New story! My bigger ones are giving me a headache, so I've been ignoring them for the most part, and just checking out some of my other stuff. Like this! :) This fic is inspired by the Charmed episode, Witchstock, where Paige put on a pair of their grandmother's old boots, and ended up getting zapped into the past.

So anyway, disclaimer that I own neither Naruto nor Charmed, and enjoy, folks!

A Seal Through Time

Chapter One – The Kanzashi

Tsunade was preparing to leave Konoha, and she was going through everything that she'd accumulated over the time she'd been in the village. That included new belongings, and old, most of which would be packed away and stored. What she was staring at now fell under the 'old' category. Twirling a kanzashi between her fingers, she pursed her lips at the memories it brought up. It had been her grandmother Mito's, one of the things she'd left behind in storage when she'd left the first time, mostly so she wouldn't be tempted to sell it.

Wearing fancy jewellery was never her thing, even at important festivals, official celebrations, and such. So, Tsunade had never felt the need to ever wear it. It was a beautiful piece though, golden double pin with white and purple sakura flowers at the top. A single petal dangling from a delicate chain was the only part in motion as she twirled it.

Something like this… Once, she'd considered giving it to Shizune, but even her pseudo niece wasn't someone who would wear this kind of jewellery. Shizune preferred simple kanzashi, when she wore them. No, actually, this piece would be more to Sakura's style. It would be perfect, she knew, for her favourite student (she'd never let that on, though, she was supposed to favour both of her girls equally, after all) to wear at Naruto and Hinata's wedding. Though that was still months and months away, what with the mandatory 'courting period', the wedding planning, and everything else those stickler Hyuuga's would demand.

Decision made, she put it back in its box and put it aside, intent on giving it to Sakura once she'd finished going through everything.

Finally, finally, Tsunade had stepped down as Godaime, and Hatake had stepped up as Rokudaime. In celebration, Tsunade was going on a long holiday, one she felt was well deserved. Shizune was going to come with her, which would end up leaving Sakura in charge at the hospital. The pinkette was more than ready to run it, no matter how nervous she was at the prospect. Tsunade and Shizune had been grooming her for the past year, ever since she'd started making her 'holiday' plans.

A few hours and several packed-for-storage boxes later, and Tsunade was headed over to Sakura's, the box with the kanzashi in a pocket. Once she reached her apprentices apartment, she knocked, waited patiently for the girl to answer, then stepped inside once Sakura had stepped back to allow her access.

"To what do I owe this visit, Tsunade-shishou?" Sakura asked.

"I've finished my packing," Tsunade said. "Shizune and I will be heading out in the morning."

"Right," Sakura said a bit dejectedly, trying to hide it, but Tsunade knew her too well by this point. "I'll still be seeing you off," she added, as if reminding her mentor not to leave without her farewell.

"Of course you will," Tsunade said, placing a hand on Sakura's shoulder. "But in the meantime, there's something I wanted to give you."

Removing her hand and then reaching into her hakama, Tsunade pulled out the box. "This was my grandmothers," she said. "It's a kanzashi, but it's not one that suits my taste, if I were to ever even wear one. I wanted you to have it, Sakura."

Sakura took the box almost reverently. "I… I don't know what to say, shishou," she said, and Tsunade could clearly hear the emotion in her voice.

"Don't worry about saying anything," Tsunade dismissed, then spoke seriously, "Sakura, you've been kind of like a daughter to me over the years, and even though we aren't actually related by blood, I wanted you to have something that expressed that."

The teen in front of her was close to tears, she could tell. "Now now," Tsunade said. "No tears, alright, Sakura? It's not like I'm never coming back, this is just a holiday."

"I'll hold you to that," Sakura sniffed, then launched herself forward and hugged her. "I'm gonna miss you, you know."

Tsunade hugged her back and said, "Come now, let's save the emotional goodbyes for morning, alright?"

Sakura pulled away and nodded, one hand wiping at her tears, the other clutching the box to her. "Alright, shishou," she said. "I'll see you in the morning then."

OoOoO

It had been a few months already since Tsunade and Shizune had left. In that time, Sakura had become better acclimated to running the hospital. Luckily, the staff were excellent, and had no problems taking orders from her. She was so busy these days, that she hardly saw any of her friends socially, mostly only when they came in injured, or on the rare occasion that Ino was able to drag her away for lunch.

"You work too much, Forehead," her best friend declared one day. "You know what? There's a festival coming up soon, and you are going to attend. No excuses!"

"But I'll probably have to work!" Sakura complained.

"Hey! I just said no excuses!" Ino reprimanded her. "Look, one day off, or just leaving early, isn't going to kill you. Or anyone in the hospital. Come on, Sakura! You gotta do this for me, not just yourself!"

Sakura sighed. "Fine," she agreed reluctantly. "I'll see about arranging things at the hospital so I can have the time off."

"Yes!" Ino fist pumped. "Now, about what we're gonna wear…"

When the time for the festival came along, Ino brought her kimono, accessories, and makeup all over to Sakura's house. The two were going to spend a few hours just getting ready, and despite the fact that she knew she should be working on that new proposal for the hospital, Sakura was actually looking forward to this. Fresh out of the shower, the two women helped one another put on their kimono, then Ino got stuck into Sakura's hair and makeup.

"So, Sasuke will be there tonight," Ino said conversationally as she pulled at Sakura's hair. "Sai told me that Naruto plans to drag him along."

"Oh, really?" Sakura asked, feeling some butterflies in her stomach.

Once the war had ended, Sasuke had expressed his interest in her. Of course then, he'd ended up in prison, and by the time he was out, the two of them had somehow ended up dancing around one another on the topic of whether or not they would start dating. That was over a year ago, and while nothing official had happened yet, there had been things like lingering touches, meaningful looks, and one rather telling, if brief, kiss.

"Really," Ino said. "You need to step up, Sakura. Sasuke's been terrible at manning up to make the first move. So you've got to do it instead."

Sakura nervously twiddled her fingers. "I'm not sure how to go about that," she admitted.

"How about you just kiss him?" Ino suggested even as Sakura blushed. "Pretty sure he'll get the idea that way."

Once Ino was done with Sakura's hair, she started in with the makeup. The two chatted about nothing the whole while, then swapped places as Sakura did Ino's hair and makeup as well. Once everything was done, Ino pulled out some hair accessories that she intended to wear.

"What have you got, Sakura?" she asked.

"Well, there's something that shishou gave me before she left," Sakura told her friend, going over to where she had been keeping the kanzashi that Tsunade had given her.

Opening the box, she showed Ino, who gasped in awe. "That's gorgeous!" she exclaimed. "Where did she get something like that? I didn't think this would be her style."

"It was her grandmother's," Sakura said even as Ino continued to sigh over the piece.

"What? Which grandmother?" Ino asked, jerking in surprise. "The Shodaime's wife, or her other grandmother?"

Sakura paused at that. "You know what? I have no idea," she admitted.

"Well, it's gorgeous either way," Ino said. "And it'll go perfect with your kimono."

Sakura's kimono was purple and white. It started lighter at the top, and ended up a dark purple at the hem. The flowers of the kanzashi had some purple on the inside of them that matched the kimono's shade perfectly. Ino tucked the ornament into Sakura's locks carefully, examined it thoughtfully, then rummaged through Sakura's jewellery box, pulling out a comb.

She put that in, then declared, "There! You're done!"

Suddenly there was a wind that whipped up, startling both women. The two of them screeched as they were mussed up, and Sakura heard Ino cursing as the wind attempted to undo her work. Ino gasped then, and yelled something, but Sakura couldn't hear her. She felt some kind of hot glow, then everything in front of her disappeared in a swirl of wind and light.

So what did you think? I'm kinda torn on the pairings right now, this is either gonna end up MadaSaku, or TobiSaku, I haven't figured that out yet. A triangle definitely, though. ;)

Reviews are greatly appreciated! :)