Before The Storm

Sakura was traveling with them.

At the very least she wasn’t being chased down, but it was still quite weird to interact with  younger versions of people she knew, and were important to her, without it being a memory or a dream. After a very … tense explanation, they decided to believe her, but she could see the distrust in Kakashi’s eyes regardless. Sakura talked it up to shinobi instinct, but the familiarity of his dismissive gaze still made her uneasy.

Team seven were on their way back to the village from a mission, they didn’t give her details and she didn’t mind. The less she knew about them the better, she didn’t want to mess with the flow of time more than she already has. If she guessed right, they were about a week and a half away from their destination, which was good news for her since there was a smaller chance for people to see her.

The sun started to set down and they took that as a cue to start camping for the night.

Sasuke and Naruto had gone to hunt fish for the night, genin Sakura went to see if she could find any berries or roots to eat, and Kakashi stayed behind with her to make a fire. Sakura tried to help by getting the sleeping bags ready but Kakashi wouldn’t let her touch anything that wasn’t hers.

Safety first, it wasn’t personal.

She really wanted to make herself believe that.

Once they started serving dinner the mood shifted into a more relaxed one, no one talked just yet but she appreciated the quietness. Sakura could see the questions and the tension her younger counterpart had in her eyes, she always let her emotions show and although it’s seen as a weakness for ninjas to do so, Sakura learned it made her stronger.

“Ask”

Genin Sakura’s grip of her plate faltered slightly, her cheeks heated up, not expecting the attention. “E-excuse me?”

“I know you have a lot of questions, so just ask me.” she smiled, seeing her younger-self relax a bit. Letting out a nervous breath of air, she asked her first question

“What path did you choose?”

“I’m a battlefield medical ninja”

“How did you become so strong?”

“I got a proper teacher-” Kakashi shifted uncomfortably “-and Master who taught me everything I know.”

“And the seal?”

“It’s a testament of my strength and power.” Genin Sakura smiled. Naruto gasped loudly, “So then you’re very strong Sakura-chan?” She nodded. “I may not be able to do the things my husband does, but strength comes in different ways.”

Four pairs of eyes focused on her.

Sakura blinked, “Yes?”

“Sakura-chan… You’re married?” Sakura drank her tea, looking away. Naruto didn’t back down “Do we know him?” She continued eating her meal. “Am I-”

“Shut up dumbass! You’re being annoying!” Sasuke kicked Naruto off the log, a deep scowl on his face. He crossed his arms and huffed, the blonde stood up quickly and pulled the Uchiha’s collar “You damn jerk do you want me to beat you to a pulp?!”

“You couldn’t even if you tried hay for brains.”

“Wanna test that you bastard?!”

The younger kunoichi pulled Naruto away from the back of his jacket, and forced him to sit down. “Stop! Both of you!”

“He’s the one that started it!”

“I don’t care! Stop fighting!”

Kakashi cleared his throat, getting his student’s attention. “I’m giving you all an hour to finish getting ready before lights out, Naruto you take first watch. I’ll get second, and then Sasuke gets third.” Which meant that both Sakura’s will not be taking a turn.

Which meant Sakura was still not enough in their eyes. She gritted her teeth and stood up.

“Where are you going?”

“For a walk,” She extended her hand towards her younger-self, “Wanna join me?”

______________________________________________________________________________________________

The forest path was beautiful, the moonlight sneaked through the gaps in the canopy, and the breeze helped cool her skin down from the merciless heat of the afternoon. They were quiet, she didn’t know why she asked her to join her walk-

That’s a lie, she knew exactly why.

Because she has gone through that experience her entire time in Team Seven. Because no matter her intellect, or how good she was at genjutsu, or how impressive her chakra control was, she still wasn’t good enough in their eyes. It took Sasuke’s betrayal, and her honed skills in medical ninjutsu and taijutsu for her teammates and team leader to see her as more than just a civilian girl that always needed protection.

Because Kakashi still saw her as just another Rin waiting to happen, and he would rather neglect her as a student than let her get hurt.

And it made her furious.

Sakura tried to calm herself down, looking once again to their surroundings. She took a bit longer when she looked at the girl besides her, smaller, younger, not yet sharp at the edges. She looked nervous and unsure, and she was holding herself back.

“Something on your mind Sakura?”

“Um…” the younger kunoichi casted her eyes on the floor. “I’m sorry.” Sakura blinked.

“What?”

Genin Sakura kept her eyes on the ground, fidgeting her hands. “I’m sorry, you had to see the bickering. I wish I could have done more to make them stop, but I don’t think they’ll ever listen to me.” she chuckled pathetically. The older one frowned, “Why would you say that?” The younger one kept a tight smile on her face, “That’s just how things are, I bet if I… n-nevermind, forget I said anything.” She picked up her pace, but Sakura was faster and catched her by her wrist.

“Turn around.”

She tried pulling her hand away to no avail.

“Come on, turn around.” a minute passed, she turned and looked up to face her, defeat written on her face.

Sakura held her genin-self’s hand tenderly, “Sakura. Why do you think you’re in this team?” her twelve year old shrugged. “Don’t give me that, answer: why are you in team seven?”

“... They needed a third student, and I got lucky enough to be chosen.”

“Is that all you want to be? Just another kunoichi in a three-men cell?”

“I just- I-...” young sakura gulped. “What else is there for me to be?”

They had reached a clearing filled with flowers, the older of the two took her cape off and tried laying it down but her center of gravity made it hard to do so. The younger one took it upon herself to lay it down and help her older-counterpart to sit down with her, the youngest of the two finally noticing the baby bump. “You’re traveling around the world and you’re pregnant? Isn’t that dangerous?”

“Maybe for most women, but not for me.”

“That’s a little cocky.”

“I’m allowed to be cocky, I’m growing a life inside of me and I have created canyons with my very hands.”

The younger of the two started playing with the grass, “Are you always this confident?”

“No.” She pulled her young self closer to her, “I wasn’t born with my strength, I had to work for it.”

“I was also a scrawny looking girl with a  big-forehead when I was twelve. My teammates also couldn’t stand each other, but even then they were closer with each other, I was always at the background.” her hands grabbed hers and she held on tight, grounding her, ”The boy I loved never paid me any attention, and my team leader never bothered to teach me anything, because I wasn’t like my boys.” The younger one kept her head down, “I wasn’t born special or with a legacy. I was given a blank canvas to work with, and I was free to do whatever I wanted with it.”

She squeezed her hand, “What will you do with yours?”

“Do you really think I… that I will... be more than just me?”

“You will always be you. All that’s left to do is make sure you leave your mark in the world. So that you will never just be ‘another kunoichi’, but instead Haruno Sakura, a proud kunoichi of Konoha.”

They smiled at each other and Sakura saw the missing light coming back to those young green eyes.

She gave her hope.

The older of the two stretched her arms, yawning. “I guess we should start heading back if we want to make it in time. Come, I need a good rest! My back is killing me and my feet hurt too!”

The younger one chuckled, “You sound like a grandma!”

“I’m pregnant! I can sound however old I please!”