XX|.


'I'll...try one last...time...' A tired Ino held the now older Sakura's hand in hers. Activating her special technique, she had full access to Haruno's mind.

XXX

"Sakura?" The blonde kunoichi's voice echoed around the mindscape. The void was cold and dark and lonely. She could feel the undertones of loneliness seeping deep into her skin. She knew she was in here; somewhere within in these deep layers."Heeeeeeeello? You in there?"

"I - Ino?" Inner Sakura asked, looking up with wide and fearful eyes. Ino immediately rush to her side, helping her up onto herself. "You're really here?" She sobbed, feeling for her chest. The blonde smiled down at her fondly. "'Course I am, Forehead. Why wouldn't I be?"

"Sasuke-kun...he..." She choked in Yamanaka's arms. "H - he left the village..."

'But, that was three years ago...' Ino recalled sadly. 'He's just a missing nin at this point.'

"Ino," Her green eyes looked up at her best friend's. "Stop him. He's leaving for good!" The blonde shook her head and had her hand on her friend's shoulder. Looking directly into her eyes, she confessed the truth, no matter how hard her friend would take it.

"Sakura, a lot has happened. But...I really need you to wake up, now. For three years you've been sleeping in this state. I'm trying to bring you back," Ino rubbed her thumb over her hand comfortingly. "So, c'mon! Show me you're still in there and wake up!"

XXX

"I - Ino?" Haruno questioned, blinking awake with eyes half-lidded, she looked around sleepily. "W - what's going on? Where am I?"

"MISS FOREHEAD!" The blonde practically threw herself onto the other kunoichi, to which Sakura returned with a small smile. "You baka...you worried me sick to death!" And she could tell. There were bags under her eyes. It looked she hadn't slept in weeks. "W - what exactly happened?"

"Allow me to explain." A blonde nurse in a white uniform walked inside the room with a small smile. 'Is that...Tsunade?' Sakura asked, eyes wide. 'I - it is! Oh my gods, what do I say?'

"Exactly three years ago you've been put under a coma. For three years you've been sleeping and a lot has happened. It is as you say. The Uchiha has left the village." Tsunade walks up to feel for a fever, but there is none. She looks down with worried, amber eyes. Sakura's eyes tears up and she looked down at her lap sadly. "Is there a way we can bring him back? Please?"

"I do not know. But your safety mattered much more, and so we tended to you every day. Or, should I say, a friend of yours did it in our stead." Her eyes flicked to the blonde for just a moment and Haruno's jaw dropped. Ino-Pig? For three years?! "You were here the whole time?" Sakura gaped at the girl beside her. In response, the blonde cuddled up close to her. "Duh. I wouldn't leave you in this dreadful hospital all alone! Despite what SOME believe, I'm actually quite the charmer. No way I'd ditch you; I mean, I at least have the decency to stick with you, anyways." She flipped her ponytail arrogantly and grinned.

Tsunade chuckles, watching the two reunite with a hand on her hip.

"As sweet as this moment is, we really should get going. Visitor hours are long overdue. I believe it's time to leave her alone to her thoughts. She still has missed three years, after all."

"Oh, OK." Ino looked down for a second, but then brightened up at the Haruno. "See ya later, Sakura~!" And out the door she went, when the pink kunoichi lets out a sigh of relief.

"Overwhelmed?" Sakura nodded.

"I understand," The blonde nurse soothes from her bedside. "I can't imagine waking up and realizing I had been sleeping for a few years. The feeling must be...terrible." Sakura made to stand up, but the older woman held her down. "Wait. I'm sure that hospital gown must be uncomfortable for you. Here are your clothes to change into. Your parents left them just in case."

She held out a red tunic similar to her old one, except this one had no sleeves and was shorter. The Haruno symbol was still there on display, just like the older one.

"Thanks."

Tsunade beamed brightly and had her hand on the knob.

"I'll leave you to your privacy."


Sakura knocked shakily on the door of her home. It had been so long, and yet it had felt like just yesterday she had rebelled against them about her being a kunoichi. "Okaasan? Otousan? I'm home!" She knocked on the door excitedly, hardly waiting to see them again.

Once the door opens, Mebuki stares down at her with a frown. "Come in." She says shortly, and Sakura soon follows behind her. As they neared the living room, Sakura made a mental note of how much everything had changed. The once opened curtains showing the bright greenery outside was now closed and dark. Dust and mold coated every square inch of the house. The air felt thick and she could hardly breath inside.

It was hardly recognizable. 'What happened to this place?' The Haruno thinks coldly, her insides freezing over.

"You came a little too late." Her mother turned her back on her and smoked a cigarette. The smoke wafted into the air, Sakura struggling not to choke. "Now you come back; what do I do? I'm not a mother anymore. If you were family, then you would have stayed and not left us like that."

"You don't want me?" Sakura's eyes widen with realization, taking a step back. The blonde woman didn't answer her, instead staring at her, unfazed.

'Please just talk to me.' Sakura begs desperately. 'please.'

"Where's dad? At least tell me that much!" She demanded, crossing her arms. "Your father?" Her mother stiffens up. "Hmph. He left for good." She thumbed her ring finger with a sour expression. "No use having a woman like me and a missing daughter when he could be doing his civic duties as a retiree ANBU."

That missing wedding ring from her finger said it all. It was over, in every sense of the word.

"I'm not needed anymore, is that what you're saying?" Sakura snapped impatiently, tears in her eyes. She couldn't believe it. The one who loved her more than anything had just flat out admitted that she no longer cared for her. Blood related they may be, but that didn't mean there was any love for her left. In her eyes, she was just some stranger.

"FINE!" Sakura snapped, "I'm leaving."

She rushed to her now faded pink room and yanked out some things here and there and packed it all away into a duffel bag, without even bothering to hear her mother out. Leaving out the door, she didn't even look back as she snapped it closed shut behind her.


"Kakashi-sensei!" Sakura sniffles, as she walks away from the apartment. Her smile wavers for a second, but then she thought of Team Seven back together again and instantly brightened. "Long time no see! ... Quite literally." The grey-haired young man greeted with a smile behind his mask."Where is Sasuke-kun and that baka?" She couldn't help but ask, looking around curiously. "I'm afraid I cannot answer that question." He says with flair, holding a finger over his mouth. "That information is classified. Of course, our hokage wouldn't want to leak anything to the villagers, shinobi or otherwise."

'Although...it's still astounding how there are still no new leads as of yet...' Kakashi ponders, 'those two boys are missing and no one has seen them in ages.'

"'Hokage'?" Sakura echoed. Kakashi sweat drops, snapping back into reality. Oh, well. Speculation could wait until some other time. "You really are clueless, aren't you? Exactly three years ago, our hokage died. A new one has taken his place ever since."

"Tsunade-sama?" She guessed. If that nod was anything to go by, she was indeed correct. "But then, sensei, why did he die? I've known him my whole life...surely he can't be dead." From the time she played with him in the flower fields to the times when she needed his help most of all. Having him dead complicated things. "That is still unclear. Even after all of this time." Kakashi put a finger to his chin contemplatively. 'Though I have a sinking suspicion that Orochimaru has something to do with it...' Shaking his head, he wanders off with a book between his fingers.

"W - wait, where are you going?" She cried.

"I'm still your sensei, but I'm off duty at the moment. Maybe go see someone to train with?"

She smiled. She knew just who would help her out.


"Hmm... I kind of pictured someone a little bigger. Taller?" Jiraiya guessed, staring at the newcomer with unease.

"Shut up!" Sakura snapped impatiently, "I've lost my teammates, I'm all on my own now. I need you to train me, got it?" she snarled furiously, raising a fist to punch him. "Easy, easy, little lady!" He says, waving his hands back and forth. "And put that porn away, too! It's disgusting!" She says, eyes flickering to both the "Icha Icha Paradise" and also to the "Tale of the Utterly Gutsy Shinobi". Her face scrunched up angrily.

"Wha -?! No, this is my precious. I won't let you take it away from me!" He hollered, holding them away from the girl. She crossed her arms and decided to let the matter slide. Obviously it was way too personal to him. "Whatever! I spent hours just looking for you. Since you're my new sensei for the time being, I need you to help me become stronger!" It sounded simple enough. "Alright, little lady. Lemme see what I can do." As he stands up, his back arched and cracked. Doubling over in pain, he wheezes. "Uuurgh. Give me a moment." It pops and then he sighs in relief.

"Mind giving me some painkillers? I ain't gettin' any older..." Sakura huffs to herself, and went to grab some from her medical aid kit. "Here, don't get used to this." She huffs, watching as he plopped some pills into his mouth. Exasperated, she says haughtily, "Can we go, now? I have some teammates to save!"

"A'ight. Gimme a sec and I'll be right there with you, kid."


"There! See, these are your targets. All you hafta do is aim and strike." He gestures to the wooden targets circling her. 'Well, this is easy enough.' She thinks confidently, readying herself into a fighting stance."The real kicker about this one is that it's constantly moving. Use the right timing and attack." All of them swirled around, circulating around her a miles a minute. Her eyes watched as each one moved until it became a blur. 'Whoa!' She thinks, her head swirling. 'I - I can't do this! This is too much for me!'

Sakura then feels a powerful emotion burst out of her chest. A desire to surpass her own teammates and her esteem to become a better shinobi. Weird facial markings surrounded her eye, and she held her head in her hands and screams. Her Kekkei Genkai had activated in a matter of seconds.

The dummies all around her bounce off it's hinges and wood pillars burst out of the ground; the heads falling down with a clatter. Earth and water chakra seeping out in the process. Snapping out of her stupor, she looked at them with shock and stumbles back.

'SHANNARO! What just happened?' She thinks wildly, looking down at her gloved hands. 'Did I just do that?'

"What was that all about?" The pervy sage calls from his spot, witnessing her using kekkai genkai. Walking over to her, he helps her up and blinks in disbelief. "I felt something inside of me...and it came out!" Seeing him squint his eyes, she adds in hurriedly, "stupid, isn't it?"

"You...have a bloodline limit?" Jiraiya says in awe, staring at her. She shakes her head. "This can't be true...I'm the only Haruno who has something like this. It just doesn't come naturally with our clan. How is this even possible?"

"Well, all clans are distantly related to the Senju, in some form or another. However, only the First was capable of using Wood Release. Only a select few know it's powers...you said it happened to you just like that?"

Sakura nodded.

"Then that says it. You're a distant descendant of Hashirama Senju."


"Tsunade-sama." Sakura greets, knocking on the door to her office.

"Can I come in please?" With burns and bruises all over her body, she comes inside and strides over the the older woman's desk. The hokage gapes at her, jaw dropping. "What happened to you?!" She snaps, fierce amber eyes alight with fury. "...Don't ask." Tsunade shrugs, sipping her sake. "...If you insist. Anyway," she folds her hands together, "Thank you for coming on such short notice. There is something I wish to give you for lasting this long. Shizune," she snaps her fingers and a young woman holding onto a pig appears.

"Yes, milady?"

"Show our guest her gift."

Shizune nods, and they walk off through a series of hallways, where the hokage's assistant leads her to a new room. "This is all yours." Shizune says, opening the door to her study. "Wow..." Sakura looked around the cutesy room in shock. It was exactly her style. It looked a little edgy with ninja weapons on full display, but was otherwise perfect. A bed just for her, and a roof over her head. This was more than she could ever ask for.

"For me?" The brunette laughed. "Of course! Lady Tsunade wouldn't want an apprentice of hers without a shelter to live in! It is simply asinine."

"Thank you, thank you, thank you!" Sakura burst into tears, hugging the woman around the chest.