Alayneni: I think that a scene involving the clan boys and Sakura's temper will be coming very soon! mwhahaha!
HikariZaichuYami: Don't worry...Kanae will be okay, she has Sakurato take care of her now. *checks charts* That is a negative, Sasuke is not on meds, he's just weird. We are going to agree with Sakura and wonder if he hit his head one too many times.
KurenaiBara-chan: I know! Sasuke gives hugs and has feelings! Crazy I know! (am I making him too un-sasuke with all these things?) Sasuke is SUCH a overprotectingve and possessive guy when it comes to Sakura, and an egotistical clan leader...BUT OKAY!!! I must call together the councilof the Haruno clan to discuss your entry into the clan and gaining of the bloodline limit...lol
QueenThayet12990: Ahh past and present, the inter weaving is intentional...it gets more complicated later! And I'm going with 'he got hit too hard in battle,' it sounds very convincing no?
Animeartist17: Let the suspense, at least for this moment, be squelched. Later suspense will come back, but for now we will see what happens! I'm not sure he's going to come out of his shell that much, and she can only trust him so much. He's going to have to prove things to her, and she is going to have to deal with his unusual behavior.
Sakura ushi: It's good to have you join us! This is my only fanfic story...at the moment...I already have another one I'm working on for after this one. =D
Mistyfire: Yeah, Sasuke is a complicated mess who doesn't like to explain things...Kanae will be okay, she has Sakura to watch over her now. O.O *stares at mess of fainted Sakura and 'trying to deny it' Sasuke.* I don't think yelling something like that to the world is a great idea...look what it got us!?!
TheBLOfHS: I don't have any plans of the kids in hospitals because of Kanae...but the boys better watch it! I get temperamental too. I like your suggestions...but I think I'll stick with what I have...I hope it doesn't disappoint!
Tiger Priestess: I'm glad you like the bloodline limit! I love the music! Them together...for ever, and ever, and ever, and ever, and ever, and you get it! Sakura will have to be convinced that it's a compliment...and Sasuke will have to learn to be gentler...Yes, the man Shizune healed in Sound is Hideo. *Squeaks* I know he kissed her!!! Were you in good or bad hysterics? laughing or horrified hysterics at the tattoos!?! I NEED TO NOW!!! lol
To Everyone: ENJOY!!!!!!!! And no...I don't own Naruto...*sigh*
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After thirty minutes, when Sakura felt her legs starting to tingle, Kanae slowly woke up, looking around in confusion. Sakura let out a little laugh and stood up, setting the girl on her feet. While resting a hand on the girls shoulder they went back to the training grounds, picking up a few shuriken and kunai, Sakura took Kanae to a point and handed her the weapons. Giving her a few pointers and suggestions Sakura let Kanae train, pointing out new things as they went.
As the day flew by, Sakura stayed and coached her, there wasn't much improvement, one day in itself couldn't help that much. With time and good training she a would become very good. As the sun was starting to set, Sakura and Kanae headed towards the main house to see what the plans were as the sun sat low in the sky. Walking in the door to the main house they laughed at the antics of the village children who ran around having a good time.
But when they made it in the door, Sakura found herself shoved back outside. Kanae was shoved away before Sakura could do anything to protect her and into a wall. Sasuke was beside her helping her up as Ninja jumped out of trees to subdue the redhead who snarled at Sakura. Standing up straight, Sakura demanded to know what was going on. She was told that Sasuke had teleported Suigetsu to Konoha, but he couldn't find Karin.
Suigetsu had said that Karin had left the base a while ago, he assumed she had gone after Sasuke. Sasuke had waited for a while, but Suigetsu had informed him that Karin had planned to be gone for at least another month, so he had left. But Karin had been headed back to base, and recognized Sasuke's chakra signature.
Once she had gotten close enough to the village after following Sasuke, Karin had teleported to him. She had realized that Sasuke had changed the moment she saw him and how he was looking at a portrait of Sakura. And with that realization she had decided that Sakura was to blame. And look where they were now, Karin trying to kill her again!
Knowing that Karin couldn't leave while knowing about the village, Sakura decided the best thing to do was erase her memories of this place. And that meant that she would have to get close enough without Karin fighting back at her. She would probably have to be knocked out. Deciding it was time to have some fun and play with the disillusioned redhead, Sakura smirked. She had some anger issues to deal with as well, and she wanted pay back for the first attempt on her life.
"Let her go, let her fight me if she wills it." From the way everyone, except Naruto and Shizune, tensed it was apparent that no one wanted to risk her, but then she was stronger now than she had ever been, and knew that she could have defeated Karin even without the extra chakra and bloodline limit.
The men and women holding Karin let her go, stepping away, obviously uneasy with the situation. Getting into a fighting stance, Sakura spotted Kanae being helped up by Fusao. She knew what she was looking at, Fusao was the oldest of the group, and the one that picked on Kanae the most. But in the simple act of helping her up and glaring at Karin's back, Sakura saw him for what he was. A young boy, thinking he was the oldest of the clan, with the weight of rebuilding the clan on his shoulders as well as trying to protect them all.
His feelings were in his eyes, like a certain clan leader of the Uchiha's, he let a flicker in his eye tell every tale. The boy liked Kanae, but he tried to hide it, and Sakura who was an expert at reading the unreadable Uchiha eyes, she saw a caring that the boy hid from all, calling it his duty to protect the clan, and that included Kanae. Smiling in delight Sakura kept one eye on Karin, who stood confused.
Sakura wanted to shake her head, were all Uchiha males alike? Or was it just the ones that were hiding things from others? She saw that Hiro, Kanae's brother, went to her side as did the others, but they all clearly showed their concern. Determining to find out what was going on and why they all picked on her if they all cared for her, Sakura turned her attention to Karin.
"I don't know what you've done to Sasuke, but I'll stop you from taking him from me!" Hearing Karin speak in a voice that did not sound very strong, and knowing Kanae and the rest were watching, Sakura focused on Karin, who looked at those around her in unsure discomfort before glaring at Sakura. Well if she was this unsure, the battle wouldn't last long, that knowledge disappointed Sakura, she was ready to blow off some steam.
"Come on Karin, they will not interfere and neither will Sasuke. It's just you and I, time to settle." Sasuke grunted at her promise of his not interfering, but Sakura ignored him, she didn'tneed his help, everyone would see that. Moving to an open area, well away from the crowd and buildings towards the ocean, Sakura motioned to Karin.
A Biwa and Flute flew through the air, and Sakura caught them both. Her mother's Biwa was then strapped to her back, with the belts attached to it around her and her father's flute strapped on, Sakura got ready. The two pairs of bells chimed from their place a few inches below the flute. Karin looked confused at the reason for the instruments, but then so did Naruto and Sasuke. She wouldn't need them, but she was glad that Shizune already knew what it was for, that took one of the list of people to explain everything to.
As unsure as she was, Karin came at her all the same, and Sakura smirked when Sasuke activated his Sharingan. Performing hand seals at an incredible speed, Sakura stood still, and when Karin was close enough to take a swing, Karin found herself surrounded by Cherry Blossoms. A moment later the Cherry Blossoms shifted together behind Karin, and Sakura stood there, putting her palm into Karin's back, in between shoulder blades, and pushed.
Karin flew down into the sand of the beach, just barely stopping before reaching the wet sand that the waves gently flowed over. Walking down onto the white sand, with the rest of the village a ways behind her, Sakura stood again and waited. This time Karin would use more caution, that much was clear when Karin finally stood and glared at Sakura.
Slowly moving towards each other, both measuring their opponents, Karin tried another tactic. Performing a few hand seals, she simply stood for a moment before speeding into some nearby trees and bushes. Knowing what Karin was about, Sakura performed her own hand seals and watched as wispy puffs of smoke rose into the air, leaving three other Sakura's standing next to the real Sakura.
Not using the usual cloning Jutsu, Sakura used the Shadow Clone Jutsu that she had learned from Naruto. With Karin trying to track her at all times, Sakura she ran into some bushes after Karin, laughing lightly. With this Jutsu, Sakura's chakra was evenly spread in each one, each actual copies of herself, not illusions. Karin wouldn't be able to find her if she found four Sakura's while tracking her.
With the three besides her, Sakura jumped up into a tree, the others following suit and jumping up into other trees. With that, Sakura let her limitless chakra spike high and strong from all four. A simple warning that Sakura was sure would make Karin falter at the least. Although Sakura hoped for more of a reaction, she was sure that Karin had never really seen anything like her amount and strength of chakra.
With all four searching, Sakura scanned the area and smiled. In the bushes below one of the clones, Karin sat cowering in confusion. She didn't like the many signatures of chakra, all belonging to Sakura. One of the clones jumped down, but Karin knew she was coming and turned in time to plant a fist into the clones face. When the clone stumbled back, with a bleeding lip, Karin kicked the clone while smiling with malice.
That malicious smile vanished when the clone went up in smoke. The two other clones jumped down, shoving Karin back and forth between the two, while they took turns punching and kicking her around like a sack. Somehow Sakura thought that Karin was a better fighter than this. As she sat watching Sakura noticed a flicker, and watched as a kick had Karin going up in smoke.
Sensing chakra below her Sakura jumped back in time to miss Karin's attack from the ground. Sakura jumped into the open of the sandy beach, her two other clones puffing away. So Sakura had been right, Karin was slightly smarter than the average field rat, although not much better looking in her opinion. The crowd was still there, watching in apprehension and slight excitement. Shizune and Naruto rolled their eyes, they knew that Sakura was simply toying with Karin.
With more hand seals, Sakura had chakra scalpels ready and waiting. Seeing those, Karin moved back, she probably knew what they were from seeing Kabuto use them, and she knew how badly they could damage a person. Moving forward quickly, Sakura took a few swipes at Karin, not meant to touch her, just scare her a bit. And from Karin's wide eyes as she dodged the blows, she was terrified.
Karin jumped to a safe distance, but Sakura was done playing around. She just wanted to be done and on her way home, with Karin not knowing of the village anymore. Her plan was interrupted when Karin teleported just in front of her, dodging the blow aimed at her face, Sakura's eyes widened in horror at the scene playing out before her. Kanae's body came hurtling out of nowhere, slamming into Karin's side. Well, so much for no one interfering!
Then Karin had Kanae in her clutches, holding the girl upside down by her ankle as Sakura's heart stopped for a second before speeding on. Rage rose in Sakura at the sight of Karin's sadistic smile as she looked at the now frighten child held in her hands. Kanae had obviously not been thinking anything beyond 'help Sakura' when she had moved. But when Kanae's eyes flashed red, rage turned to delight. Her Sharingan had been activated!
This fight may have started out as a game, and started to turn in a bad direction. But if Kanae activated her Sharingan, then Sakura couldn't complain. Training for the girl would be much easier, and hopefully the boys would stop picking on her. Pumping chakra into her feet, Sakura jumped and landed behind Karin, putting a hand to the base of her neck.
Karin froze, then crumpled while screaming threats at Sakura, but her hands let Kanae go. With all the muscles in her limbs longer under her control, Karin simply laid in the sand. Touching a hand to Karin's forehead, Sakura moved a safe distance away. As Sakura's chakra slowly let Karin regain the use of her limbs, Sakura watched little Kanae run to safety.
Sakura pulled out her father's flute and smirked at Karin, oh the sweet taste of payback! As she started to play, infusing her chakra in the instrument, Karin regained the use of her muscles and scrambled up. Lifting the instrument to her lips, Sakura began a haunting, somewhat odd tune. She knew that no one would hear the music, it was part of the instruments that the clan boasted.
Only the person she targeted when infusing the chakra would be affected by the songs, unless she wanted to affect anyone within a certain range from herself. Only infusing chakra into the instrument made music, most people who picked it up would assume the instruments were broken. Even the bells did not chime unless chakra was infused into them.
Playing a song that would take Karin into an illusion, Sakura sent Karin into the nightmare that plagued her life. Making Karin see the nightmares that tormented her, Sakura was sure that, at least for a time, Karin would not be willing to fight. It was with almost sadistic pleasure that Sakura watched Karin react to the tragedy that marked a change in Sakura's life.
From the way Karin jump, squeaked and tried to get away from whatever she saw while shrieking in high octaves, Sakura knew that Karin was seeing the end result of Kisame's play time. Karin screamed, and tried to back away from things only she could see before finally falling into a curled fetal position. From the way she sat, Sakura assumed that she had probably found a corner of what she thought was the room to settle into.
Finally stopping her music, Sakura walked calmly to Karin's side. Putting away her flute, Sakura began a gentle lullaby that would send Karin into a deep sleep. She wasn't the only one who would be traumatized from such a sight, for a short while anyways. She would have to erase this whole event as well as the village, she couldn't leave one but not the other without an explanation.
Once Karin was out, Sakura put her glowing hand over Karin's forehead. Using her chakra to probe through Karin's mind, Sakura flinched. What had Sasuke had to deal with while with her? Karin's thoughts and fantasies were quickly moved passed, Sakura reallydidn't want to see anymore than she already had. Focusing on her task Sakura found the part of the brain that held memories, and erased the ones that Karin had of the village.
In its place Sakura put memories of being teleported and taken into custody before being escorted into a prison room. Then she made sure that Karin remembered a struggle to ensure the bruises were explained. As much as she wanted to leave the battle and defeat in her head, how would that be explained without showing the fight and its location? Once all that was done, Sakura performed a few hand seals and touched Karin's shoulder.
As Karin disappeared, Sakura heard the gasps from the crowd. She knew this was how Sasuke had gotten Karin and Suigetsu to Konoha, and it was the way she had sent an unconscious Karin to Tsunade's office. Teleporting someone didn't mean you had to go too, it just meant different hand seals were needed. From there Sakura turned to the crowd in time to have her hips tackled by Kanae, who held on tightly to Sakura.
"You were amazing! I want to be just like you!" The girls big, trusting eyes had Sakura smiling. Sakura beamed down at the girl, "You activated your Sharingan! I'm so proud of you, even if it was not smart to interfere. But we will deal with that later." Wrapping the girl in a quick hug, Sakura heard the crowd beyond them, and smiled. Sakura really did like this girl, especially with the happy glow in her eyes.
As a cheer went up, Sakura turned and moved to them, keeping a hand on Kanae's shoulder. Smiling at everyone, and finally meeting the son of her cousin that Sasuke had just brought back, the man that Shizune had healed when she was disguised as Sakura not so long ago when they kidnapped Sasuke. After greeting her cousin's son and nodding her thanks to Sasuke, Sakura scanned the crowd to make sure everyone was okay.
Eventually she would get Sasuke alone to thank him verbally, but she didn't really want witnesses to that admittance of thanks. And that was when Sakura found herself surrounded by family and friends, a place she never thought she'd be again. Hugging Hideo close, Sakura welcomed him home and told him how glad she was that he was out of Sound.
He smile and thanked her, before saying how glad he was that she would be marrying Sasuke, the one he had saved, and been saved by in return. His tired eyes showed strain, something that staying in Sound for a prolonged period of time would do to anyone. Only because of that did Sakura keep to herself any comments about marrying Sasuke.
Explaining to everyone that she wanted to check him, Sakura thanked everyone for their concern and bid them goodnight. Once in Hideo's room, with his parents holding his hands, Sakura checked him over. Healing the bruises and few scrapes he still had, Sakura worked on his lungs for a bit. Once she was satisfied that his lungs were fine after some smoke inhalation had hurt them, Sakuraleft the room to give the family time alone.
Recalling his comment about her marriage Sakurastruggled to stop the reminder from dampening her spirits. She didn't relish the thought of spending a lifetime with an unfeeling person, protective or not, or used as a breeder. Nor did she relish the thought of countless nights alone, whether he was home or away, in the Uchiha home. Tsunade just had to help her out of this somehow!