Chapter 11

Although she hadn't spoken even once she knew that everyone in the war room was very aware of her presence. Whether it was because they were all good fighters or if they were wary of the unknown element she represented, she didn't know, she didn't care. She had Itachi backing her and no one would dare say a word against his, or if they did they should be equal in rank with him. Which was none other than the Hokage, Lady Tsunade, the woman who had taken Sakura under her wing and refined her fighting skills alongside Itachi, Sakura knew that there was no way that the older woman would leave her out of the fight, she wouldn't dare nor would she want to take away such a force that could aid them greatly.

Sakura straightened when Tsunade looked over to her, "Can you tell us what to expect from Orochimaru?" Respectfully Sakura nodded and approached the table carefully to make it so that it looked like she didn't mean any harm. At this point she could only hope that her sincerity could reach them chances of that happening though, weren't high. She rubbed her scarred throat she knew she couldn't talk, and a small sheet of paper wasn't going to cut it, so she turn turned to Itachi to translate. Picking up his hand she wrote furiously, and calmly he repeated his words keeping up with her fast pacing.

"You can expect every dirty trick in the book, chances are he has spies somewhere in your ranks and will use them to his greatest advantage. As you know he summons snakes, but that's not all in his arsenal. If you see a lady with blue hair in a pony tail and a camellia on her clothes she is a crystal user, Kabuto as you know uses med tactics. Beware of his chakra scalpel. If you see a young boy with long brown hair and purple tinted eyes, he can control the San bii, as for the rest of his army… Prepare to be horrified by his living experiments who serve only him, be aware that you cannot change any of their minds to joining you they had chosen to be the way they are. Worst case scenario, prepare to run. Although I understand your love for the village, it would be more advantageous to fight another day.

"We have to remember that the citizens and children are first priority not our ninja pride." She had included that last bit to show that she was with them. She hoped that they would get the message. Humans though, weren't that understanding of creatures though, the looks of distaste at the idea was apparent at on their faces, and the 'supposed blow' she had dealt to their pride seemed have earned her a bit more animosity than she had been willing to accept, but humans as she had learned, learned quickly. They would catch on soon enough, they would have to, what with all of those undead creatures Orochimaru would bring with him. The thought sent a shiver down her spine as she remembered the lab.

Cold, dark, filled with screams. The blood, the vials of discolored liquid, and the body parts that had been sewn together, the pains of a creature who had just been borne being reconfigured, over and over again without thought or consent of whether it was in pain or not. It was hell, and hell was what she could expect that man to bring with him. She knew that if he took over Konoha would look like his lab, and the people his personal little test subjects. She thought of the villagers and the children she played with, the friends she had made, and for once it made her scared for another's life, even more so because she knew what they were dealing with and what to expect of him, and his terror.

Orochimaru wasn't a rational man, they should have known that already. What man took on the Uchiha clan, merely to get a sample? What man was crazy enough to try and snatched the second son of the main house? For what purpose? Sakura had always known about his little adventures, they would be whispered throughout the halls, and when she was conscious there was plenty to hear. That sort of gossip was what for the most part kept her alive for so long, she knew what to be at the right time when he either failed or triumphed. And after living so much of her life in fear all she could do was show them, how to handle the upcoming situation.

She could see where they were coming from though, a village that had never stuttered even in times of war, they thought that their legacy would protect them, she hoped though that they would wise up before it was too late. As it was they could only afford a few mistakes. Knowing that she had alienated their views enough she took a step back into the shadows, as she slowly let go of Itachi's hands soaking up the warmth that he exuded she knew it might be a while until she saw him again, although she was noted she wasn't as striking as she blended into the shadows as all nin could do. There, there was no pink hair to catch someone's eye as well there was no scar to stare at and wonder what would happen. They had to focus on planning, time was of the essence and the clock unfortunately was counting down. Worried for the village children, she left she would take care of their security first, although revenge was sweet, it wasn't worth the blood of young lives.

~(Itachi)~

Because of her words, whether she knew it or not, the men did plan carefully almost excessively for the citizens, that are after they calmed down quite a bit. They were nin, they had sucked it up and took the brutal information, although Itachi could feel that some still didn't approve of her. Some though could see her wisdom though, he was happy to see that she was slowly gathering supports, he knew that at any given moment one of the elders would wish to expel her from the village for some minor offence, thinking it was somehow related to treason.

He wouldn't put it past them, at very least, he knew that they were cowardly enough to do that. Just as they had ordered him at his thirteen year old self to massacre his family, even now he held that over their heads, just by existing. From the start they had just wanted an excuse to wipe out his formidable clan, and they despised him for getting in their way. He knew that internally Konoha wasn't as strong as it was cracked up to be. Orochimaru knew it to, he was a formerly revered Sannin, who had infinite knowledge about Konoha, they would be kidding themselves if they thought they could get rid of him so easily.

Slowly they developed a plan. Sakura had told Itachi of the beings that lived in Orochimarus darkest cellars. Carefully they planned, covering all of their bases, poison traps, and acid drops, defense ANBU and the wraps of security they would protect the citizens with, and the various escape routes some of which they were blocking off, due to the fact that Orochimaru probably knew the underground better than most. It was where he kept his first experimental lab in his never ending search for power and a long life. The meeting came soon to a close and Itachi went to disperse the ANBU accordingly.

Slipping on his ANBU mask he melted into the shadows, transporting himself to the inner sanctities of the ANBU assembly room where many of their elite awaited orders. Projecting through his mask he spoke the orders and sent the silent congregation on their way, all of them melted into the shadows leaving Itachi to face and empty room. Shortly after he himself disappeared, he had his own orders to follow, even now Orochimaru was a day away, and the preparations aren't even three fourths the way done. He ran across the buildings for a moment a flash of pink caught his eye and he slowed to a stop. Sakura was gathering up the children searching high and low and pairing the with their parents.

It was a high tensioned time and the citizens and children could feel it. He slowed to a stop for a moment, as he watched her round them up with seemingly practiced ease. A few moments later she looked up to where he was. She looked at him with seeing eyes. He looked at her with the same intensity. Each of them memorizing each other before they were to separate and possibly never see one another again, it was painful, but this was war, and they were determined to fight for what was right. For a moment longer they looked at each other, until a child caused her to turn toward it and pay the boy some attention.

Using that moment of distraction he disappeared, knowing that if he watched her any longer, he wouldn't be able to leave her alone. Somehow he knew she understood why he had abruptly went away, he knew that many he had paid his attentions to as a possible suitor found this part of him cold, but she was different she understood what he thought something only a person with excellent observation skills and boundless amounts of patience could do. Of course you couldn't tell that she was patient the way her temper flared when Naruto or his foolish little brother did something particularly… well stupid.

Slowing to a stop he arrived at the Hokage tower, he was assigned with the mission of protecting the hokage and the elders. Although he would rather not protect the former, he was sure that they didn't want him to protect them either. They were out of luck on both sides, but that wouldn't stop him from using the best of his abilities to block a kunai from embedding themselves in the elders skin. He had a record and a reputation to keep and it wasn't worth sullying it on them. No matter how tempting it was. Quietly he slipped into the room where he heard them discussing.

It didn't surprise him that they were arguing a moment later he let his presence known. "The perimeter is secure." He told them softly as he stepped out of the shadows. The elders jumped. It was expected they weren't nin, at least not anymore. The hokage on the other hand glanced in his direction and nodded. She was still at the top of her game, and no one could sneak up behind her, especially when she was ready and tensed for battle. The fifth hokage was a tough one and Itachi didn't doubt that she could still best Orochimaru if she tried hard enough. She was like Sakura a well of potential, only Sakura had ability with genjutsu's while Tsunade had not and Itachi was beginning to feel that people were starting to recognize that.

It garnered respect for his small pink haired love. Although it meant that there was an increased chance she would be sent into battle it meant that people wouldn't shy away from her as much and unintentionally hurt her, and to Itachi that was much better. On the battle field she could fight, but against mental attacks he knew that those wounds hurt the more, she didn't know how to defend herself, she didn't know how to lie, although she knew how to twist the truth she could never quite wrap her head around that particular ninja trait.

It may have been the way she was raised, or it could be her peace loving ways. It was her only flaw as a kunoichi and although that one trait could be potentially fatal, she made up for that in other areas. "Report." The hokage said with authority, Itachi kneeled, "The ANBU have been dispatched and at the moment every available nin are rounding up the civilians and bringing them to a safe place, at the moment we're trying to see if we can transport them to Suna where they'll be out of the battle field and somewhere safe." The woman nodded, then dismissed the elders, who wore rather sullen faces. "Very good, anything else?" He considered for a moment, "Nothing." He told her, she didn't need to know that Kimimaro attacked Sakura; Itachi could easily deal with it himself.

"Then let's go." She told him leaping out of her office window heading off to the front gate. She wanted to be the first line of defense; it seemed that his liege wasn't pulling any punches. Then again they were up against an opponent that knew the area all too well, so it was best to stop him before he reached the gates. As if the wind carried them, they made it to the gates, Itachi could feel it the action was about to begin.

~(Sakura)~

She sat there on the Uchiha compound porch. She listened to her surroundings, the preparations of war all around her, and Itachi was with the hokage leaving her alone, or at least relatively. For once she didn't feel safe here. There had to be some reason that she was left all alone there in the compound, and despite the sounds of battle she wondered why the Uchiha hadn't reacted faster? She knew that there were people among the Uchiha clan who didn't approve of her and her affiliation with the main house, but even that didn't warrant the unprotected state the compound was left in.

Despite it being empty Sakura knew that mother and children and the occasional youth her age had been wandering around at the time. She could only wonder if that had been deliberate on their part. Although she didn't want to suspect any part of Itachi's family, she knew that she couldn't trust them to think in her best interest. She was no part of their clan despite the heads protection and support, and she supposed that some would always resent her for that. This wasn't new though, the same had happened in Orochimaru's hide outs.

She had been on the receiving end of many types of abuse from the man, but for some reason some of his more obedient followers saw this as a form of affection from the man. He knew t and he had flaunted it. The way he would hook his fingers inside the collar and hold her there, the way he pet her head despite the knotted tangles. The way he crooned softly to her as he conducted experiments on her. She didn't know what part of it was affection, but it sent shivers up her spine. It was the same way with Kabuto, he had adopted Orochimaru's sadistic ways and it was their very sadism toward her, that had created a rift between her and the rest.

Constantly she was subjected to the scorn of others, sometimes she was pitied, and sometimes she was hated for being their pet. It was those very reasons that had left her to slowly kill herself inside, and merely live as a shell. She realized now though, that it was according to plan. For Orochimaru that was how he wanted it, he wanted a puppet he could control someone who would fetch when he wanted them too and someone who wouldn't resist his touch. There had been a time when she had been like that, merely accepting orders and carrying them out. Even now she remembered clearly, merely recording the vents in which things happened.

It happened there, and it was happening now. That didn't matter to her though, as it was human contact in many ways was difficult for her, for men were always capable of great cruelties it hadn't taken much to learn that. She wouldn't be chased away though, compared to Orochimaru this was child's play and how could she possibly lose to that? She looked up to the footsteps on the hall, it wasn't itachi his was slightly heavier and quieter, it wasn't Sasuke he had a habit of pausing at odd intervals, and it wasn't Fugaku he tended to shuffle a bit more. What met her ears were lither steps graceful and practiced and only one person in the house fit that description, on cue Mikoto rounded the corner holding a plate of small onigiri.

Sakura smiled as the older woman sat by her, silently holding out the plate in all of her armored glory. Like many of the other Uchiha Mikoto was dressed for battle, no longer in the robes of a simple house wife. Like this Mikoto looked like a leader, and it seemed that in times like this Fugaku followed her lead. Sakura smiled, the woman was right 'behind every great man there is a great woman'. Mikoto certainly was one of the best. How she ever fell for Fugaku, Sakura wasn't sure, but she knew it had something to do with the two of them being childhood friends, how else would someone like Fugaku ever have a chance with Mikoto? Still the thought of the elder Uchiha courting another was a bit comical in a way.

Mikoto had claimed that he was the one who took the first initiative. Silently they sat together. Like Itachi sometimes Mikoto would merely look at the scenery just as Sakura would, lost in her own contemplative thoughts. Strange how sometimes they had moments when they were similar. Mikoto was normally a bubbly sort of woman the complete opposite of what Sakura was. To see her this way felt…strange. Sakura looked questioningly at the older woman, just as quickly the older woman turned to her, there was something she had wanted to say. "Sakura chan, was your mother good at being a medic?"

The question stunned her. Numbly Sakura nodded remembering the flashes of the other woman the green medic chakra surrounding her wounds and somehow magically repairing them to as good as new. "Did she have red hair? Also did she had a big white dog with her?" Sakura nodded at both. The older woman was silent for a moment and Sakura didn't know how to respond. "So you are Haruchii's daughter. I never would have expected… I mean she never told me…" her words trailed off as her eyes glazed over with contemplation of memory.

Gently Sakura put a hand on her arm causing Mikoto to look up. "No wonder." Mikoto said throwing Sakura yet again off track. What did she mean? Did she know her mother? All of a sudden the curiosity she had for her family came back full force, Sakura wanted to know. "You're Haruki's child." Haruki? Was that her mother's name? Sakura pulled her sleeve like a child who wanted to know the rest of the story, she knew the desperation to know showed clearly in her eyes.

Mikoto looked at her for a moment then handed her an onigiri, and began eating one herself. "Your mother's name was Haruki, Haruno. Around twenty or so years ago, she was known as the spirit of spring, mostly due to her name originally though. She was a pretty woman, men left and right of her fell in love and crashed equally as hard your mother was a bit too whimsical and innocent to the ways of love. That didn't change the fact that she was strong, especially when she had her white summon Ashiraka with her. Your mother was quickly on her way to becoming a legend with that fierce dog of hers.

"One day though, she disappeared without a trace and was labeled as a missing nin, no one was able to figure out why she left, only that she did, and that she was never heard from again. Even now people look for her in hopes to bring her back for their own fame. I wanted to wait for her to come back as her best friend…but she isn't coming back is she?" Sakura remembered her mother's body strewn across the ground muddy along with Shiro chan their hair rustling gently in the wind as their bodies remained unmoving, gently Mikoto touched the scars that ringed Sakura's neck. "I have a feeling she left because of you, in order to protect you… If she to see now what you have endured I'm sure that she would have broken, she's like Naruto, she cares sometimes a little too much. As side of her I have never been able to comprehend. I guess though that it explains why you are the way you are.

"Like you despite everything she's had to do in the line of a kunoichi she has never been tainted even when she killed, she would mourn the life she took and live that much more for those who fell by her hand. If given the chance she probably would have been the best Hokage…" Questions upon questions stacked up, none of them she could answer, and she knew that Mikoto wouldn't know. Why did she leave? Who was her father? They were questions with no answers, and they swirled within her, but now she had a clue, and that was her mother's name Haruki.

'Tell me about my mother.' Sakura wrote down in the older woman's palm it was a good way to relax before battle if you went in tense you made mistakes. The older woman smiled, "Promise me one thing before I do." Sakura nodded, "If I die-"

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Dun dun dun! Can you predict what happens next? Tell me if you can and take a good guess! Hi~ I'm back, sorry for the lllaattteeeee update but I had this competition thing going on in my class where we forego all modern technology… man was it hell… Who would have thought it included a laptops, computers, phones, car radios and i-touches… I will never do it again…. I'm ok with being addicted to technology aren't you?

Anywayyy… Thanks for reading!

To my anonymous
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To couples lover: Wow talk about mature content your thinking, I had really thought they were just cuddle sleeping then again if you put it that way it can be interpreted that way right? XD

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To niki: XD I'm glad you like it!~