Author's Notes:

Well, took me long enough to update but the internet connection at our house was so slow I couldn't even open and so, here's the next chapter. About the pairing, I'm not yet sure but I have a preliminary plan on who will be with who. So, thanks for those who reviewed, I appreciate it and also, thanks for the support!

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto, this belongs to its rightful owner.

Chapter 2- A New Beginning

Tenten stared at the Temple of Seasons, it was large and shaped like a pavilion without walls, just arcs while in the middle was a dome-like roof that served as a cover. The roof was embedded with different colored gems and in each side was a sign, leaves for autumn, flowers for spring, sun for summer and snowflake for winter, on the center was a ball that shimmered and glowed as if it was made to be just like that. She glanced at her companions and noticed that they were also doing the same except for Sakura who looked bored if not emotionless.

"Girls, we have arrived at the Temple of Season, for the first part of training, you will do it at the testing stone." Tenten turned her attention to their sensei, who they knew now was Tsunade-sama's cousin, Akira Senju. For most of her looks, you could mistake her as Tsunade's younger sister, they both had blonde hair that was long, they were both fair and they looked similar, except for the fact that Akira wore glasses and she was not that well endowed.

"The testing stone is that circular stage in the middle of the lake. To find out what season you have control of, you will release your chakra, afterwards, touch the water inside the bowl, it will show you what season you have. Ino, you go first, followed by Tenten then Hinata and lastly Sakura." They all nodded and Tenten watched as Ino excitedly reached the circular stage and inhaled deeply before releasing her chakra, a purple light emitted from her hand that was clasped together and it went upwards to the sky. Once she had done that, she touched the water and leaves suddenly sprouted and fell at the same time.

"So, what was my season?" They noticed Akira's smile as she gave Ino a light pat on the back.

"Well, you'll have me as your senior, we're both autumn wielders." Tenten's eyes widened, it seemed so unfit for Ino since she loved flowers so much that she cried when they wouldn't live around her presence anymore.

"That solves that then, no wonder why no plants can bear your presence, you have control over autumn after all." Tenten said while giving Ino a genuine smile, who returned it as well. She sighed before heading towards the circular stage, well, time to found out what season she was. She clenched her fist and released her chakra which was blue in color and it directed upwards, after a few seconds, she touched the bowl and warmth and a soft glow emanated from it. She found the scene quite fascinating that she stared at it for a few minutes before removing her hand from the bowl and returning back to the side of the lake where she was met by Ino and Hinata squealing in delight.

"So, I guess I'm summer huh..." Akira and Kori nodded before giving her a smile which she returned, after all, a smile from Kori was like a blue moon, it seldom happened. Next up was Hinata, who nervously clasped her hands together and released her chakra, it was nearly white but if one looked closely, you could see the faint glow of lavender. The moment she touched the water, flowers instantly grew and you could smell the sweet scent of flowers all around.

"I see you wield the same season as I do, we'll get along just well." Kori said before giving the girl a thumbs up and motioning for Sakura to continue. Tenten and the rest of the girls held their breath as Sakura hesitantly approached the stage, she gave them an unsure look before raising her hand and clasping the other to er chest. Nothing happened at first until a pinkish-green glow surrounded her body and directed upwards, everything felt heavy for them and Tenten could have sworn Sakura had released her chakra in the perfect state. The bowl was frozen when Sakura touched it and they felt a cold chill around them, before it dissipated as Sakura head back to them.

"Well, that's that I suppose. We'll meet with the last person to complete the circle, follow us." Tenten took one last look at the circular stage before following them. She smiled fondly as she looked at her hand, finally, something to hold on to... This marked as her new life, a new found freedom, and the start of fate's game.

Hinata

Hinata timidly twiddled her forefingers together, a habit she had whenever she was feeling nervous and giddy. And right now, she was feeling a mixture of both since they were going to meet the last member of the infamous Shizun Megami elite team. According to Akira, there were four of them, sadly though, one of them passed away unexpectedly. Hinata and the rest of the girls hadn't pushed them for the story, understanding how it was hard to lose someone you loved.

"Hina-chan, what do you think will be the last person's season be?" Tenten whispered while they walked towards a small house that was on the other side. Hinata looked up at the older girl before blushing and shaking her head, she wasn't unlike Sakura who had developed the ability to read a person's thoughts and emotions, sometimes, if she wanted to, she could connect others to herself telepathically. Tenten had developed an ability to create light and sometimes if she concentrated enough, she could burn a person with it. Ino had developed the ability to control spatial and was well-versed in making something wilt or weaken at her mree presence alone. Hinata however had became well-versed in regeneration and restoration, she tended to hide it but with Sakura around, she might as well say it.

"I-I don't k-know, m-maybe S-sakura-chan can h-help." She offered kindly which the older girl pouted about, it wasn't that they hated Sakura, it was that she just emitted an aura that seemed like the way Sasuke had emitted before he left after his clan's death. In fact, they were baffled, a few months ago she seemed cheery, but after disappearing for nearly a week, she returned, no longer cheerful and smiling. Everyone had stayed out of her way for fear that she had been controlled, Ibiki had even interrogated her but she didn't budge, instead the man seemed pretty shaken up for the first time after he left the room they had conducted the session.

"Okay... I'll try that Hina." Tenten said reluctantly before turning towards their pink-haired friend who was looking at the flowers with a bored look. Hinata glanced at Sakura who took no notice of their thoughts or maybe she had been subjected to it so much that she finally earned how to ignore it. However, they had no need to ask Sakura because before they could, they found themselves staring at a very large mansion. The house that they thought they saw was actually the tip of the mansion that looked like a house in the distance. There were no flowers, only grass and trees but you could feel warmth radiating from the house as if it was the sun itself.

'Well, that settles it then, the person inside must be him. He's the only one capable of sending a controlled amount of his shinzu among them.' Hinata gasped, she had heard the voice again, the one that spoke to her weeks before her discovery and just a few days ago before leaving.

'So, that means he's going to be my mentor or something?' She asked hesitantly, she still hadn't grasped the full meaning of the roles of the members of the Shizun Megami.

'No, he's more than that. He will be Tenten's guardian and her predecessor, he will be the one to give her a part of his power when she is ready, the same with you and Ino.' Hinata didn't miss the fact that Sakura was not mentioned, she was about to point this out when the door opened and a boy with light cotton-candy hair and a light pink hair that complimented his face.

"O-onii-san..." The small voice of Sakura made them all turn towards her, her lips were quivering and her eyes were covered by her bangs. Hinata felt a cold chill down her spine and she couldn't help but shiver and wrap herself with her arms to keep the warm in. The boy wasn't smiling anymore and everyone was silent as they observed Sakura's movements.

"Sakura..." Hinata turned around when he spoke, he didn't seem worried about the fact that Sakura was emitting a deadly shinzu towards him. Nor did he noticed the confused looks from the others who were clueless as well.

"A-akira-san, I d-don't understand this..." Hinata said quietly towards the blonde female who didn't spoke, she merely reached out her hands and vines moved towards Sakura, who was already forming a thin sheet of her shinzu around her body. She gasped as she noticed the changes occurring in fast pace to Sakura, her once short hair had grown longer and was paler, her clothes had also changed into a white dress that had a transparent cloth on the sleeve.

"S-sakura-chan..." Hinata's voice was so quiet, this couldn't be it. This was supposed to be the mark of a new beginning, Sakura couldn't lose her control, she was the one who was matured the most.

'Hina, you know what to do.' Before they knew it, Sakura had been stripped of her shinzu covering and was lying on the ground, reverting back to her old form. They eyed Hinata who was panting, who knew she had more than restoration abilities, she was a good sealer too.

Sakura

Sakura opened her eyes, she saw blue clouds and she felt the cool breeze blowing. Where was she? She didn't knew, rather, she didn't cared. All that she remembered was the feeling of betrayal that she felt when her cousin was the one that opened the door. She was familiar with his unique abilities, even when they were younger, he had always been the one to calm her down whenever she was feeling mad.

"S-sakura-chan?" Sakura slowly turned her head towards the familiar voice of her friend. She was looking over her with a worried expression and she frowned, why was Hinata here?

"I see you're awake, Saki." Sakura sat up almost immediately and she moved so fast that she created a ten-meter distance within a few seconds. Ryuu frowned but Sakura was on her guard, this man was dangerous, that one she knew. He had no mercy, he left her then when she needed him the most and he never even bothered to contact them for the past seven years. Her mind had instilled on itself that he was a traitor, nothing more.

"Sakura, why are you doing this?" Ino asked, waving her hands in exasperation.

"You'd never understand." She said, her voice cold again, she flinched, even if she was the one speaking, she didn't like the fact that she had became so cold, towards herself, her friends, everyone around her. But there was no other choice left for her, it was just plain useless now, they had crossed the lines and she just had enough.

"Then let us understand!" Ino answered back while looking at her sternly.

A few minutes later, Sakura blinked, this was getting annoying. She came here to start a new life, who knew her past and present were so connected that they entangled themselves with the future and she freaking hated it. She felt a soothing hand on her back and she saw Tenten nodding at her with understanding.

"Don't worry Sakura, we'll be here until you decide to tell us the truth... We promise." Sakura's eyes filled with tears, and she smiled, genuinely for the first time.

"Thank you, minna..." She said, however, before she knew it, Tenten was a few feet away from her, pinned in the ground by a certain Hyuuga, Hinata was busy dodging Naruto's attacks and Ino was trying to stay away from the sunlight. She looked around and saw her new mentors engage themselves in a fight between Kakashi, Kurenai and Gai. By the looks of it, they were passing by or they were tracking them down, whatever it was, they were determined.

"Hinata-chan, come back to Konoha, please." Naruto begged while Hinata answered with a firm no. She wondered as to why nobody seemed to notice her when a familiar Hyuuga appeared in front of her. Her vision turned from black to white to red as she saw the dying form of a boy with purplish hair holding her hands as tears slowly poured out of his eyes.

"YOU!" She said before kicking the ground, causing a massive earthquake and leaving a crack in the middle. The girl smirked and she felt her hatred for the girl to grow again, she was going to pay for her crimes, for their crimes.

"Hn." Was the reply, before she could blink however, Sakura held a broken katana to her throat and a growl came from Sakura.

"Die." Hinata screamed, Ino was shocked, Tenten and Neji stood dumbfound while Kakashi, Akira, Gai, Koi and Ryuu and Kurenai stood silently, mouths agape.

"T-this can't be it, Sakura!"

Author's Notes:

Okay, so my decided pairing will be SaixSakura, NejixTen, NaruxHina and ShikaxIno. I may add a few SasuSaku scenes or SasuIno, but that depends, anyway. I hope you guys enjoyed it as much as I do. I added the cliffhanger there for a reason. And yeah, sorry if it happened to be so fast-paced but bear with me. I'll improve my writing more, I promise!

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Thanks for reading this and for the support as well! I'll be doing my best for everyone else, I promise.