Special Thanks to: My Perfect Era, .Love, pinkypinkypinky, and Kaelin The Black Swan!

Chapter 3: Hiroko-sensei

Sakura woke up to the sound of her alarm. She got up and hiked to the river and washed her face. The cool water against was cool and refreshing. She changed into a pair of black kakis and put on a lavender t-shirt with a musical note on it with long black and white striped sleeves attached, and a pear of black sandals. She took off her forehead protector and shoved it into her pocket. She wore a black ribbon in replacement for where her forehead protector used to be. She grabbed her wallet from her bag and put her clothes away before rousing Naruto.

"Naruto, Naruto!" Sakura lightly shook Naruto.

Naruto jumped and instantly picked up a kunai from his pocket and took a battle stance. "Oh Sakura-chan, it's only you," he said in a tired expression.

"You are not usually this alert," Sakura said suspiciously, "what's wrong?"

"Oh relax Sakura-chan, I just had a bad dream, I was on the battle field so… yeah," Naruto said scratching the back of his head.

"Okay you keep watch on Sasuke-kun while I go teach the children," she ordered.

"Don't you want to have breakfast?"

"No it's okay Naruto, I'll grab something to eat on my way to school, besides you need to eat too," Sakura said reassuringly, "besides, I will need to buy more food on my way back here."

"Okay Sakura-chan, see you later!"

"Bye Naruto."

Sakura entered the village and headed to the sweets shop and bought a few bags of the sweets that every kid likes. She bought an apple from the local grocery store and started to much on it before she heard, "Ohayo Sasuke-san."

She instantly masked her chakra and dove to hide behind a building. She checked to make sure he hadn't seen her. He hadn't, thank god. 'That was a close one,' Sakura thought panting and slightly trembling from fear of almost being discovered.

She walked to school keeping up with Sasuke, except that she walked in the shadows. She noticed that so many people knew him and that he was viewed as a nice man, or young man from most of the old ladies in the small town of Flame. His children were adored as polite little angels. When they reached the school Emi gave her father a hug and Sasuke ruffled Sora's hair. "Ja Ne Tou-san!" They cheered waving their hands. That's when Sakura noticed something; they had green eyes, emerald green eyes, like hers. It was odd, very odd. The color of the streaks and the roots of the girl's hair were a light pink. Sakura paid it no mind though. She said that the mother could have streaked the girl's hair. 'This is extremely strange, who is their mother?' Sakura thought her, knitting her eyebrows together in frustration. When suddenly Sasuke stopped and turned his direction to where Sakura was standing, he couldn't see her, but she could feel his gaze boring a hole through her back.

Sakura slowly moved her feet lightly lifting each one and placing it back down silently on the ground. She was breathing heavily, but not a sound escaped her. She was trembling all over, a bead of sweat trickled down her neck and she felt hollow, cold, and scared. She moved faster as she heard footsteps approach her slowly. Sakura safely made it to the end of the building next to the one she was formerly behind and made it around the corner just in time. She heard Sasuke's footsteps come to a stop. She instantly ran into the store nearest her and walked hurriedly to the back. Luckily it was a flower shop so she hid very well. "Oh ohayo Sasuke-chan!" The voice of an old lady greeted. Just hearing her say his name made Sakura tense up as she held her breath.

"Ohayo," he responded coolly. The tone of his voice, how it sounded, it smoothness, coolness, depth, all of its features, they made Sakura yearn to hear it more; but they also made her tense, and stiffen up. She just wished he would say her name, the way he would back when they were in Team 7.

He didn't stay long, he didn't even notice her because she was so deeply submerged behind the rows of flowers. "Ja Ne," Sasuke said, before walking away.

When she his foot steps died down she felt herself breathe again. Her heart was hammering against her chest, she felt cold sweat on her back and forehead. She had a cold hollow feeling in the pit of her stomach. Sakura decided to make a bouquet of flowers to put in her class room. When she finished putting together the bouquet she looked at it and remembered Ino. So long ago, Ino had taught her how to put together a bouquet of flowers. They were best friends, and she had ruined their friendship for the sake of one man who left her. She picked a vase and tied her bouquet together with a red ribbon, because it reminded her of Ino. She smiled sadly, Ino had moved on, because she was stronger. Ino actually grew out of her crush for Sasuke after a while. Sakura couldn't, she didn't know why she couldn't though. She had suffered so much pain, and now seeing that he had children, that Sasuke had moved on with his life, depresses her even more. She walked over to the counter and purchased her bouquet.

She walked to school and found the music room. The music room was nice and cozy. It had a circular floor rug with musical notes printed on it. There was a small chalk board on the wall at the front of the class. Little bean bag chairs littered the classroom. There was a big bean bag chair at the front with a CD and tape player on a small table next to it. There was a small storage room filled with rows and rows of instruments. The classroom was at the very back of the school it had a large window with a view of a lake and park. The park had trees all over and people having picnics. The walls of the class room had all sorts of posters. There were little cubbies at the very back of the class room. Sakura placed the vase behind the CD and tape player. She sat down in the bean bag and thought about what she had seen today and decided to call Naruto and see what he was doing.

"Nani Sakura-chan is anything wrong?" The worried voice of Naruto asked.

"No, no Naruto everything is fine," Sakura replied, "so how's Sasuke-kun doing?"

"Ahh, Sasuke, well some girl showed up out of no where, I guess she is the auntie, but I haven't gotten to see her face yet."

"You're sure it's not the mother?"

"Positive, because of the way teme talked about his wife yesterday it seems as if he would at least hug her if he saw her," Naruto replied slightly annoyed.

"So if he didn't hug her then what did he do?"

"He just stared at her and said 'it's about time you got here I have something I need to talk to you about'," Naruto said attempting to imitate Sasuke's voice and tone.

"What did the woman look like?" Sakura asked eagerly.

"I couldn't see her face or anything of her at all really," Naruto said shrugging his shoulders, even though Sakura couldn't see him. "She was wearing a hat that covered her face and an extremely high colored coat, but it wasn't an Akatsuki coat, no it was actually white, so I don't know what to think."

"Um okay, be sure to keep a-," knock, Knock, Knock, Sakura was interrupted by the sound of somebody knocking on the door.

"Come in!" Sakura called in a sweet, happy voice.

"Ohayo Hiyashi-san," the gruff voice of the principal called.

"Ohayo, umm you didn't tell me your name last time we met, sumane oyajee," Sakura said giggling nervously.

"Oh yes, I am Itaka, Hideo, founder of this educational institute," he introduced himself. "Now as you now work at this school you will be moving into the school's teacher dorms."

"How much will it cost to pay rent?" Sakura asked innocently.

"It doesn't cost anything, it's entirely free," Hideo replied.

"Arigato, Hideo-sama," Sakura bowed respectively to her new boss.

"Now your class will be at the very end of the day, clear?"

"Hai, Hideo-sama," Sakura said.

Hideo left Sakura in her room, she just plopped herself down on the bean bag and put her iPod ear buds into her ears and just sat there. She checked the battery level and then she stuck the charger into the wall and let it charge. She contacted Tsunade and told her that her plan was already in motion, and that she would be able to observe Sasuke from a safe distance.

It felt like an eternity before the little tykes finally came into the room. They all plopped themselves down on the bean bags and stared at Sakura intently. 'My name is Hiroko, Hiroko, Hiroko,' Sakura mentally prepared herself. "Koneichiwa!" She exclaimed.

"Koneichiwa!" The class chirped back enthusiastically.

"Watashi wa, Hiyashi, Hiroko desu, yorishko!" Sakura said. (Translation: My name is Hiyashi, Hiroko, nice to meet you)

Sakura proceeded with taking attendance. "So do you guys like to sing?"

"HAI! HIROKO-SENSEI!" They all cheered enthusiastically. Well almost all, Uchiha, Sora sat there with a scowl on his face.

"What's wrong Sora-kun?" Sakura asked sweetly.

"I don't like singing," he replied in a monotone.

"Aww, is there any instrument you wanna learn how to play?" Sakura asked smiling at him and looking him in the eyes.

"Yeah, I wanna learn how to play guitar. Because it is a cool instrument," Sora replied coolly.

"Okay, well, how about you,' Sakura said pointing to Emi, "what instrument do you want to play?"

"I wanna play the violin," Emi replied enthusiastically.

Sakura continued to ask what instruments all the little kids wanted to play and then she announced that they would learning a new song, called Sakura. When she sang it to them they all fell silently, they could barely breathe, the beauty of her voice was incredible. Sakura's voice was angelic, sweet, strong, perfect really. Her voice was as smooth as crystal, as soft as velvet, as pure as liquid water, and as sweet as vanilla ice cream. Just listening to her sing made Emi wonder what her mother sounded like when she sang again. The class slowly learned a section of the long song and enjoyed themselves doing so. When the school bell rang the kids rushed to the door. "Wait a second!" Sakura said getting blocking the children's route out of the classroom.

"NANDE? Hiroko-sensei?" They all wined.

"Don't you want to have a sweet for being good in class today?" Sakura asked sweetly.

"HAI!" The kids all cheered. Well not all the kids. Yes, you guessed it, Uchiha, Sora had inherited his father's taste buds, because he just stood there with arms folded across his chest.

"Don't tell me you don't like sweets either Sora-kun," Sakura playfully asked the little boy as all the other students left.

'Wow, he is an exact replica of his father, in personality and in looks, well, had he had his father's onyx orbs, then he would have been a mini Sasuke-kun,' Sakura thought smiling.

"No Hiroko-sensei, I don't like sweets either," Sora breathed out.

"Okay then, catch," Sakura said tossing a mint to the little Uchiha.

"What's this?" Sora asked looking at Sakura inquiringly.

"Sora you BAKA! Auntie said to say thank you when somebody gave you something!" His sister Uchiha, Emi scolded hitting her brother on the head.

"Just try it, I'm sure you'll like it," Sakura urged.

Sora tossed the mint into his mouth looking up at Sakura with a bored face. The mint was slowly melting on his tongue he tasted spicy cinnamon mixed in with mint, it wasn't sweet but it tasted good. His bored expression soon turned into one of an excited five year old. "So," Sakura pressed putting her hand on her knees and leaning forward, "how does it taste?"

"It tastes good," Sora said, his eyes gleaming with delight. He earned a look from his sister and quickly added, "arigato, Hiroko-sensei."

"My pleasure Sora-kun," Sakura said smiling at the boy sweetly, looking him in the eyes. "So Emi-chan you said you wanted to learn how to play violin right?"

"H-hai, H-Hiroko-s-sensei," Emi stuttered blushing.

"Well, why don't you and Sora-kun ask Kaa-chan if you can stay after school tomorrow so that I can teach you and Sora-kun how to play violin and guitar?" Sakura offered.

The twin Uchihas looked down with saddened expressions. They didn't know who their mother was. 'Why don't you ask Kaa-chan…?' Those words echoed in the female's head. 'Watashi no Kaa-chan? I don't know who she I,' Emi thought her eyes getting watery.

"What's wrong Emi-chan?" Sakura asked the little girl in front of her. She was so fragile. Sakura felt a pang of pain in her heart, she didn't know why but seeing this girl made her feel so depressed, she wanted to do anything just to cheer her up.

"We don't know who Kaa-chan is," Sora spoke.

"Oh, I'm sorry!" Sakura said embracing the twin Uchihas. She felt so guilty, she already knew that they didn't know their mother, but she wanted to hear find out from them, so that they wouldn't suspect anything.

"I-it's o-okay, Hiroko-sensei, you didn't know," Emi told her, tears lining her fine porcelain cheeks.

When Sakura had embraced them, the twins felt all the comfort in the world. Her hug made them feel warm and tingly inside. It also made them feel nice and safe. When they broke away from her motherly embrace, they felt the magically warm shelter of her embrace leave them. Emi wiped the tears off her cheeks and grabbed Sora's hand. They departed the room saying, "See ya tomorrow Hiroko-sensei!"

"Bye! Emi-chan, Sora-kun!" Sakura called after them.

~x~x~x~x~

"Hi Sakura-chan!" Naruto greeted.

"Hi Naruto, so how was your day?" Sakura greeted back.

"Oh I got a lot to tell you, but first, what's with the bags, and how was school?" He asked pointing at the bags.

"Oh well, I bought some more instant ramen and some fruits for us to eat," Sakura said.

"Oh okay, arigato Sakura-chan," Naruto thanked her, "so ho-," Naruto stopped suddenly.

"Nani, what's wrong Naruto?" Sakura asked worriedly.

Naruto pointed to the clearing, she saw the Uchiha family under the two cherry blossom trees again. Naruto looked at her and she nodded. They cloaked themselves and went to hear their conversation.

"So how was school today?" Sasuke asked his children. He was seated on a branch roughly a meter and half above the ground, his back was again the trunk of the tree, his arms folded neatly in front of his chest.

"We have a new music teacher!" Emi instantly replied. She was sitting on the ground.

"Yeah her name is Hiroko-sensei! She wants to teach me how to play guitar!" Sora cheered, from the second Sakura tree, sitting in a manner similar to that of his father.

"Really?" Sasuke asked smirking and raising an eyebrow.

"Yeah! And she wants to teach me how to play violin!" Emi added.

"But she wants to teach us after school if that's okay with you," Sora said.

"I'll think about it," Sasuke answered.

"Ne, Tou-san, did you ever heard Kaa-chan sing?" Emi asked.

"No Emi, like I already said, I never had the chance to hear her beautiful voice, but like I said before, people who heard her voice said that she has the most amazing voice," Sasuke sighed. His children were starting to ask more and more questions about their mother.

"So what else did y-," Sasuke was cut off with joyous screams coming from his children.

"AUNTIE!" They said as they tackled the figure in the white coat.

Sasuke smiled at the sight of his happy children, he was closely looking at Emi, she reminded him so much of her mother. He wanted to see her again, but knew that it would be too dangerous for him to return to Konoha. Sakura noticed that he was staring at his daughter and guessed that he was probably thinking of the mother. She turned to look at the kids and silently gasped. Their "auntie" was, "AUNTIE AKEMI!" They cheered.

'So it was Akemi!' Naruto thought.

"So have you been good while I was gone?" Akemi asked taking of the white coat and straw travelling Japanese hat.

"HAI!" The twins nodded eagerly.

"Sasuke-sama?" Akemi looked towards Sasuke.

He just nodded. "So let's go get you guys some swings!" Akemi said.

"HAI!" The twins exclaimed, before they ran into the house.

"You know you're spoiling them," Sasuke said from the tree branch.

"Sakura and Naruto were sent on a mission, it may be a dangerous one," Akemi informed the Uchiha.

"Don't you have any more details?" Sasuke asked his eyes narrowing.

"No I don't." Akemi shook her head.

Sasuke let out an irritated sigh, "They keep on asking me about their mother."

"You knew they would start asking soon."

"Yes, I miss her, I miss her a lot, maybe we shouldn't have done what we did," Sasuke said knitting his eyebrows together.

"I didn't want to, remember?" Akemi said irritated. "You convinced me, well more like ordered me."

"Stop stating the obvious, Akemi," Sasuke said irritated.

"Auntie! We're ready to go now!" Sora called.

"I'm coming Sora-kun!" Akemi said taking her head band off from around her neck. "See ya Sasuke-sama."

'What had Akemi done for Sasuke-kun?' Sakura wondered.

Sasuke just sat on the branch and looked at the sky deep in thought. Sakura and Naruto decided to leave and go back to camp. When Sakura got back she started to pack up her stuff. "Why are you packing up Sakura-chan?" Naruto asked her.

"Because I'm going to live in the teacher's dorms the school has," she replied continuing to pack up. "I can't believe Akemi has been in contact with him all these years and didn't tell us a single thing." Sakura was infuriated. Akemi had been betraying the whole village.

"I know, huh, how could she do that to Konoha?" Naruto asked infuriated as well.

"Tomorrow we will catch her and interrogate her, we will have her work on our team," Sakura said.

"Sounds like a plan," Naruto agreed.

"See you tomorrow Naruto."

"Bye Sakura-chan."

Sakura headed towards the school and thought about what she had just heard. She needed answers, and she needed them now!