Part One.
Chapter Two; the Beginning
(Tsunade's Pov)
I groaned as the cold November air nipped at the back of my neck, it had been nearly six years since I had stepped foot in Hoshigakure. The war had ended… the Nine Tail's had been sealed within the Fourth Hokage's son.
Six years since I'd stepped foot here… or in leaf.
My hand went to wrap around the clear crystal necklace around my throat, caressing the surface unconsciously as a way too sooth my nerves, my heart ached painfully.
My mind raced back to the letter the Hoshikage had sent me, I was still surprised that old man had been able to find me. Shizune was with TonTon somewhere in the village already, probably enjoying the winter festivities; it seemed that every time I came here they were having a different festival.
I had stayed behind, telling Shizune that I had personal business to attend to and that I would meet up with her later on this evening. My hand went to my pocket where the Hoshikage's crumpled letter was, my heart still sank a little thinking about it, I hated this kind of 'you cannot change fate' bullshit.
As I neared the tower, eerily familiar to the scene from the first time I had arrived within the village, the small village smelled of sweets and fried foods, streets full of performers and brightly colored lanterns, an inappropriate scene for what she had come to do.
I was greeted at the door by two ANBU, oddly enough the same ANBU who I had encountered the first day of my arrival, showing my passport they nodded and lead me up that damn unending staircase, what was the point of such a ridiculous staircase anyway? To tire out potential intruders so by the time they got to you they wouldn't have the energy to kill ya'?
As I came to the door of the Third Hoshikage's office my heart swelled and before I could even make a grab for the silver knob the door had swung open. A small bright-eyed pinkette greeted me at the door, wearing a beautiful white kimono with a silver obi, on the small girl it nearly made her look like an exotic princess, her long silvery pink hair settled in waves down her small body with a complicated looking bun atop her head, held by two silver chopsticks with dangling star ornaments.
"Hi miss, are you here to see my daddy?" She smiled, her eyelashes fanning over her cheeks. I was in a daze, fascinated with the beautiful child. She just looked so- regal, was that the right word to use? Before I could ponder on a better word the Hoshikage interrupted my thoughts, bringing me back to the sad reality of things.
"Let her in, my dear child." The voice laughed, the pinkette gave a wide smile and pulled the door open, offering a respectful bow to me as I entered the room, noticing how the man watched his daughter's movements with great compassion and pride, tearing at my already time-weary heart.
I was to take the kid, wipe her memories of this place, her dad, this village, everything clean, replace them with a genjustu, making her believe she was born in Konoha, an orphan, the Third Hokage said it would be best if no one knew of her true home or nature. She was young enough to slip in undetected by the other children, old enough to have a normal life, well- as normal is it could be under the mysterious circumstances. Still, poor kid.
"Did you come for the winter festival? It's so pretty." The little girl chirped, looking out the window admirably, her eyes sparkling with wander and excitement.
"Why yes, I did." I lied with a smile, crouching down to speak with the small girl, yet still towering over her, "Why aren't you down there?" I questioned, humoring the small girl. She was too cute not to.
"I'm waiting on Sumaru-Kun." Sakura grinned. I watched in amusement at the gleeful expressions the little girl held, it appeared that she had her own special smile for every occasion and person.
A tiny knock at the door caused everyone's head to turn and as Sakura hurried over and pulled the door open, a little boy with dark raven hair and crimson eyes appeared, smiling happily at the little girl. He looked to be about eight, two years older than the small girl, who leaned her powerful staff against a nearby wall to give the small boy a tight hug. I watched in amusement as he blushed and returned awkwardly.
The small girl's giggles filled the room, fallowed by the warm aura of a loving father as he offered a small smile at the girl and her companion. "Don't have her out too late, ne?" He mused, offering the nervous boy a jesting wink.
The little boy –Sumaru, I believe- nodded vigorously and offered what I thought was meant to be a solute.
"Bye, Daddy!" The little girl beamed, running over to her father to encase him in yet another painful-looking hug and grab her staff before disappearing through the door with the young boy in tow, looking as though he were desperately trying to keep up with the little girl.
Once we were alone in the room the Third Hoshikage turned to me, his face a kind of peaceful sadness that held acceptance to his fate. "So you know what must be done, ne?" He questioned, his eyes staring into the starry night sky. The stars always seemed to be out here, every time she came here they only appeared brighter to her.
I nodded grimly, "You don't have to let this happen, you know." I spoke softly, I still had trouble understanding how some could so peacefully accept fate, especially someone whose daughter would suffer most for it. Though for the protection of those you love and the fate of your village, many have willingly embraced it.
My heart clenched as my mind was filled with unwanted memories and flashes of mental pictures; it took all my strength not to make another grab for the crystal pendant on my necklace.
"It was meant to be, besides, past is past, future is future ne? I merely know I am meant to remain in the past. I've lived a pretty good life, had a beautiful wife, a beautiful daughter, watched her grow, perhaps not as long as I would have liked to, but still; I showed her the love and kindness any child deserves." He nodded wisely, his words bringing a smile to my lips. I could see in his eyes just how desperately he wanted her to remember him, as any parent would want their child to lovingly remember those who brought them into the world.
"Who was that boy?" I questioned, trying to lighten the aura of the room, although it wouldn't last for long.
"Aa. His name is Sumaru, Sakura's taken quite a liking to the boy, many of the children from the village adore her, but by far he seems to have gotten closest to her. He's somewhat drawn-back with other children, but with her he seems carefree." He smiled softly, "His parent's- Well, they died when he was young. They were strong shinobi." He nodded in admiration.
"How did they die?" I questioned, unable to hold back my curiosity.
"They died in the name of the star, that damn star that has caused my people so much heartache." He spoke sadly, eyes cast downward in shame; I stepped forward, placing a hand on the older man's shoulder.
"Some don't think much of our village; in fact, some go as far as to say that in the council, a Hoshikage's word means no more than a civilian's, but these people- to them, we are strong, divided by none, a family." He smiled softly, eyes cast to the stars, sparkling with happiness.
I remained silent; his words making me feel a pang of sympathy for the small village.
"But," he sighed, "My time has come, my time to leave my loving daughter and village to join the stars and in turn, I may watch them both grow, maybe not in person, but spirit." He smiled, his eyes looking younger than I'd ever seen them.
I nodded softly; it was all I could think to do. There were no words for situations.
"When do you think he will come?" I questioned.
"Tomorrow morning." He nodded.
"So I take her tonight?"
"Just before daybreak."
(Sakura's Pov)
I swung my legs back and forth happily, watching Sumaru play a game at one of the festival stands; it consisted of throwing small white balls at a stack of bottles to try and knock them over, which Sumaru-Kun has successfully done several times. He was amazing!
I couldn't see very well, but as he came closer I could see the small necklace in his hands, it was really pretty.
There wasn't a chain, just many tiny-tiny blue beads that were tightly strung together with a silver clasp at either end, a shimmering silver moon hung in the center.
"Here," He said softly, holding it out towards me.
I blushed as he stepped behind me; I felt his hands brushing the rest of my hair over my shoulder. His hands were cold, like the morning air and as he clasped the necklace I noticed how pretty it looked when the shining silver pendant caught the moonlight.
"I thought you'd like it." Sumaru offered with a small blush, his crimson eyes looking everywhere but at me. I giggled softly and pulled his hand into my own.
"Arigato Sumaru-kun. Let me try and win you something!" I smiled, bouncing happily to one of the stands with his hand in my own.
The stand had a wall full of colorful balloons and as I came closer, I saw a lot of them were already popped.
The man at the stand bowed to me really low, the weird way everybody does. "Hello, honorable daughter." He said in that weird way everybody did.
"Hello," I said. It made me kind of mad that people acted so silly around me. I placed some money on the counter that my daddy had given to me to play games at the festival. The man gave me another weird look before telling me he wouldn't take my money.
What was wrong with my money? After I told him that I needed to pay for the game because everybody else did he seemed to quit making me feel weird, he handed me a bunch of darts, probably more than he should have.
I smiled and aimed the first dart at a big purple balloon in the center. This man clearly didn't know that I would one day be the world's greatest kunoichi!
Cha!
Pop!
The man's eyes widened a fraction at how the dart had struck the balloon dead center with perfect precision. Before two more pops echoed through the air, deflating a big blue balloon and a nearby green one, successfully running out of darts I smiled, peering into the glass case at the prizes. Then I saw the perfect prize for her Sumaru-Kun! He would love it!
"I want that one!" I smiled happily, my finger pressed to the glass before whirling around to face Sumaru-Kun, his cheeks were the same color as my hair.
"Turn around and don't peek!" I winked, taking the prize into my hand as Sumaru turned around, before I copied his movements and brushed his soft black hair to the side to clasp his own necklace.
He turned around to face me with an ever more obvious blush; the necklace I had chosen for him was a lot like mine. It had tiny-tiny silver beads strung tightly together with a metal clasp on each end, except the pendant that dangled was a golden star.
"Look Sumaru-Kun, now we'll always remember each other!" I smiled happily, watching his cheeks turn ever redder! He was starting to look like a cherry!
I felt my own cheeks brightened when he took my hand in his, his was bigger than mine, and a little cold, but it made me really, really happy to hold his hand again.
"Promise you'll never forget me?" I questioned, looking up at Sumaru's pretty cherry-colored eyes.
"I promise, Sakura-Chan." He smiled softly. Sumaru-Kun always had such tiny smiles, I was about to ask him about that when a weird feeling made me stop, I could swear I just saw a blue haired lady!
I tugged forward to look for her, but kept getting bumped into by other people.
Where did she go?
"Sumaru-Ku-" I started to ask, before I realized I was standing alone in the crowd of people.
Sumaru-Kun was gone, and I was standing alone in a crowd of bigger people who were pushing and pulling in every direction, I clutched my staff to my chest, my little heart beating furiously. I was scared.
I'd never been completely alone in the village! Oh daddy would be so mad that I lost Sumaru-Kun! Oh no… What if he gets mad at Sumaru-Kun? It wasn't his fault! I need to get home, fast… Wait! Where is Sumaru-Kun? What if he's lost too?
I'm scared. I thought miserably, looking in every direction, until I could see the beginning of the forest. I'd played there with Sumaru many, many times. I knew it like the back of my hand! I bet I could go into this forest and find my way home faster than with the tons of people confusing me!
And with that I made my way into the density of trees, but instead of going home that weird feeling came back, and my legs were moving without me telling them to, deeper into the forest, father and farther away from home, I wasn't allowed this far into the forest. I was scared and alone once again preparing to turn back until a flash of orange appeared through the trees and caught my attention.
"Hello?" I asked softly, my heart beating like a hummingbird's wings inside my chest, making my ribs hurt a little.
"Who are you?" The voice of a boy questioned from the darkness, it sounded like a boy anyway, not as old as my daddy, but older than me at least, even by a little.
"I am Sakura Haruno!" I stated proudly, I sounded a lot braver than I felt right now. I was kind of glad too, that I had the strength to be brave at a time like this; I'd always had Daddy or Anbu-San to protect me.
A whoosh sound filled the air, and I saw a boy who looked a little older then Sumaru-Kun. He was at least a foot and a half taller than me with bright orange hair, and a bunch of odd metal rod-thingy's sticking out of his face in the oddest of places.
But his eyes were beautiful, lavender, the color I'd been surrounded by in my nursery as a baby, and still surrounded by today. My hand unconsciously reached out to him, and I meant to draw back- but his hand caught mine, it was bigger and warmer than Sumaru-Kun's, and pulled me forward, pressing my small hand to his cheek, the way I wanted to touch. I was astonished by the soft pale skin, and my fingers trembled softly as they traveled over his skin, feeling the cold pieces of metal within, his skin was warm to the touch, his beautiful eyes soft, but his face- it looked so cold. The way Sumaru get's when he's around the other children.
"Who are you?" I asked softly, my wrist still encased in the older boy's. I didn't mind much though.
"My name isn't important. You can call me Pein though, blossom." He said softly, He sounded older, like my daddy, not his voice… but his words sounded older. My opposite hand clutched around my staff nervously, it seemed to fill me with a comforting power. The way this boy was talking to me made me uncomfortable, it felt dirty.
His pretty, lavender eyes flickered to the staff, but remained there. "That's an interesting object, blossom. May I see it?" He questioned, almost coaxing his voice, he sounded like a lullaby and I looked at him uncertainly.
"It doesn't like to be touched by anyone but me…" I said softly, nervously watching the boy's hand outstretch, before it clasped around the staff, which now held four rings, instead of six, two just mysteriously disappearing over the years. Daddy said it was magic.
My heart nearly stopped when his long, slender fingers wrapped around the golden metals and something in her paused, it felt like time itself had stopped, she was left a spectator to the actions around her. She was convinced that in this moment, even her heart had stopped.
Click
Click
Crack.
The beam of light exploded from the now severed staff. The broken pieces did not touch the ground, just disintegrate into a blinding, white light, all solidity in the object disappearing, the light was so blinding that it burned to look through closed eyes, like looking directly at the sun. I had to push my palms into my eyeballs it hurt so bad.
I felt an odd sensation at my feet, and it slowly began to rise, so, so, so slowly. I didn't know what to do, I looked at the older boy, my eyes pleading him to do something, to get help, to go find my daddy. To stop whatever was about to happen. The tingly feeling seemed to stop for a second and then it shot through me, and it burned. Her stomach lurched and her skin felt like it was trying to fly off her bones, it burned.
Oh Kami it burned.
(Narrative Pov)
The piercing scream shot through the night, a blinding white light shooting into the air above the girl, it could be seen for miles throughout the land, before the immense power slowly started to disappear within the young pinkette, coming to a soft aura-like glow over her skin like a layer of sheer moonlight cloaking over her small form.
Her eyes had changed in color, her sclera taking over her irises and pupils, leaving them a stark white; the shimmering chakra dancing across her skin like the glittering of thousands of diamonds. Her silvery pink hair had fallen from the intricate bun, cascading at her small hips in soft curling tendrils. She looked like a being of beauty and peace that the orange haired boy nearly felt a pang of guilt for releasing the strange power into.
It was not your choice. It was destined to be. His mind reasoned, he gave a soft nod of inner agreement as he stared at the young girl, before watching her fall to the ground, the chakra levitating her so that the fall was slow and soft, as if loving arms were slowly lowering her into the soft grass, a slight frost spread out on the tips of grass, a coating of white ice, upon better inspection. The events that just took place left the boy speechless.
He neared the child, crouching down to look over her. Her skin the color of a china doll, a soft rosy tint on her cheeks, her long black lashes fanning beautifully over her cheeks at, her lips a beautiful paled pink, along with her pale pink locks, so light they held a silvery sheen to them.
She was absolutely beautiful, Pein leaned forward, pressing a soft kiss to the girl's forehead, wishing he could take her with him but he knew her destiny did not hold him in it, at least… for now. He could feel Konan's nearing chakra signature and knew the civilians were nearing the sight of the strange phenomenon that had just occurred.
Cupping her cheek softly in his scarred and calloused palm, the young boy, incredibly wise beyond his years, heaved a soft sigh. "For now, blossom, I bid you farewell."
And with that the figure that once towered over the fragile blossom, disappeared into the dark shadows from where he had came, not a single trace of his presence left in the air.
Unknown to the young girl, who was dreaming away, this day, would be the most important day of her entire life.
The day her fate had been decided.
0o0o0ooooo00000o0o0o0o0o0o0o 0oo0o0o
Again, cleaned up some of the messy plot and grammatical errors. If you like the story, please follow and leave me a review.
- Sakura-Centric