Uncertainty and a painful need for explanations flitted rapidly across Sasuke's features, but Sakura turned back towards the arena, motioning him to follow. This seemed to aggravate Sasuke infinitely, but there was no way she was discussing anything major without Naruto - the blond had been left out of the loop enough. He must have had equally as many questions as Sasuke at Sakura's behaviour in the Forest of Death but he never once rushed her, trusting Sakura to confide in him when she was ready. That wasn't a faith she was willing to disappoint.

Sakura roamed the spectator seats in search for the blond - Sasuke seemingly having settled for stubbornly holding onto her arm as she moved through the crowd. Sakura didn't fully understand what appeared to be Sasuke's sudden fixation over her - but she had seen his pale face collapse when he set his eyes on her curse seal, and he had been shivering when he pulled her into his arms. It was obvious.

He cared about her.

In a more innocent timeline, Sakura thought the realisation could have overjoyed her. But as of now it only pushed her deeper into the abyss of her spiralling emotions, and Sakura tried to offhandedly swallow it down. She didn't want to hope, and lose again.

When they finally found Naruto, he was in an isolated clearing between the Central Tower and the Forest of Death, standing under the shadows of a weeping willow and apparently deep in conversation with...

"Hyūga?" Sasuke scowled, and the pair turned towards Sakura and Sasuke, Neji's lips turning up in distaste to mirror Sasuke's while Naruto looked like a deer in headlights.

"What are you guys doing?" Sakura started making her way towards them as Sasuke let go of her arm, warily but curiously eyeing Neji. This definitely wasn't a scene she expected to see, Naruto with Neji of all people- "Why are you-"

"Nejii!" There was a desperate, high-pitched scream from behind her, and Sakura whirled, to find Tenten sprinting wildly towards the group, her pale face damp with tears and twisted in utter, utter anguish. Sakura called out her name, but the brunette didn't even seem to register her, collapsing into Neji's arms as he immediately steadied her, and tears bubbled out of her eyes-

"Lee!" Tenten sobbed. "Neji, you have to come with me. Lee..."

Neji's white eyes flashed, and grabbing Tenten by her arm, darted towards the Central Tower, the brunette following him like an helpless doll with a stricken expression. Team 7 was left alone in an instant, and Sakura frowned, trying to understand just what had happened-

"Lee's hurt," Sasuke said, his own brows furrowed. "He was put with the Sand redhead."

Silence reigned over the trio, each of them no doubt remembering Gaara's strength - and it was difficult to speak up after seeing the state that Tenten had been in when she came to get Neji.

"Hopefully he's okay," Sakura said quietly, and Naruto nodded.

"What were you talking about with the Hyūga, anyway?" Sasuke asked, turning towards the blond, and odd light Naruto gained in his cerulean eyes made Sakura pause. Naruto had always been transparent, his emotions reflecting plainly on his whiskered face, whether it was by his will or not - but Naruto currently seemed...clouded, like layer of fog over his sunny features.

"Oh, just..." Naruto hopelessly waved his arms around. "The Exams," he finally said. "I jumped in during his fight."

"What-" Sasuke started.

"-Only because he was going to kill Hinata!" Naruto hastily defended himself. "And he still won! So it's fine!"

"You-" Sasuke ran a frustrated hand through his hair. "Do you have any idea what-"

Sakura sighed, and it seemed to somehow force Sasuke to swallow back his tirade. "Did you find out why he tried to?" She asked. Sakura didn't remember this particular occurrence between the two Hyūgas in the past timeline, although she couldn't assume it hadn't happened as she had been knocked out for the majority of the fights due to her battle with Ino. She had a vague memory of Hinata and Neji not being on the best of terms during their time as genin, but it had been difficult to pay attention to the other Rookies while she had so much else on her plate. Sakura briefly considered whether she should press Naruto - when the blond quickly shook his head, dismissing the topic.

"Anyway, it's not important." He shrugged, and it was obvious he didn't want to speak about it further. "They're gone now - we should check up on Lee when we have the chance, too."

Sakura pursed her lips, but mentally waved the issue away. She wanted to respect Naruto as he had done her and wait for him to speak to her when he was ready. And he would. She believed in that. "We have something important to tell you," Sakura said.

When Sakura finished speaking with a grim expression, Naruto's face was an indescribable mix between astonishment and terrible disgust - while Sasuke glared at the air with his arms crossed, quiet but barely concealed fury in his eyes. The group had settled in a tucked away corner of the clearing, the shadows of the weeping willow above them flickering unsteadily across the young genin's anxious faces.

"So you're saying- you're saying-" Naruto seemed to struggle even to comprehend the idea, his blue eyes the biggest and roundest she had ever seen them. "You're saying- that the snake man is after Sasuke's body?"

"Or Sakura's." Sasuke pointed out with a dark expression. "He marked her, too."

"Ugh," Naruto buried his face in his hands. "That is just sick..."

"He did," Sakura said for the nth time. "But it's most likely because I was just in the way. He wants yours, Sasuke."

"And how can you be so sure?" Sasuke challenged her sharply, hiking an eyebrow. "You keep saying that, but we're equal in position."

"No, we're not." Sakura snapped, frustrated that Sasuke seemed to be entirely missing the message. The price on their bodies were different since birth - why didn't he understand that? "You have the Sharingan. That's why he wants you." Sakura threw up her hands. "I have nothing!"

"And...the Sharingan," Naruto muttered to himself, slowly piecing the information together as he attempted to get through the incredulity of topic they were discussing. "Sasuke's red-eyes thing...is unique to his clan, and..."

"Nothing?" Sasuke let out a disbelieving scoff. "You have impeccable chakra control, you can perform medical ninjutsu-"

"And..." Naruto continued, though no one listened to him. "That means the bastard is basically the only one with it...except Kakashi-sensei..."

"That's different," Sakura rolled her eyes. "Maybe if I had a limb, that somehow gave me an ability to automatically heal, or something-"

"My God," Naruto finally exclaimed, pulling at his whiskered cheeks. "We need to protect Sasuke!"

"Yes!" Sakura agreed emphatically, while Sasuke let out a loud sigh, pressing a hand against his temple.

"And Sakura-chan, too." Naruto nodded sagely. "Obviously. So it's up to me, to protect both of you, from the snake-man. Yep."

"I don't need protection." Sasuke said protection as if it was some sort of insect Naruto wanted him to become friends with, and Sakura pointed a cross finger at him.

"Yes, you do. You don't understand-"

"Okay, children. Let's not fight." Raising his hands in a peaceable way, Kakashi dropped down from one of the trees above the trio, squatting nonchalantly beside them as if the group had been discussing something as trivial as their lunch menu. "Let's stay within decibels where ninja a hundred metres away wouldn't actually be able to hear us. Revolutionary, hm?"

"Kakashi-sensei! And did you know about this?" Naruto fiercely rounded onto the silver-haired jōnin, his initial surprise at seeing the man evaporating immediately.

Kakashi threw Sakura a quick, almost unnoticeable glance, then shrugged. "Sakura had a...suspicion," he said. "She had overheard some Grass ninja, and promptly informed me about it. But of course, we had no evidence to act on until Sakura and Sasuke actually met Orochimaru in the Forest of Death."

Sakura nodded imperceptibly in gratitude as Kakashi casually slouched next to her, the keen-eyed jōnin sure to pick up on it though his eye appeared to be wholly fixed on the two boys before him. He had weaved the story in a way that would explain Sakura's wary behaviour during the Second Phase without raising too many questions.

However, Kakashi's clarification seemed to irk Sasuke more than appease him. "And you didn't tell us?" He scowled at Sakura. "You had all that time in the exams, and yet you said nothing?"

Sakura bit her lip. She understood the exact point that Sasuke was affronted by - the dark-haired boy had been giving her his trust an inch by inch, slowly letting himself merge into the team that Sakura continually advocated themselves to be - and yet she herself carried many secrets. Sakura was about to apologise when Kakashi cut in - voice airy but sharp as he directed them like blades towards Sasuke. "And what would she say?" He said. "That one of the Legendary Sannin has infiltrated the Chūnin Exams to possess your body?" He quietly chuckled. "Sounds like a joke, doesn't it?"

Sasuke stared at Kakashi, slightly taken aback - before his brows began to tilt in displeasure.

"She came to me about it, and I told her not to worry," Kakashi continued quietly. "If you want someone to blame, you can blame me."

"I'm not looking for anyone to blame," Sasuke hissed. "I'm just-"

"Stop." Sakura raised a hand, shaking her head. It was evident that Kakashi was trying to cover for her, but there was a distinct tension between the two that she couldn't and didn't want to explore right now. "It's still my fault for not sharing. I understand what you're talking about, Sasuke," she said. "And I'm sorry."

Sasuke stared at her as if he still had something to say - then looked away with a deep breath. There was heavy silence, until Naruto finally spoke up.

"You always carry everything by yourself, Sakura-chan," Naruto said. Though bell-like and boisterous as usual, his voice held a note of seriousness that commanded attention. "We're a team. You can't keep everything to yourself in fear of burdening us or placing us in danger."

Sakura swallowed. Naruto's words were unembellished and painfully direct - and easily embedded themselves in a ball of guilt that had been slowly accumulating inside of her since the Chūnin Exams started. "You're right," Sakura said, clenching her hands into fists. Her nails broke the skin of her palm, and feeling blood swell underneath her fingertips, she nodded again.

There was another period of quietude as the blond regarded her carefully, then, a professional at changing the atmosphere as it suit him, Naruto asked brightly and innocently, "So what does the curse seal do, anyway?"

Another professional at ignoring clear tension, Kakashi slowly replied, "The curse seal is a manifestation of Orochimaru's chakra. It marks a connection between your body and himself - although due to precisely that it will allow...additional powers." He gave Sasuke a pointed look. "You would have experienced this already, Sasuke."

Sasuke scowled, his fingers instinctively flexing on his lap. "It's nothing like I've experienced before," he finally said. "Like a voice inside my head...giving me power. It's a power I couldn't imitate,"

"That's...real creepy," Naruto summed up. "If it's from the snake-man, bastard, it can't be anything good..."

"No," Kakashi agreed. "Continuing to draw power from it will only draw him towards you, and you towards him."

Sasuke pursed his lips, then raised his head towards Sakura. "Have you used it?" He asked. His gaze was odd, voice strangely insistent.

"No, never." Sakura quickly replied, and visibly relaxing, Sasuke turned towards Kakashi.

"Is there a way to seal it?"

Kakashi looked obviously surprised at Sasuke's own offer to seal his newfound source of strength. Grey brows slowly descending from his hairline, the jōnin nodded. "There is. But it's an incredibly arduous process, and even when it's done, will rely on your willpower not to use it. If you decide to activate the curse seal yourself, it will be simply useless."

"You're going to seal it?" Sakura repeated dumbly. Her chest felt numb - she was going to suggest it herself had Sasuke not brought it up - and even then, she had been relying on Kakashi's support to convince Sasuke. She hadn't expected the boy's own eagerness to lock the seal.

"Of course he's going to!" Naruto exclaimed. "And you too, right, Sakura-chan? I'm going to actually throw myself away if my teammates become half-snake, half-man-"

"If he's after me for my clan's bloodline," Sasuke said, shaking his head. "There's no way I'll let him have it. And you, Sakura." Raising an eyebrow, Sasuke seemed to be daring her to say otherwise as he continued, "There's no way I'll let him have you, either."

Despite the Team 7's commitment to inactivating Sasuke and Sakura's curse seals, due to the Hokage's insistence on meeting Sakura before the day was over, the procedure had been delayed to the next day. It was shortly after sunset that her visit to the Hokage had been scheduled, and after muttering a hurried excuse to Naruto and Sasuke, Sakura found herself at the Hokage's office, the guards quietly closing the door behind her with a grave expression. Sakura attempted to still her fingers from wildly fidgeting. Not even a 'Good luck', Sakura thought with no small petulance. She had been hoping that Kakashi might meet the Hokage alongside her for some moral support, but the silver-haired jōnin had quickly abandoned her, asserting he had to keep an eye on Sasuke.

"Hello, Sakura." The Sandaime's smile crinkled his eyes in a kind manner, but Sakura couldn't stop the beads of sweat she felt sliding down her spine. She had met many important ninja in her lifetime, a lot of them Kage-level and commanding the respect of hundreds and thousands of shinobi - but being the fickle and rambunctious Godaime's sole apprentice had automatically brought her a certain level of recognition and favour. That wasn't the situation now. Haruno Sakura was a mere genin, the only daughter of no-name shinobi parents and no special abilities that had brought her attention from Academy staff to boot. She only had herself to be her own backing. Sakura imagined the situation might have been different if she were Naruto, or Sasuke - the boisterous but lovable vessel of the Kyūbi that the Hokage had a soft spot for, or the last living Uchiha that carried both the heavy legacy of his infamous clan and the poison of multigenerational hatred.

But there she was. Small insignificant Sakura that no one knew.

Sakura curtsied politely at the Sandaime, putting her best I'm-just-a-mere-innocent-genin face on and blinking a few times in bewilderment for a good measure. The Sandaime was old, and didn't radiate an aura of lethality like Kakashi did during his interrogations, but the wisdom that glinted within his thin eyes was unmistakable, and silently warned Sakura that any lies would be immediately seen through. He put down the tobacco pipe that he had been idly rolling between his fingers, and opened the door to the rooftop balcony, motioning her through and joining her.

The evening air was fresh on her face, and Sakura realised just how adept the Sandaime was at controlling the situation at hand. The crepuscule of Konoha village was breathtakingly beautiful - and the privileged and elegant nature of the balcony both removed the suffocating pressure of the Hokage's office while inviting her to relax her guard. The Sandaime stood leisurely beside her, gazing at the skyline with a serene expression as if they were but two shinobi enjoying the view.

"I wanted to apologise first, Sakura," the Hokage said, and Sakura turned her head towards him. But the Sandaime wasn't looking at her, just at Leaf. "What you experienced in the Forest of Death was appalling, and should not have happened. You may have gathered that the man who attacked you and Sasuke was not, in fact, a genin, but a man who had infiltrated the exams. We are in the process of apprehending him."

Sakura nodded. It was natural for the Sandaime to not divulge the whole truth to her; his purpose was to gain information, not share it.

"What I would like for you to tell us," he continued, "is just your account of what happened."

Sakura paused. Fooling Naruto or Sasuke was easy. Fooling Kakashi was harder - but still feasible, thanks to the years that they had spent together as student and teacher, then as teammates - Sakura knew his ups and downs, his pride and his flaws. But the Sandaime was a wholly different topic. Sakura knew the bare minimum about the man - and as a Konoha shinobi, nothing but pure honesty was allowed before the Hokage. "In the late afternoon Sasuke and I were ambushed by a Grass-nin," Sakura started. "Naruto at the time was out searching for food, and initially the Grass-nin had disguised himself as Naruto. During his attacks he separated the two of us - and when I was unable to fight back, he simply left. I only found out that I also had a seal put on me after the second phase ended."

The Sandaime rubbed his chin thoughtfully. "And did you know this man?"

Sakura quickly shook her head. "No. I didn't know who the Grass-nin was - but then during the fight his disguise melted away and it turned out to be a completely different person."

"Why do you think he might have left the seal on you and Sasuke?"

After taking a moment to study the ground at her feet, pretending to be deep in thought - Sakura shook her head again. "I'm not sure."

"Did the man say anything during the fight?"

Sakura paused again. "Just that...Sasuke was impressive." She left out the approving comments Orochimaru had privately given her.

The conversation lulled, and Sakura sneakily began to study Sarutobi Hiruzen's wrinkled profile, wondering what the sage man was thinking. She had only heard stories of his grand exploits, and he held extraordinary reputation for not only being the Sandaime but the teacher of the legendary Sannin themselves. She had never imagined she would have an opportunity to talk to him in the past.

"Your shoulder, Sakura," he suddenly said, turning and fixing his sharp eyes to the white bandages wrapped meticulously all the way up her neck in an attempt to hide the curse seal from public eyes. "I heard it was quite badly damaged. But I see that it's healing quite nicely. Is it thanks to your medical ninjutsu?"

The question was posed lightly, as if he was making an offhand remark - but Sakura could immediately tell that the Sandaime was trying to gauge her skills. Sakura nodded stiffly. "I've been trying," she said. "But I'll be visiting the hospital soon."

"And I hear you have incredible strength," the Hokage continued airily.

"I've always had good chakra control. Kakashi-sensei would tell you that I walked up a tree on my first try." The boast actually sounded as if she was a swaggering, prideful genin, and although she threw in a Naruto-like smile for a good measure, the Sandaime peered down at her, the line of his thin lips lifting gently.

"I only know one woman like you," he said.

Sasuke and Naruto stood awkwardly in the clearing, left alone by Sakura and Kakashi's sudden departure as the pink-haired girl mumbled something about needing to provide a witness account about what happened in the Chūnin Exams to the Hokage before hurrying away. The atmosphere was tense, as if a tornado had ripped through, which, Sasuke supposed, wasn't actually so far from what had happened.

He hadn't expected Sakura's explanation to be about one of the strongest ninja to leave Konoha wanting to take over his body - but he sure as hell wasn't flattered by the concept. In fact, it disgusted him to his core - a non-Uchiha shinobi venturing to steal power by laying his filthy hands on his own clan's unique bloodline? One wouldn't have even dared to think of it had the Uchiha clan still been strong - and Sasuke could barely stamp down the fury that boiled inside of him.

Not to mention Sakura - true, she might not have any bloodlines or physical attributes that could compare to the Sharingan - but the fact that Orochimaru had marked her himself posed a serious threat to her safety that equalled his. And yet she seemed completely nonchalant - fussing over him while she brushed off every statement that related to her protection.

Sasuke spat out an annoyed breath.

"Let's go eat." He finally said to Naruto. "There's no point standing around." Sasuke began walking towards the Central Tower, but was stopped short when Naruto suddenly grabbed his wrist.

"Wait," Naruto said.

When Sasuke turned back, Naruto was glaring at where his fingers wrapped around Sasuke's arm, brows uncharacteristically furrowed for the blond.

"What?" Sasuke snapped.

"I didn't get to say this to Sakura-chan," Naruto said tightly. "But you need to hear it from me, too."

When Sasuke continued to stare blankly at the blond, Naruto gripped at his wrist harder, then pushed the words out with gritted teeth. "I'm sorry," he managed.

Sasuke scowled. "Sorry?"

Naruto still seemed to be unable to look at him in the eye. "Only if I hadn't been captured by that snake," he said. "I could have come to help you or Sakura-chan. I never thought..."

Letting out a loud sigh, Sasuke ran his free hand frustratedly through his hair. Naruto had seemed to be staying calm and actually saying things that people with a brain would say when they had been with Sakura, so he couldn't understand why the blond was being so dumb now. Sorry, he thought. Sasuke remembered Sakura's forlorn expression as she had gazed at his neck back at the Forest of Death. Sorry, she had said. Sorry. Sorry. Everyone's damn sorry.

Sasuke wrenched his hand firmly out of Naruto's grasp, and the blond looked up at him anxiously. "Sorry," Sasuke spat. "I'm sorry I let Sakura get the seal as well, then. In fact, I'm sorry I didn't win against the damn Sand ninjas. I'm sorry I didn't come save you from Orochimaru's summon! Are you happy now?"

Sasuke's words ended in a shout, and Naruto reeled. "Sasuke-"

"Since when was it your responsibility to save me? Why are you apologising?" Sasuke continued. "You're the dead-last, and I don't expect anything from you, so there's nothing to be sorry for."

Naruto's expression wavered in hurt - and Sasuke instantly sensed he had overstepped a line. The blond hadn't done anything wrong, he knew that - but hot vexation prickled at his throat, setting his mind ablaze that he couldn't seem to control his words.

Naruto pursed his lips, and stepped forward, grabbing at his arm again. Sasuke tried to fling him off, but the blond's grip was unexpectedly insistent. "Don't be a jerk," Naruto hissed. "I'm apologising for myself. So I can promise myself to be stronger. Why are you so angry?" He stepped forward again, and Sasuke instinctively took a step back.

"You're angry because you feel the same." Naruto continued. His voice was calm, but held a cold, cold edge. "You feel just as guilty for letting Sakura-chan get the seal. Don't take it out on me. We're a team. We protect each other. I know that. Sakura-chan knows that. You know that."

Sasuke stood stock-still, stunned into silence. Gauging his reaction, Naruto quietly let go of Sasuke's arm. "I know it's a bad situation we're in, bastard. But I'm still going to try my best to protect you and Sakura-chan. That's all there is."

Naruto's expression had schooled back into one of encouragement, blond brows lifted reassuringly - and Sasuke swallowed, suddenly lost for words even though previously the scathing phrases had left his mouth before he could even think of them. Sasuke remembered the iciness of the Suna poison running through his calf - the dread, the shame, the horror that had wrapped around his throat like a thick rope - and at the end of it all when he had lost all hope, he had found himself turning to Naruto. He did...rely on him.

Sasuke huffed out a bitter laugh, and Naruto's eyes widened at the self-deprecating nature of it. Since when had the blond learned to respond so calmly? Sasuke had been the one to lose control over his emotions, and the blond had been the one to coolly pull him back by his collar. Just not too long ago, Naruto would have flared in indignation and wasted no time diving at him. Sasuke shrugged.

"Try your best," the black-haired boy replied, and Naruto broke out in a smile as if Sasuke hadn't been yelling at him a moment before.

"Challenge accepted!" Naruto grinned. "Next stop: Ichiraku Ramen!"

Kakashi watched the two boys slowly leave the clearing, banter lighting up their departure despite the exhaustion that clearly threaded their bodies. He had pretended to have left with Sakura, stealthily settling himself in one of the trees that overlooked the two boys for the purpose of keeping an eye on Sasuke until they safely returned to the Central Tower.

Their little quarrel hadn't all been unexpected - Team 7 had been through what must have been one of the most physically, and mentally confronting couple of days - and emotional tension ran sky high. There was bound to be a collision. What Kakashi hadn't expected, however, was Naruto's reaction - stern, but sympathetic as he let Sasuke's insults slide off of him and offered understanding and acute insight into the aloof boy's emotions. When had he grown so much?

Then Kakashi realised it had been right in front of him all along. How many times had he witnessed Naruto nervously glancing between Sasuke and Sakura, Sakura and himself, Sasuke and himself during their heated discussions? Who had been the one to break through the antipathy and deliver much needed relief?

Until Waves, Sakura had evidently appeared the voice of reason, the glue that held the team together, the crucial footing they needed to take the next step. But perhaps he had been wrong. Sakura had a precarious agenda, and it was slowly, but keenly transforming her into a perilous blade.

Now, Naruto stood behind them, cementing himself as the foundation of the team that Sakura had once been and relinquished. He would be ready to catch them when Sakura and Sasuke inevitably slipped.

It would be blindingly obvious, Sarutobi thought, to anyone close to her.

It extended beyond simply hearing about the girl's simple outrageous strength, or about the healing green chakra that apparently flickered at her fingertips. It was in the way the small girl stood, her hands folded sharply behind her like a soldier. The way her wide, peering eyes stared back unflinchingly at the most powerful man in the village. The way her eyebrows ever-so-lightly slanted in a challenging way whenever he threw her a difficult question. It was almost like seeing a visage, he thought, of another woman who had once burned with a golden fire, had she not thrown herself behind her fears and misery.

The light in the Hokage's office was dim, the shadows on Sarutobi's face dancing ominously with each sway of the candle flame as he thoughtfully folded his hands in front of him. Kakashi sat in a small chair opposite the man's desk, long legs gathered together respectfully as he let out a long, apprehensive sigh. Sarutobi had sent Sakura back to her team and summoned Kakashi instead, and the silver-haired jōnin looked as though he wanted to be anywhere but here.

"She is talented," Sarutobi finally said. "A prowess at both chakra control and medical ninjutsu at such a young age. Quite talented, indeed."

Kakashi nodded silently.

"But of course, she cannot compare to the potential that the Sharingan bestows. Meeting her did not change my mind - at the current stage, she is not worth the curse mark," he said, and Kakashi simply nodded again. The Copy Ninja was a man hard to beat, and harder to read - even without his nylon mask to perpetually hide his features Kakashi was a master at maintaining a poker face. But Sarutobi had not reached his place by having an eye only as keen as everybody else. Kakashi had subtly clenched his jaw, and Sarutobi considered the implications of that fact.

"Do you suspect her?" Kakashi asked.

Sarutobi shrugged. "You're a smart man, Kakashi. Capable of thinking from my perspective."

Kakashi hesitated. It was minute, but glaringly obvious to the sage man. He patiently waited for the jōnin to speak, then hid a small chuckle behind his sleeve when he finally said, "Possibly."

Possibly, the Sandaime mulled over the word. It had barely been a few months since Kakashi had spoke the names of the three genin assigned to Team 7 with a frosty expression of scepticism and utter apathy. And now he sat before Sarutobi with the air of a man dreading what the Hokage might deem of his students.

"Sakura is a Konoha-nin from birth. And from what I've seen, she's been nothing but a diligent student. There is a degree of...difficulty to find her involved." Kakashi said.

"You've been only her mentor for less than half a year, Kakashi." Sarutobi frowned. "And surely you find her sudden procurement of chakra control and healing capabilities as strange as I do. Or do you have an explanation that might convince me?"

There was no way Kakashi would not have looked into the source of Sakura's power himself. The jōnin seemed physically pained to get the words out. "Her aunt..."

Sarutobi laughed. It was clear that Kakashi wished to protect Sakura, even by bravely asserting an excuse he himself knew the Hokage would have no chance of believing. Deciding to put the man out of his misery, Sarutobi shook his head. "Relax, Kakashi," he said. "I do not suspect her," And with those words Kakashi's visible eye widened, jaw falling slightly slack.

"Hokage-sama, you don't?"

"No," Sarutobi said. "I simply find her curious."

"Curious?" Kakashi repeated.

"Absolutely," he replied. "Who wouldn't find a time-traveller curious?"

Time-traveller.

The two words echoed in Kakashi's ears as he fought with the sheer disbelief of hearing such mad concept from the Sandaime himself. Time-traveller. "You knew? How did you know?"

"Bit of a long story, I'm afraid," he said, and Kakashi cut him off immediately.

"I have time," Kakashi replied firmly. His chest felt tight; the Sandaime's admission had unleashed on him a magnitude of emotions Kakashi himself hadn't even known he had been carrying - relief at the fact the Hokage did not suspect Sakura, then relief again at the fact that someone wiser, and higher than him carried this heavy, lunatic secret with him - and incredible curiosity that bloomed with him like an explosion of fireworks.

The Hokage rubbed his chin, his thin lips pursing behind his fingers. Kakashi expected it was a difficult story to tell. "Absolute secrecy, of course, Kakashi," he finally said.

"Of course," Kakashi promised.

"You know of my student, Senju Tsunade."

"Yes." Kakashi frowned. He doubted there was a ninja in Konoha who had not at least heard of the legendary kunoichi.

"During the Second Shinobi War, she lost...those precious to her. As did many other shinobi, of course, but the war affected her to an extent that it quelled her career as a ninja, devoid of the motivation nor challenge to continue living as the woman she used to be."

Kakashi remained quiet. The deep lines that had appeared on the Hokage's face conveyed enough of his contrition and sorrow that it was obvious he had no place to speak up.

"I could not help her," he continued mournfully. "She refused my every suggestion to return to Konoha. Then I did not hear from her for a long while. I hoped she had finally found her peace...until one day, she came to me. With a possibility. That was all it was at the time. A possibility. A possibility born of great wretchedness, but inevitably one of utter selfishness." The Sandaime sighed. "I had to condemn her for it."

Kakashi's eyes widened. "You don't mean..."

Sarutobi nodded. "A jutsu. To reverse time. She knew that her lover would not have accepted reincarnation - but she thought, if she reversed time itself... But it was impossible. To carry out such a feat would require chakra of unprecedented levels - not even a hundred thousand shinobi combined would be sufficient. But her research was dangerous. I berated her - reprimanded her selfishness, and ordered her to erase her research and anything to do with it."

"Incredible." The whisper escaped him before he could help it. That explained why his search regarding a time-travel jutsu into the Konoha database had turned up absolutely nothing - due to deliberate deletion of any relevant data. Kakashi recalled Sakura's grim expression as she had briefly described the future she had returned from - the Godaime of Konoha she had attributed the creation of the time-travel jutsu had indeed been Lady Tsunade. So she had been telling the truth.

"Seeing the girl - almost a mirror image of my Tsunade - is confirmation enough that she indeed, completed the jutsu one day and even had the audacity to perform it." Sarutobi dropped his head into his hands, a rare instance of vulnerability he allowed with the man that shared his secret.

"According to Sakura, sir," Kakashi said, "It wasn't to any selfish purpose. It seems that a certain war...occurs in the future, involving the Jūbi. The jutsu was performed to save the ninja population from it."

Sarutobi's eyes were wide. "Ten-tails?" He whispered. "Indeed, if the Tailed Beasts were involved, the chakra amassed may have been enough..." His thin brows furrowed thoughtfully. "So what is the girl planning? What does she want to achieve?"

"As of currently...Sasuke's defection, I believe," Kakashi said. "I am unsure about how this is related to the Jūbi, but it appears that through the curse seal, Orochimaru offers Sasuke power...in exchange for his body, causing him to leave for Sound." Kakashi looked down at his hands with the last sentence. It was strange; he was surely talking about what had happened in an alternative timeline and what he currently had no responsibility for, and yet the guilt and shame gripping at his ankles rooting him to his seat felt familiar.

"No doubt to chase Itachi," Sarutobi quietly replied. His mouth turned up bitterly. "It seems all I do is fail the Uchihas," he said quietly. And then, "Talk to the girl, Kakashi. Ask her her plans and...help her. Be her accomplice. There's no need to report to me about what she says."

"Hokage-sama," Kakashi startled. "You trust her?"

Sarutobi gazed at the lamp sitting upon his desk. "She may bring harm to us all," he admitted. "We cannot truly know her purpose. Only she knows her purpose. The only thing we can do...is decide whether we can trust her." The Sandaime's black eyes slowly moved to his face. "Do you trust her, Kakashi?"

Kakashi stilled. That was the question he had been asking himself all this time, ever since Sakura had gingerly reached out towards the cut on his hand at the hospital with furrowed brows and fingers alight. The Sandaime was right. All he could do was make a decision - and the decision was his. Did he trust Sakura?

"She loves them," Kakashi admitted. He gripped at his padded gloves. "She loves Naruto and Sasuke." He had seen the way she looked at them. Her jade eyes followed them sometimes like a mother might gaze at her children, sometimes like a lover might watch her soulmate, sometimes like how a woman might stare at a photograph of those who had gone and left her. And she looked at him like that, too.

You don't know anything.

The tears had cascaded down her bloody face like rain.

Even now, you don't know how much I miss you. My old teacher. He knew me.

Kakashi had always known, and tried to ignore it.

"If she loves them," Sarutobi said, "that is the best we can hope for. I let my student down, Kakashi. I wouldn't want you to make the same mistake."

An image of Sasuke, or Sakura - overlapping on top of each other like a quivering hologram - flickering unsteadily between the jade and onyx of their eyes as they let their hitai-ate slide out of their pale hands and walked away from him flashed within his mind. One wrong step, he thought, and it may not just be Sasuke who left Leaf.

"I will strengthen the protection for Sasuke," Sarutobi announced. "I doubt it will deter Orochimaru completely, but he will never be alone. Same goes for Sakura, if she desires it. In the meanwhile, I will prepare Leaf for the upcoming attack. I would...appreciate it if she could share details about it."

"I'll speak to her," Kakashi nodded.

"It isn't an order, Kakashi. I..." Sarutobi hesitated. "I am getting quite tired of controlling the fates of young shinobi." He smiled sadly. "Perhaps I am truly getting old."

The smile on his lips never left even as Kakashi closed the heavy doors behind him.

"Be a good teacher, Kakashi," Sarutobi said.

Sakura wondered out onto the darkening streets of Konoha, aimlessly moving through the bustling civilians on their way to restaurants with their family as the lanterns lit up above her head. The Sandaime had let her go without grilling her too much, but it had been clear enough that he saw the connection between her and Tsunade-shishō. And she knew that he was speaking to Kakashi now. She didn't know what repercussions the meeting would bring - but she only hoped it would help her.

Out of the corner of her eye, she spotted Mebuki strolling under the streetlights with her hands full with bags containing groceries - and Sakura instinctively ducked behind a stall, hoping not to be seen. She didn't know why she was hiding - but she wasn't ready to face her mother - not just yet. She carried too many secrets now - and it made it difficult for Sakura to smile brightly at her as if nothing was going on. Guilt pricked at her chest, and Sakura buried her face into her hands, a long sigh escaping her.

Until a cold finger poked her cheek, and Sakura jumped, reflexively shooting out a fist as the offender immediately held his palms up in surrender. "Sai!" Sakura groaned at the familiar face. "Don't surprise me like that."

The pale-faced boy shrugged, helping her up. "Did you just meet the Hokage?" He asked curiously.

"Yeah," Sakura nodded. "I think Kakashi-sensei's getting interrogated now."

"How did it go?"

"I don't know. I didn't say anything much, and neither did he - but we'll only know for sure when Kakashi-sensei returns."

Sai considered her words, and pointed in the direction of the training grounds. "Can you come with me? I have something to tell you."

Sasuke narrowed his eyes and leaned closer, trying to follow the words the black-haired boy was shaping with his mouth-

"What do you think they're talking about?" Naruto loudly whispered into his ear, and Sasuke nearly slipped on the branch he was stealthily hiding on.

"Naruto?" Sasuke turned on the blond incredulously, grimace marring his features. He had left Naruto at Ichiraku Ramen once the blond was on his fifth bowl - Sasuke had been lounging in boredom, waiting for Naruto to finish when he had heard Sakura's voice travel outside the stall. Sasuke sighed, one hand unable to believe that he had been so engrossed in spying- no, watching them that he hadn't detected a noise mammoth like Naruto approaching him.

The blond precariously peeked around the tree trunk at Sakura and Sai, then looked back at him with disapprovingly furrowed eyebrows. "They look awfully close," he whispered, and wrinkled his nose. "Sakura-chan's not allowed to be close with any other guys other than us."

Sasuke rolled his eyes, not even bothering to deign Naruto with a response. He pulled the blond back by his orange collar, gesturing towards the ground. "Go away," he hissed, endeavouring to saturate his voice with enough annoyance while remaining covert at the same time.

"What! No!" Naruto shot back at him. "You were trying to eavesdrop, too! I wanna hear!"

Sasuke sighed, running a hand tiredly over his face and into his hair. This must be how God decided to punish him for trying to overhear someone else's private conversation. A brief image of Naruto, clumsily falling out of the tree and crashing headfirst before the horrified expressions of the pair flashed into his mind. "Fine. You can stay," Sasuke finally said. "But stand back a bit. And lower your voice."

Naruto didn't even seem to register Sasuke's anxious instructions, peering around the tree again and turning to him with a thoughtful expression. "Is weird though, bastard," the blond hummed. "I keep feeling like I've seen him before. He just looks kind of familiar, you know?"

No, Sasuke started to snap, but he saw the adamant light in the blond's eyes and lowering himself on one knee, carefully studied the pale-faced chūnin. He definitely didn't look familiar to him, Sasuke thought, taking in the dark lines under his oval eyes that indicated frequent missions, clashing terribly with the round lines of his cheeks that spoke of his young age. The boy had looked almost uncanny with the sheer emptiness in his features when Sasuke had met him, but now that he was alone with Sakura, the chūnin looked like a completely different person. A normal person, with a subtle curve to his mouth that made him appear gentle. It irked Sasuke, somehow.

"No idea," Sasuke said firmly. "I saw him for the first time at the marketplace."

"You saw him at the marketplace?" Naruto repeated in astonishment. Sasuke resisted the urge to slap a palm flat on his face at the way the blond's eyes started sparkling expectantly. Me and my mouth... "How? What did he say? What was he like?"

"It was a...short conversation," Sasuke gritted out, motioning desperately for Naruto to pipe down. The blond clapped a hand dramatically over his mouth, but the excitement seemed to leak out of him like steam out of a train. "He said his name was Sai. Sakura's...friend."

"Sai?" Naruto tilted his head, but the name clearly didn't ring any bells. "And? And?"

"And...he's a chūnin." Sasuke pretended like it wasn't a blow to his ego to admit that this stranger, that was clearly his age - was higher ranked than him, then felt oddly justified when Naruto angrily stomped his feet at the admission.

"What!" Naruto pushed his lips out in a giant pout. "And? And?"

And... You look kind of like a douche. Don't you, Sasuke-kun?

"And...nothing," Sasuke finally snapped. "Let's go. This isn't doing anything." Grabbing the blond's shoulders and spinning him around despite his protests, Sasuke forcefully ushered Naruto off the tree they were standing on. Sasuke threw one last glance at the pair before he hopped off himself, and he hoped that it was his warped imagination that the black-haired chūnin seemed to smirk in his direction.

"Chakra?" Sakura frowned.

"Most strongly," Sai replied, a pale hand rubbing at his face thoughtfully. "Atmosphere definitely helps. Physical contact, scenery, the words we spoke, our most strong feeling at that time - but chakra seems to respond most strongly."

"That's not useful at all," Sakura said, biting her lip anxiously. "I'll need to heal Naruto and Sasuke - I can't prevent that."

"I am not saying it's a solution." Sai shrugged. Just what I've found out."

"So you've triggered this in Kakashi-sensei?"

Sai nodded. "I touched his wrist, so did my bird - and I spoke the words he once said to me. It seemed to work."

Sakura let out a long breath, crossing her arms.

"You told me before that the Kyūbi's chakra was used to perform the jutsu," Sai continued." The fact that you saw the Kyūbi inside of you means that we carry some of its chakra, brought back from the future - currently to maintain our existence here. It's not entirely impossible for certain interactions to cause a clash in ours, and their energies - opening a small psychogenic portal to the future."

Sakura shook her head. "This is just...too complicated. Honestly, I'd forgotten about it with so much going on, but-" She pursed her lips. "Now you're saying we can't even prevent it."

"No," Sai agreed, but there was a rare twinkle in his black eyes. "But we may be able to use it to our advantage."

That night, Sakura, Kakashi and Sai sat huddled together on the wooden floor of Sakura's small, frilly bedroom - her humble abode had somehow been automatically delegated the headquarters of their meeting, where they would be least likely to be chanced upon by people they knew. Sure, they had to keep their voices down lest Mebuki notice, and Sakura harboured more than little contrition for doing this right under her mother's nose, but there really wasn't much of a choice.

"So Hokage-sama knows?" Sakura repeated disbelievingly.

Sai sported a similarly shocked expression beside her, and grey eye moving between the two time-travellers, Kakashi nodded solemnly. "He knows, and is willing to let you do...whatever it is that you want to do."

Sai seemed to recover from the bewilderment quicker than Sakura herself, and he asked, "Without anything in return?"

"Nothing mandated by an order," Kakashi replied. "But if you know anything about the upcoming attack on Konoha that Orochimaru is planning - you need to tell us," he said firmly. "I understand there are events you want to preserve - but at the same time all Leaf-nin have a duty to protect the village. I won't allow you to be a bystander."

Sakura crossed her arms, considering. The fact that the Hokage knew of her origins was wholly unexpected - but a boon all else considered. If the Sandaime would truly be on her side - she would be able to help construct a village-wide plan to see Konoha rise from the invasion better than it had in the past while protecting Sasuke. But where was the guarantee that the Hokage would trust her unconditionally? In the past, the invasion had led to the Hokage's death - a fact that would surely horrify Kakashi, and yet Sakura had no real ambition to prevent that from happening. She needed the Godaime reign over Konoha.

While Sakura sat silently, Sai struck out. "But how do we know we can trust you?" He clearly had what had happened in the Forest of Death in mind.

At that, Sakura looked up as well. She wanted Kakashi desperately on her side, she really did - but that wasn't her decision to make. She searched the grey-haired man's face - for what, she didn't even know herself - but felt her eyes widen in realisation when the line of Kakashi's eye grew gentler as he nodded at them. "Because," he said. "Those who break the rules are scum, but those who abandon their teammates are worse than scum."

Sai made a dumb face at that, then, somewhere between being touched and being unsure of how to respond - and Sakura barked out a laugh. Kakashi was right. Those who abandoned their teammates were worse than scum - and Kakashi himself had been the one to teach that to her. She had tried being cautious, and it hadn't worked out the way she had wanted. It was time for action.

"Okay," Sakura nodded. "Let's make a plan."

The best defence was a good offence.