Chapter TWO

"Hokage..." Sakura murmured. "You are the person who sent the...the ANBU team...yes?"

Minato nodded.

Sakura offered a shy smile. "I am Haruno Sakura."

Minato smiled reassuringly at her. "Well, Sakura, we're going to have to ask you a few questions, so answer them the best you can, okay?."

Sakura nodded. "Of course."

"But for now, you can rest. I've sent a message ahead to the Uchiha clan, and they will look after you as of now. After our questioning session, we will decide where you are to stay."

Sakura glanced down at Itachi with a glow of happiness in her eyes. Itachi smiled softly back up at her.

While they had been traveling, Sakura had always been on the back of one person or another. However, now that they were back in the village, Itachi came to realize Sakura's lack of shoes. She kept stopping once every few steps to raise her foot and wipe off the rocks and gravel. Itachi inwardly winced at the small scratched on the soles of her feet.

Itachi crouched in front of her again, and Sakura leaped back onto his back without hesitating. "Oh, yes!"

Even when excited, the girl's clan upbringing kept her vocabulary posh. Itachi chuckled under his breath and he shifted his hands under her knees in order to hold her properly.

Sakura whipped head from one side to another, trying to take in everything in the village. She pressed down on Itachi's head to try and hold herself higher. "What is that?" Sakura pointed at the Hokage mountain, where the faces of all the Hokages until now had been carved in.

Itachi told her so, and then proceeded to explain what a 'Hokage' was. "Say the village is a Hokage is like the head of the clan. The Hokage leads the village through tough decisions and hard times."

"I see." Sakura stared at the stone structure with wide eyes. "So they are very smart and very strong."

Itachi nodded. "The current Hokage is also known as the Yellow Flash, after his signature move that allows him to move very fast." Itachi decided to leave out the technical description as well as his theory. That could wait a few more years.

Itachi soon switched to traveling across the rooftops of the buildings. The presence of a pink haired girl on Itachi's back caught more attention that he had original thought. Sakura let out a soft cheer as they jumped over a gap between two buildings. Soon, they could see the Uchiha compound. He pointed it out to Sakura, who's eyes widened. "Your houses are on the surface?" She asked. "Are you not a shinobi clan?"

Itachi nodded slowly, answering both questions, but not really understanding what the girl was trying to say.

"My clan lived underground." Sakura said, somewhat proudly. "There was a house like structure on top, but everything was underground."

Itachi noted that he had not known anything about that, and decided to read about the Haruno clan the first chance he got. "And why is that?"

Sakura shrugged. "Only those who were shinobi were allowed up." Was all she said. "So I do not know."

Itachi jumped down and walked down the path leading to the Uchiha compound. He nodded faintly at the guards then walked right past them. The guards shot Sakura a curious look before turning back to face out again.

Itachi stepped up to the main house of the compound and quietly pushed the door aside. He stepped through and was instantly greeted by his mother. Sakura blinked curiously at the older Uchiha woman. Itachi placed Sakura on the ground then proceeded to take off his sandals.

"Mother, this is Sakura." Itachi nodded at his mother. "Sakura, this is my mother, Uchiha Mikoto."

Sakura smiled.

"Kawaii!" Mikoto pounced on the girl. "Hello. How are you feeling? Are you tired? Hungry? Sasuke-kun's coming back soon, so I have snack ready. Do you like dorayaki?"

Sakura bit her lip "Hello...What is dorayaki?"

Mikoto blinked.

Itachi gently pushed the girl forwards. "Why don't you wait in the living room?" He said

Sakura nodded. Itachi told her the directions and the girl darted off.

Itachi then explained Sakura's case to his mother, whose face turned more horrified at the second. By the time Itachi had finished, his mother looked close to crying. It must be a mother thing.

"I'll go get Sakura-chan something to eat." She finally said. "Can you go pick up Sasuke-kun? He's gone out to play with Naruto."

Itachi nodded.

"Nii-san!" At Sasuke's voice, both boys stopped in the middle of their game of catch.

"Oh! Itachi-teme!" Naruto darted over to great Itachi, Sasuke right behind him.

"Hello Otouto, Naruto." Itachi crouched down.

"How was your mission? You aren't hurt, right? Did you go to the hospital?" Sasuke fretted over his older brother.

"It went very well. No, I am not hurt, and therefore, I have no need to go to the hospital." Itachi smiled. He then turned to Naruto. "Sasuke has to go now." He said. "You should head back too. It will get pretty dark soon."

Naruto pouted but nodded. He and Sasuke scowled at each other before slowly saying their goodbyes. Once Naruto was out of view, Sasuke turned to his brother. Itachi crouched and just like he had Sakura earlier that day, he piggybacked Sasuke and jumped onto the roof of a house.

"We have a guest back at home." He said. "She was a victim of my last mission, and has gone through some hard things." Sasuke blinked curiously. "And so, I want you to be very kind to her, okay?"

Sasuke nodded absentmindedly.

Itachi smiled softly. "Good." He soon leapt off the rooftops and entered the compound. Sasuke waved at the guards, who waved back. Itachi placed his brother on his feet outside their house and Sasuke darted up to the door.

"I'm back!"

Mikoto appeared at her son's voice, smiling gently. "Welcome back, Sasuke-kun. How was your day?"

Sasuke grinned. "It was great. Naruto and I had a sand castle competition..." He then proceeded to tell his mother about his day at the park as he went further into the house. Itachi followed behind him.

They entered the living room, where Sakura had been inspecting a book she had found on the coffee table. She held it up to the light, eyes brightening as she caught sight of the Uchihas. She curiously eyed Sasuke, who returned the look.

"This is Sasuke-kun. He's Itachi-kun's brother." Mikoto smiled. "Sasuke-kun, this is our guest, Sakura-chan. You guys are the same age."

Sasuke nodded slowly at the girl. "Hi."

Sakura nodded back. "Hello." She then turned to Itachi. "Itachi? What is this?" She held up the book upside down.

Itachi gently took it from her and flipped it around, so that it was right side up. "It is a book." He told her. "The writing within can be things such as recounts of past happenings to stories made to be read for entertainment."

Sakura nodded. "And which one is this?"

"It is a story." Itachi said at the same time Sasuke asked.

"You don't know how to read?"

Itachi sent a stern look at his brother. "Sasuke."

Sasuke glared back at his brother. "She's five. How can she not know how to read? Even the dobe can read!"

"Read? Dobe?" Sakura frowned.

"Read is like a 'say' version of for written words." Mikoto piped up. "You look at these-" She pointed at the writing in the book. "And you comprehend the meaning of each one and put them together."

Sakura bit her lip, nodding.

"Dobe is Sasuke-kun's nickname for his friend. You'll meet him soon." Mikoto added. She sent Sasuke a look. Sasuke huffed and looked down.

"Dinner will be soon." Mikoto said. "Fugaku-kun will be back soon as well. Itachi-kun? Why don't you go show Sakura the guest room?"

Itachi nodded. Sasuke instantly got to his feet, attaching himself to his brother's side. Sakura quickly followed and occupied Itachi's other side. She did not seem to notice Sasuke's scowl.

Itachi opened the door to a spare room which Mikoto had cleaned for the girl to use. Sakura quickly darted in, inspecting the room. She stood curiously in front of the mirror, moving her hands and watching her reflection follow her movements.

"That is a mirror." Itachi said. "As you can see, it reflects a clear image."

Sakura blinked, slowly nodding. Sasuke huffed, turned around and stormed off. The door to his room slammed shut just seconds later.

"Do not mind Sasuke too much." Itachi said. "He will come around soon."

Sakura hesitantly nodded. "Itachi?"

Itachi blinked.

"I would like to learn to read."

Itachi pointed to another letter, saying it out for the girl. Sakura repeated what he had said, then wrote it down with wobbly hands. She had never learned to read and write. He felt very sorry for the girl.

"Itachi-kun, Sasuke-kun, Sakura-chan!" Mikoto called. "Dinner's ready."

Sakura hesitated as she paused mid word but she followed Itachi out of the room. The they quickly made their way down to the dining table.

Sakura curiously eyed the table. Mikoto patted the empty place beside her and she quickly followed Itachi's example and sat down. She then turned to look at Uchiha Fugaku, who sat at the edge of the table.

"Sakura-chan, this is Fugaku, my husband." Mikoto said. "He's also the head of the Uchiha clan." Fugaku gave Sakura a small nod.

"The head?" Sakura asked. "Like me?"

Everyone paused.

Sakura blinked at all the looks she was receiving.

"The head of the clan is the leader of the clan." Sasuke said. "There's no way you're the head!"

"I am!" Sakura insisted. "I was heir. The clan head is dead, so I am head, yes?" She said. "Besides, I have pink hair!"

"What does that have to do with anything?" Sasuke shot back.

"All of the Haruno clan heirs have pink hair." Sakura said. "We are all initially born with white hair. The one that comes out of the ceremony alive becomes heir, and is taken in by the head. But the head died the day I was chosen as heir, so I have no idea what I am supposed to do. When the head dies, the heir becomes head, and their hair turns pink. There are rumors that it is because of all the blood it soaked in."

Mikoto and Fugaku shared a look.

"Did the head die in the massacre too?" Mikoto asked.

Sakura shrug. "I do not know. I think so." She said. "I was in the ceremony, and I do not remember."

"Ceremony?" Fugaku asked, sounding mildly curious.

Sakura nodded enthusiastically. "It is a ceremony to decide the heir. I was three when I participated. I was the youngest to ever come out alive." She said proudly.

"Come out alive..." Mikoto looked slightly horrified. Itachi sent his brother off to get more tea. The young Uchiha protested, but did as asked.

Sakura nodded, not at all fazed. "The one to come back alive is always the one with the strongest Inner spirit. The Heir must have a strongest Inner spirit. It helps them make hard decisions in order for the clan to survive. The Inner helps one make decisions based on self survival. The Heir choosing ceremony consists of a simple fight to the death."

Mikoto let out a horrified gasp. "A fight...to the death..."

"Inner?" Itachi asked.

Sakura nodded. "The Inner spirit is like a second presence within the mind of all Haruno clan members. They awaken under great fear and desperation in order to protect their Outer." She said, almost as though she were repeating something someone had told her many times. "Only children with ages between three and six are allowed to participate. Any older and it becomes a battle of skill, not Inner spirit strength. It is also why all children under the age of six are not taught anything apart from clan knowldge. "

How could she say things like this while smiling?

"The head stands alone, and is given absolute respect and loyalty from all those with Haruno blood." Sakura said. "But there is no one left."

At that moment, Sakura didn't seem like the clueless, naive girl she had seemed to be.

"How about this one?" Mikoto held up the green dress in front of Sakura, inspecting the girl. "Maybe not..."

She turned back to the countless number of dressed and shirts around them.

"Excuse me, Mikoto-san?" Sakura asked shyly.

Mikoto looked back a the. "Yes?"

"Do you...still have the kimono I was wearing before?" Sakura asked. "It was standard clothing for my clan..."

Mikoto smiled. "Of course. It's just washing. You're going to need more than one set of clothes."

She gently tugged Sakura's hand and dragged her to the next row of clothes. She held up a plain, white dress. "This is pretty nice..."

In the end, Mikoto ended up buying the white dress. She took the bag from the person at the counter. "Itachi-kun?"

Itachi, who had been waiting outside the store, was already drowning in shopping bags. To make things worse, he surrounded by girls. At his mother's voice, he quickly pushed past the crowd. "Itachi-kun, be a dear and hold this as well."

Mikoto piled the bag onto Itachi's arms. She then turned to Sakura. "Next, we'll get you some shoes!" She glanced at the shoes Sakura had borrowed from Sasuke. "Yes, nice, pretty shoes.

They literally went through every store in the street. Mikoto's sharp eyes didn't miss anything as she went through every article of clothing available. Itachi had a problem with following his mother's quick pace. He doubted even his Sharingan would be able to follow his mother's movements as she went through all the clothes she could see.

Finally, Mikoto stopped outside a store for ninja clothing. "We'll come here at a later date." Mikoto decided. "You want to enter the Academy, right?"

Sakura nodded. "Yes, of course!"

The next day, Sakura was called to the Interrogation office. Itachi had gone to the Hokage the precious day and had given him a file of things he had observed of the girl, including everything she had said about her clan.

Said Uchiha was now accompanying her as they stepped through a room set up for them. Minato was already there, waiting.

"Hello, Sakura-chan." Minato smiled.

Sakura bowed. "Hello, Hokage-sama!"

There was a knock, and Yamanaka Inoichi stepped through the door, followed by Morino Ibiki. Itachi stiffened, while Sakura glanced curiously at the two.

"How is Konoha so far?" Minato asked. He gestured for Sakura to sit in the chair, and for Itachi to stand beside him. Sakura smiled and twirled around in her white dress before taking a seat. "It is very nice! Mikoto-san is very nice and I believe I am wearing something different for the first time in my life. Shinobi clans have their houses above ground and all the people are smiling. There is a lot of things I have never seen before, and it is pretty amazing!"

"That's good." Minato smiled. "Sakura-chan, I need you to tell these two everything you remember during the two years you spent with the white haired man, okay?"

Sakura's face fell. "Okay." She murmured. "Where do I start?"

"Morino-san here will ask you some questions, and we'll start from there, okay?"

Sakura nodded. Minato led Itachi out of the room and to the other side of a one-way mirror, where they could see and hear what was being done and said in the previous room.

"Morini-san and Yamanaka-san?" Itachi asked quietly.

Minato sighed. "The Haruno clan are the masters of their mind. They can perfectly hide emotion as well as information." He said. "I don't want to do this, and both of them are instructed to not physically harm the girl, but there is a small chance that there is something behind, something which includes her and this mysterious white haired teen."

Itachi bowed his head.

Ibiki took a seat in front of Sakura, looming over her small form. "I heard that you were in the cave for around two years, before Itachi and his team found you. Did anything particular happen during that time?"

Sakura slowly shook her head. "I do not think so. I was not allowed to go out, but he did not restrain me or anything of the sort."

Ibiki hummed. "During that two years, how did the white haired man treat you?"

"He did not hit me." Sakura murmured. "I do not remember much. He fed me, though, and I think there was this river that he said I could drink from."

Ibiki nodded. "Do you remember when you first saw the man?"

Sakura frowned. "After the ceremony." She said. "I came out of the cave, and the air smelled so...salty. Everything was red, I think." She scrunched up her nose. "And the man was standing in the middle of all these dead people. He knocked me out."

Ibiki nodded, taking some notes. "Anything you noticed about the man?"

"He had white hair." Sakura said. "But I do not think he was anyone from the clan."

"Did he say anything in particular to you? Like, why he kidnapped you, or why he killed your clan?"

"He called me-" Sakura paused. What had he called her? "He knew my name, I think." She finished lamely. "But I have not told him anything. I do not think he said anything about my clan."

Ibiki didn't miss the girl's hesitant pause, but nodded again. "You keep hesitating." He said. "Why's that?"

Sakura flinched. "It is a little blurry." She whimpered. "Like...a gap, or something."

Ibiki nodded again. "Inoichi comes from the Yamanaka clan, whose special ability is to enter one's mind. You wouldn't mind he checked to see if there are no blocks in your memory, right?"

Sakura stiffened. "It will not hurt, right?"

Ibiki nodded reassuringly.

Inside Sakura's mind, Inoichi opened his eyes to see darkness. Green glows faintly lit up certain corners, but that was it.

'Hello.'

Inoichi whipped around and came face to face with Sakura.

Inoichi stiffened, until he noticed the word 'Inner' on the girl's forehead.

'What are you doing here?' The girl asked.

Inoichi concluded that this was 'Inner' Sakura. He took a deep breath. "I'm here to see if there are blocks on Sakura-chan's memory." He told her.

Inner Sakura scowled. 'You better not hurt Saku-can or anything. Cause if you do, I'll boot you right out, and it wont be pretty.'

Inoichi slowly nodded.

'It's this way.' Inner Sakura turned and walked off. Inoichi quickly followed.

'Where'd you wanna start?'

Inoichi frowned. "Can we start at this...ceremony?"

'The Heir choosing ceremony? Sure, why not?'

There was a bright flash. Their surroundings seemed to melt into a scene. Inoichi inspected the cave like structure, then turned to inspect the people gathered in the center.

A young, pink haired man, probably still in his mid twenties, was standing in front of the twenty or so children. Several adults stood behind the pink haired male. The rest stood behind the children. It took him some time to find Sakura in the sea of white hair and green eyes.

Inner Sakura pointed at the pink haired man. 'That's Haruno Senri.' She said. 'He was the head of the clan when the massacre occurred.' Inner Sakura turned to Inoichi. 'I can only show you Kura-chan's memories and what she saw, so I can't show you the massacre, only what Sakura sees when she comes back.'

Inoichi nodded.

Suddenly, a beam of light lit the children. Inoichi looked up and noticed a hole in the roof of the cave. The moon shone directly through.

Haruno Senri got to his feet and stepped back. He turned to a huge boulder with a single tag on it. He made a string of hand seals then slammed his palm onto the tag. The boulder seemed to crack down the middle and the two pieces moved to the side. The whole place shook.

Then the adults were ushering the children into the dark cave. Cries of fear erupted, but no one seemed to hear them.

'Come on.' Inner Sakura led Inoichi through the boulder gates. Once all the children were inside the further cave, Senri made another set of hand seals and the cave entrance closed.

The moment the doors closed, a green glow erupted from all over the place. Inoichi realized that the rocks were emitting the light.

The children clung to one another, not knowing what was going on.

Inner Sakura led Inoichi through the children, and pointed at a girl crouched at the corner. 'That's Sakura.'

Inoichi nodded, recognizing the girl. Unlike the other children, Sakura looked calm and composed. She was eyeing the other children, like she was trying to read through them.

'I was a strong spirit even before the awakening.' Inner Sakura said, somewhat proudly.

The scene seemed to shift. 'We'll move ahead to a few days later.'

Now, the children were no longer crying. They just sat around, not moving. 'This is two days after the start.' Inner Sakura said. 'Two days in near darkness without food or water.'

Suddenly, Inoichi felt a chill in the air.

'The first awakening.' Inner Sakura murmured. 'But this one didn't go very well.'

Inoichi watched as a young boy slowly got to his feet. He instinctively took a step back when he saw the boy's face. Cracks stretched from his neck up to his cheeks and his eyes were red.

'That's a lost awakening. That's when fear and desperation is too much of a pressure on the Outer, and they lose control of their Inner. That is a sign that the Inner isn't strong enough to help their Outer keep calm.' Inner Sakura told him. She then pointed at a girl with horns sticking out of her head. 'That's the sign of a correct awakening. While the girl is like this, she gains perfect control over her body and mind, thoughts and emotions.'

As if following a chain reaction, one child after another began to awaken. Some had the small horns, but most had the cracks running over their faces.

Inoichi watched in horror as the children turned on one another. He watched two Lost children tear each other apart using their nails and teeth. Another clubbed a child yet to awaken on the head. The girl's scream of pain was cut out roughly and the rock came down on her head hard enough to split it.

Sakura still sat in her corner, watching.

'I made sure she didn't rush in, and I made sure she didn't lose control.' Inner Sakura said. 'I made sure that she only entered the fight at the end, where there were less opponents.'

Inoichi took a small step forward, mouth opening as if to warn a small girl of the danger looming up behind her. A boy raised a head fist sized stone in both hands, bringing it down with full strength. The boy's eyes were bright red, the sign of a out of control Inner.

Another girl was close by, continuously smashing the head of a younger boy into the ground. Both had red eyes.

'Those two were siblings.' Inner Sakura commented offhandedly. 'This is the truth of the Haruno clan.' Inner Sakura grinned. 'Now, let's head ahead a few days.'

The scene shifted again. When Inoichi blinked, there were far less children. Most of them were lying in a pool of blood. Thirty had been cut down to around ten.

'All the lost awakenings have been taken out.' Inner Sakura told him. 'They don't survive long anyways.'

Most of the living children, even though they were awakened, were sitting around, eyeing each other. The sign of a correct awakening, two small horns prodding out of their heads, were seen on all of them.

'This is the fifth day.' Inner Sakura said. 'And cannibalism is just gross, but it was necessary for us to eat, especially cause we were so young.'

Inoichi shot Inner Sakura a subtle look.

'This is where we shine!'

As if on cue, Sakura slowly got to her feet.

The first kill the girl had ever made was with a hand through someone's chest.

When the last child fell, the doors automatically opened. Sakura staggered towards the light. Her white kimono was splattered with blood. The scene shifted again. Now, Inoichi found himself standing outside the cave. He and Inner Sakura followed Sakura as she made her way up a set of stairs, leading into another cave. Bodies littered the ground.

A flash of white caught Inoichi's eye and he turned around, immediately tagging the name 'white haired teen' onto the person he saw on the far side of the cave.

'That's the man.' Inner Sakura murmured.

Sakura paused, glancing over the her dead clansmen, before looking up at the teen. Said teen had something, or someone in his grasp. Inoichi watched as the white haired man dropped Haruno Senri from his grasp, leaving the clan head to fall lifelessly to the ground.

'Are you the new heir?'

The pinkette blinked.

'The Haruno clan head is dead, and that makes you the head, right?'

Sakura didn't move.

'Come.'

As if in a trance, Sakura staggered towards the man. The teen held out a hand and placed it on Sakura's forehead.

Everything around them became quiet. Inoichi realized that he couldn't hear anything. The teen was talking, but he didn't know what he was saying. He glanced at Inner Sakura and realized that he wasn't the only one.

Then the sound came back.

"Please call me Toneri." The teen, Toneri, was saying.

"To...neri?" Sakura murmured.

Toneri nodded.

"Toneri."

The teen smiled. He raised a hand and brought it down onto the back of Sakura's neck, knocking the girl out.

The scene flashed and turned black.

'What was with the sound block?' Inoichi asked.

Inner Sakura narrowed her eyes. 'There are gaps in Kura-chan's memories that not even I can access. Toneri must have done something.'

Inoichi rubbed at his temples.

'Next?' Inner Sakura asked.

Inoichi blinked, trying to cram everything he had learned into his brain. "Are there any major occurrences during the time you guys were with this...Toneri?"

Inner Sakura shrug. 'I don't know what kind of 'major' you are referring to, and most of the important parts, such as conversations, have been completely erased. However, I think I have a few.'

The scene shifted again.

Inoichi found himself in another cave, which he guessed was the cave Sakura had been found in.

Said girl was sitting on a stone circle, not moving. There were two paths leading in two opposite directions.

There was a hint of movement and Inoichi whipped around. Toneri slowly walked into view. A few puppets was floating behind him, carrying bodies. Inoichi recognized them to be the dead team from Konoha. He could tell that they were already dead.

Then the sound block kicked in. Inoichi clenched his fists in annoyance as Toneri said a few words. The then turned and walked back the way he had come, taking the bodies with him.

The scene shifted again.

Inoichi watched a few more scenes with just action. Most of their interactions seemed to mainly consist of small talk, but they didn't seem to last very long. Toneri seemed to be doing all the talking.

'He didn't treat us badly.' Inner Sakura said. 'He fed us and didn't hit us or anything. He also went all the way to the Haruno compound and got us clean clothes.'

Inoichi noted this too.

'There was this one time Toneri came back with the body of a Hozuki. He just showed us the shinobi, and then left.' Inner Sakura said. 'The Haruno clan had a close relationship with the Hozuki clan. Kura-chan was especially close to Mangetsu and Suigetsu.'

Inoichi nodded.

'Anything else?' Inner Sakura asked.

Inoichi shook his head. "You're helped more than I thought you would." He admitted. "Why did you give away all that information?"

Inner Sakura smiled. 'My job is to protect Sakura. I decided that sharing this information would be the best for Sakura's sake.' She said.

Inoichi nodded one more time before breaking his concentration.

Seconds later, he found himself back in the interrogation room.

"What did you find?" Minato asked.

Inoichi shifted in his chair and relayed everything he had learned within Sakura's mind. He told the Hokage and Ibiki about Inner Sakura and about the ceremony. He then told them about the teen, Toneri, and their meeting. He then repeated a few of their audible conversation.

"And you couldn't get rid of these blocks?" Minato asked.

Inoichi nodded. "Inner Sakura told me that not even she could do anything."

"Maybe she was lying." Ibiki suggested.

Inoichi slowly shook his head. "I'm not sure about that. Inner spirits prioritize the safety of their Outer at all costs. Withholding information like that could cause Sakura harm."

Ibiki sighed.

"We'll let Sakura-chan stay in the Uchiha compound." Minato decided. "Just in case, we need to keep a lookout for this Toneri."

'Those idiots!' Inner Sakura smirked. She held up the green chakra sphere and inspected it as it glowed in the moonlight. 'This is my domain. I can control what people see in here, down to a single molecule.'

She giggled. 'I think that was enough to throw them off our track for now.' She slowly sat up from her position on the grassy hill. 'I doubt the Hokage will send the Yamanaka for a while.' She snapped her fingers and switched locations to the inside of a cave.

A huge ice structure loomed on the far side of the cave. Inner Sakura stepped closer and placed her hand on the center of the slab of ice, right above Sakura's chest.

The girl was frozen within, eyes closed and expression peaceful.

'I think it's safe now, Kura-chan.'

Inner Sakura held up the chakra sphere and pressed it against the ice. A huge, vertical crack appeared along the ice. Inner Sakura gently pushed the sphere through the gap. Bits of the ice cracked and fell away as Inner Sakura pushed it further in. The chakra sphere seemed to dissolve as it approached Sakura. When the sphere touched Sakura, it melted away.

Inner Sakura looked at the circle hole leading form the edge of the ice shell all the way to Sakura.

'Wake up, Kura-chan.'

Toneri clenched his fists as he felt the surge of Ōtsutsuki clan chakra. Inner Sakura must be awakening Sakura. Forcefully making someone remember something was painful, but forcefully making someone remember a forcefully locked away memory was even more painful. He cringed at the thought of Sakura's pain twisted face.

He quickly shook his head. If things had gone the way he had planned with Sakura, the Hokage should be on the look out for him. He could not risk being found, but he had to confirm something.

Toneri perched on his tree, looking through a high window into one of the rooms in the compound. He hummed, a smile on his face, when he felt the Ōtsutsuki chakra rolling off the boy he had been observing for the past few days. It was so faint that only Ōtsutsuki clan members would be able to sense it, but that was the whole point.

Sakura would recognize it too.

Three years ago, before he had gone to pick up Sakura, he had sat on this very branch and had observed the same person. He knew that Sakura would need an ally in Konoha. Someone who could not betray her. Sure, he hadn't expected her to befriend the Uchiha heir so quickly, but he wasn't sure if he trusted Itachi yet.

He turned his attention back to the boy, who was going through a kata. He half wished that he could step through and help him fix his posture, but decided against it.

He would be helping the boy more than he could imagine.

Three years ago, he had used his Puppet-Cursing sphere and had taken over the body of one Hyuuga Hiashi. The Hyuga clan head believed that he had placed the Hyuga clan cursed seal on a certain boy, and he would believe so until his death.

After all, he didn't need to know that Toneri had tampered with said seal.

Hyuga Neji was not bound to the Main Hyuga family, but to Ōtsutsuki Sakura herself.

And here's chapter two!

To those of you who like Sasuke:

Don't worry, his attitude will improve soon. For now, he's just jealous that this 'new' girl just comes out of nowhere and steals Itachi's attention

Darque: So you see, there's this music event going on in our school, where the four houses compete using...music? Yeah.

Raven: And...?

Darque: The trophy that was supposed to be presented to the winner house has vanished!

Raven: What?

Darque: The trophy vanished.

Raven: I heard...er...understood that. How could it just vanish?

Darque: I dunno. It's on our school website to 'contact (PERSON) if anyone has seen it...'

Raven: This school of yours is as unorganized as you are!

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