Title: Snuggle Honey, Cuddle Buddy
Author: AppleL0V3R
Beta-reader: Terror-Of-The-Crimson-Night
Fandom: Naruto and 07 Ghost
Pairing: Frau and Haruno, Sakura
Rating: T
Type: One-shot – Complete
Summary: Of pools, staffs, books and beds. "Everybody needs somebody." She murmured rubbing a hand up and down his back. "You'll find yours someday. Until then be mine."
Word Count: 7,765
Disclaimer: If you've heard of it before, then it's obviously not mine.
Note: FrauSaku in a familial sense and FrauTei in a maybe yoai sense (doesn't have to be if you don't want it to). Also the part at the end is in the manga Chapter 49, pages 11 and 12 it shouldn't be a spoiler, but I thought I'd put it down anyway in case anyone was wondering. And the actual line is "What kind of person is he? Your god…" but what I used worked better for my story.
Longest one-shot ever. Don't expect something of this size out of me ever again if there are to be daily updates. This was a complete and utter bitch to write.
..:Xx0o0xX:..
"Everybody needs somebody. You'll find yours someday, Until then be mine."
"Okay, Mother."
"Who was your God?" Teito asked from his position on the bed.
Frau paused at the door. Bright green eyes, pastel pink hair and too, too much compassion.
"I don't remember."
The one who told me to hold out for you, to wait, to keep caring.
Mother Sakura.
..:Xx0o0xX:..
The small boy sauntered through the crowd trying to be nonchalant as you please. He'd gotten in trouble again because he might have done something that wasn't exactly bishop-to-be acceptable. But it was just a peek, and wasn't like he'd actually touched her or anything. Why in the world was Bastien so furious?
But the black haired next-in-line to be assistant archbishop was. In fact, he'd been so ticked off that Frau was now on his way to see the real assistant archbishop. He'd heard she was a beautiful woman and one of the very few females to be a bishop and definitely the only to reach the rank she had.
Everyone called her Mother so he'd never heard what her actual name was. He wondered if the rumors were true though, about her demeanor and her apparel. He'd also never learned of what her past was like and Bastien had always dodged whenever anyone brought it up to him. And of course no one asked the archbishop or the woman herself so Frau was pretty sure that no one knew.
Which made him curious. She'd been important to this church so long that it made him wonder how she'd gotten that way and why.
Rounding corners and traversing hallways, soon enough Frau was at her bedroom door. He didn't pause as he gave two simple raps on the wooden door before opening it.
There was only one occupant in the space room; he assumed it was who he was looking for since the person was female. She had long pink hair that reached her waist and she was wearing the uniform that all bishops wore – that was his give away as well, since she wasn't in a nuns outfit. Settled in her bed with her legs crisscrossed, she was slightly bent over something on her hands as she leaned against the wall behind her. All around were books and papers, she had shelves of them and to his small from it seemed like a mini version of the church's library.
She didn't glance up as she asked softly, "My I help you, Frau?"
He was almost startled to hear that she knew his name, but he figured Bastien had mentioned him to her at some point or another. But that fact that she knew it was him without even bothering to look? That was a little perturbing and honestly, he wanted to know how she'd done it. So he didn't see anything wrong with asking, "How'd you know it was me?"
"That's not why you're here." She responded just as easily.
He frowned as she finally deigned to look up at him. Her face was heart shaped and her eyebrows were pink above very green eyes. Her lips drew up in a smile and she put aside what she was working on and motioned him to come forward.
Well, now he could kind of see why they called her Mother. She gave off the feel of an all knowing mother, aware that her child had gotten in trouble and was more than patient enough to talk about it. But he sauntered forward anyway, stopping before the bed. She sat up a little straighter and padded the spot on the bed next to her, "Wanna tell me why you did what you did?"
He didn't pause as he climbed onto the comfy looking bed. It felt like cotton under his limbs but he tried to act like it didn't interest him as he sat down beside her, deliberately out of arms reach.
She laughed indulgently and smiled at his actions, but didn't say anything and he could see in her green eyes that even though it'd been phrased as question, she still expected an answer. Ever the rebellious child, he grinned at her cheekily, "No."
Her pink-red lips pursed together, not quite flattening but it had the same effect, and though he figured she'd finally lost the patience to even act patient she nodded easily. Her green eyes stared into his blue ones for a moment longer before she turned back to what she'd been doing, pulling the papers back into her lap and picking up the set aside pencil. "Alright, if you don't want to talk then you don't have to. But what you did was still wrong so you're still going to be punished for it." Her voice was still light, there was no edge but he caught the undercurrent of steel that told him he wouldn't be getting out of it. He shrugged and glanced around, he shifted into a more comfortable position and waited to be told what his punishment was.
But she didn't continue on. In fact, all he heard for at least ten minutes was pencil against paper and the shuffling of parchment in a dead silent room. It was starting make him uncomfortable and he had half a mind to speak up. But something told him, that this was part of the punishment, the not knowing to make him antsy. So with that he resolved to beat her at her own game, after all he'd proven again and again that he was more stubborn and persistent then anyone else who thought to challenge him. A woman who was supposed to be important – but he didn't even know her name, yet he was a bishop in training – was not an exception to that fact.
So, settling his back against the wall, he centered his gaze on the ceiling and stayed like that. And stayed like that. And stayed like that.
Soon enough he found his eyelids growing heavy as the rhythm of her writing lulled him further into the embrace of oblivion. He thought to fight it, but every time he tried to open his eyes and keep them like that, they seemed to grow even heavy until he eventually couldn't open them back up. Not long after, he found himself shifting to get even more comfortable, tugging and pulling at blankets, grabbing the pillow offered to him and going to sleep.
..:Xx0o0xX:..
Sakura smiled at the picture the small boy presented. She'd heard quite the earful about him from anyone who knew him. He made quite the impression, as she'd just found out for herself. Now the question was, how to deal with his anti-authority nature so that he wouldn't have to change and the church was presented with too many problems from the young boy.
He was clearly nestled comfortably into her bed, and even if he took a mere fifteen minute nap, that should give her some time to figure out something. Bastien had spoken to her ahead of time when he gave her the heads up that he was sending Frau her way, apparently the boy was curious as to what a female looked like under her clothes and had been willing to find out by inappropriate means.
Well, the adage was 'curiosity killed the cat', right? She sighed quietly to herself as she set the paperwork for the upcoming bishop's exam aside. It had been her duty for a while now to get everything in order and oversee all the examinees' files before passing them on to the Archbishop himself.
She froze as the files plopped onto the bed, the pencil dropping beside them and rolling out of sight. That's what she would do. Even though the punshiments were clear for a situation like this, she decided a different course would be better for all parties, including the church itself. It didn't look very good if a bishop-in-training was peeking up the skirts of nuns, but if she got that same boy to enroll into the exams and he did well...then any punishment could simply be included in the preparation for the exams, and if he passed then it would reflect positively on the church. That way the whole ordeal could be forgetten, and he would be taught well enough to not do something of the sort again.
A perfect solution.
She slide off the bed, when she was on her white booted feet – so different from her favortie black, thick soled ones, but she'd had plenty of time to get used to these – she smothed out her equally white bishop's skirt. Though it had been many years since she herself had come to the church for the first time, it still felt just slightly different to not be in the combat and medical clothes she'd worn as a teenager.
But that was a long time ago, and there was no turning back now. That option had been lost to her long before she'd even come here. And that was a story for another time. For right now, she merely leaned over to shift the blankets of her bed so that he was more fully covered by them. Her eyes softed and warmed as he shifted, turning slightly into a more comfortable position as his small hands grabbed the edges of the blanket and pulled them close. He made a small noise in the back of his throat that sounded somewhere between a sigh and a hum as he settled back into the stillness of sleep once more.
She straightened once more a quickly crossed the threshold of her room on silent feet. Sakure opened the door and stepped out, closing it behind her before she was off on long strides down the hall towards her destination. She knew most of the occupants of the church got the impression that she glided with each step, because of her fast and quiet pass. It was a habit she'd never even tried to so much as stiffle from her years as a shinobi.
Most didn't know of her background and her name wasn't well known either, but she liked it that way. Had intended for it to be that way. Truth be told, she missed her home and family, Sasuke and Naruto were part of the Barsburg military and Ino was traveling as a bishop along with Lance. But she knew it was for the best that things were this way, it wasn't like she never saw them after all, she simply didn't see them as much as she would have liked.
She came to a stop outside of Bastien's room, knocking lightly on the door and then waited to see if he would reply. She wasn't compeletely sure if he was even there. But after a moment a, 'come in' reached her keen ears and she complied.
Sakura took only a few feet into the room, shutting the door behind her. Bastien blinked up at her, "Mother Sakura, did you already take care of Frau?"
She shook her head, pink locks swaying with movement, "That's why I'm here. I think it would be good for Frau to enter the Bishop exams."
This got her a surprised expression. "I'd been thinking the same thing myself but what does this have to do with - "
"He can be taught his lesson while he is being trained." She answered with a smooth interruption.
He seemed to debat it a while, thinking over if her recent solution was really the best one possible. After a moment he spoke up, "What about a partner, most entering already have theirs because they room with them. Frau is off on his own."
She hadn't thought of that factor and so it took her some time to think that one over. She sifted through her knowledge of all the entrees and then suddenly remembered. It had been one of the first documents she looked at. "Castor."
"Castor?"
She nodded immediately, "I had promised him that if he passed I would be more than happy to take over his training. He's serious about passing and it will be a good contrast for the both of them. Besides, I'm pretty sure that he doesn't have a partner either."
All of it was completely true, when Castor had arrived at the church, he'd taken to her. Falling under her wing as far as learning how to be a bishop went. He'd even told her on one occasion that he'd wanted to be like her and intended to enter the bishop exams as soon as he could. The statement had caught her off guard, but she'd smiled and told him that she thought it was a good idea. As well as the abovemention things.
She knew Castor liked string and while she'd been a kunoichi, she'd learned about puppetree. She'd shown him a sample of what she'd learned - through self teaching and Kankuro's help - and promised that if he passed, she would teach him.
There was also the factor that Castor held Fest, the tying ghost and only made sense that he would use thread and wire as part of his arsenal. And Frau too, was a ghost, the cutting ghost Zehel. She had a feeling that they would clash for more reasons than which ghosts they were, but because of personality. And she was sure that would be good for the both of them.
Bastien paused again, but it was significantly shorter this time. "I think you've got a great idea Mother Sakura."
She smiled, happy that she had his agreeance. Now she had to go get Frau to fill out the paperwork and introduce him to Castor. Well, she should probably aslo give Castor a heads up as well, but that wasn't as important as the other two.
..:Xx0o0xX:..
When Frau woke he found himself snuggled and comfortable in a bed that wasn't his.
It was the assistant archbishop's. His blue eyes widened at the realization as he jackkniefed into a sitting position. Much to his surprise, she was still where she'd been, writing on some pieces of paper. She didn't even stir when he moved, he blinked. "How long have I been asleep."
"A few hours give or take."
He nodded subconsciously. Why had she let him sleep? What was he doing sleeping in some woman's room? Granted she was pretty, but she was also probably more strict than Bastien and that was a huge turn off in his book.
He was startled to hear her voice again a momnet later. Jerking to face her, to see that her green eyes were sharp but slightly pensive as they zeroed in on his own, making it impossible to look away. Her voice was just as soft as it had been before, "Do you still not want to tell me your motives?"
Motives for what? He tilted his head, trying to remember if he'd done something wrong recently, but before his brain could present an answer he heard her giggle. Still soft, still quiet. Honestly, he kinda wanted to know what it would be like to provoke her, to see her angry. Like Bastien, most side the meleancoly black haired man didn't have any quota for fury, but Frau had proven that wrong quickly. But honestly, he couldn't find it in him to be irritated by her, and that irritated him. "What?" He was scowling as he demanded a reason for her sound.
She shook her head slowly, smile curving her lips. "You don't remember, do you?"
"Remember what?"
"That you're in trouble." Finally! He had begun to think she didn't know how to answer a question directly. And now that she mentioned it, he had looked up that nun's skirt and that's why he was in trouble.
He lifted his chin stubbornly, "Of course I do."
"Good. Then you will remember that I hadn't delvered a punishment yet."
He frowned, immediately suspicous, "Yeah, so?"
"I'm going to give you one last chance to explain yourself."
"Not happening." He cut in, refusing to bend to this one woman. Though, at least she was bothering to ask his side of it. Bothering to listen. Sure, Bastien did the same thing, but that was Bastien, he was a pacifisct that way. ...Which meant so was she. What was with clergymen or women in her case, and being so damn peacable? It was irritating, and sometimes he wondered if they could really fight back if they needed to, they did after all always avoid conflict.
"Then I will tell you your punishment now."
Big, cearulen blue eyes blinked. He'd heard her say last chance, but whenever the others said it, they still gave another chance. Did that mean she was different. He guessed that she had to be, to be the only female bishop and still manage to obtain such high status in the Barsburg church. But did that also mean that she didn't hold back from cruel punishments?
"I've decided that you won't be getting the usual church decreed punishment for your actions." That made him nervous, because it made the answer to his question a lot more plausible of being 'yes'. Crap, he really had gone over the line this time. But how would he get out of it?
But he would not show it – even if the nagging voice in the back of his head said that she could already see it, "Really? Then what is it?"
"You'll be joining the bishop exams." What? That was it? "And I will be training you for them." Oh. That's why. "I hope you also know enough of the bishop exams to know you will need a partner."
"No!" That was the one thing he wouldn't do. He didn't need a partner and he wasn't going to accept on either.
She didn't even flinch at his volume though, "That's not up for disscution. It's already in place, and your partner has already been chosen."
He sunk back sullenly, realizing that this was the part that was supposed to be punishment, more so than her training methods. And he didn't even know how harsh those were, "I think I'd rather the church's punishment for my misdemeanor."
She shook her head. "You want to be a bishop and your going to have take the exam which means you will have to go through this process at some point or another. You wouldn't be able to chose your parner later on either, so just deal with it."
Begrudgingly, he realized she was right, but that didn't mean he was any more accepting of the reality. "So when do we start."
"As soon as you meet your partner."
..:Xx0o0xX:..
Castor blinked at the blonde boy who was clearly a few years younger than him, but he could sense right off the bat that Sakura had not been joking in any way. He held an air of confidence and the lingering feel of Zehel behind him. This would most certainly be intereseting if nothing else. The assisstant archibishop had told him that the blonde haired boy's name was Frau and that his heart was in the right place, he was just going an odd way to where he wanted to be. The glasses wearing boy trusted his long time guardian's judgement and so on her request, he was going to try and work as best as he could with Frau.
It couldn't really be that hard, could it?
He could tolerat almost as much as Sakura and she had promised that if he did this, no only would she teach him pupetree but she would also tell him a little bit about where she learned at and her own history. He knew bits and pieces, not to mention that he was much more privlaged than most. That there were probably only a handful of people including him that even knew her name and less who knew her full name. Haruno, Sakura. It was pretty and suiting, but she'd asked him to only call her Mother while Frau was around. She liked telling people in her own time what her name was – the reason being another thing he wanted to know and planned to ask.
"I have to work with a glasses-freak?" Was the first thing out of the other boy's mouth, as he looked up at Sakura with disbelieving blue eyes. She'd come to a stop a few feet from the bench that Castor had been waiting at and the blonde had stopped slightly to her left and directly behind her, close enough that it would take much to reach out for her skirt.
He felt his eye twitch as Sakura closed her eyes, he tried to remain calm and he was sure it showed. Knowing the Mother as well as he did, he knew she was groaning inside dispite some small amusement. But ultimately she would stay out of it and let the holder of Fest answer for himself. After he felt he had enough reign on his temper – with the help of the vow to get him back for such a comment – he returned the unintentional insult, "And I have to work with a child. Don't complain."
The blonde's blue eyes lit up right quick, "I am not a child."
"No, you just have childish statements and mannerisms." Sarcasm laced his words.
He could have sworn he saw Sakura give an amused by wistful smile as a far away look consumed her eyes. That happened every now and again, it was always and random places that logically shouldn't have incited it. Like this. But it did and so he guessed it had something to do with old friends or something.
But his attention was already back on Frau as the boy marched past the pink haired bishop.
Oh this would definitely be fun. He distantly heard Sakura say to behave and not hurt each other too badly before she settled on the bench connected to the fountain to watch everything unfold.
..:Xx0o0xX:..
The following year would find the three of them in most of the same places, the two boys had definitely gotten better from their first encounter but for a reason on a both sides they failed the first time they took the exam. So as the following came around Castor continued to invent ways to use the thread of Fest and Frau learned that he held a scythe. That occasion had been something else entirely.
As fate would have it, Frau had become an 07 Ghost to early to really remember that he was one or even acknowledge it. He'd confided to her once that he was aware that he was different from other kids his age, but had figured that it was because sometime before his friends and he had split ways and he'd eventually ended up here in the Barsburg church. She'd been shocked and curious, but hadn't pushed the subject because he didn't seem like he'd wanted to continue it. In fact, he'd seemed self-concscious and sad.
It had hurt her heart to know that fact, and to refrain from trying to soften his pain had been hard. But that was a wall he would need to surmount on his own. She'd be happy to help if he asked, but most of it would be up to him because this specific thing was just about him.
Castor seemed to get along with Frau as well, for that she'd been happy. He'd always been such a loner that she worried that Razette and she would be his only companions and as a bishop it would be good to broaden his horizons, get close to other people. Though, the two boys weren't without problem, she'd seen that one coming of course, and it was amusing to watch them argue back and forth. She could see the contendedness in Castor's dark eyes at finally having someone to walk beside and the glee in Frau's as he found a new friend.
She knew there was more to it than that though.
But for now, that was more than enough. It was what they both needed and so she was happy as well.
She was pulled from her stupor when she heard a distinct 'snap' that resounded in the clearing followed by a string of curses from one blonde haired boy. She smiled, already knowing what had happened without needing to look up from her book – for a moment she felt like Kakashi and though it both ironic and disturbing – but she still rose to her feet from her perch on the white bench anyway. Setting her book aside with a swift absent glance at the page number, she turned her full attention to Frau to see the extent of the damage.
And honestly it wasn't that bad. Relatively speaking anyway. It was broken in half at a jagged angle, whole pieces of it scattered in a immediate vicinity, the cross section was on the ground, the circle around it dented and and cut but not yet crumbling. The only thing left in the boy's grasp was a small bit of white as he stared down at the mess around him. She smiled at the sight, he had enormous power and a lot of potiental, but it would take some practice and lessons to focus that. But at least the whole thing wasn't in sharded pieces as it had been the first time, so clearly he was making progress.
"Better."
He scowled at her, though she knew there was no anger towards her behind it, just frustration in himself for not getting it. Again.
"Don't be so harsh on yourself, Frau." She told him gently, and when she'd come near enough she began picking up all the bits of the once whole baculus and as the air displaced itself slightly and clothes rustled she knew he'd bent to do the same.
"I will get this."
She nodded, glancing up just into his strong blue eyes. They were more focused now, more determined. She held it for a moment and then smiled at him before continuing with her task. Once they had every thing they could see of the crumbled staff, she sauntered over to her previous spot, her apprentice on her heels. Settling, easily as she tugged her legs up and crisscrossed them, she held her hands out for the bundle he carried. In response, he dropped them in her lap and sat beside her, picking up the book she'd been reading moments before as he did so. He didn't read it though, he was of the opinion that she read boring archbishop stuff. To which she would laugh and shake her head, telling him that she paperwork didn't come in small novel book form and that she was the assisstant archbishop.
This time though, instead of immediately setting to the task of fixing the conductor of sorts so that he could get back to training, she pushed it all into a neat pile, shifted her position and pushed him backwards.
She'd done so more on a whim, curious to see how quickly he could react, to see how much work that would need too. She'd been meaning to get around to some of the other aspects of being a bishop, but had decided to do things one step at a time. However, the exams were coming back up and Castor was willing to be Frau's partner once more if the boy actually studied the texts and got better at his training. Which meant she had to speed up her timeline, she knew what it felt like to be unready for something that would decide the rest of her life and she wasn't about to let it happen to her favorite blonde again.
The thought froze her momentarily. Favorite blonde? What about Naruto? Troubled and conflicted, her heart squeezed in her tight chest and she felt like she'd betrayed her long time best friend in some way. But facts were facts; she tried to reason, just like the fact that she hadn't seen her fox brother in years. She wasn't going to be friendless just because the ones who'd always been so close were no longer near her constantly or even infrequently. Her rationale resolved, she told her heart to quit it, liking another blonde – especially a child – did not mean she'd turned her back on her former teammate. It didn't. And she was being absurd.
A yelp followed by a loud splash that got sprayed water everywhere, including on her, pulled her from her stupor. She frowned slightly, reflexes and timing needed to be added to the list of things to work on it seemed as she watched the blonde finally burst through the water a moment latter. He sputtered and spat water out of his mouth as he turned burning blue eyes on her.
But she merely smiled back, amused by his fury.
"What was that for!" There was no upward intonation, indicating a question.
"You forgot the question mark." She responded lightly, stifling a giggle.
His glare intensified as he paddled toward the edge, muttering about crazy pink haired women who didn't have names and really needed to leave innocent children alone. She couldn't help but laugh almost unladylike at that. Still trying to minimize her amusement she held out her arms and beckoned him to come to her so that she could help him out.
He stayed still for a moment before slowly coming forth, pausing within her reach. In fact, the boy seemed even cooperative enough grasp her hands with his own. The whole thing made her wary, but it seemed she needed brush up on her own reflexes as he suddenly jerked as hard as he could.
And in the water she went, pure surprise flittering through her. Once she was thoroughly soaked to her bones she in just a few moments she surfaced. Though she didn't sputter or even gasp for air she did give him a half hearted glare. It was his turn to respond with amusement as he grinned triumphantly. Shaking her head exasperatedly, she pushed some wayward strands of hair behind her ear and reached out to push him back underwater.
She yelped with surprise as she felt herself suddenly yanked down as well.
Oh life was good now. Good and fun and enjoyable. She would miss the boy when he finally became a bishop and started expanding past her. Or when it was time for her to leave, she would have to eventually after all. But that wasn't something she wanted to think about just yet.
..:Xx0o0xX:..
This time, Frau and Castor passed. Though there were some anomalies because of Frau – the boy's soul and been so pure that all the other participants had been forced to do a retake on the Bridge of Tribulation – the fact of the matter was that they passed. They were now official bishops in training.
But her time was growing shorter, she knew it would be long until she had to rejoin her team, before they had to head back. And though it was always in the back of her mind, she still hadn't figured out how to mention this to either boy.
She was Castor's mentor while Bastien took over the roll for Frau, all four had been aware that it would turn out that way. Her charge was over the moon about learning even more of wiring and how to use it properly in battle, how to make it most advantageous against any opponent. She found herself very thankful that Kankuro hadn't minded teaching her all she could learn whenever she was in Suna for any amount of time.
Suna. She missed it almost as much as she did Konoha. But that wouldn't be for much longer, though she realized not for the first time that she would always miss something. She would always feel like a part of her was missing, no matter what. And so the thoughts were once again suppressed and overridden.
There wasn't even a pretense knock before her door was kicking open and Frau stocked in. She'd been reading as she was settled in the same place and way she always was, which was exactly how she'd been when she first met the temperamental boy. Bookmarking her place, she closed the warn pages and cover before setting it beside her, then she waited.
Why he was here and why he was angry would be spoken on its own without any prodding from her.
"Are you leaving?"
Whatever had been bothering him, she hadn't expected it to be that. Blinking, she took a deep breath and then padded the spot beside her. He shook his head, refusing to move from his position. That was when she caught the betrayal.
"Frau." Sakura started, her tone soft and motherly.
"No! Are you leaving me or not?"
This time she sighed. Getting off her bed she crossed the space between them and then settled on her heels to look him straight in the eye. "That's a different question than the first one."
He glared at her. "No mother games, Mother."
It hurt her heart to see him like this. But she wasn't going to go any softer or easier because she realized right then, that as much as he looked to Bastien, he depended on her. Depended on her for stability and complete and truthful answers, for love and an understanding hand, for everything he needed. He trusted her, needed her. And while the notion warmed her heart, it also left her heart squeezing painfully as she knew that she'd made the mistake of over indulging. If she had intended to stay until he could leave on his own, then it would have been just right. She'd miscalculated, and now he was hurt.
She let her green eyes close for a moment. "Yes, Frau, eventually I am going to permanently leave the church. Eventually, I won't be here anymore."
She opened them again out of surprise when his body collided with hers, little arms wrapping tight around her neck. After a moment it started shaking as she felt her shoulder begin to grow damp where his face was pressed into her. Knowing she deserved this, she lifted her own arms, tugging off her gloves first, and then wrapped one around his waist to anchor him to her and then used the other to draw soothing circles on his back.
When it subsided, she pulled him a little tighter, making sure she had him fully in her grasp and then stood, carefully carrying him to her bed. Pausing at the bedside, she debated on setting him down or allowing him to sit on her lap. His arms squeezed, making her choice for her. Turning she let her body plop down, taking a moment to get comfortable in her usual position, Sakura loosened her hold so he could do the same.
"Why?" His voice was almost inaudible, even to her keen ears.
She let out a breath, taking the time to put the words together, "I'm not leaving you, Frau. But I have family who need me."
The blonde stilled, "Family?" and pulled back to look her in the eyes. She could see the leftover tear tracks.
Smiling, she reached up with both hands, placing them on his cheeks so that she could rub them away even as she nodded. "That's right. I've never told anyone that I have family, but I do, and soon, they are going to need me very much. When they do, I need to be able to go to them and get them to my birth home."
"Who are they? What are they like? Why will they need you?" Now she laughed, still so inquisitive, she hoped dearly that he never lost that trait. "Can't you come back afterwards."
That stilled the noise. Again her eyes softened, pushing away the bitter reality she shook her head solemnly. "No. Once I go back to my home, the person in charge there will detain me. Frau, before I came here, before you were born, I did some things that were considered treachery and insubordination. Because of it, the man in charge will have me executed."
His mouth fell open and his little body tensed, and she knew what was coming. So again she shook her head. "At the time, I thought my actions were for the best. And I'm proud to say that I accomplished what I wanted to, I did it knowing that eventually my leader would have my head. It's not something I'm going to shy from because what I did – though with the best of intentions – was completely wrong and harsh of me."
"What did you do?"
Again her head turned from side to side as she found it hard to look the small – innocent – child in the eye. Those eyes that looked identical to Naruto's. God, she still had to tell her team what she'd done. "Don't fight for me, Frau. Don't fight this. It was war, and I had only a hand full of options, that's not an excuse by the way, just fact." Her throat felt thick, like not even air could get out.
For the first time in years, she was talking about her past and as much as it hurt, as much as she hated to acknowledge it, it felt good to open up.
"My family. They aren't blood related because I'm an only child and my parents died in an invasion. However the family that I'm talking about, I grew up with. We were always together. So I guess I'll start at the top. There's Uzumaki, Naruto. He's loud and rambunctious, he loves ramen far too much to healthy and honestly he looks like an older version of you."
"Really?"
She nodded. "Mhm. But he was a major prankster. No one was safe and usually the people closest to him were prime targets."
"Like you?"
Her mouth quirked into a wry, nostalgic smile, "There was one time when he tried to dye my hair black by bleaching it, another time when he burnt my kitchen to a crisp. He irritated me to no end with those pranks of his, but they made him, Naruto. And it would feel odd if he was anything else."
Frau's eyes took on a mischievous look, one that didn't go uncaught. Giving him a pointed look, "Don't you dare even think about trying anything of the sort."
"Who me?"
Laughing, she rolled her eyes. "The next one is Uchiha, Sasuke. He…he's hard to explain. See, he had a hard past. His elder brother – one that he idolized dearly at the time – murdered their entire family when Sasuke was younger than you. Ever since, there's been a part of him missing. I think he's mostly found it in Naruto and I, but not all of it, I don't think he'll ever be whole. Not with that reality in the back of his mind all the time. He's pretty cold, he doesn't play nice and can be harsh with his words. But he's incredibly loyal, he's someone I know I can always look to when I'm in trouble, I know he'll always be there as best as he can. His got dull black eyes and black hair that – I kid you not – looks like a chicken's ass."
This got a laugh, "Wow. Sounds like a good guy."
She smiled warmly, "He is. Granted there was a time when he was vindictive and apathetic. That was when he was bent on getting back at his brother for what had happened." She caught Frau's eye then, her gaze heavy and serious. "Revenge is never the answer. Never. It will only lead to more pain and suffering and emptiness. Because and avenger is close minded, unwilling to let anyone in to the point of pushing everyone out. And whether they get their revenge or not, their left bitter and alone, and anyone who ever cared is hurt and they don't know how to respond to that avenger anymore."
Then her eyes softened. "But I doubt you'll ever end up like that, your heart is far too big."
"Is not." He paused. "I promise I won't ever look to revenge for an answer."
"Thank you. Oh and, if someone is going down that path, show them that there is another one but don't force them. Someone engulfed in pain and hatred won't take well to having their path picked for them, all you can do is be there, show them that no matter what, you're there. It works better, trust me, I tried both with Sasuke, and the latter worked like a charm. We went through hell and back, but I think that just made us stronger."
Again Frau nodded. "Is there anyone else?"
"The next one is Yamanaka, Ino. She's an incorrigible flirt, she likes to gossip, thrives on sometimes even. But she means well, and she's also fiercely loyal. You know, when I was little I used to get picked on for what I looked like." Sakura smiled. "Then Ino came, she was so confident and caring that somehow I learned how to get a backbone of my own rather than cry about it. Honestly, I think it saved my butt a lot of times, especially since after Ino helped me find my confidence, hers boosted to the point that if I wasn't assertive, she would walk all over me. In fact, all of my family is like that. It causes a bit of trouble between us, but I think it has also made us stronger." Pausing for a breath, she continued on, "Ino is…for lack of a better word gorgeous, she has long platinum hair and two tone blue eyes. She's tall and seems to love purple – almost the same way Naruto loves orange – I swear they're both colorblind sometimes."
The look was back in his eyes. "Don't even. Ino doesn't put up with peeping toms, not joking. The nun's may be timid and embarrassed, you would get a lecture from me, but you'd get Ino's foot first before anything else."
At the look of horror she laughed once more.
"My next family member is Hatake, Kakashi. He's waiting back where I'm from for us. He has gray lopsided hair that defies gravity, but he's only like thirteen years older than me. He has black eyes, well he did. An incident happened a long time ago and he had to get an eye transplant, so he has a black and red eye. The red eye he covers up with a bandana of sorts and his lower face is usually covered with a mask. He's lazy, he reads porn and he's always late to everything by like four hours and when he finally shows up he has some lame excuse. It used to piss me off sooo much, more or less because he was my mentor along with Naruto and Sasuke and he'd have us meet for training at like five am and not show up until noon." Oh how that had irritated her to no end.
Frau laughed, "Glad you didn't do that."
Green eyes rolled, "I made a point to. But he usually has a pack mentality, always looking out for those around him and would do anything to defend and protect them. He was the type of person I knew that I could take a blind leap of faith with. I wouldn't have thought twice about jumping off a cliff if I knew he was maybe at the bottom, he always caught me."
"I like your family."
"I wish you could meet them." Her voice was quiet, she paused then brightened. "But you should be able to meet Ino."
He brightened as well but this time didn't seem to have comment.
For a while the two of them stayed like that, him snuggled into her lap not for the first time. The boy seemed to love curling up to her and just falling asleep, she figured it was because she was like a heater with how warm she usually always was and she'd learned early on that Frau loved heat.
Smiling down at him, his eyes closed and his body trustingly leaning into her, she picked her book back up. "Will you read to me?"
She laughed and nodded, "Of course." Finding her page, then her place she opened her mouth to start, but paused. "Frau. My name is Haruno, Sakura."
His pretty blue eyes flickered open and sought out hers. "Mother Sakura?"
She nodded again, smile still lighting her face. He mirrored her for a moment, but then shifted and got comfortable again.
And she started reading.
When she was finished, she watched him with silent mournful eyes knowing he was already asleep. She bent her head to his ear, "Everybody needs somebody." She murmured rubbing a hand up and down his back. "You'll find yours someday. Until then be mine."
To her surprise, the boy muttered back, "Okay, Mother." It took her a moment to realize he'd responded subconsciously and that made her smile bigger even as tears collected in her eyes for the first time in a long time. Shifting, she put them both and horizontal position, and let her eyes slip closed as well.