Sakura, the Beginning of a Kunoichi

9.- First Steps

Fear paralyzes and prejudices condemn. No matter how much assurance you're given that everything is fine, the mind can be treacherous.

Tobi slammed the dining room door with such force upon entering that it surely echoed throughout the building. Those in the room ignored his antics, knowing it was typical of him, and it made no sense to scold or reprimand him so early in the morning. Especially today, when all the members of Akatsuki had been awake since very early, even those who typically didn't leave their rooms until noon.

"Sakura-chan is so mean!" Tobi whined, displaying the enormous bump on his head. "I tried to get her out of bed, but miraculously, she didn't throw a poisoned kunai at me."

Sasori smiled with satisfaction upon hearing that she, knowing he was the one to blame for teaching Sakura to poison her weapons at the age of seven to make them more effective. The others ignored Tobi's commotion and returned to their cups of tea or coffee, trying to stay awake at seven in the morning.

"I'm busy making breakfast, so someone else has to go," Itachi said as he formed rice balls on the kitchen counter.

The others glanced at each other, waiting to see who would go fetch Sakura.

"Go get her, she'll surely appreciate her father waking her up bright and early," Konan said to Pain with a false sweet tone, despite her stoic expression.

"In the early mornings, she's your daughter," Pain replied, taking his coffee and reading the newspaper, ignoring Konan's death glare.

"Someone watched 'The Lion King' a bit too much with Sakura," she muttered under her breath.

The truth was, neither of them felt like getting up from their seats just yet. They could wake up early, but their movements remained sluggish when they weren't on missions.

Kisame grunted, having had enough of Tobi's constant shouting in his ear. The previous night, he had drunk at a bar until he nearly passed out, and now he had a strong hangover. With a crash, he set his sake cup on the table and, without saying a word, stormed out of the room.

Everyone else continued with what they were doing at the table, accompanied only by the sound of Tobi humming as he sat in a chair. They heard Kisame shouting at Sakura to come out of her room or he would force his way in. Silence enveloped the room until the sound of creaking wood was heard.

"What are you doing? Let go of me, Sharkie!" Sakura yelled.

No one moved.

"Stop acting like a brat, fuzzball," Kisame shouted.

Suddenly, they heard another door open, followed by Sakura's scream and a splash. Shortly after, Kisame returned to the kitchen as if nothing had happened. No one said anything about it.

"Does anyone want shrimp on their rice ball?" Itachi asked after a while.

The kitchen door opened again, revealing Sakura with wet hair from showering, clearly against her will, judging by the frown on her face.

"That was a low blow," she said to Kisame, puffing out her cheeks.

"That was doing what's necessary," he countered with a big, mischievous grin. "Besides, I don't know what you're complaining about so much. It's just school, you're not going to die or leave Amegakure."

Sakura's furrowed brow disappeared, giving way to concern. Today was her first day of school. For the past month, she had been bouncing with excitement throughout the building, eager to learn something new. She loved studying and dreamed of becoming the best kunoichi someday. However, that excitement vanished the night before when she went to bed.