"Mizukage-sama another letter has arrived from that girl in Leaf, the good news she's found the missing Nuibari, the bad news is she's already displayed some of the side effects" Ao burst into the Mizukage's office three days later.
The beautiful auburn haired woman looked up "Let me see the letter Ao and then I'll determine what to do from there, a visit to Leaf is probably in our foreseeable future to possibly collect it if it's still at all possible" Mei demanded and a letter was held out to her.
~Mizukage-sama,
My sincerest apologies that your having a difficult time trying to help your village sounds like some are just being plain stubborn, on a lighter note I have found the missing Nuibari in a weapons shop here in Leaf.
On a heavier note though I couldn't resist practicing with him, I blame my curiosity and general excitement on weapons and I'm not afraid to admit my mistakes when I realize that there's more information to every situation.
I've already felt blood lust and the need to be used coming from Nuibari, but I solemnly swear from the time after I send this letter that I won't use him again, perhaps that will rectify my colossal mistake.
Will be awaiting your arrival and I hope by the time this letter reaches you and you are able to come here that Nuibari will no longer accept me as his wielder, for now I must go as there are things that I must do here in Leaf.
Farewell, Sakura~
No last name like the first letter, elaborate and extremely thought out explaining the situation and Mei couldn't wait to meet the girl "We'll be going to Leaf won't we Mizukage-sama" her advisor sighed in aggravation.
"Looks like it, well at least this girl isn't attempting to keep Nuibari like some weapon obsessed people would and wants to return him despite already having connected to the sword on an emotional level, it's rare though that sword choosing someone to wield him a girl" Mei shook her head.
Hardly able to suppress her excitement, she didn't know how young this girl was that was a potential wielder to Nuibari, but that was besides the point, Sakura understood that there were consequences to every action and was admitting those mistakes.
Unlike many others in the world who couldn't own up to said mistakes and tried to run constantly away from their problems "Very well shall I inform Chojuro then so that we can begin packing" Ao crossed his arms not liking this in the least.
"Yes, and Ao give me but a few moments to write out a letter to both Sakura-san and the Hokage to alert him of my visit where we could possibly talk about a treaty" the auburn haired green eyed woman said.
Quickly penning out two individual letters and addressing them properly to their intended receivers to be sent off by her advisor, who on his way back to the Mizukage Tower told Chojuro about their future visit to Leaf and that he should pack for a few weeks.
Chojuro of course stuttered his way through his response before rushing away to do as he was told, not daring to argue with the gruff Hunter Nin that constantly yelled at him for something or another.
~Meanwhile~
Back in the Leaf Village, those three days it had taken the letters to be sent off Naruto, Sakura and Sasuke had become one hundred percent certain of their decision not to participate in the Chunin Exams it was much to soon if they were being honest.
"Why though I bet you three would be able to mop the floor with everyone there even older genin that came to participate" Ino complained when she learned of this news as they met up a week and one day before said exams were to begin.
Sakura sighed "Cause Ino we just don't feel ready, our first mission outside the village gave us a little insight, we were seriously under-prepared" Sakura explained for what felt like the millionth time what with Tonbo, Iwashi and Kotetsu ragging on her about not participating.
Ino winced "I..It's y..your decision S..Sakura-chan d..don't let anyone m..make you feel b..bad" Hinata piped in and Sakura felt infinitely more grateful for the Hyuga Heiress's presence in the booth with them.
"Okay, okay I do kind of see your point I guess, by the way that knucklehead told us you found some awesome new weapon in the weapons shop, can we see it Sakura" Ino grinned in excitement completely turning the conversation around.
Her heart dropped "Err not a good idea, see it's actually a very special weapon that came all the way from Mist and doesn't belong to me even though I bought it, plus wielding it now would only make things worse for me and I'm probably already in a heap of trouble as it is" Sakura groaned.
"D..Did some..something happen S..Sakura-chan wh..why would wi..wielding it make things wo..worse and h..how w..would you be in tr..trouble for it" Hinata frowned confused and concerned for her friends safety.
The pinkette grimaced "Like I said it's very special, it can connect with it's wielder on an emotional level and by the time I received a letter from Mist I could already feel some emotions, I can't wield it anymore especially if the Mizukage is going to come and collect it herself" Sakura admitted.
"Yikes that is pretty bad now that I'm thinking about it, though one question what was such a weapon from Mist doing in a measly weapons shop here in the Hidden Leaf Village" Ino creased her brow in confusion.
Sakura shrugged this time in answer "E..Either wa..way let's hope e..everything turns out al..alright and th..the situation doesn't get any worse" Hinata said gently as they all finished up lunch and split up to do their own things.
Mainly she just went to the training grounds to train in moderation since she didn't have a sparring partner this time to test her limits on, she was just moving on to meditation when she caught someone headed towards her.
"Please for my sake Izumo-san tell me you aren't coming here to rag on me like those other three for choosing not to be a part of the Chunin Exams cause right now I'm not in the mood to hear it" Sakura grumbled already irritated.
Izumo paused part way across the training field and held up his hands in the universal I'm harmless gesture "No such thing Sakura-san, I heard you bought that unique weapon from the weapons shop a few days ago and wondered if you might let me borrow it" Izumo smiled.
"Can't do that either Izumo-san it doesn't necessarily belong to me even though I bought it, that weapon is dangerous as it's one of the Legendary Seven Ninja Swords of the Hidden Mist" Sakura admitted knowing she could tell him.
At the statement Izumo went pale "The hell, how on earth did that kind of weapon end up here in the Leaf Village far away from it's home, are you sure it's the real deal Sakura-san" the long haired brunet questioned curiously.
Unfortunately for him Sakura had to go and nod "Pretty sure it emanates blood lust, plus according to the Mizukage the sword in question is missing from the vault in her village" the pinkette flopped down on the ground.
Exhausted from all that kept happening to her "Lucky for you, your the Feudal Lord's Daughter huh and you can't get in trouble for corresponding with a Leader from another village" Izumo shook his head in amusement.
"Right because suddenly I have ulterior motives ugh this is a mess and I just want it over with before I go crazy with worry" Sakura rubbed her eyes tiredly, she was so afraid that someone was going to come and steal Nuibari that it kept her up at odd hours of the night.
Izumo grimaced in response "Well I hope a solution is found see you around Sakura-san" Izumo held up his hands and then was gone leaving the young girl to her thoughts because he got the feeling that she'd already been hounded enough about her decision and the weapon.
No doubt because of his partner, Tonbo and Iwashi, Sakura sighed and continued training for a bit until she was interrupted again this time by her two housemates/teammates/friends "Found you, told you Teme we should have checked the training grounds first" Naruto said in a smug tone of voice.
Sakura turned quirking a brow at the two boys as they started an arguing "Excuse me Dope I thought she told us this morning she was going to be doing other things to keep her attention of Nuibari, why are you training" Sasuke shook his head.
"Just needed to get in a bit of a work out Sasuke that's all and yeah who knows when the Mizukage will come for Nuibari" Sakura relaxed glad that these two were here, they were two of the best friends she could ever ask for.
Naruto and Sasuke grinned sharing knowing looks with each other suddenly "By the way Kakashi-sensei sent us to find you apparently someone is here" Naruto chirped in excitement all of a sudden and Sakura creased her brow.
"There's no point in asking Sakura, Kakashi told us to keep it a secret until we brought you there" Sasuke smirked leading the way forward and all the way to the gates, Sakura pressed her lips together but signed out and followed them further into the forest.
When they arrived her eyes widened "Zabuza-san what are you doing in Fire Country, did something happen are you alright" Sakura was immediately concerned what had brought the rogue all the way practically to the Leaf Village.
It was at that point Kakashi moved out of the way allowing her to see the other person in the clearing "Sakura-chan" Hiretsuna Zankokuna was sitting on the ground kimono torn, hair in complete disarray and drying tear tracks on her cheeks.
"Zabuza found her tied up in a hideout full of bandits all the way in Water Country, apparently they learned that she's engaged to the Feudal Lord of Fire's son" Kakashi announced and Sakura understood the gravity of the situation.
Even if Hiretsuna was plain annoying ninety percent of the time she would still be family "Relax brat beyond roughing her up, the girl's fine, I brought her here so you can handle the rest, my good deed is done for the week" Zabuza grumbled and then was gone.
Her heart swelled in relief "Oh Sakura-chan it was awful those bandits, they took me while I was traveling to visit Musubime-kun" Hiretsuna latched onto the younger girl barely keeping up the pretense of being a noble for the moment because she'd been so scared.
"There, there Hiretsuna-chan come on you can come back to Aunt Mebuki and Uncle Kizashi's with me, Sasuke I'm leaving a clone with you take her shopping for a couple kimono's, unmentionables and sandals is that understood, and don't peek" Sakura instructed.
Knowing that Sasuke wouldn't dare peek even if she hadn't said that and then she was leading the way back to the village "What are you going to do with her Sakura-chan" Kakashi was seriously confused, how did the two girls know each other.
Sakura glanced over her shoulder at her sensei "I'm going to alert Musubime-ni of her whereabouts and take care of her until he comes or someone comes to collect Hiretsuna-chan, it's my responsibility because she's going to be my Nee-chan" the pinkette answered dutifully.
And her sensei choked on air "Going to be your sister, you mean the person she's betrothed to is your older brother, kami" the silver haired nin shook his head reminding himself that he wasn't dealing with a normal girl.
But the Feudal Lord of Fire's Daughter "Be quiet Kakashi-sensei are you trying to blurt that out for everyone to hear, Sakura-chan's supposed to be undercover" the blonde on the team whispered under his breath.
"Yeah Kakashi are you trying to get her in trouble" the raven haired preteen snorted looking around him warily since they were still outside the village and anything could happen, it's why they were pretty sure their minds were made up about not participating in the exams this time around.
Hiretsuna shook all the way to the gates "Is she alright" Kotetsu and Izumo were on gate duty that afternoon and upon seeing the teenager and the state she was currently in, that snapped Hiretsuna out of her shock and she straightened as best she could.
"I'm fine, was just roughed up a bit by a bunch of bandits, but a ninja came to my rescue and brought me here" Hiretsuna admitted now feeling doubly appreciative for shinobi and within her grew a smidgen of respect for her future sister in law.
Never mind how that obvious rogue knew Sakura, it was the fact that he'd went through the trouble to return her to Sakura that really made her feel bad "Just make sure you get taken care of until your family can come to retrieve you" Izumo was a lot more knowledgeable of the situation.
The brunette nodded lightly as they all signed in, halfway down the streets Sasuke and a water clone of Sakura vanished to a clothing store with money "For what it's worth Sakura, I'm sorry for being so horrible our first meeting" Hiretsuna felt the sudden need to apologize.
"Don't worry about it Hiretsuna-chan your going to be family and family sticks together no matter how annoying the other person is, I'd have come to your rescue myself if I'd known you were in trouble that's how far I'll go for family myself" Sakura smiled brightly.
Making the older girl clutch onto her even tighter and cry loud body wracking sobs in the middle of the street "Thank you, thank you, thank you so much Sakura-chan for accepting me even though I was the worst" the brunette sniffled.
Before pulling away all together and collecting herself as best she could even with her torn clothes, messed up locks, red rimmed eyes and silvery tracks on her cheeks "I'll see you around Sakura-chan" Kakashi hastily escaped from the group.
Leaving Naruto the only one there with the two girls "Err do you need anything from ours Sakura-chan" Naruto gulped stomach rolling because he certainly didn't want to hear that sound again from the older mostly unknown girl.
"No, but thanks Naruto, and you can go home, unless you'd feel more comfortable at mine, Naruto's and Sasuke's, Hiretsuna-chan" the pinkette looked up into purple eyes wondering what the girl would decide on.
It was obvious news hadn't gotten around to her "Uh I thought you lived with those two, Aunt Mebuki and Uncle Kizashi" Hiretsuna creased her brow in confusion as they continued walking in the direction of said house.
"Ah not anymore, I share a house with my teammates, have full permission from Mother, Father, Musubime-ni and Darui to do it so we did, you'd have to share my room with me if you did, otherwise you'd have your own space at Mebuki-oba-chan's" Sakura explained.
Hiretsuna blinked before quickly making up her mind "I..If you don't mi..mind Sakura-chan I'd actually rather stay with you, bu..but I want to see them first to make sure this isn't some kind of elaborate dream their making me have you know" the brunette winced.
Still worried somewhat "Then I'll go set up the extra bed" Naruto took this moment to vanish off to the side as they passed by a large beautiful house and vanish within as the two girls continued down the streets for a few more blocks.
Until they finally arrived before a familiar house just as Koeda was exiting it "Sakura-chan it's terrible Hiretsuna's gone mi….." Koeda trailed off as she noticed who was stood with her cousin "Oh my god are you okay Hiretsuna-chan" Koeda freaked out.
"Okay for the most part, I wasn't hurt or anything just roughed up by a bunch of bandits, a ninja saved me and brought me here, they knew Sakura" Hiretsuna explained carefully and then she was being hugged and tears were misting her eyes again.
As she realized it wasn't just Sakura who cared but Koeda to proving that no matter how awful she'd been that the two girls didn't hold her any ill will "Thank kami now all that's left is to send Musubime a letter letting him know you've been found" the older pinkette let out a sigh of relief.
"What on earth is going on out here, Hiretsuna-chan I thought you were missing" Eda chose that moment to poke his head out the door to find out what all the commotion was about only to find his sister, cousin and future cousin in law that was supposed to be missing standing around chatting.
Before anyone could answer Sasuke came trailing down the streets a brown paper bag in his arms to which he held out to Hiretsuna "The promised clothes and other things" Sasuke announced and Hiretsuna took the bag into her arms and crushed it to her chest.
Feeling a little overwhelmed at that moment "Let's go in, go on home Sasuke, help Naruto set up the spare bed in my room, she's gonna stay with us for a bit" Sakura instructed leading the way into her Aunt and Uncle's house.
Sasuke saluted "Roger that Sakura, doubt that Dope even remembers where you put the spare bed that he brought from his" the Uchiha sniggered quietly dashing back down the streets to their shared house to help the blonde.
With that they headed into the house "You should go get cleaned up Hiretsuna-chan, let Sakura-chan handle everything" Eda pointed out carefully when both of his parents stared at the supposed to be missing girl.
Hiretsuna nodded her head and vanished quietly to the bathroom to take a bath for herself for once "How on earth did she find her way here on her own, from the letter we just got it said she'd been missing for nearly a week" Mebuki was right before her niece in the next moment.
"A ninja from my first mission outside the village Mebuki-oba-chan, found her and once he realized she knew me brought her here, she was held captive by a bunch of bandits" Sakura relented to the demand.
Mebuki leaned back and let out a sigh of relief "That explains her state of disrepair I suppose, those bandits must have roughed her up quite a bit" Kizashi grimaced just thanking the kami out there that Hiretsuna had been brought back to them.
His wife nodded "Indeed now should I set up the empty room here for her or….." Mebuki trailed off waiting for whatever had been decided on, no doubt since Hiretsuna would be her sister, her niece would have the girl at her place.
"I..I'm going to stay wi..with Sakura-chan and her teammates until Musubime-kun get's here" Hiretsuna appeared after only twenty minutes of being gone, dressed in a pale blue kimono, waist length brown hair twisted into a bun and sandals in her hands.
Kizashi nodded in understanding "Probably for the best, those three are already getting recognition for their multiple D Rank Missions around the village and will probably be hailed as the new powerhouses of their generation" Kizashi admitted.
And his niece blushed lightly "Come on Hiretsuna-chan, we should get some food in you, don't worry about sending a letter Koeda-chan, I'll handle that myself" Sakura shook her head taking charge once more.
Leading the way out of the house her cousins, aunt and uncle waving after her before the door shut and a few blocks later they were entering that beautiful house "Everything's set up and Teme's got started on dinner" Naruto popped up out of nowhere.
Startling the brunette who jumped a foot in the air and nearly screamed in fright before clutching onto Sakura a lot more tighter than before "I'm sorry I didn't mean to scare you, we should probably stop cussing to huh" the blonde grimaced feeling like the biggest jerk.
The older girl had likely been through hell this past week "No, no it's okay I didn't mean to freak out I should have expected it and don't worry I cuss sometimes to" Hiretsuna admitted sheepishly and Sakura shot her a look.
"I'm not a goody two-shoes like you think Sakura-chan" the brunette snickered quietly enjoying the shock on her future sister in law's face, poor Musubime didn't know though and he would probably be just as shocked as his younger sister was now when she did eventually cuss in front of him.
Sakura shook her head in amusement "You bad girl Hiretsuna-chan I think we can consider this an official do-over and welcome to the family sort of thing, now I'll show you where my room is, it's the largest" the fuscia haired preteen princess giggled.
Hiretsuna grinned and attached herself to Sakura once more as they hurried up the stairs of the house and to the bedrooms "Yikes this is going to be one crazy week huh Teme" Naruto sighed heading into the kitchen to help out with dinner.
"No kidding but we'll be good hosts and help look after her because she's going to be family to Sakura and anyone who's family to her is family to me" Sasuke stated simply he wouldn't allow for anyone to take away Sakura's family.
His onyx eyes narrowed as he checked on the steaks in the oven before trying to make a barbecue sauce from scratch "Hmm what do you think Dope, should I add a little more honey to it" the Uchiha was undecided and held out a small saucer of the sauce for Naruto.
Who took a toothpick and got a small glob of the barbecue sauce to taste, baby blue eyes lit up and in the next moment Naruto was hurriedly getting a glass of milk "To hot, I thought so but sometimes my taste buds go all funny on me" the raven haired preteen grimaced.
Quickly pouring in a lot of honey to his barbecue sauce before having the blonde taste it again, this time he didn't make a grab for the prepared glass of milk and Sasuke smirked feeling accomplished so he turned his attention on finishing up dinner.
Before going to the door way of the kitchen that led into the hall "Sakura, Hiretsuna dinner's ready" Sasuke called to the two girls loud enough they'd be able to hear him before heading back into the kitchen again to pull out the pre-made raspberry tea.
While the knucklehead got plates, glasses and silverware out of cabinets and drawers "Ooh smells good I haven't had a decent meal in over a week and three days" Hiretsuna came trailing into the kitchen long brown hair billowing out behind her.
Then after pulling out a chair for herself sat all prim and proper like a noble would "Relax Hiretsuna-chan, despite their looks they can cook pretty good, though I'm worried about the barbecue sauce, you always make it super hot" Sakura was behind the brunette.
Eyeing the bowl of sauce in the center of the table "Don't worry Sakura-chan, Teme had me taste test it twice, the first time it really was to hot, the second time I didn't even get a tickle, so it's sweet" Naruto chimed in helpfully.
Making the older girl breathe out a sigh of relief "Thank you….I can't eat anything hot, makes my tongue and throat swell up to the point where I have to take medicine, which I don't have" the brunette admitted quietly.
"It's okay I would have tried it first if Naruto hadn't told me that, besides Musubime-ni told me that once upon a time and besides even if it had been super hot your sitting next to a licensed medical shinobi I would have been able to heal you" the pinkette grinned.
Purple eyes widened in response "Yeah you know that guy who brought you here, Zabuza, he nearly died was impaled by a lot of weapons but Sakura-chan healed him right up, though you must never tell anyone you saw him cause for all intents and purposes he's supposed to be dead" the blonde announced.
Hiretsuna nodded sagely in understanding "Much like we must never let anyone else know that Sakura is actually the princess of this country" the raven haired preteen reminded as they all dug in to dinner before they knew it all the food was devoured.
And dishes plus silverware were being washed, dried and put away, Hiretsuna watched all this with curiosity in her gaze until the three preteens moved about setting up traps to protect them while they slept.
Leaving the backdoor unprotected for the moment and she realized why, Naruto, Sakura and Sasuke headed out back to train for a couple hours work off their meal before it was time to go back in and take baths.
"Wow it's like you guys have been living together forever" Hiretsuna couldn't help but comment once they were safely ensconced in Sakura's room and the door plus two windows had been heavily booby trapped to ensure the ultimate protection for her no doubt.
Sakura flashed her a smile "One would think so I suppose but that's only because we've been friends for, forever, Sasuke and I anyway, Naruto joined the group when were about ten, but anyway we've only been living together for a week and three days now" Sakura said.
With that the two girls settled down and got comfortable on their beds before going to sleep, the next morning an obnoxious pounding erupted on the door and Sakura sat up in bed "Wh..What's going on Sakura-chan" the brunette was afraid.
The younger girl's eye twitched in frustration as she eyed the clock only five in the bloody morning "Probably some idiot, stay here, actually straight across the hall is Sasuke's, go sit with him while I handle this" Sakura rubbed her forehead.
Hiretsuna nodded shakily and having already heard Sasuke was waiting for her by his door then Sakura was making her way cautiously down the steps paralyzing poison dipped senbon needles held precariously before her.
Until she reached the door and threw it open to reveal "Uh who are you" the pinkette narrowed her emerald orbs in confusion and wariness because she wasn't sure who these people were, their features weren't familiar to her in the least.
"You have our daughter Hiretsuna Zankokuna in your protection correct" purple eyes peered down at her, but Sakura just felt off, there was something not right about this situation because there's absolutely no way Hiretsuna's parents could know where she was already.
Considering she hadn't sent a letter to her brother yet and so with alarm bells ringing Sakura straightened "Let me go fetch her for you" the fuscia haired preteen princess was no fool and quickly shut the door only to lock it quietly.
And practically flew up the steps in the next moment "Got a situation, there are two people down there claiming to be your parents Hiretsuna-chan but I know for a fact they couldn't know your here since I haven't sent off a letter yet so here's the plan" Sakura began.
Drawing Naruto, Sasuke and Hiretsuna into the plot "Okay I got it, I'll make a shadow clone and have it transform into Hiretsuna" Naruto immediately understood and did as told without being prompted.
In a matter of seconds the plan was forming because a shadow clone poofed into existence only to transform itself into the older girl in their midst "And while their distracted with the clone, I'll take Hiretsuna out the back way to my old clan compound" Sasuke nodded.
Grabbing up his weapons pouch "Once your done that alert someone at T&I then go sit with her, don't do anything reckless, Naruto your job is to tail them and I'll stay here" Sakura finished glancing to the transformed shadow clone.
"D..Do you think this is going to work though I'm sorry it's just up until yesterday I didn't have much faith in ninja's and it's hard really believing that such an idea would work" Hiretsuna grimaced feeling like an idiot.
Sakura smiled softly but it wasn't her who assured the older girl "It will work, cause Sakura-chan's plans always work no matter what the situation" Naruto cheered quietly before vanishing out the window as Sakura prepared to head back downstairs.
"Just have faith in Sakura that's all you really need, she'll get you out of this mess" Sasuke assured prepared to help the girl out the window and take her to his old clan's compound before going to alert authorities.
Hiretsuna blew out a breath and watched Sakura lead the shadow clone transformed into herself down the stairs, she heard the door opening and unfamiliar voices fill her ears, proving the two that were trying to capture her again didn't know what her parents sounded like.
Then the door shut, Sasuke poked his head out the window and she barely saw an orange blur darting after the fakes leading the fake her away down the streets, then it was her turn and she was hefted into strong arms and taken deeper into the shinobi section of the village.
All the way to an abandoned compound "Whatever you do don't leave this room okay, I'll be back before you know it…..here even if you don't know how to use it this will protect you" Sasuke paused holding out one of his kunai.
"R..Right guess I can understand where Sakura-chan was coming from now, it's hard being without guards during a situation and not knowing how to protect oneself" Hiretsuna winced taking the cold heavy weapon into her hands before Sasuke was gone.
Meanwhile Naruto was still sneaking after the trio of fakes just waiting for them to make their move, imagine his surprise when they drug his disguised clone into an alley only a few blocks later and five minutes after that the memories of this clone slammed into him.
His eyes widened in panic and he did the only thing he could think of run as if the hounds of hell were nipping at his heels "Sakura-chan, Sakura-chan you were right, you were right they weren't Hiretsuna-chan's real parents but fakes" Naruto burst his way into the house.
Practically shouting at the top of his lungs "Come on baka we have to move now" Sakura slapped her hand over his mouth none to gently, hauled ass up the stairs before hesitating, "Go on I'll meet you at the old Uchiha Compound, I can't leave Nuibari here" she winced.
"Just hurry please Sakura-chan their not good in the least, their ninja and they used some kind of drug on my clone, thank kami I can't feel it, but the things they told my clone were sick" the blonde flailed his arms.
Sakura nodded nudged the knucklehead out the window and flew back down the steps and out the backdoor to the camouflaged weapons storage shed, she was just reaching out to grasp Nuibari when a familiar banging sounded at the front of the house.
With no more time to waste she grabbed Nuibari for the first time in over three days, then fled over the rooftops ignoring the sensation of being complete now that she held Nuibari in her hands again and she knew that despite trying to separate herself from it.
Nuibari wasn't going to let her go without a fight which was bad "Brat slow the hell down damn it" Tonbo was on her heels in the next moment and Sakura skidded to a halt four blocks away from the Uchiha Compound and took up a stance unsure if it was a trick.
Her heart was pounding in her chest as she held Nuibari before her defensively "Calm down for kami's sake you stupid brat, it's me Tonbo, Uchiha alerted us to the situation" Tonbo assured realizing the girl was extra cautious at this particular moment.
Clearly though once she figured out it really was him and not a fake meant to trick her, the weird ass weapon in her hands was lowered "Th…Their at my house or probably on the run now" Sakura slid to her knee's shaking like crazy.
Tonbo blew out a breath "Taken in to custody actually, their at T&I now, that was us you idiot brat at your door, they ran, the terror twins caught them at the gates" Tonbo snorted and Sakura realized she'd panicked for nothing.
"Damn Naruto, he freaked me out for nothing" Sakura groaned putting her head in her hands and letting the fear drain out of her and exhaustion rush up on her in the next moment before realizing she still had Nuibari in her hands.
Feeling blood-lust and the need to be used coming from it again and sighed quietly she was so screwed "Where did those other idiot brats go by the way" Tonbo interrupted her depressive thoughts, with that Sakura stood.
And lead the rest of the way to the Uchiha Compound, stopping at the gates and flaring her chakra in a sequenced pattern that Sasuke would only get, five minutes later, Sasuke, Naruto and Hiretsuna were before her.
"I..Is everything okay Sakura-chan did you get them or did the plan fail" Hiretsuna latched on to her future sister in law again feeling relieved that the younger girl was okay for the most part and hadn't been taken in her place.
Sakura smiled lightly "Plan worked and their captured, though I had no part of that, the thanks goes to the members of T&I and some really awesome Chunin that I know" she snickered teasingly at Tonbo as the fear faded away and was replaced with a light hearted feeling.
Hiretsuna let all her tension drain out of her as well "Good and see told you Sakura-chan's plans always work no matter the situation" Naruto flashed a whiskered grin at the older girl, who nodded sheepishly.
Feeling honored and humbled for the first time "Well no doubt you brats will probably stay awake for the rest of the day, just be careful and let us handle the rest" Tonbo snorted harshly glad that nothing had happened then poofed away in a plume of smoke.
Sasuke snorted in the next moment "I swear their weird as all hell sometimes, those four Chunin and don't even get me started on that Jonin, he's just plain weird" Sasuke shook his head as they headed back towards the house.
To get in a couple extra hours of sleep before waking up to make breakfast and eat, then train in their backyard for awhile "Right I have to go write a letter to Musubime-ni, let him know where you are Hiretsuna-chan and all that's happened since you got here" Sakura decided.
Once they finished training, then vanished into the house to do that, Hiretsuna pouted lightly "If you'd like we can take you shopping for more things since it seems like your going to be here for awhile Hiretsuna-chan" Naruto piped in with an excellent offer.
"But I don't want to feel like a mooch, she's done so much for me already that I'm starting to feel like I don't deserve to be a noble anymore or be part of her family" Hiretsuna frowned deeply confusion and sadness at war within her heart.
She just didn't understand "Let me tell you what she told the Dope when we all moved in together and he said the same thing, that's what sharing is all about, showing you that people do care, that we care and anything you need will be gotten" Sasuke stated simply.
With that it was off to the shops to buy some more kimono, unmentionables and sleeping yukata's, along with an extra pair of sandals, part way through Sakura joined them once she'd sent off the letters to her family and Darui and they spent the rest of the day having fun.
Four days later making it five that Hiretsuna had been with them, Koron, Kyogo and Musubime blew into the village, thankfully Tonbo and Izumo were the ones on gate duty that day as Sakura with Hiretsuna in tow went to greet her brother.
"We're sorry Hime-sama for taking so long in returning to you, but what with Hiretsuna-sama going missing and Oji-sama kicking up a fuss about it and wanting to come visit you things were hectic at the palace" Koron bowed low before her princess.
Sakura smiled as best she could as Kyogo did the same "Apology accepted Koron-chan now rise please it's been a long couple of weeks and the last thing I want is to cause anymore problems" the pinkette ordered carefully.
"Geez your just as serious as ever Ojo-sama or even more serious than usual, by the way how did your mission outside the village go" Kyogo had no qualms about asking, he knew it couldn't have been all rainbows and daises like she'd been telling them it had been.
A light twitch was his answer "Not now Kyogo-kun besides we completed it and returned to the village that's all I'm saying" the fuscia haired preteen princess was as tight lipped as usual on the subject to her family and royal samurai guards.
Off to the side Tonbo and Izumo eavesdropped and shared a grimace with one another, it was probably for the best that the Feudal Lord didn't find out that his daughter had technically died even if only temporary.
"Imouto-chan it's been forever" Musubime rolled his dark blue eyes and went to hug his sister, who moved out the way and pointed to Hiretsuna, who needed him more than her at the moment, Musubime swallowed back his disappointment and focused his attention on his betrothed.
Who was the most subdued he'd ever seen her "Musubime-kun I'm sorry for being a brat and the biggest bitch this side of the earth, no point in scolding me for my language, I know I was horrible to Sakura-chan and Koeda-chan for being ninja, but I've learned and I promise to get better" Hiretsuna was near tears again.
Dark blue eyes widened and shot to the emerald of his sister, who nodded "Oh Hiretsuna-chan it's okay I'm here now and no one's ever going to hurt you again that I promise" Musubime enveloped her in a careful hug.
That was returned full force as the brunette began crying quietly in the next moment Sakura joined the hug "Everything will be alright, it's good to see you though Musubime-ni" the pinkette hummed softly hugging both fourteen year old's.
Until they managed to separate and collect themselves "Now like I said it's been forever I hope you have lots of awesome things planned for us" Musubime attached himself to his sister, this time getting the hug he wanted.
Even though she laughed at him "Don't worry Musubime-ni, I have a few things planned out, and Hiretsuna-chan can join us if she wants" Sakura grinned widely, waving to the two Chunin before leading the way down the streets.
Just a few blocks away from their Aunt and Uncle's house she stopped and headed in "Looks like Hime-sama's all moved in to her own place with Naruto-san and Sasuke-san" Koron commented lightly eyeing the house.
Darui had known somehow that Sakura would like this one and inevitably it was the house that had been chosen as the members of Team Seven's house "What did she go in for though, I thought we were head to Kizashi-sama's and Mebuki-sama's" Kyogo was confused.
In the next moment Sakura returned "Just had to get a few things then once Musubime-ni says hello to those four we can go to the training grounds" Sakura announced lightly stuffing a few scrolls into her storage pouch.
Musubime eyed his sister "Did you get heavier weights again, you seem to be moving a little slower than usual" the blonde asked and Sakura nodded having been struggling somewhat with the 10.5 pound weights, on each limb, which totaled a whopping forty two extra pounds on her body.
"How can you even wear weights though I thought they were huge and bulky" Hiretsuna was clueless on all things ninja, despite getting in the mind of learning how to wield a very lovely mahogany dagger that had been bought for her as an extremely late gift.
Even if she wasn't part of the family yet Sakura had bought it for her regardless "These are special weights that can be hidden beneath bandages, ninja gear essentially Hiretsuna-chan and here we are Musubime-ni" Sakura pulled them to a stop.
And Musubime headed in for about twenty minutes to greet their Aunt, Uncle and Cousin, then they were on their way to the training grounds, Koron and Kyogo excusing themselves because they knew Musubime and Hiretsuna were in Sakura's more than capable hands.
Then they were stood on the training grounds only moments later "Holy wow Sakura-chan these training grounds are huge and you get to use them" Musubime whistled in the next second as he realized that reading about how big the training grounds were in Leaf didn't do them any justice.
Sakura smiled widely "Your not the only one learning Musubime-kun, Sakura-chan got me this and has been teaching me how to use it" Hiretsuna produced her dagger from the sleeve of her kimono, and pulled it from it's sheath.
It was a small dagger perfect for a girl, an ebony hilt and mahogany colored blade while the sheath was an extremely dark purple almost black color "Sakura-chan got it for you, wow that was nice of you Imouto-chan" Musubime could hardly believe it.
Considering how annoying Sakura had thought Hiretsuna once as "Relax Musubime-ni, we've settled our differences, I think she'll make a great Nee-chan down the road" Sakura saw the disbelief in her brothers eyes.
He flushed in response before straightening "Before we get started I'm going to warn you now imouto-chan, I'll be staying all month and a few days extra, Hiretsuna-chan as well until Mother and Father come to see how the final round contestants of the Chunin Exams fare" Musubime remembered.
Emerald orbs widened "Guess it's kind of a good thing Sasuke, Naruto and I decided to skip this years exams cause I can't imagine making it all the way to the final round and having them watch while I either get beat up on or beat up on another person" Sakura grimaced.
And off to the side Hiretsuna winced "Probably Sakura-chan, now lets get to training shall we please" the brunette piped in wanting to learn more about the proper way to wield her dagger and protect herself in the future if push came to shove.
So they did for two hours until they were joined by Naruto and Sasuke "Couldn't have warned us Sakura-chan and let us come see Musubime to" the younger blonde on the field pouted as he skidded to a halt.
"He's just sore that it's taken us nearly three hours to find you" the raven haired preteen snorted nodding to Sakura's older brother, vividly remembering the promise made between them as well to protect Sakura no matter the cost.
Sakura giggled unsympathetically "You should have learned by now Naruto, if you want to find me go to the training grounds first" the pinkette snickered lightly watching Hiretsuna who was focusing more on practicing with her dagger than the conversation going on around her.
Musubime however completely abandoned practice for a few minutes to greet the two boys "It's nice to see you two again, for an entire month plus a few days extra this time" Musubime announced shaking their hands.
"That's totally awesome, where are you staying Musubime" Naruto bounced up and down in excitement hoping to have another boy in the house, though just his luck the older blonde opened his mouth and dashed his hopes.
By saying "Gonna stay with Mebuki-oba-chan, Kizashi-oji-san, Koeda-chan and Eda-kun, since it's been forever since I've really gotten to see them to" Musubime admitted "However I will be hanging around a lot" he added as an afterthought.
Everything was right as rain in Naruto's world "Perhaps you could even fit in spending a few nights at ours and sharing with the knucklehead or me whichever" Sasuke's suggestion was the topping on the cake.
"Little boys" Hiretsuna shook her head in amusement, even though they were only a couple years younger than herself, it was Sakura who was the maturest out of the three of them, and she hadn't met Sakura's betrothed yet either.
With that they focused on training for awhile longer before it was lunch time, where they all had ramen together then went around just having fun as only teenagers could, even if three of them were not normal in the least, it was the fact that they could be normal that made it all the better for them.
Later on though Musubime made his departure from the group and headed straight for his Aunt and Uncle's house to eat dinner, take a bath and go to bed much like his sister, betrothed and her friends did after setting up various traps around the house to protect them.
For two days longer things were nearly perfect and then the arrival of the Mizukage shattered the peace of the village, Sakura knew that it was time "Well either I'll get punished and forced to quit as a shinobi or everything will turn out alright" she grimaced.
Intestines twisting themselves into knots as she sealed Nuibari in a scroll to avoid touching him, she'd lasted a week now though she wasn't sure if the sword would reject her now or not, not after touching him that one time so he wouldn't be taken.
Then was out the door and on her way down the streets of the Hidden Leaf Village, arriving at the same time as the Hokage "Sakura-san what are you doing" Hiruzen lifted a brow at the young princess as they walked the rest of the way to the gates together.
"My mess, I'm fixing it, found Nuibari in my favorite weapons shop and I wish to hopefully return him" Sakura admitted quietly coming to a stop before a beautiful auburn haired woman, two Mist Shinobi stood on either side of her, indicating they were her escorts.
Mei was similarly surprised at the sight of the two, more the girl than the Hokage, because she hadn't thought the girl who had been writing to her would be that young "Welcome to the Hidden Leaf Village" the Hokage greeted warily.
And the woman tilted her head in respect "Thank you and I believe we have many things to speak about, the three of us, Ao, Chojuro come, I am Mei Terumi the Fifth Mizukage" Mei introduced herself and then she was led down the streets to the Hokage Tower, Sakura trailing them so they could talk over a treaty and the problem.