Children of Fire

by Foxy Fennec

Note: Yay, I got this out! Please read it and thank you for clicking on the link! This is just some musing…er…idea…I came up with on the bus to class. Thanks!

Chapter 1 - The Children

Cursing mentally, Sakura squashed the stubborn the cockroach with her thumb. Her face twisted with disgust as she felt the juicy guts gush through its exoskeleton. She quickly wiped her hand on her once-white tunic.

"Che…we'll be having rats next," she muttered scornfully under her breath. Of course, if rats and cockroaches were the only thing she had to worry about, life would be amazingly easier, but that didn't stop her from squashing every insect and rat she found. Her insecticidal and 'raticidal' behavior was no means extraneous—killing both made sure the food she so painfully hunted and scavenged were protected from being ruined or stolen. Plus, rats made good bait for hunting or back up food.

Taking a cautious glance around, she grabbed the carcass of a rather large rabbit besides her and flung it over her shoulder. Six months ago, Haruno Sakura would not be squashing cockroaches, killing rats and hunting rabbits. She wouldn't be crawling through the forest, soiling her clothes with dirt and mud, scavenging for fruits, berries or hunting wild game. She would not have thought that finding a nest of eggs would make her the happy for weeks, and rice would not have been a luxury.

Six months ago, she would not walk as if the next step would be her death. She did not breathe like her next breath would be her last, and she did not eat as if she might not ever eat again. No movement went unnoticed by her, and in every shadow and crevice she suspected an enemy for which she was already ready to kill. Desperation and sorrow were a better teacher than Kakashi-sensei and Tsunade-sama ever had been, turning her from a moderately skilled chuunin to a dangerous, grim and overly vigilant kunoichi.

Sakura slipped through the forest silently, her eyes on every suspicious shadow, form and corner, imagining the possible way she could defend herself if there was an enemy hiding in those places. Every muscle in her was tensed, ready to react with a powerful, Tsunade-taught punch or ready to fling homemade senbon dabbed in poison. Her mind unconsciously searched for escape routes, the fastest way back to the Tree, as she called her current 'home', and how she would set off the different traps she set up when she arrived to slow down her protector. Of course, six months ago, she would have thought such a vigilance bordered on paranoia, but this was not six months ago. She had things to protect even if she had to die 100 times over.

Her walk about to the Tree was uneventful, with only the casualty of a quail that sealed its death by suddenly fluttering out of a bush in front of her. With both rabbit and quail in hand, Sakura stopped in front of a rather large but nondescript tree. She took furtive glances around and walked right through the tree, the bark quivering just slightly as she passed through it.

Inside the hallowed tree, the air was cool and damp. Light came into the hideout from holes in the roof, letting several rays of sunlight in. Another Sakura was sitting near the entrance, and when Sakura came in, the copy nodded and poofed away. When Sakura's eyes fell on two small figures, they softened completely and her lips curled into a soft smile. She set down the dead animals on a table-like rock near at one of the room and took a seat by them.

Thank god, they're still sleeping, Sakura thought with a silent giggle. She tugged slightly at the dirty rag that acted as a blanket, revealing two sleeping little boys. They looked like they were barely toddlers and their dirty little faces had an innocence glow that made any hardship Sakura experienced melt away. Sakura leaned forward and stroke the cheeks of the boy on the left, tracing the all too familiar whiskers that marked his soft face. The child stirred slightly, slapping Sakura's finger away and turned stubbornly onto his side.

"Always the stubborn idiot, aren't you," she whispered, smiling broadly, gently ruffling his blond hair. She glanced at the other boy, his black hair sticking up all over the place, so uncharacteristically messy. He was sucking resolutely on his thumb like any other child.

This is how we all start out, isn't it?

Letting out a satisfied sigh, Sakura stood up and grabbed the rabbit and a kunai, and proceeded to skinning the rodent. The first time she had done it, it was disaster, but now she could do it like she was skinning a carrot. She was very proud of herself as this new skill had opened up more possibilities of food she could cook.

With the skinning done, Sakura placed the naked rabbit and its pelt (which she would later use for making clothes or a blanket or something) on to the rock, and was reaching for the quail when she heard a nearly inaudible snap. She immediately stood up, unconsciously wiping her hand on her tunic. Someone had set off on of her alarms…someone was outside. Grabbing her pouch of senbons, left over smoke bombs, sleep bombs, kunai and other weapons she had on hand, and went to the entrance of the hideout. She had cast a genjutsu on the entire area to make it look like a regular tree, and from the holes that the sunlight came through, she could see outside. Peering through one of these holes, Sakura took a careful survey of the area, hoping it was just an animal. Hoping, however, wasn't going to cut it. She had to make sure it was just an animal, and not an enemy lying in wait to ambush her.

Pursing her lips, Sakura glanced at the two sleeping children, then outside, making up her mind to investigate. She took out a kunai, and slipped out a hole at the back of the hide out. Her muscles tensed again when she was outside, ready to make the first move and the first kill. Carefully, she made her way to the front of the tree. She could feel it—someone was here and probably still here. It wasn't an animal.

Narrowing her eyes, Sakura focused her mind and senses so she could find the enemy. The next moment, however, was a blur. She had acted without thinking, on pure, violent instinct. Something jumped in front of her and she immediately released a smoke bomb and sent a three poisoned senbon into the cloud. A few seconds later, something flew out of the cloud of smoke, heading straight for her. All she saw as blur, but that was enough. Pinpointing her chakra into her fist, she swung swiftly at her assailant. It dodged and Sakura felt a hand grabbing her arm. Instantly, she swung another chakra infused fist and sent her attacker flying back several feet. She fished out more senbons and was about to throw it when her attacker shouted, "Sakura-san! Stop, it's me, Sai!"

Sakura stopped immediately and squinted her eyes to see the self proclaimed Sai through the dust and cloud. Staggering to his feet, her attacker, looking very much like Sai but dressed in very differently, said, "That's…still quite the punch...I could have died, Sakura-san."

Dumbfounded momentarily, Sakura muttered a "sorry" as she watched in amazement. She had not seen any of her peers or teammates the last six months. She had no idea if they were still alive or if they had been killed by Uchiha Madara. When she saw Sai wiping away the blood from his lips, Sakura immediately came back to her senses. She shook her head, and narrowed her eyes suspiciously at him. She could not trust that it was him.

"If you're Sai," she said in a menacing growl, "Then—"

"The first time we fought with Orochimaru," Sai said quickly, already knowing what was expected of him, "I let you fall."

Sakura's eyes twitched slightly with annoyance. She had been unconscious so she didn't remember it, but Yamato had told her afterward. It was definitely something only Sai or Yamato would know. However, she needed more confirmation. She hand barely opened her mouth then Sai, with an annoying smile and flat voice said, "You're ugly."

"Alright alright," she muttered, irritated, "You're definitely Sai, unless a mind reader got you…"

"That would be unfortunate," said Sai, relieved that he was now trusted. He started walking towards her, "I'm so relieved to find you alive."

"You too," said Sakura with a sad frown. She slipped her senbons back into its bag, "Have you heard from any other?"

"Yes," said Sai, "I made contact with Aburame Shino—he was the one who led me here. Apparently, you've been on a insect murdering rampage."

Sakura rolled her eyes at this, but she was smiling broadly as her heart did a back flip. So there were some of her peers still alive! Thank the heavens.

"Sakura-san," said Sai, his face turning serious, "None of us knew what happened that day six months ago, however, things have gotten worse. Madara is exercising his power like a mad man, killing off anyone who even looks at him wrong."

"Seems kind of out of character for him, isn't it?" said Sakura, frowning, "What have you been doing in the last six months, Sai?"

"Hiding out," he answered, "I've been wandering though, trying to find someone from the old days, someone I can trust."

"I see," said Sakura seriously, "Who did you find besides Shino?"

"Only you."

Sakura sighed, dejected.

"Sakura-san."

Sakura looked at him, "What?"

"You were with both Naruto and Sasuke that day," he said in a cautious, low voice, "It was the end of their fight…"

"Neither," she replied quickly as unexpected tears welled in her eyes, "Neither of them survived."

Sai blinked and said grimly, "I see."

"But they are not dead," said Sakura in a small voice, looking at the ground.

Sai's eyebrow crinkled in confusion, "What?"

Sakura turned suddenly, and motioned him to follow her. She led him into her tree hideout and to the two sleeping boys. She waited quietly for his reaction.

Sai's eyes widened with shock. He looked up at Sakura, then at the two children, then back at Sakura, finally sputtering, "B-but how?"

Sakura shrugged and said in a quiet voice, "I cried that day. A lot. For a second chance. Things happened…" Her eyes glazed as the memories played in her mind. "When I woke up, two little newborns lay in beside me."

"What kind of jutsu is this?" asked Sai, crouching down besides the two little boys. He touched the blond boy's whisker marks.

"I don't know if it's a jutsu…" muttered Sakura, "But…it's a second chance…with them, we still have hope against Madara."

Sai looked up, "You said they were newborns when you found them, right?" Sakura nodded.

"But they looked like they're toddlers, and it's only been six months!"

"Yeah, they're growing really fast," answered Sakura breathlessly, looking down at her hands nervously.

"Do they remember anything?"

Sakura shook her head, and said, with a sad smile, "They're just children."

Sai let out a silent sigh, still watching in amazement at the toddler Naruto and Sasuke in front of him, sleeping together as if they hadn't been fighting to the death just six months ago. As if the last four years or so never happened. The innocence in their youth was startling.

"What do you plan to do, Sakura-san?"

Sakura remained silent for several seconds. She reached over and gently stroke Sasuke's hair with a look of forlornness in eyes. Sighing, she answered, "I'm going to raise them. I'm going to raise them so they can be friends. So they wouldn't be sad and lonely, so they would love each other. I'm going to raise them…to defeat Madara...because that bastard will always be after them…"

Sai looked at her with a penetrating gaze, "Are you sure you don't know how this happened?"

Sakura glanced up at him with a glint of annoyance in her eyes, "Yes, I don't! Who've heard of a jutsu that turned dead people into infants!? And why would anyone do it anyways!? It definitely wasn't me!"

Sai noted her defensive outburst with interest, and watched carefully as she looked back down at her hands and bit her lips. Something told him she wasn't telling him everything. Sai reached into his pocket a produced a small braided bracelet and presented it to her.

Sakura looked at it, puzzled, not taking it and looked up at him.

"It's something I made so I can contact you or you can contact me. I've made quite a lot of them. Just infuse chakra into it and I'll feel it," he explained with a gentle smile.

"Wait, you're leaving?" asked Sakura, surprised. Wasn't it better for them to stick together at this point?

Sai nodded, saying, "I've actually got info on the whereabouts of Hatake Kakashi and-"

"Then we'll come with you!" exclaimed Sakura eagerly, "We should stick together! Besides, Kakashi-sensei should know about-"

"No," Sai interrupted firmly, "I'm not even sure if he's where I am heading, and it's dangerous for you to come with those two. Too risky. No, not yet, Sakura-san."

Sakura let out short breath and considered his words. It was probably true where Kakashi-sensei might be would be dangerous, but she yearned to see her old sensei, yearned to know that he was alive. She looked up at met Sai's steely gaze, sighed resignedly, nodded and accepted the bracelet.

"Alright," she said quiet as she slipped the bracelet on, "Careful, make sure to come back!"

Sai smiled. "You should get to a safer area," he told her as he stood up, "If I find our comrades, we'll group and figure something out. Also, we can protect them better until they are ready."

Sakura nodded, standing up. She gave Sai a slanted smile and said, "Let me heal you and get you something to eat before you go."

He smiled in response, the kind closing-eye type of smile that would have annoyed Sakura in other situations, "That'll be great."

Shortly after Sai had left, Naruto started to wake up, squirming violently and accidentally hitting Sasuke. The latter scrunched up his little face in annoyance and turned stubbornly away from Naruto and continued sleeping. Naruto opened his eyes, round bright blue pupils staring up at her green ones. He smiled broadly and giggled at the sight of her and pushed himself up.

"Sakoora-san!" he exclaimed happily, "Naru is hungry." He patted his stomach.

Perhaps it was due to their rapid growth, Naruto and Sasuke picked up speech really fast. For two years old boy, they were quite advanced. Of course, Sakura wasn't sure if they were two years old anymore considering how fast they grow. But, Naruto couldn't prounonce her name right for some reason.

Sakura smiled, "Good! I've just made food!"

Naruto got to his feet, wobbling slightly and using Sakura's shoulder for support, "Naru doesn't like yucky veggies."

"Well, you're in luck, Naru-chan," she said, pinching his nose gently, "I got rabbit and quail! Wake up Sasuke-chan and let's eat!" At first it had been amazingly strange to call Naruto Naru-chan, and Sasuke Sasuke-chan. The names rolled off her tongue awkwardly, especially with her memories of them. However, dealing with undeniably cute baby versions of him made it impossible for her not to coo and call them pet names. Once she caught herself babbling nonsense to an infant Sasuke while bathing him. That was disturbing too. Sasuke had been her crush, and to bathe him, to see his little wang, made her uncomfortable and blush wildly at first. Bathing Naruto was no better, but it was easier to be sweeter to him than to Sasuke, perhaps because the former never tried to kill her. Nonetheless, six months later, she had eased into the role of both onee-chan and kaa-san.

"Yeah!" Naruto exclaimed excitedly and pounced mercilessly onto his sleeping friend. Sasuke moaned out loud and tried to push off the blond with his eyes still stubbornly closed. "Sasuke, time to eat! Wake up lazy!"

Sakura laughed, watching them. When was the last time she saw older Naruto and Sasuke interact like this? She couldn't even remember. With times like these, she made a resolute promise to never let them hurt each other again, even if she had to take both their hits and die.

While she cut pieces of the rabbit meat into small bite size pieces, her mind went to that day six months ago. She had lied to Sai, of course, more out of instinct than from any desire to hide anything. She wasn't comfortable quite yet with sharing everything. Sakura knew exactly what happened that day and why and how her two best friends turned into infants. It was in part the kyuubi, in part her agonized pleading, and in part something out of this mundane world. Of course, there was quite the price to pay, but it was worth it for a second chance, a chance she was not going to let slip out of her hands. Previously she had been nothing, just burden on Naruto, an annoyance to Sasuke. It was going to be different this time. She wasn't going to let the same thing happened.

Of course, there was the problem of training. If she wanted them to be strong so they can protect themselves against Madara, she had to train them. However, she wasn't sure how she was going to be able to match Kakashi-sensei, Jiraiya-san and Orochimaru. She was told that they would slowly regain their memories, but she didn't know when that will happen and couldn't rest her hopes on that. She had to protect them and teach them to the best of her abilities. Perhaps, if she could find the others, they could help with their training.

"Sakura-san!" the pleading voice of Sasuke cut through her thoughts, "Get him off!" Sakura looked up at them to see Naruto pinching both of Sasuke cheeks and pulling at them, laughing while he did so. She burst out into laughter, which made Naruto very happy and continued doing what he was doing, much to the dismay of his friend.

Please leave a comment or critique on what you think! Thank you for reading! Yay!