Chapter Twenty-One
Her faith wavers under the dark sky.
"You've been awfully quiet today, kiddo." When Sakura doesn't respond, Genma frowns. She has been out of sorts since the start of their meetup and it's distracting her, therefore causing her performance to drop a bit. Not much, but it's noticeable. "Kid? Kid!" He doesn't like raising his voice.
Sakura's head snaps in his direction, but she doesn't reply. It's as if she's seeing through him, not knowing how to respond or if she's even mentally present. It's been like this off and on through training. Genma, unsure of what's causing her to act like this, walks over and plops his hand down on her head.
She startles horribly; jerking back as if he struck her across the face.
"Kid?" He takes a few steps back, giving her space she clearly needs. "Kid, let's take a breather."
She blinks rapidly. "Genma-san?" Sakura looks around, confused. "Where am I?"
"We're at Ground 12, kiddo. Have been for the last two hours. Hatake will be here in a bit."
Slowly, like sand trickling out of someone's palm, her eyes focus and she becomes aware of herself and her surroundings. "Oh," she responds. "I'm sorry, Genma-san. I don't know what happened to me. I," Sakura frowns, "feel anxious. Like something is coming and I'm not prepared for it. Maybe I'm being paranoid." She shrugs but the uncomfortable expression remains.
Genma frowns. "What was the first thing I told you during our fifth meeting? I know you remember."
"When in doubt, trust your gut." Sakura looks up at him, eyes clear but lips still twisted into a frown. "What am I supposed to do, Genma-san? Something's not right. I can feel it."
He moves closer, cautious as she tenses up again, and takes a knee. "Listen, if something doesn't feel right...it doesn't feel right. Gut feelings tend to be almost always right in the case of a shinobi's survival so don't try to push it away. We can work on - "
"Yo."
Not for the first time in his life, Genma wanted to pummel Hatake Kakashi into the ground, but he fights back the urge to lunge for the - barely even, in his not so humble opinion - man. While, yes, he would fight alongside Hatake, have his back in battle in ways that compliment his fighting style, he still finds the boy - Barely 18! - to be a big pain in his ass.
"Hello, Kakashi-san."
"There's a lot of rumors circulating about you Sakura-chan," Kakashi begins, clearly amused. "The main one being that your family adopted Uzumaki Naruto?"
"Haruno," she correct, though not unkindly. "Naruto's surname will be changed to Haruno soon." All hesitation, all fear, and doubts seem to bleed out of her following that gentle correction.
Genma blinks once, slowly standing up. "Your family adopted Uzu - Naruto?"
Sakura nods once. "So Naruto-chan has a family to rely on and Lord Fourth and his wife can rest in peace knowing their son is being carried for." There's a sharp inhale from Kakashi and, for a brief moment, Genma feels dizzy. "I think Naruto-chan is happy about his predicament."
"Others are not," Genma hears Kakashi mumble.
As Sakura walks away to meet her friends, a slight skip in her step, Genma turns to Kakashi and frowns. "If you knew Minato-san had a child, why didn't you say or do anything?!" Hatake Kakashi was, quite possibly, Namizake Minato's most prized student in terms of skill.
And to see him get angry at the accusation is almost a spectacular sight. "I was 13 and I lost both of my teammates in the timespan of four months, one of which who threw herself in front of one of my attacks, committing suicide because she played hostess to an unstable bijuu!" Kakashi closes his only visible eye, sort of curling into himself. "I was depressed and messed up in the head. I was not in the mental state to care for a child. Even now, I'm hardly better than I was back then." Then he opens his eye, glaring. "I've been in and out of the village for years, hardly staying long enough to keep my apartment clean. How would that have been fair to him?"
Genma looks away. The loss of Uchiha Obita and Nohara Rin, two of his former leader's students, really hit the Fourth Hokage hard. And his final student was shipped off on a mission after mission bases, blocking any and all emotion relating to a team or friendship.
"If I had known, I would have never let Minato-san's child live the life he was until recently."
"Five years is a long time to suffer under the abuse of the village, but I think Sakura will make up for that. Sensei and Kushina-san would have liked her a lot."
For the first time, in a long time, Genma feels inclined to agree. "They would have liked her a lot."
The walk to Sasuke's home, the place of which everyone will meet up at for the day, is slow but easy one. Her anxiety has taken to the back part of her mind, calming down but not outright gone. Sasuke's mother promised to let them all decorate cookies today and take them home to their parents as gifts. This will help to keep her mind busy, for now, at least.
Naruto will be dropped off around the time she arrives by their father. He stayed in this morning to unpack and sleep some more - something Sakura ended up giggling about as she leaves for her meetup with Hinata and Neji - but promised to bring a change of clothes for her with him.
When a familiar chakra signature approaches from the East, Sakura pauses to allow the interception. She smiles upon seeing Sasuke's older brother. He's carrying a familiar bag filled with delicious treats and has cut his hair to chin length, half of it pulled up in a neat bun. She quite likes it.
"Itachi-nii," she greets with a smile. There's something comfortable about being able to look up at the older boy and find a mutual kinship, blood be damned. "No missions today?"
He smiles gently.
He has such a pretty smile, like Sasuke-chan and Mikoto-san.
"Not for the remainder of the week, Sakura-chan."
"I am happy to hear that." She takes the stick of dango he pulls from his treat bag and holds out to her. "Your mother won't be happy you're spoiling your dinner."
Itachi easily hands her another stick. "Our secret?" Sakura laughs with delight before descending on the treat. "Mother is having you and your friends decorate cookies. A few of you are bound to eat one or two. Mainly, Naruto-chan and Kiba and Choji."
Sakura shrugs gracefully, still smiling. "What else would your mother expect?"
"A good question, as always, Sakura-chan."
The sensation of dread she felt earlier that morning returns full force while she's over at the Uchiha compound and she's completely sure that both Itachi and Shisui notice her discomfort despite her forced smiles and need to relax when she's accidentally bumped into or outright hugged.
So, when Itachi pulls her to the side, handing her a wet cloth as he does, he questions her about her unease. Sakura takes the wet cloth without a word and wipes at her cheeks where both Naruto and Ino smeared frosting on her face. She barely conceals a flinch when a loud boom of laughter carries from the kitchen down the hall.
"Sakura-chan?" Itachi is nothing, if not patient, but his concern runs deep. "You've been unhappy for most of the evening? What can be done to rectify this?"
"It's just a looming sensation, Itachi-nii. I don't know what it is, but I don't feel comfortable. To think that I was fine for a little bit." She bites her lower lip, eyes firmly on the floor. "Forgive me. I don't to worry you or anyone else."
There's a tap on her forehead. "Why are you apologizing? If something feels wrong, then it feels wrong. A gut feeling can, and will, save your life one day. Do you think it relates to the compound?" He briefly glances around. The hallway they are in is dark, the only light coming from the kitchen.
"No." He frowns, obviously having a hard time figuring out what to say next. "I felt like this earlier, nii-san. When I was with Hinata-chan and Neji-chan, when I was with Genma-san, and I was fine until a little bit ago. I think something bad is going to happen."
"I will walk you and Naruto-chan home, alright? Sasuke can come along if it will make you feel better?"
Sakura sighs. "If that is what you think if best, then I would appreciate it. I would - "
"Sakura-chan! You still have five cookies to decorate!" Naruto comes racing into the hallway. "Hurry, before Sasuke uses all the blue frosting!" There's an upset yell from the kitchen, a sound that can only come from the person accused, and laughter soon follows.
"Try and enjoy the evening as best you can, Sakura-chan."
She nods, steps forward to hug Itachi, smiles a little when he hugs her back (his palm resting on top of her head), and pulls away to join a smiling Naruto at the entrance of the kitchen and willingly lets herself be pulled back where she's greeted with the highest form of happiness.
Uchiha Shisui is no stranger to how the politicians of Konoha work. Back-to-back meetings pending his advancement in ANBU has left him more than overtired. But he's not so tired to recognize the unease in Sakura's body language - the way she backs away from hugs far too quickly than normal or how she denies being so close to her group of friends overall - and he's highly concerned.
According to Itachi, the girl has taken her swimming lessons like a champ - not Itachi's exact wording, but Shisui doesn't care for the little details - and spends more time on the dock over the Uchiha pond with her friends. Her ability to remain calm over the deeper water is a great improvement from the shaken form he rescued a while back.
"Did she say anything?"
Itachi nods as he takes his seat next to him. "She feels as though something dark lurks around the corner. I believe it's overwhelming her."
"That's worrisome, Itachi. Sakura-chan has a fantastic perspective of everything around her and I don't doubt her for a minute. We need to speak to someone."
"But to whom?" Itachi asks. "While talk of Sakura-chan's possible requirement for certain ranks has been on and off for a few weeks, not every person speaks with good intention. I'm sure you are aware of this. The Council of Elders has been adamant about having her sent to the Academy rather than let Genma-san train her."
Shisui runs a hand through his wild hair. "How unfortunate, for them, that they cannot make that happen. The Board of Clans will always have the final say."
As Naruto and Sasuke chat a good distance ahead of them, Sakura remains at Itachi's side, silent as ever, while keeping a firm grip on his hand. Despite her hardest attempts, she couldn't shake the unease she feels and her friends started to notice. Mainly, Shikamaru and Shino, both who asked her on different occasions if she was okay.
"I hope you rest easy tonight, Sakura-chan."
Her grip tightens to acknowledge his comment, but she doesn't reply. She only hears his soft sigh and lets herself be pulled closer. She is safe. She is secure. For the time being, that is. When Sasuke takes off with Naruto chasing him, they pick up their pace. At least the boys are having a good time.
Once again, Naruto denies her offer to go to the Hyuga compound to meet up with Hinata and Neji. When she asks why, he merely states that Neji's father "has a scary face" and he's not ready to face that. Sakura laughs, mentions next time (he pinky promises her), and leaves as she normally does.
But the smile falls from her face the moment she closes the door to her home and looks up at the sky. A summer storm is quickly approaching, the wind picking up quite a bit but, nevertheless, she persists with her walk to the Hyuga compound. She promised to help Hinata improve her accuracy with her clan-issues kunai. There aren't many people outside like previous mornings. This is something Sakura is more than okay with.
Fewer people means fewer sneers sent her way.
Last night was terrible. It was the first night she refused to cuddle with Naruto on the couch before falling asleep. When Naruto had a nightmare, she only stayed long enough to soothe his tears before letting their father take over so she can go back to sleep.
But sleep didn't come easy and, despite her cheerful display, she feels horrible. The closer she draws to the forest to cut across to the Hyuga compound, the more anxiety grips at her heart. Once she's out of the normal view of the civilian district, that's when Sakura feels eyes on her. It's not a subtle feeling either.
"Trust your gut, kiddo."
She's being followed. She's - someone grabs her from behind covering her mouth in the process. The hand is bare so Sakura bites down at the top as best she can, feeling the tiniest bit satisfied when she hears a grunt. The hand is quickly replaced with an odd smelling cloth.
Sakura's struggles increase; her need to escape growing with each passing second. She feels her hair being yanked, feels the ribbon slip out, sees the ribbon fall to the ground out of the corner of her eye. Fear turns to anger turns to - she feels sleepy.
Her red ribbon, lying unharmed on the ground, is the last thing she sees before everything fades away.
Chapter Word Count - 2,428
Targeted Word Count - 2,500
Total Word Count - 55020
Welp, I'll crawl into a hole and die. This chapter was incredibly difficult to write. I literally re-wrote it three times and this is the version I'm going with. I don't keep deleted bits of chapters. Sorry. The next chapter will be a bit more intense, so look forward to that. If you have the time, please review.
~i-just-really-like-sakura