Sakura POV

3 days later…..

The forest she walked through was dense and dark, most children would be terrified of being alone in a place like this. But Sakura had seen worse things, she'd seen things that would make a grown man piss his pants. This, was nothing. Besides, she was close now, Konoha was only minutes away and she could only hope she would make it there before she collapsed. She hadn't eaten in three days and she was on the verge of chakra exhaustion. Sakura was just glad she'd managed to find a river on the way to the village. She wasn't sure what would happen if she'd shown up at the gates covered in blood, but she knew that it most definitely wouldn't be appreciated.

Escaping the thick woods, Sakura found herself on a dirt path that led to the gates of Konohagakure. She grinned and tried to quicken her pace which ended up looking like an awkward hobble. Walking through the gates, she looked to her left only to find the two shinobi whom guard the gate looking at her.

"Shinobi-san." She brought her hands together and bowed, "Is there anyway I'd be able to speak to your Hokage? I promise it's really important." She stated whilst fumbling with the hem of her shirt, trying to act as innocent and child-like as possible.

The shinobi shifted their gaze down, making eye contact with her and one spoke, "The Hokage's a very busy person, kid. How about you tell me what's wrong and I'll relay it to him." Sakura knew what he'd meant. In fact, she could directly translate it to: 'You're just a naïve child. It would be an insult to the Hokage if we brought a brat to him just because you say it's important.' This was not good. She needed to speak to the Hokage no matter what. She needed to make these Shinobi believe that whatever she had to say to him was incredibly, desperately, important. She was going to have to take her little act to the next level.

Which is why, in the next few seconds, Hikari Sakura burst into a snotty pile of tears. It was the kind of cry that turned ones cheeks puffy red, the kind that swelled ones eyes, the kind that made her snot drip into her mouth. At this point in time, Sakura looked like the epitome of a child. She wailed.

"My parents were travelling merchants." She sucked in a ragged breath, channelling all the overwhelming emotions she felt in the past few days, "There were these people, people dressed in black. Mummy said to hide." She furrowed her eyebrows, "So I hid really really good and they couldn't find me." Her pride was going downhill as she accentuated her lack of vocabulary. "But, but when I came out, cos I was really tired of hiding, mummy and daddy were on the floor and I tried to wake them up, but they wouldn't wake!" She said in a cry. Sakura never actually had any parents, but she imagined if she had parents, ones like she read in books, she would be incredibly sad to lose them. "And now I'm all alone! And, and, daddy always said if anything really bad happened, that Konoha would be safe and that the Hokage would keep me safe! So please let me speak to Hokage-sama!" She cried louder hoping to make the Shinobi so uncomfortable that he'd just give in.

And he did.

The shinobi's eyes widened as he listened to her story. She imagined that he must have been contemplating her age and assuming that she must have felt a horrible loss. One that she might not be able to cope with at such a young age.

"Kotetsu," The shinobi began looking at the guard to his right, "will you be alright on your own for 10 minutes? I'm going to take her to Hokage-sama."

"Sure." Kotetsu replied without a complaint. The Shinobi reached for her small chubby hand and took it into his own, interlacing their fingers together. She'd never held someone's hand before, the Hikari disliked physical contact that displayed affection. But it felt nice. Turning to face the heart of the village, he began walking and led her straight to the Hokage Tower.

After a short three minute and thirty-seven second walk, they finally reached the Hokage Tower. Sakura always counted how long it took to get somewhere, she'd always thought it was really important to know how long it took to get somewhere, and, in all honesty, it kept her sane. They walked up a long set of stairs only to stop at the large wideset doors that resided just past a reception desk that no one seemed to be currently minding. Sakura assumed that these doors must lead to the Hokage's office. The Shinobi lightly knocked on the door and quietly waited for permission to enter.

"Enter." A muffled voice from inside the room stated. In an instance, the shinobi beside Sakura pushed the doors open and walked her in.

Sakura looked at the rom surrounding her with gleaming eyes. It's simple and traditional, she couldn't even see a speck of dust either. Taking her eyes off the room around her she looked forward, making eye contact with the old man who she decidedly acknowledged as the Hokage of the village hidden in the leaves.

"Izumo-kun, what brings you here with this cute little lady?" The old man asked as his eyes softened when his gaze fell to her after addressing Izumo.

"It seems that this young ladies' civilian parents have passed away whilst on the road. She was at the gates in hysterics claiming that she had to speak to you, Hokage-sama." He stated, leaving out details that he thought could upset Sakura once more.

"You may leave Izumo-kun, thank you for bringing her to me." The Shinobi took one last deep bow and turned to exit, shutting the door behind him and leaving Sakura alone with the Sandaime of Konoha.

"What is your name child?" the Hokage asked as he gazed at her intently as if trying to understand what made her tick. As if trying to investigate the very depths of her soul.

"My name is Sakura, Hokage-sama." Sakura said firmly without fidgeting. There was no turning back now. This would either become her beginning or her end.

"Well Sakura-kun, I understand this is not a good topic of conversation right now but I must ask, would it be okay if you told me what happened to you and your parents?" His voice filled with sympathy. She held his gaze and without blinking, she took a deep breath. She was so tired. So exhausted from all the lying and trickery and manipulation. She just wanted to be honest. Just this one time.

"I lied." His eyes body stilled, "My parents weren't travellers nor were they merchants." She sighed at the look of distrust he was giving her but urged herself to continue. "My name is Sakura Hikari," his eyes widened in shock " – And as of three days ago, the Hikari Clan is no more – and I know my clan wasn't on good terms with Konoha, they were too bloodthirsty, but I read about Konoha – and I really think we have the same ideals – I just want peace for everyone, I want to help stop the conflict in this world – and I guess what I'm trying to say is that I'd love to be able to call Konoha my home if you'd allow me." She rambled without taking a breath and pulled at her sleeves as every passing second made her nerves jump in a frenzied panic.

"I must say, you have taken me by surprise Sakura-kun. I understand this must be difficult for you, but you should also understand that this is very necessary for me to ask. Please tell me, what happened to you clan? She knew this question was coming, it was the only question she refused to answer honestly. Of course, she'd already accepted what'd she'd done, and she would never regret her choice, however, if she told him, she found it difficult to believe that he'd ever allow her to live in Konoha. Maybe he'd think she was a danger to his citizens, or that she held to much power, or maybe he would accuse her of being just as bloodthirsty as the rest of her clan. Yes, if she told him she massacred them she'd be deemed mentally unstable, labelled a monster, again, and be kept on a tighter leash than she'd already get.

"I – they, were massacred." Her eyes shifted downward, she focused on the cracks between the floorboards, "There was a man wearing a mask, a shinobi, he killed them all. I only survived because I chose not to fight. I – I wasn't on great terms with most of the members of my clan and so from the moment I was able to walk I taught myself how to hide." When lying, keep as close to the truth as possible. "I guess I was just lucky."

"tell me Sakura-kun, how old are you?" She was taken aback, she never thought he'd be interested in something like her age, especially after everything she had just told him.

"I – um – I turned four yesterday, Hokage-sama." She was a little confused but knew there was no harm in him knowing how old she is.

"Would you like to become a Shinobi Sakura-kun?" Her eyes widened at the question; she didn't think she'd ever been this confused before.

She wanted to say no, she wanted to say that she didn't want to be a shinobi. That she didn't deserve the honour of being one. But she had no choice. She had to become strong to protect everyone she would come to care about. She knew at this point in time the only precious person she had was the boy in her dreams. But she felt in her heart that that list would grow dramatically. So, she replied without hesitance, "Yes, Hokage-sama."

"Why?" He was testing her. She knew that. There was no way that his questions were coincidence. It was obvious that there was a right and a wrong answer to this question, and depending on how she answered, her future could be on the line. She had no choice but to answer this correctly.

"I want to be strong. Not just physically, but mentally – and not just for myself. I want to be able to protect everyone. I want to be able to lend my strength to all my precious people, to make sure their will never dims. I never want another person to ever go through the kind of pain and suffering I went through. I want to preserve their ignorance, their naivety, their happiness. No matter what the cost is." This was her nindo, her ninja way.

"I see." His eyes softened, "How would you like to help me with something Sakura-kun? Do not worry, whether you accept or not, I will still grant you permission to reside in Konoha." She could tell it was important and she wanted to help. She just wanted to be useful, to help others.

"I'll help." She stated firmly.

"Good. Now how would you like to be my eyes and ears?" He leaned back in his chair as he awaited her answer. She looked him straight in the eyes, replacing her grimace with a soft smile.

"I'd love to."

"Welcome to Konohagakure, Sakura-kun." He smiled.