AN: Hell yeah two reviews my life is looking up today. Let's see if I can pump out another chapter real quick like. (Oh and if Sakura's character seems a little OOC that's on account of a little time flashing forward of twelve years, messing with by me. Yes that made sense and you know it.)

Disclaimer: don't own Naruto. Never have, doubt I ever will. sigh (mumbles about cruel people with no hearts). But, BUT I do own the original characters (a.k.a. the new happy pretty ones that I made up!) and they're all mine. Mine I Tell You! MINE!

"Speak-a"

'Thoughts'

"Inner voices"

'Inner peoples thoughts'

&&&&Chapter 2 &&&&&

"Ayeka! Ayeka it's time to get up."

Sakura idly tapped her foot waiting for a response from her twelve year old daughter. Upon receiving no discernable answer she walked up the short flight of stairs in her small two story cabin. At the head of the stairs she came to a short hall with three doors. Turning to the door on the right Sakura didn't bother to nock before entering Ayeka's room. Scanning the junk littered floor, her eyes came to rest on a sprawled form twisted in a set of sheets half torn from the small futon.

Ayeka slept face slack, mouth hanging partially open, a line of drool running down her cheek.

A minute tic formed at the corner of Sakura's temple. Annoyance flashed through her as Inner Sakura ranted about the injustice of the world, giving her so lazy a daughter. A small smirk worked its way on to her lips as an idea slipped past the raging alter ego. Out of seemingly nowhere an iron frying pan and a wooden ladle appeared in her hands. Creeping to the sleeping figure Sakura drew her hands apart. Ladle in one hand, pan in the other she brought the two clanging together three times in rapid succession.

Drawn from her pleasant dreams of chasing little furry creatures, Ayeka sat striate up. Attempting to throw the sheets from herself, to face her unknown, loud assailant, she ended up tangling her self within the cotton confines. A scowl crossed her face. Once again the world had turned against her at the most inopportune of moments. Wildly jerking her arm, trying to get it free, Ayeka lost her balance and rolled backwards off the futon, landing with a thump on the wood floor of her room. Stunned, she blinked up at her chuckling mother with a confused expression on her face. Tangled in white sheets, looking more like a mummy then a thirteen year old ninja-in-training, she paused and took notice of the objects in her mother's hands. Slowly, as the cogs in her mind processed this information and its implications, a pout formed on her features. Crossing her arms, as much as she could while lying on her back wrapped in sheets. Ayeka pursed her lips and furrowed her brows, her eyes shut to near slits, as she scrunched her nose at the smirking woman above her, protesting at the woman's obvious amusement.

Sakura was able to swallow her chuckle, but was unable to smother the smile that accompanied it at the site of her daughter's antics. The frying pan and ladle disappeared from her hands as magically as they had come. Placing her fists on her hips she softened her smile and raised an eye brow.

"So, are we awake now?"

Ayeka snorted, grumbling under her breath about cruel and vicious mothers, before grudgingly nodding her head in agreement.

Cocking a hand behind her ear in an exaggerated pose, Sakura took on a bemused expression.

"Hmm? I can't hear you. You must be still asleep. Oh well, I guess you really don't want to go to the ninja academy this year." Holding her hands, palm up, and shaking her head in feigned disappointment Sakura tuned to leave the room.

Ayeka's eyes shot open, she shot her hand out to grab her mother's ankle, or she tried to at least, having quickly forgotten her current incapacitated state.

"Wait! I'm awake, I'm awake!" she shouted, then mumbled under her breath "Geez, what a meanie."

Sakura didn't pause at her daughter's yelled protest, instead choosing to go back downstairs and finish making preparations for Ayeka's journey to Konoha.

"Well if you are awake, 'better get ready to go you're supposed to leave before noon and it's already 11:30."

Ayeka's face took on the look of a deer in the headlights, eyes wide and round, mouth slightly ajar.

'Shit!'

Ayeka struggled for a few moments before finally extracting herself from her cotton prison. Scowling at the offending cloth, she proceeded to throw off her baby blue pj's and toss them onto one of the many piles of stuff littering her room. Opening the trunk at the bottom of her futon, she rummaged through it looking for an outfit suitable for the beginning of her journey to Konoha.

Downstairs Sakura efficiently bustled around the kitchen, picking up thins seemingly at random and placing them in a worn brown back pack, on the table. Her once long pink hair, now dyed to a dark blonde, and gathered together in a small tie at the base of her neck. After twelve years of exile from her home in the hidden village of Konoha, Sakura's eyes had lost some of their luster. She still had that brilliant smile and strong attitude her husband once loved, but the years had worn down some of the spirit behind them. Life wasn't bad; it was just that happiness took a little more effort than it used to. Raising Ayeka was a full time mission, if Sakura hadn't had any help along the way she didn't know what she would have done. Of course when Gaara of the sand had shown up in wave country barely three months after she arrived, Sakura hadn't been all that appreciative at the time. If fact she had been rather pissed.

past events, flashback…sort of'

Upon finding Sakura's campsite Gaara had promptly told her to gather her things; they were leaving. Sakura had refused, saying that she was doing fine and she didn't need him or his help. Gaara ignored her protests as sand began to swirl around the camp packing things away to move. She stood clutching Ayeka to her chest, heart rate escalating. She had traveled so far only to be caught and forced to return to the village. No, she wouldn't allow it. Sakura had made a promise. She was an Uzumaki and shy would not break her word.

Sakura had tried to run, leaping into the trees, hoping to get away before Gaara noticed her missing. Praying he would stay distracted packing up her camp. There was nothing in there that couldn't be replaced. She hadn't gone fifty yards when Gaara materialized in front of her. She was immediately surrounded up to her waist by sand. It held her firmly but without squeezing her or Ayeka. Gaara's brows furrowed.

"Why do you run?"

Sakura scowled. "Why? You show up, unwanted. Tell me to get ready to leave. Try to force me to return to Konoha, and break my promise to Naruto. How Dare You! LET GO OF ME YOU BASTARD."

Sakura kept raising her voice ending up screaming at Gaara. She completely disregarded the voce in her head reminding her that it was dangerous to antagonizing the Sand Nin. Ayeka, woken from her afternoon nap, sensed her mother's distress, and confused, began to wail. Sakura unconsciously held her closer rubbing little circles on her back trying to calm Ayeka down.

Gaara was shocked, his face must have shown his surprise, halting Sakura in mid-rant. He spoke, barley understandable over Ayeka's cries.

"I don't intend to take you back to Konohagakure."

Now it was Sakura's turn to be shocked. Her breath came out in quick pants. "But- then why? How come- I don't- Then what the hell are you doing here?"

"…I found somewhere for you to stay."

The sand around her legs receded and returned to the gourds on his back. Gaara began walking back to her camp. After a moment of hesitation Sakura followed, rubbing Ayeka's back.

ok end flashback-ee thing

Sakura once asked Gaara why he had gone to the trouble of finding her only to find her a house to live in.

He had looked up at the harvest moon and without turning back to her said; "because he would have wanted me to."

There was no need to explain who 'he' was; both were still coming to terms with the eccentric blonde's death. Sakura inwardly shook her head as she remembered that confrontation. She had known Naruto had been close to the moody maroon haired boy, but she had not considered the depth of their friendship until she observed the lengths to which Gaara went to take care of her and Ayeka. He had found her this house and helped her settle into a life of hiding. Over time they had developed an easy friendship, working together to raise and train Ayeka. His responsibilities in Suna kept him away most of the time, but he made sure to come by every two-to-three weeks to check up on them. When Ayeka was four he had even begun training her in chakra manipulation, and how to use some of the 'gifts' she had inherited from her father.

'Naruto…'

Sakura pulled herself back from the mental path that came with thoughts of her husband. All these years and she still cringed at the memories of the night she left Konoha.

'sigh and now I'm sending Ayeka back, alone. Ugh I'd accompany her but Gaara said he would take care of it.'

"Humph. Since when do we take orders from I-am-second-only-to-God Gaara?"

'Since the Hidden Sound village allied with Hidden Cloud and Hidden Stone villages. Not to mention the fact that 'we' can't beat him in a fight, fair or otherwise.'

"…Like that's stopped us before," mumbled Inner Sakura.

'That's not the point. Gaara will keep her safe, and we can't risk being recognized on the way. There is that little mater of us being 'dead'.'

"I still think you should have put up more of a fight before giving in to his orders."

Sakura choose to ignore her alter ego's last comment, lighting the stove to make Ayeka's morning dose of yakisoba. The girl ran on yakisoba like her father survived on ramen. Not that Ayeka didn't like ramen; she did, going so far as to consider it a close second.

'Perhaps diets filled with so much sodium accounts for the constant smiles.' Sakura mused.

It was true Ayeka seemed to have developed the same grin that her father was famous for. She always projected her emotions to the world around her, proclaiming to anyone who would listen about how she was going to be the greatest-ninja-ever. Ayeka had once told her mother that she wanted to grow up to be an incredible ninja just like her father. Of course this dream was not in any way discouraged by the tales of her father's bravery Sakura and Gaara had been telling her as bedtime stories since Ayeka was three. Ayeka especially like the stories her 'Uncle Gaara' would tell about Naruto's adventures as a Konoha Anbu.

'Uncle Gaara,' that always brought a smile to Sakura's face. That the Most feared Kazekage in three generations was practically a teddy bear around his adopted niece.

'Well…maybe not a teddy-bear, but sure as hell softer than normal.'

It was obvious Gaara doted on Ayeka, and she in return hero-worshiped him almost as much as she did her father. Where as when ever Sakura tried to teach her something she learned it only grudgingly. Chakra control practice wasn't as 'cool' as learning new jutsus and practicing with kunai. Ayeka also had no interest in learning medical techniques. Not that she didn't have the skill she just didn't have the patience and focus needed to be a medic. After two years of trying to force more that some basic Medical techniques into Ayeka's head Sakura had finally given it up as a lost cause (much to Ayeka's relief).

Spooning the finished yakisoba onto a plate and setting it on the table, Sakura looked through her old mission back pack, checking to see that everything was ready. Heavens knew Ayeka would be too keyed up about going to Konoha to remember to pack everything. Ayeka probably should have already been in the Konoha Ninja Academy, but Sakura had delayed as long as she could, wanting her to be ready to live alone in Konoha while she was training. It was way too dangerous for Sakura to go back to the village now. At least if Ayeka traveled alone, under a false clan name, she would be less of a target.

"Speaking of our little miscreant," mumbled Inner Sakura

Ayeka stumbled down the stairs, obviously still groggy, rubbing sleep from her eyes. Dressed in a pair of cut off cargo pants a turquoise tank top, and a black vest, Ayeka had used medical tape to strap a shuriken pack to her leg and an old kunai pouch to her belt in the back. Sakura gestured her to the seat in front of the yakisoba, brushing out Ayeka' waist length blonde hair while she ate. Two minutes of noodle slurping later Ayeka had finished off her breakfast. Her mother didn't even cringe at the noise anymore twelve long years of near unbearable table manners had almost completely inured her to the noise. Ayeka waited for her mother to finish tying her hair up in its customary pigtails and blue ribbons. She may not be as pretty as her mother, but Ayeka was proud of her single female vanity, ribbons. She turned around to face her mother when she received the small pat on the head to signal she was done.

"Do you have all you clothes together for me to pack?"

"Hai!"

Sakura raised an eyebrow and looked expectantly at her daughter, tapping her foot when Ayeka continued to sit there with a broad grin on her face.

"Well?"

"Well what?" Ayeka asked with a quizzical expression, masking her amusement at her mother's growing irritation.

"Well aren't you going to bring the down stairs for me to pack?"

"Bring what down?"

Sakura took a deep breath mentally counting to ten to keep her temper.

"Your clothes."

"Oh my clothes…what about them?"

Too late Ayeka noticed the fist coming down on her skull.

"Itai!" Ayeka hissed between clenched teeth. She sniffled and sent her mother a hurt look, clutching a quickly raising lump on her head.

"What was that for?" Ayeka asked indignantly.

Sakura stood poised with her fist cocked and a demonic expression on her face, radiating blood lust. Ayeka quailed at the suddenly giant form of her mother.

"Um… I'll just go get my stuff…yeah…going!"

Ayeka fled the kitchen.

Sakura returned to normal size, relaxing her face into a bemused expression. She chuckled.

'Yep, defiantly like her father.'

&&&& End Chapter &&&&

AN: Read and Review! I have more enthusiasm for updating instead of doing my homework when you do. Please point out mistakes you find and I will endeavor to avoid the in the future. Thank You. .

By the way looking for a Beta if anyone is interested. (The only friend I got who also does fan fiction differs with my opinion on where this story should go.)