Hey guys! So sorry for the delay I've recently been dealing with some health issues, so it's been an uphill battle. I'm on new meds so I'm looking forward to updating more regularly! Also as always thank you so much for the reviews! I love getting them and seeing your feedback!

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Sakura opened her eyes to find a concerned Naruto and a bored Sasuke leaning over her. Sasuke's head was still attached to his body, so she deduced that Kakashi had either pulled his body underground or it was a genjutsu which made her face flame up in embarrassment from her fainting episode. She remembered what her other self had said to her while she was unconscious and felt determination spark to life in the center of her being. If her older self was to be believed, it was up to her to bring team 7 together into a functional unit. So it was time for her to start pulling her weight and play her part. She sat up slowly while rubbing her eyes and the boys leaned away to give her more room.

"Sakura-chan I thought you weren't going to wake up for awhile. You had us worried, ya know!" Naruto yelled exuberantly like he always did. Sakura looked over at Sasuke to gauge his reaction to Naruto's statement. He snorted and turned his head away from the other two as one arm rested on his propped up knee and leaned on the other. To anyone else it looked as if he honestly couldn't care less, but to someone who had been watching him for years like Sakura had the light blush that dusted his high cheek bone said differently. She smiled at the two boys next to her in a reassuring way.

"I'm okay you guys. Thanks for worrying about me but we've wasted enough time as it is. We need to take down Kakashi-sensei and I think I have a plan we can work with." She said as she met their eyes with confidence and determination. Sakura wasn't sure if this plan would work or even if Sasuke and Naruto would agree to go along with it, but the way things were going this was the only option she saw even a chance of them getting the bells. They just had to go with her plan. Sasuke moved to stand and started walking away from his teammates.

"You guys are a waste of time and you're doing nothing but holding me back." He sneered at them over his shoulder. Naruto grit his teeth in frustration and glared at his rivals retreating form. Sakura on the other hand was shaking at how unnecessarily mean his statement was. After seeing the images her older self had showed her, the fact that she never went against Sasuke and did everything she could to coddle him and yet he still left them for power and vengeance. Maybe, just maybe if she tried treating him like an actual person instead of a god on a pedestal, that might change the reality she had been shown. Her eyes hardened as she picked up a stone and chucked it as hard as she could at his back. Of course Sasuke was quick enough to catch it, but it made him turn around in surprise and Naruto's jaw drop as he cautiously inched away from the angry girl beside him. He's been on the receiving end of those fists and had no intention of suffering it due to the bastard's crappy attitude. Sakura slowly got to her feet and stepped toward the still flabbergasted Sasuke.

"We are the one's holding you back? The ones wasting your time? No Sasuke, that's not the way this works. We are supposed to be a team and you're the one who keeps rejecting us like we are so far beneath you. The whole point to having teams is to depend on one another, not to tear each other down." Her angry stare finally saw what she had refused to see for so many years. Sasuke was so embroiled in resentment and hatred that he was losing any shred of basic human decency he had. How could she ever love someone who refused to love anyone?

Including himself?

Sasuke snorted.

"That's rich coming from you. How many times do you degrade Naruto and hit him? Maybe you should clean out your own closet before you start to lecture anyone about theirs." She stopped breathing as what he said registered in her mind. He maybe heartless but Sasuke had a knack for exploiting others weaknesses. Could she be any more of a hypocrite? She was just as bad as him and he was calling her out on it, as much as she hated it.

It's true that we've always been horrible to Naruto. It's one of the man regrets that I harbor. He's a strong ninja and an even better friend and in the end he was even like the little brother I never knew I wanted. My relationship with him was one of the things I was going to start sooner and make better in this life.

Sakura could finally see a path opening up before her at the word spoke in her head and knew what she had to do.

Naruto had finally had enough of his self centered teammate and jumped to his feet to rush to his crush's aid.

"How dare you talk to Sakura-chan like that! She's a better person than you could ever-"

"He's right Naruto. It's like the pot calling the kettle black. I've always been horrible to you, though its partially your fault for being annoying. I hope you can forgive me for that and we can be friends and teammates from here on out." She turned to the blonde and looked him in the eye as she said her apology. Sakura's words hit Naruto like a ton of brick to the chest. No one his own age had ever said anything like this to him before and the idea of having friends was as possible to him as the grass turning purple. His eyes watered at the impact of her words and he rubbed the droplets away quickly before the bastard saw them.

Sakura saw them though. She saw every emotion that entered those blue eyes.

"I promise to protect you from others too. No one hurts my family." She said with determination. She turned her piercing gaze to Sasuke in challenge.

"What about you Sasuke? I apologized and owned up to my mistakes. Are you man enough to accept us and our help?"

They stared at each other in a battle of the wills until Sasuke looked away with a scoff. Who did she think she was to lecture him? It almost made him miss her clinginess. As it is she was wasting his time with all that heart felt emotional crap. He turned his back to them and took off, not bothering to answer her challenge because he'd be damned if he admitted he needed their help.

Sakura and Naruto watched him leave, one in disbelief and the other in vague annoyance. Naruto couldn't believe he ran after Sakura basically took a shot at his manly pride without fighting her. Sakura on the other hand was annoyed at the fact that his actions and attitude didn't even surprise her. After everything her older self has shown her, Sasuke no longer looked like the prince charming who hung the stars in the heavens, instead she was seeing him for who he actually was.

An arrogant, selfish prick who needed an attitude adjustment.

"Why does he have to be such a bastard?!" Naruto growled in frustration. Sakura sighed wondering how she would get him to open up to them.

Maybe his mightier than thou attitude needs an adjustment. Perhaps Naruto could help you out with that?

Kakashi stood in the middle of the clearing, his little book of porn open in his left hand. So far none of the little brats had come after him and that surprised him seeing how Naruto's personality was 95% impatient stupidity and Sasuke had something to prove to himself. He wondered what was holding them up-

Naruto and Sakura burst from the tree line in front of him, looking like the hounds of hell were hot on their heels.

"IT WAS ALL SAKURA'S IDEA TEME! I SWEAR I WAS JUST FOLLOWING ORDERS!" Naruto yelled over his shoulder as he ran. Kakashi was dumbfounded to see a mud and twig covered Sasuke hot on their heels.

"Way to throw me under the bus idiot! You were the one who came up with the plan! You're as guilty as I am!"

Kakashi grabbed the furious looking Sasuke by the back of his mud crusted shirt and hauled him away from the other two. He sighed wondering how he got stuck with this bunch of morons.

"I'll bite. What happened?" His bored gaze going from one child to the other. Sasuke's eyes burned with a hellfire that promised retribution, while Naruto and Sakura looked sheepish. Well, Sakura looked sheepish, Naruto was trying to hold in his laughter now that the imminent threat of an ass kicking was gone.

"Those two made a wire trap that wrapped around my ankle and flung me into a mud hole!" Sasuke seethed in absolute rage.

Kakashi massaged the bridge of his nose as he felt a headache coming on.

"Want to tell me why you thought it was a good idea to do that to your teammate?" To his surprise, it was Sakura who squared her shoulders and glared back at him, not one bit of remorse in the way her arms crossed over her chest.

"It's his fault for rejecting us. I had a plan and he just walked away like we were beneath him. We just showed him he wasn't all the great."

Kakashi lazily eyed the fuming boy in his grasp, then turned to the other two in contemplation. Sakura couldn't tell what he was thinking behind that mask of his and that worried her slightly. Next to them the timer ran out signaling their time was up.

"Well looks like you're all out of time children, but since I'm in a good mood I'll let you try again after lunch." He unceremoniously dropped Sasuke, who landed on his feet, and walked off. Now that he was free, the black haired boy rounded on the two trouble makers.

"I will make you pay for this." He cracked his knuckles menacingly as he advanced on them.

"If you had listened instead of acting like you're so much better than us we wouldn't be here." Sakura retorted with a bit of irritation.

"We are supposed to be a team Sasuke. This isn't how a team acts! We can't win this without you and you know it. Just like you can't win this without us either. We are a three man squad for a reason Sasuke! We all need each other to beat Kakashi-sensei."

Sasuke scoffed at her.

"What about the bells genius? There are only two of them Sakura, which means only two of us will pass."

"It's part of the test. Have you ever seen a genin squad with less than three members?"

For his part, Sasuke looked doubtful, but more open to her ideas. This gave Sakura the courage to go on.

"He's trying to pit us against each other and we fell for it. I say this time we team up and work together to bring him down."

Naruto, who had been silent up until then, nodded and looked at Sasuke.

"I don't need the bastard's help, but if you want us to work together then I'm okay with it." He put his arms behind his head in a carefree way that was just so Naruto like in fashion. Sasuke crossed his arms and glared at the annoying blonde, miffed at being called a bastard, but not wanting to show it.

"Fine. We will work together to beat him, but if you're wrong Sakura, our failure is on you."

Sakura found herself rolling her eyes at him.

" Fine fine. so we work together?" She searched the other two as they gave their consent. Just then a puff of smoke appeared and Kakashi was suddenly standing to their left.

"So you finally caught on, did you? In this world we live in individual power is great, but teamwork is always better. Those who disobey the rules are scum, but those who abandon their friends are worse than scum. Always remember that my lovely little ducklings." He started to walk away to the entrance of the training grounds.

Sakura shook off her dumbfounded surprise and stared at his retreating back.

"wait does that mean we passed?"

"Yeah. Meet at the bridge on the southern end of the village tomorrow and we'll get started for real."