Chappie 3-
Sakura slowly opened her eyes, as she did so, her eyesight became blurred and fuzzy until it focused on the white ceiling. Everything was white around her and she felt an IV tube connected to her wrist, it was uncomfortable but it made her body feel strong enough.
"I see that you are awake now, Sakura. If you are wondering about the date, you had been asleep for nearly a week now." The said girl turned around and was met by the Sandaime who carried a small file in his hands. He had a very serious look and the young girl couldn't help but look back icily.
"Hokage-sama..."
"I'm sorry for your loss, even I did not expected such an attack to occur, but your clan truly showed their great knowledge by sealing in their dojutsu when they die since no one then would be able to activate nor use their technique then." Sakura just nodded and stared out of the place, she couldn't help but fight back the feeling of dread that had formed ever since memories of what happened came back to her mind. She didn't know whether she should be happy or angry at the Hokage since he had told her about the way they thought of the village before anything else.
"What do you want to do about your clan's body?" Sakura looked at him and then outside before sighing slightly. It would be completely useless to evade the topic any longer so she answered simply.
"Cremate them, it would be easier to do so... I do not want any nin's to snoop around their graves." Sakura answered while her eyes gave away nothing. It was as if in the short span of time, her bubbly attitude was overshadowed by her serious demeanor.
"Very well then, it is no secret that your parents had been intelligent persons. They had planned ahead of time, they were probably thinking of what will happen to you if an attack was made and so for now, you shall be staying at the Uchiha clan. They were your families closest friend outside the clan, they will pick you up when you are discharged later. For now, rest your body and do not overexert yourself." The Hokage said before leaving her there to do her own musings. Soon, a nurse arrived and gave her the amount of medicine but her look was that of pity which made Sakura feel worse. Of all the things she hated, it was the pity they sent her way without understanding why they shouldn't pity her.
"Here are your medicine, please drink them and afterwards, there are visitors that would like to see you." The nurse informed her. She immediately drank the medicine and waited for the said visitors. Her body was small enough that her feet didn't even reached half of the bed, it was a bit comical since you could sit on the edge of the bed and still have space to stretch around.
"Sakura-chan, how are you feeling?" She looked towards the voice and she felt comforted by it, it belonged to none other than Uchiha Mikoto who was carrying a vase of flowers. She placed it on the bedside and gave Sakura a comforting smile.
"Gomen na Sakura-chan, we arrived late. It was too late for us to even save your mother or your father."Mikoto said while holding the girl's hand on her own palms. The girl looked too fragile and too innocent, from the attack that happened yesterday, only one of the attackers was found dead while the remaining were immobilized and were taken in for questioning. The dead one was probably their leader who instigated the attack, nobody was sure since they were still not talking.
"Uchiha-sama, it was not your fault as to why my whole clan was... Eradicated... It is no secret that we were one of the most sought out clan, it was because of my stupidity that they are now gone." Sakura said while looking outside again, her eyes glistening with unshed tears.
"Just call me Mikoto, dear. By the way, I will be picking you up later when you are discharged, by then I want you to be fully rested, understood?" Mikoto asked in a motherly way to which Sakura replied with a nod, however, she made a mental note to put a -san to the woman's name. Mikoto gave her a kiss on the forehead before leaving her again. Sakura looked around and everything came rushing again, every reminder her mother and father had given her was embedded in her mind and she had no will at all to defy all those rules.
'Sakura-hime, remember to ask for the katana when you are discharged. That will be an essential tool for controlling your Shourei Rengan.' Sakura took no chance of hesitation and questioned her too.
'Who are you?'
'Call me inner, that's as far as I would call myself, rest now hime-sama, it would do us no good if you will end up staying in the hospital for a longer duration.'Sakura let herself fall into a deep slumber that was immediately cut short by nightmares of her parent's murder. She could still feel her tou-chan's hand as he died slowly and she was forced to relive the pain in her sleep again.
"AHHHHH!" Sakura's scream made the nurses panic and immediately called for the Hokage's attention. The girl was slowly sobbing now and kept on muttering incoherent words before whimpering in pain again. One of the nurses immediately injected something on Sakura's arms which made the girl calm down.
"H-hokage-sama..." The nurse sighed heavily before giving the Sandaime the release slip, she wouldn't have released the girl if it weren't for the fact that the Sandaime told her too, after signing the slip, the nurse went back to report to the head medic. Sakura had calmed down now and was sleeping peacefully, the Hokage slowly walked away before sighing deeply, the girl had been through a lot and she needed another family to comfort her, maybe the pact had some other benefits too.
"Okaa-san, where are you going at this time?" Mikoto froze at the door, she was hoping to keep it a secret from her sons for now, however, here was Itachi, in his jounin uniform while looking wearily at his okaa-san.
"I just have to pick up someone, the Hokage told me that today." Mikoto said while putting on her smile to prevent him from speaking further.
"Okaa-san, you do know that the latest attack on the Ha-." Mikoto turned around and silenced Itachi with a glare.
"I am fully aware of that, now, if you are so afraid of my welfare then just come along. I do not want to hear any more about that being mentioned." Itachi was taken aback by what his mother had said but he instead changed out of his uniform and tagged along his mother. He had been tired from the mission but when he saw her walking out of the house, he couldn't help but fear for her well being. The Haruno clan had been eradicated and not one was supposed to have been left alive. Even if the event had happened just a week ago, the people seemed to have forgotten about the clan, it was bound to happen since the Haruno clan excelled in diplomacy and intelligence unlike those who stood out in the fighting.
"Now Ita-chan, I want you to be nice to the person we are picking up, okay? Don't worry, your age gaps are not that much, only 3 years at most. Now, be a good boy and wait here while I ask the receptionist, okay?" Itachi nodded knowing that his mother could not be persuaded out of something that she had agreed on with the Hokage. Whoever this person they were picking up must be important, that, was already guaranteed. After a few minutes of waiting, Itachi noticed that his mother was talking happily to a person wearing a hoodie hiding most of his features.
"Ita-chan, come here this instant. This is the person I'm talking about, but before we go, we need to drop by the mall, we need to buy her new clothes as her old house would be deemed... Now, let's go to the mall, what do you say?" Mikoto asked the girl while Itachi tried to get a closer look at her face. Her chakra signature reminded him of someone but he just couldn't remember who it was.
The girl nodded and they slowly walked down the road heading towards the mall, they stopped by to buy some dress and then some sandals and then other casual things a girl needed. Itachi was getting bored already when they decided to call it a day and rest. The girl still kept her hood up and didn't even spared him one look but instead, forced her hoodie even more to hide her face.
After a few minutes of awkwardness, Mikoto held the girl's hands and led her inside the compound as to keep her away from the prying eyes of the other Uchiha around them. Itachi just walked casually while glaring slightly at the girl for stealing away the attention his mother used to give to him. He wouldn't admit it but he was after all a mama's boy.
"Okaa-san! Where did you go? Otou-san said that you were sent on a mission to pick up someone very important, is it true? You seldom accept missions okaa-san, and who is that person? Okaa-san, you are not replacing me with that person right?" A cute five year-old Sasuke said while staring intently at his mother, his eyes brimming with tears. Itachi greeted his father and grabbed Sasuke's hands before leading him upstairs to give privacy to their parents and also, to calm his otouto down.
"Sakura-san, you can relax now you know." The young girl removed her hoodie and looked up at the man's stern face. She studied it closely, looking for any sign of pity on the man's eyes only to find remorse and nothing else. It made Sakura happy knowing that this one did not pity her but understood the situation perfectly.
"I hope I'm not being a burden to you, Uchiha-sama. I would have stayed back at the compound but the Hokage said that it was-." Fugaku smiled at Sakura stopping the girl from continuing her response, he hadn't expected to garner such a reaction from the young heiress.
"Ie, your father and I were very close friends back then, it was more of a promise that we made with each other. If it happened otherwise, your father would have done the same thing." Sakura looked at them before slowly nodding her head.
"Well, Fuga-kun, I'll just show Sakura-chan's room and have her change clothes, then I can proceed to cook dinner." The said man nodded and watched them as the two female walked away from the living room.
'Maybe having her around won't be that bad after all...' Fugaku said to himself while musing at things deeply. He felt responsible for the whole Haruno clan wipeout, all because they had been ordered by Danzo to stay for the meantime and talk things with him. The agreement between the Haruno clan and the Uchiha clan was not terminated as the heiress survived, so what they were doing was following the contract and for old times sake.
It was a very big house, well, just as big as her house back at the Haruno compound, however, it had the happy aura surrounding it, making Sakura feel nostalgic. The had passed by several rooms already and Mikoto was explaining each room to which she wasn't paying attention at all until they stopped on one of the corridors.
"Now, this door with the black color is Ita-chan's, the blue one's is Sasu-chan's and yours is the white one. I'll arrange your clothes later, for now change your clothes and we'll head to the kitchen, I hope you like sweet things as we're going to have onigiri and dango today." Sakura looked at the woman who smiled at her as she entered the bathroom, she couldn't help but feel relaxed and comfortable with the woman around. After changing into a more comfortable clothing which consisted of a maroon shirt and a black mini-pants with a matching black sandals and a hoodie. She put it on and combed her hair into place before stepping out of her room, now.
"My, how cute you are Saku-chan, well, you wouldn't mind accompanying me to the kitchen now, right?" Sakura shook her head as a sign that she didn't mind at all, she quickly took a glance at the room before heading out of the corridor and down to the kitchen. Mikoto wore a plain white apron while handing her a black one that was way too long for her.
"Do you know how to cook onigiri Saku-chan? You could help me if you want too..." Sakura slowly nodded and took a glance at the ingredients, everything was laid out perfectly and she couldn't help but feel sad about it. Everything was just like her okaa-san's way, prim and order. She hated it whenever someone was late and was very jolly but serious at certain times.
'Itachi-san and Sasuke-chan are lucky. They have Mikoto-san as their mother, I just wished I'd get another chance to see them again.' Sakura said to herself while doing the plating for the onigiris. She watched as Mikoto nimbly finished up all the dishes together.
"All set now now Saku-chan. Let's serve them on the table already, Ita-chan had set the plates earlier before as it is his customary habit." Sakura looked up at the woman who was talking while carrying two plates and setting them gracefully on the table. Sakura did the same with the other dishes and the onigiri she had cooked, soon, everything was finished.
"Saku-chan, another favor, can you call Ita-chan for me? He's in his room again and he's probably playing with Sasu-chan so it's like killing two birds with one stone right? I'll go and call Fuga-kun, you wouldn't mind doing that for me right?" Mikoto asked Sakura as she finished putting the plates on the table. Said girl just nodded her head and walked slowly towards the stairs leading to Itachi's room. As Sakura departed, Fugaku entered the room and looked at his wife worriedly. They had been worrying about the fact that Sakura had been so serious and silent ever since they arrived at the compound.
"Mi-chan, she's just adjusting to her new life, don't be too harsh on yourself, we'll talk about it later after dinner hmm?" Mikoto nodded silently before hugging her husband to calm and prevent herself from panicking.
Sakura trudged slowly as to prevent any creaking noise from her weight. She passed by the doors until she reached the black tatami door and she knocked deftly on it. A low 'hn' was heard followed by enter, and enter she did so. Sakura looked around the room and realized that they were mostly painted in black while most of the furnitures were blue.
"A-are you the girl okaa-san brought in to replace me?" Sakura turned around to see Sasuke hiding behind his nii-chan while sobbing, indicating that he misunderstood the real reason she was brought in. She came nearer and Sasuke hid himself even more by clutching on to his aniki's shirt, noticing this, she made her way slowly and calmly before reaching Sasuke who still looked at her hatefully.
"Gomen na sai, you must have misunderstood something. I'm not here to replace you, Mikoto-san loves you too much to replace you with me. I was just brought in here since I don't have a family anymore, so please don't cry anymo-" Sakura was cut off by this when Sasuke pushed her making her fall backwards and landing on her butt.
"Ja, just because you are taller and older than me by a year doesn't mean you can talk to me like that! I hate you, you're stealing my okaa-chan and otou-chan away from me!" Sasuke immediately grabbed hold of Itachi's hand and pulled him towards the door. Itachi spared Sakura a look before following his little brother who was pulling him along , he understood why Sasuke felt like that, and seeing Sakura brought back unwanted memories that he pushed to the remotest corner in his mind.
"Oh, Ita-chan, Sasu-chan, did Saku-chan told you that we were eating? Well, where is she?" Itachi and Sasuke were spared from answering when Sakura immediately arrived and took a seat beside Mikoto. Sasuke was glaring pointedly at Sakura from across the table as they continued to eat.
"Sasu-chan, try this onigiri, Saku-chan made it and it tastes good. It's your favorite, right?" Sasuke immediately pouted and declined the offer obviously mad at Sakura whom he thought was stealing away his parent's attention. Dinner finished quietly and normally, afterwards, Sakura volunteered to do the dishes and received another glare from Sasuke. He was only five years old but his glares were already pointed and effective, but Sakura nevertheless continued her task while washing the dishes daintily. Soon, everyone were in bed, sleeping soundly, everyone except Sakura.
"Saki-chan, how could you let us die like that?" It was her mother who looked at her with anger and disappointment evident in her eyes.
"Saki-chan, why did you not fight back?" It was her older sister now, she was looking at her with eyes filled with remorse and pain.
"You are truly a worthless daughter, you may be the heiress but you were not able to save us..." This time, it was Ryuui who said this and soon everyone from the Haruno clan surrounded her and kept on chanting weak, useless, and a great disappointment. Sakura felt the world shift and she found herself reliving the final moments of her family again and again, the blood in her face and hands, the ragged breathing of her father as he lay dying, her sister's dead form along with her mother's body.
She felt herself tremble in fear and she did the last thing she could do, she screamed. In the stillness of the Uchiha clan house, a scream pierced the silence alerting the whole main family. It was good that they had placed a justu preventing any sound from coming out of the house as Sakura's scream was filled with agony and fear. Mikoto and Fugaku hurriedly rushed to the room where Sakura was residing in. Sakura was lying down and her hands were clamped on her arms digging in even more drawing out blood. Fugaku sighed deeply as Sakura was forced by Mikoto to stand up. By this time, Sakura's eyes were wide open but fear and pain was written on her face, her eyes were flickering in and out of her dojutsu.
"Otou-san, what is happe-" Sasuke was cut off when he saw the girl being held by his mother, he felt a little bit resentment towards Sakura but it all changed when she saw the blood that Sakura had on her hands coming from the wound on her arms. Sasuke whimpered and hid behind his father's back while staring silently as Sakura was being forced out of her reverie.
"Otou-san? What is the matter now? Where is okaa-san?" Itachi had been awaken too and peeked inside the door his father was standing at and his otouto was looking towards with fear in his eyes. He felt an immensely great chakra being emitted from the door. As he drew nearer, he felt the chakra becoming more great, it was as if it's source had an infinite amount stored inside.
"Shhh, Sakura-chan, look at me now, don't worry, it's just a dream..." He heard his mother's voice soothingly and he realized it when he saw what was happening inside, Sakura was sitting upright shivering from fear and pain. As Sakura turned to look at them, her eyes immediately shifted from emerald green to a lighter shade of green with tints of purple and gold around the pupil while a sakura blossom pattern was on her eyes starting from the pupil. Soon afterwards, blood flowed out of her eyes like tears and Mikoto nodded grimly to Fugaku who activated his Sharingan and stared at Sakura's eyes capturing her in a genjustu while Mikoto applied pressure on her neck to knock her out. They looked at Sasuke and Itachi whose eyes betrayed their facade, it was time to explain who the girl was and they needed to do it, pronto.
A.N.
Whooo! Finally, the third chapter's finish. Sorry if there ain't no title yet for the chapters, I'm still finding the right words yah! BTW, tell me your insights! Thanks again minna-san, till the next chappie... MWAHHH!