Bridges and Pillars
Chapter 9: two years old
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"Alright Imoto, here you are." Sakura grunted as her elder brother set her down next to Kiba and Sasuke, when she looked up from the blanket she found a dozen other children a little older then herself slowly filling the warm stone room.
"Anii! Anii!" Sakura turned and waved her hands towards her brother, oi jackass! I can't save you if I'm not with you! It took her weeks to finally recognize the fact that she had an elder brother that her parents simply never spoke about in her first life. It would explain why they were both supportive and hesitant about her admittance to the shinobi program. Logically speaking, her elder brother was safe inside the village and attending the ninja academy but Sakura was a seventeen-year-old soldier that just buried her parents, got stabbed by her childhood love, and then somehow magically managed to wake up into a two-week-old infantile body. Paranoid was something she had long since gotten used to. Despite the fact that she was now two and a half (she'll be three next month) and was only struggling with her current way of life because her body was still in development.
"Not today Imoto," she felt her brother pat her head of short pink locks, she latched onto his sleeve, a sudden bout of fear clutching at her heart. If her elder brother dies, her parents are never going to smile like they do now ever again. In her first life, her parents always had these sad heart-broken smiles whenever she did something that was cause for a smile but now, in this life, they smiled like tiny suns were shoved behind their faces. If she wanted to keep those bright smiles, mostly to herself, she would need to make sure her elder brother remained alive.
"Anii! Anii!" she clutched at his sleeve, refusing to let go even as he sighed and kneeled before her.
"Not today Imoto," Itsuki smiled sadly as he gently tugged at her hands. "You have to stay here today, okay?"
"Why?" It wasn't her first word, but she had been making very obvious attempts at speaking only names since she could control her own tongue. "Anii…why?" her seventeen-year-old-self gagged at the pathetic whine emitting from her lips and the best puppy-dog look she could muster. Her two-year-old self was just happy to finally start crying like the toddler she physically was.
"I… I have to go do something," Itsuki bit his lip, looking worried, "you have to stay here, okay?"
"Itsuki-kun, we need to hurry," That was Hana's voice and a part of Sakura cringed with the sound of panic in her young squeaky voice. The 'Hana' Sakura knew was as rough voiced as her mother with all the manners of an imperial princess, this little girl with a squeaky voice unnerved seventeen-year-old-soldier-Sakura.
"Bad things here?" Sakura asked as her brother stood, her question must've surprised him because he stared at her with big summer blue eyes. "Anii… come back." If he had that reaction then things outside the room must be more then what she first observed. She's only two and half right now, there's nothing she could do in any kind of situation.
"I will Imoto," Itsuki smiled as he turned away, "Be good Imoto! I'll return soon!" Sakura remained with Kiba and Sasuke, watching Hana and Itachi flank her brother as they raced out of the room. Their siblings were only seven this year, why did they look as if they were going to war?
Was there an attack on the village when I was this young? Sakura thought, turning to look at the windowless room filled with children between the ages of three and eight. No, I would've remembered it from our lessons. So what changed? Did I change something without knowing it? But… all I've done was stick as close to my brother as often as possible.
No that wasn't right. She awoke into this world with a few changes already.
Her family were the biggest changes she noticed.
In her first life, she hadn't even been aware of the fact that she had an elder brother.
In her first life, her father had active use of both his legs and only retired because his entire team had been killed off in the war (sensei included). He had been thirty-two when she was born and never passed the chunin exams.
In her first life, her mother had given birth to Sakura when she was twenty-eight, one year after Naruto had been born. She was a Jonin by the time she was twenty and had been forced to retire because Sakura kind of broke the woman's hips during delivery and they were never set properly.
In this life, Sakura had been born when her mother was twenty-one, not twenty-eight. Her father was crippled trying to get her to Tsunade because Tsume Inuzuka decided that a mandatory C-section was needed. Tsunade, for whatever reason, had already stepped down from active duty and had spent two weeks healing Sakura from her sudden and violent birth. On that note, Hiashi, the clan head of the Hyūga clan, decided (bizarrely) to step in on the surgery and provide medical aid to Tsunade.
Sakura hadn't even known her mother and Hiashi knew each other. But in this life, it wasn't just Hiashi Hyūga who paid random visits to her parents. The Uchiha clan heads often paid visits to her parents and their clan heir often spent the night over at their house. Hell, Hana (the Inuzuka clan heir) often slept over as well. Tsume, Mikoto, and her mother acted as if they've known each other since childhood; she wondered for a brief moment if perhaps they were on a genin team together. It would explain why the Hyūga twins, Fugaku Uchiha and her father acted as friendly as they did. Was that possible? Other things were different in this world as well. Maybe they had been genin teammates in this world.
If this is a genjutsu, I don't want to wake up, Sakura thought, recalling fond memories of their clan heads spending time with her family. No! Don't think like that! Sakura shook her head fiercely. Something about this world is different and different in a NOT RIGHT manner. Not only was I born EARLY but Tsume-sama and Mikoto-sama are strangely attentive to my mother. Hana and Itachi are clued to my brother and are sometimes calling MY Aniiki 'brother' when they think no one is nearby.
Whatever other thoughts Sakura was pondering fell silent as the stone room shook violently, making the other children cry out in fear. Kiba and Sasuke imminently tumbled towards her, crying loudly as they clutched at her wrists. That was another difference as well; in her first life, the first six years of life consisted of her wearing nothing but onesies. It wasn't until the day she entered the academy that she had been permitted to wear other types of clothing but those outfits still covered every inch of her skin. In this life her clothes consisted of shorts and Dudou, a simple diamond-shaped piece of cloth that tied around her neck and under her arms.
Things were different in this life without her even lifting a finger, could she make other changes as well? Perhaps, if her brother remained living, the war she walked through wouldn't come to pass. She'd just have to be careful then. Ensure her brother's living status, enter the 'little leaf academy' with Sasuke and Kiba, look for Naruto, do everything she could to get the same or similar marks as her first life, and pray to every existing Kami that she ended up on the right team again. Maybe things will be different in this life. Her brother and the Uchiha clan heir were quite close, perhaps her brother can prevent the Uchiha massacre from happening at all.
"Please! Calm down, everyone!" Sakura looked up at the speaker, recognizing a chunin as he tried to calm the mass of hysterical children.
"Sak-uuuwaaaa!" Sakura cringed as Kiba lunged at her, nearly knocking her over if it weren't for the fact that Sasuke latched onto her other side.
They're just babies, they're just babies, Sakura chanted in her mind, sighing heavily as the boys cried all over her.
"Hattori!" Sakura looked at the person who dropped in front of her, a freshly made genin by the looks of it. Why didn't this person stop her brother and friends from leaving the room? If a genin is there, doesn't that mean they're here to protect the children entrusted to this room?
"Guys! Look for anyone with a purple diamond on their forehead!" the girl shouted, twisting to shout at her teammates. "That's a symbol of the Hattori clan!"
"Why are we looking for purple diamonds on people's foreheads?!" A boy asked loudly
"You idiot! The Hattori clan specializes in chakra manipulation!" Another boyish voice snapped. "If we can find an older kid of the Hattori clan then we might be able to prevent the intruders from getting here!" Sakura narrowed her eyes in thought, she was right about the attack but why didn't she remember there being an attack when they were three years old in her first life? Wait, when she was three? The only thing that happened when she was that old was… what was it that Neji said during the final stage of the chunin exam again? Hinata had gotten kidnapped—Sakura flinched when the girl collapsed in front of her, fat tears streaming down her darkened face.
"Hopeless," the girl sobbed, "the Hattori clan is gone? How? There's clearly a two-year-old Hattori in front of me," she stared into those brown orbs, confused about the older girl's words. "The Hattori clan were renowned for their chakra control."
No it's not, Sakura thought. She worked damn hard for the chakra control she had in her first life. Plus she had no blood relations to the Hattori clan. If she did, she'd hope that her parents would tell her about it. Then again, she also hoped they'd tell her if she had a sibling and they hadn't so maybe she shouldn't put so much hope in them.
"The hundred hand's seal that appears as a diamond in the middle of the forehead is a Hattori clan specialty."
Lier, Sakura thought, Tsunade-hime CREATED the seal herself.
"If only the Hattori clan weren't sensitive to demonic chakra, maybe they could've saved us!" The girl crumbled, crying hysterically. "Kumo! That damn village! they brought their Jinchūriki knowing we had no one to protect us from them!" If such an attack happened in her world, Sakura knew she'd have known it.
This world is different, Sakura thought suddenly. Even small points in our histories are different. Kumo never brought their Jinchūriki to our village for an attack. They were never that brazen.
"The Hattori clan were powerful but they were killed off in the Kyūbi attack," Sakura looked at the speaker, a curly-haired Uchiha boy looking like he's at his wit's ends. "They might've been able to tap into Nature's chakra but they were overly sensitive to demonic chakra. there isn't a single Hattori clan member left now."
"Wait that's not true," the chunin frowned in thought. "There was a Hattori that wasn't in the village during the demon attack. She was a hot topic of gossip for a while because of it. What was her name again?"
"Ah! A living Hattori?!" the girl straightened, hope in her dark eyes, "she's an elder Hattori right?! Please tell me she's not a toddler!"
"Huh? No, she's an adult," the chunin reassured. "what was her name though? Me…meshu…meku?
"Aunshee Mebu!" Sasuke laughed suddenly
"Ah, Mebuki!" The chunin clapped his hands together, "Mebuki Haruno! She was a hot topic because she married a civilian merchant named 'Haruno'."
"Is Mebuki Haruno still alive?" the curly-haired Uchiha boy asked seriously
"mommy?" Sakura asked, tilting her head to the side and staring up at the boy. "Mommy's name Mebuki! We Ha-ru-no!" kill me now, this is so embarrassing!
"You?" the boy's dark eyes landed on Sakura and the boys clinging to her, "Huh? Ah! Sasuke-sama!" Sasuke screeched as the older boy reached for him, prompting Kiba to snarl like a rabid dog and lash out at the older Uchiha. Sakura just laughed at them, anything to keep her mind from connections rapid-firing in her brain. There had been no Hattori clan in Sakura's first life; if they did exist, they were not a part of her Konohagakure.
"Hm? Kiba-sama?" the girl questioned, tilting her head to the side.
"That settles it," the Uchiha boy sighed heavily. "I heard Mikoto-sama was always visiting her old classmate who had two children, a seven-year-old who was quite close to Itachi-sama, and a three-year-old that Sasuke-sama played with. If he's the son your clan head, and Sasuke-sama is unquestionably the son of my clan head, then that mean's she's the daughter of Mikoto-sama's friend."
"Eh? But aren't the Haruno's civilians?" the girl questioned
"traditionally, yes," the Uchiha plopped down behind Sasuke, propping his face up with his free un-scratched hand. "but Mikoto-sama's friend, Mebuki-san, was formally a ninja."
"Ah, could your clan head's friend, Mebuki-san, be the same Mebuki Hattori who married the civilian merchant Haruno-man?!" the girl questioned
"My mommy!" Sakura declared someone kill me! This is getting ridiculous! Quit talking about my family like I'm not here! We're not even a part of the Hattori clan! This is the first time I'm hearing about them!
"If that's the case," the boy looked about the room, his face morphing into a frown. "We're is Itachi-sama? Shouldn't he be here with Sasuke-sama?"
"Anii?" Sasuke questioned, looking about the darkroom curiously.
"Anii?" Sakura repeated, looking at Sasuke curiously.
"Anee?" Kiba giggled like the two-year-old he was.
"Hey, you're supposed to be smart," Sakura looked over at the Uchiha boy and realized he was staring her down. "I bet you understand what we're talking about, right?"
"Sak-uwa!" Sasuke shouted, moving to throw his arms out in front of her, glaring at the older Uchiha boy. "Bad! No tease! Go aw-wah!"
"Hahaha, he doesn't like you," the girl giggled.
"Ah, I wasn't teasing Haruno-chan, I promise," the older boy tried to reassure Sasuke.
"Lier," Sakura said pointedly.
"Do you even know what a liar is?" the boy asked
"You see mirror," Sakura retorted, receiving a fit of giggles from the older girl.
"Where is your brother?" the boy asked, "Where is Itachi-sama and, what was your clan heir's name again?"
"Hana," the girl retorted with a dull look. "Hana Inuzuka."
"My Anee!" Kiba shouted, pointing at the girl with a growl rumbling in his throat.
"Where is she?" the girl turned a friendly smile on Kiba, "Where is Hana-sama?"
"Fighting," Sakura answered bluntly. "Hana-Anee, Ita-Anii and Anii that way," she pointed at the door, where their siblings had left. "Come back soon," Sakura repeated, staring the girl straight in her dark eyes.
"They left?" the girl questioned, "They're seven! They haven't graduated yet!"
"Coming back," Sakura repeated, "promised."
"There's a Jinchūriki out there going on a damn rampage!" the Uchiha boy screeched, jumping to his feet, "oi! Sensei! Some kids left earlier! We have to get them!"
"Do you know how long they've been gone?" the sensei questioned loudly
"No!" the Uchiha boy answered, "But its Itachi-sama and Hana-sama! They're both clan heirs! We have to give chase to them!"
"Five mins, thirty-eight sec-ons," Sakura retorted
"About five minutes ago!" The Inuzuka girl shouted immanently, not even questioning the tiny pinkett.
"I'll send a message out," their sensei replied, "All of this year's rookies are tasked with protecting the academy children. So have faith in your classmates."
"Well yeah but—"
"No buts," the man ordered, "my commlink reaches the chunin and Jonin. Everyone in the village will keep an eye out for the two heirs."
"But there's three," the Inuzuka girl spoke up but was only ignored by her teacher when the man began communication with his fellow comrades.
"Don't worry you guys," the Uchiha boy said as he sat down beside Sasuke. "Your siblings will come back safe and sound. I have no idea what they were thinking of going out into that war zone but, we'll get them back, I promise."
"Hm," Sakura stared at the boy for a long moment before yawning and stretching her arms.
"If you're sleepy you should go to sleep," the Uchiha-boy said gently.
"Can't," Sakura whined, rubbing at her eye. "Too ow-d," someone kill me, talking like this is embarrassing! When can I get my perfect coordination again?! I hate this body SO much right now!
"Hm, okay," The Uchiha boy nodded to himself, earning a warning glare from his teammate, before doing some hand signs.
"Shisui Uchiha, don't you dare—"
"And done."
"Damn you!" the Inuzuka-girl shouted as she smacked her hands together, "release!"
"You really suck at releasing Genjutsu," 'Shisui' chuckled at her. "huh… uuuuuuhhh? Kaname? She's still awake."
"Huh?"
"Shisui-bastard! What the hell?!" cue third teammate appearing, "Why'd you put everyone to sleep?!"
"Easy Tenma," a jonin called as he approached, scratching the back of his head tiredly. "Seriously though, Shisui, did you think this through? What happens when we have to move the kids to a different location?"
"Eh? I don't think we'll need to go that far sensei," Shisui chuckled. "So um, this one is still awake…"
"Hm?" both adult and obnoxious brat stared down on Sakura, to the point that the urge to flip them off nearly overwhelmed her rationality that she was physically a two-year-old and such actions will come with a hefty price later.
"What's with that ugly-ass mark on her forehead?"
It'll be worth it, Sakura glared at the boy, both hands fisting. Thankfully the Inuzuka-girl beat Sakura to the punch—literally.
"Stupid!" the girl launched her fist into the rude-boy's chin, knocking him clean off his feet. He would've landed on a pile of other kids had his teacher not snatched the boy up by his belt and let him float for a second. "It's a clan mark! Some bloodlines leave physical marks, or also known as chakra-tattoos, as a form of bloodline marking! The Nohara, Inuzuka, and Hattori clans were famous for their bloodline-tattoos!"
"No matter what you say, Kaname, that is nothing more than an ugly squashed grape bruise!" the rude-boy thrashed in the air pointlessly.
"I will bite you so hard you will lose fingers over this!" Kaname snarled at him. Shisui made a face before closing his legs with a snap and turning his knees away from the girl, even throwing his hands to cover his privet-area.
"No-nose," Sakura pointed at the older Uchiha, "she say finger!" she wiggled her own for emphasis.
"You stay cute and innocent forever," Shisui replied with a stiff smile.
"Ugh! Shisui! That's disgusting!" the girl shirked at him, "He's so not worth that embarrassment."
"Hey! Appropriate language in front of the children!" their sensei barked at them.
"She's two! She won't get it!" Rude-boy flailed again.
"Two and a half," Sakura corrected habitually. When can I be seventeen again? I hate this~
"Ah, she must be a Hattori," The sensei grinned as if seeing her for the first time. "That's why you freaked out and asked us to look for their clan mark on older students."
"I knew she had to be a part of their clan, only the Hattori clan have the purple diamond on their foreheads!" Kaname grinned, completely proud of herself.
"Um, that's not entirely true," Shisui chuckled. "Both the Sandaime-Hokage's wife and Tsunade-hime of the legendary Sanin, have the hundred hand's seal and neither of them are a part of the Hattori clans."
"Yeah but did you know that both Mito Uzumaki, Hashirama Senju, our Shodaime Hokage's wife, was the granddaughter of a Hattori?" Kaname retorted with a smug smirk. "The Hattori and Uzumaki often traded daughter's for clean blood in their families. Tsunade-hime was supposed to marry the Hattori-clan-heir but she backed out before she could complete her training. Thus negating her marriage to their clan. The only reason Mito Uzumaki married Hashirama Senju, was too keep the peace between the Uzumaki, Senju, Uchiha, AND the Hattori. She was one of seven daughters, idiot, she had to change her marriage from the Hattori-clan-heir to the Senju-clan-heir to form an alliance and—"
"Ghaaaa! Enough of the history lesson!" the rude-boy flayed in the air, "How do you know all this anyway?! It's not like you were there!"
"No but grandma was!" the girl snapped, "I can't believe you don't even know your own history Tenma! That's important!"
Girl, I excelled in history class, and I DIDN'T KNOW all that, Sakura thought.
"It's not important at all!" rude-boy, Tenma, shouted again.
"Flail one more time and I'll drop you," their sensei warned. "Anyways, your genjutsu didn't work on her because she's a Hattori."
No, I'm not, genjutsu has never been an effective tool against those with high intelligence, Sakura thought, staring at the Jonin dully.
"Hattori's have such perfect chakra-control that genjutsu literally washes right off them, it's basically impossible to catch them in a genjutsu."
They were that bad ass? Sakura thought, blinking in surprise, but how'd they die off again? Demonic chakra exposure? That's dangerous sure but it's not lethal. Sakura remembered having to heal plenty of wounds dealt by a Naruto who done lost all control and lashed out in pissed-baby-Bijū-mode. No one had died from those wounds. If she was a weaker medic, some of her comrades properly would've had scars but ultimately, no one would've died from exposure.
"So wait, how are we supposed to get her to go to sleep?" Uchiha-boy questioned.
"I heard that their compound is literally the description of quiet," the girl gossiped excitedly. "Apparently perfect silence is the only way for them to get any decent sleep."
"Who'd you hear that from, your grandma?" Rude-boy mocked.
"My aunty who was teammates with one!" the girl corrected hotly, "her teammate could listen to the chakra-waves of the earth and determine a safe location over a location that could get discovered by the enemy! Idiot!"
"What does that have to do with sleeping?" the Uchiha-boy asked. The girl looked like she was ready to retort and Sakura was waiting for it because she hoped it was interesting information but in the end, the girl bit her lip and pouted at her teammates.
If I go to sleep will they go away? Sakura thought, blinking at them. Testing her theory, she stretched out her arms and pretended to yawn. "Sweepy now, nigh-nigh," I hate myself so much right now. Sakura carefully pulled herself between Kiba and Sasuke and laid down on her back. She snuggled herself into both boy's sides, grabbed each of their hands, closed her eyes, and took deep even breaths. Instead of sleeping like she said though, she started manipulating her chakra into calming practices that would slowly but steadily grow her reserves.
"She's asleep," the Uchiha-boy sighed in relief. "Alright, I'll go patrol the hall."
"I'll stand outside the door," the girl agreed.
"No, I'll patrol the hall, you don't know the Jonin codes," the Jonin grunted as he stood again, flipping the rude-boy around till he was on his feet again. "Kaname, you and Shiori practice your wall squats. Shisui, Tenma, both of you practice your chakra-sensing and REMAIN IN THE CLASSROOM." The fact that he had to stress the last part of it, worried Sakura about their level of teamwork.
Who am I to talk? Sakura thought as she evened her breathing. Team seven was a disaster case if there ever was one. The one and only time we worked as a team was when their lives were on the line. Make that two times, Sakura thought, remembering Zabuza and Orochiamru. Wait, that's still only three times. The goddess forced us into teamwork too.
"Her teammate could listen to the chakra-waves of the earth and determine a safe location over an easily found location!"
Listen to the chakra-waves of the earth? Sakura thought, resisting the urge to look at the girl standing guard at the door. She had read about nature chakra and how manipulation of nature chakra was the epitome of chakra control, which both fueled her to try better and broke her spirit because she was already had the best chakra-control in the village (outside of Tsunade-shisho). However, what this girl spoke of was not manipulation but listening.
How can one listen to the earth? Sakura thought, twisting her chakra energy into a new form—that was when she felt it. Through the connection of her fingertips, where they touched the cold stone of the floor, and through the bare skin of her back, legs, and feet; she could feel the warmth of a steady flame accompanied by the comfortable touch of a silk Hanten. How many years has it been since she last wore one of those? Konohagakure had never been a particularly cold place. Once every ten or so years they'll get snow and when they do get snow, their city becomes a white cotton blanket with permanently silver skies. Because snow was so rare in their region, winter jackets (like the Hanten) were all but useless here. She recalled the opportunity once when she was a child, one of the first times she was allowed to play with other kids, but it was a distant and foggy memory.
Focus, Sakura mentally scolded herself. Don't get lost in memory lane, but the call of that cold winter day was enchanting to her drowsy mind. We need to focus, we're under attack. Like a cold splash of water, Sakura shivered between the two bodies of the boys. We need to protect our home, focus, we can do this. She took a deep breath and felt the cold wash away the almost-fond memory from another life. Find the enemy, entrap them. Lend aid to our comrades.
"I'll return soon Imoto,"
That smile, it was one she's seen that same smile on her father's face when he left for his last mission. That same sad-smile her mother wore when they found her corpse.
Find brother, find him, protect him. Sakura concentrated, diving into that warm hearth and silk Hanten with a desperation she hasn't felt since she dived between her teammates. Suddenly Sakura opened her eyes, having lost the comfortable warmth she had been trying to envelop around her person. Instead of a dark stone room, she found a dark abyss filled with tiny glowing orbs of light. At first, she was confused but as she stared at them she noticed two were moving about the darkness in a familiar patrolling rhythm.
Is this chakra? Sakura thought, staring wide-eyed and amazed at the vision. Is this what Hinata-chan always sees? The colors seemed to pulse around her, making the two larger glowing orbs pause in their rotation as if they were looking about in confusion. That's right, the Hyūga clan sees chakra in its rawest form. Each person's chakra is a specific color and hue. That's why escaping them is near impossible.
A bright jade light floated up to her, entangling about her feet with the feeling of trickling waters. Sakura resisted the urge to giggle, the strange green liquid seemed to be tickling her. She looked down at the strange green liquid swirling about her feet, smiling she looked to see where it was flowing and decided (on a childish whim) to follow it. She felt as if that comfortable, playful, jade-glowing water was calling to her; telling her to follow it.
What am I looking for again? Sakura thought as she walked down the stream of jade water, right, Hinata-chan. She wasn't in the room with me. The jade water pulsed and then twisted and with a rush of movement the water lifted Sakura off her feet and rushed in a different direction. She wasn't scared in the least, she felt safe in that warm jade water; in fact, she wanted to giggle in excitement.
Don't draw attention, Sakura reminded herself, biting down hard on her lip to stifle any form of laughter that was threatening to escape her. Huh? Ahead of her, Sakura could see a kaleidoscope of colors, some were accompanied by a familiar piece of jade. What is this?
'War', a voice whispered, sounding tiered with the simple word.
Hinata-chan? Sakura called out, she wasn't with us, where is she?
'There', the voice whispered and Sakura turned to see a monstrous chakra that towered above all the others, a sickening hue of silver and violet. 'Hurts, it hurts', the monstrous blob of nauseating color flexed and several colors disappeared, leaving behind nothing but a jade speck. There, near the base of the nauseating ball of energy, she could see several smaller orbs of color and one of them was pathetically tiny.
No! Sakura shouted, panic swelling in her body, that thing is gonna hurt her! The jade river reacted like a whip, lashing out at the giant nauseating swirl of silver and violet, pushing it back from the tiny orb she just knew was her friend. She couldn't see them, she couldn't hear them but she could feel them. She could feel the screaming, feel the terror that swept through every colorful orb she could see.
That's when she realized they weren't just colorful orbs, they were people's chakras.
How could she forget that? That tiny shivering ball had to have been her friend, Hinata, and that monstrous nauseating swirling mess of a chakra signature had to be the 'Jinchūriki' her brother had mentioned. She looked about, noticing that those facing off against that nauseating ball of energy each had a small jade dot floating about their chakra, as if they were somehow united or carrying something that unified them.
That's what it was, those were her comrades. Those were shinobi of the hidden leaf village. How could she possibly forget that? Their headbands were forged from a rare metallic-oar that was found only in Hokage Mountain. The material was called 'chakra oar' because not only did it absorb the wear's chakra but it also produced a specialized aura that alerted wearers to each other. That was why during war-time many leaf shinobi relied on the comforting heat of their headbands to identify each other; it was only when the material turned cold that an enemy was nearby.
She felt a waver in the jade water at her feet, felt the feeling of a roar, felt the panic and terror of the orbs around her—then the jade water reacted violently, lashing out defensively, rising to protect those with the jade dot. Sakura breathed a sigh of relief, realizing that the jade water had reacted to defend against some kind of chakra-infused lashing from the silver-violet orb.
I have to figure out a way to protect them, Sakura thought, I want to save them but what about Hinata? The tiny orb representing her friend shivered violently, she could nearly hear the ugly sobbing her three-year-old friend was making. I want to protect her, but how?
'Fire', Sakura turned towards the familiar sounding voice, watching a golden flame burst into being, searing towards the chakra's that didn't have a jade dot.
That one! Make it grow! Sakura thought, a smile stretching across her face. The jade water reacted, filling the golden flame with more power and turning it into a blinding hue of peppermint green. Howling followed the now green flame, both animal and human alike. She watched as the enemy signatures moved to attack the steady campfire orb. She noticed immediately that the campfire-orb was not only familiar but it was filled with quiet confidence she has only ever seen in one person.
'Favorite one', a new orb appeared beside the campfire-orb, swirling into being with a flourish of jade light and emerald dust. She could hear shouting but the words were too far for her to clearly discern. She watched as that orb that looked so much like the water at her feet pulsed and the attacks that were aimed for them fell flat at the two's feet.
Help them, Sakura thought, both hands clutching at her chest. Save them. Please. I can't lose him.
'War', the distant voice whimpered, 'pain. Hurts. It hurts.'
We just have to, Sakura stopped her thoughts then smiled in relief, we just have to lend them strength. With time granted, our people will persevere.
'Yes', the distant voice she could almost hear above the din of screams. 'Protect my children, I must, I will. My children. My home.' Sakura watched as the jade water seemed to latch onto the chakra signatures with the tiny jade dot and then swirled around the familiar signature of her elder brother.
Let's send them away, Sakura smiled as the feeling of warm hugs and comforting blankets surrounded her every sense.
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