The Fragility of Flowers

by Anonymous

Summary:

Sakura Haruno will become a Seal Master. She will create new seals, and become something feared. A kunoichi who doesn’t have a clan to fall back on must be prepared to make the world her own. She is not the fragile flower the world wants her to roll over and be without a complaint. She won’t be weak.

OR

As the only civilian born student left in her class, Sakura knows she has to find her own niche, even if that means carving it into stone with bloodied fingernails.

OR

The Sakura/ Various Fic No One Asked For.

Chapter 1

 

A pink haired girl with bright green eyes, smiles wide as she walks home from the park with her parents.

“I want to go to the Academy!” Sakura declares to her parents.

She had just seen a blonde girl stand up to Ami and her friends! No one ever did that! 

The blonde had said she was going to be the best Kunochi after the Academy, and Ami had laughed. That resulted in that blonde girl berating Ami and her friends until they ran away crying.

After hearing them constantly make fun of her forehead, Sakura thought it was the best thing ever to see them cry.

At the age of six, she looks so small, as fragile as the flowers for which she is named. Her parents smile indulgently, most children don’t start the Academy until age seven or eight anyway. There’s still time for her to change her mind.

“Alright my little Flower.”, her father laughs lightly, thinking ( hoping ) she’ll change her mind, “If you still want to go to the Academy next year, we won’t stop you.”

She doesn’t change her mind. 

(Her parents will look back on this day many times over the years and wonder if they should have fought her harder on her decision.)

Sakura finds a friend in the same blonde girl that she saw that one day in the park. Her name is Ino Yamanaka. She’s not afraid to make Ami and her friends cry, even now that they’re older.

Sakura thinks she’s amazing.

The Uchiha clan is massacred within the dead of night by their Clan Heir. Parents pull their children out of the Academy in fear of their futures. 

(More specifically, they fear the lack of a future for their children in a world where a single boy barely thirteen can kill over a hundred members of his clan and manage to escape without being caught by any of the Shinobi of the village.)

The only survivor, people whisper in pity, is the youngest son of the late Clan Head.

Sakura wonders how someone could do that.

(Her parents, always wanting her to make her own decisions, don’t pull her from the Academy even if every fiber of their being wants to protect their only child.)

When Sasuke Uchiha, the last loyal Uchiha , comes into class for the first time after his whole family was slaughtered by that man, Sakura doesn’t look at him once.

She’s too caught up wondering if it was possible for her to be a good Shinobi, an excellent Kunoichi , when Monsters like that exist.

It will be another week before she notices that since the Massacre, she is now the last remaining civilian born student in her class.

There are only a few other civilians in her year now, spread throughout the different classes. The others are all orphans of Konoha who have no one to guide them away from the life of a Shinobi.

Her class is filled with Clan Heirs and Spares. The remaining students belong to small ninja clans of no prominent standing.

A week after that she’ll notice the divide growing larger and larger between her classmates and herself.

She alone has no background in the Shinobi arts that they seem to take for granted. The teachers all spend so much time, helping them each improve in their lessons. Some of the teachers barely spare her a glance, expecting her to drop out of the Academy like every other civilian in her class. Iruka-sensei, for all good a teacher he is, tries his best to help her, but more often than not his attention is too stretched thin by trying to help every student in the class.

She learns from Ino, Shikamaru, and Choji that Clan children receive help from their clans after school. They complain! She doesn't think that they know just how lucky they are to get that extra training.

Sakura turns eight in March and doesn’t think it’s fair, but she grits her teeth and smiles as she asks about their training.

They answer her without reserve and her blood boils when she learns even the “small things” like Ino helping out at the Flower Shop is training.

She can’t stop the small amount of jealousy she feels.

Sakura doesn’t know how to close the gap between her classmates and herself. They're getting stronger and nothing she does will ever make up for it. Even Shikamaru, who would rather laze under a tree and watch clouds all day or play shogi, is getting stronger.

She doesn't think she's anything special, and as a kunoichi this will either allow her to live a longer life or grant her an early death.

She doesn't want to leave the matter of her life up to something as trivial as chance.

It’s the end of her first year when she manages to find a thick obscure book in the library with no title in the “Free Books” bin.

It’s a book on the Basics of Seals (Sakura privately names it that in her mind).

It's handwritten and made of different handwritings, and filled with so many ideas her head starts to spin.

In the margins and a section in the back, there's notes on Medical Ninjutsu and Poison.

The name she's gifted the book remains untouched as the Basics of Seals still remains the majority of the focus of the book.

(It will be years from the moment she finds the book until she finds out who wrote it.)

Sakura devours it in two weeks, memorizing it inside and out.

She knows that this will be the tool of her choice.

No one will ever look at her, a frail civilian girl with pink hair, and know off first glance the skills she'll carry in her arsenal.

Her second year at the Academy, Sakura learns that her chakra reserves may never grow as large as her classmates’. She was not from a clan, and therefore did not have the same generations of breeding in her lineage which allowed for large reserves. 

The instructors smile politely though and tell her in front of the whole class that she has near perfect chakra control that she may be able to pass down to shinobi children of her own one day.

It’s meant to be an encouragement, probably a twisted compliment, that she can rise above her heritage and marry into a small established clan if she proves herself. Of course, they mean a minor clan, because not one of her teachers believes she can marry into one of the major clans despite there being a handful of male Clan Heirs in her class. It sounds condescending to her ears though all the same.

Her blood turns to ice in her veins as she ignores the considering stares of her classmates and heads back to her seat.

She doesn’t care about marriage! She cares about seals and closing the gap between her classmates and herself.

She cares about surpassing them all, not in spite of her heritage, but because of it. These teachers don’t know anything about her, and they won’t care unless she makes them. All they see is a potential asset to the village, who’s only true contribution will be children.

She’s too young to change how they view her and her worth despite her top marks. But, she silently muses to herself, maybe she could negate her small reserves with a seal?

She fails to notice how Ino is looking at her in envy or how the boys in the class appear to be reevaluating her existence.

She learns more about the Slug Sannin, Tsunade Senju, two months later, and resolves to be stronger than even her, because Tsunade has a blatant seal on her forehead and she’s not even known for sealing!

At the end of her second year she has a working seal to store her own chakra. She’s already managed to figure out how the Slug Sannin’s seal on her forehead works. It’s supposed to store chakra and with it Tsunade heals and is given an increase in strength, but Sakura wants to take it a step further. She doesn’t want to take Tsunade’s seal because she can see that it’s not perfect. She wants something to not only store her own chakra, but that of anyone else who attempts to use it on her. She makes her own seal, because why would she steal something so imperfect when she can make something better?

 

She has no way of knowing that she has a prodigious talent for sealing, because there’s no one entirely invested in her becoming a ninja. There’s no one to tell her what she’s attempting will take years to complete if it even does work. No one to tell her the dangers of putting seals on a living body.

She does the impossible in less than a year. 

She begins working on actively putting it on her body the first day of the break between second year and third year. She’s nine.

She adds in another aspect for perfect recall, integrating everything she hopes to desire into one seal that no one will be able to steal from her. Her design takes the form of Cherry Blossoms and other flowers connected across her forehead on an entwining vine. It looks like a flower crown was placed across her forehead.

It's innocuous enough that most won't pay it any mind, dismissing it because it's attached to a girl with pink hair who has never been considered dangerous by anyone ever before.

But, at the same time her sealwork is distinctive enough to make her enemies cower before her on sight after she makes a name for herself. She's made her own Sealing Style and has no idea of how impossible others claim it to be.

Who would expect to be bested by a girl with pink hair and a flower crown?

Chakra gives her Inner for her hard work.

She’s lucky she doesn’t fry her brain.

Sakura begins her third year with bangs covering her forehead and eyes filled with so much excitement it draws everyone in.

Ino talks to her after that first day and declares them to be rivals when Sasuke gives Sakura a nod of acknowledgement as he enters the classroom. No amount of telling Ino she doesn’t like Sasuke will persuade her to change her mind.

“You’re lying!”, Ino grits out as tears leave her eyes, “You like him as much as I do and you have the nerve to lie to me?!? From now on we are rivals, Billboard Brow. You may have gotten a nice haircut to hide that big forehead of yours, but that doesn’t change anything. Do you hear me?”

Sakura takes the hint and begins to sit next to Shino instead the following day.

She’s glad she never told Ino about her skills in sealing, because she knows now that had Ino known, she would have used it against her somehow. Maybe she would have even gotten her book on the Basics of Seals taken away?

The light in her eyes dims slightly, but no one expressly comments on it. Shino offers her a jar of Aburame jam the next day, it’s the kind that always runs out of the Market within an hour on the Wednesdays the clan sells it.

Sakura gives him a small honest smile and thanks him. They both know what she’s really thanking him for.

The next week when he purposely lets his kikaichū crawl onto Sakura’s notes and she doesn’t scream or attempt to kill them, merely gently nudging them away when she wants to write, he doesn’t know how to feel.

She doesn’t appear distressed or disgusted when he lets his kikaichū brush against her hand. He continues to test her the whole week until he decides that she has the potential to be a good friend.

She goes for ramen one day after school, not wanting to go get barbeque like she had told her parents was planned weeks ago, back when Ino was still her friend and not her rival. She meets a boy with the brightest blue eyes she has ever seen, his hair is more yellow than a sunflower. When he smiles it feels as though he’s sunshine incarnated.

His name is Naruto.

Sakura doesn’t think he’s too bad.

Shikamaru and Choji still smile slightly at her when she sees them, but they don’t talk to her without Ino. She feels betrayal and anger because she considered them to be her friends too, but it steels her resolve to be better than them all.

Why should she care about them if they don’t care about her? It’s not like she’s alone. She has Shino. She has Naruto. She has Inner. She has her parents! She doesn’t need anyone else.

More people in her life would just take time away from her sealwork.

 

Her fourth year at the Academy she acknowledges that her taijutsu may never be naturally as good as her classmates’. She decides to fix it with seals that add gravity resistance to her limbs to boost her speed. This seal is a singular Butterfly added an inch above her belly button. It’s cute and so delicate looking, that most people will overlook it. But then again, people have been overlooking her ever since she first stepped foot in the Academy 

No one tells her that training with weights at such a young age will stunt her growth.

If she’s a little slower during her spars, no one comments on it. No one pays her attention as long as she doesn’t dare beat a prominent Clan’s Heir or Spare. But it doesn't matter, she won’t hold back when she becomes a proper Konoichi and there’s no use drawing too much attention to herself.

(No matter how much she wants her teachers to acknowledge her strengths, now is just not the time.)

Shino remains a calm presence at her side. She slowly opens up to him, it’s easier talking to Shino then it ever was talking to Ino.

She tells him about her interest in sealing. Gifts him a storage scroll on his birthday recalling when he mentioned how hard it is to keep fresh fruit available for his kikaichū to snack on throughout the day.

He doesn't want to keep it after he's had it long enough to realize what it does. Claims it's more valuable than she knows. 

Basic sealing scrolls aren't meant to perfectly preserve food at the same temperature it goes in at, much less perfectly put it in stasis to stop it from expiring.

The scroll Sakura gives is the type that is jealousy hoarded by seal masters and gifted to Kages and Daimyos.

"Sakura, my clan would gladly buy these from you as quickly as you can make them. Why? Because I've never seen a storage scroll like this before, and neither has my father or any of the rest of our clan. These scrolls would be perfect for everyday use or missions."

She doesn’t tell him about the seals she’s placed on her own body.

(She is a kunoichi forged through her own sheer willpower, she understands the need for withholding information of her strengths here where even Shino is a potential competitor for her.)

"These aren't even that good, Shino.", Sakura sighed, "Right now anyone can open these, they aren't secure at all. I can make them better, but they aren't my biggest priority right now. I have so much I want to do, but not enough time."

"I was surprised by the sealing scroll you gave me. Why? Because it does not look like a typical sealing scroll.", Shino stated while examining the scroll again. It was outlined with a variety of insect drawings and small enough to fit in a pocket.

"Yeah, I'm not a big fan of the idea that scrolls have to be bulky to be functionable.", Sakura laughed lightly, "It just seems like a waste of sealing paper when it can hold the same amount of stuff as a scroll three times its size."

Shino nodded along and asked some questions of his own. Some she answered, some she gave a secretive smile to and diverted the flow of the conversation to something else.

Shikamaru, who gives the guise of sleeping when Shino and Sakura talk about the scroll, tells his dad when he gets home that night.

Shikaku mentions it to Choza and Inoichi and together the three talk to Shibi.

By the next afternoon most of the Shinobi in the village have heard of a new storage scroll invented by an aspiring Seal Master. Though no one is able to gain any solid confirmation.

 

Ino-Shika-Cho, despite drawing attention to it, is very tight-lipped about the whole thing. And no one is willing to ask any more than one Aburame about the scroll since they all give the same answer.

When the other clans bring it up, the Aburame cite that their novice Seal Master (who may or may not exist) has no bearing on the meeting. Clan Business for shinobis is reserved for the Clans themselves, it's the reason no one has been able to do anything about the Hyuga's Cage Bird Seal. 

After the meeting, Sandaime quietly approaches Shibi to inquire about a similar scroll for himself.

A week later, Shibi hands Sandaime a scroll, no bigger than the palm of his hand and bordered with leaves.

After extensive testing, Hiruzen sends the scroll off to Jiraiya to examine.

Jiraiya wants to know who the Seal Master is, grudgingly admitting that not even he could make something that extensive into such a small piece of sealing paper without obvious seals on display. It shouldn't be possible to accomplish that. And the seals are so intricately hidden within the vines and flowers he can't even make heads or tails about this person's Sealing Style.

Hiruzen asks Jiraiya if he's thinking about taking on a student.

And Jiraiya drops his inquiries, saying the next and last student he ever wants to teach is Naruto.

 

Sakura is in her fifth and final year at the Academy when she does something remarkably stupid. 

She wins a Taijutsu match against Kiba.

He looks at her in awe before he challenges her to a rematch.

The instructors allow it, and her pride won't let her back down and lose now. 

(Not after she's already won him before. Not after all eyes are on her finally.)

She wins against him again and Kiba can't take his eyes off of her even after they do the Seal of Reconciliation.

(Shino doesn't like that Kiba can't keep his eyes to himself.)

Later she'll realize how stupid it was to showcase her skills to the class, but for the time she's content about shutting up Kiba for the day.

Akamaru starts approaching her the next day and finds out that Sakura gives pretty good scratches.

(Kiba won't stop staring.)

The next Taijutsu match is against Sasuke.

Sakura gives it her all, not once expecting to win against the last loyal Uchiha .

She wins.

There's disbelief in his eyes but he doesn't demand a rematch like Kiba.

(Now Sasuke won't stop staring at her, and Ino hates her more.)

They go over seals in class and Sakura surprises her teachers because she looks almost bored as they talk about explosion tags and storage seals.

Mizuki wants her to demonstrate how to open a storage scroll.

She barely refrains from rolling her eyes and does it with practiced ease, much to the confusion of the majority of the class since Mizuki hasn't even told her how to open the scroll yet.

(They all won't stop staring.)

Her seals are finally complete, she turns twelve as the Cherry Blossoms bloom.

She graduated as the top Kunoichi of the year.

(The title Rookie of the Year goes to Sasuke.)

She's assigned to a team with Naruto and Sasuke.

Her Jonin Instructor is three hours late.

An eraser falls on his head.

Notes:

Hello, hope you're enjoying this fic! This is my first Naruto Fic and it's been awhile since I've watched Naruto. If you have any comments or questions, feel free to drop them below! Remember to Bookmark and Leave Kudos if you're enjoying this, it helps motivate me to update faster XD

Chapter 2

“Mah. My first impression of you all?”, the Jonin instructor asks before giving them an exaggerated once-over and answering his own question, “I don’t like any of you. Standards must have slipped if I got you all. Meet me on the roof.”

He disappears in a swirl of leaves and Sakura’s heart fills with fire as Inner demands he just look at them.

(No one ever truly sees Sakura. Not the teachers, who don’t pay her proper mind. Not the clan kids, who take everything that’s been handed to them their whole lives for granted. Not even her parents, who have fear in their eyes that one day they’ll get their daughter home from a mission in a Body Scroll.)

 

Naruto and Sasuke both run while screaming insults at one another. Sakura follows after them wondering if the yelling will be a constant thing until they become Chunin and go their separate ways.

Their new sensei is giggling and reading a bright orange book.

He may not like them, but that’s okay.

Sakura thinks he’s a pervert.

(She doesn’t like him much either.)

“Okay, everyone’s here. Let’s introduce ourselves.”, the perv with the silver hair says while clapping his hands and gently putting away his book, “Names, likes, dislikes, dreams and hobbies. That sort of thing.”

“You should go first since you made us wait!”, Naruto screeches. Sakura gives a silent prayer to her eardrums.

“My name is Kakashi Hatake. Things I like and things I hate? I don't feel like telling you all that. My dreams for the future? I’ve never really thought about it. My hobbies?”, he paused and Naruto leaned in listening intently, “I have lots of hobbies, but I don’t want to share those with you.”

“We learned nothing about you, Dattebayo!”, Naruto yelled.

Sakura really felt as though investing in earplugs would be wise.

“Fine.”, Kakashi said while raising an eyebrow, “If you think you can do better than that, you try.”

“I’m Naruto Uzamaki. I love ramen, it’s the food of the gods! I hate the three minutes you have to wait after you put water in the ramen cup. My hobby is eating different kinds of ramen. And my dream is to be Hokage! Then the whole village will have to acknowledge me as someone important and stop looking down on me!”

“Hn.”, Sasuke said in response.

Sakura smiles politely even though Inner is fuming because, Why does he even care if the villagers acknowledge him?!? They treat him terribly for no reason!

On some levels she understands. People look down on her for her background and her age and hair color all the time. It sounds like a nice dream for all the looks to stop.

“You next.”, Kakashi-sensei points to Sasuke.

Sakura wonders what their new teacher sees in her that causes him to save her introduction for last.

“My name is Sasuke Uchiha. I hate a lot of things, and don’t particularly like anything. What I have is not a dream, because I’m going to make it a reality. I’m going to restore my clan and kill a certain someone.”, the Avenger says plainly, he sounds hurt and broken all at once, she almost doesn’t notice the emotions hidden beneath his anger.

Sakura isn’t sure what to say to that.

Naruto edges slightly away like he’s afraid that Sasuke’s dream that he’s going to make a reality is to kill him.

Kakashi gives an eye-smile, “That’s nice. I’m sure you’ll be successful.”

It feels as though Kakashi wants to pat Sasuke on the back and cheer “You go, Little Guy!”, but maybe Sakura is reading too much into it because this guy is meant to be a Jonin.

“And you with the pink hair. What about you?”, his one visible eye narrows as if trying to gauge her.

She could tell him about her dream to be a strong kunoichi and rise above all the clan children from her class because of her fuinjutsu. But she can see that he has his own opinion of her already formulated in his head.

“My name is Sakura Haruno! I like flowers and drawing! I don’t like Ino-pig! My hobbies are drawing and cooking! My dream is to take care of my future children!”, Sakura says this all in a screech. Why shouldn’t she play into the role he’s already assigned her?

She thinks she probably laid it on a little thick but Kakashi-sensei grimaces and she can see the outline of his frown before he does another obnoxious eye smile.

Naruto looks like he’s never seen her before, but still he grins, “Having a family is a great dream, Dattebayo!”

Sasuke’s eyes have widened slightly but he turns, “Hn.”

“Now, just because you’ve graduated, it doesn’t mean any of you are actually Genin.”, Kakashi said before going off into a whole spiel about how they needed to meet at Training Ground Three for their final test.

“Oh and one final thing, I recommend not eating.”, Kakashi gave a little wave, “You might throw up.”

 

 

It was only after she was back home that Sakura said aloud her real introduction in front of the mirror.

“My name is Sakura Haruno. I like learning more about Fuinjutsu and designing seals. I dislike people who underestimate me and write me off at first glance. My hobbies are practicing new jutsu, and learning about insects and poisonous plants with Shino. My dream is to surpass people who are already deemed legends with my seals. I will be the best shinobi one day.”

She pulled out her sealing materials and got to work.

Tomorrow would come sooner than she realized.

 

 

She makes sure she’s the first one there and checks over her items. Everything is ready in case he makes her fight for her right to become a Genin against her teammates.

She’s eaten breakfast since there’s no way she’ll listen to the “helpful advice” of the perv if it’s not an order or a way to improve herself.

Sasuke comes first, then Naruto. Their teacher hasn’t made an appearance to them yet, but Sakura knows, thanks to her latest seal addition flower on her forehead, that he’s there. He got here a few minutes after Sasuke. She may not naturally be a sensor, but she will never allow herself to be caught off guard by an enemy so long as they are within a hundred feet of her.

He’s watching them in the trees to either test their patience or learn their weaknesses. Joke’s on him. She’s not going to make this easy for him.

She looks up from her little glitter decorated “Sketch Book” that she prepared last night with hidden seals. She pretends that she’s only barely noticing her teammates.

A Jonin doesn't deserve free passes.

“Hey you guys!”, Sakura yells in that imitation of a harpy voice that Ino and the other fangirls seem so fond of.

She hates herself for how easily it comes to her.

“Sakura! Hey!”, Naruto yells back with a wide grin.

“Hn.”, Sasuke says in lieu of an actual greeting.

“What do you have there?”, Naruto asks.

Sakura smiles again, “It’s my latest drawing.” 

Naruto and Sasuke look over to see nothing more than a butterfly on a paper boarded with flowers and vines.

“Can we see some of your other drawings?”, Naruto asked.

Sakura grinned, “Yeah!”

She flipped through her notebook to show different designs surrounded by a border of flowers and vines. Her drawings all looked completely innocuous. 

“It’s really cool!”, Naruto grinned, “Can I draw something?”

“Maybe later.”, Sakura smiled, “We have no idea when Kakashi-sensei is going to get here. It wouldn’t surprise me if he decided to just attack us without letting us warm up at all. Maybe we should do warm-ups before he gets here?”

“That sounds like a great idea! You’re really smart Sakura!”, Naruto beamed.

No one smiles that much, Inner murmured in disbelief.

“Hn.”, Sasuke said, “Dobe, do you even know how to do proper warmups?”

And then the arguing started up again.

 

 

Sakura kept a smile on her face as she tried to keep peace.

“Boys. Stop it. You both are being mean to each other.”, Sakura said in her best ‘Mom’ voice for the tenth time in as many minutes.

She was ready to just give in and put paralyzing seals on them to keep them docile when she felt Kakashi get closer.

“But that teme started it!”, Naruto whined.

“And I’m ending it.”, Sakura said while doing a foot stomp for emphasis.

She better become a Genin after this! 

“Yeah listen to her, you dobe.”, Sasuke taunted.

“Don’t think you’re excluded from this, Sasuke!”, Sakura screeched, “You also played a role! Both of you, apologize to each other.”

“But.”, both tried to speak before being cut off by Sakura.

“Now!”, Sakura demanded with a hint of finality.

“I’m sorry, teme.”, Naruto said while avoiding eye contact.

Sasuke cleared his throat, making sure he was looking nowhere near Naruto, “I’m sorry, dobe.”

“Boys!”, Sakura yelled again, “Try apologizing without the names this time.”

“I’m sorry.”, they said in sync while looking at the ground.

Kakashi came into view right after they finished.

 

 

“Mah, what do we have here? Why are you apologizing?”, Kakashi said with that insufferable eye smile of his.

“It’s none of your business!” Sasuke snapped.

(Sakura wondered how he was able to stand up to a Jonin and not her.)

“You’re late! Where were you?”, Naruto exclaimed.

Sakura just did her best to give him her best disappointed look.

He explains the task. They fight.

He incapacitates Naruto early on, flinging him somewhere. They separate.

Sasuke gets buried up to his head.

Kakashi thinks he leaves Sakura screaming at a Genjutsu.

Sakura decides to use Sasuke as a distraction and frees him.

“Please, we need to work together. If Naruto joins us we have a better chance of winning the bells.”, Sakura pleads.

Sasuke frowns, “There are only two bells.”

“We can figure this out after we get the bells.”, Sakura begs, “You and Naruto deserve the chance to become shinobi. I can go back to the Academy! You both have goals that are so much greater than mine!”

That’s a lie. She has no intention of not getting a bell. She’d do whatever it took to pass this. Why on earth should she go to the Academy again? She was the Top Kunoichi of the year! She did not work her ass off to just allow all her dreams to disappear before her eyes. Everyone knew that the only ones who had a shot of getting another Jonin Sensei after failing the first time were the Clan kids. This would be her only shot!

Naruto popped out of the bush looking strangely touched, “Really, Sakura? You would do that?”

She nods, not being able to verbally lie to him she instead settles on a resolute, “We’re a team.”

“Really, now?”, the mocking voice of their sensei drawls, “You all are a team?”

“Yes.”, they say in one voice.

“There’s only two bells.”, Kakashi points out, “What are you going to do?”

Sakura opens her mouth to say that one of those bells will be hers no matter what, but is cut off by Naruto.

“We’ll either all pass together as a team or fail as a team. It’s not fair that someone has to put off their dream for another year, dattebayo.”, Naruto said as he positioned himself to stand in front of Sasuke and Sakura.

“Oh.”, Kakashi says in a frigid voice, “Is that so? Do you agree with Naruto, Sasuke?”

Sasuke hesitates for only a moment before he nods, “Everyone has important dreams.”

“Even Sakura?”, Kakashi says almost mockingly.

“Yeah!”, Naruto yelled, “Sakura wants to be a mom! It’s a little different from our dreams, but if it’s important to her then it is an important dream and you can’t decide otherwise!”

Sasuke nods along. Sakura feels touched and it’s not even her dream.

“I don’t need to hear anymore. I heard Sakura talking earlier.”, Kakashi said as he began to do a jutsu at a slow mocking pace.

Sakura kept an eye on the signs to use against him after.

Boar → Dog → Bird → Monkey → Ram

A puff of smoke appeared and a dog wearing a blue vest and Konoha forehead protector appeared.

Did Kakashi really think it was below him to finish us off and send a dog to do his dirty work?, Inner grumbled.

 

 

“You all passed.”, the dog said as he held up a paw, ”To celebrate, you all may feel my paw. It’s very soft.”

Team Seven sweatdropped.

“Really?”, they asked in unison.

“It’s a great honor, that you may not feel worthy of at this moment.”, the dog agreed seriously, “But, you only become Genin once. I’m willing to allow you to touch my soft paw.”

“Pakkun here is right.”, Kakashi nodded, “It’s not every day that an Academy student passes the Jonin test to become Genin. You all passed because you displayed that you are a team. Those who abandon the mission are trash, that’s true, but those who abandon their friends are worse than trash.”

They each take Pakkun’s paw one at a time and marvel at its softness before Kakashi guides them to a clearing with a large stone tablet engraved with names.

“The heroes of our village have their names engraved on this.”, his voice grew somber, “My closest friends have their names here.”

Naruto’s eyes grew, “That’s it, I’ve decided! I want my name on here one day too!”

Sakura slapped the back of his head, “No you don’t. This is the Memorial Stone. Only shinobi who are Killed in Action are put here.”

“Think before you speak, dobe.”, Sasuke hissed, “Have some respect!”

Their Jonin sensei looked at the Stone a little longer, likely tracing over the names of the people he’s lost, before he looked at them again and vowed, “I will do everything in my power to make sure none of you end up on this Stone so long as I am still living.”

They head back to the clearing they first met in before Sakura sighs, “I have something to admit to everyone. I lied earlier.”

They look confused so she decides to elaborate. There's no way she was going to admit to wanting to take the a Bell for herself.

“About my introduction yesterday, I lied. It’s just, I was trying to see if you guys would underestimate me if I lied.”, Sakura admits while wishing the ground would just swallow her, “It ended up working, but I didn’t get to show you all my strengths.”

“Do you want to do your introduction again?”, Kakashi asks with another eye smile.

(For some reason it doesn’t seem as irritating anymore.) 

“Can I?”, Sakura asks.

“Hn.”, Sasuke says with a small smile.

“It would be nice to really hear about you!”, Naruto grinned.

“The floor is yours.”, Kakashi-sensei said.

She took a deep breath and repeated what she had said in the mirror the previous day, “My name is Sakura Haruno. I like learning more about Fuinjutsu and designing seals. I dislike people who underestimate me and write me off at first glance. My hobbies are practicing new jutsu, and learning about insects and poisonous plants with Shino. My dream is to surpass people who are already deemed legends with my seals. I will be the best shinobi one day.”

She doesn’t mention her knowledge of Medical Ninjutsu in fear of being made into a Med-Nin and restricted to the Four Rules created by Tsunade Senju before she deserted the village and left its hospital in disarray.

“Eh? You don’t want to be a mom, Sakura?”, Naruto questioned in a puzzled tone, “For what it’s worth I think you would be a great one!”

Sakura blushed slightly and looked away, “I mean maybe one day? But I really want to make my dream a reality before I think of settling down.”

“Fuinjutsu?”, Sasuke asked, “Are you any good?”

“I have some with me if you want to see them? I brought them in case I needed them today.”, Sakura said before pulling out a familiar item.

“Sakura, we already saw your drawings.”, Naruto said slowly, “I think you might have left your seal stuff at home.”

“Naruto, these are my seals.”, Sakura laughed lightly.

She gently tore out the drawing of a butterfly that she showed them earlier and placed it on the ground.

“Who wants to volunteer?”, she asked gently with a small smile.

“I want to volunteer! What does it do? Will it hurt? Can it be used in pranks? Can you make me my own seals?”, Naruto said in one breath.

“We need to back up a bit or we’ll be caught in it.”, Sakura explained to Pakkun, Kakashi, and Sasuke, “Naruto, it might be easier for you if you lay down.”

He laid down and she activated the seal, the others watched in fascination as Naruto couldn’t get up.

 

 

“This one was a Gravity Seal that affects a range of ten feet.”, Sakura said as she deactivated the seal, “Gravity becomes too much for any person to move under eventually. I use a Gravity Seal to train constantly, it really helps with speed and strength training. Of course though, I have a counter in conjunction to allow one to move freely within the area of effect, but this works best for our demonstration.”

“Do you have a seal on you now?”, Kakashi asked.

“I have a few.”, Sakura admitted wanting to rip the bandage off.

Kakashi raised an eyebrow, “Oh?”

Sakura gently lifted her shirt to show a delicate butterfly over her belly button, “This one is my gravity seal. I can change the weight and even turn it off as long as I either have chakra or blood. The initial chakra cost is the only drain that comes from this seal.”

“What are your other seals?”, Naruto vibrated with excitement.

“Those are a secret.”, Sakura grinned, “I worked on these for three years straight, I’m not going to let anyone know what these are. Consider it a clan technique that I’ll pass down to any children I have.”

Sasuke rolled his eyes, “Can we at least see it?”

Sakura grinned before brushing up her bangs to show her forehead had a myriad of seals taking the shape of a delicate flower crown.

“Mah, my cute little students are all going to accomplish so much.”, Kakashi-sensei said before pretending to wipe a tear away.

“Anything that would be useful for the team to know?”, Sasuke asked.

“One of my seals allows me to be a pretty good chakra sensor, I have a latent range of a hundred feet with the potential for expanding my range.”, Sakura mused before smiling brightly, “If you guys want, I can put a seal on you all too! Then we’d all be able to be chakra sensors. It could help us a lot on missions. Oh, and I know poisons!”

Naruto and Sasuke looked to be considering getting a seal placed on them before Kakashi cleared his throat to be a responsible adult, “As fun as it would be to allow one of my cute little students to put an untested seal on my other two cute students, the Hokage and Clan Heads tend to frown down upon that.”

“It’s tested!”, Sakura protested.

Pakkun gave her an unimpressed look, “Just testing it on yourself doesn’t make it tested.”

“Hey Kakashi-sensei, those seals you did earlier summoned Pakkun right? Does it work like that every time for you?”, Sakura asked.

Kakashi looked up from the orange book he brought up, “Generally speaking, yeah, that’s how it works. Sometimes I get another dog, why?”

“I want a second opinion.”, Sakura said before repeating the same signs she had seen earlier.

Boar → Dog → Bird → Monkey → Ram

“Stop that!”, Kakashi said too late.

Sakura disappeared in a puff of smoke.

 

 

“What happened to Sakura?”, Naruto panicked, “She did the same thing you did! Why did she disappear?”

“I need to see the Hokage.”, Kakashi groaned, “I lost one of my Genin. Pakkun, you’re in charge! Sasuke and Naruto, neither of you are allowed to do the same thing Sakura did!”

“What happened? Shouldn’t a dog have appeared?”, Sasuke asked.

“I have the Dog Contract that allows me to get my Summons after completing that Jutsu. Sakura to my knowledge does not have any Summons. No one has permission to disappear! Stay here! Practice Taijutsu only, and don’t even attempt to make any hand seals until I am here to watch you! Pakkun has permission to bite! Sensei has to go get the Hokage to help find Sakura!”, Kakashi said frantically before shunshining away.

“Do you think Sakura is going to be okay?”, Naruto asked.

Sasuke looked to be in deep thought, Naruto thought he might even say something profound, “Hn.”

Naruto was wrong.

Notes:

Ahhh I'm so excited Pumpkins (Lol is this nickname alright? "You All" just seems super impersonal), I was not expecting this kind of a response. We have so many comments and I don't know what I was expecting, but certainly not this positive a response! I spent a few hours writing this chapter, and I hope you liked this one as much as the last! I posted the last chapter less than 24 hours ago and we're already at 43 Kudos. Pumpkins, you're amazing! Thank you so much for taking your time to read this fic! I love reading your comments! Remember to Bookmark and Leave Kudos if you're enjoying this, as you can see, it helps motivate me to update faster XD

Signing Off,
K <3

Chapter 3

The Hokage, Major Clan Heads, Iruka, assorted Special Jonins, and Jonin-senseis sat around a large table to discuss their village’s future.

“So we have Team 8 and Team 10 remaining, any word yet on Team 7?”, a woman with red eyes and black hair asked.

“Kurenai, I don’t even think that needs a question.”, Asuma replied, “Chances are that Kakashi already failed his team, but we won’t hear about it for another three hours.”

“He can’t fail the last loyal Uchicha.”, another Jonin mumbled in the background, “And it’s not like he can refuse teaching him. Hatake is the last person loyal to Konoha who knows how to use it.”

Genma smiled a sharp grin, “Kakashi will do what he wants.”

“He has such high standards. He doesn’t want any Genin team.”, Anko voiced, “Why else would he fail so many teams?”

“The Genin he fails always fail to exhibit the traits he wants them to.”, Inoichi leaned forward in his seat, “He won’t be able to fail this team unless he wants to deal with the backlash.”

“MY ETERNAL RIVAL WILL BE A MOST EXCELLENT TEACHER TO HELP FAN THE FLAMES OF YOUTH!”, Gai yelled passionately.

“Kakashi got the Jinchuuriki and Uchicha, but who’s the other member of their team?”, someone asked from the crowd, “Just a civilian?”

Shibi allowed a flicker of anger to appear on his face, “She is not just a regular civilian Genin. Why? Because while some may claim my own bias based on her friendship with my son, even Ino-Shika-Cho admire her tenacity and see her potential.”

“That civilian is a competent Seal Master who supplies the Aburame with some of their best seals.”, Shikaku scoffed, “She’s done so much already and she doesn’t even have the formal backing of a clan. She would be a perfect Nara if my son didn’t find it too troublesome to go against Inoichi’s daughter.”

“Oh, we’re talking about that girl with the pink hair, huh?”, Tsume gave a feral grin.

“Yes, Tsume.”, Choza sighed.

“Well the joke’s on you Shikaku, that girl won’t be a Nara.”, Tsume said matter-of-factly as she examined her sharp nails.

“Why wouldn’t she want to marry into the Nara clan?”, Shikaku raised an eyebrow, “She’s more than smart enough to keep up with Shikamaru. She used to be able to win shogi games against him when they were younger, she could probably still give him an interesting game even now.”

“I think Tsume is referring to the close friendship my son has with Sakura.”, Shibi said, “Shino is very fond of Sakura. It’s only a matter of time before he courts her and she joins the Aburame.”

“Wrong.”, Tsume laughed.

“Who else could it be?”, Inoichi asked, “The Uchiha boy?”

“Excuse me, while Sasuke doesn’t seem to mind her that much, I don’t think he would make her a Uchiha. He’s very goal-oriented.”, Iruka coughed, “On the other hand, Naruto appears to be friendly with her.”

“Wrong again!”, Tsume crowed, “She’s going to be an Inuzuka! She kicked Kiba’s ass in Taijutsu earlier in the year, and he hasn’t stopped talking about her since. Besides, Akamaru likes her well-enough so that’s as good a sign as any.”

“She’ll become a Hyuga.”, Hiashi bluffed calmly, “Neji will ensure that. She’s always at the Hyuga compound, in fact Neji might be asking me for official permission to court her any day now. We don't normally allow our clan members to marry outside of the Clan, but for her we would make an exception.”

“You're lying. Your breath changed and body language shifted. She probably doesn’t even know your nephew. You just wanted to say something because everyone else wants her to join their clans.”, Inoichi observed, "Besides, I know this girl. She would never allow any children of hers to be marked with your Clan's Caged Bird Seal."

 

 

“All of this for some civilian girl with pink hair?”, Ibiki asked with a sadistic grin, “I can’t wait to see how this turns out.”

Anko matched his grin with her own vicious smirk, “Bets later back at T&I?”

Genma took out his senbon for a moment, “Can anyone join that betting pool or is it exclusive?”

Ibiki shrugged, "Money is money.”

 

 

The doors burst open and a disheveled Kakashi Hatake came in.

“Did someone tell you the wrong time?”, Genma grinned.

“Hokage-sama, I lost one of my Genin, how would one get about finding them?”, Kakashi asked while trying to seem nonchalant.

“I’m surprised you lost a Genin. Why? Because you are a skilled tracker and it’s difficult to see how a Genin could evade you if you wanted to find them.”, Shibi pushed up his glasses.

“Hypothetically this Genin might have performed a jutsu for the first time and disappeared.”, Kakashi said with his hands in his pocket as he avoided looking at anyone.

“What happened?”, Iruka fretted, “How on Earth did you lose Naruto?”

“It wasn’t Naruto.”, Kakashi mumbled.

Shikaku narrowed his eyes, “How did you lose the last Uchiha? What jutsu did he copy?”

“What happened?”, the Hokage questioned.

“Do you want the good news first or the bad news?”, Kakashi asked.

The Hokage’s eyes narrowed before he answered dryly, “Surprise me.”

“The good news is I didn’t lose Sasuke or Naruto. The bad news is that I did lose the pink one after she copied my summoning jutsu.“, Kakashi scratched the back of his head before giving an eye smile, “On the bright side, I’ve decided to keep my Genin team. They showed true teamwork and saw underneath the underneath. I think they’ll be excellent Shinobi.”

The Clan Heads, Iruka, and Hokage glowered at him.

“Anything else?”, Genma called out sarcastically.

“Oh! Sakura knows Fuinjutsu. She’s even gone ahead and put seals on herself without anyone noticing. I’m actually surprised that she didn’t kill herself doing that. Isn’t she supposed to be from a civilian background? She’s really good at sealing. She has a few seals hidden beneath her bangs, she wouldn’t say what they all did though.”, Kakshi said, “One of those seals even makes her a chakra sensor. She offered to give us it if we wanted.”

The Hokage pinched the bridge of his nose, “Your student Reverse-Summoned herself.”

He was just going to ignore the rest for now, it could be dealt with after they found the girl.

( If they found the girl.)

 

 

“Is that bad?”, Iruka asked in concern, “Sakura is an excellent student, but she’s more of a paper-ninja. She always seems bored in class like she would rather be somewhere else. What will happen?”

The Hokage frowned, “I have no way of knowing where she ended up. There’s a small chance we’ll find her before any Summoning Clans do. Kakashi can send his Pack, and I can send the Monkeys to ask around. Jiraiya might be able to send the Toads if that doesn’t work out in a timely manner.”

“What will happen to her if she can’t be found before then?”, Shikaku asked.

“She’ll either die there or come back with a new Summoning Contract. It depends on which Summoning Clan finds her. Some might just send her back without a test or contract.”, Anko summarized, “The snakes would probably try to eat her. Don’t know much about the others though.”

“She’ll be fine.”, Tsume said, “Anyone with her potential should be just fine.”

 

 

Sakura groaned as she looked around. She was nowhere near the clearing now. It looked like she might have been on a mountain, but she couldn’t see the peak of the mountain at all. It seemed that there was no end to this. There were tons of trees, but she still didn’t know where she was.

Konoha didn’t have mountains this big.

She just wanted a second opinion from another dog! She took it back, that perv of a sensei was terrible.

She couldn’t even see Naruto or Sasuke! No doubt Kakashi-sensei knocked them all out and put them on this mountain for a stupid reason.

She could sense a few chakra signatures nearby, they must be watching her.

She was surrounded.

It must have been Kakashi’s other dogs he talked about.

“I know you’re there.”, Sakura called out, annoyed.

“A sensor?”, a voice drawled, “It’s been a while since we had a sensor here.”

A scoff came from another direction, “It’s been awhile since we’ve had a human here.”

“I don’t even know where I am.”, Sakura barred her teeth, “Do you think I’d be here if I had the option?”

“Take her to Takehiko, she's trespassing!”, another snarled, “She insults us and doesn’t even know why she’s here! I should rip her throat out!”

“Try it!”, Sakura hissed, “You’re too cowardly to show yourself and I’ve had a long day!”

All Sakura wanted was to go home and relax in a warm bath.

She could probably just curl up here for a little nap.

The terrain wasn’t too uneven, she could set some traps and just wait until she was well rested.

Genjutsu, Inner warned, they think they can use Genjutsu on us.

Sakura broke the Genjutsu.

“Look, I don’t mean to intrude, but I’m not sorry. If you’re looking for an apology don’t hold your breath!”, Sakura raised her head, “I won’t apologize unless I mean it. Nice try on that Genjutsu!”

A small arctic fox appeared, “That wasn’t anything but a small test! If I was really trying, you wouldn’t have noticed anything!”

“Tsuyoshi, go run along a message to Takehiko.”, another voice ordered, “Tell him we have an uninvited guest.”

Sakura turned to see a black wolf come out of the shadows.

Tsuyoshi gave an impish grin, “Of course, Miyako.”

He scurried off and Sakura wondered just how long she had been under the Genjutsu if she hadn’t noticed the pure white fox and twelve foot tall wolf.

 

 

“I should just kill you now and save Takehiko the trouble.”, Miyako complained.

Sakura rolled her eyes, “You’re a lot like Ino-pig.”

“I remind you of a pig?”, she sounded an odd mix between bewildered and offended.

“Ino-pig was my friend until she decided we were rivals because she thought I liked the same guy as her.”, Sakura explained.

“Did you like the same potential mate that she did?”, Miyako asked before giving what she probably found to be sound advice, “If she does, you should tear out her throat to prove that you are the far superior one who could pass on your strength to future pups.”

“No, but that’s not the point here.”, Sakura groaned, “I don’t even know Sasuke well enough to like him. She doesn’t even know him either! She pushed me away for him, and he doesn’t even acknowledge her!”

“If a male came between you, why did you not just rip out his throat?”, Miyako sounded genuinely confused.

“I can’t just rip out someone’s throat anytime I’m upset.”, Sakura said while concentrating on how even walking she was still surrounded with no possible escape.

(They wouldn’t stop staring at her.)

“Can you not?”, Miyako sounded confused, “Combat promotes better relationships among the pack. It helps keep order.”

“Most people die after having their throats torn out.”, Sakura said, “It’s frowned upon to kill others over squabbles.”

“Of course.”, Miyako nodded, “They can’t be a problem to the order of things if they’re dead, their pathetic opinions die with them. Peace is maintained. My grandfather’s grandfather told him that humans were different from us, but I never realized how much you complicate things. Sometimes someone needs to have their throat ripped out.”

“Two things. One, do you kill people over every disagreement? That doesn’t sound good for the population. That model isn’t sustainable and will eventually lead to your pack dying out.”, Sakura was horrified, “Secondly, when was the last time a human was here?”

“It depends on the offense. For minor things, a good beating will do. Maiming or seriously injuring them will work for the more severe things, but if both parties agree then Trial By Combat is an honorable way to die. There is nothing more beautiful than dying for what you believe in. The pack is only as strong as its weakest link.”, Miyako looked thoughtful, “As for the last time we’ve had a human here? It’s probably been at least three centuries if not longer. The elders and Takehiko would know more.”

Sakura was silent as she processed everything she had been told. Why was she here? What was so special about her that she was the first human to be here in centuries? It felt surreal, like she was half-asleep and not fully there.

(She squashed the part of her that screamed that this was proof that she was just as special as the Clan kids, if not more so. She couldn’t bear to let that hope fester if it all turned out to be a sick trick.)

Her feet were now killing her and the sun had gone down, she had been walking for hours, most of it in silence, and didn’t even know if there even was a Takehiko for her to be taken to.

“Why did you say I reminded you of that Ino-pig?”, Miyako asked, “Do you consider me a rival?”

“It’s not that.”, Sakura shook her head, “Your eyes just didn’t match your words. Ino is the same.”

Miyako was silent as she pondered what to take away from that.

“I would have ripped out your throat if you posed a danger to the pack or myself.”, Miyako finally responded as they reached the entrance of a cave buried within the mountain.

This time, there was no doubt in Sakura’s mind that she had meant every last word.

Sakura smiled wryly, “You could have tried.”

 

 

“So our first mission assignment is to camp here until Sakura gets back?’, Naruto asked while tilting his head, “How long will it be until she comes back?”

Sasuke hit the back of his head, “Dobe, if we don’t know where she is, how are we supposed to know how long it will take her to come back?”

“Don’t worry my precious little students!”, Kakashi beamed, or at least they thought he did, “Team 8 and Team 10 and their senseis will also be joining us. Consider it a joint operation and use time to better know your fellow Konoha shinobi and temporarily have three Jonin senseis.”

It’s not like Kakashi would tell them that the majority of people had voted to put all the Rookie Jonin teams together in one area to minimize losing another one as quickly.

“Why is he so cheerful?”, Sasuke grumbled as he began to set up his tent.

Naruto made Shadow clones to set up his own tent, “Maybe he’s just really happy to be a teacher?”

Kakashi ignored them as he took out his favorite book. 

It’s not like he was going to talk about his feelings, and that losing a student so soon after accepting them really put things into perspective. And that the suddenness of it reminded him of his own feelings as the world fell apart around him when his own team slowly began to die and leave him all alone. And he certainly wasn’t going to periodically check on the students he had left to make sure they were still there and breathing. Talk about his feelings? What was he? A Yamanaka? That was crazy. He’d sooner take a kunai to the side while having teeth pulled without anesthesia then admit that to anyone while sober. 

(He wasn’t broken. He wasn’t broken. He wasn’t broken.)

“Pakkun.”, Kakashi kept his voice low and eyes glued to his book, “How do you train puppies?”

The dog frowned for a moment as he thought out his reply, “Treats, scratches, and patience. Throw in some praise every day and then to make sure that you encourage good behavior. A swat to the nose with newspaper, or a squirt bottle to discourage bad behavior. It’s pretty simple really.”

“Yeah.”, Kakashi mumbled as he snuck a look at his students who were doing a good job of setting up camp, “Simple.”

“You can’t be blamed if you mess them up more than they already are.”, Pakkun commented, “They’re pretty messed up already, so nothing can be blamed on you if you screw them up more.”

“I thought we didn’t have to work on our teamwork, so why are we going to Training Ground Three with enough supplies for a mission?”, Ino complained as she hauled her pack, “Billboard Brow probably isn’t even doing this with her team, so why are we?”

“Troublesome.”, Shikamaru murmured, “Asuma-sensei didn’t even tell us why we’re supposed to be here for an indefinite amount of time.”

“I packed enough food for all of us for at least a week.”, Choji grinned, “My mom said she’d send some more food over if I need it.”

The three approached Training Ground Three and found, to their surprise, Team Eight heading in the same direction.

“Hello.”, Choji greeting, “Are you guys heading to Training Ground Three too?”

“Hello. Yes we are heading here. I was surprised when Kurenai-sesnei told us to meet here. Why? Because this is the place where Sakura told me her team was going to meet up at.”, Shino said.

Kiba turned accusingly, “You didn’t tell me that!”

Akamaru ran off ahead with his tail wagging.

“You didn’t ask.”, Shino said without stopping.

Ino froze, “Sasuke is going to be there?!? I need to fix my hair!”

“Naruto will be there?”, Hinata looked like she stopped breathing.

“Our teachers probably want us to train together.”, Shikamaru deduced.

Takehiko was at least the size of a three story house and imposing, with his vivid blue eyes and blood red coat, he looked like he could slaughter a whole army by himself. She had to crane her neck just to see his face. He had an imposing presence.

But, Sakura couldn’t even bring herself to be afraid of him, not when he was looking down on her the way he was. He thought she was weak.

(He was just like everyone else.)

“Pathetic.”, Takehiko said dismissively, “A human here that won’t even show proper respect to her betters?”

Sakura grinned ferally, “I’ll show proper respect when you’ve earned it.”

“Bow!”, he boomed, “I’ll give you one chance only before my patience wears thin and I eat you. Bow!”

Sakura raised her head defiantly, she hated how he looked like he just expected her to do whatever he said, “No.”

His eyes narrowed, even as he opened his mouth and laughed. It echoed throughout the cave and temporarily deafened her ears.

“I can see now why you were brought to us.”, his smile was sharp, “But an unbending Will means nothing if you don’t have the skill to back it up.”

“I’m not going to bow to you.”, Sakura snorted.

Takehiko’s smile widened, “Tsuyoshi? Miyako? Since you found her, I’ll allow you both to test her how you see fit. Just try not to kill her, I’m interested to see if her potential will grow in the future.”

Sakura couldn’t control her mouth, “What, you aren’t going to fight me yourself?”

“I don’t see the point.”, Takehiko said, “But, we should at least keep you alive for entertainment. By the end you’ll either be one of us, or we’ll hear of your growth from the Dogs.”

“What does that even mean?”, Sakura allowed confusion to show, “Why on Earth would I be one of you?”

He didn’t offer an answer, “Begin.”

 

 

“What do you mean Sakura is missing?!?”, Ino screeched. She sounded strangely concerned for someone who threw away her friendship over a boy.

“I’m surprised you care. Why? Because you turned your back on her years ago and can’t talk to her without throwing in an insult.”, Shino glared.

“Troublesome.”, Shikamaru muttered, “How do you lose a woman?”

Kiba perked up, “My mom said you lose a woman when you forget to cherish her. As long as we do that when she comes back, we can’t lose her again.”

“You’re an idiot, Kiba.”, Shikamaru deadpanned.

“Hey! Who are you calling an idiot?!?”, Kiba growled.

“Do you see another idiot named Kiba?”, Shikamaru sighed, “I didn’t know you were that dumb.”

“At least Sakura likes me!”, Kiba lied. Shikamaru mustered up enough energy to glare.

Shino chuckled, “Since when? You don’t even talk to her.”

“And you do?”, Kiba challenged.

Shino stared at him blankly, “She’s been my friend the last few years. She comes over to the Aburame Clan Compound all the time.”

Ino’s jaw dropped, “Since when?!?”

Shikamaru, despite knowing that Shino and Sakura were somewhat friends, couldn't stop his eyes from widening.

Shino blinked, “Since you declared her to be your rival over something as idiotic as a crush that she didn’t even have. Why? Because you were stupid and she needed a friend.”

Choji and Hinata just stood off to the side, unaware of if they should stop their teammates.

Meanwhile, the Jonin Instructors looked like they wanted to just leave their students and request new ones.

Kakashi giggled at his book before calling out to his students and pointing at the other Genin, “As long as we aren’t as bad as them, you guys can do whatever you want and I won’t care.”

Ino was being held back by a reluctant Shikamaru and a frightened Choji who was trying to keep his chips from falling, Shino was just daring her to try something with his eyes, and Kiba was yelling profanities at Shino while Hinata tried to fade into the background.

“Hn.”, Sasuke said after shooting a dismissive glance towards the other Genin.

Naruto laughed, “What are they even doing? Do they not know that Shinobi are supposed to be stealthy?”

He was wearing a bright orange jumpsuit.

Notes:

Ahhh third update in three days! Also, wow we're over 100 Kudos already! Thank you Pumpkins for reading this and commenting! You all are amazing in the comment section! And I noticed that this update puts us over 10,000 words and I'm still in shock that I managed to write this all in so little time. Like what?!? Where was this motivation hiding?!?

For those of you curious, here's the Summons that Sakura almost got:
- Jellyfish
- Hyenas
- Big Cats (Lions, Mountain Lions, Lynx, Tigers, etc.)
- Bears
- Flamingos
Someone commented when I about 2,000 words into writing this chapter that Sakura should have Butterfly and Moth Summons and now I'm kicking myself for not thinking of that sooner.

Questions:
- Should Zabuza and Haku live?
- How do you guys feel about Chojuro? Should he be added as a potential love interest? (This will only probably apply if we all collectively decide to let Zabuza and Haku live since it would put Sakura closer to Kiri-politics.)
- Pumpkins, what do you think about the Clan Heads fighting over Sakura like children?
- Who's your favorite character so far?

If you have any questions for me, please don't be shy to ask them, I love reading your comments. Remember to Bookmark, Subscribe, and leave Kudos if you like this fic XD

Chapter 4

Sakura washed blood from her hair as her hands shook.

“You did good.”, Miyako commented, “I was surprised by how much force it took to break past that barrier of yours. You fought well.”

“I didn’t win.”, Sakura said as she tried her hardest to get the blood off of her, most of it wasn’t hers, “I didn’t expect five others to jump into the fight when I was starting to get the upper hand.”

“You got complacent when you thought your victory was assured. You dropped your guard, and now you know not to let it happen again.”, Miyako looked at her like she was dumb, “The pack doesn’t fight alone. It took seven to bring you down, and you gave as good as you got.”

Tsuyoshi caught her eye and turned up his head. His white fur was stained red in some areas.

“It wasn’t a fair fight,”, Sakura looked at her reflection in the water.

Miyako let out a sharp laugh, “What in life is fair? You live and then you die. Humans always have such short lives compared to us. Do you want to know why it took seven of us to bring you down? You’re not some fragile flower, your blood yearns for battle. We underestimated you when we began, now we know that it was a mistake to do so.”

“What happens now?”, Sakura asked.

Miyako’s eyes turned steely, “Takehiko will make an announcement tomorrow concerning you.”

“Is my throat going to be ripped out?”, Sakura couldn’t stop herself from asking.

Tsuyoshi came ambling up, “We can only hope. Come on, I’m supposed to show you where you’re staying.”

“I’m not done cleaning up.”, Sakura said.

Tsuyoshi rolled his eyes, “Yes, you are. It’s all off. I can only smell the residual scent of iron.” 

“For what it’s worth, you fought well.”, Miyako told Sakura as Tsuyoshi urged her to follow him.

“Kiba, can you wake up Shino?”, Kurenai asked.

“Sure.”, Kiba said as he headed towards Shino’s tent with Akamaru.

He almost tripped on some of the tripwire that Naruto had set up everywhere the night before. He waved to Naruto who was already up and eating Cup Ramen next to a brooding Sasuke.

Hinata was exiting her tent with a look of confusion on her face.

The next generation of Ino-Shika-Cho looked barely awake. Scratch that, Shikamaru was sleeping while sitting up. Ino looked as if she was only awake from pure willpower to watch Sasuke.

“Shino. Kurenai-sensei says that it’s time to wake up.”, Kiba called out as he attempted to enter the tent only to fly back five feet.

“Kiba!”, Kurenai yelled in shock, “What did you do?”

He got to his feet, “What? Do you think it was my fault?!? Shino did something!”

Shino took that moment to exit his tent, “Sorry, about that. I forgot to turn off the security seals last night.”

Shino sounded smug and nowhere near sorry for anything. Was that a smile on his face?

“Security seals?”, Kurenai asked.

By now everyone was up and paying attention.

“Sakura made some alterations to my tent. Why? Because she offered and I accepted.”, Shino explained, “My tent has a few seals. There’s no restrictions against it, we checked.”

“What kind of seals?”, Hinata asked shyly before blushing and looking away, “I’m sorry for asking.”

Shino gives a small smile, “I have a few privacy seals as well as some other seals for comfort.”

This was an understatement.

Shino’s tent, thanks to Sakura, was basically a fortress equipped with a heating and cooling matrix, cushioning seals, privacy seals, distress seal, a space warp seal which made it much larger than the dimensions of the tent, a refrigerator, and other amenities.

Sakura still had the better tent.

“Can we see?!?”, Naruto was bouncing up and down.

Shino frowned, “Maybe later.”

He didn’t want to show them his tent even though it was likely to be the one designated for missions where multiple tents were unnecessary. Not yet.

 

 

Mebuki and Kizashi Haruno are civilians. They were once merchants who often traveled across the Elemental Nations before their only child was born. Now, most of their work was done within Konoha’s walls. Kizashi worked as a Blacksmith within a forge that he had inherited shortly before their daughter’s birth, and Mebuki made fragrances and jewelry. Both sold their wares in their joint-store as well as the market.

They lived a comfortable life in a nice neighborhood.

Once, when he was younger, Kizashi dreamed of being a Shinobi.

That dream was cut short when a classmate took it too far during a spar and Kizashi’s leg and dream lay broken before him. Only Tsunade herself could have healed him.

(But, why would the Senju Princess want to heal a clanless orphan civilian child who’s only worth to the village would be his death?)

He was lucky enough to be taken under the wing of a blacksmith who had no children to leave behind, but too much pride to let his techniques die with him.

Mebuki’s parents were merchants. Her father created jewelry and her mother created perfume. Each insisting that their form of creation was the best.

They were victims of the Third Shinobi War when they were killed by Iwa-nin mistaking them as carrying goods to help Konoha’s War Effort.

Mebuki and Kizashi Haruno are no strangers to Shinobi.

(They are no strangers to the death and despair that hang over Shinobi like a strong cloud of perfume, clinging to their bloodsoaked hands, refusing to disappear, even when the fighting is over. Because the fighting is never over for Shinobi. There will always be another client. Another mission. Another War. )

Their sweet daughter, Sakura, was not destined for the life of a Shinobi.

(She was not born for the pain, heartache, and tragedy. Her parents did not have her, only to send her off to be Konoha’s to take, torture, and sacrifice all in the name of their precious Will of Fire.)

There were times where the two wanted to drag her out of the Academy kicking and screaming.

(A living child who hates you is better than a dead one that your heart has twisted you to hate and cursed you to never understand.)

But, they didn’t.

They saw a fire ignited in green. Mebuki and Kizashi Haruno, never put much stock into the Will of Fire until they saw it in their only child’s eyes. They saw her friendship with the Yamanaka Heiress and later, the Nara and Akimichi Heirs. 

Sakura, their sweet daughter with the brightest green eyes and most vivid pink hair, had always been shy, but with Ino, she found her voice. Their daughter grew into herself. 

She spent as much time playing Shogi with the Nara Heir and laying under trees watching the clouds with him, as she did trying and sharing new recipes with the Akimichi Heir, or laughing with Ino.

And when those bonds loosened to the point where it was like they never existed, because of course her parents knew all about how the Yamanaka Heiress declared Sakura to be her rival (How did she think she could hide that when half the village liked to gossip about every little thing?), they saw that fire grow.

Topics of Ino would be avoided and soon, the Nara Heir and Akimichi Heir would no longer be mentioned, but Mebuki and Kizashi could see how the two boys would make the effort to walk by their store more often than not to try to run into Sakura.

(It was a shame that Sakura was too busy studying and creating her seals to notice how much effort Choji and Shikamaru would make to create a situation to run into her. They stopped after a little over a year of never running into her.) 

They watched as she slowly allowed the Aburame Heir into her life.

He taught her to use her voice and make her words a weapon all by themselves. She became more blunt with her words, never holding back as she did with Ino.

Watched as she came home tired with callouses and bruises beginning to form, but smiled radiantly with accomplishment each time.

Listened in worry to the small explosions that came from her room as she experimented with Fuinjutsu.

Felt as the house would shake with the force of her seals, before the Aburame offered to fund the majority of her experiments and allow her to practice Fuinjutsu at their Clan Compound.

(They aren’t dumb, they know exactly why the Aburame offered, and it wasn’t entirely because of Sakura’s friendship with their Heir. Seal Makers are valued, Fuinjutsu is a dying skill. Any Clan would love to have a Fuinjutsu Master of their own. Sakura’s friendship with Shino Aburame is one of two things stopping the Clan from wanting a binding contract of service. The other being that no one sane wants to tell a Fuinjutsu Master to do what they don’t want to.)

Mebuki and Kizashi Haruno are a lot of things, but they do not want to be the reason their only child loses the fire in her eyes.

Kizashi taught her how to create with a forge, and gave her tutelage in Kenjutsu along with gifting her a Katana that he made of chakra conductive metal.

When she surpassed him in skill at eight years old, he arranged for her to be taught by a young man who frequented his forge and constantly asked about the swords he had available. His name, Gekko Hayate, had been mentioned so often in conjunction with Kenjutsu that Kizashi had to have him train Sakura. It cost Kizashi a long sword, katana, broadsword, and two tantos. Sakura took to those lessons like a fish to water and finished a few weeks before graduating. She was no Kenjutsu specialist as she only mastered her blade and had the fundamentals to know how to handle other blades, but Kizashi thought the price for her tutelage had been worth it. Kenjutsu would be another tool in her arsenal to help her return home to them after each mission.

Sakura spent a good amount of time and kitchen knives testing out seals to strengthen her katana after she stopped her lessons with Hayate. Kizashi couldn’t help but marvel at her blade now, his daughter had given it enough upgrades to put it above any of the Seven Legendary Swords of Kirigakure.

(He prayed to Kami that it didn’t happen, but if his daughter went against one of the Seven Swordsmen of Kiri, he would like to see the look on their face when a pink haired girl with a katana engraved with what looked to be an assortment of flowers, found their treasured blade to be inferior.)

Mebuki taught her how to make perfumes, even telling her she could make poisonous gasses with the right immunity and formula. She taught her that even jewelry could be useful, and Sakura had fun trying to fit a sealing matrix onto diamond studs. 

(Sakura would be terrifying one day.)

They know that the life of a Shinobi is one filled with pain and strife.

(What person of any Hidden Village doesn’t?)

Which is why, they can’t help but worry when Sakura’s new sensei comes by to pick up a travel pack for Sakura while she’s training with her new Genin team along with the other recently graduated Rookies.

(Are they already losing their daughter?) 

He’s tall and imposing in the nonchalant way he carries himself.

(What kind of Jonin holds himself so deceptively as though he isn’t a trained killer?)

His one visible eye looks dead.

(All Shinobi who live long enough, pick up that dead stare eventually.)

He promises them that he’ll do anything to protect his Genin, even if that means dying himself.

They feel relieved.

(It’s the truest thing he’s allowed them to witness, and they know it.)

They thank him.

He leaves.

(And then, hours after he’s left, they wonder why he didn’t tell them when their daughter would come back home.)

“Any news yet?”, Asuma asks as the teams get more acquainted with one another’s presence. The conversations around them still. These Genin don’t seem to understand what it means to be covert.

“Akino caught a whiff of her scent when he was out asking the other Summoning Clans to keep an eye out.”, Kakashi sighed, “He wasn’t allowed to stay until she got to the Boss, but based on what Summoning Clan she ended up near, she’ll probably come back injured.”

“What Summoning Clan did Akino scent her near?”, Kurenai questioned.

Kakashi closed his one visible eye in exasperation, “It seems she fell into the territory of the Canid Clan.”

“Oh, what’s that?!?”, Naruto interjected, forgetting that he was eavesdropping, “That sounds so cool!”

“Canids are a variety of animals.”, Shikamaru said while giving up his façade of nodding off, “Which animal was she compatible with?”

Kakashi gave another one of his unique smiles, “What makes them so unique is that the Canid Clan are a bunch of different similar animals all under one true Alpha. But if you want to know, they are made up of the Wild Dogs, Foxes, Wolves, etc. I’ve never heard of someone holding that contract before. Luckily Akino managed to get an agreement that they wouldn’t try to kill Sakura.”

“Foxes?”, Kurenai muttered only loud enough for Asuma to hear, “Poor girl, I can’t imagine the civilians and some Shinobi being too pleased about that.”

Asuma sighed and said softly, “At least she doesn’t just have the foxes.”

“So Sakura got more than one summon?!?”, Naruto’s voice could probably be heard across the village, “That’s so cool, Dattebayo!”

Kakashi wagged his finger, “We won’t know until she gets back. The Canids wanted to test her, and we don’t know the results yet. When she comes back she might have to see a Med-nin and go down to the Inuzuka Vet to get checked out after.” 

“She must be strong to be considered for such a Summoning Clan.”, Sasuke said with an appraising look in his eye.

“Billboard Brow!”, Ino shrieked before turning to Asuma, “Where can I get a Summoning Contract?”

His hands twitched at his side like he wanted to light a cigarette, “You can ask your father if your Clan has any available, if not, then I’ll see what I can do about finding one for you. What Sakura did was highly dangerous and we’ve all been told by the Hokage that none of you are allowed to do it until you have at least been Chunin for a year and can adequately protect yourselves. The same goes for you two, Shikamaru and Choji. Ask your dads if you want to know about Summons, get back to me if you can’t get a Contract but want one.”  

Sakura walks with her head held high and adrenaline coursing through her veins. Her hair needs to be brushed properly. Her mouth feels disgusting, and she knows she has a bad case of morning breath. After she’s done talking to Takehiko she’s going to unseal her essentials. She hates that she was too exhausted the night before to do that. Sakura only had enough energy to reapply another barrier seal onto her before she went to sleep.

Miyako snorted, “You look like shit.”

Sakura looked at her from the corner of her eye and without pausing said, “Thanks. I was inspired by you.”

“Oh, that was a good one.”, Tsuyoshi laughed, it sounded weird to Sakura’s ears, “Careful, Pup, you would have made an enemy of her if she didn’t find you so fascinating. Others have gotten their throats ripped out for less.”

Shikamaru was sweating. These sensei just didn’t know the concept of resting. The sky was optimal for cloud watching and instead of doing that, they had them doing “warm-ups” that would make Jonin cry.

“Shino, you’re up now against Shikamaru. It’s Taijutsu only. No Clan techniques.”, Asuma called out from where the Jonin were relaxing by the river under an umbrella, “Begin.”

The sun glinted off Shino’s glasses. Before Shikamaru could even think to forfeit like he was planning, Shino punched him in the throat.

Shikamaru would have just collapsed onto the ground if he thought it would save him. Shino was vicious.

“W-what was that?”, Shikamaru managed to gasp.

“I have no idea what you mean. Why? Because it is only a spar. We are expected to do what we can within reason.”, Shikamaru could hear how smug the normally quiet boy sounded, and he didn’t like it one bit.

Shino was ruthless. Shikamaru spent more time dodging and blocking then he did landing any hits.

“Since when were you so good?”, Shikamaru complained, “Who have you been practicing with?”

“Sakura. We felt it prudent to hide the full extent of our skills in the Academy. Why? Because Sakura and I wanted to be underestimated.”, Shino explained.

“Sakura?”, Shikamaru asked, sounding confused. He dodged another hit.

Shino paused briefly, “Yes, Sakura. I’m sorry, you must have forgotten her considering the fact that you also discarded her after Ino declared her a rival. I’m guessing that even with her missing, it’s just another day for you.”

Shikamaru’s mind stalled. He had only his instincts to protect him from a blow to the head, he barely blocked that hit.

“Is this what this is about?’, Shikamaru’s eyes widened.

“Oh, I’m sorry.”, Shino said pettily, “Is talking about this too Troublesome for you?”

Shikamaru didn’t even know how it was possible, but Shino’s hits seemed to be harder.

“Not that it's any of your business, but I tried for over a year to catch her when I was away from Ino’s gaze. Choji was with me more than half those times, he can vouch for me. I stopped because it was too Troublesome to put in effort for someone who wouldn’t do the same.”, Shikamaru’s gaze was calculating, “The question is, why do you care?”

That was the last question Shikamaru could ask before Shino knocked him out with another well-aimed blow.

Shikamaru didn’t even last five minutes against Shino.

“Wow, that guy really beat Shikamaru huh?”, Naruto said before tilting his head, “Hey Kiba! Who’s that guy with the glasses?”

“Dobe, he was in our class.”, Sasuke muttered as he glared at the oblivious blonde.

Naruto gasped before pointing at Sasuke, “You’re lying!”

“Shino is my teammate, and Sasuke is right. Shino was in our class.”, Kiba said as he rubbed the back of his neck.

“Really?!?”, Naruto exclaimed.

“Y-y-yes.”, Hinata stammered before turning red and looking away.

Naruto looked even more confused, “I’m sorry, but who are you again?”

Hinata passed out.

The Jonin senseis talked after watching the match between Shino and Shikamaru.

“Shikamaru really needs to do better if he’s going to get beat up by your kid, Kurenai.”, Asuma commented, “He was barely able to block or dodge and couldn’t land a solid hit on Shino.”

“Your Genin looked like they were having a serious conversation.”, Kakashi said, his nose was buried in Icha Icha once again. He flipped his page.

“You were actually paying attention?”, Kurenai scoffed.

“Of course.”, Kakashi said dryly, “I need to learn how the youth of today act, so I can teach my new precious students how not to behave.”

“Did you really have to give them a modified ANBU warm-up?”, Asuma asked, “It really hurt me just watching them do it.”

“It was impressive that they actually managed to complete it, they all look close to passing out, but they have no idea how far they pushed their limits.”, Kakashi said, “Kids really are more resilient then I remember.”

“As much as I hate to admit it though, Kakashi was right.”, Asuma said, “That match was personal to Shino for some reason, it looked like Shikamaru might have figured out what he did to earn Shino’s anger right before he got knocked out.”

“What could have gotten Shino that pissed off?”, Kurenai questioned as she looked back at Shino who was making his way back to the other Genin.

Kakashi snorted, “Isn’t it normally about a girl?”

Kurenai raised an eyebrow, “Well it’s not about Hinata, that girl is so plainly in love with Naruto. All I’ve heard is Shino’s cold remarks towards Ino, so I doubt it’s about her. If it is about a girl, then my money’s on your missing student.”

“W-what?!?”, Kakashi exclaimed in shock, “Let’s not jump to conclusions now.”

Asuma nodded, “Oh yeah, I almost forgot the Clan Heads were arguing about which Clan she would one day marry into.”

“Hey now, she’s too young to be thinking about marriage!”, Kakashi whisper yelled as he tried not to draw any attention from the Genin, “Where did you even hear this?”

Asuma and Kurenai blinked.

“Well, I never thought I’d see the day where Kakashi acted like a concerned parent.”, Asuma grinned, completely ignoring his question.

Kurenai tilted her head, “Huh? It is kind of strange. He only had that kid for a few hours before he lost her.”

“I can’t believe it.”, Ino muttered as she looked over at Shikamaru, “That idiot went back to sleep.”

Choji ate some more chips, “I think Shino may have knocked him out.”

Ino shook her head, “Shino has never been that good at Taijutsu. If Shikamaru actually did get hit, then he’s milking it to get more sleep.”

Choji nodded slowly, not wanting to argue with her.

Ino glared at Shikamaru’s prone form, “He’s making our team look weak in front of Sasuke-Kun.”

Takehiko glares down at her, “Why aren’t you presenting yourself better? Do you think I'm unworthy of you simply combing your hair?”

Sakura glared back, “I was exhausted last night.”

“What about this morning?”, he inquired as he bared his teeth.

“I was woken up and told to come here right away.”, Sakura arched an eyebrow, “For a host, you aren’t very welcoming. Last night I fought seven members of your pack. This morning I’m woken up and dragged off without even being given the chance to do anything more than use the restroom.”

“Do you know what a Summoner is?”, Takehiko asked.

Sakura rolled her eyes, “Yes, I know what a Summoner is. The Legendary Sannin were Summoners. Jiraiya with his Toads. Tsunade with her Slugs. And Orochimaru with his Snakes. Other than them, another that comes to mind is Hanzo with his Salamanders.”

“And you.”, Takehiko added, “You are a Summoner.”

She couldn’t stop her mouth from falling, “W-what? No, I’m not a Summoner! I don’t have a contract!”

Miyako snorted.

Tsuyoshi groaned, “I didn’t realize Humans were this dumb.”

Takehiko continued, “Yesterday, you held your own against seven. You went against a Wolf, Fox, Coyote, Dingo, Wild Dog, Jackal, and Dhole. You managed to draw blood from each of them while sustaining minimal damage.”

“What’s so special about that?”, Sakura asked.

“We’ve had five others before you, who have ended up here on Mt. Tsukiakari. None have managed to do what you did. Three of them died from injuries after or during the Challenge. One was too prideful, and we refused to have her hold our contract, she didn’t even make it to the Challenge. The last one was too spineless, he also did not stand a chance.”, Takehiko explained, “You may not have known what you were doing when you appeared here on Mt. Tsukiakari, but you have earned a place in our pack as a Summoner. The Canid Clan will pledge fealty.”

“Why?”, Sakura frowned as her voice shook, “I’m not even that special! Not yet.”

She hated to admit it here in front of all the gathered Summons, but there was no way they would accept her if they knew she didn’t have the generations of Clan techniques or a naturally large chakra reserve. She was an imposter to them. Didn’t they know? The only reason she got as far as she did was because of Fuinjutsu!

Miyako snarled, “Listen to Takehiko.”

“You’ve been the first one to complete our challenge. Yes, you may have used seals to assist you, but there was nothing against it. You used all the skills you had available at the moment. We’ve accepted you, Sakura Haruno, now the question is, do you accept us?”, Takehiko looked at her with knowing eyes.

She thought about what he said. What it would mean for her in the long run. She had always been Sakura Haruno, a girl easily dismissed. Some Academy Instructors thought that Sakura would never reach great heights and either end up a Career Genin, Housewife, or dead before she reached fourteen. It showed itself in the way they differed in instructing her, and whispered to one another when they thought her out of range.

She had the chance to be more than any one of those Instructors thought possible. Only a Genin for not even a week before being offered a Summoning Contract through her own merit.

She took a breath to ground herself and straightened her spine, “Yes. I accept the Pack.”

Takehiko bowed and the rest of the inhabitants followed suit. There were at least two hundred Summons that Sakura could see, and each one of them was bowing.

They rose and Miyako handed her a scroll.

Takehiko gave a wolfish grin, “Sign your name with your blood and we will serve you and your Bloodline until it dies out or no longer wishes to call upon us.”

Sakura carefully signed her name and watched as it flashed gold before accepting her signature.

The pack howled, yipped, and barked as one.

Sakura thought, once again, about investing in earplugs.

And then she felt pain.

Notes:

Oh Pumpkins, I don't know where this motivation is coming from, but this chapter is up within a day of the last one (Again!) and it's a little over 4,000 words! Lol who would have known that my terrible sleep schedule would help me write a fic so fast. Thank you all so much again for Reading this, Subscribing, Commenting, Bookmarking, and leaving Kudos!

I'm going to leave these questions up until we get past the Wave Arc:
- Should Zabuza and Haku live?
- How do you guys feel about Chojuro? Should he be added as a potential love interest? (This will only probably apply if we all collectively decide to let Zabuza and Haku live since it would put Sakura closer to Kiri-politics.)

Fair warning, I'm counting the votes through the comments and am not paying attention to who voted for what, so please try to stay honest and only vote once.

Votes:
- Zabuza and Haku Should Live:
Yes - 7
No - 0

- Chojuro as a Potential Love Interest:
Yes - 4
No - 1

Some things about this chapter. Yes, Sakura did learn Kenjutsu from Hayate. Yes, he may make actual appearances in the future up to the Chunin Exams (I'll do another vote closer to then to see if he'll live). Yugao will also be making her own appearances eventually. We probably have about two more chapters until we get to Wave so Zabuza and Haku currently have a good chance of making it past that Arc unless a ton of people decide that their deaths should proceed as Canon dictated. I almost gave Sakura a giant Battle Axe, but decided a modified OP Katana would better suit our OP Sakura. I doubt much people would underestimate her if she lugged around a Giant Battle Axe, so for now that idea is bookmarked to possibly be used after the Timeskip.

Remember that I love reading everyone's comments, so please do not be a silent reader XD

Chapter 5

Tears sprung into Sakura’s eyes and she couldn’t stop the howl of pain from leaving her mouth as her jaw ached and gums felt as though they were on fire. 

Her upper back felt as though something was carving into her.

She unwillingly joined into the symphony of howls surrounding her as her body felt an unimaginable sort of pain.

Everything sounded too loud. The dim cave seemed brighter. Smells became stronger. Sakura hated how everything overloaded her senses. She just wanted the pain to end. 

(She would do anything for the pain to end.)

The Pack stood by her, sharing in her pain.

(Their pain was now hers.)

She didn’t know how long she stayed there, crumpled on the floor, but when the pain stopped she was greeted by her Pack.

(The Pack was hers, and she was theirs.)

She could feel their blood coursing through their veins.

(She knew that they could feel her blood coursing through her veins.)

They were connected now. One beating heart.

(Sweet Kami, had she always been so lonely before with just Inner?)

“Stand.”, Takehiko ordered.

Sakura covered her ears. Has he always been that loud?

She had no strength to protest as she dragged her body off the ground, gritting her teeth at the effort. She was less shocked by the sting of pain from her mouth then she was by the strong scent of iron that invaded her nose. A metallic taste attacked her tongue and she had to stop from gagging.

Miyako was examining her, if Sakura didn’t know any better she would say that the wolf looked surprised.

(Miyako sure felt surprised.)

“Welcome to the Pack.”, Takehiko greeted. 

The rest of the Pack followed suit simultaneously. It would sound eerie if Sakura wasn’t thinking about how loud everything was.

(Miyako wouldn’t stop staring at her.)

She needed those earplugs soon. And a toothbrush, because she felt she smelled even worse now somehow.

Tsuyoshi grinned, “Aw, look at that! The Pup grew in her fangs. Maybe she’ll take after you now, Miyako. She’ll have no trouble ripping out throats with those teeth!”

Sakura could barely comprehend what he was saying.

“You’re so loud.”, she snarled, “Why are you yelling? We’re all standing right next to each other.”

(She could feel his confusion. And wasn’t that strange?)

Miyako looked at Takehiko, “Add on heightened hearing. Her eyes are different now too, we can add on the possibility of enhanced sight.”

“It hurts.”, Sakura whimpered as she tried to cover her ears. Her nose burned, but she would rather that than have to hear Takehiko screech again.

“Oh Pup, you’ll get used to it.”, Miyako said in a harsh tone, “Everything will be better when you learn to filter out your senses.”

(Sakura could feel how sorry she felt. Why could she feel what Miyako was feeling?)

Everyone assembled seemed to have their own helpful advice to give at once, their voices echoed off the cave walls. It was tortuous.

(Sakura just wanted them to shut up.)

“Enough!”, Takehiko bellowed, “This is not helping!”

The scent of iron reached her again, she had to fight the overwhelming urge to throw up. The scent would be worse if that happened.

Her hands felt warm and sticky.

“Your ears.”, Tsuyoshi whispered in horror.

“Is there anything else wrong?”, Miyako barked out.

Sakura had trouble thinking, her brain felt like that sugary sweet Strawberry Jelly that Shino swore he could live off of.

“Sakura, answer me.”, Miyako said more firmly.

Sakura blinked in confusion before saying slowly, “My back. My back feels weird and I can still taste metal in my mouth. My ears and head hurt. Everything looks sharper somehow. I smell so much.”

“I’ll take her to my den if that’s okay with you, Takehiko.”, Miyako said.

Her voice felt like a mallet pounding against the inside of Sakura’s skull.

Takehiko must have agreed because Miyako threw her over her back before walking away. Sakura stared in awe at the floor of the tunnels. She didn’t know how she had missed the bioluminescence before.

“Sensory overload. Her body isn’t used to these senses. She’ll have to stay with us until she’s good enough to return.”, Miyako sighed, “Tsuyoshi, remind Takehiko to tell the Dogs of this development. The last thing we want is to kill a Dog for taking an injured packmate who is too weakened to fight back in their vulnerable state.”

“Humans are fragile.”, Tsuyoshi commented, “Don’t worry I’ll pass on the message to Takehiko.”

They were finishing up dinner when Kakashi received an update from Pakkun about his Missing student.

“Yeah, you aren’t getting her back.”, Pakkun said as he helped himself to some of the food.

Shino froze, the fire reflected eerily off his glasses, and Hinata could see how hard his hands clenched around his plate.

Kakashi gritted teeth, “Did the Canids kill her?”

The mood turned somber as everyone processed his words.

Pakkun calmly ate his plate, leaving everyone gathered to stew in their thoughts when he didn’t answer right away. 

 

 

Shino’s jaw clenched, behind his glasses his eyes filled with tears, his kikaichū began to buzz in distress. He made an odd noise that was broken and wrong. It didn’t sound human, but everyone could hear the pain clearly expressed.

Shikamaru couldn’t tear his gaze away from the fire.

Hinata turned pale.

Akamaru whimpered and Kiba tried to punch a tree, uncaring of the splinters that now wedged into his fist.

Choji stopped eating as he looked wearily at Shikamaru.

His gaze was on the fire. He wasn’t blinking. Choji feared if he didn’t ground himself to the flames, then Shikamaru would disappear into the shadows. He wouldn’t be the first Nara who let emotions rule them and was never heard from again. The first lesson every Nara child is taught was apathy for a reason. Emotions were too Troublesome because they had the potential to lead to complete loss of oneself. While what the Nara had was not a Kekkai Genkai, it was the closest thing something could be without crossing that barrier. 

Ino looked as though she hadn’t processed anything yet, but her smile was fragile and fractured. Her eyes danced with the beginnings of madness.

(Her mind was probably worse.)

Sasuke couldn’t bear to look at anyone. He was reminded of when his Clan died in a single night, murdered by that man .

(He felt helpless then too.)

Naruto’s smile began to fall even when he tried to cover it up with another.

“Sakura’s strong, besides she still has her goal!”, Naruto said in an attempt to brighten the mood.

(No one seemed to hear him.)

Asuma and Kurenai shared a sad look as they tried to imagine themselves in Kakashi’s place.

(It was too unimaginable.)

Kakashi was beginning to spiral. Sakura had only Reverse Summoned herself because he did the signs in front of her. She wouldn’t have been there if it wasn’t for him.

(It was his fault. It was his fault. It was his fault .)

Friend-Killer Kakashi graduated to Student-Slaughtering Sensei.

 

 

“Why the long faces?”, Pakkun asked in confusion after he finished eating, “You all smell sad. I just said it would be a week or two until she got back.”

Everyone’s thoughts returned to order as their emotions fluctuated to handle this curveball of information.

The buzzing coming from Shino's direction stopped.

Clarity returned to Ino’s gaze.

Hinata regained some color to her face.

Sasuke frowned as his heart hardened with the knowledge that when he killed that man he would never feel that helpless again.

Kiba grinned and Akamaru yipped happily.

Naruto smiled an honestly blinding smile.

Asuma and Kurenai shared a look of relief.

Shikamaru blinked and Choji watched as shadows he didn’t even realize were there receded.

Kakashi stopped his self-loathing for a moment.

“Pakkun.”, Kakashi said slowly, “You didn’t say that.”

His head tilted, “Oh this is some good food, I could have sworn I told you. Yeah, don’t worry. Sakura is dealing with some unexpected side-effects from signing the Contract. The Canids want to keep her with them until they can figure out how to better help her. Apparently all her senses are heightened, and she experienced some alterations with her teeth. Her eyes look a little weird too. The Canids said she almost bit through her lip earlier, her canines are too sharp right now and she doesn’t know how to adjust with that on top of everything else.”

Kiba looked over, “If they don’t know what to do, Sakura can go to my Clan compound.”

Pakkun winced, “That’s probably not a good idea, Sakura also seems like she’s got some of the Canid instincts hardwired into her now. She’s currently in and out of consciousness, the Pack let me see her briefly and she growled at me before she recognized me. She won’t be able to enter the Inuzuka compound until she works through everything, there would be too many competing scents for her to process.” 

“What does that mean?”, Naruto asked.

“Sakura will be with the Canids until they think she’s ready to come back.”, Kakashi said, “We don’t know how long that will be, but Pakkun thinks it might take a week or two for her to control her senses enough to come back.”

“Hn.”, Sasuke said in acknowledgment.

“Kurenai-sensei what do we do until Sakura comes back.”, Kiba asked.

Kurenai smiled, and Kiba got the premonition that he wasn’t going to like what that smile promised.

“We all train. This incident with Sakura has shown us how unprepared every single one of you is. If any real danger came tomorrow then the chances one or all of you would die is high,”, Kurenai’s voice left no room for arguments.

“We aren’t going to go easy on you just because it’s Peace Time.”, Asuma said as his hands lifted up a cigarette before he sighed and put it down at Kurenai’s glare. 

Kakashi let out a dark laugh, “Don’t worry, Sakura will be going through the same training when she gets back.”

Sakura grinned fiercely as she evaded Tsuyoshi.

For the last two weeks she had been practicing in different terrains. It had taken her awhile to hone in her senses enough to no longer harm her. Miyako and Tsuyoshi had taken the responsibility of sharpening her “softness”. They didn’t want her bringing shame to the Pack.

It helped now too that she wasn’t feeling every single emotion they were, she could tell what was her and what was them.

She was getting the hang of everything. 

She was winning for the first time since Tsuyoshi and Miyako decided they weren’t going to hold back.

That grin fell as Miyako kicked her down.

“You're fighting against two opponents.”, Miyako scolded, “Never turn your back on the enemy.”

Sakura felt a spark of anger, “You were down.”

Miyako scowled, “The only good enemy is a dead enemy. Never make assumptions, you’ll just die faster.”

“What if they don’t deserve to die?”, Sakura asked as she brushed off the mud from her clothes.

“You become strong enough to never have to kill unless you want to.”, Miyako stated as her eyes narrowed, “You have your seals, use them. If you don’t have something that will work, just make them. A seal that could paralyze an opponent and cut off their ability to use chakra should work against anyone.”

Sakura’s face lit up, “Can I start on that seal now?”

Miyako growled, “Not until you finish training for the day. You’re going back tonight, you will not waste your time here. Don’t forget to pack your tent.”

“Don’t test them on yourself either.”, Tsuyoshi grinned, “A fish or a rabbit would work just fine. If you mess up, it will mess up your chakra coils.”

“How am I supposed to know if it cuts off their access to chakra?”, Sakura tried to bare her teeth but ended up making her lip bleed again.

Miyako politely ignored her mistake. Tsuyoshi snorted.

“You're leaving later to go back home. You humans are weak, are you telling me there are no prisoners to test your seals on? What, do your people just let potential threats go?”, Miyako asked.

Sakura’s strange eyes lit up in glee, “I think Ino-pig’s dad works at T&I. And I think Shino’s dad might be interested in a seal like that, his clan lets me work on my seals all the time.”

Tsuyoshi tilted his head, “What’s T&I?”

Sakura went over different designs for a sealing matrix in her head before saying offhandedly, “Torture and Interrogation. I hope they’ll let me test out my seals.”

“Oh, you humans aren’t as boring as I thought.”, Miyako grinned, “We’ll have you come back in a week to pick a pup from the available litters to train as your partner. Now get your head out of the clouds, you aren’t going back right this moment so I expect you to be honing in your instincts.”

Gekko Hayate coughed as he made his way down a familiar road with a gift in his hands. He smiled as the door came into view and knocked.

Mebuki opened the door and smiled, “Oh Gekko, it’s great to see you. Would you like to come in for tea? You look tired.”

He laughed, “That would be nice. Thank you, Mebuki. I just got back from a month long mission, I would be surprised if I didn’t look tired.”

“You just got back?”, she chastised, “What are you doing here? You should be resting or taking your girlfriend out on a date. You’re only going to be young once. Have you at least been making sure you sleep and drink plenty of water.”

He nodded as she prepared some tea, “Yes, Mebuki. I’ve been making sure that I get plenty of rest. Yuguo left me a note back at our place, she’s on a mission right now and won’t be back for another day or two.”

She gave him a pointed look, “You didn’t say anything about water.”

He scratched the back of his neck, “Nothing gets past you, huh Mebuki? I just came back from Suna. I’ve been drinking water, but it was kind of hard to drink enough in the desert.”

“Oh?”, she made a noise of interest as she poured the tea, “Nothing you couldn’t handle though, I’m guessing.”

“It was just the sand that was the real enemy there.”, Gekko said before looking around, “Oh, are Kizashi and Sakura out? I was hoping I could talk to Kizashi about this blade I saw in Suna and see if I can get one commissioned. And I have Sakura’s gift with me since I missed her graduation.”

Mebuki’s smile dimmed slightly, “I’ll let Kizashi know to expect you by sometime then.”

He looked at her and frowned before putting down his teacup, “Is everything alright?”

“I’m sorry, but are Genin supposed to be training so much?”, Mebuki asked, “I haven’t seen Sakura since the day after she got her Team assignment.”

Gekko sighed, “Is Sakura overdoing training again? I can talk to her.”

Mebuki shook her head, “All the Genin have been at the Training Grounds for two weeks now. Is there something I should be worried about? Gekko, from what I’ve been told the Genin are all training together at one of the fields. They’re camping there to get more training in. Kizashi and I would go check up on her, but civillains aren’t allowed on the Training Grounds.”

“There’s nothing to worry about. You said they’re all training together right? That could just mean the Hokage wants to try out different methods since we’re in Peace Time. I’ll talk to her Jonin Instructor later and see when she can come back home. Who’s her teacher?”, Gekko finished his tea.

“I think he said his name was Kakashi Hatake? He was very tall and had silver hair.”, Mebuki described.

“One eye covered? Probably reading?”, he asked as he got up.

Mebuki thought, “Yes, he did have one eye covered. But he didn’t have any book with him.”

“Yeah.”, Hayate nodded, “I know him. I’ll go see what I can do about getting Sakura back soon.”

“Thank you.”, Mebuki said with tears in her eyes, “We weren’t sure what to do. It’s been so long since we’ve seen her, and I thought we would have had more time before she left for extended periods.”

“I’ll head over now.”, he promised.

Mebuki frowned, “Are you sure? The sun’s starting to set. Kizashi will be back soon, you can eat dinner with us.”

He smiled, “It’s no problem at all. You should be able to see her tomorrow if I can convince Kakashi and whoever the other teachers are to give them all a break. Two weeks of training is crazy for Peace Time, they should be doing D-ranks right now, it builds character.”

“Can you take Sakura’s katana please? She didn’t take it when she left because she was worried about putting it into a storage seal with all the modifications she did to it.”, Mebuki said in one breath.

He nodded and she headed up the stairs to Sakura’s bedroom to get her katana from her closet.

“Has Sakura named it yet?”, Gekko asked as he looked at the new seals decorating it.

Mebuki shook her head, “She said she was going to wait on a name.”

“It looks beautiful.”, Gekko admired, “Kizashi and you made a monster though, this katana is covered in seals and I’m a little afraid of what they could do.”

Mebuki jerked the katana away from him, “Sorry, I just remembered that the Safety Seal might be off. Let me turn that back on for you, I’ve told Sakura that if she’s going to have it in the house she has to make sure the Safety Seals are on, but you know that girl. I’ll tell her and then she’ll think of some new seal and get distracted.”

“You’ve gotten faster.”, Gekko commented as he watched her activate what he assumed to be the Safety Seal with ease.

“I have to be fast to live with Sakura.”, Mebuki laughed, “This house is covered in seals. Did you know she surprised Kizashi and I with a seal on our ceiling a few weeks ago?”

Gekko shook his head, “This is the first I’m hearing about this. What does it do?”

“Kizashi told her that when we were dating we used to go to sleep under the stars. Sakura heard that story and decided that she would make us a seal that would let us look at the stars at night. Put the activation seal right next to the light switch and used a ladder to paint her seal onto the ceiling.”, Mebuki grinned, “The only thing is we have to remember to turn it off before we go to bed or else we’ll wake up when the sun goes up.”

“What about your privacy though?”, Gekko couldn’t help but ask, “If you can see out, anyone traveling by rooftop can see in.”

“You and Sakura think about the same things, don’t worry!”, Mebuki smiled, “We can see outside, but no one can see inside. It’s like a two way mirror.”

“That girl.”, Gekko laughed, “She always thinks about everything. My old Genin teammate would probably like her ideas.”

“She really does.”, Mebuki laughed slightly, “Are you sure you don’t want to stay for dinner? Kizashi would love to hear about the blade you want commissioned.”

He smiled, “Yes, I’m good. I’ll just go ahead and take Sakura her katana and see what I can do about getting her back home to Kizashi and you tomorrow.”

“I think she’s at Training Ground Three.”, Mebuki gave him a sheepish look, “She either said that or they were going to look for a Training Ground that was free. Sakura left really early.”

She waved goodbye to him and he took off toward the Training Grounds. 

He had Sakura’s gift and Katana in hand.

Since he was away on a mission for a month, he had no idea that Sakura had been gone since she Reverse Summoned herself after she met her team two weeks ago. It was being kept quiet to not give the civilians more reasons to worry about their children enrolling in the Academy and becoming shinobi.

And so, Gekko Hayate, headed off to Training Ground Three because no one thought (or knew) to inform him of the missing Genin with pink hair. 

He would need to talk to Kakashi and whatever other teachers were there about making sure to give their students breaks.

Maybe he’d even be able to brush up Sakura’s Kenjutsu and make sure she wasn’t getting rusty? Gekko really wanted to find out what seals she had added to her katana. And maybe see if those seals were good enough for him to ask her to add to his Tanto? 

(He would not be happy to learn that Kakashi lost his kohai.)

Notes:

I'm back. Wow, have you Pumpkins noticed how many other people have stumbled across this fic? Over 1,000 hits already and almost 200 Kudos! It's only been five days?!? I'm amazed because there are so many other amazing BAMF Sakura fics out there and those of you currently here reading this story decided to give it a chance. Thank you all so much! Also I've been asked if there's anything that you all can call me, and either "K" or "Kay" works fine (lol so does Anon or whatever).

Also fair warning, I'm not sure how long these daily updates are going to happen, so please do not expect an update every day, While I don't have the best sleep schedule, I do have other things in my life that may cause me to not update for awhile.

Due to our lovely comment section, I am now putting the option of adding Haku (if he lives) to our growing list of love interests for Sakura. (Adding those votes from last chapter to the count today.)

I'm going to leave these questions up until we get past the Wave Arc:
- Should Zabuza and Haku live?
- How do you guys feel about Chojuro? Should he be added as a potential love interest? (This will only probably apply if we all collectively decide to let Zabuza and Haku live since it would put Sakura closer to Kiri-politics.)
(+ on)
- Should Haku join Sakura's reverse harem too? (Provided he lives.)

Polls:
- Zabuza and Haku Should Live:
Yes - 10
No - 0

- Chojuro as a Potential Love Interest:
Yes - 7
No - 1

- Haku as a Potential Love Interest:
Yes - 1
No - 0

We have one more chapter until the Wave Arc starts! I'm so excited to write it! Remember to get your votes in!

Chapter 6

“Kakashi?”, Gekko called out before he approached the little campsite that inhabited Training Ground Three. He could see two figures around the campfire, but he had no idea if the Jonin was one of them.

“Is that Gekko Hayate in the flesh?”, another voice asked incredulously before laughing, “It must have been awhile since I’ve last seen him, because I almost couldn’t recognize him with all those bags under his eyes.”

“Asuma.”, Kurenai’s voice was heard before the sound of a slap reached Gekko’s ears.

He got closer and was able to see Asuma rubbing the back of his head.

“Wow.”, Gekko grinned, “Kurenai totally gave you time to dodge that. Are you sure you were really one of the Twelve Guardian Ninja for the Daimyo? Your reaction time seems a little slow.”

“Very funny.”, Asuma said dryly.

“Ignore him. Someone’s just upset that he has to leave the Training Ground to try to sneak in a smoke. And has been unsuccessful this whole time”, Kurenai grinned, “Kakashi went out on a food run. We collectively decided to treat the kids to takeout today and he drew the short straw in having to go get it.”

“That’s fine, I just came to talk to him about his students.”, Gekko said while rubbing the back of his neck, “Hey, where are your students?”

Kurenai leaned in and looked around before winking at him, “Kakashi has been having all of them run some modified ANBU training. And get this, they’ve all been keeping up with it pretty well.”

Gekko felt his eyebrows raise, “For two weeks?”

Asuma shrugged, “Pretty much.”

“Every day?”, Gekko couldn’t believe what he was hearing.

“No. Not everyday.”, Kurenai sounded offended, “Tomorrow is their rest day. Breaks are important to not overwork them. You should have seen them last week, they wouldn’t leave their tents unless it was to eat or use the restroom. Actually, come to think of it, I don’t think I saw one of mine the whole day last Sunday. I don’t think he even left his tent.”

“Kakashi has one of his dogs chasing them all right now. They’re finishing up their last lap.”, Asuma explained.

“Will they be able to leave tomorrow?”, Gekko questioned.

“Yeah.”, Kurenai teased, “Why are you planning on giving them Kenjutsu lessons? Don’t worry, I’m sure Kakashi won’t object to you teaching them how to use a tanto.”

His mind stalled and he looked around quickly before whispering, “Are any of your teams Pre-ANBU squads? Is that why you’ve been giving them modified ANBU training?”

Asuma shook his head, “If any of these teams are, it’s not mine. My team is slated for Strategics and Intelligence Gathering. I have the second coming of Ino-Shika-Cho so we’re going to see if this specialization suits them as well as it did their fathers.”

“Mine is either going to be a Seek and Destroy Team or a Search and Recover Team. I have to see what missions suit them best before I can do anything.”, Kurenai said, “I have an Aburame, Inuzuka, and Hyuga on my team so any kind of tracking or recon is a given.”

“Any idea what Kakashi’s team might specialize in?”, Gekko asked while trying to seem nonchalant.

“No idea. If his team actually worked together it would probably be obvious though. From what we know, Naruto Uzumaki is great at diversions and traps. He has the makings of a decent Trap Specialist if he actually decided to use it on the enemies. The old man says that Jiraiya wants to train him in Fuinjutsu, but the kid doesn’t seem to have the patience for it. He can’t even seem to want to wait three minutes for Cup Ramen. He was last in the class and so far isn’t doing much to inspire confidence. The kid wears a bright orange jumpsuit for crying out loud!”, Asuma ranted to Gekko.

Kurenai continued on from where Asuma left off, “Sasuke Uchiha on the other hand graduated as Rookie of the Year. He enjoys the training we’re having them run through. His Taijutsu and Ninjutsu are solid, but he’s a prodigy who needs an attitude adjustment. He wants to walk the path of an Avenger and has made that very clear. He’ll end up getting his team and him killed though if he doesn’t grow up.” 

"And the third?”, Gekko grinned. 

Sakura was a little seal happy brat who appeared in a deceptive pastel packaging. He had been her senpai for four years and without fail she would always keep him on his toes. He was pretty sure Sakura was also a prodigy too. No ordinary child picked up Kenjutsu that fast otherwise. And her knowledge of poisons was simply frightening. Plus all the seals she had in her arsenal? She was a little Terror, and Gekko still thought she might have been hiding some of her talents. Sakura liked to keep her talents hidden for whatever reason, which was good because Shinobi needed their secrets, but he’s known that kid since he was nineteen and even he didn’t know what she knew.

Kurenai and Asuma frowned and it didn’t escape Gekko’s gaze.

Asuma answered, “You haven’t heard? Kakashi passed his Genin after they did the Bell Test and then a few minutes later he lost his third student.”

Gekko coughed, “He what?!?”

“He lost his student. He went for a fear tactic and performed the Summoning Jutsu slow enough for the kunoichi to memorize and she copied it perfectly and ended up Reverse Summoning herself. She ended up signing a Contract and everything, but picked up some traits from the Contract so she’s been there the last two weeks.”, Asuma told his friend, “Where have you been? All the Jonins, Clan Heads, and at least half of the Tokubetsu Jonin know about this.”

Gekko pinched the bridge of his nose, “I’ve been in Suna for a month. I really need to talk to Kakashi when he gets back.”

He knew his mission was too uneventful. Of course, Sakura would have gotten into this situation.

(That didn't mean he wasn't going to hold it over Kakashi's head later.)

"Wait.", Gekko felt himself go pale as all the blood drained out of him, "She's been gone for two weeks?"

Asuma nodded.

"Any news on when she'll return?", Gekko felt his mouth moving almost robotically.

"It should be any day now.", Kurenai voiced.

Shit. He was going to have to tell Kizashi and Mebuki that their daughter had been missing for two weeks and nobody told them.

"Are you alright?", Kurenai asked in concern, "You look a little pale."

He took a deep breath and smiled, "I'm going to kill Kakashi."

Ino panted with exertion as she finished up her last lap. As long as she was faster than Shikamaru she wouldn’t have to worry about getting bit by Pakkun.

She could see the tents now and was ready to collapse as soon as she got there.

Sasuke was already drinking water near the tents. He had probably finished a few minutes ago since he hadn’t even been in her field of vision since the second lap.

The only thing out of place in his appearance was his hair. It looked so unfairly windswept that Ino wanted to cry because her own hair was filled with sweat and her face was probably all red and blotchy. He was so unbothered by the training that Ino couldn’t help but think about how amazing he was. 

Two weeks ago, if someone had told her she wouldn’t be on the same team as Sasuke, but still be practically living with him for Genin training, she would have hoped that was true but not gotten her hopes up. Now though, she hated how he would see her all gross and sweaty because of training.

Thinking of living with Sasuke just brought thoughts of Sakura to the forefront of her mind.

(She despised that more than anything else.)

Sakura had disappeared and everything changed in the span of a few hours. Impulsive Billboard Brow, who used a Jutsu she didn’t even know and ended up Reverse Summoning herself.

She was strong enough to get Summons, and Sasuke was visibly impressed by that news.

(That was basically a Declaration of Love from him!) 

She thought she was done with Sakura the moment she declared her to be her rival and Sakura took the hint and stopped sitting next to her.

(But, could she ever truly escape her?)

Stupid Billboard Brow who smiled widely when Ino first met her in Kunoichi classes and chased away Ami for making fun of Sakura’s ginormous forehead. Sakura had declared they would be friends forever, making her a friendship bracelet the next day. It was something Ino would proudly show off to the two boys who were her brothers in all but blood, making Sakura her own bracelet the next day.

It no longer fit, but Ino still had that bracelet locked away in a box somewhere for safekeeping.

(Some part of her wondered if Sakura still had hers.)

Ignorant Billboard Brow who was stealing her brothers away without trying, and attracting the attention of the one guy that Ino actually actively chose to care for.

Shikamaru and Choji have always been hers. Their births were coordinated and they were raised as siblings, the next in a legacy aptly named Ino-Shika-Cho.

Her birthday was even a day after Shikamaru’s! 

(And it hurt to know he would prefer Sakura’s company any day over her own.)

She chose Sasuke to be the only one who would stay hers no matter what. He never showed interest in anyone. Never one to be caught up with crowds or people, even before the Massacre of his Clan. He was safe for her to care for, and she had this idyllic romantic hope that he would love her and only her. He would become the only thing that was truly her own .

(But even then his gaze was eventually drawn to Sakura.)

Magnetic Billboard Brow, who drew everyone in without doing a single damn thing to make people like her.

(And wasn’t that unfair?)

Two weeks ago, she felt something in her Shatter at the possibility that Sakura might have been dead.

(The mind was a dangerous place and all Yamanaka were taught to fear their own above all else. It was their most potent double-edged sword, perfect for cutting both enemies and themselves down in one swift blow if left unchecked.)

Why would Sakura’s death ever have an impact on her if she no longer cared whether she lived or died like every other Shinobi was destined?

Regret for a Shinobi was dangerous.

(Regret for a Yamanaka even more.)

She pushed away thoughts of Sakura and tried to focus on her run.            

Shino had disappeared somewhere so he was probably in his tent already. He would probably leave in ten more minutes smelling more clean than any of them somehow.

(No matter how much she begged he wouldn’t share his secrets and Hinata couldn’t see through his tent with her Byakugan.)

She went back to admiring Sasuke when Shikamaru, in a fit of unexpected effort, ran ahead of her.

She didn’t even notice she was the last one until she felt Pakkun nip at her heels.

Kiba groaned as he collapsed on his back looking up at the darkening sky with Akamaru by his side.

Akamaru let out a nearly silent whine, and Kiba turned to face him.

“Yeah, this training is a lot. Dinner should be here soon enough though.”, Kiba said quietly as he glanced over to the lake where Shikamaru had just run in front of Ino.

Akamaru let out another whine.

“Yeah, I wonder when Sakura is going to come back too.”, Kiba said, “It should be interesting though. She’s probably not going to be around Naruto for awhile, even if she did manage to work on her senses. We’re going to have to make sure we try our best to be quiet until she gets used to everything. I remember when my mom first took me out of the Clan Compound when I was six. All the smells and noises hurt me. Some of my cousins also had to go through the same lessons with me, so it wasn’t too bad.”

Akamaru let out a soft bark.

“Yeah.”, Kiba grinned, “I wasn’t alone, so there’s no reason Sakura should be alone either. We’ll make sure to help her adjust.”

Akamaru yipped.

“Yeah, that’s a great idea! We can bring Hana to Sakura and introduce them.”, Kiba grinned. Hana had been wanting to meet Sakura for a long time now.

Sakura, regrettably, originally hadn’t been more than a blip on his radar. She was always just out of his senses to the point where he didn’t acknowledge her the first two years of the Academy despite being in the same class as him.

Sure he knew that she existed.

(How could he not notice her with hair that pink?)

But, she was more of a phantom than anything else for too long.

He mainly knew her through Shikamaru and Choji (and later through Naruto).

The first time he really saw her as more than just their friend was when he was nine years old and in between his second and third year of the Academy, he had been chased all throughout Konoha by his sister’s partners (the Haimaru Brothers) because he had said something he could no longer remember, that made Hana angry enough to sic her dogs on him.

He had managed to lose his tails in a civilian neighborhood, probably because they didn’t want to cause a disturbance there, when he heard a loud noise and felt the ground beneath his feet slightly shake.

No one seemed to pay it any mind, though there were a few whispers about “That young girl is up to it again.”, that he had heard from a pair of old women walking on the sidewalk in front of him.

He could smell the heavy scent of smoke when the door to a house a few houses down from where he was standing opened up and revealed a sheepish looking Sakura whose face was smeared with soot.

He remembered the blinding smile she gave her neighbors as she apologized.

“Sorry. This time I almost got it, but I think my math might have smudged in my calculations.”, Sakura bowed to the people who had come out of their houses to look at her in interest, “I’ll make sure to make you all something really nice though when I finally get the hang of it. I promise.”

His heart stuttered slightly at the look of pure joy that replaced the embarrassed face she had. He had never really noticed how her emotions on her face matched her eyes. He thought she looked really cute with her pink hair sticking up everywhere and soot all over her face.

He remembered thinking that he might have gotten sick and had promptly gone home, the Haimaru Brothers no longer a worry, and ran to Hana to make sure he wasn’t dying because his heart felt weird and his hands had did this weird thing where they started getting all gross and sweaty.

Hana had stared at him blankly, still mad from whatever he had did earlier that day, until he explained everything. She had laughed and laughed, but refused to let him know he wasn’t dying until after she had stopped laughing long enough to get it out.

He tried making more excuses to talk to her in the Academy, each one more ridiculous than the last and never seeming to work. Shikamaru would look at him like he was a particularly complicated Shogi game and later, after Sakura fell out with Ino, Sakura was always just out of reach to talk to. 

He could never find the right time, and Hana still teased him about the way he would sneak glances at her or try to look for a splash of pink whenever he was outside of the Clan Compound.

Then one day, the girl he had thought to be cute, kicked his ass in a Taijutsu match. Twice.

(He fell even harder and couldn’t stop staring at her in class, it got to the point where he felt there was no way she didn’t notice, but she never once confronted him about it. His mom even found out about his crush from Hana.) 

She was stronger than he thought, and he couldn’t help but be amazed. She was the only Civilian in their class. 

(Everyone knew that with a last name like Uzumaki, Naruto had to have had some type of Shinobi heritage despite being an orphan.)

And she could take him in a Taijutsu fight despite being so small.

( All Inuzuka were attracted to someone strong.)

He would try harder to talk to her when she came back.

Sakura waved goodbye and did the signs to bring her back.

She was surprised to find herself in a tent.

A familiar tent.

It was a tent that she herself had stitched and painted on seals for perhaps the one person in the world outside of her parents and Naruto who hadn’t once wronged her.

“Shino?”, she called out in question.

His Light Seal was on, and so were the Security Seals, so he must have been in here. She would have to make some new seals though if anyone could just pop into the tent. Were there seals preventing Space-Time Ninjutsu? If not, she would have to make them.

The door to his restroom opened and he rushed out in pajamas with his hair still wet and uncombed, his glasses were off so he must have just gotten out of the shower and finished changing.

“Sakura.”, he gasped as he pulled her into a hug. 

She felt water droplets hit the top of her head and smelled salt. Shino was crying because of her. Guilt welled up inside of her, she hadn’t meant to worry him.

(No one was allowed to make Shino cry, not even her.)

“I’m back.”, she smiled into the hug.

He pulled her away to check her for injuries, and she could see the exact moment his brown eyes noticed the changes to her own eyes.

“You haven’t been slacking in your training. Why? Because I can see mud on you and you smell like sweat.”, Shino joked.

Sakura laughed, “Not that I’m not overjoyed that you’re the first person I’ve seen, but how did I end up in your tent?”

“All the Genin are here training together. We’ve been here since you went missing.”, Shino glared slightly, but Sakura could see how worried he was.

“Next time I go missing I’ll be sure to inform you before it happens.”, Sakura joked lightly as she grabbed his hands in reassurance.

He rolled his eyes, but his lips had a slight upturn to show that he was amused, “I would rather that no happen at all, but I’ll be holding you to that.”

“I have so much to tell you.”, Sakura beamed.

He sighed slightly, “I’ll tell the others I’m turning in for the night. You can go shower if you want, you know where my clothes are if you need something clean. I’ll bring in some food and you can tell me everything. Set up an extra futon. You don’t have to deal with anyone until tomorrow.”

 

 

“So, you lost the kid?”, Gekko asked mockingly, “She’s a little Terror! You should have been more cautious! Did none of her teachers put it in her file? She’s Chaos Incarnate and normal rules don’t apply to her!”

Kakashi stared blankly at him before putting down the food he had brought, “Hello to you too, Gekko.”

“Sakura better be back soon or else you have to come with me to tell her parents that she’s been missing for two weeks.”, Gekko ranted, “Do you know how scary Mebuki and Kizashi are?”

“Ah, I wasn’t aware that you knew them.”, Kakashi said while feigning a nonchalant shrug, “She should be back any day now.”

“I’ll be staying here until she does.”, Gekko pointed his thumb to his own recently set up tent.

“When did you get back anyways? I haven’t seen you in awhile.”’, Kakashi commented as he moved out of the way for one of Kurenai's students who talked to her before grabbing some food and heading back to his tent, “Food?”

They made themselves comfortable as the remaining Genin grabbed food to eat. Asuma and Kurenai were definitely not flirting with each other.

Gekko was about halfway through his food before he decided to talk again. 

“I just got back today.”, Gekko sighed, “Listen, something you need to know about Sakura is how fast she picks up things, and how easily she can get distracted when it comes to a new seal.”

“It sounds like you’ve known her for awhile.”, Kakashi pointed out.

“I have.”, Gekko told him.

Kakashi ran over the information in his head before saying, “Tell me about her.”

And Gekko did.

Shino brought back food, and she showered and changed into a rolled up pair of his sweats and an old shirt of his. Shino and Sakura stayed up half the night talking about her last two weeks in the Summoning Realm. He had some questions about the Pack dynamics and how she was handling her increased senses. She asked him about his last two weeks.

They fell asleep early in the morning, each curled on their separate futons, connected by their hands.

(Shino, even while asleep, couldn’t bear the thought of Sakura disappearing again.)

Notes:

Ahh this update came again the next day. Next up is the Wave Arc! Also Sakura is getting her Summons Partner to train. Looking forward to introducing Zabuza and Haku and giving them more life. Thank you for reading! Fair warning, I'm watching my cousin's kids for a few hours tomorrow then going to a few birthday parties so an update may be delayed. We're at 227 Kudos, thank you for that Pumpkins! Shino and Sakura got a cute little moment, and Ino and Kiba got more depth.

I'm going to leave these questions up until we get past the Wave Arc:
- Should Zabuza and Haku live?
- How do you guys feel about Chojuro? Should he be added as a potential love interest? (This will only probably apply if we all collectively decide to let Zabuza and Haku live since it would put Sakura closer to Kiri-politics.)
- Should Haku join Sakura's reverse harem too? (Provided he lives.)

Polls:
- Zabuza and Haku Should Live:
Yes - 12
No - 0

- Chojuro as a Potential Love Interest:
Yes - 9
No - 1

- Haku as a Potential Love Interest:
Yes - 5
No - 0

Unless everyone collectively changes their minds and a slew of votes come in demanding it, it looks like Zabuza and Haku will live through the Wave Arc. Congrats Pumpkins, you saved two lives and now we are getting closer to Sakura and Team Seven getting involved with Kiri XD

Chapter 7

Sakura woke up with her hand still clenched around Shino’s. She smiled gently, not wanting him to wake up, she closed her eyes and went back to sleep. It was weird no longer being near the Canids and waking up with Tsuyoshi threatening to pour water on her to test her new instincts or Miyako snarling at her while threatening to rip out her throat if she wasted precious training time with sleep.

Today , she decided as she turned her head back to her pillow, today I’ll sleep in .

Kakashi was wondering when his missing Genin would finally come back because Gekko would not stop glaring at him.

(Of course, he deserved it, but only he was allowed to hate himself. No one else had the right .)

Nearly everyone was outside eating, actually enjoying their food leisurely without fear of throwing it up since there was no training today. The only one not there was Kurenai’s Aburame student, who had gone to his tent early last night with dinner and never came back out.

He missed breakfast, and still showed no signs of emerging 

So, imagine Kakashi and everyone else’s surprise when Shino emerged from his tent for lunch and held open the tent flap.

“Are you alright there Shino?”, Kiba asked as he ate some of the fish that had been prepared over the fire.

Shino nodded, but showed no sign of explaining why he was holding open the flap of his tent.

“Oh!”, Naruto exclaimed, “Are you going to show us the inside of your tent?!?”

Shino looked confused, “I find it strange that you wish to see the inside of my tent. Why? Because you seemed to not even remember that we were in the same class.”

Naruto’s face reddened as he looked away, “Of course, I remembered you!”

(Anyone could see that he was lying.)

“Are you alright, Shino?”, Kurenai asked.

He nodded, but Kakashi had the vaguest sense that he had rolled his eyes.

“Why are you holding the tent open?”, Kiba joked, “Are you waiting for something to come out of the tent?”

It was only due to his years as a Shinobi and previous interactions with Aburame, which allowed him to see the faintest hint of a smile on Shino’s face.

“Someone.”, Shino corrected before turning his gaze back to his tent.

It was silent.

Shikamaru choked on his rice.

Gekko coughed.

(Though whether it was because he was sick, again , or shocked was anyone’s guess.)

Kurenai stood up with all the grace of an elite ninja of the village.

(That was a lie, she tripped in her hurry to look into her student’s tent and Asuma rose in time to catch her.)

Kakashi snorted, “What, do you have a girl in there.”

Shino didn’t deny it and the silence was deafening.

Hinata’s face turned red.

Sasuke didn’t say anything and he looked nonplussed, but his ears told a different story.

Ino looked around, as if trying to figure out who it could be.

And then a hand came out of the tent and Shino draped an arm over the figure.

(A familiar figure with pink hair.)

Sakura Haruno was back.

 

Sakura woke again feeling rested. She didn’t know what time it was, but she did know that Shino was right next to her still.

“Ah.”, he said as he noticed her open eyes, “I was hoping you were going to wake soon. I had to use the restroom and had no idea how to get up without waking you.”

Sakura rolled her eyes, “We learned the Substitution Jutsu for a reason.”

His lips quirked up, “I don’t think it was invented with that purpose in mind.”

“Well, why should it just be limited to fighting when it would work just as fine to get out of bed?”, Sakura argued.

“I really did miss you.”, Shino admitted.

Sakura sat up, her hair was a mess and she had to get ready for the day, “I missed you too.”

He got ready in the restroom and headed for his dining area.

“Do you want to stay here all day?”, he asked before gesturing to his pantry, “We have enough varieties of jam to last us about a few years before we need to restock.”

She laughed, “Shino, as fun as that sounds, we should probably let everyone know I’m back.”

“You have your tent too, don’t you? Plus, you carry other hidden scrolls on you too. Between the both of us, we should be prepared for a decade before we would need to venture out to eat.”, Shino said.

Sakura rolled her eyes, “I don’t have that much food.”

“Everytime we eat, you put meals in a storage scroll. You’ve been doing that for the years that I’ve known you and I don’t think you have ever opened any of them. You’re trying to see how long the food will be in stasis for and if the food quality diminishes after time., and if that limit will be reached before the storage scroll runs out of the seemingly infinite amount of space you’ve somehow designated for that scroll.”, Shino pointed out, “Besides all those meals, I know for a fact that you have at least five years worth of Aburame Preserves on your person at all times, because I supplied it to you so you have something to give those terrible Ration Bars some flavor.”

“I still can’t believe that you gave me that much!”, Sakura said.

Shino smiled, “Since you’ve started making seals for us, all Aburame, whether they be Shinobi or civilian, have been stockpiling fruit and jelly. Our production has increased exponentially since we no longer have to worry about being wasteful. It only makes sense to carry years of supplies in case of the possibility of famine, fires, or drought impacting our fields. Since you come over often enough, you should be afforded the same, especially since you’re the one who’s prepared everyone’s scrolls for no charge at all.”

“I didn’t do that for all the jelly and fruit you foisted on me.”, Sakura said.

He gave a small smile, “Well of course not. But you can’t turn away a gift without being rude, and it makes me feel better to know you’re so prepared.”

“Okay, so I’m prepared.”, Sakura laughed, “That doesn’t mean we should live in this tent for a decade.”

“Of course not.”, Shino agreed, “Just the two weeks of lost time.”

Sakura shook her head, smile on her face, “I’m going to go get ready, I’ll be out in a minute or two and we can go outside to join the others.”

He had a small pout on his face, “As you wish.”

She got ready, changing out of her makeshift pajamas and into something more fit for the day. A tank top and shorts would be nice since she didn’t have to worry about exposed skin being attacked since it was the most defenseless.

Shino was holding the tent open for her. 

(He draped an arm over her to remind himself that she was really there and the whole last night was not some whole elaborate scenario created by his mind.)

She internally laughed at everyone’s dumbfounded looks.

“Well, if it isn’t my missing Genin.”, Kakashi-sensei drawled, “I was almost thinking you decided to stay with the Canids.”

“I think they were a little sad they couldn’t hunt me.”, Sakura commented, “They really liked chasing me in forests.”

“Alright.”, Kakashi said before giving her an evaluating stare, “You’ll be starting training with everyone else tomorrow.”

“Okay.”, Sakura nodded, “I look forward to it.”

“You Little Terror.”, a familiar voice said, “I leave for a month and you go missing?

Sakura looked over and saw Gekko Hayate sitting like he owned the place, she rolled her eyes, “Hello Gekko-senpai, to what do I owe the pleasure?”

“I awaited your return here, camping after my long mission, and this is the thanks I get?”, Gekko frowned, “I brought you your Katana and a graduation present.”

She narrowed her eyes and bared her teeth, showing everyone present her new canines which were sharper and longer than even Kiba’s, “You said you would be there when I graduated.”

“Sakura!”, Naruto shouted.

She couldn’t help the wince nor the warning growl that escaped her at his volume.

Kiba hit him in the back of the head, “Shut up. You’re too loud, they told us she has heightened senses now. Do you know how much it hurts when you aren’t prepared for that? I have to actively dull my senses because a sledgehammer to the skull would hurt less.”

Sakura gave Kiba a small smile in thanks before turning away.

(He looked awestruck and everyone but Sakura seemed to see it.)

“Sakura.”, Gekko said, “I have your stuff. Eat some food and get ready. You better not have gotten rusty.”

She quickly ate and got ready for a Kenjutsu match, knowing there was no way she would win, but excited for it regardless.

“Don’t use your seals either.”, Gekko snorted, “I don’t want to die today, and I have no idea what that mind of yours concocted, and I don’t plan on finding out first hand.”

She frowned, “I wouldn’t have used anything lethal.”

He gently handed her katana over and the match began.

Blades sparked as they met one another at frightening speeds, as their audience watched in awe.

Kakashi watched with a critical eye as his pink-haired student held her own against a Kenjutsu specialist.

He was almost tempted to uncover his Sharingan as they danced around one another.

She met Gekko blow for blow, and Kakashi was surprised to notice that.

Appearances were deceiving.

And he had failed to look underneath the underneath when he first met his student. 

(He wondered if his other two had secrets of their own.)

 

Sakura lost, and Gekko handed her his gift.

It was a book on Poisons and Puppets and a variety of poisons and antidotes that he had picked up in Suna.

She beamed at him when she realized he hadn’t forgotten her graduation from the Academy like she had assumed.

Naruto loudly whispered as she was thanking Gekko, “So are we not going to talk about her eyes?”

(She pretended she didn’t hear him as she contemplated, not for the first time since she exited Shino’s tent, getting earplugs.)

She was taken to the Hokage to brief him of her last two weeks.

She pretended like she didn’t notice the flash of disappointment hidden behind the veil of a gentle smile, when she said her Summoning Contract with the Canids was now bound to her Bloodline. 

She had unwittingly become an even greater asset to the village, and even the Sandaime with his deceptive grandfatherly act, didn’t know what to make of the girl standing before him. A girl with no remarkable heritage, but enough drive and prodigious skill to make up for it. A girl who looked him in the eyes and asked if it was possible for her to test seals on criminals and prisoners who resided in the gentle care of T&I.

A girl who he couldn’t help but slightly flinch at, upon seeing an superimposed image of a favored student with the same drive who was once denied that same thing she asked in front of him now. 

(For Orochimaru had once had the same look in his eyes starting out.)

Hiruzen Sarutobi had many regrets, and Danzo would call him a fool and demand that he place heavy restrictions on the girl or kill her to keep her from becoming a threat if he even suspected who Hiruzen was reminded of, but he wanted to see what would become of the girl if she had permission to conduct her experiments.

(Maybe some larger part of him wished to know what Orochimaru could have become if his experiments hadn’t necessitated such secrecy. Would he have fallen into such depravity if he was allowed to use those whose lives were already forfeit?)

This pink haired child was brilliant.

(Just as much as a black haired boy who Hiruzen had taught decades ago.)

There was a fire in her eyes.

(One so eerily familiar.)

Intelligence and no shortage of ideas.

(Though he knew based on her files, that Sakura Haruno was not praised the same way his favored student was.)

A lack of confidence hidden behind a sure smile.

(Orochimaru liked his masks too.)

And an overwhelming thirst to prove herself.

(And in the end, wasn’t that how the story goes?)

He gave her permission and told her to seek out Ibiki Morino.

(If she ran into Anko at some point, perhaps it would serve as a warning that there were lines which could not be crossed.)

Hiruzen had once spared the life of his precious student that he had loved like a son, after Orochimaru had been caught red-handed.

(This pink haired child was nothing to him.)

Gekko took her home to her parents after her talk with the Hokage.

(Inner screamed a traitorous thought at the way the Sandaime looked at her with his calculating gaze. We are not your tool! )

Gekko left before they could ask him to stay for dinner.

Her parents looked relieved to see her, and she hated how the exhaustion left their bodies the moment they laid their eyes on her.

(She couldn’t help the flash of guilt for Reverse Summoning herself.)

They poorly hid their confusion about her change in appearance.

“The Canids call it Central Heterochromia, it’s less rare with them than it is with us.”, Sakura explained, “They’ve never had a Summoner before, so they weren’t sure what would happen.”

Her father smiled slightly and reached out to hold her mother’s hand reassuringly over the table.

(Her mother, who couldn’t stop staring at her with misty eyes filled with relief.)

“Your teeth must also be another change.”, her dad laughed, “Wow, I’m kind of jealous that I never had the chance to get teeth like that. Do you think the Canids would take me on too?”

“I could ask?”, Sakura floundered.

Her dad smiled widely, “It’s alright, I’m getting kind of old anyways. I never had much chakra to begin with, the only thing I had going for me was my chakra control.”

Sakura’s eyes widened at this new information, she had gotten her chakra control from her dad.

(It looked like Chakra Control actually could be passed on.)

“I didn’t know that.”, she muttered.

Her dad winked, “Despite neither of us being Shinobi, there’s plenty of things you don’t know about us.”

“Is there anything we should know?”, her mom finally spoke, “Do you need to eat more protein now? How can we help? Would you like more things in your room to make it feel more like a den? We can look into that. What about Summons? Would they want to live here with you? We can add space or move if we need to. Any other changes? How will this affect you, and what can we do to make this easier for you?”

Her dad was nodding along, and her parents started going back and forth on what properties would probably be best and how they would take out a loan if they needed to.

Sakura felt like crying.

(Her parents cared.)

“All my senses became enhanced and I have these now.”, Sakura said while pointing to her teeth and eyes, “But I also have a mark of my Summoning Contract on my upper back. The Canids think it’s what gave me sharper senses.”

Sakura lifted her hair to show them the Moon Phase marking on her back.

Her mom smiled gently, “It’s so beautiful.”

“I thought we wouldn’t have to worry about tattoos until you became a rebellious teen”, her dad muttered jokingly.

Sakura giggled and moved her bangs up.

“Surprise. I designed some seals to help me a while ago.”, Sakura blurted out.

Her dad’s jaw dropped open.

Her mom laughed, “Well as long as it brings you back home to us, I don’t care what seals you have on your body.”

A familiar look of concentration appeared on her face with those words.

“Sakura try not to start a new seal at the table, you can think about it after we’ve discussed everything.”, her mom chided, “Is there anything you need?”

A sheepish look appeared on Sakura’s face, “I thought I could figure it out as it happens. I’m not sure if I need anything.”

“That’s okay.”, her dad smiled, “We’ll figure it out together.”

“I might be getting a pup soon.”, Sakura informed her parents, “I’m going to need a Beta and in a week I’m checking over the new litters that were born a few weeks ago. If I don’t find a partner then, I’ll have to keep checking the new litters until I find one. I’ll start adding some expansion seals so we won’t have to worry about space.”

Her parents smiled.

“You’ve always been pretty.”, her mom commented, “But, I say your new look suits you well.”

In addition to her obvious fangs, there were now rings around Sakura’s pupils that showed a kaleidoscope of colors ranging from the palest blue to the brightest amber to the most bottomless brown to the fiercest red and every color in between, her original green eyes bordered the kaleidoscope beautifully.

“It makes you look fierce.”, her dad gave a thumbs up.

Sakura gave a toothy smile, “From what we gathered, my eyes might keep on changing with each new litter. It appears as though I have the eye colors of the Pack.”

She started training the next day with her team and the other Genin, and was mildly disappointed that it wasn’t as hard as the training Miyako and Tsuyoshi had put her through.

(Asuma, Kurenai, Kakashi-sensei, and the other Genin wouldn’t stop looking at her in disbelief when she asked if that was a warm-up for the real training.)

“Are you using seals?”, Shino asked her that night as the low buzzing of his kikaichū reflected just how drained he felt, “And if you are, can I get them?”

Sakura lit up, “No. But, do you think I can?”

“Sakura no more putting untested seals on yourself.”, Kakashi-sensei admonished before squirting her with a water bottle of all things.

Everyone blinked incredulously at the elite Jonin who had returned to reading his book, before the silence was broken by Asuma laughing.

“Of that reminds me, I have to go to T&I and find Ibiki Morino.”, Sakura grinned, “I have some business with him.”

Everyone blinked.

Sakura leaves in a week to go find a Beta in the crowds of new pups.

She’s drawn to none of them, and from the curious yet disinterested looks they give her, she’s guessing the feeling is mutual. 

Of all the Dholes, foxes, wolves, dingoes, coyotes, etc. she couldn’t find the One.

They all slowly shift away from training as much and move towards seeing how many D-ranks can be completed in a day. She grows closer to her teammates, though there are times where she can’t help but feel annoyed by them. Naruto is easy to get along with, Sasuke is tolerable as long as he’s not opening his mouth. Together they give her headaches and she itches to make a seal that would render someone speechless.

(It’s only because Kakashi-sensei would spray them with water bottles or whack them on the nose with rolled up newspapers, that she doesn’t test out her perfectly harmless seals on them.)

Kiba seeks her out and invites her to meet his sister, Hana, if she would like to have someone to talk to about her senses and instincts.

Sakura agrees and is greeted by a smiling girl with the same markings as Kiba at an Akimichi Tea House, who explains how best to control instincts around others, and that Sakura might feel more secure having more blankets in her room. Hana answers all the questions Sakura has and even tells her she could teach her how to distinguish poisons by scent.

They agree to meet up again.

(Sakura wonders how someone as cool as Hana could be related to Kiba. Hana thinks Kiba’s feelings might go beyond Puppy Love one day, her brother picked an eccentric partner though.)

Ibiki Morino looked at the little pastel brat in front of him.

She was stone-faced and professional, but Ibiki could see the giddiness as she placed a seal on one of the prisoners meant for execution.

When he first met the girl he thought she was going to have her first kill as she placed a seal, not tested on humans, upon a Chunin defector who was set for execution. He was surprised to see it work exactly as she said it would.

His access to his own chakra was cut off and he was completely paralyzed, several of the sensors had thought him dead for how his chakra signature had disappeared.

Several more targets of varying chakra levels and abilities were given that same seal.

Each had the same result.

(And no one died or suffered from any sort of pain.)

The targets remained paralyzed and sealed away from their chakra until the seal was deactivated.

This little pink haired brat was efficient and methodical in writing down her observations.

The Nara Research team was frothing at the mouth to poach her for themselves, as was Konoha’s Research and Development Department.

Ibiki was doing his best to keep her away from Anko.

The world was not ready for the unholy collaboration between the two.

Sakura, after two months of searching, finds her Beta among some of the recently born wolf pups.

His name is Tadashi and he has a blood red coat and complete heterochromia, one eye is a vivid blue, and the other is a dull green.

He’s a snarky, vicious little thing that thinks he’s scarier than he really is, and Sakura appreciates it.

Tsuyoshi and Miyako can’t stop laughing when she presents her Beta.

(It turns out he’s the only pup of Takehiko.)

Takehiko turns proud eyes to his son and asks Sakura and Tadashi to look after one another.

Sakura has to have Tadashi with her for a minimum of a year to build a connection.

She can see the pain in his eyes as he sends off his only child.

(She wonders if she’ll find that same pain reflected in the eyes of her own parents, but pushes that thought away.)

Her parents gush over Tadashi and he preens, walking around the house as if he owned it.

(Sakura hopes her parents don’t spoil her Beta rotten.)

T&I love Tadashi and how he can think of vicious punishments on the spot, and find amusement in the way he holds himself above them.

(Ibiki calls him a Sadistic Little Shit with all the fondness he can manage.)

Training is now reserved for weekends, but it leaves each of the Genin (barring Sakura) to feel as if the Shinigami has come for them. 

Tadashi has become a common sight to everyone.

(He likes looking down his nose at everyone but Sakura.)

He’s too small to keep up, but he runs until he can’t and from there Sakura will pick him up and carry him with her as she completes her training.

Kakashi, after an evaluating gaze, informs them that they will be accepting a C-Rank soon.

Naruto and Sasuke even cease their arguing enough for her to feel excited.

She makes sure she has every possible thing she can think of tucked away in storage seals.

She tells her parents and Shino she’ll probably be gone for awhile but has no set date of return, and heads towards the Administration Building where Tadashi and her meet up with Naruto and Sasuke.

She’s excited to prove herself.

Tadashi is excited to have his first Hunt.

Sasuke wishes to get stronger.

Naruto wants to save a princess.

Everyone has their own expectations for what their first C-Rank will be.

What they get instead is a man who’s very scent makes Sakura sneeze and Tadashi’s nose burn. He’s an alcoholic who smells like he bathes in cheap liquor and has rosy cheeks which look perpetually flushed with alcohol.

“What the? A bunch of little snot nosed kids? Hey you, the blonde one with the idiotic look on your face! Do you expect me to believe that you’re a ninja? How about you with the pink hair? You’re too tiny to even be a shield. And you with the black hair? I don’t like the look of you, you look like a pretentious brat.”, he slurs, “I’m Tazuna, a Master Bridge Builder, and I must return to my country of Waves. I’m building a bridge there and I expect you all to protect me with your lives.”

Inner hated him.

(So did everyone else.)

 

 

Sakura's Summoning Mark:

Notes:

Hey Pumpkins, I'm back. Babysitting went fine, the parties were nice. Ahhhhh the Waves Arc may have started with this chapter (technically), but next chapter we get to see Haku and Zabuza! Based on the poll I guess we all know how that's going to turn out. More character development for Tadashi! And more of Team 7 and their dynamic.

I'm going to leave these questions up until we get past the Wave Arc:
- Should Zabuza and Haku live?
- How do you guys feel about Chojuro? Should he be added as a potential love interest? (This will only probably apply if we all collectively decide to let Zabuza and Haku live since it would put Sakura closer to Kiri-politics.)
- Should Haku join Sakura's reverse harem too? (Provided he lives.)

Polls:
- Zabuza and Haku Should Live:
Yes - 15
No - 0

- Chojuro as a Potential Love Interest:
Yes - 12
No - 1

- Haku as a Potential Love Interest:
Yes - 8
No - 0

We almost have 300 Kudos and this story has only been up for 8 days. Thank you again for reading everyone XD

Chapter 8

This first C-Rank Mission was already grating Sakura’s nerves, Tadashi tried to lunge at Tazuna twelve times already and they hadn’t even left the village gates yet. Sakura had to put Tadashi in his travel backpack to keep him from attacking the client. 

The smell of alcohol permeating off of Tazuna was giving her a headache, and Naruto and Sasuke just would not shut up . Kakashi said he would meet them at the gate, but he disappeared somewhere and they were supposed to leave thirty minutes ago.

“Dobe.”, Sasuke sniffed as he looked down his nose.

Naruto glared, “Teme!”

“Shut up.”, Sakura finally snapped as she bared her teeth at her two teammates, “We have a mission to protect our client. If I have to put a seal on both of you, to keep you quiet, and potentially keep our client safer by not giving away our position to potential threats, then I would be well within my rights to do so.”

Tadashi yawned, it would be time for him to nap soon, “You can always just rip their throats out. That would keep them quiet.”

(It must have been a wolf thing, because Miyako seemed to think that was always the best option too.)

“That would kill us!”, Naruto yelled before pointing to Tadashi.

Tadashi did his best to shrug from within his confinement, “Builds character.”

“We'd be dead.”, Sasuke said slowly.

Tadashi snorted, “I didn’t say it would build yours.”

Sasuke turned to Sakura incredulously, “Are you going to let him speak to us like that?”

Sakura raised an eyebrow challengingly, “Tadashi can speak however he wants, I don’t control him.”

“He’s your Summons.”, Sasuke said dryly, ignoring the warning growl building in Sakura’s throat. 

Naruto backed away slightly and hid behind their client before calling out, “Tadashi is his own wolf.”

Tazuna took a step back as his eyes widened behind his glasses, “That’s a wolf?!?”

Tadashi joined in with a growl of his own, “Yeah, I’m my own wolf.”

Sasuke glared, “You’re a baby.”

“You take that back!”, Tadashi attempted to lunge only to not get anywhere, “I’m a pup, not a baby! Babies are dumb. I’ll rip out your throat!”

Sakura took a step towards Sasuke, “Look what you did! You upset him! Apologize to him.”

“He started it.”, Sasuke hissed, “He said that he would rip our throats out.”

Sakura snorted, “No he didn’t. He suggested it, and I’m starting to think he was right.”

Sasuke looked at her eyes and froze in place before turning away with a huff, he hadn’t been able to beat Sakura in any spars ever since she came back, “I’m sorry.”

“Yeah, you should be.”, Tadashi growled.

“Tadashi.”, Sakura growled, “You too.”

“I’m sorry.”, Tadashi mumbled before turning away to bury his face in Sakura’s hair.

Kakashi finally arrived after ten more minutes with his hands leisurely in his pocket, “Sorry, I’m late. I was helping these old women with their groceries and they invited me for tea, and I couldn’t just say no. Hope you all weren’t waiting long. Did I miss anything important?”

Tazuna opened his mouth before Sakura answered, “Nothing too important. We’re ready to leave.”

Shikamaru groaned as the sun moved onto his face from where he collapsed under a tree.

Ino was painting her nails.

And Choji was eating some chips and shooting looks at the two.

“So are we ever going to talk about this?”, Choji asked as he turned his full attention towards the two.

“What are you talking about?”, Ino asked as she paused her task.

Shikamaru opened an eye to indicate he was listening.

Choji wanted to ask just when his team drifted apart. He wanted to know why Ino became so demanding. He wanted to know why Shikamaru smiled less. He wanted to know why Ino refused to talk about Sakura unless she was insulting her. He wanted to know why Shikamaru still went by places he thought Sakura would be for the chance to run into her, he told Choji he gave up but he still walked out of his way there three times a week.

Choji needed to know why his siblings were so intent on pretending like they didn’t care about Sakura when they so obviously did.

Ino looked like her mind was barely tethered to her body! She looked distant like those Yamanaka who’s minds were unable to find their way back to their bodies.

(Those Yamanaka who died long before their bodies released their last breath.)

He wanted Shikamaru to talk about the shadows when they briefly thought Sakura was dead. He wanted Shikamaru to look him in the eyes and tell him when his control of his emotions slipped that far.

(He couldn’t lose his brother to the shadows.)

Choji was the oldest.

(Didn’t that mean it was his duty to protect them?)

Ino was his sister, and Shikamaru was his brother.

( Why was he so useless? )

Choji would be the Sixteenth Akimichi Clan Head.

(His siblings would take up the same positions within their own clans one day as well.)

They all took their oath together.

(Their earrings were forever a reminder of that.)

He felt as if they weren’t the same people he had grown up with.

(Ino refused to talk about her issues with Sakura, it was weighing down on her mind and Choji could see it.)

They had changed.

(When exactly had Shikamaru realized he cared too much for Sakura? Did he not remember how Troublesome love was for Naras?)

It was his job to protect them.

(The Yin energy both carried came with its own risks, risks he was supposed to help minimize.)

He could mention it now.

(But, today was a good day. Ino had been surprisingly nice. Shikamaru hadn’t complained as much. And Choji didn’t want to ruin it. He was a Shinobi now, and a Shinobi could be selfish if it meant preserving what little tranquility their lives allowed them to experience.)

He smiled instead, “When do you think we’ll go on a C-Rank?”

Shikamaru and Ino gave him an assessing look.

(They could always read him better than they could themselves, but maybe he was the same.)

They took his change of subject with only the slightest of frowns before their faces smoothed out and they each talked about Asuma-sensei.

(Choji would need to talk to them if things didn’t change. Ino-Shika-Cho could not be fractured. As hard as it may be for them, Ino and Shikamaru needed to clear the air before one or all of them got killed because of this.)

It hadn’t rained for weeks, so Sakura was immediately suspicious when she saw a puddle in the middle of the road.

Tadashi was eyeing it in distrust, so she was glad to see that her own thoughts were mirrored by her Beta.

It came as no surprise when two Missing-Nin jumped out of it.

(What was a surprise was how Kakashi-sensei handled it. Really a Substitution Jutsu layered by a Genjutsu? Sensei was glad those Missing-Nin were idiots. Didn’t they know their best chance was to hold one of them hostage to force a surrender from the elite Jonin?)

Sakura could smell the poison on them now that they were out of their hiding place.

And then they turned their attention towards them.

Naruto couldn’t move, Sakura used an unmastered Chakra String to pull him just out of the range of their claws before Sasuke moved to intercept them.

Sakura stood in front of their client, Barrier Seals already in place to direct any attack that may come their way.

Sasuke took down the two Missing-Nin easily enough, so they must not have been difficult opponents.

(She suspected as much by the fact they only showed themselves when their backs were turned and eliminated the biggest threat in their eyes first. They weren’t made for head first confrontations, the poisonous smell that ruminate from their claws were probably the only thing they had going from them.)

The Barrier Seals would hold for at least an hour before they could even hope to break it if Sasuke didn’t finish them off himself first.

(Why was Kakashi-sensei just watching from the trees? Was it to test them? Or was it to find out the target of the Missing-Nin?)

Sasuke jumped in front of her, and while the thought was sweet, Sakura couldn’t help but feel irritated by it. 

“Idiot, you should be the one behind me.”, she hissed under her breath.

He shot her a smirk from over his shoulder.

And then the battle was over as Kakashi-sensei finally showed himself.

“The Demon Brothers.”, Kakashi said as he looked over the two captured enemies, “Missing-Nin from Kirigakure.”

The only reason they’re probably even Missing-Nin is because their village doesn’t deem them a big enough priority to send someone after them , Inner grumbled, Tadashi probably could have taken them out by himself.

Tadashi gave a feral grin, “We should rip out their throats.”

“Or we could just put a seal on them?”, Sakura offered, “These guys must be pretty low level if Sasuke could nearly defeat them by himself. They aren’t worth killing.”

Sasuke narrowed his eyes, “I didn’t see you doing anything other than attempt to shield the client.”

“I already had Barrier Seals in place to protect us by the time you jumped in front.”, Sakura told him before deactivating the seals.

“That’s enough.”, Kakashi sprayed them with a water bottle, ”Let’s get Tazuna back home now.”

Zabuza frowned from under his bandages as he heard that the Demon Brothers had been defeated. It looked like his Tool and himself would have to go kill the Bridge Builder themselves in order to make sure they could get the money they needed to help fund the Civil War against the Loyalists.

When Gato left, he nodded to his Tool.

“Get ready, we’re going to go kill this Bridge Builder.”, he briskly ordered before heading off to start packing his own necessities, “Dress as a Hunter-Nin in case things go sideways.”

Haku nodded and followed silently behind him.

They crossed a lake covered in thick fog and Sakura made sure that her two idiot teammates stayed quiet until Kakashi asked a question that had been on their minds for awhile. 

“Now Tazuna, we need to talk. Why are there Shinobi after you? If we had known, this would have been a B-Rank Mission at least.”

Tazuna told them his story and Kakashi left it up to them to decide whether to continue the mission or not.

Sasuke agreed.

(He thought it could be a test of his strength to see how far his training had brought him.

Naruto agreed.

(He didn’t want to turn his back on someone in need.)

They all turned to Sakura and Tadashi nodded his approval, “We accept.”

She loathed his lies, though she could understand why he did so.

She wondered how desperate someone could be to risk the lives of three twelve year old Genin who were fresh out of the Academy.

When he first saw them what did he see? 

A boy with raven black hair and obsidian eyes that seemed to have permanent glare. A boy who wore his Hitai-ate proudly across his forehead, and sneered at the client whenever the scent of alcohol hit him.

(A boy with so much love in his heart it turned to hatred when his brother left him the only survivor of the Massacre of his Clan.)

Another boy, this one quite a bit shorter than the first, with blonde hair yellow enough to give the Yondaime a run for his money and bright blue eyes that could put the sky to shame. A boy who smiled at everything and wore his Hitai-ate with pride and displayed it across his forehead.

(A boy who had no hate in his body, despite not remembering or having any form of love for his short twelve years in this world.)

And lastly, Sakura, a slip of a girl with pink hair and strange eyes, barely shorter than Naruto who had grown during their two months of training. A girl who growls quietly and carries around a Katana and holds a wolf pup in a front-facing backpack, and wears her Hitai-ate across her neck like a choker to protect her throat.

(A girl who’s eyes shone fiercely as she moved to protect the man despite the pain he caused her senses.)

Just what had he seen to believe that Team Seven and their Jonin Sensei were his last hope of fixing his country?

He was doing this for his family, friends, and strangers. And if there was one thing Sakura was learning the meaning of, it was devotion and sacrifice for one’s Pack.

There was only one Jonin and three Genin, and Tazuna was banking the lives of everyone on them.

(It was a lot of pressure, but as Sakura looked at her Teammates’ faces she thought they would be able to accomplish anything the world threw at them.)

And then they reached the shore.

Haku watched from the trees as a girl with pink hair tripped as she reached out a hand for her teammate to help her out. Her animal strapped to her chest whined but seemed unharmed due to her landing on her back.

The boy with the black hair helped her up and she stumbled into him.

From Haku’s perspective the boy stiffened slightly, probably not used to physical contact.

(How was Haku supposed to have known that the girl had passed on a message about Zabuza and him?)

Zabuza revealed himself to the Shinobi and target.

When he moved to strike the Genin and Bridge Builder, Zabuza couldn’t hit them. The Jonin must have done something to get them safe. Haku didn’t even see him set anything up and his eyes were trained on the Jonin the whole time.

The girl somehow was out of whatever protection had been set up, though her animal remained in the barrier. 

Haku could care less as he watched the battle between Zabuza and Kakashi. Her Katana would be no match for Kubikiribōchō, Zabuza’s water clone could easily finish her before working on that barrier.

(Sakura destroyed the Water Clone, and Haku didn’t even notice. Why would he? She had tripped earlier over nothing.)

His eyes were glued to the battle, and when Zabuza was about to be killed he intervened by throwing senbon to stimulate his death.

“I’ve been chasing Zabuza Momochi for a while now, I thank you for the opportunity to have finally ended his life.”, Haku said in a monotone voice.

He needed to make sure he could get them both somewhere safe to recover.

When he reached Zabuza the girl called out, “Wait!”

He inclined his head toward her, curious to what she would say, “Yes?”

“Thank you so much!”, she grinned, and Haku couldn’t help the feeling of dread that ran up his spine, “It was really nice of you to take your partner out of commission for us. Faking his death was a nice one.”

His eyes widened under his mask, “I beg your pardon?”

He must have misheard her.

“Goodnight.”, she said and he looked into her strange eyes and felt fear for Zabuza.

(And then he fell asleep and felt no more.)

Hinata watched in concern as Shino sighed again.

“Is something wrong?”, she asked as Team 8 walked towards a dango place with Kurenai.

“She didn’t want to take any kikaichū with her.”, Shino said.

Kurenai turned to look at him with an unreadable look, “What?”

“Sakura went on a C-Rank earlier, and I offered to send a few kikaichū with her, but she said no.”, Shino frowned, “What if something happens?”

Kiba snorted, “Sakura’s strong, plus they have Kakashi there too, she’ll be fine.”

Hinata nodded along, “N-Naruto and Sasuke are s-strong too.”

“What if they run into trouble?”, Shino muttered.

Kiba shot him a dumbfounded look, “Have you met Sakura? She’s Trouble. I would be scared for anyone dumb enough to cross her path.”

“Your chakra is too low.”, Sakura informed Kakashi as if she hadn’t just knocked out a Hunter-Nin from Kiri.

“Why did you do that?!?”, Naruto yelled. Sakura winced slightly at the volume as she undid the Barrier Seals.

Sakura turned her eyes on the blonde, “They arrived together and separated only as they got closer. I told Sasuke they were here when I pretended to trip earlier. They were working together.”

“Zabuza is dead.”, Kakashi informed her.

Sakura shook head, “His chakra is still there. The only thing is his vitals are being blocked because of the senbon. If we took them out he would most likely have a pulse again.”

“We still need to get Tazuna home, then to his bridge.”, Kakashi said without saying anything about taking out the senbon from Zabuza, “And now we need to take them with us in case you were wrong, and that actually is a Hunter-Nin from Kiri. You could cause an international incident.”

“Kakashi, your chakra is low. Shouldn’t you rest?”, Sakura asked.

He pretended like he didn’t hear her.

“Sakura, since this is your mess, you have to figure out how to transport them. You can’t use a Body Scroll if they aren’t dead, because then you’ll kill them. What will you do?”, Kakashi asked as he eyed the prone forms of the two.

Sakura reached into her Seal Book and pulled out two sets of seals.

“I’ll block their access to chakra and paralyze them with this.”, she gestured towards a seal that looked like a wolf and then pointed to a familiar butterfly drawing, “And I’ll modify the Gravity Seal to make them weightless.”

(Maybe she could make a scroll to just transport living people? It would help a lot for when Sasuke and Naruto got too annoying, if she got mad she could just throw them in a seal for a while. It wasn’t actually a bad idea. Maybe if she moved around some things from a body scroll and combined a storage scroll for food? She drifted into thoughts of a new seal.)

Kakashi nodded, glad that Sakura actually had a plan and a measure in place to keep them safe, and then he fell down.

“Sensei!”, Naruto screamed.

Sasuke ran over in shock.

Tazuna paled as he frantically looked around for more enemy Shinobi.

Sakura frowned slightly as she returned Tadashi to his backpack and hoisted the two (potential) enemy Shinobi over her shoulder like it was nothing, “I told him his chakra was low. He needs to rest to regain it.”

Tazuna gasped at them but led the way to his home after realizing that he did hire them, and they were technically going above the job description already.

(Sakura may have frightened him more than the passed out Jonin though.)

“Oh that seal I told you guys about after the Bell Test? The sensing one that I used right now to know about our little friends here? T&I finally approved it for human testing and after that I’ll be allowed to give it to whoever I want if you both are interested.”, Sakura rambled as they followed Tazuna, “Naruto, are you sure you want to carry Kakashi-sensei like that? I have a Gravity Seal that will make him easier to carry. Hey, should we remove the senbon from Zabuza? If he’s really dead then it won’t do anything, but if he’s alive then we can try to find out more about how to protect Tazuna from Gato. We really have nothing to lose.”

(Tazuna reaffirmed his belief that Shinobi were strange as he glanced at the girl with pink hair and her companions.)

Notes:

Another new chapter? Wow, and we still didn't have much interaction between our girl Sakura and Haku. They will be extremely slow burn because they both have to work past a lot of things first before they will even consider anything romantic after the Timeskip. Hope you Pumpkins enjoyed this chapter! Currently rewatching the Wave Arc and knocking out Canon, lol like how Sakura knocked out Haku.

I'm going to leave these questions up until we get past the Wave Arc:
- Should Zabuza and Haku live?
- How do you guys feel about Chojuro? Should he be added as a potential love interest? (This will only probably apply if we all collectively decide to let Zabuza and Haku live since it would put Sakura closer to Kiri-politics.)
- Should Haku join Sakura's reverse harem too? (Provided he lives.)

Polls:
- Zabuza and Haku Should Live (CLOSED):
Yes - 17
No - 0

- Chojuro as a Potential Love Interest:
Yes - 14
No - 1

- Haku as a Potential Love Interest:
Yes - 12
No - 1

Looks like Haku and Zabuza are living for now. This may have saved them from the Wave Arc, but I hold no promises of their continued survival after this Arc. Thank you for Reading, Subscribing, Commenting, and Bookmarking! You all are amazing!

Chapter 9

Haku groaned as he woke up. The last thing he remembered was looking into beautiful (if a bit strange) eyes before he fell asleep.

The Jonin must have used a Substitution and Henged into his student while he was distracted by Zabuza. He felt no blow, so he must have been caught under a Genjutsu. Zabuza had said that the opponent was Kakashi of the Sharingan.

He failed Zabuza.

Zabuza was probably dead by now. Haku had no idea how long he was out for, but surely that Jonin would have made certain that Zabuza was dead.

( What use is a Tool with no purpose? )

He couldn’t even move.

(Would they not spare him his dignity and end his suffering?)

He felt no chakra to use.
And he wasn’t dead, so that Jonin must have put a suppression seal of some sort on him.

(That still didn’t explain how he was paralyzed.)

His mask was still on.

(No one moved it under the possibility it could have been trapped.)

In hindsight, it should have been obvious that it was a trap.

(Haku had never seen eyes like that before and let his guard down.)

If Zabuza was here what would he say?

He vaguely heard the sound of a door being opened.

Naruto sighed as he swung his feet.

“Why does Sakura get to talk to them?”, he whined, “We can do what she’s doing, Dattebayo!”

Sasuke sighed, “I would like to interrogate them as well, but Sakura knows more about how interrogations work since she spends so much time at T&I to test her seals. Until Kakashi-sensei wakes up, she’s the best for interrogating.”

Tazuna blinked as his daughter Tsunami froze in horror.

“You sent her to interrogate those two Shinobi?”, Tsunami wrung her hands nervously, “Oh, she must be so scared. She’s only barely bigger than Inari.”

Sasuke snorted and Naruto stared at her in confusion.

“At least Tadashi being there should hold her back.”, Sasuke said instead.

Naruto rubbed the back of his neck, “Are you sure Tadashi will do that? He might just encourage her.”

Sasuke paled, “Maybe one of us should have gone with her instead?”

A little boy appeared in the doorway, “You’re going to get your friend killed! You’re all going to get yourselves killed! There’s no such thing as heroes!”

“This is Inari, my grandson.”, Tazuna introduced.

“Hello.”, a feminine voice that promised pain said.

Haku couldn’t see where the person was. What tricks was this Jonin playing?

“I am a Hunter-Nin.”, Haku bluffed, “I demand you release me.”

“You smell of lies.”, another voice growled out.

“It’s alright.”, the feminine voice cooed as Haku was adjusted, vision now being able to make out a curtain of pink hair, “We already killed Zabuza. That was a nice little trick you did. Using pressure points to stimulate death? It would have worked if we hadn’t seen through your pathetic acting. You failed to save your partner.”

Haku felt numb as his suspicions were confirmed, “Zabuza is dead?”

He sounded broken.

( What purpose was a Tool with no use? )

“Yes, Kakashi-sensei dealt with Zabuza himself.”, the girl smiled, “I expected more of one of the Seven Legendary Swordsmen. But, I guess in the end it came down to strength, and Zabuza was severely lacking. His plan depended on him attacking our client and team to catch Kakashi-sensei unaware.”

Haku felt his teeth grit in anger under his mask.

Zabuza was an amazing Shinobi. This girl knew nothing! Zabuza was strong and this girl felt the need to tarnish his name even in death? Who did she think she was? Her Katana wouldn’t have even been a match against Kubikiribōchō.

“I wish to speak to Kakashi of the Sharingan.”, Haku said angrily.

The girl hummed, “Zabuza only earned the courtesy of talking to Kakashi because of Sensei’s respect for mediocre opponents who try their best only to come up short. I’m afraid you don’t even deserve a mention since Sensei didn’t knock you out.”

“I say we rip his throat out.”, the other voice said.

Haku’s attention was drawn to the animal the girl had carried when he was observing them previously. Red fur as crimson as blood on fresh snow, and mismatched eyes. They certainly made a pair.

“Kill me then.”, Haku hissed, “Take off my mask so that you can remember the face of the Shinobi you’ve killed. I have no purpose now that Zabuza is gone. I was his Tool and I couldn’t even die for him!”

The girl raised an eyebrow, “A Tool? Wow, you were really useless then. Unfortunately for you, you’re not allowed to die until we get our questions answered.”

“My mask.”, Haku said in anger, “Take it off.”

She gave a sweet saccharine smile that felt dipped in poison, “Why did you want to talk to Sensei?”

“I wanted to ask him how he could kill Zabuza.”, Haku stated, “Zabuza was a good man who took a child off the streets and gave him a purpose. He took me in and trained me to be a Weapon.”

The girl rolled her eyes, “He trained you? That could explain why you’re so weak.”

“Kill me.”, he demanded in anger.

The look in her eyes didn’t change, “Why would I give you what you want when you haven’t even given me what I want? Tell me about Gato.”

“You won’t get anything from me.”, Haku said, “Grant me my death.”

“I can do you one better, I’ll give you what you desire most.”, the girl bargained.

Haku narrowed his eyes, though he knew the girl couldn’t see him. “I desire death.”

She plunged a kunai into his arm, “You desire nothing until you answer our questions.”

He barely held back a moan of pain, “If you keep this up I’ll soon be joining my Master.”

She narrowed those pretty eyes, “Oh, Sunshine, you’re under the impression that I’m not going to do everything in my power to keep you from dying on me. We want our questions answered, and Sensei doesn’t mind waiting.”

Her hands lit up green with Medical Ninjutsu and his wound closed.

“It builds character!”, the wolf pup added.

Haku felt dread.

“Why do you wish to prolong my suffering?”, Haku sighed.

She grinned again, and Haku took notice of her sharpened canines, “Why do you wish to be so difficult? This could stop if you just answered our questions.”

“Just kill me.”, Haku spat out.

She laughed, it sounded high and cruel, “You aren’t nearly that lucky.”

Naruto watched in concern as Sakura came out of the room with the Hunter-Nin. She had been in there for two hours, and he watched as she dropped the Henge of her normal appearance. Her pale skin rivaled Sasuke’s, and tears streamed down her blotchy face. She looked frail.

She ran outside with Tadashi on her heels, and Naruto could see her throwing up in the bushes.

Sasuke grabbed her hair from her face and rubbed her back. He looked apprehensive.

(Naruto had seen Sasuke look worried, scared, and angry before, but for some reason that apprehension made him look less like a bastard and more like a person.)

“Was that your first time interrogating someone?”, Sasuke asked.

Sakura shook and gasped out, “It’s only an interrogation if they answer your questions. That was torture with no purpose. He could only tell me of all the plans Zabuza had to change Kirigakure. I think he was trying to guilt me into letting him die.”

Tadashi nodded, “It’s admirable that he didn’t talk, I wanted to rip his throat out of respect for him.”

“Haven’t you seen similar things in T&I?”, Sasuke questioned, ignoring Tadashi.

Sakura nodded, “It’s different from the other side of the glass.”

Naruto noticed the blood splatters on her shirt, and could feel his stomach drop. He ran into the bushes to throw up too.

“You actually tortured the Hunter-Nin?!? Why would you do that?!?”, Naruto yelled. Sasuke and Tadashi glared at him

“I did that because right now, he’s in the way of our mission and Kakashi-sensei still hasn’t woken up. We need to take down Gato to ensure the continued safety of our client.”, Sakura straightened her spine, “I’m going to go brush my teeth and head to Zabuza alone and do what needs to be done.”

“Can you handle it?”, Sasuke raised an eyebrow.

Sakura gave them a small smile, “I’m going to have to.”

Hana looked at Kiba from across the dining table.

“I haven’t heard from Sakura in a few days, do you know where she is?”, she teased.

Her mother looked up with a grin, “Yeah, Kiba, where's the girl and why haven’t you invited her over for dinner yet?”

His face reddened as he turned his attention to his steak, “She told Shino she would be going on a C-Rank Mission.”

Tsume looked surprised, “Shibi’s son? Really? She told him?”

Kiba looked defensive, “They’re friends.”

“I wasn’t saying anything about it, there’s nothing wrong with the Aburame. Shibi used to be my teammate when we were Chunin, he tended to fade into the background so it’s surprising she remembered Shino. Better she’s friends with an Aburame then one of those stuck up Hyuga. I’ll never forgive Hiashi for what happened to Hizashi. I like Hinata enough, but that poor girl did not flourish under Hiashi’s care.”, Tsume said, “When you think you can, invite Sakura over. I want to see what you see in her.”

Kiba glared, “I don’t know how to invite her over."

“I can do it then.”, Hana smiled.

“So you’re awake.”, Zabuza heard, “I thought you would have slept a little longer after coming back from the dead.”

In the dim light he could see a small silhouette of a young girl with pink hair. That had to be Kakashi Hatake up to a trick.

“Kakashi of the Sharingan.”, Zabuza greeted, “Why am I here?”

Her smile widened, “Sensei doesn’t think you're worth his time.”

“He didn’t kill me.”, Zabuza commented, “Odd for one as famous as him to leave an enemy alive.”

Her eyes brightened, “Sensei honors dying wishes. That partner of yours begged him to spare you.”

“Haku would never beg.”, Zabuza laughed.

She had a sad smile, “He said he was your Tool and you took him off the streets to be a Weapon for you. He said you were a good man.”

Zabuza’s blood ran cold.

“He was weak.”, Zabuza said.

The girl nodded, “It’s a shame really, he was weak enough to live. He wasn’t a threat. But he begged until Sensei killed him.”

“He was a failure.”, Zabuza snarled in anger, “Useless. Pathetic.”

“Don’t forget obnoxious!”, the girl chirped in, “The way he begged Sensei was so annoying.”

“I’m guessing that Kakashi protected you all with a Jutsu of some kind to prevent my Water Clone from getting to the target, he must have also taken care of my Water Clone.”, Zabuza guessed.

She frowned, “Actually I took care of the Water Clone.”

He narrowed his eyes as he examined her small form and weak looking arms, “How?”

“You know, for someone who used to hold Kubikiribōchō, your Water Clone wasn’t even that good.”, that little Pink Menace had the audacity to say to his face, “I just used my katana. It wasn’t even that hard. Standards must have dropped in Kiri if they made you one of the so-called Seven Legendary Swordsmen.”

He could feel his face turning red with anger, “What do you mean? Kubikiribōchō is still mine.”

She wagged her finger at him and sprayed him with a water bottle, “Bad Missing-Nin. Kubikiribōchō is mine now! Sensei said so!”

Zabuza could feel his eyes twitch, “Is that so?”

She nodded, “He said it was mine if I cleaned it.”

“Clean it?”, Zabuza asked incredulously.

The girl smiled, “Sensei used it to kill that fake Hunter-Nin!”

“Can you pass on a message for Kakashi?”, Zabuza growled out.

The Pink Child nodded as a serious expression crossed her face, “I can do that!”

“Tell Kakashi I’ll kill him!”, Zabuza screamed, “I’ll rip him apart for killing Haku! And I’ll use Kubikiribōchō to do it!”

She looked confused, “Why do you care so much? He was just a Tool, wasn’t he?”

He had said that hadn’t he?

( Haku was just a Tool. A Weapon to be discarded after its use had been expended completely. )

“He was just a kid.”, Zabuza finally spit out.

Her head tilted to the side as she looked at him with those creepy eyes of hers, “So are the rest of my Team and I. So were those kids you killed to graduate. What makes him different? Did you care for him?”

(He had cared, hadn’t he? He raised that kid. Picked him off the streets so he would never have to eat from trash again, and trained him to use his Kekkei Genkai. How dare Kakashi kill Haku with Kubikiribōchō?!? How dare the Copy Nin give Kubikiribōchō to that Pink Brat who probably doesn't even know how to use that katana of hers! )  

“I don’t care.”, he growled.

(Were his eyes actually misty? Had he been poisoned?)

“You’re crying.”, the girl observed, “You don’t cry unless you care. What about the mission Gato gave you? Won’t he be mad when you and the other Shinobi fail?”

He snorted, ignoring the tears, “What other Shinobi? Haku and I were the last ones. I’ll tell you where he is and how many men he has if you promise me that I can face the one who took down Haku.”

She smiled, “I’ll tell Sensei your terms.

(Crying felt strange. How many years had it been since he last cried? His eyes were burning and he couldn’t even wipe his damn eyes.)

She came back five minutes later with a slight frown, “Sensei agrees, now what can you tell me about Gato?”

Zabuza told her everything.

(The sooner the Copy Nin took out Gato and his men, the sooner Zabuza could take on the one who took out Haku. No amount of money was worth Haku’s death.)

“He talked?”, Sasuke asked impressed, “I thought he was above torture?”

Sakura winced. “I didn’t draw any blood.”

“Hn?”, Sasuke questioned.

“I told him his partner was dead.”, Sakura told her teammates.

Naruto looked angry, “You can’t just do that, Dattebayo!”

“He didn’t seem to care at first.”, Sakura elaborated, “He said that his Partner was weak, pathetic, and useless, but he was lying to himself. Zabuza raised Haku, the Hunter-Nin, as a Tool. He cared enough to get angry when I told him Kakashi killed Haku with his sword.”

“How did you get him to talk?”, Sasuke raised his eyebrows.

Sakura rubbed the back of her neck, “I may have promised he could face the one who took down Haku?”

“You could just kill him now regardless.”, Tadashi chimed in, “Though I would suggest fighting him.”

Naruto furrowed his eyebrows, “I still don’t understand. Why would he call him a Tool? Didn’t he raise him?”

“All Shinobis are Tools.”, Sasuke told the blonde, “We’re Tools of our Daimyos, Hokage, and Villages.”

The blonde frowned, “But, we’re people too.”

Sakura placed a hand on his shoulder, “It doesn’t seem fair, but that’s the way things are.”

“It shouldn’t be.”, Naruto said as his eyes burned.

They patted his shoulder and tried to decide their next course of action.

Kakashi wasn’t sure if he was impressed or exasperated with his student’s actions, so he settled on being an odd mixture of the two. He thanked Kami, that Tadashi was sleeping in the living room and not interjecting to the story.

“Our two friends are still alive and in separate rooms upstairs?”, Kakashi asked.

His students nodded.

“They each think the other is dead.”, Kakashi said for clarification.

More nods.

Kakashi pinched the bridge of his nose, “Sakura interrogated and tortured them?”

More nods.

“She got out information about Gato’s men and hideout in exchange for agreeing for Zabuza to fight the one who took out Haku?”, Kakashi said slowly, “Sakura is the one who knocked out Haku, correct?”

More nods.

“You’re just repeating everything we already told you!”, Naruto yelled.

Kakashi whacked him with a newspaper, “I’m getting to my point. Sakura, after the information was obtained, why didn’t you kill them?”

“I’ve told Naruto, Tadashi, and Sasuke everything our prisoners told me, and we want to help them after Gato is dead.”, Sakura looked him right in the eye, “Once the bridge is built and Gato is no longer able to terrorize Wave, we won’t have to be enemies any longer.”

Kakashi ran a hand through his hair, “Sakura, you tortured someone and manipulated the other.”

She winced but replied dryly, “I’m sure Ibiki would be proud.”

Kakashi clapped, “Alright, students of mine, here’s what we’re going to do. We’re going to inform both of them that they’ve been lied to and hope that after we agree to help their Coup against the Mizukage they won’t try to kill us.”

“Really?”, Team 7 asked in shock.

(That was easy!)

“Of course.”, Kakashi gave an eye-smile, “My precious students already collectively agreed. I have no choice now.”

“Hopefully they agree!”, Naruto said.

Kakashi paused, “You all have been remembering to feed them right?”

They turned to see Sakura turning as red as Tadashi.

“Ibiki said starvation was another form of torture.”, she defended.

“Did you at least take them out to use the restroom?”, Kakashi was appalled by his student.

Sakura huffed, “Of course not! I applied the proper seals to keep that from being an issue. Their waste and urine will go into a Biohazard Seal to dispose of after they are no longer prisoners.”

Tazuna coughed, Kakashi nearly forgot the man was there listening along with him, “I’ll head out to the store later if I can get someone to come with me.”

“Sakura will go since she’s forgotten to feed our guests.”, Kakashi volunteered.

“I have food.”, Sakura said.

Kakashi raised an eyebrow, “Enough food to feed everyone in this house?”

Sakura rubbed the back of her neck, “Enough food to probably feed Konoha three times over. Shino said it was only a few years worth of food when he gave it to me, but when he reminded me of it when I came back from my first visit to the Canids I found out he downplayed everything. I have enough food for everyone in Konoha for probably eighteen months.”

Kakashi’s one visible eye widened before he turned away, “The Aburame would probably remember the food shortages of the last few wars better than everyone, except maybe the Akimichi. Their kikaichū during the wars would sometimes turn on their hosts if there wasn’t fruits and vegetables available. The kikaichū would resort to eating the enemy and their hosts from the inside out. I’m assuming that the Aburame don’t want that to happen ever again. You probably got a standard amount that an Aburame gets as thanks for your seals. There’s a reason everyone is so jumpy when they see a kikaichū.” 

Tazuna’s mouth fell open.

Sakura visits the town with Tazuna and is appalled by everything she sees.

There are children starving in the streets and begging and stealing to live another day and repeat the same monotonous cycle.

Adults are the same.

“After Gato is dead, I want to help as much as I can.”, Sakura swears to Tazuna, “I have enough supplies. What use is having all this food if I’m not going to use it?”

His eyes look a little more hopeful.

“Will you help us take down Gato?”, Kakashi strolled into the room Zabuza had been trapped in.

“I don’t much care, these useless little people, and their petty little dreams!”, Zabuza glared, “Why should they matter to me? I have a dream of my own.”

“Yes, I know all about your dream. My team and I are willing to assist you if you help us.”, Kakashi bargained.

“I was promised a fight with the one who took down Haku after I gave the information and Gato was defeated.”, Zabuza tried to kill him with his eyes, “The way I see it, I have nothing to gain.”

Kakashi ran a hand through his hair, “You can see Haku.”

Zabuza let out a bitter laugh, “Oh, you’re going to kill me after everything, Copy-Nin? At least give me the honor to die in battle.”

“Haku’s alive.”, Kakashi admitted.

Even through the bandages, Kakashi could see Zabuza’s jaw tightening.

“Don’t lie! Haku is dead.”, Zabuza hissed, “Your student told me.”

Kakashi gave an eye smile, “She lied.”

“Hello, Haku.”, Sakura said gently.

He flinched, “I never told you my name. Are you here to finally end my suffering?”

“I came to grant you the one thing you want most in this world.”, Sakura promised.

“Will you kill me?”, a strange hope could be seen in his eyes despite the mask.

“No.”, Sakura said and watched as he glared.

“Then I doubt it will be the thing I want most in this world. What more do you want? I’ve already told you my story, I’ve already told you all about Zabuza. What more do you want from me?”, Haku questioned.

Sakura looked up again and met his gaze, flinching, “Zabuza is alive.”

“Kill me.”, Haku closed his eyes, “I lived for Zabuza, and I’ll die for him.”

“It’s not a lie!”, Sakura said as tears poured down her own face.

Haku trained his eyes on her, “And how will I know for sure?”

“I’ll take you to him.”, Sakura said, “My Team has decided to help your Rebellion against the Mizukage!”

“How would that even work?”, Haku questioned.

Sakura sighed, “Well if we fail Konoha will denounce us as traitors and send Konoha Nin to kill us, but if we win we’ll help negotiate a good trade for Konoha. Jonin are allowed to do this under their discretion provided they don’t fail. It’s written in the Konoha Charter detailing the rights and available course of actions for our Shinobi depending on rank.”

“I don’t hate you.”, Haku said slowly, “But, if you aren’t lying and Zabuza is alive. We’ll have a fresh start.”

Sakura gasped, “But, I tortured you. You should hate me.”

Haku laughed, “Zabuza’s done worse during training. You aren’t all that good.”

They take down Gato and his men the next day.

Sakura lands the killing blow on Gato.

It's her first kill.

Her team hold her afterwards as Tadashi curls up beside her. She feels numb and cold, but she doesn't feel sorry. He was a terrible man. Gato caused so much pain. Sakura hates that she can't bring herself to feel anything about the life she took other than relief that the people of Wave will never have to suffer under Gato's thumb again.

(Zabuza and Haku sleep in the next room over.)

Notes:

Okay, that chapter took a turn. Was not expecting Sakura to channel her Inner-Ibiki (Feel he would be a little proud though if he ever found out she mentally messed with the Demon of the Hidden Mist). Wave Arc ends next chapter and then Team 7 will go on an unsanctioned mission to free Kiri from their Mizukage who perpetuated the Bloodline Purges. We might even see Sakura fight Zabuza. (She was the one who took out Haku.) I'll be able to respond sooner to comments after these polls end since I no longer have to worry about the vote counts getting messed up.

I'm going to leave these questions up until we get past the Wave Arc, all the polls for now end after this chapter:
- Should Zabuza and Haku live?
- How do you guys feel about Chojuro? Should he be added as a potential love interest? (This will only probably apply if we all collectively decide to let Zabuza and Haku live since it would put Sakura closer to Kiri-politics.)
- Should Haku join Sakura's reverse harem too? (Provided he lives.)

Polls:
- Zabuza and Haku Should Live (CLOSED):
Yes - 17
No - 0

- Chojuro as a Potential Love Interest:
Yes - 15
No - 1

- Haku as a Potential Love Interest:
Yes - 14
No - 1

Pumpkins, thank you for reading and commenting and just being all around amazing! Let me know your thoughts, what would everyone like to see more of? Any characters you want more appearances of? Already 375 Kudos XD

Chapter 10

Sakura goes to the kitchen the next morning and her mind stalls.

All this time, she had grown used to the sight of Haku with a mask, it seemed as natural as Kakashi-sensei wearing one all the time. She hadn’t made a move once to remove his mask when he had been under her care, but she still freezes when she notices one major thing as she walks into the kitchen.

Haku isn’t wearing his mask.

Haku isn’t wearing his mask.

Haku isn’t wearing his mask.

She doesn’t trip, or walk into a wall right after.

(And if she does it’s because she’s still processing the fact that she actually killed someone yesterday. It has nothing to do with the fact that Haku is way prettier than her.)

Everyone’s already at the table eating toast with some fruit and jelly, with the exception of Tadashi.

(Sakura can see him running around trying to catch a squirrel in the yard.)

Zabuza raises his eyebrows at her, and though Kakashi-sensei is reading his bright orange book again he’s also paying attention.

“Sakura! We were talking to Tazuna about what you said you wanted to do, and now that Gato and his thugs can’t hurt everyone anymore, Tazuna said he could help you find a place to hand out food if you still want to do it, Dattebayo!”, Naruto grinned with his mouth full of food.

“Yeah. If Sensei lets me then I can head over right now, if that’s alright with you Tazuna. I know you have your bridge to build.”, Sakura said.

“I find it admirable that your team is willing to help this country.”, Haku said softly, “Many would have turned their backs the second the mission parameters changed. Naruto just finished telling us all about it.”

Sakura felt a spark of anger, “Of course, we had to help. If Tazuna was desperate enough that he was willing to risk our lives then something had to be tried.”

Haku tilted his head, “Even when you could have died?”

“A friend of mine once said, ‘There is nothing more beautiful than dying for what you believe in.’ And I understand it more now.”, Sakura narrowed her eyes, “If we died here then Konoha would have sent out someone to investigate because of Sasuke, they probably would have had to take care of Gato and his men because of who exactly Sasuke is. Naruto himself also has an important last name in Konoha and I don’t see anyone else walking around with it. Kakashi-sensei is a renowned Shinobi. Either way we would have helped these people one way or another.”

“And what about you?”, Haku asked as he watched her reactions, “You said nothing about yourself. What would your death have brought?”

Sakura gave a self-deprecating smile, “My parents, the Canids, my team, and my friend Shino would probably be upset for a while. But, in the grand scheme of things, I know my worth.”

Kakashi tensed.

“What is your worth?”, Haku questioned.

It didn’t sound biting or cruel, he seemed genuinely curious for her answer.

Zabuza on the other hand looked like he was once again evaluating her.

(He’s been doing that since he found out she had managed to convince of Haku’s death. He still wanted a battle, but it would have to wait until things could get settled in Waves.)

Naruto looked confused and Sasuke was listening with rapt attention.

“My worth to the village is not as much as any of my team.”, her eyes glinted in the light, “I’m just starting out as a Genin, but one day, I can offer more to Konoha than just my death.”

Haku’s eyes showed understanding and a hint of sympathy.

They were similar, each a Weapon to be pointed towards enemies. Destined to die for the goals of something greater than themselves. He could see a piece of himself in her.

(He didn’t like what he saw staring back at him. She had none of his experiences or past, but all of that weight to become useful.)

“Sunshine, Zabuza has allowed me to assist you with helping the people here.”, Haku declared.

Her face turned pink and Team 7 looked at Haku like they thought they misheard him.

Naruto jumped up, “Hey! What’s the big idea?”

Haku’s eyes sparked with mischief, “Is it not customary to use the same terms of endearment used against you? Zabuza told me that if someone called me a name, I should turn it around on them.”

Sakura bared her teeth, “I only called you that because I didn’t know your name and Hunter-Nin was such a mouthful to say all the time.”

Zabuza laughed as Kakashi looked mortified by the turn of events.

Hiruzen sighed as he put his head on his desk.

If it wasn’t for the fact he had ANBU watching him, he probably would have started crying when he read the report Kakashi had sent about Team 7.

He didn’t even elaborate much! Just said that there were unforeseen complications in Wave, but his team was capable of handling it and after that he wanted to use his vacation days that had been saved up over his many years of relentless working for an undisclosed amount of time upon the completion of the mission.

Hiruzen felt a spark of dread. The wording was different from Kakashi’s usual reports.

The most glaring issue for one, it was on time.

The second was that Kakashi only ever asked for four days off a year.

(Each one coinciding with the death of people he held close to his heart.)

And the third, most damning issue that showed was the explicit mention of the Konoha Charter in Kakashi’s report doesn’t inspire much confidence.

(He had just gone on a simple C-Rank Mission! What could have changed the mission so much that it required Kakashi to mention the Konoha Charter?!? And why did it require Team 7 to accomplish it?!?)

He reached into his desk.

(ANBU shouldn’t spill the secrets of their Hokage anyways without it being considered treason.)

And pulled out a nice bottle of sake he had been sent by Tsunade from her travels in Wind Country.

One drink wouldn’t hurt.

He stared down at the words Konoha Charter written boldly for emphasis, and cringed.

Correction.

One bottle wouldn’t hurt.

 

Setting up a place to distribute food to the people of Wave wasn’t difficult.

What was difficult was managing the lines efficiently. 

Sakura feared that if she hadn't had the foresight to have Tazuna inform everyone that there was more than enough food to go around, they would have started killing one another on the streets.

She only handed out fruit, vegetables, jellies, jams, and honey. Nutritious and savory, but not as limited as her meals she had also been sealing for seals. Sakura didn’t want to risk handing out that food when it was severely limited in quantity.

She didn’t feel like she was doing enough.

She wasn’t prepared to feed an impoverished country! If she had known beforehand, maybe she could have done more. 

(She didn’t even have baby formula!)

But, still everyone looked at her and Haku with tears in their eyes as they thanked them.

Some children looked as if they wanted to bolt as soon as they received the food to prevent it from being cruelly taken back.

It broke something inside her to see their faces judging her sincerity.

(She didn’t regret killing Gato, but if she could go back in time, she would have made him suffer.)

One year!

One year, was how long Gato had terrorized them.

He had subjected these people to horrendous injustice by limiting their access to such basic needs as food. Those who fought back, like Tazuna’s late son-in-law Kaiza, were made examples of . These people were left to starve and die slow debilitating deaths as their own bodies turned against them in their final moments.

Sakura felt helpless when she noticed just how many corpses littered the streets. She stopped the broken sob from leaving her lips, as her teeth grazed against the inside of her cheeks. Haku gave her a sympathetic rub on her shoulder telling her that despite her best efforts she couldn’t save everyone.

(That didn’t make the pain go away.)

Haku was a great help while Tazuna, Zabuza, and the rest of Team 7 decided to help with the construction of the bridge.

Since Kakashi had already written the Hokage about a vacation request using the words Konoha Charter , their timeframe to help Zabuza overthrow the Mizukage would only be a month, maybe two if they were lucky.

They had to take back Kirigakure and set up a trade agreement with Konoha in that limited time.

If Team 7 was found out before Kirigakure could be taken from the Loyalists, they would be denounced as Traitors and killed by fellow Konoha Shinobi.

By that logic, if the Rebellion in Kirigakure failed to seize control, Team 7 would also be killed by Konoha in an effort to prevent another war from breaking out.

Failure was not an option.

Zabuza had already gone over the bare basics of the Rebellion, he already had a prime candidate in place to take on the role of Mizukage after all was said and done. Mei Terumi, a holder of two different Kekkei Genkai, was exactly what the people of Kirigakure needed to help demolish years of indoctrination about the evils Kekkei Genkai users possessed in their blood. Mei would help sway public opinion and work towards the elimination of Kiri’s Caste System.

 

( “Never again will our children in the Academy need to slaughter one another.”, Zabuza had promised as a storm raged in his eyes, “We won’t be known to the rest of the world as the Bloody Mist, unless it’s because we’re killing our enemies.” )

 

“Sakura.”, Tadashi said with a grin as he ran back into the building from his patrol of the line, “We only have about two hundred more people and then we’ll be done.’

Haku and Sakura had been there since the morning handing out weeks worth of food to each person that appeared.

(Each perishable item of food in a bag to keep the food in stasis without sealing it away.)

It was an hour past sunset already.

Haku gave a soft smile and laughed, “With everything you’ve done, they might just name the bridge after you.”

Sakura rolled her eyes and gently pushed him, “Go ahead and laugh, but I doubt it will happen. Anyone else would have done the same if they had the same resources.”

“Well, everyone else isn’t here.”, Haku said as his eyes danced with mirth, “Sunshine, you’ve been a ray of hope for them.”

“Shut up.”, Sakura said with a slight blush, hoping that Haku couldn’t see the pink of her cheeks.

(Though, judging by that smile on his face, he saw.)

Jiraiya didn’t know what to do with the urgent missive the Hokage had sent him. It didn’t look like Kakashi was about to abscond off with his Team and become a Missing-Nin, but his old teacher had warned of the possibility.

Because of the wording Kakashi used in his letter, something was bound to happen. If it did and things went sideways, then Jiraiya was meant to have alibis for Naruto and the last loyal Uchiha in place.

He was itching to know what was happening, but he couldn’t investigate more than the bare bones of rumors about Wave Country in case plausible deniability was needed.

From what his spy network had gathered, Waves, for the last year, had been oppressed to the point of collapse. Their people were starving and being killed in the streets, one man named Gato had decided to make the place his playground. Gato exerted control over everyone in the country, and everything that may come into the control. His rule of the waters surrounding Wave, gave him more power than one man could hold.

There were rumors that Gato had been killed by the vengeance of a deceptively hidden Shinigami, who hadn’t wanted to have to reap more souls before their time, with the help of her faithful Oni who was as red as blood.

(Personally, Jiraiya had never put much stock into baseless rumors like that, and he didn’t plan on starting now.)

Something was happening in Wave, and Team 7 was in the middle of it.

Jiraiya just didn’t know why this had constituted Kakashi mentioning the Konoha Charter .

Just when Jiraiya thought he had something figured out, he would come to the conclusion that he was just grasping smoke.

It didn’t make sense.

He had no idea what Kakashi was trying to pull.

Konoha needed a scapegoat if things went south, and Jiraiya prayed that Kakashi and his kunoichi student, who had no remarkable heritage, wouldn’t be put on the pyre.

Naruto would be devastated to have his team fall apart so soon after its formation.

Sasuke probably didn’t need more people dying on him.

Kakashi had suffered enough already.

And the girl would never get to grow old, Tsunade hated the lack of Kunoichi who were on active duty past thirty years old, and this girl if she died would just be another number to add to that statistic.

“What a shame.”, Jiraiya muttered as he reread the scroll.

“I want that match.”, Zabuza declared on their last day in Wave.

Sakura kept walking, not realizing Zabuza was talking to her.

“I want a damn match!”, Zabuza yelled.

Sakura continued walking as she talked to Tadashi about what she had learned both with the Pack and outside of it.

“I’ll start introducing you to more poisons when we can find the time, I’ve mixed a couple myself along with corresponding antidotes. It will be good for you to be able to identify them in case we ever get separated.”, Sakura told her Beta as he listened intently.

“Akamaru was telling me that the Inuzuka focus a lot on teamwork, will we be doing something similar?”, Tadashi asked.

Sakura looked thoughtful, “Maybe we can try fighting with you as my eyes? I can do a couple blindfolded training senses to work on my instincts and senses, and you can better learn how I fight?”

Tadashi made a small noise of agreement.

“Oi, Pink Brat!”, Zabuza yelled again, this time drawing everyone’s attention.

Sakura raised an eyebrow, “Yes?”

“You’re the one who knocked out Haku, right?”, Zabuza asked.

“Yeah, I knocked him out.”, Sakura said slowly.

Zabuza grinned, “Great, guess we’re going to fight then.”

Naruto gasped, “Hey! Why don’t you fight me?!? I’m going to be the Hokage one day, Dattebayo!”

“It’s because you didn’t knock out Haku or conduct T&I on them.”, Sasuke said bluntly.

Kakashi looked like he was debating between getting popcorn or diffusing the situation.

Haku smiled slightly, it appeared to him like Zabuza had warmed up to Sakura.

“Here?”, Sakura said as she glanced around.

“Just a Kenjutsu fight. You have a katana, right?”, Zabuza asked with a manic glint in his eye.

Sakura nodded as her own sharp grin appeared on her face.

“I won’t even use Kubikiribōchō.”, Zabuza said, “Wouldn’t want to break your katana.”

Her grin sharpened, “Oh no, please do use Kubikiribōchō. I want to see where my blade measures up. The Seven Legendary Swords were a big inspiration for my katana.”

Zabuza laughed, “Don’t blame me when your sword breaks.”

“Don’t blame me when you find your sword to be inferior.”, Sakura cooed back. Only to watch the look on his face turn to one of pride.

“Kubikiribōchō is the best.”, Zabuza informed her.

She said mockingly, “Oh, however could I have not known that.”

Haku watched in awe as Sakura defended against Zabua’s blows without being blown back by the force of it herself.

(She looked graceful as her pink hair danced along with her.)

Zabuza was wearing a frown at how much difficulty he was having, but Haku could see how much he was enjoying the match.

(It had been too long since Zabuza had a worthy opponent who knew kenjutsu.)

She lasted ten minutes and only lost because of Zabuza’s experience and skill. Her blade having taken no damage despite Kubikiribōchō and Zabuza’s best efforts.

“How long have you trained in Kenjutsu?”, Zabuza asked, “You’re too good to have picked this up in only a few months.”

Sakura grinned widely, “I’ve been training for four years whenever my senpai is available to train me.”

“Only four years?”, Zabuza sounded impressed.

Sakura nodded, looking a little embarrassed, “I know I still have a lot of work to put into it. I haven’t been practicing as much as I should, because I’ve been busy doing other things.”

“How long has Konoha had a blade like yours?”, Zabuza questioned.

“About four years.”, Sakura smiled, “My dad made it for me when he started me on Kenjutsu lessons.”

Zabuza let out an impressed whistle, “He can make blades of that quality? You know, once things are settled in Kiri, your family is more than welcome to move.”

Sakura laughed, “I don’t think you understand. I’m sorry, but that’s not going to happen.”

“Can I at least get him to commission something for Haku?”, Zabuza pleaded, “I can sort something out with your Hokage if necessary.”

She smiled down at her katana, “My katana is one of a kind and only answers to those of my Blood.”

Zabuza’s eyes widened, “You drive a hard bargain. How much does he charge? Mei would probably like something of her own too.”

“My dad would probably make you a weapon if you ordered it, but it wouldn’t be like mine.”, Sakura said.

Zabuza narrowed his eyes, “Why not?”

“I’m the one who’s done all the seal work on my blade.”, Sakura told him, “I wanted it to be able to withstand anything.”

Haku felt impressed. Fuinjutsu was a rare talent.

“No shit. You did that all by yourself?”, Zabuza asked as he looked at her small form, “Can your dad and you make me one then?”

Sakura’s smile turned sharp, “Kirigakure already had Seven Legendary Swords, Konoha should at least have its own.”

“You’re good, but I think you have a really strong arm. You should probably look into getting another weapon. It never hurts to have another weapon handy, just in case.”, Zabuza said.

Haku smiled as Tadashi ran up to Sakura to talk to her about the fight.

Things were looking up.

The Zabuza of a week ago wouldn't have been impressed by someone not even in the Bingo Book.

Sakura stared at the finished bridge in shock.

“Stupid Haku.”, she muttered as she looked at the newly finished Sakura Bridge, “They really named the bridge after me.”

Tadashi nodded, “The Pack will be happy to know we have a Summoner who’s name is known throughout different countries.”

“What will Shino say?”, Sakura groaned, “He’d probably laugh because all that food he gave me did come in handy. He will be so smug when he finds out I actually needed it.”

Tadashi laughed, “I can’t wait to tell Akamaru about this.”

They would be sneaking into Kirigakure in a day to join the Rebellion.

Notes:

I'm back! Sorry for the wait! I tried for awhile to write a good fight scene, but it was just not working for me. Thank you so much Pumpkins for reading! The polls are now CLOSED. I was astounded by how many of you commented! I had not one person say that they would rather Zabuza and Haku died, so thank you for helping me decide. I'm really excited to see how much Canon is going to change. Next chapter we might have Chojuro make his first appearance, currently undecided because I might just write about the journey to Kiri along with more scenes from Konoha. On another note, wow everyone we are over 400 Kudos! You all are amazing! Thank you again!

All Polls CLOSED:
- Zabuza and Haku Should Live:
Yes - 17
No - 0

- Chojuro as a Potential Love Interest:
Yes - 18
No - 1

- Haku as a Potential Love Interest:
Yes - 17
No - 1

We're adding Haku and Chojuro to Sakura's Reverse Harem and they will be joining the tags XD

Chapter 11

Shikaku groaned as he listened to the Hokage brief the room that Kakashi decided to take his “vacation days” with his Genin team while mentioning the Konoha Charter.

“Troublesome.”, he muttered as his fingers itched for him to pull out a flask.

Ibiki glowered at him, “Are we really going to let him do whatever he wants with that team of his? This is more than ‘Troublesome’, his team has one of the most sadistic minds I’ve ever seen, and that’s in addition to his three Genin who aren’t lacking potential.”

“Sadistic mind? We talking about that cute little Genin you haven’t let me meet yet?”, Anko grinned.

Ibiki snorted, “Sakura isn’t nearly as sadistic as her Summons. Her seals are surprisingly safe even when we try them on prisoners for the first time. Tadashi? That little Pastel Brat has nothing on her pup! Tadashi is already the color of blood, he’s perfect for T&I and always has new ideas for us to try to those under our tender care.”

“Wait.”, Anko’s eyebrows raised, “Is he the one who suggested the bamboo?”

Ibiki nodded, “Yeah, I was really surprised by how quickly we got what we wanted.”

“What about the rats?”, Anko asked.

Ibiki grinned, “That was also the work of that Sadistic Little Shit.”

Anko nodded, visibly impressed.

“What about the Genin?”, Kurenai interrupted, “Hokage, what will happen to the Genin if we’re forced to act against whatever they’re doing?”

“We already have covers in place to recover Sasuke and Naruto should the need arise.”. Hiruzen assured them.

Asuma narrowed his eyes, “And Sakura? Should she also suffer for her Sensei’s mistakes.”

Anko’s knuckles turned white.

“Sakura Haruno will be a regretful loss in addition to Kakashi, but she will be easily replaced.”, Hiruzen said to placate them, “Our main objective would be to recover Sasuke and Naruto.”

Tsume barred her teeth, “That girl has her new Summons and is easily a Fuinjutsu Master at twelve.”

Hiruzen nodded, “And, it is unfortunate, but Konoha will always produce more people who are equally likely to be as good as, if not better than her.”

Shibi’s glasses caught in the light, “It is unwise for us to leave Sakura. Why? Because she is a tremendous asset to Konoha. She thinks of new seals and applications almost faster than she can create them.”

Inoichi leaned forward, “It doesn’t make sense to condemn her along with whatever Kakashi is planning. She’s a good kid.”

“She’s smart.”, Shikaku added, “It would be a shame to lose her.”

Asuma looked around, “Why isn’t Gekko here, is he on a mission?”

“What?”, Ibiki asked while looking at Asuma like he was dumb, “Gekko is currently sick with another lung infection and has been in the hospital the last few days. Why would he be here?”

Kurenai snorted, “Sakura is basically his little sister.”

Ibiki rolled his eyes, “I know that. Do you think I’d have the job I do if I didn’t know everything going on in this village? If he was here he’d hightail it to Wave and get labeled a Missing-Nin just to drag back Kakashi and Team 7.”

Kurenai looked at Asuma, his expression mirroring her own, before shrugging, “Yeah, he would do that.”

“We can’t allow for personal biases.”, Hiruzen cut in, not hearing nor caring about the side conversations happening.

“We can’t extinguish the bright flames of Youth for no reason!”, Gai exclaimed.

“I am the Hokage, and our next course of action has already been decided.”, Hiruzen cut him off.

Danzo watched with a frown on his face.

It was a shame the girl was practically a Fuinjutsu Master already, maybe if she had been born into ROOT she could have been saved by his hand?

(Decades ago, he had almost taken her father for his chakra control as well, before Fate intervened and Kizashi had a career ending injury before his career could begin. The only thing that stopped him from taking the girl was her close ties to the Ino-Shika-Cho heirs. A motivated Nara was the last thing he wanted.)

That fire in her eyes had reminded him eerily of someone else.

Someone who was well versed in seals and had the thirst to prove himself.

A man with white hair and red eyes, who died protecting his students till his last breath to buy them time.

(Despite that, Tobirama, the man who was the Nidaime Hokage and created ANBU, was never able to escape the shadow of the Shodai Hokage.)

He thought of what he knew about Sakura Haruno.

Unique hair.

(Hair that stood out, so much like Tobirama’s.)

Self-taught Fuinjutsu Master.

(Tobirama also taught himself.)

Brilliant mind.

(The comparisons were all there.)

Konoha’s enemies could grow to fear her one day.

(Just as they had once known to fear the Nidaime.)

“Hokage? If I may?”, Danzo interrupted.

Hiruzen looked tired, “Go on, Danzo.”

The room held a collective breath

“While Sasuke and Naruto are important, we shouldn’t place the girl’s life above her teammates. She has a Summons, correct?”, Danzo asked knowing he was right, at the nod of confirmation he continued, “It would do us no good to let Konoha lose that on top of her Fuinjutsu skills. Reconsider what she could offer Konoha.”

Sakura Haruno had the potential to be the second coming of Tobirama Senju, and Danzo wasn’t going to deny the village that.

It made no sense how Hiruzen couldn’t see that.

(Tobirama was Hiruzen’s sensei after all.)

That girl could take Konoha to greater heights, maybe even change warfare.

Other Nations would scare their children with tales of her one day.

Konoha needed more Shinobi like her.

Hiruzen looked weary now as he attempted to read his motives.

(Across the table, Shibi’s knuckles, which were concealed by his coat, turned white from the force he was clenching his hands.)

Hiruzen sighed and rubbed his temple, “Maybe I was too hasty.”

( Are you really the Hokage? , a small voice in Hiruzen’s head whispered. Hiruzen squashed it.)

Danzo gave a solemn look, “I think I can arrange for an alibi for the girl if the need arises.”

Kakashi withheld a groan of disgust as he watched that fake Hunter-Nin that followed around Zabuza, say another ridiculous thing to make Sakura smile.

What happened to the girl who threatened to put a seal on Naruto and Sasuke?

(Sakura should just rip out Haku’s throat, it would save everyone the trouble of having to watch that.)

She was too young to know that Haku was teasing her to get a reaction.

(She didn’t know things like love.)

His hands twitched as he thought about just spraying them with water and keeping them as far away from one another as possible.

Zabuza snorted from his left.

Kakashi hissed, “What?”

“You overprotective fool.”, Zabuza muttered, “Haku finds her aesthetically nice to look at, but that’s it.”

“Huh?”, Kakashi eloquently asked.

“He’s a Tool.”, Zabuza said blankly with a hint of regret in his eyes, “He doesn’t know what love is, not really. I didn’t teach him any of those mushy things, emotions would dull him. If anything I should be the one getting mad at your student. Just look at her corrupting Haku.”

Haku smiled gently at Tadashi and said something that made Sakura hit him.

Kakashi could feel his lips twitch, “Good. He’s too old for her anyways.”

Zabuza rolled his eyes, “If they’re both strong enough to get older, it won’t make much difference in a few years. Haku is fifteen. There’s only three years between them, it could be worse.”

“Sakura is a smart girl, she will be an excellent Kunoichi one day.”, Kakashi told the other Shinobi, “But, she has goals and I would hate for them to be derailed because she fell for some Missing-Nin.”

Zabuza glowered, “Haku isn’t a Missing-Nin, he never went to school. Besides, once your team helps me take back Mist, Haku can finally become a real shinobi. Maybe he’ll even be able to take the next Chunin Exams in a few months?”

“Great.”, Kakashi muttered, “Kid never went to school.”

“I homeschooled him just fine.”, Zabuza said.

“Sure you did.”, Kakashi waved him off, “Should your associates be expecting us then?”

Zabuza shrugged, “What’s the point of telling them to expect us? I have to keep them on their toes.”

Sasuke and Naruto were looking at Haku.

“They jealous?”, Zabuza asked while pointing to Kakashi’s other two Genin.

Kakashi withheld a chuckle, “I think they’re wondering why Sakura hasn’t threatened to put a seal on Haku yet.”

“Oh?”, Zabuza asked, “That’s it?”

“Yeah, they find her pretty. Naruto and Sasuke both blush sometimes whenever she does something that’s just so plainly her. I should be worried about one or both of them developing feelings for her. But, they’re both too scared of Sakura right now.”, Kakashi smiled from under his mask, “I’m glad I don’t have to worry about a love triangle on my team.”

Kankuro stared in shock as he listened to Baki explain what their role would be in upcoming Chunin Exams.

“You want us to do what?”, Kankuro asked incredulously.

“We’ll be invading Konoha.”, Baki repeated, “When a signal is given, Gaara will release the One-Tail.”

“He’ll kill everyone.”, Kankuro argued, “It doesn’t matter who’s in his line of sight. He’ll slaughter Our People without discrimination!”

Temari nodded, “What’s the reason for even starting a war with Konoha? We don’t have the resources to sustain any prolonged war with them.”

“Your father assured me that Oto will assist us. As long as we strike Konoha while they least expect it, we can take its resources for Suna.”, Baki told them.

“How do we know they will come to our aid? Konoha has never lost a war before. Fighting them would be useless. We could trade for more food and water, we could offer up our techniques, our knowledge of poisons, anything!”, Kankuro glared.

Baki shook his head, “And then, what would Konoha give us when they’ve taken all we have to offer? They’ve already taken jobs from our Shinobi. The Wind Daimyo goes to Konoha when he needs something done, how long will this go on?”

“We can make concessions with Konoha. We have plenty of artisans! They can offer their wares.”, Temari argued, “We can’t risk Konoha’s retaliation!”

“Our resources are dwindling. Konoha will never give us all we need, so we must take it by force.”, Baki explained.

Kankuro grimaced, “Our People will suffer if this doesn’t work out. It’s a needless fight. All we’ll be doing is attacking an Allied Nation. There’s no sense of honor. We’ll be worse off for even attempting it. Why do we need to do this?”

“The Kazekage demands it.”, Baki said with no hint of worry, “I’m sure he’s thought of every possible outcome. He wants what’s best for Sunagakure. Your father is our Kazekage.”

“Maybe he shouldn’t be.”, Kankuro whispered, “The price would be paid with the blood of Our People. It’s not worth it. Nothing is worth that. Gaara kills enough of them as it is. We can’t ask them to give up their lives for something that’s not guaranteed.”

Temari looked around in fear, “Shut up, Kankuro.”

“No, I won’t.”, Kankuro looked Baki in the eyes, “Are you going to go through with this?”

“I am loyal to Sunagakure.”, Baki replied evenly, “Are you?”

“Of course, he is.”, Temari agreed, “We both are!”

Temari put a hand on Kankuro’s shoulder and placed herself between Baki and him. She would do anything for any of her brothers.

(Even if Gaara scared her.)

Kankuro thought about the points Baki had brought up. The People of Sunagakure were suffering slowly while those in Konoha thrived. 

Konoha never had droughts like Suna, never felt the harsh desert sand paired with the sweltering sun.

People in Konoha did not kill indiscriminately for water when merchants were delayed. They did not riot in the streets when water failed to arrive after two weeks, because another caravan had gotten lost in the desert or attacked by bandits. People in Konoha lived with an abundance of resources. They were surrounded by trees that showcased just how much life thrived in Konoha.

Those people had never felt their struggles.

They had never seen their civilians suffering from heat strokes a few times every day. Or wondered if their people would get sick from the declining temperature of night.

Kankuro had joined the Puppet Corps to contribute to Suna in the best way he could. He’d worked countless hours practicing his Chakra Strings, and devoted just as much to his poisons and Puppetry.

Once upon a time, Kankuro had gone to Lady Chiyo herself, to gain instruction and better help his People. She had said no, and Kankuro didn’t understand why she would let her knowledge die with her.

(He still doesn’t know why.)

Kankuro could care less about Konoha.

Konoha was not Suna.

Konoha didn’t have his People.

Kankuro pinched the bridge of his nose, knowing that he didn’t have to worry about the design on his face smearing, “We’ll inform Gaara about the plans. We’ll carry everything out as Father wishes.”

Kankuro would do anything for his People, even if that meant going against what every fiber in his being screamed at him not to do

For no matter how good a Puppet Master he had the potential to be, he knew his place in the order of things.

Kankuro was his Father’s puppet.

And he didn’t have the power or will to break free of those strings.

Sakura offered her tent to use when they couldn’t find a stream to wash up in. Her nose burned from the scent of everyone, and Tadashi was close to snapping at them for it as well.

“What good is your tent going to do, Dattebayo?”, Naruto asked.

She pressed a seal on her tent and watched it set up itself.

Naruto gasped, “What kind of magic is that?!?”

Sasuke looked intrigued, “Can I get a similar seal to set up my tent?”

Sakura ignored them and made a gesture for everyone to follow her.

“I don’t think we’ll all fit.”, Kakashi said doubtfully.

Sakura gave a small smile, and walked in.

Haku shared a look with Zabuza before shrugging and entering. His face exited the tent with a look of bewilderment, “It’s bigger on the inside.”

They entered and were so surprised by the size that they almost missed Sakura’s words.

“Please take off your shoes. There’s two bathrooms, each one has a shower so no worries there if you prefer showering. I’ll be activating the Security Seals to seal us in and keep everything out, it should also alert us if any chakra signatures larger than a squirrel are approaching.”, Sakura said as she activated a seal and took off her shoes, “There’s two Onsens, I’ll be in the one labeled Kunoichi. Changing rooms are to the side of the corresponding Onsen, if you need anything, the seals are labeled. There are laundry machines in the laundry room that’s on the way to the onsens. If you’re lost just look at the map by flashing your chakra in two short bursts on any wall to open and one short burst to close.”

Jaws dropped. This wasn’t a tent! This was an elaborate home! Who just carried around a tent with multiple Onsens, restrooms, kitchen, a laundry room, etc.?

“You had this the whole time!”, Naruto yelled, while feeling betrayed, “Me and Sasuke shared a tent on the way to Wave because there wasn’t enough room for more than three tents and Sensei said you might have wanted your space!”

“Anything else?”, Sasuke raised an eyebrow.

Sakura smiled, “I have seals to control the temperature for each room, and Sanitation Seals that decontaminate dirt, Air-Purification Seals to keep the air clean, and a few other things hidden away. The main things are though, sensors can’t sense us here. There are a few rooms that you all can sleep in, each has about four futons sealed away. Just don’t go into the bedrooms labeled or you’ll be in for a nasty surprise.”

“Do you have a kitchen too?”, Naruto asked.

Sakura smiled slightly, “When I found out we were going to be on the same team, I added ramen to the pantry.”

“Hn?”, Sasuke asked.

Sakura rolled her eyes, “Next time use your words. Yes, there’s plenty of tomatoes for you. And eggplants for Sensei.”

Haku’s mouth twitched, “Do you have any entertainment?”

Sakura laughed, “What does this not impress you? Of course, there’s entertainment. In the living room there’s a few strategy games.”

“You made this?”, Kakashi asked in awe.

Sakura nodded.

“If I can’t get a sword, can I have one of these instead?”, Zabuza asked.

Haku looked thoughtful, “If it’s not too much to ask, can I get one too?

Mei laughed.

“It seems we have a visitor.”, she said as she pointed out where one of the Proximity Traps was triggered, “Chojuro can you go greet our guest?”

The fourteen year old looked terrified, “Why me? What if I mess up? What if they try to use me as a hostage? What if I fail and everyone dies?”

“We’ll all die anyways if you don’t go out and surprise whoever is here.”, Mei said before pushing him forward, “Go check it out. For all you know, it could be someone lost. It is especially foggy today.”

“I won’t be able to surprise them! If they did manage to trigger a proximity trap, they’ll know someone’s bound to come!”, Chojuro protested.

Mei smirked, “You have one of the Seven Legendary Swords of Kirigakure, I’m sure you’ll be fine.”

Chojuro blushed, “Mei, I’ll never be as good as Hiramekarei’s previous wielder. I’m not Mangetsu Hozuki.”

Mei patted his shoulder, “You’ll never be Mangetsu Hozuki, you’re Chojuro. Now go get whoever it is.”

Her words were meant to be encouraging, but all Chojuro could think of was that he would never be as good as Mangetsu Hozuki. Before his death, Mangetsu had learned how to wield all seven of the Legendary Swords.

(He was in a league that was all his own, and Chojuro couldn’t hope to compare.)

“Where’s Ao?”, Chojuro tried to delay the inevitable.

Mei shrugged, “He left earlier to go pick up some more supplies, after he comes back he’s heading back over to Kiri so he doesn’t earn the suspicion of our esteemed Mizukage .”

Chojuro nodded and headed out towards the area Mei had shown him.

Whoever it was had to have known they had triggered something, unless it was another false alarm. 

He walked anxiously, feeling dread build up in the back of his throat as his hands slightly shook.

Hiramekarei, no longer wrapped, but gripped in front of him as he prepared for someone to jump out.

He could barely see in the mist.

Was it thicker now?

(Or was his mind playing tricks on him?)

Was that pink?

(A Genjutsu?)

He squinted his eyes.

(Yep. It was still pink.)

Was that a girl?

(He was tempted to take off his glasses and wipe them. Maybe he needed a new prescription?)

“Hello.”, she grinned.

Chojuro’s mind stalled. It was a girl.

“Kai.”, he muttered as he attempted to dispel the Genjutsu.

(She was still there.)

She was frowning now.

Chojuro stared.

(Was her hair really pink?)

And, finally noticed her katana.

(Was she a Loyalist? Hunter-Nin? Why had she come alone? Did she not know how dangerous it was to confront a potential threat alone?)

His face was red.

(She was still looking at him.)

And, like an idiot he said the first thing that came to mind.

Notes:

I'm back. It took a little longer to update because I started reading this really good (completed!) Madara/ OFC fic and it had a sequel!

Our boys Kankuro and Chojuro made an appearance, alongside our strong Kunoichi Mei and Temari!

Questions:
- What do you think Chojuro said?
- Thoughts on Hiruzen? Danzo? Rant below.
- Favorite Sakura Ship?
- Did I portray Kankuro well?
- What about Chojuro?
- Is the timeline alright? I know timelines obviously didn't mean much to Kishimoto, but please tell me if you see a major inaccuracy.

I'm going on a trip to the beach tomorrow so an update probably won't come until Monday depending on how I feel, because I will not be taking my laptop with me. Next chapter I'll be adding a poll about additional love interests for Sakura, so look forward to that. Thank you for reading everyone XD

Chapter 12

“You’re just a girl.”, the boy with blue hair said incredulously.

(He wouldn’t stop staring.)

Sakura could feel her eyes twitch, “Yes.”

“Kai.”, the boy said again before continuing to stare, “Your hair is pink.”

( Why does he think he’s in a Genjutsu? Is he underestimating us just like everyone else always does? What, does he think that we’re just a distraction for a bigger threat to come and take him out? I say we put those skills we learned to use, and rip out his throat , Inner seethed.)

Sakura gritted her teeth, “I’m aware.”

“It’s pink. I mean it’s a really pretty color, I don’t want to offend you, but it stands out, I don’t think you understand that someone could attack you. What are you doing here? You can get hurt. Not that I’m saying that you can’t defend yourself, but you’re really small, and it’s dangerous to just wander around these parts.”, the boy rambled before blushing.

“Your hair is blue, that’s not exactly a subtle shade either.”, Sakura stated.

He turned away from her, “I know.”

“You don’t think I’m dangerous.”, Sakura quirked an eyebrow.

He blinked, “I’m sure you can be terrifying.”

( Was that supposed to be sarcastic?!? )

Sakura saw red.

Chojuro was taken by surprise when the small girl with pink hair lunged at him with her Katana.

Did she not want him to tell her the truth? Was being terrifying an insult somehow? If he had known that she wanted him to lie, he could have lied. He was afraid to use Hiramekarei against her. An enemy wouldn’t have let him talk in the first place. Right?

He knew women in general were terrifying when they wanted to be. He knew Mei Terumi! That woman would sometimes allow her enemies to choose which one of her Kekkei Genkai they wished to perish by. She was probably the scariest woman he knew, but this girl who charged him was slowly becoming a close second.  

“I d-don’t want to hurt you.”, Chojuro stammered as he attempted to only block the girl’s attacks.

A sadistic glint was in her unique eyes, “That’s funny, because I want to hurt you.”

“Y-you’ll get hurt. Please, I don’t want to hurt you. You aren’t a danger.”, he tried again.

(It only seemed to make her angrier.)

“I’m not a danger?”, her voice was glacial.

Chojuro nodded, “You’re just a girl who’s angry for no reason. Please put down your Katana. I just want to ask you a few questions.”

She took another step towards him, “No reason?

“I’m sorry! But, it’s just w-well, you’re b-being irrational?”, Chojuro winced. That sounded like a question.

“Should we stop her?”, Haku asked in amusement as he watched with the rest of the group from the trees.

Zabuza shook his head, “No, it’s fine. She’s doing great. Besides, it would be nice to see how her katana measures up against Hiramekarei. Really, it was a dumb stroke of luck that Mei sent out Hiramekarei with that kid.”

“He’s underestimating her.”, Sasuke pointed out as he watched the frantic look on the boy’s face.

“He’s trying not to hurt Sakura.”, Kakashi observed.

Naruto looked confused, “Why is he going easy on her? Sakura can beat us most days of the week.”

“Dobe.”, Sasuke rolled his eyes, “He obviously doesn’t know that.”

Haku sighed, “He thinks she’s not very skilled. To him, she’s just a girl who stumbled upon a place she shouldn’t be.”

“Well that’s dumb, Sakura’s a great kuniochi!”, Naruto whispered loudly and almost blew their cover.

“I don’t think he knows she’s a kunoichi.”, Haku commented.

“Why wouldn’t he know? She’s wearing a Hitai-ate.”, Naruto complained.

Zabuza snorted, “Kid could barely look past the pink hair.”

“Tch.”, Sasuke said, “How did he justify the Katana?”

Kakakashi looked thoughtful, “Maybe he thought she found it somewhere?”

Haku laughed lightly, “It’s funny to see him dig his grave even more. He’s probably offended her ten times since Sakura attacked him, and he still refuses to use his full strength against her.”

Tadashi gave a low growl, “Sakura should just rip out his throat.”

“We need every person we can if we want this Rebellion to succeed.”, Zabuza reminded the wolf before gesturing back to Sakura’s fight, “Maybe after?”

Tadashi grinned a smile reminiscent of Sakura’s, “If Tsuyoshi were here he could sneak in and make it look like an accident.”

“How does someone’s throat getting ripped out look like an accident?”, Naruto questioned.

Tadashi frowned, “Tsuyoshi and some of the others are more subtle about how they do things. It’s no fun at all, but they could probably stage an accident with little time.”

Kakashi sprayed him with a water bottler, “No planning murder until we finish what we came here to do.”

Tadashi rolled his eyes.

“He’s his own wolf.”, Naruto said, remembering the conversation before they left for Wave.

Eyes turned to look at him disapprovingly.

Tadashi grinned triumphantly, “Yeah! I’m my own wolf!”

Shino frowned again.

(Hinata noticed he had been doing it a lot lately.)

“What happened now?”, Kiba asked, “Did you hear anything from Sakura?”

Shino nodded, “She sent one of her Summons to deliver a message for me.”

Kiba leaned forward and smiled, “Well? What did it say? Did she ask about me? Or did my message get lost? It totally had to get lost, right?”

Shino smiled tightly, “Sakura did not ask about you Kiba. Why? Because she’s not your friend, she’s my friend.”

Kiba’s smile fell slightly as Akamaru coughed. 

“What happened?”, Hinata asked gently.

Shino’s glasses glinted, “Apparently, I shouldn’t worry, but she’s going on a vacation with Team 7 for an indefinite time.”

Kiba’s mouth fell open, “Indefinite time? What does that even mean?”

Shino’s lips quirked slightly, “Well, it means that she’s not sure when she’ll be back.”

“I know what that means!”, Kiba argued, “What I don’t understand is why!”

Shino opened his mouth, presumably to say something again to Kiba, when Hinata nervously cleared her throat.

“How are you doing Shino?”, she asked in concern.

His brows furrowed, “I should have sent a few kikaichū with her.”

Mei could feel her lip twitching as Chojuro stammered an answer for why he had gotten injured.

Zabuza was laughing maniacally, uncaring of the looks he was getting. His apprentice wore a look of tranquility, but Mei could see the hidden mirth in his eyes.

A Konoha Genin team and their mysterious Jonin were also there.

“And that’s why I didn’t want to hurt her.”, Chojuro finished.

Mei stared at him blankly, “And that’s why you lost your fight? Because you didn’t want to hurt her? Did you not think of her as a threat? Why? Because her hair is pink? Because she’s a girl? Or because she’s so small?”

“W-w-well.”, Chojuro stammered as his face reignited.

The girl with the pink hair snorted, “I think it might have been a mixture of all three. I really hope he scars. That way he’ll be reminded of his failures everytime he picks up his blade.”

The girl had cut both of his hands, deep enough to scar. She was lucky she didn’t cause nerve damage and he didn’t have any blood vessels ruptured. In addition, she had also bit his right arm to throw him off balance.

“Don’t worry.”, Zabuza’s assistant called out with a smile, “She likes giving people scars when she first meets them, it might be how she introduces herself to new people. I have a few of my own, though if I showed you them I would have to take off my clothes.”

“Don’t say it like that!”, the girl said mortified, “You only have scars on your arms and legs! I didn’t mess with your torso or anywhere else.”

The boy smiled again serenely, “One of my scars, she got particularly creative with. It looks like a crude flower.”

“Well you wouldn’t talk!”, the girl defended.

The boy rolled his eyes, “Of course not. Zabuza taught me to not cave under a little torture.”

Chojuro was looking paler by the second.

“Shut up!”, the girl hissed as her wolf growled in tandem.

“Or what?”, the boy laughed, “You’ll bite me too?”

The Jonin was now reading a familiar orange book.

Mei wondered if the Jonin with the mask was single, because Zabuza refused to marry her no matter how much she tried to seduce him.

(Even if he did want to put her as the Mizukage, he didn’t want her as his wife. That stupid Tsundere liked his games of cat and mouse too much to change his ways.)

She waited over a decade for Zabuza to make up his mind on whether he actually liked her or not. Hoped that one day he would push Kubikiribōchō away enough for her to make room in his heart with the remaining space, but nothing ever happened.

He continued to flirt while never doing so much as asking her out.

People in Mist tended to be attracted to strong individuals. Mei hated that she fell into the same category, when it would have made sense to love someone else.

(Loving anyone else would be better than being miserable about someone she couldn’t have.)

Zabuza may not be willing to make her a wife, but there was always a chance someone else would.

She wanted a family one day, the stability that came with it was something she had dreamed of ever since the Mizukage encouraged the killing of those with Kekkei Genkai. When it was finally safe, maybe she could finally settle down.

(She had hoped one day she could marry Zabuza, he was her friend and someone she could trust, but she couldn’t make him love her. It wasn’t fair to her, and it wasn’t fair to him.)

The Copy-Nin though? He was reading Icha Icha, and Mei knew for a fact that book had more romance and heart than most books. Sure, there were some poorly described bath scenes, but it wasn’t a bad book.

Icha Icha was the book for most hopeless romantics, it only got a bad rep because of a few explicit scenes between the main characters.

That book, and all the other books of that series, made the reader fall in love alongside the protagonist.

(Mei herself couldn’t stop giggling when she read it, and based on the way Kakashi was doing the same, the book drew him in too.)

A man who liked Icha Icha couldn’t be that bad.

(At any rate, he was better than Zabuza.)

Hiruzen sighed, “Why did you undermine me at the meeting?”

His old friend looked pensive as he stared out the window, “We’re getting old Hiruzen.”

“What’s this about?”, Hiruzen couldn’t hide his shock. 

What was Danzo doing? Why did he care if some civilian child and a Jonin were put on the pyre? Danzo had never been the voice of reason. Just what did he see?

“We won’t always be around. Konoha needs strong individuals. Try as we might, one day we will die. What will happen to Konoha then?”, Danzo said with his voice unwavering, “We need strong Shinobi to keep other nations at bay. War will be at our door the moment we are perceived as weak.”

“I’m not planning on dying any time soon, but I thought you would have approved of this course of action? Aren’t you always telling me there are crueler parts to being a Shinobi? That you rule in the Shadows, while I rule in the Light.”, Hiruzen commented, “You once told me that you would dirty your own hands so that I would never have to. Was that a lie?”

This was the same man who had talked to him when his father Sasuke died. This was the same man who cried with him when Tobirama-sensei died. This was the same man who told him he couldn’t put his heart above Konoha when his students left one by one. This was the same man who made sure he ate and took care of himself after his precious Biwako had been killed on the day of the Kyuubi attack.

This was the same man who was his friend.

(It felt almost like a betrayal that they did not see eye to eye on the matter of Sakura Haruno and the potential danger she carried.)

“Do you not look at her and think of what she could be? Are you not reminded of anyone when you look at that girl?”, Danzo argued, “Kakashi Hatake had his chance, if he messes up, it’s not his team’s fault. They can still be useful to Konoha.”

Hiruzen’s eyes flashed, “I can see the similarities myself.”

His mind raced as he thought about why Danzo would want to have someone so similar to Orochimaru. Did his friend look at Team 7 and see the second coming of the Sannin? Did he think a shorter leash on the girl would be beneficial for Konoha? Did he want to see if another Mokuton user or two could be produced by the girl one day? Did he want to see Hiruzen be tormented by a living ghost of all his mistakes?

“So you understand?”, Danzo asked as his eyes searched his face, “You see what I do then?”

“I think I understand now why you’re so insistent that the girl lives. She has the potential to be an amazing asset to Konoha one day. Danzo, for the sake of our friendship, I’ll let this matter slide. I can see the benefits of allowing her to receive an alibi if Kakashi doesn’t accomplish what it is he wishes to do.”, Hiruzen said quietly, “But don’t test my patience, you’ll soon find it runs out.”

Both walked away.

Danzo, a little confused, believed that Hiruzen had finally noticed Sakura’s similarities to Tobirama-sensei.

While Hiruzen was confronted with the confirmation that he wasn’t the only one to see a monster lurking behind the girl’s gaze.

(Both were wrong.)

Zabuza couldn’t stop laughing at the kids in front of him.

Were they really so blind?

Kami, did he want to see what would happen in a few years when their hormones really started confusing them even more.

It was like going to a play!

Of course, Haku would probably end up winning over Sakura when he figured out what he wanted, but for now Zabuza felt safe enough to laugh.

Love was a child’s cruel game, but it was meaningless.

People got hurt all the time because of it.

Where was that love when he slaughtered all those Academy students to become a Shinobi of Kiri? 

(He killed over a hundred students for love.)

Where was it when his mother died because only Shinobi and their family were offered the treatment she needed to live?

(Despite selling his soul, she couldn’t get treatment in time.)

He sealed up his heart, because loving someone would only hurt him in the end. Kiri Shinobi didn’t have feelings, and if he wanted to be a Kiri Shinobi he needed to be the same.

(That’s why he couldn’t bring himself to accept Mei. Maybe someday, when they were both too strong to ever get hurt. When change was brought to Kiri at last.)

Didn’t those kids know the risks?

A true Shinobi must guard their heart.

He would just have to amuse himself with the trainwreck in front of him and hope Haku would come out all right.

(It’s not like he could dictate his feelings.)

Chojuro blushed as he looked away from Sakura, “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to imply anything wrong. I was just surprised to see you because the only girls around this area are either toddlers or the wives of the nearby farmers.”

Sakura raised an eyebrow, “And how would you know that you Pervert?”

Haku snorted from his place on the couch where Tadashi had him stuck.

Naruto looked like he was watching a tennis match.

Sasuke pretended to be uninterested, but Sakura could tell he was invested in the conversation.

“P-p-pervert?!?”, he let out a strangled yell, “I’m not a pervert!”

“Sakura does bring up a good point.”, Haku called out, “Why else would you know about the girls around the area?”

“I know about the lack of girls because Mei wanted me to work on my infiltration.”, Chojuro admitted.

Sakura laughed, “But your hair is blue.”

“And yours is pink.”, he mumbled as he looked at his feet.

Sakura glanced at him once again with an analytical gaze, “Assaination?”

Chojuro turned even more red, “Y-yeah.”

“That reminds me, do you all have specializations?”, Haku asked while he momentarily stopped petting Tadashi.

Team 7 shook their heads collectively.

“That’s strange.”, Haku murmured, “Zabuza knew what my specialization would be after a month.”

Kakashi knew he shouldn’t talk more than necessary to the crazy woman, he had been told before that he wasn’t the best for diplomatic missions because he wasn’t a very sociable person.

(And helping with a Rebellion in Kiri, seemed diplomatic to him.)

Mei was beautiful, truly, but he couldn’t help but be terrified of the redhead. She wanted to talk about Icha Icha and that normally didn’t turn out well. But, then she asked about his favorite character, and Kakashi felt like it was a trap.

“My favorite is Yori.”, he said while bracing for her to hit him. Yori was the subject of a lot of criticism for all the vulgar scenes she appeared in.

Her eyes looked thoughtful, “I always felt bad for Yori, she was bounded by her duties. She fought and bled for everyone to acknowledge that she was capable. She fell in love with her childhood friend. She loved him, and gave up everything for him. Offered herself in the deepest sense, gave him all she had to give.”

“And in the end Kichirou chose Manami.”, he said quietly.

Mei nodded, “She was a tragic character.”

“Who’s your favorite character?”, Kakashi couldn’t stop himself from asking. It wasn’t often he could talk to someone about Icha Icha without them accusing him of being a pervert for maybe five scenes in the whole book.

Mei looked at him, “I’ve always been partial to Sora.”

“Sora was even more tragic.”, Kakashi hummed, “When she first appeared, I hated her character. I thought she was too two-dimensional. She had no foundation, and was a terrible person. It was only after her motives were laid clear and her past was explored, that I started to feel more empathy for her. She came off as unlikeable until she wasn’t and no matter how much I tried I couldn’t summon any hate for her.”

“She was one of the few characters that ever did get a happy ending.”, Mei smiled, “I’d like to think that if she could be happy, then anyone could.”

They spent the whole night while everyone else was settling in, sitting in what was supposed to be a Command Center, talking about Icha Icha.

(If he was a weaker man, he may have fallen in love.)

Notes:

Wow! So almost 500 kudos! Thank you everyone! Sorry for the late update. To make up for it, I'll be introducing our newest Poll.

Next Poll:
- Should Sakura have female love interests in her harem?

Pumpkins, you all are amazing and I hope you liked this chapter. Thoughts on the forming Zabuza/ Mei/ Kakashi love triangle beginning to form? Since Sakura and Co are too young for romance this is all the romance we'll have until the Timeskip. Who do you think Mei will end up with? Will she end up with anyone? Thoughts on the rest of the chapter? I love reading everyone's comments XD

Chapter 13

Last night had been a new experience for Kakashi. This redhead was crazy.

(He should have listened to all of Minato-sensei’s advice about redheads, because he couldn't remember everything he had told him. There was something about tempers? Or maybe that was just reserved for Kushina?) 

“It was nice talking to you.”, Kakashi said as he stretched.

(Was there protocol for spending the night talking to a leader of a Rebel Faction of another country?) 

Mei gave him a soft smile, “Same. Zabuza normally never lets me say anything after Icha Icha.”

( Was that an innuendo? )

Kakashi raised an eyebrow, “Really?”

(Should he congratulate her on her relationship?)

Mei laughed, “He says it’s a book for perverts.”

(Ah, so Zabuza was one of those people .)

“It’s a literary masterpiece!”, Kakashi couldn’t help but exclaim.

Mei mirrored his excitement, “I know!”

“It’s a shame we only got to talk about a quarter of Icha Icha Paradise.”, Kakashi remarked as he put his hands in his pockets, “The others are also interesting.”

Mei leaned forward and winked, “Is that your way of saying you want to spend more nights with me?”

His one visible eye sparked with mischief, “Sure. It wasn’t the worst night I’ve had before, I actually found it quite enjoyable.”

Mei’s ears heated, and she was glad her hair covered them.

(She was trying to seduce him, so why did she feel like he was seducing her?)

“You’re up for a repeat performance?”, she purred.

He let out a laugh, “If you think you can keep up with me. I’ve been told I’m a lot to handle.”

“So what’s the plan going to be again?”, Naruto whispered loudly.

Sasuke rolled his eyes, “You should have been paying attention, Dobe.”

“There’s not going to be a plan until everyone involved can gather to launch a strike.”, Sakura said, “Thanks to Gato, Zabuza now has the funds he needed for the Rebellion. Some people are heading over to Iron and some other countries to stock up on Shuriken, Ninja Wire, Senbon, and Kunai.”

Naruto sighed, “How long is this going to take again? My plants need to be watered.”

“It would be sooner if we could assemble everyone without worrying about arousing suspicion.”, Haku commented.

Tadashi groaned, “It would just be easier to take out the Alpha, take control of the pack then.”

“Tadashi.”, Sakura said softly, “It’s not that easy, there’s a lot more than that. His advisors and Loyalists have to go down with him or they’ll just keep making problems.”

“Just kill the guy and take over.”, Tadashi grumbled, “He’s just one person, shouldn’t be too hard, he’s probably old anyways. ”

Haku hid a laugh behind a cough.

“I mean, he’s not that old?”, Chojuro said.

Sakura and Tadashi barred their teeth at him.

“Was that sarcasm?”, Tadashi growled.

Chojuro frantically shook his head as he attempted to get someone to help him. Haku smiled serenely and took a long sip of tea. Zabuza wasn’t there, he had gone to find Mei and Kakashi to better discuss logistics. Sasuke met his gaze but refused to blink. And Naruto? When Chojuro finally broke away from the unwavering gaze of Sasuke, Naruto was too busy eating Cup Ramen to care about Chojuro’s problems.

“N-no?”, Chojuro stammered.

Tadashi raised his head, “Was that a question?”

“No!”, Chojuro exclaimed in fright.

Sakura laughed lightly.

(That’s what he deserved for how he had reacted when they first met.)

“So now you want to yell at me?”, Tadashi said lowly.

Chojuro was doing his best to not burst into tears, “No.”

Tadashi looked like he didn’t believe him.

Yoshino raised an eyebrow as she looked at her son, “Do you know what’s been wrong with him the last few weeks? He’s not sick right?”

“It’d be less Troublesome for him to be sick.”, Shikaku said wryly, “He’s asked me to help him with his Clan teachings.”

“He wants to learn more techniques?”, Yoshino asked in surprise, “Being a Genin has really changed him.”

Before Graduation from the Academy she would need to chase him out of the house to get him to leave on time, now he woke up with her to do morning Katas before heading over to meet his Genin team.

Shikaku shook his head, “He wants more Grounding.”

She froze.

Grounding?

Why would her son feel the need to close himself off from more emotions?

Yoshino still didn’t understand why the Nara encouraged their children to be Apathetic, but then again she was barred from knowing everything relating to the Clan she had married into. Shikaku had been disowned on all but paper when he had taken her as a wife, and it was only after his brother had died that the Clan welcomed him (and reluctantly her) into the fold. They needed an Heir, and then a Head, and Shikaku was their last option after Shikatani died without an Heir.

(She wasn’t blind to their comments or grimaces about her Specialization before she retired that lessened after she had given birth to Shikamaru.)

The Elders claimed she wasn’t smart enough to know everything, but based on the way they taught the children of the Clan not to Feel strongly, she was glad.

(The reason Shikamaru was an only child was because Yoshino couldn’t stand the thought of another child of hers being Grounded.)

“Are you going to let him?”, Yoshino found her voice.

His eyes searched her face, he must have seen what he was looking for because he allowed her to see a grimace.

“I need to let him, Yoshino.”, Shikaku explained, “Emotions are too Troublesome.”

(She loved her husband, but some part of her always resented the fact that he couldn’t love her the same way. She could never doubt that some part of him cared more than it should since he had been willing to leave his Clan for her, but sometimes love didn’t feel like enough.)

“He was a happy baby.”, Yoshino couldn’t help but hiss, “He would babble about everything. He was constantly smiling. He laughed a lot. He’s changed too much Shikaku. The only thing that’s the same is his constant naps.”

Shikaku raised an eyebrow and discreetly activated a seal, “He’s still happy.”

“Ino is happy. Choji is happy. Shikamaru is a shell!”, Yoshino kept her voice at a controlled whisper as she looked at her son lying down under a tree in the backyard

“His emotions need to be muted. I put off his Grounding until he was four because you asked me to, and now he needs it. All Nara need to be Grounded.”, Shikaku repeated for perhaps the hundredth time since Shikamaru had been born.

It felt like a rubber band had snapped, “Fuck your Grounding! Why is Apathy so damn important that my son needs it? Can you tell me why? Huh, Shikaku? Will you tell your wife why her son has to keep his emotions in check so much? ‘It’s not a Kekkei Genkai’, that’s the most I’ve ever gotten from you.”

(It wasn’t the first time they had argued about this. But, he couldn’t tell her. Not even the Yamanaka and Akimichi knew everything.)

“The Shadows will consume him.”, Shikaku kept his voice level.

(It was the best he could offer her. She had never been allowed by the Elders the privilege of reading Nara bedtime stories to Shikamaru.)

Yoshino threw her hands in the air, “Again with this Cryptic shit?”

“You aren’t the only one in this Clan to not know.”, Shikaku said.

“They threw you away when you married me!”, Yoshino yelled, “Why can’t I know? I’m your wife! That’s my son!”

His own aura had darkened, she could tell he was getting tired of this same argument, “You’re not the only wife to not know, and some husbands don’t know either.”

“Everyone who married into this Clan isn't allowed to know what happens to our children!”, Yoshino glared.

“You know a lot more than most of them.”, Shikaku said steadily. The shadows around him had miniscule movements that Yoshino failed to see.

“I should have taken Shikamaru and left!”, Yoshino yelled the same thing she always did when she got angry.

His eyes darkened,  “If you had, I wouldn’t have been able to deny you. But, this is what’s best for him, Yoshino. The Clan would agree with me. The moment he became attuned to the Nara techniques it became necessary.”

(Why did they keep having the same arguments?)

“If he wasn’t the Heir, the Clan could care less about him!”, Yoshino had tears in her eyes, “Please, don’t let him do more Grounding.”

He couldn’t look at her.

(Shikaku loved Yoshino, maybe not with the same burning intensity that she did, but he had never been able to deny her much.)

“I’ll be at Inoichi’s house.”, Shikaku said as he headed towards the door.

“Shikaku!”, Yoshino yelled, “We need to have this talk! You can’t keep running away from it!”

“I’ll be back later.”, Shikaku said, moving to the side to avoid being hit by a spatula. 

(Shikamaru opened his eyes briefly to the indistinguishable raised voices before he willed himself to go back to sleep. They were fighting again. It was too Troublesome to figure out what the cause was this time. It’s not like he could make out the words anyways, they must have activated a seal. It was a shame it didn’t cancel the sound of raised voices.)

Ino frowned when she got home from the Flower Shop. The smell of alcohol was in the air.

(Her dad had been drinking more since her mom had died a few years ago.)

“Yoshino get mad at you again?”, her dad sighed, “You have to talk to her sooner or later. If Asa was still here, she would tell you the same.”

“I can’t talk to her about what she wants to talk about.”, Shikamaru’s dad groaned, “The Elders won’t allow it.”

Inoichi snorted, “Since when have you ever cared about what your Elders thought? My Flower would have given you such a verbal lashing then sent you back to Yoshino.”

“I don’t.”, Shikaku mumbled, “What I care about is Shikamaru having a future. Asagao would agree with me there.”

“If I remember correctly you once walked away from your Clan after telling your Elders to ‘Fuck off’.”, Inoichi said dryly.

Ino had to stop herself from gasping, she had never known that!

A deep belly laugh filled the air, Ino knew then that Choza was also there, ”I remember everyone being so scandalized. The Nara Heir ran off with a Kunoichi not approved of by the Clan.”

“They told me if I decided to marry her I should just leave, so I did.”, Shikaku commented, “I wasn’t going to let them tell me that I shouldn’t marry her because she didn’t meet their qualifications.”

Ino had never realized before how romantic Shikaku and Yoshino’s story was. Did Shikamaru know?

(Did he even care?)

“You left without a single piece of clothing.”, Inoichi laughed. 

Shikaku retorted, “I didn’t want them to claim I owed them anything.”

“Your Elders used to rant about how she seduced you away.”, Choza added on.

Inoichi laughed, “Well, she was one of the best Assassination and Seduction Kunoichi that Konoha had.”

Ino could feel her eyes growing wider.

“They were petty about everything. And made it difficult for Yoshino and I to get more than a crappy one-bedroom apartment bordering the Flower District. Yoshino refused to live there so we had to move in with her parents.”, Ino could tell from his voice that he had his head on the table.

She knew that she shouldn’t be listening. 

Her mom would have scolded her for listening in on this.

(At least Ino thinks she would have, it was getting harder to remember her mom as time passed.)

“What happened this time?”, Choza asked softly.

Shikaku sighed, “Shikamaru needs more Grounding, he started later than he should have and it’s already affecting him.”

Ino leaned away. She could leave. But should she? This was her teammate! Her brother! Why shouldn’t she know?

“Did anything happen?”, Inoichi asked cautiously.

“He said he could feel himself beginning to melt into the Shadows.”, Shikaku said too lowly for Ino to hear.

Choza said in alert, “What was the cause?”

Ino strained her ears to listen, before she thought better and left out the door, if it was important Shikamaru would have told Choji and her. She would just cause problems for their team if she stayed and heard something she wasn’t supposed to know.

(She missed the incredulous whisper from Shikaku, “A girl.” and the disbelieving laughter of Choza and her father.)

Zabuza stalled outside the door, only briefly, before he strolled in.

(Why should I care about who Mei wants to flirt with? Obviously she has crap taste if she thought the Copy-Nin would be a “nice catch”.)

“Mei.”, he greeted as he inclined his head slightly, “Copy-Nin.”

They were sitting close together, and Mei was smiling.

(It looked different from the ones she used when attempting to seduce someone. More pure.)

“Mah, there you are Zabuza.”, that infuriating shinobi gave a half wave from behind an Icha Icha book, “Mei and I were wondering when you would get here, there’s still a lot to discuss.”

Zabuza took in their appearances briefly before nodding, “What time-frame do we think would give us the greatest chance of success?”

He wasn’t going to mention that their clothes were very familiar to the ones they had been wearing the day before.

(In fact, they were identical to the clothes they were wearing when he told them he was heading to bed.)

Mei frowned, “Right now it depends on how many weapons we can buy with the funds you stole from Gato.”

Zabuza crossed his arms and coughed.

“The funds you liberated from Gato upon his death.”, Mei corrected absentmindedly, “Our best bet would be to find some of the families that lived in Kiri, but the Hozuki and Kaguya Clans are extinct. The Funato Clan are currently little more than pirates. Kisame Hoshigaki was the last Hoshigaki with any remarkable talent, and there’s no guarantee that he would be willing to come back and fight with us. And let’s not even get started on the Karatachi Clan.”

Zabuza leaned forward slightly, “Kisame might be tempted to come back for a fight. It’s a shame the Hozuki and Kaguya Clans are gone, we could have used them. Are we sure there’s no remaining members?”

“Suigetsu Hozuki was presumed dead shortly after Mangetsu Hozuki died. And the Kaguya took every last member to stage their failed coup that they paid for in their blood.”, Mei murmured as she attempted to figure out which allies the Kiri Rebellion needed.

Kakashi closed his book, “Was there a body?”

“What?”, Mei asked.

“Is every single body accounted for with the Kaguya? And why was Suigetsu presumed dead?”, Kakashi questioned.

Zabuza frowned in thought, “Suigetsu was young when he left, he’s probably the same age as your team. He was tough, but I don’t know if he payed much attention to survival skills. And the Kaguya brought every last member with them, including children. Haku and I saw a boy shortly after, but he didn’t have the typical Kaguya features so I left him.”

“Mangestu was bloodthirsty, so it’s not much of a stretch to think that Suigetsu was the same.”, Mei commented.

Zabuza snorted, “Suigetsu liked to dismember people at six years old, but he couldn’t cook, so I doubt he survived long after he left. He hadn’t even graduated from the Academy.”

“You let six year olds dismember people?”, Kakashi asked in a dry tone.

Mei laughed, “Didn’t you graduate around that age?”

“Touché.”, Kakashi mumbled with a hand placed over his heart.

(Zabuza didn’t know why he hated the thought of the Copy Nin making Mei laugh, it had been awhile since Mei genuinely laughed.)

“Is it possible that the boy Haku and you encountered wasn’t a Kaguya? What did he look like?”, Mei asked.

Zabuza frowned from beneath his bandages, “Haku would probably remember better, he wanted to talk to the kid. I think his hair was white or grayish? If he was a Kaguya he was probably only half.”

Kakashi hummed, “Some children take more after one parent sometimes, it wouldn’t be that much of a stretch to say that boy might have been a Kaguya. Besides, children from Clans thought to be extinct isn’t exactly a new thing. Isn’t your kid the last of the Yuki Clan?”

“We might still have a Kaguya and a Hozuki out there somewhere.”, Mei said in disbelief, “If they are out there somewhere we need to find them after we take Kirigakure and welcome them back home.”

“You’re staring again.”, Haku laughed lightly as they ate lunch, “Sakura is going to notice sooner or later, you’re lucky that Tadashi is out exploring more to try to hunt something.”

Chojuro didn’t even move his gaze from Sakura.

She had pretty pink hair.

(It wasn’t even a Genjutsu!)

Her eyes were calculating.

(He had never seen such pretty eyes evaluating how to take him down.)

And she was strong!

(Mei was strong too, but this was a girl closer to his age.)

Sasuke and Naruto were trying to out eat one another.

“If you both throw up one more time, I’m going to use you both as test subjects for my new seals. I’m thinking of making a seal for T&I, maybe one that causes immense pain?”, Sakura mused before taking a sip of her water, “I’m sure sensei will understand. It would just help your future careers as Shinobi if you could resist torture.”

“She’s adorable.”, Haku teased the blue-haired boy, “A baby kunoichi. Zabuza says there’s not a time where a competent Kunoichi isn’t frightening. I guess this also applies to when they’re still Genin.”

Chojuro couldn’t help the blush that came to his face.

“She’s strong.”, Chojuro murmured in awe, “And her katana isn’t just for s-show.”

“But Sakura!”, Naruto whined, “The Teme started it.”

Sakura growled lowly, “Naruto, did I ask who started it?”

Naruto looked like he was trying to figure out if he should answer.

“No, she didn’t ask you, Dobe.”, Sasuke let a vindictive smile peak through his stoic facade.

“I didn’t ask you to talk, Sasuke.”, Sakura barred her teeth.

Her teammates flinched back.

“You can’t talk to me like that.”, Sasuke said through gritted teeth.

Sakura raised an eyebrow, “And why can’t I talk to you like that?”

Sasuke opened his mouth to retort before seemingly thinking better of it and closing his mouth.

“Please don’t test seals on me!”, Naruto begged, “Kakashi-sensei said you couldn’t!”

“Sensei also said I would be in charge while he was busy with the meetings since you two can’t be trusted to behave.”, Sakura grinned sharply.

Sasuke looked around for an opening, and found it in the form of a boy with pale blue hair and glasses, “Sakura, the Kiri-Nin who made fun of your hair is staring at you.”

Chojuro flinched back as if he had been hit.

(He tried to pretend like he couldn’t hear the soft laughter disguised as a cough coming from Haku.)

“What? Do you want to talk about how pink my hair is?”, Sakura asked as she gave him a smile that highlighted her canines.

“No! I like your teeth.”, Chojuro mumbled before blushing a deeper red and trying to make what he said come out less creepy, “It’s j-just that s-sharp t-teeth aren’t usually seen outside of Kiri.”

She paused slightly as she moved her hand to cover her teeth.

“You like my teeth?”, Sakura sounded incredulous and a little flattered.

Chojuro nodded meekly before hesitantly showing his own teeth, “I’m not trying to make fun of you! I promise! My teeth are also sharp.”

Sakura narrowed her eyes, “Are you trying to say that you’re somehow better than me because you have more sharp teeth?”

“That’s what I’m hearing, Sakura.”, Naruto nodded to try to get Sakura to forget about putting seals on them.

Sasuke added fuel to the fire, “He probably thinks he could rip out throats better than you can.”

Haku silently finished his food as he tried not to draw attention to himself.

Sakura’s eyes narrowed, “Maybe I should test seals on you.”

“P-please don’t.”, Chojuro paled.

Haku sighed, finally deciding to get involved, “I don’t think Zabuza would like that if Chojuro was incapacitated before the coup.”

Chojuro let out a breath of relief.

“I might have to wait until after then.”, Sakura muttered as she examined Chojuro, “It would be nice to see how his sharp teeth would interact with a Liquefaction Seal. I wonder if just the teeth would be affected or if the rest of the head would soon follow the teeth?”

Chojuro gulped.

Haku left to go see if Tadashi had been successful in his endeavors.

Naruto and Sasuke snuck out after seeing their chance.

Sakura grinned.

Notes:

Hello, Pumpkins. Sorry for the late delay, I didn't realize how bad this month was going to be for me personally until everything just kind of hit me at once. My dad died last year, and his birthday is coming up soon and the one year anniversary of his passing will be right around the corner from that.

Fun Fact: I chose the name "Asagao" for Ino's mom's name because a meaning for that flower is a "brief love and bond of love" and symbolizes her early death and goes hand in hand with the flower shop owned by the Yamanaka. I thought Ino just having Inoichi left would change the plot a little more, and I'm all for changing plot and using this loss to help further her character development. Lol might kill off another character's parent, but no Spoilers. (Comment your thoughts on this, I'm interested to see who you think I might kill off!)

Since I've had a few people ask about this one particular character and if they will be appearing soon because of where the story is currently focused, I would like to confirm that whenever the next chapter goes up, Kisame will be making an appearance. I'm happy to see that everyone is enjoying Kakashi/ Mei/ Zabuza. As for whether Mei will end up with Kakashi or Zabuza or enter a Poly relationship with them or just be amazing all by herself, as of right now I don't think I'm going to put it up for a poll because I want to see how everything develops as I'm writing.

And as penance for not updating as quickly, I have a SUPRISE for everyone. The character that has the most "unofficial" votes in the comments this chapter will get their own part in the next chapter regardless of where they currently are and whether or not they have been mentioned so long as it's possible. Please make it clear though that you want them to appear, because it gets hard to sort through the comments if it's not clearly shown. That means as long as they're currently alive during this time period, they will have their own scene. Kisame doesn't need to be voted on since he's guaranteed to appear next chapter. Yamato? Sai? Deidara? Karin? Sasori? Tsunade? Shizune? Orochimaru? Kabuto? If they're alive, they're fair game.

Poll:
- Sakura should have female love interests:
Yes - 15
Maybe - 3
No - 1

As for female love interests? If the vote wins, (and looking at it now there is a good chance that Sakura is going to have female love interests added) then I'm probably going to have two definite love interests added to the tags with votes for a few others. This Poll will end the chapter before the Chunin Arc, so it can end as soon as next chapter or as far as three or so chapters away. Fair warning, I think I counted everyone's votes? Lol so many people commented and it was hard to keep track on some parts because I would get distracted while reading the comments. Please be respectful of how everyone vote! I haven't seen anyone not being respectful, but I would just like to put it out there. Pumpkins, you all are amazing and entitled to different opinions and ships.

Thank you so much for reading! We were almost at 500 Kudos last chapter, and now we're just over 600 Kudos! Everyone is so amazing! Thank you for continuing to make the comment section such a joy to read, I feel like I had probably triple the normal amount of comments last chapter (probably because of the Poll, but still it's just phenomenal to see everyone just appear there) XD

Chapter 14

"Hello. Can I help you?"

Ino blinked and looked up to see a Kunoichi standing in front of her.

The Kunoichi had her brown hair pulled back into a ponytail along with two familiar markings on her face.

( Inuzuka , her mind supplied.)

She was in the Inuzuka Clan Compound.

(Why did she end up here?)

Ino laughed.

The Kunoichi looked to be a cross between weary and amused.

“Are you alright?”, the Kunoichi asked.

Ino then noticed the three Ninkens that flanked her.

“Yeah.”, Ino grinned in embarrassment, “I’m not really sure how I ended up here. I was just walking around and I guess I remembered Kiba telling all of us about the latest litter that was born.”

The Kunoichi raised an eyebrow.

Ino backtracked, “I’m sorry for entering your Compound! I know some Clans don’t allow outsiders. Stupid Kiba said we could come by and play with the puppies to help socialize them.”

The Kunoichi grinned, “Don’t worry about it. The name’s Hana, what’s yours?”

“Ino.”, the blonde said.

“My brother was right about one thing.”, Hana laughed, “The new puppies do need help socializing.”

Ino could feel her face twisting in confusion, “Your brother?”

“Stupid Kiba.”, the Kunoichi said, “Funnily enough you're already right here, the puppies are currently right inside the kennels attached to the Vet.”

“Kiba’s your brother!”, Ino couldn’t help but exclaim.

Hana winced slightly and rubbed her ears, “Yeah.”

Ino felt mortified, “I’m sorry for yelling.”

“It’s fine.”, the brunette waved her off, “Our puppies will need to get acquainted to loud noises eventually.”

Ino bowed, ”I’m sorry again. I know that yelling isn’t something I should do, especially when around those with enhanced senses. Asuma-Sensei and the others had this talk with all of us. I should have known better.”

Hana laughed, “Kid, you’re fine. As long as you tone it down a little for the puppies, I don’t mind. Stupid Kiba tends to yell too.”

Ino plays with the puppies as she tries to draw her thoughts away from the conversation she eavesdropped on.

If it was important, Shikamaru would tell her.

(She ignored the little voice in her head that whispered: Would he? )

Hana introduces her to the litter, and Ino finds a friend in the older girl who seems nothing like Stupid Kiba.

Why did Kiba get to have a cool older sister?

“I just don’t understand why Miyu was able to get away with so much.”, Mei grumbled as they moved onto discussing the rest of Icha Icha Violence .

Kakashi looked thoughtful, “It could have been because Rinji actually loved her.”

“She was sleeping with Tetsui!”, Mei couldn’t help but exclaim, “She married Rinji!”

“And Rinji knew that he could never hold a candle to Tetsui.”, Kakashi explained, “He would rather she be tied to him then denied her inheritance and disgraced. He didn’t want to push her away so he let her do whatever she wanted. It was an arranged marriage after all, at least on her end.”

“Rinji gave her everything she could ever ask for, and nothing was good enough for her. She yelled at Rinji when he surprised her with that romantic trip to try to make her fall in love with him.”, Mei deadpanned.

Kakashi nodded, “She thought it was a power move on his part by showing her that he could send her far away from Tetsui at any given point in time.”

“She didn’t even love Tetsui though.”, Mei rolled her eyes.

Kakashi looked surprised, “No, she loved him.”

“It was just physical for Miyu. She loved the medic that had died in front of her eyes at the end of Icha Icha Paradise .”, Mei argued.

“Then how can you explain that scene after the trip where she tells Tetsui, ‘Everywhere you go, I hope you take me in your very thoughts. It’s bitter when you’re gone and my heart feels so gut wrenchingly cold without you to help bring me back to life.’ after she sneaks into his house? That was such a turning point for them!”, Kakashi ranted, “From that moment on their relationship changed! Tetsui started to shy away from her touch because he couldn’t handle knowing that feelings entered their arrangement.”

Mei shook her head, “The only time she described being warm around Tetsui or him being sweet was when she was in his bed. Testui only turned away from her because he realized he was being used. She used him to feel! He was only a vice for her and Tetsui didn’t realize until she had told him how he made her feel. It was physical! There were no emotions deeper than lust on her end, but he cared for her deeply. She was his precious friend, and he loved her in his own way.”

“There was no way that she loved that medic. Danji didn’t know her that long. She was raised with her only friends being Tetsui and Rinji. And Rinji had been in love with her for more than half his life. Tetsui would have probably married her if he was allowed to, but everyone saw him as an outsider. She was a Princess, the last of a dynasty after her brother died.”, Kakashi denied, “Why would she have loved Danji when Tetsui and Rinji were there alongside her?”

“Miyu thought of Danji’s pleading eyes and the blood that soaked her kimono as she tried her hardest to keep him alive. She mentions it repeatedly. She even develops a fear of blood after failing to save him! Miyu even took in his niece Shizuka!”, Mei said passionately, “If that’s not love, then I don’t know what is!”

“She was traumatized by his death and took in his niece out of the guilt that plagued her of knowing she couldn’t save Danji.”, Kakashi said slowly.

“Then she left with no note or warning with Shizuka! She took them from town to town drowning her sorrows at the bottom of a bottle each night. By the end, her fortune was gone and Rinji had more money than he knew what to do with and no happiness.”, Mei threw her hands down onto the table in front of her, “If she loved Tetsui so much, why would she leave him behind?”

“A few days before she left Rinji had caught her in Tetsui’s bed. She was so angry that she threw him out.”, Kakashi replied, “She had never slept with Rinji because she didn’t love him, but she could see how much it had hurt him to find out she was sleeping with their best friend. She felt guilty about it. Rinji had always declared his love for her brilliant mind and compared her beauty to the stars. Tetsui found amusement in the little ways he could make her laugh.”

“I know what happened. She was a coward who ran away when things got tough.”, Mei grumbled, “Rinji had just lost his students a few months before and she was so caught up in herself that she didn’t check in with him! Tetsui had checked in with him because he knew how it had felt to watch his own student Naoki die.”

Kakashi shook his head, “Losing everyone can be tough.”

He knew that better than most. Like Miyu, the people around him kept dying, and it wasn’t because of the cursed Signet Ring passed down in the family.

“She only allowed Tetsui in because Naoki was her brother, they had both grieved him. She fell into bed with Tetsui time and time again, but it was only after the medic died. They used each other, disregarding Rinji completely in order to fulfill their own selfish desires for comfort. It didn’t matter where that comfort was coming from as long as they could be satisfied.”, Mei remarked tiredly, “Miyu was a bitch and is probably the reason for Tetsui’s descent into madness. She left him after promising to stay by his side. In the end they both left Rinji, and I have this theory that Rinji loved Tetsui as much as he did Miyu.”

She yawned and Kakashi stood up.

“As riveting as these discussions are, we should probably head to bed.”, Kakashi said as he offered her a hand.

Mei looked at him and smirked, “Oh, is that an invitation?”

He leaned in, she could feel the warmth of his breath escaping his mask, “In your dreams.”

“Yeah. How did you know?”, she smiled coyly.

(Her heart was racing. The adrenaline coursing through her veins reminded her of a good fight. And that insufferable sweat on her palms had only ever happened before when she was near Zabuza.)

He dropped his hand before she could reach for it, and took a step back, “Sorry, but I really think I should go now.”

“Really?”, she purred, “Why don’t you join me?”

He ran a hand through his hair, “As I’ve told you every night, that would be a bad idea while we’re still planning a coup.”

“I won’t tell, if you don’t.”, she looked at him up and down, “We can try some of those scenes that Miyu and Tetsui enjoyed so much.”

He gave her a deadpan stare, “Yeah, that’s not going to happen.”

She snorted, “It was worth a shot.”

“We’ll finish discussing this book tomorrow.”, Kakashi said.

Her lips upturned into something more gentle, “I’d like that. I think tomorrow we can talk about how their names played a role in how these characters were shaped.”

His visible eye lightened considerably, “Don’t think I’m going to let you get away with not telling me more about your theory. What made you think he loved both of them? “

“Well, I can’t tell you everything at once.”, Mei smirked, “I need something to keep you coming back. And yeah, I can show you my reasoning for that tomorrow, alongside the play on the Kanji showing the characters’ roles.”

“Oh, like how Miyu was a ‘Dream’ that Rinji could never hope to reach?”

Mei nodded, “The more violent her rejections felt, the harder he tried to prove how pure his intentions were.”

(Mei Terumi could probably topple nations with just her smile.)

Sakura laughed as she watched Chojuro cook food for Tadashi.

“We’re close to freeing Kiri.”, Haku muttered by her side.

He looked an odd mix between disbelieving, content and resigned.

Sakura nudged him with her shoulder, “Are you alright?”

“Yeah.”, Haku said with his lips pressed in a thin smile.

She smiled slightly, wincing as she accidentally drew blood in her haste to reassure him.

“Tadashi, can I stop now? I’ve been m-making you f-food all day. I need to practice more with Hiramekarei.”, the blue haired boy’s voice carried over.

“He’s spoiling Tadashi too much.”, Sakura voiced.

Haku’s smile turned more genuine, “I think Tadashi deserves more spoiling.”

She threw her head back to laugh, “I agree, but I don’t think Tadashi is going to let that go if he hears that. He’ll be insufferable when we return to Konoha.”

“What are you going to do when you get back?”, Haku couldn’t help himself from asking.

Sakura frowned.

What would she do when she got back? Hang out with Shino? Obviously. Train? Invent more seals? Well that was a given. Get stronger? Miyako would rip out her throat if she got weaker. 

When she went back to Konoha there would be no more 

“I’m not exactly sure.”, Sakura shrugged, “Probably the same stuff as always. I might try to learn a new weapon, but I’m not sure what it should be. I might build one with dad if I can decide on what to chose.”

“Well, there’s a lot of trees in Konoha, correct?”, Haku has a smile on his face, “To me, it only makes sense for you to try your hand at mastering a Battle Axe in addition to your Katana. You’re terrifying, but having two main weapons would leave your opponents with little room to accurately pose a challenge for you the first time around.”

Sakura felt her face warm.

Kisame hummed as he listened to the gossip in the tea shop that Itachi had dragged him to.

“Kiri?”, a voice said in what they probably thought was a discrete tone.

The person in a hood across from the individual nodded, “Yeah, I got word from my cousin in Iron that there’s going to be another attempt to gain control of Kirigakure. Rebels are stocking up on weapons for a full-scale invasion.”

“Do you think they’ll be able to succeed? We haven’t had any tea imports from Kiri in years.”, the first person leaned in.

“I’m not sure, but there’s a rumor going around that they’ll welcome back any Missing-Nin from Kiri and forgive their crimes if they do manage to seize control. They want their Shinobi and Clans back.”

“Do you think you might want to go back?”, Itachi asked lowly as he took another drink of his herbal blend tea.

Kisame felt his world turning upside down.

Didn’t everyone think him a traitor? Would his fabricated crimes really be forgiven, or would everyone continue to look at him with distrust?

“I’m not sure.”, Kisame replied, “Would you stop me if I did?”

Itachi gave him a blank stare, “I’d say I did. If you can go back home, absolved of all crimes, I’d say at least try it out and see if you like it. Maybe help with the coup? Prove you can be trustworthy. If it doesn’t work out, you can always come back.”

“If you could go back, would you?”

Itachi smiled wryly, “My sins aren’t as easily forgiven. I’m a kin-slayer. When I die by my foolish little brother’s hands I can finally rest.”

“Did you have any friends?”, Kisame can’t stop from asking, Itachi normally was tightlipped about his past.

Itachi had an air of melancholy, “I was surrounded by people most of my life. Most of them are gone now.”

“Are any of them still alive, outside of your little brother?”

Itachi shook his head, “It doesn’t matter. I know they wouldn’t want to see me.”

“How can you be so sure? I bet you probably had a fanclub. Bastards like you always do. Any cute little friends who held a flame for you once upon a fucking time?”

Itachi refused to answer. He finished his tea and got another herbal blend to help with the pain he felt in his chest.

Kisame looked away, knowing better than to press for more after Itachi had already said more today about his past than he had in a long time.

He would let him keep his secrets, it’s not like he didn’t have his own skeletons.

They were leaving when the faintest of noises reached his ears.

“I know she wouldn’t want to see me, because I ruined her life.”

(Kisame wasn’t sure if he really heard him, or if his mind was filling the silence between them.) 

I couldn’t go back and face her , Itachi thought as he stared at the falling leaves, She’s better off pretending she never knew me.

 

 

Tsunade laughed as Shizune and her skipped the latest town.

“Wasn’t that fun?”, she slurred.

Shizune gave her an exasperated look, “That’s what you said last time.”

“Live a little. It’s fun.”, Tsunade laughed, “You’re young, when you get to my age, you’ll regret not having more fun when you were younger.”

“I don’t need to have fun.”, Shizune retorted, “I need to keep you safe.”

Tsunade ignored her, having been distracted by their surroundings.

“Where are we?”

Shizune looked at a map, “We’re heading towards this country called Wave.”

“The bridge here looks new.”, Tsunade commented, “Do you think they have any good places to gamble?”

The Sakura Bridge had a plaque, one Tsunade ignored, but Shizune read.

Her heart felt lighter for it.

 

The Sakura Bridge is a Symbol of Hope. It shows that individuals can make a difference in a community. This is a monument to those who have stood up for what was right. Like Sakura trees bloom, all individuals have the potential to do the same.

 

Tsunade stumbled slightly as she made her way across the bridge, followed by a woman she had promised to take care of, and a pig that could smell debt collectors from miles away.

She tried to push away her guilt.

Dan would hate it if he could see her now. She had dragged Shizune from place to place, never allowing her respite or the false promise of a stable life.

(She was too selfish to let Shizune go back to Konoha. Anywhere but Konoha. )

Konoha could go fuck itself for all she cared.

(Her grandpa was probably rolling around in his grave.)

Grandpa had died.

Uncle Tobirama had died.

Mom had died.

Dad had died.

Nawaki had died.

Dan had died.

All of them had died in Konoha’s wretched cursed name.

(More people would continue to die for that insufferable village.)

“I think we can stay here for a few months.”, she informed Shizune.

Shizune’s eyes lit up briefly, before turning guarded.

(Tsunade suppressed her wince by tripping once again.)

“I don’t think anyone would look for us here.”, Tsunade offered, “Jiraiya would look at our normal haunts. I doubt Konoha would come here.”

Shizune raised an eyebrow.

(Kami, did she look like Dan when she did that.)

“And . . .”, Tsunade felt her mouth dry slightly, “I think I’m going to try cutting down on my drinking. Maybe get sober?”

That hopeful disbelief was still present in Shizune’s features.

“Do you mean it?”, Shizune asked slowly.

It stung.

“I’ll try.”, Tsunade said hoarsely, “It won’t be easy.”

“It won’t.”, Shizune responded, “Are you sure you want to do this?”

“No.”, Tsunade replied automatically, “But I want to try.”

Shizune had a soft smile on her face.

(Maybe that was enough for Tsunade to forget her guilt for a moment.)

Tsunade had been running nearly her entire adult life.

Shizune deserved better. 

( So did Dan.)

“What are they doing?”, Naruto asked as he rubbed his eyes.

Sakura was blindfolded and dodging an equally blindfolded Tadashi.

“Training.”, Kakashi said before flipping the page of his book, “They woke up early and asked me to supervise.”

“They can’t see.”, Naruto said slowly before pointing at Kakashi, “And you aren’t watching them! You’re reading.”

“I’m making sure no one gets too injured.”

“They’ve been doing this the last hour.”, Sasuke said as he leaned in, “The fighting style they used is similar, but I haven’t been able to predict a single move.”

“It’s instinct.”, Kakashi supplied as he flipped another page, “They’ve been fighting on pure instinct. When they have it down, I’m going to add you two to the fray.”

“Instinct?”, Naruto asked, “I don’t see any bugs.”

“Those are insects you’re thinking of Dobe.”, Sasuke said without tearing his eyes away from the two, “Instincts are reactions. It’s how we move when something comes towards us. Fight or Flight.”

“I knew that!”, Naruto bluffed, “I was just making sure you did!”

Sakura winced briefly at Naruto’s volume, allowing Tadashi to get a scratch in.

“Maybe we should just have Naruto talk more before we add you two in?”, Kakashi pondered, “Should I just end this fight for now? I think Sakura might be getting tired.”

Sakura tackled Tadashi.

“I think she’s fine Kakashi-sensei.”, Sasuke said dryly.

Kakashi rushed over with a spray bottle, “Sakura! No biting! This is training! I did not give permission for you to bite!”

Tadashi tried to nip her back.

“Tadashi! Stop that!”, Kakashi ordered as he pulled out a rolled up newspaper for the two.

"They aren't going to stop.", Sasuke sighed.

"Who do you think is going to win?", Naruto asked.

Sasuke looked considering, "I don't know."

Ino continued to visit the puppies, and found a friend in the older girl.

Eventually, she tells Hana a familiar story of two friends turned rivals. 

Two girls destined to be enemies because of their love for the same boy.

Hana looks lost in memories of her own as she stares and sees nothing of the blonde in front of her, though she still hears every word.

“I love him, Hana. And so does she! But she refuses to tell me the truth! He actually looks at her! He barely spared me a glance before our teams started working together!”

(Dark brown hair and eyes looking at her accusingly. Hands crossed in front of Her purple dress as She demanded that Hana just go.)

“Sasuke is just so perfect! I don’t understand how she can pretend she doesn’t like him!”, Ino continued to rant, unaware of Hana’s blank stare and clenched fists.

(Black hair and black eyes looking disinterested at most people, but lighting up slightly at the sight of Hana. Their mothers were friends. They grew up with each other.)

“He’s an Uchiha!”

(The look in His eyes when He last saw her. The sardonic smile He wore while pleading Hana to make things right because “A Shinobi’s life is never guaranteed.” )

“Yeah, I mean he hardly talks to most people, but I just know he has a kind heart! I think soon I’ll be able to make him smile!”

(Hana had made Him laugh. It got harder to do so as He got older, but she still managed to get an honest laugh out of Him without fail every time she tried her hand at it. His mom had been grateful that He had a good friend like her. And Her ? She had only hated her more for it.)

“And Stupid Billboard Brow! She doesn’t even have to try to draw his attention! Everyone loves her! It’s just not fair!”, Ino spat venomously.

(Had She said the same things about Hana? Had She cried about how unfair everything was? Had She complained about how well Hana knew Him ?) 

“I think if she was around long enough my own Clan would like her more!”

( She looked nervous before confiding, “My Clan doesn’t even like me unless it suits them. I’m only half, you see. This is more my mother’s Clan, and I know the rest of my family sees me and saw my father as a stain on her pedigree. They like whispering where they know I can hear them. I’m not good enough for them, and I don’t think I’ll ever be.”)

“She just smiles and suddenly everyone loves her! Shikamaru and Choji are basically my brothers, and I know they prefer her.”

( She had said that because they came from the same Clan, He was destined to love Her . He could never marry someone like Hana so long as the Clan was around.) 

“And her hair! She has such pretty hair, and Sasuke probably loves it.”

(Hana couldn’t help how jealous she felt about Her . How even He would cause that evil green monster to appear in her heart. Why had she let something as petty as jealousy keep her away? Maybe things could have been different?) 

“Have you ever been in love?”, Ino suddenly asked.

Hana’s mind stalled.

(Black hair. Black eyes. Brown Hair. Brown eyes. In the end she had loved both of them.)

“Yeah.”, her voice broke slightly, though Ino didn’t pay her any mind.

“And did you have a best friend?”, Ino pondered.

“Yes.”, she said one more time, hoping her voice didn’t betray her thoughts.

“What was your friend’s name?”, Ino asked. Oblivious.

Hana felt her mouth go dry.

Ino could finally see that something was wrong as she watched as Hana paled further, and her breath started to come out uneven.

“Hana? Are you alright?”, the blonde questioned.

She shakily got up, making it to the trashcan in the next room before she threw up.

“I-Izumi. Her name was Izumi.”, Hana managed to gasp out as tears streamed helplessly down her face, “Izumi Uchiha.”

The words tasted like the ash from the Uchiha Compound.

(She ran to Izumi’s house and was stopped by the ANBU. No one would tell her anything. All she was told before being interrogated was that nearly everyone was dead. No one would let her know if Izumi and Him were safe. They treated her like some sort of criminal!)

Ino’s face dropped before whispering so low that Hana barely heard it, “She’s gone.”

It wasn’t a question.

Hana could only sob harder.

Of the two people she had loved, one was now a Traitor and the other a Ghost.

One was a Killer, and the other, His Victim.

(She wasn’t sure what was worse.)

Notes:

Hey Pumpkins, this update was meant to be out so much sooner than this. I had it outlined, but as you all know, I was dealing with personal problems. I ended up tossing most of my outline aside when I started writing. I went to hang out with friends and go roller skating, but I ended up sick a few days after. Stayed in bed almost a whole day because I felt miserable. I thought it might have been a combination of a head cold and maybe my allergies, but it turns out that after two years of never having it before, I caught COVID. I'm still super groggy, but I can at least form coherent thoughts. My mind kind of wondered all over the place when I was writing this chapter, but I think I'm going to keep everything that happened. Long author's note, but there's no hiatus or anything.

Yes, in this fic it is alluded to that Orochimaru and Tsunade were sleeping together as shown by Jiraiya's characters. Were they? Who knows? There's a lot of projecting in Jiraiya's books, so anything is possible. Will Tsunade get sober? Not sure. Are Mei and Kakashi friends? I mean, they have friendly conversations?

The Kiri Arc will probably end in two or three more chapters. I have Covid though and don't feel very motivated, so I'm not sure when I'll write those.

Hana's love life? Was it necessary? Not really. Do I regret it? No. I'll get more into her Genin Team. Who's alive. Who's not. Who was on that team. It will probably be intertwined with the next chapter. Next chapter will focus more on Sakura again since we only caught a few snippets of her. I just feel terrible so I gave Hana some angst. Am I a terrible person? Probably. With all the coughing I'm doing, I'm kind of curious to see if I'll get abs.

Poll:
- Sakura should have female love interests:
Yes - 16
Maybe - 3
No - 2

Thank you for sticking with this story! Your comments and support are amazing. I'm happy that you've taken time out of your day to read this. Based on last chapters unofficial vote, Tsunade won. Sasori lost by one vote! The same thing will apply again. If there's any characters you want to see comment them below, and the one with the most people asking for them will appear in the next chapter. Also, we're somehow over 700 Kudos?!? That's so amazing XD