Disclaimer for entire story: I do not own Naruto, but the new plot is my own.

New Strength

kkstev

Note: The larger breaks [~-~-~-o-~-~-~] denote a change in time, whereas the smaller breaks [~-o-~] indicate switching between scenes happening at the same time.

~-~-~-o-~-~-~

Sakura could not help staring interestedly at each drop of blood that dripped from her trembling fingertips to the pristine kitchen tile. From the cut snaking up her arm, the blood seeped out erratically from various locations.

'Never seems as bad when it's happening... hurts like a bitch now though.'

The adrenaline was wearing off a bit, and her heart was still pounding furiously, which was just making the bleeding, and pain, worse. The small cut suddenly seemed more like a decent sized gash, and she would definitely have to remember to clean it up later. 'It was caused by Shii's disgusting little fingernails – Kami-sama only knows where they've been today.' Sakura shivered slightly and let slip a small sigh.

"Oh, well I'm just so damned fucking sorry, I had not known that my fucking presence was such a fucking hassle to you."

Not even bothering to meet the cold blue eyes that went with the words, Sakura continued to look downward towards the kitchen floor. Without thinking, she almost started hunching in on herself, still being sure to keep an eye on the feet in front of her to watch for movement. She quickly realized her reflexive move, and was frustrated with herself. If things came to blows again, her submissive position would not be one that was much good for defense. So, just as slowly and subtly as her initial movements, she shifted her footing again and unlatched her arms, which she had not even noticed held a death grip on each other, protecting her injury.

'Putting so much pressure on my upper arm probably didn't help the bleeding much either.' Sakura almost sighed again – almost.

"Is this the kind of fucking shit that happens when I'm fucking gone for five fucking seconds?"

"I meant no disrespect to you or your house, Otou-san."

His response was almost a snort, and at this sound Sakura looked up at him. There is always a fine line between trained obedience and blatant disrespect when it came to keeping her eyes lowered with her father.

"It's like you Kami damned bastards live to make my life shit. Well?" He stared at her, seeming like he could pull the words he wanted to hear from her mouth with his eyes alone. "What in Kami's fucking name happened?"

~-o-~

"Tenshi, what happened?" Ayaka questioned her son softly as she cradled his face in her hands. When he merely did not respond, she asked for his wrist instead. She noticed that there was already angry-looking swelling covering a good quarter of his forearm. "This looks bad, akanbu, you need to tell me what happened." Her voice was still calm, but more persistent this time.

Shii finally opened his eyes and looked up at his mother. He sighed and looked down to the arm she was holding delicately, and anger passed over his features once again.

~-o-~

Sakura winced slightly, knowing there was a series of things that caused it. There was just a pure lack of respect, for one. But it was his continued crude language that was most prominent in her mind, and she knew this whole thing was not going to end well. But she tried to keep positive anyway, hoping for the best. "Shii was just practicing his defensive moves with me. I guess I am getting a little bit better, and got carried away."

'Stop lying.'

~-o-~

Misinterpreting his look, Ayaka spoke again, "Kanojo, I know it hurts, but we may fix it up better if I know exactly how it was injured."

"Well," Shii began, almost as though a spotlight were on him as he was ready to perform his breathtaking monologue, "Sakura came home a bit after it got dark, and seeing as she skipped the dinner you worked to make for us earlier, she was hungry. Even though I ate plenty of the food you made before, I felt bad makin' her eat alone."

"Well of course, that was highly considerate of you, especially as she should not have to be alone at all today," Ayaka conceded.

Making an odd face, Shii, confused, ignored her comment to continue his story, "So she cooked us both some food," Shii paused again, trying to decipher the reason behind his mother's troubled expression at his words again. Deciding he really didn't care, he pushed on once again. "After we ate, we thought we'd mess around, and she volunteered to let me try some new locks on her. It just got a bit crazy."

~-o-~

"I would call a hole in my damned wall a good fucking bit past 'carried away'!" He spat out. Almost as an afterthought, Ren added, "Not to mention that I think your brother is hurt, I heard him fuckin' sqealin' from the other end of the house." At this point he began to chuckle to himself. Then he paused, mouth still agape, as though reaching some conclusion in his mind. A dark look passed his face as his eyes darted back to examine his daughter, "How the fuck did you manage that? You're a scrawny little fuckin' princess, and my son's supposed to have a set of balls."

'Princess my ass… what kind of royalty gets kicked out of their own castle like it's going out of style?'

His manly father-son macho pride comment was not worth a thought, in the state he was in.

"An accident, Otou-san. We were merely closer to the wall than we realized."

'Stop. Lying.'

Crossing his arms and leaning fully against the counter, Ren continued to scowl at his youngest. "What, and ya pushed him?"

Sakura grit her teeth, knowing this was not going to hold her off much longer. She can handle her damn self!

'Last chance. Stop lying for him, you always regret it later. Who knows, you might get a little bit more respect'

She managed to get out, "No father, he fell backwards."

~-o-~

"I cannot say that I'm particularly thrilled, but I am glad you two weren't fighting for real. That one time it happened when you kids were younger almost sent me to an early grave." Ayaka sighed and stood, informing her son she was going to go get wraps for his wrist, and sternly telling him to stay put.

Shii almost laughed before she was out of earshot.

He managed to wait until she was gone to break out uncontrollably in hysterics.

~-o-~

As Sakura walked to the sink to wash her hands so she could go clean and bandage her arm properly, her father began mumbling to himself. Glaring down into the shiny metal of the sink as the water ran past her dry, fisted hands, she almost wished she had a glass to squeeze again. Unfortunately, all that was left were the shards of the first one.

He continued to speak to himself as though no one else was around. 'He probably really thinks no one is. I'm surprised he hasn't even forgotten why he was angry already.' These thoughts calmed her again slightly, as she knew she was at least in a better state of mind than her father was. So she began quickly cleaning the broken glass, making to dispose of it so she can wash up and take care of herself.

"Gotta buy spackle… paint… better damn well know I ain't gonna fuckin' do it… bitch caused the hole in the first place… should know howta do somethin' fuckin' useful"

Just the slices she caught of his solitary conversation caused Sakura to accidentally cut her hand – of course the one that already hurts – on the glass shards she was handling. 'Deep breath.' She managed to get the now bloody pieces to the trash, and then moved back to the sink.

"… patch him up… can't believe… lost to a little bitch… toughen up the bastard… marry her off… obviously too fucking stupid for school… ain't goin… teach her some respect… learn her place… spoiled rotten little whore…"

"Excuse me?" There was only so much that can be said, no matter who's mouth it was spoken from. If it was true, fine. If it was meaningless words out of spite, fine. If he had any right to talk, fine. But this? No. Oh hell no.

Even from her Otou-san. Her father. Her keeper until he can trade her for something better.

He grunted, and looked in her direction, "What do you want?"

"Sumimsan, Otou-san," she could almost taste the venom she put into that one word, "but I couldn't hear that last thing you said. Perhaps it was because you were mumbling, in which case you would normally tell me to speak up." The last two words came out sharper and shorter than the rest, and Sakura almost reveled in the fact that there was no going back now.

"What the fuck did you just say to me?"

"I asked where you were earlier today, father."

"Not that it's any of your snarky-assed damned business, but I was actually enjoyin' m'day with your Uncle Mimizu. Didn't havta listen to whatever shit was cert'nly going wrong here!"

"Ah," she smirked with lowered eyelids as though the cat had finally snatched the canary, "you enjoyed yourselves, huh? Bet that was fun. Isn't my wonderful Oji-san just a gem? Few bottles of sake involved, I presume?" She laughed, a terrible sound that she hated herself for being able to make so easily. Yet it continued as she went on, "Who are we kidding? Of course there was sake!"

"What. The. Fuck. Are you trying to say?" He was still leaning against the counter, but his upper body was bent slightly forward and his arms were now hanging at his sides, hands balled into fists. "Why don't you get to the fucking point so I don't havta listen to you fucking marvel at your own damned voice anymore!"

'You had better damn well bet I have a point. And this time, you're going to hear the whole friggin' thing.'

She was sure to enunciate each word, making it slow and clear for his alcohol-ridden mind. "Who the hell are you to have anything to say to me about anything that I do in my life, when you can barely stand on your own because you're so damn drunk more than you're sober! What, you think we are all too stupid to see, every time? Because we cannot try to pretend that this is a new thing – "

She was cut off, but she knew she would be, that's why she was sure to get in the important stuff in first. What she didn't expect was the searing pain tearing up her left arm when he grabbed it and squeezed, pulling their faces closer together. She didn't want him to see her wince – he would take that as a victory – so she did her best to turn her grimace into a scowl, and met her father eye-to-eye.

His voice quickly became dangerously low, "After everything I've done for you, you have the nerve –"

Now it was her turn to cut him off. She realized that, in fact, she wasn't quite done. Not with the words he added. "And what, may I ask have you done for me besides the bare minimum that you are required to do, Mr. Policeman, by so graciously allowing me to reside in your home! But only when it suits you of course, as you have proven many times."

By this point Sakura was panting heavily, not so much from strain, but from finally letting it all go. Every day, she continues on like everything that happens in her life is normal, just doing her best to stay only on the outskirts of everyone's attention. If she slips by unnoticed, it's a successful day. But there are a few times, like today, where just dealing with it all isn't enough. Just sitting back and taking what they dump on her isn't enough. Not today. Today, her damn birthday, she was feeling particularly fed up.

Ren looked almost shocked for a moment, before his scowl was quickly renewed. In the following seconds of silence, the battle of wills continued until he ultimately strengthened his grip on her arm again to emphasize his next words. Still, he had not raised his voice again.

"You, little girl, have no idea how life works. You think you're so grown up? Fine. I want rent. You think you're so mistreated now? Fine. I'll stop treating you as my daughter. Now, you're nothing but a fucking worthless, ungrateful, good-for-nothin', previously-spoiled, and just plain fucking stupid tenant. Being a grown-up is fun, huh? Wait and see how you trip n' fall trying to do something with your pathetic excuse for a life. And guess where I'll be? Laughing, as I sit in my nice, comfortable home as you look in longingly from your box on the fucking street!"

"Ren!"

Both combatants in the perpetual war started when they heard Ayaka's voice. Sakura refused to admit it at the moment, but she felt tears building behind her eyes, stinging, searching for a way out. But she couldn't let them win. Not here, not yet.

'Well the snapping anger thing as been working so flawlessly for you, why not just keep up with that?'

So she did. Another horrific smile came to her face, twisted and scornful, as she slowly turned back to her father, quickly whispering, "Well at least you can't kick me out then, if I'm paying you rent. If you were having so much trouble paying the bills, you could have just taken more of my money, supposedly without me knowing of course, and then still would've had excuses to kick me out when you pleased."

The time for quiet cuts at each other was over. She finally said everything she had been needing to say, not that it would make much difference later. But it made her feel better for the moment, to just get it out. Though now, her father was absolutely roaring.

"You think this is a fucking joke? I fucking gave you life, and I will kill you if I so please!"

And he roughly pushed her away so she stumbled and waited until she was upright and facing him again. Then, his hand already ominously covered in blood from her arm, he started to come at her like he was intending to do just as he said.

"REN!"

Ayaka repeated before swiftly sliding between her husband and her daughter, wondering how anything could ever come to this. This was her family, what had pushed them so far apart?

Ren quickly halted his forward movement, as stepping further would run him straight over his wife. Instead, he looked over her head, growling at Sakura from his superior height, and bared his teeth.

"Figures you would protect her."

'Animal.' Sakura thought with distaste, her own lip curling slightly, as she looked onto the scene. Her whole body was humming, as she felt like she was injected with pure adrenaline for the second time that evening. But still, the most she could do was look at her mother's side, as she refused to face either one of the opponents she separated.

Sensing the building tension between both sides, Ayaka placed a gentle hand on Ren's chest and turned a glare on Sakura, "Go," she stated simply with no room for argument. Debating on retaliation, Sakura stood her ground for a moment, the ground she had rightfully earned, but soon deflated. 'Who am I really kidding here? I could never win these battles, and never mind the wars. There's just no point.' Following that thought, she quietly exited the room, careful to not turn her back on either of its occupants. Her movements were slow, as though trying to avoid startling a wild animal.

"That's right, you better fuckin' run, bitch!"

And with that, she hurried off to her room.

~-~-~-o-~-~-~

With the resounding click of the closing of her door behind her, Sakura slid her back along the cool surface and landed in a heap on the floor. She had not seen Shii in the living room, but that did not mean she was safe from him.

He had been thwarted from seeking immediate retribution.

So keeping her absolutely dead weight just behind her door right now was something she was both unable to help, and something that was highly convenient.

Her tears seemed to be never-ending, soaking into her light carpet in fat splotches, and she could feel the room grow hotter. She knew she was not quite through for the night, though she wished so dearly that she was. This was all just too much. What had gotten into her?

She could not possibly fathom the answer to this as her already muted sobs quieted more, and she listened for movement on the other side of the door. Hearing none, she made her way to her window to open it and cool her reddening face. Strong emotion of any kind always did that to her, and it was only a weakness she had to dispel quickly if she could before anyone saw her.

'Why do I cry? Why does this get to me? I know that none of it is true, yet every damn time here I am.' Sakura drew a deep breath of the incoming fresh air and tried to fully level her breathing. She took a moment to look to the sky to see if any of the heavenly bodies were visible for comfort. 'That's the problem; I don't know that none of it's true. What if it is? I have never had anyone close enough to let me know if I am getting out of control. Maybe I am too self-centered, too self-important, too selfish, too ambitious, too…'

Quiet knocks at her door, followed by the twisting doorknob drew Sakura immediately from her thoughts. She quickly turned around and tried to appear relaxed, knowing that she most likely looked anything but.

As the door quietly closed behind her, Ayaka looked up through her pale red hair. Tight curls just beyond her shoulders framed her small face, as though protecting it, making her troubled brown eyes seem even more intense. Sakura almost could not bear to look at her mother like this, but she knew she was the cause – it's only fair to at least face the consequences.

"Okaa-san," Sakura said in a voice just beyond a whisper after a few moments, when the tension in the air between them just became too much.

"Sakura." The girl in question waited, her mother's tone stern and foreboding. After holding her level look for a moment, Ayaka dropped all pretenses and sighed. "What happened? I have never heard you speak like that. So vicious. So angry." She shivered slightly, as though the thought was beyond appalling.

Quietly, Sakura responded, "Okaa-san, I know. I was just hyped up from fighting Shii-san, and otou-san assumed immediately everything was my fault, insulted me –"

"Fighting?" Ayaka cut in somewhat belatedly. Sakura quickly caught on and pulled her guard back up, having dropped it more than she had realized after being so severely shaken. Though she was still disappointed that that word was the only one her mother had actually caught.

"Not for real, okaa-san, just practicing. But still, it has a similar effect." Sakura noticed her mother about to speak up in question again, so she added, "Or so I would assume."

'Nice save for a pathetic lie.'

Seeming appeased, Ayaka finally released her grip on the doorknob and stepped fully into the room. She sat comfortably on the edge of Sakura's bed, placing her hand on the spot next to her. "Sakura-chan." And with that, Sakura obediently sat down next to her with her hands in her lap, eyes downward. Her mother placed her hand on Sakura's knee in what was supposed to be a comforting gesture, yet Sakura couldn't help but just stare awkwardly at it.

"…difficult at times, but you need to control yourself better in the future." Her mother finished. So distracted by her mother's initial gesture, Sakura only caught the very last of her words. 'Well, at least it's enough to not seem like I wasn't listening.'

"Okaa-san, I know, and this was one slip-up," Sakura responded, as she was expected to, still staring thoughtfully at her mother's hand. As an afterthought, she added more softly, "Besides, it's not like anything I said wasn't true."

Waiting for some yelling, hitting, a mild scolding, something, Sakura sat patiently, 'And Shii has the big mouth, right?'

Replacing her hands together on her own lap and fixing her gaze at them, Ayaka, barely audibly, replied, "I know."

Feeling as though a weight had been lifted off her chest - for more than one reason - Sakura cast her mother a sidelong glance, "Then why?"

"He is your father, my husband."

Looking back down, Sakura could sound nothing but dejected as she replied, "That doesn't have to mean anything in this case, so why does that matter? Things can still change."

"He does love you, you know."

The only response she received was the soft sound of a quick exhale.

"He does, he just doesn't know what that means. I thought you would have figured that out by now." Ayaka could not bring herself to even look at her daughter, but she felt compelled to continue, "Do you know what that did to him? Even though he barely is even aware of what's going on around him, he's hurt, Sakura-chan, truly hurt. He believes you hate him. He believes you lost respect for him. I know, of course, that you are simply incapable of hate, but still, he feels that from you. He feels he failed as a father and does not know what to do with himself or how to fix it."

Slightly gritting her teeth, knowing some of her eloquent words may be true, but there was certainly some large embellishment. "Okaa-san, I did not think I did anything too far beyond reason considering the circumstances. And what I said may have been out of line for a child to say to her elder, never mind father, but it was all true regardless. And for the record, he didn't lose my respect tonight, he missed that one by a few years. He lost all my respect since the day I was able to think for myself. There just is only so much a person can take before they snap." She paused for a moment before continuing, "I snapped, and I am sorry for that, but I am not sorry for any of the words I said."

'Plus really, who the hell said I wasn't able to hate? Think I've earned that one.'

"Sakura-chan, that's not nice!" Sakura barely restrained rolling her eyes at the well-trained response. But she stiffened quickly as her mother continued nervously, having obviously picked out a few choice words. "You have respect for me, don't you?"

Almost panicking, Sakura knew she had to answer without too much pause, or her mother would be offended. She knew her mother tried her best, but Sakura had to stick with the truth. She gathered her words as fast as she could and spit them out, hoping they came out for the best, "You are my okaa-chan, and not like him at all, so how could I not?" And she accompanied her words with the best smile she could manage.

"I don't have a baby girl anymore, do I?"

'Shoot! I wonder if she realized I never really said yes. But I didn't say no either…'

Sakura looked up to see that sometime during her first speech, her mother had begun observing her. Her large brown eyes conveyed sadness and pride, longing and hope.

'No, I don't think she fully understood. Good...'

Holding her gaze, Sakura gently replied, "No okaa-chan, you haven't for a while."

Ayaka sighed in resignation, but smiled all the same. She stood up, brushed the imaginary dirt off her lap, and placed a careful hand on top of Sakura's pink head, "I am so blessed, thank Kami-sama." Her hand smoothed Sakura's hair down on one side until it reached far enough to cup her cheek, "But as an adult that also means you know what you really should do right now."

With that, Ayaka turned around and began to exit the room, adding, "Let me know when you finish," before she fully stepped out.

Sakura was left alone in her room with her knee, head, and cheek feeling almost as though they were burnt. She let out a huff as she threw herself backwards onto her bed and tried to work out exactly how to go about this.

Comfort can turn into manipulation – intentionally or not – if played just right.

Sakura knew a master player.

~-~-~-o-~-~-~

Stepping out of her room and silently securing the door behind her, Sakura made her way downstairs to the basement.

To the hideout her father used as his lair.

She made her way down, knocking tentatively on the wall before poking her head beyond the stairs. She saw her father there, leaning sullenly against his workbench, a beer clasped securely in his hand. He looked up at her approach, and he began to scowl.

"What the hell do you want you ungrateful piece of shit? Come to grace your drunken father with more wisdom? I mean who the hell are you to call me drunk – you would have no idea. I know what I'm doing, I'm the adult, the breadwinner, the…"

At this point Sakura began to tune out his useless rant. She prepared herself for these words, as they never changed, but that did not mean she had to frustrate herself by actually listening to it… and tempting herself to want to correct it.

As she waited for him to tire himself out so she could do what she had to do, Sakura thought more on exactly how she was going go about her task. 'Again, I can't outright lie and say what I said wasn't true. He would be satisfied, but it's not right. I would know I did it and hate myself for it. Besides, especially with his completely wasted thoughts, all he would need to hear is an apology. Not like sober he would be smart enough to ask why there was an apology in the first place though either. Just some form of submission is fine. This won't be too hard if he stays calm.'

Pausing in her own thoughts, Sakura realized her father appeared to be contemplating the color of his beer as he stared at it intensely with a furrowed brow. 'Now or never.'

Trying not to choke on just her first word, she began, "Otou-san, I just wanted to come down here to tell you that I know that I shouldn't have said what I did, and I apologize. It was out of line for me to speak to you in that way. I reacted in an unladylike manor that would have embarrassed and dishonored you if ever seen outside these walls or in front of guests. I apologize once again for my foolishness." 'Of not leaving any sooner, for not standing up for myself any sooner, for not getting anywhere even though I finally did...'

A gruff laugh was the first response, before, "You're damn right to be begging for my mercy. You know, you may not be as fucking stupid as you actually are. Or look. Well, let's be honest, you're a fucking moron, but maybe not as hopeless as I thought." 'What kind of idiot would sound stupid while telling someone else they're stupid?'

He placed his beer down behind him and stood up straight, making his way over to where Sakura sat trying to look as submissive as possible while still being partially on guard – which she discovered is actually much harder than it sounds in theory.

'Not that I can really defend myself at this point – that time has come and passed already tonight.'

When he was within range, she braced herself, waiting for a solid backhand to her face. But it took much too long, so she eventually looked up to meet her father's icy gaze. Suddenly, again, her air supply was cut off as her father took a new approach. Sakura found herself with her back slammed onto the flat, finished top of the workbench with her lower body awkwardly dangling off the edge. The best part, though, was her father's enormous hand wrapped at least three quarters of the way around her neck.

He looked almost confused about what just happened as he leaned threateningly over her, and seemed to forget that his daughter couldn't breathe as he took a moment to contemplate. When he looked down at her vulnerable and pained state though, his face gained some emotion. Sakura saw anger and embarrassment; she even thought she noticed some pity, maybe some hurt. But there was no way – she was being strangled to death for Kami-sama's sake, and he was the one doing it!

With newfound clarity, he finally spoke, emphasizing each of his statements with a point in her face with his free hand. "You need to learn some respect, some work ethic, and some humility. You need control, and you need someone willing to deal with your unbecoming demeanor. You need to lose your hate, and learn to appreciate what you do have, rather than what you think you can get. You need to stop being so damned selfish, and fucking listen to what I say without question!"

His quick release startled her and had her gasping for air, almost falling off the bench. She slowly registered his words, the regular arrogant remarks as well as the others with more depth thrown into the middle.

'He really does feel hated by me.'

He seemed to have realized what he let slip as well, as he immediately reverted back to his original speech. "Keep in mind I have the power to end your shitty life whenever I please. The option is becoming much more appealing each day."

He wanted her away from him, he wanted to be alone – for once, just left alone.

"Get the fuck out of my sight."

Finding her feet, Sakura scrambled away for what seemed like the hundredth time that evening, careful not to check her wounds until she was out of sight.

~-~-~-o-~-~-~

The plan was to stop in the kitchen to get some ice for her bruising throat, the bathroom to finally get a chance to clean her throbbing arm, then to get to her room and be left in peace. But along the way Sakura thought she smelt something burning. She looked around frantically and soon discovered her mother sitting at the dining room table, a cake with sixteen happily flickering candles set before her.

Too stunned to even move, Sakura simply gaped at the homemade cake and hand painted icing.

So what that she didn't even like cake?

Her mother had remembered her birthday.

Accompanied by a broad smile, her mother said, "Happy birthday, sweetheart. And don't think this is it, there's more coming soon!" as she made her way around the table to give her paralyzed daughter a hug.

As she was being held tightly, Sakura was unsure if she really heard the last of what her mother said, if she said anything at all. But as Ayaka gave her space to blow out the candles and cut the cake, Sakura couldn't help but wonder if what she heard was real.

"I'm so sorry, Sakura-chan."

~-~-~-o-~-~-~

You may not know:

otou-san : father

tenshi : angel

akanbu : baby

kanojo : sweetheart

suminsan : sorry