The scolding water ran down my back and I shivered. How long ago had it been since I was warm? Four, five years? At least that maybe more. It had been so long since they died.

The water burned my skin and steam rolled in all directions but I couldn't stand the cold. The freezing, the ice that crept its way over my heart. Funny I used to have a heart. That was nice. I remember the warmth I felt, the heat that radiated from everyone around me. It felt good to remember and the ice receded just a little bit.

"Com'on Sakura!" A voice called interrupting my thoughts. "We don't want our little students to wait. Not like the seventh Hokage."

Ahh yes. Kakashi was always late. It used to make them so mad. I would like to see them mad again. I would like to see them happy again. I would like to see them again. It would be nice.

I shut off the water and stepped out of the shower, steam rolling off my body. I could see three burns, one on my arm one on my leg and one on stomach. Hmm. Perhaps the water was just a little too hot.

I wrapped the towel around me and scurried through the door sliding it away as I went. My clothes were next to my bed and with a shrug they were on. I went out to meet the voice.

Ino was sitting on the table, staring down at the ground smiling just a little. A tear just barely detected. I remembered too. Both of them. Their fierce competition and good natured hate for each other. The way they fed off each other in ways neither Ino nor I could imagine. Funny how she and I became friends after they died. There was no need to any more. And then we needed each other.

"Don't." I whispered. "They wouldn't want that."

Ino looked at me and smiled wider. She nodded and we jumped, out the window, to the roof across the road, down a ways and around the corner. On and on we went. I remembered how I would travel with them. The laughs, the fun, the idea they would get. Especially our team Maverick. I didn't know Ino had left. She was long gone before I woke up.

I heard my team before I saw them. They were in the middle of a very over used clearing with no grass and the trees almost too thin to even bother as cover. There was a boy with black hair and very bright blue eyes yelling at a brunette girl who was rolling her blue eyes in exasperation. She had a birth mark on her left ear in the shape of a small dove.

"Com'on Yabi!!" The boy glared at the other boy. "You can't seriously like Kariudo that much."

"Shut up, Taka!!" She yelled back.

The blond boy rolled his brown eyes in exasperation. I could see the anger in his shoulders and the impactice in his step. Well he wouldn't have to wait long would he?

I purposely shook my branch before dashing away across to the other side of the clearing and remained hidden in a bush. The boy tensed and waved his companions silent. They stood for two minutes before I tackled the girl and held a kunai to her throat. Both boys drew weapons and advanced but stopped when I jerked her head up and pressed the knife deeper to her throat. The black-haired boy held out pleading hand but I shook my head.

"By now, the girl would be dead," I whispered emotionlessly. "And both you and the blond would be mortally wounded. Next time keep your voice down."

I got off the girl who jumped to her feet and scurried behind the two boys glaring at me the entire time. I didn't smile, just blinked as all three advanced on me. The girl drew a throwing needle barely deadly unless hitting a vital place. Sometimes I wish I had died when we faced Haku. Then there would be no pain and no ice and I might have a heart. Maybe…

The girls threw her needles one by one each hidden in the shadow of another. I dodged them easily and both boys attacked in synchronization coming with a punch at with sides. I ducked and they hit each other in a very classic way. The girl was performing a jutsu but I hadn't to worry. The black haired falling boy fell into it instead. It was easy after that. The black haired boy was handicapped and the girl worn out by her attempt. The blond was still fighting but he wasn't faster then me. In less then ten minutes I had all three of them tied to a different tree and all their weapons removed. The weapons sat on the other end of the clearing far away.

"Now are you ready to listen to me?" I asked glumly. Their energy reminded me of when I was young and had certain friends. All of them nodded. "Alright then. If you must know I am your Sensei Haruno Sakura. You needn't have attacked me.

All three of them stopped squirming and looked at each other, at me, and back again. They repeated this for awhile but I got their attention when I moved towards the blond haired boy. He stiffened and the girl glared. I pulled off the gag and he spit licking his lips and wetting his mouth.

"How about we all say something about ourselves yes?" I offered. I had decided early to copy Kakshi's teaching as I had no idea how. "I'll go first. I am Hurano Sakura. Call me Sakura-sensei. I have no hobbies. I like nothing and I hate nothing. I want to be nothing and my goal is to make sure you don't die."

I nodded at the boy without the gag and he began looking perplexed. "I'm Izuma Kariudo. My hobby is training. I like to train. I hate not training or wasting time while I am training. I want to train some more and my goal is to train as hard as I can."

As I expected, this boy was almost like…. It didn't matter. He was all about training and maybe he needed to get a friend. Some one outside the Ninja Academy.

I walked to the boy who was in the middle and ripped off the gag. He smacked his lips and cleared his throat.

"Hi," he called loudly around him. "I'm Uchiha Taka. I like to eat chicken. And I want to be the eighth Hokage you'll see. I hate having to sallow food and my hobby is swimming. My goal is to beat Kariudo."

The girl made an exasperated noise through her gag and the blond rolled his eyes. I had heard of this boy. One of the many children Itachi had sired on his missions for the Akatsuki. This one was obviously not his personality type though he did look an awful lot like…never mind. Taka didn't have the Sharingan eye yet, but if he was related to Itachi there would be not doubt he would get it. I would have to keep a close eye on him. Itachi and…someone else were his relatives and both of them had turned against people. Better to be safe then sorry.

I removed the girl's gag and she coughed and managed to croak. "I am Inuzuka Yabi. Umm… I like…well it's not really some thing more like some one really… a boy…" She stole a glance at Kariudo. These words were sounding vaguely fimilar. "My hobby is collecting leaves and I hate cats. I want to be a good shinobi if not the best. And my goal is to master the basic jutsu's there are."

This girl was reasonable at least. She would never make an elite or even lead her cell but she would be a good second in command. She would be a good fighter a good thinker and her ruffled hair reminded me of Kiba.

"You're Kiba's girl aren't you?" I asked. Yabi looked startled but nodded. "Of course. I glad he at least survived. How's he doing, girl?"

"He's fine I think." She scrunched her nose like he often did. "I haven't seen him in a couple of months. When he's home, I'm training and when I'm home he's on a mission. I got his sense of smell though."

Yes she would be a fine ninja. I would be almost glad to teach her. Almost because I would never be glad until they came home. And they weren't ever. Never ever. Because they were dead. And I, I was still alive. To regret ever being so weak. Ever not being in control of either them. So that they didn't have to do that. Any of that.

"Alright," I stared at them face unreadable as it had been since that day. "I'll see you tomorrow at this time. Eat a good breakfast and don't be late. Because I won't tolerate lateness."

I untied each of them and the bowed in turn murmuring, "Sakura-sensei," before leaving each treading almost undetectable across the clearing. The Uchiha boy picked up his weapons and the four left over was split between the Kiba's girl and Izuma. It worried me just a little to find a boy so dependant on physical weapons and almost none of the mind but Tenten had survived although just barely and if he was of the Uchiha clan he would make it. I knew he would even though his family history wasn't so good.

I left after they did, leaving no trace of our activity as any good shinobi, and walked back to my house. Ino was already there. She was over all the time. Best of friends.