Sasuke-Sempai

Summary: The Haruno family had a miscarriage the first time they were to have a child, and when Saki Haruno becomes pregnant two years later, she gives birth to a baby girl with petal pink hair and bottle green eyes, Sakura Haruno. How does age change the Naruto time-line? How does the loss of one child, change the way one daughter is raised? Or how the little girl turns out?

Anime: Naruto

Pairing: Sasuke/Sakura

Genre: Romance/Adventure

Rating: M

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I WILL BE NINJA!

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Years passed and Saki had become protective of the little girl, her miracle child. Sakura was now four years old, but was no taller than a two year old toddler. She was reckless, always getting into trouble, and always doing the opposite of what her mother would tell her. The reason? One yellow haired, blue eyed boy could prove more inspiration than anyone else in the village hidden in the leaves.

"HAHA! YOU LOSERS!"

"Sakura, come inside sweetie..." Saki said gently, taking her daughters hand as the rambunctious trouble maker known as Naruto skid past them. Two ANBU nin chasing after him for one reason or another.

"...Fox-Kun..."

Saki sighed, watching her daughter pull away as she turned to see Naruto and what he would do this time. The boy was a good kid, and Saki knew that, but he was also a bad influence. "Sakura, inside...let's go."

"No! Fox-Kun~!"

"Huh?"

'Great...' She could see the boy doing a complete one-eighty on the nin chasing him and running between them and back up to her now crying daughter. She had heard the village ladies talking about the boy being evil or some nonsense. No matter how she looked at him, he was just trying to get attention. Apparently, some stuff had happened, and their fourth Hokage had died in sacrifice before sealing a fox of some kind inside the boy. Sakura had also heard, or at least, she'd heard that Naruto was a fox...not what was said, but that's what she heard.

"Sakura-Chan!" The blond shouted cheerfully.

Saki smiled, he really was a good kid. She watched the two nin stop behind him and stepped up. "May I ask what has the village on it's toes so early in the morning?"

"...forgive us for the intrusion, Saki. Naruto was placing graffiti all along the school and hospital walls."

"And it takes two ANBU to catch one six year old?"

"..."

"Haha, their too slow to catch me!" Naruto said from where he sat with Sakura in his lap. She was curled up against the boy as if he were her teddy bear, the same way she was with Shikamaru and Kiba. Choji always shied away from her outgoing affection and then Ino was always the one who would coddle her, instead of it being the other way around. There were other children, but they were so quiet, they never played with the other kids. Sasuke, Hinata, Shino and Neji were a few...

"Look, I will get Naruto to clean the walls, just leave him be for now."

"Saki─"

"She said to leave him..."

The nin turned and nodded, leaving Saki, Sakura and Naruto to stare at the man who'd cut one of the nin off.

"Kakashi, it's been a while, how have you been?" Kakashi looked lazily at Sakura before turning to Saki, "Better, now that Tsume isn't barking down my throat about her dog..."

"Well...they usually keep their dog's purebred...and your hunter dog...he..." Saki smiled, "He made a new litter of friends for the Inuzuka clan..."

"Yeah...I wasn't even there and I still got in trouble." He sighed, "Oh, Tsume told me to tell you to drop by the clinic. She said Kiba wants to see Sakura."

"Oh, that sounds like fun, right Sakura?"

"KIBA! My Kiba! My Kiba!"

"It's settled then...um..." Saki smiled at Naruto, "Would you like to go with us, Naruto-Kun?"

"...Nah, I have to clean up the Graffiti..." He smiled sheepishly, his left hand scratching awkwardly at the back of his head.

"Then come by later tonight, we will treat you to dinner, okay?"

"YEAH!" He helped Sakura up before taking off to clean up his mess.

"...good kid...too bad no one wants to put up with him..."

"Well...I was thinking about that...actually."

Kakashi stared in confusion at the thoughtful look on Saki's face before realization hit him. "You're going to ask if he would like to stay with you...aren't you..."

"Sakura has a large room, I could place another bed in there easily...he needs a family, Kakashi...and besides, Sakura really cares for the boy...he like a...rebellious older brother...i guess..."

"Can you really handle two kids?"

"...we will see."

Kakashi shook his head, "That's not the right answer. This isn't something you can just give up on; you need to be ready for the responsibility. Talk with Naruto, when you know you are sure..."

"Alright...ah! Hey now," She flicked him in the forehead, "What do you think you are doing acting more mature than me!"

"Just sayin'..."

She pouted, "I'll be going now..." Turning, she picked up Sakura and left.

"Kashi! Bai-bai!"

He waved to the little girl before running a hand through his silver hair and disappearing.

-x-x-x-

Saki laughed beside Tsume, watching Kiba chase her daughter around the yard with the puppies in her arms.

"Oh my, she's quick..." Tsume grinned, "She'll make for a great Kunoichi, why not start get her started in the academy?"

"I couldn't...I mean..." Saki looked away.

Tsume placed a knowing and understanding hand on her shoulder. "You need to let go of the past Hayato wouldn't want you to cage the little girl. She needs to have a life too, Saki."

"She's so little; I just don't know...four years old...seems too young."

Sakura fell forward with the puppies only to be caught by Kiba who smiled and laughed. Sakura was quick to get out of his arms before running around the boy, placing the puppies back in their pen before taking off around the house with Kiba quickly following. She was fast, but it was more her endurance, the girls' stamina was astronomical for a four year old. She didn't seem to get worn out, she wasn't as easily made tired as other kids her age, and the fact that she was four and her son who was already in the Ninja Academy was six, and still too slow for the girl two years younger than he was, that was something to be proud of...but Saki...

"I think she'd be great with some training..."

"I don't know...I don't think she wants to be a ninja. If she did...she'd tell me..."

Tsume frowned, she knew well enough that the little girl wanted to go to the academy...but Saki never paid mind to that. "I see." Tsume smiled, watching Kiba show off to the little girl as he stood on his hands in front of her. Sakura laughed, clapping her hands before copying him. Walking across the yard on her hands, Tsume laughed out at the pout on her sons face. "You're a natural Sakura! Keep it up!"

"Mom!" Kiba frowned, "You're supposed to cheer me on!"

"Come on now, don't get sore. That's no way for a boy to act!" She gave a thumbs up and a wink; watching her son sigh before chasing after the upside pinkette.

"Sakura, can you do this?" He started to run at a tree before running up three steps and flipping backwards and landing on his feet.

Sakura fell onto her back, staring at the tree before standing. "I try now!" She ran forward.

Saki moved to intervene, "Sakura! Be careful!" Tsume caught her hand. Sakura ran a few steps up but instead of flipping backwards, she fell onto her back and hit her arm on a rock. "SAKURA!" She rushed forward and picked the small four year old up. "Sakura, baby...mama is here..." She cried.

"Mama, no~" She had tears in her eyes, but she still pushed Saki away, not wanting the overbearing attention that her mother continued to shower her with, over every little cut or scratch.

"Sakura, stop it! Do you want to get hurt?"

"Saki..."

"What!"

Tsume moved closer and smile, "Let's go inside, get something to clean up the scratch."

"...right...sorry I snapped..."

"Not at all."

Kiba followed after his mother and Saki who held the struggling Sakura. "Is she alright?"

"She'll be fine." Saki smiled, placing her daughter down on the counter top while Tsume got some bandages and antiseptic spray.

-x-x-x-

Saki watched her little girl play by herself in the front yard with a ball that she would bounce off a tree only for it to roll right back to her. Naruto was in school with Kiba, Shikamaru, Chouji and the others...so even he wasn't able to play with her. Saki smiled, 'She'll thank me when she's older, when she is alive and well...while the others are risking their live everyday...'

"Saki!"

Saki looked to the left of Sakura who was waving at a blonde woman with browns eyes. "Nanako...how is Ino?"

"She's okay; she's at school right now."

'...even Ino...'

"I see,"

Nanako smiled cheerily, "I can't wait to see how Sakura does in the academy. How about you? Tsume told me yesterday how she was going to make an amazing Kunoichi when she finally goes to school."

"...that's not going to happen..."

"Hmm?" Nanako's eyes were closed; she was listening, though her mind was still thinking about Sakura once she was trained up. "Oh, you mean until she's a little older, right?" Nanako laughed, "That's understandable though. She's so young, only for, and even then...she looks younger than that. So are you putting her in school on her sixth birthday or something?"

"No..."

"Oh? Well, I suggest no later than eight...or she'll be too far behind the other students..."

"You don't get it..." Saki frowned, "You aren't listening!"

"...Saki?" Nanako's smile fell. "What don't I get? I'm listening..."

"Sakura isn't going to enter the academy...because she isn't going to become a Ninja!"

"Wha─"

"She won't train for such things! I won't let her!"

"..." Nanako frowned, "That isn't your choice to make!" She stepped forward and watched as Saki took a step back. "You can only give support, but the decision to be Ninja or not rests with your daughter! Don't think you can control her life forever, or she'll just grow up...she'll grow up hating you!"

"..." Saki looked away, "Please leave."

"Fine, but remember what I said, it's her choice, not yours."

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The next day came and once more, Saki was watching Sakura play alone with her ball. Well, she had been alone, Kakashi now sat across from her with the ball held in his hand.

"...Kakashi?"

"Lots of rumors are spreading in the village about you caging Sakura." He glanced up and watched the woman as she frowned and took note that she'd been doing that a lot lately. "What is wrong, Saki? The other day you were talking about adopting Naruto, and now I hear that you are caging Sakura in this...suffocating embrace..."

"If that's why you are here, leave."

"I'm not leaving," He picked Sakura up and placed her standing on her feet. "Sakura, do you know what this is?"

"...Kuna!"

"Close, Kunai," He said, holding the throwing knife out to the four year old. She took it with small, nimble fingers. "Now..." He held his hand up as Saki made to interrupt, walking to a tree, he took out another Kunai and in a single motion, marked an X on the tree. "Throw it there!" He told her, "as if the tree was someone bad, and that person wanted to hurt you or your mom, throw it and protect your family!"

"..."

"THROW IT!"

"No!"

Kakashi looked to Saki who brushed past him only to have him catch her wrist in his hand. "Leave her!"

"Sakura, you'll get hurt playing with those!" She said, trying to pull away from the taller, younger man. "Let me go Kakashi!"

"Not until you understand! SAKURA!"

The girls head snapped up and she stared at Kakashi's one exposed eye.

"THROW IT!"

"NO! SAKURA, PUT IT DOWN!"

"..." In one graceful move, the knife was thrown, hitting just above the X in the tree.

"..." Saki stared at the knife embedded in the tree. Her eyes wide with disbelief, "Why...Sakura, that's bad...throwing knives, is bad..."

"Saki...ask her what she wants!"

"...no..."

Sakura smiled at the familiar blonde hair that was making its way towards her. He landed before her and looked at the knife in the tree. "Whoa...Sakura, did you do that?"

She nodded sadly, "I did wrong?"

"NO WAY! THAT'S AWESOME!"

She laughed when he lifted her.

"Yes, you did good," Kakashi nodded in approval. "Kiba and Naruto are going to the academy to be a Ninja...Sakura..."

"Yeah! I'm going to be Hokage! Believe it!"

"Believe it! Believe it!" Sakura yelled out cheerfully.

Saki watched the interaction between the boy and her daughter. "..."

"Me too!" Sakura said.

"What?" Saki frowned.

"I will be Ninja too! Kiba be Ninja, Papa be Ninja, and 'Sume be Ninja!" She laughed, "Fox-Kun be Ninja!"

"Yeah, we'll be the best Ninja!" Naruto exclaimed with a fox like grin. "Believe it!"

"BELIEVE IT!"

"..." Saki sighed, 'I've lost...'

Kakashi placed an arm over her shoulder and gave a half hug, "Support her...and she'll be great..."

"My little girl..."

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Me: Here is chapter two! Hope you guys are still with me! I'll update again soon! Keep in touch, review and tell me what you think!

NEXT CHAPTER!

"Stop treating me like a baby! I'm nine now and I don't need you to baby me anymore!"

"This is nothing..."

"WATCH OUT!"

"Oh...who are you?"

"What is that supposed to mean!"

"Uncle Kakashi! Train me in a special technique!"

"I wanted to do my best...so that she wouldn't worry about me..."

"I will be a Kunoichi! The best Kunoichi Konoha has ever seen!"

"DON'T CALL ME SHORT!"

"I will never give up..."

"FIGHT ME SERIOUSLY!"

"...Hyuuga..."

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NEXT TIME

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A RIVAL IN YOU!

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