Flaming Heart

"Are you feeling any better?" The blond-haired man asked, his bright blue eyes scanned her searchingly, "The medic informed me that you received quite the dangerous wounds…"

Was she feeling any better? Certainly not. She tried to focus, what the hell was going on? How could this be? How could this be happening? It was impossible. She could not be in the past and this man could not be the Yondaime. She had survived whatever had happened and this was probably some sick joke shishou was playing on her. Where was Naruto? Oh Kami, was he alright? And Kakashi-sensei… please let them be okay.

"Do you…" there was a hint of hesitation in the man's voice. He didn't seem to be sure on how he should approach the wanted subject, "do you… want to talk about it?"

"Look… this is a joke, right? Where is Tsunade-shishou?" she asked quietly, moving her shaking hands to her lap. She looked down and stared at the bed's sheets, aware that he was still looking at her.

He frowned at the young pink-haired woman in front of him, "Tsunade is away. How do you know Tsunade?" the gentleness in his voice had faded completely.

She was beginning to panic a little now. This was no joke, was it? Swallowing hard, she shook her head, refusing to say another word. What would she say? How would anyone react to what she had to say? They would probably throw her in some dark room and label her as some lunatic. Who on earth would ever believe her when herself was also having a hard time to cope with reality? Maybe she should just run. But, who was she kidding? How could she run past him?

Unconsciously, she found her legs moving, her toes touched the cold floor.

Minato seemed to be aware of what she was thinking; with a small smile he calmly placed a hand on her shoulder and held her in place, "I promise you that while you're here, no harm will ever come to you."

Sakura studied his face, trying to figure out whether or not she should trust the man in front of her. Slowly, she allowed herself to relax and take in his soothing words. What choice did she really have? She was scared and confused and so she clung on to him. She nodded and watched in surprise as a wide grin broke into his serious face.

"Good, good. Now, who are your parents? I would like to contact them and tell them that you are safe."

A sad smile slowly crept into her pale features, "My parents are dead, sir," she raised her head and locked her eyes with his, "I was living with my grandmother. She has a small house in Grass Country but… she passed away. This is why I decided to return to Konoha."

She took in a deep breath and prayed to every existing God that the man would believe her. Lying was never one of her strengths. It was one of those things that Tsunade-shishou kept criticizing about her. 'One of the many qualities that a ninja needs to achieve success is to know how to lie a flawless lie,' she suddenly wished she had spent more time and energy trying to learn how to conceal her emotions like Sai did.

Minato blinked at the obvious and blatantly lie. How could she explain the leaf headband then? And how in Kami's name did she know Tsunade? He had so many questions but he felt better not to press her just yet. So he simply nodded in understanding and offered her a sympathetic smile.

"I am sorry to hear such sad news. Perhaps we should discuss your stay?"

Sakura stiffened. She noticed that there was a shift on the man's tone of voice. Despite being a terrible liar, she was incredibly good at noticing people's behaviour. The Yondaime looked more aware and she realised that he knew. He knew that she had been lying but said nothing – did nothing. She narrowed her eyes, growing suspicious of the man.

"So if you'll follow me, we will adjourn to my office. You will find that the pain medication you were administered is now taking effect, meaning you will feel no pain."

She opened her mouth to ask what medication exactly but refrained from doing so. Slowly, she rose from the bed and stretched her legs to test her own strength. He was right. There was no pain whatsoever. Satisfied, she stood and followed him. She noticed that she was wearing a white hospital gown which made her stop on her tracks.

"I will need some… clothes… and shoes." She spoke from behind him.

Minato whirled around and chuckled loudly, he scratched the back of his head and apologised. Then he wandered away, telling her that he would return with clothes and shoes. She watched him go; her heart beat increased at the opportunity to run. She looked around, her eyes searching for something that might give away a ninja presence and when she found none, she fought the urge to simply start running like a madwoman. Even if she was successful in running away, where would she go? She had nowhere to go or more precisely, she had nowhere to be. Her family and friends were gone.

Suddenly the air around seemed thicker. Clenching a hand to her chest, she tried to take small even breaths but in vain. The thought of being completely alone was crushing her.

Naruto. Sai. Kakashi-sensei… Ino.

Oh Gods, Ino. The sight of her best-friend mutilated body made her weak in the knees. She bumped her shoulder against the wall to stop herself from falling. And then, she saw nothing. It was as if she was suddenly blind and deaf to everything around her. She was suddenly on the ground, retching and gasping and then she was on the run. Running, she had no idea where she was running to, but she just wanted to keep going, somewhere – anywhere. She needed to stop thinking, this entire thing just couldn't be happening. No and no.

She had tears streaming down her face. She was stumbling, falling, picking herself up again to keep running only to trip over herself once more. She was sobbing, gasping for breath.

A shadow dashed after her. The tall masked man had his one visible eye settled on the woman. Her behaviour was unlike anything he had ever seen before. He could say she was scared, terrified, in fact. Though of what he could not even begin to imagine. He could hear her sobbing and choking. Watched as she kept struggling forward despite her stumbling, so blinded by her tears that she did not know where she was going. He concluded that she was not an ordinary citizen either, she was too fast. When he finally caught up with her, she collapsed once more. This time she did not try and get up. She just laid there, her head in her hands, sobbing and trying to catch her breath. She couldn't breathe. She was hyperventilating.

Kakashi Hatake, for about the only time in his entire life, was at loss. He took her by the shoulders.

The pink-haired girl was looking at him, near blue in the face from her gasping, her chest rising and falling rapidly with her quick and near non-existent breathing.

"Shhh!" he said, "Breathe." He blew out.

She copied him, still sobbing in between. She blew out again taking her eyes from him. She did it once more and could feel herself breathing more normally now. She sat up. She looked up at him.

"Kakashi? Oh thank Kami." Her voice was quiet and full of desperation, and she was still sobbing as she spoke, "I'm home… I'm home."

"How do you know my name?" he asked her quietly, his hand clutching hard to her shoulder to keep her in place.

She winced and when her blurred vision cleared she felt sick again. Kakashi. A very much younger version of her sensei was glaring down at her.

A new wave of dizziness claimed her and this time darkness came along.

How would it be to have a new life? It was like a white sheet of paper on which she would be able to write whatever she wanted, but this time more carefully, more cautiously, more wisely, more deliberately… or perhaps not. Perhaps she would change nothing. Then again, how could she not change the future? Not changing the future would mean that she doesn't care what happens to her family and friends. Right now, she has the power to save everything and everyone. But that was a responsibility that scared the shit out of her.

Groaning, Sakura tossed and turned on the hospital bed. What would she change, then? Somehow she could not concentrate, and it annoyed her, almost as much as the fact that she could not sleep.

It was the second sleepless night in a row and she was tired of her own musings, tired of thinking. She pulled a pillow from under her head and pressed it to her face muffling her loud screams. The Yondaime's smile brought her painful memories. It was like faith was rubbing it on her face, reminding her of Naruto on purpose. There was also this odd feeling about the blond-haired man, it was as if she was supposed to figure out something rather obvious but she just couldn't put her finger on it.

And he knew, the Yondaime knew she was pretty much lying and yet he had allowed her to stay. Though, she was under his team supervision, whatever that meant. She shuddered and turned in bed again as she curled into a ball. Kakashi… he totally heard her say his name and yet he had not told the Yondaime. What was he playing at? Knowing him as she did, he would probably try to gather information by himself.

She smiled to herself. No one would ever know about her secret.

A loud knock on the door brought her back from her reverie. She turned around almost excitedly. The Yondaime had told her that he would find her a proper place for time being which meant that she was finally getting rid of the hospital.

"Come in!"

Sakura eyed the door expectantly. She watched in sheer curiosity as a short brown-haired girl shyly stepped inside, she was carrying a small bag. The girl bowed in respect, "Ano, are you Sakura Haruno?"

"Yup! That's me," Sakura replied, noticing the purple stripes on the girl's cheeks. She looked somewhat familiar but of course she was imagining it, "And you are?"

"Oh! I am Rin." She bowed again.

A chuckle escaped Sakura's lips, "You are so polite. Are those clothes?" She asked pointing at the bag. She was dying to put something on other than the hospital clothes. She beamed excitedly when Rin nodded in response. Smiling, she accepted the bag.

"Ano… You will be staying with me for now…" Rin said, avoiding eye contact. She was hoping that the pink-haired girl would like the clothes, "Also… we will be team mates,"

Sakura dropped the clothes and whirled around to face the brunette. She forced a smile into her face, "Really? That's great!" she spoke with feigned excitement. To be honest, she had far more important things on her mind than forming a team right now. She had to gather information. There was no time to play ninja with petty missions. She had lives to save.

"Rin!"

A very familiar voice sounded from behind them. Both girls turned around at the same time. Sakura's heart dropped at that very moment. Her hands began to tremble but she hid them behind her back. She told herself to breath and then looked away – suddenly finding the small painting on the wall quite fascinating.

"I have been looking for you." Kakashi sounded upset, "I told you I would be coming too, didn't I?"

Rin's cheeks grew red and she nodded slowly before she apologised, "I thought you wouldn't come…" she whispered, finding it weird that he would want to come to meet the new girl. Normally, he would not care.

Sakura's gaze snapped back to the silver-haired young man. No way! Her jaw dropped. When she thought that things could not get any worse; there she was – stuck in Kakashi's team. Bloody fantastic.

"Well I did, didn't I?" he hissed furiously. He took a step forward; his hand wrapped around Rin's wrist and forced her out the door.

The pink-haired girl blinked as the door was closed and she was left alone. As she turned around to face her clothes, she shrugged. Who would have thought that Kakashi-sensei was an asshole in his younger days? Now that she thought about it, she didn't know much about her sensei at all. She knew what he liked to drink, what his favourite food was and that he always carried that perverted book around. Kami, she didn't know him at all.

Once she was finished dressing, she walked towards the door. She stopped and leaned in. She couldn't hear anything. Taking a deep breath, she opened the door and was surprised to find Rin standing there all by herself in the middle of the hallway.

The two girls walked side by side.

Sakura was doing an excellent job at pretending that no one was staring at her. Her eye twitched slightly as she considered throwing a tantrum. She wanted to break limbs, reattach them and then break them again. How rude! It was only after a while that Sakura finally realised that they weren't staring at her but at the brunette.

Rin was indifferent to all the staring, meaning that she was more than used to it.

"Hard to believe she's still a kunoichi isn't it?"

"Tell me about it. I heard her family disowned her."

Sakura came to a stop, one hand at her hip as she glared at the two women, "Do you two old hags have a problem?" she asked nonchalantly.

The two women seemed quite taken back with the pink-haired girl's attitude. One of them sneered and turned her back on them, "Just who is that?"

"I don't know. I've never seen her before." The other woman replied as she too began walking away.

Sakura blinked, "Oi! I asked-"

"Sakura-san," Rin said with a small smile, "Just ignore them. They're not worthy. Really."

Sakura eyed her suspiciously, not really buying the whole i-don't-care-façade. With a heavy sigh she let it go, "I just hate when people talk like that about my friends."

Rin came to a sudden halt to look back at Sakura. Friends. How long had it been that someone would call her that? Kakashi certainly didn't see her as a team mate, much less as a friend, "We're friends?" she asked quietly, her eyes now resting on the ground.

"Of course!" Sakura replied with a wide grin, "We're team mates too, aren't we?"

Rin nodded slowly, all words of cautious from Kakashi were quickly forgotten.