Naruto Fan Fiction ❯ Finding Time ❯ In a Bottle ( Chapter 1 )

[ T - Teen: Not suitable for readers under 13 ]

Finding Time
Chapter One: In a Bottle


***



Sakura trailed after Ino, listening to the blonde’s mindless rambling as she went on about something her teammates had done on their most recent mission. Around them Konoha’s annual spring festival went on in full swing, coloring the city with bright light. Looking around at the beautiful array of kimonos, Sakura lamented over being dragged out of the hospital without being allowed to change; her own kimono still sat at the back of her closet, untouched. Ino, too, still wore her ninja garb, though she didn’t seem to mind as her outfit garnered far more attention than a kimono would.

“Anyway,” Ino said, abruptly changing the subject from her mission. “Did you see Hinata yesterday? Someone really needs to tell that girl that stalking is an unhealthy obsession.”

Sakura, remembering her own period of “stalker”, smiled. “It’s okay; Naruto’s too oblivious—she’s got to be a little odd to get his attention.”

“I’m not convinced. Anyone who has a crush on Naruto is weird, right off the bat.” Sakura made a noise of protest and Ino waved her hand flippantly. Her recently manicured nails caught the light and the small silver butterflies embedded in them shone. Sakura had always envied Ino’s amazingly ability to somehow keep her nails intact through both training and missions. Though, as she grew older, Sakura knew this was due to Ino being far less hands-on than the rest of her team.

Sakura had tried manicures a few times, though she’d torn them off within days either from training, or ripping them off when they got in the way of surgery at the hospital. Makeup had gone much the same way. After smearing it all over her face five or six times, she’d finally given it all back to Ino and never touched the stuff again. Tsunade had laughed at her failed attempts and finally given her some red polish—nail polish was easy and never got in her way.

“But on top of that, stalking?” the blonde drawled, pulling Sakura back into their discussion. “And that girl’s fashion sense—she looks so heavy in her clothes. It’s sad.”

Sakura opened her mouth to reply, though the words got caught in her throat as she spotted something just over Ino’s shoulder. It was a stand she’d never seen before at the festival; small and rather dingy, hidden between two larger stalls. The doorway was covered with long beads that shimmered dimly in the overhead lights that lit up the store’s sign. A sign that consisted of two hands cupping a crystal ball with “Madam Yokurai” written under it in scrawled type. Something about the odd shop drew her in and she found herself waving to Ino to stop her continued rant.

“Hey Ino, I’m going to go in there a second. Okay?”

Ino followed her finger and barely glanced at the shop before looking away. “Huh? Sure, that’s fine.” The girl jerked her thumb over at the fish stand. Every year it was a sort of tradition for Ino to try and catch herself some fish, though she almost always failed. Her typical habit of rushing things always outweighed her ninja abilities. “I’m gonna go get a fish.”

“Alright.” Sakura replied, equally distracted. The two girls separated, Sakura walking towards the odd store and Ino rushing to find money to play. Before she was even two feet from the store, the overwhelming scent of incense smoke reached Sakura’s nose and she wrinkled it in response.

Sakura had never, in the entirety of her life, believed in psychics. She believed in chakra and genjutsu, but beyond that her belief wasn’t very strong. And, since Sasuke’s defect from Konohagakure, her desire to believe in fate had dropped greatly. The beads were warm and smooth against the back of her hand as she pushed them aside to duck into the store. The smell thickened and smoke clouded the already dark store.

Breathing shallowly through her mouth, Sakura walked forward until her feet bumped against a large pillow lying on the floor. Her eyes drifted upwards, lighting on a slight girl of fourteen or fifteen. The candles placed around the room lit up her bronze skin and made the gold specks of color in her eyes turn to copper. Sakura waited until the girl raised up one hand and smiled kindly, becoming Sakura forward with a finger.

“Come sit down, Sakura. I’ve been expecting you.”

Awkwardly, Sakura sat. And then cleared her throat. “Um, excuse me—have we met?”

The girl waited until she had arranged herself on the large pillow-seat before responding. “In this life, no.”

Waiting for that to be added upon, Sakura studied the girl she imagined to be “Madam Yokurai”. She was very pretty and slender in the extreme—with high cheekbones and full lips. Her hair was long and jet black, the same beads that hung from the doorway were braided in. The color of her eyes was an interesting mixture of blue and gold. She had lined them with kohl, which added extra definition to their unique coloring. Realizing that the girl had never said anything else and that she’d been staring, Sakura cleared her throat, flushing darkly.

“Uh…”

The girl smiled again, her white teeth standing out against the dark red of her lips. “No need to be nervous, Sakura. I am not here to judge you. You only need say what you want to see.”

“See?” Sakura scratched absently at her arm. “You mean…like in the future?”

“It doesn’t have to be,” the girl replied. “It can be anything—something that exists now, something that no longer is among us or something that has yet to come.”

The pink-haired girl let that sink in as she began to wonder why she’d come into this store in the first place. She didn’t believe in this kind of hooey. “Sasuke.” She told the girl without really giving it much thought.

“Sasuke?” The girl nodded thoughtfully and the beads in her hair clanked together. She twisted a bit to the side and grabbed up the crystal ball that had been on her advertisement sign. After getting the ball settled on the pillow between them, she extended a hand and took up Sakura’s. “Just relax and don’t fight against me.”

Sakura hesitated, not liking the sound of that, but wasn’t given a real chance to protest. The fortune teller girl pressed her hands face-down on the ball and held them there with surprising strength. The ball was burning hot under Sakura’s hands and she resisted the urge to wriggle them free of the girl’s hold.

“Close your eyes, Sakura. And relax.”

Sakura obeyed instantly. Dimly she was aware of the oddest pressure at the back of her head; it was like being poked. Then, slowly, her first and dearest memory of Sasuke played in front of her eyes like a movie going far too slow. He was eight and angry—the loss of his family still fresh in his young mind. Sakura, who knew the pain of being alone all too well, recognized the signs and longed to reach out to the dark boy. Her time with Ino was still too new and her chronic shyness restricted her to laying flowers on his desk during recess instead of actually saying something.

Sasuke had thrown them away, but she still vividly remembered the small, surprised smile on his mouth before he’d done so. At the time it’d been the trigger that started a landslide of affection for him.

Without warning she was looking down at a battered boy of no more than twelve. Sakura knew the drops of water raining down on his cheeks were her tears—at the time she’d thought that Haku had really killed Sasuke; that he was gone forever. His eyes opened slowly and her name tumbled out of his mouth before she was jerked away again, this time to watch him fight against Orochimaru.

Sakura watched her life crawl by, knowing that somewhere the fortune teller girl was watching too. It made her uncomfortable; these were her memories of Sasuke and she wasn’t enjoying sharing them. The feeling was childish and idiotic, but remained even as the single most painful and recent memory of Sasuke came to a sudden halt. Sakura opened her eyes, though the image of Sasuke’s sword racing down at Naruto’s back didn’t immediately leave her.

“Interesting.” Her hands were released and they flopped down to the pillow, boneless. Sakura shook off her stupor and watched the black-haired girl begin to root around through her things. She hadn’t noticed until just then, but the back of the tiny store was cramped with boxes overflowing with odd looking items. “At first I thought you were in love with Sasuke,” the fortune teller said conversationally as she shoved a box away.

“What?”

The girl didn’t look away from her searching. “But I see now that you’re still wavering between feelings of romance and simple friendship. Though you do not see him as a brother like you do Naruto. Darn it, where did I put that bottle?”

“May I ask what you’re looking for?” Sakura wondered, trying to avoid the subject of her love life. She got enough grief about that from Ino.

“Of course you may, Sakura.” The fortune teller pushed a thick chunk of black hair behind her ear. “But first we need to reach an understanding. The past is a dangerous thing—for some full of regret and anguish. Most people want to change that, which is why my shop is still running.”

The girl growled out a curse and shoved another searched-through box away from herself in disgust. “As I was saying; attempting to change the past is a far more worrisome thing than simply going into one’s future for a look around. Every choice you make has the potential to forever change the face of your world.”

Sakura, at first confused by the girl’s sudden conversation choice, was beginning to see where this was going. “Wait, wait—are you trying to say that you can send me into the past?”

“No need to sound so sarcastic,” the black-haired girl muttered. “I’m used to skeptics, of course, but I’ve never really gotten around to tolerating you all very well. Either way, I don’t normally decide to send people back. For one, the potion is hard to make and very time consuming, so I never enjoy it. And also the person can’t be a dunderhead, or it’s pointless; they’ll just make a complete mess of everything.

“However, with you I think a look into the past would be the best option. Right now you have a few different paths to take with your life, but one of them cannot be reached with how you are now. I dislike giving such obvious nudges, but I think in you’re case it’s necessary. Ah ha! I found it!”

Sakura jumped when the girl spun around, black hair and beads flying with deadly force. “Oh, sorry about that, Sakura.” The girl mumbled, patting down her hair in an embarrassed manner. Her hair under control, she held out a small vial, no longer than the length of her palm. Inside it was filled to the top with a murky blue liquid. When Sakura made no attempt to reach for it, the fortune teller grabbed her hand and forced her fingers closed around it.

“Now listen to me very closely. You don’t have to drink the vial, Sakura—and if that is what you choose then this will be our only meeting. Should you choose to take it, on the other hand, every night for a month you will be taken into the past to view it through the eyes of another. What you chose to do with this time and knowledge is entirely up to you.

“But remember that everything you do, each small, insignificant thing has an impact on the present. Never forget that, Sakura.” Seeing the disbelief in Sakura’s eyes the fortune teller gave her hand a gentle pat. “Good luck.”

“Oh, um, thank you.” Sakura rose slowly from the pillow, suddenly needing out of the store as quickly as possible. “How much do I owe you?”

“Nothing this time.” The black-haired girl grinned. “Next time bring cash though, ne?”

“Right.” Sakura gave a small bow and exited the store quickly, pocketing the vial and shaking her head to clear away the fog in her mind. The festival lights seemed too bright after the time spent inside the store and she had to blink a few times before she could see properly and locate Ino. The blonde was kneeling over the fish stand, a paper wand in one hand and a look of determined annoyance on her face.

Glancing at Madam Yokurai’s shop one last time, Sakura took off towards her friend, trying to forget about the vial resting at the bottom of her pocket. Ino glanced up briefly upon her arrival, but went back to the fish soon enough. “That was fast.”

“Really?” Sakura said in genuine shock; it felt like she’d been in there for years.

Ino nodded. “Yeah, you were only gone like a minute or something.” The girl went after a fish and lost it as the paper shredded, sending the fish back into the water with a plop. She let out a nasty string of curses, gaining her a dirty look from the man running the stand. She snatched up another wand, handing over a few coins to the man and began again.

Sakura’s eyes followed all Ino’s movements, though her mind wasn’t all there. She wanted to get home and start testing the vial—if it was poison, as she was beginning to suspect, then Tsunade would need to be alerted before the girl gave it to a civilian. When Ino finally tired of spending money on the ever illusive fish, the two girls walked around the festival, gaining a few stuffed animals and enough sweets to ensure they’d both have a stomach ache the next day.

Nearly two hours after leaving the fortune teller’s stand, Sakura finally was able to head home and kick off her heeled sandals and slip her feet into the fuzzy orange slippers Naruto’s had given her for Christmas. Where he’d managed to find orange slippers, she’d never know. The girl then shed her uniform and hopped into the shower after opening the vial and getting a few drops of it started on poison tests.

Her shower over, she changed into pajamas and headed back out, surprised to find that all the results had come back negative. Sakura held the vial up in the light and stared at the liquid with narrowed eyes. It wasn’t a poison, or a muscle relaxant nor anything else that might incapacitate someone long enough to steal from them and Sakura was left with her fall back.

More than likely it was hallucinogenic and the desired effect was to make her think she’d seen something and go back to the fortune teller for more. Unfortunately, the only real way to find out if she was correct or not would be to actually test the liquid and, having no willing subject other than herself, Sakura resolved to testing it.

So, after a simple dinner of rice and a bit of stir fry, Sakura drained the vial in one long swallow, her face scrunching up at the rancid taste that remained in her mouth. Rinsing her mouth out with water hardly helped and Sakura fell into bed regretting her decision to take the vial, if only because of the lingering taste.

The pink-haired girl rolled over onto her back, dragging her pink coverlet up to her chin and closing her eyes tiredly. Within moments she was asleep.



*



“Nozomi, honey wake up.” A woman’s voice, distant and sweet, floated into Sakura’s ears the next morning, rousing her from sleep. She rubbed her fingers over her sleep-encrusted eyes, yawning hugely and was glad to find the bitter taste gone from her mouth. Her relief was short lived however, she when opened her eyes to find herself in a room that was not her own. Sakura launched herself from the bed she had been laying in, her eyes sweeping the large room in confusion. The walls were pale while and barren for the most part; there were a few wall scrolls that recited the Uchiha code of honor, which was odd, and also a few stands with swords and large windmill shuriken.

The bed she’d been sleeping in was far too large to be hers; it was almost the size of her parent’s bed. And her stuffed animals were gone—no where to be seen. There was a large dresser against the opposite wall and a makeup table that looked as though it’d never been used before. Sakura froze, finally noticing the lock of black hair that’d fallen over her shoulder.

The girl lifted it up and tugged lightly, finding it to be connected to her skull as she feared. Inhaling deeply, Sakura walked towards the makeup table, eyes on the mirror. Sakura stood looking at her own reflection for a long time, not sure exactly what emotion was swirling through her most strongly. Horror? Fear?

The girl in the mirror was fair-skinned, with waist-length black hair and equally black eyes. Her nose was small and her lips perfectly proportioned—eyebrows straight and even, set on a forehead much smaller than Sakura was used to. It was the typical beauty of someone from the Uchiha family and Sakura stared at her reflection, feeling faint.

“Nozomi, hey are you up? Mom’s calling.”

Sakura twisted away from the stranger in the mirror to see a boy hanging from the doorway into her room. He was maybe sixteen, with boyish good looks and an impish smile. There was a toothbrush in one of his hands that returned to his mouth while he stared at her. In response to her silence, one of his eyebrows rose.

“Uh—what?” Sakura finally managed. Her voice was higher in pitch than normal and she cleared her throat, trying to rid herself of the oddness.

The boy laughed, wiggling the toothbrush back and forth over his teeth. “You feeling okay?”

“Yeah. Yes, I mean. I’m feeling fine.”

“Okay then. Breakfast is ready. You should probably get dressed or you’ll be late.”

Sakura glanced down at the pajamas that did not match the ones she’d put on that night before going to bed. When she looked back up the boy was gone, and she took that opportunity to close the door to ‘her’ bedroom. There was a small bathroom connected to her room and she ducked in to change into clean clothes that she’d pulled from the dresser at random.

The shirt was short-sleeved and black, with the Uchiha symbol imprinted on the back, the shorts small and tan. It was very familiar; as she’d seen Sasuke wear something very similar for most of her childhood. Sakura brushed her teeth and washed the stranger’s face, still feeling like it was going to peel off at any given moment. She took a moment to wonder over the length of her hair, having forgotten the work in having long hair.

Dressed and clean, Sakura cautiously crept out of the bedroom and into a long hallway. The boy from earlier appeared from the room next to hers, dressed in the same high-collared shirt and tan pants that she was wearing. Sakura took a moment to privately be disgusted over how boring the Uchiha wardrobe was. “Finally dressed?” he asked teasingly, giving her head a rub as he passed and completely ruining the ponytail she’d worked so hard on.

Sakura yelped, her fingers rising to smooth out the mess in horror. God boys were such morons. Not knowing what else to do, she followed him down the hall, redoing her hair as she did. The farther they walked the stronger the smell of cooking bacon got. The boy led her into a large kitchen and part breakfast nook where a beautiful woman was stirring around a large bowl of eggs. She glanced up and smiled at them.

“Morning, sweetie. Your brother finally managed to get you up?”

The boy snorted. “No idea why they let someone like her by a chunin. No real ninja would ever sleep that deeply.”

“Don’t be mean, Shisui.” Sakura blinked as she moved to join the boy who was supposedly her brother at the breakfast table, trying to recall just where she’d heard that name before. Their mother set a plate of bacon and toast down and Shisui immediately reached for the bacon, giving himself a few.

“Is dad going to eat with us this morning?” he asked, handing the bacon plate to Sakura and grabbing a piece of toast next. Sakura took a slice of bacon and set the plate back down. She watched the woman flitter around with the skills of a mother used to multitasking. She brought a pitcher of milk and orange juice to the table before going back to flip the eggs she’d started to cook.

“No, your father had to head into work early this morning. Fugaku-san called for a meeting pretty early.”

Shisui munched on a piece of the bacon he’d gotten and chased it down with a massive gulp of milk. Sakura wrinkled her nose in distaste. Naruto had the same problem of putting too much food or drink into his mouth at once and it always made her feel a little queasy. “You think it’s anything important?”

“No I’d imagine not.” Their mother replied. She finished cooking the eggs and brought them over to the table and finally joined them. Up close she was even prettier than Sakura had first thought. “Nozomi, love, hold out your plate.”

Sakura held out her plate, wondering if it was bad that she already responding to the name that was most certainly not her own. Once a good portion of the scrambled eggs had been scooped out onto her plate Sakura began to eat slowly, chewing all her food slowly and listening to the Uchiha’s talking.

“You don’t eat enough,” Shisui said. The boy dropped a buttered piece of toast and another sliver of bacon onto her plate, ignoring her frown. “Ninja’s need to eat plenty of food to keep them going all day. Drink some orange juice, too.”

Not willing to fight with someone she didn’t even know, Sakura snatched up the juice and poured herself a glass, not looking happy about it. “Nozomi is smaller than you, Shisui. Don’t feed her too much.”

He snorted, gathering up another forkful of eggs. “She’ll be fine. As a chunin her missions will be getting harder and she’ll need the extra calories.”

“Speaking of missions.” The woman blinked, “what time is Itachi coming over?”

Sakura choked on her eggs. Her mother looked over in alarm and began to pat her back with surprising force. “Geez, Nozomi. Chew,” Shisui shook his head and handed Sakura her glass of juice which she greedily gulped down. “Itachi should be here in a few minutes. It’s kind of sad to know this will probably be our last joint mission together as jonin.”

The woman rubbed Sakura’s back soothingly, not yet noticing that Sakura had gone a shocking shade of white. “Itachi is truly gifted. To be taking the ANBU exams at twelve. His family must be so proud.” She trailed off, frowning down at Sakura. “Honey what’s wrong?”

Sakura, who’d finally remembered why the name Shisui was so very familiar, stared across the table at her ‘brother’. Sitting here, grinning and making jokes, was Itachi’s first victim—his supposed best friend. The girl shook her head, finding her voice after a time. “Nothing…I’m fine, mother.”

Shisui regarded her with the same raised eyebrow look he’d given her this morning, though now there was obvious worry lacing his look. The girl continued to drink, not trusting herself to say anything and not say something foolish. The soft chime of a bell was heard from down the hall, distracting her family from staring at her. Shisui rose slowly, taking his dirty plates to the sink.

“Be safe, dear,” his mother called.

“See ya.”

Sakura waved half-heartedly, worry making her stomach clench. Was it really safe to let him go off on a mission with Itachi? For all she knew this could be the day Itachi murdered him…

“Sh-Shisui!”

The boy paused, looking back at Sakura curiously. Whatever he saw in her face made him come back slowly. “Nozomi what’s wrong? You’ve been acting weird all morning.”

“Do you…really have to go with him?”

“Him?” he blinked. “You mean Itachi? Of course; he’s on my team. Why?”

Sakura squirmed for an answer. The front bell chimed again and her mother got up to answer it, slipping out of the room quietly. Realizing Itachi was about to come into the house and she was going to have to face him, Sakura had to bite down on her urge to bolt like a startled horse. Shisui suddenly smiled.

“So that’s it!”

“What’s it?”

His smile turned cat like. “You’ll be married to Itachi soon enough, you don’t have to hog him. It’s not like I’m after him.”

“That is not what I meant!” Sakura paused, suddenly detouring and going back to what was first said. “Wait—married?” she hissed.

“Why are you acting so surprised?” Shisui glanced over towards the hallway where her mother’s and a deep, unfamiliar male voice could be heard coming closer. “Dad told you about it only two nights ago.”

They were hardly four feet from the door. Confronted with the knowledge that she was about to be forced to come face-to-face with one of her greatest enemies, Sakura did the only rational thing she could think of. She bolted. Out the kitchen and through a side door that led into the back yard garden. She channeled chakra into her feet and leapt off the porch and onto the neighbor’s roof, running over the burning shingles, very much aware that she wasn’t wearing shoes.

Okay, so she was being highly irrational and running away really wasn’t going to help her situation any, but the urge she felt to run at the mere sound of Itachi’s name was almost instinctual. Sakura slowed down and eventually jumped off the apartment roofs and into one of the large trees that grew around the parks and training grounds to rest her feet. She sent out a quick scan to make sure Shisui hadn’t decided to follow her before locking in her chakra and sealing off her presence.

Sakura let her head fall back against the tree that was keeping her upright, taking a moment to sort out the jumbled mess of her thoughts. First she needed to figure out how she was getting back home—she’d been skeptical at first, but she was certain now that this was no illusion, nor a skillful genjutsu. She’d have seen through them by now.

The fortune teller hadn’t said how she’d be getting back home; only that she was going to come back to this girl’s body every night. Sakura made a note to ask her host’s mother the date when she went home, though she wasn’t going back there until she was absolutely certain Itachi was NOT going to be waiting around. That was one meeting she was more than happy to put off.

Knowing the date would help her place exactly how long she had until the Uchiha massacre; something she really did not want to be apart of, no matter how much she loved Sasuke.

Sakura paused, her forehead crinkling into a frown as she turned towards a sudden rustling in the bushes, followed by a hiccup. The girl crept through the trees, following the noise of someone crying, having the oddest sense of déjà vu. And she understood why the moment she broke through the line of trees, spotting a small child sitting on the sidewalk, head between her knees.

Her hair was long and uneven and a bright pink against her pale skin. She hadn’t noticed Sakura coming over the sounds of her sobs and the older girl stood in shock. Sakura wasn’t sure when this childhood memory had faded, but she should have known the second she heard the crying and saw the park signs that this was where she’d come as a child to cry.

As she stared at herself crying, Sakura realized that this was precisely what the fortune teller had been cautioning her against. Sakura’s feet had already started to propel her towards the girl, her mouth parting with soft, soothing words. But the idea of how drastically her life would change if there was no Ino had frozen her in place.

It was true Sakura had suffered greatly through her friendship and rivalry with Ino, but it had also gotten her to where she was as a ninja. It had pushed her to the top of her academy class and inspired her to train harder and longer. It had cultivated her love and adoration of Sasuke and he needed that from her, whether he knew it himself or not.

So Sakura took a quick, chakra-laced step backwards into the trees, her heart aching at the inability to comfort the pained child, but knowing it was better off this way. Sakura distracted herself with the realization that if she could see herself as a child—Sasuke and Naruto had to be somewhere in the village too. Casting one last look at the girl, Sakura left the area in a hurry.

Finding Naruto was easy; she’d barely gotten two steps into the small park where the younger children played before she could hear him yelling—followed by someone that sounded strikingly like Kiba shouting back. The girl came to a stop next to one of the benches surrounding the park, smiling as she saw that it was indeed Kiba Naruto was playing with.

The two boys were arguing bitterly on who would be the Hokage and who the evil overlord—neither wanting to be the latter. Shikamaru, looking as lazy and unenthusiastic as his older self, watched them argue. Beside him Choji chomped away at a large bag of BBQ chips, not seeming concerned with the fighting. They made an interesting pair and, reminiscing on it, Sakura was surprised that she had forgotten their little click had been together as far back as their academy days.

Sometimes it was hard to remember things past team seven, as if nothing else mattered. She watched the boys for a few more minutes, grinning when Kiba finally caved in and their ninja game finally began with Naruto as the Hokage. Finally, the desire to see what Sasuke was up to beat out the amusement of watching a young Naruto boss his friends around, and she left.

It took a lot longer to find Sasuke and in the end she had to resort to her years of stalking to remember all of his little hideaways. Sasuke was a creature of routine and sure enough, the second location turned up gold in the form of a small, tired-looking boy. His pale face was flushed and his dark hair matted against his forehead with sweat.

Sakura settled down against the thick base of a tree to watch him as he practiced his marksmanship, surprised at his obvious skill. She really shouldn’t have been; Sasuke had always worked far harder than he appeared to. Watching the smaller, obviously happier Sasuke, reawakened the dulled ache in her chest—the ache that came with the knowledge that her Sasuke was somewhere, lost in the darkness of his own soul.

For the first time since arriving in the ‘past’, Sakura wondered how exactly this was supposed to help Sasuke. She could always murder Itachi—or expose his true nature somehow, but that’d be going against the warning to watch how much she affected the future. If she couldn’t drastically change anything, Sakura wasn’t sure what she was supposed to do.

Hanging around to watch Itachi kill off the Uchiha family—something she was now apart of—didn’t sound very attractive. Sakura huffed at the thought, her cheeks puffing out. Sasuke, his ninja skills still too dull, didn’t hear the loud noise and continued training, unperturbed. Even more pressing than the upcoming massacre was the fact that she had absolutely no idea how she was getting home.

Funnily the fortune teller had conveniently forgotten to tell her just how she’d be finding her way home. The girl rubbed a hand across her forehead, grunting as she accidentally pulled sharply on the long bangs she’d forgotten about having now. Reminded of her hair, Sakura reached back to flip some of the thick stuff onto her shoulder to examine with envy.

She’d always been jealous of Sasuke’s glossy black hair, but Nozomi’s hair was just as fine and felt like silk to the touch. Sakura lifted up her hands to study them, satisfied in seeing that her hosts hands were as scarred as her own, though the skin was a few shades paler than she was accustomed to. Her nails were very short and square—they lacked any sort of polish and it seemed as though the girl didn’t bother much with taking care of them.

Sakura frowned in dissaproval. She may have been a ninja, but she was still a woman and taking care of her appearance on high of her “DO” list. She looked away from her nails to find that Sasuke was gathering up his supplies and preparing to head home, looking satisfied with his work. Sakura warmed up at the sight and followed him closely on his way home.

Sakura was well aware that she was shifting back into stalker-ish behavior, but hardly cared. If she didn’t end up being able to come back again, despite the fortune teller’s assurances, she wanted to soak up tiny Sasuke as long as was possible. She had to stop once they entered the Uchiha compound; Nozomi’s house was in another part of the district than his. Though where exactly that was she wasn’t positive; having left from the rooftops and not the streets.

It was made easier for her since Shisui was waiting for her on their large front porch, looking far more worried than he had this morning. She barely had time to feel surprised before he was at her side. “Nozomi! I’ve been looking all over for you!”

Sakura stared at him for a moment before releasing her hold on her chakra and letting it slowly slide back out, feeling it settle on her skin. “Sorry,” she muttered.

“I didn’t know you could do that,” Shisui said slowly. “You are improving.” He shook his head suddenly as if to clear away distracting thoughts. “Look, Nozomi, I’m sorry I upset you this morning; I didn’t mean to. You should come inside; mom’s been worried sick. It’s not like you to bolt like that.”

Sakura scratched her arm anxiously, feeling awkward and uneasy. It was hard to stand next to this boy—who was now her brother—and not see his name on the large plaque that honored the fallen Uchiha clan.

When she didn’t say anything, Shisui set a large hand on top of her head and rubbed her hair fondly. “You’re not in trouble, Nozomi. No need to look so worried.” He grinned, “unless you did something while you were gone…?”

Sakura took one look at his wiggling eyebrows and went a mortified red. “No!” It was hard not to give him the dark glare she graced Naruto with in his stupider moments. “I didn’t do anything like that.”

“Oh good,” her brother said happily, his hand moving to her shoulders as he tugged her up the porch steps and into the house. “You’d break poor Itachi’s heart.”

Sakura grimaced at the mention of the Uchiha and sought to change the subject. “I smell food.”

“That’s because mom just put dinner down.”

Dinner? Sakura started, shocked by how long she’d been out watching Sasuke train. Was he always out so late into the afternoon? She followed Shisui through the long hallway towards the kitchen, hearing her mother’s voice as they drew closer. The woman opened the sliding door and cast a relieved look at Sakura.

“Nozomi! Thank goodness, I was getting worried.”

Sakura looked properly abashed; feeling genuinely guilty for worrying the woman. “Sorry, mother,” she intoned.

“It’s fine, dear. Come in both of you—it’s time to eat.”

The pair entered into the kitchen, heading over to the table where they’d eaten breakfast that morning. Sitting at the head was a tall man with dark good looks and the same curling black hair as Shisui. Sakura correctly guessed him to be her host’s father. The man cast a raised-eyebrow look towards Sakura, but didn’t say anything as they sat down next to him.

Sakura fiddled with her silverware as her mother brought dinner to the table and joined them, taking the seat next to her father and handing him the first plate. Shisui snatched up two rolls, throwing one down on Sakura’s plate. She gave him a look at the disgusting table manners, but didn’t say anything as she accepted the first platter of food to pile some of it onto her plate.

She chewed on her food slowly, listening as Shisui and her father discussed the on goings of the Military Police—something the Uchiha, while the clan was still around at least, ran. Shisui seemed to be considering a promotion and their father was adamant he take up the offer. Sakura waited until they had paused to ask Shisui why he wasn’t on the mission with Itachi and his jonin team.

“Oh, that?” He smiled over at her, taking a drink from his tall glass of water. “It turned out to be a fluke mission; that was C-rank at best. We were out of there in an hour. Total waste of time.”

Sakura almost asked what exactly the mission had been, but clamped down on her curiosity. From the little she knew about Sasuke’s family they were private and had often not shared things, it wouldn’t surprise her if most Uchiha families were similar to that. She nudged a pea around her plate, debating on whether or not the nutrients it provided were worth the bitter taste.

She blinked when a fork came through her line of vision and speared the tiny green veggie, taking it away with unnatural speed. She looked to Shisui hurriedly, but found him grinning at their father. “I was going to get that,” her brother told the older man.

“Too slow. Ninjas have to act quickly and without hesitation.”

Their mother cut in smoothly, her voice low, hiding amusement. “Darling perhaps Nozomi wanted to eat that?”

The men glanced over at her and Sakura smiled slowly. “No, it’s okay mom. I wasn’t going to eat it.” Sakura sat back in her chair, basking in the normality of her newly found second family, happy to find that not all Uchiha’s were stiffly polite and controlled.

Dinner was over quickly after that and she trailed after Shisui towards their rooms to change into her pajamas. While she changed, Sakura took a little longer to examine her new appearance. In addition to being very attractive, her host was also endowed with a large bosom—something Sakura instantly resented her for—and a small, slender body. Sakura herself was not tall, barely five two without her heels, but Nozomi was probably closer to five four.

She slipped a silk shirt over her head, pulling out her hair from under it and braided the thick locks swiftly. When she herself had, had long hair Sakura had found that braiding it during the night had saved her a long of grief the next morning. She would never ever underestimate the horror of seriously tangled hair.

Sakura bushed her teeth and washed her face, taking comfort in such familiar things before she reentered Nozomi’s bedroom. She un-tucked the beautifully made bed and slipped under the sheets, wiggling a little at the chill. Sakura had been convinced that she’d be unable to sleep with all the thoughts running rampant in her head, but the moment her head touched the soft down pillow, she was asleep, thoughts of Itachi and getting home gone.


***


A/N: This chapter was rewritten as of 10-19-09. Makii and I worked hard to spot any mistakes or grammatical errors, but we’re not very good with spotting those, so if you see them, by all means point them out. And, if anyone is interested in being a beta reader, please email me. I’m desperate.

Disclaimer: I don’t own Naruto, nor do I make any claims towards ownership.