K.L.K- this is So, so terribly overdue. Gomen-nasai, minna-san. I apologize for my procrastinating ways, and I really do need to update one thing until it's finished, but my mind is far too scatter-brained and sleep-deprived to do as such.
Sakura- the fic?
K.L.K- Oh...Right... I can't sleep...and State Testing, otherwise the dreaded and tedious OATs are tomorrow. (grimaces) at least I get a two-hour delay on both thursday and tuesday... so expect SOME updates, at least...
Mikoto- YAYYY CLOTHES SHOPPING! (gives might-guy pose)
K.L.K- (TWITCH) please... refrain from doing so, Mikoto-san... and to any reader who likes her to be any other way, I'm sorry, but if I'm correct she was seen only once or twice in the anime or manga, ne, ne? so it doesn't matter. I don't own Naruto. here's the sixth chapter! and so we're clear, she's from Mist, even when the first chapter says "Amegakure", alrighty then? It was an error in my typing, and I apologize.
Sakura groaned. It was saturday. 'Who in the hell decided to set my alarm?' she wondered, then peeked out from beneath her arm, which was flung across her face.
"Ohayo, Sakura-chan!" Mikoto chirped as she came in. Sakura sat up, revealing mussed hair and a black loose tee-shirt as her nightgown. the girl yawned, and the mother Uchiha had to stunt the urge to glomp her, screaming 'Kawaii!'. That would wake up the slumbering boys.
Sakura yawned again, showing her slightly fangish teeth, the little canines glinting in the light streaming in from the window. "What time is it?" she asked, eyes blurred, as she wiped the sleep from them.
"It's about ten, Sakura-chan! It's time to go clothes shopping, remember?" the woman smiled, already dressed and ready to go.
the rosette kunoichi-in-training nodded, then hopped out of the overly large bed, onto the wooden floor. she went over to the small closet and took out an outfit- one of the few she had- from the closet's hanger, and then padded softly to the bathroom, shutting the door but coming out minutes later, awake, dressed, and ready for the day to begin.
she smiled up at the woman, who smiled back. "So, what are you planning on looking for, Mikoto-san?" she asked interestedly, as they went down to the kitchen to have thier small breakfast with the boys before they went shopping.
"Well, you need alot of everyday clothes...some not in black, because all girls need some colour, ne?" the small girl nodded reluctantly. "Then we'll get you a thinner mask, because you look like you're trying to breathe through cardboard, and that must be hard to get used to," the small Haruno looked relieved. "some formal kimonos, some yukatas, accessories, some kunoichi gear, some nessecities, and how about a swimsuit or some really tough training clothes?" she asked, and then the small girl suddenly gave her leg an enourmous hug. it stunned the woman, but the small girl let go quickly.
"Arigatou Mikoto-san. I appreciate all you have done and are doing for me, and I feel...that same emotion I did the other day..." her eyes misted over a bit, and she seemed to withdraw into herself.
"what does it feel like, Sakura-chan?" the woman asked, and the tiny girl looked slightly stunned.
"Well..." she started slowly. "It's warm. It blossoms through my body... my head is light, but pleasantly so. I feel...as if nothing could ever go wrong in the world at that moment..." her voice was so quiet, Mikoto had to strain to hear it.
"Sakura-chan," laughter bubbled up. "That's happiness! haven't you felt it before?"
she shook her head. "No...I don't believe I have..."
the woman stopped, and looked sad. "Sakura-chan..." she sighed. "I will always do my best to keep you happy, no matter what." she gave a bright smile, and Sakura's breath hitched in her tiny throat.
'Why...why do all of this for me...?' she inwardly murmured incredilously. "Mikoto-san..." she spoke softly, her eyes shiny, but she held back that foreign feeling, and saved it to prod and poke through later. "Arigatou Gazimasu." she bowed slightly.
Mikoto's smile turned into a smaller, sweeter one. "Let's go get the boy's breakfast before they burn the kitchen down trying to cook thier own, ne?"
Sakura readily agreed. they through the kitchen doors, to see a sleepy Sasuke, an indifferent Fugaku, and Itachi was sitting there, looking slightly disoriented. Of course he was probably tired and still confused why the little girl had chosen to live there. He probably also didn't mind the intelligent, willing conversation, but he was still curious-looking.
She silently helped Mikoto with the breakfast of western-styled pancakes and bacon, with scrambled eggs on the side. They served it, and as soon as Sakura sat down silently, Fugaku was watching her silently. it didn't unnerve her- she was far too used to the stares, so she looked back briefly, holding his obsidian gaze for a few seconds, before bowing her head in a sign of respect. his eyebrow raised in slight surprise, and everyone else was oblivious to the exchange between the two.
the rosette girl turned her green-eyed gaze to Itachi and then back down to her plate, eating her food just as quietly as she had been since she stepped foot inside the kitchen. no wonder the Uchiha didn't mind her any. she finished her food, and she looked to the female head of the clan. "Mikoto-san, may I be excused to rinse off my plate?"
the woman nodded. "Hai, you may, Sakura-chan."
she left the kitchen, and then quickly washed the white glass plate clean. she placed it in the drying rack, and then wandered out into the dining area again, to see the rest of them go into the kitchen to wash thiers as well. she stood there, twiddling with her thumbs for a few minutes, then Mikoto came out with a purse slung over her shoulder, her light lavender kimono-like garment in pristine condition.
that observation only made her look to her worn black clothing, with it's tiny rips and tears along with the fabric being old but not faded. her sandals looked a little dusty and worn too, as they stepped outside, and she knew that on a pleasantly warm day like this, she'd be struggling to breathe in her mask, but she refused to let the villagers see her face. she was young, not stupid. she knew what they said behind her back, with her slightly-better-then-normal trained hearing.
they said nasty, nasty things about her...and a boy named 'Naruto'. the poor boy. She knew him from the Academy class she was in, and he seemed a little...familiar to her. like they had something in common, more so than just simplistic things. things that ran deeper than just coicidential events linked the two in a way that would allow a deep bond. the rosette ran her hand through her hair, then paused enough to see Naruto running away in an alleyway, being chased by three grown men. she hesitated at first, but then tugged slightly on Mikoto's Kimono skirt. the woman looked to her.
"Mikoto-san, may I go somewhere? I just remembered while I lived alone I left a special kunai of mine at a training field. it's not too far away from here, so you can start looking without me." the green eyes cooly pleaded, and the woman nodded. she knew the girl was strong. "Be careful, Sakura-chan."
the girl nodded. "Hai, Mikoto-san." she then waved as she ran off, down the alleyway which Mikoto thought was another street.
the men were beating up Naruto, and she growled as she cracked her knuckles behind them. they turned.
"Oi! look, iiish a little giiirl!" one said, voice slurred. Sakura was disgusted beyond belief at the overwhelming odor of alchohol- Sake most likely- on his breath, the smell going straight through her mask. her eyes narrowed as they laughed at the man's comment.
"Go playy wihhhth dolls, little giiiirl!" one grinned at her, his yellow teeth making her stomach want to upchuck the breakfast she'd had. "yooou don't waaahant this mooonsterrr around yooou." he pointed clumsily to Naruto, who's beaten and bruised face looked pitifully at hers, his blue eye that wasn't swelling was pleading with her to leave, run, go away from these men. she shook her head slightly.
"Listen you drunkard imbiciles!" she said commandingly. they looked confused at her. "If you do not abandon the abuse of this poor child, I will be forced to either kill you, detain you and report you to authorities, or make sure you can't ever have children." she gave a crooked, wild grin she was sure showed through the slightly damp mask. not to mention it showed in her green eyes. "So, which is it?"
one man lunged for her, and she quickly kicked upwards, into his chin. In his drunken stupor, he didn't feel the pain so he came right back, and then she gave a punch in the jaw, then sent a foot flying up, straight into his groin. she kicked him in the stomach once as he fell down, and he spit up blood, then she sidestepped his projectile of vomit, due to the amount of liquid he expelled, he had only had alchohol in his stomach. she shook her head. these people were idiots.
she turned her head sharply at the other two, and her eyes had a slight cattish slit in them. "anyone else want to try it?" she asked boredly, and then the other two took a look at thier writhing friend- she'd accidentally pushed him down on a broken glass bottle- and then they took off running.
"STUPID DEMON GIRL!" one shouted back at her, and she shook her head. She then padded over to Naruto and helped him up.
"Daijobou, Naruto-san?" she asked calmly, as she held a glowing green hand up to his injuries, reducing the swelling and healing the cuts and contusions halfway, enough so they were closed and had much less chance of infection.
he gave a bright smile to her, and she nearly took a step back. Nobody had smiled at her like that except Mikoto-san. he gave a thumbs-up. "I'm fine, Sakura-chan!" he grinned then, ignoring the pounding sensation on his swollen eye. he'd had them before, after all.
she gave a short nod. "I am shopping with Mikoto-san, Naruto-san. I want you to go home and rest, let your injuries heal, alright?" he gave a nod.
"thanks for saving me." he smiled, but then it dimmed. "Why did they call you a demon girl, 'teybayo?"
she shook her head. she'd let those cattish slits by in her anger to terrify those idiotic drunkards. "It was simply nothing, Naruto-san. Nothing at all." she retorted quietly, and he nodded, then scampered off to his apartment.
she returned to Mikoto, with a kunai in her hand with a blue handle on it. marked that way because it was one she'd brought with her. she smiled faintly under the mask, which the Uchiha woman caught. "Found it. it was in the tree I accidentally left it in."
the woman nodded, and it turned out she'd already gotten the girl some essentials for a kunoichi in training, and the bathing suit- a simple black tankini model- and a new pair of shinobi sandals was taken care of. they travelled to the next store, a clothing store. a clerk with a fake-ish face tried to get them to buy ugly civillian clothing, but they refused the offer gently and then went to the young kunoichi section of the store.
they picked out a LOT of the same things- but in different colours. they got Sakura some more masks- this time thinner but also some ones like she had on- a few sleeveless loose shirts, like the longsleeved one she had on without the sleeves, but they got mostly black, some blue and the rest were a rainbow of reds, all the way from the darkest crimson, to the lightest one Mikoto thought looked good on her.
they also got some thin-strapped tops, about three or four belly-baring tighter shirts with a zipper, quite a bit of mesh to wear under her clothing, undershirts, bandages, a new set of kunai and shuriken, a katana- Fugaku had wanted her to train with one, for some reason- a napsack fit for a survival excersice lasting more than a week, and then they went to the bottom's section.
Mikoto got her quite a bit of black pants- knowing that she was more comfortable in them- and then got some silverish chains that could be used as both weapons and a tough fashion statement. she got her three pairs of tan pants- one short, long, and then mid-length, all of them baggy, then got her alot of skintight spandex shorts- almost all black, but a few different colours made it into the growing pile of clothing in thier cart- and then she got her some buckling skirts, all at different lengths. she got her a winter cloak, and then a regular one that would work for any day she wanted to go out for a long time in either rain or just without being recognized- and then she looked at the tiny girl.
"Sakura-chan, have you ever worn makeup before?" her eyes glimmered.
"U-uh... no...why...?" Sakura stepped back slightly, knowing Mikoto's mind worked in mysterious ways.
"Well, how about some eyeliner? and you'll need some lipgloss...possibly some waterproof mascara...?" she got the cosmetics, and Sakura just raised a rosette eyebrow. whatever those things were, she was sure she'd be worried about them soon enough.
"Sakura-chan, Fugaku says it's alright if you get your ears pierced." Mikoto smiled, then guestured to the counter.
the pinkette thought for a minute, then nodded. she'd always wanted them- she felt this in her mind- but she probably wasn't allowed before.
she sat there while the lady loaded the black-and-silver stud in the gun, and then pressed it to her ear. she heard a slight whoosh, but blinked.
"did you do it?"
the two sweatdropped. this was supposed to be painful. the woman did the other ear, and then Mikoto paid for the ear piercings while the lady gave Sakura instructions to take care of her ears. along with a solution to clean them, and a sheet of the instructons for the solution.
they were soon finished, and paid for the heap of clothing, when Itachi came walking down the street, with Sasuke at his side."Okaasan." he called out, then took the more weighty bag from the woman, and the largest from the Haruno. "Otousan said to come help you." he responded to her silently questioning gaze.
they went into the bookstore- to get the little girl some books for her shelf in the large closet area for books- and she immidiately went to the Shinobi section.
"pick out whatever you want, Sakura-chan! it's a huge sale today!" Mikoto called to her, whilst the rosette nodded.
she got a large armload from the shinobi section, all about the jutsu types, ninjutsu genjutsu and taijutsu, and even a bit about forbidden techniques. she took a large tome called "The Shinobi Code" and a few more with more than enough knowledge in them that a chunin wouldn't know- or have to know- it.
while she was browsing, the woman sighed. "She's a born shinobi like you, Itachi." she watched the girl. "She loves training, and going to the academy. she's in the boy's classes and she doesn't mind it any! not to mention she came all the way from Rain, without collapsing once she got here! and at this age, too... I'm worried for her, almost. She has a great spirit, but she has trouble with emotions. no doubt from losing her memory."
Itachi nodded. "It is a symptom that will go away in time, Okaasan."
she shook her head. "I don't think so. I don't think she's really experienced emotions much after anger, hurt, and pain. So boys, please, please try to be nice to her." her black eyes turned to them, and they nodded.
"Hai, Okaasan."
the little Haruno came over to her, arms loaded down with heavy, thick books, all about the shinobi techniques, life, and thier rules.
Itachi raised an eyebrow at all the titles. 'It seems Okaasan wasn't kidding.'
they then dragged thier purchases back to the Uchiha main household, and then to Sakura's room. Mikoto helped her put everything away, then left her with a wink to 'have fun with her saturday'. whatever that meant. she was going to crack open those new books and read the day away on her comfy new bed, and take a nice hot shower after that.
she picked out one, 'Basics of jutsu types and the History of,' and she started reading it.
after three hours of nothing but reading while switching positions, her stomach grumbled. since she was almost done with the heavy reading she preffered to the light kind she had to do at the Academy, she tried ignoring it.
Grooooooooooowl.
she placed a hand on her rumbling stomach. not good. wasn't it around dinnertime...? she'd completely missed out on lunch. she hopped off her bed, landing as silently as a cat. then she stared blankly at her feet. shouldn't that have made a clicking noise, or something? she then shook her head. She probably had quite a bit of training back in Ame. maybe her family almost killed her during training! or if they were too strong and cocky, she wouldn't blame the Amean people for hating them.
She was surprised Fugaku even allowed shoes on in the house. She supposed it might have something to do with having two boys and breakables around, or maybe it's just too bothersome to do it. he didn't mind it when everyone else kept thier sandals on, and even to Sakura it was a possibility that it was chilly inside the house. which was an oddity in itself, really. Since it was rapidly turning to summer outside. It was probably some kind of internal heating that could also be for cooling.
she walked up to her door after silent contemplation- and she'd smoothed out the wrinkled bed as she had been thinking- so she surveyed her room. clean. perfectly clean, and organized. Organization was more than just cleanliness to her. It meant that she could take care of herself without any outside help... she stopped that train of thought right there. from now on, Organization was organization. nothing more, but nothing less. She had Mikoto-san to help take care of her now, and she was eternally grateful. even though she could take care of herself, did not nessecarily mean that she wanted too. oh, heavens no! she hated being completely alone for long time periods. almost as if she'd been forced to edure it before without any choice in the matter.
she shook her head as she had been standing right in her doorway, staring blankly ahead for who knows how long. She really needed to stop that.
she padded quietly along to the kitchen, and smelled a curry of some kind being prepared. her mouth watered slightly. it smelled delicious, and spicy. she also smelled the faint aroma of white rice being boiled and some tea to go along with the meal wafting from the kitchen.
she peeked in inconspiculously, to see Mikoto stirring the curry. "Mikoto-san? do you need help?" the rosette asked quietly.
"Hai, Hai, Sakura-chan. could you watch the tea for me? the food's almost done." the ravenette woman smiled. the small girl nodded then went over to the tea, using a short stool to be able to reach the teapot.
soon it was screaming with the steam escaping, and Sakura took it off the burner. Mikoto enlisted the help of Itachi for carting the plates out to the table- plus a plate of raw tomatoes, probably Sasuke's, she reasoned, as the boy loved those red fruits- and she carried the tea and the plates out. the chopsticks and other utensils were already set the pot onto the table, and then Mikoto smiled.
"go ahead, Sakura-chan, you pour the tea while I serve the food." she guestured to the pot of steaming hot tea with sugar already added, and the girl nodded.
she picked up the tea and with silent footsteps poured it into each small cup perfectly, just as Fugaku entered. he watched the careful way she did the task, and then when she sat down the teapot. for all they knew, it was her first time of pouring tea for so many people, and not to mention the pot was slippery and had no handholds on it whatsoever. it was also not insulated well, so the outside would have been extremely hot as well.
he looked to Mikoto, then to the small Haruno girl staring at the ground. "Haruno-san." she looked up at him, but not in the eyes, like many would have. She obviously subconsiously remembered how to act around powerful people. "I will start your training in one week. Train on your own, because you both need the exercise, and to polish up on your skills."
she nodded and bowed her head slightly. "Hai, Fugaku-sama."
he raised an eyebrow. he'd basically insulted her strength, and she was intelligent enough to know it. "It will begin with a fight between you and I, to determine your strength."
she nodded again, but this time silently.
they soon sat down to dinner.
"Sakura-neechan?" Sasuke asked, poking her arm.
"Hai, Sasuke-chan?" she asked, turning her head toward him.
"Can you explain what Sensei told us in class today? I didn't understand. he was talking too fast." the little boy rubbed his head.
she smiled faintly at him, to reassure him. he brightened. "Hai, Sasuke-chan. He was just trying to make me look weak, he was staring at me the entire time he was going on about jutsu techniques. And I think he's so bent on getting me out of there, it is inturrupting classtime. I will have to have a short conversation with him later..." she trailed off.
Itachi looked to her. "Adults of the village don't like you much, do they?" he asked flatly.
"Iie. no matter how invisible I try to be, they think I'm a show-off and a fake. they also don't trust me..." she saddened slightly, then brightened. "but it's alright. as long as I get to be a kunoichi." she then turned back to her food. that was the most she'd talked all day.
she finished, then looked to Mikoto. she nodded to say she was went into the kitchen and scrubbed the dish clean of the delicious curry and rice, and her cup clean of tea residue. After that she hopped off the stool- she was MUCH too short- and she went to her room. maybe she could train a little after she explained the sensei's words to Sasuke.
she retrieved her new katana, and unsheathed it outside, balancing it in one hand, it fit like a glove and was balanced in her palm. it felt... natural, almost, to hold this weapon. perhaps she'd trained with one before. all she knew was that simply holding the blade made her slightly happier and made her feel slightly less vulnerable, even with her mask down.
she took a cautious look around, then twirled it carefully in her hand. she looked to a training dummy. 'It couldn't POSSIBLY hurt...right?'
Inner grinned. 'Go for it!' It seemed Inner had lost her memories as well. she felt slightly disturbed when nothing else happened after that, but shook it off. Inner was the only one besides her consiousness in her mind. nobody else was there...right? she hoped not. she padded silently over to the dummy, and then gave a short stab to the stomach area of it. she twirled and dodged, imagining it coming to life and attacking her, imagining a real fight as she skillfully slashed at the training dummy, until it's sawdust stuffing was spilling out onto the ground, and it's head was laying at her feet.
she snapped out of the happy feeling she'd had, then looked around again before sheathing her blade. she felt pleased with herself. happier now, even. she quickly strolled away from the area, not wanting anyone to know her skills.
Itachi came to the dummy and tilted his head, and saw Sakura walking away. "No...it couldn't have been her. she hasn't trained with the katana yet..." he muttered to himself, then replaced the dummy with one he had been bringing to practice on anyway. he still had doubt in his mind. They knew next to nothing about her past, after all.
she quickly went to the prch right outside the living room, and Sasuke came barreling out. "Sakura-nee! Sakura-nee!" He called childishly as he grabbed onto her in a glomp, sending her a few steps back.
"Hai, Sasuke-chan?" she smiled at him.
"What did the teacher say?" he smiled back, and she sighed. this would take awhile.
"Alright. the basic notion of what he said was 'Jutsu is based around chakra; spiritual and physical energy we shinobi combine into a energy force we force through our tenketsu points with handsigns. boar, fire, horse, and rabbit are just a few of the more commonly known ones, and many jutsus start or end with them. Chakra has element types that determine what type of jutsu would come naturally to you. Fire, water, wind, lightning, air, and also there are other types more suited to genjutsu types, and other sorts of ninjutsu. even Kinjutsu users' chakra has to be molded and used in a certain way to be fully effective. as you get older, you'll notice that your chakra might adhere to more than one type of chakra. but some chakra doesn't adhere to one specific range or types, and it's very rare. it can be molded into any jutsu ever concieved. However, the person has to have almost inuman chakra control to do so.'" she finished off, and Sasuke let it sink in for a few minutes, and then he nodded and gave a bright smile.
"Arigatou Sakura-neechan!" he then went barreling off, back into the house for some reason. probably to play with Mikoto or something.
the rosette shook her head then her mind wandered back to the book she'd been reading. she really wanted to get back to it, so she quickly- but instinctively quietly- made her way up to her room and picked it up again. she layed back on her pillow, and grinned at the section she got to. the history and techniques of Genjutsu, and even Kinjutsu.
she read through the last two hundred pages of the book in a shorter amount of time than she would've thought possible, but then wandered into her closet to put it back onto the shelf. she looked to a chest of drawers pushed up against the wall, and opened the bottom drawer, and her eyes widened. it was full- and I mean FULL- of underwear and undershirts. she closed the drawer and opened the next. it was full of the skintight shorts and shirts, and all the mesh was there. she opened the top drawer, and she smiled. her masks, extra gear, and excess scrolls were there. including all her technique scrolls.
she looked to the top of the dresser- using a short stepping stool Mikoto had the foresight to put in there for the short girl- and saw the sets of shuriken, kunai, her new black gear pouches, her tiny napsack with everything neatly packed, and the woman had even snuck in three packages of chakra and food pills- and even a bottle of soldier pills.
she smiled warmly. 'She's so nice...' she exited the large closet, shutting off the light, and padded into the sparkling clean bathroom. she turned the shower on, and then as soon as the tempature was nice and warm, she stripped then hopped in.
she scrubbed herself clean with the shampoo and soap on the built-in shelves. she then let the warm water course over her face, as she closed her eyes and just let herself grin like a idiot. she felt great, safe, and warm, but she snapped out of it and shut off the water, then dried herself, and slipped into a pair of black underwear and a loose tanktop made of soft, green cottony material, then drifted off to sleep.
K.L.K- I know, I know. it's long, it's overdue, and you're all pissed at me for taking so long.
Sakura- well... she's busy...
K.L.K- yup. I have three upcoming choir events I must attend, two in one day, a contest where I have to sing two songs back-to-back, and not to mention damn state testing. and when THAT'S over on monday, we're going to start preparing for Highschool. Oh. (dryly) YAY.
Sakura- (rolls eyes)
K.L.K- and the funny thing is, I already had the sixth chapter started, but I can adapt the old version into the seventh chapter and have no trouble. I'm trying to work on my doujinshi skills too, but that's during school. and I have some holiday fics that are long overdue- sorry no easter ones- that I will have up as soon as I can.
Kakashi- riiiiiiiiight.
K.L.K- (narrows eyes and holds a bottle of windex threateningly) do you REALLY want to test me right now Hatake?
Kakashi- nope! (hides behind Anko) what in hell got you so pissy?
Anko- (blink, blink) I'm gone. (ninja poof away!)
Kakashi- damn. I am exposed! (runs into his room and shuts the door)
K.L.K- (blinks) okaaay then... please review!