When Sakura Haruno was born, the first thing her parents noticed about her was her hair. Little tufts of pink stood up from her head, combined with her reddened skin and newborn's scrunch face to make her look like... well, neither could say what she looked like, other than adorable.

"Maybe she'll be a ninja." her father said, his voice full of hope.

Unusual hair and eye color, pink for instance, were the earliest signs of the chakra capacity needed to become a ninja. Who wouldn't want something like that for their daughter? After all, they lived in a hidden village and the ninja were its elite, respected and near-worshipped by most of the civilian population.

Sakura's mother was less enthusiastic. "Perhaps." Her husband was a merchant. He saw only the power and prestige the ninja wielded but her aunt had been among their number and the new mother was well aware of the responsibility and the danger that went hand in hand. "If so, it must be her choice."

"Of course dear, of course."

Both parents smiled, content to let the future come when it was ready. For now, they were happy.

~ U ~

Three months later, it was October tenth. That was the night the Fourth Hokage died, the night the Village Hidden in the Leaves lost its beloved leader and heard the Fox's scream.

They were untrained civilians, as far from chakra sensitive as it was possible to get. Even so, the couple could feel the malice in that cry. It drove them to their knees, whimpering in pain and fear. Eventually, the awful feeling passes and they are free to move again. Their first thought is for their daughter. During the worst of it, she hadn't made a sound. They're both terrified, afraid they know why. Her father lowers his shaking hand, holds it just above her too-still face.

Three seconds, that's all it takes, but to her mother it's an eternity.

"She's breathing." he announces, relief washing through the both of them.

Without further discussion, the two leave their home in search of medical help. Breathing she may be, but their daughter is still far too still, too silent.

~ U ~

Six months later and their daughter is still silent. She's still too young to expect speech but the happy giggles, the childish noises, even simple crying... They worry for her. She doesn't seem to move much either, barely crawls when she should be struggling to walk.

It is not chakra capacity that determines one's suitability to be a medic-nin but control. Sensitivity to the ebb and flow of chakra is what makes a healer and their numbers were devestated that night. The Leaf is now forced to rely almost entirely on its civilian doctors. They can barely cope with the routine requirements of the ninja force's daily training injuries, far less mission casualties or the civilians' lesser issues.

A case like Sakura's, one lacking an obvious threat to life or limb... It's simply not a priority.

Her parents cope in different ways.

Her father throws himself into his work. Rarely home, he spends long hours in contract negotiations, inspecting merchandise and seeking out new trade opportunities. Unspoken is his desperate hope that if he succeeds, if he earns enough wealth, enough influence, enough power in any form...

Someone must be able to save his little girl.

His mother takes a different path. She spends all of her time with their daughter. Into the market when she shops for ingredients to make a dinner her husband won't be home to eat, out to the wall where the village's ninja work to remove the lingering signs of damage inflicted that night, she even takes her daughter along when she visits her friends at the public bath or their homes.

Others think she's trying to pretend nothing is wrong with the too-quiet girl. In truth, she's desperately searching, hoping to find the right stimulus.

Something must be able to wake her daughter up.

This day is a rare occasion, the family ventures out together. Today, the Acting Hokage will don the hat and robes, take the public oath and become the Fifth Hokage in law as well as fact. Her mother hopes the light and noise, the pageantry of the occasion will do the trick. Her father hopes to make contacts among the village's new bureaucracy, perhaps even to be named as a guild representative himself and join the civilian council that is rumored to be forming.

As dusk approaches, when fireworks light the sky, the Fifth reaches the climax of his acceptance speech. He does not promise that the Leaf will be rebuilt, that things will go back to the way they were. Instead, he vows the Leaf will soon be stronger than ever. They pay no attention to the vision he describes, of a Leaf that is feared across the Elemental Nations.

Sakura is laughing.

It takes long minutes for their joy-filled tears to subside enough for words. "You were right. She will be a ninja."

Her father shakes his head. "If it's what she wants. Anything she wants, I'll get it for her if she asks."

~ U ~

In the end, it isn't up to her or them.

Sakura is eleven months old when they're finally able to see a qualified medic-nin. She can talk now, a little, even walk and run. Sometimes. The man doesn't seem worried as they explain their fears, doesn't seem much of anything.

He has long hair, brown and straight. His skin is pale though not as pale as his eyes. They don't have any color at all, not even the pupils. They might have thought him blind if not for the confidence with which he moves around the exam room.

"Your daughter's condition is not unique, though her's is an unusually severe case." He pauses, considering. "Imagine staring into a bright light, the sun or an open flame. When you looked away, you'd have spots in your vision. If you looked too long, you might even be blinded for a time.

"Your daughter's coils... Are you familiar with the theory behind chakra manipulation?" Neither knows more than rumors or common superstition. "Then simply know that your daughter's chakra system is unusually sensitive. The... The night the..." They know which night he means, don't blame him for his reluctance to speak of it directly. "After exposure to that, the part of Sakura that interacts with her chakra is blinded, temporarily. Instinctively, anyone with access to chakra uses it to augment their bodies, to assist in movement, as well as muscular and neural development. The... withdrawal from that is the reason for her previous inactivity. She's already begun the process of recovery and it should be complete within a year."

"So she'll get better?" her father asks.

Her mother speaks before the medic can answer. "She'll be normal?"

The man gives a severe smile. "Sakura clearly has the potential to be a remarkable ninja, she'll never be normal. But yes, she will be healthy."

Healthy. That's the only word that Sakura's parents really hear, the only one they care about. They should have paid more attention to the one's that followed, the well practiced speech explaining that she'll be automatically enrolled in special classes and, eventually, the Shinobi Academy to be followed by a mandatory term of service not less than ten years.

They're just happy that their daughter will continue to run and laugh and smile.

~ U ~

At five, Sakura is still different from other children, quiet and shy.

Her parents worry, sometimes, but only discuss it when they think she won't know. They don't want to worry their little girl. Every day, they're reassured when she smiles at them or chatters about how much she enjoys her classes, especially History of the Village and Shinobi/Civilian Interaction. They know that every parent feels the same but, even so, they're convinced that their daughter is special, a genius.

They're correct, of course. Sakura isn't just bright or intelligent, she's brilliant. She sees everything that goes on around her and remembers all of it, even the things she doesn't understand yet, a category that shrinks every day. The girl doesn't know why, not exactly, but she sees the concern in her parents' faces when she mentions that she's lonely, doesn't have any friends. The pride and happiness when she tells them she got a perfect score on a test or that she enjoyed a given lecture is just as obvious.

Is it any wonder then that the descriptions Sakura gives her mother and father are... somewhat slanted? They're true, of course. Sakura loves her parents and would never lie to them. Even so, she makes sure to dwell on the kind words of her teachers and avoids mentioning the petty cruelties of her classmates. They'd much rather be told that she's being moved up to a higher reading group than that she's always the first one eliminated when the class plays Hide and Seek or Protect the Fortress.

That's why she's so excited today. She has a question to ask and she's certain it'll make them happy. "Mommy, Daddy? I... uh, I made a friend today. Is it okay if she has dinner with us?"

Her mother almost drops the plate she'd been cleaning. Her father is the first to speak though. "Of course Little Flower. What's your new friend's name? How did you meet her?"

Sakura ducks her head as she smiles. "Ino, her names Ino." (Yamanaka, she doesn't add. They might be nervous that a daughter of one of the most famous ninja families in the village is interested in her.) "She goes to school with me." (She's in the ninja only class, not Sakura's mixed civilian/ninja one.) "She... uh, she helped me when I was having an argument with some of the other girls on the playground today." (They'd been making fun of her, called her stupid because she never talked and a teacher's pet because she got a perfect score on the Uchiha/Senju Conflict test. The logic escaped Sakura but it'd still hurt.) "She's really brave and pretty and she always knows the right thing to say and everyone at school likes her! She's great!" (She's everything Sakura isn't.)

"Okay honey. Any friend of yours is always welcome here." Her mother is smiling as she answers.

Sakura leaves the kitchen and opens the front door where Ino's already waiting. It'd been the other girl's idea. She'd even worked out a plan for what to do if Sakura's parents had said no so that they'd have to change their mind when they found out she was right there.

"Hello Mr. and Mrs. Haruno. I'm Ino, pleased to meet you!" she says happily.

~ U ~

At eight, Sakura is moved from the mixed school to the Shinobi Academy. She's done the research, knows what this means. Four years before she'll be able to see her parents again, four years before she can go home and four years with a dedicated training partner that she'll have to share her life with. Sakura's never been so scared of anything in her life. When she is shown her room, the tiny, bare place where she'll spend all of her time outside of training and classes, she's so happy to learn that her training partner is none other than Ino Yamanaka that she cries.