"Sa-sakura ! Your hair !" Ryuu continued to read her book.
The voice was high, almost screeching yet a murmur. The Hyuga, - Hinata she reminded herself -, was beside her, face as red as a tomato. Even after their fight Ryuu had continued to sit next to her and the Hyuga have been squeamish ever since. It had been the first time that she spoke to the pinkette.
"Hum ?" she asked, not looking up.
Sakura touched the short pink strands carelessly. Her hair was short even shorter that most of the boys, only the front, a little bit longer, showed a hint of femininity. Not that she cared, she was long past that. Long hair was a show of power that she hasn't gained yet, nothing more than that. Sakura was not a little girl anymore.
"Y-you look good." Was all that the Hyuga said, her hair touching her own short locks.
Sakura let her eyes finally wander over to her classmate. When green met soft lavender hues, Hinata looked away. The pinkette new haircut revealed her face, the short cut hardening her feature and the soft hair caressing her eyes accented them. Maybe it was the haircut or simply Sakura's hard stare but Hinata found her even more scary. The heiress didn't want to be under those judging eyes.
Seeing the girl retreat into herself, obviously intimated, Ryuu let out an annoyed sigh and want back to read. It was an interesting book about chakra control and medical chakra whose meaning will surely be lost on any other children of her age. Still going to see Yamamoka at the hospital for her monthly checks up, the doctor offered her the book when he saw her interest. Obviously, he didn't think she would understand any of it but Sakura was thankful all the same.
Healing chakra have been a rarity in her time, she had personally never seen a being use it. Of course, every ninja has learned how to control their chakra to numb the pain but nothing more advanced that healing some scratch and never on any other. Ryuu was of course interested, didn't this healing chakra put her in this mess? If she had been able to heal herself more thoroughly Izanagi would have been far greater. She wouldn't repeat the same mistake twice.
The advance of science in this time was astonishing, things she knew as natural, like chakra in the blood were proven false. Infections and sickness lethal for Ryuu were but a minor inconvenience in this time. So many would have survived…
Chakra still going to the black hole behind her eyes, Ryuu learned.
XxX
Letting a roar, she run. Body tilting to the right, her opponent's fist went past her stomach. Her elbow connected to his back, sending the man to the floor. A hand grabbed Ryuu's ankle and she found herself on her back, her head falling with a hard humf. Pain blurred her visions. She let a soft cry.
"Don't you dare cry !"
Knuckles met her jaw. Again, and again. The silver ring in his hand opening the skin.
"Use your Sharingan !" he yelled, "After all I did to make you have it, you better use it !"
Her father wasn't on the front line anymore, at 35 and with his position inside the clan he has gained the position of elder. Nowadays he concentrated all his attention on his only child training.
He took the shaved head between his two hands and brought it to eye level. Ryuu didn't let out a sound, her feet dangling in the air. Red met onyx. He approached his finger to her scarred cheek and she flinched away.
"If you want to amount to anything, your worthless girl, you better use it. You're nothing without it, just another cannon fodder. Do you want to die ?I can't hear you, do you want to DIE ?"
Her head was hurting and her vision blurring because of the tears. Why was she so weak ? She didn't want to fight ! But she didn't want to die either !
"O-Otou-sama" she begged.
He threw her away.
"You're pathetic."
XxX
Green eyes stared at the crunched figure. Again, the elder was carrying groceries, always on the same days and on the same store. Obviously familiar with the family owned weapon shop, she came every day to talk with the owner and its apprentice, a girl near her age with two buns on top of her head. She always left with a little basket in her hands.
It was rare those days to see an Uchiha outside the compound as it was well known that the police force was growing ever more unpopular. This brought a snare to Sakura's mouth, her proud family reduced to this. An Uchiha doesn't bow, an Uchiha doesn't bend, an Uchiha burn.The saying was well known in her time, apparently not anymore.
This time the old crone seemed to have enough of her following.
"The least you could do kid is to help!"
Leaving the branch on which she was hiding she reappeared on the elder's side.
"It's a lot of kunai for a retired ninja." Ryuu simply said, her eyes narrowed on the basket.
Since their meeting two weeks ago, Ryuu have been following the Uchiha every afternoon after school. The basket was always full when leaving the store. It wasn't really difficult between the animosity brewing in the village and her clan's personality that something was amiss. An elder, as the silver ring told her, wouldn't simply do errands, it was under their position. Something important was in there. Something the Uchiha didn't want the village to know.
If she had expected a response, she would have been disappointed as the cane connected with her head.
"Those cakes are not for you kids!"
And with that the Uchiha revealed rows upon rows of sweets inside her woven basket. Sakura stared back at the Uchiha, an eyebrow arched. There wasn't any smell.
Hiding back the basket, the genjutsu falling away, she smiled at Sakura.
"You're good kid. What did you say your name was again ?"
Her heart bumped, warm going to her cheeks but her complexion stayed unchanged and her eyes were neutral.
"Sakura. Haruno Sakura."
The older woman stared at her for a long moment. She observed her bright bubble gum hair, met her light green eyes but felt the warmness of her chakra, it's sluggishness like lava trough her veins. A volcano that all Uchiha shared.
"Follow me kid, those cake won't eat themselves."
Heart beating she followed, it was with her head held high that the pinkette entered the compound.
XxX
"Are you alright, Sasa?"
The child stopped eating her ramen. It wasn't a rare sight to see the two civilian in Ichiraku's ramen stand as hee father was a fan of it. All that Sakura knew was that her mother had liked ramen and as such her father had made it a tradition to eat it every Sunday. Ichiraku's being the best, they would come pretty often.
Ryuu stared at her father's furrowed brows. He seemed concerned but mostly curious. Slowly he lifted his hand to her bruised cheek. She let her head fall against it.
"I failed again." She grumbled.
"And yet, your sensei told me that your taijutsu was improving nicely."
She scoffed.
"I can do better than this."
"Sasa, it's your first year. There is no rush you're already in the firm middle even tough those have been studying for 2 year already. You're doing well, love."
Herfather was an idiot. Of course it wasn't enough ! She was Ryuu Uchiha, she needed to be the best. There wasn't another option, if she didn't succeed how could she prove her worth ? Anger bumbled in her stomach. Didn't hewant her to succeed ?
"Hn."
"Sakura, you know I want the best for you. But also want you to take care of yourself. I worry you know ?" hechuckled a little bit but having no answerhesimply said. "I'm proud of you, no matter what Sasa."
The burn in her stomach softened to sweet flames, her eyes watering. She turned away, her cheeks red.
"Hn."
Herfather laughed, a deep and loud laugh sounding across the little ramen stand.
I love you Tou-san, she thought.
X
Rabbit, boar, roam.
Nothing changed in the environment. Onyx eyes observed slowly. She had seen the hand signs, it was too easy.
There
She rolled her eyes. The figure of the pink haired has disappeared. She was good, mused Akira, no excess of chakra, perfect control. Completely disappeared from sight, so smell, no soun-
And yet
There was ruffling in the bushes behind her. Disappointment filled her.
A rookie mistake
"Oi kiddo ! That's it ! I've found you !" she walked toward the bushes. "We will need to talk about you-"
Her sight blurred. Panic shot through her metabolism and a hand went directly to her heart. Fear paralysed her and Akira tried desperately to disrupt her chakra flow yet it was as calm as ever. She took a step back.
It's just a kid, what could happen ? Come on Akira go to the bushes
No. She had seen kids and she had seen Sakura. She knew better than to underestimate her.
"Kai !"
When Akira opened her eye to reality it was to the sight of an elaborate trap a feet in front of her. Had shed disrupted it, she could have lost at least an eye.
She stared at the pinkette who was pouting at her side.
"After my sharingan kiddo ?" she joked.
A simple genjutsu.
"Hn."
She rolled her eyes.
"Where did you learn that anyway?"
"We have studied genjutsu a few weeks ago. All I had to do was to make sure you were relaxed. A little bit of confidence there, calmness at your core to make sure your chakra didn't spike by instinct and here you are."
The old Uchiha smiled.
"You're lucky that have enough experience to realise the danger or you would have lost your only teacher but you're good. We're gonna make something out of you, Sharingan or not."