Hello, everyone! I can barely contain my excitement as I begin my very first ItaSaku fiction. Not only is it the first novel I'm writing that ships the pairing, but it's also a story that I'm writing with a different production structure than I use with my other works. I'll tell you what it is when it's finished. For now, let's enjoy its beginning.

PS: the setting of the story is slightly different from the universe based on the original anime and manga. For example, some of the characters cast spells instead of jutsus by verbalizing Japanese words relating to each spell they enact. You'll read examples of this in the chapter with the translations at the bottom of the page. More exposition on how spells work will be elaborated in future chapters.

Sakura trembled in her mother's hold as she and the woman were huddled in the corner of her bedroom. The darkness of the night was able to cover them in concealing shadow, but the room would often be illuminated by flashes of fire. Sakura's mother, Mebuki Haruno, pulled her daughter close to her chest when a fleet of ninjas started running past the window beside them. She narrowed her eyes, watching intently as the last one glanced into the bedroom before following the rest of his fleet.

"M-Mom," Sakura looked up at her, "where's Dad?"

"Shh," Mebuki hushed and rubbed the little girl's back, "he'll be here soon. I promise."

Sakura frowned and cuddled closer to her. The bang of explosions and clang of swords were loud to her young ears, but her arms were too contentedly wrapped around Mebuki's waist to protect them. She could feel her mother's heart beat next to her ear, and it pounded as hard as her own little heart was pulsing. In the darkening tension that was escalating in her environment, it seemed that the only source of serenity Sakura could take comfort in was the patter of rain.

When her father, Kizashi Haruno, quietly rushed into the room, Sakura wanted to reach out and run her fingers through his hair. It was a duller shade of her bright pink hair and stuck out in five directions like a star. Her parents had told her that she took comfort in playing with it since she was a baby, and though she was already six-years-old, she had yet to outgrown the habit. But her father didn't give her a chance to act out the desire, for he quickly ushered them to stand from their crouched positions and follow him out of the room. Sakura didn't expect them to leave their house, however, so she flinched when the cold rain pelted her skin.

"Where are we going, Kizashi?" Mebuki asked. The family had left through the back door of their home and were headed deep into the forest. Sakura would've been excited if the circumstances weren't so dire. Her parents never allowed her to explore the woods.

"There's a boat ready for us at the beach," Kizashi answered.

Sakura's eyes lit up. She had never been on a "boat" before either.

"A boat?" Mebuki asked. "How did we get a boat?"

"It's a friend's," Kizashi told her. "You'll meet him when we get there."

Sakura tightened her grip around her mother's neck as she looked at the sights around her. It was too dark to truly see her surroundings, but she could faintly see glimmers of green from the forest leaves as well as inhale the scent of wet soil. Then an exotic aroma assaulted her senses, and she turned her head in different directions to search where the smell was coming from. She looked forward when a gentle roar started echoing from ahead. What she saw made her eyes widen.

The ocean.

"There it is!" Kizashi pointed to their right.

Sakura squinted and leaned forward. In the closing distance laying on the dark water's border was a small brown boat. She didn't know it was called a "boat", neither did she know the identity of the man standing next to it. He was a tall stranger with lean muscles covered in loose black clothing and half his face covered in the same shaded mask. What intrigued her most about his appearance was his white hair, which was long and stuck up at a diagonal angle.

"Quickly," the white-haired man said as the family stopped in front of him, "before the troops find you."

"Thank you again, Kakashi," Kizashi acknowledged. "We owe you our lives."

Sakura leaped from her mother's arms and into the wooden craft. She brushed her palms on the wet surface of her seat and settled herself as her mother was about to step in.

But then an explosion blasted from the trees of the forest, and what emerged from the resulting smoke was a group of ninjas. Everyone froze when the troop turned to their direction but didn't stay still for long. The warriors concealed in black armor started to charge in their direction with one of them conjuring something red and orange in his hands. The colors then enlarged into a sphere and headed straight for the boat. It was hot and predatorial.

Fire.

Sakura screamed.

"Shirudo!"

The fireball burst into slivers of flame when it collided with a wall of green light. Kizashi had his arms stretched out in front of him; his eyes narrowed in concentration as he pumped energy into maintaining the safeguard. Mebuki rushed from the boat to stand beside her husband and raised her hands in the air. Her dark green irises disappeared into her scleras. When she blinked, they were replaced by glowing white circles.

"Shirudo!" she cast.

Sakura widened her eyes as the ninjas were obstructed by a wall made of the very sand they were standing on. She heard more fireballs being launched in their direction, but their impact was muffled by the surface of the shield. Her parents' combined protection served a great purpose in holding back the attacks, but then something else happened—something they didn't expect. A ninja had climbed over the wall they had created and headed for Sakura with a ball of fire.

"Sakura!" Mebuki cried.

Sakura screamed and shielded herself with her arms. Her eyes squeezed shut and waited for the impact, but the attack never came. Instead, she heard a thump and a grunt. When she looked up, the opposing ninja was on the ground with the masked man standing in front of him.

Kizashi and Mebuki simultaneously sighed in relief and turned to each other. Though the ninjas behind their shields couldn't do what the more dangerous ninja just did, the other ninjas they could hear approaching the area probably did. Their defense might be protecting their daughter now, but with their enemy's numbers increasing by the second, they knew they would have to switch to more offensive tactics. They were two experienced warriors so they could definitely hold their own. Unfortunately, the battle would be a difficult one; and regardless of the outcome, their daughter couldn't be around to see it. The couple looked at each other, a frown set upon their face, and nodded.

"Kakashi!" Kizashi called out to his friend. "Get Sakura out of here!"

Kakashi widened his eyes and turned to him. "No!" he said. "Let me help you!"

"There's too many of them," Mebuki retorted, flinching when another fireball hit the wall. "Kizashi and I will hold them off while you two escape."

"One of you has to go with her!" Kakashi ran up to them. "I'll take the place of whoever goes!"

Kizashi turned to Mebuki, but Mebuki immediately shook her head.

"No," Mebuki said, "this is our battle. You have already risked your life coming into our clan's war to help us. Escape with our daughter and we will meet you when we are done here."

Kakashi stepped back and stared at the both of them. He waited for either of them to negate the other or change their mind, but neither of them looked hesitant. They looked sad, very sad, and like they knew something he also knew but didn't want to acknowledge, but very certain. The man couldn't breathe.

"Kakashi, please go," Kizashi pleaded, "and when you do, tell Sakura that we love her with all of our heart."

Mebuki hissed and closed her eyes, but nodded in agreement.

Kakashi shook his head again, but his will to deny them was diminishing. He took a shaky step back, and then another. Then, after shaking his head one last time, he rushed to the boat. He started pushing the vessel deeper into the water, carrying Sakura with it.

"Wh-What are you doing?" Sakura leaped out of her seat, "what are you doing? My mom and dad are still there!"

"They told me to take you somewhere safer," Kakashi hopped into the boat. Then he paused before quietly adding, "they said they'll meet us there later."

He raised two fingers pointed upwards to his chest and muttered "Kaze." The boat thrust forward then, sending them farther into the sea.

Sakura gave him an uneasy look and turned back to where her parents were. To her horror, the shield they had created collapsed right in front of them. Ninjas stormed from all directions, launching themselves at the couple with blades and fire. Kizashi and Mebuki were able to ward some of them off with energy spheres and sand hammers, but the number of opposition was too great, and they were soon engulfed in flames. Sakura screamed and reached out to them, but the boat was too far into the water for her to return.

"Mom, Dad, no!" she shrieked, tears streaming down her face. She ran to Kakashi and pounded on his thigh. "Go back!" she demanded. "Help them! Save them!"

"I am helping them," Kakashi told her, his eyes low and sad, "by saving you."

Sakura shook her head. "No," she whimpered. "No, no, no, no!"

But when she turned back, the shore was only a sliver to her blurring vision. The ninjas were no longer anywhere to be found, but so were her parents. Sakura let out a screech of grief and collapsed to her knees. She curled into a ball and cried, the patter of rain being her only source of comfort.

Shirudo= shield
Kaze= wind

Translations are suggested by Google Translate. If any corrections need to be made, feel free to leave it in your reviews.

Thank you for reading the first chapter! I'll see you in the next one.