I slowly felt myself wake, feeling a soft warmth on my face and eyelids. Blinking, I squinted from the sunlight in my eyes. Feeling a weight on my leg and little weights on my head and stomach, I looked to see that Naruto shifted from my coat as a pillow to resting his cheek on my thigh. Brown and white birds stood on my stomach and I felt one sitting in my hair, seeing at least three birds on Naruto as well. The shade from the trees leaves covered us from broiling in the sunlight, but I was unlucky enough to have the sun dapple through the canopy right into my eyes.

Hearing a movement in front of me that indicated a footstep, I shifted my head, the birds flapping away at the sound.

"You'll catch a cold if you sleep here..."

Snapping out of my daze, I see a woman with long black hair and a soft face wearing what looked like a pink kimono type dress without sleeves. My brain kicks into drive and my mouth spills what I remembered at that exact moment. They aren't a 'she'.

"Haku?" I mumble, then instantly regretting it as his face twists into surprise. My stomach drops.

Ooooh shit.

"You know my name?" Haku questions.

Naruto makes a noise as he shifts a little, still asleep. I look to his peaceful face and wonder if I should wake him. Deciding he shouldn't hear this, I turn back to Haku.

I nod slowly, not able to think of a way to back out of it, "I do. But uh, don't worry. I'm the only one in my team that knows."

Haku looks alert, "how do you know my name?"

I sigh, leaning my head back against the tree, "a long and difficult story. While I talk, mind if I help you with those herbs?"

I shift Naruto's head to my coat-pillow, and get up silently as I spoke. I realized at that second I also towered over Haku.

He nodded after a moment and lead me to his basket.

"So...you can see the future?" Haku asks in his patient calm tone, letting me pick herbs with him.

"Of sorts," I confirmed, since I told him it was small visions that told me of things that would happen...to cover the T.V. watching with my sister in real life, "they usually occur in dreams, and they've all been right so far...but-"

I just realized I was talking to someone who was going to die and my hand stopped. Haku looked to me, confused. I stared right into his fawn like eyes.

He's going to die, this sweet soul. This such sweet soul in such a horrible way...

"Are you alright?" Haku questions, snapping me out of my horrified daze as I kept a neutral look.

I shouldn't worry him.

"Ah, I'm sorry..." I gave a closed eye smile, "I just remembered. Naruto and I missed breakfast at where we're staying."

Haku laughs a little as I hear shifting behind me.

"Angeles? Who's-?" Naruto sleepily walks up and stops as I turn around. He was staring at Haku with a small blush on his face.

I smile at him, "just someone I'm helping out."

A burning feeling went into my stomach as I felt Haku glance at me, him knowing full well I had just lied to my best friend.

It didn't feel good, trust me. But I felt I had to...to protect the timeline and Haku.

"Oh! I want to help too!" Naruto sat down next to me and smiled sheepishly.

"I'd be glad if you help," Haku smiles kindly as he showed Naruto which herbs to pick. I silently kept picking as I listened to their dream-sharing.

"To be the strongest ninja in the whole village!Then everyone will know who I am and they'll respect me! There's also a certain person that I have to prove something to!"

I smiled at that, rubbing his yellow hair into his head while Naruto laughs.

"So you're doing all the training for that certain person?" Haku asks, intrigued, "or are you doing it just for yourself?"

Naruto made a confused noise with a dumb look on his face while I laughed a little along with chuckling Haku.

"What are you laughing about, what's so funny?!" Naruto protested, switching his gaze from Haku to me, then back to Haku.

Haku controlled his laughter and asked, "is there...someone precious to you?"

"Someone that's- I don't get it, sis, what do you mean by precious?" He asked, confused.

I turned away to pick the herbs behind me, listening to their conversation without interrupting, which was just ending.

"Oh, and by the way..."

I was kind of glad I was turned away, because I had a huge smile spread on my face as I knew what was coming.

"I'm a boy," Haku finished.

A beat of silence, and cue Naruto freak out. I could practically hear his thoughts as I began laughing hard.

'SERIOUSLY!? HE'S EVEN PRETTIER THAN SAKURA!!'

"You seriously didn't know he was a guy?"

"YOU WEREN'T ALL THAT DIFFERENT EITHER!"

I was taken aback, but replied, "oh, true."

I took a labored breath to calm my high from laughter, feeling another chakra coming in the direction Haku left.

Sasuke.

"I've seen a lot of strange things in my life, but this takes the cake!" Naruto babbles as Sasuke come up and bonks Naruto on the head.

I stand as Sasuke retaliated to Naruto's compalints, "You both forgot about breakfast. Such losers."

Naruto just grins for some reason and Sasuke seems a little freaked out by that, while I pat Naruto's back and smile.

----------------

"NARUTOOO! Mm, not here either," I heard Sakura grumble frustrated, then shout again, "Where could they be? ANGELEEEES! Ugh, they could be anywhere!"

Sitting at the top of the tree, I could only hear the loud echoes of her annoying annoyed voice, and our sensei's quiet muttering. Leaning back, I turned to Naruto who was laying on his stomach with his limbs hanging on his own tree branch on the same tree I sat in, a couple of feet lower.

Nodding to him, we both bring out our kunai and throw them down, letting them land to get our sensei and Sakura's attention. They look up and see us, while Naruto looks extremely smug and proud of himself while I just wave with a warm smile.

"Woah," Sakura voiced her thoughts, "Naruto and Angeles can climb that high now using their chakra? That's great!"

I could feel Kakashi hum the 'oh okay, that's nice' type of hum from here.

"High enough for ya? It's a looong way down!" Naruto shouted. I look down, blinking at the height. He was right, I couldn't tell two blades of grass from here.

"No kidding," I comment as Naruto jumps up straight on the branch-

-and one foot slips, throwing him backwards. He yelped.

Sakura screeched in fear while I tensed on my branch and prepared to leap for him. Kakashi gave a lame 'uh oh'. Jesus this man-!

....Naruto just slid upside down on the same branch. He was fine.

"Hah! Just kidding!" He laughed, "you guys really fell for it! Hahahahahahaha!"

"WE WERE WORRIED ABOUT YOU, NARUTO!" Sakura yelled. I could feel her inner Sakura wanting to punch him.

Kakashi voiced his own thoughts, "why do I have the feeling that this is going to end badly?"

I heard that, and realized that it would. Looking at his concentrated chakra at his feet, it was destabilizing. Planting my own foot on the bark of the trunk of the tree, I ran down the tree the second Naruto's feet popped off the branch. I saw Sasuke run up the tree and I saw him coming. He had a better angle, and I didn't have enough time to get into Naruto's falling range.

"Catch him, Sasuke!" I called. Upside down on a branch he reached and grabbed Naruto's ankle. I heaved a sigh of relief.

"You really are a total loser, Naruto," Sasuke spoke. Naruto was suprised.

Sakura cheered, "*squeal* alright, Sasuke! You're the best!"

Kakashi looked relieved, heaving, "If I'm still sane by the end of their training, it would be a miracle."

---------------

The last of the day was interesting. I showed Kakashi my progress by walking up the tree to the top. He congratulated me and let me know I'd be with Sakura today for protecting Tazuna. The pinkette and I escorted Tazuna to the bridge and kept Tazuna within our sight as he worked with multiple other men.

"What are your thoughts on the bridge?" I asked one of the men, who I came to know as Miaho.

He replied softly, "It's this village's lifeline. A way to escape Gato. I know some are quiting because of the danger...but we have to finish it!"

Miaho had confidence that seeped into me and I smiled along with him. Sakura just stood and looked bored. I offered to help carry stuff around, and Tazuna let me carry heavy bags of material and piles of wood. I sometimes lifted with my chakra for stuff that needed to be moved with multiple people that would only slow down progress on other things, and the other men thanked me for my help. Only small movements, like a turning of a large stone or a slide of about two feet.

"Just helping out," I would say when they would ask why, "this bridge is important to you and your village, I feel I should at least be of help while I'm here."

I kept spirit and conversation when I talked with the men, to bring them at least a little confidence.

"Not to be rude," a man named Hikaru, "but did you live in poverty before?"

I set down the bag of cement and dust my hands, turning my head to the well-built tanned man, "very much so, why do you ask?"

"It's just...I've noticed you have been more empathetic than forced-sympathetic like we've seen," he continued, "It's a nice change."

I smiled kindly, "ah, it's hard not to be. I've been in your shoes, and I know what it's like," in my Naruto memories anyway, "and I can finally do something about a familiar situation such as this."

"Oi, brainiac! Could you help us with this stone?" Tazuna called a good 27 feet away. I nodded to him to show I heard and turned to Hikaru, setting a hand on his shoulder in silent comfort.

After a long day of work, Sakura, Tazuna, and I walked back to the house. Dinner was being prepared, but wouldn't be done for a couple more hours because of the amount. I noticed that she was shaking from effort and haphazardly cutting tomatoes. She was almost carving herself up by how close the knife was getting to her other hand.

"Excuse me, Tsunami-san," I got her attention from the table, "Do you need help with dinner?"

"Ah, Angeles," Tsunami replied as she wiped the sweat off her forehead and looked to me from the counter, "you're probably tired from the work on the bridge. Please rest, I've got it."

"Ma'am, I don't mean to be rude," I stated quietly, "but you're barely on your feet, and it looks like you haven't gotten a wink of sleep. I am tired, that's true, but it doesn't compare to your sleep deprivation."

Tsunami sighed, "I just can't argue with you, can I?"

"Nope," I pop the 'p' and laugh lightheartedly, getting her to laugh a little too. She handed me the knife and went to the sauce cooking on the stove to save it from burning.

"You're going to cook too, brainiac?" Tazuna questioned me.

Kakashi answered for me, "He's pretty good with food."

"Just ask Naruto when he comes back," I smile above a half chopped tomato, slicing it accurately, "I can make a mean Mac n' Cheese!"

"Mac and what?" Tsunami asked, confused.

"Mac n' Cheese! It's a recipe I created for my restaurant until...it...," I trailed off and was silent for a moment, "....until it got raided and burned to the ground."

"That's horrible!" Tsunami gasped sympathetically.

I nodded numbly, "as far as horrible goes, Naruto had it harder than I had by far. Hell, even Inari. He's a trooper to push through his sorrow without breaking down himself."

"He's a tough lil' man," Tazuna agreed.

Tsunami and I served platters after finishing dinner up, going around the table.

"Now they're both late," Sakura sighed, referring to Naruto and Sasuke, "I wouldn't have expected this from Sasuke."

We all heard the door open and turned to see who was there, ironically answering Sakura. Sasuke appeared to be supporting Naruto as they walked in.

"What have you been up to?" Tazuna asked them.

"We both made it," Naruto answered with a tired smile, "we made all the way to the top!"

Kakashi didn't give much of a reaction other than a nod.

"Good. Now we move on. Starting tomorrow you'll both be bodyguards for Tazuna."

"HAHA! ALRIGHT-oof!" Naruto shouted swinging his fist up, but unintentionally throwing both boys backwards onto their butts.

"You're such a loser!" Sasuke shot at Naruto, and everyone laughed.

My face hurt from all the smiling that dinner.