key:

"talking"

'jutsu'

thinking

"flashback"

nonhuman

Enough Delay!

Then next day, Sakura woke up in a hospital bed. She groaned as she tried to clear her head which had become foggy from all the painkillers in her system. Sure in the future she loved helping to heal people at the hospital, but actually being treated at the hospital was something she hated.

She let out a forlorn sigh and sat up in bed only to catch sight of a rather large cast incasing her left leg. "That bastard broke my leg." She couldn't believe it, but remembering what Garra did to Dosu made her realize that in reality she had gotten off lucky. The girl let her hand reach down and rest on her thigh, she wasn't able to save Dosu. Maybe she just wasn't strong enough to change the course of time, maybe somethings were just destined to happen. She sighed yet again.

"Good morning, Ms. Haruno." A familiar voice echoed from the doorway and Sakura looked up to see the third Hokage looking back at her. He gave her a kind smile and then walked over to her, before lowering himself into the visitor's seat behind her bed. "I have a few questions for you, Ms. Haruno. Won't you answer them for me?"

Sakura glupped.

"Recently, I'm curious about a lot of things concerning you. Like how you have come to learn such advanced medical jutsu, and about what happen to you yesterday, and also about that mark on your wrist… Won't you please enlighten me?" The old man looked at her with knowing eyes and she could feel herself pale under his gaze.

Sakura knew that the Third Hokage was a good person, but she didn't know if she could trust him. She looked away from the shinobi leader and out the window at the bright blue sky. Sakura had to make a decision and she had to make it fast.

"Alright." She answered after about a minute and turned back to Hiruzen Sarutobi. "I'll tell you."

"Lately I've been having strange dreams, very realistic dreams actually. It all started the morning I was assigned to Team 7. I have dreams about things to come, about people I've never met, and about dangers just beyond the horizon. I think… In my dreams… That I'm seeing the future." Sakura just stared at the Hokage to see if he was registering what she was saying, and to see if he was believing the half-lie she was telling.

"I know things. I know about the nine tailed fox within Naruto, and I know about the other eight tailed beasts as well. I know Gaara of the sand has the one tailed beast within him and I know about Orochimaru too. I know he is here in the village and I know he wants Sasuke to be his new vessel. I even know about the other two Sanin and about the Akatsuki, but most of all I know that I'm not suppose to know all of this. W-what should I do?" The pink haired kunoichi could see Sarutobi's eyes grow wider with each word she spoke and his belief in her "future sight" strengthen as she listed each impossible thing she knew.

There was silence between the two of them for a very long time as the Hokage considered everything Sakura had to say, and then suddenly Sarutobi stood and wrapped his arms around the girl. "You can't tell anyone about these dreams, Sakura. I'll keep your secret, but you must be very careful." He whispered and Sakura suddenly found herself crying in his grandfatherly embrace. She felt like a enormous weight had been lifted from her shoulders, even though she wasn't exactly telling the whole truth. "It's going to be alright." Sarutobi offered with a small chuckle.

"I'll let the council know that you don't know who attacked you and Dosu Kinuta." He reassured her and the stepped back so Sakura could see the rest of her team who had been standing at the door since the moment the Hokage had hugged her. "Take care of yourself, Ms. Haruno." He winked at her and then left the room.

Sakura quickly wiped her eyes, it was uncomfortable being in such emotional disarray in front of her team, but she felt relieved to have found an ally in Hiruzen Sarutobi. The boys on the other hand had felt their heart clench at the sight of their beloved Sakura crying her heart out to the current Hokage, it made them wonder what on earth had happened to her when she had been attacked the day before and their imaginations weren't helping.

"Are you alright, Sakura?" Naruto spoke up as he ran up the girl. "What happened?"

"I'm alright, Naruto, and I don't know. I kind of blacked out." Her mind flashed back to Dosu and that blank stare of his that would forever haunt her mind. "I guess, I'm lucky to be alive." She answered honestly.

Naruto frowned at her answer, "I'll never let anyone hurt you ever again, Sakura. Believe it!" This made Sakura smile, even though she knew he wouldn't be able to keep that promise and she reached up a ruffled up his spike blonde hair.

"I guess you're going to have to become really strong then, huh Naruto?" She grinned at him, already feel the life flow back into her by just being so close to the boy's infectious positive energy. He really was like the sun to her.

"I'm going to become stronger too." Sasuke spoke up and approached Sakura's bedside, opposite to where Naruto stood. He refused to be left out, and Sakura couldn't help but smile at him as well.

"I'm not worried, I already know that you'll master your Sharingan in no time and live up to the Uchiha name, Sasuke." The pink haired girl replied and smiled at the dark hair boy, who in turn smiled back at her.

"Hey, don't count me out." Kakashi smiled at the little group before join them.

The three spent the whole day by Sakura's side, eating cupped noodles and junk food. Reliving tales about their misadventures as genin and Kakashi telling them stories about his ninja days that may or may not have been true, just talking about nothing and everything. It was the best day Sakura had ever had since she had woken up in her twelve year old body that fateful day, and all she really did that day was lay in a hospital bed. "I love you guys."

Unfortunately, the next day was back to business. Sasuke and Kakashi went off to start their Sharingon training, and Jiraiya whisked Naruto away to do god-knows-what, probably something perverted, and Sakura was left alone once more.

Well, maybe not completely alone. There were two ninjas watching her every move now. Supposedly they were bodyguards sent by Kakashi. "Kotetsu! Izumo! Don't you have better things to do!?"

Both of the jounin that were stationed at the door just looked and each other before answering in unison, "NOPE!"


"So. Very. Bored." It hadn't even been two days, and Sakura was already at her wits end. She needed to train, she was tired of sitting around all day. She looked down at her injured leg and rolled up her pant leg till she could see the pale skin that spread across her bruised knee. She placed both hands against the revealed skin and concentrated, as she let her chakra probe and inspect the bone and muscle. She made an attempt to finish repairing the broken bone on her own as well as strengthen it, and she also mended the torn muscles.

Hours flew by as she repaired the damage, but afterwards she was as good as new, if not a little tired. She wiped the sweat on her brow with the back of her hand and looked down at her handiwork. "Yep, I still got it!"

Sakura smiled and turned her body so that her legs dangled off the edge of the bed, and then slid off the bed and stood up. There was no more pain, but she nearly fell over having almost forgotten about the hindrance covering her leg. The kunoichi quickly amended her mistake but shattering the cast with a rush of powerful chakra.

"Much better." Sakura smiled down at her legs as she rolled back and forth from the ball of her foot to her heel. She did a few stretches and even hoped up and down to test her leg, and she was completely healed.

"Well, enough delay. It's time to train!"

Her so-called bodyguards glanced into the room to see what all the fuss was about, and were honestly shocked to find Sakura standing up on her own. Though they were even more concerned with the fact that they had just witnessed her make her escape by jumping out of the window.

"H-hey! Come back here!"