Sakura sat in front of the two urns stoically. The tears hadn't hit her yet because the idea that her parents were no longer living just didn't seem plausible. Paper's had been gathered ready for her signature, authorisations to pack up the apartment and terminate the lease. Details to be provided on merging her parents accounts into her own. Forms to update her address, changes to her next of kin. They were stacked neatly on the low table ready for her when she was ready for them.
In the end it was Inner that forced her hand while she waded through the week in a fog. The paperwork was filed. The apartment she'd lived in was packed up into sealing scrolls and placed in a sturdy cardboard box, ready for her to go through when she could. Sakura was moved into the last bedroom on the ground floor of Granny Atsuko's house. It had a narrow platform bed that was tucked away behind a folding screen while the rest of the bedroom was more like a living space, with a low table and several cushions to sit on.
Sakura met up with Team 7 for another D-rank mission as planned. Kakashi was pleased that she hadn't quit. Sasuke was unnerved by the lack of attention he was receiving from her, and Naruto was oblivious to her withdrawn attitude.
They're all idiots. Inner grumbled.
They don't know and I don't think I want them to. What would be the point?
The point would be that they could support you. Neither Naruto or Sasuke have any family. They know how you're feeling. They know what you're going through.
No.
She set to work cleaning up the riverbed and ignoring the boys when they started to fight. Kakashi was all about teamwork, but unless it came to physical blows, he never stepped in. She was tired of always attempting to be the voice of reason.
She collected her pay at the end of the mission and barely acknowledged Kakashi's announcement of a training session the next afternoon after their mission.
She stepped back into Granny Atsuko's home and immediately clamped her hands down on her head where the crazy lady's cane had just smacked her.
"I thought you were a kunoichi?" the old prune scoffed.
"I am," she yelped diving sideways to avoid another smack.
"Just not a very good one," the old woman muttered. "What's that jōnin instructor of yours doing if not training you?"
"Sitting back, reading porn. I want to get better but I don't know how."
Atsuko considered her for a long minute before grunting and turning away. "Follow me and don't dawdle. If you want to get better I'm inclined to help you. I have very little opportunity to pass on my knowledge and I'm getting on in my years."
"What do you know about being a kunoichi?"
"More than the rest of the clan," she snorted and slid open a panel that Sakura had thought was a solid wall and led the way down under the house.
"Close the door behind you, I don't want just anyone to know this exists." Sakura did as she was told and cautiously followed the old lady down into a room that was filled with books and scrolls and knowledge.
"I wasn't born a Haruno. I didn't even marry into the clan. I was a refugee, and already old when Uzushiogakure was destroyed. As far as I know I'm the last Uzumichi alive. The head of the Haruno clan took me in and allowed me the use of the name in return for security seals to keep the wagons and the warehouses safe from fire and theft. Have you heard of Uzushiogakure? Or the Uzumichi or Uzumaki clans?"
Sakura was walking around the shelves, her fingers trailing over the spines of the books and the ends of the scrolls while she listened with half an ear.
"Naruto Uzumaki is my teammate, the Shodaime's wife was an Uzumaki wasn't she?"
"She was. Mito Uzumaki."
"What happened to Uzushiogakure?"
"Civil war. The Uzumaki, Uzumichi, and the Neoni were three small clans, united against the rest. They were targeted by the Tetsunami, Higake, Gohanken, and Yumehi clans, along with their various allies. Despite the unbalanced sides, we were winning. Slowly but surely, we were winning."
"We?" her voiced echoed startled by the admission of solidarity. Atsuko smiled sadly.
"I was a kunoichi of Uzushio and I fought in the civil war. I lost my husband and my son in one of the initial attacks," she added reminiscently. She shook her head as if to clear it. "When it was clear we would put an end to the civil war for good, Kirigakure and Kumogakure joined forces and destroyed Uzushio completely."
Sakura gasped. "What? Why?"
"The Uzumichi clan were once feared for very good reason. We had an instinctive skill when it comes to fuuinjutsu and we weren't slouches when it came to the rest of the shinobi arts either. The Uzumaki were just as skilled and just as feared. War showed the world just what we were capable of. I managed to get to the Land of Hot Water and met Junpei Haruno and his wife Naomi. They helped me escape and took me in while the other survivors were hunted. Konoha took in some that escaped thanks to the close Uzumaki ties with the village though a lot didn't know if the village was to be trusted. After all, Konoha didn't help Uzushio even though they were allies."
Sakura ran her words around in her mind. "How can you live here?" she asked. "Knowing that they didn't help when they could have." Atsuko sighed.
"Konoha isn't my enemy. They didn't help Uzushio, but they didn't help Kiri and Kumo either. This is a very important lesson to learn girl, allies are only allies until they're not and no village is always kind and nice. As a shinobi you must take this to heart more than most."
That was something that Sakura had first encountered on the bridge when Gato had turned on Zabuza and when Zabuza killed them all in return.
"Konoha is as good a place as any to live and be a part of," Atsuko continued. "I keep the fact that I'm a Uzumichi well guarded and I expect you to never speak of it to anyone. But if you are willing to put in the hard work, I am willing to teach you how to be a kunoichi."