[Restart]

Yo. Next chapter is coming your way. I am sincerely sorry about that rough ending in the last chapter because dang, my phone was just DYING. Also sorry for the long wait for this one. Constantly logging me out of the app, and I couldn't put a letter down without waiting a hesitant second to see if I'd be logged out! In conclusion, lots of writing and old device issues.

But anyway, I'm back and currently speed-typing like I usually do, so hopefully it will stay this way.

I've decided that after Wave I'll get pen and paper and write a quick timeline of the important and less important events I want happening each day. Not including the finer details, of course.

So anyway, in a nutshell my phone is now fixed, I think, I know what I'm doing, and enjoy the chapter.

[Restart]

The water didn't protest under her form, lightly rippling and convulsing as her feet grounded against its surface, the hue of blue surrounding them preventing it from dipping under.

She felt the heavy liquid crash onto her head, blinding her underneath a curtain of foamy white, not bothering to move from the uncomfortable position.

She halted her breath, choosing when it's safe and she wouldn't be swallowing freshwater as she breathed deeply, calming her nerves.

The water roughly trickled down her exposed abdomen, a never ending sheen of light blue covering it, for now.

Her eyes were closed, her stance relaxed, sitting Indian style on top of the water, underneath the waterfall.

Clear your mind.

The mantra she related over and over again in her head till it was a slight pulsing under her skull as she felt her body absorb the energy around her, the essence of Nature.

It was hard, she'd later admit shamelessly, eyes covered by her bangs, her bangs covered by a dirty towel.

Her breathing became ragged as her control began to falter, her thoughts tiptoeing over to less than savvy topics.

She felt the energy around her freeze with baited breath, wondering when she'll regain her control...before it dispersed apathetically.

She sank under the water, her already heavy form roughly pushed underneath the surface by the rushing blue. Her light pink strands flowed seamlessly under the current as she stayed stock still before the water. Her tears mixed in with the fresh liquid, noticeably lighter before they disappeared into the already light blue abyss.

She was roughly pulled out of the after by her forearm, the stubborn liquid starting to pull her back down, droplets handing on the hem of her shorts before dropping off reluctantly. She regained her footing on the slippery surface and was soon hacking on her knees on top of the water."

"I...can't do it," she whispered quietly. The white haired man before her sighed. She reluctantly looked up at him with her small, sharp forest green orbs, slightly unnerved by his reprimanding stare, made all the worse by the intimidating black sclera of the Reanimation Jutsu.

"Yes, you can. I felt the Nature Chakra gathering around you; I even saw your eyelids turn a bit red. You're getting closer, you can do it."

She began to see red, her Inner absentmindedly wondering if the same would happen if she finally achieved this Jutsu when she pounded her fist onto the water, droplets spraying outward and soaking her thighs. She let out a small cry of frustration.

"I'm not Naruto! I can't achieve Sage Mode! I'm too useless, too weak-minded, too clumsy, too cluttered, and I can't do anything right!"

"Now listen here! You are the apprentice of Tsunade, the 5th Hokage! You are powerful, and this war can't tell you otherwise! You should spend less time berating yourself and spend more time getting ready for your Mission."

Sakura stiffened, and the only sound that could he heard was the waterfall pounding on the surface of the liquid, effectively penetrating its barrier.

The mission. How could she forget?

She stood up, eyes shadowed by her pink hair as she trudged back over to the waterfall, plopping herself down underneath and the water was the only thing she could hear, stinging her eyes and gurgling in her ears.

She assumed position once more, with the tiniest sliver of hope that her eyes would stain red once again.

[Restart]

—Restart—

"you have trust"

[Restart]

She breathed in deeply, trying to keep her cool. Nurses instinctively avoided her, in fear of being yelled at suddenly to do this thing or another.

'Apparently that little boy's case rang throughout the village,'

'Civilians just can't keep their mouths shut.'

She unknowingly got into her 'Serious Thinking Pose': hands clasped in front of her crotch in an upside-down prayer formation, legs spread out shoulder-length, shoulders back, head down, not enough to seem sad, but enough for her bangs to cover her eyes, despite the hitai-ate holding most of it back. Just enough to seem slightly angered, but very afflicted.

She unknowingly let non-threatening killing intent come out in small waves around her, enough to send a chill down the intern medics' spines as she pieced her problem and solution together.

'Let's go over the facts, okay, pinky? This man needs extensive treatment, taking a few days of tireless work to get him back on his feet and a little extra for the road. We won't always be here, having a need to train ourselves and bring our team together before we break apart once more. Not to mention extra BS that never fails to come up at inopportune moments.'

'Do any of the nurses have what it takes?'

'The first set of four we got, oh yeah, and their direct apprentices should be fine, but everyone else who was trained halfway and cut off roughly is a bit iffy, use them for basic tasks.'

'Okay. I'll need to write down a set of rules and paste it somewhere, or just drill it in their minds of how this place will run when I'm not here. Or when I leave back for Konoha, for that matter.'

'For someone on a time-travel mission, you don't think very far ahead.'

She took a deep breath, the air in the tent dropping a few degrees by everyone holding their breath, stilling.

'I'm glad you make such an effect on them,'

"Okay guys!" They jerked, expecting—but really not expecting— her voice to ring out once more. "This man needs extensive treatment! From what I've seen, he's been battling with various illnesses his whole life: high blood pressure, a bacteria I have yet to identify running through his bloodstream, closely packed the areas around his liver and heart! He might have a disease or an ailment causing this to happen. Now listen carefully!"

She took another deep breath, and didn't stop for much air when she spoke next.

"The first set of nurses that were here will be taking shifts throughout the day to take care of this man! I will assign the jobs shortly. The DIRECT apprentices of these four will assist them, and take care of the other tasks for the day. And all rookie nurses will clean the tools and attend to the other patients' trivial injuries! I will set up a schedule till this man is released! Get back to work!"

Their momentary lapse in attention left and they went back to what they were doing, a newfound sense of peace in their minds now that the biggest of their problems are solved.

'Now, where do I keep my chakra paper..?'

She scurried over to her small bag situated on the stool in the corner of the room, and rumbled through it quickly, paper and ink nowhere in sight. The bag was abruptly taken from her and she swiveled around to see Sasuke pulling out a small scroll and ink cartridge.

She gave him a quick smile as thanks, and he replaced her bag while she set her things down on the table close to the stool, preparing to write. "Hey, Sasuke? When you said we'd be training...what time will that be?"

She felt him glance at her as she squeezed three droplets of ink out from her pen. It was currently too expensive to buy sealing ink and brushes so she'd make do with calligraphy.

"Whenever we have time," he answered cryptically but acceptably. "So what you're saying is I can work my schedule around yours? Great? Great." Her pen flew across the page, her mind instinctively creating a doable schedule and shift times and ends for the nurses, adding small but important notes at the side for the rookies to remember.

She carefully ripped off a portion of the scroll paper and roughly stuck it on the sturdy tent wall with a senbon she could risk losing. Or so she thought.

With a quick sigh she began detailing the injuries of the man on a separate roll, leaving plenty space at the bottom for more diagnosis, capping her cartridge with more instructions on how to prepare for calligraphy before she wiped the pen clean.

Setting both of her items down she walked out of the stuffy, crowded tent, pointedly ignoring the love struck female chakra signatures pointed in a certain Uchiha's direction while her back was turned and breathed in the not-as-fresh air.

'We've got some long days ahead of us.'

Sakura gave the nurses quick instructions on how the clinic will operate in her and Memura-San's absence, referencing her rapidly drying scrolls on the wall. After a child's arm and a small sinus blockage, she was out the door, or tent, Sasuke following behind her.

[Restart]

The grass rumpled to accommodate for her new weight as she slowly let herself down on the dirt, circulating healing chakra through her weary bones in preparation for the team training that was yet to come. Naruto was radiating exuberance; sitting next to her, in turn blocking her view of Sasuke, though she was sure his expression would be unreadable.

So the pinkette focused her attention towards her sensei, who was sitting on the same rock in front of Tazuna's house, looking down on the three 'cute little genin' on the floor in front of him. He snapped his book shut and let out a small, resigned sigh.

"Zabuza will only need 6 more days to recover, as will I," he drawled lowly. "I have already taught you all tree-climbing, but from this point forward Sasuke will be the one teaching the two of you, to get to his level. "

Naruto raised a hand and didn't wait to be called on. "What is Sasuke going to be taught?! If he's teaching us then he can't be slacking off!"

Sakura chose to interject here. "From what I've seen, you don't know much of the events of Sasuke's battle. His opponent was very fast, so I think he should train his speed."

Kakashi ruffles her hair good-naturedly, even as his eye shone with 'we'll talk later.' "Great observation, Sakura. Yes, while Sasuke will be instructing you, I will also put a pair of weights on him while he's teaching you two. It should increase his speed."

From the small glimpse she saw, Sasuke looked impassive, if not slightly weary at the thought of training her and Naruto.

'He wasn't lying when he said we were weak,'

'I just didn't notice it too much back then.'

'THIS is 'back then.'

'Now you need to leave.'

She wriggled her sandaled toes impatiently. "When do we start?" Kakashi graced her with an eye-smile. "Right now! Sasuke will decide what you two need to work on first, while I recover. See ya!" He left the trio in a puff of smoke.

Sakura stared at the place her teacher just was before shaking her head quietly and rankling to her feet. She stared at the boy's expectantly, who were staring at her curiously. "So," she started, "What will you have us do first, Sasuke-kun?"

He grunted as Naruto jumped to his feet in anticipation, ambling up only to fix them with a stern glare. " I don't agree with the way Kakashi set this up. So I've adjusted. Dobe."

Naruto jumped and scowled, "you will teach us how to do the Kage Bunshin. Sakura." Her eyes shifted over to his, trying to ignore how the light makes them shine, "You will help us with our chakra control, Naruto specifically. And I will train your stamina."

"Understood!" The pinkette teased, sketching a salute. He grunted once more and began walking over to the middle of the clearing, the Uzumaki and Haruno at his heels.

"I think we should begin with my training first," the aforementioned kunoichi offered. "Learning Kage Bunshin could be really dangerous, and stamina training doesn't do much if you can't put it to use. "

The Uchiha seemed to mull over this before folding. "Fine, tell us what to do."

'Bossing around the bossy one? Never thought I'd see the day.'

'Chock full of sarcasm today, aren't you?'

"Okay! First, we can do some chakra control exercises!" She put her hands on her hips. "Such as the tree-walking exercise, but there is much more, harder ones! Though the first step would be to complete the tree-walking exercise, so get to it!"

Naruto, being as inexhaustible as he is, took off to the nearest tree. The Uchiha took his sweet time. She noted him focusing chakra to his feet, before hesitating and unexpectedly running up the bark without resistance, also noting the surprise on his face at how far up he got before falling.

She dragged her focus over to Naruto, who was doing just as well as Sasuke, as he got her advice, same advice mind you, first.

'It shouldn't take them long to finish.'

'Gauge their skill levels and set them up with different chakra exercises. '

And gauge she did. It seemed like Sasuke had a higher skill level than Naruto, and that wasn't very surprising. Though also equally unsurprising was Naruto's greater stamina and endurance, though Sasuke could still hit harder.

She decided what to set each of them up with as they reached the top of the trees respectively. This ended up escalating into a glare-match, having been nose to nose. She clapped her hands, getting their attention as she peered up at them with pride.

"Come on down, I have your next exercises!"

She waited as they ran down the trees, and soon they were standing over her expectantly. "Okay, Naruto, come here. Both of your exercises are different."

He followed after her eagerly while Sasuke started some simple katas while waiting. "Okay, look carefully Naruto." She plucked a leaf from a overhead branch and held it up to his face. The blonde's eyes locked onto the leaf intently. She had to stifle a giggle.

She carefully brought the leaf up off her index finger, letting it float midair above her finger, twirling slightly. Recognition flashed in his eyes before irritation settled in snugly. "Aw, come on! We did this in the Academy! Why am I doing it again!"

She rapped her knuckles on his head lightly to quiet him before explaining. "From what I've seen in the Academy, your chakra control is hideous. You didn't get this exercise right, unlike I and Sasuke-kun, so you must do this before anything else."

She showed him the exercise once more, leading him through it patiently as he mimicked it, disgruntled. "You let your chakra lightly coat your finger, and the leaf will repel from your finger. You push it higher and higher by letting your chakra slip out of your finger to touch the leaf at a steady stream, keeping it at a distance. "

She saw the light sheen on his tanned finger indicating he at least got the first part right, and as the leaf slowly pushed off from the confines of his index..

A bullet of chakra abruptly shot off of his finger, impaling the leaf as it fell to the ground, dead.

"That.." she started, nearly speechless, "was actually pretty cool. But that's not our goal here. Have you seen what water looks like when something is dropped inside?"

He vigorously shook his head yes. "Imagine your chakra being like those bubbles that foam up on the sides; slow, relaxed, pushing lightly at the object in the water, trying to get it to leave. Think like that."

He nodded his head, slowly this time, since he could envision it now.

'Though I'm not sure which part of the Fox is slow and relaxed. Trying to get it to leave sure, but pushing lightly?'

'I see your point, but Naruto will overcome the Fox, just give him time.'

Sakura left him to his work, not that he noticed he was so absorbed, and strutted towards Sasuke, who was fiddling with his pouch absentmindedly. She stomped loudly to get his attention and his bag was back on his upper hip.

"Okay, sorry for the wait, Sasuke-kun, Naruto didn't quite understand my teachings."

He scoffed. "Didn't expect him to, the dobe.'

She bit her tongue, refraining from commenting on his insult. Instead she diverted his attention to her chakra workout.

"Okay, let me show you your own exercise. It's slightly dangerous." She backhanded her own pouch, feeling around inside for a small piece of metal. Finding none, she remembered the last time she really thought about her weapons was during her fight with Haku. Maybe that senbon back at the tent wasn't so 'disposable' after all.

With an irritated sigh she unlocked her pouch, holding it her hands to search for something. Her hand brushed against cold metal, and she undid the flap of cloth hiding her new daggers on a hook where no one would notice. And no one did, not even her.

'I honestly forgot about these.'

'That's not new.'

With a mental shrug she took them off the hook and let them dangle in her fingers while she strapped her now completely empty kunai pouch back on.

"You should keep weapons on you at all times," she heard Sasuke lightly reprimand. She snorted at her misfortune. "I know, right..I don't know where my weapons are..anyway." She took both the daggers in her hands and lunged them at him to show their use in her presentation. She talked as she worked to attach the dagger onto her upper arm.

"I was originally going to do this on the palm of my hand, but you know. My shuriken are long gone." She let her hand keep it in place. "Okay, so imagine you've got a shuriken on your palm. Attach it there with chakra. It's harder then it looks." Her hand let go of the premium knife. "I don't have much chakra so it's much easier for me. If you add too much chakra,"

She made a show of letting the dagger sink into her skin, blood beading up at the edges of the sharpened parts, "The shuriken will sink into your palm," she said with a slight wince. "Too little chakra," she showed him the dagger slowly receding away from her flesh but abruptly falling off, "the shuriken will fall off. "

She snatched up the knife with one swift movement. "For now, you should put the shuriken flat against your palm, and when you master that, you can let it hang from one of the edges. " She stared at the knife quizzically as he pulled out a shuriken before dropping it in her pouch with a sigh.

She walked over to the Uchiha, who was now sitting under a tree's shade, when he suddenly winced and let the shuriken drop. Not that the wince was very noticeable, of course. She crouched in front of him, for once letting her irritating strands of hair get in her face.

She pointed to her hand which suddenly took on a dull shine. "Is usually cover my hands in a thin layer of chakra to avoid the pain being too much."

He gave her a hard stare. "So you do this daily?" The silence suddenly wasn't so comfortable, it was tense with an awaited answer.

In all her years, Sakura never found fibbing as hard as it was in that moment. At the same time her insides turned to ice a warmth erupted in her chest before her stomach constricted.

She rubbed the back of her neck in a placating manner, her war-hardened instincts taking over. "Well, I've always tried to train. I didn't have anyone to help me, being civilian and all, so..there was only so much I could do.."

She prayed to God that he'd believe her excuse, and realized her prayers were answered when he gave her an appraising glance, as if seeing her in a new light, before he turned back to his training. She gave him a quick grin before twisting on her heels. "You're training is tomorrow!" She threw over her shoulder at him. The pinkette's answer was a loud grunt, but that was more than enough for her. She thought she heard a small, "see you tonight," but she was probably imagining things.

[Restart]

Her feet made a soft padding sound as she climbed up the stairs wearily. Twisting and turning her chakra like that in her weak form was devastating to her pathetic stamina.

She soon reached the top of the creaky steps, taking a sharp left turn into the room all three of the Konoha Genin were assigned. Her hand lingered on the doorframe as she walked in, qipao flowing quietly behind her.

She put herself in the corner of the room, where shadows covered her petite form, and adjusted into an Indian sitting position. Legs crossed, arms lax in her lap, shoulders back, eyes closed.

'Ah, meditation,'

She coiled her chakra inside of her, packing it into a tight ball at her core, feeling it wriggle and rebel, before nitpicking at it and putting it back where it belongs. She packed it tighter and tighter, and as she did she felt...something else emerge from her body, something powerful.

With a swift movement she released her hold on her chakra and it erupted through her system as it was supposed to, ransacking her chakra coils as it filled up her body quickly before overflowing like a clogged pipe.

In a practiced movement she immediately let her chakra circulate through her, calming it. She could feel the excess chakra explode through her orifices before halting at her command, wafting from her nose, her eye ducts and lids, her mouth, her ears. It tasted like guarded secrets. It felt like a dull, numbed and familiar pain.

Without even knowing it, she reflexively channeled her chakra into her forever nonexistent Yin Seal storage, as she had been doing for years. She let it flow like veins up to her forehead, and she felt something...break.

It was tiny, almost imperceptibly small, but not small enough for her not to notice. There was a crack in the coils around her core, and she felt chakra seep through that crack, flowing immediately up to her forehead.

'Outer, stop that!'

Sakura's eyes snapped open, greener than ever, almost glowing and she halted all movement of chakra in her system.

'What..was that?'

'The better question is, what exactly happened to our Yin Seal when we traveled through time?'

She sat in shocked silence, quietly fixing her chakra coils with internal Medical Ninjutsu as she thought over this new development. The pinkette could feel a separate source of chakra inside of her, gathered at the middle of her forehead and underneath her navel. Her core.

And with closer inspection, it was the exact amount she had remembered having before time traveling, if not more. A few days' more.

Had she been doing this unconsciously?

"If I use my chakra," she breathed, "will I be adding to my Yin Seal? Will it show up? Did it malfunction?" She never wanted a brain scan more than she did right now.

With belated realization, she knew she couldn't warp her forehead with bandages; the nurses will ask and with her seal glitching as it is now, it could mysteriously pop up anywhere, at any time. But she also couldn't put on a light genjutsu, the Sharingan would see through it immediately and that would warrant some unwanted questions from Kakashi.

The only thing she can do now is keep a tight rein on her chakra, and stop mediating. Things are getting out of hand very quickly.

But why is it at her core, too? Unless..

'It's the space-time continuum, isn't it?'

'It is.'

It's already a known fact that fuuinjutsu travels through space-time Ninjutsu, which means it also travels through the space time continuum. With all the different seals that can be made Sakura isn't surprised that storage seals are unaffected even when traveling through time. Heck, the space-time continuum and fuuinjutsu is why she's screwing with past events in the first place.

The space-time continuum and her seal must have merged somehow because after one admittedly pathetic meditation ceremony, she has two Yin Seal storages at the same level. Nearly full.

'Now I understand why Jiraiya-Sama made me a Seal Master in preparation for my mission.'

'Hey, include me, too!'

'Maybe I can gradually transfer all my forehead storage to my navel? Meditation and chakra control can do that, right?'

'Yes, if I-or we, remember correctly. Now I'm wondering just how much of what we achieved in the future has come back to us in the past..'

'That thought...actually scares me. It will take a while to transfer a nearly full Yin Seal storage all to a newer, equally almost-full Yin Seal storage. But it's worth it if my cover isn't blown.'

"But now that I have the Yin Seal nearly ready at twice it's normal level..sealing Black Zetsu and Orochimaru doesn't seem so far off." Sh mumbled quietly as she slowly relaxed out of her position, bringing her legs up to her chest in the dark corner.

"How much am I now capable of...?"

[Restart]

Sakura's eyes opened impassively, waking from her thankfully dreamless sleep by the ring of her internal clock.

'These things never fail to come and bite us in the butt. Come ON, it's like 5AM!'

'We're shinobi, stop complaining.'

As usual she was too weary to even attempt to comment hotly this early as she pulled herself up on her futon, letting emerald eyes adjust to the darkness in the room. She sent her chakra out in a small wave, picking up three civilian chakras and Kakashi and Naruto in the house. She felt Sasuke outside.

'So this was the training he was talking about. If only he told me these things directly.'

She put a hand to her mouth and breathed, satisfied to note that her breath was still..relatively fine as she threw on some cotton shorts and a light tank. With a quick stretch she slipped on her sandals and leaped out the door, augmenting her fall with chakra as she landed on one knee, bangs covering her eyes.

She peeled through the pink waterfalls to see a certain Uchiha staring impassively down at her, a bit of pride in his eyes, though she focused in on the telltale signs of sleep deprivation there instead.

'Seems like he just got up, too.'

She got up silently off the grass and stared at him, his bangs flowing around his face gracefully, she had to physically stop herself from smiling. "You said we'd be training.." she started slowly. "What...are we going to do?"

He stared at her as if she was an idiot. "We're going to train your physical body. You're weak."

She rubbed the nonexistent sleep out of her eyes. "Oh, okay...um, did you finish the exercise?" She couldn't help the apprehension she felt when alone with him in the dark, not after everything he's put her through.

"Hn." He pulled out a shuriken and stuck it to his palm on its edge without any theatrics. Waving his hand around as if she were brain dead he let the shuriken drop. Sakura perked up, ready to teach him a new technique. It seems he's been practicing all day.

After telling him her plan she ran ahead of him into a ray of moonlight, turning slightly so he was still in her vision as she ran ahead blindly, untamed pink locks flowing with her movement like water. He jogged to catch up with her and she set her things down on the ground for more freedom of movement.

She made a move to start something before pausing, her cheeks turning a light pink in slight embarrassment. She let her face return to its natural color before turning toward him sheepishly. He stared at her impassively. "Would you mind coming with me to the docks, actually?" He made a move with his shoulders that she will now note is a shrug before walking ahead of her, as he always has been.

She watched for a second before following after him quietly, a bit lost in her negative thoughts.

She was pulled out by the slight rippling sound she knew came from water as she looked down to see they were at the docks. She plopped herself down on the edge, legs swinging wildly over it and Sasuke joined her quietly.

"Okay, so what I'm about to show you is just theory; I've been doing it for a while and I'm not sure if this is the correct way to teach you, but this was how I learned. I'm gonna show you how to walk on water." She mumbled quietly, a niggle in the back of her head telling her this was not the time to raise her voice.

The Uchiha visibly straightened. "Like Kakashi-sensei was doing?" She turned to face him, lips parted. "Kakashi-sensei walked on water?" She asked incredulously. He shook his head, as if remembering something. "You weren't there. Get on with it."

She unceremoniously slid off the dock's edge, still propped up on it but her feet were flirting with the cold liquid. "So what I'm doing here is sending chakra to my feet like the tree walking exercise, but instead of keeping it packed solid it's a light layer, and I'm sending it out in waves from the balls of my feet, allowing it to adjust to the water's small waves."

She fully let go of the wood, now standing on top of the water. The small ripples coming outward from her feet were apparent now that she was putting her full weight on it. "This is still trial and error for me, and I'm not sure if this method will work for you, but I wanted to be of some help, since you're devoting so much time to me." The pinkette murmured.

The water swerved under her feet, being the only light in the darkness they were shrouded in. It was giving off an ethereal light blue glow, sending away the black. With the neon fish sprinting under her toes Inner Sakura couldn't help but feel the scene was like a fantasy.

'Ah, you're making me blush,'

'A goddess, floating atop the holy water, candyfloss hair coating her from all sides, hovering in its own right, and the dark knight, reaching out a hand to steady her, black bangs flowing shamelessly around his pale face, onyx orbs twinkling, the only sound heard was the rustle of liquid and the only thing seen was blue-SHOOT WE'RE UNDER!'

Sakura was staring into the bottomless pits of black one second, and inhaling water the next, thrashing under its condescending grip. She stilled for a second, strands of hair framing her heart shaped face before she was roughly pulled out by the forearm, a familiar scene, her Inner supplied, dropped onto the deck coughing harshly.

"What happened to you?" She heard a voice—Sasuke, she remembered—heatedly reprimand her. "I-I got distracted, so sorry." She coughed under her breath before sitting up slowly, hunched over the docks edge with her wet pink hair slapping her face irritably.

She snuck a peek toward her crush to see he was also dripping wet, glaring at her. "Did you fall?"

'You pulled me down."

"Did I? I am so, so sorry."

'Hmph, can't keep things cliche for a second, can you?'

"Not happening again, not happening again." Sakura assured him, pushing herself farther back on the dock to prove her point, a water puddle following after her. "So..how well did you do?" She asked awkwardly. The Haruno couldn't help but admit, she really ruined the moment there. But. There was no moment, she assured herself.

"Hn. I was slipping, but I think I've got it figured out."

"I didn't get to finish earlier..ahem, you seem like a distracted learner. We can spar on the water if you'd like."

"That will have to do. You're still weak."

"Well, that's what we're here for, isn't it?"

She didn't mean to sound a bit mad in that statement, because really she was just frustrated and cold, but Sasuke grunted and slid off the edge of the dock, right onto the water where he held strong. Wasn't called a prodigy for nothing. Sakura grinned and followed after his lead, racing to the middle of the glowing lake.

And they sparred. And sparred. And sparred. Sakura lost herself in the flurry of movements, her smile imprinted on her face with each punch, each kick, each roll and each flip. And even Sasuke was smirking. Not only did they train their control but they got familiar with each other's fighting styles. Little by little, Sasuke was coaxing her out of her mask, out her Academy style and back into the one she'd perfected herself. The one she was comfortable with.

And she knew he could tell the difference.

He tried to get her with a perfectly executed sweep kick, his foot skidding across the water's surface cleanly. Sakura jumped over it flawlessly and aimed for his left bicep, where she caught an opening in his guard. What was unexpected was for him to grab her fisted, rigid arm, and throw her over his shoulder.

She shook off the surprise and used her free hand to latch onto his shoulder, keeping her in place. Instead of rolling across the water she flew over his shoulder, in between his legs, and right in his guard.

Just as she was about to get him with a palm strike to the chest, which was NOT in the Academy curriculum, he suddenly towered over her, before she was flying through the air for a split second and stopped suddenly, jolting her bones. Before she could even blink they were hidden in a tree, her knees pressed against her chest, the raven's chest pressed to her face, his palm pressed to her mouth, his knees pressed to her hips, effectively locking her in. Inner weakly protested, feeling her fangirl self flame.

'I yield.'

'I yield.'

Her face turned a bright red, mind plowing through erotic thoughts before she could take a staggering breath. Her heart exploded in her chest, she could feel the blood rushing to her face as she was getting lightheaded.

But that was before she heard a little whisper. "Gato-Sama sure has this all planned out.." her cool facade returned as she strained to hear what they were saying, internally facepalming before augmenting her hearing with chakra.

In the corner of her eye she could see two large figures at the docks, apparently laughing and telling stories. Was this why Sasuke put them here?

"Augh! That Zabuza...thinking he 'get away with anythin, just 'cause he be strong.." The larger man suddenly barked out laughter, Reminding her of a chainsaw. "Well, we'll dispose of him in a weeks time at that bridge...he won' even see it comin', the fool! Wahahahaa!"

Her eyes widened. Did this happen last time? Can she save Zabuza and Haku this way?

The smaller man suddenly giggled, as if he were too small to be of raucous laughter like the larger man. "That pesky bridge-builder..we'll get rid of him, too, and pjust like we got rid of everythin' else. Then he suddenly paused, as if forgetting something. "Hey, man, what's the way to the hideout again?"

The older man sighed as if he were a parent. "Come on. Opposite side of the lake from 'ere, through the thick part of the trees. Jus cuz' yer new don't mean you get off easily like this all the time,"

He exploded into laughter once more was he backhanded his friend into the lake, strutting off with his grunt following behind.

Sasuke's fingers were digging into her skin and he was pressing her harder and harder into the bark, she could feel it quietly splinter underneath the pressure. The only reason she was controlling her maybe-flaming face so well was because he might look down soon now that they've left.

She tried to keep her focus on the prospect that she might be able to save their enemies, but Sasuke pushes her harder into the tree as her twelve year old body hormones kicked in, and she gripped her ankles harshly to stop from crying out with..victory? Woah, what the?

'Sorry, your twelve year old self is coming back to me.'

So instead the pinkette focused on clearing her mind, closing her eyes and steadying her breathing, so she won't embarrass herself in this situation.

But she was cold, and this shared body heat was very appealing..

She locked her ankles in a death grip as she felt Sasuke's chest rumble with warped words on her cheeks as he pushed off from her.

Her head snapped up fervently as he apologized quietly, clearly not paying attention. She soon got herself in order and was able to look back down only to see Sasuke's bangs covering his eyes and his cheeks tinged a light pink. He was wet, but not soaking wet and with Inners comments she wished he wasn't so cold so she could see a darker color.

A shudder involuntary racked through her and her teeth started chattering. Sasuke abruptly looked up at her before turning away and hopping off the branch, also slightly shivering. She followed suit soon after.

So there they were, standing awkwardly in the moonlight, freezing cold, but full of information.

"...let's get inside, shall we, Sasuke-kun?"

"...Sure..."

END OF CHAPTER 8

What up, guys, sorry for the wait, I had a bunch of stuff to do during the week and I'm still not finished with all my jobs. I'm going to have to do the rest tomorrow. Anyway I'm tired so you better have enjoyed that. Plot is starting soon. Yay. So tired... hope you enjoyed! Leave a like, leave a comment, leave a review, or just leave. I need sleep.