Hello, I am not dead and with a newfound love for writing, I could not leave this story be. I originally took it down to rewrite it and I lost my computer and every file on it. I had some of my stories on a USB, but not this one and after several years, I finally feel like I can write it again. I am sorry to those who have waited on this story and I hope newcomers will still enjoy it.

Also, I am going through a Shisui phase, don't judge me. If you are bored, I have also posted some other stuff from my downtime.Petrichor is a chaptered ItaSasku story, post-war and also non-mass. Shisui x Sakura is a couple I am growing fond of, but I do believe I will keep ItaSaku for this one too.

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto, if I did, Shisui would have waaay more presence.

NOTICE: I edited a little in chapter 1, It was Shisui, Itachi, and Kakashi that took down Orochimaru.

Happy reading.

Word count: 4.817

Chapter 3

...

For the first seven hours, nothing happened. Sakura kept one hand on the hardened sand all the time, feeling how it changed in several places. She knew Sasuke could somewhat see the tracker in the coins, but she still hoped to find one.

Even after hours, her eyes had not adjusted to the darkness, meaning she was the only one on her team who could not see. Sasuke had his Sharingan and Naruto had after ten minutes been able to make out the features of the maze.

"Naruto, maybe we should try sending out some of your clones?" Sakura asked, feeling the pressure of time starting to set in. They had one day to find two more coins, and with seven hours wasted, she was getting worried. Naruto placed a hand on her shoulder, silently telling her he was right beside her. "I dunno if they can find their way back to us," he admitted, sounding sheepish.

The pink-haired genin opened her mouth and closed it again, faltering in her response. Did he really not know?

"Naruto, do you know why the Nidaime created the shadow clone and why it is considered a B-ranked jutsu?" she asked instead, hoping she sounded less exasperated than she felt. "It demands a lot of chakra," he said, sounding proud. He was right in that fact, but Sakura could not help taking a hand to her head as she shook it.

She could feel the silence and when Sasuke asked, "what else is there to it?" Sakura wished she could see them both. "Stupid boys," she whispered, before adding, "the shadow clone is not used as a fighting tool, it is used to gather information. The reason why it demands a lot of chakra is that when the clone dispels, you gain its memories," she hoped it made sense to the blonde, but without her eyes, it was difficult to tell.

"Is that why I always get a headache after we fight?" Naruto asked, sounding genuinely interested. "Could be, try sending two out and have them dispel themselves after five minutes," she said, hoping this plan would work.

They walked in silence and when Naruto suddenly started chuckling, Sakura could not hold back a smile. "We should turn left next time, the clone thought it heard another team," Naruto said and Sakura gasped, an idea forming in her head.

"Guys, can you trust me?" She asked, it hurt a little when even Naruto needed a second to agree. "What is your plan?" Sasuke asked, and Sakura took a deep breath. "Some teams can see, and others can't, we have not seen any other team or even heard them yet, meaning this maze is enormous. Gaara probably spent a lot of time on it," the last was added as an afterthought and Naruto gasped, "Gaara made this?" he said, and she sighed.

"What I mean is, many teams must be feeling time running out, Naruto, how many clones can you make?" she turned, hoping it was towards her blonde friend. "Dunno, how many do we need? Fifty? Eighty?" the absurd number of clones he could make made her want to cry a little. How had he never used this jutsu for its intended purpose before? Naruto was the ideal shinobi to cover large-scale infiltration missions.

"Okay, Naruto, make as many clones as you can, send them out in all directions. They can help us assess where other teams are, maybe one will even find a hidden coin. And in that way, they can help us find the teams that have trouble with their lack of sight. We can find them and get the coins we need and when that is done, we can set up clones as a perimeter to avoid being attacked." She was in deep thought and continued, hoping both her teammates were listening. "The hallways are three meters wide here, the clones could find a place for us that would have the greatest defense position,".

A few seconds passed before Naruto let out a slow whistle, "wow, Sakura-chan, I sometimes forget how smart you are," and even though he often complimented her, this one sounded different. "It is a good plan," Sasuke said, making her feel like she had finally contributed to their mission.

…

Through the next hour, Sakura sat on the cold hard sand, listening each time Naruto had an update for them. With a scroll and pen from Sakura, he was trying to draw a map for them, he had admitted he was scared he would forget where the clones had been.

While waiting, Sakura had sat in deep concentration, trying to feel how her chakra flowed. It was difficult, but finally, she found her optic nerve. She felt the line of energy all the way down to her core and focused, letting just a little more chakra through the pathway than usual.

"What are you doing to your eyes?" Sasuke needed a break from using his Sharingan, but when Sakura opened her eyes to the question, she could see he had activated them again. "I can see," she muttered, surprised at how it worked. It was still dark, but she could see outlines and hints of color.

"I got the idea from the next step in my training with Tsunade-Shishou. She adds to her strength by using the chakra pathway, muscle, and nervous system. I can see a little now, I don't dare to use more chakra on er nerve as fragile as the optic," he answered her with a sound, but Naruto clapped her back, "Sakura-chan is really saving our asses today, Sasuke-teme" and she could see the grin the blonde sent her way.

…

Twelve hours into the exam, Sakura stood back as her two teammates incapacitated a Suna team, binding them after taking their coin. After they had done that, Sakura had considered what to do. Even bound, they could still get loose and cause trouble for them. Gathering a little courage, she crouched down in front of one of the struggling and bound Suna genin and placed a hand on his forehead. "I'm not going to hurt you," she said, "you're just going to sleep for the next five hours," that would give them a good amount of time to get some distance between them. She did it to the other girl and boy before looking at her teammates, feeling a sting in her eyes.

She had kept a small amount of chakra running through to her eyes for hours now and the stinging sensation was a warning sign. Being the first time she had done anything like this, she knew not to ignore even the smallest symptom.

"I have to go back to being blind, my eyes are not strong enough to keep it up for hours," she told her teammates, and to her surprise, Sasuke and Naruto went to stand on either side of her, the blonde placing the large gold coin in her hand. "Don't worry," was all the Uchiha said, and Sakura allowed darkness to fill her eyes.

….

Nineteen hours into the exam and after a few short naps to keep their energy up, Sakura felt a swell of happiness when she heard Naruto's voice far away from them "Bro, I found a coin!" and now they had three.

Her plan was working.

…

Due to the map, Naruto had made earlier, they had already decided on a good spot to wait out the clock, which a new clone had told them was still free and safe.

Arriving there, Sakura sat down, exhausted, and tired. She hadn't done a lot of physical work during the exam, but having her mind on high alert for so many hours was overwhelming. "We only have two hours left, your plan was good" she heard Sasuke say, the sound of his voice telling her he had sat down not far from her.

A part of Sakura wanted to sleep, she wanted it to be like the exam in Konoha where they could end it when they had completed the mission. But she knew it was to simulate the effect of guarding an object in enemy territory for a set amount of time. Each of them had a coin now and she knew- "-some Kiri genin are nearby, they killed the clone," Naruto hissed, not truly whispering as he interrupted her thoughts.

And then Sakura smelled it. It was a sweet familiar scent that started getting stronger the longer she sat in the quiet. In a flash, she was on her feet, staggering with the effect of the substance in the air. "We need to move!" she urgingly, trying to quickly find the chakra flow to her eyes. The Kiri team knew they were there and they would pursue them.

"Naruto, make some clones to transform into us," she said as they moved away from the smell. "What was in the air?" Sasuke asked, wheezing out a cough. "it's a drug, it is used by civilians to knock someone out. I'm guessing a Kiri genin knows how to change it to vapor. It has the same density as water" she explained, finally feeling sight coming back into her eyes, although it hurt a little.

"We should just fight them," Naruto said, his three clones staying behind to transform and distract. "No, the mission is to find and guard an object, not fight" the Uchiha said, taking control of the direction they were going, "I can see a team to the left" he explained, making them turn right.

For the next two hours, Sakura was glad to have an Uchiha on her team. They moved every time a team came into his range of sight, allowing Naruto to send out more clones to distract the Kiri team that had been chasing them. Each time, Sakura made him replicate their team, hoping their opponent would keep thinking they caught up to them. It meant that if they did catch up to them, they would be expecting them to be clones and not take the battle seriously.

And then finally, a puff of smoke revealed their sensei, "Kakashi-sensei!" Sakura could not help nearly shouting his name, happy to know the exam was finally over. "Ah, my cute genin. Tell me, do you have the money?" he asked a twinkle in his one visible eye. Sasuke and Sakura each held out their coin while Naruto had taken out his green wallet. Realizing what their sensei mean, the blonde sheepishly scratched his head and pulled out the large gold coin.

"Fantastic," was all the jonin said, and then suddenly, light filtered in from the end of the hallway. "Go slow, give your eyes time to adjust," Kakashi said as they neared the light.

…

Sakura stared into the ceiling of their small hotel room, she had been up for hours, excited about making it to the third part of the exam.

Out of 29 teams, only five had passed. Sakura wondered if some of her friends who had not managed to pass would stay in Suna for the next month like them. It would be nice to have some company besides her team, but she also knew the next month would be filled with training.

Only Team seven and Team Gai had passed from Konoha. Sakura had heard that Hinata and her team had been in possession of their coins, but had been ambushed when the Hyuga heiress took a break to rest her eyes. It had been a quick and dirty ambush, Kiba had told them when they were all getting a medical checkup. A Kiri team had sent out a fog of poison, making them feel weak and dizzy before they had sensed the danger. The Inuzuka had been angry with himself, but when Sakura explained how the drug was uncommon amongst shinobi, he looked a bit better. No matter how good your sense of smell is, if you don't know the danger attached to it, it can be hard to assess. Although Sakura quietly thought to herself that most shinobi should flee when an unfamiliar smell appeared in a setting as they had been in. The drug had apparently worked far too well on Shino, his bugs had been unable to move because of the effect.

Sakura had been on the couch for nearly an hour when the door finally opened, and her sensei entered. "Where is Sasuke and Naruto?" she asked as he took a seat across from her. "Naruto is visiting Gaara and Sasuke left with Itachi-san to train already," he paused and Sakura somehow knew that if she had been able to see his face, he would have a nervous smile on it. "They are fighting each other in the first round," this news made her sigh and shake her head.

"And what of me, Sensei?" she asked, looking at the papers he had in his hand. "Maki Saito, the girl from Kirigakure," his one eye showed worry and she knew the matchup was bad for her. She had seen the Kiri team, the ones who had chased them, and found team eight instead. During their medical checkup, she had seen the girl, she was at least a couple of years older than her, and she looked like she had seen more war than most jonin.

"It's bad in Kiri right now," Sakura whispered and Kakashi hummed in agreement, "sending teams to this exam is just bravado, the civil uprising means they have to show off their best genin,". And it made sense to her, but she still knew the match would in all likelihood end with her loosing.

"Let's not be discouraged, the Hokage already made sure you have help. I am to focus on Naruto and you'll be happy with my replacement," to this, Sakura wanted to grimace. She had seen Ebisu, whom Kakashi had pushed on Naruto at their last exam, and she wondered if she would ever be good enough for her Sensei to finally focus on her.

Suddenly, Kakashi chuckled, "by the way, you have created a monster, Sakura". She sent him a questionable look, and he elaborated, "Naruto sent eight clones to the library before he went to see Gaara. It seems he plans to use his clones to learn". A warm feeling pushed a smile to her face, happy that she had helped her teammate figure out a way to become a more rounded shinobi.

"When will I meet this Sensei? Is Shizune-Senpai coming?" she asked, hopeful to see the kind jonin soon. "She and Tsunade-sama will be arriving the day before the final exam. Your interim sensei was hand-picked by Tsunade-sama, he is already in Suna and ready to start when you are" this meant she would not have to wait several days to get started, and at least that was a good start.

"Why was he chosen?" she asked when she saw Kakashi smile in a strange way, she became fearful, "because, besides the Hokage, he has the best chakra control in Konoha". Sakura wondered if she had ever met the man, she did not know many of the higher-ranking shinobi, her own family not being very connected to other than chunin.

And then suddenly, right as she blinked, a tall black-haired man appeared behind Kakashi, startling her. "And I am the fasted shinobi alive!" he said as if he added to what the older jonin had just stated.

"Now, my fine little blossom," he had walked closer to the seating area, grinning wickedly at her "I'm a cousin of the little ice prince, Sasuke. You may address me as Sensei or Shisui-san,".

Sakura gaped, not knowing exactly what to say or internalize what he had said. She had seen him before but never talked to him. It was strange to meet an Uchiha who did not exude coolness. They all seemed like a group of people who had perfected being emotionless and speak as little as possible. But this tall man was an outlier.

"Well, it seems you are all set, Shisui, I leave her in your care," and Kakashi stood, about to leave her with this strange man. "See you later, Senpai" at least he sounded to have calmed down.

A silence fell on them when they were alone, Sakura still doubting what she should ask or say. "Uhh, Shisui-san, what should I focus on?" she asked, not getting up from the couch. To her relief, the newcomer took a seat, lounging as Shikamaru would do.

"Hokage-sama had an interesting idea, which we are to test this month. Do you know what people call me?" when he asked this, a light turned on in her head, she had heard of him, "Shunshin no Shisui," she muttered, and he gave a curt nod.

"You have probably seen the shunshin many times, but- wait, I'll test you, I want to see what you know," as a reflex, Sakura straightened her back, "do you know which kind of jutsu and chakra-based techniques are the ones we become best at and why?"

Turning the question in her head for a minute, she answered, "what we learn during adolescence and our early teens lock in the memory, meaning the way we mold chakra those years can become memorized to a degree we act on instinct. It is why the academy focus on substitutions and clones, they can mean the difference between life and death," and she knew she had gotten it right when an abnormally kind smile formed on his face.

"Sasuke-chan told me you were smart," he leaned forward a little, "I learned the shunshin when I was eight, I spent years on perfecting it and because I did it so young, the way hand signs mold ones chakra became second nature to me," and in an instant, he was gone. "Over here" he called and the jonin was now leaning against the window, grinning.

"The Ram sign is the core of the jutsu, many only need that after they learn it. The most difficult thing is how you vanish. In Konoha, many use leaves and in Suna, many use sand. You have probably also seen smoke used. These are a byproduct of the control over the way chakra is molded in the jutsu," to this, Sakura wondered if she should tell him she already knew what he was teaching her, but it would be impolite.

"You're going to teach it to me?" she asked, hopeful and scared simultaneously. She had not been training hard for long and the amount of chakra she had was not something to be proud of.

"Yup, and a few other things. Hokage-sama believes it can be a great help to you, why do you think that is?" again, his words forced her to think, and this time it was harder to come to a conclusion. Sakura needed to look inwards and be critical of her abilities.

"Medical shinobi often give up on element-based jutsu, it is dangerous to train in an element, as it could kill a patient by accident. Medics need to rely on what they can do without an element. It is why they train in evasive tactics" the last part of her answer made her shudder, she had not trained with Tsunade many times yet, but the woman was harsh when it came to the importance of evasion.

"Very true, but why the shunshin?" he pushed, walking over to the chair once more, running a hand through his short, almost curly, hair.

"It is good for evasion?" she said, phasing it like a question. Many shinobi could use it and it did seem like a good idea to learn it early. His smile turned a little sad, and the genin on the couch tried to ignore the pang of disappointment in her chest. She had not answered that last part correctly.

"Hokage-sama believes that if you learn it from me, you might be able to one day use it somewhat similarly," he did not sound entirely like he believed this, "she even bet against you with Shizune-san,".

Shisui reached out a hand to her and Sakura started at it before taking it, "now, I believe it is customary to treat my new student to lunch," he pulled her up from the couch, making her stumble clumsily. Seeing this, he winced at her coordination.

"Sakura-san, you might think me nice, but I will not go easy on you. I have some duties here in Suna, but if I am not there, a clone will be. From six in the morning, you will work until I deem the day over. We have a training ground ready, so bring your things."

…

Sakura was on her hands and knees, breathing hard, sand entering her mouth as a result. At that moment, she did not care, everything in her body hurt. Every day for a week, she had ended up like this, if not worse and the muscles in her body screamed. Apparently, the Uchiha frowned on taking a day off, and Sakura hated to admit it, but she could see the results already.

All around her, dunes of sand were scattered where she had punched. Besides teaching her the shunshin, Shisui had also focused on her taijutsu, incorporating the familiar strength Tsunade used. Although compared to her Shishou, her strength was nothing.

"We're calling it for today. You did well," a hand was softly placed on top of her head, "Itachi-kun sent a message that he and Sasuke are free for the evening, we should join them for dinner, don't you think?" his hand had moved to grip her upper arm, pulling her to her feet. Standing beside him, Sakura felt very feeble and small. He was even taller than Kakashi, and although not thin, slight in stature.

Although they had only been apart for a week, Sakura missed her teammates and wondered how they were doing often. "What of Naruto and Kakashi?" she asked and the Uchiha sighed, "Kakashi-senpai likes to disappear, this time he took Uzumaki-san with him" and although Sakura felt he probably knew exactly where they were, she did not push.

"Now, Sakura-chan," he started as they neared the food district in sand covered village, "I know you want to tell Sasuke-kun about our training, but do not reveal anything" he paused, "actually, can you heal your hands?" he asked, stopping in the street to look down at her. With the little chakra she had left, Sakura healed the cuts and bruises that covered her hands. The ones on her arms and legs were still covered by clothes.

"Try to analyze how Sasuke-kun looks, it can give you an idea of what kind of training he is doing. He might be your opponent during the exam".

Sakura laughed a little, "I am up against someone much stronger, and besides, Naruto and Sasuke will probably knock each other out". They had started walking again and Shisui laughed, "I am giving you pointers because you are my student for the month, but I believe my little cousin will make it far this time," she knew he had a point; Sasuke was strong. However, Shisui did not know Naruto and the drive he had.

"How about a little wager, Sakura-chan?" the informal way he spoke to her had been adapted during the second day, it depended mostly on his mood, she noted. "If Uzumaki-San and Sasuke-kun knocks each other out, you win, if Sasuke-kun wins, I win," he was grinning down at her and Sakura was just about to agree but knew from watching Tsunade that she should know every part of a wager before agreeing.

"What do we win?" she asked, making the older shinobi ponder, "how about one favor?" knowing there was not much he could ask for and that he was a kind man at heart, or at least he seemed like it, Sakura agreed.

That evening had been one of the strangest experiences in her thirteen years of life. Sitting outside in Suna, eating dinner in a busy street with three Uchiha men was not something she could have imagined. Shisui had carried most of the conversation, but she had sat facing Itachi Uchiha. It had been difficult to look at the man, he was stoic, silent and looked like he would rather be anywhere else than eating dinner with them. But when rose to leave the group, he had given her a very small smile, "good luck on your training, Sakura-san,".

It was not that they never spoke, but she could count the instances on one hand. She had only ever seen him at his home or the two times she had seen him in full Anbu armor and mask. The air around him seemed otherworldly.

…

Sand effortlessly moved with the wind, setting the scene for the genin who had for the first time, done something that was unexpected of her. She had succeeded beyond the goal Shisui had set when he started training her.

In sheer ecstasy, Sakura smiled up at her temporary Sensei, taking in the shocked look on his face. After a second, his lips turned into a small smile, "how often did you practice this?". The genin knew he was not referring to when they were training, but at home in the hotel. The room had felt strangely empty now that she was living in it alone, except when Sasuke stopped by to collect something.

"After you tried to describe the way you see chakra molded with your Sharingan, I felt for the difference between leaves and smoke, somewhere in between, almost like a median, the essence of nothing stood out," again, the man looked a little surprised, but nodded, "I practiced every night before bed, meditating to center the feeling of that point".

And she had succeeded. It had taken her a week to learn the shunshin, another to change from smoke to leaves and now, she had done it with nothing, just fading away. Although still unbearably slow and still needing the Ram sign, Sakura knew Shisui had not expected her to do it. It was nowhere near a level where she could use it to evade or attack, but pride filled her for the first time in many months.

The jonin was still staring at her, looking thoughtful. After nearly a minute, Sakura felt uncomfortable under his intense eyes. His Sharingan had been active the whole time and she wondered what was on his mind.

"I don't know what to feel," he said suddenly, "it was my thing, what set me apart and now I feel both pride and irritated,". In a way, it made sense to the genin. Shisui was from a notable clan, anything to make a name of his own would mean a great deal to the young man and he had taught her how.

"Uchiha's cant even copy it and you figure it out in a month," he was suddenly right in front of her, bending down to look her in the eyes, "you're a strange little one, aren't you?" and to her relief, he was smiling. "I am sorry, Shisui-sensei" she said, hoping he would not feel too bad, the Uchiha laughed and straightened himself to his full height. "Don't be, little Sakura-chan. You did something great, don't let my pride take it from you" he ruffled her pink hair and then took hold of a strand.

"Isn't this length annoying?" the complete change of subject made her sigh, he had the same attention span as Naruto. She had kept it shoulder length to be practical, but he was right, it did annoy her. "I had long hair before, it got in the way," she explained and he shook his head, "short hair like mine is best, the next is actually long hair. It is easier to tie," and now that he said it, Sakura could see some logic in the statement. The second time she had cut it was to make it a statement to Ino that she had fully given up on Sasuke, perhaps that reason had been juvenile.

Today was her last day of training with Shisui, and Sakura was smiling when he treated her to a meal to congratulate her of her achievement. The Uchiha had insisted she had one day of full rest before the exam.

"Sakura," his voice was serious when she was about to make the trip back to the hotel. "You have done really well this month. I am proud to have taught you something, that Kiri girl might be stronger, but you have an intelligent mind she cannot plan against," he poked her in the forehead, similar to the way she had seen Itachi do to Sasuke.

"Don't back down, I know you can win," and with those words, he was gone.

...

I promise there will be a chapter 4.