A/N: Hey guys! So if you read my SasuHina AU story Promises then you shouldn't be too surprised by this. A couple months ago I realized that Sakura won't have too much of a role in this story, so to make up for that, I decided on making a companion story to Promises, which turned into this. The story focuses on the major stages of Sakura's life growing up and also gives some background information on the war and other characters (like Naruto and Tsunade) that I couldn't fit into the main story. I hope you guys enjoy this mini story (it will only have seven chapters, and I drew inspiration from last year's Sakura week themes). Please review, favorite, and follow!
Before the war between the Uchiha and the Senju broke out, the Land of Fire was enjoying a brief era of peace under Otsutsuki Hagaromo. The hegemon had managed to unite most of the domains within the warring and scarred country, his top men being Uchiha Madara and Senju Hashirama.
In a small domain to the east, a castle town covered in lush fields of green and beautiful flowers was the capital of the Haruno domain. The current head was a strange and flamboyant man named Haruno Kizashi, who had married a temperamental woman named Mebuki. The two were often seen bickering and were not the highest ranking of nobles, but nonetheless their domain prospered under Kizashi, Mebuki, and their helpful advisors.
On a spring day, when the cherry blossoms were beginning to bud, a tiny baby girl was brought into the world. Her hair was a beautiful soft pink and revealed sea foam green eyes; her skin was beautiful porcelain, her face covered in barely visible freckles that would darken over time. The proud parents had named her Sakura, after the beautiful flowers that were covering their lands. Haruno Sakura was the domain's new Haruki, their springtime princess.
The only child of the ruling daimyo, the young Sakura was rather spoiled growing up and enjoyed all the freedom in the world. Her mother was the first person to pick up on the peculiar habit the rosette young girl had.
Beginning when she was four years old, Sakura would often go to the stables to see the horses. She would also go to see the stable boys, who often times were eight years her senior. Their age didn't matter though; nothing seemed to intimidate the pink haired lady-to-be. If one of the boys had done something to upset her, Sakura would waste no time in pummeling them bloody and into submission.
When this was brought to the attention of her father, Kizashi would simply laugh and make a joke. Many ladies-in-waiting had quit because they could not handle Sakura and her desire to fight, nor could they begin to understand it. They would usually part with words of warning, stating that Sakura would never become a proper lady and would never find a husband, therefore disgracing her family and ancestors.
One day, while the four year old girl took a stroll with her mother, she asked an important question.
"Mama, why am I a monster?" Wide sea foam eyes looked up innocently, pink lashes fanning the pale skin beneath them.
"Who taught you such a word, Haruki?" her mother asked, stopping her pace and crouching down so that she could be eye level with her daughter. Mebuki placed a hand on her smooth cheek, her thumb swiping across Sakura's freckles.
Sakura didn't really know what the word meant; all she knew was that when people said that particular word, they were usually referencing her. The Haruno heiress simply stood there and sucked her thumb, waiting for her mother to answer her question.
Sighing, Mebuki looked down before explaining. "You're not a monster, Haruki. You're simply different, and many of these people can't understand nor handle it. You're special, little princess." She poked Sakura's tiny nose; the Haruno matriarch was awarded with the beautiful sound of her child's giggles.
"Is it because I can beat up the boys?"
Mebuki shouldn't have been surprised, truthfully. Sakura had always been a shrewd and observant child. It was no wonder then that Sakura had noticed her habit of fighting was one unique only to her.
"My sweet little Haruki. Because you are wise beyond your young years, I won't lie to you. Yes, it is because you beat up the boys." Sakura's eyes went downcast, but with a furrowed brow and a fierce determination gleaming in her eyes, the young girl looked back into her mother's eyes. "However, that doesn't make you a monster. In fact I admire that you are able to take on boys who are more than half your age. It makes me proud, my fierce little warrior."
Mebuki ruffled her daughter's beautiful pink hair before placing a kiss on her forehead. She noticed the pink tinge to Sakura's cheeks.
"Mama!" Sakura cried, begging for her mother's attention. Mebuki complied, offering her only child a warm smile.
Making fists with both hands and holding them at waist level, Sakura was looking up with a fierce look causing her brow to furl. A confident smirk was in place as Sakura declared, "I'm going to be a great warrior one day!"
"I'm going to show them that I'm not a monster! That I'm a little girl and that I'm gonna be a better warrior than all of them!" she continued to yell. Sakura ran towards the stables, meaning she was on the prowl for her next victim.
Mebuki let out a carefree laugh, watching her daughter—a tiny terror—head towards the stables in order to prove her strength.
"My fierce little Haruki. Hopefully this peace will last and you won't need to prove yourself in combat. Hopefully you'll be able to enjoy a peaceful life, free of war and violence and suffering. You are too precious to know such evils."
Mebuki wished this with all her heart, though it was never to be. War was imminent, and the Haruki of the Haruno family would leave her mark on the male-dominated world of war.
Four year old Haruno Sakura, with short pink hair waving wildly in the wind, would one day inspire fear in her enemies as the Blossom That Fights.