"What do you remember? Do you remember anything at all?" Asked a red-headed little girl with a missing tooth, wearing the most expensive kimono you will ever see on a child.
"I remember that my name is Sakura." Answered a pink haired girl around the same age, wearing nothing but mud and dirt. Not a single article of clothing on her body.
"Wait here. I'll go get my Momma!"
Walking down the beaten path that cut through the forest, Sakura stole a glance at her best friend. It was obvious that Mito was on cloud nine. Even though there were other people around them, namely Uchiha Madara, Uchiha Izuna, Senju Tobirama, herself and a few maids, Mito and Hashirama were in their own little newly-wedded blissful world. She could see Izuna making disgusted faces to Tobirama, while the latter rolled his eyes in her direction at the childish antics of the younger Uchiha. To her, it was so endearing that she couldn't help but let out a gentle smile and send a secret prayer to God to keep her best friend happy.
It's been almost fifteen years since Mito found her in the woods; dirty, scared, lonely, beaten and broken. It took the head family of the Uzumaki clan two full weeks to gain the trust of a six-year-old Sakura enough that she allowed them to take her home with them. It was mainly due to her starting to trust Mito that she allowed the adults to finally carry her with them to their home, and stop coming out to that part of the woods every day to coax her out of her shell. It took Sakura six months to trust the adults. But for some reason she was never able to fully trust anybody, nor does she think that she ever will. Not even Mito. And it's not like she actively doubts her best friend at every turn, but there will always be a little voice at the back of her mind telling her to be careful, that she was betrayed once -not that she remembers the details, mind you- and that it could happen again.
As they near the newly-formed village hidden in the leaves, Sakura's mind starts to wander.
She sits up in her futon, panting and gasping. Trying to catch her breath and clutching her blanket to her chest.
"Another nightmare, Sakura-chan?" Asks Mito sleepily from the futon next to hers.
"Yes," Answers Sakura, searching for the gleam of Mito's eyes through the darkness of the room, "Are you sure there are no bodies in the woods, Mito?"
"Yes. Papa and his men searched the whole forest. They found imprints of three small bodies in the moss around the tree. One they suspect to be yours, but no bodies. They took you there, Sakura-chan." Mito explains patiently to Sakura, just like she's been doing for the past two years since they found that spot in the forest.
"I know, Mito. I know. And that part of the woods is the same place I see in my dreams. Except, in my dreams, I see two bodies, face down. One with blond hair and the other with black."
Over the course of the last fifteen years, she started remembering bits and pieces of what happened before Mito found her in the woods. Little tidbits, like eating wildflowers when she was hungry. Or animals helping her keep warm at night. Or how she actually had a nightgown on at one point in time. Or that horrible dream in the forest. But she could never remember what happened to her nightgown. Or what caused her to have several broken bones and lots of bruises when she was found. Or who those kids were. Not even what they looked like or if they were male or female. The Uzumaki shinobi looked for those two kids for a long while, especially after seeing those imprints in the forest, but they couldn't find them and eventually gave up.
Sakura still keeps an eye out, even after all these years and all the changes that must have happened, she's sure that they would at least remember her pink hair, and would be searching for her too if they were alive. She still holds on to a little hope of finding out who she actually is.
Snapping out of her thoughts Sakura stops dead in her tracks and whips her head to the right so fast everyone around her can hear something in her neck crack.
"Oh, dear God! Mito!" She calls out as she drops her bag and takes off in a run in the same direction she was looking at, and into the woods at that side of the road. She can feel the five shinobi following her, leaving the maids unprotected, which she knows is a stupid move, but she can't stop.
"Child don't!" She yells as she sees a five-year-old black-haired child purposefully throw himself off the cliff. She could feel the shocked and horrified gasps from behind her as they begin to slow their pace, but she doesn't slow down. With her hand outstretched towards the oddly placed zipper on the back of her red shirt, she jumps after the child and down the cliff.
The last thing Madara sees is the back of Sakura's red shirt as she stretched her hand to the horizontal zipper on the upper-back of her shirt, undoing it. Then she wasn't there, and it took him a moment to register that she actually jumped over the cliff. This pink haired woman, who wears pants in a time where women wore kimonos, an oddball that he couldn't get a read on, even though he's been around her for the duration of the two weeks it took to get Hashirama married, packed and on the road back to Konoha, has jumped after a child from his clan.
And yes, that child was from his clan. He knows this because he knows the back of that child's head like he knows the back of his brother's head. That child is Uchiha Itachi, the son of Uchiha Fugaku, his first cousin (And even though Madara is older than Fugaku, the younger Uchiha got married eight years ago, while Madara is still giving his clan elders a hard time in settling down). He knows that that child is Itachi because he considers the kid his nephew. Even if Fugaku doesn't like their relationship, he can't directly say anything to the Uchiha clan head. For some reason, Fugaku doesn't like Madara all that much, but Madara just adores Itachi.
What could have happened in the span of two weeks that would make Itachi want to kill himself?! And why would this pink-haired woman throw herself off a cliff after a kid she doesn't even know?! That kid is an Uchiha and if anything happened to him or the girl he wouldn't forgive himself! Itachi for obvious reasons, but Sakura … if anything happens to her while she tries to save an Uchiha, Mito would get sad and angry, and she just became the Senju matriarch, and that will drive a wedge between the Uchiha and Senju when they've been working so hard on ending this war! Not to mention that the Senju brothers are close to Sakura herself, what with how the Uzumaki clan and the Senju clan are allies and they most likely grew up together.
All these thoughts cross Madara's mind in the duration of time it took him to stop at the edge of the cliff after seeing Sakura leap off. As he makes to leap after her, he feels an outstretched kimono-clad hand in front of him preventing him from doing so. He looks up at the owner to find Mito has stopped him from going after her best friend. "Sakura can survive that fall, but I don't think any of us can. We should scale the rocks with caution."
"But that kid .. !" Exclaims Izuna, but Hashirama cuts him off, "Is in good hands. If anybody could save him, it's Sakura-chan."
By now Mito was already ahead of them and making quick progress of going down that cliff while hiking up her kimono so she doesn't trip. They quickened their pace when they heard Sakura plead with the kid to take her hand.
Sakura always loved that feeling of falling. It always made her feel free, like nothing in the world mattered and that her problems are melting away behind her, making her feel weightless. But this didn't make her feel free or weightless at all. It made her feel terrified. She was falling, trying to catch the kid, and she was so close to him. All she needed was for the kid to extend his hand. But it didn't look like he would. Every time she pled with him to take her hand, he'd just look at her with heartbreak, defeat and so many emotions that a five-year-old shouldn't even know in his eyes. They were nearing the ground rapidly and no amount of pleading is working with this kid. It was up to her to save him even if he doesn't want to be saved.
Closing her eyes in concentration and holding her hands close to her chest, she shifted them into the Bird seal and focused chakra into her back. She opened her eyes just in time to see the kid's reaction; the widening of his eyes, the open-mouthed shock, the childish wonder on his face. That is what a child's expression should look like. Sakura smirked as she was finally able to wrap her fingers around the cloth of his shirt and yank him up and into her arms.
They were too close to the ground for her to be able to use her 'jutsu' for anything other than that initial burst of speed. She can't put the 'jutsu' away, to save it from damage; because that takes up a little more time than she has. So she did the only thing she could think of; she wrapped the 'jutsu' around the both of them and braced herself for impact.
When Madara broke through the trees and into the green clearing at the base of the cliff, taking the lead of their little group, he could honestly say that he was never expecting to see something like this. Sakura was lying on her back, semi-straight, knees slightly bent with her head to their left and legs to their right, and Itachi curled up in a ball on her chest, bawling his eyes out, begging her to forgive him, while she hugged him close to her chest, soothingly rubbing his back and whispering sweet nothings into the boy's ear. And even though Madara never expected to see Itachi cry, just because he isn't that type of kid, being too mature for his age, that's not what has him stopping in his tracks.
It was Sakura. Or rather, what was under her. Huge, white, angel-like wings were sprouting out of her back. The one to her right was spread out naturally to the right, but the one on the left was inside out and at an odd angle, which must be painful. As if confirming his thoughts, he hears Mito whispering to Hashirama, "We have to help her, Hashirama. Her wings are extremely sensitive. I once plucked a loose feather and she was bed-ridden for three days! This must be extremely painful for her!"
Hashirama looked at his bride and with concern evident in his eyes said, "My chakra can heal her if it's broken, but-"
"It's not broken. It's just dislocated." Called out Sakura from her place on the ground. As soon as she spoke, Itachi's head shot up and looked in their direction. As soon as he saw Madara he leaped up and ran in his direction. Madara couldn't see any sign of the kid slowing down, so he braced himself so he wouldn't topple over when the kid slammed into his legs and looped his hands around Madara's thighs.
Itachi looked up at Madara with tears in his huge adorable eyes, and exclaimed, "Uncle Madara! You have to help her! You know how to set wings!"
Madara frowned. "Itachi, I don't think that this is the same as setting a fallen bird's wing."
"Actually," Says Mito, "it's exactly the same. Whenever her wings were injured, our vet was the only one who knew how to help. He said that it was extremely similar to bird wings."
After seeing all the hopeful looks sent his way, Madara nodded and motioned for Itachi to let him go, so he could walk over to Sakura. As Itachi ran back to the prone woman, Madara caught sight of his brother trying to contain his laughter at his brother's expense, even if Madara couldn't even fathom what was funny about this situation, he barked at his brother, "Izuna! Go back to the maids and bags!"
Izuna opened his mouth to protest, but one look at Madara's face had him snapping his mouth shut and turning to go back the way they came with a bowed head and a defeated sigh. He couldn't help but give Tobirama the finger though when he saw the Senju's smug look.
"Izuna! Stop being so crude!" Barked Madara at his brother; which made the younger Uchiha hightail it out of the clearing with a startled yelp.
When Madara turned back to the pink-haired beauty lying on the ground, he found her trying to coax Itachi back into her arms, and succeeding. He noticed the careful way she moved, as if not wanting to move her neck, and narrowed his eyes. He approached and kneeled by her head. Mito was clutching Hashirama's hand tightly, and flinching into his side, as if she was feeling her best friend's pain, while her husband rubbed her shoulder soothingly.
Madara ignored Tobirama's hawk-like gaze and spoke directly to Sakura.
Sakura has been around Madara for two weeks since it was both of their best friends that were getting married, and she's noticed that he is a very reserved person. A bit standoffish and arrogant when you speak to him for the first time, which puts most people off at first. But after interacting with him these past couple of weeks, she found out that he was just socially awkward and hid it behind a reserved and formal poise. But there was always a sense of gentleness in his eyes, sometimes more obvious when he was dealing with certain people. Namely when talking with his brother or Hashirama. She couldn't see his face when he was talking to Itachi-chan, because of the pain that she knows she will feel if she moves her neck, but she will bet that his eyes were actually soft while talking to the kid.
But she's never heard him speak softly. When he kneeled down by her head he said in a voice that was so gentle, soft, deep, and warm, so much so, that Sakura got a little lost in it, and took a little longer than usual to comprehend what he was saying.
"I know that you don't want to move your neck, but I need to lift you in order to set it right. So I'm going to support your spine with my arm until you're in a sitting position, then let you support yourself. Okay?"
"Alright," Sakura said softly, as she tightened her hold on a sniffling Itachi. She just hoped that Madara knew what he was doing.
Madara carefully slid his hand, palm open and up, under Sakura's pink head, and kept going down, slowly to minimize her pain, to her neck. He was so focused on not jostling her neck, that when he reached the area of her shirt below that oddly placed zipper, he was caught off guard when his fingertips came in contact with the skin between her wings. He didn't show any outward reaction, but he felt oddly … calm, as he slid the length of his arm to align with her spine. By the time he reached the base of her spine, Madara's head was next to Sakura's on the ground.
"Brace yourself," he whispered near her ear using the same voice he used when he approached her, "I am going to lift you now."
He could see Sakura take a careful breath and close her eyes. Taking that as his cue, Madara started to lift her into a sitting position, while keeping his right arm perfectly straight, his left hand holding the wing in position close to her back so it won't get worse. But even with all his precautions, he could feel her wince slightly, but she said nothing.
When she was fully sitting, Madara looked at Itachi, who was looking over Sakura's shoulder at Madara and said, "Itachi, don't move around. Jostling her is going to hurt her." Madara was pretty sure the girl should have passed out from the pain she must be in right now. The pain was causing her to tense herself so much, that a lot of veins on her slightly large forehead are showing. That just means that Madara should get to working on setting her … wing … as fast as possible.
With that thought, Madara started analyzing her right wing, to get an idea of how he's supposed to set the left one. He, of course, had his Sharingan on ever since he saw Itachi jump off the cliff, which made analyzing everything very fast. Giving himself an assuring nod, he stood up, still supporting her left wing, and positioned his hands in the way that would make it most efficient, and said, "This is going to hurt." Then he twisted, aligned, and pushed her wing into its rightful place.
Sakura let out a strangled scream and tightened her hold on Itachi while Madara worked. She started to loosen up her hold on the kid as soon the pain began to fade. It took her a few seconds to realize that Hashirama was behind her, sending healing chakra into her back, to soothe the pain. Madara was crouched in front of her, looking at Itachi, who was hiding his face in her chest, refusing to look at his 'Uncle Madara'.
Sakura caught Madara's attention and gave him a gentle smile when he looked at her. "Thank you, Madara-san." She said sincerely.
Gazing at her softened features, Madara said, "Actually, thank you." At her curious look, he elaborated, "You saved one of the few people I hold very close to my heart. I could never thank you enough. The Uchiha clan owes you a great debt."
Looking really uncomfortable with the praise, Sakura said, "You helped me in return. I think we're even."
Frowning and feeling kind of awkward, Madara said, "But you wouldn't have been hurt in the first place if it weren't for-"
"Alright, alright. We get it. You both are grateful for each other's efforts. No need to keep talking about it." Says Mito waving around her hand-held fan sassily, as she moved to stand beside Sakura.
Sighing at her best friend's antics, she sent an apologetic smile towards Madara, who responded by shaking his head in exasperation. Madara turned back to looking at Itachi, who still refused to look at him. He was a little baffled that the kid was practically cuddling into a stranger's hold. The kid was never coddled and didn't seem to care for it. Then again, his father, Fugaku, was a very stern man, who could be preventing such things, when the child actually needed them.
He was shaken out of his musings when Sakura turned to Hashirama, who came to stand at her other side, "Thank you Hashirama-nii. But, can I ask you something?" at his beaming and proud smile and enthusiastic nod, she asked, "You don't know what you're actually doing when you use your healing chakra, do you?"
At this, Hashirama's face slacked in shock, and Tobirama gained an amused tint in his eyes as he looked expectantly at his brother, with a sadistic tilt to his lips, expecting a comical display, but was severely disappointed when he heard Hashirama's laugh. Not only was his brother laughing, he was bent over and slapping his thigh with mirth. Everyone was looking at him with varying degrees of shock. Even Itachi peeked at the huge man with the booming, deep, goofy and happy laugh.
Wiping a tear from the corner of his eye, Hashirama said, "You are right, I don't know what it is that I'm doing when I heal someone." Tobirama looks like he's lost all interest in the conversation, so he turned around and headed out of the clearing.
"T-tobi! Where are you going, baby brother?" Hashirama called after him.
"I'm going to make sure Izuna isn't harassing the maids." And Madara didn't even have it in him to be offended. Knowing his brother like he does, that's exactly what he'd be doing.
"A-anyway," said Hashirama, as he turned to face Sakura, who was standing up, still carrying Itachi in her arms, "How did you know?"
"I'm a medic, Hashirama-nii," Sakura said as she rubbed a sniffling Itachi's back as he buried his head in her neck, "I could feel the way you were shoving your chakra into my back without directing it to do anything."
Hashirama had the decency to look embarrassed. She smiled at him and offered, "I could teach you if you want? I don't think you want to know all the biology and theories behind everything, but I could give you some useful tips that will help you heal more efficiently?"
Hashirama seemed really happy about that, but before he could open his mouth to accept, Mito yelled, "Hey! You refused to teach me healing until I knew most of the theory behind it! Not fair!"
Looking down at the fan pointed at her face, Sakura said, "Hashirama-nii has natural healing chakra. Most of his chakra is green, which means he won't accidentally fry his patients, Mito."
As Mito's face turned as red as her hair, she lowered her fan and crossed her arms defensively over her chest. She grumbled under her breath, "ONE time, Sakura, it was one fish, and you've never let me live it down!"
Sakura raised an unimpressed eyebrow at her best friend, who huffed and turned away.
Looking down at the compressed ball of cuteness in her arms, she sees him fixated on Mito's long, red hair. Sakura raises a wing, and with the tip, she tickles his noses and laughs softly when he scrunches up his nose cutely and sneezes.
Getting uncomfortable with the stare Madara is giving her wings, she makes the bird seal behind Itachi and stretches her wings upward, then starts to pull them into her back. By the time they're gone, Itachi is practically hanging off her shoulder, eyes wide and looking at her back, trying to understand how everything works.
"Itachi," Calls out Madara calmly. And even though there is no hostility or reprimand in the older Uchiha's voice, Itachi still flinches back into her hold. Belatedly, Sakura realizes that it's from shame and not fear. "You do realize that you will have to explain yourself. Right?" Madara continues softly, but sternly. Itachi nods but doesn't say anything. Madara sighs and ruffles the kids head. "I'm not angry with you. We'll talk when we get to the compound. Alright?" At Itachi's nod, Madara turns to Hashirama, "I'd appreciate it if nobody spoke of this until I can figure out what exactly is going on."
All the adults nod their heads in acceptance. "Well then, shall we head back? We're almost near the gates." Asks Hashirama happily. Sakura lets out a small smile at her brother figure's easy-going attitude. It's a breath of fresh air to know that at least one person will never judge you so easily. It helps her ignore Madara's gaze and focus on getting the child in her arms to talk to her. She doesn't blame Madara for his curiosity, after all, how many people out there can sprout wings? He'd be foolish for not having questions, and anybody who has ever heard about Madara, knows that he's a lot of things; foolish isn't one of them.
