Hello again! I'm super excited and pleased by how many of you like this story. Some of your reviews were really, really inspiring - and touching - and it gave me the confidence to post this chapter after only four episodes of panicky re-reading and editing.

Hopefully I'll lose some of my nerves as we go on in this story, haha. I hope you all enjoy it! =)

Chapter 2: A New Home

She hated Konoha.

It wasn't a secret, nor was it a secret that Konoha hated her. It wasn't so often known that it was Konoha who hated her first, though.

Sakura had been four when she learned she was different. She'd grown up until then in the orphanage, under the gentle hand of Matron Yakushi. Nono, she had let Sakura call her, and Sakura had adored her all the more for it. Most of the other orphans, even though they were on the outskirts of Konoha, had known enough to be cruel to her. She hadn't minded, though, because she wasn't alone.

She had Matron Yakushi, and more importantly, she had Naruto, who wasn't her brother even though they were both Uzumaki's. It didn't matter to them, though. By the time they were old enough to learn they weren't siblings, but apparently cousins, they were too close for that to bother them. No, they stuck together, no matter how mean the other kids were to her. No matter how mean they were to Naruto for being close to her, too.

But then Matron Yakushi disappeared. No one knew where she went, and after four days of nothing at all, a new Matron replaced her. Sakura did not like her, and the Matron did not like her, either. It only took another four days after that for things to rather abruptly explode. The Matron withheld her food for the day, saying nothing as she passed food to everyone and just conveniently forgot to feed Sakura, too. Of course, by dinner, Naruto was too angry for Sakura to stop him from yelling at the Matron.

Then the Matron yelled back, and Sakura yelled at her for yelling at Naruto for yelling in the first place, and the Matron hit her. Sakura, already as angry as she was, growled at her for that and the Matron flinched, moving to hit her again.

Which was when a masked man appeared in the way, seizing the woman's wrist in a grip so tight she went white in the face. "I believe it's time for you to retire to your room for the evening, Matron." The masked man said flatly, and the Matron nodded so hard Sakura was surprised her head didn't fall off.

She wished it did. Her face was starting to hurt and she reached up to touch her cheek, tears itching at her eyes. "I'm sorry." She said apologetically to the masked man, sniffing a bit, and he did something that made the Matron gasp before he let go of her. She turned and ran, slamming her bedroom door behind her, and the man turned around to face her and Naruto.

"Don't apologize, kid. You did nothing wrong."

"Then why was she so angry?" Sakura asked uncertainly and the man sighed softly.

"Because she's a terrible person who should be ashamed of herself." He said, a little loudly. For a long moment he looked around the room while she and Naruto exchanged uncertain looks, and then he nodded and offered his hands to them. "Well, that's that, then. Take my hands and we'll go someplace she won't be able to hurt you again."

Sakura looked at Naruto again, meeting his uncertain gaze for a moment. Then the blonde shrugged and took the offered hand, so Sakura warily did the same.

Wind rushed past them and barely a moment later, the orphanage was gone and they were standing in a well lit living room with a real tea table that Sakura was immediately fascinated by. The cushions looked really comfy. "What's happened?" A new voice had her looking up in alarm, blinking at the old man rising from the nearest sofa. The masked man dropped their hands and turned to him, dropping to a kneel.

"The new Matron hit her, Hokage-sama." The masked man said deeply, his words making Naruto gasp a little. Sakura stared at him nervously (the Hokage himself?) and he stared right back for a moment before his attention moved to her cheek.

"I see." He said in a flat tone that only made her more nervous. People used that tone when they were angry, which meant someone was getting yelled at, and since he was staring at her...

"I sensed nothing, Hokage-sama, but she growled." The masked man adds and for some reason, that had the Hokage meeting her gaze intently again before he glanced to Naruto. Naruto, who stared back, utterly starstruck.

Sakura did what any good sibling would do and jabbed him with her elbow He turned to shoot her an irritated look before she glanced pointedly at the Hokage. His expression immediately became sheepish and he glanced down at the floor, free hand rising to rub the back of his head. Only for him to look back up again a moment later, his expression suddenly defiant as he stared at the Hokage.

"She didn't do anything wrong!" He proclaimed, daring the Hokage to say otherwise. "She wouldn't let Sakura-chan eat."

"Um." Sakura winced, quickly jabbing Naruto again - this time because he was being rude to the Hokage. She preferred the stupid staring to that.

"Is this true?" The Hokage asked, turning back to Sakura with a deep frown. She winced a little at the expression, lowering her gaze and nodding shamefully. She still didn't know what she'd done to the Matron, but she had to have done something wrong.

"It is, Hokage-sama." The masked man adds quietly, drawing the old man's attention. "She allowed everyone else food, but withheld meals from the girl. There were no reports of a confrontation beforehand."

"I see." The Hokage said quietly, closing his eyes for several long, tense moments. Sakura focused on the floor, her toes digging into the carpet a little. It was a soft carpet, so no one could blame her for that. The orphanage just had old wood floors that sometimes actually gave them splinters.

"Hmm." The Hokage finally broke the silence, staring past both children with a pensive frown. "...Very well. You're dismissed." He told the masked man, who immediately vanished in a small rush of air.

"Whoa." Naruto blinked at the suddenly empty spot, his eyes wide, and the Hokage hummed, suddenly looking at them again.

"Impressive, isn't it? It's a jutsu known as the shunshin." He explained, his voice warmer and patient.

"Really?" Naruto asked eagerly and Sakura looked up a little nervously at the Hokage. She was relieved to see him watching Naruto with a soft smile instead of glaring at her and relaxed a little at that. His voice had gotten nicer, too.

"Really. All shinobi can do it, you know. Even most genin."

"Wow. Can I learn?"

Sakura wrinkled her nose as the Hokage laughed, wishing Naruto wouldn't ask such silly questions. Of course he couldn't. "You aren't a shinobi." She scolded him quietly and Naruto huffed at her.

"So? I can be one."

"Do you want to be?" The Hokage asked in mild interest and Naruto nodded enthusiastically.

"Yeah! Kura-chan, too." He proclaimed proudly, making Sakura really want to elbow him when it made the Hokage look at her curiously.

"Is that so?" He prodded after a moment of silence, and Sakura reluctantly nodded, keeping her gaze low. She anxiously knotted her fingers together behind her back, resisting the urge to fidget even more.

"I want to protect people." She said quietly.

Luckily, what she lacked in confidence, Naruto made up for in enthusiasm. He threw his arm over her shoulders, nodding quickly. "Yeah! One day, we're gonna be the best shinobi ever."

To her relief, the Hokage smiled outright at that, nodding his head. "I believe you might just be, Sakura, Naruto." He acknowledged with a soft, considering hum. "Well. We can speak more about that in the future. For now, let's get you settled in. Follow me, I'll show you to the guest rooms."

"We're staying here?" Naruto blurted out instantly, lowering his arm from Sakura's shoulders to instead tightly grip her hand as the Hokage nodded.

"Yes. It would be my honor to take you two in. An honor that your Matron should also have been happy to have - but unfortunately, she was not as kind as she ought to be in that profession."

Sakura wasn't sure she understood all the words, but she got the gist of it and nodded her agreement. The Hokage smiled sadly at her before setting his hands on both of their head. "Right. This way, then, the both of you. You can stay together for now, if that'll make you more comfortable."

"Please!" Sakura requested instantly, tightening her grip on Naruto's hand.

Things did not get better. Things got much, much worse. Instead of being confined to just having the orphans mean to her, she was suddenly faced with the entirety of Konoha against her. Naruto had braved the streets with her for the first time, three days after moving in with Jiji - the Hokage himself - and it took them four hours to give up on finding a playground to play peacefully in.

Every time they got near one, parents took their children away or worse, chased her and Naruto off instead. They decided to just give up for the day, returning 'home' in sullen silence.

At least that was one bright point in her altered life. It was weird, to think of it as a home. She'd never had a home before, neither of them had, but the Hokage - who insisted she call him Jiji like Naruto cheerfully did - was kind and did everything he could to make them feel welcome.

Eventually, after three months, she finally did.

But she never once felt welcome in Konoha.

When she was five, eight months after they moved in with Jiji, they were eating dinner when he broached the subject again. "Do you both still want to become shinobi?" He asked and Naruto immediately started bouncing in his seat.

"Yes! Please, Jiji, please please please?" He begged eagerly while Sakura just blinked owlishly at her food.

"Sakura-chan?" Jiji prodded after a moment and she cleared her throat.

"Yes." She answered honestly, because she did want to become a shinobi - especially since Naruto was obviously going to. "I want to protect people." She repeated her answer from before, remembering the way someone had actually thrown rocks at her and Naruto a few weeks ago. Another masked man (ANBU, Jiji had told them) had stepped in and escorted them home, but if she was a shinobi then she could protect herself and Naruto herself.

Maybe… Maybe then, people wouldn't hurt them so often.

Jiji stared at her for a long moment while Naruto continued to rattle off a thousand 'please's before he finally nodded. "Very well. Naruto will be a little younger than the rest of the class, but that's alright. I know you two don't want to be separated." He said, making Sakura's eyes widen.

"No." She confirmed immediately, looking at him worriedly.

"Don't worry. I understand. Naruto, you won't be five when the classes start in two months, but that's alright. You're skilled for your age." Jiji praised with a warm smile.

He spent more time with them, after that, taking them into his large back yard to show them how to throw shuriken and kunai. It was easier for her than for Naruto, whose clumsiness worked against his aim, but they both got better under Jiji's guiding hands. He was ever patient, which was amazing to Sakura, because she'd never seen anyone else be able to tolerate Naruto for so long without at least looking irritated.

It's good.

It's… nice.

The Academy was actually pretty nice, too. At first, most people were rude to her and Naruto, but Naruto's overabundance of niceness actually won over some of the kids - and, eventually, even their sensei too. Iruka-sensei had never been outright mean to her, though he had been a bit awkward and distant at first. Naruto was an unstoppable force, though, and soon enough Iruka was dragged into his enthusiasm as well.

He even offered to keep them after class a few days a week so they could work on taijutsu - the one thing she and Naruto were both lacking in, for very different reasons. Naruto didn't have the patience to stop trying to go right for the jugular, whereas Sakura didn't have the confidence to hit half as hard as she needed to most of the time. It made her slower, too.

But Iruka helped with that, and after two months, he even took them out to dinner for their first time ever - even if it was just ramen. And to Sakura's amazement, the people who worked there were actually nice to her and Naruto, without them having to fight for it first.

And slowly, her life got brighter - and also darker. Brighter because when she was at the Academy, she was treated well. She was able to be happy, with the only obstacle being Ino and her pack who still bullied her - but even then, Ino's heart didn't seem to be in it most of the time.

Then they'd leave, though, and on the way home they'd have to face Konoha's cruelty again. The insults and the glares and the occasional trash thrown at them suddenly felt all the worse because now she knew that it wasn't right. Now she knew that people could be nice to her, and that it wasn't fair that she always had to fight to get some common courtesy from them. It bothered her, making her depressed at times, but mostly it made her angry.

She tried not to show that, though, because Jiji always looked worried and worse, Naruto got even more upset when she was angry. So she kept it to herself and focused on ignoring the meanness and basking in the affection Jiji and Iruka gave her.

By the time she was seven, it had gotten both better and worse, as seemed to be her usual life. The older she got, the more she noticed how people treated her, and the more she understood how horrible it was; and therefore the more angry it made her. She did her best to ignore it, but sometimes she just couldn't, especially if Naruto was in detention and she was on her own. Something that was also happening more and more, because Naruto too got angry more often.

"I hate it." Naruto told her one day, glaring daggers at the back of a civilian who had actually tried to spit on them. "I hate them."

And even though she agreed with it one hundred percent, anger bubbling in her gut, she shook her head at Naruto. "You shouldn't. They aren't worth it. They're nothing." She spat the word with as much anger as the civilian had spat 'monster' at her, and Naruto suddenly looked more concerned than angry.

"Are you okay?"

"I'm fine. I'm just.. angry." Sakura said, a little defensive, but Naruto… Naruto didn't seem capable of being upset with her, so he just nodded understandingly.

"Yeah. I'm going to paint stuff on his house, can you get home alright?" He asked after a moment, suddenly focused on the civilian again.

Sakura giggled a little, anger vanishing in the face of his protectiveness. Even if everyone hated her, at least she had him. "I'll be fine." She agreed and Naruto was off like a bolt of lightning. "Don't get caught again!" Sakura called after him before heading home.

Home.

She was getting more and more used to having one.

When she reached it, Jiji was inside making dinner and looking surprised to see her alone. "Did Naruto get into trouble again?"

"Not yet." Sakura told him a little shyly, hoping he wouldn't be angry, but to her relief he just gave a soft, amused huff.

"What now?"

"A civilian spat at us, so he's painting stuff on their house."

"I see." Jiji said thoughtfully, considering the pot of food for a moment before turning to her. "I'm sorry you have to deal with such cruelty." He said quietly, sincerely, and Sakura frowned a little before shrugging.

"It's alright. I've got you and Naruto." She told him confidently, making the old man look very touched as he turned back to the pot.

Sakura nodded to herself, satisfied he didn't catch the anger his words had caused her.

It didn't matter, anyways. The cruelty was just part of her life.

It just bothered her that it was part of Naruto's, too.

It figured that she'd snap when Naruto wasn't around. Fear of disappointing or upsetting him was usually enough to keep her in line, and something about him just calmed her down anyways - probably that he was so nice to her. Either way, it came to a head a month after Naruto's seventh birthday, when he was in detention for another episode of monument defacing (the First's head, this time. It had been the Fourth's last time, which had made Jiji twitch funny) and Jiji was staying late in the office.

So she innocently stopped in an empty playground on her way home. It was quiet, and no one bothered her as she spent a few moments swinging on the swing. It was ruined, of course, by the arrival of a young woman with a baby too little to even enjoy the playground anyways, but that didn't stop her from freaking out on Sakura.

"Monster's aren't welcome here, you little freak! Not around our innocent children!" She'd screamed, and Sakura hadn't been able to stop herself.

She really, really hadn't.

She growled and the woman paled, going stark white and clutching her baby closer. "You… you horrible demon." The woman whimpered, and Sakura jumped off the swing and to her feet, the woman flinching a step back. She bared her teeth at her, and that was all it took for her to turn tail and bolt.

Sakura watched her go, anger draining away and smugness replacing it. "Stupid woman." She mutters to herself, turning back to the swing and freezing.

Because suddenly there was an ANBU member standing next to the swingset, leaning against the angled bars with his arms folded across his chest. He was taller than Sakura, but not adult height, and Sakura frowned at him because she'd never seen him before.

"That was rude." He said, purely observatory, and Sakura bristled, her anger returning.

Surely he wasn't calling her rude, in the face of what that woman had been saying?

"Calm down." The boy said, much more soothing now. "It wasn't a criticism. She was the one being awful, not you." He explained with a small shrug that had Sakura relaxing a bit again.

"You guys don't usually talk to me." No one usually talks to me. They just insult me, She thought bitterly, and some of it must've shown, because the boy sighed quietly.

"No, we don't, but technically speaking, I was supposed to intervene the second you growled."

"Why?" Sakura asked immediately, narrowing her eyes at him. He just shrugs, which irritates her. "Then why didn't you?"

"I wanted to see what you'd do. Now, c'mon. I need to take you to the Hokage after that."

"Why? I didn't do anything wrong!" Sakura snapped defensively, only barely restraining herself from stomping her foot. "You heard what she was saying!"

"Yes. And you should know by now that terrifying civilians is wrong." The boy scolded her lightly. "Come on." He instructed again, holding his hand out to her.

Sakura took it resentfully, looking up at his mask and making sure he could see the death glare she was sending him.

He, unfortunately, didn't seem affected as he shunshin'd them away. Moments later, they were in front of Jiji's desk, the old man frowning down at them in concern. "What's happened?"

"A civilian cornered her in a playground and called her a monster." The ANBU explained, suddenly all business. Then he added blandly, "Repeatedly."

Jiji sighed, heavy and tired.

"She growled at her and scared her off. I brought her straight here, Hokage-sama." The ANBU added, releasing Sakura's hand and bowing lowly. Jiji waved a hand at him dismissively and the ANBU vanished in a swirl of wind.

"Sakura-chan." Jiji sighed again, rising from his desk. Sakura immediately looked down at the floor, toeing the soft carpet resentfully. "You know you can't terrify the civilians like that."

"I do know." Sakura snapped before she could stop herself. "But she was being awful!" She looked up at Jiji demandingly, waiting for him to acknowledge her point. He rounded his desk and stared down at her for a moment, soft understanding gone in the place of sternness.

"You are not the civilian, Sakura. We're discussing your actions, not hers."

"But I only did it because of what she did!"

"That may be so," He said slowly, radiating patience, "but two wrongs do not make a right. The way you responded was wrong. You cannot treat civilians like that." Jiji insisted sternly. "Shinobi are keepers of the peace within the walls of Konoha, dear."

The endearment does nothing to settle her anger. "Why don't you ever stop them? Why do I have to sit there and take it? They're wrong! It's wrong to treat me like they, do but they do it anyways, and I can't defend myself?" She demanded loudly and somewhat shrilly, angry tears stinging her eyes. "Why? Why can't I-"

Jiji suddenly crouching down and pulling her into a hug silences her, and before she can even think to stop it, she starts sobbing into his shoulder. "I'm so sorry, Sakura-chan." Jiji murmured sadly as he rubbed her back, holding her close.

He didn't say anything else as she cried her heart out into his poor robes.

"Hello again." The ANBU from before greeted her a week later, his mask pulled up to sit atop his head.

Sakura blinked at him owlishly from where she sat next to the river, waiting for Naruto to get out of detention again. This time, he'd stink bombed that horrid woman's house while she and the baby were getting groceries. "Are you allowed to do that?" She asked incredulously after a moment, staring at him. "And what's wrong with your face?"

"You are rude." He noted with a small frown, sitting down in front of her. "Yes, I am. I asked permission - and there's nothing wrong with my face."

"But…?" Sakura trailed off, uncertainly gesturing at her own face where he had lines on his. He arched an eyebrow at her, looking distinctly unimpressed.

"They're called tear troughs." He informed her.

"So, what, you cry a lot?" She asked uncertainly.

For a long moment, he just stared at her with a small frown. She shrunk in on herself a bit, resting her chin on her knees and suddenly unable to meet his gaze. "Sorry." She said apologetically, kicking herself for her awkwardness. "Naruto's the one who talks to people."

"It's not your fault, then." The boy informs her mildly, taking his mask off his head and setting it in his lap. It made her stare at him with renewed suspicion, because he was being awfully nice and understanding. "I imagine if my friend talked as much as Naruto, I wouldn't have much social experience, either."

"You're lucky I'm smarter than him, or I wouldn't understand the way you talk." Sakura warned him with a small frown of her own, gaze darting up to meet his again.

"You're seven, not five." He said dismissively, offering her a hand. "My name is Itachi. I already know yours, but it's good practice." He informed her, keeping his hand out expectantly.

"Why would I practice? No one talks to me, anyways." Sakura said, eyeing his hand distrustfully. It was honestly the first time someone had just… offered her their hand. Usually they were either throwing something at her or handing her something.

"I'm talking to you, aren't I?" Itachi questioned pointedly. She really didn't think that argued against her point, but she didn't want to argue with him when he was actually being nice, so she reluctantly took his hand.

"Hi, I'm Sakura." She offered, not quite able to keep the sarcasm from her tone, but his lip just gave a faint twitch at is as he pulled his hand away.

"Indeed."

Sakura couldn't help it. She looked him dead in the face and in her best imitation of his bland, flat tone, she said, "Quite."

He arched an eyebrow at her. "Indubitably."

Sakura blinked slowly at him, her eyes narrowing. "...You win."

"Get a thesaurus." He suggested kindly.

"Get a shut up." She shot back, immediately sweeping on before he could comment on that dumb statement. "Anyway, why are you talking to me?"

"You don't appear to have an overabundance of people who are actually nice to you, Sakura." He said slowly, apparently also deciding to ignore her stupid retort. "I sympathize with that. I don't either. I have my mother and my best friend. I have my father, as well, but we aren't… close. I dislike him, and he's disliking me more and more recently, too." Itachi explained to her solemnly, his expression weirdly serious for someone talking to a seven year old.

Sakura kind of appreciated it, though. She was smarter than anyone else in her class except Sasuke, and maybe Shikamaru but she wasn't really sure about him. Most people still just treated her like a child, though - and those were the ones who were nice and didn't treat her like a monster, instead.

"I have a little brother, too. He's in your class, actually." Itachi added with a soft smile that made him look much younger. It put her a little bit at ease, too - he smiled kind of like Naruto. Not as brilliantly, but just as… nicely. "Sasuke."

"Oh. You're an Uchiha? He's smart, too." Sakura told Itachi, blinking through her surprise. "He's kind of rude, though. Doesn't even talk to Naruto, and everyone talks to Naruto, even the ones who just yell at him."

"Mm. Sasuke's a loner. He's ahead of most in your class, so he doesn't… tolerate the others well." Itachi said delicately and Sakura nodded slowly.

"I like the others, but sometimes they're slow. The other day we were practicing kunai training and the three of us, even Naruto, did almost perfectly - but we still have to train next week because the others suck."

"You should try to phrase that nicer." Itachi said mildly, not even scoldingly, and that made her a little more willing to listen. She narrowed her eyes at him, considering for a moment.

"Why?" She demanded at length.

This made his lips twitch again.

For some reason, she didn't tell Naruto about him. Part of her knew it was because she was jealous and stingy. Naruto had lots of friends, and all she had was him.

Well, him, Jiji, and Iruka, but the adults didn't count.

She liked having a friend all to herself, and part of her wondered if Itachi liked it too, because anytime Naruto was in detention, he'd find her waiting at the riverside and they'd talk until Naruto got out. Jiji didn't say anything about it, but he smiled a little more happily at her when she got back from those afternoons, so she knew he knew.

Besides, Itachi did say he asked permission. She just hadn't quite realized that meant the Hokage, not some… ANBU superior or something.

One of those days, two months after they'd started their occasional meetups, Jiji dropped in on them to both their surprise. He arrived at the riverside just in time to see Sakura fall from halfway up a tree, Itachi standing upside down on a branch high above her with his tanto dangled tauntingly in his hand. "Well." Jiji said slowly, making Sakura freeze between high-pitched giggles and quickly sit up.

"Jiji!" She squealed more excitedly than he'd ever heard her, rushing to him quickly. "Itachi-kun's showing me how to walk up trees. Walk up trees, Jiji!" She explained gleefully, unable to contain herself.

"I see!" He said in surprise, his eyebrows raised as he stared right over her head and to Itachi. Sakura looked over her shoulder to see him dropping from the tree branch, landing nimbly into a crouch.

"She asked me to show her how to use a tanto, Hokage-sama. I told her I wouldn't unless she could walk up trees. She's been figuring it out from there."

"I really want to know how to use a tanto, Jiji." Sakura informed the man, nodding at Itachi's words. "It looks really cool." But walking up trees was turning out to be way harder than she expected, and Itachi's idea of 'helping' was to wave the sheathed sword at her tauntingly.

"Does it?" He asked slowly, his voice strange, and Sakura looked at him weirdly for a moment before nodding.

"Uhuh! And look! I can already almost get up to the branch!" Sakura insisted urgently, rushing to the tree and proceeding to run up as high as she could. She didn't quite get as high as last time, losing traction about two feet from the branch Itachi had been perched on. She flipped quickly as she fell, landing awkwardly on her feet, and then she turned to Jiji and threw her arms out joyfully. "See? I'm doing good, aren't I? Itachi-kun said I'm doing good." She added the last part with a nod.

"Yes. Yes, Sakura-chan, you really are." Jiji said, his voice still strange, but after a moment, he smiled warmly at her and approached the tree. "Well then. Continue practicing, dear." He encouraged, sitting down at the base of the nearest tree and pulling his pipe out. For a second, Itachi just stared at him, clearly surprised though it didn't show on his face. Then he finally jumped up onto the tree branch again, gesturing his tanto tauntingly at her, and Sakura threw herself back at the tree with a grin.

Neither Itachi nor Jiji gave her any tips on how to do it better, but both of them encouraged (Jiji) or mocked (Itachi) her until she finally, an hour later, managed to snatch the tanto from Itachi's hands. She landed on the ground with a wicked grin, bouncing happily on the balls of her feet, and Jiji stood up with a grin.

"Very good, Sakura-chan. You're going to make an excellent shinobi." He praised her, and when Itachi landed on the ground beside her, still waving the tanto and cheering, he snapped a picture and tucked it away before they could react.

For a moment they both frowned at Jiji, who responded with a slightly wider eyed look of pure innocence. Itachi finally cleared his throat and arched an eyebrow at Sakura. "Now let's see if you can strike me with it. Sheathe on," He added sharply.

"But I haven't even gotten to look at it yet!" Sakura whined, trying out Jiji's innocent look.

Itachi snorted. "Begin." He said before leaping away from her. Belatedly, she chased after, swinging the heavy sheathed weapon as she went.

"Detention sucks." Naruto whined at her at lunch, after having been just informed he had another afternoon of it.

"You should stop getting caught." Sakura advised sagely, nibbling on a stick of dango. Jiji had surprised them with one in each of their lunches and they were both glad for it, enjoying the rare treat. For someone so old, he sure did care a lot about 'healthy diets'. He probably didn't even have any more original teeth, so he didn't have room to talk, Sakura and Naruto had decided.

"It's not my fault." Naruto claimed, waving his stick wildly. "ANBU-san always manages to catch me. No one else does."

"Well they're ANBU." Sakura pointed out, pausing when Naruto was briefly distracted by Chouji passing by. He waved enthusiastically at the boy, Sakura belatedly waving a little as well, and the chubby Akimichi grinned at them before hurrying the rest of the way to Shikamaru. She was kind of jealous of the Nara and the way he could just lay down wherever he wanted and get to sleep.

If she tried that, the villagers would use it to throw stuff at her.

Which killed her good mood. Sakura nibbled on the end of her dango stick, fighting to urge to bite down hard. "You're being scary again." Naruto warned her and she paused, realizing she'd been glaring daggers at Shikamaru's back.

"Oops." She pulled the stick away, looking around to see if anyone saw. If they did, no one was looking at her now, so she shrugged and looked at Naruto again. "Sorry. I was thinking."

"Did Shika piss you off?"

"Language." Sakura scolded. She was mostly imitating Jiji's latest assistant, a high-pitched kunoichi chuunin, but she was half-serious too. Enough that Naruto sheepishly rubbed the back of his head. "Anyways, no, I was just thinking. What does Iruka-sensei even have you do in detention?"

"Stare at stuff and stick leaves to my face." Naruto muttered grouchily. Sakura couldn't help but reach out to sympathetically pat his slumped shoulders.

"Next time tell him I was in on it and I'll keep you company."

"Really?" Naruto asked, brightening instantly, and Sakura grinned.

"Sure! I like trying to break my new leaf sticking record anyways." She said brightly and he huffed, sulking again, but she could tell it was exaggerated.

"You're so much better at it than I am." He whined.

"That's cause I'm older than you." Sakura informed him smugly, making him snort. "Respect your elders, otouto." Sakura teased.

She jumped away quickly, his arms closing around empty air, and she landing a few feet away to laugh at him. Only for it to quickly become a gleeful shriek when he launched himself after her.

Her eighth birthday was spent with Jiji, Naruto, and Iruka-sensei at the Sarutobi Manor. She gleefully opened their gifts after dinner, adoring the little cherry blossom earrings Naruto had gotten her. Iruka-sensei got her an academy level book on taijutsu, her weakest subject, and while it wasn't something she enjoyed much, she definitely appreciated the intention. She did need help in taijutsu. Jiji got her a book, too, with basic instructions on how to make low level exploding tags and smoke tags.

She accepted it with a beaming smile, genuinely intrigued as she glanced at the first page. "Thanks, Jiji! This is great!" She said happily, flicking through the next couple pages. There was a section on low-yield sealing scrolls, too, though it looked more like theory than practical knowledge.

"Aw, why does she get to learn new jutsus?" Naruto pouted, looking at the book over her shoulder.

Jiji, who had been watching her with a warm smile, immediately looked at Naruto. "Do you want to learn basic fuinjutsu? It's very useful, you know." He offered, intrigued.

Naruto instantly made a face and Sakura couldn't help but roll her eyes lightly at him. "Erm. Not really, Jiji. But I want to learn cool jutsus!"

Jiji's smile became almost sad before he launched into a lecture. "Now, Naruto-chan, fuinjutsu is incredibly useful and 'cool', as you say." Naruto dutifully pretended to listen as Jiji went on and Sakura blocked them both out, scanning through the instructions on how to make and use smoke tags.

Eventually, though, it was time for cake, which was awesome, and Sakura blew out the candles along with a small prayer. Please, Kami, let me make more friends like these.

But in the end, it was two days later when Naruto already got into another detention that she got her best present. "Happy birthday, Kura-chan." Itachi said warmly as he offered her her very own tanto, wrapped with a pink bow over the red hilt and everything.

Sakura took it with a beaming grin and hugged the startled boy, leaning away and bouncing on her heels a moment later. "Teach me, Itachi-senpai!" She demanded, waving the real, metal, stabby tanto at him with a grin.

Itachi watched her movements with a bemused frown. "...First, we'll teach you some basic safety."

It didn't last. At just eight years old, Sakura was starting to realize nothing good in her life ever did. Except Naruto and Jiji, of course. Itachi had taught her the basics on how to use her new tanto, but only four months later, he stopped showing up on days Naruto had detention.

In the end, she never saw him again.

"I don't understand." Sakura told Jiji slowly as she stood in his office, early in the morning. An ANBU had snagged her and left poor Naruto heading to the Academy; alone and very confused about that.

"Itachi betrayed us." Jiji said gently and Sakura shook her head.

"No, Itachi-senpai was… Itachi-senpai's nice. He wouldn't." She argued fiercely, her chest aching.

"I'm so sorry, Sakura." Jiji sympathized, grabbing her shoulder to probably hug her. She didn't know because she wrenched free and stepped away from him, shaking her head.

"No! He was nice to me!" She snarled at him. Jiji's eyes widened. "You're lying!" She shrieked, suddenly feeling far too hot in the stifling office. She turned to run for the door, but something slammed into the side of her neck, and she hit the ground.

When she got back up, she was in a sewer. "What?" She demanded into the echoing, wet space, blinking in confusion. She still felt too warm, but the unnerving heat was gone in the face of her sudden uncertainty, and she cautiously made her way down the sewer. Where had Jiji and his office gone? "Where am I?" Sakura asked quietly, her voice still echoing anyways, and she paused when she stepped out of the tunnel and into a big, huge space. She couldn't see a ceiling, but she could see big bars several feet away. Like a huge yard gate or something.

"You're inside the seal, little girl." A deep voice really echoed through the room, making Sakura flinch back a bit.

"Seal?" She asked shakily, and the voice laughed.

"Didn't they tell you anything? Didn't they tell you why you're a monster?" The voice asked with a soft, growling purr that made every inch of her scream to turn tail and run. So she did the smart thing and did just that, bolting back into the sewer tunnel. "Run all you like." The voice chuckled. "But they trapped you with me a long time ago."

She didn't know what he meant. She didn't know who he was, or who they were, but she ignored it for the moment, focusing on running as far away as fast as she could. The tunnel was starting to disappear, becoming darker and darker. "You'll always be a monster." The voice purred.

She woke up in Jiji's arms, shaking and crying already.

"Are you alright, Sakura-chan?" Jiji asked gently and she curled into him, sobbing into his chest.

She never saw the hardness in his eyes, or the set line of his jaw. She never knew how unnerved he was to have felt that chakra again after so long.

They weren't allowed out of the house.

She wasn't allowed out, and Naruto stuck by her like a shadow. The news of the Massacre had become widespread and Jiji was concerned that if someone had seen her and Itachi together, they'd hurt her for being his friend. She didn't care, but Jiji did, so she was stuck there. It bothered her, but what bothered her much more was the unknown voice in that strange sewer place.

She hadn't spoken to Jiji about it, or Naruto, who still didn't even know about Itachi. Now Sakura was never telling him, because she was never going to talk to anyone about Itachi ever again. She hated him.

It hurt more than anything she'd ever felt before. He'd been her friend. He was the first one to ever try to befriend her. Naruto was her closest friend, but he was that because they spent their infancy thinking they were siblings. They were alone, together, with only one another so of course they were best friends.

But more unnerving, and less hurtful so she focused on it instead of Itachi, had been that voice. She hadn't heard it again, but she definitely hadn't forgotten what it said. About a seal and her being trapped, and more importantly, about they.

It made her wonder. Who was 'they'? It made her anxious, and it made her wonder if Jiji was keeping secrets from her. He always got upset with her when she growled at people, and they always reacted so strongly…

Was she a monster?

The thought made her feel sick to her stomach, and she pushed herself to her feet abruptly, making Naruto look up at her in confusion. "I'm going to bed." She said quietly, turning before he could think to argue.

"O-okay." Naruto said uncertainly as she left the living room and Sakura felt a little bad at that.

A little, because mostly she was still feeling sick and anxious.

Was she a monster?

Sakura slid into her room, closing the door behind her and climbing quietly onto her bed. She didn't feel like getting back up to change clothes, so she curled up on top of the sheets and squeezed her eyes shut.

"I'm not a monster." She whispered to herself, but she wasn't sure what it said about her that her only non-family friend was a monster, himself.

It was with that troubling thought that she finally drifted off, tears clinging to her eyelids but not quite escaping.

She woke up when cold air blew through her window. Something shifted at the same moment she realized she'd had the window closed (of course she had, it was autumn), and alarm had her rolling over just in time for a sword to bury itself in her chest. She stared up with wide, horrified eyes, barely comprehending it. It would have hit her heart if she hadn't moved when she did, but instead went straight through her ribcage an entire inch left of the vital organ.

She didn't feel any pain, even as she abruptly flung herself from the bed. The sword tore its way out of her, still in the hands of it's master, and blood gushed down her chest. Sakura hit the ground hard and loud, the air knocked out of her with a breathless cry, and she rolled quickly onto her back to see her attacker. It was a male shinobi, only a teenager, with a dark expression. He wore no hitai-ate, but he was dressed like a member of ANBU - a uniform she was very familiar with. "Why?" Sakura had choked out, confused and shocked.

Jiji was her friend. Her sofu, though she was too nervous to call him that aloud. He was the only one other than Naruto to have never treated her with anything but kindness. She couldn't believe he would have ordered her death, but why else would ANBU be… be stabbing her?

"Because you're unstable, demon." The man had spat venomously, lifting his sword in preparation to stab down at her again.

The words hit her like a kick in the gut, setting off something dark and furious in her. Demon. Monster. She was just a child, she'd never done anything to deserve such harsh words. To be bullied, to be beaten, to be spat on and looked on with disgust. To be murdered? Sakura had never done anything!

Rage burned through her.

The world burned with her in a red mist. "Yes. Kill the one who hurts you," a distant part of her heard and obeyed.

When the fury finally dissipated, Sakura was slamming her fist repeatedly into the bloody, burned corpse of the once-shinobi, blood covering her as it sprayed and sprayed and sprayed…

"Good girl." It purred, satisfied and proud.

She didn't realize she was screaming until Naruto burst into the room, looking harried. He immediately froze, and so did she, looking up at him with wide eyes from where she straddled the body. His gaze darted over her, over the corpse, and then back to her, face rapidly paling. He looked sick suddenly, even as he swallowed thickly and entered the room, slowly and hesitantly, and crouched down beside her.

"Are you okay? Your chest…" Naruto whispered the words for some reason, and his hand trembled as he reached for her left side. Sakura followed his gaze to the blood soaking her chest.

It took her a moment to comprehend what she was seeing and feeling, and it snapped her out of the stunned state she'd been in. "He stabbed me." Sakura said, her voice little more than a croak. But the wound was gone, leaving only the blood behind, and she couldn't even tell where her blood stopped and his blood started. There was so much of it.

The despair in her voice was enough to make Naruto freeze. "It's gone, but he… he stabbed me. Because I'm a monster." Sakura whispered hoarsely, gaze dragging from Naruto's face down to the mutilated body beneath her. It took a minute for realization to sink it, and horrified desperation gripped Sakura. She tore her gaze away, looking back at Naruto pleadingly. "I'm not a monster." She said weakly, begging him to understand. "I'm not a monster." Her voice broke, tears blurring her vision, and Naruto reached up to put his hands on her shoulders. "I'm not a monster." Sakura repeated urgently, seizing his biceps. "I'm not, Naruto, I'm not, please tell me that I'm not." Sakura sobbed desperately.

Because looking at the corpse before them, it was suddenly very difficult for her to believe it.

When Jiji arrived less than a minute later, he'd silently swept the hysterical girl and the traumatized boy up into his arms and took them away. Sakura watched over his shoulder as ANBU - real ANBU, with real headbands, so what did that make that unrecognizable red puddle on the floor? - rushed into the room and surrounded the mess.

"You are a monster, little Sakura." The voice purred, dark and somehow… somehow comforting, in a horrible numbing kind of way. "But that's okay. It means no one will hurt you ever again."

Sakura buried her face into Jiji's shoulder and let the promise numb her cold body.

They retreated to Jiji's office, where he gently lay her down on one of his sofas and lifted Naruto up beside her. The blonde boy tensed, but his hand still reached out to clutch hers, and Sakura tried to squeeze it back a little. She wasn't sure if it helped, and she wasn't sure if she cared at the moment. Everything was…

Everything was blood. It had sprayed…

"I didn't do this, Sakura. He wasn't under my orders." Jiji said grimly. She couldn't bring herself to lift her head to meet his gaze. Instead, she slid sideways to rest her head on Naruto's stiff shoulder, desperately praying.

"I'm not a monster." She whispered hoarsely, but the voice from before echoed in her head, and she started to wonder.

Would it really be so bad?

Naruto distanced himself from her. Not physically, of course, because they lived together - but emotionally. It took time for him to start relaxing around her again, but she never quite did the same.

She couldn't control her anger. Something broke inside her head that day, and she just couldn't fix it. So she hid it instead, tucking it away past a mask. Naruto made it easier.

He always had a way of making everything easier.

She never let him see that anger anymore, wrestling with it until the worst he ever spotted was irritation, and for a long time, even that was enough to make him flinch. It made her feel awful, and she strove to keep the anger away. After all, if Naruto thought it was so wrong, it had to be. She couldn't trust herself.

She definitely couldn't trust the voice in her head, that had suddenly started coming without provocation since that night.

Jiji had tried to explain it to her, two nights after it happened. She'd been laying in Naruto's bed, curled on her side with Naruto lying on his back beside her. "The Uchiha's funeral was happening the morning after your attack." He'd explained grimly. "He was one of my ANBU assigned to you and had seen you with Uchiha-san at some point." He said quietly, grimacing at the way she flinched, ever so slightly, at the mention of Itachi. At least he was vague enough for Naruto to not realize they'd been friends. "His best friend was an Uchiha. He couldn't hurt Itachi, so he targeted you instead."

"This was a failure on my part, Sakura." Jiji had said softly, unusually so. "I'm meant to protect you, and I failed to do that. My own trusted soldier turned against us, and you have suffered most for it."

She hadn't responded.

It took weeks for her to be able to speak to him again, and a full year for her to start to trust him again - but she didn't need to. She had Naruto, who stood by her faithfully even when she frightened him, who comforted her after her nightmares even though she was the cause of his nightmares. He was the only one who was with her, no matter what obstacle.

He was the only one she needed and trusted.

"One day, you will trust me too, little one." The voice promised and Sakura shrunk against Naruto, shivering a little.

Even after a year, she still hadn't gone back to her own bed. Jiji had offered to move her to another room, and she'd denied it after a quiet conversation with Naruto. She couldn't do it yet. She couldn't be alone, and Naruto...

No. She decided, squeezing her eyes shut as if that would stop the voice. Naruto is all I need.

"You need me, too. You're just too naive to realize it yet."

She pressed her hands to her ears.

"So young. So, so stupid." The voice said almost chidingly and Sakura grimaced softly. "You should know by now. You'll never be able to make me go away, little one. You've already let far too much of me out." The voice purred in that horrible way it did, sending chills down her spine and a whimper from her throat.

"Sakura-chan?" Naruto asked sleepily, his arm draping over her shoulder. "You okay?"

"It's nothing, Naruto. Go back to sleep." Sakura said softly, her voice perfectly steady. Naruto hummed a little, wiggling a bit into his pillow before proceeding to do just that.

"You can never put me back in there now." The voice promised idly.

For some reason, her stomach burns.