That night, Sakura slept in the jungle with The Pride.
After telling the cats about Maneki and after Lady Miyabi had told her she would meet with the young princess, the rest of the pride had finally come forward to greet her. While she had met the plethora of felines when she had first signed the contract with the cats, she couldn't begin to remember all of their names quite yet. Even still, they greeted her with the same warmth that one greeted a family member with.
After a few dozen head bumps and - for the massive summons or the standoffish ones - slow blinks, she was approached by Kuro.
"It has been far too long since you summoned me for training. The Uchiha may be excellent warriors but you need to train with me if you are to call yourself a member of The Pride," the panther scolded, Sakura grimacing sheepishly, "You still have much to learn about the ways of the cats."
"I'm sorry for neglecting our lessons. I didn't realize how important they were. A part of me thought you were helping me just so I didn't train alone," Sakura admitted.
"Far from it. I expect you to summon me once you return home. If you do not, I will have you summoned here and you will learn our way in our jungle. I do not care how upset your humans may be."
"I will, I promise," she replied strongly, Kuro nodding once in return.
"Very good. On another note, you are disgustingly filthy. You reek of tar, dirt, and gore," the panther continued, Sakura's expression twisting in offense, "Would you like a bath from me or a dip in the lake?"
"A bath from…? Ah, no. But, uh, thank you. I'll take the lake," she grumbled in return, still upset by his blunt statement although also self conscious over how she must have smelled to the numerous cats surrounding her. She remembered Kurumi hadn't been pleased earlier either and she flushed in embarrassment as her gaze drifted across the dozens of felines surrounding her.
Following Kuro, the panther lead Sakura out of the stone temple and into the jungle surrounding it. They followed a river that ran through their sanctuary and lead to a pristine lake, the moonlight shining off of it's gently rippling surface. A waterfall in the distance fed the sprawling lake, the distant roar of water and the sound of insects a soothing backdrop as she stripped off her armor.
After unlatching her summoning scroll from the small of her back and leaning it against a mossy boulder, Sakura meticulously untied and removed the various sections of her armor. She took a few minutes to first clean the polished metal and its leather backing, using her hands to scrub off the blood and filth as best she could. Letting it sit out to dry, she did the same with her clothes, washing them and hanging them on the branches of a twisting tree. Although she felt no judgement from Kuro who stood watch from the canopy above her, she waded out into the waters to clean both herself and her underwear.
The water was cool against her heated skin and the floor of the lake was soft against her bare feet. She took her time cleaning herself, enjoying the water which felt not only soothing but uniquely rejuvenating. Dipping beneath the surface to scrub the dirt from her hair, she lingered underwater to enjoy the weightless silence beneath the cool, dark water.
When she returned to the surface and then to the shore, she found her clothes were still wet and suspected that they would take some time to dry in the humid night air. Struggling against a sense of self consciousness at being so exposed, Kuro landed on the ground beside her with a dull thump.
"There are no humans here, Sakura. You will receive no judgement for your natural state," he explained, sensing her discomfort.
"I suppose…" she answered hesitantly as she gathered up her scroll.
The thought of wearing her still somewhat dirty and wet clothes - not to mention a long sleeved shirt and pants - to sleep in a hot and humid temple among numerous cats sounded far more uncomfortable than just sleeping in her undergarments. Even still, she felt exposed as she entered the temple alongside Kuro and it took the cats reacting - or rather not reacting - to her state of undress for her to relax.
A sense of relaxation that was immediately stolen when a handful of big cats carried in the corpses of animals from the jungle as a part of a feast. Sakura was less than pleased when one of the felines ripped off a leg and presented her the raw meat, the meal's fur coat still attached.
Although she was horrified, she couldn't help but be grateful. At least it wasn't as bad as the bugs that Naruto had to eat when he spent time with his toad summons. She briefly considered using the flint and steel from her scroll to start a fire but knew that none of the damp wood from the jungle would burn well enough to cook.
With a mental note to add firewood to her summoning scroll of supplies and an aching groan from her stomach which had been empty for over a day, she joined the cats in their meal. Sakura forced down as much raw meat as she could stomach, warm blood from the fresh flesh spilling down her chin. She found the meal to be shockingly good, disgust from eating in such a crude fashion falling away as she sated her hunger.
Afterwards, sleepiness was quick to make itself at home within her, the sights of dozens of drowsy cats surrounding her doing nothing to help. Wordlessly, the felines began to find various resting places in the temple, joining together in affectionate piles and dozing off.
Kuro approached Sakura, settling on the ground behind her and stretching out before curling himself around her back. Hesitant but grateful, Sakura laid back against her companion and made herself comfortable. Slowly but surely, other cats, both big and small, made themselves at home against her. Kurumi came and settled in her lap as others lounged at her sides and laid out underneath her legs. A couple nuzzled her hands, silently requesting her attention behind their ears or beneath their chins.
Yawning widely, Sakura rolled over, nestling into the warm bed of soft fur, purring and gentle breathing quickly lulling her into a restful sleep.
That morning, after turning down another meal of fresh meat and dressing herself in her still damp clothes and armor, Lady Miyabi sent Sakura back home to the human world.
Before sending her off, she gave her one simple instruction: "Find a location where you can summon me so I may see if this princess Maneki is worthwhile. And be quick about it, I don't have all day for your problems with the humans."
When Sakura reappeared in her suite in Usugumo's tower, Izuna already had his katana drawn and pointed at her, his eyes sharingan bright. The dark circles beneath his eyes told her that he hadn't slept much - if at all - that night, something that didn't surprise the kunoichi considering he had been alone while the rest of their squad had been helping with the aftermath of the invasion.
Lowering his weapon upon seeing it was her and not an ambush, he spoke, "You're finally back! I was worried when you didn't return last night. What kept you on the other side?"
"I'll tell you about it later. Right now, I need to speak with Queen Usugumo and Maneki," Sakura answered urgently, not daring to keep the lioness waiting, "Lady Miyabi wants to meet the princess."
"Here? In the human world?" Izuna questioned as he sheathed his weapon, "Are you sure that's a good idea?"
"There's no other choice if you want this deal to go through."
Izuna nodded. "Very well. Let's bring them the good news."
When Sakura, Izuna, and the rest of their team approached Usugumo's throne room, they were first greeted by Doi who stood watch. He greeted them - or at least Sakura - with a warm smile before opening the door, allowing them inside the gilded room which shone in the warm light from the rising sun.
Usugumo and Maneki sat on the throne of pillows within, the Merchant Queen unhappily fussing over her daughter's simple outfit. The young girl argued with her mother in a quiet voice, deflecting her attempts at decorating her with the many sparkling pieces of jewelry which sat on the blankets between them. When the door swung open, the two turned to face their guests, Usugumo smirking knowingly while Maneki's expression grew hopeful.
"Good morning, Izuna, Sakura, Uchiha. I trust you've come with good news?" the queen greeted in a saccharine tone.
"Whether it is good or not remains to be decided," Izuna answered vaguely.
"Oh? How, pray tell?"
"Lady Miyabi wants to meet with the princess herself to determine her eligibility," Sakura explained simply, diplomatically paraphrasing the lioness's far blunter words.
"I can't imagine a world in which a child of Maneki's breeding would be unacceptable, even for the beasts of other worlds," Usugumo chuckled, Sakura's hackles rising.
"Calling any ninja animal a beast will usually do the trick," the kunoichi quipped in return, ignoring the burn of discontent from Izuna at her side.
Her doll-like smile unwavering, the queen simply tilted her head and commented, "How quaint."
"If Princess Maneki is to speak with Lady Miyabi, I will need access to a large, open area to summon her. At least a dozen times larger than this room and preferably outdoors" she explained curtly, her patience wearing thin, "The drylands outside of The Edge would be more than acceptable."
"I have a better location in mind. A place far more fitting for the meeting of royalty. Let us get some fresh air in the gardens, shall we?" she decided instead, rising to her feet.
Her excessive skirts trailing behind her, Usugumo led the group as they descended from her tower. Maneki followed loyally behind but repeatedly looked back to Sakura with a thousand questions in her bright eyes. Sakura said nothing, instead just giving her a comforting smile and a nod, as her and her group quietly followed the Merchant Queen.
Passing through a towering set of double doors, opened by two guards who remained motionless and silent until ordered to open the doorway, the group exited out into a sprawling courtyard. The outdoor space was decorated in dozens of stunning flora from all over the world, many of the exotic plants blooming in strange and unusual colors. A water feature sat in the center of Usugumo's private sanctuary, the space interspersed with stone benches and marble statues decorated with veins of gold and glittering gemstones.
All Sakura cared about was that the space was large enough for her to summon Lady Miyabi.
"Stand back, please," Sakura instructed as she stepped out into the courtyard.
Taking a moment to draw in a deep breath, Sakura prepared herself to bring Lady Miyabi into the human world. While she knew that the boss summon would take an extraordinary amount of chakra to summon and while she knew that whether she would approve of the princess or not was a mystery, she wondered how the leader of The Pride would react to being in the human world for the first time in a century.
Turning her attention inward and away from the hundreds of questions about The Pride that she still had, she focused on the seal on her forehead. She was immediately greeted by the ocean of her stored chakra, the energy within her neatly contained behind a carefully controlled barrier. Releasing her subconscious control, her seal grew, thick black lines spreading across her forehead before spanning across her body.
The rush of power she felt then was very much like the one she felt during the fighting the previous day. Even without the thrill of battle to feed her excitement, her heart began to pound as the feeling of raw, unadulterated power spread through her body like liquid fire. Every nerve within her lit up as chakra flooded through her, her sudden surge of power not only taking her breath away but drawing gasps from her audience.
Not wasting any time, Sakura began to gather an enormous amount of chakra as ran through a set of more than familiar hand seals. Nipping the tip of her finger to draw her blood price, she pressed her hand onto the ornamental grass beneath her feet, an enormous seal shooting out across the ground. An explosion of smoke immediately obstructed everyone's view and concealed the entirety of the courtyard although the dominating presence within the smoke commanded the attention of everyone even without being seen.
When the smoke dissipated, it revealed the enormous form of the lioness Miyabi, Sakura standing at her side and facing their onlookers. The big cat looked down at their audience, her sharp and knowing gaze slowly sliding across the group like a predator eyeing their prey. Her stare was heavy and dangerous and, although she remained relaxed, the threat in her tightly muscled form didn't need to be voiced to be heard.
When her eyes fell upon Maneki, however, she was met with an awe struck gaze.
"Lady Miyabi. Welcome to the human world. Allow me to first introduce you to Izuna Uchiha, my friend and comrade from the Uchiha clan. He has been an enormous help during my time here. The three at his side are Saori Uchiha, Katsumi Uchiha, and Katsurou Uchiha, members of our team and my companions."
"Warm greetings, Uchihas," Miyabi spoke formally with a tilt of her head, the Uchiha dipping their heads respectfully.
"The man next to them is Doi, he is a guardsman for the merchant city of Sora-ku where we are now," she continued, Doi bowing with a flourish, before she gestured to the Merchant Queen, "He serves the ruler of the city and the mother of Princess Maneki, Queen Usugumo."
"The pleasure is all mine, Lady Miyabi. It's a delight to see such a powerful woman in a position of leadership, especially over such extraordinary beings such as the felines," Usugumo greeted in a sugared tone.
Miyabi's lip curled in disdain. "You reek of lies, human. You insult me with your pathetic attempts at deception."
Izuna leveled Sakura with a silent look of horror, an expression Sakura restrained as she held her breath, waiting for Usugumo's furious response. The Merchant Queen laughed instead, surprising them all.
"Finally, someone with the courage to speak their minds," Usugumo chuckled, her doll like smile finally falling and turning into something sharper around the edges, "You're a dangerous woman and you demand respect. I can appreciate that, especially in a potential ally."
"You speak the truth this time," Miyabi answered, her fierce expression relaxing, "I expect either it or your blood from this point forward."
Clearing her throat, Sakura gestured to Maneki who looked on with eyes the size of saucers. "Finally, allow me to introduce you to Princess Maneki, daughter of Queen Usugumo."
When Miyabi turned her full attention onto the young girl, she stood straighter as if pulled up by a string, her wide eyes filled with a wonder that had yet to fade. She took a few steps forward as if entranced, the lioness watching curiously as she came to stand before her.
"Well, cub? Have you nothing to say or do you know nothing other than to stare?" she pressed although there was no real edge to her pointed words.
"You're beautiful," the princess finally spoke, the words coming from her as if they had been taken instead of given.
Miyabi blinked in surprise.
"What a strange thing to say to an entity with not only the capacity but the will to devour you whole. Do you not understand the power of the being before you? Would it not be more fitting to compliment my strength first?" Her eyes narrowed. "As a princess, do you only care about appearances?"
"But…" Maneki's eyebrows furrowed as if she was confused by the question. "You're so pretty because you're so strong."
The lioness tilted her head as she gazed down at the young girl curiously. When she leaned down to get a better look at the girl, their audience tensed although Maneki met her gaze without fear. Miyabi did not fail to notice.
"What is it that you want from the felines? You told Sakura that you wished to work with us but to what end? What do you desire to accomplish with our power?"
"I want to be strong like you. I want to be strong like Sakura. She saved me, the big cat saved me, they both saved the city… I want to be strong and keep everyone safe too."
"You're a human princess. Shouldn't you be more concerned with your shiny stones and pretty cloth? Will you exchange your comfort for the pain it takes to become strong?
"I will do anything to protect everyone, to keep everyone in the city safe. All the people I care about…" Maneki's gaze dropped before she squared her shoulders and looked back up to meet Miyabi's eyes, "I can't be the princess the city wants but I want to become the warrior it needs."
"You will taste blood. You will kill," she pressed mercilessly, her eyes narrowing as she stared down at the princess.
"I know," she answered, the reality of her dream not shaking her.
"You may die," she pressed harder.
"If it's to keep everyone safe, I will," she declared, her voice unwavering.
There was a long moment of silence as Miyabi stared down at the princess below her, the girl staring back up at her with fire in her eyes, before the lioness began to laugh, the air shaking with the power of her voice.
"You have claws, little cub. I like this…" Miyabi smiled, showing her teeth. "We will help you sharpen them."
"You will?" Maneki answered in a gasp, her expression lighting up as a beaming smile spread across her lips
"I never repeat myself. Learn quickly. The Pride tolerates no fools."
"Yes, Lady Miyabi," she answered with a quick nod, her excitement not dimming even in the face of the big cat's chiding.
"Then let us begin," Miyabi continued, the sensation of the lioness gathering chakra making the hairs on everyone's necks stand on end.
Two bursts of smoke appeared in front of Miyabi, the concealing mist rapidly clearing away and revealing two figures. Sakura recognized the form of Kuro, the stoic panther meeting Sakura's gaze before he turned to face the group in front of them. The summoning contract for the cats hung from his mouth, his teeth closed around a rope sling which looped around the core of the scroll.
A mountain lion whose name Sakura could not remember stood at Kuro's side, the proud feline standing with her back straight and her knowing gaze locked onto the young princess.
Wordlessly, Kuro strode forward, carefully placing the scroll onto the ground. Unrolling it with his paw, he revealed a handful of blank spaces before reaching Sakura's own name. Her signature remained crimson, as bright as the day she first signed the contract, while the unknown name which followed hers had faded into a dull russet.
When Kuro sat at the head of the scroll, he curtly nodded to Maneki. She came forward almost reverently, cautiously kneeling before the contract, her eyes flicking across its surface.
"Is this… blood?" Maneki asked, glancing up at the panther.
"It is. You will sign the contract in the same way. Use your fangs on the pad of your finger. Do not hold back or you will not draw enough blood to leave your name," Kuro explained.
Nodding resolutely, Maneki raised her hand and gazed down at her fingertips. Taking a few deep breaths to gather her nerve, her eyebrows furrowing in focus, she brought her finger to her mouth and bit the edge of her finger hard. She squeaked in pain as she withdrew her digit, watching as blood quickly drained from the sloppy slice.
Taking another deep breath, she focused her attention onto the paper, staring deeply at the empty space next to Sakura's name. Reaching out, she carefully spelled out her name, her signature smudged and messy as she struggled to write with her blood.
"Now your pawprint."
Nodding again, Maneki looked down at Sakura's example before wetting the tips of her fingers with her blood. Reaching down, she pressed her fingertips onto the paper, leaving behind her fingerprints.
Sakura remembered how, when she had signed the contract with the cats, a shudder had gone down the spines of all of the felines. She wondered if they could feel the connection that was built between them and, when she watched as Kuro, the cougar, and even Lady Miyabi shivered, she found herself wondering the same thing.
"Welcome to The Pride, young cub. I expect great things from you," Miyabi welcomed formally, both Kuro and the mountain lion nodding once.
"I will accomplish great things," Maneki answered, beaming up at the lioness and drawing a smirk from the boss summon.
"Spoken like a member of our family," she chuckled, Sakura smiling widely as she watched the exchange.
Gracefully rolling the scroll back up, Kuro grasped the rope sling in his maw. Disappearing without a word, he took their most precious possession back to the safety of their world. When he departed, the cougar stepped forward, sitting in front of the princess.
"This is Anba. She is one of the teachers who trains our cubs from the moment they are born. You will obey her without question for her guidance will not only help you learn our ways but will keep you from death," Miyabi explained, the mountain lion nodding regally, "Do you understand?"
"Yes, Lady Miyabi," Maneki answered, smiling to Anba in greeting, "It's nice to meet you, Anba-sensei. I'm Maneki."
"Polite. A good start. Although you are so tiny and fragile, I could hurt you by cleaning you too roughly..." the cougar responded, eyeing the girl up and down, "I cannot have a weak cub in our pride. You will learn to be strong or you will die."
"I'll be strong!" she answered fiercely, Anba nodding once.
Looking on with a smile that had yet to fall from her face, Sakura watched as Maneki and Anba spoke, the mountain lion explaining the beginning of the young girls training. Across from them, Usugumo watched her daughter with a smile stretched across her painted lips that looked sickeningly self satisfied, the look on her face making Sakura's stomach roll in revulsion. Doi, however, watched Maneki with a proud grin, his expression actually befitting that of a pleased parent.
Her eyes flicked across the field to where Izuna and the rest of her squad stood, the group looking enormously relieved although they all kept it hidden being a regal facade. It was only through spending so much time with the Uchiha that she could see right through their farse, spotting their relief in the soft lines of their expressions. She met Izuna's eyes, the edge of her best friend's lips quirking up just enough to express his satisfaction.
They had changed the world. She had changed the world…
Looking back to Maneki and her feline instructor Anba, Sakura let that realization wash over her. She had made history that day, introducing the cat summons to the merchant city that still stood even during her own time. She had been the one to begin the alliance between Sora-ku and the Uchiha clan, a partnership that would last for nearly a century.
As she stood there watching the young girl's excited expression, she wondered if Maneki would have been able to sign the contract with the cats without her assistance. She wondered if the princess would have found the felines in the same way Sakura had - by having an attunement with them when she attempted a summoning without a valid contract.
While the chances of her forging this alliance with the cats in that way were unlikely at best, it did not address the reality of the impossible alliance that Sakura had brokered between Sora-ku and the Uchiha clan. It was so astronomically improbable that to assume that these two events would have unfolded without her direct intervention was little more than wishful thinking.
But, to accept that she needed to be in the past for the events of her future to occur, it meant-
Sakura's rapidly escalating thoughts and the wave of dread that came behind them were halted by Miyabi's voice.
"You're in danger."
Sakura's eyebrows furrowed in confusion as she looked up at the boss summon. "What do you mean?"
Miyabi scowled as she gazed out into the distance, her eyes not focused on the edge of the city but rather something unseen.
"I can smell something foul on the wind now that I've stepped into the human world once again. There is something hidden in the darkness, something lying in wait to pounce. A beast who thinks they can make prey of a predator," the lioness growled, her gaze tearing away from some place in the distance to focus on Sakura, "You are in danger."
"Can you tell what it is? Or where it is?"
"I cannot. It's a weight that hangs in the air, like the calm before a storm. You must be cautious in the days ahead. They will hold great peril for you and you must be ready."
"I will," Sakura answered seriously.
"We are always here if you need us. Do not forget this when the storm hits," Miyabi pressed, Sakura returning her declaration with a half smile.
"I won't forget. Thank you. For everything."
The lioness gazed at Sakura for a long moment, as if searching for something in her expression. There was something unspoken in the depths of her vast, golden eyes, a worry that Sakura could not ask about with the audience still watching from the corners of their eyes.
Instead of speaking, Miyabi nodded once before disappearing in a great plume, the smoke clearing as rapidly as the smile from Sakura's face.
A/N: You guessed it… Sakura is the one who originally introduced the merchants of the city to the ninja cats. Nekobaa translates to Grandma Cat and, because she was given no official name passed her title, I named her Maneki. While Sora-ku still exists in Sakura's timeline, it is because of Usugumo's greed and the rage of the clans she betrayed that the city collapses. It is only because of Maneki's determination and skill as a shinobi and as a summoner that the city still lives secretly within the ruins of the once great merchant village. And it is because of Maneki that she still honors the agreement made between her mother and the Uchiha clan.
The scroll that Sakura carries contains her axe, her medical supplies, and a plethora of other equipment. It is an upgraded version of the one she carried when she first arrived in the past, a page she took out of Tenten's book. Imagine Sakura's surprise when she saw Hashirama on the battlefield for the first time and they were twinsies.
Anba, the name of the cougar who is Maneki's teacher, means "Umber". Umber is a brown earth pigment and its color can range from a lighter tint to a darker shade depending on the amount of iron oxide and manganese oxide in its composition. I named her this because cougar's are a tan/brown color. Cougar's go by many different names (mountain lion, puma, catamount, etc) because they are so widespread.