Disclaimer I do not own Naruto

A/N:

Hello dear readers! Thank you so much for the reviews, follows and favorites. Your feedback makes me so happy. It's the only reason I share what I write. Otherwise all this would be sitting on my computer somehere for just my eyes to revisit periodically. Even though I do this for fun and to pass the time (in other ways than binging TV) your feedback and suggestions help me grow. So I appreciate it. Here is another chapter. Thank you for your patience. The pacing may seem a little slow but I think in the overall scheme it is important. I don't want things to seem rushed as relationships are built and characters are introduced. Minato is in the story next chapter in a form that is not a flashback. I'm excited for that. But it will be a few more after that before he is put in the path of the other two main characters. I am excited and anxious to share that will you all soon but I also want to maintain a level of quality with proof-reading and edits. So please bear with me. Anyways enough of that. I hope you enjoy! Let me know what you think at the end. Please and thank you!

Chapter 5: Drawing Attention

Flashback

His long blond lashes fluttered closed. Her hands worked through his tresses. Her fingernails scraped along his scalp. He let out a content sound. The birds were chirping overhead. He could hear the waterfall hitting the surface of the pound, repeatedly. It was peaceful. The shade of a mature Japanese maple kept the mid-spring sun from their faces. He could spend all day here. He wanted to spend all day here.

"Shouldn't you be training or something?"

He did not need to open his eyes to know she was smiling teasingly at him. He peeled open one eye. "Are you offering to be my sparring partner?"

She feigned the scandalized look on her face. "Minato!" She admonished. "Is that any way to speak to a lady?"

"No." He smirked. "But I'm not speaking to a lady."

She exhaled forcefully through her nose. "Well is that any way to speak to your wife?"

"Depends," he reached out and touched her face. "Is my wife interested? Because I have no interest beyond my wife's interests."

A blush adorned her cheeks. They were redder than her hair.

"How selfless of you." She joked, perfectly matching his tone. "Your wife would be interested if only she could."

He furrowed his brow. "Do you need to change?" Her kimono looked like it allowed enough movement but he was far from an expert.

Kushina crossed her arms. "You're so dense!"

His blond brows shot up, he looked up at her. No one had ever accused him of that before but he was speaking to Kushina. Unpredictable was the word he would use to best describe her.

"Are you going to make me say it?" She asked in a haughty huff.

He sat up. "Say what?" Confused as to what happened to the light air around them all of a sudden.

She did not meet him in the eyes. Concern grew in his belly.

"Kushina," he held her shoulders. "Are you sick? Are you not feeling well?" He brought his hand to her forehead.

"Minato!" She ground out his name through clenched teeth. "I can't spar-spar." She looked at him pointedly. She put her hand on her stomach.

Realization hit him squarely in the chest. "I'm going to be a dad?" He asked her with wide eyes, wild eyes.

Kushina raised her eyes to his. "I'm going to be a mom, dattebane!" She squealed in delight.

She wrapped her arms around him tightly before he fully let the weight of it all hit him squarely in the chest, not caring in the slightest who saw.

End of Flashback

"Excuse me," Sakura winched at the angry clucks and ruffled feathers that admonished her as she reached her hand into the henhouse to pull out two of the three eggs the very irate hen was sitting on. "I'm sorry," she said in a low voice and the hen puffed up in an act of intimidation.

She added the eggs carefully to the basket in her arms. She adjusted the bandana on her head. The off-white fabric contrasted against her faded once olive-colored kimono.

She looked over her shoulder at her shadow. It no longer surprised her that he was there, staring at her moodily just as he had done the day prior and the day before that and the day before that.

"I want to try." He said in a huff. There was a haughty air to him and she for the first time wondered if he was actually an Uzumaki. He carried himself with the importance that those belonging to a clan did.

"Will you be gentle?" She asked him with a raised brow that cut through the facade.

'You cried yesterday when you broke an egg all because you mishandled it.'

"I'll be gentle." He scratched his cheek. "Can you show me again?"

Air exited her nose at a quicker rate than usual. "Sure, Uzumaki-kun," she set down the basket at her feet. Sakura leaned forward on her knees. "You need to make sure your movements are quick. No hesitation. Try to keep them smooth."

She moved her arm to demonstrate. "Then you reach for the egg and pull it out slowly."

He peered over her arm. His face was practically touching it.

"Think you can do it?" She held the egg.

"I can," he nodded his head while his face was set in the lines of determination. His chin jutted out in sureness.

"Okay," she brought her hand to the brown chicken resting on her nest. She gently held her back. "There's two eggs. Grab one." She held her breath as the boy's arm reached into the henhouse. His fingers curled around the brown egg. He pulled his arm back slowly. She did not release her breath until the egg was back in the basket. "You did it!" She beamed at him.

His eyes were wide. "I did it!" He cheered. The chickens clucked angrily at the sudden volume of noise.

Sakura paid them no mind. "Okay, I need to get these back in the kitchen."

The boy tapped his sandal on the ground. His eyes avoided hers in a guilty fashion.

"Did you have breakfast already, Uzumaki-kun?" She asked him.

He shook his head.

"Okay. I will go get us breakfast. Go wait at our spot."

"Okay!" He ran off with ample exuberance.

She shook her head. "Honestly, that boy."

Sakura washed her hands before she walked into the kitchen with her basket at the crook of her elbow. The weathered wooden closed noisily behind her. Sakura smiled at the mousy-haired brunette.

"You're in a good mood," the cook - Miharu - said with a grunt.

"I'm always in a good mood," Sakura answered with a smile. She set the wicker basket down on the counter. She inhaled deeply, taking in the warm familiar scent of cooking rice. Her stomach gurgled slightly and her mouth watered.

"If you say so." Miharu handed her a bowl. The serving was bigger than what Sakura was used to. Her jade eyes looked at Miharu's inquisitively. The woman shrugged dismissively, effectively killing any and all conversation before it had a chance to start.

Sakura grabbed a wooden spoon and headed back out. She spotted him squatting by the bushes. His little face brightened instantly at the sight of her.

She came to squat next to him. She handed him the bowl and the spoon.

"Why do you get up so early, Uzumaki-kun?"

"The bird wakes me," he said grimly. "And then I can't go back to sleep even when I pretend. Then I get bored of just lying there." He looked at her. "Where's yours?"

"I'm still full from dinner," she patted her stomach.

Naruto found the lie convincing. He broke the egg and mixed it into the congee. He brought a spoonful to his mouth. He made happy sounds.

"Is it good?" She asked him with a tilt of the head.

"So good!" He responded emphatically.

"I'm glad," she watched him eat with a soft smile on her face. His dark gray kimono was more or less in one piece. "Are you staying out of trouble?" She asked him airly, in light conversation without judgment or condemnation.

He nodded his head. "I put slingshot away."

"Good," she did not stifle her amusement. "Are you also refraining from pulling down clean laundry?" She looked at his confused face. "Refraining means not doing something. Are you keeping your hands away from drying laundry?"

He put the spoon down in the mostly eaten bowl. "I try. Sometimes it's hard."

"It can be hard to break a habit, especially a bad one. Keep trying." She encouraged him. "Are you done?"

Naruto nodded. He patted his stomach. "I'm full." He watched with big eyes and Sakura took the discarded bowl and began to eat. "Why are you eating my leftovers?"

"It's bad to waste food, Uzumaki-kun. There are people that go without it." She finished off the remainder of the breakfast barely taking the edge off of her hunger. It would have been better not to eat at all. She would have made it to dinner easier if she simply extended her fast.

"I never thought that before," he said with a reflective face.

"There's always someone with less than what you have, it's important to be grateful." She turned her head to look at the well. "You remember what today is right?"

He nodded his head. "Sunday."

"And you remember what that means right?"

He pouted. "You're leaving."

Sakura sighed at his melodrama.

"I'm going into town for a bit. Just a couple of hours. You can't follow." She added quickly, the second she recognized the question on his face. "Uzumaki-kun," she looked at him with a serious expression.

He inflated his cheeks. "I won't follow you."

She turned her head to hide her smile. The guard would not let him but it was still nice to hear him say it.

"If you promise to behave, I'll bring you back a little something." She tapped his nose, unable to resist.

"I'll be good!" He vowed enthusiastically.

"Don't get your hopes up too high there kid," she backtracked her statement at his unwarranted levels of eagerness. Eagerness that she did not want to disappoint because the thought of being the reason why his face dimmed sent little shockwaves of discomfort to the left side of her chest.

"Too late," he grinned at her. "Don't make me waste my excitement."

'Why does it feel like you just got played?'

Sakura rubbed the back of her head, slowly, buying herself some time and with it, clarity. "I have a few more things I need to do before I leave. Do you want to help me?"

"Yes!" He shot up to his feet. She could only chuckle in response.

The roads were more familiar now, less daunting. She picked up on patterns and routines. The crowds did not bother her as much anymore. She learned rather quickly that people simply did not care enough about her to spare her a second thought. Here she was nobody. Just another face that blurred into the fabric was Konoha. And that was precisely what gave her the confidence to walk through the town center with sure steps.

The bell chimed announcing her arrival. She saw a black head of hair styled in a bowl cut pop out from behind the counter. His dark green kimono was drawing in the eye.

"Haruno-san!" His voice boomed. It seemed to bounce from all four walls only to amplify in her eardrum.

"Lee-san," she said in a much, much lower volume. She walked closer to him. His smile was large in size. So large that she would go as far as to label it as unnatural but it seemed to work on his face.

"How are you doing, Haruno-san?" Genuine curiosity gleamed in his eyes.

"I'm doing well, Lee-san. How are you?" She asked pleasantly. Her eyes never settled on his person for more than seconds at a time. She kept her gaze disciplined for she could not afford even the innuendo of sending the wrong message. To anyone. Ever.

"Good, good." He saw the bag in her hand. "Done some shopping?" He asked her in a conversational tone that was much too open and too loud.

"Just a small sewing kit," she pulled her bandana down. Small talk was not something she particularly enjoyed but she did not want to be rude either.

Lee nodded his head. He reached below the wooden counter. He procured a letter.

"This is for you. It's from your mother."

'Kami help us. What did she do now?' The voice in her head always seemed to react before she did.

"My mother?" She asked in surprise.

"Haruno-san insisted I eat dinner while she wrote it to you." He explained.

Mortification moved across her face. Her jaw hung loose as her lips parted.

"It wasn't bad, honest." He waved both hands trying to put her at ease. "She just wanted to make the most of it. And the meal was delicious. I really appreciated her efforts."

"What did she say?" Sakura somehow managed to avoid gulping as well as adding too much despair to her voice.

"She was worried about you. She wanted to know if you were eating. She wanted me to tell you to eat. I agree with her, Haruno-san. A proper diet is imperative to good health." He held up his index finger as he spoke.

Sakura blinked slowly.

"She also wanted to say that you shouldn't send money every week. She said that you should send it every two weeks. She wanted me to tell you that they can manage, you should save what you can in transport costs." His smile waned slightly. "But she also wanted to stress that you should keep some money for yourself too and not send it all back home. I think she mentioned she put that in the letter too."

'Geez, Okaasan. Is that all?'

"So it's good that you got the sewing kit." He chuckled nervously at her reservedness. She was hard to read and that fed into his unsureness.

Sakura dipped her head. "I'm so sorry, Lee-san. My mother means well but she does not understand the word 'no'."

'Or the concept of oversharing.'

"Not at all Haruno-san. I had a great time. It was nice to be welcomed into a home so warmly like that." Lee's smile was genuine.

Sakura's lips tugged upwards in a reluctant smile. "That's a relief. Thank you for hand delivering my letter. And thank you for bringing back the messages and my mother's letter." She slipped two copper coins from the pouch on her hip. She lowered them into the wooden tray that sat on the counter. "Thank you, Lee-san."

He held up his hand. "It's fine, Haruno-san. Your mother's meal is more than enough payment." His eyes reflected something deeper than just politeness. She recognized it immediately. It had her stomach tightening.

Sakura's jade eyes hardened to emerald. "I would feel more comfortable if you allowed me to pay, Lee-san. Just like anyone else."

Lee rubbed the back of his head. "I understand, Haruno-san." He picked the coins off the tray. "Thank you."

Sakura bowed. She took the letter from his hand. "I will see you in two weeks then." She smiled a smile that did not reach her eyes. "Good day, Lee-san."

"Good day, Haruno-san." He dipped his head in farewell. He watched her retreating back. He could not help but feel he had mishandled that situation.

Dear Sakura,

Your Otosan and I are so relieved you made it to the Namikaze Compound safely. We are also relieved to hear that they are treating you well and that you are doing well. Are you sure you did not send over too much money? It's really important that you have enough on hand for emergencies. Make sure that you will keep enough with you.

Do not worry about your Otosan. He is doing fine. I am making sure he keeps eating the supplements you made for him. He looks so much better just at the news of your arrival that I'm sure he'll be up from bed in no time.

Make sure you eat enough, Sakura. Winter is approaching. The clothes you brought with you are not for the cold weather. Gaining a couple extra pounds might make the season more manageable for you. Be sure to keep your head down and work hard. Do not draw attention to yourself. Don't forget to keep your hair hidden away! Make sure you listen. Do not cause trouble. Do not do anything that will dirty your Otosan's good name.

We worry about you Sakura. I pray every day that your Otosan gets better and that you can come back to Tonika. Take care of yourself.

Yours,

Your Okaasan

The wind dried her tears before they even had a chance to form. She pulled her knees closer to her chest. Her glossy eyes were not focused on anything particular in the clearing. The boulder she sat on was hard and uncomfortable but she showed no effects of the growing discomfort.

The piles of gathered herbs and flowers sat inside the white cloth bag she had brought along with her. Sakura looked at the sky. It would grow dark soon. She tugged at her bandana, pulling it down her forehead over her brows. She pushed off the rock. She grabbed the bag. She slipped the letter inside. She moved with rigid movements back as many steps as she had come. Everything felt heavy.

She sat down at her usual stool, the furthest from the door. She picked at her dinner in front of her. Her spoon stopped moving when she saw a pair of feet come to a stop almost directly in front of her. Sakura did not raise her head as a stool scraped against the wooden floor. She chewed slowly as the girl with a kind face and brown hair ate in silence next to her.

"Naruto-sama, it's time for bed." Tomoha looked at the boy who was smiling at something in his hands. "What is that Naruto-sama?"

"A flower," he said with a grin.

"Oh, did you get it from the garden?" She asked as she came to stand at the foot of his bed. She straightened the silk sheets.

"No." Naruto shook his head.

"No," Tomoharu smoothed the hair on his head with a gentle hand. "Where did you get it?"

"It was a present," he was grinning from ear to ear now. "My friend gave it to me."

"Your friend?" Tomoharu raised a brow. "Wow, that's special."

"Yeah, and she said she would teach me how to make it last for a really long time." His blue eyes sparkled with a light she had not seen in quite some time. It only made an appearance when he was around his Ojiichan or Ojichan which was not nearly enough.

"That's really great, Naruto-sama. What is your friend's name?" She asked him in a gentle voice.

Naruto shrugged. "She hasn't told me." He put the flower on his bedside table. "She's nice and a little scary sometimes too. She's really pretty, like a princess. Maybe she knows my Okaasan?"

"Maybe," she smiled without warmth. "Good night, Naruto-sama."

"Good night, Ambe-san."

She leaned over to blow out the lantern in his room. The light vanished completely. Her dark eyes were fixated on what she could not see.

The smell and feel of the dry earth transported her home. It was so complete that when she finally did open her eyes it left her heart aching in her chest. It was then she realized the differences. The earth between her fingertips was dryer, rocker than the loamy soil she grew up with. While the converse was true for the air. It was more humid. She picked out the rocks that were too big and put them in the metal bowl that was resting not too far from her ankles.

"What are you doing?" He was right there looking over her shoulder as she worked to loosen the dirt.

"I'm getting the garden ready for planting." She answered simply.

"It looks like you're playing with dirt." His tone was neither impressed nor convinced.

Her lips pulled into the briefest of smiles. "Maybe I'm doing both."

"I want to help!" He lowered his hands into the dirt.

"Okay, if you find a rock throw it in the bowl over there." She gestured with her head.

His navy sleeves were covered in a layer of dust.

"Uzumaki-kun, wait," Sakura wiped her hand on her front. She rolled up the sleeves of his kimono all the way up to his shoulders. "There, now it won't get dirty."

"I don't mind."

"I know you don't but the person washing your clothes is going to thank me." She said with a grin.

Naruto scowled. "Food really grows in the ground?"

Sakura nodded her head. "It really does."

"Can we grow ramen?" He asked her brightly with sudden magnitudes of more interest.

Sakura shook her head, she continued to filter rocks and roots from the less-than-fertile earth. "We can grow some ingredients that are in ramen like corn and green onions. There's not enough space to grow enough wheat to make the noodles."

Naruto frowned. "What is there space for?"

"We can grow things like turmeric, rosemary, sage, and yarrow. Plants that heal. Plants that help people feel better."

"Are you sick?"

She could feel his gaze boring into the side of her head. "No, I'm not sick."

"Do you feel bad then?" His head was cocked to the side as he asked his question while regarding her.

"No," she raked her fingers over the soil.

"Then why are you doing all this work?" His tone was stretched in his curiosity. A curiosity that he had because he was a child who was still learning to navigate the world.

Sakura bit back a sigh. "Because it could do some good. Our work can make someone's life a little better. And that's worth doing. It's enough for us to try. Don't you think so?"

Naruto scratched at his temple as he thought about it. "Helping people is good. Trying is good. Trying to help people is good?" Naruto pinched his face together in such concentration that Sakura was mildly concerned he would hurt himself. "Yeah. It's good. We should try." He declared.

"Okay," she nodded her head solemnly despite finding his whole journey very amusing, "let's give it a try then." Her thoughts drifted to her Otosan ; his face was what grounded her. It reminded Sakura of the weight of actions. What they always came back to, her purpose.

Naruto patted her handkerchief. The action left a dusty handprint on the fabric.

"Why do you wear that?"

Sakura pulled it down. "I have really ugly hair." She kept her voice level, masking the growing discomfort that pulled from the marrow between her bones.

Naruto looked at her with the full weight of his scrutiny. "My Okaasan has really pretty hair. She is a hime."

Sakura kept her eyes on the rocks in her hands. "That's really amazing, Uzumaki-kun." She smiled at him with genuine warmth. "She sounds amazing."

"Is your hair really that ugly?" He tilted his head.

"It is." She said with a sigh. She continued to work the dirt. Her whole body stiffened when a stream appeared in the corner of her eye. The all-too-familiar scent entered her nostrils. She felt her anger heat her. She looked at his face in disbelief.

"Uzumaki-kun?" She seethed.

"What?" He looked at her completely unbothered.

"What are you doing?" Her eyes were as wide as her face. She leaned back to avoid the splatter radius.

"I had to pee." He said as if it were the most obvious thing in the world. He pulled up his pants.

Sakura was at a loss. "Just what are they teaching this kid?!" She asked into thin air. Sakura grabbed him by the wrist, not waiting for any form of answer. Real or imaginary. "If you need to use the bathroom, you go to the bathroom."

"Ow! Let go." He tried to wiggle out of her grip. He dug in his heels into the dry earth.

She paid him no mind. She continued to drag him towards the well. Her anger propelled her. She let go of his arm. He glowered at her. Sakura pulled the hemp rope. She gripped it with more force than necessary. The veins in her wrist bulged from the strain.

"Unbelievable," she muttered not so quietly. She all but yanked the metal tin from the rope. "Come here," she looked at him sharply.

"No!" He screamed at her.

"You need to wash your hands," she filled the pot with a tinful of water. She grabbed the clay pot. "Uzumaki-kun, I mean it. Come here."

He crossed his arms and stuck his hands firmly underneath his armpits.

"No."

Sakura sighed. "Uzumaki-kun, we are not animals. We are humans. We have decency. There are rules to be followed. If rules are not followed, everything falls apart. Do you understand what I'm saying?"

He pushed his lips to the side and turned his head away from her. Defiance gave his cobalt eyes a hard edge.

"If you need to go to the bathroom, you use the toilets. The ground, nature is not your toilet. And after using the bathroom, you need to wash your hands. Every time. It keeps germs away and the grossness." Her emerald eyes searched the defensive set of his face. Her anger dissipated with each blink of her pink lashes.

'You yelled at him. You really haven't changed all that much. Like, at all.'

Sakura inwardly sighed. Guilt started to overtake her. "I'm sorry for raising my voice. I am sorry for grabbing you. I should not have done that." She regarded him with a much more collected visage. "You are old enough to know this." Her expression softened. "Come here, please."

He kicked up dirt but she could see the stubbornness begin to subside.

She counted to twenty in her head. He walked over, not looking at her. He held out his hands, palms facing up toward the sky. A truce.

"It will be cold," Sakura looked at him. "Let's count to thirty together okay?"

"I don't know how," Naruto muttered in clear embarrassment at the fact.

"It's okay, I'll teach you." She started to pour the water. Naruto began to wash his hands. Sakura counted to thirty. "There," she smiled at him. "All clean."

"I have to do this every time?" He looked at her annoyed.

'We are so not taking anything from his hands again.'

"Every time," she said firmly, repressing the urge to gag. "And if you need to use the bathroom next time, let me know. I can walk you over. Okay?"

"Okay," he said moodily.

"Good," Sakura sighed. "Now what do you say about helping me gather the laundry?"

His face lit up. "I can help!"

"I know you can," she used the remainder of the water to wash her hands. A mischievous look crossed her face. She flailed her hands. He giggled as the droplets of water landed on his face.

"I'm going to get you!" Naruto waved his still-wet hands in her face.

Sakura laughed with a lightness that she did not fully recognize from where it came.

Tomoha studied the stout woman with brown frizzy hair.

"Are you sure?"

Uka nodded solemnly. Her hands were clasped together tightly. She was a ball of nervous energy.

"Young Master hasn't been causing trouble for almost two weeks now. I've - we've - all been able to finish our work sooner. No one has reported an incident or complaint in more than ten days, Ambe-san."

Tomoha's hand twitched slightly. "And the new girl?" She saw the confused look on the woman's face. "The old new girl, the taller one."

"Oh," she lowered her eyes back to the ground. "She is doing her work. She keeps to herself. No one has complaints about her."

"So she is staying out of trouble?" Tomoha asked sharply.

The woman flinched. "She is. And she's keeping the Young Master out of trouble too."

Tomoha looked out the window. She could see them laughing as they pulled the dry laundry from the clotheslines. Her dark eyes narrowed.

"You may go," she nodded to the woman.

The dark-haired woman bowed and quietly exited the room. "So much for not drawing attention, Haruno." She muttered to herself. Her jaw clenched as the gears in her mind turned. She entertained the thoughts that said she was right to have her reservations about the girl. Maybe it was not entirely her fault. Drawing attention seemed to run in her blood.

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