Sakura

by lilac haze

AU. Non-Canon. Time Travel. Please see inside for full warnings. Cross posted on Ao3. On his deathbed he was granted eternal peace and place to rest for all of time. Of course that was not appealing to him. Ever unpredictable to the end he had a counter offer. One that the Sage had to consider. In which Sakura's going to have a rough time. A really rough time.

3. Part 3: Hope

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto

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A/N:

Hello Reader,

Back at it again with the next part. Thank you so much for being here. Thank you to those who took the time to write reviews and those who followed/favorited. I really appreciate it.

As you may expect, lots happening in this chapter again. The layers are being pulled back slowly as a lot of groundwork is still being laid for the upcoming chapters.

In terms of warnings for this chapter there is mild language. Talks/references of/about sex.

Hope you enjoy.

Thanks,

~L.H.

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Part 3: Hope

Her right leg moved up and down, up and down, up and down as she tapped her pen against the edge of her desk. Her eyes darted rapidly as her brain processed information nearly as quickly as her eyes did. The only thing that impeded her progress was a smirking pale grayish face with yellow eyes, purple markings, and long, straight limp hair. She had not stopped thinking about him since their run-in at the hospital several days ago. She pressed her curled fists to her forehead and let out a groan.

"We talked about this," she glared up at the peeling ceiling. "We can't change the timeline any more than we already have," Sakura presented the argument to herself. Yet again. "If we want the future we go back to, to be even remotely like the one we left."

"But he hurt Sasuke-kun," she countered not even a breath later. "And countless others. Countless. We know he experimented on people well before he defected from the village. He could be experimenting on people right now. He was so smug."

"Stop," she pinched the bridge of her nose. "This is not why we are here."

We don't know that.

Sakura rolled her eyes.

"So that captures your interest, Inner?" She asked dryly. Inner did not dignify her question with a response. She signed. "But it's like I told Inoichi-san, things will be different no matter what just based on the fact that I'm here."

She rested her head against her arms. A thoughtful look crossed her face. "But what if I make changes? What if Sasuke-kun never met Orochimaru? What if Kabuto never met him? What if the Akatsuki never go after the Bijuu?" She ground her lip between her teeth. Her heart thundered in her chest. "What if Minato-kun doesn't have to die?"

What if the Yondaime did not have to die?

She stood up.

"Surely the world will be in a better place then. The Uchiha Massacre would never take place under the Yondaime." She believed that in her bones. Minato would never condone it. Hiruzen had been proven to be too weak; with Orochimaru, with letting the council force the massacre - she knew because she had access to the Hokage Archives as Tsunade's apprentice and she was obsessed with Sasuke - and from what she read Hiruzen was asked to step down because of how he handled the Third Great War. The war that was yet to happen. Under Hiruzen, a mold known as Shimura Danzo was allowed to spread. Uncontained and indiscriminately. It was unacceptable. Minato could be the missing piece.

He was the thread that when pulled everything unraveled.

Preventing his death could fix it all.

"He needs to stay alive," she said with conviction in her chest. She was convinced. "He needs to live."

And she needed more information.

Sakura peered down at the scrolls. She picked up the picture of the seal, the one on the first door. The one that kept back her memories for all thirteen years of her life. She furrowed her brow and reached for the seal that contained everything for her fourteenth year. She turned the page forty-five degrees. She narrowed her eyes.

Something clicked.

She grinned as she gathered the drawings of the seals and shoved them into her hip pouch. Grabbing it off the nightstand so she could attach it to its place. She tied her red top over her black shirt and ran to her door. She jumped up and down as she zipped up her boots. She was out the door in a flourish.

xXx

Inoichi frowned. "One more time," he said slowly. "Like I'm a Genin," he specified.

Sakura forced herself to sit firmly in her seat. She was so close to hovering over it in her excitement. She gathered a breath.

"What if the seal is not just the lock but also the key?" She did not wait for him to interject. She picked up the first drawing; the one drawn by her hand based on the image Inner had shown her. Sakura tucked a lock of hair behind her left ear. She pointed to the middle of the page which consequently was the middle of the seal. "See how the lines seem to converge here?"

Inoichi nodded his head.

"Well, what if that is the way to unlock it?" She pulled up the drawing of the second seal. "Inner had the right idea all along when she said it was like a labyrinth. These drawings, what do they remind you of?"

Inoichi peered over the picture. "A maze?"

"Exactly!" Sakura's eyes glittered at the prospect of their shared revelation. "But instead of how to get out, it's how to get to the center."

"That's trivial," Inoichi said with a frown. "You just trace a path out."

"It's not," Sakura pointed to the images. "The lines, they are grooves, they are meant to be filled." She was losing him, she could see it on his face. "Think of a lock, a standard lock, it has pins as part of its inner mechanism right?" She waited for him to nod. "When the right pins are pressed or triggered, the lock clicks." She traced the edge of the square drawing. "What if this is the same? We have to get all the paths, the whole grid filled at the same time - meaning we get to the center in unison from all the possible ways. And when that happens…what if the seal breaks?"

Inoichi frowned. He eased the paper from her hand and stared at the maze. He saw the small gaps at the edges. They were narrow. They could have been mistaken for line gaps but he saw they were intentional, they were deliberate. They were openings. Her attention to detail was astounding.

"There are six paths to this one," he said after some time.

"Six for the other two as well," Sakura nodded.

"So we would have to monitor six different routes and ensure the pacing is the same so that all six paths enter the center at the same time," Inoichi summarized his understanding slowly.

"Yes," Sakura said solemnly.

"Chakra?" He raised a brow.

"Yes," she said with growing excitement. She was halfway out of her chair. "We pour chakra into the six openings and the flow is controlled, like a pipe moves water, you control the pressure and speed."

"What happens if one path ends up there first?" He was almost scared to know the answer. "Or one falls behind the rest?"

"Nothing good," she answered with an air of nonchalance that was preposterous.

"Sakura," he stressed the syllables of her name, buying himself some time. "This may come as a surprise to you, but chakra control doesn't come easily to everyone." He measured his words. "And the level of control you're asking for here is not something I can do."

His stomach sank at the slow smirk that tugged at her lips, her eyes shone almost dangerously.

"Any interest in learning medical ninjutsu?"

He gaped at her for a lack of anything more coherent.

---

Sakura stretched her arms over her head, yawning as her joints popped. The soreness she felt was welcomed. She had worked off the extra loaves of bread Kizashi always snuck her with her order. It was a ritual now. They both pretended not to notice. The routine of it was nice.

She split her time between the hospital, researching, and tutoring Inoichi in the basics so that he could get the mystic palm technique down - that was coming along very slowly but she was adamant about being upbeat and positive about it because Inoichi was surprisingly negative when he did not get something right off the bat. He was not too different from Ino in that regard. She just needed to find a way to bring out his competitive spirit because she knew for a fact that his daughter got it from him. Her mother was much more even-keel and mellow. Sakura's physical training was being neglected, badly. And if she even wanted to think about taking down the likes of Orochimaru or Danzo or even protect Minato, her conditioning needed to be levels above abysmal - where it was right now.

So she made her days longer by working into the nights. Well into them. The moon coated her bare shoulders, washing the milky skin in silver overtones. She had opted to do without her red top. Her high neck fitted rib-knit tank top and pants were more than suited for her session. Sakura pulled a kunai from her holster and shot it in the dark. She did not so much as blink as a face that she so desperately wanted to be a stranger appeared from the shadows. Minato twirled her kunai in between his long fingers.

"Nice aim," he commented dryly.

"That's not the only thing," she propped a hand on her hip and shifted her weight.

Minato stood in place as vines curled around his body, starting from his ankles and working their way up. The thorns dug into his flesh - not enough to draw blood but enough to make their presence known. Felt. Sakura watched as a rose bloomed on his chest. It was as dark as the color of blood. The vines moved up to his neck, stopping just at his jaw.

"The kunai was a distraction. I didn't even see the signs," he murmured. "Well played."

Sakura narrowed her eyes. She took in his person for the first time at more than merely a glance. He was in black. His ANBU garbs without the gray chest plate. She released the genjutsu without any additional thought and rushed to him.

"Sit," she barked out the order to which the blond rolled his eyes but complied in mostly silence, he hissed a little as he lowered. Sakura hovered by his side, torn between wanting to help him and not wanting to touch him in any way that could be avoided.

She crouched to his level, pretending not to notice the fact that she was between his legs because medic mode was engaged and Sakura the Medic was unshaken by nearly anything. Her silvery fingers danced over his torso, barely applying pressure but he inhaled sharply all the same.

Sakura did not wait for permission. She slid her hands down to the hem of his shirt, and slowly inched it up until it rested bunched over his pectoral muscles. She glared at him. Impressing upon him the level of his stupidity. Even in the monochromatic light, she could see the bruising and discoloration of his skin - the black and gray against the pale expanse - all on the left side of his body. She ran her thumb along his sternum until the discoloration started, before moving across.

Four, five, six, seven is okay. She counted with her eyes and confirmed with the pressure from her thumb.

"Who healed your ribs?" She asked him sharply, bitingly. Her eyes were narrowed as she glared at him with ice.

Minato shrugged - foolishly - which caused him to hiss. "Some Chuunin," he responded with disinterest. "I think."

Her hands twitched in a sudden need to strangle him. He need not be conscious for any of this, a fact that seemed to not cross his mind. "I want a name," she seethed through clenched teeth.

"What good would that do, Sakura-chan?" he asked her in a bored tone.

He's right. I don't have authority.

She glowered at him, ignoring the way her insides reacted to the all-too-familiar honorific that another boy with bright blond hair as yellow as the yellow crayon and blue eyes used to call her. There were so many similarities - too many. It was almost impossible to not do the comparison but she made a valiant effort.

"How long were you watching me?" She demanded.

His lips pulled into a smile that could pass off as boyish all the while he was neither a boy nor a man. Caught in between the two. "I was waiting for a good stopping point. I didn't want to break your focus. Your taijutsu looks good."

She rolled her eyes. "So I take it, you saw the big show?" She confirmed one more time what her diagnosis was.

"And the cleanup too," he whistled, cut off sharply by a wince. The pain did not discourage him for too long. "You're good at cleaning up your messes."

She snorted. She had to be after the first time the groundskeeper showed up at her door irate and red in the face. She learned a very useful Earth jutsu that stitched together the ground - okay so it made it level again, mostly - after she was done with it. It really cut down the cleanup time by magnitudes. Because time was more precious than even chakra.

Too bad I can't seem to clean up the mess I made with you.

Can't or won't. Inner asked her pointedly. Sakura ignored her.

"I know that face," Minato sighed shallowly, bracing himself. "How bad is it?"

"I need to break two of your ribs again, ribs five and six." She pointed them out with her thumb and slight pressure. "Four I should be able to ease back into position and reduce the tenderness."

"Okay."

"Can you lie down?" She raised her eyes to his face.

"Will you help me?" He asked with a furrowed brow.

Sakura nodded her head, leaning forward she slipped a hand behind his head and helped lower him to the ground, gently. Her hair held up in a ponytail slipped past her shoulders and spilled onto his chest. Her stomach tightened every time he let out a sound of discomfort. She was so focused she did not realize that she straddled his waist, legs on either side of his narrow hips.

"It's going to hurt," she warned him.

"I know," Minato said with a scoff that he regretted instantly. "I did break three ribs."

"You broke two and fractured one," she corrected pedantically.

Minato pressed his lips into a firm line as his eyes scanned her face. He let out a breathy laugh, it was quickly followed by a grunt. She raised a brow in question not quite following his line of thought.

"I wish I had Kuu-kun to hold my hand," Minato said with a toothy smile.

"You remember?" She frowned, not quite sure what to make of the information.

"Of course, I remember," he looked offended at her question. "He was my first friend." His eyes held her intently, darkened by the cast of the night.

There was a cracking sound followed immediately by another. Minato cursed but the profanity quickly melted into a relieved hiss. "Is this really your bedside manner?" He glared at her with self-righteous indignation.

She scoffed. He was one to talk. She still did not forget when he Hiraishined her without any warning. Payback was a bitch and so was Sakura when she wanted to be.

"You let someone touch you?" She asked with a raised brow. Her tone was manufactured to cut with lethal precision. She continued to pump her chakra into him.

Minato rolled his eyes tiredly. "I'm not God, Sakura."

No. She knew that he was not. But she had yet to come to know that he only fathered one. Sakura frowned and said nothing because she did not quite care for how his factual statement left her feeling conflicted. She spread her chakra to other parts of him, healing all that she came across. From sore muscles to already healing bruises. With her hands pressed against him, she knew quite intimately just how un-Godlike he was.

He was skin and bone like the rest of them.

The teen was exhausted. She could see that even hours removed from the clear of day. She found herself resenting Sarutobi for not looking out for Minato; for not protecting him from himself. From the blond's savior complex and his loyalties to his home.

She was a nobody, she could rationalize the neglect and blatant disregard. She was accustomed to it. But anyone with half a brain knew Minato was special. He was the future of the village. And somehow and at the end of the day, be it the village prodigy or the scapegoat the treatment was not all that different. Not where it really mattered. He was still an acceptable loss. Just like how the village viewed Naruto before they turned around and called him a hero for what he did during the Pein invasion.

She leaned back so that her spine was in a neutral position. Her blank expression said it all.

Minato ran his flat palm along the left side of his body. He grinned in satisfaction at her. "Good as new. It's like nothing ever even happened." His eyes held gratitude. "All thanks to you."

"You can thank me by taking it easy for a few days." She half turned. "Do you need me to make it official?"

"I'll be good," he held up his hand effectively halting her movements to write him a note. Because even she had the authority to do that. He pushed up onto his elbows. There was no pain or even discomfort caused by the action. "Your chakra is like you, you know." He smiled his half-smile that never failed to make her stomach flutter.

Sakura snorted, taking the bait. Opening the door for prolonged conversation. "Abbarassive and small?"

His smile grew into an easy grin; one that took up his whole face. "Warm and overbearing. And very much welcomed." He reached over to tuck a strand of hair that escaped her ponytail behind her left ear.

Her heart skipped two beats before she used shushin to get as far away from him as she could because she needed to breathe before she passed out. Before he could push out the words loaded in his throat asking for a shared meal between old friends.

---

This world confused her. Maybe it was because she was placed in a world that was seventy-eighty percent similar to what she was used to - either by first-hand experience or what she remembered reading or seeing - but the last smaller percentage that was different had her feeling uneasy. Really uneasy.

And that was something she did not want to get used to. Complacency was not her friend. She had a solution for no longer being limited physically. Her condition was in a much better place. She was learning jutsu left and right, with her chakra control it almost felt like a cheat. It came easily. She just needed repetition. Theory, she drank up like water; she retained so much of it. She was hungry in her pursuit of knowledge. Kakashi-Sensei would be proud of how many jutsu she learned and all without the hack that was the Sharingan. And the chakra she was storing away in her reserves would solve her second biggest problem: her limited supply. She estimated that by her seventeenth birthday, she would have enough to activate the seal. And she had Tsunade's genjutsu trick to keep the appearance of the seal hidden away - the same jutsu her master used to retain her youthful appearance, with her own little spin on it of course.

That left her biggest problem: lack of knowledge. She needed everything she could get her hands on. She needed to build a timeline of what happened in this time, with what she knows to have happened in hers to build a baseline for comparison. Because if she was going to prevent certain events she needed to know what led up to them because nothing was in a vacuum. Everything was connected. All she knew for certain at this time was Orochimaru and Danzo were not allies of the Leaf. They were threats. She just needed information to prove it. Minato was Hokage for a year before he died from what she remembered from the history books during her time at The Academy. A lot can happen in a year. Especially if she remained vigilant from now until Minato's twenty-third birthday which was a little less than seven years from now.

Plenty of time. She could do the groundwork for him and hopefully, by the time she made it back to her time, he would still be alive because what she did was enough. Hopefully. She refused to acknowledge the part of her that believed all of this to be a long shot. Because she was so much smarter and stronger than future Sakura was at this age. And that meant something to her. It was a confidence-building point.

Sakura paced as she took bites of a rice ball while reading up on the Hokages. The First and the Second. The Senju Archives were coming in very, very, very helpful for her. Journal, notebooks, newspaper clippings. She sent a thank you to Uzumaki Mito for being a bit of a hoarder. She was beyond thankful that the woman kept everything, even receipts for takeout. It more or less allowed Sakura to build out profiles. She was not nearly as proficient as she remembered Ino to be, but she had retained more than enough to put it into practice.

For instance, she learned that Tobirama had more than enough biases against the Uchiha, to the point it was problematic. Very problematic. And suddenly things were starting to make sense. Such as why the Uchiha were not happy with just the Police Force. And why the Uchiha were blamed for the attack that almost leveled the village. For the Kyuubi springing free - the event that killed Minato. She was missing pieces, so many pieces.

All of this was really putting a mirror on what she believed she knew about her teammates. Because she did not just get future Sakura's memories. She got future Sakura's feelings as well. And future Sakura really believed she understood Sasuke-kun in a way that no one living did. She believed she understood Sasuke-kun's motivations behind the choices he made: deflecting from the village and seeking Orochimaru, joining Akatsuki, and choosing to take on his brother alone. She thought she understood him. Future Sakura was wrong. Future Sakura had many gaps in her knowledge just like current Sakura did.

Maybe she figured it out later. At some point past the age, I am right now. Maybe she and Sasuke-kun did get their happy ever after.

She smiled. It was a nice thought; that after a childhood of tragedy and loss, future Sakura was able to give Sasuke-kun normalcy, stability, companionship, and love. A home. Because if anyone understood the pain of not having a home it was her.

And Naruto.

Her stomach clenched in guilt. In guilt for the way she treated him. For what she said to him - all the awful things she said to him. She did not deserve his kindness. Or her burden. She latched onto him to bring Sasuke-kun back. After spending most of their time berating him and calling him a pain - at best, she dared not revisit what she called him at worst. And he still gave her his promise of a lifetime, with a smile. And being forced to watch as future Sakura sobbed over Sasuke-kun when he woke up from the genjutsu his brother put him under while Naruto nearly died…she was not proud of that. It was a part of the long list of things she needed to atone for. She had ways to go before she could call herself Naruto's friend and not feel disgusted at herself about it. Future Sakura was far from kind or compassionate.

She got better. Inner, of all people, defended her. She grew. She learned to cherish him.

"She did," Sakura had to admit that. "I wonder if they ever got to do normal stuff that friends do," she spun around once. "I wonder if she helped him work towards his dream. I mean it makes sense, she was Tsunade-sama's apprentice. She learned politics, she learned policy, she learned diplomacy. She learned what not to do - indirectly by watching Shishou. Those are all things that are Naruto's weaknesses. She could have really helped him out and made things easier for him." She paused. "I hope she did."

Maybe she ended up turning into someone worthy of calling a friend.

She jumped as a sudden beeping filled her room. She looked at the clock. "Ah! I'm going to be late for my shift at the hospital." With a flick of the wrist, she curled the scroll and shoved the rest of her rice ball into her mouth with the other hand. Sakura moved quickly to get ready for work.

---

She stood amongst the bugs, branches, and leaves as she watched him enter the house in which his father had taken his own life. She had no idea that was Kakashi's tragic childhood. At the ripe age of five, he was an orphan. And what was more, he was the one to find his father's body. She could not even begin to fathom the effect it had on his physique to the point that she was beyond surprised that the seemingly worst thing about her Sensei was that he loved porn a little too much. And in hindsight that was not even all that bad. Of all the ways Kakashi-Sensei could have turned out, her team lucked out. Even knowing that he would eventually open up his heart again to someone - to Team Seven - she had a rock pressed to her chest, threatening to make everything collapse under the steady pressure it applied.

She did not know so she could not help. She could do nothing. Even if she was at a loss for what she could have done if she knew, the fact was that this was one thing she could not make for the better. Not for her Sensei. The little boy in the house all by himself making himself dinner, did not have the same solace she did. He had to do the work to become that man she knew he would be. Sakura tore her eyes away from little hands washing vegetables at the sink - she had nearly cried out when she saw him grab a step stool to reach it - at the fluttering of wings. She eyed the bird with a grim expression. She nodded her head. The little brown bird fluttered away just as it had come. She gripped the basket in her hands. She phased to the navy door, knocking once before using shushin to abruptly change her surroundings once more.

Kakashi would open his door to find a basket containing a take-out container of salt-broiled saury amongst rolls of bread and a little plushie that was shaped like a brown pug.

xXx

Sakura dipped her head in greeting just as the bell - seemed to be standard amongst all the shops in Konoha - chimed her arrival. Inoichi returned her gesture. She walked straight to the counter. He reached behind him for an already wrapped bouquet containing big poofy pink peonies, orange roses, white gardenias, and striking dark green leaves: eucalyptus, ivy, and myrtle.

"Your bouquet," he handed it to her.

Sakura instantly brought it to her nose and inhaled deeply. "So pretty," she revealed in its beauty. "It's so much better than anything I imagined."

"That is quite the praise, Sakura-san," he said happily as he took the ryo she was offering in exchange for the flowers.

She dipped her head, held the bouquet protectively to her chest, and walked out of the shop. The bell rang in her ears. The village streets were bustling so she preferred to take to the rooftops even if her pace was leisurely. She did not want to risk damaging the flowers. The further and further she moved from the bustling epicenter of the village, the more solemn the air grew and her expression was not immune to its effects. She walked slowly in the gravel, for there were no more roofs left to travel by. The sun was going to set soon. The days were getting smaller. She walked past all the markers with her head hung low as a sign of her respect. It was not until she reached the granite marker that she stopped.

Sakura read the names on the panel closest to her. She lowered the flowers and bowed. Vowing to her loved ones that she would do her best to ensure their loved one's names did not end up on the stone. Her hands remained folded while she made her vow. She curled her right hand loosely as she walked home.

It was only after she closed the curtains that she opened her fist. Sakura smoothed out the note. All that it read was a time. She glanced at the clock. She had over forty minutes. Just enough time for a quick shower.

xXx

"This is your idea of food to serve to guests?" Inoichi held up the rice ball looking less than impressed.

Sakura rolled her eyes. "I don't cook. And you're hardly a guest." She flipped her damp hair over her shoulder before she settled into the chair next to him and began to bite down on the rice ball with vigor.

"When's the last time you had a vegetable?" Inoichi asked with a frown as he sniffed the offering in his hand.

"Wednesday," she answered blandly. "So," she watched him put the rice ball back down on the plate she gave him - because she was not a heathen she owned plates…so what if they were of the paper variety? He pushed it away from him in disgust. "You can get the wall down?"

"I can get the wall down," he said confidently. "All the medical studies helped me remember the neural networks we can leverage. They are not the same ones I typically use to coax memories so I completely overlooked them." He frowned. "What?" He asked at the sudden Cheshire cat grin on her face.

"Something I said was helpful?" She leaned her temple against a curled fist that was propped up by a bent elbow on the table.

Inoichi scoffed. "Are you going to take this seriously or not?"

"I am," she polished off the rice ball, chasing it down with green tea. "Hence all the cloak and dagger."

"Are you really worried about Konoha nin coming after you?" The question made him uncomfortable. But he had seen the extensive sealing she did to her home. There had to be a reason for it. Because everything about her seemed to have a purpose if her minimalist lifestyle was anything to go off of.

"I'd rather not get into it," she smacked her lips. "Plausible deniability is your friend, Inoichi-san."

"Inoichi," he corrected. "We're past formalities, Sakura. Especially when it's just the two of us."

She hummed in agreement. "So I take it you don't want me to call you Ojichan?" She teased.

"You're in a good mood," he stated the obvious in a deadpan manner.

"Should I not be?" She smiled, eyes lit up with excitement. "You just gave me very good news. And that never happens. We should commemorate this occasion."

He rolled his eyes. "I can start as soon as next week. If you're comfortable."

"Why not now?" She blinked.

Inoichi hesitated. "You don't need time to think about it?"

"No," she shook her head. "I trust you."

Inoichi was at a loss. He rubbed the back of his neck. "I guess I can do it now."

"Great," Sakura got up to her feet. "I should be lying down for this?"

Inoichi followed her lead and nodded. Sakura led him from her small kitchenette, eating area combo. He stood in the doorway awkwardly as she entered her room.

"Come in," she said impatiently. "No formalities, remember?"

"Uh," Inoichi was painfully aware this was his first time being in a girl's room - a girl he was not related to, not really anyway. He felt his cheeks heat up in embarrassment at the path his thoughts took. He scanned the barren space. There was one book on the bookshelf. The colors of the cover were vibrant. It was neat. He could see the bed and the curtains that were pulled over a door that probably led to her balcony. There was another door that was partially open - no doubt to her bathroom - meaning the door to his left was the closet. He could see a desk. It was quite messy. Almost overflowing with scrolls. He found her person. She was giving him an expectant look, one that screamed 'well?'

"Right," he cleared his throat loudly. He missed Sakura's eye roll at his sudden shyness and social regression. He reminded her a little of Sai at that particular moment.

Inoichi said nothing as Sakura came to lie down on her back on the bed. Her hands came to rest on her stomach.

"You can grab that chair," Sakura pointed behind him.

"Right," he repeated stiffly. He picked up the chair and deposited it by the side of her bed. He sat on it. Her jade eyes were trained on the ceiling. He appreciated that. It allowed him time to collect himself without an audience. "So I will be rendering you unconscious for most of it. It's easier that way. I don't have to risk other neurons being triggered at any point in the process if you're in that state."

She hummed. She understood. What he was doing was scary. If she was awake and panicked or reacted in any way to any stimuli that could cause him to lose focus.

"I'll become the bridge once I get the wall down, then you can come in and look around. And if you feel up to it we can look for the next door. But I would recommend not trying to open it today. We don't want to overload your pathways." Inoichi explained in a low, stern tone to stress just how delicate the situation was.

"I agree," she ran a hand over her brows slowly. He was the expert. She knew how to treat the brain, but he understood the brain. Innately, through generations of family jutsu and experience passed down to him.

"Ready?" He asked.

Sakura turned her head. She blinked slowly. Her jade eyes were so solemn. "Ready." She closed her eyes.

Inoichi let in one breath, gave a quick prayer to Kami, and brought his fingertips to touch either side of her temples.

He exhaled.

xXx

Jade eyes blinked open, her head felt swampy. There was no other way she could think to describe it. She felt sluggish, and heavy, like she was suspended in mud. Goop. She dared not turn her head.

Inoichi eyed her with exhaustion, he was being held up by the chair. His chin dug into the back of the wood frame as he leaned forward on it heavily. "How do you feel?"

"Not like I've lost all of my brain function," she moved slowly to look at him. The pressure behind her eyes was painful. The jade irises asked her question for her.

"I got the wall down." He grinned in triumph.

Her eyes widened. Sakura pushed onto her feet, hand to her mouth. She ran nearly through the door as she pushed it in desperation. It hit the wall with a loud bang. She sank to her knees just in time to vomit into her toilet.

Inoichi made a face from his chair in her room. "Are you okay?"

She groaned in response.

The Yamanaka pushed up to his feet and padded over to the kitchenette. He grabbed a glass and filled it with water. He was halfway to the room when he doubled back for the rice ball that was covered on the paper plate with a napkin. He grabbed it and took a big bite.

The sound of the flush reached his ears just as he sat down in the chair. He placed the water glass on her nightstand.

The sound of her brushing her teeth filled the quiet along with his chewing. She reemerged from the bathroom, hip on the doorframe just as he finished the rice ball.

"You were right," he said. "It wasn't bad. Do you have any more?"

Sakura turned on her heel to promptly vomit again.

Inoichi grimaced. It would be a long night for both of them. He eyed the floor, it seemed comfortable enough. He wondered if Sakura had spare bedding.

---

The smile fell off her face the instant she pushed open the door.

Just great.

The sun nearly blinded her. She brought her arm to block the light. She squinted at the very familiar picture in a not-so-familiar setting. Sakura sighed as she stepped out of the door to allow it to close behind her. The lingering scents of the bakery filled her nose with their faint aroma. She wanted to go back inside and just stew in the smells.

"Took you long enough." Her gruff voice was a stark contrast to the soft chirping of birds and the warm breeze. A tail thumped so loudly against the dusty ground that she could hear it from yards away. He let out high-pitched sounds in his excitement, his rear barely touched the ground.

Sakura did not bother wasting a breath to ask how Tsume found her. The answer was always the same, her nose.

"You could have come inside you know," Sakura huffed as she hugged her former loot to her chest. She slowly walked across the way to where the teen leaned back against a lamp post, glowering at her with her arms crossed.

"They don't let dogs in there," Tsume spat in irritation. "Where I go, Korumaru goes. It's that simple."

"Hi puppy," Sakura smiled gently at the ninken. He whined, melting into her touch. Her fingers scratched the bottom of his chin. This right leg began to move up and down in pure delight.

"So did you get it?" Tsume leaned forward to sniff the bag, not caring in the slightest about how it made her look. She did not wait for an answer - the question was but a mere formality. Her nose confirmed it. Tsume ripped the bag quite literally in half in her quest for the object of her desire: cheese rolls.

Cheese rolls that Sakura too liked but would not get to taste. The friendship tax.

"Tsume!" Sakura moved the mutilated bag from her reach before glaring at the woman. "You could just buy them yourself! At any time. They sell them. Everyday."

"They aren't getting my ryo," Tsume reached for the bag around Sakura. The pinkette cursed her longer arms. "They are racist."

"It's for hygienic reasons," Sakura pulled back her arms, over being clawed at. Tsume grinned before sifting through the bag. "Sorry, Korumaru-kun," Sakura patted the whining dog with a guilty hand. He hung his head. She watched with a curled lip as Tsume ripped open the packaging with her canine tooth. She took a big bite, already working to open another package to give to the eagerly awaiting dog who had long forgotten his troubles at the first whiff of sweet cream cheese.

"Save some for me," she grumbled needlessly. Her fate was sealed.

"You brought this on yourself, Pinkie. You set the president," Tsume shot back shamelessly. "When you bought back my good graces with baked goods."

"Right," Sakura said, unconvinced.

Is everyone in this village broken in the head?

"So spar?" Tsume's eyes were bright.

Sakura tried hard to not fixate on the clump of cream cheese balanced on the corner of Tsume's mouth, precariously.

"You'll throw up," Sakura said with a sigh, already knowing it would do no good.

"Win-win. Korumaru will clean it up and," Tsume grinned at her unabashedly, "more room for dinner."

"You're disgusting," Sakura grumbled. She did not fight the arm that slung over her shoulders to pull her closer.

"You love me, anyway," Tsume smirked knowing full well she spoke the truth. The fact that Sakura did not bother to contradict her, was all the confirmation she could ever need.

xXx

"You know, even when you pull your punches, they really hurt," Tsume sounded equal parts annoyed and proud. She stretched her jaw over and over trying to alleviate the pressure build-up.

"I offered to heal it for you," Sakura covered her face with her hands, sighing deeply. "I lost count of how many times exactly."

Korumaru's soft snores reached their ears. The still creek was a mirror. The stars glistened off the clear surface. Sakura pulled her knees to her chest. She dug her toes into the soft grass. Her belly was full of stall food and her face was contemplative. She turned her head when she felt something wet and smooth nudge her arm. She frowned at the brown bottle.

"We're underage," Sakura's eyes rose to Tsume who pulled another bottle from seemingly nowhere.

When did she get those? Sakura had been with her this whole time.

Tsume rolled her eyes. She grabbed Sakura's hand and shoved the bottle layered with condensation into her small hand.

"It won't kill you," Tsume waited for her teammate's fingers to curl around the bottle before she opened hers with her teeth. She rolled her eyes yet again at the look of disapproval on Sakura's face. A lecture waiting to be given on the importance of dental health. "You've been hangin' around that Yamanaka more. You have a type."

Sakura regarded the beer bottle. She brought to her lips with apprehension. The sour smell under her nose had her pulling the bottle away. She started to cough.

"Lightweight," Tsume's canine teeth pushed onto her lips as she frowned.

"It's possible for a girl and a guy to be friends, Tsume," Sakura murmured. She tried again, she was able to tilt her head back and take a small sip. "This is terrible." She made gagging noises, not-so-secretly embellishing the grotesqueness of the taste.

"You get used to it," she hummed to punctuate her sentence. "It's so nice out here." Her easy expression dissolved into something heavier. "And it's not. Not really," she took a swing from her beer. She made a sound of satisfaction. "If it were, you would still be friends with Namikaze."

Sakura mimicked Tsume's action. She forced herself to keep the alcohol down. It burned. Her eyes stung and she could almost feel the bubbles in her nose. It was better than the alternative: having this conversation sober. Tsume would tackle her to the ground before she even had the thought to shushin away. And if she made it that far through the grace of Kami, she would just show up at her doorstep. She had no shame. Or boundaries.

"That's different," Sakura mused tiredly, not putting much effort into her response. "It's complicated." So much for boys being simple. Namikaze Minato was anything but.

Why did we have to grow up? Why did everything have to stop making sense? Why did I have to…reme-. She manually forced herself to cut off mid-thought with a shake of her head that was so forceful that she nearly lost balance. Tsume found it to be very entertaining. Sakura huffed as she straightened out her top. She breathed a couple of times to regain her composure.

"So…Inoichi?" Tsume raised her brow, the lip of her bottle against her mouth, and her eyes focused.

"A friend," Sakura said firmly. "Just a friend." An ally. "What about you?" Sakura turned her face to look at her. "Are you being…safe?"

"I remember the jutsu," Tsume scowled. It was not hard to figure out what Sakura was alluding to. "Just like you showed me. I'm not an idiot."

"Good," Sakura turned back to the still creek. Her thoughts were a vortex that refused to let her settle. "I know you're not but I still worry." For more reasons than one.

It's always the women who end up losing.

Respect, face, opportunities, money, their careers, their autonomy, their bodies. Always.

"Some world huh?" Tsume shook her head with more than just traces of bitterness. There was enough to coat her tongue and then some. "When alcohol or sex is involved, suddenly we're children and everyone has opinions. Judgment. It needs to be hidden away like it's something wrong and dirty. But no one bats an eye when a five-year-old walks around with kunai. Hell, they give pointers on hand placement to make it more comfortable. So it doesn't slip out of our fingers. Too young to fuck or drink but certainly not too young enough to kill or die for this village."

Sakura felt her face heat up slowly from the alcohol in her system. Even with a full belly, it felt like it shot straight up to her head. Everything was less crisp, more fuzzy. Her reflexes were a bit slower. Just enough to be noticeable. She was more aware of her breath than she could see in front of her. She rubbed her eye with her curled fist. Her lashes fluttered lazily.

"It's just the way it is," Sakura sighed. She herself did not condone her own words. "Maybe it won't always be this way." Again, there was little in terms of hope in her voice. Even in the future, in her time - in her real time - what Tsume said was still true. Painfully true. "It's just how things are..right now."

"It's just sex," Tsume tilted her head back and took in the stars with a blank face. "I don't see what the big deal is. I'm not hurting anyone. We're not hurting anyone."

"But it is," Sakura drew shapes in the grass, her chin poking her kneecap. She was thankful for the dark; it hid her flush. "It is a big deal. It's one of the most intimate things you can do with someone. It's when you're at your most vulnerable. It should be special. With someone special. Someone who means-"

Tsume snorted. "Figures," she finished off her bottle, using her arm to wipe her mouth to the excess dribble. "That you'd think that way. You haven't even had your first kiss yet."

Sakura's face reddened and this time she could not entirely blame the beer. She and future Sakura both were late bloomers. None of the memories she had in her head of her past life gave any indication that she had come closer than that strange bench incident with Sasuke-kun. Where he had been so out of character that she was convinced it was not him at all.

"You're a kunoichi, Pinkie. Worse, you're a kunoichi without the protection of a clan. Your firsts will all be taken from you - commandeered by your duty to Konoha - before you know it, if you keep waiting. So don't. Life is short. Especially for sentimental fools like you."

"You're mean when you drink," Sakura pouted. She had half the mind to cover her ears but that would only make Tsume stronger. She would ridicule her incessantly if Sakura caved in that manner.

"I'm being serious," Tsume scrunched her nose. "If you want it to mean something…your first kiss then you have to make it happen." Her eyes sparkled with mischievousness that had Sakura's stomach churning, unpleasantly. "I'm sure Namikaze would be more than willing to oblige." Tsume pursed her lips in an exaggerated manner. She made loud, obnoxious smooching sounds. Her voice cackled as she laughed. "If you do it right he might help you with another first."

Sakura's face heated to levels that had her concerned, medically. She shook her head and covered her ears. Stopping short of just saying 'la-la-la-la' out loud. She tried to push down the memories she dared not breathe to anyone. The memories of soft yellow light, the smell of umami and salt in the air, the way their knees and legs kept finding each other under the counter, their elbows touching, the sounds of his laughter, her giggles, the twinkle in her eyes, the flush on his face.

She blinked back memories of that night she was almost kidnapped. Minato had gone out of his way to make sure she was okay. He made her laugh - even if it was at his expense. She had been delirious and so tired. And so, so, so scared. Only for all that negative emotion to transform and flood her with relief. Hard and fast. She had never been more happy to see him than in that moment. She was a wreck. She felt so alive. Because she was. The world had melted away. She did not have to think or worry because she was with him. She could be without a care. Because of him.

She remembered at one point her gaze locked on his lips. For seconds. For countable seconds. She had even leaned forward. Her face rested in her curled fist, elbow on the counter. She peered at him under her lashes. The distance between them had reduced. He had reacted - after moments of initial frozen-in-place shock - and closed it even more. Their noses touched. Both their cheeks were dusted with shades of pink. Eyes on the other's lips, their target. He moved closer, reciprocating. But not all the way. Ever the gentleman. He gave her a choice - an out. And she had taken it. She had chicken out, pulling back. Flushed faces unable to look each other in the eye of what almost happened. Neither brought it up again. The walk home had been unbearably awkward. But even then he insisted on waiting until she was inside her apartment with the door locked and the light in her room on. She had waved from inside her room through the sliding door. He had waved back. His face still carried the visible effects of their almost-kiss. She almost had her first kiss then. Almost. And what a disaster that would have been even if at the time she had wished he was a modicum more forceful. But taking the lead in such matters is not in his nature. At least that was what she thought.

I was just the wrong person. He would have kissed Kushina if it were her instead of me.

"Or," Tsume's lip quirked as she read Sakura's prolonged silence with her own perspective. "I could just help you!" She sprung toward Sakura. Their noses bumped together hard enough for tears to prick in Sakura's eyes. Tsume's grin was predatory. "We could both do worse," she blinked seductively; not missing the way Sakura's face turned even darker. The small 'eep' the pinkette made was adorable. Korumaru did not bother to raise his head at his handler's antics.

"Tsume-chan!" Sakura fell to her back without thinking. She covered her mouth in a desperate attempt to protect herself, it was pure reflex.

Her teammate snickered. Her wild hair settled onto Sakura's stomach. "You should have seen your face!" Her laughs were breathy.

Sakura giggled, Tsume's thick head was heavy. "You're the worst."

"You love me," Tsume scratched her cheek with her claw-like nails. "Well at least I got to share your first drink with you," she brought her hands to rest on her chest. "You make a good pillow, Pinkie. So firm." Tsume closed her eyes and sighed in loud contentment as Sakura's fingers tried to make sense out of her brown unruly hair, absentmindedly.

Tsume was wrong. Her firsts would mean something. She was saving them. All of them for Sasuke-kun. The only one for her. The only one she was meant for. Everything else. Everyone else was just another distraction.

Especially him.

The food and alcohol sat heavily in her sinking stomach as Tsumes snores reached her ears. Sakura's hand stopped moving through Tsume's hair. She untangled her fingers and stared up at the blinking stars.

Sakura's lips pulled into a frown. She was warm and fuzzy. Just left sober enough to wonder what would happen when she ultimately went back to her time.

---

Sakura tried to keep her voice upbeat and pleasant. "We're making progress," she reminded him with a smile.

"I can infuse chakra into oil, big deal," Inoichi rolled his blue-green eyes because she was now familiar enough with them to know that they were neither blue nor green and definitely not teal like she had thought.

"It's more than we could do last week," she worked out through clenched teeth. Because being positive was so taxing, especially around a Debbie-downer. She looked at the plastic bowl with ridges. The wall was down in her head but given that it took twenty-four hours for her to get upright again since the last time he tried anything in her head, she was erring on the side of caution as was he. For good reason she reminded herself.

They were practicing. With a contraption made for slowing down puppies when they ate the food of all things - borrowed from Tsume in exchange for a promise of an obscene amount of baked goods. She looked at the pipettes with oil dyed in three different colors: red, green, and blue. Sakura deemed three samples as a good place to start. But given how slowly things were going they might have to scale it down to two. She really hoped it did not come to that.

Inoichi's chakra control was nowhere near where it needed to be. But she also recognized he did not have to help her. So it was a delicate dance. She had to be diplomatic. She had to be patient.

"Maybe we should take a break," she offered.

"The oil poses a resistance," he smoothed the lines on his forehead with his hand. "Maybe we should try with water?"

"That was too fast, remember? Too hard to control," she sighed. "If you can get the chakra to move within the oil how you want it to, it should be easier to control just the chakra. It will be lighter, more nimble." She opened her mouth.

"Another demonstration would not be helpful," he said flatly.

Sakura sank back in her chair. "Maybe I'm not explaining it right," she said moodily as she wiggled her fingers. Inoichi watched with much annoyance as the chakra - not even her own - moved in the oil. The blue, green, and red globs moved how she willed them too. She made it look so easy.

"It's like trying to ask Minato anything," Inoichi grumbled darkly. "He thinks he's making it perfectly clear and when you don't get the third time he's explained it the exact same way, he just assumes that you're an idiot."

"Really?" Sakura frowned. "That's not really my experience," she said more to herself than to Inoichi.

Inoichi scoffed. "Surprise, surprise, two geniuses. Two prodigies in the pod."

"I'm far from a prodigy," Sakura shot back with heat. "I worked hard for what I have."

"You think he doesn't?"

Sakura paused for a moment to think about what he said.

"Look, I don't know much, but you're not a clan kid. You don't operate like it. Your jutsu doesn't operate like it. You got a Sannin to be your mentor. Your strength with your medical knowledge and your genjutsu - I saw you during the Chuunin exams, you're something Sakura. It may not be a prodigy, but it's certainly nothing to laugh at."

"I guess," she said for the sake of ending the discussion. Accepting praise was harder for her than accepting criticism.

Inoichi watched the colors dance. She combined them, they turned white and when she pulled them apart they were three distinct colors again.

"Why can't I just overwhelm the seal with a burst of chakra all at once, causing it to overflow?" He asked.

She glared at him. "Are you serious?"

Inoichi shrugged unapologetically, ducking just in time to avoid being struck by three different color oils.

---

Sakura's hands moved down his arm, glowing green. When she reached his wrist, the color flickered before receding. She gently lowered his hand to the table in front of her. "How does everything feel?" Her eyes meet his pale orbs.

"Better," Hizashi made a fist. "I hardly feel the effects of the break anymore."

"Hairline fracture," she mused as she pulled at the hair in her ponytail. "Keep up the physical therapy and you should be cleared to go on missions in a couple of weeks," she smiled at him tiredly.

"Thank you, Sakura-san," he dipped his head as he stood up. He was in the doorway before he turned around again. "And thank you again, for having my back."

"It's what teammates do, Hizashi-san. You don't have to thank me." She smiled at him and bowed her head. Everything had a blindspot, even the powerful Byakugan. She was just glad she was able to figure it out and get there before the enemy shinobi had. Otherwise, Hizashi would have more than just a hairline fracture to recover from.

"I will see you in a week, we can pick up our taijutsu sessions," he said over his shoulder with a ghost of his smile. "Training Ground Three right?"

"Training Ground Three," she said with a nod. She watched him leave with a sense of accomplishment.

---

The key in her hand dangled as she saw that shadow that was associated with an all-to-familiar chakra signature. She nearly threw her head back and groaned with everything she could manage, which after a double shift at the hospital - because the effects of war lingered long after the last kunai was thrown - was not entirely much at all. Sakura eyed him moodily. Her neighbors were going to start complaining at this rate.

"Tsume warned me about taking in strays," she huffed.

Inoichi to his credit wore the look of a kicked puppy convincingly. "That was really hurtful, Sakura," he frowned. It did not last long on his face. His eyes sparkled as a grin tugged at his lips. He held up a bento box. "Technically, I think you'd be the stray in this scenario because I feed you."

"Your Okaasan feeds me," Sakura corrected with a hand on her hip.

"True but I'm the one that brings it to you," he said, smoothly, shoving the box toward her.

Sakura brought it to her nose. "What is it?" Her jade eyes lit up despite the front she was putting up.

"It's good," he answered.

And that reminded her exactly why she was none-to-pleased with this arrangement. The food was good but she was over the side dish of sass. That and the nagging feeling of owing someone. She was not a charity case.

"You're home late," he frowned. She could hear his judgment and disapproval.

"Thank you for pointing out the obvious, Ojichan," Sakura took pleasure in the way his jaw tightened in annoyance. "When is this stopping?" Her nose flared slightly at his too-comfortable stance as he leaned back against her apartment building.

"I don't know," Inoichi said with a shrug, as he followed her up the narrow stone stairs. He was careful to not step on the crumbling parts. "Consider it a back payment for saving my life."

"You're still on that?" She shot him a look over her shoulder. His hearty chuckle was his response.

"All that garbage you eat will send you to an early grave." The truth was he slept better knowing she had at least one home-cooked meal a day. He would never admit that to her. He was not oblivious to her exhaustion. She was barely lifting her feet off the ground.

"I'm a big girl, Inoichi. I take full responsibility for my actions," she scoffed in offense.

"I know," he answered easily, catching her door before it slammed in his face. He stepped over her boots that she had kicked off with reckless abandon, not caring where they ended up. He straightened them with his foot when she was not looking. "Something about you brings out my paternal side," he joked.

Sakura snorted loudly. She pulled open the sliding door. She could feel his judgment. "I've been inside all day," she explained with a lack of interest. She slipped into the flip-flops she kept on her balcony, before slowly clambering onto the roof. She sat at the edge before the tiles started, they were really uncomfortable.

He settled down next to her, pulling his knees up. The too-small pink flip-flops on his feet made moving fast not an option. Sakura crossed her legs under her and sighed. She opened the top section of the lid. She grabbed the wooden chopsticks and tapped them against the covering in question.

"I already ate," Inoichi rubbed the back of his neck. "Okaasan insists on it."

It was sweet, how Inoichi was with his mother. He was a good son.

"Hm," she hummed as she opened the box. She saw the rice, meat, pickled veggies, and salad all set neatly in their compartments. "Thank you for the food," she said quietly before picking up a piece of lettuce. She chewed thoroughly.

Inoichi leaned back on his hands. He stared at the stars in the sky. "I'm thinking of asking Itomi out."

Sakura nearly choked on a cherry tomato. She coughed and coughed. And coughed again.

"I don't know the Heimlich, Sakura. You didn't teach it to me," he said blandly as he stuck his pinky in his ear and wiggled it trying to ease the itching.

She glared at him. Red-faced from her near-death encounter. "You waited until I had food in my mouth!" She accused him.

"I did no such thing," he rolled his eyes at her lack of grace. He took in her frozen-in-place feature and the anxiety coming off of her. "She has Itomi's eyes, Sakura. It's the first thing I noticed."

Sakura did not move for a number of seconds. She slowly picked up her chopsticks and resumed eating - slower this time.

"I've had my eye on her for a while," Inoichi continued, "but I was worried about how it would work out. She comes from a civilian family. I'm a clan heir. It is unspoken that I am supposed to marry within the clan."

"Is it really like that?" She asked her rice not quite feeling brave enough to look at him as they talked about something very personal. "Being from a clan?"

"It's stifling," he said without bitterness. "There are a lot of expectations and eyes, not always a lot of freedom."

"I had no idea," she brought rice to her mouth and she chewed. "I always thought it was really nice to be from a clan, having people who look like you, share the same values; people that just understand you and how you were raised because they were raised the same way. Similar backgrounds and whatnot," she finished in a distant voice.

Belonging. Being someone's and having someone.

Inoichi watched her from the corner of his eye. She was off in her head again, no doubt.

"It's not all that it's cut out to be," he ran his hand along his chin, feeling the stubble on his skin. "It's tribal, the mentality. Take the Uchiha Clan, for instance, they've never had a member marry out of the clan. Not the main house anyway."

"Really?" She blinked in astonishment. "Like ever?"

I wonder if future Sakura was the first one. She turned her head to hide her blush. Not quickly enough because Inoichi narrowed his eyes.

"Have your sights set on an Uchiha do you, Sakura?" He asked with a mischievous grin and light chuckle.

"Shut up," she glared at him without heat. He knew it. His cheeky smile conveyed as much. "How did you meet Itomi-san?" She asked, eager to change the subject off of herself.

"She's been coming to shop every Thursday for as long back as I can remember." He yawed into his hand. "She buys flowers before she goes to visit her grandmother."

"That's so sweet," Sakura said with a soft, genuine smile.

"I think so too," Inoichi mused distractedly.

"Do you think she will say yes?" Sakura was nearly done with bento. "Do you even have a plan?"

"I hope so," Inoichi said in a thoughtful manner, his eyes appearing more blue than green against his sandy-blond hair and the dark backdrop of stars in the night sky glittering like mirrors all around. "The plan is to wing it," his face opened up.

"That's a terrible plan," she deadpanned while pointing to him with her chopsticks, she clicked them once. "Terrible," she repeated with a click of her tongue.

"Like I would take any advice pertaining to relationships from you," he rolled his eyes and frowned at her.

"What's that supposed to mean?" She narrowed her eyes.

"It means," Inoichi ignored all the warning signs and proceeded full speed ahead. "That you don't know how to treat people."

A healer with a broken heart. The irony of it all was not lost on him. She fixed others because she was broken inside. He did not need to walk her mind to know that.

"I don't belong here, Inoichi," she rubbed her temples, nearly losing her composure. She swallowed back the tightness in her throat and the stinging in her eyes. He pushed her right to the edge. She would crumble if he asked her if she was okay. She was caught between two things; between the impossible. Just when she finally found her footing, everything changed on her all over again. She was constantly unstable.

"But you are here."

She closed her eyes as if his words struck her across the face with a forceful blow. She knew. She knew that. Kami, she knew that. But she ignored it. Just like she ignored everything inside.

"What happens when I go back?" She asked him, almost searching his face for an answer; for something for her to hold onto. Because it felt like she was in a freefall. Only she never met the ground. Even that was just out of reach.

I belong with them. I belong to them.

"Have you thought about it?" He asked in an even quieter voice, one that barely carried the weight of his words. "What going back even means? What it looks like?"

Her grip around her chopsticks tightened. Her throat was dry. She wished she had the forethought to bring a drink with her. She settled for swallowing her spit as little as it was.

"It's going to be fine. It will work out," she said with growing conviction. "I know them. They know me. We care for each other. We are a team." Their faces flashed in her mind, pushing her to keep going. "They're where I belong," she said resoundingly not to be moved or swayed in her position.

Inoichi held his tongue, all to keep the question just at the tip of from reaching her ears. What would happen if she could not go back? What if there was nothing to go back to? Was she prepared for that? She was forsaking everything she had for a possibility. He hoped she saw that. For her sake.

"I have nothing, Inoichi," she looked at the empty bento in her lap.

"You had nothing, Sakura," he corrected her, not letting her get away with avoiding his gaze. His voice had a hard edge, almost reprimanding in nature.

Sakura grew quieter. She closed the bento. It rested on the roof between them. "It was spicy," she said blandly.

"You ate it all," Inoichi pointed out mildly.

"Stick around, I'll wash it so you can take it back. Take back yesterday's too." She moved toward the slanted part of the roof. She vanished.

"Yes, sir," he gave her a mock salute she could not see. "I'll be sure to tell Okaasan that you think she's a terrible cook." Inoichig grinned at her loud sound of exasperation before she opened the sliding door.

Both of them were completely oblivious to a pair of eyes watching them, much too far to hear a word exchanged but close enough to not miss anything.

---

She leaned heavily against the counter, it cut her right at the hip, making it the perfect height for her to lean forward on her forearms and scrawl her notes for the last patient she saw before she turned the files over to the nurse to start the discharge process. She was in the middle of crossing her 'T's' when her ears picked up a word - a name - that had her pausing. Her pen moved slower but did not stop entirely as she subtly tilted her head closer to the pair of voices.

"The patient in Three-one-three B was really in bad shape." A voice that reminded her of rain in the spring. Soothing and refreshing. "So much blood."

"All because of the Jinchuriki," the second voice said with clear disgust. "What a nuisance."

Sakura furrowed her brow. Anything regarding Kushina - the Jinchuriki - was of top most interest to her. Because Kushina was a vital piece to what went wrong that night, the night the village lost their beloved Yondaime.

She died that night too. The voice in her head was quick to remind her, sharply.

"I had half the mind to bite her head off. She was asking me to explain everything - so loudly too. Like who does she think she is to him that I have to tell her anything?" The nurse bemoaned in her misery. "Absolutely hands-down the worst person I had to deal with and she wasn't even a patient! Or family!"

The other voice snickered. "As if you could have taken her. She's crazy."

"Not to mention a kunoichi," the woman grumbled.

"Thankfully his face was okay," the first woman said with a sigh. "The medic that healed him wasn't the best we had. He was just the one that got there the quickest."

"He really is handsome isn't he?" The second voice gushed. She giggled. "Namikaze-san," her voice was dreamy and a little distant.

"I can't wait for her to-"

Sakura slammed her pen on the clipboard and turned on her heel. She ran without a single thought in her head but to verify with her own eyes and her hands what was true and what was gossip.

The Baka! He probably got careless. He probably didn't even think of his own safety. But how could he? When she was there?

Her boots clapped against the porcelain tile as she raced past the faces that ranged from quizzical to downright mad at the sight of her running like a mad woman. She grabbed the wall, digging in with her blunt nails when she slid from taking the corner too sharply. She did not slow down. She felt like she was chasing after her heart, trying desperately to keep it from jumping outside of her chest. Her hands were clammy, her breath was short, and her eyes were wild.

She hurdled over a nurse who ducked at the sight of her, too scared to move. Sakura heard papers shattered in the air but she did not stop. She could not stop.

Baka! Baka! Baka!

She cursed him to the moon and back and then some.

You're not a God!

She ran into the wall, palms first. The loud slapping sound was drowned out by the thundering of her heart in her ears. She darted her eyes up to the metal basket where they kept the patient files.

Empty!

The panic in her rose. She moved to her left. Closer and closer to the handle. She nearly took it off the door as she pulled it open. She barely waited for it to open before she slipped inside. She was not running but her movements were hurried, impatient in their need to be as close to him as possible. She nearly cried out at the empty bed in front of her.

She whirled to her left. The large whiteboard was wiped clean but her eyes were on the top left corner, 313B was affixed to the whiteboard in big, green block letters. She had the right room number despite the picture being all wrong. She ran out of the room. She searched the corridor, fingers gripping the doorframe. Her eyes picked up on movement.

"Where is the patient who was in room 313B?" She demanded to know.

Did they take him for more tests? For emergency surgery? To the morgue?

She was spiraling. She was aware enough to recognize that but completely helpless to do anything to correct her trajectory.

The nurse flinched.

"Where?" Sakura stood in front of her, moving faster than she had at any point in her life. She did not even remember crossing the hall. "Where?!" She partially begged.

"I-I don't know!" The nurse cried out in distress.

Get a hold of yourself!

Sakura blinked. It was as if Inner struck her with an open-face palm. "I'm sorry," she murmured before turning on her heel - not quite knowing where her feet were taking her. Just somewhere far from the woman she had rendered a shaking mess. She looked at the ground so she did not make any unwanted and accidental eye contact. She pressed a palm to her chest, over her still sporadic heartbeat, to will it to fall back into a more sustainable rhyme. One that would allow her to be herself again. The swirling in the pit of her stomach did not help matters in the slightest. Her other hand moved along the wall that she was leaning against as it was more or less keeping her up.

"The food was terrible, 'ttebane!"

She stopped, her head snapped in the direction of the voice. The very loud voice.

Kushina! Her eyes widened.

"You have to let me cook for you! You'll be back to one hundred percent in no time, you know!"

Sakura ran into a room whose door was open, not caring if it was occupied. She came to a stop by the window. The panel was swung out toward the room. A sound that she could never hope to label came out of her throat. Pure and utter relief as a tall frame with sunshine-yellow hair was locked in her gaze.

He's okay.

She smiled, laughing to herself.

Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.

She did not even know who she was thanking: him, his medic, Kami, the universe. It did not matter because Namikaze Minato was alive and well. Her fingers broke the threshold of the open window as her palms curled around the metal frame. She could feel it dig into her flesh. The grime from the less-than-clean track coated her skin.

"I won't take no for an answer, dattebane! You're eating my food."

Sakura's smile slowly slid off her face. She moved her eyes to the right and down until nothing but red hair like a waterfall filled her line of sight.

Kushina.

She remembered. She remembered before she saw what her eyes did. Not just Minato. Not just Kushina. She saw them together. Walking. Together. With but a half an arm's distance between them. There was an ease to him. She could see it in his shoulders. He was not being polite or pretending. He was genuinely at ease. He was relaxed. He was comfortable. Around her. In her presence. And her body language was open like she would not mind if the distance that separated them was reduced to the point that only wind separated them, maybe even less than that.

The two of them made a pretty picture. A very pretty picture. There was no doubt in Sakura's mind at that moment that what she feared - what she dreaded - was true. They fit.

Sakura turned around slowly. Her legs were not as sturdy as they were moments prior. She slowly sank to the ground. She pulled her knees to her chest. She was six years old again at the academy when she caught Minato looking at Kushina with admiration in his eyes. Kushina was not the one out of place. She was not the one who encroached on anything.

It was her. Sakura was the outsider. She was the one that contaminated it all. Because when she had looked at the two of them together, she saw it.

Naruto.

The name caused her throat to go dry and tears to spring from her eyes. She wrapped her arms around her knees and buried her head, muffling her sobs into the void that led up to her stomach.

xXx

His movements halted almost of their own volition, like the signal from his brain to his foot got scrambled somewhere in the process. He felt something prick at the back of his neck. Minato turned his head over his shoulder. With his jaw set in a sharp line, he narrowed his eyes at the open window on the third floor of the hospital. The nagging feeling in the back of his head grew.

There was the presence of a sudden warmth on his arm. He turned his head and looked at the hand that was on his bicep. He traced it back all the way to a beautiful face with violet eyes painted in concern.

"Minato?" She said his name uncharacteristically, timidly like she was not quite sure how to handle the situation.

"I'm alright," he smiled at her without having to think twice. His words and gestures had a transformative effect on her. She lit up, once again surrounded by her confidence and boisterous personality.

"Good, because I'm thinking we should get some ramen!" She said brightly. "There's nothing a bowl of Ichiraku's can't fix."

"Maybe another time, Kushina-san," he said in a light voice. "I think I should go home and rest."

"Oh," she brought a hand and gently patted the back of her head with it once. "Right, silly me. You should probably go do that." She looked at the ground with pink dusting her cheeks.

"Thank you for keeping me company in the hospital," he tried to soften the blow he dealt her.

"It's the least I could do, 'ttebane!" She pouted. "You were in the hospital because of me, you know."

"It really wasn't your fault," his smile no longer reached his eyes as he assured her close to half-heartedly. He looked back over his shoulder at the open window, drowning out what Kushina was saying.

---

Tsume perked up at the familiar scent. She grinned from ear to ear and judging from Kuromaru's snout being up as he sniffed the air, he was seconds away from the same realization: they were close. Really close. The brunette with wild hair looked over her shoulder. Her red face markings were all the more striking due to her animalistic expression.

"Hey," she barked at her teammates. "What do you say we grab some barbeque after we give the Hokage our mission briefing? Keep the fun going." She pointed to herself with her thumb, "My treat," she sweetened the offer.

"Alright by me," the Hyuuga said with little to no emotion but he still managed to surprise her. Tusme blinked owlishly.

"What do you say, Pinkie?" She asked her uncharacteristically quiet teammate. Sakura had all but uttered five words in as many days. The Inuzuka did not read too much into it. Sakura got like that sometimes. And it did not help that she was killing herself at the hospital. The girl hardly slept from the looks of things.

"I'll have to pass," she smiled apologetically. Before Tsume could complain, Sakura adjusted the strap of her pack. "Can you both give the Hokage the report? There's something I need to check at the hospital."

Tsume and the Hyuuga exchanged a look. Korumaru whined softly.

"Sure thing, Pinkie," Tsume's voice was unaffected. She turned around just in time to hide her scowl.

xXx

Sakura pushed her body through the corridors of the hospital. It was the first Monday of the month. Their mission return coincided with it perfectly. She did not even bother to change or deposit her pack at home. She did not acknowledge a single face. She had tunnel vision. She slipped the key from around her neck into the lock. She pulled open the door. The lights flickered on, the motion detectors were activated. She made her way to the opposite wall. Her feet came to a stop in front of a glass cabinet. She used a different key around her neck to slip it through the metal keyhole. She turned it to the right. She heard a click before she pulled it towards her.

Her jade eyes moved from vial to vial. Reading all the names, turning the labels towards her with a careful hand. It was the first Monday of the month which meant it was inventory day. She registered the colors and the names. Each one was accounted for. The amounts - based on her eyeballing - were what all the records claimed. Not even a cubic centimeter was misplaced.

She picked up a vial containing a purple toxin, she held it to the light. She pulsed a little bit of her chakra around the glass. The poison did not change in color or consistency. She regarded it for another few seconds until she was satisfied. She returned it to its spot. The warmth of her fingertips was long forgotten by the container.

His records are lining up.

He was not stealing poison from the hospital. Everything about him was clean and upstanding.

It just means he's good at covering his tracks.

Then we'll just have to be better. Inner said firmly.

Sakura closed the glass door. She turned the key back so that the lock could engage once more. She pulled the key out. She walked out of the room, being careful to lock the door behind her. He was bound to slip up and she would be waiting for him. Because in no world, in no scenario would she allow Orochimaru to get close enough to touch a single hair on Sasuke-kun's head.

---

The red, green, and blue dyed oils inched their way to the center of the gray dog feeding bowl; moving slowly over the ridges. She kept the disappointment off her face as the yellow oil moved behind even more. The three colors mingled in the center of the dish turning white, denoting the failure in the experiment as the color they were aiming for was brown. Her eyes moved from the pale yellow mixture to the drawing on the table. The seal that was behind the wall. Inner had let it be known that there were no other rooms or even walls that connected to the space. She was convinced that once the seal for the room - the room containing what had to be memories of her seventeenth year of life - a new path would illuminate itself. So Sakura was not too worried.

Her mind kept wandering. Ever since she made that non-official, official connection about fathers and children - specifically sons - and legacies. Naruto wanted to be Hokage much like his mother for similar reasons: acceptance and respect. They both wanted to be acknowledged for what they were: human; in a village that treated them anything but. She could not believe it took her so long to make the connection. Naruto and Kushina shared so many mannerisms - even if she knew the redhead considerably less than she knew Naruto. The similarities did not end there. They shared the same face. The same outlook on life. He may have Minato's coloring but Naruto was his mother's son through and through. He carried her burden - he became the container for the beast, for the Kyuubi. She brought her hand to her left arm - the arm the Kyuubi had struck. The scar that she hid under her arm guards. Not because she was ashamed but because she did not want to have to see the guilt being reflected in his cobalt eyes - the same shape as his mother's - every time he made eye contact with it; every time he thought she was not paying attention. He held the beast in his belly, becoming the prison of flesh for it all while dreaming of being the figurehead that protected the same village that was so quick to paint him as the villain for something that was not in his control.

He wanted to be like his father before he even knew who his father was. Before any of them knew who his father was. Ino-Shika-Cho they were legacies as well, keeping up a tradition that nearly dated back to the day Konoha was founded. A legacy carried on by their children: Ino, Shikamaru, and Choji. And she had no doubt that if they had offspring, the legacy would continue for yet another generation.

Fate. Neji, a cold and aloof upperclassman was obsessed with it. And while future Sakura had dismissed it without much thought, she could not. She had taken off Hizashi's forehead protector with her own hands on the mission he suffered the injury. She had seen the seal. The same seal that had marked his son. A reminder of their status or lack thereof. Neither Hinata nor Neji spoke much of it to her - she was an outsider and not that close to them from what she gathered - so she could only speculate on it being the biggest reason for their rocky and at times tumultuous relationship. From what was unlocked in her head, they had figured it out but it did not appear their fathers did. She wondered if Neji was destined to walk the same path.

"Inoichi?" She called out to him distractedly, still partially lost in her thoughts.

"Sakura," he grunted, "I know I may make this look easy but I need to concentrate," he did not look up from the next batch of oil samples with his chakra infused. He had started the process over after cleaning the ridged and grooved dog feeding bowl.

"Take a break," she said flatly, wiggling her fingers and causing all the samples to mix.

He glared at her with the entirety of his malice before leaning back in his chair with his arms crossed over his chest. "I hate you."

"I'll get over it," she rolled her eyes with a lackadaisical level of concern. "What do you know about the Hyuuga Clan?"

A singular sandy blond brow rose up right before he snorted. "I'm not an expert on all things clan." He rubbed his eyes with his hand.

"Inoichi," she frowned, "you must know something." She was not in the mood to let him off so easily. He was the type. He liked to stick his nose in things.

"I will not be enabling your anti-socialness," he narrowed his eyes. His fingers tapped against the table in clear agitation. "Just ask him yourself. He seems to tolerate you more than most."

"And say what exactly?" She shot back. "Hey, Hizashi-san, what's up with your clan's internal politics? Wanna share your grievances? Air some dirty-laundry maybe?"

"Not the words I would use," he could see her growing frustration.

"Inoichi," she pushed hair through her nose in a huff, "please."

He scoffed. He hated it when she fought dirty. "I don't know much, Sakura. All I know," he sighed, "is that life is very different for those in the Main and Branch houses. Night and day."

"The Bird Seal," Sakura connected the dot with a firm exclamation.

Inoichi nodded his head grimly. "Hizashi got his seal when he was just a child. All because he was born seconds after his brother."

Just like Neji-san.

Her stomach tightened. She did not know Hizashi all that much - she doubted anyone really did - but even she could see he struggled with his seal. It had taken weeks for him to even be able to look her in the eye again like she had witnessed his greatest shame and he was unable to come to terms with that fact.

"Can't the Hokage do something?" She felt herself begin to get worked up.

"The Hokage may lead the village, Sakura but the clans hold influence. Enough that the Hokage needs to pay attention to them. The Hyuuga, Uchiha, and Aburame Clans are considered the Royal Clans of Konoha - the Senju were too but there aren't enough of them around anymore to mean much. When those three clans talk, everyone listens."

Except the Uchiha lost their standing rather quickly.

The fall from grace was unforgiving and tragic. She just managed to keep a frown from settling on her face.

"But if the seal really is to protect their Kekkei Genkai - the Byakugan - then the Main house should have the seal too. The fact that the majority have it is completely inexcusable. It's dehumanizing. There's got to be some way around clan politics and sovereignty. The Uchiha don't-"

"Sakura," Inoichi cut her off with a hard look and a sharp tone. "It's not about that. Not entirely. It's about control."

"It's wrong!" She slammed her hand on the table.

"We are first and foremost weapons for the Leaf. We are people second. If tomorrow, Konoha asked me to leave the village forever for a mission, I would accept. I have no option but to accept. That is the way our world works," he stressed. "We are tools."

Sakura leaned back until her back was flush with the wood support of her chair. Her hand slid across the table before it fell to her lap. "There has to be a better way."

Naruto, Naruto would have found a better way. Because she in bones knew that Naruto found out how to make his dream a reality. He was Hokage. He did get to see his dream. And she wanted to be there at his inauguration standing in the crowd with Kaka-Sensei, and Sasuke-kun as they looked up at him. He would be the Hokage that he always dreamed of being and Minato only got to be for a short time - much too short of a time.

"I have to cut this session short," Inoichi said as he began to clean up the mess from the small table in her eating area.

Sakura blinked at him owlishly. She looked at the clock, it was not even five in the afternoon. "Do you have a mission?" She tried not to worry but she did anyway.

Inoichi grinned. "Itomi said yes."

It took her a second to put it together. Sakura smiled with her whole face.

---

She tried not to think about just how tired she was as she held an apple in her hand. Inoichi's near-constant judgment and seemingly never-ending quips about her less-than-full cupboards and fridge. She watched as an elderly woman inspected an apple not too far from her. She gave it a slight squeeze before bringing it to her nose and sniffing it. Sakura found herself mimicking the gesture.

What are you even checking for?

Rot?

Inner snorted so loud that Sakura could see her roll her eyes. She tucked the apple into the basket that rested in the crook of her elbow. She continued down the stall to wrap up the rest of her shopping.

A small bag of rice, potatoes, and a carrot rounded out her purchases. It seemed like she covered her basis. They were secure in a white canvas bag on her shoulder. They had a break in all the rain today so she decided to take the long way home. The Vitamin D was good for her. At least that was what she kept telling her elderly patients.

Take a walk. Go sit in nature. You'll feel less down. Less tired.

Sakura hummed to herself as she found herself in the park. She suddenly felt very nostalgic. Her eyes scanned the trees. They fixed on a large oak. Minato's preferred tree. She forced herself to look away from the tree because she did not need to invite more thoughts of him. She was already at her wit's end fighting off the ones plaguing her unprompted.

She continued to sweep. She found the bench. It was empty of a blonde-haired woman who looked like him, knitting or reading. She had come to learn that she passed not too long ago. Not a day went by where she did not wonder how he was handling it - the loss of the only parent he knew.

At least he has Jiraiya-sama to help him through it…and Kushina.

Her own thoughts left a bad taste in her mouth. Her eyes continued to travel. They widened slightly as she recognized a head. It was nearly all white but the hair was in the same meticulous bun and her body was in the same dark garbs that went down to her ankles.

It's Wednesday.

She remembered with a start.

Osono-san is a creature of habit it seems. Even after all these years, she kept up her routine. Sakura's feet moved of their own volition. She walked straight for the little girl sitting on the bench, clearly miserable. It caused all kinds of buried away emotions to rise up in her.

"Hi," she crouched down so that she was eye-level with the girl with shoulder-length green hair.

The girl's gold eyes widened. Sakura could see the tear stains on her face. She was no more than six.

"My name is Sakura," Sakura pressed her palm to her chest in a gesture meant to disarm. "Since you know my name, I'm not a stranger now," she ignored the woman staring at her in a peculiar manner. Like she was trying to place her because there were just so many pink-haired and green-eyed girls that came through her charge.

The girl looked at her with hesitation in her features. She glanced at the woman before looking at Sakura.

"I used to live in the orphanage too," Sakura kept her expression and tone chipper despite something much more sinister beginning to churn in her.

"Really?" The girl with her hair braided into twin braids asked with excitement.

"Really," Sakura's expression softened. "It will be okay. You'll be okay," she said fiercely. She reached for the bag on her shoulder.

"Do you like apples?"

"Yeah!" The girl nearly jumped up from her seat.

"Good," Sakura grinned. "I'll bring you something even more delicious next week."

"Really? You won't forget?" There was pulled-back hope, restraint on the girl's face. Sakura understood. She wanted to believe but she knew just how painful it was to be let down. It was better not to have any expectations at all than to be promised something and to be left with nothing.

"I never forget. I remember everything." Sakura ruffled the girl's green hair but her emerald eyes were on the woman who had gone pale. "Everything," she stared into dark eyes without blinking. A promise and a threat all rolled into one.

"Okay!" The little girl nodded her head in excitement. "I'll be waiting."

Sakura turned on her heel, the image of a little girl grinning from ear to ear with an arm full of apples powered the smile on Sakura's face. She would have to try again next week to finally get this grocery shopping thing down.

---

"Think about it," she was dangerously close to pleading as she followed behind him while he paced back and forth. His chin was in his hand and his head slightly bowed. "You're the bridge between the mental and physical. When you take control of someone's mind, you can utilize their chakra network. You give yourself control of it while maintaining control of your own system. It's not all that different."

"It is different, Sakura," he clicked his tongue. "I don't need you to explain my clan's jutsu to me." His tone told her to drop it but she was not a very good listener to actual words much less what was left to be implied.

"You can give control of my system to Inner. You can give her access to my chakra. You can use that link. She has been there every step of the way. In theory, she should have the same level of control as me. We are not really two separate entities. She is me. And I am her." Sakura continued to apply pressure to what she knew to be a compromised point in his armor. "She's probably a fragment I created because I was lonely. Out of necessity she was born. My brain was trying to protect me. Then and now."

She conveniently omitted the fact that Inner vanished sometime after future Sakura turned fifteen. She had theories - mostly around the fact that future Sakura came to be her own person who did not need to offload outburst to Inner. But he did not need the low-level details.

"Inner should have my muscle memory."

Inoichi stopped walking suddenly. Sakura ended up overtaking him to avoid hitting him. The look he shot her let it be known just what he thought about her comment. He thought it was pure bullshit.

"Just tell me it will work," her eyes glittered.

"What happened to teaching me?" He could not help but frown.

"Inoichi, I'm not a good enough teacher and we don't have two years," she chewed on her bottom lip. War was coming in less than three years based on what was written in the history books of her time. She needed to go back. She needed her memories.

"It could work," he said after some time.

Sakura clapped her hands and squealed in delight, not caring that the sound she made was fit for a twelve-year-old girl and not a sixteen-year-old twice-seasoned kunoichi.

Inoichi held up his hand. She pouted. "We won't be able to practice or test it." To his immense dismay that did not seem to dissuade her in the slightest.

"Let's do it anyway," she smiled before she jumped on her bed back first. She folded her hands on her stomach and crossed her ankles. She beamed toward the ceiling. "I have a couple of days off from the hospital and no missions lined up." She turned her head. "You coming or what?"

He should not have been surprised but he sighed anyway. Inoichi took two steps back to grab her chair. He dragged it along the floorboard before sinking into it roughly. He moved his hands through the seals he knew in his sleep. He connected his index and middle fingers together as well as his thumbs.

"Ready?" He asked in a measured voice.

Sakura nodded her head before closing her eyes.

Inoichi set his face in a grim line. He exhaled and closed his own eyes. His chakra pulsed. When he opened his eyes all that surrounded him was darkness. The sounds of his own breaths amplified by the emptiness threatened to pierce his eardrums. Lines sharpened into features. She stood in front of him.

"I'm going to give you access to Sakura's chakra," he stated with blank features and no emotion.

Inner nodded her head. "What do you need?"

"Can you make yourself solid?" It was a strange question to ask but it would make things easier. His answer came in the form of her concentrating, he saw the lines round and expand until she was a fully developed being. The facade of skin and bone replaced the stark white lines. She was still not in color but she resembled more human than fragment. His eyes locked on the diamond on her wide forehead.

"Can I touch you?" He held up his hands.

Inner rolled her eyes and grabbed his hand, unimpressed with his sudden stiff awkwardness. Inoichi pulled at chakra, his and hers, and moved it through their point of connection. He watched her face closely.

"I can feel it," Inner Sakura's gray eyes widened. "I can feel her chakra!" She sounded much younger than she presented as she made the claim. There was a genuine marvel in her voice from experiencing something for the very first time. If they were not set about to do something so serious, he would have taken a moment to appreciate it. But he had to keep the focus on their task.

"I'll stay here and monitor in case something goes unexpectedly," his voice was held together by a calm that was purely manufactured. He saw her nod her head. He lowered his hand, the door had been latched open. Inner had access now. It was up to her. The landscape changed again. They were in front of the room. The outline of brick. They both lifted their heads up to the seal. The orientation switched. They were standing on the ceiling. His ponytail dangled in front of him. He watched as Inne crouched, making herself as small as possible. She put a hand on the seal.

She closed her eyes and let out a deep breath. He continued to observe wordlessly as chakra - bright green in color in black and white - poured out of her palm and into the small openings along the edge of the seal, seeping until they filled the ridges. The green moved at a controlled pace - not all that different from the oil - as she concentrated. It was fascinating and morbid all in one.

She was about a third of the way through. He bit down on his tongue so hard that if he had his physical body, he would have drawn blood, to keep from making a sound. Her shoulders were hunched as she worked. He did not want to disturb her but he also wanted to know. He could see the progress but maybe her chakra was giving her a clearer picture.

He never should have thought the thought. Inner pressed her teeth together before growling. It was a demonic sound. His heart sank.

"What?" He demanded. His eyes darted from her to the seal. He could see at least two of the lines moving faster toward the center of the seal, where the small grooved impressed square waited.

"My control is slipping!" She matched his frantic energy. But she did not let up pumping chakra. Only four of the green rivers started up again.

"That's impossible!" He nearly shouted. "I opened the channel. As long as I'm here, you have the same powers I do. I'm fine. She's not fighting me."

"I'm telling you what's happening!" She snapped. Lashing out provided her with a quick release. It gave her a moment to get mostly everything out so that she could focus. "It's jerky. Maybe there's a failsafe! Whoever sealed her memories might have thought of this."

His eyes widened. "Shit!" He did not think of that. And to keep with the theme, he pressed his hands flat against the center of her back. He pulsed his chakra into her.

"Keep going!"

"Like I have another option," she spat.

Both of them held their breaths out of pure instinct as they watched the six lines continue to converge on to the square.

xXx

She knew something was off before she fully regained notice of all her senses. Her splitting headache - right between her brows that seemed to stretch to the back of her head - overwhelmed everything else. She slowly pushed up onto the palm of her hands, uncurling her knees away from her chest.

She blinked and blinked. And blinked once more.

Sakura frowned as she looked at her hands. They were translucent. And gray. Not very comforting. She was slow to get up on her feet, not trusting her legs any more than her surroundings. She groaned as she brought a hand to her head. She peered at the nothing through squinted eyes. She did not have it in her to open them up all the way. There was nothing to see as it were.

She cleared her throat before licking her lips. "Hello?" She called out in a hoarse voice, feeling every bit as alone as the loneliness she carried along with her for company. "Inoichi?" Her arm darted out, groping without hope for some semblance of support. She found none.

"Inner?" She continued to try to make herself easier to find. "Hello?" Sakura's voice was influenced by her rising panic.

The light was so sudden and blinding that it burned her retinas before she could even get a hand up to protect herself. Sakura hissed in pain. She blinked away the dark spots as her eyes adjusted to the brightness. The colors came fast and unforgiving. The sounds shattered the silence that had accumulated around her. It all happened at once. Everything was dumped in front of her unforgivingly.

The sounds of her screams were swallowed by the broken nothingness that once was. The peace went undisrupted.

xXx

Sakura sat up. The covers fell to her waist, pooling in her lap. She could feel the remnants of tears in her eyes. Her palms were wet with blood from her nails sinking into her skin. The soft glow of her lamp was a reprieve from the overwhelming visualizations that left her eyes feeling as thin as paper and as dry as bone.

Inoichi couched at her bedside. "You were out for hours," the concern was dripping in excess off of each and every word. "Are you alright?"

She did not answer. Her body was shaking from the lingering effects of what she had been through and just witnessed.

"Sakura, did it work?" He paused. "What did you see?"

"War," she answered in a voice hoarse from her loud, broken pleas for mercy.

---

A/N: Please review. Thank you