Glassy Sky (A Naruto Fanfiction)

Scars and Clones

"Yosuga!" Sakura called to Yosuga, who was wading in the river, all traces of blood washed from her body. Sakura stood on the bank, near Yosuga's clothes, as she called out to her. "We're leaving soon!"

Yosuga turned to face Sakura and nodded, slowly making her way back to land. After climbing onto the bank, Yosuga wrung her hair, now taken out of their braids and reaching just a bit lower than her shoulders. With her undergarments on, Yosuga was fine with Sakura being there while she changed, until her back faced her fellow kunoichi.

"Naruto had wanted to come get you at first but I figured since you were bathing-" Sakura's rambles trailed off as she stared at her teammates back. Long streaks of pink scarred skin ran along Yosuga's back like vines. They littered her skin, nearly no place left untouched by mutilation. "Yosuga, where did you get those?"

"What?" Yosuga absentmindedly mumbled, pulling her navy blue long-sleeved shirt over her head. It was only when she winced that Yosuga looked down to her bandages and contemplated changing them.

"Those... Scars." It was then that Yosuga noted Sakura's change in tone. Her voice reached just above a whisper. Yosuga rolled her eyes, pulling on her black shorts and slipping on her shoes.

"From punishments." She simply stated. She brought her bloody jacket over to the river, and began to wash it.

"You mean, your family did that to you?" Sakura asked, mortified.

"Of course. Don't your parents do the same?" Yosuga questioned, a bit confused.

"O-of course not!" Sakura stuttered. "Is that just okay to you? Being... Punished like that?"

"Yes." Yosuga replied sternly, getting up from her spot and waving her jacket around to get rid of most of the water. "It's simply a method of discipline in my clan."

"That's-" Sakura was cut off by Yosuga's cold voice as she walked towards her with a glare.

"None of your business. My clan breeds strong ninja. How can those who can't even take a simply beating ever hope to protect their village? An outsider like you wouldn't understand, so don't think your opinion is anything more than insignificant." By now, Yosuga had backed Sakura up against a tree with the most menacing glare Sakura had ever seen. Her eyes seemed to hold nothing but contempt for her teammate.

"I-I-" Sakura was speechless. She never thought that simply being worried would create such a reaction. Or maybe it wasn't because Sakura was worried. Yosuga holds her clan with the utmost respect, so maybe speaking in such a way about her family made her upset. Looking into Yosuga's eyes, Sakura didn't see anything but hatred.

As Yosuga stalked away back to camp, Sakura found herself unable to move from her spot. She was paralyzed in fear. Yosuga had scared her.

***

Later on, Team 7 walked through the forest with the silver haired ninja named Kabuto. Both Yosuga and Sakura found themselves quieter than usual.

Naruto, Sasuke, and Kabuto talked about ambushes and traps around the tower, and while Yosuga had some things to say about their faulty plan, she kept quiet. It took all her concentration not to fall from the branches that they jumped on at a quick pace. The pace was normally nothing compared to her usual speed, but with the gash in her side and all the jostling that came with her movement, she found it very painful. Every once in a while when her foot would land on a branch and send a particularly painful shock through her body, she'd grunt and Sakura would worriedly glance over to her. Only to be met with a glare.