Spoilers: Basically for everything, since the plot completely changes.
Asininity -- Itachi & Sakura StoryChapter One
By A.Renika
It was midnight, and the moon was directly in the middle of the night sky, glowing eerily over their heads. Light poured on the young girl's face, complementing her beautiful features as earnestness emanated from her skin. She was completely spellbound by her father's words, listening keenly and memorizing their intricate plan.
"Sachi-chan, are you sure you're not cold in those battered clothes…yeah?" A man with blonde, long hair asked concernedly. "It's still awhile to dawn, you can borrow my cloak if you want…yeah." He made as if to take off his black cloak.
Sachi huffed. "Deidara-kun, it's so hot here I wonder how you can manage to wear that at this time, much less in the afternoon." She smiled sweetly. "Thanks, though."
Deidara looked at Sachi in wonder, enwrapped in his own thoughts. It seemed so long ago since Sakura had barged into their lives, became a missing-nin and the mother of Itachi's child. But here they were, ready to take the last step to obtain the greatest power to ever walk the earth. He had no alternatives but to marvel at how well everything was going for them; and he had absolute faith that Sachi would not fail Akatsuki.
Tsunade stared at the fidgeting girl in front of her as she leaned forward in her seat, curiosity palpable. An Anbu had reported to her at the crack of dawn, having found this dirty, tired and scantily dressed girl lying on the ground asleep at the threshold of Konoha.
"Who are you?" Tsunade asked the inevitable question.
The girl looked her in the eye, her green eyes dilated and strangely familiar. The Fifth's thoughts floated over to her former student, now a missing-nin. Shaking her head mentally to clear the unwelcome memories, Tsunade refocused her attention on the young girl.
She could not be more than fifteen, even though her face was that of a matured woman. Her hair was short, reaching just at her collarbone. And the girl was dirty. Her hair was as grimy as used oil left in the sizzling pan, and Tsunade suspected that she had not washed for days, weeks even, since the foul smell of garbage had diffused to her delicate nose the second the girl had stepped in the entrance.
"I think my name is Sachi. That's what my foster mother told me. My mother had named me before she died," the girl began, interlocking and unlocking her fingers. "My foster mother, Kimi, gave this to me a week ago." Sachi pulled out a forehead protector with the Leaf symbol on the metal. There was a slash over the metal, a sign of betrayal to the village.
Tsunade pursed her lips, sensing a danger looming ahead. "Continue."
"I believe my mother was Haruno Sakura, if what my foster mother told me was correct," Sachi's voice dropped to a mere whisper, and Tsunade nearly lost the name.
Tsunade almost had a heart attack. Despite being a legendary ninja, her body was not as strong as it had been a decade ago. Even though her appearance still looked as if she was twenty, age was definitely catching up with her internal organs.
Then it clicked. That was why her eyes looked familiar. Sakura's eyes had always shone brightly like Sachi's – the exact same color – whenever she completed a particularly arduous medical jutsu.
Tsunade sighed inaudibly as waves of nostalgia washed over her, and memories came in tide after tide as she remembered her most precious student, the one with pink, cherry blossom hair and a name to match, a smile so bright it could light up the entire village. She remembered her love for her friends, her loyalty to her teacher, and her sacrifice to her patients. But something made Tsunade gasp aloud.
Haruno Sakura was dead.
Naruto had aches and pains all over. His body was sore, really sore, and all he wanted to do was just crawl into his bed and lie there forever. Yet Tsunade had called for an immediate meeting, just when he'd returned from an extremely exhausting mission. The old granny really knew how to pick the time.
Dragging himself to a comfortable position on the couch, he slumped into it blissfully, closed his eyes and relaxed. Kakashi and Sai were standing at one side of Tsunade's chair, hands crossed and a solemn look on both their faces. Sai was probably being a copycat; since there was no way he could have known what expression to have on his face in such a dire situation.
Naruto peeked an eye open. Dire situation…?
Yep. A girl, dirty, unclean and smelly, was sitting quietly on the interrogation chair, head bowed and back hunched. Naruto opened both his eyes, revealing their brilliant blue and unmasked interest. He opened his mouth to ask something, but Tsunade silenced him with a look. He closed his mouth again, but as silence pursued, he became more and more impatient. Are they going to talk or not?
Finally, Tsunade answered their unasked questions. "This is Sachi, and she said that she is the firstborn daughter of Haruno Sakura."
Naruto leapt off the couch with a burst of energy he didn't know he had in him. "SAKURA-CHAN? Where is she?" He turned to Sachi and grabbed her shoulders, hard. "WHERE IS SHE?"
"Naruto! Calm down!" Kakashi ordered, striding forward and removing Naruto's hands off Sachi forcefully. "Let Tsunade-sama finish."
Naruto turned to the Godaime of Konohagakure. "Well?"
"Sakura died giving birth to her."
Naruto could only stare dumbly at Tsunade. Sakura, the one who could plummet him into the ground with a chakra-filled fist? The one who encouraged him to go after Sasuke? The one who ran after Sasuke to bring him back?
Naruto laughed. "She's not so weak as to die giving birth to child! She's a medic nin for God's sake! She can't just die!" He looked around for confirmation, but all he received in return were petulant stares that reprimanded him for taking the matter so lightly.
Silence fell upon the room as his eyes widened in horror and realization. "She's dead, isn't she? Really, really, really d…dead? Oh God." Naruto wrapped his hands around his head, trying to block out the shocking news. This wasn't how it was supposed to be. He was supposed to become stronger, so that he would bring his teammates back. But no, Sasuke had died first and now Sakura. As her best friend and teammate, he didn't even know how long she'd been dead!
"This is not happening…" Naruto wailed, slamming his fist into the coffee table, crushing the glass and cutting his skin.
Tsunade remained quiet, even as she watched her pretty coffee table shatter. She wondered if her grandfather, or even Sarutobi, had ever had had this kind of dilemma. How did they draw a clear line between personal feelings and business attitude? Had they ever had a faithful student who ran away and became a wanted missing-nin? How contradictory was that?
But life went on. First they had to solve the problem of Sachi.
"How old are you?"
"Thirteen."
"Are you a ninja?"
"Yes."
Tsunade raised an eyebrow, but so did the rest of the ninjas present. "Where did you learn jutsus?"
"I copied them from other ninjas that I spy on." Closing her eyes, Sachi remained still for a second before reopening her eyes. "I have copying powers."
In front of her, Sachi's green eyes had bled to a crimson red, the three comas visible around her Sharingan. Not only had she discovered her Sharingan, she had also envolved into the second stage of it.
"That's the Sharingan! You're an Uchiha!" Naruto exclaimed, moving closer to Sachi. "Who's your father?"
"I don't know."
Then Naruto's face broke into a wide grin. "You must be Sasuke and Sakura's child! That must be it! That Sharingan is unmistakable! There is no other explanation!" Holding out his hand, he grabbed her dirty fingers in a firm handshake. "I'm Uzumaki Naruto, and I'm your parents' best friend and teammate! Welcome to Konoha!"
Tsunade actually choked.
"Naruto, we haven't tested for her credibility yet."
The blonde wasn't listening. "I'll take care of her!" Naruto said enthusiastically, hugging Sachi close to his arms. She wasn't Sasuke or Sakura, but she was the child of those two, and if she were all they had left now, he wasn't about to let her go.
Kakashi sighed. "Naruto, you don't get it. What if she's lying?"
"But don't you think it fits? Her green eyes and her Sharingan; how many Uchihas are left since the massacre? Who else has green eyes besides Sakura?"
"Many people have green eyes," Kakashi replied. "And there's always Uchiha Itachi."
"Pfft! Think about it; Itachi is Sasuke's worst enemy! There was no way Sakura would have had Itachi's child! It would be a betrayal to Sasuke!" Naruto huffed. He paused, and then his eyes shone. "Did you know what color your mother's hair was?"
"Kimi told me that it was a pretty pink, and she said that it was a pity I did not inherit it," Sachi replied, eyes furrowed as she tried to remember.
"Kimi? Who's Kimi?"
"My foster mother."
Naruto turned around to face Tsunade and Kakashi triumphantly. "See? Who has unique pink hair?"
Both remained silent, but Sai finally piped up. "Sakura-san."
Naruto snapped his fingers. "Exactly!"
"Why did you only come back after so many years?" Tsunade asked.
"Kimi gave me the forehead protector only a week ago. And if my mother and father belonged here, I would naturally belong to Konoha, right?" Sachi asked tentatively.
"Right!" Naruto answered, giving her a pat on her back. "Absolutely."
"Do you swear absolute loyalty to Konohagakure?" Tsunade prodded, feeling a glimmer of hope. Perhaps Sachi would not be a letdown. Besides, the country could use another Uchiha.
"Yes, I do." Sachi replied firmly, her green eyes glinting unnaturally.
Perhaps that was a shine of determination.
Hopefully.
Sachi silently cheered at her victory, but managed to keep her face vacuous.
She hadn't counted on Naruto to stand by her side on the first day. Things were definitely going well. As long as she could have Naruto at her beck and call, everything would be smooth sailing.
Wonderful.
R&R, as always!