There was just a slight snag in her plans, not including the fact she wasn't exactly sure of how she was supposed to snag the attention of ROOT. Something she hadn't really been prepared for.

Sakura pouted as she was carried to the park, dressed up in pink and frills, the Uchiwa displayed proudly on her back. Sure, she loved being held by her new family – especially her new brothers – but she had goals now. None of them involved meeting other toddlers at the nearest local park. She didn't have time for that, dammit. Her training was already cutting into her sleeping time, and that was unhealthy as it was. Fortunately her body sometimes decided to get some sleep whether she wanted it or not, so she never ended up risking her life with her reckless training methods. It wasn't her fault that she wanted to improve her chakra capacity as much as possible. There were theories that if a child completed lots of chakra exercises early on, their overall chakra stores and their maximum limit would be increased exponentially – since chakra stores grew largely from three years of age to seven. They never stopped growing, but that was the best time – and the academy missed that window, starting chakra manipulation and control lessons when they were nine… though she supposed growing chakra reserves were slightly harder to control, but geniuses like Kakashi and her brother had managed it.

"Sakura-chan, make lots of friends, OK?" Her mother smiled down at her, and Sakura patted her cheek. "There are lots of siblings of Sasuke-chan's friends, so I have no doubts you'll find at least one to get along with."

She scowled, but apparently the image just looked adorable on her pudgy face. "Fine," she grumbled, swearing to silently find the most quiet and tolerable one possible. There was no way in hell she wanted to be dragged around by a loud brash friend ever again. Ino had been enough. But her Ino was dead now, and she didn't need any paltry imitations.

"Aww, don't make such a face, sweetie." Mikoto pinched her cheek and her scowl faded away. "Friends are a good thing to have."

"Hn."

Sakura sighed, glancing around the park, figuring she might as well try and interact with some other toddlers, if only to get her mother off her case about making friends. She didn't want any friends. There'd never be any Naruto or Sasuke for her. No Naruto to rescue her when she fell in too deep… if she succumbed to the so-called Uchiha madness.

Curiously, she looked around, wondering who her target should be. There were plenty of Inuzuka children milling about, but they were too loud. Yamanaka would just remind her of Ino – of what she could never have again. Nara would be too smart. She couldn't see any Akimichi. Sakura bit her lip, her blood practically freezing when she spotted her past self. Her past self was there. But what was she doing in a place full of toddlers and their siblings and parents…? Sakura blinked, eyes widening as she spotted another one of her new world's ripples.

She swallowed, her throat suddenly extraordinary dry, her sharingan pressing behind her eyes. It wanted to come out. Wanted to memorise to sight in front of her. The sight she'd never seen before. The sight she wished she'd had in her old universe. But it wouldn't bode well to reveal her sharingan just yet. She needed tricks up her sleeve, especially if she wanted to eliminate Danzo and ROOT… and possibly some of her clan should her uncle keep acting up. But she didn't want to think of the future. Not in that instance. She didn't want those thoughts to spoil the beautiful sight in front of her, because clinging to the backs of the legs of Haruno Sakura was a small child. A small pink-haired child with bright blue eyes just like Haruno Kizashi.

Her feet moved before she had time to process it, taking her towards the girl who had to be about the same age as her. Big blue eyes darted up to meet hers as she drew closer, and Sakura felt herself smile.

"Don't be shy, Kagami-chan," Haruno Sakura said, smiling at her younger sister just how she'd used to before everything went to hell. Not that she'd had a younger sister to smile at.

But Kaguya didn't matter. The blood she could see staining her hands didn't matter. All that mattered was her. Kagami.

"Kagami-chan," she whispered, liking the way it rolled from her tongue. "Hi," she chirped, reaching out for that tinytiny hand of the small pink-haired toddler. "I'm Sakura."

"Like nee-chan!" Kagami mumbled, curling behind her sister's legs that much more, at least until Haruno Sakura urged her away gently.

"You go play with Sakura-chan, Kagami-chan," Haruno Sakura said, seating herself down in the grass, proving herself to be a responsible older sister. Just like she would've been too. "I'll watch from here, 'kay?"

Sakura grabbed Kagami by the hand, tightening her grip ever so slightly. Not enough to cause harm, but enough to ensure she wouldn't be separated. She couldn't be separated from her. Not now, not ever.

"Where we goin'?" Kagami looked at her, biting at the nails of her other hand as Sakura led her to the side of the clearing where the playground was amidst the park's trees.

"Flowers," Sakura said as way of explanation, gesturing to the wildflowers that grew along the edge of the playground. "Pretty flowers."

"Cool!"

Sakura smiled, wrapping her arms around her new friend, whispers burning at the back of her brain as her sharingan flickered into view under the fringe of her hair, appearing only for a single instant before it was gone. She nuzzled her cheek into those pink locks. The ones which used to cover all her skull rather than just one fifth of it. In another life, Kagami would've been hers. She giggled, hugging Kagami ever closer despite her growing confusion. Kagami would've been her little sister. Kagami should've been her little sister. The one who she could've whispered stories to, and tucked in at night, just how Itachi-nii sometimes did for her. Sakura bit her lip. She would've made an excellent big sister. She still could.

Her smile widened, and she nuzzled her cheek against those pink locks yet again, the word slipping almost inaudibly from her lips.

"Mine."