Of Tales now and Long Ago

Of Meetings and Curiosity

Chapter ONE

A creaking sound signaled the door opening. It was so quiet, only those with very keen hearing would have heard it.

Faint moonlight shone through the gap. Then it was gone as the door was closed just as quietly.

A shadow appeared in the candlelit space, a plate in one hand.

"Toneri?" A girl's voice broke the silence of the cave. It sounded very innocent and childish.

The person who had just entered the chamber, Toneri, smiled. "Hello, Sakura-sama."

Toneri stepped through deeper and stopped in front of a sacrifice altar. Placing the plate on the ground, he got onto his knees. "How are you feeling, Sakura-sama?" He asked gently. Respect, as well as a hint of amusement and adoration lit his tone.

"Very well, thank you very much." A girl was sitting on the stone altar, wearing a white high-collared kimono. Bright green eyes blinked back at him. Pink hair sprawled over her shoulders, reaching the floor, uncut since who-knows-when. A pale grey-green sash was tied over her right shoulder. She jumped off the altar as he came closer and ran to the edge of the stone circle. She smiled down at him from the slightly raised ledge.

Toneri smiled and sat down in front of the girl. "Are you hungry?"

Sakura slowly nodded. Toneri reached for the plate he had brought and held it up to the girl. "Here."

Sakura took the plate slowly placed a rice ball in her mouth, chewed, then swallowed. She then repeated the action.

Once the girl had finished the food, Toneri moved the plate aside.

"The Hokage is slowly catching a whiff of something going on in this area. He will no doubt send out a team soon. According to plan, please head to Konoha. From there, everything will go along the flow." He smiled. "Please do not worry."

The girl nodded again. "Don't worry." She repeated.

Toneri stood up. "I will come early tomorrow." He told her. "We can continue our lesson then. For now, please rest?"

"Yeah." Sakura smiled up at him.

Toneri smiled back. "You are learning much quicker than I though you would, Sakura-sama. We can soon move on to the next stage."

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

Toneri visited Sakura everyday, not that she would know. She had never stepped foot outside the cave. Her whole life had been spent surrounded by rocks and darkness.

Toneri had made sure that Sakura's knowledge on the outside world was as small as possible. That was so that no one would suspect anything of her once she had actually stepped foot outside the cave. That was one of the main reasons as to why the Haruno clan kept to themselves, and all children before the Heir choosing ceremony were not allowed to go outside. They spent their entire childhood underground, never having seen the sun. If said child died during the ceremony, they died without seeing the sun once. There was a lot of things Sakura didn't know about the world.

However, Sakura was very knowledgeable about the Ōtsutsuki clan and it's system. She knew nearly everything there was to know about their history, and as a direct descendant of Ōtsutsuki Kaguya, she would be able to sense the reincarnations of the previous members of the clan.

Toneri taught Sakura often. As a member of the Ōtsutsuki clan, she had an affinity for all five Elemental chakra. Though she hadn't shown any signs yet, Toneri guessed that she would have an affinity for Yin and Yang release as well. He wouldn't be surprised it she awakened the Tomogoroshi no Haikotsu sometime in the future.