Chapter Text
Both Naruto and Sasuke were out of the hospital now, it had been about two weeks since the invasion when team seven started up on practice again. It seemed Kakashi was still sour about being kept in the dark in regards to Sakura’s new teacher because he made her double her training weights. By the end of each day she was always too exhausted to do anything about her predicament.
That predicament would be her situation with her clan. They had reverted to pretending like nothing was wrong. Sakura was living fully at the compound again and lessons with Kuragari had started back up. If she refused, he would find her after team sevens practice and physically drag her weary body to the training grounds. She was just as exhausted as she had been two weeks ago, getting about four hours of sleep each night at most, and frequently finding herself more banged up than she had been in the hospital. The mornings were better after Inner worked on healing the injuries.
The only place she could really find refuge was Naruot’s place. She had tried Sasuke’s once but the boy always seemed to be at the blonde's apartment these days. And Sakura swore she saw an extra futon in one of the back rooms the other day.
This is where she currently found herself. Sitting on one of Naruto’s rickety chairs as he and Sasuke were trying (for the hundredth time) to pretend they weren’t completely obsessed with each other. Sakura had enjoyed the show at first, but now it was getting a little old…
Inner had been the first one to figure it out and Sakura was still upset that the alter-ego hadn’t let her in on the secret earlier. In reality she was just embarrassed that she hadn’t figured it out earlier. Once she noticed it, it was impossible to ignore. Even during practice she and Kakashi would exchange little glances and raised eyebrows every time Naruto fed some of Sasuke his lunch or Sasuke would keep glancing at Naruto when they were practicing water walking. So much so that it had taken the Uchiha Prodigy a solid half a day more to master the technique.
So far tonight Sakura had witnessed Naruto spot a piece of milk on the corner of Sasuke’s mouth, go to wipe it away, notice Sakura, and unintentionally slap the other boy. She had seen Sasuke turn bright red and mutter something about getting lost in thought when she caught him staring at Naruto’s lips for a little too long. And both of them had awkwardly run off to do useless chores when she turned a corner to find them standing way too close.
The problem came though when both boys disappeared for a few minutes and returned separately with sour looks on their faces. It was hard to tell in Sasuke’s case, but Sakura knew him pretty well now. They both ate in silence and when they were all done went to sit on the couches.
And do literally nothing.
Tension was thick in the air, it was clear they both wanted to talk but also not as they were very adamantly avoiding each other's gaze. This was ridiculous…
Will they just kiss and make up already!
Inwardly, Sakura groaned.
The same mood persisted through practice the next day and so much so that Kakashi pulled Sakura aside to ask what happened. She told him the truth, relationship troubles. It was not like she was oblivious?
Practice was tense and very little progress was actually made. After the third time Sasuke and Naruto fumbled a new formation they were supposed to be learning Sakura had had enough.
“Nope” she decided, grabbing all of their attention, “This is done.” She grabbed both boys by their sleeves and dragged them over to one another ignoring Naruto’s protests. “Naruto” she stated, “Apologize for whatever you did”
He looked highly offended as Sasuke smirked, “I did? I didn't even kno-”
“Nope” Sakura raised her hand, and behind them Kakashi looked thoroughly amused. “Just apologize”
“But-” she smacked him and he let out a yelp.
“Apologize”
“Wha-”
Smack “Ow!”
“Apologize”
“Fine, fine” he complained, rubbing at his head, he turned to Sasuke, “Sorry” he groaned.
Sakura nodded satisfied and turned to Sasuke, “Your turn”
“Hn-”
Smack
He looked at her incredulously and slammed his mouth shut. By the time he finally apologized the bump on his head was very visible. Sakura felt quit pleased.
“Sorry” he said simply.
“Great” Kakashi finally stepped in, “Thank you for that Sakura. For the rest of the day I will be working with Sakura on aim, you two shoo” he waved them away. Naruto and Sasuke didn’t move.
“Huh? What about us sensei?” Naruto asked.
“Take a break” Kakashi said, “Go on a date, I really don’t care”.
Sasuke flushed as Naruto screeched, “A DATE! WHA- NO WE”RE NOT-”
I swear…
Sakura took a deep breath. “Just go already” she said exasperated, “you are not discrete”
“At all” Kakashi added, not even glancing up from his book.
Now both of them were red. Kakashi and Sakura just shook their heads and walked away, leaving the two boys stuttering in the middle of the training ground.
Things were better after that. Naruto and Sasuke still acted embarrassed whenever their relationship was brought up but they didn’t try to hide it anymore. They exchanged small pecks, held hands whenever they ventured out, and could easily ask Sakura to leave when they wanted some time alone. The problem was that everyone else in the village was totally oblivious.
Well, not everyone of course, Sakura knew that Shikamaru (in his new chunnin jacket) had taken one look at the two of them and then privately asked Sakura how long they had been in a relationship.
The problem was that Jiraya didn’t know. He had apparently been Naruto’s teacher for the last phase of the exam and bonded closely with her teammate. Which was why he was so confused when Naruto turned down his out of village training opportunity. After a small chat with Sakura though, both Naruto and Sasuke were planning to take a trip in a week to find the villages next Hokage. Why they didn’t assign this to Anbu, Sakura didn’t know but Inner had been oddly silent about the issue.
Sakura was twelve when she woke up to a kunai at her throat. She didn’t scream, she didn’t move. She didn’t so much as breath.
She couldn’t see, a genjutsu, she thought but the kai did nothing to diminish her blindness. That’s when she became aware of her inability to see either.
They’re seals, they were placed on your arms. I deactivated the one that kept you knocked out but the others are a little more difficult. As soon as you can, you need to fight.
Sakura could feel it now, the tiny pinpricks of chakra that were moving on her arm. They were probably too small to be perceived, that’s just the way Inner worked but what the hell was she supposed to be fighting? Her heartbeat was slamming in her throat as she tried to decipher what was going on. Hadn’t she gone to sleep in her bed in the compound? Why would enemy-nin be after her.
This is not enemy-nin, use your brain idiot! Even as Inner spoke Sakura could tell just how tired they were. They still hadn’t recovered from Orochimaru, hadn’t recovered from the invasions, and definitely hadn’t recovered from today's training.
There was movement, something brushed against her skin, she could feel something rough rub against her arm and her body was thrown over what felt like a shoulder. She heard something now, something like muffled voices, she recognized one.
Kuragari
She was being kidnapped, by her own family, in her own home.
The voices were becoming clearer now. Sakura still couldn’t move but she could start to make out words.
“Parents… bonds… th- light… ink- quickly…ceremony”
A cold sweat broke out. This was strategic, it was planned, she knew they were trying their hardest to keep her but this is way beyond where she thought they would go. She tried to still her breathing and make it as if she was still asleep but the fear coursing through her body made it hard.
You need to calm down
She tried, she really did, but it was hard when she could also feel just how tired Inner sounded. This really was not good.
Then, as if something snapped, she felt Inner shift and all her senses rushed back to her.
FIGHT Inner screamed and Sakura lashed out.
She heard someone grunt as a fist made contact with one of her kidnappers and she felt as another grabbed her hair, yanking her to the ground. Her eyes slammed open as she took in the scenery around her. She was surrounded by four men, all of them shinobi she recognized from her compound, people that worked for her family. Kuragari was front and center, looking at her with a twisted smirk decorating his face.
“Gotta say, I’m quite proud how quickly you broke out of that.” There were two shinobi on her left and a third held her hair from the back. Her eyes darted around frantically, looking for anything that could help free her but they were in an empty hallway, the one near her fathers office. This hallway was never empty, not even during the night. Guards were supposed to be by the door twenty-four seven protecting all the documents that lay within. She briefly wondered if they cleaned it out on purpose.
The other two shinobi moved to take her arms, forcing her to her knees with a pained grunt. The one holding her hair pulled harshly so she was forced to expose her neck and look at Kuragari as he stood right over her. He gently grabbed her chin, cruel eyes searching her face for something . “I don’t know why you tried so hard to be strong when all you’ll ever be is weak Sa-ku-ra .” A shiver ran down her back. Kuragari noticed it and smirked, leaning down close enough that she could feel his breath on his face. She squeezed her eyes shut. She hated when he did this. He would get in her personal space, make her squirm, make her submit. “You know I really do love a girl who fights back but this isn’t the time, we’re on a schedule dear. Wouldn’t wanna be late for your own wedding.”
Sakura’s eyes snapped open as a strangled “NO” escaped from her mouth as she tried to lash out again. A fist slammed her head to the side in response.
Don’t give in!
“That’s not what you want to say” Kuragari cued, “Your lines are ‘I do’.”
She spat blood and spit right at his face. Another fist landed in her stomach and she keeled over. “Let’s try that again, I do”
“Fuck you”
BAM
She cried out as he slammed her into the ground, using his elbow to send her face straight into the wooden floor, the wood underneath her cracked and splintered took up home in her bloody cheeks. She looked up and smiled, Inner may have been building strength but Sakura had learned a thing or two from them over the past few month. “Do I look like a pretty bride?” she asked.
Kuragari’s eyes flamed and Sakura sensed the danger before he moved. In a rush, Inner swapped places with Sakura. Neither of them made a move to reach for Orochimaru’s seal, well aware that their body would not be able to handle the strain in their current state. Kuragari grabbed a kunai from his pouch and aimed for her shoulder. In a twist of her arms and legs, Sakura knocked her left and right captors back and into the walls. The one who held her hair pulled her harshly to her feet and she growled. The two she knocked back stood up and took a step in her direction.
“ Aw, don’t tell me you need backup for little ol’ me ” They all froze. That was not the same voice she had just a minute ago. Sakura used that to her advantage and grabbed the kunai from Kuragari’s hand. He let out a yell as she swung it up, slicing it through her pink hair and successfully breaking free of her captors as bright pink strands fluttered to the floor around her. She heard Kuragari curse but she couldn't celebrate, not yet. Outer could feel just how exhausted Inner was. She could feel their limit getting closer and closer. They were outnumbered, out-skilled, and all alone. The stunt with Orochimaru had been due to luck and being underestimated. She had no luck here and she sure as hell wasn't going to be underestimated. Taking note, it appeared that all four shinobi were still in good shape. She might have hit them hard but she suspected they were closer to Jounin level. She wouldn’t expect her family to hire anything less.
Kuragari motioned at the others to stand down and stood up straight, casual, like they were having a conversation. Clearly he had noticed her disadvantage to. “ Sa-ku-ra , don’t be like this. Do you really think you can take all four of us? You still haven’t been able to defeat me. This was always bound to happen, don’t make it difficult.”
He’s right …
Literally all the odds were against her, there was no way she could win.
Let’s bide our time, wait until they let their guards down
She knew Inner agreed when she felt control return to her and Inner slip away to the depths of their mind. The place where she recovered the quickest. Sakura would be on her own from now on until they were ready to return. She fell to the ground and went limp.
Kuragari smirked and leaned over her, “Now isn’t this a pretty sight, makes me want to keep you all for myself.” She didn’t react, didn’t move, barely breathed. If this was going to happen, she would take no part in it. She could play the helpless captive, she could lie and act. It was a talent Sakura had been polishing her whole life. She knew how to obey and hide.
Besides, she needed to save up all her energy for what was next.
Both families were visible in the room when Sakura’s blindfold was removed. She didn’t react though, one, because she simply did not want to, and two, because she had been fitted with new seals.
Inner was not around to remove these ones.
She felt shaky as she saw Kenta Kazuo standing next to where she was seated. He looked down at her with distaste and something she couldn’t quite place. His eyes scanned her face, her body and he sneared as he took in her appearance. "I wasn't aware I was marrying a hobo". Sakura spotted her father just in time to watch his lips curl. The room they were in was large but not somewhere she recognized, she wondered if they were in the Kazuo compound, it would make sense. They had placed her in the front of the room now under a simple yet expensive looking arch where Kuragari kept her standing with a firm hold of her shoulder. His fingers almost brushing against the seal and a thought came to her. The fact Orochimaru had branded her was a secret, not quiet as serious as Naruto's but there was no way her clan had been made aware. She could use that...
Kenta stood in front of her in a simple suit but now faced the audience which was made up of two rows. They were chatting amicably but it was clear their was tension in the air. She hoped it was due to her disheveled state. She could feel the dried blood on the corner of her lips and she had the urge to lick it clean.
They were split into two sides with a hallway down the center. On the left was her family and on the right is who she assumes were considered important in the Kazuo clan. They too looked at her with judgment and disgust.
Before entering the room, Sakura had been changed by a small army of maids so she now wore a simple white dress with no makeup. When they had tried getting close to her face, she bit at their hands. She'd gotten one even, that copper taste still lingered on her tongue and she knew from the depth her teeth had reached that they would be gettign stiches. Kuragari had also changed into a tux, he was supposed to be her best man, she supposed if his position at the alter was anything to go by.
He felt more like a warden.
The ceremony started without much fuss. Sakura would have screamed and shouted but the seals on her prevented her from doing anything but glare. Inner was still silent in her mind but she knew she was there, gathering chakra and waiting. They would get out, they had too. Sakura had not tried so hard for so long to be trapped by a civilian family.
The officiant, a tired looking gentleman, spoke something and looked at Sakura expectantly. She felt her lips form the words “I do” before her brain even processed what had happened. She glared at Kuragari from the corner of her vision. Kenta repeated the statement and Sakura was led to sit in a chair in front of the congregation when she felt her heart stop.
No fucking way…
She saw it now, how the hell had she forgotten. It was tradition after all in the civilian district for the groom to tattoo a wedding band design on the bride's finger. She had memorized her mothers from an early age when she still dreamed of being the obedient daughter. For the first time since the ceremony started Sakura struggled. Only inwardly of course as she still could not move but she could feel her heart pounding against her chest. She couldn’t hear a thing because of the seals but she could see just fine and she saw as Kenta grabbed the tattoo needle and ink and held it up to the audience who appeared to cheer.
Inner… Sakura begged. They needed to get out. NOW!
Kenta turned back to her and crouched down in front of her, he unwrapped the ink bottle and stuck the needle in. Kuragari grabbed her hand and splayed her fingers out.
Inner please…
All Sakura could do was watch as the first pinprick of sharp burning pain radiated from her ring finger. It didn't hurt, not physically at least but she knew that each stroke was sealing away her future. She felt as a tear left her eye. Inside her mind she screamed. She felt it them, the tiniest sliver of chakra, just a wisp, moving to her finger and around where the needle entered. In front of her Kenta frowned slightly, the design was starting to look a little wobbly. The rest of the chakra whisps headed for her arms and the seals. The chakra felt strange, like it wasn’t quit her own and that's when she felt the burning sensation on her neck.
She saw her fathers eyes go wide and he said something with a smile. Whatever it was the guests started heading for one of the doors where Sakura spotted tables of food.
“...neck” It was like a flip had been switched. She could hear them now, talking about the black symbols that were starting to form on her neck. They were arguing. Kenta’s parents yelling at Sakura’s for not informing them about this, Sakura’s parents demanding Kuragari seal it, Kuragari yelling that he didn’t know what it was, and Kenta yelling that something was messing up his strokes.
They all went silent when Sakura’s finger twitched.
In an instant Kuragari had her in a headlock, kunai digging into her back. He instructed another shinobi to grab her hand and told Kenta to hurry up with the seal. That’s when it hit her. The tattoo wasn’t just a design, it would be a permanent seal. They knew goddamnit. They knew that regardless of some measly ceremony and a drawing on a finger Sakura would fight back and they had prepared.
We have to get out of here…
INNER
The chakra was growing stronger now, still traveling like whisps but now wherever it reached felt rejuvenated.
Kenta jumped back with a loud “Done!” and everyone started moving.
“Can you hold her?” Sakura’s father asked Kuragari who gave a firm nod.
Kenta’s mother looked incredulous, “Hold her? You expect him to be present?”
His father answered for Sakura’s, “He has to be, or the bitch might run”
“But here?” Sakura’s mother complained, “Surely they can move to one of the bedrooms?”
Sakura's dad took his wife's hand, "That will come later, for now Kenta has to finish the seal or she might kill him in the bedchamber".
"Kill him!" Kenta's mother screeched, "You promised us she was stable!"
"She will be as soon as he finishes the seal!"
"This had better work" Kenta growled, hurredly replacing the ink canister with another filled with thick red liquid. It was blood if the smell could be trusted. "If I have to marry this the least she can be is silent"
"You hold your tongue boy, lest you forget it is your family that is looking to clear your debt. You agreed to this years ago." Kenta just glared and grabbed Sakura's arm harshly. But just as he had, a scream left his mouth as a wave of black symbols raced down from her shoulder. Someone else cursed and rough hands pinned her on the floor.
No, fuck no that was not happening. Sakura had been working on her dream for her whole life and she wasn’t about to let them take it from her. Sakura would rather die then let these fuckers control her. She closed her eyes and followed the trail of wispy chakra to the back of her mind. She found Inner there, weak but hard at work filtering the chakra from Orochimaru’s seal throughout her body. She concentrated, focused all her energy on her task, and kept following the chakra. Right into the seal itself.
What the hell are you doing Outer!
She ignored Inner. It was her character. Inner would rather have Sakura live even if it meant a life of servitude. She was Sakura’s survival instinct. But Sakura had to do this.
The seal was complex, like a thousand different spider webs overlapping each other into swirls of color. There was a pattern here, she just had to find it. Pain blossomed in her temple and something warm dripped down from her eyes.
Was it tears or blood?
She ignored it though, that didn’t matter. She kept looking, kept analyzing. This is always what she had been best at, chakra control. She knew she could do this, she had to do this and… THERE! Sakura pulled and screamed.
Violently she was thrown out of the mind while Inner was slammed into the front by a tidal wave of chakra. Inside their mind Sakura kept screaming as the wave of corrupt chakra rushed around her. It reached out for Inner but every time Outer pulled it back, keeping it in a tight net around her own consciousness. The last thing she saw before passing out was her own hand holding two bloody kunai, one in the stomach of a gurgling Kenta, and one in her fathers shoulder.
Sakura was twelve when she died.
Team seven hadn’t seen Sakura in two days.
They weren’t worried though, her father had sent them a letter that she had to deal with some clan business and would be busy.
That non-worry turned to worry very quickly though when Sakura showed up to their training ground looking like she lost another fight with Orochimaru
Sakura is not sure what made her decide to go to training. To be honest, she didn’t really think her mind was working. Was she able to process her thoughts?
Probably not.
Was her memory working?
Absolutely not.
Was she conscious of what she was doing?
Not really.
But of course, she was completely unaware of this. Sakura was used to her schedule now so when she woke up in an alley early in the morning she quickly found some different clothes (shorts and a simple T-shirt), cleaned herself up, and headed for the training grounds.
“Sakura!” Her name slammed from Naruto’s lips, drenched in worry and calling Kakashi and Sasuke’s attention down the path where a figure was now visible. “What happened?” he asked as she got closer, eyes racking her body, taking note of every bruise and cut. She was speckled in blood, enough to be of concern, not that he knew it wasn't all hers. A thick layer of it coated her hand, clearly dry for some hours now as it flaked off her skin like scales. Sakura just waved back in greeting.
She was close enough now that he could see her eyes. They narrowed as she tilted her head in confusion. As her head moved, so did her hair. Or maybe it was the lack of movement that caught his attention. It was shorter now, but not in the way that suggested intentionality. It was crooked, messy, and was so short at the top that it stuck straight up. Clearly a rushed job.
Sakura blinked. Slowly.
Behind Naruto Sasuke and Kakashi put down their weapons and met the rest of the group.
“Clan business all taken care of?” Kakashi asked, tone light like he was making a comment on the weather. She nodded but confusion still painted her face.
Clan business? Was that why she was in an alley?
Naruto still looked panicked and opened his mouth but Sasuke slammed a hand over it, giving him a look. “Anything you can tell us about?" Kakashi continued, "Whatcha did? Where you were…”
“A wedding” she interrupted and she knew it to be true as soon as she said it. She had been at a wedding.
Her wedding.
The realization slammed into her like a charging bull. She felt her mind pull away, a distant pain radiated from her stomach and her finger burned.
Unbeknownst to her Sasuke had responded with a deadpanned “wedding..” which was echoed by Naruto’s own shriek.
When Sakura came back to the present Kakashi had put down his book. Sasuke and Naruto were having a hushed conversation to his right. He was scanning her, not unlike Naruto had been doing upon her arrival. It made her feel uneasy. She tensed up when his eyes darkened, stopping somewhere on her neck where the shape of fingers was clearly present.
“Someone you knew?” he asked carefully. She nodded. “Whose”
Mine A voice called from the back of her mind but she didn’t let it out. Instead she tilted her head, not meeting his eyes. “I don’t see how that is important.” Her focus drifted from the conversation onto the training ground behind them. Kunai, targets and ninja wire.
Looked fun.
Kakashi stepped back into her field of view though with a smile that didn’t quit reach his eyes. “I just want to see if I know them. I’m quite popular you see.” She scoffed. It was doubtful anyone in her clan would know a lazy pervert ninja like her sensei. A third of them probably didn’t know the Hokage’s name (may he rest in peace).
“Just some clan members.” Kakashi raised an eyebrow. Well that wasn’t a good sign…
“Hold on,” Naruto spoke up. They looked at him, his face was one of holy unbelieving as he stared down at Sakura’s hand.
Oh shit, the tattoo.
She grasped her left hand with her right but it was too late, they had tracked Naruto’s stare.
Sasuke’s eyebrows were high as he asked “Is that a tattoo?”
“No” she quickly spat out and winced, that had been way too fast.
“My cute little genin got a tattoo” Kakashi mused as if testing the words. Naruto was still looking at her in shock. She knew he knew what it meant, unlike the others Naruto had grown up in the civilian district, they shopped at the same market for goodness sake. Her eyes locked onto his and she prayed that her pleas were being conveyed.
But just like always, luck wasn’t on her side.
“YOU GOT MARRIED!”
She felt her control slip and her KI slip out just as it had the previous night, “ NO ”. It came out more like a growl than a statement and her eyes flashed a dark green. Her team tensed. She internally winced, not good. No one spoke, all of them were watching her carefully, prepared. Naruto and Sasuke had heard that voice before, in the Forest of Death after Orochimaru had bitten her. Kakashi had only heard about it in the boy's report. They knew they were treading into dangerous territory and she needed to calm down right the fuck now…
Sakura took a deep breath, “No, I didn’t get married”.
“but-” his eyes darted between her hand and the murderous glare she was sending his way. Slowly his voice trailed off.
“Dobe, why would you think she got married?” Sasuke smacked the back of Naruto’s head, “She’s twelve”.
That was true, but it didn’t hold the same weight to Sakura that it held with Sasuke. Ninja families tended to wait much longer than civilian families to get married. At least until after both parties had established themselves as accomplished shinobi.
Civilian marriages shouldn’t be a concept they were familiar with. She had nothing to worry about. Inner moved back to the back of their mind.
“Yeah, I’m twelve” she agreed. Hoping that would be the end of it.
Naruto’s eyes kept flickering and it was clear he wanted to say more.
Sakura, on the other hand, very much wanted to hit him.
Turning her head she met Kakashi’s stoic gaze. It was obvious that he was reading her, trying to pull the truth to the surface. “Naruto” he asked, not taking his eyes off of her “Why did you think she had gotten married?" The boy nervously looked between Sakura and their sensei, probably debating which of them would be worse to deal with. His last glance at Sakura was all apologies. Her heart stopped.
“The tattoo on her finger” he started, “It’s part of the wedding ceremony. Or at least one of them. The groom tattoos a ring made up of squigglies on the women's finger so that even if her ring is lost the tattoo still shows she’s taken” he scratched his head, “at least I think”. With each word he spoke more and more blood rushed from her face. She could feel Kakashi’s stare dig into her temple but she ignored him, solely focusing on the boy in front of her.
The boy who would soon be dead in a ditch where no one could find him.
So focused on imagining all the way to maim Naruto she didn’t notice the incoming hand. It landed on her shoulder as she flinched backwards. Her hand automatically reached for her kunai but a larger hand stopped her, grabbing her left arm and lifting it to the face of the hand’s owner. Kakashi’s eyes raked over the tattoo’s design where it encircled her finger, shaky at places from Inner’s interference.
“You got married,” he stated. She growled, something feral that originated from the back of her throat. She tried to yank her hand from his grasp but he held tight, now back to analyzing the bruises that covered her body. “You didn’t want to”. It wasn’t a question, but a statement. Sakura didn’t argue. “What happened”.
“I stabbed him” that’s what she remembered, right? She could see it clearly, a kunai sticking out of Kenta’s stomach. The other protruding from her fathers shoulder. Warmth blossomed in her belly at the pride that shone on her sensei's face. But then it was gone, leaving her wondering if she had imagined it.
“And your families?”
“Haven’t seen them since the…” Here she stuttered, remembering the final horrifying realization of that ceremony where she had forced Inner to completely take over. “the stabbing” she concluded before adding a small “I think”.
“You think?” Kakashi asked but Sakura didn’t really hear him. Or at least in a way that she was conscious of. Inner had taken care of it, she knew that. But what had happened after Inner took control? How was she still alive? She didn’t think that she would be waking up to see another day, not after filtering that seals chakra into Inner. Where did she go for the rest of the night? When had she changed? Completely lost in thought, Sakura wasn’t aware that she had answered Kakashi’s question.
“Who’s Inner”
A migraine slammed into the front of her forehead sending Sakura staggering forward, only Kakashi’s quick arms kept her up.
Pay attention to what you’re saying, idiot
Had she been thinking aloud? Not good, control over her tongue was a skill she had since infancy. This was not the time for it to fail…
But her mind was so jumbled. She knew she was standing on the ground, she could feel the solid dirt beneath her feet, but it was like it wasn’t there. Why hadn't she remembered what had happened earlier? Why could she not remember all the little details? She knew she stabbed Kuragari but how . After all this time, how had she finally beaten him?
“Whoah, hey, Sakura you okay?” Naruto looked on in concern, Sasuke next to him. She rubbed a palm over her face, it came away slick with sweat. She nodded but from the looks of it, their concern only grew.
“I’m just a little tired.” she stated, brushing off their concern, “I’m sorry Sensei but is it alright if I take a break today. I don’t think it will be productive if I stay.”
“Rest! You need to go to a hospital, Sakura!” she just shook her head at Naruto and looked at their sensei, waiting for his dismissal. Sasuke whispered something in Naruto’s ear and his head whipped down to Sakura’s legs. KI started to leak from both boys.
Kakashi ignored Sakura's request, instead choosing to walk around her and find what Naruto and Sasuke were so upset about. He stopped right behind her, KI now slipping from his own person. “What are those” he asked, nodding at her lower legs. Sakura frowned, what where they so mad about? She looked down at the tattered shorts she had on, they were brown and stopped right at her knees. When and where had she found them?
“I’m not sure, I don’t think they are mine.” her frown deepened, “I’ll have to find a way to return them I suppose.”
Sasuke and Naruto blanched at her. Kakashi’s patented eye smile returned. “Not the shorts themselves, on your legs.”
With a not-so-subtle glance over her shoulder and a lift of one leg she examined the array of scars that ran horizontally across her calves from all the times she was punished as a child. Is that what they were looking at. They were just scars, and she told them as such.
“We can see that they’re scars, where did you get them!” Naruto demanded. And she told them. Naruto looked green. She frowned, there wasn’t anything to be so worried about, everyone had scars, shinobi especially. Kakashi was looking at her carefully, scanning over her as if he has never truly seen her before, stopping on every injury and scar that was visible. He pointed at one creeping out of the top of her shirt. It was a low-cut shirt, she usually wore turtle-necks.
“And that one?” he asked.
“Training” she replied.
“That’s not the type of injury you get from training…” Sasuke stated. Sakura didn’t reply. What did he mean by that? She had gotten it that first day Inner came out, during training. So, she got it from training.
That weird ache in her stomach returned and the need to rest increased. She shook her head, now wasn’t the time to try and follow their thought process. She could do that after she rested.
She turned back to Kakashi and raised an eyebrow, “Am I free to go, Sensei?” He met her eyes and something that looked suspiciously like sadness flashed across his face for a second before he was smiling again. It must have just been her imagination.
“Of course Sakura, “he gave her a small nod and replied in a voice she had never heard before. “We will see you tomorrow.” It was soft, kind, and a little sad.
Sakura walked away.