Chapter One: Clever Girl

"Sakura," a deep voice called out, catching the attention of the young heiress. She turned around to face her care taker, titling her head to meet the eyes of the seven foot man. He smiled at her, carefully hiding his teeth from view, his eyes glinting from the flames. They appeared black, but Sakura knew they were a deep brown, a beautiful hazel that reminded her of the sweets her mother's guards would sneak her whenever they could. He patted his thigh, gesturing for her to come close and take a seat. She obeyed without hesitance; she had know this man her whole life. While her mother was gone, ruling the clan from the palace, he was making sure she was safe and happy.

Settling herself on his strong thigh, she rested her head against his chest, listening to the beat of his heart, feeling the rise and fall of his chest as he breathed. She could hear it when his lungs expanded, they carried a sound too deep for normal humans to hear. It was comforting, knowing that this imposing man was her guardian. And imposing he was. He stood tall, taller than anyone else in the village hidden by leaves. He towered over the civilians and shinobi alike; when he walked, they moved. Some even bowed, but only those that wore the mark.

His skin glistened like gold in the sun, and she had even asked once if he was made of the precious metal. His laughter had carried far into the village, scaring small animals and birds. He had told her that no, he wasn't made from gold, but rather, the Gods had seen fit to bestow upon him an armor unlike any other. She asked what that meant, as the only people who wore armor were the silent guards of her mother and grandmother, the Dowager Empress and the Empress. He had pulled her close and told her to look closely at his skin, to see what others could not. He reminded her that she had been born with special eyes, ones that could pick up any tiny detail, and then he pulled a candle close to his skin - and she saw them for the first time.

Scales, she had whispered, eyes wide in fascination. You have scales, just like the Gods! He had chuckled and nodded, saying that as she grew older and wiser, she too would have her skin replaced with scales, harder than steel and stronger than the earth.

"Child, do you know how we, how the Haruno clan, came to be regarded as the descendants of the Gods?" Her guardian, Haji, asked, pulling the 5 year old from her musings. She nodded her head, straining her neck to see his face. Sometimes, she wondered if the Gods had carved him for stone, as his face never seemed to age.

"Great obaa-sama bargained with the Gods, took their strength as her own so she could stop the war and bring about a new ruler." Sakura recited softly, her eyebrows scrunching together when Haji smoothed her hair down, he always said it raged like a wildfire, moving without purpose. Mother said it made her look wild and dangerous, but she always said that about her.

"I see you have listened well to the courts."

"They never have anything interesting say about great obaa-sama," she pouted, hoping he would have a story to tell her.

"That's because they are scared."

"Scared? Why?" Sakura asked, curious as to why people were scared of her great obaa-sama.

"Why do you think, Sakura?" Haji countered her question with his own. He wanted to see her put that magnificient mind of hers to work, to figure out the reasoning behind the courts fear of her ancestor.

"Because she was the one to create the contract with the Gods?"

"Close, who did she bargain with, specifically?" He watched as her eyes darkened, her mind searching for the answer. He waited patiently, knowing that if he pushed too hard for an answer, she would get upset and storm off. He wanted to curb that behavior, it wasn't right for the future Empress to get upset so easily. But, he also knew that she was still a child, and children must be allowed to grow and develop as individuals on their own. So he waited; he watched the flames on the candles flicker, creating shawdows along the walls of their training room.

"She bargained with three, Sensō , Heiwa, and Baransu!" Sakura exclaimed, her eyes bright with excitement at having gotten the answer right. Her pupils, so much like her clansmen, were dialated to make up for the poor lighting in the room. Haji nodded, his own pupils just as large. He knew the young heiress would often fret about her eyes, saying she looked like a lizard with them. And Haji would always remind her that the Gods had gifted her clan with their very eyes, for no God would be summoned by someone so low as a human.

"Correct, you are quite clever, my little dragon." Haji patted her head, knowing she would grumble about being treated like a pet.

"Tell me a story, about the clan!" Sakura demanded, her rapt attention being solely focused on him. It was at times like this, when she was so focused on one thing, that Haji compared her to her ancestor. They had had the same fire burning bright behind those eyes of theirs, and they had used that fire to create a dynasty.

"Alright, little one, I shall tell you about how the clan came to power." Sakura grinned excitedly, but kept quiet while Haji began. "The five great lands were being ravaged by war amongst clans, each one powerful and terrifying with their abilities. But, more importantly, the war was being fought by the two strongest clans at the time: the Uchiha and the Senju. No one person could tell you why they fought, only that they did, and they did so with such hatred that the lands they destroyed still have yet to recover," he sighed, closing his eyes as he recalled the story, "The lands were soaked with the blood of the fallen, and any small clan that got in the way of their hatred, were destroyed as well. Many noble clans were wiped out within years, having tried to stop the fighting from over taking them. Our clan would have suffered the same fate, if not for your ancestor, Haruno Kana. She saw the bloodshed and hated it. She hated seeing her family members going off to war, to fight for their home, and come back in a shroud, if they came back at all. Kana-dono made a desperate bargain with the Gods, asking them to give her the strength to end this war and bring about peace. She pleaded with them, but she never begged. She would never kneel for someone, not even the Gods themselves, and that intriguied them. They called her an interesting mortal, to demand strength and power, yet be so bold as to not show respect."

"She did that?" Sakura whispered, in awe of her ancestor.

"She did indeed, and she stood her ground in front of them, saying that while they were Gods, they were not her equals. They had laughed at her, told her she was but a mere mortal to them, and they could just devour her whole before she could scream. She challenged them, told the Gods that they were truly no Gods of hers if they refused to even listen to her pleas for peace. One of the Gods, did not like that, and he roared, mighty and terrifying. He attacked her," Sakura gasped in horror, "and made to kill her, but Kana-dono was a very clever woman. Throughout her life, she had been perfecting her abilities to bend minds and wills in her favor, creating images that were not there, and making people see horrors they could never imagine-"

"Genjutsu Mistress," Sakura stated, feeling smug. Haji allowed her that interruption and kept weaving his tale.

"No one had been able to esape her powers, and soon the Gods realized not even they were immuned. She made no signs, no gestures, to tell them what she was planning. No, she simply looked them in the eye, and made them kneel to her, as if she was their equal. That was all it took, for the Gods had been arrogant during those times, but-" Haji stopped speaking when he felt Sakura's body sag against him. He looked down and noticed that her eyes were shut and her breathing had evened out.

He chuckled before lifting her up into his arms and standing up. He waved his hand quickly, watching as the candles flickered out, before walking out of the room. He would finish his tale another day, when she was ready for it.

AN: Alright, so I figured I let you guys know a little backstory behind Sakura's clan as many of you asked me if she was going to be the first, and nope.

I based Haji off of Xerxes from 300, as I feel like he would be a great character to twist and use. I also felt like Sakura needed a guardian to watch after her, to help her grow, since her mother is the current Dragon Empress and is ruling the clan.

Please tell me what you think, and review!