you don't like my rainbow glitter "youth" book?
Sakura is starting to think that maybe there might just be something up with the academy library. This occurs to her only after she visits a regular library in search of a cookbook and finds a rather large selection of very blah-looking covers. No bright yellow or eye-searing pink, no weird colorful shapes or soulful pictures that don’t match the juvenile titles. Quite literally nothing of interest to look at.
They’re all just blah brown or dull blue with exactly what the book is about on the cover.
Is this how books are supposed to be? Sure her academy textbooks are just an average green with the Konoha symbol in the middle but a majority of the library is an assortment of colors.
What is going on here? Are ninjas just more colorful? Is it a code? She bets it's some sort of secret code. Oh, maybe figuring out the code could be her after-school project!
Shikamaru told her last night that he wouldn’t be able to hang out tonight because his clan had some sort of meeting or something and it doesn’t really feel right to go to their spot without him so Sakura had been wondering what she would do this afternoon but now she’s decided, she’s going to crack that code.
26 hours later (Shikamaru left school early because he was sick so she’s yet again on her own) the sun is going to set in an hour and Sakura has most definitely NOT cracked any code, hasn’t even nudged it, she’s starting to think maybe there isn't a code and she’s just looking for something where there's nothing.
None of the letters match up to spell anything, there's no meaning behind how the books are organized, none of the shapes group together to spell anything and as far as Sakura is aware, the colors are purely aesthetic. But then why make all the books so eccentric? There has to be some meaning right?
Sakura made a chart of all the colors, patterns, titles, page counts, and fonts of all the books in the section she was allowed to enter. She’s even got down the first and last word of every book and the title of every chapter but still nothing.
She’s currently sitting at a random picnic table with all her papers strewn in front of her and thinking she might just have to go back to the library tomorrow to figure this out when a shadow approaches from overhead.
She looks up to see what covering the sun to find a head of silver hair and 1 single droopy eye looking over her chart.
“Ah, trying to crack the library mystery are you?”
(Kakashi)
Kakashi had been meandering through the village in search of something to do so that he was appropriately late for a meeting with T&I (because ew therapy) when he came across a small pink child who looked to be on the verge of a mental breakdown.
Now, Kakashi’s seen a lot in his tenure as a shinobi and yet, somehow, he’s never seen anyone with pink hair. So, color him Interested. (re: suspicious)
He had been thinking of just going and wallowing in front of the memorial stone as he usually does when he’s tired of reading and Guy is out of town but, he supposes investigating the living embodiment of a cherry blossom is also a good waste of time. (It has nothing to do with the fact that he's just gotten back from a mission and his paranoia is at its highest, no not at all, his mental health is perfect thank you very much.)
As he approaches the little girl he notes that she has several pages and a notebook spread out in front of her and deducts that this is probably the cause of her distress, which honestly, is a total mood, Kakashi hates paperwork too.
Once Kakashi reaches the girl (and wow her hair is SO much brighter close up) he leans over her shoulder and in an incredible display of horrid situational awareness on her part she doesn’t notice until his shadow is covering up her notes, which covers the academy library?
Oh?
“Ah, trying to crack the library mystery are you?” That’s interesting, most kids don’t notice there’s something up with the library until their last year if they notice at all. Heck, Kakashi didn’t even learn about it until he was a Jonin but that’s mostly because he was only in the academy for a year and had no reason to go into the library. It is rather interesting that she seems to think it’s the setup for some kind of code though, and it seems she’s been rather thorough in working it through.
The girl has turned to look up at him and she has a face of triumph on “So there is a code?!”
She seems proud and Kakashi almost feels bad for correcting her but really it's her fault for assuming mystery equals code and who would he be if he didn’t correct a youngling of the next generation, wouldn't want her to grow too confident now would we? “No I didn’t say there was a code I said there was a Mystery-” and watches with morbid fascination as her smile crumples (he does so love teaching kids) “-but, admittedly the mystery could be a a secret code.”
The girl looks slightly put out and goes to turn back to her project before stopping and looking up at him in a considering manner, “So you know what's going on with the library? Can you help me?”.
Hmmm, on one hand, it would be a good waste of time, on the other, kids are gross and he generally tries to spend as little time with them as possible, and on a third hidden hand, there isn't any real mystery to solve. A majority of the books in the academy library are written by bored Jonin on medical leave.
It started with Lady Tsunade recommending that injured or retired ninjas write about their specialties to pass on to other generations so they don't die of boredom and dissolved into the Jonin community being little shits and writing about all the ridiculous weird history or facts they learn about while on missions or just their hobbies. Some take it a bit more seriously (like Guy who actually enjoys writing little workout pamphlets or Tenzo who takes pride in his Botany books) but nearly every Jonin who writes a book gives it a weird title or a fun cover and publishes it under a fake name (some better than other, Tenzo goes by “Branch” for goodness sake) which makes the library totally randomized.
So, yeah, it's a silly pastime and quite funny if you’re in on the joke but there's no hidden message or anything. It's just something you learn about once you've been promoted and injured enough to warrant it. So really, he’d just be wasting both of their time by “helping” her.
Actually on that thought this sounds perfect, what better excuse for when he's late than, ‘Oh I got stopped by a pink academy student who needed help with her homework.’-
(Sakura)
Mister Kakashi (“Please, Mister Hatake was my father, call me Kakashi.”) might just be one of the least helpful people Sakura has ever met.
When he first agreed to help Sakura she had thought he would be, ya know, helpful. But for the past 7 minutes, he’s just been blabbering on and on about nonsense. He started off strong talking about “seeing underneath the underneath” but then seemed to get carried away with some story about how a giant snail came and bestowed them knowledge and how now the elite now find solace in desecrating tree corpses, “-so then Lord Eyebrows bestowed The Power Of Youth on the younger generation but they were all so distracted by a rainbow that none of them could absorb it and-” wait a minute.
The Youth and Rainbow combination sounds very familiar.
Actually, it's extremely familiar as it is the cover of one of her favorite Taijutsu-related books in the academy library with a dark green glittery cover and rainbow unicorn stickers all over it titled “YOUTH”. Sakura had picked it up soon after they started training in taijutsu because she realized how far behind her technical skills were in that class and it was the prettiest book she could find.
That book taught her more than any of the academy teachers or mandated scrolls did combined and got her to the top of the class in technique and speed. It also introduced her to one of her favorite authors, “Konoha’s Mightiest Guy”.
If Mister Kakashi is talking about The Mightiest Guy as a character in his story then are all the other characters authors? Is the whole story just some elaborate double speak in order to elude to the identities of the authors? (because the authors were one of the first things she checked in trying to find a secret code and she can say with certainty that they all used Pen names and not real ones, probably for security reasons) and if so then do the author's identities reveal the mystery behind the library? And if Mister Kakashi is in the know about the library does that mean HE KNOWS WHO KONOHAS MIGHTIEST GUY IS?!?!?!
Sakura is elated by this discovery and ends up accidentally cutting off Mister Kakashi, “and when the frogs start imparting wisdom what’s a gray man to do but list-“ “-Do you know The Mightiest Guy?!”
“What?” If he’s annoyed by her interruption it doesn’t show in the sliver of face she can see but she does catch a hint of confusion so Sakura decides to clarify, “In the story, Lord Eyebrows is the author of the “Youth” book right? Konohas Mightiest Guy? Does that mean you know him, or at least who he is? Can I meet him??”
Oh, she could definitely see some displeasure in that eye now, (Kakashi's not upset just despairing over Guy's pen name, it is quite literally the least sneaky name he could use) but she couldn’t help but ask, what if he can introduce them? “How do you know Lord Eyebrows is Konoha's Mightiest Guy ” His tone sounds a bit condescending and Sakura unconsciously adjusts to sit straighter with her feet crossed beneath her (like a polite young lady), “Well you said that the eyebrow man “bestowed youth” onto the kids and they rejected it because of a rainbow and there’s only one book in the library labeled “Youth” with rainbow stickers on it” Sakura thinks the connecting is kinda obvious but she guesses you’d have to actually know about the book in order to understand it.
Mister Kakashi seems to visibly wilt after her admission and for a second Sakura feels kinda bad, he seemed to really be enjoying his story, but it doesn’t last very long because meeting her favorite author is far more important than figuring out some library mystery.
He sighs at her pleasing eyes “Sorry kid, you can’t meet him, he’s out of the village right now”
(Kakashi)
Kakashi had started his speech with the intention of telling the kid minimal details but then figured, why stop there? He then proceeded to recite the most ridiculous but factually true story about how the library came to be and the authors that contributed to it and eventually found himself having fun. Doublespeak was always fun when your life didn’t depend on delivering the message.
Unfortunately, in his commitment to the bit he tried channeling his best Guy in his retelling of how the man’s books were doing and apparently did too well and now he’s got a small child looking at him with puppy eyes begging to meet “Konoha's Mightiest Guy” (good lord that’s a bad name, it’s also the reason his friend is winning the “who can make the ugliest” book contest so he can’t really judge too much)
He tries to deflect by asking why she thought the eyebrow man was Guy and received a devastatingly sound argument, weren’t kids supposed to be dumb? (just a week ago he watched Senseis Kid lick his own hair to see if it tasted like lemon)
With another glance at the frankly disgustingly adorable baby seal eyes the girl (whom he really should get the name of) is sporting he admits that Guy is currently out of town. Which is true but even if he wasn't he wouldn’t be introducing them, Guy’s already got some mini-me he’s training, he doesn’t need another. (what a truly horrifying thought)
The kid (Sakura, he can now see written on her notebook) pouts something fierce before tilting her head, looking confused. The small baby child he just met 20 minutes ago then proceeds to close her eyes, lean far too close to Kakashi for his comfort, and sniff him.
At first, he’s a bit surprised because this action is wholly unrelated to the topic they were talking about but you know what? Thats fair. Sniffings fair, Kakashi sniffs all the new people he meets (albeit in a far less obvious manner) it’s a Hatake instinct, he just didn’t expect the cherubic cotton candy exemplar he just met to do the same. Maybe she also comes from a dog-centered clan? (there seem to be a lot of them in Konoha)
“ Well, either way, she probably won’t get much” , Kakashi thinks, he’s got Anbu-grade scent-blocking seals on.
This is quickly proven false when not but a few seconds after nearly ramming her face into his stomach she says, “You smell weird, like lightning, or chlorine.”
Which is… interesting. She shouldn’t be able to smell him unless she's smelling his chakra. (He is a lightning type, so that makes the most sense.) "But how on earth is she smelling mychakra?” That’s supposed to be a Nara technique, and the Nara definitely don’t have any pink hair children.
He’s about to question her on her apparent chakra-smelling abilities when “Oh look, the Hokages messenger hawk, lovely” welp looks like he’ll just have to question the little blossom later. And promptly disappears in a fluffy of leaves.
(little did he know this summons would lead him to being issued a 4 month-long Anbu mission and any and all thoughts about suspicious pink-haired children would elude him until years later and he’s sitting down the night after a village-wide manhunt for senseis kid of all people and opening the files to his 6th potential genin team)
Meanwhile…
Shikamaru was dying and it was all Choji's fault.
See, yesterday, during the monthly Ino-Shika-Cho meeting held in the Yamanaka compound, after Ino had given up hounding Shikamaru for yet again napping through class, Choji recommended that they chill by the clan's koi pond for a bit and feed the fish.
It was only once they got to the pond that they realized they had forgotten all the fish food, so Ino went running to get some after calling them both idiots (like she didn’t also forget).
While his friend was off finding their means of entertainment Shikamaru decided to make himself at home on a rock right on the edge of the water. And just as he’d found a comfortable position, sitting crisscross apple sauce leaning back on his hands, Choji, his friend, his confident, shy beautifully kind-hearted Choji, munching on chips states through a muffled mouth and a deceivingly innocent expression, “You know my mom told me that, in some clans giving someone a lock of hair is a declaration of marriage.”
The emotional and mental damage was instantaneous, and while the rock he was sitting on wasn't all that mossy his hands slip anyway and he promptly falls into the pond scaring all the fish in the area away.
He drifts for a moment, at first in shock but quickly after because of the overwhelming feelings of embarrassment, annoyance, betrayal, and a confusing yearning. His brain is muddled with chaotic half-thoughts of “-what if-”, coldcoldcold “MARRIAGE?!” “-did she mean?-” (what the heck Choji) “-but marriage with Sakura-”, and before that last thought can fully form he sees, blurrily, through the rippling sunlight Choji, swimming towards him who, no doubt from the strain on his lungs, dove after him after it took Shikamaru to long to resurface.
The blurry face that approaches him looks worried but Shikamaru is honestly too annoyed right now to be thankful for his friend's concern. This is all his fault! He’s not only made Shikamaru cold and wet but, as he resurfaces and gasps for breath he realizes, he made him think of all those pesky emotions that flutter through him when he sees or hears or talks/dreams/thinks/admires Sakura that hes been trying to ignore.
And, as they lay heaving on the ground letting the chilly air dry as much as possible before the inevitable nagging they’re bound to receive from both Ino and their mothers there’s no possible way for Shikamaru to keep the blush from his face as he thinks of the implications of Chouji’s statement. “Sakura didn’t mean it like that, did she? She meant it in a friendship way right?” But what if she didn’t??? Are they engaged now?? Should Shikamaru give Sakura a lock of his hair as well? (That comment Kiba made a week ago, “Congrats man” made a lot more sense now)
Shikamaru can definitely acknowledge his fondness for his pink-haired friend but he doesn't think he’s ready to get MARRIED, “he’s not even a genin yet, he wouldn't be able to support her.” he thinks, laying, looking to the sky for distraction only to find a taunting heart-shaped cloud, he can't help but frown at and roll over to face his traitor friend (he may not have told Choji about Sakura but he knows his friend suspects something. He hadn’t been able to hide the bracelet after that first day) only to find him already watching him with a small concerned smile, “you alright?”
All the fight leave him and Shikamaru just nods, sighs, and turns back to face the sky and think about his feelings.
Because yeah, Shikamaru likes Sakura, he likes the way she smiles and laughs, the way she has a question for every topic, and how she’ll braid his hair while going over complex chakra theory with him. He likes how she holds his hand and admires clouds and flowers and on the rare occasion they’re both willing to be late home, the stars. (he loves the way she sees so much wonder in the world)
He likes the way she makes him look forward to tomorrow and the way she makes him Want to learn more so that he can share details and facts with her. He likes the way she frowns when concentrated, or doesn't like when socks have obvious seams, or how she does this little wiggle dance when she eats some sweet treat that Shikamaru brings.
Shikamaru really really likes Sakura, and that's the problem.
Shikamaru shouldn't like her so much. Not when they've only known each other for 3 weeks. It's not normal. Shikamaru doesn't even like Ino and Chouji this much and he’s known them most of his life.
Plus it’s different, with Ino and Chouji and even his parents he needs alone time, he needs time apart from them, to reset, and recharge, but Sakuras not like that. Being with her just makes him want to spend even more time together, it's like he’s never full but somehow entirely fulfilled at the same time and it doesn't make SENSE. He’s pretty sure 7-year-olds aren't supposed to feel this deeply, sure Ino’s come to school telling them that she’s going to marry some pretty kid she met on the side of the road, and Chouji has a very evident crush on the baker down the street but those feel different, fleeting and immature and Sakura, well Sakura feels like everything. Like forever.
And that's pretty scary.
(That night, after his mom has fussed about him and before the fever that comes from falling into a germ-riddled chilly pond sets in, he talks to his dad.
And the next day, when he goes home halfway through lunch, it’s not because his fever’s come back.)
(at least not entirely.)