When Sakura woke up the next morning, she was feeling better. The trek back to Konoha had taken quite a toll on her and she had fallen asleep as soon as her head touched the pillow, considering she hadn't had proper rest. It was still early as sunlight filtered through her curtains casting her room in a soft glow. If her internal memory served her well, it was about 7am. She scrunched her face as she sat up in her bed. She was forgetting something. Last night's events at Ichiraku's flashed in her mind. 'Lord Third allowed you to train under me, your brother's training will be supervised elsewhere. So I expect you to meet me at training grounds 1 by 5am. I don't expect tardiness on the first day.' She shot out of her bed and rushed to the bathroom in the blink of an eye. She arrived to find Sai taking his shirt off. "Get out! I need to take a bath!" she said as she pushed him out of the bathroom and slammed the door closed. She threw off her maroon satin pajamas and jumped into the shower. She didn't bother with the temperature of the water, within five minutes she was out and already drying herself.

She passed by the kitchen where Sai was cooking scrambled eggs and toast. She removed her towel as soon as she entered her room, slapping on some lotion before pulling out pieces of clothing she didn't bother checking. She took out her knee length ninja boots and put them on. A weapons holster was strapped to her waist and she jumped out of the window as she sped towards the training grounds. She arrived fifteen minutes later, sweaty and huffing. But it was surprisingly empty. 'Did I get lost?' she asked herself. Minato had directed her himself where to find him and his team so where were they? There was a nagging feeling in the back of her mind which told her that a genjutsu was at work. She silently dispelled the genjutsu to find several other layers of genjutsu. The last one was trickier as they all seemed to be the same yet were harder to dispell.

She dispelled the last one to find the four figures standing in front of her a hundred metres away. Kakashi was staring at her with something akin to hate. There were two others she didn't recognize. What she did take notice was the orange goggles the boy was wearing and the girl's medic skirt. "I'm not late, right?" she said airily as she walked over to them. She sent Minato an embarrassed smile. "I'll let you off this once since it's your first time but I won't be so forgiving next time," the blonde told her. She nodded. "I'm sure you're already aware of Kakashi but let me reintroduce him. He's Kakashi Hatake, 14 and a jounin," he said. She raised an eyebrow. Her sensei became jounin at such a tender age? "That's Rin Nohara. She's the same age as Kakashi and she wants to be a medic," he pointed to the girl who gave her a shy wave in return. "Then there's Obito Uchiha," he pointed to the other boy.

"An Uchiha who wears orange and goggles?" she queried. "I might be an Uchiha but I'm not a prick like the rest of the clan, with the exception of Cousin Shisui," Obito said. "My dream is to become Hokage. I'll be the first Uchiha Hokage," he said with a grin as he gave her a thumbs up. That was new. Rarely did she meet any Uchiha who wanted to become Hokage...well, it wasn't like she had met many Uchihas anyways. "It's nice to meet you all. My name is Midori, pleased to make your acquaintance," she smiled as best as she could. "How old are you?" Obito asked as he gave her a once over. "I bet you're over 20," he spoke with a hand on his chin. "20? Why do you say so?" she asked him with a raised eyebrow. "Well, your clothes are..." he trailed as she looked down at her attire. She had to restrain herself from gaping. "Gods! What am I wearing?!" she shrieked as she covered her chest with her arms. "It's nothing we haven't seen. We've seen even better," Kakashi said offhandedly, earning him a glare from the two females in the group. "I'm sorry, I didn't really check to see what I was wearing. I was in a rush this morning and so I just took without checking," she said as she struggled to maintain her composure.

She was dressed in a black fishnet top with short sleeves and ended just below her chest, exposing her flat stomach. She wasn't even wearing a bra but luckily the top had a sewn-in sports bra which served its purpose just fine. A pair of white shorts with black biker tights inside which put a new definition to the word 'short' finished the attire. If it weren't for her boots covering her legs, she'd be practically naked. "I'm so sorry," she repeated as her face burned in embarrassment. 'I think I just died inside,' she thought as Inner Sakura buried herself in her mind. "If you don't mind, you can have my jounin vest," Minato offered with a comforting smile.

She nodded her head eagerly. He removed his vest just as Kakashi complained. "She can't wear that. She's not even a genin," the Hatake protested. "It's only for today plus she obviously isn't comfortable wearing those clothes. You should consider that," the jounin answered back. Sakura took it without restraint and put it on as she muttered a quick thanks. She absently caught a wiff of the older shinobi's scent, a scent she had gotten accustomed to whenever she visited her grandparents' house which was near the coast in Spring Country. She remembered enjoying the smell of sand, water with various trees and flowers. The vest ended just below her shorts. "It's either I'm too short or you're too tall," she said warily. "A little of both actually," came the reply.


They decided to have ramen in order to make Sakura feel comfortable. Kakashi had initially refused but the kunoichi begged him to come.. "If you don't stop squirming, I'll leave this instant," Kakashi huffed annoyedly. "Sorry," she apologized. She only had a few bites of her meal before her appetite left her. "Are you alright?" Minato asked her quietly as his genin team conversed with each other. Obito was sitting at the end, followed by Rin and Kakashi and lastly Sakura and Minato. She gave him a defeated look. "I'm not supposed to worry about stuff like this but issues pertaining to my body are just sensitive. It's not like I don't feel comfortable wearing shorts but they were too short and the fishnet is just over the top. That's the type of dressing strong kunoichi wear, they're strong and unafraid. I'm just a nobody and my body is isn't all that good to look at," she rushed out.

The Namikaze looked at her thoughtfully. He wasn't a girl but he did understand where she was coming from. Kushina hadn't been proud of her hair because other kids made fun of it. It was only until he had saved her from her kidnappers seven years ago courtesy of the strands of hair that she left as a trail that she was finally able to wear it proudly. "I understand how you feel. But just so you know, there's nothing to be ashamed of. Your body looks perfect just the way it is. Your focus is on the lower body than the upper part but still maintaining a very feminine look. Your attractive features would include your legs, despite your short stature you have really long legs. You also have wide hips and a round, firm rear, sort of like a pear. Your chest is average size at best and I think most men would appreciate that. I mean I would, it's the same with Kushina, she isn't voluptuous like Princess Tsunade and I prefer her that way. I'd say you're a bum-and-hips girl. So all in all, there's no need to feel insecure about your body," he said as he played with his ramen with a thoughtful expression. Jiraiya had taught him the art of describing things as accurate as possible, starting with a woman's body. He was proud with his assessment and he was sure the Toad Sannin would be too. When he turned to face her, he was surprised to find a red-faced Sakura staring back at him. "Y-You big pervert! I can't believe you were checking me out!" she shrieked as she stood up.

It took a second for his words to register. "I-It's not like that," he defended quickly as he stood up as well. She took an unconscious step back. "I was just trying to say that you have a really nice figure and nothing to be ashamed of -" Acting on instinct as she did with Naruto, she slapped him before stomping away in anger and shame. "Midori!" She ignored his shout of her fake name and the burning gazes of the genin. "How dare he? That pedophile. And that's not even my real name," she seethed silently as she weaved her way between the crowd. She walked until she found herself atop of the Hokage Monument. Glancing up at the sun, it was mid-afternoon. She hugged her knees to chest and she took deep breaths for several moments.

"...I really need to apologize..." she said after awhile.

Her reaction had been uncalled for. He was just trying to make her feel better, in his own perverse but polite way. Ino was right, she couldn't take a compliment properly. And it's not like he had any intentions towards her, he was just stating facts. With meeting with the fiery redhead last night, Kushina was probably his girlfriend and she didn't want to piss her off. She needed to go back and apologize...and also to return his jounin vest. She took several deep breaths again. The mental toll of having travelled back in time for the past eight or so days had begun its effects. What if she messed up the timeline? Especially concerning the Kyubi attack which was going to happen in the next four years? Would she be able to stop it? What if it changed the future for the worse? What about Kakashi-sensei? Being in such close proximity with him could pose a lot of problems. Also the Fourth Hokage, what if she did something that he wouldn't become Hokage? And Rin and Obito? She didn't know much about them, what if she accidentally-

She stopped her thoughts before they could spiral down the dark path. She thought of Naruto and his sunny smiles, his promise to bring back Sasuke. Where was he? Did he notice her absence with Sai? Was he safe? Was he with Captain Yamato? She fell asleep with her head rested on her knees.


She was woken a few hours later with a gentle shake. The sun had begun to set with the sky being different shades of red, pink and orange. She looked at the village down below before glancing up at the person who had woken her. "Minato," she breathed out as she stood up quickly. She remembered her resolution a few hours ago. "I'm sorry for overreacting and slapping you," she apologized as she bowed at her waist. "It's no problem-" "No, I have to apologize. I had no right to do that, you were just helping me out," she spoke still bowing.

Minato placed his hands on her shoulders and forced her to stand up properly. "I told you that it's no problem. I'm actually the one who has to apologize. I guess I went overboard in my explanation but that really wasn't my intention," he told her with a smile. "But-" She clamped her mouth shut at the look he shot her. "I'm your sensei after all. There's no need for you to feel pressured just because I'm older than you. You can call me out on my mistakes too, just do it politely," he explained as he retracted his hands from her shoulders.

The two shared a minute of silence as they stared at each other. "How are your feet?" the jounin asked her, breaking the silence. "I healed them yesterday before going to bed," she replied. She held her chin in deep thought. "Come to think of it, I went to sleep without finishing everything," she spoke more to herself. "Do you perhaps mean your hair? You said you'd regrow it," he pointed out. "You mean I've been walking bald the entire time?" she asked him with wide eyes. He nodded in agreement. "I'm such an idiot," she mumbled to herself as she brought up her hands to in a Tiger seal. She closed her eyes in concentration.

Minato watched her in curiosity. This was going to be the first time to see her use her abilities. Her head glowed in an ethereal green light. At once, pink hair suddenly filled his vision and he could only stare in wonder as the hair seemed to float around her. The background of the setting sun made her look somewhat heavenly. The green glow dissipated as her hands fell to her side. She fingered her hair. "At least, it isn't dry or rough," she thought out loud. "It's too long," she spoke as she watched it pool at her feet

She turned to look at Minato. "It's not a really special jutsu but as a medic, I just know this type of thing," she said as she tucked her hair behind her ear. Long pink bangs framed either side of her oval face and reached to her chin. The blonde shinobi took in the view of her face fully. It wasn't that he hadn't seen beautiful ladies but she had a look which was just different from others. It took three seconds before he was able to speak again. To him, it felt like an eternity. He stared at her hair. It was pink. She had pink hair. He'd never seen anyone with pink hair in his whole life. He enjoyed seeing pink on cherry blossoms falling around as Kushina meditated under the tree in the late afternoon. "Sakura," he blurted out.

The kunoichi stared at him. "Huh?" The Namikaze blinked several times. "I mean your hair, it's just like cherry blossoms, like Sakura," he rambled as he scratched the back of his head. What happened to him during those previous 30 seconds? She chuckled softly. "Thank you," she spoke. "Why?" he asked. He hadn't done anything to warrant a thank you as of yet. "For making me remember. I remember now, I remember my name. My name is Sakura, my parents named me that because of the color of my hair and also because I was born in spring when the cherry blossoms first bloomed," she told him with an upward tilt of her lips.

"So no more Midori?" he teased. "Urgh, that made me sound like a boy, not to mention I was bald," she said with a disgusted sneer. "Let's go back to the village and have dinner at Ichiraku's, my treat," he offered. "You don't really have to -" "Consider it as an apology for my unethical behavior," he urged. She looked at him for a moment before nodding.


I hope you like it. I just read the Minato one shot which is kinda like a Minato x Kushina love story and its just so kyaaaaaahhhhh!!! I kinda feel bad that MinaKushi won't be endgame in this story though...

Read and review. Aby grammatical errors are mine.

Tozoonana

AfricanFire