Branches made no sound under their feet as they jumped down into the clearing below, eyeing the ashes of a hastily made campsite. Moonlight shone down on the scene, two pairs of sharingan activated as they scanned the area for any clues. The forest was dark, almost silent aside from the rustle of wind through the trees and the occasional hoot of an owl. Trees towered over her, their shadows long, wide enough to hide anything in their depths, and it made her eyes itch. She refrained from sending any chakra to her eyes. No way in hell was she going to use her sharingan when she had two perfectly capable, actually registered Uchihas to do it for her. There was no need for her to reveal herself just yet. They were making good progress. Cautiously, she wandered about the edge of the abandoned campsite, keeping an eye out for any traps. She didn't particularly want to fall for any and be relegated even further back from the action. Shisui was already keeping far too close of an eye on her as she prowled around, scanning for any sign of a trail. Sighing, she continued her search, eyes narrowing when a glint of metal caught her eye.
"This firepit is still slightly warm," Itachi spoke, pulling his ash-covered hand back, dusting it off on the ground. They'd left in a hurry, not bothering to clean up their campsite and erase the traces of it. Amateurs or idiots… How had they even gotten into the village in the first place? Somebody hadn't done their job correctly, and now it was her sisters who were paying the price. "We're not too far behind them. Half an hour at most, I'd say."
"Well then…" Shisui said, folding his arms. "Sakura…?"
She reached into the bushes, fingers ready for any sort of trap, but there weren't any. Her hand closed around the hilt of the kunai, eyes widening when she spotted the yellow handle and the tri-pronged end. She rolled it in her palm, eyeing the Hirashin mark on its handle. Like one of Naruto's kunai… but they'd originally belonged to his dad… who was still alive in this timeline, she realised with a start. But what was his kunai doing all the way out here alone… It couldn't be a marker. It was too obvious, plus he could've just applied the seal directly to the ground or some various plant life where it'd have been much less noticeable. That meant there was only one thing it could be – Naruto's kunai. Probably given to him by his father for in times of emergency. So why didn't the idiot use it… or better yet keep it on him…
Shisui peered over her shoulder. "Is that…?"
"One of the Yondaime's Hirashin markers," she said, holding it up to the moonlight. "If we apply some chakra, we could probably summon him here…"
"Sometimes the things you know scare me, Saku-chan," Shisui mumbled, snatching it from her hands, examining it curiously. "You're like a dictionary."
Sakura stared at him flatly. "Thanks?"
"You're welcome," Shisui muttered, flaring his chakra through the seal without a second thought. Any sort of backup was good, especially that of an enraged kage, and apparently Shisui was on the same train of thought. "We're probably going to get in trouble though… just saying," he added on, and then suddenly there was a fourth person in the little clearing.
Spiky blonde hair rustled in the wind, white cloak billowing behind him, blue eyes narrowed, hands on hips as he spoke – as if about to lecture someone. Likely his son… but his son was nowhere in sight, as he soon learnt. "Naru—Shisui-kun?" He blinked, glancing around the clearing. "Itachi-kun… and…" His eyes fell on her. "I'm afraid I have no idea who you are, Chibi-chan." Sakura felt her face twitch. She was not that short… her hair didn't help her look that much taller and stuffing it under her hood should've made no difference to her height. "But anyway… why are you three out here, and why do you have my son's marker? Report, Shisui."
"Right." Shisui stood to attention. Itachi copied him. Sakura stared flatly at all of them, not budging an inch. "The pink-haired baby version of Itachi—"
Both she and Itachi kicked him in the shin.
"Ow!"
"Shut up and get on with the damned report," she hissed. "They're getting further and further away while we speak."
Namikaze Minato held up his hand, looking every bit of the lethal shinobi that he was. "I think I get where this is going… and I think you three best head back to Konoha," he said, glancing over in the direction of the trail they'd been following. "They're within range of my sensory abilities, so I'll take over from here—"
"Yeah, no." Sakura folded her arms. "Not happening, now lead the way," she said, ignoring how Shisui promptly started choking on air. "I'm going to rescue my sisters and there's not a single force on this earth that can stop me."
Shisui buried his face in his hands. "Sakura-chan, you're talking to the Hokage you know," he muttered, looking absolutely despaired.
Itachi stared straight ahead, long-suffering expression plastered on his face.
"And it involves my sisters," she said, leaping up into the tree branches. "Besides… Do you want to deal with two crying children by your lonesome? I'll be the best one to calm them down, and it's not like I'm helpless. I can defend myself."
Minato pinched the bridge of his nose, sensing somehow that he wouldn't be winning this argument, and time was scarce enough as it was. "Fine, but you stay behind me and these two while I dispatch them."
Sakura shrugged.
They were on their way before Shisui could mope for any longer, the three of them trailing behind the red flames embroidered on the bottom of the white cloak. Footsteps were silent against the bark, the air eerily still. Each breath she took sounded like a loud rumble of thunder – a prelude to the storm bearing down on them. Relax, she told herself. She could handle this. Nothing would touch her sisters again. A soft tap on her shoulder made her stiffen, dark eyes glancing up to meet Shisui's matching ones. He smiled, moonlight casting his face in light, the shadows of the trees darkening the ethereal image. It was a smile meant to reassure her. One which should've told her everything would be OK. It would've worked too, if she was an ordinary child, but she wasn't. Everything had changed. Her sisters had been snatched from a place where they should've been safe. Nothing was going to be the same again… because if nothing changed, then her sisters might disappear again… and the next time it happened, she might not make it in time. The silence was thick between them, a scant number of yellow-handled kunai appearing in their Hokage's hands – a signal that they were nearing their destination, and Sakura readied her fists. She might not have the precision that she used to, but it didn't meant she couldn't uproot a tree and swing it about. She'd tried that… and succeeded, much to her own glee, though she'd had to scarper quickly – because she'd made a lot of noise and one hell of a mess.
The lack of sound worried her, ears straining to pick up even a hint of sound other than her own breathing. Maybe there wasn't any sound because they were all dead… She bit her lip. No. They were alive. They had to be. Her eyes narrowed on the branches, heart thudding in anticipation as she heard the creak of a tree branch up ahead.
They were there.
Her heartbeat thundered in her ears, figures coming into sight, and Sakura's eyes narrowed even further. Did they not have a sensor on their side? Or were they just that arrogant? Though it didn't matter either way, she supposed. They'd caught up to them.
Five kunai sailed forwards soundlessly, yellow handles glimmering in the moonlight, time seeming to slow as they sliced through the air. They slammed into the wood of the trees around them, the little thunking sounds making the small group of… Sakura's blood ran cold, having spied the music note symbol engraved on each of their hitai-tai. Sound. Orochimaru. Two heads of pink hair were thrown over two shoulders, the man holding them evading the yellow blur as best he could – though it wouldn't have mattered much. The Hokage was more focused on trying to get his son back from a rather speedy shinobi. They flitted around the clearing, a flash of yellow and purple, kunai sparking as they clashed in blurs of colour. He was busy… and his son was the priority… her sisters were slightly lower on the list, at least for one Namikaze Minato. Sakura made her decision in a heartbeat, leaping towards the man trying to slink away as quickly as she could, ignoring the sound of Shisui sighing pointedly behind her.
Her feet slammed into the back of his neck with far more force than a four-year-old should've been able to use, and the man crumpled bonelessly to the ground with a satisfying thud. Dead or alive, Sakura didn't particularly care. All that mattered were her sisters. They just needed to be safe. She pulled them free, jumping away from all the action – because a few of the combatants seemed to have the dreaded curse mark. Black markings were spreading across skin, snarls filling the air, followed by the coppery scent of blood being spilt. Sakura wanted to punch something. Preferably Orochimaru's face. That would be incredibly satisfying, because he'd dared to try and take her siblings. If he'd actually gotten his hands on them Sakura would've no doubt had to do something drastic… like start a one-woman war on Otogakure. Though, to be honest, it was more likely they'd gone for Naruto as a political hostage and her sisters had been caught in the aftermath. Nobody knew she had the sharingan – aside from herself obviously, so nobody knew they were Uchiha, nobody knew how valuable they were… and it was going to stay that way for as long as possible.
"S…Saku-nee?" the slur of her sister's voice pulled her attention downwards, her eyes and hands scanning and prodding at the pair for any sort of injuries. Worry was written across her face, gaze widening as Akira slumped into her. What really got her blood pumping though, was the brief flicker of red before her sibling's eyes shut. Redredredredred. Her eyes weren't supposed to be red. They were black. Sakura didn't even get the chance to double check what she'd seen. She didn't need to. Akira was unconscious, her chakra levels low, and most importantly… She had the damned sharingan. Akira had the sharingan and judging by the scant amount of chakra Mio had, she'd awakened the cursed eyes too. Her hands shook.
She'd failed them.
She was supposed to protect them… and she'd let them down. Her eyes narrowed into slits, jaw clenched. "I'm sorry," she whispered, brushing her thumb across Mio's high cheekbones, uncaring as a trail of muck and grime is left in its wake. "I should've been there…" Her hand balls into a fist, nails digging into her skin, the sounds of fighting still going on behind her even as her sisters laid there, unconscious. Every ring of metal on metal made her blood pound that much quicker, fury settling into her bones the longer she sat there. How dare they… It was their fault… all their fault…
"Sakura-chan…"
She snarled, rage erupting like a volcano, hands grabbing hold of the nearest breakable thing. Wordless snarls were the only thing her mouth was capable of making, ground trembling and breaking apart as she uprooted the nearest sizable tree she could get a firm grip on. Other sounds were lost on the wind howling around her, and the blood rushing through her ears as she hefted her makeshift weapon. She locked gazes with the nearest bastard who'd dared to try and take her sisters… who'd hurt them badly enough to awaken their sharingan… A bloodthirsty grin curled at her lips, rage being replaced by the sheer giddiness at the prospect of a fight. She could feel the adrenaline pulsing through her veins, and it was that which made her lips move. "Let's dance, bitches," she hissed, throwing her makeshift weapon at the man, eyes locked on the amber and black markings dancing over his skin. She remembered markings like those—Sasuke screaming in agony—painpainpain—golden eyes, eyeing up her teammate like he was for dinner. She slammed her eyes shut, pushing away those cursed memories, focusing her attention back on the fight.
There was no need for it though. Everything was over in a flash of yellow, blue eyes narrowed, scanning their surroundings for anything they might've missed. It was quiet. The fight was over, though Sakura would've preferred to call it a one-sided massacre. There was no one left alive to question about the events, nobody left to attack them. It was over. Her sisters were safe. Her eyes darted over to where they'd been propped up, a familiar head of silky black hair leaning over them. She hurried back over to them – the threat taken care of – blinking in confusion when she found herself lifted off the ground. The purplish sleeve registered as a non-threat in her brain, alarm setting in when she realised exactly who'd picked her off the ground like a naughty kitten. "Hey!" she grumbled. "Put me down!"
"Maybe I would, if you'd listened to my instructions," Minato said, sounding oddly exasperated as he turned to face the boys, his son safely tucked under his other arm. "Keep my marker," he ordered, nodding at the yellow-handled kunai in Shisui's grasp. "I'll be back in a flash."
Sakura blinked, the world shifting, a nauseating rush of colours flashing past her eyes, and then instead of the forest she'd been in only moments before, she was inside an incredibly familiar room. Well, it wasn't exactly the same, for one. The Yondaime Hokage seemingly kept on top of his paperwork, unlike the Godaime.
"Minato!" an oddly familiar voice rang out, and Sakura struggled to place it for a moment as she was dumped on something soft and cushiony. "Are you alright? You just disappeared all of a sudden… wait, why have you got Naru-chan there?"
"Shut up, Izuna," Tobirama muttered. "Give the man a chance to breathe—"
"—and he's gone again…"
"It's probably related to the break in earlier," Tobirama said, sighing loudly. "Use your brain for once in your life."
Sakura pushed herself to her feet, hands going to check her hood was still fixed in place, before she turned to the two figures standing over Naruto's prone form.
"Oh…" Onyx black eyes slid onto her. "Your pink mini-me is here too, Tobi," Izuna said, having finally just taken notice of her.
"Yeah. It only took you thirty odd seconds to work that out. Congratulations."
Izuna pouted. "You know this is why nobody ever wants to hang out with you, right?"
"Izuna?" Red eyes flickered over her form briefly before returning to the man beside him.
"Yes?"
"Shut up."
A flicker in the corner of her eye was the only warning she got, and then her sisters were being placed down gently in the space she'd vacated only seconds before. They were sleeping still, as was Naruto, and Sakura shifted awkwardly on her feet, Shisui and Itachi standing off to one side.
"Right then… you three," Minato said, glancing between her and the two Uchiha. "I think it's time you gave me a full rundown of exactly what just went on, and why you thought it'd be a good idea to go trapezing through the forest in the middle of the night…"
Shisui sighed. "Told you we were going to get in trouble…"
Sakura stared at him flatly. "Congratulations. Your prediction came true."
"And with that said, shall we get to it?" Itachi tilted his head. "I don't know about you two, but I'd like to get some sleep tonight."
"You're two of a kind… you know that, right?" Shisui said, shoulders sinking as a throat cleared behind them pointedly.
"Anytime today would be nice," Minato said, burying his face in his hands, watching alongside Sakura as Tobirama went to check on the three unconscious children in the room.
Shisui's hand clamped down over her mouth, closely followed by Itachi's own, cutting off any form of retort before it could even leave her lips.
"You can start, Shisui," Itachi said, deferring to him as they stood in front of their Hokage.
"Right… Well…"
