Chapter Text
“Hey, you asshole,” a tiny voice yells from somewhere deeper within the market and Sakura doesn’t even have to look behind her to know Naruto is following.
When they shimmy through the legs at the front of the crowd to get a good view, there’s a jounin with a senbon in his mouth and potting soil in his hair being pointed and cursed at by a tiny blond kid that makes Sakura’s eyes burn.
(She’s been as annoyed as Naruto was delighted to learn that this body teared up far more easily than anyone she’d known in her previous.
To be fair, she hadn’t spent much time around kids, even when she was one.)
It’s when the curses become familiar (she’d been taking notes based on the tone only before) that a flicker of hope stirs.
Could be anyone. Naruto taps in Bat Standard against her wrist. More hesitantly comes, But could be her?
Only one way to find out.
Sakura marches up next to the tiny blond girl, crosses her arms across her chest, and calls the jounin three of the names she’d just heard her new ally use, before adding, “Luthor,” a foreign, difficult sound with this tongue, “would be embarrassed.”
Naruto’s presence is a steady weight at her back and a distraction for the crowd from the shock coursing through someone who might be-
The girl grabs Naruto’s hand and he grabs hers, taps passed down the line and back as they glare at the jounin in front of them, who still hasn’t moved.
The familiar rush of adrenaline threatens to compound her hope, to overwhelm her-
“It’s not a brick this time.”
Sakura gives into the tears but stays glaring at the jounin as he begins to back away, apparently too frightened at having made her cry to stay around and even try to defend his honor.
The crowd disperses with confused muttering but Sakura barely hears it.
“Sakura,” she says, pointing at herself. “And that’s Naruto.”
“Ino,” the girl says, manic grin threatening to split her face in two.
Sakura doesn’t know who starts laughing first but they haven’t stopped when a larger, male version of Ino makes his way over.
“New friends?” he asks, one arm extending to catch Ino and pull her into a hug when she barrels into his legs.
“You could say that,” she says, starting all of their giggles up anew.
“And do your new friends like dango?”
Sakura pulls up a proper smile, mastered at years of galas, as she says, “They’re my favorite, sir.”
“Ah, and polite, too.”
“Well,” Naruto chimes in, “Sakura is at least.”
Ino’s father joins them laughing that time, as he begins herding them to a nearby market stall.
“Good, at least then Ino won’t be too out of place.”
Sakura is glad that her new parents are as absent as her old ones, is glad Naruto has none at all, but she thinks she’s glad for this too.
For Ino to have a father she can be proud of this time around.