Kakashi is thirteen... Kakashi is thirteen...

Sakura thought that if she just got her body's reaction in order and mentally lynched herself, then she might calm down. Unfortunately, that didn't happen. Yes, it felt strange knowing that just a moment ago Kakashi had...

HE'S THIRTEEN, SAKURA!

Unable to control herself, she quickly jumped out of bed and began pacing around the room to find something to occupy her intrusive thoughts.

He is thirteen...

It was logical that he didn't have control over his body yet, and it probably didn't help the matter that they were so close together while sleeping, and yesterday things had been pretty hot between them. Sakura was starting to worry that Kakashi wouldn't let her sleep in the same bed now.

She glanced at the door that led to yet another room. Yesterday it had seemed quite dark to her, but now it didn't scare her so much. Perhaps because it was day and the bedroom was really bright. Driven by pure intentions, she walked up to it and tightened her hand on the doorknob. She glanced over her shoulder at the entrance to his bedroom. Kakashi still hadn't come out of the bathroom. She didn't want to know what he had been doing there all this time.

She pressed the handle and pushed the door in, which opened with a quiet creak. It was completely dark inside. There was clearly no window in the small room, so Sakura groped for the button and turned on the light. She didn't know what to expect, but she clearly expected something like another room, but it was just a storage room. Maybe she would even turn off the light and leave, but then her eyes fell on the mattress hidden here, or rather on a huge brown stain on it.

Her heart began to pound. She didn't have to get any closer to know it was blood.

With her heart pounding, she turned off the light and slammed the door shut.

She turned around and her gaze fell on Kakashi, who was standing in the doorway.

"What are you doing?" he hissed, staring at her suspiciously.

Sakura panicked.

"I'm sorry, I couldn't sleep anymore and I got up," she gasped, and then blurted out without thinking: "I was afraid you wouldn't let me sleep in the same bed with you after that..." Her hand shot to her mouth so quickly that there was a soft slap and her skin burned. She covered her lips so she wouldn't blurt out anything more.

Kakashi immediately blushed and looked away.

Sakura thought she should slap herself harder. She didn't want to embarrass him. It was the last thing she could do now, and she always spoke faster than she thought.

Before she could say anything more, Kakashi turned and walked into the kitchen, where the familiar sounds of dishes being set down were heard.

Sakura's shoulders slumped helplessly. She had ruined everything with her blind curiosity and her having a big mouth. She glanced over her shoulder again and wondered why Kakashi had a bloody mattress in the junk room, then remembered what he had said earlier. His parents were dead... Was that...?

Sakura didn't have to ask, she could guess that one of them had died in this house, and the thought caused her incredible pain. Kakashi must have suffered an incredible amount in his youth...

With nothing left to lose, as she had just trampled Kakashi's dignity, something he would probably never forgive her for, she had also violated her own morals. With nothing left to lose, she headed to the kitchen.

The atmosphere at breakfast was a nightmare. Kakashi reluctantly placed a plate in front of her, then ate his food, carefully avoiding looking at her.

Sakura tried to ignore the tense relationship between them and simply savoured the delicious sandwich. Kakashi really could make even the simplest of dishes perfectly. Her sandwiches never came out this tasty, no matter how hard she tried.

She tried not to look at him, but it was hard to look away from someone so handsome. She watched his muscles work as he ate, then swallowed it. She stared at his exposed neck for far too long.

As she started on her second sandwich, Kakashi stood up from the table and quickly washed his plate, then turned to her and stared at her meaningfully.

"We have to go now or we'll be late for practice," he muttered. He crossed his arms over his chest and looked away from her as his cheeks flushed again.

Sakura looked longingly at the sandwich in her hand.

"But I haven't had time to eat yet," she objected.

Kakashi frowned and leaned his butt against the kitchen counters.

"You could have eaten faster," he muttered.

Sakura rolled her eyes.

"Eating fast is unhealthy. Didn't you know that?"

"You're the medic," he snorted.

Sakura glared at him.

"You really are awful," she admitted, then bit into her sandwich. "You'll be much more bearable in the future..."

Kakashi looked at her, clearly irritated. He reminded her so much of Sasuke now that it hurt.

"We have to go now, or should I leave you here so you can dig through my stuff some more?" He leaned forward a little and glared at her.

Young, angry Kakashi...

Sakura took another bite, then stood up from the table.

"I'm not hungry anymore," she muttered.

"Good, because we're going to training, you shouldn't eat too much before exercising."

Sakura rolled her eyes. She had really stepped on his toes today so that he was so mean to her.

~*~

Kakashi set an incredibly fast pace, until the young kunoichi could barely keep up with him, but she didn't show it. She didn't want to show any weakness in front of him. The young Hatake was a lot different from his adult self, and Sakura wasn't going to give him the opportunity to give her a negative opinion of herself. She had already ruined everything this morning, and she really didn't want to make the younger version of her former teacher even angrier.

She didn't even have time to take a good look around her old village because she was trying to keep up with Kakashi, who seemed to be punishing her by going so fast, in retaliation for today's crushing of his ego.

However, Sakura was not a weak individual. She had no intention of giving him the satisfaction and wanted to prove that she was able to match him. Even if at that age he classified himself as a genius.

Not long after this backbreaking run, they arrived at the place where Minato and Rin were already waiting for them.

"Oh, you're still ahead of time," the man commented.

Sakura glanced at an angry Kakashi.

"I would be here faster without the unnecessary ballast," he commented, deliberately not looking in her direction.

He crossed his arms over his chest and turned his head away haughtily.

Sakura snorted then smiled at Minato, but her attention was caught by Rin, who walked up to her and handed her an armful of clothes.

The sixteen-year-old blinked in surprise.

"I don't know if they'll be too small for you, but I thought you might need something fresh to wear," she admitted, then smiled shyly at her. "Sorry about yesterday, I was a bit rude, but... it's not every day you meet another kunoichi from the future. And a friend's student at that." She laughed nervously.

Sakura smiled at her sincerely.

"Thank you for thinking of me," she admitted, taking one of the sets of clothes from her. She glanced down at herself in her wrinkled outfit. She was still wearing Kakashi's boxers, because she had no other panties. The bag with her spare clothes had apparently been left at the scene of their final battle with the Akatsuki members. "That's really nice of you."

Rin smiled in that charming way of hers and nodded at Sakura.

"I just hope everything fits you," she added, then looked around. "Obito's late again," she said, turning to Minato.

The jōnin nodded.

"We'll wait for him a little longer before we start training," the man admitted.

Kakashi sighed heavily, as if he really disliked that idea.

"More patience, Kakashi," Minato advised him.

Sakura glanced at the younger version of the commander, but then looked away. Too much had happened between them since yesterday, and this was just the beginning. She had at least another week in this crazy company ahead of her. Her relationship with Kakashi had deteriorated significantly. She should probably go with someone else today. Maybe Minato would be the best option.

Haruno packed her clothes into one of her bags, then wrapped her arms around her waist. She felt so lost in her time. What's more, she was worried about Naruto, without Kakashi he would have a hard time returning to the village and... Sakura told herself to stop worrying.

"Oi!" Obito shouted in greeting, running toward them, a white lollipop stick sticking out of his mouth.

Sakura frowned in confusion. Quite some time had passed since the agreed meeting time.

"Sorry I'm late," the excited Uchiha said, taking the lollipop out of his mouth. "An old lady lost her cat, so I helped her find it and had to bring it back to her." He then grinned, narrowing his eyes.

Sakura's eyes widened, then she looked at Kakashi.

"Is something wrong?" Obito asked when he noticed her expression.

Sakura extended her index finger, pointing first at him, then at Kakashi, and opened her mouth.

Rin looked at her, clearly surprised. Minato seemed equally startled.

Obito and Kakashi glanced at each other, then one of them gave her an equally surprised look while the other glared.

Sakura blinked in surprise this time, noticing that Obito's excuses almost matched what Kakashi always tried to force upon them. The surprise disappeared completely, replaced by a growing feeling of unease. What had happened to make Kakashi adopt all of Obito's habits?

Now, it struck her that Obito and Kakashi resembled Naruto and Sasuke so much that it only made her more stunned. She had just been observing his behaviour closely – the verbal sparring with Obito, his negative attitude towards the world. Young Kakashi was completely different from his adult self. Of course, Sakura knew that people changed with age, but certainly not as diametrically as Kakashi. Something must have happened in his life to push him to such a drastic change. But what?

He was so different from the Kakashi-sensei she knew. So dutiful... That thought still haunted her.

"Good. To start, I want you all to line up in front of the training poles," Minato instructed, and Sakura glanced at him questioningly. "Well, we only have three, so Sakura, rest up for now. You'll be taking part in the second part of training."

"Hai."

"Good. And you, Kakashi, Rin, and Obito, practice throwing kunai at a target."

There was a chorus, "Hai."

~*~

It was already noon, the sun high in the sky, when her stomach began to ask for food. Enough time had passed since breakfast, and she was hungry.

Sakura sighed quietly when she suddenly heard, "Minato!"

The blond haired man turned to the direction of the female voice. Sakura followed his gaze and saw a red haired kunoichi carrying a basket. In less than a split second, Minato was by her side.

She had no idea Minato-sensei was so fast...

Sakura blinked in surprise as he took the basket from the stranger, who smiled fondly at him. Suddenly, her heart leapt as she realized why the woman's face seemed familiar to her, even though it was the first time she had seen her. Suddenly, understanding dawned on her.

She stood up from her seat and literally ran towards the couple heading towards her. Minato noticed her first, so he stopped immediately, and the woman paused with him. Sakura braked at the last moment to avoid colliding with them and... openly stared at the two of them, comparing Naruto's facial features.

"Oh, right..." Minato scratched the back of his neck in embarrassment at the obvious interest. "Kushina, this is Sakura, Kakashi's student from the future. Sakura, meet my wife, Kushina," the man introduced them.

However, Sakura still didn't react, just staring at their faces and comparing them. She tried to put them together, and in this way, Naruto's face from her memories was created. His features were similar to his mother's, but his eyes and hair colour reminded him of Minato's. Now it was so obvious to her.

Her lower lip trembled. She had just met the parents of a friend who had lost them before he had the chance to know and love them. Sakura took a deep breath, but couldn't get the words out. Tears welled up in her eyes.

Kushina leaned over to her and placed her hand on her head, probably wanting to calm her down somehow.

"You know us, right?" Her voice was so soft and calm that Sakura's heart skipped a beat as she thought about how much this would mean to Naruto. Why did she have to go back in time and not her best friend?

"To some extent," she managed to say, her throat tight.

Kushina smiled warmly and patted her head affectionately.

"This must be a tough experience for you. You see people who are probably old thugs in the future, dattebane." Kushina straightened up and bared her teeth in a wide smile, and that smile was identical to Naruto's.

Sakura felt the tears welling up in her eyes even more.

"I regret that I was the one who went back in time," she whispered in a thick voice.

Kushina blinked in surprise.

"It happened, there's nothing we can do about it."

"Yes, but there is someone who would be happier about it," she replied.

Kushina blinked in surprise and exchanged worried glances with Minato.

Suddenly Kakashi appeared right next to Sakura, as if out of nowhere, and leaned into her ear.

"If you know anything about their future, it's best not to tell them now," he whispered.

Sakura involuntarily shivered as she felt his breath on her neck, so she quickly jumped away from him.

"Don't sneak up on me like that!" she screamed, placing her hand over her heart.

Kakashi shoved his hands into the pockets of his pants and shrugged with the same bored expression on his face as always.

Kushina giggled at her outburst, then flirtatiously punched Minato on the shoulder.

"Good thing Kakashi knows how to deal with crying teenagers," she commented, to which Sakura blushed fiery red and looked away.

Minato cleared his throat.

"This must be a shocking experience for her," the jōnin admitted. "We'd better get something to eat now, then get back to training."

Sakura nodded and tried to avoid looking at Naruto's parents or Kakashi at all costs.

~*~

"Kakashi-sensei... Kakashi-sensei! Where's Sakura?!" Naruto yelled, looking around for his pink-haired friend.

At the last moment, he noticed his sensei losing his balance. So he rushed forward and caught the teacher's unconscious body before it hit the ground with a bang.

"Kakashi-sensei, are you okay?" Naruto asked, staring at the half-conscious face.

At the same time that Kakashi began to lose his balance, Team Gai also arrived at the scene of the fight. The four of them let out a sigh of relief when they noticed that the fight with the Akatsuki members was effectively over.

The older Chiyo pushed herself away from the tree she was holding on to as Kakashi's mangekyō sharingan sucked in Deidara's arm and then swallowed Sakura whole. She glanced at the young jinchūriki, holding the man who reminded her so much of Konoha's White Fang in his arms.

"Kakashi-sensei... dattebayo..." Naruto whispered as he noticed the man clench his eyes shut tighter and frowned.

The boy shook his body. "Wake up!"

Kakashi hissed in pain, then said something that made no sense at all.

"Sakura, no... where are you... Sakura! ... Obito come back... let's go... training... late... Minato-sensei... Sakura, it's... Kushina..."

Naruto knelt down and placed Kakashi's head on his lap.

"Kuso! We don't have a medic nin... we need Sakura!"

Gai then stepped closer while Neji, Tenten, and Lee attended to Gaara's body.

"Naruto, what happened?" Gai asked in a calm voice, looking around the clearing for any kind of answer.

Naruto looked at the weirdo, currently the only person he could rely on. The boy glanced at the older Chiyo, as if seeking support.

"Kakashi used his mangekyō sharingan to defeat Deidara, then he blew himself up, and the next moment... Sakura was gone..." He glanced at Kakashi, whose face was still drawn with pain. "And now Kakashi-sensei is blabbering... something about Sakura, some Obito, Minato-sensei, and Kushina..."

Gai made an indistinct sound as his eyes opened wide.

"It seems that Sakura was pulled into another dimension by the mangekyō sharingan," replied the older Chiyo, who had just come closer to see for herself what was happening to Kakashi.

Maito Gai gritted his teeth.

"From what you understood from his gibberish, it appears that... Sakura wasn't pulled into another dimension, but into Kakashi's past," Gai explained slowly.

"How so?" Lee was surprised, who always listened carefully to what his sensei had to say.

Naruto moaned quietly. "That means that..."

"Minato-sensei was Kakashi's teacher, Obito was his best friend, and Kushina is Minato's wife... They're all dead now," Gai explained quickly.

Naruto looked shocked.

"You mean she... really went into Kakashi-sensei's past...?" he mumbled.

Gai nodded.

Elder Chiyo pressed her lips into a thin line.

"This is bad..." she muttered.

Naruto straightened up abruptly. "Why?!"

"If she really went back in time, her chakra will soon run out and disappear forever... and there have been cases like that before..."

Naruto looked devastated as he slowly turned his terrified gaze towards his teacher. In a fit of panic, he began to shake his body.

"Kakashi-sensei, you have to bring Sakura-chan back! She has to come back to us! We need her... you have to...!" He suddenly felt tears running down his cheeks. "Dattebayo..."

For him, losing Sakura meant the end of the world, and his only hope was Kakashi, because in a world where only two members of the Uchiha clan existed, only one of them had the power of the mangekyō sharingan, while the other did not know how to use it at all... Kakashi was left, who in some way gained the power of the Uchiha clan and was able to bring Sakura back.

"We need to get back to Konoha," Gai said. "The Hokage needs to find out what happened and heal Kakashi..."

"He's Sakura's only hope..." Naruto whispered, and the older Chiyo felt sorry for the boy.

They had a bigger concern ahead of them though. They and Suna's forces had to transport the Fifth Kazekage back to their village. But before that could happen, before everyone in the village would have to adjust to the news that their leader had died, the elder Chiyo had one last wish to make.

"You need to talk to the elders about Sakura," the old woman told Naruto, who nodded confidently. "They should know how to help you. And as for Gaara... I still have some chakra left to save him." She smiled at Naruto.

Gai lifted Kakashi off the ground, and Naruto stood up after him.

They all headed back to Suna. Well, at least to the area surrounding it, so that the elder Chiyo could safely perform the ritual.