Chapter Text
The emerald green necklace burrowed itself into Sakura’s chest, radiating the warmth of love. Yet she still felt cold. Empty. The echoes of that fateful day still lingered, still haunted her.
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Sakura could remember the smooth fabric of her mothers Haori as she desperately clutched onto it. It was a light forest green, just like her own soft eyes which were full of tears. “I don’t want to go!” Sakura chocked out, tears streaming down her red face. the gates of Konoha now loomed over the 3 figures. “Lady Tsunade may-“ Shizune said before she was abruptly cut off by a strong voice of authority. “Shizune this is for her own safety.” Tsunade replied, crouching down to wipe the next wave of tears that were threatening to escape Sakura’s eyes.
Almost robot like, Tsunade took off her necklace which hung on neck, the movements familiar to her. The soothing metal was now on Sakura’s skin, radiating the warmth of love. “Return this to me one day” Tsunade said, her voice beginning to crack as the words spilled out of her mouth. “I love you.” And those were the last words her mother spoke to her for many years. Sakura could only watch her departing figure. ‘Was I not worth a single tear?’ Sakura thought to herself, recalling the monotone face of her mother, the same expression which would soon haunt her dreams.
Shizune soon grabbed her hand, pulling her away into the welcoming jaws of Konoha. It was unlike anything the little pink girl had ever seen. Houses that stood tall and proud, coloured so brightly that not even the overcasting moon could dull their vibrant colours. Bustling streets as if night hadn’t fell hours ago, as if she hadn’t lost her mother seconds ago. Sakuras mouth was open in awe and her eyes darted around, trying to absorb the area. The same place that would soon become her cage.
The two didn’t exchange a single word as they walked through the city, towards an unknown destination. Shizune’s dark eyes were full of guilt as they finally stopped walking. The Hokages tower. The two began to tower up the stairs, the passing shinobi eying them suspiciously but still choosing to keep their heads down and walk. Shizune’s grip on Sakura’s hand tightened as she pushed open a door.
An old man sat at the desk, his legs propped up against the desk lazily. As if noticing their presence, he immediately put his legs down, his face flushing red from being caught. With a cough, confidence surged through him once more and he began to speak. “Sakura Senju, is it?” The old man said softly, almost like a whisper. Shizune on queue, gently guided Sakura closer to the point she was in front of his desk which was unsurprising taller than her. “Yes..” Sakura mumbled, retreating to hide behind Shizune’s leg, causing the man to let out a chuckle. “I’m Hiruzen Sarutobi, The Hokage of this village and I will be responsible for your care from this point onwards.” The man declared, sliding over a thin sheet of paper along with a pen. “You will be enrolling in the Ninja Academy which will be beginning in a few days but I’m sure you are already quite educated.” The man stated, pushing the pen into Shizune’s shaking hands. Though without wasting a second, she hastily signed the paper, her internal conflict quickly solved.
Shizune wrapped her arms around the pink haired girl, savouring each moment that she was blessed with Sakuras presence. “Take care of yourself, make sure to eat… sleep and make tons of friends to show us okay..?” Shizune cried, tears welling up on the corners of her eyes yet she didn’t dare to let them spill. Sakura nodded, her eyes lit with a flame of determination as Shizune retreated out of the door. ‘What an eventful giveaway’ Sakura thought to herself as the Hokage began to yap about endless responsibilities. ‘I’m five for Kamis-Sake’ She yelled internally as the man lead her outside after giving Shizune a good head start.
Faces began to turn to look at her as she travelled through the streets of Konoha. Empathy. Hate. Envy. Their eyes bore into her, their whispers filling the air which used to be full of laughter and joy. “The Hokage is too nice” One said as many others joined in, “Pink hair, never knew Kiri couldn’t handle their own kids”, “Foreigner”. The last one stung the most yet she was pulled out of her misery by a set of stairs, leading to her future home.
After what seemed to be hundreds of stairs, a door stood in front of them. Her hands pressed against the cool metal as she opened the door, the Hokage not far behind her. ‘Is this a nightmare.?’ Sakura thought as her eyes scanned the room. It was a modest apartment yet it had obvious flaws. The table which was wobbling due to one leg being shorter then the other three, 2 wooden chairs which seemed to be living on more than a prayer and the beaten up sofa which looked older than the man standing behind her. “There is a map inside and all expenses will be handled with weekly deliveries by some trusted friends, also, Do not reveal your Senju heritage.” The old man whispered as Sakura stood frozen, still shocked by the room around her. “Go by Sakura Haruno and there are a few scrolls of the Senju within the closet, I will deliver more eventually.” And with that, the Hokage made his leave, the sound of the door shutting echoing around the house.
Sakura immediately scrambled to her room, opening the closet full of mysteries. ‘He said a few scrolls and yet this pile seems almost endless!’ Sakura thought as a small smile lit her face but it was soon conquered by the sadness in her heart. Her mother abandoned her, Shizune didn’t even have the guts to speak a few more words to her nor give her something to remember her by. Sighing, Sakura plopped down on her bed, tears flowing freely down her cheeks. She clasped her hands around her necklace, embracing it tightly as she began to drift off to sleep.
The pink haired girl woke up promptly, making her way over to the closet. Instead of devouring the endless knowledge of the scrolls, she took the initiative to get dressed and then start her endeavour. Sakura though soon realised that the super cool sounding ones were tightly sealed and she could only scavenge among the 3 beginning ones. ‘I’m definitely studying Fuinjutsu after this’ Sakura quickly opened the first one, a simple introductory to Chakra. Yet instead of doing the most logical thing possible, (actually fully reading the scroll), she quickly scanned for the jutsu. To her amazement, there were 3 jutsu. The clone jutsu, a C-rank water jutsu and the transformation jutsu. “So if a C-rank magically fell into this scroll and isn’t being sealed then what monsters are the other scrolls..” She mumbled to herself as she then stood up, grabbing the scroll as she made her way through her apartment. Sakura’s mother had already mentored her on strength and medical ninjutsu, much to Shizune’s distaste, who wanted her to focus entirely on her studies. But due to this, Sakura knew enough about chakra to allow her to attempt these.
And so after brushing her teeth and conquering her nattered hair, Sakura strolled out the house, the scroll hidden under a bright pink coat. She wore a simple black tee-shirt, covered in white embroidered flowers and she also wore some warm thermal leggings. Her outfit was held together by a thick brown belt which seemed twice her size along with a small pouch which held a number of kunai and shuriken, ready to be used at her disposal. Her necklace burrowed into her chest, yet it felt cold to the touch.
After a nice walk, she found herself in the forest and she soon spread out the scroll onto her pink coat which was now resting on the grass. “Clone jutsu!” She exclaimed, not to perform the jutsu but to see if it sounded cool. “Clone jutsu” Sakura tried again, this time her voice more monotone and depressing. It also sounded like she permanently transformed herself into a frog but nevertheless, Sakura was set on it. ‘I sound so cool’ She squealed as she began to daydream about various scenarios in which she appeared, dressed in an immaculate suit and spoke the words in such a cool tone, her enemy instantly dissipated.
Now focusing, she began to circulate chakra, her hands tightly held together as the words spilled out of her mouth. “Clone jutsu!” She exclaimed, this time abandoning the voice, deciding she could add that later once she actually got the jutsu down. To her surprise, a clone of her appeared alongside her, the two instantly going for a high five but to Sakuras distain, her clone disappeared. It was an illusion after all. Despite the sweat trickling down her forehead, she moved onwards and kept repeating the jutsu over and over. Soon it had shadows, soon its hair flowed in the wind and soon, it was perfect. Drained, Sakura trotted home, collapsing into the soft embrace of her covers.
This cycle continued for many days, waking up and going to the forest to train. Not just her clone jutsu but her kunai throwing, endurance (running around a tree in laps until she got tired) and taijutsu, which involved punching trees twice her size and smirking as they fell to her power. Although it did hurt quite a bit as unlike her mother, she hadn’t perfected the technique and was often reckless, preferring power over preservation. But each time she did get a wound, a simple bit of medical ninjutsu was all it took and she was up and running again. Eventually, it was the day. The day in which her ninja career would begin.
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She began to make her way to the academy, carrying a simple black bag full of books from her home and a scroll in which she would protect with her life. Yet little did Sakura know, she was about to become the most mischievous student and the biggest menace to Iruka-Senseis sanity.