Home did not feel the same anymore for Sakura, or, she thought, would never be the same. It had been a week after her parent's deaths but she felt like it had been an eternity since she had last seen them. She spent the entire day tucked into the covers of her parents bed, falling asleep or aimlessly looking around the room. She wondered, if they were really gone, if this was just a very long dream she was in. She was young but her thoughts beckoned her to go into that strange area of determining life and death. What happened after death? Was it painful? Thinking made her feel worse.

Lord Sarutobi would come by everyday to check up on her, to make sure the young girl was eating properly or that she had not run off somewhere. The elders suggested him to put her up for adoption since there were no relatives that could be contacted to take custody of her. He rejected and made himself personally in charge of her, but letting her live in her parents home. At least that was the most he could do for her. It would only be a years until she could go into the academy. Many of the village elders disagreed with Lord Sarutobi's decision of leaving Sakura by herself in her parent's home. Although Sakura would eventually follow her father's footsteps to become a shinobi, many viewed it as cruel to leave her mourning on her own. Lord Sarutobi, however, reminded them and himself that many shinobi in the village had been orphans from a young age and each learned how to fend for his or herserlf. Sakura was no different. He was confident she would be able to handle herself fine. She was, after all, the daughter of the Hokage.

Sakura heard the doorbell ring from under the sheets of her parent's bed and groggily made her way to the front door. It was Lord Sarutobi, as always, but the young girl had wanted the person behind the door to have had been her mother with a bright smile on her face, or her father with a bag of sweets just for her. She opened the door to let the old man in, "Good morning sir…"

"Good morning Sakura, how are you feeling today?" He had asked her while taking his shoes off and stepping inside. He noticed her appearance. Her eyes were swollen, her shirt and pants were wrinkled probably because she had been in bed for the whole time the day before, and her hair was messy. She looked paler and weaker every day. "Sakura, remember what we had talked about. I know you are young and still very sad about your parents, but remember that you will eventually become a shinobi, and therefore you must be able to take care of yourself properly. Have you been eating well and plentiful?"

Sakura looked down on the floor, avoiding Lord Sarutobi's gaze. "I can't eat, my stomach hurts a lot," she said with a small sniffle. Her throat had gone dry and tears began to form in her swollen and bloodshot eyes. She had been crying almost every day now. At first it was spastic hyperventilation to the point where she had fainted various times. Now it had just turned into a silent pouring of her tears, most of the times she did not even realize the tears that would drop from her cheeks. She began to sob quietly. "I miss…my mom…and dad…"

Lord Sarutobi sighed disappointedly. "Sakura, understand. You need to keep your strength and your morality up. I understand that the loss of your parents is very difficult, but you will eventually become a shinobi. You cannot stay here and let your tears speak for you forever. If not you will only become weak." Sakura heard those words and stopped sobbing completely. She froze. "You cannot let your emotions hold the best of you. Your father, the Fourth Hokage, would be disappointed in you."

Sakura began shaking. Her tears of sadness now had turned into tears of anger. She flicked her head upwards towards Lord Sarutobi and stared angrily at him. "Go away!" She pushed him to the side and ran to her parents room and slammed the door. "Go away! Go away! Leave me alone!"

Lord Sarutobi, unaffected by Sakura's sudden outburst, cleared his throat and made his way out of the Haruno's home.

It had been weeks since the attack on Konoha and the village had regained its strength back fairly well. Destroyed buildings had been reconstructed bigger and sturdier. Forests crushed by the immensity of the battle had been replanted and cleaned up. Proper accommodations for those affected by the battle had been handled and resolved. Every citizen in the village had recovered well from the battle. Lord Sarutobi, despite having been retired, had reclaimed back his position as Third Hokage until a suitable shinobi claimed the title for the Fifth Hokage. For now, Lord Sarutobi focused his energy in rebuilding the village into a safer and stronger environment for his citizens.

The Feudal Lord for the Land of Fire, after having heard the tragedy that happened in Konoha, had traveled to meet personally with Lord Sarutobi to discuss the cost of rebuilding, safety measures, and the political effects that the appearance of a tailed beast would create. Konoha would soon become a target for investigation from other countries. Where did the tailed beast come from and where did it go? Who had control of it? Where there other tailed beasts on the loose? Questions had been left unanswered, and Lord Sarutobi knew that Konoha would need to be ready for another oncoming attack. Him and the Feudal Lord discussed this unsettling issue for days, and the shinobi of Konoha could feel the unsettling mystery and uncertainty in the air.

Itachi Uchiha, a ten year old genin prodigy at the top of his class, and the crown Uchiha jewel, chewed a stick of pink bubble gum as he waited patiently at the lobby of the Uchiha Police Department for his father Fugaku. Ever since the attack, the Hokage had urged the Police Department to begin the process of interrogating suspicious criminals that had threatened the safety of the village. The Hokage had also urged Fugaku to begin enforcing stricter laws concerning outsiders and non-natives, and to overall upgrade and better the safety of the village. Being the son of the chief of police, Itachi's attendance to these police meetings was imperative. Soon Itachi would become police chief when he would come of age, and he needed to understand the ethical and political issues that came to keeping a village and its citizens safe. But for now, the young boy, despite him understanding well the importance of his presence and the situation, was waiting to speak to his older cousin Shisui Uchiha about his enrollment in the Chuunin Exams. Itachi thought that a change of topic with his cousin would benefit them both well. It was something both of them could look forward to, he thought as he blew a large bubble of gum.

Itachi, unfortunately, had felt a familiar jolt of chakra appear in front of him as he blew a large bubble and before he knew it, Shisui Uchiha had appeared in front of him with a grin on his face, popping Itachi's bubble and having it splatter all over his face. "You have to be more cautious Itachi! Who knows what might have caught you off guard cousin."

Itachi blinked and wiped the gum off his face, feeling a bit embarrassed about the ordeal. "I don't think you should be using your Body Flicker technique for tricks against me Shisui," Itachi began lecturing his older cousin while giving out a small nervous chuckle.

"I'm surprised you even fell for it! Usually you are more aware of when I'm going to appear in front of you. What is the matter Itachi, do you got something on your mind?" Shisui could tell that Itachi had been daydreaming about something.

Itachi was a bit shocked to hear what Shisui said. "Ah, am I that easy to read? Actually, I did want to talk to you about something exciting! I just registered for the Chuunin Exams yesterday." Itachi let out a large smile on his face. He had been excited to disclose this news to his cousin, not because of the exam itself, but because he would be able to spend time training with Shisui. Ever since Shisui had been promoted to Chuunin, he had been assigned on more lengthy and dangerous missions. Itachi had gone weeks without seeing his best friend, and it had crushed him dearly. But he knew that Shisui would more than likely help him prepare for the exams.

He needed some positivity from his cousin as well. Ever since the attack on Konoha, the Military Police Department had been on edge. Itachi could feel the tenseness of his father's chakra and the tenseness of the environment of the police station. He wished that everyone would have been more relaxed and happy that Konoha was beginning to build its roots up again. More so Itachi wanted his father to be excited for his entrance to the Chuunin exams and for his younger brother Sasuke, who would soon enter the ninja academy next year as well.

"Ooh! That's great news Itachi! That means we gotta get back on track on training with one another. I have been falling a bit behind on my taijutsu as well…" Shisui told his cousin while chuckling. "Oh that reminds me Itachi, I want you to accompany me later this afternoon."

"Of course I will, but for what?"

"Well, my mother wanted me to deliver some sweets to someone, but I've never really seen or talked to that person per se…" Shisui said nervously.

"Who is it? Maybe it's someone familiar."

"My mother said it was the daughter of the Fourth…she said that she has been living on her own after the Hokage's sacrifice and she wanted me to deliver some sweets to her…apparently she's around Sasuke's age too. Maybe you can bring Sasuke along so they can become friends! That stubborn kid that is your brother needs some socializing."

"The daughter of the Hokage, huh?" Itachi had heard that the Fourth had a young daughter that was now orphaned, but he had never seen or met her before. He didn't think Sasuke knew who she was either. "But sure, we can go get Sasuke and deliver that to her…do you know what her name is?"

"Eeeh I think it's like Sachi or something like that," Shisui said. "Who knows, as long as we get Sasuke a girlfriend and he can stop clinging on you so much."

Itachi pouted a bit. "Don't speak like that about Sasuke, he's just young and curious. Any who I doubt that Sasuke is anywhere near interested in girls."

"I only tease you my dear cousin! Now let's go in this meeting before your overbearing dad gets mad at me."

Sakura stared out the windowsill from her parent's bedroom and watched the sun slowly set behind the vast forest surrounding the village. She had taken a shower, cleaned up, and ate a large bowl of ramen with pork and vegetables, enough to make her small belly protrude in fullness. She had promised the Hokage to take care of herself more and to become strong like her mother and father. She saw her reflection on the window and saw her small round face and soft pink hair. The Hokage had told her that she had looked very weak, very unlike a shinobi. She furrowed her brow and puffed out her cheeks. The Hokage, nor did anyone, understand what she had been going through. It made her mad, for him to assume that about her. It's not like he knew who she was.

"I am a shinobi…" She told herself quietly. "I am the daughter of the Fourth Hokage…" She began to get louder. "I am Sakura Haruno!" She stepped down from the windowsill and jumped on her parent's bed with a fist in the air. "I will become a strong shinobi! I will beat up anyone who tells me that I am little and weak! Hya!"

The fired up little girl began jumping up and down on the bed, kicking and punching the air while yelling out battle cries. She felt her heart jolt up and down in joy and in anger. "Stupid old man Hokage! I will show him!" Lord Sarutobi's words had struck Sakura very deeply. Yes, Sakura was just a young girl with a small stature, but making that comment about her being weak and not being able to honor her father and mother properly had triggered and awakening in her. How could Sakura not be able to honor the two most important people in her life? Especially after they had sacrificed themselves for her. In her small fit, Sakura heard the doorbell ring once more.

"It's that stupid old man! I will show him!" Sakura dashed towards the front door at full speed and opened the door. "I told you to leave me ALONE!" She rammed herself headfirst into who she believed was Lord Sarutobi, but was instead ramming herself into an unsuspecting Uchiha boy. She heard a loud grunt and she impacted her head into the soft belly of Itachi Uchiha as he fell backwards with her ontop of him.

"Brother! Get off of him you freak!"

Sakura heard the voice of a young boy and looked up, only to see an older boy with long black hair in a pony tail looking down at her with eyes wide open. Sakura felt her face go red and the large bowl of ramen that she had eating early began to rise up her esophagus.

"Wah..wah…" Sakura was speechless at the scene in front of her. It was not Lord Sarutobi who was standing there but three boys looking at her in shock and awe. The youngest of the three, who looked about her age, stared angrily at her.

"Get off Itachi you dummy!" He said as he began to push Sakura off Itachi, only to become covered in ramen, pork and chunks of vegetables. Sakura Haruno had thrown up on Sasuke Uchiha.