Sakura sat down on the dark leather couch, grasping her mask in her hands, and watching on as the family scrambled to make tea and find biscuits to put on the coffee table. Young Karasu was sitting beside Sakura, watching as well. Finally, everything settled down and the rest of the family sat down on the couch in front of Sakura. The mother ushered Karasu away from Sakura to sit with the rest of the family. 

The familiarity of the woman and the three children was still poking at Sakura like a stick in her side.

"Ok, then lets start with simple introductions." Sakura had already made her decision to be more open about the training than the Queen had been with her. And that started by getting to know the family. "My name is Sakura Haruno, more commonly known as The Masked Cherry Blossom. I will be taking your daughter under my tutelage."

She watched on as the two parents shared a look before the man spoke up. "But she's so young, you can't..." His voice died as despair filled his dark eyes. He probably believed she would take his daughter from him. 

Sakura leaned forwards, planting her elbows on her knees and fixing the father with a steady gaze. "Don't worry, she won't be going anywhere, and I'll start off gentle. Starting training too young can actually produce worse outcomes than starting late, on the physical side at least. All I ask is that you allow me to train her in chakra control and mediation. Physical and mental training will begin when she is older."

"May we discuss it? Could we give you your answer tomorrow?" The woman spoke up. 

Sakura nodded, looking down at her mask. She would give them the illusion of choice, but if they refused, she would resort to other methods. "Yes of cour–" She looked into the woman's eyes and gasped, standing up. Both parents were on their feet within seconds, their hands on their children's shoulders. 

Sakura staggered away from the couch, her hands covering her mouth and her eyes searching the woman's features. Her eye's darted to the children, noticing the same in them. "What is your surname." 

The man spoke up, a slight tremor in his voice. "Hirose."

"No, your maiden name." She pointed at the woman. 

"Goya." 

Sakura shook her head, fingers creeping up her face and into her hair. She took a few more steps backwards, before locking eyes with the woman once more. The icy blue eyes bore into her soul, tearing her apart from the inside. It took everything from Sakura to hear the answer to her next question. "Your mother's maiden name?"

Blue eyes.

Beautiful blue eyes.

Beautiful blue eyes that Sakura believed she would never see again.

"Kato."

I'm not sure if you guys remember the last name, but everything was leading up to it so I think you guys can guess who I mean. Comment the first name that matches this surname~!

Not even gonna apologize for not updating in a while because I feel like you guys are used to this. Hehe....

(I love you)