Inner Sakura talking

Normal Sakura thinking

There were many things Sakura had seen in her rather short life. She was a kunoichi after all. Strange was just another Tuesday for her. Her viridian eyes wandered over the endless sea of ancient trees again, their lush crowns swaying softly in the pleasant afternoon breeze.

We're so screwed.

She'd thought the days where her strong-minded inner self reared its head long gone but apparently, her current predicament warranted a sudden reappearance. The tree bark splintered under her crushing grip.

"This simply cannot be." Her voice cut through the silence like a knife.

She'd just turned around to close the front door of her parents' house when she suddenly found herself standing in the middle of a small clearing. There wasn't even a trace of chakra besides her own that she could trace, no enemy shinobi that could've ambushed her. One second she'd been in Konoha and the next she wasn't.

While her mind was trying to come up with an explanation, she'd jumped into the branches of the nearest tree in hopes of getting a clue where she was.

"Kai." Once again, her buzzing chakra flooded her system in search of some kind of genjutsu.

Not even the Sharingan could replicate reality to a point where a somewhat competent medic-nin couldn't detect it. As long as chakra was involved Sakura was able to uncover any genjutsu she might've been put under, even if at first, she wasn't able to break it.

So, if this is real, then where the hell are we? The flora surrounding her was native to fire country, that much she could tell. Konoha should lay hidden behind the tall trees around her, but no matter how high she climbed, Sakura couldn't spot the familiar walls of her home. A village doesn't just vanish in the blink of an eye. Inner reasoned.

Sakura took off, the heavy feeling in her chest getting worse with every mile she crossed. When the sun began to set, she'd worked herself into a proper frenzy, her thoughts erratically jumping from one possible scenario to another. "I've been running for hours, why isn't there any sign of the village yet?"

Even though she'd recently started her apprenticeship under Tsunade, her stamina was still lacking. It was enough to pass the chunin exams right after she'd celebrated her thirteenth birthday but after a whole day of jumping around an unfamiliar forest, she'd reached her limit. She felt a few beads of sweat running down her back and cringed at the thought of how sweaty she must've looked.

With Sasuke gone, there wasn't a reason for her to dress up every morning or put on her favourite sparkling lip balm. It had taken two weeks of her shishou's insane training regime for Sakura to drag herself into the closest shinobi store and swap her beloved qipao dress for something more durable. Until she was able to dodge the literal boulders her crazy Hokage threw at her she wouldn't waste her time repairing and scrubbing colourful fabrics. Her entire wardrobe now consisted of muted colours and her hospital uniform, much to the dismay of her mother.

"Right, this isn't working. I need to find water, then rest, Shishou will have noticed my absence by now." Her feet touched the mossy ground again.

With her chakra dangerously low she thought it wasn't safe to continue and turned to look for any signs of water nearby. "They'll send someone. Everything will be alright; I just need to keep calm and find some shelter."

After aimlessly wandering around for what must've been an hour judging by the position of the sun, the girl finally heard the familiar burble of a nearby stream and sprinted towards the welcome noise. Dropping to her knees she gingerly re-filled her empty flask before splashing some cooling water on to her face, eager to wash off the sweat and dirt that was clinging to her entire body. What now?

Contemplating her inner's question Sakura emptied her pockets and the small hip-pouch Tsunade had gifted her for her birthday. "As a doctor, you should always carry the essentials with you wherever you go Sakura."

Grateful for her teacher's foresight, she sorted through the small pile of supplies in front of her. It was a rather pitiful sight. Well, let's hope they find you fast, 'cause this won't last us more than a few days. Tops. Tuning out the sarcastic voice inside of her head, Sakura chewed on one of her three remaining ration bars.

"Five Kunai, ten paper bombs, some wire and a fully stocked first-aid kit." Noticing the dull edges of her only means of protection until Konoha found her, she dug around the pile in search of her sharpening tools before setting to work.

You didn't even bring one supply scroll with you. No shelter, no sleeping bag. What are we gonna do outer? Tears were burning behind her eyes, but Sakura had promised herself to never be weak again, so she bit her chapped lips until she was finished with her task, the slight sting distracting her from the growing dread that was forming in her stomach.

"It's warm enough to stay in the open for one night after I get some food I'll get up in the trees and sleep there." She explained to herself, suddenly very grateful for the other presence in her mind. If she'd been completely alone with her thoughts, she'd have panicked by now.

Kami, this isn't a field trip, we might be in enemy territory. What if someone finds us? Inner argued, worry evident in her high-pitched voice.

"It's most certainly safer up there, than down here. I'll lay some traps and we'll be fine. It's not as if you have a better idea!" Sakura was exhausted and scared; she didn't need inner to remind her of all the awful things that could happen if she wasn't careful.

She repacked her meagre supplies and stood. By now the stars were visible in the rapidly darkening sky, reminding her that she'd to get food fast if she didn't want to stumble around in the dark. A fire would only attract unwanted attention, so she hastily began her search for some roots and berries before making herself comfortable in the highest tree she could find.

She attached some ninja-wire to the branches closest to her and set up a trap just in case someone did stumble upon her hideout. You sure that's enough? Inner sceptically eyed the simple contraception.

"I'm exhausted. My body needs to rest, or I won't have enough chakra to continue my search tomorrow." Sakura argued, a yawn interrupting her speech mid-sentence. Before the voice inside of her head could reply she'd already drifted off into blissful unawareness.

-ake up. Sakura! Wake up! Said girl shot up from her uncomfortable resting place, nearly losing her balance in the process. It was inner who sent chakra into her flaying limbs before she could slip off the branch. Thank Kami, we need to leave. Now.

Sakura's mind was trying to catch up with the adrenalin that was coursing through her veins. Subconsciously grabbing her things, the young kunoichi launched herself into the next tree, just as the trap she'd set just hours before was triggered. Damn it. The explosion that followed shook off the last remainders of sleep in Sakura's mind and she doubled her speed to get away from whoever had set off her trap.

"Did they see us leave?" She whispered, praying that inner had been more aware of their surroundings than herself.

No. I don't think so. Sakura pressed her lips together, "You don't think so?"

Hey, we share the same body. I see what you see, hear what you hear. Inner sounded just as frustrated as her outer counterpart was feeling at that moment. "But how come you woke me up then? I didn't sense anybody?"

Inner rolled her eyes. Duh. You were asleep, whereas I kept watching so that we don't get killed. Turning her head, Sakura tried to make out any pursuers. She channelled some chakra into her eyes, the dark forest around her instantly becoming more vivid. It was a neat little trick she'd learned from Shizune after having to spend another day in the dimly lit archives of the Hokage tower. She'd warned her not to keep it up for too long, or otherwise, she'd be suffering from sensory overload once she stepped into normal daylight again, but that wasn't something Sakura was currently worried about.

"I don't see anyone." Pushing herself off another branch, she continued her mad dash through the thick foliage. What if they were from Konoha? As long as she didn't know where she was or what was happening, Sakura didn't want to risk getting caught. If they were truly from Konoha, they'd recognise the clues she's left behind and act accordingly. Their village didn't have a secret code for nothing. She'd carved the sign for help into several trees already and once daylight broke, she'd check if someone had replied.

Once she was certain that she was in the clear, Sakura crumbled to her knees, the adrenalin that had kept her up slowly being replaced by fatigue. The sky was turning crimson already and the forest around her came to life once again. Birds were greeting the new morning, their loud chirping keeping the exhausted girl from falling asleep right on the grassy ground.

It became increasingly harder for her to keep calm, her shinobi training clashing with the raising desperation at her current situation. She was scared and hungry and had just narrowly avoided getting killed by Kami knows what.

"I have to go back and check if they left a reply to my code." She murmured, her chest still heaving.

Are you insane? We just ran for hours to get away from there and now you want to go back?

"Whoever found us is either dead or long gone by now. They'd have no reason to stay." The mere thought of returning made her stomach churn but the need to get home was stronger than any fear she felt.

She closed her eyes for a second in an attempt to calm down. She'd managed to survive on her own until this point, she'd not fail now. "This is like any other mission. Just without Sensei." Sakura argued with herself, slowly getting her breathing under control again. She was a kunoichi, the fifth Hokage's apprentice. She could do this.

The charred barks were the first sign that she was getting close to the stream she'd spent the night at. Two of her symbols had been destroyed by the explosion of her trap, and one hadn't been touched as far as she could tell. That left only the one a few hundred metres south from her makeshift camp. Seems like we caught them by surprise. Inner's statement pulled Sakura away from her rising anxiety.

She spotted the first of the three bodies right next to the tree she'd slept in. Two others seemed to have been caught by the blast. She nearly threw up at the sight of the mangled corpse that had been impaled on one of the sharp branches. Breathing through her mouth she tried to ignore the stench of blood and made her way towards the first body. She couldn't afford to leave behind anything valuable in her current situation.

This is so much more disgusting than the bodies in the morgue. She agreed with inner. As a medic-nin in training, she'd seen many gruesome injuries and had her fair share of dead people. But she'd never killed someone herself. The realisation that this was her first kill hit her like a ton of bricks and she suddenly felt bile rising up her throat.

"It's okay. I'm a shinobi. That's what we do. It's fine." She was rambling, but if she stopped talking, she was certain she'd lose her meagre breakfast. She crouched down next to the first body, trying to avoid looking into what was left of the person's face. He wore clothes that were entirely unfamiliar to her. Some sort of grey armour was covering his shoulders and torso, below that he wore simple black clothes. Pressing her lips into a thin line Sakura began rummaging through his pockets, struggling to keep her composure.

"I'm the Hokage's apprentice, a little blood doesn't bother me." Putting the few shurikens and some sort of smoke bomb she'd found on the body into her pouch she made her way towards the second corpse on the ground. She didn't know if she could stomach going through the third man's belongings, the one that was dangling a few metres above her head.

Just as she was about to pull him over, a tanto suddenly materialised under her chin. Shi- Inner's cursing was cut off by the sudden pain that shot up from her throat. In her panic, she'd moved enough for the razor-sharp blade to draw blood.

"What is a little girl doing in our territory?" Every reflex she'd acquired over her years of training suddenly kicked into gear and faster than she'd ever moved, Sakura flickered away. Reappearing just behind her sudden company she subconsciously moved her hands to her throat and started healing the superficial cut.

"What the hell!" The man with the tanto exclaimed, before reappearing right in front of her. He's fast!

Narrowly escaping his outstretched hand, Sakura backflipped into one of the trees behind her. Quickly scouting the area, she counted four men before throwing another of her paper bombs right at their feet. Cha!

"Take that, you big dummies!" Sharply turning on her heels, Sakura once again ran from the smoking clearing, this time with at least three pursuers right behind her. Her chakra was not nearly fully replenished and if she didn't think of something fast, they'd catch her in no time.

Pulling on her last reserves, Sakura threw caution in the wind and channelled as much chakra as she could into her legs. Her sudden increase in speed didn't only surprise herself, judging by the cursing that was coming from behind her. We cannot hold this speed for much longer. You have to shake them off now!

Easier said than done Sakura thought to herself as she took another sharp turn to her left. In the blink of an eye, a man appeared right in front of her.

"Ooof." Crashing right into his broad chest, Sakura felt his arms locking around her midsection before she was pulled downwards at a speed that gave her vertigo.

"Izuna-sama are you alright?" The three other men landed next to the stranger that was still holding her.

"Let go of me!" She shrieked and tried to substitute herself with another branch.

"Ah, Ah, Ah," She was grabbed out of the air by the back of her shirt. "We're not doing that again."

Sakura had never been so scared in her life. Not when they faced down Zabuza, nor when Orochimaru attacked them in the forest of death. Hot tears rolled down her cheeks, as she realised that she'd die in that damned forest. What would her parents do once Konoha found her body? She didn't even want to begin to think about her shishou.

"P-please let me go, I didn't kill your friends on purpose." Because why else would they follow her, if not for killing their teammates.

"Friends?" One of the men asked, confusion clearly written over his smooth features.

"I think she's talking about the Senju bastards back at the clearing." His companion muttered, his dark eyes scanning her form for any threats.

Sakura had stopped listening at the mention of the same name that Tsunade-sama carried. Senju as in the extinct Senju clan?! Inner screeched when it dawned on her what might've happened. You cannot be serious right now outer. Sakura wasn't stupid. Far from it. She knew how preposterous it sounded. But she was also able to navigate the night sky. It was the same as it had been in Konoha. Exactly the same. By all means, she should have been standing in a crowded street instead of a forest when she'd first arrived here.

"Hey, shh we won't hurt you, kid. Just tell us what happened." Sakura suddenly remembered that she was still being held captive by one of her pursuers.

"I- I just…" She trailed off; her gaze unfocused. Her mind was going into overdrive as she continued to contemplate her situation, unaware of the frowning faces surrounding her.

"She's clearly been trained, but I cannot think of a clan with such… distinct features." The man that had first spoken pointed at her cherry-coloured hair.

"Killing three full-grown men is not an easy feat, especially if they were Senju." They continued arguing over her head, while the girl in their leader's arms continued to hyperventilate.

"Izuna-sama what do you propose?" Sakura felt the man holding her take a deep breath before she was turned around by her shoulders and found herself face to face with her capturer.

"Sasuke?!" Her heart skipped a beat at the painfully familiar features of the young man in front of her.

"Nope. It's Izuna, kid." At her dumbfounded expression, he ruffled her hair.

"Uchiha Izuna. Now, can you tell me your name?" Sakura blanched as his words registered in her mind. We're so screwed. "Come on, I won't bite." His eyes found her own and Sakura started crying again. The sudden dread that was engulfing her mind manifesting itself in pitiful wails.

"Kami, do I look that bad?" The young Uchiha joked and earned himself a few chuckles from his team.

"Please, I just wanna go home." Sakura hiccupped; her arms crossed protectively in front of her chest. She had barely any chakra left and the realisation that she might be stuck in the past only heightened her despair. She might've been a kunoichi, but the past hours had taken a toll on the young girl's mind.

"Where's your home? Did those Senju bastards take you away?" At his question, Sakura only cried harder. The academy hadn't prepared her for a situation like this. How was she supposed to deal with people that should've been long dead by now?

"Alright, that's it. You're coming with us for now." The Sasuke lookalike declared.

"Izuna-sama, is that wise?" One of the other men spoke up.

"She's a little girl."

"A little girl that slaughtered three trained shinobi before looting their corpses." The grumpy man that had commented on her peculiar hair colour argued.

"She said it was an accident."

"How do you accidentally blow someone up?" They all looked so much like the members of the Uchiha clan in her time before the massacre, that Sakura had no doubt about their identities.

"They triggered my trap, I was just trying to get some rest." She suddenly spoke up, gathering all the courage that was left in her. They hadn't killed her yet, so maybe she was safe for now.

"Ah, so the cute cherry blossom does speak. Are you feeling better? My little brother always used to feel much happier after some crying." Sas- Izuna smiled down at her from his crouched position.

Blushing, Sakura averted her gaze. "I really don't want any trouble."

"Of course, you don't. We must've scared you huh. Sorry about that, you can never be too careful." His eyes wandered over her unblemished throat. "Did your clan teach you how to heal yourself?"

Sakura decided that it was best to tell as little as possible about herself. "Something like that. Can I go now? I promise to get off your land as soon as possible."

"And where would you go? There's no village even remotely close to us," One of the men behind her argued, causing Sakura to whirl around with a Kunai ready to throw. She'd nearly forgotten about her other company in the presence of Izuna. The similarities to her former teammate were uncanny. He was older, yes, but apart from that? Sakura gulped.

"Sheesh, where do you hide all those knives kid?" Her kunai was suddenly gone from her sweaty palm and she turned around to watch the older Uchiha inspecting her weapon. "That's some excellent craftmanship, very sharp too." He noted, before putting it into his own pouch.

"Hey!" Before she could dart away, she was suddenly pulled up by her ankle. Izuna shook the incredulous girl up and down a few times, the entire group watching as the rest of her weapons and paper bombs fell out of her pockets.

"Where did you get these?" Izuna set her down again, picking up one of her tags in the process.

"I made them?" Her answer sounded more like a question.

"Lying is unbecoming for little girls." Izuna drawled.

Sakura put her hands on her hips, her tears long forgotten. "I'm not a liar! It's not as if it's hard." If there was one thing Sakura hated, it was being underestimated. She wasn't the same weak girl she'd been when she was assigned to Team 7. She was the Godaime's only apprentice for Kami's sake.

"Only the Uzumaki know how to draw such powerful seals, are you one of them?" Izuna's teammate asked her, suddenly sounding much more hostile than he was before.

"What? No. My parents are civilians." She blurted out before she could stop herself. So much for keeping to ourselves.

Izuna eyed her for a few seconds. "Who taught you to fight then?"

The group eyed her curious forehead protector, the insignia on it, entirely unfamiliar to the Uchiha.

"Why should I tell you? Just let me go, please." She pleaded, the exhaustion from the previous night catching up with her.

"I say we kill her, better safe than sorry." The oldest man in the group suggested.

"We've already established that we won't do that. She's scared and alone, we'll take her to our camp for now." Izuna countered, leaving no room for arguments.

"Madara-sama won't be happy." Madara?! There was only one Uchiha Sakura could think of that carried this name. Her heart plummeted. There was no way in hell, she'd go with them. She needed to find a way home!

"I'll take care of my brother Taka, don't forget who you're addressing right now." Izuna's eyes flashed red for a second but long enough for Sakura to recognise the Sharingan. Proving that they were telling the truth.

There was no other possible explanation. She'd really gone back in time.

"Don't look so scared kid. My brother might be a little stern, but I can handle him." Ice-cold fear was clinging to her ribs, making it hard to breathe. She had to get away from these men.

"Don't even think about it, I'll personally drag you back by your ears. This is no place for little girls." Izuna must've noticed her panicked expression because he sighed once, before holding out his hand.

"Come on you must be hungry and tired. If you behave, I'll even share some of my Dango with you." Winking at her incredulous face, Izuna grew tired of waiting and grabbed her left hand.

Sakura shrieked at the sudden movement and instinctively pulled away from the young man.

"No! Get away from me!" She pulled with all her might, but Izuna just continued to drag her after him. Before she could protest, he'd pulled her after him up into the trees and secured her tightly on his back.

"Hey kid, you still haven't told me your name." He turned around, his face mere inches away from her own.

"Sakura." She mumbled into his shoulder, embarrassed by his forwardness. Were all Uchiha in this time so cheerful?

"Good girl, now would you look at me for a second?" Sakura who'd grown up in a village without the famous Uchiha clan didn't even hesitate to look into his dangerous eyes, red clashed with green and suddenly Sakura knew no more.

"Do I want to know?" The foreign voice pulled Sakura from her pleasant dreams.

"I couldn't just leave her there." Izuna's deep voice vibrated through her chest. Still not fully awake, the girl tried to gather her scrambled thoughts.

"My tent. Now." Sakura felt herself being carried through a busy camp. People were chattering around her and somewhere in the distance, she heard the familiar sound of metal hitting metal.

Before she could protest, she was put down on an uncomfortable Futon. Noticing that she was waking up, Izuna smiled at her. "Ah you're awake Sakura-chan, sorry about that, but the location of our camp is a secret." He ruffled her hair again and turned towards the other occupant of the room.

"Did you have to put her in my bed?"

Sakura's eyes wandered towards the tired sounding voice. Once she spotted the intimidating figure at the back of the room she nearly choked on her breath. The tell-tale scarlet armour, that spiky hair. There was no doubt. She was sitting on Uchiha Madara's bed. Inner was balking at her sudden realisation.

"Can't you see she's exhausted? Let her rest." Izuna jumped to her defence, not the least intimidated by the legendary ninja across from him.

The older Uchiha rubbed his face, clearly accustomed to his brother's antics. "Alright. Let's talk about this. Why did you bring a little girl here?" His gaze wandered over Sakura who was frozen to her seat at this point. The oppressing chakra of the two men nearly suffocating her. "She's an outsider, Izuna. And she's too old to be yours."

Spluttering the younger man shook his head. "Madara!"

His brother just rolled his eyes. "It happens all the time, stop being so dramatic, brother."

"We found her during our last patrol. She killed three Senju. Sakura-chan claims it was an accident." Izuna sounded like he didn't believe her.

"And you brought her here because-" Madara drawled.

"Because it would go against my honour to leave a defenceless child alone near the Senju border." Just like Sasuke, the older Uchiha seemed to take great pride in his beliefs.

"Defenceless and a killer, don't hear that every day." Sakura could not believe that one of her village's founders was ridiculing his younger brother in front of her. It felt bizarre.

"She's useful, she can create those powerful Uzumaki Paper bombs and can heal just like the Senju." At Izuna's statement, Madara turned his sharp gaze on her quivering form again. She was aware of how pathetic she must've looked at this moment.

"Prove it." And before she could even make a sound, the older Uchiha was suddenly standing right in front of her, the smell of fire and earth engulfing her senses. Upon closer inspection, Sakura noticed the blood and dirt on his armour. He must've just returned from the battlefield. Oh Kami, this is the warring states era. Inner shrieked, making Sakura in turn panic. She'd learned about the countless gruesome tales from this brutal time in the academy.

"Madara!" Before Izuna could stop his brother he'd already bent down and held out his arm towards the startled child.

"Heal that, and Izuna can keep you." Scared out of her mind, Sakura inspected the still bleeding gash on his tanned forearm. She'd recovered some of her chakra during her involuntary nap and carefully grabbed his large hand. Her pale hands seemed tiny in comparison.

Engrossed in her work, Sakura didn't notice how the older Uchiha's eyes widened at the unfamiliar feeling of her delicate fingers cradling his arm. Izuna stepped behind his brother, curious to see what the young girl was doing.

"If I heal you, I want you to let me go." She spoke, determined to get away from these people as soon as possible. Her hand glowed green, as she began to knit the damaged skin back together just as Tsunade had taught her.

"Don't think you're in a position to make demands, girl. Show some respect." Before Madara could stop himself he lightly swatted the girl's head, eerily reminded of how he'd done the same to their younger siblings when they were still alive.

Izuna shot him a dark look, clearly unhappy with his treatment of their intriguing guest.

"Ow! What was that for?" Sakura complained, suddenly losing her focus. Her chakra flickered blue for a second and she felt Madara tense under her.

"Sorry, sorry. I'm not very good at this yet." Sweat was beginning to gather on her forehead as she concentrated on healing the deep wound. Tsunade-sama would've never allowed her to heal a patient in her current state, but she didn't think she could ask Uchiha Madara to wait until she was feeling ready and live to tell the tale.

"Where did you learn that?" Madara asked after a few minutes of silence.

"Sh. I need to concentrate."

Arching a brow at her scolding words, Madara clenched his fists to keep his calm. "Cheeky brat." He didn't know why he was still allowing this stranger to work on his arm. Maybe because it was the first time in many years that he had seen Izuna look so determined. Or maybe the blood loss was finally getting to him and he was slowly getting delirious.

"There. All done. Do you feel any pain?" Sakura asked in full medic-mode, forgetting for a second just who she was talking to.

"Impressive. Here eat this." Madara couldn't stop himself. He reached behind him and pulled out his last Dango stick that one of the old women from the kitchens had pushed into his hands after his return and held it towards the girl.

Unsure how to react to the intimidating man offering her sweets, Sakura just stared. She'd always imagined the founders of her village to be some sort of gods walking the earth. It was hard to still hold onto that believe as she watched the scowling man sitting in front of her.

"I said eat." He shoved the sticky candy into her trembling hands.

"Ah- Thanks?" She squealed, her eyes quickly shying away from his handsome face.

"She may stay for now," Madara announced much to the relief of his brother. Izuna regarded Sakura with a bright smile before pulling her up from the futon. Uchiha frickin' Madara's futon.

"You did great Sakura-chan. Why don't you live with me for now hm? We have plenty of spare rooms back at the compound."

Sakura would've rather drank her shishou's monthly supply of sake than stay with the Uchiha. "I'd like to leave now. I need to get back home."

"And pray tell where is that mysterious home of yours, child?" Madara drawled from behind her, causing the girl to flinch.

"I- It's a secret. We're very private people." She stuttered, unaware of the glances the brothers exchanged over her head.

"Did you know that my clan can see if someone is lying?" Madara asked her with a very stern gaze.

Sakura sweat-dropped. She'd never heard of the Sharingan being able to do that but who knew what a powerful man like Madara was capable of.

"I'm not lying Uchiha-sama." She was so damn tired. All she wanted was to get home to her parents and forget that any of that ever happened.

"Look at me Sakura." At Madara's demanding tone, she once again made the mistake of looking into an Uchiha's eyes.

"And she's out again. Kami, did nobody ever warn her of our clan's jutsu?" Izuna watched the girl fall back onto his brother's Futon, her bright hair surrounding her peaceful face like a halo.

Madara scoffed. "She's definitely not an Uzumaki or Senju, her chakra signature doesn't match the ones of their clans."

Both brothers watched the sleeping girl for a moment.

"What do you think of her forehead protector? Maybe she's from a small clan in the north?" The people in the south had hair as bright as the sun and dark skin, whereas the people from the east looked like them. That left only north since the Senju hailed from the west.

"Possibly, but why would she be alone?" Madara contemplated.

"Maybe they were ambushed. She looked positively exhausted when we stumbled across her. Digging around some dead man's belongings as if her life depended on it." Izuna hated that innocent children like her had to live like that. She reminded him of the boys his clan had sent to the battlefield like sheep to the slaughter. He'd lost two of his brothers to this senseless fighting.

"Her hands look like those damn noble's. Not a single scar or even callouses." Madara looked towards his brother. "And you're telling me she killed three shinobi?"

Izuna shrugged, "She's obviously a skilled medic. It would've taken our healers at least a week to completely fix your arm, surely, she can heal some rough skin on her own hands."

"Once we return to the compound she can stay with father, I'm sure he'd appreciate the company, and who knows maybe she can heal him too." The Uchiha patriarch had been caught off guard by an enemy's jutsu not too long ago. Now the proud man was confined to the walls of his own home, slowly but surely scaring away even the most loyal servants with his foul mood.

"He'll eat her alive." Izuna looked worried at the prospect of the shy little girl meeting their stern father.

"She'll do just fine. If she can sass me without losing her calm, she can deal with father." Madara shot their young guest a baleful glare. A shiver ran down her exposed arms and the fearsome Uchiha suddenly found himself carefully lifting the girl up before tucking her into his worn sheets.

"Not a word Izuna."

"Oh, admit it, you fell for her adorable face as well." A Kunai whizzed past his head.

"Out with you!" Madara watched his cackling sibling scurry out of the tent, throwing one last glance at the sleeping child.

"See you at dinner brother dearest!"

This is a purely self-indulgent story. I was in some desperate need for some founders x sakura fluff. So here we go xoxo