Sunday, April 14th, 2013.

I was going to update last night, since I was finished with the chapter, but my chores took longer than I thought, so Sunday it was.

This chapter's kinda long, I'm warning you. (4.5k) To think I couldn't think of anything for this chapter at first...and it turned out really long.

I MAY UPDATE NEXT WEEK!

That depends on the reviews I get. If there's enough (5 minimum) then I'll update. Otherwise, two week's wait as usual.

Now why would I be updating next week? I have my state exams next week (AIMS: Arizona's Instrument to Measure Standards) and the whole week is half days w/o homework. So I'll have plenty of free time.

To my reviewers: Love you all. I don't say that enough. I love all my readers, but reviewers just get extra acknowledgement because I have a way to acknowledge them.

And for TheAnimeMiner: Are those your grades? Awesome! I feel bubbly that I improved your grade one way or another. Oh, and watch the anime/read the manga, Hetalia if you want to improve your history grade. Hetalia is history (mostly around WW2) on crack, but it still has historical truth in it, somewhat. And it's funny as hell.

Maybe Itachi's my favorite...yeah, maybe...I'm so indecisive.

Disclaimer: Karin wouldn't be a fangirl again if I owned Naruto (Chapter 627). I would've given the girl a break, and relief to have her move on. Sheesh. 627 was the greatest chapter in a long while, but the fangirl thing pissed me off. That was essentially the only thing though.

Now read on, loves!

OH! When I wrote this chapter, I forgot Sakura was closer to Sasuke than she seems to be here, like I mentioned in the episode where they were given the Land of Waves mission. So they're kind of friends, but not really. Just clearing that up.


Chapter 8: Waking Up | Bonding


Sasuke POV

Why'd she do it?

It's been two days since Sakura had thrown herself in front of Zabuza to protect me, somehow stopping his sword with strength I don't think even she knew about.

It was the afternoon, and I was taking a break from training. I decided to go back to Tazuna, Inari, and Tsunami-san's home to relax.

Kakashi and Sai are training together, while Naruto's helping Tazuna around the village. Not of his own volition, of course.

I went to our guest room to check on Sakura. Our team shared one room because of the size of the house, using futons for beds.

Sakura's been asleep this whole time. All two days.

I hope she's alright…

Kakashi said it was just over-exertion and stress on the body. She's fine.

But she's sleeping too long time to be just sleeping, Outer.

I'm sure she's going to wake up soon.

That's what you said yesterday! What if she never wakes up, Outer? What if Zabuza put her under a genjutsu that we don't know about and she'll be trapped in it unless we get her out of it, somehow?! What if-

She's fine, dude, sheesh. What are you getting so riled up for?

I'll admit I'm worried about her – honest. She's my teammate, and though I may not have liked her all that much in the past, I was scared for her when she jumped in front of me that time.

But really; I think my Inner's overreacting.

She jumped in front of a deadly ninja to save us, idiot! I care! I'm sure we can become good friends, but it'll never happen is she's dead!

I'm going to ignore you until you're done with your hysterics.

My Inner did bring up a good point, though: she basically sacrificed herself for me and I can't understand why…

Yeah, she likes me, but it's just a crush! And she was-…is-…was a fangirl just days ago! But whether or not she had gotten over that doesn't explain why she did what she did... I'll need to ask her.

"Nng…" My head snapped towards the direction of the groan.

Sakura was turning slightly, towards me. She may be asleep…she's tossed, turned, and groaned multiple times just like the average sleeper would. She's probably just sleeping.

But she wasn't.

She slowly opened her eyes, yawning and stretching a bit in the futon.

"Mmm...what time is it?" She mumbled.

I looked at the clock on the wall and then back at her. "2:49 in the afternoon." I said.

She blinked at me a few times, waking a bit with each movement. "Sasuke-kun?"

I nodded. "How long have I been asleep?"

"Two days."

"Two days?!" She almost shrieked.

I nodded again. "Exhaustion, apparently. A bit too much stress on the body so suddenly, according to Kakashi."

She calmed slightly. "I remember now…the last thing I remember was that Hunter-Nin showing up, and fainting. You caught me, right?"

"Aa."

I stood up and got something from one of the small drawers in the room. I walked back to Sakura's futon, sat down beside her like before, and passed the item to her. "Here. Tsunami-san –Tazuna's daughter– had to undress you to treat your wounds, bathe you, and allow you to sleep. It's too warm for that at night."

It was her dress. Naruto almost had a nosebleed from the idea of it being off, but as we found out, Sakura wore a mesh shirt with some band-...thing around her chest with a strap to act like a bra. (1) Or so we assume...

Anyway. Less skin than Naruto expected had been seen, so he was disappointed, and I gradually grew used to seeing her in it during the times she kicked off the blankets in her sleep.

But you still blushed the first few times you saw her like that!

I did not! I just wasn't used to seeing women like that! Hana and Mura are much older than I am so they're out of the picture and mother was the only other woman I knew growing up. I'm not used to seeing girls in so little. I grew up with a brother and a male cousin without shame, not a sister.(2)

"Oh!" Sakura squeaked, embarrassed. "Thanks...could you turn around, please?"

I turned and waited for Sakura to put the red outfit back on.

I turned back when she told me she was done.

We settled into a relatively uncomfortable silence.

"Why'd you do it?" I blurted. I have to know.

"Do what?" She was confused.

"Save me. Jump in front of Zabuza. Stop him. Why?"

"Oh…that. Um, because-…because…I-…um…"

I cocked an eyebrow. "Well?", the message conveyed.

She took a deep breath, calming her nerves.

"We may not be very close friends, Sasuke-kun, but I hope to be. With you and Naruto…but you're also my teammate, and teammates look out for each other right? Isn't that what Kakashi-sensei first told us?" I knew what he said. "Yes, those who abandon the rules are scum. But those who abandon their friends are worse than scum."

"I couldn't stand by and let him kill you," she concluded.

"So you jumped in front to get killed yourself?" I'm not convinced.

"No!" She exclaimed. "No. I don't plan to get myself killed anytime soon, you know. I have stuff I want to do. But I didn't really think when I got there though…I just saw you about to get sliced in half by him, and the next thing I knew, boom! I was in front of Zabuza. So I did the only thing I could do in that situation to stay alive – stop the sword."

"Where'd you get that idea anyway?" I'm starting to believe her, but that move was pretty spontaneous…I don't think I would've thought of that.

"Oh. That…" She scratched the back of her neck, laughing embarrassed manner. I raised a brow. What a Naruto-like move…

"Um…I got it from seeing Zoro doing that while watching One Piece one day. That scene popped into my head, and voila! It somehow worked."

"You're kidding," I said, stunned. Not that One Piece or anime is bad or anything, but seriously?! Well, Zoro is a swordsman. He had to have done that one point in the series…but to think that moment is what Sakura remembered and saved her. Who says anime is useless? Anime for the win!

"No." She said, still embarrassed. "It's true. I swear that's what popped into my mind that moment!"

"To think…" I muttered.

But an important question was still unanswered. "But how'd you have the strength to do that, anyway? Stop the sword, slow Zabuza from pushing it down, and throw it in another direction? No offense, but I'm pretty sure you're not that strong."

"None taken," she said, while thinking. "Over the years, though, I've been told that I'm really strong sometimes. Not all the time, but when I'm angry or something. Ino told me that when we were little, and Naruto said the same a couple times. He says I must have super strength or something, judging by the power I hit him with. He was half-serious.

"So, maybe I do have some abnormal strength. They must've come out while battling Zabuza. I should try to tap into it…and strengthen myself as well…Unless I have brains like Shikamaru, I'm not going to get anywhere."

"That makes enough sense," I said. So she discovered a strength she didn't believe she had…a little odd, but I'll believe it. It's not unheard of.

She's right, too. Sakura may be smart –though she didn't show it in the academy– but she's weak, too. Her brains can't make up for her lack of brawn, like Shikamaru's does. She knows it, and Kakashi gave it to her straight during the bell test. She needs to get stronger.

"Sakura-chan!" A voice yelled, before nearly ripping the bedroom door off the wall. "You're awake!"

I turned to the voice that interrupted Sakura and I.

It was Naruto, and behind him were Sai, Kakashi, Tazuna, Tsunami-san, and Inari.

"Looks like Sleeping Beauty finally woke up. Did her prince kiss her awake?" Kakashi said.

I scowled. Sakura blushed and threw a nearby shoe at him.

"Oh, good. Violence means you're just fine, Ugly. It's about time you woke up." She scowled slightly.

I think she looks better without the scowl. Maybe even better smiling.

What. The. Freak, dude.

Simply making an observation. We don't like her, and we both know that. Sheesh…so touchy.

"Why didn't you tell us she was awake, Teme?" Naruto asked.

"Because you were all God-knows-where and I was going to tell Tsunami-san soon."

"Hey, why do you only use honorifics only with my daughter, brat? Why not me?" Tazuna asked me.

I gave him the truth. "Because I don't have to. Tsunami-san is also a very respectable woman, as opposed to you."

Not to mention, you're (we're) a Momma's boy. Tsunami remind us of Mom. We have a soft spot for her.

Pissed, Tazuna was almost going to yell at me when Tsunami told him lunch was ready, and that he can wait at the table for the rest of us. The thought of food had him rushing to the dining area.

Sai, Naruto, and Kakashi all followed.

"Hello, sweetie," Tsunami-san said. "I'm Tsunami, Tazuna-tou's daughter. This is my son, Inari."

Inari peaked from behind his mother's skirt. Instead of the usual scowl or depressed look on his face, a blush was present.

"I-I'm glad to see you awake, Kanari-nee-chan." (3) He said quietly. No. Effing. Way.

What the hell?! That little brat is all "woe-is-me", "everything's hopeless", "you can't beat Gato" all the time, but the moment Sakura's awake, he acts like a little kid with a crush?!

Isn't that what he is right now?

I was pretty ticked, though. Of course he acts sweet around the girl. And around us, he's a little brat. Naruto seems to get along with him, somehow, though. But he also seems to hate him…I don't know.

"Why thank you, Inari-kun." She said, smiling. Inari blushed harder, muttered something about lunch, and rushed out of the room.

Sakura turned to Tsunami.

"I bathed you and washed your clothes this morning, so don't worry about that. How about some lunch?" Tsunami said.

Sakura stood from her futon, and I stood as well. I steadied her when she wobbled a bit. She was asleep for two days. Her limbs must be waking up, too.

"I'd love that, Tsunami-san. Thank you very much for everything."

"Your welcome dear," she said. "Come on, you two. Let's eat lunch."


A little later, still Sasuke's POV

I'll have you know that it was a good lunch. Just saying. When did you notice? Before or after Sakura broke up your and Naruto's eating contest?

Shut up.


Sakura POV

After lunch with the family, I went out with Tazuna, to go shopping for more groceries, and ingredients for tomorrow's meals.

Remember that little child that I bumped into in the other past that I gave candy to? And the thief that I thought was a pervert?

This time around, I gave the little child a little bit of money and a bread loaf. I gave the thief a little less money (he smelled of weed, and believe me, I know what it smells like – I didn't want to feed his habit; and the money wasn't enough for weed anywhere unless the dealer's really desperate) and a bit of food.

Tazuna scolded me, saying there isn't enough money to spare to strangers. There a plenty of homeless and poverty-stricken people here and there's no point in giving all my money and the limited food to other people. "You can't save everyone, kid. No matter how much you want to," he said solemnly.

I was shocked at the statement – was he saying that just because he or others feel the same, or could he just tell that I had a help-everyone complex? You would too, if you were trained as a medical ninja; by Tsunade no less. And if you were unable to do anything for the people you loved before…

I replied saying that it was my own money, not any anyone had given me, and that I could do what I wish with it. "I know I can't save everyone, but anyone I do help counts for something right? If I can help someone, chances are, I'll try to. I just can't leave someone suffering if I can do something about it…"

It's almost as if that instinct fully awoke after Sasuke and Naruto left to compensate for what I couldn't do for them. Maybe it's true. Maybe I'm just trying to help people because I'm guilt-ridden.

But I do know that it makes me happy to help someone else, to see happiness in their eyes because of it. That's why I was so adamant on my medical ninjutsu in the other timeline – helping others makes me happy. They're all that matters.

After my response, Tazuna stared at me for a moment. Then, he rustled my hair, a faint smile on his face. I stopped protesting at his actions when I saw it.

"You're a good kid…" he muttered. I smiled warmly. He's not so bad after all.


After dropping off the groceries at the house, I went to find Kakashi, Naruto, and Sasuke in the forest doing the tree exercise. I pretended not to know what it was.

"What're you guys doing?" I asked.

"Tree-climbing while only using chakra from the bottom of your feet. If you reach the highest branch, you complete the exercise." Kakashi explained giving me a glance from the top of his book. "The boys have been at it since last night. I made them stop and sleep, then they came back here in the morning. They were taking a break when you woke up. Now, they're back at it again."

"May I try?" I asked.

Kakashi looked away from his book for a moment. "You sure you're up to it? Do you think your chakra may be affected from sleeping so long?"

"I think I'm fine." I replied. "So basically I concentrate my chakra to the bottom of my feet and walk up the tree while doing it?"

Kakashi smiled proudly at me, putting the book away. I suppressed the urge to beam at the knowledge that he was proud of me. "You got it. You'd probably get it much faster than these idiots – it's a lot like how you concentrated your chakra to your hands when you healed Naruto before."

Naruto gave a shout of protest of being called an idiot while Sasuke simply grunted indignantly, too busy with the task at hand to do much more. Not that he would if he wasn't busy.

I nodded, and was about to start the exercise when I asked, "Where's Sai-kun, anyway?"

"He said that….he wanted…he wanted to p-paint…part of the…f-forest…" Naruto panted between his words, and took his jacket off. "I'm getting too hot!"

I could tell he was concentrated on this task by his lack of making a joke out of the last statement. I was half-expected to say something about how hot he thinks he is…

"Oh." I said simply. "Well here I go!"

With chakra concentrated at my feet, and a kunai in my hand, I slowly and moderately walked up the trunk of the tree in front of me.

The sad part was, I was only faking about 85% of this. The other 15% of me was legitimately having trouble with the exercise. That's sad. Yup. Total Tsunade-style-Spartan-training when I get the chance.

But I was getting better; the higher up the tree I got, the faster I walked.

By the time I got to the top branch, I was almost running, almost slipping once or twice.

I waved down at my wide-eyed teammates. Then, I jumped down.

Naruto ran to me. "SakuraSakuraSakuraSakura-chan!" He said quickly. "Yougottateachmehowtodothat!"

I waved my hands. "Whoa, calm down!"

I saw Sasuke stare at us, then walk away back to his tree. I sensed some anger in his steps. Is he jealous that I got it on the first try? Probably…

I turned back to Naruto, who was standing attentively.

"Okay, Naruto." I said. "Think of your chakra this way – let's say you're cooking ramen, 'kay?"

Naruto nodded vigorously, totally enraptured by every word I was speaking like it was solid gold. I resisted the urge to laugh.

It was hard.

"You don't want to put too much broth into the bowl with your noodles, right?" He shook his head.

"No. That'll make it an overly-salty-soupy-mess. But you also don't want to put too little – your noodles and extras will be all dry and stuff, and that's not good." Naruto shook his head again, saying, "No, it's not."

I continued. "You need the right amount of broth into the bowl to make it delicious right?" He nodded.

"So your chakra's like to amount of broth you put in your ramen bowl, but with different consequences: if you add too much chakra to your feet, you'll be stuck to the tree and have a hard time going anywhere. But if you put too little you won't be able to stay on the tree long enough to take another step. Put just the right amount into your feet, Naruto. With the right amount, you'll be able to walk on a cliff, forget trees!"

Naruto looked encouraged by my words and hugged me fiercely. "God, I love you! Thanks so much, Sakura-chan! It makes so much more sense now!"

Then, he kissed me quickly on the cheek. "I owe 'ya one, 'kay Sakura-chan?"

With that, he ran off to the tree, pausing to concentrate on his chakra. Then, he proceeded to run up it again. And fall. "Yes! New record!"

Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Sasuke look at me for a moment, slightly wide-eyed with shock, and something else I'm not sure of. Anger? Jealousy? Betrayal? Am I reading wrong? Probably…this is Sasuke after all.

Then, he looked away and at Naruto, with very obvious rage in his eyes, and more jealousy. Then, he took a breath and calmed down.

I took a moment to sit against a nearby tree, watching the boys and Kakashi.

Naruto doesn't still like me, right? I made that clear to him, didn't I?

Yeah, you did. Don't worry – he just kissed you out of elation. That's all. And he's also a very affectionate person and he cares about you one way or another.

I relaxed.

Phew! I don't think I can bare having him love me like that again…breaking his heart like I did for years still eats me up with guilt…I can't deal with that. But I wonder why Sasuke was looking and Naruto and I like that.

Well, obviously he saw Naruto's fuss about thanking you. Maybe he felt jealous that he hugged and kissed you and all that, and that you told him how to climb the tree and not Sasuke.

But why would Sasuke feel jealous about that? He doesn't like me. We're not even friends – yet. I'm working on that. And it's not like Sasuke asked for help.

This is Sasuke – he's stubborn and proud. And maybe he felt upset that "the girl who liked him so much before" was all hugs-and-kisses with his rival and best friend. It's possible he subconsciously grew to accept/appreciate/like/grow accustom your constant affection for him and only him, and felt annoyed and almost betrayed seeing you like that with Naruto. You know Sasuke – he's complicated and pushes his feelings away. And I think he may be the possessive type.

…How psychoanalytical.

You do it, too!

I know but-…nevermind. Thanks, though, Inner.

You're welcome. We're here to help each other, Outer.

That made me smile. I've been doing a lot of that today, haven't I?


About an hour later, it was nearing sunset, and Naruto and Sasuke were slowly reaching their goal to the highest branch of their trees.

When Naruto left to take a leak –Sai came back eventually then Kakashi accompanied him back to the house; they said they'll be waiting for us at dinner– Sasuke approached me.

He was scratching his neck similar like Naruto does, not looking at me, with a blush on his face. It was pretty adorable.

When Sasuke realized he was copying Naruto's habit, he stuck his hands in pants, the blush more apparent. He's so cute sometimes.

I have to say though – that naked chest of his is pretty nice for his age. I could get used to that.

Sasuke had taken off his shirt about 50 minutes ago, and Inner hasn't shut up since. Naruto took his off around the same time as well, but that's not important.

"Uh, Sakura…" Sasuke started.

I looked up from the book I've been pretending to read for the past minute and looked up at Sasuke with a kind smile on my face. "Yes, Sasuke-kun?"

"What did you…um, tell Naruto b-before? When you were helping him control his chakra?" He asked. "He told me some shit about ramen broth but I refuse to believe that actually helped him."

I resisted the urge to both laugh at the last sentence and squeal -blame Inner- at his cute shyness. I knew this alone was a blow to his ego, so I decided to stay "professional".

"That's because I did use ramen broth in my advice, Sasuke-kun."

His look screamed, "tell me you're not serious." Well, it didn't scream it. This is Sasuke.

His expression was flat and deadpan. And hilarious at the same time.

I laughed in my head.

"Honest! I had to explain it in a way he'd understand, and as you saw when he hugged me, he did. I spoke his language, if you know what I mean."

After staring at me for a moment –I almost squirmed under that penetrating gaze of his – he actually facepalmed himself, and groaned. "Ugh…"

"But if you want advice, I can still give advice to you Sasuke." I said. "But if you want it in tomato and rice ball analogies, tell me now so I can think of them."

He smirked, and I knew my statement amused him.

Curse my thundering heart. I'm such a shoujo-manga-girl…acting like this at his smirk…

"No thanks. I'd like the academic version, Sensei."

I smiled, and laughed lightly. "Alright, then, student:" I began.

"Chakra control is the key here," my serious-teacher-mode slipped in automatically. "Too much and you'll have difficulty moving up the tree. Too little and you'll never get anywhere at all. Everyone's chakra levels vary a bit; for example, you and Naruto have much more chakra and higher levels than I do.

"So, because of that, the amount of chakra they will use to do what you and Naruto are doing right now varies too. Experiment a bit – test how much chakra is enough to get you all the way up the tree. That way, you'll learn from your previous mistakes, and can use chakra control to your advantage in the future."

He nodded comprehending everything I was saying. "Does chakra control come easy to you? Is that why you were able to do the exercise so quickly?"

I nodded. "Chakra control is one of the few things I'm good at physically, so this wasn't very hard for me. I almost slipped off a few times though."

"Is good chakra control beneficial in medical ninjutsu?"

It felt good talking so intelligently with Sasuke like this – he was attentive and interested in what I said, and likewise. It made me feel more confident in the possibility of growing closer to him.

"Definitely! It's ideal. When someone wishes to try medical ninjutsu, they have to take a test to gouge their chakra control. If it's bad, they're rejected. If it's good, they go on for more training. From then on, the training's really difficult and particular, and you get better and more precise with chakra. Healing is a delicate process – if you don't do it right, it could wind up hurting somebody more, or in some cases, causing them to die. That's why the exam is kind of harsh – you either have it [good chakra control] or you don't. Period."(4)

"And you had good control."

"Yeah."

"Do you think Naruto or I do, too?"

I tilted my head to the sky in thought. "As far as Naruto goes, I think he may actually have below average chakra control, but that's understandable with the excess of chakra and stamina he has. But I don't think, even with a lot of training, he could pull of enough control for something like medical ninjutsu if he wanted to do it for whatever reason."

I looked at Sasuke again, still thinking. "And as for you…I think if you have average, if not a bit above if you worked harder on it. You may possibly be precise enough for something as delicate as medical ninjutsu, but that'd require a lot of training and I'm sure you'd rather spend that time training for something else."

He nodded. He understood that I wasn't insulting him, or being conceited, and was just using medical ninjutsu as a comparison for chakra control.

The fact that there was a silent understanding of any kind between us, made me want to woot for joy – I'm bonding with him! Wait a minute...I sound like such a perky little girl! Ugh.

Anyway.

I could almost see the gears turning in his head, taking everything in.

We heard a yell, disturbing our comfortable silence. "Hey! Ready for me to kick your ass, Teme?"

He took an awfully long time to just take a piss. I wonder what he was doing…

I don't think I'd like to know.

Naruto hadn't reached our area yet, so Sasuke said something to me before he went back to his tree to beat Naruto in tree-climbing. Competitive as ever, I see.

"Your medical ninjutsu was pretty cool back there," he whispered to me. "And…thank you, Sakura."

I froze.

He walked away, back to his tree.

His "thank you" reminded me too much of that night. Way too much, and it hurt. I haven't even told anybody about that night...not Naruto of the future, not Ino, not Tsunade, nobody. Everyone guessed what happened, I never told them...

But when I realized he was talking about when I saved him, I calmed. Even more so, when I recalled his compliment. That made me cheer up quite a bit, I'll admit.

I blushed. He complimented me!

See? My mind was off in La La Land.

And I was too happy to berate myself for thinking like a lovesick shoujo girl.

Inner was on Cloud 9, so I decided not to interrupt.

Then, I felt something furry near my hand. It snapped me out of my trance, thankfully.

I looked. It was Sai's mouse. It had a note in his mouth. That's right! That note in the rabbit's fur from before! I never found it in my clothes...

It occurred to me that Sai must have taken it out of my pouch before any of the others could see it, in case it was from Haku, like I suspect it was.

I took the letter, opened it, and the mouse disappeared.

Sakura,

Meet me at a clearing near the edge of the woods, the one with many flowers. I will wait for you there May 7th, at sunset. Please be there.

It was in elegant handwriting, so I assumed it to be Haku's. Do you see Zabuza writing in almost perfect calligraphy? No? I didn't think so.

I looked into the horizon.

It's going to be sunset soon. I better hurry over to Haku and then finish up with him quickly or I'll be late to dinner.

I stood, dusting myself off. Book in hand, I prepared to leave the clearing, until a voice stopped me.

"Where 'ya goin', Sakura?"

I offered him and Sasuke a smile, who had also stopped climbing to see where I was off to.

"Oh, just off to explore the wood a bit more. Don't worry – I'll be back for dinner."

"Do you want one of us to go with you? It's dangerous – it'll be dark soon." Naruto said, concerned. Sasuke's expression told me he had the same sentiment.

I shook my head. "I'm fine, boys. I'll just be a few minutes, and then off to the house for dinner." I gave them a playful glare. "If you two aren't there five minutes at most after me, I'll come here and drag you back with my apparent super strength." I flexed my (currently) non-existent biceps, causing Naruto to laugh.

"Later!" I said.

"Later, Sakura-chan!/Sakura," was their reply.

Earlier, at lunch, I had told everyone the general idea of what I told Sasuke when they asked how and why I stopped Zabuza.

My until-now-undiscovered-super-strength, teammate obligation, and the like were what I told them.

The details I told Sasuke are to stay with us. Just us.

I want to keep it that way. Just like that night...

I trudged deeper into the woods, anticipating my visit with a certain young rouge ninja.


(1): It's what Sakura where under her dress, by the way. And obviously, Sasuke wasn't sure what to call it - he's a dude. Even I'm not sure what to call it, to be honest.
(2): He's talking about Itachi and Shisui. They're going to be in this story, and there are some details about their roles in this story, that I'll explain when I get to them. If you've read
DoOver, then you know what the deal is with the two of them.
(3): "Kanari"=pretty. Inari knows Sakura's name, but he called her "Kanari-nee-chan" to call her pretty. He basically said, "pretty older sister". He has a crush on her.
(4): I figured that was the deal, sorta. I mean, if you're going to be healing people and saving lives, the entrance test has got to be harsh right? The explanation is just what I made up. So...it's not cannon.

So how was it? Long chapter, huh? I didn't mean to make it that long...to be honest I doubted I could even make it 1k words. Now it's way more than that, adding the author's notes stuff.

Question of the Week: Favorite Naruto country or village? (ie Fire Country, Land of Waves, any country or village).

Remember! 5 OR MORE REVIEWS AND I UPDATE NEXT WEEK!

Love,

Cherry.