AN: Last chapter I struggled for a while with the pacing, but I think I've gotten past the part that was going to drag now. It should be easier from here.

The Next Dimension Over

Chapter Three

"Are you gonna faint again?"

She didn't deign to look over at the boy (who she'd heard called 'Goku' at least a few times now), but she did frown. And she didn't faint. She collapsed of exhaustion, both physical and chakra.

Into the sea.

The fact that someone had fished her out of the water instead of allowing her to drown decreased the likelihood that the attack was anything more than an attempt to judge her skills. If they were trying to kill her, she'd at least have woken up somewhere else where the ocean carried her, if she managed not to drown.

But what was that jutsu he used? Just before everything went black and she collapsed, it looked something like Naruto's Rasen-shiruken. Exactly what was it, and where had she found herself, that people were capable of using something like that?

Escape was still her number one priority, but now she needed more answers than before. And one unfortunate thing was certain: if she needed to fight her way out, she needed more recovery time than she'd had. Next time, she had her doubts over whether she'd wake up in the same bed again.

Finally, she turned her attention to the small child who had been sitting at her bedside when she woke. His clothes still looked damp, which meant that he was probably the one who got her out of the ocean. "I won't faint. But...I need food." And rest. But if she could get him to leave the room, she could heal her arm without revealing that she held medical abilities. Until she was truly certain of the nature of her...stay...she needed to be judicial about showing her abilities.

Not only that, but three hours all told of sleep and no food in fourty-eight hours didn't leave much room for building up fresh chakra. It had been thanks to things like Naruto imparting chakra to her that allowed her to continue building up enough chakra while she fought and healed people to finish her seal. Since then...three years of chakra had been burning up at an unpleasant rate.

In the end, healing her arm might show how little stamina she had in reserve even more than the obvious...need for sleep that she occasionally presented.

His expression brightened once he processed her words. "Oh! I'm hungry too! It's almost dinner time, I'll bring you back food!"

She wasn't really sure why he'd stayed by her bedside at all in the first place, but it seemed it wasn't an assignment he couldn't ignore, because the moment he finished speaking, he stood up and ran out of the room. It reminded her a little bit of Naruto. But then, she was tired and probably a little bit delusional.

Once she was alone in the room, she carefully checked under her bandages. It seemed that some sort of medicine had been applied, and considering the fact that they were dry, it must have been reapplied after she fell into the ocean. No matter what else, it was clear that these people wanted her alive. And not for such a short time that they wouldn't be concerned about infections.

Medics were always the worst patients, however. She wasn't about to rely on anyone else to ensure her arm healed (particularly as it would undoubtedly scar if it healed in any natural form). It was too much risk to try to open her seal and heal herself naturally: though it would undo most of the exhaustion she suffered now, it might complicate matters if she were being observed, or if someone returned in the time it took to regenerate. Instead, she tapped into what remained of her chakra reserves, and washed over the wound with healing chakra manually.

Unsurprisingly, once the wounds were healed and faded, the room spun and darkened around her once again.

...So maybe she would faint again after all.

Or at least pass out in a dignified manner.

(*)

When he imagined bringing back a girl to prove himself worthy of training, he had a few assumptions and a lot of hope about what that would be like. Not one of them had been met so far. She didn't cook, she hadn't cleaned, she hadn't walked around half awake through the house in underwear or had a shower people could accidentally walk in on.

For most of three days, all the woman did was sleep. He'd be angry that she also ate their food instead of making more food, like she was directly making fun of his expectations, but it was difficult to find anyone's eating habits problematic once he saw Goku go at it.

Master Roshi still refused to start their training until she agreed to stay in any form that wasn't just sleeping in their bed and eating their food. So. Considering the delay in training that he'd dedicated so much time and effort toward finally finding and earning, right now he disliked her more than Goku. But only barely, considering Goku's inhuman appetite resulted in stealing his food last night.

And what kind of a name was 'Sakura', anyway? Who named someone after a tree?

At least something had changed today, though he wasn't completely sure that it was for the better just yet. She'd gotten out of bed. And not in the 'run outside and try to drown in the ocean' kind of way she did that first day. Which explained why she was standing in the living room watching all of them. Frankly, the white bandage and pink hair just looked odd next to her jet-black uniform. He was tempted to add it as a point against her out of spite, but there wasn't really a need.

"Ah...so you're finally up and about?" Master Roshi looked up from where he sat, voice a touch more serious than usual. "Now that you've freely sponged off of our generosity, do you plan to leave?"

She frowned after a moment, and shook her head. "The jutsu you used. I'll stay until you teach me it."

Hadn't he heard her talking to Goku about needing to leave as quickly as possible? He frowned up at her, suspicious. Obviously she was plotting something, though he wasn't actually sure what it was just yet. Surely Master Roshi would never fall for such a transparent-

"Very well!" The old man straightened in his seat, lifting his head solemnly. "But to learn such a difficult and deadly technique, you must first prove yourself worthy of such knowledge."

Goku, showing the tact he'd come to expect of the boy, spoke up suddenly. "Is it really difficult? I thought it was just putting your hands together and-"

The old master quickly smacked Goku over the head. "Quiet, boy!"

"What do you expect me to do to 'prove myself worthy'?" She sounded so unimpressed that he was tempted to say something about her tone (even if he wasn't always the most respectful himself...) but...he kind of wanted to know what it took to learn that impressive move from earlier, too.

Master Roshi harrumphed. "Complete my training. Do so, and I will impart my secrets unto you."

"Hey, are we ever gonna start that training?" Goku spoke before he could actually say the same thing he'd been thinking. Which was good, because it meant whatever ire it inspired would be directed in Goku's direction instead.

"We'll start today!"

He blinked in surprise, finally speaking up. "Really?"

The old man smiled in a way that made him a little suspicious of his intentions. "But first...if you're going to train with us properly, you should be dressed in something appropriate, rather than those dirty rags you've been wearing for days."

She glanced down at herself with a dull sort of expression that implied she hadn't even realized she'd been wearing the same (impressively dirty and damaged) thing for days. "...If you have a change of clothes."

The man puffed out his chest in pride. "Lucky for you...I have uniforms left from when I took on students previously! Wait here and I'll bring them."

Uniforms?

Why hadn't he heard about uniforms before?

(*)

Three days.

By now, the battle was decided, and the world had either ended for good or Naruto, Sasuke, and Kakashi had come home and found a way to undo the jutsu. As much as it frustrated her, as much as it made her want to scream and break her way out of the dimension through sheer effort and anger...there was nothing she could do.

For the moment, she could only bide her time, gather information...and find a way to create a jutsu all on her own capable of crossing dimensions without an almost all-powerful dojutsu to help her. But she was Sakura Haruno, prize student of the Fifth Hokage, and Hashirama Senju had recognized her strength and ability. If anyone could find a way out, it was her.

At least...it's what she told herself. It kept away the feeling of helpless madness that otherwise threatened to take her over completely and take away any chance she might have actually had of getting back home.

And in the meantime...she'd figure out exactly what jutsu it was that she saw before collapsing that first day.

The old man (who for some reason wore a turtle shell on his back even while inside) reappeared from wherever he'd gone to retrieve clothing, carrying four small boxes. With great seriousness, he juggled the boxes in his arms and grabbed the top one from the pile, holding it out for her. "We'll change immediately and get down to business. There's no reason to waste any more time!"

She doubted that she'd feel any less like she was wasting time even when doing whatever training he had in store, but she knew better than to stand around and refuse to do anything instead.

Out of curiosity, she lifted the lid of the box slightly just to see what sort of uniform she'd be expected to wear (that he had apparently no doubt she would fit).

The box clattered to the floor a moment later.

He was one of those sorts.

Her fingers curled into fists, and she glared down at him from where she stood. "What. The hell. Is this?"

The two boys, who had been slower to open their boxes, froze and looked up at her with varying levels of surprise, but the old man himself gave a sheepish laugh. "Well...I know it's a bit unconventional looking, but it allows for perfect freedom of movement! It's the trademark Kamesennin style uniform!"

"Really?" Her teeth grit, and it took supreme effort to extend her hand palm up, instead of closed into a fist. "Then let me see all of yours."

"Well, of course we can-"

"No." She took a step forward, and the bald child took a step back. The other boy had a hesitant expression. The old one seemed to be confident, behind his dark glasses. It didn't deter her, now that she'd had days to recover. "I'll believe they aren't an illusion only if I inspect them myself."

He appeared thoughtful for a few moments, before he collected and then held out the remaining boxes to her.

...

As with most perverts, he was apparently also shameless. Her lips twitched with disgust at the image that arose in her mind when she considered him wearing the ridiculous underwear as he must have been planning to do in an attempt to fool her.

She felt a certain amount of serenity with that realization, as she bent down to pick up her own discarded uniform.

"...I see."

The old man, who had been silently watching her up to that point gave a relieved laugh. "See? It's the uniform I always use to train in! It breathes, it moves, and it's stylish!"

She tore the four boxes, and their contents, in half.

Finally, the old man looked appropriately nervous.