Twiceborn: Second Bloom | Alternate

Chapter Seven: Uchihas... Uchihas Everywhere...

Wind rustled through her hair, pulling at the hood she had covering her spiky locks. She couldn't be seen with them. They were far too Madara-ish and the last thing Sakura wanted to be linked to was him, or rather just the entire Uchiha Clan in general. Her sisters, though, apparently had other plans entirely, hence why they were in a play area full of Uchiha children. They were running about the park, playing a game of tag with Naruto and Sasuke, which Sakura was letting them win. She could tag any of them with an alarming amount of ease, but then again she hadn't exactly been taking it easy on her body for the past... months. It had been months since she'd landed in a past that wasn't hers. She hadn't wasted a single minute of it – from keeping her sisters from walking off with any strangers, to press-ups and katas in the overgrown swamp of a garden. She'd be ready for anything. The little amount of muscle she'd managed to build was proof of that much. She'd be stronger than before. Far stronger. In fact, she was fairly sure she'd be able to beat her twelve-year-old genin self, but then again that didn't say much. She'd been pathetically weak... always crying out for precious Sasuke-kun... but she wasn't Haruno Sakura anymore. She was Sakura. Just Sakura. The existence of that pink-haired green-eyed girl who'd been sitting with Ino was proof of that much, no matter how much it stung. She'd seen her old mother—no Mebuki. Haruno Mebuki. That was all she was to Sakura now. She wasn't her mother. Sakura had Misa. She loved Misa. Her new mother was far cooler. She didn't need her old one... the old one who'd given affection to some sort of interloper. Sakura bit her lip. No. She was the interloper. She was the one who wasn't supposed to exist. Her eyes narrowed, hand slapping down on Sasuke's back. "Tag!" she hissed, darting away before he could retaliate.

"Dammit, Sakura!" he snarled, charging after her in seconds, changing course to Naruto when he realised she wasn't about to let him catch her. He wasn't going to tag his precious Mio, that Sakura knew. She shuddered at the thought. Baby Sasuke liked her sister. He actually liked her, and it was adorably cute... even if it set her overprotective sisterly instincts wild. Sasuke would rue the day he hurt Mio's feelings, accidental or not.

"Ha! Sucker!" she yelled back, ducking into the bushes, smirking as she heard Naruto's complaints as Sasuke slapped his shoulder, making short work of his blonde best friend.

Naruto's lips soon quirked up in a smile, and Sakura knew exactly who he was going to target. His next words only confirmed her thoughts, as well as bringing a small smile to her own lips. Naruto's cheerfulness had always been infectious. "I'm coming for you, Aki-chan!"

Akira shrieked, running away from him as he sprinted towards her. Inwardly Sakura preened, having ensured her sisters had improved their sprinting and running capabilities. She'd done that... brought them up from a pathetic jog they called running. That had been one of the first things she'd done – taught them how to run away. She'd drilled that lesson into their heads what must have been a thousand times.

"If you know the enemy is too strong, then you have to run away."

Sakura grinned, shaking off the memory, hurrying into the treeline and hiding there. The youngest of their triplet group would target either her or Mio once she was it, and she wasn't about to let herself get tagged again anytime soon. Instead, she busied herself looking around at the group of four in front of her, smiling softly at their shrieks and laughter. They were running around, playing like the children they were, as it was supposed to be. She wasn't a child anymore. She'd lost the right to call herself that once she'd graduated. It didn't matter if she wasn't in that particular life, or that particular body, anymore. She had the memories. She could recall the taste of blood on her lips, the scent of dead, decaying bodies. She saw them every night she fell asleep, and it was only the soothing warmth of her sisters that kept everything at bay. Well, the screams at least. She couldn't afford to traumatise her sisters, or let her mother know she was something of a troubled child. Misa didn't need that to deal with on top of caring for nine other children. She was busy enough as it was... besides, it wasn't like it was that important. Sakura could survive. She'd done it for years.