In all honesty Minato knew he should have known better than to let his curiosity get the best of him as he went searching for Sakura the following morning when she didn't show up for breakfast, in spite of Mikoto's warning not to.

Especially when his senses led him right into the oddly placed forest in the nearly abandoned Uchiha Compound no one the wiser of his absence at the house 'What on earth is Sakura-san doing in the forest so early in the morning' Minato wondered to himself.

Clearly confused, imagine his surprise when he finally got in range of where he felt her chakra and found an oddly placed cave in the center of the forest and got tackled from behind "Tokei get off of Minato-san now" Sakura ordered instantly.

And the weight on his back disappeared, allowing him to stand but the minute he caught sight of who or rather what Tokei was, Minato threw a kunai "Sakura-san move away from the dangerous creature now" Minato commanded.

Not understanding why she'd knocked the kunai he'd thrown out of the way as the jaguar cowered behind her "Minato-san leave Tokei be he didn't hurt you nor is he a threat to anyone" Sakura frowned at him.

Feeling irritated that everyone's first reaction was to try and kill her furry family rather than understand them "You know this is why I told you not to go looking for Sakura-chan" Mikoto arrived on scene a couple second later.

Giving the blonde an annoyed look "How can you simply be accepting of that thing in your home Mikoto, its dangerous" Minato said not even deigning to call it by the name Sakura had because all he saw was a threat.

Tokei whimpered in response "Mother why does he want to kill me" Tokei looked up at his surrogate mother who could finally see him, Sakura peered down at him sadly and rubbed his ears lightly until he was purring.

"Because not everyone is understanding Tokei-kun, Minato lets go back to the house and have a little chat about this shall we" Mikoto answered, dragging Minato with her regardless of how he tried to ground himself in place.

She wasn't going to take no for an answer apparently "New friend of yours I suspect Sakura" Hyo rumbled having heard the commotion and knew it wasn't wise to exit the cave to find out what was going on.

Though it seemed the intruder was gone now thanks to Mikoto "Hardly Hyo-kun" Sakura huffed before turning to her own cubs once more "Right as I was saying, we're going to play a little game of chase and catch" Sakura spoke to them.

And took off into the forest Mita and Tokei on her heels, both of them trying their damnedest to catch her but falling short each time, Sakura really was the master of this game to their frustration but they sure did try.

Meanwhile back at the house Mikoto had sat Minato down on the couch "Just what are you playing at allowing jaguars to roam free in your family compound Mikoto have you even thought about what would happen if they got out and attacked people" Minato frowned.

Only to have the woman roll her eyes at him "Seriously Minato, Hyo and the others are harmless, case and point since they got here over seven months ago not once have they harmed anyone" Mikoto snorted delicately.

It proved to be the wrong thing to say however "Did you just say Hyo, tell me Mikoto how is it a jaguar became important to her" Minato questioned, trying to understand but failing spectacularly at it given that he still wanted to kill the threat.

"Well Hyo raised her Minato, from a baby after her parents abandoned her, I didn't meet them until Sakura was five and I left her with him because Hyo was the only one who could raise her properly due to her former condition of being blind" Mikoto snipped out.

Preventing Minato from saying more "Their really not a threat" Minato inquired after a short time had passed, the information he'd just received slowly being processed until he could admit to having jumped the gun a bit.

"No Minato their not, all they want is for Sakura-chan to be happy" Mikoto quipped with a smile and seeing as he wasn't about to go charging off again to take on the jaguars stupidly she felt alright in leaving him in the living room.

Back at the cave now once the game of chase and catch had ended Sakura the victor of course, Sakura had begun writing out letters to all of her friends in other villages, the longest going to Gaara of course.

And she happily marched from the compound to the messenger bird tower to send the five letter scrolls off "Sakura hey when did you get back from your mission to Kumo" Kiba caught her on the way to his compound.

Not expecting the grin Kiba was momentarily confused until he saw her eyes twinkling with excitement "Yesterday Kiba as a matter of fact I was on my way to visit you" Sakura admitted, taking in her wild friend.

"Eyes, your eyes Sakura their not dull anymore, that's amazing was there some kind of medic in Kumo that performed some operation" Kiba bellowed loudly unable to reign in his own excitement for her at being able to see now.

Sakura laughed joyously over his antics "Unfortunately this was just an accident but I'm not complaining any" Sakura explained with a wince, though next time Kabuto wasn't going to be as lucky to get away from her as he did that time.

Kiba gaped at her "We have to show my Ma" Kiba declared, ushering her the rest of the way to his clans compound, he did note that she stumbled a little bit, but it wasn't as bad as he was expecting since she must have had time to adjust to the bizarre situation.

Though he was a little surprised she let him drag her off they made it to his house in record time "Pup what are you doing hauling that girl here all of a sudden" Tsume rounded the corner upon smelling her guest and recognizing who it was.

She got a little wave from Sakura, who was looking her up and down with bright eyes "Tsume-sama" Sakura greeted once the woman had noticed given the wide eyed expression on her face over the fact that she was no longer blind.

"But how" Tsume demanded to know as she dragged Sakura into the living room and set her down on the couch indicating that she wasn't going anywhere until she had explained what happened while she was off on her mission.

Having guessed that she would have to explain Sakura grimaced "Kabuto Yakushi was there to try and abduct Sasuke and I, he set an exploding tag off in close range of the Raikage but I took the brunt of it, I was near death essentially and it allowed me to gain eyesight" Sakura explained simply.

Both Inuzuka's across from her growled angrily in response "Despite what happened we're glad you can see now brat, must be quite the adjustment though" Tsume mused sympathetically knowing she'd never be able to understand how Sakura was feeling.

"Me to Tsume-sama and yeah but I've had about three weeks of practice so far and I'm only getting better" Sakura announced in an ecstatic tone of voice, emerald eyes shimmering with happiness to their amusement.

With that she stayed for a little while simply chatting and promising to visit Hana some other time before leaving, though to her amusement Kiba followed her "Have a few days off" Kiba shrugged nonchalantly when she raised a brow at him.

The next person she visited was Ino who practically tackled her upon seeing that she had eyesight now "Tell me, tell me" Ino pleaded with a pout, not that it had ever worked on Sakura before but still she was amazed by the development.

"As soon as you let me up…thank you Ino and it was an accident really, I kinda took the brunt of an exploding tag" Sakura informed lightly, keeping the rest to herself and not saying that she could have died from that.

And thankfully Kiba understood "Still Sakura that's pretty amazing" Ino clapped hoping that she would have the chance to show Sakura all the amazing different clothing styles they had in the village now that she could use her own eyes to pick out cute and stylish things.

Eventually Sakura did leave the Yamanaka Flower Shop after greeting Inoichi and Aiko and with Kiba on her heels they headed back to the compound "What I haven't seen those jaguars for awhile" Kiba huffed when he caught the amusement being directed at him.

Sakura didn't say anything merely smiled, a few minutes later they were at the cave and she wanted to sigh at the sight of the person milling about awkwardly in the clearing "Minato-san what brings you here" Sakura asked.

Coming to a stop, Kiba curious about the new person kept his mouth shut for the time being "There you are, when you don't want to be found it's hard to find you, but I came to apologize for my actions of earlier" Minato looked up in surprise.

Apologizing sheepishly all in the same breath "Yeah that's something we learned the hard way, especially since she holds the moniker ghost" Kiba did nod in partial understanding, though he frowned at the rest of what the guy was saying.

"Ghost I wasn't aware you had a moniker Sakura-san" the blonde commented in confusion, wondering how the girl had gotten such a nickname in the first place, he supposed he could always ask in a little bit.

In answer Sakura grinned "Mhm I took the moniker from Hyo actually and remember what you were saying about how it was to find me that's part of the reason for the nickname" the rosette gestured to the large jaguar that had just padded from the cave.

He had pure ivory fur and green eyes that matched Sakura's perfectly "My cub is right in a forest you wouldn't be able to find her, sense her, feel her stalking after you a ghost in essence" Hyo rumbled in his still all powerful voice.

While he wasn't the strongest anymore everyone still deferred to his judgement on things since he was still leader of the pack "Cub, right Mikoto said you raised Sakura-san from an infant" Minato frowned before remembering.

Hyo nodded, padding forth to stand at Sakura's side "Let Kajiya now I went to the river" Hyo rumbled at her as he past her before disappearing from view, Sakura however could still feel him until the vibrations vanished as well.

Curious as he was Minato knew that he'd pressed his luck enough for the day so bid Sakura and her friend farewell as he headed back to the house, leaving Sakura and Kiba to head into the cave to spend time with the jaguars.

Up to lunch Kiba stayed "Better get back before my Ma blows a gasket thinking I'm trying to skip clan training" Kiba sulked standing and brushing his pants free of dirt still amused at how lavish the cave Sakura lived in was.

At his departure Sakura settled back into Hyo who purred for her while the two young ones Chairo and Kurai warmed her legs and soon she was surrounded by the rest of the pack as well, warmth seeping into her she was unable to keep her eyes open and drifted off to take a nap.

Mikoto, Itachi and Minato dropped by fifteen minutes later "Oh my perhaps now isn't the best time Itachi-chan" Mikoto said seeing the pile of jaguars and one human napping in the middle of the cave.

Itachi nodded with a quiet chuckle "Best time for what" Minato inquired on their way back to the house where the others were still at, Sasuke and Naruto having been positively lazy all day to everyone's amusement.

"To inform Sakura about her biological parents, Tsunade-sama told us while Sakura was away on the mission that Naruto and Sasuke found her parents a long while back, she's already stated a desire to find them and I was coming to offer my help in tracking them down" Itachi answered.

Ocean blue eyes widened but he remained contemplative for the rest of the afternoon until Sakura came to the house for dinner "Hyo-kun encouraged me to have dinner with you all" Sakura explained what she was doing there.

As she took a seat at the table between Itachi and Sasuke "Like Mother would ever tell you no to eating dinner here Sakura" Sasuke snorted, ducking his head as Mikoto walked behind him to her amusement.

Realizing he'd ducked when she hadn't been intending to whack him Sasuke flushed in embarrassment prompting laughter from Naruto only for the same thing to happen to him "Reflex" Naruto laughed sheepishly.

Sakura snickered quietly under her breath at their antics "You know I do have a question Sakura-san, seeing as Mikoto hasn't told me, but how many jaguars live in that cave exactly" Minato chimed in halfway through dinner.

Having been thinking about it since earlier when he'd saw the pile up but due to how close they had all been packed together it had been impossible to count them "Hmm oh well there's Hyo, Kajiya, Tora, Yasei, Muimina, Yori, Tokei, Mita, Chairo, Kurai and Fuyona" Sakura ticked off.

Listing every jaguar by name "Eleven" Minato shot a look at Mikoto who shrugged not bothered by the amount, nor was anyone else at the table to his surprise, then again they'd had more time to get use to the jaguars living in the compound.

"So did Itachi-chan tell you Sakura-chan" Shisui asked when the dishes were being washed and dried courtesy Sakura, Naruto and Sasuke as they decided to stop being so freaking lazy, Sakura tilted her head to the side in confusion.

Followed by Itachi casting a warning look at his best friend "I will tell her Shisui-san, your way will only upset her, as it turns out awhile back when you went to visit your former cave, Naruto and Sasuke found your biological parents" Itachi said carefully.

Just waiting for the news to processed by Sakura who wouldn't do anything what they would expect normal people to do "What, how could you two not tell me, baka's" Sakura frowned at her teammates who avoided her gaze out of genuine guilt.

Mikoto came to the rescue "As I understand it Sakura-chan they didn't want you to be upset any further than you had already been upset by Tsunami-san if I recall, plus they weren't sure until Tsunade-sama had a test run to see if their DNA matched yours" Mikoto soothed.

Hugging the girl who understood "Is that why you wanted a few of my hairs…oh well whats the point of telling me now their probably not there anymore" Sakura looked up at Itachi, confusion and determination at war within her eyes.

Grateful for his mother "The reason Sakura is that I am offering to help you track them down so that you can get your answers to questions you've always wanted to ask but haven't been able to until now" Itachi admitted.

Sakura nearly burst into tears at that but dried her eyes quickly as she came over and hugged him "And thank you Naruto, Sasuke" Sakura glanced to her teammates/adoptive siblings who shuffled their feet but hugged her when she hugged them, both of them relieved she wasn't angry at them.

Then after bidding everyone goodnight Sakura dashed out the door back to the cave "Yikes that could have gone worse" Shisui grimaced once the extremely temperamental girl was out of ear shot as he plopped down in a chair.

Naruto glared at him "No thanks to you Shisui-san it could have been worse if not for Itachi and you didn't have her temper directed at you" Naruto huffed from his spot on the couch, reading a fuinjutsu book to Minato's surprise.

Across from him Sasuke shuddered "Her temper is no laughing matter" Sasuke commented and Shisui knew it, he, Itachi and Mikoto were some of the lucky few who have never had Sakura's temper directed at them thank the lord.

Eventually the lot of them decided to go to bed early seeing as there was nothing else to really do for the day except be lazier than they already had been, like Sakura had surrounded by the jaguars that she considered family.

Three days later just as she was contemplating sending another letter to Gaara in case the one she sent somehow hadn't made it, the one she wanted to see the most out of everyone barged his way into the village unknown to her at the time.

Tsunade was not surprised when Gaara showed up in her office alone like he had over a month ago "Guess she told you then" Tsunade said, shuffling some paperwork into a neat little pile before focusing her attention on her apprentice's boyfriend.

As weird as it still seemed to her anyway "That means she really can see, in spite of that letter I fear that this could be the end to our relationship" Gaara slumped his shoulders, worried that Sakura no longer wanted him.

Only to have Tsunade roll her eyes at him "Oh just go on and see her instead of agonizing over it brat" Tsunade snapped at him, there was no need to have someone escort the boy considering he knew the way and seconds after he was gone from her office.

In a swirl of sand he was all the way across the village to the Uchiha Compound, he slipped through the gate normally then took off running through the forest until he reached the cave, only stopping when he saw Sakura in the middle of the clearing.

Next to the cushy spot where all the jaguars were gathered watching her spin around while at the same time dodging Mita and Tokei, she really must have been preoccupied because it took her several minutes to sense him standing there.

But when she did however Sakura lit up and threw herself at him and in that moment when her arms wound around his waist he knew he had worried for nothing "Sakura" he breathed inhaling her unique scent with his nose buried in her hair.

"Gaara your here I was just thinking about sending you another letter cause I wasn't sure if you had got the other one" Sakura exclaimed hugging him tighter at that though she was careful not to squeeze to tight lest she bereave him of breath again.

His features softened at that then looked into her sparkling eyes just to assure himself that this wasn't some kind of bizarre dream he was having "Even if I hadn't gotten a letter I still would have come see you" Gaara admitted.

Lips pulling up into a smile that was mainly for Sakura who decided to try and give him a heart attack in the next moment as she stood on her tip-toes and pecked him on the lips, he felt his face grow hot at that as he stared at her with wide pupil-less green eyes.

"To much" Sakura bit her lip looking up at him from beneath her bangs, Gaara hastily shook his head and she breathed a sigh of relief "Just unexpected then" the pinkette smiled and her boyfriend nodded.

Before kissing her himself "I think I like it" Gaara mused once he had pulled away, prompting a blush to flare to life on her cheeks, just to be sure he looked down and found the sand rose bracelet still on her wrist like he still wore her lucky rabbits foot bracelet.

Sakura got really quiet just then which worried him "How long are you here for Gaara-kun" the rosette inquired thinking about Itachi's offer because if she had to ask only two people to with her not counting Hyo one of them would be Gaara.

Gaara frowned slightly but did answer her question "Three weeks, Baki said it was deserved time off why do you ask" Gaara announced, wondering because she'd never asked before even though he'd only come to visit once so far.

Relief filled her at that "Apparently Naruto and Sasuke found my biological parents and a few days ago Itachi offered to help me track them down, I want you to be there with me to along with Hyo-kun when I finally confront them about abandoning me" Sakura blurted fearfully.

Afraid that he would reject her request "Do you know when your going" Gaara questioned carefully, pleased that she would ask him to go along with her during such an important event in her life but not wanting her to be alone with just him or Itachi or Hyo.

Kankuro and Temari deserved that honor as well "Probably not for a couple more days I guess I wanted to wait until I got letters from Temari-chan, Kankuro, Kurotsuchi-chan and Akatsuchi" Sakura admitted.

The both of them unaware that someone was spying on them for the current time being as they conversed with each other "There's no point in waiting for a letter from Kankuro or Temari, Baki was giving them the same time off that I got but I went on ahead" Gaara informed.

"Oh I still want to wait for letters from my friends in Iwagakure though" Sakura shrugged, happy that she was going to get to see all three of the Sabaku siblings at the same time and possibly have them along with her.

Their conversation kind of fizzled a little after that and the person spying decided now was as good as ever to reveal himself, Sakura whipped around at the feel of him now that he'd relinquished his expert control over his chakra enabling her to sense him that was.

Itachi stepped forward slowly wearing a look upon his face that said he was not happy "Please tell me that you aren't with him Sakura, please" Itachi pleaded hopefully, the only one who hadn't known about her being in a relationship.

Sakura kind of gave him a sheepish yet warning look "Itachi you can't tell me that I can't be with someone I like" Sakura explained patiently unable to lose her temper with her adoptive older brother plus he really did care about her which made this hard.

"You like him, are you sure Sakura, what if its just a simple crush that will fade, no one finds the one they love on the first try" Itachi asked her hoping that she would listen to him, he was fine with her having Gaara as a friend but not a boyfriend.

She sighed quietly at him "Maybe it will fade who are we to know what will happen in the future Itachi, but what I do know what I want right now is to be with Gaara so please accept that and understand Itachi-ni" Sakura declared.

Gaara doing his best to help out as he took her hand in his own "Sakura's right, our feelings are fragile right now especially mine but I do know that I want to be with her right here in this moment until fate decides that we're not suited to one another" Gaara announced.

Standing tall at her side unwilling to let go without a fight it seemed, Itachi sighed realizing that he couldn't break them up and finally relented "Take care of her then Gaara-san" Itachi requested face a mask of displeasure over the situation.

Before he was gone in a flurry of crow feathers back to the house "Whatever happened Itachi-chan you look like someone forced you to eat an entire lemon" Mikoto questioned her oldest son about his expression of unhappiness.

"Mother did Sakura tell you about how she was dating that boy from Suna….am I the last one to know about it" Itachi frowned when no one looked surprised except for Minato who remained seated since it wasn't his business to tell Sakura what she could and couldn't do.

Mikoto bit her lip to stop from giggling at the sulking her son was doing over sweet Sakura-chan dating a boy "But yes Itachi-chan, I was probably the first to know actually when they came home from helping reform Suna's hospital" Mikoto nodded giving him the answer he wanted.

"I only found out about it from Shisui, then accidentally let slip to Naruto while we were in Kumo the day Sakura woke up with her eyesight to be precise" Sasuke chimed in knowing there was little point keeping it to himself anymore.

Now that Itachi knew "And I told you not to say anything Sasuke-chan and everyone says I'm bad at keeping things secret" Shisui teased the younger Uchiha heartlessly only to get whacked by Mikoto who got fed up with his antics.

Naruto huffed "I still think Sakura-chan shouldn't date but as she quite bluntly pointed out to me I'm not the boss of her and I really, really don't want to get punched by her" Naruto shuddered because Sakura could use chakra enhanced attacks.

The only one who hadn't said anything by that point tilted his head to the side in confusion "Why I don't see her punches hurting that much Naruto-kun" Minato piped in confused about what the boy meant.

Only to have all the remaining Uchiha's, including Itachi and Naruto laugh at him "Can't believe you actually said that…pfftt hahahahaha, little Sakura-chan is Tsunade's apprentice and she can use chakra enhanced strength" Shisui explained once they'd all calmed down a little.

And he felt like a dunderhead for not having realized "Don't worry about it Minato, she would never hit you or any of us with chakra enhanced punches or kicks" Mikoto assured though she was still rather amused even as Itachi sighed and settled back in the chair he'd chosen.

Then as Gaara promised a couple days later Temari and Kankuro made their appearance in the Leaf Village, they made a quick stop by the Hokage Tower but then like their little brother had before them made haste to the Uchiha Compound.

Where they found Sakura and Gaara lounging outside in the sun in sand chairs covered in deerskin fur wearing swimsuits that were dripping wet "Temari-chan, Kankuro" Sakura popped up at the sight of them.

Right as they managed to drag their gaze from the new addition in the clearing she reached them and gave them a hug "So I see you have a pond now Pinky" Temari grinned predominantly happy for her friend and future sister in law.

Because she couldn't imagine Gaara or Sakura breaking up with one another if she was being honest with herself "Her sensei thought she needed one" Gaara said having remained sitting since he'd just seen them a few days ago and he was around them ninety percent of the time anyway.

"Anything else happen that we should know about Pinky" Kankuro asked setting his pack down for the moment to rest his shoulders until he put it in the cave where he would be staying though he would go see Naruto and Sasuke of course.

The cave is where he'd be sleeping mainly "Besides Itachi finding out about our relationship and being told that Naruto and Sasuke found my biological parents nothing else…oh wait I can see, surprise" Sakura opened her eyes.

Having had them closed to shock them she was mischievous like that "Could have told us in the letter Sakura but Gaara already gave away the surprise it's why Baki-sensei gave us so much time off other than it being deserved for our hard work and efforts lately" Temari snorted.

Calling Sakura by her actual name "Darn…oh well at least you know" Sakura stuck her tongue out at Gaara who shook his head lightly in amusement, he hadn't been able to keep himself from telling his siblings but at least she wasn't upset with him over it.

"Right we're going to go put our stuff in the cave and go see those two brainiacs then we'll be back later to have some fun in that pond of yours" Kankuro declared, grabbing up his pack and with Temari on his heels they entered the jaguar cave.

Only to exit moments later and head for the Main Family house, both returned an hour later wearing their own swimsuits "Care to explain what you meant earlier Sakura, something about Naruto and Sasuke finding your biological parents" Temari asked.

From the edge of the pond as she stared at the couple who had already had their fun, Sakura previously laying down popped up in remembrance "That's right after we got back from Suna, Hyo wanted to go visit the old cave and they found my actual parents" Sakura admitted.

"Question is Pinky, what are you going to do with that information" Kankuro questioned swimming over to be closer in order to hear her answer since he had been on the other side of the large pond that was near the cave.

The lucky girl though it did give him a few ideas to implement "Go find them of course and confront them about the reason they abandoned me if your willing I'd like all three of you to come with me, Itachi-ni and Hyo-kun" Sakura requested in a shy tone complete with fidgeting.

Temari lit up at that "Yell yeah of course we'll come Pinky, your practically our sister anyway being with Gaara and all that" the teal eyed blonde announced loudly in a teasing tone that had both teenagers red in a matter of seconds.

It was as amusing to watch as it always was but she did tone it done a little bit because she didn't want to ruin their still fledgling relationship "Temari's right Sakura, it's our responsibility as older siblings" Kankuro boasted.

Gaara didn't answer so they assumed their baby brother had already given his assent to going along their guess proving accurate when Sakura threw her arms around Gaara in the next moment practically bursting the redheads eardrums with her happy squealing.

And it was hilarious watching Gaara maintain an apathetic expression even though his ears had to be ringing until the assault on his poor ears ended and he relaxed his stiff expression to smile at Sakura genuinely happy.

Just then a messenger burst out of the brush "Here you are from Iwagakure" the man handed over two scrolls before vanishing from the clearing to get back to the bird tower since he'd delivered the letters that had come for Sakura, who quickly opened both with excitement in her movements.

~Kid

You being serious, like totally really serious about regaining your eyesight that's amazing and when I can, probably around the time when the exchange program starts for medics I'm definitely coming to see you.

Sorry for the short letter.

Kurotsuchi~

~Sakura-san

Congratulations Kurotsuchi and I are really happy for you as are Tsuchikage-sama and Kitsuchi-san when they heard, try to come visit if you can or whenever we have the chance we'll come see you.

Farewell.

Akatsuchi~

Both letters while short conveyed so much and now that she'd received her long awaited letters Sakura rolled them back up neatly and stood, Gaara joined her in the next moment "I'm going to let Tsunade-shishou know that I'm going to go find my biological parents" Sakura declared.

Resolute about this matter clearly as she went marching off "Hold up Sakura, at least cloth yourself first" Gaara cleared his throat and spoke in his usual gravely tone, Sakura squeaked in realization then dashed headfirst into the cave.

Gaara stood waiting patiently until Sakura returned dressed in her casual clothing while he headed in to redress himself as well "Now we can go" Sakura said sheepishly as she took his hand and practically dragged him along after her on their way to the Hokage Tower.

When they were stood before Tsunade, Sakura faltered some, still a little torn over the matter apparently so Gaara spoke for her "She's come to tell you her decision about her real parents" Gaara explained.

Snapping Sakura out of her indecisiveness thankfully as Tsunade leveled her apprentice with an imploring stare "That's right Shishou, I decided to go find them and take Gaara, Temari-chan and Kankuro with me, Itachi-ni and Hyo-kun to" Sakura informed regaining her determination.

Her mentor pursed her lips in thought "Hatake should go as well, he can use his ninja hound pack to sniff them out quicker" Tsunade suggested "SHIZUNE MY OFFICE NOW" she bellowed as an afterthought realizing they would need the hairs Naruto and Sasuke had plucked.

A door slamming open down the hall indicated Shizune thought Tsunade was angry with her for some reason "Milady have I done something to anger you, please tell me so that I can rectify my mistake" Shizune burst into the office mere seconds after being summoned, bowing low.

Tsunade sighed "You've done nothing wrong Shizune, I would however like you to collect the two hair samples from Sakura's biological parents those two brats on her team brought back" the Hokage ordered.

To Shizune's relief as she vanished from the office and returned fifteen minutes later with test tubes in her hands, both held a couple hairs each "Good luck Sakura-chan" Shizune stated once Sakura had taken them, guessing at what the girl would need them for.

Once Shizune was gone, Tsunade pulled out a blank scroll "Mission to find Sakura Haruno's biological parents, rank B, mission length three weeks if it takes that long, and the following will be assigned to the mission, Kakashi Hatake, Itachi Uchiha, Temari Sabaku, Kankuro Sabaku, Gaara Sabaku and Sakura Haruno" Tsunade scribbled.

Before handing over the mission scroll, Sakura gripped it tightly as they left her office "I think we should inform your sensei first" Gaara suggested so the two of them went on the hunt for Kakashi Hatake and found him at the stone monument for KIA/MIA shinobi.

Kakashi gave no indication that he'd noticed their approach until five minutes after they had simply been standing there staring at him "Can I help you Sakura-chan, Gaara-kun" Kakashi relented curious about what they wanted.

Instantly a scroll was held out to him along with two vials that had hair in them, he took the scroll first and nearly choked on his tongue in response "You sure you want me along Sakura-chan, this is pretty big and an important obstacle to overcome" Kakashi asked once he'd read the scroll.

"Shishou was the one who suggested having you along but I don't mind it either Kakashi-sensei" Sakura nodded seriously, having really come to care for her sensei in the time that she'd been his student which was admittedly not that long now that she was thinking about it.

Not as long as Naruto or Sasuke anyway, in response Kakashi gave her his signature eye crinkle smile and ruffled her now much better maintained hair "Then I'll go Sakura-chan" Kakashi easily relented unable to tell her no.

Especially now that she could blink those pretty eyes of hers at him, with that the two wandered off to probably inform the rest of the mission participants while he headed home to pack some things doubting it would take long to find Sakura's real parents.

Considering he had samples of their hair in his grasp so with that in mind he summoned Pakkun "Smells like your students Kakashi" Pakkun the pug ninken informed not understanding what his summoner wanted from him.

"Differentiate Pakkun, smell beneath Naruto, Sasuke and Sakura for the unknown because we need to track it" Kakashi ordered lazily knowing the pug would find the scent needed and he was right as Pakkun caught the scent of the hair owners.

Meanwhile Sakura and Gaara had arrived at the main family house "Your going aren't you" Mikoto noticed Sakura's expression of determination as she walked over to where Itachi was sitting, reading a book.

Itachi closed his book slowly "I'll prepare…what of him and his siblings" Itachi asked not needing to be told, since he had sort of expected Sakura would go hunting for her parents soon, what he didn't know however was what the Sand Siblings would be doing.

"Going with of course as is her sensei, that was the Lady Hokage's idea" Gaara stated in his gravely tone, Itachi despite wanting to tell Sakura how he felt simply nodded and headed to his room to pack for the mission.

Since he doubted searching for the two would be that hard especially if they were still in the country they were last seen, mission companions informed Sakura smiled at her adoptive mother and dragged Gaara back to the cave.

Where Temari and Kankuro had dressed and grabbed their packs "When are we moving out" Kankuro inquired a little excited to be going on a mission with Sakura, considering they were from two entirely different villages.

Not that it stopped them from being friends though "Most likely within the hour, Gaara and I still have to pack and let Hyo-kun know" Sakura said marching into the cave for the second time in just over an hour.

Hyo didn't need to be told either only stood "Just the cub and I, it started with her and I and will end with her and I" Hyo rumbled out when the others in the pack started rising from their resting positions only to lay back down at the authoritative tone.

Sakura smiled briefly in response to Mita and Tokei's whining about wanting to go but she ignored them for the moment as she shoved some things in her pack before facing her own cubs, giving the duo a stern look, which quieted them down instantly.

Despite their sulking they stayed put as Sakura and Gaara exited the cave yet again "I'll be waiting for you in the forest outside the gates" Hyo announced, heading for the gate that led out of the village from the compound.

And bless his cub she sent a clone after him to open and shut the gate once he was out while she with Gaara, Temari and Kankuro on her heels made their way to the main village gates "How do you think they'll react when they find out your their daughter" Temari questioned.

Just a little jittery about the whole thing because if the two said something insulting Sakura would unleash her temper on her real parents and the whole thing would be disastrous "Dunno" Sakura grimaced in answer.

Prompting Gaara to twine their fingers his silent way of assuring her that everything would be fine, partway to the gates Itachi joined them and at the gates they found Kakashi waiting for them with a pug ninken "This is Pakkun and he's caught their scents" Kakashi introduced.

"Should have guessed you wouldn't waste any time using their tracking skills Kakashi-san" Itachi commented as the six of them signed out of the village and started down the path towards the Land of Waves, Pakkun's nose to the ground the entire time.

Though he did give a start in surprise when Hyo started padding alongside of him, helping with the tracking, Sakura exhaled quietly trying to contain her nerves over the entire situation "Alright there Sakura" Temari saw the nervousness on the younger girls face.

And she nodded her head a little to enthusiastically "Right sure Pinky, just don't forget we're all here for you if you want to talk and get something off your chest" Kankuro rolled his eyes at her obvious lie but made the offer anyway.

Which got him a smile for his efforts and for the next four hours they walked in near utter silence beyond the sound of their feet hitting the ground as they marched along "Think we should stop" Gaara inquired hearing stomachs rumbling in hunger.

Since it was dinner time, Hyo swung them left into the forest and about half a mile in they came upon a cave which was suitable enough for the lot of them as they made camp, caught dinner, ate and went to bed.

Then a full day later they reached their destination "First set up camp at the cave then we'll go over the plan for tomorrow" Kakashi instructed knowing they wouldn't get anywhere during the night so Hyo led them to the cave he'd mostly raised Sakura in with Mikoto's help.

This was Sakura's first time seeing it as she looked around and spotted signs that she had lived there what felt like years ago but was only seven or so months ago, Gaara used some of his sand to make a soft spot for them to lay on.

Sakura gratefully covered it with a deerskin pelt to keep from getting covered in sand "I would like to know how it is you find caves so easily" Kankuro sighed a little exhausted from the long walk but curious.

Hyo rumbled out a laugh in response "Innate instinct Kankuro-san though this one is more familiar to me and the cub than most being that I raised her here for over seven years until Kakashi-san spotted us taking down a black bear" Hyo informed.

Getting comfortable on the cushy spot "Really you don't say" Temari intoned incredulously as she looked around before finally spotting the signs though she really had to look to see them since they were so subtle but find them she did.

"Yeah we only stayed so long in this one because of Mikoto-chan…Mom" Sakura chimed in, lighting her old fire pit expertly to get a fire going, feeling more nervous now that she was possibly close to her birth parents.

Who could be in the town just across Naruto bridge, thanking Gaara could sense this and was staying rather close to be as supportive as he could "It was also this cave that Mother and I waited at when the decision was made to bring you into the village" Itachi commented.

Remembering his two weeks at this cave himself, short but still memorable "What about before" Gaara asked curious to learn more about Sakura's life before Konohagakure though he could have always asked before now.

"I moved us around a lot, had to while she was younger and more vulnerable, then once others learned of my protectiveness over my cub stayed away from my territory so here we stayed" Hyo admitted letting out a rumbling appreciatively when a young boar was put before him.

After dinner they all gathered around in a circle "There's no telling if Sakura-chan's parents are still in that town" Kakashi said just to get it over with "But we'll still search until we come up empty handed that's the plan" Kakashi finished.

Eyeing each member of the team and they all nodded seriously at him, with that they lay down to get some shut eye and after breakfast set forth across Naruto bridge, Kankuro and Temari got a kick out of it but wisely didn't ask.

Pakkun the pug once again had his nose to the ground sniffing through all the different scents he could smell alone this time because Hyo was apprehensive about entering the town, luck would have it when they were contemplating going back to the cave for lunch.

Kankuro spotted familiar features in the crowd near the dock where a boat was waiting "Over there Kakashi, their getting on a boat" Kankuro called to the man, pointing frantically at the dock just as Pakkun caught on to their scent despite them having already been spotted.

Seeing he had to move fast Kakashi simply body flickered and got in the duo's way "Excuse us Sir" the pink haired man said when he bumped into him, keeping his head down until he realized the one he bumped into wasn't moving out of the way.

So ever so slowly he raised his head to reveal a sullen face and sunken in eyes that were black underneath indicating he hadn't gotten a proper nights sleep in years "Sir we're going to miss our boat back to our village" the pink haired man cleared his throat pointedly.

Hoping the shinobi as he just now realized what the man before him was would move no such luck and the boat took off without him and his wife causing Mebuki to sigh revealing an equally sullen face and sunken in eyes sockets with black bags.

"Care to explain why you stood in our way Shinobi-san now thanks to you we have to wait another week before we can get back home" the blonde woman scowled impressively, having a temper that was eerily reminiscent to Sakura's.

Kakashi crinkled his eye at them "Yes of course, say hello to your daughter that you abandoned thirteen years ago" and then he turned them around so they could see Sakura in all her glory, the child they'd left only for her to be raised by a caring jaguar.

The both of them dropped their belongings in open mouthed shock "It can't be, we searched and searched but we never found her" the blonde cried, hardly able to believe that her baby was stood before her all grown up and a shinobi to her horror.

"Are you sure this isn't some kind of mistake Shinobi-san" the pink haired man asked looking heartbroken also unable to truly believe that the girl before him was his daughter, the only child he'd ever had.

This earned him several glares "Look at her and you'll see this is no mistake" Itachi ordered calmly wanting to calm the situation down some seeing as they were getting some disgruntled looks from passerby's.

And so they did "Oh Kizashi it really is her" Mebuki cried all the harder as she studied the teenager before her with long pink hair and green eyes, the same eyes that stared back at her every time she looked in a mirror.

Her husband wasn't as eager to believe however as he noticed one key difference "My daughter was blind" Kizashi informed harshly and the girl winced only to have the boy she was standing next to take her hand in his own and hold it gently.

Aiming a glare at him "Sakura was blind up until three weeks ago you dolt and if you want further proof you can come back with us to the village she's living in and get a DNA test done" Temari snorted callously.

Disliking the duo on principle alone because they'd thrown their own daughter away for some reason or another that they didn't know about quite yet "There's no need to insult them Temari it seems like they regretted their actions enough up until this point" Kankuro scoffed.

Not to happy either with Sakura's birth parents speaking of Sakura finally found her voice amid the chaos as she stepped forward "There's just one thing I want to know, why did you throw me away" Sakura inquired.

Preparing herself for whatever they said by steeling her nerves "Shall I or shall you Mebuki" Kizashi looked down at his wife and now she knew both of their names, Mebuki sighed but made some indication that she'd explain.

Before clearing her throat "We couldn't raise you Sakura that's your name right, our village is poor and we had no idea how to take care of a blind child but you have to know we regretted it every day after and even searched for you" Mebuki admitted quietly.

Temari nearly shot a snarky response at them but reigned herself in last second as Sakura continued to stare at her birth parents before finally nodding in acceptance "That's a lot better than what I imagined your reasoning to be" Sakura commented.

Face breaking out into a breathtaking smile "So what now" Gaara asked, thinking Mebuki and Kizashi were less than deserving to have Sakura's forgiveness for just abandoning her simply because she'd been blind and they were poor.

Kizashi and Mebuki shared a look with one another "Well seeing as we've found each other at long last, we'd like to be your parents like we should have been when you were born, that means we'll be going back to wherever your village is that you mentioned" Kizashi said.

Looking two times better only to frown when Sakura winced "That might be a bit of a problem Kizashi-san, you see my Mother adopted Sakura several months ago" Itachi grimaced realizing how messed up this situation was now.

Mebuki nearly started crying again "But Mikoto-san won't begrudge you the chance to get to know Sakura and be active participants in raising her further" Kakashi added to prevent anymore outbursts from the blonde woman.

"One thing if this Mikoto-san only adopted Sakura several months ago who was raising her before that" Mebuki intoned confusedly over the oddball answer that they'd been given as she and Kizashi picked up their belongings and started following the group back to wherever.

Though she suspected it was Konohagakure they were going to, this time Sakura was the one to answer albeit extremely reluctantly "A jaguar, a jaguar raised me from the moment you left me until now" Sakura exhaled.

Just waiting for the news to be processed "And your about to meet him" Kankuro chimed in and got elbowed by Temari for his smartassness it did the trick as he went silent while Kizashi and Mebuki silently panicked.

Fearful for their lives as they happened upon a cave and they all shuffled in where a jaguar was indeed lounging "Found them did you cub" but his eyes were focused on their daughter as Sakura padded forward quietly to curl into his side.

"Uh-huh and their coming back to Leaf with us, turns out they regretted their action and have been trying to find me all this time" Sakura hummed feeling at ease at long last and she nearly fell asleep to if it hadn't been for Gaara.

Who handed over a stick with deer meat on it "Eat, then rest" Gaara commanded, settling himself as close as he could to Sakura, Kakashi chuckled under his breath as he came to the realization that they'd be staying in the cave for awhile longer.

Because immediately after eating, Sakura succumbed to Hyo's lulling purr and fell asleep, no one spoke after that to avoid disturbing her and a couple hours later Sakura was awake "So tell us Sakura do you have your adoptive mothers last name" Mebuki inquired.

Wanting to learn more about her daughter "Nope, Hyo here gave me the last name Haruno since I was born in the springtime and Sakura because of my hair" Sakura shook her head, Kizashi threw his head back with a laugh.

"Can't believe it a jaguar gave you the last name Haruno, which happens to also be your real last name" Kizashi informed, Sakura's eyes widened at then, looking between the jaguar and them before finally shrugging.

She wasn't the only one surprised by that revelation however as Itachi smiled lightly in amusement "Named aptly then" Itachi commented softly, ruffling her long overflowing locks of pink hair that was practically to her thighs now.

Sakura huffed at him and swatted his hands way playfully "Come on Itachi-ni it's hard enough keeping it tangled free what with Shisui-san doing that all the time" the pinkette whined softly at him merely messing around.

Itachi gave her an indulgent smile but relented "Ni…are you the son of the woman who adopted Sakura" Mebuki caught on instantly to the affectionate title that Sakura had called the young man in their midst.

"Not just Sakura but a goofy blonde kid named Naruto Uzumaki, plus Sasuke who was already her son like Itachi, the names Kankuro and I'm from Sunagakure" Kankuro snorted, introducing himself now that it didn't look like the two would be leaving.

They really must have been guilty about throwing Sakura away to his "Temari, this jokers my younger brother" Temari pointed to herself in the next moment, playing nice until Kizashi and Mebuki proved they didn't deserve it.

"Gaara and I'm the youngest of them" Gaara spoke in his usual gravely tone but carefully kept the fact that he was dating Sakura to himself, they had just come into Sakura's life and she didn't need them telling her what to do it would just heat her temper and no one needed that.

Especially the two civilians "Kakashi Hatake, Sakura-chan's sensei in the shinobi arts, not that she needed me to train her much" Kakashi huffed teasingly prompting an eye roll from his student before she broke into a smile.

"Do you have any other friends Sakura" Kizashi inquired, hoping that his daughter had more female friends since it seemed like she had way to many males in her life to him, he knew better however than to try and control what she did at that particular moment in time.

Instantly Sakura perked up "Uh-huh, Naruto and Sasuke my teammates, Kiba, Ino, Shino probably, Hinata to, Shikamaru I guess not really to sure about him then Kurotsuchi and Akatsuchi who are from Iwagakure plus some acquaintances from Kumo" Sakura ticked off her fingers to their horror.

Later on when the conversation had died down some Sakura made dinner for everyone in the form of daikon and rabbit meat soup, her absolute favorite, then she cuddled against Hyo again who started purring loudly for her and once again fell asleep.

Then a day after they were back in the Leaf Village, Tsunade ordered a blood test to be done and placed Kizashi and Mebuki in Mikoto's caring hands especially since it looked like they needed some looking after while they waited for the test to come in to reveal its results just to be sure.