"Aaaarg." The cries of his victims echoed in the dark forest when he slice them with his sword. It was supposed to be a simple assassination mission. He was supposed to kill a group of nobles coming from the land of earth. But he didn't expected that there would have been children. It took him a bit off guard, but he quickly shook it off and went in action. He had kill the guards easily, it weren't even ninjas. And then he went for the adults, they were pathetic. Begging him to spare their own lives, not even the ones of their children. They all die. And lastly the children. It could be children, but to the demon of the hidden mist it didn't matter. After all mere children were considered as adults in the ninja world and it wasn't the first time he had killed children. Only two of the seven children had survived being cut by his sword. One of them had short pale blond hair and had blood going out of the wound in his neck, and the other had long purple hair and had a deep cut in his abdomen. He was going to end their suffering when, a powerful outburst of chakra out of nowhere caught his attention. It was too powerful to be a jounin and too bestial to be human. And this picked Zabuza curiosity. So, instead to kill the two kids he went to look what had so a powerful chakra. And what he discovered was at least surprising. There was a crying pink haired girl in a blue kimono with white cherry blossom and a pink obi. There was a kunai planted in her arm and four death bodies around her. A normal child couldn't have killed four ninjas. He still felt that bestial chakra in the air and Quickly noticed that it was coming from the pinket. He deducted that she must be an jinchuuriki, just like that bastard of Mizukage he is serving ( for now). And the only tailed beast he know of in the fire country, from what he had heard, was the nine tail. He had stopped the silent walk to make himself noticed by the pink haired jinchuuriki. She looked to be afraid of him, well who wouldn't be.
" So, the nine tail huh." He made the girl shift, making Zabuza assume she was aware of what she was. When Zabuza thought about the situation, he think he has found a tool to use to kill the current Mizukage, Yagura. He took one more step and the jinchuuriki flinched.
"Don't come near me. I am a monster" She warned him, tears coming out faster than before. Zabuza didn't do anything, he stayed there looking at her with an emotionless face.
" We're all demons outside these walls. There isn't a bad or a good guy here and everyone in that village of yours hate you." He told the pink haired jinchuuriki. The said pinket shook her head, she knew that the villagers hated her. But Iruka, Ayame, Teuchi and the two ladies she had met didn't hate her.
"No, Iruka-nii and Ayamee-nee doesn't hate me, they care about about me!" She cried trying to defend the ones she considered as her family, Iruka had always being by her side, he was the one raising her. He was like a father and brother while Ayame was like an older sister to her. The look on Zabuza face didn't change, still emotionless, but his voice became more stern.
"Will they still care about you when they will discover what you did tonight?" He asked her. Sakura froze, it as always been her most feared thought. That Iruka would come to hate her one day and she couldn't bear with his hate towards her. Now that she knows that she is the monster that killed their parents five years ago. She didn't know what to say now, what would Iruka do when he will know? Will he still be like he was yesterday or will he be different and make her fear realize?
"You know that what I say is true. If they cared so much about you, they would have protect you from them. But they didn't." Sakura knew that she got lost from them, but the words he just say made her doubt. She didn't wanted to believe in them.
And at this moment she felt empty, like she didn't had any meaning to the others, only an empty shell that needed a reason.
"Girl, I give you the choice. Either stay in that village of yours where everyone hate and despite you without a reason in your live or come with me and have a purpose as my tool and weapon, as a ninja." He offered her. But in reality he wouldn't let her the choice, he would take her either way. May it by force or not. He would see of she could do the right choice ( in his view) herself. Sakura looked at him with empty eyes. Maybe it was what she needed to do. Sakura didn't wanted to confront Iruka when he will learn what happened, she didn't wanted to see him change in her worst fear, she didn't wanted to see him with the same eyes as the villagers. And being a ninja.
She always wanted to do something that would bring her a bit closer of her parents, they were both ninjas and Iruka was a ninja too. But what would be her chances to be accepted in the academy now? Even though Iruka is a teacher there, her chances to be accepted were really small and now she was sure it would never happen. She had killed ninjas of her own village ( unintentionally, but still). She took small steps toward the stranger and carefully took his hand. Zabuza smirked in his mask, not that she could see it. She had take his hand, who showed that she trust him at least a bit. And that was a good sing. And with that Zabuza walked away with his now tool to his village while a thick most surrounded them. The only trace off their passage was some tissue of Sakura kimono that was cut of it by the kunai on the ground.
~Earlier and elsewhere~
"SAKURA!" The Uzumaki-namikaze woman and the Uchiha matriarch were yelling in hope to find the pinket. They didn't even noticed their family walk/run their way, they were too worried about the girl that had ran away.
"Kushina?" Said the voice of a worried Minato as he see his wife and her best friend shouting. Naruto who was just behind his father looked at his mother in a state he had never seen before. Kushina wasn't the kind of woman to worry for nothing, Mikoto is pretty much the same as her friend. So their family were asking themselves why they were shouting.
"Mom?" Asked a more than five years old Sasuke when he took his mother kimono in his hand. Mikoto who hadn't notice her family was next to her, let a shriek out before to duck a bit when her youngest son grabbed her. Kushina had heard her friend shriek and turned around to her friend.
"Sasuke-chan, you scare me." Breathed out a recovering Mikoto from the fear Sasuke just made her experience, even thought it wasn't mean to scare her. Sasuke had a light blush appear on his cheeks, because no matter how much Sasuke tell his mother to stop adding the 'chan' to his name she won't drop it.
" He didn't mean to scare you mom." Said Itachi. He was just next to his father and two dangos in hand.
" We've been calling you, but you didn't answer." Said the Uchiha clan head, Uchiha Fugaku, to his wife. Both women simultaneously sweat dropped, they were both too preoccupied by their search for the pink jinchuuriki that they hadn't seen nor hear them. They were about to say something but they were interrupted by a shout not far away from them.
"SAKURA-CHAN!" Yelled a now very worried Ayame. She and Iruka have been searching their little blossom the moment they had lost her. She went back to her father stand, hoping that Sakura would been there and was waiting for her and Iruka while Iruka went the opposite way and was searching from the rooftops. After all, people with pink hair was not a thing you saw everyday. Ayame don't know how she could look Iruka in the eyes if they didn't found her. Because the bond Iruka and Sakura had was nothing like hers and Sakura. Iruka had always been there for Sakura, always looking out for her and making sure she was alright, he was always comforting and reassuring her when the villagers would be mean and hurt her.
The two women who were interrupted by Ayame's call, suddenly had their mouth wide open. She was doing what they were about to explain to their husbands.
"SAKURA-CHAN!" They both exclaimed in realization. They were supposed to find that pink haired girl to who they had grow close in the short amount of time they with her. They both began to look in every direction hoping to see a trail of pink hair, but didn't.
" Sakura?" Asked Minato a bit confuse. He was thinking about a certain pink haired jinchuuriki, but there were a lot of women and girls named Sakura, so he didn't really know to who they were referring to. Fugaku stayed with a neutral expression, but only the one who were close to him could know that in his eyes there were curiosity. And the three remaining children didn't know what to think. They had found their mother, but they both were more focused on this Sakura person than they fact that they were together again.
"Sakura-chan, she was with us when we were looking for you, because you idiots left without us." Said Mikoto in a worried tone as she began to walk away from them, searching for the pink haired girl. Both families still didn't know who Sakura was, but the Uchiha family knew that something bad must have happened to the girl for Mikoto to speak like this.
"And the-the villagers began to hurt her. A-and she ran away." Said Kushina as she was about to cry while shaking her husband by his collard. Now Minato was really thinking that the Sakura they were talking about was the Sakura in who he had sealed the Kyuubi.
Itachi looked a bit taken a back. He didn't knew this girl nor knew how old she was, but for the people of his own village doing it to one of their own people looked unrealistic and horrible. If it was Sasuke, he would never forgive the one who would have hurt his little brother. Fugaku too was a bit taken a back and nearly for the same reason as his son.
"Haruno?" Asked Minato who was still being shaken by his worried and teary wife to confirm his theory of that Sakura girl. His wife nodded. The two men know what it meant and Itachi too, if what they thought came to be true, it could end really bad and they didn't wanted what happened 5 years ago to happen again. It had cost Kushina and some other ninjas their career and a lot had died that awful day. Minato was about to give the order to an anbu who was nearby to find the pinket, bit was stop in his track by a dark and powerful chakra that had burst out of nowhere. Minato knew this chakra unfortunately, it was Kyuubi's. And so did other ninjas in the festival. Some even began to panic, but Minato and Fugaku quickly held the situation in hand. Minato had order the anbus to go where Kyuubi's chakra had appears, while Fugaku who was the head of the police force tried to calm the panicked civilians and ninja. Sasuke and Naruto didn't knew not understood what was happening. One moment they had found their mother who had began to go in panic/worry state and then everyone began to panic for gods know what reason.
~present time~
"WHAT DO YOU MEAN, YOU COULDN'T FIND HER?" Was shouting a more than enraged Iruka in the Hokage face in his office. The anbus Minato had sent came back saying to have found corps of ninja coming from their village. And that was five minutes ago. One of the elders who was sitting next to Minato didn't liked the manner Iruka had spoken to the Hokage. A Hokage is someone who had most political power and was the strongest ninja, he deserved respect.
" You ungra-" He began but was cut off by Minato lifting his hand to tell him to stop. Minato deserved to be yelled at by Iruka, he was a part responsible of what had happened to Sakura. Iruka was fuming, his face was red from the anger and he might explode from it if he didn't let it all out.
"Iruka listen, I-" The Fourth began, but was cut off by Iruka's shout.
" DON'T TELL ME TO LISTEN TO YOUR BULLSHIT, I AM SICK OF IT." Even though Iruka was boiling inside, he was breathing heavily and trying to calm down. He didn't wanted to calm down, honestly. But if he didn't wanted to beat the crap out of someone because he couldn't control his anger and hate toward the fourth, then he had to calm down. The elders that were just next to the Hokage wanted nothing else than to give Iruka a piece of their mind. But the Hokage didn't wanted them to interfere with the exchange between him and Iruka.
" Iruka I know what you're feeling and I-" But was once again cut off by Iruka who had ended up to explode.
"NO. YOU DON'T. I SAW HER BEING ABUSED BY THE VILLAGERS FOR FIVE YEARS. FIVE FUCKING YEARS BECAUSE OF YOU. SO, DON'T TELL ME YOU KNOW HOW I FEEL WHEN ALL OF WHAT HAD HAPPENED TO HER IS ALL YOUR FAULT!" To Iruka, hearing the Hokage say that he understood and knew what it felt was the last straw. He didn't know anything about how it felt. He was the one that saw her coming bruised home and treating her, seeing her being abused by the villagers and stopping them, he knew how it feel to hear people talk behind your back every day. The elders couldn't hold themselves anymore, a bit disrespect can be alright, but now it was too much. Shouting at the Hokage and refused to acknowledge him and them wasn't going to be without consequences.
"Umino-san! You've gone to far." Said one of them and was about to continue when an anbu appears in the room.
"Hokage-sama." He stood just behind Iruka who was two steps away from the desk where the said Hokage was. The anbus had a cat mask on and had silver hair, he had something in his hands that was familiar to Iruka, but couldn't really see it because most of it was hidden in the anbu hand.
" Neko-kun." Replied the Hokage. Iruka didn't wanted to hear a more word out of the Hokage's mouth. But was interested in the suddenly apparition of the anbu.
"We found more corps not far from the location where Kyuubi's chakra had been senses." He reported. He was entirely neutral.
"And?" The Hokage asked. He knew that there was something more.
" There are two survivors, two children." It gave a bit hope to Iruka, but it was fast take away by what he heard next.
" They're coming from the land of earth and we found this on the location of Kyuubi's chakra." And the anbu place what he had in hand on the table, it was a piece of blue tissue with a white cherry blossom on it. Iruka instantly recognized it, it was a piece of tissue of Sakura kimono. Minato noticed the reaction of Iruka when he saw the piece of tissue on his desk and knew to who it belonged. He was about to say something to Iruka when Iruka exited the room by slamming the door let out a deep sigh, he knew that he was a big part responsible of what had happened. He knew too that Iruka will never forgive him for it and no matter what anyone could say about what had happened, it was for a big part his fault.
It was the day the fate of Sakura and the two children of the earth had definitely changed and so would be the one of these who Sakura held dear and the day Iruka respect for his village was almost completely vanished.
Dear readers,
I soon have my exams and will have to study hard because my grades aren't reaaly good.
But I will see to update as soon as I am finished with my exams.
Love moonlight352
