(Tim Seltzer, seltzer@seltzerbooks.com) Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto. I do not own Wedding Peach.
I do not own any great quantity of money or property. I'm a STUDENT; that's
why I'm poor, okay?
Author's Note: There are some major spoilers from now on about
the Wedding Peach series, but it's necessary to explain Sakura's origins.
Remember, this is AU!
The results of Sakura's blood tests came out. It was true: Momoko and
Yousuke were her biological parents.
"This still doesn't make sense," Sakura insisted to the doctor. "If
everything which Momoko and Yousuke said... if I really was a weakling
and was sent to the Shinobi world so that I could survive... then wouldn't
I die, right here and right now, because of the angel and demon blood conflicting
again?"
"We had to wait until your angel and demon forces neutralized completely,"
the doctor explained. "The new world just gave you a different environment
in terms of spiritual energy, or 'chakra', as you call it. Once you grew
up and were physically stronger, you could come back to our dimension.
The fatigue you are experiencing right now is your body adjusting to the
new spiritual-energy system."
"So... I still can do jutsu?" Sakura asked eagerly.
"You mean spells and magic? No, not necessa—"
'Tiger, Horse—' Sakura started to perform the In while sitting in her
bed, but suddenly felt the same dazzling headache again.
"Ow, ow, ow!" Sakura winced, holding her head.
"Don't be so hasty," the doctor said as Sakura fell back down on the
bed. Not only were these headaches painful, they also made her exhausted.
"As I said, I wouldn't do that if I were you. Your body still needs to
rest and adjust."
'I am so screwed.'
"Thank you, Naruto, Lee," Tsunade said. "I now take my leave. And don't
do anything STUPID, like sneaking off to train, until you're released."
Groans came from the bed-ridden teenagers. "I am serious: I will give you
THE FINGER if you do not take my medical advice seriously, alright?"
Naruto flinched, and gulped: he knew exactly what she meant by that.
Tsunade waved sweetly to them. "Good-night!"
The Hokage stepped out of the ward and walked down the hallway. She
curtly nodded to the doctors and nurses who bowed to her. Kakashi was waiting
at the lobby.
"Hokage-sama." Kakashi bowed to her in respect.
"This incident is so bizarre," Tsunade said. "To get Naruto and Lee
knocked out instantly with just one blow — it must have been quite a wave
of chakra indeed. To have that team of chuunin find Naruto and Lee unconscious
by the cliff before rocks or vultures descended on them... those two were
damn lucky."
"Why would anything with such chakra want to kidnap Sakura?" Kakashi
asked. The Copy-Ninja lowered his head. A sad expression, like that of
a worried older brother, was slightly visible in his masked face.
"I guess you didn't give enough attention to her, either," Tsunade murmured.
Three blocks away, a wife was crying while her husband tenderly held
her.
(( (13 years ago)
The Harunos walked slowly toward Konoha. They had just left the hospital
of the nearby village. Mr. Haruno was downcast, and Mrs. Haruno's eyes
were red and puffy. Neither felt like rushing the journey through the trees.
Mrs. Haruno became pregnant half a year after they married. Even with
the new load, she insisted that she continue doing her job as a kunoichi,
even if they were low-rank missions. Her husband tried to dissuade her
from doing such things during a pregnancy, but she was too stubborn: "We
need the money for the baby."
It had been a few months pregnancy while they were doing a C-rank mission
together in a nearby village, and she started to bleed heavily. Her husband
rushed her to the small clinic there. She had a miscarriage. And according
to the head doctor, she had little chance of ever having another baby.
"We have a new mission tomorrow, honey. Don't get distracted," Mr. Haruno
said, as gently as he possibly could.
"I know..." She sniffled. "It's just... I'm so sorry for being weak...
I'm sorry to have failed you as a wife. That shooting star must have been
a bad omen."
"Oh for heaven's sake!" he muttered, and he pulled her into a hug. "I
don't care about heirs; our main duty is to protect the village."
"But... I know you wanted to raise a child with me..." she sobbed.
"Look, honey..." he started. But he heard something in the forest. Something
was wailing. "Do you hear that?"
She stopped sniffing and listened. Sure enough, it sounded like a human
baby.
"Let's go!" Mr. Haruno said. He dashed off towards the sound. His wife
followed.
Tigers eyed the prey from the bushes. A human cub, helpless, in the
middle of the forest: it was up for grabs. The only problem was that there
was a ring of fire surrounding it. But the embers were dying down. Soon
the child would be completely unprotected.
The tigers crouched down, ready to leap.
'Kanashibari no Jutsu!'
Mr. Haruno cast the genjutsu on the monster predators, and the image
of a bloody death flashed through their minds. Ten seconds of immobility:
it was enough. Mrs. Haruno dropped into the ring of fire, collected the
baby, and jumped back up into the trees. Her husband performed a quick
water-jutsu on the fire to prevent it from spreading, and took off before
the tigers came to their senses.
The Harunos jumped through the trees until they reached Konoha. Mr.
Haruno called on a watchman to open the gates. While they were kept waiting,
the couple looked at the little bundle.
The blankets were a little burnt, but the baby itself looked healthy.
At least the child was crying, and not dead.
"You poor thing..." Mrs. Haruno said quietly as she traced the folds
of the blanket. She turned to her husband. "Could we...?"
"Keep her?" he finished with a grin. "I was thinking of that already
when I heard her voice." His wife's eyes shined with joy.
"What shall we call her?" Mrs. Haruno murmured as she gazed at the beautiful
girl. She noticed a little glint in the folds of the blankets. It revealed
itself as a beautiful brooch of enamel and gold.
Mrs. Haruno looked at the brooch. She then tilted her head up to the
cherry blossom trees, and back to the baby. "She must have been sent from
the gods," Mrs. Haruno whispered. "This jewel is in the shape of a cherry
blossom. And the cherry blossoms are starting to bloom. Sakura... Sakura.
That sounds just right." ))
It was night. Sakura couldn't sleep — she was too miserable.
No Konoha. No Konoha. No Konoha. As the thoughts sank into her, she
wanted to cry.
'No, I'm not gonna cry,' Sakura mentally charged herself. 'I decided
that when Sasuke left the village. Crying won't help anything—'
The faint sobs broke out.
'What were they thinking when they brought me back? Even if they're
my biological parents, they're not my real parents. My real parents, the
ones in Konoha, are the ones who raised me and nurtured me. I am a Haruno!
Not a Fuuma. Haruno!'
The door opened. Sakura heard the soft patting of slippers coming toward
her bed. She wiped her wet face with the blanket.
A woman whispered through the darkness. "Sakura."
It was Yuri, the last of Momoko's teammates. Her long and brown wavy
hair cascaded down her back. Sakura took Yuri to be a very elegant and
polite lady the first time they met.
"Yuri-san, you — heard me?" Sakura hiccupped.
"I understand the pain and confusion you have faced thus far," Yuri
whispered. "But please, do not think ill of Momoko and Yousuke for bringing
you back."
"Why shouldn't I?" Sakura mumbled angrily. "Did Momoko and Yousuke think
that they could just restart the family from scratch when I came back?
Well, they should have thought it over a little longer. If they really
loved me, they wouldn't have taken my home away!"
"They knew that you already established a home there," Yuri said. "But
it had been thirteen whole years since we saw your world. When another
wormhole opened up, we tracked you, just to see whether you were alive.
You were alive — but there was an extremely dangerous force infecting your
world, particularly around the area you landed on as a baby."
A moment of annoyance crossed Sakura's face. "Dangerous force? Yuri-san,
my world is made of powerful ninja who can control anything from a needle
to full-fledged elemental jutsu. There are dangerous forces everywhere."
"This force we saw was dark, and alarmingly strong," Yuri said with
gravity. "It was far different from the natural energy that your ninja
utilize for magic. Moreover, this dark energy was definitely not there
thirteen-years ago. It was something very, very serious."
"So my friends and family could be dying right now."
Yuri breathed. "Momoko and Yousuke were afraid that your life was in
danger again. You were — are — their only child, and they brought you back.
Not because they wanted to take you away, but because they loved you, and
wanted you to live. Please, give them a chance."
Yuri set a cup of hot chocolate on the table attached to Sakura's bedside.
"Here, this will cheer you up, Sakura-chan."
Sakura-chan.
(( "Sakura-chan!" ))
Naruto's voice echoed in her head. The tears started to well up again.
Did she swallow a stone just now? Sakura-chan. Only Naruto and her parents
called her that anymore.
"Sakura, you want to become stronger, right?" Yuri asked, changing to
a lighter subject.
Sakura curtly nodded.
"In two days, Hinagiku wants you to come to her martial arts class.
She wants to teach you some of her own martial arts, and have you to demonstrate
a little bit of that... um, 'taijutsu', was it?"
Sakura sipped a little of the chocolate. At least they weren't trying
to coop her up.
Note:
"Yuri" - means 'lily'.
I know, I know... It's rather slow so far. But the action is coming
up! Now excuse me as I borrow a book on martial arts from the library...
(Oh, if only I knew how to do at least one style! Lady Light-san, I choose
you as my action-critic!)
If you have questions, comments, or suggestions, please tell me! If
I suck, by all means, tell me. In an intelligent manner.
Book
collections on CD and DVD. A library for the price of a book.