When Sakura woke up the next day, her eyes were puffy and she found the upper half of her body draped along the edge of the low table. A black cloak was draped around her shoulders, and once she turned her head to the side, she saw Sasori crouched in front of the window.

"What are you doing?"

"Obviously what it looks like."

"...So you can't figure out how to pop the window latch the normal way? Incredible."

He tossed her a glare from over his shoulder. "If I wanted sass, I'd talk to myself," he said. Eventually, he begrudgingly relented and took the seat opposite her like he had the day before. His expression softened as she rubbed her eyes and yawned. "How do you feel?"

"Not terrible," she replied, shrugging off the cloak as she set her chin into her open palm. "So what are we going to do for the next two weeks?"

He frowned. "What do you mean 'what are we going to do for the next two weeks?'? We're going on an adventure, so pack your things. I'm going to get breakfast using the door since the window is rude enough to not cooperate with me," he sniffed. Sasori walked towards the door.

"Hey..."

He looked at her. Sakura smiled. "Thanks."

He returned the gesture and stepped out to get their food.

It was an hour later that the two of them were out on the road to leave towards Suna. The "adventure", as her friend put it, was to discuss what they had to work with so far. They would take five years of information into consideration to change what they could or protect what needed to be kept.

"The Nagato situation is... complicated," Sasori started as he bit into his muffin. "Nothing's changed from what I've told you about last time. His story started when he, Yahiko, and Konan became orphans in the war and Jiraiya took it upon himself to train them. They formed the Akatsuki for world peace, brought Zetsu and Kakuzu into the organization, then Nagato left and hasn't been seen or heard from since."

"And our summons haven't been able to pick up any trace no matter what country we send them to. It's like he disappeared off the face of the earth. What should we do? Keep looking?" she questioned. He took another bite of his muffin.

"I think we should. You said that he was able to have a change of heart and land on Naruto's side at the end of his attack and sacrifice his life for everyone else, right? He's already an unstable mind to begin with, so without Naruto's influence, there's a chance he's still out to destroy this world in his hopes for 'peace' or whatever he calls it."

Sakura scratched her neck and took out the small notebook she kept, jotting down what they decided upon. It kept her's and Sasori's recount of their old lives documented that was a memory to them both, but would seem like complete gibberish to others who read it. "So what'll we do if he's as twisted as before and has a different version of the paths to protect him? That's seven in total we have to take down and I know we'll have enough trouble dealing with one. Maybe even two. And I'd rather not have anyone from Konoha back us up."

"We might have to if it comes down to it. Morino Ibiki and Shiranui Genma, possibly. I'm sure Kisame can be on our side for this one- Komushi, maybe? But even that's a stretch."

There was a beat of silence before they both heaved identical sighs.

"I hate this world."

"Same."

As Sasori finished his muffin, he silently debated on whether or not he should voice his understanding of the conclusion Kou helped him with a while back. He wanted to tell her that he believed they should seek out the people they knew in the other timeline to make sure nothing took a turn for the worst, but they should also take themselves into consideration as well.

They didn't have to change a thing.

Most of the things that happened so far were far from their control, perhaps even pushing through because of the things they chose to do.

He wanted to tell her to look up at the sky and see that it wasn't painted red with the blood of those lost in the war. He wanted to tell her to let go of her past because even though she died once, she was dying again with the guilt that wrapped around her heart like a noose.

He wanted to tell her that if she didn't let go, she would never have that happiness she strove for.

But then he remembered her tears from the night before and knew that he was in no position to tell her how to live her life.

Sasori slowed to a stop as they came across two figures that walked leisurely ahead of them, Sakura doing the same and throwing her friend a quick glance before taking in the appearance of the strangers.

The taller one had on a straw hat with white tassels hanging from the brim, hiding any hair or features they had to discern themselves. The shorter had to be merely a few years older than Sakura now with bright orange hair spiked in all directions and longer than Naruto's.

The latter stopped and turned around. "Oh... hi. We don't see many people on the road when we travel. Are you heading to Suna too?"

Sakura held in a breath. The boy was young, yes, but he was unmistakably the same person who always stood behind Sasuke since the day of Orochimaru's death.

"You could say that," she replied easily. Sasori shifted at her subtle implication that he wasn't just some regular person. "I'm Sakura."

"Juugo," the boy introduced with a smile. "And this is my shishou, a traveling monk who used to be part of the Fire Temple."

The traveling monk had started to turn at the sound of his pupil's greeting and had eased the hat off his head to regard the newcomers with a polite smile. His distinctive purple eyes shone easily at his regard to the strangers and his silver slicked-back hair kept completely in place despite having covered his head. He regarded the young girl curiously.

"Sakura? Haruno Sakura, right? I'm glad to see you're looking well."

She eyed him distrustfully. "I don't think we've met."

"No, but we've heard of you," he said. "Juugo and I had traveled to Wave some weeks back to investigate why the country was suffering so much. It just so happened that your team arrived not too long after we had and we saw what happened. The people were worried."

At her still wary stare, he stuck out his hand. "Ah, pardon my mistake. I haven't introduced myself," he amended. Sasori blanched. "I'm Hidan, and as Juugo said, I'm a former monk of the Fire Temple."

::

Kakashi didn't know what was heavier- the angered glares Sasuke and Naruto kept giving him as they sparred or the tape covered folder that weighed him down from the inside of his flak jacket.

Their Mental Health Examinations were completed without a problem. They were still shaken over the fact that Sakura had resorted to such means to save a person, but aside from that, they were cleared to take any missions assigned to them from that point onward. After their appointments and as Kakashi led them to the training field, Naruto refused to acknowledge him and Sasuke could only look at his teacher in disappointment.

"Yield," the man called out. The two stopped fighting. "Training is over for today. You can go home."

Naruto threw him one more heated glance before leaving.

Kakashi sighed. When he was sure the two were long gone, he took the folder from his flak jacket and opened the front flap. Stuck to the back of it was a videotape, oddly, with no indication of when it was taken or what it was for except the title 'The Mission'.

The first page had Sakura's picture taken from her Academy graduation along with her general information. Age, height, weight... statistics?

Ninjutsu: 3

Taijutsu: 3.5

Genjutsu: 4

Intelligence: 5

Strength: 3.5

Speed: 3.5

Stamina: 3.5

Hand Seals: 5

Total: 31

Kakashi was at a complete loss for words. When he saw Sakura kill those men back in Wave and when she expressed her displeasure of having him doubt her, it was all completely warranted. She wasn't overestimating her skills nor placing herself in unconsidered risk.

She was a mere 2 points away from his own stat score.

Even at her insubordination, she had every right to do what she did.

Age 5

Haruno Sakura has been placed into the system. Though she has yet to begin her first year of the Academy, she will start an altered internship under the care of Morino Ibiki and Shiranui Genma. Parental permission has been granted.

::

"Have you noticed Sasori acting strange lately?" Yahiko asked. "Or stranger than normal, I should say."

Kisame tilted his head at the unexpected question. Of course he hadn't been the only one to think differently of Sasori, especially him since he now knew where his insanity stemmed from (whether that whole time travel business was true or not, he still didn't know), but he didn't think it would reach the concern of their leader.

"Not really. He's just been out more often."

To be with those kids or some other reason probably.

"Hm. I know Sasori looks to have no reason to do things out of the Akatsuki's boundaries, but I need to be sure."

Kisame raised an eyebrow. "You want me to...?"

"See what he's been up to and tell me what you find."

And that's how he found himself trudging through the vast sand dunes of Wind Country in the sweltering heat of the hottest month of the season. Kisame absolutely hated arid heat the most. His skin didn't take too lightly to it and the black cloak he wore was only making matters worse. If Sasori wasn't such a crazy bastard, he'd be at one of the safe houses enjoying some sake.

"Of course I have to go after that lunatic," he grumbled. "Couldn't have damn well sent his partner Oro—"

"Hidan never said a nice thing his entire life. Seeing him acting so civil nearly gave me a heart attack back there—but I never thought he'd become a monk! He never had a secular bone in his body. Though I'm surprised he didn't join a cult."

Kisame climbed one of the dunes and found the exact man he was looking for walking alongside a little girl that couldn't have been more than eleven or something like that. She was about to answer when she turned her head and caught the swordsman eye. She poked Sasori's side.

"Your buddy's here."

"Buddy? I can assure you I don't hav—Oh. Kisame," the shorter man noted. The girl rolled her eyes. "It's either you're here on a mission or Yahiko-sama sent you to spy on me. Not that you're being a good spy because we can both totally see you."

"You're right about the last part. But I doubt sneaking around would do me any good. I already know what you've been doing with all this time you're taking away. You know, babysitting," Kisame said, gesturing vaguely to the pink-haired girl. She glared at him in offense as Sasori barked out a laugh.

"Babysitting. Good one. This is Haruno Sakura, a friend of mine. Known her since she was a brat. And this," Sasori said, now looking at Sakura and motioning to Kisame, "is Hoshigaki Kisame. Though you probably already knew that."

At Kisame's questioning glance, the girl shrugged.

"I know my way around bingo books and you're definitely in all of them," she offered. An understandable and practical explanation.

"Huh. Well, whatever you guys are doing, I'm not going to bother with. None of my business. I'll just be on my way, stop by at a bar, then tell Yahiko-sama that you keep going off because you've found some more puppets or something like that. I dunno. I'll come up with something on the way back."

Sasori strode forward and placed his hands on Kisame's shoulders as he stared him straight in the eye. "I love you."

"That's it, I'm leaving. Haruno-san, can you control this idiot?"

"No problem. Nice meeting you, Hoshigaki-san."

::

Sakura stood in the frame with her back towards the summon's vision.

"Are... Are you afraid of me?"

She didn't move.

"No," she answered. Her voice wavered. "Not you."

There were a multitude of things one could expect when they saw a videotape in the midst of a child's dossier. It could be proof of said child's skill or a test conducted. Never would he have thought T&I would visually document an entire evaluation, but he supposed he would've done the same if he came across a precocious child like Sakura.

But he also didn't expect his old friend to be a part of it.

Kakashi sat in front of the TV in his house, back straight and hands curled around his knees just simmering in anxiety and anticipation. There was a Mental Health Examination he could've read first or all the other things that made her her, but the tape drew him in further with its obscure addition to her files.

So he watched and wondered what she was afraid of at only eight years old.

"Do you know where the client said you should meet him?" Obito questioned. The screen turned, showing Sakura surveying her surroundings.

"Near a hotel. He wants the package to be delivered in secret where no one would find out."

"Good. I can take your bag while you complete the mission. If that's okay with you."

She was reluctant in slipping the straps off her shoulders and handing him her things. Her eyes narrowed when her hand nearly touched his.

Kakashi frowned.

A few more words were exchanged as Sakura set off and disappeared into the crowd. The screen was still for a few seconds before a supposed shunshin was used and the view was positioned high above the rooftops.

"Eyes on target," he whispered for the other examiners to hear. The sight followed the head of pink hair weaving through the streets. She seemed like she was right on track to the client near the center of the city.

Until she suddenly dashed into a narrow alleyway.

Obito sputtered.

He leapt onto the rooftops on the other side of the street and peered down onto the path she went down. Or, supposedly had.

"She's gone!"

Obito opted to head towards the meeting place instead of trying to pinpoint her current location. When he did, there was a faint noise of surprise at the fact that she arrived before he did. A burly man towered over her as she calmly explained the reason for being there.

"You're a child."

"And you have arm muscles the size of my torso."

"What?"

"I thought we were pointing out the obvious."

The client scoffed and held out his hand. Sakura slipped the red bag out of her pocket and placed it in his huge palms. He didn't even check to make sure the bracelet was inside as he stuffed it in a pouch on the inside lining of his vest.

"Best get out of here, kid. People 'round these parts won't take to kindly to pink little girls that prance around their territory," he said, jerking his head towards the exit of the alley. Sakura nodded.

"Have a nice day, sir."

Further proof of her ability molded a mass of guilt in the pit of Kakashi's stomach. Her resolve was made of steel and she already knew how to lose trackers superbly well. Zori and Waraji were like nothing compared to her, and he should have trusted her.

God, he should have trusted her.

The video ran without much else- mostly silence and Obito trying to get Sakura to lighten up to no avail. It wasn't until they were a few miles away from Konoha that something happened. A sound had rustled in the nearby bushes and Obito had taken the girl's shoulders as a precaution.

And so began one of the things Kakashi would never forget in the backdrop of a night two years ago.

On that screen was Obito's hand with a fresh, deep cut on the back of it. It stayed there for a second or two before the view raised, showing Sakura on the other end of the path. Her back was against the tree, shaking with both hands curled around a red-stained kunai. Beads of sweat dripped down her face and there was a heavy heaving of her chest.

The kunai suddenly dropped from her grip as her hands grabbed her neck. She stared right at both Obito and the summon, absolute fear in her eyes like she was begging for her life.

"Sa-Sakura?" he exclaimed, uncaring of his injury. "What happened?! What's wrong?!"

He took a step forward.

"STAY AWAY!" she screamed. Her hands moved up to grab at her hair as she slid down onto the ground. Tears suddenly formed in her eyes, the warmth silently dripping down her cheeks as her heaving quickened. Obito kept his distance from her and crouched down to make himself appear less intimidating, an assumption made from how the screen lowered.

Kakashi's knuckles grew white with the amount of force he gripped his knees with. It was a foolish thought, but...

He thought she feared nothing.

She would stand at death's door and kick it down without so much as a warning and yell at the Devil if she thought something wasn't right.

But this?

"F-Focus on your breathing! Take a deep breath through your nose, count to five, and breathe out through your nose. Can you hear me? Take a deep breath through your nose, count to five, and breathe out through your nose..."

She looked like she was trying. As she did, her tears flowed out even faster.

"It's alright. It's just me. Uchiha Obito. Just a Konoha shinobi, a friend of Genma, and your partner for the mission. You remember, don't you? I'm not going to do anything to you. I promise."

Did she think Obito would hurt her? That airhead who knew what being a team was way before he did? The idiot who would risk life and limb for those he cared for?

Why?

Obito started to talk to her in a much softer tone.

"What's wrong, Sakura?" he asked. Her shaking slowly started up again though not as intense as before.

"He looked like you," she whispered.

Kakashi's world stilled.

"W... What?"

"His eyes were black. His hair was black. He smiled. But he was taller. He had scars. He wanted to hurt me."

"Sa—"

"He was stronger than me," she choked.

Bile rose in his throat.

"He held me down. He wouldn't let go. He wouldn't stop. I told him to stop," she whimpered, burying her face in her knee., "I told him to stop."

Obito quietly gasped in disbelief.

The amount of bile continued to grow.

"He's dead. Dead... But if he's dead..." Sakura's shaking halted. "Why can I still hear him?"

And her shoulders slumped forward.

"Why can I still feel him on me?"

Kakashi couldn't continue the video. He knew he should have, but he just couldn't. Though his thoughts couldn't very well be mulled over at the moment. Right as eight year old Sakura uttered those words, he ran to his bathroom and threw up in the toilet.

::

They had parted ways quite a few hours back and the sky had already turned its heavy navy for the night. Juugo voiced his favor for the two strangers they came across, saying how they were kind and eccentric, probably siblings traveling to look for a cause.

But Hidan knew better than that.

So as Juugo slept in the midst of a dying fire, he looked up at the stars and tried to wipe the weariness from his face.

He knew how much he changed since before. His old God would be supremely pissed with the new path he took instead of staying the same as he always had. But what could he say? It was different this time around.

He needed to be different as well.

"Ain't this a fuckin' shit show..." he whispered. Sometimes he missed the way his triple-bladed scythe felt in his hands or the way he constantly bantered with his no good partner Kakuzu in the old days. "Of the four who came back, the last two were the puppet bastard and the scary bitch who killed him in the first place."

::

Nashoba FOR THE THIRD TIME HOLY SHIT!!

::

EDITED 2.10.18