Her second morning waking up in her little house in the Leaf Village, was vastly different than the first, though she still somehow managed to wake up at five, even though she'd set her alarm for seven, Sakura shook her head, that was something that would probably never change.
Instead of dwelling on the subject, she flipped the covers from her body and slid out of the bed, her bare feet making contact with the cherry oak wood flooring and Sakura hissed softly, but it wasn't that cold, and of course she slid her feet into sandals.
Quickly as the chill in the room started making her cold, she hurried over to her dresser, and grabbed the first thing she saw, lo and behold another sky blue kimono with clouds, Sakura giggled to herself, suffice to say she was obsessed with the color and design.
She dressed hastily not wanting to be subjected to the cold in her room for much longer and then strapped her matching sandals onto her feet, the straps wrapped up and around her ankle, finished, Sakura decided to tackle her long pink hair.
It didn't go quite as planned as she wanted, and at some point a little pained yelp must have come from her mouth, because the next thing Sakura knew, Shisui and Itachi were flying into her room, the older of the two tackling her to the ground "Get down Sakura-chan" he exclaimed.
Both males were alert, sharingan activated "Um Shisui-san, do you mind getting off of me, you're kind of heavy" Sakura's voice broke through their concentration in searching for the enemy, the older Uchiha sat up and the pinkette blinked her lavender eyes in confusion.
"Where is he" Itachi asked still on the alert and placing himself in front of the girl, he doubted that she really needed to be protected, but it was better to be safe than sorry and Sakura was now an asset they'd technically reacquired.
Her brow creased before realization hit her "Oh I was trying to brush my hair, I might have hit a snag" she giggled sheepishly, looking ashamed of herself, she wasn't use to all these conflicting emotions, and especially never had she been tackled like that before.
Shisui blinked then rubbed his face "Honestly here Sakura-chan" he held his hand out for the brush, and never would she tell him that it made her extremely happy that he was going to help her with her hair, instead she sat neatly on the stool and let Shisui brush her hair.
"Hmm perhaps you could braid it Shisui, that way it won't get in the way to badly during training, impressions are everything after all" even Itachi added his own input on what should be done with the large mane of pink hair, though shortened by a couple inches thanks to the sword from yesterday.
For twenty minutes, Shisui braided her hair, reminding her horribly of Haku, they'd use to play with each others hair, before Zabuza told them to get their butts in gear so that they could train and then Shisui's hands were gone and the memories faded.
"Thank you Shisui-san" Sakura smiled, nodding her head politely, if her words had a touch of sadness to them, neither Uchiha mentioned it, instead they followed her from her bedroom and to the kitchenette so that she could make breakfast.
After breakfast, Sakura washed the dishes, both from last night and this mornings, drying and putting them away "You're a very meticulous person" Itachi commented suddenly and she peered over her shoulder at the younger Uchiha that was Sasuke's brother.
A tiny smile formed on her lips "Probably, but I'll blame Haku-kun, if things didn't get done, he would throw a fit" Sakura smiled at another memory, glad that she had someone to share it with, they were cherished ones that would forever lift her spirits.
"Haku's the boy, Zabuza's other apprentice right" Shisui asked gently, remembering last night when Itachi had insulted Zabuza, sensing that it wouldn't be a wise idea to insult the boy that Sakura had seemed extremely fond of.
She nodded her head "Yes, he was my special person" that's all it took and the dam broke, tears filled those lavender eyes and Sakura lowered herself to a sitting position, arms wrapped around her knee's and crying silently.
Itachi reached out and slapped Shisui over the back of the head, onyx eyes screaming the word ~idiot~ at the older male, then cautiously he walked forward and crouched down before the pinkette "Sakura-san" he called.
Her head lifted so that she could meet his gaze with her own signaling that she was listening, even in her current state she was still obedient to a fault "Just remember, all the memories you created with him and Haku-san will always be in you're heart" Itachi soothed awkwardly.
"I know" Sakura mumbled brokenly tears still trickling down her cheeks, Haku wasn't there to wipe them away and tell her that everything would be alright, eventually she managed to stop her tears and cleaned her face up, ready to face the rest of the day.
Shisui and Itachi were quiet as the pinkette left the house, to take her bear to the forest, to let him roam for awhile and possibly do his business, "For someone who's supposed to be the former apprentice of Zabuza, she sure feels more than I thought she would" Shisui stated.
His eye twitched in aggravation "Shisui, Sakura-san lost the only two people that cared for her, of course she's going to feel the loss, the sadness that they are no longer around" Itachi rebuked shocking his cousin, feeling for the girl on some emotional level he didn't know he had.
"Wow Itachi-kun, I hope you didn't strain yourself with that one" Shisui sniggered, though he did understand where his cousin was coming from, Itachi rolled his onyx eyes anger searing through his veins at the insult to his ability to connect with people on an emotional level.
Sure he wasn't good at it, but for some reason, he could understand Sakura's pain better than most, maybe it was because he to had lost important people, his teammates, "Just watch yourself Shisui, or next time I'll whip you in a spar" Itachi warned.
It was eerily silent until the front door reopened "Oh you guys are still here" Sakura blinked at the two Uchiha "Well I'm going to train for a little while with Naruto, so um later" she waved sensing the tension in the air and not wanting to get involved in whatever was going on.
The door shut with a ~thud~ and Shisui chuckled nervously "Well I'm going to run some errands, remember same time tonight" he waved and body flickered off, the tension fading and Itachi smirked, heading home to greet his family and report to his father that nothing had happened.
Sakura sighed "Those two are strange" she spoke aloud drawing Naruto's baby blue eyes onto herself, he'd once again come to tell her that his dad wanted her in his office at noon, like the day before, so that she could meet the team she was being placed on.
"Who, oh you mean Itachi and Shisui, yeah, but they are wicked cool, Itachi graduated the academy at age seven, activated his sharingan at eight, became a jonin at thirteen, and then an anbu at age fourteen" Naruto ticked off his fingers.
She was shocked at all the achievements Sasuke's older brother had under his belt "What about Shisui-san" Sakura asked as they walked side by side to the training grounds, where most likely Kakashi and Sasuke were waiting, just to make sure nothing happened.
Naruto frowned slightly "He goes by Shisui of the Body Flicker, it's his signature jutsu, other than that, I only know him as Sasuke-teme's and Itachi's older cousin, who is completely different than other Uchiha" he shrugged.
Though it was minimal information, it was still something and Sakura smiled proud of herself at how easy it was to extract tidbits of details from people, at the thought she froze in horror, a couple minutes later Naruto realized she was no longer following him.
"Sakura-chan" he called noting the panicky expression on her face, and then shame flooded her entire being "Are you okay" Naruto asked reaching out to place his hand on her shoulder, at the touch the pinkette jolted.
And laughed nervously "I'm okay Naruto, it's just I'm realizing how hard it is to break certain habits" Sakura explained feeling like an idiot, she didn't have to do that anymore, for now there was no one to share the information she gained with.
While he was still lost on what exactly Sakura was talking about, Naruto gave the pinkette his patented whiskered grin "Hey how about you come over to my place for lunch today, my mom cooks a mean steak" he offered to the girl.
"I don't know Naruto, I mean, you're mom seemed really nice and all, but I'm not use to the whole…." Sakura trailed off not able to say the word and Naruto chuckled as they resumed walking towards the training grounds.
"It's hugging Sakura-chan, and she promised not to until you got use to everyone" Naruto said with a grin, hoping she took his offer, it wasn't good to be alone all the time, and though it would take a long time, he was determined to help the pinkette.
Sakura laughed softly "Okay Naruto, I'll go have lunch with you and you're mom" she accepted with a grin, lavender eyes soft and lit up with happiness, if she really thought about it, Naruto was almost like how Haku had been at the start, innocent and kind and willing to do anything to help out.
It brought her heart immense relief, but as always at the back of her mind, that hole, that aching emptiness was ever present, and not even Naruto seemed to be able to fill it, and Sakura doubted anything ever would, she just didn't know how wrong she was in that aspect.
"About damn time you got here Usuratonkachi" Sasuke grumbled under his breath as the blonde and Sakura appeared at the training grounds, at the insult, Naruto jumped in like usual calling the Uchiha a bastard like usual.
But Sakura just felt insulted on the blondes behalf again "You know, Naruto's not useless, if it hadn't been for him, you would probably be dead or at the very least in the hospital" she jumped to Naruto's defense.
To Kakashi, Naruto and Sasuke's surprise, it was silent for a moment until Kakashi clapped his hands "Alright how about you spar with me today okay Sakura, Naruto and Sasuke against each other" he divided the preteens into pairs.
And that was just fine with the pinkette, "Do you want me to hold back, I promise to heal you afterwards" Sakura snickered, and Naruto sniggered under his breath finding what she said funny, and Kakashi just sweat dropped at the antics of the children.
He cleared his throat "Go all out, use everything you have at you're disposal" Kakashi said "Just no killing" he warned and Sakura nodded readying her stance, she'd save her Byakugan until the very end, as an ace in the hole.
Naruto and Sasuke got started on their own spar as Kakashi raked his gaze over the pinkette, he had to remember that the girl had been Zabuza's apprentice and probably knew over a thousand ways to kill someone, so he decided to start off simple.
Without her realizing it, or so Kakashi believed, he threw a smoke bomb at the ground blocking her vision, she hadn't activated her Byakugan yet, and tunneled under ground, leaving a shadow clone in his place to distract and suppressed his chakra.
Sakura coughed as the smoke faded and she could see again, something was off though, it didn't feel right, a frown worked it's way across her lips as Kakashi tossed a few kunai at her, those were easily knocked out of the air with her own weapons.
Then she was racing forward, chakra gathered in her fist, unbeknownst to any of them, Minato had traded places with his own clone and was sitting in a tree at the edge of the training grounds watching the spars.
Kakashi's lone onyx eye widened as the girl closed in on him, so she was a close range fighter it seemed, and went to dodge, her fist hit the ground and it exploded, bits of rock and grass rained down on him 'Holy hell' he thought glad that he was just a clone.
"What's the matter Kakashi-san" Sakura smiled sweetly, straightening from her crouch, lavender eyes focused on him, in the tree's Minato chuckled quietly, the girl really was amusing, and soon she'd understand what it meant to be part of a village.
Her team would become her new family, and she had plenty of people helping her out, so she could get use to the new changes in her life, his former student probably cursed under his breath as sweet laughter from Sakura floated through the air reaching his ears.
The silver haired copy nin, jumped back over the leg Sakura swung out at him, hoping to sweep him off his feet, then formed a couple of hand signs "Earth Style: Mud Wall" Kakashi's favorite jutsu, but it was little more than fodder for the pinkette.
As she simply kicked it with a chakra laden foot and it crumbled into dust, Kakashi grimaced beneath his mask, perhaps he should have told her to hold back a lot, because she was really making him work for this victory.
The real him was trying to get into position below Sakura's feet, but she was constantly on the move and it was difficult, she was off like a projectile weapon again, messing up his plans, Kakashi grumbled and passed a hand through his silver hair.
'Jesus' he thought thinking up possible ways of getting the girl to stand still long enough to perform his signature jutsu on her, he wouldn't go as far as using chidori, no doubt it would probably just give the pinkette nightmares.
Sakura flashed through her own set of hand signs, "Water Style: Water Bullet" she called and a bullet of water shot out of her mouth speeding towards Kakashi, she was there running alongside it, if she could just get lucky once, that's all she would need.
Kakashi looked up just a moment to late and got drenched, the water bullet hit him square in the face "Ack" he coughed as some water went down his windpipe, distracted, he missed Sakura honing in on him, until a chakra free foot connected with his gut.
And he landed against the ground with a loud thud, but that didn't deter her in the least, until he vanished in a puff of smoke and Sakura realized why she'd felt off fighting Kakashi, it had been a clone, so that meant the real Kakashi was hiding.
First she looked, left, right, then behind, there was only one place left to hide and Kakashi realized that he was out of time on trying to use his jutsu, just as her fist hit the ground, he was before the pinkette rushing her, avoiding the chunks of rock as he raced forward.
Now it was her on the defensive, Sakura leaped back cartwheeling on her hands to land gracefully on her feet, by now, the spar between Naruto and Sasuke had come to a screeching halt, and Minato actually chose to watch from the sidelines instead of the tree he'd been perched in.
"You're resourceful" Kakashi commented when in close range of Sakura, in her hand was a kunai, and their weapons clashed creating little sparks, her foot swung out and brushed his shin, before he got out of range.
Sakura smiled "My dodging skills were superior to Zabuza, that was the one thing he beat into me" she stated lavender eyes focused and ready to use her ace in the hole, not yet though, patience was the key as Zabuza would always say.
Kakashi blew out a puff of air, trying to find a weak spot in her stance, she shifted, and a smirk formed on his lips, hidden beneath his mask, never could he have realized that the girl was luring him into a false sense of security.
He jumped forward ready to end this match, and their weapons locked together once more, just as Sakura activated the Byakugan, the veins bulged at the corners of her eyes and her free hand shot forward blocking a chakra point in his wrist with a spike of chakra, and numbing it at the same time.
"Damn" Kakashi cursed backing off and shaking his hand, that fucking smarted like a bitch, he threw a barrage of weapons at her to hopefully shift her attention again, but to his and Minato's surprise a blast of chakra erupted from the pinkette's hand.
"Eight Trigrams Air Palm" she shouted knocking the weapons from their path and the rest sailed harmlessly around her, "I learn quickly" Sakura stated the shocked look in the copy nin's was just the icing on top of the cake.
Then she was darting forward, long pink hair in it's braid trailing after her as she unsealed kubikiribocho, already knowing that the one before her was another clone and hacked through him, Minato almost shouted until it dispelled in a puff of smoke.
Next, Sakura jumped high in the air, avoiding getting her ankles caught by Kakashi who had once again hid beneath the ground "Zabuza must have been proud of you" the silver haired nin called as she landed lightly on her feet, already in a defensive stance.
"He was, and that's why I was chosen as his successor" she smiled kubikiribocho sealed away again as she leaped head long at him, right into the trap she'd known was there and Sakura found herself pinned down to the ground, a kunai against her neck.
Kakashi breathed a sigh of relief, he couldn't believe how long it had taken him to take the little girl down, "Do you yield Sakura" Kakashi asked wanting to make sure she wouldn't try to continue the minute he released her.
"Yep, I willingly let myself get caught, let's just say we're evenly matched and be done with it" Sakura giggled in amusement and Kakashi finally let her up, the first thing she did was turn and heal his wrist, opening the chakra point back up, and removing the paralyzing affect.
He twisted his wrist around glad to have the feeling back in it "Much thanks, now I believe it's lunch, good work Naruto, Sasuke, the rest of the day is a free day" Kakashi didn't want to stick around and with a two finger salute disappeared in a puff of smoke.
Minato rolled his eyes at his students antics, it must have really bruised Kakashi's ego to have a little girl fight on equal footing with him, "I'll see you in a couple hours Sakura-san" he waved using his teleportation jutsu to return to his office.
Sakura flopped down on the ground tiredly "That was awesome Sakura-chan, I don't think I've ever seen Kakashi-sensei struggle during a fight except against Zabuza" Naruto plopped down next to her as Sasuke rolled his onyx eyes and left, leaving the two alone.
"You know on some degree I knew the first two I was fighting were clones, my senses told me there was something off, that's why I pulled out kubikiribocho" Sakura patted the scroll with her beloved blade in it.
Naruto twisted his head to the side to peer at her with wide blue eyes "You're awesome, ready to go eat lunch with me and my mom" he asked hopping to his feet, not even bothering to brush the back of his orange pants off, that now had a large green grass stain on them.
But she doubted she looked any better "Yeah I'm ready, after that session I'm hungry" Sakura returned the blondes grin as Naruto led her to his house that he lived in with his parents, while she wished she could have met hers, she was just happy to have people care.
Kushina looked up from where she was cooking homemade ramen noodles, as the front door opened and closed "Mom I'm home and I brought a friend" her son hollered from down the hall and she smiled in fondness for her lovable little son.
He appeared moments later, the pinkette from the day before trailing after him "Oh I see Naruto-kun managed to convince you to join us for lunch Sakura-chan" Kushina greeted the girl, refraining from wrapping her arms around the pinkette and scaring her off like before.
Sakura raised her hand shyly and waved, until Naruto poked her gently in the side "Hi, um Kushina-san" she greeted the red head, cheeks turning pink in embarrassment, she didn't really do well with females, and it showed in her mannerisms.
Instead of commenting on the pinkette's obvious reluctance to be there, Kushina grinned much like her son was fond of doing "We're having ramen" she announced checking on the noodles, much to her surprise, Sakura looked a little queasy.
And Naruto sighed "I swear I didn't know Sakura-chan, Mom I thought you were making steak today" he sulked at Kushina, who shrugged sheepishly "Please stay Sakura-chan, I promise this ramen is good" Naruto whirled on the pinkette.
Why was it so hard to tell this person no, "Okay, only because of the vegetables" Sakura relented to the blondes demand to join him and his mom for lunch, even if she really, really disliked ramen, her stomach protested at the thought of eating it but for her new friend she'd suffer through it.
"I take it you don't like Ramen Sakura-chan" Kushina asked to while away the time as the broth came to a broil and she cut up the vegetables, wanting to learn something about the girl who her son happened to be crazy about, not in that way, but Naruto just wanted Sakura to be happy.
Sakura smiled "Yeah, whenever we ran out of food with Zabuza, he would go out and get instant ramen, bleh" she grimaced in remembrance "And they always tasted so nasty" Sakura explained and Kushina looked as if she'd had an epiphany about something.
It took her a second to respond "You probably have really a really good sense of taste, instant ramen have so many nasty preservatives in it, that it probably made you sick am I right" Kushina finally asked.
The pinkette's lavender eyes lit up "Yeah, every single time, Zabuza thought it was because I was faking it most of the time, until I actually got physically ill and well threw up" Sakura stated, remembering those moments, they hadn't been fun, but they were still cherished memories to her.
Kushina cringed inwardly, she was so casual talking about her abuse at the hands of that monster, but she didn't dare insult Zabuza out loud, "I see, well I promise that my ramen doesn't have any of those things in it, neither does Ichiraku" she assured.
Grateful that people seemed to be so nice, even though technically she had been a former enemy to the village kind of, Sakura sat down in a chair that Naruto gestured at, right next to the blonde ironically, though she didn't mind it in the least.
And then Kushina was serving the ramen in big bowls, they were Uzumaki after all and ramen addicted, "Dig in" the red haired woman exclaimed licking her lips and already dipping her chopsticks into the bowl.
She hesitated at first, then decided to brave it, the minute those homemade noodles hit her tongue, and the flavors burst in her mouth, Sakura was hooked "Wow, these really are different" her eyes were wide in awe.
Kushina shared a smile with Naruto "Stick with us Sakura-chan and we'll show you the true world of ramen" she cheered, drawing a giggle from the pinkette, at least she didn't seem to damaged from her time with Zabuza, that was the only good thing it seemed.
"Yeah maybe next time Mom will make chicken ramen, that's the greatest of them all" Naruto had to add his two cents worth, going into great detail about the fluffy ramen noodles, the chicken broth, pieces of chick and the other ingredients.
In no time at all lunch had been fully devoured, Sakura, though sheepishly, worked her way through three bowls before her stomach became to full for her to even think about eating another bite, while Naruto and Kushina polished off their fourth bowls.
As she was preparing to leave to have her meeting with Minato, Kushina stopped her "Oh Sakura-chan, could you do me one little favorite" the red head asked preparing the bowl, Sakura turned to face her with a nod "Could you give this to Minato for me" Kushina smiled.
"Of course Kushina-san" Sakura smiled it was only fair since the woman had let her have lunch with her and her son, "Lord Hokage has to eat to" she stated awkwardly, but Kushina kept on smiling until the door shut behind her.
Sakura released a sigh and made her way to the Hokage Tower, half way down the hall after climbing the steps, she passed by someone, that evil chakra made dread pool in her stomach and she refused to even look up, his arm brushed hers and Sakura fought to stay rooted to the spot.
Danzo paused in the middle of the hall "Listen here you little brat, you will do exactly as I say or I kill you is that understood, tonight escape you're little guard dogs and come here" he passed her a note with the location and time on it "And don't be late" he ordered.
Fury rose within her at the command, and her lavender eyes expressed her anger, Sakura raised her chin high, face schooled into a stoic expression, "No" she stated simply and moved passed him quickly, so that the man didn't have a chance to catch her by the arm, or hair.
Appalled at the audacity of the girl, who was she to refuse him, Danzo glared at her retreating back before she entered that blonde idiots office, it should have been him that had been nominated Hokage, but no Hiruzen just had to choose Minato, his precious students, student.
Once in the safety of Minato's office, her shoulders slumped in relief, but other than that, she made no other outward reaction that she'd just had a confrontation with the man yet again and still no one had witnessed it.
Minato looked up as his door opened and closed, then glanced to the clock "You're early" he pointed out as Sakura strode forward carrying something in her hands, until she was before his desk, a sheepish smile.
"Erm, Kushina-san said this was for you, and since I had a meeting with you, I uh brought it for her" she said fumbling her way through the explanation it brought a smile to his lips, at least the pinkette wasn't utterly alone, Kushina and Naruto would make sure of that.
The blonde nodded "Thank you Sakura-san, while I realize you were just told to deliver it by my lovely wife, I still thank you" he took the proffered bowl and since he had some time, Minato peeled back the covering and dug in.
By the time it was 11:58, he was done with his lunch, and the first knock came "Hokage-sama" the door opened to reveal a raven haired woman with red eyes, except these didn't give her the willies like the sharingan did.
"Ah Kurenai come in, come in, you brought you're team correct" Minato beckoned the woman in and following after her were Hinata, who waved at Sakura, and two boys that the pinkette didn't know all three of them massively confused.
Five minutes later, Naruto barreled into the office through the open window, followed by Sasuke, both boys out of breath from the running they'd conducted to make it in time for the meeting to see who their new teammate would be, both of them hoping it would be Sakura.
The minutes ticked by, five, ten, fifteen, twenty, thirty, forty, fifty, it was going on a whole hour and Minato looked pretty exasperated "Yo, sorry I got lost on the path of life" Kakashi appeared crouched on the sill of the now open window, giving some bizarre excuse.
Feeling a headache coming on Minato turned darkened blue eyes on his former student "Thank you for finally joining us Kakashi" he grumbled, but Kakashi just gave his signature eye crinkle and took his place beside Naruto and Sasuke.
"If you don't mind me asking Hokage-sama, but why are we here as well" Kurenai was confused as to why she'd been called to this meeting as well, and though she was aware of Sakura's presence, she didn't know much about her.
Minato rubbed his forehead "This is where things become complicated, and I already have full permission from Hiashi to do this, Hinata-san please step forward" he ordered the young heiress to the Hyuga Clan forward.
At the command, Hinata came forward, keeping her eyes to the ground, until she was standing next to Sakura, all this served to do was make everyone else more confused, until Minato spoke again only then did chaos erupt.
"Hinata Hyuga, you are hereby relieved of you're position on Team Eight and will be reassigned as a member of Team Seven, Naruto, Sasuke and Kakashi will be you're new teammates from this day forward" Minato stated decisively.
Kurenai's jaw dropped, but more shock came "And Sakura Hyuga, as you are in need of a team, you are hereby assigned to Team Eight, Kurenai Yuhi, Kiba Inuzuka and his canine partner Akamaru and Shino Aburame are now you're teammates" the blonde finished.
"What that's not even fair" Kiba immediately burst out, with the famous Inuzuka temper "We don't even know who this chick is, so why the hell should we consider her our teammate, who knows we might not even be able to get along with her" he shouted.
Her heartbroken expression said it all, and Minato was the only one to catch it, before it was hidden away beneath a tight smile, her eyes screwed shut probably to stave off any tears, no doubt feeling very hurt that they wouldn't even give her a chance.
But, "This is nonnegotiable, Sakura-san has an aptitude for genjutsu, she would blossom under Kurenai's teachings" Minato wouldn't relent on his decision, and Naruto shot him a hurt look 'Sorry Naruto-kun, but this is the way it has to be' he thought feeling for the girl.
Kiba turned to the pinkette "This is all you're fault, coming here and messing up our perfect team, you're just an outsider" he spat, and without waiting for a dismissal, took Akamaru in his arms and left the room, Shino and Kurenai the only ones left.
"I look forward to seeing you at team training, in a couple of days Sakura-san" Kurenai at least made an effort to be friendly to the pinkette before leaving, Shino, merely peered at her over the rim of his sunglasses, a peek of hazel and then he to was gone out the door.
Naruto frowned deeply and reached forward "It's okay Sakura-chan, we're still friends and I expect to see you every morning okay" he tried to grin, but even he knew the hurtful words Kiba had said, were bothering the pinkette.
Sakura smiled "Thanks Naruto, er…" she trailed off not really sure what to say now that everything was said and done, maybe it would have been better if she had never come here, to much trouble and drama.
"Saku…Sakura-san, goo…good luck. Kurenai-sensei is very nice, if you have any trouble just ask me and…gi…give it awh..awhile Kiba-kun will get use to you" Hinata jumped in wanting to cheer the girl up, girls had to have each others backs right.
"Right, so I guess I'll just walk with you to the compound for afternoon training" Sakura shrugged no doubt not believing anything she had said, and Hinata's shoulders slumped in slight depression, it hadn't been fair of Kiba to blame Sakura.
Instead she gave a small smile "O…Okay Sakura-san" Hinata said bowing to Minato, who by now was looking awfully guilty about the placements that had been made, and with Sakura in tow they left the blondes office, thankfully Sakura didn't see that bandage covered man again.
In an effort to learn more about her team "So where exactly does Kurenai-sensei have training sessions, and what time do they usually start" Sakura asked wanting to at least get the basic information so she wasn't late.
Hinata looked surprised "Oh um…well training usually sta..starts around one an..and lasts to two thirty and at training ground…grounds eight…eighteen, though Kurenai-sensei will probably come by to show you th..the way on the first day" she stuttered out.
That days training with the Hyuga, when they eventually made it to the main family house, was extremely draining, and Sakura went home that night exhausted and feeling sore, her heart aching horribly as she remembered the spiteful words Kiba had shot at her before leaving.
She was so out of it that she didn't even realize that Itachi and Shisui were sitting at her kitchen table drinking a cup of coffee until she wandered into the kitchenette to make dinner "Oh kami" Sakura gave a shout of fright and her head slammed into the wall.
"Easy there Sakura-chan, it's just me and Itachi-kun" Shisui raised his hands, not really paying the girl any attention, until Itachi nudged him harshly in the ribs, then he looked closely at the pinkette "Kami what happened to you" he stood.
The poor girl looked like she'd had the hell beat out of her, deep bags beneath her eyes, indicating she wasn't getting much sleep, and bruises covering her arms and legs and most likely her entire body as well, with a couple of cuts here and there.
Sakura shrugged and winced at the movement "Training with the Hyuga" she said by way of explanation, trying and failing to get her arms to work properly in order to cook dinner, until Itachi took over, making a simple meal for the pinkette, since he and Shisui had already eaten.
He'd already heard from Sasuke, what the Inuzuka Clan Heir had done, those hurtful words were no doubt causing the girl to close off from everyone, in order to shelter her already very battered heart, it made him feel for her again, that level of emotional pain, was something he could relate to.
"Here you go Sakura-san, then you should go take a bath" Itachi gave Sakura a small smile, more than he managed on any regular day, her lavender eyes betrayed her hurt, and this time Shisui saw it to, neither of them commented on it.
Instead Shisui stood and went and drew the bath, Minato had told them to make sure she was as comfortable as possible to, and by doing these small little things for her, then perhaps Sakura would open up to them again, like she had last night and this morning.
But despite their joint efforts, Sakura didn't make another peep as she ate her rice and chicken, before going off to take the bath, then to bed, her heart feeling as if it had been ripped open and stamped on with that ever present hole being torn open wider and wider.
It felt like it was consuming her in it's blackness, her dreams were disturbed that night and several times unbeknownst to herself she cried out for help from the darkness that tried to swallow her as she watched her two precious people leave her forever.
~Far underground in a Hidden Base~ Kimimaro jolted awake in the room he'd been staying in for the last three days, upon their return to Fire Country, after that mission of acquiring Sand's help in destroying the Leaf Village, as a pain swept through him stronger than ever before.
It was a pain he was all to familiar with, the ache in his heart, that hole of emptiness, had never filled no matter if he now had a purpose, to serve Orochimaru, and even that was failing him now, if Kabuto didn't soon find a cure, then the snake sannin would discard him.
But this time, it was like he could feel emotions not his own, of heartbreak and overwhelming sadness, his heart ached for this person, wishing he could meet them, to tell them that everything would be alright, though it would be considered weak of him to do so.
Perhaps that's why he was adamant about going to the Leaf Village in a couple months time, something was pulling him in that direction, not just to see Orochimaru complete his goal of destroying the Leaf, but to find out where that aching emptiness originated from.
Hazy memories of an innocence long since passed filled his head, of a beautiful woman with lovely dark pink hair and vivid green eyes, of a male with odd lavender eyes and unkempt white hair, and of..Kimimaro froze in remembrance.
Of his mother telling him that she was pregnant, of the horrible screams that came with giving birth, of a little girl with pink hair, of his father taking his little sister abandoning him and his mother only to never be seen again.
Of being thrown in that blasted cage, where only darkness was his companion and that ever present ache, the Kaguya Clan Massacre, those three travelers, the hole fading, before he was alone until Orochimaru found him.
It was impossible, if it was, how, was she still alive, if the way his heart ached and practically demanded him to go to the Leaf Village, it was probable, Kimimaro took a shuddering breath, he didn't know what to do.
But if there was a chance, no matter how slim it was that his little sister was alive, he would leave Orochimaru before the man could decide that he was no longer useful, if he had family, Kimimaro was bound and determined to find them.
Decision made, Kimimaro closed his eyes desperate to go back to sleep, he certainly didn't want to be awake when Kabuto came in to check on him, for then he would surely slip up and speak of his revelations, that he might not be the last Kaguya as they'd all thought.
For it would surely bring danger upon his little sisters head, if she was alive, and a man hunt would begin for the girl, especially if he told them that the girl had pink hair, and though despite the throbbing in his heart, Kimimaro managed to drift off into sleep.
Hours later, Kabuto came to check on his patient, only to curse inwardly as he realized the Kaguya was still sleeping, at this rate he wouldn't find a cure, and Orochimaru was certain to be in an even fouler mood than usual.
He turned and left, flipping off the lights to report to the snake sannin that there was still no cure, never knowing that in a couple months time, the ninja world would be thrust into chaos, not by his or Orochimaru's hand, but by a little pink haired girl, Sakura Hyuga.