"Having perfected our disguise, we spend our lived searching for someone we don't fool."

- Robert Brault

<>

Sakura couldn't say she hadn't expected escaping from the bed while Sasuke was close by was hard, but she didn't think it was damn near impossible.

The first thing she did when she got out of the shower was put an extra pair of clothes by her bed. An attendant had showed up with an extra futon, and Sakura had volunteered to sleep on the floor. Both boys protested, but Sakura wasn't hearing it.

She was on her period this lucky damn week, so she had at least some kind of excuse, since she was fairly certain that Kakashi tracked her period for her. She'd told him the day it started one week a couple months ago, and he'd been tracking it ever since. Which, honestly, Sakura appreciated. Whenever she forgot when her period started, she'd just look quizzically at Kakashi, who would proceed to tell her the date. He was practically always right. Kakashi was always extra nice to her on that week, and Naruto was pretty much out of her hair the whole time. Sasuke kept him busy for en entire week, bless his soul. Sakura would go home and find random chocolate bars just laying around the room, and Kakashi somehow always knew when the cramps were too bad, and just handed Sakura his bottle of Ibuprofen and said, "here." Sasuke could also tell when Sakura was in a ridiculous amount of pain and did weird little things that cheered her up or made her feel better. Naruto was somehow still semi-oblivious of when it was happening, which was odd, considering his mom was female, but then again, Kushina was a loose canon all month long. Maybe it just wasn't obvious.

The point is, Sakura had a reason for getting up late at night, and she knew Sasuke knew that. So that would be the perfect time to escape.

She tested out this plan when he returned to find her already cuddled in the blankets and almost asleep. Sasuke toweled his hair down, while watching Sakura's chest rise and fall under the blankets. Her breaths were even, a rhythm no one would be able to match. Something so uniquely Sakura. Kakashi was reading on the couch, and Naruto was flipping through the channels on TV with the volume on low.

When Sasuke sat on the bed in the side that we opposite Sakura, he felt two pairs of eyes staring him down. He blinked, looking up at Kakashi and Naruto, who weren't saying anything out loud so as to not wake her, but the meaning was obvious. Don't you dare step on her. Sasuke rolled his eyes and lay back, turning his face in Naruto's TV's direction.

When Naruto finally gave up and went to bed, Sasuke did as well.

He sat up in bed as Naruto layed down in it, sitting criss crossed on the mussed up sheets and blankets, setting his hands on his knees and taking deep breaths, he closed his eyes. He still occasionally had vicious nightmares, and hoped to God none of them would attack him tonight. Sometimes, when the nightmares got bad, he wouldn't sleep. Meditation helped his occasional insomnia. He sat like that, regulating his breathing and heartrate for fifteen minutes, before he finally opened his eyes and lay down.

"Nightmares still bad?" Naruto asked from his bed, where he'd been watching Sasuke.

Sasuke turned to face him, and gave the blonde a curt nod. "Usually gets worse around Itachi's birthday. Or mine. Or the day of the massacre." Sasuke shrugged. "I think they'll become more spread apart with time."

Kakashi sat up and leaned back on the arm of the couch. "Sleeping around people that make you feel safe helps."

"Yeah," Naruto agreed. "It's why Sakura-chan always sleeps so well around us."

"I've noticed that." Sasuke said, trying to refrain from giving away the fact that he'd seen how much she struggled to sleep first hand.

"Need any of Sakura's pills?" Kakashi asked, sitting up straighter and reaching for his backpack. "I don't think they're illegal in this town." He snickered. Naruto rolled his eyes.

Take the pills! Take the pills! Sakura silently chanted, gritting her teeth in her 'sleep'. If Sasuke took them, she'd be able to sneak out no sweat. Unluckily, her futon was right in between Sasuke's bed, and the bathroom. Sasuke was the most observant out of her male teammates, aside from Kakashi. She wanted to get out of this hotel in a manner that was as painless as possible. Sasuke catching her would NOT be painless.

"I'm good." Sasuke shook his head, to Sakura's disappointment. "Those knock me out. I wanna be able to wake up in case someone comes for... us."

The unspoken 'her' in that sentence was incredibly obvious to the two other boys in the room. Sakura was the closest to the door, as well as the nearest window. Kakashi winced sympathetically, while Naruto nodded. Sakura nearly let out a sigh, but refrained from doing so. So close... she thought. Oh well, I'll just have to be more careful.

"Well, 'night guys." Naruto whispered loudly, reaching up to turn off the lamp. The room was bathed in darkness, only the moon shining in through the window by Naruto's bed. In the pale moonlight, Sasuke watched with bemusement as Naruto kicked his blankets off so it wouldn't restrict him from taking up the entire bed. He rolled his eyes so far into the back of his head, he thought he could read his own thoughts. Then he remembered that since he made his own thoughts, he kind of already knew them, and scolded himself for pulling a Naruto.

"Goodnight, Naruto, Sasuke." Kakashi intoned from the couch, scooting back down to rest his head on the arm of the chair, and covering himself with a blanket. Sasuke's eyes rolled down past the foot of the bed so he could see the silhouette of Kakashi's white hair against the back of the couch.

"Tch. Night." Sasuke replied, turning to face away from the dobe, which incidentally left him looking down at his female teammate on her futon.

She's kinda pretty. Sasuke thought to himself, because he was tired and his mind was muddled. She was pretty. Her hair was pulled up into a bun, wisps of her hair falling out of it and into her face. Her green eyes were closed, her long lashes brushing her cheeks. She had a regal nose, and a slim face with high cheekbones. Sasuke was a bit concerned about the shadows beneath her eyes that suggested many sleepless nights.

As much as Sasuke could scold her about her lack of sleep whenever he wanted, he'd only be called a hypocrite, because he did literally the same thing. He often slipped out of bed to patrol the village's borders, keeping an eye out for the Akatsuki psychos that no one seemed to know anything about, or the snake sannin that had disturbing ways of getting into places he shouldn't. He sometimes checked in on Kakashi, when he was home, or Sakura (more like watched her toss and turn in her bed from her window for a few minutes) He'd avoid Naruto's house by all means, because if Kushina found him up so late, the fires of hell wouldn't be able to compete with the hurt she'd rain down on the younger Uchiha heir.

When he didn't leave his house, he'd wait until he was sure all of the occupants of his house were asleep, then he'd sneak into his father's office and make sure the Uchiha weren't planning a coup d'etat behind his back. Or, he'd scour Tobirama Senju and Hashirama's notebooks, looking for any kind of indication that they had an enemy around the time of Lord First's death. The only person that hated Hashirama enough to try to kill him at that time was Madara, from what he knew, and he (apparently) had some kind of deal with Hashirama. Madara's little brother Izuna might've tried for his honor, if he was still alive at the time. Sadly, Tobirama ran him through like he did the last time.

Sasuke sighed, before closing his eyes. He'd give anything to be able to sleep good at night. He was always so tired, and no amount of attempting to sleep ever helped him. Even now, his mind raced like mad. He swallowed, and tried to stop his feet from rocking back and forth nervously like it occasionally did before bed. It was so strange, how he couldn't get himself to hold still. Strange, and irritating to no end. Sakura had told him that it was quite common, but said he was supposed to inform her when it got painful.

Just when Sasuke felt himself losing consciousness, something moved next to him. He opened his eyes again, sitting straight up and reaching for his sword that he'd leaned against the nightstand. His breath stopped, and he swore his heart skipped a beat, because Sakura was gone.

Sasuke looked around frantically, forgetting about his sword in his panic. It fell to the floor, but the carpet covered the sound. "Sakura!" He hissed desperately. He leaned off the bed to get off and hunt for her, but before he could move, something at the foot of his bed shifted. Sakura stood up, her pink bun being the first thing Sasuke saw. She was holding her backpack, and looking at him with a raised eyebrow. Sasuke realized then that she'd been ducking down to pick up her bag, and he had missed her in his paranoia. He ran a hand through his hair, closing his eyes and willing his heart to slow down. "Idiot," he murmured in irritation, getting himself together. "Don't do that again," he narrowed his eyes at Sakura.

Sakura's brow arched higher, and she dropped the bag on the bed, putting her hands on her hips. "Do what again?"

"Just- disappear like that!" Sasuke threw up his hands. Now that he'd found Sakura, the adrenaline had no where else to go, so he was being unnecessarily aggressive.

"I can disappear when I want to, thank you very much!" Sakura huffed, now crossing her arms in a universal gesture of annoyance. Sasuke bristled because what did she have to be annoyed about?? She woke him up, and scared him half to death. "Maybe be more perceptive next time, and you'll see me!"

Sasuke scoffed at that. "I can't see shit if you aren't there!"

"Really, Sasuke, where would I go?! Where else could I possibly be?!" Sakura growled, losing the quiet tone she'd previously kept. Naruto and Kakashi hadn't made any indication of being awake, and both slept like the dead when they went to bed, so Sasuke dropped his quiet tone too. Sasuke knew he was treading on thin ice, but he had been so concerned, and Sakura was discarding it like he was in the wrong!

"You could be kidnapped by some crazy asshole, or- or dead! Or lost!"

Sakura's eyes narrowed dangerously. "You say all this like I'm helpless." She sounded cold, which was mildly concerning for Sasuke.

"I didn't say you were helpless!" Sasuke said, sitting back on his bed. She wasn't understanding him. He backtracked, knowing how sensitive Sakura was about being underestimated. "I just want you to not be so gullible and let me be able to watch over you."

"See, but that implies that I can't watch out for myself, and I resent that." Sakura said, her foot tapping. Sasuke swallowed. All of Sakura's tells pointed towards the fact that she was furious.

"You can watch out for yourself very well," Sasuke conceded. "But I need to watch your back anyway." For me, Sasuke thought. For me, not for you.

Sakura frowned. Sasuke knew then that he was either going to be dismembered, or castrated. Whichever Sakura was feeling in the moment. "Look," Sakura hissed to Sasuke. "You seem to forget that I have blood literally seeping out of my body for no reason at all, and I feel like I'm being stabbed in the uterus, so I am NOT in a good mood right now. My body wants me to be having a baby right now, and since I'm fucking not, it's getting it's glorious revenge. Every movement hurts. It feels like I'm being punched repeatedly in the gut, and your stupid paranoia and condescending, misogynistic asshole remarks are not helping me one bit. I'm gonna go change my damn pad. I promise I'll scream if some creep tries to kidnap or kill me."

Sasuke frowned, ignoring the fact that the vivid description made him turn pale. He hated periods.

"Well done." Kakashi commented from the couch. "Now she's gonna be in a bad mood for the rest of this trip." Sasuke scowled at the fact that Kakashi had been awake and overhearing their conversation the whole time, and didn't bother to say anything to stop them until now.

"Oh, shut up." Sasuke hissed to his sensei, aggressively laying back down and covering himself with the covers. When Sakura came back out, she stopped at the door and leaned against it heavily, gritting her teeth. She either thought he wasn't watching her, or the cramps were worse this time, because usually the only indication of her pain was the mood change and Kakashi handing her a bottle of painkillers. Sasuke recognized that as a symptom of cramps. He felt guilt stab him in the gut. So maybe he could've freaked out in a way that didn't involve incriminating her while she was in pain.

When she lay down on the floor next to his bed, she turned her back so she was facing away from Sasuke, very obviously still mad at him. Sasuke huffed in irritation, before reaching forward and pulling his water bottle off his dresser. Sasuke concentrated, making his hands to glow with his fire chakra, heating them up. He pressed them against his water bottle, and waited until it had heated up, before he stood up and took Sakura's blankets off her, carefully dropping the heated water bottle onto her her stomach in a rough estimation of where it hurt. Sakura let out a little gasp, but didn't judo flip him, which he appreciated.Sakura, snuggled against her blankets and now with her own personal heating pad, let out a sigh of relief.

He'd seen his father doing this for his mother, and knew that warmth on the abdomen was soothing to them during their period months. Fugaku would randomly reach across the table and press his hand to Mikoto's stomach, his hand glowing with fire chakra. Sakura would murder him if he pulled something like that, but Mikoto gave her husband a smile. Even though it was something Sasuke's mother could do for herself, she never did. She hated wasting chakra on herself.

Sakura chuckled, throwing off one of her blankets because it would be too hot to sleep with them all now. "Should I scream now, creep?"

"I'm trying to help you." Sasuke retorted before he could stop himself, getting back into his bed and turning to face Naruto. Sakura laughed some more before falling silent. Sasuke ignored the voice in his head screaming, 'this was a bad idea, this was a bad idea, thiswasabadidea-'

Sakura sighed. "Thanks, Sasuke." She whispered. Sasuke nodded his head. This was the only apology for their argument that Sakura would get, and she knew it, and oddly enough it didn't bother her too much.

<>

Sakura waited until Sasuke was asleep for sure before getting up again. She was extremely comfortable, and regretted doing this so much, but she had work to do, no matter the personal pain that came with it. She held Sasuke's chakra heated water bottle to rest on her waist as she stood, allowing herself to bask in the heat for just a second before putting the bottle down.

She was suddenly freezing. Rubbing her hands up and down her arms, she cursed quietly. Sakura ran cold, and Sasuke's contraption was like a small heater. She'd never been more comfortable in her life, and she'd gone and screwed it up. She hoped to God this was worth it. She grabbed the pile of clothes by her bed and decided to sneak into the bathroom, waiting until she'd closed the door to turn on the lights. Sasuke had effectively wiped away the majority of her previously incredibly painful cramps. After hours of staying in that position, Sakura felt really good.

Sasuke had fallen asleep startlingly quickly, with his insomnia and everything. The first time, when Sakura went to mess with her backpack, it had taken Sasuke two hours just to almost fall asleep. Even then, he shot up like a bullet the minute he felt her move. His sleep had been fretful and not effective. Now, he looked like a baby, his ridiculously beautiful face peaceful and relaxed. He hadn't even moved when Sakura left.

Interesting. Sakura thought as she changed into some leggings and a sweater, and let her hair down from the bun and into her face. Maybe Sasuke should use his fire chakra to sooth himself, too, more often.

She slid the bathroom window open, and shimmied out, closing it without making a sound. Her feet dropped onto the roof, and and balanced on the tiles before she jumped onto the floor. Stopping to look around, she followed her memory and the moonlight, eventually coming to a small bar that she remembered seeing upon entering the village, and opened the door. She walked inside, shutting the door behind her and sitting at a booth in the dining area.

Sakura looked around the bar from the booth. Legally she wasn't allowed in the actual bar part, only the family friendly booth area, but honestly Sakura wasn't going to wait.

She henge'd herself into an older woman, and walked over to her shishou, taking a seat at the bar next to her. She ordered a strong drink, and watched the bartender make it for her.

Her shishou looked and felt the same. Tsunade gave off the achingly familiar aura of warm strength. She remained stunningly beautiful, and really drunk. She looked a little younger than Sakura remembered her, although she supposed that was natural. Lady Tsunade had probably aged due to the stress of running a village during war time. And, Naruto was enough of a handful to give even people who don't physically age a few gray hairs.

Sakura spotted the blonde looking at her out of the corner of her eye, and she wondered if her eyes were beginning to prickle from the smell of alcohol. Being in Tsunade's presence reminded her of what she missed from the old world- her home. She missed Tsunade. She blinked rapidly to disperse the tears.

"Kid, you're not slick." Tsunade said, her voice husky from drinking for hours.

Sakura frowned. Of course Tsunade would see right through her disguise. She was a fully trained ninja. Even drunk, Tsunade had always retained the instinct. She was born for this. Sakura shrugged, undoing the henge temporarily. Allowing Tsunade to see her real self was risky in a bar, where Sakura could get kicked out, but everyone was either roaring drunk, or not paying attention, so she figured it she could do this for a few seconds.

"What are you doing in a place like this, brat?" Tsunade asked, throwing back a swig of her burning sake. Sakura winced as she physically saw Tsunade's cheeks redden, but her resolve hadn't weakened.

"To be honest, trying to find you." Sakura confessed, knowing that honesty was the way to Tsunade's heart. She'd been lied to a lot, by her teammates, her family, her village- enough to be entirely averse to people who lied to her.

The bartender made a move that caught Sakura's eye, and she henge'd back into her adult self. He turned around fully and handed her her drink. Sakura handed him some money, but Tsunade stopped him from taking it, shoving the money back at Sakura. "She's on my tab," Tsunade said, forcing the money back into Sakura's hands.

Sakura's eyes widened at her former shishou.

Tsunade snorted when the man went away. "What in the hell for? Do I owe you money? Is some family member of yours dying?" She asked, asking Sakura a question that replied to her original response.

"Close," Sakura confessed, lifting the drink and tilting it into her mouth. When she was back in her old body, a seventeen year old, she'd already been used to sake since she was sixteen. Tsunade was a GREAT role model, as people could tell. Her logic was, 'you're old enough to put yourself into dangerous situations and make horrible memories, so you're definitely old enough to drown them.' she'd said, while handing Sakura a small cup of sake. Sakura saw the reasoning, and not wanting to back down, had thrown the drink back.

She got a tremendous scolding from Shizune, when the woman found both Sakura and Tsunade drunk off their asses in her office. After some time, Sakura built up a tolerance that was easy in her old body. It felt much the same in her younger self, and her metabolism was fast enough to help her swallow it, but after nearly thirteen years of never touching alcohol, she was a bit out of touch.

She coughed, the burning sensation nearly killing her.

"Your first time drinking?" Tsunade laughed, a little drunkenly. Sakura gave her a tight smile.

"That obvious?" Sakura asked, hovering her cup over the bar and swirling the moisture inside.

"A bit, yeah." Tsunade sounded amused, which Sakura supposed was better than scandalized that a twelve year old was drinking sake. "You never told me why you needed me."

"Minato's dying." Sakura said bluntly, setting her cup on the table, the sharp rap helping to change the mood of the situation instantly.

Tsunade turned on her stool to face Sakura, propping one of her legs on the bar that hovered parallel with the ground and crossing her other leg over it. She rested her elbows on her knee, leaning forward. Her long, beautiful blonde hair spilled over, and she looked at Sakura with mock interest. "Minato who?" She drawled slowly.

"Namikaze. The Fourth Hokage." Sakura elaborated, adopting a posture that mirrored the older woman's exactly.

Sakura watched Tsunade's face change from one of mock concern to real concern. Minato had married her goddaughter, Kushina Uzumaki. She hadn't seen them, or her great godchild in years. Now, Sakura was telling her Minato was dying.

"What happened...?" She asked, a tiny hint of pain audible in her voice.

"Orochimaru attacked," Sakura said solemnly, her fingers nervously tapping on the counter. "Earlier today. Or... well, I suppose I should say yesterday. We came here to get you, my lady, because you're the only one suitable to be a replacement Hokage while Minato is in a coma, and... maybe you can help him."

"Minato..." Tsunade murmured, thinking about it. Minato had always respected her status, allowing her to drift the villages undetected without turning her into a missing nin and putting a bounty on her head. He was always there to buy her a drink whenever he was around, and had always been the most polite, and respectful man she'd ever met. He and Kushina helped her through the tough times, when she was really feeling Dan and Nawaki's deaths, providing her with the comfort real children would. They were practically her kids. "I left the village for a reason," Tsunade started, about to dismiss this girl, still stubborn and unwilling to succumb to a trap from the stupid elders or whoever the hell has it out for her now.

"Naruto's here." Sakura interrupted, bringing the cup to her lips and taking a sip to give her a few seconds to process. The alcohol went down better the second time around, as she readjusted to the taste. She'd have a massive hangover tomorrow, but Sakura didn't care right now. The numbness it provided helped her be a little bit more bold.

Tsunade stopped breathing momentarily, before she picked up her cup and downed another shot. "Bartender!" She shouted, sounding pissed now. The man hastily came to do her bidding. He refilled her shot glasses and left the whole bottle with her when she told him to. "Where is he?"

"Sleeping, at an inn not too far from here." Sakura told Tsunade, eyeing all of the bottles in the room.

"God." Tsunade murmured, dropping her face into her hands. "Is Kushina okay?" She asked Sakura. Kushina was adopted as Tsunade's goddaughter without any real ceremony, that was just how things were. Tsunade was fifteen when Kushina was born, but she met Kushina when she just turned seventeen. Mito had one day up and decided to visit her family in Uzushio, and dragged Tsunade and Nawaki along to see where they came from (although he died a few months later). By then, the Third Shinobi War was happening, and the Uzumaki clan was a target. Kushina's mother was scared that Uzushio would be attacked, and beseeched her cousin Mito to take care of her daughter back to Konoha, where it was safe, if anything happened to her. Mito, knowing she was old, entrusted this duty to Tsunade, who took it up happily. She loved the little girl, and the two got closer because of it.

When Kushina's parents were killed and Uzushiogakure no Sato was decimated, as predicted, Kushina (who had a chakra type that was ridiculously potent for the Nine Tails) was brought to Konoha by request of the First Hokage's wife. During the two years that Kushina went to school in Konoha while Mito was alive, the old woman was training the young girl to suppress the Nine Tails, and also in seals. Tsunade, who'd lost her brother and her lover only a few years ago, was still sad. Her teammate, Jiraiya, was in Amegakure with his students, and wasn't able to provide much comfort to her. Orochimaru was a cold, cold bastard, even then. Kushina became Tsunade's source of amusement, and she made it her business to get her together with the little blonde boy that reminded her of Dan.

When Jiraiya returned and took Minato Namikaze as his pupil, he joined Tsunade in her plots to shove the two of them together.

"Lady Kushina is in a lot of meetings right now." Sakura said slowly. Naruto had left his mom at home with his father (who was in a coma), and she knew that Naruto felt so guilty about it... they couldn't come home empty handed. "So she can't really process what she's feeling," she said honestly. "But sooner or later it's going to hit her." She picked up her cup and sipped some more of the burning drink.

"Who are you?" Tsunade asked her, her fingers tapping an anxious rhythm on the oak bar next to her cups. "How do you know all this about them?"

"I'm Naruto's genin teammate." Sakura clarified for Tsunade. "He's my best friend, and his mom's like our aunt." She pointed out, grabbing her cup and downing her what was left of her sake in one go. "So, I know a bit."

"Bartender!" Tsunade shouted again, and the now shivering man came over and took Sakura's empty cup, refilling it for her. "The genin teammate, huh?"

"Chūnin, now, actually." Sakura smiled sheepishly. "We were given a field promotion."

"Wow," Tsunade commented, putting her cup down. "You know, when I was on a genin team, I had the Old Man Third, and Jiraiya, and Orochimaru."

Sakura smiled. She'd heard her sensei's drunken rants on how much of a mess they were a long time ago. "Really?"

"Oh yeah. Bunch of little shits, the two of them were. Nowhere near the Sannin we are now. And even now... well, Orochimaru's gone, and I'm gone, and Jiraiya's gone. And Sarutobi-sensei's gone for good." Tsunade said, sounding saddened. "Oh well. That's life. How was your team?"

"Naruto's loud and annoying, and Sasuke's an asshole." Sakura said, a little bit of reproach coming into her voice. She loved her boys to death, but they drove her insane. "Kakashi's lazy and is always reading his stupid porn, and the missions are far too easy." She tipped her drink back into her throat. "I'm so happy I'm a chūnin."

"But you're still going to be on teams with them." Tsunade said knowingly.

"Oh yeah. They're idiots, but they're mine. I would do anything to protect them." She said, entirely honestly.

"Admirable," Tsunade conceded, but shook her head. "But if it's their time, there's nothing you can do."

"Yeah, well, so help me God, as long as I'm around, their time will never come. The Shinigami will have to get me first." She swore, narrowing her eyes at the idea. She wouldn't even entertain the idea of one of them dying before her. It was absolutely impossible.

"You sound a lot like me." Tsunade noted. "Determined."

"More like stubborn." Sakura retorted smugly, crossing her arms.

Tsunade smirked a little in amusement, looking down at her drink. A flare of affection stirred in her heart, and she realized that it was like looking at a younger version of herself. Tsunade liked her. "You know," she said. "Twenty years ago, I was just like you. I never imagined that my team would be split up like this. We were good friends, at one point."

"What happened?" Sakura asked sympathetically. She hadn't heard this part before. She wondered if it was because of Tsunade's inebriation, or because Tsunade didn't know Sakura, and felt more free to rant about them to a stranger than to someone who was going through the same thing, like Sakura had been in their last life while Tsunade was training Sakura.

"Oh... war happened, I suppose. We all graduated super early, because they had to get us out into the field as soon as possible. We grew up really fast, watched people we knew die, and we all handled it differently. Orochimaru... well, death scared the bejesus out of him, so now he's trying to find something to grant him immortality. Jiraiya's writing books to keep his mind off the horrors. I'm..." she laughed bitterly. "Drinkin' my memories away, gambling to keep busy. Traveling nonstop because stability is a reminder of what I lost. Shizune - my boyfriend's niece - is my only constant companion. That's not likely to change. So yeah, we're Sannin, but we're not invincible. You came here to get me to heal Minato, but you also came because Konoha needs a Hokage, right?" Tsunade asked knowingly.

Sakura stared in awe. Apparently, Tsunade was more of a philosophical drunk than a clumsy drunk like last time. Sakura nodded, because that was one of the reasons, yeah, and honesty was the best policy.

"Well, darlin', I can't help you." She said, frowning. "I left that place for a reason, and I'm not going back any time soon. The only family I have there are Minato, Kushina and Naruto, and right now the place is in shambles. I can't..." she hesitated. "I can't stay still, or they'll catch up to me. I have to keep moving."

"Keep gambling, keep drinking," Sakura cut in. "Lady Tsunade, haven't you considered that you were meant for so much more than this?" She asked. "Konoha needs you. Your family needs you. Don't you care?"

"I do, but I can't afford to take up a permanent position there." Tsunade told Sakura, as if she was begging Sakura to understand without the actual begging part. Sakura's green eyes hardened.

"Orochimaru reanimated Lord Hashirama and Lord Tobirama, and used them to help kill Minato." Sakura said coldly, her hands itching to touch her cup again. She restrained herself, because leaving too drunk would inform Kakashi and Sasuke of what she'd done immediately. "Whatever part of you that is in denial, and thinks this isn't as bad as it sounds is really wrong." She said knowingly.

Tsunade perked up at this, her amber eyes widening. "What?" She sounded genuinely horrified, and a tad pissed off. Sakura nodded, because the memory had disturbed her too. Oh, to hell with it. I'll deal with them tomorrow. She picked up a cup of her sake, and polished it off. The bartender, waiting anxiously, refilled it for her almost immediately.

"Some teammates of ours held them off while Orochimaru and Minato fought each other." Sakura told Tsunade, shrugging. She set her now full cup back down and hugged her arms. "Lord First told me to tell you he misses you. He's part of the reason we came for you."

"Me?" Tsunade asked, looking shocked. She hadn't seen her grandfather since he died so long ago. She'd been just five when she'd seen him last. Her heart ached. She hadn't had much time with him, but she'd loved him fiercely. "He told you to find me?"

"Not necessarily, we knew you were the most qualified candidate for a replacement Hokage. Lady Kushina sent us for you." She said honestly.

Tsunade was silent for a moment or two. "Orochimaru brought my grandfather and my uncle back, then forced them to attack the village THEY created?" Tsunade asked, her hands shaking in rage. Sakura understood that Tsunade was angry. Really angry.

"Yes, my lady, I'm afraid so." Sakura said quietly, trying not to attract too much attention to herself while Tsunade was fuming.

"And he made MINATO fight them?!" Tsunade's voice rose, and she stood up in her chair.

"Yes, ma'am..." Sakura squeaked. She'd forgotten how terrifying Tsunade was when she flew into her drunken rages.

"I'll kill him..." she muttered, sitting back down when she saw that he wasn't in this bar right now. "I swear on my life, I'll kill him for what he did to my grandfather." She told Sakura, looking at the girl with a cold look that said that heaven wouldn't make her a liar.

Sakura nodded slowly, trying not to think about how painful that conclusion must be for Tsunade. She'd tried to kill Sasuke once, and had failed immensely. She couldn't imagine how Tsunade would be feeling. Sasuke had done some horrible things, but he hadn't done what Orochimaru did. Being left with no other option but to kill her teammate would be devastating.

"So, Sakura, tell me what happened. From the beginning."

Sakura started with the exams, and how she and her team did. Tsunade gave her an impressed look when she told her how she'd taken down Suna's princess. She smiled when she heard what Naruto had pulled with Kiba, then what he and Sasuke had done before the attack. When she began to narrate Orochimaru's kidnapping and imprisoning of the Leaf's Yellow Flash, sans Naruto and Sasuke, Tsunade's mouth straightened into a line more and more in anger.

"We left the day of the incident. We're here looking for you because we think you can heal Minato. And..." Sakura murmured self consciously, feeling the bold side that came out while she was drunk attack her. "Well, I wanted to ask you if you would consider taking an apprentice."

Tsunade's eyes widened in shock as she watched the little girl put her cup on the table. "Apprentice?" She repeated numbly. Sakura nodded her head, and gave her a small, uncertain smile, wondering if she'd asked too soon. "Why would you want a sad old drunk as your teacher?" She asked, a scoff in her tone.

Sakura looked down at the wooden bar, and called the bartender over, asking for a glass of milk. He handed it to her, and she took slow sips. A contrast to the burning alcohol that made her head think clearer. "My lady, you're not a sad old drunk, you're the best there is." She told her. Tsunade raised a brow, because flattery never really worked on her. "I only want to protect my family." She said quietly, her memory taking her back to her past life, when she was useless. "I want to be strong enough to take care of my teammates and my village. That's all I want." She confessed.

Tsunade sighed. "You want to gain power to protect others?"

"Isn't that why everyone gains power?" Sakura asked, brows furrowing. That's why Naruto did it. Why Sasuke did it. Kakashi, too. Lady Tsunade, even, had that reasoning.

"No. Some people gain power for the recognition. Most people try to gain power to become invincible. The best. Very rarely do people gain power to protect those they love, in the greedy ninja world." Tsunade said, ordering another glass of milk for both her and Sakura from the bartender. "But you seem pretty formidable yourself, Sakura. Your accomplishments are nothing to scoff at."

"I'm okay, my lady. But I keep having this sinking feeling that something massive is coming, and that I need to be preparing. Any way I can. I want to protect my teammates, and my village. I want to be able to take care of them if they need it. I want to heal."

Tsunade looked at her, a frown on her face. She looked down at her glass of milk, and sighed. "Sakura, if I trained you... well, it would be the harshest training you'd ever get. Would you crack under the pressure?"

Sakura winced at the reminder of Tsunade's training. Those were the most physically painful days of her entire life. But she had gotten stronger from them, and had amazingly high pain tolerance. She was scared that she was becoming weaker without someone of her strength to train with. "I would try my best, my lady. I'm a hard worker."

"You appear to be that way, yes." Tsunade said. She sighed. "I'll think on it. If I decide to go to the village, I'll take you on. If I keep my travels up, I will let you know if I want you to come with Shizune and I."

Sakura beamed. "What would it take to convince you to come home?" She asked.

Tsunade smirked. "I'll have to have a little chat with Naruto, and see if he's as spitfire as Kushina used to say he was."

Sakura's smile stretched. "You won't be disappointed, my lady."

"Get yourself to bed, Sakura. I'll see you soon." Tsunade said, shoving the girl lightly on the arm.

"Thank you, my lady!" Sakura stood up and bowed deeply.

"Go away, brat." Tsunade said, a small smile on her face. Sakura turned and wished her a good night, before running out of the bar and straight into someone slightly taller than her, standing firm.

She looked up at the person, and saw that they had their arms crossed, a scowl on their face, and their hair was even more messed up than usual.

Sakura had run into Sasuke Uchiha, and he looked absolutely pissed.