QN: I know I was vague but she and Kurama will be waking up in the bodies of people who died and taking over. Also, this was 19 pages.

Notes:

Kokoro = Heart mind soul

Junko= Obedient Pure Child

Woldo (literally "moon blade"), was a Korean pole weapon that closely resembled the Chinese guandao (also known as yanyuedao), though proportionally smaller

Ssangdo or Ssanggeom (쌍도; 雙刀; 쌍검: 雙劍) This literally means "Twin Swords." It can vary from twin long swords or twin short swords.

Disclaimer: Naruto characters belong to Kishmoto

Papa was a merchant. He made the best silks. That's what Mama said. He made the finest silk and everybody wanted to buy it. He had to leave on long trips to sell the silk and get new customers. Papa was nice. He would bring candy from far away lands and toys and pretty dresses for Mama and me.

Papa was awesome. He knew how to fight incase bad guys came to try to mug him. They could never beat Papa because he was big and strong. Papa's the best!

And I'm gonna be just like him!

I'm gonna take on the trade! Just like Papa!

I'm gonna be strong too!

And nobody can doubt me, Papa said if I'm strong and work hard, I'll be just like him.

I'm gonna prove that stupid Ji-chan wrong and be a master Trades Lady.

I'm gonna be just like Papa.

Mama was always pretty like a flower. She smelled like them too. And her dresses were always super colorful. But she acted like a statue. She never liked to do anything.

Well, she never liked to do anything fun.

She liked to yell at me. A lot.

But she never did it in front of Papa.

"Junko come here and practice your Calligraphy!" Even though it was perfect.

"Junko! You can't go outside the sun is at its highest!" But it always felt the nicest at noon.

"Junko listen to your tutors!" But everything they said I already knew.

"Junko stop playing with the dirt" It's fun though...

"Junko put your hair up" Ugh!

"Junko you shouldn't ruin your dresses like that!" But I have plenty just like that one.

"Junko don't run like that!"

"Junko don't sit like that!"

I just wanna play. Mama says I can't do that, but my cousins do it all that time. And Papa says it's okay too.

It's my 7th birthday! Papa is supposed to be home to wish me 'Happy Birthday'. But he's not. And even though I don't want to, my aunts and uncles throw a big party. That means I have to dress up in a big dress and wear pinchy shoes. It's dumb.

Papa said he would take me to a training trip for my birthday. He was gonna teach me the Ssanggeom style. I've wanted to learn how to do that style since forever, and I've been practicing with the Woldo.

And Mr. Jang Min-Woo said I was superb. And he doesn't compliment anyone.

Mama makes me dance with a boy from a different family. He said his name is Kim Jae-Chin. He's older than me. But his eyes make something in my head sting.

His eyes are cold, icy cerulean blue. His hair is super dark, but there's a violet tint to it. I don't know what that stinging was but a picture flashed in my head.

A boy with blonde hair and cerulean eyes, the same color. He's happy and sunny.

And there's another boy.

His eyes are like Kim Jae-Chin's, icy.

I stumble because I'm not paying attention. Kim Jae-Chin catches me. I could've caught myself.

The adults make dumb sounds and whisper about an upcoming marriage.

I rolled my eyes. 'They're so weird.'

I turn to look for Mama and she looks disappointed. I'm a perfect dancer. All of the teachers said I was, and Mama was a dancer too. So I shouldn't be messing up.

I don't do that again. I don't mess up again. And I don't look at Kim Jae-Chin's eyes.

I dance with Kim Jae-Chin mostly for the rest of the party. But I dance with a few other boys.

Mama says I can't say no to them because that'll be rude. Mama is also acting really nervous. She keeps rubbing her hands together.

Some of them were nice to dance with but some were hard to dance with. Miss Nansike says I lead when I dance with a partner, and that that's bad.

I don't know why it's bad. Papa leads Mama when they dance.

Besides some of these boys didn't know what they were doing. So, I had to show them.

After the party's over, Mama tells me that Kim Jae-Chin's family is staying with us.

I don't know why Mama looks so worried. But then again… we've never had guests over when Papa isn't home.

Mama doesn't take to me to my room this time. She takes me to her and Papa's room. She locks the doors and windows, puts three crossbars in place to secure the room's door and puts heavy vases in front of it. She helps me wash up. She lets me have one of Papa's sweaters to sleep in.

And when we're in bed, she holds me tight. It almost hurts. But I don't say anything.

Mama's whispering things in her native tongue. I have always loved Mama's beautiful japanese lullabies and poems. It's a language I know… but i don't speak it right.

At Least, I don't think I do. It doesn't sound as natural in my voice as it does when Mama speaks it.

Papa comes home two days after my birthday.

I saw him through the window and Mama had to stop me from running out the room to greet him. She didn't say why I couldn't go to Papa but she said to wait.

So we waited. Mama paced around the room. A lot. She would stop when she noticed my staring and tried not to act nervous. But Mama was not a good liar.

She made me practice calligraphy until I ran out of paper and then made me study the books in Papa's bookshelf.

I tried to pretend I didn't hear the sounds of swords clashing, or the sounds of gurgled chokes. My hearing was better than Mama's because of the hunting trips with Papa. I tried not to flinch when I heard another person die.

We had to stay in the room for another day, until Papa pushed the doors open when the sun was just rising. I was awake the entire time, so was Mama.

Papa rushed in and hugged us tightly. And whispered how much he loved us.

I now knew Papa wasn't a hero like in stories. Heroes didn't smell like blood, like Papa did. They didn't have blood stained clothes. They didn't have a team of trained mercenaries with them when they traveled. They didn't have a wanted page in the bingo book.

My Papa wasn't a good man. And I wasn't stupid.

But Papa is still my Papa.

I've just turned ten and I still see weird dreams and images. I try to avoid Kim Jae Chin as much as possible, which isn't hard but he is expected to marry me.

I'm tall for my age, and strong, my arms have muscles from my training and I have a scar on my upper arm from not being able to block Papa's swipe during a spar.

Mama says I'm beginning to look more and more like Papa. I don't think so, neither Papa or Mama have green eyes.

I've been getting headaches with the dreams and images that flash through my head. And this big fox; it's been hanging around the compound and keeps trying to get inside but no one's been able to catch it, makes them worse. Every time it gets within a 20 foot radius of me I get this skull splitting heat in the back of my head.

Ever since the headaches started, my eye color started changing to green, it gets brighter and brighter in hue too.

Papa's brought doctors in, they all say I'm fine. But no one's eye color just changes.

Papa and I go on our training trips, we drop off Mama at a hotspring resort. We hunt birds mostly. A boar came at us and I shot it between the eyes with an arrow. It was huge!

Papa is teaching me to get used to bloodshed. So I learn how to end things quickly since I don't feel comfortable watching life fade from the eyes of the beasts.

Papa told me about his weapon and opium trade. It been done for three generations by the Jin-ri family. I wasn't named Jin-ri like Papa or his father because Mama insisted on giving me my own name. My last name means 'heart mind soul' and my first name means 'obedient child'. Which is funny because I never listen.

I'm kinda glad I got my own name and not something that's passed down generation to generation. I have my own name and I can't be compared to anyone because of that.

My training gets harder and Papa says he wants to take me on one of his trade jobs but Mama says no.

I'm not all that excited to see what the trade does, but I will inherit my father's position and will be expected to continue the trade.

I'm a better fighter than all the sons of Papa's associates in the trade. They all want to marry me so that they'll inherit the Jin-ri trade, none of them really want me.

Kim Jae Chin is the expected candidate since his father and mine are close. I don't want to marry anyone and don't care for any of them.

I like blades, and want to become more proficient with the meteor hammer. Papa says I shouldn't waste my time and just use my hand to hand combat and swordsmanship skills.

I practice wielding a meteor hammer anyway.

I'm eleven and it's spring, I'm doing routine sparring with Kim Jae-Chin. He's gotten better at blocking my heavy blows. He's older than me, he has height and weight on his side. Unfortunately he isn't that great with a sword, his specialty is ground fighting and aikido. The only way he can win our spars is by knocking me to the ground without a sword, which is pretty hard because I got an iron grip.

An iron grip that I literally just acquired. I didn't train for it. It just happened. Everyone believes this is a sign. I don't no what kind of sign that would be.

I would go to grab a glass or wrap my hands around a pencil and they'd break in my hands when I would barely grip it. Strange things are happening that can't be chalked up to puberty.

I'm thrown out of my musings when I hear someone screaming from somewhere near the entrance of the compound. It's loud and desperate, I can feel their fear. It's the kind of scream people make when they're about to die.

I move into action immediately, turning to the direction the screams, now there were multiple screams and they were coming from the front of the compound. I'm ready to bolt in their direction to help.

Except, Kim Jae-Chin runs me through with his sword. My back was turned to him and he impaled the sword through my kidney, the blade came through above my navel. I was nailed to the ironwood stump used for striking.

He doesn't move away from me, he doesn't say anything for awhile and only when I cough up blood does he talk. But he laughs first,

"Geez, you turned out to be more trouble than you're worth. Y'know, I convinced my father that, after the uprising was finished and Jin-ri was killed, to spare you. You were supposed to have made a good little wife," he digs the sword into me until the hilt touch my back "but you went out of your way to become freakishly strong that you weren't worth it. Too bad too, you were turning into such a lovely thing." When he finished he twisted the sword maliciously and walked away in the direction of the uprising.

My vision blackens, and it's hard to stay upright but it isn't long before my knees give way to the dead weight and before I hit the ground, I know my heart stopped.

I'm in a sea of nothing. I can't see anything and I can only feel the cold that's brushing against me. My mother's scream cuts through the nothingness. And the cold is taken away by fury. Red consuming fury.

I'm surrounded in bright green before everything clears and I see what's in front of me. Horrified faces. Staring at a girl who's got blood trailing down her front.

I don't waste a second: I use the sword I don't remember pulling out of my body, to strike anyone in my path. I'm making my way up to where I heard my mother's scream, her room. My mother never learned how to fight. This was my father's decision. She's helpless because of him. I killed a good dozen people, uncaring of which side they were on, before reaching the room. There are men in my parent's quarters looting what they can. My mother is on the floor bleeding from her throat. I can feel her eyes follow me.

The men don't have time to react, I have their insides spilling on the floor when they turn. My father desensitized me from bloodshed and I have learned how to kill. I'm usually efficient, but I'm acting in rage.

I turned to my mother, carried her to her bed. She didn't deserve this.

I lay her down and pull up her covers. I can't help but remember how she enveloped me in them years ago. How she tried to protect me despite knowing she couldn't.

My mother brought her cold hand to me and gurgled out what she could. But I heard it loud and clear. My heart would forever carry her words.

"Im s-so proud of you. Look-cough-how s-strong you are, d-daughter. Re-cough-remember that I have always loved you." she died smiling at me.

I couldn't help but think of my mother and what kind of creature she was, to be able to love monsters like my father and I.

Kim Jae-Chin walked into the room. He was in the middle of asking the men what they were able to gather.

His face is so fear stricken that I couldn't help but smile. Im sure my smile was wicked, and with my appearance being as horridly ghastly as it was, I'm surprised he didn't cry out.

Kim Jae-Chin held my sword, my moon blade, in his hand. A blade I used when I was younger, and often beat him with. I cut his arms off with that blade, dragged him throughout the building littered with corpses until I found his father and mine. They were locked at the hilt, and when they noticed me they broke apart.

My father had a look of horror, and Jae-Chin's father was every bit the opportunist he appeared. He took my father's horror as oppurtunity to strike him down, though he didn't properly cut the subclavian artery.

So my father was conscious, but bleeding out and dying.

He expected me to cry and rush to my father's side not hurl his son's nearly dead body at him. Senior Kim Jae lost grip of his weapon when his son's body collided with his. I took his sword and pierced it through Jae-Chin and his father's bodies and pushed it into their bodies until it reached the grip of the sword. I watched their eyes dull.

My father gurgled a help. But he taught me to put dying things out of their misery.

I watched my home, my father's castle, burn.

But it wasn't my home anymore. I wasn't Kokoro Junko anymore.

I was letting it burn to the ground. I didn't feel fear. I didn't feel anything as I walked away.

My mind was whispering the name 'Haruno Sakura' and faces, names and memories of another life were flashing before my eyes.

My feet carried me out of the compound into the open terrain surrounding it. I passed a lake, I remember having picnics there when I was younger, and saw my reflection. Despite the red staining my clothes, I was picture of pink and green.

Then the fox appeared next to me. I could feel the heat from his body, like fire. The name 'Kurama' slipped past my mouth without me realising it. And I suddenly felt faint.

When I awoke, a fresh fire was crackling, and a bear skin was thrown over me. I looked around and saw nothing familiar. The trees weren't the same and the air smelt different. I was going to get up when I heard the fox step into view. Kurama was his name and I knew it. He was the size of a small bear. He had orange fur and crimson eyes. But I didn't feel afraid, I have never felt afraid of him.

My name was Sakura. Haruno Sakura, at least, that was the only answer my mind could produce. But something itched that it wasn't quite right.

Kurama spoke then "We're in Stone Country now. It was kinda hard to track you since your scent was different. I woke up in the Land of Lightning. And on my way to where you were, I saw the kid and Uchiha. They're both your age, Obito's alive and the Fourth never died. But that's as much as I got to see before they noticed a huge fox hanging around. Y'know, I'm having trouble using my chakra." he said coming to sit in front of me.

"Like, I can use it, it isn't hard to get access to it but I have no control over it. I would've been able to hang around longer if i didn't accidently release it. Think you can help?" he asks.

I look at my hand and say, "I haven't really tried to use my chakra, but i think I'm having the same problems of unconsciously using it without any control." I shouldn't know what chakra is, but I do. 'Kid' is the boy with blonde hair and blue eyes and 'Uchiha' was the the dark haired boy with icy eyes that i kept seeing. "Where did you find me?" I ask.

"In Star country."

I should have known that, like I should have known my mother's name and face and didn't. I remember an eternal 'I love you' and fury running rapid through my veins. I remember a once grand house turning into ash.

"How long till we get to Konoha?" I ask, and I feel faint again. My head feels tight like it's about to explode.

Kurama looks to me before saying "About a week, but we gotta figure out some shit first before we go to the Leaf."

And that's the last thing I hear before something clicks in my head and I get consumed by green for the last time.

"Will it kill you to admit that you miss Naruto?" asked pink haired girl.

Her hair tied up into a bun with strands framing her face. She wore a red top with twin white striped on each side at the front, folded neatly to her elbows, and simple dark capris with standard ninja sandals. A white hoodie could be seen under the red top, the hood was visible at the back and the hem peeked out at the bottom. A childhood moon blade strapped to her back with twin short blades hidden in seals that resides on her forearms.

She spoke affectionately to the large fox walking beside her, hastening her steps as the fox walked faster. She giggled when she caught sight of the expression. It was the equivalent of sheepish on a fox face.

"It's just days now. I wonder if Naruto is still loud and boisterous." she mused.

"He is. In fact I think he's more of a little shit than before. He's kinda spoiled too."

"Really?" She said turning to him

"From what I gathered."

They went silent again. And continued their normal pace to Konoha.

"Does he still go around yelling 'Believe it!'?"

Kurama snorted in response.

"Still ramen obsessed?" and Kurama didn't need to answer.

"I can't wait to see the village."

And the two continued on to their path.

Not too much had happened along the way. A group of bandits had encircled them and attempted to rob them. But when they saw Kurama untwine his tails and let his new fire affinity loose, they ran away.

They stopped at a border town on the edge of Fire Country for food and to get some money. They did well with hunting and bringing in kills to live markets. Kurama could henge well and so, turned himself into a large fox-like dog. Sakura would pull her hood over her head. When people asked Sakura would just say he was of a rare bush dog breed.

They got odd looks, a young girl and her dog hauling in boars, birds and the like, effortlessly. But they were almost home and they couldn't care. Its wasn't until they left the border town and were again onto the road towards the hidden leaf village did they come across a real problem.

They were being followed. A shinobi by the scent Sakura picked up and the chakra they didn't bother to hide, which Kurama easily felt.

The shinobi didn't hide, because he either didn't think they'd notice him or he wanted them to know. He followed them until they took a rest. Despite Kurama urging to pick up the pace and go through the tree, they decided to keep up the civilian facade.

When they settled down, eating some dry fruit and drinking water, Kurama made it a point to stare into the tree where he knew the ninja was in.

It was then that they showed themselves. Kakashi.

Sakura never thought herself to be a great an actor. But her startled expression and behavior was believable to a Kakashi who clearly didn't know her and probably chalked up her surprise to being ignorant of shinobi ways.

He dropped from his perch and Sakura nearly fell off her seat at the sight. Kurama stood immediately and took a protective stance. Kakashi raised his hands in the air to show he meant no harm. He asked why a girl so young was traveling alone and all the other questions that came from being a child who was alone.

She answered "I'm not traveling alone, Kurama's with me. I'm heading to Konoha to live with my aunt and uncle since my father isn't able to take care of me anymore." she lied easily.

"I learned how to hunt since my father hunted" which was true.

Kakashi offered to escort them to Konoha, which was great since they were planning on sneaking in. Kakashi chose to walk, for the remainder of the way to Konoha. It was easy and simple, he believed they were just civilians, with above average hunting skills.

When they arrived he bid them goodbye and Sakura went to an office to be screened, she was dubbed civilian so it was just health history, vaccinations and documents. They asked her to get Kurama vaccinated and she learned that he was rather squeamish around needles.

She was on her way to find an inn when instead her feet carried her to where the Haruno residence was supposed to be. The house stood empty and Sakura went back to find an inn, trying her best to ignore the feeling of her tightening chest.

They stayed in the inn for some two days, before deciding on getting an apartment. Kurama suggested the Haruno residence but Sakura shakily refused. They had a place to stay, an apartment just outside the village market. It was spacious with three rooms and being two stories, a nice kitchen and living room area. Sakura unsealed their belongings from a storage scroll Kurama had been keeping. Their futon mats were placed in their respective rooms, animal skin blankets, Sakura's swords were taken out, some dishes, utensils, clothes and a cutting board they'd acquired in a trade.

They had been living in the apartment for two weeks. They saw Naruto routinely, he would be playing in the park and they'd watch from afar. He was friends with Chouji, Kiba, and Shikamaru. Sakura was still trying to find a way to approach him.

She had been out of the house when child protective services came knocking. Kurama opened the door and acted like a dog when people searched the rooms for the girl who'd appeared in Konoha looking for an Aunt and Uncle.

Kakashi had asked them to check up on her, he'd noticed her in the markets and parks of the village without an adult, and despite showing independence and self sufficiency he felt the need to be concerned. He was the one who tracked her down.

She was in Konoha's cemetery looking blankly at a pair of headstones that read Haruno Mebuki and Haruno Kizashi. He stood beside her silently, and Sakura broke the silence by muttering "I didn't know"

Kakashi took her to protective services where Sakura's living conditions were being sorted out. The third made it a point to take part in housing homeless children since he felt guilty over not being able to seal the Kyuubi in time and causing death and damage to the village. He made her aware that the Harunos had been killed in the attack. And so, felt responsible.

They wanted her to live in an apartment complex designated for housing orphans, a simple and small unit would be given to her but they didn't allow animals. Sakura was too old for an orphanage and refused to give up Kurama. They argued, Sakura refused the housing on the account that she had the money to pay for her own expenses until she got a job. They explained to her that Konoha didn't have a live market, hunting would not work out here.

Sakura ended the argument then by promising them that she'd be amongst this year's graduating class, solidifying her status as a future shinobi. No one attempted to talk her out of it, they simply said that with the clans' presence and being behind in training and knowledge of the ninja world she'd have a hard time. Her stance remained the same as she stated that Kurama would be her partner.

Haruno Sakura left the room full of adults casting one another uneasy stares and muttering their doubts. A nonchalant Kakashi simply said "I believe that she's going to be just fine."

"Today we'll be having a new student joining us" Iruka announced to his class.

Right after he said those words a knock on the door was heard and it opened to reveal a ten year old girl and a large dog.

"Ah, Haruno-san right on time" Iruka said turning to the newcomer.

The class watched as a girl came through the door accompanied by a fox-dog who had a white bandana around its neck. She was wearing an olive green wide collar top with a thin white hoodie underneath, the hood was pulled out of the green top and the white hem peeking through at the bottom and she wore black knee length shorts. Sakura had chosen to leave her swords behind.

She was turned to the class to give a greeting, and Iruka instructed her to an open seat next to a Nara.

Sakura didn't pay much mind to anyone's stare, or the whispers of her civilian status because her mind was on the boy who had been surreptitiously glancing at her throughout the class hour. Naruto Uzumaki wasn't in her class but Sasuke was.

At lunch Sakura and Kurama made their way out of earshot of the other children, Kurama hated school, and Sakura was growing tired of the questions people were throwing her way.

Word got out that a civilian was entering the academy late. Civilians rarely entered the academy and even more scarce was one who did so late in the semester. Sakura had tested into the final year of the academy, most of her knowledge and abilities chalked up to her hunting. They were suspicious of her swordsmanship, she knew. But they hadn't done anything about it.

Kurama ate his packed lunch and half of Sakura's, she hadn't been hungry. They were enjoying the quiet, Sakura was thinking about the future and Kurama was wondering if it were possible to get ribs at the market today when they were approached by a group of children.

Naruto, Shikamaru, Kiba and Sasuke with a few others she couldn't distinguish, came to her and Kurama's place in the academy field.

"Where did you get that dog? He's almost as big as the Inuzuka ninken!" Kiba asked.

"He's a breed of bush dog from the Land of Lightning"

"Woah! You're from Lightening!" came from an astonished Naruto. He continued "That's so far away"

"I'm not." she corrected. "Kurama is. I'm from Star Country." she said gesturing to herself.

Naruto was grinning from ear to ear. "That's still super far. That kinda explains a lot though..-"

"What does that mean?" She was beginning to feel defensive at the way he said that. She knew she had a slight accent and a few had pointed it out

Naruto fumbled, before sheepishly rubbing the back of his head. "Ehehe, No I didn't mean it in a bad way it's just- ah- well..." His cheeks turning pink.

Shikamaru finished for him "You just look foreign is what he's trying to say. Pink hair and green eyes aren't common here"

Sakura raised her eyebrows at the group. "It wasn't common in Star Country, either".

The boys bombarded her with questions about her hunting abilities, interest in being a ninja, her home country and the like until Kurama grew tired of the blabber and stood up. He telepathically told her he was heading home, to which Sakura nodded in acknowledgement, before the fox bounded off.

This left Sakura to deal with the group asking her about her ability to talk to animals. She tried to explain she couldn't but they made it hard to get a word in. Thankfully she was saved by TenTen.

Apparently Tenten's team hadn't graduated yet, so they were peers. And apparently Naruto and Sasuke as well as the rookie nine (the ones she was able to see) had skipped a grade too. Tenten got rid of the boys and the two talked about weapons; Tenten had seen her in the market with her moonblade. Tenten was a civilian, one of the few, and had heard of another civilian joining the academy from a friend.

She was excited to hear that another civilian girl had chosen the path of a shinobi and even more so that it was one who genuinely interested in weaponry. Tenten would be her friend in this life, and they'd be much closer than in the previous one.

It became routine to meet with Tenten at lunch and train with her in the afternoons. Tenten didn't recognize her sword style and often asked her about it. Sakura couldn't explain it. The Woldo and Ssangdo styles were something that were ingrained into this body.

Five weeks flew by and Sakura was growing accustomed to the Academy, even though at times it surprised her to see so many Uchiha faces.

In her first week in the Academy she had caught a glimpse of Hinata and Neji. Both seemed much happier than they had in previous lives. Hinata didn't seem as timid and Neji didn't appear as angry.

It wasn't until her second week did she see Lee. And two weeks later did she actually interact with him, he had just walked into her classroom one morning before the teacher came in. He was in another class, the room full of kids knew. He came in, stood in front of her and stared at her intently. Kurama was tempted to growl at the kid as the silence prolonged. Growing uncomfortable because everyone seemed to tune in, she decided to cut the tension.

"A-ah, good morning" she said uneasily. She was happy to get to see Lee, but this was not how she wanted them to meet.

Lee came out of his trance and said 'good morning' before taking a deep breath and bowing. And then proclaimed his love and undying protection to her.

There was a quiet before the storm arose. There Nara next to her nearly fell off the chair when Lee had yelled. She heard an Akamichi stop munching and felt multiple new pairs of eyes watching her now and she wasn't sure what else happened, she was too busy feeling mortified and trying to drown out Kurama's laughter.

The ordeal was ended by Iruka. Class began and Lee went to his respective class. Sakura from then on was teased about having a boyfriend by her class.

The weekend came quickly enough, and Sakura met Naruto at the park by sheer coincidence. Naruto and she spoke and she took note of the pink staining his cheeks. He liked her in this life too, it seemed.

Sasuke later came, followed by his mother, and the three chatted amicably. Seeing Naruto and Sasuke as friends and seeing their usual banter felt so nice.

She had been in Konoha for a little more than two months now. She had found all of the Konoha-12, save for Ino. She worried but knew she was there, she just hadn't seen her. She had been avoiding the flower shop because she was scared of seeing her best friend, but knew that would be the best place to find her. Her two months here were no where near as stressful as she had imagined.

The academy was easy, curriculum easy and all her success in physical test were excused with her hunting ability. No questions from the adults about any aspects of her history. Kakashi had asked why she didn't play with any of the children, to which she answered that she didn't want to and simply liked books better.

That was true, she didn't want to be around the other children. As much as she wanted to be with Naruto and Sasuke, she didn't want to intrude on their little 'boy's only' packed they had with others. The other children, most of which were clan kids, didn't want to associate with her. She'd been called a social ladder leach by a few children. She wasn't too enthusiastic about being a kid when she had the knowledge of another lifetime.

Unfortunately that knowledge didn't seem like it was enough in this universe. She couldn't predict anything and this body was different from her own. She had swordmanship skills she needed to maintain and a fighting style to hone. She had her strength to refine and control to remaster as well. Kurama and her took some time to themselves to become accustomed to their new bodies but those nine days were not enough.

She was often seen at the library looking at weaponry books and scrolls containing katas with swords similar to hers. There weren't very many books familiar with the the specific Woldo and Ssangdo styles, they weren't used by shinobi, but there were similars ones. And so she had pick and choose from katas and make them her own.

Kurama had been using some meditating techniques to help handle his new explosive chakra. She had a collection of fire type jutsu she wanted to help Kurama learn. The only problem was that she and her fox friend couldn't practice those jutsus in the village. It would arise the already present suspicion of herself and Kurama.

She learned that the kyuubi had vanished in midst of his attack and then became untraceable. She learned this from Kurama was sneaking about the village. Overhearing the elders discuss the loss of their tailed beast and their desire to get it back.

Kurama had come home angry and the two had to go for 'night hunt' spending hours deep in the forests letting emotions out.

She had also learned that Danzo was still an elder, she had seen him after an incident that had the academy sending her to speak with the elders.

A group of rogues had managed to bypass the village walls but were stopped by the police force before they inflicted damage. Unbeknownst to everyone they had set automated scrolls, that would release captured ligers loose, around the village. Hours after the capture of the rogues liger were running around terrorizing villagers. There had been five. Three had been successfully captured and one was killed in a dire situation.

The last one had gotten into the academy.

They had gone under lockdown and were awaiting the signal to be lifted when Kurama heard the quiet steps of the beast. It was coming up the the hall. Iruka seemed to have heard it, as did Sakura. The class was hiding under desks for their safety. It was Akamaru's whimper that alerted the liger to their location. It came crashing through the door of the class and the children screamed. Iruka had the liger under control, making a point to push it back with good tact and control. There was a scared child who attempted to run out of the class that ruined Iruka's plan. The liger swept to it's paw to the left suddenly and charged at the child. Iruka had lost his ground and grabbed the beast by a hind leg to keep it from going after the kid. With Iruka on his haunches the animal moved to swipe heavy claws at their teacher.

It was drugged, Sakura noticed, with an aggressor type narcotic. They had been done on purpose. To make the beast more willing to stay within the village and kill whatever moved than flee to the forest, as it normally would have. She took notice of the bloody mucus in the inner corners of the beast's mouth and nostrils. The way the eyes shifted around almost too quickly, panicked, and the tenseness of the animals form.

Sakura had known that Iruka would dodge or probably use a substitution jutsu to escape, but she was on the move before he could.

"Kurama, Go!" she called as she rose from her crouch under the desk.

Kurama had bounded over the desks and tackled the liger to the ground hitting the wall at the front of the class. A lot of her classmates had stuck their heads to peak at the scene. Kurama, while fighting the liger, sustained a scratch at the chest and his bandana was torn through from the claws of the giant beast.

'This is stupid! Stupid! Stupid Stupid! Stupid! Stupid!' Sakura internally raged.

Sakura had unsealed her bow and arrows she had kept in her forearms, readying an arrow to strike the beast when Kurama gave strong tackle to the beast, breaking the classroom wall and tumbling both animals into the training field of the academy.

She was quick to go after them. As she leaped into the field she heards astonished mutter from her classmates. She was pretty fast, she knew, but up until now she showing abilities that were above average but not exceedingly so that it garnered attention.

Now, it didn't matter. Iruka saw her unseal the bow and quiver of arrows. She bounded over to where Kurama was fighting the beast. She didn't want to kill it. Kurama was doing a good job of fighting it without using his chakra. Making her decision she decided to temporarily paralyze the anime. Aiming an arrow to the area between the shoulder blades should do it. She needed to have her arrow hit its mark but not indent itself in the animal's flesh.

Sakura took to the tree for a better angle. The liger, catching a blur of pink and green, turned on Sakura. No longer caring for Kurama, it followed the pink haired girl up the tree. Sakura, knowing Kurama couldn't display any chakra techniques decided to take the initiative.

Telepathically telling Kurama to hang back.

She ran up the tree and pushed off. As she fell she turned her body to ready her shot, the liger was on the verge of turning to push off the tree when she fired.

She had been higher up than the liger and so when she let the arrow go so, she got what she wanted. Temporary paralyzation.

It didn't imbed itself in the animal's flesh. And the tiger had a few seconds of mobility before becoming lame and dropping to the ground with a thud.

She knew her class was watching. But it couldn't be helped.

She crouched to inspect the animal, the drugs used to aggravate the beast had heightened its senses but with the prolonged exposure it was showing, it seemed that the substances were now eating its senses.

There was dried and new blood around the animal's nose and mouth. The eyes were unfocused and she could see them clouding in color. She couldn't fix this, not with how uncontrollable her chakra was at the moment. And any concoction she made would not heal the animal, simply lessen the pain.

She was fighting herself on this. She heard Kurama walking closer and the Shinobi landing on the school's rooftop.

It was painful to see a creature this strong be deteriorated to just be a means of an end. There was no way for her to save it, and no medic she doubted would willingly heal the animal. She tried to reason with herself to keep it, to convince the elders to let her and she's let it live the rest of it's days in her home. But liger was meant to be in the forests. To hunt and run. Not stay idle in a home waiting to die.

It was best to put it out of its misery.

She raised her arrow. A quick and painless shot the head.

But a hand clamped down on her wrist. She raised her eyes to meet a cold stoned shinobi. He was going to say something but the liger suddenly rose to its haunches. Or what it could. Sakura lost her footing as a spasmed paw struck the ground near her feet, The liger was hurting itself, forcing itself to stand and attack when it couldn't. It managed to lay a weak but heavy paw on her torso, She saw it open it mouth, saw the teeth and readied a short hunting knife she quickly unsealed.

But Kurama acted first. He moved in before she, or any of the shinobi could. He clamped his strong jaws onto the liger's gullet and she heard the snap of its neck from above her. Kurama threw the now dead animal's body to the side and let Sakura get up.

She did so shakily. Not because an animal was killed in front of her. But because now they were completely screwed.

Thankfully, they didn't bring in a Yamanaka to search through her mind. Instead they took her shaken disposition as trauma and throughout the interrogation tears were running down her facie, making most of the authorities present uncomfortable. She got through it and she remembered Kurama whispering in her mind to 'keep crying! They don't know how to handle crying kids.'

She had been given a few days off of school to recover. It was nice, but she knew for a fact that now she had the clan's attention as well as Danzo's. So, she decided to shack up in her apartment and not come out at all.

Unfortunately, Kurama decided to handle his stress by eating. Everything.

He didn't have arms like he used to so, his tails were his hands. This worked out 80% of the time. His chakra being explosive and unpredictable caused a few accidents, despite him being better at controlling it. He not only ate everything in the fridge but also everything in the pantry. He probably would have eaten all the rice, if he hadn't short circuited their rice cooker.

And so, on the second day of their excused absence Sakura was forced to go out and buy groceries. She and Kurama had gotten many stares and there were so many hushed conversations and pointing. The newest rumor was that she was a ruthless blood thirsty hunter. Children asked their mothers if Kurama ate children. Sakura had to give Kurama a bonk on the head to stop him from baring his teeth at the brats.

It wasn't ideal. But better them than Naruto or Sasuke.

It wasn't until Mikoto offered to buy her lunch did she remember the time. She declined the offer and went into the marketplace to buy groceries, Kurama joined her to help carry the items. Kurama went straight home after Sakura said she was going to make it a point to see Ino. She entered the Yamanaka flower shop with the intent of buying some herb seeds to start a small garden. She idly wandered around in hopes of catching sight her other blonde friend but gave up after 15 minutes. She had found her seeds and picked up some cosmos flowers for fun and was now waiting at the counter to be rung up when she heard it. Someone entering the flower shop and a familiar bubbly voice.

She turned and there was her best friend. Alongside an identical blonde haired and blue eyed person, only they were male.

When the pair took notice of her, Ino was the one to speak first.

"Oh! Inoshi, is this the girl you're always talking about?" she said turning to the now red faced boy. She flashed a devious smile before turning back to Sakura.

"My brother talks about you all the time" she giggling. "Honestly, he's as bad as a love struck girl-"

"Ino!" Inoshi cried out. His blush darkening.

"What? You sigh every night thinking about her, and you come home and tell mom all about her." she turned back to Sakura, "He's got it bad for you, like you wouldn't believe." then her eyes trailed her up and down, and Sakura began to feel uncomfortable analyzed. "But you're much too pretty for my brother" she said with a smile.

Sakura couldn't help it, she let herself laugh good-naturedly, having Ino back felt wonderful. She also felt for Ino's brother, clearly she lived to embarrass him.

Sakura struck up a conversation, giving Inoshi a window to escape which he took, and Ino slowly rang her up as they talked. It was nice. This was nice.

Ino asked her to come by soon so they could talk again. And Sakura found out at that Ino was a civilian. Well, she had fighting skills and new her clan's technique but would not be as proficient as she once had been. She had chose to run the flower shop with her mom. And her twin brother was the one who was going to be the member of InoShikaCho.

When Sakura returns home she put her plants in pots, placing them by a window, then went to take a bath. This world was different but it was a world where her friends are alive and well.

It was their fifth month in Konoha and now they were graduating. She was excited and terrified. Kurama wanted to wear a head band and wanted the fabric to be black. She agonized for hours in the past week about whether she'd be put in her old team. Naruto wasn't in her class but they would still be put together. The chance was just slimmer.

Kurama calmed her thought by muttering that it would all work out.

And thus, told her to look at what's in front of her.

Inoshi was easy to talk to. He wasn't as loud and abrasive as Ino. But he was just as charismatic. He was nice to be around, he was in the next class and despite, having a crush on her, he was able to interact with her without embarrassing himself trying to impress.

She and Kurama chose to sit in the back as the instructor called names. She was agonizing over it. Though, Kurama was right. The teams assigned weren't all of one class. Some kids were put on teams with children from other classes.

Team 5 was Lee, TenTen and Neji. She watched as TenTen nodded and wondered if they'd still have Gai for a sensei.

She felt her heart burn as team 7 was called. "Uzumaki Naruto, Uchiha Sasuke and Haruno Sakura." She rested her head on the desk as she relief washed over her.

From here on, she would look after them.

Thanks for reading -V