Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto.

Other Disclaimer: This was based off of the movie "The shape of a Voice" by Ooima Yoshitoki.

Sakura Senju was born deaf.

At the age of two years old, the experts had finally realized the damage that had occurred in the nearly disastrous event that had been her birth.

Her Mother had sobbed, holding her little girl to her chest tightly, only crying harder when Sakura brushed away the tears with trembling fingers and confused eyes. Her Father only looked away, before talking to the doctors with a stern mouth and hard eyes.

It was obvious he blamed them.

They had begun teaching her sign language slowly. Sakura had been thrilled at finally being able to speak to someone—understand anyone—and had taken up the classes with such intense vigor that her family would smile softly every time she asked them something with a flurry of movements.

Her little brother had been born not soon after. Naruto, in all his cheerful glory, never seemed to find any fault within Sakura's trying attempts to communicate with him. He learned sign language as his second language, and often, their mother found herself watching the little four-year-old's attempts at communication—switching between gurgled childish words and quick, flurried hand signals.

Sakura adored her little brother. She let him sleep in the same bed, braid her short hair and paint their toenails blue with their mother's Special Polish. They were inseparable—Naruto always running after his elder sister, watching anyone who could harm her with dark, stormy eyes—and Sakura never lost her smile, giggling at her younger sibling's attempts at pranking and ramen-contesting.

They had had a happy childhood until The Event.

Tsunade—their mother—was coming home late from the hospital, the amount of cases for the brightest, most successful doctor in Japan was overwhelming and often, Naruto and Sakura found themselves waiting for her at on the couch, their father—Dan—drifting off to sleep in the dull light of the T.V. and their hushed giggles.

It had been quick.

Quick and brutal.

Naruto had gone out for a quick snack with his older friends, the Nara boy and the Akimichi promising Sakura that he'd be back soon to wait for Okaa-chan, a bright smile on his face. Sakura had signed the okay to him and watched him run off with his friends around the corner, a nervous smile pulling at her mouth.

She didn't hear it.

Obviously, she couldn't hear it.

So when she turned around to find her father splayed on the kitchen table, his eyes rolled back in his head, a hand pressing against his chest, spittle collecting at the edges of his mouth, she cried out in shock. His body was jerking and Sakura ran towards him, tears falling down her cheeks the vibrations coming from her throat told her that she was making some kind of sound.

She panicked—she didn't know what to do—didn't know how she could help so she did the only thing that she thought she could.

Sakura opened her mouth and in the same fashion Naruto used to protest his dinner when he was a baby, screamed at the top of her lungs and waited for someone to come help.

It didn't take long.

Her father was on the floor and Sakura was beside him, her throat hoarse from the strength of the vibrations. Her own body was shaking, her hands trying to hold her father down, yet not succeeding.

He was a large man, her father. Or at least to Sakura he was. He had always seemed larger than life with his long pale hair pulled back into a messy ponytail and his kind blue eyes that always seemed to crinkle at the corners.

Seeing him like this—eyes rolling back in his head, foam collecting at his pale lips, his arms jerking inconsistently at his sides—scared her. No, it terrified her.

Sakura had never thought that she was handicapped before this moment. Her mother would help her learn how to lip-read and Naruto would always make sure that she could see his hands if they needed to sign. Sakura had never been in a situation where she would have to pick up the phone and call someone.

She had tried to text her mother, still screaming, but had gotten nothing. She was too afraid to stop yelling because—what if no one heard her? The neighbors didn't know she was deaf and they wouldn't understand her signing, let alone her tears and swollen words that never seemed to come out properly.

But, as Sakura screamed, she kept her eyes on her father's jerking form before clasping her hands together and praying.

She didn't hear anyone knocking because she couldn't.

She didn't hear anyone bursting down the door or calling out.

Sakura only continued to scream, her shoulders shaking and tears running down her mouth as she prayed and prayed and prayed.

They had sat her down in the ambulance, trying and failing to communicate with her.

Sakura had simply crushed her father's fingers between hers and watched with broken eyes as he was brought to the general hospital—where Mama worked.

Sakura hoped that her mother would be able to see her texts before she got home. She didn't want to worry her more than she had to.

Someone shook her shoulder again and Sakura snapped tearful eyes to a calm brown. The tall woman said something but it was too fast and Sakura couldn't read it off her lips.

Frustration filled her and fresh tears came to her eyes.

Why was she so useless?

The woman was getting annoyed—Sakura could tell from the way her eyes narrowed and her lips pursed together—and Sakura felt a sob begin to form in her throat.

She said something again and Sakura shook her head, holding her father's fingers even tighter.

If only Naruto was here.

She had texted her younger brother in hopes that he would get there before the ambulance took off but Sakura didn't see his usual orange shirt or dirty jeans so she got into the ambulance herself and tried very hard to stave the terrified tears and hiccupped sobs that overtook her.

The woman threw her hands up in the air and Sakura felt the useless sensation fill her up again. The man next to her was looking at his coworker with something akin to anger and then turned to her.

He tried to sign something and Sakura's eyes widened before nodding furiously.

'My Father! I don't know what happened' Warm tears trickled down her face, burning the already raw skin of her cheeks, 'My Mother—Tsunade Senju—was at work and my brother—Naruto—he's with his friends! I didn't know what to do—please call them, let them know what happened!'

The man's eyes tracked her quick movements and a nervous tick appeared as his lip twitched involuntarily. Sakura's eyes filled with tears before she tried to sign again.

'Do you understand me? Please tell me you can understand!'

Her movements were slower and the man looked like he realized what she was saying before he wiggled his hand in a so-so motion.

Tears instantly filled her eyes again and a hopeless sob choked out of her. She could feel the pain in her throat as the vibrations passed through it and she fought the wince. She didn't care if her throat was torn up, only if her father turned out okay.

The man tried to sign again but Sakura had had enough.

Mother had tried to teach her this and she steeled herself for the mockery and pity in their eyes.

"Mway Mwothar ish Tshuwande Shwenji." She warbled out, hoping that they could understand her mother's name.

The woman looked confused. The man's eyebrows creased together before a gleam of understanding shone through his eyes.

"Your mother is Tsunade Senju?" He asked—mouthed—very slowly.

Sakura nodded furiously, crushing her father's fingers in her hands.

She didn't notice the pale expressions on their faces or their fast-moving mouths as they called for the driver to go faster because "This right here is hospital royalty and Senju-sama was going to murder them if they were late."

Her mother had held very closely at the funeral. Naruto was crushing her fingers in his and tears poured down his cheeks in despair.

Sakura stared dully at the coffin that was being lowered into the ground.

Her mother had gone insane when she had found out that Naruto had left the house, leaving Sakura alone. Naruto's desperate tears and choked sobs were the only things that had calmed their mother before bursting into tears herself.

Sakura was the one who had been waiting in the emergency room with a social worker, biting her blue nails anxiously, tears in her eyes.

Her mother had been furious at the emergency worker's treatment of Sakura and it was only when her daughter had told her that they had been kind and trying to help that she managed to calm down.

Sakura would never forget the look of absolute and utter despair as the doctor told them that Kato Dan had died in the operating room from an unknown chronic disease of the nervous system that had taken less than twelve in the past thirty years.

Sakura watched as the graveyard workers stepped away from the hole in the ground and ushered the priest—Her father had been religious and her mother knew he would have liked a priest there—to the stand.

Naruto sobbed at the words the priest said and Sakura could feel her mother's fingers tightening on her shoulder and she knew that if she looked up, she would find repressed tears and a dull gleam in her eyes.

Sakura knew, somehow, that it was all her fault.

She hadn't been quick enough.

She hadn't been smart enough.

She wasn't good enough.

Tears streamed down her cheeks.

She wasn't enough to save her father.

Grandpa Hashirama moved in with them the next week and his brother Tobirama rented out the place next door. Uncle Nawaki sent his regards from Osaka and said that they would have come to the funeral but his eldest daughter Rin had gotten ill with bronchitis and they wouldn't be able to make it. Still, they sent a basket of soap, fresh bread and chocolate that had Mother smiling despairingly as if it was an inside joke. Mama and Naruto seemed happier at having her father and uncle closer but the loving spark in Mother's eyes had vanished.

Sakura's life went from cheerful family dinners and Naruto and Okaa-chan's bickering to solemn glances and the occasional outburst of tears.

All the photos of Papa were put away in a box under Mama's bed and Naruto began keeping a camera around his neck at all times. He was adamant in capturing every precious moment so nothing special would ever slip away again.

Grandpa Hashirama would bring Naruto to school, the energetic seven year old following him happily, snapping pictures of the leaves on the ground or Sakura's hair in the sunlight when she came with them on her way to sign-school.

Uncle Tobirama helped Mama get to the hospital on time and pry away the bottle of sake that was appearing on her person more and more. He also helped with all the cooking, making Naruto a healthy balance between ramen and proper food, never yielding when the seven-year old kicked up a fuss.

Sakura often watched quietly from the doorway as her mother cried in the bathroom, her mascara running down her cheeks, the pretty lipstick that Papa loved smearing all over the bottle. Sometimes Mama would speak to Papa. Sakura could never hear what she said, but often times she caught the slow movements of her mouth and she would make out certain words and phrases.

'I love you, Dan. I love you so much.' Her mother would cry out in the bathtub, her eyes scrunching up in pain. 'I miss you. We all miss you so much.'

Sakura was weighed down by the grief of losing her father.

She would glance at the grim, yet determined happy face of her younger brother and the hard and tired face of her mother, before looking away quickly so they wouldn't notice her tears.

Her hands began to shake around the time when her brother won his first photography competition. He had plastered all his pictures in their—now shared—room, his favorites stuck up over his headboard for all to see.

There was a picture of Grandpa Hashi's long brown hair lit up by the early morning sun. Another showed their Mother smiling softly at a scowling Tobirama, Sakura's pink hair curling at the edge of the picture. The one Naruto had found the prettiest—he had signed it to her excitedly—was one of her, sleeping soundly.

Her hair was spread out in a halo around her head, pale pink in the moonlight. Her lips were slightly open and a peaceful expression was on her face, her hands clasped on her chest as if in prayer.

Sakura hated it.

But when Naruto signed for her opinion, she had pasted on a brilliant smile and signed back that she loved it.

She didn't notice Uncle Tobirama's stern eyes narrowing in suspicion at the trembling of her hands.

Uncle Tobirama had begun spending more time with her after she graduated from sign school.

He had taken over Father's home schooling and had begun taking sign language classes, often bringing Sakura along with him. After, they would head over to the café on the roundabout—the one Papa had brought her to when she had passed her tests for the second grade—and Sakura had hot chocolate while Tobirama sipped at what Naruto called 'Old Man Tea'.

He glared at the waitress when she slammed the table to get Sakura's attention.

Sakura only stared at her shaking hands, tears threatening to overwhelm her.

She felt Uncle's hand brush over hers, a thumb smoothing over the skin of the back of her hand. Tears slipped down her face when she recognized Papa's way to called her attention.

Her Uncle's eyes softened at her tears and he put his tea down to sign. 'Sakura-chan. It wasn't your fault.'

A sob made its way to her throat and her hands trembled further. 'B—But I-I couldn't help him.'

Her fingers trembled through the motions and Tobirama quickly payed the cashier before ushering them out of the café and to the park, not bothering to care when the waitress complained about the lack of kindness.

He let her cry into his dress-shirt while he stroked her hair.

When she finally wiped away the tears at the corner of her eyes, he said something slowly.

Mama had probably told him that she was still struggling with lip-reading.

"It's not your fault, sweetheart." He mouthed.

Sakura shook her head. "It ish. It ish, Twobwiramah."

He merely held her tighter and continued to shake his head.

Mama got worse before she got better.

Uncle Tobirama and Grandpa Hashi took more and more care of them and Naruto became clingy.

Sakura was often dragged to play with Naruto's friends before retreating to the park bench and flipping open a book and forgetting her failures for a couple of hours.

Her younger brother's friends often didn't really care what she did but Naruto always made sure to check up on her every other minute.

Grandpa Hashi let her braid his hair and Uncle Tobi had begun showing her higher mathematics and Ancient history when she showed her enthusiasm for learning.

Mama still went to work. But she didn't come home until the late hours of the night, stumbling over the front step and giggling when she sprawled across the lined up shoes. Sakura would always tuck Naruto into bed after Grandpa made dinner. Tobirama would retire to his house, ruffling Sakura's pink locks and watching Naruto's antics with a stern, yet twinkling amusement.

Sakura stayed up until Mama came home.

If Grandpa didn't wake to help her get to bed, Sakura would get out of bed and bring her to the bathroom. She would take her mother's warmest pajama bottoms and Papa's favorite shirt, helping her mother get into her nightclothes. Sakura pushed back her Mother's hair when she threw up in the toilet, rubbing her back in slow circles, the tears in her eyes reminding her of why she deserved her mother's apathy.

Then she would help mother stumble to bed and tuck her in, edging the bottle from her hands and tucking it back into the liquor cupboard. She pressed a kiss to her mother's cheek and pushed away the long strands of blonde before closing the door behind her quietly.

Sakura could always sleep better after she helped her mother.

Tobirama found out about it.

Tobirama found out that nine-year-old Sakura was taking care of her mother and putting her to bed as if she were her child and became furious.

Grandpa was furious about it too and Sakura remembered the vibrations in the house when her Uncle and Grandfather yelled at her mother so loudly even Naruto winced. Sakura sat tucked away in the closet, knees drawn up to her chest, tears streaming down her cheeks.

She only wanted to help her mother—because she couldn't save her father.

Because she was stupid and deaf and basically mute and—

And then Mother found her and pulled her from the closet, tears dripping down her cheeks, her mouth making the motions for: "I'm sorry."

Useless.

Things were still rocky after that but Sakura never had to put her mother to bed again.

The decision was made on an October morning, the day after Naruto's eighth birthday. Tobirama had finally told Mama—signed, so Sakura could understand better—that she ought to enroll her in primary school.

His argument had been that Sakura should be interacting with her peers and learning how to integrate into normal society. He had taught her all that he could for a child so young and with her higher intelligence he thought she could do wonderful things if she were placed in a normal school setting.

Grandpa Hashi had agreed, smiling at Sakura jovially when she shot him a nervous look.

Naruto seemed frustrated—he couldn't protect her if she wasn't with him and Sakura knew that it bothered him immensely. He had gotten increasingly protective after their father's death, and the fact that Sakura still got dirty looks when she did something wrong or silly in public, made him wary of letting her out of his sight.

But…she wasn't stupid.

Yes you are, a nasty voice whispered in her head, You let your father die, didn't you, murderer?

Their mother seemed less convinced. She had already lost her husband, half a year ago, and what if Sakura got hurt and no one was there to help?

The words, like the last time, were never said but definitely implied.

Even Naruto seemed, for all his joy, to violently protest the idea. Which surprised Sakura because he had always pushed her to do her best and to succeed at all costs.

Still, Uncle and Grandpa convinced Tsunade to let her enter the fifth grade and Sakura got ready for her first day of school with brand-new earplugs and yellow stockings under a powder blue dress, a nervous smile stretching across her face.

Please tell me what you all think! P.S. I am not deaf, so if I got anything wrong please tell me and I'll try and fix it in future chapters :)