New chapter!

Your reviews make me smile and I just want to spoil everything and tell you what will happen, but that would just be silly! Seems the general consensus is that a lot of you are worried for Shisui, her mother and her cousin. If enough people ask about one character in the reviews, I may give a hint on what to expect for that character (of course my hint will be vague ish)

I'm trying my best to fully flesh out all the characters, and not be too OC, but I know at some points they may become OC due to the changes in the events of the story.

I'm hoping to update within the month but work is still very busy. There may be a small time skip in the coming few chapter just because I think it would drag on if I wrote about Sakura's life until she becomes a genin.

Let me know if you guys prefer it when I stick to only Sakura's POV or when I switch it up, I personally like switching it up because it gives us an insight on other characters' thoughts and views.

Don't forget to review and enjoy the chapter!

Shisui woke with a start to the blood curdling screams coming from down the hall. He was out the door of the bedroom and into Sakura's room in a flash, ready to fight off intruders until he realized she was still having nightmares.

Her blankets were thrown off, her Wolfie was thrown across the room and she was thrashing in bed. Shisui tried to wake her up by calling her name but wasn't surprised when it didn't work - it didn't work before, why would it work now.

He carefully shook her shoulder to wake her while avoiding her flailing limbs but it didn't seem to work so he channeled a bit of chakra into her system - the same way one would break a genjutsu - and she instantly opened her eyes. Her breathing was erratic and Shisui could tell she was in pain.

"You're awake now. You're safe." he comforted her by resting his hand on her head while she tightened the material around her leg. "Princess, I didn't know you still got nightmares."

"I think they're only really bad when I'm alone. When I'm with Mama and Take-kun I sleep well." Sakura deduced.

Thinking back on it, Shisui remembered when he and Itachi had stayed with her and it seemed to make sense. A quick glance at the clock informed Shisui that it was the middle of the night and they both needed sleep.

"Can you sleep here, Shisui?" Sakura asked quietly. It almost seemed as if she was embarrassed to ask him but she should know by now that Shisui would basically do anything for her.

"Of course, Princess."

Shisui went to get Wolfie and put the blankets back onto the bed before lying next to Sakura.

The next day at school, Sakura hovered around Ino every chance she got. She saw Ami and her band of merry followers looking at her from a distance from the corner of her eye and steadfastly refused to acknowledge them. After having walked into Ino a few times because she wasn't paying attention, Ino finally spoke up.

"Why do you keep running into me? You're not paying attention to anything today, Sakura-chan."

"It's just… Some kids were mean to me yesterday because you weren't there. A couple of them were from the park."

"Who was it? I can go yell at them right now." Ino seethed

"No!" Sakura said abruptly, "it'll just make it worse when you're not there."

"Just stand your ground, don't let them be mean to you."

"How? Do I yell at them? I can't fight them."

"Fighting isn't the answer, you can yell at them and don't let them see that their words bother you, they obviously have bad taste if they don't want to be your friend." Ino smiled as she squeezed Sakura's hand.

With Ino's words in mind, Sakura started planning what she could say when Ami and her goons would bully her again. She tried to recall what Ino had said to the bullies at the park to try to imitate it but couldn't remember actually hearing any of the words that were shouted that day.

The crunching of chips from Choji beside her brought Sakura back to reality and she focused on Iruka-Sensei's lesson. He was teaching Chapter 3 of the academy mathematics textbook for first year students, which Sakura had already read that morning during breakfast.

She still listened to make sure she had understood everything correctly but this also gave her time to do some people watching. She looked around the classroom and decided to try to catalogue things she noticed, starting with Shikamaru.

He was lazy. He always seemed to be sleeping but he didn't seem stupid. Maybe it was just Sakura's optimism but she assumed no child that belonged to a clan would be stupid; their parents wouldn't allow it. She also noticed that he rarely ever spoke to anyone and he seemed to really be at ease only when he was around Choji. He looked so confident and as if he didn't care what anyone thought of him. All in all, she liked Shikamaru, especially his pineapple like hair.

Next in line was Choji. He seemed like a somewhat male version of herself; he was shy, didn't like being around too many people and was bullied because of his physical appearance - though for him it was his weight rather than his forehead. He was also a genuinely nice person that cared about animals. She had seen him free a butterfly from a spider web even though it took him an extra 10 minutes just to make sure the butterfly could fly once he saved it. Choji was another kid that she liked.

Sitting at the next table was a boy with long brown hair. Sakura had never spoken to him and he didn't look like anything special. He looked like he was bored out of his mind and didn't want to be there but she had to admit that his ability to balance 3 pencils on three different fingers was pretty impressive - at least if he stayed in the academy he should do pretty well with shurikenjutsu with all his dexterity.

Beside him was a girl with short hair that had a tinge of blue. Her white eyes were her most memorable feature and Sakura tried to imagine she it would look like if her own eyes were white instead of green. She had skimmed ahead in her history book to learn about a few of the major clans and the Hyuga were mentioned along with the Senju and Uchiha - Sakura made a note to learn more about these three clans, maybe there was a child from each clan in her class. Aside from her eyes, there was nothing notable about the girl, she was someone that could easily be forgotten.

After looking at three more kids that didn't look special in any way, Sakura's gaze landed on a boy wearing a fur coat. The days were getting warmer so the boy shouldn't be wearing that coat, it looked way too warm for it to be comfortable. She looked closer and saw something move inside the coat which got her looking more intently at the boy. It wasn't until she saw a small dog peak his head out of the coat that she deflated. She caught herself in the middle of cooing and decided to just look at the adorable puppy. That only served to confuse her even more; how was this boy wearing a fur coat with a dog hiding inside and not overheating? The boy also had markings on his face which gave Sakura the impression that he was from a clan. She made a mental note to try to go talk to the boy when she had a chance and enough courage to do so - she absolutely loved dogs and any excuse to pet one was a valid excuse.

Her attention shifted to Naruto when he started arguing with Iruka-sensei about learning how to fight. It seemed as if Naruto didn't want to do anything but learn to fight and Sakura knew they would only be doing that the following year which she was grateful for. She didn't want to start learning to fight when she had to use crutches so she made herself a goal; learn to form the chakra bone in time for sparring next year.

Sakura didn't mind Naruto, he seemed like a boy who just wanted to make friends. He was similar to her yet so different. He was usually loud where she was quiet, he was bullied and so was she. He would talk back to adults where she wouldn't dream of being disrespectful.

Sakura felt a pang of empathy for Iruka-sensei for having to deal with children every day, but she assumed he didn't mind if he chose to teach. She took a good look at him and started thinking of scenarios on how Iruka-sensei could have gotten that scar across his nose; maybe he was in a life or death fight, or maybe a big cat had attacked him or maybe he accidentally fell near a kunai, the possibilities were endless and Sakura knew she wasn't going to ask the man.

Only because she was looking so intently at her teacher did she notice how much he disliked Naruto. His demeanor was always on the offensive around Naruto and he always gave quick, blunt responses. When he was teaching, he had a calm, relaxing attitude, one that showed his passion for teaching.

Sakura didn't know what Naruto could have done to Iruka-sensei during the first few weeks of school to elicit such dislike - it could almost be described as hatred - from their teacher.

She looked around and debated asking Choji or Shikamaru but she didn't feel comfortable enough around them to bother them.

Having looked around class thoroughly enough, Sakura realized how bored she was - maybe she shouldn't read the book before learning it in class. Then an idea hit her; she could practice making the chakra bone in her leg!

She slowly started molding chakra like Akio-san had explained but as soon as she tried to form a bone in her leg, pain shot up and made her spine tingle. The yelp of pain made everyone turn to stare at her.

"Are you alright Sakura-chan?" her teacher asked.

She tried to speak but with everyone staring at her she flushed a shade of red that clashed with her pink hair and she froze up. Sakura nodded to her teacher, embarrassed. She heard a few chuckles throughout the room but kept her gaze on the table in front of her until her heartbeat stopped pounding in her chest.

It wasn't until school was done that she got a chance to talk to Ino alone. Ino knew her father was going to be late and Sakura knew Shisui was busy so she would be walking home alone.

"Are you going to tell me how you broke your leg? And how much longer do you need the crutches? You don't have a cast so I'm guessing you'll be healed and good as new soon! My cousin broke his leg once and once the cast came off he got better pretty quickly. It must be weird having to walk with crutches, I wonder if I should practice walking with them in case I ever break my leg. I really hope I don't but you-"

"Ino," Sakura interrupted. Ino was usually talkative but this was on a whole new level. "Don't tell anyone but my leg isn't broken like it is for most people. The doctors said I may never be able to use it again because the two bones in my leg were shattered in a million pieces by a missing ninja. He had the scratch on his headband and..." Sakura paused for a second to build up her courage to talk about that fateful night again "and his partner killed my aunt and uncle." She finished quietly.

"What do you mean you won't be able to use your leg? How are you going to become a shinobi with me? How was it broken in so many pieces?" Ino kept asking questions with only served to slightly fluster Sakura.

"I just have bone pieces in my leg, every time I move it hurts and if I try to put weight on it, it hurts so much. The missing nin slammed his metal weapon on my leg really hard." Sakura finished and hoped Ino would stop asking so many questions for a while.

Ino managed to stay quiet for a few minutes before she glanced at Sakura and watched her walk. Sakura was feeling very self-conscious and tried her best to walk as normal as possible; she didn't want Ino to criticize her and wished her friend would stop staring at her.

She got her wish when she heard Ino call out for her father as she ran up ahead. Sakura took a few seconds to breathe and followed Ino.

"Daddy! Can Sakura-chan come over tonight?" Ino asked excitedly.

"We have a clan dinner tonight but I'm sure they wouldn't mind in the least if Sakura-chan came with us. She'll just have to ask her parents for permission."

"Mama is out of town on business so I can't ask for permission." Sakura informed Ino's father and she didn't miss the slight widening of his eyes - why a girl so young was home alone was beyond him.

"Well in that case I must insist that you come with us so you can have a proper meal. I know Choza has been planning the meal for at least two weeks and it will be a feast."

"Can you come over right now Sakura-chan?" Ino asked.

Sakura had never gone over to a friend's house before and she was nervous but she was so happy that Ino wanted her around. She stopped walking to look at Ino and actually managed to control her tears - at least they were tears of happiness this time. She gave Ino her best smile and nodded her head.

The clan dinner was far less awkward than Sakura imagined. She felt like an outsider before meeting everyone but by the end of the meal, she felt at home.

"I can't believe you ate so much! You almost gave Choji a run for his money." Ino exclaimed.

Sakura was laying down on the grass beside Shikamaru and Ino while Choji laid down beside Shikamaru. Ever since Sakura's leg was shattered she started eating more because of the extra calories she would burn by walking around with crutches all day - Sakura felt as though she would have strong arms in no time.

"Seeing all the adults' faces when you asked for seconds and then thirds was the best thing ever." Shikamaru said lazily.

"I didn't ask for seconds or thirds, Ino's father gave me more food when my stomach growled." Sakura informed them which elicited a snort from Shikamaru and a chuckle from both Choji and Ino.

"I think my parents really like you since you liked their food." Choji said quietly.

"Your mother makes the best carrot cake, I wish I could have some every day." Sakura stated.

The kids spent a while laying down on the grass until Ino stood up from boredom.

"We should play a game! I haven't played tag in ages." Ino informed her friends.

"Umm Ino, I can't run." Sakura said dejectedly.

Ino's cheeks were red instantly from embarrassment and she hugged Sakura as apology.

"I'm so sorry! I didn't think of that, we can play something else."

"No it's alright, I can sit and watch you guys play."

"I think I'll pass too, there are so many clouds in the sky." Shikamaru drawled out - clearly he enjoyed watching the clouds go by.

"You guys are no fun." Ino pouted "Can I play with your hair then Sakura-chan?"

Sakura loved it when her mother played with her hair, there was something so incredibly relaxing about it. She sat up and turned her back to Ino as a response and almost immediately felt the gentle pull through her hair. Sakura tried her best to stay awake but she always managed to doze off when someone played with her hair.

Sakura felt a hand on her shoulder and jerked awake. She looked around and saw Shikamaru and Choji sitting and looking at her so she turned around to see Ino's smiling face.

"I hope you like your hair, I'm really good at doing braids."

Sakura ran a hand over her hair and felt the braid. She admired the workmanship and appreciated the effort that went towards her hairdo.

"Thank you, Ino… chan" she added. It was the first time Sakura used an honorific for someone who wasn't her family and she was hoping it was alright. The widening of Ino's smile and the tight hug was proof enough that it was more than alright.

The two girls spent the rest of their time talking about flowers. It turns out Ino knew almost as much as Sakura's parents when it came to the meaning of flowers. Her mother had already tried to teach her the different meanings but she had always been more interested in knowing how each flower acted in a poison.

Ino loved flowers and making different arrangements to tell others how she felt, it was something both her parents taught her since they owned a flower shop. Ino kept mentioning how she would be helping out her parents with the flower shop when she grew up. Sakura listened to Ino talk about all the things she would be doing in a few years' time and it made her wonder why Ino even wanted to be a shinobi if she had all these other aspirations.

"Why do you guys want to become shinobi?" Sakura asked the three other children.

"What do you mean?" Ino in turn asked Sakura.

"Why did you guys decide to become shinobi? I want to become a shinobi so I can protect everyone I love and care about."

"It's something everyone in my family does, I never really thought why else I would want to become a shinobi but your reason seems like something I want to do too." Ino stated quietly.

"Same for me, it feels like it's necessary for our families to become shinobi, it was never really a choice I guess." Shikamaru added.

"My family is the same way, but my father also told me there's lots of really good food throughout the nations and I want to try them all." Choji noted as his stomach growled.

"Are you seriously hungry? We just finished eating not long ago!" Ino exasperated.

Sakura watched as Choji lowered his head in embarrassment and started thinking of things she could do to make him more comfortable.

"Choji, did you want to get more dessert with me?" She asked. Although she wasn't hungry, Sakura really enjoyed the carrot cake that Choji's mother had made.

"You too?" Ino asked Sakura.

"It was so delicious. I don't normally have good food when my family's gone." Sakura said while walking over to Choji. She extended her hand as an invitation for Choji and they walked towards the house to get more food.

"I really like food too, and your parents are amazing cooks. I wish I could have more of their cooking."

"Umm, y-you said sometimes your family's gone? Do they get missions pretty often?" Choji asked innocently.

"I only had one aunt and uncle who were shinobi in my family but they're dead. Everyone in my family is a merchant so travelling all the time is part of the job." Sakura explained.

"You didn't want to be a merchant?"

"No, I never wanted to. I wanted to be like my aunt and uncle even if my parents didn't want me to."

The rest of their short walk was done in a comfortable silence and Sakura could see Choji's smile widen slightly. When they walked into the house she noticed that someone was already getting food before them.

"Is there any carrot cake left?" Choji asked his father.

"Only one slice left, I was going to have it after I'm done."

"Can Sakura have it? She really liked Mom's cake."

"No, no it's alright, you can have the last piece Akimichi-san." Sakura spluttered, his family did do the cooking so it only made sense that he would have first dibs for the food.

"Nonsense! You're a growing girl, you should eat to your heart's content." Choji's father informed her and gave her a plate with the last remaining slice of carrot cake.

Sakura followed Choji around while he stacked food onto his own plate. She had a hard time believing he would finish it all but she guessed he knew better than her.

"Did you want to go eat with Shikamaru and Ino?" Sakura asked when Choji couldn't fit any more food on his plate.

Choji stopped and looked at the ground at his feet - Sakura noticed that he always did that when he was embarrassed.

"I'd rather not, Ino can be mean to me sometimes when I eat lots."

Sakura couldn't believe Ino would be mean to anyone but decided to not push Choji so she hobbled towards the table to sit down after giving Choji her plate. She wasn't quite capable of juggling a plate while walking on her crutches quite yet and she was glad when Choji simply accepted her plate and followed her.

The two sat down side by side and ate the food on their plates, neither uttering a word. When Sakura finished her carrot cake, she glanced at the other desserts taunting her and couldn't resist. She stood up and very slowly walked to the dessert section with her plate in one hand while only using one crutch to hop around. It was difficult, but so worth it for the desserts stacked on her plate.

"You're just as bad as he is!" Ino exclaimed when she saw her two friends eating their full plates.

Sakura heard the tinge of annoyance in Ino's voice and stopped eating immediately. She didn't want her first friend to be annoyed with her or dislike her so she pushed her plate away to not be as tempted by it.

"If you eat lots of dessert, you'll get fat and no boy will ever like you, you know." Ino continued.

Sakura wanted boys to like her so they would want to be her friend. It was a bit strange to her that boys wouldn't want to be friends if she ate lots of dessert but she decided that Ino must know better since she's the one with all the friends.

"Ino, just because you don't want to eat delicious food doesn't mean you should stop Sakura from eating it." Choji rebutted quietly.

"If she gets fat and hangs around me, people won't want to be my friend anymore. So if she gets fat I won't be able to be her friend anymore, I'm just looking out for what's best for her." Ino raised her voice and her brow furrowed in annoyance.

"Ino… chan. I'll just finish this and I'll be more careful from now on." Sakura said meekly.

"Deal!" Ino relaxed at this and Sakura quickly finished her dessert.

"Ino, appearances aren't everything. The sooner you realize this, the better." Shikamaru piped in and laid his hand on Choji's shoulder to reassure his friend.

As soon as Sakura finished her desserts Ino gave her the crutches and walked away from the two boys. Sakura followed her friend and sat down next to her on the grass in the yard.

"There's a lot you don't know, Sakura-chan, but I'll teach you everything don't worry!" Ino's smile warmed Sakura's heart so she listened attentively while Ino told her how to act around boys.

Sakura didn't know she was supposed to always praise boys and tell them how good they are at everything even if they weren't. She was also supposed to be on their side no matter what, and offer them gifts whenever possible. Ino told her the easiest gift to give was food, so if a boy was ever sad or not happy at school, the best thing to do would be to give him your lunch.

Sakura found it strange how she was supposed to do everything for a boy just to be friends but she didn't doubt Ino. Ino had lots of friends at school and some of them were even boys.

Ino had been talking for almost an hour when she was interrupted by her father.

"Ino, it's time to leave."

"Daddy we have to walk Sakura-chan home first!"

"Of course we'll walk her home first. Are you girls ready?" He asked nicely.

"Yup!" Ino yelled and ran towards her father.

Sakura got up and hopped over to the pair while Ino's mother said her goodbyes. She then spotted Shikamaru and Choji and waved goodbye to them before walking off with Ino's family.

Once home, Sakura did her nightly meditation, practiced her chakra exercises to hide her chakra and sense chakra then decided on some light reading before bed. The light reading that night consisted of the medical book Shisui had gotten her which only served to excite her even more about the next time she would see Akio and hopefully try forming the chakra bone with him. She didn't want to try it alone seeing as it hurt a lot the one and only time she tried in class.

Sakura settled in her bed with Wolfie and read until she woke up in the middle of the night sweating profusely and with a raw throat. It was the same story every night, she had nightmares of her family dying, each time just as gruesome or more than her aunt and uncle's death. And each time, she would wake up with her blankets thrown off the bed and Wolfie thrown somewhere in her room far enough that she didn't have the courage to search for it in the middle of the night.

She always cried in her bed and tried to go back to sleep but sleep usually escaped her for a few hours. The only times she remembered being able to fall back asleep was when Shisui was with her - maybe he was her knight in shining armor after all.