My new time travel fanfic! Hope you ppl like it!

Affections Across Time

Chapter 1: Be Careful What You Wish For...

Sakura’s POV

Sakura lay there in bed, listening to every tock her clock beside her made. She would often do that when she was having trouble falling asleep, like now. Memories, both painful and fond came back to her. She remembered how foolish she was when she was twelve, constantly clinging onto Sasuke and always counting on others to save her. Always crying and panicking on missions, always too weak to stand up for herself, and too foolish to fall in love with an avenger, with no chance of returning her feelings. How she cried when he left, how she counted on Naruto to bring him back...she brushed those memories away. She was stronger now, with him gone. Stronger than before. One of the best kunoichi in the village. The top medic, respected by everyone. She tried to forget about him, oh, Kami-sama knew how she tried! And yet, she still thought about him every day of her life without him.

She sometimes asked herself why she fell in love with him. That bastard that betrayed her and the village for a snake pedophile. Of course, the first day she saw him, she merely had a small school-girl crush, blinded by his good looks. But she realized her true feelings to him. She even admitted to him. But...he pushed her away...

Sakura wished that she can erase everything that happened to her in the past. She wished that she can relive it...to make it better...to get rid of the blemishes of her scarred heart...

Sakura fell into an uneasy sleep.

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Part 1: The Portals Through Time

She found herself lying down on the floor. The floor was unusually soft and warm as a bed, contrary to the slippery and smooth look it had. Sakura rubbed her eyes, and got up. She peered at her surroundings. She appeared to be in some sort of temple. Sliver brocaded silk hangings and gold treasures inlaid with precious jewels glimmered in her eyes. Three oaken doors at the left side of the room had mysterious symbols that Sakura couldn’t read carved into the wood. She noticed a golden throne right in the middle of the room, occupied by a beautiful woman in rich clothing. She held a scepter that had had engravings of Japanese kanji that formed the word “Time” which was written a thousand times. The woman looked down at Sakura with a half-smile on her pretty face. Sakura just stared at her.

“Welcome, my dear.” The woman said in a musical voice.

“Where am I?”

“You are in the Temple of Kikan that holds the three portals of time: Past, Present, and Future.”

“Um, who are you?” Sakura asked meekly.

“I am the Time Goddess, Jikoku.” She answered. “I control time in the world of humans. I am letting you choose one portal to go through. You may change it to your liking, but be warned-you can never change it again. You can choose to relive your life, and stay there, or go back to the present. Do you accept the offer?”

“Wait-” Sakura paused. “Are you saying that I can change my past or any one of those to my liking?”

“Yes, it depends on what your actions are. You can make it better, but you can also...” Her face went stern. “...make it worse than before.”

“Why are you giving me this chance out of anyone else?” Sakura asked.

“Because, my dear, you’re the one that wished it the most.” Jikoku smiled sadly. “You wanted to change your past. And I decided to help you.” She got up from her throne and walked over to Sakura. The closer she got, the more beautiful she seemed to be. The Time Goddess led Sakura to the left side of the temple. They stopped in front of the doors.

“So, what will it be?” She asked kindly.

“Past,” Sakura answered.

“Do you have any questions to ask before you go?”

“Yes.” Sakura bit her lip. “When I want to get back to my present, what do I do?”

“You simply wish it so.”

“Alright, and what will happen if I do change the past?”

“Then your future and present will change,” Jikoku replied.

“And...what happens if I die in there?” Sakura asked in a whisper.

“Then you get erased from your future and present.” The woman smiled bitterly. Sakura let out a sharp intake of breath. Shall I risk it?

“You can go back to your present time if you don’t want to,” the goddess said, as if reading her thoughts.

“Thanks, but I’ll risk it.” Sakura replied. I hope I’m making the right choice...

“Then count to three...” the goddess ordered. Sakura began to count.

“One...” The goddess raised her scepter and began to murmur an incantation.

“Two...” The first door flung open, and Sakura saw nothing but a hazy mist. Suddenly, a gust of wind blew fiercely from it, sucking Sakura in.

“Three!” Sakura was pulled inside the door.

“Good luck, Haruno Sakura!” The Time Goddess called over the wind. Sakura was caught in a whirlwind, going faster and faster every second. She saw gold and silver of the ornate temple, and the many colors of the goddess’s robe. Then, her world went black, and everything was gone.

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Part 2: Is This a Dream?

“Sakura, wake up!” A feminine voice called, waking the girl instantly.

“Mmm, that was some dream,” Sakura muttered as she yawned and stretched. Then, something came into Sakura’s mind. Wait a minute, that’s Mother’s voice. She died a year ago...so how can this be...? Oh no, is this-?

She jumped up from her bed to look at the mirror. She slowly stared at her reflection. Long pink hair. Large emerald eyes. Curveless body. Twelve year old Sakura stared back at her.

“Oh. My. God.” Her eyes widened. “It wasn’t a dream.” That means...I can change my past...

She went to her closet. She found her old clothes hung up on the rack. She made a face. I can’t believe I wore this when I was twelve. A complete unstylish outfit.

She tsked, wondering what else to wear. She suddenly had an idea.

She ran to her desk and pulled out her sewing kit and scissors. She began to formulate a new design for the outfit. Sakura snapped the two blades together. She started to work her way through the fabric.

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Part 3: The Old Sakura Thrown Away

She looked at herself in the mirror, wearing the outfit she improved. It was no longer a skimpy, red gown. Now, it was a tube top with the hem stopped two inches above her waist, showing a white strip of her flat stomach. She had cut off the skirt part and inverted it into a pleated miniskirt that was mid-thigh. Sakura smiled in satisfaction; it was comfortable enough to train in, and it looked great on her. In fact, it looked hot. She decided that fishnet sleeves and shorts would look great with it. Sakura made a metal note to buy them later after her training.

Sakura studied her reflection, to see if something wasn’t right. There was. She grabbed her scissors again, but this time, she began to cut her long pink hair.

Snip. Snip. Snip. The locks of pink hair fell on the ground.

“That’s better.” She swept up the hair on the floor, and threw it in the garbage. Sakura threw her old self away along with it. Now she would change the past to her liking. She would change the, fact that she was weak, she would change the fact that she depended on her teammates to save her, and she would change the fact that Sasuke left Konoha. Sakura glanced at the mirror again. Her wisps of pink hair rested on her shoulders with spunky layers.

Sakura grabbed her bag that held all her weapons inside.

Time to go train, she thought as she ran downstairs. She was about to walk to the front door until her mother’s voice stopped her.

“Aren’t you going to have any breakfast?” Her mother demanded. Sakura whirled around. She almost forgot that her mother didn’t die yet. She threw her arms around her mother and hugged her fiercely.

“Sakura-chan...” Mrs. Haruno slowly turned purple from the lack from oxygen. “Need...air...” Sakura let go of her poor mother. Mrs. Haruno looked surprised at her daughter’s sudden actions.

“What’s gotten into you, honey?” Mrs. Haruno asked, looking concerned. She laid a hand on her daughter’s forehead. “Are you sick?”

“No, of course not!” Sakura chirped. “I’ll see you later, gotta go for some training!” She pulled on her slinky black boots, and slung open the door.

“I’ll be back by seven!” Sakura called as she ran past her house.

“Don’t you want some-” Mrs. Haruno was about to ask her if she wanted a bite before she left, but her daughter was already gone. She shook her head.

“When was she so excited about training?” Mrs. Haruno sighed and closed the door. She was now all alone. “That girl is full of surprises.”

Mrs. Haruno made her way back to the kitchen, muttering fondly about how her “little girl” changed.

And somewhere in Konoha, Sakura sneezed.

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Part 4: The Training In The Forest

Sakura entered the dark, shady forest. The smell of evergreen and pine mixed with morning dew hit her nose. She inhaled and exhaled deeply, letting the fresh air in her lungs. Sakura walked to the clearing where the kunai target posts were located. She set her bag on the lush viridian grass, and pulled out three kunai from it. She started to throw the kunai at the targets.

Thanks to being Tsunade’s apprentice and years of hard training, they all hit the bull’s-eyes perfectly.

If I trained hard enough in the Genin days, I might’ve stopped Sasuke-kun from ever leaving. She thought as she pulled off the kunais off the posts and started to practice her aiming again. Drops of sweat rolled down her forehead, to her flushed cheeks, and down her chin. Sakura held the kunai in her gloved hand. I will kill Orochimaru! She flung the weapon and it landed on the bull’s-eye with a loud thwack! Sakura panted, and pulled all three off of the wooden posts. She was about to throw them again, until she sensed someone’s chakra signature nearby, right behind a rosemary bush a few yards away from her. A very familiar chakra signature...

Sakura narrowed her emerald eyes. Then, without hesitation, she threw the kunai directly at the bush.

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Sasuke’s POV

Sasuke strolled down the path, looking for somewhere to train. He looked to his right side, and saw a clearing with target posts in the centre. Perfect.

He sauntered to the area, only to see a person already training there. Sasuke stopped next to a bush, and squinted to see who it was. It was a girl wearing red clothes. She had short pink hair. Sasuke narrowed his eyes. There was only one person in Konoha with pink hair. It was one of his fangirls, Haruno Sakura.

Sasuke stared in surprise. The weapons she threw hit the bull’s-eyes with precise aiming. They were never out of place. But if he could remember correctly, Sakura was only brains with no exceptional talent back at the academy.

But now...she had skills that rivaled, or even surpassed his own. Sasuke scrutinized each move she made carefully, noting how her leverage was perfect, and her-

He heard a kunai flying in his direction. Luckily, he moved away in time, avoiding the weapon. Now he was more surprised than ever. How did she know someone was nearby so fast? Sasuke’s mind filled with questions. Is this Sakura? Her calm voice cut through his trance.

“You can come out now...” Sakura paused. “Uchiha Sasuke.” She added with emphasis.

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Part 5: Encounter With Love From the Past

Normal POV

Sakura heard Sasuke come out of the bushes and into plain view. Her heart made a familiar leap when she saw him. She didn’t have that feeling for many years.

Sasuke, on the other hand, was wondering how she knew it was him. Chakra signatures were way past Genin level. It was even hard for Chuunins to master. So how could she...? Was there something she was hiding? Maybe she wasn’t a Genin...or a Chuunin...maybe, she was a-

“Well?” Sakura twirled a kunai on her finger. “Are you going to stand there all day or what?”

Sasuke didn’t answer her. He was too busy thinking how he could keep these questions inside his head, without him blurting them out. Sasuke suddenly had an idea...a plan to see how much power she had...

“Let’s spar,” Sasuke said, walking closer. Now he and Sakura were only a few metres apart. He inwardly smirked at her expression. It was priceless.

“What?”

“You heard me,” he got into a fighting stance. Sakura smirked. That’s his little plan? She decided to play with him.

“If you insist...” And she disappeared. Sasuke looked around him, trying to spot her somewhere. But without the Sharingan, he had no chance of finding her. She was too fast...

Sasuke felt a cold metal blade pressed against his neck. He was pinned down on the forest ground, his body rendered immobile by Sakura. He felt her soft breath on the nape of his neck. Her hair fell on his face when she swooped down next to his ear. Sasuke inhaled her scent. Sakura's hair smelled like the most delicious thing he ever smelled.

“Looks like I win,” she whispered inside his ear. He twitched. She smirked in triumph, and let go of him. She jumped away, and landed on her two feet gracefully.

Sasuke stood there dumbly, as if Sakura told him she was the tooth fairy. Sakura noticed beads of blood on his pale neck from the thin cut her kunai made. But he was too shocked to make a move or even to notice he was bleeding. Sakura walked over to him. He merely stared at her.

“Lie down.” Sakura said calmly, breaking the silence.

“What?” Sasuke snapped back to reality.

“So I can heal your neck,” she replied, pointing at the crimson blood on his neck. Sasuke reluctantly lay down on the grassy floor. Sakura inched near him, and moved her hand towards his neck.

She focused her chakra to the palm of her hand, until it glowed green. She folded his collar down, until his neck was bare. Sakura stopped the bleeding on his neck, and then sealed the cut. During the whole time, Sasuke didn’t move a muscle. He was too amazed of what Sakura was capable of.

“You can move now,” Sakura said. Sasuke sat up. He touched his neck. The cut was completely healed.

“Well, I have to train some more,” she said, walking towards her bag. She stowed the kunais inside. Sakura picked up the bag, and started walking away. Sasuke opened his mouth. His throat felt dry.

“Sakura,” he managed to croak out. Sakura turned around, a smile gracing her features.

“Yes?”

“How...?”

“Training,” Sakura answered simply. Just like you told me four years ago...you told me to stop flirting with you and start training to get stronger...

Without another word, she turned around, and swept away, leaving a confused Sasuke in her wake.

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How was it? I tried to make the first chappie longer. The next chappie might take long, becuz of school and other fanfics I’m writing. Well, I hope you like this new story!! Read and Review, please!!!!

-Chikako

The Additional Character

Jiroku the Time Goddess- the name "Jiroku" means time, and also, "Kikan" is another word for time as well. Just to let you know.