Childhood II
Chapter 2
Sakura looked up at the onyx eyed boy who had caught her. He had wild spiky hair that was a blue so dark its color was only revealed under direct sunlight and even then only tinted a dark, midnight blue. He was pale, though with a healthy tan undertone that tickled something at the back of her brain. His features were recognizable, though she couldn’t quite place it as she lay in his arms. A glance at his clothes showed they were a navy blue and Sakura’s scrambled mind idly informed her she hadn’t even introduced herself yet, which was simply an unacceptable breach of etiquette for the heiress of the Haruno.
“Thank you for saving me, I’m Sakura, who are you?” Sakura was fairly certain she had nailed her introduction as she watched the boy curiously. His eyes widened slightly, the black irises expanding and the sunlight just barely revealing the darker pupils within. They glittered like polished obsidian and she found herself simply unable to look away, even as a strange pulsing, tightening sensation wormed its way around her left hand.
“I’m Madara and you’re welcome.” Madara replied and Sakura couldn’t help but smile nervously. He hadn’t insulted her or dropped her yet. If anything he was just as fascinated with her as she was with him. Perhaps it was possible to become his friend, after all everyone who had rejected her had let her know with their scowls and glares well before she’d even asked. Still, Sakura had been brave and been slapped for her efforts. She was afraid to try again but before her fears could overwhelm her, Madara spoke first. “Would you like to train with me?”
“Um, if that means we can be friends?” Sakura answered dumbly because he’d interrupted her build up and now her brain simply dropped her request into his. Madara looked at her for a moment, surprised by her question and fear began to build while her gut started to tie itself into knots.
“Alright, I think I’d like that actually.” Madara grinned at her, actually smiled and the energy that lived within him was warm and welcoming, like a campfire surrounded by friends. There was sadness as well, like a quiet night without stars but the flames kept away the darkness even though it was present.
“I don’t know how to train though, I’m not a shinobi.” Sakura said the word slowly, making sure she said it correctly. She was an heiress and she was smart, even though according to her parents girls couldn’t be geniuses, they were house wives and home makers.
“Then…” Madara fidgeted with his wooden sword nervously. He could teach her but that could be a betrayal of his clan. On the other hand if he taught her and she was strong she could join his clan. The two children considered the problem silently before Madara nodded to himself and Sakura watched him curiously. “Then I’ll teach you.”
“You will?” Sakura had always wanted to be like the people who jumped across the rooftops of Konoha. They were so cool, with their shinobi magic and their ability to practically fly. She wanted that for herself, for as long as she could remember. If she was a shinobi she would be able to find her parents or learn about her clan. She would be able to prove that she wasn’t Chigiri, that she was Konohagakure.
“Yeah, I will.” Madara replied, putting his hand on his chin in a gesture he knew adults considered thoughtful. He could vaguely remember his own first step in training, which was the activation of the chakra reserves. It would happen naturally, given enough time and effort but once a child hit two years old, an adult or another chakra wielder to stimulate their chakra and allow them to get a feel for their own power. From there, they would learn to meditate and channel their chakra before beginning early kata and learning shurikenjutsu.
“So uh, I need you to sit down.” Madara said, though he didn’t sound very certain. Sakura looked at him, watching his expression closely and saw the lack of confidence written all over his face.
“Should I?” Sakura asked, not trying to doubt her new friend but he seemed nervous. She didn’t want him to make a mistake because then he’d feel bad and she’d feel terrible for not stopping him. Madara blinked before giving her a firm nod, confidence slowly making its way onto his features.
“Yes,” Madara said and there was certainty in his voice. “Sit down so you don’t fall over. I’m going to open your chakra and help you learn how it feels to call on it.” Sakura listened to Madara’s words and carefully picked out a spot free of jagged rocks to sit down. “Okay, just hold still. It’ll feel odd but you need to focus on that feeling and learn to control your chakra.”
“Okay,” Sakura gave Madara a nod and despite her nervousness she let him approach. She had no idea what was going on or where she was, but if this strange boy wanted to be her friend and teach her things, that was the nicest thing anyone her age had ever done for her. She could ask the questions burning in her stomach some other time, when she wasn’t terrified of being left alone once more. She didn’t want to drive Madara off after all.
“Alright, um, you ready?” Madara asked and Sakura could tell he was nervous but he didn’t seem mean or angry. His eyes filled with concentration as he made a few hand signs and then placed his hand on her back, his chakra humming through his fingers and causing the chakra within her core to stir suddenly. Sakura gasped as a flood of life wove its way through her body. She knew this feeling, the sensation came whenever that Inner voice spoke, the other Sakura was tied to this energy, fueled by it.
“Concentrate on your chakra. Try and keep it flowing through you when I pull my hand away.” Madara instructed, sounding far more confident then he looked as he pulled his hand away. Sakura focused, willing her chakra to flow and like a muscle she didn’t quite understand it sputtered and protested but she held it. It was strangely exhausting and Sakura could feel sweat bead up on her brow as she concentrated on her thrumming chakra. It felt smooth, intuitive, like it wanted to answer her call but was too weak to really listen.
“You have to build up your chakra, like any other muscle.” Madara explained as Sakura struggled with the energy she could always feel, within herself and the world around her, yet had never controlled. “Meditation builds control, use builds reserves, to become a strong shinobi you need both.” Madara spoke softly, remembering the words Kagami had imparted onto him only a year ago.
Sakura breathed in, keeping her focus on her chakra which had a flow all its own. There was no pulse to it, no heartbeat or breath, instead it flowed at a set speed through her body, spiraling out from her core and moving through her body, down to her toes, out to her fingers and up to her head. It had a feel, just like Madara’s, just like the chakra in the grass and the trees or carried upon the wind. Her chakra was alive, calm and kind, refreshing like mint and malleable, flowing like water.
“Wow,” Sakura whispered, awed by the sensation of her own chakra. It was almost overwhelming, almost unpleasant, to feel so cold, yet the roaring sensation of life that filled her chakra kept her from shivering and the rightness of the cool, minty and fluid power felt at home in her body, right in a way she couldn’t truly describe. It was wonderful.
“Amazing, isn’t it?” Madara was precocious as all children of war were, but he knew wonder still. His eyes were still innocent and his emotions beyond his ability to control even though he did his best to live up to Kagami’s legacy. “Chakra is a gift that was given to us by the gods.” Madara explained and slowly, carefully took Sakura’s hand.
The girl watched as Madara’s hand flickered with chakra and he pressed his palm to hers. She could feel his intent, his excitement flash across his skin and her own chakra rose, excited and delighted to meet his. She knew in that moment exactly what Madara was feeling, just as he knew her heart. The two children broke into massive grins, eyes crinkling with the force of their excitement. Sakura couldn’t remember ever smiling so wide, not when her adoptive parents reminded her that her teeth were scary, ugly things, ill befitting a woman of the Haruno clan.
“So what now?” Sakura asked and Madara tapped his chin before he snapped his fingers. He still had to practice sticking a leaf to various parts of his body, though it had started with his forehead. He ran over to a nearby tree and scampered up the trunk, chakra running from his foot to the wood beneath and allowing him to climb up and snatch a leaf before he returned to Sakura.
“That’s amazing! You just ran up that tree! How did you do that?!” Sakura asked and Madara blushed furiously. Sakura wasn’t sure why he was blushing so fiercely but she could understand. If anyone called her amazing, she’d probably react the same way.
‘We are amazing!’ Inner’s voice was soft, yet fierce and her chakra pulsed, momentarily speeding up and filling her body with strength before settling back down.
“Here, you need to stick it to your forehead with chakra.” Madara said and placed the leaf into Sakura’s hand. Sakura moved to press it against her forehead but Madara held her wrist steady. “You need to feel how much chakra is in the leaf, that will tell you how much you need to use to get it to stick. Too much and you’ll pop it.”
Sakura looked down at the leaf in her hand and felt the chakra within it. It was dim, a drop of power that was slowly waning. Eventually the leaf would be as dead as the rocks on the ground, though it would be quite some time before that happened. Slowly, she pulled on the power that was flowing through her, willing it to obey. Her chakra moved eagerly as she placed the leaf upon her forehead. She felt it brush against the chakra within the leaf, resonating with it.
Satisfied, Sakura could tell the leaf was no longer dying. It drank from her chakra happily, its chakra holding stead as she held it to her forehead. Removing her hand from the leaf, she watched it flutter past her eyes as it fell. Sakura blinked in surprise as it brushed her nose, tickling as it fell free. ‘I thought I had that right.’ The rosette thought as she caught the leaf with an open hand.
“Why didn’t it work?” Sakura wondered aloud and Madara cocked his head, eyes on the leaf.
“Dunno, it felt right.” Madara murmured, forgetting his manners as he took the leaf from Sakura’s hand and pressed it to his own forehead. Sakura watched as she felt his chakra slowly latch onto the leaf, carefully gripping it and becoming sticky. It didn’t just resonate with the leaf’s chakra, it gripped it. Emerald eyes widened in realization at what she had done wrong and Sakura struggled against the urge to bounce with excitement. Such displays were ill befitting a Haruno after all.
“May I see it?” Sakura asked, holding her hand out, while trying to be patient. Madara blinked before nodding, blush creeping up his neck as he handed the leaf over. Sakura missed the flushing of skin, and excitedly pressed the leaf to her forehead. Her chakra answered her call and after a few seconds of effort, she managed to mimic what Madara had done, the leaf sticking to her skin as she pulled her hand away. “I did it! See, look!” Sakura grinned and shook her head side to side, her short hair fluttering around her head as she did so, yet despite the motion and breeze, the leaf stayed firmly attached to her.
“Good job, you’ll be a great shinobi if you keep that up.” Madara grinned happily and Sakura felt her cheeks go pink because of his praise. She was never good enough for her family and she didn’t have any friends so hearing such open words of encouragement was a rare thing. “Now you need to practice doing that while adding leaves to other parts of your body.”
“Like where?” Sakura asked and Madara pulled out a pair of leaves and gently took the one from her forehead.
“Your hands and forehead, then your hands, shoulder and forehead. From there you start adding them at random. Here, I’ll help.” Madara said and over the course of the next few hours, slowly covered Sakura with leaves as the rosette deftly kept a hold of every single one he placed on her. “Wow, I don’t think I’ve ever met someone who could hold onto so many.”
“Really?” Sakura wondered as she felt a strange twinge in her stomach. She yawned slightly and Madara suddenly looked worried.
“Alright, you should stop now.” Madara said and Sakura let her chakra return to her. She had been feeling slightly woozy but as the energy rushed back to its normal path, she suddenly felt buoyed. It was like her energy had returned and then just as fast as it had came, she felt it drain away and her stomach ached. She felt tired in a way she couldn’t really articulate, having no reference for what a physical workout even was. She was Haruno and women of the royal court did not get sweaty or exert themselves when there were others to do such things. At least according to Mebuki Haruno, her adoptive mother and matriarch of the noble civilian clan.
“I feel strange,” Sakura admitted, yawning again and swaying slightly in the cool breeze that swept over the mountain.
“That’s because you used up most of your chakra. Focus on your core, it’s in front of where I put my hand.” Madara pocked Sakura’s back gently and Sakura realized it felt dim. It wasn’t empty but it felt drained, like her let had been expended and had gone from a candle to an ember. Still, despite the tugging and ache, Sakura felt ecstatic, she, Haruno Sakura, civilian nobody had used chakra! A massive sharp toothed grin stole over Sakura’s features as her lips pulled back with so much force her cheeks ached.
“I can feel it!” Sakura exclaimed and rose to her feet, only for the sudden head rush to turn her legs to jello. She had been sitting down for hour, focusing on her chakra while Madara gathered more leaves and practiced swinging his sword while stuck ever more leaves to her person. “Hey, so what next?”
“Hmm, next we eat lunch!” Madara chirped and grabbed Sakura’s shoulder to steady her.
***
Madara wasn’t sure how he was going to sneak the tennyo into the clan’s fortress. The compound was well defended and surrounded on all sides by sprawling rice patties that provided absolutely no cover. Of course a true shinobi could move under the shallow water or through the earth but Madara wasn’t a shinobi yet and the tennyo, Sakura, certainly wasn’t either.
Still, she clearly didn’t belong to an enemy clan. Madara knew what Senju and their allies looked like and with her emerald eyes, she clearly wasn’t a Hyuga or Uchiha. No, her appearance was so foreign, she had to be entirely unique and thus nobody would suspect her of being a threat. Besides, it wasn’t like Madara was going to take her to the main house, so he reasoned it was safe enough.
Sakura followed noisily after him, something he’d have to fix. It was clear she had no training in the shinobi arts, but her attempts at formal etiquette and clear speech spoke of a proper upbringing. ‘She has to be a tennyo, a youkai wouldn’t be so polite and well behaved.’ Madara decided as he took the girl’s hand and lead her through the trees and down the mountain trail that wound through the Uchiha training grounds.
Madara kept a slow pace, aware that Sakura had likely never moved at speed before in her life. She did well keeping up, but her breaths came in large pants and gasps as they reached the edge of the rice fields. Standing within the trees, Madara hesitated because he desperately didn’t want his father to learn of the tennyo. Tajima was many things, but first among them was the leader of the Uchiha clan. It was upon his shoulders that the burdens of the war fell. Every spy, every death, every defeat, all were Uchiha Tajima’s responsibilities and one day they would become Madara’s.
Madara knew his father wouldn’t take kindly to a stranger seeing the defenses up close. Merchants weren’t allowed to pass through the gates, while the farmers and laborers lived in homes built within the outermost courtyard. Sakura wasn’t a merchant but she also wasn’t an Uchiha so it was likely she’d be stopped at the gate and worse, with her brilliant hair and gem tone eyes, she’d attract the attention of anyone who saw her. In short, he didn’t want to bring her any closer but he could tell she was hungry.
Crinkling his nose, Madara looked towards the fortress walls then back to Sakura who was watching him with those large emerald eyes of hers. He thought over the various ways he could solve the problem before he realized he had another option.
“Wait here,” Madara told Sakura who nodded and hid behind a tree, suddenly very shy. She was surprisingly talented at disappearing among the leaves and bushes, though Madara wasn’t all that surprised. Her chakra was small, comparable to a young deer and while her hair was bright and noticeable, it was short, not even reaching the base of her neck.
Darting out from the trees, Madara made his way to one of the many shaded rest stations set up for the field workers. Several women were in the process of making riceballs for the laborers and Madara only had to ask to receive enough for himself and Sakura. Running back to the trees, he met back up with the girl and lead her away from the fields, into the safety of the heavily patrolled woods that made up the Uchiha training grounds.
“Here,” Madara handed off a bamboo bottle of tea and several balls of rice to Sakura before turning to his own food. The rice had been cooked in a thin broth, likely duck or fowl though it Madara couldn’t quite tell. He ate his food quickly, scarfing down the somewhat bland balls of grain before turning his attention to Sakura.
The rosette was eating slowly, still on her first ball of rice and Madara watched curiously as she took a careful, small bite. Her razor edged teeth moved slowly behind closed lips and he could tell she was struggling to properly crush the fine white grains. He hadn’t considered that might be a problem, but Sakura didn’t complain, diligently eating her meal with small, graceful bites. It was painfully obvious she wasn’t a shinobi, due to how slow and delicately she ate her food. Sure shinobi didn’t eat like slobs with mouths wide open and stuffed cheeks but eating quickly and efficiently was an important skill on the battlefield, a skill the girl lacked.
Suddenly Sakura paused and met Madara’s eye, mortification pulling the rosy color from her face. Madara frowned as the girl hid behind her pink bangs.
“What’s wrong?” Madara asked carefully and Sakura stammered a few incoherent words. “Did you bite yourself?”
“N-no, I just…” Sakura trailed off and Madara waited patiently. He didn’t want to lose the tennyo’s friendship or chase her away. Sure her teeth were unusual but so was pink hair and he rather enjoyed how different she was. She was so alien that he didn’t think about the Uchiha or Kagami while he was watching here, there was just the mystery of exactly who and what she was.
“It must be hard, to chew the rice, right? Don’t be embarrassed, I think your teeth are cool.” Madara admitted because he honestly wished he had teeth like that. He could imagine them being useful, he’d never need to worry if he didn’t have a kunai because his own teeth would be weapon enough.
“I’ve been told I get them from my father.” Sakura admitted softly and Madara looked at her curiously. It was unusual to speak of your family to strangers, at least for shinobi but Sakura wasn’t a shinobi, perhaps not even human. ‘Do tennyo have different traditions?’ Madara didn’t know but considering how soft Sakura was he knew she didn’t come from a shinobi family.
“Oh, my condolences.” Madara said quietly, because apparently even tennyo knew tragedy. It made sense in a twisted way, why else would the gods not have intervened yet in the wars upon the Earth? The heavens were embroiled in their own tragedies and thus the gods were absent. Perhaps that was how Sakura had fallen, caught up in some great catastrophe, she had been fairly shaken after all and still looked a bit ruffled.
“It’s okay, I never met him or my mom and besides I don’t know if they’re actually dead. Hahaue lies a lot and she doesn’t like me. Apparently I was the only one closely related enough and with good enough breeding to become the heiress.” Sakura huffed in annoyance because while she didn’t know what life would have been like if the Haruno hadn’t taken her in, she was sure it would have been better. She was miserable in Konoha because nobody believed she belonged their. Mebuki would always cluck her tongue in annoyance whenever Sakura’s sharp teeth pocked out from behind her lips and a sharp slap across the knuckles soon followed.
“I’m sorry to hear that.” Madara replied and realized he had no idea what he was going to do with Sakura once it came time to head home. A tennyo, especially one that was apparently a hime couldn’t be allowed to sleep outside. Glancing at the girl, Madara tried not to panic because he had no idea how he was supposed to handle this. Should he ask his father for help or head to the temple of Amaterasu and get one of the Miko? He didn’t know but he still had to practice his kata, so he had time to figure things out.
“So, um I’ve got to practice my kata. want to learn?” Madara asked awkwardly and Sakura blinked before nodding. Madara grinned and took his basic stance. He stood at a slight angle to her, left arm guarding his upper body and head while his right arm was behind it and slightly lower, both hands held in ready fists. He was lowered slightly, knees lightly bent and feet spread apart so he could absorb the force of blows and yet still move quickly. It was a stance Sakura had never seen before and she’d watched the most recent chunin exams with her parents.
“You want to be at a forty five degree angle with your opponent. Your feet should be spread kind of like a triangle, see?” Madara explained motioning to how his two feet and then waved his arms to draw attention to them. “And your arms should be like this. You guard your upper half with your lead arm and your other arm is ready to deliver a powerful strike or block an attack to your stomach.” Madara finished awkwardly but Sakura didn’t even notice as she nodded and tried to mimic his stance.
“Not quite, your feet should be a bit farther apart, line them up with your shoulders then widen them just a bit further apart, yeah like that.” Madara demonstrated and Sakura quickly understood what he meant. “Okay, now pull your dominant leg back.” Sakura stepped back with her right leg and Madara looked over her stance. She had it down perfectly now and he gave her a nod.
“Now that you’ve got that you need to hold your stance while moving.” Madara took a step and as he did so, he swapped the position of his arms and legs. Every time he stepped forward, his lead leg and arm came up in the guard position while the trailing leg and arm held the lower, supporting position. Sakura tried to mimic it, moving much slower and struggling slightly but that was fine because she wasn’t Kagami, nobody was.
While Sakura practiced moving back and forth, Madara gripped his sword and began to practice his strikes, chaining blows and counters together in a clunky dance. He had always enjoyed training, the physical movement and flow of chakra demanded his utter concentration but this was the most fun he’d ever had. Gone were the fears of failure or the crushing sense of responsibility that dogged his every effort. Instead, he swung his sword, trying to get the blow just right while watching Sakura from the corner of his eye as she tried to figure out how to move while keeping up her guard.
It almost came as a surprise when the sun dipped below the horizon and the mountains cast the land into darkness. The pink sky overhead was several shades darker then Sakura’s hair and Madara turned his attention to the girl who was panting, her cheeks flushed a rosy pink from exertion and her bangs sticking to her pale forehead that was dappled with color as blood rushed to the surface to release heat.
“We should probably go home now.” Madara said quietly and realized he hadn’t given any thought to where she would spend the night.
“Oh, yeah probably.” Sakura said quietly, her lips pulling down into a frown as she looked around. “Will we meet again?” Sakura asked and Madara blinked, because that was the question he wanted to ask her.
“Yeah! I still need to teach you how to be a shinobi after all.” Madara stated firmly and gave a sharp nod. She was utterly defenseless and if the Senju happened across such easy prey they would surely do horrible things to her. It was practically an obligation to keep teaching her. “We are friends after all.” Madara looked up at the girl through his bangs and she gave him an absolutely massive smile as the sun finally dipped below the horizon.
“Okay, see you tomorrow Madara-kun!” Sakura chirped and then vanished in a flash of light.
Madara stared dumbly at the spot the girl had been. There was no scorch marks or indents that would indicate a movement jutsu nor had their been a gust of air or pulse of chakra. The natural chakra of the world had swelled, but Madara knew Sakura couldn’t have been responsible for that. She’d only just unlocked her chakra after all.
“Perhaps the heavens took her home?” Madara scratched his head then shrugged, unable to piece together what happened. Instead of pondering over what he didn’t understand, he began to stretch as his father jumped down from the nearby trees, a proud look in his eyes even as his face remained tightly controlled.
“Madara, still practicing?” Tajima asked, tone blank but Madara knew his father approved.
“Yes chichiue,” Madara answered and Tajima gave him a nod.
“You’ve been out here all day and I’ve felt your chakra constantly working itself. Good job.” Tajima said and Madara had to fight down a proud smile. His hand came down on Madara’s shoulder and gave it a squeeze. “I know it is hard, but if we do not carry this burden the Uchiha will fall. The clan relies upon the head to keep our hearts in check. We must be the bedrock upon which our clan can rely, the wind that tends to our people’s fire. You are not Kagami, but neither was I. Do you understand Madara?”
“I understand Chichiue,” Madara said quietly as Tajima began to guide him back home. The truth was Madara knew exactly why his father was so harsh and demanding. The head of the Uchiha clan wasn’t immune to the emotions that raged within all of their hearts, a wildfire that burned bright and would turn the world around them to ash if allowed to rage freely. It was their responsibility to temper themselves and their people, to control the flames of the Uchiha and ensure they burned bright and steady.
“Good, we will train some more tomorrow then. I will have to go on patrol soon, so I expect you to keep practicing even when I am gone. Akahiko will be teaching you kenjutsu in my absence. I expect you will listen to her.” Tajima gave Madara a stern look and the boy gave a light bow. The retired kunoichi was still fairly young, only sixteen but she had just missed her period and thus was fortress bound until her pregnancy ran its course, much to her husband’s relief. “Now let’s head home, Izuna misses his big brother.”
Madara couldn’t stop the grin that his father’s words brought to his face. Izuna was his entire world now that Kagami was gone. His mother had passed away during childbirth and Tajima was too heartbroken to even consider taking another wife. Breathing in deep, Madara looked back towards where Sakura had been when she vanished and hoped he’d see her again.