Pink hair was becoming more common.

She bit her lip, staring at her long pink hair reflected back at her from the mirror, her narrower black eyes peering back at her instead of green.

The knife in her hands was blunt, its edge dulled from years of use in the kitchen, but it'd serve its purpose. Sakura swallowed, fingers curling around the handle, teeth biting down on her lip as she brought it up to the back of her neck – where she held her hair, ready to cut it off. Uchiha Madara was alive, her hair had the same unfortunate style, and her face looked too much like an Uchiha's. If she cut off her hair, she wouldn't have as many problems, would she?

"Your hair is shinier than mine… If you have time to take care of your hair, then you should practice." Kin's voice echoed through her ears. "I hate girls like you the most."

Sakura scowled. Even now she could still feel the pain from Kin's grip. The memory was burned into her brain. That was the moment she'd realised it completely. How much of a deadweight she really was to Team Seven. She clenched the handle of the knife, hand shaking as she tried to summon the courage, the will, to slice off all her hair again. But she'd made that vow before, cut her hair before, and she'd still been utterly powerless against Kaguya. Short hair only reminded her of her failures… but long hair was also a weakness.

She grimaced, annoyance making her cast the knife aside as she stood in the bathroom, staring at her reflection. To have long hair as a shinobi either meant one was an idiot, or a rather skilled shinobi. She was going to belong to the latter category. She fumbled for a hair tie, grabbing handfuls of her hair, braiding it in a style Ino had taught her so long ago, hiding as much of the spikiness as possible. She was going to be stronger than ever. Her eyes bled red, three tomoe spinning in each eye. She wasn't a first-generation shinobi from some nameless civilian family. She was an Uchiha, even if the rest of the clan didn't know about her existence. Satisfied, she walked back to her shared bedroom, red fading back to black, having made her little vow.

No one would touch her hair again.

Pushing Akira's outstretched limbs away, she crawled into her bed, smiling softly when her straight-haired sibling attached herself to her chest like a limpet, chasing all the bad thoughts away. All her sisters really were adorable.

::

"What do you want to do today, sweetie?" The soft melodic voice stirred Sakura out of her thoughts, her body flinching slightly as a hand mused its way into her hair. It was slightly uncomfortable at first. No one had petted her hair in ages. She'd barely seen her parents after the war had started, and even before she'd shied away from their affections. That was something she'd regret until the end of days, so rather than moving away from Misa's touch, she fell into it. She pressed her head against her mother's chest, feeling the heartbeat under her skin. Alive. She was alive. "You've been such a good girl as of late… always looking out for your sisters." A wry smile pulled at her lips. "Don't think I haven't seen you, missy. You always go along with whatever they want… so I think it's time you chose for once."

"Yeah! Nee-chan should choose!" Akira sat up, black eyes sparkling as she stared at her like she deserved to be idolised.

Sakura blinked, heart fluttering in her chest as she stared into those green eyes. Like the ones she used to have. "Um…" She stumbled over her words, flushing under her mother's undivided attention. She didn't really know what she wanted. All that mattered was protecting her siblings and ensuring their happiness. She didn't need to be happy too. She simply never wanted to be lonely again. They all just needed to be alive. She was OK that way. That was her little slice of happiness, wasn't it? "I—I, uh, don't know."

"We can go to the park… or maybe we can stay indoors… it's all up to you," she said, fingers running through her fluffy pink locks.

"Then, can we go to the park?" she asked, having seen Mio's eyes light up at the mention of the park. As much as she loathed to admit it, Mio liked Sasuke. They'd become fast friends over the first three times they'd met, with Sasuke turning tomato red each time Mio held his hand to drag him somewhere. Sakura wasn't jealous of him. Not in the slightest.

"Sure thing, sweetie," Misa said, shifting Sakura off her lap as she stood, gracefully as ever. "Let's go put those shoes and coats on. It rained last night, and I don't want you all getting too dirty, OK?"

"Of course," Sakura said, nodding as she hurried over to the doorway, fully aware of the thunder of feet trailing after her.

"We're going to the park again!" Seiren leapt into the air, practically vibrating with excitement as Sakura pulled out all their assigned coats and shoes from the little box they kept their outwear in. They didn't have the luxury of that much space.

Sora, her twin, rolled her eyes, snatching her own sandals out of Sakura's grasp. "Bet you I can swing higher this time," she muttered, earning a cry of protest from Seiren.

A familiar face popped around the doorframe, a wide smile on Tomoe's face as she stared around at the group of them amassed by the doorway. "Are we taking the kiddies out again?"

"You're free?" Misa glanced up, smiling softly at her friend.

"Yep… So I thought I'd come and entertain your kids for a bit, but it seems you're taking them out. You don't mind one more tagging along, do you?" she asked, and Sakura could feel her eyes on each and every one of them as she finished putting on her own footwear before she began helping her younger sisters.

Misa chuckled. Sakura liked that sound. She wanted to hear it more often. "You're always welcome, Tomoe."

A toothy grin appeared on her face, mischief twinkling in her eyes as she went and scooped up Tora under one arm with Ran in place under the other one. Sakura glanced over, smiling slightly at the high tinkering laughter she could hear. How she'd missed that sound… She sucked at getting her sisters to laugh. Turning back to the last of the other set of triplets that wasn't tucked under the arm of the lady they called aunt, she finished helping Yumi with her coat and sandals, standing back so she could survey her work. All of her sisters were bundled up neatly. They wouldn't be getting sick. Not if Sakura had any say in the matter.

"Come on!" Akira bounced up and down, growing more impatient by the second. "I wanna tell Naru all about how cool nee-chan was last night!"

Misa's head snapped around so fast, Sakura was surprised nothing broke. "Last night?" Her eyes narrowed, and Sakura shrunk in on herself. She knew that look. Mebuki had worn it many a times before she went into mothering mode. "What happened last night?"

"Oh, uh, well… I went out late last night," Akira mumbled, scratching the back of her head.

Mio stepped forwards. "She went out gambling, kaa-chan."

Akira wore a look of utter betrayal. "Mio-nee! That was supposed to be our secret."

Misa wore the look that Sakura knew meant they'd be talking about this in detail later. Even Tomoe didn't look impressed. "We'll talk about your gambling habits later, Aki-chan," she said, glancing at Mio. "Continue."

"Well… Sakura-nee came to get me, and Mio-nee followed her, and then these guys tried to jump Mio-nee to make me give the money I won back to them, but Sakura was there and she totally beat them up." Akira rocked back and forwards on her toes. "It was super awesome! Then this white-haired guy gave Saku-nee an envelope… something about an Academy thingy…"

Sakura could feel the incredulous stare sent her way.

"Right," their mother mumbled. "Then before we go out, can I see that envelope, Sakura, dear?" she asked, holding out her hands for Sakura's prize. "I won't take it away, sweetie, I just want to see what that man gave you, OK?"

She pouted, begrudgingly fishing through her pockets and holding out the slightly crumpled brown envelope.

Misa pulled out what Sakura knew to be the forms she'd need to enter the academy. There'd been no real point for her to check through them. A single glance had been all she'd needed to confirm their validity. She'd seen them before, back when she'd been a naïve little girl wanting to chase after Ino. Her shoulders slumped. Her Ino was gone, never to return. Sacrificed to buy them time to escape, all done with a smile on her pretty pink lips.

"Do you want to attend the Academy then?" her mother asked, a soft smile on her face despite the apprehension in her eyes. She was taking it better than her last mother, anyway. Mebuki had straight up denied her the first time she asked… and she'd been a little older too. Academy applications were open to those aged five years and older, but most didn't start until they were six or seven like she had the last time around. This time though, there was no point in waiting around. She had sisters she needed to take care of, which meant she needed to ideally start earning an income as soon as possible. So she nodded at her mother's question when she asked it, not trusting herself to say the words without stuttering them out. "It says here that the admission tests are five months from now. Do you want me to help you study?"

"Kaa-chan, will you help us too?" Mio peered up at her, hand finding its way into their mother's as she used those puppy-dog eyes. "We want to stay with nee-chan, so we're gonna go to the Academy too."

Misa smiled tentatively. "Sure thing, sweetheart," she said, setting the academy forms down on the table. "It's good that you're already thinking about your futures, but I think for now it's time we got to the park."

Akira grinned. "Let's go!" she yelled, charging down and out the back entrance.

Sakura chased after her, knowing better than to leave her unattended. She'd went to a gambling den the last time around, and that had been stressful enough as it was.

"Calm down you two," Tomoe called behind them, leading her two youngest siblings down. "We don't need any more unsupervised trips to gambling dens."

Akira tilted her head. "Does that mean I can go again if I bring you along then?"

Tomoe snorted, shaking her head. "Don't go getting smart on me, missy," she said. "You aren't being allowed a foot near another one of those places until you turn twenty, you hear me?"

"Yes, oba-san," Akira grumbled, pouting until Sakura grabbed her hand and dragged her along.

Sakura turned her stare on her sister. "Go gambling again, and I'll be much less gentle in dragging you back next time," she said with a smile. "You've been warned."

Akira shuddered. "Of course, nee-chan."

Her grip on her hand tightened, a smile breaking on her lips as she stared around the streets as she walked towards the park. They were familiar streets. Streets she'd missed. Konoha had been rubble and dust when she'd last walked through it, and even then she and Obito hadn't stayed long. Kaguya had liked to visit it far too often. Sakura repressed the shudder that came with that thought. There was no three-eyed woman around to ambush her. She was safe. Well, safe from Kaguya, at least. Other dangers still lingered, familiar ones. Ones she hadn't even known existed at the time thanks to her naivety. She hated her past self. Maybe it was a good thing she looked nothing like she'd used to.

Street turned to grass and rubbery mats, the park having crept up on her whilst she'd been busy with her thoughts. The park creeping up on her… Now there was a funny thought. Trees didn't generally move, unless one was the First Hokage. Sakura blinked, reminding herself that one Senju Hashirama was still indeed alive and kicking. It wasn't her old world. But, like her new body, maybe it was a good thing.

Sakura blinked again, staring around the park. It looked strangely familiar. Where she'd first met Ino… where she'd taught Sakura how to make flower crowns… Ino would never do that again. Her Ino wouldn't, and Sakura didn't need another Ino. She was strong enough on her own.

Though speaking of Ino… Her gaze turned onto the blonde head of hair she could see. It wasn't Naruto's yellow, more of a pale straw. Ino's colour. Her hands fisted in her coat, the dreary clouded sky above her doing nothing to quell the fear rising in her gut. She wasn't ready. She couldn't do it. How was she supposed to make friends with Ino this time around? Ino hadn't really been outright friendly to many others before she'd taken her under her wing. She'd been oddly standoffish, especially to the confident girls… and Sakura didn't want that to happen to her. She'd rather keep her distance than have Ino – any version of Ino – hate her on principle.

"Nee-chan!" Akira plastered herself to her side. "Can we make flower crowns…? Like those three girls over there are doing?"

She glanced over at where Akira was pointing, a soft smile pulling at her face when she saw Ino making flower crowns with two other girls. One had a headful of short bluish locks. Hinata. She was probably Sakura's replace—

Sakura froze, eyes widening when she saw the last girl sitting at Ino's side.

She had pink hair.

Pink hair.

The girl turned her head.

A familiar head.

Jade green eyes stared at Ino.

Sakura knew those eyes.

Her body felt light all of a sudden, and distantly she could hear Mio coming over and asking what was wrong. Sakura didn't have an answer. How could she? She was meant to be Haruno Sakura… and yet Haruno Sakura was sitting across the park from her, making a flower crown with Ino. She stumbled back towards her sisters, one hand squeezing at Akira's own. She needed that sense of familiarity. Needed to know she existed… She wasn't Haruno Sakura. If she was, she'd be in that body. The frail one with doe-like green eyes. She wouldn't have her sisters… Part of her burnt at that thought. Her sisters were everything she had. No one could take them away from her. Never.

Still, some small part of her whispered in her head, asking the question hidden deep inside her mind. Was she no longer worthy of being Haruno Sakura?

She wasn't, was she?

Her hands were probably too bloody for that.