Chapter Text
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:
