Author's Note: I apologize for the lack of updates! School just started back for me and things are pretty hectic around here because our schedule got messed up. I'll try my best to keep the stories updated at a reasonable pace!

Last Time:

"Even though you were here that night that Sakura was brought here, you never actually heard about what happened to her before then," Naruto began and the two of them stopped walking. "It's probably for the best if you didn't know considering the content but I don't want you to think that you can't help Sakura. You've done more than enough to help Sakura become who she is in the last seven years and to be honest, I don't think she'd be who she is today if you weren't around."

Sasuke wasn't entirely sure how to respond. He rubbed the back of his neck and avoided eye contact with Naruto. "It's just hard seeing Sakura become so fragile like that..."

"I know," Naruto agreed. "But this is Sakura we're talking about; she'll bounce back in no time at all and be back to normal."

Sasuke nodded in agreement with a small smile on his face. "You're right. She'll be back to normal soon."

Opposites Attract: Chapter 8 – "These Wounds Never Healed in the First Place…"

"How could you be so stupid and try to propose something like that to Minato and Kushina?" her mother shouted at her father, the two of them glaring one another down. "You know there was no way in hell either one of them would go for something like that!"

"The old Kushina would've gone for it!" Kizashi shouted back. "That bastard Minato changed her from the Kushina you and I grew up. The Kushina we know would've jumped on the opportunity without a second's hesitation. She was all about the money when we were rolling together in high school but ever since she hooked up with that rich brat, she's loss focus."

"I hate to break your fragile little lovelorn heart but the Kushina that we grew up with, the Kushina you admired and were so desperately in love with, doesn't exists anymore!" Mebuki countered. "I told you time and time again that she had changed but you didn't want to believe me! Even after she got pregnant with Naruto, you were stupid enough to believe that she could possibly love you!"

Sakura cowered behind the wall as Kizashi slapped Mebuki, the two of them getting into another brawl with one another. She curled up on the floor and pressed the palms of her hands as hard as she possibly could against her ears to drown out the chaos but it was still clear as day. She yelped when they hit against the wall she was hiding behind but they both stopped when there was a knock on the door.

Kizashi sucked his teeth and shoved something out of the way before Sakura could hear the multiple locks on their front door come undone.

"Jesus, you look like hell," an unfamiliar voice commented followed by several sets of footsteps. "You and Mebuki still getting into fist fights with one another I see."

"It's good to see you again too Baji," Kizashi muttered and the door clicked shut.

Sakura looked up and saw the group of unfamiliar men standing in the living room, all of whom were looking directly at her. She shivered beneath their glances and quickly got onto her fit and hid behind her mother who'd entered the living room as well.

"Well she certainly is a cute little thing, isn't she?" the man up front commented as he squatted down and put on a warm and inviting smile with a cigar between his teeth. "If I'm not mistaken she should be about four or five years old, right?"

"Four," Mebuki said.

The man chuckled. "I think kids are pretty cute, wouldn't you boys agree?"

Sakura watched as the group of men muttered and nodded in agreement.

"Hey there, My Sweet Princess," he held his hands out. "I'm your Uncle Baji."

Present Day

As she woke up, she could hear muffled voices coming from nearby. It was almost completely dark in her room save her desk lamp that remained on and provided a dull light for the room. Though her body felt heavy, she managed to sit upright and looked around. The familiarity of her room at the Whirlwind Estate calmed the rapid beating in her chest and as that noise calmed, she could hear the voices clearer in the hallway.

"It looks like their names are Tayuya, Jiroubou, Kidoumaru, Sakon and Ukon," she recognized the voice as Itachi's. "They're all residents of Oto City and have pretty lengthy records that range from assault to robbery to grand theft auto. They're also known members of Phoenix so it's safe to assume that these five are part of the distribution operation here in Konoha."

"Any idea on where these five might be staying right now?" Kushina's voice now.

There was a sigh and then Itachi's voice again. "This is just speculation but it's possible they're hiding somewhere in the Whirlpool."

"The Whirlpool? You can't be serious," Kushina questioned.

"We tried getting the precincts in the Whirlpool to participate in the search for these five but we received a call from the Chief of Police in charge of those districts and he declined to cooperate," Itachi explained. "We managed to get all the other districts to participate in the search and they were unable to spot any of these fives which means it's safe to assume they're hiding somewhere in the Whirlpool."

"Tsk," Kushina sucked her teeth. "If that's the case then whoever oversees Phoenix is also aware of the fact that Whirlwind doesn't have that great of a standing in the Whirlpool. Ugh, is there anything you can do within the law to get them to cooperate to the search?"

"No ma'am," Itachi answered. "The only thing we can do is get some officers over there when they're off the clock and searching but there's only so much they can do while they're playing civilians."

"We'll worry about searching the Whirlpool later," Minato's chimed in. "Kushina and I need to get going if we're going to make it to the prison. Naruto-kun, keep us updated on Sakura-chan? She should be waking up soon."

Sakura forced herself out of bed at the sound of Minato mentioning a prison. The word caused her stomach to churn and despite her body clearly not wanting to do anything besides lay down, she stood on her feet and made her way towards the door. Without a moment's hesitation, she pulled opened her door and saw the four of them look at her.

"Sakura-chan!" Kushina exclaimed and quickly went to her. She looked her over and fixed some of Sakura's hair before taking her face in her hands. "Sakura-chan you shouldn't be out of bed. Come on, lay down."

"You're going to see them, aren't you?" Sakura questioned and Kushina froze. "I was going to find out sooner or later so you might as well tell me now."

"Sakura-chan, you really shouldn't be up so soon after taking your medication," Kushina urged.

"Okaa-chan!" Sakura shouted and Kushina looked away.

Minato looked back and forth between the two of them before letting out a heavy sigh. He stood behind Kushina and put his arms on her shoulders before looking at Sakura. "We're about to head to the prison to meet with Kizashi and Mebuki about what's been happening. After we meet with them we're headed to the maximum-security prison to meet with Baji as well."

Sakura stood there for a moment before looking a Minato. "I want to come with you."

"Are you sure this is what you want to do?" Minato questioned.

"Otou-san you can't seriously be considering letting Sakura-chan come with you?" Naruto questioned as he looked back and forth between his father and Sakura. "Sakura-chan just had an episode last night, quite possibly her worst one yet and it was her first one in years that was triggered just at the mention of Phoenix."

"I need to go," Sakura argued as se clenched her fist. "If things continue like this then I don't know how much more I'll be able to take. I put on this façade that I'm this strong, unbreakable person but the reality is that I can unravel because of a single word. I can't keep hiding from my past."

"Then I guess that's that then," Minato said. "Kushina-chan, can you help Sakura-chan get ready? I'll make some calls and getting our meetings pushed back an hour so there's no rush, okay?"

Kushina looked at Minato for a moment before letting out a sigh of defeat and looking at Sakura. "Come on, let's get you in the shower. It'll help you feel better," Kushina urged before helping Sakura back into her room. "Naruto-kun, warm up some soup and put it in a sealable container. Sakura's going to need to eat something on the way there."

two hours later: Southern Konoha Outskirts – Konoha Penitentiary

"Honestly, this is absolutely the last thing I wanted to do," Kushina complained as she sat beside Minato in a barren room that held only a medium sized table and four chairs. She looked over her shoulder towards the mirror and the concerned look on her face reflected at her.

"If you keep looking back to check on Sakura then you're going to make her more nervous than she already is," Minato advised as he leaned back in his chair and reached into his inside jacket pocket. He pulled out his phone and began to scroll through it. "We'll only be here for thirty minutes to an hour if things go well."

On the other side of that mirror, Sakura stood there waiting just like Kushina and Minato. She gripped the railing just before the window so tightly that her knuckles were white and she hadn't realized she was holding her breath until Naruto placed a gentle hand on her back. She exhaled and attempted to maintain her heartrate and breathing but her nerves wouldn't let her calm down.

"Relax a little, okay?" Naruto recommended and saw Sakura nod her head.

As Naruto kept a close eye on Sakura, they heard the door to their section of the room enter. Naruto was the only one to turn and look to see Madara entering with Izuna at his side.

"Young Master, Lady Sakura," Madara greeted the two of them and Naruto bowed respectfully in response. As Naruto stood, Madara removed his hat and dropped it onto the counter before pouring himself some coffee. "They're about to be brought into the room with Master Minato and Lady Kushina."

As Madara said that, the door to the room Minato and Kushina were sitting in opened. Minato tucked away his phone before standing with Kushina and watching the guards enter with the people they had come to see. Minato wore a simple warm expression on his face while Kushina wore an expression of clear agitation.

"Mebuki-chan, Kizashi-kun, you both seem to be doing well," Minato said as both Haruno Mebuki and Haruno Kizashi were guided to their seats and released of the shackles that bound their wrist and ankles.

Haruno Mebuki eyed the two of them as she rubbed her wrist before taking a seat. Haruno Kizashi seemed amused to be standing in front of the two of them but kept his eyes fixated on Kushina who he eyed up and down before slowly taking his seat. He didn't bother to look in Minato's direction.

"I have to say, it really is good to see you again Kushina," Kizashi said as he leaned back in his seat. He looked over his shoulder at the guards that lingered in the ring and he sucked his teeth before turning to Minato. "Are they going to linger the whole time?"

Minato looked at the guards and nodded to them. They each bowed to Minato before exiting the room. Once the door clicked shut, Minato sat back down with Kushina and before Minato could address the two of them again, Kizashi spoke up first.

"So, what exactly do you want Mr. Rich Brat?" Kizashi questioned with an antagonizing smile on his face. "This clearly isn't a social visit and you surely didn't request to meet with both of us because you wanted to reunite the two of us so what is it?"

Minato kept is cool. "Now, now Kizashi, there's no need to pretend you're playing the idiot here. You clearly know why we're here so let's not waste too much time and get to it, shall we?"

Kizashi gritted his teeth. "I never liked that attitude of yours Namikaze. This 'holier than thou' demeanor you had where you felt like you had the right to stand over the rest of us like you're somebody! Had you tried that shit in the Whirlpool when Kushina was running it then she would've put a bullet between your eyes in a heartbeat."

"Here we go again," Mebuki groaned as she rolled her eyes. She looked at Kushina who didn't seem amused either. "It's surprising honestly that even after all these years he's still hung up on you."

Kushina didn't respond.

On the other side of the glass, Sakura pulled her eyes away from the scene for the first time since they entered and looked at Naruto who looked just as confused as she did. They looked at one another before turning to Izuna and Madara who sat together playing cards at the small table in the room.

"Master Madara, was there something going on between Okaa-chan and Haruno Kizashi?" Naruto questioned.

"Kizashi and Kushina?" Madara repeated as he put down a card. "All I really remember from back in the day before Kushina met your father face to face was that Kizashi was devoted to Kushina. Whether they dated or not, I'm not entirely sure but I doubt they did."

"I'm sure there's much more you want to say to me about those matters but as for right now, that's not why we're here," Minato stated as he tapped the table and the screen came to life. He pulled up several news stories and articles regarding Styx before looking back at Mebuki and Kizashi. "I'm sure you're all caught up on what's happening outside?"

"What makes you think we have anything to do with this?" Mebuki questioned as she looked pass the reports and directly at Minato. "Kizashi and I have been locked up in this penitentiary for the last seven years with another thirteen to twenty-three years left on our sentences."

"It's not impossible to operate outside of a prison," Kushina said and saw Mebuki look away from her. "Look, just tell us what you know and we'll be out of here just as quickly as we came in. We already know that Phoenix is the one distributing this shit in the first place. We just need to know how many people and if you possibly know their location."

"What makes you think we'd help you?" Mebuki questioned. "You two are the reason we're in here in the first fucking place."

"Are you kidding me?" Kushina sat forward now. "After everything you did and you want to blame us?"

"None of it would've happened if you hadn't let Minato kick us out of Whirlwind in the first place," Kizashi argued.

"Minato and I kicked you out of Whirlwind because you were trying to propose to us that we should get into the human trafficking business and partner up with Phoenix," Kushina reminded Kizashi. "Are you forgetting that this was the same Phoenix that attempted to kidnap my son?"

"Had you let bygones be bygones then Whirlwind would've been swimming in cash in a matter of days," Kizashi said, completely unaffected by Kushina's reminder. "What the hell happened to you Kushina? Huh? Back in the day you would've jumped on the opportunity to make that much cash in a heartbeat. You were ruthless before you got mixed up with that damn Northerner. We're from South Konoha, or have you forgotten that?"

"I haven't forgotten anything," Kushina snarled. "But don't even try and act like you knew exactly who I was back then because I had enough morality in me to know that human trafficking was an all-time low. I'll tell you one thing though, who I was when I was sixteen and who I am now are two different people. But it's not because of Minato, it's because I grew up, unlike you."

"So, it's a matter of maturity now?" Kizashi scoffed.

"Careful Kushina," Mebuki warned, "you might actually break his heart this time if this continues."

"Shut up Mebuki!" Kizashi snapped.

"I've had enough of this," Kushina declared as she stood up. "I'm going to go wait with Naruto-kun and Sakura-chan. Finish up quickly please."

"Sakura?" Mebuki seemed interested in the first time since the start of the meeting. "What's she doing here?"

"Sakura had finally decided that she wanted to see the two of you again after all these years and speak with you," Minato explained as he slightly looked over his shoulder.

"You have my daughter?" Kizashi questioned. "You have no right to her!"

"And neither do you," Kushina argued and saw Kizashi flinch at her words. "You sold your daughter to Watanabe Baji of all people. We grew up with Baji and knew back then he was messed up in the head and quite possibly the most sick and twisted person in Konoha."

"It's none of your business on what we did with Sakura after we left Whirlwind," Mebuki stated plainly.

"It wasn't but I made it my business when I found out neither of you had Sakura anymore," Kushina explained. "It was a mistake to leave her with you in the first place. Both of you were strung out on drugs and kept lying to Minato and me on how you were clean and sober. A blind person could see you were high ninety percent of the time a mile away. I admit, it was my mistake for letting you take Sakura with you when you were kicked out of Whirlwind but I was hoping you'd have enough human fucking decency to at least treat your daughter like your fucking daughter."

"She's nothing more than a reminder of what Kizashi couldn't have," Mebuki explained. "Kizashi, just tell them what you know already so that we can get out of here. I thought this would be more fun but I was wrong."

"You don't want to see her?" Minato questioned.

There was silence from both Mebuki and Kizashi. Neither of them looked at one another. As they sat there in silence, Sakura left the viewing room. Naruto didn't attempt to stop her and after a few short seconds, Sakura entered the room where they sat.

Kizashi turned and saw Sakura first. He didn't move and Mebuki merely side eyed her before looking away again.

"What am I to you?" Sakura questioned.

"Huh?" Mebuki looked at Sakura with a confused expression. "What's that supposed to mean?"

"It's a simple question," Sakura said. "What am I to you? Both of you."

"You're our daughter," Kizashi answered.

"Don't give me a standard answer," Sakura said clearly frustrated. "I know what I am do you biologically but what am I to you?"

Mebuki sighed and stood up. She faced Sakura and crossed her arms. "What you want is honesty, right?"

Sakura nodded.

"Fine," Mebuki shrugged and put her hands on her hips. "In all honesty, to me, you're a reminder that Kizashi never actually loved me. Kizashi only married me for appearances and to convince Kushina that he was happy so that she wouldn't worry about him too much because that's just the kind of person she is. In all honesty, Kizashi didn't want kids with me until Kushina mentioned it to him one day while she was holding Naruto. I got pregnant soon after and you have no idea how many times Kizashi would whisper to you while I 'wasn't paying attention' and say: 'Kushina should've been your mother.'"

Sakura clenched her fist.

"And I firmly believe that Kizashi treated you as well as he did while we were in Whirlwind because he wanted to look good for Kushina," Mebuki claimed.

"Mebuki that's enough," Minato spoke up.

"No. Sakura wanted the truth so I'm going to give her the truth," Mebuki said. "Because it seems like the rest of you here are too damn caught up in fantasies that you forgot how to separate your fantasies from the truth."

"Mebuki." Kizashi almost sounded like he was pleading.

Mebuki rolled her arms. "After we were kicked out of Whirlwind and saw that Baji was infatuated with you, we used that to our advantage to keep Baji around. You see, we knew Baji had a thing for children, he always did. We had grown up with him and he always looked at them in ways he wasn't supposed to and when he met you for the first time, we saw the same look in his eyes we'd come too accustomed to. The rest after that was easy. At the end of the day, you were leverage."

Sakura was silent.

"Happy now?" Mebuki questioned. She leaned against the table and looked at Kizashi. "Mind telling them what you know so we can get out of here? I'd like to take a nap before dinner tonight. And don't even argue about the lack of compensation for the information, that's not how they operate."

Kizashi sucked his teeth. "Tsk, fine," he reluctantly agreed. "We got word a couple weeks ago they were gonna start pushing some serious shit through Oto City as a test to see how it sells. Of course, in Oto City, it's not a normal day if there isn't some story about some druggie overdosing so the cops in Oto didn't put in the effort in investigating the stuff. They decided to push into Konoha to challenge you guys."

"Challenge us?" Minato repeated. "Well that's certainly interesting. Phoenix can't possibly believe they have the manpower to go up against Whirlwind in our home territory?"

"Talk to Baji," Mebuki muttered.

Minato looked at the two of them for a moment before looking over his shoulder towards the window and whistling. He looked at Sakura and rubbed the back of his head. "Sakura-chan, Naruto's going to go ahead and take you back to the city."

Sakura looked at Minato and could tell by the look in his eye that there was no chance she could attempt to argue. So, she merely walked over to him and gave him a tight hug that he responded to. He gave her a gentle kiss on the head before letting her go and watching her hug Kushina the same way.

"We'll make plans for the weekend when I come home, okay?" Kushina said as she made Sakura look at her and Sakura nodded in agreement. "Good." Kushina kissed her forehead and watched as Sakura left the room without even looking at Mebuki and Kizashi.

Naruto let out a heavy sigh and watched as Madara stood up and cut the audio for the room. He knew it was best to not ask questions but when the screen darkened and the visual recording was cut as well, he knew that what was going to happen next was something he wasn't going to hear about anytime soon.

"I'll see you later Master Madara, Master Izuna," Naruto said as he shook both their hands before heading out the room. He saw Sakura standing there with a small smile on her face and that enough called his chest to constrict. "Sakura-chan."

"I could really go for a burger," Sakura muttered, her voice breaking as tears started streaming down her face. She tried to wipe her tears away but it didn't take long before she was on her knees sobbing and Naruto was holding her.

To Be Continued…