Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Haruno Sakura is a force of nature, someone to be reckoned with. She is the Daughter of Spring —- she is beauty, she is violence, she is birth, she is death, she is spring —- rebirth, life, growth, and purity, and she is also wild. Haruno Sakura does not bend at anyone’s will but her own, and she is born with a cry that echoes in the wind.

—

Haruno Mebuki may be far from the frosty lands she calls her home, but she is no fool to forget the teachings that she admittedly ran away from. (She does not regret it.) Haruno Mebuki comes from a lineage of Onna-musha, Haruno Mebuki is not one to back down from a challenge — she’s been raised to look power in the eye, and make her demands . Haruno Mebuki is not going to cower, she will not teach her daughter to. Haruno Mebuki is cold, ruthless, but she loves, and oh she loves so fiercely . Haruno Mebuki will protect her daughter the way she knows how, by sharpening her edges and growing her nails.

Haruno Sakura is going to grow up to be a terror, and Haruno Mebuki is going to ensure it. She makes this oath in the period between sunset and moonrise. Her daughter will be a terror , a nightmare, the blood that runs in her veins will make sure of it.

—

Haruno Sakura is going to be a kunoichi, she learns this when she is five and her birthday present is a stack of documents with the Hokage’s signature — mandatory military service. She’s going to enrol into the Academy.

That night, Mother-dearest holds her close and whispers, long nails raking against her scalp. Mother-dearest coos, petting her hair, she speaks with her voice devoid of real affection.

“You are going to be powerful , my little terror ,” she whispers. “But you must not let your guard down, you are going to pretend you are less, you are going to pretend you are weak and demure, you are going to lure men in and in the blink of an eye, you’ll have them in the palm of your hand. Don’t hesitate to snap their necks when you do.”

“Yes, Mother,” Sakura replies, not fully understanding Mother-dearest’s words.

“You are cute, my daughter. Use that to your advantage, won’t you?”

—

Sakura never got along well with other children. She wavers in front of the shifting crowd, her eyes move to look at her mother. Mebuki gazes straight ahead, face devoid of emotion. She looks unbothered, aloof. Sakura gulps and mimics her expression —- Mother-dearest is the strongest woman Sakura knows.

Sakura lingers by her mother’s side as the Hokage drones on with his speech. Something about the Will of Fire, yadda-yadda-yadda. Sakura’s eyes stray to other children who cling onto their parents, parents who cling onto their children with equal nervousness. Civvies and Clannies sit separately, and Sakura diligently takes note of it. Clannies are more lax, while Civvies grip onto their loved ones with clenched fists.

Mother-dearest does not hold her, unless it is in the dead of the night. Mother-dearest holds her, rakes her nails along her scalp and runs her hands through Sakura’s hair. Mother-dearest stands tall next to her, and she does not spare a glance towards her daughter. Sakura gulps.

“Haha-ue,” she says, when the speech is over, “I’m going, now.”

Mother-dearest gives her a nod, and Sakura is one of the first children to head inside, while her peers linger behind with the fussing of their parents.

The man at the desk peers down at her with a kind smile.

“Hello there! I’m Umino Iruka, you’ll be calling me Iruka-sensei in the future! Now, why don’t you tell me your name and I’ll let you know where to head over to?”

“Hello, Iruka-sensei. My name is Haruno Sakura.”

—

Sakura is the top of the entire civilian faction of the Academy. Classes are segregated into the civilian faction and the clan faction, which she can begrudgingly admit that it makes some sort of sense, considering the difference in skill, experience, and resources. Clan children were benefited — privileged, because this was their birthright. Sakura still feels some sort of pity, thinking about how they’re forced into an occupation where they’ll be nothing more than a soldier, a tool .

Mother-dearest never lies, especially in the dead of the night. The truth is harsh, but Mother-dearest is honest and never hides anything regardless of its brutality. Mother-dearest does not cover the history that lies at Sakura’s feet.

She knows the life she’s living is unfair — a civilian child forced into military service. If war does fall on them (and knowing Konoha, it could at any time) then it is Sakura who will be deployed with hesitance. The clan children want to be shinobi, and the ones in Sakura’s year are all heirs, and Sakura can’t help but scowl because if war falls upon them, Sakura will be fighting for her life and the rest of them will live in extravagant comfort in their compounds.

Sakura gets bullied in the Academy. She doesn’t complain to the teachers, because if she does, they’ll frown at her and gently tell her to run along. An unnecessary whine will be what they make of her words. The teachers in her faction simply do not care. It changes when she is seven, and a boy slices through her hair with a kunai. Sakura stills and watches as her pink locks fall down onto the ground. It is Iruka-sensei, the teacher of the clan children, who comes to her aid and Sakura cries for the very first time.

She comes home with jagged locks and puffy eyes, next to her Mother’s clenched jaw and cold gaze. Her chilled hands reach for her hair and Sakura begs.

“He did it to me, it wasn’t my fault,” she says— not my fault, not my fault, don’t hate me, don’t hate me. “I’m sorry, Haha-ue.”

Mother-dearest curls her upper lip in distaste, and her voice lacks emotion when she speaks:

“Pathetic, you couldn’t even fight him back?”

That week, they start sparring sessions in the civilian faction. Sakura beats the boy who cut her hair with a kunai to a pulp . Nobody dares to bully her again, not after that.

The kids in her class start decreasing in number, failing and dropping out, until there are only a handful and Sakura is too good —-

They send her to the clan faction. She is the only civilian girl. Her hair is uneven, and it reaches her shoulders now. Sakura remembers words spoken to her long ago.

“They will underestimate you. Let them, until you can throw a punch to their face that will break more than just their nose.”

“Hello, my name is Haruno Sakura. Please take care of me.”

Chapter Text

Haruno Sakura is seven and half, and she is desperate for attention. She is eight and she finally gets acquainted with the boy who desires the same thing as her. She knows this because she sees the same glint in his eyes, the one that she sees in the mirror. 

“Oi,” she says, uncharacteristically rude — it is not intended. The boy flinches, and Sakura frowns. “What’s your name?”

“Y-You don’t know my name, Sakura-chan?”

“If I did, I wouldn’t ask,” she points out drily. The blonde boy gasps, an affronted expression on his face.

“B-but! We’ve been classmates for a whole month , dattebayo!’

“So?” Sakura’s voice is gruff, and it’s different from the quiet front she puts on in class.

“You’re a meanie, ” the blonde scowls. Sakura feels offended. She glares.

“No I’m not,” she says. “Just tell me your name.”

“I’m Uzumaki Naruto, and I’m gonna be the future Hokage!” He exclaims, beaming with a grin that dares her to disagree, but Sakura doesn’t. She doesn’t, because for some reason — even though this boy is stupid and the dead-last of their class — she believes him . 

“Well, you can’t be Hokage without an advisor,” she pauses, replying with a grin of her own — sharp teeth glisten at him. “Say, Naru-chan , what do you think about having a best friend?” Her voice draws out the nickname.

Naruto bursts into protests at the nickname, and Sakura is successful in forging a new friendship.

—

They become attached to the hip, and this new development is the bane of Iruka’s existence. He groans when he sees his two menaces sitting together in every class without fail — the only time they get divided is when Sakura has to go for kunoichi lessons with the girls. 

Haruno Sakura is a menace in disguise, and Iruka is patiently waiting for the day she’ll wreak havoc on the world. He kind of hopes that it never comes. His hopes are in vain.

Sakura is fiercely protective of Naruto, and vice versa. While Iruka is glad that Naruto has someone so loyal by his side, he kind of wishes it wouldn’t mean bruises and broken noses every other day. Haruno Mebuki, Sakura’s mother, remains aloof and uncaring about this, much to Iruka’s chagrin.

Then, one day — it hits him. Sakura and Naruto are very similar in one aspect, they want attention , they want to be acknowledged . Iruka has this epiphany when he catches them running away together, grinning widely as they make their escape. Sakura throws her head back, laughing and Iruka witnesses what they’ve left behind. An angry man follows them not long after, covered in sticky, pink glitter. He starts shouting for the culprit( s ), and it seems as if he does not realise it is the handiwork of two sneaky Academy students.

Iruka is amused, but he is also exasperated. Then he starts noticing Sakura’s recent streak in troublemaking, and he notices that many of these incidents are not instigated by Naruto, but by Sakura herself. She wants to get in trouble.

It hurts Iruka. While the two are never up to any good, and often cause him many headaches throughout the day, Iruka still has a soft spot for them and he can see their pranks for what it is, a demand to be acknowledged. 

He starts going out of his way to dote on Sakura in his own little way, mostly just emphasising on the ways he gives her his attention. More tips, more compliments, more encouragement — he makes an effort to show her that her teacher does, in fact, care about her and thinks she is more than enough and he prays that Sakura catches on. 

However, Sakura is still a civilian and Iruka still has priorities in his job. So in the end, it is never enough if she is still below her peers.

Sakura starts bunking lessons, leaping through the windows and making her escape with Naruto in tow. When it starts, Iruka is not present. He waits for them to return, but they don’t, not until the next day. Then, they start doing it in the middle of class . 

They are going to be the death of him.

He prays for whoever their Jōnin sensei is going to be — something tells him they’re bound to be on the same Genin team.