A/N: Hey there, thanks for all the support in the last chapter, I really appreciate it! Also special thanks to my guest reviewers whom I couldn't thank in person as well as to Suzululu4moe for reminding me about Sakura's yin seal :)
A/N 2: Changes? Re-wrote the entire first scene from scratch, altered Itachi and Sakura's relationship quite a bit, we get to know Hikaru better, and overall everyone is a little more human. Also had fun making Sakura more childish, since she is, of course, a child :D Enjoy, please.
This is majorly AU, just a warning.
You may now proceed...
O
Subito
That time of year thou mayst in me behold,
When yellow leaves, or none, or few, do hang,
Upon those boughs which shake against the cold,
Bare ruined choirs, where late the sweet birds sang.
O
Sakura stood in a straight line with the other children her age. Itachi was dithering at the front of the line after having being dragged off by his father to the academy just after dawn (most likely because Fugaku wanted Sakura nowhere near his son). She had kept herself inconspicuous and stood towards the middle of the line. There were not that many in her age group, easily half as many as she had had in her old academy class.
Hana stood directly in front of her, giggling about something or the other with another girl Sakura couldn't recognize from a bar of soap. Despite having good recollection of almost every person who happened to be in her clan, SU's memories were very limited with those outside of the clan, barring Hana Inuzuka who happened to be SU's best friend.
"Aren't you excited to see what classes we'll be placed in?" Hana asked, bouncing on her heels. Sakura wondered where the girl got all her energy from. She certainly didn't have the energy to be bouncing around this early in the morning. She missed being old enough to down a couple mugs of coffee a day. It was an unwritten rule that medic-nin were allowed to indulge in more cups of coffee a day than most sane people.
"I don't get what all the fuss is about. Won't we be in the exact same classes as last time? I mean only really special cases get moved. Oh look, Itachi was just placed in the advanced class. How totally unexpected." Sakura said, finishing her sentence with the well-practiced Uchiha snark. Hana pouted as Itachi moved towards the older and taller children's line.
"Aw that's too bad. I was kind of hoping he'd be in our class. Maybe we would have gotten into a genin squad together. Eh, there's always Haru. He wouldn't be too bad to be stuck with for a couple of years." Hana said. Sakura shook her head. Childhood crushes were something she got over a long time ago. It was a little weird being subject to other people's again.
Before she had a chance to answer one of the teachers called her name with a slightly confused tone to his voice, "Uchiha Sakura?"
Sakura turned her head at the mention of her name and Hana, moved to look on curiously as well. The unknown Chuunin beckoned her forwards. When Hana gave her a 'what did you do' look Sakura just shrugged. She certainly hadn't tried to do anything particularly bad. At least, not yet.
"Yes sir?" She answered, jogging to the front of the line. He smiled at her polite tone and took another glance down at the list.
"You've been moved," He said, "Your father requested for you to be put into the advance program but the teachers felt that may be too difficult for you so you'll be placed in the upper-intermediate class for now and after mid-year assessments we many move you into the advanced class. Your new class mates are over there." He pointed to a line on the other side of the playground. Sakura nodded and kept her hands clasped in front of her. Her classmates were much taller than she was and kept giving her odd looks. They were only ten year olds but seemed to be insulted by her presence.
"What're you doing here squirt? Aren't you a bit small for this class?" Someone called. Sakura froze, her mind flashing back to those days of torment in her youth. She sounded like Ami. Sakura didn't look at her, focused on keeping herself calm.
It was so strange, to have to deal with her temper flux again. ANBU had gotten all of that right out of her system, but children's minds were more susceptible to tantrum. Thus Sakura (whose temper was already one of the more aggressive-aggressive ones) had to make a conceited effort to not turn around and punch this girl in the face. Unfortunately she didn't seem to get the message, and stomped loudly to stand in front of Sakura.
"Hey, I asked you a question. Are you deaf and stupid?" Ami-sound-alike asked condescendingly.
Sakura looked the girl in the eye but didn't answer once again. She hadn't messed with someone in a long time, so this could be a good way to relieve her anger. The Ami-sound-alike growled and moved her hand to hit Sakura, obviously not used to be treated like anything but social royalty. Sakura caught her hand in mid-air.
"Gomen," Sakura said without a drip of sincerity, "I do not believe that fighting will be condoned outside of spars. Do not earn yourself a bad reputation on the first day." Sakura couldn't help but let a little bit of strength trickle into her grip, and the girl's face became redder. Sakura let go abruptly and the Ami-sound-alike hissed, holding her hand to her chest in pain. She turned and left, muttering angrily as she went.
"Fucking clan children think they can do whatever the hell they want…" She said while still within earshot. Sakura sighed. A common misconception in Konoha, that clans did whatever they wanted. It may have been true in the past, but from the Fourth Hokage onwards, there was less deference. At least for those who were not next-in-line.
"E-excuse me?" A voice sounded from behind Sakura. She left her train of thought where it was for later and turned to see who was talking to her now. She had a brief moment of confusion when she had to look farther up to reach their face than she'd expected to need to. The kid was probably the tallest of the lot, though with the hunched shoulders and hair hiding his face he looked like he was trying to disappear.
"Yes?" Sakura answered.
"Um," The boy stuttered, seemingly surprised that Sakura had even acknowledged him, "Th-that was pretty b-brave what y-you did th-there. Asira is really m-mean to everyone i-in our c-class."
Sakura smiled at the boy and held out her hand to him. He flinched away from her immediately, not even trying to hide his reaction. Sakura kept a frown off her face. Was he worried she would do the same thing to him as she had done to Asira, or was there another reason for his uncomfortable reaction?
"I'm Sakura," She stated resolutely, "What's your name?"
"Homaru," He said quietly, and didn't elaborate. Sakura nodded but didn't push him, for which he seemed rather grateful. They were called into the classroom soon after, and Sakura sent a flagging wave to Hana before the brunette disappeared into her own classroom.
The classroom was in utter chaos when Sakura entered it. Sakura struggled to force down her instinct to quieten the place. She was no longer seventeen. No longer the hospital's second in charge. These children wouldn't listen to her. Sakura stared down at her tiny hands for a moment and tried desperately to recall how six year olds were supposed to act. It had been so long…
That had been a painful time of her life. Before Ino, when Sakura was tormented day after day with no end in sight. She'd never understood why, not until later, much later in life. There were some things she would have rather not come to understand.
Sakura let herself be jostled by bigger kids until she was in a seat. That odd boy, Homaru carefully took the seat next to her, and Sakura looked around – it was obvious that they were in the undesirable part of the classroom. Right up in the front where your sensei could see you.
A worn looking Chuunin came into the room with files under his arm and greeted the kids. He was to be her teacher for the next few years. How long Sakura wasn't sure. She could last a few days, a week if she was lucky. They could have her sent to one of the other 'academies' by tomorrow. She scowled at the thought.
The first thing they were told was that they were doing a couple benchmark tests.
"Nothing serious," Tsuzumi-sensei said, "Just to see how much you guys remember from last year." It was a bold-faced lie that Sakura could recognize. The tests were a cover for the weeding-out of less than performing students. Those ones wouldn't be in class tomorrow.
Sakura supposed that it was a necessary procedure, for the sake of streamlining and giving the best students the best chance they could get. But it was also an excuse to teach the important children as much as possible. She should have figured out the system years ago, when she saw fewer and fewer civilian children in her old academy class, when many of them did tons better than Naruto could ever muster. It was unfair in a lot of ways, but at least Konoha tried to give civilian children a better chance than most villages. It was unfortunate that civilians just didn't have the right resources to teach their children well enough. Sakura herself had only managed to stay in the Academy thanks to her tactical brilliance. It had been her saving grace.
The system was quite simple really, and very visible to anyone who looked underneath the underneath. Those that managed to get through the entire academy process and got Jounin senseis, they were the lucky ones. Career shinobi, less likely to die in war, got better pay, were generally well-known. Sakura had been one of the few civilians to become one. She knew of two others in her age bracket, Tenten and Lee. The three of them had been astonishingly lucky.
The others? System shinobi. They died in the hundreds every year and hundreds more replaced them. They came from every inch of Fire Country, as faceless and nameless as the last one. They earned so little that they may as well have been waitrons for all the work they did. Sakura could remember in gruesome detail how many of them had died in the war. How many of them had had their treatment overlooked in favour of a Career ninja. There were similar systems set up in all the shinobi nations, but of all of them Konoha was the least harsh.
It was an awful truth, but a truth nonetheless.
Sakura had to avoid that at all costs.
But at the same time if she answered any of those questions with the knowledge of her seventeen year old self, a person who had been entrusted with political machinations on behalf of the Godaime, she would be in T.I. faster than she could blink. She had to tread carefully.
Sakura finished quickly, writing short and to the point answers that any Konoha genin could have written. They were vague and Konoha-worship-y enough to pass her. She was sure. When she looked up nobody else had finished, so Sakura turned her gaze to her sensei for a moment.
He was the average Chuunin. Nothing remarkable. But he was tenser than he should be for someone just sitting and watching a class. Perhaps he felt bad for the children who would not get the chance to pass? Sakura allowed a wave of sympathy for them to wash over herself before clamping down on it. She had to remember that she was fighting for a Career Shinobi spot just as much as they were. Just because she was a clan child didn't guarantee anything. Plenty of Hyuuga had been Systems, as Sakura had seen. She was fairly sure that the same thing extended to the Uchiha as well.
"Okay class, time up. Please proceed outside for the physical portion of the test." Tsuzumi said. A few kids groaned, muttering 'I didn't even finish' and 'I couldn't remember anything's in equal measure.
They were split up into two groups, before the drills began. There was a sprint first, and Sakura found herself side by side with Asira. The girl childishly stuck out her tongue at Sakura before moving into position.
"Watch me beat you into the ground, freak." Asira sneered. Sakura grinned.
"Not if I do it first."
Sakura almost leapt into the air with the force she used to catapult herself in front of Asira. A loud giggle escaped her, before turning into a full-blown laugh. Though Asira's legs were longer, and her strides the same, Sakura had no problem lapping the girl twice. This was nothing compared to what Shisui had made both her and Itachi do. Miles that left them panting and gasping for air, but ultimately proud of themselves. Sakura didn't bother running her hardest, but managed to easily finish the simple course before most students had even started their second laps.
A wave of disbelieving voices and claps spread through the crowd of kids. Sakura grinned heartily, the tips of her ears pink and adrenalin still slipping through her. Oh, she thought suddenly, this is what it's like to be a kid.
She had to say that she didn't mind it.
When Asira came panting in, red-faced and scowling, Sakura allowed a little bit of triumph to spread across her features.
Throwing came next, and Sakura topped the others easily. She knew she should have played it safe. Snuck in around the middle-high of the class, but she'd gotten a taste of the genius triumph. Something she'd never really had the privilege of before. Everything in life had been hard earned for her, so this was something new. No wonder Sasuke had been so arrogant.
It was difficult not to be.
She managed to rein in her enthusiasm by the time spars came around. It was obvious people were expecting her to win, and her opponent (one of Asira's girls) looked both worried and resentful. Despite wanting to throw caution to the wind Sakura decided not to pummel the kid into the ground. That was certainly akin to bullying. And bullying was something Sakura truly detested. Instead she made it quick and efficient, and the girl was on the ground before she could blink. Sakura was still very slow in comparison to what she used to be, but she was certainly fast enough to defeat a pre-genin. Tsuzumi-sensei, however, would have easily been able to watch her movements as she ran.
Sakura sent her sensei a cheeky little grin, and he raised an eyebrow back at her. She knew she couldn't trust him not to report her progress to the Hokage, but she honestly didn't mind. She was done being the meek and mild Sakura of her formative years. This time there was no Inner to corral her more violent tendencies. There was only her.
She found she preferred it that way.
"You're r-really cool, Sakura-s-san." A soft voice whispered. Sakura looked up from the neat kanji she was painting and smiled at Homaru. He had stubbornly stuck by her side even as child after child had come to dislike Sakura. Unlike Sasuke, she held no painful mysterious side to her that held appeal. She was only 'the rookie of the year', someone whom they could never hope to surpass. Many kids went out of their way to insult her, but she brushed it off. Once you'd had Sai on your team, passing comments of one's appearance meant nothing.
"Thank you Homaru-kun." Sakura said, "But really, you're not bad yourself. In fact," she said conspiratorially, "I think you're worlds better than all of those idiots." Sakura casually waved to everyone else in the room. Homaru's face went predictably red and he spluttered.
Going through the academy with the mind of a seventeen year old was terribly boring. When she had first landed up in her new timeline, she hadn't really understood the implications of starting all over again. Sakura found herself pulling a Shikamaru more often than not, and simply sleeping through classes. It meant she had more energy later to train, and it worked out for her. This was probably why most of the other kids disliked her so much. They had to work hard in order to retain their ranks, but to them it seemed as if Sakura put in no effort but still outshone them all.
Which was, of course, nonsense. Sakura did her fair share of training and then some. Though she was forbidden from training with Shisui, it was not hard to work by oneself. She missed the motivation she'd had with Itachi as a rival, but she made do. (Every now and again, Itachi would seek her out for a spar in any case, to see who had improved the most. She was still winning 12-14, but it was getting close.)
Sakura's dislike of the academy setup increased steadily as each term there were fewer and fewer in her class. Asira had managed to hold on tight to the coattails of others, but Sakura had a feeling that at the next set of exams she too would be shipped off to one of the mountain schools with the others.
It wasn't that the curriculum at the other schools was any easier than at Konoha Main, but Sakura knew that once one was sent there they had nothing to look forward to but an unglamorous career as a System shinobi that would end in an uninteresting way. Sakura's horror on hearing about the System shinobi vs Career shinobi system was profound. Before meeting and learning under Tsunade she'd had no idea how close she'd come to being paid less than a waitress and never rising above the rank of Chuunin. It was a system that worked, but she hated it nonetheless. It had ensured that Konoha had plenty of shinobi to supply to the great army of the Fourth War, but it also meant that many people (children) died unnecessarily.
Sakura sighed, and slackened the death grip she had had on her brush. Homaru was still red-faced next to her, and whispered a tiny thanks. Sakura exhaled. As long as she could keep those precious people of hers together, she could push through this.
After all, it was only two more years.
Sakura slipped her satchel 'round her shoulder and walked out of the classroom. Homaru slunk up next her, contrasting her in every way. The two of them must have looked comical. Her, tiny with dark hair and dark eyes and him tall and lanky with hair almost white and eyes filmy blue. Afternoon sunlight filtered through the trees and made Sakura feel sleepy. She had a ways to go to get home though, and had hoped to take a run today at least, but the warmth of a Konoha summer afternoon had her rethinking her plans.
"Sakura-chan, are you going t-to train this af-afternoon?" Homaru asked. Sakura lifted her arms above her head and stretched, feeling the vertebrae in her back click into place.
"I wanted to, but the sunlight is making me sleepy. I might just take a break to… day." Sakura trailed off, eyebrows arching in surprise. Standing at the gates to the Academy courtyard was Itachi, satchel around his shoulder and leaning casually against the wall as if he did so every day. Sakura couldn't help the twitch of a smile that tugged at the corners of her lips. Itachi looked up at her and managed the slightest of smiles – practically a grin for an Uchiha.
"Sakura-san," he greeted smoothly, "I was hoping I could steal you away for a spar this afternoon." He gave Homaru a once over, deemed him non-threatening and inclined his neck as a sort of show of respect. "Unless you had plans?" Itachi asked. Homaru looked terrified and Sakura elbowed the older boy in the side.
"Itachi-kun! This is Homaru-kun. Homaru-kun, Itachi-kun. Itachi is my, um, third cousin I think? He and my aniki are very close." Sakura said, nudging Homaru forwards to shake Itachi's hand. The clan heir slid easily into the role of a soft-spoken leader and greeted Homaru efficiently and warmly, leaving Homaru a little shell-shocked. He was entirely unused to clan politics and it showed in how he hadn't expected Itachi's fluid transition between roles. Sakura just rolled her eyes and adjusted her satchel.
"L-lovely to meet you!" Homaru squeaked.
"I didn't plan anything much," Sakura said, giving the poor shy boy a reprieve from socialisation, "so we could spar if you wanted. Or," Sakura said, as if the second option was the obviously better choice, "we could go out for dango, and you can explain the Advanced Cryptography homework to me since I missed a lesson." She had been hoping to ask Itachi about it, since he was pretty good at cryptography. Sakura's talents lay more towards the subtler arts. Poison and Bloodline Genetics. They took mostly the same Advanced Classes, so he would know what she was talking about.
Itachi took a moment to deliberate. "Okay," he said, "I wouldn't mind dango."
"Oof!" Sakura felt Itachi's fist plant itself firmly in her solar plexus. She was knocked backwards, and used the momentum to put more distance in between the two of them. She grunted as she landed, out of breath and aching from the punch. Itachi clenched and unclenched his fist in pain, trying to hide the displeasure from getting hurt. They were both tired, obviously, and their movements were getting sloppy and more like a brawl the longer the fight went on, but neither wanted to budge. Sakura ignored her body's want for medical chakra. She thought it was clearly cheating when she healed herself during a spar.
Itachi seemed content to just stand back and wait for her to move first, so Sakura did, leaping forwards to deliver a series of blows. Itachi parried most, but Sakura managed a glancing hit across his mouth and he came away with a split lip. He pressed her back, punching and kicking in the Uchiha style as Sakura dodged and slid past his blows. His foot caught at her ankle and she fell. Her back arched and her hands pressed to the ground to stop her descent. Her own foot came up in an arch, catching Itachi in the stomach and vaulting him over her. He copied her trick and caught himself in a handstand as Sakura jumped up and turned.
He rushed forwards as she spun, and her heel came up to meet his face. He grabbed her foot and spun her, pinning her to the ground, her face in the dirt. He had a kunai to her throat before she could blink.
"I win," He croaked, voice hoarse from the ragged breathing. Sakura nodded her defeat. Itachi moved his kunai from her neck and got off her. Sakura smiled to herself at his carelessness. She spun them around, swinging her legs across his torso and pressing his own kunai to his throat. Her dirty face shone with glee.
"Never trust the enemy Itachi-kun!" She said. Itachi narrowed his eyes and sighed, the slightest blush spreading across his cheeks.
"Fine. You win, again." He said. Sakura increased their mental tally – 16/14 to her.
"Ne Itachi-kun?" Sakura said, after the two shinobi-to-be had doused themselves in water and had a good drink.
"Yes?" He said, his hair still dripping. The two sat by the edge of the training ground, high up enough that they could see the sun setting atop the gates of the village. Sakura leaned back on her hands.
"You're really trusting sometimes." She said, the 'too much' was left off, but still felt. Itachi didn't look at her.
"I won't make that mistake on missions." He said, brushing his hair out of his eyes. The warm sunlight made his face look as young as it should be, despite the age behind his eyes. Sakura wrapped her arms around her legs.
"I know." She answered softly, laying her chin to her knees.
Itachi was graduating soon, two weeks from then. She could see the tension in his shoulders, the lack of sleep. He was not doing well. Sakura knew he wouldn't willingly talk to anyone about it. Shisui, if he noticed, would wait for Itachi to talk to him. Sakura on the other hand was not so conservative.
"Talk to me about it." She said, then thought better, "If you want to."
Itachi stayed quiet for a moment and then opened his mouth as if searching for something to say. He closed it again. Sakura held out her hand to him tentatively, and Itachi's hand took it without hesitation.
"I killed a man." He said, so quietly it could have been a sigh. Sakura gripped his hand tight and reigned in the slew of questions that threatened to overwhelm her. Most of all, why? Her mind drew her back to the trip Itachi had taken with Fugaku, out of the blue one day. It had been weeks ago, and extremely brief. Sakura felt her anger swell, and had to firmly keep it down.
"Okay," She said instead, "Okay."
"You aren't scared of me?" He asked even softer. Sakura shook her head.
"Shisui's killed people," She said, watching as he flinched, "So has Okaa-san, and Otou-san," She looked at Itachi's face. His face was rigid, and didn't betray him at all, but the tight pressure on her hand told her all she needed to know. "I'll kill people one day too. Because that's my job, my duty. We kill people so that our family, our friends, our village don't get hurt."
Itachi turned away and took a breath.
"Yes." He said simply.
Sakura gave him a reassuring smile.
"You can still hate it though." She said, and the slightest touch of a smile played on his swollen lip.
They walked home with hands still clasped.
"Sasuke-kun, Naruto-kun, what are you doing?" Sakura asked, looking at the two boys who were hanging upside down from the playground's jungle gym. Sasuke looked a bit woozy and Naruto was slowly slipping off.
"Naruto-kun said that if we hang upside down all the blood will go to our head and then we'll be super smart." Sasuke answered smugly. Sakura arched an eyebrow and turned to Naruto.
"Naruto-kun, is that true? You know that that doesn't really work right?" She said. Naruto grinned.
"We just wanted to im-im-press you with our cool in- in- in-tell-i-gence." Naruto said, feigning innocence. Sakura smiled and pulled Naruto off the jungle gym. Considering that he was about to crash headfirst to the ground she was sure she was doing him a favour.
"Sakura-hime, me too!" Sasuke shouted. Sakura put Naruto down and pulled Sasuke off, spinning him around for a bit. He squealed before Sakura put him down and the boys began to chase each other. Sakura smiled at them. It was the first time they were seeing each other in two weeks. Sakura found that her new schedule was a lot more hectic when she had to do her own training and still work on medic stuff with Homaru. She had about half-an-hour until she was supposed to meet Hana for dango in the market.
"You're r-really good w-with kids." Homaru said from behind her. Sakura turned to smile at Homaru who was sitting cross-legged on the park's bench, leafing through the newest medical text she had procured for him. He devoured the books at a rate, confirming the fact that he wanted to know more than just field medic stuff.
"Nah, just Sasuke; and Naruto by extension. Other kids drive me crazy. Besides, we're still kids ourselves." Sakura replied. She went to sit down with him and pulled out her own text. He glanced over at her work and his eyes widened.
"I s-still don't know h-how you understand th-that stuff." He said. Sakura tapped her nose.
"Shush, I'm just a closet nerd." She said. Someone behind her scoffed.
"Not exactly hiding it are you?" They asked. Sakura smiled ruefully at Hana as the girl plopped herself down next to her. Hana took the book from Sakura and grimaced as she turned the pages.
"Geez, this is some intense stuff 'Kura. Homaru-kun's right, none of this makes any sense." She declared, Sakura laughed and snatched the book back from Hana.
"It does make sense - in context. I'm sure Homaru-kun could figure it out if he wanted to." Sakura said. Homaru ducked his head to avoid attention. She noticed that he had the same habit of trying to cover his face as she had had as a child.
"Eh, as long as you're doing what you wanna do. Did you hear that Itachi went on his first B-rank yesterday? Apparently he had to actually kill someone." Hana said, switching neatly into gossip mode. Sakura nodded grimly. She had heard it from Shisui who was severely pissed that Fugaku had authorized the mission in the first place. Mikoto was equally as upset, stating that no eight year-old belonged on a B-rank mission. She was right of course, but Itachi Uchiha was in a league of his own. Itachi hadn't gotten back yet, but news travelled fast in the Leaf.
"Mhm, Shisui-nii told me about it. But it was three people, not one." Sakura corrected. Hana looked even more shocked and she dimly noted that Homaru looked a bit sick. He was so obviously disgusted with the thought of killing anyone. Surely his father noticed this?
"That's so awful. I'm glad I've still got four years, thankfully. You two are graduating this year aren't you?" Hana asked. Sakura nodded and stole another glance at Homaru who was trying his best to keep a blank expression at the thought.
"Y-yeah. But only if w-we pass the e-exam." Homaru said. Hana leaned across Sakura and punched the boy in the shoulder. He didn't flinch at Hana's touch anymore. He had gotten used to being around Hana, because where Sakura went, Hana always seemed to turn up.
"Yeah but we all know that you two'll pass. You're the smartest kids in that class and according to 'Kura you can throw just as well as Itachi." Hana said. Homaru's face burst into a blush and he shook his head vehemently.
"N-no ways. I-I could n-never be th-that good." He said. Sakura pursed her lips and looked at Homaru with a raised eyebrow.
"What have I said about self-deprecation? And Itachi isn't a god. He's an eight year-old. Just like Hana and I. I would know." Sakura said. Hana looked at her like she had a giant spider on her face.
"Itachi-kun is amazing 'Kura. You're just too used to him because you're cousins and see each other all the time." Hana said, as if she won the argument. Sakura sighed.
"Forget it. Itachi is good, but we've got to focus on our own careers, not someone else's. 'Sides, I'm still gonna beat Itachi's academy records this year to prove Fugaku wrong." Sakura said, smiling.
"You really hate my dad don't you?" Itachi spoke from behind them, sounding resigned but not upset. Sakura felt Hana and Homaru stiffen next to her and she just sighed, turning to face the prodigy himself.
"Not really. He just, gets on my nerves sometimes. You know what I mean." Sakura said. Itachi nodded as he glanced at the medical tome spread across her lap. Its pages were old and crinkled but it was still a store of information.
"I'm glad you still follow your dreams." Itachi murmured, and Sakura smiled.
Sasuke and Naruto circled back towards Sakura until they caught sight of Itachi. Sasuke's face brightened and he rushed forward, Naruto lingering behind, not quite sure of the new big kid.
"Aniki, you're back! I missed you!" The younger boy threw himself at Itachi who stiffened as his brother hugged him before cautiously returning the affection. Sakura grinned at the sight. He was such a prude about public displays of affection. Sakura could recall Itachi's bright cheeks whenever Mikoto would kiss her son's cheek in public. Naruto sort of watched the scene in awe.
"Sasuke-kun, is that your brother?" Naruto blurted out. Both brothers turned to see Naruto, who stood there with wide eyes. Sakura cursed under her breath. She had been hoping to keep Itachi from knowing of the friendship.
"Yeah! Naruto-kun, this is Itachi-nii-san. Aniki, this is Naruto-kun." Sasuke said. He broke away from his brother to bring Naruto closer and Sakura got up, ready to intervene if necessary. She hoped Itachi wouldn't overreact. No matter how nice a person was it was stunning to see how their personalities shifted when met with the jinchuuriki.
"H-hello Itachi-san." Naruto said, holding out his hand cautiously, eyeing the hitai-ate with slight fear.
"Sakura-san, you knew of this?" Itachi asked, shaking Naruto's hand primly. Sakura froze as Itachi turned to face her. He arched an eyebrow, copying her signature quirk perfectly. "I assume it was you who orchestrated this friendship, knowing of the circumstances surrounding the child." Itachi seemed more curious than anything else, but Sakura would take no chances.
"Yes, I did. I am sure you are also fully aware of the fact that Naruto-kun is just a child who has no ulterior motives whatsoever." Sakura said, a little pleading in her voice. Itachi met her eyes and seemed to come to a decision.
"Very well then. I will take my leave. Lovely to meet you, Naruto-san. Let's go Sasuke." Itachi said. Sasuke looked torn for a moment, glancing at Naruto, with whom he was still hooking arms.
"Its fine, Itachi-kun. I'll accompany Sasuke home. I promised Mikoto-san that I would bring her some fresh flowers and Sasuke asked to come with in any case." Sakura said. She figured Itachi deserved the rest anyway, if he had only arrived back from his mission today. She turned to the 'we're so not watching this happen' group of her friends. "I'm sorry we didn't get the chance to go out today Hana, after school tomorrow maybe?" Sakura offered the young Inuzuka and the girl nodded.
"Nah, it's okay. Tell you what, all three of us can go tomorrow, eh Homaru-kun? Mitarashi dango is the best." Hana said happily. Homaru nodded and packed up his notes as Hana got up.
"Come on then Sasuke-kun, you know what kind of flowers your Okaa-san likes best. Naruto-kun do you want to come too?" Naruto looked relieved at not being left on his own and nodded. Sakura picked the boy up, allowing him to sit on her back.
"See you f-for lessons o-on Wednesday?" Homaru clutched the textbooks to his chest and loomed high above everyone, including Itachi. Sakura grinned at him.
"Yep, we'll go over poison extraction and antidote making before class tomorrow. Say, seven-ish?"
"Sure." Homaru said. Hana waved goodbye and ran off with her ninken, Homaru heading off in the opposite direction. Sasuke grabbed her hand and Naruto gripped her shoulders.
"Are you just gonna stand there Itachi? Cause you look seriously depressing." Sakura said. Itachi sighed but his shoulders stayed stiff.
"Hn, perhaps I should accompany you to the market. It does not do to let a young girl wander alone after sunset." Itachi sighed. Sakura scoffed. The sun hadn't even set yet and she was more than capable of handling herself.
"We're the same age. But if you're really lonely let's go. The shop'll close soon." Sakura said. Itachi ended up following them. Sasuke chatted enthusiastically to Itachi about his games with Naruto. Sakura watched them interact. Itachi didn't do much more than nod and sometimes offer up a point when Sasuke got off track but she could see the ghost of a smile tugging at his lips. Maybe he has a soft side somewhere in there.
"Sakura-chan, are you Sasuke's sister?" Naruto had his chin on her left shoulder.
"No, but I am his cousin, Naruto-kun. We do look very alike though, ne?" Sakura asked. Naruto hummed. The sun was starting to go down properly, spreading pinks and oranges across the sky and making the village air cooler. Sakura had forgone Shisui's jacket (though after wearing it for two years she was sure it belonged to her) and now she was getting Goosebumps.
"Hey! Look over there! The flower shop's closed!" Sasuke shouted. Sakura looked up and her shoulders sagged. Mikoto wouldn't be too upset with her but she had wanted to get them for the women as a favour. Just because her husband was a snarky little ass didn't mean that she had to be.
Itachi hummed, "Hn, we'll just have to go home the-"
"There's a small festival on in the inner village. They're bound to be selling flowers somewhere down there. Come on, I don't want to disappoint Mikoto-san." Sakura said before he could finish. Sakura bounded off with Naruto still on her back and Itachi followed glumly, with Sasuke slung over his shoulders.
It took them almost no time at all to get into the inner village. The streets were alive with colour and sound. Sakura breathed in the multitude of different smells and grinned. She could probably find the flower stall with her nose. Itachi beat her to it.
"Down there, looks like they have Mikoto-san's favourites. How fortunate." Itachi said. Sakura sent him a look.
"Stop speaking like you're forty instead of eight. It's getting on my nerves. Just now I'll start calling you old man." Sakura teased. He gave no indication of amusement but Sakura assumed that he was amused, due to the sparkle in his eye.
"Whatever you say, Sakura-san. Come now, let us be hasty." Itachi answered. They moved towards the flower stall quickly and soon Sakura had an armful of sunset coloured roses. They smelt divine and she sniffed them shamelessly as group left the small festival.
"Naruto's asleep by the way. He fell asleep on your back." Itachi said, lowering his voice. Sakura nodded, altering their route.
"Yeah, his breathing evened out a while ago. I'm sure you also noticed that Sasuke is just about to fall asleep on your back?" Sakura asked. Itachi nodded and they headed for the Hokage's tower. The secretary didn't even look up at them as they climbed the stairs. Sakura rapped sharply on the doors to the office and she heard a tired voice call them in.
"Excuse me, Hokage-sama. I was just wondering where Naruto-kun's apartment was. He fell asleep and I didn't want to wake him." Sakura called, bowing her head in respect. Sarutobi looked up from his work to view the two young kids in front of him. Sakura shifted nervously as the old man smiled at her.
"Aah, you must be Sakura-chan. Naruto talks about you a lot. And Itachi Uchiha, I did not expect to see you here, but of course Naruto mentions Sasuke even more often. You may leave Naruto here, Sakura-san. I will send an Anbu member to take him home." The Hokage answered, pleased. Sakura seemed wary of the shadows in the corners of the room but nodded, slowly sliding Naruto off her back and into her arms. He barely stirred and soon was on the back of a silver-haired Anbu she knew only too well.
Sakura had been wondering when she would meet the ever illusive Kakashi Hatake in this timeline. She knew that at this point he would still be in Anbu but this meeting was too chancy for her liking. She couldn't voice the fact that she knew him, for obvious reasons, but she wanted to make sure that this time around Kakashi would re-connect with the real world.
"Thank you, Hokage-sama." She said. He dismissed them and they hurried out of the office. Sasuke was fast asleep by now and Sakura had to keep from jostling the roses too much. By the time they finally reached the compound it was already seven thirty in the evening. The guards waved at them as they moved through the gates and towards the main house. That time of the evening people were still bustling about the compound, and Sakura found herself smiling happily at the sight. The path to the main house went through the middle of the compound, so it was often crowded, and seeing the family out and about was satisfying.
They reached the garden around the main house quickly, and Sakura walked up to the house with trepidation, as she always did when dealing with the main family. Itachi walked in carelessly but Sakura made herself wait at the door until the boy realised that she wasn't following him.
"Aah, you may come in Sakura-san." Itachi said, once he realised she was waiting for permission to enter, "Mikoto-okaa-san will probably be in the kitchen." Surprisingly he didn't take Sasuke upstairs immediately. Instead he turned into the kitchen as well. Sakura noted that Fugaku was in the other room but decided that meeting him would be inevitable and she simple walked into the main room. Fugaku seemed to stiffen in her presence.
"Good evening Fugaku-sama. I apologise for the intrusion, Mikoto-sama asked that I bring her some flowers from the village." She said, bowing gently at the waist. His eyes were cold as he surveyed her but he nodded for her to complete her task. Sakura took her leave at a leisurely pace. She disliked giving him the satisfaction of thinking he scared her, but she didn't want him to think of her as uneducated either. Mikoto smiled when she saw Sakura carrying her flowers.
"Aah, Sakura-san. Thank you for bringing me the flowers, it is much appreciated. Would you like to stay for dinner?" Mikoto asked, her hands deftly preparing the evening's food. Sakura shook her head.
"I apologise, Mikoto-san, but Shisui-nii just got back from a mission and Misori-okaa-san likes to have everyone home whenever he returns. If you would like me to, perhaps another day. I can never turn down an invitation to enjoy your wonderful cooking." Sakura said happily. Mikoto smiled as she put the roses into a vase.
"Ah yes, I would like to know about your lessons with Sasuke-kun, since he adores them so much," Mikoto answered. Sakura nodded and took her leave, avoiding Fugaku and roof-hopping home. She slipped through her bedroom window, careful not to tangle herself on the gauzy curtains, and collapsed onto her bed, pulling Shisui's jacket onto her in an effort to warm herself up. Her medical tome was flung to the side carelessly. The moment she closed her eyes a familiar presence made itself known in her room.
"Woah there, what have you been up to today?" A cheerful voice asked. Sakura perked up and flung herself at Shisui with a sigh. His arms gathered around her in a protective hug and his curly hair tickled at her nose. Sakura wasted no time.
"I missed you so much. Shinji-sama's been such a pain. How was the mission? You bring me any scrolls?" She asked. Shisui smiled at her and flicked the light switch. Sakura hissed at the light blinding her and gave Shisui a mock scowl. He ruffled her hair and flung himself down on her bed face first, groaning as he sank into her pillows.
"You know I want my jacket back eventually hey? Just cause I lent it to you once doesn't mean that you can keep it forever." Sakura huffed and pulled off the jacket. She felt strangely naked without it. Underneath it all she wore was a t-shirt and shorts and as comfortable around Shisui as she was she still preferred to remain covered up. It was one thing going around sparring in that outfit, and another one wearing it when out. Had she really not realised?
"Here, I'm sorry I never really gave it back it's just nice to have it with me when you leave for missions." She said. She paused, and gripped the jacket tighter, "You're applying for Anbu this year, aren't you?" Her voice dropped off a bit towards the end. Sakura was more than familiar with what a few years in Anbu did to people. It was terrible, but at the same time the village needed to take the missions and once Root was disbanded they didn't have much choice. Shisui squeezed her shoulder reassuringly.
"I was kidding, you can keep it. It suits you better than it ever suited me and I'll have to wear an Anbu uniform in any case." He answered. Sakura sat down next to him and left the jacket on her desk. She swung her legs, frowning.
"Are you sure about joining Anbu, aniki? I mean, that's a heck of a lot of commitment and I'm sure that you know what goes on in there." Sakura said, "You could always try for jounin, at least then you have a choice when it comes to missions. I'm just worried about you." Shisui sighed and stared at the ceiling.
Sakura's heart ached when she thought of the things Shisui would be forced to do. It was barbaric, the sheer amount of blood you spilt as an operative of Anbu. She recalled her own short stint in Anbu. After her last mission it wasn't she who came home in a sealing scroll, but rather Yuugao. Her head sliced off cleanly. One moment alive and well and the next lying in pieces before Sakura. It had taken her all of a week to get over the horrifying scene, which was what made Tsunade take her off the Anbu roster in the end. She had become too desensitized. Killing was second nature and didn't leave her with any remorse after a year in Anbu. It scared her, what she had become. She prayed to Kami that Shisui would never end up like that.
Shisui sighed and brought a palm to his hair, "Shinji-sama said-" Sakura bristled as anger flared in her gut.
"Oh, of course. I should have known that our wonderful father was the one who made the decision." She said, voice rising uncontrollably, "He's such a fucking bastard!"
"Sakura! Language! If you're gonna swear do it softly so that he doesn't hear you.'" Sakura took a deep breath and calmed down a little. She huffed.
"Sorry, it's just that he's such an idiot! Him and his stupid rivalry with Fugaku. I'm eight aniki. I don't want to kill people." She said, whining. It was precisely the kind of weakness she tried so hard to hide, tried so hard to get rid of. But in this situation, where her body and her mind were not in tune, it was harder to keep these little things to herself. Shisui wrapped his arms around her shivering form and she relaxed into the familiar touch. He smoothed down her hair and hummed softly.
"Don't worry about any of that. I will personally make sure you don't have to kill anybody until you're ready, imouto. Now why don't we go downstairs for dinner?" Shisui said. Sakura nodded gratefully. She knew full well that no one was ever 'ready' to kill but as a child she would have felt thoroughly comforted by his words.
"Okay aniki."
"Rookie of the Year, Uchiha Sakura."
Thin clapping reverberated around the classroom, and Sakura dutifully ignored the few hostile glances sent her way. She bowed politely to her sensei and accepted her hitai-ate with a smile. In reality this wasn't that much to be proud of, as in her past she had been an Ex-ANBU Chuunin. Then again, she thought, surveying the room and catching Homaru's encouraging smile, last time I wasn't nine.
She was, unfortunately, still very easily the smallest child in her class, while Homaru towered over everyone. But behind eacher of her punches was strength, physical strength unaided by chakra. It wasn't a good idea to reveal her chakra controlling techniques any more than she had already allowed. Besides, she was having trouble getting her Yin-Seal to work properly with the rate of her body growth. If it was not up to the task of coping with it it was probably best to wait a while longer.
Names were called one after another as her classmates accepted their burdens with varying degrees of fear and excitement. Sakura quietly wondered whot he first of them to fall would be, then dropped her gaze in shame for thinking so coldly. Despite their dislike of her these were still children who she had studied with every day. She didn't wish death on any of them.
Tsuzumi-sensei smiled proudly at the class, but not without a hit of despair.
"Okay everyone, now for the team assignments. Please remember that all of the teams were very carefully thought up and approved by the Hokage, and we all tried our very best to pair you with people whom we thought would help you grow. Not necessarily the ones whom you like. One last important thing," He said, and took a step back. The room sat, silent.
"You are now shinobi of this village. It is your duty, your mission in life to protect it and it's citizens with your lives. You serve Konoha, the great tree. You are the trunk, you are the roots, you supply the leaves with the support it needs to grow. Make this village proud of you, and be proud of this village. You are the best of the best, boys and girls, so realise that you are now adults in the eyes of the law and the eyes of your peers. It is up to you to prove that you have earned the title."
Sakura sat up a little straighter, and so did everyone else. She'd heard the speech countless times, countless ways, and it had always sounded so much like a death gong that she had wanted to block her ears. But just this once Sakura listened, and it made her breathing flow just a little bit easier.
Names were called, people left the room. A very pale Asira gulped as she was ushered out by an obviously Uchiha instructor. Sakura heard Homaru's name called, before a 'Hyuuga Hikaru', and then finally, thanfully her own.
"You will form Team 3."
Sakura sagged in relief. At least she knew one of her teammates. She looked to Homaru with a smile, frowned when she saw he was shaking softly. Kami, he doesn't even want to be here. She scanned the room to find the other Hyuuga with whom she was placed. It was strange that she was on a team with two bloodlines, as they usually spread them out to better compensate for the civilian kids.
A small wave caught her attention and she faced the boy. He was like any other Hyuuga with dark hair and white eyes, lacking the lilac undertones she'd come to expect from Hinata but with the black almost purple hair in any case. He had his hitai-ate wrapped around his forehead, bandages peeking out beneath it, a branch house member, and wore a black long-sleeved shirt. He smiled at her slightly and she returned the gesture before turning to their sensei once again.
"Okay guys, you can go for lunch now and your Jounin-sensei will pick you up afterwards." Sensi said. Most kids flooded out of the room, screaming and shouting to high heaven but Sakura hung back, waiting until the room was mostly empty before descending towards the door. Homaru followed her closely, his off-white hair falling over his hitai-ate and his hands just visible in the long sleeves of his jacket. Her new teammate was waiting for them by the door.
"You are Sakura, correct?" Hikaru asked, stopping Sakura just outside the door. He was tall for a twelve year-old but still a few inches shorter than Homaru. He had donned a pale jacket since leaving the classroom and Sakura smiled. They had managed to match each other without even trying, and that was always a nice sign.
"Yes, and you're Hikaru-san. This is Homaru-kun. Pleased to meet you." Sakura shook the boy's hand and pushed Homaru forward to do the same. The pale-haired genin flushed and Hikaru looked at him with confusion when Homaru shook his hand too fast to catch.
"H-hi there. N-nice to m-meet you." Homaru managed. Hikaru nodded and stuffed his hands in his pockets. He looked momentarily unsure how to proceed.
"Would you like to have lunch together? I mean, all the other teams are doing so, so it might be a good idea." Hikaru suggested. Sakura smiled and linked arms with the boys, Homaru on her right and Hikaru on her left.
"Why not indeed?" Sakura said with a mischievous smile. Hikaru seemed flustered by her boldness as she led them to their new lunch spot and Homaru trailed along, grateful for his best friend.
Lunch was anything but boring. Sakura found out that Hikaru, while being a branch house member, had yet to be assigned the duty of guarding a main house member's life – something he was rather grateful for.
"I am so far into the branch house that I suspect they have little use of me. Unlike the higher up Hyuuga branch members both my parents are servants, so it's a miracle I made it this far at all." He admitted, words sort of gushing forth. He seemed embarrassed to have said so much, but Sakura comforted him.
"Well, for me I'm expected to keep quiet and become some official's wife, rather than anyone special, so I sort of see where you come from. It's not easy for the branch families or the main ones." Sakura said. He nodded, grateful for the understanding, and they moved on to lighter topics.
Hikaru found out that Homaru (and Sakura, to an extent) planned to become field medics. He thought that it was a great idea, noting that many teams of genin died unnecessarily. Sakura had been pleased at Homaru's progress with Hikaru, despite them having only an hour to become comfortable with one another. He had managed to talk a bit about himself, though hadn't said anything about the expectations given to him of his own father. However, she suspected that if all went well and they survived their first 'proper' mission, the three of them could develop something special.
Sakura watched as the other teams began to return and pulled herself up from the bench. It was surreal, knowing how much this bench meant to her. She looked to her right. The only path out of the village. Everything had happened at this bench. Including her first kiss (with Hyuuga Neji, of all people), her most hated goodbye and her last moments in Konoha.
She walked back towards the academy with her teammates on either side of her. She wondered about their future. Who would their Jounin-sensei be? And what was the purpose of pulling two bloodlines and an aspiring medic into one team? She couldn't see the logic behind it really but she would deal. Perhaps they would end up with a wonderful sensei that pushed them in just the right ways.
"Do you think that's him?" Hikaru pointed out a dark-haired man with his back to them, talking animatedly with Tsuzumi. He wore the standard Konoha Jounin-uniform and loomed over the already tall Tsuzumi. Sakura pouted at this. Everyone in her team would always be taller than her. At least in her past she had been taller than Naruto for a while.
The man turned to them with an easy grin and a hint of something unidentifiable in his eyes. Sakura didn't recognize him from any of the Konoha shinobi in her past. She knew every Jounin in the village, having worked closely with them several times.
As the man turned she noted his dark black eyes, making him look almost like an Uchiha, but he lacked the refined aristocratic features that her whole family possessed and his skin tone was several shades darker than most of her relatives, who despite rigorous training in the sunlight always retained the paleness. His black hair was spread wildly across the crown of his head, sticking up almost as much as Kakashi's.
"So you three are my newest little recruits ey?" He asked. He scanned over them, lingering a bit longer on Sakura, who stood tiny in between the two boys. "Aren't you a bit small for this?" He asked, tone strange. Sakura smiled. She held out her hand to the man.
"Uchiha Sakura, I'm eight. I would prefer it if you didn't patronize me, it's rude." She answered. He seemed surprised at her attitude but took it in stride and shook her hand, wincing when her grip tightened considerably. She heard an audible crack and let go, satisfied with her work. He looked at her impressed, and feigned a wince. Sakura couldn't tell from his posture, because all ANBU knew how to mask it, but there was something intangibly off about him that betrayed his past as an ANBU member. Why he had stooped to being a teacher she couldn't know, not yet.
"Quite a grip you've got their girly. You'll do fine. And you two?" He asked, moving on, but Sakura knew she had gotten his attention. Hikaru bowed slightly.
"Hyuuga Hikaru. Twelve. Nice to meet you sir." He answered politely. Homaru hummed.
"Kizumi Homaru. T-twelve. I look f-forward to w-working with y-you." Homaru held out his hand, unceremoniously grabbing their sensei's one and flipping it over, palm facing upwards before channelling chakra into his fingertips and applying it to the swollen hand carefully, mending the fractured bone. Sakura watched with interest, wondering how much willpower it had taken the man not to rip his hand away from the threat of intrusive chakra. He smiled regardless.
"Hm, I sure got the pick of the lot huh? Well I'm Shimura Yuudai, your new jounin sensei who plans on throwing you into the world of being a ninja at precisely five am tomorrow morning. Don't be late or you'll regret it." He said. He poofed himself away, much to Sakura's relief. She had definitely frozen at the mention of his name. He was Shimura. As in 'related to Danzo Shimura' kind of Shimura. How was she supposed to kill Danzo when her sensei was probably his kid?
Sakura certainly didn't recall Danzo ever having a son in her timeline. Then again, the only person who knew very much about Danzo was the Third, who died long before Sakura wanted to kill Shimura. Perhaps Yuudai died alongside his genin team. The team that she wasn't supposed to be on in the first place. She glanced at her teammates' sulking faces and wondered what fate had befallen them in her timeline. She didn't want to think about it.
"So what team specification do you think we'll get?" Hikaru asked. Sakura pulled herself back into the conversation and turned to him. Team specifications were important things, at least once a team hit the chuunin stage. Hyuugas were usually placed on tracking teams and she herself was a hand to hand combat type. Homaru, being the team's designated medic, was flexible enough to end up anywhere. The three of them together, however, spoke of a higher power's interference; judging by the fact that their sensei was a Shimura it was quite obviously Danzo who had crafted the team – though for what reason she didn't understand. Nor did she particularly want to know.
"I don't know. We're quite a mixed bunch. I'm our heavy-hitter, obviously with Homaru being our medic and you being a tracker. It seems eerily close to a Missing-nin track and capture team. Though we're only genin and those kinds of specifications are usually reserved for those in Anbu." Sakura offered. Even she somehow doubted Shimura would go to the trouble of creating such a squad among Genin. It was far easier to wait for them to mature and see if they were useful later.
"Th-then again, m-maybe we were h-handpicked early. I-I've heard o-of teams being c-created like th-that." Homaru said. Sakura tilted her head with a nod, and looked up to the dim afternoon sky with a sigh. The sun was sitting low near the horizon and Sakura felt a wave of weariness wash over her.
"We should ask Yuudai-sensei tomorrow, but for now all we can do is get some rest and prepare ourselves for whatever the hell he decides to throw at us." She answered. The boys nodded and they went their separate ways with quiet goodbyes. Sakura stretched as she walked home, hugging Shisui's jacket closer to her. His ANBU training started today and she wouldn't see him for a few weeks. She realised belatedly that she had skipped her own training before class. It would probably be a few hours until sunset and she could feel the need to move running under her skin.
She rushed herself home, waving briefly at the guards and offering a smile to those she saw. She shed Shisui's jacket once home, and pulled on a set of weights for her legs and arms, revelling in the extra weight. It made her feel like she still had the muscle she had gained in her original timeline.
"Kaa-san, I'm just going out for a run okay? I'll be back soon." Sakura called as she paused in the genkan.
"Keep safe Sakura-chan!" Misori answered, and Sakura closed the door behind her with a soft click.
Sakura enjoyed her runs. She always kept close to the village wall but managed to see plenty of interesting things on the way. She always particularly liked to stop at the top of a hill on the West side of Konoha. On it stood a lone Oak tree that was great to read a book in and she enjoyed watching people bustle around the village from its highest branches. She took ten laps around the village before stopping at the tree. She dumped her weights at the bottom and started climbing, feeling the cool breeze across her fevered skin was a blessing. Her head popped out of the thick foliage at the topmost part of the tree and she felt herself relax.
Konoha looked good, despite the Kyuubi attack only five years before. It was so wonderful to see a thriving village again, and she revelled in the beauty of it. Konoha was bright in the dying sunlight, the sky's multitude of warm colours bathing the buildings in a happy glow and the warm air rustling the leaves around her ever so softly.
"I missed you Konoha. It's so good to be back." Sakura whispered to her home. Her heart felt heavy with the knowledge of what was to come upon the village if she didn't change things around. If she could just stop the Uchiha massacre and keep the rebellion from happening then Orochimaru could be stopped without having to sacrifice Sasuke. The Akatsuki would be missing a key member and perhaps she could find the other members before they joined and get rid of them or convince them not to join the organisation. She was at a loss as to what she was going to do with Obito. Naruto had managed to turn his loyalty back to Konoha and get him to fight as a Leaf shinobi but Sakura had never been very good at convincing people of stuff. She wanted to save the shinobi world, but she also didn't want Obito to die before he had a chance to redeem himself.
She exhaled slowly, trying to calm her muddled thoughts. Where was Sakura Haruno right now? Probably sitting at home, content and with her family. She would soon start at the ninja academy. Sakura cringed at the thought of the bullying she would be put through. She had promised herself that she would not intervene with SH's life until she had befriended Ino, at the very least. She would not deprive herself of the warm friendship with the blonde girl but she would make sure that SH also befriended Naruto somewhere along the line. Even if she had to deal with not having Naruto as her peer any longer she would make sure that her past self would come to love the boy earlier on.
"Excuse me, but what're you doing in a tree?" Sakura felt herself freeze at the small voice below her. Oh how very ironic. The little girl stared up at her curiously, clutching a book her to chest. Her hair fell into her eyes, making her look remarkably like Homaru. But of course she wasn't related to the boy at all.
"I was watching the sunset." Sakura said, amused. She let herself down from her branch, noting the fact that the sunset had long since passed and that evening was beginning to set in. She wondered what the tiny girl was doing in such an isolated part of the village so late into the day.
"Oh, okay then." The girl moved forwards on her own, continuing down the hill and Sakura felt her heart break just a bit. She surged forward and gripped the girl's small hand. Bright green eyes turned on her in shock and fright.
"Isn't it a bit late for a small girl to be going home on her own? Come on, I'll walk you." Sakura said. Little Sakura looked wary of her, something older Sakura liked. She glanced at the hitai-ate displayed across her forehead and allowed herself to relax. Sakura found herself traversing roads she had been avoiding for two years. The memories lashed out at her and as she watched her younger self walking along with purpose and wariness and she wondered how she had ever become a Sasuke fangirl in the first place.
They arrived at her old home in no time. Sakura was wary of going up to the door but reasoned that just seeing her old parents wouldn't kill her. Little Sakura (whom Sakura decided to affectionately dub Chibi-Saku) unlocked the door without a second thought and led Sakura inside.
"Kaa-san, Tou-san, I brought home a ninja! She walked me home so that I would be safe!" Chibi-Saku called. Sakura smiled at her own naivety. It was remarkably adorable.
"Oh really? Well let's get a good look at 'er then!" Her father's head appeared from the doorway and Sakura felt her heart clenching. Kami did she miss them.
"Oh, well hello there. I'm Mebuki, thanks for taking care of our little Sakura. What's your name?" Her mother came out of the kitchen with Chibi-Saku on her hip.
"Sakura Uchiha, ma'am. It's lovely to meet you but I really should be going. My mother will be waiting for me." Sakura shook Mebuki's hand quickly before hurrying herself to the door and giving her parents no time to say anything else.
She found herself sprinting across Konoha rooftops, an indiscernible blur thanks to her speed training. She pass the odd shinobi, flashing her hitai-ate as passage and continuing on home. She vaulted herself over the district's roofs until she reached her home, dropping down to her doorway as soon as she reached it. She wiped the sweat that had gathered at her brow and grimaced. She wasn't tired exactly but she was starting to feel the repercussions of her training and felt suddenly breathless. She used the wall to support her as she entered her home.
"Ah, Sakura-san has finally returned. We can begin then." Misori said, looking concerned, but thankfully uninquiring. She almost threw herself down at the table. Shinji-sama wasn't there, thankfully. Probably at a clan meeting. Sakura downed her food before excusing herself. She needed a long shower to set her mind straight.
She found herself turning the shower onto its hottest setting and allowing the scalding water to turn her pink and raw. She slid down the shower wall, shaking as she pressed her face against the glass. She thought she had gotten over this, the precious people whom she could never be close to again. It had hurt to see her parents alive and smiling. She felt a sob rise in her throat but knew that the water running down her face were not tears. She hadn't cried since she'd left her timeline. She was well and truly broken. Her skin burned into the heat of the shower and she was choking on the steam but she couldn't bring herself to get up. You deserve this. She wanted to hit herself. You just forgot about them. You piece of trash. She looked up slightly, observing her reflection in the glass. Her long black hair and her dark eyes. She was no longer the bright and annoying Haruno Sakura. No, she was more like a ghost now, pale and just a reflection of her former self.
She felt herself start humming and realised she it was the melody to her old lullaby as a child that echoed into the bathroom. The shower started to cool and while Sakura was all up for some self pity she did want Misori to have a warm shower. So she pulled herself up, switching off the shower and looking at herself in the mirror. Pale skin and enviable features stared out at her. Old Sakura would have killed to have looked this pretty, but new Sakura hated it. It was a testament to the fact that she had changed, too much.
She barely registered pulling on her pyjamas and soon found herself on the roof, staring up at the fullness of the moon. It illuminated the entire compound, though barely anyone was there for her to watch. Her dark hair fluttered in the breeze, curling and wet against her back. Her eyes settled on the lone figure entering the compound. She knew who it was of course and couldn't stop herself from grimacing.
"Sakura-san."
"Itachi-san."
He sat at the opposite end of the roof to her, still in his blood-soaked mission clothing. His expression was grim and his hair in a neat plait over one shoulder. Sakura went back to concentrating on her own problems and felt herself tense when a hand touched her shoulder. He stood next to her, looking just barely menacing with his face draped in shadows.
"What are you doing up here?" He asked. Sakura closed her eyes and sighed softly.
"I could ask you the same thing."
"Have you ever killed someone?" Yes.
"Not yet." She said instead. He seemed taken aback at her answer. Probably expected a no.
"We'll talk when you have. So answer my question." He said at least. Sakura threw him a look and noticed the weariness in his shoulders. It was so very wrong, an eight year-old going through what he was.
"I'm just dealing with some feelings. You wouldn't be interested." She said, not knowing what to say even if she wanted to talk. Itachi slid down behind her so that they sat back to back. She found herself leaning into him subconsciously.
"You having boy problems already?" He joked. The idea was almost too laughable. She found herself snorting.
"I am the same age as you Itachi. I haven't even had a crush on anybody before." At least not in this timeline. She felt his disbelief.
"Hn, not even that white-haired friend of yours. You seemed more than close enough." He said. Sakura smiled and shook her head.
"Nah, Homaru-kun and I are just friends. I'm his sensei in a way."
"Who is your sensei in any case?"
"My my, aren't you talkative tonight? Yuudai Shimura. He thought I looked too young so I fractured his hand. Shut up pretty quickly after that." She said, knowing that both of them were just avoiding their own problems. Itachi didn't laugh but made a small noise of amusement. They were quiet for a moment and Sakura felt her eyes droop slowly. She was strangely tired, despite not having down half as much work as she usually did that day. Then again it could just be emotional fatigue.
"Who's your sensei, Itachi-san?" She asked after a moment. Her question seemed to catch him off guard. He tensed and she was sure that he was gritting his teeth.
"He's dead. I don't know who his replacement will be." Itachi said. He got up and disappeared. Dammit, how wonderful. How was I supposed to know that? Sakura thought, wondering if she should go after him, but she figured he wouldn't want to talk about it with her in any case. I'll tell Shisui, though.
She stayed on the roof well into the night.
Three months of training taught Sakura that while she was good for a genin, she still had a heck of a long way to go if she was gonna do half the things she needed to do.
As it turned out, Danzo had been behind the formation of their team and the placement of Yuudai as their sensei. The creep had suggested that a Hunter-nin team be readied for the future, despite the low number of Missing-nin originating from Konoha (not counting Orochimaru and his subordinates, of course) and Hiruzen had approved of the idea, unknowingly sending Sakura's team to their demise.
One botched mission that would have left all of Team 3's members dead was saved only by her presence and both her and Homaru's knowledge of medical jutsu. Danzo would have been sacrificing his own son in the venture and Sakura was willing to bet that because they had pulled through the future would have them asked to join Root.
The mission had been a simple C-rank (but weren't all C-ranks fraught with danger?) and involved delivering a scroll from Konoha to the Fire Daimyo. They have been accosted by several Missing-nin from Kirigakure who had gleefully tried to chop off all their heads. Yuudai had fought the jounin one and won but had come out with a broken collarbone and the three Chuunin accompanying him had proven to be too much for the three genin. Sakura had defeated her enemy in good time, barely realising that she had used her Sharingan in the process – filling away a few interesting jutsus for future use. Hikaru had put up a good fight as well, incapacitating his enemy and binding him. But Homaru's reluctance to kill had left him near defeat until Hikaru had stepped in to help, getting his lung pierced by a kunai in the process.
If it were not for Sakura both Hikaru and Yuudai would have died. In her past timeline this would have happened, Homaru never haven't learnt medical jutsu from her and the third member of their squad most likely not knowing any either. As it was she sent Homaru to do as much as he could for Yuudai while she carefully stitched together lung tissue and tried to stop Hikaru's lungs from giving out. He coughed up blood as she worked, the light fading from his eyes, but Sakura persevered until her chakra started giving out. She didn't have enough to complete the procedure and Homaru would be unable to do it properly.
He had managed to set the collarbone well enough that Yuudai could move again and Sakura found herself calling him over desperately.
"Yuudai-sensei! I need you to channel your chakra into my hands so that I can re-direct it to Hikaru's wound. Hurry!" She pleaded. Yuudai did as he was told and soon a steady stream of chakra was being pulsed into Hikaru's chest and the lung was repaired. Sakura moved on autopilot, disinfecting and bandaging the wound. She fell down, chakra exhaustion setting in soon afterwards. Hikaru would live, though the mission was a failure. She recalled Kakashi's old words of encouragement and smiled to herself before passing out.
When she woke up again she was in her bed at home, up to her chin in blankets with Homaru asleep next her, his hand wrapped around her own. He had pulled up a chair from her dressing table and leaned against it, using his hands as a pillow. Her throat was dry and she shifted slightly, waking the pale-haired shinobi up accidentally. He wrapped his arms around her with a sigh of relief. He was shaking slightly and Sakura dimly wondered what Shisui would say if he witnessed the scene.
"I'm sorry. S-so sorry." He whimpered. She brought up her other hand and patted his hair, making him grip her tighter.
"It's okay. I know it's hard for you." She rasped. He pulled back slightly shaking his head.
"N-no. It's all m-my fault th-that Hikaru nearly-"
"No. Don't ever think that. You weren't the one who stabbed him in the chest so it isn't your fault. He knew what would happen if he took that blow for you. We're a team, Homaru. That's what a team does. And he isn't dead. So I'm not the one you need to apologise to." She said sharply.
Homaru nodded slowly. He explained what had happened after she had passed out. Yuudai-sensei had carried Hikaru back and Sakura had been carried by Homaru himself who worried about her condition every step out of Konoha. She had been handed over to medical nin the moment they had reached the gates and released back home after just one night of observation. It had taken her two days to wake up more than intermittent, barely lucid periods.
"Hokage-sama wasn't angry with us. He was just glad that we all made it back alive. You really impressed him, hey? But right now you need-"
"Rest? Yeah she does. Now go on and scurry away boy." Shisui said, interrupting Homaru. Sakura turned her attention to Shisui's figure in the doorway and flushed. She realised how incriminating the scene could look.
"Aniki, you're home. I'm sorry Homaru-kun, but I think you need to go." She said gently. Homaru nodded, uncertain of the older boy. Sakura watched him pass Shisui in the doorway and smiled at the fact that Homaru was nearly as tall as her eighteen year-old brother. Once Homaru's chakra presence had faded past her sensing range Sakura slumped, planting her arms behind her head and blowing a stray strand of hair from her face. Shisui was at her bedside in an instant.
"You could have died you know." He said solemnly.
"Yeah, I know." She said, resigned. Shisui's gaze hardened.
"I'm serious." He said. Sakura looked him squarely in the eye and raised an eyebrow. Her eyes were growing steadily greener every time she looked in a mirror.
"So am I. I knew what I was in for when I graduated from the academy, aniki. I'm not a little girl anymore. Heck, in Iwa you can drink as soon as you've got a forehead protector. Dying isn't that unexpected." She argued. Especially when you've already died once.
"That doesn't mean that you can just go around giving yourself chakra exhaustion for no reason! This isn't a game Sakura." Shisui said, almost whining.
"There was a reason, and a damn good one at that! If I hadn't tried as hard as I had Hikaru would have died, Shisui. I put my life on the line because that's who I am! Those who don't follow the rules are trash, but those who abandon their teammates are worse than trash." Sakura burst. She recoiled when she realised what she had said. Shisui seemed shocked at her outburst, before narrowing his eyes.
"Have you ever met Kakashi Hatake?" He asked, suspicious. Sakura feigned confusion, but was sure that Shisui could see through it.
"Who the hell is that? And stop trying to change the subject!" She said loudly. Shisui groaned and ran a hand through his hair, sitting down on the chair next to her bed with a grim expression.
"I just worry about you okay? It's one thing for Itachi to be out there fighting Missing-nin but it's different when it's your little sister who's slitting people's throats. I just don't want it to end up being you with the slit throat." He stressed. Sakura felt her anger falter and she grabbed Shisui's wrist, looking him in the eye.
"Hey, remember when I was six and got my eyes stolen? I came back didn't I? I survived that, so I can survive a few years as a genin too. You just need to believe that I can do it, because your approval is important to me. Besides, I doubt that Yuudai-sensei will allow us another C-rank for a while after that mess." She said. Shisui wrapped his arms around her carefully and she accepted the warmth. He sighed into her crown.
"Fine, I trust you. Just, don't do anything too stupid okay? I don't want to have to carve your name on the memorial, ever." Shisui grumbled. Sakura nodded into Shisui's shoulder.
I can't promise that. She looked at their reflection across the room and felt resolve churn in her insides. But I can promise that I'll never carve your name on the memorial.
O
Thanks for reading!
