"Sakura, c'mon. Say hello," Akarui nudged her daughter but she remained frozen on her spot. "There's no need to be shy," she coaxed gently but the pinkette wouldn't budge. She looked just about ready to cry. "I'm sorry Aoi but it seems that my daughter is getting scared by the glare your son is sending her way," the green-eyed beauty teased as she turned to look at her childhood friend. "Mou, don't say that Akarui. Tobirama's not glaring," the white-haired woman replied with a sour pout. The said boy scowled deeper in return. The five year old stared back disdainfully at the little pink-haired female who looked to be on the verge of death. Who in the world has pink hair? It's so impractical. 'She can never be a ninja with that hair color,' he thought as he further crossed his arms. "I know that Tobi-kun can be a bit of a meanie but he doesn't glare," the red-eyed woman replied. Tobi-kun? Since when did his mother start calling him Tobi-kun? If his father were to find out ... "Look at his face. Don't you see that famous glare of yours that scares even Butsuma? And the scowl... Oh my, I never thought I would live to see the day I would your scowl on another person's face," Akarui said seriously but her teasing banter still in place.
Tobirama decided to cut their conversation short. He could be training with Hashirama or his father. Or even one of his kinsmen. That Tanaka had some skill with swords which he acknowledged, perhaps he could train with him sometime. With that thought in mind, he turned to look at his mother. "Okaa-san," he started. "Oh my Kami, he speaks!" redhead said dramatically. The white-haired boy snapped his mouth shut as he glared at the older woman. How dare she! "Akarui, don't do that to my little boy," she said. The Haruno woman smiled sheepishly in return. "If you want to go and train then you have to stop scowling, smile and greet Sakura like the proper lady she is," she said turning to her son with that all too familiar sweet smile which left no room for argument. He debated whether or not he should just stalk away from the two hags or face the wrath of his mother at home a few minutes from now. Sighing deeply, he turned to look at the four-year old girl.
Smiling as best as he could (meanwhile he was thinking about how his father would praise him if he fought using Tanaka's swordsman skills or when he wiped the floor with Hashirama's face, he he he), he wracked his brain on how to greet a 'lady'. Those etiquette classes his mother had forced him to take were now coming into use. Blinking in realization, he took the small dainty hand into his and kissed it gently. "Hello Lady Sakura," he said with a charming smile as he released her hand. He did it, he thought proudly. 'Eat that, you old farts,' he said inwardly as he closed his eyes, relishing his moment of victory, only to open them and find the girl in front of him gone. 'Where is she?' he thought as he yet again began scowling. "Akarui! She fainted!" he heard his mother exclaim. Oh boy, she was going to grill him alive for this.
Sakura blinked away the memory. It had taken only a few seconds for her to remember. So that's how she had met Tobirama, she thought with a small smile. 'I fainted because he looked reallllllyyyyy handsome with his smile, charm and all. I had no way out to hide my embarrassment,' Inner defended herself as she felt Outer laugh inwardly at her reaction. 'I feel you,' her countertpart agreed assuring. He wasn't the best looking guy. Sakura had seen more handsome guys than she knew existed. But seeing him smile when he had been scowling and glaring only moments ago, he was the best looking guy in the world. And even now, looking at him after not seeing him for the last four years (in Inner's case), though she had seen him as a zombie during the Fourth Shinobi War in her previous timeline (or was in now the future?), he still appeared as handsome as ever, making her heart thud painfully. 'Inner, stop making me feel all funny. I just ate' she hissed angrily, trying to ca the butterflies in her stomach 'Sorry, but I can't control matters of the heart,' she replied truthfully. 'Besides, we're still merging. My feelings and thoughts will become yours and vice-versa so deal with it,' she finished.
She sighed deeply before focusing back at Harumi who decided to make a grand entrance at a very bad, without wearing her face cream and then blurt her who her father was without even asking. Though it was quite obvious, she had told the girl that he had white hair and red markings on his face. Who else in the world had those? And even though she was inwardly panicking and stood frozen on her spot (she guessed by Harumi's brief questioningly stare at her), she refused to look like a complete fool in front of all these important people and forced herself to remain calm. "Harumi, what are you doing here?" she asked in the stern voice her mother had often used on her whenever she had been caught doing mischievous deed. "Kaa-san. Look, it's otou-san," she ignored her question as she pointed a finger at the white-haired Senju, barely hiding her happiness and excitement.
"Tou-san, do you remember me?" she said, her eyes begging for his attention as she moved past her mother and stood in front of Tobirama. The man in question raised an eyebrow at her, arms crossed and staring her down. "Who are you?" he asked in a typical Tobirama fashion which was the usual cold, monotonous and aloof tone but the girl brushed it off. "I'm Harumi, you're daughter. Don't you remember me?" she said in a slightly hurt tone. He didn't know her? The future Nidaime turned to the pinkette. "Sakura, what's the meaning of this?" he said with scowl as he turned to look at the said woman, dismissing Harumi's presence in front of him. "Hey, I'm still talking to you!" Harumi snapped. "I said don't you remember me?!" she seethed, tears in her eyes. "Little girl, I have never known of your existence until now," he replied coldly as he stared her down. "And I prefer to keep it that way," he said for good measure. The white-haired girl clenched her teeth and fists as she struggled to control her growing frustration and anger, blinking back her tears.
How come he didn't remember her? What kind of a father was he not to know his own daughter? She turned to look at her mother with a very mean scowl and glare, desperate to vent out anger before she did something stupid. "Tobirama, I'm warning you to speak politely with my daughter. She can't stand your teenager angst I-hate-world shit," the medic barked out. The man glared at her in return but remained quiet. "But if you look closely, the brat does look like the Senju," Madara said in his usual gruff voice. The glare Tobirama sent him only fueled him some more.
'Time to teach the vermin a lesson,' he thought with a wicked smirk. If his guesses were correct, then the brat was around four years old meaning the Senju had the kid when he was 16. While he was fighting during the day, he was busy messing around with pink-haired beauties during the night. Oh how he was going to enjoy this! It was clear as daylight that the brat was his daughter. She had the same hair, markings on the face, glare, scowl, the confident posture he so hated on the white-haired gnat but preferred to see it on his brat. Even her eyes were shaped just like his, though a bit bigger. And even though he was just making up several theories which he wasn't sure were true, he decided to humor himself and Izuna. Plus the pretty pink-haired beauty could stare him down without a care in this world, not bothered by his glare, scowl, posture or menacing chakra. "She has the same hair color and markings as you. The way she's folding her arms is similar to you and so is the glare and scowl. I think it's clear who her father is" he said carelessly.
"Anyone can have white hair and red markings on their face. Besides, they're a dark shade of pink, not red. And I'm not the only person glaring and scowling here. Izuna looks constipated, the exact definition of glaring and scowling," he said, voice tinged with annoyance. "Hey, I'm not the one who was busy whoring around with pink-haired girls and popping out babies during a time of war. Don't vent out your pent up frustration on me," the named Uchiha sneered back. "Izuna, mind your language. We have a child around," Madara chastised. The Sasuke-look alike clamped his mouth shut, though he sent a glare towards the Senju's way. "The child is yours Tobirama. Be a man and take up the responsibility. Or are you a chicken you claim not to be?" the elder Uchiha said seriously, though his brother and former friend knew better than to be fooled by this. He was fooling around with the white-haired ninja.
"Sure enough she does look like you Tobirama. Are you sure she isn't yours? Remember that time four years ago when you and Sakura-" "Shut up. Now," the younger Senju warned but it went to deaf ears. "-were on heat? Your sexual tension was really killing me those days," Hashirama continued. "Hashirama, only animals are referred to as on heat," Madara corrected him. "Don't you start Madara. I can always tell when you're on heat during our battles. Your fire is always more turned on and passionate," the brunette replied carelessly which earned him a chuckle from Izuna and a glare from Madara. "I wouldn't mind having a niece around. The house has been empty for years and we need more people. Perhaps Sakura would like to move in with us," the Mokuton user decided as he began making arrangements in his mind.
"Excuse me but I'm still here. I'm her mother and conclusions you're busy making depend on me. I know who her father is. It's not like we did it in the dark when I couldn't see his face," Sakura snapped, her anger getting the best of her. "Actually, there was this one time when I heard you and Tobi-" Hashirama started to say but the pinkette's glare cut him short. "While I'd love to stay around and chat but I have a mission to complete so maybe we can have this conversation another time," she said in a forced polite tone. "You take missions? As a strategist?" Tobirama asked. "As a ninja. I can fight," she corrected him. "That's great news Sakura. I always knew you could be a ninja," Hashirama said with a warm smile. "With that pink hair of hers? That color makes it impossible for her to be a ninja," the white-haired Senju as he crossed his arms. "Excuse me but I-"
"Sakura," Sasuke spoke for the first time. Everyone turned their attention to him but he ignored them, focusing solely on his pink-haired teammate. "We have a mission to accomplish," he reminded her in a monotonous tone. "Sorry," Sakura blushed in embarrassment. "Who are you companions if I may ask?" Madara asked as he eyed Sasuke. He looked strangely similar to Izuna, like carbon copies, hair aside. His features screamed Uchiha. He certainly was one of them but why wasn't he with them? "They're my companions, as you have said," the medic replied cautiously. She didn't want to disclose any information to them at all. They still hadn't found a cover story and making up one now was out of question. "Are you an Uchiha?" Izuna asked as he looked at Sasuke. "Hn," he replied which was translate to "yes" in the Uchiha muted language. "How come I've never seen you around the compound? Surely, with the way you look like Izuna, I must know your face or name at least," Madara asked him. "The fact that you don't know my face or name is enough evidence that you don't know everyone in the clan so it's not much of a surprise" Sasuke replied coolly. The clan leader ignored the indirect insult at his leadership skills and fired another question at him.
"Then why aren't you with the rest of the clan?" he asked again. Sasuke was silent for awhile before answering. "She saved and healed me when I was left for the dead after one of our battles with the Senju, at the battle of Bei. So I'm showing my gratitude by serving her until I feel like coming back to the clan," he replied after a moment. "So you're showing your appreciation," Izuna stated. "Hn," the time traveller said. "Whilst I admire your good mannerisms, it would reflect poorly on the clan if one of us didn't show appreciation after being saved, you have to come back to the clan. You're still a member of the Uchiha clan and under my rule. I expect you to be back at the compound in two weeks. Do I make myself clear?" he said, his voice heavy with authority. "I understand," Sasuke said. "Good, now we must take our leave," the clan leader said.
"We're all guarding the Daimyo at the upcoming festival, we've been hired so we must get going. I'll see you soon Sakura," Hashirama said cheerfully. "It was nice talking to you Hashirama," the pinkette said with a smile. "Goodbye Harumi, I'll see you as well," the brunette said as he waved at the little girl who had been momentarily forgotten. He received a glare in return. "Your chakra feels off. Is everything alright?" The future Shodai said as he cast a glance at Naruto who had been left out on the entire conversation until now. "I'm fine," the blonde in question replied, brushing off any suspicion the brunette might have about him being a jinchuriki. "I'll see to it that we have a serious talk about her," Tobirama said to Sakura as he cast a fleeting glance at Harumi, seeing one of the most deepest scowl on her face. She nodded in reply. "Until then." The four ninjas turned and shunshined away from them.
Naruto released a long breath he had been holding. "I cannot believe that I talked to the founders of Konoha during this moment in time and lived to tell the story," he said with a shaky breath. "Tell me about it," their female teammate said exasperatedly. "Mind telling us how you know the Shodai and Nidaime Hokages?" Sasuke asked as he turned to look at Sakura. "It's a long story. I don't have all the details but what I know is that Tobirama is Harumi's father," she said with a tired sigh. "You managed to turn on that guy? He's like ten times worse than Sasuke. And Sasuke has never been turned on," the jinchuriki said in shock. "Dobe," Sasuke warned with a glare. Sakura ignored the two boys who had started bickering on their sexuality and crouched in front of Harumi who was on the verge of crying.
"Kaa-san, hic, tou-san... He...hic. He, doesn't, hic," she hiccuped, biting back her tears. Sakura hugged her in return. "Sorry my dear but it seems as though your father has forgotten about you," she comforted her. "But how come he doesn't remember his own daughter?" she asked, her voice thick with tears. "We'll have to find that out the next time we meet him, don't we? We'll beat some sense into him," she said, punching the air. "Yeah, I'd like to knock real sense into him so that he remembers his daughter,'" she replied determinedly. "Now we've got a clan to protect. Let's go," she said as she stood up.
They stood in front of a large gate. It seemed to stretch on endlessly for miles, both width and height. If you looked to either of its sides, you never saw where it ended. But in reality, it was a hundred metres wide and ten metres high with two mountain sized boulders on the sides. The genjutsu had been cast perfectly, showing precise chakra control. You had to be one of the best genjutsu users to detect it. And you could only remove it if you were of the Haruno clan only. Any other foreign chakra would be immediately detected upon entering the vicinity or moving past the gates. Performing the Kai sign, Sakura removed the genjutsu. The gates were still closed though. Covering her left hand with chakra, she pressed it against the door and they parted open to reveal ten ninjas, swords poised and ready to attack. The members of Team Seven plus Harumi noticed their bright hair colors. They all had red, orange, purple and the middle one had spiky pink hair. Sakura looked up and saw several archers on top of the gate, their arrows aimed at them. Spreading out her chakra senses, she sensed a dozen or so other chakra signatures hiding close enough but unseen to the naked eye. The atmosphere was really tense. Gulping inwardly, she stepped towards the one with pink hair as her companions followed behind her.
Standing in front of the him, she stared at him waiting for him to speak first. He had a strong build with a young boyish face framed by spiky pink hair, undoubtedly handsome and looked to be around 25 years old. He had the typical green eyes of a Haruno which were alert and narrowed down when they first landed on the group before morphing into surprise and happiness upon realization. "Sakura, you made it," he said with a smile as he stepped forward.
"Haruna-sama," she greeted as she bowed.
Done with this chapter. I was halfway through when I didn't save my work and it all went down the drain. I almost gave up but I like this story too much to do so hence I continued. Now, I'm sure you're all wondering why Tobirama is acting out of character, calling his mother and her friend old hags or farts. We all know that while Outer Sakura was the perfect, kind and polite child, Inner on the other was the opposite, calling elders names and all. So I thought it would be funny if Inner had copied that behavior from Tobirama. Despite that arrogant and confident behavior, he wasn't all that respectful towards elders. Also, Haruna-sama isn't some old geezer. He's young, just like Madara and Hashirama. Were you expecting an old man with a heavily wrinkled gave and white hair? Thanks to those who are following, favoring and reviewing this story.
Continue reading and reviewing, they're still appreciated.
Tozoonana
AfricanFire
