Another chapter of Restart. Is it just me, or have i not posted in a while? I WANT to, I really do, but I can't THINK of anything. Give me suggestions in the comments.

On to another topic. This story will be moving in a more swerved direction. While we get to see Sakura's opinion on things now that she's traveled back in time and has a different outlook, there hasn't really been BIG changes to the timeline yet.

The thing is, if I want to make big changes in the timeline I need to prepare myself, get pen and papers, and write down the plot of the entire story. I know EXACTLY which events I want to play out in a specific order, I know EXACTLY how much romance and EXACTLY how much friendship, drama and angst I want this story to have but I don't know where to start.

And it's the ANGST that's really getting to me. As a (not really) newly-minted 6th Grader I can say right now I like things to be on the optimistic side. Constantly looking over your shoulder and darting your eyes isn't something I enjoy doing, much less writing about, BUT ITS EXACTLY WHAT THIS STORY NEEDS.

I'm looking for you to hold your breath, to gasp, to widen your eyes as you scan across the screen. I want to become flustered, to laugh, to snort and shed a tear.

I'm only 11. You can't expect a lot from someone who can't even stand 3rd Period. And nowadays school is really kicking in. Just...know that I'm trying my hardest, and that writing a story is MUCH harder than you think it is when you know what you're doing.

In conclusion, there will be a few in-between chapters after Wave, or maybe even during Wave to get other characters involved into the story, make some progress in Sakura's time travel mission, and add a bit of angst so I have a nice starting point. But fluff. Lots and lots of SasuSaku fluff. By the way, the flashback scene in this chapter got a bit...weird.

[Restart]

She rubbed her hands together and slowly dipped them under the freezing liquid, the red tint that covered her palms disappearing and flowing down into the water, and the sharp smell of clean evading her nostrils at last.

With one last scrub, she was wringing her hands out on the shore before she slipped them in the water once more, leaning over to see her disheveled appearance.

Dark heavy bags under her eyes, puffy and red from incessant crying and midnight scares, complexion uneven and rough, acne spotted here and there. Pale and sunken, covered by the not-so dried blood she was trying so hard to wash off, that smeared on her face once the man glided his dirtied, bloodied fingers over her cheeks roughly, grabbing onto her, trying to bring her with him-

Trying to bring her with him—

She splashed her face with water, cradled obediently in her cupped palms. The blood mixed the water as it dripped down her face and into the rushing river, not noticing the salty tears coercing the substance off her face.

Her toes curled in on themselves as her body started shaking uncontrollably. Her hands fisted the long, dirty grass he kneeled in as she stifled her sobs successfully.

She was such a crybaby.

Such a crybaby.

She reached into her old hip pouch and brought her last pair of latex gloves as she nitpicked her features to land in stone-cold indifference. Jerking her body slightly to the left, she let her fingers glow alight with green chakra, fine-tuning it until it was sharp as she slit the body's chest open. Swiftly retrieving a sealing scroll, she reached her hand onto his chest, retrieving the still-beating heart in steady hands and sterilizing it to put away for a more-deserving man.

So on she went, surrounded by dead bodies, victims, her mind whispered, of all kinds— bandits, criminals, or just the unluckiest of civilians, reaching her dirty, guilty, scarred hands inside of them, retrieving their property while they watched on, unsuspecting of their life literally being taken away from them.

'You killed them,'

'You killed them because you needed the organs,'

'You killed them because you were desperate to be useful,'

That she was.

She heard their voices whispering in her ears, you're cruel, you should die, no one loves you, you are dead weight, as she was sleeping, eating, killing, or as she liked to call it, 'helping.'

So as she slid the kunai along her wrist once each day she confessed her sins with a blood sacrifice, appeasing her demons, even for just a little while.

She cleansed her hands once more, a bundle of sealing scrolls tucked underneath her arms, as she piled up the bodies, the empty, hollow bodies, only to burn them, watching the fire crackle as they were released, only to emerge from the smoke and encircle her in depression.

She watched on curiously, counting the seconds before her knees fell out from under her.

She just wanted to 'help.'

So without complaint she cut down the innocent only to steal from their helpless forms, bring their treasures to someone else, for someone else to keep, so they can cut down more of the innocent and slit the throats of the worthy till they die, and she'll be there waiting, to take what never belonged to them back, fix it up, and give it so to another sinner.

So the war would prolong.

So the days would move on.

So they could sing their song of misery and the throats of the pure were blocked with thick coppery blood—

She tightened her iron-clad hold on the treasures of the innocent as she leaped away, to give, and get sorrow in return.

She just wanted to help.

—Restart—

"i can handle it"

She woke with a start, sweat clumping her pink hair to her larger than normal forehead as she put a hand to her chest. She could feel her eyes burn with memories of the past, and struggles to stop hyperventilating.

Her eyes darted around the dark room as paranoia settled in, as if he would jump on her at any moment. With a crazed grin and spinning crimson eyes..

Sakura brought her knees up to her chest and tried to clear her head of the dark visions of Uchiha Sasuke.

'Inner..can you get rid of these thoughts, please?'

'I'm not your personal drug, Outer. You can't rely on me like this. Not anymore. '

'I'm sorry..I just..can't handle it right now. '

Sakura rubbed at the bags that were inevitably under her eyes as she adjusted to the moonlight shining into the guest room from the open window. Only under extreme stress did these memories come back to haunt her, and she could almost feel the familiar touch of warm blood splattering on her lower left cheek as she thrust her hand through this chest and the next abdomen. It disappeared relatively quickly, thanks to Inner.

The nightmares were at their worst during the peak of the war. Constantly, every single night and couldn't get a wink of sleep, relying on soldier pills and Inner's hypnotics to keep her feet moving, her heart beating, her eyes watering.

Sakura thought it ended as they reached what could only be classified as a stalemate, as her main focus shifted from plunging her fingers through flesh and gripping onto a man's life force to where her next meal would be, and the next time she'd be able to sleep in peace.

But it seems she can't handle the pressure. Never could.

So she curled her hands into tight balls, balls of insecurity and self-loathing, because she was just so weak, and wiped the apprehensive tears from her eyes, slipping on her shorts and pulling on a pair of sandals, disregarding Naruto's loud snores, drowning out any other sound in the room as she leaped through the open window, the curtains following her as she slipped a quick senbon into her hastily-made bun.

'A bit of training won't hurt. It always worked before,'

She landed silently onto the soft grass, a quite graceful fall from a second story. Sakura quickly attached her kunai pouch to her hip and her shurikens to her right thigh, relaxing at the familiar weight, and walked towards the nearest tree in melancholy silence.

Her emerald eyes glittered underneath the moonlight, giving off the effect of beauty, hiding the emptiness from the world as she slipped a senbon from her hip into her waiting fingertips.

She attached it to the sole of her foot, keeping it there with chakra, and graced the other foot with a needle as well as she steadied herself on the unsteady lifts she made for herself.

As soon as she was balanced, she backflipped, using her chakra to propel the senbon off her feet and onto the tree in just the right places.

'I'm so glad my control will never fail me,'

She applauded herself bluntly as she roughly grabbed the sharp needles from the bark, not caring of the sharp pain registered in her palms as they drew blood. She plucked them back into her bun absentmindedly, and backed away from the tree, only to dash up it fiercely.

Once at the halfway point she looked down at her height and figured she was pretty far up, at least 30 feet on average. She felt the wind pass through her legs but paid it no mind, as she was slowly starting to forget the existence of demons haunting your very being.

She slowly slipped another needle out of her holster and held it in front of her, as she plucked a leaf from a nearby branch. Healthy and thick, she allowed it to plunge to its untimely death, releasing it to flow in the wind.

She quickly infused the needle with chakra that held it in between her index finger and thumb in a plucking formation, swiftly ejecting out of her fingers only for it to race through the leaf, leaving a small hole in the retreating greenery that proved she was doing this right.

'One more activity, then I'll leave,'

''Kay.'

She reached up on her toes, the thick branch she was standing on groaning under her weight as she mercilessly shook a branch from above her, leaves coming down like rain from a cloud.

She watched them descend for a moment, wondering if she will ever be so carefree, before she leaped off her branch.

Rosy hair escaped the crappy bun at the jerky moment, flowing behind her like a wave of silk as she infused chakra into her legs and underneath her shoes, allowing her to step on the leaf gracefully without weighing it down, and jumping from one to the other.

She soon reached the ground, landing with a swift forward roll, and sighed as her heart rate slowed. The pinkette really did enjoy these nightly escapades; just not the reason she needs them.

She figured her three used senbon had to be left for dead, so she rubbed her eyes once more, before turning on her heel and motioning to go back into the house.

"That was impressive."

She jerked slightly, and turned her head towards where she heard the voice. Her heart stopped for a split second, and she could almost see herself staring into cold, guarded crimson eyes, before it reverted to the impassive onyx she had learned to associate with the Sasuke she fell in love with.

She grunted out an affirmative before turning to him fully, an honestly inquisitive look in her forest green orbs. "How long have you been there?" She called out to him quietly from his spot, perched on a slightly low branch. Scratch marks from what resembled a kunai littered the bark from underneath his sitting space, telling her he'd been here for quite a while.

'He's working on tree climbing,'

'Obviously. '

'How did I not notice him?'

'You get a bit conceited at times.'

Sakura couldn't help a wry smile at that; she hated seeing Inner so glum. She was back to her sarcastic self.

"Long enough," he replied vaguely, as he jumped off from his branch and to the ground in front of her. She stared at him curiously, before realizing she intruded. "Ah, I'm sorry if I interrupted your session, I was just-"

"What are you doing out here at this time." He almost demanded, effectively cutting her off. The pinkette placed her hands on her hips and glowered defiantly. "I could ask the same of you."

"Hn."

"Well. My business is my business, so I'll be going now, Sasuke-kun. "

"That chakra control exercise was very impressive."

Those words made her stop in her tracks, her hands falling to her sides as she stared at him, shocked into silence.

Recognition? From the, Super Emo, Uchiha Sasuke?

She brought her arm up to rub the back of her neck, to possibly decrease the growing burning sensation she felt. It wasn't doing them any good that they were standing under the moonlight.

"Ah, thanks. And you were working on the tree exercise?"

"Hn."

The emerald-eyed girl momentarily forgot about her past scars from the war, allowing herself to relax in the form of her 12-year old self, to engage in this conversation, to soothe her nerves.

Sakura brought her hands down to fiddle with the sides of her black tank, looking for somewhere to put her hyperactive fingers.

"Are you sure..you don't need help?"

He cast one more shrewd glance at the tree, as if it was mocking him, before turning back to her, a resigned look in his eyes.

"Hn...Fine."

'Look at him, finally setting aside his pride.'

The pinkette clapped her hands together silently in a self-victory, before walking over to his tree, the Uchiha in the lead. They came to a quick stop and Sakura put her hair in a much more dedicated bun, as she has already decided to use a certain method of teaching for her quiet teammate.

"Okay, let's see what you can do."

His fingers quickly curled into the ram seal, the soles of his feet giving off a faint cyan glow and he was soon running up the tree. He got a few steps up farther than his personal best before the bark exploded underneath him, a quick kunai slash and he was back on the ground.

"Shoot," he murmured to himself quietly, "I'm not focusing enough..."

The girl decided to add in her own insight here. "Maybe..maybe you're focusing too much."

Sasuke turned to her, a silent demand to continue. She followed. "It seems like you're putting too much focus in, and that's what's throwing you off. You need to find a way to climb the tree without thinking about it too much." She said in a matter-of-fact tone.

She crossed her arms over her chest, pondering on how he should do this in a way that would work for him.

'Honestly, the only thing he enjoys is fighting.'

'Fighting...Hm, maybe you're on to something.'

She snapped her fingers, turning to him as he glanced at her from the unexpected noise. She grinned. "I have an idea. Let's...let's spar."

He looked at her quizzically, not even bothering to shield his expression. She waved him off and motioned to demonstrate. She lunged at him, and he came back in kind, using self-defense, not realizing she was backing him up. "Come on, fight back! Or are you scared?" The pinkette taunted. Sweat formed on her brow. She was having trouble keeping up with him in her weak form.

A new fire went alight in his eyes as he began coming back at her. As she was losing energy quickly, she retreated, only to run up a nearby tree without restraint. He looked on, and without hesitation, he was running up a tree parallel to hers, angrily but calculatively throwing shuriken at her, and she deflected them in midair as she ran up the tree.

Out of nowhere she stopped and he did the same a heartbeat later. Sakura twirled on the bark of the tree, skating across and behind it, out of his line of sight and continued running, concealing her stomps with chakra.

She soon reached the treetops, and she saw him just now deciding to continue up. The pinkette smirked.

'This is really fun,'

'It is.'

Sakura maneuvered herself expertly and leaped onto his tree, planning on meeting him to engage in taijutsu.

Wind slapped at her bare legs and arms, keeping her rapidly blinking. Her heart rate increased and her pulse quickened. The adrenaline was getting to her, and she was exhilarated.

She felt his chakra spike in surprise as she leaped out of the foliage, dashing towards him with arms outstretched, he retaliated and they met in the middle, throwing punches and kicks as they raced up the tree.

She watched as a ghost of a smile creeped onto his features before it was wiped away with realization and understanding, before a nasty irritation set in stone. "You're weak," he admonished bluntly as he easily batted away a measly punch.

Sakura gritted her teeth as the leaves blocked them from view, their high position in the tree silencing their forms. Yes, she was weak! She's been trying hard to make sure everything went smoothly, so she didn't have time to train! Unlike Sasuke, who has a free schedule without the weight of the shinobi world resting on his child-sized shoulders.

"I can see that, and I'm working on it," she bit out harshly, fatigue settling into her bones. He stared at her impassively, and she could see the gears turning in his head as they paused in their spar, the pinkette taking the time to climb onto a branch to catch her breath.

'Sooooo pathetic,'

'Sometimes I hate myself.'

'..only sometimes? Ha.'

The Uchiha also climbed up onto the branch, one leg huddled near his chest and an arm laid akimbo on the knee, the other outstretched with the arm on the thigh, twiddling his fingers absentmindedly: what Sakura has come to refer to as Sasuke's 'thinking pose.'

'You have stalker-ish tendencies,'

'Doesn't that mean you also have stalker-ish tendencies?'

"You helped me get up the tree," he murmured, almost to himself. Sakura nodded an affirmative. "This method works," he said. Another nod. "But your skills are pathetic." This time, a forced shrug. "Hn."

He seemed to come to a decision, because he brought his leg back down silently and now both his hands rested on his thighs, and his head turned away from her, but that only served to give him an eerie glow from the holy light reflected from the moon.

Sakura felt her heart beat faster by just looking at his bangs swaying lazily. She wrenched her head away reluctantly and instead looked up, to see that the stars were winking at her playfully.

A small breeze passed through the area, momentarily breaking the tense silence as Sakura peered around the small leaf dome they were situated in. Seriously, if they didn't want to be seen, this was the place to be. She gave it grudging respect from her post-War shinobi mind.

Her ears turned a light pink.

'Oi, Inner, cut the crap and stop thinking about those things.'

'Hehe..You know me, just a little hornball.'

'Get rid of those thoughts!'

'Hai, hai.'

She felt her blush recede as dirty things evacuated her mind, taking a near silent sigh of contentment. Though clearly not silent enough, because she got Sasuke's eyes on her. Or has he been like that for awhile?

'We've been told we space out when talking.'

'This only happens because you're a screw-up.'

'Hm, did he say something?'

'W-what?!'

Sakura whipped her head towards him, her bangs nearly slapping his nose, but he brought his head back in the nick of time with slightly wide eyes. Though soon he was back to his impassive self, staring at her through lidded onyx orbs.

She scratched the back of her head sheepishly. "Sorry. Did you need something, Sasuke-kun?"

She stared at him with curious green eyes.

"Hn. We're leaving."

She got up, now standing on the thick branch, the top of his head disguised in the leaves. Sakura jerked at his swift movement and looked up at him, shocked. "That's it? We're done?" His lips pulled down into his trademark frown and Sakura regretted her phrasing immediately. "What more were you expecting?" He accused quietly, glaring holes through the side of her head as she averted her eyes.

'You're in deep.'

'Shut it.'

"Ah, nevermind. But if you need any more help, you can come to me.." She made a move to jump off but was stopped as her feet left the wood by Sasuke's form grip on her upper arm. The pinkette tripped in her surprise, but soon gained equilibrium and looked at him, appalled.

"Hn. You're training with me from now on."

The onyx-eyed boy then jumped off the branch and into the endless void below. She stared after him with wide eyes, contemplating what he just said. Inner responded with thick snark.

'From my years of deciphering Uchiha bullcrap, I'd have to say he expects you to train with him from now on. Why, though?'

'I don't know..but he clearly made some connection in that short-wired brain of his.'

'Don't they all?'

The emerald-eyed girl sighed and ran a hand through her hair, accidentally taking out her bun; a movement tic she picked up over the years.

Her long candy pink hair silently flopped against her back as she sat back down onto the branch, huddling up into a ball and resting her head on the bark. She looked up once more; green eyes twinkling with amusement at Sasuke's antics.

She closed her eyes silently and let her breathing even out.

'I won't be able to go back to sleep with him in the room,'

'And sleeping in trees brings back lulling memories...'

'Thanks, Inner. For all your help..'

'I'll always be there for you...you pink-haired abomination of nature-'

'Yeah, no.'

[Restart]

Her eyes fluttered open slowly, pink lashes wispy, but soon they shot open, and she was standing on the branch, hands cupped above her eyes, looking at the sky.

"It seems like it can't be earlier than 7:00..did my internal clock mess up?"

'You can't put much stake in things like those, the stupidest things always ruin your flow.'

'I'll keep note of that.'

The pinkette absentmindedly stretched her arms over and behind her head, doing quick lunges on the branch in the shadows her small sleeping done provides. "Even if this place is perfect for hiding, my pink hair never fails to give me away," she murmured attentively.

Sakura leaped down off the branch, the wind flowing through her thick hair and hitting her bare skin, waking her up immediately. Her flimsy tank caught air and ballooned, showing off her navel to the world.

She landed gracefully on one knee and dusted herself off, letting her fingers flow through her hair, happy that she wouldn't have to comb it this morning due to her stiff posture on the tree.

She leisurely spread out her chakra, finding all of the recognizable ones huddled together on the first floor of Tsunami's small home.

[I]'Breakfast, eh?'

Though there were two that were not familiar. One that reminded her of sea aroma and cement, while the other, smaller one reminded her of sea salt and clouds, with a bitter tang of depression.

'Tazuna and Inari?'

She ran into the house, feeling the small boy's signature sprint away, while Naruto slowly walked out and into a different room.

As soon as her hand went on the doorknob, it recoiled sharply as the door burst open, nearly hitting her, Inari staggering out crying, tears running down his face. He ran into the woods and out of sight. Kakashi's signature had a mix of disgruntlement and annoyance as he too walked out, giving her a small wave as he passed. She returned it hesitantly and faced the door, walking in.

Tazuna had his head in his hands, sitting in the corner, while Tsunami was fervently working on the dishes as if her life depended on it. And Sasuke was sitting at the table, quietly eating his food. He glanced at her when she passed him only to sit across from him, grabbing her lukewarm food.

"Mornin'."

He gave her a grunt in return, but it was a welcome grunt, so she continued talking, not even bothering to work on breaking the tense silence. Information first.

"What just happened?"

She locked her emerald gaze on his throat, he attempted to swallow cleanly but it came out noticeably harsh. It just made her sadden when she realized how long he'd had to keep his emotions in check around others; it seems like Inari's words affected him too. He finally looked up at her without averting his eyes, and the pinkette felt like shrinking underneath his cold gaze.

'Only he can do this to me.'

'You're so vulnerable.'

"The real bridge builder and his grandson came back late night. We were eating when he started complaining about how 'Ninjas have it good.' The dobe explodes and they both stormed off. Tazuna-San, the bridge builder, recently explained his situation before Kakashi took off."

That's the most I've heard him say at one time.'

'I'm with you.'

The emerald-eyed girl was genuinely shocked; he didn't have this outburst until the second night they were here.

'Well, this is technically the second night.'

'But he's only been here a few hours, awake even less.'

'You don't know that, when Sasuke said 'late night' you guys stayed out there till at least 3 AM.'

'Speaking of which, he said that I'd be training with him from now on. I have my own schedule too, so how will that work?'

'I find it funny that you didn't question his motives and went along with it. Some war-hardened shinobi you are.'

'I'm in a hopeless love, deal with it. It's the reason I've become hardened in the first place. '

"I see...I'll just let them blow off some steam."

She bit into her cold egg meticulously, relishing in the feeling of the cooked meal sliding down her throat. Cold or not, she's learned to appreciate what she can get. She looked up at him once more, and he was staring at her the whole time disinterestedly, absentmindedly making circles in his porridge with a spoon. Almost daydreaming.

She fought to keep the blush off her face; she could pretend he was looking at her and not the clock behind her otherworldly forehead, couldn't she? No, the sadly familiar obnoxious voice in her head said.

'He'll never be interested in you. Get your head screwed on straight, and save the world.'

She blinked fully; digesting her own words. She really doesn't have time for this. She should be getting stronger, eliminating future threats. Yet here she is, acting like her old, weak, absolutely innocent and pathetic 12-year old self, when she should be strategizing.

Sasuke blinked also, snapping to attention as his eyes zoomed over to her, as she was staring straight at him. Sakura straightened, her elbows no longer resting on the table, as they stared at each other. She cleared her throat to break the silence.

"So, you said..I'd be training with you from now on. What did you mean?"

"Exactly what I said."

"Well I have my own training to do, not to mention going to the clinic."

"We already decided to take shifts accompanying you so you don't miss out on training. "

"..oh.. well, you wouldn't waste your time with me if you weren't getting something in return, though I have to applaud you for your execution. What do you want?"

Sakura let a hint of Inner slip through in that comment, and Sasuke looked mildly surprised that she'd figured out his ploy.

"You will help me with my chakra control, and I will help you with your physical endurance. You're weak."

She ignored the small stab of pain she felt at that comment, because chakra control is basic not to mention the only thing she's good at, and instead looked out the window, where she could see Kakashi and Inari sitting at the docks. "I know. Your chakra control seems average to me, but you want it perfect, I assume?"

The disgruntled frown she received was answer enough. "Well then, I'm glad I was able to help, Sasuke-kun. She flashed him one of her rare smiles, a delicacy ever since the war, one she was slowly getting used to offering constantly to keep her walls up.

He stared at her impassively before getting up and going upstairs, Tsunami hurriedly picking up his remains. She let her smile drop and awaited the hopefully action-packed events of the day.

She heard loud pattering footsteps coming upstairs and down before a blur of orange engulfed her in a hug, apparently used to her not hitting him anymore. "SAKURA-CHANNNNN! I WAS SO WORRIED ABOUT YOU! BUT YOU'RE HERE NOW! WE HAVE A LONG DAY AHEAD OF US, LETS TRAIN! DID YOU HEAR?! WE'RE GONNA GUARD YOU AT THAT UGLY TENT-" she cut him off by catching him in a light noogie, "Glad to see you too, Naruto."

He gave her a 100-watt grin and scurried over to replace Sasuke's place, and they talked animatedly all morning, mostly Sakura listening and eating her cold porridge as Naruto rambled about this and that, occasionally asking her opinion on something.

'He better grow out of this crush, and fast,'

'Though it's nice to see him act so innocently.'

The image of this blond boy dead at her feet was not one she wished to see again.

Not too soon after, Kakashi walked in, unusually chipper in seeing Sakura. She waved at him timidly, and he returned the gesture casually, taking a seat next to Naruto and giving her his famous eye-smile. "I'm glad you found something to start with."

"Medical Ninjutsu? Yes, I'm rather happy about that, too. I'm finally making progress."

"Did you hear about our plans for today?"

"I did, actually, and I want to thank you for considering my feelings, Kaka-sensei. "

"Maa, all my cute little Genin need to happy, don't they?"

"Is Sasuke-kun ever happy?"

They laughed good naturedly and her teacher ruffled her hair lightly. She yawned minutely and waved a brief goodbye to Naruto, heading upstairs to wash up.

[Restart]

She lightly cursed as her thumb caught on a hook, tearing the skin effortlessly. Blood beaded up around her cut and she quickly placed the curved surgery tool in its appropriate place, plucking bandages from the shelves that were not there before as nurses scurried to re-check all the tools, because that was certainly sharp.

She wrapped her offended appendage quietly, returning to the bedside of the small girl who looked at her curiously when she finished wrapping her arm. With a swift lollipop, Sakura had the girl scurrying out to her mommy, showcasing her treat as the parent looked at her with awe shadowed by gratefulness in her brown eyes.

The pinkette sketched a quick bow as warmth flooded her chest, the familiar feeling of being helpful putting a sweet taste on her tongue as she let in the next patient from the line.

The small tent was upgraded into a slightly larger tent with small complimentary shelves for materials and a makeshift rope to keep the line in order. The beds were regularly fluffed and tools regularly cleaned, not to mention all the new recruits helping the old woman's cause, including her. As an add-on, these useful medics-in training were also getting shinobi help, as she and Memura-San taught them the basics and a bit more advanced things about the average medic's tools of trade.

She washed her hands in the small basin, getting a quick chakra transfer from a bypassing nurse, when she felt her stomach constrict with revulsion.

Her quick reflexes were the only thing that kept her from collapsing on her knees, instead clutching a rail, because the smell was just so bad.

Wafting up her nose, the old, thick blood and prolonged poison attacked her, coupled with the underlying but certainly not too overpowering smell of bile and very infected wounds.

She whipped her head around, pink strands of hair falling out of her tight ponytail, tracking the reason for the disgusting scent.

A large man, who was packing on the pounds was being quickly laid onto a bed, a quick nurse attaching an IV drip into the crook of his elbow as someone else knocked the man out, relying on the nutrients in the bag to keep him alive.

They periodically prepared for an incision, a rather large one, as the Haruno's small form came up the man's bedside, her sharp medical eyes taking in his ailments in quickly and effectively.

'This man, it wasn't a poison,'

'He seems nearly crippled, heavy breathing and I can smell a bacterial gas.'

'Diagnose.'

Sakura places a glowing, newly gloved hand on the man's sweaty chest.

'The same bacteria is running through his bloodstream and packed in his liver and around his heart. So many wounds open he succumbed to ailments. We're dealing with a disease.'

"This man here, he has a disease! Prepare for extensive treatment!"

This was a problem.

She bit her lip as she lost herself in thought.

'I still have training with my team, and I already had to change my schedule to be here. Not to mention this is our first extensive patient and I don't know how long these rookie nurses can take care of this man, and he requires delicate treatment..'

'But we also need to find a way to change the future so Zabuza and Haku can live.'

In other words, she was in too deep.

END OF CHAPTER 7