Consciousness came back to her slowly, eyes cracking open slowly, wincing at the sheer light in the room. Wind blew through the open window, the breeze gentle, blocked by something on her face. Sakura sat up, heart pounding as she tried to recall exactly where the hell she was. Her heart pounded, teeth biting into her lip as the reality of the situation hit home. She'd watched her mother die last night… and she hadn't been able to do a damned thing. She pushed the tears back. She wasn't going to cry again… not until she was alone and in a safe location… where her sisters wouldn't be able to see her cry. She pushed the covers of the bed back, swinging her legs around to the side, blinking down at the bandages wrapped around her chest and shoulder – covering the wounds from the night before. She reached up for her hair, sighing in relief when she found it still safely secured in two messy plaits. Her Madara-ish hair was mostly safe – the top of her head was still as spiky and messy as per usual, but that was about it. The mask was still in place over the lower half of her face too, and Sakura was oddly alarmed at how many of her old sensei's habits she was seeming to pick up. The lateness definitely wouldn't be something she'd adopt. She couldn't afford to be late. Not again. Never again.
She sighed, running a hand down her arm, pausing at the little plaster covering the crook of her elbow. It certainly explained why she was feeling a lot better after only a few hours of rest. Narrowing her eyes, she padded towards the door, noting the fact her shoes had been removed. The wood flooring was smooth, not a single splinter in sight, so there were no worries about that. Instead, she was far more worried about how her siblings were fairing. Not to mention she needed to get Sora and Seiren in on the whole keep-the-sharingan-a-secret business. Especially since there was at least one Uchiha in the vicinity, provided Madara hadn't gone back to his home. Sakura assumed he didn't live with the Senju. He'd have probably blown up the house by then, if that were the case. Yawning, she pulled the door open, peering down the corridor, eyes widening when she was picked up off the ground. Two adult-sized hands hefted her up to eye level, a voice soon informing her of who exactly had picked her up. "I see you haven't managed to pull your stitches then," Tobirama said, turning her so she faced him, adjusting his hold so he wasn't putting any pressure on her freshly stitched shoulder.
"I'm not an idiot, you know," she grumbled, looking pointedly away from him as he carried her away from the room.
Tobirama sighed, walking towards the sounds of voices. "I've yet to see an evidence to the contrary," he said, opening the door, revealing four familiar brown-haired figures.
"Saku-nee!"
"Nee-chan!"
She glared up at Tobirama. "Put me down."
"They look like they're about to pounce, and need I remind you that you have stitches in," he said, staring down at her flatly. "I'd prefer not to have to redo them again, and I don't particularly want to get blood over the carpet… pure lands know you got enough on my desk as it is…"
"Rude," she muttered.
Izuna materialised behind her sisters – when and how he'd gotten there, Sakura didn't know – hooking a finger under each of the collars of their shirts, holding them back as Tobirama set her on the ground carefully. "Now, I know you munchkins all love your big sister a lot, but right now she's a bit injured… so keep the tackling and the tight crushing hugs to a minimum, OK?"
Seiren burst into tears, Sora looking guiltily at the floor, eyes watering. "Our fault…" they muttered. "Our fault nee-chan got hurt…"
"And what's that supposed to mean?" Tobirama asked, staring between all the occupants of the room, as if one of the actual adults in the living space would have an answer to his question. Mito was sitting on the floor just behind her four siblings, evidently having just been interacting with the lot of them. Hashirama was sprawled out on the sofa beside his wife, looking between the situation at hand and the newspaper unfurled across his lap. Sakura glanced at the last occupant of the room, scowling at the spiky head of hair. Why did he have to be there too? She hated Uchiha Madara with a passion. It didn't matter he hadn't done anything to her in her new life, aside from be a minor annoyance. All that mattered were the memories his visage brought rushing back to the surface. Memories she'd rather bury in the deepest parts of her brain.
"Idiots," Sakura hissed, storming towards her sisters, scowling as they hung their heads in shame. "I chose to jump in front of you." She prodded their foreheads viciously, uncaring as they winced – they deserved it for being stupid. "It was my choice. Mine. I made the damn decision, and I knew the consequences." She poked them again. "And if you don't want it to happen again, then you need to stop crying and get stronger," she huffed, folding her arms, blinking as her ribs were suddenly being crushed to death despite Tobirama's protests.
"What is with pink… wait, why the hell did you four dye your hair? Never mind." Tobirama scowled. "Let me check your damned stitches," he muttered, brushing her siblings away despite their teary eyes staring at him pleadingly. "I swear… if you pull them, or do anything else idiotic, then I will drag you back to your puny little apartment and have your parents put you on bedrest until the damned academy exams."
At the mention of parents the room went dead still, little sniffles sounding from the twins at the mention of their mother. They lived in the dodgiest area of Konoha, and unfortunately that meant they all knew what blood and death was. Still, it didn't stop Akira from fumbling for her wrist, tugging on her hand nervously. "Kaa-chan will be there when we go back to our actual home, won't she?" Akira's eyes were watering, lips quivering as she smiled tentatively. "She'll be there… she has to be… who else is going to bake us our special cake…"
Mio sobbed, covering her face with her arms. "Too much…" she mumbled, and Sakura winced, silently remembering the large pool of blood which had formed around their mother's still body. "Too much blood…"
Izuna flitted between her and the twins, concern written across his face. He was oddly expressive for an Uchiha, unlike the lump sitting on the armchair—wait, scratch that. Madara's face was weirdly expressive too. Sakura sighed. She'd just thought the only setting for that man's face was unholy glee or anger as his plans all fell into place.
She pulled Akira closer, hating herself as her sister finally broke into tears, soaking her shoulder. "Kaa-chan can't be gone…" she whispered, and Sakura petted her long straight locks, for once not jealous of their silky texture. "She can't."
"But she is…" Sakura mumbled, ignoring all the eyes she could feel drilling into her skull, pushing down the odd cough she could feel building in her lungs. She ruffled Akira's hair, smiling behind her mask, eyes crinkling up in the corners. She was doing a Kakashi smile… what was her life coming to? "Don't worry though…" Akira pulled back, staring up at her with those large black eyes of hers, confusion written across her face. "I'll take care of everything from now on."
"But nee-chan…"
"Shhh," she mumbled, pulling her back into a hug. "It'll be OK… don't worry…"
"Is nobody else going to ask what the hell is going on?" Madara asked, glancing around at the rest of them. "Seriously? It sounds like somebody just died!"
"Congratulations on figuring that one out, genius," Sakura muttered, annoyance replaced by worry seconds later as her sister slumped into her, sobs turning into soft snores.
Tobirama snickered at his face for a few moments, expression sobering up as he met her glare – reminded of the situation at hand.
"Dammit, Senju," Madara snarled, oblivious to the fluxing mood. "You've infected her!"
"Aki…" Sakura stared at her sleeping sister, biting her lip. Why had she just suddenly fallen asleep? Was there something wrong with her still? Chakra exhaustion?
"Relax." A hand patted her head, Tobirama staring down at her unflinchingly with those ruby eyes of his. "She's still just a bit tired from using all that chakra last night… speaking of which… seeing as all your sisters are now taking a nap… I think it's time you explained what the hell happened last night, and how the hell you got into my damned office." He folded his arms.
Sakura glanced at the odd sort of puppy pile the other three of her siblings had formed, carrying Akira over, settling her down gently, smiling slightly as she curled up against Sora. They were adorable… and they needed her protection more than ever. The smile dropped from her face. Their mother was dead… Her hands curled into fists, nails digging into her palm. She was a failure. Her fingers dug in deeper. Too weak.
"Idiot child," Tobirama hissed. "Nails pick up a lot of bacteria…" He grabbed her by the wrist, and Sakura blinked, finally noticing the blood dribbling from one of her hands. "Come on."
Izuna sighed behind them, hovering over the rest of her siblings in the room. "I see his mother hen tendencies haven't changed in the slightest…"
Madara snorted. "Pot. Kettle. Black."
She was dragged away from the living room and back into a familiar office – the bloodstain on the floor left little doubt as to that. She'd only bled against one desk and floor in the house. She blinked, wincing in the next second as her wound was disinfected and bandaged up. He couldn't heal her up with chakra. Too much chakra-based healing wasn't good for kids of her physical age… which was why he was probably waiting a few weeks to take her stitches out and finish healing up the rest of her wounds. Sakura gritted her teeth, squirming under his intent gaze. He wanted answers, and Sakura had the distinct impression she wouldn't be leaving until he got them. She glanced to the side, determined to not let him see the look of shame written across her face. "Kaa-san… died last night…" she muttered. She wasn't quick enough… not strong enough… "We… were there…"
"I see…" he said, evidently smart enough to work out exactly what had been left unsaid – she'd been injured by kunai. It was unlikely their mother had a peaceful death. "My office?"
Sakura shrugged. "You were the only person I could think of who'd be able to help…" she said, keeping her gaze firmly fixed on the bookshelf to her left. "It was kind of a blur…"
Tobirama sighed, clearly knowing he wouldn't be getting anything else out of her no matter how hard he pried. She could be stubborn like that. "I suppose I'll have seven odd years to wheedle the truth out of you," he muttered, shaking his head at her.
"Huh?"
He smiled. "I am in charge of the academy, you know." He folded his arms, smirking at her dawning look of horror. "Which means should you pass the admissions test in a few weeks, and somehow I have no doubts you will, you'll be in my care until you turn twelve and graduate from the academy."
"Can't I graduate before that?" she asked, shrinking back under the smile he was sending her way – the one that said he'd pry out all her secrets without leaving a single one undisturbed. She was doomed. Totally doomed.
Tobirama shook his head. "No. It's a mandatory law. No academy student is allowed to graduate earlier than twelve."
Her stomach dropped to her toes. No way was her resemblance to Madara going unnoticed for seven years. That was far too long.
The sound of a door slamming open interrupted her oncoming pity party, her head snapping around to look at the small brunette who'd charged into the room. It wasn't any one of her sisters though. Her hair was too reddish for that, her eyes too narrow, lips too thin. "Oji-san, what's going on?" she asked, glaring at her before she moved her gaze onto her apparent uncle.
Sakura already didn't like the girl. In fact she wanted to punch her… Her shoulders sunk. It seemed her impulse control and tendency for violence hadn't changed in the slightest… though maybe that was a good thing?
"Some weird girls are sleeping on the sofa, and tou-san says I have to be nice to them when they wake up," the girl said with a huff, folding her arms in a strop.
"My sisters aren't weird!" Sakura hissed, glaring venomously at her.
"Are too!" the slightly older girl said, hands on hips. "Who sleeps on someone else's sofa in the middle of the day?"
"Injured people!" Sakura muttered, folding her arms, stomping towards the girl, ignoring the loud sigh from Tobirama behind her. "That's who!"
"They didn't look injured… are you lying?" She peered down at her. "But you're the weirdest one," she said matter-of-factly. "Who walks shirtless around someone else's house? That's just rude," she huffed, glaring down at her, using her twenty centimetres of extra height to her advantage.
Sakura snarled, fist moving before she could stop it, slamming into the other girl's face with enough force to break her nose. She was having a bad day, and so she had zero tolerance for idiotic brats who needed a damn good slapping. Sakura didn't slap people though… not anymore. Slapping was for weak girls. Punching was far more her style, even if she might never achieve the same level of strength she had before – Obito had ruined her chakra control. Not by a large fraction, but it was enough.
"Idiot child…" Tobirama hissed. "Now you've done it…"
Done what, Sakura wanted to ask, but the two small hands that clamped down on her shoulders and the stars in the small black eyes were enough of an answer.
"You broke my nose!" she said, a bright grin on her face.
"Eh?" Sakura stared incredulously at the cheerful girl. It was like a switch had been flipped. "What the hell is wrong with you?"
"Believe me," Tobirama muttered behind her, "I've asked myself the same question many times."
"I'm Renka," she said, ignoring the crotchety man with a practiced ease. "What's your name, rival?"
"Sakura…" she mumbled, blinking dizzily at the sudden change in the girl's – Renka's – attitude. "Wait a minute…" she hissed. "Rival? What the hell do you mean by that? When did I even agree to that?" Sakura supressed the shiver threatening to run down her spine. She was becoming more and more like her old sensei… what joke was the universe playing on her this time around? Her face darkened, but the bright grin on Renka's face pulled her away from the emotions threatening to overwhelm her. Oh… Sakura blinked. She was still wearing the mask… covering half her face like Kakashi-sensei… Her heart panged. She missed her Kakashi-sensei… but that version of him was gone – never to return.
"You're not like the others," Renka said, chattering up a storm, gripping her hands in her own, pulling her back and forth in her excitement. "Everyone in my academy class is either weak or boring… you're neither, which means you have to be my rival, Sakura-chan!" She grinned. "Tou-san has a rival, and so does Gai-sensei… so I've been looking for one too. I've always wanted a good rival, like Madara-oji is to tou-san…" She bounced up and down on her feet just like Akira… just like Naruto… "You wear a mask like Gai-sensei said his rival does… you're probably just as hip and cool… and you have fluffy hair like Madara-oji… You're perfect!"
Sakura fought against the blush threatening to rise in her cheeks, silently grateful she was wearing a mask. Nobody had ever called her perfect before. "Hn," she grumbled, eyes widening as Renka wrapped her wrist in a vicelike grip, dragging her out of the office and back towards the living room despite her many protests.
"Tou-san! Tou-san!" Renka yelled, staring right at one Senju Hashirama. Of course… Sakura mused. She just had to punch the daughter of the First Hokage in the face…
"Rena-chan," Hashirama said, smiling widely until he spotted the blood leaking down from her broken nose. "What happened to your face?" He was on his feet in seconds, reaching out to snap her nose back into place, hands glowing green. Renka didn't even flinch. Sakura still silently wondered what the hell was wrong with the girl.
"It's OK…" Renka grinned. "It didn't even hurt that much."
Sakura sputtered. What the hell was she made out of?
"But tou-san," she said, glancing back at Sakura, grip still tight on her wrist. "Can we keep her?"
Sakura choked, face reddening in indignation. "I'm not something you can keep, idiot!" she snarled, desperately trying to free herself from the surprisingly strong grip the little eight-year-old had. She didn't particularly want to break something else of Renka's with her chakra enhanced strength.
"She broke my nose, so from today on she's my rival… my eternal rival…" Her eyes sparkled. "Tobi-oji… you can put her in the same class as me, can't you? Wait." She spun back to face her. "You are in the academy, aren't you, Sakura-chan? You have to be, with a punch like that! It was so hip and cool!"
"Izuna." Madara glanced over at his brother. "When did Gai-san last teach the advanced class at the academy?"
Izuna sighed. "Yesterday."
Madara glanced at the pair of them yet again. "Well… I guess that explains it…"
"Wait a minute… rewind a bit…" Hashirama held up his head, black eyes fixing on Sakura's own. "You broke my daughter's nose?" He pouted. "Why would you do that?"
"She was being annoying." Sakura folded her arms, refusing to back down in the slightest. She'd be stronger than him one day. She had a flipping sharingan and she could already throw trees around. There was no way she'd lose… not once she'd grown up a bit… reached heights she hadn't before, quite literally. Maybe she wouldn't be as short that time around… maybe she'd have a bit more of a figure too. She shook her head, yanking herself out of those dangerous thoughts. Heights and figures weren't supposed to matter to her that much anymore. She was there to ensure the same thing that happened to her last world didn't happen to her new one.
"Nobody's ever broken my nose before… not deliberately or so easily," Renka said, throwing her arms into the air. "It's a sign!" she yelled, ignorant of Tobirama shaking his head in the background muttering something that sounded suspiciously like 'like father like daughter…' "Besides, tou-san," she said, wrapping her arms around Sakura's chest. "You have Madara-oji. You can't have my rival too, no matter how fluffy and spiky her hair is!" Renka nuzzled against her hair, glaring at her father. "She's my rival now."
"But Rena-chan—"
"Shut up, tou-san!"
Hashirama slunk back, curling in on himself as a dark cloud seemed to loom above him. "My daughter hates me…" he muttered, pout firmly fixed on his face, at least until Madara went and kicked him off the sofa.
"Stop moping, idiot!" he hissed. "You're just being stupid. Of course your daughter still loves you… imbecile. She's just excited over finding a friend. Don't spoil it for her."
Sakura sighed, silently wishing she was back home instead of being caught up in the drama that was Senju-Uchiha relations. Her other sisters might be getting worried… Hopefully Tomoe would be able to keep them occupied a bit longer. Tomoe seemed more liable to panic compared to… kaa-chan… She blinked, feeling herself being pulled upwards by a pair of hands. Hashirama and Madara were busy sorting themselves out, Mito was drinking her tea, and Tobirama was staring across the room in exasperation… which meant there was only one person it could be. Scowling as she was spun around, she glared right into those black eyes examining her curiously.
"Shucks," Izuna mumbled. "Shame you don't have red eyes or something… you don't really look like Tobi… and your hair is fluffy and spiky… I'd have thought it'd be silky and spiky, more like the rest of your siblings and whitey over there." He pulled her closer, eyeing her half concealed face, and Sakura finally engaged her defensive manoeuvres. She lashed out with her stubby fingers, poking him in the eyes, a satisfied smirk on her lips as he reeled backwards. "But you certainly act just like that Senju git," he muttered. "Ow."
"Put me down," she grumbled, folding her arms.
"Happily," he muttered, setting her down carefully on the floor, blinking furiously. "Dammit that hurt."
"Pssh." Sakura snorted. "Then you shouldn't go around picking up kids you aren't related to."
"Senju, are you sure you've never slept with any black eyed, pink-haired women and accidentally procreated?" Izuna asked, raising an eyebrow as he stared between the two of them. "Clearly she looks just like her mother, but the attitude is all her father…" He looked pointedly at Tobirama, and Sakura rolled her eyes.
Thankfully he had no idea they all had the sharingan, otherwise it'd limit the pool of possible sperm donors, and he'd probably feel honour bound to work out who the hell had fathered them.
"Nu uh," Akira's voice came as a surprise, her head snapping around to fix on the sleepy form of the youngest of her triplet group. "Nee-chan doesn't look much like kaa-chan…" She hiccupped, tears in her eyes. "Kaa-chan… Kaa-chan used to say Saku-nee looked most like our tou-san… whoever the hell he was."
"Wait." Izuna stared between them. "You don't know who your father is?"
Sakura shook her head, silently congratulating herself on keeping her hair out of its resting spiky style and covering her face with a mask. It'd be horribly obvious which clan she'd be related to. Obito's DNA was the only Uchiha she could be closely related to, considering the jutsu he'd used to transport her over. Sure he'd had the cells of Senju Hashirama implanted in him, but other than that it was all him… She remembered him, staring at her, one rinnegan and sharingan spinning dangerously, a smile on his lips as he completed the final hand seal and the markings at her feet had lit up… Sakura froze. He'd had a rinnegan and a sharingan. Obito had never awoken the rinnegan… meaning he'd had Madara's DNA in his eye socket… Sakura swallowed. There'd been a larger proportion of Obito's DNA to Madara's… he'd had more Hashirama cells compared to that eye… The universe couldn't hate her that much, could it? She shook her head. There was a slim likelihood… but she'd be more likely to be directly related to Obito. That was right. She had to be related to Obito. There was no other option.
"Kaa-chan…" Akira's voice wobbled. "Kaa-chan never told us anything about him."
Sakura scoffed, wandering over to pat her sister on the head. "We don't need to know anything about him. We've got better things to be doing than looking for him."
"But you do have someone who'll be looking after you, right?" Izuna stared at her, and she could feel Tobirama's gaze boring into her back.
"Yeah." She nodded. "And we should probably get home. Wouldn't want oba-san to start worrying too much…" she said, deliberately leaving out the fact Tomoe wasn't their actual aunt… but she'd take care of them, blood relation or not. She owed it to Misa. They'd been friends. Tomoe had looked after them on occasion. She wouldn't even need to do much. Sakura could take care of all of her sisters, no matter what. Nothing needed to change… not to mention no orphanage would take all ten of them. They'd be split up if anyone found out. Her expression darkened. Nobody could split them up. They were sisters. They were her sisters. Hers. Not anybody else's… so nobody else could have them. She rubbed at her chest. The itch in her lungs was getting worse. She was probably coming down with a cold of something. She coughed, accepting the glass of water pressed into her hands seconds later, drinking a sip.
"There's a few weeks left until the exams," Tobirama said, folding his arms as he stared down at her. "Try to keep out of trouble, brat," he grumbled. "Now, who wants to help carry the kids back home?" He glanced back at the room, pointedly ignoring the hand Izuna was sticking up in the air.
Sakura hurried over to where her sisters lay, quickly picking Akira up, hefting her up onto her back. They'd only need two or three adults to carry to rest of her siblings, which meant a lesser chance of Uchiha Madara tagging along.
"You have stitches in you back," Tobirama hissed.
"I can carry my sister back," Sakura said, glaring up at him. "She's not that heavy."
"If you pull them, I will drag you back, stitch you up again and tell your oba-san not to let you out of the house for the next three weeks… so help me, don't test me…"
Sakura stuck out her tongue.
"Brat," he muttered, rolling his eyes as his niece's voice sounded.
"Awww," Renka groaned. "You're taking my rival home?"
Sakura shivered, finally understanding her sensei's pain. Having a determined rival was a terrifying ordeal. She shuddered. The random challenges would come next… or perhaps the occasional spar or two. Either way, Sakura knew she'd have to improve her training. She refused to lose to some slip of an eight-year-old. She was an adult. She couldn't lose.
"I wanna see where Sakura-chan lives," Renka declared, pointing at her. "Then we can invite her to morning training." She jumped up and down. "I wanna train with my rival! So she can break my nose again!"
"Do you enjoy being hurt or something?" Sakura muttered, edging away from the overenthusiastic girl, certain that she was in a far worse situation than Kakashi-sensei ever had been. At least Gai-sensei hadn't been some sort of masochist… Wait… Sakura paused, mulling over everything she knew about her sensei and his eternal rival. Actually, she probably didn't know enough to say anything about their weird relationship. Besides, now apparently she had a weird relationship of her own to focus on.
"Tou-san," Renka continued, oblivious to her question. "Carry me."
Hashirama beamed, picking up his daughter, earlier sadness forgotten. "Where to?"
"I'm not sure it's a place appropriate for Renka-chan to go…" Tobirama said, settling Sora down on his back, her head resting on his shoulder. Too bad for him that both the twins drooled in their sleep.
Sakura shook her head. "It's fine. We don't live there anymore. It's closer to the edges of that district… an apartment block," she said, silently wondering why the hell she'd just told him that. Well, it was a bit embarrassing to admit they live—used to live above a brothel. Nobody aside from Izuna and Tobirama needed to know that. She hated the assumptions people made. The last thing she needed were people saying she'd be good at seduction.
"I'll take the smaller mini-me," Izuna said, a strange edge to his voice as he picked up Seiren, staring intently down at her as he cradled her in his arms like a baby. "None of you know who your fathers are, do you?"
"No," Sakura said, bristling like a cat, hackles rising as he kept staring down at her sister. Seiren looked an awful lot like him, but that was just the Uchiha blood talking. Nothing else. None of them could be related to the man-child that was Uchiha Izuna. "Now stop looking at my sister like that, unless you'd rather swap."
"No. I'm going to carry… wait, what's this one's name?" Izuna looked at her pleadingly. Awfully similar to how Seiren looked when she did that expression. Sakura shook her head. She didn't need to be thinking about things like that. There were more important things to worry about.
"Seiren. Her name's Seiren," she grumbled.
"I guess I'll take this one then," Madara said, cradling Mio in his arms… and wasn't that a sight she never thought she'd see in her life. Uchiha Madara carefully carrying a small pink-haired child. Sakura resisted the urge to laugh manically. She didn't particularly want Tobirama or Izuna to think she had something wrong with her… or that she was Uchiha. They had a penchant for crazy maniacal laughs. "Why are you glaring at me? I'm just going to carry your sister home, miniature Kakashi…"
"Hn."
"You're hanging out around Sasuke-chan far too much," Izuna mumbled, narrowing his eyes at her. "Oh… Tobi… don't you have a shirt or jacket or something to give her?" he asked, looking pointedly at her bandaged chest. "She can't go outside like that – she'll freeze!"
"Give me a minute," Tobirama grumbled, setting Sora back down on the sofa. "I nearly forgot. She's not even shivering."
Sakura rolled her eyes. Of course she wouldn't shiver. She was a baby shinobi-in-training, and she knew how to use her chakra to her advantage. Sighing, she set Akira back down gently, knowing she'd no doubt have something to finally put over her bandaged back.
A thick soft fabric landed on her head, and she reached up to pull it off, blinking as she spotted the dark high collared shirt, the Kakashi-like mask, and the black hoodie – practically an exact replica of the one she'd had before, only better quality.
"Go and get changed already," Tobirama said, jerking his head in what Sakura presumed to be the direction to the bathroom. "They were just some things we had lying around."
Sakura raised an eyebrow. "So that's why they all still have the tags in…"
Izuna snickered. "She got you there, snowman. You do care… how sweet…"
"Shut up, Izuna."
Sakura hurried out of the room, darting into the bathroom, swiftly pulling on the mask and shirt. She scowled into the mirror, noting how Uchiha she looked with the damned high collar. What was it with Uchiha and high collared shirts? She yanked the hoodie on, careful not to aggravate her stitches too much. She was going to have to be careful about them until he removed them. She didn't particularly want to get put on bedrest. She'd just have to limit her exercising… particularly of her upper body, just until the stitches were healed. Sighing, she ensured her mask was fixed in place, tucking the surgical mask into her pocket for later use. It was always better to hang onto things like that.
Tobirama looked over at her as she walked back in, one white brow raised, daring her to complain as he stood there, holding both Akira and Sora in his arms.
"I could've carried her," she grumbled, folding her arms.
"Shut up and show us where to take you and your sisters," he ordered, glaring at her with those ruby red eyes of his. "We do have other things to be doing today you know."
"I really hadn't guessed," she muttered, climbing out the nearest window, not wanting to bother trying to locate the front door in the maze of a house. They followed like the excellent ninja they were, continuing to do so until they reached the rooftops. Sakura peered around the unfamiliar rooftops, searching around for anything which looked vaguely familiar to her. She'd used kamui to take them to Tobirama's office, so she had zero idea of where to go from there. The damned Senju was probably still trying to figure out just how she'd broken into his office, so revealing she had no clue where she was probably wasn't the greatest idea. It'd only give him ideas – theories, and apparently her former world's Second Hokage had been good at narrowing those down. Fortunately, she was on the highest rooftop available, so scouting out where her new house was wasn't too hard. She'd used the rooftops around the red light district often enough that she was well acquainted with them, so it only took her a few minutes to locate them. She could almost see the majority of Konoha from her vantagepoint.
"So, rival," Renka called, interrupting her right before she was about to jump. "Tobi-oji said you weren't in the academy yet… How old are you? You have to be younger, right? It's not like you chose not to go to the academy."
"I'm five," she mumbled, bounding across to the next rooftop with a skilful application of chakra.
"Right on the age you can join…" Renka mumbled, practically vibrating with excitement on her father's shoulders even as Hashirama started a random conversation with the current bane of her existence. "Awesome."
"Huh… You were four last time I checked," Tobirama said, glancing at her. "I was worried you wouldn't make it in time for the cut-off date and I'd have to make an exception…"
"When are all your birthdays?" Izuna leant forwards, curious as she continued to lead them towards her current residence.
"The twins here have their birthday next Friday," she said, tilting her head. "The other triplets—"
Izuna choked. "Other triplets?"
"Yeah." Sakura stared at him blankly. "Kaa-chan… she had two sets of twins and two sets of triplets."
"So there are ten of you…" Tobirama blinked. "That's a pretty big family…"
"Problem?"
"No, just interesting to know," he said, shrugging. "Most families nowadays don't tend to be as big as that."
"So, the other set of triplets had their birthday two weeks ago, on a Monday… They turned three… and then the youngest twins had their second birthday two weeks before that." Sakura tapped her chin. "That's about it. We were all born around the same time in the year…"
"What about yours?" Izuna glanced at her. "You didn't mention that."
"Today." She sighed.
"Huh?" Renka perked up, peering at her intently with those terrifyingly earnest eyes. "Your birthday is today? Why didn't you say anything?"
"It's not that big of a deal," she said, staring intently at her destination. "Besides… I doubt we'll celebrate it much in the next few years." It'd be the anniversary of their mother's death. Izuna vanished from her side, taking Seiren with him. "Where's he going?" she questioned, biting her lip as she worried. She didn't like it when her sisters vanished.
"Probably to do something stupid, but he'll be back, don't you worry," Tobirama muttered, rolling his eyes. "Just focus on running and ideally not pulling your stitches."
Sakura sighed exasperatedly. He kept going on and on about her stitches.
"For crying out loud, Hashirama, stop moping," Madara hissed. "I swear if you make your daughter pick up your mood swings, I will throw you in the koi pond before it's due for a cleaning."
"Just ignore them," Tobirama said from her side. "They're both idiots, and it'll lower your IQ just listening to them." She shrugged, racing to land on the roof of Tomoe's apartment block, blinking as Tobirama handed her the key that's been in her old hoodie pocket. "I believe this is what you're looking for."
"Thanks."
The door opened with a small click, the sound of small feet padding against the floor seconds later. Silently, Sakura braced herself, a small smile creeping on her lips underneath her mask. Her siblings were so adorable. Three bodies slammed into her, arms wrapped around her as heads piled into her chest, each topped with oddly familiar brunette hair.
"Nee-chan! You're back!" Yumi said, snuggling into her, as she stood in the doorway, Tobirama having helped keep her upright under her sister's combined weight.
"Oba-chan told us we'd be staying here forever," Tora mumbled. "She said everything'd be OK… Oh, and she made you and the others breakfast." She folded her arms. "We all helped!"
Sakura smiled, ruffling their hair.
"Saku-nee…" Ran pulled on her sleeve. "Will kaa-chan ever wake up?"
Her eyes narrowed, arms coming around to pull Ran up into a hug, already figuring out what Tomoe had told them. Their kaa-san had gone to sleep… and she wouldn't be waking up. "Kaa-san loves us very much, but she'll be asleep for a very long time."
Ran pouted. "But it's your birthday… kaa-chan should be here…"
Sakura poked her forehead. "It's OK." She smiled. "It's not kaa-san's fault, and I don't mind. It's enough for all of you to be here…"
"Nee-chan!" Yumi tugged on her hoodie. "Who're they?" she asked, pointing at the adults carrying their sisters. "Their faces look a bit familiar. Oh! From the books… kaa-chan… was helping you read for the test thingy."
"They're the ones who helped bring the rest of our sisters back home," she said, bringing Yumi's attention back to the sleeping brown-haired children being carried into their home. "Don't mind them. They'll be going soon."
"What happened to Akira-nee and Mio-nee?" Tora stared at her, worry on her small face.
"They'll be fine. They just got a bit tired last night, that's all," she said, ignoring the gazes burning into her back.
"Sakura-chan, where can we put them?" Tobirama asked, holding up Sora and Akira pointedly.
"Bedroom's through there." She pointed at their bedroom door before hurrying over to the fridge, quickly finding the breakfast Tomoe had set aside for their return. She'd have to start making lunch soon… It was nearly one o'clock already…
"So this is where my rival lives…" Renka mumbled, padding around the small apartment, evidently having been set down. "I'll come get you for morning—"
Hashirama interrupted her, patting her head, ruffling her hair, like Sakura did her siblings. "Not while she's got her stitches, Rena-chan, otherwise I think Tobi will be fretting about—"
"I do not fret!" Tobirama hissed.
"Hn." Madara folded his arms, walking back into the main room. "You totally do, Senju… speaking of fretting though… where's that idiot brother of mine?"
Izuna hurried into the apartment, Seiren safely bundled up in his arms. "Right here."
"Give her to me," Madara grumbled, holding out his arms for Seiren, glancing at her curiously as she was handed over to him. "I'll go tuck her in."
Sakura nearly spluttered. He'd just tucked her sisters in? That was what he was doing in there instead of arguing with Tobirama? What was the world coming to? She cleared the side as best she could, trying to wipe those thoughts from her brain, ready to start lunch preparations as soon as their guests left. Blinking, she stared at the strange book left on the kitchen counter. Shifting the step over, she went and picked up the odd book. It didn't look like a recipe book…
"Oh, that's kaa-chan's diary," Tora said, looking at the oddly heavy book. "Tomoe-oba brought it over."
Her eyes narrowed. "I see…" That was certainly something she'd be reading, if only to find more clues about what the hell was going on… and possibly who their fathers were. She just needed to confirm things… for her own peace of mind.
"Sakura-chan."
She spun, blinking as she found Izuna crouching right behind her, holding out a black ribbon.
"Happy birthday."
Sakura stumbled back, nearly falling on her backside in shock. Why the hell had he got her a present? Sure, it was some nice ribbon – not all that expensive – but she was just some random kid he'd barely known for a few days at most. They hadn't interacted all that much… unless he'd figured it out already. She swallowed, only able to watch as he set down numerous other pieces of ribbon on the kitchen counter.
"I got some for you and all the rest of your siblings… didn't want them feeling left out."
She turned sharply on her heel, ears burning. She'd never got a present in her new world… and her first one turned out to be a ribbon… just like the one Ino had gotten her all those years ago…
"Uh… Sakura-chan?"
She spun back to face him, glad her mask was concealing the majority of her blush. "Hn," she grunted, arms folded. "I suppose you're alright for an Uchiha."
Izuna smiled, standing back up.
"Dammit, Izuna-oji!" Renka scowled. "You're showing me up!"
"Don't worry about it," Sakura said, sighing exasperatedly. "You only met me this morning… besides, I won't ever be able to get you a present… not till we graduate, anyway."
"But…"
"Come on, Renka-chan," Tobirama mumbled. "We need to be getting back…" He turned to face her. "But you'd best not pull your stitches… though if you do, you know where we live now. Use the front door next time. I don't need any more of your blood in my office."
"Blood?" Ran tilted her head, eyes fixing on her seconds later. "Saku-nee was hurt?"
"I'm fine now, Ran-chan," she said, prodding her sister's forehead. "Come on. I need to make you all lunch."
Making lunch was something she could do. She could busy herself with that. Smiling slightly, staring down at the black ribbon in her hands as she shut the door behind her unwanted guests, she threw herself into making lunch – keeping herself busy for the rest of the day as best she could, keeping her coughing to as much of a minimum as she could. She didn't want her sisters catching whatever it was she'd caught. It was late night by the time she finished all that she needed to do. Tomoe-oba hadn't come back. Sakura pushed down the fear rising in her chest. She was just taking care of things, that was all. Glancing over at the bedroom door, she pushed the window open, walking up the outside wall with a judicious application of chakra. She settled down on the roof, quietly listening to the sounds of the hustle and bustle of night-time Konoha. The moon was high in the sky, its light beautiful, catching on the trails of tears streaking down her cheeks. She'd failed… after everything she'd promised herself… promised Naruto…
A hand in her hair had her stiffening, black eyes spinning around to glare into the matching black ones that made her glad she'd kept the plaits in and the mask on.
Izuna.
"It's OK to cry, Sakura-chan."
She scowled. "I'm not crying there's just—"
"Some dirt in your eye, right?"
Sakura felt herself flush, looking away pointedly. "What are you even doing here?" she grumbled.
"You basically admitted to watching your mother's murder… and we still don't know anything about the killer – we can't trust your accounts. You're too young, and you said everything's a blur." He looked sideways. "You really think me and Tobi wouldn't keep an eye on you?"
"I'll be fine." She was not pouting.
"Nobody said you wouldn't be," Izuna said, sighing. "Now go and get some rest, silly girl. We'll keep an eye on things out here…"
