8
She saw it coming. A flash of green light escaped from tight fists. The first gate. Years of training should automatically make her retaliate against her hostile opponent and lash out with all the strength she had. Yet her body remained still, her mind both petrified by fear and her principles. The promise she made to herself. A great mass of energy crashed into her body with the speed of light. Sakura braced herself for the impact, letting out a gasp of shock when she was thrown up in the air, a few steps back from her initial position. Everything hurt suddenly. Even though the grass had cushioned her landing, a striking pain flared through her back and chest.
"Oh, my—are you alright?!"
"Ugh," she groaned. "I've had better days."
"It's my bad! I shouldn't have— "
"Just give me a few minutes, Lee."
"Affirmative!" he shouted joyfully.
Eyes closed, head lain down on the verdant meadow, her thoughts wandered to the woman responsible for her affliction, for all this vain and nonsensical game she had been forced to play. First the mission, and now her punishment for failing it. Banned from the hospital, her personal belongings all taken away from her, she had had no choice but to go through Tsunade's wicked plan – once again. The mad woman had ordered Lee to train her in futile hopes of bringing back the confident and lively kunoichi she used to be, not caring the least about discarding Sakura's wishes. And so, she had been compliant throughout the last two weeks, sweating, running, and training her body every day, it wasn't like she had anything else to do.
Thankfully, Masako, known as the librarian, had brought a bit of variety into her daily life by asking her to help her daughter take care of the library while she was away – visiting relatives. Sakura had always felt comfortable in books, so naturally, she had accepted happily this temporary responsibility.
Back on her feet, her body healed up, Sakura met the apologetical gaze of her new sensei. He wasn't supposed to use any technique involving chakra against her, however, she couldn't blame him for trying to spice things up.
"I think you're not ready to take things to the other level with me, Sakura-chan."
"Lee."
"Erm", he coughed. "A dear, and lovely friend of mine's joining us today!"
"That was your surprise?"
"She's a wonderful friend," he protested. "With whom you've already shared many adventures, that, I have no doubts!"
Sakura couldn't quite share his enthusiasm, feeling suddenly exhausted, she sat down, "She better hurry then."
"What are you doing, Sakura-chan?"
"You just told me—"
"Training's not over! On your feet!"
She obeyed reluctantly.
"On the floor!"
"But—"
"Fifty push-ups! Quick!"
"Lee!"
"Don't argue, Sakura-san! We need to keep those muscles busy!"
She sighed, and went back to the ground, pitying Lee's young students, but just as her palms touched the grass..
"Oh! There she is!" he shouted.
Sakura, who couldn't care less about decorum, just lay down on her belly, like all strength had abandoned her.
"Lee-sensei!" a woman greeted.
Her voice didn't sound unfamiliar to Sakura.
"Yūgao -sensei! I almost thought you wouldn't come!"
"Mah, you know how it is. Everything's always a race against time when you— wait, is this Haruno-san?"
"Yu…Yūgao-san?" Sakura muttered as she recognized the long purple hair of the kunoichi
"Unbelievable," she said while helping her get back on her feet. "How long has it been? Three? Four years? You look so different, you…you're a woman now!"
"I…guess ," Sakura answered, feeling slightly embarrassed.
Yūgao Uzuki wasn't someone she considered a friend per se, but someone with whom she had shared something special during an unconventional time. War made you cross paths with people you would never meet under other circumstances. A teenager helping a former Anbu captain sounded absurd on paper, however, Sakura truly believed she had helped her back then.
Now, I'm the broken one.
"Let's catch up later, shall we? Before Lee-sensei gets impatient," she suggested. "Lee! Where's that student of yours that requires my assistance?"
Lee scratched the side of his neck, "Well…"
Sakura felt like she wanted to be swallowed by the ground right now.
"She's right next to you!" He finally said. "The most charming— "
"Lee."
"May I have a world with you, Lee-sensei?" Yūgao asked, her voice meaning business. She glanced at her, and then at Lee. "In private."
"Naturally!"
They put some distance between them, allowing Sakura to let her mind wander for a bit, in an attempt to chase the awkwardness she was feeling. She contemplated the cloudless cerulean sky, a slight breeze weeping pleasantly cooling her off from her intense training. As nostalgia from her genin time filled Sakura, her eyes caught a movement far ahead into the field, a silhouette slowly moving towards a tree.
"Haruno-san!" Yūgao announced cheerfully, "I apologize for the misunderstanding," she laughed from embarrassment, "I didn't have all the cards in my hands!"
Still observing the newcomer, Sakura answered absentmindedly, "It's all right."
"I gather your presence here means you're willing to change, so I'll spare you long and boring moralizing speeches."
Sakura eye's shifted to the kunoichi. "Someone's observing us over there."
"Who—" she looked towards the forest and said in a stern voice. "A dog."
Lee frowned, his hand lifted over his forehead, "I didn't know dogs could be this huge. Are you sure—"
"Believe me," she insisted. "Just—don't pay any attention to it. Now. To work guys! My curiosity needs to be sated!"
"Sakura-chan."
That was the only warning she got, before he launched at her, ready to make her suffer again. Just like earlier, they spared and fought for a while, moving swiftly like the wind as such taijutsu training demanded. This time, she anticipated the opening of his first gate—while she had trained with Lee in the past, she couldn't claim to be aware of what he was capable of nowadays. Just like before, seeing the threat coming didn't trigger any reaction in her, other than acceptance and surrender.
"Could it be that you fear hurting him?" Yūgao inquired, as Lee helped her back on her feet.
As much as it pained her to disappoint the purple hair woman, Sakura realized she had no other choice than to tell her the truth. "I—I don't know. I'm not as willing as you think, Yūgao-san."
"Lies," she hissed. "You wouldn't be here if there wasn't just a little bit of you hoping for change. Let's do it again, try pushing back Sakura-san, don't shut yourself off when things get serious."
Pushing back, what for?
Some part of her wanted to lash out at them. But both Yūgao and Lee had nothing to do with this. Only Tsunade was to blame and that was something she had to keep in mind. The dog observing them distracted her tormented mind for a second, especially when she noticed there were now two dogs.
"Someone else—"
"Ignore them."
"Yūgao-sensei, if you must leave—"
"Long gone are my Anbu days as captain, when I had such a tight schedule, and so many responsibilities, I had absolutely no time for myself. Not even for my family, I tell you! They can wait, Lee-sensei."
He gave her a thumbs-up, "I expected no less!"
He turned to her with a sincere smile, although her heart wasn't in it, Sakura nodded, accepting his invitation to spare. Lee became even more invigorated than before, making it harder for her to keep up, yet she held her ground as well as she could, knowing, nonetheless, how it would end.
"Now, Sakura, don't let him win!"
Down on her back.
"Again. Get up!"
And they kept doing it for a while until her opponent shifted into the most unexpected person. Confused, she stopped fighting at once and gave a concerning glare at Lee, who'd been pushed to the ground.
"What the hell are you doing, Anko!?"
"I'm sick of watching you play," she shouted at Yūgao, she then looked at her with the most disturbing stare, "Long time no see pinky , let's play l a bit like growns-up do!"
Unlike Lee, Anko Mitarashi gave her no warning, nor did she go easy on her, attacking her with a brutality that shook her breath away instantly.
"What?" she laughed. "Weren't you tired of being treated like a little princess?"
Sakura wiped the blood from the corner of her mouth, staring at the mad woman with all the dislike she could mutter.
"Come on, pinky. Don't tell me you've never fantasized about beating the shit out of me. Now's your opportunity!"
She slammed into her relentlessly, throwing her body around like a rag-doll. Sakura felt like her head was going to explode any time from now, however, she could still discern screams from Yūgao, urging Anko to stop this madness.
"So that's who you are now? A scared little girl, who refuses to fight properly."
"Shut up."
"You disgust me! You're just so spoiled, pinky."
She kept taking hit after hit, without being able to retaliate.
"Poor princess lost her parents, and now she thinks she's better than everyone else!"
Anko unleashed one of her jutsu, making her arm turn into nasty snakes, ready to suffocate her. Sakura didn't know what made things different this time, but could only guess it was a mix of frustration, exhaustion, and the mere sight of such snakes, reminding her of painful memories. It all triggered something unexpected. A wave of energy broke out from her body, shielding Sakura from her assailant and crashing into Anko Mitarashi with great force. When she realized what had just happened, Sakura fell to the ground, confused and scared. Both Lee and Yūgao rushed to her.
"Sakura-chan! Are you alright?!"
"Haruno-san, this… isn't how it was supposed to go," Yūgao apologized.
"And that's how it's done," Anko said proudly while removing dust and dirt from her clothes. "You treat her like a fragile little thing, she'll act exactly like that."
"Anko!" The purple-hair woman screamed. "What the hell's wrong with you? This isn't how we do things!"
"I got tired of waiting with your dog, Yūgao! Besides, it worked, didn't it?"
Sakura was on the edge of breaking down. She had broken her promise, without even meaning to, but even the choice of pondering and lamenting herself about her actions was taken away from her, as Anko forced her onto her feet. "Can we go eat, now? Pinky, I'm sure you're hungry too!"
She made her walk by her side, hugging her shoulder tightly to keep her from falling down.
"Listen, Haruno. "she whispered. "Don't start making up ideas about how your sensei goes around disclosing things about your predicament . Nobody gives a shit about you. I just overheard her complaining about you. Months ago. A year ago. Can't remember. Didn't give the slightest damn. Seeing you being so lamentable definitely made me remember her words though. Are we good now?"
"I don't—" she coughed out some blood. "I don't care if— if the whole village knows."
"Tch! So are we good or not?" she squeezed Sakura harder against her body. "Haruno!"
"Yes," Sakura greeted behind her teeth.
"Do I need to expect a visit from your lovely husbands?"
"No."
She snorted, "A shame, I wouldn't have minded Uzumaki."
Sakura started coughing again just when she let her go. Somehow she didn't feel as shattered as before, soothing the pain from her body being now the only thing she could think of.
Lee, who had been walking behind them, came to her, "Sakura-chan, I owe you an apology—"
"I'm fine, Lee."
"I've no idea what went through her mind," Yūgao said, thoughtful.
"What was this jutsu?" Lee inquired. "You've never done this before."
"Please, I don't want to talk about it."
"Come, Lee-sensei," Yūgao asked, understanding she wanted to be left alone. "Let's give a word to Anko."
She started healing herself at last, ignoring the three jōnins arguing loudly ahead of her, as well as the man, dog, whatever it was, that was silently walking behind her.
"No, I'm not planning to take other diplomatic missions, Lee-sensei. I've traveled enough for a lifetime. Plus, as you know, I've got a team of genins under my wing now."
"Cheers to that!"
Comfortably seated at a table outside a quiet restaurant in the village suburb, the whole group was eating the most succulent food, gyudon, a one-dish meal of thinly sliced beef, onions, and eggs over rice. There wasn't anything more appropriate to forget everything about the awful and stressful afternoon she had. Even the man seated in front of her, the most unlikely person she would have ever expected here, sharing a meal with them, didn't disturb her peaceful state.
"How's the Soma hunt going on, Shisui?"
The shinobi shook his head, "The joke's getting old, Anko. I hold no grudge against any of them."
"How sweet of you! Well, I've been more successful than your kinsmen…" she smiled like a wolf, glanced at Yūgao, then him, "and you. For sure."
"What have you done?" he asked, a glint of amusement sparkling in his eyes.
"You mean who."
"Ah, the joy of youth," Lee muttered, like a nostalgic hermit. "Isn't it your team over there, Yūgao -sensei?
"My— No way! What the—"
Anko started laughing, "Spying on their lovely sensei! Let's go punish them!"
"No, wait—Anko!"
Both women left in a hurry, followed shortly by Lee, who, as polite as always bowed to her quickly, "We'll meet tomorrow, Sakura-chan. Same place, same time."
She nodded without saying a word, her fingers holding a warm and well-deserved cup of tea. Now, if only the man in front of her could leave too. Having nothing else better to do, as his friends were busy taking care of curious children, she felt his gaze on her.
"Are you always this quiet?"
She looked over her cup, her eyes narrowing in suspicion.
"I never had the pleasure to meet you."
"Nice to meet you, Uchiha-san," she said in her most monotone voice.
"You don't look as scary as they make it out to be."
"Wait until you see me on a bad day or…drunk ."
"Isn't it a bad day today?"
"Nay. Not after eating such amazing food here," she took a sip of tea, "You're quite talkative for an Uchiha."
Shisui chuckled, "So, I've been told." He pushed the bowl full of tsujiura senbei, little rice crackers, towards her. "Pick one."
"Hm," she hesitated but ended up choosing one, that she then broke carefully into two pieces.
"What does it say?"
She pulled out the little paper hiding within , "Of the thirty-six stratagems, running away is the… best. "
Incredulous, they both look at each other. Shisui beckoned her with his fingers until she handed him what was left of the cracker, which he ate immediately, "Again, Haruno-san."
She opened a second one, her eyes narrowing as she found out more about her fortune .
"Well?" Shisui said, still chewing.
"A fish at the bottom of the abyss."
His fingers snatched everything from her hands this time, not out of exasperation but in a firm and confident way, only to end up choosing a cracker himself, "Open this one, please."
Despite being skeptical, she complied once again.
"When poisoned, one might as well swallow the plate."
Their eyes met, and remained still for a long time, until Shisui broke the silence with a chuckle, "Ah! 'Never believed in these things anyway."
At that moment, Sakura's stern mask fell for the time today.
"So you do smile Haruno-san."
She offered him the third cracker, which he accepted without hesitation and ate with enthusiasm like the other ones. Although he looked like an Uchiha, he didn't behave like one at all. How strange how she felt like she could trust someone she'd never met before. He reminded her of Naruto somehow, and she understood now why Shisui Uchiha had such a good reputation.
"Insolent little brats!" Yūgao grumbled as she sat right next to Shisui, close enough that their shoulder touched each other. "Ah, even my family isn't this noisy. Yours seemed so well-behaved, let's swap our students Shisui!"
" Not happening in your wildest dreams, Yūgao-sensei ."
"Tch." She bumped his shoulder into him. "What's with the stare, Haruno-san?"
"Nothing."
If someone like Yūgao Uzuki could find peace, maybe, just maybe, there was still hope for herself after all, however, how unreachable it appeared to be right now.
The afternoon training had utterly exhausted her. Not just physically, but mentally. She left her bathroom, wrapped in a tight white towel that barely covered her leg. Out of habit, she went to her right, where her room was supposed to be when it suddenly occurred to her that she wasn't in Naruto's flat anymore. She cursed herself. One week had passed since she had bought this place. Her place. Her home. She still couldn't believe that it was real. It was something that she had been considering for a while now, even before her teammate came back from their training, three weeks ago. Naturally, Naruto didn't take well her decision, convinced she was doing this to somehow punish him for abandoning her. He needed to understand their arrangement wouldn't have lasted eternally anyway. Plus, they were grown-up now, with their own habits, quirks, and wishes, and Naruto had never been a considerate flatmate, far from it. No, she didn't feel any guilt.
She took the right direction this time, and entered her room, although it didn't look much like one yet seeing as there was barely any furniture. Her new paradise happened to be located at the extremity of a building made of semi-detached apartments above shops. What was so special about it was that the place looked somewhat abandoned, all because of some ghosts. While the first house was occupied by a deaf man, the middle one had been completely condemned, suspected of being invaded by recalcitrant evil spirits. Needless to say, the landlord's business had been rather compromised, so much he sold Sakura her now new home for a risible price. Two habitable stairs, a third one condemned – that she had every intention of cleaning up— they all belonged to her. As for the shop underneath, she was told the place was used as a storage room for a shoemaker nearby.
In other words, she got herself one of the quietest places that she could have ever dreamed of. Sure, they were other habitations right in front of hers, but it was nothing like living in the heart of the village. To her right stood a magnificent dōjindo shrine, where people worshipped earth and soil –how fitting since it was one of her elemental affinity—and behind, a small forest crossed by the Naka river. A marvelous setting that made her feel lucky. The landlord had called her brave, if not mad, for buying this place. But Sakura had no care for ghosts, spirits, or whatever it was that haunted parts of the building. She was more afraid of her own demons, and as long as they didn't bother her, she didn't have any reason to be apprehensive.
After dressing herself, she went downstairs and let herself fall on the couch like she had no more strength left to keep standing. Like most homes in Konoha, each level was extended by a roof, and so when she glanced at her wide-opened window, her jaw dropped in amazement as she recognized a shape standing straight behind.
"Are you kidding me?!" she yelled, seeing the man span her windows.
"Doesn't look like home."
"Yet."
"Hn."
"That's all you're going to say?"
"It's quiet."
She smiled, knowing this was his way of expressing his approval.
"Except for those ghosts."
"What ghosts?"
"My new neighbors," she revealed with a sigh. "The middle house's full of ghosts. Third floor as well. Apparently."
"You bought a haunted house?"
"It's no big deal. As long as they don't bother me, I won't bother them."
"Ghosts are not some inoffensive spiders you can just ignore, Sakura."
"Well, I wouldn't have gotten this place for this cheap if it wasn't for them. So, I'm rather pleased with everything. Including those ghosts."
"Hn, whatever. I want you at the ceremony next week."
"Really Sasuke? I was going to come anyway..." she mumbled, massaging her head. "You're not planning to sabotage yourself this time, are you?"
"Not on purpose."
"Pff! Naruto will bash your face into the nearest wall if you fail."
"Already done."
She looked at him for the first since he had arrived and had to hold herself from chuckling at the sight of his face. A huge bruise was darkening his right eye, and all the skin around it looked swollen.
"You told him the truth."
She reached for his face automatically, having done this so many times before, "What did he say?"
"Nothing."
She paused, bitterness taking hold of her thoughts. She knew this pattern all too well. It was always the same one. Every time something was wrong they came to her in the name of friendship, burdening her with their ills, without ever worrying about hers. But was it really the truth or was she simply letting her demons cloud her judgment? She heard a voice all of a sudden, a low silken voice resonating through her mind.
Not weak, just lacking.
"Sasuke-kun," she said with urgency, holding her now healed-up face between her hands. "We're so proud of you. Naruto, me, Kakashi-sensei. Even though you didn't choose the most conventional path back then... In the end, it doesn't matter. We'll always have each other's back—"
"Have you been drinking!? Why're you being so weird all of a sudden?" he shouted, getting away from her abruptly.
Sakura ignored the insult, "I'm serious, Sasuke-kun."
He frowned, "Why are you telling me this?"
"Just wanted to make sure you knew."
He darted to the door, which didn't surprise Sakura, dealing with emotions had never been Sasuke's forte.
"Get rid of those ghosts, Sakura," he said, standing still under her door. "You look pathetic."
Sakura cursed him as the door got shut. Despite this, a flicker of hope made its way inside her. Maybe they weren't completely blind after all, maybe they knew and pretended not to. Naruto, for instance, had this unhealthy coping mechanism, if something was wrong, he would just pretend everything was fine as if he could change reality by his willpower. Sasuke, on the other hand, was simply a coward afraid of letting anyone see that he cared. Well, he had certainly proven that he did care tonight – in its own way. Sakura felt her head getting heavier just when she was about to close her eyes, she heard a firm bang on her door, making her heart jump in her chest.
Kami-sama! Why can't he just invite himself in now?
Sakura dragged her feet to the door, and opened it abruptly, "Wha—"
Her mouth got shut closed by the sight in front of her. This wasn't her teammate at all. Instead, a girl she had never seen before was standing at her door, with wide-opened blue eyes. She had white braided hair tied up into one large bun above her head, pale skin, wore a tight sleeveless silver outfit that went up her neck, and white tabi shoes splitting her toes. They were only one kind of person wearing such attire in Konoha.
The Sōma clan.
"My name's Emi Nuzura Sōma, third daughter of the great monk Kuchyose Nuzura and the priestess Maki Nuzura, bonded by oath and blood to the clan Sōma for thousands of generations, and I've chosen you, Haruno Sakura, to train me in the healing arts."
"I—I beg your pardon?"
"My destiny's to become the greatest iryō-nin of the fire country."
"How old are you exactly?"
"I celebrated my one-hundred-twelve lunar cycle last winter."
"Ah… Can you repeat that with words I can understand?"
"I cannot, but I promise I'll learn how to do it, Haruno-sensei."
"No! No, please! Don't call me that!" She urged on. "I must be dreaming… Who told you to come here?"
"Visions were revealed to the seers—"
"No. Stop. I got that already. I mean who gave you my name?"
"Ameno-san."
"Ameno?!" she repeated, utterly dumbfounded. "Ameno? Ameno from Suna?"
"Yes, Sensei. I met Ameno-san while I was visiting the Medical Division headquarters in Sunakagure."
" Stop calling me that! What did she say exactly?"
"Sakura Haruno is the most gifted iryō-nin I've ever met," she said in a deeper voice, almost sounding like Ameno.
Right.
There was no way someone like her would have said such a thing about her.
"And you believed her?"
"Other iryō-nins mentioned your name."
"I think you shouldn't take stranger's testimonies too much at heart," Sakura advised. "Were you really invited into their headquarters?"
"Yes, the door was wide opened."
"I think you got fooled, Nuru…Nuzu."
"Nuzura-san," the girl corrected.
" Nuzura-san," Sakura repeated. "I think they just told you lies to…make you go away. You're aware of who's our Hokage here, right?"
"Tsunade-sama the Godaime, Konohagakure's legendary Sannin, daughter of the Senjus, and descendant of—"
"Stop. I don't need her biography." Sakura crossed her arms on her chest, starting to get impatient. "Well, you do know who she is obviously! Don't you think asking her to train you would be the most sensible thing to do then?"
"The seers said only the most skillful one would train me."
" I wish the old woman was here to witness this ..." Sakura mumbled, starting to feel like she was talking to a wall.
"Only the most capable, the most accomplished, and the most masterly. I came upon your name more than once through my searches, which was how I understood our paths were meant to cross, Haruno-sensei."
"You've been told wrong, Nuzura-san. Trust me. And even if there were any truths in whatever people told you about me, I'm in no position to teach anyone anything. Do you understand me?"
"Nobody can escape from their destiny, Sensei. "
"Shh, I don't have time for this. Get out of my property!" Sakura hissed. "And don't come back!"
She slammed the door, not giving the slightest damn about how childish it looked. All she could feel was extreme satisfaction. Back at her former flat with Naruto, she would have never done such a thing, seeing as they had neighbors. Here she could do all the noise she wanted to without bothering anyone. This was her home, and she wasn't going to let anyone come here with unwelcome demands.
"Hmm, let me see ma'am. This one's a rutile." the man opened his hands, letting her see the treasure within. "Or should I say a quartz with some rutile? See the little elongated fragments there? The red ones. That's rutile. Great to help digestion.
"How does it work?" Sakura asked, looking at the stone closely "Am I supposed to cook it?"
The seller laughed, "No, ma'am. You must expose it somewhere inside your home. Preferably not on the ground."
"Like on a shelf?"
"Yes, the higher the better, its power will be magnified."
"May I see another one? That one for example."
"The yellow one?"
"No, the green one."
"Good choice." He picked the stone between his fingers. "This's a beryl. Often green, sometimes blue or colorless, a bit transparent as you can see. Quite hard, like quartz. What do you think it's good for?"
"Headaches."
"Close. It helps relieve concussions of all sorts."
"In my experience, they're no ways to relieve the most severely afflicted. Only their strength of mind, their will to live, can save them."
"I only speak the truth. Beryl enhances courage as well!"
"How about something that can keep rodents away? The kind that keeps coming back to harass you, like ghosts!"
"Ah! A cat might be more of use to you than my crystals. For rodents, that is! As for ghosts and spirits, I do have something quite unique that might fit your request, ma'am."
"'Sounds like a deal."
He grabbed something from under the market stall, "Here. Doesn't it look magnificent?"
"It looks…different than anything you've shown me so far."
"Indeed, this's called a migmatite, born into the deepest part of our world, where only bad spirits dwell. The migmatite represents the frontier between the living and the evil spirit's realm, a bridge one might say, which can be used to redirect them where they belong. The darkest part depicts stability, although there is so much pressure and so much evilness that it doesn't look so steady anymore, as in deformed in many places. Thereafter comes this colorless liquid part infiltrating itself inside like a disease. That's the instability where the foul spirits live."
Sakura, who had been listening to the merchant carefully, picked up the strange rock, "It doesn't look liquid though."
"But it used to be," he answered with a smile. "This migmatite should help your ghost find its way back to its proper realm."
"How much?"
"Eight thousand ryos."
Sakura lifted her eyebrow, "It really better work, or else—"
"I'll pay for my sensei!"
This voice.
Not again.
She turned around and glared at the newcomer with her eyes narrowed. Emi Nuzura Sōma, the new plague of her life. The merchant didn't lie, this rock had no effect whatsoever on rodents and pests. The little minx, just like she'd feared, had been harassing her, stalking her, following her like a little hopeless duckling for almost a week now. Every morning, Sakura found little gifts behind her door, food, strange pastries—nonetheless quite tasty— along with clay animal structures in diverse colors. If it kept going on, she might even be able to set up her own market stall to sell all the girl's junk.
Nevertheless, this needed to stop, the question being how to pass the message across her stalker's head. She had lost count of how many times she'd asked her to stop.
"No, don't take her money," she urged the merchant, her eyes drifting back to the little girl. "You! You're starting to get on my nerves. I think I've been nice enough. Patient enough—"
Emi Nuzura handed some bills to the man, acting like she didn't just tell her not to do that.
"No!" she slammed Emi's hands, making all the bills scatter on the ground. "I don't want your pastries! I don't want the stupid trinkets you put in front of my door every single morning! And the last thing I need's your money! So will you now kindly get out of my life?"
Sakura didn't get to see the girl's face, as she'd been busy gathering the fallen bills. When she got up on her feet, she just left silently, without a single protest.
Good riddance!
"Here," Sakura said to the merchant.
The merchant gave her a look of disapproval as Sakura handed him the money, "A bit harsh, don't you think?"
She snorted, giving him a weak smile "Thank you, sir ."
The market happened to be quite crowded despite the fact that the sun was starting to go down. People were most likely looking for a place where they could calm their hunger or simply spend the evening, as regular shops and market stalls were closing soon. Unlike them, Sakura didn't feel like eating outside this evening, she was just really eager to go back to her cozy home, far away from all disturbances. Just as she looked far ahead into the street, she couldn't help but notice the fancy attire of her new friend standing out from the crowd. Glittering silver. The little girl stopped in front of a pastry stall at some point—like most children would, although Emi Nuzura seemed to particularly like them—and as she approached her location, Sakura's eyes fell on the man to the girl's right, then the one to her left, and finally the last one, just behind her back. Even though they weren't close enough to Emi to shield her completely from everyone else's sight, the circular and not-so-discreet formation they made around her was incontestably questionable – if not alarming.
She suddenly felt the need to walk faster.
Shadows coming from the roofs made her blood run instantly cold, only confirming her suspicions. A storm was brewing and she just so happened to be right in the middle of it. Sakura brought her attention back to the young girl, only to realize that she was gone, just like her new friends. No, it can't be! Sakura understood she had now no choice but to get involved, whether she wanted to or not. She scanned the crowd hastily, looking for that sparkling silver. It had to be somewhere. Just when she was about to go forward, she saw it , a tiny glimpse of white and silver going through a door.
She sneaked through the crowd quickly and entered the place. A yakitori restaurant specializing in chicken skewers. Several people were queuing inside, while others were comfortably sited in booths. Where did she go? Sakura looked around hastily, gaining hostile stares from some customers for being too nosy – not that she could blame them. Then, all the air she'd been holding for the last minutes came out abruptly. Emi Nuzura. The girl was sited beside an elderly couple, completely unaware of the dire situation she was currently in.
"Nuzura-san," Sakura called out. She noticed her puffy eyes right away. "You've been crying."
"Tears of joy," the old woman said. "That's what she told us!"
"Forgive me?"
"Hai, Sensei. I feel immensely gifted for receiving my first lesson today."
Sakura would have shaken her head in another context, "Look, I've got another lesson for you."
"I am ready for anything you'll ask of me, Sensei ."
"Go under the table then. Right now! Don't move. Don't speak. Don't do anything until I tell you so."
The old couple looked at Sakura like she'd gone mad, "You never saw her here, got it?"
Sakura returned to the entrance with haste and joined the queue without thinking when she noticed two men passing through the door. The same ones she'd seen outside earlier. Just like her, they pretended to join the line, appearing absolutely inconspicuous. Sakura felt their presence behind her back, multiple scenarios started forming in her mind as her heartbeat quickened.
"Not here." a voice whispered.
"No. This is the right place."
"Look around you. No silver here!"
If she had any doubts regarding their intention, they just all vanished at this instant. She heard one of them curse and then nothing. Sakura gave a glance a quick towards Emi's hiding before she left the restaurant, she started strolling from stall to stall, like any passerby. Except, she wasn't exactly shopping. She counted three groups, about ten men in total, all firmly resolved to find a harmless little girl. What motive could they have?
A sharp pain suddenly flared through her shoulder, as a man bumped into her.
"Watch your step!" he hissed, his eyes lingering long enough on hers, to let her see a glimpse of red within.
Uchiha.
How blind had she been! They were all Uchihas, dressed in civilian clothes devoid of their clan's crest, something they never did, unless they had a really good reason to, unless they were planning to kidnap a little girl in plain sight, one that happened to belong to their enemy, the Sōmas. Sakura had no interest in clan politics, however, like all villagers living in Konoha, she was aware of the current feud between the Uchiha and the Sōma Clan.
She didn't imagine it was that bad. Uchihas were by no means angels, but going as low as to go after a child, she really couldn't see any way to justify it. How important was Emi Nuzura?
A pair of jōnins passed in front of her, one of them made a movement of acknowledgment as he recognized her, she nodded back, although she had no idea who that was. Uchihas weren't going to let anyone see them act, that she had no doubt. While she didn't' underestimate them, she knew that they were the kind to overlook details when they had their mind on one thing, especially when they were pissed off. And they sure seemed to be, judging by what she'd witnessed. They were looking for silver right now. Nothing else. The thought of visiting the clothing stalls back to where she'd bought her stone seemed suddenly very appealing.
Sakura returned to the Yakitoki restaurant about half an hour after leaving Emi Nuzura. She found her exactly where she'd left her, minus the old couple.
"You may get out, Nuzura-san."
The minx crawled out of her hiding right away, in such a graceful way nobody could ever mistake her for a peasant. Seeing her blank porcelain face, and her keen unblinking eyes, made Sakura fantasize about smacking her face.
The things I do for strangers…
"Are you pleased with me, sensei?"
"Aye. It's not over though," Sakura grumbled. "Put this on."
"The warm weather doesn't require me to wear additional layers."
She's too clever.
"Am I your sensei or not?"
She put on the black cloak reluctantly, and as expected, it covered everything that needed to be covered. The little girl didn't seem well pleased by what she was seeing. The members of the clan Sōma sure seemed to like wearing sophisticated and shiny attires. Sakura could easily imagine how alien wearing such bland colors felt to them.
"Cover your hair too."
Satisfied by the result, she took her hand, "Follow me."
"Oi!" the owner shouted to her. "What'ch you doing, woman? Goin' and comin' here without buyin' anything!"
"Keep walking."
Once outside, Sakura tightened a grip lightly, realizing there were now fewer people walking through the market's streets. There wasn't any other option now and so they went forward, walking at the same pace as everyone else.
"Is it a habit of yours to invite yourself wherever you want to go?" she asked Emi, as they reached the first crossroad.
"They kindly invited me to share their meal."
"Just like the Medical Division of Suna, I bet."
"Hai, sensei."
Sakura stopped in her tracks abruptly, identifying four men ahead of them that looked exactly like Uchihas. She led the girl back to the market's crossroads, choosing another path. This time, she felt like they needed to increase their pace, or else they would never get out of this place.
A feeling of dread swept over her when, once again, she saw a group of men—three this time—coming their way menacingly. They couldn't go back now, or they might get caught by both groups. Sakura looked everywhere for a way out. A shop. A market stand. Anything big enough to hide them. But it was already too late, whatever direction they took, the group would see them now. Even though Sakura's nerves were on edge, she kept walking with confidence as the Uchihas passed by them
One, two, three.
It worked!
They didn't pay any attention to them. Victory suddenly didn't seem out of reach. However, a quick glance behind herself made her regret rejoicing at her premature triumph, for the group of Uchiha had turned around, and she was now positive they were all looking at her, wondering what was her deal.
She saw an alley a few steps away and made the most logical decision.
"Go in," she told Emi, making her enter the narrowed alley. "Let's run a bit, shall we?"
They ran through the alley and ended up on another market's street, which they crossed over, before darting into a second narrowed backstreet. And finally, they were out of the market, it didn't make Sakura want to slow down any less.
"A disturbance in my body's temperature is making me feel uncomfortable, Sensei."
"Training will heathen your body way more than that, Nuzura-san." She commented while pulling back the black hood from Emi's head.
After a short while, Sakura spotted a kid's playground between two buildings, a perfect place to lay low, pushed the high bamboo fence, and lead the noble girl inside.
"I don't believe this place is appropriate for me."
Sakura groaned, "I know something else that's not appropriate. You. Walking by yourself. Without supervision."
"I wasn't by myself, I was with you since the beginning, Sensei."
"You really have an answer for everything, don't you?"
"I do."
I can't wait to see what she's going to be like in a few years.
"Where are your parents anyway?"
"At the Tokuno-shima shrine. Back home."
"They didn't follow your clan here?"
"Oto-san and Oka-san fulfilled their destiny thereby sacrificing themselves to ensure I could fulfill mine."
Not destiny , Sakura thought with sadness, but war.
She observed the Sōma girl for a while, who had just started to pull out some pastries from a small white paper bag. They were both orphans. Except Emi Nuzura would never get the perfect childhood she had. She didn't know exactly in which circumstances her parent died, although she likely witnessed their death. It was no wonder that she looked a bit off. And yet, despite everything, here she was, full of energy and very determined to accomplish what she'd put her mind to.
Sakura felt silly all of a sudden, maybe she was the one who needed to learn a thing or two from Emi Nuzura.
"Sensei."
Sakura didn't feel like correcting her anymore, "Hm?"
"I feel sleepy."
"Don't you dare fall asleep right now, I still need to—"
A whole pastry still in her mouth, she fell forward like a dead weight.
After pulling her back by the shoulders, Sakura immediately attempted to wake her up, shaking her madly, "No way I'm carrying you back home! Wake up Nuzura! I don't even know where you live! Come on!"
How strange it was to fall asleep so abruptly.
Wait.
The little sugar ball still inside her mouth suddenly looked like a horrifying sight. She took out the thing at once and inspected the paper bag by her side. There were still plenty of pastries left, the bag being almost full. She knew, however, it only took one bite to poison someone.
I can't believe this.
She examined one of them more closely, cutting it in half to observe and scent the texture. Everything looked homogenous, with absolutely nothing indicating a lethal substance was involved. Apart from being asleep, the girl had no fever nor tremors, confirming the relatively harmless nature of the drug – this would mean the end of the Uchiha Clan otherwise. The absence of any solid pills proved the drug had been mixed during the making, which implied they must have had an accomplice. Likely the baker.
'Can't imagine the men from earlier cooking such perfect food.
Emi Nuzura bought sweets and pastries every day, they knew she would come, and they expected her to taste them, because what kid wouldn't? Then, they just needed to follow her closely and wait for the drug to kick in to pick her like a flower, without anyone suspecting anything, since the girl had no way to ask for help.
Sakura felt revolted to her core, as she lay down Emi on the bench. It was starting to be late, in the end, she was going to be the one accused of kidnapping her if she didn't bring her back soon.
But first…
"Let's try to get some of this shit out of you!"
The way to the Sōma neighborhood felt like an eternity, thanks to the ghostlike state of her new protégée, fighting not to fall asleep. Though she had extracted most of the poison, mainly the part that hadn't flowed through her bloodstream yet, the girl was still very affected, suffering from fatigue and headaches.
"The gates! At last." Sakura whispered, recognizing the nine white circles on the structure, the emblem of the Sōma clan. "Can you walk by yourself?"
Emi nodded and went on her way without saying a word.
She must be so exhausted.
After the girl disappeared through the gates, Sakura let out a breath of relief, feeling a huge weight being lifted off her back. Unfortunately, her respite was short-lived, for she barely did a few steps before she suddenly found herself surrounded by no less than twenty men.
What am I doing with my life?
They were staring at her with their blue piercing eyes, standing straight like the street lamp behind them, the silver of their sophisticated attire shining slightly under the light. Individually their demeanor appeared innocuous, with no weapons drawn, nor fists ready to wreak havoc. The threat only came from the circle they formed around her, a hive-like behavior infinitely more dangerous than one angry individual. Sakura couldn't say she wasn't freaked out by how they looked like frozen statues that could awake at any time, and just like sculptures, their aesthetic was flawless especially their elaborate haircuts. In other circumstances, she would have enjoyed learning more about their culture.
Of course, she had seen them before. It was difficult not to notice them with their white hair and atypical attires. The opportunity to get to know them just never happened until Emi Nuzura came knocking on her door. On the day of their arrival, about two years ago, many watched them walk through the main street leading to the Kage tower, where the Godaime and the Konoha council welcomed them. Though she didn't know what happen to their former home, like most refugees, they traveled to the fire country to start things anew. Naturally, the process was a little trickier, seeing as the Sōmas were a clan, a powerful one on top of that. The clan Sōma had to swear loyalty to Konoha, like any other clan.
The war had made so many victims, other small clans had joined the village too, the largest being the Sōma Clan. Having lost both shinobis and civilians during the war, the flow of migrants came as a blessing for Konoha, and as a curse for others. Regardless of people's opinions and despite the ongoing conflict with the Uchihas, the Sōma Clan was now well integrated into the village,
"What have you done to Emi-sama?"
The accusation sufficed to rouse instant indignation inside Sakura, making her forget how creeped out she felt. No matter how pitiful her life was, she was still Sakura Haruno, and she wasn't going to let anyone intimidate her.
"Look, guys. I had a long and exhausting day, which was never at any moment meant to involve your…Emi-sama. I went out of my way to bring her back here, and that's all there is to it. Now. I get it. You need answers. I'm totally fine with that. But I sure as hell won't tell you anything while you're all standing here like creeps!"
To her surprise, the crowd started to disperse, returning quietly to the gates of their neighborhood, not without giving her some cautious stares, some had eyes that seemed ready to pop out of their socket as if they had just encountered a demon. She was positive she had caught them off guard. In the end, only one man remained.
"May I have your name?"
Sakura smiled, "Let's just go straight to the point. I saw Emi Nuzura by herself at the market. Brought her back to your district and— "
"Emi-sama's perfectly capable of finding her way by herself."
"Alright, alright," she resumed, understanding he wasn't going to let her withhold any information. "It seemed like she was in…trouble. So I thought—"
"Uchihas," he said.
"Well… yes ." Sakura felt like she was going to regret this. "Everything indicated they were planning to kidnap her. Here." She handed him the bag of pastries. "If I were you, I would have them analyzed as soon as possible. I would also pay a visit to the man who made them."
The man pondered her words for a moment, observing the little bag, before he looked at her gravely, "Their kind always sought revenge. They'll come after you for helping us."
She snorted, "Oh no, they won't! Whatever feud you have with them is none of my business. As far as I'm concerned, I just helped a kid find his way back home. Nothing more."
Her face went pale when she saw him bow in front of her, in the most profound demonstration of respect, which she felt she didn't deserve at all. Taking it as her cue to leave, she walked away, feeling all her muscles untighten at once. Her altruism would be the end of her someday.