A/N: Hopefully the chapter length makes up for how short the last one was. Enjoy some feels!
The next morning came and Sakura entered the walled city with Hinoki at her side, both dressed as common travelers with brown cloaks and pouches at their waists. Neither wanted to say much, instead taking in the miserable state of the city. People of lesser ranks walked with their eyes straight ahead or their heads lowered, and clansmen walked about with their heads held high, their eyes piercing.
It felt like a whole new world that they'd stumbled to, and Sakura was anxious. "How much have things changed since we were gone? Are the people this unhappy just because of Hinata… or is something else afoot?"
She couldn't help but stare around as they both walked. "I honestly can't believe it looks so different now," she commented to break the uneasy silence.
Hinoki nodded, amazed at the new buildings. "It does look much different. Then again, it has been about six, seven years for both of us. Well, six or seven years for me. But things look much more different in the daylight when you have time to look around."
"I guess I keep forgetting," she laughed, messing with her hair. She'd decided to go with a simple ponytail, half of her bangs hanging across her face with the other half pinned. Noh had gone with a low ponytail gathered at the base of her neck with her bangs pinned back. Everyone was so used to seeing Noh's hair down much of the time, and when she did put it up, it was so hastily done that it didn't seem to make much of a difference, the stark opposite of how she looked now.
"Ooh, look at that!" Sakura pointed towards a fruit vendor, who had juicy-looking peaches for sale. She recognized the woman from her childhood, silently marveling at how much older she looked. "Why don't we get a couple for lunch?"
"Only if we get enough for the others," Hinoki replied with a wink. "I, for one, do not want Baa-chan ripping us a new one for not getting her some."
Sakura nearly burst into raucous laughter, instead letting herself giggle madly at the nickname. "Of course, of course. Poor Baa-chan. She'd freak if she knew we called her that."
Hinoki laughed along with her as they approached the vendor.
"Good afternoon, my dears," she greeted with a weathered smile. She gestured towards the fruits. "Ripe produce for sale."
"We'll take a bag of peaches, please," Hinoki said, pulling out her coin purse.
"That's ten peaches for... around ten thousand," she said, picking some peaches.
"Ten thousand?" Sakura gaped. "Prices have really inflated since we left."
"Yes, yes, the king rose taxes again, so I'm afraid I can't accept anything less," the vendor explained, sighing as she put the fruits into a pouch. "Still, one must have hope. As long as things simmer down with the rebels, I have faith that the king will loosen his grip."
"One can only hope, indeed," Hinoki echoed with a solemn frown as she handed the elder the money. She paused for a moment, before slipping her a little extra. "Thank you, ma'am. Keep the change. May Kami smile upon you and your family."
"Bless you, young lady," the aged woman replied, bowing slightly to her. "May Kami-sama guide you in your journeys for your kindness."
As they left the vendor, Sakura sniffed. "Well now I feel super bad."
Hinoki kept her grimace, nodding slowly. "You understand why we fight," she explained in a low voice. "If we don't cry peace for the voiceless, then why do we even speak at all?"
The way her eyebrows scrunched together, the way her eyes narrowed, the way her mouth was pressed into a thin line, making her wrinkles more pronounced, seemed to age her. The shadows that clung about her face as she bowed her head slightly added to the bags already formed under her eyes. Even though she was only twenty-seven, she looked scarcely a day over thirty-five with the look on her face.
Sakura sighed lightly. Trying to lighten the mood, she pointed towards a familiar little shop with a pretty, pale green dress in its window. "Hey, we're at a clothing store. Why don't we do a little looking around? It'll make you feel better."
The brunette cracked a smile. "We're here for you, remember? I doubt I'll do much looking myself, but feel free to go buck wild in there."
"Oh no no no, you're looking with me." The pinkette threw her a stubborn look, though her eyes gleamed with mischief. "Who knows? Maybe we could even find something to compliment Baa-chan."
That seemed to do it. Hinoki gave a chuckle, adding, "With the way she and Jii-chan dance around each other, I'm honestly contemplating it."
Once they got into the shop, they noticed how much more worn-down it appeared, a stark contrast to how Sakura had remembered it from when she was a preteen. The wallpaper was fraying in some places, the carpet was worn down from where customers came and went, and the stock they carried seemed little more than four-fifths of its capacity.
"Welcome to the shop, ladies," the middle-aged blonde woman from behind the counter greeted with a smile. "Unfortunately, I don't have much else other than what's on the shop floor, but you can still look around."
"Thank you, ma'am," Sakura said, bowing respectfully before ducking into the dresses. She didn't want her mother recognizing her now - not when she still had a job to do.
Hinoki followed her, pausing once or twice to look at some piece that caught her eye. She stopped in front of a pretty purple dress that fell to her knee, secured by a black obi. She smiled slightly, the memories of her old training outfit coming to mind. She picked it up, feeling the soft material.
"You find something?" Sakura asked, suddenly standing in front of her with a pale green qipao dress, the pattern of a waterfall of soft lilac flowers falling down the left side of the dress.
"Er- maybe," the brunette replied, shaking her head. She turned to see the girl's pick and smiled at the familiar design. "That's a gorgeous dress. You getting it?"
"Maybe I will," she said, studying the collar. "I just saw you looking, y'know, kinda sad, so I thought I'd see if you were okay."
Hinoki blinked for a moment, before relaxing, giving her an easy smile. "I'm fine. Just... memories, you know."
"Yeah, I do." Sakura nodded empathetically. "I have a couple of other picks, if you don't mind giving me your opinion."
"I'm an open book," the woman shrugged, following her to the racks.
"Alright, so I found this here," she gestured to another qipao (this one a nice leafy green color) with a black obi she held against the waist. "What do you think? Too typical?"
"No, actually, I think it suits you well." Hinoki smiled. "What else?"
"This." Sakura held up a white off-the-shoulder dress that fell to about her mid-thigh.
"That would go well with your usual shorts…"
"That's what I was thinking!" She nodded.
Hinoki watched as she got a gleam in her eye, and she pulled out a hanger from the rack. "Oh, and I also found this," she explained as she held up a jade-green wraparound kimono-styled dress. "Y'know, for Baa-chan."
The woman stifled a laugh as she studied it. "It's a bit conservative for her tastes, isn't it?"
"Oh c'mon, you know there's a level of sexiness when a woman covers up things she usually exposes." She giggled. "Besides, the next time we run into Jiraiya, maybe she'll wear it around him just to see how he reacts. You know. For science reasons."
The older woman shook her head slowly. "Who on earth taught you how to have such a dirty mind?" She lamented. "I thought you were pure!"
"I grew up around Naruto and Hatake-san; of course I'd have a bit of a dirty mind." She winked. "Ask Ino the next time you see her."
She groaned. "You'll kill me with that knowledge, you know."
Sakura just giggled some more, gathering the hangers in her hand. "So what will you get?"
"The one I showed you before, perhaps, hm…" She looked through the rack for a moment before picking out a short gray dress with a chiffon skirt. "Ah, this looks nice. I can use it if I need to do another in-and-out."
The pinkette nodded emphatically. "That would look amazing on you."
The two looked around for a little while longer, but didn't find much else. Still, they bought as much as they dared, both out of sympathy for the dwindling supply and due to Sakura's concern for her mother.
"Thank you so much for shopping today," Mebuki bowed to the girls before setting her eyes on Sakura. "Ah, and you made some good choices. My daughter used to wear that kind of dress all the time as a child. I'm glad someone appreciates the style just as much."
She tried to smile at the blonde woman. "I'm sure your daughter was very lucky to have such caring parents."
"It's we who were lucky to have her," she replied with a faraway look. "You remind me a lot of her. I hope Kami will guide you both to happiness."
"And to you too, ma'am," she said with a bow, both out of a deep respect for her and to hide the tears that were quickly welling up in her eyes.
As they walked back from the shopping district in high spirits, bags in hand, Sakura heard a little boy shouting.
"Hey, give it back! That's my mom's!"
She turned and frowned, seeing a boy with dark coffee-brown hair pulled back into a low ponytail, his bangs framing his face. His wide, black eyes were screwed up in anger as he tried to jump up to grab something an older, taller boy was holding.
Her breath caught in her chest. She'd seen those eyes before. And judging by the way Hinoki took pause, she immediately recognized him too.
The taller boy laughed, mocking him. "What, you gonna go crying to mommy, flower pot? What's so special about this stupid hair thing? Is it yours?"
"I already told you, it's my mother's!" He shouted, his voice shrill.
Sakura had enough and finally walked over, calm as a cucumber. "What's all the ruckus over here?"
The boys looked at her. The older one looked her up and down before leering at her.
"Get lost, lady," he replied arrogantly. "We aren't doin' nothing."
The little boy said nothing, but looked up at her with dark eyes shiny with frustrated tears.
"Really? It sounds like you have something you need to give back." She gave him a sweet smile, but her eyes were cold and intimidating.
He shivered a little, but glared. "Mother told me I don't hit girls, but you're makin' me get awful close."
"Trust me, you couldn't land a hit on a common housefly." She snorted. She grabbed for his wrist, holding it in a tight grip. "Now let go and give it."
He winced, but reluctantly opened his hand.
Sakura's breath hitched. In his hand, though sweaty and worn, was a beautiful hair ornamental comb. It had jade green leaves decorating the top, like a vine, and a single pale pink cherry blossom flower seemed to bloom on the left side of it.
"This comb... I..."
Shaking away nostalgic feelings, she snatched it up and let go of his arm, pointing to the road. "Now get lost. I don't ever want to see you harassing this boy ever again."
He rolled his eyes, and with a muttered insult under his breath, turned and stormed off.
She turned to the boy and gently handed him the comb. "Here's your comb back."
"Thank you, miss," he replied gratefully, giving her a big beaming smile that showed off missing teeth.
"It's very beautiful," she continued, squatting down next to him. "Your mother has good taste."
"Mama says that it's one of her greatest things," he said, studying it in the sunlight with a fond little grin. "She says that before I was born, it used to be my big sister's."
A lump began to form in her throat at the information, and she swallowed thickly before asking, "You have a big sister?"
"Used to." The boy frowned and kicked at a rock near his shoe. "Mama says that she died a long time ago. Mama doesn't like it when I ask about her, and Papa... Papa works all the time, and whenever he's around for me to ask about her, he just starts working again."
"Mama and Papa tell me stories all the time," he continued, folding his hands in front of himself. "I wish I could meet her. Mama always says that she would have liked me when she tells me stories."
Sakura tried to smile at him, but her emotions were raging and she could feel her face growing hotter. Now that she really looked at him, she saw a huge resemblance between him and the baby her mother had doted on so many years before. "It sounds like you really love her. Would you ever want to meet her someday?"
"Mama says that she's dead," the boy replied, scrunching up his little nose in confusion. "How can I meet her? Can you take me? I wanna give her back her hair thingy so Mama won't be so sad."
She didn't say anything in response and simply took him into a gentle hug, pressing her nose into his hair. She tried her hardest to stop her shaking shoulders, but when Hinoki's feather-light fingers touched her shoulder, she let out a tiny sob.
The brunette's fingertips brushed her bare skin, and all at once she felt even worse. Hinoki hadn't seen the baby she'd given up since Morino, and already she could see so much of her in the little boy's face. He had her straight brown hair and her nose, yet he had that same regal, highborn quality to his eyes and his smile, even if he was missing a couple of teeth.
"Are you okay, miss?" The boy asked, sounding upset and a little scared. "Please don't cry. I'm sorry I brought up big sister."
She pulled back and gently ran a thumb across his cheek, swiping away a tear that had begun to fall down his skin. The last thing she wanted was to make him start crying too.
"It's not your fault; it's never your fault," she reassured him with a wavering voice.
He looked up at her, still unconvinced.
"I can't give you back the family you lost, but I can tell you that your parents love you very, very much, young one," her voice was soft, almost reverent, as she spoke. "I know you have lots of questions about your sister, but please, be patient with them. Your mother... your mother has gone through so much."
She felt Hinoki stiffen behind her, and she blinked away her own moisture before continuing, "There is so much that you simply cannot understand right now, but I promise, this war will be over soon."
His eyes widened innocently, and he gasped, "Are you Mimei people?"
She turned to share a look with Hinoki. The older brunette shook her head softly with an amused smile.
Sakura turned back to Arata and chuckled. "If you can keep a secret."
"I promise, I promise I won't tell nobody!" He nodded, eyes as wide as dumplings. "Wow! Mama always says that you're like, secret agents or something. I've always wanted to meet you!"
Hinoki tucked a bang behind his ear with bright eyes. "It's an honor to meet such a brave soul," she said, though her voice sounded slightly choked.
"I can't wait to tell Mama about you." He breathed, reaching out to touch Sakura's hair with his tiny fingers. "You're really pretty. Mama says that my big sister was really pretty, too. And so is my angel!"
"Your angel?" Sakura asked indulgently, her lips curving upwards.
"Yeah! Mama says that an angel gave me to her! Mama always talks about the pretty angel that always watches over me."
He looked up at Hinoki, who seemed invisibly upset. With childish wonder, he exclaimed, "Wow, Mama's not gonna believe it! You look just like her!"
The brunette's lip trembled, but she gave him a smile. "Is that so?"
Arata nodded happily, and that beaming, gap-toothed smile was back. For but a moment, Sakura was reminded of a younger blond with cerulean eyes, and her heart began to pang with hurt.
Then, faintly, Sakura heard her mother calling. "Arata! It's time for lunch!"
"Oh, I gotta go," he said, eyes wide. "Thank you for getting my comb back."
"You're welcome, Arata," Sakura said.
Hinoki hesitated for a moment, but bent down, pressing a soft kiss to the top of the boy's head.
He wrinkled his nose and rubbed at his hair seriously asking, "If I get Angel Cooties, does that mean I'm an angel too?"
She chuckled with him, patting his head. "I'm afraid that's not how it works, young one."
Then they heard Mebuki's voice again, and both women stood up.
Arata turned to go, but he paused and turned back to them, giving them pleading puppy eyes. "Don't you wanna stay? Mama makes really good soup!"
"I'm afraid we can't, but thank you for offering," Hinoki replied with a warm smile. "Be more careful with the comb; I have a feeling your mother would be horribly upset if it got lost."
"She would," Arata agreed, frowning lightly.
Mebuki called his name one more time, and his shoulders slumped for a moment. Then he smiled at them and turned, running off, yelling "Thank you!" over his shoulder.
Hinoki and Sakura looked at each other, nodding slowly in understanding.
"Your son is turning into a wonderful young man," the pinkette said, rubbing her eye again, careful of her eyeliner. "He's inherited so much of you."
"And your brother seems to really idolize your memory," the brunette responded, wrapping an arm around her shoulder and leading her back to camp. "I can see his father so clearly it hurts."
If either of them noticed the tears in the other's eyes, neither said anything in silent empathy.
As they left the capital, they passed by a group of three.
Kakashi had taken the boys out of the castle to get some lunch at Ichiraku (at Naruto's request), and both were headed back home when the women brushed by.
Kakashi glanced up at the brunette with a nagging feeling that he recognized her from somewhere, but he couldn't place where or why.
"Ah, travelers. Must have come through before," he reasoned to himself.
Sasuke caught a side-glance at the pinkette's face and stared openly in surprise and wonder at her. "She's beautiful… but where have I seen her before?"
As she turned to say something to the older woman, his heart sank. "Sakura. She reminds me of Sakura."
How was it possible? Was she a doppelganger? A relative? Could she be a mirage?
Before he could think deeper on it, he felt Naruto's hand in his, tugging to get him to follow. He reluctantly tore his gaze away from the retreating women and turned back to walk, half-listening to Naruto's babbling as they returned home.
Later that night, Sakura was looking up at the gloomy sky again when Ino came and sat down beside her.
"Why the long face, Billboard Brow?" She asked, nudging her in the side with her elbow. "If you keep making that expression you'll keep it forever, y'know?"
"Just… thinking," Sakura answered slowly with a deep breath. "The forthcoming rain… something about it feels like a bad omen."
"For what? The mission?"
"What else could it be for?" She inquired with a flat look. "What if I don't complete it? What if I'm found out beforehand? What if I'm not good enough? What… what if…?"
Ino studied her with a hard gaze for a moment before heaving a sigh. "Sakura, I don't wanna hear that self-deprecation from you of all people, alright?"
"But-"
"No," Ino interrupted. "You'll do totally fine. Y'know how I know? Because I know you've trained under the very best and I know that the Sakura I still remember was stubborn enough to crawl her way out of hell with only scraped knees to complain about."
The pinkette cracked a wry smile as Ino nudged her again.
"You'll do just fine, I promise," she repeated as she got up from her knees. "Now c'mon, how about some hot cider before bed? You've got a long day ahead of you tomorrow and I know you'll look much prettier in the morning if you get some extra rest."
"Gee, thanks, Piggy," she sarcastically replied, but when the blonde gave her a playful shove into the tree she started to laugh, catching up with her as she walked back to camp.
Meanwhile, Sasuke stood out on his balcony, gazing at the dark clouds on the horizon. A terrible feeling swept over him at the sight of the rolling gray.
"What's up?" Naruto asked, casually putting a hand on the railing. When he looked up at the sky, he whistled. "Damn, looks like it's gonna rain."
"I have a nagging feeling," Sasuke simply replied, his eyebrows dipping lower on his face. "Something doesn't feel right."
"You sure that's not just the rainclouds?"
The boy shot him an annoyed look.
Naruto rose his hands in defense. "Okay, okay, not the rainclouds."
"I feel like something terrible is about to happen," he continued, turning his eyes back to the sky. "Whatever it is, I don't know… and it's making me nervous."
The blond watched him for a moment more before slinging an arm around his shoulders and drawing him in.
"Well, whatever happens, you've got me," he encouraged, giving his best friend a sunny smile. "So don't go getting all gloomy on me now, okay?"
"Whatever you say, Dead-last," Sasuke affectionately groaned, letting out a chuckle when Naruto lightly slugged him in the arm.
A/N: Be on the lookout for a lot of platonic Sasuke and Naruto feels, because I love my baby bois.
Please tell me what you thought!
