-Her scattering tears had passed—the hands of time were engraved in her beating heart… The people around her were gone, even the baby… What meaning was there to life?

Yay! I'm so happy, not just because this is my 24th fanfic but because it's also the sequel to my hit fanfic Akatsuki no Kuruma! Hooray! Thank you for those who have waited for this so patiently! And thank you for continuing to stay with me while I continue the series! I promise I will work hard to live up to your expectations! And remember, after this, there is a third sequel to Akatsuki no Kuruma!

Oh, and for those who have NOT read Akatsuki no Kuruma, here's a short summary of important things. Ahem… After her encounter with Sasuke, Sakura was "kidnapped" by the Akatsuki because her father, Pein, was worried about her. Konan is revealed to be her mother. Their relationship wasn't so good, and so Itachi was the one who helped repair that bond. Konan is then revealed to be pregnant. In all this, Madara/Tobi makes himself Sakura's god-dad, and the members of Akatsuki become Sakura's teachers. Few months later, the members of Akatsuki die in the same way as they did in the original manga, and Isaribi from the anime filler episodes is recruited as Konan's midwife, bringing along the five-year-old OC Botan. The baby, Shion, is born a couple of weeks later. A few days later, Pein invades Konoha. Pein dies by Naruto's hand (same way in the manga), and Madara gets Sasuke to kill Konan. Now Sakura has an important decision to make: to stay or not to stay as Akatsuki's princess.

Thank you and, for those waiting, here's the first chapter of Toki no Sabaku!

The days when I heard your words,

Those fragments of a promise,

That time when we laughed with ease…

Those were carefree, distant days

~The First Frame~

As Sakura just . . . well, she just stared. She really . . . really couldn't believe her eyes. Uchiha Sasuke . . . her ex-teammate, the one that they were chasing, was standing right before her. She blinked her eyes, still unable to believe it. The last time she had seen him was almost a whole year ago… So how in the world…?

The only thing that was able to snap her out of this trance-like state was her baby sister squirming around in her arms. She quickly broke contact with Team Hebi's leader and focused on her sister. "Shh… Shion… Give your older sister some face, huh?"

Karin, shocked, just glanced down at the floor. So these are the daughters that Konan had left behind… The daughters that we had helped made orphans…

"Tobi-san—no… Uchiha Madara, just what's going on?" Isaribi asked, a snarl in her voice while her eyes glared at the mask-wearing man.

Sakura's eyes widened, glancing at her supposed god-father. Uchiha . . . Madara? The rival of the first Hokage? But isn't he supposed to be dead?

Madara chuckled at Isaribi's inquiry. "A servant girl shouldn't ask too many questions."

Sakura and Isaribi both were taken back by the statement. Since when did Tobi speak so seriously and . . . darkly?

"Sakura, I'd like to speak to you."—he glared at the Konan's midwife—"Privately."

Isaribi knew what the man was insinuating. She didn't want to follow his orders, fearful of Sakura's safety. She glanced at her mistress, unsure of what to do.

"You heard God-dad," Sakura told her in almost a whisper, handing Shion to Isaribi. She had a feeling that her god-father wasn't going to be so lenient or pleasant anymore, so she had to take precautions for the baby. "Take Botan and Shion back to the room. Then, go make the preparations for Team Hebi and bring out some tea."

"Hai, Fujin…" Isaribi, holding Shion tightly, took one last glance at Madara. "This way…" she said to Sasuke's team, leading them out of them room. But glancing back at the Konoha kunoichi, she worried for her mistress.

As the rest of Team Hebi left, Sakura fidgeted with her fingers. Why was Sasuke staying? But she didn't ask about that. Something else was bothering her horribly.

"My mother and father…" she said to Madara, trying to avoid and not even trying to glance at her ex-teammate. ". . . Where are they?"

"I think you better sit down, Hime."

Sakura just stared at Madara. Unable to figure what her god-father was thinking, she forced herself to glance at Sasuke before sitting down, wondering what was going on.

✿｡.:**:.｡✿

"Pein only wanted peace… He even revived those who had died… Sometimes I really wonder if him dying was really for the best…"

"Naruto-kun… You didn't kill him. You know that, right?" Hinata asked, trying to reassure the dobe. "Pein chose to revive those who had passed on. In doing so, he sacrificed his own life."

The blonde sighed. "Yeah… But . . ."—he looked up to the sky—"I can't help but think of the two daughters he left behind."

"Daughters?"

"Yeah, that lady—what's her name?—Konan said that she was going to leave Akatsuki with her two daughters." Naruto explained. "I can't help but wonder how they'll take the news."

"Oh, Naruto…"

"Their father is dead… I don't know how they'll ever forgive me…"

Hinata didn't know what to say to comfort him.

But in a short while, Naruto grunted, standing up from his seat. "Well, enough talking, Hinata-chan! We've got a village to help repair!"

✿｡.:**:.｡✿

The tea cup shattered as it hit the rock floor. Sakura's hands had become limp when she heard the news.

As her mistress's breaths became more and more labored, Isaribi tried to support her. "Fujin!" She glared at Madara. Just what was actually going on? Were Konan and Pein really…?

"What . . . what do you mean by that?" Sakura asked the moment she regained her breath.

"Just what I said. They're both dead."

Sakura stared at him with widened eyes. If Sasuke and Isaribi weren't so distracted by the conversation, they would have seen that Sakura's face was the equivalent of a crazy lady gone mad. "God-dad!" the Konoha kunoichi cried.

"Must you torture her so?" Isaribi asked. "She isn't well!"

But Sakura ignored the girl's words. "My parents… How…? How did they die?" Even now, she couldn't believe that they were gone.

"Your father went almost peacefully. He died at Uzumaki Naruto's hand, his body completely destroyed." Madara explained, twisting the facts. "And your mother, on my orders, was killed by Uchiha Sasuke for betraying Akatsuki."

Sakura took a deep breath, glaring at her ex-teammate of her. "Why…?" she asked, her body trembled. Her glare shifted to the man in front of her. "What did she do to anger you so much as to have her killed?"

"She was going to kill you."

Sasuke's eyes narrowed as he glanced at Madara. Just what was he trying to accomplish, lying to her like this?

Meanwhile, the kunoichi's eyes widened. Sakura could hardly believe what she was hearing. "What?"

"This can be continued tomorrow," Isaribi said, worried for her mistress. "Right now, Fujin—"

But Sakura held her hand up, silencing her mother's midwife, while her other hand clawed at the table. The others in the room were aware of that.

"She told me herself," Madara explained, smiling behind his mask but his voice was edging towards grief-stricken as he continued with his act. "She said . . . you looked too much like your father, a horrid reminder. She wasn't going to be merciful…"

Sakura held back tears, but she gave a small smile and scoffed. She knew she couldn't trust Madara. "Oh, really?" she asked, her eyes shifted downward. "That's strange… She had told me once that I looked more like the Hokage Tsunade rather than either her and Papa…"

Sensing Sakura's suspicions, Madara quickly thought of a cover for his propaganda. "Well, that's the reason she gave me."—he stood—"However, if you don't believe me, that's not my problem. But know this: she chose the baby over you."

Her eyes shifted back to Madara, the mad look in her eyes increased by tenfold. "I don't believe this… I won't believe this until I see my mother's body!"

"Fujin…" Isaribi glanced at Madara, wondering what his true intention was. Her eyes shifted to the ex-member of Team 7. Did he know what Madara was planning? Was he really in on all of this? And if so, how could he allow his ex-teammate to suffer like this?

"Heh, Sakura, you must stop dreaming and stop being spoiled," Madara said. "I may have played the fool, but that was only to survive. This is the real world. To have heard this news and yet you don't believe it? Perhaps you haven't grown up yet."

"How dare you say that!" Isaribi yelled.

"Am I not correct?" Madara asked. "This world holds so much evil. Regret is never to be shown. Love may be deep, words may be true, but we can never be moved. The heart may ache, but we must take roots so as to not feel pain. Human affairs are just scarring tears, and hatred is held in everyone's hearts. Isn't that true, Sakura?"

But Sakura couldn't speak. Her tears didn't stop. Why was this happening to her?

✿｡.:**:.｡✿

"Oy! You two! Come on down for some lunch!"

Hinata and Naruto glanced at the kunoichi who spoke. Ino stood on ground floor with three o-bento boxes in her hands. And so, when Naruto and Hinata jumped off of the building they were helping fix, Ino smiled.

"Aremaa…" she sighed. "You guys haven't even taken a break since we've started fixing up Konoha. If I hadn't called you down, you would have forgotten all about lunch, wouldn't you two?"

Naruto smiled sheepishly, scratching his head, while Hinata just blushed.

"Gee, it's nice that you care so much!" Naruto said.

"Well, this is all I can do for Sakura right now… Taking care of you while she's…" Ino couldn't even bring herself to finish the sentence.

"Daijōbu, Ino-chan…" Hinata said, knowing fully well of the girl's reason for sadness. It had almost been a year since Sakura was kidnapped and still no lead as to where she was being held or how she was. "The Akatsuki lady Konan said that Sakura was fine…"

"Yeah," Naruto seconded it. "She told me herself, and she didn't seem like she was lying. Besides, what reason would she have to lie to us?"

"Yeah…" Ino tried to smile. She couldn't let anything upset her especially at times like these. "Anyway, come on… I worked so hard to make this food! I won't have it go to waste!"

Naruto smiled, but his eyes saddened before looking up towards the sky again. Sakura-chan… Are you really alright?

✿｡.:**:.｡✿

"Please don't be so sad, Fujin…" Isaribi said, wiping away one of her stray tears. Right now, they were back in Sakura's room. "You must mind your health… Konan-san and Leader-sama would be terribly saddened if they knew of your bereavement right now…"

Sakura held a hand to her mouth, trying to stop her wails. "I don't know why I believed their words! If I hadn't forced myself to believe them, I wouldn't be in so much pain!" she cried. "I should've known . . . they wouldn't have kept their promise—they never did before, so why did I force myself to believe them now? Why did I act so stupidly? I've only hurt myself more!"

"Fujin…"

Sakura pushed her hand against her mouth, trying to stop her weeping even if it meant suffocating herself. Why had she been so silly? Why did she believe those two? So that she could suffer like this? She shook her head furiously. She stopped when her eyes fell upon her sister, sleeping peacefully with Botan's arms wrapped around her.

"She chose the baby over you."

"Will my happiness come after you've gone?"

"Fujin…?" Isaribi glanced at Sakura, confused. What happened next, she couldn't have imagined…

Sakura stood up from her seat and walked over to the bed, forcibly taking the baby out of Botan's hands and into her arms.

"Fujin?" Isaribi followed Sakura out of the room. Botan also followed, forced awake when his small master was taken out of his hands. "Fujin!"

Passing by the hallway, Karin had seen the whole exchange and hid in the shadows, following them.

Isaribi grabbed Sakura by her arm, but the kunoichi kept on walking. "Fujin, what are you going to do with Shion?" But Sakura gave no answer, worrying Isaribi even further. "Fujin!"

Sakura stopped in front of a small pond.

"Fu . . . jin…?" Botan asked, his head cocked to the side once he caught up.

Sakura glanced down at the baby who was now smiling at her in her arms. "Don't hold this against me…" she cooed, smiling. Her face suddenly turned wicked. "You forced me to do this." And she threw the baby into the pond.

"Ah! Shion!" And Isaribi jumped into the pond after the baby.

"Leave her be!" Sakura yelled. "That child deserves to die…"

Isaribi turned around to glance at her mistress. "Fujin! You promised your mother that you'd take care of your younger sister!"

"If she doesn't keep her promises then why should I?"

"Because she's the only thing you have left of your parents!"

Sakura held back her tears, taking few breaths to calm down. Why was Isaribi taking the child's side?

"Fujin, don't let Madara trick you like this!" She reached out for the baby.

"ISARIBI!"

The girl stopped and stood up, not even glancing back at her mistress. "I may not know how it's like to believe that fate is against me, and I may not know of your pain, but I know for a fact that the child is suffering, if not ten times, then a hundred times more than you are! She's only a newborn, Sakura… She won't know of a parent's love… She won't get a chance to even have a memory of her mother or father… But shouldn't she be given a chance at life?"

Sakura just stared at the girl. She hadn't realized what she had been doing until it was too late. But she couldn't deny it. There had been a small shard of hatred in her heart, hatred directed towards the small baby. She couldn't deny she was happy when she threw the baby into the water, but…

"It's good to see you two getting along so nicely."

Sakura's eyes softened. "So we would! We're sisters, aren't we? Even though the father's blood may be different, we're from the same soul! We're soul sisters!"

Konan laughed once more. "I think soul sister has a different meaning."

"So? What of it?"

Konan shook her head. "Regardless, it would still be nice if Shion grew up like you."

"Mama…" Sakura was still confused, though.

"Your kindness is large enough to embrace the oceans… Even though so much has happened, how much we wronged you . . . you still see your father and I as your parents. For that much, I'm grateful. I've never actually expected us to get along as a family again… But for it to have happen…"

"Mama," Sakura said. "What's there to be grateful for? I'm your daughter, you're my mother. There's no—"

Konan shook her head, holding Sakura's hands tightly. "Do you know how much I regret not being there for you when you were growing up? When you faced danger on your missions? When you suffered from heartache? Do you know how much I regret that? You can't possibly imagine my pain and my guilt whenever I think of how I left my own daughter to survive on her own… How you could forgive me is beyond me… If it were anyone else, they wouldn't have let it slide so easily."

"Mama…"

"I won't make the same mistake. I promise you that. I won't ever leave you behind, ever again… I won't leave you, I won't… You have to believe that."

"SHION!"

Isaribi's eyes widened. "Fujin!"

Sakura had run into the ice-cold water. Without even thinking, she dived into the water and grabbed the baby. Once above the water, Shion started crying.

"Fujin…"

Sakura held the baby close, she herself crying once she heard Shion's shrill cry. "Gomennasai, Shion… Gomennasai… Your older sister is so sorry… Forgive me, okay? I won't ever do that again… I'll protect you, no matter what. I won't ever make you feel pain again, not like that ever again… I'm so sorry… Forgive me, Shion…"

And from the distance, Karin watched as Isaribi took off her outer layer of clothing and draped it over the two sisters. She watched as Botan helped the women out of the freezing waters. And as she watched them, Karin couldn't help but feel horrible. Was this what Madara was trying to accomplish when he said that these two daughters would suffer for their parents' mistakes? Was he trying to pit them against each other like Sasuke and Itachi? She didn't really know… All she knew was that she had to make it up to them and to Konan, too… She couldn't let Madara continue like this.

✿｡.:**:.｡✿

"What exactly do you plan on doing to her?"

Madara chuckled. "Why are you so persistent on this subject? Is it because she was your teammate long ago?"

Sasuke didn't answer.

"Anyway, my plans do not concern you…"

"The Hell it does when you lie about what I did!"

Madara let out another laugh. "It was all just propaganda… I'll need a whole lot of it if that cherry blossom is to stay as Akatsuki's Madly Blooming Princess…"

And throughout all of this, Sasuke's hands rolled into fists, though he didn't know why.

Aremaa = good heavens; oh my god; gee whiz

Daijōbu = don't worry

Fujin = madam; ma'am; milady

Hime = princess

Whew! The chapter's done! Yay! I hope I reached your expectations but, for some reason, I think this chapter is a bit rushed… It could be just me, but anyhow… Sorry that it's a bit short, but it's the first chapter. For me, first chapters are supposed to be short. Oh, and a side note: to give someone face, in Japanese and Chinese (and maybe some other) language, means to not embarrass that someone. And I got the phrase "Madly Blooming Princess" from Vampire Knight.

Thank you for reading and please stay tuned to the next chapter!