The death of Sakura Haruno news spread like fire in all nations.
No one would believe she died. Konoha was in despair to lose their cherry blossom. Their medic. Their best friend. Their sister.
Kakashi blamed himself mostly. Being Sixth Hokage, he was the one who gave her the mission. No, he believed in Sakura's strength. He knows his student can't be defeated.
Still, the bounty on her increased many months ago; he still should have been careful.
The bounty hunters had a jutsu that blasted the whole area. It felt like a Biju bomb had been thrown there. Sakura tried to stop the man from performing the jutsu, which caused a reaction.
She managed to save her teammates but not herself, as she got caught in the attack.
Naruto shut himself in his apartment. Hinata was the only one who could comfort him, which she did, even though she didn't believe it.
Sasuke, upon hearing the news of her death, went on a rampage after those who wanted her dead; Kakashi didn't even stop him. Sai broke down. Ino denied it; she didn't believe her childhood friend, her rival and sister, had died.
Yamato, being close to Sakura, took her death the hardest. All of them took her death hard.
"This cannot go on forever, Hokage-sama," it was Shikamaru. "Please... you need to stop Sasuke before he turns the world upside down."
Kakashi let out a bitter laugh. "Our world is already gone, Shikamaru. She was our world. My world." He stood up from his seat and looked outside at the village. "Sakura was Naruto's and Sasuke's archon... Mine, Yamato's and Sai's... If you think I can stop Sasuke? Naruto can stop him? You are wrong... We will burn them all, Shikamaru. My daughter was taken away from me!"
Shikamaru lowered his gaze. "She was my friend too." He looked at him. "But, do you think she would want this?"
"No, she wouldn't." Kakashi closed his eyes. "Never." He opened his eyes. "But is she here? If we do burn them... do you think she would rise from the earth and stop us?"
"This is madness." Shikamaru clenched his fist. "You drag everyone in it, Kakashi."
Kakashi didn't turn around. "Who says no one hasn't been dragged in already?"
They let the world burn for her. Who says she wouldn't do the same? She has done it before—why can't they do it for her too?
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Sakura, or Harriet, didn't like this one bit. It was embarrassing — peeing in her sleep, baby instincts, and breastfeeding.
It was so hard to control her baby instincts.
She couldn't tell the time, how long it had been, or where she was. From what she knew — and she was getting better at the language — they called her Bambi, a nickname given to her by her father, which her uncles also used.
She didn't like that one uncle called Peter. Her Shinobi instincts were on high alert whenever that man came around. Even her twin brother, Harry, didn't like him.
Their parents picked up on this, noticing the twins' dislike toward Peter.
Sirius was Harry's godfather, and hers was Remus. Sakura noticed something odd about her godfather — he looked fragile whenever he came to visit them. No, even worse, like he had been wrestling with bears or something. It left her confused; her medical instincts told her this man lacked sleep, food, and needed a proper diet.
Still, whenever he came around, Sakura was happy to see him. His nickname was Moony. Sirius's nickname was Padfoot.
She found out later why — Sirius could turn into a dog. Her mouth dropped in shock while Harry gawked, then squealed. What Jutsu was that? Or magic? Shape-shifter?
Did that mean Remus could also transform too? If only she could speak soon and ask them how they did this magic.
"Lily! I am heading out!" James walked into the kitchen to find his wife feeding Harriet. "Harry isn't awake yet?"
"He's asleep. I already fed him. Harriet is still wide awake… Are you heading out to work?"
"Yeah, my vacation's almost over. Alastor demands my awesome presence at Headquarters." James grinned. "I'll try to come home as soon as possible." He gave her a kiss and looked at his daughter. "Take care of Mama for me, Bambi." He kissed her forehead.
Harriet cooed and waved. "Ba…!"
James gasped. "Did my daughter say goodbye?? She's a genius!" He took her from Lily and held her up. "Can you say Papa?"
"James, she—"
"Pa!"
James squealed and hugged her. "She said pa!"
Lily's mouth opened and closed as she stared at her daughter. "S-She did…"
"Ha! She said Papa first! You lose, Lils!"
"Tsk, shut it, Potter!"
Harriet giggled.
"She's only eight months old!"
"She's a Potter. I bet you Harry can say Papa too!"
"No way! He says Mama!"
They remind me of my previous life parents… Harriet thought. I wonder how the others are doing… Did Naruto and Hinata finally get wed? Did Kakashi pass the Hokage hat to Naruto? Did Ino wed Sai? Did Yamato get out of his shyness and start socializing with others? Has Sasuke finally come home…?
That last thought made her sad. Yeah, she had promised she would wait for him, but as days passed, her hope for him grew dim.
She loved Sasuke—but did he ever love her? There were doubts in her heart. What if Sasuke would have married her just because she wanted to? Ino and Hinata never had the answers for her.
Ah well… what's the point? She sighed inwardly. I'm dead and reborn in whatever time or world this is. Maybe one day I'll meet them. Who knows.
James handed Harriet back to Lily as he was getting late. He said goodbye to them and left through the fireplace.
Another astonishing thing—Sakura had almost choked on her breath a few days ago when Uncle Remus and Uncle Sirius came through the fireplace with green flames.
Was there a ladder? Why can't they use the door?