Woo another chapter! Thanks for all the loving reviews!

Also, if you've never read my longest story 'Shattered Mirror' I advise you do so!

As always,

Enjoy!

~Kyvena

Chapter 3: Yellow Butterflies

It had now been a week since Sakura and Naruto's mother, Mito Uzumaki had decided that her life held no meaning in it. Sakura now never spoke and whenever Naruto, Tobirama, Hashirama, or any of the Senju clan members tried speaking to her to check on her welfare; which she would only slowly turn her head towards them and give them a dead eyed and cold expression.

Sakura was having the hardest time with all of this considering growing up, her mother had always been there for her through thick and thin. That's when Sakura's mind became dark... too dark for any ten year old in their right state of mind to even possess. Standing up, the pinkette then walked towards her desk and bent over to sloppily write down - "Went on a walk."

Taking a step out into the warm summer morning air, Sakura then made her way silently and slowly into the forest while hiding a single kunai within one of her storage compartments. Well, to be honest, in this war torn era it was not uncommon for someone to carry a weapon on them whenever they made their way out of the stronghold for protection. Though Sakura did not have her safety exactly in her mind at that time what so ever.

All she now felt was the deepened feelings of pain, sorrow, loss, and anguish; but knew she no longer wanted to feel that pain considering she felt as if her mother's death had been all her fault even though Hashirama had tried to emphasize that none of this was neither Naruto's or her fault. However, in her little ten year old mind, she did not believe her father one bit.

Taking her first step into the forest, the pinkette pressed on and painfully pushed herself forward. She knew this pain would only stop whenever physical harm had been inflicted on herself and was even well aware that this was not exactly healthy. She knew because of all of the cuts that now showered her body in hidden locations so that her father and brother would not worry for her well-being.

Sakura only came to a sudden halt once she stood on the ledge of a waterfall that was connected with a descent sized pond at the bottom. Reaching behind her and into the storage compartment, she then pulled out the kunai and lifted her shirt up so that she could securely bite down onto the cloth and hold onto it with her teeth. The one thing the pinkette could not sense were a separate pair of crimson colored orbs on her, watching her curiously as to see exactly what she was going to do.

Placing the kunai on her stomach, Sakura was ready to end all of this as her hand shot forward before descending it towards her scarred, yet smooth and toned abdomen. Yet one thing stopped her dead in her tracks. A hand much larger than her own swiftly grasped her own hand, not allowing it to move any further.

About to snap around, Sakura then felt the even breathing of a broad and muscular chest, along with the feeling of long hair brushing up against her, at the moment, bare back. Tears began to flood her eyes as she began to struggle against the hand. She had only wanted all of the pain to go away and this person was not allowing her to do what she wanted with her very own life.

"ARE YOU AN IDIOT!?" The deep masculine voice of a teenager scolded heavily, causing tears to fill her dead emerald orbs and breaking her solemn vow of silence, "LEAVE ME ALONE MADARA! GO PLAY WITH YOUR CONCUBINES! I DON'T HAVE TIME FOR YOU!" That's when Madara whirled the frustrated, yet hurting pink haired lass around and grasped her by the shoulders, "Dammit! Children are such a pest!" This gained a hate filled glare directed towards the crimson orbs he currently held as his own, "If I'm such a PEST, then leave me alone!"

Madara was growing more and more frustrated before doing something he immediately regretted... he rose a single hand and roughly slapped Sakura across the face, causing her long cotton candy colored locks to flutter violently in the wind as the kunai she had been holding slipped from her fingers and lodged itself within the forest floor.

Shock initially set into her face before a mortified facial expression filled the Uchiha heir's face, "I- Sakura- I'm sorry!" He swiftly yanked the pinkette into his chest and she began to slam her fists weakly, yet angrily against his chest until her arms limply fell to her side and she pressed her face into his abdomen before finally breaking down and beginning to sob.

He honestly hadn't known what had happened within the span of one week that caused this beautiful mess in front of him to become so fragile and broken. Wrapping his arms tenderly around her, Madara began to hush Sakura soothingly while gently stroking those beautiful long pink locks until her sobs turned into soft hiccups. Looking down at Sakura, Madara hadn't known he had allowed his guard to falter to the extent that it had until he found his body relaxed due to just simply holding her.

Finally breaking the silence, Madara then took a small step backwards and rose his hands to cup Sakura's face, allowing his thumbs to lovingly brush her tears away from her cheeks, "Now... would you like to tell me why your body is so cut up and why you have become so violent...? I will listen, I promise." She hadn't uttered a single word within a week; well, other than bitching at Madara just now and was finding it rather hard to form a sentence within her mind that even made any sense at all.

Silence filled the air, yet the Uchiha heir could tell Sakura was having a hell of a time simply explaining herself to him. Sighing heavily, Madara took a step away and shed his shirt, causing Sakura to gain a highly embarrassed facade. Raising his only visible eyebrow towards the pinkette that he had honestly become infatuated with, he shot his hands out and lifted Sakura bridal style before bolting towards the waterfall and jumping over the ledge.

The moment Madara jumped over the cliff, Sakura began to scream bloody murder as she shot her arms around the Uchiha heir's neck for safety until both plummeted into the cool and crisp depths of the pool formed around the waterfall. A minute later both resurfaced and Madara smirked, "Did that help cool your head?" Sakura almost immediately gained an annoyed facial expression that highly amused the Uchiha male, considering he burst into laughter at her facial expression.

Huffing heavily, the now annoyed pinkette was just about ready to rip his head off, but then remembered a small little detail... she couldn't swim and Madara had let her go. Her eyes then turned to sheer panic and terror, which confused the male with the long black and blue tinted hair to no extent; well, that was until her head dropped beneath the surface of the water without any signs of resurfacing.

Waiting for a moment, he too then began to panic before diving underneath the water and had to wait a moment for the water to settle so that he could clearly see Sakura. Since the water wasn't settling as fast as he would have liked, Madara quickly activated his Sharingan and almost instantly caught sight of her struggling form.

Shooting through the water, the Uchiha heir swooped in and caught the pinkette and quickly swam up to the top before surfacing. Both Madara and Sakura let out a deep gasp for air and what happened next, no one could have seen coming.

Naruto had been out looking for his sister whenever he finally found her kunai firmly lodged into the ground at the waterfall. That's when the blonde haired and blue eyed male began to panic, "Shit! Sakura can't swim!" Looking down, he then saw not one head surface, but two. Tilting his head curiously, Naruto then jumped down to thank the male until he actually saw who it was and immediately pulled out a kunai, "MADARA UCHIHA LET MY SISTER GO!"

Sakura seemed utterly shocked by this point and was almost panicked as well. Today was just one of those days filled to the brim with anxiety attacks apparently, "Naruto stop! He saved me from drowning!" Naruto didn't know if he should believe his sister or not, but lowered his kunai. Still tense, Naruto ran towards his sister and helped her out of the water, "Are you okay sis? That must have been really scary, ya know...?"

This was one thing Sakura simply adored about Naruto... his cute little accent with the way he always said 'ya know' always made her smile, but knew she had to pretend as if she didn't even know Madara for his safety, "I'm fine Naruto, this nice man jumped in after seeing me slip off of the edge of the waterfall and saved me before I drowned!" Naruto then shifted his pure blue orbs towards Madara, almost as if he had been angry, which his tone then verified, "Thanks... I GUESS."

Bowing towards Madara, she thanked him as Naruto wrapped his arm around his sister and began to lead her away, all the while still continuing to glare at the Uchiha and Madara had no qualms with glaring right back. As they walked away, Sakura glanced back to Madara and mouthed 'I'm sorry.'

. . .

"Naruto, stop it! You're hurting me!" Sakura yelled angrily as Naruto's grip on the pinkette had grown rather tight and was now actually harming Sakura as they walked home. Finally, Sakura had, had just about enough of this and forgot this was the path home that held a fast paced river that would wash anyone away.

The blonde was now ignoring his sister and accidentally continued to clamp down even tighter on her. A pained yelp echoed throughout the woods and finally Sakura shoved her brother off of her, not even noticing how close to the rapids she had even been.

Now she wished she hadn't pushed Naruto, because now she was falling into the rapids and Naruto's face drained of any color it had once initially held, "SAKURA!" The moment that big splash was heard, Naruto began to follow the rapids and continued to tell Sakura to try and keep her head above the water, but someone that petite had little to no chance of survival, "SAKURA KEEP YOUR HEAD ABOVE THE WATER!" She was so panicked as of right now that the last thing Naruto heard her say was, "NARUTO I LO-" before sinking below the water.

"SHIT!" Naruto yelled and didn't know if he should jump in or not. Hell, even he knew that even though he could swim, even he had little to no chance of escaping that death trap. So he had to turn and scramble back towards the stronghold, running as fast as he possibly could until he reached his home and slammed the door open, "FATHER! UNCLE! HELP!"

Hashirama and Tobirama had been going over some small details and war plans at the moment whenever they heard Naruto's beyond frantic yelling. Both brothers ran out and asked at the same time, "What's wrong Naruto!?" The blonde now felt like he no longer knew how to speak until he finally blurted out, "SAKURA FELL INTO THE RAPIDS! HURRY!"

Right at that moment, Hashirama was having a panic attack and Tobirama instantly bolted out of the house towards the rapids. He began scanning the banks of the rapids, but knew these rapids were extremely long, but he was determined to find his niece no matter the cost. Tobirama had never been much of a religious man, but now he prayed to the gods that his beautiful niece was unharmed.

A search party was soon set out and even Madara and Izuna, whom weren't that far from the rapids could hear all of the yelling. Izuna's eyes grew wide with horror as he turned towards his elder brother, "Big brother, they're yelling for Sakura... and - and they are right by the rapids!" Madara and Izuna instantly shot up and began to run around looking for any trace of the pinkette with their Sharingan until bumping into none other than Hashirama Senju, "MADARA! IZUNA!" Hashirama yelled angrily and grabbed both of the teens by the collars of their shirts, "WHY ARE YOU HERE!? THIS IS SENJU TERRITORY!"

Madara stared Hashirama dead in the eyes, showing no emotion; yet, he then had to offer, "I want... no... I have to help you look for Sakura." Hashirama felt dumbfounded by this and slowly released the Uchiha heirs, "I thank you Madara. This is a truly kind gesture, but you don't even know what she looks like." Madara quickly shook his head, "Long pink hair, emerald eyes, a bit short, muscular and petite, usually wears red or white. Today, she wore white."

Hashirama felt dumbfounded by this and just had to ask, "How do you even know that Madara...?" Madara continued to stare at the water for any signs of the pinkette with his Sharingan as he replied, "My brother, Sakura, and myself are all very good friends. Please allow me and Izuna to help." Finally Hashirama gave in and nodded, "Thank you Madara and Izuna. Your Sharingan will prove to be most helpful."

Many days began to go by and everyone had begun to lose any sort of hope. Many extra Uchiha's had been called in because this had merely been a child who fell into the rapids and was now lost, so they put their differences aside and began to work together... during the day at least. Naruto had become noticeably depressed after the disappearance of his only sibling and Hashirama had to take great care that his son did not harm himself.

Far down the rapids and a place no one even considered looking laid a soaking wet, pink haired female whom began to cough violently as she crawled out of the river. A pair of travelers were walking and talking whenever they caught sight of the poor girl and immediately ran to her. The male had dull pink hair that had been styled into a cherry blossom and the woman had short blonde hair, "My goodness miss! Are you all right!?"

The moment the pinkette looked up, the two travelers instantly knew who she was and began to tear up, "Kizashi! It's... it's OUR DAUGHTER!" The male nodded and swooped the ten year old within his arms, "I know Mebuki! I thought we had lost her for good!" Kizashi squeezed the young girl who was still struggling to breath at the moment. The blonde female gasped and commanded her husband to set the pinkette down before Mebuki began to suck any excess water out of the poor girl's lungs.

Finally able to breath comfortably, Sakura sat up and began ringing her long locks out. Kizashi and Mebuki both sat beside Sakura and began asking her a series of questions, "So, who are your parents?" Sakura glanced to them both before speaking, "My parents are Hashirama Senju and the now deceased Mito Uzumaki." Nodding at this, the next question was hurled out there, "What is your name and how old are you, dear?" Sakura honestly didn't see the point of these questions, yet answered anyway, "Sakura Senju and I am ten years old."

The questions did not stop for hours and the traveling couple offered to take the pinkette back to their home town to get some proper rest and food into her belly. Not even knowing where she was troubled Sakura, so she agreed and followed the two home; which was actually ten days away.

By the time they reached their home town, everyone waved at them and Sakura hid her face bashfully. She never really had been shy except for when she was very little, so being shy now was kind of a shock to her. Entering the home of the travelers that had picked her up, she then began to notice many pictures of both of the travelers and... a pink haired baby girl.

Sakura instantly stumbled backwards and slammed against the door of the home, "TAKE ME HOME! I'M SCARED!" Both Kizashi and Mebuki looked towards one another before sighing, "But you are home dear." Sakura frantically shook her head and began to hyperventilate, "NO! TAKE ME BACK TO THE SENJU'S!" Suddenly, the door flew open and a bubbly red head bounced in, "Kizashi, Mebuki! You're home! Oh! Who is this little girl? She's so cute, ya know!" That's when Sakura's jaw just about disconnected from her face.

"D-Did... you just say... ya know...?" Sakura managed to stammer out whenever the red head began to rub the back of her head sheepishly, "Oh sorry, whenever I get excited weird expressions just come out, ya know?" That's when a rather handsome blonde male ran in and placed his hands on the red head's shoulders, "Kushina, you're scaring the poor girl." Sakura's eyes felt as if they were going to fall out of her head, "You... you look just like my brother, Naruto!" Sakura pointed to the blonde haired male as her hands began to tremble frantically.

Mebuki and Kizashi then knew what happened, so Kizashi decided to tell her, "Sakura, roughly ten years ago, we were all out getting herbs together to sell and we couldn't carry our children with us. We found a safe spot for both of you and bundled both you and "Naruto" closely together. We had every intention of coming back to get you, but got a bit lost due to not knowing that part of the region very well and by the time we actually made it back, both you and Kushina and Minato's son, who you now call Naruto were nowhere to be found."

Frantically shaking her head, Sakura slammed her back against the door once again, "Please! I want to go home!" Mebuki, not known for having the best temper, then snapped, "This is your home little girl, so you'd better get used to it NOW! Your name isn't even supposed to be Sakura! Tacky name!" Sakura then shot a glare towards Mebuki, "My name was given to me by my father, Hashirama Senju! Now step off you backwards old bat!"

Kushina and Minato both sweat dropped before Minato took a step forward and placed a gentle hand on the pinkette's shoulder, "Do you think you could take us to see our son dear...? We miss him so much..." Sakura then looked down, "I-" Mebuki just had to interrupt right then and there, "We already lost ten years! TEN precious years of having the joy to raise you! You don't honestly think we will allow you to return do you!?" Sakura felt as if all her previously checked emotions then broke loose like a dam, "SHUT UP! YOU AREN'T MY PARENTS! YOU MIGHT BE BLOOD, BUT YOU ARE NOT MY FAMILY!"

Minato felt as if this were going nowhere any time fast, so he and Kushina both excused themselves before leaving hastily. Mebuki quickly locked the front door and stood in front of it, "You aren't leaving! Now go to your room!" Sakura thought this lady must be an idiot as she blurted out, "I WOULD GO TO MY ROOM IF I KNEW WHERE IT WAS!" She had NEVER been sent to her room before, so this was completely new to her.

Kizashi sighed heavily and motioned for the pinkette to follow, which she happily did just to get away from this psychotic woman. Once in her room, Kizashi then gave Sakura a saddened smile, "I think Sakura is a beautiful name dear. Dinner will be soon..." Sakura nodded slowly, yet no longer felt her stomach grumbling due to the bitter taste she now held in her mouth and was forced to swallow all of that anguish in one go. She had never once felt so alone in her entire life.

"IT'S BEEN FUCKING SEVEN YEARS! I'M GOING BACK TO MY FAMILY!" Sakura yelled, clearly in a pissed off mood. Mebuki snorted and folded her arms, "I don't think so Sakina Haruno!" This was growing SO old and Sakura had, had enough of it, "FOR THE LAST TIME, MY NAME IS SAKURA SENJU!" She already had her bags packed, learned how to swim, became a shinobi with perfect chakra control and now presented a diamond on her forehead, and was overly gorgeous with tons of suitors every day that she politely refused due to a certain someone.

Mebuki stood in front of the door, but what she didn't know was Sakura had left her window open; so she stormed off back into her room before leaping out of the window. The moment she was out of the window, she noticed Kizashi standing there and she cautiously walked up to him, "Thank you for everything sir, but my family needs me..." Kizashi couldn't say he understood, but he nodded and gave the pinkette and long and emotion filled embrace before speaking, "Live your life to the fullest, my dear sweet Sakura."

Smiling, Sakura hugged Kizashi back tightly before letting go and bolting towards her home. Five days in and Sakura sat down in the middle of the night to eat and the last thing she really had expected to hear were the many clashes of swords, men crying out in pain, and the grotesque sound of flesh being sliced.

Jumping up, the pinkette curiously wandered towards the sounds only to see a flash of yellow, brown, and silver. Tears instantly filled her eyes and she dropped everything, "FATHER! NARUTO! UNCLE TOBI!" Hashirama, Naruto, and Tobirama froze dead in their tracks before slowly turning the way from which the oh so familiar voice came from. Hashirama was the first to drop his sword and his shadowed opponent looked highly confused as Hashirama then bolted towards the pinkette, "SAKURA!"

Flinging his arms around the long pink haired female, Hashirama began to instantly sob as he pulled her closer to him as if he were mentally trying to sort out if she were real or not, "F-Father, y-you're s-squishing m-me!" Sakura squeaked out breathlessly and Hashirama then released his beautiful daughter, "Seven years... seven Sakura! I have had so many restless nights crying and wondering if you were all right! Where were you!?"

That's when the pinkette's emerald orbs shifted to the ground, "My birth parents took me hostage and refused to let me come home... well, Kizashi, my birth father was very nice." Hashirama's eyes widened immensely, "But your mother said you two were all alone!" Sakura nodded and told the entire story to her father, who ended up gaining a very disturbed facial expression, "So... you even found Naruto's parents...?" Sakura nodded and that's when the pinkette was then tackled by her blonde headed brother.

"SAKURA! YOU'RE ALL RIGHT, THANK THE GODS!" Naruto wailed and loved on his sister for a good long while. Tobirama then came up and gave his niece a loving and tender hug, "Sakura, we've all anxiously been awaiting for your return..." Then, two voices she thought she would never hear again rang out clear as a bell, "Sakura, you're back!" Izuna claimed happily and then it was his turn, "S-Sakura..." It was as if she was turning in slow motion whenever she finally caught sight of him -

...Madara Uchiha...