Disclaimer: Don't own it. Please also read the Authors note at the bottom.

Sakura was pissed.

She had performed the forbidden jutsu to send her back in time... to a place where she could stop Sasuke from leaving, a place where she could prevent the Third from dying... where she could stop Konoha being destroyed... With all the information they'd discovered about Akatsuki and Madara everything could be different. The gift of hindsight...

But there was a detail that the Scroll had omitted... Or perhaps had never comprehended? It was pure theory anyway – nobody had ever been heard of actually succeeding at it. Nobody had ever had the precise chakra control to manage it. She was lucky to even be alive and in one piece.

She should be grateful.

She SHOULD be.

But right now, her irritation eclipsed any feelings of gratefulness.

She had returned to the past, sure, but not as her eighteen year old self – she was once again, a twelve year old academy student, with all the same limitations she had once fought so hard to expand. In fact, today was her last day (once again) as Iruka's student.

They'd have graduation, a quick lunch, meet their sensei, and then she could sneak away. She told her mother she would be staying at a friend's place in celebration, and packed her bag in case she wouldn't get home that night.

She was struck by an overwhelming sense of nostalgia as she raced Ino to the academy, and watched Sasuke and Naruto share their first accidental kiss... although this time she laughed rather than reacted in outrage. A reaction which brought her bewildered stares.

Throughout the morning an intense feeling of discomfort settled upon her. Her friends, once dead, were now alive and racing about around her. They were busy passing notes, falling asleep on their desks, or playing ninja during morning tea... But she had never felt so distant from them.

Here she was, surrounded by her previous peers which now seemed so childish. Well, they were children, and that was hardly their fault, but she felt the massive gap between them – the lack of trust that she had spent years building with them.

Currently, Iruka was the closest to her true age and abilities, but she could not confide in him any more than she could confide in the young children playing around her.

She tried not to interfere with events, however, and let them roll on as normal. She wanted as much as possible to be predictable. She noticed with amusement that Iruka-sensei did indeed notice many of the things she thought he'd been unaware of when she was the child. She saw him glance at Kiba every now and again as the young Inuzuka was dropping off, and almost laughed when he stalked up to his desk and slammed it when the dog boy started to finally fall asleep. He'd timed it perfectly to get the most dramatic response out of the boy.

Well, Sakura thought, you need to entertain yourself somehow in a job like this or you'd go crazy!

She'd learnt as much when she had filled in at the Academy a couple years ago when she had covered another teacher's leave.

The day dragged on until Kakashi finally turned up and took them out to introduce themselves.

'Perhaps I can make myself look like less of an idiot, though?' Sakura thought to herself. 'After all, the fan-girl behaviour put a barrier between Sasuke and I last time... And I want him to stay in this reality...'

After Naruto's enthusiastic introduction about ramen and his aspiration to be Hokage, it was her turn.

'Shit, what should I say...'

"My likes..." she began thoughtfully. "Are reading up on theory, jutsu, politics and the like. My dislikes... When people are disrespectful. And my dream is to become a powerful medic-nin, so I can protect my village."

'Should have thought that through better. I sounded like an idiot,' she grimaced internally. Still, at least she didn't sound like a fangirl...

She glanced sideways sadly as she heard Sasuke repeat his vow of revenge. How could she ease that kind of pain? Especially when he didn't even like her...

As soon as the group introductions were over, she made her way to the Hokage's office, making sure she didn't appear to be in a rush or look suspicious in any way.

When she reached his door she knocked loudly and let herself in without waiting for permission. Luckily he didn't seem to be in a meeting.

"Hokage-sama," Sakura addressed the Third, bowing her head in respect. "I need to speak with you urgently."

The old man surveyed her for a minute, raising an eyebrow at her abrupt entrance. "Go ahead."

Sakura eyed his attendants with trepidation. One was a jounin she recognized from the chuunin exams – Hayate something. The other two she didn't recognize.

"...This is a matter I would rather discuss with you privately," she admitted uneasily. "I... came into some information that I need to pass on to you directly."

She watched the Hokage's gaze turn steel.

"Leave us."

'Great, now where do I start...' she stressed. 'If I don't make this sound believable he'll send me to Morino-san's 'Honesty Room'." ... A thought that only proved to make her more nervous. '...Whatever is necessary...'

"Speak."

'Here we go...'

"Hokage-sama, I warn you in advance what I am about to tell you sounds highly unbelievable... but, if you see it necessary, I will undergo any tests you deem suitable," she paused to let her words sink in. "I have used a forbidden jutsu... one that has never been successfully performed... To travel back in time. I come from six years in the future."

"...And what possessed you to do such a thing?" the Third asked through narrowed eyes, his fingers forming a steeple.

"Things... are not good where I come from," she explained. "Konoha was destroyed... There were very few survivors. I was hoping... I could change things."

The Third took a moment to let this sink in.

"You're a genin," he stated. "You just graduated from Umino Iruka's class. I placed you in Hatake Kakashi's team a week ago."

"A side effect of time travel," she scratched her head in embarrassment, knowing just how ridiculous she must seem. "Since I already existed in this timeline, I returned to my body as it was. Where I'm from, I'm eighteen, and a jounin ranked medical nin trained by Tsunade, the Fifth Hokage."

"So I am dead."

"Yes...Your sacrifice saved us the first time Konoha almost got destroyed. Although... I'm hoping that might not be necessary this time around..." she gave him a sorrowful glance. "I would like to debrief you in full, and ask your guidance. I am aware that I must limit my meddling in order for my comrades to grow, and for events to be predictable enough to act accordingly."

"I see... you might as well start at the beginning."

And so began the long re-telling of the Destruction of Konoha.

She spoke of the awakening of the Ninetails during the encounter with Haku and Zabuza, she spoke of the Sound-Sand Alliance, the murder of the Kazekage, Kabuto's infiltration, the attack on the village during the chuunin exams – resulting in the death of the Third, Hayate (which she may not have remembered if she hadn't seen him a few minutes prior), and the sealing of Orochimaru's arms. Sasuke's betrayal. She spoke of Shukaku, the one tailed demon, of Gaara's bond with Naruto, his appointment as Kazekage and the strong alliance drawn between them. She spoke of Akatsuki in great detail: Orochimaru's desertation, Deidara's kidnapping of Gaara, her victory over Sasori, Hidan's murder of Asuma-sensei and Shikamaru's consequent revenge, the victory over Kakuzu, the death of Jiraiya and the identity and reformation of Pein and Konan... along with the destruction and resurrection of Konoha. She then spoke of Itachi, Danzo and Madara... how they had all been deceived. She spoke of Danzo's appointment as the Sixth Hokage while Tsunade was recovering... the meeting of the Five Kage's, and the appearance of Zetsu, Sasuke and co. And Madara. His failed attempt at the Moon's Eye plan, and the release of the tailed demons, resulting in large scale slaughter, as well as the final destruction of Konoha and almost all that she held dear.

Finally, she spoke of the impromptu plan she had contrived with one of the last remaining survivors. And her final trip to the past... here.

Hours had passed since she began and it was getting dark fast. She was glad she'd made an excuse for her mother.

"That's quite a tale," the Third said, taking another puff on his pipe. He seemed stoic as ever, completely unaffected by the impossible story that Sakura had regaled... But she knew he was mulling it over mentally. "I can... appreciate your request for privacy. And the necessity to ensure specific events still occur..."

"I would like to make a request, Hokage-sama," Sakura breathed, beginning to feel weariness creep up on her."

"Being?" The Third asked in curiosity.

"Well, two requests, really," she blushed. "Firstly. That... a few individuals receive this information. A few select few. These being Jiraiya, Kakashi and perhaps Ibiki... Gaara after his appointment as Kazekage... and perhaps a few more – the Konoha 11 after the chuunin exams. It may be worthwhile to get Yamanaka Inoichi to analyze my memories in detail."

"I can see the benefits," he agreed. "I will think on this and get back to you. We still have a period of peace, so I will start making preparations. What was your second request?"

"In order that I don't raise suspicion... I'd like to receive medic-training on my time off. It would seem suspicious for a genin to be able to do what I can do, and I'd like to avoid that at all costs, but in case of situations that might need my skills, I'd like to be available to use them," she explained hesitantly. "I would need you to put me in a position where I could do this without it affecting my involvement in Team 7. Although it would mean having to 're-learn' everything I already know, I think I need to build up my stamina. I'm... much weaker as I am now."

"I see," the Third nodded. "Your talents are something which should not be stifled or wasted. I will see what I can do. However, I will require you to keep a low profile and report in to me often. I want to know if anything, no matter how inconsequential has changed from the way you remembered it."

"Of course."

"Now, was there anything else?"

"I... no." 'I told my Mum I'd be out all night...'

"What is it?" the Hokage questioned.

"I... told my mother I'd stay at a friend's tonight," she admitted a little awkwardly. "It doesn't matter, it's just an excuse to go camping."

The Hokage smiled in both relief and amusement.

"Go let my attendants back in," he requested, smirk still in place.

Sakura obeyed immediately.

"Hayate, Sakura, stay behind," the Hokage commanded. "You two are dismissed."

The two unknown figures disappeared in a moment, while Hayate was eying the pinkette in curiosity. 'What,' he wondered, 'could a kid genin this age have to say for so long to the Hokage?'

"Hayate, you are to put Sakura up for the night," the Third commanded. "No questions are to be asked regarding her visit."

"Hokage-sama, that really isn't necessary," Sakura appealed, embarrassed at imposing on someone she'd never talked to.

"You have to pass Kakashi's test tomorrow morning," the Third addressed her in good humour. "Do you really want to spend the night in the forest?"

"Ano, not really, but I don't want to impose on Hayate-san," she objected.

Said Hayate-san raised a brow at her. "I do not mind."

"Then it is settled. Sakura, you will report back in the day after tomorrow. I will send for you when I need you," the Third nodded at her, and with that, they left.

Sakura followed Hayate quietly. She was struck again with the strangeness of her situation. In her time... he was dead. Here he was, perfectly... well, not perfectly healthy as such. He was dangerously underweight, and every now and again, he would cover his mouth and cough.

"You're sick," Sakura stated with sympathy.

"Astute observation," he glanced sideways at her. "Sakura, was it?"

"Haruno Sakura," she amended.

"Gekkou Hayate," he replied in kind.

"Is it Huntingtons?" she pressed.

"Or something similar," he nodded, becoming more curious about the young girl. "Medics can't figure it out. What would you know about it?"

"I... have an interest in this sort of thing," she replied. "I want to become a medic-nin, to help people like you."

"Ah," the older man smiled. 'How cute.' "Perhaps one day you'll figure out a way to heal me."

"I hope so, Gekkou-san," she agreed.

They continued on in silence, minus the odd cough, until they reached a fairly compact-looking house.

"Forgive the mess, Haruno-san," Hayate apologized upon entry, although Sakura saw no reason for it: it seemed a manageable mess.

"The spare room is through this way, you can put your things in there," he pointed to a doorway down the hall. "Have you eaten yet?"

Her stomach answered her, and he grinned.

"Right," he laughed and led her to the kitchen.

She sat and watched the dead man whip up a stir fry, and silently vowed to not let him die this time around. She vaguely remembered a girlfriend... Yuago? Yugao? Vowing for revenge and suddenly felt very sorry for her. Even if he wasn't murdered in this reality, she was still watching his health slowly decline until he met an early end. And if it WAS something like Huntington's... that would need cell-by-cell restoration. Something that only her, Tsunade or possibly Shizune could accomplish. Only... she'd have to work up her stamina before she could do anything like that in her current state.

Well, she could always start exercising now. She started to mould her chakra scalpels, finding it more difficult than usual, but surprised she could even do it at all.

She slowly extended them further and further until they looked more like claws.

A cough brought her back to reality, and she glanced up to Hayate, who was offering her a plate.

"Where did you learn to do that?" he asked curiously. "Assuming it's not an S-class secret?"

"I... read the theory a while ago. I've just been practicing," she answered neutrally.

"For how long?" he asked, impressed by her skill at such a young age. Not many could mould their chakra with such accuracy.

"A few years," she replied. "I still need to practice it in battle. It's difficult to maintain focus, especially on five different points, much less ten."

He nodded in agreement.

They ate in silence, and then each went to their respective beds.

The morning was awkward for Sakura. She had woken with the sunrise at 5am, and gotten ready for her day silently so as not to bother her host.

Having no idea how long it would be until he got up, she started poking around in his fridge.

'I should at least try to make a good breakfast or something to thank him,' she thought. 'But what to make, what to make... Kinda wish I knew how to cook...'

Settling for the easy recipe of French toast, she busied herself away, hoping he would wake up so she could leave without being rude.

She ate and cleaned up after herself, and waited until it turned seven, but still no show.

''Spose he needs all the sleep he can get with that chronic illness of his,' she sighed.

She pulled a scrap of paper out of her pack and wrote him a quick note.

'Thank you for your hospitality, Gekkou-san.

Sorry I had to go without saying it in person, I have to meet my team.

Thanks again,

Sakura'

And with that, she was out the window and on her way to the training ground.

Once again, she was the first one at the bridge. She managed to get in a good half hour of taijutsu training before Sasuke turned up.

"Morning Sasuke-kun," she waved cheerfully.

He glanced at her, before sitting down. "Hn."

She went back to her taijutsu katas.

'Should I ask him to spar with me?' she wondered. 'No, it'd just piss him off...'

Before long their silence was interrupted by Naruto.

"Sakura-chaaan!" he called out.

She looked over to him, a sense of peace filling her. It was good to see him all innocent and young again, even though she knew it wouldn't last. But instead of voicing her true feelings, she picked up a rock and threw it at him.

"Naruto, you're late!" she yelled. "If we're going to be a team together, you need to learn you have to be punctual! If this was a mission you could have ruined it!"

His face turned downcast.

"Ne, ne Sakura-chan, don't be so mean..." he whined pulling his puppy dog face. "My alarm clock broke."

She sighed, feeling a little guilty. 'Perhaps that was too harsh. I've always regretted being so mean to him... but... he's still gotta grow into the same guy. I can't coddle him.'

"Just don't let it happen again, Naruto," she said in a much softer tone. "You gotta check these things before you go to bed."

"Yeah, I guess," he said, looking away. "Hey, wait a minute, why isn't Kakashi-sensei here?"

They looked over to Sasuke, who was glaring out into space.

"Perhaps this is part of our test?" Sakura proposed out loud, although she knew it was because their sensei was a complete retard when it came to showing up on time. 'Except when it matters,' she amended internally.

"What?" Naruto asked cluelessly.

"That he's testing our patience. Or how committed we are to becoming genin," Sasuke put in.

"My thoughts exactly," she gave him a cute grin and a peace sign. "Or he might just be caught up with something. Ninja are always on call, and he might have been summoned by the Hokage."

"Or he's just hopeless," Naruto added. "Like, he fell for my duster trick, he can't be all that great."

Silently, Sasuke agreed with him.

"He does come off as a bit of a goofball," Sakura agreed. "But maybe it's to put us off? So we'll underestimate him?"

"Perhaps," Sasuke agreed, now watching Sakura with sharp eyes.

"Well, since there's no way of telling when or if he'll even turn up, should we get some training in?" Sakura asked cheerfully.

"We should save our energy for the test," Sasuke glowered at her. "You've already wasted enough doing your katas. If you keep it up you won't make it through the day."

"But it's no good if you have to go into battle and you haven't warmed up," she countered, not letting his jabs get to her. 'No way, Sasuke-kun, you're not winning this time.'

"I already warmed up before I came," he retorted.

"What about you Naruto? I bet you didn't even have time," she stuck her tongue out at him.

"Well..."

"Narutoooo," she whined at him. "Do you ever warm up properly?"

"Um, a little..." he answered awkwardly.

She stared at him for a while.

"Do you know why it's important to warm up, Naruto?" she asked him curiously and sighed again when he answered the negative. She remembered how many basic things he didn't know at the start, like how chakra worked, or the mission system, or even the basic politics of the five countries. "Nobody told you?"

"Who would?" he replied bitterly.

"Well, I'm telling you now," she put her hands on her hips. "It's important to warm up and loosen your joints and muscles so you don't cause any sprains or tear anything when you start training seriously. If you tore a muscle it would take a long time to heal, and that would mean less time training for you. Also, if you warm up well, and you keep training harder and harder every day, you build up stamina as well as strength, so you can maintain yourself for longer periods of time."

"Wow, Sakura-chan," Naruto stared at her wide eyed. "You know so much! Did you read about this in your scrolls."

"No, you idiot, Iruka taught us this when we first started at the Academy."

"Ah... I must have missed out on that lesson," Naruto sweat dropped.

"What else would you expect from the dobe?" Sasuke glowered.

Ignoring the pang of pain at Sasuke's comment, Sakura pressed on.

"Do you remember the basic warm ups and katas he taught us?" she asked him.

"Ano... not really," he looked even more sheepish than before.

"Come on, I'll go through them with you," she sighed again, praying for patience.

"Sa-Sakura-chan," Naruto murmured in amazement.

"Hey, you can wipe that look off your face, I'm only doing this so you don't drag me and Sasuke-kun down," she retorted, feeling awkward under his gaze. "Don't get the wrong idea or anything! Hey Sasuke, why don't you join us? If sensei takes much longer you don't wanna let the day waste, right?"

Silently he got up and joined them, as they went through their stretches and katas, Sakura narrating them as they went.

Finally, after several hours had passed, Kakashi finally turned up.

"YOU'RE LATE!" Naruto and Sakura yelled in sync.

"Ano, sorry, a black cat crossed my path so I had to back track and take the long route," he apologized insincerely.

"Yeah, right. Did it happen fifty times?" Sakura narrowed her eyes.

Kakashi blinked. "Fifty two, actually. I think it was stalking me," he replied, sounding concerned. "Now, let's get this test underway!"

Sakura let the events of the famous bell-test repeat themselves. She figured Kakashi's lesson of teamwork was an important one to learn. Both her and Naruto often looked back to it... she was hoping it might prove inspiring to Sasuke as well.

After they had receive Kakashi's thumbs up of approval, Sakura decided to accept Naruto's invitation to Ichiraku.

"If you're paying, how could I say no?" she winked at him. "Sasuke-kun, why don't you come too, we can make it a team trip?"

"But then it's not a date, Sakura-chaaan," Naruto whined.

"Ok, I'll come," Sasuke agreed, ignoring Naruto's comments.

Sakura let a genuine grin cover her face. It had been so long!

"Quit moping, Naruto," she nudged him. "We're a team now so we should get used to doing stuff together."

Naruto perked up. "Ne, Sakura-chan, we'll spend a lot more time together now!" he grinned.

Come the end of the day, Sakura was worn out.

"I really really gotta work on my stamina," she sighed. "I better start full on training tomorrow."

But just as she started drifting of, she heard a tapping noise on her window.

"Haruno-san! Haruno-san!" she heard an urgent whisper.

Wide awake and on guard in an instant, she whipped her curtains aside, kunai in hand.

"Gekkou-san?" she voiced, astonished, and opened the window. "What-?"

Then she noticed the kunoichi standing a little behind him, and she registered the situation – this was that Yugao girl, Hayate's significant other.

"Sorry to bother you, Haruno-san, but I need your assistance in something," he pleaded awkwardly. "My girlfriend found your note, she thinks I'm cheating on her."

"What's your name?" the kunoichi demanded, a steel edge to her voice. "Your full name?"

"Haruno Sakura," she informed her, pointing to her hair. "Not very creative, I know. I'm sorry for any confusion I've caused."

"How old are you?" the kunoichi pressed, looking off kilter, as though the steam had been taken out of her.

"Ano, twelve," she replied.

"And what were you doing at Hayate's?" she asked in obvious confusion. "Why couldn't you have just come home?"

"Gomen," she answered. "I needed an alibi, it was the Hokage's decision. It's classified, but you could take it up with him if you want to know. Only he has the authority to tell you."

The woman nodded, seeming appeased.

"I apologize again for the confusion, but you shouldn't be so suspicious," she addressed the kunoichi. "Gekkou-san seems like a good man, and no sane male would cheat when they had such a beautiful girlfriend," she winked at them. "Thank you again, Gekkou-san, for your hospitality. I'm sure I will meet you both again sometime."

"Ano, arigato Haruno-san," they nodded to her, and left without a sound.

'Well, that was awkward...' she smiled to herself, closing her window again and getting back into bed. 'Sakura the home-wrecker huh? What an absurd thought.'

The next morning, she once again rose with the sun. For once, she thought, she was up before her mother. When she was really twelve, she'd always sleep in until at least six thirty or seven.

'Beauty sleep,' she snorted at the thought.

After a large bowl of cereal, she left to go to one of the training grounds that was usually empty to start her exercises. She walked onto the small lake, and started sending out small but regular pulses of chakra through her feet, creating ripples at first, then larger and larger waves.

Before long she'd broken out into a light sweat. However, noticing a chakra signature approaching, she calmed down the waves, and stepped back on land.

Looking in the direction of the newcomer, she raised her eyebrows in surprise and recognition.

"Shino-san," she greeted him with a wave. "My apologies, did your team want to train here?"

"Correct," he nodded. "But not for another half hour."

"Ah," Sakura nodded. "And how is your team? You were put with Kiba and Hinata, right? You're meshing well?"

Shino hesitated. "It will... take some getting used to, but I believe we will function well. And your team?"

"It'll take some getting used to," she winked at him. "But I think we'll find our balance soon enough. Our sensei's a bit weird though. He's always late by like... five hours."

Shino raised his eyebrows at that. "Then I'm very glad we were assigned to Kurenai-sensei."

Sakura laughed at that. "Yeah, fair enough!" she smiled. "I wouldn't want to trade him in just yet though. I hear he knows over a thousand jutsu, so I'm sure we'll be able to pick a few things up."

Shino nodded. Sakura was impressed – she'd never heard the bug boy speak so much. He was actually quite amiable, when he wasn't being creepy.

"So, do you know if you guys have a mission yet, or are you just training today?" she questioned them.

"We will be training for a few days first," he replied. "So Kurenai-sensei can gauge our aptitudes."

"Ah, I see," she smiled. "Sounds like a good plan of action. I think we're gonna just jump straight into it and figure ourselves out along the way."

"Really?" Shino questioned dubiously.

"Yeah, but I 'spose it'll be alright since we'll be stuck on D rank missions for quite a while."

"Hm."

"Hey, since you've got another twenty minutes or so do you wanna do a warm up spar with me?" Sakura asked.

"It would be my honour," Shino replied, taking a fighting stance.

"Taijutsu only though," she winked at him.

He simply smirked in response, but kept to her request.

Sakura found it difficult to keep up with him, but still managed to give him a run for his money. Still, it was obvious that Shino was both stronger and faster by a long shot. She had a sneaking suspicion he was going easy on her, too.

Still, it ended with her pinned to a tree, Shino holding a kunai to her neck.

"You're good," she smiled at him, and he let her down gently. "Looks like I better keep training."

"You're better than I thought you'd be," Shino admitted.

"Oh? And what'd you expect?" she queried, folding her arms across her torso.

"We've never sparred before. I had no expectations," he answered carefully. "We've barely talked before."

"That's... true, isn't it?" she blinked, relaxing her posture. "Hey, you know what? Every couple of weeks or so, our teams should get together and spar. A bit of healthy competition is good, right?"

"You want to... get together more often?" he repeated cautiously, as if unsure of her intentions. "Why?"

"Well, it'll be good experience for us, practicing against different styles more often," she explained. "Besides, we've all spent so long at the Academy together, it'd be a shame for us to all go our separate ways just because we've graduated."

"I can see the benefits," Shino nodded. "I will discuss it with my team."

"Awesome, and I will with mine," she nodded, sitting down. "I look forward to getting to know you better Shino. I wish I'd talked to you sooner."

Before he could reply, an ANBU appeared seemingly out of nowhere and interrupted them.

"Haruno Sakura, you are required at Hokage Tower, please report immediately."

"Thank you," she nodded calmly. "I'll head off now. Bye Shino, say hi to your team from me."

And with a wave, she was gone.

'That was weird,' Shino thought to himself.

When Sakura arrived in the Third's office, she immediately recognized Inoichi, Ibiki, Shikaku and Kakashi who were all watching her carefully. They gave her an instant clue as to what this meeting would be about.

"Hokage-sama," she bowed in respect, and nodded to the others present, trying not to squirm under Kakashi's keen gaze. 'If he knows, I bet he's wondering why I sucked so much in his test...'

"Sakura. Welcome," the Third addressed her calmly. "In case you are wondering, they have been filled in about the curious events of late. For the next week, you will undergo interrogation every morning with Yamanaka Inochi, Morino Ibiki and Nara Shikaku. You will report at six am to the interrogation centre where you will be shown shortly. Team 7 will be assigned missions only in the afternoon to work around this. On Saturday morning report to me at six am. I have organized a tutor for you to train with every Saturday in medical studies. You will be able to go at your own pace, but I ask that you start with the absolute basics so as not to raise questions. On Sunday I will send for you to re-evaluate the situation and our strategy. Do you have any questions?"

"No, Hokage-sama," she bowed, grateful he was so organized. "But I desire your opinion on something... but it can wait until Sunday. Thank you."

"Very well, you are dismissed."

She nodded to Kakashi in acknowledgement, and followed the interrogation team out.

"Morino-san... Should I use a henge when I come here on my own?" she asked Ibiki politely.

Ibiki raised a brow at her.

"An unknown person wandering around would cause more suspicion," he answered after a moment. "If anyone asks, just tell them you've been assigned a D-rank mission playing fetch for us."

She nodded in approval and they went the rest of the way in silence.

Upon arrival, Sakura climbed into the spherical contraption Inoichi required for his jutsu, and they closed it around her until only her head was visible.

"Just relax, Sakura-chan, and it won't hurt," the blonde man advised her. "I will navigate my way through your memories and we can discuss them afterwards."

She nodded a little awkwardly, and with that they begun.

Since this was their first day, they kept at it all day with only a short rest (mostly for Inoichi's sake) for lunch. They weren't finished until around five, and Sakura was left feeling exhausted, drained and depressed. But at least they were doing something.

"You look like you're going to drop," Shikaku voiced, as she picked herself up to go home. "Do you need me to escourt you home?"

She looked at the man in surprise. She'd barely had anything to do with Shikamaru's father, but the similarities between them were uncanny.

"That's alright," she laughed. "I wouldn't want to become troublesome for you."

"Ah, not another one!" Inoichi laughed at his long-time friend's expression.

"But thank you for the offer," she amended. "I will see you again at six."

The week passed before she knew it. The next day she had spent all morning in interrogation, before spending all afternoon chasing down a wayward cat. Kakashi had kept her back afterwards for a chat (which she knew was coming) while the boys went their separate ways.

He had seemed more disturbed than she'd ever seen him before. 'I suppose he hasn't exactly grown attached to us yet...'

She had also talked to her team about meeting up with team 8 to spar once a fortnight, which they all seemed keen about.

She waited a couple of days until they had a fairly short afternoon mission cleaning up litter before hunting down Shino once again. Eventually, she ended up at the Aburame complex. It consisted of very few buildings, as the clan was a small one, but backed onto a fairly dense forested area.

'I suppose the bugs must like it,' she noted mentally.

Knocking three times on the front door, she wondered if anyone would even be home.

An older shinobi answered the door. He wore glasses and an oversized coat.

"Hello there young lady, and what can I do for you?" he asked in genuine curiosity.

"Hello Aburame-san," she greeted him respectfully. "My name is Haruno Sakura, I'm looking for Shino-san. Is he home?"

A broad grin spread across his face, and he seemed to start vibrating with energy.

"Come in, come in, Sakura-chan!" he guided her into his house and down a hallway at a fast pace. "He's just outside. My name is Aburame Shibi, Shino's father and it is an absolute pleasure to meet you."

She blanched at that... Shibi and Shino seemed absolute opposites.

"Shiiii-noooo!" his father called out loudly as they neared the door. "There's a girl here to see you!"

Suddenly realising what Shibi must be thinking she blushed crimson.

"Sakura-san," Shino greeted, a little surprised to see her. He half-suspected she'd been avoiding him since their last meeting, despite her kind words. It was no secret that most girls didn't like bugs. "What are you doing here?"

"Well, you kids have fun!" Shibi gave her a slight push towards the boy, and gave a quick thumbs up before disappearing back inside.

Sakura laughed awkwardly.

"Heheh," she scratched her head. "I was going to see if your team was free Sunday after next for a spar," she answered him. "That is, if they are interested."

"Ah," the bug boy nodded, finally feeling oriented. "I am sure they will be keen, I will check with them and let them know. I'm... sorry about my Dad."

She giggled and brushed it off. "That's fine. It's kind of funny... you guys seem so different."

"As I am reminded daily," he replied dryly, then paused at a bit of a loss for conversation. Finally he settled for: "How has your training been going? Have you been assigned any missions yet?"

"Yep," she grinned. "I've got an ongoing solo mission every morning this week, just pushing papers, cleaning and playing fetch for the interrogation unit – it's a bit boring and monotonous because I'm not allowed in most of the rooms, but it's ok coz I'm still getting paid for it. Then my team has done a few random missions in the afternoons together. Chasing down a cat, cleaning up a reserve, helping out as farm-hands, that sorta stuff, what about you?"

"We've done two D-ranks so far, but much of our time has been spent on strategies and working on team dynamics," he answered simply, seeming hesitant to go into it. She vaguely remembered the tension between him and Kiba that had apparently taken a while to settle, and decided not to press the subject further.

"Oh, I didn't tell you," she inserted for the sake of feeding the conversation. "On Saturday I've got my first medic-nin training session. I've got a feeling I'll need it with Naruto on my team."

"Isn't that a little advanced for a newly graduated genin?" he raised his eyebrows.

"It'll be really basic stuff at first I'm sure," she replied unworried. "You know, theory, field patch jobs and chakra control."

'Hopefully this'll leak out slowly,' she thought, uncertain of Shino's ability to gossip. 'That way it'll raise less questions when people find out just how awesome I am.'

"You're working yourself hard," he let a smile sneak onto his face. "I'll have to work hard as well if I still want to beat you then."

She laughed and winked at him.

"Speaking of which, I should let you get back to it."

"I'll show you out," he nodded. "Thank you for coming."

He was thankful they didn't run into either of his parents on the way out, highly embarrassed by his father's previous interactions with the young girl.

He sighed in relief as he closed the door to her but stiffened immediately when he heard a smug "So..."

Finally, Saturday arrived.

Although Sakura was enjoying the easy D rank missions with her team, this was what she was most looking forward to.

She was up at four am, excited about meeting whoever her 'tutor' would be. She prepared several blank scrolls for note taking and did her morning stretches and chakra exercises, ate breakfast and packed two bento boxes just in case she worked up an appetite.

She remembered light heartedly how the old her would have skipped meals attempting to diet in some form of unofficial competition to become slimmer than Ino. However, during her years of training, she found it was much better to eat well, so long as she made sure to exert enough energy to balance it out.

'Ah... blessed hindsight,' she smiled to herself.

'But let's not tell Ino that just yet,' her Inner self suggested wickedly.

Sakura paused and looked in the mirror one more time.

In some ways, she missed having her long glossy hair which had been temporarily returned to her. But her short hair was far more practical, and to be honest, she favoured it over her longer hair.

'Which I only grew out for Sasuke anyway, not that it made much of a difference," she sighed.

Then again, she'd only have it for another year. That fateful moment in the Forest of Death had come to define her... and also pushed Ino into breaking past her limits. It wasn't a lesson she'd give up lightly.

Picking up her bag, she started on her way to the Hokage Tower, walking at a leisurely pace, struck again by nostalgia.

'It's so good to see Konoha at peace again,' she sighed contentedly. 'There's no freaking way I'll let it be destroyed this time.'