Sakura couldn't remember the last time she slept properly. Both the medic and the soldier in her were at war. One stressed the importance of resting, the other insisted saving the future should come first. Against her better judgement, the latter won. Pulling all-nighters could go either way. If her hard work paid off, she was a genius. If it didn't and caused her more harm than good...

She shook her head stubbornly. This isn't about me. She had the past entirely dedicated to her. But no longer. Enough was enough. This is about Konoha.

The scrolls scattered across her carpet were now two of her most valuable possessions. Slender fingers touched the paper, grazing the letters. A lifetime worth of memories, all written down. One was hers to keep and pull out whenever the situation called for it. The second one was a safety measure. Granted how many dangers she'd be subjected to from now on, the number of risks she'd be taking, Sakura had deemed it necessary to make a copy of the original. Because if she dropped dead one day, all would have been in vain. She needed someone to continue what she started. It wasn't pleasant to think of but few things were in her line of work. The pink-haired girl sighed and rolled the scrolls. One of them would be staying inside her kunai pouch. The other she would give away.

After weeks of unnecessary D-rank missions, Naruto had declared Team 7 ready for greater hardships. Blunt as ever but certainly more level-headed than his past counterpart. His refusal to accept anything 'less than cool' however, had been like a wake-up call to Sakura. That was what she couldn't remember. The Mission to Wave Country was a blur, a series of incoherent flashes that made little to no sense. She could do nothing but go with the flow. Having packed her belongings for tomorrow's trip, there was only one thing that needed to be taken care of now.

Konoha's paved streets were crowded, as per usual. She was no chakra-sensor but something felt amiss. It wouldn't be the first time she got the sensation of being followed. It could be PSTD at fault or something else entirely. Either way, Sakura didn't let herself get side-tracked and kept walking at a normal pace. If someone was indeed on her tail, it'd be wise not to show she had figured it out.

The moment Shikamaru opened his front door and saw her, he suggested they sit on the porch and play some shogi. Sakura had politely declined and insisted they go inside the house but she did it by using Konoha' Secret Code. The Nara heir yawned and mumbled something about how his mother made some dango. Once they were behind the safety of the clan's walls, he remarked dryly:

"Genin aren't supposed to know the code."

Sakura gave him a pointed look.

He rose his hands up in mock surrender. "Fine, what's fair is fair. If I could get my dad to teach me, so could you." his eyes narrowed. "What is it Sakura?" The 'in what troublesome mess have you gotten yourself into?' remained unspoken.

She sighed and pinched the bridge of her nose. "I don't know why someone would follow me, alright? I'm not sure there even is someone but it's better to be safe than sorry."

Shikamaru reluctantly nodded then pulled out two chairs for them to sit. With that, he agreed. "Speak your mind."

Sakura tentatively pulled out the scroll and handed it over. "I'm leaving Konoha tomorrow and since you know better than anyone how unpredictable life is, I need to make sure this is well cared for, should something..."

"I suppose the mission it's a C-rank." he cut her off knowingly as he studied the tiny scroll. "You ought to stop worrying so much then. Kakashi-sensei is a skilled jonin, Sasuke is rookie of the year and Naruto...well the baka is too troublesome to go down easily." he paused before he added. "You are no pushover either." he pushed the scroll away.

Sakura's eyes softened. "Thank you but this is the first mission of many to come. I want you to keep it but don't open it. Unless I die." she pushed the scroll back in his hands. The time traveller could already see the wheels in Shikamaru's head spinning but instead of asking why him, why not somebody else, he replied:

"Let's be hypothetical for a second. Say you die and I open the scroll. What if I die afterwards?" he demanded. "Or what if I die before you do?"

Sakura opened her mouth then closed it. She hadn't thought of that. Leave it to Shikamaru to see holes and flaws inside her plan. She considered what he said. "There are two identical scrolls. The twin is inside my kunai pouch. After I die, it's important that you get your hands on it and pass it on to someone else, someone you trust. If you die before me, I will take the scroll from you and do the same."

Shikamaru was silent for a few moments. "We better seal them. That way, if the wrong person gets his hands on them, they'd be useless. I know only basic seals that any genin with half a brain would break." he leaned his chin into the palm of his hand. "We can, however, design personal seals, add a little trick."

Sakura knew then she had come to the right person. "Like a riddle?"

He chuckled. "Or a puzzle. Any clever game will do as long as it contains stuff only the closest to us know of."

She hummed in agreement. "That way, even if they have the mental capacity to solve it, they'd still lack the most important piece."

"Exactly." Shikamaru paused. He rested his chin on his hand. "This is gonna be such a drag." he groaned.

"And yet you still agree to help me." she stated in disbelief.

"Refusing would go against everything Iruka-sensei has struggled to teach us."

Sakura didn't have anything to say to that.

.

.

Lee was confused as to why she sought him out at night. They usually trained at dawn. Nothing got the blood in her veins running better than a taijutsu spar with a worthy opponent however and he was more than happy to oblige.

"For how long will you be staying there?" he asked as he ducked out of the way. Sakura had more raw strength but Lee was faster. Her chakra infused punches were something to avoid. He learned that the hard way when they first sparred together. Lee never held back again.

"Until the bridge gets build. Two weeks at most, I think." She still had a long way to go in terms of speed but she trusted herself and she trusted Lee. His fierce determination to be better than yesterday proved to be inspirational. "How was your first C-rank mission?"

He would have swiped a foot under her if Sakura hadn't foreseen it and aimed for his head. He smiled but it didn't reach his eyes. "It was easy but that's only because we didn't encounter any complications. We weren't much of a team...at the beginning." he confessed. "Neji didn't see me as a rival and though he tolerated Tenten, he didn't trust her any more than he trusted me. That changed after we had our second C-ranked mission. It shifted into a B-rank and because no one, not even Guy-sensei knew of The Byakugan's blind spot, both Neji and our client could have lost their lives that day."

Somewhere in the middle of Lee' story, he had completely stopped fighting and Sakura had wordlessly agreed with his decision. It was obvious this meant a lot to him. "What happened next?" she inquired gently.

Lee made himself busy by replacing the bandages wrapped around his arms. They had that in common. Whenever something was eating at her, Sakura couldn't stand still either. "We pulled through in the end and Neji agreed to tell, but only to one of us. Ever since, Tenten has his back during battle and I have hers." He looked up at her when he finished. "Trust between teammates shouldn't be postponed until a life-threatening situation occurs. I sincerely hope you won't get to experience what we did, Sakura-san."

We already have, Lee. She thought but didn't say. It happened a lifetime ago and yet she could still vividly recall Naruto getting tossed around like a rag doll and Sasuke shaking with fear. Orochimaru had been both the beginning and the end of their bond. Her fingers reached out, touching the ends of her short pink hair. Sakura never forgot how desperation feels like. You are weak, pitifully so. Useless little girl. Do something. Fight. Get up. Keep going but whatever you do, don't let the Sound Team get to them.

Lee, an outsider, their foe, had fought for Team 7, for her that day. He did it regardless of what they were and of where his loyalties lay. Sakura didn't doubt that he'd do it again. This time he won't have to. She placed a hand on his shoulder. "Thank you."

He gave her a confused look, his ridiculous bushy eyebrows arched. "What for?"

She shrugged. "Being you." She had a feeling he wasn't told that enough. Lee nearly blinded her with his smile but Sakura only laughed...and excused herself the moment his speeches about the power of youth reached a certain degree of intensity.

The nagging feeling at the back of her neck that she was being watched didn't go away.

.

.

Team 7's journey to the Land of Waves was almost uneventful.

Almost.

Whenever her teammates were concerned, trouble followed. It was a given. The fight against Zabuza of the Hidden Mist caused adrenaline to rush through her veins and Sakura realized that she had missed it. The thrill only the probability of death could bring, the action, all of it.

It took every ounce of self-control she had to stop herself several times, however. She had to remember that a twelve-year-old shouldn't know or do certain things. Despite her best efforts, the way Kakashi observed her sometimes was a statement to how keen his eyes were and just how hard it was to conceal parts of herself that shouldn't yet exist.

After defeating Zabuza, a hunter-nin perched atop a tree branch shot multiple senbon and took down the latter. Sakura grabbed her forehead when a flashback hit her. She shook her head when the Copy Cat ninja said that the foe died.

"Thank you very much." the stranger bowed his head. "I was looking for a chance to kill Zabuza."

Something isn't right.

The pink-haired girl left the boys' side and approached the body. Instead of checking the pulse, something that could be influenced with the right knowledge, Sakura observed the spots where the needles pierced Zabuza' skin. No vital organs were hit. Logistics made it clear that at least one of them should have been deadly...unless the aim was to fake death, and not cause it.

Play dumb.

"I suppose using one more senbon, just to be sure..." she trailed off as she pulled out one from her kunai pouch.

The hunter-nin's reaction was immediate. He threw a senbon with enough accuracy that it knocked down the one she had been holding.

"Impressive. I look forward to our battle." he commented before he picked up Zabuza and disappeared.

"Oi, get back here you freak! We kicked his butt. Don't think we can't kick yours too." Naruto screamed at thin air, fuming. He whirled around to face Sasuke. "Back me up teme."

The Uchiha heir inclined his head towards their sensei. "Kakashi is tired and if what we saw now is any indication, that boy might be even more skilled than Zabuza."

Sakura nodded, although letting the enemy get away was something she also despised. "Sasuke is right. We must rest first. Our priority is to keep Tazuna-san safe, not endanger him further."

Naruto got that but just because he understood where they were coming from, that didn't mean he liked it. "Fine." he squeezed the water out of his black t-shirt before his concerned gaze fell onto Kakashi. "Are you alright, sensei?"

He waved a hand in a dismissive manner while the other was already glued to his infamous book. "Hai, hai. It's nice to see you worry about your old-sensei but I fought in The Third Shinobi War. During such times, nobody asked me whether I was tired or..."

"We are not at war now." Sasuke felt the need to point out.

Sakura willed her hands to glow green only for them to do so, then flicker and turn back to normal after a few seconds. She bit the inside of her cheek, frustrated. If only I had the chakra of my seventeen-year-old self. The one she had now was pitifully small and the fight took and used it almost entirely. A tiny part remained but she promised herself not to tap into it. The Byakugou seal needed time. "I'm sorry."

Naruto came from behind and wrapped an arm around her shoulders. Once upon a time, him intruding upon her personal space would have resulted in a smack. Now Sakura merely accepted the gesture for what it was, an attempt to comfort her. "Don't sweat it. My injures have already started to heal, Sasuke has barely gotten a scratch and no force in the Elemental Nations is powerful enough to make Kakashi-sensei drop his porn."

The last remark caused a laugh to erupt from the back of her throat and Sasuke to swallow what sounded like the beginning of a chuckle. "Tch, dobe."

Naruto got a smack upside the head, but it wasn't from her.

"In a few years, you will learn to appreciate my choice of reading material." Kakashi commented in a neutral tone but his visible eye crinkled in amusement all the same.

Tazuna, for his part, was just plain confused. "It took danger to make your team play nice? All the brats did on the road was cause me a headache with their arguing."

Let it not be said that Hatake Kakashi didn't defend his students. "If it weren't for those brats, as you put it, I wouldn't have escaped Zabuza's water prison and you might have not been alive to witness how precious my students look when they do get along."

Naruto instantly brightened. "You tell him Kakashi-sensei." he exclaimed.

Sasuke not so subtly elbowed the blond in the ribs. Yet it was clear he didn't take praise lightly either. Afterwards his gaze shifted onto Sakura, who looked to be deep in thought.

"You saw through the hunter-nin's trick." he stated.

Torn apart from her musings, Sakura narrowed her eyebrows at him. "I did. What's your point?"

"Kakashi didn't."

"He pretended not to. Isn't that right, sensei?" she asked.

Their sensei gazed from Tazuna to them. "That's right, Sakura. Everyone who requests to join the ANBU Black Ops must have a better than average knowledge of the human body." he paused. "Though it speaks volumes that you figured it out."

Years later and being under her sensei' scrutinizing gaze still made her feel uncomfortable. "During the bell test, I used senbon. It's better to learn exactly which parts should be targeted than to fire blindly."

The kunoichi knew the jonin would believe her as his mind was too logic-oriented not to. Would he stop being suspicious? She doubted it. He wouldn't be Kakashi-sensei if he did. He patted her head. "My favourite student."

Naruto's ears perked up at that. "Eh?"

Sasuke's did, too. "What's that supposed to mean?"

Sakura stuck out her tongue at them.

The Uchiha scoffed. "That's a very mature reaction from your favourite student."

"Actually, if Kakashi-sensei's books are to be..."

"Naruto!" the female member of Team 7 scolded him.

Said boy rose his hands in a placate gesture. "What?"

Sasuke mumbled something under his breath that sounded suspiciously familiar to "hopeless."

Naruto glared. "Teme."

"Usuratonkachi."

"Jerk."

"Dead last."

Sakura put her head in her hands. "How do you still have the energy?" she moaned in disbelief.

Tazuna took off his hat and used it as a fan. "That's what I'm wondering too girlie."

One of her eyes twitched. "Excuse you?"

Kakashi chose that moment to step in. "Alright team, we get going."

When nobody moved or stopped, he snapped his book shut and added in a dangerously calm tone. "Now."

Nevertheless to say, they all listened and did as told.

.

.

The Land of Waves was significantly less populated than Konoha. According to Tazuna, many people left in search for a better life since Gato, a tyrant, took the reins and every business or trade happened only with his approval. Sakura visibly saddened every time she walked the streets and observed the villagers.

"Kakashi-sensei, isn't there anything we can do for them?" she asked.

The son of The White Fang didn't sugar-coat the truth.

"I'm afraid not, Sakura. We are shinobi. Economy isn't our area of expertise."

Much to their surprise, Sasuke spoke-up. "Once the bridge gets finished, the economy should thrive again."

Naruto jumped in, optimistic as ever. "If we protect Tazuna, he builds the bridge and if the bridge is complete, then everything gets back to normal." he paused, grinning. "We are already helping, Sakura-chan."

"That's what I said, dobe."

"Two reassurances are better than one, teme."

Two days of rest was all it took for Team 7 to get back on their feet, stronger and even more determined to see their first A-rank through. Kakashi stressed the importance of training whenever they could so, they went in the woods behind Tazuna's house.

Since the pink-haired girl already had water walking mastered down to an art, she focused on developing her healing. She had to be restless if she wanted to achieve in a few months what last time had occurred in three years. Naruto and Sasuke caught fish for her to practice on since they spent most of their time under the stream than on top of it. Their unwillingness to give-up was something their past counterparts had possessed as well. The difference was how they went about it. Maturely. Something that couldn't have been used to describe either genin back then. Not when it came to compete with one another, no.

"Granted how often you fell under, I wouldn't be surprised if the fish dedicate a fan club to you." Naruto held his stomach as he laughed.

Soon after he said that, his chakra flow wavered and he followed in his teammate's footsteps.

Sasuke smirked, smug. "You were saying?"

I take back what I said about these two ever being something other than childish. Her eyes softened. This was really happening. She had a second chance to save the future, to shield them. Sakura didn't know if this made her believe in Kami but it definitely made her believe in something.

Glancing away from the two, she focused her attention on the jonin whose back was leaned against a tree. The posture he had hinted at total disinterest. She knew better than to label that aloof act of his as anything but an act though. He supervised their progress and looked out for danger at the same time.

"If you have something on your mind Sakura, speak freely."

Situations like these made her wonder whether Kakashi-sensei could read minds.

"Ano...during the fight with Zabuza, you used the Sharingan. I imagine it takes up a lot of chakra. That day I was too tired to do it but now I'm not so..." she briefly hesitated. "Can I check your eye?"

His future version trusted no one but her and Tsunade-sama and even then, it was only under threat of burning his books. She never got to find out what was the deal with her sensei and hospitals or medic-nin in general. Sakura wondered if she ever will.

"Go ahead."

Great, now I have to build up a good argum—wait, what?

She blinked, dumb-smacked.

"Eh? Are you sure, Kakashi-sensei? I mean, the eyes are one of the most sensible parts of the human body and a check-up can be uncomfortable..."

By the time she realized she was ranting, the jonin had already grasped his hitai-ate to reveal Obito's eye.

"Yes, I'm sure." he said before he casually added. "Unless you happen to be a spy who plans to stab and steal the Sharingan in which case we are going to have a long discussion about morals and ethics at Ibiki Morino's workplace." Kakashi paused then kept going as if he was talking about the weather. "You do know who Ibiki Morino is, don't you, Sakura?"

How could she not? All ninja who valued their sanity knew of the man and had heard the stories. The fact that her first round of the Chunin Exams entailed passing his test spoke of just how badly messed-up the organization team was. At the top of the pyramid stood no one else but the Hokage, of course.

It's water under the bridge now. She thought and felt herself starting to sweat.

"I do." she answered simply and hoped that would be the end of it.

Whether Kakashi had deemed her innocent or he merely wished to prolong her agony, it didn't matter. At some point she'd let something slip; something that couldn't be taken back or be explained.

"You may proceed then." he eye-smiled at her and for now, that was enough to calm Sakura.

Partially.

Lambs are treated nicely before being butchered too, Outer. Her hands glowed green. Shut-up, Inner. I need to focus.

Fine, do your job. Meanwhile I will think of which kind of wood should we choose for our coffin. In case there will be something left to bury after Kakashi is done with us, anyway.

Inner. Sakura lamented.

When there was no response, she took the silence as her cue to examine the Sharingan. She could only practice on fish for so long. Unlike the Uchiha who could activate and deactivate their doujutsu at will, the Copy Cat had no such luxury. In all seriousness, the eye should have killed him long ago.

During her studies with Tsunade, she remembers asking how come Kakashi was still alive. Her mentor had lowered her sake and said. "Let's find out." then she left the room and returned a few minutes later with two medical files. "Before I left Konoha, there was an incident. Two of our shinobi were captured by Kumo-nin. One liked to think of himself as a scientist. The question was: Could a kekkei genkai get used to someone who didn't carry the gene? They didn't want to risk murdering one of their own so, they took the eyes from the Uchiha and switched them with the ones of his teammate. Both their corpses were dropped outside the village's gate a week later. The experiment was a failure but that didn't stop the Hidden Cloud from hoping that one day, at least one attempt will be successful. People are structured differently. What someone's body can't take, might easily find acceptance in another's."

"What's the second file about?"

"This is Hatake's. I want you to read both and come up with an answer."

Sakura could still vividly recall her reluctance to read. A medical file was personal, it contained all sorts of information. She didn't even know how her sensei looked underneath his mask.

"I can't, shisho."

Tsunade understood what was going through her head and told her something she'd never forget. "There is no room for shame in our area of expertise, Sakura. None. Knowing all you can about your patient is crucial and I cannot stress that enough. Think of it this way, you might go on a mission together. Something happens. You give a diagnostic and have already thought of a solution but what happens if your solution would do more harm than good because of something that was written in a file that you couldn't bring yourself to read? All medic-nin are advised to read the ones of their teammates before a mission or a surgery. Kakashi's and Naruto's won't be the only ones you will have to read at some point. Ino's, Shikamaru's, Neij's or even mine might be brought forward one day. Make the choice to save our life rather than our pride."

The pink-haired girl blinked back the past, a small smile on her face and focused on the present. She retracted her hands. "All good." she told him cheerfully.

Perhaps a little too cheerfully.

"Thank you, Sakura." the jonin replied as he covered his eye once more.

Naruto's loud exclamation echoed next. "Look over here! I did it!" He was walking in circles on top of the stream. His happiness at having succeeded was contagious.

"After a hundred attempts." Sasuke added dryly and did a backflip, then landed on top of the water with little to no difficulty. He had a serene air about him. It was a stark difference to how he usually seemed.

The Uzumaki troublemaker scowled. "Show-off." he mumbled before he created a clone to stand beside him. He went back to feeling victorious soon after.

"That's all for today." Kakashi announced after having seen their demonstrations. "You did well, Naruto, Sasuke. Come now, Tsunami-san and Tazuna are expecting us to go dine with them."

Conversation filled her ears back inside the house. The boys stuffed themselves with food while the adults talked about the bridge and what they did for training that day.

Sakura couldn't find it in herself to join and she didn't feel like eating either. Her strange behaviour didn't go unnoticed by the only woman present.

"If you don't like the food dear, I can always cook something else."

She inwardly cringed and cursed herself for seeming a snob. These people were poor and yet... She shook her head negatively.

"I apologize, Tsunami-san." she bowed her head. "I like the food, I just don't have much of an appetite right now." Sakura looked up. "May I be excused, sensei?"

Upon receiving Kakashi's approval, she rose from the table. Right before she left the living room, she heard Inari say:

"She acts as if someone close to her died."

"Inari!" Tsunami reprimanded him.

"It's true." the little boy argued. He faced Naruto and Sasuke. "Who died?"

The two looked at each other. Naruto chuckled and scratched the back of his neck. "What do you mean kid? Nobody died. Girls act like that sometimes. You will see what I mean when you get older."

Tazuna changed the subject by telling stories of his youth which Sasuke listened out of sheer politeness. He couldn't care less about what was being told. After he finished eating and thanked Tsunami, he left the room, dragging the dobe with him.

"What's your problem teme?" Naruto glared as he wrung his arm free off his grasp.

"I don't have one but it's clear that Sakura does."

"Say that's true. Since when do you care?"

"Hn, you saw the look Kakashi gave us on our way out."

"Hai, hai. The 'ninja who break the rules are scum but the ones who abandon their comrades are lower than scum' look. I swear I will end up tattooing the damn thing." Naruto crossed his arms over his chest. "You want me to go and talk to her." he didn't phrase it as a question.

The Uchiha heir rose an eyebrow, sceptical. "Two months ago, you would have fought me for the chance to."

He frowned. "Give me some credit teme, I'm not the same snotty brat I used to be." Naruto declared.

Sasuke smirked. "That's debateable."

Naruto clenched his fists but didn't lift them. "You know what, jerk? Two months ago, you would have been on the floor, begging me for mercy."

His arch nemesis scoffed. "I would sooner read Kakashi's books."

"Don't let him hear you say that." the Uzumaki grinned, mischievous.

Sasuke had great glaring skills though he'd never admit it. "Tell him and you will be the one begging for mercy."

Naruto shrugged his shoulders. "Empty threats but fine. I won't say anything." he paused. "You go and talk to Sakura-chan though."

"Why?" he echoed.

The blond facepalmed. "Sometimes I wonder whether you are dumb or just stupid."

"Dumb and stupid are synonyms, dobe."

Naruto kept talking, not minding what he said. "Look, Sasuke. I hated your guts. I still do but if we want our team to become the strongest of the strong...well, I'm willing to let you get close to Sakura-chan, as a teammate."

He snorted. "At this point, she likes you more than she likes me."

Naruto shook his head absently. This wasn't the time to reflect on feelings that would most probably never get returned. Sakura-chan needed her teammates. Anything above that term didn't matter now. "Yeah, maybe, but she needs both of us. Both, not just one."

"Then, we talk to her, not just I." Sasuke decided.

A/N: Here I am, back with another update. You are probably tired of me thanking you but I will do it nevertheless. So, thank you for reading my story, for adding it to your follows and favourites and for reviewing. Believe it or not, those things did motivate me to come back with another chapter. I hope you enjoyed reading this update. I can't wait to hear what you guys think!