"Absolutely not."

"But-"

"No."

"Saku-"

"Quit whining and arguing and get going!" An extremely irritated Shiba Kuukaku hollered at the grinning household head and grumpy pink-haired and heavily bandaged woman. The pair were meant to leave for Seireitei when the question of their method of travel came up, and the arguments began.

Carriages were deemed too large and flashy for Sakura who wished to draw as much attention to herself as a dead branch (and therefore, none at all), similarly any sort of company or entourage would draw the same sort of curiosity and neither she or Kaien wished to pull any of the household members away from the underground mansion. It would take too long to get an escort from Seireitei and because she currently only had the capacity to pathetically crawl a few feet at a time the idea of her actually walking there was laughable (which, to Sakura's displeasure, Kaien did laugh at).

Thus the only agreeable conclusion they were able to come to was that Kaien would have to carry her and either walk or run to their destination. Everyone warmed to the idea, bandages and other supplies were swiftly packed into a small bag, and they hauled themselves above ground to set off. It was only when the shinigami approached her with his arms stretched out as if to cradle her in his arms and to his chest did Sakura voice her dissent.

"Kaien-san," Sakura grit her teeth and then immediately stopped doing so when the action brought pain to her head. "Not only will both of your hands be occupied if you were to carry me that way, but it also greatly restricts your movement." She did not add that it was embarrassing to be held so intimately by a man she had just met, already married or not.

Scratching the back of his head and then giving an over dramatic sigh, Kaien looked from the two women standing in front of him and wondered if his sister's own stubbornness had rubbed off on the other female or if she happened to simply come that way. It wasn't as if he could exchange her or get a refund either.

"Fine, but you know it'll be a lot more comfortable if I carried you in front." Taking the short steps towards her, he turned around and knelt on the ground, waiting for her to climb on for the piggy-back ride to Seireitei and hoping that he wouldn't be strangled too often with her arms around his neck. He was surprised that despite her extensive injuries, she was almost graceful as her heavily bandaged arms gently yet firmly settled around his shoulders and her clothed knees appeared on either side of his body.

Positioning her properly and ensuring that she would not topple, he then stood, and if her head had not been so close to his own he would have missed the almost inaudible groan of pain that escaped her. Tilting his head around with concern, he was met with vivid green that shone with determination, and so he made no further comment on her discomfort.

"Sakura," Ganju trotted forward, the worry for the young woman that he had grown so attached to unmasked and bared for all to see. "You better come back soon! Okay?"

With an answering smile, said female gave the young boy a small wave and spoke with soft firmness. "I'll be back, promise."

"All right!" The energy and volume that came out of Kaien gave everyone a startling jolt. "See ya!" And with a pivot, he took off with a brisk jog, leaving behind the loud farewells of the only home Sakura had known in Soul Society.

It hadn't been a minute before Sakura was pulled from her thoughts on how exhausted and pained her body felt (her bruised rib was causing her the most grief) and was grateful for the distraction when the man carrying her decided to speak up. Sleeping injured while being transported on the back of one companion caused the proverbial warning bells to go off in her brain, and conversation would be sure to keep her mostly conscious. Though perhaps the ringing in her ears was a byproduct of a terrible migraine.

"Hey, Sakura?" He continued after her inquiring hum and his head tilted with slight curiosity. "How's Ganju?"

"Still trying to get out of eating his vegetables." She replied with a smile, and she could feel the amused chuckle reverberate against her chest. "Oh, and he's also trying to train and ride Bonnie."

The chuckle turned into full blown laughter, and the rosette realized that the other appeared more relaxed, almost as if a weight had been lifted off his shoulders; the tension and worry being expelled through his laughter. He had been concerned about his younger brother.

"He always has so much energy, running around all the time, yet whenever a situation arises when he's required to participate in work, all of that energy goes towards trying to talk himself out of having to do it."

"Ha, that kid." Kaien smiled fondly, the image of his younger brother attempting to escape from his duties and Shiroganehiko and Koganehiko warmed him. "Kuukaku has to yell at him to get him moving, doesn't she? She's always been pretty impatient."

"About that," she caught her eyes beginning to droop and blinked furiously in vain to clear away the veil of sleep. "Ganju and I have a sort of... unspoken agreement."

"What do you mean?" Raven tufts of hair tickled her cheek, and she jerked her head backwards when she realized that her upper body had slowly slumped against her current mode of transportation. The sudden movement sent jolts of stabbing pain through her system, and she received a worried glance for her antics. How foolish of her to agitate her injuries.

"Well, it kind of goes like this," Sakura kept the strain out of her voice to ease her partner's concern and slowly loosened her limbs. "If he completes more of his chores or lessons with little to no fuss or trouble, the more time I take off from my own studies to spend time with him. It's a good thing he enjoys my company, or else Kuukaku would probably be yelling at him all day long."

A pleasant silence hung around them for a couple dozen heartbeats, and the injured female surrendered the fight against keeping herself upright and instead rested her forehead against the other's shoulder. He did not comment on it, instead choosing to bask in the amicable silence, giving her aches and pains a chance to return to the forefront of her mind.

Just suck it up already and tolerate it. It's your own damn fault for being in this state.

"Thanks." The words were quiet, yet the gratitude in them so clear to her ears. "For taking care of them."

Keeping her head at it's current place on the man's shoulder, she smiled gently. "They've helped me with so much; it's the least I could do."

Brows drawing together with concern, Kain looked to the drowsy pinkette who had occupied his shoulder, using it as a makeshift pillow for her head. "You can get some sleep you know. We won't be there for a while."

"I'd prefer to stay awake, and I actually have hundreds of questions that I've been wondering about for a long time now, and I'm hoping that you would be able to answer at least a few."

"Oh, sure. What do you want to know?"

Everything. Something. Anything.

She found the remainder of the journey rather enjoyable as she was able to question Kaien more in depth about Seireitei and gather what the library would not, could not provide her with. She already knew he was the vice-captain of his division from Ganju, however the duties he covered were not as well known. As expected, there was much paperwork involved with being such a high-ranking shinigami, assigning and overseeing his subordinates and even training with them to help improve their skills. However with his perpetually ailing captain there were times when he had to act in his stead. As she garnered from the Shiba household she reaffirmed her belief that Kaien was a good vice-captain. He cared for his family, his division, Soul Society, and carried an air of stern fierceness. Laughter and smiles came freely, but his heart unswaying and unyielding.

When she questioned him on his opinion on clans, she was pleasantly surprised with his answer.

"Well, essentially we're all the same. We all smile, laugh, get hurt, bleed. Why should a name you were born to make you any different? What is important," he paused and placed his hand over the centre of his chest. "Is here."

Yes, Sakura definitely liked Shiba Kaien. Sigh. So far in Soul Society she had only encountered kind souls that made her feel nothing less than welcome.

When she gave her little sigh at that last thought, the said man put a wide and proud grin on his face.

"Oi, oi! You better not be falling for me. I know I'm awesome and everything, but I'm already a married man!"

Laughing helped to abate her sleepiness, but caused her chest to ache in more than just the physical sense. "If I weren't injured I think I'd hit you for that you ego-inflated man," she joked. "And my heart is already taken, so there's no room for you there."

There was a pregnant pause, and Sakura forgot to breathe for a short moment.

"My... I..." She loved someone. Who? Did he return her love? That warmth, the one that was meant to be lying next to her but was not there. It had to be him. Who was he?

"...This... someone from before?" Ahh, so Kuukaku must have told him. If Sakura had any doubts that Kaien knew about her memory situation it was now put to rest.

It came off as a casual inquiry but Kaien was being hesitant; he was now walking in unfamiliar territory with her didn't want to cause her upset.

"Yes. I don't remember him, not yet." Because she would, one day.

"You definitely seem hell-bent on finding your past, huh."

"I have to." The solid conviction in the tone of her voice surprised the man. "Hopefully I won't put too much of a burden on Kuukaku and Ganju, they, well... Kuukaku was rather concerned over the idea." The fireworks master's unanswered question echoed in her heart.

"Yeah, that sounds like her." The new vein of conversation made her feel unsettled and instead diverted away from it without a second thought.

"Anyways, I'm sorry that I cut your visit home short, you were only able to see everyone for a bit of time." She briefly wondered at the ease in which she could direct the topic of discussion. "I'm sure you wanted to be with your family."

"Don't worry about it! I was only meaning to drop by for a moment anyways; I was just coming back from some training."

It was only a simple question on what type of training Kaien did, and the unsavoury subjects were safely left behind.

It didn't take much longer to reach Seireitei, and Sakura took in the city with analytical wonder. The living conditions between this place and Ruppongai were leagues apart, and although the poverty of some places saddened her, it was also to be expected in any sort of society.

Raising her head, Sakura straightened her posture as much as she could without causing too much pain to her body. Willing away fatigue, the need to appear as strong and whole to these people burned in her veins, adrenaline giving her a brief moment of strength. It did not matter that she was injured, that the white cloth that sheathed her wounded skin and biting trauma that lay just beneath was a display of impairment. She had endured, survived. She would not be weak here.

The vice-captain regarded her first with fascination, and then respect. "I'm taking you to the Fourth Division, someone there will be able to take care of you."

"Are you sure that's okay? I'm not a shinigami."

"Don't sweat it! They already know you're coming, I sent in a request back home when you were still out of it."

Ah, the privileges that came with belonging to a Noble household - not that she thought that anyone from the Shiba clan would abuse those rights. However if not for her affiliation with the family, there was no doubt in her mind that she would have been left to her own devices without a sliver of consideration from Seireitei.

They received - or more like she received many quizzical stares from passer-by's, and they unnerved her; it was an effort to not let her body go rigid whenever she felt a particularly heavy gaze upon her person. She kept note of the buildings they passed, the routes they took and was particularly wary of the citizen's body gestures.

They entered a large building with the large kanji for 'four' marking it and making it easily recognizable. She suspected that each division had their own large signage designating which was their main building.

"Oh, Isane!" Kaien called out, and a white haired woman with an armband on her upper arm turned in response. "Perfect timing! Could you take a look at her for me?"

Isane eyed her bandaged form while speaking. "Well... I guess if it's you asking me Shiba-fuku-taichou. Please come this way." She started down a corridor, and they followed her at her beckoning wave. She slid a door open, revealing an empty room with a single futon and small desk. "So, what's the reason why you brought her here yourself from home?"

Kaien carefully placed her on the futon, and soon the bandages were unraveling. The way they were removed told Sakura that it was a well used action. This woman was no stranger to the art of healing.

"Well..." he paused at the woman's gasp when she caught sight of the state of her forearm and gently pulled away more of the bandages.

"How? Are these... reiatsu burns? But that's-!"

"I know it's hard to believe, but Sakura did that to herself by accident."

"You did this by accident?"

Well, when she asked it like that it made Sakura feel rather embarrassed with herself. "It was just a little... experimenting. I didn't know that it would have such a destructive effect."

Isane eyed the thin material that layered the pinkette's arms, legs and disappeared through the top of her shirt. Heaving a great sigh, she knew she definitely had her work cut out for her. "Alright Shiba-fuku-taichou, I'll be able to take care of it from here, you had better get going. We'll notify you when she's recovered sufficiently."

"Thanks Isane! See you later Sakura, get better quickly! I should be able to visit you sometime soon, okay?"

"Thank you, Kaien."

With a wave to the white-haired woman, he left the room, leaving the two of them alone. During the healing, she was greatly interested in the process of which reiatsu was utilized, and she asked Isane several questions in between their light chatter. The healer was quite pleasant, and was happy to discuss and explain her work.

It wasn't until the healer had finished for the day, and had left her in peace with a smile did she allow herself to succumb to the lullaby of sleep.

"...like Konoha?"

"Yeah!"

"Would you protect it, and the people living here?"

"Of course I would Hotaru-baa-san!"

"Then I think you'd make a wonderful kunoichi, Hana-chan."

"But mom and dad-"

"Oh don't worry about them Hana-chan, they'll come around one day."

Flinging the thin sheets away in a great billow of white, poison green eyes flickered open, her body twisting around as she flew from the futon with sleek and silent movements. Long pink strands fanned and whipped around her wildly and she landed with her back to the wall in a low defensive crouch facing the intruder who had slid open the door, setting her instincts off into a frenzy.

'You're safe. Don't worry.'

The disembodied voice in her head soothed her frazzled nerves, and she took in the white robed woman who stared back with a mixture of confusion and surprise.

She was in Seireitei, the fourth division. No one had worn a white haori around the hospital, not even the vice-captain, Isane. Then the braided-haired woman had to be of a higher rank - captain, perhaps? In any case, despite her poor habit to react to the unknown, it didn't appear that she was a threat.

"Who are you?" Sakura asked as the adrenaline rush dwindled, and the consequences of her overzealousness began to take hold of her. Carefully slinking to the ground, she hissed when her body screamed back with retribution. A cough escaped her, and was soon followed by many more, her ribs burning-stabbing and her head heavy and spinning.

Stupid stupid stupid. She reprimanded herself, the insult on a constant repeat in an attempt to distract herself from the pain.

The other woman cautiously entered the room as if not to startle her, and quietly closed the door behind her before approaching with a purpose. Gently helping the injured woman back to the bed, she gave a quick scan to assess her patient's condition.

"My name is Unohana Retsu, the fourth division captain. I apologize for startling you." Unohana bent down to retrieve the fallen blanket and returned it to it's previous place over the other's body. "Isane told me about you, and I had only wanted to check up on you briefly."

"Ahh... It's all right. I acted.. badly." She finished lamely, not knowing how to explain herself and being properly embarrassed with herself.

"You've agitated your injuries, but there isn't anything that can't wait until tomorrow."

"Thank you, Unohana-san." She spoke out just as the captain opened the door once again to leave.

"You're welcome." She smiled, and it sent chills down her spine. "However if you jump around in that manner again before you're healed, then I may have to make it so that you cannot leave. Good night." The door closed, and she was alone again.

Somehow she would have to curb her instincts to jump at every creak and bump, because she was sure that Unohana would be true to her word and tie her down if she felt it necessary.

It took her a little longer to get back to sleep this time.

"Where have you been disappearing to?"

"I... I have a friend!"

"Oh! Who's this friend of yours?"

"Uchiha-"

"Uchiha?! Sakura! You've been following around a shinobi? Is this why you're coming home covered in dirt and scratches all the time?"

"B-but Okaa-san..."

"I told you to stay away from that shinobi business Sakura! Kami-sama, you're just a child!"

A/N:

Really late this time, sorry - stuff happened. Oh, and when I write I sometimes update my profile with chapter progress.

Boring draggy chapter is boring and slow - Sorry. Had to be written.

Please point out mistakes - this chapter was written, butchered, deleted, written again, chopped up and cut in half. I left a bunch of it for next chapter, which means it should (in theory) take less time to come out because it's a third done? I re-read chapter 2 when my brains weren't falling out and realized that half way through I was writing Koganehiko's name as Kuroganehiko despite never having written or referenced him that way before. Hmm. Need more sleep.

Question! Who is your favourite Sakura/whoever pairing and why?- yes there will be a bit of romance, and I already know who she'll be ending up with, but I'm curious.

Anyone have any guesses who her past friend is? - It's obvious to me, but I'm the writer so I don't know how obvious it really is haha.

Thank you for all of the reviews C: They really do encourage me to write more, despite always taking so long.