~A New Future~

"Thoughts"
"Inner Sakura"
Writing
Jutsu
Flashback

"Sasuke and I have formed a plan. If we do die, we want you two to go back to the past and make sure this war doesn't happen. Too many lives have already been lost and we can't let that continue. Can we trust you two to follow the plan?"
"Hai!"
They only had one chance to change the future.

Last Time:

"…May I see what animal I will be signing with?…"

…Hinata gasped…

"Expecting something else, Hinata?"

The figure smiled, allowing its teeth to gleam in the light. Its tail was lazily moving behind her

…

"What animal are you, if you don't mind me asking?"

"It is no trouble, child. Come out everyone…"

Noticing what type of animals they were, Sakura froze…

"Fuck."

Chapter 5: The Summons

With Hinata

The moonlight cast down light into the dome-like location. Going around the circular room were statues of cats sitting down and covered in royal clothes. Around their black marble necks were bands. Small, light blue, crystal orbs hung from the chains of these bands.

Hinata was kneeling down on a soft cushion in front of the figures. Her hands were placed on her lap as she furrowed her eyebrows in confusion. Coming to a realization, she shot up from her seat and opened her mouth to speak.

"Matatabi… the Two-Tails!" Hinata covered her mouth, "Does that mean you are all demon cats of some sort?"

The feline in the middle lightly scratched her ear with her right paw, gently laying it down afterwards.

"No, we are just like any other summon," the strong voice boomed out. Her coat was that of a midnight sky, a white spot over her left eye. Her depths were a stunning gold and seemed to glow in the dim lighting. She radiated power that demanded respect from her whole being.

"The why would Matatabi lead you? She is a part of the Ten-Tails, is she not?" asked Hinata as she silently sat down. She heard a purr of approval coming from the orange tabby laying on his back appreciating her graceful movements. He had an earring with a nine engraved on it on his right ear. His right eye was lazily opened, showing a partial view of the emerald color beneath.

"Which is the reason why we are blessed to have her as our leader. Unfortunately, she was taken and sealed within a human. We tried to rescue her but she ordered us to wait until the opportune time to do so. Such a time has not come forth until now."

Hinata, still sitting, raised an eyebrow, "Until now? What do you mean?"

The dark feline opened her mouth to speak but was beat to the punch by the orange tabby.

"It's because of you, Hinata-chan! If we train you in the way of the cats, you'll hopefully become much more powerful. We need a powerful summoner so that we can have a chance at rescuing Mata-sama!"

The orange tabby's face was suddenly squished by a light gray paw. Traveling up the paw there were bright blue eyes behind black-rimmed glasses.

"Let Tsuyo-sama speak, stupid!"

"Who went and made you king?! Get off your high horse, Chisei-idiot!" the orange one retaliated, showing off his fangs as he did.

He took a hold of Chisei's paw and pushed off with his hind legs. The gray cat slammed against a nearby wall, cracks appearing from the force.

"Shurui, Chisei, stop fighting," the annoyed voice of Tsuyo warned. Chisei got up and dusted himself off while Shurui stuck his tongue out at him.

During the argument Hinata had started to inspect her surroundings. The dome's walls were a night sky blue with small stars that were shimmering though to the moonlight streaming in. Looking above at the full moon, she noticed it seemed to have something outlined in it. Squinting her eyes, Hinata was able to make out the happy face of a cat. Sighting the marbled statues of the cats, she was able to discern colored wisps inside the crystal orbs.

Noticing that the fighting was over, Hinata forced her attention back to the felines in front of her.

"Why me?"

"You are looking for power to protect others, not to harm others," a soft voice stated. Turning her head towards the sound, Hinata noticed one final occupant in the room.

She was covered in black fur with a white patch of fur on her chest. On both front paws were two small bells held by a white cloth. The cat's eyes were a stunning orange, the moonlight giving them an ethereal glow.

"Nice of you to join us, Chinmoku-san," Chisei said, pushing the frame of his glasses up with a sharp claw. Chinmoku gave a slight nod of acknowledgement, never taking her eyes off of Hinata.

"What she says is correct. We can't let just anybody sign. We have to know that they won't betray us or use us as mere tools for war. In exchange for our guidance and assistance in battles, we just ask for you to help us obtain Matatabi back when the time comes," Tsuyo walked towards Hinata, changing forms as she went, "Do you accept these conditions?"

Once she reached Hinata, Tsuyo had transformed into a new form that was human-like. (Her partial form.) She had on a knee-high, dark blue kimono with stars embroidered on it. The sash was a clean white and tied in the back in a neat bow. Her sleeves ended neatly at her wrists, her finger nails had been replaced by claws. Tsuyo was barefoot, exposing her feet and toe nails, which were also replaced by claws. Her hair was in a messy bun held in place by two senbon, a few strands escaping to frame her face. Her golden, slitted eyes were piercing into Hinata's pale lavender ones. Two midnight blue colored ears were popping out on either sides of her head, no human ears on the sides of the face existed. Her tail was swishing lazily from side to side as she stood in front of Hinata, a scroll in one hand as she offered it over.

"I accept," Hinata took the scroll and opened it. Looking around at the others, she was met with nods in agreement.

Hinata sat down and laid the scroll on the ground. She bit her thumb hard enough to bleed then wrote her name on the scroll. After checking it over to make sure everything was good, she rolled the scroll back up and handed it back to Tsuyo.

"The first step is now complete. In the beginning, you will have training once a week. Then it will move up to twice a week and so on once you're ready to increase the training days. In each session, you will be training with two of us. We won't always be in the same pairs so be prepared for anything. You will start next week with Shurui and Chinmoku," Tsuyo waited for Hinata to nod in acknowledgement before walking back from where she came from. When she was halfway there, she signaled to the orange and black cats. Recognizing the signal they moved towards Hinata, shrinking in size but not forms.

Shurui was the first to speak, "Just a little word of advice for next week: bring all of your energy, Hinata-chan!"

Chinmoku nodded in agreement before speaking. "You will train with Shurui for the first half of training. Training with me begins for the last half."

Hinata smiled at the panther-size cats and voiced her agreement.

"That is all for now. When it is time for training we will send a messenger to inform you. If you have other matters you must attend to, then we will schedule for another day. If you can train, we will reverse summon you to our training grounds."

"Why can't we train in my world, Tsuyo-san?" Hinata questioned.

"Too many distractions. When training, your attention should be solely focused on your teachers. We will see you soon, Hinata Hyuuga."

That was the last Hinata heard before she was transported back to where she came from. Looking towards where Sakura should have been, she noticed the pinkette was still gone. She waited around a minute before Sakura finally appeared. Hinata smiled at her friend.

"What animal did you sign with, Sakura-chan?"

With Sakura

"I blame you! It's your entire fault for having an affinity with foxes. Foxes!"

Sakura closed her eyes and let out a groan as her inner kept harassing her. It wasn't her fault that she got foxes, so Inner Sakura just had to accept the fact and move on.

"Dear? Is something the matter?"

Opening her eyes, Sakura was greeted with the sight of two slitted, deep purple depths staring back at her. Biting back a gasp, Sakura put some space between herself and the figure in front of her. The dark fox sat down , the scythe on her back looming threateningly over her.

"I'm alright, just surprised I guess. I didn't know Kurama had a… mate? He is a part of the Ten-Tails, isn't he? When did he have the time to create such a vast amount of foxes that could be summoned? Can he shape-shift into a human like you? Is he the king?" Sakura shot her questions out without much pause between them.

The black fox chuckled, "He does, he is, he didn't, he can, he is."

Furrowing her brows, Sakura asked another question. "What do you meant he didn't have time to create the fox summons?"

"There have always been fox summons, just not many with an affinity for us. We were very weak before Kurama came along. He noticed the states we were in so he decided to help us. He helped us grow much stronger than we were ever before. Without him, we wouldn't be at the strength we are at now. No one has been able to come to us in quite a long time. We closed the link so we could grow stronger, and only just recently opened it."

Sakura laughed when she heard that. "Super convenient for me then, huh?" Sakura leaned to a side and placed her hand on the hip jutting out, "Kurama being your king makes it easier for me to know why I was attacked."

"Oh? Why do you think we attacked you?"

"I'm a human and my species has sealed away your king. In my world, we refer to Kurama as the Nine-Tails."

The dark colored fox nodded in approval before turning towards three other foxes and motioning them over. A white, a tan, and a silver fox came over while the rest of the foxes left the room. "I haven't properly introduced myself. I am Odayaka, Kurama's mate. These three will train you in the way of the foxes. Each one specializes in a certain area, they will train you in that area until they feel you have learned all you can," the black fox stood up, the scythe moving with the motion.

"I'm Junsuina. I will be teaching you about herbs and what types of poisons and antidotes you can make from them. You humans may think you know all there is about them, but you don't," the white furred fox sassed. Her eyes were a silvery gray. Behind her right ear was a red rose, miraculously not falling.

"Hayai at your service! I'll help you with your strength and speed! What's your name, cherry?" a tan fox cheered. While he was speaking, a tongue piercing made its appearance. It seemed to be in just a simple metal ball shape. His baby blue eyes happily spoke about his cheerful personality.

"I'm Sakura Haruno, Hayai-san," Sakura gave him a friendly smile. She turned towards the one who hadn't introduced himself yet. While looking at him, Sakura noticed a necklace with an upside down triangle in a circle. Realizing what it represented, Sakura rubbed her temple.

"Great…"

"This quiet one is Kansei. He will help you with your accuracy. Be warned, he's one hell of a slave driver. If you miss a target, well…" Hayai trailed off, his tan tail wagging side to side in laughter.

"Great, I do need to work on my accuracy… Is he a Jashinist? He has the symbol for Jashin on his necklace," Sakura asked.

"It was a gift," the silver furred Kansei corrected, his deep voice reverberating in the throne room.

"Oh… Sorry if I came off as rude!" Sakura held up her hands in defense and started to shake them, trying to dispel any lingering rudeness he might suspect would come out of her.

"Hn…"

"Now who does that remind us off?" Inner Sakura sweat dropped.

"You will begin training once we have set everything up. For now, relax and prepare for the time when which we will summon you here. Good luck, Sakura Haruno," Odayaka said.

Sakura took one last look around the throne room, marveling at it's exquisiteness and sheer beauty. Before being 'poof'ed out, she waved at the four foxes.

Opening her eyes after realizing she had shut them, Sakura looked around and noticed Hinata smiling at her.

"What animal did you sign with, Sakura-chan?"

"Do I have a story for you, Hinata."

"As do I."

~ElOhEl~

"Nothing went as I expected…" Sakura pouted as she realized the plan hadn't gone as smoothly as she had hoped.

"At least we have summons now," Hinata reasoned.

Sakura let out a breath of air and faced Hinata, "That's true, but you didn't get attacked!"

"Sakura-chan, you can't compare my experience with yours. It's not reasonable. It was just your luck that you went to the foxes who have an intense hatred for humans."

Sakura groaned and hung her head in shame when she realized something.

"The foxes will hate me, Hinata. I mean, Odayaka-san and the other three were nice and didn't hold what other humans did against me, but what about the other foxes? Will they hate me?" Sakura tugged on her hair, "What if they do and they won't help me when I call on them? What if they try to kill me as some sort of revenge for Kurama?"

Hinata tried to comfort Sakura by smiling, but when that didn't work she decided to offer words of encouragement.

"You'll win them over," Hinata crossed her arms behind her back, "Why don't we train for a bit to ease off your stress? No weapons, no holding back."

Sakura perked up at the idea of training to let the stress roll out of her system. Looking at Hinata, she put on her determined face and nodded.

"Let's do this! Hell yeah!"

Hinata smiled and took off her weapon pouch, placing it underneath a tree just as Sakura did. They made their way to the center of the clearing and faced each other. Sakura picked up a pebble from the ground and threw it high up into the air.

"When it touches the ground, we can start!" Sakura yelled towards Hinata. Hinata nodded in agreement. They jumped away from each other and moved into battle ready positions, just as the pebble came back into view.

Thud

The kunoichi dashed at one another with chakra flowing through their feet to enhance their speed.

Sakura pulled her fist back and aimed for Hinata's right shoulder, Hinata ducking to evade the punch. She brought her upturned palm, encircled with chakra, towards Sakura's defenseless elbow. As her hit made contact, the pink-haired girl turned into a log.

Hinata swiftly did a backward cartwheel just as a foot came crashing down on where she last was. The hit only made a few cracks on the ground, but Hinata knew that it was only because they weren't at full strength in their current bodies. Sakura vanished as soon as she hit the ground, dust and grass flying into the air as she did.

"Byakugan!"

Veins spread around Hinata's eyes as her ocular power allowed her to search the clearing for her training enemy. Hinata's eyes widened. She lifted her arms to cover her face as she quickly spun around on the balls of her feet, blocking a punch from Sakura.

"Didn't think I would remember the one degree where you're Byakugan couldn't see, huh?" she teased. Sakura then immediately jumped back, narrowly avoiding chakra jabs from Hinata that would've closed her chakra points in her arm.

"A mistake I won't be making any time soon," Hinata replied. Right after she said that she ran towards Sakura to direct many quick, chakra-laden attacks to try and land a successful hit. She just needed to block the chakra points in the bubblegum ninja's arms for the fight to possibly end in her favor.

Sakura was evading each of the attacks, her training partner's attacks gradually slowing down. Just as Hinata's attacks appeared to be closing to a halt, the opaque-eyed girl aimed a swift chakra jab towards her opponents right shoulder. The attack hit; the pink-haired kunoichi wincing in response.

Sakura poured chakra into her legs and jumped over Hinata. Once she was behind the heiress, Sakura pivoted on the balls of her heels and aimed a kick towards Hinata.

Hinata ducked then rolled away from her opponent. After she retreated a good amount of space, the Hyuga got up and faced Sakura. Both fighters were severely out of breath; sweat dripped down from their brows and onto their clothes. They took this time of respite to regulate their breathing and heart rates.

"H-Hinata, why did you have to go and b-block my chakra," Sakura gasped out while holding onto her shoulder with her good arm, "You know I can't unblock it yet."

"N-no holding back remember?" Hinata panted.

Sakura laughed while heading to her partner. Hinata tensed when she saw she was heading over. Sakura held her hand up in mock surrender.

"I think it's time for a break. We're both exhausted," Sakura wiped off the sweat from her brow with the back of her hand, "These bodies aren't ready for real combat yet."

Hinata relaxed and giggled, covering her mouth with her hand.

"We will get them ready," Hinata looked up into the sky and noticed the sun was nearing the horizon, "We still have a few more hours of sunlight, what do you want to do, Sakura-chan?"

"Well," Sakura placed a finger on her chin in mock-thought, "I want you to unblock my chakra point, Hinata-chan."

Hinata smiled nervously before heading towards Sakura and poked her shoulder with a finger encircled in chakra. Sakura smiled gratefully before stretching out her right arm. She placed a glowing green hand on her shoulder and relaxed her tense muscle, sighing in relief as she did so.

"You still have enough chakra to heal yourself?" Hinata questioned.

Sakura scoffed, "I barely have any. If it weren't for my chakra control, this would've taken a lot more out of me than it did."

The two kunoichis started to stretch, relaxing their tired muscles as they did so. Hinata stretched backwards, her back resounding with an audible pop.

"Ah, that feels amazing," Hinata hummed as she straightened up, "So where should we go, Sakura-chan?"

"Lets just go on a walk around the village?" she asked.

Hinata let out a small smile, "Ok."

The duo walked out of the clearing and headed towards the village. While on their trek around the village, they passed by the Yamanaka's flower shop. Sakura stopped outside and hesitantly turned her head towards the shop. Hinata tapped her on the shoulder, and when she turned, gave Sakura a reassuring smile.

"You should mend your friendship with Ino-chan when you feel you can face her. We have time, and if the plan goes accordingly, you'll have endless amounts of it."

Sakura gave a watery smile back, "I just- I feel like I failed her. The least I can do now is get our friendship back on track."

"I am going to go, will you be alright by yourself, Sakura-chan?"

"Yes, thanks Hinata!"

Sakura opened the shop's door, a resonating ding echoing in the shop.

"Welcome to the Yamanaka's Flower Shop! How may I he- Forehead?!" the blonde behind the counter squawked in shock.

"Hey Piggy," Sakura greeted, "Can I talk with you for a minute?"

"Sure?" Ino drawled out, suspicion in her eyes, "This better not be some plan of yours to get Sasuke-kun to yourself!"

"It's not."

Ino walked out from behind the counter and headed towards her. Once she was in reaching distance, Sakura pulled her into a hug.

"Pig!" Sakura cried out, "I forfeit!"

Ino hands were hanging limply at her sides. Snapping out of her daze, she grabbed the bubblegum girl by the arms and held her at arm's length, said girl struggling in her grasp. "What do you mean, Forehead?"

"I give up on Sasuke." Ino gasped. "Can we just go back to being friends?"

Ino's blue eyes narrowed in distrust, "Who are you and what have you done to Forehead?!"

Sakura stopped struggling and gave Ino a deadpan look.

"Really, Pig, really?"

"The Sakura I know wouldn't give up this easily when faced with such a superior opponent," Ino casually stated., never taking her hands off of Sakura's.

Sakura let out a battle cry and tackled Ino, pinning her to the ground. "Whoever said you were the superior one?! If anything, I would be your better!" Sakura flexed her nonexistent muscles, "I mean look at these guns!"

Ino let out a laugh, "You are just stick and bones!"

Sakura pouted and crossed her arms, still sitting on Ino's midriff.

"Get off, Forehead! You're monstrous brow is weighing down on me!" Ino teased.

"Pig!" Sakura laughed and stood up, offering a hand to the fallen blonde.

"Forehead!" Ino grabbed a hold of the pinkette and enveloped her into a hug, "You don't know how long I've waited for this… for our friendship to come back."

"We won't be rivals for love, but I'm still the superior kunoichi," Sakura joked.

"Whatever lets you sleep at night," Ino scoffed. She turned around and started to head back behind the counter. Once there, she raised a hand and shooed at Sakura, "Now shoo, I have work to do!"

Sakura giggled on her way out, but stopped just as she placed a hand on the handle.

"We should organize a sleepover! We can invite Hinata Hyuga!"

"The shy one?" Ino questioned, a blonde eyebrow raising.

"Yeah, her. I got to know her better last week after survival training. She's great," Sakura reassured. She pulled open the door, "Bye Pig!"

"See ya, Forehead! Oh, and nice outfit!"

Sakura responded with bright smile and a wave. She headed home right after.

"I have Ino back," she thought happily.

"We will beat Pig as kunoichi! Just you wait and see!" Inner cackled.

With Hinata

"Hopefully Sakura-chan and Ino-chan will make up," Hinata thought, oblivious to her surroundings as she walked on-no clear destination in her mind. She continued to walk as the sun set, still not looking up. Not paying attention seemed to be quite the stupid thing to do in the young Hyuga heiress' case.

A cart full of an assortment of fruits was heading towards her, but she was looking at the floor and not being aware of her surroundings.

"Watch out!" a young voice yelled out.

Hinata looked up at the sound of the voice, only to see a cart barreling towards her at an intense speed. Her pupil-less eyes widened considerably, acknowledging the fact that she wouldn't be able to move out of the way in her current, tired state. Freezing in shock at the realization that she would be hit, Hinata made no move to protect herself. She closed her eyes and vowed to always pay attention to her surroundings once she was out of this situation.

The Hyuga opened her eyes in surprise as she recognized the heat of another individual carrying her out of the way. Looking up, opaque met with coal. "S-Sasuke-kun?" Hinata stuttered out.

Said boy gently put her down but didn't stop holding her. He looked behind them and that's when Hinata noticed the fruit cart that would've hit her had crashed into the side of a building.

"Are you alright?" Sasuke questioned, turning his head to face her.

Hinata felt blood rush to her face under his gaze but answered nonetheless, "Yes."

"Pay attention next time." Sasuke let go of her and shoved his hands into his pockets. He casually turned around and started to head home.

Snapping out of her disbelief, Hinata called out, "Thank you, Sasuke-kun!"

Sasuke stopped and turned his head, letting out the faintest of smiles. "Hn." Before he was able to continue on his way, a boy no older than nine approached them.

"Oh no! I am so sorry, miss! The cart was too heavy for me… I never had a strong grip on it! Thank you, sir, for rescuing her!"

"It's alright. I'm not hurt, you see?" Hinata smiled at the boy. Sasuke merely grunted in response.

Finally taking the younger boy's appearance in, Hinata noticed he had dark gray hair that curled up at the ends. The boy had on a simple black t-shirt with the sleeves cut off over a pair of white ninja pants. His feet were wrapped in regular black ninja sandals. Hinata's eyes widened in recognition when she made eye contact with the purple hues and spotted a faint dusting of pink on his cheeks .

"What is your name?" Hinata hurriedly asked.

"Soyokaze," he answered. Hinata smiled when her suspicions were confirmed.

"Well, Soyokaze-kun, it's late out. I should take you home. My name is Hinata."

Sasuke sighed before voicing out his opinion, "I can't let you walk alone on the streets this late at night."

Hinata let out a few giggles, covering her face as she did so.

"Is he your boyfriend, big sister?" Soyokaze inquired.

Hinata's face flushed red and Sasuke looked the other way.

"Hn."

"W-we should take you home now, Soyokaze-kun. Where do you live?" Hinata questioned, trying to change the subject.

Soyokaze didn't answer and instead jumped onto Sasuke's back. On reflex, Sasuke held onto the boy's legs.

"My home is over there!" Soyokaze pointed in the direction where Hinata had been coming from.

"Get off."

"Chicken-butt-chan!~ Please?~" the little boy pleaded. ] Sasuke let out a grunt of disapproval but started to walk towards where the boy had previously pointed to.

Hinata looked at the smashed cart and decided to voice the question that plagued her mind.

"Don't you need those, Soyokaze-kun?"

The boy turned to look at the mess but shook his head.

"They're destroyed. No use for them."

The trio continued on their way, following the boy's directions to his home.

"This is so much fun! You're the best, Chicken-butt-chan!" Soyokaze cheered.

"Stupid brat," Sasuke murmured.

Hinata let out a smile at the interaction going on in front of her. It reminded her that she had a chance to change everything.

The small group of three went on walking with Sasuke muttering curses under his breath, Soyokaze laughing in glee, and Hinata hiding her smile behind her hand.

~ElOhEl~

"This is it!" Soyokaze chirped. Sasuke lowered himself so that the boy could safely remove himself from his back.

Once he was off, Soyokaze ran into the small home. He unlocked the door with a key he had hidden in his shirt and opened the door.

"Bye Big Sister, Chicken-butt-chan!" Soyokaze went inside his home and closed the door, leaving the pair as each other's only company.

Hinata twiddled her fingers, realizing that she was now alone with Sasuke.

"I'm going to head home n-now. Goodbye, Sasuke-kun." Hinata turned and started to head home. As she was walking, she heard the distinct sounds of someone following her. Turning, Hinata noticed Sasuke was now right next to her. Stifling a gasp, she raised an eyebrow in question.

"You shouldn't be alone at night."

"O-oh, right. Thank you."

"Hn."

Sasuke shoved his hands into his pockets and continued walking with Hinata, eyes on the path ahead. Once they reached the Hyuga estate, Hinata turned towards her partner just in time to see him walking away.

"Thank you again, Sasuke-kun," Hinata stated.

The Uchiha stopped but made no other move.

"You're welcome," he continued walking, "Hinata."

Hinata looked up in shock at hearing her name. She let out a small smile before heading into the compound. Ignoring everyone around her, she gracefully went into her room. Plopping down onto her bed, she closed her eyes and let out a sigh.

Sitting up on her bed, she looked out of her window and up into the sky. The moonlight bathed her figure and she reclined onto her hands. Relaxing onto her bed, Hinata let out a happy sigh.

"Sasuke-kun walked me home…"

I hope everyone has enjoyed this chapter!

I would like to publicly thank XT3100 for helping edit this chapter before it was posted. Without their help, this chapter would have had many errors ^^'

I don't know if you guys know this, but I received 16 reviews.

SIXTEEN!

Ten of those were received the day I posted the chapter!

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P.S. The Hinata Hyuga picture is now complete. Go on over to my profile and the link will be there. Naruto, Sakura, and a SasuHina picture are also complete. Check my profile so you can see them ^^!