A Cherry Blossom's life
Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto.
A/N: this chapter is going to be like snapshots from the daily life of Sakura's first five months with the Akatsuki.
Chapter 1: Mess in the Akatsuki Headquarter
The sun was shining. The birds were singing. And the deer were eating grass.
A bright and calm day in the land of River that would have lasted eternity...
"Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhhh!"
... Hadn't the Akatsuki base been in this land and the leader of said organization didn't choose this base to protect his daughter from the harsh weather of Amegakure. Now the once lively forest became deadly silent. All the birds, deer and all kinds of animals flew away, afraid of the obviously hungry human. It is a known fact that humans are distinguished from animals thanks to their brains. That would mean that humans are supposed to be more intelligent than animals, which means that humans should know the cause of a problem and from there, try to solve it. Sadly, life isn't fair. Thus it should be no surprise that animals know that the previous cry was due to hunger while humans believe that it was because the baby wanted to become of follower of Jashin. Yes, life can be hard, especially when you're missing some important braincells.
"Hidan, dammit! The brat doesn't want to become a crazy sadist like you, you idiot! How did you even think that she wants to?!" Came the booming voice of one blue skinned man.
"Shaddup fucker! Jashin-sama tells me when he sees a fucking follower and-" Was his crude retort.
"You son of a bitch! Stay away from my darling daughter or I'll shove your balls so far up your ass you'll fucking throw them up!" A soft yet angry voice interrupted him.
Ah! Life is so beautiful, don't you agree? The sun is still shining, the animals are at an enough far away distance not to hear the shouts coming from the... Er the now silent base. Silence, finally! Would have been the thoughts of the animals.
"Dammit bitch is PMSing!" And we were so close to have a full minute of silence.
"HIDAAAAN!"
"Hmm... I think we can eat the brat now. I wonder if she'll taste like cherries? No we can't eat leader-sama's daughter. It isn't really nice to do so. Who cares about being nice. Besides we've just eaten the spies. Yeah. But they taste like dirt, the brat is still so small like a cherry tomato. Hmm..." Of course Zetsu would be arguing with himself.
However, we seem to forget a certain someone who started all this mess. In fact, why did the small baby stop crying?
"Annoying. The brat wanted to eat, idiots. If you still manage to get in this mess, I'll change you all into puppets." Came a bored voice that belonged to a certain redhead. Said redhead was cradling a one week old baby with bright pink hair and puffy green eyes. She was drinking milk from a baby's bottle.
"Aww you care for little Saku-chan! I'm so proud of you. With a little efforts maybe we can see a real smile someday." She gave a wishful sigh. "A mother can always dream."
"Hn. Here, take your brat. And don't let her annoy me anymore."
"Ah! But Sasori-san, if she bothers you so much, you can always give her to me. I have an amazing way with kids." Came the troubling voice of the snake Sanin who received glares from everyone in the room.
"You are all morons." Was the leader's only comment.
Yes, a normal day with the Akatsuki and the baby of course.
"Eww... Who killed and forgot to give Zetsu the body? Hidan, you moron! Did you do one of your rituals and didn't open the windows?" Came Konan's voice as she walked in the living room.
"Why is it always me?!" was his angry response. "It's your fuckin' darlin who shat herself!"
"Hidan sweetie..." said the blue haired mother in a sugar coated voice. "What did I tell you about your cursing habits when my baby girl was born?" An audible gulp followed her question. "Yes, I explicitly told you to stop if you didn't want me to behead you. Now, did you do as I said?"
The entire Akatsuki headquarter was submerged in a tense silence.
"ANSWER THE FREAKING QUESTION! Did you do as I said?" She clutched a butcher knife that seemed to appear from nowhere.
"No ma'am."
"No. I already knew it, you fool. Now because of your dirty mouth my sweet baby is going to have a sailor's mouth. And why is that? Because you stupid moron can't stop your freaking tendencies! Because you don't know when to stop and when to shut up. And you know what happens to bad boys who don't listen to their mommies, they get their heads cut. COME HERE YOU LITTLE SHNIZZ!"
And so the normally coolheaded woman started chasing the apologizing Jashinist around the base. During the whole afternoon Konan was running after Hidan around the base until she cornered him. And thus started their battle which lasted throughout the night until the leader's partner managed to cut the silver headed man into mutilated pieces. Unfortunately for the cut man, his partner who usually put him back was in a bounty hunt and won't return until the day after the next. And that means that the mutilated man won't be a whole man until two days later and will remain pieces that may or may not be eaten by the different animals.
As Konan walked away, she thought about her poor darling and how she managed to live the whole day without her mommy to feed her, and how she stayed asleep while she and Hidan made so much noise. Running toward her daughter's bedroom, the poor woman got the shock of her life upon finding her bed empty. She already knew that Sasori was on a mission in Kumo with his partner, which meant that Orochimaru couldn't have taken her. Also, she knew that Zetsu wouldn't eat her however he was still a possibility. Shunshening to her husband's office, she was flabbergasted upon seeing her daughter sleeping soundly in her father's lap while he played with her soft pink locks. She smiled softly at the scene before her walking toward her partner.
"How did she manage to sleep with us running around and yelling?"
"I put a soundproof jutsu around the office to stop any noise coming from outside. I also changed her diapers and bottle-fed her and played with her for the day." He told his wife proudly.
"Oh, I see that you're becoming quite a master at dealing with children."
"No, not all children, just Sakura. She's after all our princess and she'll do many great things when she grows up. But for now, she'll just enjoy her childhood with us." He said with a soft look in his eyes.
"Do we have to take her to Konoha? I'm sure we can protect perfectly here, even from him."she asked him, desperation clear in her voice."
"No. You know how he is. Once he discovers her presence here, and that there is the possibility that she's a bearer of the Rinnigan, he'll want to use her as his killing tool. I know he'll want to transform her into up his own little killing machine and we can't have that."
She sighed deeply before placing a kiss on his cheek. Taking the pink haired baby in her hands, she pulled him toward their shared bedroom.
"Come on, I'm sure you're exhausted and the office isn't a comfortable sleeping place, at all."
~Somewhere else in the base~
"Hey! Come back here!" Echoed the strangled voice of the silver haired man through the empty base. "A least put me in my room! Common! Hello, anyone there?! Can someone look at my left leg? I feel like something is crawling on my toes. Hey bit-believe it! Something is crawling there! Put at least my body somewhere safe from these freaking animals! Leader-sama! Konan, you blasted woman! I swear I'm gonna sacrifice you once I get back my body."
While the family went to sleep, the mutilated Jashinsit continued yelling throughout the night. Yes, another ordinary day in the Akatsuki base.
~End of the first month/April~
"Leader-sama," started Kakuzu during dinner, "If you hadn't already noticed, I'm going to inform you all that our expenses for the last month has increased by at least 15%, in comparison with March. And I must say that's all because of our newest...addition, whether be it powdered milk, clothes, supplies and especially diapers."
"We do have a baby in the house, right?" Came Kisame's snide comment which was followed by the Jashinist's loud laughter."
"Which is why you've been going on bounty hunts for the last month and Hidan is working with Kisame." Was the leader's answer to the miser's remarks, completely ignoring Kisame's comment.
"Kakuzu, are you insinuating that we should get rid of my sweet darlin?" came Konan's sharp voice who had stopped feeding the pink baby.
The awaiting baby looked around the room with curious eyes. While her mother was busy glaring and fighting against the stingy man, she missed the frown that marred the baby's face upon seeing the snake Sanin; unlike the redhead who was staring intensely at the pink haired girl. Turning her gaze abruptly toward him, she gave a soft smile and received a small one that went unnoticed by most except from the leader and the blue skinned man. Raising her small hands toward the redhead, the little girl started whimpering, immediately grabbing her mother's attention.
"Yes, sweetie? Mommy is here. Do you want me to buy you something?" The pinkette continued whimpering and pointing her hands toward the ex-Suna ninja who looked stunned at the scene in front of him. Did the little brat want him? The poor mother who didn't understand why her daughter would raise her hands in the air, started lulling her to sleep, without much progress."
"Perhaps she wants to go to Sasori." Said the leader of the Akatsuki with a slight smirk.
His suggestion received a complete and utter silence from the sitting members. Konan who didn't know how to silence her daughter's cries gave her to Sasori. As soon as he took her in his arms, Sakura stopped her cries and started giggling. She put a hand on Sasori's cheek and immediately took it off. She just found out firsthand that Sasori was a puppet. Said puppet master looked downcast for a little moment, expecting the small girl to start crying. However she surprised them all when she put both her hands on his face and started looking directly in his eyes, as if reassuring him that she wasn't afraid or disgusted. Then, ripping him from his reverie, she giggled and began clapping her hands.
She was truly their princess, their angel. She didn't judge them the first day for being different. And today again, she didn't cry upon finding that Sasori was completely frozen, and unlike her parents, he didn't have blood rush through his veins. She was true art, with her ever lasting beauty. Even when she was crying, she remained beautiful. She was an ethereal being, an eternal beauty, an immortal angel. And she was theirs to be and stay forever. Although she was supposed to leave them in four months, the Akatsuki blood will forever remain in her, and she'll be one spitfire when she grows up. He just knew it.
"Aww... Welcome Saso-nii in the family. Now you're going to be her older brother, and who knows maybe you'll be her boyfriend or husband when she grows up." Konan said in a happy voice that completely opposed the horrified silence that followed her statement.
"No, she will not date anyone from this organization, and for anyone else she'll wait until she's at least twenty one." Retorqued the horrified father.
"Kukuku... I'm sure Konan, that I'll make a much better husband for our sweet little Saku-chan than Sasori." came the perverted response of the snake Sanin.
"Oh hell no! She can't walk, even less talk, and you're already planning whom she's marrying. You're sick, people. Completely sick." Said one disgusted shark man as the Jashinist next to him roared with laughter.
"Ya kiddin, right? I'm freakin gonna sacrifice the brat while she's still young and innocent."
"Hmm... I still think that she'll taste like cherry. No, we can't eat her. You know that she's important to leader-sama, don't you? So what? It doesn't mean that I can't have a taste of her if I want to. No, we'll just have to eat the spies that try to attack us."
"Shut up you ignorant fools. Don't you know that she can always work as a little entertainer in some bar or something, and when she grows up she can go on missions."
"You will all shut up and start eating in silence, now." The booming voice of the leader interrupted all chatter.
~A few weeks later/End of May~
"Hey there, blossom!" said Kisame as soon as he entered the young pinkette's room. "Uncle is here and he brought you a surprise!" Sakura looked at him curiously from her crib, her still full bottle laying forgotten on her bed. "Look what do I have here, a brand new toy, a plush bear!" Upon seeing the bear in his arms, she started giggling and clapping her arms. "Do you like it? Here take it." He gave her the new toy while smiling at her antics.
Sakura immediately started pulling the bear's ears, its nose, arms and feet. He burst out laughing. He didn't know if she saw her mother cutting Hidan or if it was simply in her blood, but she sure promised to be a kickass kunoichi if she continued like this. Taking her and her toy in his arms, he sat in the armchair that was put next to the little girl's crib. Putting Sakura on his knees so she was facing him, he looked directly in her eyes for a few moments before he started talking to her.
"Listen to me Sakura, you should always kick the boys who try to get in your pants, whoever they may be. And if they were from some prestigious clan, well, all the better. When you grow up, I want you to always show 'em all who's the boss, and that's you." He said while putting a finger on her chest, then taking her new bear, he continued. "You see what you did to your new toy, you immediately started pinching it and kicking it. I want you to do the same thing to anyone who tries to bother you. And if it's a boy and he's stronger than you, well then I'll tell you a secret. Always kick him between his legs. And if it's a girl, then punch her in her stomach or even better her chest, okay?" He pulled her up by her armpits. "You promise me to always be a kickass kunoichi, so when you grow up, I'll hear news about you from wherever I may be, promise me this alright? Okay then, who wants to fly? Watch out here comes Sakura the eagle!"
And so Kisame started playing with Sakura, acting as if the previous moments didn't happen at all, unaware that one Jashinist heard every word he said.
"Damn brat, even Kisame is enchanted by her. Every single one of them would do anything for the stupid crybaby. At least, Kakuzu doesn't listen to her shit." The silver haired man thought loudly before he sauntered toward his room, to prepare for his next sacrifice. "Stupid brat, only three months before she leaves. She doesn't belong here, she's not fit to be a ninja with her bright colors and she's still too innocent, the real world's gonna kill her." Who knew that Hidan disliked the little pink haired girl? Or was he simply worried about her?
"You're wrong." Came Sasori's voice from behind the Jashinist, immediately startling him. "It's because we know her hidden potential that we protect her so much now. We know that her innocence won't last forever, but we also know that she's gonna save everyone, that's why we believe in her."
"Yeah right! She's better off married to some civilian and live the happily ever after like all little girls dream about." He sneered at the words sprouted from the normally indifferent ninja.
"That's where you and I disagree. She's not like all little girls. Didn't you see what she did to the dolls Konan-sama bought for her. They're all in the bin beheaded. That's why Kisame bought her a bear." With that said, the redhead walked leisurely to his room, leaving behind a stunned Jashinist who started seeing the hiding demon behind the disguise of an angel as who she really was.
June~
Weeks passed and the little girl was always babied and spoiled by not only both her parents but also most of the Akatsuki members, everyone but Kakuzu and Hidan. Even Zetsu brought her plants and would sometimes read her the story of the little flower who would eat everyone who didn't like her. One day while Kakuzu was on yet another bounty hunt and Hidan was taking his bath, little Sakura who was playing in the living room found a weird circle that clearly wasn't hers. So like all three months old babies, she put the extravagant piece of metal in her mouth. However she didn't like how it tasted, so she took it and stared at it long and hard. It was a metallic circle with a triangle in it.
The little girl started hitting it on the floor for a few minutes before getting bored and looking at it once again. Her mother Konan wanted to have the perfect little girl who always played with dolls and enjoyed wearing pink fluffy clothes. Thus why she always bought her new dolls whenever she beheaded the old one. However little Sakura was a stubborn little girl, and if she didn't want dolls, she didn't want them and that's final. And not even her mother's surveillance would stop her from killing the ugly dolls. And so the young pink haired girl started beheading the dolls using this time the weird metallic circle. It was easier this way, and she didn't want her mother to take it.
Little Sakura worked diligently at cutting off the heads of her dolls. She enjoyed what she was doing so much that she didn't notice the silver heared man walk in the living room.
"Yo, Konan! Where the freak is my necklace?"
"Shut up you moron! I didn't see your stupid necklace, idiot!" Retorted Konan from the kitchen as he came in the living room with the milk for her baby daughter. Upon seeing what her darlin did, she screeched and made Hidan, who was looking at where his necklace could be, look up and screech like a little girl, however it was a manly yell of pain. Men don't screech and anyone who said otherwise would be his first sacrifice, dammit.
"What in the bleep is your bleeping necklace doing in my cute little baby girl's hands?!" she said as Hidan openly gaped at her effort to to curse loudly before roaring with laughter.
"Well, that's rich. Your freakin brat will be one of Jashin's follower! She's already killin with his necklace. Imagine what she'll do when she grows up." Hidan said as he doubled up with laughter.
"Sakura sweety, give mommy the necklace okay?" She shook her head and continued cutting off the dolls' head. Upon her refusal, Konan turned on the television where the baby looney toons was playing. The little girl as se saw her favorite show on, completely forgot the dolls, however he kept the weird circle clutched firmly in her hands. Konan sighed before turning toward the still laughing man. "Well, I guess you'll just have to buy a new one, since my darlin seems to have taken a liking to your stupid necklace." She said with a smirk while Hidan frozed in the middle of his laughter and started choking on air. Wait for it, 3, 2, 1 and...
"WHAT?! You can't be serious! Gimme back my necklace, you stupid brat!"
"She's not stupid you moron, she's much more intelligent than you are, you little piece of shnizz!"
"Oh yeah?! If she was, she'd know what's good for her and gimme back my necklace!"
"Shut up you sound like a whiny teenage girl throwing a temper tantrum with your 'I want my necklace back' !" And so they started yet another fight, however the little girl who was watching one of her favorite toons, didn't like the noise, at all. So she threw whatever she had in her hands at the mean man yelling at her mommy. She threw the necklace hitting him on his head."
"Ow... Who threw the freakin... My necklace!" Came his happy reply as he started cleaning his necklace.
"What a baby! Even my darlin doesn't act like that!" Huffed angrily Konan as she sat next to her daughter.
Ad so Hidan started liking little Sakura, even if he didn't show it and would never admit it. He was twisted like that. No one could understood the way Hidan's mind worked, and no one would ever understand.
July~
"I'm dying!" announced Kisame while lying in the floor. "Leader-sama, don't we have a mission in the land of Snow?"
"Yes." He answered immediately rising the blue man's hopes. "However Zetsu and Tobi already took it. Besides it's an infiltration one. And everyone know that Zetsu who usually do them."
"Noooooo!" He cried out.
"Oh! Stop your puerile behavior. You're supposed to be an S-class criminal." Retorqued Sasori in his bored voice.
"But it's hot!" Yelled Hidan who had opened the fridge and was sitting in front of it. "It's abnormally hot!"
"Shut up you moron, and make some place!" With that said, Kisame pushed Hidan and sat in his place and so started a fight about dominance.
It was a hot day. Even the usual cool winds that used to blow in the Land of River stopped. The heatwave that hit the land and its occupants let them all searching for shadow and water. The forest was silent, all the animals were hiding under the tree's shadows or were in the rivers. Even the usual lively organization was silent...
"Ah! Take this you moron!"
... Well except two, well, morons.
"Hey! Why don't we ask that Kakuzu freak to buy us an air-conditioner?" said Hidan excitedly.
"Well, who knew that you could say something intelligent once in a while!" Said an amused Kisame.
"Yeah... Hey!" Exclaimed Hidan which earned him chuckles from the rest of the members.
The Akatsuki members started looking out for Kakuzu. When they entered his bedroom, they would have been puddles of goo had they not been such dangerous criminals. It was such a relief entering Kakuzu's cool room especially when they were in the base's boiling corridors. However, they all got the shock of their lives upon seeing Sakura laying silently in Kakuzu's lap, who was counting his money over her head. He put his money gently on the desk before turning his head sharply toward the gaping members.
"What are you doing here?" He asked them impatiently.
"What's the brat doing here, Kaku-freak?!" Asked Hidan who seemed to be the first to snap from his shock. "Besides whyis our the room the only one that's not burning hot?!"
"Moron, Konan-sama went to fetch this brat's bottle. And my money need to be a kept at a constant temperature." He said monotonously.
"Aa." Was Sasori's only remark before he sat on a chair at one corner of the bedroom.
"What are you doing?" Asked him Kisame.
"If you idiots forgot, I'm keeping an eye on Kakuzu. After all, his plans for her are not the most respecting to a woman, let alone a little girl. I wonder what Konan was thinking." He shook his head. "Clearly she wasn't thinking." It was as if his answer lightened the little lamp.
"Oh yeah! Then I must sit too in this room." Said Kisame throwing himself on Kakuzu's bed soon to be joined by Hidan.
Little Sakura who could feel Kakuzu's boiling anger looked curiously at the rest of the members who were sitting around the room and frowned. She knew that Kakuzu liked to be alone, yet here they were, invading his personal space. She put her small hands on Kakuzu's big arms and began shaking it slowly until she got his attention. Then she put her right hand on the table where his money was put. He smiled softly at her, although it was hidden by his mask, before ruffling her hair and continuing counting where he left off.
"Morons. They don't know that Sakura deserves something better than any lowly bar. She's, after all, our princess."
~Later at night~
"Sorry Kakuzu I'm late, I didn't find any powdered milk in the kitchen so I had to go and..." Konan stopped in her tracks upon seeing a sleeping Kakuzu with a still awake Sakura in his arms. However that wasn't what startled her, it was the sight of the two grown men also napping. While everyone was dozing off, her darlin was looking over them all, especially Sasori who was making a small puppet that vaguely resembled to a geisha. She was truly their angel, their guardian angel.
As soon as she put her hands on Sakura, Konan found her hands clutched in the much bigger ones of Kakuzu. His eyes only opened once she started struggling against his grip. Apparently it was a natural reflex of his. Once he realized that it was Konan, he let her go with Sakura. As Konan closed the door behind her, she heard Kakuzu yelling at the two men in his room while Sasori followed her silently. As she put the little girl in her crib, she saw Sasori kiss her daughter's slightly wider forehead.
"Kakuzu cares about Sakura." Sasori said as Konan turned on the bedside lamp.
"I'm going, dammit, Kakuzu you freak!" Came the loud voice of Hidan as his hurried footsteps were heard.
"He always did. It was all a front." Konan said leaving Sasori behind her to mull over what she said.
"Perhaps he does." Sasori said as he turned toward his workshop.
~End of August/fifth month~
It was an early morning and already the summer's heat could be felt in the base. Fortunately the heatwave only lasted a fortnight, now at least a cool wind would sometimes blow through the Land of River. All members of the dangerous organization were eating breakfast silently, an unusual feat. However, it was all because of leader's earlier announcement. Today Sakura would be leaving to Konohagakure. Today Sakura would start her new life.
As Konan left the kitchen with Sakura's bottle filled with still hot milk, her husband reminded her to prepare what should be needed for the travel to the village hidden in the leaves. He wanted to leave now so he could arrive there at night. He knew he could infiltrate Konoha without anyone's notice, and if it became too bad he can always send Zetsu. He looked over the eating members. They all became too attached to his daughter, which could be a bad thing as it be a good one.
He knew that they'll want to keep an eye on Sakura, maybe as much as he wanted. And though it would guarantee his baby's safety, it could become too dangerous for his members to venture too close inside the Land of Fire. One could never know when they might be sighted by the Anbu, or even worse the ROOT members. He knew that Danzou was still controlling the ROOT even if it was thought that it was disbanded when the Fourth Hokage was named. He was a dangerous man, and if he knew of his daughter's origins, the leader was sure that Sakura wouldn't live as happily as he wanted her to be.
He needed to tread carefully while in Hi no Kuni, especially when he approaches Konohagakure. It was one of the main reasons why he wmated to live now. He knew that the Third Hokage would always take strolls around the village and sometimes inside the forest. However he was sure that he would enter the forest if he heard a baby's cry. Standing up, he looked over the awaiting members.
"None of you is to go inside Hi no Kuni, especially Konohagakure. We need to keep a low profile for now, however Zetsu would bring us updates on my daughter. And if any of you are interested, he may join me while he gives me his report, clear?" Everyone nodded, they knew not to go against their leader when he was talking either about his daughter or the organization's out of the kitchen, the orange headed man went toward his daughter's bedroom where he found his partner bottle feeding their pink haired child. She was talking to her as a single tear slid silently down her cheek. He stood outside, listening to his partner's last words to their daughter.
"... Remember Sakura to always listen to your elders, but if you think that they're not right, help them correct ther wrong thinking. Always eat your vegetables, so you can grow up to be a strong girl. Brush your teeth at least three times a day, so your bright smile will last forever. Always be kind to your friends, and always save a smile to anyone who needs it. Work hard in the Academy and listen to your teachers, be the best student and ninja, I'm sure you'll do great things. Always strive to be perfect but don't forget your happiness. Make a lot of friends, even if you have just a few, make them real friends that will help you in your hardship."
By now, her flushed cheeks were stained with tears. Her normally unemotional eyes were puffy and red from all the crying. The Akatsuki leader entered the bedroom, startling the blue haired woman who tried to clean up her face, in vain. She was stopped by her partner who hugged her and the awake child. She gasped before sobs began racking her entire body, the bottle laid forgotten on the floor. Little Sakura looked curiously at her parents. It wasn't an unusual sight to see them in each other's embrace, however she had never seen her mother crying so much. She started whimpering lightly, as if feeling her parent's pain, until her mother whose tears stopped, started lulling her to sleep.
She knew that Pein needed to travel fast if he wanted to arrive to Konoha at night. As she saw Sakura fell asleep, she gave her to the orange headed man before she started preparing her carriage and a small bag, for any eventual stop or accident during the trip. Konan put three boiling filled bottle, four dresses and six changes of diapers. After readying her carriage and the small pack, she took the littel pink haired girl from her husband's arms and put her in the carriage, covering her thickly with a spare light cover if the weather became too hot. Although it was summer, Pein would be moving fast through the trees, which will cause a cool wind to hit her darlings. While the leader was used to the changing weather, her sweet daughter has never been outside the base, which may cause problems on her health.
"Goodbye sweetie, I'll always love you, no matter what." She kissed her forehead, cheeks and lastly eyelids, before she stood up and hugged her husband for reassurance. They've been arguing over her departure for the last months, and though they both knew that Konoha was a better place to rise their daughter, Konan couldn't stop her instinctual desire to keep her closer and protect her from everything. "I know." Was her only comment as Pein tightened his grip around her.
"It's time." He said as they both slowly pulled apart. She nodded accepting her daughter's fate. "Where is the necklace?" He asked her as she withdrew a bundle of garment. He unfolded the small piece of cloth, where 'Sakura 28th March' was sewed on it in pink thread, to find a necklace with three ornaments. The first one was a red ruby in the form of an Akatsuki cloud, on its left was a sapphire shaped as a flower, the same one her mother always wore, and on its right was a pink ruby of a cherry blossom. It embodied who she was. The Akatsuki's goals ran deeper in her veins than anything that could be taught or learned, she would be as fierce and strong as her mother while she maintained the grace and fragile beauty of a cherry blossom. It was who she was, who she is and who she'll be.
He put the necklace around his daughter's neck, careful not to wake her up, then he hid the piece of cloth in his pocket. Kissing briefly his partner's forehead, he took the pram in his hands and left the bedroom, closing softly the door behind him. He walked away, ignoring the blue haired woman's sobs. On his way outside, he encountered the rest of the members, except Zetsu and Orochimaru, who were all watching him from the kitchen. He nodded at them and teleported outside of the base where he took off running toward the land of Fire. He put the veil on the baby buggy to protect his daughter from the rising sun and any insects that may rest on his baby's sleeping face.
The leader of the dangerous, yet still anonymous to most, organization had been running for the whole day. He didn't stop unless his daughter cried, which usually meant she wanted to eat or she needed to get changed. By sunset he was two hours away from Konohagakure. Ever since he left the base, his chakra had been masked entirely, not even the best censor could know that he was in the forest. Thankfully, his daughter was still too young, her chakra pathways weren't completely developed. So, at least she didn't present a danger to herself. He continued running, and after checking the area from any hidden ninja, he put a soundproof jutsu around his daughter to stop her cries from being heard by anyone but him. Once he arrives inside Konohagakure, he'll take it off and plan for how she'll meet the Hokage.
Stopping atop the Hokage's Monument, he looked over the village for a few minutes, relaxing after a daylong run. After taking a good glimpse at the peaceful village, he started walking calmly toward where he last felt the Third Hokage's chakra. He had already released the sound barrier and soon he arrived next to forest where the ex-Hokage was to come by in a few minutes. He needed to act rapidly if he wanted everything to go smoothly. Putting the pram on a clear view, he quickly burned on the piece of cloth a single word 'protect' with his chakra. Waking her up, he told started talking to her hastily.
"Listen to me Sakura, your father is going away now. You're going to be living with new people and you have to be patient. Don't rush things and always put your everything in all of your work. I know that you're going to be great, you're going to change this world, make it a better place, I can already feel it. Besides, you're my angel, my princess, our saving grace. You're the Akatsuki's Hime. You're Amegakure Tenshi. But for now, you're my little daughter who's going to be a little troublemaker, okay? Goodbye Sakura, I love you."
With those words, he shunshined to the closest tree. Masking once again his chakra and regulating his breath so it could resemble to that of a bird, he continued looking over his daughter. He watched her as she stayed silent and watched her surrounding curiously. She truly was brilliant. She had never cried for anything else other than her milk or for a change of diapers. She was always watching the world around her with her lively emerald green eyes. She had always hated the dolls her mother used to buy her and only enjoyed sitting on someone's lap watching him work, whether it was Sasori, Kakuzu or himself. Kisame and Hidan were the only exceptions with whom she actually played. She was an intelligent child, if put to work she could be classified as a genius.
"Well, well, well... What do we have here?" Came the older man's voice as he saw the pram before he walked toward it. "Oh my! Who would leave such a cute little girl out here? Tell me what's your name, little one?" He paused for a few moments as he pulled the carriage in his arms. "What's this, hm?" He started reading what was sewn on the cloth. "Hello Sakura, I'm Hiruzen Sarutobi but you can call me oji-san, okay? Oh you're a big girl now, already five months old! Well then, how about you come live with me? What do you think?" He just received a curious look from the little girl. "I'll take that as a yes, alright? I'm sure that my wife would absolutely adore you, she has been bugging my kids for grandchildren, yes I'm an old man, little Sakura."
As the ex-Hokage turned away from the forest and started walking toward the village, the young girl, as if just realizing that she won't return to her family, started crying, loud pain filled cries accompanied the older man as he moved toward the more populated part of the village. The once crying child stopped upon noticing the multiple lights that illuminated the dark night sky. She continued watching the many people who walked past her curiously until she was lulled to sleep by the slow cadence of the Third Hokage. While the duo walked away from the forest, the orange headed man continued staring at them until they completely disappeared into the crowd and were nothing but a part from the big mass of heads.
"Goodbye, cherry blossom. We'll meet again one day, that I promise you." With those whispered words, the man all but disappeared, leaving nothing behind him as he started running back to the base. One day they'll meet again. One day they'll meet on the battlefield on the two opposing sides. One day they'll be a family once again. One day, everything will stop.
Heyy!
Yeah, I know it's been a week since I posted the Prologue, but! I have a good reason, I've been writing the almost one month due chapter for another story. Also, I didn't exactly plan for this chapter. In fact, it was all ayingChan idea which I thank a lot :3 I was in fact going to write immediately her arrival in Konoha, but I can't resist the Akatsuki moments with a chibi!Sakura who can?! XD
I wanted to make a moment with every member of the Akatsuki, but we can't have everything we want, ne? Although we can try to make the best of it. So I hope I did make the best of it though :s yeah, I think that I made all the characters a tad bit too much OOC, well they were enchanted by Sakura so :P
I'm going to try to post the next chapter faster than this one but I can't make any promises, all I can say is that I'm not going to stop this story until it's the end that I have planned which will never change. Also, I hope you enjoyed this chapter and the Akatsuki moments with chibi!Sakura and want to thank my first reviewer ladybugsscareme so here thank you :)
So don't forget to review and constructive criticism is appreciated :-)
sharkswillruledaWORLD is out ;)
