End of a Disaster

"I think you forget often,

that I am not as strong as I pretend to be."

"Oh god, Sakura-"

All she could see was the sky, blue and vast. Then she blinked, and realized it was a pair of eyes. Naruto. Naruto was crying and her stomach lurched at the sight. It was so wrong, so different from her bright golden boy. Her Naruto should be smiling.

"-stay! Stay with me, please please-!"

She wanted to speak, to tell him she wasn't going anywhere. Nothing came out of her mouth except blood. She tried to touch him, her golden boy, but she can't feel her arms. Did she still have them? She didn't know. Blinking away the tears in her eyes, she could finally see how Naruto was pushing her innards in her body. So her stomach lurched after all.

"Kakashi-sensei! Over here!"

'No.' Sakura wanted to tell Naruto. She didn't want to let Kakashi see her like this. She didn't want Naruto to see her like this. She didn't want anyone to see her like this. She was on Naruto's lap, his hand on her head and her stomach sending chakra that just burnt her more than help her. Sakura would laugh if she could, but the only thing going out her throat was blood.

"Sakura don't you dare leave me, shit-"

Sakura prayed that Naruto could read her mind so she could tell him how much she loved him, how much she loved them, her boys. Tell him that she was so sorry to be the one to go. Tell him that he's going to be the best Hokage their village has ever seen. Tell him she wished she could see it. Looking at his face, Sakura wondered where all his sunshine went. Worn away. His kilowatt smile tarnished by the years and the wear. Her boy was a man now, and how funny was that she always wanted for Naruto to mature. Now he was and all Sakura wanted was to go back to their gennin days. He was still talking nonsense to her about Shizune was on the way, about the camp being safe because of her, about Sasuke massacring the left over Zetsu strewn around.

"Sakura."

Then without warning, Kakashi in front of her. His hands were on her face, on her hair. He looked like he was choking, Sakura didn't like it at all. His eyes openly looking at her face and she smiled at him. At least, she hoped she did. She couldn't feel her face.

Oh how she's going to miss them.

Sakura was five when she remembered her golden boy.

It was dark, and the air was heavy but little Sakura needed to go to the bathroom. She didn't notice how the torches lining their hallway were out. The moon was bright, and gentle. The moon peeked through the windows and lit her way. She wasn't aware how wrong it was to have no one attending her. She always wanted to be an independent child. All she could remember was that dream of hers, a bright boy crying. Sakura wanted to cry with him but she wasn't a baby anymore so she shouldn't cry.

When she was returning to her room and saw a man in black standing in front of her door, then she nearly cried. Ever the cry baby, aren't we? He saw her immediately. Those yellow eyes staring at her. It made Sakura feel like she was going to be swallowed whole. She felt like choking, her body was heavy. Snake. Snake bastard. Her mind screamed at her to run, to hide from the snake but Sakura didn't know where the snake was. She stood rooted on the spot, her heart beating loudly in her ears. Then it dawned on her. The man was the snake, and she understood it deep within her bones when those piercing eyes gaze at her. Her sister was still in there. Mito was still in there.

"Who are you?" Her voice was squeaky, and she must've sounded like a mouse. When she blinked once, the mysterious man was already crouching in front of her. Sakura didn't have the chance to tense up, because she already was the moment she saw this man.

"Ah, what a cute rabbit. How about you tell me your name first?" His voice was deep and smooth. Sakura could smell the blood on him. She was five, she doesn't know the smell of blood yet. He was amused, Sakura could tell, at how she was scared of him.

"My name's Uzumaki Sakura." Something was strange. Her name felt strange when she said it. It felt wrong on her lips.

"Sakura-chan," The man touched her cheeks, she flinched. His hands were sticky and cold. She didn't like it. He let out a quiet laugh. "do you want to come with me?"

Before she could respond she blinked, and he disappeared. She could still hear his laugh. Do you want to come with me? Sakura could feel how he really didn't disappear and she wanted to cry. It was scarier now that she couldn't see where he is. Like the scary shadow people her mother told her about. 'He was so scary. I want my papa.'

"Sakura."

"Sakura!" She was already crying and hiccuping when her father called her. Something's wrong, where am I? Immediately, she was scooped in Asakari's arms. Sakura finally felt safe. This was her father. This was safe.

"Baby, are you alright?"

Sakura shook her head, her tears still rolling down her face. She was always a silent crier. She didn't want anyone to see her like this. She curled in her father's embrace, they didn't make a sound as they move to her room.

"It's okay, sweetie. Everything's going to be fine. Can you close your eyes?" Her father's hands were incessantly rubbing her cheeks and it started to hurt but she kept quiet. She could feel her father's anxiety and after he gritted his teeth, he finally stopped rubbing her face. Blood. He's wiping off the blood. He failed.

Sakura didn't have the energy to talk so she nodded, and closed her eyes. She didn't know why she had to close her eyes when her father was just going to tuck her back in. Mito, he's going to check on Mito. Your sister.

Sakura opened her eyes to the sight of Mito sprawled on the futon, her blanket messily covering her small form. She could feel her father's silent intake of air, and shaky breath. Asa knelt down on her futon, the futon right besides Mito's. Sakura's tears didn't stop, even when she realized that Mito was just sound asleep but she looked so unnaturally still, so unlike the boisterous child she knew. Genjutsu. Wake her up gently.

Sakura didn't know how to do that. Her father did.

"Otou-san?" Her sister yawned and stretched on the futon. Mito looked like she wanted to go back to sleep. Her red flaming hair was a mess. Uzumaki Mito. Sole heiress to the Uzumaki Clan. Master of Fuinjutsu and First Jinchuriki of the Nine tailed fox. Sakura wanted to sleep too.

"Mito-chan, come here." Surprisingly, even with Mito looking sleepy and moving sluggish, she complied with their father and moved to his arms. My father's name is Kizashi. Haruno Kizashi.

"Papa where are we going?" Sakura asked, resisting the urge to yawn. Her voice was croaky. She whimpered and her father's chakra enveloped her. It was warm and soft. Her eyes burned. They should go to their mother's room. Her mother always knew what to do. She was smart and brave. Oh god my mother. Haruno Mebuki. She left me. She left me behind, I hate her.

"Can we sleep at mama's?" Her question was innocent, and she expected her father to laugh at her and say 'Of course! I sleep with mama every night, silly.' but her father's smile was grim and tight and he didn't laugh at all. Now that they were in the hallway again, with the torches burning bright, Sakura saw how her father's eyes were red and his cheeks were wet. Did he cry? Did he see the black man too?

'That's not it.' Sakura thought because her father was strong, strongest out of everyone in the clan. That was why he was the leader, her caretakers said. Her father wouldn't be afraid of a man with snake eyes. Her father was strong, he was.

"No, cupcake, you're sleeping with Rokku and Tataka tonight." Sakura made a face at that, she wanted to be with her mama not some strangers she didn't know. Though thats what usually happened to Mito and her when their parents were busy. They get hoisted off to family they didn't know. I don't know anyone here.

It turned out that Rokku was one of their closer cousins, and his older brother was Tataka. Sakura didn't get to meet Tataka because Rokku said something about checking the parameters. She liked Rokku, he smelled nice and was really kind. He had this weird look in his eyes when he saw her. Sakura didn't understand why was that when she even smiled a bit for him. Her sister should've been awake. She was the one good at making friends. Sakura was the shy child. She didn't move away from her father's side.

It was when she was scrubbed with a wet towel by her father did she notice the blood. His eyes were dark and he nearly rubbed her face off if Rokku didn't intervene. Her father looked like he was choking and it made Sakura tear up. Her father was splattered with it too. No wonder they stinked.

Mito went back to sleep the minute their father laid her on the futon. Sakura joined her after the intense cleaning then crying session she went under. She could still smell the tangy iron and copper in the air but maybe that was just her father. Sakura fell asleep tired that night, curling beside her sister. She still felt weird, like she wasn't in her skin. Her head didn't hurt anymore but her eyes throb with an ache that said murder. She slept it off, feeling safe when her father tucked her in. She fell asleep to the quiet conversation between Rokku and her father.

"I'm sorry, Asakari-sama... Kohana-sama- she, she passed-"

Sakura and Mito were five when they found their mother gone, forever asleep. Mito cried, loudly, at being denied to see her mother. Her tears stained her yukata and she thrashed on the futon, messing the blankets. No one made a move to stop her. No one made a move to comfort her either. Everyone was hurting, too much grief clouding their mind to take care of little girls. Their father was gone, probably handling the percussions of whatever happened. They were in their room, the new one where they slept with their older cousins.

Sakura was five when she remembered her life in the battlefield.

Looking at the sobbing red head at her side, Sakura didn't know what to feel about being the nonexistent twin of the Uzumaki heiress. She wasn't written in the history books of her home. Did she die? Maybe. Did she even exist or was this another dimension? Probably. Her head hurt thinking about it, too many memories she recalled, too many experiences with life and death conflicting her childish innocence. Her face slipped into a blank mask before any tears mess up her face and thoughts. It felt natural to her and Sakura despised the things she went through to achieve this effortlessly. She knew Rokku was watching both of them, lost in his own thoughts, his own eyes tinged red and the surrounding skin were irritated probably because of rubbing his eyes one too many times.

Surveying the room did Sakura realize, she was alone here. No Kakashi. No Sasuke. No Naruto. Sakura curled into herself at that thought, clutching her sleeping yukata. She barely resisted the urge to bite her cheeks because that would just hurt her. She was a child. She didn't know what to think about her family here. Were they real? Did she deserve them? Sakura thought not. She doesn't remember much about the clan, this clan which makes sense because she was only five. The only people she knew were her sister, father, and mother; and she just lost one of them. Abruptly.

Sakura didn't doubt that the man in black she met was the main suspect, most probably the culprit, and she regretted not biting him. She was too much of a cry baby, too weak, too cowardly to even think of biting someone. Now she knew better. She needed to fight, to protect. She just lost her mother, and the thought weighed heavily in her heart. Her mother was so gentle, so kind that Sakura didn't understand why she was a target. Not until it dawned on her on this early morning that, 'Ah, she was the Matriarch all this time. Of course.'

That meant her father was the clan head. Meaning Sakura and Mito were the heiresses of the Uzumaki Clan and Sakura couldn't wrap it around her head. Her? Out of all the people, be the heiress of such a regal clan? She was just a civilian. Sakura remembered her family home, a tiny yellow house perfect for three people. She remembered her mother, with her strong attitude and how she loved to cook. Her past mother wasn't as gentle as the one she had right now, before she lost her again, but Kohana was as lovable as her past mom. Sakura thought death would be the end of her problems. Apparently it wasn't.

Mito's sobs didn't help her, Sakura wanted to be alone. She was used to that, sulking on her own then coming back as composed as possible. Mito's grip on her yukata stopped her from going anywhere, and Sakura was too disoriented to really care about anyone else at the moment. She was still comprehending how the fuck did she get here. All she could remember was Naruto, sweet and golden, and the ambush by Zetsu.

There was no way in hell did Naruto not do anything about her situation. He probably caused this entire mess.

But then the coldness in her veins escaped her and the only thing left was the burning fire in her gut. Her mother was murdered last night and she couldn't do anything about it because she was so weak in her current state.

"Sa-Sakura-chan..." Mito was a sobbing mess with her hiccups. It was infectious and to Sakura's horror, she ended up a crying mess too. Mito and her cried their hearts out that morning, staying at each other's side. Sakura knew that as the clan head their father was busy fixing this mess. She knew that. She knew that but it still didn't stop that ugly side of her asking why he wasn't there taking care of them, his children, first.

'I want my papa.' It was then she realized how much she missed her original father, Haruno Kizashi, and his stories and loud laughs. Sakura missed her home, her familiar home. Not this place she called home, where everything was strange and alien.

Asakari was a coward.

He wanted to tell someone 'Don't let the records fool you.' because no matter how accomplished he was written in the scrolls he was a coward. Cowardice ran in his veins long before he took the reigns of his clan. He wore faux bravery like a mask to every meeting he held. It didn't matter that his people saw him as courageous when it was all fake. It didn't matter how people praised him in the streets, not when he didn't really deserved it. He's been bluffing his whole life. What bullshit things has he been saying the past years? "I will protect our family." He spat on and on about keeping the village safe, keeping the people safe, when he couldn't even keep his family safe.

He had alway wanted to burn the red and gold robes that burdened his shoulders, an insignificant thing envied by his family peers, signifying his role as the head and protector.

Asakari was a coward. The moment his daughters were fast asleep, he bolted out of their room, leaving them to a relative they never met. The moment his daughters weren't in immediate danger are they really? he holed himself in his library, drunk on sorrow and anger, till the wee light that started the day appeared. Wake up the sunlight screamed at him, covering his mess of a body on the wooden floors. He didn't visit his daughters. He wasn't the one there to tell them that their mother passed. He wasn't the one there to comfort them as they cry. No, what he did was use his duties as an excuse. He abused his power to get Rokku to tell them what happened that night because they deserved to know. To feel the pain he feels, the ugly thing in his head whispered. He didn't dare to visit his daughters.

Asakari attended every meeting, concerning the break in and security and the repercussions. He accepted the condolences and planned the funeral. He must've looked hideous, with his fake smile tight on his face. He didn't visit his daughters. He left them alone, to grief on their own.

He abandoned them. Asakari was a coward because the moment the meetings were over, and everyone kept to themselves to grief, he holed himself in the library again. The moment he had no more duties to attend to, he hid himself because he was ugly in this state. He didn't want anyone to see him like this. His heart ached and the tremors in his hands won't stop. He was a coward because he abandoned his children. He didn't visit his daughters because he was afraid. He was afraid that they'd tell him why he didn't protect their mother. They would ask him why he wasn't capable of keeping her safe. He didn't deserve his title, his village, his people, his family.

His grief blinded him and it escaped him how his daughters needed him. It escaped him how they needed someone to pick them up, to tell them they weren't alone, to tell that he was still there. Will it even matter? So what if he's there, he's weak weak weak couldn't even keep his love safe

When the horizon swallowed the sun to let the moon breathe Asakari was still in his library, holding his last bottle of sake. It was a mess. Papers were strewn about and broken ceramic that stenched of alcohol littered near the walls. Kohana would kill him if she saw this. She didn't want to marry a pig. A chuckle escaped him and it turned into a sob because Kami it was real. Everything was real and he lost his wife, his love, the mother of his children. Why wasn't it him?

He was beginning to sober up and a glance around the room, made Asakari realized how lonely he was amdist his books. He wanted to be with his daughters, thank Kami they're okay, they're alive, they didn't leave him. He wanted to march out the hall and head straight for them but actually stepping out and feeling the cold air bite his skin made him realize if he even had the right to. The moon was bright and Asakari hated it. He hated how it dimly lit up his path, with his feet moving one in front of the other to a room he dreaded visiting. He didn't deserve his daughters.

The sight of pink hair in front of those damn doors made Asakari quicken his steps, before his daughter could open those doors. Before his daughter could see the horrible scene that's been replaying over and over in his mind. Who was he kidding? His people had already cleaned up the scene, the futons were pristine and white and new. The dirty tatami mats were cleaned and replaced, the stench was aired out the window. Seals were improved and security tightened. He just didn't want to see it, to see it and remember how weak he had been.

"Sweetie," Asakari winced at the tightness in his throat and how his voice came croaky. This daughter of his was a perceptive little rabbit, she knew things he wished she didn't. "what's wrong?" He wanted to strangle himself. There were so many things wrong right now. His child had been waiting for him to man up. Waiting for him to visit them and got sick of it so she had to go to him. He made his child wait because he was too much of a coward to face them. The bleary green eyes staring at him made him feel small, but when she raised her arms Asakari didn't hesitate to sweep her up and hug her close to him. She was alive. She was okay. Breathe, Asakari.

"Papa," Asakari relished how his daughter called him, how it made him feel needed. "I had a nightmare." He didn't speak after that, he couldn't, his voice won't come out. So he hugged her close, burying his head in his baby girl's hair. He wished Sakura was smart enough, old enough kami she's five, to know that he was comforting her. Ah, he needed to say something. He needed to be in control, to be strong. His daughter was shivering and even with his own body heat warming her it didn't seem to stop any time soon. He needed to say something.

"You can sleep with me, blossom." It was amazing how calm his voice came out, when his heart felt like collapsing itself. Sakura nodded against the crook of his neck. Asakari needed to open the doors, and he steeled himself. 'Don't be afraid.' He heard somewhere in his mind in an achingly familiar voice he grew to love. A familiar voice he won't ever hear again, except in his daughters' laughters or songs. 'Don't go into shock and just open the damn door!' Asakari screamed at himself, his chakra blared.

The shoji doors slid open effortlessly without his hands, the floor boards beneathe his feet glowing dim blue with chakra. The seals he boasted about made him feel sick. There, inside the cold room, a large futon was neatly spread in the middle of the room. Red and golden, yet as immaculate as ever. His daughter was quiet, unnervingly more than usual but he should've expected that. Asakari moved to lay his baby girl in the middle of it and this child of his was always obedient, always loving, always understanding. He moved behind the room divider to change and catch his breath. Strong, he needed to be strong. 'And gentle. Strong and gentle, my love.'

"Mito-chan?..." Asakari flinched at his daughter's voice, hoarse and tired. He should go and get his other child. He should call Rokku and tell him to bring her here but Asakari didn't want to see Mito, his other precious child. 'She has her mother's eyes, her mother's fire.' Asakari couldn't handle seeing his late wife's eyes in his child. Weak weak. Sakura, Asakari could handle. She had his mother's eyes, green as the forests outside their home. She was a sweet and quiet child. She reminded Asakari of himself, docile and peaceful. Mito, however, tended to be too blunt and too rough around the edges and Asakari knew she got it from her grandfather, his father the previous clan head. She's just a child. She needs you too.

Asakari wouldn't be surprised if his red head child barraged him with questions and stabbed him with accusations. He just couldn't handle it right now. In hindsight, he got too used to Kohana's gentle kindness, her quiet yet strong attitude. He got too used to his pink haired child, meek and quiet and oh so lovable. He forgot his family tend to produce headstrong red heads with mouths that could get them killed. It was a sharp jab to his already bleeding heart, how could he do this? Sometimes, Asakari feared his own child. It was frustratingly easy for him to see the similarities of his father to his precious Mito, but she wasn't his father. Mito wasn't callous, wasn't heartless. Mito needed him too.

"She's with Rokku, right?" His baby nodded at that, and Asakari settled down on the futon. His heart was in his throat. His daughter immediately went to snuggle against him, and normally Asakari would be amused with how quick she was on her feet when it came to hugs and cuddles but when it came to training she didn't care to exert effort. He made sure to cover them both with the blankets. Nights were undoubtedly cold this year.

"We should let her sleep. Next time she could sleep with us."

"Oh..."

No more words were uttered that night and Asakari suffocated in the silence. He didn't know if his daughter knew this, knew he felt defeated and shattered, but when Sakura hummed beside him a tune he knew well, a tune he kept snuggled in his chest, Asakari let himself tremble. He hugged his daughter close, and the sobs spilled out of him like water from a cracked cup. Gone gone gone, Kohana was gone but it'll be okay, his daughters were here

Won't you come with me?

Where the oceans meet the sky

We'll be safe and free

As we sing this lullaby

Rokku kept his eyes trained on the red head beside him, its been a three days since the funeral of Kohona-sama and a two weeks since Asakari-sama finally comforted his other child. Rokku could admit, it was his fault for letting Sakura walk to her father's room. It was his fault he decided to shadow her while Tataka kept an eye on Mito. Rokku saw how fragmented his clan head was when Asakari finally emerged from the god forsaken library. It made him freeze on his hidden spot when dark violet eyes flickered towards him before focusing on his pink haired child. Rokku forgot that though broken, his clan head was to be feared. There was a reason why he, the second child, became head instead of the first. Rokku disappeared after that, back to his brother and Mito.

He waited for the clan head to call him that night. He waited for his clan head to retrieve his other child. Seconds turned into minutes, and minutes turned into hours. Rokku was enraged. He was tempted to storm into that damn room and punch Asakari for leaving his other child alone. Tataka kept silent about it and Rokku didn't expect less from his older brother. His older brother knew the feeling of favouritism well, as well as the taste of cactus water. Meaning his brother didn't know shit, what with his gentle, oblivious attitude. Eventually morning came and so did the father-daughter duo. Rokku burned at how divided the sisters looked. Mito was quick to jump into her father's arms and Sakura watched idly at her father's side.

Mito cried. Akasari comforted her like he should've done from the start and it kept Rokku's anger at bay. Asakari was hurt. That's why he took so long, Rokku reasoned with himself. Asakari loved the sisters equally, Rokku said to himeslf. Unlike his own father, who was blatantly obvious with his favouritism among the three- now two of them siblings. Mito sobbed in her father's arms and Asakari hugged her close, humming a tune Rokku was familiar to like all Uzumaki children.

"Look Rokku-nii!" Brought out from his inner musing, Rokku looked at the flower crown his princess all but shoved in his face.

"Its beautiful, Mito-hime."

And as the red head beam at him, Rokku could confess to himself that Mito was his favourite.

"I made it for Sakura-chan!" 'Ah.' Rokku thought to himself, its great that this sisters were close. Not unlike his brothers- brother and himself, but this pair of sisters were different. Their bond was formed with the sheer trust they in one another, the love for one another. Rokku could still remember the taste of bitter copper in his mouth, could still feel the blade slide deep in his gut in the dead of the night.

Rokku recalled to that scene, when Mito first heard their mother was dead and wailed her eyes out, Sakura sat there beside her red haired sister like a stone statue. Unreadable and unfeeling. Now that he was thinking about, Rokku didn't like how Sakura reacted. It was strange. It was only when Mito called Sakura did the pinkette return to the world and weeped along with them.

Rokku smiled. "That's great, Mito-hime. I'm sure Sakura-hime will love it."

When Mito grinned back at him and bounced to her pink haired sister, who was feeding the koi in the pond, to plop the flower crown on Sakura's head, Rokku's heart was cleansed at the sight. 'They'll be okay. As long as they're together, they'll be fine.'

But when the flower bloomed so beautifully, so unnaturally, around the children Rokku grabbed Mito and took her a distance away from the pinkette. He ignored the red head's surprised and indignant shout. The splash made him turn around just in time to see the other twin fall and Rokku cursed. He should have grabbed them both.

Sakura was happy when Mito urged her to play in the garden. It was a welcome distraction from the pitying gazes directed at them after the funeral.

After eating breakfast with their father, they went to study esteemed sealing techniques of their clans. After the their sealing class, they went to eat lunch by themselves with Rokku supervising their every move. Eventually, Mito corralled the older red haired male to eat with them and tell them ninja stories. Rokku crumbled at Mito's puppy eyes.

When they finally arrived to the gardens of the inner court, Sakura laughed at Mito's squeal at the pretty flowers. There were a lot of them, strategically planted to display their beauty to their full potential. All the while clearly pointing whose garden this was by the swirl patterns strewn about with the gold and red flowers overwhelming the others.

Sakura enjoyed the peaceful atmosphere and she literally had to beg one of the caretakers of the garden to let her feed the koi fish in the pond. She promised them she wouldn't fall in. She mastered the puppy eyes, she learned it from the best Naruto, and obviously won. So with a bag of fish feed, Sakura situated herself near the pond's edge of stones. Mito bounced all over the place, gathering flowers here and there that were to her liking. Sakura was amused at the pained faces of the caretakers.

While tossing the feed to the water, Sakura glanced behind her to see Rokku sat down beside Mito while Mito hummed and knit flowers together. The scene made her heart ache. Ino. Sakura became stuck then, with her hand retracting to her side. She felt the wind tussle her hair and the grass beneathe her feet; it transported her to another time.

"Hey!" Her face was wet and Sakura knew she'd been crying. They were in the fields at the back of the academy. The grass were dancing with the wind and the sky was clear and blue. Pink invaded her vision and Sakura looked at the flower before taking in the blonde who thrusted them in her face.

"For you! They're cosmos and I think they really suit you!"

"Uh- Thank- Thank you?"

The sound of her stuttering made her inwardly flinch. Surely this girl wouldn't want to be her friend, not when she was so weak and such a cry baby. It didn't matter that this person saved her from Ami and her other bullies, it could've been a spur in the moment thing. 'She might've even regretted it.' Sakura thought bitterly to herself, looking down at the grass. How could a weed befriend a flower?

For a quiet moment, Sakura thought she had been right and the blonde had left her but then she felt someone sit beside her. She stole a glance and saw the blue eyed girl weave the flowers together. Sakura was hit with a pang of jealousy before it was squashed by her insecurity. She didn't know how to do that, how to make the flowers dance around each other and embrace one another.

"Do you speak flowers?"

Sakura blinked at that, flowers had a language? She didn't know that, and she prided herself for being knowledgeable about a lot of things. Another thing that hit her already bruised ego.

"...No."

The girl laughed at her and Sakura flushed red at the sound but it didn't sound depreciating, unlike the usual laughs thrown at her. It made her feel warm in fact. "No wonder you didn't understand, but that's okay! I can teach you."

The blonde smiled at her and it made Sakura smile back before she realized it. She turned around last minute, hoping the blonde didn't see her 'ugly' smile. "See, cosmos represent beauty and you're really pretty when you smile like that. It also means harmony, modesty, peace- you know," She waved the finished crown of cosmos around. "-balance and I think you need more of that in your life. What's your name by the way?"

"Sa- Sakura. Haruno Sakura."

A beat of silence.

"No way!" The blonde looked at her, incredulous written on her face, before bursting into giggles. It made Sakura laugh too. "You were a flower after all! My name is Yamanaka Ino."

With that, Ino placed the crown of cosmos on her head and she grinned at her work. She looked proud and Sakura didn't know what to do so she just sat there.

"You know another thing cosmos say?"

"What?"

"They say: See, life is indeed beautiful."

Something dropped on her head and Sakura forgot how to breathe. Turning around to see Mito smiling but it overlapped with a girl with blue eyes and blonde hair. Her heart swelled at the sight then it came crashing down. Ino wasn't here. Her friend, her best girl friend died. They went to different places. Energy surged her veins and Sakura hissed at the burn she felt, before red invaded her vision. She was so shocked that she fell back into the pond just as Rokku transported Mito away from her.

Sakura didn't know how to swim.

Better yet she knew how but she couldn't do it. Her arms were to short, her legs to wobbly. She did a stupid thing trying to breathe when she hit the water. It invaded her lungs and she was drowning so she just let her energy flow and flow and she was able to grab something then Sakura pulled. Each pull she did brought her closer to the surface and her body was heavy with the soaked kimono. When relief entered her mind, she forgot to let her chakra flow and she was sinking again and it reminded her to let her chakra flow.

She was standing on the water.

Rokku was standing on the edge, the move to grab her paused and he looked like he was gaping. Something battled behind his grey eyes but Sakura didn't understand what it was. Something must've won because Rokku stepped quickly on the water and lifted her like a princess to place her on the grassy ground she was originally at. She would've stayed on her place on the ground if only Rokku didn't scare her by jumping out of nowhere. Mito, worry etched on her face, came running towards them. She fussed at Sakura's wet clothes before Rokku's unsurprisingly serious voice cut the atmosphere.

"Under no circumstances will you do this again, am I clear?"

"Do what, Rokku-nii?" Sakura was actually confused, water walking? Well... she was only five but as far as she knew clan children were expected to has higher achievements. Especially clan heirs. Remember, stress lines and pinwheel eyes. Water walking was supposed to be simple to clan children... or was it? Sakura never had problems with her chakra control before so this wasn't a big deal.

"This." Rokku gestured around them at the bright pink and purple flowers that were out of place in their garden. Sakura blinked. Did she do this? Looking at her previous spot, underneath her feet, Sakura found too many cosmos that she was pretty sure weren't there before. The relief she felt at the sight didn't help her.

"Asakari-sama-" Asakari glanced at his nephew when he paused, Rokku looked older than he should be. War does that to children. "-was Kohana-sama a Senju?"

Silence entered the room like a welcomed guest.

"What made you ask that?" Asakari didn't like how Rokku's fists clench at his side.

"Mito-hime and Sakura-hime decided to play in the gardens this afternoon. It was when Mito-hime gave Sakura-hime a flower crown and I-" Grey eyes blinked, as if recalling a memory. "-I don't know why but Sakura-hime's chakra burst for a brief moment and I was able to only grab Mito-hime. When I turned to check Sakura-hime, she fell in the pond but she was able to swim up and water walk. She sank back at first but she was able to stand on the water, almost effortlessly." Rokku glanced at him, as if double-checking to see if Asakari was really listening. The boy flinched at his pointed look, obviously seeing how pissed he was to learn that his other daughter took a dip in the pond.

"Rest assured, she was uninjured. It will not happen again." Asakari nodded at that, mistakes are inevitable. Maybe he should get a more experienced shinobi to guard his daughters. 'But they already like Rokku, especially Mito.'

"Flowers popped up everywhere, Akasari-sama. I don't know how. I was able to clean it up with Mito-hime and Sakura-hime's help. One of the gardener's saw but she promised not to say anything." The red head in front of him began to fidget once he finished. If Rokku wasn't there, Asakari would've banged his head on his desk at the information. His daughter able to grow flowers? Cute, but also dangerous. Only one clan boasted about having the ability to sway nature to their side, and it wasn't them.

'This day just won't end.' The clan head thought to himself, eyeing the papers on his desk. He didn't know if his wife was a Senju. She was a civilian, child of a wealthy merchant family. A family of seafarers. Their marriage was an arranged one but they grew to love each other. Piece by piece. If she was a Senju, this makes things even more complicated than it already is. He had more questions than answers and it irritated him. The moment the seafaring clan returned to Uzushiogakure shores without his wife by his side to greet them, Asakari might as well be pierced with a harpoon by the clan head himself. The Uzumaki Elders were of no help either. In fact they're really a pain to his ass. They were furious, to have no heir to the clan was seen as an outrage, especially now that the Matriarch was dead. Did those old bags forget their roots? They used to be matriarchal. So no, Asakari didn't care. His daughters were lovely. Both of them were so adorable trying to act strong and they have the potential to achieve that strength they wish to portray.

They would be his legacy. Heiresses to the Uzumaki Clan.

He's glad Rokku had enough intelligence to bring this to him discreetly, in the privacy of his personal library. The seals he created placed up and about removed the wall's ears and eyes. Asakari sighed and he regretted it when Rokku tense, obviously uncomfortable. The question 'What do we do?' hangs in the air and Asakari had to answer it.

"Thank you for your loyalty and thoughtfulness, Rokku-kun. This is-" Flowers, his adorable daughter could make flowers and isn't that just lovely? "-a difficult problem. Thank you for keeping it under wraps. I trust that nothing comes out of this room?" The boy nodded and Asakari appreciated how his grey eyes were as fierce as the maelstroms that visited their village.

"To answer your first question, the answer is I don't know. As far as I have known Kohana has been a civilian, an esteemed daughter of a wealthy merchant clan. You know this story, yes?" 'The story of my life and my love.' Hesitation and confusion was an awful mix of emotions that, as far as Asakari could see, plagued Rokku at that moment. All he could do was nod dumbly and Asakari didn't have the heart to bully the kid. The entire village knew his love life, no thanks to the mouths of their servants and guards.

"Yes. Well, if what you say is true then we have three assumptions as of now. Firstly," Asakari grabbed a blank scroll and his brush. "-we could assume that this was just a one time thing and it will never occur again to give our minds peace." Asakari looked pointedly at Rokku's growing stress lines. "Secondly, my wife may have Senju blood all along and my precious baby has magic powers that might bring her to the battlefield. Which will absolutely not happen while I still breathe. Thirdly, this may not even be related to the Senju's famous Mokuton. It could be something else, something we don't know yet. What do you think, Rokku-kun?"

Rokku blinked slowly at him, as if not expecting the clan head, the leader the best of their clan, to ask him of his opinion. Asakari gave the boy time to think but he did not let up his gaze, this child better be honest with him.

"I think Sakura-hime should study chakra-control."

Hello,

I have no excuses. I know, its really different from the original plot. But I like this better. What are your thoughts on this? Too boring? Action will come soon. What do you guys think will happen?

Leave a review and tell me what you guys think! Any ideas you guys give help me some way in my stories. I'm really thankful to have such precious readers.