Sakura had taken an instant liking to Madara. She didn't know why but she always felt the desire to prove to him that she was worth his friendship. He was very handsome, she told him many times often than not. For the past month they had been meeting, she never departed without a hug or a peck to the cheek to the dark-haired boy. And Hashirama didn't like it one bit. At first, it aggravated Madara as he found it very annoying but eventually he grew used to it until he began to enjoy it. No girl in his clan ever said or did that to him, they always scampered away in fear. Only Izuna assured him that he was every girl's crush in their compound.
He enjoyed having Sakura's entire attention at the expense of Hashirama. The brunette always seethed in jealousy whenever Sakura hugged, smiled at, complimented or pecked Madara's cheek. He refused to acknowledge that as a kiss. And Madara revelled in it. Apparently when it came to Sakura, Hashirama was no goody two shoes. And it pleased the dark-haired boy that the brunette was no angel, not as righteous as he made himself to be.
"You want to teach me how to climb a tree?" she asked again for the third time. "Are you as dumb as Hashirama that have to hit your head for you to understand a simple sentence?" Madara deadpanned. "Madara, that's very un-gentleman," Hashirama piped in. "Which is why I'm not one," he retorted. "I already know how to climb a tree," Sakura replied. "I meant using chakra," he said flatly. "Oh, okay," she agreed.
"So how do I do it?" she asked as they walked to the tree Madara had picked. "Put chakra on your feet and start walking," the raven-haired boy explained. "Very helpful," she said with sarcasm. The trio made their way to what Madara has deemed as the tallest one in the area. Sakura took off her haori and threw it an unsuspecting Madara who caught it with ease. She looked up at the tree then to the kunai Hashirama had given her to mark her position.
She was a little uneasy to use chakra since it was the first after her chakra incident two years where she had fainted. But her desire to impress Madara was even stronger but still. She glanced at Madara then at Hashirama who sent her a reassuring smile. He understood her hesitation, she thought as she smiled back.
She took a deep breath and closed her eyes in concentration. A fleeting memory of climbing a tree and feeling victorious for being the first flittered in her mind before disappearing. She gathered chakra at the soles of her feet in an all too familiar. Feeling satisfied, she rushed up the tree and arrived at the top, standing on its branch. Indeed, it was the tallest tree in the area as there wasn't any other taller tree than the one she was standing on.
She looked at the sun which was beginning to set. A wave of nostalgia hit her as she remembered blonde hair, blue eyes and laughter in a similar setting. But it was gone as soon as it came and long forgotten. She looked down at her two friends who were staring up at her. Deciding she had spent enough time on the top, she marked the tree branch with her kunai and went down to her boys.
"So, how did I do?" she asked Madara with a victorious smirk. "That was amazing Sakura-chan! I got it on my fiftieth try!" Hashirama exclaimed but he was ignored. Sakura looked expectantly at Madara. "You did fine," he said. A beat of silence passed between them. "Is that all?" she asked. "Should there be more?" he said with a raised eyebrow. Sakura sighed dejectedly. "No it's fine," she muttered. "You did great Sakura-chan," Hashirama said as he placed a comforting hand on her shoulder. "Thanks Hashirama," she said with a teary smile. The brunette rubbed the back of his head in embarrassment as she had said his name for the first time in a week. It was always Madara this, Madara that.
Madara noticed Hashirama's bashfulness and decided to straighten him a little. "I'm impressed Sakura. Good job," the dark-haired boy said as he helped Sakura put on her haori before slinging an arm over her shoulders. He revelled in Sakura's blush and Hashirama's jealous gaze.
For all Matsuri knew, she did not know the pink-haired girl called Sakura despite being her guardian for the past eight years. Before the Senju had attacked their small town which consisted of a hundred members of the Haruno clan, she had been famous as number one kunoichi in the Land of Fire. Because of their number, her clan often lacked protection as most of them were merchants and couldn't afford to be ninjas at the same time as that would break their business connections.
As such, she and nine others decided to become the only ninjas in their clan while the rest, adults that is, focused on trading to sustain their clan during the warring states period. She became the best in her clan and finally the best in the land. She focused majorly on assassination and infiltration missions, relying heavily on seduction tactics, even though she had a large range of elemental jutsus. All of the missions that she took, she allowed no one to see her face. She always used a henge to disguise herself so no enemy of hers would attack her clan because of her.
She had been in her prime, at 25, scouting the area around her town for any enemies when she had sense the abrupt shift in the atmosphere. She was dressed in her usual ninja gear which consisted of a dark red battle kimono which ended at her knees and black shinobi combat boots which ended around her ankles with low heels. She had had a pair of black shorts inside which ended mid-thigh and her weapons pouch wrapped around her left thigh as she was left handed. Strapped on her back was a pair of katanas. Her long wavy blonde hair was held in a high ponytail which ended just below her hips.
About half a kilometre from where she was, just under a Sakura tree, a dark purple vortex opened and a girl tumbled out. With her guard up, she made her way to the intruder. She had no weapons drawn as she could easily fight with her bare hands. The girl was unconscious, looked to be in her late teens with a mop of pink hair, something which strangely reminded her of her cousin who was the same age as her with the same hair color.
She was dressed in quite strange attire which was rather revealing, a short pale lavender skirt which ended mid-thigh and a sleeveless red high collared shirt with a zip. Her hair ended mid-back and a red headband with a strange symbol on a metal plate. Long spiky fringes covered her forehead, a purple diamond at the centre of her forehead. She touched her forehead, her hand glowing with healing chakra, a feat she had learned somewhere far away from the Land of Fire. She was burning up.
Careful not to wake her up, she used her chakra to try and bring down her fever. As long as her chakra entered her system, it was zapped inside that she quickly withdrew before her chakra could be taken all together. At that, she sensed the girl's chakra signature start to deplete as she began to shrink. Matsuri could only stare as the girl continued to decrease in size until she was the size of a year old barely and her chakra just as much.
She blinked once then looked at the naked toddler who was lying amidst her former clothes. She took the sleeping toddler in her hands as she pondered on what to do with her. One question was prominent in her mind. 'What in the world just happened?'
And I am done with this chapter! About two months ago, I wrote this chapter and put it in my phone to upload then I accidentally deleted the chapter before I could upload it. I was so devastated that I lost all interest in the chapter and almost resigned writing because of the amount of effort I had put into writing it. But then I finally decided to write it and I finished in a single day so hurray!
I put some Team 7 dynamics in this chapter, if you know what I mean. I also put some easter eggs in this chapter referring to the previous Naruto movies where Team 7, excluding Sasuke, plus Lee go on an escort mission in the summer. At the end of the movie, there a picture of Naruto and Sakura sitting on a tree branch watching the sunset. I also explained a bit on Matsuri's past and how Sakura got here. Sakura's attire when she arrives in the past is the one she wears immediately after the war and everything else. Hope you like it.
Tozoonana
AfricanFire
