Hello, my lovely viewers/readers!

Thank you for reading my fanfiction and especially for the ones that have stuck to me from the beginning and have left wonderful reviews! You guys are AMAZEBALLS!

So, I thought it was about time I update a few chapters!

Bring in...

Throw-Back Thursday

CHAPTER 11:

The Trigger and The Future Girl

Meanwhile Sakura and Tazuna were out, Naruto and Sasuke continued to train in the forest, until the setting sun indicated they had been training for almost five hours.

The two boys fell to the ground for the umpteenth time, the former landed gracefully and turned to look at the hyperactive blonde ninja who(only three hours ago could barely get one foot in front of the other) was now catching up to him, inch by inch. But how?

Naruto had no idea what he was doing until...

"Sakura," Sasuke muttered to himself as he remembered the pink haired teen whispering something inaudible to Naruto.

She obviously had given him some sort of advice on how to focus his chakra better because as soon as she left, Naruto began to catch up on him. Although his Uchiha pride would never allow him to admit it, Sasuke was angry and a little envious that she had chosen to help the blonde instead of him.

...Not that he need her help in the first place.

Naruto to n the other hand, was getting progressively angrier. It seemed that every time he thought he had enough chakra to make it all the way up the tree, it would just fizzle out and he would be sent falling back down to the ground.

"WHY IS THIS SO HARD?" Naruto shouted angrily, drawing Sasuke's attention. When their eyes met, they both froze, glaring at each other.

Naruto shook his head before turning back to his own tree.

No, no, no! If I think about Sasuke I'll lose my concentration! Come on, Naruto! Center yourself! Remember what Sakura said! Relax; focus on the tree... Closing his eyes, the Knuckleheaded Ninja felt a surge of chakra at the bottoms of his feet.

"Yeah! I can feel it!" Naruto exclaimed excitedly. "I'm going all the way this time!" Completely sure of himself, he charged at the tree once again.

"Hey, Naruto," Sasuke called out, completely taking the boy by surprise and making him trip to face plant the ground.

He sat up and turned to face Sasuke. "AHHH! SASUKE, WHAT ARE YOU DOING? I WAS TRYING TO FOCUS MY CHAKRA!" Naruto yelled. He fixed the Uchiha with a glare.

"Well," Sasuke started. "Uhhh...The thing is..." He couldn't believe he was about to do this.

"Yeah, what is it?" Naruto asked, folding his arms impatiently and intensifying his glare.

Sasuke stammered," Y-you know, you asked Sakura for advice when she was here. So, what did she tell you?" His eyes was twitching and he inwardly cursed himself for stuttered. Uchiha men do not stutter.

Naruto's eyes widened in surprise before his mouth formed into a huge grin. Sasuke immediately regretted asking for help.

"I'm not telling you."

"Hehe, this is fantastic! It's been ages since we had so many guests around our table!" Tazuna said happily as Team 7 around the dinner table to eat.

No matter how many times she would come back in time, Sakura would still be disgusted and embarrassed of her teammates; Naruto and Sasuke had come back from training, unsuccessful and more competitive than ever. Tonight's competition appeared to be who could eat the most in one sitting.

Naruto shoveled rice into his mouth with one hand and ate a lump of bread with the other; He was eating so fast, Sakura had to wonder if his body found time to breath in between mouthfuls. Sasuke was a little more elegant bug nevertheless he downed his rice in record time and began tearing apart the bread as though he had not eaten in days.

"I WANT SOME MORE!" Both boys declared as they stood up and held out their bowls. Seeing that they tied again, they glared at each other viciously before bending over to throw up violently.

Sakura shook her head in disapproval. She asked in annoyance,"What's the point in eating so much if you're just gonna puke it back up?"

"I have to eat," Sasuke answered as if it was the most obvious thing in the world.

"And I have to eat more than him," Naruto added as the boys smirked at each other. "It's the only possible way I'll get stronger."

"That's true, but puking won't help you," Kakashi cut in, bestowing his worldly wisdom upon his male students.

The topic of dinner conversation was Naruto and Sasuke's training session and how much they they were improving. Naruto was loud and boastful as usual and Sasuke was quiet but obviously proud; Inari said nothing and preferred to stare at his dinner.

Meanwhile they, except Inari and partly Sasuke, were conversing, Sakura was in her own little world.

She thought back to when she fought off Zabuza instead of Naruto and Sasuke. She just had a bad feeling in her gut and it made her frown.

Something doesn't feel right, she thought. She tried to remember what exactly happened the first time this happened. She closed her eyes to picture it in her head.

During the fight Zabuza, Naruto and Sasuke had devised a plan and…

Sakura's eyes snapped open and she hissed in frustration. She wanted to slap herself. The fight was supposed to make Naruto realize his dreams and goals! Zabuza and Haku were the ones that inspired Naruto to create his own 'Ninja Way'.

She growled, clenching her teeth. She done it. She really screwed up this time. How could she have been so stupid?

Unknown to her, Sasuke had noticed her unusual change in demeanor and glanced at her curiously. She was glaring a hole into her meal and Sasuke actually felt bad for the poor bowl.

If Sakura remembered correctly, by now she should have gone and stupidly asked a personal question, but that question got Naruto to inspire Inari that there are heroes, and start developing his Ninja Way. Sakura looked up to glance at Inari and was surprised to see Sasuke looking at her. When she caught him staring at her, he immediately looked away, feeling his neck warm up.

The boys continued to eat as Sakura finished her dinner and put her dishes away. Acting casual, Sakura walked up to the family photo on the wall and pretending to be innocent.

"Excuse me, but why is this picture torn?" she observed casually. She knew this was personal, but she had to do it. She refrained herself from cringing. "It seems that a face of the person in this picture was torn. Was it like that already or was it on purpose?"

The cheeriness of the room almost immediately sobered down, and the three civilians stiffened. Tazuna and Tsunami's expressions saddened.

She looked back at Inari. "Inari," she continued, her guilt slightly growing, but she kept her face calm and observant. "you kept glancing at it all through dinner. Is it someone of great significance to you?"

Inari didn't respond to her. Instead, it was Tsunami who spoke. "It... was my husband," she answered stiffly.

"He was once called a hero in this town," Tazuna said sadly, looking down at his cup of tea with a sad expression. The sound of wood skidding across the floor was heard and all turned to see Inari quietly jumping down from his chair and leaving.

Tsunami turned back from washing the dishes to look at Inari worriedly. "Inari, where are you going?" she asked, concerned.

He ignored her and left the dining room, wordlessly closing the door. A long awkward silence was carried out, and Sakura couldn't help herself to speak up. She felt guilty.

"G-gomennasai!" she apologized quickly before she bowed slightly towards Tsunami. "I should have known it was personal!"

Tsunami looked at her and shook her head, smiling sadly. "It's not your fault, you didn't know," she replied, a hint of sadness in her tone.

No, I did know, but I had to! Sakura mentally answered truthfully. Gomen!

Tsunami hurriedly went to the door and as she opened it, she looked over her shoulder at her Tazuna.

"Dad, I told you not to talk about that person in front of Inari!" she scolded before closing the door behind her to go after Inari.

Another long silence was carried as everyone except Tazuna stared after the mother and son.

Sakura asked, concerned, "What happened to Inari to make him act like this?"

Kakashi nodded and turned to Tazuna, who was scowling down at the table. He said,"There's some kind of good reason."

"Inari had a father not related by blood," Tazuna answered without meeting any of their eyes. "It was like they were a real father and son who got along really well."

Naruto looked surprised as he gazed at him.

"Back then, Inari was a child who laughed all the time. However," Tazuna paused, fisting his hands hard that they trembled. Team 7 looked at him surprised to see that Tazuna had started to cry, tears of anger and sadness cascading down his face and dripping onto the table. He looked up to meet their eyes, tears brimming in his own. "However, Inari has changed ever since that incident with his father. The word bravery was eternally taken away from the people of this land and from Inari. With that day, that incident, as the trigger."

"That incident? What happened to Inari?" Kakashi asked.

"To explain the incident, I must first," Tazuna said as he removed his glasses to wipe away his tears. "tell you about the man who was called the hero of this land."

"Hero?" Naruto repeated, his eyes wide in awe.

When he finally reapplied his glasses and looked up, Tazuna began, "It was around three years ago, when Inari met the man."

Tazuna began to explain a heartrending piece of their towns past. He spoke of Inari's father figure, Kaiza, the man the entire village looked up to as a hero, including Inari. He had taught the townspeople courage and fortitude, and was slain by Gato because of it. Well, it certainly explained Inari's bitter outlook on life.

After that, Naruto seemed more determined than ever to excel in his training. He openly proclaimed that he would prove to this land that heroes do still exist, that bravery is a cultivated trait everyone can embody. It was this kind of meddlesome talk which earned him the disdain from Inari that the group had grown to accept.

Two Days Later - At Dinner

"You're training is going well I take it?" came Tazuna's rough voice after everyone had cleared their plates.

"You bet'cha," exclaimed Naruto with a grin. "I can't make it to the top just yet, but I'm not givin' up, believe it."

"And what about you?" asked Tsunami, turning her charcoal eyes on Sakura. "You still come in here dripping wet from your training every night. I worry you might catch a cold if you keep this up."

"Sakura will be just fine," answered Kakashi for her. The dazed girl turned her attention to her sensei. "You've actually been progressing quite well, from what I've observed. You just need to stop focusing on the water so much."

Sakura scowled. "I knew that," she huffed haughtily. And she did. It was just a lot harder to do than she remembered.

I've been meaning to ask you this, Kakashi, but why did you decide to continue on this mission anyway? Especially after I lied to you and all."

The jounin rested his elbows on the table, clasping his hands before his chin thoughtfully. "Those who stray from the path of justice have no courage. But under the wing of a strong leader, cowardice cannot survive."

Those words tickled something in Sakura's memory, and she was certain she had read them somewhere in her studies, but she could not place it. The kitchen's occupants stared at the older ninja questioningly.

"That's a quote from the first Hokage," he answered finally.

The room held a pensive pause.

"But why...?" Inari's small voice drew everyone's attention. He was staring into his lap, stifling a sob, when his head snapped to eye-level. "All this stupid training is just a waste of time! Gato's got a huge army and they'll beat you down dead for sure. You guys think you're so tough, with your cool words and your training, but it doesn't mean a thing. No matter what, the strong always win and the weak always lose. That's the way things work."

"And that's why we're gonna win," Sakura broke in. "Not because we are strong, but because we are a team. They have an army, but they don't have teamwork, or a orange Knuckleheaded ninja who has a thing for a ramen and never giving up." She glanced meaningfully at Naruto, a small knowing smile on her face.

"Hmph," grumbled Naruto deeply. "Yeah! Just speak for yourself, all right? It won't be like that for me, you got that?" Sakura detected something different in her blonde teammate's tone. There was something more personal about it, more serious, and her smile was gone.

"Be quiet! Just be quiet!" The dark-haired boy slammed his hands on the table and rose from his seat, eyes ablaze. "Just looking at you makes me sick. You don't know anything about this land or our troubles. You're just butting in, thinking you can fix everything. You know nothing about the suffering and pain we've all been through!"

"Just look at yourself!" snapped Naruto, rising from his chair across from Inari to meet the boy's gaze head-on. "The people around you are trying so hard to make this place better. And what do you do? You just sit there, crying and whining and complaining about everything, like you're some sorry victim. Why don't you try doing something for a change? Instead of just sitting there and acting like a little coward!"

Naruto gaze was hard, steely, and evoked no warmth. Sakura felt pity for her teammate. She knew the boy right in front was an orphan, much less knew his parents.

The blonde turned away, ramming his hand in his pocket as he left the kitchen and went outside. Sakura watched him exit the room before returning her eyes to the table. Inari had left the room as well.

"I apologize for the outburst," Kakashi said, his eye on Tazuna and Tsunami. "Naruto tends to allow his emotions to get the best of him. You have to forgive him."

"You can't blame him," Sakura commented, making the three adults and Sasuke look at her. She gazed down at the table. "Yes, what he said was a bit harsh, but he has his heart in the right place."

"It seemed kinda personal to me though," Tazuna noted.

Sakura nodded gravely. "It was," she explained, her voice grim and her green eyes darkened with sorrow for her blonde teammate. She felt her eyes moistened and she swallowed a sob, but no one noticed the tears that threatened to spill. "You see, like Inari, Naruto grew up without a father. In fact, he never knew either of his parents. And he grew up without a friend in the world."

Tsunami and Tazuna glanced at the door Naruto had exited with a shocked look while Kakashi studied Sakura's form. Her eyes were downcast and her head was tilted away from all of them, including Sasuke, who was also studying her curiously. She felt their eyes on her and she managed to stop her tears from falling. Remember, crying is a weakness...

Did Naruto tell her this? Kakashi wondered. No one their age should know about this unless he actually told her. Well, she has been kinder to him since they became a team. Maybe he felt that it was okay to tell her this.

Sasuke frowned. Where did she get this information? he questioned. Certainly not from Naruto, he was with him more than she was, and he could have sworn he never saw those two interact so personally that the Dobe would tell her something so personal as that.

"I believe he understands your grandson's instinct to sulk and give up," continued Kakashi. "But I don't think Naruto wants him to. I believe his behavior makes much more sense once you put it into context. I'll go talk to Inari. And as for you two..." Sakura and Sasuke turned to their sensei, no traces of tears on her face. "It's about time you headed to bed. Regain your strength for tomorrow."

Sasuke nodded and the two genin rose from their places. Sakura's eyes lingered back at the kitchen exit.

"Naruto will be fine," assured Kakashi. "Trust me, Sakura. Now get to bed."

Kakashi noted how Sakura distanced herself farther from the dark haired boy again, but shrugged it off for now.

Sakura nodded before she and Sasuke exited through the same door, but as Sasuke headed to the guest rooms upstairs Sakura headed the opposite direction, towards the Naruto's chakra signal she had been tracking the whole time.

"Oi, where are you going?" Sasuke asked as she took the hallway that lead to the back door, towards the forest they had trained in.

Without turning back to him, she said over her shoulder with a neutral tone, "Just going to take a walk. I'll be back later."

To be continued...

NEXT WEEK!

A/N: Sorry, if it's shorter and boring, GOT TO STUDY FOR CLASSES!

Please check out my new SasuSaku fanfic, The Meaning of Forever, and if you already did, THANKS! Hope you enjoyed it! I'll update soon!

EXTRA:

BACKSTAGE DIALOGUE

"Nnugh!" Naruto groaned, reaching up and attempting to pull out his spiky blond hair. "These chapters are so short, dattebyo! Always some stupid cliffhangers! Hurry up and get to to the action!"

"SHANNARO! Don't rush the author, Naruto!" Sakura scolded, putting her hand on her waist.

Sasuke crosses his arms over his chest and huffed, "Just be patient, Dobe."

"Shut up, Teme, and why you lying!?" Naruto accused Sasuke, turning to point an accusing finger at him. "I know that you want to fast forward this too and get some action just as much as I do!"

"Hn."

"And, besides," Naruto said, grinning as he moved closer to whisper in Sasuke's ear. "You and I both know for a fact that, since this is a SasuSaku fanfic, you want to get in on some action. If you know what I mean, neh? Sasuke?" Naruto grinned even wider as he noticed Sasuke's cheeks grow a pink hue, and he nudged him in the ribs.

Sasuke felt his cheeks warm up, and he ducked his head and turned away form Naruto and Sakura, but under his dark bangs, he cast a nervous glance at Sakura to see if she heard any of this.

Sakura only raised an eyebrow at him and Naruto and frowned, mad that she was being excluded from the classified conversation they were having.

A few seconds later, when he felt the heat disappear from his cheeks, Sasuke turned back to Naruto and hissed, "Shut it, DOBE."

"You're not denying it."

BAM.