A.N: Merry Christmas and Happy New Year! Here's my present for you: In a Lifetime will be from now on a multichapter. I wasn't expecting any response at all but seeing as I have been commented upon in a matter of days, I think it's good enough for me to give it a go. Please leave a review whether you liked it or not, and do not hesitate to correct me if I happen to miss something. Most of my knowledge about Naruto comes from reading fanfiction, watching some arcs of the anime and skipping others —because of spoilers— and skipping though the filling chapters. So I might miss something after all.

Now, a couple of disclaimers:

1. This is a canon-deviance story (obviously).

2. Sasuke plays an important role —duh— but I will severely change his character development. Nothing too OCC but definitely no psycho freak if Sakura-chan can help it.

3. I lack knowledge about jutsus, but there are some I know which seem ridiculous to me, so maybe I'll make up some of them or do a proper research, whatever comes first. I wanted to get creative while maintaining some logical power scale —unlike a certain someone we all know of—.

4. If you don't particularly enjoy female-dominant perspective in shonen, this fanfiction might not be for you.

5. I want to include some pairings, Sasusaku and Naruhina mostly —and also make them believable this time, for fuck's shake—, but if you happen to ship any characters, I'm up for suggestions.

6. I DO NOT own Naruto (obviously).

Chapter 1: Silhouette

…

Clutching the things we wish to hold dear
We'll become more mature, never letting them wander
Protecting them at all times
Then someday, we'll be able to laugh about it all

Silhouette, by Kana-Boon (translated).

…

Sakura washed her hands. Once, twice, three times… She rubbed them until they became raw, the once crimson-stained skin turned unto a shade of sickly pink. Sakura contained the need to scrub her nails along her fingers until she saw bone. She had washed most of the goo away from her hair, which still framed her face unevenly, but the dress was unsalvageable. She rested her head against the wall for a while and sighed heavily. The mirror reflected a devastatingly accurate picture of how she felt inside: hideous.

Her first reaction to the whole ordeal after locking herself up in the restroom was to cry in hysterics, then in relief, because it had worked. She was back, her time-travel jutsu, her self-inflicted experiment was a success and so the world had another go at being saved. Even though she had no clue what she could accomplish on her own, one thing was for sure: she had an advantage and thus she would sure as hell make the most of it.

But more importantly…

Kakashi-sensei was alive

Tsunade-shisou was alive

Naruto was alive

Sasuke was alive

And at that very moment, fleeting as it was, nothing else mattered.

The Byakugou no In, a rhombus-like marking crowning her forehead, was staring right back at her, confirming what just happened in the arena, and switching her off to a sense of dread. A few days ago, she had entered the Forest of Death with her teammates, still infatuated with Sasuke, still annoyed at Naruto, and now… Now it all felt like a distant memory, because a few days ago she was also lost in the middle of a wasteland, the remaining pieces of a world devastated by war and a wicked goddess hot on her trail. The voice of Inner was no more, it vanished when the seal appeared, and then every invasive memory came rushing to her, crushing completely any shred of innocence left in this timeline, as she made sense of them. Probably for the best, though. She needed guts for what was to come.

Sakura massaged her temples, digesting the information overdrive, thinking how on earth she was going to explain the Byakugou and that sudden display of strength to Kakashi or Sarutobi, or even Naruto and Sasuke. Sure, maybe she could manage Naruto, but the other three… It was as if she could imagine their inquiries already. So, in favor of her mental stability and for the sake of future credibility, she had avoided every single person who approached her at the end of her match and asked to be left alone for a while, strode to the bathroom and haven't left since. She mulled over a thousand excuses while looking at the reflection of her half-lidded green irises. Her eyes looked dull, suddenly devoid of cheerfulness, and she guessed that maybe she could justify it with the dread of her supposed 'first kill'. The hard truth was that they had dulled over a lifetime of crushed hopes.

Sakura assessed her current strengths. Judging by how much chakra she had during her battle with Zaku, it was obvious that all her reserves from her previous life had been stored inside her seal, which meant that without activating it she was stuck with her poor assets from when she was twelve. Also, the dangers of overusing the Byakugou weren't a matter she could simply overlook. She wondered how much her body would withstand it, although seeing as she had been surviving on chakra alone during the two years she avoided Kaguya, she was confident about lasting to see the war end, if there was to be one at all this time around. Moreover, since her body had changed into a smaller one, there was the matter of discoordination, learning to aim properly again, working her stamina again and learning to propel chakra properly. In short, there was hell to do, despite the obvious advantage, and just the thought of overcoming it all again sent her into a spiral of repressed anger.

"If only I'd been stronger when I had to…"

No. She couldn't afford thinking like that. If she had time to brood, surely, she had time to heal herself and put up a believable front.

Half an hour later, the sound of cheers dragged her back to reality. Obviously, the match between Lee and Ino must have ended. It was curious how a simple change of luck had messed up all the previous matches of her past timeline. If she had to bet who had won, it would definitely be Lee —no offense to Ino, of course—. She exited the bathroom, feeling now more at ease, and was greeted by the sight of her two teammates and sensei waiting for her in the hall that connected the restrooms with the arena. Kakashi was as usual, reclined to the wall reading Icha Icha Paradise but there was a stiffness to his shoulders that gave him away. She supposed he was the bigger threat when it came to hide information, but as far as reliability went, she supposed he was the only level-headed member of Team 7. Sasuke was obviously tense as well, with his hands inside his pockets, looking straight at her with the most piercing demeanor she had seen of him in a while. She decided, if she was to be weary of someone, it should be him, regardless of her own feelings. His relationship with the village and his teammates was already fragile and she wouldn't by any means push her luck around him. As for Naruto, well, he was still Naruto, and didn't second-guessed his actions when he ran to her and gripped her shoulders tightly.

"Sakura-chan! What the hell was that?!" He shook her. She flinched at his azure orbs and avoided them immediately. Last time she saw them, their light was extinguished from existence, it had been too long since they last sparkled like that.

"Get a grip, for kami's sake."

"What do you mean? I won the match."

"Yeah! I know, and uh… It… It was good Sakura-chan, but… errr… Why did you have to kill him?! You had him already, you didn't need to!" She steeled herself for what was to come. Kakashi hadn't closed his damned book but she could tell he was paying close attention to her body language.

She forced herself to look at Naruto. "He tried to kill me in the Forest of Death. He was after you two, even though you were unconscious, and then tried to kill Sasuke-kun." Just the notion of Sasuke getting near Orochimaru once more made her sick to her stomach, but her expression didn't give it away —or so she thought— as she stared stubbornly to his teacher and moved on to the blonde. "He was talking about doing it again. I had to get rid of him!"

Naruto gritted his teeth in denial and shook his head as to convince himself that this wasn't happening. "But Sakura-chan… This isn't like you!"

There was a brief silence and Sasuke, for once, seemed uncomfortable enough to put an end to it, but Sakura spoke first. "Naruto. Enough." When the blonde flinched at her sharp tone, she almost regretted it, but decided to pull through regardless. "I won't allow anyone to harm any of you while I'm alive. Even if—" She decided not to voice her thoughts out loud. It would only cause a ruckus in their already fragile team dynamics.

"Even if I have to go through hell again so that you are safe."

She left, without looking back, and so missed the mixture of care, confusion and horror in Naruto's face, the puzzled expression on Sasuke's and Kakashi's awkward silence after her leave.

Likewise, they missed her grimness while thinking of a dying, slightly older Naruto, asking for her forgiveness, and as the lights of the hall banished and she was caressed by the sunlight, she mourned the loss of her past teammate, whom once had been her light in the darkness.

…

Sakura ran through a maze of rotten roots. The earth had become barren, forever trapped under the reddish hue of a blood-stained moon. There was nobody to plough the land, nobody to harvest its fruits, nobody to fight for. The moon goddess had made sure it stayed like that. She was the last human standing that could possibly do something about it. It was kind of like a prophecy, because a medic was supposed to be the last one standing.

Sakura thought, if life was doomed to be repeated, she wouldn't want to go through the pain of being the last one again.

"What would Naruto do? What would Sasuke do? What would Kakashi do?"

It was all she could think about.

It had been years since she eluded the moon goddess, taking shelter in the Shikkotsu Forest. It was the obvious place to hide, the last living reminder of life, because it would constantly try to heal itself. Her body had started to give up months ago, so it was really the only place left to go. She learned from experience that Kaguya was undefeatable if she was to face her alone, less likely in her current state, with a severe case of malnutrition and dehydration. She would rarely look at her reflection in stagnant water, where her eyes became too big to fit her face. Sometimes, when she did look, she was tempted enough to drink from it but knew better than that. If she did her stomach would make her recoil in pain for days. The liquids she could afford to consume were off the few living fruits left in the forest, but they were sour and many times almost rotten. Her body had become a shadow of its own, a skeleton surrounded by skin tissue. Her face was framed by harsh edges and her ribs embraced her through her chest as though they were going to pop out her skin. Her hair, once luscious, grew unevenly overtime and had lost its pinkness to a greyish hue.

"Katsuyu… I don't have much time."

"Yes, Sakura-sama. We should hurry."

It was time, indeed. Surrounded by her slugs summons and drawing blood from her hands, she sat under the shadow of a dried Osmanthus tree. Sakura drew a crimson cross over her Yin Seal with trembling fingers, activated it and performed an experimental jutsu that could either give the world a second chance or get her killed. At that moment, tired as she was, she dared to think either outcome was fine.

"Take me back, so I can start anew. Chakura: jikan-tensu no jutsu!"

And she performed the hand seals, and her Byakugou shined throughout her body, and she hit the ground, eyes peacefully closed, in a meadow of mourning slugs.

If death was anything like that, she was more than eager to embrace such warmth.

Strangely enough, her last thought was that of a photograph that used to be by her nightstand back in Konoha: a masked man laying his hands on two annoyed boys and a girl in the middle, trying to pull her best smile because otherwise the shot would turn out un-cute.

…

Sakura looked at her wardrove with a critical eye. She had found a pair of long black spandex pants that went all the way to her feet, leaving only her toes and heels uncovered. His father had once brought them to her after one of his travels along the Fire Country. She had refused to wear them because they seemed too dark for her liking and not too appealing, but now she could only be glad for not throwing them away. She also took a black obi which once belonged to her mother without her notice, but since she didn't use it anymore and was short enough to embrace her waist firmly, she borrowed it anyways. She found a red haori with the Haruno crest at the back and put it on, crossed above her chest bindings and supported by the black obi. The sleeves were wide and reached her forearms, so they didn't get in the way when using her hands. Then, she put on a pair of black fingerless gloves. She tested her new outfit and was pleased enough with the range of its movements.

When she had reached her house the day before, her mother nearly screamed at the sight of her blood-smeared dress and her new uneven haircut, demanding an explanation while forcing her to the bathroom to trim her messy pink locks. She didn't say a thing, not wanting to engage in another conversation about the risks of being a ninja and briefly commenting on her battle omitting every important detail, like the fact that she had killed her opponent or that she had awaken a forbidden jutsu. To avoid questions about the byakugou, she hid it casting a genjutsu on Mebuki, and let her rant about anything and everything. Sakura always knew her mother didn't support her choice on profession, and up until now she hadn't had a reason to justify her decision other than Sasuke, but it weighted on her how everything had changed, and how her motives had evolved into something far more meaningful than petty first love. Of course, she still felt deeply for Sasuke, but now that refreshing breeze of childish affection came with a great deal of pain, as it became stained with dark memories of a past —yet possibly future— Sasuke.

Her love had matured with time, and her heart had reached new heights of bonding; she now understood the dangers of being blinded by narrow-minded affections, because Sasuke had become more of a need as time went by, and Sasuke's hate towards Itachi was nothing but obsession and hurt. In her ever-lasting desire for Sasuke to come back to them, she often had overlook or assumed her bonds with others: her parents, her teammates, her shishou… Mebuki and Kizashi Haruno, for instance, had been killed during the war, on a raid to the village while she was busy on the battlefield. She never found out until Madara was defeated, but in the short time she dared look back, Naruto and Sasuke went to fight one another, so she failed to show up before they killed each other. Their fight was bound to happen, she knew, but she never thought it would escalate to that. And years after that, she would be left to regret it forever. Once more, she should have been there and wasn't. When she reached a dying Naruto, her being at the verge of chakra depletion, that's when the magnitude of her loss became apparent to her. She wailed, because somehow their teammates dying hit closer that her parent's deaths. And so, she was left to feel a horrible daughter as well. Being there by her mother after what seemed far too long was relieving and painful all the same.

…

"Naruto!" She pumped healing chakra to her fingers and coated his body with it. He seemed tired, but somehow content. "Naruto… Hold on! You'll be alright!"

It didn't seem to convince him, because he had a sad smile crossing his features, and if he ever was to look innocent, it was then. Sakura was trying to convince herself, though. Her chakra wavered, and she knew then he would not make it.

"Sakura-chan… I'm sorry. In the end, I couldn't bring back the bastard…" He choked on his own blood, staining her cheeks.

"What are you saying, idiot?!" She couldn't help it. She was weeping again, desperately trying to hold back her sobs. "You'll be alright, and we'll get this over with, and we'll be Team 7 again in no time!" She was in the process of pumping whatever was left of her chakra to keep his heart beating but was held back when his hand gripped hers.

"Sakura-chan… I will…"

"Please, no, please, Naruto!" At that point, she could only shout with desperation.

"…love you forever, believe …it."

And his eyes, always so full of hope and dreams, were lost to the blankness of the dead.

…

Her mother continued trimming her hair, blissfully unaware of her daughter's distress, and Sakura simply enjoyed the sound of her voice, even if it rang as annoyed as ever. She steeled herself not to cry. She hadn't have the opportunity to mourn her losses at the time, and it was pointless now because she would make sure there was no need this once, but even though it all sounded logical to her, her emotions didn't seem to agree. Instead, she bit her lip with a vice hold, and tasted her own blood, as if she could swallow her pain through ironed flavor.

That same night, an ANBU knocked at her window: "The Hokage expects to meet you tomorrow morning, Haruno Sakura."

And that was exactly why she was getting dressed in proper ninja attire at the moment, fidgeting with her thoughts, knowing this was a confrontation she couldn't delay. The previous night, while being in bed, she had been hunted by all sorts of excuses and plausible responses to every explanation Sarutobi would possibly ask of her, and to be honest, she looked like crap, if the dark circles under her eyes were any indication.

While she approached the Hokage Tower, she pondered what could be done about the incoming invasion but was rudely interrupted. "Sakura-chan!" She turned to the left and saw Naturo approaching. For a brief moment she wondered if she was ready to talk about the day before and her body was visibly ready to volt, but the decision was taken away from her as soon as he grabbed her wrist. "Sakura-chan… I'm sorry about yesterday!" He bowed, still distressed. "I talked with Kakashi-sensei about what happened, and… Well, I know why you did it, and I still like you and all… But… Well…"

"I understand, Naruto." He looked taken aback, but before he had any opportunity to keep babbling, she continued: "I know you dislike killing people, and I used to agree with you, but now… I guess I'm not opposed to it if I have to, and you should learn to do the same. You're a ninja after all."

"You're talking like Kakashi-sensei…"

"Tell me, Naruto, if I was in danger and about to die, wouldn't you do anything to help me, so we can return home together?"

"Of course I would, believe it!"

"Then, I'm sure someday you will have to do what I did yesterday. And I won't ever judge you because of that. I only hope you don't hate me after all." His expression changed from distressed to alarmed in a matter of seconds.

"What are you saying?! I would never hate you, Sakura-chan! But… I still think there might be other ways, ya'know?"

Sakura-chan… I will love you forever, believe it…

"I'm glad…" And she smirked —rather sadly—, he realized, for the first time in a long time, and it made him happy to know it was because of him, even though they were technically making up after a sort-a-kind-a argument. He hadn't liked that dryness in her eyes when the battle ended, and her desperation while being in the damned forest, or her tears when they faced Zabuza. Still, there was a strange glint to her that he couldn't quite place. The bastard seemed to agree with him when he asked, though he wouldn't know for sure, because all the answers he would gain from him were monosyllabic bullshit.

"Hey, Sakura-chan, do you want to go get ramen with me?"

"Oh, I have an appointment with the Hokage, but after that I suppose I owe you… I'll meet you at Ichiraku's in an hour."

"Right! And I'll tell you about that creepy old man I met at the bathhouse!"

…

Hiruzen Sarutobi had witnessed enough matches in his life to recognize a battle style or discipline when he saw it. Haruno Sakura, as plain as she might appear, as clanless as she was, seemed to have mastered a forbidden technique that no one but one person had been able to pull off. He would know, because he had been Tsunade's teacher, but looking into the Haruno files, it appeared the pink-haired girl had not left the village since entering the academy. Had she perhaps encountered Tsunade before that? It seemed unlikely. At that moment, the door opened revealing the very source of his recent headaches. He decided to play innocent. It was not an impossible feat to become stronger, but if this girl was an imposter it was his duty to know.

"Haruno-san, please, come in. Have a sit." He lit his pipe while the girl took the farthest chair from him.

"Hokage-sama, did you wish to speak with me?"

"Straight to the point", he thought. "Actually, yes. It is about your display at yesterday's match."

She had the decency to appear confused. "Is something the matter?"

"Well, I was wondering… How a genin fresh from the academy has managed to perform a jutsu that's supposed to be forbidden as well." He exhaled and let the smoke flow around him. Sakura noticed his eyes narrowing slightly behind the shadows of his white hat, deepening his wrinkles even more.

But she smiled, and that took him off balance. "I'm not sure how to explain, Hokage-sama. I didn't even know it existed to begin with. I've always excelled in chakra control and, since I was a child, I've been experimenting with mine… One day I discovered I could separate its flow and store some of it. I've been doing it for years now… willing to know if it would lead me somewhere. And then… During the fight… I felt something bursting from my forehead, and now we're here."

"So, you mean to tell me that you discovered how to perform the Byakugou just by intuition?" He was baffled, not believing a thing.

"Is that so hard to believe? It's because I'm clanless, isn't it?" Her chakra spiked, as if she really felt insulted —she made sure it reacted like that—.

"Time to put out the Naruto card."

"What?" He panicked for a moment, not wanting to deal with a tantrum from a twelve-year-old girl. He usually had enough on his plate with Naruto. "I didn't say that."

"Oh, but you thought about it, Hokage-sama! Because I'm sure you wouldn't ask Sasuke-kun if he were to be on my shoes right now!" She pouted, crossing her arms indignantly.

"Oh, no, no. It's not that!" He showed his palms up to her, a gesture she recognized from Naruto, when he wanted to fake his way out of an argument. "But you must admit that it's quite an impressive feat, especially for someone without previous… err… experience?"

She raised an eyebrow. He coughed in discomfort.

"Well, enough about that. There is another reason why I summoned you."

"Guess I'm safe. For now."

She nodded, now apparently excited, and simultaneously Sarutobi thought he was getting too old to deal with bipolar pre-teens. "I've personally assigned a teacher to you, so you can prepare for your next match, based on what I know of your fighting style. You used taijutsu, but it was poorly executed. Hopefully you'll be able to improve by next month. You'll be leaving with your assigned tutor and two more shinobi. They'll be expecting you tomorrow at six sharp by the gates, so take your time to pack whatever you may need."

"In other words, they'll be keeping an eye on me, trying to figure out whether I'm a potential threat or not."

"What about my teammates?" She knew already but might as well look concerned rather than suspicious.

Sarutobi smiled. "Naruto had a volunteer to teach him, and the boy seemed eager. The Uchiha will be under the supervision of Kakashi."

"Naruto will be safer with Jiraiya, I guess."

If she was to be away from the village, she would need to give the old man a little disclaimer: "If I may, Hokage-sama…"

"What is it, child?"

"The sound shinobi that attacked my team in the forest, and that snake lady… They talked about a coup… Enough to make me feel uneasy. Do you think they'll take advantage of the chuunin exams to…?"

"It is a possibility…" He made a brief pause, and it got her nervous enough to play with the inexistent loose ends of her haori. "I'll see to it, but we can't disqualify the sound genin, that would be suspicious. Do not worry about the Uchiha, though. We'll keep him under our protection, that's partly why we assigned him to Kakashi."

"You know, old man? For once, it's not Sasuke who I'm worried about…"

She left the Third's office, frustrated by her inability do much for him other than wait until the fated day he was supposed to perish, hoping to avoid it if it ever came to that.

…

After leaving Naruto and wishing him good luck with the 'pervy sage', as he called him, she prepared herself for an argument with her mother about leaving with an unknown ninja for a month. As expected, she wasn't pleased in the sightless, but that did not stop her from ignoring her royally and packing anyway.

When she spotted Sasuke, Kakashi-sensei and Might Gai of all people in front the gates, her first reaction was to be surprised of Kakashi being on time for a change. Then, she came to understand that they were the shinobi who were to leave with her and her 'tutor', because there was no way Kakashi had agreed to teach her instead of Sasuke —and she was aware how petty and resentful those words sounded in her mind—.

On second thought, that meant…

"And here's my youthful cherry blossom!" Guy came rushing to her in a green blur, halting stiffly just in her face. "I believe this is the first time we speak directly, I'm Might Gai, Kakashi's first and only rival! And now your sensei for the remaining of the month! Your display at the match left me so astonished I needed to volunteer and supervise your progress. You have potential for taijutsu, even though you were rather… er… ruthless?" He scratched the back of his head in awkwardness. "Anyways, when I'm through with you, you'll see how much superior I'm at teaching, unlike the pervert over there!"

Sakura at this point didn't know whether regret her life choices or be proud of them. Guy was a slave-driver, but if there was someone who could shape her stamina in a month, it was him. She could practically feel her muscles protesting already in apprehension.

"It's a pleasure to formally meet you, Gai-sensei. I'm Haruno Sakura." She bowed slightly, always the model student. "I'll be in your care for now on."

"Such politeness! You got yourself a good student, Kakashi. Such a shame you decided keep the broody one."

At that, Sasuke scowled.

"Now, now. Let's go. We don't have all day; the place we'll settle for the month is a couple of days away." Said pervert closed his signature orange book and made a gesture as to hurry them into motion.

"Hummm… Kakashi-sensei?" He sided-glanced her, an unspoken question in his masked face. "Who will I be fighting? I left early because I wasn't feeling good."

There was a brief pause where even Guy looked mildly uncomfortable.

"Subaku no Gaara." He sighed.

Sakura tilted her head and tried to ignore her creeping anxiety from getting the best of her. Sasuke's heated stare caught hers and she felt her stomach perform a couple of backflips.

"Well, shit."

Fun fact: I became addicted to Naruto because I stumbled upon Blue Bird and couldn't get the song out of my head for weeks.