neck and pulling the white ribbon from her hair, throwing the long waist length brown mop over her shoulder. She runs long, slightly tanned fingers through her hair to try and work out any knots. "I see..." she says with mirth, giving Sakura a knowing look. "I suppose we should head to bed now?"

Sakura, relieved by the distraction, nods quickly. "Yep. We've got a long day ahead of us tomorrow." That's when training would start.

"Goodnight, Sakura," Salma says, lowering herself onto her bed.

"Goodnight, Salma," Sakura whispers back, leaning forward and blowing out the candle between their beds, bathing the room in the faint glow of the moon filtering in through the window on the opposite side of Salma, as far away from Sakura as she can be without being awkwardly pressed against the far wall. Sakura lays her head down and closes her eyes, thinking about the visit to the town.

Sakura didn't know who was more spoken about; the Senju and Uchiha alliance or her. Even more people would just glance over at her, their faces twisting up strangely, before looking away. She originally thought it was because she was walking around with people who appear to be the talk of the town, but now she's not so sure. She's used to people staring because of her bright pink hair, but this is becoming a little too much.

Sakura didn't really know why she was suddenly the center of attention, but she didn't like it. Not when she didn't know, and not the next day when Kana was kind enough to enlighten her as to why.


"Everyone thinks you're a whore," Kana says, right in the middle of the make shift market. Sakura turns around very slowly, recognizing the snide Uchiha's voice, her words slowly processing. Kana's voice has this supernatural ability to silence the area even when speaking in a level tone. Sakura has never heard a room - only in this case it was just a wide open area with a few stalls and about thirty people - get so quiet in her entire life.

"Kana!" Sakura's Uchiha apprentice, the one Madara brought to her after she returned from the next town the day prior, says sharply. "Have you lost your mind?"

Kana crosses her arms over her chest, not seeming to mind that she now has a crowd of Uchiha and Senju peaking at them in curiosity. Sakura is still processing the rude woman's words, trying to decide if she should be embarrassed, hurt or pissed.

"What?" Sakura finally whispers, eyebrows pulling together tightly. "What did you say?"

Kana tilts her head to the side, long dark blue hair sliding over her shoulder. "It's the talk of the town since your slutty turn of attire yesterday," she says simply, each word like a dagger between Sakura's ribs, twisting, twisting, twisting deeper. Sakura wraps her arms around her stomach. She glances around the growing crowd, seeing the looks in their eyes. Kana isn't lying. Not really.

"Dammit Kana!" Sakura's apprentice snaps.

"I'm sorry, Aya," Kana says, sounding anything but sympathetic, level gaze locked on Sakura, "but someone has got to tell you the truth."

Salma shakes her head, putting a hand on Sakura's arm. "No one is thinking that!" She says, putting a hand on her chest. "Why would you say something so mean?"

Kana stares at her blankly. "I'm sorry if what I said is 'mean' by Senju standards," Kana says, doing air quotes around 'mean', "but if she is going to represent our village than she needs to know." She shrugs her shoulders.

"Are you kidding me?" Sakura finally whispers, shaking her head. "Can we go through one conversation without it becoming some kind of conflict?"

Kana sighs, as if she was dealing with a child which sent a spike of anger through Sakura's gut. "There is no conflict here. I just thought I should tell you what everyone here was too chicken to say to your face." Somehow, Sakura managed to keep control over her eyes so that they don't roam around in the crowd. If she looked and saw judgmental looks on the two founding clans of her home village, thinking she was some kind of whore, Sakura's not too confident that she would be able to keep her eyes from watering.

Sakura has been called many hurtful things, especially as a child, but nothing like this. While those things were painful to hear back then, she can now take them in stride and maybe with some anger, but she had grown a thick enough skin so where those things stopped really hurting. Sai calling her ugly was a painful stab in the gut the first time, but that too was something that she became callous to.

But this is different. She's never been called this before. Nothing like this. She's never been so brutally taken down by a simple word. Whore. Slut. Such nasty words Sakura would never use against someone. Other than perhaps as a joke with Ino. But in this time period, such a thing meant a lot more than a joke. And the fact that, if what Kana is saying is true, everyone thinks she's a whore or a slut then...

"What is going on?" Hashirama asks, elbowing his way to the front of the crowd. Someone must have run off to tell him that something was going on.

Salma spins around to the Senju leader. "Oh, my lord..." she seemed to be at a loss of words, but Sakura's attention wasn't on her or the growing crowd.

Sakura runs her hands through her head, chest tight. The image of judgmental Uchiha and Senju eyes glaring down at her burns into the back of her mind. She drops her hands to her sides, trying to fight back the pain in her chest.

"Look," Sakura wraps her arms around herself, feeling the need to do something to keep her hands busy. "I just..." she lets out a long sigh. "Well, thanks, I guess, whatever." She prayed that her voice didn't sound as paper thin as she felt it did.

Just as she's about to turn away, Kana calls out, "Does everyone in your village dress like that?"

Sakura freezes. "What are you trying to say?" Sakura asks dangerously, looking over at the Uchiha woman sharply. Kana seems to notice the shift in Sakura's voice and face.

"From what I've learned, such... behaviors usually don't just pop up out of nowhere. You know the saying? It takes a village..?" Kana trails off, shrugging her shoulders, but large, dark eyes are locked onto Sakura's face. She didn't have to finish. Sakura understood perfectly what she was trying to say. And it didn't settle well in the pit of her stomach.

"Kana," Madara growls, voice making the anxious silence that was there just moments ago turn into a cold, deadly one. The dark haired woman freezes, keeping her chin down a bit and glancing over at him, giving Sakura the chance to quickly close the distance between herself and Kana, decking the girl as hard as she could in the jaw without breaking it. There was a loud gasp from the crowd and people backed away, not wanting to be next should Sakura's sudden assault continue.

Kana stumbles back a few feet before falling onto her butt, eyes wide and watering. Without her sharingan there was no way she could have seen that coming. Her hands are covering her jaw where Sakura's sure it's starting to swell. Sakura stands about a foot from her, hands trembling at her side, trying to contain her anger. In her mind, she couldn't believe that this was the legendary Uchiha family. That such a nasty person could come from the regal clan she spent all her life learning about.

"You can call me whatever you want, but the moment that you say something, no, think something about my village, I will fucking kill you. Do you understand me, bitch?" Sakura snarls, glaring down at the Uchiha woman. "Next time I'll punch you so hard your teeth go flying down your throat. You don't know my village. You don't know my people. You don't have the kami dammed right to say shit about any of them, do you hear me?" Sakura clenches her fists tighter, trying to reign in her rage. Then, this chilling calmness settles over her, her hands relax and she can lift her head a bit more. "All my life I've heard the stories of the great and honorable Uchiha family. Well, you know what? You are a piss-poor example of that. I don't know what you thought you would get from this, but if it was for me to hate you, you got it. I fucking hate you."

Sakura releases her threatening stance, the pain still white hot in her chest, but somehow being contained. It flares against the inside of her chest, like it's about to punch a hole through the bone, but doesn't have the strength to yet. She half turns away again before stopping.

"I've seen how you look at the Senju," Sakura says, looking down at the ground, unable to hold eye contact. "How you look at me. Like we are all somehow less than you." She turns molten green orbs down to the flustered Uchiha woman. "I'll tell you something: this is a revolution, honey," she makes grand gesture around them, "and if you stay stuck in the past, thinking the stars shine out of your ass, there sure as hell won't be a place for you in the future." Having said her peace - but mostly not trusting herself not to just beat the shit out of Kana - Sakura turns and stomps away from the crowd, losing her sight behind the tears.

"Allow this to be a lesson," Sakura says softly, more to herself than anyone else, "if you are truly aiming to unite the clans under one banner - one family - you're off to one hell of a start and nasty first impression. This is the last things I have left to connect to my village..." she says softly, eyebrows pulling together tightly at the realization of just how true that was, "I suppose it was wrong of me to assume people coming from war would be able to be a bit more forthcoming about loss."

Her words were scathing, and perhaps uncalled for, but Sakura didn't care. She was hurt and angry and in her mind's eye, all she could see were the amazing, lovely people she left behind. The people that she would rather be with right now, more than anything. To hear them being bad mouthed, it killed Sakura and cast light on her view of the village she thought she knew. This wasn't her village. This was the steps taken to make her village. This place was nothing like she imagined and it let her down greatly.

Sakura didn't know who she was more ashamed of; the two founding families, or herself. In her mind and in all the books she had ever read about the two clans always gave her this regal, yet accepting nature, moreso in the Senju, but the Uchiha were able to adapt, and yet these people didn't fit the image in her head at all. They were so much like the people of her time, when she was a young girl - thankfully, they all for the most part became very accepting as she grew older. Judgmental, secretive. Those that didn't fit the social norm, didn't fit at all.

She should have expected this, given the time period, but for some reason, this all came as a shock to her - in the worst way possible. The Uchiha and Senju of today turned out to be not-so different of the people of the future. While social norms will shifted vastly in the next eighty years, societal backstabbing will not. All Sakura can keep thinking about is how she shouldn't be surprised, that she shouldn't be hurt by this. By one person!

But it wasn't one person. They all must have thought it. And what she had to wonder even more, was if the three founders thought that of her as well. Now their strange attitudes from the prior day make more sense. But don't hurt any less.

"Sakura," Salma says softly and tries to reach for her as she passes but Sakura shakes her off, muttering a soft, "Not now, Salma" and keeps going.

Sakura raced away from the make-shift village, hating that it was high noon now and that she wouldn't have the cover of darkness to protect her. As much as she hated the moon, she would rather be hiding in it's dim glow rather than the bright light of the sun. Sakura had never been so thoroughly embarrassed before in her entire life. Or as pissed off. All of her emotions are just swirling around inside of her swinging her from one side of the spectrum to the other. She either wants to scream and cry or scream and break.

Whether it's break down or break Kana's face, Sakura doesn't know. But she is in enough control of herself to know that exploring it now, while it may make her feel a bit better presently, wouldn't in the long run.

She's not sure how far away she ran or how many times she slipped and fell only to get back up and keep going before she drops down to her knees in front of a large tree, resting her forehead against it. Her breaths come out sharp and deep. A painful stitch pulls at her sides, but it's easy to ignore. She takes a moment, trying to control herself, teetering between rage and pain.

For a split second, more powerful than before, rage reigns supreme and Sakura pulls back her fist and, filling it with her chakra, slams it hard into the tree, trying to release the tension that was coiled up inside of her like a snake. The bark of the tree gives under Sakura's strength. It shatters like glass, sending the splinters flying around her as the trunk snaps in half and begins to tip over the opposite way of Sakura. It groans loudly as it descends, hitting the ground hard when it lands. The tree manages to lay down flat but is trapped, wedged between a bunch of the trees.

Sakura staggers staring at the fallen over tree, straining her hearing to see if there was anything nearby. If there was any predators, the sound of that tree toppling over would have definitely scared them off.

Sakura jumps up onto the fallen trunk, letting her legs dangle off the side, putting her head in her hands. That little bout of anger managed to sate her a bit, but the hurt still welled up inside of her. She's not sure how long she just sat there, trying to think of anything that is the judgmental eyes of the Uchiha and Senju and the horrible words that Kana said about her. About future Konoha. Even though the Uchiha hadn't the slightest idea of what or where she was talking about, the words still stung and made Sakura want to rip out every pretty hair from Kana's head.

So there's that.

Sakura took that moment to cry. To let the pain and anger leave her through her tears. Her vision grew blurry and she felt the trembling sobs rack her body. For the moment, all she wanted was to cry. It had been too long of time since she's let herself do such a simple, human method of release. Since she began telling herself that tears were the enemy, she had been trying to keep them locked up safely behind anger and rage. But right now, she was too tired and stressed out and crying was making her feel better.

"Sakura."

The pink haired girl jumps, immediately shutting up, looking straight up at the man who spoke. Her watery green eyes widen slightly in surprise. "Madara-sama?" Her voice is husky and she quickly reaches up to wipe the tears from her face. She had to wonder how long he had been standing there, watching her snot all over herself.

The dark haired Uchiha walks toward the young medic, stopping a few feet in front of her and tilting his head to the side. The hair that usually covered one of his eyes, falls away to reveal it a bit. His posture is straight, otherwise, hands held limply at his sides. Sakura looks away, ashamed, unable to meet his eyes. She reached out to cover her knees with her hands subconsciously.

"Sakura," he says after almost a minute of silence, having noticed the girl's action to - in vain - cover a bit more of her skin, "I am here to apologize on behalf of Kana. Rest assured that she will be punished accordingly for her transgression." She could see in his eyes, a silent promise that he would wipe these last few moments of her weakness from his memory.

As much as she wanted to find a bit of happiness from that, she couldn't. She was happy that he wasn't going to make fun of her for crying like a baby over a few mean words, but she also didn't feel good about someone getting horrible punished because of her. Now, did she want Kana to get off scott-free for what she said? No, but she also believes that the good hit she gave the Uchiha on the jaw may have been enough. She says that now, because she feels bad for her harsh words, but when she sees Kana again, she may think differently.

"Thanks," Sakura mutters, running her hands through her pink hair just long enough to brush past her shoulders. "But, I don't want to think about that anymore. I'm sorry too. I was out of line as well. I shouldn't have just lumped everyone together like that just because one person pissed me off. So, me too. Sorry."

Madara stares at her with black, fathomless eyes. After a pregnant silence, he says, softly, albeit a bit strained, "All is forgiven. What you said wasn't completely untrue. We should have known better and while yes, it was unfair to lump us all together, we should be aware of the changing times. It truly is a revolution. Perhaps we needed an outsider to tell us what we were doing wrong."

Sakura shakes her head, not sure she understands. "What do you mean?"

"We talk about moving into the future, but we still live in the past," Madara says simply, straightening his head again and looking away, as if suddenly the forest was very interesting. "Saying that we're changing doesn't mean that we are. Even though we may not like it, we have to start heading for the future, no matter how much it tests our beliefs."

Sakura smiles faintly, finally understanding. "Some traditions of today, can't last into tomorrow," she says softly, nodding. After a moment's pause, she pats the tree trunk space next to her.

Madara's eyes follow the length of the tree all the way to the part of the trunk that's still in the ground. He blinks slowly; once, twice, thrice, before complying and lowering himself next to her. There is a long pause, where the two of them just sat there in silence. It's a little strange to Sakura having the Uchiha patriarch sitting beside her as if they were equals. She could feel the heat of his body next to hers. Her shoulder lining up just below his, but his legs nearly touching the forest floor where hers dangles.

"What the hell happened to this tree?" Madara asks after a long silence.

Sakura huffs out a laugh, shaking her head. "I punched it," she says, looking over at him from the corner of her eye.

Madara stares back at her with a look on his face, as if expecting her to suddenly start laughing and tell him that she was just kidding, but after two whole minutes of them just staring at each other he raises both of his eyebrows high up to his hairline. "No shit?" he finally asks.

Sakura smiles. "No shit."

Madara shakes his head, looking forward for a moment before looking back over at the remaining bit of the tree trunk still in the ground. He takes a few minutes to process what he's seeing, doing the mental calculations in his head trying to see if it's even possible to have been her before giving Sakura an incredulous look that she has to laugh at.

"You don't believe me?" She asks through her giggles, unable to believe the expression on the Uchiha's face. It just looks so natural and for some reason, that surprises her. And not in a bad way.

Madara shakes his head again. "No, I'm afraid that I do."

"Good," Sakura says more to fill the silence than anything else. It did little to help because they easily lapse into that silence, looking around the forest. She didn't want to ask, but it was either rip the band aid off or sit in this slowly growing uncomfortable silence, but she was deeply worried about his answer. "Is Hashirama-sama mad?" she asks softly, not looking at the Uchiha.

"Yes," Madara says, not sugar coating it at all. Sakura flinches, wondering if she's going to have to sleep outside tonight. She wouldn't be surprised if a large cherry blossom tree shaped like a middle finger grew out of the middle of her home if she dared return.

"Oh," Sakura says, cringing again at the image in her mind.

Madara looks at the side of Sakura's face, studying it closely. "But not at you," he finally says.

Sakura's head whips around to look at him with large eyes. "What? Why?" She blinks rapidly, wondering if he was just joking with her. It would be pretty painful if he was.

"Because Hashirama is a bleeding heart," Madara say simply. "He has this vision of how he wants the world fit into, and he gets upset when it doesn't fit. But I applaud him for putting his foot down here. He and I felt the same way. The point of this village is unite people with vast differences and make us one. It seems our clansmen have forgotten that. Worry not, it will be rectified," he says surely, narrowing his eyes slightly while staring forward.

Sakura runs her hands through her hair. "I'm sorry. I'm so sorry. I didn't want to be in the middle of something so scandalous." She bends over backwards over the stump, looking around at the world, upside down. After a few moments, Sakura grunts out, "This is really working out my abs."

"Try being parallel to the ground," Madara suggests. Sakura looks up at him, feeling the blood rush to her face. He's peaking down at her.

"Only if you join me," she says, wondering if he would. This is the first time they've spoken really. This is the first time they've been alone with Hashirama and Tobirama there. It was kind of strange how easy it was to talk to him. Is this truly the person Madara Uchiha was before he became... whatever he was in the future? It was hard to understand of something could change someone so much. It had to be something major.

Maybe he felt bad on behalf of his family and he felt he owed it to her, or perhaps he was just in an appeasing mood today, but he obliged. So Sakura and Madara both laid back, holding themselves parallel to the ground. After a moment of silence, Sakura looks over at Madara with raised eyebrows. "Doesn't it suck having hair that long? I mean, it's brushing the ground now..."

Madara looks over at her, working hard to keep his breathing equal. "I suppose I never noticed," he murmured, voice slightly strained. There is a short pause that follows before he speaks again. "Hashirama told me about your idea of a festival of sorts. Can you explain more?"

Sakura glares at him. "Yeah, sure, let me just hop right to that." She lets out a shuttering breath, feeling the strain in her stomach and thighs.

"A talented kunoichi like yourself should have no issues, I thought," Madara says simply, but Sakura could hear the goading under-tone to his words. He's hoping to rile her up.

Sakura rolls her eyes, tilting her head back forward. "I am," she says stubbornly, seeing Madara look forward - er up? - in the corner of her eye.

"I'm listening," he says softly. Normally Sakura would hear such words with a more pompous lilt to them, but when Madara said it, it was soft, honest. He was listening to all of her words. In some way, that was extremely flattering to have such a powerful man's full attention. And a lot intimidating. She had to speak carefully enough to not reveal anything important but too much or the young man will definitely know that she's holding details back and be even more suspicious than he already is.

So Sakura tells him about the games that Lady Tsunade had them play. Where everyone had these different colored jewels that fit the rank of the person wearing them. The higher the rank, the more the points. She couldn't really remember the points system that was used at the time so she made one up. Because it was the Shodaime that would eventually come up with the ranks, Sakura gave them descriptions rather than their titles. Young, inexperienced shinobi would have ribbons (since that's a lot easier to procure than crystals) that were yellow and be worth 10 points. More experienced Shinobi who's had real battle experience would have green ribbons worth 30 points. Shinobi with a ton of battle experience and high recommendations from their peers would have red ribbons worth 60 points.

"The last," Sakura grunts, teetering a bit, her stomach muscles getting tired. She takes a moment to steady herself before continuing, "The last would be up to yourself, Hashirama-sama and Tobirama-sama's discretion. Shinobi of your caliber, or close enough to be considered near unparalleled unless against one of you three, would be given the final ribbon, white, for 100 points. That would also include the three of you, if you wished to participate."

Sakura begins talking about how the battles would go, rules and regulations. There would have to be people willing to watch the matches and out of bound limits so that spectators could watch. She talked about how there could be two on two battles or one on one. She talked about how if two people took on one and won that they could either split the points in half or battle each other for the full points. And while she's talking, Sakura would glance over at the Uchiha to see his eyes closed, listening to her words and probably visualizing it in his head.

"What would the winner at the end get?" Madara asks. This is the first time he interrupted since she started. His eyes remained closed.

Sakura sighs, feeling herself bobbing up and down again. She has to force herself not to try and grab hold of the tree trunk to try and balance herself. She copies Madara instead, putting her hands onto her straining stomach, wondering if this was the kick she needed to get really nice, toned abs. If so, she might just commit to it. Well, after her stomach heals.

"That's up to you guys," Sakura grunts, feeling light headed. "Holy shit, I have to sit up or I'm going to pass out." Sakura pulls herself upright, her vision going black for a moment before clearing up. Madara follows a moment later, letting out a long, drawn out breath, cheeks slightly flushed from the strain, while Sakura probably looks like a tomato.

"Pretty good," Madara says, opening his eyes and looking over at Sakura. "You held yourself longer than I expected."

Sakura glares at him weakly. "Good lord, why did I think that was a good idea? That hurt. My head, stomach and legs." She reaches up and pushes her hair back into place, feeling the gentle pulsing in the back of her head.

Madara gives her this strange look. Not like his face is twisted weird or anything. It's got this weird glow to it. A soft, almost peaceful look on his face. The more she sees of Madara, the harder it is to believe eventually he will become this nasty, vengeful person of the future. He's a little stiff - or a lot stiff - but not unkind. He's just a little strange about it, like it doesn't come natural to him. If anything, it reminds Sakura of Neji. He turned out to be a kind person, he just wasn't so good at expressing it unless one knew what to look for.

Perhaps that is what Hashirama of the future saw of Madara. Sakura can understand that. At least moreso now than when she first met Madara.

"I like it," Madara says softly, turning away to stare at the forest. He spoke to lightly, Sakura hesitated a moment, wondering if he had actually spoken.

"You like it?" Sakura asks, hoping she wasn't just hearing things.

Madara blinks slowly, long, thin lashes brush against the tops of his cheeks. They were longer than Sasuke's lashes, but not as thick. They were like delicate butterfly wings. Sakura was kind of jealous of both Uchiha. It must be hard to be born with such good looks.

Madara his head once in affirmation. "I do. I suppose it will be a topic of discussion for later with the buffoon and his asshole little brother."

Sakura snorts, caught off guard by Madara's language in reference to the First and Second Hokage. And he said it with such a straight face too! Sakura hopes to one day be able to maintain such a poker face.

Madara's eyes soften a bit more, pleased to have made Sakura laugh as opposed to possibly insulting her. Sakura gets the impression that he doesn't speak freely like that often. His words, while straight laced, also had a bit of hesitancy to them, as if he was testing the waters with her. Seeing what he could get away with and study her reaction. Sakura was beginning to see what the First saw in Madara. The very human side of Madara.

"Madara-sama," Sakura says after a slight pause.

Madara looks away, staring straight ahead again. "Hm?"

"I'm sorry about what I said earlier-" Sakura tries to apologize again, now feeling really guilty for it.

"No you're not," Madara says sharply, looking over at Sakura with narrowed eyes. Shocking the girl with his sudden shift of attitude. "I find that once you hurt someone, their true emotions shine through. You were hurt and angry and you conveyed that well. People from both clans were speaking ill of you and you addressed that. Do not strip your words of their power by redacting them. Stand true to your words or say nothing at all."

Sakura stares at him with wide green eyes, not knowing what to say or think. This man was truly nothing like she expected. After almost a full minute of Sakura staring into Madara's pitch black eyes, silently contemplating his words, she nods, looking down at her dangling feet. "Then..." she says slowly, hoping she's not yelled at again, "I hope that we can all move past this and focus on the future."

With bated breath, Sakura can feel Madara's gaze at the side of her face for a long time, with analytical, dark eyes, before he looks down at his own feet, making circles in the dirt with the toe of his shoe. "I believe you."

Three simple words. Three simple words that laid heavily on Sakura's shoulders like the fallen tree and in her gut like three large stones.

For the Reviewers:

1. Enbi: Thank you! I hope I'm making it apparent enough. .

2. silverfolfighter00: Hehe. I'm glad that you liked it! Thanks for the comment!

3. Guest 1: Thank you so much! I haven't really decided what I want to do with Ryo. He's sort of up in the air at this point, but I'm leaning more toward this being a pride thing than an hate thing. You know? Not yet, Madara's eyes are fine. As for Kana, while she wasn't the chosen Uchiha (but I was considering her) I ultimate chose someone else. It would seem somewhat cliché to have it be Kana, I suppose. Her clothes were pretty big, being like dresses, so there wasn't much to look at. Plus all the women are pretty tall in comparison, they were confused. Haha. Thank you!

4. LoonyTuned: Haha! Aww! Poor Tsunade! I'm so flattered that you were thinking about this story! Yeah, on a limb, a few days ago I went looking for stories on this pairing, should I decide to write for them, and there was like, five! That was amazing. I thought it would be a bit more popular than that. Aww, I'm so sorry to hear that. I was hesitant on putting that in there in the first place, but I really wanted to show just how different 80 years could make a place. I was thinking that too, truthfully. Haha! I proved you wrong! Random fill in character for Uchiha apprentice! Ha! XD

5. NarutoXHonoka: Thank you! And we haven't gotten to the training just yet. A little scene with Madara! :D And yes, this takes a long time to do, but I really do appreciate the comments and I want people to know that their words don't fall on deaf ears. Thank you!

6. dreadwings: Thank you. It caused a lot of problems right away. Thankfully, with Kana around to make sure nothing scathing toward Sakura is unsaid, the issue was addressed right away. I also wanted to add a bit of the literary device: disillusionment. Though I'm not sure how well I did, I felt smart for putting it there. XD Yeah, I haven't mentioned it yet, but it will be here.

7. Otakugal: Well, you've read what happens next. XD And no set updates, sorry. I am currently working on a lot of stories. I suppose it has mostly to do with inspiration, interest and if I have any idea of what I'm doing. You're welcome!

8. Toreh: Thank you so much! I'm happy that the humor doesn't sound too forced.

9. True Guardian Angel: I hope you liked it!

10. RogueAngel82: Yes, I agree, unfortunately. I created Kana for precisely that reason. They just overall will not like each other. Whether I give a tangible reason for that or now, we will see. (I don't really know) XD. People keep saying that, and I keep considering! *blushes* I don't know what to do yet. What I've been mulling around for this story will get crazy awkward if that happens. But it would be very interesting too. XD You're welcome!

11. imaginesakura: Thank you! I'm glad you like it so far!

12. Suzululu4moe: She relieves a bit of stress here. Not a lot though. I'm not big on making the characters cry babies. Fics where the main character cries all the time just does nothing for me. *shrugs* But once in a blue moon is fine. Sakura will have her moment, though, I promise. XD

13. ShatteredGreen: I'm glad that you liked it! Sorry, no Tobirama in this one, but I do have a somewhat cute (kinda?) idea in store for them.

14. StarKiss666: Thank god, people see it as original. *sighs in relief* The concept is widely used, it appears, but so far it's nice to hear that no one is annoyed by the similarities between my story and others (However vague they may be). Yeah, that is going to be a big part of why people are both intimidated and in hate with Sakura. Haha!

15. TheseBattleScars: Haha, thanks!

16. animefan36: Thank you! That would be pretty funny. Yeah, Tobirama's like, "Yep, that's another girlfriend material requirement to check mark" *check marks 'Hate on Madara* And Madara's like, "So fucking done." XD Thank you!

17. XBakaNinGyoX: Haha! Sorry about that! Thankies!

18. Mistuko-Masyo: Thank...you? :3

19. PeinVPuppy: I'm glad to see that's becoming a fan favorite! Naruto may show up, eventually. *wink* Thankies!

20. Guest 2: Thank you!

21. HaPPy2901: I actually have something great in mind for when Sakura shows off her "monster-strength" as Jiraiya calls it. Hehe. *Laughs evilly* Yeah, her seal will make an appearance soon enough. XD

22. UntiedHearbeat: Hehe, thanks.

23. spiderqwueen1: Nope! I'm not sure why I'm having so much fun with this. XD Oh, it'll be a spectacle when Sasuke appears, I'm sure. Aww! Thank you so much! I do a little dance whenever I see another comment. Hahah! XD

24. TheRYU: Here was a little one for you. I thought it was kind of cute. *shrugs* :D I won't give up!

25. Lyndseydan: Thank you!

26. britneybish: Thank you very much!