Early December, Konoha Year 60 – Konohagakure
Leaving the Hokage Tower with Junko, Sakura walked through the streets of Konoha. Her first priority wasn't heading home, but getting Junko's situation settled. Any plans for Junko becoming a ninja would have to wait until her identity was officially cleared.
Since they had arrived in Konoha at dawn, no one knew yet that she was back. As Sakura led Junko by the hand past the Ninja Academy, Junko peered inside curiously.
"Where is this?" Junko asked, her eyes filled with undisguised envy as she watched children her age doing morning runs on the school grounds.
"The Ninja Academy. All of Konoha's ninja graduate from here," Sakura explained, glancing sideways at Junko's wistful expression. She smiled faintly. "If you wanted to study here, I could submit an application to the Hokage for you."
Junko looked tempted for a moment at Sakura's words, but then something seemed to occur to her. Her expression dimmed, and she shook her head, a touch of loneliness in her voice. "No, thank you. I just want to stay by your side."
Sakura felt a twinge of disappointment. She had hoped that immersion in the Ninja Academy atmosphere might help Junko revert to the lively, cheerful girl she once was. But Junko's resolve seemed firm; she wasn't willing to abandon the path of vengeance and allow herself to be softened by such an environment.
Continuing past the Academy, Sakura led Junko straight to the Intelligence Division building and found Yamanaka Inoichi directly in his office. Inoichi, having just started his workday, looked up in surprise.
"Eh? Haruno Sakura, when did you get back? Lord Hokage thought something had happened to you; quite a few Jonin were sent out to search." Inoichi had heard whispers about the situation, recalling Lady Tsunade requesting considerable intel on the Land of Grass.
"Ahem, I just arrived back in Konoha this morning with Kakashi-sensei. We've already reported to Lord Hokage," Sakura explained, coughing slightly in embarrassment. Causing her master so much worry felt genuinely awkward.
"So, what brings you here?" Inoichi asked, moving past the small talk.
Sakura presented the Hokage directive scroll and gestured towards Junko. "She's an orphan from the Land of Grass. Um, she saved my life, so… well… Lord Hokage said I should bring her to you, just to verify she's not a threat."
"Why not take her to Ibiki?" Inoichi asked, frowning slightly.
Matters like this usually fell under Ibiki's jurisdiction in Torture and Interrogation; Inoichi primarily handled intelligence gathering.
"She's not a ninja," Sakura replied simply.
"I see. Come with me, then," Inoichi said, dropping the subject. He privately thought this was making a mountain out of a molehill; a civilian hardly required his department's attention. But since it was a Hokage directive, he had to comply.
"Go with him, Junko. This is a necessary step. I'll wait for you here," Sakura told the girl.
Junko nodded and followed Inoichi, but Sakura noticed her body tense up. Though Junko tried to appear calm, she was clearly wary in this new environment.
Inoichi's office had a large sofa. Having traveled through the night without rest, Sakura saw the sofa and, stifling a yawn, promptly collapsed onto it.
An unknown amount of time later, Sakura felt someone gently shaking her. She groggily sat up, blinking her eyes open to find Junko standing there. Yawning again, she looked around but didn't see Inoichi. "Where's Inoichi-senpai?"
"Inoichi-senpai asked me to give this to you. He went back to work," Junko said, handing Sakura a piece of paper.
Sakura took the paper. It contained various assessment results for Junko, stamped with the official seal of the Intelligence Division.
"Alright, basically settled. Now let's get you registered at the Records Office," Sakura said, standing up and leading Junko out.
Konoha Records Office
"What? It needs an address?" Sakura repeated, slightly taken aback.
"It's required by regulation, please understand," the clerk explained patiently. "You can change it later, though."
"Uh, okay. The address is XXXX," Sakura recited her own home address. It was the first time she'd dealt with this process, and she hadn't arranged a place for Junko yet. Since an address was mandatory, she had no choice but to use her own for now.
Leaving the Records Office, Sakura considered where Junko should stay. Best to ask her first. "Junko, where would you like to live?"
"Where? I don't know," Junko looked lost. "Can I live with you?"
Live together? Sakura felt a headache coming on. Karin was already living at her house, and there were no spare rooms. Sakura had initially planned to rent a place for Junko, but seeing her lost expression, she felt leaving her alone wasn't right. Maybe… maybe she can stay with Karin once Karin's assigned housing comes through.
"Okay then. You can stay with me for now," Sakura agreed. "I'll introduce you to a new friend later." She thought of Karin; it felt like a while since she'd seen her, and she missed her.
Sakura led Junko back to her house and knocked on the door. No answer. Ah… Karin must be at school this time of day. Dad's probably out working. And Mom… likely went out shopping.
Awkward. Locked out. She'd lost her house key ages ago, and the clothes she was wearing were Junko's.
"Haha… Let's come back later. Looks like no one's home right now, and I lost my key," Sakura explained with an embarrassed laugh.
Junko showed no particular reaction, just nodded.
"Well, let's go look at beds then," Sakura decided. She needed to buy a bunk bed; her small room definitely couldn't sleep three people.
She led Junko back out onto the street. By now, more people were out and about. Konoha had grown significantly over the decades; you didn't just randomly bump into acquaintances anymore.
Except, Sakura promptly bumped into someone she knew: Neji Hyuga. She hadn't interacted with him much, and still felt a little resentful about how brutally he'd treated Hinata during the Chunin Exams. Still, he was technically a comrade. Might as well say hello.
"Hey, Neji," Sakura greeted with a small smile as he approached.
However, Neji's reaction was unexpected. He acted as if he hadn't seen her at all, completely ignoring her greeting as he walked straight past.
Sakura awkwardly lowered the hand she'd raised. Fine, whatever. So much for being friendly, she thought, feeling snubbed.
Just as Sakura composed herself to move on, a cold, emotionless voice came from behind her: "Haruno Sakura. One day, I will defeat you!"
"Huh???"
Hearing this, Sakura turned around, completely baffled, watching Neji's retreating back. Did I hear that right? That was definitely Neji's voice. What's his problem? I try to be nice, and he wants to fight me?
Something felt very wrong. If her memory served, Neji was supposed to have found some peace after the Chunin Exams, especially after his fight with Naruto. Why would he ignore her friendly gesture and issue a challenge?
Unless… Neji hadn't found peace? Naruto's fight with him… Oh crap!!!
Sakura was suddenly struck by a possibility: Neji hadn't been changed by Naruto's influence. Then, she carefully replayed the events of the past year in her mind. On the surface, things seemed to follow the script she remembered, but in reality, everything had changed.
Sakura had noticed this divergence before, but since the changes seemed positive overall, she hadn't worried too much. Seeing Neji now, however, sent a chill down her spine, like being plunged into ice water.
Suddenly, she thought of Hanzo. He wasn't supposed to die by her hand; he was supposed to die by Pain's. And Jiraiya—he wasn't supposed to investigate Amegakure now; he was supposed to do it three years later.
The more she thought, the more terrified she became. If Jiraiya died in Amegakure now, she would bear a huge part of the responsibility. Please let Hayama Shirakumo reach Jiraiya-sama in time, let him retreat from Ame… Otherwise… I might have to come clean with Tsunade-sensei…
Sakura had never been cold-hearted. Since finding her place in this world at age three, she had cherished those who were kind to her. But now, her own recklessness might lead to Jiraiya-sama's death. Sakura felt utterly lost.
"Sakura-senpai, what's wrong?" Junko asked, noticing Sakura had frozen.
Junko's voice snapped Sakura out of her spiral of self-blame. Get Junko settled first. Then find Sensei.
Distractedly, she led Junko to a carpenter's shop. She roughly described the size of her room, and the carpenter calculated quickly, promising the bunk bed would be ready by evening. Sakura gave him her address and instructed him to deliver it then.
With no heart for further wandering, Sakura took Junko back home after ordering the bed. Enough time had passed; her mother should be back by now.
Sure enough, after a few knocks this time, the door clicked open. Standing there was Sakura's mother, Mebuki Haruno.
Seeing Sakura, Mebuki beamed. "When did you get back? Is your mission finished? Oh, who's this?"
Clearly, Mebuki didn't know about the events of the past few days. Sakura didn't intend to elaborate. She ushered Junko inside.
"Her name is Junko. Um, she's an orphan I met during my mission. She'll be staying with us for now. Later, when Karin's house is built, she can live with Karin," Sakura explained quickly, then turned to Junko. "Go on in. This is my mother, Mebuki Haruno."
"Good day, Auntie," Junko greeted nervously.
"I have to go. I need to see Lord Hokage," Sakura said, already opening the door to leave again. She paused, looking back. "I ordered a bunk bed; it should arrive tonight. Please look after Junko, Mom."
Then, with a poof, Sakura vanished.
Mebuki stared blankly at the closed door, not having gotten a word in edgewise. That girl really needs a talking to. She turned to Junko. "Hm, you're Junko, right?"
"Yes. Muto Junko," the girl replied, nodding timidly.
"Well, come on in then," Mebuki said. She didn't particularly mind Sakura bringing people home; she actually quite liked Karin. Compared to Sakura, Karin felt more like the daughter she'd always wanted.