Disclaimer: I do not, never have and never will own Naruto
The first time Sakura had met her Grandfather she was eight years old. It was a few days after her birthday, and she'd been both excited and nervous to meet the person that had featured so much in her Papa's stories. Hacho Village was some distance from Konoha and had her parents not been ninja the trip would have been virtually impossible, even with their abilities the trip had taken almost a week.
Sakura's Grandfather was a small man with cheerful blue eyes, partially obscured behind a pair of owlish glasses; he was so unlike the character her Papa had described (a talented shinobi who'd gone on many a challenging mission) that Sakura's first reaction to seeing him had been one of disappointment, assuming the trip would be spent in much the same manner as when her Mama had taken her to the Konoha Residential Ward at the hospital to see her Grandmother, (during which Sakura had spent the entire time hiding from her Grandmother's sharp gaze and even sharper tongue behind the numerous potted plants that dotted the room).
Thankfully however Sakura's Grandfather was the complete opposite of her Grandmother in personality, and a veritable mine of stories, tales and fables from all across the ninja world. She had spent the entirety of that first visit safely ensconced in his arms, listening as he wove tale after tale and feasting on a seemingly endless supply of dango and green tea.
One of her Grandfather's favourite stories to tell was the one about the meaning behind the Haruno name, the story soon becoming one of Sakura's favourites. Always being the first to be told each time they visited.
The story always started in exactly the same way.
"Ne Sakura-chan, do you know why we are called the Haruno?"
Even though she had heard the tale many times before, Sakura knew her answer would always remain the same.
"No, Jii-chan why are we called the Haruno?"
"It was many years ago," Sakura's Grandfather began "Long before the first of Konoha's great trees stood in the fields of Fire Country, when a ninja's only thought was to the clan and the clan alone."
Sakura's Grandfather's voice was wispy with age, yet it still managed to conjure the images of the past with startling vivacity.
"During these dark days, there were many clans that stood above the rest. The Senju and the Hyuuga among them."
"What about the Uchiha, Jii-chan?" Sakura interrupted "They were there too right?"
Sakura's Grandfather shot her a mild glare for the interruption "The Uchiha's rivalry with the Senju is centuries old. So yes Sakura-chan, they were there." He shook his head slightly before continuing "Among these clans was one known for manipulating the senses of those that opposed them, who could make it appear to even the greatest of Shinobi that entire armies had vanished into the mist."
"The Kurama" Sakura swallowed nervously.
"Yes," Sakura's Grandfather nodded "However this clan, despite their power, were the carriers of a dreadful curse. Every few generations a child would be born with unimaginable ability, a child who could utterly convince their enemies of the reality of their genjustu. Forcing their minds to betray them, and ensuring that all that occurred in the illusion world would be as if it had occurred in reality. The child's mind however would be fractured, twisted into the shape of a demon by the very powers that they were gifted with. For without control, they would turn against even their own blood in their quest for domination."
Sakura shivered, despite having heard the tale many times before, it could always give her the chills. "And what did the clan do to the cursed children Jii-chan? Did they send them away?"
"And allow them their revenge?" Sakura's Grandfather scoffed "No, the children were allowed to live until their powers were barely mature, before being given a test."
"A test." Sakura repeated softly.
"A test." Sakura's Grandfather said gravely "And if they failed, if their control over both their powers and their other selves was even slightly too small, the cursed children would be taken into the twilight and it was ensured they would never be capable of endangering the clan again."
Sakura bit her lip "But then what of the Haruno? Why weren't we taken into the twilight Jii-chan?
"Ah," Sakura's Grandfather sighed gustily "What of the Haruno?"
"There came a time many generations later, when certain irregularities started to show up in some of the clan's children. Whilst some remained completely healthy others, without any sign of the terrible power inherent within the bloodline were fractured, with another self inside themselves.
"Like Inner?" Sakura prompted
Sakura's Grandfather nodded solemnly "The clan's elders were horrified by this development. A cursed child that could be of use was one thing, but one, many, who were merely average, when they could snap at any moment? It would be better to be rid of them all instead of having them as a drain on the clan's resources."
"Did no-one try to stop them?" Sakura demanded "Did everyone agree with the clan elder's decision?"
"There were certainly many who agreed with the decision." Said Sakura's Grandfather "However there was one voice that rose in dissent. A frail voice, tired with age and bitter with regret, that came from the back of the elder's chambers. A voice that belonged to the Mother of the clan head's Mother herself. She argued that to simply eliminate these fractured children would be cruel, both to the children and to their parents. A dark stain in the history of the clan.
"And they listened?" Sakura said nervously
"Not at first." Sakura's Grandfather shook his head "It is said they debated until summer had turned into autumn and then again into winter, until the snow lay heavy upon the ground and even the rain had frozen into ice, before they settled on a compromise. Instead of being eradicated, the fractured children and those that had spawned them would be banished. Never again to set foot inside the clan's compound, never again to have a name to call their own."
"But it was winter! Why didn't they wait until the snows had melted before they carried out their decision?" said Sakura loudly, earning a disapproving look from her temporary chair.
"And allow such costs to their resources?" Sakura's Grandfather said archly "No. The banished families were given enough food and water for a couple of days before being left to the whims of nature. The snows that year had fallen so deep that even the tallest of the men had to wade as though through a river and the rivers themselves had frozen so hard that not even a fire jutsu would have melted them. Many of the nameless families did not survive those harsh winter months, many falling asleep in the chill evenings and never waking up.
"How did they survive Jii-chan?" Sakura asked softly "If even the ice wouldn't melt?"
"It was for the very same reason that they were banished in the first place." Sakura's Grandfather smiled "Unlike the cursed children of their former clan, the fractured children's other selves did not hunger for greater power, how could they? When they had never experienced it? No, the fractured children's other selves hungered for survival. They wanted to ensure their little hosts survived the cruel storms of winter. To live long lives in defiance of what their former clan had ordained."
"What did they do Jii-chan?" Sakura asked curiously "How did they ensure their survival?"
Sakura's Grandfather grinned toothily "By moulding themselves into their host's chakra."
"Moulding themselves into their host's chakra?" Sakura repeated incredulously "But how would that help?"
Sakura's Grandfather raised an eyebrow "One of the greatest dangers that winter was the exhaustion the nameless families faced. For how can you focus on survival when weariness clings to your every movement, to your every breath? The other's actions gave the fractured children's chakra sentience. They became the children's very energy, and in doing so ensured that they would never again use too much or too little chakra in a technique, would never again waste their chakra, their energy doing the simplest of tasks. Their control became flawless, perfect. And in those deadly times every scrap of energy won was a lifesaving gift.
"And they managed to survive the winter?" Sakura beamed at her Grandfather.
"Indeed" Sakura's Grandfather smiled warmly back "And the sight of those blooming spring fields, awash with colour, the flowers having survived the harsh winter alongside the nameless families, filled all who saw them with hope. That the bitterness and cruelty that they had suffered was over and new times were to come. That is where we get our name Sakura-chan. Haruno, the spring fields. May all the troubles and strife we face cause us to bloom just like those flower fields."
Sakura sighed slightly as she knelt before the family shrine. For all her Grandfather's energy and for all his stories, her Jii-chan had been old. She wished she could have told him about finally becoming a genin, he might have had some advice for her regarding her team.
She bit her lip, why did she have to be on a team with Naruto of all people? And Kakashi-sensei was late to their first day together! How was she going to become a proper kunoichi with teammates like that? At least she was on the same team as Sasuke, so there was one positive. Well that, and Ino-pig's face at that development was a picture, it was a pity they weren't allowed to bring cameras to the Academy anymore. Sakura grinned at the thought before nodding to herself.
"I hope you're watching Jii-chan. I'm going to suffer through this current hardship and bloom into a great kunoichi! Just you wait and see!"