Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto

A/N:

Hello Readers!

Another day and another chapter. Thank you for sharing your thoughts and time. Hope you like this offering.

~L.H.

Chapter 15: Offerings of Hope

Flashback

Her shoulders moved up and down as she sniffled. She rubbed away at her eyes. The tears kept falling. Sakura pulled her knees closer to her chest. She tried to become as small as humanly possible. She was tucked away. Hidden from them. Hidden from the voices, sneers, and the fingers. If only she could do something about the volume at which she breathed. The six-year-old hiccuped.

'Why are they so mean to me?'

The question posed caused more tears to spill from her eyes.

'I just wanted to be their friend. I just wanted to play with them.'

Her breathing became more rapid. She drew in short, frantic breaths. Her face and eyes were red. She pressed her larger-than-average forehead against her kneecaps.

Her whole body froze when she heard sets of footsteps. Sakura covered her mouth but not before an involuntary whimper left her mouth. She pressed up even further against her hideaway spot. Her eyes squeezed closed as she willed herself to become one with the brick that dug into her soft skin.

"There she is!" A shrill voice called out.

Jade eyes snapped out. Sakura crawled onto her hands and knees to get out of the hiding spot. She clumsily got onto her feet. She could feel the gravel against her palms.

"Get her!" Another voice called out.

"She's a witch!"

"She has pink hair. That's not normal!"

"Leave me alone!" She screamed as she compelled her legs to carry her as far away from the mob of five to eight-year-olds.

"Get the demon!"

Her vision was blurred by her tears. She could feel snot coming out of her nose. She paid it no mind. She inhaled loudly, shallowly through her open mouth. She kept running. Her sandals had long fallen off. Her bare feet pushed off against the dirt roads. She could hear them behind her. They were getting closer. A stampede of vitriol and hate coming for her.

'Keep moving.'

She veered sharply to the right with reckless abandon. She heard them curse as they stopped in time from colliding with a wall. Her small stature finally came to her advantage. She pushed through the sparse houses of Tonika. The air was cleaner. It did not burn her lungs as badly. She could see the open fields up ahead. It gave her the burst of speed she needed. She was a blur of pink and blue. She had forgotten her bandana for the first time today. She was paying gravely for her mistake. For her carelessness. She ran in zig zags, sticking low to the ground. She let out a shriek when she felt fingers brush up against one of her shoulder blades. Sakura gritted her teeth together and willed her body to move faster.

'Go!'

The terrain under her feet changed. The loamy soil encouraged her along. It was wet and rich. It brought her comfort the way a mother's embrace should. She imagined it to be just like the earth. Warm, all-encompassing, constant, familiar, and simple. She knew every root and every pitfall to avoid. She maneuvered around them without looking away from her target.

She nearly cried out in relief when she saw the stall. Her salvation. She fell forward, sliding on her stomach until she was under the door. It was dark. She crawled through the straw and dirt on her elbows. She pressed her back against the wall. She pulled her knees into her chest. She looked at the bottom of the wooden door. She could see their feet.

"Where did she go?" A boy's voice called out.

"I don't know. We should go. We'll be in trouble if an adult finds us here."

"No way! We almost had her!"

"We need to teach her a lesson."

"Come on, let's just go already."

"I can't believe she thought we would want to have a freak like her in our group."

"Her forehead is so big you can plant stuff on it."

She closed her eyes as a round of laughter sounded in the barn, echoing off the walls. She covered her ears.

"That's not even the weirdest thing about her. Her hair is."

They were still much too loud. She rocked back and forth.

"She's a freak."

"She's not normal."

"This is boring."

"Not anymore."

There was a loud pop. Sakura jumped up. Kaze let out an angry cry. Tears from smoke irritating her eyes broke through her lids. She covered her ears. She still heard two pops.

"Are you crazy?!"

"You're going to get us in so much trouble."

"What? I thought she'd come out."

"Baka! Let's go!"

Feet shuffled as Kaze calmed down. He threw his head, tossing his black mane.

Her heart pounded against her ribcage.

"This blows. Let's go. We'll get her tomorrow."

Sakura held her breath. She waited for what felt like hours for them to leave. She let out a sob. She did not flinch when Kaze, her father's black stallion, licked the salt from her face. He nickered as he pressed his muzzle against her shoulder.

Sakura picked up her discarded sandals from the streets. It was completely dark out. She could feel the mud between her toes with each step she took. She smelled like the inside of the barn. She moved her body slowly towards the gate of her home.

Mebuki's irate face was the first to greet her.

"Sakura!" She shouted. "Look at you. What did you do to your kimono? You're filthy!" Her green eyes looked absolutely livid in the glow of the warm light. "Where's your head covering? Did anyone see you? Did they see your hair?!" She shook the despondent girl's shoulder. "How can you be so reckless! It's the one thing I forbid you from doing! The one thing. Do not leave home without your head covering. How hard is that for you to understand? What word didn't make sense huh? Answer me!"

Kizashi looked up from his plate. "Mebuki, take it easy." He said with a frown.

"This is exactly why she is like this. You are the reason. You are too soft on her. Look at the state of her. Look at her head. It's a bird's nest. She's a mess!" Mebuki held out a hand. "Well, Sakura, what do you have to say for yourself?!"

Sakura opened her mouth. "Okaasan, I was -" she looked at her father for support. He was looking back down at his food.

"Never mind!" Mebuki adjusted the toddler on her hip. "Go get yourself cleaned up. Change your clothes. Your dinner has gotten cold. Heat it up after you bathe."

"Yes, Okaasan." She bit her bottom lip to keep it from trembling.

"Troublesome girl," Mebuki said loudly. "Honestly I don't know what sins I'm paying for right now with you."

Sakura flinched.

"Mebuki," Kizashi sighed. "Don't you think you've said enough?"

Mebuki shot him a heated glare. Haruma babbled at her hip.

"I'm sorry, Okaasan." Sakura apologized in an attempt to defuse the situation.

"Go get cleaned up. Don't come in my sight until you do." Mebuki stalked off in a huff. "I'm going to figure out what to do about that damned hair of hers." She said to herself loudly. "What a nuisance!"

"Yes, Okaasan." She rubbed circles in her arm.

"Don't mind her Sakura," Kizashi spared her a small smile. "You know how she is." He pressed his lips together. "Don't forget your bandana the next time, okay?"

Sakura nodded her head mutely. Sakura walked over to the handpump. She began to fill a metal bucket. Her tears started up anew. Neither of her parents seemed to notice.

End of Flashback

He rose to his feet. He padded over to the hook on the wall. He pulled down the dark blue garment. His body was sore. Even the slightest movement caused the sutures to pull and tug at his skin. He felt the dark pair of eyes on his back. He slipped his arms into the jacket slowly. He pulled at the tie around his waist. He tugged at the sleeves, straightening them out before he turned back around to face the man who had yet to look away.

Kabuto clipped closed his black medic bag. He pushed up his glasses with his middle finger. He smiled at the blond.

"I am confident that if you take it easy for the next few weeks your injury will heal without issues. But it is important that you do not push yourself, Namikaze-sama. This is the third time the injury has been stitched up. We might fare so lucky a fourth time. Take the medicine every day, it will fight the rest of the lingering infection." Kabuto said in a smooth voice. He stood. He looked around the room. The quarters were humble. Much simpler than he would have guessed just by looking at the outside of the structure.

"Understood, Yakushi-sensei. Thank you for coming all this way to take a look." Minato dipped his head slightly in appreciation.

"I only wish I was around to be of help yesterday." Kabuto grabbed his bag from the bedside table. "It is quite lucky that someone was able to close the wound."

"Indeed," he muttered almost to himself.

Kabuto tapped his temple. "Before I forget, be sure to finish the course of the medication. It's very important you finish all the pills even if you feel better anytime prior to doing so."

"I will." Minato nodded his head. He looked at the double doors. "I can show you out."

"No, no." Kabuto held up his hand. "You should rest, Namikaze-sama. I can see myself out." He smiled pleasantly. "Please do not take this the wrong way but I hope I do not see you for another two weeks."

Minato's lips tugged into a shell of a smile. "I'll be careful."

"That's a relief." He bowed his head. He walked through the double doors. A guard peeled off from against the wall a step in front of him. Kabuto followed behind the silent man. His dark eyes moved slowly as he took in the ornate details of the structure.

"It doesn't look like your handler is going to be visiting you this morning," she said in a gentle voice to the white horse. He flicked his head. "You have new hay and fresh water," she ran her hand along his neck. Her fingers glided through the silky strands of his mane. She moved the brush in her right hand in small circular motions. "Okay," she rounded over to the horse's face. "Uma-san, I need to go check on my other chores."

Kaminari blew air at her. Sakura bit her lip. "I hope he's okay."

She patted the horse once in a distracted manner before she closed the stall door and hung the brush back on the wall of tools. She had just stepped into the open air of the courtyard when she saw a familiar head of hair. Her feet were moving before her brain could stop them.

'Looks like it's your lucky day. Trade one weirdo for another.' The voice in her head finally made an appearance for the first time today.

"Yakushi-sensei," she came to a standstill when she was within three yards of the doctor. She bowed in greeting. Her eyes lowered down to his purple kimono as she did so.

"Haruno-san," he smiled warmly at her. He bowed his head. "How are you?"

"Fine," she answered. "Is everything alright?" Her jade orbs flickered to the guard before they looked at Kabuto's face.

"Yes. I had a patient I needed to see this morning. They undid their stitches yesterday." Kabuto explained. The full extent of his gaze was focused on her person.

'You don't say.'

Sakura tugged her bandana lower on her forehead. "How are they?" She could not help but ask.

The smile fell off Kabuto's face. A much more natural expression dominated his face.

"Pardon me for asking, Haruno-san but why do you ask?"

Sakura bit her lip. "Your patient was injured because of me." Her fingers found each other. She pressed her hands.

His outward composure did not change. His eyes focused on the patchwork done to the shoulder of her brown kimono. "Haruno-san, were the stitches your handiwork?"

'Kami you killed someone! You probably gave him sepsis.'

Sakura looked at him in surprise, unable to do much beyond blink.

"Well," Kabuto's smile grew in size. "Whoever did the stitches did an amazing job. It might have even been better than the army medic."

'Oh thank Kami.'

She breathed audibly in relief. Sakura felt her cheeks heat up slowly at the praise. She looked down at the ground between their feet. She heard shuffling, which led her eyes to rise to his person.

"He's going to be fine," Kabuto assured her. "Thanks to you."

'That's a relief. You didn't kill him.'

Sakura did not move. She watched him almost warily.

"Here," he held out two scrolls. "I found some scrolls that are of interest. Take a look and let me know if they are close to what you had in mind."

Sakura looked from the scrolls to his face. "Thank you," she reached for them. His fingers touched hers as he handed them to her. She did not react beyond blinking once slowly.

"I have no doubts you will master what is in the scrolls. Just like you mastered sutures." His tone was encouraging. "Good day, Haruno-san. I hope to see you soon." He dipped his head.

Sakura brought the scrolls against her person as she watched him leave. The heat had migrated to the tips of her ears. She bit her lip to keep a smile from stretching across them.

Sakura watched him group the marbles into neat groups of ten. He was working through the problems with confidence. He had reached a point where he hardly needed direction or correction from her. He understood multiples of ten well.

She tried not to make it obvious that she noticed three faces peering at them with thinly veiled interest. It was clear as day. They had shown signs as far back as three days ago. She felt her sleeve being tugged. She turned to find a pair of bright blue eyes staring at her.

"Naruto-kun," she said in a voice that was louder than necessary given that the boy was squatting right next to her. "Let's try groups of two next?"

He frowned. He had noticed them too. He was looking at the boys who had come considerably closer.

"Why don't you explain the rules to me?" She smiled at him encouragingly.

"But you know them." He complained loudly.

Sakura's eyes darted to the boys, they were within a couple of feet. "Can you please remind me?"

Naruto looked at the faces of the three young boys all older than him. He reached down and began to make piles of two. He took in a deep breath and began to explain the rules. The three boys squatted down to watch and listen intently.

Sakura spotted her reaching for the laundry on the lines. She had a basket at her feet. Feet that she could no longer see. She crossed the distance with brisk steps. She only stopped to pick up a stool. She tucked it under her arm.

"Juna-san!" She called out, giving the woman ample opportunity to acknowledge her. She did not want to startle her.

"Sakura-chan," the woman said her name almost with a sigh.

Sakura set the stool down. "Please sit," she helped the heavily pregnant woman into the seat.

"You are a real peach," the woman brought her hand to her face. She watched Sakura pull and fold the sheets before stacking them neatly into the basket. Juna sighed tiredly.

"You should really stay off your feet," Sakura said with a frown as she moved to the next row of clothesline. "Have you talked to Ambe-san?"

Juna brought a hand to her swollen stomach. She stretched out her legs. Her ankles were swollen. "I need to do something. If I want to be paid."

"Have you asked to help in the kitchen? Maybe you can sit while doing food prep?" Sakura offered helpfully.

Juna shook her head. "Me and knives aren't a good combo right now. I don't trust myself with the brain fog." She screeched out her fingers to their capacity as if realizing her hands for the first time.

"Hm, good point." Sakura winced. "Sorry, no pun intended." She finished folding the last of the sheets. She could see her mattress hanging from five pins. It was still in the process of drying from being washed. It took quite a bit of work to get Minori's blood out of it. It was much easier to get his scent out of her pillowcase.

Juna bowed her head. She covered her face with her hands.

"Maybe we can find something else for you to do without you having to be on your feet. I can't think of anything right now but I'll keep at it, Juna-san." Sakura turned around when all that reached her ears was silence. She found the woman's shoulder shaking. "Juna-san?" She walked over to her.

"I shouldn't be here," Juna sobbed into her hands.

"Juna-san," Sakura said gently. She crouched in front of the woman.

"This stupid war!" She let out a disgruntled groan. "My husband, Kai, was taking care of me. He took really good care of me. He had a little shop. It wasn't much but we were happy. We had dreams. Then the war started and he left. We lost the shop. He lost his arm." She sniffled. "And now I'm losing my mind. I'm so hungry. All the time, Sakura-chan. How am I going to get through this? How are Kai and I going to feed this baby?"

Her hazel eyes implored Sakura. The pinkette felt something stir deep inside of her. She brought her hands to Juna's shoulders. She made a sympathetic sound with her mouth. Sakura pulled out a square scrap of fabric from her sleeve and she held it out for Juna to take. The woman did. She blew her nose, loudly.

"Keep it," Sakura held out a hand, halting the woman from giving it back to her. She tilted her head to the side. The tears had actively stopped coming out of Juna's hazel eyes. "How about we go grab some dinner? It's getting close to time. You can have some of mine." She said gently.

Juna shook her head. "Your face is half the size it was when you came here, Sakura-chan."

"I'm okay," Sakura smiled at her kindly. "The baby will be here soon. You need all the nutrients you can get." She furrowed her brows as a thought came to her. "We can grow our own food."

"What?" Juna asked her, completely flabbergasted.

"Naruto-sama and I have been working on making a patch of dirt fertile enough to grow things. I was planning on using it for herbs but we can grow food." Sakura explained with growing excitement.

"What even grows in the winter?" Juna asked the woman incredulously.

"Lots of things," Sakura's eyes glistened. "Carrots, potatoes, beets, radishes, anything that grows in the ground basically. We just need to go buy some seeds or the vegetable itself to start out."

"Sakura-chan," Juna brought her hands to her stomach. She searched the younger woman's face, unsure of it all.

"It can work! We can figure it out. I can go into town on Sunday and see what it has to offer." Sakura smiled with warmth. "And maybe by the time spring rolls around, the war will be over and we'll have more to eat. We can try."

Juna contemplated the suggestion. "Okay," her eyes were free of duality when she looked at Sakura. "We can try."

"Good," Sakura let out a sigh of contentment.

Juna's expression changed rather drastically. "Say, what happened yesterday? Rin-chan was pretty upset at dinner."

Sakura straightened. She clasped her hands behind her back. Tomoha's words about keeping things quiet ran in her head.

"Someone hurt themselves. But thankfully it wasn't as bad as I thought. I overreacted." She rubbed the back of her neck.

"Oh thank goodness!" Juna pressed a hand to her heart. "I was down the rabbit hole. I spent the whole night awake thinking about some poor soul with a hole through them."

'You're not too far off.'

Sakura chuckled nervously. "No, nothing like that." She gently rubbed the blisters on her index finger absentmindedly with the ones on her thumb.

"Say," Juna's eyes lit up. "Have you seen the Master yet?"

Sakura shook her head. Her stomach dropped involuntarily.

"Darn!" She looked genuinely disappointed. "I was hoping someone had. I want a description. I want to know if he's as handsome as they say." She sighed dreamily. "I heard about him all the way back home in Tanzaku Quarters." She gushed.

Sakura's mind wandered to a face she had just seen for the first time just yesterday. It was as if it had imprinted in her mind. She remembered every detail.

'Hard to picture someone more handsome than him.'

Sakura's cheeks heated.

Juna narrowed her eyes. "You're holding out on me, Sakura-chan." She pointed a finger in accusation, her expression was full of suspicion.

Sakura held up her hands. "Nothing like that," she moved her hand up and down. "I just remembered something embarrassing.

"Spill," Jun ordered.

Sakura turned on her heel. "We should get the laundry to where it needs to go." She said in an octave higher than her usual tone. "It will be dark soon."

Juna pouted. "Sakura-chan," she whined.

Sakura just shook her head in response.

Minato took two steps back. He craned his neck to look into the room. His lips tugged into a frown as he registered just what his eyes were seeing.

"Naruto?" He took a couple of steps into the bedroom.

The boy was poured over his desk. His face was pulled into a mask of concertation. The tip of his pink tongue was hanging past his upper lip. He was gripping the ink brush with great concentration, so much so that he did not even notice that Minato had come to stand behind him.

Minato looked at the page with dotted lines. He followed the pattern. It only took him a couple of seconds to realize what the boy was doing.

"Are you trying to learn how to write your name?" He asked the boy in an airy tone.

Naruto nodded his head.

"Is there anything I can help you with?" Minato asked him after it became clear that the boy had no intention of elaborating further.

Naruto shook his head.

"Did Ambe-san tell you what you're doing tomorrow?" He rubbed the back of his neck. His hand came to rest across the back of Naruto's chair.

"I'm going to Shika's house," Naruto said in a bland tone. He dipped his brush into the ink. It blotted on the desk preemptively lined with paper. Naruto's sleeves were rolled up to his elbows.

"That's right. Have fun okay?" Minato watched him trace the dotted lines.

"Okay," Naruto said noncommittally.

"Do you want me to read you a story?" Minato offered. He kept hope from his voice.

"No thank you." Naruto rubbed his nose. "My friend will read it to me."

Minato's expression darkened. "You really like your friend don't you?"

"She's my friend," Naruto said with warmth in his voice as if that encapsulated it all. "She's really nice."

'That remains to be determined.'

While his eyes watched the boy write his name on the piece of paper, his mind was preoccupied with something else entirely.

Sakura continued to hum softly to herself a tune she did not quite remember but it never failed to lift her spirits. She closed the wooden stall door. She held the handle of the metal bucket in both her hands.

"Oh!" She let out a startled sound. She brought her hand to her chest. "You scared me!" She was too indignant to remember to be anything else but.

"You're a jumpy one aren't you?" He rubbed his hand along his jawline. There he leaned in all his glory against the empty stall door just to her left. He was clad in a slate gray loose tunic and a matching pair of pants. There was a brown wrap around his head. It covered most of his hair. Only two tuffs of blond poked out. Her eyes registered his raised brow.

She lowered her gaze immediately when she realized she had been staring for longer than what was considered polite.

"How are you feeling?" She asked, her curiosity getting the better of her. Also, it just seemed like the polite thing to do.

"I'm fine." He said easily. "The Sensei said whoever stitched me up did a really good job. You might have a future in that for you."

'Maybe. If I were a man.'

"Should you be up and about?" She could not keep the hints of concern from bleeding into her voice. "The infection…" she trailed off in favor of taking in the color of his face.

'He looks healthy.' She noted to himself. Never would she have guessed that just two days ago he was fighting for his next breath.

"It's a non-issue." Minato referred to said infection. "I'm as good as new." Not entirely honest but that was his method of operation with her.

"Still," she frowned. "A stable is hardly the first place you should be in." She chewed on her bottom lip.

"The horse is my responsibility." He said almost offhandedly. She remained rooted in place as he moved around her. He peered into the stall. His face was unreadable. There was an edge to his jaw that was not there when she saw him last which was also the first.

"Does it meet your expectations?" She asked him, still looking firmly at the ground.

"Not bad," he said impassively.

Something churned inside of her. "I just wanted to apologize, Uzumaki-san."

Minato furrowed his brow. He regarded her with the full weight of his scrutiny. He crossed his arms over his chest as he waited for her to continue.

"I was harsh. I shouldn't have said what I did. I cracked under the pressure of it all." She cleared her throat. Her face was flushed with embarrassment. "I was too emotional."

'You were downright hysterical.' The churlish voice ate at what was left of her confidence.

"That's not how I remember it." He responded in a low, measured tone.

Her brows knitted together. She dared not raise her eyes. "How do you remember it?" She asked in a small voice. Her fingers tightened around the handle of the empty metal water bucket.

"You probably saved my life yesterday." He admitted without traces of wounded pride.

Sakura was so taken aback that she forgot her own rule. Her jade orbs clashed with his cobalt ones. Her lips parted as surprise colored her expression.

"You were hurt because of me." She muttered in confusion.

"You did not ask for my help," he corrected. "You were right. I inserted myself into your business. I could have cost you your job. I crossed a line and for that I am sorry."

"Uzumaki-san -" she began without knowing where she was trying to end up.

"Can you please not call me that," his eyes bore into hers. "I don't want the others making the same connection you did yesterday. I'm worried they will latch onto me thinking that it will win them favors with the Master." He explained, trying to lessen the severity of the confusion on her face.

'I guess that makes sense. Maybe that's why he's hiding his hair too.'

"Of course, Uzu-" she paused. "Sorry, Minori-san."

"Thank you," he seemed to relax a fraction. "And thank you for helping me out the other day."

"Um," she drew circles with her foot. "Could you wait here for a moment?" She looked up with a surprising amount of resolve in the depth of her verdant irises.

"Sure," his face donned a mask that did not show any traces of the slight confusion he felt.

"It will only take a minute," she set down the bucket and moved in a flurry. Sakura did not risk stopping or sparing him a second look for fear that she would lose her nerve.

'Calm down.' She reminded herself as she all but sprinted back to her room. She yanked open the first drawer of her desk. She pulled out the bundle held together with twine. The sound of the door sliding closed was preceded by the sound of her sandals slapping against the hardwood. She let out a small breath of relief when she spotted his tall frame right where she left him. He, much like the bucket, had not moved.

"Here," she said breathlessly. Her cheeks were red. "You must be accustomed to eating well at the front lines. Things are a little different here. But you need to eat to recover in a timely manner." She explained, not quite meeting him in the eye.

Minato looked at the flat, dry-looking brown things in her small outstretched hand. When his eyes met hers, his face was contorted into an expression of mild bewilderment.

"You have good teeth," she said without thinking.

'Baka! Could you be any weirder if you tried?' She was not quite sure which voice chided her in her head. It did not matter. She was mortified at how it came out.

His brows shot up.

"I mean," she looked down at her hand. She felt herself growing more flustered. "This is bark." She explained in a detached tone. "It's completely safe. It will help keep the hunger at bay and it has nutritional value. And you have good teeth so you won't have trouble with it." She chanced a glance at him. "That's what I meant about the teeth comment." She essentially mumbled.

"You've been eating this?" He asked her in a tone caught somewhere between horrified and curious.

"We're in a war. Times are tough. Have to make do." She answered. "Please just take it."

Minato's mouth closed. His face slipped into a mask of neutrality. He took the bundle from her hand.

Sakura dipped her head. "Get well soon." She reached for the bucket and left him standing there, staring at the staggered cylinder of stacked bark in a state of perplexion.

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