Of Armor and Pink Petals

Chapter 4

Note: Here is the chapter you were all waiting for! I hope you enjoy that one! Also for the purpose of that story, Sakura is 19 going on 20 and Tobirama is 26.

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto.

Chapter 4

She woke up feeling horrible. It literally felt like she sparred with Lee for hours. Her whole body was sore and her head was pounding. Chakra exhaustion will get to ya! She was used to it, since the war. Keeping her eyes closed, Sakura took a deep breath. This bed smelled so good. Like rain in the summer and pine tree. It was soft and comfortable... Slowly, she pushed some chakra in her hands, which made them glow with a soft green color. Before she could bring her hand to her temples, someone roughly grabbed her arm and pinned it next to her head. Annoyed, she sighed.

"It hurts like hell, let me..." Then her green eyes met red ones and her mouth fell open. Not able to speak, she just stared. Red eyes, white hair, red marking on his cheeks and chin, blue armor... what is the second Hokage doing here?! She met him briefly during the war when he was reanimated, but the man in front of her was alive, far from being a reanimation. Is this some kind of bad joke? Genjutsu? With a "Kai!" she tried to dispel the genjutsu but the man was still there and looking through her with piercing eyes. With a deep voice, he talked, startling her.

"State your name and affiliation, woman."

Woman? This felt too real to be a dream. Of course, she knew who he was and the fact that he was supposed to be DEAD. Also, he looked younger than his reanimation. Way younger. In his twenties maybe? Sakura took in her surroundings. A tent? Focusing back her attention to the man before her, she could only open and close her mouth like a fish. Maybe if I close my eyes, he'll disappear... Am I going crazy? Closing her eyes tightly, she waited a few seconds and reopened them. Still there... I might definitely be going insane... Shaking her head to put her thoughts back into place, she was finally able to voice a question.

"Where in the heck am I?"

Tobirama frowned and rolled his eyes, crossing his arms on his chest, making him look even more impressing. The woman barely woke up and was already starting to be a pain! He took in the sight of her disheveled hair and confused expression.

"You are at the Senju camp. You were drowning in the river, I got you out and brought you here. Now, name and affiliation, kunoichi."

The Senju camp? She took her head in her hands and tried to control her breathing. If she was in the Senju camp, it meant that Konoha was not founded yet, right? How is this possible? Probably a nightmare, right? She pinched her arms really hard and hissed. No. She was definitely awake. Seeing her pinching herself, Tobirama raised and eyebrow and annoyed, he took her chin in his hand and turned her head his way brutally.

"My patience has limits. Answer. The. Question."

His voice was sharp like a knife. It was her last warning. She tried to avoid his look and he jerked her face back towards him, still holding her chin until she did not have any other choice than to look in his eyes. What could she tell him? Hell, she did not even know herself what was going on. She was obviously not in a dream or stuck in any genjutsu. They did not teach anything about that at the Academy, otherwise she would know what to do when being face to face with someone that was supposed to be dead but that clearly was ALIVE and ANGRY. Could it be? Could she really be in the past? At the thought, her stomach did a back flip. No. It wasn't possible. She took a deep breath and gathered her courage. Her voice sounded way more determined than what she felt at the moment.

"Sakura... Just Sakura, no affiliation."

Technically, it was true. The Haruno was hardly a clan. He looked deep in her eyes for a few seconds then let go of her chin. Sakura... What a fitting name, considering the color of her hair. Still on his guard, he continued to watch her. She shivered under the scrutiny of his look. She knew he was an impressive man because she read about him plenty of time, but right now, she could definitely understand why he was mentioned as one of the best shinobi ever. They never mentioned how handsome he was though.. Her thought made her blush lightly. His presence was filling the whole room, crushing her. He looked quite imposing with the happuri framing his face and his armor. Thinking about what she said, he came to the conclusion that she was not lying about her name and affiliation. There was more to her than what she was letting on, that was for sure. Medic nin? No clan? He was skeptical.