Sakura awoke with a start, not for the first time that night, but thankfully the last, as sunlight filtered in through her thin curtains and she groaned and rubbed her face violently into her pillow in frustration. The man with the Mask had been a constant presence in her dreams. She had woken up covered in sweat a handful of times, looking fearfully around her room, getting up to check her bathroom, closet and peeking outside of her window before falling back into her restless sleep. She pulled herself out of bed, shook her head in an attempt to clear some of the fog, and went to take a shower before she got ready to face the day.
Sunday morning passed much like the previous had. Sakura helped out with her family's store before her mother informed her there was nothing else that they would need her for, and that she should enjoy her last day off before returning to the academy in the morning. "Why don't you go look for the little Aburame boy?" Sakura grimaced. "Mum, I told you! He's busy today."
"That's right, I'm sorry Sakura-chan, your father and I are just so overwhelmed with everything, it just slipped my mind. With the rumors from-" Mebuki cut herself off, turning away from Sakura. She took a step towards her, "What rumors mum?" Mebuki turned to smile at her reassuringly, "It's nothing Sakura-chan, I let my words get away from me. It's nothing you need to worry about."
"I'm not a little girl anymore! I'm going to be a shinobi soon." Those were the wrong words. Sakura winced at the look she caught from her mother. "Well Sakura-chan, I thought you told us you were going to be training outside of school, why don't you go do that?" Sakura shrunk under her mother's gaze, saved only by their shop's door flying open to reveal her father back from another delivery.
"Mebuki, my dear, have you seen the package for the Nara that they ordered from us last week?" Mebuki nodded and walked towards the back of their shop, leaving Sakura alone with her father. "Dad, what's been going on?" Kizashi winced. He doesn't have the same poker face mum has, Sakura thought. He'll break. She looked at her father with her biggest eyes, hoping that he wouldn't be able to lie straight to her face, and saw his mouth opening and closing, trying to decide on what he would tell the young girl.
"Sakura-chan." He implored with a smile. "It's just rumors about some of our trade routes. Sure, there are some other whispers around the village but-" He was interrupted. "Hizashi!" Mebuki's voice shot across the small space like a whip. "Coming dear!" Hizashi walked forward and gently tussled Sakura's pink locks before he joined his wife in the backroom that they kept the already spoken for merchandise.
Sakura stomped her foot into the ground in frustration, thankful neither of them could see her, and left to go into their back garden grumbling all the way. I'll be more observant, Sakura promised herself. If her parents had heard something, she was sure she would hear it too if she kept a lower profile. That's going to be hard considering you resemble cotton candy, she thought glumly.
Sakura changed out of the purple dress she had chosen that morning into some more appropriate clothes, shorts and a slightly too big t-shirt. I'm still a girl, Sakura thought, before grabbing a hair tie adorned with butterflies to pull her long hair into a high ponytail like Ino wore. That's better, she thought, as she played with one of the red and white insects. It was getting to the hottest part of the day as morning bled into early afternoon and the thought of her hair touching her neck made her shiver in disgust.
Sakura took her place under the small bit of shade her garden had to work with before setting to work on her push-ups. Sakura assumed a textbook perfect position and set to work. I should really warm up, she thought, but if she ran first, she knew she wouldn't have the energy. Sakura began counting in her head as she lowered her small body to the floor and back up again, locking her elbows. One. She did it again. Two. This isn't so bad. Three. Sakura made it all the way to fourteen before she fell to the ground in a heap.
Fourteen. Sakura let herself dwell on her measly number for a couple of minutes before rolling herself over to attempt the sit-up's. It's just up and down, she told herself.
Twenty-three. Her stomach muscles burned, as did her arms as she lay on the soft grass. Sakura squinted her eyes open a fraction to look up at the clouds. I can see why Shikamaru likes to do this. It's making me sleepy. She brought her hand up to palm her forehead roughly and forced her already aching muscles to cooperate in dragging her to her feet.
It's time to time myself running. She had asked to borrow a stopwatch from her father, an amused look on his face as he handed it over. "Do your best Sakura-chan!" Sakura looked around the small space. I could run back and forth, she mused. I'd get bored, but I could do it. She sat on the idea longer than she should have, on one hand she didn't want anyone from school seeing her, on the other, it was nothing she should be ashamed about. Sakura finally decided to make her way to one of Konoha's more scenic banks to run with a view.
Sakura ran to her room to check her appearance before deciding to change from her t-shirt into one of her rarely worn qipao dresses. This one was a dark green that her mother said brought out her eyes, but other than the color, it was identical to her usual red one that she wore to the academy.
She took one last look at herself before rummaging under her pillow for some pocket money in case she got hungry, filled up her purple water bottle covered in various stickers and called through the open shop door where she was going, "See you later Sakura-chan!" she heard her father's muffled voice call out.
Sakura took her time making it down to her chosen location, dodging any possible interactions with people who recognized her by taking back-alley routes and after about twenty minutes of walking found herself at the steep hill overlooking one of the large lakes that resided in Konoha.
It was a tranquil oasis situated within the lush greenery of the villages surrounding forests. Its expanse of clear shimmering water reflected the blue of the sky and the flowers and foliage along its banks. Sakura had come here often to watch the water swaying gently with the breeze, occasional ripples from whatever fish may be living under its surface, and the waterfowl that frequently landed and took off. It's impossible to be stressed out with this view, she thought.
It's now or never. Sakura jogged in place for a couple of seconds before hitting her stopwatch and setting off along the path that surrounded the body of water. The weight of the water bottle weighing one of her arms down took a few minutes to get used to, but the reward of water far outweighed her discomfort.
She made it all the way to the other side before her legs felt like they would collapse under her small size, her breath coming out labored and she slowed to a complete stop to desperately chug some water. She looked down as she turned her stopwatch off, twenty-three minutes and eighteen seconds. She committed the number to memory so she could write down her progress to relay to Shibi-san the next time she saw him.
Sakura began the walk back round the lake, taking her time. I don't have anything else to do today, she thought. The sounds of birds filled her ears, her thundering heart no longer drowning out her hearing. A vibrant blue dragonfly danced in front of her face as it moved through the air towards the water, an equally spectacular red one following soon after. Sakura's eyes strained to pick them out as they flew further away but finally gave up and continued walking.
Sakura made it another quarter of the way round, sticking to the shade as much as possible, before she spotted a figure sitting on the edge of one of the few piers scattered along the riverbank. As she neared closer his features became more distinct. Sasuke-kun!
Sakura took a moment to just simply look at him. He was wearing a navy blue, short sleeved shirt with a high collar, his family crest worn proudly on his back, white shorts and had decided to forgo his usual white arm warmers, Sakura noted. He was staring at the water, the breeze slightly tousling his lengthening black hair, bangs falling over his eyes.
She had been so preoccupied with Shino at school that she really hadn't registered Sasuke's presence during her lessons on Friday. She might have usually sought him out over the weekend, hoping to catch a glimpse of him and his family running errands, but she hadn't given the dark-haired boy any thought. He called you pathetic, she reminded herself.
"I am." She whispered. Shino doesn't seem to think so, she reminded herself.
Sakura froze as Sasuke looked her way, a scowl darkening his young features at the sight of her. Sakura flushed with embarrassment. She would usually be overjoyed to receive any attention from him, but she didn't want to give him the opportunity to hurt her feelings again like he had done after their spar. She pointedly looked away and continued her walk, increasing her speed as she passed him, a side road only a few feet away that she knew would take her past the Uchiha compound and the police station.
It's out of my way, she thought, but she wanted to put as much distance between them as fast as possible. Sakura made it a few more feet before Sasuke's voice broke the tranquil silence. "What are you doing?" His even tone carried over to her easily and she turned to look down at him only to find he had gotten to his feet and was facing her.
My throat is closing up, she thought with no small measure of panic. Speak, Sakura, speak! She pleaded with herself. She felt like she was a toddler again when her parents had caught her sneaking sweets before dinner. "I was running…" Her voice came out quiet. He tilted his head at her and frowned before climbing the steps up to where she was standing. "What?"
"I was running." She repeated only slightly louder than the last time. Sasuke heard her clearly this time.
"Why?" Now it was Sakura's turn to frown at him. She blushed all the way to the tip of her ears, voice coming out forced, "Why not?" She challenged, "I'm sure you run all the time." It was childish of her, but Sakura didn't like the way that he was studying her. Sasuke merely grunted and walked past her. She didn't watch him leave, eye's fixed on the ground, feelings hurt by his dismissal regardless of how stubborn she had been being. He called over his shoulder suddenly, "Aren't you walking this way?" Sakura's brain raced as she stumbled over her feet to catch up with him.
It wasn't a long walk from the lake to the Uchiha compound, five minutes tops, but it felt like an eternity to Sakura. She had dreamed of this moment ever since she had caught sight of Sasuke-kun at the park. She had been five. She was even more overjoyed to share her class with him. I made a fool out of myself so many times, she thought sadly, absentmindedly kicking at a rock in her path, watching it tumble into the green grass on either side of the dirt path.
Sakura decided to bravely try and cut through their silence, not knowing if she would ever get the opportunity to talk to him like this again. Make every second count, she thought desperately. "I've started a training regime…'She mumbled. "I'm trying to get my endurance up. Shibi-san and Shino-chan have been helping me with it." Sasuke grunted in acknowledgement. "I saw you sitting with him at school." Sakura looked at him, surprised he had even noticed.
"Shino-chan has been very kind to me. It's...It's really nice to have another friend in the class." No response this time. 'Maybe…Maybe you could join us for-" Sasuke cut her off. "It's not a good look to go around befriending so many clan heirs." Sakura's feet stopped. What did he just say? She felt furious tears welling behind her eyes. "That's not what's going on." She insisted. Sasuke only grunted once more before turning his back to her and walking down the path that led to his compound's gates.
She angrily raced towards him and grabbed him roughly by the arm, causing him to turn his head to look at her angrily. "You're wrong." She spat, with as much venom as she could muster. She watched his scowl turn into one of surprise before Sakura sent him one final glare and stalked off, stomping her feet all the way. It took every ounce of her willpower not to turn around and launch her water bottle at him. He would probably just dodge it or take it as an opportunity to beat her with it.
She angrily scrubbed her cheeks clean as fresh tears began to fall regardless of her efforts. Stop being such a cry-baby, she thought furiously. All it seemed she had done recently was cry. "Sasuke-kun…Sasuke-kun is such a… he's such a jerk!" She spoke out loud, causing a civilian woman walking on the other side of the street to jump slightly at her outburst.
"Pink-chan. That's not a very kind thing to say about my clan head's youngest son." She recognized Inabi's voice instantly this time, turning around wildly only to jump with surprise as he landed gracefully in front of her from a branch overhead. "My name is Sakura!" she shrieked in her most obnoxiously high-pitched voice. He only smiled widely at her. Sakura didn't know any of their clan could show teeth like that and she took a step back despite herself.
"Pink-chan is just so much fun to say, and it suits you." Sakura quickly sidestepped his reaching hand, unwilling to let the man mess up her hair she had meticulously tied up. She scowled at him and made her way past the measly blockade his body made in the road. He followed her.
"So, what has our young Uchiha done to upset you?" Sakura didn't reply, trying in vain to gain ground but it was futile due to his much longer legs. "I don't want to talk about it. It's nothing." She whispered. Her earlier anger at Sasuke slowly left her body with every step she took, feelings of shame and anger directed at herself replacing them. Sakura sighed deeply.
"It doesn't sound like it was nothing." Inabi pressed gently. "It is." She insisted. 'I lost my temper, Sasuke-kun didn't deserve that. I'll apologize tomorrow at the academy." Inabi was silent for a long moment. "It sounded to me like you stuck up for yourself, I wasn't sure you had it in you."
Sakura turned to find the man looking down at her and she slowed her pace. "Shouldn't you be angry with me for talking to one of your head family's children like that?" Inabi shook his head. "Not if said child deserved it." He shot her a small smile which Sakura returned after a moment of hesitation, giggling at the wink he sent her way.
"Never apologize for sticking up for yourself Pink-chan. There are plenty of people in this world that might take advantage of your kindness one day, or your lack of confidence." Sakura mulled his words over. They made sense. She had spent the last couple of years as a punching bag for her classmates, terrified of the potential retaliation if she mustered up enough courage to stand up for herself. "Thank you Inabi-san. I'm working on it." She smiled up at him. 'That's all we can ever ask of ourselves." He replied.
As the now commonly seen together pair passed in front of the police station, Sakura took a moment to admire it. The large building was made out of sand colored stone with four pillars framing the two sets of large glass doors serving as the building's entrances. As Sakura tilted her head back, she could see two round windows adorning the upper floor either side of a larger thatch-style window in the middle. The Uchiha crest stood proudly for all to see at the very top, a fan-like design consisting of a red top and a white bottom.
Inabi came to a sudden halt and turned to look at the leftmost large glass doors. Sakura followed his gaze to see a figure walking towards them, Fugaku Uchiha, her mind supplied as she took a step back to put herself slightly behind Inabi, using him to shield as much of her body as possible, peeking out from under his arm.
Fugaku was a tall man with short brown hair that reached his shoulders, and beady onyx-colored eyes that seemed to look straight through her. He had visible creases below his eyes, inevitably brought about by the stress of his job and the untold number of missions and even a war he would have found himself a part of. He was wearing the standard flak jacket associated with the title of Jonin over the top of a long sleeve black shirt with the Konoha Military Police Force embedded on his shoulder; there also seemed to be a diamond pattern etched into his trousers, Sakura noted.
He came to a stop in front of them and Inabi respectfully tilted his head forward, "Uchiha-sama." Sakura didn't move from behind him, her manners failing her as Fugaku's piercing gaze landed on her. "You must be Sakura Haruno. Inabi-san told me that you had an incident last night in Konoha's red light district."
Sakura let out a small sound of distress as she grabbed Inabi's arm. "You told on me?" she whispered furiously; betrayal apparent in her jade green eyes. "Pink-chan. I didn't tell on you. It's my job to keep our Chief of Police informed of everything happening within Konoha's walls." That did nothing to soothe her. "Inabi-san, if my parents find out, they'll never let me out of the house again! I'll be pulled from the academy! I'll be-" Fugaku cut her off.
"I don't think that this is anything I'll need to inform your parents about Sakura-san." Sakura sighed in relief as her fingers relaxed on Inabi's arm. "However. It is entirely inappropriate for a girl of your age to be in that part of the village after dark, you could have been hurt." Sakura looked down at the floor, feeling very small at the man's disappointed tone, "I know Uchiha-sama, I promised Inabi-san that I wouldn't do it again."
Sakura missed his nod of acknowledgment at her words but didn't miss his feet turn to make his way back into the building behind him. Sakura blurted out, "What about the masked man?" His feet paused, slightly turned away from them. "Inabi mentioned that you believed you saw such a thing last night. However, he returned to canvas the area and saw no sign that anyone had been there." Her heart dropped once more. He didn't believe her either. The monster that now haunted her sleep was one only she could deal with. "I didn't lie…" She whispered sadly.
"I didn't say you did. Rest assured Sakura-san, I have already told my officers to keep an eye out." Sakura looked up hopefully and locked eyes with the clan head. He seems sincere, she thought. "Thank you Uchiha-sama." She bowed respectfully this time and after Fugaku told Inabi to return to his duties, she was left alone with his "Keep out of trouble pink-chan" ricocheting around in her brain.
It was nearing midafternoon as she passed by the park that her and Shino had found themselves in the evening prior, blushing at the memory of the clover he had gifted her, but that wasn't enough to break Sakura out of her thoughts. Why would the Chief of Police take me seriously? He could just be humoring me, she thought glumly. She knew her parents had done it often enough. But maybe, just maybe, this wasn't the first sighting Fugaku had become aware of in the village.
A shout derailed her. It was Naruto. He was waving at her from underneath some of the tree's that lived alongside the outskirts of the park. 'Sakura-chan! Sakura-chan!" His smile lit up his face. She paused, put her head down and continued walking. She wasn't in the mood after that conversation with Sasuke, and she was already exhausted and hungry. Her father's words echoed inside her head. "Naruto Uzumaki is just a boy, Sakura-chan. Show him kindness and remember that."
She closed her eyes in frustration. He was right. It was Sunday and Naruto was alone at the park as per usual, the other children and parents giving the blonde child a wide berth and slinging insults at him if he tried to come near. It was a situation Sakura had seen often but had never cared to try to rectify herself.
She steeled herself and took a chance. She turned and waved at him, signaling with her hand for him to join her outside of the park and watched in horror as a yellow and orange flash ran full speed towards her, drawing the attention of all the other occupant's and even some passing by Shinobi and civilians. It's too late to care about that, she thought warily as the boy stood in front of her, not even out of breath from his full-on sprint.
He was wearing his signature orange and blue jacket, a white swirl with a tassel on the left side and the red Uzumaki crest on the back. Sakura had been intrigued when she had first seen it and had raced to the library after class to try to find out its meaning. All she had come up with was a vague story about the now destroyed village, Uzushiogakure, and came to the conclusion that Uzumaki must be a name given to some orphans in the village, Naruto's blonde hair clashing with the red she had learnt was customary in their clan.
His ensemble was completed by the orange pants he wore, an empty shuriken holster on his right knee and blue sandals that came up to above his ankles. His hair was the color of sunshine and his blue eyes reminded Sakura of the sea she had seen during trips with her mother and father. Most distinctive, pft, it can't get more distinctive than bright orange clothes, Sakura thought, were the three whisker markings on both of his cheeks. She had asked her parents about them but had once again only been met with non-answers, "Every child is different Sakura-chan."
"Sakura chan! Do you want to play something? We can play whatever you want! Believe it!" Sakura used the last of her energy to keep her eyes from rolling, "Let's get something to eat." She acquiesced instead. Naruto punched the air with excitement before his features fell. "Actually Sakura-chan…I don't actually have any extra money right now." She stared at him as he gingerly rubbed the back of his head with one hand, smiling sheepishly back at her.
"I'll pay." She decided. Naruto seemed to vibrate in front of her, "Is this like a date Sakura-chan?" She sent him an exasperated look. "No, Naruto! It's not a date. Do you want food or not?" Naruto's stomach growled in answer. "I know a really great Ramen shop, Sakura-chan! It's not very expensive and the old man and his daughter are really nice." Sakura nodded. Ramen does sound good, she thought, "Lead the way."
She followed Naruto through the city center, purposely ignoring the looks they were receiving. Sakura focused and strained her small ears to try to decipher some of the muttering and whispers passed between them. "Demon child" whispered one woman, clutching her newborn baby to her chest, "He shouldn't be allowed here." the owner of the food stall she had visited the day prior intoned to the customer he was serving. He's lost my business, she decided.
Sakura turned to see Naruto doing his best to become as small as humanly possible and Sakura quickened her pace to match his increasingly frantic one. "I'm sorry, Sakura-chan." Her reply was instantaneous, "Why are you apologizing? They're the ones in the wrong." She ignored his bewildered glance as they came to a stop in front of what must be the ramen restaurant Naruto had been bringing her to.
The exterior was a modest wooden facade, slightly weathered, with a hanging sign bearing the restaurant's name swaying gently in the summer breeze, falling down to obscure the heads of whomever was eating inside. A large lantern hung on one side illuminating the darkening street, beckoning patrons inside with the promise of warmth and good food. Sakura's own stomach rumbled at the smell from the entryway.
Sakura followed Naruto inside, surprised to find it empty except for the two cooks behind the counter. "Old man Teuchi! Ayame-san! I've brought a friend." Sakura emerged shyly from behind him into view and spotted the two cook's standing behind the high counter. Ayame was a very slender woman and had long dark brown hair, dark eyes and fair skin. She was wearing a white robe with the sleeves folded and a dark blue apron with ribbon ties at the top and bright white bandana.
Teuchi was far older than the woman. He wore a similar uniform paired with a small white hat upon his head. He had a kind face and smiled widely at the sight of them. "Naruto-chan, it's been a few days since I last saw you. Who's your friend?" Naruto smiled widely, "This is Sakura-chan! She's super awesome. She also goes to the academy with me!" Sakura blushed as she followed Naruto's example of taking a seat, much more gracefully than simply throwing herself at it like he had a second prior.
"I haven't received my allowance yet but Sakura-chan is the best and offered to pay!" Teuchi laughed. "I'll make sure he doesn't break your pockets, Sakura-chan. What can I get for you?" Ignoring Naruto's outburst of "Miso ramen, miso ramen!" Sakura took a quick glance at the menu and ordered shio ramen. It did look delicious. "It'll be right out." Teuchi declared before the pair got to work prepping the noodles.
Naruto babbled excitedly next to her about everything and anything that came to his mind and Sakura listened intently, throwing in her two cents and answering any questions he directed her way, politely brushing off the more invasive ones like, "So, do you have a boyfriend, Sakura-chan?"
Sakura was saved as their food was placed in front of them, a chorus of 'Itadakimasu!' Sakura savored the silence, and her food, as Naruto was busy polishing off his first bowl, another put directly in front of him instantly. Sakura took her chance to peek at him from the corner of her eye.
Naruto was a lot like her, she thought. She had been this excited to see Shino the day prior, desperately grasping at anything that might resemble a friendship. He's not that bad to be around, she thought. I could do this again. She finished off her second bowl as Naruto made his way through his sixth and frowned worriedly at what this might cost her.
She began pulling the money out of her pocket when Teuchi kindly said quietly, for only her to hear, "It's on the house, Sakura-chan." She began to protest, stubbornly pulling out a few bills to make the older man take whatever he would from her, but he waved her off. "It was enough of a payment to see Naruto-chan come here with a friend."
She paused and looked at him before finally giving him a grateful smile, 'Thank you for the food Teuchi-san, I'll be back soon. It was amazing." Naruto's cry of 'believe it' was loud in the small space and they left without much fuss on the blonde boy's part.
"Thank you for the food, Sakura-chan!" He looked around at the darkening sky, face falling as he asked, "Do you have to go home now?" Sakura nodded with a small smile. "Thank you for the company, Naruto, I'll see you at the academy tomorrow." Naruto winced and pointedly didn't give her confirmation as to whether he would be attending or not, before smiling brightly and running away, "You're the best!" following him as he disappeared back towards the park.
Sakura had stayed out far later than she would have liked, and when she was out of sight of the illuminated restaurant signs and various lanterns adorning the heart of Konoha, sprinted towards her house as though she was being chased by one of the Inuzuka's furry companions. She arrived panting only to discover all of the lights in her house were off. That's not right, she thought. Her parents should be home at this time of the day. She walked a few paces back to their shop and tried the door, locked.
Don't panic. She walked back to her house and cautiously opened her front door. She jumped back just in case there was an intruder waiting for her. There wasn't. She took a deep breath and walked inside, flicking on their kitchen light. There was blood on the floor. And the walls. Her water bottle hit the ground with a crash and her breath quickened, voice calling out frantically, 'Mum? Dad? Where are you?" A single sheet of paper caught her eye and she dashed towards it, not even noticing that the soles of her shoes were now crimson, leaving tiny footprints amongst a multitude of others on their kitchen floor.
The brief, roughly penned note read, 'Sakura, there's been an accident. Your father and I are at the hospital.' Sakura crumpled the note in her hand and took off running towards the hospital faster than she had ever thought she was capable of, tears once again streaming down her face. She pleaded and prayed desperately all the way.
Please. Please. Please let them be okay.