THINGS WE LOST TO THE FIRE Chapter 6
Things we lost to the flame
Things we'll never see again
All that we've amassed
Sits before us, shattered into ash
These are the things, the things we lost
The things we lost in the fire, fire, fire
These are the things, the things we lost
The things we lost in the fire, fire, fire
Years later, living alone in the woods with half a dozen dogs, questionable reading material, and crippling attachment issues, Sakura realizes she turned into her teacher. Agebent Sakura Sensei
It might have been an elaborate manipulation to dump the jinjuriki on someone they could count on to keep him in line with mediocre Fūinjutsu, but Sakura was surprised by how she didn't mind any of it.
"The two of you are going to have to share a room for the night. I'll...do something about it tomorrow I guess, but I only have one guest room with enough free space to put out a futon. Shoot, I think I have two futons. Let me check."
Sakura thought she was more put together, but the more she tried to set the two boys up the more she realized how ill equipped she was for taking care of guests. She hadn't hosted anyone in a long while.
She looked back over her shoulder and saw a shell shocked looking Sai and a dazed Naruto. Neither boy looked 100% mentally present, and she felt partially responsible for that. It had been a long day and now it was night.
"Let's get you boys something to eat first. Are you hungry?"
"I guess so," Naruto answered first, looking out the window at the dark in the sky. "But not really. If you don't have anything that is."
"Will you be terribly upset if I just made something quick like ramen for you boys?" Sakura asked, already looking in her kitchen for what wasn't expired. She would need to go shopping soon.
"Ramen, really!" Naruto hollered, running into the kitchen with new energy. "Yes please, yes please, yes please Sakura chan!"
Not nearly as loud or as excitable as Naruto, Sai let himself into the kitchen and watched wordlessly as Sakura put on the water to boil while also preparing the packets of noodles in bowls.
"I'm sorry but I don't have much of anything else to offer, and it's only for tonight. I'll go to the market tomorrow to get more vegetables."
Naruto pouted cutely at her words, crossing his arms and glaring up at her he struck her as someone cute trying to be fierce. "I was so excited until you said the V word."
"You want to be Hokage one day so you'll need to grow up strong. Sorry but it's another sad fact of life, if you want to be strong you gotta face some discomfort. Like when you train your muscles and they get sore. Eating foods you don't like is sorta like that. It may be unpleasant, but it'll be worth it in the end."
"I'm pretty sure I can be Hokage without vegetables though. And if no one ever has done it, I'll be the first!"
Sakura hummed in good humor. "Will you help set the table with your places, Naruto and Sai?"
She handed each their ramen bowls with the dried noodles and told them where they could sit and where they could get chopsticks. Less than a minute later she brought over the near boiling water to pour over their noodles.
Naruto was bouncing in his seat. "My least favorite thing in the world is the three minutes it takes ramen to be done, but that's okay because ramen is one of my favorite things ever."
"And what about you, Sai? What's one of your favorite things to eat?" Sakura asked.
"Are you really going to keep us?"
Sakura paused, settling the kettle back down. Sai wasn't looking at her, but stared at the edge of his bowl.
"Yes I am, that's usually what happens when you adopt someone. You're going to stay here with me and the dogs but you'll still go to the academy and do all your usual stuff...just...you'll come home here."
"Why?" This time he looked up at her but his eyes were just as empty as she feared. "Why would you do something you suspected of being-"
His words caught and Sakura suspected why that was.
"It doesn't matter if you or Naruto complicate things. It doesn't matter what you see or do while you're here. There's nothing here to see worth spying on, nothing worth taking, and no one worth hurting this far up. I don't care about any of that. You shouldn't worry too, just leave that to the adults."
There was a flicker of something across his face and Sai clicked his tongue, glancing back down at his ramen bowl. "You are foolish."
"Maybe," she hummed back. "But I'd rather be a fool that does the right thing than the opposite. Besides, you're too young to worry about consequences or anything like that. Be a kid a little more, why don't you."
Outside there was a long howl and then the stampede as the rest of her pack came racing back in from their patrol. Mop came right up to the table and whined at Naruto for food until Sakura chased him away. Their food was already set out, but they loved table scraps too much not to try.
"Check your ramen, it's probably done."
Sakura left the table to dress up the one spare guest room for the boys, pulling down all the spare blankets and mats she could to make the single extra futon look bigger than it really was. When she came back Naruto was halfway through his bowl and Sai had just started his.
"You're not hungry, or do you not like it. I'm sorry it's so bland. I'll get something better for you tomorrow."
Sai looked up at her, eyes speaking in a language she couldn't decipher before returning to his ramen. He hesitated, but reached to pull the bowl closer and angel his chopsticks in. Sakura let go of a breath she hadn't known she was holding once Sai began to eat.
She sat down across from the boys and Chainsaw leapt away from Naruto to bound up into her lap where he circled once before laying down. He let out a happy pip that she knew was because of the new company. He was more sociable that the others, and she didn't doubt that it was because of his age as well as his breed.
"What are you studying in class right now?"
The only time Naruto shut up was when his mouth was full of ramen and he had to swallow, and even then he still tried to tell her about his classes. Sai had to admonish him once for being stupid and choking himself.
"It's okay, Sai, cause you usually keep me alive, right?" Naruto laughed.
Sai's frame deflated a bit. "It's not an easy job."
"But you do a real better job of it than Sasuke. He just lets me get hurt all the time and tells me it's my fault or calls it a lesson or whatever."
"It's 'a better job' not 'a real better job' so say it right," Sai whispered before looking down into his ramen.
"The two of you get along so well," Sakura interjected. "How long have you known each other for?"
Naruto perked up. "Oh, like, for a long time, but Sai's the only one who would play with me. And then Sai beat up Sasuke one time and then Sasuke plays with me now even though it's only because he wants Sai around. His dad makes him be friends with strong people."
"I don't think Sasuke's dad makes Sasuke pick out his friends like that, but he probably influences him to be like his brother."
"Yeah, Itachi has tons of old people friends like you. It's the same for Sasuke."
Naruto frowned at the bottom of his bowl and then looked at Sai's. The quieter of the two boys huffed loudly before pushing his ramen into Naruto's delighted hands.
"You're not hungry, Sai?" Sakura asked. She couldn't help but worry.
"I am more tired than hungry," he answered without looking up at her. "I would like to rest soon."
Sakura hummed in acknowledgment. She picked Chainsaw up off her lap and dropped him down onto Sai's lap, who stiffened at the presence of the young dog. "Watch him while I get some last few things ready."
It wasn't clear if Sai needed to watch Chainsaw or if the dog needed to watch the boy.
She returned with pajamas that used to belong to a different boy, only a little larger than either of them. Naruto and Sai both swam in this shirts, but didn't complain with the brand new toothbrushes that Sakura made them use before bed.
At the doorway she watched them run around the mattresses on the floor before looking down at her pack. "Who's watching tonight?" she asked.
Souta was the fastest, but Mop and Chainsaw ran in after. Dango looked up at Sakura with one paw lifted, ready to cross the threshold. Sakura rolled her eyes and waved him on. If he wanted to sleep with the kids he could. "Just keep an eye on the pale one. That's a Cursed Tongue Eradication Seal he has. I don't doubt he's already seen enough but that bastard will likely want him to see more."
"If you suspected him of being a spy why did you bring him into your home?" Dango asked, fur ruffling in agitation.
"Doesn't matter if he is a spy. He's still a kid and he needs someone to take care of him."
Dango lowered his head. "I'll watch him for you, don't worry, but who will stay with you?"
"I'm a grown woman, I don't need anyone. Don't look at me like that."
Dango shifted the weight of his body from one side to the other, looking like he didn't believe her. Even without human speech, Sakura knew what he was thinking and what he wanted to say, but she didn't give him the opportunity to.
"Stay with them, I'm turning in for the night. I'll call Waffles but you can let her know what's going on," Sakura said over her shoulder. She walked back into her room with the silver whistle between her lips.
By the time she had finished showering and dressing for the night, the patch of midnight sky in paws was resting at the foot of her bed. Waffles looked up and Sakura sighed, reading the look.
"I'm fine, really."
Waffles made a sound and Sakura knew what the wolf was trying to say. "You're never fine on your own."
"Don't treat me like a pup. I'm old enough to know how to sleep on my own."
Sakura moved to her bed and pulled out a small box that was long enough to fit her wooden arm into. She laid her arm into the setting and then closed the lid before pushing it back under the bed with her heel. She had taken off her prosthetic to shower, and didn't feel like wearing it to bed.
When she had been on missions, Sakura had rarely taken the prosthetic off at night. It was on more than it was off, more so because of the constant threat level and less because of her own vanity. The others on her squad knew...but not really. They didn't really get to see what had happened to her. She knew Itachi had been curious, and that only made sense because he was the youngest and the only one who hadn't been around to hear the stories when it actually happened.
Sakura rolled back the flapping sleeve up to her shoulder and reached out to rub her fingers over the shiny scarred lines that made a web over the stub. It had been so long, but it was still hard to get used to.
In the doorway Dango made a whining sound while Waffles sat silently.
"Use your words."
"You're feeling gloomy again. You're playing with your bad arm."
Sakura snorted. "It's not a bad arm, it's a stump. There's no arm left."
Dango sounded pained as he rounded the bed to sit directly in front of her and lay his head in her lap, pushing himself as close as he could. "It's hurting you."
"It doesn't feel like anything right now. I'm not in any pain," Sakura said.
"Liar, I can tell, it's hurting you right now."
Sakura thought about for a moment and then sighed. "It's not a physical pain, so there's nothing to do about it. No use in worrying about things you can't fix or change."
More than the missing arm, it was the missing people that Sakura would let herself cry for. She could no longer hold her friends in tight bear hugs, not because of her missing arm, but because they were ashes in a urn left to be scattered somewhere by their family members.
Hana was in the soil on her clan's lands, but Kakashi and Tenzo were still in their pots, packaged up and waiting for her to find a place to let them go.
Sakura exhaled suddenly and it shook her heart into a flutter. SHe forced a smile onto her face for Dango and rubbed his ears fondly.
"You're going to make me feel worse than I do if you pity me like that. I thought you said you were going to be watching over the boys so go back already."
"I wanted to check in on you. The loud one is already asleep."
"I thought he would be. He looked like the type to use all his energy up in a day."
She scratched his head once more and then pushed him off her lap. Dango backed up, but didn't leave her room until a look from Waffles convinced him it really would be okay.
"Stupid overgrown pup," Sakura whispered to herself in affection.
The first night she wasn't surprised when her pack told her Sai had laid awake for most of the nights, too tense to fall asleep. After three days she made sure to make him her mother's famous 'bednight tea' that was really just chamomile tea.
He slept better after that, but her dogs still watched him to make sure that nerves were the only thing making him restless.
On the forth night someone tried to contact Sai.
Sakura didn't let them get far.
"Tell Danzo he's going to lose more men than it's worth if he wants to take this kid back," she hissed into the ear of the ROOT agent who lay pinned beneath Waffle's giant paw.
Sakura had ripped his left arm from its socket but left the agent alive as a warning. The only reason she left him alive at all was because she needed her message to get to that old man's ears. There was no way he would show up in public with her around, after all. They had history that made it a bad idea for anyone who wanted to preserve the lie that was Konohagakure's innocence.
Sakura pulled her kuni out of his hand and wiped it on her thigh, watching him shake from the pain. He turned around to look up at her from underneath his white, blank mask. He should have been emotionless, but there was real fear there, in what little she could see of his eyes.
Good.
He started to rise, but paused as if sound guessing himself. He looked from her to Waffles, disbelief in the edges of his fram until Sakura stomped hard enough to crack a bit of the earth.
"Now!" she snarled, rising her voice as loud as she dared with two minors asleep indoors. Her home was only a handful of paces away.
He didn't say anything, but grabbed at his bleeding stump and dashed off into the night, leaking blood all the way back.
"Do you think you could follow his trail without being spotted?" Sakura asked.
Easily.
Waffles growled low but bent her head and flickered out of focus, blending into the night seamlessly. She sometimes looked more like a forgotten fragment of the night sky and less like an actual animal.
Sakura huffed and ran a hand through her lose bangs, hating how long they had grown. She would need to trim them soon. They were getting in her way when she fought. All of her hair was actually a mess from lack of care, but she didn't feel the need to address it until it almost cost her, her life.
"That had been closer than I would like to admit," she muttered under her breath before staggering back indoors.
In the middle of the night she ran the shower for herself and washed away the blood before sealing up the wounds the rest of the way. She was too tired to do more than that.
When she emerged from the bath Sai was there, a dark figure breaking up the shaft of light cast from the bathroom. His eyes were heavy and narrowed. A tired kid who saw too much.
"Why did you do that?"
"I didn't want to stink so I took a shower," Sakura answered flippantly. She knew when he meant but if he wasn't going to tell her explicitly what he meant she wouldn't answer him the way he wanted her to.
"You know what I mean."
She hummed low in her throat. "You should tell me with your words what you mean otherwise I might misunderstand."
Sakura fisted her one good hand on her hip, ignoring the way the sleeve of her robe fluttered uselessly without the prosthetic.
Sai looked away from her, glaring at the shadow of a dog in the doorway before glancing back over to Sakura, searching her body for something.
"You don't look hurt."
"Showers don't hurt people," Sakura teased with a knowing grin.
"I wouldn't have been hurt either. You should have just not bothered." He swallowed. "I would have been fine."
Sakura felt her heart hurt again and suspected that, as much as she hated to admit it, a part of her already belonged to the boy with a broken past. She didn't want to, but she found herself caring again.
'Kakashi sensei forgive me, I swore I wouldn't do this again.'
Sakura knelt down in front of Sai so that she had to look up into his face. She smiled softly and he didn't pull away when she reached for his hand.
"I would have done it even if that was true."
She didn't believe for a second Sai would be left untouched if they made contact with him again. He had been unable to send any of the ink messages she knew he could create because of her vigilance and the vigilance of her pack.
Sai stared at where her hand held his. "I think you might be a foolish woman."
"I'd rather be a fool than the alternative."
"What is the alternative?"
"Lonely."
He didn't say anything, but walked back to his room with Dango. Sakura stayed up the rest of the night, waiting until Waffles came back with information about a possible underground entrance to where Danzo had his Root operatives enter and exit.
She skipped the bed and fell asleep in a chair with her good arm resting on Waffle's back. She'd be ready if anything happened again.
Another day went by without incident, leaving her on the weekend with two boys and no idea of what to do. She had been on guard duty during the hours they were in school, but like most responsibilities, she had days off before she would have to man such a post again.
When she asked the boys what they wanted to do on their day off Sai had said nothing and Naruto had hollered about training in the woods with Sasuke, so Sakura asked Fugaku if the boys could have a play day.
Itachi came with Sasuke to help supervise. Shisui came to be annoying.
"How mean. I came because I was worried about you, having to manage a couple of little terrors all on your own. Can't a friend be concerned?"
"I already spoke with Guy," Sakura quipped.
Shisui pouted. "So mean Sakura chaaaaaan."
Sakura restrained her irritation, least it show on her face. "Shouldn't you be on a mission right now?"
Shisui rolled his eyes dramatically. "No, people are running away from me scared instead of getting in my way it seems. I've achieved it. I'm ninja famous."
"That means you're worth more to the bounty hunters. It's been nice knowing you most of the time. Sorry to see you go to pay someone else's mortgage," Sakura said in complete deadpan.
Shisui laughed and tilted to brush one shoulder into hers. He was taller than her now, even though she was a few years older, it had been a while now since he had to look up to her and he seemed to delight in reminding her of the change.
"You do not need to spend your time off helping me watch Sasuke kun," Itachi commented.
He added a subtle head nod in Shisui's direction in either thanks or respect. He didn't seem to mind the banter between his older cousin or senpai. Sasuke didn't grab for Itachi's shirt anymore, but still pressed himself close to his brother's side, glaring at Shisui from underneath his bangs. For some reason this seemed to delight Shisui.
"Don't bother thanking me, I'm happy to come out and help out a pair of friends. I haven't seen Senpai in so long and it's rare you're here in the village the same time as me, Itachi. I think today is going to be a fun sort of day, don't you?"
Chainsaw came over to Shisui and started to lift his leg. Sakura smirked but didn't warn the older ninja. It proved unnecessary since Shisui was a blur before the urine could touch him, but he was off her shoulder and Chainsaw seemed satisfied.
Sasuke snickered.
"OOOOOIIIIIIIIIIII, TEME, YOU CAME!"
The group looked up as one to watch Naruto barrel out of the house and into Sasuke, tackling the youngest Uchiha into the ground. Sasuke didn't stay down, though, and countered the tackle seamlessly, flipping Naruto high into the air. Naruto landed and swung low with his fist, but Sasuke pared that to the side and stepped onto Naruto's arm. Naruto went down but he didn't stay there.
In no time at all the pair were back into their forms, sparing without prompt or heeding. Itachi started to walk towards them when Shisui's call made him stop.
"What are you planning on doing to those two?" Shisui laughed.
"They should not be fighting so carelessly. If they want to spar they should-"
"Boring!" Shisui interrupted. Sakura sighed but stayed silent while Shisui went on to explain. "It's more legitimate this way. When you're out there on a mission the enemy won't come in and announce his presence to you. Come on, you and I were raised like that."
"Yes, but this-we are guests and Sasuke has not even greeted Sakura. It- it's not polite," Itachi explained, voice growing softer and quieter the more he explained, looking to Sakura for...what? Permission? Reassurance?
"It's fine." She waved at the boys in the dirt. "Let them do as they wish. It doesn't matter if they're raised with wartime tactics or not. They want to fight so let them." She glanced behind her. "Do you want to join them, Sai?"
The other two Uchiha turned to look behind her and see the last of the trio standing still, observing his friends with passive eyes.
He glanced to Sakura and then looked down at the boys. "No, I will wait until they are done."
Shisui smirked. "Smart kid."
Sakura hummed in agreement. She glanced to the trees and then back at the two boys. Dango was sitting at her side and she reached for his head to rub. "You remember the smallest forest god shrine?
Dago looked up at her, ears perked and alert. "Of course."
"You up for some training?"
Dango's ears twitched as he understood the meaning behind her words. "Of course."
Sakura left Shisui's side to come up behind Naruto and pick him up by the scruff of his jacket, plucking him out of his spar and causing Sasuke to skid to a halt.
"You boys look like you have too much energy. You said you wanted to train so lets train." She dropped Naruto and folded her arms, legs braced in a powerful stance.
"Training?" Sai echoed.
He joined Naruto's side after a quick look over. He didn't see anything that caused him concern and returned his attention to Sakura without another word. It only made her more convinced he had been instructed by ROOT to spy on Naruto and keep his eyes on the boy.
"Survival training."
At her word Mop and Souta barked loudly. Dango's tail started to wag so fast it swept the ground where he sat. Chainsaw began to run in circles around them all.
Itachi and Shisui shared a look.
"Survival training?" Sasuke echoed. "What is that?"
"It's what it sounds like. You're going to try and survive by reaching a small shrine in the forest. You get to chose one member of my pack to help you from the ones you see here. They are the only ones who know the location of this small shrine, not you, so if they're slower than you, and they're not, you'll have to protect them there from the others in the pack."
Naruto's hand went up but he didn't wait before he blurted out his question. "What about Waffles cause I don't see her here at all?"
"Waffles doesn't count." Sakura grinned. "I did mention that you chose from the ones you see here, didn't I?"
Sai glanced sideways at Naruto when the blond cursed.
"What are you going to be doing while we are chased?" Sasuke asked.
Sakura pulled a small book out of her back pocket. "Catching up on my reading, obviously," she sighed, nose already pushed into her book.
"Oi, so you're not even going to do anything? That's lazy!"
"I don't do anything the first time, kid If you survive then you get to try again...but you don't get any help from anyone in the pack and have to remember the safe location with just memory to help you. You do well the third time and I join in."
"And if we survive a fourth time?" Sasuke asked, watching her oddly.
"There won't be a fourth time, but maybe your relatives can make themselves useful." Sakura glanced over the top of her book at Itachi and Shisui.
Shisui threw his hands behind his head. "I just want to do whatever Sakura chan is doing. If she goes after the brats I'll help."
"That doesn't seem fair," Itachi said, looking between Sakura and then the boys."
"You want to help the kids out?" Shisui teased.
Sasuke's eyes lit up in delight before he glanced Sakura's way and then turned sharply away. "W-we don't need your help."
Itachi withered a little. "If you wish to do this without aid I respect that, Sasuke kun."
"Hn," Sasuke said, flicking some hair out of his eyes.
Sakura kept herself from chuckling dryly. He was so young but he was already starting to act like a peacock. He was more like Shisui than he wanted to admit. Sakura remembered when Shisui had been that age or a little younger and so caught up in the silly things like looks and rank and being the best.
When Sakura looked up she caught Shisui's eyes and saw that he was grinning, most likely thinking the same thing.
"Make your choice, boys," Sakura instructed.
Naruto started to talk but Sasuke cut him off and pulled him into a huddle. The three talked together with their backs to the others, words hissed and whispered among themselves.
Sakura had a suspicion but waited until they were done without offering a single comment.
Sasuke turned first. "We choose Souta."
"What led you to that decision?" Itachi asked.
"Souta is the fastest of the pack. Chainsaw will be able to sense us no matter where we are, but choosing him to eliminate the other team's advantage wouldn't amount to much if the other dogs could track us by smell just as easily," Sai began.
"All of Sakura's dogs are like super amazing, they'll be able to find us easy, so we just have to be the fastest."
"What about the strongest? You have to defend Souta," Shisui said.
"Doesn't matter how strong you are if you can't catch anything," Sasuke snorted. He missed the way his older cousin preened at the answer.
"They're right about Souta being the fastest," Sakura answered, reaching down with her free hand to scratch Souta's back, right above his rear legs. "But keep in mind your own limits when you're out there."
"What does that mean?" Naruto asked.
"Doesn't matter, on your markreadygetsetGO!" Shisui shouted.
Naruto was the last to react but scrambled loudly and was right behind Sasuke in an instant. Souta barked once before becoming a white blur between the trees, his narrow face pointed like an arrow as he flew faster than one.
Sakura held her pack back with a single word and didn't let them go until a full three minutes had passed. It was just enough time to make it balance out the children's low stamina. Souta was indeed the fastest dog, but that didn't mean the boys would be able to keep up with him. Naruto had a lot of energy, but not even he had the strength to go that fast that long for that far.
Sakura flipped a page in her book and then glanced up at the Uchiha who remained. Shisui was grinning like mad and even Itachi appeared delighted.
"Shall we shadow them then?" Sakura asked. She flickered away a second later.
"You're cruel, Sakura chan," Shisui laughed. "You don't think it will take them long at all, eh?"
"We might be surprised. Naruto will slow them down, but he's also the wild card. As long as he is there Sai won't show his true abilities so that just leaves Sasuke to excel."
"True abilities?" Itachi echoed.
Sakura pulled the scarf around her neck up to hide her mouth. "That kid is probably chunin level by now. He's been getting night training or something in addition to his day classes with Naruto. He hides it to stay with Naruto and watch him."
She didn't say anything more but when she leapt up into the trees the Uchiha were matching flickers that flanked her on either side. The kept up with her without issue and hung back in the shadows to watch the trio of boys lag behind Souta's tail while the rest of pack nipped at their heels.
"So, after this, dinner?" Shisui purred, landing on the branch beside her before jumping off right after her. When they touched down he picked up right where he had left off. "I'll cook. I'm great at it."
When he landed on the next branch her heel caught his and hooked around to toss him backwards. Itachi watched his cousin go falling but didn't make an effort to catch him. He frowned to himself, momentarily confused at why he hadn't tried to help.
The boys didn't make it to the shrine. Their stamina made them slower than Mop and Dango, and even Chainsaw was able to catch them in the end. They insisted on another run but it ended very much the same.
On the third run Sakura let them choose one more dog from her pack so it was a little more in their favor. What she didn't tell them was that she had added herself to the hunt.
Shisui and Itachi watched but Sakura would drop down and throw things at the boys to spur them on. She'd land close enough to whisper warnings and snap her elongated teeth by their ears but didn't do much more than that.
At one point she separated them with a chop to the earth. Naruto and Sasuke caught each other and kept running, trusting Sai to catch up to them. They knew Sai was stronger than either of them and trusted him to rejoin them.
That's why Sakura cornered him.
When she pressed him into the ground he flipped her over his form and attacked with a speed he hadn't shown to either Sasuke or Naruto. Sakura's kuni met his and she reached under his arm for his neck but he dragged his kuni down and onto her hand. I bit wood and became lodged in her fake arm. The wood thrummed and healed to push the kuni out and seal the wedge cut into it.
Sakura grinned when his ink brush came out and became the face of a tiger, roaring off his arm-the only canvas he had. Sakura tore through it easily and dove under the birds. She was faster than that and before long she was on top of the boy, pinning him down.
Her eyes were flashing and her fangs on full display.
"Now with you out of the way I can do what I want to the jinchuriki brat. Danzo won't be able to stop me once I kill you."
Sai's eyes went wide. "I knew it!" Then they narrowed into a heated glare. It was the first time she had seen any raw emotion from him. This was the most honest he had ever been with him.
"What did you think you were going to do? Protect him forever?" Sakura snarled. "He's a monster and needs to be killed."
"He's my friend and I won't let-you!" Sai screamed and thrashed, unable to break free. His eyes were fierce and leaking tears. "He's my friend!"
"I'm going to kill you now, boy." Sakura lowered her teeth. "I'm going to rip out your throat."
Sai squeezed his eyes shut and the tears fell more freely. He braced for it, but Sakura just reached up to kiss his forehead and wipe away the tears. He blinked, startled and confused.
Sakura's hands were warm with healing chakra as she closed up the cut on his cheek and then the ones on his fingers. He watched her in wonder, unable to comprehend what was going on. Her fangs were gone and so was the wildness in her eyes.
"What…?"
"I needed to be sure." She sat back and then helped him up. "You were told by Danzo to watch Naruto, and I feared it was because he wanted someone to do something bad to Naruto, but now I don't believe that's possible."
"I wouldn't have done that to my friend," Sai bit, glaring at her again. "Not like you. He told me about you, how you left your teammates to die and how I shouldn't trust you."
Sakura went still. "He said that?"
Sai nodded. "He said the boy Tenzo died when you ran away, trying to protect you. The girl with the dogs died the same way. You're the only one alive because you abandoned your friends. You don't care for Naruto."
"Is that what you believe?"
She felt hurt like a knife in her throat. She reached around her neck for the whistle and blew for Waffles. She stepped into the clearing mere moments later. Sakura reached out for her black fur with shivering fingers.
"This is Waffles, but Hana named her Ahmya which means black rain. She was a gift from Hana to me, so that Hana would be able to somehow always...protect me from somewhere. When Hana died I stopped calling Ahmya, Ahmya and changed her name to Waffles...something silly and stupid. But, Waffles would never have stayed with me if I really did betray Hana the way you said I did."
Waffles growled low in her throat and then nuzzled into Sakura's side, seeking to comfort her shivering master.
Sakura reached up and tore away her shirt sleeve and ripped off the glove. The harness and wood of her prosthetic were now fully displayed. Sakura ran her hand over the wood.
"This was a gift from my other teammate Tenzo who could use wood release in battle. He….he made this for me when I lost my arm on one of our last missions."
Sakura pushed on a compartment and it opened. Inside was a handful of senbon and a small scroll. Sai watched without speaking.
"Our mission had been to bring a scroll like this back to the village and we put it in my arm. I was still weaker than them...my arm was still a handicap but they gave it to me." It was hard to breath but Sakura forced the words out. "It's...this is the reason why I survived. Why I went on ahead of them and made it home."
Sai was silent.
"Maybe Danzo spoke a little truth, because my sensei always said that those who abandon the mission are trash, but those who abandon their friends are worse than trash. I believe that to this day."
"I wouldn't have left Naruto behind."
Sakura's voice grew soft with each word and her eyes stared off to somewhere else, far away. "I did. That was protocol. I thought they could handle it. I had been hurt and couldn't help so they told me to go on ahead."
"Believe in me, Sakura chan."
"Idiot, it's US, believe in US, Sakura chan."
She blamed herself and blamed herself and heard the reports blaming her, but like the formal inquiry, she kept coming back to the fact that their mission had gone south in a real bad way real fast only after she left them behind. With Hana and Tenzo there had been an additional two Jounin, one of which survived and was able to give a testimony about how enemies from nowhere came to outnumber them.
Sakura had been forgiven for running and then hailed as a hero for completing the mission. And because she was a medic at the moment for that mission, it was all appropriate. They didn't blame her for it like the had Kakashi's father….though they should have.
Sakura held up her wooden arm. "If I had truly abandoned the boy I loved his arm would have withered on me and died, like it should have. But it's still alive and protecting me for some reason. I want to believe that's because he's still watching out for me from somewhere."
"Then why won't you forgive yourself, if you say you're not to blame?" Sai asked.
Sakura looked up, seeing him. "What?"
"You don't sleep well. You have nightmares and that's why the dogs get up to treat you in the night. You may have been officially cleared of blame but in your heart you know that it's still your faul-Ack!"
Waffles had pinned Sai down and was growling in his face, hackles up and wild.
"Ignorant child!" The wolf seethed, unable to help herself from speaking out. Waffles never spoke, but that wasn't because she couldn't. "You speak of matters you know nothing of!"
"Waffles," Sakura tried. Her hand was shaking but she pet down her black fur.
"No, this cur speaks out of place of things he knows nothing of. I was there! I was there for it all. You protected me too!"
Sakura didn't say anything.
"Sakura did nothing wrong," Waffles growled at Sai. "You're too young and too brainwashed to know better, but my master blames herself more than she should-not because of truth, in spite of it! There are demons in her heart. She lost more than anyone that day. Speak to her like that again and I will snap your neck."
Sakura pulled on Waffles, sliding in to stand with her back to Sai. "That's enough, Waffles. He's mine, you can't hurt him."
Waffles backed up and lowered her head. A moment later she reached out and licked at Sakura's face. Sakura scratched Waffles back and then the black dog was gone.
"I'm not going to tell you what to believe, that's up to you. But I won't hurt Naruto, and I trust you won't either, that's enough for me." Sakura offered him her hand. "Let's go find the others."
When they made it to the shrine where everyone was waiting. Itachi wouldn't meet her eyes and she had a feeling she knew why, but neither of them said anything.
Shisui came up behind Sakura and rested an arm on her shoulder. "Great, we look ready for afternoon snacks, my treat?"
Sakura was surprised to see Guy before she heard him, but was was even more shocking was the trio that trailed behind him.
"Senpai!" she hollered, cupping hands around her mouth.
She waved him down and he leapt the distance without a second thought, leaving the three mini people to dash off after him.
"You had a kid?" Sakura hissed behind her hand, looking at one of the miniature people in particular. "What happened?"
"You were out of the village on the spectacular day and did not hear my youthful news!" Guy boomed while striking a pose. "Behold, my legacy!"
"Guy sensei, it is an honor to be considered your legacy!" the one that looked like his clone hollered with tears in his eyes.
Sakura blinked once, looking behind the little green terror to the other children who looked just as exhausted. The one with Hyuga eyes looked pissed off while the girl appeared more exasperated than anything.
"Who are you?" the Hyuga boy asked with arms crossed. He looked highly disinterested in the whole encounter and Sakura didn't doubt that was because of Guy's usual charm. Few understood it.
"Neji, remember your manners. Before you ask someone their name you should introduce yourself first, especially to a senior shinobi." Guy pointed to Sakura with both palms, striking a dramatic pose. "Behold my most ferocious kohai."
"I thought you said Shisui Uchiha was your most worth kohai?" the girl asked.
Guy flushed and laughed, scratching the back of his head. "Shisui is indeed my equal in speed, however, his ferocity is not equal to Sakura's."
"I feel so complemented," Sakura dryly commented. She glanced to the kids. "Are they yours?"
Guy's eyes filled with tears that turned into rivers. "Indeed, I am finally a sensei to three wonderful springtimes of youth! Behold my charges, Neji, Tenten, and-"
"ROCK LEE!" The green clan one exclaimed. "The beautiful green beast of genin. I am honored to meet Sensei's comrades."
Sakura raised a single hand. "Sakura. Nice to meet you all too."
Guy looked around her. "Where are the rest of your furry friends. I don't see any of them today."
"They're at the academy keeping an eye on two of my wards." When Guy's eyes started to sparkle Sakura hurried to rush in an explanation. "It's just a mission from the Hokage, don't look like that!"
The tears were already flowing and before she could stop him Guy had gathered her up into a hug that pinned her down tight.
"Your heart has finally opened to the joy of youth! I am so happy to see you grow and heal. I can feel the fire of springtime burning inside of you!"
"I really hope you can't," Sakura coughed. "Let me go."
But Guy was crying while rubbing his cheek against hers. Sakura rolled her eyes and then crossed her arms and broke his hold with just a little chakra. Even though it wasn't anything near what she normally used on enemies, it made Guy's arms fly open wide and send him stumbling.
She didn't miss how the Hyuga boy's eyes widened.
"You're going to make me damp with all your crying, knock it off senpai." Sakura ran a hand through her long bangs. The rest of her hair was tied up into a high ponytail. "Can't you see I'm working here."
"You look really bored though," the lone female genin stated, glancing behind Sakura at the check in booth.
"I'm bored to tears, but it's a job that keeps me inside the village and it's not paperwork. Ugh, I think I'll die if I have to sit behind a desk in the dark for another day. But this is another part of the job."
Neji looked her over critically. "Your rank?"
Sakura tisked, popping her jaw. "This one has some manners, senpai."
Guy came behind Neji and ruffled his glossy long hair, making the boy freak. "Neji, your manners are for everyone, not just other Hyuga. Sakura is a jonin like myself."
"The classes all moved up a couple of months ago, so was that when you all graduated?" Sakura asked, looking the kids over but landing her gaze on the one named Tenten.
She smiled at the attention. "Yes, we were all promoted together and put onto a team. Not everyone in our year graduated though."
"The standards are not what they used to be," Neji added, looking away.
Sakura felt the urge to smack the kid, talking like he knew anything. He was maybe eleven or twelve, so who was he to talk about things not being what they once were? Brat.
"Yeah, I mean you didn't even have to kill anyone to graduate, right?" Sakura asked. Neji looked up sharply and Sakura met his gaze with her own. "Such a shame our standards have slipped so much, eh?"
"That-that was never a requirement. When my father graduated he need to-"
"He needed to fight in a war because wars need fighters, so the standards were real low and people were real desperate."
Sakura knelt down, noticing how Guy hadn't stopped her from saying anything more to his rudest student. Guy was too kind and too soft to be comfortable chastising Neji every day and night.
"Kid, before you open your mouth and let the bitterness in your heart spill out, think about what good that's going to do you after your bitterness stains someone's sandals." Her eyes narrowed into a glare and she let some of her killing intent roll off, but not enough to paralyze. "Some of us fought really hard so that you guys could have the luxury of graduating without trauma. Yeah, the standards are not what they used to be, and thankfully so."
"You were a veteran?" the girl breathed. There was a bead of sweat on the side of her face. "You don't look that old."
The killing intent snapped back and Sakura popped up, hands on her face, covering her lips shaped like an O. It was in complete contrast to how she had looked and acted only seconds before.
"Oh! What a sweet thing to say. I like this one, Guy, she's smart."
Neji made a sound of derision and looked away, crossing his arms again. There was also sweat on the side of his face but he didn't reach up to wipe it away. Lee seemed, oddly, unchanged, like he hadn't felt the killing intent at all.
"They are smart and determined in their own way. I believe they will all excel and grow up into fine springtimes of youth that carry on the will of fire." Guy rested a hand on Neji's shoulder. "All of them."
Sakura hummed low. "You kids are really lucky to get someone like Guy sempai for a sensei. A lot of people don't think that at first-"
"I DO!" Lee hollered.
"-But he's one of the wisest and most compassionate people I know. I don't call just anyone my senpai after all."
Guy cried loudly into his hands, curling up into a ball behind Rock Lee who was also crying into his hands, curled up like a ball. Neji refused to look at her or pretend he was listening, but Tenten nodded along, taking in every word.
"He's going to stay like that forever. No one complements him," Neji mumbled.
Sakura rubbed her face. "Ok, senpai, I can't leave my post but how about I send you off with some... recovery training?"
Guy sprang up, eyes and teeth gleaming like they were especially polished for blinding enemies. "Oh! What a fine idea! What did you have in mind?"
Sakura shrugged, looking at her empty post. "How about I just toss your kids in the air and you try to catch them so they survive the fall?"
"Indeed a youthful exercise!"
Neji huffed. "Throw us? How far could she-?"
Sakura grabbed him by the front of his shirt and rotated once for speed before chucking him straight up into the air. Neji screamed all the way up, his voice growing fainter until he winked in front of the sun. A moment later his screaming started to grow louder and Guy tensed on the ground below. Neji hadn't been tossed as far as he had been tossed high, so Guy didn't have to run very far to intercept Neji's fall.
Rock Lee's eyes were stars. "Yes! Me next!"
Tenten went pale.
Sakura cracked her knuckles.
AN:/ Okay, how lame is it if you laugh at something you wrote yourself? Because the mental image of Sakura just chucking kid Neji right up in the air made me laugh to myself like a lame person. I wanted someone to animate that for me.
Sakura's Pack!
Mop- Irish Wolfhound He's the teeth of the pack
Souta - Borzoi (Russian Wolfhound) He's the speed of the pack
Dango- Doberman pinscher- He's the voice of the pack
Chainsaw- Jack Russell Terrier He's the sensor of the pack (and the baby)
Waffles- Wolf She's the terror and the stealth of the pack