It happened in the dark. The sudden drop of temperature only brought about the closer hold of the blanket wrapped around her, but sleep remained undisturbed. Her parents also slumbered unaware in the bedroom across the hall, ever so trusting that nothing bad would happen in the civilian streets of the village.

The appearance of seals on her skin went unnoticed, the marks slowly creeping and covering every inch of her. An unfamiliar round sign glowed on the wooden floor, and a figure wearing full shinobi gear materialized in the center. The outfit has seen better days, tattered and still drying from red splotches in many areas, but it didn't seem to be an inconvenience.

A silhouette in the dark once again, the attention shifts to the unsuspecting mass in the crib, who was swathed in many layers of blankets. Carefully approaching her, the figure reached out a hand and moved it toward her forehead in a light touch. The effect was instantaneous.

The burning feeling on her head pulled her from her sleep, confusion and blinding pain overwhelming her senses but no sound came out. A heavy weight settled on her chest, leaving her thrashing and gasping for air. Panic rose and foreign images flooded the 7-month-old's mind, tears stinging her eyes as the invasion became too much for her. The branded seals shone red and singed itself deeper in her skin until they disappeared from sight.

You will remember when the time is right. Rest for now. I'll see you soon.

Haruno Sakura found her voice and started bawling as she caught a brief glimpse of ghostly green and translucent pink before her consciousness faded once more.

.-.

There are a lot of things Haruno Mebuki has planned for today, but when she woke up that morning she was alone, her husband already up and about after seeing the empty space beside her. After no signs of activity in the kitchen nor the living room however, she went back up and peeked inside Sakura's room. She found him sitting on the bed, a comforting figure beside their 4-year-old daughter, who appears to be holding his hand in a loose grip. He looked up as soon as he heard the door open.

"She came into our room a few minutes ago with tears in her eyes, but I can't see anything wrong with her. She didn't want to wake you up, so we went back here until she fell asleep again," he whispered.

Mebuki walked closer and laid her hand on Sakura's forehead. Her skin felt cool and she could see traces of dried tears down her cheeks, swiping her thumb at them worriedly.

"Must have been that dream again," he added. Then he stood up and moved for the door. "I'll go ahead and prepare breakfast for us. I know what will cheer her up."

"She'll appreciate that, darling. We'll be downstairs in a few minutes."

.-.

Sakura felt familiar, comforting fingers softly combing through her short strands. Her eyes flitted to her mama's smiling face hovering from above.

"Good morning, Sa-chan. How are you feeling?"

Sakura had woken up earlier, disturbed and shaken as birds chirped outside her window. She was afraid to go back to sleep so she sought out her dad. She found him snoring away in bed and thought about leaving, but he stirred as if he sensed her and after one look at her, got out of bed and asked her what was wrong. She couldn't speak. She was afraid she might cry and that would wake Mama up. So she tugged at his hand and brought him back to her room. Once again in the safety of her dad's presence, she talked about the terrifying feeling of being alone and losing a friend. He nodded along and listened quietly, holding her hand until Mama took over his place.

But Sakura thought she didn't have friends. Her parents never knew of Ami, who, unlike her, has lots of friends and they would tug at her hair not like the way Mama's doing at the moment. So why does she feel a weird, empty space right where her heart is? Why does she feel so anxious to do something, as if she's running out of time? Why does she ache for some cloudy memory of sunshine and storms?

She couldn't remember when the nightmares began, but they would come and go. It got really bad this time- her hand holding something strong yet fragile, rushing cold wind stinging her face, desperation running in her veins and knowing that failure would not only result in the loss of someone wholly precious to her, but also losing herself. Then, a mixture of freezing and burning sensations and fading colors, making promises to her that she can't understand. It was an onslaught of complex thoughts and feelings that just thinking about it created another lump in her throat, and she can see Mama's worried gaze worsening by the second.

She doesn't like that look, so she wrapped her short and tiny arms around Mama's waist as best as she can, effectively hiding her face. "I'm hungry."

Mama let out a breathy laugh. "Well Papa's making breakfast today. Better get up and head downstairs if you want to help."

This immediately lightened her mood. After clearing her throat and making sure her eyes don't have any trace of tears anymore, she detached herself from Mama's warm hug and ran downstairs.

Breakfast was a combination of enjoying omurice, Papa cracking jokes, and Mama talking about new business clients that she's meeting for the day. Haunting memories of green and pink forgotten for now.

.-.

Sakura watched in the living room as Mama held up different kinds of printed designs on scrolls. Portraits of beautiful people wearing stylish kimonos quite similar to the ones they wore for the festival a few months ago, animals caught in various poses as if someone snapped their picture in the wild, flowers blooming, trees growing, and waves rising and crashing. They were results of Mama's project over the month.

She recalled the smell of wood and paint in the studio deep in the back of their house where she would find Mama sitting on the floor, placing sheets of papers on top of carved blocks of wood and pressing them with some flat and round object until the paint would stick. Ukiyo-e, she remembered after asking Mama what she was doing. Sakura loved looking at them, so she was tasked to inspect each finished piece for missing colors or some kind of mistake. Not that there were any because Mama is always so careful.

"We have to make sure that our clients are actually getting what they paid for. The Harunos always have to be focused and must prioritize the quality of their products."

Papa would carry that same sentiment over his baked goods. While Mama had a studio behind the house, Papa managed the bakery in front which existed for as long as Sakura could remember. Both of her parents are artists. Papa's breads and pastries would have weird and unusual shapes and designs but they were always delicious and familiar to her, while Mama is constantly working on different types of art and projects, taking the time 'to master them to produce fine quality results' as she'd always say.

Sakura snapped out of her reverie when Mama called for her. "Alright, Sa-chan. We'll be delivering these prints to the Hokage Tower."

She felt a soft ringing in her head. She shuddered as goose bumps sprang up all over her arms and legs. Silently wishing for it to go away, Sakura just nodded and held Mama's hand while she carried the scrolls in a tote.

They bid Papa goodbye and set off to the busy streets leading to the tower. Sakura loves this part of the village. The civilian sector is usually peaceful and organized, residents filing in and out of the bakery at various times of the day. The commercial district had a steady stream of people and activities on the street and ninjas flying on the roofs.

The bright morning brought a lot of people outside, so she had a tight grip on Mama while she looks up to spot shinobi with her eyes. There were also some walking below with them but they aren't as interesting as the ones above.

There!

She had caught a strange blur of yellow and orange, closely followed by the sage and navy she was used to seeing and then losing them behind a taller building. The ringing was back, and a cold chill spread through her. The sun still shining brightly, she pulled at the long sleeves of her emerald dress to cover her hands. Turning to shinobi-spotting to distract herself from the unwarranted coolness, she counted five more on the way until they arrived at their destination. The place is filled with important-looking people doing somewhat important-looking tasks. Mama talked to one of the people behind a desk that was too tall for Sakura to see, tugging her to move once she was done.

They walked up a flight of stairs, dodging a rushing man carrying a tall stack of papers in his arms, and knocked on a door that has an "Authorized Personnel Only" sign plastered on the center.

A deep voice from inside told them to come in. Sakura was met with more papers rising from the floor all around the room, and a haggard looking young man moving scrolls from one shelf to another. He was wearing a standard navy blue shinobi attire without the sage jacket, his long dark hair pushed back by a Konoha head protector that Sakura dreams of owning one day ever since she first saw a shinobi fly past the roof of the house across her bedroom.

"Oh, Mebuki! Did you finish the portaits already?" The man stopped what he was doing and looked at the bag Mama was carrying.

"Just yesterday, Ichiro-san. I informed your assistant that we're delivering them this morning. I hope we're not disturbing you," she looked at the messy state of the room, scrolls and papers littering the floor.

"Certainly not! It must have slipped my mind! No matter, I'll look over the prints right now." Ichiro-san directed them to a free section of the table.

"Ah hello there, Sakura-chan! You've grown taller since the last time I saw you," he said as Mama was busy taking out four scrolls from her bag. Sakura has never seen him before in her life but she does like knowing that she's growing taller. She smiled and nodded at him.

He turned his attention to the scrolls and unraveled them on the table. He placed his hand on the paper and Poof! A set of framed portraits materialized on top. Sakura can't stop the wonder and amazement at what she saw. She plans to ask Mama about it when they get home.

Ichiro-san scanned the portraits, his expression more calm and pleasant than the wired one before. "These look so much better than the ones upstairs. We ordered enough prints so we can furnish the offices in this building. These will go in the Hokage's office. You and Sakura-chan should follow me."

She could see Mama grinning at the words and beckoned for Sakura to follow Ichiro-san outside the room. They dodged more shinobi and other important-looking people in the curved halls. Sakura stared at a group of energetic and grubby trio of bigger kids wearing head protectors chatting animatedly to an older woman the same age as Mama as they passed. The words genin and kunoichi popped up in her mind. They stopped in front of a door with mask-wearing figures on each side.

ANBU, a soft voice in her head supplied. Sakura looked around to see if someone had talked to her but Mama and Ichiro-san were facing ahead. She shook her head and waited as Ichiro-san knocked on the door, sneaking glances at the two ANBUs, wondering how they appear to be imposing and unremarkable to her at the same time until Mama tugged at her again and they walked through the entrance.

The Hokage Office is spacious, quite different from the one they were in a few minutes ago. Sunlight poured from the tall and wide windows, spilling across the floor and furniture. Plants decorated the corners, some with flowers that added a pleasant splash of color among the various shades of wood.

Sakura noticed the pictures Ichiro-san mentioned earlier. Mama's portraits look way better. She glanced at Mama and saw her focused ahead, so she followed her gaze until they rested to the man sitting behind a large wooden desk. Another man stood to his left, his dark spiky hair outlined by the constant bright light behind him. They both seem to be in the middle of an important conversation. Sakura seems to think that only important things happen in this place, so she straightened her posture and tried to look as serious as Mama.

Their presence signaled the pause of the conversation as both men turned their attention to them. Green met blue and the ringing was back, this time getting louder. She couldn't hear when the man started talking to Ichiro-san and Mama. Her eyes squinted at the yellow hair shining with the sun, and she was distantly aware of Mama letting go of her hand to present the portraits she was holding. Still, she seemed frozen and her limbs won't move no matter how much she tries. She wonders whether Mama noticed something wrong, but she and Ichiro-san were now talking to the spiky haired man who moved to the front of the desk.

Green met blue once again, and Sakura could see that the latter looks bemused before his gaze immediately zeroed in behind her. Not a second later and she felt something push her from the back. This forced her to break from her trance as she instinctively raised her right arm in front of her to shield her face from the fall until a wet and sticky hand gripped her left arm tightly and steadied her.

Heart hammering in her chest and ears still ringing, she furrowed her eyebrows and turned to face her attacker until blue met green once more. The ringing vanished, but the following silence was deafening.

Naruto. It was that voice in her head again.

"Naruto, for the last time, you can't barge in like that. What do you have to say to Sakura-chan?" She heard someone sigh by the door.

"I'm really sorry, 'tou-san! 'Kaa-san told me that I could head over here right after I'm done with that exercise you gave me so I got really excited when I finished early." His sticky hand, she is beginning to see traces of dark paint on both their skin now, still gripped her arm which followed his movements as he gestured animatedly. Sakura's previous anxiety slowly vanished and is instead replaced by relief which honestly didn't make sense. She doesn't know the boy in front of her, but a feeling of familiarity and delight settled deep in her bones.

"You have to say sorry to her instead of saying it to Minato here, Naruto," the spiky-haired man drawled.

"Oh right-" letting go of her arm and placing both of his hands on her shoulders, "-I'm sorry for almost knocking you over! It won't happen next time!"

Sakura nodded and said, "It's fine."

Naruto straightened up and gave her a grin, and for a second, she had glimpses of sunshine and promises, felt hope and heartache.

Fresh tears suddenly flowed from her eyes and slid down her cheeks.

It worked.


A/N: This Timetravel AU, BAMF!Sakura, less characters died and more characters lived fic is a stubborn plot bunny that has been nagging at me until I finally wrote a chapter of it. It has been sooooo long since I wrote something that I don't have to pass as a school assignment so I'm a little rusty. Okay, extremely rusty. Writing style is still a wip, the plot is a vague list of bullet-points in my notes app, and updates will be sporadic as I try to polish up my writing skills and Naruto knowledge as best as I can (that means lotsa critiquing and re-writing of chapters and reading up on naruto wiki so the story won't end up too trashy ;w;) But mostly I think this would just be a fun activity for me to explore once again.

P.S. Might change the summary if I could think of something better.

Reviews and beneficial criticism are welcome!