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.

2. Part Two: Survival

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto

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A/N: Warning some language. Violence. Angsty.

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Part 2: Survival

Pure chaos. She did not know up from down. The pitches, octaves, and screeches of sound formed dissonance in her ear so loud that she could feel the pain in her head, building like a migraine. Her eyes were taking in everything, every movement and splash of violent color but her head was not making any sense of it. It was so hot. The sun was beating down on her but she was shaking. So much that her teeth clattered. A bead of sweat moved down the curve of her spine. Taunting her with its slow descent due to gravity.

Move! She screamed internally. Anything. She begged anything beyond her eyes that blinked or her mouth that drew in and out shattered breaths, to comply. But nothing did. Not in the way she wanted it to. A shattered breath left her lungs shallow and a mess. She was in stitches. She was unsteady. Her ears rang. Tears pricked at her eyes.

Sakura! Inner's desperation only made things that much worse. She was as powerless as the rest of her. Unable to do anything but watch. Frozen in place as the world went to hell around her.

Move! She let out a dry sob, but that too was swallowed by the chaos. Her chest moved up and down but her feet remained rooted.

"Hizashi-san!" She screamed, blood-curdling.

Three bodies tumbled to the ground until there was only silence.

xXx

Ire.

If the energy it took to form, think, and deliver words could be captured and harnessed as a pure raw force, she was certain that she would be burned to a crisp right where she sat, on a wooden stool on the bedside of a cot. Her palms, in her lap, itched from the sweat generated in response to the fire she was roasting in. Her head was bowed, with hair - not quite mid-back - fanned around her face, hiding it in a curtain of shame.

Memories of the mission flashed in her mind. Images of the blood, horror, and shock on their faces. How she clamped up with a kunai in her hand unable to uncurl her arm from her chest. Useless. She had been utterly and totally useless. So she had no choice but to take the anger, vitriol, and antagonization. It was warranted. She earned it with her behavior. With her lack of ability to do anything but stand there.

Her ears rang. She started to sway slightly. There had been so much blood. She could still smell the metallic notes in the air. It had permeated everything that she could almost taste it in the back of her throat. She had no idea that head injuries bled so much. Her bottom lip quivered. Her chin danced as she tried and failed to even speak. Tears that she had not stopped crying since arriving back in the village after her sensei who had carried her two unconscious teammates over his shoulders just hours ago. She had carried the black and white ball of fluff with a patch of browning crimson in her arms. Unable to so much as look down. His bones felt so light almost as if they were hollow. His chest had barely moved but she had been too scared to even check.

The beeping of the machines was proof that they were still alive.

No thanks to you.

"I'm sorry." She worked out somewhere between a sob and a sigh.

"You're sorry?" Tsume scoffed in disgruntled disgust. She crossed her arms over her chest, wincing from the action. The pain only added to her heat. It transformed into more ammunition to throw at her teammate. Her useless teammate.

"Your sorry isn't going to bring Korumaru's eye back."

Sakura pressed her top teeth against her bottom lip to keep from whimpering. She dared not look at the small bed that was on the other side of Tsume. Korumaru's labored breathing was due to the lingering effects of the sedatives given to him to perform surgery on his eye. It could not be saved. He had saved her from sporting an unsightly scar by jumping in at the last minute to take a blade meant for her. She wanted to crawl into her skin and just die. He should have let her die.

"Your apology and tears mean nothing," Tsume hissed. "Keep them in your eyes where they belong!"

Sakura flinched at Tsume's clipping tone dripping with animosity. With something dangerously close to hatred.

"I'm sorry," it slipped out before she could stop herself.

The brunette - who was sporting a bandage around her head that covered one of her eyes growled. "You were deadweight! Completely! A determent. We almost died because of you! Hizashi broke his arm and three of his ribs!"

Sakura closed her eyes. She knew. She had been there when Pretty Lady - who she learned was the legendary Senju Tsunade - had given her and her sensei the summary. The list of injuries had been extensive. Contusions, fractures, breaks, cuts, blood loss, eye loss, and a concussion were just at the top of the list; just the highlights. And there was not a scratch on her. Not a hair was touched on her pink head.

"Why are you even here, Sakura?" Tsume asked with a severe frown, some of her vapid anger cooling slightly. A momentary truce to satiate her burning curiosity.

The pinkette furrowed her brow. She raised her head slightly but not quite to where she was looking Tsume in the eye. "Y-your my teammates and you got hurt-" she began weakly.

"No," Tsume cut her off. Tone harsh. "Why are you even a kunoichi? Why are you doing this?"

Why? Sakura did not understand the question. She sat there with a stunned look on her face. And that caused Tsume's face's transformation into an enraged mask to complete.

"Is this a game to you? Are you bored? Did you think it would be fun?!" She demanded loudly and sharply. There were no traces of familiarity or the ample excitement all three of them (including Korumaru) had when they realized they were on the same Genin Squad, on her person now. There was only rage and disappointment and that made Sakura's stomach twist because she was the reason it was there.

"This is my life, Sakura!" Tsume snarled, her canines came chomping down as she cut her words with venom. Her eyes were slits.

"I-I-I'm so-"

"Fuck, Sakura!" Tsume tugged at her hair in pure frustration. "You don't get it, do you?! We almost died!"

Sakura's tears started to rain down even more quickly. Her shoulder shook as a sob broke free from the vault that had been her lips.

"Enough."

Both twelve-year-old girls turned their heads to the voice that spoke. Hizashi winced as pushed himself up into a seated position, his hand pressed against his tender and sore side. He was wrapped in bandages from his waist to his neck. His pale pearl eyes did not reach Sakura's but he saw the tears and the swollen face. They all heard the way her voice fluttered in her weakness, in her guilt.

"She gets it, Inuzuka-san," Hizashi said in a low but authoritative voice.

Tsume's face was less than pleased. "It may be enough for you, Hyuuga, but I am my clan's heiress and I don't plan on dying just yet. Especially not because of the likes of a nobody; a nobody, like her."

A nobody?

Sakura's heart seized in her chest. She did not recognize her friend of seven years in the girl that had just spoken. She could see Hizashi open his mouth to give Tsume a piece of his mind. His eyes were so cold ready to smother Tsume's rage with their frigid torrents.

Sakura stood up so abruptly that the stool went toppling over. It clattered to the ground with a rough sound. Wood on porcelain tile, unforgiving to the ears. It echoed. She bowed low at the hip. Her hands were clasped together. She was a bundle of nerves.

"Please don't fight because of me," she stammered through her tears, nearly screaming in her distraughtness. "Please!" She begged desperately.

Tsume and Hizashi stared at her with slacked jaws and wide eyes in total disbelief.

"I know my words do not mean much because my inaction failed to mean anything. Tsume-chan, Hizashi-san, Korumaru-kun, I was a failure as your teammate today. And for that, I am truly sorry."

She wanted to promise to do better. But she did not want to lie to them on top of everything else she did not do. How could she?

Sakura nearly knocked the glass vase containing three white daffodils with yellow centers from Tsume's bedside table as she put the snacks she had brought with her clumsily on the table - the food at the hospital was terrible from what she remembered as a child. The flowers were identical in color and number to the ones near Korumaru's and Hizashi's end tables. Neither found their voice in time to stop Sakura from running out of the room with her hair and tears streaking behind her.

xXx

She pressed her curled fist to her eyes as she heaved sobs as if she would never ever stop crying. She could not breathe. The events of the past twenty-four hours - how excited they had all been to have their first mission outside of Konoha only for it all to take such a bad and morbid turn - played in her head over and over again. Her nails curled into her scalp.

"Useless, useless, useless," she sobbed loudly. Her eyes squeezed shut. Ami was right. Ami and the girls were right. She had no business being here. She was a nobody. She came from nothing. She had no business being a part of this world. She had nearly cost them everything. Tsume hated her and for good reason. Korumaru would never be the same. Hizashi could not even look at her. She had nearly killed them all and had it not been for Tsunade-sama, she would have. But even now, now that they were out of danger she had ruined their team dynamic so much that she did not see a way forward for her team, for Team Five. She just did not.

"I just stood there!" She babbled. Her coherency was cut by her wails and the snot that dripped from her nose. "Stupid. Stupid. Stupid." She hit her head with her fist, punctuating each insult. She started to sway, her palms flat against the rough bark of the tree. Her legs were sprawled around her, with her knees bent towards her in a 'W' position. The vibrant colors of the sky spoke to the sun setting on the worst day of her life. Maybe it was just a taste of what was to come. She had no direction. She had no idea. She was listless in life as she was in a time of crisis.

Tsume's enraged face pulled into a snarl, flashed in her mind.

Why are you even a kunoichi? Why are you doing this?

Her pointed question bounced off the tunnel learning to her ears to the point it was almost a ring. Over and over. The question blared.

Why are you even a kunoichi? Why are you doing this?

"Why? Why? Why?" She cried out in despair with her eyes still closed and her fist hitting the side of her head over and over and over and over and over….

Her brows furrowed until they were practically connected. The pounding on her skull stopped. She was slow to open her eyes. Canopies of jade leaves under an expanse of irritated red sky blinked slowly, her lip parted as a shaky, jagged breath got caught in her throat. Cooling cobalt, an endless expanse was all she could see. Tranquil. Steadfast. Enduring. She was drowning in it.

"Sakura-chan," he said her name gently. His hand curled around her bunched-up fist, holding it back from striking her head.

Her shame grew in magnitudes. She could not look him in the eyes. She did not deserve his patience, his sympathy, his compassion. He did not know of her failures and her most glaring shortcoming. He did not know what she did and did not do. He did not know that she was lower than trash. She let down those who needed her in the worst possible way.

A paper kunoichi. She proved that was all she was today. Just a brain. No brawn and no heart. A waste of life.

"How did you find me?" She breathed her accusation after sniffling loudly.

"I'll always find you, Sakura-chan," he answered with a frown. He traced her under eyelids with his thumb. Her tears coated his skin. Her weakness spread like an infectious disease. "What's wrong?"

Sakura could only shake her head as more tears were shed. Glittering like suncatchers in a window during midday. He followed their path as they fell from her red and blotchy face. So puffy and pained.

"Okay," he said with gentle understanding. "We don't have to talk about it. I'll let go of your hand if you promise not to hit yourself, can you do that Sakura-chan? Can you promise me?"

She breathed through her mouth because her nose was so congested from mucus brought on by her crying. She could not contain her emotions. Another reason why she should not be a kunoichi. She was kidding herself.

"Sakura-chan," his voice and expression contained concern, they were strained in it.

It took her a second to remember what he was waiting for. She nodded her head slowly. Minato gently lowered their arms and let go of her hand until it joined its pair against the rough bark of the oak tree. She stared at his feet as he moved from a crouch to a crossed-legged position right in front of her. She did not know what to think of the action because on one hand she wanted to be alone but on the other - the one that burned from his touch - she very much did not want to be.

"Here," he held out a water bottle.

She hesitated in her indecision. Minato sighed before grabbing her hand and easing the bottle into it. He had already undone the seal. Sakura guided it to her lips. She drank down the itchiness in her throat.

"Better?" He asked with kindness.

She nodded. She held up her hand in protest to the handkerchief he procured out of his hip pouch. "I'm fine."

"No, you're not," he countered.

She closed her eyes as he began to dab away her tears with a steady hand. The soft cotton of the blue handkerchief blotted away the moisture from her face, leaving only tightness from the salt. Her lashes were weighed down heavily, darkened to almost mauve.

"You don't have to do all this," Sakura said. Her voice twisted in the magnitude of her misery.

"I know." Minato's eyes gave her a cursory once over before he held out the fabric again.

Sakura sighed. She lowered the half-empty water bottle to between her legs and reached for the cloth. She brought it to her nose and blew reservedly in her embarrassment. She was mortified on top of everything else.

"Thank you," she could not look at him as she thanked him meekly.

"You're welcome."

She could feel his eyes and all the questions that he kept unasked. The ambiguity ate away at her. The prospect of what he was thinking was too much for her to overcome. Sakura stared at the crumpled-up handkerchief in her hand. She inhaled.

"I nearly got my team killed today." She did not sugarcoat it. It was the least she could do, own up to it. "On our first official mission outside of Konoha." She did not fight his hand wrapping around hers. The slight pressure he applied to her cold fingers was almost nice. Maybe under different circumstances, it would have been.

The words came pouring out of her just as the tears had back at the hospital at the sight of her teammates. She told him everything from the moment they left the gate with anticipation and large smiles to when the first hail of senbon ensnared them all, to Korumaru losing his eye, and all the way up to Hizashi collapsing and her thinking he was dead. What a horrible thirty seconds that had been.

"I'm sorry," Minato said solemnly when she finally finished - she had almost had another panic attack during the middle of the retelling where she finished the rest of the water, and soaked his handkerchief in her nasal discharge.

Sakura chewed her lip. She noticed how he did not say that her teammate, Tsume had been in the wrong. There was a whole conversation held in the words Minato did not say.

"And the worst part is," she swallowed almost painfully. "I don't have an answer."

"For Inuzuka-san?" He asked for clarification.

"They all almost died because of me," Sakura shook her head in her disappointment. "And I don't even have an answer for her."

"Sakura-chan," the way in which he said her name partially compelled her to raise her eyes to his, albeit with ample hesitation. She was surprised to see - rather, to not see condemnation in them - that they were very different from what Tsume's eyes had been.

"You don't need to have an answer for Inuzuka-san or anyone other than yourself." He said with wisdom beyond his twelve years. He was already a Chuunin. She had been there for his exams. Completely out of reach. Untouchable for the likes of her.

"You just need to have an answer for yourself as to why you want to be a kunoichi."

She looked away from his too-earnest face. She did not want to see the transformation that was no doubt coming. The one where he would look at her with disappointment. That might just make everything ten times worse.

"Korumaru-kun got hurt," her fingers twitched in a desire to dig into her scalp once more, instead she sank her nails into the bark. It hurt. It grounded her.

"Sakura-chan," Minato's hands were on her shoulders. "Risks are part of this profession. You had a Jonin instructor with you. Your sensei failed more than any of you did." He reminded her not to carry this burden all by herself.

"Sensei got pulled away," she tried to defend her teacher. "It wasn't his fault!"

"It wasn't yours either. Not completely," Minato cut off her protests before they could begin. His eyes held an influence over her. The shade of blue they donned had her scrambling for her thoughts. "Be honest with yourself."

It's too hard.

"I want," she stopped herself from voicing the rest of her thought, she huffed in frustration.

"It's okay," he encouraged with a half-smile so that it would not be mistaken as overbearing or an act of coercion. Because he knew she would never admit it to herself without a little push.

I want….

"I want to be a kunoichi so I never feel like this again," she admitted quietly but clearly. Her voice did not waver. Her fingers curled into fists. Her blunt nails dug into her flesh. "I never want to feel this useless again. I never want to feel as helpless as I did when Ami and them…." She closed her eyes just as her voice trailed off. She could still vividly picture Ami's cruel expression when she hacked off her hair. Sakura inhaled shakily, refusing to cry about something that happened years ago. She shook her head, freeing herself from her raw memories.

"I never want to be that weak again. I want to be strong." Her head dipped down. She was ashamed.

"What's wrong with that reason?" She could hear the frown in his voice. The guilt was like gravel, it made his voice seem heavier, almost deeper with the weight of his regret. He did not know the full story. She never told him. But he had seen the aftermath and he was shrewd. He had enough context clues, her rather sudden and boyish haircut after the comment he had made - with only good intentions - being the biggest one. Her ignoring him for years was the second.

"It's not noble," she explained to the best of her limited ability. "It's not like yours - you want to protect your home and those you care about - or even Tsume-chan's who wants to be a kunoichi to lead her clan. Mine is selfish."

"You…you remembered?" Surprise bled into Minato's question. He was caught out of his element for a moment and that one moment of weakness the question had eked out.

"Of course," she frowned as she raised her eyes to her face. "You're the one who taught me about The Academy. You're the reason why I even know about this career path." This path to freedom. She no longer lived at the orphanage. She lived in subsidized housing because she was officially a Genin now which meant she could use her mission pay to cover the rest of her expenses. And as long as she was an active roster kunoichi, she could live in the subsidized housing units. Her frown deepened at the presence of faint pink on his cheeks and the tips of his ears.

"Are you getting sick?" She asked.

Minato shook his head. He avoided her eyes all of a sudden. "Sakura-chan," he said her name shakily. "Wanting to be strong is a good enough reason. There's nothing wrong with it." He bit his tongue to leave off the fact that he liked people who were stronger than him. Like his sensei - Jiraiya - and the Hokage. He respected people stronger than him.

Sakura moved her hand until it was at the nape of her neck. With quick fingers, she undid her Hitai-ate. She traced the insignia of the Leaf with her index finger. His gaze burned her but she did not look away from the symbol of her loyalty.

I want to be worthy of calling myself a kunoichi of the Leaf. I want my allies to be able to rely on me. I want to be strong for my friends and for my home.

Sakura's hand curled around the navy forehead protector. She used the back of that very hand to dry the last of her tears. Her eyes glistened with determination. If she did not want to be victimized and terrorized, something needed to change. She needed to change. She remembered her breaking that tree in half. She could do it.

"Minato-kun," she snapped her head in his direction so abruptly she heard it creak. "Will you train me? When you're not out on missions with your team."

The blond blinked at her, owlishly.

Baka. You're just putting the burden on him now! How is that any different?

She took in his quiet features. She interpreted his silence.

He's too nice to say no.

"It's okay," she hastily got onto her feet. "I'll figure it out on my own. I'll get stronger." She turned around with every intention of jumping down from the perch. "Thank you for your help. I'm sorry that I was a burden to you," she said in a small voice, not quite able to fully mask her dejection. She grabbed onto the trunk of the tree.

She felt her wrist being encircled. She dared not turn her head. It had grown dark. And the sky was to get darker, even.

"You're not a burden, Sakura-chan," he said firmly. So firmly that she had no choice but to look at him. His eyes held the same determination hers had. The half-smile on his lips made her stomach pulse.

"Yes."

"Yes?" She asked him not quite understanding.

"Yes, I'll help train you."

Her lips pulled into a smile. She nodded her head.

I want to be strong like Kushina and kind like Minato.

---

Sakura listened intently as he explained the purpose of the small tan sheet of square paper he held in her hands. He spoke with the utmost seriousness, one that influenced her own stance. Her shoulders were drawn back and her spine was held in a posture that was deemed proper but she could not ignore the voice in her head that said she was being pranked. Badly.

Magic chakra-detecting paper. Yeah right.

Minato took one look at the dubious set of her face before opening his mouth to ask 'any questions'?

"Nope." Sakura shook her head.

"Okay," he did not call her out on her less-than-convincing tone. "You've always excelled at theoretical aspects of things so I'm not worried that I'll have to repeat anything."

"You noticed?" She could not help but ask. Her pink hair which was held up in a ponytail bushed between her shoulder blades as a gust of wind kicked up. The morning sun was soft on the back of her neck.

"Of course, I noticed," he answered unfazed by her surprise and disbelief. "You were my competition for the number one spot for all the written tests during the time we overlapped at The Academy."

She refused to read into his tone for there was something dangerously close to pride backing his words. She felt noticeable heat coming off of her cheeks. She kept her eyes pinned on the paper in his grip. It popped against the black backdrop of his T-shirt under his white jacket with two black racer streaks down the arms.

She cleared her throat. "I don't really have much chakra." Sakura rubbed her elbow absentmindedly.

"We'll grow your reserves. It can be done." Minato's voice contained open notes of encouragement. "Your control of chakra was at the top of our year. If anyone can make the most out of less, it's you."

I can't believe I let Ami and them convince me that Minato-kun's mean. He's so nice!

Sakura's face was now as red as her shirt. She tried to ignore the voice that was swooning loudly right next to her ear drum.

"Okay," she said lamely as she tucked a strand of hair behind her ear.

"Are you paying attention?" He asked with a head tilt and a half-smile. If she were braver she would have said he was teasing with his lightheartedness. But she was not very brave.

"Yes." She turned her gaze to the paper with a level of alertness that spoke to her resolve.

"Watch closely," his eyes crinkled with a blend of mirth and expectation. Exhilaration. He liked that he did not have to slow down his movements for her. Minato concentrated. The paper crinkled before it folded in on itself becoming heavy with dampness.

Her jade eyes widened at the suddenness of it all. Even if she had been expecting it. "Water?" She marveled.

"Disappointed?" He raised his eyebrows in tandem with his mouth asking the question.

"Surprised," she frowned. "You used a lot of wind jutsu during your one-on-one round in the exams." Almost extensively. It had been a dizzying whirlwind trying to keep up with. She had gone to bed with a stiff neck from all the back-and-forth movements.

"Out of necessity. The terrain did not have large bodies of water," he explained. "Water is my primary affinity, the chakra nature I'm most comfortable in."

"Oh," she said in a small voice suddenly feeling very dumb that she overlooked that one particular detail. She did not have much chance to dwell on it for long. He held out a piece of paper. She took it with deft fingers. She regarded the square sheet. She would be lying if she was not a little intimidated and even scared.

"Just move chakra?"

He nodded his head. "Like you pool it to your hands and feet when you climb something. But instead of collecting it there on paper just pulse it. Draw it back and cut it off quickly," he explained levelly.

He'd make a good sensei. He's patient.

"Right, pulse," she repeated mostly to herself, ignoring the commentary in her head. "Here goes nothing," she murmured. She called to her chakra in her coils. She felt it move from her naval up her sternum, across her shoulder, and down her arm. It zipped to the paper. There was a popping sound.

"Pull back!" Minato's voice held a sense of urgency.

Sakura cut off the connection between her chakra and the paper immediately. She watched with a slack jaw as the paper began to fill with water before it folded in her hands, a wet mess.

"Water?" She blinked, not quite believing what she just witnessed.

"Nice, just like me." Minato grinned at her, pleased.

Sakura looked at the folded-up, damp, sheet of paper. Warmth rose from her stomach. "Water," she repeated slowly as if convincing herself that she indeed shared an affinity with the top of their class - the prodigy known as Namikaze Minato.

She held a distinctive rustle before an identical sheet appeared in her line of sight. Her frown and furrowed brow asked the question for her.

"I have a feeling," was all he supplied with an unreadable look in his eyes.

Sakura took the paper and regarded it with a complex expression. "Do the same thing?" She looked at him.

Minato nodded his head. "Just like before," he answered patiently. "Pull back faster this time. It only needs a second or two."

"Isn't this the textbook definition of insanity? Doing the same thing and expecting different results?" She asked with a frown. She was not trying to be difficult. She was trying to understand how this time the paper would do anything differently than becoming wet.

"All the chakra natures are attainable. You can learn to have the ones you do not have a natural affinity for. It will take time and discipline. Water is the opposite of fire. Fire would be the hardest for you to learn given that Water is your natural affinity, like me." He watched her closely, reading her expressions for cues on how clear he was being.

"Wind and Earth while not like water, it is not uncommon that they accompany those with Water affinities as a secondary. Wind is closer to water than Earth in terms of movement, in its agility, and ability to fill the container that holds it, so the jump from one to the other is not that extreme. Earth is stagnate. It does not move like water. It's not fluid. But it poses resistance that can be similar to water. There is a pull factor. It will be more challenging at first but you'll get the hang of it."

He took in her dubious face. He paused as his mind thought of another way to explain it with examples. "Water and Wind is similar to how Lightning comes more naturally to those with an affinity to Fire. They have a similar style to wield and belong to the same family. Wind and Earth are opposites like Fire and Water. So for a natural Wind user, Earth nature would be the hardest to learn."

"We found your primary, now let's see if you have a secondary. This time pulse your chakra twice instead of holding it out as long. If you have a secondary, it should reflect in the paper before the primary completely consumes it."

"I see," she did. At least partially. "So I don't have a secondary, Wind and Earth would be the next best place to start to try to learn?"

"Exactly," he nodded his head. "You'd need more time. At least double the amount of time you need to learn anything from your primary. If either of those, Wind or Earth, are your secondary it's about one point five times at worst - usually - or the same time needed to master your primary. That's rare though."

"That makes sense, I suppose," she would have to think about it more. The lessons in The Academy did not go this deep. Neither did the supplemental texts they recommended. She started to think out loud as she processed the information in the way it best stuck in her brain through transformation. She had to put it into her own words.

"The nature of the relationship between primary and secondary chakra affinities is similar to the relationship between hands," she looked down at hers. "Or the body when divided in half along the spine. Right down the middle. Like,. trying to get your non-dominant hand to the same level as your dominant hand when it comes to anything like writing or throwing a kunai. Or even brushing your teeth. It will take longer, more concentration, and more effort. It can get close but it will never really completely bridge the gap. Unless you're ambidextrous but that is rare in of itself?" Her voice trailed off at the end becoming higher.

"That's a really good way of putting it," Minato chuckled. "I'm stealing that analogy."

"Give me credit," she joked despite the heat that rose to her cheeks at the praise and the way he was looking at her. She cleared her throat. Trying to get her mind to focus on the lesson. She frowned as the thought came to mind. "But Wind is the most rare of the affinities, right? At least naturally? And blood impacts the chances. Like how the Uchiha are all prepositioned to have Fire and thus, Lightning?"

"Right," he nodded his head. "Just trust me on this, Sakura."

"Because you have a feeling?" She cocked her head to the side and asked him with less than full conviction.

He nodded his head. "Because I have a feeling."

"Fine," she sighed. Sakura turned her attention to the paper. "Pulse twice." She closed her eyes to help with the concentration. She pictured the chakra moving through her. In her mind, she saw the green line move up and out.

"That's it," Minato breathed. He leaned forward in clear interest. His sharp eyes captured the paper in his gaze, adamant to not miss anything. He watched the paper start to grow wetter. "Again!"

She pulsed. She opened her eyes. She held her breath. Half the paper began to crumble into dust that was carried off by the wind. "Earth?" She asked incredulously.

"Earth," he grinned from ear to ear like he just solved the mystery. "I knew it."

"How?" She demanded.

"When you split open that tree."

"What?" She looked at him stunned. She did not know that he saw that.

"The way your chakra left traces in the splintered trunk. I could feel it." The more he talked, the less sense he made.

"You could feel it?" Her face made it clear just what she thought of his claim. It was madness.

"It's hard to explain," Minato said with a shrug. "It just felt earthy."

Sakura's face fell. "You're messing with me," She deadpanned her accusation.

"Maybe," his lips pulled into an uneven half-smile. He clapped his hands. "Okay, we know your nature. You have a primary and secondary, that's more than we knew yesterday. I'll find some scrolls for Earth jutsus you can learn. But in the meantime, we can work on Water jutsus today." He eyed her up and down. "We can't overdo it."

"Because I don't have all that much chakra," she sighed trying her best not to sound defeated. It was hard. It had been harder to pull her chakra for the second try and she hardly used any but she noticed the difference. "I'm not from a clan." She was from nowhere.

Minato tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. "Neither am I, Sakura-chan but I don't let that stop me. So you shouldn't either."

Sakura frowned, ignoring the places her skin burned where his fingers touched. How was she supposed to focus when he went out of his way to sabotage her like this?

"But you're special. You're Minato-kun. I'm just Sakura."

His hand moved to her chin. He tilted it up so that she was forced to look him in the eye. "You're special too."

Her heart skipped a beat.

"Now," he lowered his hand. "Copy these hand signs."

"Okay." She said with a nod, focusing on the seals over the heat given off by her face.

---

She groaned. She panted with her back on the grass. Her arms were spread out wide. She had next to zero chakra left. She could feel how empty her coils felt. She almost felt lighter in weight. But the heaviness from the lactic acid in her muscles over-compensated for any discrepancies. Yet another day passed in training until she was too tired to even stand. She was starting to have doubts if he knew what he was doing. Or if he was even human at all.

"You're getting it," Minato said with a grin. He pulled his knees closer to his chest so he could rest his arms on them loosely. Not a hair was out of place. "We can probably move onto an Earth jutsu next."

Sakura grunted as she rolled onto her stomach. She held her face in her palms, propped up on her elbows. He looked perfect, not even a little bit out of breath. The bastard.

"Did you really go all the way to Nami for your last mission?" She asked pleasantly as she kicked her legs back and forth. She needed to keep them warm or the trek back home would be impossible.

"Hm," Minato hummed. "For seven whole days. I missed trees."

Sakura giggled. "Did you eat the squid sheets you were so excited about?"

"I did!" Minato's eyes glittered as he went back to the pressed squid sheet that was bigger than his head. "It was so good. Sensei had five in one sitting."

Sakura scrunched her nose. "His breath probably smelled terrible."

"All of our breaths probably did," Minto sighed as he settled onto his back. His hands cradled the back of his head.

"I'm thinking of learning genjutsu," Sakura brought up casually in stark contrast to the way her stomach danced in anxiety. She did not look at him because she did not want him to think she was overeager for his reaction even though she very much was.

"That's a really good idea, Sakura-chan," he smiled at her openly and freely. "With your excellent chakra control, it will be a breeze for you to learn and it can come in handy with your team makeup. You can set the genjutsu to confuse your enemies while your teammates get close enough to take them out."

"That is the plan," she kept her voice from betraying the relief and budding excitement she felt.

"How are things with them?" He pried gently, his full attention was on her face.

"Better," Sakura looked down at her hand. "Kuromaru-kun doesn't hold it against me. His tail still wags almost in a full circle every time he sees me. And Tsume-chan is warming up to me again after seeing how hard I've been trying. Mastering the Water Gun jutsu will go a long way in getting back in her good graces for sure. She values action over words. Hizashi-san is more or less the same."

"You mastered the Hidden in the Mist jutsu, you'll master the Water Gun jutsu with no problem. You just need a little more practice." Minato assured her with an easy smile on his face. "Your reserves are growing."

"You're not just saying that?" She asked him with a pout causing him to flick her nose. She covered it with her hands and glared at him with a huff.

"Too slow," he teased. "And no, I'm not just saying that."

"Everyone is too slow compared to you," she rolled her eyes. Her cheeks were flushed red from his words. She even forgot how uncomfortable it was to have her wet shirt cling to her body the way it did. For a minute. "Do you know any fire jutsu?"

"I do," Minato eyed her thoughtfully. "But I might end up frying your clothes."

She scrunched her nose. "Forget I asked." She yawned. The sun was low in the sky, barely above the horizon. "I'll study the Earth jutsu scroll you gave me. And maybe by the time you get back from your new mission, I'll have two jutsu mastered."

"'Atta girl." He brought a hand to his chest.

Sakura looked on as three leaves swirled lazily in his palm. Captured in a cyclone neither of them could see. His face was pulled into lines of concentration. The green ovals danced at his whim, bending to the will of the winds he commanded.

Heaven and Earth, she thought regarding both of their secondary natures. They just fit. Perfectly complementary. A slow, content smile pulled across her face. The shades of dusk obscured the rosy hue of her cheeks as she watched him watch the dancing leaves.

---

Sakura pulled the glass door surrounded by an aluminum frame towards her. The gold-colored bronze bell rang overhead twice in a welcoming greeting. She inhaled deeply, relishing the aroma of freshly baked bread to fill her with warmth. It raised her spirits to new heights. She could not think of a better way to start her day.

She was careful to not let the door slam behind her. The shop had two other patrons: an elderly grandmother, and a middle-aged woman with beautiful copper hair. The counter - where the till rested - was empty. She went straight to the display case at the other end of the room - not to be distracted by the beckoning lures of loaves and rolls. She had to spend her sparse ryo wisely.

Everything looks so good! She inwardly gushed. She eyed the delicate single-serving cakes. There was so much to look at. She did not know how she could possibly decide.

Not chocolate, grape, or cherry. She reminded herself. They were all poisonous to Korumaru. That limited the options for her, helpfully.

"Maybe banana?" She tilted her head as she looked at the banana pudding sitting pretty in a bright yellow cup.

"Good choice!" A voice boomed.

Sakura jumped. She tilted her head back to look into a pair of jovial blue eyes. She pressed a hand to her stammering heart. "Don't do that!" She worked out through a scowl as she admonished.

"Sorry about that, Sakura-chan." Kizashi rubbed the back of his head sheepishly.

Sakura blinked and blinked. And blinked. "Kizashi-san?" She frowned when the face in front of her did not change. A face that was in a very pink apron. There was a light pink Sakura flower in the middle of his chest. "What are you doing here?"

Kizashi blinked. "I work here," he said in a tone that implied it was the most obvious thing in the world. And in hindsight it was.

"You work in Haru-no-bun Bakery?" Her tone was still very much skeptical.

Kizashi laughed; it was the kind of laugh that used his whole stomach. "It's my family's bakery," he explained with a large smile. "You know Haruno…Haru..no..bun…cute right?"

"Haruno…Haru..no..bun." The lines of her face pulled into an expression of concentration as she worked out the problem at hand. "Because you make-"

"Buns and rolls!" His hands found his hips and he beamed in clear pride. "And our name is Haruno!"

"Clever," her face did not match her tone.

"We thought so," he ran his index finger under his nose.

A family of idiots. They could have just called it Haruno Bun like normal people.

Sakura smiled politely as she ignored Inner's snarky observation. "I didn't know your parents owned this bakery. It's my favorite!"

"I help out when I don't have missions." He explained not at all fazed she was talking to him while he was wearing a very frilly apron. Very eye-catching and very not fitting for a shinobi.

"When do you train?" Sakura asked before she could help it.

"Eh," he shrugged dismissively. "Here and there." He waved his hand back and forth in a bored manner.

"I see," she returned her eyes back to the wall of cakes and baked goods as she suddenly felt very awkward and painfully aware of it. "Do you have any recommendations?" She asked him pleasantly.

"Of course! I always stop and smell the flour!" He laughed.

"Hm," Sakura bit her bottom lip to keep from groaning. "Flour because," she pointed to the cakes.

"Flour," he nodded his head pleased that she understood. "And flowers as in flowers."

"Clever," she said less than convincingly. He did not seem to pick up on that fact.

"What are you looking for?" Kizashi leaned on his knees to peer through the glass as he mimicked her posture.

"Um," Sakura's green eyes moved from left to right as she eyed the third shelf. "Something small, bite-sized as a thank you for my team training with me."

"Isn't that what teammates are for?" Kizashi asked with a frown. "Don't get me wrong, I'm happy to take your dough," he snickered, Sakura smiled tightly. "But seems unnecessary to go through all this trouble. But that's just how I roll." His grin was blinding.

Sakura spared him a pity chuckle, he was trying so gosh darn hard. "It's no trouble at all." She pressed her palm flat against the panel of glass. And trouble is what I'd like to avoid so all this is very much necessary.

"If you say so," Kizashi sighed. "Any dietary restrictions? Or just no-nos?"

Sakura opened her mouth and began to list.

---

Her sore muscles screamed in protest as she slid back into her stance. Her back was curved, her knees slightly bent with her feet a little more than hip's width apart. Her arms were bent and to her sides. She narrowed her eyes on the trunk of a tree. She brought her left palm to rest on top of the curled fist of her right hand in the seal of 'dog'. She pulled her chakra from its coils.

"Earth Release: Pebble Barrage!" She said into the quiet of the night. Her face became strained as hundreds of pebbles - no larger than a grape - shot out from all around her and hit the tree trunk dead center with thunks. Her lips pulled into a grin. "I did it!" Sakura pumped her fists into the air and cheered. She had officially repeated her success of the jutsu.

"Ow," she groaned when the soreness of her taijutsu session with Hizashi made itself known. It was at the insistence of their sensei that they trained together because Sakura's taijutsu left much to be desired. And to his credit, Hizashi did not grumble or complain even if Sakura was nowhere near being a threat to him. He barely had to focus but he did not let her know that. And she appreciated that about him.

You used up nearly all your chakra. Inner snipped at her.

"Minato-kun said that's the fastest way to grow my reserves. And besides I wasn't going to stop until I got it. I was so close," she countered hotly, still wearing the glow of her accomplishment.

You were close for over two hours.

"We'll it just means we'll sleep really well tonight. Or this morning." She yawned into her hand, her whole face stretching. It was well past midnight but like she said, she had felt a breakthrough coming and she did not want to stop until she figured it out and she did. Sakura looked at her hands.

"Earth is harder to use than Water." She had mastered both Water jutsu in less than a week. This simple D-Rank Earth jutsu nearly took her twice as much time. But she was not discouraged. "I can't wait for Minato-kun to get back from his mission. He's going to be so surprised I got both jutsu down!"

He won't be surprised. He expected that of you. Don't you remember what he said?

Sakura pouted. "Fine he won't be surprised," her expression softened. "But he'll be happy. Maybe even happy enough to treat us to anko dumplings." She grinned at the thought.

"Tomorrow, when he gets back." She brought her fingers to the back of her head and tugged the black elastic band that was holding her hair up. She ran her hand through her locks, frowning slightly at the dent left behind by her high ponytail.

I'll just have to wash it tomorrow. She sighed at the thought. She needed a shower but she was exhausted. With a groan, Sakura bent down and grabbed her pouch. She secured it to her hip and began to make her way back home from Training Ground Three. The full moon hung so lowly in the sky that it was almost as if she could reach out her arm and touch it with her fingertips.

Her limbs felt so bogged down from the lactic acid buildup and the lack of chakra - which when it reached a certain point felt heavy and not light at all. But the more she used and the more she pushed, she could expand her reserves. She was under no delusions. She knew her ceiling was not all that high. But it was higher than where she was now. So she still had a ways to go.

Sakura started to hum to herself slightly as the prospect of a soft bed against her aches and pains compelled her to keep moving. She picked up the pace slightly as she cut through the grounds, taking the path that was less lit by the moon as the trees' branches filtered its cooling glow.

The sound of her tune got quieter and quieter amongst the chorus of crickets. A feeling of unease began to creep up on her. Her skin crawled. It was like she was surrounded by eyes. And not just the eyes of the things that went bump in the night. The hooting of a barn owl rattled inside her eardrum, nearly shaking every single one of her bones. She stepped on a twig underfoot. It broke. Dry and brittle. The sound was impossibly loud.

Sakura!

The hair on her neck stood on end. Her limbs stopped moving of their own accord. It was when she heard the snap of a branch followed by the sharp intake of breath that her movements kicked to life all powered by the jumpstart of her heartbeat. All her soreness and tiredness were forgotten. She broke out in a full sprint.

She could hear their feet now that they knew she was onto them. Three. There were three of them. And the fact they made it to the edge of the village - the training ground was not technically inside the white stone wall that protected the village all the way up to the monument - spoke to their skill. Well above hers. With chakra or not. And she was decidedly more close to not.

Think of something. You can't outrun them!

I know! She hissed back to Inner who was not helping. Sakura ducked behind bushes, her hands weaving through a basic level transformation jutsu she learned in the academy. It was trivial. Sharp-eyed Genin would not fall for it, much less enemy nin.

Sakura pressed her back against the tree and she waited. She had maybe enough chakra for one Water Gun - her strongest (only) offensive jutsu in her repertoire - but she had no water. She drank it all and she was not near a body of water. The Pebble Barrage was more of a nuisance meant to be used as a distraction than an offensive move. Even if she managed to distract them, she had nowhere to run. She could not teleport home - she never tried before. And she did not have chakra.

"Where did the Uzumaki brat go?" A voice called out irritably causing the blood in Sakura's veins to freeze.

"She must be around here somewhere," another voice, more gravelly barked back. "And not so loud!"

She bit her bottom lip to keep in a whimper out of pure fear. Her hand shook as she moved it very slowly to the kunai holder on her thigh, over her canvas shorts.

"Are we sure it's even her?" A different voice asked. "They said her hair was red…and longer."

Kushina. They want Kushina. But why?

"It's her!" The gravelly voice snapped. Sakura thought maybe he was the leader. "So the brat got a haircut. Big deal. And it's too dark to see anything past your arm anyway. Let's just make this quick."

"Her chakra better be worth all this trouble," the first voice that had spoken out said. "This place gives me the creeps."

"Stay focused, Idiot!" The leader ordered.

"Yes!" The other two said from further away.

They must have split up!

This could be her chance to get away. Maybe she could handle one. Sakura gripped her kunai. She controlled her breathing as the man - the leader - walked closer to her hinge. She moved the kunai to her mouth, biting down hard on the hilt. She waited until she saw the whites of his eyes. She brought her hands in the Dog Seal.

"Earth Release: Pebble Barrage!" She whispered as she called out the last of her chakra.

"What?!" The man brought a hand to his forehead. A singular rock hit it. He frowned at the blood across his fingertips. His eyes widened. More rocks began to pelt him. Countless. He hid his face and screamed.

Sakura did not look over her shoulder. She was too busy taking a mental inventory of her pack. She had one paper bomb. If she could just get close enough to the gate - to the night guard - before she set it off, she was safe. They would find her. And that brought her great comfort.

She stayed low to the ground - not wanting to risk-taking to the trees. She was low on chakra and it would increase her visibility. She knew the training grounds. She was on her home turf. That was her advantage. She ignored the burning in her lungs the best she could as she continued to push herself. Adrenaline was her friend. It kept her from completely collapsing.

I bought us time.

You need to move faster.

I'm trying!

The wind was knocked out of her. The kunai fell from her grip harmlessly onto the forest floor. Sakura blinked back the stars in her vision as she found herself lying on her back.

No!

Her eyes were wide with panic as she fought off the man from pinning her to the ground. She flailed and struggled, refusing to let him get a hold of her wrists.

"Hold still, Girlie!" He grunted. He leaned his weight forward.

Sakura kneed him in the groin. He gasped in pain and lurched for the ground. She scurried out from under him. She spun on her heel and punched him in the head, as hard as she could. She heard a loud, violent cracking sound. She did not stick around to see who broke what. Her hand throbbed - reminding her of the cost of her actions - and there were tears in her eyes but she kept going.

Baka! You never should have let yourself be in this position!

Not helping!

She growled, matching Inner's ferocity. Inner's concern which manifested as angrily lashing out was not what Sakura needed right now. She felt around in her pack with her fingers - the ones that did not just punch a man - without looking away from the rapidly approaching gates for the paper bomb. Her heart sank as they curled around something wet.

Her eyes widened. From when I was practicing the Water Gun! It's ruined!

Baka! Inner cursed.

The tears started to rain down her cheeks. She could hear the feet gaining speed on her while she was slowing down. She reached for a kunai. She jumped into the thicket. If this was how she went, this was how she went. Sakura whirled on her heel and turned to face them. Only to have a hand cover her mouth and pull her further into the darkness where the light of the moon did not touch.

xXx

Sakura tried not to fidget under the scrutiny of their gazes. They were so heavy with their seriousness. She tucked a strand of hair behind her ear with her head slightly bowed.

"Are you sure?" The Hokage asked her. His chin rested over a bridge made of his fingers.

"Yes, Hokage-sama. They were after Uzumaki Kushina," she said in a clear voice despite her hands shaking slightly. She hastily moved them to be behind her back. But the dark eyes had noticed.

"Why?" Hiruzen pressed. The kind, patient demeanor she had associated with him was nowhere to be found. She supposed it was hard to be pleasant when woken up from the dead of sleep at two in the morning with a potential kidnapping and three dead foreign nin.

"They said something about her chakra being special?" The statement came out sounding like a question. Sakura missed the glance exchanged between the two men.

"What were you doing out there all by yourself?" Jiraiya asked her gruffly. His arms were crossed over his chest as he leaned forward to glower at the downcast Genin.

"Training," she mumbled.

"At this hour?" Jiraiya cocked a brow. "You're lucky my team came back when it did. Otherwise, this could have ended very badly for you once they realized you weren't who they were after."

She flinched. "Sorry."

Hiruzen sighed as he glanced at the pinkette. She looked dead on her feet. "Go home, Sakura-chan."

Sakura bowed deeply at the hip. "Yes, Hokage-sama." She turned to Jiraiya and repeated the gesture. "Jiraiya-sama." She moved towards the door.

"Did they say anything else?" Hiruzen asked his former student.

"They didn't get a chance to-"

Sakura closed the door behind her. She leaned back heavily against it. Her heart was still pounding in her chest. But at least she managed to make it through the debrief without crying. It was touch and go for a moment.

"Are you okay?"

She jumped and lifted her head. "You waited?" She asked with raw disbelief, too surprised to bother with a filter.

Minato frowned as he pushed off the wall. "Of course, I waited, Sakura." He sounded offended that she even asked.

"I'm fine," she gestured to her bandaged hand where his sharp gaze came to settle. "It's not broken, I can wait for regular walk-in clinic hours at the hospital," she lowered it. "It doesn't hurt all that bad." She hoped that her lie was convincing enough.

"That's a relief," Minato's facial expression did not match his words or his tone. She had killed the man she punched, his head caved in - the Hokage had told her that. The first person she killed and she did not even know his name. She barely had registered what he even looked like in her panic. All at the tender age of twelve. She did not know what to feel.

"How did you find me?" She did not get the chance to ask it before. It had been all so fast; from when he pulled her behind the safety of the tree before jumping in to fight off the two Kumo shinobi well before Jiraiya and the rest of his team appeared. The relief she had felt when she realized it was him. She nearly fainted right then and there in his arms from the surge of hope.

"I'll always find you, Sakura," he answered with a stern set of his features. He looked and sounded older. She wondered how many he killed. She wondered if he knew their names or remembered their faces. She wondered if he felt as conflicted as her.

"I thought you weren't supposed to be back until tomorrow afternoon at the earliest." Her tone was almost accusatory like he did something wrong. She shifted her focus off of herself and what she would have to live with for the rest of her life.

Why does every decision I make seem like the wrong one?

"We finished early," and his sensei wanted to be back in Konoha to sleep in his own bed for the night, and no one on the team argued with him. And he was so glad for that fact, in hindsight. "What were you doing out so late? What were you thinking?"

"I thought it was safe." She frowned, not caring for the tone he was directing at her.

"You had no chakra." His eyes narrowed into slits. In the fluorescent light, they seemed to be harsher than anything she remembered. The tube lighting washed him out.

"I was training my reserves," her nostrils flared. "Like you have me do all the time."

"Never alone! Never outside of the village. Never in the middle of the night!" He countered. "You were reckless."

His heat surprised her. She was not accustomed to him being so indignant about something, so worked up.

"I'm not blaming you," she tried to get him to see. "I wanted to make progress. I wanted to get stronger faster." She was all out of patience. The last person she needed or wanted a lecture from was him. He saw everything. He knew better than anyone that she needed it. She needed to train. She would have been long dead before he even got to her if she did not train. She could not afford to let up. Their world was not designed that way. It was not safe.

Her tone and low volume seemed to snap him out of it. It was as if he had woken from a nap. Minato looked around at their surroundings. He rubbed the back of his head.

"Did you have dinner?"

Sakura blinked at the sudden change in demeanor. "It's past 2 AM."

Minato spared her a half-smile. "So ramen then?"

Sakura felt her face flush. She grasped at any half-baked excuse to get out of it. But the longer she looked into his calm, cobalt eyes, the less everything made sense.

"Only if you're paying," she said with a huff that was purely her attempt to save some face.

His chuckle rejuvenated her.

---

"I don't understand," she said in a detached voice void of all emotion including judgment. She was waiting to have more information before she flew off the handle. The wind moved through the trees making the leaves sound like small waves. She knew what the ocean sounded like. Her team had been to Uzushiogakure. Kushina's home. It was beautiful. It was so peaceful in its tranquility. Nothing like the hot-tempered redhead.

Minato sighed. "This is a scroll," he began patiently in what she dubbed his 'Sensei-Voice', as he gestured to the furled green object in his hands. "You open it and it contains characters which you can read that when put together-"

"Minato-kun," she snapped as she tapped her foot on the ground. "I don't have all day."

"Can you be more specific then?" He raised a blond brow.

Sakura crossed her arms defensively. "The scroll says C-Rank."

"I am aware," he blinked slowly.

She exhaled angrily. "Really?" She could not help but snap at his thick-headedness.

"What?" He asked her with confusion set in his features.

For someone so smart, I sure have to spell everything out for him a lot.

Because that was what it truly was. Minato was a prodigy. And it showed at times like this. He had nearly unshakable confidence in himself and his capabilities. He quite simply did not understand the word 'limitation'. It did not have meaning in his world.

"I am a Genin," Sakura pointed to herself. "Which means I can learn jutsu of rank: E and D. Not C. Not B. Not A. Not S. E and D."

"There's no reason you can't learn C," he frowned as he regarded the marking on the seal. "It's just a label. It shouldn't stop you from trying."

She snorted. "That's literally why we even have labels, Minato-kun." She pinched the bridge of her nose. "There is a reason why I can't access anything beyond the allowances of my rank in the archives or the library. Which again are E and D. Not C. Not B. Not-"

"I get it," he cut her off. "But sensei gets me scrolls all the time. All I have to do is ask."

"That's because you're you," she enlightened him dryly. "And I'm just me."

"Not this again.," Minato sighed. "Just try."

"Did you hear a word I said?" Sakura furrowed her brow.

"Sakura-chan," his eyes had her freezing up inside. "Just try, please. If anything happens like that again…." His voice trailed off before it could break from the strain of his emotions.

"Is this what this is about?" She asked with wide eyes. "Kumo? Kushina is safe. That's why my team went to Uzushio, remember? Her clan sent more guards for her back with us along with information. It won't happen again. Hokage-sama is being vigilant."

"Sakura-chan," he barely kept himself from shaking her shoulders. "We're not talking about Kushina. We're talking about you."

Understanding hit her like a brick wall.

Right, because I'm still so weak. Kushina can handle herself. She's strong.

Minato frowned at the fact that her shoulders hunched toward her chest. "Sakura-chan," he began but he was cut off by Sakura's hand grabbing the scroll.

"I'll try," she smiled with her eyes closed. "I'll learn this C-Rank genjutsu, so don't worry about it or me."

So I can stop being a burden to you.

"Sakura-chan, I'll always worry about you."

Her stomach twisted into painful knots. She whirled around on her heels. "Thanks, Minato-kun," she said without looking back, walking briskly down the stall-lined streets of Konoha.

"Happy early birthday," he mumbled into the air as her back got smaller and smaller the further away she moved from him before she got lost in the afternoon crowds. He had to leave for a mission later today so that was why he wanted to say it early. But she did not give him a chance. The second half of his present - a box of anko dumplings - was still in his hip pouch. He had been too slow so they would remain forgotten.

Tomorrow was March 28th. The day she picked to be her birthday. Because it was the peak viewing day for the flower she named herself after.

---

Sakura bolted upright. She ripped the covers from her frame. She nearly crashed to the wooden floorboards as she tripped over the pooled fabric of her comforter, she just managed to catch herself. Her arms darted out in front of her as she pulled open her sliding door. She ran to the balcony, leaning forward over the wooden railing. She gulped in the air like she was in the middle of a manic episode. Or someone who was on the cusp of death from drowning but the force that had been pushing them down under the water was gone at the very last second. She drank and drank. Her long cotton nightshirt stress clung to her sweaty skin. It was soaked. The cold air of the night caused goosebumps to rise on the exposed skin of her shins.

The dream. Dreams? A string of dreams had been so vivid. So fast-paced. Too many, too fast, too intricate, too real. Much too overwhelming. Before one ended completely another one started. She was left disoriented. Sakura turned around. She sank to the concrete floor. She pulled her knees to her chest, her ankles were crossed. Her wide glazed-over eyes looked at the open door that led to her bedroom. One name kept blaring in her ears over and over and over again.

Haruno Sakura.

---

Jade eyes waited patiently with their focus trained on a beautiful heart-shaped face, framed by honey blonde hair, lilac rhombus, eyes of amber, and painted pink lips. She held her breath as Tsunade picked up her steaming gray tea cup and brought it to her mouth for a small sip. She did not even blow once. The Senju smacked her lips loudly before slowly lowering the cup back down to her desk. She brought her hand to join its pair and rested her chin on top of her interlaced fingers. All prolonging her suffering.

"You want me to take you on as my apprentice?" Tsunade leaned back in her chair. Her face betrayed nothing.

"Yes, Tsunade-sama." Sakura bowed her head shallowly as she confirmed Tsunade's understanding. "Please," she added as she clenched her clasped hands once. They rested in front of her.

"Why?" Tsunade's blond brows furrowed together into a line of indecision.

"So I can be useful to my teammates," Sakura answered without hesitation. "So I can learn to rely on myself. So I can count on myself."

"Which is it?" Boredom flickered across Tsunade's eyes causing acid to rise in Sakura's throat. It seemed that the blonde had made her decision and it was not one that Sakura hoped for. "For your team or for yourself?"

"Both," Sakura answered quickly, feeling it all slip through her fingers. "It's one and the same," she added.

"Oh?" Tsunade rubbed nonexistent dust between her index finger and thumb. Sakura's eyes darted to her hand before moving back to Tsunade's eyes.

"My team can only truly rely on me once I can rely on myself," Sakura elaborated. "So the reason is the same regardless of how I answer."

Tsunade narrowed her eyes. Sakura stood up as straight as she could. She did not flinch or minimize her posture. "If you expect me to go easy on you just because of the history we share, then you have another thing coming, Kid."

"Of course not, Tsunade-sama," Sakura said firmly. "I don't expect special treatment. I don't want it. I want to learn everything you have to offer." She bit the inside of her cheek to keep her expression contained so that the lie woven around the truth was not discovered.

"Fine," Tsunade said after several nail-biting moments of silence. "Come back tomorrow morning at seven. Do not be late." Tsunade waved her off with a lazy hand.

"Thank you, Tsunade-Shishou." Sakura bowed lowly.

"We'll see if you're still thanking me after tomorrow." Tsunade's grin was purely feral. "Now get out."

"Yes!" Sakura spun on her heel and left the office quickly, not wanting to give Tsunade a chance to change her mind.

---

You need to go outside.

I need information. Sakura sighed as she rubbed her eyes. The characters on the scrolls were swimming.

Do you really think they keep scrolls with Time-Traveling jutsu lying around for any pudgy-fingered Genin to find?

Do you have something helpful to suggest? Sakura asked Inner hotly.

Ask Minato. He can get you information.

And what do I even tell him? Hey Minato-kun, I think my name is Haruno Sakura and I'm not from this time. Oh and by the way, you're the Yondaime.

Can't hurt. You'd probably make his week.

Sakura covered her face and groaned. "I sound crazy," she mumbled to herself.

You're wasting time.

I need information on how to get back home. Back eleven years in the future.

To the year she was born, which she remembered now all thanks to the flashbacks of her life up until she was thirteen years old and Team Seven had just been scattered among the wind. Naruto was with Jiraiya. Sasuke-kun was Kami-knows-where with Orochimaru. And she was left stranded, left behind, studying under Tsunade.

Sakura, there are seals here in your head.

We're not experts. One wrong move and I'll be one step above a vegetable. We can't risk it. She reminded Inner testily. She was tired of having the same conversation over and over and over again.

Ask Tsunade-sama. She can rope Jiraiya-sama into it. They can help us unlock the rest of your memories. It's like a maze in here. There are other rooms. All the seals are slightly different. It's well beyond our pay grade.

She rubbed her large forehead with her index and middle fingers, tracing a repetitive line.

Look, maybe they will open on their own. Like the first seal did. The one you didn't even know about. Maybe we triggered it in some way? Maybe we just have to repeat the process and the others will open?

Sakura, I don't think it was an accident or even luck that the first seal opened. When it did. It was like a bright light. I saw it. Everything flashed. I could see past the darkness. I saw the maze, the labyrinth. I saw the rooms. You have to trust me. The answer is in here. In your head, not in the scrolls. Look inward.

Stop. Okay? I can't do that. I don't know how. I need to do what I can, which is collect information. I need to figure out how we got here. Why we're here. Maybe this is a jutsu. Like a genjutsu or something?

You already try to dispel it. Repeatedly. You nearly drained your reserves. Besides I thought we agreed everything was too detailed to be a genjutsu. They even have the name of your father's bakery, the one that's been in your family for generations. It even smelled the same.

Sakura began to gnaw on her bottom lip as she thought about it. "You're right. It doesn't sound like a genjutsu."

"What doesn't sound like genjutsu?" Minato was suddenly in her line of sight.

Sakura jumped in her chair. "Don't do that!" She hissed at him.

"Sorry," he chuckled nervously, having the decency to look guilty. "I didn't mean to startle you." He slipped into the empty chair across from her. She huffed at his display of entitlement.

"What are you doing here?" She rubbed her temples. The last thing she needed was the enigma that was the future Yondaime thrown on top of everything else.

"I haven't seen you in a while," he answered while studying her face.

"I've been busy," she gestured to the plethora of scrolls scattered all over the desk she was occupying.

"Is it true?" Minato asked much too casually. His face was not nearly as nonchalant as his voice.

"What?" She pulled a scroll closer to her face for two reasons. The first was that it blocked Minato from view - he was someone's dad! Probably. She did not want to think about it too much. He was the Yondaime. Yondaime! The most beloved Hokage of all time. If she thought about it too long - that the goofy-looking teen in front of her would be that stoic face in the mountain - her brain spiraled and she lost too much time trying to crawl out of the hole it always left her in. And the second reason was that maybe if she held it closer she would have to work less hard to make sense of the words.

"You asked Tsunade-sama to be your Shishou?" He clarified.

"It's true," Sakura said with more shortness than warranted.

"Why?"

"Why what?" Sakura lowered the scroll with a sigh. She closed her eyes.

"Why did you ask her?" Minato replied with a chink in his patience.

Sakura smirked at him. "You're not the only one who can be taught by a Sannin, you know." She hummed and picked up another scroll. With a flourish, she opened it. She twirled her pen in her hand as she scanned it quickly. Her memories unlocking brought a new skill to light: speed reading. No doubt a skill developed during her time learning under Tsunade.

"Sannin?" Minato cocked his head to the side.

"Hm," she hummed distractedly. It took her a couple of seconds to make the connection between his question and the tone of his voice.

Baka! The Second War hasn't happened yet! Which means they haven't gotten the nickname.

Sakura froze. She raised her eyes to his face. "I asked her to train me so that I could be useful to my team. You know, my whole reason for being a kunoichi." She tried to distract him with both revelations and the quantity of words. "Someone who can train me full-time." She lowered her eyes to the scroll in front of her so that she could hide her features from his unreadable face.

"Was there something lacking in my lessons?"

She hid a smile behind her hand. It worked. There was a teasing lilt to his question. She brought her hand to rest in her palm. Her eyes sparkled.

"It's not personal, Minato-Sensei." She bowed her head humbly.

Minato chuckled good-naturedly. "What were you saying about genjutsu earlier?"

"Oh," she scrambled as she tried to think of something believable. "Shishou is having me study brain scans of shinobi under the effects of genjutsu. She wants me to be able to tell when one is under it or not. To help with treating patients. I was just thinking about a really tricky one that I kept going back and forth on," she lied, convincingly. At least she hoped having a long-winded answer equated to being truthful. Or that he would grow bored but one look at his face said that was not happening.

"So you came up with a conclusion?" He asked, his eyes sparkled with curiosity.

"Not genjutsu," she said, which she believed to be the case. A truth encased in a web of lies.

"You're amazing, you know that?" He flashed her a breezy smile that heated her face.

Minato chuckled at her flustered face. "So slugs huh?"

"Slugs," she leaned back in her chair, thankful for the shift in tone and focus. It was necessary. Learning under Tsunade provided her with a cover story for the jutsu she knew. The healing palm technique - it was all in her head. She just needed muscle memory now. It also provided her with what she needed - a workaround for her low chakra reserves: the Yin Seal - the Byakugo. She had started storing chakra no less than two days after her memories came back. It was a safe place to start while she figured out how to unlock the rest of her memories because Inner was right. She needed to know who she was and maybe that would tell her why she was here.

"Have you been outside at all?" Minato asked her with a pensive expression on his face.

"Yes, I ended up here didn't I?" She answered dryly. Here, being the library.

"Have you eaten?"

"Yes," she gestured to the wrappers scattered about. All from the twenty-four-hour convenience store just down the street from her apartment.

"You're going to be a medic?" He asked her with clear incredulity through narrowed eyes.

"Rude," she threw a wrapper at him. It fluttered pathetically to the table. It was much too light to get far. She might as well have blown air at him. She should have thought it through.

"How is your progress on the genjutsu scroll coming along?" He asked her with interest in his tone.

She frowned. "It's not." It was not even remotely a priority anymore.

"Sakura-chan," he frowned.

"Why are you so hung up on that?" She crossed her arms, ignoring the defensiveness in her voice. "It's not like I'm slacking off."

Minato to his credit did not take the clear bait she was leaving for him. He was not interested in fighting.

"You promised you'd learn it."

Sakura felt something twist in the pit of her stomach. He was so earnest in his expression. He looked disappointed and that did not sit right with her.

"You're right," she sighed. "I did. I'll learn it." She could not quite meet him in the eye.

"Good," he visibly relaxed. "It shouldn't take you long. Just the time it takes to get the flow down. Genjutsu requires less repetition, unlike taijutsu or ninjutsu. A different skill set."

"Right," she nodded her head as he repeated what was learned in the academy.

"And since your chakra control is in the ninetieth percentile, it should take you even less time," he said mostly to himself, lost in his own thoughts with a far-off look on his face.

"No pressure," she snorted, snapping him out of his state.

As if, the Yondaime has expectations of us.

"Let's spar," his eyes held mirth and focus. His lips were pulled into an uneven half-smile that was endearing in certain lights and certain situations, right now being one of them. "And we can get real food after, with recognizable ingredients." He picked up the wrapper, turned it over, and frowned, "with ones I can pronounce."

Sakura rolled her eyes. "I'm busy."

"Sakura-chan," he reached for the scroll. He backed it away from her slowly. "Don't neglect the physical in the pursuit of the mental. Balance," he said solemnly.

Sakura snorted, "Sagely. Did Jiraiya-sama say that?"

Minato grinned. "Sensei doesn't talk like that. That was an original." He looked so proud of himself.

He has a point. What good would dying do on your next mission or something, in trying to get back home?

Sakura eyed him slowly as she pretended to mull the decision for a little longer. The hope on his features was palpable.

"Fine," she sighed dramatically. "But you're only allowed to use three chakra natures. Anything else is just showing off."

"Anything for my favorite student." Minato got up to his feet and began to pick up the wrappers and put them in the plastic bag that was on the table.

"I'm your only student," she reminded him.

"My statement still stands," he smiled sunnily as he said airily, making her stomach do tight flips.

---

Sakura's mind was drowning in information, information she was learning for the second time; information, she had to pretend she did not know so that her eagle-eyed and sharp mind mentor would not get suspicious. Her acting skills were rapidly developing. They were being sharpened every day as she asked questions that she already knew the answer to. Tsunade was pleased with the rate at which she was progressing. The blonde was taking full credit, claiming it was her genius as a sensei. Sakura did not contradict her.

She was not dumb enough to provoke the woman who could scramble her whole central nervous system to such an extent that she could make her cry tears out of her mouth if she wanted her to. In all honesty, the evasion training was really helpful. It was like Minato said, taijutsu required repetition. If she wanted muscles - the muscles to do what she needed her arms and legs to do - she had to put in the work. There were no shortcuts. The mind could only go so far. Her body needed structure and memory.

The same was true with medical ninjutsu. She knew the theory. She remembered the theory. She needed the application. She needed practice. The pinkette looked at the flesh of her curled thigh peeking out of her really short shorts as she sat in the chair. Her other foot bobbed up and down. She really hated this part of the day but she needed the practice. She took a breath, steeling herself. She grabbed the kunai from her desk. She twirled it in her hands twice, stalling.

She exhaled through her nose slowly as she brought the tip of the kunai to mid-thigh. She applied pressure, hissing as a line of scarlet broke up the expanse of milky skin. She pulled the line towards herself until she was up against the line of her shorts. Sakura breathed shallowly through her mouth - controlled. She brought her hands together, right over left. She focused as droplets of blood started to bead. Her hands flickered green once, sparking before becoming enveloped in the glow. She continued to breathe as she hovered over the cut. She watched through narrowed eyes as the skin stitched itself together.

She pulled back when all that remained was a thin, pink line. She frowned. Disappointment was clear on her features. She curled a finger under the hem of her shorts, she pulled back revealing cuts both horizontal and vertical. All different lengths and shades.

"It's better," she mumbled to herself as she saw the progression. "But it still left a scar." She sighed. "I know what that means," she said grimly. She picked up the kunai and tried again - tracing the same line with a determined expression influenced by her self-inflicted pain.

---

"Sakura-chan!" He greeted her animatedly from the door.

Her eyes softened as she took in his bright, bright expression. It left her chest aching. She wished she could just duck under the counter, push onto her toes, and crash into his chest so that his arms could wrap around her. Because if there was ever a time she needed a hug, it was now. And he always gave the best hugs. The kinds of hugs that made her think everything would be okay. The kinds of hugs that assured her, reassured her that she was safe. As long as she was in his arms, nothing could touch her.

But that was another life. A life that she had yet to live. A life she needed to get back to.

"Kizashi-san," she smiled. It did not reach her eyes.

"More thank you cakes for your teammates?" He asked with a raised brow, wide smile, and knowing glint in his bright blue eyes.

"Not today," she nearly crumbled. Sakura rubbed her bare arm. The chill was suddenly felt by her. "Just one slice," she leaned forward, hiding her face behind two panels of glass and a row of cakes. Memories of birthdays past played in her head like a curse: her sitting on this very counter while her father brought out a large cake, his face lighting up as hers did. Her mother was wearing a party hat and singing Happy Birthday from the bottom of her heart while she clapped her hands. The wonder, the joy, the marvel, the laughter. She cleared her throat roughly.

"What's the occasion?" He asked her reservedly, seemingly picking up on her mood.

"Just a little homesick," she admitted somehow without her voice breaking. She looked around the exterior with new eyes, spotting the differences between what was in her head and what was right in front of her.

"I have just the thing." He held up a finger before vanishing behind the curtain that separated the front-facing shop from the kitchens.

Sakura straightened. She used the sides of her hands to dab away the tears, cursing their presence. She turned around to face the counter just in time to see Kizashi holding a cake box meant for a single-layer round cake. She frowned.

"I was in a mood this morning. Got up early and whipped up a whole mess of cakes. I wanted to try my recipe, you see. The one I dreamt of last night. This is the only batch that was even remotely edible and presentable." He laughed openly at himself. He opened the lid.

Sakura swallowed thickly. She took in the green cake slathered with soft-pink icing and cut up fresh fruit all over the top.

"Matcha-strawberry sponge cake," Kizashi explained needlessly. "It's delicious and it's all yours."

Sakura did not have it in her to say no. She reached her hand behind her for her hip pouch. "How much?" She pulled out her small, red wallet.

"On the house," Kizashi grinned. "Your money's no good here!"

"Kizashi-san," she began but the emotion in her throat smothered her words. How she longed to call him Tochan just so that she could feel the way she did in her memories - whole.

"Please, Sakura-chan," he smiled gently as he leaned over the counter. "What's more like home than being fed, hm?"

She nearly broke down. "Nothing," she whispered because she was afraid she would fall apart if she talked any louder.

"That's right," Kizashi sighed in contentment. He began to tape the lid to the sides. "Wait! Don't go anywhere!" He held out his hand in a panic.

She blinked as he ran behind the curtain once more. He was gone for not even three minutes. He came back with an armful of bread, pastries, and a smile.

"And it wouldn't be like home if you didn't leave at least five pounds heavier." He chuckled heartily with his eyes closed and his head tilted up.

Sakura laughed wetly, smiling until it hurt. Kizashi momentarily made her forget all about how she was turning fourteen at midnight and she was just as clueless about how to make it back to Naruto, Sasuke-kun, Kaka-Sensei, and Ino. For but a moment, he took the loneliness left by the void of those she felt like she knew away.

---

It was the early hours of dawn. Just the first rays of light broke through the dark expanse of the sky. A new day was upon them but a chapter was being closed potentially forever. It was bittersweet. It was tragic. And the heaviness was felt in her lungs. The day may be new but the pain was old. The pain was very old.

"You're leaving." A simple utterance of fact was anything but simple to state. Sakura moved from behind the open panel of the weathered teal gate, out from the shadow cast by its sheer size.

Tsunade's shoulders were hunched, they had been that way since the Second Great War - only great in the amount of lives lost, lives that included her Shishou's fiance and younger brother - ended. Silence conversed while the two stood still, suspended by the weight of it all. Neither was able to face the other.

Tsunade could not ask Sakura to come with her any more than Sakura could ask Tsunade to stay. There was movement. Sakura caught the silver object thrown at her with both hands. She opened her palms and regarded the key.

"This will give you access to my house. There's a library in the basement. You can find all my grandparents' scrolls on sealings there,'' Tsunade spoke to the ground. Her voice was raspy from all the tears she cried but let no one see. She cleared her throat. "It's unsealed."

Tsunade's heels clicked as she walked the cobblestone pathway out of the village.

"I'm sorry," Sakura's voice caused her to stop for the second time. The guilt in it would have twisted Tsunade's stomach if she was still capable of feeling anything. She had gone numb to simply survive. "I wish there was something I could have done."

"I'm sorry too."

Sakura stood at the threshold until she could no longer see or hear Tsunade. She lowered her head. Her heart clenched at the lone drop that had fallen into the gravel just outside the boundary that was Konoha.

"I'm sorry, Tsunade-shishou." She was. She did not know how to stop those two deaths from taking place. She curled her fingers around the key in her hand. The weight was significant.

---

Tsume shimmied lower and lower until the top of her head was flat against the wooden floorboards of Sakura's room. Sakura was thankful she had the forethought to clean the floors. She leaned back against the frame of her bed, a scroll was in her hand. Korumaru's large head was on her lap, she scratched it absentmindedly.

Tsume's face broke out into a grin. "We're Chuunin."

"Congratulations," Sakura rolled her eyes. "You'd think the novelty would have worn off by now." The development did take place three weeks ago.

Tsume was not impacted in the slightest by the lack of reaction from her teammate. "We actually did it."

"Was there any doubt?" Sakura raised a brow.

"For me? No chance. Or for Pretty-Boy Hyuuga too. I wasn't worried." Tsume picked at her canine tooth with her pinky nail. She flicked a particle of food - yakitori from their lunch - across the room. She ignored Sakura's glare.

"Thanks for the vote of confidence," Sakura could not help the bitterness that bled through her words.

"Your genjutsu really came in to save the day. I thought we were goners when I saw that they were long-range fighters. Hizashi and I aren't suited for that. But your pretty pictures had them all doped up, that they were sitting ducks!" Tsume's eyes glittered as she remembered the examination they needed to clear to get to the second round, the scroll-collecting process.

"Glad to finally be able to do something," Sakura turned her head and looked at her upside-down teammate. She wrinkled her nose. "You'll get a headache."

"It's better than any shot of caffeine, trust me. You should try it," Tsume's face was starting to turn red from all the blood collecting there.

"I'll take your word for it," Sakura murmured. She rubbed her forehead with a tired hand.

"You still trying to teach yourself sealing?" Tsume asked in a bored manner.

"Hm," Sakura hummed.

"Water and Earth chakra natures, super-strength, genjutsu, medical ninjutsu and now sealing." Tsume made a face. "Are you trying to be a jack of all trades and a master of none?"

Sakura laughed. "Maybe."

Tsume frowned. "Pinkie, slow down. You're going to work yourself into the ground." She crawled onto her stomach and sat up, wincing. "Ugh, I stayed upside down for too long."

Sakura shot her a look. "I'm fine," she peered over her scroll at the woman holding her head. "Want me to take a look?"

"Will you?" Tsume grumbled as she pushed her head near Sakura's hand.

The pinkette tutted but she helped alleviate the pressure that built up. The relief on Tsume's face was instant. She sighed in contentment when Sakura lifted her hand away.

"You know I don't think that way anymore right?" Tsume eyed her teammate almost timidly, unsure of herself.

"I know," Sakura smiled at her gently. "But you were not wrong."

"And you're not the same," Tsume crossed her arms. "So take it easy every now and then."

"I'll keep that in mind," Sakura returned her eyes to the scroll.

"Namikaze is a Jonin now," Tsume tested the waters with a too-innocent tone. She stared at Sakura from the corner of her eye, trying very hard to appear nonchalant. Her nose twitched for any signs of stress, perspiration being the most obvious.

"Hm," Sakura did not visibly react. "So I heard."

Tsume narrowed her eyes but did not press. The woman with wild hair belched loudly. She waved her hand in the air, dissipating the affected molecules. Sakura merely rolled her eyes.

"It looks like the non-clan nobodies are the biggest surprise of our year."

Sakura's smile did not reach those green eyes of hers. She was only half listening. The scroll in her hand painted a very bleak picture. Nothing. She had nothing. And two whole years had gone by. A total of fifteen years of memories swam in her head. Two more rooms - whose path was made clear long enough for Inner to backtrack - were emptied. Always on the very first minute of her birthday, right at the stroke of midnight. An unforgiving vortex of images, sounds, feelings, and even smells.

She was fifteen. A Chuunin - all exams were delayed a year on account of the war. Minato was a Jonin. And nothing really was all that different.

I need help.

Sakura really did if she wanted to help those she cared about.

---

Sakura tucked her hair behind her left ear. She was conflicted. At least she wanted to pretend to be at least a little conflicted about what she was about to do. A human with compassion and empathy would feel conflict doing what she felt she had no choice but too. But that was just a way to downplay the significance to make the guilt that she would have to carry manageable - portable.

Sakura rolled her shoulders back and projected the confidence she did not feel. Her black boots pushed the gravel road away from her just as she opened the door. The aroma of the shop was the first thing to register. The floral bouquet of scents made the nausea in her stomach swirl. She breathed through her mouth slowly. She smiled at him automatically. There was no emotion behind the gesture. She walked sure steps to the counter.

Inoichi eyed her apprehensively. He was always quick to pick up on tells and she was not as good of an actress as she liked to believe. The shop was empty, which was not uncommon for mid-day.

"What can I do for you, Sakura-san?" He asked her politely.

Sakura gripped the edge of the counter, her feet came to a halt. She looked at the space between his brows because that was the only way she did not look for Ino's face in his. And she needed to focus.

"Inoichi-san," she measured her words. "Is there someplace we can talk?"

The someplace was the backroom of the flower shop. To his credit, Inoichi did not react beyond pressing his lips together into a thin line and regarding her. Really regarding her. She had not seen the hand seals or felt the sure tell sign of someone breaking the sovereign line of her mind but even she wondered for a split second - the time it took to blink - if he was reading her mind.

She smiled in thanks as he placed steaming matcha tea in front of her. She reached for the ceramic cup. Dark gray in color with koi painted in reds, whites, yellows, and blacks. She used it to warm her hands. They were always cold no matter the temperature. Minato's voice in her head reminded her - unhelpfully - that she needed to do more stretches. He was right. But that was not the point.

Sakura picked up the cup and brought it to her lips. She burned her tongue. Her eyes watered but she did not make a sound of her regret. She lowered the cup to the table. Inoichi settled into his hair. He leaned back, his palm was flat on the table. He folded one arm back onto the back of his chair.

"What can I do for you, Sakura-san," he asked her again.

Sakura sighed. She raised her eyes to his, catching him in her determined gaze. "I need you to read my mind."

Inochi blinked.

"Please," she added after some tense moments of silence.

"It's not a party trick," Inoichi frowned. His teal eyes were cold in their calculating gaze. He tried to make heads or tails of her.

"I know," she pressed her palm to her chest. "Inoichi-san I don't know how else to put it."

"Use more words," he suggested coolly.

Sakura tried her hardest to keep her face from wilting. She had hoped the strong opening would have led to his cooperation. But this Inoichi was different from the one she knew and remembered. Maybe age would be the catalyst for that transformation.

"Sakura-san," Inoichi was not moved by her silence. In fact, it drew out his impatience. "You never spoke two words to me in all our time at The Academy so please understand my skepticism."

"I trust you," she started not knowing any better place to do so. "Even if you do not. I trust you. There is something I want to show you."

He looked at her like she sprouted a second head. Almost as if she told him she was from the future or something.

I'll keep him out. I'll control what he sees. He won't get past my mental blocks.

I know, Inner, I trust you.

"Go into my head, Inoichi-san. It will all make sense," she said calmly and with authority. She even folded her hands on the table. Perfectly non-threatening.

Inoichi did not move for the longest time. She exhaled when his head lowered in the faintest of nods.

xXx

Sakura poured him a fresh cup of tea. She stood over the very pale Yamanaka, knees ready in case he toppled over from his shock. His reaction had her reevaluating the choices she made. She watched him closely.

"You," he lowered his forehead into his hand that was supported by a bent elbow on the table. "Are the same age as my daughter," he murmured. "I have a daughter?"

"You will," Sakura said gently. "About nine years from now."

"Ino," he repeated the name, "Ino."

"Ino," Sakura nodded her head slowly, she was very worried any sudden movements would push him over the edge. "My best friend, Ino."

"Shikaku and Choza have sons," he rubbed his temples.

"Yes," she said in a small voice. "The next generation of Ino-Shika-Cho."

"Kami," he bit his knuckles. He looked like he had seen a ghost. And she supposed in a way he had. He sat up straight. She flinched. "You showed me all of this. Won't that affect the timeline?" Concern and panic were all that colored his irises.

"It's too late, Inoichi-san," her tone was gentle despite her words being anything but. A sound not unlike a shudder left his throat. "I'm already here. Things won't be the same."

She saw the heartbreak her words brought upon him. He got attached to the idea. He liked the picture he saw.

"So why do you think you can go back?" He questioned out of morbid curiosity. "What do you think you'd be going back to?"

"I don't know what I'd be going back to," she admitted. "But all I know is I don't belong here."

"You have a being in your head." He tried to think, to label what he experienced. This whole other entity was in her head. She blocked him from extending his influence. He felt that. No. Maybe she was not separate but an extension of Sakura's essence. "I need to sit down," he groaned as he covered his face with his hands.

Sakura bit her bottom lip to keep from unhelpfully pointing out that he already was. "Inner," Sakura spoke after a couple of minutes of silence, "she said there are other doors. They have my memories. I think there might be a clue as to what happened to me - why I'm here there."

"And you think if you can figure out the why, it might point to how," he lowered his hand so that it only covered his mouth. His eyes, while wary in nature, were sharp. A promising sign.

"Exactly," she nodded emphatically, not tampering with the excitement she felt.

"These doors, they are sealed?"

"Yes," Sakura sank into a chair. Her eyes never left his. "On my thirteenth birthday, the first door opened. And again on my fourteenth and same for my fifteenth."

"So each year since turning thirteen, you are given back your memories up to that point? The age that your current body is?" He tried not to think how crazy it all sounded. But what she showed him was unlike anything he had seen before. He doubted even if the Uchiha could weave such intricate and flawless images. They were memories. They felt like memories. And he was an expert when it came to memories. He believed what he saw. He believed it to be real.

"Yes." The relief she felt was palpable. It nearly hit Inoichi right in the nose.

"Have you given parallel worlds a thought? The infinite worlds theory?" He spitballed.

"I did," she frowned as she mentally went back to months of research only to hit a wall. "There are no signs of it. There are no differences. From what is here and what I remember. I mean there are: Kumo kidnapping me by mistake instead of Kushina. The Second War started later by a couple of years," she bit her lip to keep from delving into any more information than was strictly necessary for him to believe her. All she showed him was a memory of her playing with the Ino-Shika-Cho children when she was five years old and her calling Inoichi-ojichan. Very tame and vanilla compared to the things she had seen.

"You believe you are in the same world just twenty-four years in the past."

"I do."

They stared at each other as the weight was shown and said settled. She waited with bated breath for him to say something.

"I agree," Inoichi rubbed his eyes. "I agree."

Sakura laughed in pure giddiness.

"If there are seals," Inoichi rubbed his hands together slowly, deep in thought. "We should ask Minato, Uzumaki-san, or Jiraiya-sama."

She shook her head even though her heart was warned that Inoichi said 'we' and not 'you'. It validated her choice to involve him. "No one else can know." She shot down the idea quickly. "I have access to Tsunade-sama's archives. They are extensive. With your help, you and Inner can break the seals. I will find out how to do that. You leave that to me. I just need you to be ready when I figure out how to undo the seals." She stated it as if she were stating a fact. It was a matter of when and not if.

"If we don't want to disrupt the timeline beyond recognition, we keep the circle small. We keep it just us," she stressed. "Please, Inoichi-san."

Inoichi closed his eyes. There were so many variables: the seal, this extension of consciousness - Inner as she had called her, why she was here, this labyrinth that Inner described. There were just as many ways this could go wrong. Extracting memories was messy. It had to be done with precision and that was only with the mind's generic mapping to consider. Sakura's mind was something he never heard of - much less seen. She was an interesting case study.

"She said she can keep you conscious when I break the seal so you can experience the memories," Inoichi's eyes blinked open. "She will be the guide. She will be guiding my chakra. I don't want to know," he stressed that sentiment.

"I understand," she did not want him to know either. Inner Sakura would be the medium connecting his chakra to break the seal and her consciousness to keep her consciousness enough to be aware of the extraction process. Inoichi needed to figure out the details of how to support such a thing. That was his job. Codeveloping a jutsu with someone was first for her - he had some experience working with his teammates on their mind link. It also did not help make matters easier that involved the brain, medical knowledge, knowledge of memories, and the mind. The margin for error was slim. One wrong move could spell the end of her. They both knew that. It was a big ask. An impossible ask.

But she had to ask. "What do you say?" All emotion had bled out of her as she posed her question regarding his consent.

Inoichi sighed, not believing what just happened. "I'm in."

Sakura nodded her head solemnly. "Let's get to work."

---

Sakura curled into a ball, surrounded by her big comforter. She was warmed in a cocoon of her own heat and breath. The images she had seen had been but for a moment, flashes but their effects remained long after the pictures stopped. She wanted nothing more than to become one with the world in her head but she could do that no more than she could leave the one she was in. With a groan and gingerly movements, Sakura pushed up to a seated position. She was shocked by the static generated by her hair as she separated herself fully from her cocoon.

She sat at the edge of her bed, not catching her reflection in the free-standing mirror that was directly across the way. She did not need to add insult to the injury. She turned her neck to the side, testing the range of motion. With a soft sigh, she pushed up to her feet. She padded over to the thick linen curtains. She grabbed the panels from the middle - where they met - she broke them apart with a flourish. She hissed and covered her eyes with her arm as the sun greeted her. Her glazed-over eyes took in the object on her balcony. Sakura pushed up the plastic tab, she heard the click and saw the movement, she opened the sliding door. Her bare feet made contact with the cold concrete. She bent down to pick up the wooden crate. Her fingers went to the note.

Pinkie,

I know you always go zero contact on your birthday and the days after. While I don't know why exactly…here is some food. Be sure to eat it before the animals do.

Tsume

Sakura sighed. She opened up the lid. She barely responded to seeing a brown rodent surrounded by what had been all her favorites. Sakura set the box back down on the balcony and closed her door. She looked over her shoulder. It was officially April.

She was sixteen.

---

Inoichi stood - hovered? - in a black room. His body - his spiritual essence - was surrounded by a dim white line, waning almost reminding him that he was very much a temporary entity here. A visitor. He waited not patiently - silently - because he really did not have an option of anything else. He blinked as a black-and-white silhouette came into focus. She moved closer until he could see the outlines of her features.

She looked like Sakura but different. She was older. It was apparent in the way she carried herself more than her appearance. Maybe by as much as a couple of years. Late teens. Seventeen. Maybe eighteen. Her hair was shorter. She was more confident - less double-minded. More brash. Easier to anger.

Volatile. She was volatile. And he was very much aware of that fact. She turned around slowly. He followed her. The further she went the more the darkness seemed to stretch on. The sound of the heel of her boot vibrated off the walls that contained them. The walls that she put up. He saw nothing he was not supposed to. She was very protective of her temporal being's memories. Sakura - the real Sakura - was passed out on a cot in the backroom of the floral shop. His body was slumped in a chair.

Inoichi did not bother to memorize the twists and turns for she could change them on a whim just to impress on him who was in control of the situation. He was in her head. They came to a stop in front of the first room. The door was gone. But he could see the deactivated seal right at the top of the threshold, in the perfect middle. A square with lines that made up an intricate design. The lines all converged toward the middle, perfect in their unison, leading their eye there - to the center. He studied it closely as he always did. He wished he had a photographic memory. It would bolster his confidence by magnitudes.

She poured more light. He could see three more open thresholds with similar seals opened. But the pattern was different. The inside of the room was completely pitch black, obscured. It was eerie. The first few times he had seen them, he kept waiting for something to pop out and drag him inside the room locking him away forever. He was still not completely at ease. But how could he be? He was in her head.

"She's seen this?" He asked her.

Inner - as Sakura referred to her - nodded curtly. "She knows what each of the seals look like. I showed her. When we tested the bridge."

The bridge. Inoichi was not surprised - because nothing surprised him anymore when it came to the pinkette - to learn that Sakura could not see Inner-Sakura. She could only communicate via voice; their connection was purely auditory. But with him being here, inside her head, he was the bridge. He could link Sakura's consciousness to her subconscious so they could see each other. Similar to how Inner could see him. It had been his first nerve-wracking test to see if that was even possible. Sakura had been patient but he saw that she wanted to start sooner even if everything was not quite ironed out rather than later. But he had been cautious and she for the most part respected that. Probably out of fear that she would lose his aid if she pushed too much.

Inoichi turned his head to the right, he peered over his shoulder. He could feel Inner's eyes on his back as he moved further down the hall. His hand was stretched out in front of him. His palm met something solid and immovable.

"That's not one of mine," Inner frowned. "I think the next rooms are behind there, this mental block."

Inoichi pulsed some chakra to send out feelers, he could feel it being sucked away. "It's repressing my chakra," he frowned.

"You said that last time," Inner ground out impatiently.

"We need to find a way around it," he ignored her commentary.

"There's nothing around it," Inner sighed. "Maybe we turn back and go try a different path."

"There's no guarantee we won't hit another quite literal dead-end," he turned around and crossed his arms.

"Got any ideas then?" She demanded tersely.

"I need to study the brain map again," he knew that was not what she wanted to hear. "Maybe we can tease the neurons into a more cooperative state."

"Sounds risky," Inner frowned.

"Not really. It's what we do to coax memories out."

"Out of enemies," Inner finished his thought for him out loud. She narrowed her eyes. "Sakura trusts you because of who you were to her. I'm not nearly as sentimental," the warning was not subtle.

"I don't plan on doing the exploration here," Inoichi widened his stance. "I need time."

"Is that all?" Inner scoffed, her jaw clenched.

"Be patient. This is not nothing." He tried to get her to have perspective.

"It feels like a whole lot of nothing," Inner sighed. "Fine," she relented. "Do you have everything you need?"

"For now," Inoichi nodded his head. "I'll be in touch."

He blinked and found the world of color again. Inoichi sat up in his chair just as Sakura started to come to.

"Anything?" She asked him with solemn features as she rubbed her temples while moving into an upright position.

"Nothing new," he admitted.

He could see her disappointment clearly on her face. She was nothing like Inner, much too open.

---

Sakura held her arms out as wide as they could go. She watched the blonde-haired teen wrap the yellow tape measure around her bust. She draped the measure around her neck before she pulled her small notepad from her navy apron and jotted down the numbers.

"How did you hear about us?" Mebuki asked conversationally.

Sakura kept her eyes trained on her mirror as the woman who would eventually be her mother continued to work with a deft hand. "Your shop is famous," she said with a soft smile. It was nice to see her mother like this; so in her element. "The best clothes come from Tamura's."

Mebuki puffed at the praise. "That is true, my father is amazing with his stitching" she agreed with a light giggle. "Your new kunoichi garbs will be to die for."

Now I get why Kaachan and Tochan make sense. They have the same sense of humor. Bad.

I thought it was punny.

If Inner had a hand that Sakura could see, she would have witnessed the being slap her large forehead. She heard the groan, however. It was impossible to miss.

The dressmaker's daughter and the baker's son. She could not help but find the simplicity in their story refreshing. But it was more than a little sad to know that Tamura's closed down when her grandfather passed. Her mother gave it all up to raise her and from her limited memories, it did not seem she took it up again. All her sewing was done purely non-professionally from what Sakura could gather.

"You're all set," Mebuki returned the tape measure to her neck. Her hands found her hips. "Your eyes," she frowned.

Sakura stiffened. She did not even lower her arms. "What about them?"

"They look so much like mine!" Mebuki laughed. "Are you sure we're not related?" She asked playfully.

"Nope," Sakura answered with a tight smile.

"Hm," Mebuki sighed. "Your hair is so pretty and unique. And your name suits you so well," a dreamy look crossed her face. "I always told myself if I ever have a girl, I'm going to name her Sakura. It's my favorite flower after all."

Sakura knew that. She knew that very well. So well in fact that she had debated whether or not to tell Mebuki her real name. But the thought of her mother calling her anything other than her name was too much anguish for her heart to bear.

"I hope you do get to name your daughter that," Sakura said with a small smile. Mebuki did not know her well enough to know that the smile was as artificial as the sakura flowers that decorated the shop.

Mebuki laughed, her face was pink. "I need a husband first. Hell, a boyfriend." She shook her head in embarrassment. "I'm getting way ahead of myself."

It really was nice to see her mother like this. So carefree and in her element. So different from the stern woman of her memories. She wondered just how much war changed her. Changed them all. How fast they were all forced to grow up, even a civilian like her mother.

"You can put your arms down now, Sakura-san," Mebuki said gently.

"Oh," Sakura lowered them not realizing she had them up. "Sorry," she chuckled nervously.

"You have nothing to be sorry about," Mebuki gathered the cloth samples in her arms. "So you're set on red right?"

"Yes," Sakura nodded. It just felt right.

"Okay, your clothes should be ready in a couple of weeks." Mebuki nodded her head as she went through her checklist. "Did you want them delivered or would you like to come in and pick them up?"

"I'll come in," Sakura followed Mebuki to the counter where the till was kept. She watched Mebuki scribble on a notepad - a different one than the one she wrote the measurements. "That way I can try them on."

"Yes, we typically recommend that for first-time customers," Mebuki ripped the page from the notepad. "So for three shirts, three pants this is your total." She held out the page.

Ouch.

"I know it may seem steep," Mebuki said, addressing the gloomy look on Sakura's face. "But it's worth every cent, it will last you years, and all repairs are included in the price."

Sakura rubbed the back of her head. She did not mean to make a face out loud. "No, no, it seems fair. Reasonable." She tucked the slip into her hip pouch, she pulled out her wallet.

"Pay when you pick them up," Mebuki waved her hand. "Once you're completely satisfied."

"Okay," Sakura returned her wallet to her pouch. "Well, I will see you in two weeks. How long do you hold the clothes for?"

"Up to sixty days. If you have a longer-term mission that comes up just let us know and we'll keep them as long as needed," Mebuki answered with a professional smile. "And you have three days to change your mind or pose alterations. After that, once the fabric is cut all sales are final."

"Understood," Sakura tapped the counter. "Thank you, Mebuki-san," she dipped her head in a bow.

"Sakura-san?" Mebuki's voice called her back the three steps she had taken away.

"Yes?" Sakura tilted her head and asked with curiosity in her features.

Mebuki looked embarrassed. "Um," she cleared her throat. "What smells so good?"

Sakura furrowed her brow, caught off guard by the question. It took her a second to remember the answer. Her lips pulled into a wide grin. She reached behind her again and pulled out an uneaten roll.

"Haru-no-bun," she held it out. "Want to try?"

Mebuki's whole face lit up, including her jade eyes. "Just a little," she said coyly.

---

Sakura walked slowly up the stairs of Hokage Tower. The summons via a giant brown eagle pecking at her window at an ungodly hour could only mean bad things. And she was trying very hard not to fan that particularly over-eager fire of turmoil to rage inside of her.

Calm down. Just breathe.

She nodded her head. Inner would get the idea. She was more attuned to Sakura's feelings than even Sakura at times. The pinkette could feel two chakra signatures at the other end of the door. If she was antsy before, she was completely anxious now. She recognized them both. Her hand shook as she brought it to the center of the door. She should not have bothered.

"Come in, Sakura-chan," Hiruzen's smoke-cloaked voice called out to her through the wood panels.

She counted to three before she opened the door. She kept her eyes trained directly ahead of her. She did not want to run the risk of making eye contact with him. She would surely come undone. She bowed her head.

"You wanted to see me, Hokage-sama?" She posed the question to his hands that rested on the desk.

"You have a mission. You will set out at once." Hiruzen did not bother meandering through the details. "You and Minato-kun will be a two-man squad. Your role is to be there purely as a medic."

Before she could ask for some details, Minato's low voice cut through the night air.

"It's squad nine."

No.

Sakura's heart skipped a beat.

xXx

He was always no less than three yards ahead of her. She tried not to read too much into it. He outranked her. She was here purely as a medic. He was following his training - their training. But she could not quite shake the voice in her head that she was slowing him down. And she was. Fair or not. She was holding him back. It did not matter that no one could keep up. She had heard the rumors just as the others had. He mastered the Nidaime's jutsu, the one that made him a legend in her time, not long after becoming a Jonin.

Sakura blinked back the sleep. She was regretting her decision once again to pull multiple all-nighters in a row. In her defense - if there ever could be such a thing - there were not enough hours in her day. Because she still had to accept missions - her teammates needed to stay alive not just for Neji's, Hana's, and Kiba's case but her own. And she still needed to study and practice both seals and her jutsus. Because the field was unforgiving. She learned that the hard way before her memories even came rushing back.

She watched the back of the future Yondaime refusing to think about how from the back of his head, he looked just like her blond teammate. She reached behind her. She bit down a round ration. The leathery ball broke leaving a bitter taste in her mouth. She pushed herself as far and long as her stance would allow. She could not keep up with him but she could at least keep the distance between them from growing bigger than one yard.

xXx

He turned around abruptly. She barely had time to stop herself from colliding with his back. The look she donned on her face said it all. Minato's steely eyes landed on her person.

"We're close enough," he said through barely moving lips, barely loud enough to carry over the wind.

She frowned at the first words he said to her since they left the Tower, which had been the first words he said to her in years. It was not that she went out of her way to avoid him. It was the opposite. She just did not make an effort to see him. The Hokage was running him ragged. She heard the rumors. He rarely stayed in the village for more than a day. He was being abused by the number of missions being assigned to him. It was not right.

But he was ambitious. He was focused. He did not say no. He wanted to clear the minimum mission requirement in order to receive the nod to ANBU. In record time from the looks of it. It had not been reduced like it was in the year leading up to and years after the Third War. So no, she was not actively avoiding him. Even though that was exactly what she was doing.

She eyed him suspiciously as he came closer to her.

"Close enough? What does that mea-"

Her whole world lurched. Sakura stumbled forward. An arm around her waist stopped her from becoming up close and personal with a rough patch of dirt. Her knees buckled as she dry heaved.

"Sorry," Minato grimaced as she turned slightly green, her body reacting much too late. Sakura pressed a hand to her mouth, willing the vomit to not cross her lips. "It's better to do it this way, that way you don't clench up waiting for it to happen."

Waiting for what to happen, you Bastard?

She had every intention of asking him as she pushed away from his grip. She was wobbly but she remained on her feet. Sakura's words died in her throat at the scene in front of her. She gaped at the carnage. They were no longer in the Land of Fire. The terrain was all wrong.

"Wait here," he instructed, barely even looking at her.

She watched as he vanished. She only heard the clicking of kunai in the air like a dangerous song. Bodies dropped from the air all around her. Sakura pressed her palm against a tree to stabilize herself. She recognized the markings on the headbands.

Ame.

"Sakura," his voice called out from behind her, slightly out of breath.

She jumped before turning around. Her eyes went wide. Inoichi and Choza were on the ground, bleeding. And for the looks of it, they had been that way for a while. She wasted no time. Sakura gathered her hair into a high ponytail. She ran to them and sank to her knees. Sakura pulled off her gloves with her teeth. Her hands prodded, pulling and tugging as she tried to triage their injuries quickly.

"It's bad," she said more to herself than Minato.

"Do your best," he was gone in the wind again.

Sakura's eyes never stopped moving. "A wood clone?" She asked herself. "No, it will take up chakra and make it harder to manage what I have." She reached for her pouch. She pulled out a scroll. There was a sound to her right. She saw white and yellow and black in her peripherals.

Shikaku with labored breathing, pressed up against the trunk of a tree. He was alive. He could wait. She turned back to the unconscious pair. The sound of sandals pushing through gravel reached her ears.

"Stay back," she held out her arm. Minato stopped his movements. She opened the scroll with a pulse of chakra.

Thank Kami, I prepared this ahead of time.

Minato watched in silence as a black rectangle floated off the page. It got bigger and bigger until he could see the lines were not lines at all but kanji. A seal. Intricate in its formation. He looked on as the seal lowered to cover the ground that Inochi, Sakura, and Choza took up. He backed up a couple of inches so that his toe was no longer on the line of the barrier of the seal.

As Sakura poured more chakra in tandem with hand seals, the seal became more than just a square. Ovals - two - enveloped Choza and Inoichi. Sakura stood in the spot between them, a circle was around her feet, her eyes were closed and her hands were in the Tiger Seal.

"It's going to be a while," she did not open her eyes. A green light encased all three of them.

Minato nodded his head. "What about Shikaku?" He looked over at the pale, sweating Nara who was clenching his left side.

"Not life-threatening," she said almost dismissively. "Once I get these two stabilized I can help with the pain." They needed her attention and most importantly her chakra.

"That's fine," Shikaku's right eye was shut closed due to the strain of it all. "Help them."

Sakura nodded her head. Minato watched in stunned fascination as the injuries that he could see began to heal all without her touching them.

He crossed his arms and waited. Because if Sakura was doing this without sitting, so was he. His eyes scanned, remaining ever vigilant.

xXx

Lungs. Brain. Heart.

She repeated in her head over and over as she continued her efforts to stabilize two-thirds of Ino-Shika-Cho. It was only when she was convinced they had crossed the barrier to life and firmly planted their feet on that side of things that she opened her eyes. Sakura took three steps back. The circle still continued to glow green. The light did not dim from the two unconscious bodies. The connection of her chakra and all its properties continued to surround them, healing and fixing what was broken.

She avoided Minato's eyes - she had felt them on her person for every second, her skin still was dancing but she ignored it because there were two lives at stake and she could compartmentalize with the best of them - as she made her way over to Shikaku. Her hands confirmed what her eyes had. His injuries were nowhere near as extensive. She healed the bruising and the swelling that made breathing difficult. She repaired the two cracked ribs and broken collar bone. Just enough so that he could be mobile. She did not have enough chakra to fix it all the way. He would need a couple of days in the hospital. They all did.

Shikaku grimaced in thanks. "How are they?" He asked with considerably less pain on his features. The sweating had stopped.

"They're getting there," she rubbed the spot between her brows before moving up to her forehead. She registered the curt nod that the Nara - the team leader - gave her. There was so much swimming in his dark eyes.

The world lurched when she rose to her feet, slowly. There were more floaters in her vision. She could feel his judgment. But she ignored it. Sakura moved to the edge of the square. She paused.

"What happened?" She turned to address the Nara before stepping back into the circle.

It was Minato who spoke. He explained how the Ino-Shika-Cho trio was tasked with sweeping the area as there were reports of rogue Ame shinobi causing havoc in the neighboring villages near the border. Ame had asked for help in this matter as the last thing they wanted was to be dragged into a war they would lose because of those who used to be affiliated with them. The trio was just supposed to corroborate the claims and the legitimacy of the ask as no one wanted to be reactionary and risk a breach in the very fragile peace after the Second Great War. But not engaging was not an option when the nin moved closer to the border. They had missed their check-in and that is when they were called. The fifteen or so dead nin no longer littered the ground. Minato had used the Alive Burial jutsu to bring them to their final resting place.

Sakura tried not to wince as she poured the last of her usable chakra into them.

You're overdoing it!

What choice do I have? We are trespassing on a land that can quickly turn hostile. They are injured. We need them to regain consciousness so we can cross the border. We can rest then.

Minato would have Hiraishin them all over the line if he could. The fact that he did not, could only mean that maybe he too was getting close to having less than ideal level of reserves.

The seal.

I know. She snapped. I have it all under control.

She ignored the snort that bounced around in her head. It was less than helpful. She cursed the placement of the two. There was not enough room to sit between them. And the further she moved, the bigger she would have to make the sealed space and the more chakra that would require. So she continued to stand even though her legs felt like they were about to give out.

The twitching of Inoichi's fingers gave her the final push as did the change in Choza's breathing. They were becoming more and more aware. She held the Tiger seal even as sweat poured from her brow and dropped into her long-sleeved off-the-shoulder v-neck wrap shirt. The black high-neck ribbed top she wore underneath nearly went up to her chin. It absorbed some of the moisture, causing it to stick to her skin unpleasantly. She was still not completely used to wearing pants - black and form-fitting to the curves of her legs, like a second skin. Her knee-high black boots finished off the new look that she was donning on a mission.

She kept the seal and the chakra flowing even when they sat up. "Slowly," she cautioned them. "Do you remember your names?"

Inoichi rubbed the back of his head gingerly, wincing at the burning in his body - from all the chakra she had infused.

"Sakura?" He frowned. "What are you doing here?"

She answered his question with a twitch of the lips. She looked at Choza. "How are you feeling, Choza-san?"

"Sore," he grumbled as he looked around.

Sakura lowered her hands. She blinked back at the double vision. She took a half step to the side, shakily.

"You're going to feel that way for a little while. Maybe even a little woozy. Don't try to get up just yet while your bodies-" Sakura's eyes slid closed as she fell to her knees painfully.

Before Inoichi or Choza could open their mouths, Minato wrapped an arm around her waist and pulled her to him, preventing her from crashing to the ground face-first.

xXx

She pressed her face against the source of warmth, her cheek against something hard and sturdy. Sakura sighed in contentment as the sensation of wind blowing through her hair registered. She nuzzled closer to the support. Her whole front was warm, and the pressure against her chest felt nice, reassuring almost. She was surrounded. She felt the warmth around the back of her thighs shift. Her eyes bolted open.

All she saw was sunshine yellow. Wild and everywhere; in every which direction. Like she was surrounded by sunbeams, captured in their warmth and light. She inhaled deeply. The scent of the forest they moved through was muted compared to the strong aroma of cider which was closest to her nasal passages. Cedar and fresh ocean air. She did not know those two things could coexist in such harmony. But the almost minty, clean notes of the wood with the salty clean air feeling was almost therapeutic to her weathered body. It smelled like a warm day. She did not know how else to describe the feeling she was feeling right now all because of one inhale of breath.

"Smell good," she said in a state of delirium before returning her face back to the padded parts between the hard edges.

"Sleepy," Sakura mumbled as she curled her fingers in what felt familiar but she was too far gone to place.

"Sleep, Sakura-chan," a soft voice said, not disrupting the sweet lullaby that her surroundings were playing. If anything, the cadence only added to everything.

"Okay," she smiled softly as she gave in but not before a name crossed her foggy mind.

Naruto.

xXx

There were very few safe places left for her to look so she settled for her folded hands. The window was open and the air nipped at her arms. The thin hospital shift she was in hardly provided any protection. And she did not have her chakra to help regulate her body temperature. She felt very exposed and naked. In more ways than one.

"You overdid it," Hiruzen was without his pipe because even he respected the sanctity of a healing environment.

She remained silent. She could not contradict the statement and agreeing just seemed unnecessary.

"You healed three in the field. Two who were in dire conditions," he continued his one-sided observations of fact.

The need to fidget was great but she remained mostly still, blinking every now and then as the Hokage continued to speak from her bedside. He was wearing his hat. The hat that she still found ridiculous. But he really seemed to like it.

Come to think of it, I don't think I've seen him without it.

"Sakura-chan."

She flinched at the sharpness of his tone. She raised her head because it felt like she did not have a choice.

"Thank you," the Sandaime smiled at her. She blinked. "I have a request," he began.

"Anything," the word left her mouth before she even realized it.

He chuckled. "You might want to hear it before agreeing," he chided her for her overeagerness goodnaturedly.

"Right," her cheeks heated up at the lighthearted admonishment because that was what it was at the end of the day. A reminder, a lesson of what she still had yet to learn.

"The hospital can use someone like you," Hiruzen said in a serious voice. His dark eyes held a sharpness in them.

She bit the inside of her cheek to keep her first and second thoughts from spilling out of her mouth quickly. Because her first instinct - reaction - had been to say yes - to agree. Because that was who she was in her head and in her memories. She was a healer first and foremost. But that was Haruno Sakura. That was who she wanted to be. She was not sure if that was Sakura-No-Last-Name, however. Because she was temporary. She was transitory. She would leave. What would happen to the hospital when that happened? She could not let them get used to her, to rely on her.

But you can still help people in the meantime.

"Maybe I can pick up shifts in between missions and my training," she offered while looking at the spot between his brows.

"That is a start," Hiruzen did not look disappointed by her answer. He sighed before standing up. "I will let you rest."

She smiled at the hand he put on her head. It made her think of Kaka-Sensei and the Hiruzen of her thoughts. But she did not entertain them long because he was dead. He died when she was a Genin. And while that happened years ago - or years from now - she still felt something in her crumble when she remembered that fact.

Sakura dipped her head only to raise it when the door closed behind him. She contemplated laying down on her back. She would have if she were alone. Something about showing a display of vulnerability in front of him yet again - twice in a span of as many days - did not sit right with her. She chose to embrace the silence. She found solace in it.

She heard his clothes rustle as he pushed off the wall. The chair creaked as it was pulled back but it was the dipping of the bed that caught her attention. She blinked impassively as he came to sit at the edge of her cot. She would not reward his behavior with the attention he craved.

"How are you feeling?" The scent of cedar and ocean air filled her nose, reminding her painfully that was no dream.

"Fine," she folded her hands. "It's just chakra exhaustion."

Minato frowned at her rather dismissive answer. "Your reserves should be much higher than they were. It shouldn't have gotten to that point."

She could not tell him that her reserves were not the problem. No, because that would open the door to a conversation they could not have. She was stiffening off chakra for her Byakugo. A seal that Tsunade had not developed yet given the fact that Kato Dan died. There was no doubt in her mind that if it existed, Tsunade would have used it to save his life. And she would have too.

"Sorry to disappoint," she grumbled into her lap. "Just like I'm sorry I burdened you."

"You saved their lives, Sakura." Minato was frowning in earnest now, with his whole person: face, posture, and tone. "You have nothing to apologize for."

"I do," she glared at him. Her animosity caught him off guard. She saw the surprise flicker across his cobalt eyes. "And so I did. Take it or leave it."

"Sakura," he paused as if he was reconsidering his approach. "Sakura-chan, you're working yourself too hard," his voice was gentle and achingly familiar. It coaxed her to reach out to him, to lean into him like she had. To seek comfort and solace in the vibrations of his vocal cords. Warm. Soothing.

Deceptive.

"I'm fine," she countered. She reached for the IV in her arm. She pulled it out without so much as a second thought. Minato narrowed his eyes in disapproval.

"No, you're not," he grabbed onto her wrist preventing her from pulling off her hospital tag. "And you just agreed to take on more."

"I'll manage," she pulled her wrist from his grasp. "I'm not training with Tsunade-sama anymore, remember? I have time now."

"Are you sure that's what you want to go with?" He crossed his arms and pinned her with a hard look.

She raised a brow. "Excuse you?"

"You've been avoiding me."

She rolled her eyes and scoffed. "I've been busy," she worked out with a hiss.

"You'd think that after a couple of years, you would have thought of a better excuse," judgment and lack of impression dripped off each word.

"It's the truth." Partially. But she could not tell him the complete truth.

Because the truth was complicated. The truth was that he was dead, in her time. He died when she was twenty-six weeks old. His loss while heavy for the village meant nothing to her. He was a larger-than-life hero, untouchable. But now, now his death and that reality meant everything. It threatened to destroy everything she was. Because now, his loss would be felt by her. And even she had to acknowledge that while she was eager to go back into the world she came from, it meant she would be going into a world that no longer contained him. And that was simply too much for her to process, much less accept.

Because somewhere, somehow he meant something to her now. And that was unacceptable. That was dangerous. Because when she looked at him, all she saw was the coloring that was identical to Naruto's and the heartbreak that it brought her. It was impossible to ignore. He died. That day and while she did not have proof that he was what she refused to think about, the voice in the back of her head was getting louder.

The only way to get it to quiet down for a second, a second, was to be away from him. Away from anything and everything that reminded her of him. She needed space. She needed distance. Because if she was to go back to the world she came from - to the world that he was not in - she needed to stay away from him. Because he was the biggest threat to it all. Even more so than her uselessness.

Because if he asked her to stay, she did not know what she would do. And that kind of ambiguity did not have a place in her life. At any rate. She had to be single-minded in the pursuit of her goal. That was the only way she had any hope of surviving anything.

I want to go back to them mostly whole. Even if that was nothing more than a pipedream. She would lie to herself until she was back in their arms. If that was what it took.

Sakura swung her legs towards the edge of the bed so quickly that Minato was forced to react. He stood up.

"Where are you going?" He asked her with contained exasperation.

"It's just chakra exhaustion," she reminded him. "I can recover at home." She turned her back and began to pull drawers growing more and more agitated. She saw something in the corner of her eye. She walked over to the wardrobe. She opened it. Her ninja garbs were folded neatly. Her shoes were on the side of the dresser on the floor.

"Shikaku wanted to say thank you, they all did," Minato tried to pull her from the path she was already committed to.

"Turn around," she ordered.

He huffed but he complied. He presented his back to her, she could see the lines of tension on his shoulders.

"They would have come but they were ordered bed rest just like you," his statement partially fell on deaf ears. "So they asked me to pass it along until they can thank you in person."

Is that why he's here?

Don't ask questions you can't hand the answer to.

She knew that. That was why she asked it in her head and not out loud. She removed the hospital gown, shivering as the air hit her skin. She first pulled on her black shirt. She followed it with her pants.

"Now that you've passed it along, you can go now," Sakura slipped into her red top. She tied the wrap at her waist.

"Sakura," Minato's exasperation was as clear as day.

Sakura lowered her leg that was now clad in her boot louder than necessary, a signal of sorts because Minato turned around the second he heard it. She finished putting on the second boot, unfazed by him crossing the room.

"You'll rest?" His eyes searched her face.

"I will," she spoke directly to his chest because she could not handle facing his eyes right now. Maybe ever.

"You'll let me know if there's anything I can do?"

She pressed her lips together. Her stomach contracted at the tone of his voice. He sounded so concerned, so honest. And she was not sure if anyone had been so concerned for her quite like this before. Not even Ino, not even Naruto, and not even Kaka-Sensei. The look he wore and the tone in which he carried his words, all felt different on him. So different. And she for the life of her did not know what to make of it.

"I'm not your burden to carry anymore, Namikaze. You can let go now," she said harshly as she shoved him away from her.

She left him blinking in confusion, staring out the window she had jumped from.

---

Sakura tapped her pen against her forehead as she glanced at a patient file. It was strange out of all the scenarios and memories in her head, it had never occurred to her to slip back into this role that that version of herself held. It was natural. It felt familiar. So familiar. There was a convergence of who she was and who she wanted to be. And it brought her peace. She, unlike every other ninja she knew, actually liked being in the hospital. It was like she found her place again. Like she had come home. It was no different than being in her father's bakery or her mother's dress shop. It was comfortable.

She dipped her head and smiled at a nurse she saw in the hallway. She raised her head to ask her a question, her eyes darted behind the woman. Her eyes widened. The pen fell from her grip. It landed on the title leaving a singular black ink stain on the white before scattering away probably to end up under a desk, forever lost. Terror the likes of which she had yet to experience filled her. Her whole body clamped up in an involuntary response that she had no prayer of control over.

Time slowed down as her eyes locked with the slitted pupils sitting on top of yellow eyes. His pale face almost matched the white wall in the fluorescent lighting. She blinked. The purple markings around his eyes were gone - or not there yet. But could practically see them in front of her. He looked the same as the image burned into her head. But also different. He smiled.

"You're that girl," he pointed at her. It took everything to not shudder in response to the action. "What was your name," he muttered to himself. "Ah," his eyes shone in a way that nearly made her shudder, "Sakura, yes?"

She blinked, completely petrified at the sight of him, not unlike a prey animal. She was locked up and at his mercy. She could hear herself breathing. A bead of sweat worked its way down her cheek despite the temperature-controlled environment and her frozen-in-place blood.

"Sakura," the nurse with frizzy black hair shook her shoulder. "You're being rude," she whispered behind her hand that obscured her lips.

The action jerked her into the same. Sakura dipped her head. "Yes, Orochimaru-sama," the words filled her throat with bile. His chuckle grated on her nerves.

"My, my, you've done quite some growing. If it wasn't for the pink hair or green eyes I never would have placed you." His lazy smile was higher on the right side of his face than on the left.

"Are you injured?" She used the question as an excuse to study his form more intently. She did not see any visible signs of distress or injury but she refused to think that he was here to administer aid. That was impossible to stomach. Just like seeing him with a Konoha forehead protector and standard Jonin uniform - blacked out of course.

"No, no," his smile became less friendly passing. "I was on my way to check the anti-venom inventory," he said breezily. "Can never be too careful."

"Of course," she smiled tightly. "Please do not let me keep you from your work." She took a step back.

He offered her a parting smirk before ducking down the hall that was to her left. She ignored the nurses' eyes as walked into an arbitrary exam room - the first one she could find - to hyperventilate without an audience.

---

A/N:

Okay, so in Part 1, Sakura aged from ages of 4 to 12. In this chapter she went from ages 12 to 16. In the subsequent chapters she will age much slower as the plot starts to really develop. Her memories of her past life came back and she has given herself a new purpose, a new goal to work toward. And this chapter explores that shift and what it means for the relationships she built in this life and she tries to reconcile who she is and what she remembers her 'true' self to be.

Please pose any questions or things that need clarification in the comments. I know it moved really fast through the first sixteen years of her life, which we only saw snippets of here and there.

Please review. Thank you!