Chapter 6
Chapter 6: Parental Rights and a New Friend!
"Fish, fishing for fishcake... my Japanese is getting better. Nice," I mumbled, mastering the tongue twister with ease. I put the book back on the shelf. The library was half full. Today, a different ANBU member was following me. He had a raven mask.
I hadn’t seen him much before or heard him talk, but he was the only sane one in the group. He always reprimanded Weasel and the others for “harassing a civilian!” Thank god someone in the squad had common sense!
But apparently, even he threw common sense out the window when it came to my mascot duties. My duties as a mascot consisted of hanging around the base and getting hugged to death by elite ninjas. WTF does a mascot even do?
I went back to my study desk with books. Raven sat across from me, and for the first time, he spoke: "I can help you learn better. I have a younger brother. I know the struggle of writing."
I gasped. "Really? Thank you, Raven. I suck at writing."
He nodded curtly. Weasel, sitting beside him, gave me a betrayed look. His white mask in the library made him look scarier than usual. "Why not ask me?"
"Because you're annoying!" I snapped.
Weasel gasped, clutching his ANBU mantle like I’d personally insulted him. "I FOUND YOU FIRST! I AM YOUR DAD!"
I placed my finger on my lips. "PSST! We’re in the library! You, my dad? You’re a teenager, and I’m a six-year-old kid. Please. You can’t even take care of me."
Raven chuckled under his mask.
When I finished at the library, I headed home with Weasel and Raven in tow, still bickering like an old married couple.
As we neared my house, my neighbor Sakumo Hatake—yes, that Sakumo, the White Fang—poked his head out from his yard. He immediately zeroed in on Weasel and Raven.
Sakumo quipped from afar, "WHAT? YOU’RE ADOPTING SAKURA?!"
The Jonin picked me up, glaring at Weasel and Raven. "No way! I get to adopt her, Uchiha brat! Me and my son know her better," Sakumo hissed.
Speaking of his son, where was Kakashi? Probably on a mission.
Wait, Weasel was an Uchiha? How did Sakumo know? Maybe, as a Jonin, he’d seen their faces before? ANBU never revealed their identities to anyone; only the Hokage knew their true names. I puzzled over this. I didn’t know much about ANBU, but you pick up a few things when you hang around them.
In Sakumo's arms, I scanned Weasel. I never thought he was different. He was always happy and didn’t have a stick up his ass. How did Canon Sakura fall in love with Sasuke again? Uchihas were the worst.
I jumped out of Sakumo’s arms. "I’m heading home. Bye!"
"Sakura!" Sakumo and Weasel glared at each other as I closed the door on them. Sparks flew between their eyes. Ninjas are the worst.
I shuffled to my bed and flopped down, tired. Why do I seem to never be able to make normal friends? Aren’t ANBU supposed to be doing epic missions? I wondered as I reflected on the past five months since I’d taken over Sakura Haruno’s body. Somehow, I was alive. That was enough.
The next day, I decided to make friends. On the playground, I saw lots of brats. Mentally, I reminded myself I was 12. Unlike these six-year-olds, I was a bit more mature. Further along the playground, I spotted Itachi Uchiha and his little brother Sasuke. Itachi’s eyes wandered to me, flashing with recognition. He turned to Sasuke, said something, and then Sasuke’s eyes lit up as he smiled.
Oh no.
Oh heck no to the no to the hell no!
Oh hell nah, I am staying away from Uchihas!
It’s enough that I had Raven and Weasel!
I turned on my heel and dashed away. To hell with the Uchiha clan!
That’s when I spotted Shino. He was so cute! He was playing all by himself. That’s it! I’d befriend him—he was kinder and sweet anyway. Sasuke would definitely be a menace.
I poked Shino. "Uh, can you hide me? I’m trying to avoid Sasuke Uchiha. I’ll be your friend, but I have to warn you—I’m not a ninja in training!"
Shino nodded, his sunglasses shifting as he pointed at a bush behind him. I crawled in.
Just in time, Sasuke barreled to where I’d just been. "HEY! GIRL WITH PINK HAIR AND GREEN EYES, WHERE ARE YOU? ...Oh, it’s you, Aburame-san. Have you seen a girl with pink hair and green eyes?"
"No, sorry, Uchiha-san," Shino said calmly, and Sasuke left.
I crawled back out. "Nice one, Shino! Let’s go play some card games!"
I grabbed him by the sleeve and dragged him to a different park. The perks of Konoha were that it had plenty of parks. Reaching for a card game in my pocket, I automatically began chatting with the bug user.
Inside my mind, I was freaking out. Why did Itachi want Sasuke to befriend me, a random civilian? I’d never met him before!