Founding Love

Chapter One

Madara was not a man most people could easily like. Sakura didn't think so.

He was too overbearing and constantly trying to prove how much better he was at any and everything. She found him always hovering over her shoulder quickly telling her exactly what seals she was doing wrong, but never how to fix them. She had been working on honing her fire skills one time, and when she struggled to actually start the damn fire, he huffed at her pronouncing she was a failed woodsman and she'd never survive without his esteemed presence. That time she nearly chucked the damned wood at his head.

He was condescending when he thought he knew the most obvious answer to any problem, and he could be quite rude. Often times, he was looking down his nose with those dark eyes of his and commenting on how ill prepared or misinformed she was. One time at a formal dinner with the other founding clan heads, she had the misfortune of cross her legs beside her, not under her, at the table and he had remarked how "unladylike" she was. Of course that started a whole debate amongst the clansmen on if women were suited the sit in on those meetings. Hashirama ultimately saved her from cracking the table in two with her fists, but nonetheless the damage was done to her ego.

To top it off, Madara hated being proven wrong especially when in combat with what he presumed was the weaker sex. When she had punched a crater in the ground the size of a football field, he had openly balked at her. He lost that fight that day, but it was the only one she had managed to scrape by where her hair wasn't singed and her fingers weren't broken and bruised. He never let her win after that.

Sakura snickered.

Madara was not easy to like at all.

Sakura sat back on the porch and took a deep breath in of the woods before her. Madara had moved the clan to the outskirts of the village two months ago, and by default as his own declared prisoner of war she was stuck alongside him. He even moved his own home on the furthest edge of the clan property. Begrudgingly, Sakura wasn't one to complain since that meant she had more private time with him, but she presumed it was so others wouldn't hear them in their fiascos.

A shudder crawled up her spine. His version of private time was definitely a pleasurable experience excluding for the first year or so of their interactions. Madara had a way of making up for all his wrongdoings though, mind you he had quite a lot to make up for, and for once she was extremely happy being on the receiving end of all the attention. Madara wasn't very giving otherwise, and Sakura would take advantage of that fact often.

Sakura leaned back on her hands, and focused on the dark night sky. The stars shining bright, and her heart fluttered thinking back on her arrival. It wasn't what she expected, but there was absolutely no way she was giving it up now.

—-

The fight with Kaguya had been raging on for hours. The Rabbit Goddess had an unsurpassed amount of chakra, and Team Seven was struggling. Sakura felt her hair whip around her face, and she fought the urge to push it back. Sakura's eyes darted from the Rabbit Goddess' sharp features to her wounded and bloodied teammates. Naruto was spouting a deep gash along his forearm and his face was badly bruised. Sasuke's breathing was extremely labored due to the hole in his abdomen, and he clutched it tightly. Sakura had lost sight of Kakashi awhile ago, but she had summoned Katsuyu to transport him to safety. She couldn't risk her unconscious sensei falling victim to the Goddess' relentless attacks.

Sakura grunted as her shaking body began to crumple to the ground. Chakra exhaustion was stemming across her system, and her body was finally succumbing to the harsh beating it had been taking.

"Sakura-chan!"

She turned her head to Naruto's direction, and saw his concern across his tight face. She grit her teeth, closed her eyes and called forth the last of her reserves to open the connection to her Strength of a Hundred Seal. Her teeth chattered as the black markings stretched across her forehead down her face and beneath her green jonin vest. The rush was short lived when she heard a piercing scream and her eyes sprung open.

Kaguya had turned to her with an intense red gaze and was shooting a projectile with lightning speed at her. Sakura barely had time to react as Sasuke launched himself in front of the projectile, the sharp tip piercing through his chest with a curdling tear. Her stomach lurched as he spit out blood, the spots splattering against her cheeks.

"Sasuke-kun!" She cried from her knees, eyes widening.

He smiled and slowly leaned forward to poke the center of her forehead with his index finger. Sakura heavied and felt her eyes prick with tears, and he gurgled before slumping entirely to the ground before her. She scraped along the ground to him, and she panted unable to catch her breath. Her hands shook as she tried to shake him.

"Sasuke, please, Sasuke!" She grabbed the sides of his face and gripped the edges of his hair behind his ears. His charcoal eyes were slowly dimming, but his smile stayed put.

"S-Sakura.." he whispered, blood dribbling down the edges of his lips.

Sakura cried out and shook him harder. Heat spread across her chest and she shook him harder to keep him from drifting from her, but she felt helpless when she could barely draw her chakra to her fingers. The green flow too unsteady to hold and mend the wound. She lifted her tear stained face at the Rabbit Goddess who was then facing off an angry Naruto.

His chakra was fiery red laced from the Nine-Tails, his eyes narrow slits, and his fingernails long and sharpened into claws. She let her hands fall away from the last Uchiha to clench into tight fists at her side. Using her waning willpower, she stood and pushed power into her thighs to spring herself at the backside of Kaguya.

Sakura cocked back her fist and with a roar she aimed at the white head of the Goddess, but to her sudden surprise the red eyed Princess spun around having thrown off the Nine-Tails host. Her fingers split open a swirling portal with blue skies and lush green woods, and Sakura was sucked forth with a ferocious force leaving her ears ringing and her stomach twisting in knots.

"Naruto!" She called slipping into the portal and falling forward.

Sakura whirled herself around and watched as she fell further away from the portal. She could see Naruto behind the smirking Kaguya with what she called utter terror, his hand reaching for her, but the portal zipping closed to leave an empty sky.

Sakura reached her own hand out, but continued to let herself fall too shocked to realize her decent coming so soon. Her legs stretched before her, and her arms felt lifeless trying to grasp at clouds. Sakura could hardly breathe as the wind whipped around her, and she croaked at a sudden crack along her spin. Her body crashed through the tree limbs, and her back curled around a rather thick branch as it gave way beneath her weight.

Her body ached and sharp pains scratched at her arms and legs, as her rag doll body fell through the leaves. She twisted around trying to grab at anything she could, but her nails were too blunt to hold, and her bloodied hands too slick to grasp the branches. She hit the ground hard, and rolled to her side with a harsh gasp of anguish.

Sakura coughed, her whole body jerking with the movement, and she held back the scream tearing at her throat. Her eyes squeezed tight and hot tears seeped past her lids down her cheeks. She choked down a cry, but wheezed behind clenched teeth. Sasuke's smiling face flashed in her mind, and she hissed with a broken sob. The feel of his cooling skin beneath her fingers embedded in her memory.

The moment was short lived when in the edges of her senses she felt a familiar intense chakra signature. In a panic, she crawled to her knees and forced herself to stand. The weight of the signature immediately had her hissing aloud.

"I'm coming for you, Kaguya!"

Sakura pushed her legs to weave through the trees, her hands flying to her vest to open it a bit to cool her overheating chest. She reached in finding her pockets empty of weapons having used them all with the earlier against the devilish woman. She cursed her luck, crouched her body lower in her stance to run faster. She dipped in and out of the woods, and she could suddenly feel several chakra signatures moving along her senses.

Good, she thought, there were finally reinforcements.

Sakura sprang forward as she came closer, the sounds of battle closing in on her ears. Metal rang with sharp pings and she could hear several muffled voices shouting ahead of her.

I'm so close, she thought pushing harder.

The tree line was visibly thinning and she jumped high bringing her fist back. Her black lined hand drew back and she shoved her chakra into it, aiming in the direction of the familiar chakra.

"Shannaro!"

Sakura didn't recognize the faces of the men before her clad in armor, but that didn't stop her from raining her arm against the ground. Her eyes zeroed in on a strangely familiar face, his crimson eyes widening before narrowing in on her. He shifted backwards away from his equally surprised opponent. With the impact of her chakra laced hand, the ground quaked and split deep. Jagged rocks flew up and the earth decimated under her fingers. Shouting stopped, and the sounds of battle ended abruptly.

"Get back here, you bastard!" Sakura jumped at the black haired foe, her fingers still tight.

The man stood firm in his stance, before swinging his orange-brown gunbai at her. She hit it away with a swat, the chain link clinking as he pulled it back to him. Anger blossomed in her chest, and she blindly pursued him. Soon they were darting around each other, the other opponent being disregarded entirely. She charged, but his speed and agility kept him a safe distance from her hands. She growled out wildly swinging her arms. She hit the ground again with her hand, and it shook and groaned without giving in. She felt his heavy eyes on her, and she roared ferociously again kicking up dirt behind her.

The masses of shinobi around them parted like the sea, and she pushed herself up from her crouched position. She dipped out of the way of several kunai and she twisted into a roll before springing back up onto her feet with a huff. The air tight in her throat.

Sakura felt her chakra from her seal waning, and her left leg gave beneath her. In that instant, the black haired man clad in red armor sprang upon her, and she grunted bringing up her forearm to block his onslaught. His kunai ripped through the material of her black long sleeve shirt, and she gritted her teeth. His assault didn't stop there with a sharp jerk, he shifted to bring down another swipe. Her hand closed around the sharp blade, and pain shot down her good arm.

She pushed upwards with her hand and they wrestled with brutish strength. Her seal was nearing empty, and she felt the chakra slowly settling in the pit of her stomach like a weight. She growled and glared up under her pink bangs at the swirling Tomoes. His eyes were narrowed and his lips pressed downward in a frown.

Sakura was unable to stop him from jerking her toward him, her bloodied knees sliding sickeningly along the rock, and his free hand enclosed around her throat. She felt his grip tightened, and she dipped her head back to stare boldly at her assailant.

They were frozen in time, the sounds of battle long forgotten as they sized each other up. Sakura felt her limbs going slack and cold. Blood was flowing freely from wounds, her clothes clinging heavy and sticky to her skin. The air brought smoke into her nostrils, and she could smell the charring of skin. Her grip loosened on the kunai and the force behind the weapon eased though not along the column of her throat.

"Come quick! It's Izuna-sama!"

The man's head flicked quickly in the direction of the new voice, and he released her throat. She gulped in a rush of air, her lungs aching, and she flinched as his hand found purchase in her short locks. She screeched indignantly, and pulled herself to keep up with his quick pace without ripping out her scalp. She clenched her slick fingers around the thickness of his wrist, but couldn't hold onto him.

She felt her body suddenly falling forward, and she held her arms in front of her to stop from crashing face first into the ground. Sakura whipped her head up into the gleaming brown eyes of another wickedly familiar face, one that had adorned the side of her precious city wall. Her head wasn't wrapping around the tan skin and pin straight hair, and she openly gaped at the concerned man.

"I'm sorry, Madara. I can't save him."

The quietness of the surrounding people had her on edge, and her mind clicked into medic mode. Her emerald eyes glanced around briefly before falling to another light skinned man with black hair laid on the ground in front of them. Her jaw slackened and her heart skipped several beats.

"Sasuke," She whispered, heart painfully clenching.

Sakura felt her heart shudder at his pale features, blood had pooled from his abdomen to the ground around him, and his bangs were slick with sweat along his forehead. She crawled to him with a broken sob, tears clouding her vision. Her hands reached to grab at his face, his eyes closed, and lips stained red with blood.

Before she could touch his skin, another set of hands halted hers. She glared up into the crimson eyes, her jaw snapping shut. She bared her teeth like an animal at him, and leaned toward him. Her breathe spanned across his cheeks, and she could feel the burning inferno of the man.

"I'll save him." Sakura ground out closing her eyes to focus on the remainder of her chakra.

Sakura forced the chakra to her hands, and it burned her chakra paths from her forehead down to her raw fingers. She ripped her hands away from the dangerous man with a huff, and put her fingers into the abdominal wound, his body cold. She froze as the hands of her enemy enclosed hers again.

"I'll kill you if you don't." The deep baritone of his voice irritated her and sent a shiver down her spine.

She gritted her teeth and snapped again at him, "I said I'll save him, damn it!"

Sakura fought the urge to use the last of her strength to hit the imbecile, but turned her tears eyes to the dying man under her hands.

"Sasuke, it's going to be ok." She mumbled with a small smile, tears dripping down her cheeks while she etched the defined edges of his face into her mind.

With a grunt, she closed her eyes and forced her chakra to burn along her fingers to mend the dying tissue. The wound was extensive and she probed to revive the burnt edges of his nerves. She regrew the tissue with a muscle memory alone, and she visualized the anatomy to direct her healing. Sakura shuddered as her chakra began to sputter, having been fully spent. Sakura clucked her tongue against the back of her teeth trying to recall how Chiyo pulled her life force to save her. Sakura moaned in the back of her throat as she dug deeper in her chest to pull the blue string forth. Heat spread around her worn body, and Sakura took small gulps of air through parted lips to calm the anxiety churning her stomach.

Sakura felt her heartbeat slow and each pound reverberated in her head, but she breathed in relief when she felt his heart twitch to life. Gasps filled her ears, and the hands on her wrists dropped in disbelief. The blood began to pump quickly in his new veins, and she felt her shoulders drop. Her fingers scanned up the side of his body to hold his face. She hiccuped in relief as his body began to warm again, and she opened her eyes to confirm it.

Unfortunately for her, the eyes that now were peering at her were not of her beloved Sasuke. And she felt her body slacken into unconsciousness.

A.N: I know I have a lot of projects currently, but I figured I'd start another one for the hell of it. The idea of time travel has definitely grown on me, and the idea of Sakura finding herself in the hands of our Founders is too charming to pass up. I hope you all enjoy it, and I look forward to developing their relationship(s). The first part of the segment is what I'd call the "present", and everything after the line separation is Sakura recalling/reliving her adventure thus far which is primarily what the story is to cover.

Happy reading!