"Sasuke, how far away are we from her?" Sakura asked, worry sketched on her face. "Five minutes with this speed, two if we move faster," the Uchiha replied. "Has she intercepted the Kaguya yet?" the jinchuriki asked solemnly. "Yes, though no action has been taken," he replied, gazing forward with his Sharingan activated. The blonde nodded. Sakura had nearly gotten into an emotional breakdown after discovering that she had been neglecting her daughter. Sure enough she showed her normal love as expected of a stranger but that hadn't been enough for both of them. The lack of love led to Harumi believing that she wasn't her mother and had gone off to search for her 'real mother'. It stung. Sakura blinked away the tears which were threatening to fall as she focused on moving between the trees at an astonishing speed. She hoped that they wouldn't hurt her daughter coz if they did, she was going to kick their asses. Inner had been surprisingly quiet and she was grateful for it. She had known all along that Harumi was their daughter and didn't bother telling her, leaving her to treat her daughter like a total stranger. If they had talked, she was sure to have gotten into temperamental rampage. She caught sight of a cart and jumped down to land beside it. It was full of food and had footsteps around it. There a small crater near it, courtesy of Harumi's explosive stone. "She was here," Sasuke stated. Naruto nodded before activating Sage Mode. He expanded his senses to feel for the girl's chakra signature which was fleeing at an astonishing speed. "She went this way. We better hurry because things are about to get messy," he said, sensing the Kaguyas who were following her and they followed him into the forest. They passed many trees with bones stuck all around them before arriving at a total warzone.
There were newly sprouted trees everywhere, bending and twisting with an unnatural shape which made them stand out from the other trees and humming with chakra. The thing that horrified her was the stench of blood and gore which was coming from the bodies which were pierced by entire tree branches in various places which included their stomach, chest or head. Blood soaked the forest floor and Sakura could only watch in horror. Who had done this? At least Harumi's body was nowhere in sight meaning she was still alive, right? She held back the bile which was threatening to make its way up her throat. "What happened here?" she breathed out as she took in the environment. "This looks like Mokuton," Naruto said as he placed his hands on one of the trees which wasn't sticking through someone's chest. His eyes suddenly widened. "Harumi! She-" he didn't get to finish his sentence as Sakura was already sprinting in the direction where she heard the hysterical laughter coming from and a loud thud. She didn't know how or when she got there but all she knew what that the Kaguya with the sadistic smile who had hauled her bleeding daughter into a tree was going to die. "You!" she snarled and jumped at him. The Kaguya aimed a bone at her and she dodged, the projectile flying past her. She landed in front of him before giving him a backhanded slap which sent him careening into the trees, breaking a few of them in the process. She walked to where his immobilised body lay. His broken and tattered body was beyond repair and was still staring at her with malicious intent, despite his injured state. She gave him no chance to talk and wasted no time in cracking her knuckles and driving a chakra-enhanced fist into his stomach which created a large crater, the life leaving the boy's eyes. 'That'll teach you not to mess with my daughter,' she thought darkly.
She pondered on what to do with this body deciding that Sasuke was going to deal with that. She rushed over to where Harumi lay unconscious on the forest floor. One of her arms had been cut, her forehead had a bleeding gash and her ankle had been twisted. She activated her healing chakra and started healing the cut on her arm, noticing that Harumi's chakra was also healing her body at the same time. "She can heal herself?" she thought out loud. After a few seconds, the cut had been healed, something which would take a few minutes at most. Storing that away for later processing, she moved to her ankle where she noticed had already started healing but the bone hadn't been set right. She took hold of her foot and twisted it slightly, earning a slight whimper from the girl. And as she had expected, the leg healed itself in a matter of seconds. By the time she had moved to the gash on her forehead, it was already healed. But still, she checked the girl for more injuries. There might be some underlying injuries she might not know about. With her hands still glowing green with chakra, she placed them on Harumi's temple and began inspecting for a concussion. Sure enough, she had a mild concussion. She helped her body speed up the healing process of her mind. In a few minutes, Harumi stirred. Sakura helped her into a sitting position.
Harumi took in the sight of her mother. She was here! Her eyes glistened with unshed tears. "Kaa-san!" she wanted to cry out but when she noticed the blonde idiot and the glooomy one behind them, she knew who she was. It was the imposter. What was she doing here? She guessed she thought out loud judging by the pained expression the imposter gave her. "What do you want?" she bit out, her temper starting to rise. Surprisingly, her body had been healed and she wasn't feeling much pain except the soreness of her limbs due to having run for so long. "Harumi, I-" "Don't call me by my name!" she shrieked hysterically. The trauma of a four-year old having witnessed a lot of blood and death was starting to kick in. "You're a total stranger so why are you calling by my name like you know me?!" she said furiously as she started to move away from them. She suddenly found herself enveloped in a tight hug. "Let me go!" she screamed into the medic's chest as she struggled to break free. She wanted to thrash and stomp and rage, to let the whole world know that she was very angry but she was held in place. Soon enough, her walls broke down and she was sobbing loudly into her mother's chest as she clung desperately onto her. Even Sakura had tears streaming down her cheeks as she repeated apologies like a mantra.
They had arrived in Spring Country late at night. They went to the capital city, opting to proceed their journey tomorrow since the two females had been in an emotional state. Not once had Sakura released Harumi from her arms, almost as if she was afraid she would lose her. The silver-haired girl had fallen asleep into her mother's arms a long time ago. They checked into an inn and got two rooms, one for the boys and the other for the girls. They ate the dried food they had, having decided to eat real food the next morning. As soon as they had finished eating, Sakura had bid them good night, saying she would talk to them tomorrow. Neither of them questioned her and gave her nods as she made her way out. "Did you know that Harumi was her daughter?" Naruto asked his quiet teammate once Sakura was gone. "Didn't you?" he replied in a monotone voice. "Yeah, well I think we should've told her instead of keeping quiet," the blonde said guiltily. "It was better if she discovered herself. It would more impact and sense if she found out herself," he retorted. The blonde gave him a glance before moving to laying out a futon.
She gave a sleepy Harumi s bath and changed her into fresh clothes. Sasuke had found her bag discarded inthe forest during their previous trek. She let the girl collapse on her futon, falling asleep immediately. Even if she tried, she wouldn't wake up for a meal. She placed her own futon beside Harumi's and let sleep overcome her.
"Kaa-san, kaa-san! Look what I found!" a two year old Harumi scrambled to her mother who was doing laundry. Even though she had been playing in the mud, her clothes were surprisingly clean. Sakura turned around to face her daughter with a smile on her face. "Don't run or you'll fall," she warned her but it went to deaf ears. "I found the gooey thingy n a shell!" she explained with a grin. Her cheeks were slightly puffed out due to all the exercise. Sweat glistened on her face, causing the white cream she had applied to cover her marks to smudge. ",The gooey thingy?" Sakura asked, holding back her laughter. "This!" she exclaimed and held up a snail for her to see. It was pure white with a strip of green running across it. "It's called a snail," she corrected her smiling daughter. "Really? A snail it is!" she concluded. She had always been smart for her age and was eager to learn about everything she found, despite only being two years old. She was a genius by nature, she had already seen that. Much like her father.
She guessed that she had thought out loud judging by Harumi's curious look. "Tou-san's a genius?" she queried. "Yes, just like you," she replied as she crouched and ruffled her hair. "What's he like?" the girl asked. "Well, he's a shinobi. A very strong Shinobi in fact," she explained. Harumi stared at her with wonder as she took absorbed her mother's words. "He's famous for being a genius and many fear him. He's also popular among the ladies, very handsome, though he doesn't seem to notice them," she said with a chuckle at the end. "He's really THAT handsome?" the girl asked. Sakura nodded. "Is that where I got my good looks from?" she asked. Sakura pouted sarcastically. "You hurt my feelings," she said dramatically as she placed a hand on her heart. "Not like that kaa-san!" she was quick to say. "I meant the white hair and pink marks," she said grudgingly. "Yes, he had those," she replied. "When am I going to meet him?" she asked, her eyes boring straight into her mother's. Sakura broke eye contact and looked at the window. "Some day," she said wistfully.
Sakura woke up to stare into a clear green eyes and a smiling face. "Good morning okaa-san," the white-haired girl said. "Good morning my dear," she said as she sat up. "Did you have a good night?" she asked as she settled onto her lap. Sakura smiled. "Yes, and you?" she asked. "The best! I had a dream meeting otou-san," she chirped. The pink haired medic smiled. "Yeah, you're meet him some day," she said with a faraway look. Sensing the abrupt change in her mother's demeanor, she decided to change the topic. "I'm hungry," she grumbled as her hunger kicked in full force. A smirk made its way up to Sakura's face. "I know just the place."
The sight of it was breathtaking. Everything was a lustrous green and in full bloom. Flowers of various colors covered the ground in a thick carpet. The sky was blue with spots of clouds. The wind was cool and blowing softly, swaying their hair in the process. All in all, it was beautiful. "No wonder it's called Spring Country," Naruto said in alight awe. They were currently seated under a Sakura tree for their picnic. Their female teammate had insisted that they have a picnic here, when everything was in full bloom. Her namesake was living up to its name. It was in full bloom and the pink petals circled around them in a lazy swirl. They were sitting on a large tatami mat which could occupy the four of them plus their dishes. Various foods were strewn across the mat which all looked breathtaking. Naruto's mouth was already watering at the sight of it. Beyond the field of flowers, there lay the forest.
"Itadakimasu," Harumi said and began digging into her food. She was eating rice cakes, chewing slowly as if savouring the taste. The jinchuriki was already digging into the ramen. Sasuke was quietly eating rice cakes as well meanwhile Sakura feasted on tempura. "You'll choke at the rate your eating," the silver-haired girl said with as she watched the blonde glomp down his food. "I see we have a mini Sakura," he replied jokingly, some of the food flying in Harumi's direction which she dodged with undisguised disgust. Ignoring the dobe, she reached over for the only tomato which was present only to find that Sasuke was already doing the same thing. They both took hold of it at the same time. She narrowed her eyes dangerously. Sasuke was unfazed by it. "Could you please let the tomato go, Sasuke-san?" she said in an all too familiar sugar coated voice that Sakura used when trying to relay her anger. "Hn," he said, not budging. The girl glared at him. "I said let the tomato go," she ground out. "Why?" he asked questioningly. The girl blushed before looking away. "Coz they're my favorite," she replied somewhat begrudgingly. Naruto choked before starting to laugh. "You like tomatoes just like the teme?!" he asked disbelievingly. "You like tomatoes too?" she asked as she stared at the shinobi with wide eyes. He nodded. "Wow, I've never met someone who likes tomatoes. Everyone else say their disgusting," she mumbled. "That's coz they are," Naruto said in the background.
Sasuke suddenly let of the tomato. "You can take it," he said casually. "Really?! Thank you Sasuke-san," she beamed and happily bit into the fruit, Naruto making gag faces in the background. A ghost of a smile hovered on Sasuke's face. He liked the kid.
They had taken down most of the meal and were tidying up. Sakura noticed that Harumi's marks were not covered by the cream she often gave her to do so. "Harumi, why aren't you wearing the cream I gave you?" she asked as she gave the girl a hard stare. She had to make sure that her marks were covered at all costs. They were a dead giveaway concerning her parentage. Harumi tensed visibly. "Um, I... Ano," she said nervously. Feeling her mother's stern gaze, she gave in. "I'll go put it on," she said with a dejected sigh. She never liked that white stuff. It made her face seem whiter than it already was.
Sakura had finished rolling the tatami mat and was putting the dishes in a picnic bag when she felt Sasuke tense. "Someone's coming," he said in a warning tone. They immediately packed their belongings before turning to face the intruders head on. They didn't know who was coming so they each held a secret kunai in their travelling cloaks, in case they decided to attack. The chakra signatures were making their way here at a surprisingly fast pace. Where they that eager to meet them, they thought. At once, four figures landed in front of them. As Sakura took in the sight of them, she felt her breath leaving her. She was staring at four men, all who seemed to be in their prime and dressed in their respective armour. Two of the faces she had seen on the Hokage Mountain, one had stabbed her during the Fourth Shinobi War and the other strangely looked like Sasuke. They were the Konoha founders alright. Hashirama and Tobirama Senju, the first and second Hokages respectively. Then Madara Uchiha and the Sasuke-look alike. She glanced a look at her two teammates who were all tense but had their mouths clamped shut. The four of them eyed them with curious stares. At last, the Nidaime decided to break the silence.
"Sakura," he acknowledged. Naruto shot her a look which said 'How in the world do you know him?' before quickly masking it. Sasuke seemed unfazed by it all. "Tobirama Senju," she breathed out in an even voice. "What are you doing here?" he asked. "I should be asking you the same thing. What are you doing here?" she asked with slight annoyance. "That's none of your concern," he replied in a clipped tone. "Then I have no reason to tell you my business," she said with a glower. Sensing the hostility, Hashirama joined in. "My my Sakura, you have sure grown into a beautiful flower, indeed. Where have you been all this time?" he asked with a cheery voice, hoping to diffuse the tension. "I've been busy," she replied, her gaze still on the white-haired ninja. She silently hoped that Harumi would stay put where she was and-
"Kaa-san."
Everyone tensed at the sound of that voice. She slowly turned around to face her daughter as she began to panic. No, no, no!. 'Please tell me you have the cream on your face, please-' she turned to find Harumi with a scowl on her face. She held up the balm in her hand. "This cream is irritating," she said annoyedly. Seeing her mother frozen like that, she raised an eyebrow and looked ahead to see four men standing in front of them. Two had dark hair and features which were similar to Sasuke-san's. The other had long brown with a tanned complexion and warm features. The last one had her staring longer than usual. He had short spiky white hair with red piercing eyes and red markings on his-
Her breath hitched. "Tou-san?" she said disbelievingly.
I am done with this chapter. Took me a long time to write. So, we have the much awaited arrival of the Konoha founders. I had been looking forward for this chapter. And Harumi's dad...
Read and review. They are much appreciated.
Tozoonana
AfricanFire
