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The shadows have always seemed to call to Sakura, and when she ignored the calling of them, it would cause her physical pain, so over time she got rather good at ignoring it. Since she was a child, and for as long as she could remember, the shadows have always brought her comfort when she didn't ignore the calling of them. It was why she liked being near the Nara Clan, though she never told anyone. She was going to go once, but Ino had ended their friendship over a boy, thinking that is what Sakura was going to tell her. When Ino had left Sakura, she had taken Choji and Shikamaru with her, which hurt Sakura in more than one way. Not being able to visit the Nara Compound, and not being near their shadows, had caused her great physical pain. It took her some time to find a dark place that eases the pain.
But that was in the past; right now Kaguya was in front of her, and the shadows were calling to her. Sakura was desperate for the war to end as quickly as possible. They were barely able to save everyone from the Biju bomb that was thrown at the Allied Shinobi Forces headquarters. Sakura couldn't let anyone else get hurt just because she didn't want anyone to know.
Sakura steps forward to get the attention of Kaguya. "Oh, what are you going to do, little girl?" The goddess asked, looking at Sakura curiously, though she didn't take Sakura seriously.
Sakura didn't say anything; she just stood there, looking at Kaguya, before she spoke softly. "The shadows have always called to me." She said it just loud enough for Kaguya to hear, though it carried through the silence of the battlefield to everyone.
"Oh? And what does that mean?" Kaguya asked, looking at the pink woman.
Sakura looked up at her with slightly dead eyes. "This," was all she said as the shadows around her attacked Kaguya.
Sakura ignored the shocked gaps as she walked forward. Kaguya couldn't seem to fight the shadows, nor could Black Zetsu. Both Kaguya and Black Zetsu turned their attention to her to attack, but the shadows did not let their captives get close to her. Sakura could feel herself go numb as both Kaguya and Black Zetsu were torn apart. She blinked lightly as the shadows gifted her Kaguya's heart. Without much thought Sakura picked it up, brought it to her mouth, and bit it. Sakura finished it quickly and licked the blood off her hands as a surge of chakra filled her. Sakura turned her attention to the other.
"She is gone now..." Sakura said she could barely recognize her voice with how dull it was and how it had no inflection to it.
Sakura just stood there for a few seconds before she took a step back and took a seat on a rock behind her. She couldn't control the shadows now that they were free to do what they wished around her. They moved in a large mass, never going more than ten feet away from her. Sakura just sat there watching the others' reactions closely.
"Sakura!” Ino said as she tried to approach, only for the shadows to lash out at her.
The shadows did some to Naruto, Sasuke, Kakashi, and anyone else who tried to approach her, but neither Tsunade nor Shizune tried; they watched from a distance. Both women had expected something was a mess for a while and didn't mind letting someone else handle the situation. After all, neither of them knew how to help Sakura at the moment, or they would.
"Shikamaru, do something!" Ino said, throwing said young man a look.
Shikamaru tried to get close and control the shadows, only for them to lash out at him, throwing him back. "I can't control them." Shikamaru said with surprise coming across his face and feeling his voice.
"Of course you can't; she doesn't trust you. So neither do the shadows around her." The voice of Shikaku Nara, Shikamaru's father, as he landed in front of his son.
"Why doesn't she trust us?" Ino asked, looking at someone she considered an uncle.
"A Shadow's Child is like she might forgive, but they never forget. You guys have hurt her once as a child, even if you didn't mean to; as such, she would never fully trust you again. At least not to the point where you could help her when she loses control like this. That goes for anyone who the Shadows believed had abandoned or hurt her. After all, she can't control them fully. She's a Shadow's Child. Shadow's Children do not control the shadows, for they are the young; they are taken to birth. The most she can do is try to convince them not to kill anyone, but even then they won't always listen. It is also an extremely rare phenomenon; the last time it happened was during the war in the clan era. The young man eventually married into the Nara Clan, much as previous Shadow Children have. Due to the factor that the Nara Clan eases and helps the Shadow Child with control. But someone can never force a Shadow Child to do anything, or the shadows will attack to protect their chosen young. The only time a Shadow Child goes numb is when they only have one to three people they fully trust.” Shikaku explained as he carefully made his way towards the mass of writhing shadows that Sakura was in the middle of.
Everyone of the Great Five Nations stared at him in shock. As the shadows pulled at him lightly but did not hurt him. If anything, it seems they were testing him. Shikaku had his hands up on either side of his face in the air as he slowly approached the young woman. Once he was a foot in front of her, he crouched down onto his knees. He then carefully and slowly took her hands in his.
"Do you trust me enough to help?" Shikaku asked the young kunoichi in a soft voice, his eyes and his tone sincere.
Sakura looked at him with dead eyes as she considered. "Maybe," she responded lightly as she looked him in the eye.
"If you don't mind me asking, who do you fully trust?" Shikaku asked if it would make it easier in the long run for them to know.
"Tsunade and Shizune," was her reply as she brought her knees up to her chest, keeping her hands in his.
Shikaku nodded as he thought about what to do. "If I make a vow as head of the Nara Clan, and on my life, would that make you trust me?" Shikaku asked lightly as he looked her in the eyes with full honesty and no hesitation. He ignored the cry of his son and the other who did not wish him to do so.
"You cannot interfere; your father is doing something that should have been done when she was a child. We should have recognized a Shadow Child when we first met her; we all were taught the signs for a reason. Even if it is a rare phenomenon, every Nara, Yamanaka, and Akimichi was taught the signs for a reason. Who knows how long she has suffered from chronic pain from trying to ignore the shadows, and who knows what all she suffered from not telling anyone?” Inoichi Yamanaka, Ino's father, said with his voice and eyes hard. They should have realized what Sakura was before things got this bad.
It was dangerous for the Shadow Child not to be near Nara. A Nara could help with nullifying the pain and helping with control. It also makes sure the shadows don't get too out of hand and hurt those around the Shadow Child for the lightest of insults. Honestly, it was a miracle no one until now has died.
'Sakura must have ignored them for a long time for them not to have acted the way they are now sooner.’ Inoichi thought as he watched the living mass of shadows move around his best friend, Sakura.
Sakura studied Shikaku closely before she leaned in slightly. She studied him before she leaned back. "Yes, it is well." She spoke softly, hesitantly, as she brought one of her hands up to his cheek.
"I, Nara Shikaku, vow on my life and my clan as clan head that I will stand by your side, unless you really wish me to leave or in death." Shikaku vowed as he leaned his head into her hand that was on his cheek and pulled the hand to his mouth, where he placed a soft kiss.
"I, Haruno Sakura, the Shadow Child, accept your vow," Sakura said softly as she pulled him in and placed a kiss on his forehead.
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