Unravel
Disclaimer; I don't own Naruto
Sakura woke up with a start. Sweat was pouring down her body and she was panting at the memories of war. For a long time, her dreams would be plagued with war, past battles, and death of comrades. She instinctively reached out to her left, where Sai would usually be, to comfort her, only to realized that he could not possibly be there. She silently shook and tried to will herself not to cry, not to be weak, because the future needed her, Konoha needed her, and Naruto needed her.
Knowing that her blonde might not be born had sent her into a restless sleep, but the final words from the one who sent her back are the only reason, she's not collapsed in a ditch somewhere waiting to die. He said that Naruto would be rewarded for his sacrifices and for that to happen, he would need to be born. Even if there was a possibility the man was talking about rewarding Naruto in the afterlife, Sakura still clung to the hope that it meant he would somehow be born and be able to grow up with a real family.
She looked over at her nightstand, where a basic alarm clock was and saw that it was nearing five AM. Knowing that going to sleep now would be pointless, she got up and opened up the drawers to find two standard jounin uniforms and undergarments. Not too thrilled at the thought of how the Sandaime had got a hold of these and when they were dropped off, she pushed those thoughts away and went into the bathroom for a shower. The cold water cooled her off, before she switched it to warm to relax a little.
Konoha would not be waking up for another two hours, with the exception of a few stray ninjas, so she decided to get dressed and go to a secluded training field and get some practice in. When she finished her shower and began drying her hair, Sakura paused when she got a look at her face, or more specifically her forehead. Her seal was still there, but it was different. The thick rhombus was no longer solely purple, it now was outlined in a light blue, that resembled the color of chakra.
'This must be the result of what that feeling in my forehead was, before I was sent back. I never noticed it till now, it feels as though I have a set of chakra reserves separate from my byakugo seal all together. I wonder what it would be like to tap into it.' Sakura mused as she finished getting dressed.
She looked at herself in the mirror and instantly disliked the outfit. It reminded her of bad times, times she wished to forget, but was too scared to not remember. She sighed, as she tied her long hair into a braid. After becoming Hokage, Sakura thought it was time for another change, keeping her hair short was no longer a necessity, plus her long lower back length hair, brought back memories. Memories of simple times, that feel a lifetime away. Ino was happily surprised that she would no longer be cutting her hair and others didn't really mention it, but were happy to accept the change. They all had changed.
Ino had began to work harder as a kunoichi and learn more about her clan. Shikamaru immediately got to work on becoming Konoha's number one tactician, after he was sure his mom would be okay. Chouji worked closely with his dad, who also tried to be there for his late friends kids. Hinata went into a long depression after loosing Neji and Naruto, but her sister and surprisingly her father were there to pick her back up and she began to put all her effort into being a good heiress for the clan. Kiba worked with his mother and sister to better understand his own family and Shino surprisingly worked hard to become an ANBU member, not wanting to become head of his family until he felt ready. Lee and Guy, after he spent months in the hospital recovery, became a fearsome duo and rouge ninjas did not enjoy their encounters with the two oddballs. Tenten remained a jounin and took missions, but mainly focused on her families weapons shop. She wanted to create the finest weapons ever seen and make a name for herself.
No one was left unaffected by the war, but everyone was working hard to piece each other together and make a better future. Civilians and ninja, young and old, male and female, they all worked to reestablish their village and would not forget such an amazing, yet sad sight. Only when we lost nearly everything could we finally come together. Even with people living their day to day lives, no one forgot the past, the war, the people who sacrificed their lives for a brighter future.
Hopefully this time around, things would be different.
Sakura didn't realize she had made it to the training fields, until after she broke out of her thoughts. She took a deep breath, before falling into a familiar stance and starting her katas. She tried to move as swiftly and silently as possible, as she went through three different types of maneuvers. Seeing as she only had a little over an hour until she could go shopping, she decided to take off on a light jog around the village, just to keep moving. She didn't want to get into any serious training, for such a short amount of time. Plus, not long after she began her katas, she felt a chakra signature flicker into the area, not knowing who was watching, she didn't want to risk revealing her skills, especially to Danzo's men.
Her eyes subtly flickered to the mysterious person, before she took off at a steady pace. Jogging was such a rarity for her considering her hectic schedule, but it was also one of her favorite things to do. She enjoy moving at a leisure pace and observing her village all the while. It always felt like she found something new each time, add to the fact that she was in the past before the village was rebuilt several times over, it almost had Sakura giddy, as she moved down each road. Though she would not cover even half of the village at her pace, she just decided to save the rest for a later date and enjoy her time now.
She was only somewhat aware that someone was following her the whole time.
OoOo
The person in the shadow's happened to be young man by the name Namikaze Minato. He had just returned home early from a secret mission from the Hokage and was on his way to the tower, when he felt someone's chakra in the distance. Usually he would not pay such mind, however the fact that the chakra was unfamiliar and in such a secluded place made him wonder.
It's not well known, but Minato is a very curious person. Every since childhood, he like to observe people, more than interact. He liked to observe ninja hopping from roof top to roof top, civilians hustling and bustling around in busy food markets, kids playing in the playground, and old people playing shogi near by. People always made him wonder. Why do they do things they don't like? Do they feel bad for hurting others? Why when given the choice, do most tend to choose wrong? Why does a specific something make one person happy, but not the other? He realizes that these questions can't just simply be answered, but he can observe all types of people and hopefully draw his own satisfying conclusion.
So, when Minato came across the face of a female, whom he has never seen, he was instantly curious. Her looks alone were enough to draw him in, with her long petal pink hair, her unusual bright green eyes, to her petite stature. Questions automatically began forming in his head. Who was she? Where did she come from? What's her name? Is that her natural hair color? But he ignored them, in exchange for watching her. She moved silently, however her strikes were too slow, by his standards, yet she never made pointless motions, only did what was necessary.
When she finished her katas and looked like she was ready to leave, Minato was going to turn and leave, until the woman's eyes flickered to his location, just before she left.
' She had sensed me.' he thought, as he watched her go. Most would not be surprised, if they saw that a jounin could sense them, but Minato was not most. He was a man that prided himself in his ability to strike before an opponent even knew he was being attacked and the key to that was stealth. Minato was quieter than a mouse and moved as fluid as water itself, while being faster than the speed of light. Needless to say, picking up on him before he got you was practically unheard of.
So he followed and watched her for a little bit longer and made sure he masked his chakra more. The woman seemed to be fascinated by Konoha, as she took in each and every corner in her path. Sometimes her eyes would flash with wonder and other times with a wistful look, but they never faltered in their effort to take all of it in. Twice she looked up to see if there was someone there, which of course there was, but she never seemed to be able to pinpoint his location.
'Interesting.'
Minato noted, after the pink haired woman walked into a clothing store. He would need to see if he could get any information out of Sarutobi. It was obvious by her outfit and lack of guards, that she was no threat to Konoha, but that still didn't explain exactly who she was or where she had been all this time.
Minato's interest was peaked and he had a feeling, this would not be satisfied by a round of question's with the "professor".
OoOo
As Sakura entered the shop, she felt the feeling of being watch go away slowly. Call it paranoia if you will, but Sakura has learned to depend on her instincts ever since she was young. They helped her when she first encountered Zabuza and made her quickly move and tackle Naruto to keep him from being beheaded, they helped her realize Sasuke was leaving, they came in handy in her battle with Sasori, and during the war. So Sakura had learned to not just dismiss her gut feeling with a basic excuse.
She did a once over the large one level store, before going towards the ninja gear and seeing if they had anything that could take the place of her old outfit. She picked out several spandex shorts, shirts, form-fitting black shinobi pants and shorts, fishnet under shirts, half shirts, and a pair of black boots, similar to her old ones. She had all she needed in terms of her career and was making her way towards the check out desk, when a voice stopped her.
" You can't possibly only getting ninja clothes, now can you?"
Sakura turned towards the female voice, observing the woman in front of her. She had to be five years older than herself, a civilian, in a long blue skirt and white shirt. Brown sandals, that matched her neck length hair, with warm, yet calculating icy blue eyes.
" Um, yes?" answered Sakura, a bit confused with this woman's deal.
The woman sighed and shook her head." You only got the necessities. What about other clothes, you're not gonna be on missions every single day, you need more than that." Sakura was going to reply that she was fine, but the woman stopped her." And don't even tell me that your fine, because your clearly not if you're walking around in the standard jounin uniform. Women only where that thing on missions and training, if necessary, so if you're wearing it voluntarily, that must mean you're in desperate need for some help."
The older woman began walking towards the other side of the store, where more fashionable and regular clothes were. She turned back and spoke." Well, don't just stand there with that confused look on your face. I'm gonna help you out, because you clearly need it. Don't worry, we'll try to fit your budget and style, now let's go." she paused for a moment." My name's Mira, by the way. Kasane Mira."
Sakura just knew that she would not be leaving this store anytime soon.
OoOo
Hiruzen stared at the young man in front of him. Namikaze Minato was becoming a well known shinobi. He was always regarded as a prodigy ever since he entered the academy, with his high intellect, large amount of chakra, and ability to quickly pick up on things, really made him the perfect shinobi.
However that was not all that he was. He was a man of honor, never took pride in his high kill count, nor did he come off as arrogant, even with his world renound skills. He was very down to Earth and humble. One of his few downfalls was that he loved so much, especially those close to him. Once you were taken under his wing, you were his on, which could be problematic in the shinobi world, considering most were ready to use any and everything against Minato.
But, the man was still human. When he first began making a name for himself he expressed to his sensei, Jiraiya, who later told Hiruzen, that Minato was worried about the target he'd now become. Jiraiya of course, assured Minato that he would be fine, with his own experience after become a legendary sannin. When Minato first got his genin team, he was afraid his enemies would target them. Which lead to Minato keeping a close eye on them and trying to keep them in the village for as long as possible, until Hiruzen intervened.
Minato had worries and doubts just like everyone. He would seek guidance from his sensei and kage, if he did not believe he could handle something on his own. The first time he lost someone on a mission he was leading, he blamed himself and could not sleep for a week. Jiraiya had to literally drag him out of his house, all the way to the Hokage's office, where he gave the man a good smack to the head, before letting his sensei take over. Though Minato stumbled, he never fell.
The Sandaime looked at the 22 year old and asked something he noticed the minute Minato walked in.
" What has you so distracted, Minato-kun?"
Said man blinked." Forgive me Hokage-sama." he bowed, but Sarutobi waved it off." I was just wondering, would you mind telling me about our new resident ninja."
Sarutobi, took a long drag from his pipe." So, you've met her?"
" More like, I saw her on my way here."
The Hokage could have laughed. It was obvious to him that Sakura did not want to interact with the people here, but most specifically Naruto's parents. But, not even 24 hours here and she's already caught Minato's attention, without knowing it. Oh, Hiruzen knew about Minato's bad curiosity habit, after interacting with him often. He wondered how long Sakura would be able to avoid the blonde, something like that would not be an easy feat. However, knowing that she trained under Tsunade meant that she must have inherited her stubbornness, which would prove to be entertaining.
" She just came back from a long mission I sent her on. She is one of my personal ANBU. " Sarutobi's eyes twinkled as he looked at Minato. It was obvious he wanted to know more, but would he be willing to ask?
Minato, for his part, was trying to be patient. The man in front of him was in charge and would tell him what he needed to know. But that didn't mean he couldn't be a senile old man, who loved to mess with people. So, he waited for the man to give him the last basic piece of information about the woman, who captured his interested.
" Is there something else you need?" questioned the kage, with merriment in his voice. Minato could also be impatient, if it was about something interesting.
' To figure out how to burn holes in your head, with my eyes.' Minato thought irritated, though he tried not to show it.
He took a deep breath." Might I know her name?"
" Of course." he said, as if he didn't know Minato was waiting for it." Her name is Sakura."
Sakura.
He could have guessed it, considering her features. But, even if that name was not completely uncommon, but he found, that he could not think of a better name for her.
" No surname name?"
" Maybe if you ask nicely, she will answer your questions." ' If she'll give you the time of day that is.' Sarutobi completed in his head, while managing to dodge anymore questions. The third had talked to Sakura about using an alias for her last name, but Sakura had insisted on keeping her given name. Hiruzen had been unsure, but persuaded him, by telling him that her parents were not even in the village at this time. Not to mention that Harunos were scattered all over the elemental nations, so it should not draw too much attention to herself.
Minato twitched. Clever old man.
OoOo
Sadly, Sakura had been right. She was stuck in the store for three hours, looking at everything from skirts to pants, tank tops to sweaters. Of course, she didn't buy half the things she saw, but she did manage to get several casual outfits, some nice undergarments, and a pair of slip on sandals and strap on heels. All at a decent price, so it wasn't a total waste of time. Mira, also spoke about going to her friend's shop that had all types of fabric and accessories, Sakura had politely declined, saying this would be enough, but had to promise to go to the store soon.
She headed straight home, to drop off her bags and decided to go out for breakfast. She would grocery shop and get things for the apartment later. Tomorrow she would start work and hopefully built a comfortable pattern in this time era. She would go on missions when needed, speak with the Hokage, if she thought something important needed to be done, and try not to get involved with her friends parents lives too much.
This was going to be a long experience.
Alright, I would like to thank all who followed, favorited, or reviewed my story. It makes me happy to know people enjoy it.
This story is gonna have more build up, but it won't drag out for too long, since as you can see, Minato is already curious about Sakura. They will not instantly fall for each other, but I will try to create some moments that will lead to their romance. I will also try to have more adventure and interaction with other characters, instead of keeping to team Minato, like I did in BNB.
Hoped you liked and thanks for reading.
