Just sliding in here like I haven't been gone forever.
Warning: Not Beta'd. Forgive me for any typos.
Summary: He was a legend–strong, driven and commanding. It would only be right that she would share those same attributes. What are you to do when you were born with so much ambition, yet you lack the abilities that you once had–that once made you powerful. Simple. You become a legend in your own right. In which Haruno Sakura is Uchiha Madara's Reincarnation. (BAMF Sakura, AU, Reincarnation)
Chapter 7
All heads were bowed as they walked past, not one rose their eyes to meet them. Instead there was only a curtain of black. Black hair, dark clothes, porcelain–almost paper white–skin.
The only color seen were that of the red obi's worn by those escorting her. Their backs were blurred but the red slashes were visible. So were the Nihontō* worn at their sides. A stark contrast between their otherwise indistinguishable features.
She kept forward, her features as blank and her back straight not letting the nervousness be shown. Not in a place where that type of emotion marked you as weak and weakness was not tolerated.
So she kept forward not allowing her eyes to stray even more than they already had.
The tent came into sight and she tampered down the need to hurry, to run.
Her nose twitched at the smell of blood coming from the tent. It wasn't unusual, but it was still unnerving.
Suddenly they stopped at the entrance as the tent's flaps were thrown open and a man stepped out.
The men escorting her parted; bowing their heads in respect.
The man walked towards her, long dark hair normally tied up ran wild down his shoulders and around his face slightly covering one eye. The other gleamed red.
"Chichiue?"*
Sakura looked around, nervous and in awe at the village that she had never really explored. Her head tilted up from under the faded blue hoodie that hid majority of her pink hair.
Her kaa-san would be angry and disappointed if she knew that Sakura was wandering around the village alone, especially when she was supposed to be home.
The guilt was ever-present at the broken promise she made to her mother who had to leave to help out at the bakery. When asked if she wanted to go, Sakura declined, reminding her mother that she was old enough to be home for a few hours by herself.
So her mother let her stay home and Sakura did...for the first hour. Afterall, there was only so much reading that she could do before even she was bored. And she did, which led her to where she was now–walking around the village alone for the very first time in her life. To her delight, it wasn't as intimidating or nerve-wracking as she expected it to be.
Sakura didn't jump at shadows. She wasn't constantly looking over her shoulder for any "bad men'' – as her mom liked to warn her about. And she especially didn't second guess leaving the house. Instead, she found herself captivated and excited despite her mother's and father's words to never go anywhere without them.
Theoretically, she knew why having adult supervision was important. She knew bad things could happen and that they needed to know where she was at all times. But she was a big kid now. She was five and had been for a few months. She figured that as a "big kid" she could handle walking around the village by herself. She'd seen other kids her age do it all the time.
So she carefully avoided the district that the bakery shop was at–staying clear of the up-scale part of the village which held the tea and kimono shops surrounding it. She especially wanted to avoid anyone who could possibly recognize her. Hopefully, with her hood covering her features she would blend in with every other person on the street.
It didn't take long for Sakura to realize that she had never actually seen the village.
Sure she'd walked through the village and seen some of the main civilian-centered parts: the market, the stores, the park, and even the library–all the main parts that she and her mother frequented. But she realized that the village was much larger than what she originally thought–especially when she stumbled into a packed and crowded district.
Multi-colored stores and displays lined the streets while carts and people crowded the middle. People shuffled around cheerful and laughing, letting the aroma of delicious smelling food from the many restaurants and shops lead them. It was a stark contrast to the stagnant and traditional setting that she was used to, and it fascinated her.
Sakura didn't know how much time she spent walking–letting herself get lost in her surroundings. She twisted and turned to avoid bumping into people while observing how at ease people were in the tightly packed place. She had a slight fear that she might get lost in the sea of people.
Spotting an opening by a Tempura stand, Sakura quickly made her way there. She deep-breathed, trying to blink away the disorientation that the sudden rush of people brought.
Sakura quickly regained her bearings and movement from the other end caught her attention. She followed the building's wall to the end as it let out to another street that was parallel to the one that she was just on.
Sakura stopped in the opening stunned at what she found. Militant garbed people were everywhere–their Hitai-ate gleamed in the sun marking them Shinobi. She could feel her eyes widen in astonishment realizing that she wandered into the "Shinobi" part of the village that her mother always avoided.
Sakura knew about Shinobi, or at least as much as a five-year-old with a love for reading could.
She knew that their job was to protect the village and its villagers. That they followed a code of honor, family, and loyalty. It was hard not to know of the existence of shinobi being that Konoha was a shinobi village that was founded by shinobi clans. Books and movies were made about them making it near impossible for Sakura not to know of their existence. And despite her mother's cuddling, she knew that the life of a shinobi was followed by violence, death, and blood–which is why Sakura was confused as to why she didn't immediately turn around and pretend that she had not discovered the place.
It wasn't as if she were scared of shinobi. She just knew that she had no business in that part of the village. She wasn't a shinobi, she had no wish to be one nor did she come from a shinobi background. But she couldn't stop the curiosity of discovering something new, of being able to observe people that she'd only read about in books or seen in passing glimpses. With that in mind, she stepped out of the alleyway sticking to the outer side of the street hoping that she would be invisible or at least as invisible as she could be around people whose main trait was suspicion.
Sakura's first thought in observing the new area was that she could understand why it was termed the "Shinobi District" because essentially it was. Not much around was welcoming to civilians. Not the stores that seemed to advertise to the shinobi lifestyle or the people who looked serious and whose eyes seemed to look through you with one glance.
It seemed to be it's very own hidden village with its own food stalls, clothing stores, and buildings with bright displays advertising everything from smoke bombs, jutsu paper and sealing scrolls to kunai, shuriken and shinobi wear.
Watching, Sakura could see the difference between shinobi and civilians just in their movements. They didn't carry themselves with the ease and openness of civilians. They were more attentive in their movements and gave each other respectfully wide births, at least as much as you could in the semi-crowded space. Consequently, it made it more difficult for her to blend in.
While she traveled the previous "civilian" street without so much as a second glance, she could feel eyes on her, assessing her, categorizing her as a threat or not. She figured that her hidden features paired with her interest in observing the crowd would make anyone nervous and suspicious, especially to people like shinobi.
Their assessing eyes were uncomfortable, making her feel as if she was an insect ready to be dissected. So Sakura let the hood fall from her head as she continued forward and shook out the hair that she pinned back. It was unlikely that anyone there would recognize her. Her parents didn't have many friends, not any that she knew who would be in this part of the village.
The eyes that she could feel drilling into her body lessened and Sakura tried not to let the relief show that much on her face and instead went back to focusing on her surroundings–and subsequently the people–now that she was known as less of a threat.
Sakura noted that there clearly wasn't much regulation in shinobi wear. While some were wearing the standard shinobi flag jackets and Hitai-ate's, others were in more exotic clothing, everything from fur-trimmed to high class and artfully designed silk kimonos that she'd only seen in books and expensive stores. Some were even dressed traditionally in hakama and kataginu* patterns–many with folds and extra room that Sakura didn't doubt hid weapons.
Throughout her musing, Sakura wondered just how functional the clothing was. After all, she read that shinobi mainly relied on stealth and cunning, and she wondered if it was true as her eyes landed on a man dressed in a brightly multicolored kimono and orange obi. Sakura could imagine how much of a fool she would feel if she was a shinobi and let someone like that sneak up on her.
Seeing the multitude of brightly dressed people, a thought hit her. In a book about plants and animals, she once read about aposematism: the use of signals like noticeable markings or bright colors to warn predators that it is dangerous. For example the brightly colored bodies of wasps and the equally patterned skin of venomous snakes. Although, prey would be warned of the danger, for most it would be too late or they were unable to protect themselves from those predators.
In that same book, she read about how some harmless insects and animals adopted aposematism traits to appear dangerous to predators, a term called mimicry. She read how some predators and prey camouflage themselves to blend in with their surroundings–predators to better sneak up on their prey and prey to better avoid predators.
As she continued watching the people it was hard to determine which ones were the real dangers. Sure the person in the rainbow-colored outfit could be dangerous, but also could have the same power level as a newly graduated academy student. As she continued watching the people she wondered which were dangerous and which were just putting on a show.
Further walking into the district, she would occasionally feel eyes turn to her. But as quick as they were felt the sensation was gone as if dismissing her as a threat. She wasn't sure if it was because of her age or her hair color, but she let herself relax and continued this time paying closer attention to the stores.
Sakura's curiosity brought her to a line of weapon stores. Sakura stared at the weapons curiously. She had not read much on Shinobi weaponry, she knew they used them and she knew the standards such as kunai, shuriken, and swords.
Some weapons she didn't recognize though–like something advertised as caltrops and something else that looked like a glove with talons attached. She stopped and stared at the design noting that a person would have to be close for it to be effective, and although it looked cool, Sakura felt that it was more for show than for anything else.
The swords that she passed looked cool as the light gleamed off the sheaths. Another store she passed seemed to just sell knives: boning, paring, butcher, cleavers, khukuri knives, the list went on. It went on for a while walking past more shops of blades, staffs, chains, and armor. There seemed to really be no end to it and Sakura wondered just how far she could get and just how much she could discover before she needed to return home.
She stopped once again when she passed an outdoor store with large displays showcasing artwork and scrolls. They were all eye-catching–mesmerizing even. Bold colors, dramatic poses, and dynamic storytelling. They told stories of samurai, of shinobi, and of gods. Although she wanted to look more, the man who looked to be the owner had a hard and uninviting look to his face. Sakura didn't want any problems or any more reasons to draw attention to herself so she left.
She passed and stopped by more stores that caught her attention until the stores stopped looking less polished and older–more traditional stores–took its place. Fewer people populated the area and the ones that did were older and wore serious expressions. Their eyes not even glancing at her as if she wasn't worth their time. She was okay with that. It gave her more time to focus on the stores.
It was there that one store drew her attention more than the others. It was stuck between a Mempo* store with a wide variety of oni* and animal masks hanging in the windows and a weapon repair store that looked worn.
The bookstore looked old. The sign, ready to fall off, and the windows could definitely use a good clean. It was a store that most would either overlook or actively avoid but Sakura couldn't tear her gaze away from the number of books lining the windows. They nearly covered the entire display and Sakura's curiosity drove her to wonder if the store was just as covered inside as it was outside.
Surely, she thought, such an unassuming store would need customers and wouldn't mind her being there. Making a decision, she entered the shop hoping that she wouldn't be turned away.
The door was heavy and it closed with a dull thud when she entered. It took a while for her eyes to adjust to the low lighting and her senses were assaulted with the musty and woody smell of books.
The shop was bigger than it looked on the outside. Books and scrolls lined the walls floor to ceiling with a few shelves spaced apart to create aisles.
"Academy books are on that wall." A deep raspy voice called out and Sakura's head whipped to the direction it came from.
An older man was bent in the back of the store. His back towards her as he looked to be organizing the shelves. Sakura didn't know how she missed him during her initial scan of the store.
"What?" Sakura asked, wondering if he was talking to her. She was the only one other than him that she could see, but his words were confusing.
The man slightly moved, turning his body to her so that she could see his profile.
"You're an academy student, right? That wall will have all the books you need." He stuck out an arm pointing to the wall to the right of her.
Sakura followed where his hand pointed and briefly looked back at the man as she heard the shuffle indicating that he returned to his task of reorganizing the shelf.
She realized that he thought that she was an academy student and she didn't correct him mainly because she wasn't sure that if she told him that she wasn't he would kick her out. So she didn't argue, instead, she followed his direction towards the row of books with a sign saying "Academy Material."
Just like the rest of the store. The books were tightly packed together and it was hard to differentiate one book from the other.
A few titles stuck out to her. Some about Taijutsu basics, shinobi law, and something called chakra. She picked a few flipping through them and absorbing some of the information.
It was definitely interesting and written in a way to easily understand and she was pretty sure that some of what she found out was common knowledge that shinobi or shinobi families already knew like the concept of chakra and how shinobi use it to fight.
Picking two books, The Way of the Shinobi and The Book of Chakras, she cast a gaze to the older man who hadn't moved from his spot at the wall. Sakura didn't know how the store was organized, clearly, there was a space designated for academy students, but that was the only organization that she noticed.
A mythology book about Amaterasu was next to a book about economics and yen currency. Next to those was a book about fashion in the Sengoku* era and another about Ukai fishing*. Sakura was glad that her mother wasn't with her because she knew that the lack of organization would drive her crazy. Sakura knew that her head was slightly throbbing from the disorder.
Not much caught her attention as she wandered through the store. She saw a Dango* recipe book that she thought her mother would appreciate, but she rethought that idea after reading it and realizing that it was a poison recipe book that talked about the multiple ways of making poisonous Dango. Sakura felt her eyebrow raise wondering if there was a book on how to detect poison somewhere around if this book was so commonly accessible.
Sakura knew that she spent more time than she could be wondering the store and knew that she needed to leave. So eyeing the man who still had not moved, she walked to the checkout area.
She waited at the cash register not wanting to interrupt the man. But she didn't wait long as he turned around with a stack of books.
"You done?" He asked, not really phrasing it as a question, but Sakura answered anyway as he made his way towards her.
Since the store wasn't that big, it took no time for him to return behind the counter. The books thudding as he carelessly plopped them down and turned his attention to her.
Sakura took her time to study the man. He looked to be in his late 60s, his body slightly stooping over with age, but his eyes were sharp as he asked, "Is that all?"
His voice was gruff and Sakura tried not to shy away from his intense stare.
"Um, yes?" She answered.
He eyed the two books taking in their titles.
"You got an ID?" He returned his gaze to her and asked.
"ID?" She was confused.
"Yeah, you should have gotten one from the academy." His voice wasn't impatient but it was hard making Sakura nervous.
"Oh… I'm not a student." She admitted biting her lip and hoping that she wasn't in trouble. It's not like there was a sign on the door that said "no civilians" or "must show ID."
His eyebrow arched and this time he eyed her.
"So tell me what a non-academy student wants with books about shinobi lifestyle. Are you thinkin' of enrolling?"
Sakura took a moment to think about his question, not exactly sure why it was that those books interested her so. It could have just been because of simple curiosity but every action from her decisions today indicated that it was deeper than that.
"I...um." Sakura stumbled over her answer nervously. "I just really like books and the interesting things I could learn from them. My Oto always said that knowledge was power. What has more powerful knowledge than reading a book about shinobi?"
He stared at her longer before dropping his gaze back at the books. He flipped through each of the books, his eyes quickly scanning before closing them. He typed buttons on the cash register before giving her an expected look.
"That will be ¥3,518." He said shocking Sakura.
"But I thought I had to have my ID?" She questioned, not hiding the confusion in her voice.
"Look kid, you do normally, but considering the fact that nothing in either books are village secrets or could hurt you, I'm giving you this one time pass. But next time you come into my shop looking for something other than books on flowers or puppies, you better have an ID." His voice left no room for argument, but it didn't stop the grin from forming on Sakura's face. She quickly searched her pockets for the money.
"Thanks!" She grinned at him while handing him the money and quickly grabbing the books.
"A sales a sale kid." He said, opening up the cash register and retrieving her change. "And I mean it about the ID." He said as he dropped the change in her hand.
"Understood." Sakura agreed, happy that she was able to get her books.
"Now get out of here so that I can return to what I was doing before."
Not one for arguing with someone who just helped her, she turned around to leave but was stopped by his voice.
"Hey kid." He called to her, retreating back and she turned around.
"Yes?" She asked.
"The shinobi lifestyle is not for one to simply dabble in. If you read those books and you find yourself more interested, you come find me before you do something like join the academy."
Sakura opened her mouth to reply.
"It's a dog eat dog world out there kid. Even worse so for a kid like you. It's best to have all the information you need before you go scarin' your parents with dreams of becoming a shinobi." With that he turned around, his intention of returning to the piles of books.
Sakura thought about what he said.
"I don't want to be a shinobi..." Sakura called towards his retreating back. "But if that changes, I'll come find you."
Not waiting for a response, Sakura quickly left the shop allowing the door to noiselessly close behind her.
She stood outside the door unsure as to why she promised him that. She just had a feeling and followed that feeling knowing that it would be good to have someone like him available if she had any questions.
The light from outside blinded her, as her eyes had to readjust to the brightness.
She wasn't sure how much time she spent in the shop but she knew that she should probably be on her home so she didn't chance her mother discovering she had left.
Sakura turned to where she had come from promising herself that she would come back at a later time to further explore.
She was so into her thoughts that she hadn't heard her name being called until it was too late and she was pushed to the ground with a heavyweight on her. She felt the weight scramble off of her, she could hear someone apologizing as a small hand entered her vision. She followed the hand up to meet the concerned and smiling vision of the kid she met the other day.
"Sakura-chan, I knew it was you!" His cheery voice said.
"So you decided to run me down?" Sakura asked, stunned and confused at their random meeting.
It had been almost a week since they had met, and the dark-haired boy had plagued her thoughts and with it came the constant feeling of emptiness.
"Oh, no that was an accident. I thought you heard me coming. I'm sorry, I didn't mean to knock you over!" Sakura didn't move to grab his hand. Instead, she slowly stood up, dusting the dirt off her pants and hoodie, glad that she managed not to drop her books.
He seemed a little put out that she ignored his hand but he covered it up with a smile tossed over his shoulder. "Anyway…" He drew out the word. "I told you nii-san. It was my friend, Sakura-chan!"
Sakura was confused about who he was calling nii-san then she followed the direction of which he was looking at to see another dark-haired boy a few years older than them walking towards them.
His hair was not as dark as Sasuke's, but it was long and pulled back into a low ponytail. Some hair fell in his face framing it but it also highlighted the start of dark circles under his eyes. He looked to be no older than eleven or twelve, she wondered what caused those circles.
"I see. I also saw that you knocked your friend over. You need to be more careful, you could have hurt her." He gently chided, stopping next to Sasuke. His eyes finally slid over to her and from their close distance, Sakura could see just how tired he was making the circles appear deeper set.
"I'm Itachi, Sasuke-kun's older brother." He said with a slight bow.
"I apologize for Sasuke's actions, he sometimes gets too excited and unfortunately he wasn't paying attention and knocked you over. I hope that you are unharmed."
Her annoyance at Sasuke evaporated at his brother's formal manners and apology. Suddenly nervous and flustered she returned the gesture trying to be equally as polite.
"I'm Haruno Sakura. It's nice to...err… meet you Itachi-san." She inwardly beat herself up over her stumble. "And it's not a problem, I should have been paying attention as well."
"I'm sorry onii-san, Sakura-chan." Sasuke said, looking sheepish as he turned to her, but his attention switched back to his brother.
"But she was the one I was telling you about Onii-chan–the friend I made at the park. She was the one who didn't know how to swing and then she did and swung really really high." He used his hands to emphasize. "Then she jumped off and landed so cool like!"
Sakura's face flushed. She didn't know whether to feel mortified that he informed his brother that she didn't know how to do a simple thing like swing or that he was praising her for learning how to do the simple task. It wasn't impressive and yet Sasuke talked about it as if it was the best thing he'd ever seen.
Sakura chanced a look back at Sasuke's brother expecting to see boredom or fake interest, but his dark eyes were warm with laughter. Not mocking but a content expression that eased his tired expression and brightened his face, especially when he returned his attention to Sasuke.
A nostalgic feeling overcame her as she watched the warm expression cross the older brother's face. It was an expression that she felt that she had worn before but she couldn't recall when or why.
"We're shopping for my shinobi supplies," Sasuke's voice drifted through her thoughts and Sakura realized that she zoned out.
"The academy will be starting in a few weeks, so I'm getting everything now so that I can be prepared. Are you shopping for school supplies too?" He asked.
Sakura forced herself to shake off the heavy feeling and pay attention.
"Oh, um no." She answered.
"Oh, so you already got your stuff! Cool!" Sasuke shot back.
"I'm not either. Actually, this is my first time to this part of the village and I was just looking around."
Sasuke's eyes widened. "Really!" He exclaimed.
"Yeah, really." She confirmed.
"That's so cool. We've been coming here for like forever and we know all the best places to go. We could walk with you if you want. Show you all the best places to go. Isn't that right Nii-san?"
Itachi looked amused if Sakura read the glint in his eyes right. "If that is what Sakura-chan would want?"
Before she could reply Sasuke continued talking.
"Oh I know. And after we showed you our favorite places you could come with us for a training session and you could watch my Nii-san wipe the floor with Shisui. He's my cousin and he's pretty cool but not as cool as Nii-san. He does this thing that he moves so fast it looks like he's flickering and it's hard to follow him, but Nii-san always knows where he is and when it gets like that it's like the ultimate game of tag and it's so cool. They don't really use weapons, mostly because they said that I'm not old enough to see that yet," he said with a pout. "But their ninjutsu and taijutsu is super cool enough without it, so you have to come!"
It was a lot there to process, Sakura thought. The most prominent being that Sasuke apparently thought the world of his brother and the second being Sasuke's ability to rapidly talk without taking a breath.
Unfortunately, Sakura needed to be back home before her mother found out she left. Sakura knew that it would disappoint Sasuke and Sakura was equally disappointed at not being able to watch a real shinobi fight even if it was only a training session.
"As much fun as that sounds. I can't…" She started seeing Sasuke's face fall. "I promised my mother that I would come straight home after shopping and I've already been gone much longer than she's comfortable with." Sakura tried not to cringe at the half-lie.
"Maybe I can come next time?" She offered after seeing Sasuke's disappointment. Sakura bit her lip so as not to react to the cuteness of Sasuke's pouting face. No sooner than it appeared it vanished to be replaced with another beaming smile.
"Sure!" He agreed. "But you have to play with me the next time we see each other at the park too."
"Deal." Sakura agreed, also smiling.
They talked some more–well Sasuke did–before Sasuke and Itachi had to leave. Sasuke leaving with a happy wave and an eye crinkle smile from Itachi–which Sakura suspected was more than he gave most people.
Sakura watched them leave and after a while turned around to leave too. Before making it too far, she looked back at them. She could see Sasuke's mouth moving, no doubt speaking a mile per minute and Itachi had his head turned towards Sasuke showing that he was listening.
It was a scene that she wished that she could see and unsee a million times. The pain in her chest was back stronger than ever and Sakura had to tear her eyes away from them.
The tents' flaps were thrown open, falling back into place to conceal what lay ahead. A man stepped out. His long dark hair normally tied up ran wild down his shoulders and around his face slightly covering one eye. The other gleamed red as they found hers.
The men escorting her parted; bowing their heads in respect.
The man walked towards her.
She stayed in place. Holding her breath, not knowing what to think, and unable to read his expression.
"Chichiue?" She called.
"Come with me", he demanded, turning around to the tent.
She followed not letting the thunder of her heart and the nervousness creeping up her throat show.
The tent closed behind them, shutting out most of the light from outside, but she could still see her. Her looking exhausted and beautiful resting in the cot.
The beautifully frail woman smiled at her and in her arms was a bundle–a bundle that squirmed allowing for the blanket covering its head to fall off.
Dark eyes met hers and she was ensnared.
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Truth is not what you want it to be; it is what it is, and you must bend to its power or live a lie.
- Miyamoto Musashi
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A/N: You don't know how guilty I felt about not updating this story in so long, but it's been hard to muster up the energy, patience and concentration to write another chapter. To all the people who I've kept waiting, I apologize. All I can say is that writer's block is a real thing, and I'm trying. I thank everyone for their comments and dedication to this story!
Nihontō: a type of traditionally made Japanese sword used mostly by the samurai class of feudal Japan.
Chichiue: a formal way to say father in Japanese.
Kataginu: men's vests with broad, wing-like shoulders, worn with hakama, or trousers, to form a kamishimo, or complementary outfit.
Mempo: a term for various types of facial armour worn by the samurai class and their retainers in feudal Japan.
Oni: a kind of yōkai, ogre, or troll in Japanese folklore.
Sengoku (also known as the Warring States Period): a turbulent and violent period of Japanese history when rival warlords or daimyo fought bitterly for control of Japan.
Ukai fishing: a traditional fishing method which uses trained cormorants to catch river fish.
Dango: a Japanese dumpling and sweet made from mochiko (rice flour).