For a week the four orphans plus one puppy trekked farther and farther away from the rain village towards the battlefield, they were constantly having to hid from stray weapons that would reach them, or an exploding tag that flew to far from their owner.
Until Sakura felt it, in this case it was Jiraiya, Tsunade and Orochimaru's chakra, a sliver of hope entered her heart "Let's go to those caves over there" she ushered Yahiko, Nagato and Konan towards the caves just as a stray exploding tag landed between them.
She had a split second to grab Chibi in her arms, as Nagato, Yahiko and Konan went flying in opposite directions, much like herself but at the least the pup hadn't got hit by the explosion, Sakura felt her head hit the ground and then her world went dark as she blacked out.
"Sakura-chan" Nagato cried jumping to his feet hurrying to the pinkette's side, the pinkette was lying on her side a moment later Yahiko and Konan were next to him checking Sakura over, Konan sat back on her knee's and sniffled.
"She's okay" the bluenette wiped her eyes free of tears as Yahiko lifted her onto his back and they trudged forward through the rain towards the cave she'd been leading them to, Nagato picked up Chibi thankful that they hadn't lost the pup.
It took them fifteen minutes to make it to the cave "Come on Nagato, Konan don't cry, I'm sure Sakura-chan will be alright" Yahiko situated the pinkette on a rock so that she'd be more comfortable, though it sounded like he didn't believe his own words or the conviction in them.
Konan scoffed through her tears "Speak for yourself Yahiko-kun, you're crying just as much as we are" she shouted, it was true, they were streaming down his face in rivers and the boy wasn't even attempting to get rid of them.
"We should make sure she isn't cold" Nagato hiccuped in a trembling voice, and Yahiko scrambled for her pack, but his hands were shaking to much he couldn't unzip it and when he did, they all suddenly remembered that they couldn't use their chakra like she could.
Yahiko turned and punched the wall wincing as the stone scraped his knuckles "Damn it, she's always protecting us, if it hadn't been for Sakura, we would be hurt or worse dead, and Chibi as well, she saved him by pulling him out of the way" he cursed gripping his orange hair in hand and tugging harshly.
"Not only that but she was closer to the blast" he flopped down shaking horribly as the truth extent of Sakura's sacrifice hit them, and the three of them cried all the harder, that was until three shinobi entered the cave, Konan spotted them first.
And then before Yahiko or Nagato could stop her she was before the woman "You're shinobi right.." she paused amber eyes wide when they nodded "Please save Sakura-chan, please we beg you" Konan pleaded pointing at the prone pinkette.
Tsunade blinked and her honey eyes trailed to the rock the bluenette was pointing at, there was another girl "Kami what happened to her" she walked over to the pinkette, the two boys moving out of the way so she'd have better access.
Yahiko dried his tears on his shirt taking the lead, he had to be brave, "An exploding tag, she protected us from the blast, but in doing so she got the worst of it" he explained "Can you help Sakura-chan" Yahiko asked hoping she'd be able to.
Nagato with Chibi in his arms stood off to the side "Plea..please he..help Saku...Sakura-chan" he stuttered clutching the puppy tightly as the blonde leaned over Sakura hands glowing green, five minutes later she pulled away.
"You're a medic nin" Konan questioned before the woman could tell them that she couldn't help Sakura, it would hurt to much, she raised a brow at her in confusion "Sakura-chan claims she wants to be the best medic-nin in the world" Konan sniffled as more tears splashed onto her cheeks.
Not quite sure what to make of the situation, Jiraiya scratched his head and stared at Orochimaru who shrugged "Right well you're friend is going to be just fine, she clonked her head on the ground, but she did have some scratches on her from the blast" Tsunade explained.
Just as she said that a soft groan filled the air and Nagato set Chibi down and scrambled onto the rock to be next to her "Sakura-chan" he asked hoping his voice would help her come back a little quicker, she jerked before relaxing.
"I'm okay Nagato-kun" her eyes slowly opened and she peered around through bleary eyes until she could finally focus, when Sakura saw who was standing before her she almost blurted out the woman's name instead the pinkette focused on the red head.
"We..we thought that we'd lost you Sakura-chan" Nagato wrapped his arms around Sakura and pulled her in for a hug crying silently just as Konan and Yahiko were doing when she patted his arm, he let go, when he was leaning away from her, Sakura flashed him a soothing smile.
Then she beckoned the other two forward and Yahiko leaped to her side "Stupid brat, stop making us worry about you" he sent her a scowl his brown eyes betraying the worry he'd felt since the moment that exploding tag had gone off.
Together he and Konan gave her their own bone crushing hugs "Stop scaring us Sakura-chan, we can't lose you" Konan frowned scolding her again and Sakura nodded in understanding, she hadn't had any time to think, her body had just moved.
Things just kept getting weirder and weirder, Jiraiya watched the four children interact, they were clearly a close knit group with the pinkette being in the center of it all "Do you mind if we rest in here for awhile" he questioned.
She turned her head in his direction "Not at all, in fact we would enjoy the company right Yahiko, Nagato, Konan" Sakura prodded and they all nodded in acceptance just as her stomach rumbled, causing the white haired male to let out a raucous laugh.
"Sounds like you're hungry kid, guess we could spare some of our food with you" Jiraiya offered, but he was immediately turned down as she hopped from the rock she'd been laying on and unsealed her pack pulling out a storage scroll.
He, Tsunade and Orochimaru watched as the four obvious orphan children bustled about preparing their own meal "You're welcome to join us, to thank you for healing Sakura-chan" Yahiko offered pointing to the already bubbling soup.
Tsunade's jaw dropped "Very strange children" she grumbled accepting the soup, Jiraiya was the next to join them, with Orochimaru hesitating, Sakura eyed the raven haired man with inquisitive and knowing eyes until she saw what, or rather why he was hesitating.
"Before you eat, I'd take a look at you're friend, pale skin, sweat, I'd say he has at least one broken rib, and possibly a puncture wound somewhere because he's bleeding, with maybe some internal bleeding as well" Sakura stated bluntly dishing out some soup for Konan who was next to her.
Orochimaru's gold eyes went wide and Tsunade swiveled around in her spot, he grimaced found out and she sent him a honey eyed glare "What the hell Orochimaru, why the hell didn't you tell me you were injured" she snapped jumping to her feet, hands already glowing green.
"We just got done fighting Tsunade, I didn't want you worrying about me" he huffed as she pressed her hands against his chest healing his broken rib, the internal bleeding, and the gaping hole that was on his side until she was finished.
She shook her head "Idiot, if a kid can tell that much, then you weren't doing so hot, stop being so arrogant Orochimaru and let me know when you're injured" Tsunade said in a heated voice accepting the soup that the pinkette put in her hands.
Sufficiently ashamed of his actions for the moment, Orochimaru sat down and took the bowl that was handed out to him "Thank you" he mumbled lifting the spoon to his lips and taking a sip of the very delicious broth "Where did you learn that" Orochimaru questioned, once half of his bowl was empty.
Sakura grinned excitedly "My parents were teaching me, though some of it I've learned from books" she announced blowing on her own bite and sipping the broth a moment afterwards as it cooled down enough to be consumed.
Jiraiya felt his lips twitching upwards "Didn't you say that you're friend there wanted to become the best medical ninja in the world" he stared at the blue haired girl and her cheeks turned red in embarrassment while the pinkette patted her on the back.
"Konan-chan is right, that's my dream so that I can protect my precious people" Sakura pumped her arm sparing some soup and bread for Chibi when the pup scratched at her leg a small whine emitting from his mouth.
Tsunade frowned "The only way for that to happen is if you find a way to surpass me, cause right now kid, I'm the best medical nin in the world" she snorted rolling her eyes inwardly "By the way what's you're names" she asked harshly.
The red head flinched and Sakura held out her hand, he took it instantly "Well I'm Sakura" she introduced herself "And this is Nagato-kun" she pointed at the boy huddling next to her, Yahiko cleared his throat and puffed out his chest.
"I'm Yahiko and that's Konan-chan" he said before they returned to eating, soon their food was polished off, then everything was put away like usual, Konan sat next to Sakura with a sheepish smile on her lips.
"Can we still meditate Sakura-chan" she asked, that was the one thing she didn't want to give up, Sakura's emerald eyes lit up and the pinkette nodded "Oh thank you, thank you, thank you" Konan cheered closing her eyes to begin.
The three adults watched as the two girls relaxed to the point of total peace of mind "Why are they meditating" Jiraiya asked suddenly, Yahiko heard this and craned his neck around, they were so use to doing it that it was weird to be questioned.
But it was Nagato that answered "Be..because Sakura-chan says it will help us, our minds clear of all worries for the moment will show us how to make sound decisions in the future or something like that..." he trailed off shyly.
Yahiko clapped the red head on the back "You did a good job Nagato, Sakura-chan will be proud of you" he grinned peering over his shoulder at the pinkette, he was glad she hadn't been hurt to seriously, otherwise things in their little group would never be the same again.
"Why are you all the way out this way anyway" Orochimaru inquired, he didn't really like children, but it was weird, four orphan children, close to a battlefield, it was ridiculous, not that he cared any, it was just bizarre, kids had no self preservation at all.
This time the orange haired boy spoke "Sakura-chan's idea actually, we were searching for someone to train us so that we'd be able to survive better, right now she's protecting the three of us, and we want to be able to share that burden with her" Yahiko announced.
Nagato nodded "Yeah, Sakura-chan's way to kind to us, we want to help out and the only way to do that is if we learn how to be a shinobi" he stated in a fierce tone, he wanted to be able to protect his precious people to someday.
More intrigued than ever before, Jiraiya shared a look with his two teammates "Tell sensei that I won't be back for a long time, I'm going to train these kids" he gestured at the four orphans, Tsunade jerked in surprise and Orochimaru frowned.
Neither of them tried to sway Jiraiya from his decision though, then they got the ultimate shock "I guess I could teach the brat" she pointed at Sakura "Some medical ninjutsu, but that's it, I'll show her the hand signs" Tsunade snapped clenching her fists.
By this point Konan had come out of her meditative state to hear Tsunade's declaration "I think Sakura-chan would appreciate that very much" she smiled flopping back and yawning tiredly, after all they'd been through, they were finally getting what they wanted.
When an hour passed and Sakura still hadn't come out of her own, even Orochimaru was getting worried, "How long does she usually meditate" he asked pretending like he didn't care, it was hard, considering the girl had saved him from a lot of pain by knowing exactly what his problem was.
"Oh I wouldn't worry to much, Sakura goes really deep in her meditation, and sometimes if we let her that is, she'd meditate all day" Konan giggled lifting her head to stare at the pinkette, before resting it on the ground again, they were all tired, and she wouldn't be surprised if Sakura just fell asleep like that.
Twenty minutes later, Sakura cracked her eyes open and blinked slowly adjusting to the darkness of the cave "You sure know how to scare a person" Tsunade hissed in her ear and she jumped back in surprise, "Stupid brat" the blonde huffed.
Not sure what she'd done or how she'd managed to piss the younger version of her shishou off, Sakura tilted her head to the side in confusion as Chibi jumped in her lap "Is there something wrong Ma'am" she asked calmly, not worried in the least.
"Well if you'd been paying attention you would know that Jiraiya has decided to take you all on and teach you, and I'll show you the medical jutsu" Tsunade crossed her arms leveling the pinkette with a glare, but it didn't seem like she was to scared.
In fact the girl didn't even flinch, "Yeah Sakura-chan is different than the average seven year old" Yahiko sniggered behind his hand and her lips twitched in the telltale sign she was about to smile, before her lips pulled upwards in the beatific smile that she always gave them.
"Oh and just how old are you, Nagato-san and Konan-san" Jiraiya asked joining the conversation again, it was really strange, it was obvious to him at least who held the group together, and when she was hurt everyone fell apart at the seems.
Nagato held up eight fingers "We're all eight except for Sakura-chan" he smiled sheepishly at her and she nodded that it was okay, she wasn't angry, in fact she looked more tired, he frowned and sat next to her, she was cold, her skin was like ice against his own.
"Here Sakura-chan, here's you're scroll" Yahiko held it out to her "We tried opening it until we remembered we couldn't use chakra" he scuffed his shoe in the dirt looking horribly guilty that they, he hadn't been able to do anything for her.
When she flashed him that smile, he knew everything was okay "It's okay Yahiko-kun, thank you though" Sakura exclaimed happily unsealing the scroll and passing out blankets, it was way past her set bed time so she leaned against the stone wall and closed her eyes.
"Going to meditate some more" Orochimaru's voice filled her ears and she cracked her eyes open a bit to peer at him from beneath her bangs before shaking her head, Konan settled next to her, and Nagato took her right, while Yahiko settled on the left of the bluenette each covered in their blanket.
Seeing the man raise his brow, Sakura sighed "It's late, we're all tired, so I'm going to sleep, the best thing to do is get some rest right now" she shrugged as if it wasn't a big deal, to her it wasn't at least but the three adults couldn't wrap their heads around the fact she was smart.
Once all four children were asleep Orochimaru turned to his teammates "What do you think, should we take them back to the Leaf with us and have them put through the system, after seeing them, I just don't feel right" he grimaced plus he'd feel horribly guilty if he just left them all.
Tsunade's brows climbed into her bangs, Orochimaru worried a bunch of brats that was absolutely priceless "I doubt they'd appreciate getting shoved in an orphanage, or getting put through the academy" she snorted keeping her laughter to the minimum.
"I have an idea, why don't we send sensei a letter, tell him that we're bringing back four kids, that we all intend on training, I don't think this war will go on much more" Jiraiya suggested pinning his obsidian eyes on Orochimaru.
Luckily for the time being it seemed the raven haired male was in a cooperative mood "Yeah that way I'll be able to teach that brat more medical ninjutsu, perhaps take her on as an apprentice" Tsunade whistled innocently "Maybe teach the other one some medical ninjutsu as well" she shrugged.
Decisions made, the three sannin found a place to sleep after setting up protection around the cave entrance so they didn't have to keep watch and closed their eyes drifting off into dreamland, it had been awhile since they'd been able to rest without worry like this so it felt good.
All of them were woken up by the smell of food cooking and Jiraiya felt his stumble rumble "Mm someone sure knows a way into a mans heart eh Tsunade" he went to nudge the woman in his half awake state only to hit air.
His eyes popped open his dream fading and he peered around the cave, the pinkette from yesterday was up bustling around cooking breakfast, Jiraiya groaned of course it hadn't been a dream they'd met four orphaned children all the way out in the middle of almost nowhere land.
"Is something wrong Mister" she didn't look at him choosing to keep focused on cooking the omelets to perfection so she didn't burn them, Jiraiya sat up and came closer sitting next to the fire she'd created with the wood pile she had in her storage scroll.
He rubbed his chin "It's not mister, my name is Jiraiya, I'm the toad sage of Mount Myoboku, and now a sannin" he grumbled "So kid you said you learned all this from you're parents" Jiraiya narrowed his eyes but Sakura kept on cooking.
Sakura felt her heart thudding in her chest, she should have known nothing would remain secret around this man, and for a brief second she contemplated telling him the truth, if she showed him her little treasure that Naruto had given her, he would have to believe her then.
But she shook her head inwardly 'Not going to happen, if I talk now I'll spill all the secrets creating pandemonium where it's not needed' Sakura decided silently flipping the omelets onto a wooden plate before answering Jiraiya's question.
"Most of it, the other half I learned from books, and with a lot of practice" she gestured at the perfect omelets she'd cooked "It's easy to make something like that, it's one of the easiest things out there" Sakura stated keeping her face neutral 'Good no telling signs that I'm lying' she breathed in relief.
Searching her face and eyes Jiraiya tried to see if he could tell she was lying, but he couldn't "You know those kids had a breakdown yesterday when you got hurt" he pointed to the sleeping rain orphans and a fond look entered her eyes while a sad smile played on the corners of her lips.
"They practically begged Tsunade to heal you, it really surprised us when Konan walked up to us and asked if we were shinobi" Jiraiya stared around the cave as he spoke, no matter what he had to find out what was bugging him so much about this girl.
She kept her breathing calm, even if her heart sped up again within her chest, "We had to knock out a few shinobi who tried to take over our shelter" Sakura explained keeping her eyes locked with Jiraiya's, eye contact was a must, and that wasn't a lie, well except she'd killed those men.
Jiraiya blinked "Protecting you're territory how oddly adorable" he chuckled quietly and ruffled her hair, he'd asked her enough questions for now so he could relent in his interrogation, Sakura flashed him a bright smile before going around waking Nagato, Yahiko and Konan.
He did the same waking Orochimaru first, then Tsunade, who was like a grumpy dragon in the morning and snapped a lot until she had something to eat and coffee, but since they didn't have any coffee on hand, they were screwed.
But once they all sat down to eat breakfast, Tsunade's crab apple attitude vanished, "Kami this is delicious, I don't think I've had something like this in ages" as she dug into the omelet, and Konan giggled doing the same.
"That's Sakura-chan for you, I can make an omelet to but not as well as she can, though we've all been learning little by little, so that we can share the burden" she exclaimed discretely feeding Chibi an extra bite even though Sakura probably already knew she'd done it.
Orochimaru paused in eating his omelet "You know Yahiko said the same thing yesterday, share the burden, what does that mean?" he questioned, all eyes turned to Nagato when he spoke up after receiving an encouraging smile from Sakura.
"It means that none of us get left behind and we share work between us equally so that we share the burden, this wasn't just Sakura-chan's idea, we all decided to set forth to find someone who will train us" he said in his most confident voice yet, Yahiko clapped him on the back gently making him feel like he'd done good.
After his explanation a low whine emitted from Chibi and Sakura jumped to her feet spreading out her senses, she felt nothing and slowly relaxed "It's okay Chibi-kun" she patted him on the head and moved over to the wall to begin her meditation.
"Do you do that after every single meal" Tsunade grumbled feeling cranky again, she was ready to get a move on, but it seemed the brats weren't quite ready to go yet, because Yahiko followed the pinkette and sat down with Sakura.
Sakura frowned "How long do we have" she looked at the blonde woman who shrugged, but it was Orochimaru who answered, even if he was creepy as all hell, and she didn't really like him in the least, if she played her cards just right, he wouldn't defect and that would be one disaster averted.
"Forty five minutes at best" he shrugged, once he'd spoken, Sakura beckoned Nagato and Konan to her side and they all formed a circle holding hands and slipping into their meditations, half an hour later Konan, Yahiko and Nagato stood.
And then ten minutes later, five minutes shy of the time limit he'd given them, Sakura stood and stretched putting out the fire and sealing away all of her things, it made them realize something "Wait a second" Jiraiya strode forward this frown on his lips.
Sakura paused in putting away her scrolls "If you know how to use you're chakra, then how come you haven't showed them how to" Jiraiya accused suddenly pointing at Yahiko, Nagato and Konan, all of which weren't even paying attention, or that's how it seemed until.
"Cause we never actually see her use her chakra unless she's sealing things away, otherwise she just sits and meditates" Yahiko nearly shouted surprising himself, now that it had been brought to question, it did seem kind of strange, but Sakura had just said that the way she'd been taught wouldn't be easy to replicate.
She felt her face twitching "Because Master Jiraiya, I was taught a different way to use my chakra" there it wasn't a lie, and perhaps now it was time to reveal the truth of her little meditation, upon seeing the expectant look on Jiraiya's face she shrugged.
"Back in the old days during the time of the Sage of Six Paths, no one used hand signs, through meditation, people were able to use their chakra more efficiently, plus it helped you connect with it better" Sakura explained.
When she was finished absolute silence, then "Wow that does sound difficult Sakura-chan, no wonder you meditate longer than us" Konan burst out suddenly and the pinkette relaxed, neither Yahiko or Nagato said anything but Sakura could tell they weren't angry.
Having had enough of the dawdling "Okay I think that's enough chatting, we need to go, I feel several chakra's heading this way" Tsunade snapped and the four orphans shut their mouths and faced forward, something else the pinkette had probably taught them.
None of them even thought to ask where they were being led to as they left their shelter behind and walked through the pouring rain and mud, trying their hardest to keep up with the three shinobi that had come across them, that was until Yahiko saw that they were leaving rain country behind.
"Hey just where exactly are we going, didn't you say you were gonna teach us how to be ninja" he shouted over the rain to be heard better and Sakura who was at his side cringed, she'd taken to enhancing her hearing with chakra, and the loud volume of the boy had almost blown her eardrum.
Orochimaru looked back at the four orphans, "To the Leaf Village, this war is almost over, we'll be able to teach you better in our village without having to worry about someone attacking us out here, in a country not our own" he said, it wasn't his problem if the kids didn't like it.
He went to shout again, but Sakura's hand on his arm made him pause, "You think it's a good idea to be taken there" his forehead was creased and his brown eyes stared into her emerald, she smiled in that calming way and Yahiko finally relaxed.
"Sometimes shinobi have to make difficult choices, since Master Jiraiya is going to train us, then we have no choice but to accept his decision on where he trains us" Sakura explained after a moment staring around her warily, then looked back to make sure Chibi was still trailing them.
Yahiko tilted his head to the side then nodded "True, though technically we didn't ask them to train us, they decided that on their own" he pouted and Konan giggled behind them, she was walking with Nagato so he didn't get left behind.
"Oh well we should just feel lucky that they decided to teach us at all" Konan shrugged she wasn't going to make a big deal out of it, especially if she got to learn a little medical ninjutsu, which she would then teach to Yahiko, she had no doubt that Sakura would do the same for Nagato.
Tsunade glanced over her shoulder "Pick up the pace if you don't want to get lost" she ordered and together the four orphans walked a little faster, Jiraiya sent her a disbelieving look "What, if they can't keep up, that's not my problem" she shrugged heartlessly.
Jiraiya rolled his eyes before sending the kids an apologetic smile, they were unprotected, "I think I'll walk with them" he stated slowing his walk until they caught up with him, this way if anyone decided to attack, he'd be able to protect them.
For the next several days, all seven of them trekked towards the Leaf Village, getting to know one another in the process, eating breakfast, lunch and dinner together, meditating, and over all just having fun, until finally they reached the massive gates.
Sakura's eyes lit up in awe, the Leaf Village truly was magnificent, "So this is what another village looks like" Yahiko eyed the gates critically and Konan shook her head, it was Nagato that remained silent, unlike how he usually was, he'd become more outgoing, but now he was back to being shy.
She was the only one that knew why, Leaf Shinobi had killed his parents, he was bound to be a little jittery in their presence, but she knew exactly what to do to get him smiling "Nagato-kun" Sakura smiled holding out her hand.
The red head took it with a smile "Don't worry so much, though it may seem scary now, just know that no one will harm us here" Sakura murmured as she felt Konan take her other hand and Yahiko clasp Konan's hand in his, as Jiraiya, Tsunade and Orochimaru led them forward to their new future.