Chapter 4
Chapter 4: Making Friends with ANBU
The ANBU who had been following me around—aka my personal stalker—was... persistent. Sometimes he’d try to “look out for me” in his own weird way. I’d be walking around, minding my own business, when suddenly, I’d hear a voice:
"Hm, you need to eat more vegetables, kid. Bread isn’t enough."
I shot a glare at him as I paid for my bread at the bakery. The baker looked at me, confused. The ANBU, on the other hand, was just standing there, looking like an idiot with his mask on. I rolled my eyes, leaving the cozy shop with him still following me. At least I was pretty sure his voice sounded male.
The next time I was in the hospital, minding my own business, I heard his voice again:
"Hey, kid, your chakra’s unsteady. Focus!"
I swear, at this point, I was starting to get annoyed.
Then one afternoon, while I was out for a walk, I nearly tripped over a rock, and guess who was there to “warn” me?
"Kid, watch your step!"
That’s it. I’d had enough.
"WHY ARE YOU FOLLOWING ME?!" I snapped, turning to face him.
The ANBU froze, and his voice wavered when he finally spoke:
"I, uh… well, how do I put it? You saved Shisui Uchiha, and he’s thankful for it. So… he asked me to watch over you. Yeah."
I blinked, utterly confused. "A thank you is enough! He can do it himself! Now leave me alone!"
But, of course, he didn’t leave me alone. He just kept appearing in my life, like some unwanted shadow.
As I went about my days, I heard whispers about Danzo Shimura and some "execution" being planned. I shrugged it off. Not my problem. But this weirdo following me? Definitely my problem.
One day, the ANBU showed up in my usual spot with cat ears on his mask. Seriously.
"NYA! Cheer up, Sakura!" he chirped.
I sighed and closed my book. "Leave me alone."
"NYA!" he repeated, as though his cat ears made him some kind of expert in life advice.
I looked at him, deadpan. "What are you? A cat or an elite ninja?"
"Both!" he replied proudly.
I swear, he was more annoying than anything else. It was getting hard to take him seriously.
Somehow, despite my protests, the ANBU decided to kidnap me and bring me to their base. I still have no idea how that happened. One moment, I was walking home, the next thing I knew, I was being carried by him, surrounded by other ANBU agents in a dark, dimly-lit room.
There was a lot of confusion as I was dropped unceremoniously into the ANBU base.
"Why is there a kid in our base?" one of the other ANBU members asked, looking at me in bewilderment.
I was just as confused as they were. I wanted to ask why I was even here, but I figured it might be better to keep my mouth shut. The ANBU weasel—because that’s what I was calling him now—struck some weird pose while holding me, much to my embarrassment.
"NYA!" he shouted again, as if he was a cat at a convention.
A man wearing a boar mask facepalmed so hard that I could hear it even with his mask on.
"Ugh, I forgot, Weasel is a teenager," Boar said with a sigh. His voice sounded older, definitely not a kid.
Wait, a teenager? Was this kid, who seemed to be stalking me everywhere, a prodigy like Itachi or Shisui or even Kakashi? How old was he? He definitely didn’t seem like the standard ninja.
I, on the other hand, was twelve when I died in my past life. And now here I was, six again, stuck in a world that made no sense. This was insane.
And to top it all off, Weasel dropped me down on the floor, and I was not happy about it. I narrowed my eyes, trying to summon some killer intent, but I honestly wasn’t sure what I was doing. I had never really used it before.
Weasel and the other ANBU froze. The whole room went silent. My little hands clenched into tiny fists, and I could practically feel the pressure of my chakra buzzing around me.
"SHE IS CUTE! I like her, can we keep her?" an ANBU agent with a snake mask asked, her voice almost chirping in amusement.
I rolled my eyes. Was I a pet now?
"Aww, did she try scaring us? Elite ninja with killer intent. Awwww," another ANBU agent with a standard mask cooed, as he patted my head.
I had absolutely had enough of this.
I raised my chubby little hands in the air and squeaked, "I am dangerous! AAAAAAAARGH, I can punch things! NYAAA!"
With a huff, I grabbed the nearest cushion, focused my chakra, and chucked it with all the strength I had at the ANBU agent with the standard mask.
"SHANAROO!" I shouted, mimicking the battle cry I remembered Sakura using back in the series.
The cushion hit him square in the chest, and he staggered back, smashing against the cold base wall with an audible "Uff!"
For a long moment, the room was silent. Then, it erupted into chaos.
"ME TOO! ME TOO!" the snake-masked ANBU said, clapping her hands together in excitement.
"Why didn’t you do this to me?" Weasel asked, dramatically placing his hand on his heart, pretending to be shocked.
"She’s cute!" the boar-masked guy chuckled.
"Her hair is pink—she can be a mascot!" the cat-masked ANBU said, her voice also feminine, but she sounded amused.
And that’s how I became the ANBU Squad’s secret mascot.
I swear, if I ever find a way to get back at Weasel, whoever he was, I’d do it in a heartbeat. But for now, it seemed like I was stuck with him and his weird team of ninja.
Can’t I just be left alone?