It had been twenty-four weeks.

Twenty-four weeks since Sakura arrived in this world. Since she had last seen her boys and former sensei. Since the world was familiar and safe. Sure, her world had not recovered from the war yet when she was pulled away, but it was on the cusp of restoration. Her team turned family was finally together again.

It had been twelve weeks since her first encounter with what was called a 'poltergiest.'

Twelve weeks since she met a new sensei of sorts, a man called a 'hunter' who had arrived shortly after the angry ghost threw her through a wall.

Twelve weeks since Sakura began a new pursuit.

She rubbed her hands together to warm them. It was cold in the mountains. The fire she built up from last night's embers was helping, but the cabin had a long way to go to become warm.

Books were spread out on the table in front of her, a new journal at her elbow nearly half full. Her new sensei recommended a long list of books from a local library and even lent her his thick journal to copy into a journal of her own. She had been sequestered for almost six weeks for what she was referring to as the research phase. She had spent about five weeks before that shadowing her new sensei. Four weeks of those had been without his permission. When he could not shake her or scare her off, he relented and began to teach her. The week before that she had spent tracking him down only a few towns away after procuring a few much-needed items.

Her sensei knew her as Ino Uzumaki, an identity she created after a full day of thought. If she were to become what the hunter was who saved her, she would honor two of her most precious people with their names on the battlefield. She had known she would need to create a physical and digital paper trail for this new identity, so her chosen sensei would accept her as a person of this world.

Ino was a few years older than Sakura herself and considered an acceptable age for nearly every conceivable thing she would want or need to do without a parent's permission or arousing suspicion. It was a little young for her sensei's tastes, but Sakura gathered he believed no one was old enough to join the hunter life. He spent many pointless hours trying to convince her to finish college, marry, or do literally anything else than become a hunter.

The back story she gave the man was simple. No family, orphaned by a random monster attack. Death records were easily made up. A quick Google search showed Mr. and Mrs. Uzumaki were killed under mysterious circumstances and the case went cold. She knew Hinata from the college they both attended and heard about him from her.

Hinata was the gut-reaction name Sakura gave her sensei when he asked after dispelling the ghost with iron and offering her his hand. The real Hinata's hair was the inspiration for her henge after all.

It was really an impressive feat for only twenty-four hours. She had an ID for both Ino and Hinata, records of both attending a local university that was big enough not to notice two students had not actually been attending months prior, and bank accounts for both. Really the trickiest part had been fabricating financial aid for each. So far the university did not question the status of her scholarships and grants, some of which were real and lent credibility to the fake ones which were held up from being received.

She really stretched herself thin making two kage bushin to take up the other two identities and have them live and work for the last six weeks to get some capital to work with, but it had paid off. One massive pay-off was the credibility – countless witnesses who now knew and recognized the two women Sakura created.

She agreed to her sensei's terms which were largely to keep going to school and study lore thoroughly. She chose isolation in a cabin for herself so that she could drop her henge and not worry about discovery. The clone posing as Ino checked in with him like they agreed, and could show him she was still attending school so he would continue teaching her.

Her sleep was fitful. The glimpses of the clones' lives, nightmares of the creatures she was now studying, and painful dreams of home would haunt her.

The fights during the war flashed through her dreams. Sasuke's face in the Land of Iron, and again at the Valley of the End. His words haunted her.

She would startle awake, reaching out to touch him again, to heal his mess of a limb. She would pant, adrenaline coursing through her veins. She would squeeze her eyes shut a moment, the image of him and Naruto about to fist bump with Kakashi to the side also watching them. Then she would shake her head to dispel the image and get up, the first hints of dawn teasing her through the window.

She would make herself a cup of coffee or caffeinated tea and start researching the next monster. It was a fantastic distraction.

Every now and then, her sensei would invite clone Ino to join him on a tamer hunt. Sakura would switch herself out for the clone. There was no reason to risk the clone dispersing from an injury and blowing her cover.

The most she had received over these hunts were a couple bruises and a scratch that didn't draw blood. Needless to say, her sensei was surprised and pleased at her evasion skills. She explained away the more complex movements that stunned him to gymnastics and martial arts training. He never questioned it.

She had mastered ghost-hunting. Her experience from her world with sealing opened a whole new door for her in this world. Even if she could not locate the deceased's remains to salt and burn them, she had ways of sealing them away.

Which itself was frustrating.

She could seal things and spirits of this world into pocket dimensions that coincided with this world. She could not seal or summon anything from her world and the coinciding dimensions she was familiar with.

She had tried the very first hour she awoke here. A quick slug summon would have made her stay a few days at most before she was retrieved.

She happily went on a hunt her sensei did not know about when she couldn't sleep at all. She had also become adept at finding ghost hunts without him.

She would have been content with this for a while longer, but she came across something in her research that gave her a glimmer of hope.

Not hope that Naruto, Sasuke, and Kakashi would come for her – her faith in them was unwavering. The book she clutched to her chest gave her hope for the first time in this world since slug summoning failed her that she could do something about her stay.

She fought tears from falling as she wanted to read further. She hesitated to do so because she also feared getting her hopes too high. It was a hint of hint some organization in this world that had come across beings from other worlds and parallel dimensions. She did not know how long it would take to find more.

She started with her sensei. Her Ino clone met with him at their next weekly meeting. He would answer any questions she had, quiz her relentlessly, and introduce her to a new tool or weapon that aided hunters.

He was surprised by her question about the mysterious organization and other worlds, and did not have an answer ready. He tried to brush it off as nothing but a rumor. He himself had never seen such anything from or about another world, and none of the hunters he associated with over the years had either. She noticed immediately that he was trying to dodge the part of her question about the organization. He knew something, but she waited.

She persisted the next two such meetings, asking it in different ways with different hypothetical scenarios.

Finally, he let something slip. He heard tale of two hunters from a different country that had supposedly trekked one of these other places. He looked surprised that the words had come out of his mouth.

"Don't mind what I said Ino, those men are dangerous and likely insane by now. Anyone who knew them personally has met a grim end," he finished.

"Sensei, from what you have told me, almost none who choose this life meet a peaceful and quiet end. It does not seem to matter if one knows these men or not," she replied.

He frowned, at a loss temporarily.

Sakura pressed further, hitting him where it hurt most, "Sensei, I think this might have to do with my parents. You know I've exhausted every other lead."

Sakura watched him waver. Revenge was something that drove nearly every hunter from what her sensei had shared. They all lost someone precious to them and lashed out at the darkness. Like someone else she knew…

Sakura channeled the pain, letting it take over the features of her face, but diverted her thoughts back to the present moment.

He broke down. "Look Ino, I don't know much about these things. It's far above my pay grade. I don't even know anyone personally who is. I can only give you one clue," he trailed off and looked away.

Was she losing him? It was possible that if she pressed him again, she would lose him and would shut the conversation down. He was certainly skittish enough as it was. On the other hand, if she waited too long, he might think she was willing to let it go. Should she say something?

Fortunately, she needn't worry or say anything. He looked back at her with vulnerable eyes. "Ino," he started and trailed off again, his jaw working and the wheels turning in his head almost visible through his eyes. He seemed to reach a conclusion and his face hardened.

"Ino, if I tell you, we are done. I will not take part in this. I will not watch you throw your life away and die a bloody death. I thought I could help you, give you what I always wanted: a normal life," his voice hitched and suddenly his eyes were angry. He started again, voice hard and increasing in volume, "I thought if I could sate you with minor hunts and show you a better way, maybe you would get it out of your system and move on. I see now I was wrong; I never should have indulged you."

He paused, closing his eyes and taking a deep breath, calming himself so his voice would not continue increasing in volume. He opened them, and said calmly, "Is this what you really want? If so, I will tell you."