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Disclaimers:

-Dedicated to Julia

-I do not own any of the Naruto franchise bois

-more informal notes will be situated at the end of this chapter

Enjoy!

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"I would rather walk with a friend in the dark, than alone in the light."

― Helen Keller

:::

It had been pleasantly quiet and calm at the bakery, Sakura supposed. There wasn't much to it- a large counter that took up about a third of the room, stacked with pastries, cakes, and whatever sweet or savoury foods could be placed in the oven. It surrounded Tenten, and a large kiln, which was currently excited with flickering flames twirling and twinkling under chaky coal stones. To enter, there was a small flap instead of counter space, at which one would fold upwards in order to enter.

There were two windows sitting beside the door on either side, fully opened, allowing the sun to shine through with no hesitation. There wasn't any need for oil lamps, lest night appeared and stole away the daylight warmth. The pinkette knew that next door was the weaponry, but she didn't think to take a look. It certainly wasn't her place, and she also had nothing to do, nowhere to go. She would wait for the lovely maiden Tenten to finish up whatever pie she was making, before they would converse.

Once the aforementioned brunette placed the pie into the kiln, closing the lid, she dusted her dry, flour-covered hands onto her apron, clapping them to rid her of the powder. She immediately went to the lonely table where Sakura was situated, and gave her a bright smile.

"So, welcome to Konoha! Is there any specific reason you came here?"

Luckily, the Haruno already conjured a reasonable excuse to counteract the question.

"I was visiting family a few villages from here; I decided to take shelter here. I promise you I don't mean any harm." she held her hands up, as if accused of crime. It was partly true, she would never unintentionally hurt anyone, not even a human. For now. At this current moment, she was all but curious; she wanted to know more of the civilian world.

The brunette nodded thoughtfully, her brows slightly frowning in a sense of calibration. She turned back to the pinkette, scanning her figure carefully.

"Did you like the pies?"

"Very much, Tenten. Thank you again," her belly finally stopped complaining.

The silence that heaved wasn't uncomfortable, but it was a little stretched. Sakura knew that humans hated her kind, and she had stuck that opinion into her skin for so long she'd forgotten just how kind they could be to their own. She wondered if this would keep up; the girl seemed too kind and willing for her own good, but not so much to be called a naivete. The pinkette was certain Tenten wasn't the only resident here at the current moment, her parents taking a brief period to have their own lunches somewhere upstairs, and she would take a gamble they would like her.

She was already hanging thinly from a thread, had not her wimple sheltered a part of that strangeness.

"You should really be wary around here, especially during the night," the bunned girl lowly murmured. The air grew thicker as a lump appeared in her throat, bubbling ferociously like a coal.

"Why so?"

Hazel eyes proceeded to scan the wooden table beneath them, the one their arms were leaning on, and her index finger lid over the natural lines that marked the dark wood. She then looked the rosette dead in the eye, all light ebbed away in the matter of nanoseconds.

"Witches and Warlocks. I suppose you've heard of them?"

Sakura wondered if there was a single human that didn't.

"Of course I've heard of those...vile beings," she hesitantly shrugged. The way she spat it out made her want to hit herself, but made it all the more convincing. It was a harsh step, but it lit the small flame of hope that her presence wasn't one to be dealt with brashly. That she wasn't a threat. Though her concealed identity screamed otherwise.

"Konohagakure is the closest village to the forest, kinda make sense why that woodland is even named after us. That's where the majority live, you know. You better be careful, especially at night. You never know when they will suddenly come out, and...and hex us."

She wanted to smile, really. The Haruno found it absurdly hilarious. The humans, scared of her? What good did that do in explaining all the punishments then. From all the scrolled accounts she'd read, the one flaw all the witches and warlocks had who had died at humanity's hands, was the fact that they trusted these people. Trusted them enough to unravel the burning secret sealed within them, and they paid the consequences. Never once had they been spared, not once.

And then the war, the terrible thing it did. Bodies, scattered everywhere, drenched in the blood of who knows, but it wasn't just their own. Many lives were lost in the consecutive weeks. Then her kind went into hiding. She'd never thought of it as a cowardly decision, as it had served them good, being away from those humans.

That's why the ones who decided to leave the coven only went rogue. They weren't to go in groups, and were to someday come back to report what they were experiencing. Very few were able to do it, but it wasn't impossible. From that, Sakura garnered as much information she could possibly gain, and set foot, like her ancestors before her, into a world where she could possibly rendezvous with death. But for now, her escort would only be risks, and faltered trust she would have in her human companions. But it would never be enough, she deeply knew. When push came to shove, she'd be dead by the next sunrise.

It was inevitable, she supposed. Her price for stepping into unknown territory.

"Say, it's really strange you come here and not know a thing about Konoha. What village did you visit your family?"

It was only natural to be curious, but that question cornered the pinkette more than ever. Her mind flipped its pages, recalling any neighbouring villages nearing, and from her lap, surrounded in the fabric of her skirt, her hands were trembling.

"S-Suna. Sunagakure. You heard of it?" she said, albeit a bit too quickly. She'd have to give it to herself, it was better than pretending to have short term memory loss on the spot. The beads of sweat carrying her melanin though, couldn't be helped.

"Ah, I see! That would've been quite the journey; a few days at most. You must be exhausted!" Tenten was back to her euphoric self, which was definitely a good sign. Se mentally sighed, clearing off another box in her checklist.

"Say, there's still things I'm sceptical about. If I'd known better, I'd say you were a witch yourself."

Sakura froze.

::

"I'm kidding, you know."

Tenten burst out laughing, clutching to her stomach as her lips pooled a series of chuckles.

"Even so, you're in foreign terrain to your hometown. Allow me to tell you about the monarchy here," she light-heartedly offered. The pinkette found no other way to refuse, since it would serve her a great advantage knowing as much about Konoha as humanly possible. It would definitely help her in the long run, gaining trusts and smoothly letting herself into the heart of this place. She didn't have any ill intentions, but it would be nice to try and give a shot of reasoning with the sovereign. About their hate toward each other's kind.

She nodded once, her gaze calculating and serious. Many of her kind before her had come to Konoha, since it was the closest town, but that meant that this village was the most wary, most suspicious of newcomers. It was only natural to be, and so all Sakura had to do was to be as suave as possible. Play it cool.

"There isn't a...proper ruler here, I daresay. Not a King, or a Queen. Not since…" the prinkette could see the visible shudder, and immediately knew what she was talking about. Such tragic memories, even after years have passed, still haunted her. And the Haruno couldn't blame her for it. Both sides of the battle were absolutely torn after days of fighting and pain, flesh ripped and blood scattered across the plains.

"There's a crowned prince, around our age. The sole survivor of his family, the Uchiha. He won't be King until he's twenty-one."

"Uchiha Sasuke, he isn't exactly a tyrant, but his presence is feared throughout the village. He's cold, his demeanour extremely intimidating. And his government consists of the Hyuuga clan, which, after the Uchiha, is revered. The other members of his council are basically his companions from childhood, you'll come to know them anyway, so I'll leave it to them to introduce themselves. His Majesty's advisors come here for a snack every now and then, so it isn't much of a big deal in seeing them anymore." she shrugged.

Sakura grasped all this information with a grain of salt. She had no idea of what to expect from the crowned prince's closest colleagues, but being able to put up with someone as dull as him, they either would be the most boring people the world had ever known, or the party bringers. She'd just have to find out on her own.

"I see," she smiled.

::

Present

"Naruto…"

She'd repeated the name, like a mantra on her lips, her tongue grazing each syllable softly like a feather, as her eyes glossed with worry. She hadn't said that name in years, and it was certainly shocking her that she'd be saying it once more. But there was no denying it; that man, staring back at her in the bakery, sobering quickly, cheeks flushed and blonde tufts unkempt, was Uzumaki Naruto. Son of the Warlock Namikaze Minato and Uzumaki Kushina, two of the most potent of her coven who had unfortunately passed away whilst in the midst of battle. Their deaths were one of the most memorable; from what she'd heard. They'd never met them, stories of old were all that was left of their left of their legacy.

Apparently, their deaths weren't in vain. She liked to believe no death could be.

And Naruto? He was a close friend of hers, and Ino, too. He'd gone missing at thirteen, and while many assumed he was dead, Sakura never gave up. She'd thought of him daily, wondering where he was, what he was doing at this time. She'd imagine him to be making his new home at a new coven, pondering if he would ever want to visit his hometown again, to reunite with his childhood company, his family. But seeing him here, drunk just minutes prior, so...so comfortable amongst humans, their absolute nemesis, she couldn't help but feel anger surge within her veins.

"Uzumaki Naruto!"

I really hate this chapter. I'm sorry it's so crappy and short, but I will make it up in the next chapter. This was better planned in my head, honestly. Anyway thank you for sticking around and reading this. See ya

-writer