Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

The first time Sakura defied a rule she was four. It was actually even before she knew of the rule's existence.

But that is how it always worked, she never knew about a rule until it was broken.

Sakura was four and her parents had been on a business trip for five months while Sakura lived with her uncle. Five months of being taken care of by maids who never spoke to her and never let her outside. To say she had been excited would have been an understatement.

Her parents had walked through the door to her uncle’s house and Sakura had run up to hug them. She’ll never forget the contempt that appeared on their faces when she looked up.

A lady knew how to control her emotions

That was the first one.

Within the first couple days of living with her parents again she had compiled a list, nothing written because she couldn’t read yet but they were practically engraved into her skin every time the stick hit her calves.

Only speak when spoken to
Eyes down
Young ladies are to be seen and not heard
Be polite

This list was her lifeline which grew with her every year.

__________________________

When she was five she heard the word “kunoichi” for the first time. Her father had mentioned it during a conversation at dinner. A conversation Sakura was not allowed to be a part of because young ladies did not speak unless addressed.

Young ladies are to be seen and not heard

But Sakura had been little still. She made mistakes and so she opened her mouth and asked “What’s a ku-o-ichi?”

Her father hadn’t answered the question, simply calling her over next to him and instructing her to turn around and lift the back of her red dress over her calves. With each hit he had her count, never above twenty cause that’s as high as she could go. Although sometimes her daddy would go over and she would learn a new number.

Her parents refused to help Sakura with her wounds. They insisted that young ladies must deal with issues pertaining to their bodies by themselves. This also meant that her maids couldn’t help her. She remembers a time when other people used to bathe her, but that stopped with the first punishment.

The second time she heard that word was while talking to Ino when she was six. The blonde had proudly declared “I’m gonna be a kunoichi one day!” She hadn’t stumbled over the pronunciation like Sakura had, she said each syllable with a confidence that inspired Sakura to take a risk. So she asked the question again “What is a Kunoichi?”.

Ino had gaped at her, open mouth. “You don’t know what a kunoichi is! We need to fix this right now! Come to my house in an hour, I’ll show you the best job in the world!” and then she had run off. Sakura, not having anything else to do had sat there quietly (and politely thank you very much) for forty minutes and then made her way to Ino’s house.

“Now my dad let them know that we’ll be here so they don’t send anything out way but we still gotta stay outta the way which means we have to stay riiiiigghhhtt here” and she had plopped Sakura down on a bench next to a larger field within the Yamanaka compound.

When two women entered the field Ino squealed.

And then they started fighting.

It was mesmerizing. Each of them moved as if they were dancing, weaving in and out of the others personal space. Every now and then blows were exchanged, violet and hard but just as beautiful. Even from a distance the women had muscles, Sakura had never seen muscles on a woman before and as she watched a crimson trail of blood drip down the larger woman’s arm Sakura thought “I wanna be a kunoichi”.

__________________________

That experience pushed Sakura to the library and into a life of rule breaking. She didn’t tell her parents where she went every day, they didn’t think women belonged in places of education.

But Sakura would spend hours there reading every book the snooty librarians would let her get her hands on. She learned more about being a kunoichi and everything she could find on ninja’s. There were a lot of ninja villages and she lived in one of the most prominent. It sends a spark of pride down her spine. Within the villages there were ninja academies and children could join at certain ages. Five for Shinobi-born, eight for civilian-born, that’s what she was. Civilian-born kids apparently didn’t tend to join the training academy, and even with the ones that did there was only a fourteen percent chance of graduating.

The best thing she learned though when she was seven was that graduated genin were considered adults, no matter their age.

A few days after that discovery Sakura willingly broke two other rules.

First, she walked into her fathers study and looked up into his eyes as he sat behind his large desk. Her father had narrowed his eyes in turn, stopping what he was doing and looked down at her.

“I want to be a kunoichi,” she stated. That was number two.

She didn’t let his contempt waver her as he spoke. “You will not be a kunoichi, you are a young lady”.

She took a deep breath and grasped the hem of her dress with shaking fingers.

“I’m going to join the academy”

His gaze switched to one of rage as he called her mother into the room. The academy was open to orphans so a guardian's approval was not necessary. At least that was the excuse given, Sakura suspected it was actually so head families of clans couldn’t stop branch members from joining.

It worked the same way for Sakura.

Her mother seemed less bothered than her dad, only looking down her nose and stating that Kenta could deal with her. He was the head of their family and the person in charge of the marriage arrangement between Sakura and the Kazuo clan.

The marriage arrangement she could deny once she became a genin.

The next day Sakura’s parents took her to Kenta’s house. Unlike her parents Kenta, agreed to let her go to the academy, they wouldn’t try to hinder her. However, he agreed to this on the condition that she would train under Kuragari, a retired chunin.

“He will teach you what it means to live the life of a shinobi”. He told her.

Kuragari was a large man with wide shoulders and no hair. Instead, his scalp was decorated with small scars that disappeared into the collar of his shirt. The man held himself with a self-important air. And when he smiled down at her and something in her stomach twisted. For the first time in a while, she doubted herself.

__________________________________

Training with Kuragari quickly became her least favorite chore of the day. She understood now why everyone pushed her away from a shinobi life. Every cut and broken bone was just another reason to accept her life as it was. The day before Sakura had to turn in her documents for the academy she asked Ino to watch another training session.

Sakura never doubted herself again.

But even as she entered the academy training sessions never stopped.

“Come on Sa-ku-ra, we’ve barely just started. Don’t tell me you’re tired already?”

She hated the way he said her name. They way he broke it up and emphasized each part as if it was it's own word. Lying on the floor Sakura distantly wondered if Shinobi children were born with higher pain tolerances, after all this was the type of training they were doing since they were old enough to walk. Maybe she was just weak.

She saw his fist coming down fast and tried to roll over but it hit her right in the stomach. Blood spat from her lips with each cough and she curled into herself even more. “P-please, s-stop, p-lease”

“The enemy won’t stop just because you’re tired. Sa-ku-ra. Stand up”. She hated the way he said her name, it slithered out of his mouth, smooth like the finest silks her mom shoved on her body every time they went over to the Kazuo clan. With a long groan she propped herself up on her elbows. Another hand came down and grabbed her hair, “You need to be faster”, it yanked her up with a shriek. White dots danced in her vision as her scalp burned. “Attention” Kuragari called and she scrambled to get her feet back underneath her. It’s what they had been working on for the past two hours.

Running on pure fear her hands clasped tightly behind her back, feet shoulder width apart, shoulders back, chin up (but not making eye contact).

Kuragari walked around her, inspecting. She kept her feet planted, prepared for…

Something shoved her from the left and she quickly recovered, the next one came from the right, behind her, left again, and then something swept her feet from under her. Her nose slammed into the ground with a crack. “Don’t expect every attack to be the same, you’re enemy is just as human as you are”

Blood ran from her nose, her head hurt, her calves stung, and she was covered with bruises.

She saw his feet approach her prone form.

How did she breathe again?

Her hair was tugged again but this time she didn’t sob, she barely felt it. Strong arms trapped her to a larger chest, a chin rested on her head as Kuragari sat on the floor with her. “Shhhh, shhhhh, it’s okay” Sakura realized she had been crying, “I was just showing you why you can’t be a shinobi, we can stop now if you want. Although…” the chin moved from the top of her head, replaced with a hand that tilted her head to the side.

Sakura closed her eyes.

“I will miss this” he spoke, hot breath hit her neck before it too was replaced, this time with his nose nuzzling her like some dog. Her body begs her to say no, to stop the pain and never see Kuragari again but then she remembers the woman fighting. She imagines that the strength of their hits are flowing into her as she opens her mouth. “I’m gonna be a kunoichi”. The vibrations of his chuckle send waves of cold everywhere their bodies touch.

Something wet cleans up the trail of blood on her neck and a deep voice asks “You sure”. She squeezes her eyes shut, she knows this part is a tactic, a tactic to get her to give in. As long as she resists, it’ll stop.

“I’m going to be a kunoichi”. Immediately she is let go and falls back to the ground.

“Then stand. up.”

_______________________________________

Medical Ninjutsu was something Sakura picked up a month after starting lessons with Kuragari. Now, at the age of ten she could heal most bruises, cuts and fractures. Broken bones still took longer. If she broke a bone while training Sakura had two options. If it was a weekend, she would try to heal it before monday. If it was during a week-day she would either skip or just not wrap it and sit out of activities. Not wrapping it was important, after the fifth time of coming in with a broken something (a wrist that time) her sensei had pulled her aside and given her a lecture on taking it easier.

It was clear to Sakura though that he didn’t see Sakura graduating and so he forced her to sit out of activities for three weeks to let the bone “heal”. She had fallen way behind and it took a while to catch back up.

She understood why he hadn’t believed in her though, three years into the academy and her grade only contained six civilian-born children left. The difference between her and them though, was that while they sat in the middle/bottom of the class. She was at the top. Kuragari’s training was very helpful. She could escape almost every hold, she was extremely good at dodging hits, and where the other children would cry after getting hurt Sakura rarely even flinched. On top of that, Sakura spent all of her free time in the library.

It was easier to study than to be home.

Besides that though, Sakura was practically invisible. During a group project just a week ago her partner had confessed it was the first time he ever heard her voice. See, whether at home or in public Sakura always followed her parent’s rules. That meant keeping her head down and keeping her mouth shut. Every time another student asked a question she would find herself wondering what type of punishment they would receive later for it. They must have really wanted to know the answer.

In her class there were a few that stood out. One was Ino, her best friend who had a massive crush on their other classmate, Sasuke Uchiha. Sasuke was always ranked one but in Sakura’s opinion Sasuke wasn’t anything special but all the other girls in the class liked him and it wasn’t okay to be different so she pretended. After them there were a few other clan students, a shy girl named Hinata, a big boy named Choji, a lazy one named Shikamaru, one with a dog named Kiba, a loud one named Naruto, and her favorite, Shino. Shino was quite like her, he seemed to follow all the rules like she did because he only spoke when spoken to. Plus he wore sunglasses so he never accidently made eye contact. Although she thought that might be a little unfair. No one could actually see what he was looking at.

But they didn’t matter because Sakura was ten and she was still in the academy. She was smart and she had knowledge that they didn’t.

She was seven when she learned how much force it took to break a child’s arm, nine when she learned how much for a grown man’s ribs. She was seven when she learned how to set her own shoulder. Eight when she learned how to stitch up deep wounds. She was eight when she learned exactly how much blood could be lost before a person passed out and nine when she finally felt accomplished enough in medical ninjutsu to call herself skilled.

None of this she learned at the school teaching her murder.

______________________________

Sakura is eleven and there is a new voice in her head. It calls for blood, and pain, and death. The voice tells her to do things that send electric sparks down her spine that she tells herself is disgust (the voice calls it pleasure).

Sakura is eleven and when the voice tells her to move, she moves.

She is eleven when she lets the voice overwhelm her.

She is eleven when she wakes up to a broken body and Kuragari standing over it. This is nothing new except he is covered in blood, and for once, most of it isn’t hers.

Sakura is eleven when she sees fear flash across her “teachers” eyes for the first time.

She is eleven when she almost dies for the first time.

Sakura was eleven the last time she listened to the voice.

_______________________________

Sensei has been pushing Sakura towards Sasuke Uchiha, Naruto Uzumaki, and Asahi Imai. She is twelve now and the exam is in two weeks. She doesn’t understand why he keeps partnering her up with them or why he gets so frustrated when she continues to follow the rules.

She doesn’t understand Naruto and she doesn’t understand Sasuke, but compared to them Asahi doesn’t really stand out.

Naruto never seems to notice the animosity shot at him by the village. He is loud and brash and asks a million questions but never seems to get one correct. Sakura thinks he spends more time getting in trouble than he does sitting in his seat and it confuses her to no end why he doesn’t stop. Maybe he doesn’t get punished because he is an orphan?

For some reason she envies him.

The weirdest thing is every once in a while he will give her a voucher to a ramen bar just down the road, They’ll go there and eat in silence while Sakura is on the way to the library. She thinks he might be the closest thing she has to another friend.

Sasuke is a different kind of weird. He talks but never in a language that others understand. His clan probably would know what every “hn” means but they are gone by the time she was eight. (This time her envy sends painful stabs through her heart, this isn’t something she should be jealous of). All the other girls in the class fawn over him and Sakura joins in but whenever class stops so does she. One day, she miraculously sat next to him. Halfway through the lecture he turned to her and said, “You’re different from the others, you don’t try to talk to me. You’re okay”. And then turned right back around.

He’s discreetly made sure she or another boy sits next to him every class ever since.

_______________________

Sakura graduates when she is twelve.

When she tells her parents they sneer at her and turn away. Instead of ending their training, Kuragari and the clan elders extend it.

Sakura is twelve and she is on a team with her two enigma’s, Naruto and Sasuke. To wrap it up their sensei is somehow worse. When they sit on a roof he asks the trio for their likes, hobbies, and dreams and Sakura comes second.

“I like… ,em>reading about medical ninjutsu and chakra… reading. I don’t like… blows rain down, blood stains the floor beneath her, she opens her mouth and emits a pained scream… a lot of stuff. My hobbies are… did she have any hobbies?... going to the library and my dream is…”

power

to not be in pain, to control my own life, to stand over the bodies of my enemies and feel strong

"...to become a great shinobi”. She takes pride in the fact that her answer is the only one their new sensei smiles at.

__________________________________

Kakashi-Sensei told them not to eat before their test. This is not a problem for Sakura since her parents have stopped giving her food in the morning. She has always been required to attend every meal, but now, she is only permitted to eat at lunch. This new rule appeared after she informed the Haruno clan head that she would be stopping her training sessions as soon as she passed the final test. And yes she knew about the final test, Kuragari had told her about it when she announced she passed. His response had been an extra hour and to tell her she would never become a genin. According to shinobi law, the Haruno clan can no longer dictate her life as soon as her name was written in the genin logs.

Sakura was at breakfast now, sitting across from her mother with an empty plate and her hands resting in her lap. Out of the corner of her eye she kept glancing at the clock. Sensei had been very particular about the time, she couldn’t afford to be late but her father hadn’t finished yet. She looked at it again.

“Have somewhere to be?” Her mother asked.

“No ma'am,” Sakura answered. If she told the truth, her father might slow down even more. Her mother huffed and regarded Sakura with a look of annoyance.

“We will be meeting the Kazuo family in two months. I hope you haven’t forgotten”. Her fists tightened in her lap but she shook her head.

“No, ma’am. I have not forgotten”. The Kazuo’s were the family that Sakura would be married into once she turned thirteen. That is, if she didn’t pass the test today.

A quick glance at the clock.

The test that started in less than an hour.

Hurry up

Her dad set down his fork. “Listen to your mother, girl. The Kazuo’s are a very prestigious family. This connection with them is important to the Haruno clan in maintaining our connections and trade deals. We will not accept failure”. Failure meant Sakura denying the marriage contract. It meant Sakura fulfilling her dreams. But she would not tell her father this, not now when he was so close to finishing.

That asshole

“Yes, sir”

Within twenty minutes Sakura was out the door with Inner screaming in her ear.

She would make it.

__________________________________

Only two people would pass.

Only two of them would become genin.

She quickly felt her confidence failing her.

Kill him, show him how powerful you are

She hears the switch as it moves through the air. The sound it makes when it hits flesh is accompanied by her own whimper.

A hand pulls her up by her hair.

At five the patriarch and matriarch of the Kazuo clan stare down at her, their sixteen year old son only looks at her parents. “The pink hair, do you know if it is dominant or recessive? I would hate for my children to inherit that”

Kuragari’s fist slams into her stomach, bile spills onto the mat.

“Honestly Sakura, don’t you think you’ve had enough” her mother takes the half-eaten plate from the table, Sakura’s stomach growls.

Laying on the floor Sakura distantly wonders if her fingers are supposed to be pointing in different directions like that. She doesn’t have much time to think before the hits rain down.

Make them fear us

Sakura takes a deep breath and Inner slides into place right beside her, their minds synching.

No one wil hold us back

Maybe, if anyone was looking her way they would have noticed her normal light green eyes darken a few shades.

As soon as he yells “start” Sakura disappears. They move to the trees, carefully concealing their chakra. At the same time, through Inner’s half of the mind, she creates a clone with its chakra badly suppressed and sends it across the clearing. Inside their mind they send a silent thanks to Naruto for being such an idiot.

Sakura moves underground. She’d always been better at earth jutsu but this was still hard, they had to rely on the sounds of fighting and the vibrations it created to get in place. They closed her eyes, listening, waiting…

The slight jingle of bells, the slight shifting of the ground and…

They shot their hand up, reaching through the dirt for the bells that lay on his waist. She could feel the cool metal brush the tips of her fingers, and felt how smooth and light it was.

She also felt it when they disappeared out of reach.

She cursed.

That was advanced for a genin, if this was really a test examining their skill, that should have been enough.

They retreated for now to wait.

_________________________________

She was in the woods when Kuragari found her. The test wasn’t over yet but she wasn’t surprised he was there to mess it up. They probably shouldn’t have skipped so many lessons, he would make sure they failed.

As soon as he stepped out of the shadows she was at attention. Hands clasped behind her back, shoulders high, feet apart, chin up but eyes down.

It was the rules that saved her, that last part.

The grass isn’t bending

With a shaky “Kai!” he was gone and she fell to the ground.

A genjutsu. Her possible sensei had put her in a genjutsu. Her mind split.

Kill him

Well that sounded a bit like an overreaction.

But she still wanted to hurt him.

She found Sasuke in the ground with only his head sticking up. Neither of them said anything when she spotted him and neither of them said anything when she dug him out.

She wondered what Sasuke would see if he was put under a genjutsu.

There’s a reason it was you and not him, idiot.

Right, the massacre.

Kakashi probably thought she was a regular civilian

___________________________

Naruto is tied to a post and Inner is screaming at her to attack, to grab the bells even though Kakashi had already announced their failure. She can’t move though, her one chance, her one chance was gone. It was all Inner could do to keep her chakra from lashing out, she couldn’t hurt Naruto or Sasuke. She couldn’t make this any worse than it already was.

We’ll run away, out of the village.

She felt tears prickle at the corners of her vision, no she didn’t want to leave.

And then Kakashi gave them another chance. A chance Sakura wasn’t going to waste.

It should’ve been easy. Don’t feed Naruto. That’s all she had to do and then they would be given the opportunity to get the bells again. That’s all she had to do, nothing, it didn’t even require her moving.

But she could hear his stomach grumbling, like her he had probably skipped breakfast too. She knew what it was like to be hungry, she knew what it was like to curl up in pain outside her parents home begging to be let in, to have just an apple, anything. Before she knew it her chopsticks were in his mouth, his eyes wide with surprise.

It was honestly a miracle he didn’t choke.

Idiot!

Only a second after Sakura had removed her chopsticks (probably in shock) Sasuke gave a dramatic sigh and held a piece of chicken out in front of Naruto. “You’re gonna slow us down even more if you’re hungry”. Naruto’s eyes watered and he looked at them with such admiration you would have thought they’d given him a puppy. Sakura straightened her spine and sat up taller. Okay, they were gonna break the rules. Their only hope was if they could feed Naruto fast enough.

Her chopsticks picked up some of the vegetables.

___________________________________

They passed. All three of them. Their new Sensei had gone on about some sort of logical ruse but Sakura hadn’t listened.

She passed.

She was legally an adult.

She passed

She started walking home in a daze. Kakashi had instructed them to return to the same area the next day (and to eat breakfast) and then left. She thinks Naruto may have suggested something about Ramen because on either side of her stood her teammates. Did they get Ramen? She couldn’t remember. They went their separate ways at an intersection.

As soon as the boys disappeared from her sight Sakura turned around and walked in the other direction towards the records building.

Sakura was twelve when she took her own life in her hands.

Chapter Text

Sakura still met with the Kazuo family two months later. No one in either family had thought to check the marriage arrangements with the Kazuo’s . In their eyes Sakura was still obedient, and she wouldn’t be the one to break the news. Every time she was subtly asked Sakura feigned ignorance which broke about three separate rules but that was okay. She was a kunoichi now, there were some rules kunoichi didn’t need to follow. Plus it meant lessons with Kuragari were over.

Team 7 hadn’t changed much in those two months, at least not from the outside. Sasuke was still quiet and cold, Naruto was still brash and loud, and their sensei was still uncaring and lazy. At least from the outside. If anybody looked closer they would notice how Naruto’s eyebrows always furrowed when Sakura’s stomach growled or when he started bringing snacks to practice. He claimed that growing children needed to eat. 

If anybody looked closer they would notice how Sasuke always somehow needed to go shopping when Naruto needed to go shopping. The other villagers never raised prices when the Uchiha prince was there.

If anybody looked closer they would have noticed how frequently Naruto and Sasuke clashed, but how the intensity always lessened when Sakura would enter the training grounds with a certain dull look in her eyes.

If anybody looked closer they would have noticed how Kakashi’s porn books seemed to talk more about chunin training exercises than anything explicit. The covers never changed though.

But team 7 was team 7. In the village's eyes they were the leftovers. A skilled instructor to teach their beloved Uchiha and then the demon brat and some weak civilian girl to act as cannon fodder if things ever went wrong. So no, no one ever looked closer.

Three months after they passed their unofficial genin exam Naruto yelled at the Hokage. Sakura had been frozen solid as soon as Naruto looked the Hokage in the eyes. She had been ready to flee as soon as his volume started to increase. Nothing good ever came from pissing off an authority figure.

But something good did come, an escape. Sakura was leaving the village for the first time in her life. And the timing couldn’t be better.

Four months after Sakura passed her genin exam the Haruno would receive official notice of cancellation for the engagement of Haruno Sakura and Kazuo Kenta. The drunk old man standing across from her team might as well have been dressed in white with a halo above his greasy intoxicated head. She didn’t even bother informing her parents of her leave, she ate dinner with them like normal and packed in the night. Before she left she took one final look at the house, no doubt she would never be let through the clan’s gates ever again.

Two attackers jumped out from puddles on the ground and slashed her sensei into pieces. Their client had been in the middle of another drunken story while Sasuke and Naruto bickered about some new type of kunai. Now their sensei was dead.

Now Sakura had the blood of two strangers splattered across her arms and dripping from the weapons in her hand. Naruto was still standing in the same place he had been when Kakashi had been “killed” (Inner had informed her by now that he was very much alive, no S-ranked shinobi would fall for such a simple trick). Sasuke was halfway between Naruto and herself, kunai in hand and ready to attack the enemies that already lay dead at her feet. His face was one of disbelief. Why did he look so surprised though? Sakura had just done what Kuragari had taught her, she was a kunoichi afterall.

Kakashi appeared in front of her, carefully taking the kunai from her hands. He congratulated her but for some reason Sakura frowned, he didn’t sound very sincere. 

He’s suspicious, idiot!

Huh, why?

Inner didn’t bother to give that an answer as she disappeared back into Sakura’s mindscape.

Kakashi cleaned Sakura’s blades as he turned to the boys. He congratulated Sasuke for acting so quickly (it was clear he was also prepared to strike the enemy down) and reprimanded Naruto for freezing. Sakura could empathize with that. She used to freeze all the time during Kuragari’s lessons. She took her weapons back from their Sensei but as she was putting them away she met Sasuke’s eyes. They were narrowed, suspicious.

“How did you do that?” He asked with a tone that cut.

Sakura flinched, had she done something wrong? Sasuke seemed mad. She looked around at the group. Naruto was also looking at her in a very non-Naruto way and Kakashi seemed just as interested in her answer as Sasuke. Their client just looked afraid. “I-I knew they were coming s-so I just waited?”

“You knew they were coming,” Kakashi echoed, as if tasting the words. His voice came off in a way that suggested he could care less but his gaze was still sharp.

Careful

Sakura nodded, “Didn’t you see it?” she asked, “The puddles?”

“How did you kill them?” Sasuke clarified. She was confused, hadn’t Sasuke been watching? The enemy had been so focussed on killing Kakashi that they hadn’t paid the rest of them any mind. It was clear from their attack that they expected the shock of their Sensei’s death to delay the rest of them for long enough so that they could recover. Sakura just slit their throats at that time. Naruto gaped at her.

“Well good job my little genin” Kakashi broke the tension by patting Sakura’s head before turning to their client. “Now, I think we need to have a little talk”.

Sakura is twelve when she goes on her first A-Rank mission. Her sensei never says it out loud but Sakura knew the rankings and any altercations with an S-rank-nin bumped a mission up to A. To make matters worse, their sensei had been defeated. It didn’t matter that he had stayed awake longer than Zabuza did, he had passed out in unfamiliar territory and had to be cared for by a bunch of genin. He had lost.

When Kakashi woke up Sakura had echoed Inner’s worries that the missing-nin was still alive and the Hunter-nin was actually an ally. He had agreed but gotten the same crease in his eyebrows that he had after she killed the enemy-nin in the forest. 

Suspicion  

Sakura wanted to disagree with Inner but it wasn’t possible. Somehow, at some time, Sakura’s teammates stopped trusting her. She could see it when she completed the tree-walking exercise in record time, she could see it when she had unconsciously thrown a kunai at Naruto after he tried to wake her from a nightmare, she could see it when she forgot herself and ate in a manner that showed just how hungry she really was. Sakura didn’t get why this was a problem though. No, she didn’t act like a civilian, so what? She was a shinobi just like the rest of them, why did they exchange looks when they thought she wasn’t looking?

She didn’t bring the topic up though, for some reason Inner thought it was a bad idea to let them know anything personal about her and Inner had never steered her wrong before. So, when Sakura woke up from her third nightmare in one night to find Sasuke watching her from across the room she had claimed it was period cramps. When she learned water-walking in an afternoon she claimed to have practiced for fun while in the academy. While Kakashi healed, and they waited for the bridge to be built, Sakura stayed on the defensive.

Her only entertainment came from the small interactions between Naruto and Sasuke. Seriously, why did they keep sneaking glances at each other?

Sakura was twelve when Sasuke died. She was twelve when Naruto released a monster that even Inner was afraid of. 

She was also twelve when Sasuke came back and Kakashi sat them all down to discuss what a Jinkurichi was. 

Now, Sakura was twelve with one A-Rank mission under her belt and an S-class secret stuck in her head. She guessed she couldn’t let Ino practice her mind-transfer Jutsu on her anymore. Although, Ino never went looking for secrets in the first place.

The return back to the village was somber. Kakashi was clearly still recovering from two fights with another S-class nin and had to take more breaks than they did on the way there. Last night, they had stopped early to set up camp. After Kakashi had left to patrol, Sakura had heard Naruto crying in his tent. She didn’t understand why he had cared so much for a boy he had just met. Did Naruto perhaps like Haku? Maybe that’s why Sasuke had been so pissy. 

Sakura herself was somber for a different reason. The village she would be returning to would not be the village she left. By now, both her family and the Kazuo’s had most certainly gotten the letter describing the breaking off of Sakura’s engagement. She would need to find a place to sleep tonight, and probably look into the genin apartments after practice the next day. She briefly wondered how much they would get paid for this mission. Would they get the C-rank pay? Or would the pay increase along with the rank increase with the mission. She hoped it was the latter. 

As they approached the village Naruto’s excitement was quickly starting to increase, overshadowing his earlier depression. When the gates were in site he took off, declaring loudly that Sasuke wouldn’t be able to beat him back and so now only Kakashi and Sakura remained walking at the usual pace. That changed though when Sakura’s eyes caught just who was standing in the gate though. 

She froze.

Right next to where Naruto was currently sulking stood her parents.

And next to her parents was Kuragari. 

Her breath caught in her throat.

Control yourself Inner chastised her and Sakura kept moving, the only sign of her increasing panic being a small stumble in her step. Kakashi sent her a small questioning glance but otherwise ignored it.

Outwardly she looked fine.

Inwardly she was screaming.

Why was her clan here? Why were they waving at her? There was no way they were here to congratulate her on a mission well done, the only reason they ever did anything was…

Control. They aren’t letting us go without a fight. They’ll probably make a big show over making sure you are okay and then drag us back to the clan house.

I already signed the papers though? The engagement is over. They can’t force me to go home.

She could feel Inner shaking her head inwardly.

Won’t matter. You can’t refuse to return home with your parents…

And Kuragari is here as backup… Outer finished the thought. They had thoroughly trapped her. Now, they would act like a worried family, happy that she had returned home safely. If she acted as anything besides their obedient daughter her team would be suspicious and her parents knew her well enough to know she would avoid that as much as possible. She couldn’t run at the gate. While returning to the clan house she wouldn’t be able to run either, not with Kuragari there. He was still faster and stronger. How had she not thought of this? Did she really think they would just give up? Her engagement was the deal of a lifetime for both families. Her parents wouldn’t let such a useful tool go so easily. 

A tool… since when had she started thinking of her parents that way?

Those fuckers never cared in the first place, about time you opened your eyes

Inner was right. Sakura had been blind. The rules, punishments, lessons. Her parents had never intended to raise her fairly, she was a tool they had tried to train. All this time she thought they just had their own twisted way of caring, but no, she had been wrong.

Well not anymore

They were getting close to the gate now. She could see the smiles that Mr. and Mrs. Haruno were currently wearing and she forced her face to match theirs.

As soon as we get the chance, run

“Sakura, darling it’s so good to see you again” her mother crooned, pulling Sakura into a loose hug. It was awkward and stiff, unpracticed but from the outside she knew it looked caring. Sakura forced a smile back on her face.

“Hi, mom” she turned to her left, “dad”. Her dad smiled back and gave her a pat on the head.

From her mothers arms she was pulled into another hug by Kuragari. She tried her hardest not to tense as memories of similar situations seeped into her mind. Inner strategically tried to push them back where she couldn’t see. “We are so proud of you Sa-ku-ra” she flinched but from the way he was shaking her none of her team saw.

“Is this your family Sakura?” Kakashi asked. From his side, Naruto and Sasuke were uncharacteristically quiet. The previously eccentric blonde was now looking sadly at the ground while Sasuke just glared at something over Sakura’s shoulder. How odd.

Kuragari let her go and reached a hand towards her sensei “I’m Sakura’s tutor, it’s nice to finally meet you”.

“Tutor?” 

“I’ve been training Sakura since she was small, her parents hired me to get rid of any… bad habits”. Sakura’s gut withered. 

“You had a tutor?” Sasuke asked, finally looking at her.

She nodded, “My parents were kind enough to fit me with an instructor when I voiced my goal of attending the academy, they’ve always been supportive of what I wanted to do”. The lie rolled off her tongue like butter and she almost didn’t add that last part. It was worth it though when she saw the quiver in her parents' smiles. Inner chuckled inside their mindscape.

Fucking assholes

“Wow, a tutor, your parents must be rich!” Naruto exclaimed but the enthusiasm wasn’t matched on his face.

She smiled politely, “I suppose so, though it’s never felt that way”. Mr. and Mrs. Haruno twitched again and Sakura almost snickered aloud. This was actually fun.

“Well” her father finally took control of the conversation once more, “It was wonderful meeting you all but we actually have a celebration to get back to”

A celebration!

Celebration…

Surely they weren’t trying to…

“It’s not every day your daughter completes her first real mission, we couldn’t be more proud”. 

Oh, so this is how they were gonna play. 

Naruto looked between her parents and her, a very distinct somber look on his face now, “Oh, well have fun”

“We actually need to stop by the Hokage’s office and give our reports” she interrupted, “Isn’t that right Kakashi-sensei?” She enjoyed the brief look of annoyance that flashed on Kuragari’s face at the title she used for Kakashi.

Sadly, the joy disappeared as Kakshi excused her from the report, giving his permission for her to return home with her family. After all, they had come all the way to the gate to meet her and they had plans. Naruto, Sasuke and him would handle it.

Shit

As her team walked away Naruto and Sasuke walked side by side. So close that their swinging hands occasionally brushed against one another. But Sakura couldn’t focus on that, instead she turned to face her parents.

Those blinding smiles were already wiped clean off their faces but they surprisingly didn’t look mad. “Come on”. Her father spoke as Kuragari placed a threatening hand on her shoulder, guiding her back to her childhood home and the awaiting surprise.

Sakura knows deception, she knows lies, and she knows how to spot the fake masks that people put on to trick one another. She knows all this because she has done all this so she is aware as soon as she walks into the room that the party is both real and fake at the same time. The tables are real and the people are real and the food she eats there will digest in her stomach and come back in the next few hours as the natural process goes. She also knows that nothing about the smiles and conversations her “guests” are performing are natural. Their eyes pinch just a tad when they see her standing in the corner and none of the words they exchange carry any real sustenance. 

So Sakura plays along. She can’t leave, the few shinobi that are close to her family conveniently stand near all the exits. Probably her parents doings, just as it is clear they carefully chose the guest list. All the higher ranking members of the clan along with the Kazuo family. The message is clear. This is a party of unity, to show that the union will still happen. They can’t stop the tension though and Sakura is fine to let it fester. She takes care to wander unusually close to at least every visible exit, “accidently” breaks two wooden cups with strength and chakra, and proudly tells anyone that will listen about the two ninja she killed on her most recent mission. When she finally sits down after days on the road she doesn’t cross her legs like a proper lady should, no, she leans back and gives a heavy sigh. Her legs tilt outward from her body placed far apart. This finally gets a reaction from her father who comes by and gives her leg a sharp, harsh, kick. The conversation around them doesn’t so much as stutter. 

Sakura is twelve when she officially declares war on her family.

For the next few weeks nothing changes. Sakura is content to let her parents keep pretending, if they think she will go along with the original wedding plans they were delusional. She wasn’t pretending anymore. It was fun to see her mother’s eyebrows knit together when she did something as simple as asking her father to pass the salt. The only downside was she had to attend lessons with Kuragari again. He had found her the first time she tried to skip out. She didn’t like remembering that. But it was fine, there was nothing they could do outside of her control. She was a genin now, with an A-rank mission under her belt too, she was an adult and for once in her life she had the power to choose.

Just in case though, she put her name down for an opening in the genin apartments. After the chunin exam, then she would move in.

Team seven is twelve when the genin exams come to their village. Sakura is twelve when her clan seems to wake up with a fire on their tail. Foreigners were coming, which meant business, which meant deals, which meant money. And as they had shown in the past, money was all the Haruno’s cared about. No matter how much she tried to avoid it, Sakura couldn’t escape the preparations. Not after her clan had found out they could request her team for D-rank missions. She was about ready to set the storage building on fire. Naruto and Sasuke would probably help. Their Sensei would read in a tree somewhere.

Sakura informs her parents of her plans to participate during breakfast the day before foreigners start arriving. It was a strategic decision. The notice is so late and the clan so busy that all they can do is give her begrudging nods. Inner counts it as a win.

Sakura is twelve when she meets a red-haired boy who reminds her uniquely of Naruto, when she dispels a genjutsu faster than even Sasuke, and aces a test that wasn’t meant to be possible. Not that she knows of the last part, the information is sent to their Hokage and nowhere else. She is twelve when she is handed a tightly packed scroll and sets off into a forest with trees so large she wonders if it’s part of another dimension that somehow seeped through the cracks of their universe. It is there that she witnesses her usually stoic teammate turn bright red after the literal ball of sunshine sneaks a quick peck on the cheeks as the gate opens. He claims he gave one to the whole team, Sakura doesn’t feel like telling Sasuke she never got one, regardless of Naruto’s pleading eyes boring into the back of her head.

Sakura is twelve when Orochimaru attacks. 

It’s not a sneak attack, why bother putting that much thought when attacking genin? Instead it is clear he (she?) is here to play. He taunts them, spells out everything she plans to do like a rattlesnake shaking its tail before it strikes. Naruto is already gone, chased off by a snake twice the size of her house. Now, only she and Sasuke remain. Two against one. If that were the only factor at play the odds would be in their favor but Orochimaru is a boa constrictor where she and Sasuke are just small mice. It’s clear the Sannin doesn’t think they will put up much of a fight, Sakura especially as she is completely ignored after being pinned to one of the trees nearby. She can still watch, though, and so she waits.

Get up

Sasuke throws another fireball but his opponent easily dodges. Something slices his face and blood starts to run into his already red eyes.

Attack!

The man’s neck starts to expand, growing, reaching. Sasuke tries to stand, he groans and falls back to his knees. The head rears back, ready to strike…

LET ME OUT!

Sakura smirks, and slips away.

Somewhere in the Forest of Death a boy screams as a pink blur materializes in front of him. It is too late to push her out of the way of the attack, and against all odds, even the Sannin is unable to dodge the supposedly weak little genin that he now holds by the arm, teeth dug in deep. His eyes widen as two thoughts go through his head.

Where did she come from?

And…

Were her eyes always that dark?

Naruto is thirteen when he graduates from the academy. He is thirteen when he learns about the monster that resides in his stomach. He is thirteen when he teams up with a quiet girl surrounded by so much mystery and a dark haired boy who sends butterflies through his stomach. He tells himself it's envy. Naruto is thirteen when he notices how Sakura eats like the food is going to disappear and kills like it's nothing. He is thirteen when he signs up for the genin exams and thirteen when, in a fit of nervous energy, kisses his rival on the cheek.

Naruto is thirteen when the strongest opponent he has ever met comes for that same boy.

He is thirteen when he develops a hate for snakes. And thirteen when he finds Sasuke carrying an unconscious Sakura in his arms, shock clearly running through his bones and dark symbols spreading across Sakura’s body from her forearm.

Naruto is thirteen when he thinks he finally understands what a shinobi’s life really is.

Sasuke is twelve when he graduates from the academy with disappointment and resentment running through his bones and the name “Itachi” echoing in the back of his mind. He is twelve when he is placed on a team with a dumbass and dead weight. And he is twelve when he learns just how wrong he is and gets his first A-rank mission under his belt. Sasuke is twelve when that echo starts to fade. He is twelve when his hand starts to search for anothers every day when walking back to his empty home. Twelve when he learns just how tasty ramen is. He is twelve when he finally signs up for the chunin exams and he is twelve when the owner of that hand leans in close and sends sparks through his cheek during the same exam.

Sasuke is twelve when one of the Sannin comes for his eyes.

And he is twelve when his ordinary teammate, the one who flinches at random movements, the one who is so quiet he didn’t know her voice for years, somehow moves fast enough to intercept a Sannin.

Now he holds the broken body of his friend as an unknown curse meant for him starts to wreak havoc across her body.

Sasuke is twelve when he realizes just how far he has to go.

Chapter Text

Sasuke and Naruto were camped out under the roots of one of the giant trees. Naruto was on lookout duty while Sasuke continued adding debris and dirt to hide their location. It wasn’t about passing the test anymore, it was about surviving until they could get Sakura help. If they just camped out there for four more days, proctors would eventually flood the forest and come for them. All they had to do was keep her safe for four days. All she had to do was stay alive until they came.. Naruto and Sasuke would protect her until that time came.

At least that was the plan until Sakura woke up.

The sound shinobi came out of nowhere, somehow they snuck past every single one of Naruto’s clones he had placed strategically around their little hide-away and into the clearing by the roots entrance. Sasuke met them there as they threw an unconscious Naruto at his feet. He had a shuriken in hand and was ready to fight them all on if he had to. He was beaten though, horribly. All of his weapons were scattered across the clearing as the woman held him by his hair. He had activated his sharingan by this point and given the group quite a scare when it became clear it was him they were here for. When it became clear that Sasuke wasn’t the one their master had bitten though, their eyes turned to the pink mound tucked away under the roots. The woman handed Sasuke off to her teammate who got busy with wrapping Sasuke in ninja wire like they had done with Naruto.

That’s when she woke up.

Inner Sakura is just a few weeks old when she takes control for the first time. Their body is eleven then, bruised and battered by a hulking figure that stands menacingly in front of them. The host, Outer, is in trouble, so Inner steps in. She takes all of the bodies pent up anger, all their suppressed emotions and skills, all the abilities that she has but hasn’t quite gotten the hang of yet to tear the man to shreds. He holds his own, he is trained, far better than they are but it doesn’t matter. The main body is eleven when Inner first gets a taste for blood, that addicting metallic liquid. It tastes so much sweeter when it is not their own. She loses but that’s okay, she has time, and so she rests, recedes to the back of the body’s mindscape to gather their power and train. 

It’s the memory of power and the taste of his blood that fuel her existence. She helps when she can, they are the same person, she and Outer, but they are different. Each unique personality gives their overall body different perspectives. They are one person, but two.

Inner is one when Outer switches places on purpose for the first time and Inner takes control for the second time. Their opponent is more fearsome this time, already reaching the pinnacle of the shinobi world. But that doesn’t matter. Inner is pure power . And she refuses to be held back by some pervert who wants her teammates' bodies. He may be stronger, but his mind has nothing on hers. Within a second of being released Inner feels pain for the second time in her life and soaks it in. It’s a wonderful sensation and she smiles as the blood pools from her arm. She doesn't scream as the cursed mark starts spreading with the sensation of fire. No, Inner and Outer are polar opposites, where Outer might have shouted, Inner croons .

She is surprised to wake up under the roots of one of the giant trees. She has never woken up before, not since her arrival in the body’s mind. She has also never gone to sleep before, always staying active, always watching over them from the farthest corners of their mindscape. It’s an odd sensation, waking up that is. She doesn’t think she quite enjoys it. All of a sudden her senses catch up to her.

Pain 

Their body is on fire, dark lines run over every inch of skin, starting from a wound on her forearm.

Blood

She sniffs the air, a smile gracing her lips, it’s not her blood she smells which means the promise of another fight. Inner turns to see their teammates being tied up by strange shinobi who wear musical notes on their foreheads. The same symbol Orochimaru wore. This was getting more and more promising by the second. A women is walking towards Inner, a cruel smile plays at the corner of her lips as she sees the girl awake and covered in dark lines.

“Painful, isn’t it” she states, reaching for a shuriken, “It’s okay though, I know you can feel it now, the power Orochimaru’s blessing gives us”

Yes, that was the third sensation she noticed

Power

It was the source of her pain. Pure strength and power and dark chakra, more than her body should have been able to handle.

The woman was getting closer, “There’s no need for you to worry about that though, that gift was not for you so we will be taking it back”. 

Inner tilted her head. “ Are you going to kill me? ” she asked, her voice darker and more sinister than had ever escaped the body’s lips before.

“Yes”

“NO” Sasuke cried, tugging against his restraints which cut into his skin, drawing blood.

They both froze though as a giggle escaped Inner’s lips. And then another, it grew until she was fully laughing, leaning forward to hold their stomach. The woman frowned, “I see the mark is already driving your mind insane, don’t worry, I’ll make this quick”.

Inner’s head snapped back up, all semblance of amusement gone. “ No ”.

The next second the space under the tree was empty. The sound of metal rang throughout the clearing.

“ I’ve never gotten to kill before ”

Sasuke looked on in horror.

“ I wonder what your blood will taste like ”

That was not Sakura.

The sounds of battle and maniacal laughter were what Naruto woke up to. He tried to stand up as soon as his mind was cognitive enough to realize he was in danger but quickly realized he was tied down. The sting of ninja-wire digging into his limb is what really brought him back to his senses. But he had to still be dreaming. There was no way what he was seeing was real. Two bodies lay in the clearing as Sakura ruthlessly attacked a sound shinobi. Looking at the bodies he felt nauseous. It wasn’t like how she killed on the wave mission with a clean and precise cut, these bodies were so red . Sakura’s opponent screamed as ninja wire wrapped around his arms and with a controlled twist and pull, they came off. His screams were overshadowed by Sakura’s ecstatic laughter. Blood splattered out of the man’s stump’s all over Sakura. She licked her lips, smearing some of the red drops. “ Fuck this is fun ” 

The shinobi glared at her as she brought a kunai up to his face, “Orochimaru will come for you, he’l-” a kunai slammed through his eye and out the back of his head. Sakura giggled.

“ Oops, did I interrupt you? ” She stood straight and stretched as if waking up from a nap. “ Well I guess that is that ”. When she turned to Naruto he flinched, her eyes were a dark forest green and the black lines had spread over most of her body.

“S-Sakura?”

She smiled, but it was different, darker. “ Oh good, you’re awake ”. In the next second the ninja-wire wrapped around him fell away and she had turned to face something else.

Sasuke?

Looked like he was in a similar state to Naruto. As Sakura cut the wire away he looked down as if to avoid her eyes and rubbed at his bloody wrists. He flinched as he watched her eyes travel down to the wounds. He didn’t think he would ever be this afraid of his own teammate.

“ Let m e get th at f o r y o u ”. She gestured to his cuts and Sasuke looked up warily but looked away again. It was weird, it sounded as if her voice was fluctuating between two different people.

“It’s fine” he said.

Sakura rolled her eyes and grabbed his arm with one hand, holding the other above it. A green glow encased the upper hand and after a few seconds Sasuke’s skin had knit itself back together. She gestured to his other arm and he begrudgingly gave it over. When she finished with Sasuke she moved back over to Naruto, “Here, let me take a look at that” she said and his head snapped up. Her voice was completely back to normal and as his eyes scanned her body he saw no signs of the dark lines. Just that weird symbol on her forearm. He nodded at her and she got to work.

As Sakura started patching her team up she was completely unaware of the three pairs of eyes watching them from the bushes. Unlike team 7 or team 8, team 10 were information gatherers. They knew when to engage and they knew when to stay there hell away. Not even a hand sign had to be exchanged for them to agree on a plan of action. When Naruto wrapped his arms around Sakura after she finished healing his cuts, they silently backed away and ran. 

As Ino’s back turned towards her childhood friend she couldn’t help but remember that day she took Sakura to her clan’s training grounds. Sakura had been so clearly elated, her eyes had practically glowed. But even then, Ino was still a Yamanaka and so she noticed how the younger girl's eyes had darkened when Takumi had been hit. She had noticed how her eyes had zeroed in on the blood that ran down her arm. And she had chosen to forget about the way Sakura’s smile had grown in a way that had sent shivers down Ino’s spine. As she ran, one thought entered her mind. 

What kind of monster have I introduced into this world?

Sakura was twelve when she let Inner take over for the first time. It was different then the other time where Inner had come out on her own. This time, it was like they swapped places, Inner taking the lead while Sakura watched on from the back of their mindscape. 

She wanted to say she was horrified by what she saw. Inner killed so happily and even licked blood off the kunai at one point. The truth was though, that within their mindscape, Sakura was smiling. They finally had it.

Power

They reached the tower in two days.

All three of them were whisked away by a group of ninja in black outfits with white masks as soon as the name “Orochimaru” escaped Naruto’s mouth. It was a major breach in the village's security and the fact that he had failed in retrieving Sasuke meant he would be coming back. They couldn’t delay the chunin exams though, so as soon as the three of them had given their reports they were dumped back into one of the dorms of the tower.

They can’t raise the other village’s alarms, they can’t appear weak.

It made sense, acting like an attack by one of the Sannin was no big deal would give the village hidden in the leaf a major boost. Who would want to go against the village whose Genin faced off against Sannin? Not that they would be sharing that information, Team seven now had two S-ranked secrets in their heads. Really, it was starting to get ridiculous. 

It was clear the proctors were on high alert though, the woman who introduced them to the Forest of Death especially as she kept shooting Sakura glances whenever she thought the other girl wasn’t looking. And Sakura wasn’t looking, but Inner was. The other thing Sakura noticed was their new tails. Inner described them as shadows, hiding just outside the realm of their perceptual abilities. She could feel them though, in that special way that Inner seemed to be able to do the impossible. Naruto and Sasuke seemed completely oblivious to their new spectators and Sakura decided there was no harm in letting them be. 

On the second day they were there Kakashi pulled her aside and took her to a private room where he attempted to seal the cursed mark Orochimaru had given her. On the outside it seemed like it worked but Sakura knew better. That mark had given them pure power, that wasn’t something she was going to let go very easily. As Kakashi-sensei’s chakra wove across her skin, circling and swirling into precise lines Inner used needle-like points of chakra to disrupt them. Nothing that their Sensei would notice, Inner was pure chakra and pure power after all, she knew how to stop the flow. 

From the outside Sakura was safe from the dreadful mark that had befallen her. On the inside Inner carefully caressed the black sphere of swirling catastrophe that resided at the back of her mind.

No one would take away what was hers.

On the third day in the tower the next section of the exams started. Team seven passed with flying colors. Naruto against Kiba, Sasuke against some wave-nin, and Sakura against Ino. It hadn’t been much of a fight though, as soon as the names had appeared on the screen she saw her old friend tense and then open her mouth to announce her forfeit. 

She wouldn’t meet Sakura’s eyes.

After their fights team seven was rushed out of the tower to continue their report on Orochimaru. Later they would learn about Hinata and Rock Lee’s hospitalization. It was a few hours later and Sakura was getting really tired of answering the same questions over and over. It appeared that TI just couldn’t believe Sakura had intercepted an attack from Sannin. On a team of monsters she was supposed to be the normal one, the dull one. It was only after Kakashi-sensei interrupted a particularly grumpy shinobi that they let her return home long after the sun had set.

When she reached her clans gates Kuragari was there waiting for her. As she approached his head lifted from where it was resting on his chest and he looked at her expectantly.

“The next task is in a month”. He nodded and left in another direction. A small part of her had hoped he would offer to train her.

Are you fucking insane? He’ll only hold you back.

Yeah, Inner was right, this was probably for the best. The next morning when she came down for breakfast there were only two plates set out, her parents were already digging into their portions. The message was clear. They wouldn’t hold her back, but she would not be receiving any sort of help.

She didn’t waste time and left, now who would be willing to train her?

She felt Inner start to brim with excitement, I have an idea…

No one from Team 7 had seen Sakura in a month. Sasuke and Naruto looked for her, hoping to say goodbye before heading off with their respective teachers but Sakura was just gone. Even Kakashi didn’t know where she ended up (or he was just really good at feigning obliviousness).

Now was the time for the last challenge. Sakura was still MIA. Naruto was at the arena and even Sasuke and Kakashi were only a few minutes late (mainly because Naruto sent clones after them to make sure they would be on time). All of the participants were there except for Sakura and Sasuke would never admit that even he was getting worried. Naruto was pacing behind him, his match already having finished and his injuries mostly healed.

“We have to go find her”

“Tch”

“No, what if something is wrong?”

“Tch”

“You stupid teme! That’s exactly why we need to find her?”

“Tch”

“You’re right, Kakashi won’t tell us but Jiji might!”

Behind the duo team six watched on in amazement. Weren’t they supposed to be the TI experts? Even Shikamaru had no idea what the Uchiha was saying, were they putting on a show?

Just as it seemed Naruto was going to attempt suicide by jumping into the Hokage’s box the doors to the stadium opened and a pink blur flew in quickly followed by a black one. Sasuke straightened. In the center of the arena stood Sakura, but she looked different somehow, and the woman next to her looked familiar… THE EXAM INSTRUCTOR! That psycho who took them to the forest of death, Anno, or Ako, or something. His eyes narrowed, what was different…

As Sakura entered the stadium she kept her eyes glued firmly to the ground.

Your turn Inner spoke and the color of her iris changed back to a lighter green as her posture straightened slightly. Damn had that been close, Anko was just about as bad as Kakashi. Either she was super late or super early, there was no in between and if she was earlier than you, you were late. It made no sense and it was a nightmare to try and keep up with.

As Sakura looked up she took in the sight of the large area. Hundreds of civilians and shinobi alike liked the seats of the stadium high above her head. Some of them were cheering at her arrival, most were booing. That was fine though, she would show them otherwise. To her left were the village Hokages and to her right were the other competitors. 

“Oh shit kid, we really made it just in time” Anko chuckled behind her and Sakura followed her line of sight to a large sign displaying her name along with some other boys. She didn’t recognize the name.

It doesn’t matter who he is, we will win no matter what

Inwardly Sakura shrugged, amused by Inner’s drive.

It was a total beatdown 

No one but Naruto and a handful of shinobi cheered when she was done. The stadium was silent, eyes focused on the broken body of her opponent. He was alive of course, Sakura made sure to only do reversible damage but the fight hadn’t been a pretty sight. When she met Anko’s gaze the woman gave her a feral smile. It was what she had taught her after all. When she turned to Kakashi-sensei he met her gaze coolly and lifted an eyebrow, he looked like he was analyzing her. For a second, she watched as his gaze flickered to her forearm where Orochimaru’s seal was concealed.

Sakura bowed to the referee, the Hokages, and the audience before heading to the stairs to join her comrades. Separated from her family or not, their lessons were still ingrained into her very bones.

“That’s the way to do it!” Anko smacked her back, Sakura gave her a nod and a polite smile. “Oh come on girl, gimme a grin, I swear, Shadow would appreciate my mood more than you.”

Shadow was the name she had given Inner. Training the way they did it had been impossible to hide the alter-ego from the woman, especially when Anko proposed the idea of working with Orochimaru’s seal. Neither Inner or Outer knew how she became aware of its unsealed state. They just used her status as a top TI shinobi as an explanation.

“But you still like me better,” Sakura stated coolly.

“Now, now I don’t play favorites”.

Both Inner and Outer had been worried when Anko had so easily stated her awareness of their dual existence. They had attacked actually, fueled by fear of discovery and the need to survive that had been their main motivation for years. 

And Anko had won.

That’s when they learned that Anko was not like the other shinobi they had met. She had been a student of Orochimaru’s way in the past and despite what the village thought, it wasn’t just because of her smarts. She was cunning, deceitful, and knew how to use secrets. It was the same qualities that made her an excellent addition to the TI division that attracted Orochimaru in the first place.

“I see you found yourself a different teacher” a voice spoke up from the bottom of the stairs where Kakashi stood relaxed, “I had assumed a family nin would have educated you”.

“We don’t have any” Sakura replied at the same time Anko huffed out an annoyed “Got a problem Hatake?”

He ignored Anko though, “No? Then who was that man who called himself your tutor?” From the corner of her eyes Sakura felt Anko still ever so slightly, she hadn’t told the older woman about Kuragari.

She kept her cool though. “He is a contractor with the family, works for my grandfather. My family asked for his assistance in my education when I expressed my wishes to become a shinobi.”

“How very kind of him”

Sakura twitched, “Indeed”

The tension in the air was thick. It was clear Kakashi had been unaware of her arrangement with Anko and he was not happy with being kept in the dark.

“That was quite the display you showed back there” this one was accusatory and not directed at Sakura herself.

Anko crossed her arms, “Got something you want to say?” Kakashi did not answer and a silent conversation seemed to pass between the two adults' eyes. 

“Go say hi to your teammates, Sakura, they’ve been missing you.” Inside, Inner rolled her eyes at Kakashi’s words. It was clear Anko and Kakashi were about to hash it out.

Sakura was fine with not being around for that so she continued her way up the stairs. She didn’t look back and at the top was almost barreled over by an orange blur. 

She watched the next few matches with her teammates, seeing no sign of her two sensei's for at least an hour. That was fine though. She was thoroughly entertained by the way Naruto’s hand kept brushing against Sasuke’s and just how red Sasuke’s ears could turn.

Sakura is twelve when a war starts. Or maybe it isn’t a war but a battle. Nevertheless, she has never seen this much bloodshed on such a large scale before. Part of her is horrified, Inner is ecstatic.

It had come on fast, the red-haired kid from Sunna formed a hard shell during his match with Sasuke and almost immediately all the shinobi in the arena were on high alert. There was a dark aura that was spilling out of the shell, something dark but not in the way Inner or Orochimaru was dark. It was dark like it wasn’t human.

Stay alert

Inner had positioned themself right at the corner of Sakura’s consciousness, ready to lend a helping hand whenever needed. 

And then the feathers started falling, a beast emerged, and Naruto leapt into the ring. 

They had avoided becoming victim to the genjutsu due to Inner’s quick KAI but not everyone had been so lucky. Now, while the rest of her team was who knows where, Sakura had been tasked with waking up her fellow shinobi after some Jonin had noticed her still awake.

It had felt good to be acknowledged.

All around her the sounds of battle ragged and on a few odd occasions she felt the slicing blow of a kunai cutting into her flesh but no major damage occurred. Inner was focused on support, healing wounds big enough to warrant stitches and acting as eyes in the back of her skull.

“HEY KID! WATCH OU-'' With a whirl Inner shoved Sakura sideways out of the way of some sword and she leaned over some knocked-out chunin. Sakura made eye contact with the enemy-nin. She was tall, strong, and wearing a headband that matched Orochimaru’s. Inner grinned. In one fluid motion the enemy-ninja let her sword keep flying but she changed the trajectory to over her head. Letting it whip around and go for Sakura’s unguarded shoulder. Or at least that’s what she assumed. The sword made contact with a loud clang sending vibrations all through her body and up the other woman's arms. Through the new slit in her shirt, the gleam of metal was just barely peeking out. The enemy-nin only stalled for a second, but it was enough. Sakura ducked under her guard, grabbing an extra long kunai from her pouch and drove it through the woman’s eye. Hot blood splattered on her face and she ignored Inner’s urge to lick the red liquid from around her lips.

The woman didn’t even have time to scream as she dropped to the ground.

“Holy shit…” that same voice from earlier spoke from her right. She whirled around, chastising herself for letting her guard down, even for just a second. The man standing there though was wearing a leaf headband and she recognized him from around the village. He was one of Anko’s co-workers or something. “I thought you were a genin?” he stated. As he spoke, the sebon in his mouth bobbed up and down.

“It’s just a label” she stated, earring a breathy chuckle from the man.

“That it is” he looked her up and down, as if evaluating her. She straightened her back, this felt important somehow. As if finding what he was looking for, he met her eyes once again. “Names Genma, stick with me until this is over. The small fries are winding down but they’re just the starters, things will start getting rougher here.” Part of her wanted to deny his offer, Sakura had very little trust in strangers, but Inner said otherwise.

He’s Jonin you idiot, you can’t defy a superior. Watch him, learn from him, and if things get dicey, I’ll cut his fucking balls off.

Sakura followed Genma into the fray.

There was no way to tell how long she had been asleep when Sakura finally woke up. She looked around the room and quickly identified her location as the hospital. That was odd, she didn’t remember getting hurt.

That’s because I took over Inner stated.

What do you mean? She asked.

You worked yourself too hard, I stepped in before you hit the ground.

But then how did we get here?

Inner didn’t respond for a second and Sakura wondered if somehow she had missed the question. But no, she could feel it at the back of her mind, the tiny tinge of embarrassment.

…We passed out

She couldn’t control the snort that left her mouth. It was so clear, the image of a bashful Inner, her seemingly all-powerful alter-ego finally succumbing to tiredness, she snorted again, then chuckled, a hand went to her mouth to try and cover the laughter but that didn’t work to well when both of them shared a mind.

Stop laughing, you asshole! Do you think I don’t get tired? That was fucking exhausting? Do you know how hard it is to control the body? You don’t appreciate the shit I do. I swear one day you’re gonna wake up in the middle of a lake…

Inner trailed off though as Sakura burst out laughing out loud. She sat up without but trouble, grabbing at her stomach as a tear trailed down her cheek. She didn’t know why it was so funny, why seeing Inner as something so normal impacted her like this but it did.

When was the last time she had laughed like this? Had she ever?

Shit, fucking stop

Something slammed into her throat, choking the laughs and her hand instinctively moved up to her neck like she was choking. She tensed, suddenly aware of multiple other presences in her room. Looking up she found the concerned and passive faces of some nurse, Kuragari, and her father.

Shit…

Sakura sat up straighter, but ducked her head down, eyes on her blanked, hands on her lap. She did it without even noticing but cursed herself when she finally did. She was trying to leave her family behind, not conform to Kuragari’s teachings. She looked up again and flinched. Her father was furious.

The nurse cleared her throat. “Well Ms. Haruno, I’m glad to see you waking in good spirits. I trust that means you don’t feel any discomfort?”

She shook her head tensely, not comfortable under the gaze of two of the people she despised the most. 

“I’m glad, have to say, I’ve never had a patient wake up in a giggle-fit before, I guess you see something new every day”. She put down her clipboard and walked right up to Sakura. “Well you came in with very few physical injuries, a miracle honestly that it was just exhaustion that took you out. Can’t imagine how you survived with only a few scrapes and bumps.” She shined a flashlight in Sakura’s eyes, “And no signs of a concussion, can’t believe I am saying this, but you are free to check out whenever you are ready, unless you would like us to test for any internal injuries, any soren-”

“She’ll be fine” Sakura tried not to flinch at the sound of her fathers deep voice.

The nurse seemed startled but rolled right on, handing Sakura a paper with the list of her ailments and instructions for recovery. Kuragari took it from her as soon as the nurse left the room. Which was also when her father really started talking. “What did we tell you, this shinobi business is no good. You have no respect for us and the opportunities and lessons we have given you. And after all the time Kuragari here has spent with you? How could you embarrass him like this, embarrass us like this.” Sakura was keeping her head firmly on her lap, gripping her blanket tightly as a way to sooth her anger. “Are you finally ready to be done with this foolishness?”

Her heart was beating in her chest. Her father had asked her a question. He never asked her questions, just told her things. Could she say no? Would he accept that or would he try something new?

He brought Kuragari, he wants you to say yes but fears you will say no.

Fears… she liked that… her father being worried about her impact on his life.

Sakura sat up straight and looked her father straight in the eyes. She put on her best smile, that polite fake one her mother had gotten the maids to teach her years ago. It was the one she put on every time she obeyed one of her fathers commands.

“No”

FUCK YEAH

Both men tensed before relaxing simultaneously. It was clear they both suspected what her answer would be. Why else would both of them be there? Her father took a deep breath before taking the medical f=paper from Kuragari and giving it a quick scan. “Very well” he said, “it says here that you need to rest for two weeks, you can do that in your room at the estate.” Sakura opened her mouth but her father interrupted her. “I am well aware of your dead on the apartment in the weapons district,” it was what her father called the shinobi district, “however, those accommodations are currently unavailable due to construction.”

Of course, how did she forget? There had been an invasion! What happened to the village? Where were Naruto and Sasuke? What about Kakashi and Anko? Was Ino safe?

Her father did not let her find out the answer to those questions that day though, it would take three days before Sakura would have the strength to leave her compound and venture back to the hospital to learn which of her friends were living and which were injured. She thanked the heavens above that it was only the latter. And after her visit she traveled to the shinobi district, looking for the apartment that should be open now that the exams were over, instead she found rubble and tents. The invasion had taken its toll. The death count wasn’t high but the damage was intensive. 

She had just learned about their Hokage when Kuragari found her, crouched over a small shrine to their fallen leader. Without a word but a firm hand, he led her back to the compound.

We are too weak right now Inner had decided, We will run when the moment is right. There is no point in letting us rot in a tent, we have to gain our strength.

For the first time Sakura wondered if Inner ever got scared.

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.

Chapter Text

Sakura was twelve when her dreams came crashing down.

Not long after leaving her team, Anko found Sakura sitting in the park. She was clutching her stomach in agony as she lay on the ground silently screaming. All she had wanted to do was heal some of the injuries she had gotten during the escape but as soon as she reached for her chakra all she had felt was pain. Whatever had brought Anko to Sakura was forgotten as the older shinobi scooped her up and brought her to the hospital.

Her chakra pathways were fried, the nurse had never seen anything like it, and claimed she was surprised the twelve-year-old was even alive. And while she had kept her life, Sakura would never be able to access her chakra again, any real attempt would result in pain and then death.

And just like that her dreams were crushed. Anko led her through the village after not-so-subtly threatening the doctor and nurse to keep their mouths shut but Sakura didn’t remember much. She knows Inner tried to talk to her but Outer ignored her existence.

You can’t ignore me forever.

She disagreed. 

Anko led her to a decent sized apartment that had survived the invasion's damage in the shinobi district, leading her to a couch and fetching her something that she suspected was not water. Inner stopped all her attempts at drinking it.

She was done, it was over, everything she had worked for, everything she had fought for just a few nights ago. It didn’t matter anymore.

You are always such an idiot.

Sakura tried to take another sip from her cup but her muscles stayed firmly locked. 

Damn Inner…

You aren’t a fucking cripple. Get a grip, why are you pouting?

She was a cripple though, on the same levels as civilians now. What had everything been for?

Oh for…

Something took control of her hand and whipped it across her face. Sakura’s head slammed to the side and she blinked wearily. From the other couch Anko was frozen, a cup halfway to her open mouth.

“Uhhhhhh…”

“The fuck was that for!” Sakura spat out loud. Anko sat her cup down.

Are you really giving up? Oh boo-hoo, you got hurt, cry me a river!

FUCK YOU

She stood up harshly, knocking her cup to the ground.

IT'S OVER, OVER!

NO IT’S FUCKING NOT!

This isn’t something that can be fixed!

And who told you that?

God was Inner insufferable, Sakura growled and sat back down. She closed her eyes and stormed into her minscape.

You can’t be a shinobi without chakra!

Tell that to Rock Lee! Besides, your chakra isn’t gone forever!

YES IT IS!

You just have to get the other Sannin you patch you up you absolute fucking nitwhit!

The other Sannin. That was Tsunade, the one with the incredible healing capabilities… Maybe… If anyone could fix her it would be Tsunade. But…

And where do you suppose we find her? Huh?

YOU don’t have to find her, just go with Jiraiya when he leaves, who the hell do you think he is searching for

That brought her to a stop. Jiraiya was taking Naruto and Sasuke to find the next Hokage, why Jiraiya wasn’t the next one Sakura didn’t know but with Orochimaru out of the picture that really only left…

Tsunade

Outside the landscape Sakura stood up and turned to Anko who was now picking her nails with a kunai, “Where’s Jiraiya.” 

Anko grinned, very familiar with the various strange behaviors among shinobi, “Well that didn’t take long.”

Kakashi found her the next day while she headed for the training grounds. Anko had patched her up the previous night and given her clothes to borrow while she stayed in her house. She had done it without Sakura even asking, as if staying the night was just common sense. It felt…nice.

Inner had informed her of his arrival before his footsteps aligned with her own right next to her. Clearly, he wanted to talk about something. 

“I went to your house,” he said. Sakura stopped walking. He waited for a few seconds, waiting to see if she would say anything. “The Haruno clan is under investigation for human trafficking, neglect, abuse, tax evasion, and fraud”

“Huh?” so shocked with his statement she didn’t even notice turning in his direction.

“The trial will be in eighteen days, I heard you asked Jiraiya to join his trip out of the village with your teammates.” She nodded in a daze. “Good, I will arrange the necessities. Oh, and where are you staying?”

“With Anko-Sensei.” Kakashi didn’t seem to like that answer too much but he didn’t comment on it, just gave her a nod and told her training was canceled for the day.

As he turned away he stopped one last time to look over his shoulder. “And Sakura?” He waited until she was looking at him, “You know the way your clan treated you wasn’t okay, right?” She frowned, what did he mean by that? Sakura had never had a traditional upbringing, that’s just the way it was. It took a while for her to realize that other children, even shinobi children, did not have a list of rules to follow but that was fine. Every family was different. Yes, she was a tool but she used them to. She used them for their money, housing, for their food, and the ability to purchase as many books as she wanted. Her family just had strong opinions. Sakura’s parents' opinion was that she should be an obedient daughter and a successful bride. Inner said her parents' opinion was shit. Why did that matter though? Her family just expressed their feelings… strongly. And she had learned to express hers back, just as strong. But she wouldn't lie, they were not good people.

Why did it matter though when they were raising a daughter who was also not a good person. 

Kakashi was still looking at her though, it seemed he wanted a verbal answer so she confirmed that she understood. She did not, but that was irrelevant. He didn’t seem to believe her but he didn’t push the issue further. If he had, Sakura was not sure what she would have said.

He’s right you know.

…What does that mean?

Inner didn’t respond for a while and Sakura turned around to return to Anko’s house. As she took her first steps Inner left her with one last comment.

We deserved better than this.

Subconsciously, Sakura brought a hand to her lower stomach where she knew a jagged puckered scar sat.

There was no one at the gate to wave the four of them off as they departed from the village. It made Sakura realize just how alone each of them were. Naruto was an orphan and hated by most of the village for what he was and the pranks he used to pull. She ignored Inner’s scoff at that statement. Sasuke had lost his entire family when young and was never the social type. He and Sakura were similar in that manner, she thought. While she still had a family, in reality, she lost them as soon as she decided to be a ninja. Of course they all had their sensei, but Kakashi had been missing in action ever since that conversation he had with her.

She didn’t focus on this though, this would be her team's second time out of the village. She could only hope it wouldn’t go as poorly as their last one did.

Was every Sannin a maniac? Sakura hoped that when they met Tsunade she would be normal because dealing with Jiraiya was almost as bad as dealing with Orochimaru. They had been to eight different villages so far. The first few times she was hopeful, Jiraiya would wander off in search of information and she and her team would get to explore. Then he came back smelling of cheap perfume and weed. After this repeated for the fourth time and Naruto was far in debt he convinced his team to help him track the Sannin. 

What they found was disheartening. Jiraiya was an actual pervert (not a Kakashi pervert) and a misogynist. Here he was dragging around three preteens (ninja or not they were still preteens) and visiting brothels. He got laid and high off of Naruto’s money, racked up a debt and then ran before the establishment could collect on it. But not before stopping by the bath house. Inner was already forming a plan on how the three of them could get back to the village without him.

Naruto, Sasuke and she were back in the hotel room now waiting for him to return from his “data collecting”. Packed bags lay at their feet.

Naruto held another balloon in his hand but his mind was too far elsewhere to make it pop. She suspected it was for anger management at this point.

“I can’t believe this.” he stated for probably the millionth time. “I just can’t believe this! He’s a sardine-”

“Sannin, Naruto.”

“Sannin, whatever, he’s a ninja! He was given a mission from Jiji! I bet the exercises he’s been giving us so far have been fake too!” Sakura raised an eyebrow at his hand and Naruto promptly threw the ball at the wall.

She groaned and fell backwards onto the bed they sat on. “Yes yes we heard you before.”

“And the hundred other times before that,” Sasuke muttered under his breath. Sakura chuckled.

“Aren’t you mad? He’s been wasting our time for weeks! He’s been stealing from us and making us do cheap labor! We are ninja of the leaf-”

“-sent to find the next Hokage herself.” Sakura finished for him. “We’ll go back to the village and tell the council what’s been going on and they can send out a more qualified group to track her down.”

“But we are qualified!”

“No, we are genin. Jiraiya is qualified.”

“Jiraiya is a perv!”

“Jiraiya is right behind you” a voice piped up from behind them. “Nice reflexes” he followed as Sakura and Sasuke reflexively launched kunai at him. Not with any real intent of course, just spite.

“PERVY-SAGE” Naruto screeched, pointing an accusatory finger at him, “We are ninja of the leaf sent-” 

“To find the next Hokage herself” Jiraiya finished, “I think we need to work on your environmental awareness.” Naruto’s hand went limp. “So what’s your plan?” He asked, “Make a run for it back to the village? Purchase a messenger hawk? Or just keep following me around?” He looked at them expectantly. Sakura winced. Letcher or not they had forgotten one important fact, Jiraiya had also been considered for the next Hokage. 

“Would you try and stop us if we left?” she asked. 

“No.”

“But you would follow us.”

“Yes.”

“So we would only be causing an even greater delay to the mission”

“You could see it that way.”

Sakura crossed her arms and plopped back on the bed. “I suppose we’re staying then.”

“HUH” Naruto screeched and Sakura winced. She turned onto her belly to smack him but he was already out of reach and giving them all an earful. She closed her eyes and pushed against that invisible door-

Nu-uh, there is no way in hell I am taking your place

The door slammed shut in her face as her mind's occupant unceremoniously kicked her out.

Rude .

It took at least ten minutes to get Naruto to stop talking, another five to keep him from jumping out the window back to the village, and at least three to get him seated. If they were staying, things needed to change.

“I have a question, Jiraiya.” she stated

“Sensei” he corrected. She just stared at him until he coughed uncomfortably and moved on, “Uh yes, what is your question.”

“Is there a reason you are delaying the mission?” 

He tilted his head, eyeing them mischievously, “And what makes you think I am wasting time?”

Naruto had to be restrained to follow Jiraiya to the next village about a two hour run away. Jiraiya hoisted him on his back as they ran and after about three minutes he was gagged. Sakura really wanted to believe the Sannin when he told them he had found his old teammate's location, she really did. But she could still smell the presence of women's perfume on his body. It wasn’t safe for ninja to exude such potent smells and he didn’t seem to care. So no, as they ran and Naruto thrashed on the Sannin’s back, her hope was slowly dwindling. When Jiraiya dropped them off at another hotel and left through the window her hope hit rock bottom.

“Should we untie him?” Sasuke asked, gesturing to Naruto as he flopped around on the floor. The gag had worked to a degree but they were still being subjected to some sort of mumbling tangent. She had a feeling she knew what he was saying.

“Not yet.” She replied. Naruto started flopping more aggressively, his mumbles getting louder. “I’m going to find some food,” Sakura stated as she walked out the door. Sasuke just flopped on the bed and grunted to let her know he heard.

All the villages they had run through were starting to muddle together in Sakura’s head. They were all relatively close to each other, all did trade with one another, and the physical traits of the land her team had run across hadn’t changed much. If she had to note one thing, it would be that this village had very distinct areas, as if its layout was actually planned and designed before construction started. All of the buildings looked newer than the other villages and she briefly remembered running past some construction on their way in. She was thankful for this because it wasn’t hard to find the food district, a cramped area where various restaurants lined each side of the street and vendors tried to catch her attention with various pieces of protein or sugar on a stick. As she passed one fancier looking establishment there was a man outside, very visibly drunk and wrapped in the embrace of two curvy women. Their hands danced over his chest as he spoke loudly, it was clear they were being paid by the way they laughed at his jokes. “Excuse me,” Sakura muttered as she walked past and let a small group of rambunctious children push her into the wealthy looking drunk man. None of them seemed to notice though and she kept walking, her pockets a little heavier. Looking down at her palm she counted her prize, just enough for two meals, nothing too nice. Maybe she could find a street food vendor who was willing to give her a little more if she acted hungry enough. 

Spotting her target, an older woman who looked just about ready to head home and selling some sort of fish on a stick, she stepped into an alley and looked around. The pile of filthy clothes near the trash was really all she needed but she looked around more, possibly pushing back what she was about to do. It was gross. The Sakura that appeared from the alley looked younger, sickly thin, and covered in dirt. It was a skill they learned in the academy, camouflage in normal environments with limited supplies. To a shinobi, the disguise would be obvious, her smell would be too contrasting and she couldn’t quite replicate the movements of a starving civilian child. But to a normal civilian? Sakura barely needed to try.

Of course, it would have been a lot easier if she could just do a transformation jutsu, but she remembered the pain.

Soon Inner reminded her but Sakura wasn’t so sure. Afterall, she didn’t have much hope left in finding the third Sannin.

She darted up to the cart with the older women, keeping herself partially in the shadows and her shoulders hunched like she expected a blow any minute. “s’cuse me ma’am” The woman looked down and Sakura knew she had her when her eyebrows softened in the same way young women look at babies. “Would it be possible… My brothers and I we….” 

The woman cut her off with quick hands that grabbed six sticks, far more than Sakura was expecting but she was pleasantly surprised. “Oh, don’t you worry dearie, I got plenty to go around, now you best run off, I’m sure your brothers are waiting for you.” She thanked the woman profusely and quickly left with the food. It was demeaning having to resort to such methods but she chose to look at it like training. 

Back in her regular clothes Sakura vowed to take a shower as soon as she got back to the room. Maybe she would even make Naruto clean her clothes for fetching him food. She turned back down the street, food in hand and making sure to stay out of eyesight of the kind woman. It wasn’t hard though, the street was crowded and she was constantly being shoved back and forth by the various adults going about their shopping. This is how, through some twisted fate she stumbled through the opening of some gambling shop. She probably could have avoided that gentleman's shoulder but something inside her stopped her, and now here she was. Looking straight as Tsunade, the third Sannin.

Sakura was thirteen when she could say she had met all three Sannin. Tsunade wasn’t much to look at all hunched over and drunk in a rundown bar. The woman was seated around a poker table and from the looks of it, she was losing horribly. She was loud, obnoxious, shouting on and on about how she had them now but the other men around the table only chuckled like they had heard this before. Perhaps they had, but their piles were significantly larger than hers.

Tsunade looked just like how the books had described her. Having an interest in medical ninjutsu herself, Sakura had read plenty of books about Tsunade, even one that included some of her notes. She was tall, towering over her competitors even as they were seated. She was blonde, and endowed to the point that Sakura woudl almost call it greedy. But what really sold it was her forehead where a small purple diamond sat. It looked so ordinary but Sakura had heard the stories, she had seen an artist's rendition of one particular battlefield after Tsunade had reached into that seal.

It was power that Sakura craved. Inner moaned.

But what should Sakura do? She took a bite of one of the sticks, deep in thought. It didn’t look like Tsunade was intentionally running away. She was gambling just two streets down from her teams hotel. Yet, she still had been able to avoid them for weeks. It made Sakura wonder just how close they had gotten in those other villages.

She knows you’re here

Sakura jerked. How did that even make sense? She had been watching the woman closely. Firstly, she was drunk out of her mind, and second, she hadn’t made the slightest indication of being aware of Sakura’s stalking. Not a single twitch, a flutter in her eyelid, or even a moment of tension.

She’s not on the same level as even Jounin, you can’t put her in the same box, idiot

And wasn’t that the truth. Sakura remembered Orochimaru. Subconsciously a hand went up to her shoulder. Yes, she remembered him vividly. And apparently that had been a weakened state. 

What do we do?

You wait, she let you get this close so she will come to you, just wait. And wait she did. For an hour she sat against an alley wall. She didn’t bother keeping an eye on the Sannin, she would come eventually and as Inner had said, she knew where Sakura was. Probably knew where their team had been the entire chase.

Why let us catch her now?

Inner didn’t respond. 

The sun was setting by the time the Sannin left the bar. She was sure Naruto and Sasuke were losing their minds at this point but she had different things to worry about. The older woman walked around the corner to where Sakura was sitting and motioned with her head at a restaurant across the street. Sakura got up and followed. They sat down at a table with a small grill in the center and Sakura stayed quiet as Tsunade ordered the food. Tsunade was a powerful woman and Sakura was sure she would not appreciate a genin like herself being impolite.

They sat in silence for some time, Tsunade analyzing Sakura with her eyes. “You’re a quiet one aren't you?” She finally stated and Sakura noticed how different her voice was now. She had been a blubbering drunk less than an hour ago, Sakura had heard her through the walls but now her voice was calm, sober, yet somehow commanding.

“Manners taught by my parents,” Sakura replied. Tsunade scoffed.

“Civilian then” it wasn’t a question but Sakura nodded anyway. A tired looking teenage boy walked up to their table with a pile of meat, mostly chicken from the looks of it and placed it in the center. Sakura waited for Tsunade to take her fill before placing a few raw pieces onto the hot center.

“What are you doing here child?” Tsunade sighed. “Whatever it is, you aren’t going to find it”.

“I’m here for you” The older woman raised an eyebrow, “I have no plans of becoming the next Hokage brat, you and your team should return home, stop wasting your time”.

Sakura just shook her head, “I’m afraid we have no choice ma’am, as I’m sure you’ve noticed, we aren’t a group that could make it back to the village on our own”.

Tsunade chuckled, “Yeah, how far has the village fallen to send a bunch of chubby cheeked Genin my way.” She grabbed some of the chicken and tossed it unceremoniously onto the grill. “Like throwing meat into the fire”.

“I’m afraid they had little choice” Sakura replied, “I’m sure you’ve heard about the attack?” Tsunade nodded in reply. “But I’m here for another reason” the older woman raised an eyebrow as she took a bite of her grilled chicken.

“Is that so?” she said, clearly bored “Who do you want me to heal?”

“Me” This seemed to catch her attention as she stopped eating and finally looked up, meeting Sakura’s gaze.

This didn’t last long though as she turned back to her food, “you’d have better luck somewhere else, girl”

Sakura shook her head, “No one else can do this”

“That’s what they all say”

“I’ll do anything” Sakura stated, feeling like her chance was slipping away.

Tsunade shook her head sadly, “And what could you offer me that I couldn’t find somewhere else?” And Sakura had no answer for this. She had no power, no money, no knowledge that Tsunade couldn’t obtain on her own.

What do I have…

You

Inner’s answer had been firm, fast, as if she had been thinking of it or a while. The problem was that the answer made Sakura physically recoil. She remembered that night, that night not too long ago where her family thought that she was a product that could be sold off. She remembered Inner’s nature, how they would do anything if it meant her survival…

Oh calm down you absolute dumbass, I didn’t mean it like that

Tsunade was looking at her oddly now though, clearly she had seen her recoil. But it wasn’t pity she was looking at her with, it was something else, something more. “You are an interesting girl, child”. And then Sakura understood what Inner had meant.

“I’ll work for you, under you, I can do healing”. She could feel Inner rolling her eyes inside their mindscape and mutter something about selling herself short.

This was clearly the wrong answer for the Sannin though who rolled her eyes and set her cup down. “Listen here and listen well. I have had hundreds of ignorant wanna-be's throw themselves at my feet with the same offer, everyone thinks they’re special but they all forget one thing. I am not looking for a student”. She grabbed a handful of coins from some pocket and slammed them onto the table. This was clearly meant to be the end of the conversation. “Besides” she added, “From the looks of it, you can’t do much of anything right now”. Sakura flushed, red hot heat running up her neck and to her ears. When had Tsunade checked her out? Before they ran into each other? Just now when they were eating? “I'll find your sensei tomorrow, let him know my choice so the rest of you can get back home” she stated and then she was gone. Just like that.

Sakura sat there in silence, unable to move from the seat and decidedly ignoring Inner yelling at her. Tsunade wasn’t wrong, Sakura had nothing to offer. Not only was she a Genin, she wasn’t even that anymore, was she? And while she’s sure Anko wouldn’t have told Kakashi anything about her current condition, eventually the rest of her team would notice her distinct lack of chakra use. Once that happened that really would be it. Her main talent had been chakra control, now, she was just a civilian with above average combat skills. 

No.

She refused to let that be it. If Tsunade wouldn’t heal her, she would just have to find someone who could. Do the research herself and create a method. She could take up rotations at the hospital. She would do something . Ever since that night, Sakura refused to let anyone or any thing control her life.

The Haruno’s did not protect their secrets well, or their assets. It was almost like they never expected anyone to come prying. Or anyone to sneak into their houses at night and rummage through their offices and locked secret rooms. 

It also appeared that they never expected some of those documents to be replaced with other documents and for their privacy seals (bought at the local market) to be removed. Really, no one even checked.

And it was because of this idiocracy that their trial went by without any problem. They had fought of course but they were cocky about it. No matter how influential they were or how much money they possessed they forgot one thing.

This was a shinobi village.

All it took was one look into the minds of Sakura’s parents by Inoichi Yamanaka for the council to have no choice but to back Kakashi’s rampage on the Haruno clan. At one point he was worried that the fact the village had been attacked so recently would get in the way of his endeavor but it was actually the opposite. Civilians didn’t understand shinobi business in the same way ninja did, they didn’t understand how the attack had happened or why it was impacting the merchant market in the way it was. They wanted someone to blame and then Kakashi handed them the Haruno and the Kazuo Clan’s on a silver platter.

He was quite pleased with himself.

But now came the next problem.

Inoichi, being a close acquaintance, had told Kakashi what he had seen in Kuragari Haruno’s memories on the night they tried to marry off Sakura to that Kenta bastard. He has been so proud hearing of the way she had fought, the moves she pulled has been phenomenal considering the situation she has been in. But it squeezed his heart just a little that she had to do that in the first place.

Sakura was a shinobi though, and he would not insult her with pity. She had fought and she had won.

But not without significant injury to herself. Someone had healed her and he wanted to figure out who but that wasn’t the main problem.

Inoichi had promised Kakashi he wouldn’t tell the TI department about Sakura’s strange behaviour. They had to let them know that she had activated the seal but they weren’t privy to the way her eyes had changed, how her voice shifted, and how she gained skills that just weren’t possible for her genin status. If they did reveal this information, Sakura would be investigated as a spy and that was something that could affect her career forever.

Inner.

It was something she had mentioned after arriving to the training grounds covered in bruises and missing half her hair. Inner had helped her escape, helped her fight, maybe even healed her. But Inoichi said there was no one else there that night to help Sakura. She had escaped all on her own.

But was she ever really alone?

Kakashi was starting to suspect that there was more to Sakura then she let others see. Perhaps this is how she intercepted Orochimaru all those months ago. It he has learned abiding these last few weeks it was that Sakura could keep a secret, but he had no intention of letting that stick.

Naruto and Sasuke were rightfully furious with her when she returned, no food in hand and about four hours late back to the hotel. When she had arrived a Naruto clone had taken one look at her and stabbed itself, sending the message of her return to the main body. It wasn’t long before said body came flying through the window and tackled her to the ground. They (as in Naruto) bombarded her with questions. Sasuke threw in the occasional grunt that Naruto somehow translated into entire sentences and Sakura answered them as best as she could.

But she didn’t tell them about Tsunade.

She didn’t know exactly why she kept that a secret, whether it was intentional or just because they didn’t really ask but regardless as far as they knew she had just gone on a walk and lost track of time.

When Jiraiya got back that night he looked at Sakura a little longer than necessary before throwing the three of them bags of fruits and nuts. It was clear he knew what had gone down, and Sakura suddenly found herself wondering if he was less ineffective than he appeared to be. But how odd, he still smelled like weed and cheap perfume.

Chapter Text

Kizashi Haruno didn’t know what went wrong. The engagement, the one he had made for Sakura as soon as she was born a girl and his wife was told she could no longer get pregnant, was supposed to be in effect now. For years he had been waiting to reap the benefits of that deal for five years and then retire. Sakura had always been a bit rebellious but what child wasn’t, rebellion just needed to be met with discipline and he provided that. Just like his father had done for him and his siblings. 

But she hadn’t stopped. Instead of learning etiquette and mannerisms fit for a clan leader's wife she went to the school for murderers. Her first report card had been abysmal and no matter how much she was punished she still fought back so Kizashi had made a decision. It did not matter what profession she pursued because she would stop working after she was married. Still, he would be damned if his daughter embarrassed him in more ways than one. So Kuragari was hired. He had felt pride that she was the top of her class after that, none that he would ever show because Sakura was a girl and shinobi women were only useful for honeypot missions, missions she would never age into. So everything was fine.

But then they got the notice and Sakura’s little fantasy’s weren’t so little anymore.

He hadn’t realized that Genin shinobi qualified as adults. He didn’t even think to consider that Sakura would break the engagement off herself. Kizashi had taught her, he raised her to be mindful and obedient and he would be damned if he lost that deal now.

But he had… lost it, that is, hadn’t he.

The cell he was in was dark, and so cold that he didn’t think any mice or spiders could survive. They had taken him in the night, a group of shinobi led by a man with tall grey hair and a murderous expression. They said they had found files showing illegal dealing with Gato, a fearsome merchant who had ruled over some parts of the water country not too long ago. Apparently the evidence was clear as the papers included Gato’s signature. Kizashi Haruno was done for. They wouldn’t be able to hold him for long, the Hokage had said that and he knew it was because of his influence in the civilian district but that standing was gone. The merchant side of the village never dealt with anybody who got on the Hokage’s bad side.

A part of Kizashi was glad.

His titles would be stripped away and the elders would probably hand his role over to Osamu and then Osamu would get to deal with the fallout that was Sakura’s wedding.

He shivered, but not from the cold and a sharp pang split his shoulder. The stab wound wasn’t healed yet. Kuragari had taken him to a friend of his who healed it but it wasn’t professionally done and the wound still hurt.

Sakura had stabbed him.

No.

That hadn’t been Sakura. It couldn’t have been, at least… not the Sakura he knew. He remembered the look in her eyes clearly, the demented smile that had lit up her face as the blade pierced through his stomach and blood sprayed onto her cheeks. She had enjoyed it, she had enjoyed stabbing her father, the man who gave her everything.

Who the hell was that monster?

Jiraya acted like he had captured a rogue criminal when they caught sight of Tsunade the next day eating lunch in the same restaurant she had brought Sakura to. Naruto was practically buzzing with excitement when Jiraiya had told them they would be intercepting her that morning. ‘Intercepting’ , like all their tracking, had actually done anything. After the conversation yesterday Sakura suspected that it was more likely Tsunade had gotten tired of her stalkers and wished for her peace and quiet back. She didn’t share this idea though and because of this Sakura was about a hair's width away from knocking Naruto out and sealing him in one of Jiraiya’s scrolls for her own peace and quiet.

It got to the point where she even asked Jiraiya if she could go to the library instead and meet up with them later. He had simply smacked the back of her head. A resounding no.

The interception wasn’t anything grand like Naruto had been imagining. Instead of jumping in guns blazing and tying up one of the strongest shinobi in the world Jiraiya brought them to a bar. While Naruto was aghast to see his potential future Hokage drunk out of her mind early in the morning, Sasuke barely showed any reaction. Sakura was curious though, was this the state Jiraiya had expected to find her? And based on Jiraya’s smile and remarks, this was not an uncommon appearance. Distantly Sakura wondered if Tsunade would even pass a field shinobi psych evaluation.

The four of them sat down in a booth nearby, Sasuke with strict instructions not to remove the newly implemented gag from Naruto’s mouth and Sakura with brief instructions not to let go of the rope holding him down. Jiraiya left them there and went over to talk with Tsunade. She didn’t look the least bit surprised to see him there and joined them after a minute of conversation.

“So” she said as she sat down on one empty side, “they sent a pervert, an idiot, a narcissist, and a child bride to get me,” she popped the lid off of what looked like a beer, “yeah, that’s definitely the village I want to run.”

“Hey who are you calling a narcissist!” While Sasuke was distracted, Naruto had managed to wriggle his way out of the gag. Sakura held on tighter to the rope.

“Me you idiot” Sasuke jabbed him harshly.

“Oh…”.;

“Tsunade, I would like to introduce you to team 7.” He started to his left, “Sasuke Uchiha, Naruto Uzumaki, and-”

“Sakura Haruno” Tsunade cut him off, “I didn’t think I would be seeing you again so soon” Naruto and Sasuke whipped around to look at her as she avoided their gaze.

She crossed her arms and leaned back, “trust me, it's against my will” Tsunade chuckled.

“So child bride-” Tsunade started

“I’m not married,” Sakura growled out. It was hard containing her anger but she didn’t need Inner to tell her getting mad would be a bad idea.

Tsunade took a sip of her sake, not even giving Sakura the respect of looking her way, “divorced so young. A pity” she mused. “So Pinkie, thought of anything you could give me yet?” Sakura didn’t reply and the need to change topics was growing stronger by the second as Naruto drilled holes into the side of her face with his eyes.

“How do y-“ Naruto was cut off by Jiraiya laying a hand on his shoulder.

“Remember what we discussed, Naruto” he said and the blonde boy pouted. For once Sakura appreciated Jiraiya’s teachings. He had been working with Naruto on his self control. Jiraiya might be a pervert but she had to appreciate the fact that her headaches had lessened throughout the trip. Honestly, how did Sasuke do it?

A waiter came by, only giving Naruto’s binds a once over as she quickly scratched down their order. Shinobi must be a common occurrence here. Sakura was curious on who would be paying though, last she checked Jiraiya had run them all dry and she sincerely doubted the other Sannin would step up. Sakura’s own wallet had sat safely in a seal on her left thigh this entire trip and there was no way she was risking bringing it out now.

At the head of the table Tsunade raised her glass, “To Pinkie’s attempt to woo me” She chuckled to herself as she took a sip.

Let me at her Inner growled from her mindscape and she could feel herself starting to lose control. This was just not the day. Naruto had been getting on her nerves since they woke up. Jiraiya was acting like some hero even though he refused to let her go to the library. And now Tsunade wasn’t waving them off like she had promised the previous day. She could feel it when Inner slipped out for a fraction of a second and she saw it when Tsunade’s eyes flashed to her own. “Well that’s a neat trick” she stated.

“Interesting…” Jiraiya mused from next to them.

“What?” Naruto asked, “What happened? Did I miss it?” 

Sasuke smacked him on the head. “Sakura’s eyes just changed color again” he stated and Naruto sat back down.

“Oh, that’s normal, she does that all the time. Sasuke says it’s a trick of the lime”

“Light, Naruto. Trick of the light”

“No, lime, like the color of your eyes”. Sakura brought her hands up to her eyes and rubbed them harshly, trying to rid herself of the incoming headache.

“You're a civilian aren’t you? How do you do that?”

Sakura glared, barely holding onto her composure, “I’m a shinobi”

The older woman waved her hand as if shooing away a fly, “Not in that state you aren’t. So what was that?” 

Sakura smirked. So now the Sannin was interested in her. “Come become the Hokage and you can find out” she countered. 

“You’re not that interesting Pinkie”

The conversation quickly deteriorated from there as Naruto’s already weak control completely slipped. He made demands that Tsunade quickly brushed off. Jiraiya tried the loyalty and “times of need” route while Sasuke focused on his food. Sakura was done including her input and quite frankly done with the day. 

It was clear Tsunade didn’t want to be their Hokage and quite frankly Sakura didn’t want her either. “I’ll meet you back at the hotel” she declared, not even bothering to give either of the Sannin a glance before she started walking out the restaurant. 

That was a mistake though as she heard Tsunade call after her with that insulting nickname. Sakura was glad to ignore her but not even halfway to the door someone grabbed her arm.

Inner burst out before she could even flinch back, breaking down all their mental barriers. Sakura’s eyes flashed, the step she had been taking turned into a stomp and the floor splintered. Shards shot up into the air and with a twist of her wrist she was free from the blonde Sannin but that was it. On instinct Inner reached for their chakra and the next thing she knew Sakura was back in control, writhing on the floor and fire spread throughout her veins.

“SAKURA” Naruto shouted as he and Sasuke ran over. The restaurant was silent now as regular civilians looked on in apprehension before shooting each other looks and darting outside. The owner, an older gentleman, looked like he wanted to step in and complain, his money running out the door after all, but one look from Jiraiya had him scrambling.  Sasuke was helping her to her feet just as the last patron ran out. “Are you okay, Sakura?” Naruto asked, running around her like a nervous puppy.

But instead of confirming, Sakura was interrupted, “Your pathways are burnt. How in the hell are you still alive?” Tsunade walked over slowly and Sakura responded with a glare.

“You did that on purpose” she accused.

Tsunade looked down at the floor. “You shouldn’t have been able to do that” she gestured at the cracked wood just as Sakura’s view was blocked by something large and orange.

“Hey!” Naruto shouted running up, “She’s hurt already, what was that for!” Sakura exchanged looks with Sasuke as he nodded and let go of her arm. He tried to pull Naruto back but was shoved away. “No!” He turned slightly to face Jiraiya, “Why would we want her as our Hokage?” He demanded, voice still just as loud. “She’s a drunk gambling addict and has been nothing but mean to Sakura. A Hokage needs strength yeah but they also need to be kind and trustworthy and I wouldn’t trust this woman as far as I could kick her!”

Tsunade took a step forward, “kick me, eh?” 

Naruto didn’t back down and instead leaned forward and did the most mature thing he was capable of. He stuck out his tongue. “That’s what I think of you becoming Hokage.” Sakura sweat dropped. Inside, Inner was howling. “And yeah! Kick you! And with those big jugs you probably would bounce!”

Jiraiya grabbed onto Tsunade before she could pummel Sakura’s idiot teammate and Sasuke grabbed onto the idiot teammate. 

“Oh you wanna go brat?” Tsunade shouted. “Kids like you need to respect your elders.

“Naruto…” Jiraiya warned but it was unneeded.

“No way! I know I would lose, idiot. I said you’re strong didn’t you hear me? Or are you deaf cause you’re a granny!”

KI spilled out all around them, “Jiraiya move, I’m going to kill your brat.” Honestly Sakura didn’t blame him for letting go, the woman looked like a demon.

“Oh shit” Sakura heard Sasuke mutter as he let go of his ward. 

Hell yeah… Inner cheered from their mindscape, teach the bitch a lesson!

Once again, Sakura wished that Jiraiya had let her go to the library that morning.

Sakura was ten when she read her first book on chakra control and healing. She had been struggling during her practice sessions. Wounds would either heal too fast and only surface level or not at all. This left her with some pretty nasty scars and led her down a rabbit hole on chakra pathways which somehow led her to a book on the ethics and morals that bound shinobi medics versus civilian medics.

Back in the present Sakura remembered this book. Or one line to be specific.

“A medic-nin must vow to never leave an ally worse off than before their hands touched their body”

As she kept forward, too sudden and fast for Inner to realize what she was doing, she hoped that Tsunade was just a drunk and not an immoral drunkard.

Walking up in an unfamiliar hospital was very reassuring in realizing she wasn’t dead.

You absolute fucking moron

Yep, Sakura was definitely still alive. 

She soon wished she had died though when after a disgruntled nurse checked her out, Jiraiya and Sasuke came in, following a nurse carrying a tray.

“You absolute fucking idiot” Jiraiya smacked the side of her head gently. Inner scoffed. “You realize I’m dead if you get hurt, right? You’re sensei will gut me”. Sakura just groaned. That smack had brought her back to her body and she suddenly had many regrets. Every cell in her body felt like it had been scrubbed raw. She felt sensitive and new and just the feeling of the sheets shifting on her legs felt like she was being dragged over gravel. 

The lights above burned her eyes and her head throbbed painfully as she blinked. “Good morning, Sakura,” Sasuke nodded at her, his usual stoic expression in place. “How are you feeling?”

Ouch Sakura thought. “Pain” is what she replied. Sakura swore she saw him smile. It better have been a hallucination. 

“Don’t try and access your chakra yet” the nurse spoke up as she fiddled with the IV, “Your pathways are still healing, too much pressure and they’ll burst.” Sakura didn’t hear the second part though her mind replaying that first comment over and over.

Don’t try and access your chakra yet

“Yet” was a promise, it implied a possibility Did that mean… She turned to look at Jiraiya who rolled his eyes. “Don’t think yourself smart, you’re just a suicidal idiot who lucked out. And I would guess that you’ve used up the rest of your luck for this lifetime.” Sakura grinned. She held out a hand, planning to call up just a smidge of chakra. A flash of KI stopped her and she sweat dropped at Sasuke’s murderous expression. Okay, so she could be patient… maybe…

As the hours passed Sakura realized one thing. Sasuke had apparently made it his mission to keep Sakura a prisoner.

He’s here to help you heal-

A prisoner

Sakura wasn’t allowed to use any chakra, she wasn’t allowed her pack, all of her storage seals had been removed by Jiraiya and she wasn’t allowed to make more, she wasn’t allowed to get out of bed, she wasn’t allowed to eat solid food for fucks sake.

“Every cell, Pinkie. Every cell in that tiny weak body of yours. Do you have any idea how hard it is to go that small?” That is the greeting she got from Tsunade when she arrived back at the hospital.

“Naruto challenged her to a duel” Sasuke had told her. 

She hadn’t questioned it one bit although it was interesting to see a small bruise right in the center of her forehead. How had she gotten it? And why hadn’t she healed it?

“A medic-nin must vow to never leave an ally worse off than before their hands touched their body” Sakura parroted. 

Tsunade gaped at her. “Did I seem like your alley at that moment?” she demanded. Sakura pursed her lips. “No…” she admitted. What followed was somehow worse than almost dying, worse than getting bit by Orochimaru and so much worse than the lecture she had gotten from Jiraiya just a few hours ago. Her skin was still buzzing from his tongue lashing.

Do you think her lungs expand into her boobs? Inner mused at one point. Whether it was an hour into the screaming or just a few minutes neither of them knew. Sakura caught herself right before her eyes flickered down. Inner snickered. Sakura did not want to be caught looking there in the middle of a lecture. 

“-immature, suicidal, idiotic Genin I have had the displeasure of meeting! Do you know what that would have done to my reputation, you little shit? Death, instant death-” Sakura wondered if Tsunade would be able to tell if she fell asleep as long as she kept her eyes open. “I am a Sannin, if I did not hold back your pathways would have been obliterated. I swear you have the survival instincts of an infant jumping in front of a cannon”. But Sakura didn’t care. It worked, hadn’t it? Tsunade had caused harm to her and the only way to save her life was to heal her which just happened to include fixing her chakra pathways. “And as soon as we get back to the village I am going to have a serious word with your Sensei, I mean-” Suddenly Sakura was paying attention again.

Back to the village …

Did that mean what she thought it did? 

Tsunade seemed to catch her question and snorted, actually snorted. “What? You thought you could get rid of me that easily after pulling a stunt like that? You’re looking at your future Hokage brat!”

Sakura blanched, just what the hell had happened while she was out…