AN: Happy MadaSaku Day everyone!
As Sakura, Izuna, and the rest of their group rushed out into the city streets, they were immediately greeted with a flurry of panicked civilians and armed shinobi. Following the tide of soldiers rushing out to where the explosions had occurred, twin billows of pitch black smoke guiding them all, they could hear the sounds of battle growing closer and closer.
Sakura spotted as a handful of soldiers broke off from the main path, pursuing a few invaders who had infiltrated the front line that she could see growing at the edge of the city. Her and her teammates had to skirt around a dozen corpses already strewn about the street - the mangled bodies of innocent civilians, Sora-ku shinobi, and invading soldiers interspersed between demolished vending carts, partially collapsed buildings, and dead oxen.
A section of the city street was destroyed, the ground unearthed and painted black with soot. The tarry smoke was so thick that it was difficult to breath, black ash raining from the sky and coating their clothes and hair. A fire burned hotly at the apex of the destruction, water-users struggling to battle the rapidly spreading blaze as well as the invading force.
From within the burning rubble, Sakura could hear screaming.
Slowing in her run, she decided to stay at the site of the fires, intending on helping the trapped civilians. Not only would her medical ninjutsu be at its most useful here, healing and evacuating civilians, but the water ninjutsu she had spent the last year cultivating would be critical in helping combat the blaze.
When she began to slow, her plan evident, she felt a rough hand on her shoulder pushing her onward. Turning her head with a scowl, she faced Izuna.
"Sora-ku can handle the evacuation effort. Where they need you the most is on the battlefield. We need to protect those who are evacuating," Izuna explained quickly, his sharingan bright eyes burning into hers.
When she opened her mouth to argue, the anguished screams from beneath the rubble growing louder as they passed by the burning ruins, Izuna's expression tightened and he added, "We need to turn them back here and now before they spread out into the city and massacre thousands. They need you with us on the front lines."
Sakura's mouth snapped shut, her eyebrows furrowing before she nodded sharply. Despite being desperate to rescue and tend to the victims trapped in the rubble, she knew that Izuna had a point. If the invading force broke through Sora-ku's defenses and got into the city, thousands would perish.
Finally breaking through the smokescreen as they rushed towards the battlefield, Sakura finally saw the severity of the assault. Sora-ku wasn't facing an attack, they were facing an invasion. Hundreds of shinobi marched forward against the city, all of them adorned in a dozen different clan crests that she did not recognize.
"Heads up!" Saori screamed from behind them, rapidly running through a string of hand signs before slamming her foot into the ground.
When Sakura looked upwards, she had just enough time to catch sight of a barrage of boulders raining down from the sky before a dome of rock rose from the ground and surrounded them. One of the massive stones slammed into the rock shield, the sound of earth colliding with earth sounding more like a lightning bolt had hit the ground right next to her.
The rest of the barrage of boulders rained down on the city surrounding them, the sounds of buildings collapsing and the sounds of injured people muffled by the dome.
When Saori released her jutsu, the shield returning into the earth, Sakura's eyes widened at the sheer breadth of destruction surrounding them. The Edge of the city had been utterly destroyed, buildings and people crushed beneath thousands of tons of stone. Dust, ash, and screams filled the air in equal measure, clogging her lungs and clenching her heart.
Sakura didn't need to face Izuna to know his orders, her eyes instead turning back to the still waging battle at the edge of the city as she began to run. She could feel as Izuna and the rest of their group ran at her sides but, more than anything, Sakura could feel as white hot rage grew in her chest like an open fire.
The people of this city were innocents. These bastards had killed dozens, if not hundreds of innocent people. And for what? The wealth hoarded away in the center of the city by a narcissistic monarch?
Sakura would put an end to this invasion even if she had to do so with her own two hands.
Channeling chakra into her feet and into her hands, Sakura used a chakra enhanced leap to bound over the front line and into the swarm of soldiers behind. Rearing back her fist, she released a scream of rage as she descended upon the attackers beneath her.
The men and women raised their weapons and their fists to meet her attack head on, shocked by her assault but not intimidated. Someone in the crowd produced an earth shield similar to the one that Saori had manifested earlier but the jutsu did nothing to stop the enraged kunoichi.
Breaking through the stone defense as if the rock was little more than paper, the dome crumpled beneath her strike. Continuing in her descent, she broke through the flimsy guard of a startled soldier before her fist met the earth underneath them all.
The ground cratered beneath her, the earth sinking downwards as she and a handful of her foes disappeared into the darkness beneath the stone dome. There was a single heartbeat before the crater exploded around her.
Stone splintered into jagged spears that rose to the sky in deadly pillars, dozens of enemy shinobi being swept away by the lethal wave of broken earth. Dirt erupted upwards in a cloud, shards of shield and rock rocketing into the sky and raining down upon the battlefield like a sandstorm. The very earth trembled beneath her knuckles as the sand cleared, the light of the setting sun breaking through the destruction and shining down upon the sole surviving kunoichi in the heart of the carnage.
Sakura rose to her feet, unaware of the eyes of a hundred ninja that gazed upon her with looks of shock and awe as well as fear and bloodlust.
"Who's next!?" Sakura roared, a resounding battle cry erupting from behind her as the vanguard advanced. They took advantage of the upper hand she had given them all to put distance between the rescue crews rescuing injured citizens behind them and the war raging on in front of them.
Sakura rushes forward with the tide of soldiers, Izuna, Katsumi, and Katsurou joining her in her charge forward. Saori lingered behind, taking a page from the enemy's book and using her jutsu to lob boulders over the enemy lines. The slabs of earth slammed down onto the long distance soldiers in the back of the army who had launched the bombardment of boulders that had destroyed the edge of the city.
With her team beside her, Sakura and her strikeforce easily found their place among the offensive and fighting back against the marauders. Her and Izuna joined the fray with the ease of warriors who had fought a thousand battles, the field surrounding them adjusting to compensate for their extraordinary power. Weaker opponents diverted around them, giving them a wide berth as they made room for shinobi would thought they could hold their own against the two titans.
As the bloodshed continued unimpeded - her and Izuna alone protecting this part of the decimated city - Sakura fell into the heart pounding rhythm of war. Izuna remained strong at her back, showing none of his earlier upset with her as they moved seamlessly together. The negative emotions of the past did nothing to stagger their steps as they challenged the oncoming hoard of attacking shinobi, Sakura focusing on little more than the battlefield around her, Izuna behind her, and the feeling of armor, flesh, and bone crumbling beneath her fists.
"Incoming barrage!" Izuna roared from behind her, expertly parrying a downward strike from an enemy spearman before following the line of his opponents weapon with his katana and burying his blade in their throat.
Wrenching his weapon from his stunned foe, he rapidly strung together a handful of seals before breathing a blast of fire that engulfed three oncoming attackers in an inferno that felt more like an explosion with it's sheer power.
Watching as another barrage of boulders arched high in the sky, beginning their descent towards her and her partner, Sakura slammed her foot into the ground beneath her. Pulling a slab of stone from the earth beneath them, Sakura grabbed onto the edges of the jagged circle of rock, the stone cracking beneath her grip. Spinning in a circle to gain momentum, a battle cry erupting from her chest, she lobbed the slab into the sky.
Her makeshift projectile and the boulder descending upon them met in the air, her thrown weapon knocking the enemy's attack off its trajectory. Instead of the thrown jutsu landing in the city behind them, it dropped into the enemy ranks ahead of them, crushing a handful of attacking shinobi beneath it's great weight. Her own slab rocketed off into the distance, nearly smashing into the long distance attackers in the enemy's rearguard.
Sakura's eyes flicked across the battlefield, noting dozens of her allies doing much the same, launching jutsu of their own to guard against the oncoming barrage or erecting barriers to protect the city and its inhabitants. Even with Sora-ku shinobi defending against the bombardment, a few boulders sailed through their defenses, slamming into the city and destroying more buildings.
It was after one of these boulders flew over her and Izuna's heads and rocketed into one of the apartments behind them that Sakura heard a child scream. Finally tearing her eyes away from the battle surrounding her, she looked behind her, finding a small girl in an orange dress, her leg trapped beneath rubble from the collapsed building. The child appeared to have been hiding behind a stack of now crushed wooden crates, the young girl having been trapped near the battlefield by the wreckage the city had become following the first volley of boulders.
When Sakura's gaze locked onto a small, unrecognizable doll that was lost in the dirt behind the girl, her heart dropping into her stomach.
"It's the princess! Capture h-!" one of her opponents cried out before Sakura rushed forward in a burst of chakra induced speed, slamming her fist into her chest and silencing her forever.
Nothing she could do could take back what the woman had said, all of the opponents surrounding her and Izuna turning their gazes to Maneki. The battlefield surrounding them erupted into chaos, the invaders turning their attention away from her and Izuna and instead barreling down onto the sobbing little girl trapped beneath the wreckage.
Sakura chased after the soldiers who skirted around her and charged towards the injured princess. Desperation rushed through her alongside the chakra that she focused into her legs and her fists as she raced after, striking down each opponent one by one as they grew closer and closer to Maneki. After dispatching the final opponent between her and the young girl, Sakura continued to sprint towards her, intent on releasing her from the rubble and taking her to safety within the city.
Izuna was close behind her, the Uchiha frantically rushing through the hand signs needed to throw up a wall of flame in a frenzied gambit to protect the princess. There was a handful of heartbeats before a powerful water jutsu doused Izuna's fire, dozens of marauders pouring through the broken barrier and racing towards Sakura and Maneki. Even with his speed and his sharingan, a handful of foes slipped passed him, barreling towards Sakura with weapons raised and bloodlust in their eyes.
Sakura glanced behind her once, knowing that the rubble that had trapped the princess would be hazardous to remove all at once. She needed time to delicately extract the girl from the ruins. Time she did not have with enemies rushing towards her.
When Maneki looked up at her, her watery, frightened gaze meeting Sakura's eyes, she hardened her resolve. Her fist tightened at her sides, her leather gloves creaking beneath the strain, as she turned to face the oncoming attackers with a look of malice and focus. No one would hurt Maneki.
Sakura released her seal.
Nothing compared to the sheer, unadulterated power that surged through her body like liquid fire as the thick black lines of her seal spread across her forehead and spanned across her body. Sakura had released an incomplete seal once before during the battle against the Senju strikeforce at the Nakano holdings - the kunoichi having been desperate for the chakra needed to save not only the lives of those in the village but her own - but this was different.
It was only during her stay with the Uchiha that she had been given the time and opportunity she needed to complete her seal. After years of funneling chakra into the limitless reservoir within her, she had finally instilled enough chakra to stabilize the seal. She had yet to find a reason to draw upon what she thought was just a reserve but, after finally opening the dam on the ocean of chakra within her, she was startled by the sheer amount of power that rushed through her body.
Every muscle, every nerve, every inch of skin sung as she ran through a set of hand signs before nipping the tip of her finger.
"Summoning jutsu!" Sakura roared as she slammed her hand onto the craggy earth.
A massive seal shot across the ground around her, dozens of feet of ink black kanji shooting outward before being concealed by an enormous burst of smoke. The battlefield stood still, all of the combatants freezing as they spotted the enormous plume of smoke engulfing the edge of the city. All was silent around her for a heartbeat before a roar like thunder stole the attention of everyone on the battlefield, a massive leopard erupting from the cloud of smoke.
Hyo snarled as he descended upon the approaching foes, his razor sharp claws tearing through not one but three opponents, blood and viscera spraying across the ground as he tore his opponents and the earth to shreds with his mighty attack. The earth quaked under the power of his strike, nearby foes losing their balance before losing their lives as Hyo mercilessly pounced.
In a burst of speed Sakura had never seen in a summon, the leopard sprinted out into the heart of the oncoming army, tearing through the attackers with a swiftness and a lethality that made her heart race. Those who weren't outright crushed beneath his enormous paws were knocked aside by the gust of wind his incredible speed and size produced.
As the dozens of enemies who had been blown back by Hyo's charge finally returned to their feet, their eyes trained on the summoner, Sakura tore the scroll from her lower back. Letting it fly open in her hands, she ran her open palm across the thick paper, a smaller plume of smoke erupting and revealing her axe.
As she returned her scroll to her back, the supplies within unneeded for the moment, Izuna appeared at her side, his mangekyo sharingan bearing down on those who dared to face them.
"I've got your back!" Izuna declared with a scowl, his hands tightening around the hilt of his katana as Sakura settled the weight of her axe onto her shoulders.
"Let's put an end to this," Sakura hissed as part of the army turned onto her and Izuna, dozens of men and women directing their bloodlust at the only two people standing between them and the princess.
"Let's," he growled in return as the enemy shinobi descended upon them in unison.
Sakura and Izuna didn't move an inch as they held their ground, protecting Maneki who remained trapped behind them. Wielding her axe with grace and unheard of lethality, Sakura cut a swath through the oncoming hoard. Some shinobi she batted away with the flat side of her weapon while others were welcomed by its far more lethal edge. The ground around her rapidly grew wet with the blood of her fallen foes, men and women alike greeting death at the hands of the kunoichi.
Izuna, using his mangekyo sharingan, seamlessly cast genjutsu that turned opponent against their own allies, creating a small strikeforce of their own that unwillingly threw down their lives against their own comrades. He released deadly fire jutsu the likes of which Sakura had never seen, his techniques so powerful that his flames burned blue.
Sakura had never been more entranced by a jutsu than by the brilliant blue flames of Izuna's techniques. She had never seen a technique so powerful and beautiful nor had she seen her friend so deadly.
Their enemies continued to push them, desperate to kill the summoner of the leopard leaving a trail of carnage through their army and desperate to make the sacrifices of their comrades worth something by kidnapping the princess. The crowd continued to attack, searching for any opening to sneak around them. Sakura and Izuna remained back to back, not giving an inch even as corpses continued to add to the growing semi circle of bodies surrounding them.
When an enemy finally broke through their line, it was Izuna with his mangekyo sharingan that spotted him. Rushing after the stray foe before he could sneak around them to take the princess, he left a hole in their defenses. Sakura backed up, trying to create a fatal funnel by using the edges of the partially collapsed buildings on either side of her. Although her plan to file her enemies towards her succeeded, she was far too close to the buildings to use her enhanced strength, the risk of crushing Maneki beneath even more rubble far too great.
Even with her seal giving her such unbridled power, Sakura was at a disadvantage. When a kunai tied to a paper bomb landed at her feet, Sakura was too busy parrying an opponent to leap away. As she watched the tag ignite, she flooded her entire body with chakra, heightening her durability to survive the point blank explosion.
She hadn't expected them to throw away their lives so carelessly…
The paper bomb detonated with an explosion of white, blinding her as it rocketed her backwards. Sakura slammed into the stone wall of one of the buildings, losing the breath in her lungs as she fell to the ground. Shaking off her stunned state, she looked up from her new position next to Maneki in the heart of the rubble.
Her ears were still ringing as her eyes fell upon a handful of men and women rapidly sprinting passed where she had once stood and towards Maneki who looked upwards with utter terror etched into her tear streaked face.
As if in slow motion, Sakura scrambled to her feet, dragging her axe behind her as she moved to stand between the princess and the hoard. Gritting her teeth, her hand tightened around the handle of her weapon before she raised it high, the kunoichi rushing forward to meet the assault once again.
She took one step then two before Hyo appeared in a flash, placing himself between them and the oncoming army. The earth shook beneath his enormous weight as he landed, the buildings trembling and people falling to their knees. His massive form swallowed up all of the space that lead into the demolished alleyway, blocking the marauders and the last rays of light from the setting sun.
Hyo released a roar, his face twisted in fury and his body covered in the blood of a hundred foes. The air shook with the power of his voice, like thunder rending the very air itself.
The strikeforce immediately came to a halt at the sight of the boss summon, fear painting every one of their faces as they skittered backwards. There was only a moment of hesitation as the shinobi looked from Hyo to Sakura and then to Izuna behind her before a voice screamed in the distance, "Retreat!"
Without a second of hesitation, the dozens of shinobi who had been descending upon Sakura turned tail and fled, joining their other surviving allies as they ran.
Taking a moment to breathe a sigh of relief, Sakura settled her axe back onto her shoulder before finally turning to kneel next to the young girl.
"Are you okay, Princess Maneki?" she asked, confusion slowly growing as she looked down at her.
Maneki's tears had dried, nothing remaining but shiny tear tracks on her reddened cheeks. Her bloodshot eyes were wide as she stared up at Hyo, her mouth open in shock. She didn't even appear to be in pain even with her leg still trapped beneath the stone of a collapsed home.
Hyo finally turned away from the retreating army, his expression was soft as he gazed down at the princess. The final rays of the setting sun snuck passed him, back lighting his massive form and lighting up the princess's awe-struck face in a golden glow.
Even surrounded by the mangled bodies of dozens of men and women, even with her broken leg pinned beneath tons of rubble, even with the trauma she must have faced with her city being destroyed around her… As Maneki looked up at Hyo, her eyes sparkling with wonder, she smiled.
After delicately recovering Maneki from the rubble of the building, Sakura used the still exhilarating power of her seal to aid in the healing of the young girl's crushed leg. A critical injury that would normally take months to heal and that would have left her with a limp for the rest of her life was mended flawlessly in little more than a few minutes.
Maneki remained distracted even as her own bones and flesh were realigned at astonishing speed. Instead, her eyes remained transfixed on Hyo, the boss summon politely waiting to speak with Sakura before he departed. The massive leopard busied himself by cleaning his bloodied fur, his face and one gigantic paw already clear of crimson.
At first, she was concerned that the princess was experiencing an acute stress reaction, that the trauma of what had happened to her had placed her into a state of shock. However, when the young girl responded to her questions and reacted to pain and other stimuli appropriately, Sakura realized that the young girl was simply fascinated by Hyo. As if she could blame the girl.
Sakura glanced behind her, watching as Hyo continued to lick the blood of his foes from his mussed fur before pausing briefly to yawn, his enormous mouth opening and revealing rows of razor sharp teeth bigger than she was.
He was an incredible sight to see.
It was shortly after Sakura finished healing Maneki's leg that Doi arrived, sprinting up to the princess and falling to his knees, his usually aloof expression betraying his deep concern.
"Princess! Are you okay? Were you hurt?" the man questioned frantically, her eyes lingering on the blood staining the hem of Maneki's skirts.
"She's okay now. She was caught in some debris during the battle, the rubble crushing her leg," Sakura began, Doi's expression twisting in horror, "I was able to heal it though and she should have no lingering effects from the injury."
"Doi, you should have seen it! Do you see the cat over there! This nice lady and her cat saved me! And the man with the red eyes too! It was amazing!" Maneki gushed suddenly with a thrill befitting the child she was, speaking more in that moment than she had when Sakura had tended to her.
"They… saved you?" he asked, turning his attention to Sakura briefly before realization spread across his face and he whipped back to face her, "What on earth were you even doing out here?! Why did you run so close to The Edge during an attack?! What's wrong with you, don't you know how worried I was?!"
The excitement in her face faded as she looked down at the ground, wringing her hands and refusing to meet Doi's eyes.
"I just… my best friend Chieko lives in The Edge and-and I didn't want you to take Lady Kitty and I thought I'd be safe with her but..." she babbled, tears building in her eyes as she tried to explain herself, "When I got here, her and her mommy were already gone and when I tried to run back home, their house blew up and blocked the way and I tried to hide b-but then a rock came from the sky and hit their shop and p-please don't be angry, I just-"
Lurching forward, Doi dragged the now crying little girl into his arms, holding her tightly to her chest as she began to sob into his stained armor.
"Neki… I'm not angry at you. I'm scared," he whispered into her dirty hair, "I was scared you were hurt or worse."
"Promise?" she sniffed, her words muffled by his armor.
"I promise I'm not angry," he affirmed, giving her one last squeeze before pulling back and giving her a stern look, the edge in his expression lost to the mist in his eyes, "If you ever run away from me like that again, I will take a tooth from you too! We'll be matching and you don't want that, do you, you little brat?"
Maneki laughed, wiping her wet cheeks and her running nose on the sleeve of her dress, "But then we'd match! I'd like that, Doi!"
The Sora-ku shinobi rolled his eyes dramatically but smiled nonetheless as he lifted the princess to her feet, turning on his heel to offer her his back. Without another word, she hopped on, looping her arms around his neck as he supported her legs. Before he turned to leave, he paused to regard Sakura who smiled in amusement up at the earth user.
"Thank you, Lady Sakura. I'll inform Queen Usugumo of your deeds today. And, uh…" Doi started before clearing his throat awkwardly, "If you could, uh, keep quiet about the water works?"
"Your secret is safe with me," she replied with a knowing look.
Doi simply nodded as he turned to leave, the man pausing once more as he spotted something a short distance away. Walking over, he retrieved Maneki's doll from the wreckage, smacking the stuffed animal against his thigh to knock off some of the dirt. Stuffing the toy into his armor for safekeeping, he glanced over at Sakura once last time before vanishing in a burst of speed.
"He's a strange man," Izuna sighed from behind her, stepping down from where he had been guarding them, his arms crossed across his chest. Although his sharingan remained active, his mangekyo had faded back into dormancy.
"He's a good dad," Sakura corrected as she closed her eyes, focusing her attention back into her seal and closing the gates on the power within her. She felt as the black lines from her seal retreated back into her forehead, leaving behind nothing but a purple sigil.
"You think the princess is the guardsman's child?"
"You don't need to be related by blood to be family," she answered with a quirk of her lips.
Before Izuna could reply, Saori, Katsumi, and Katsurou arrived, the siblings rushing forward, their eyes shining.
"Holy shit, Lady Sakura, that was amazing!" Katsumi declared loudly, surprising her with the Uchiha's child-like excitement.
"Look at that cat! He's huge! Did you see what he did to the army?!" Katsurou added, his thrilled yelling matching his sister's unruly energy.
"I do have a name, Sir Uchiha," Hyo pouted, the two Uchiha jumping back before rushing forward in unison to bombard the normally stoic leopard with questions.
As the two siblings barraged the boss summon with question after question, Saori took it upon herself to pull her clansman away from the distinctly uncomfortable big cat. Izuna, however, simply buried his face in his hand, shaking his head in agitation at the ridiculous reaction of his family members. Sakura laughed as she bumped her shoulder into Izuna's, watching in amusement as Hyo slowly retreated from the Uchiha before giving her one final, pleading look and disappearing in a burst of smoke.
As the siblings released cries of disappointment, Izuna looked to Sakura from behind his hand. When their eyes met, he returned her smile.
Despite wanting to stay behind and help with the recovery efforts, Izuna convinced Sakura that they first needed to speak with Queen Usugumo before doing what they willed in her city. As a group, they all headed to the tower in the center of the city, the squad being welcomed into the building by grateful shinobi who remained on guard following the attack.
When they entered Usugumo's chambers, they found her in the same place she had been when they left. This time, however, Doi kneeled in front of her, the woman's expression focused as she listened to what he was saying. When the door slid open, she glanced up at her visitors before her painted lips spread into a wide smile.
"Ah, just the people I wanted to see!" she declared, "Izuna and... Sakura, was it?"
"Yes, Queen Usugumo," Sakura replied diplomatically.
"Such a pretty name and such pretty hair for someone so bestial on the battlefield," the queen returned, her compliments sounding more like half veiled insults, "You have my gratitude for rescuing my daughter, Sakura. Name what it is that you both desire as payment for rescuing my ultimate treasure."
"Half off of our order and a twenty percent discount on all of our future orders," Izuna immediately decided.
"Done!" she replied with a wave of her hand, as if the financial hit was nothing, "Sakura?"
"I need space time jutsu," Sakura answered bluntly, the elder woman tilting her head although the doll-like smile didn't leave her face, "I'm a healer, as you know. I've been working on crafting a specialized jutsu and I need information about space time jutsu to complete it."
"You are a… unique woman, dear Sakura," Usugumo chuckled before leaning back into her throne of pillows, "I recently received a curious scroll about an experimental jutsu that was provided to me by another customer. They faced the Uzumaki in combat and one of the rewards delivered to them from their corpses was a scroll that just might be of assistance to you."
Sakura's heart leapt in her chest.
"I believe that the exceedingly valuable and rare piece would suit your demand quite well, don't you think?" she continued with a predatory smile.
Despite her hesitance at Usugumo's tone, Sakura answered, "That is acceptable."
"Very well. I will-" the Merchant Queen began before the door Maneki had entered in before the attack once again swung open and the young princess rushed in.
"How many times must I tell you?" Usugumo immediately began to scold, no happier to see her daughter after her miraculous survival than she was when she interrupted their meeting earlier that day.
When Maneki rushed forward this time, it wasn't to her mother's side. Instead, it was to Sakura. The confused woman looked down at her as she gazed up at her with a determined look in her eyes.
"Yes, princess?" Sakura asked, not sure what else to say.
"Let me work with your cats too, please!" she requested, Sakura's expression immediately twisting in utter confusion.
"What?"
"Maneki! Stop this foolishness and return to you quarters immediately!" the queen roared, her calm facade slipping as her daughter addressed the kunoichi so informally.
"No!" Maneki screamed in return as she spun to face her, her mother starting in shock.
"Maneki, you will do as I say!"
"No, mother, I won't! I can't! I can't be your treasure! I don't know how to be a trophy! I don't like the dresses and the jewelry and the parties and I can't be pretty for you!" she yelled, everyone in the room stunned into silence.
"I can't be what you want, I never make you happy! But I-I can be what the city needs! I want to fight like her! I want to save everyone like she saved me! I want to be like her and work with the cats to keep everyone safe!"
A long silence filled the room, nothing breaking the stunned quiet but Maneki's panting as she stared at her mother. Instead of speaking, Usugumo began to laugh mockingly.
"Do you have any idea what you're asking? You want to be a ninja? You want to debase yourself to a life of service instead of the life of a princess?" she scoffed.
"Yes!" Maneki shot back, nodding her head fiercely.
"You want to protect the city instead of live a life here where you will have everything you could ever want?"
"What I want is to help everyone!"
"You would die for these people you've never even met?"
"I never met her and she protected me!"
Usugumo stared down her daughter, the young princess not backing down as she returned her mother's intense look. Her hands formed into fists at her side and she stood taller instead, not allowing herself to be frightened by her mother's glare.
The merchant queen smiled, the breath leaving her daughter's puffed up chest in a surprised burst.
"Sakura," the woman called out, the kunoichi finally looking up from the young girl, "I have a proposition for you."
"Um… yes?"
"These summoning contracts you shinobi hold are the most valuable thing a ninja has right next to their bloodline traits and their life, yes?"
"That's right."
"Making a deal involving one would cost something so incredible that it would do nothing less than change the world, wouldn't you agree?" she asked vaguely, her words doing little more than amplify Sakura's confusion.
Sakura looked to Izuna, seeing her hesitation mirrored there, before turning back to Queen Usugumo and nodding. "I suppose?"
Standing for the first time since Sakura had met her, Usugumo rose to her feet. The many layers of her extravagant kimono billowed to the floor as her arms spread to her sides in a dramatic gesture. She laughed as her expression became sharp around the edges, her gaze predatory as she stared down at Sakura and her companions.
"Changing the world sounds like it could be quite profitable!" she declared, excitement in her eyes before she offered, "Here is my proposition: If you allow my daughter to sign the contract with your feline summons, Sora-ku will supply the Uchiha clan and the Uchiha clan only for as long as we both remain living."
Sakura's eyes widened, recognizing the severity of what the Merchant Queen had just offered her: a deal which could save the lives of hundreds of Uchiha and which would give them a monumental advantage over the other clans. A deal which could very well change the world.
A deal which already existed during her time.
"Of course, as our sole shinobi allies, I would expect the Uchiha to provide us with a strikeforce to defend my city from my furious ex-customers," the woman added with a sly look, her sharp gaze settling on Izuna.
When Sakura turned to face Izuna as well, she was met with an urgent expression that easily communicated his desperation that she accept this deal. After all, if Sora-ku supplied only the Uchiha clan than that would leave dozens of clans entirely unarmed.
That would leave the Senju without weaponry.
"I can't make this decision by myself. I need to speak with Lady Miyabi, the leader of The Pride," Sakura finally answered, turning her eyes back to Usugumo whose smile remained unmoved.
"Of course, of course! I understand your need to convene with your lady. I will provide you all with rooms for the night and we will speak again in the morning," the queen responded with a laugh before commenting, "After all, we can't change the world in a night, now can we?"
"We are grateful for your hospitality," Izuna added diplomatically, giving Sakura a meaningful look.
"Thank you for your consideration. Although, before we go... if I could make a request?" Sakura spoke up.
"Absolutely anything, dear Sakura!"
"I'm a healer and I can help during the recovery efforts. Will you allow me to help your city?"
"Absolutely not!" Usugumo laughed, waving off her request, "You are an esteemed guest and one with an incredibly important decision to make. I couldn't bear the thought of you working for us during such a critical time."
Before Sakura could argue, the queen spoke once again, "Doi? Would you escort our guests of honor to their suites?"
"Of course, my queen," Doi answered as he stepped forward, gesturing to the double doors behind them.
Sakura opened her mouth, having already gathered the breath she needed to fuel her debate, before a gentle hand settled on her shoulder. When she turned to face Izuna, he shook his head once, Sakura huffing in disgruntlement before they all followed Doi and were escorted away.
When Sakura arrived in her private room, she seriously considering sneaking out to assist in the recovery effort anyways. Through the massive glass windows of the nauseatingly opulent room, she could see that fires still burned in the distance and that people were still struggling the save the citizenry. There were people - innocent people - who were hurt and Sakura was one of the only people on the planet who could heal them.
Her thoughts were interrupted by the sound of her door sliding open and, when she turned, she wasn't surprised to find Izuna had let himself in.
"We need to help them," Sakura immediately declared as he closed the door and stepped forward to join her next to the window, "There are people who are still trapped in the collapsed buildings and people who need help. We should be down there helping with the rescue efforts, not up here sitting on our asses!"
"I know, Sakura. I know. I've already sent Saori, Katsumi, and Katsurou out to disguise themselves and help in the recovery. Doi is keeping quiet about their disappearances but there is no way that we will be able to spirit away without notice," he replied, his words a weak balm to the turmoil in her heart.
Izuna sighed. "I know you want to help. It's in your nature to help people who are in need. But you helped save the entire city today. You saved Maneki. If it wasn't for you by my side, I… I'm grateful you were here with me today."
Sakura finally looked away from the destruction out the window to her friend at her side, shocked by his confession.
"Does this mean you aren't upset with me anymore?" she asked bluntly, Izuna snorting in response.
"I am furious with you," he laughed, shaking his head as their eyes met, "But, if you can restrain yourself and never interfere with my battles again, I think I can find it in me to forgive you."
Knowing better than to argue, Sakura quirked an eyebrow in amusement. "I suppose I can agree to those ridiculous terms. But only if you tell me about those blue flames from earlier."
"I'd be happy to tell you all about them. But first, I think we have a bit more of a pressing matter to address."
Nodding with a sigh, Sakura stepped away from the window, running through a handful of seals before nipping the tip of her thumb and pressing her hand onto the face of her table. A seal, much smaller than the one from earlier, spread across the polished wood, a small puff of smoke concealing it and her hand before clearing and revealing a small, chestnut colored cat.
"Sakura!" Kurumi greeted excitedly, pouncing forward to brush her head against her thigh before pulling back with a pinched expression, "Yuck, you stink like blood too. Hyo had to bathe in the lake."
"I'll be needing to find a lake here myself here soon," Sakura joked, smiling down at the young feline, "Until then, can I ask you to deliver a message for me?"
"A message?" she asked as she sat down on the table, her tail curling around her feet. When she looked to Izuna, he nodded once but kept his distance, both of them remembering the time she had gotten her claws stuck in his hair.
"Yes, to Lady Miyabi. I need to speak with her," she clarified, Kurumi's ears perking in curiosity, "Queen Usugumo, the leader of a powerful merchant city here in our world, has offered to make an alliance Uchiha in exchange for allowing her daughter to sign a contract with your family."
"Our family," Kurumi corrected making Sakura smile.
"Our family," Sakura amended, "Can you do this for me?"
"Yeah, I can. Lady Miyabi isn't going to be happy though. You're the first human to sign the contract in a hundred years and you found us on accident."
Sakura winced. "I'll tell her anything she needs to know. The decision, of course, ultimately falls to her."
"I'll tell her what you said but I want to play with Ryuta and Kaida again when you get back to your mate's lands," the feline agreed with a nod as she stood.
"My… mate?" Sakura parroted, befuddled, before her cheeks flushed red, "He is not my-!"
Before she could complete her sentence, Kurumi was gone.
Madara sat on the engawa of the Uchiha clan head household, his back leaned against one of the many closed fusuma that bordered the inner sanctum of his home. A dish of sake was cradled in one hand, a still warm bottle at his side, as he watched the sun set over the tops of the trees.
Ever since Izuna and Sakura had left, he had felt aimless. No matter what he did, he couldn't seem to find a task that could distract him. When he attempted to train, he thought of Izuna and their daily spars. When he tried to read, he thought of Sakura and her teachings. When he went over mission requests, he thought of Izuna, and when he took Asuko out to fly, he thought of Sakura.
He had never truly realized how intricately both his brother and his closest companion were weaved into the fabric of his life until he was a day without them. The two days that followed were no different and, while he knew that they would return soon and that they were too powerful to not be safe… he found himself lonely.
As he took a sip of his drink, the sound of footsteps within his home drew closer. There was a short pause before one of the shoji doors nearby slid open, warm light shining onto the dim porch as Hitomi's head peeked out.
"Ah, there you are," she greeted with a smile as she stepped outside, a tray with a freshly cooked meal balanced on top, "I made sukiyaki. I thought something light would do for tonight."
"Thank you for the meal, Hitomi, I appreciate it," Madara replied, setting down his cup so he could take the tray from the talented cook. Even though he found his appetite to be lacking in his loneliness, he would never disrespect Hitomi by refusing one of her meals.
Setting the tray down in front of him, he scooped up his chopsticks in preparation to eat. When he noticed Hitomi remained, gazing at him with a critical eye, he paused.
"Is there something you wanted to speak to me about?" he prompted curiously, unused to Hitomi's scrutinizing pout.
"It appears you're missing your brother and a certain pink haired healer."
"Is it that obvious?" he sighed, not even bothering to deny it.
"You've been pouting for three days," she teased with a smile, Madara grumbling as he reached down to take another sip of his sake, "You should tell her that you want her to be your bride."
He sputtered into dish.
"That is highly inappropriate," he coughed, looking up at her with a surprised expression.
"How? One doesn't need the sharingan to see you both want to start a life together," Hitomi laughed, propping a hand on hand on her hip.
Madara cleared his throat before responding cooly, "Both you say?"
"For having the mangekyo, you certainly struggle to see what's right in front of you," she scolded gently, her eyes dipping down to the cup in his hand, "There is joy in more places than the battlefield and in the bottom of that dish, Madara."
There was a heavy pause before she spoke again, her voice heavy with knowledge that could only be found in the heart of grief, "You should reach for it and cherish it while you can. You never know how little time you'll have."
Madara hesitated, unsure of what to say to comfort the woman he had known his whole life. How to even begin to touch upon the sorrow she still felt over the loss of her husband. Instead, he scooped up the clean cup from the tray she had brought him and filled in with sake. Setting it on the engawa next to him in a silent request for her company, she returned his gesture with a smile.
Hitomi huffed out a quiet laugh as she sat next to him, lifting the dish to her lips and throwing back the alcohol within. She sat with him silently, watching as the last rays of sunlight drifted downwards in the sky, leaving stars in its wake.
"Thank you, Hitomi. I'll think on what you said," he finally spoke, smiling in amusement when she subtly nudged her dish towards him for a refill.
It wasn't long after Kurumi disappeared, after Sakura had removed her armor and during a conversation where Izuna had begun to explain the blue fires he wielded when he used his mangekyo sharingan, when Sakura was summoned to the jungle.
She had only been summoned to the home of the feline summons once before and this time was only incrementally less startling than the first. While she was grateful this trip didn't result in her falling from the sky and into the canopy, she was still alarmed when she suddenly found herself in the stone temple at the heart of the jungle.
The bizarre sensation of one breath being the cool, dry air of her room in Sora-ku and the next being the hot, humid air of the jungle was one that was not lost to her. More than that, she knew it would take some time for her eyes to adjust from the brightness of her suite to the dim moonlight filtering in through holes in the roof of the temple.
Even so, she did not need to be adjusted to the dim light to recognize the massive shape of Lady Miyabi, the lioness sprawled out on the stone floor with Tora at her side. While Hyo was absent, dozens of other felines - big and small - watched on silently.
"It has been some time, Sakura," Miyabi greeted, her voice as firm and commanding as Sakura remembered from the last time she had seen her.
"Lady Miyabi," Sakura greeted formally, bowing respectfully, "Thank you for allowing me to see you."
"Raise your head, cub," the lioness scoffed, her enormous tail flicking in agitation, "Do you bow to your family?"
She smiled as she lifted her head, "I suppose I still don't know what to expect here. I've never been a part of a pride before."
"Perhaps we should keep you here then? Teach you the ways of the cats? There are many things you have yet to learn from us and seeing you bow only reminds me of how much you still have to learn."
"I don't think my friends back in the human world would be particularly happy if I stayed here."
"Our family hasn't survived this long by concerning ourselves with the satisfaction of humans," Miyabi answered before adding, "Although you seem to be quite concerned with such trivial matters if what Kurumi told me was true. You wish to bring another human into our pride?"
A few hushed whispers spread in the crowd of cats who watch on. Some had curiosity in their eyes, some fear. While some look on with excitement, others glare with disdain. All, however, look on with utter fascination.
"I do. The daughter of the queen of a merchant village called Sora-ku. Her name is Maneki. In exchange for allowing her to sign your contract, Queen Usugumo make an alliance with Uchiha clan," she summarized quickly.
"And why should I care? Why would I ever let some royal child sign our contract just so your chosen human companions can benefit monetarily?" the lioness scoffed, "I will not tolerate some pitiable human child to call themselves a member of our pride just for your gratification."
"This is more than just allowing another person to join the pride - our pride. Helping the Uchiha is helping me. If Sora-ku becomes the sole supplier of the Uchiha then they won't face armed conflicts with the smaller clans. They'll be in less danger and that means less conflict for me to face while I find my way home," the kunoichi beseeched.
Miyabi laughed, her grand voice echoing in the temple and in Sakura's chest. "You are a member of my family. You are not some weakling that needs to be protected from conflict. From what Tora, Hyo, and Kuro have told me, you thrive in blood! Your power only grows stronger when you take part in the thrill of the hunt, as it should!"
"I…" Sakura started, her expression twisting as she considered her words and as she desperately searched for a way to convince Miyabi. As she thought, the sound of whispers around her grew louder.
Allowing Maneki to sign the contract wasn't just to benefit the Uchiha. It was a confirmation. She had tried to shove down this line of thought ever since she had first heard Madara speak the name Sora-ku but, as the days went on and as the battle took place and as she was presented with this choice…
"Lady Miyabi, this deal will change the world," she finally spoke, the whispers around her becoming silent.
"Oh? What need do I have to change a world that I have no place in? That none of us have a place in?" the lioness questioned.
"Because…" Sakura clenched her fists at her side as she spoke, her eyes drifting down to the mossy stone floor as she combated a wave of loss that washed over her with such intensity her voice shook. "Because the world is supposed to change like this."
"What do you mean?"
"I think I'm supposed to do this. I think we're supposed to do this." She raised her head, willing her voice to be strong. "During my time, Sora-ku is different. It is still a merchant city but the ruler of the city has a deal with the Uchiha. They are loyal to the clan, even after the Uchiha are nearly wiped out. But, more than that… the leader of Sora-ku is the only person in a dozen countries who I met who summons cats."
There is an uproar in the temple before Miyabi's voice silenced them all.
"Are you trying to tell me that this arrangement you are vying for… is a part of the future you came from?" she questioned seriously.
"Yes."
"You know what that means, don't you?"
Sakura's gaze dropped, her fists tightening as she fights the heat behind her eyes. "I do."
The look in Miyabi's eyes softened as she looked down at the kunoichi. There was a long pause before the lioness sighed deeply, the excitement in the room slowly dissolving as the big cat dropped her head onto her enormous, folded paws.
"Tell me of this princess," she said simply, Sakura looking up in surprise, before Miyabi glanced down to the spot on the stone floor before her purposefully.
The kunoichi stepped forward before settling near Miyabi's great paw, looking up into her golden eyes. She hesitated, unsure of how to act at first, but easily recognized the gentleness - the motherliness - in the lioness' expression. After taking a breath to search for the right words - the dozens of cats from around the room slowly approaching to settle around her and to listen to her story as well - she told them all of Princess Maneki.
Sakura told them all about how she first met her, the young girl rushing in through a secret passageway to present her mother with a river rock she had found in her explorations. She told them of how her mother had reacted with disdain, rejecting not only her gift but her as well. When she told them about how Maneki - even at such a young age and even with her mother's influence - had chosen comradery and adventure over wealth and beauty, Miyabi smiled. A dull rumble of approval spread through the dozens of cats who had gathered around to listen before they once again turned their attention to Sakura's tale.
She told them about the invasion and how an army had laid siege to the city during her visit; how Maneki had run away in the middle of her mother's punishment to instead find safety with one of her friends in The Edge. When she explained how her friend was gone and how she had instead found herself a victim of the bombardment of boulders - her leg becoming crushed beneath the debris of her own friend's home - silence fell over all of the cats in the room.
She detailed how her and Izuna had defended the girl, fighting back dozens of opponents who sought out the princess' kidnapping. When she talked of Hyo's invaluable assistance, there was a cheer of support for one of their strongest and most respected family members.
When she finally told them all about how Maneki stood up to her mother - how she was willing to sacrifice her life to become the protector the city needed, how she threw away her position as princess to become a warrior - there was a roar of approval.
By the time Sakura had finished telling Miyabi and all of the cats which had gathered around her of Maneki - the princess who might be joining their family, the moon was high in the sky, soft beams of light shining in from the roof of the temple. Kurumi sat comfortably in her lap, fighting dozing off in the midnight hour, as Kuro laid quietly at her side. Hyo had returned in the heart of her explanation, having taken his usual seat next to Tora who bathed him as Sakura spoke.
When she finally finished her story, her and all of the cats surrounding her looked up to Miyabi with curiosity, hesitance, and even hope in their eyes. When the lioness spoke, everyone listened.
"Rest easy for now, Sakura. Tonight, we will feast and we will sleep. And tomorrow - tomorrow, I will speak to the girl to see her worth for myself. From what you've told me, I have high hopes for this warrior princess."
A/N: Each Uchiha has their own special techniques when they are using their Mangekyo sharingan (Tsukuyomi, Ametarasu, Kotoamatsukami, etc) but some Uchiha have techniques that are even more unique to them (Madara's Mangekyo offering him fluidity in movement, his perfect Susanoo, Itachi's Susanoo having legendary weapons, etc). So, for Izuna, I imagine that his fire jutsu are amplified to extraordinary levels and that all of the fire he summons is so hot it is blue.
During the battle, if the marauders had broken through Sakura's guard and then Hyo's defense, Izuna would have used his Susanoo to protect Maneki as a last resort. He didn't use it in the beginning since his vision deteriorates significantly when he uses the more advanced techniques. He doesn't want to lose more of his sight unless absolutely necessary.
Chieko, the name of Maneki's friend, means "wise child". Her and her mother are wise for fleeing The Edge (the outer, working class border of the city) during the battle. However, this also means that Maneki had no one to protect her during the assault… Until Sakura, Izuna, and Hyo arrived.
The deal that Queen Usugumo is offering Sakura is that Sora-ku will only supply the Uchiha clan as opposed to any of the other clans. Up until now, they have been a neutral party, but they will take the Uchiha's side if it means Maneki will sign the contract. While they will no longer supply other clans, they will continue to make their fortunes by working with the other, much smaller merchant cities. Usugumo also has a number of other tricks up her sleeve for bringing in money outside of supplying the other clans (namely the riches which will trade hands from the smaller, soon to be destroyed clans to the Uchiha and to the smaller merchant cities).
Sukiyaki, the food that Hitomi prepared for Madara, is a pot of beef, tofu, and vegetables in a sweet soy sauce broth.