sadly, i DONT own naruto... but i do own Akaikumo :]

flashbacks

thoughts

normal

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Sakura sighed as she watched her son fail at trying to hit a tree with a kunai at a 5ft distance. No matter how hard he tried, his aim was poor. Having a picnic in the woods was originally Akaikumo's idea since he wanted to practice his throw. But, it was obvious he wasnt good at it...

She shivered at the thought of her only son being a fail ninja... she was pretty sure his father wasnt one, and she never thought of herself as a failure. There was no other choise but to hope his genes would eventually come alive as he grows.

"Thats enough practicing for now dont you think Akai?" she called him "Come here and grab a bite"

The boy dropped his kunai and ran her way.

"You brought food? Awesome!!!!" he said hunryly.

Sakura just smiled at him. Did six year olds really think picnics are all about playing and running around...

"You know, i was REEEEEEEALY close to hitting the tree the last time" he said stuffing his mouth with sandwiches.

"Thats nice" she faked a smile and just hoped the boy didnt notice she was faking it

Flashback

"How could you expect me to go on a mission like that???" Sakura almost screamed at Tsunade

"Sakura, you do understand this is a very important undercover S-ranked mission and the lifes of many ninja depend on it." Tsunade tried to remain calm "We have already lost many ninja trying to defend against the Akatsuki, we can not afford anymore damage!"

"I do understand that, but what i dont understand is why ME?" Sakura was now at the verge of tears, but still as mad as before

"Because, Sakura, ive known you for years and i think youre the best person to do this." Tsunade did her best to explain.

Somehow, Sakura managed to stop all her tears from rolling and calm herself down. She knew this was a part of every kunoichi or maybe even every shinobi's career, but why did it have to be now???

"You know, one day i want to become a true shinobi and graduate from the academy and then go on real missions!" Akaikumo said with sligh hope in his voice and brought her back to earth.

"You know, Akai its always good to have a certain goal that will keep you going" She told him, but the child only lowered his head

"Yeah, but" his lips shivered "What if i just wasnt ment to be a shinobi..."

Sakura let him stare at the grass for a moment, and then spoke up:

"Remember you're still just a little child, most of your friends probably wouldnt be able to hold a real kunai without cutting themselves."

"Really??? You mean it" Akai's eyes even sparkled at the sun a little

Sakura just nodded and smiled at him. Altho he's never known a fathers love, he had his mother, who loved him for both.

"Come on, lets pack and go back home"

As Sakura helped Akai who insisted on packing the rest of the food, more flashbacks came back to her.

Tsunade waited for Sakura's response who kept re-reading what she was supposed to do over and over. Her mission parthner was Shikamaru, because if anything went wrong, he could probably find a way out of the mess. She sighed as she lowered the paper. She and Shikamaru were supposed to find any akatsuki that were coming back from a mission and somehow ran into them. Then came the harder part when Shikamaru was supposed to convince the akatsuki to buy sakura for very low price. The rest was a living H. E. L. L.

Sakura sighed and looked tsunade in the eyes. "I accept." She said as she stood up

"Good. You have one day to leave konoha. Come up with a good plan."

"I think everythings packed, can we go now? i want to practice my throw some more when we get home"

At that moment, Akaikumo reminded her of Naruto a little. Even thought he couldnt succeed at something, he kept trying no matter what. And of herself when she was little. Always trying to get Sasuke no matter what...

"Mom, can i ask you something?" Akai asked and put his hands behind his head

"Sure, go ahead"

"Why did you give me this name, Akaikumo? Theres no such thing as red clouds so its kinda pointless..."

Sakura knew the reason why she gave him that name. She knew and even hated it.

"Wow, thats a good question" Sakura even widened her eyes for effect "I guess i just thought it was unique and liked it."

Akai looked at her and smiled. "If you like it, then i like it too"

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A/N So what do you think of this chappie? In case it was hard to figure out Akaikumo means "red cloud" (akai = red, kumo= cloud)...

Please review, reading reviews makes me happy and knowing someone reads what i write makes me write as fast as alive as i can. In other words, review if you want more! :)