Zaman

Chapter 15

The librarian, Fumiro, had come to expect the funny, pink-haired genin–Sakura was her name–that frequented his place of work. She always had the most peculiar book-requests, punctuated by mundane adventure novels that her peers enjoyed. All in all, she was incredibly abnormal yet normal at the same time, a fun puzzle for the Fumiro to spend his time working out.

One particular sunny Saturday, Sakura marched into the library with her typical sense of purpose and belonging. She always walked around the library as if she knew exactly what she was looking for, yet she still requested Fumiro's assistance every single time. Fumiro sat at his desk, brimming with anticipation to hear what fun title Sakura would request this time; maybe it would be another book of Senju clan techniques, or maybe this would be another tragic memoir of the Uchiha clan, or maybe even, she'd be looking for the sequel of the new adventure novel, The Reign of Raiko.

Sakura slumped onto the chair in front of Fumiro's desk dramatically, sinking into its cushions.

"I need a romance novel," she requested simply. "I've been reading too much heavy material lately. From the historical texts I've been scanning to The Reign of Raiko, which is really quite dark, I've been overburdened with–well–heavy stuff. I need something sappy."

Fumiro raised an eyebrow in amusement. Sakura's little rant was quite dramatic for a thirteen year old. Truly, how burdened could she be? Then, Fumiro remembered Sakura's concerningly tragic reading list and rescinded his previous thought.

"Hmm." Fumiro tapped his chin thoughtfully. Personally, he was a real romance fan, though he'd never admit it to any of his peers. Some of his favorites were a tad too raunchy for someone of Sakura's delicate age, but some of the sappier (and in his opinion, better) novels were perfect for a romantic teenager. "Have you considered Bonds across the Battlefield?"

"Why does every book you recommend for me have an alliterated title?" Sakura muttered under her breath, watching as Fumiro fumbled around the back shelves, looking for the aforementioned book.

"Don't blame me, blame the author!" Fumiro insisted, placing the hefty book on his desk. "Now, I've really come to love this book. And the male lead is so dreamy. My boyfriend is always teasing me, saying that I love a book character more than I love him."

"You're a librarian," Sakura shrugged. "You probably do."

"Hey!" Fumiro exclaimed, feigning offense. "You take that back. I love my boyfriend very much, thank you."

"Are you sure he really exists?" Sakura teased. "You've never told me his name."

"That's because Konoha is small and I don't want a pesky little genin bothering him."

"Yeah sure. Because he definitely exists."

"Anyway," Fumiro sighed, changing the topic, "you've got a month with this book. Come and talk to me about it once you're done. I'm sure you'll love it."

"And before I leave, I need one more book." Sakura's tone was serious now. "I know that I've exhausted all the genin-available books on the Uchiha clan, but there's some information I need to find. I'm taking the chunin exams soon, so could just let me into the chunin section for five minutes?" Actually, Sakura was not sure if she'd be taking the chunin exams at all, given the changes that she made to the timeline. But she needed this information if she was going to actually save the world.

Fumiro let out a sad sigh. "Look kid, I don't know what your fascination with the Uchiha is about, or why you really need information on them, but I want to warn you. Getting wrapped up with that clan is dangerous. I know there's only one boy left, but who knows what could happen to him or what he could do to you."