Archive of Our Own

Work Text

Sakura was never an ordinary child, that was even noted on the day of her birth. It was evident the moment that she was born when she didn’t cry like a normal baby. Instead she stared at the two, almost assessing them. She had the eyes that seemed to look through you as if calculating your worth.“She has eyes of my mother”, the male Haruno remarked holding the baby girl in his arms. And the woman knew that he was referring to more than just the color of them. “I was just hoping that she wouldn’t inherit your silly pink hair Kazashi”, the woman said jokingly.“Mah, you’re so mean to me Mebuki, I think the pink makes her look even cuter!” He faked cried.Mebuki’s eyes softened. “You’re right, the pink hair makes her look like a little hime… Our hime.” She held the bundle closer to her chest.“Our little Sakura-hime”, Kazashi said laying closer to his wife. Sakura’s oddness was apparent, when at the age of 6 months, she learned to walk. It was a feat that took both parents by surprise when she stumbled her way to their worn bookshelf in the living room. Of course any parent would be happy about this development. However, this worried them as they realized that this was the first of many things that would mark Sakura as different, especially since she had yet to utter a single word by the time of her first birthday.At the age of 2, Sakura experience her first night terror. It was only by pure coincidence that Mebuki was there to witness it. Sakura was never a vocal child, so when Mebuki walked past her room only to hear a strangled scream inside of it, she was alarmed. She burst into the room expecting to see someone harming her daughter, however she was only met with the sight of her daughter fighting and clawing at the covers, her eyes tightly clinched. Her bed was soaked with sweat and tears. Her forehead was burning. She could only hold her daughter, trying to comfort her in her fevered state. The next day the fever cleared, and she asked Sakura about her nightmare. Sakura told them that she couldn’t remember, even the concerning questioning of her father couldn’t bring her to tell them about her dream.The dreams continued and by 3, Sakura could only recall flashes. She could see a village on fire, people fighting–many dying. Most of all she could distinctly remember the moon stained so red that it glowed, and a woman emerging from it with long white hair, ringed eyes and horns, and a laugh that brought shivers up her spine.Also at the age of 3, Sakura still refused to utter full sentences, only a few phrases here and there. Sakura’s father, who was home on an extended break from work, recommended taking her to a professional to get help. However, Sakura’s mom refused. She instead made it her mission to get Sakura to talk. Normally Sakura could get away with pointing to what she wanted, but her mom would make her voice out her wants. She would also make Sakura read throughout the day–outloud. Most of the time her voice came out in scratchy whispers, which pained Mebuki. But she knew that this therapy would be the best. Soon she could see and hear the difference of her normally uninterested child. She seemed to talk more stronger and fluently. She also read things more advanced, taking up reading as an enjoyable hobby.At the age of 4, Sakura’s parents deemed her mature enough to start helping them around the house and with their businesses. Sakura’s father was a businessman who often either brought his work home (to his office in the back of their home) or traveled out of the city. What type of business he dealt with wasn’t something that she completely knew, but she did know that he dealt with high quality silks and antiques–at least that was some of the items that was stored in his office, which he locked away.Sakura’s mother was a little different. She owned a local teahouse that was quite popular. However, since Sakura’s birth, she wasn’t as involved as she would have normally been, choosing only to go to the restaurant for occasional check ups or emergencies.Both decided that she was old enough to include her in the “family business”. So when Sakura’s father was away at work, Sakura spent majority of her time with her mother helping out at the restaurant. Since she was a child she was only tasked with doing simple things like replacing tea cups or fluffing the pillows on the zaisu chairs. During down times, her mother would teach her traditional etiquette. Other times, the staff–who really liked Sakura–would teach her things to know about tea ceremonies. The one who mainly taken a liking to her was a sixteen year old server named Emiko who always gave her candy and books. The books would mostly be fiction in nature, but they always featured a strong female lead character going on adventures and fighting the bad guys. The ones that she preferred were about the samurai. She loved the level of honor and the telling of the sword. She asked Emiko about her interest in samurai and she confessed that if she was born in another time. She may have been a samurai regardless of the gender roles.Sakura saddened by the news told her that she would become a samurai for both of them. “That would be nice, Sakura-chan, but the age of samurai is over. Now it is the age of shinobi–and it is much more dangerous.”“Why is that?” Sakura asked.“Because a shinobi, by nature isn’t honorable. It’s about deceit and deception–doing whatever you can to complete the mission. Even at the cost of unnecessary bloodshed.” Emiko’s eyes widened after realizing what she just told Sakura. Half expecting the girl to be in tears, she looked at Sakura preparing to apologize for being so cynical. However, she wasn’t prepared for the strange and determined glint in the young girl’s eyes.“Then I will bring back the age of the samurai. I will bring back honor… Even if I have to become a shinobi to do so, I will change these societal views.”Emiko was so stunned about what she just said that she could only give Sakura her best, and most honest, smile.“I’m sure you will Sakura-chan.”No sooner after that Sakura expressed her interest in the shinobi arts to her parents. It first started off with asking about chakra after she discovered an old ninja scroll that they forgot to put away. They wanted to say that they were surprised at the interest, but they weren’t. One of Sakura’s oddness was her early love of learning new things, she would often be seen reading history books. So when she asked them about chakra, they didn’t see any real harm at explaining it to her.However, despite Sakura’s maturity, she didn’t like going outside. Really, she didn’t like socializing with anyone her own age. That was something they learned when she told them after trying to make her play with the neighborhood civilian children.“They’re stupid”, she would say. “They laugh at me because of my hair and eyes.” Even though they tried to inform her that not everyone was like that, she still refused to go play like a normal child. Instead she prefer staying indoors reading her books or being at the teahouse, even without her mother. If not, she would often be found in her mother’s garden helping her take care of the plants and herbs.“You don’t want to go play with other children at the park, it would be a lot more fun than this”, they would ask her. “I could, but prefer not to”, she would quietly say, and they would leave it at that.At age 5, Sakura could read at an unbelievable level. It was actually quite an amusing sight to see a little 5 year old reading books like “The Benefits and Healing Abilities of Plant Medicine”. She managed to find all of their theory books and even some books about meditation and the human anatomy. She read them all with an understanding that should have never been seen in a child. Of course she would ask one of her parents, or even Emiko, about a subject she didn’t quite understand. Soon she became their little library of knowledge and with every trip to the library that they would make, she would be there.One day at the bookstore though, she saw an orange book titled, “Tales of a Gutsy Ninja.” It was worn and small. It wasn’t something that she would normally read, but for some reason she felt drawn to it. So she bought it, not even bothering to get a glimpse of what it was about. When she should the book to her parents, they immediately snatched the book out of her hand with an offended look. But upon closer examination realized that they overreacted.“Sorry Musume”, her father said.“We mistook it for something else.” And then they gave it back.That night Sakura started reading the book, and after the first page, she was hooked. So much so that by the time she finished it, the first sunlight of dawn was breaching through her curtains. Then she read it again.The story followed a ninja by the name of Naruto, one of the reasons why she was was interested in reading more–for a reason unknown to even her. It told of his sunny attitude and his ability to make even an enemy a valued friend.Most importantly, it told of his battles. The description of the fights bringing up memories of her own dreams. She wondered if the author imagined it being as bloody or terrifying. She wondered if he imagined monsters appearing in the middle of the battlefield–of celestial beings coming down and bringing hell. But throughout it all, the main character faced it with determination– fearlessly protecting his comrades.The ending was so bittersweet, that it brought tears to her eyes–leaving her feeling frustrated, disappointed, but hopeful. For what, she didn’t know. And so she read the book two more times, before she was able to divert her attention to something else.“I can’t believe that we thought it was one of those Icha Icha books”, her mother said jokingly one day after her father remarked on how much Sakura seemed to like the book. Although, they weren’t whispering amongst themselves, it still was a shock that Sakura chose to respond.“I’ve heard that they are actually fairly good if you don’t think to much about the plot. Some of the scenes are relatable, although the kunoichi’s are often described a little too one dimensional for my taste”, Sakura said absentmindedly. Her mother looked at her aghast, her father gaping at her like a fish.“So… You’ve read those book”, her mom asked slowly. “No”, Sakura said as a matter-of-factly.“Then how do you know so much about the series?” Her mother demanded. “Ohhhh, my precious hime has been tainted!” Her father could be seen–and heard–crying in the background.“I heard it from a scarecrow”, Sakura replied cryptically looking back at her book. Safe to say that they started monitoring her reading habits a little closer.Despite that, her interests were targeted towards shinobi related materials. It was also the time when she decided to tell her parents that she wanted to go to the shinobi academy. Of course her mother was saddened and even hurt by the news. Her father was little less surprised since he knew that this was bound to happen, but he looked almost defeated.That spring they signed Sakura up to test into the academy with selfish wishes that she wouldn’t pass.However, their prayers came unanswered when a week after they allowed her to take the test, the results were sent to their house. Sakura was the one to receive it, holding the the large white envelope in her hand. She was nervous, they could tell. Their daughter wasn’t as emotional as most kids her age, but there was a rare moment of a genuine smile when Sakura opened the package and saw the results.“Congratulations” was written in bold letters.Since receiving the letter for the academy, Sakura had been studying all she could to prepare herself for the upcoming year. Since she wasn’t cleared yet to check out any academy material, she was stuck reading general book material.On a particularly warm day Sakura woke up to the sound of her father’s voice arguing with another voice that wasn’t soothing like her mother's. She couldn’t quite hear what was said, but she could hear worry and anger in their voices that put her on edge. So she quietly snuck out armed with a few dulled kunai that she was allowed to use for practice.She was able to follow their voices to the bottom of the stairs and so she waited at the top of the stairs for any indication that they were in danger. But it didn’t seem that way.“You lot are so annoying, and you don’t understand the concept of no. I won’t allow her to be used as a tool.”“That’s funny especially since she will be just that by a village built on lies.” A scratchy voice answered.“That’s different because she has chosen that life, not the other way around.” Her father said annoyed and tired.“If that’s really what you believe. I’m not here to argue with you something that you already know the truth, but we will continue this conversation later, it seems as though these walls have ears.” At that Sakura tried to sneak back into her room, but she knew that she was already caught when her father called her name. So she turned back around towards the stairs.As she walked down the stairs and saw her father, Sakura couldn’t find any evidence of the person who her father was arguing with much to her displeasure.Sakura locked eyes with her father in question. “Tou-san, who were you talking to.”  Her father looked away as if lost in memory. “An old friend”, he said, and before she could ask him any more questions he interrupted her.“Why don’t we go get some ice cream?”Sakura, taking note of his troubled face, decided to drop the subject for now.“Sure, Tou-san”, and she turned around to go upstairs to change out of her pajamas.“Sakura”, he suddenly said getting her attention. His eyes softened taking in her hunched form.“You have nothing to worry about?” He gave her a slight smile and ruffled her hair. “But thanks for worrying hime”, he finished.Sakura’s heart warmed at the added affection and in turn she gave her father a reassuring smile.

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

At the age of six, Sakura was already enrolled in the academy along with a class of 30 of her peers, half of them being from prominent clans. Each of them unique from one another, but none as different as her.

Sakura experienced how different she was firsthand when they all but seemed to distance themselves from her. She caught faint whispers of them calling her the “weird girl”, which she didn’t understand, but nonetheless it bothered her. Well, more like upset her.

Sure she didn’t get along with the neighborhood kids, but she thought that was because she more serious and more mature for a child her age– something that she assumed would be the norm for those wanting to be a halfway decent shinobi.

Unfortunately, she didn’t have any friends to ask about it, so instead that day when she got home she asked her mother. “Okasan”, she asked. “Why am I so different than other children?”

Her mother, not expecting her to ask that sort of thing, looked in her daughter's direction noticing just how distraught her daughter appeared. Not knowing what to do, she took her daughter into her arms and held her tight. Sakura caught the slight smell of mint from her mother’s shampoo and she relaxed.

A few moments passed and was only broken when her mother pulled away slightly.

“People fear things that they cannot understand, and instead of trying to comprehend, they often dismiss them as weird or abnormal. You are neither Musume, you are merely just misunderstood.” She stroked her hair.

She then pulled further away to look at her daughter's face. “I’ve always known that you are different, but it doesn’t make us love you any less.”

“You can’t live your life trying to fit in with others.” She let out a breath as if tired and continued. “It will take a while, but you will find people who will accept you for you.”

“Thanks mom”, Sakura said, and in another rare show of physical touch she gave her mom a tight hug and Mebuki couldn’t help but return it. While Mebuki couldn’t stand her child feeling hurt and vulnerable, she could appreciate the rare moments of Sakura acting her age.

“Well, why don’t you help me with dinner.”

Her mother’s words rang true two months later when Uzumaki Naruto literally landed in her life.
 
She was on her way home from school, lost in her own thoughts, only to be knocked down.

Looking to see what ran into her, her vision was overcome with the sight of thick blonde hair.

He looked up and all she could see was sparkling blue hues.

His eyes reminded her of summer skies, laughter, and something else both familiar and forgotten.

She was suddenly assaulted with quick scenes of a blurry blonde haired man with a warm and infectious smile and the strong smell of ramen.

“Don’t worry Sakura-chan, we’ll bring him back dattebayo”,

he smiled wide as if trying to reassure her.

“Give up trying to make me give up Sakura-chan, I never go back on my word”,

he looked determined.

“I’m so sorry Sakura-chan.”

His dazzling eyes were clouded by unshed tears, which for some reason grasp at her heart.

She didn’t realize that she closed her eyes clutching her head trying to bat away the onset of memories until the blonde was asking if she was alright while apologizing profusely.

“I’m okay”, she responded opening her eyes slowly. His eyes were indeed very blue, she again noted.

This was the first time that her “visions” affected her outside of her dreams. It was concerning to say the least. And before anything more could be said, the sounds of angry shouts could be heard. She looked up to see a group of men rounding the corner. “There he is”, one of them shouted pointing to the boy next to her. She looked at him quick enough to see a flash of panic and fear on his face before he darted off. The men no sooner ran after him.

Sakura watched them run with mixed feelings. “That was not her business”, she thought getting up. But she couldn’t get the desperate look on his face out of her mind.

“Crap.” She raced after them. She knew that even if she caught up to them, there wasn’t much that she could do. Something in her told her that she still had to try, and so she ran even faster.

She somehow managed to catch up to them just in time to see them cornering the small boy in an alley.

“We got you now boy”, one of them said cracking his knuckles. “No one will help you”, another said.

Sakura reacted before she could think and put herself between them and the boy.

“Run along little girl, you don’t need to be protecting that thing.”

“This girl must be one of his little friends, they were both together back there.”

Sakura didn’t know what to do, these guys were both bigger and stronger than her. And even if she managed to get away from them, she doubt the same could be said for the blonde haired boy. Why they would be so focused on the little boy, Sakura may never know, but what she did know was that something deep in her wanted to protect the boy.

They then stepped closer and she did the only thing she could think of.

“Perverts!”, she loudly screamed, scaring herself slightly with the shear volume for she couldn’t remember ever talking loudly–let alone screaming. In response, the group of guys froze mid step. Seconds later, people started appearing all around them.

“There they are, those perverts!”

“So you think you can gang up on innocent little children!”

“We’ll show you what happens to perverts and pedophiles!”

Sakura used the distraction to take the boy's hand and race passed the guys. She didn’t want to stop until they were far enough away to be deemed safe. In the end, they both ran until they reached the park.

In between catching their breaths, she could hear the little boy. “That was so cool... You were like perverts! And then they were in trouble”, he said excitingly, his eyes sparkling. “How did you know that would work?” He looked at her with childish curiosity.

She contemplated answering, after all she wasn’t use to talking to children her age, or any age really. “My Kaa-san said that if I’m ever in danger, yell that”, she finally finally said.

“Ha-ha, well it worked!” He had a large smile on his face making the lined markings on it appear more prominent, and then there was silence.

“So why were they after you”, Sakura asked out of curiosity and to distract from the awkward silence. Naruto looked between sheepish and sad when he responded. “I’m not sure”, he said, “this happens every once in awhile. If I’m not ignored then I’m chased off like a stray dog.” And, although he tried to make a joke out of it, Sakura could generally tell that he was hurt and confused.

“Come on”, she grabbed his hand and headed towards the swing. He flinched upon contact making Sakura loosen her grip a little bit. She then turned back towards him. “I’m not going to hurt you”, she said. “I’ve never been on a swing before, so would you show me how to use it.” That caused Naruto to brighten up.

“Don’t worry, I’m the bestest at swinging!” Naruto all but shouted, and they continued their journey to the swings. Sakura had never seen someone change their mood so quickly that she didn’t even bother to correct his grammar.

Sakura wasn’t sure how long they stayed there, but she knew that it was becoming the most enjoyable time she had in awhile.

When she finally deemed it too late to stay out any further, Sakura was surprised with slight sadness she had over saying goodbye to her friend. Her friend looked even more disappointed than her as he took a while to make it out of the park.

“This was the funnest I’ve had with someone. Will I ever see you again?” His big blue eyes looked straight at her, almost into her very soul. It was a very personal experience, one that she wasn’t sure that she was comfortable with, but despite that, she still felt an indescribable fondness for the boy.

It was that moment that she realized that she never got said boy’s name.

“Of course, we will see each other again.” She gave him a small genuine smile. “By the way, my name is Sakura, what is yours?”

“My name is Naruto!”

“Naruto, you say…” She wondered what influenced his parents to name him that. Were they perhaps fans of her favorite book? But judging by his bashful attitude, she realized that: “It’s a fitting name.”

It seemed as though their meeting was fated. No sooner after the day at the park, Naruto was put in her class, which she found out when he was introduced one day.

Sakura normally sat off to the side near the window, and although mostly everyone else sat in groups, she sat alone. Of course, it wasn’t by choice, it was mainly because no one wanted to be associated with the dubbed “wierd” girl. So when Naruto was introduced, she tried to do her best to make herself unnoticeable–not because she didn’t like Naruto. In fact, he was her first potential friend. She simply didn’t want to ruin his chance at making new friends and being ostracized by the class by being associated with her. So she said nothing and kept her head down. But the same couldn’t be said with him when he recognized her.

“Sakura-chan, I didn’t know that you we’re in the academy! Hey teach can I sit by her”, before the sensei could reply Naruto was already making his way towards her. Of course it was slightly embarrassing with all of her classmates staring at her, but Naruto didn't seem to care about the whispers and stares as he took his seat beside her.

Sakura curled into herself, inching away from him. He looked concerned, and from his facial expression she could tell that he knew what she was doing. She didn’t want him to think that she didn’t like him, so she decided that she owed him an explanation.

“Naruto, you didn’t have to sit with me.” Her voice was low, her bangs hiding her face from him. “You won’t be able to make friends if you do.” She was prepared for him to switch seats, to go and become friends with someone just as outgoing as he seemed. But he surprised her.

“What are you talking about, we’re friends, and friends sit together...right?” His blue eyes locked with her own and Sakura could only nod entranced by his stare. They held so many emotions–innocence, nervousness, intrigue, and most of all hope. Sakura snapped back to reality when their sensei called them out for not paying attention. But Naruto’s reassuring grin caused a smile to creep onto her face, one that she couldn’t help but to return to him.

It took a week for Sakura to deduce that having Naruto in her life was entertaining to say the least. It was a good thing that he seemed content with having mostly one-sided conversations. As long as every once in awhile she would look like she was somewhat paying attention– which she was–he seemed happy and giddy.

His optimism was well needed when they would go through physical conditioning. They were required to run 6 laps around the academy field, which wasn’t as bad as it seemed at first but the sit ups, push ups and stretches they had to do afterwards, it made for tiring work. Sakura was able to push through the work, with the help of Naruto.

Although Naruto was determined and energetic, he was pitiful when it came to everything involving school. So Sakura decided to provide him “extra” help. She invited him to study with her three days out of the week. She hoped that if she helped him, at least when she would say certain things or talk about certain subjects, he wouldn’t look so lost. So when she brought the young sunny haired boy with her back home, she was greeted by the beaming smile of her mom.

“So you are the famous Naruto-kun that Sakura talks so fondly of.” The normally energetic boy shrunk from her mother’s attention looking unsettled and confused. Her mom wasn’t discouraged by it, in fact she seemed to give him a soft look when she said, “I have extra cookies that I made, why don’t you help me eat them.” That seemed to brighten his mood, and although he was suspicious, he eventually followed her to the kitchen. Sakura gave her mom an appreciative smile when she caught her attention.

And when her father came home, he seemed at first surprised by Naruto’s presence, but soon welcomed him with a warm pat on the head. It startled Naruto, and he looked to Sakura. “It’s just a nonverbal form of encouragement Naruto. Don’t look so confused.”

Naruto’s eyes became glossy. “Thanks for allowing me over.”

“Hold on Naruto so that Sakura and I can walk you home.” Her father called as Naruto and Sakura opened the door. Before Naruto could answer, another voice answered. “That is unneeded”, they heard. At the front of the door stood a shadowed figure with a white mask. Sakura’s father pulled Sakura back and attempted to pull back Naruto, but before he was able to, Sakura ran from behind him.

“Naruto”, Sakura called uneasily while making her move to step in front of Naruto, but he halted her. “Don’t worry. They will make sure that I get home safely Sakura-chan, afterall it’s their job.” He said. He then squeezed from behind her towards the man. “See you at school tomorrow, Sakura-chan.” With that, they were gone leaving a confused and worried Sakura and her father surprisingly disjointed.

Sakura was unsure what to think about the whole ordeal. She was beyond worried for Naruto, but he didn’t seem in any danger and he claimed to know the person.

“Otou-san”, she called. “Yes”, he answered staring at the empty doorway. “What was that?”, she asked.

“Anbu”, he answered mutedly after a moment of silence. “You shouldn’t be worried, he will get home safe.” Sakura’s father disappeared into his study no sooner after, leaving Sakura and her mother to silently clean up.

The next day, Sakura was happy to note that Naruto was at school visibly unharmed and just as bright. He talked about how much fun he had at the dinner and Sakura didn’t bring up the masked man who came to get him, not wanting to spoil the mood.

Despite what happened, Sakura was happy that her parents seemed to like Naruto, something that he was initially worried about. She could understand why he would be because adults seemed to have a high distaste towards him, at least that’s what she gathered from the constant heated looks he received anytime they were walking in the village. Even when those glares turned towards her, she still stood by him. Sometimes she would glare back at them other times she would stare them down until they averted their gaze. Naruto deserved a friend who would always be there for him, and she would be that person.

Their first year together continued like that. Naruto spent more time at Sakura’s home than his own. Some times was spent doing homework and studying, much to Naruto’s distaste. But most of the time they just enjoyed each others company playing out in Sakura’s huge backyard or even helping her mother cook. Sakura’s mother even bought an extra futon for Naruto, so that he could comfortably sleep when he would spend the night–which turned out to be at least once or twice a week.

So when year two came around, both were excited and relieved when they found that they were in the same class once again. However, at that point they already made a reputation for themselves that warned off potential friends. Naruto was known for his pranks and troublemaking, while Sakura was known as being withdrawn and bookish. But as long as they had each other, they were more than fine with it.

Year two was also a time when Sakura’s father became an active role in her training.

“Musume”, Kazashi called out one morning. Sakura followed the voice to one of the grass spots in their backyard.

“Yes Otousan?” She was curious as to why he called her. She became even more curious when she noticed that his normal formal attire was swapped for looser and more comfortable looking clothes.

Her father noticed her stare and answered the unsaid question. “I think it’s time for me to start playing a more active role in your training. So starting today I will start training you.”

“But Otousan, you are not a ninja. And I don’t mean to sound insensitive, but what could you possibly teach me that would help me as a shinobi?” She genuinely wondered.

“Shinobi is nothing but a title, something to describe contracted killers who thrive off of the art of deception.” Sakura flinched.

“But they are necessary and keep this village afloat.” He added after seeing his daughter’s reaction.

“You don’t have to be a shinobi to learn how to protect or even fight. But you do need to be well disciplined, intelligent, and ready for anything. That, musume, is something that I can teach you.”

Sakura had a newfound respect for her father–not that she didn’t respect him before. Sakura never thought her father was soft, but she knew that one day, when the shinobi life hardened her, she would have to pick between that life and her family. She felt that he wouldn’t understand the commitment of being a shinobi was, but now she understood that he knew what it meant to be a warrior.

“Okay otousan... Teach me.”

Her father looked pleased.

“The style that I will be teaching you is called Tai Chi, I learned it from my kaasan. You could say that it is a family style.” Sakura said nothing knowing that her father didn’t like talking much about his family.

“What they will teach you in the academy is how to kill and carry out your mission. What I will teach you is the importance of balance, patience, strength, flexibility and most importantly how to disarm your opponent without killing them. In the end you will realize how much better of a shinobi you are for it.”

Sakura could only nod her head.

“There are 108 moves to this and each week I will teach you 6 forms at a time. Each and every day you will practice this before school, even if I’m called away on business. Understood.”

“Yes Otou-san.”

“Good, then I will show you the steps today and we will start practicing tomorrow morning.”

With that Sakura’s father stepped back getting into a relaxed position. Then he started moving.

Graceful is a word she never thought to associate with her father. While he definitely had his more serious side, he was known for being easy going and slightly clumsy. But when she watched her father go through each form, she felt as though she was watching a stranger. For he was water with a relaxed posture that helped him lengthen, lift, and pull his body to what would seem to be uncomfortable positions–had anyone else attempted them.

The style was completely different than anything that she had seen, and most likely anyone else since leaf was built on quicker and hardened moves. She even remembers reading taijutsu books–in preparation for her second year–and the closest thing that resembled the style would be Gentle Fist. But she knew that her father wasn’t an Hyuga, especially with his silvery pink hair, and even the Gentle Fist was practiced with some form of aggression.

He finished what seemed like an hour later, but was probably only 3 minutes. It didn’t make her any less entranced.

“I haven’t done that in a while.” He offhandedly said wiping the sweat off his brow. He was breathing a little bit heavier after, but he didn’t seem to be tired. In fact, he seemed to be more alive than she ever remember seeing him. His skin seemed to be glowing in the sun and his eyes twinkling happily as he look at her expectantly.

“That was so cool dad!” It was all she could say because... well it was.

Her dad looked thrilled “I’m so glad you think that your old papa is so cool!” He stooped down to pat her head affectionately.

He slowly stood up, straightening his posture again. “So, that Musume, is what I’m going to teach you… It will be hard at first because it requires a lot of discipline. After all what you just saw was 20 years of ingrained practice. But I believe that you have the patience to master it all the same.”

He smiled at her, and she could only smile back.

“But that means, Hime, that you’re going have to forfeit sleep and your book time if you want to master it quickly.” That in turn made her scowl, he could only laugh in response.

“Now let me teach you the first few forms.”

In the end, Sakura found that waking up an hour before she normally did wasn’t as bad as she thought it would be. In fact, the trade off was well worth it because she was able to spend that time with her father, especially since he’s been getting increasingly busy.

But regardless of his tight schedule, he was able to make extra time just for her. And that thought warmed her.

So they practiced the steps together.

A week passed before Naruto commented on her more lifted mood.

“Did something happen Sakura-chan”, Naruto asked one morning and Sakura look confused. “For these last couple of days, you seemed...happier”, he continued. Sakura was shocked by how perceptive he was.

“It’s nothing Naruto, just a little morning exercising”, the smile she gave him was slight but it was breathtaking.

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

Their second year teacher was a pretty woman with short dark hair and hazel eyes. Sakura liked her more than their first year sensei because she treated Naruto slightly better than the rest of the adults. She didn't unnecessarily punish Naruto for every mistake he made, and he seemed to get better grades on assignments than he did previously.The only problem was that she had a coldness to her that made everything she said sound harsh–which didn't bother Sakura as much as it did her classmates.Their teacher also taught them in a different way than they were previously used to learning. She focused heavily on theory, and only after completing a number of tests, quizzes, and essays, were they allowed to physically practice.Safe to say that their first ever taijutsu training didn't happen until months later when the student with the lowest score got above a 60. Surprisingly, that student wasn't Naruto, although it really didn't surprise her. Afterall, she personally took an active role in his studying.Three months into their second year, their teacher–Reika-sensei–took them outside to one of the training fields on the far side of the academy.Naruto and she ventured around the area previously, looking for places to hang out when they didn't feel like going to Sakura's house. But they never noticed the spot that their instructor lead them to. Maybe it was because that spot was hidden amongst the trees. However, since the area was too large to hide, she highly doubted it. Maybe it was masked by some type of genjutsu.Regardless, they followed closely behind Reika-sensei until she stopped near some wooden poles neatly lined up in the middle of the field. She then leaned on one of the poles, giving each one of her students accessing looks."Well it looks like no one was left behind-which is a good thing," she noted dully.She adjusted her stance crossing her arms slightly."Do any of you know why you are here?" She questioned the class.No one talked until, Kenji, a boy known for being obnoxious and loud answered. "Because you brought us here," he smartly said. Sakura didn't know why the boy even talked half the time, he always just made things worse for them. 'At least Naruto isn't that dense,' she thought.Their sensei gave him a leveled and condensing look that made the boy wilt."While your opinion is welcomed, I don't appreciate smartasses. And remind me to add 2 laps to your morning training tomorrow." He groaned, and Sakura thought that he deserved it."You're here for your first ever taijutsu lesson." She said.Happy shouts and chatter could be heard, mainly from Naruto. Reika let them cheer.She then quieted back up the classes so that she could continue. "We spent the last few months researching taijutsu and it's different styles, but can anyone tell me what taijutsu is?" She asked the class.Sakura could easily answer the question, but chose not to. Some kid raised their hand and when called upon they gave a pretty generic answer."Taijutsu is a basic form of techniques that involves any type of martial arts or the use of empty hand combat." It was short, simple and to the point, but it didn't take into account its' origin or the use of more than just your hands. They had to write several papers about the origin of taijutsu after all.Sakura could tell that the teacher thought it was generic too, but she congratulated the kid any way. She then asked another question."And what are some names of taijutsu styles?"Again, Sakura stayed silent.Her own fighting style, tai chi, would be considered taijutsu, if only there was any documented proof of its' existence. She knew because she was going to write an essay paper on it, only to discover that there weren't any books, articles, or any other content on it. It was disappointing, and lead to questions of how her father even mastered something that seemed to not exist. So she asked him about it instead.Her father didn't reveal much about its' history. In fact, he added even more questions to her growing list. His dodgy answers and quick changes of subjects let her know that there was something more that he wasn't telling her. But it seemed that the questions were getting too personal for he abruptly cut off the conversation telling her that she will instead do a report on another style, leaving her no room to argue.So as much as she Sakura wanted to yell out "tai chi," she decided against it because it seemed only a handful of people were aware of the style.Kids started yelling out styles, even Naruto was participating."Strong Fist!""Shifting Sands!""Gentle Fist!""Leaf Hurricane!"Different styles were called out some from foreign ones like Iwa, Suna and Kiri to native styles from the Land of Fire.She spent a few minutes explaining each style, more like a recap since just last week they had a test where they had to match the style to its use. Sakura zoned out a little, but managed to drift back in when she finally said: "The style that we will be learning is the Dance of the Leaf."She perked up, and so did others."It is the basic taijutsu style of leaf, one that is meant to overwhelm your opponent with flashy and seemingly unpredictable moves. But understand that this style is anything but unpredictable. It requires quick action, speed, and intelligence. Something that all of you may not have yet." She looked in Kenji's direction particularly."You will do well to memorize these moves because this will be the foundation of your fighting style." She said and took a breath."Here I will demonstrate what the style looks like slow enough for you to watch." She pushed herself off of the pole. And without a warning she disappeared in a cloud of smoke, appearing a few yards away at one of the larger wooden poles.Then everything went still. The mood changed from the carefree, lackluster atmosphere that seemed to follow children, to a more serious one that demanded attention. They were silent.The wind brushed through the trees making a few leaves detach from the branches and dance through the field not much further than where their teacher was positioned. And as soon as the first one touched the ground, she was off.She broke into a series of moves, vigorously attacking the log as though she was fighting an invisible opponent. And for all they knew, she was.Her punches were quick and powerful. Her kicks executed with the same ruthlessness. Some of them so strong that it caused several cracks appear.She used every part of her body to deliver blows–her fists, feet, arms, shins, knees, palms. She used them to blocked blows and deliver them handing out combinations of moves that included twists, turns and flips.So, yes the style was much more aggressive than what she practiced in tai chi. Tai chi focused on patience and balance. It was a calming style that was gentle and allowed you to move just as fluently as water. However this taijutsu style, Ha No Dansu (Dance of the Leaves), was strong, forceful and meant to overpower your opponent.It was a style that was too dominant for her liking. But she could tell that she was the only one who thought that way from the awe-struck faces of her classmates at the demonstration. Naruto was one of the main students expressing his admiration.And as suddenly as she began, she stopped. Not a hair on her head was misplaced, nor was she breathing heavy. Nothing about her gave away what just transpired a moment ago, except for maybe the carefree look in her eyes, but that was soon erased when her blank mask returned.She turned and took measured steps towards them stopping a few feet away."That is what our native style looks like." She finally said walking back towards them."Today, you will start learning the Ha No Dansu, so I will teach you the style one move at a time." She stopped a few meters away from them."I know many of you know how to punch and kick, but very few of you know stances that prepare you to deliver strong and steady ones. That is what you will first learn."Her hands balled up into fist and she raised them in front of her.She slid her right leg forward then back in one move, spreading her legs apart and dropping her center. At the same time her balled fist angled in front of her, one in front of the other. Both arms and legs parallel to each other."This is your first stance, the foundation." The posed reminded her of the ichimonji stance in tai chi."My body is locked–both ready for defense and offense." Their sensei said.Her body twisted to the left. Her right fist pushing out at an angle while her hips (and feet) pivot the same way following the move. And she held it."This is the second stance, and your first offensive move." She said."This will either catch your opponent off guard and connect with you enemy, or will act as a decoy for your next attack. You see that I'm also in a closed off position to protect myself."Her stance stayed the same as she lashed out with her other fist in the opposite direction, her right fist remained in the closed position over her chest. But this time her stance was more open."This is the third stance. It also acts as a decoy, but more importantly it carries more power in it to stun or dispatch your enemy."She twists back to the left, her body tilts over the opposite way and she lifts her left foot all the way up to a high kick. She's now balancing on one leg. Both of her arms are fists positioned in front of her upper body.'Ah, the mawashi geri stance,' Sakura noted."This is your fourth stance, meant to completely disable your opponent. Make sure you aim in the most unprotected places particularly the head or chest area."And finally she slides her foot back into the first stance."Back to Position 1 for stability and defense." Her body is still locked in position."I'm going to repeat this a couple of times. Afterwards you will pair up and help each other with the stance for a while."She repeated the stance, slow first then faster."Position 1: Foundation." She dropped her hips. "Remember to lock your legs and raise your arms." She moved."Position 2: First Offense." Her right fist struck out first, fast, causing her body to twist with momentum. Her whole right arm was extended and locked. "Remember to be quick and firm. This will be your stunner." She moved again."Position 3: Second Offense." When she punched out again it was followed by a quicker punch with more movement slightly rustling her hair. "This is your second punch and the more powerful one, so you want to make sure that you twist more with this one. More momentum means more power." And then she tensed turning her body over."Position 4: Last Offense." Her leg once again lashed out delivering a quick and seemingly powerful kick."Make sure you keep your balance." She made the point by re-adjusting her stance. "This is to hopefully take out your opponent while he is stunned from the last two moves. But it leaves you vulnerable, so make sure you quickly drop back into stance 1." Their teacher quickly returned back to the first stance."Okay, now pair up and I will be around to check your progress."She then dismissed them and they spread out to practice."Did you see that Sakura-chan?" He happily asked. "She was so fast, you couldn't really even see her punches and kicks!""I did see it Naruto. They were cool." She tried to sound enthusiastic, but she couldn't.The moves were simple enough to copy. They were nowhere near as complicated as the stances her father made her learn. And some even mimicked some of the easier ones. The only thing that would cause her concern was the stiffness in the style. For someone who was taught fluidy, to move around your opponent's strikes, it would prove troublesome.Taking her measured tone as uncertainty, Naruto tried to reassure her."Don't worry Sakura-chan we will work on it together! I mean with your smarts and my energy there's nothing that we can't do!" He grabbed Sakura and led them to a grassy area at the edge of their group. Naruto then started practicing the moves.Although, it was meant to reassure her, Sakura couldn't help but feel a headache rising because she knew that in the end she would be stuck teaching Naruto. And she was right.Sakura realized that this was one of the first physical steps to becoming a ninja for Naruto, so she really wasn't expecting him to wow her with her with spectacular moves. But she wasn't expecting his stance to be so sloppy and for him to be so easily unbalanced. When he punched, they lacked coordination. And his kicks lacked strength.But Naruto wasn't the only one who was struggling. Their classmates was just as sloppy. She realized that she was perhaps underestimating the styles difficulty.So practice ended up being Sakura constantly correcting Naruto's form, and him whining every time she pushed him over to show him just how weak his form was. She found that Naruto learned by both watching and trial and error. So she would demonstrate the stance for him, and then correct him once he tried."You're overextending your arm." She would correct him."Bend your knees more or you will lose your balance." She would remind him."Tilt your body to the side more for a higher kick." She'd show him.It went on like that with Naruto slowly improving. "Wow, you're awesome Sakura-chan!" He said after successfully administering a higher kick, but then he toppled over."You forgot to bend your knee," she sighed.During the practice, Reika walked around asking the students to demonstrate the stances. Many students made passable attempts, some were fairly good, others were terrible.She finally made it to their area, first asking Naruto to perform the stances.Sakura gave Naruto an encouraging smile as he felt the classes eyes on him. He returned it and then in a burst of energy went through the steps.He went through them four times, as requested from the teacher, and then dropped back into the foundation holding the last stance as long as he could. Sakura could tell that he was nervous.Reika then gave Naruto a push, checking his stance. He wobbled but didn't fall, and Sakura marked that as a win her her book."Better than what I expected, but you still need a lot of work." Her voice wasn't necessarily cold, but her monotoned talk made it seem that way. Naruto was disappointed, and Sakura found herself irritated because she felt that he had a pretty solid grasp on the stances (at least more than the others)."Okay Haruno, it's your turn... Dazzle me." She said dryly.Sakura hated being put on the spot, and above all she hated people staring at her. While Naruto craved attention, she shied away from it. It made her uncomfortable and overthink things.Her teacher looked at her expectedly.Sakura cleared her mind. She imagined that she was alone in her backyard practicing, which was hard because she could hear all of her classmates laughs, and angered huffs as they too practiced.She then imagined her father practicing the leaf stances. His normally soothing moves would be shrouded by rapid movements and harsh deliveries. So she moved just like he would have. She floated her leg back. Her stance was both loose and strong– strong enough to block a blow, but loose enough to avoid it if needed. 'The ichimonji pose,' she thought bringing her fist in front of her.She struck out with the first hand, closed fist. Then the second quick and strong.When she kicked out, she kept her foot leveled up high enough to deliver a head blow to her opponent if needed.'Mawashi Geri,' she thought.Then she switched back to first position with a snap of her leg. Her teacher pushed her shoulder with seemingly more force than necessary, but she only locked her body ignoring her want to loosen her stance and deflect her teachers pushes."Okay," she finally said, and Sakura took that as permission to drop her stance. "You need to focus on being more aggressive with your offensive moves, but other than that well done." With that she moved to the next child.Naruto gave her a thumbs up.Naruto knew that he wasn't dumb, he actually picked up on things relatively quick, but he never had the proper support that his classmates had in order to succeed. It seemed as though people were always against him, even the teachers gave him bare minimum when it came to lessons, therefore his grades suffered. Within two weeks of becoming classmates, Sakura seemed to realize Naruto's lack of proper teaching and made it her mission to explain the information to him. That was close to a year ago.Since then, she met him every day after school and helped him with his homework. She even helped him with taijutsu and kunai practice.Naruto always knew that he took a little longer to understand content than his peers. It was something that he was always teased about. In his other classes he was know as "dead last". However, Sakura seemed to be a god send to him because ever since he met her his grades and understanding seemed to drastically improve.Often times he would think himself as lucky that Sakura even was his friend. Sometimes he would expect her to tell him that it was a prank that she was friends with him, or even worst, start ignoring him.Sakura became his precious person relatively quick, and he didn't know what he would do if she ever decided that they could no longer be friends.When he told Sakura of his concerns, she gave him a hug. It was a very alien thing for both of them because Sakura was never really an overly affectionate person and Naruto wasn't used to getting hugs, so he stiffened. After a while he relaxed into the hug, soaking in all the warmth until Sakura finally pulled back. "I'm not going anywhere Naruto," she told him."Promise?" He asked."Promise." She agreed.She also found that as emotional as he was, Naruto was also one to be easily rattled. It was as apart of him as his love for ramen, no matter how unhealthy the obsession was.However, the only time he acted on those emotions is when he had something to prove or Sakura was somewhat involved.Training at the field became a weekly occurrence and sometimes there would be combined classes. Other classes were working on more advanced skills like kunai and shuriken practice. Something that Naruto was jealous of, as was she.They were stuck in the remedial class, a class for civilian born children. They were only taught what they needed to survive should they decide to become active shinobi. But Sakura knew that only a small percentage truly became shinobi. Most didn't pass their graduation exam and instead became desk junkies, and the ones who did become ninja never made it passed genin.Only in times of war did they really count– as cannon fodder.She knew the truth, she didn't agree with it, but she knew that it was an inevitable fate for most of her classmates. Maybe that's why her father took an active role in her training. He didn't want that to be her fate.However, Naruto refused to stick with remedial lessons. During the times when their sensei left them unintended, he would sneak and try the more advanced lessons. He encouraged Sakura to do the same, she declined. During those times of lax supervision, she would rather spend it under the shade of a tree reading much to his frustration.On the other side of the field, there were targets placed on a couple of trees. Each target was different, marking it's level of difficulty.They were supposed to learn target practice in a month, but Naruto took it upon himself to learn it in advanced. Sakura didn't mind sometimes she would even join Naruto. She even checked out a few books from the library about kunai. The books weren't too advanced, only really teaching them proper stances and uses. But it did teach them the best way to grasp them.So they spent their free time after school practicing throwing kunai, and Naruto would further practice during training. The only problem is that Naruto always felt like he had something to prove. Instead of using the remedial target practices that were easier for children like them, who were only just learning how to throw. He would aim for the advanced ones, failing to hit them each time.It wasn't that Naruto was a bad shot, he managed to hit the remedial target (though not in the bullseye yet). It was that he bypassed all the other targets, ones with two meter, four meter, or even six meter distance and he went straight for the ten meter target with a 45 degree angle and a very small center. She doubted that even the advanced children could hit it.So when a dark haired boy with a very interesting hairstyle mocked Naruto smugly after another failed attempt at hitting the target, Naruto declared the boy his rival.He needed someone to entertain him during times like these, and she would be more than happy to give someone else that responsibility.The dark haired boy was someone who she knew to be very popular, especially with the girls. However, she never gave much thought to him, let alone discovering his name. She prefered to instead focus on her studies, more importantly her books.Sakura would have been happy in her own little literary world, if Naruto wasn't so… well Naruto and instead of accepting that he needed practice, he chose to bring her into the argument."You think that you're all hot stuff because you're in the advanced class and stuff, but I bet I know someone who can beat you!"The dark haired boy laughed, and so did the people hanging around him. "So what, the loser knows another loser who thinks that they could beat me." He said snobbishly."I sure do!" Naruto said, and Sakura hoped that he wouldn't do what she thought he would do."Sakura-chan!" Sakura inwardly groaned and did her best to try to appear as if she was completely engrossed in her book. If only she knew how to disappear like her teachers. Unfortunately, Sakura wasn't seated very far from them, so Naruto's frantic waving was enough to catch anyone's attention. In the end she resigned her fate, and made her way towards them."That's Sakura-chan and she is way more powerful than you. I bet she can hit it." Naruto declared, causing unwanted attention to be focused on her. "You mean that pink haired weirdo who talks funny," Sasuke asked causing some of the other kids to laugh."Sakura is not a weirdo," Naruto yelled at him. "And she doesn't talk funny she's just really smart!"Although Sakura was a little irritated at Naruto for putting her in between their squabbles, she was flattered that he was defending her."Naruto, I wouldn't waste my time on them if I was you. They are irrelevant to your dreams and therefore not worth it." She stopped next to Naruto giving the group a leveled look–one she seen her teacher give them when she was less than impressed with their shenanigans.Their holier-than-thou attitude faltered with her arrival, but some bristled at her remarks– the dark haired boy included."Just because she talks talks big doesn't mean that she can fight or even hit one of the more standard targets, and that's why I'm better," Sasuke said directing his anger towards Naruto, not at all acknowledging her. And to prove his point he threw his kunai hitting it in the center of the more advanced ten meter target.Naruto was shocked, but quickly hid it with anger by folding his arms and turning around in a huff. "Come on Sakura-chan." He then grabbed her hand to storm away, however Sakura refused to move.She didn't know why the boys arrogant behavior bothered her. But it did nonetheless."Ha, I knew that he was lying, look at him trying to run away." She heard the boy bragging to his friends. "As if that pink haired freak could best me" He added as an afterthought not knowing that she could still hear him.'That's it,' she thought. She snatched the dulled kunai that Naruto was practicing with out of his hands startling the boy and threw them in the group's direction.Shouts were heard but none was as loud as the screech of metal and the thud the kunai made when it connected harshly to its' target. The kunai that the boy threw earlier was split in different directions with her kunai sticking out in its' place.She continued to walk away disregarding the stunned looks that she received. Naruto following close behind her.She left behind her stunned classmates, an interested boy, and a ruined target thrown from a distance of at least 15 meters. Bullseye."Fight me."A week after the very public embarrassment from Sakura, the boy decided to confront Sakura in the most unexpected way.Not many people approached Sakura or Naruto, one was labeled weird and the other one was ostracized. But there he was, the dark haired boy. He was there waiting for them outside of the school and as soon as the walked out of the building blocked their path."Fight me, the loser said that you are better, I disagree. So fight me." The look in his eyes proved that he was serious.Naruto looked confused and looked as though he was going to say something, but she decided to cut him off before he created a scene in front of the school."No" she said in regards to the boys demand."Why not?" He was angry and his confrontation was already causing them unwanted attention. She could feel curious eyes on them as children made their way out of the building."You want to fight me to prove who's better," she asked slowly for clarification."What's wrong with that?" He was irritated, but so was she."It's barbaric." She huffed."You're training to be a ninja. And in case you don't know, fighting is a huge part of the job.""That might be true, but I don't plan on fighting just for the heck of it!" She was beyond irritated and she could feel her cheeks begin to stain red with anger. She grabbed Naruto and pushed passed the boy."Oh yeah! So why do you fight" He yelled after them.She contemplated even answering him. It wasn't any of his business her reason for fighting. But in the end she answered.She turned around ignoring the obvious stares they were receiving. "The reason I fight falls into two categories. I either fight to defend myself, or I fight to protect my precious people. I don't make it a habit to fight just for the heck of it."It was silent and he blankly looked at her before looking away. "Ok," he said.She blinked. "Ok?" She repeated confused."I won't ask you to fight." He sighed and put his hands in his pockets. Then he abruptly turned and walked away, leaving behind a confused Sakura and a mad Naruto."Who does he think he is? First he wants to fight you, then he walks away trying to act all cool as if nothing happened!" Naruto was fuming. And Sakura spent the whole day trying to calm him down.However, the sight of the dark haired boy walking away stayed in her mind. Sometimes the image would change and in his place stood an older version of himself.It gripped at her heart for some unknown reason."So… the los- er Naruto said that sometimes you two train," the dark haired boy said one day during lunch.Sakura was sitting under one of the large trees enjoying her onigari when he approached her again. Naruto would normally sit with her, but he was stuck cleaning the chalkboards as part of a well deserved punishment."Ahh," she said in confirmation, expecting him to leave. It was surprisingly Sasuke who continued the conversation."You don't say much do you," he said sitting next to her under the tree. "My family is known for not talking a lot, but you even say less than us," he said expertly.Sakura chose not to answer his rhetorical question and instead decided to change the subject."I didn't know you paid so close attention to me," Sakura said with a gleam in her eye that Sasuke took as her laughing. "No," he said blushing. "It's just... people think that you're weird because you don't really talk to anyone except that loud crazy boy and when you do, you talk like a grown up. AND you're always reading weird books."Sakura thought about what he said. She knew that she should talk more, but she didn't like talking about unnecessary things. She felt that she couldn't really relate to anyone, so what would be the point and she let him know that, in very few words of course.He snorted at her defense."And Naruto's not crazy." She added."What do you call someone who just keeps throwing kunai at the targets like he's lost his mind." The boy seriously asked her.The image of her blonde friend throwing storms of kunai during training popped into her head.She chuckled, and that seemed to break the tense mood because soon he joined her in laughing. Somehow they were able to relax."By the way, my name is Sasuke." ' Sasuke-kun' she heard a distant voice say, almost like a memory."Hi, Sasuke. My name is Sakura," she told him.In a turn of events, Sakura found herself the next day with another training partner much to Naruto's displeasure.Naruto and sakura often "studied" under a large tree in the back of the academy. It was relaxing listening to her voice as he either did homework or watched the clouds. He never thought that staying in one place would be something that he could frequently do, but Sakura always seemed to have a calm aura about her that could relax him.Other people misunderstand her, calling her weird or a "know-it-all," and while it made Naruto mad for his friends' sake. He secretly appreciated that people left them alone because he didn't know what he would do if someone else saw how wonderful Sakura was and tried to steal her for themselves. After all, Naruto already learned his lesson when Sasuke pretty much invited himself into their friendship.He didn't really know what to think of Sasuke. He was a clan kid, use to being praised or quickly befriended because of his position. He must have thought that Sakura would be like his fangirls. While he always wanted to outdo him, he seemed to always want to impress Sakura-chan too. And it was really irritated. After all Sakura was his friend longer.While they met to do homework, Sasuke always crashed the study session whenever he wanted to show-off to Sakura. This included either showing them new weapons or a new ability. Each time Sakura would politely smile at Sasuke and tell him that it was cool, and each time Sasuke would look between happy for Sakura's and disappointed for not receiving a better reaction. Naruto could only glare at him.'Show off,' he thought.Sasuke didn't know what to think about Sakura, she was a complete mystery.She was the smartest one in the class (he knew because he asked), acing every test. But she was ranked average in taijutsu, something he knew that wasn't true, after all he saw her train. Normally, he would have been pleased at being top because it was something that he's sure his father would appraise him for, but he couldn't help but feel cheated because he had seen skills far beyond him from Sakura. Yet, she never tries and it seriously irritates him. Because with every hit target and every won taijutsu match, he would think that Sakura probably could do better.Sakura's maturity was another thing that struck him as odd. Things people would say to her was brushed off. She seemed way more mature than all of their classmates and often times he felt like a child compared to her. He always felt as though she thought that the class spars and lessons were beneath her, which is why she didn't put much effort during mock spars. He sometimes thought that maybe she was just too shy to show off her skills, like the Hyuga from his class, but quickly dismissed that thought.She was structured and self assure. She carried herself with an otherworldly aura about her. When she wasn't reading her books, or talking to the dobe, she was staring off into space, her face blank.In some aspects, she reminded him very much of his aniki. She was just as quiet as him and had the same untouchable presence. She was also very perceptive for a person their age.So he decided to stick around after school "joining" her and the orange boys' study/practice, at least on the days that his aniki was away on mission. He was hoping that the extra time would help him figure out the mystery that was Haruno Sakura. But so far she was very boring.He didn't know what he was expecting. He just thought that she would be more, well like his aniki. But everyday she would help the dobe with his homework, ask him if he needed help (which he politely declined) and then she would go through some taijutsu katas and stretches.That is until he witness her indifferent mask crack.When she first met Sasuke, she thought that he was very pompous. He was used to being popular and everyone wanting to be his friend. She guess that he found that if he acted self-important, people would continue to want to be his friend. And that's why she didn't understand why he wanted to be her friend.Her and Naruto were known as bad news, not that they did anything bad, people just tended to avoid them. Sakura didn't mind it because it allowed her the peace and quiet she needed to read. And Naruto seemed to be happy as long as they were together.So when Sasuke started hanging out with them during class training and after school, people were shocked and attention towards them increased.Despite not socializing much, Sakura wasn't blind to the many rumors centering around their new addition to their group. Some people thought that they were blackmailing him into being their friends. Others thought that he just felt sorry for the schools' freaks and befriended them out of pity.Then there was some who thought that he befriended them as a joke, instead it was an elaborate prank made to crush them.Sakura didn't care much for the rumors because she knew that none of them were real. Despite her initial thoughts on Sasuke's character, she found that he was actually a very nice and caring boy, if not a little bit egotistical.So she stayed silent and didn't let it bother her. If only the same could be said for others.A week into their friendship, they were confronted by a group of kids during on of there stays after school. Sakura recognized some that used to hang around Sasuke, and some looked older by one or two years so she didn't know them."What are you guys doing?" Sasuke questioned."What are we doing? No, what are you doing?" A tall tan dark haired boy around their age with a large nose demanded from Sasuke. "We thought that it was a prank, that you were befriending them so that you could get revenge since they embarrassed us. But that's not true is it Sasuke?" He questioned.Sasuke was stunned. "Why would you think that?" He finally asked."Because I can't imagine any other reason you would hang out with these freaks?" He was angry, but not finished yet. "Obviously, they must have something on you because I can't imagine you willingly spending time with them."Sasuke didn't know what to say, and Naruto looked angry. However, Sakura took her time to access the situation, trying to find a way to get out of it without resulting to violence. However Naruto had second thoughts."Who you calling a freak, you big nosed rat" he said directing it to the group's ringleader. The boy flushed.He looked like he wanted to strike Naruto, which Sakura was prepared to counter, but relented when his attention focused back to Sasuke."You don't need to be around these types of people, especially the loud mouth blonde idiot," he said and grabbed tightly at Sasuke's arm causing him to cry out.Instantly Sakura saw red.She was overwhelmed with images of Sasuke being taken away and she felt hot anger pour over her. The surge of sudden protectiveness felt foreign."Let go of him." Her voice was low and leveled, but the look in her eyes made the boy pause relaxing his grasp.In that second, Sakura snatched Sasuke's hand and pulled him behind her.That caused the group to react and crowd around them.She could tell that both Naruto and Sasuke was nervous as both were fidgeting. But Naruto looked ready to fight."Naruto." He perked up. "Make sure you protect Sasuke". Both him and Sasuke looked like they wanted to protest, but decided against it when they saw just how serious she was."So pinkie thinks that she can take us on." One said, a girl with purple hair who looked a little older than them.Sakura only got into her defense stance.The large nosed boy ran towards her, his fist raised to deliver a punch. Sakura tilted her head just as his fist was close enough. She pushed his arm away and sent a jab upwards to his nose. Blood gushed, and the boy was down.All of that happened in the span seconds leaving the boy on the ground gripping his nose.It was silent and no one moved."What are you doing?" His voice muffled as he tried to stop the bleeding. "Gah, she broke my nose. Get her!"That seemed to break the spell.The next person came, this time overextending is arm and swing at her rapidly. She dodged left and right, trying to avoid getting hit. She finally found an opening when he pulled his arm back. Grabbing him by the arm and dragging him towards her, she jabbed him in his stomach making him double over and then she sent a powerful knee to his chin. He was down too.Then three of them attempted to jump her. She could see that Naruto and Sasuke was preparing to jump in to help, but she told them to stay back. She grabbed the purple haired girl's arm, pivoting around and threw her into one of the approaching guys, effectively disabling them. Or so she thought.The purple haired girl was up.Someone grabbed her from behind picking her up, and the purple haired girl tried to send a punch her way. Instead Sakura kicked her legs up and lashed out at the girl, using her body as a springboard to propel them back. The person's grip loosen as he fell and Sakura jumped away before delivering a swift kick to the falling boy.Only three people were left standing.Sakura simple dropped into a stance fainting like she was going to attach them. They backed off, putting their hands up in a surrender.She moved out of her stance and approached the ringleader who was still grasping his nose on the ground."Look here." She picked him up by his shirt pulling his bloody face towards hers. "You will leave here, you will go home and get cleaned up. You will say nothing about what happened to anyone, or the whole school will be talking about how you got beat up by a girl with pink hair." She threw him back to the ground."Am I understood?" She directed her question towards the rest of the wound kids. The ones who could nodded."Good. Then scram." And they left as quickly as they could. Some limping away, others being half dragged by their friends.Naruto and Sasuke watched with mixed emotions.Sakura turned towards them. "Are you okay?" she asked, her eyes still narrowed."Us?" Sasuke practically yelled. "You just fought off a dozen people and you ask if we're okay?!""Yeah," Naruto added. "You could have been hurt!""I could handle it though," she defended."You idiot." She heard Sasuke say his voice muffled. Sakura looked at him and was shocked by tears that were beginning to appear in his eyes."Sasuke… Are you crying?" She asked confused."Of course I'm crying! You could have been hurt, and it would have been my fault." He started swiping at his eyes as the tears started pouring.Sakura felt guilty, but at the same time moved."You had us worried." Naruto said stepping closer to her.All of the sudden Sakura felt tired and so she sagged towards Naruto. Soon both were sitting on the grass. She waved for Sasuke to come closer. He ended up sitting beside her hugging his legs to his chest."I'm sorry for making you guys worry." She rubbed Sasuke's back trying to keep him from crying. "And it wasn't a dozen people.""It may not have been a dozen people." She could hear Naruto say. "But you were a complete badass." She could practically hear his grin.Sasuke surprisingly decided to talk. "Did you see how terrified they looked?" His voice was small.Naruto's loud laugh overpowered Sasuke's own chuckles. And Sakura looked up to the sky watching the clouds.That day they walked Sakura home and stayed with her until it was time for them to leave.The three of them became quick friends. Although, sometimes friends seemed like a loose term when most of the time Naruto and Sasuke were competing against one another, and Sakura simply ignored them, choosing to find a quieter place to read.It came as a shock that after a couple of weeks of their friendship, Sakura and Naruto, were invited over to the Uchiha compound with a grumbled invitation by Sasuke something about his mom wanting to meet his friends.Of course, upon hearing the invitation, her parents were worried but excited, at least her mother was. Her father has been out of town for business for a month and hadn't had the chance to meet Sasuke yet, much to her displeasure.In response to the invitation, Mebuki demanded that Sakura wear something nice. Afterall, she was going to meet the family of a reputable clan and she wanted her to look presentable.Sakura was against the idea because she was a ninja in training, not a dress up doll. In the end they settled on a red cheongsam shirt that was hidden in the back of her closet and some black shorts. Her mom quickly disapproved when she decided to wear her ninja sandals instead of one of her nicer sandals. But they compromised when she let her mom put her short hair up into a bun and she brushed her shaggy bangs out of her face and to the side. She left before her mom could add any accessories into it though.No sooner she found herself meeting Naruto and Sasuke in front of the clans entrance.It was the first time Sakura set foot in to Uchiha district and despite the amount of people actively moving and greeting one another, she couldn't help but feel as if the place was abandoned. Looking around at all the dark hair people, she was left feeling unnerved like something was there that shouldn't be.She was distracted when Sasuke led her further into the compound towards his home. They arrived at one of the biggest houses when they were led up the stairs and into the home."Kaa-san, I've brought them," Sasuke yelled as he took off his sandals. Sakura and Naruto did the same. A beautiful woman with long dark hair made her way around the corner to greet them. "Hi, I'm Sasuke's mother," she said warmly. "You must be Naruto," she looked at Naruto, "and you must be Sakura," she looked at Sakura. "It's nice to meet you both."Naruto seemed to be in a stupor as he looked at Sasuke's mom. However Sakura wasn't. "It is nice to meet you Uchiha-sama, thank you for kindly inviting us over," she said with a bow."Wow, Sasuke wasn't joking when he said that you are really polite. But you can simply call me Mikoto," she gave them a gentle smile. And then there was the distance sound of a timer."Well you guys get washed up because dinner is finished," she said before turning away.She left them awkwardly at the front door."Your mother is really pretty," Naruto grumbled. Sasuke blushed. "Of course she is," he said, "she's an Uchiha." He crossed his arms and huffed. Sakura thought that he looked adorable like that."It's their genes," Sakura remarked. "They have an extra chromosome for prettiness. That's why you never see an ugly Uchiha.""A chromo-what," Naruto said while Sasuke looked the other way, his cheeks red again."Come on, I'll show you where the bathroom is so we can wash our hands." He took their hands and practically dragged them down the well lit hallway."Your home is huge," Naruto said after they made it out of the bathroom and further into the house following Sasuke towards the dining room.They finally made their way to a rice papered doubled door and allowed Sasuke to open it. They were led into a pretty large room with an extended dinner table set with extra zabuton mats.They saw that no one was seated yet, so Sakura decided to see if Mikoto needed help bringing the food to the table."It's okay, Sakura-chan," Mikoto said. "You are the guest so why don't you all sit down." And they did.Sakura decided to sit next to Naruto and across from Sasuke as Mikoto walked out her arms filled with platters of food that look heavy, but she showed no signs of discomfort.It smelled amazing. She could see that Naruto was bordering on drooling when Mikoto set the food down.The spread looked immaculately prepared, it was something that Sakura's own family ever did when people of importance came for dinner. Sakura doubted that both her and Naruto were important people, in fact the food was probably a normal thing, but Sakura appreciated it anyway.Naruto was going to start eating, but decided against it when he felt a pinch on his leg from Sakura. When he shoot her a questioning look, she shook her head at him signaling for him to wait. No sooner after, the door opened to reveal a dark haired man with a very stern looking face. He didn't acknowledge them as he took a seat at the head of the table. Mikoto took the seat across from Naruto and to the right of the man."Fugaku, these are Sasuke's friends from school." He only grunted.Once he settled down, he grabbed his bowl of rice and started eating. They took it as the chance for them to eat as well.It was silent for the next five minutes, and Sakura was uncomfortable, however, she was probably the only person to feel that way because during those couple of minutes Naruto was stuffing his face and Sasuke was too, although not as boisterous as Naruto. Sakura could only think that this was probably the fanciest dinner that Naruto had.Sakura took that time to try to observe Sasuke's parents.Sasuke never talked much about his family besides admiration towards his older brother (who Sakura assumed was on a mission), and comments that his mother was a great cook after they remarked on his pretty bento boxes. But he never mentioned much about his father. Sakura never asked because it wasn't her business and she wasn't sure if they had a great relationship.Sakura could see why. His father had an aura that screamed no nonsense. And while he didn't seem old, the prominent frown lines made him seem older and even more unapproachable. He was probably around the same age as her father but that's where the similarities stopped, for where her dad was all light and smiles, Sasuke's dad was dark and broody. She could see where he would get his brooding from.But in comparison, Sasuke's mother was very warm and inviting. She had a calmness about he that reminded her of her own mother.After a while of the silence and Sakura's inner musing, she could feel Naruto start fidgeting and he slowed down eating. It seemed that Naruto was getting uncomfortable too.A couple of minutes of silently eating, Mikoto started taking notice to their fidgeting forms. Sakura saw the exact second when she noticed. After giving a side glance to Sasuke's father, she leaned forward interlacing her hands and rested her chin on them. It wasn't a very proper position for a lady of her position, her mom's always told her never to put her elbows on the table. But somehow it made Mikoto look even more elegant."So how did you both meet my Sasuke-kun," she asked looking at both Naruto and her. Sasuke's face redden at being the center of attention. Sakura didn't know how to answer the question, should she tell the truth. Afterall when they met Sasuke was being demeaning towards Naruto (and her indirectly) and it ended with Sakura embarrassing him. So no, she couldn't tell them the truth, and she doubted that Naruto and Sasuke could sit there and agree with them as Sakura lied.Before Sakura could figure out anything to say, Naruto was already talking."Sasuke begged to be our friends when he saw how cool we were, well mainly Sakura." Sakura wanted to facepalm, but she couldn't find it in her to get mad at him. He wouldn't be Naruto if he didn't say things like that after all."That's not true!" Sasuke loudly interjected looking embarrassed and appalled. Mikoto had a strange glint in her eyes and by the slight twitch of his fingers on his rice bowl, Sakura could tell that they somehow caught Sasuke's father's attention."Uh-huh, you're just mad that Sakura proved you wrong." Although Sakura appreciated Naruto very much, she wished that he would think before talking. "Naruto" Sakura said. "Stop teasing poor Sasuke" "he still doesn't completely understand your sense of humor." Naruto looked confused.However, before he could say more the screen door opened to reveal a dark haired boy."Nii-san," Sasuke said as happily as she's ever heard him say anything, but he didn't get up. Although the teens face was blank, he teen gave Sasuke a slight quirk of the lips."Oh, Itachi-kun! If I knew that you would get back today, I would have set a place for you too!" Mikoto was just as happy as Sasuke as she got up. "It's fine mother, you don't have to do that. I'm home early." Sasuke's father turned his direction giving him an accessing look, and in returned Itachi gave him a nod."Otou-san." He acknowledged him."Mission went well I assume." His father asked in return."Hai, otou-san.""Very well," was the last thing Sasuke's father said before returning to his food.From the similarities between the teen and Sasuke's father, she could only assume that this was the famous older brother that Sasuke always talked about."Itachi dear why don't you wash up and join us for dinner." Mikoto said, and he nodded to her before making his way down the hall. While he was gone, Mikoto set an extra place for Itachi at the other end of the table right by Sasuke and Sakura. He returned pretty quick, taking his seat. Sakura noticed that he was in a fresh pair of clothes."Nii-san, these are my friends Sakura and Naruto. Sakura, Naruto this is my nii-san." Sakura and Itachi nodded to one another."I remember you," Naruto said. "You were the one who would sometimes pick Sasuke up from school.""Yes that would be me," he said politely. "And it's nice to meet you Naruto-san," he turned his gaze to her, "Sakura-san." He then added with a small smile "Thank you for taking care of my brother." Again Sasuke face reddened, and Itachi took that chance to start eating.Naruto took the chance to respond to Itachi. "It was a major chore with Sasuke being a stick in a mud, but he is our friend!""Naruto!," Sasuke silently growled, embarrassed by Naruto's declaration.Sakura observed the young teen noting that even though he seemed relaxed and stoic, there was an edge to him that Sakura couldn't quite understand. She always thought that she was a good judge of character, not that she wouldn't give people the chance to prove themselves. But something about Itachi's eyes looked haunted, even though he tried to disguise it.All Sakura knew about Itachi was what Sasuke told her. She knew that he was a ninja, a very talented one at that, and that he would someday become the clan's head. However, she wasn't sure what rank he was. She assumed that he would be at most a chuunin given his name, but Sakura didn't know anymore. She couldn't imagine any chunin mission giving someone that look.Mikoto chose to talk."You never actually explained how you met Sasuke."Sakura couldn't stop Naruto in time, not that she knew how to without bringing unnecessary attention towards herself."During group training Sasuke insulted Sakura by saying that she was weird and that he was better." Mikoto looked at Sasuke disapprovingly at him which made him slightly shrink. "So she proved him wrong when she hit one of the advanced targets without even looking!" He continued.Sakura could feel the additional eyes of Sasuke's father and brother on her making her slightly uneasy."You hit the targets without looking," his father addressed her for the first time.Sakura answered with a nod."How far away were they?," Sasuke's brother asked slightly interested.Sakura was uncomfortable with all of the attention that she was receiving, she tried to figure out how to shift their attention to something else. So while she tried to analyze the best way to distract them, she decided that answering the questions as quick as possible would be best."15 meters," Sakura said looking away."That's impressive," Mikoto said. "You must practice a lot."Naruto chose that point to talk. "Yep! Sakura trains at least 3 times a week! A lot of time she's more helpful than the teachers at the academy because I actually understand what she is talking about. She's also really good at taijutsu! If she wasn't so interested in her books, she could probably do even more!"It was Sakura's time to blush both in embarrassment and in astonishment at Naruto unknowingly declaring her a nerd. "Of course training is really important, however cultivating your mind is just as important, so leave my books out of it," Sakura defended."I doubt reading fairy tales could prepare you to become a good ninja." Sasuke's father remarked. Sakura inwardly was fuming, too shocked to do anything else.'Fairy tales,' she thought. 'Yeah the fairy tales of me kicking your ass, shannaro!' Sakura was mortified by her inner thoughts. Where did that come from? She's normally more composed than that let alone using such profane language.Sasuke looked uncomfortable and Naruto looked as if he wanted to defend her. Sasuke's mother however shot his father a glare. "I'm sure whatever books Sakura read will be beneficial to her." Mikoto gave Sakura an apologetic smile. "I apologize for my husbands words, sometimes he can get so grumpy."Despite the anger Sakura felt earlier, the look that Sasuke's father made after being called grumpy, made her want to laugh. He looked as if he swallowed something sour.Sakura smiled at Mikoto, her mood lifted. "It's okay Mikoto-san. Afterall some of the books I read could be considered fairy tales.""What type of books do you read?" Surprisingly it was Sasuke's older brother, Itachi, who decided to ask.Sakura lit up. "I like to read books from the Sengoku or the Heian period like the ones written by Akai Terukage and Oda Nobuhide. But I mainly read medicinal books about plants, some theory books about chakra, history books, and ones on the human anatomy.""Yep! And and some of them are this big." Naruto remarked measuring his arms out to emphasize.It was worth is to see the shocked look on Sasuke's father's face, from what she gathered from the slight widening of his eyes. Sasuke's mom was more open with her expression looking perplexed. However, Itachi had an interested gleam in his eye, the same one she gets when finds an interesting new book."If I recall, those are all books about samurai." Itachi said."Yes, you're right. More specifically their times as warlords." She was pleased that he seemed cultured enough to know."I assumed that you're interest happened after you decided to become a kunoichi."No, in fact it's just the opposite. My books are the reasons why I want to become a shinobi ," she emphasized. "The age of samurai is over, I accept it. Now is the age of shinobi, but it doesn't mean that all ideologies from that time are gone. Honor, loyalty and duty, it's all the same. We all live for one of those thins and will protect it with our sword, or kunai, whichever you prefer."Sakura didn't mean to go on her small rant."But you do realize that some of the things that shinobi do are seen as being again the bushido?" Itachi said, but then he add. "But alas you have still some time to think on that. Maybe that can be another conversation for the future."Sakura nodded in agreement. Of course she could have answered his question, but then she doubted anyone wanted the dinner to turn into a discussion on dishonorable acts of shinobi.But then Mikoto decided to interject. "You don't see many reading those types of foreign books, let alone one so young. Are you perhaps from chinese decent?"Sakura didn't know how to answer that question, for her parents never really talked about their heritage. Though it could as well be now that she thought about the characteristics of both her parents and even herself."My parents were displaced during the war as children, so it could be a possibility." Se decided to say."Oh, I'm terribly sorry for being insensitive," she said."I know this sounds too forward, but what do your parents do?" she asked after a moment of silence."My father is a tradesman and my mother runs the Haruno Teashop," she truthfully told him."So your parents aren't shinobi?""No. I'm a first generation shinobi." Sasuke's dad seemed to lose interest and dismissed her. She didn't take any offense to it.The rest of the night continued with questions being asked about family, school, and training. Every now and then Itachi would throw Sakura an interested look, while Sakura tried to steer the conversation back to how good a student Sasuke was.Fugaku seemed disinterested in anything that didn't involve in Sasuke's progress and even then he only remarked with a demand of Sasuke to try harder. Time passed, and before they knew it, it was time to go. Sakura and Naruto were escorted out of the compound by Itachi. Sasuke offered to walk with them too, but Itachi refused telling him to instead stay home and help their mother with the dishes. He reluctantly nodded.Sakura thought that he would only see them out of the compound, but when he continued to walk with them towards Naruto's home, Sakura protested."We're capable of walking home alone," Sakura told him."That very well may be. But it's only fair that I walk you two home seeing as though you are out this late because of my family." He voice gave no hint of irritation or relenting. Sakura could see that there was no winning the conversation so she gave up and walked along side him.Naruto's apartment was the closest so they dropped him off first. The dinner seemed to take a lot out of him since he wasn't talking as much.Sakura found it very suspicious that he knew the way to Naruto's house without them having to tell him. Naruto lived in the shady part of town filled with drunks and bars, much to her displeasure. She couldn't imagine Itachi frequenting this part, but how else could that explain him knowing the area. So Sakura filed it away to analyze later as they arrived outside of the shabby apartment building Naruto lived in."Bye Sakura, see you at school." He gave her a one armed hug that she returned. He then turned to Itachi. "Thanks for walking me home and make sure you protect Sakura-san!" Itachi nodded and Naruto raced into up the stairs giving them both a wave before he unlocked his door and went in.Then they were off to the direction of her home.The walk to her place would have probably been awkward for anyone else, but she enjoyed the peace and quiet. It seemed that Itachi enjoyed it as well. However after a while Sakura noticed the slight furl of his brow out of the corner of her eye."Is something wrong Itachi-san?" She asked and he blankly turned towards her."No, why do you ask?""You furl your brow the same way that Sasuke does when he is trying to figure something out. So what are you trying to figure out Itachi-san?" His brow furled again."You." He said."Me?" She repeated. What about her?"You confuse me. You are obviously intelligent for your age, and from what I gathered talented too. But there's something more about you that's unsettling. Until I figure it out I will trust that you have no ill intentions towards me brother."She paused, and thought about what he said. His directness slightly offcentered her, but then she chose to answer him as honestly as she could, after all Sasuke became someone who she found herself caring about too. She couldn't imagine harming him, just like she could never imagine hurting Naruto."I mean no harm towards your brother Itachi-san. Sasuke is a friend and I hope it stays that way. Sasuke and Naruto don't care about my differences, they are not scared off by my antisocial tendencies or my "offness" as you put it. They are the only people who I can call my friends. And I plan on doing everything I can to protect them.""But what of Konoha. A shinobi's duty is to protect their village. Can you make that promise when your life is going to be bound to your oath to protect Konoha with your life?" That was a loaded question to ask a six almost seven year old.Sakura wondered what any other child her age would say. Would they be confused by the questioning? Would they argue that their life is theirs? But Sakura wasn't any other child. She already knew what she was sacrificing when she decided that she wanted to be a ninja. So Itachi's questioning only served to irritate her. What did he think the village was? Just the buildings, stores, and streets?"They are my village." Sakura finally answered. "I will do what I must to protect them."They made it to her house. She could see the upstairs window light on indicating that her mom was most likely starting her nightly rituals.Her attention however switched back to Itachi when he gave her another hypothetical."So what would happen if you had to choose between them and Konoha? If you had to sacrifice them in order to save Konoha? Could you do it? What if one of them was a threat to Konoha? Do you think you could do what you must for the future of Konoha?" Itachi's eyes were shadowed, but she thought that she saw them glinting red. But when she tried to look, only his dark eyes was there to meet hers.Itachi didn't know what to expect after asking a 7 year old that question regardless of her above average intelligence. She was a child, she probably still played with toys and yet he was questioning her about loyalty and obligations. He wasn't sure if he wanted her to be more loyal to the village or to his brother.But his opinion seemed to not matter.Sakura turned to him completely, looking him dead in the eyes. "That would never happen." Her own eyes reflecting the light from the lamp post in a glowing fashion making her appear almost inhuman."Like I said before, they are my village. I will protect Konoha as long as Konoha protects my precious people. I'm all about reciprocity so as long as Konoha continues to be my home, it has my loyalty." It was a promise with so much emotion and certainty that he had no choice but to believe that she would do everything in her power to protect it. To protect his brother.She made her way to the front door. "It was a nice dinner and I appreciate you accompanying me home," she said."Likewise, I appreciate you attending the dinner. Also the walk shed some… light on a few things. Although, I still don't completely trust you, I respect your sense of loyalty." And then he left.That night she dreamed of a warm smile towards a small unassuming little boy. She dreamed of a brothers love and adoration. She dreamed of laughter. Then she dreamed of the red sky and a full moon. She dreamed of his sad eyes and then his ruthlessness. She dreamed of blood, slain bodies, and his tears. "I'm sorry otouto," and she woke up.She didn't realize until she was rubbing her eyes that tears were falling down she face.

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

"Patience." A blindfolded Sakura could be heard saying as she stood in the middle of her backyard listening. The gentle whispering of the wind, the stirring of the leaves, and the smell of freshly cut grass permeated her senses. It was peaceful leaving her with the false sense of safety. Sound and smell were the only reprieve she had since her visual senses were taken away. Because of that, she relied on those senses to keep her grounded. Her ears twitched from the sound of rustling fabric."Grace." She parried around the strike that would have connected with her head. Ducking and rolling away she again dodged another attack that would have hit her square in the chest, most likely a foot. The attacks came in intervals allowing her some time to catch her breath and bearings before they renewed with more force than the last."Strength." Her open palms came out and struck at the open area of the person's abdomen, but she wasn't done. She continued to attack with her palms and forefingers hitting the sensitive parts of their chest that her father told her about. She overwhelmed them with the amount of hits quickly making them lose ground. After a particularly harsh blow that caused them to stumble back, Sakura took that chance to run after them before delivering a swift rotating hook kick."And humility." She stopped, giving the person time to recover. She returned her opened fists at each at her side, slightly in front of her, listening for any signs of counter attack."Okay, I think that's enough for today." She took that as a sign for her to undo her blindfold. The sudden rush of sunlight momentarily blinded her and she squinted her eyes to try to adjust to the brightness. But when she did, she turned her attention back to her training partner only to see him sitting cross legged on the grass intensely looking at her.Sakura was instantly self-conscious. Did she not perform satisfactory? She thought about what she could have done wrong. Finally after a minute of uncomfortably fidgeting, she decided to address it."Is something wrong father? Did I not fight the way you wanted me too?"That seemed to break the man's concentration. He looked at her with a mixed of wonder, pride, and...wary. "No, Musume. It's just the opposite. You seem to be soaking up the style like a fish to water. I was just really impressed." He flashed her a smile and started to stand up, and Sakura preened at his observation."If only I was half as dedicated as you when I was a child." Sakura perked up. "Soon I'm going to have to start fighting seriously." He finally made it to her side inspecting her for any injures. Besides the redness of her palms and knuckles, there was any visible wounds on her that made him visibly relax."We're going to have to ice and put some salve on your hands." She took her arm and led them back to the house."I'm okay." She didn't want her father to think that she was weak, and that a little bruising was something to worry about."I know, but doting on you reminds me that even though you're growing up, you're still my little hime." It made Sakura smile, and they walked through the back door and into the kitchen. Her father instructed her to sit on the kitchen chair as he went about looking for the first aid kit and filling a small bag of ice."Will you tell me more about you as a child?" She asked as her father walked back towards her placing the items on the table.He gave a chuckle and then looked away. "I'm afraid hime, that is for another day." Sakura couldn't help but to keep the disappointment from her face as he opened her palm up and took a washcloth to wipe away the dirt."I'll tell you one day when you're older." He added."Can you at least tell me where you are from? I can't help but feel a sense of lost not knowing anything about you or mother. I know that you probably have a great reason for not telling me anything about your past, but what can you tell me." She looked at him, hoping that he would agree.He sighed, but then looked thoughtful. "How about I tell you the story of how your mother and I met?" Sakura's eyes lit up. He took that as a yes and began his story. He took that small bag of ice and rested it on her palms."I met your mother in my early twenties, I was 24 and I believe she just turned 20." He then flipped her hands over and laid the ice on her knuckles."I was minding my own business doing a little grocery shopping at the food stalls when I heard a commotion a while away. It seemed as though someone had stole an elderly lady's pocket purse and was running away." He took the bag of ice off of her knuckles and started rubbing some salve onto them causing her to tenses at the sting. He gave her a look letting her know that he was sorry, but then he continued."Regrettably, I didn't do anything at first, but as the thief ran past me, I decided to run after them to get the purse back. However, someone quite literally beat me to the punch. There stood a very pretty woman with blonde hair and fiery green eyes." He had a small secretive smile on his face as he flipped her hands over and put some salve onto her palms."She had knocked the thief out with a pan. Although, it didn't seem that she realized that he wasn't conscious as she started lecturing him on stealing from 'little old ladies'. She had the thief in one hand and a steel pan in the other. It was the funniest thing that I've ever seen. And I couldn't take my eyes off her, even as the authorities took the thief away and she returned the purse back to the woman.""So what happened next?" Sakura asked."She caught me staring at her, and confronting me right there in front of everyone. She declared how creepy I was being and told me that if I didn't stop, I would catch the business end of her pan." He chuckled."And what did you do?""I won her over with my dazzling karisma!" This time he had a full blown smile, and Sakura laughed.At that time, the front door opened, revealing Mebuki carrying a few bags of groceries."Kaa-san", Sakura called out rushing to help her mother with the groceries.She happily let Sakura take some of the groceries and gave her husband a kiss on the cheek as he grabbed the rest from her."So how was training?" She went about putting the food up."It was great! Father said that I was doing really well.""Is that so?""Yes and he also told me the story of how you guys met.""Did he now?" Mebuki exchanged a secretive look with Kazashi, in which he only winked at her.Itachi was a very peculiar person, she decided. He seemed to loom around them as if spying.Most of the time Sakura didn't see him, but she knew he was there. He always gave her the feeling as though she was being picked apart and analyzed. So when the hairs on her neck stood up, but she didn't feel threatened, she knew that Itachi was somewhere there in the trees silently watching them.It wasn't like they were doing anything extraordinary that needed his watchful eye. Much of that time was spent with Sakura reading, helping Naruto with his homework, or helping Naruto/Sasuke with training lessons.Despite that, he showed up constantly, except for times that he didn't. And Sakura, courtesy of a pouting Sasuke, found out that those that he was on a mission.This particular day they decided to work on kunai training because Sasuke had a test on it the next day, and Naruto wanted to show up Sasuke by hitting the target first.Sasuke didn't really need help, as he was naturally talented enough to hit it on his own. But he was an overachiever of sorts and wanted to impress his teacher so that he could tell his brother and father."My brother could hit multiple targets from multiple distances and directions at this time. I want to do that too." He gave Sakura a passionate speech."Ah, but that's your brother Sasuke. I understand that you admire your brother, but why don't you do this for yourself. You should do this because you want to be a stronger, and not a carbon copy of your brother."He looked thoughtful, and after a while he asked her: "So what should I do?" Sakura grinned, and instantly Sasuke regretted it.Five minutes later they found themselves at her dining room table surrounded by dozens of books about kunai, force and distance, geometry, and laws of gravity."I don't see why I have to learn this stuff." Sasuke said in frustration after opening another book."Because you want to learn how to do this stuff without relying on luck." she sighed. Naruto was asleep on her couch, declaring himself bored before he even opened a book."But you can hit targets from long distances and difficult angles, and I doubted that you used these books to guide you." Sasuke said, gaining her attention again."That's because I studied!""I still don't see what does that have to do with anything." He pouted.She sighed and closed her book on nonlinear dynamics with a snap."Everything. You think that I just throw the targets any type of way and like magic, they hit the mark." Sasuke flinched."No Sasuke it doesn't work like that. There are a number of variables needed to hit the target directly. In the academy they just teach us the basics: how to throw and where to throw. But more is needed. You need to know the position, the trajectory, the amount of force needed, the wind pressure, even the weather is an important variable. And you need to know that much more if the target is moving. So yes, if you want to improve exponentially, this is the best way to do it." Sakura finished her speech by offering the boy a small worn notebook.Sasuke opened it and saw that it was filled with various calculations and even some illustrations."What is this?""That is my notebook. It has all of my findings and theories on bukijutsu. This little small book." She motioned to the book. "Is the reason why I can hit seemingly impossible target distances and angles."She took out another book, except this one looked newer."I know that you aren't big on reading, it's the same with Naruto." Sasuke's nose wrinkled at being compared to Naruto. "But I am, so I don't mind sharing my findings with you. I only ask that you do your best at understanding the fundamentals."Sasuke nodded, and Sakura handed him the other book. He opened it to find it blank so he gave her a questioning look."There's a lot of information in that book" She directed the statement to the discarded worn notebook. "And if you want to learn it, it's better to have your own copy.""I think I liked it better when you were just reading", Sasuke huffed and folded his arms.Sakura decided to ignore him.Itachi didn't know what to think about his brothers little friend. In all sense of the word, she seemed normal with above average intelligence. Nothing about her screamed dangerous, but his senses told him just the opposite. He learned on more than one occasions to trust his instincts. So that's why he took to following the girl around (at least when she was with his brother) during his free time.That's when he started noticing different things about her.For one, when she would help Sasuke and Naruto during their taijutsu training, there was certain stances that she would first fall into before quickly correcting it and instead use the academy standard.Second, her reading materials were beyond something he would expect a six year old to read. Sure he knew that she was extremely intelligent, thus she would read challenging books, but he didn't expect her to carry around textbooks and academic journals. What type of child reads books on medical diagnosis and treatments or the laws of physics. They're ninja, physics doesn't really apply to them.Lastly, she was much more perceptive than he thought. He noticed about a week ago that she seemed to always know when he arrived and where he was from the twitch of her eyes in his direction. Maybe she's just a genius, a sensor type genius. But that conclusion didn't sit right with him.His musing stopped when he suddenly wasn't alone."Whatcha doing 'tachi? Out spying on little Sasuke-chan again?" A voice behind him said.Itachi felt his eye twitch in irritation, and he inwardly sighed as the person moved forward and took a sit next to him on the branch."What do you want Shisui?" He said blankly."What do I want?" He said pretending to be shocked. "I simply wanted to come and see how my favorite cousin was doing? Is that so wrong?" He shook his short curly hair."Quit it with the rhetoricals." This time Itachi did sigh and Shisui only chuckled.Quickly Shisui's switched his attention to the children who were playing a little distance away."Oh, are those little Sasuke's friends? They're all so adorable. Although is that blonde one…?" He trailed off looking in Itachi's direction for confirmation."Yes, that's him. He seemed to be friends with the pink haired one that Sasuke befriended." Itachi directed his attention back towards the children."I'm surprised that your father didn't have a conniption." Shisui's brow was pinched."There is little to nothing that father could do in that circumstance. For all he knew, he's being tested by the Hokage." Itachi drawled."That may be true, but I still can't believe he allowed Sasuke to be friends with him." His brow furled even more."He seemed to be pretty civil during the dinner, although... his attention was more on the pink haired one.""The pink one" His eyebrows shot up in question. "Why? Is she of someone important? Or was she so adorable that it melted your fathers stony heart?"Itachi resisted a snort at Shisui's reasoning."Although, her appearance is very… lively. That wasn't the reason for the attention.""Then what was?" Itachi thought about not answering him and make him guess instead, but decided against it."Sakura-san is… extremely well read, and seemingly very intelligent. Her conversations at the table was something beyond something a child would say."Shisui stared at the child in question. "So he thinks that she may be a protege?" Itachi chose not to answer, as he watched her lecture the two boys about recklessly throwing kunai.After a while Shisui spoke again. "Is she in advanced class with Sasuke, and which clan is she from? Although, I don't know any shinobi clans with pink haired children."Itachi shook his head. "No she's in remedial class, and she's civilian born.""Then she must lack in physical ability if the academy hasn't noticed her yet."A "perhaps" is all that Itachi offered."Here, I thought that you were here spying on Sasuke, but I find out it's instead on little pink headed girls." Shisui playfully said.Itachi chose to ignore his cousin. And just when his attention turned back to the children, he saw the green glimmers of Sakura's eyes.Shisui noticed his cousins stiffening form and he followed his cousins watchful eyes to the little girl's own green ones. "That's creepy," he chose to say. "It's like she can see us.""That's because she can." Itachi deadpanned."What, do you mean. We have compressed our chakra enough to be only be sensed by jounin and anbu." His voice was suddenly serious. "Are you telling me that a little five year old girl can sense a concealment of that level."Sakura-san is six, and that is correct. I believe that she may be a sensor type.""Are you sure, I've never heard of this ability showing up in one so young? The only documented cases were in the early files of Senju Tobirama and Namikaze Minato." Shisui's voice was sharp."I've been watching them for the last two weeks and without fail, no matter where I hide or when, she always knows." Again he see's the pink haired girl tilt her head in their direction and smiles."I believe she's toying with me. She continues to shoot a sarcastic smile as if telling me that I can't hide from her. I even completely masked my presences, and she still managed to sense me." Itachi was irritated."I hardly think that's the case. I don't believe that she's taunting you." Shisui knew that this last year has been hard on them, specifically Itachi. He knew that the usually mild mannered boy who took pride in figuring out puzzles. He also knew that he was under extreme amount of pressure. But he hoped that he wasn't taking his frustration out on the little girl."You know Shisui." That caught his attention. "That girl wants to live by the code of the samurai." His face was serious and as much as Shisui wanted to laugh it off as Itachi being funny, he knew that he wasn't."That's very interesting." He rubbed his chin. "And how do you know this.""She practically announced it during our dinner, almost gave father a coronary." He looked at Shisui's expecting face, and recapped that night."So she's very interested in samurai you say, which isn't all that weird. Afterall our forefathers also adapted customs of the samurai in battle and in fashion. I don't see where the problems lay."He gave Shisui a hard look. "Have you forgotten what it is that we do. We are shinobi. We operate in the dark. We are spies, we are assassins. In our world, words like honor have very little meaning in a place that would sooner have you slaughtered than its' secrets uncovered. What she wants is impossible in this type of lifestyle and can get people killed.""Itachi, don't you think that you're judging her a little too harshly. She's not even out of the academy yet."Itachi deflated some, although not visually as his posture was still stiff. "You could be right, but something about her causes worry. With everything that is happening, I don't think that we can risk anything being overlooked, even a seemly unassuming little girl."They saw the children get up and start packing, and took it as their cue to leave. Sparing them one last look, they left.Sakura for the most part felt off the entire week.When she wasn't suffering headaches, she felt extremely weak, tired and sometimes even nauseous.Her mother thought that she was coming down with the flu and urged her to stay in bed, but Sakura refused. She didn't want Naruto to have to attend classes by himself. So she pushed through her bodies protest and went.Unfortunately, some lessons she couldn't help but doze off. Each time she would have glimpses of a battle field and shinobi fighting only to be woken by Naruto shaking her telling her that she was mumbling and twitching in her sleep. Luckly, they sat in the back of the classroom so the teacher was none-the-wiser.The headaches would come and go, but each day they seemed to only get worse. Sometimes she could stand them, other times she clinched her eyes and prayed that it would go away.Sasuke and Naruto noticed her state almost immediately, when she disregarded her books in preference of taking a nap under the tree. And when she didn't participate in after school studying or chide them for arguing like she normally would, they knew that something was up.Only Naruto was brave enough to wake her and one look at her bloodshot eyes had them escorting her home immediately. She was too weak to protest, and secretly she was glad that they did.Sleep proved to be no help too, in fact, it left her even more tired than previously.Like when she was a little girl, she was plague with more dreams of the pale woman with horns. But instead of battling, the woman was whispering sweet nothings in her ear. Sometimes they would be threats, other times they would be promises, but all the same it left Sakura waking up completely covered in sweat. It took her hours to manage to fall back to sleep only for her to wake up a while later for school.Her mother tried to help her. She bought herbal remedies, teas, vitamins, and even flu/cold medicine for Sakura to take, but it didn't help. It only made her sleepier. Shy of taking her to the doctor, her mother didn't know what to do, especially since her father was out for the rest of the week on another business trip.So the week continued with Sakura stumbling herself to school and falling asleep during lessons while Naruto watched over her. She would then spend some time after school with Naruto and Sasuke only for them to forcibly bring her home when her headaches got too much to bare.It was only by sheer coincidence that she found herself ganged up on when she was nodding off next a tree that they normally liked to study at.Naruto would be late that day due to detention, and Sasuke ran home to get a forgotten textbook. It left her alone, unguarded, but not totally helpless. Despite the illness she was feeling, she was sure that she could take on a couple of punks."So I see that your so called friends left you alone." The big nose boy, who she earlier learned was named Takuma, said."Do you not see that I'm busy. Don't you have better things to do?" She said stonily. Sakura was not up for their mess, and it seemed as those they didn't learn from the last beating they got. So Sakura slowly got up."You're right, we do. But we saw you and decided that you seem lonely, so we wanted to give you company.""Is that so? And what, pray tell, does this company include?" She shot back."You apologizing to us." He was serious, and his playful voice gone. Sakura felt her anger simmering under the surface."For what defending myself. What, you thought that I was going to let you guys beat me up?"She could feel another oncoming headache causing her to miss two people sneak up behind her. They grabbed her from behind and she was restrained to the ground by two hands. She was too weak to put up much of a struggle and instead craned her head up to look at Takuma."You're going to beat me up then. Just when I thought that you couldn't get lower, you stoop to this. I guess what they say is true, a rat will always be a rat." She practically spat. It seemed to shock them, for they never saw her yell at someone. Threaten, yes, but not snarl at them like a wild dog. She looked like a cornered animal.Takuma, however, swallowed his fear."I should beat you up", he said, "everyone here wants to do it as well. But I think I will like it better to see you begging." He grabbed her by her hair craning her head up further to look her in the eye. She could only glared at him. If his grip wasn't so tight, she might have attempted to head butt him.Suddenly something shiny drew her attention and she noticed that Takuma held a kunai in his other hand. He then rose the blade towards her face. She sneered at him and started to struggled against her restraints."Hey Takuma," someone said. "I thought you said that we were only going to scare her, not hurt her.""We will. But I just need this to prove a point... Now hold still." He directed the last comment to the struggling Sakura."I will stop if you admit that you are weak. That you are nothing but scum, and scum will all you be." He pulled Sakura's hair further to emphasis.Sakura could feel tears pull at her eyes from both the pain of her aching scalp and her throbbing headache. No matter how much she hated to be cornered, she knew that if she wanted the pain to stop, she was going to have to do what he said."Say it," he practically screamed in her face pulling her up some more."I'm weak", she whispered trembling. "I'm scum."Takuma seemed thrilled, if the light in his eyes meant anything."Great!" And he pulled her head closer to his face. "Now I want you to admit that you and that blonde idiot are no one and that you will stop following Sasuke around."Sakura thought that she could bite her pride and say whatever he wanted her to say to get them to leave her alone, however, she couldn't say that. One because they didn't follow Sasuke around, they were simply friends and friends hung out. And two, they were friends. She couldn't imagine anything making her denounce her friendship to Sasuke or Naruto, let alone the threat of a hair cut. So she shook her head in protest.That seemed to anger him for he rose the kunai up to her hair."You know, I always thought that your pink hair was ugly. I mean what type of ninja would you be with pink hair!" He laughed. "I think that I would be doing you a favor if I gave you a haircut, ne?" He posed it as a question, but Sakura knew that he was serious."Takuma, I think that's enough." Someone, the purple haired girl, said."Yeah, we just wanted to scare her, but this… What you're doing is wrong?" Another person said. But Sakura didn't get the chance to hear what he said, for she was hit with a crippling pain in her head that had her seeing double.When she managed to rearrange her thoughts she was still being held in the uncomfortable position. "Look at her trembling", she heard him say. "She's so close to giving us back Sasuke."Sakura couldn't help but to correct the depraved boy. "Sasuke's not an object", she said. "He's a person, but you don't see him that way. You just used him for his surname without really caring about him. He wanted to be friends with us because he liked us and we didn't care that he was an Uchiha. If anything, you were the ones following him around."Sasuke told them all about his old friends. How they made him feel as though is only worth was being an Uchiha. How they would bully other people, and how they would try to get him to participate too. He told them how he hated how he was around them and that he was glad that he no longer had to deal with them. Sakura could only feel pity and disgust for them. They wanted to be shinobi, and yet they had no idea of teamwork.He was mad and the kunai was back at her hair. "I'll give you three seconds to agree or you will find yourself with a new hair style.""One," he said gripping the blade with more force."Two", a couple of strands were being cut through and Sakura's eyes were pulsing as she renewed her struggling."Three", Sakura struggled as much as she could causing Takuma's hand to slip. The blade cut the sectioned hair off, and the pressure on her scalp was gone. Pink pedal like hair fell around her. It was quiet which made the drops of blood dripping sound like drums.She could only grip the side of her face too scared to let it go and see the amount of blood.Someone gasp and the hands behind her let go. She felt gravity take hold as she crashed into the ground her hands only came up to rest at her side as she continued to bow her head.Half of her face was bloody."Not, good", someone said."Shit, let's get out of here" another said as she heard some kids run off. However, Takuma was still there standing over her."I can't believe you did that Takuma" the girl said. "Come on lets go!" Sakura could imagine the girl pulling at Takuma's arm."Shit!" This time it was Takuma who said it. And she could only imagine the expressions of horror each one of them had.A particularly strong pain zipped across Sakura's head causing to to finally cry out, and she held her head instead. Finally, the damage was revealed displaying a bloody gash starting from her hairline to right underneath her brow bone.She looked at her hand. Red she thought. "Is that… is that my blood", she didn't realize that she was talking aloud. "There's so much of it." And in the back of her mind she heard a snap.She finally opened her other eye, and she noticed the blood dripping over her brow like a red film.She saw red.Her vision swirled around her like she was falling, and for she could have known, she was.The silence was deafening. Even though it had been a windy day. Even it seemed to stop.Time seemed frozen, almost in anticipation. The only one making noise was the shallow breaths of the bleeding girl.Takuma still held the bloody kunai in his hand, and he was staring at the girl in instant regret."What the hell, Takuma? Are you crazy?" Someone said grabbing him causing him to drop the knife. "We could get into serious trouble here. You said we would rough her up a bit, not cut her!""It's not like I did it on purpose!" He yelled back at the person, anger and fear making his voice break. "It wasn't suppose to go like this! She was suppose to only being scared into leaving Sasuke alone!"In the midst of chaos, they were stopped by a low chilling laugh. It wasn't a loud not was it filled with any type of emotion. It was a an empty laugh, high like a bell but also guttural.They felt shivers run down their spines and looked to the source of the laugh.Sakura slowly stood up. Her hands limp to her side and her head bowed. Blood still dripped from the cut.And when she finally raised her head to look at them, they couldn't help but to feel terrified. Blood dropped down her left eye staining the cornea red. Her hair was messy and uneven giving her a wild look. She looked like a demon.Someone stepped back onto a leaf letting out a loud snap, and like an animal her head whipped around to that person. She then gave them an icy smile. That person bolted.And like a streak, she was after them. They weren't able to make it very far before she cut them off by delivering a swift kick to their chest. They were down, gasping for air and grasping at the chest."Who's next?" Her voice was light as if asking about the weather.And then they ran.Shisui wasn't sure why he decided on spying on his smaller cousin and his friends. Maybe it was because Shisui occasionally enjoyed a good puzzle. Or maybe it was because he wanted to see the look on his cousin's face as he solved that puzzle that was Haruno Sakura before him. He believed that it was most likely the later.From what he could discover, the Haruno's were a very reputable merchant clan. They had reach that extended to Kaminari no Kuni (Land of Lightning), which was impressive. It seemed that Sakura's own branch of the family was in charge of Konoha relations.He vaguely wondered why the family, who seemed to have enough money, would live a seemingly average life, in an average house, and let their child attend the academy like she was an average student. After all, there were private schools that were created for children like her.He even shadowed her mother briefly just to see if there was anything that he overlooked, and she seemed like any normal person too. He found that she owned a local teahouse, it was the one he remembered his mother loving when she was alive. She went on her day normally, going to work, going grocery stopping, and going home.Following Sakura, didn't prove any help too, especially since she knew that she was being followed. She probably thought that he was Itachi since she didn't seem disturbed by him. From that, he found that even though she could sense them, she couldn't tell the difference of chakra signatures.He found that she was a good natured girl. She would help his cousin at school, and treat Naruto just as nicely. She would help the elderly with heavy bags. She would help children find their lost pets. And she would even pick up stray pieces of trash on the ground. She was an overall nice girl.That's why when he wandered on the scene of her furiously punching a boy after coming back from a three day mission, he was stunned. For this small little girl, who seemed to never hurt a fly, was covered in blood.He her them first before her saw them, the sounds of her grunts as she delivered punches to the boy was deafening. She had a boy pinned down and repeatedly sent blows to his face, even after he ceased struggling. There were other children around strewn across the forest floors with various types of injuries. Their groans were silenced by the sounds the girl was making. Her pink hair tinted red with blood looked choppy as if it was shabbily cut with a dull kunai.Not knowing what to do he appeared upon the girl restraining her hands behind her to stop her. It did. She looked up at him her head cocked to the side much like an animal. Her eyes were dilated and bright, blood staining one making it look inhuman. And recognition passed through them as her eyes as the pupil contracted and she passed out.Shisui was left there with the small girl asleep in his arm and a pile of injured children.He could feel an oncoming headache knowing that he just got sucked into something that he would have rather not have been."What the hell just happened?"

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

The snow fell heavy, thickly blanketing the ground. The normal bustle of people was absent as the light from the sky dimmed and the lanterns turned on.A lone female figure walked down the street, her form briefly revealed by the passing lanterns. And her pale skin, illuminated by the lights, stuck out amongst the night as was her hair, as white as the falling snow. It was pinned at the top of her head in a complex knotted bun, only small intricate ornaments of gold and jade adorned the style.She stopped mid stride looking up at the emerging moon with an unreadable expression."I see." He voice was soft much like a whisper. "She's finally made her move." The woman continued walking, her winter kimono dragging across the ground becoming heavy with the collection of water and snow, but she paid no mind to it.Soft as the wind she called out a name. "Hajime." A dark figure stepped out of the shadow and continued walking aside her, their figure obscured by the large cloak that they were wearing."I believe that it's time." She sounded forlorn. "It seemed like just yesterday that we've achieved some semblance of peace, and to think that in the next upcoming years that will all change.""Peace was never something that was meant to last." A deep muffled voice answered. "People are far too quick to forget the past. The sadness, the bloodshed, and the innocent lives lost is a recurring fault that is uniquely human. It is why when one war ends another one begins no sooner after." The voice chuckled "We've done all that we could to keep the end from happening, but all things must end."They strolled at a controlled pace as night set in and so did the cold."That may be true, but not all people are deserving of the fate that will be bestowed if we do nothing." Her eyes looked once again to the sky. "Our family may have merely been observers from the shadows, however, this is something that we cannot let happen for if it did…" She trailed off looking off into the distance."So what will you have us do?"The woman turned, her green eyes glinting in the light."I think that it's time for my dear musuko* and magomusume* to come home. It's been far too long.""Hai Haruno-sama."
A wasteland was the only word used to describe it. Bones laid strewn across the barren field both human and animal.

Whatever used to be was no longer there. For instead desolation was met and misery was born. The trees were twisted into horrid carcuses resembling faces of distraught men with eyes and mouths open wide in agony. A blur raced through the field, eyes turning away from the desolate sight.

But no matter how far it ran, it could not outrun the wretchedness of the deserted waste as it repeated like a broken recording.

"You can't run from me." The voice resonated, and the person didn't know if it was real or not. But they continued running not caring how far, only that they needed to get away.

The trees seemed to come alive, further twisting and sending out moans and screeches of despair as they grew closer desperately reaching for her as if she was their only salvation. The figure weaved through the dead foliage, twisting out of the way of stray branches and broken boughs.

Light broke once more throughout the trees, making the figure speed up to reach the end. It didn't even register when their hood was ripped off revealing pink hair that harshly fell around their shoulders.

They managed to reach the end, hoping that they found a way out of the nightmare, only to quickly stop. They hastily dodged to the side as a large female figure appeared not too far away.

"I thought I lost you." The pink haired girl whispered in dismay, more to herself than the figure. In return, their pale eyes danced with mirth.

"This is your cage little mouse, no matter where you run or where you try to hide, I will find you." The voice was sultry with promise.

Then the pale woman descended upon the girl, her heavy kimono robe flapping behind her. Turning to get away, she failed to dodge the branches that sprouted from the earth subduing her movement.

"Shit", the woman cursed calling forth her chakra to try to break through. It wasn't enough as instead the branches seemed to feed off her chakra and grow stronger; crawling up the rest of her body and further constricting her.

At that point, the woman was right in front of her–grabbing at her chin as if inspecting her. She seemed to approve as her cold eyes turned colder, and her red lips curled into an alarming smile.

"Your chakra", her voice seemed to echo. "I want your chakra." Her sharp nails cut into her cheeks causing slivers of blood to break free.

"Fuck you." The pink haired woman stared at the other woman–no monster–defiantly.

The monster hardened her look in irritation, and disappointment, tightening her hold on her chin harder causing the pink haired woman to wince before bringing her face closer.

"I can't wait to eat you up." It was said lightly, but there was no mistaking the threat. This time Sakura struggled as much as she could away from them, cutting her face up in the process. The pale lady didn't do anything to stop it, and instead waved her hand towards the branches causing them to move.

"It's time to sleep." She finally said and the branches continued wrapping around her.

The last thing she saw was the bloody red smile before she was completely engulfed.
When Sakura came to, it was to the sounds of rhythmic beeping and shuffling of paper. She tried to open her eyes, but she couldn't. They felt glued shut, Sakura panicked.Her breathing must have been obvious for the shuffling of papers stopped. She could hear–and almost feel–the person approach. Just as Sakura felt someone try to touch her head, she reacted, grabbing the person's arm in a tight and threatening grip–preventing them from moving.A feminine gasp could be heard, but Sakura didn't let the arm go. "Who are you, and where am I?" Sakura's mouth felt dry and her voice was rough."You're in Konoha Hospital." At that Sakura slightly relaxed. "You were admitted here a little over 2 days ago. I am your nurse, Haia. Over the last couple of days you were running a high fever, so I was checking your temperature."Sakura could only weakly nod and she let go of the nurse's arm. The nurse moved away."What happened?" Even though it hurt to talk, Sakura felt oddly blank and couldn't remember much of what happened before."I don't know the complete story, but you were admitted here in a feverish state after being attacked. You nearly gave your poor mother a heart attack."And suddenly some of the events from that day caught up to her. Sakura could feel the pulsing from her headache returning, but it was mild. So Sakura chose to ignore it."Where is she, my mother that is?"The woman moved closer and this time helped her to sit up slightly. After a while she answered. "We had to force her to go home after staying next to your side for two days straight. We told her that we would notify her with any change in your condition, but I wouldn't be surprised if she's already on her way back to check on you."Sakura wanted to say something else, but her mouth felt too dry to continue. Sensing her discomfort, the nurse pressed a cool object against her lips. "It's water" she said. "You're dehydrated." And Sakura took the glass from her downing the whole content instantly. She choked a little as she quickly drank it. The glass was soon taken from her, she could hear water being poured and once again the cup was offered to her. She took it."Now this time drink it slower." Sakura followed her directions and after a minute that cup was emptied too."Thank you", Sakura said feeling instantly better, but still filled with questions. Sakura could hear the sound of writing on a hard object."Why can't I open my eyes?" The scratching stopped."It's most likely the drugs in your system. We had to sedate you when you were admitted here." Seeing her brow wrinkle in confusion Haia continued. "You chakra system was very chaotic, lashing at the doctors, so we had to give you a sedative in order to treat you.""What was wrong with me?"The nurse wasn't able to answer the question for the sound of a door opening interrupted them.Sakura knew who it was before they even spoke, she could recognize that mint scent anywhere."Kaa-san" Sakura called out. And she was suddenly engulfed in the loving arms of her mother. She briefly heard the sound of the door open and close, signalling that the nurse left."You had me so worried." Her mother said and Sakura could feel her mother's tears wetting the side of her face."I'm sorry.""No, I'm sorry. If I knew that this would happen, I would have forced you to stay home.""I still don't understand what happened.""I'm not quite sure Musume." Her hold tightened on her. "It seemed that you were in a fight that got out of hand. And a young shinobi had to step in. From the damage done to you and the children, as well as, what I learned from Naruto-kun and Sasuke-kun, you were most likely attacked by the children." She ran her fingers across the side of her face along the bandaged cut on her head. "In defense, you incapacitated the children before you were stopped by the young shinobi and then you passed out."She slowing started brushing her hands with her fingers, and Sakura could only imagine the messy state of it."You were asleep for 2 days." Sakura could feel her shaking. "I thought that you wouldn't wake up." Sakura knew that she was crying again even though she didn't make a sound."I'm okay. It's okay."She only continued. "Little Naruto and Sasuke were so worried. They came to visit you everyday and they even brought you those flowers over there. Looked like they picked it themselves and all."Sakura wished that she could see the flowers, she knew that they were mismatched and probably half dead, but it would have been enough since it was from them.Sakura heard the door open. "I'm glad to see that you're awake Sakura-chan. My name is Sada, and I'm your doctor. You also already met your nurse Haia. I'm just here to check on you, update you on your status, and answer any questions.""It seemed as though, you suffered through some type of episode due to a fever." The doctor added. "We're still not sure what caused the fever, probably stemming from a flu virus, but it seems that the worst of it is over." That seemed to relieved her mother, but not Sakura."How… How about the kids that I hurt?" She recalled glimpses of that day, mainly her uncontrollable anger as she broke the arm of one child, struck one into a tree, and threatened to play target practice with another."That is a different subject." The doctor answered. "One that I can't really talk to you about, but what I can tell you is that they are ok. Most were actually discharged that day."Sakura sighed, happy that she didn't at least serious hurt any of them. However a small part of her was disappointed, and it unsettled her a little.Sensing her mood, the doctor chose to switch focus. "How are you feeling?""Tired and my head still hurts." Sakura answered truthfully.The doctor brought her hand to her head she assumed to check her temperature. "It's most likely still the flu. You are feeling a little warm at the moment, but nothing a little sleep can't help." Sakura relaxed."Is there anything else?" The doctor asked as she wrote something."Hai." Sakura said. "My eye's, when will I be able to open them?""Have you tried to open them yet?" She sounded concerned."Yes, but I was unable to. They felt as if they were glued shut."The doctor wrote something else. "That is to be expected with your state of tiredness. But just to make sure I'm going to have you try again to open your eyes.""Okay."There were many difficult things that Sakura has done in her life, amongst those many things included committing the encyclopedia of the 5 great nations to memory. However, trying to open her eyes proved to be her most difficult task so far. Sakura tried, but only manage to open them a sliver before they shut again. She tried several times with no better result."I can't." She finally said.The doctor hummed and wrote something more. Sakura wasn't sure what that meant.After a while she talked. "I'm going to help you open your eyes, I need to check to make sure that everything is functioning right." Was the only warning that she got before she slowly started to pry her eyes open. Sakura tried to stay as still as she could, but she couldn't help but grimace.It was extremely painful as her eyelids were being forcibly opened. It was almost as if the light was sending stabbing rays into them. She tried not to let her discomfort show but she couldn't help clenching her hands, which her mother felt."I think that she's in pain." Sakura's mother said with harsh concern. By the time her eyes were halfway opened, Sakura could only see blinding white. She could feel her eyes start to roll in the back of her head as she tried to hold on to consciousness.Thankfully the doctor stopped, and Sakura's eyes shut once more this time tightly as she tried to will the white blobs of color away. After a while, she felt as though she could breath again and she didn't realized that she held her mother's hand in a tight grip."Are you okay?" Her mother was petting her hair trying to comfort her, and Sakura felt bad for putting her mother through that."Hai kaa-san", she answered. "It was just the light, it hurt.""I'm not quite sure what is happening." It was the doctor. "But from what I can tell is that you are displaying symptoms of sensitivity to light. I'm going to have a few test ran to see why that is, but until then we are going to have to bandage your eyes to prevent any further damage.She could tell that her mother was dissatisfied with the temporary solution–Sakura was too–for if the test were like anything she just went through, she wasn't sure if they could unmasked any positive results."What types of tests?" Her mother said. "Will they cause her pain like what you just did?" Her mother let the doctor know her displeasure.Sakura could feel the tension in the room. And Sakura could only imagine what the doctor's reaction was– guilt, embarrassment, or perhaps anger. But the doctor's voice betrayed none of that."I will make sure that they are as noninvasive as possible" and the doctor left."Kaa-san.""Yes, musume?""Thank you."It was quiet without Sasuke's normal chatter.For the last four days, Sasuke had been in a sour mood choosing to only interact with his family during breakfast and dinner, and only to eat or politely answer questions about school.Mikoto noticed the change first then Itachi, and both knew the reason why. But they didn't know how to help."Have you heard anything about Sakura-chan's condition?" That was the only thing that Mikoto could think to ask in order to get Sasuke to open up."Her mother said that she hasn't woken up yet. I plan on meeting Naruto at the hospital after school to check on her." He pushed around the eggs on his plate.Mikoto didn't know what to do, Sasuke was normally a very happy and expressive child, seeing him in this state, and not being able to do anything, made her feel like a failure."Did you need me to walk you two there? We can even pick up some more flowers for her." She could at least offer that."No kaa-san, nii-san said that he would take us?"Mikoto found herself surprised by that, but was happy that Itachi also being supportive as well.She heard clattering of dishes. "I'm done." He pushed his food away and got up. "I'm leaving early, see you later." Before Mikoto could say anything, Sasuke was already out the door."Have a nice day." She said after him as the door closed and sighed.She didn't acknowledge the new presence behind her and instead started clearing the table."You shouldn't blame yourself kaa-san", said the voice of her eldest child.She placed the dishes in the sink, running them over steaming hot water before turning to face him. "I'm not blaming myself, I just wish that there's something that I can do." She dried her hands.Itachi was the perfect mix between her and Fugaku–inheriting her soft features and compassionate demeanor, in addition to Fugaku's drive and dedication. She wished that she could have done more to protect him from the harshness of life, of being a shinobi. It was the main reason that she sheltered Sasuke more, forbidding Fugaku from pushing him too hard, of prematurely sending him into the deadly lifestyle. It was a wonder that Itachi was the pacifist that he was."Just give him time." He gave her a reassuring smile that warmed her heart."You know, how about I'll make Kare Raisu soup with tomatoes, I bet Sasuke would love that. And for being such a great son, I'll even make some fresh dango." She mused.Itachi flashed her another smile. "I look forward to it." And he too was out of the door."Yes, I think Kare and dango will be perfect for tonight." Her mood lifted, Mikoto turned to finish washing the dishes.When Itachi learned of what happened to Sasuke's friend, he was confused, mostly because he learned about it from his very perplexed cousin. At this point he still didn't understand what happened besides the girl and some other academy children being admitted to the hospital.He had yet to find out what really happened that day and he highly disliked not knowing things. He only hoped that accompanying Sasuke to visit Sakura-san, would unearth some answers.He made his way to the Uchiha training ground choosing to slowly walk instead of quickly appearing there.No sooner another figure joined him, walking beside him at a controlled pace. "Are you still trying to figure out what happened?" His cousin asked."Hn." Itachi answered."Me too…" His brows knitted together."What were you able to find?""Nothing much, everybody is very hush hush on the matter. After all they don't want word to get out that academy students were out attacking one another." He sounded exasperated."I doubt Sakura-san is the type of person to just start attacking people. There must have been a reason." Itachi wasn't quite defending the girl, but she didn't seem like the one to resort to violence if it could be helped."I've never had an actual conversation with her, so I can't really comment on her character besides what I encountered. When I arrived at the academy training grounds, she was covered in blood punching a kid half to death.""Sasuke informed me that those children often tried to bully them, and that they confronted them before causing her to react in defense." He proceeded to summarize what he learned from Sasuke."If that wasn't a warning, this certainly would be." Shisui said trying to lighten the mood. "And you're sure that the girl is civilian born. Her skill suggests otherwise.""You've uncovered much about her as me, so you already know the answer.""It's just... Damn. She had to go and make herself more interesting. I can only imagine how this will end. Smart, skillful, and violent, she will be pushed through the system instantly. She'll probably be shipped off to wetworks no sooner after graduation."Itachi highly doubted that. The girl seemed far too smart and dedicated to allow herself to fade away like that. No. Wherever Sasuke and Naruto-san ended up that most likely where she would be.They arrived at the training grounds and decided to push the matter away for another time."Are you still trying to make it into Anbu?" Shisui asked while checking his kunai holster."Hai. Otou-san has been pushing me to join as soon as possible. He hopes that by me joining at such a young age, it would prove to the council that the Uchiha blood still runs strong.""Christ, Itachi you're still... I mean anbu is no place for someone like you. You are a bleeding heart and for the things we do, it will slowly start to chip at you. You more so than other people.""You're maybe right, but I have no other choice."Shisui sighed. "I wish that there's something that I could do. I hoped that at least me making it into anbu early would have loosened their hold, but it only seemed to increase their expectations of you.""You've trained me in all that you know. I only ask that you continue to do that so that I can shelter my brother from the same fate.""Of course." Was the only thing that he received before he was dodging a barrage of kunai. And thus training began.By the time they finished training, Itachi had just enough time to go home and change before picking up Sasuke from school. Quickly taking a shower and rebinding is hair, he made his way to the school.When he got there he noticed that Sasuke looked angry as he stood by a gloomy Naruto.When Sasuke saw him, he walked off making his way past Itachi."Come on!" He was snappy something that was a first for Itachi since he was the one it was being directed at.Itachi only furrowed his eyebrows at Sasuke, which was his equivalent of being utterly lost. Naruto silently walking after Sasuke was enough to spur Itachi to start moving as well.Feeling Itachi's questioning look, Sasuke ignored it and instead started talking."They are saying that she snapped and started attacking students. She was the one attacked and yet she's being blamed!" He was mad but his voice remained level, something that was uniquely an Uchiha characteristic.Naruto continued to look down. "And you." Sasuke turned towards Naruto. "You just let them think that about her. What kind of friend are you?" Naruto flinched."Enough." Itachi didn't shout, but his stern voice was enough to cut off whatever Sasuke was about to say.Sasuke turned away from him and sped up so that he was walking further in front of them. His small body was rigid, but Itachi heard a few sniffles. However before he could do anything, Naruto walked forward beside Sasuke in a faint pretense of comfort.Itachi chose to stay behind them.They made it to the hospital soon after.Once they entered the double doors, they were met with a receptionist counter with a friendly looking nurse. "Can I help you?" The woman looked at Itachi, then to Sasuke, and then finally resting her eyes on Naruto. She stiffened, her friendly face flashing dark briefly. Itachi glared at her, daring her to say anything, and she shrank a little."We're here to visit Haruno Sakura who was admitted here a few days ago." It was Sasuke who chose to answer.The nurse turned to her clipboard, flipping the page as she looked for the name. She did that for a while, much to Sasuke's annoyance."It seems that she awoke a few hours ago." Sasuke's eyes widened and Naruto somber attitude slightly improved. "They have taken her up to observation right now, but will be allowed visitors a little later if you want to come back then." Her tone was dispassionate as she emphasized visitors."No, we will stay." Sasuke countered. "Which room?""256." Sasuke and Naruto turned and practically ran their way to her room. Itachi followed after them up the main stairs then down the hall. When they finally reached the door, Naruto and Sasuke paused outside of it."Do we wait out here, or do we go in?" Sasuke questioned. Itachi made their decision for them by opening the door allowing them to step in.The room was empty besides the flowers that they picked which sat on the table in the corner slowly dying. It didn't surprise them since they knew that Sakura was gone for testing. But both Sasuke and Naruto couldn't help but be disappointed by the absence of the pink haired girl. So instead they decided to wait on the bed for her return while Itachi politely sat on the chair in the corner."At least she's a wake." Came Naruto's small voice. Sasuke, "Hned" in agreement.Time passed and both Sasuke and Naruto sagged against one another on the bed fighting sleep. With no window, it was hard to tell how much time had passed.Finally the door opened causing the boys to jump up. A wheelchaired Sakura was pushed through by a dark haired nurse. "Oh, you seem to have visitors, Sakura-chan." The nurse said."Sakura!" Naruto called and shot out towards the girl nearly tripping over his own feet. He collapsed upon her, hugging her before she could completely get through the door, but Sakura nor the nurse seemed to mind.Sasuke took a little longer to greet her. Of course, he was relieved that she was indeed awake, but he couldn't help but notice that she looked every bit as fragile and sickly as he feared. Her hair was jaggedly cut and messy, her skin very pale, and her eyes were heavily bandaged."Naruto." Her voice was hoarse–but kind–as she returned the hug. Behind her was her mother looking both concerned and happy to see them.After a while, she chose to talk. "Who else is here?""Sasuke and Sasuke's niisan. He accompanied us here."At the mention of his name, Sasuke walked closer and stood in front of Sakura.He stayed there for a while and before Sakura could say anything, Sasuke talked. "You were an idiot.""Teme!" Naruto yelled."No, she was! Why did you fight them knowing that you weren't feeling well? You're always doing things on your own and not thinking that we can help. Are we really that useless to you?" He was crying, his voice hiccupping, but he was suddenly engulfed in a hug as Sakura stood up."I'm sorry for making you worry Sasuke. No you guys aren't useless to me, you are my precious friends and I didn't want anything to happen to you." She continued hugging him."Then why? Why did you have to fight them? What happened?" Sasuke asked, not knowing that there was another presence in the room that was just as interested in the events of that day as well."I don't know." Sakura started. "They jumped me, threatened me with a kunai, cut off my hair, and slashed my face. They taunted me, threatened to take you away, and made fun of Naruto. They made me angry, so angry." She tightened her hold. "All I remember is that anger and then I don't remember much after." She didn't want to recall the violent images of beating the children.By the time Sasuke stopped crying, all three of them found themselves squished onto Sakura's small bed. The nurse was gone, and Sakura's mom left to talk with the doctor.As if remembering something, Sakura snapped her attention up and to a corner that she assumed Itachi to be in. "Hi Itachi-san. I apologize for the late greeting and that we had to meet again under these types of circumstances."Itachi was mildly surprised that she remembered that he was here, but he appreciated the acknowledgment. "I agree, Sakura-san. I wish that it wasn't under these circumstance, but I'm glad that you are okay. Our mother sends her best wishes as well and she hopes for you to join us for dinner again once you are in better health." Itachi was sincere."That would be wonderful." Sakura was relieved, but stiffened when she felt someone's fingers on her face, ghosting over the gauzes on her eyes."Why are your eyes bandaged?" It was Naruto who said it. She could imagine that Sasuke wondered the same thing."I'm not sure." She responded. "I couldn't open my eyes when I woke up. When the doctor tried to open them, I had a bad reaction. So I'm undergoing some test to try to figure out what is going on.""Was it…" Sasuke paused. "Was it something that they did?" She knew that Sasuke was referring to the bullies."No, I believe that it's from the headaches and fatigue that I was having." It didn't make Sasuke any less angry."We should have been there. I should have been there. They attacked you because of me.""I'm glad that you weren't because if something happened to you or Naruto, I'm scared of what I would have done.""They would have deserved it", was all that Sasuke said.Two days later, Sakura found herself released from the hospital. The test and the blood work done on her came back inconclusive, it made Sakura uneasy. But Sakura's mother was happy that they deemed her healthy enough to be released, which Sakura was too thankful for. Afterall she couldn't imagine spending another day being confined to the windowless room.Walking outside was something that Sakura took for granted. Now, days without it had her developing a new appreciation. The fresh air did wonders to lift her mood even though she her eyes were still heavily bandaged. She simply held onto her mother's hand as she guided her back to their house.Her mother greeted a few people, and Sakura could feel questioning glances directed towards her, but she didn't have it in her to feel self-conscious. She just enjoyed being free."Mebuki-san! Sakura-chan!" She heard a voice in the distance the voice sounded familiar.Both females stopped walking and Mebuki turned around to greet the person. "Oh Emiko-chan, how are you this afternoon?""I'm fine, and I'm glad to see that Sakura-chan is out of the hospital." She sounded out of breathe, but also relieved.Since starting the academy, Sakura rarely had the time to be at the restaurant like she did when she was younger. She was worried that Emiko and the other staff thought that she simply forgot about them, which wasn't the case. She was actually hoping that she would have more time to visit her mother's work."When I heard that you were in the hospital, we were all really worried. But I'm extremely happy that you are better. Maybe when you're feeling better we'll have a little girl's day, I'll even treat you to a new book!""Thank you Emiko-nii, I think I'd like that.""That's great. Well I'm not going to keep you because I bet that you both can't wait to get home.""Okay, Emiko-chan. You know you can always stop by for tea when you get the chance." Mebuki directed to the young girl."Thanks!" She said before Sakura and her mother walked away.It didn't take much longer for them to reach their house and Mebuki proceeded guiding Sakura through the door."Did you want anything to eat?" Mebuki asked as she sat Sakura down on their worn couch."No thank you." For some reason Sakura felt extremely tired. It could have been the walk paired with the last few days at the hospital that caused Sakura's exhaustion. "I think that I'm just going to take a nap on this couch.""Okay." She sounded concerned as she laid her hand on her head. "Is there anything else you need?"Sakura didn't respond because she was already fast asleep.A week had passed since her release from the hospital and nine days since the incident. Unfortunately, her vision had yet to return, but the chronic headaches hadn't, much her her relief. Incidentally, she stayed out of school during that time as well.There were two reasons for her delayed return to school: one being that she was still slowly trying to recover her eyesight, and the second was that the incident was being investigated by school officials and showing up to school would mean that she was well enough to be questioned–perhaps even expelled. She didn't have the mental capacity to deal with that at the moment. So her, and her mother, decided that it staying home would be best.Thankfully Naruto and Sasuke would visit her everyday after school. Naruto would give her his hurriedly written notes from class and Sasuke would bring teas, flowers, and sometimes food from his mother. Her own mother found their coddling adorable.After so long being confined to her house and yard though, Sakura was feeling restless. Sakura begged her mother to at least let her walk around the village with her friends."Why do you need to go right now? I thought that we agreed that you can go out once you regain your eyesight." Her mother said."What if I don't?" It was something that Sakura considered. What if her sight never returned? "I don't want this to be a crutch. I don't want to be confined to the house just because I can't see, there's a lot of other stuff that I can still do." Sakura could only envision the hurt look on her face, but Sakura needed to do something other than to sit around the house."Don't say that. You will get it back. This is only a setback. If they can't do anything to help. Then we will find someone who can." She said it with so much conviction that Sakura believed her, and it lifted her mood a little."Fine." Her mother relented. "But be back in an hour.""Thanks kaa-san!"She met Naruto and Sasuke outside of her door."Did she say yes?" Naruto asked, and Sakura smiled in response."Great!" He cheered. "Where do you want to go?""It doesn't matter, just somewhere." Sakura just want to walk it didn't matter where. However, Sasuke already had an idea. "I know the perfect place." Sasuke then grabbed Sakura's hand and led them away."Where are we going?" Sakura asked."I'll tell you when we get there."It seemed that they were walking for a long time, but it was probably only 10 minutes. Suddenly Sasuke slowed down until he eventually stopped."Woah!" Naruto said. "What is this place?""This is the Uchiha's personal training ground. I've been here a couple of times with nii-san. I figured that this is a great place for us to hang out without being bothered." Even though she couldn't see the place, she still appreciated the sentiment."We also house some of the oldest and tallest trees in the village, so I know you will like it here." He finished and led her to sit beside what she presumed to be on of the tree."Thanks", she said."Is there anything that you need?" Sasuke genuinely asked."I'm actually really thirsty. Is there a stream around?""Yes there is, but I'm pretty close to home. So why don't I run and grab us all a drink?""If you want." Sakura didn't want to force him to leave, but she knew that at this point Sasuke would do anything to make her comfortable.He was off, not before calling behind him. "Make sure you keep an eye on her Naruto!""Of course!" He returned settling in a spot next to her.Sakura found that Naruto was much like a cat. He was caring, curious, very playful, and adorable. However, what made the comparison even more so true was the fact that Naruto loved sunbathing. If there was a warm sunny spot, he instantly fell asleep. That was why, three minutes after Sasuke left, she wasn't surprised to hear Naruto's loud snoring. And although it would be nice to follow him into dreamland, she only had about 45 minutes to enjoy the little bit of freedom she had.So as quietly as she could, she got up and walked around. Luckily, Naruto's snoring was loud enough to lead her back.Sakura took that time to become immersed in nature. She felt disappointed that she was unable to really enjoy the new place due to her vision impairing. And instead relied on touch to help her build a mental image of the place. She didn't even notice that she wandered further away than she wanted to as Naruto's snores could no longer be heard.She brushed her fingers against the leaves, felt the soft grass crunch beneath her feet. She pressed her hand to the trees feeling the rough textures, and imagined how tall they must have been to be so wide.She remembered reading something about senjutsu, and how if you meditated enough you could eventually sense natural energies and chakras. Maybe if she probed it with her own she could follow the trees chakra all the way up to the sky. Atlas, chakra manipulation wasn't something that she was at all familiar with. Sure she read books on it, but meditating was the closest she ever got to manipulating her chakra. They barely even talked about it in class.She tried to feel the calming chakra of the tree, but she was pulled out of her concentration by shuffling behind her. Paranoid she reacted, jumping away and sliding into a defensive stance listening for where the sound originated. In the back of her mind, Sakura mused that at least her father's sporadic blindfolded training would come in hand."No need to get defensive, I'm not here to harm you." It was definitely a male's voice. Not quite deep enough to be an adult, maybe a teenager."Who are you?" Sakura suspiciously asked, not dropping her defensive stance."Seeing as though these are the private Uchiha woods, it's only right that you introduce yourself first. Sakura bristled. "Buuuut." He drew the word out. "Seeing as though I was raised a gentleman I will introduce myself first. My name is Uchiha Shisui, it's a pleasure to meet you…" He paused waiting for her own introduction."Sakura. Haruno Sakura. Are you Sasuke's cousin?""Correct!" He sounded thrilled, and Sakura relaxed.Sakura remembered Sasuke once or twice mentioning that he had an older cousin."You must be Sasuke-chan's friend. I remember him saying that she had pink hair."I am.""This is a little ways from his house and nowhere near the academy. What are you doing here?" He questioned."Sasuke thought that this would be a great place for us, and I have to agree. You have some really nice trees here."Sakura could practically hear his confusion. "Ah, it must be weird for me, someone who's momentarily blind, to say.""May I ask what it is that happened?" It would have been a rude thing to suddenly ask if he didn't sound so genuinely interested, so Sakura decided to answer."I was sick and there was this fight. Because of it, I was hospitalized and developed some kind of severe sensitivity to light. So now I have to walk around like this.""That's rough kid." And she agreed. "What happened at the fight? To be honest I heard Itachi mention a little about it, but I that was it." She wondered what all Itachi-san told him."Why are you so interested in it?" She asked."You can say that I'm curious by nature.""Then you should try a better approach at it, some people may mistake you for being rude.""But you don't.""No, I don't. I can appreciate your direct approach, I find it more comforting than false flattery or sentiments."He hummed in agreement."I'm not normally a violent person. I try to avoid fights if I can help it. I don't like hurting people, nor do I like seeing people hurt." Sakura admitted."So what happened with this one?""I couldn't avoid it. And at the end I didn't want to." It felt good telling this stranger her real thoughts."Sakura!" Sakura snapped her head quickly towards the direction of the shout. Sasuke must have returned quickly from getting the drinks."It was nice talking to you Shisui-san." She wanted to return quickly to Sasuke because she didn't want him to worry."You too Sakura-chan. Let's meet again."Sakura agreed feeling his eyes follow her as she went to find Sasuke.When she finally returned to her friends, Sasuke of course was upset that she left."Where were you?" He directed at Sakura. "And you! You were supposed to watch her!" He was talking to Naruto now."I was, but I couldn't help falling asleep. The sun felt too good." Sakura wanted to chuckle, and Sakura can imagine Sasuke bristling, so she decided to interject."I wasn't too far away, I just really wanted to explore more." She decided to tell him her encounter with his cousin later when he was less worked up."You could have waited for me to get back, or you could have even woken up the dobe to walk with you. It's very easy to get lost in these woods!"This time Sakura really did laugh. "You really are a motherhen.""Shut up!" He sounded flustered, and his face was probably as red as the tomatoes he loved so dearly.Naruto snickered.A day later Sakura's father finally returned.She wished that she didn't need the blindfold for she longed to see her father's goofy smile as he would stumble himself through the door with whatever rare find he acquired while out. However, it was not meant to be. For this time he came home, there wasn't any smiles or playful banter. Instead there was relief, even as he gathered her in his arms."I'm sorry I couldn't come sooner hime.""No, otou-san. I'm sorry that I wasn't strong enough." And she was."What are you talking about? From what your mother told me, you were able to defend yourself against them even while heavily sick.""No otou-san, if I was stronger I could have found a way to not engage. I could have avoided being clouded by my anger. And I could have avoided worrying and disappointing so many people.""You are never a disappointment. As for worrying, it is our job to worry. We're your parents." Sakura stayed in her father's arms until she eventually drifted off to sleep. Kizashi then picked Sakura up and quietly went upstairs to her room, to lay her on her bed."We should have told her sooner." Mebuki said as Kizashi walked out of her room."I thought that we would still have more time. She's only six, and the reason why we didn't want to tell her was so that she could enjoy her childhood. I was hoping that teaching her meditation and tai chi would ground her, after all it grounded me." Kizashi said."That may be true, but she can't enjoy it if things are happening to her that she doesn't understand. I mean we barely understand what's happening, and the only people who do would sooner keep her for their own benefits.""I don't think it matters at this point. They are probably already aware of what's happening and are already sending someone for her."Mebuki started crying. Kizashi wrapped his arms around her, and he placed a gentle kiss to her forehead."What do we do? We can't just leave. Even if we do, they will follow us." She said."We won't. We will stay and fight for her."Sakura always knew that her parents weren't originally from Konoha. Where they were, she never knew, but what she did know was that sometime after the 3rd war they relocated here. For safety and stability, is what Sakura's mother told her. But she never told her where they were traveling from. They never really talked about their life before moving to Konoha, so Sakura respected their privacy.Sakura's relationship with her father was as loving as any relationship between father and daughter, even though sometimes he was too silly. Despite that, Sakura's father, Kizashi, was a true definition of a businessman.Sakura had many opportunities to observe her father in his work environment and with each encounter she found herself even more interested in who her father actually was. It wasn't that he was a different person, it was that there always seemed to be an edge about him when dealing with certain clients.On one hand he was very charming and funny, he managed to get a chuckle out of some of the most unlikely people she ever met. However, there were a few instances that Sakura barely recognized him. Like the time when a client tried to swindle him out of some money and Kizashi gave the man the iciest smile that she had ever seen. The smile was almost enough to intimidate the person, however, the killing intent that her father leaked out was enough to cause that man to piss his pants. Since it wasn't directed at her, Sakura wasn't as affected by it, but she was still shocked by the ability. That day Sakura was treated to ice cream.Her dad wasn't the only one, her mother was an equal mystery. In her mind, Sakura referred to her as an assassin chef. Often when cooking, her mother handled her knife better than any of her academy teachers.From cutting the vegetables to the filleting the meat, she handled the knife with a dexterity unmatched. Frankly it was intimidating. The speed and accuracy was something she had to train her eyes to catch.She was also an extreme mother bear. Growing up Sakura didn't tell her much about getting teased by the neighbor kids or any time she hurt herself during training. She remember a particular time when a sketchy man tried to offer her candy when she was three, and although she already knew about "stranger danger" and was about to decline his offer, her mother was instantly there standing protectively in front of her.She grabbed him by the privates, right there in the middle of the market and he let out a high pitched scream. People turned to the source, but her body was positioned where they couldn't quite see what happened, but Sakura did. "Let me find out that you've been here harassing young children again, and I can assure you", her hold got tighter and the man face turned a sickly purple color, "that you will never have to worry about having any of your own." She hissed at him."Am I understood?" The man nodded and when Mebuki released him, he ran off.Despite each parent's corks, Sakura loved them dearly. And she knew that they loved her just as much. She came to believe that they trusted her a great deal and only did things, or even hide things, all to protect her.So when the next day arrived after her father returned, she was concerned. The only times that she had been in his office were when she was younger, and he let her curl up in the corner and read while he work. Nowadays the office stayed pretty much locked.When her father led her to the office, she noticed that all signs of his playful personality gone. It unnerved her. He instructed her to sit in a chair that she knew to be the one in front of his desk. And she heard him take a seat too at his desk chair."Otou-san?" She questioned as the silence stretched. It seemed to break through the quiet.Her father let out a long, deep sigh."Tell me hime, have you ever heard of the Kaguya Clan?" And Sakura's blood ran cold.

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

Summary: "This is your cage little mouse, no matter where you run or where you try to hide, I will find you." Her voice was filled with sultry promise.Born with recurring nightmares of a broken world, Sakura slowly pieces together the similarities between that world and hers. But it's hard when things are happening that she doesn't understand. She ultimately finds herself in the center of something very terrifying, and she has to decide who's really worth saving. (BAMF Sakura, AU, Pre Massacre)Author's Note: Just to tell you, everything I write has a purpose and everything will eventually be revealed, I just don't believe in laying all your cards down at one time. After all, where's the fun in that! So I will continue to build the plot of the story and leave breadcrumbs of information so that it will continue to be interesting and hopefully not overwhelming.
Chapter 6
"Have you ever heard of the Kaguya Clan?" Something in her reacted violently to that name.She'd never heard of them, at least she didn't think she did. She tried to remember all the books, all the papers, and all the journals she read, but she didn't remember any of them mentioning the Kaguya name. What type of clan were they? And why did her dad want to know if she heard of them?She could feel the familiar throb of a migraine with all of the questions. But all she could think about was the name.Kaguya. Red lips.Kaguya. Haunting eyes.Kaguya. Skin the color of death.
Kaguya. "Give me your chakra."
"Kaguya." Sakura gasp, not knowing that she said it aloud."Yes the Kaguya Clan." Her father's voice brought her back to reality.Sakura wanted to know why that name effected her so."No, I haven't heard of them, but at the same time I feel as though I have." She was confused, so confused. Why did the name Kaguya haunt her? "Is this pertaining to your work? Is that why you are asking me, and why we are in your office?""No, it's a little more personal than that.""Then what?" She felt irritated, not at him particular, but at the course of the past events."Why don't I just tell you a story." Her father's voice once again broke her out of her dilemma.She perked up, listening."I want to tell you a story about a clan–a clan of samurai. A clan that was once so powerful that they were known throughout the entire land. A clan known for being great martial artist and even better swordsmen. A clan that faded into time, and eventually dissolved–splitting into two branches. One viciously became lost to their own power. The other was more progressive and spent that time in the shadows building their empire."The first branch lost to their own selfishness, they let their madness drive them to death. But no one could blamed them for there was something darker at midst. They were answering to a call. One that demanded blood and violence. So they eventually perished. Their power dwindling down with each generation. They were the only branch that kept their true name."However, the second branch, foreseeing their possible downfall, knew that their time of power was coming to an end. So they became private and instead focused on expanding their business. They discarded their clan name, and most discontinued the clans practices. Because of that, the clan withered into a civilian clan, a clan of merchants–but also of great businessmen."They eventually became so embrittled in the politics of the redirection that most lost what they once were. Only a few took up the mantle as fighters choosing to either to learn how to fight in the sanctuary of the clans compound, or renounce their heritage so that they were free to go elsewhere."Sakura listened and tried to piece together the direction of the story."Now I want to tell you another story, one about a young boy groomed to lead, but lacked the passion and capability for it." This time his voice was softer."He was the heir. Born to eventually become the head of the clan. Yet he was born with a crippling defect... He was born without chakra, something unheard of in a clan that thrived on it." His voice held anger, and perhaps some resentment. Sakura wanted to question him, but was cut off."I know what you're thinking. Why would chakra matter to a clan of samurai? And it normally wouldn't." He continued."But given the fact that the clan had special abilities besides their swordsmanship, it meant that the child wasn't able to inherit those innate abilities. It became an immense problem seeing as though the heir should have been the best part of the clan, the strongest and the purest in power. So there was fighting over if the boy should be heir or not, but the boy's mother was the Denka*, the matriarch of the clan. Proving that he wasn't a failure, the boy's mother pushed him to lead without the use of chakra. His fists became his weapon and his mind his armor."He paused, and Sakura waited for him to continue."And he did it." He continued. "For a moment, he became the rightful heir and deserved it. However...""However?" She questioned."However, he was crippled by another weakness."Sakura tilted her head in confusion because he didn't seem at all disappointed or irritated like he did before."He fell in love, and with civilian at that. It was the worst thing that he could have done. Even moreso when he impregnated her. The blood was tainted." He scoffed at that word."In normal circumstances, the clan would order the termination of the unborn child and of both parents. But since he was the heir and his mother was of great influence, he was exiled from the compound along with his pregnant lover. But not completely. Because the man and his child were still chained by blood to the clan, they couldn't just let them go. So instead he was met with the condition of working for the clan, outside of the compound. He agreed."Despite the sadness of leaving the only home he knew, he found it to be the best thing that could have happened. For now he was free, free from the clan watchful eyes and disapproving stares. He was free to openly love his lover and child."So they traveled, they married at a small shrine, and they settled down in a place that was far from the compounds reach. But he kept his end of the bargain and continued working for the clan–becoming a businessman. For someone who was born groomed to be a warrior, it was meager work, but it satisfied him. The happy smiles of his wife and the carefreeness of his daughter was enough for him."He found that he loved being a father more than anything. He was sad when work called him away most nights and he missed important moments in her life, like when she said her first word. But he knew that his carefree life would soon be changed. Fate wouldn't be so kind as to leave allow him to live a happy life, to allow his daughter to live a happy life. She after all had the same blood pumping in her veins as he did."Foolishly he hoped to keep his past a secret from her because he knew that revealing it to her would mean that she was in danger. And because of that he couldn't train her properly.""Not to say that he didn't try because he did. He taught her meditation and defense martial arts. She took to it like a fish to water. However he couldn't teach her what she need to be taught most because she had something that he didn't. She had access to her chakra, something that didn't worry him at first. Afterall, what made their clan most dangerous was their chakra abilities. However, he had much to worry about when she started displaying skills unusual enough for someone her age.""What skills?" She questioned. She knew what he was trying to say, what and who the story was about. But the only way that she could learn more would be to let him continue his story.She could feel her fathers intense eyes on her. "There were once many abilities that came from being a Kaguya.""So the story was about the Kaguya clan," she thought."But after so many generations, and after the split of the clan." He continued. "Our heritage became watered down, even more so with those born into the second branch. Very few were born with the special abilities within the Haruno clan. The only thing that was continuously passed down was a natural affinity for chakra manipulation. But there's also another thing that always is passed down." He seemed to contemplate finishing the story.She leaned into her chair waiting for him to continue. With a long sigh, he did."It's our blind rage and sociopathic tendencies, something that I'm pretty sure that you are familiar with." And she was reminded of the incident at the academy."I'm sorry hime. For everything that has happened and everything that will." It was a statement filled with foreboding."Why did you wait to tell me this now?" She questioned, her voice amazingly devoid of emotion."I'm the original heir to the Kaguya clan, and that makes you hime, the rightful heiress. Because of this there will be some people coming for us, you specifically. I don't want you to be scared, I won't let anything happen to you."
Blood, it was everywhere, spattered all over her and the floor that she was laying on. Her entire top was soaked in it and her body hurt. She tried to pull herself up, but winced when her body spasmed in response. It felt as though every nerve in her body was stretched to its limit. She eventually pushed herself up enough to settle into a half seated position.
"Where was she?" She wondered as she noticed that she was bleeding in crater and what looked to be a battle ground. She tried to stand up, but she felt a pulling on her stomach that caused her to immediately check the spot for any injuries. There weren't any. But her red shirt was tattered and a gaping hole laid there displaying her abdomen. Odd enough, the skin was unharmed leaving only crushed blood.
Touching that spot, she winced once more from how raw and sensitive it was. She called forward her chakra to heal the overly sensitized nerves, but the familiar rush of warmth and green light was absent. It seemed as though she exhausted her chakra storage. The realization angered her.

A cry sounded not far from her, her head whipped towards its direction. Was it an animal? No it sounded too human, or maybe not human enough?

She slowly rose to her knees. They knocked together, shaking while trying to hold her weight. After a few moments, she was able to stand and she stumbled her way towards the sound.

She stumbled over discarded weapons, upturned trees, and dead bodies. They looked far too dead for her to help. She continued like that until she made it to the source.

It was a teenager, he looked like he couldn't be any older than 16, a few years younger than herself. He was bloody, partially buried in the ground, and both of his legs were gone. They looked to be blown off. Sakura didn't know how he survived this long.
"Please help me." He weakly said reaching his hands out towards her. She collapsed next to him and grabbed his hand in comfort willing her chakra to come forward, but once again it didn't.
Could she help them? No. She couldn't even help herself. She tried and nothing happened.
"I'm sorry, I can't." Her voice was shaky."Please." His dim brown eyes looked at her helplessly.
He was just a boy. If it was any other day. A day where she had her chakra, her medical pack, or even her hospital, she could have helped him.

But even if she could miraculously recover her chakra, she would only be able to heal his life threatening wounds. He still wouldn't have his legs. That meant that she would have to carry him to safety, to a shelter. However, it would put both of them in danger because if she got caught by the enemy, she couldn't fight and protect him at the same time. Both of them would be dead before the day would be over.

She also didn't have her medical bag, meaning that once she healed him it would only be a matter of time before infection set in. Soon he would be in even worse pain, dying from the inside.

She couldn't help him. She looked at him. His pleading eyes blinded by tears, and she felt her own tears well up in her eyes. There is only one option left.
"I'll help you", she told him. "It's okay, you will be as good as new." And that seemed to relieve him as his whole body relaxed. She laid her hand on his head in comfort and he closed his eyes leaning into her touch. She moved her hand lower, feathering alleviating touches down his face until she rested at his throat.
In a quick movement, she squeezed and twisted, snapping his neck. One second he was alive, the next dead.

She sat there for a while, trying to make sense of what she just did.

And finally she cried, not for the life that she just took, but because she felt utterly useless and alone.
Sakura woke up, but the scene of the boys dead eyes replayed in her mind.She wanted to cry, scream, throw up, but she couldn't. She felt numb like most of the things that she did nowadays. What was happening to her?Sleep for the next couple of days was hard for her. She felt restless, but she didn't want to do anything. Walking around with Naruto and Sasuke became quickly uneventful and tiring. What was the point if she couldn't enjoy herself? Most of the time she was just walking in darkness.Naruto and Sasuke picked up on her mood change. She knew that they were concerned and she tried to assure them that she was fine, but they saw right through her. What could she do?Even the time that she spent with her mother at the teahouse became tedious and boring real quick. Not to mention that fact that her mother started acting strangely since she found out about her heritage. Her mother seemed anxious, constantly asking her questions about how she was feeling or being doubly attentive.She didn't know what to do. She couldn't see. She couldn't read. She couldn't do much for herself without supervision, and she couldn't go to school. The only thing she had was to maul over the fact that her parents lied to her about their past, and wonder what else that they were lying about.Finding out that she was from a clan of samurai was a shock, but not as shocking as finding out that her father had a whole family out there. She thought that her parents were orphaned from the war, coming to Konoha for sanctuary, but that was only half true. They chose Konoha to get away from his family, the family who would have rathered killed their own blood than have a tainted child become a member.Sasuke's family is a clan. She wondered what they did to those who weren't full Uchiha's. Did they kill them too?She knew that even though the clan had to abide by the laws of the village, technically their members were the clans property. Who's to say that they haven't already killed dozens of their offspring?She wondered if there were any books on the information, but what would that matter since she couldn't read.She could ask Sasuke, but she doubted that he knew much about it. Plus she didn't want to subject him to resenting his clan if that was something actually practiced. And asking anyone else would open her up to unnecessary questioning. Considering the lengths that her father took to keep his lineage a secret, she doubted that someone else finding out would be a good thing.That brought her back to the fact that she was from a samurai clan. It was ironic considering her borderline obsessive interest in the samurai culture. She thought that her interest came from the many books she read and the conversations she had with Emiko at the teahouse. It should have been a mere coincidence.Then she thought back to how she discovered some of those books, about how they were hidden away or mislabeled. She thought about the look of horror her mother had when she first discovered her first book on samurai. She remembered the contrite look on her father's face when she would tell him about the things that she read about in the book. She had no way of knowing how much she was already influenced.And what about her?What would this new development mean for her? Would she have to be taken away to live at the clan compound? Would they have to pack up their stuff and run? Despite her father's reassurance that she was safe, she couldn't believe him. After all his unwillingness to tell her anything about his past before spoke volumes to how much he feared the clans interference in his life.Her father tried to comfort her, tried to explain, but he could never answer the questions that she needed. And when he did, they were cryptic and indirect. In other words frustrating. It was as if he himself couldn't tell her what was going on, and instead relied on his stories to explain everything.She had a inkling that her father was relieved that she was blind so that she couldn't research the clan herself.She just felt confused and empty, like her life was no longer her own. When she didn't feel empty, she felt angry. Emotions were something that she thought she had a handle on, but the last few weeks proved her wrong. That anger continued to build, and instead she became angry at herself–of how useless she felt. That was why she decided that she couldn't continue pitying herself.She couldn't rely on her father's protection. She didn't want to wait around until something happened.Sure she didn't know what to expect with her newfound heritage, and being temporarily blind was unfortunate. However, it didn't mean that she had to let that define her.She was Sakura before anything else.She had once read a book about a blind samurai. One with the temperament of water, but the passion of fire. One who had the heart of a monk, but was born to be a warrior. In fact, it was one of her favorite books.Zatoichi was blinded at a young age but didn't let that stop him. He learned to master his senses before he learned to master the sword. And although Sakura had hope that she would regain her vision, it was no telling when that would be. She felt that it was better to prepare for the worst and hope for the best, so she set off to reteach herself.She took to training all day in her backyard to regain a semblance of the skills she had before. And it started with relearning Tai Chi.Even though she couldn't see, she could still remember. She went through the moves, her body however took a little longer to cooperate. Not only was she still recovering from the hospital, the lack of vision caused her to often get off balance. It was frustrating, but she refused to give up.When she felt too riled up to continue, she would meditate. She was able to explore her senses, feeling the grass beneath her feet, listening for the slight changes of the wind. It was relaxing for her.Sometimes her father would join her, but there was only so much that he could teach."Rise your foot higher." He would remind her."Don't be scared to fall. I'll catch you if you do." He encouraged her.She slowly starts to use the nature around her to "see".The first few days were hard, but it got better and Sakura's mood improved.Then they received a letter from the school.Of course, Sakura couldn't read it so she had to rely on her mother for telling her the contents. She was summoned to stand in front of the school council in order to discuss the events of that day and also face the consequences.And she cried that day, silently, although no one could really tell since the bandages soaked up the tears.She could only imagine the punishment she would go through for hurting them. She knew that it was her word against theirs and the council would find it easier to believe the story of five children verses hers. The best she could hope for was to be suspended and it to be a permanent black mark on her transcript. The worst was… expulsion and maybe even criminal discipline.She saw her future go up in flames. She never thought much about the future, but she knew that she wanted to work hard and become a shinobi. She wanted to become a teammate to Naruto and Sasuke. But in a span of a day it seemed as though that dream would never be realized.For the first time in a long time, she felt alone."Okay, I'm going to need you to open your eyes for me." She tried as much as she could, but it was hard for her to cooperate.It seemed that some days her vision improved some that sometimes she could see blobs of light, however other times it was utter darkness. The only thing consistent was the pain whenever she tried to open her eyes. The pain was manageable most of the time. Other unfortunate days, the pain would cause her to feel nauseous and exhausted, like today."So far we can't find anything specifically wrong." The doctor said once she was done with check ups."With all the test that she's gone through, I find it hard to believe that you don't have a clue as to what's going on." Her mother said."Unfortunately, I am no specialist when it comes to vision problems, nor do we have anyone on our staff specializing in optics. The only people who are, are clan medics–those who specifically trained in dojutsu and by law can't operate on anyone outside of the clan." She reasoned."What are we supposed to do? Just keep bringing her in for tests that come out to be inconclusive.""That's all you can do at the moment. With some past cases of sudden blindness, some people have recovered either from tests treatments or from time."Sakura lingered on the fact that she said "only a few". That meant that others became permanently blind."There may also be another option." The doctor suddenly said. Sakura looked in her direction expectantly."This may be a psychological reaction rather than a physiological one." She paused. "In some extreme PTSD cases, blindness or vision loss can be a primary or secondary side effect of stress. What your daughter had gone through was horrendous and certainly scarring. Perhaps seeking help from a psych department might help, I strongly recommend it. We can even write up an eval and a recommendation for her.""There's nothing wrong with my head", Sakura thought. She could imagine the conflicting look on her mother's face. She knew that her mother also believed that there was something physically wrong with her."Thank you, I will look into it." Her mother reluctantly said.They left the doctor and headed home, in a slower pace than usual. While the news from the doctors was disheartening, Sakura's mind was filled with other worries, ones dealing with the letter she received from the academy."What's on your mind?" Her mother asked her."Nothing." She didn't want to bother her mother unnecessarily, but her mother thought differently."I know a lot is going on at the moment, and you might feel like you're alone. But I want to tell you that you're not. Your father and I care about you very much. I don't want you to think that you are any kind of burden. You can tell me anything." So Sakura conceded and told her about her worries."I'm worried that I won't be able to return back to school. It's been days since what happened and they only decided to talk to me now. That must mean that they already came up with their conclusion, and I will be kicked out of school." Her mother was quiet for a long time."That's a silly thing to worry about. I believe that they won't make any rash decisions like that. You are brilliant, smart, and kind. The Sakura that I know wouldn't attack anyone needlessly, I believe that you were defending yourself. There's no reason why they won't see that too."Naruto wasn't blind to the rumors going around about Sakura. Within the week of the fight, the group of kids who terrorized her were back and spreading rumors. They said that she was crazy and had to be hospitalized.Of course Naruto was mad. He was actually beyond mad, he was livid. They had the nerve to hurt his best friend then return to school and trash her name. But he knew that if he did anything to them in retaliation, Sakura would be disappointed.He knew that she wanted to come back to school.He argued against the rumors and defended her. But he realized that it wasn't doing anything. He learned a long time ago that once people made up their mind about something they no longer listened. So that's why he took matters into his own hand. He decided to bring his dilemma to the Hokage.He couldn't let her be blamed for something that wasn't her fault.Lately since meeting Sakura, and begrudgingly Sasuke, he spent less time with the Hokage. And although he saw less of him, the hokage was happy that Naruto found friends.He remembered when he first met Sakura, he would constantly talk about what they did that day or what Sakura taught him to the Hokage. It seemed like that was a long time ago, when in fact it was just last year. Sometimes he missed those times, but he found himself happier than he was before when all he had was the Hokage.Meeting Sakura was the best thing that had ever happened to him. The world seemed brighter. He had a home, she gave him a home. She defended him against people, against those who made fun of him and those who wanted to hurt him. She encouraged him. Even when he told her his dream of becoming hokage, something that he didn't even tell the current hokage, she told him that she believed in him.She made him feel as though he could do anything. Although people still treated him poorly, it didn't matter as long as he had her.He couldn't imagine life without her.During his inner reflection he realized that he stood outside of the Hokage building, a place that he hadn't visited in a while. But as a kid this place became a safe haven for him, especially when he was at the orphanage.The people at the hokage office were nicer than the villagers. Although there were occasional mean people hired like the lady who refused to let him see the Hokage and treated him like trash. But no sooner afterwards was she replaced.When he walked through the door he was met with the receptionist, she was actually a lady who he liked because she treated him like a normal child. She didn't treat him with disdain, fear, or like he was fragile glass."Hello, Naruto-san. It's been a while. Are you here to see the Hokage?" She said, and he nodded towards her."Can I speak to him?" He asked."Fortunately, he just got out of a meeting so I will let him know that you are here and then you can go and see him."She turned towards the communication machine on her desk. After pressing a few buttons she turned back towards him. "He's ready for you", and she buzzed the door open and he went through.The hokage's office looked exactly like he remembered. The curtains were drawn back bathing the room in warm light while displaying the amazing view of the village. The couch near the door looked weathered. The desk was filled with papers.Sitting in the chair at the desk was the hokage. His normal hat discarded as he sent Naruto a warm smile making his wrinkled face appear younger."Ah, Naruto what can I do for you?" He folded his hands under his chin. Naruto walked into the room right in front of the desk."I need help." He said and that seemed to get his attention."What's wrong? Are you okay?" The hokage questioned, his intense and searching stare caused him to fidget. But once remembering his problem, he straightened up."Not me, Sakura-chan. She's in trouble. She's being blamed for something that isn't her fault and I think that she might get kick out of school." Naruto proceeded to tell him what happened."I think I heard something about a fight at the academy where a few children were hurt. I wasn't aware that it was your Sakura that was involved." He frowned."But it's not like she wanted to, she was forced. She had to defend herself." Naruto told him hoping that he believed him.The hokage hummed."Things like this are difficult for me because I don't normally get involved in academy matters. It will seem as though I'm showing favoritism by showing interest in this. If Sakura truly is innocent, then I don't see why she should be worried."Naruto dropped his head, willing the tears of helplessness away. After a while he looked back up right into the hokages eyes."Jii-chan, I never really ask you for anything. But this… Sakura-chan is my very first friend. She's special to me, and I hate that I can't do anything for her. So please jii-chan for me." Naruto tears prickled the corner of his eyes.The hokage was shocked. This was the first time that Naruto ever truly asked for his assistance. Sure he asked to be treated to ramen or for help with a prank or even to wear his hokage hat. But he never ask for something so genuinely.So he thought over what Naruto wanted him to do. After a while the hokage gave a gently smile to Naruto."I'll see what I can do."Ever since meeting both Sakura and Naruto, Sasuke felt as though he had really grown.He grew more in skill. Sakura's notes and lessons on kunai training really was a huge help. He also stopped comparing himself to his brother, although sometimes it was hard not to. And more importantly, he grew more independent. He started seeing himself as Sasuke and not as an Uchiha.The Uchiha clan was a large part of the village, and they were powerful. It's why they proudly displayed their crest on their clothes. But sometimes he wondered if powered made them conceited, willing to pick on those weaker than themselves.He grew up thinking that asserting your power over people was normal. He'd seen his cousins bully fellow children, especially civilian children. He'd seen the same thing with the police force, and he saw nothing wrong with it. Ultimately, that was why Sasuke ended up befriending a group of bullies in school. It was something he thought was a regular occurrence. As an Uchiha he had to let everyone know that he was better.But now he thought about how wrong that type of thinking was.It lead Sasuke to feel restless, angry, and irritated.He was restless because he wondered what else he was taught right to do that was wrong. He was angry because his father forbid him from spending time after school at Sakura's house. He was irritated because his father has been pushing him to train harder. He monopolized his time that he's been spending less and less time with Sakura and Naruto.This particular day his father had took a special interest in teaching him the fireball technique.Any other given time Sasuke would be very happy from the unwavering attention and time that he was spending with his father. But his father was the true definition of an Uchiha– unmovable, discouraging, and a perfectionist.He never failed to point out his faults and how he paled in comparison to his brother while simultaneously blaming his lack of "skill" from his time of being with Sakura and Naruto.He blew another fireball, this one was a little bigger than the last, but not big enough to satisfy his father."That's pathetic." He sternly said. "Try again.""Can't we take a break?" Sasuke could feel the sweat dripping down his brow."We won't take a break until you get this skill down.""If I get it down can I visit Sakura?""You are spending too much time with your friends. I tolerated it when you continued your training, but now you are falling behind. Your brother could do this when he was much younger than you.""I'm not my brother. Stop comparing me to him." Sasuke thought to himself, and he blew another fireball this time at least a third bigger than the last. He coughed, smoking escaping from his lungs.His father gave it another appraising look. "Better." Sasuke looked relieved."Slightly less pathetic." He finished and Sasuke deflated.The old him would have taken his criticism too hard, but the present day him found himself irritated at his fathers commentary. He didn't know how his father thought that insulting him would make him improve. After all, did you insult a match to become a flame. No you monitored and cultivated it, else it would engulf everything in its path."How long did it take you to master it?""I was about your age." His father answered."How did you learn it?""I was taught from my own father.""And was it to the brink of exhaustion too?" It was an innocent enough question, but the vindictiveness of it caused Fugaku to take a step back."You dare mock my teachings. It seems that since befriend those two, not only has your skills decreased, but you've also been lacking in self control. Another habit, you picked up from them.""They have self-control." Sasuke defended."If that's so then what about the incident with the pink haired girl. She certainly didn't control herself when she fought those other students. If she can't have self control, why should I allow them around you?"Sasuke was shaking. Sakura was his friend. The only one who defended him without any ulterior motive or because she was related to him. To her, he was just Sasuke, not the heir spare, not an Uchiha, and not even someone with influence."You've met her, otou-san. You know that she's not the type to just hurt anyone. She was forced to, she was defending me. She knew that by me being an Uchiha, I couldn't properly approach them or defend myself especially with how everyone is scared of us.""She was only thinking about what was good for me!" He finished before blowing his last fireball.The flame was four times bigger than his last one. It was so large and intense that it singed a tree seven meters away.Without a word he walked away leaving his father speechless.The day arrived and Sakura gripped her mother's hand tight as the walked into the school building and to the office.Her father wanted to accompany them but couldn't due to prior business.It's been sixteen days since she last stepped into the school, two weeks since she had been released from the hospital. Already the environment seemed foreign. She wished that Naruto and Sasuke could be there with her, to tell her that it would be okay, but she knew that this was something that she had to do for herself.They were directed into one of the larger conference rooms, and from the sounds of it, it seemed as though they were the first ones to arrive. So they choose a seat in the middle.She was extremely nervous and anxious. She felt as though her heart would beat right out of her chest.People arrived, she wasn't sure who, but they were most likely the parents and children. Sakura could feel heated stares on her, but she ignored them.Finally the door opened a last time and from the hush of conversation, she knew that the conference would soon start."The hokage has taken time out of his very busy schedule to oversee this meeting today." Someone announced, a females voice. After a pause another voice spoke."I normally don't take interest in any of the academy's problems seeing as though the staff are so well structured. But this incident is troubling and I want to oversee it personally." The hokage said, Sakura recognizing his voice from a speech he did at the admissions assembly."We frown heavily upon fighting outside of sparring, especially the extremity of it. So we want to hear the events of that day from everyone involved." He paused and she heard a rustling of paper."Now Haruno-san, we know that you are still recovering, especially with your eyesight. But why don't you start and tell us what happened." He asked.Sakura didn't know where to begin. It had been awhile since she thought about everything that happened that day. And remembering it was bringing up bad memories.She took a minute to compose herself, then she started.Sakura told them of how the children used to be friends with Sasuke, but stopped once Sasuke befriended her and Naruto. The use of the boys name caused some to cringe, although she didn't see it.She told them how they attempted to gang up on them before and how she fought them in self-defense. She then told them about how that week she wasn't feeling well, but decided to go to school anyway because she didn't want to miss the lessons. She then told them of her headaches and how Naruto, Sasuke, and her would hangout after school to study or train, but recently because of her headaches, she was only able to participate to an extent.She told them how Naruto and Sasuke weren't there with her at the time of the assault. And she told them how as she was resting, she was suddenly surrounded by the students. She told them how they taunted and teased her before physically restraining her to taunt her some more. She told them the things they made her say and the things they wanted her to say. She told them how they threatened her by trying to cut her hair.And finally she told them of the assault, how she struggled to get away, but instead she was left with butcheredly cut hair and a bloodied face.Wanting to tell them the whole story, she told them how angry she felt, though that wasn't really the case because she felt nothing, as if she was another person watching what was happening. She told them that she just wanted them to leave her and her friends alone, and that was all that she could think of."That certainly must have been traumatic." The hokage said. She heard someone tsked in response. The voice sounded young enough to most likely be someone her age."We heard your story too." She guessed that he was talking to the other student. "However for the sake of everyone in the room. We need each of you all to repeat what happened."The ones she mainly paid attention to was Sato Takuma and Nakamura Ami because whatever their stories were, that was the story that the others in the group would follow.What would they say? Would they admit the truth? She highly doubted that.Or would they play themselves as the victims, which was most likely what they would do. However, Sakura wasn't expecting them to completely lie about the events of that day.Their story was completely different than hers. It painted her as a bully who forced Sasuke to be friends with her. It also painted them as the victims. They said how they just wanted to help Sasuke but she would threaten them every time they would come around, sometimes even physically. They told them that they just wanted to talk to Sakura that day to work out their differences, but she went crazy. So they had to restrain her.In the end, Sakura couldn't say that she was surprised at their blatant lies.And finally they told her how she cut her hair herself in a fit before she mercilessly beat them. And that she roughed up herself to make it seem as though she attacked them.It was quiet for a minute before the hokage spoke. "There are two differentiating sides to the incident. So now the concern is to figure out which one is the truth." Sakura bit her lip from calling out in defense."Now it brings us to the issue of who to trust and because of that we have several character witnesses both teachers and students to help with this matter."Character witnesses? Why would this incident have need for character witnesses?"At first we were against having them. But a few parents thought that it was imperative to help with this situation."The first was to speak was someone whose voice she immediately recognized. The no nonsense voice belonged to her teacher, and Sakura relaxed."Sakura is one of my brightest student." She said. "She doesn't have any disciplinary records before that incident. Although she is very withdrawn, she is very mild mannered and treats her fellow classmates and teachers with respect. Even in training, I've never witnessed her with any kind of anger." She gave her truthful assessment.Sakura was happy of the defense to her character, however that ended when her sensei was the only one who vouch for her character. Teachers and students she didn't recognize vouched the opposite and defended the other children.She recognized the voice of the next person from the mixed training that they would sometimes have during lessons. "I noticed that she would be aggressively angry during practices. Her and that Uzumaki student would constantly bother students threatening them and becoming verbally abusive." It irritated her that not only did that person lie, but he also used that time to put Naruto in a negative light.She could feel her mother stiffen at his lie.The next person was a voice she didn't recognize, but he also sided with Takuma, Ami and their friends. "I'm their sensei, I teach the advanced second years. They've always been great students, top of their classes. But I noticed lately that they seemed concerned moreso when I noticed Sasuke-san stopped training with them. They seemed even more uneasy every time Haruno-san was around for mixed practices. I think that they felt threatened by her." Sakura felt her knuckles turn white from how tightly she was clutching her hand."I believe that they had no ill will to hurt Haruno-san, they were never the type. Nor do I believe that the actively sought Haruno-san out."There were a few more testimonies that put Sakura in bad light. From store owners that Sakura, Naruto and Sasuke visited, to staff at the library. It was overwhelming, and she felt sick.Finally, her mother interjected into the testimonies by standing up. "If you were concerned with Sakura's behavior, why was there no prior indications of those concerns? Why are are these concerns coming out now when before Sakura had always been a great student?" She questioned and no one answered.Her mother continued. "She's my daughter, I know her better than anyone. She's not violent like you are making her out to be. In fact she's strictly against violence. The only reason she would every fight would be if she had no other option but too. What happened that day was the actions of a young girl who was trying to defend herself against bullies."Her voice became leveled. "And it seems as though these people who are witnesses have some kind of connection to the students family's. I for one know that Arakawa Mayu, one of the teachers, is closely related to the Sato family. And Sugihara Teruo runs the dango shop that is own by the Nakamura family. I feel as though their testimonies should be withdrawn due to conflict of interest." Her mother demanded.She heard a few people sputter and some murmuring proceeded."What are you talking about? That shouldn't have anything to do with them talking about their experiences." Someone said."It should when you claim that my daughter is the problem when in fact you are having people submit false testimonials about her character painting her a violent bully when in fact that is your own children."A huff of irritation could be heard, for the nasally voice of a woman spoke. "My son is not a bully. He's never bullied anyone in his entire life. Did your daughter tell you how she broke Takuma's nose a couple of weeks ago?"Her mother shot back with equal irritation. "Yes she did. She also told me the reason why, that they tried to fight them then when my daughter and her friends were walking home. I think that a broken nose was fair enough.""And you call yourself a mother. Is that how you teach your child to resolve issues?" The woman countered."Better than teaching my child that it's okay to bully someone to be their friend like your son tried with Sasuke-san. It's better than teaching them that being threatening to those who don't deserve it is acceptable. And it's better than them thinking that it's okay to attack someone without consequence. What she did was out of defense." Her mother's voice was cold."How was that out of defense?""I think being cornered by a group of children when she was already sick and exhausted would permit anyone to fight to defend themselves, most of all a lone child.""Yeah but even if that is true." Someone else answered, this time it was a males voice. "Self defense can only stretch so far. She beat one kid nearly unconscious. How can we not hold your daughter's actions accountable.""The same way that you are not holding the actions of the other children accountable." Her voice was harsh."I think that we are getting off topic. We are merely here to go over the events of that day from all those who were involved." The hokage's voice broke through."I apologize Hokage-sama." Her mother said. "But it seems to me as though they are defaming her character. Sakura is a loving person, not at all the person that she is made out to be. The events of that day scarred her, not only physically but mentally as well. And I find myself hardpressed to believe that she in anyway instigated what happened."It was quiet for a while before the hokage spoke once again."I know that the day was traumatizing for all that was involved. And what Haruno Mebuki said has truth in it. I'm not sure the legitimacy of some of the testimonies submitted today, so we will have to review and possibly retract some of them."He paused again. "We will discuss the incident amongst ourselves, then we will decide what course of action to take. Till then you are dismissed."Kizashi was a father and a businessman, but before that he was a fighter. He grew up learning that some things were easier to handle with your fists. But as a businessman, he learned just the opposite. He would rather handle things with words than with violence. However, sometimes his words were just a brutal as fighting, especially when it came to those who threatened his family.That's how he found himself outside of one of his business partners at his house, Sato Yamata.Yamata was one of the many suppliers in Konoha's weapons manufacturers. Konoha had four primary weapon providers and he was the third largest. In other words, he held a lot of sway. His money swept many things under the rug. That was to be expected from a weasel such as he.Unfortunately, Sato Yamata also was the father of Sato Takuma, one of the children who not only harmed his daughter, but who also had the gull to defame her character.He entered without even knocking, choosing to make himself comfortable in the house while he waited for his target.Not soon later he heard the door open, a short stocky and balding man entered, his back towards the living room so he couldn't see his visitor. Finally he turned around and paused when he saw Kizashi lounging on his couch.Concerned flashed in the man's gaze before he covered it up and offered a welcoming smile. "Kizashi, to what do I owe this pleasure." He addressed the man like old friends.Kizashi wasn't impressed."You know what this is about?" He casually said. "It seems as though your son is a conniving little twit. Just like his father.""What do you mean?" That man looked stunned."Your son hurt someone very precious to me and I bet you helped him cover it up by convincing other people that she's a trouble child.""I don't… What are you talking about?" He stuttered."Haruno Sakura." He returned, his voice colder. "You know the girl who your son and his friends ganged up on and sent to the hospital.""I didn't know she was your daughter." He inched back towards the door."Like hell you did. You were just hoping that I was out of the village, so that I wouldn't track you down. You probably planned a business trip to avoid my return, like the coward you are.""What could I do?" The man tried to reason. "They already took his statement, along with his friends. There's five children's testament against your daughter, all saying that she's a mon…" Kizashi eyes flashed before he lashed out, grabbing the man by the throat."Say it, I dare you. If you think that she's a monster then you're going to have to find a new word for what I am."He let the man's jaw go after a while, then he continued. "I find it more pathetic that you will defend the actions of your son, knowing what kind of person he is. You told me so not so long ago, how worried you were about him. You told me about how you were worried of what type of person that your son will turn into when you found out that he was torturing animals. And yet you want to point fingers at my daughter." Kizashi was beyond livid.At this point the man was shaking, his scared eyes never leaving Kizashi's because he was terrified that if he blinked, it would all be over."You have one chance to make this right." He finally said. "Don't make me regret giving you this opportunity." And with that Kizashi left just as quickly as he arrived.Sakura wasn't sure how long it would normally take for a decision about the incident would take. Considering it took close to two weeks for the issue to even be brought up, she assumed that she had to wait at least a week.However, two days later after the meeting, Sakura found herself called back at the academy. She was nervous. What could the quick decision mean?However, Sakura noticed this time that they actually was led to a smaller room. By the time the arrived at the room, people were already there from what she could hear. Mutterings stopped once they entered."It seems as though we reached our decision quicker than we thought. We have a new testament entered that sided with your story Haruno-san.""Why don't you tell us again what you said?" The hokage ordered, and a voice that she never thought she would hear defending her spoke."She wasn't the one to attack us." It was Takuma's voice. "She was just defending herself. We got carried away, and we didn't mean to hurt her, only scare her." He told them what really happened that day, even the instance when he cut both her hair and her face."I've dishonored myself, my family and the school with my actions. I'm sorry, and I'm prepared to face the consequences." He finally said.She was shocked that he readily admitted what he did. She was even more shocked from the genuine sounding apology. She didn't know what to say. However, someone else spoke."Because of this new information, we believe that punishing you Haruno-san is unnecessary as you were simply defending yourself, and although it was certainly excessive." Sakura flinched. "It was well deserved." They finished."As for you Sato-san, you will be suspended for the remainder of the school year. If not for your forwardness at telling us the truth, you would have been dismissed from the program completely. I hope that you will reflect on your actions."It was too warm.A cloaked figure walked on a dirt road observing the scenery while shooting glares at their surroundings. They shot glares at the singing birds, the shining sun, and even the falling leaves. Everything was too gentle, too harmonious, too deceptive. They disliked it.They had been traveling for the passed few days, with little to no rest–not that they needed it. But the longer they traveled, the warmer and more "picturesque" it got. It looked like something out of a child's imagination with all the bright colors and friendly looking animals."To think that they chose this place to settle." They said out loud, their voice high and irritated. "It's almost as if they chose the furthest place from home."By the time they let out their fiftieth huff of irritation, they arrived at a large gate. "Konoha" was displayed brightly colored in red and large."At least I know I'm in the right place." They sarcastically thought.They made their way passed the gate, and was stopped by a few shinobi stationed at the entrance."Great. What do these useless lumps of flesh want?" They thought.They removed their hood letting their long black hair tumble out of of it, revealing the form of a woman. She then flashed them a radiant smile, her grey eyes lighting up."Name and reason for visiting." One guy said flustered."Haruno Maeko and", her eyes twinkled with mirth. "I'm just visiting some family."Author's Note: Another long freaking chapter later, seriously guys this was 30 pages long. But some pieces are falling into place!Unfortunately, there was not much action in this chapter, but there was a lot of character and plot development. I hope you liked it! The crazy part is that there was suppose to be so much more covered in this chapter, but I didn't want to overwhelm you with a huge chunk of information. I'm slowly learning that moderation is here's to another chapter with blind Sakura, angsty/protective Sasuke, and protective/loveable Naruto. There was no Itachi or Shisui in this chapter, but they'll be there next chapter.So tell me your thoughts! How do you like the development so far, especially regarding the new information about the Kaguya clan. Now you get an idea of where I'm going with Kizashi's (and Sakura's) background.Denka: used for non-sovereign royalty, similar to "Highness"