Ch. 1

The year was 1877, and it had been a few years since Samurai were ordered to abandon their

precious katanas and way of life for the modernization of Japan. Haruno Sakura watched as her Father's pride was shattered. He had once been the heart of their small village-the Lord of Shikoto village. He had been responsible for ordering the clans into battle and was seen as a hero of their village. Now he and all of the samurai had slowly adapted to the changes in Japan. They took to modern work, becoming merchants, teachers or joined the fast-growing police force. When her mother had finally packed away his beautiful golden bronze armor, his katanas and tanto, although still lord of their village, he became a teacher at the boys school in the center of the village.

One day, after Sakura had brought her father a bento for lunch, she decided to go for a short walk. She sighed remembering her father's conversation with her.

—

She had waited outside the small school building listening for the class to be dismissed for a lunch break. She longed to join the men in class. She had always been extremely curious, and wanted to learn everything she possibly could. Her mother was always scolding her for always having her nose in a book instead of learning how to become a good wife-cooking and cleaning and sewing. She hated it all. The class was dismissed for lunch and Sakura bowed her head as the men left the classroom before entering it and finding her father.

"Father, here is your lunch" she smiled handing it over to him.

"Ah, thank you my little cherry blossom!" her father smiled warmly at her. "Sakura, I have some very important news to discuss with you and your mother when I get home tonight."

"What is it, father?" She asked looking up at his beaming face.

"Uh, uh, uh…I will tell you tonight with your mother. I think you will be really excited!" he said through a mouthful of rice.

"Nn, see you tonight Otou-san." She said sliding open the door and stepping out.

"See you tonight, Sakura." She heard as she closed the door behind her.

— — — — — — — — — —

Sakura had a pretty good idea what the "exciting" news would be and she dreaded it. Her friend Kazumi had gotten the news recently. Her father had finally found someone suitable for an arranged marriage for her. Maybe it was due to all of the books she had read, but she liked to think she would marry someone she loved. What if her husband would be fat, old and wrinkly? What if he was unpleasant and cruel to her?

She decided to keep walking past the village and into the field to find herbs she could use later. Her mentor, Kaede, had been teaching her all about herbs and healing. She had told Sakura's parents that she had a gift when it came to healing and was the best apprentice she has ever had. Sakura loved being able to constantly learn new things, and was a very fast learner.

"Sakura-chan!" She looked up to see Kazumi waving at her, a handful of freshly picked lilies in her other hand. Her long waist-length brown hair swayed in the wind as she ran towards her.

"Hello Kazumi-chan!" Sakura smiled. It had been a while since she saw her friend.

"Guess what? I am getting married in three days!" Kazumi shouted as excitable as always. "Can you believe it?"

"Wow! So what is he like?" Sakura asked.

"Actually, I haven't been able to meet him yet…" Kazumi's hazel eyes were downcast. "But father says that he is a good man and handsome!"

"I see" Sakura said. "I hope it all works out for you and you will be very happy!"

Kazumi's face suddenly saddened. "Sakura-chan, I am leaving the village tomorrow morning. My future husband is the head of the police force in the next town over."

Sakura felt her heart drop. "Oh, Kazumi-chan!" Sakura dropped the herbs she had gathered and grabbed her friend in a hug. "I will miss you so much!" Kazumi started to cry.

"Sakura-chan, promise that we will be able to see each other again!" Sakura's face scrunched up into a painful smile as tears gathered in her eyes. "Of course, Kazumi-chan! I will come visit you myself if I have to, and we can write letters."

The girls finally released each other. "I need to get back to my parents now" Kazumi said. "But please take care, Sakura-chan. I know you will do great things with your healing abilities and I know there is so much more for you than just settling down with a husband like me. I think you will go far in life." Kazumi squeezed Sakura's hand in emphasis before turning to leave.

"Thank you, Kazumi-chan, please write to me!" Sakura waved until her friend was out of sight.

— — — — — — —

Already in a foul mood, Sakura gathered the rest of her herbs and headed back to her family home reluctantly. She hesitated at the front door, not ready to face her upcoming fate yet. She sighed deeply and slid open the door, removed her shoes, announced she was home and headed into the family room. She was surprised to see old Kaede next to a beautiful woman she had never seen before sitting at their family table. She had blonde hair, eyes the color of honey, and a diamond on her forehead. Who was this woman? She did not appear to be from around here. Her parents sat across from them.

"Sakura-chan, come have a seat" her mother patted the seat next to her. Sakura did as she was told and sat next to her mother, folding her legs up underneath her kimono. Her mother poured her a cup of tea.

Kaede smiled her wrinkly smile across the table at her. "Sakura-chan, this is Tsunade-san" Kaede explained. "She is my teacher." Sakura bowed her head politely at the stranger who eyed her curiously. "After talking with your parents, I sent a letter of recommendation about you to her. I think you truly have a healing touch, and you need to be trained by someone with a higher level of skill. You have already easily surpassed me, and with your thirst for knowledge, and your uncanny ability to learn, I think you should study under Tsunade-sensei."

Sakura was amazed and excited. She turned to look at her father and mother who were both smiling at her with pride on their faces.

"Sakura, your mother and I would like to see you become an apprentice of Tsunade-sans. This will require you to leave our village and move to the village of Konoha to study with her. It is about a weeks travel to the village of Konoha. Would you like to do this?"

"Otou-san, Oka-san," she wanted to scream YES, but decided that would be improper. She quickly composed herself and thought out her answer. "I will happily and gratefully accept this position. I hope to bring the Haruno name honor as father has." She bowed deeply. "Thank you, Kaede-sensei, for this great opportunity." She turned to Tsunade. "Tsunade-sensei, I am looking forward to working with you."

Tsunade bowed her head in acknowledgement. "Pack your things because we leave tomorrow at dawn."

— — — — — — — — — —

A/N: Sorry for the slow start, I promise it will get better! I just wanted to establish Sakura's background because I think it is really important for her character development. Please ignore if my Japanese history is a little off, I am not an expert of Samurai history and culture. For a little bit of background on Samurai history, please see this link.

wiki/Samurai

*Katana= long sword

*Tanto= short sword

Thank you for reading!