Madara could feel her squirming as they got closer and closer to the Senju compound.
"What is it?" He asked her annoyed at the obvious tension in her grip around his middle.
"Let me off here." Sakura had been thinking about what Kagami had told Madara, that it had been Tobirama who had attacked the Uchiha she had just healed and she wanted answers.
"What? Why?" Madara was a little surprised.
"I need to know why Tobirama attacked your men, and I don't want to assume or guess, I want to ask him myself." Sakura told him.
Madara stopped his horse and the others stopped behind him.
"What is it?" Izuna came up alongside them and asked why they had stopped.
"Sakura wants to ask the white haired asshole why he attacked our men." Madara told him, the look on his face both was amused and annoyed.
The look on Izuna's face was one of pure shock and then anger.
"Sakura, he is a Senju, that is who they are." Izuna didn't understand her desire to make friends with such people.
He liked Sakura, he really did and it bothered him more than he let on how close she seemed to be getting with the Senju, one in particular.
"I need to know the reason, maybe I can, I don't know help, and besides, he might be injured. I need to heal him if he is, it is part of the agreement I made with them, like I made with you. Your men are healed, I must see that he is well." Sakura knew her request would be met with some hostility but she hadn't counted on the hatred Izuna was emitting with each twitch of his finger, each narrowing of his eye.
Sakura had read like all the rest of the academy students the history of the founding fathers, how their clans had been at war with one another for generations. It is one of the reasons Konoha was put on the map with such popularity, it was a beacon of hope to all the other clans of their time, of this time. That peace, could be found, anywhere, with anyone if you believe.
"I'm going. Your men are healed they just need rest. See that they get it." Sakura hopped down from Madara's horse and started walking in the direction of the Senju compound.
"Is she serious?" Izuna gapped after the bob of pink hair making it's way through the dense trees and away from them.
"Apparently." Madara watched the last bit of pink disappear into the woods.
"Well?" Izuna looked pointedly at his brother.
"Well what? If you want to go after her, be my guest." Madara picked his reins back up and squeezed his legs, encouraging his horse into a walk and continuing on his way.
Izuna gapped after his brother much like he had gapped after Sakura. "What the fucking hell Madara!" Izuna stood there fuming for a few moments.
Kagami and Watanabe moved past him on their horses looking forward toward home but the third man stopped beside Izuna.
"Would you like me to follow the Lady Lord Izuna, to make sure she is safe?" He asked Izuna.
"Yes, thank you. Send word to the compound. I need to have a talk with my brother." Izuna mounted his horse and thumped it into a canter to catch up to the others.
The third man rode off in the direction Sakura had walked off in, shaking his head in bemusement. He had never seen the two clan heads take to an outsider like they had taken to this young woman, but of course he had never heard a young woman speak the way she did, with such authority and confidence, or heal the way she had. He wondered for a moment if she fought as well as she healed. He had to admit, he too was impressed with the young lady.
He caught up to her easily, he was on a horse, she was on foot.
"My Lady, Lord Izuna wished for me to accompany you." He said, then seeing her face as she turned to him he added, "For his peace of mind, not because you need protection.
Sakura narrowed her eyes at the man, "I'm not an idiot you know."
The man smiled, "Of course not, please allow me to introduce myself. I am Uchiha Akio." Akio bowed low to Sakura. "Forgive me for not introducing myself earlier, I was a bit surprised by your skill. I admit it took the words right out of my mouth." He smiled at her.
Sakura's eye twitched. She didn't respond. She just looked at him.
"You want to go with me to the Senju compound..." She said at last, slowly to make sure he understood.
"If you will allow it." Akio said formally.
Sakura's mouth twitched. This had been the same man who had tried to hit her not forty minutes ago when she had tried to heal him.
"Fine, but I go as a friend and ally of the Senju, do not shame me." She tried a bit of formal talk herself.
"You have my word Lady Sakura." Akio smiled raising his head.
"None of that, just Sakura, please." Sakura turned and started walking in the direction she had been before he had interrupted her.
"Lady, er, Sakura San, please take my horse. I will walk." He offered.
"No." Sakura kept walking.
"Akio rode up in front of her blocking her way. "You asked me not to shame you , yet surely you must know it would shame me if you did not take the horse." He dismounted and held his hand out to her.
She huffed, slapped his hand away and mounted the horse on her own, "Fine Akio San."
He smirked and walked along beside her.
"I just want to make sure Tobirama Sama is not injured and then we can leave, I have a lot to do still and do not plan on staying long." She told Akio.
"Of course Sakura San." Akio answered her.
They traveled in silence the rest of the way. Sakura stopped several feet from the forest edge, dismounted and walked the horse up to the Senju gates flaring her chakra briefly so they would know it was her.
One of the guards was the same man that had been on guard duty the day Sakura had first come to the compound with Hashirama and he smiled at her. He had opened his mouth in greeting but stopped when he noticed the Uchiha with her.
"Lady Sakura, why do you bring an enemy to our gates." The guard pulled his naginata from his back and fell into a fighting stance with his eyes trained on the Uchiha.
"Your enemy , my ally, as you are my ally and his enemy. I came to check on the health of Tobirama Sama. I have just healed the Uchiha per my agreements that I made with their clan, the same one I made with yours." She said pointedly locking eyes with the other guard who was glaring at Akio.
"But Lady Sakura..." The first guard started to protest but was interrupted by an unexpected voice.
"Sakura Chan!" Toka Senju smiled as she opened the gate of the compound, "I thought that was your chakra." Toka's smile faded as she spotted the Uchiha.
"What is this?" Toka asked Sakura.
Sakura sighed, "He is a friend, I came to check on Tobirama Sama, is he well?"
"He is, let me get him for you." Toka disappeared in a puff of smoke and returned with Tobirama almost instantly.
"Sakura Chan, nice to see you, I hear you brought...company." Tobirama glared at Akio.
"I came so see if you were well, now that I see you are, I want to know why you attacked the Uchiha earlier today." Sakura put her hands behind her back and looked at the white haired man steadily.
"They were too close to the compound, it was...preventative action." Tobirama said. "It wasn't near your home." He added.
Akio remained silent but Sakura noticed he had clenched his fists, and so had Tobirama.
"Ah, well. I have healed all the injured, I am glad you are well. I just came to check on you to make sure you weren't suffering from any injuries. I will be going home now, please come and visit me soon, you too Toka." Sakura smiled at the Senju , nodded to the guards and turned to leave.
"Sakura," Tobirama caught her by her sleeve, only to jump backward as Akio drew his short sword.
"I meant her no harm Uchiha." Tobirama was trying hard to hold his temper for Sakura's sake.
"Of course." Akio nodded politely and sheathed his sword once more, taking an obvious step back to defuse the tension.
Sakura looked from Uchiha to Senju and rolled her eyes.
"What is it Tobirama Sama?" She asked.
"You should know, Hashirama sent Lord Madara a correspondence moments ago, calling for a truce of temporary peace, for the winter." Tobirama looked at Akio, then at Sakura. "I was not aware of his actions until I returned to the compound."
"Did he." Sakura bit her bottom lip. "Thank you for telling me Tobirama Sama. Please tell Hashirama Sama I hope he too comes to visit me soon."
Sakura and Akio both bowed, Akio bowed lower than Sakura much to Toka and Tobirama's surprise, and the two made their way back to Sakua's house in silence.
Kanta heard her before he saw her and came to greet her at the front door only to pause mid step when he saw that she wasn't alone. His eyes burned at the sight of the Uchiha male with her and his posture stiffened.
"Here we go again." Sakura mumbled under her breath.
Akio sent her a curious glance following her line of sight to her porch where he saw a Senju male watching them approach.
"The Senju, is he a friend of yours?" Akio nodded to Kanta on her porch.
"He is." Sakura glanced at Akio out of the corner of her eye, he had been reserved and polite at the Senju compound but she wasn't sure if it was because he had given his word that he would behave or the fact he had been outnumbered. Sakura had never known an Uchiha to back down from a fight no matter how outnumbered they were, so she hoped it was out of respect for her that he had behaved, and hoped he would continue to do so now.
"I gave you my word Sakura San." Akio assured her and she visibly relaxed.
"Kanta has been with me since the first day of my arrival, he is a decent person, treat him with respect and he will return it." Sakura said hoping she was right. An Uchiha had killed his brother in law.
"I'm home Kanta." Sakura smiled at him as she stopped the horse in front of the house.
"Welcome home Lady Sakura." Kanta bowed low, his eyes never leaving the Uchiha.
"Kanta, need I remind you this is a freehold and what that means?" Sakura put on of her hands on her hips and widened her eyes at him.
Kanta had enough sense to look slightly ashamed and ducked his head, "No Sakura."
"I am Senju Kanta, pleased to meet you Uchiha san." Kanta bowed again, not as low but still politely.
"I am pleased to meet you as well Senju Kanta, I am Uchiha Akio, Sakura San was kind enough to heal me today. I am just seeing her home and will be on my way." Akio bowed to Sakura.
"Would you like to come in for a cup of tea, to refresh yourself before you continue on to the Uchiha compound, Akio San?" Kanta offered politely.
Sakura watched the two enemies with amusement and a slight twinge of hope.
"Ah yes, I would not refuse the Lady's hospitality." Akio nodded to Sakura. 'Was the man trying to lay claim to the Lady?' Akio frowned, then smirked, 'The bastard had his work cut out for him if he was, it was clear by his lord's behavior with the woman earlier that Lord Madara had already claimed her'.
Kanta saw the Uchiha smirking and wondered why, but Sakura walked up the steps to the house and asked him if he needed help with the tea.
"No Sakura, please rest from your ride, I will get tea for our guest." Kanta disappeared into the house quickly.
Sakura turned to Akio, "Well, um, this is my house, come on in." She had never been a host, and didn't know what to do. The last few days had happened so quickly she felt as if she had crammed half of a lifetime into seventy two hours, it was exhausting.
Luckily for her, Kanta seemed to know what he was doing and had not only tea but cookies and a platter of small rice balls ready for them by the time Sakura had finished showing Akio the clinic, and the grounds. Akio left soon after their snack was eaten with the promise to come back and visit her soon.
Sakura let out a deep sigh as she took her tea to her front porch to look out into the surrounding forest. Kanta sat down beside her with a fresh cup of tea for himself.
"Hashirama Sama has requested for the fighting to stop between the clans for the winter." Sakura said without prompting.
"Tobirama told me when I stopped by the compound earlier, it isn't uncommon to do so for the harsh season. He usually waits until the first snow though, I wonder if he didn't request the break for your sake." Kanta said.
"For my sake?" Sakura asked confused why she would have anything to do with it.
"To give the clans time to get used to you being here, to get to know you and the agreements you have with both of our clans." Kanta said.
"Ah." Sakura made a noise letting him know she had heard him, lost in thought of the possibility. 'Was this the start of it?' , she wondered if it was this that would cause peace to bloom between the clans and eventually lead to the founding of her village, of Konoha.
"It is quite possible. It is new, not only my presence is new but the concept of both clans, two warring clans no less, sharing a medic." Sakura pursed her lips.
"Perhaps it will bring peace, and end your rediculous war that you have with one another, becuase it is just plain stupid, I bet your two don't even know why you are fighting anymore." Sakura looked at Kanta who opened his mouth, then shut it.
"Ha!" Sakura exclaimed, "I knew it, you don't know why you are at war with the Uchiha do you Kanta?" There was no humour in her voice.
"Well, no...we have always just been at war. Whenever they spoke of the enemy when I was growing up, it was always the Uchiha, they were just...the enemy, you know?" He looked a bit bewildered, like he had never thought to ask why they were at war with the Uchiha, and maybe he never had.
It seemed so ridiculous to Sakura, but she had seen the future, he hadn't.
"In the future, the Uchiha and the Senju aren't at war anymore, they are friends. It isn't the opposing clan you grew up with that will almost end the Senju line Kanta, it's time for peace between your two great clans, time to work together to strengthen both of your futures." She said softly thinking of all of her friends and family from her own time. She thought of Sasuke, Tsunade and even Kakashi with his sharingan eye.
"You know don't you, you know that we eventually get along but how, how does it happen, do you know that?" Kanta asked.
"Hashirama and Madara eventually get tired of the blood shed and agree to just stop." She didn't know if she should tell Kanta that Madara and Hashirama used to be friends when they were children, so she didn't. Just like she hadn't told Madara the monster he would, or could become.
"I suppose, it's time to let the past go then." Kanta sighed.
"My sister, when her husband died...she wished for the war to end. She said it was pointless, that it was all in vain, that there was no need for the war, that her husband had died for nothing but Hashirama's vanity." Kanta paused.
"I was mad at her for saying such things. I yelled at her and told her she was ungrateful, that he died a hero and she should be proud, that the Uchiha deserved to die and that I was going to make sure to kill as many of them as I could." He told her.
"She had cried for me then, and hit me in the chest. She cried because she said she knew she would be burying me soon too, just like her dead husband." Kanta hung his head.
"Before you...came here...my life seemed so simple. I served my clan, I fought for my clan, bled for my clan, and I knew, from the moment I held my first sword at the age of 6, I would die for my clan, but now...hearing of your time, your world, it seems, so...pointless." He looked up at her.
"You're a very dangerous woman Sakura, and not because of the power behind those tiny fists...but because you give people hope, hope they didn't know they could have." he paused.
"That's why I, I love you so much." He ended, watching her eyes.
"Kanta." Sakura looked at him, surprised. She shook her head.
"I'm sorry Kanta, but...I still love Sasuke." She said quietly.
Kanta looked at her thinking, he sighed then said, "I understand, but Sakura, he isn't here and you can't go back. Will you live your life alone, longing for a man you'll never see again?" He placed his hand over hers, he wasn't going to give up so easily.
Sakura looked down at his hand where it covered hers. Kanta was a sweet man, kind and he had made it easier for her to accept her circumstances, by ...being there for her but...
"You don't understand Kanta." She got up and left him on the porch by himself, she walked to her bedroom and slid the door shut, lying on her bed.
He didn't understand. Sasuke could be dead, but he could also be alive. Lady Katsuyu said she thought she might be able to reverse summon Sakura to her time, if she could destroy the god tree, if she could change things, then maybe, maybe she could go back. Sakura rolled over on her bed and stared up at the ceiling. It was a very slim possibility. Sakura had heard the reluctance in Lady Katsuyu's voice. If Sakura changed the time, if she changed the events that were supposed to happen, maybe Tsunade wouldn't have the seal for Lady Katsuyu in the Leaf and maybe Sakura would die or end up lost in time...it was a risk. It didn't matter though, she still had to find and destroy the god tree to even consider the possibility.
Kanta's feelings, though kindly meant, were not something she could deal with right now, she had too much to think about. Love, a relationship, was the last thing on her mind. She had two apprentices coming, she had to prepare her clinic for injured men and women from two very large clans and she only had three beds. She had to research a god tree, no, she didn't have time for romance. Besides, she thought, Kanta wasn't really her type. He was handsome, yes, but she preffered darker eyes and darker hair, like Sasuke had, 'Has', she corrected herself. He might still be alive, yes, hope, was a dangerous thing, Kanta was right about that.
