Adult-FanFiction.org : Naruto

Time is Relevant in a Déjà vu World	By : MistraRose Category: Naruto > Het - Male/Female > Itachi/Sakura Views: 1668 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 0
Disclaimer: I DO NOT own Naruto in any shaph or form! I also make no profit with writting this story.

Chapter List
- 6
- 7
- 8
Chapter 7- A Path Already Walked gets
Revisited

Sakura woke up that morning at about 9 o’clock, feeling irritated at the mere three hours of
sleep she had gotten. She had survived on less, but more was certainly
preferred. Going about her normal routine of getting ready in the morning,
Sakura decided that getting a fast bite to eat would help jump start her day.
Sakura looked around her fully stocked kitchen, but couldn’t think of what to
cook—until it occurred to her that she could kill two birds with one kunai by
just going to Ichiraku. Naruto and the rest of the team would undoubtedly be
there, so she could get acquainted with them and in the meantime, get some
food.

Besides, she had a couple of hours to kill until she had to
meet the Hokage again. Stopping in front to the mirror one last time to check
to see if everything was ready, she was happy to see she looked almost like her
twelve year-old self before the exams, except she donned her two and a half
year outfit. She knew her younger form held no real curves, so she did allow
some of her older selves attributes to come forth. The
only difference was that her headband was over her forehead and Gaara’s
headband was around her arm; she wouldn’t part with some of her gifts. She also
wore some bandages that were wrapped from her wrist to her fingers on both
arms: she didn’t want people to get suspicious about the markings. Leaving the apartment, she headed towards the
ramen stand that Naruto frequented.

On the way to the Ichiraku stand, she caught a few people
pointing and looking at her, but she just ignored them until she reached her
destination. Moving the flap out of the way, Sakura stepped in and spotted
Naruto eating away on his third bowl and she had to smile to herself.
She took a seat near Naruto, but yet not so close to bring attention right to herself—she wanted him to come to her.

Ayame came and took her order of ramen; Sakura turned around
to watch as the people outside went about their business with smiles and cheer.
They were so different from the people she was used to seeing, and she hoped
they would never have to change. She watched as a little girl pulled her little
brother though the crowd with flowers in their hands, probably for their
mother.

When her order arrived, she turned around and thanked both
Ayame and Teuchi. Digging into her food, she wondered what would happen when
she met the rest of Team 7, and hoped it wasn’t a disaster. Not paying
attention to her surroundings, Sakura was startled by something, and fell off
her chair. Mumbling under her breath, Sakura was about to hit the idiot that
scared her until she saw orange.

“Sorry about that, I didn’t recognize you and wanted to
introduce myself since one day, I’m gonna be Hokage.
The name's Naruto Uzumaki, what’s yours?,” asked
Naruto as he helped the stranger up and scratched behind his head. He had been
asking for her name for about a minute and when she didn’t answer, he tapped
her on the shoulder. That caused her to fall off her chair and begin promising
death threats to him. She really was beautiful and she seemed to be a kunoichi
from the leaf, but he had never seen her hair color before.

“That’s ok, I should have been paying attention to my
surroundings, but I wasn’t, so I’m just glad you weren’t an assassin! My name
is Sakura Haruno, and I’m currently in the presence of royalty, if you’re the
future Hokage,” said Sakura as she stuck her hand. At that, Naruto took the
offered hand.

“Nice to meet you, but I haven’t seen you around here
before. I think I would recognize your hair color since it’s so different it
stands out. I mean I think I would remember meeting you before. ”

“You might want to watch yourself Naruto,
I just might hit you for a comment like that. It’s not my fault that I got pink
hair from my mother’s side of the family. But, if you make one comment about
the forehead, I WILL hit you,” threatened Sakura. She turned around to see that
she had already finished her meal and so she paid for it, and headed outside.
She wasn’t alone for long until Naruto joined her.

Naruto followed Sakura out after he paid for his meal. He
wanted to get to know this Sakura better, since she seemed like a nice person,
must better than his other teammate, Jada. It didn’t
take Naruto long to see that she also had a sand headband wrapped around her
arm, like Shikamaru. ‘Now I’m confused, I was thinking she was a leaf
kunoichi, but yet she also is wearing another country's headband.’ Thought
Naruto, but when he came up with no ideas he just decided to ask. “So what
country are you actually from? You wear both our headband as well as Sand's.
What's going on?”

Sakura kept on walking as she answered his question. “Well,
I’m from the Leaf village, but for a short time I lived in the Sand village,
and lost a dear friend. So I was given his headband by his siblings....he died
protecting me when I was severely injured. So I wear it as a reminder to always
watch out for my teammate, even if it means my life. I will not let another one
of my comrades die,” said Sakura as her fists clenched
and her body shook, but she didn’t stop walking. Feeling that Naruto had
stopped walking, she stopped and turned around to see that his face was white.
Knowing what was wrong, but acting innocent, Sakura walked up to him and felt
his forehead. “You don’t seem to be coming down with a fever, so why so white?
Was it something that I said?” queried Sakura as she cocked her head to the
side.

‘How did she know what Kakashi told us in the Land
of Waves? Maybe it’s
nothing, maybe she just thinks the same way he does, since she too has lost
someone dear to her,’ thought Naruto as he felt the color return to his
face. “It’s nothing, Sakura. Just the comment that you said about not letting a
comrade die reminded me about a past mission of mine. My sensei said the same
thing to our team.” Naruto started to walk in the direction that they were
headed and felt Sakura join him.

‘Now’s my chance.’ “I hope
no one got hurt on your mission. I mean, every mission we go on could be our
last,” said Sakura. She remembered that mission well; it was the first time
that she had seen death and so much blood. Blood and death no longer bothered
her if she was the one killing, but if it was one of her friends that were
killed, she suffered.

“I don’t know what it feels like to lose someone close to me
since I just became a genin a while ago. I’m sorry that you had to lose someone
close to you,” said Naruto. He really did feel bad for her since the only one
he lost was Haku, and he wasn’t even a comrade. That didn’t mean that his words
didn’t mean anything to him, since they always seemed to ring in his ears,
‘Is there someone precious to you? Someone to protect?’
He would live by those words, and protect those that were precious to him. “Hey
Sakura, what are you doing in the village?” Asked Naruto as
he walked beside her with his hands behind his head. Maybe if she was
staying in the village for a while he could get to know her better, and maybe
become friends since he didn’t have many.

“Well, after my friend died, I decided to leave the Sand
village and journey around for a while. It was during my travels that I heard
about my mother's passing, that I decided to return home to bury her. My home
is here now, since this is the place of my birth. But, I’m also here to visit
the Hokage, and maybe get assigned to a team. I met with him last night, and he
told me to come back tomorrow and he would discuss things with me more
carefully. But, I don’t have to be there until later, so what do you want to
do?” Asked Sakura as she turned her head to await Naruto’s
answer.

‘Maybe she has a meeting with the old man before we do?
Or maybe after, because it can’t be during since it’s for Team 7 members only. Gah, I’m going to be around Jada
again, oh boy,’ thought Naruto with a dark cloud forming above his head. He
didn’t want to be near Jada. Even after her change in
the Forest of Death,
he couldn’t stand her. “Well, since I don’t have to meet with the old man until
later, how about you and I spar, if that’s ok with you?” Naruto figured he
might as well get some training in since today was shot.

Sakura hadn’t been expecting that, but it would help build
the bond between the two. “Sure, why not. It will help me see where I am,
level-wise with other ninja from this village.” So Naruto led Sakura in the
direction for the training ground for Team 7. When they saw that no one was
there to watch them or get in the way, both of them smiled. Sakura had to
smile; she hoped Naruto wouldn’t mind going all out. “Hey Naruto, do you mind
if we go all out and pull out most of the stops? Just no killing, but first
blood wins, and best out of three.” Sakura started to put her gloves on over
her hands; she wouldn’t be using her other weapons in this match, but maybe
later.

Naruto had to smile, no one ever wanted to go all out in a
match with him before. ‘Hhmmm, the best out of
three, this could be fun,’ though Naruto as he nodded his head to answer
Sakura’s question. He wondered what he could learn from her, since she was a traveler, she must have seen many jutsu and picked up a
couple of things. Naruto took his starting position in front of her and waited
for when she was ready.

Sakura made sure that her gloves were on tight and that she
wouldn’t be tempted to use Sasuke’s weapon summons. That wouldn’t be good for a
genin to know yet. Once she was done, she looked up, nodded and smiled. She was
going to enjoy this. At that, she disappeared.

Naruto looked around, trying to find out where she went to,
but couldn’t find out where she had disappeared. He couldn’t feel her chakra
anywhere, and started to wonder if he had been set up. Starting to feel angry,
he was surprised when the scenery surrounding him started to change. Gone was
the training ground, and he now stood in front of a giant tree that was
growing. As he watched the tree grow, he started to realize that he was caught
in a genjutsu. Canceling out the low level genjutsu, he found himself standing
in the same spot; Sakura hadn’t left her spot in front of him. He was about to
attack her until he felt something run down his cheek.

He reached up to wipe it.... it was blood, his blood.
Jerking his head up, he saw that Sakura had a smile on her face as she held up
one finger. She had won the first round, but he planned to win the others. She
seemed to be taking the sparring serious, so he would too.

Sakura had smiled when he had canceled the genjutsu she had
placed on him. She had been hoping it would work, and when it did, she threw a
kunai that cut his check. This genjutsu was a favorite of hers, even if it was a
low level one, because by the time her victims noticed, they would already be
dead.

The genjutsu numbs the body and shuts off all signals to the
brain for pain, and once it’s canceled, the pain receptors get overloaded. But,
she wasn’t here to do that to Naruto... No, she was here to show him her skill.

Naruto started them off this time. Naruto ran at her and
preformed his signature move; ten clones appeared and surrounded her. With the
real Naruto mixed with the others, she would never find the real him. He took
out a kunai. This caused the other clones to mimic his moves, and ran at her
from all angles. Sakura quickly took out a kunai and started to defend herself
from the oncoming attacks. Bending her body back, she avoided the first two
blows that would have cut her face and neck and kicked them away from her. They
puffed away, but the ones that were now above her went to attack until she
stood on her hands, wrapped her long legs around one Naruto clone, and threw
him into another clone.

Sakura, using her upper body strength, pushed off the ground
and was in the air above the remaining clones. Sakura put her hand by her mouth
and did the fireball jutsu at the remaining clones. When she didn’t feel Naruto
below her, she tuned around just in time to get kicked to the ground with
Naruto’s variation of Lion’s Barrage. When she hit the ground, she rolled back
into a standing stance to face a smirking Naruto. Sakura had to smile, it was a
clever move he pulled and she still had to fend off his darn clones. The real
Naruto had been in the trees above her, waiting to attack her. Wiping the blood
from her split lip, Sakura spoke, “Smart Naruto, I didn’t even realize you
weren’t on the ground until it was too late. Round 2 goes
to you. What do you say we stop warming up and take it up to the next level? I
say winner takes all, and loser treats the winner to dinner. I think you’ve
seen some of what I can do, why not see what I can really do?”

Naruto had to admit that he was having a little fun, but he
didn’t want to hurt her. She looked too small to do really any damage to a
person, but she had a smirk that promised pain if you underestimated her. His
first round of sparring proved that. “You know what, I think you're right, I’m
not going to go easy on you just because you’re a girl. I want to see what
you've got. I hope you got money, because I’m going to win, believe it!” Naruto
fisted his hand and shook it out, and then took his stance again and waited for
her to nod.

Sakura couldn’t help but smirk; he hadn’t seen what she
could do yet, but she still had to stay within the level range at least a genin
was. She hadn’t had this much fun in a long time, not since she was 16 and
training with her friends. Sakura nodded her head and started to run at him,
with chakra surrounding her right hand. When she was close enough, she hit the
ground with her fist.

Naruto hadn’t excepted her to hit
the ground, until the said ground started to crumble and shatter, causing him
to land on his butt in shock. He hadn’t seen anyone ever do that before, and
when he noticed Sakura’s fist about an inch from his face, he moved out of the
way. ‘I’m in trouble.’ Again the earth shook and shattered more. Naruto
got up quickly just as Sakura hit him with a chakra kick to the stomach, propelling
him into a couple of trees.

*~*~*~* In another part of the training ground*~*~*~*

Sasuke and Kakashi were doing some training since they
weren’t expected to attend the meeting until noon.
Kakashi was in the process of building Sasuke’s speed up for the Chidori, so he
was pushing him in their taijutsu battle. He was just about to hit Sasuke in
the ribs, when the ground shook, causing both to slightly stumble. Kakashi
didn’t know what to make of the sudden boom and crash noises that came from the
entrance of Team 7 training ground. Shrugging his shoulders to dismiss it, they
continued on with their battle from where they had gotten sidetracked. When the
ground shook again within a couple seconds, he was beginning to think it was an
earthquake, but they never had one before. A couple of trees were falling down
in the distance. When nothing happened for a couple of minutes he just blew it
off and instructed Sasuke to put more power into his jab.

Sasuke didn’t like having to be inside the village while he
was training for the chuunin exams, because anyone could be spying on them,
just like that Sand creep did. Sasuke wanted what they were doing to be a
surprise until he used it in the match. Then maybe with this power he could
finally kill his brother and avenge the family’s death. Doing as Kakashi
instructed, he started to put more force into the jab, as he mocked a Chidori
hit at his sensei’s stomach.

Training continued without interruptions until the ground
shook violently, and knocked Sasuke on his butt. Kakashi grabbed on to a tree
to help sturdy himself. As he turned around he caught sight of one of the
larger boulder formations in the distance as it started to move and collapse.
Not liking what was taking place in the distance, he took of in the direction
of the noise and the formation.

Sasuke didn’t like that his training was being put on hold,
but even he had to admit silently that he was curious. Taking off after
Kakashi, Sasuke caught up to his teacher and headed in the direction of all the
disturbances. Sasuke was looking forward to seeing what might have caused the
ground to shake and a formation to start collapsing. Since they were really
close it didn’t take them long to reach the front of the grounds. When both of
them arrived on the scene they couldn’t believe what they saw in front of them.
It was impossible, but they were watching it with their own eyes.

*~*~*~* Back with
Sakura and Naruto’s battle*~*~*~*

After going though about two trees Naruto pushed off the
ground and looked up as Sakura was just finishing the hand signs for her jutsu.
She opened her mouth and a bunch of senbon needles came out at him. He dodged
the needles barely as a couple of them torn through his jacket. ‘Boy, she is
taking this seriously. I think I better stop fooling around if I want her to
buy me that ramen. She doesn’t fight like any kunoichi I have seen before,
especially not Jada. GAHHH,’ thought Naruto as he
dodged another round of needles being spit at him.

When Naruto dodged the second round of poison needles spit
at him she was starting to get mad, because he wasn’t trying to hit her. “Naruto, you idiot! Take me seriously in this match, because
if you can’t, then you will never be respected or become Hokage. Somewhere down
the line, some of your enemy ninjas are going to be female. If you can’t even
try hitting a friend in a spar, who has given you permission, then how do you
expect to get stronger?!” yelled Sakura angrily. She needed Naruto to step up
his game, especially because his match with Neji was going to push him. Sakura,
not waiting for a response, ran at him again, but this time didn’t have chakra
around her fist.

Naruto stood in shock at what Sakura was saying—because she
was right. If he couldn’t handle facing a kunoichi in battle, he could die, and
of course, more than anything, he wanted respect. Naruto caught Sakura’s fist
in his hand, and when she raised her other hand he caught it too. “Sakura, I
hope you won’t kill me if I hurt you to badly,” said
Naruto as a clone came out of the broken earth under him and hit Sakura under
the chin.

‘Damn that hurts!’ thought Sakura as she was hit into
the air, but Naruto wasn’t done, as she blocked his foot that almost hit her in
the face. Once Sakura landed on the ground she drew her kunai to block Naruto’s
attacks. He was finally taking her seriously, and she was having fun. Naruto
managed to get a couple of cuts on her arms, but they were nothing too serious,
she would heal them later, as well as her bruised jaw. Seeing an opening Sakura
took it and hit him in the stomach, just as he kicked her in the chest. Both of
them were thrown backwards, Sakura towards a tree and Naruto into a large
bolder formation. ‘Ouch that hurt, he sure put a lot of power into that
kick. It think that’s going to bruise, just a little.’

As soon as Sakura blocked his kunai, he had to come up with
something else. She kept blocking ever hit he tried to get in, except a couple
that grazed her arm. As she drew her fist back, he noticed that he had left his
stomach open to an attack. Instead of blocking it, he took the small opening
that was given to him, and kicked her in the chest. When both attacks hit, he
felt the air leave his lungs and blood in his mouth. As he hit the base of the
bolder, he tried to get as much air in his lungs as he could; she really
knocked it out of him.

Sakura hit the tree with her back, and could feel her shirt
start to absorb some of the blood from the cuts on her back. Getting up, she
spit out the blood in her mouth and wiped her lips on her glove. Sakura, not
letting Naruto rest, ran at him again and created two copies of herself. Naruto looked back and forth, but couldn’t tell the
difference, just like Ino couldn’t. Each one had chakra encircling their hands,
but only one was the real her.

Naruto stood up and brought his hands up to block each
attack, but when the first one disappeared just as it was about to hit him, the
smoke momentarily blinded him. From the smoke came two fists aimed for his
shoulders. At the last moment, he pushed the fists to the sides of him, hitting
the boulder. The boulder behind him started to shake and started to collapse
behind him. He was shocked that she managed to put that much of a dent in the
mountain, but Sakura still didn’t give him time to take it all in.

Sakura and her clone hit the wall at the same time since
Naruto pushed both of their arms a little to the sides of this
shoulders. ‘Darn it, I really thought that was going to work, but I
guess I shouldn’t be at all surprised. He always seems to find a way to weasel
his way out of any mess he finds himself in.’ Sakura’s clone disappeared
and she tried to hit Naruto, but he again was dodging her hits and she kept
hitting the ground. She was starting to get mad, but after him dodging for
about five minutes, he just stopped and was looking at her. Not stopping her
assault she completed her hand signs and spit more needles at him, but when he
raised his hand not paying attention anymore to the battle. Sakura jumped into
the air and spit more needles, but it wasn’t to hit him, but to stop the
previous needles from hitting him.

Naruto was dodging her hits and was about to make some
shadow clones when he noticed Sasuke and Kakashi watching the battle. Taking
his eyes of his opponent he raised his hand and waved. When he heard Kakashi
tell him to get down, he turned around just as he saw the needles inches from
his face. There was no time to dodge until more needles from above hit the
oncoming needles, forcing them down into the ground. The needles just barely
missed his feet, and he was about to tell Sakura thanks until the said girl
knocked him on the head, hard.

Sakura wasn’t mad; no, she was furious at the idiot. He
could have gotten himself killed, just because he had to wave at someone. In a
battle it took just a moment to get killed, or seriously hurt. She stomped over
to where Naruto was and knocked him on the head rather hard, where he kissed
the ground. After Sakura knocked Naruto down, she turned to see what Naruto had
been waving at, and took a step back. There in the clearing of some trees was
Sasuke and Kakashi. ‘Crap! I didn’t want them to see that,’ thought
Sakura as she started to walk away from Naruto.

Kakashi and Sasuke came out of the trees and started to walk
towards their unconscious teammate and the girl. The two never had seen the
girl around before, but she seemed to know Naruto well. They both took in the
surroundings of the training grounds.

Sasuke stood in shock. 'A girl like her has that much
strength? She’s too small and fragile-looking to possess that much skill and
strength.' It had to be a one-time thing. There was no way she could do
that again. She just looked too weak…. too much like Jada.
Sasuke assumed she would just get in the way constantly.

Kakashi was amazed that someone else would be able to use
the inhuman strength that Tsunade used, but she still seem
to be developing it. Since it still seemed to be
uncontrollable, unlike Tsunade’s. ‘She is a skilled kunoichi, but not
skilled enough to keep pace with these two. She will only bring them down,’ thought
Kakashi as he started to walk leisurely towards the two, with Sasuke behind
him.

As the two approached Sasuke got a better look at the girl
that was sparring with his teammate, and even he had to admit she looked okay;
silently of course. He didn’t want another fan girl running around him all the
time. For a fleeing moment onyx eyes locked with emerald, then it was gone.
Upon her face was a scowl and she was now glaring at him, after a moment she
turned her head away from him with her nose in the air.

When Sakura’s eyes locked with Sasuke’s for a moment, she
knew what he was thinking. ‘For…get…. it bub! NO. WAY. IN. HELL.
I’m not who you're used to,’ thought Sakura as she scowled at him and
turned her head away from him. She wasn’t going to be one of those girls that
hung on his every word-- well, at least not this time around. 'I just know
what was running through that thick head o f his, ‘She’s too weak. All she’ll
do is be in the way.’ Bastard doesn’t even know me and
already is judging me. I can’t wait to prove him wrong.' From the corner of
her eye, she saw that Sasuke had a surprised look in his eyes. ‘Good, I like
keeping you on your toes.’

Kakashi was shocked to say the least when the girl just
turned her head away from looking at Sasuke. Normally girls would be head over
heels for him and madly in love. ‘Maybe she could be different than what
Sasuke is used to. She might be the only one to catch his interests. Even if
she isn't trying to,’ thought Kakashi as he finally stopped in front of the
pair.

While all this was going on, Naruto was working his way out
of being unconscious. When he finally woke up, he was wondering why there were
people in his room, especially a girl. ‘Wait, why am I kissing dirt? Hmmmm….Oh, I remember. Sakura hit me on the head, and damn
it that hurts!' Naruto pulled himself out of the small human shaped crater
and looked at the surrounding people all looking at him. Placing his hand
behind his head, he smiled sheepishly when he faced Sakura.

The small group watched as Naruto pulled himself
out of the dirt. Once he finally dusted his clothes off, he tuned around to
face Sakura. “Hey you guys! Sorry Sakura, I was just happy to see the rest of
my team. The baka over there is Sasuke Uchiha and the one with his nose in his
book is our teacher, Kakashi Hatake.” spoke Naruto to Sakura. When she nodded
her head towards the two, she saw what must have been a light turning on in
Naruto’s head. “Wait, what are you doing here?” Asked Naruto
with his trademark grin on his face.

When the two were close enough to the pair they stopped
walking. Sasuke looked at his teammate with a scowl on his face, “You idiot,
did you forget that we have a meeting with the Hokage in a couple of minutes?!
You really are a knucklehead.” Sasuke at times was ashamed to call him a
teammate, but when it counted he always covered his back and visa versa.

“WWHHHHHAAAAATTTTTTT!!! It’s almost
noon,” yelled Sakura as she turned
her head up to see that indeed the sun's position said it was almost noon. Sakura took off towards the inner part of
the town, leaving a trail of dust behind her and three bewildered people. When
Sakura was far enough away from the three, she headed towards her apartment to
get cleaned up fast, before she had to meet with the Hokage. Once she got
cleaned up, she took of towards the tower, if she hurried fast enough she would
get there in time. When she arrived at the tower, she questioned if she should
take the stairs or use the window, but being pressed for time like she was, she
decided the window would be better. Adding chakra to her legs, she jumped onto
the window's ledge and arrived just as Team 7 made their entrance.

After the girl had left, Team 7 decided that it would be a
good time to head towards the tower. Sasuke and Kakashi asked Naruto about the
girl that he sparred with and all they could get out of him was that she was
amazing, she was nice and most of all... she was strong. They asked about the
detail of the spar, but Naruto wasn’t answering because all he kept saying was
she sure could hit hard.

When they arrived at the tower, they headed up the stairs
and the two started to bicker and Kakashi had his nose in his book. Once they
got to the door, the secretary let them in. Once in the office, the team stood
in front of the Hokage's desk. The Hokage was looking out the window towards
the town and the mountain.

The Third heard the arrival of Team 7, and saw Sakura arrive
just before them on the window's ledge. It was time to get the meeting under way.
Nodding towards Sakura, he saw her step into the shadows and watch. Turning
around to face Team 7, he saw that Naruto and Sasuke were having a glaring
contest, and neither planned to stop any time soon. Clearing his throat, he got
the two’s attention and their teacher's and started the meeting.

“I called you three here today because I have something
important to tell you. Jada Tomoe is resigning from
Team 7 and I have already found a replacement for her. She is a good friend of
mine that will fit you team's dynamic well. Maybe she might even keep you two
in line.” He waited for their response and he wasn’t disappointed, he just
wished he wasn’t deaf now.

“YOU’VE GOT TO BE KIDDING ME!!!!!! you
have to be kidding. Jada’s quitting and we get
another teammate. Who is it? Who, who, who?!” bellowed an excited Naruto.
Naruto could believe it, but the Hokage would never say something unless he
meant it. Naruto was about to start his questions again, when Kakashi
interrupted him.

“If what you say is true, then I would have to retest my
team to see if she is compatible with Team 7. I will not have a teammate who
will drag them down. But, I would like to meet this replacement and test them,
with my current team.” Kakashi said all of this from behind his orange book,
never once looking up. If he had, he would have seen the Hokage smile.

The Hokage felt Sakura’s chakra spike slightly, but she
didn’t attack her new teacher. When no one else said anything, he felt it was
time to introduce them to one another and see what would happen. “Kakashi, I
feel you will test her any way, even if I say that she is more than qualified.
She has been away from the village for a while, traveling around and has
decided to come back home. I will allow you just today to test her. Then, you
must get back to your training for the Chuunin exams. I will extend your time
limits as much as I can, but I can not promise anything. Now I will introduce
you to your new teammate. Please come out of the shadows, my dear,” asked the
Third as he extended his hand out towards her.

Sakura wasn’t happy with Kakashi’s speech, but she would
prove to him that she wasn’t a handicap. Taking the offered hand, Sakura
stepped out of the shadows into the light, where the rest of the team could see
her. When she stood in front of the group, she didn’t have time to say anything
because she was engulfed in a hug from Naruto.

When the Hokage held his hand out for a person to grab,
Kakashi thought he was losing it, until he saw a gloved hand emerging from the
shadows. ‘I didn’t even feel her presence, so she must have at least some
skill in stealth.’ When the girl emerged completely from the shadows, he
was slightly flabbergasted and looked on in amazement as Naruto hugged her.
‘Well, at least I now know that she does have some skill, but how much? And can
she work as part of a team? We will see.’ He looked over at Sasuke and saw
that he didn’t even seem to care about their new member.

When Sakura stepped out of the shadows, Naruto was ecstatic.
Finally, they would have a teammate who could fight, and wouldn’t care if she
got a little dirt in her nails. She had proved that in the training ground. ‘I
just hope that she can pass whatever test Kakashi has planned. She has to!’
He let go of Sakura and stepped back to join his teammates. He truly was happy
for the first time since he got his headband. ‘I have only known her for a
short time, but I feel I’ve known her since school and feel I can trust her
with my life.’

Sakura bowed to both Kakashi and Sasuke. When she finally
met their eyes again, she found that they both held looks of distaste and
distrust. She knew it was going to be hard to win them over, but she had to
somehow. “Hi, my name is Sakura Haruno and my current rank is genin. I have an
apt for genjutsu and I’m also studying to learn the ways of a medical ninja. My
goal in life is to protect those that are precious to me since life can be cut
short. Let's see…hmm…,”Sakura placed her fingers by her lips and tapped them.
After a moment the thought came to her, and she snapped her fingers, and
continued, “That’s right, I forgot I needed to tell
you what I dislike. That’s easy enough. What I hate are bastards who are
sick-minded freaks. Ok, I think I covered everything, right Kakashi?”

Kakashi looked at his replacement student who was wearing an
innocent smile on her face. He wanted to question her further, but he did not
have the time if he was to test her abilities with the teams. He still needed
to get to training with Sasuke and teach him Chidori for his match. He would
try and take the Hokage's word that she was talented, but that was to be seen.
Turning around, he headed towards the door and spoke as he walked out the door.
“If you will excuse us Lord Hokage, we have a training exercise to get to and
training to complete for the chuunin exams. We will meet at the same training
grounds as this morning and take your exam there. You three had better be there
in ten minutes or there will be consequences. See ya!”
And he puffed out of the doorway.

The other two members of the team took off towards the
training grounds as Sakura stood standing next to the Hokage. It would take
even at a fast a run fifteen minutes to reach the grounds and ten or less if
you took the short cut. “I will see you later Lord Hokage and wish me luck,”
said Sakura as she took off through the window. She had a short cut to meet up
with again and not be late. She always could just puff there like Kakashi did,
but then that would show she was above genin level. ‘Damn, this is going to
suck!’

As the Third watched the girl leave through his window, he
watched as she ran and jumped from the rooftops. ‘You will not need luck,
Sakura. I believe you will make an impression upon them and they will come to
respect you.’ When he could not longer see her, he sat back down at his
desk and got to work on the stack of paperwork.

While the two male members of Team 7 raced to get to the
grounds in time, Sakura found the short cut and took it. It was a short cut
they had stumbled upon when they were beginning their infiltration of the city
from the training grounds. Since the ground was covered with a special metal,
no chakra could get out nor destroy it. Finally reaching the end of the tunnel,
Sakura poked her head out to see that she was first to arrive after Kakashi. He
was above standing by the memorial stone waiting for them and paying his
respects to his former teammates and teacher. When she was finally out, she
moved to jump into the branches of the tree and watch for her tardy teammates.

Sasuke and Naruto pushed themselves to reach the ground
before the time was up, but it would be close. Seeing the grounds coming into
view they both pushed more chakra into their legs. When they finally reached
the grounds and were gasping for breath, they waited for their teacher to
acknowledge them and replacement to arrive. When their teacher finally turned
around, he faced them, and the replacement still hadn’t shown up.

Sakura noticed that they still hadn’t sensed her and were
waiting. After five minutes she finally decided to make her presence known.
Taking a senbon needle out of her pouch she flicked it towards Kakashi’s back.
He would see it, if not, well he had better learn to be careful around her and
pointy things. She tended to get really rather sadistic with them, thanks to
Anko. Of course, she would never actually hurt them. As the needle approached
its target, she waited for him to catch it. As it was about to hit his neck,
his unoccupied hand caught it inches from hitting. With a smile on her face she
jumped down from the branch and landed silently.

As the three were waiting for Sakura, Kakashi felt that
something wasn’t right. There was a near-silent fwash
noise of a senbon needle. Feeling where it was headed, he shot his hand over
his shoulders and barely caught the needle. That’s when he heard movement
behind them and he turned around to face Sakura, who was wearing a grin on her
face. ‘I’ll give her a little credit there, she is silent, but I wonder how
long she has been here.’ “So you have finally arrived, but you are late.
What do you have to say in your defense?”

Sakura couldn’t help but let her grin
get wider as laughter danced in her eyes. Placing her hands on her waist she
decided to answer his question. “Well Kakashi, I’ve been here for a while now,
and I beat both Sasuke and Naruto. I believe I arrived shortly after you did
because you were still standing in front of the memorial stone. I didn’t want
to disturb you, so I just waited for the other two up in that tree. When they
did arrive, I was just curious if they would see me since I was in clear view
for them to spot me. But, when that did not happen I figured I would get your
attention, which I did. And to let you know, if you hadn’t caught the needle
all it would have done was knock you out, until I removed it.”

Two stood in shock while the other ran up and hugged his
teammate. Naruto couldn’t wait for her to join his team; she was smart, strong,
and didn’t fall all over Sasuke. She was prefect and he hoped she would be his
friend. When Naruto set her down, he turned to look at the other Team 7 members
and smiled. They didn’t know what to make of her since she seemed to take being
a kunoichi rather seriously.

When Sakura was finally set back down on the ground, she
stood next to Naruto and waited for the two to come out of their daze. She was
still a little taller than Naruto, but when he got older, he would tower over
her, but she would enjoy it while it lasted. Since Kakashi was the first to
come out of this daze, he started to explain that this test would he different
than the one they had earlier. ‘So he is using the same test he used in the
future to test Naruto and I, but the only difference
is Sasuke is here. It’s going to be an all out battle against him to get those
three bells. But, those two are not familiar with my style of fighting and
knowing them, they will just try and get a bell for
themselves. Maybe Naruto will try and help me, but since I am the medic here, I
stay out of the fight but help where I can. I think I’m going to like this test
and maybe throw Kakashi off balance a little. OH THIS IS GOING TO BE SO MUCH
FUN!’ By this point Sakura was rubbing her hands together and was all
smiles; she couldn’t wait to begin.

After Kakashi explained what they would be doing for the
test he watched as the two understood what he wanted. He watched as the new
recruit was all smiles and she seemed to be ready for anything, but was she
really? He was ready to test her the most since she
was the one he knew so little about in abilities. As he clipped the three bells
to his pocket, he watched as each took their stance. Right before he told them go, he saw Sakura ruffle Naruto’s hair and wish him luck.

Naruto was shocked when Sakura ruffled his hair like a
sibling would do to another. He smiled at her and wished her luck in the test
as well. H would talk to her more later and he would try and keep an eye on her
if he could. When Kakashi finally gave them the ok, he watched as all of them
disappeared. He would stand his ground just like he did the last time, but not
get the thousands years of death; if he could help it.

Sakura jumped into the trees, watching as Naruto and Kakashi
went at it again. ‘I know that he will go after the two to see if I am the
weak link, just like Jada was. But, I’ve got news for
him, I know all his tricks so he had better be on HIS
toes. But, I had better get to work,’ thought Sakura as she disappeared
into the shadows and appeared at the bottom of the tree base. She had to get
close enough to protect Naruto, but not close enough to get caught. Taking off
in a sprint towards the battle, she arrived and hid under some bushes to watch
the battle. When Kakashi was about to get Naruto in the back with a couple of
kunais he threw, she quickly threw her senbon needles to stop them. Seeing that
he was found her location, she took of in another direction and hoped he
wouldn’t find her. Even though she was a little further from the battle she
still could see fine to assist Naruto.

Kakashi watched, as the kunais he threw were about to hit
Naruto in the back. He still wasn’t progressing fast enough to be on the same
level with Sasuke and probably never would be. He watched as Naruto was getting
up from the ground and saw the kunais, but wouldn’t have been able to stop them.
But, he didn’t have to because from the right bushes, senbon needles knocked
the kunais off course and into the tree near Naruto. Taking off in the
direction of the needles, he followed her. It was time to see if she was as
good as she claimed to be at genjutsu. He watched as she stopped and could
still see a clear view of where Naruto was in the clearing. With her not
knowing he was behind her, he mentally gave her an F in abilities.

When Sakura couldn’t find Kakashi where Naruto was, she
started to worry. Could he have already moved to attack Sasuke—no, she would
have known by now if he had. Getting the sudden feeling that she wasn’t alone,
she turned around just as Kakashi completed the hand signs for a jutsu. When
she started to feel strange she wiped her eyes and her vision cleared. In front
of her was her friends and family enjoying themselves, before their deaths. She walked over to join them and touched Kiba’s
shoulder. Under her fingers she felt something move from within Kiba’s clothes.
Moving her hand she saw that her hand was covered in blood and burnt flesh, and
her hand had been on the moving maggots. They were feasting on his dead flesh.
She looked up from her hands and watched in horror as each one of her friends
died in the same brutal way. She watched as they started to walk towards her
chanting ‘traitor’ and pointing their bloody fingers at her. Covering her ears
she screamed. She felt the tears come and she allowed them to flow and when she
couldn’t seem to block the voices out she could no longer take it and passed
out.

Kakashi watched as she screamed bloody murder and tried to
cover her ear to block out the voices. He didn’t know what she had seen to
cause such a sound, but it couldn’t have been more than a pet dying. When she
passed out she had tears rolling down her eyes and was shaking like a leaf. He
didn’t care; if she couldn’t handle or cancel that simple jutsu then she wasn’t
worthy of being on his team or any team for that matter. He took off to find
Sasuke; he was the one he wanted to test the most to see how far he had come.

When he took off through the tree, he landed on a branch and
went to push off, when it shattered. As he landed on the ground he was suddenly
engaged in battle with not just Sasuke, but Naruto as well. So, they were
taking what he said about teamwork seriously this time around.

The two-on-one battle continued for a while until Sasuke
activated his sharingan. Stopping his battle for a moment he tried to figure
out where his teacher was really hiding. Not finding him, Sasuke started to get
worried, until the ground under both their feet shook, causing both to fall
backwards on their butts. Sasuke looked around and found the object of the
quake; Sakura had just punched the ground causing it to splinter open. When the
two finally got their footing, they both stood up. They had heard the scream
and wondered what had caused it, but it mustn’t have been too bad for her to be
there right now.

Sakura watched from the shadows as the pair fought their
teacher, and noticed that it was a shadow clone. Well she looked up, left,
right and when she didn’t find him she knew where he was. Putting chakra into
her hand, she hit and ground and watched it crack. Sakura walked out of the
shadows and headed over towards the two as she approached where most of the
damage had been done. From within the fragments of earth, she could make out a
bewildered Kakashi looking back at her. With a hand on her waist she spoke, “I
found you Kakashi. That wasn’t very nice of you. You were about to pull both my
teammates underground. I’ve been following your movements since you left me in
the clearing after what you did. I must say, that was brutal of you. I hope you
don’t mind if I return the favor do you?” And as she had started her last sentence
she had started her hand signs. Just as she finished the last hand sign she
placed her hand by her mouth and blew the fire from her lungs towards Kakashi.

Kakashi jumped out of the crater and into the air avoiding
the fire. He watched as the girl on the ground smiled. He didn’t have much time
to react when she disappeared in a puff of smoke and he was turned around to
face a smirking Sakura. He was never given anytime to react, as he was slammed
into the ground, hard.

Sakura watched as he jumped to avoid the fire and smirked. ‘Well,
hope you don’t take this too hard, Kakashi.’ With that thought the shadow
clone disappeared in a puff of smoke. From above Kakashi she watched as her
clone disappeared and that was her queue to finish her plan. Coming from above
Kakashi she turned him over to face her direction. She loved the look on his
face, but she would relish it later. She slammed her leg into his middle
section hard, with only a minute amount of chakra, towards the earth. What had
done the most damage as she landed her hit was the heel of her foot. Her shoes
were another weapon she liked to use whenever she preformed Lion’s Barrage,
since they added a little more damage to her victim ribs.

The three watched as Kakashi hit the ground hard. They heard
some bones break and crack and watched as he coughed up blood. Naruto was
amazed that she could pull that move off so easily and she had scored a direct
hit. Naruto knew how much her hits could hurt, but damn, whatever Kakashi had
done to her really pissed her off. At this point, he was glad they were on the
same side. He was about to congratulate her when he saw Sasuke’s shoulders
tense and he walked towards her.

Sakura watched as Kakashi tried to get out of the human
crater he had made, and decided to help him. Sakura felt better after she had
done it, but knew that she might have gone a little over the top, but now he
knew she wasn’t a child to mess with. She walked over to him and pulled him out
of the hole and was about to heal him some. But her shoulder was grabbed coldly
and she was turned around to face a furious Sasuke.

Sasuke was not happy, no, more like he was down right
smolderingly mad. ‘How dare she use my move! Who
does she think she is, and how did she learn it? I WILL get answers.’ When
he finally reached her, he grabbed her shoulder and turned her around to face
him. “Where did you learn that technique?” Demand Sasuke, and he wasn’t going
to let her go until she answered him.

“Well, for your information Sasuke, I was at the Chuunin
Exams so I got to see you use it. Besides, didn’t you copy it from Rock Lee and
change it to make it your own? Just so you know, I
already knew that move before you did it in the exams. I hope that answers your
questions, now let go of my shoulder before I make you. And trust me, you don’t
want me to do that,” spoke Sakura harshly as she looked Sasuke in the eyes and
glared. He didn’t remove his hand from her shoulder soon; he was going to get
it.

Sasuke looked Sakura up and down and he still wasn’t
impressed. Ok, so she took Kakashi down in one hit and cracked open the earth
with her fist, but she was still weak. “Not like you can do much since you are
a weak little female,” said Sasuke as he squeezed her shoulder hard one last
time. Just as he removed his hand, her hand shot out and attacked his cheek.

Sakura was NOT happy with Sasuke at this moment, if anything
she was down right pissed. ‘How DARE he! Me weak?! Ya right, more like I could break every bone in your body,
heal you and do it all over again. Well, since I can’t do that, I know the
purr-fect payback.’ When Sasuke squeezed her shoulder hard enough to leave
a bruise she struck. Her hand shot out and slapped his face; hard enough that
his head was jerked to the other side. When he finally turned his face towards
her again she saw the sharingan was active, and smirked.

Sasuke was about to make a comment, when he was suddenly
pulled under the ground. ‘Wait, I remember this jutsu. It’s the headhunter
jutsu that Kakashi used on me last time. Where did she learn this technique I wonder.’ When the dust finally settled he looked up to
see two Sakuras. She had gotten him with a clone and now he was stuck in the
ground.

The two Sakuras had to laugh and high-fived
each other. It brought some interesting memories of the last time that had
happened. Last time she had passed out seeing only Sasuke’s head. Nodding to
her clone, she disappeared into a puff of smoke. When Sakura finally took in
all that her clone had gone through with Kakashi’s genjutsu, she started to get
mad all over again. ‘I was only taking a guess when I heard her scream. I
figured it was something bad, but that was beyond what I expected. Okay
Kakashi, this time around you’re an ass, well at least he will know not to do
that again; I hope.’ Sakura walked over towards the still captive Sasuke
and placed a bell in front of his face. She then walked over towards Naruto and
gave him his bell. When she placed her in her pocket she turned around and
walked towards the wounded teacher.

Since Kakashi was never helped out of the hole be watched as the scene unfolded in front of him. He no
longer could deny that she was skilled and she knew about teamwork, even if she
did go about it differently then he would have imagined. One thing he knew for
sure, she was very skilled in chakra control. When Sakura walked over towards
him, she helped him out of the hole and sat next to him. Everyone watched in
fascination as she started to heal some of his wounds.

Sakura knelt down next to him and started to heal him, but
not all the way. She still needed to make it look like she was a beginner in
the arts of healing. When she got most of the surface wounds mostly healed she
stopped. “Sorry about that, but you did deserve that, especially after what you
put my clone through. I’ll admit I might have gone a little over the top, but
it could have been worse. Sorry that I could not heal more, but it would be a
good idea to stop by the hospital before you leave. I know I broke and cracked
a couple of ribs, so they will need to heal you,” said Sakura as she stood back
up to see that Naruto had helped Sasuke get out of the ground. When she saw
them walking towards her she remembered she needed to tell Kakashi something.
“Hey Kakashi, since each one of us got a bell, does that mean that were a team
now?” Sakura was all smiles when she turned to look at him and had the other
two standing by her side. All three held a bell in their hands.

Kakashi looked on as each member held a bell; so they had
passed, but when had they gotten one? It took Kakashi a moment to figure it
out, but now it made sense what she had done. ‘The Sakura I attacked with
the genjutsu was a clone, but I have yet to figure out where she was during
this. She must have been watching their backs to protect them from afar. When
she turned me around she must have grabbed them then. She’s smart, I’ll give
her that. She knows how to use the shadow clone without even a thought. Maybe
she won’t hold them back as much as I thought she would. I would hate to see
what she could do later when she finally grows up. She will be a force to be
reckoned with.’ Kakashi got up from the ground and looked at each of his
students. He was proud to call her one of his students. “You
all pass, and Sakura; welcome to Team 7.” The words were out of his
mouth more than a second and he was being hugged.

When Kakashi spoke those words to them Sakura was so happy.
She had completed another one of her goals, now all she had to do was make sure
everything else went as planned. Sakura was so happy she so acted before she
really thought her actions through and hugged Kakashi. He didn’t hug her back,
but he did pat her on her shoulder and head. Looking up to face him, while
still hugging him she told him what was on her mind, “Thank you Kakashi, I will
make you proud.” She let him go and faced the other members of Team 7. Naruto
was beaming a hundred watt smile while Sasuke wore a neutral expression. But,
his eyes gave him away, he was silently pleased; for
that she was glad. Naruto suggested they all head back
to the village and let the Hokage know what the verdict was.

On the way back Sasuke silently watched Sakura as she joked
around with Naruto. He would never admit it out loud, but she was a lot better
then Jada by far. ‘Even though I said she was
weak, she is a lot stronger then the girls I’ve known. One thing is for sure,
she is feisty.’ Where no one would notice, he smiled,
a very tiny smile. He followed the others as they all walked into the village.
After getting so far into the village he was attacked by Ino as they walked by
a restaurant her team always frequently ate at.

The group stopped as Sasuke tried to pry Ino off of him,
with no luck, but she was being quite clingy. Sakura finally took pity on her
new teammate and tapped Ino on the shoulder to get her attention. When they
didn’t work, she smirked and decided to resort to a name she knew would get her
attention. “Excuse me Miss Ino Pig, but could you please let go of my teammate
before you suffocate him.” When she saw that Ino’s body went stiff she knew she
had hit the nerve where she wanted.

Ino saw Sasuke walking by the window and had to jump him. Jada finally wasn’t around to bother her,
she so could finally show him how she felt for him. When she clung to him she
was tapped on the shoulder, but she just ignored it, savoring her time with the
hottie. But, when she was all of a sudden got called a pig, she turned around
ready to pick a fight with the girl. When she finally turned around she came
face to face with a girl she had never seen before. She was beautiful and she
seemed to process a strength that others lacked in her stance. Ino let go of
Sasuke and stood in front of her, extending her hand. “Name's Ino Yamanaka, and
what’s yours? And why the hell did you call me Ino pig, you billboard brow,”
demanded Ino angrily as she screamed the name into Sakura’s face..

Sakura looked as Ino got mad at her nickname, but she
couldn’t be mad at her for calling her that nickname. All she could do was
laugh at the name; it was like old times, just a little different. It was nice
to finally be called billboard brow again, since it did bring up some fond
memories of their past together. When Sakura finally stopped laughing she had a
couple people looking at her strangely. She covered her mouth to stop her
giggles from escaping. ‘It’s kind of nice to relax a little and remember
some of the good times.’ “I’m sorry about that Ino, but you reminded me of
a good friend of mine who use to call me that all the time. Her
and I were the best of friends, but also the best of rivals. She never wanted
to be in my shadow, just like I didn’t want in hers. My name is Sakura Haruno
and I'm Team 7’s new teammate since Jada is resigning
from being a ninja.” Said Sakura as she shook Ino’s hand, and smiled at her.

Ino was shocked as she learned about Jada
resigning, but since when? Ino wasn’t going to complain though, because that
girl was just too damn annoying to be around. She took one last look at Sakura
and had to say she was nice. ‘I don’t know what’s about her, but I feel like
I want to get to know her better and maybe become friends. I’m surprised she
didn’t get mad at me calling her that name, but if she said a friend use to
call her that, then maybe I can too.’ Ino smiled and turned around to face
the rest of her teammates and teacher who were all staring at the cherry haired
girl. “Sakura, I would like to introduce you to my teammates. This is Chouji
Akimichi, Shikamaru Nara, and this other guy is our teacher Asuma Sarutobi and
we are known as squad 10.” As she said the names she pointed to each member of
her team, and each one said their hellos.

Asuma looked at the girl in front of him, and it took him a
while to place where he had seen her. She was the same one from the academy
training grounds, but she was younger and looked different. He was about to say
something about her, when Sakura interrupted him.

Sakura saw the acknowledgment in his eyes and knew he had
figured out who she was. Well, it was bound to happen since there was only one
girl in the village that had pink hair. Stepping up to Asuma she extended her
hand waiting for him to acknowledge her friendship offered. “I have heard a lot
about you, Asuma, from your father. He knows everything and said to tell you
when I see you that if you have any questions you can
ask him. Please accept my apologies for startling you.”

Asuma looked at her hand and shook it; he would get his
answers another time when there was no one around. Or, he could go to his
father and demand answers, but that wouldn’t work very well in his favor. ‘I
will just have to keep an eye on her when I can. I need to see if she is up to
anything that will threaten the village. So she is a member of Team 7, I wonder
what caused Jada to resign? I will have to look into
this a little bit, but not now. Maybe after the exams.’

With Asuma taken care of, Sakura turned her attention to Ino
and getting a friendship started. After talking for a couple minutes they
decided on meeting to get to know each other better. The rest of Team 7 headed
back towards the tower to visit with the Hokage. When Sakura noticed that
Kakashi was gripping his book a little tighter than normal she knew he was in
pain. She stopped to face the group, “Hey, why don’t you two take Kakashi to
the hospital to get healed up? And make sure he stays there until they release
him. I’ll go tell the Hokage the news, besides I was wanting
to stop in a shop and get something.” When the boys nodded their heads, they
took their very reluctant teacher to get healed.

After they were out of sight she turned around to face the
shop she wanted to enter. She needed some more needles after using a lot of
them and not retrieving them. ‘Oh well, I wanted to get my sword sharpened
anyway. It has been a couple of months since it was last cleaned and it might
need its blade worked over again. Well, this shop in the future was the best,
so I’m sticking with the best.’ With that thought Sakura walked into the
weapons shop and stopped in front of the desk. When no one came to help her she
started to look around at some weapons she might consider purchasing. She did
need to restock her scroll again, and it was always better to have it ready for
anything. She was about to walk towards a display of custom design kunai when
she heard hurried footsteps approaching her. From the back door, stepped TenTen
carrying an armload of weapons. Seeing that she was about to lost some of the
weapons Sakura stepped in and helped take some of the load from her tired arms.

TenTen was tired. She had been training with Neji for the
last six hours and she was exhausted and she still had to work in the shop her
grandfather owned. She was too busy to notice that there was someone at the
front desk needing help and wouldn’t have known anyone was there until later.
When she came from the back she couldn’t see over the pile of swords, lances
and other weapons to see in front of her. She was about to lose the load, when
half the weapons were taken out of her hands. She looked up to see a girl she
had never seen before. She was about to protest that a customer was helping
her, until the girl shook her head, stopping the words on her lips. Not wanting
to look a gift horse in the mouth she took the added help from a moment.

After she set them on the table so she could put them where
they belonged, she watched as the girl followed her movement. Turning to face
the customer finally and get a good look, she noticed that she was a kunoichi
since she had the pouches tied to her leg. “Thanks for the help, and sorry I
wasn’t here earlier to help you, I was getting more supplies to put out. What
can I do for you?”

“Well, if you don’t mind, I would like your name. My name is
Sakura Haruno and I am the new replacement for Jada
in Team 7. And before you ask, she is resigning since being a kunoichi isn’t
what she thought it was. But, I came in the shop because I need a sword of mine
worked on again to make it new again.” Spoke Sakura as she held out her hand to
TenTen. She didn’t know that her luck would be smiling down on her, but she was
not complaining.

“Oh, I am so sorry! I forgot to introduce myself since you
look new around here. My name is TenTen Hawk. So Jada
is finally quitting, but I guess it’s about time since she was being nothing
but a pain. So, your teacher is Kakashi Hatake, well that would make your group
our rivals,” said TenTen as she shook Sakura’s offered hand.

“So, I have heard from a couple of sources, but I hope that
doesn’t make you want to hate me. I really am a nice person once you get to
know me. I saw your fight with Temari of Sand and I have to say you did well,
against a strong opponent. But, besides visiting with you, I need you to fix
one of my weapons back to its glory. I do not have it with me, but I can bring
it by later and have you start to work on it. I would love to visit with you
longer, but I have other errands to run before I eat my dinner.” Said Sakura as she started to head for the door.

TenTen nodded her head and told her that she would be here
all night until they closed at six p.m.
With those plans made, Sakura left and hoped she might be able to get to the
tower and not run into anymore of her friends. She didn’t know how much more
she could take. When she was outside she decided to take the more direct
approach to the office and took to the roofs.

When she finally reached the tower she ran up the stairs and
asked the secretary if she could give the Hokage a message since he was busy.
It was about four in the afternoon and that meant he was talking with the
village councilors; and knowing those older people, they would be a while. When
she finishing telling the message to the secretary, she left to get some food
to eat or at least get the fresh vegetables for tonight’s dinner. She got her
fresh food and headed home so she could finally put something else in her
stomach beside the ramen she had for breakfast.

On her way to her apartment she also saw Kiba walking with
Hinata. She couldn’t wait to visit with them again, but for now, she would
wait. Once she got to her apartment she started making her dinner. She cut the
fresh vegetables and started to steam them, while she started seasoning the
meat. While the two items were cooking she started on the cream sauce; that
would take the least amount of time to prepare. When the sauce was finally starting
to cook, she boiled some water for her noodles. When everything was done
cooking, she combined the drained noodles, meat and sauce together to mixed it.
Once it was done she put a good serving on her plate and some steamed veggies
and ate her meal.

While Sakura was eating she thought on all the progress she
had made on making friends with the people here. Sakura had to smile
remembering how the training/test had turned out for her and she had gained her
team back. After she was done she washed her dishes, and changed her clothes.
She wanted to get more training in, but this time with something that wouldn’t
be afraid to attack her. Changing her appearance back to her older self she
changed her clothes back to her original outfit she had arrived in. Once she
was done she disappeared and reappeared in the forest.

*~*In
another part of town*~*

Temari couldn’t stay still, it had only been one day since
the match between Gaara and Rock Lee and he was already driving her nuts. She
couldn’t stand to be in the same room as him for more than a couple hours and
she had been with him the whole day. His thirst for blood and death was almost
too much to bare and she couldn’t stand his stare.
When Kankurou finally came back from sightseeing to watch their psychotic brother,
she headed to the place she knew she could blow off some steam and not get
seen.

When she finally got to the Forest
of Death she slipped past the guard
using her fan to fly above him. Once she was in the forest she ran to the
center so she could maybe find some prey to kill. It took her a couple of hours
to reach the center, but she noticed that she wasn’t alone. Stopping on one of
the trees branches where she could see the ninja fighting against some of the
forest bugs. What caught her interest was the weapon in the girl’s hand; it was
a gigantic fan, just like hers, but the only difference was the design painted
on it. She watched as the kunoichi finished off all of the attacking bugs and
stood with her back towards her. Temari couldn’t believe that she could use the
fan without any problems and she looked like a natural using it. She decided
she didn’t want to face her and turned to leave.

Sakura continued to fight the bugs as they continued to
hound her with their attacks. They really were simple-minded creatures, but
once the Aburame clan controlled them then they became a valuable weapon to
have. During her fight she felt the familiar chakra of an old friend
approaching her. ‘I guess I shouldn’t be surprised, since she was the one
who told me about this place in the first place.' It was an excellent place
to work out and relieve a little stored up stress. When she felt her watcher
just observing she decided to just let it go. When she was finally done she
felt Temari about to leave and decided to stop her. When she turned around she
saw her in the process of a jump and hollered at her. “Since you came all this
way, why don’t you stay a while, Sand kunoichi. I
promise not to be in your way, but if it will make you feel better I’m willing
to spar with you. It will give me a workout and I am guessing that this is what
you are seeking coming into this forest late at night.”

Temari stopped on the branch and turned to face the girl who
was talking to her. What she saw made she step back slightly. The girl before
her wore some interesting clothing, but that wasn’t what caught her attention,
it was her eyes. Her eyes weren’t normal, they held pain; it wasn’t ordinary
pain in their depths but unseen. She had seen similar looks in Elder Chiyo’s eyes, but not to this extent. While she eyes spoke
volumes of what she had seen, she stood as if she didn’t have a care in the
world, and wore a smile. She jumped down from the tree and walked over towards
the other female. Once she was a couple feet from her she stopped.

Sakura watched as Temari looked into her eyes and smiled
inwardly. She could never hide secrets from Temari in the past, so she didn’t
really want to start now, but she would have to hold some of it back. So she
allowed her eyes to reflect what her inner turmoil was. When Temari finally
approached, her she smiled and knew she had accepted her proposal for a spar.
She never could turn down a good fight. When she stopped she stated the rules.
“This will be a friendly spar and since we both have fans, I say we use that as
our primary weapon of choice and use another, if we see fit. The first to
either draw blood or forces the other to call forfeit wins. Since it’s so late,
I say we spar for an hour and if neither one of us has won, it’s a draw. Deal?” Sakura stuck her hand out for Temari to shack to
approve of the terms and she wasn’t disappointed when she grasped her hand hard
and shook.

Temari approved of the rules and knew she would finally have
some fun. Grasping her hand hard she wasn’t surprised when she squeezed back.
With the rules understood, they started their little game. Temari watched how
as soon as their hands disconnected, the girl disappeared from in front of her,
using her fan. ‘She used the same move I did against that brat in the exams,
but she’s a lot faster. I might enjoy this match a lot more than I thought.’
Looking around and not finding her target, she decided to get her attention
another way. Pulling her fan out, she opened it all the way. With all moons
showing, she lifting the fan and swung the fan in the general direction she
would have gone. She didn’t want to bring the anbu into the forest so the sharp
blades of the wind just cut into the bark of the trees. When she didn’t come
out of the forest, she tried to pick up on her chakra signature, but she felt
nothing. ‘Where the hell could she be?’ Thought Temari angrily.

From her perch on top of the tree above Temari, Sakura
watched as she launched her first attack. She had to smile at her antics, too
bad she knew all of Temari’s moves inside and out, plus the ones she developed
later. Deciding to make her entrance, she jumped off the branch and closed her
fan. As she got closer, she brought the fan down to hit her in the back, but
Temari must have sensed her attack because she was blocking her fan with her
own fan.

Temari, feeling a shift in the wind around her, turned
around to see the girl about to hit her in the back. She quickly brought her
fan up to hold in both hands and barely blocked the blow. The girl was only
using one arm to press down and it took both of hers to keep the fan up, but
she was slowly losing ground. After a moment she came up with a plan to win the
match and decided to execute it. Using the girl’s momentum against her, Temari
dropped her weapon to the ground and rolled to the side on her opponent. From
the side she grabbed the end on the fan's handle and pulled.

Sakura applied some charka to her arm to try and bring
Temari to her knees, but when she dropped her weapon and rolled Sakura jumped
into the air. She knew that move and it wasn’t a move used often since it could
leave your back open to attack, but it left your opponent open as well. ‘With
the fan being on the ground she can swing it and knock my feet out from under
me, but what I hate most is when it breaks the ankle bones. Hmm, what are you
up to?’ Looking down she saw that Temari had grabbed the fan and swung it
again at her. This time instead of blades of wind, it was sand. ‘So, that’s
your game. Well, I think two can play at that game sister.’ Once the sand storm finally stopped Sakura stepped out from behind
her shelter. “Nice, but don’t might if I return the favor,” yelled
Sakura as she combined both attacks into one at Temari.

Temari jumped behind a tree and dodged the attack barely, but
what she thought would be a simple sand attack as so turned into as the wind
blades cutting everything. “Well, she’s good. I have to give her that,” said
Temari softly as she poked her head from behind the tree to see where she was.
Pulling her head back, she dodged the edge of the fan’s blade inches from her
face. Moving from her spot, she continued to block and dodge the fan's blade. ‘Well
there goes that plan.’

The two continued on their game of cat and mouse with each
other for the whole hour. It was at the last moment that each of them decided
to pull the same movie. They performed it in such a way that if anyone had seen
it, they would have thought it was a dance. Both blades were at each other’s
throat and each had a ribbon of blood falling from their necks. Both nodded
their heads and stepped back from one another and placed their weapon in the
respected places. It was Temari who broke the silence between them.

“I haven’t seen a person wield a fan like you. I have to say
you sure put up a fight. I never imagined it would be a tie. By the way, my
name is Temari of the Desert. What’s yours?” Asked Temari to
the kunoichi standing in front of her.

“My name is Sakura Haruno and I have used a fan for the last
five years. A good friend of mine taught me how to use it. Well Temari, it’s
getting late so you and I need to head home and get some sleep. So good night
and hope to see you again, maybe later,” said Sakura as she started to leave.

Temari was watching her leave when a flicker of light caught
a piece of metal on her waist, tied to the belt. Gasping, she covered her mouth
and saw that Sakura had stop walking and was now facing her with a smile. ‘She
has a sand headband, so could she know of our plans and came to tell someone?
That means she knows of my brother, and..,’ her thoughts were never
finished.

“I see you saw the headband on my waist. Yes, I have been to
the Sand Village
before and I know of your brother and what he holds inside of him. It’s sad,
really, since he never really got to live a happy childhood, which made him who
he is now. But, I guess in the long run it was a good time since his destiny is
to change for the better.” Said Sakura as she leaned against tree behind her
and watched Temari’s face.

Saying that Temari was shocked would be an understatement.
“You mean to tell me that Gaara will change, but how?” She needed to know. She
may not have shown it, but she did care for her brother, when he wasn’t
threatening to kill her.

“That’s easy. He will be set straight with his battle against
Naruto. I know that he will be fighting Sasuke Uchiha, but as you know that
match will never finish.” Said Sakura as she waited for Temari to respond to
what she had just informed her of. Sakura wished she had family here, but she
was alone until she could trust people with her secrets.

Temari took some steps back and gasped, the kunoichi knew of
their plans, but how. “What…what do you mean?”

“Temari, please don’t play dumb because I know you are
anything but. I know because I have seen it, but it’s not my place to interfere
in the matter. I may be of the Leaf village, but to step in wouldn’t allow the
course of history to take place. I am telling you this because I know of your
love for your brother, even when you try to hide it. If you want you brother to
change for the better, then tell no one of our meeting and I will not kill you.
You too hold an important part in the making of history. Oh, and Temari
treasure the time you have with your brother, because life is short,” said
Sakura as she started to walk away from Temari with sadness lingering in her
emerald depths. When she was far enough away she disappeared into the shadows.

Temari stood in shock as she watched Sakura leave, but she
never once raised her weapon to her. ‘If what she says is true, then the
battle plans work and we take over leaf, but what did she mean by that Naruto
kid? I guess I will have to see what happens, but I hope she is right,’
thought Temari as she to disappeared and headed home. She would keep her
silence for now and she if what she said was true. If so, she would seek her
out later.

Sakura reappeared outside the Forest
of Death, changed her appearance,
and headed home, but decided to make a stop real fast. Taking the path to a
road she knew all too well, which lead her to the bench. When she stood in
front of it, she remembered that night for more than one reason. She started to
feel the tears well up, but didn’t allow them to fall; she had cried enough
near this bench, she was here to chance things. ‘Sasuke why you chose to die
here, I will never truly know, but I guess it held a special bond to us. I wish
you would have let me try to heal you that night, but I guess you were always a
little stubborn.’ Sakura sat on the bench and looked up at the stars. ‘It
was on a night just like this that you left me both times, but yet I still love
the bench, the full moon and the stars. They tie me to you somehow, besides
having your eyes.’ After about thirty minutes Sakura turned her head
towards the trees and bushes. “You might as well come out Sasuke,
I felt your chakra a while ago. So, what do you need?”

Sasuke stepped out of the shadows and walked towards her to
stand in front of her. He had been following her since she walked past the
ramen stand. Kakashi had talked Naruto out of taking him to the hospital, after
promising to take him for ramen. After he had promised Naruto he would, Naruto
still took him since he had promised Sakura he would. But, Kakashi had still
kept his word even after going to the hospital. When he had seen her walking by
in a daze, he followed her. He didn’t know what she was doing out here, but she
was strange. ‘She’s not like the other girls I’ve been around. She doesn’t
try and get my attention, but she did somehow.’ “What are you doing out
here so late Sakura? Aren’t you supposed to be home with your family?” Asked Sasuke with his hands in his pockets.

‘Well, that’s the most I’ve heard out of his mouth in a
while. Wait, is that a faint hint of concern laced within that question? I must
be more tired than I thought.’ Sakura looked up at Sasuke and smiled half
way, which surprised him. “Well, I wanted to come out here and get some fresh
air, and I have no family here. I live by myself in an apartment. But, now that
you mention it, I had better get home, I do have a
busy couple of days ahead of me. See you at the match.... and Sasuke? Good
luck,” said Sakura as she stood up and walked towards her home. When she was
far enough away she turned her head towards him, “Oh and Sasuke, don’t get too
cocky. I don’t want to give you a repeat performance from the training grounds.
Bye!” Winked Sakura and with that last word she disappeared in a puff of smoke.

Sasuke was about to ask her what she meant, but he never got
the chance when she disappeared. “Hn,” was all Sasuke
said as he headed back towards the ramen stand to meet up with his teacher. ‘Maybe
this girl is worth a closer look,’ thought Sasuke as a smile graced his
mouth. He was going to have fun.

*~*~*~*~*~*

Authors Note:

Everyone thanks for the reviewing and placing this story
into your favorites and alert listing. I also want to say that I’m going to be
revising some of the chapters that have been posted for errors on realism.
Also, some parts that I didn’t think of before, but have been brought to my
attention will get fixed or things added. I’ll let you know.

Alright people, I know you might be asking about were this
is going, but never fear it’s getting there. Sakura has now caught Sasuke’s
interest and she didn’t even want it, so what’s she going to do now? Just wait
and see! :D Things from here will start to pick up more and things will start
to become clear and what I want to happen.

I have tried to keep everyone in character, but with Sakura
being older and more experienced she has a tendency to have a little fun once
in a while. Sakura is not always going to be this strong and you will see that
later because time is catching up with her and so are her memories. She can’t
hide forever. She can only run and hide for so long from them, and besides she
does have a role to play so people do not find out who she is, but people are
bound to find out or get told. Wait and see!

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