Steadfast

A thick fog surrounded the area in which Sakura stood. Going off her immediate surroundings, she seemed to be in a forest. Dense with trees so tall, their tops disappeared in the clouds, it was nothing like the forests back home. No, the area was eerily silent, devoid of any kind of life, sounds. Nothing but trees swallowed up by the fog.

Tentatively, she took a step forward, expecting to hear the grass crunching beneath her sandaled feet. Only her feet were bare. And it wasn't grass she felt. The ground was wet with an oddly warm, thick substance. She lifted her foot to investigate only to look on with wide eyes. The sole of her foot was painted red with blood. A startling realization had Sakura reeling backward only to stumble into what she assumed was a tree.

'Can you save him…?'

Only the tree grabbed Sakura by the crook of her elbow, alarming the pinkette enough to snatch her arm from its grasp. She turned swiftly to meet the eyes of the Sharingan. Her blood ran cold and she was sure the color drained from her face.

These Sharingan eyes she didn't recognize. They belonged to a man she'd never seen before. Yet his presence was so very familiar.

'Can you save them all…?'

The longer she stared at him, the more the fog cleared, giving way to another man. And another. All wielding those same crimson eyes. Rows and rows of them. Sakura stepped back once more, again stumbling into another body. Before turning, she swallowed back her present anxiety, fearful of who she may see.

Madara.

He stared at her with a gleam in his eye she'd never seen. Not in the war. And not in the past she currently resided in. His expression was similar to those surrounding them. To the first man she saw before.

Then the fog cleared completely, and she could see them all standing in blood. With bodies at their feet, covered in fatal wounds.

They were dead.

Then the most alarming thing happened. One by one, their eyes began to bleed until tracks of crimson slid down their cheeks like cursed tears. Dripping into the pools of blood beneath them.

'Can you…save them…from my hatred…?'

The voice called softly as Sakura looked on, watching each of the men before one by one they fell. Dominoes, one after the other. And as the last one, Madara fell to the forest floor, she spotted him in the distance.

Sasuke.

His figure appeared to her as clear as day. The same as when she saw him last. Cloaked as usual, hair in its typical style. And she waited with bated breath, hoping, praying, his eyes weren't stained red. And when he turned, his eyes were black, their normal hue. She allowed herself a moment to relax, releasing all the aforementioned tension in her body. The moment was short lived, however. Her view of him didn't last long as a vision of Kaguya soon appeared in front of her with a grave abruptness.

"Hhh—!" Sakura awoke with a start and frantically beating heart. Her body lurched forward while a hand cupped at her chest, feeling the erratic ba-thmp ba-thmp. Several moments would pass with her gaze keenly focused on the sheets pooled in her lap as she tried to make sense of that dream.

"That voice…it had to be Kaguya…" She'd had several dreams concerning the Rabbit Goddess since her arrival. Yet none of them had been quite so vivid or telling. Sakura wasn't sure what to make of it all, really. The thick forest, the dense fog, the scores of men wielding the sharingan, Madara, Sasuke, the blood. All that blood.

"What is she trying to tell me…?" She could still see them. Their eyes bore so much sadness, it was hard to picture it without feeling similar emotions.

Eventually she calmed down enough to gather her bearings a bit. Judging from the sounds of life outside her window, and the sun filtering in through the translucent shades, she deduced it was probably morning. With somewhat fidgety movements, she pushed her covers back and prepared to stand up from the futon. Only to freeze as she realized something.

Anxiously, she scrambled onto her feet, rushing out of the room with hasty steps and wild motions. All the way to the spare room where she slid the door open with a slam. It was empty. In fact, the whole house was barren save for herself. Another sigh of relief left her though it was pretty short lived. She wasn't out of the woods yet. Surely Tobirama would confront her one of these days.

She did drug him, after all. Accident or not.

"Great. That's just another thing I have to deal with—." Just as she finished, the sound of knocking erupted from her door. It couldn't be him, could it? He wouldn't leave then come back so soon. It wasn't Tobirama at the door. So, who was there?

"Kohana-san!" Sakura exclaimed at once, opening the door to catch sight of the woman in question. She was clearly startled by Sakura's sudden shout as evident in the way she jumped then appeared both sheepish and surprised.

"Good morning, Sakura-san. I hope I didn't come at a bad time…" Judging by the pinkette's lack of proper dress, disheveled appearance, and overall shock at seeing her, she couldn't help but assume she'd just woken up. And if there's one thing she'd learned about Sakura since being acquainted with her, she's terrible at hiding her surface emotions.

"Ah! No! Please, come in!" She was quick to usher the other inside with somewhat uneasy motions. As if she didn't know what to do. Had she forgotten about their plans to meet? It certainly seemed that way. Kohana chose not to question it, however.

"Just ah…I'll put on some tea if you'll give me a moment…" Dashing toward her kitchen, Sakura took the kettle. She was keen to clean it out as thoroughly as she could, clearing out the previous brew in the process before preparing a different blend. She still wasn't sure how to have this conversation with Kohana or what she would say. Gosh, there were too many things going on in that brain of hers.

'Focus on one thing at a time, Sakura.' Right. The tea was her priority right now. Once the burner was going and the pot was on the stove, she could move onto the next objective. And that was getting out of her pajamas and into more appropriate clothing.

"There. Have a seat! I'll be right back…!" And she dashed off to her bedroom to get dressed.

Kohana followed her instructions quietly, seating herself upon one of many cushions before the table. Her eyes roamed the space with a curious glance. The architecture felt familiar. It must've been constructed by Hashirama, is what she thought. She did recall hearing him grumble about using his mokuton for an insufferable woman.

It brought a smile to her face which soon vanished. This insufferable woman turned out to be such an asset to the Senju. Part of her couldn't believe she was sitting here, given the circumstances. She had to wonder on the way to her home and even now if she was doing the right thing.

Soon enough, Sakura returned, dressed in one of the many outfits she'd given her on occasion.

"You know, I didn't think about it until yesterday when you mentioned clothes. But you will probably need more as the months go on. What with the baby growing and all." She started, lightly beginning the flow of conversation as if to ease off some of the apparent tension. Because it was apparent as much as both of them refused to acknowledge it.

"Oh, you're right. I hadn't thought about that. Thank you." One thing at a time, Sakura. One thing at a time.

"It's no problem. Most women within the Senju make their own clothing. It's nice to make things for someone else."

"You made this? Really?" Sakura lifted the sleeve of her kimono as if to inspect it more closely. The stitching was beautifully done, and the fabrics complimented each other so well. She was honestly very surprised. Here she thought she was merely getting hand me downs as Kohana seemed to be a few years older than she was.

"Yes. In addition to serving in Hashirama-sama's household, I also make all of their clothing. Some armor as well. Though, that was more so my husband than me." She explained with a simple smile. Sakura seemed to notice underlying hints of sadness seeping in through her expression at the mention of her husband. As well as the presence of a past tense verbiage.

Kohana had never mentioned a husband. Nor had Sakura seen or heard word of him.

"Wow, that's really incredible Kohana. You're very skilled." She admitted with all the honesty in the world. Because it was true, the woman was very gifted in this craft. A true seamstress of her time.

"Thank you. I suppose you could say…that is the reasoning behind my holding onto your shiromuku for so long. It was so beautifully made. Every inch of it. I could tell it was crafted so carefully, only from the finest silk and gentle hands. Especially the Uchiwa fan. I've never seen it stitched so seamlessly onto a garment before…"

Sakura grew still. Talk of the shiromuku always made her feel so exposed. It was the one thing that could unravel every part of her being present. It tied her to the future and released any tether she had to the past. It's mere existence in this timeline was so detrimental to her current peace, she couldn't help but grow pale.

"I know…you are not from here. And I don't mean to endanger your presence at all. That's not why I approached you yesterday. I understand how my words may have scared you and I do apologize. I would like to explain myself, if that's alright…" She spoke with an even tone, wearing an expression Sakura had never seen on her. She was solemn.

Another gulp passed as she listened, taking in her words and calming down at the same time. It wasn't like her to be so up in arms in the first place. But she'd come to know Kohana as a friend of sorts and if she was close to discovering her secret then, well, that sort of freaked Sakura out.

"Sure, go ahead." But she would urge her to continue because maybe hearing Kohana's side of things would grant Sakura some semblance of comfort. Enough to feel content with sharing her own truth. Or as much of the truth as she was willing to provide.

"Thank you. As you may have discovered, the Senju and Uchiha have been at war with one another for generations. Both sides have seen tremendous loss. I…not too long ago, I lost my husband to battle. We have a child together, a young son, and the thought of one day losing him too just…" She paused as if to collect herself then graced Sakura with a hardened gleam in her eyes. Eyes that reflected pain with specks of perseverance. She was surviving.

"When news of a ceasefire reached the compound, I was bitter at first. Had my husband died for no reason? Was he killed in vain? Had I become a widow for nothing? It took a long time for me to truly understand that…that he fought for the ceasefire. That he died so we could reach this point. That everyone who had fallen in battle did so for the ones that come after them. So, they wouldn't have to fight such battles. He died for our son."

She took another pause, this time much longer than the first. Sakura found herself shifting while itching to hear more. She never would've imagined Kohana would have such a story to tell. Yet she wished to hear every bit of it.

"I want this ceasefire to work. I want to see Hashirama-sama's dream come true. I want to watch my son and children his ages grow up without seeing the harsh realities of war. That's why I hid the truth about your marriage. I knew doubts would arise. With the way the elders are, they see the bad and never the good. So, Sakura-san, please…help me understand you…"

This was it. This was her chance to explain things. To reveal her own truth. To tell her own story. The opportunity is here, right in her hands. She just needs to take that leap of faith and trust that Kohana will accept what she is saying as truth. If she chooses to tell it the way it is.

"Kohana-san, have you heard of the Rabbit Goddess?"

It was normal to see Tobirama walking about the village during the wee hours of the morning. Even more so with that seemingly permanent scowl etched onto his features. It wasn't normal to catch him stumbling in through the back ends of the compound appearing completely exhausted and utterly enraged.

Luckily it was still fairly dark out. No one saw him trudge heavily into the main Senju household, muttering curses all the way to his bedroom. Out of sheer relief, he fell onto his laid out cot and slept for the better part of the morning.

He half expected Kohana to interrupt his sleep with the announcement of food but was somewhat grateful when the wakeup call didn't arrive. He was so uncharacteristically tired and couldn't, for the life of him, understand why that was. The realization didn't really hit him until sleep had finally escaped him and he awoke with the subtle fluttering of his eyes.

It hit him as he stared at the shogi door in front his eyes. His extreme bout with drowsiness definitely had something to do with Sakura.

While he'd told himself and his brother to quit bothering that woman, for some reason he felt drawn to her hidden oasis during perimeter sweeps. She was a refreshing shift of normalcy that he found enjoyable, to a certain extent. Part of him wanted to attest this attract aura to her being a woman but no, that couldn't possibly be the case. The compound was full of women, some of which even expressed hidden desire for him. Yet he'd never found himself quite as willing to seek any of them out.

Then again, there aren't many women alive who can best him in an argument or stand up to that wild maned Uchiha.

He gave something of a snort at the thought before deciding it was well passed time for him to get dressed for the day, figuring the lack of his prompt presence may cause alarm throughout the household.

"Where is Kohana?" If memory served, she wasn't around to wake him for breakfast. And as he scoured the house, heading toward his study, he still hadn't seen her. His brother was nowhere to be found but that wasn't surprising. Knowing him, he was probably off training or having a rendezvous in the forest again. He hadn't bothered searching him out either.

Perhaps a short walk through the compound would have them crossing paths. Her presence wasn't necessarily needed. Not at the moment, anyway. Which is why he hadn't expended his sensory skills to seek her out. Besides, he's more than capable of tracking someone down the old-fashioned way.

Strolling down the main road, he passed several shops, bustling with customers and the occasional child running and playing amongst their friends. The sight of course warmed his heart a bit. The sound of young laughter after so many years of these very same lives being cut short. Times have changed and for the better. He merely hoped their progression wouldn't stagger but be prolonged in the best direction possible.

"Ah, Saru." He called, spotting one familiar face among a particular group of youngsters. The boy stopped in pursuit of a companion and turned. His face instantly brightened at the sight of the Senju. Thus, he bounded over once summoned, standing before the older male.

"Tobirama-nii!" He chirped; the evidence of his gladness clear in his tone. With something of a smile, Tobirama graced the boy with a gentle head pat before acknowledging his friends with a short wave.

"Where is your mother?" He asked once removing his hand to stuff it in his pocket. The boy seemed to ponder this question, donning a thoughtful expression of furrowed brows and a jutted lower lip.

"Mmm…kaa-san said something about visiting a friend." Came his response after a few seconds of humming and pondering. Seeming satisfied with this response, he sent the boy off with a wave.

A friend, huh?

That could very well be anyone. Kohana being very well liked among the Senju and even their allied clans, Tobirama figured it'd be pretty useless to try seeking her out. Best to return home and wait for her to show up, presumably around lunch time.

In the meanwhile, he would busy himself with training and performing his daily perimeter scan when time approached. He attempted to clear his mind of the more pressing situation trying to take over his current thought process. Several groans would pass through his lips in the time that he spent honing his skills. It seemed inner peace wouldn't come as easily as it had in the past. Then again, it's not as if he's ever been in this kind of situation before.

He isn't sure what to make of it or these foreign feelings threatening to bubble upon the surface of his mind.

"This woman…"

Finally, the day arrived. The day Sakura had sort of being anticipating. Sort of in the sense that she had been preparing and was a little excited to finally utilize the information she'd been studying for years on the eyes. The only downside was her patient. If he could even be considered that. It was no secret that she wasn't Izuna's favorite person. In fact, she was pretty sure he hated her.

But Sakura, how can you be so certain?

"Sorry Sakura-san, he's refusing to see you." Yukio pretty much cleared up any doubt that Sakura may've had concerning Izuna's feelings toward her. Sure, she expected to run into opposition, but this was ridiculous.

"He does know that blindness is nearly impossible to reverse, right? Right?!" That second 'right' she made sure he heard from behind the door. The pinkette huffed loudly but managed to spare Yukio from her wrath. He'd done nothing wrong. He was just the messenger. And even he seemed to be a bit sheepish about Izuna's behavior.

"Is he always like this?" She whispered to the male, gauging his reaction for a bit of affirmation. And when he sighed, Sakura knew that yes. He is.

"Izuna…is very stubborn. And prideful…like…most of us." Oh, he had no idea how well she understood that. At any rate, Sakura couldn't stand outside his house all morning. Not when there were plenty of other people who could benefit from her services. She had to think of someway she could get in there and at least perform a consultation without him trying to rip her head off.

A quick glance at Yukio and Sakura suddenly recalled a very important detail about her agreement to be a medic between compounds.

"Yukio-san!" She suddenly perked up, grabbing the male's attention. In response, he granted her a muted but curious gleam as she seemed to need something for him. And pretty much everyone knows that Yukio would be willing to do just about anything Sakura asked given the nature of their relationship.

"What is it, Sakura-san?" Her face seemed to have brightened before she startled the male by taken ahold of him by the crook of his arm and gently pulling him toward her makeshift medic building. He said nothing but simply followed her. She seemed to have reached an epiphany of sorts and he'd be lying if he said he wasn't eager to find out what this was all about.

"I know it's sudden but hear me out, okay? Izuna obviously doesn't trust me. But he does trust you. Here is what I propose. You become my apprentice." It was an iffy proposal, she knew that. And it wasn't like she was using his dedication to her as a means of leveraging a favorable answer out of him.

"Me? Sakura-san…"

"I know, it's not the best circumstances and I am putting you on the spot. But I did promise to teach someone, and I will need help eventually with healing his eyes…will you consider it, at the very least?"

"…I'll do it." Well that was unexpectantly fast. She was sure he'd wait until her next visit to give her an answer. So yeah, she's pretty surprised that he agreed so quickly.

"You will? Really?"

"To be truthful, I had been considering taking up the role. I just hadn't found the right time to ask. My life was saved by you, a medic. Perhaps it was a sign to do something worthwhile with this life instead of taking it." Wow. That was…almost poetic. No, it was poetic. And Sakura felt pride swell up within her at the thought of how her single act influenced him so much.

"Well, let's get started then!"

A/N: It's certainly been a long time coming, hasn't it? First and foremost, I'd like to apologize for how long this update has taken. Secondly, I want to say thank you to everyone who has read, reviewed, favorited, and put this story in their alerts. I'm so happy I was finally able to complete this chapter. It took me three tries. Like I had to write it three times before I was finally happy with it. So, I hope you enjoyed it!

Now let's talk about events! That dream was pretty intense, right? Points to anyone who can guys who all those men with the Sharingan are! Next, things took a bit of a detour with Sakura revealing the truth to Kohana. How that panned out will be addressed in later chapters. Tobirama has some conflicting emotions about waking up in Sakura's home and why wouldn't he? Next is Izuna's refusal to accept Sakura's help with his eyes. I kind of like playing with this stubborn trait. Makes him a much more interesting character in my opinion. Finally, Yukio! He's definitely my favorite OC and you'll find out why, again, in later chapters.

As always, thank you so much for reading and do drop a review if you feel led to do so, have comments, questions, or concerns. See you next time!

*Apologies for any typos or mistakes I missed!