Answers to my Reviewers:

Poppy Grave Dreams: I'm glad you liked it. I want to keep my readers on their toes.

Reign of Sorrow: *author salutes* Aye Aye Cap'n.

Clack: Oh, I didn't know that. I did know that Shikamaru is smarter than the both of them, but I really thank you for that piece of information and I'll make sure to remember that as I write my chapters.

HjLostDreams: Hi, thanks for your review. And yes, I was disappointed in canon - especially with how Team 7 was trained. I mean, Kakashi is considered to be one of Konoha's elite soldiers and yet he couldn't train his team better? The same could be said about Jiraiya's training of Naruto; it honestly didn't make any sense that he only got a little more badass. But in answer to your questions: I will be keeping Team 8, Team 10 and Team Gai the same level that they were in cannon, thank you though for pointing that out. Now about their affinities - Naruto will be a Wind/Water type at first then he'll learn Earth, Sasuke will only have two: Fire and Lightning and Sakura will learn Earth and then Water. Okay now about Naruto's physical capabilities, they are above everyone else's but since he was sabotaged in the Academy his taijutsu is horrible thus his low physical scores. No, he doesn't know his parents yet but he will soon. Finally, about Sasuke, I admit that his is a smart ninja but as a prodigy? No. Compared to his brother he's not, but he is talented I'll have to give him that.

Noxy the Proxy: Very well Sage-san, your patience is rewarded by this latest chapter. Enjoy.

Guest: Thank you, I'm so glad you do.

Bribright91: Their training is that intense because I figure that Kakashi would train his team in a similar manner to how he trains himself (in my fiction anyway). But yeah, I wonder if anyone had an idea of what Sakura's secret was...Anyway, I hope this chapter is as good as the last one.

AnimeLuver778: You needn't wait any longer, Sakura's secret is revealed in this chapter! I do hope it was worth the wait...Anyway, please Enjoy.

Chapter 4

Disclaimer: I DO NOT OWN NARUTO! If I did…*the author sighs dramatically* let's just say, it would be VERY different…Enjoy

WARNING! THERE MIGHT BE SOME CONFRONTING CONTENT TO SOME PEOPLE WITHIN THIS CHAPTER - THERE ARE IMPLICATIONS OF ABUSE!

"A friend is someone who knows all about you and still loves you." - Elbert Hubbard

Last Time on Scarred

This routine was disrupted the very next day as a disturbing secret of Sakura's would end up shaking their team dynamics to their very foundations.

"Sakura! That's enough!" Kakashi's voice lashed out like a whip, the harsh tone getting his only female student to back down from her verbal and physical attack on Naruto, who had not 5 minutes before had said that Sasuke had gotten a fact wrong on an evasive manoeuvre he was explaining. But before Naruto could even clarify on what he was talking about, Sakura had pounced on the chance to berate the boy, she had screamed at Naruto that 'Sasuke-kun was right' and that since Naruto was 'the dead last' he had no right to correct the Uchiha. The kunoichi had continued on this vein of words until she had finally lashed out and hit Naruto right on the head, causing Kakashi's already ice thin patience to finally snap. Sasuke during all this was watching from the sidelines, observing the drama that was unfolding before him with a blank mask.

Sakura seemed to shrink in front of her teacher, realising that she had gone too far this time. Her teacher's next words just hit those facts right home. "I have tolerated your criticizing of Naruto for long enough but I have had it up to here with you yelling at him every time he does or says something. The fact is Sakura that neither Sasuke nor yourself are right all the time, so if Naruto sees something that we've missed then he has the right to bring it to our attention but he shouldn't have to walk on eggshells around you simply because you don't like what he says."

"But Sensei-"

"No Sakura, I don't want any excuses. If Naruto said something that you found to be wrong then all you had to do was calmly bring it to our attention and explain your reasoning, not scream at him just because he contradicted Sasuke. From what I've seen, since Naruto has gotten on his team he hasn't done anything to you to warrant this type of behaviour. Now, besides wanting to yell at Naruto, was there any real reason for you to start in on Naruto like that?"

The silence that followed told Kakashi all he need to know. "Sakura, I'm tired of you acting like an immature brat that's playing ninja instead of the certified genin of Konoha that you know you are. So, either you get serious about being a kunoichi that treats her team-mates with same amount of respect that they treat you or you will no longer be on this team. Am I understood?"

Sakura was shocked to say the least, half the time she didn't realise that what she was doing to Naruto was wrong. She used to do it all the time at the Academy and the teachers never scolded her for going off at Naruto. But obviously Kakashi-sensei was different, so unless she changed her attitude and got serious she could lose her ninja career over this. Knowing when to admit her wrongs, she meekly said, "I understand Kakashi-sensei, I'll do better I promise."

Kakashi held his judgement in reserve, aware of the fact that actions speak louder than words. He'll be waiting and watching Sakura, waiting for her to prove that she means what she's saying. "Very well, prove that you mean that to me Sakura and I'll believe you." Getting an affirmative nod in response to his words, Kakashi let the subject go as he turned to address all of his students as one, "Right then, we'll do our meditations and that will be all for today."

It was a half-an-hour later and after Kakashi had called out that training was over for the day did Sakura decide to speak up, "Um Sensei, could we do some more training? It's not 5PM yet."

Kakashi looked at the girl, surprised. Sakura was usually the first one gone once he called out that their day was over, his first thought was she trying to prove she was getting serious but no, something was off with the cherry blossom of Team 7. "If you really want to Sakura but it's up to Naruto and Sasuke." Kakashi turned to said boys, "Well, do you two want to keep training?"

"Hn."

"What the teme said."

Chuckling at the response, Kakashi allowed his three genin to continue to train as he watched over them. Leaning back into a nearby tree, Kakashi watched his three student's three-way spar with sharp eyes as his mind was brought back to the change in the relationship between the two boys. From what he had heard about the boys in the Academy, his otōuto had considered Sasuke to be a bitter rival whereas Sasuke could care less about the boy. But now that Naruto had calmed down and allowed a little of his real personality to show, Sasuke had actually become more receptive and thus the two boys had a tentative friendship in progress with their team-work getting stronger as the days passed. He'd even seen it in action when the two had needed to work together, they didn't even need to speak in order to communicate to each other. It was something he had only seen in experienced teams that have worked together for a long time.

The first generation of the Ino-Shika-Cho team being a prime example.

Shifting his mind out of an experienced team's capabilities, Kakashi watched his female student, trying to get a glimpse of what she was trying to hide but then, 'Gotcha!'

Kakashi straightened minutely as he spotted a large day-old bruise on Sakura's arm, it was hiding just underneath her sleeve but that particular bruise alone raised alarm bells in his head considering that their last sparing session was 2 days ago. A bruise that fresh shouldn't be there in the first place and as if on an domino effect, now that Kakashi had some inkling of what he was looking for things that he had dismissed before now made sense. A telling wince there and a few more hand-shaped bruises that were weren't supposed to be there but were almost covered by cloth revealed themselves to his trained eye and the supporting fact that Sakura wanted to avoid going home a little longer told him all he needed to know. Not saying anything, Kakashi waited until it was 5'o clock and then stopped the training genin and sent them on their way.

Kakashi followed his female student, watching as Sakura took several long detours and made a couple of stops as she walked home. It was almost an hour and half later that Sakura finally even came close to her house and it took her another 10 minutes to even enter the actual building. Waiting another 15 minutes to see if Sakura would leave the house, Kakashi decided then to make his move. Knocking on the front door, Kakashi waited for someone to answer as he listened with chakra enhanced hearing in order to find out what was going on in the household.

"-pid, fucking stubborn little bitch, how DARE you speak back to me?!" was screamed in what seemed to be a middle-aged male voice, "I said I wanted sex and I'll get it! So get up there right now or I'll make it even more painful for you." There was a beat of silence before, "Do it now Mebuki or Sakura will have another little accident."

A middle-aged female voice answered in a timid manner. "O-okay, but please d-don't you lay a hand on Sakura, s-she's done nothing wrong. So, p-please Jaakuna* do whatever you want to me but leave my baby girl out of it, please..."

Kakashi knocked again once the one-sided screaming match had abated but this resulted in the male's voice start yelling once again.

"SAKURA! Get your fat arse down here and answer the bloody door!"

There was a beat of silence before a "Please go and do what he asked Sakura." was said in a tired manner.

"Yes Mom." He heard the quiet answer over the renewed argument and a minute later his only female student opened the door. Her widened eyes would have been comical in any other situation but now it was just saddening.

"Sakura, we need to discuss your parents, can you talk now?" His tone was quiet as he asked and when his student didn't answer right away he waited patiently for her response.

It was almost a full minute later before she said, "I can't right now Kakashi-sensei, Jaakuna wants me to help around the house."

"Then we'll talk tomorrow, before training starts." Seeing her panic and guessing it had to do with the boys he added, "I'll make sure that Sasuke and Naruto arrive a later time, okay?"

A small nod was his answer before Sakura closed the door. His questions to Sakura's home life were now answered and that made his task vitally clear - to get Sakura out of that house.

It was the next day and Sakura could be seen pacing around Team 7's training ground, nervously playing with her hair and biting her lip as she thought up and dismissed possible scenarios about the outcomes of Kakashi-sensei's talk. She had absolutely no clue how her teacher had found out about her abusive home, she had been so careful about it not showing. She made sure all bruises were covered with either make-up or clothing, she always had a story at hand to explain away her injuries and she also made sure that she never gave any physical indication of her home life to anyone, not even to Ino and considering that the Yamanaka Clan specializes in the mind arts and in reading body language that was an impressive feat.

A few more minutes passed slowly as Sakura waited for her Sensei to arrive, her hidden insecurities skyrocketing as her nervous energy grew. But it was the next time that she turned around to continue her pacing that Sakura saw her teacher just standing there, a few meters away and with nothing being given away by his body language. When Kakashi-sensei didn't make any indication that he was going to move towards her Sakura cautiously started to walk over to her teacher, her fears about what her teacher was going to say or do was starting to make her body shake. However once she reached her teacher, all he did was crouch down to her level, look at her and after a tense minute had passed he reached out towards her arm with only two fingers lifted up her sleeve, revealing the sickly yellow coloured hand-shaped bruise that covered almost all of her upper arm. Kakashi-sensei's blank mask finally shattered as he saw the horrible mark, revealing his sadness and anger at the situation.

"Oh Sakura..."

The amount of concern she heard in those two words broke her already fragile control as she burst out crying and clung to the closest thing she could, her teacher's chest. Feeling awkward as he held his crying student, he waited until Sakura's tears had abated before he gently asked about her home situation.

Still sniffling, Sakura answered her teacher in fits and starts, "M-my Mom remarried a-about a year ago to her b-boyfriend Jaakuna. They've been t-together for almost 2 and a half years now."

"What about your father?" Asked Kakashi, wondering where the man was in all of this.

"P-Papa was k-killed four years ago on an r-routine courier mission after he was ambushed by some ninja from an unknown village." Fresh tears streamed down her face as recalled her dead parent, the loss still fresh even though four years had passed since then.

"Sakura, can you tell me when this Jaakuna started to get violent towards you and your mother?"

Wiping away her tears Sakura shakily said, "W-well, he sometimes h-hits mom when he comes home from a bad business deal, he used to travel a lot, b-but he's started to scream at her after they got married, he tells her that she's no good, that all our problems are her fault and it only got worse when he got laid off from his job. He's started to drink heavily a-and he yells at me and calls me all these horrible things...I j-just can't deal with it anymore Sensei..."

Hugging his student a little tighter as she sobbed, Kakashi held on to his student as she poured out her sorrow, grief and fear. It was a long wait but when Sakura finally pulled back, her tears used up and wiped away, Kakashi spoke in a calm manner, "Sakura, what Jaakuna is doing is wrong and it not your fault nor is it your mother's."

"B-but Sensei it is my-"

"It is not your fault." And every time Sakura tried to dispute it, he kept repeating that sentence, telling her over and over until it sunk in - that it wasn't her fault. 10 minutes passed before Sakura's objections ceased and after letting her calm down, Kakashi started to talk to her more in detail about what was happening in her home and about the help her mother can get. After discussing the various options available to the both of them Kakashi finally decided to broach the subject of the girl's team-mates.

"One more thing Sakura, do you want to tell Naruto and Sasuke about this?" The unadulterated horror that appeared on her face and the violently shaken head in response just made his heart bleed for his student all over again. He softly asked, "Why not?"

"Because they'll think I'm weak and that I don't have what it takes to be a kunoichi and-and..." Sakura's sentence broke off in a sob, her body starting to shake from repressing her tears horrible visions of her team-mates taunting her about her home life.

"Sakura...you're being silly." Kakashi said in a calm and gentle manner, he continued ignoring her shocked expression, "Think of who your team-mates are. Naruto - who has been treated like a leper by the almost the entirety of the village all of his life and then there's Sasuke - who lost his whole clan to a madman. If anything, your two team-mates are probably the only ones your age that can even come close to relating to your situation." Still seeing the hesitation on his student's face, he added, "Sakura I promise you that you won't lose your team over this."

Nodding hesitantly, Sakura sat back comfortably into the grass (in the 45 minutes that the two had been talking, both had sat down for comforts sake) and waited as her teacher made a clone and sent it to get the boys. 10 minutes passed before Sakura could hear the two boys approaching. Once Naruto and Sasuke had exited the tree line their gaze zeroed in on their team-mate, taking note of her slightly messy hair, splotchy face and red rimmed eyes. Naruto moved slightly faster at seeing the signs of Sakura crying and thus he was the first to reach her, Sasuke not too far behind.

"Sakura are you alright? You look like you've been crying...wait, has someone upset you? If they have I'll make them regret it..."

"Hn."

"Exactly right Sasuke, do you have any ideas?"

"Hn."

"Hmmm...Good, good - torture does have its benefits but anything else we could use?"

Sakura watched incredulously as her team-mates discussed some more painful punishments that they could use in order to get back at her so-called attackers and all because they thought someone had made her cry. The amount of care they had for her even when she hadn't been the easiest team-mate since they first became a team made her heart swell and right then and there she promised herself that she would protect these boys in front of her until her last dying breath.

The thought got her to start crying again, but she was eternally grateful that she had been put on a team that cared for her like she was family. Sakura threw herself at her team-mates, clutching at the both of them as she cried in happiness. After several minutes of awkward comfort from Naruto and Sasuke, Sakura spilled out her abuse at home and like Kakashi-sensei had promised, once she told them everything they told her that they weren't going anywhere and that they'll be sticking by her no matter what...then they went back to discussing revenge. Sakura's smile was blinding as she held her team-mates just that little bit tighter.

Kakashi sat back as his team connected, watching over them for the rest of the day as the bonds of Team 7 grew that much stronger.

TO BE CONTINUED...

A/N: Well, that was something...I honestly don't have anything to say really, I mean I knew this chapter might be confronting for some readers and I hope I haven't upset anyone by writing this and if I have, I deeply apologise for offending anyone.

I struggled to write this chapter actually, I've never experienced domestic abuse and I'm lucky enough that none of my family or friends have either. But my heart does go out to those who have experienced abuse and you all have my support and sympathy - man or woman.

Now, that's all I'm going to write/say right now because if I don't stop my whole life story will spill out of me and I'm not ready for that yet.

Anyway...'95 is out.

NOTE: *Jaakuna - means malevolent.