Slowly waking from sleep, Sakura rubbed her eyelids with a hand. Tonight had been a rough night for her. She kept waking up, or having nightmares that were really scary.
Five days ago her mother had left for Otagakure and she hadn't heard from her since. Letters from there had been going for about two days, so she was starting to worry. What if she hadn't arrived? Had something happened to her? All sorts of things could be expected these days.
Right now, she didn't want to lose her mother. Since her move, they had improved their relationship. Maybe that was something that pushed them to talk and reconcile. All the more reason, she needed her.
A sneeze snapped Sakura out of her thoughts. Lifting herself off the bed, she stretched, massaging her sore back.
Her daughter was waking up, and that meant she would be hungry. She had to make something to eat. Even if they were slowly running out of it, as she had less and less money by not going to work, and it was dangerous to leave the house as well, they had to eat something. In her memory she had what was left, so she could make toast with egg from those ingredients.
Leaving the room she moved towards her daughter's room. Sakura opened the door slowly and stepped inside. Her sweet little daughter was lying on the side, her back turned to her. At the sound of a squeak, she turned around quickly and smiled. She was so much like him.
From the face, she looked like Sasuke - his eye shape, nose. Her hair was past shoulder length, black with a few streaks of pink, and her irises were dark green. She was the perfect mix of the two. It was a shame that he would never know about her.
Sakura had not heard of anyone from the Uchiha clan surviving. Except her daughter, of course, but it was hard to count her among them.
"Good morning, Sarada." greeted her daughter Sakura softly.
"Mama!" her eyes began to light up and the smile became even bigger. Walking over to the bed, Sakura kissed her head.
"Egg toast, how about that?"
"My favorite." Sarada laughed and jumped off the bed, running out of the room into the kitchen. She loved helping her mom make meals, so she went to prepare all the things they needed.
Sakura made the bed that her daughter had left unmade as usual and followed her. The youngster stood on a chair, as she was too short to reach the countertop, holding a knife in her hand. She was spreading butter on the bread. Sarada was doing it somewhat incompetently, though. Sakura walked up to her and grabbed the handle. She only smiled, letting her mother help a little.
"Why don't you go get cleaned up while I make breakfast. It'll be quicker that way." looking over at Sarada she saw her make a disgruntled face, but she quickly changed it and got down from the chair.
"Fine." little feet bounced on the floor as she disappeared around the corner.
As Sakura was preparing breakfast, she heard the water pouring and her daughter singing from the bathroom. She smiled under her breath. She loved these carefree mornings where the two of them spent time together, talking, laughing, eating. Sakura wanted to keep her away from this cruel world. Even if she knew far too much for such a young age.
Sakura heard Sarada entering the kitchen again, already nicely combed and wearing the dress she had recently bought her. Although they didn't have much money, Sakura had no problem spending it on her daughter's needs. Her parents didn't do that, so she wanted at least her daughter to be able to have nice clothes.
Working as a nurse, even though she often performed surgery through lack of doctors, was still better paid than others. This was probably due to the small number of people and only one hospital in the area. There was enough for Sakura to pay for a small apartment, in poor condition, which had three small rooms, a living room connected to a kitchen and a bathroom with barely enough room to move around. She didn't lack for food either, and sometimes she could even buy something for herself besides for her daughter.
That was enough for them. They had each other and that was the most important thing. Although one person was sadly missing.
Sakura took two plates of food and placed them on the table. Sarada sat down across from her and when she got her meal she immediately got down to eating.
"You know mom, I had such a cool dream." she said with a full mouth, to which Sakura shook her head. Who she learned those bad manners from, she didn't know.
"Tell me." as Sarada swallowed her food she began to speak.
"So there was me, you and dad." Sakura looked at her daughter while smiling sadly "And we were in a clearing, playing, and dad was teaching me how to swim, in a nearby river."
"Daddy you say."
"Yhym." she nodded vigorously "I was going to ask you earlier, but do you have any pictures of him?" chewing the food in her mouth Sakura thought for a moment. She had, but why did Sarada want to see them now? She hadn't asked about it before.
"I have, but unfortunately not here. They stayed in Konoha. I'll ask your grandmother to bring them next time." she handed her daughter a glass of water.
"Could you tell me about him again today?"
"I'm slowly running out of stories, you ask so often." she laughed bitterly. Sakura liked talking about him to her daughter, but she couldn't drive away the pain she felt then.
"I don't know how you two parted ways yet." Sarada didn't look Sakura in the eye, as if she knew this topic could be very sensitive.
"I didn't think you wanted to hear the sad parts too." she always talked about the happy moments. The bad ones were very few, but Sakura always left them out. Sarada raised her eyes and looked at her with her beautiful eyes. She couldn't say no to her daughter.
Sakura told Sarada that her dad didn't leave them because of his reluctance to start a family, but she also never said what really happened.
"Okay, I'll tell you later. But now about something else. I'm going back to work tomorrow, so the neighbor downstairs will come to you." Sarada smiled softly. She always liked this lady "Next year, if things get better, I'll enroll you in school."
"Really?!" her smile widened even more, making her teeth visible.
"I'll try to. We don't know what will happen tomorrow, let alone in such a long time." Sarada nodded. They went back to finishing their meal in silence. They had another day of just hanging out ahead of them.
Putting the cutlery back on the plate, Sarada picked herself up and went back to her room. Sakura should slowly teach her daughter to wash up after herself. Not that she minded, but Sarada needs to become independent. Terrible times have come, one must learn how to survive from a young age. Even when it comes to something as trivial as washing up.
A knock interrupted Sakura from wiping down the dishes. She quickly put the plate aside and walked to the door, opening it. Standing before her was the letter carrier. An older, slowly graying gentleman she remembered from when they moved here.
"I have a letter for you, ma'am." he handed her an envelope, looking rather worn or quickly sealed.
"Thank you very much." Sakura smiled and closed the door. Looking at the envelope she recognized her mother's handwriting. Finally some news. The pen she used to write with must have run out, because of the broken words. She opened it and began to read.
'Sakura sweetheart, I have to hurry to write this, so I hope you understand what I have to share with you. On our way to Otogakure we were attacked. Your father is dead, I luckily managed to escape .They said it was a warning and they are coming after you. I beg you to be careful. If you succeed come here.'
As she read what her mother had written, she felt her heart beating faster and faster and hands sweating. Why did they attack her parents? Did it have something to do with their background? But after all, why would they then say they were coming for them? Or maybe it had something to do with Sarada?
She thought they were hiding well. No one lived here who could harm them. Even more so, only she and her mother knew who Sarada's father was. Even Sakura's dad had no idea.
This was all getting more and more messed up.
But she didn't have time now to ask questions that didn't have answers at the moment anyway. Sakura ran into her daughter's room, who was sitting at a table by the window and drawing. There were three figures on the paper, one of them was Sarada and the other was Sakura, the last one was a man, but it did not resemble Sasuke. By not knowing what he looked like, it was difficult for Sarada to draw him well.
"Mom, is something wrong?" she asked raising her little head from above the drawing.
"Sarada, listen, a little change of plans." she poked a confused look at Sakura "We're going to visit grandma, what do you think?" Sakura tried to speak as naturally as possible.
"But...Okay mom. I like the idea." as if she sensed the second meaning of the words Sakura had spoken earlier, she perked up.
"Great." Sakura walked over to her daughter's small closet and pulled out a backpack "Here, pack your toys, crayons, or anything else you want to take with you. There's no telling when we'll be back, so choose wisely. I'll take care of the rest."
Running out of the room, she went into her own pulling out a second backpack from under the bed. This one was much bigger and roomier. It should hold clothes and necessary hygiene products for both of them.
Throwing on a pair of her blouses, pants and underwear, she walked from one room to the other. Sarada was packing mascots at the moment, sorting which ones were better to take. Sakura pulled out Sarada's clothes, taking more of them because something could always happen to a child where they needed to change their blouse, for example. Moving on, she went into the bathroom. From there she took her toothbrushes, hairbrush, towel and a few other things.
Closing her backpack she placed it in the living room. Being in her room to check that she had definitely taken everything, she heard a quiet knock. Behind the door stood Sarada, waiting for permission to enter.
"Come in honey." her small hand grabbed the doorknob. She pulled the door open and stepped inside, closing it after herself. Sarada had her little backpack on the back, and in her left hand she clutched the mascot she got for her third birthday from her mom. A small, green dinosaur.
"I'm ready to go, Mom."
"I'm glad. I think I took everything too-" a loud sound interrupted Sakura.
The sound of shooting.
They were here. Much faster than Sakura had guessed.
Her hands began to shake, so she clenched them into fists. She had to think of something fast. If she didn't do something right away they would both be dead. And that option was not an option.
Looking around again she had only one idea. Sakura grabbed Sarada by the shoulders leading her towards the bed.
"Hide here and be quiet. Don't come out until I come for you."
"What if you don't come back?" Sakura's heart ached at her daughter's words. To know at such a young age that one could die or be left alone at any moment.
"I'll do my best to get back, but if I fail, you're to sit here until the danger passes. Then seek help from a neighbor. Mama loves you, very much." she kissed the top of Sarada's head, looking at the tears forming at the corners of her eyes. She disappeared under the bed, and Sakura just checked to make sure nothing was visible.
Sakura walked over to the nightstand, pulling out a gun from it. She kept it here just in case. She had never had to use it yet, but she knew how to shoot. To the best of her ability, of course. Sasuke had once taught her.
The door made a shrill banging sound. They were already here. Whoever it was.
Leaving the room very quietly and closing the door just the same, Sakura slowly made her way towards the living room. From it she had a view of the kitchen, where two men were now staying. They were armed and looked very dangerous.
They shot at a hanging shelf of dishes. It fell and shattered everything inside. They did this two more times. The whole kitchen was now in shards of glass. They knocked over a table, smashing a vase of flowers in the process.
Why were they doing all this? After all, they could have found them quickly and killed rather than smashing everything around them.
Being thoughtful, Sakura didn't even notice that she was in plain sight. A cartridge flew past her leg. She tensed up all over and moved back a little.
"Well, well, who do we have here." one of them, in all black garb and a gun in his hand, spoke up.
"Too bad we have to kill you. Such a pretty woman, she could be up to something." the other, in red and orange clothing, smiled disgustedly. He held a baton with sharp needles in his hand.
"Well, I don't know if she would be suitable anymore." they looked at each other in agreement. They were disgusting.
"Why did you come to kill us? And why did you attack my parents!?" she looked at them with anger in her eyes.
"We had such a whimper about your little family. Your father fought funny." he laughed.
"As for your first question, you should have thought before you gave your ass to one of the Uchiha." tears shone in Sakura's eyes. So that's what this was all about. They are here because she gave birth to a child to a person from a clan that was now being exterminated.
Just in time, Sakura ducked behind a wall as another bullet flew past her. She had to come up with something fast. Getting rid of one would be the way to go. She only had three bullets, so she had to do everything accurately.
Looking to her right she noticed a vase. She had once received it from her mother, on the occasion of her birthday. Now it could have saved her life.
"Get out, not hide!"
Sakura pulled her gun out in front of her to get ready, and with her other hand she grabbed the vase as fast as she could and threw it towards the burglars.
While they were surprised and shot at the vase to knock it down, Sakura used her gun.
She hit the head of the man with the baton perfectly.
He was the only one she had in sight at the time, and while the latter would have been a better option to get rid of first, she had no other option.
"What the fuck did you do!" he angrily started running towards her. Along the way he smashed everything that stood in his way to cover the distance separating them. Sakura, frightened by the approaching, as she had already deduced the paid assassin, moved ahead.
There wasn't much room to run or hide somewhere, so she had to shoot. Accurately.
Sakura looked over her shoulder, measured her target roughly, and fired.
Unfortunately, she wasn't so lucky this time. The bullet flew past his forearm without even hurting him. She felt a cold shiver. There was only one bullet left.
"I'm going to kill you, bitch." another round of ammunition flew past Sakura's head. It was so close and it would hit.
"You don't seem to be doing well." she felt anger. If this man killed her now, she would leave Sarada, her mother, alone. She would just disappear from this world. Sakura wouldn't even know if Sasuke was really dead.
"You!" she angered him even more.
Bumping into the wall that marked the end of her escape route, she turned around. She couldn't show how scared she was.
The man, however, stopped. Why?
After a moment, a sound came to Sakura's ears as well. A cry, very quiet, but still audible.
Sarada.
She must have been scared of all the gunshots and smashing things. Sakura couldn't blame her daughter for being scared. She was just a child, after all.
"So that's where she was hiding. However, I'll start with someone else." Sakura froze.
"No, wait, leave her, I beg you!" she was slowly on the verge of crying. She could even die in agony, just to keep her little girl alive and happy.
"You have annoyed me. Now I will not be gracious."
Sakura was desperate. She quickly pulled her gun out in front of her and fired. She didn't look where she shot, it was on impulse.
The man at practically the same moment, without even turning his head to look at her, also fired.
Those were the most stressful seconds of Sakura's life.
All she could see was the bullet, at the speed of light, penetrate and fly in front of the assassin's throat. He looked at her for a second, then fell to the floor making a loud sound and spilling blood all around him. It looked like a real murder scene.
Although, that's exactly what happened.
Sakura only now realized that she had actually killed two people. She, a woman claiming that the use of force was the worst option for solving cases, had taken someone's life. But these were not ordinary people after all. They wanted to kill her and Sarada. She shouldn't blame herself for that, and she decided not to. She was also sure that she would have to get used to it in the near future.
The pain came later than it should have. The cartridge earlier fired by the man didn't hit her exactly, but flew so close to her right leg that it left a wound that hurt and bled.
Sakura, however, had to go to her daughter first. She didn't want to stress her out even more. The poor girl must have been very scared all this time.
With a slight limp, she walked towards the room, passing the lying body. A shiver ran down her spine at the sight of the slashed throat. It looked disgusting.
Sakura opened the door, stepping in and gently hooking her foot on the door. She hissed in pain. She needs to be more careful and find some bandages quickly.
"Sarada, you can leave." she said softly.
Sarada even rolled out from under the bed. She had never seen her so frightened before. Her eyes were red from tears and she was shaking all over. Sakura herself began to feel her eyes getting wet.
Sarada fell into her mother's arms, throwing her arms around her neck and hugging her tightly. Sakura stroked her back gently, in a circular motion, to soothe her. When Sarada finally calmed down, she pulled away rubbing her eyes with her hands.
"I was so scared-" she hiccupped "about you. I thought- Mom you're hurt!" at the last moment Sakura grabbed her wrists. As if she touched the wound she would get all dirty.
"I'm fine, I promise. I'll find a bandage soon and everything will be fine." she kissed the top of her head. Sarada nodded, hugging the dinosaur tightly.
Sakura quickly looked through all the cabinets, which were scarce anyway, in search of a bandage or something that could serve as one. She had almost given up hope when she found the remains of a white ribbon in the last one. She took it out and wrapped it around her thigh.
She also found two scarves. One was green and smaller, and the other was purple and much larger. They'll be perfect, Sakura thought. They couldn't just go out on the streets now. Sakura would be recognized right away by the color of her hair, and then Sarada would catch their attention too. There was no telling if someone wasn't lurking about somewhere. And even more so, the situation could get even worse outside. They couldn't risk being shot.
Unfortunately with the color of their eyes there was nothing she could do.
Sakura walked over to Sarada, who wasn't even crying anymore, and crouched down to be at her eye level.
"I'll cover your hair under this scarf. Be careful that it doesn't fall off, okay?" with the rubber band she had also found earlier, Sakura tied her daughter's hair up and then threw the previously mentioned scarf over the top of her head, tying it in a knot in the back.
"Okay." Sarada took her hand to tuck a few hairs she felt were left on her face.
Sakura took a small mirror from the nightstand and opened it, placing it on the countertop. With Sarada's help, she did the same. She still needed to get her backpack from the living room as well as a knife would be useful. Cartridges were out, so something to defend herself would be a good idea.
"Stay here for a while, Sarada. Mom needs to do something fast." she sent a warm, but fake, smile to her daughter and left.
Entering the living room, she picked up the backpack from the floor, which thankfully had not been harmed during the entire incident. Moving swiftly to the kitchen, she found the knife on the ground. She had to be careful not to cut herself as there were shards of glass everywhere.
Sakura didn't return to the room right away. She still had to check if there was anyone in the stairwell or around the building.
Holding the knife firmly in her hand, she walked slowly out the door. Sakura looked around in all directions, feeling her whole body tense up and start to get very stressed. Her heart was beating faster and faster. She should not strain her body like this. She would get sick.
Taking three deep breaths while counting to ten, she tried to calm herself down. It was half successful for Sakura, but she felt much better. She also gained strength.
Being sure that no one was here, she walked back into the apartment. She went to the living room window, which was the largest. A lot could be seen from it. Sakura looked carefully so as not to miss anyone, but she didn't see anyone suspicious.
Only, about a ten year old girl was walking close to the building, and an older woman with a dog could be seen in the distance. Sakura let the air she had been holding, for some time now, out of her lungs.
She came running back to Sarada. She grabbed her hand and started towards the door.
"Close your eyes for now, sweetie. It's better if you don't see a few things." she looked at Sakura with big eyes, then closed them, squeezing her mom's hand firmly.
Sakura walked forward, pulling Sarada with her. She looked around the apartment, unable to believe further that they had to leave this place. A place that was supposed to be safe and let them live peacefully until the end.
On the way out, she didn't have time to correct the picture with her face or close the door fully. All that mattered now was getting away from this place as quickly as possible.
It had been too peaceful for six years, of course it all had to end at some point.
Sakura since she had to stay at home, she didn't have much money anymore. It could be said that the entire savings she had was equal to 10 coins. And that meant no money for tickets or food.
She worked for the first two weeks of the month, so she earned something. One option was to go to her boss and ask for a paycheck. It would be small, but always better something than nothing.
"Sarada, stare at the floor and don't raise your eyes. We don't want anyone to see our eyes." Sarada quickly lowered her head "We will now approach my work." Sakura informed her daughter not to stress much. She better know where they were headed if she couldn't see for herself.
The way to the hospital was very quick. It took them seven minutes and in that time they passed only one person. A young boy running towards the store. He was probably in a hurry, due to today's delivery. Less and less products were hitting the shelves, so buying everything that one wanted bordered on a miracle. Not to mention that the deliveries were only once every two weeks.
Running into the hospital, they found only three people. One lady was sitting behind the counter receiving new patients. Although no one was here for the time being anyway. Two nurses were walking around the corridors, entering the occupied rooms, checking the condition of the patients. Probably there was also one doctor, but he had to do something.
Sakura headed towards the boss's office. It was at the end of the left hallway. Continuing to hold Sarada's hand tightly, she stood in front of the door and knocked. After a moment, she heard 'Please'.
Sakura entered the room. It was very bright here, through the white walls and lots of lighting. Behind a tall desk sat a gray-haired man of about fifty with a beard. He was sipping his coffee while looking at the papers in front of him. He raised his head looking at Sakura and her daughter with surprise.
"Sakura, I wasn't expecting you here."
"I know, I'm sorry for coming unannounced, but the matter is urgent." she let go of Sarada's hand and walked over to the desk, placing her hands on the tabletop.
"I'm listening to you." replied the man calmly.
"I need money, badly."
"Oh, you know it won't be much-"
"I realize that, but here's the thing-" she had to think for a moment. What exactly was she supposed to say? The truth she couldn't, though she could half-truth "My father died. Unfortunately it happened in Otogakure. I have to go there."
"I see." he turned in his chair, turning a small key in one of the cabinets. He took some coins out of it and handed it to Sakura "That's how much it came out for your work this month. I feel very sorry for you. Take care of yourself and your daughter, it's getting dangerous."
"Thank you very much." she grabbed Sarada's hand again and ran out of the office. They quickly walked down the hallway, going outside. Now they just had to get to the platform.
Sakura looked at the money she had received. She counted the coins and came up with a hundred and ten total. It would be enough for two tickets and some food.
They passed a small estate store on the way, so without much thought, they went in there. Sakura rushed to the bread shelf, taking three rolls from it, and then went to get some cheese. She'd be able to make makeshift sandwiches out of that.
She walked up to the counter placing the products on the counter top. The cashier was doing everything very slowly. He was starting to annoy Sakura.
"Total will be eight fifty." it was five last time, Sakura thought. But there was nothing to be surprised about the price increase. She handed the money to the man and, collecting everything, left.
They walked on, passing more people. Most Sakura knew anyway, but there were a few new ones. None of them looked suspicious.
One person, however, was not so nice. They stopped, looked at them for a moment, then spat on the ground, cursing under their breath. Sarada clenched her hand tighter because of it, clutching herself. Sakura looked up at her, smiling to offer encouragement.
Being close to the entrance of the platform, Sakura's eyes darted to the plaques confidently.
'No admittance to others'.
'A bullet in the head for the cursed.'
Sakura stopped abruptly. She didn't know they had made it all the way here. Now they had a problem. Since they couldn't ride the train like normal people, they would have to do something forbidden. Sakura had already heard a lot about people riding in baggage cars. Some were caught, others managed to survive.
This was their only chance.
"Mom, is something wrong?"
"No, Sarada. We just have to go a little differently." Sarada looked at her with a questioning face.
"How, then?"
"In the baggage car. Cool, right?" Sakura tried to cheer up the atmosphere a bit.
"You don't have money for tickets? After all, you can always somehow-" Sakura lowered herself to her level.
"That's not the point. Do you trust your mom, Sarada?" she just nodded "Then do as I say and everything will be fine."
"Okay." Sakura picked up her daughter, taking her in an arm. She headed to the right side where she would be able to enter the platform from the other side. No one usually walked that way, and the back of the train was just there.
Sakura climbed the stairs, looking around. At the first of three stations, there was already a train. She walked a little closer to see where it was going.
There were signs on every car, so she quickly noticed one of them. It said 'To Otogakure'.
Being sure that no one was around, she walked over to the last carriage and opened the doors. They were heavy and creaked, but having a lot of strength in her hands it wasn't hard for Sakura. She sat Sarada on the edge, handing her backpack. She climbed up herself, closing the door behind her.
"Come on, let's hide behind this luggage." Sakura grabbed Sarada's wrist, leading her to the designated spot. She set down two backpacks, hiding well behind two suitcases. She sat Sarada down next to them. She only glanced to see if anything was out of sight and sat next to her daughter herself. Sakura moved more luggage from her side to cover herself.
Now they shouldn't be seen at all.
"If you're tired, you can lean on my shoulder, and if you're hungry to-" Sakura was interrupted by the sound of the door opening. She covered Sarada's mouth with her hand, and held her breath herself. They couldn't make a single sound.
"Well?" a woman's voice reached Sakura's ears.
"No one's here." control, thought Sakura. They must have recently introduced one. There had been no such things before.
"Did you check well?" the woman sounded annoyed.
"Yes."
"I hope so. We had as many as four of those scumbags riding with us last time because of you." Sakura clenched her jaw. Sarada looked at her, as if trying to figure out if she thought it was right that the woman meant people like her or her mom.
"Don't be so dramatic already." the man said theatrically.
"I'm going to go tell the engineer that we can move." all Sakura could hear was the sound of footsteps and the door closing. She breathed a sigh of relief.
"Come here, Sarada." she pushed her daughter closer, snuggling into her.
They need to get to Otogakure unnoticed and find Mebuki.
Then everything will be better. It has to be.
That was Sakura's hope, at least.
I decided that Sarada would fit, but I changed her a little. I hope it won't bother you.
You can let me know what you think about this chapter :D
