There were many things in my old life I never experienced and this time around I did as Hachiko. When I turned seven, I was able to walk around on my own. Running was a bit too much but I was cleared to go to regular civilian school to learn to improve on my already decent reading, not so great writing and half assed arithmetic. I deemed it would be boring. My parents walked me to school and although I knew the drill of being a new kid, I felt very nervous. I blamed this childish body.
The red/white school building was a couple of blocks from the shop. So I assured my parents I could walk back on my own afterschool. Dad was a bit nervous about me going to school especially with my disability but I assured him I could handle it. I didn't get why Dad was so nervous. For school I wore my yellow orange dress with white sash. My hair was braided neatly. So I was generally adorable. I figured this would make it easy to make friends. My parents left me in the care of Momo-sensei, a petite woman who had a round face and wore black-rimmed glasses.
In the class I was assigned to there were 10 girls and 9 boys. Most civilian children who applied to become a student at the Ninja Academy, attended this school until they were 8, or so I heard. When I entered the classroom I stood behind the teacher and I noticed most of the girls sat around a pink haired girl. The pink haired girl looked pouty and down. The girls around her seemed aloof towards the girl's behavior.
"Class, we have a new student today, Hachimitsu Hachiko. Class please treat her kindly and help her out when you can. Hachiko-chan you can sit there next to Yuta-kun, Yuta-kun raise your hand please." A boy with messy dark hair, tan skin and brown eyes lifted his hand up. I nodded and headed to my seat next to the boy, Yuta-kun, when I realized that Momo-sensei hadn't told the class I was mute.
"Hi, I'm Minamoto Yuta." The boy said. I looked to him and nodded nicely. He seemed thoughtful.
"You must be shy. Don't worry I'll show you around." I smiled a bit and noticed the way the girls in class leered at me. I knew that leer, over possessive stare and sneer… Fangirls. I mentally sighed, having once been one, I knew all the symptoms. Being a fangirl, at least to me was like a tumor. it was either benign or malignant to one's personality. It varied from individual to individual, and these girls, they were in the malignant category, that much was for sure based off thier pinched noses and pointed obvious glares.
Class was boring as I predicted. When we were released for a short recess. Yuta-kun wasted no time in taking my hand and dragging me to the swing set at the back of the playground. I sat down at the swing and he sat on the one next to me. It was an awkward silence.
"You don't talk much to you?" He asked. I relented and nodded.
'I'm mute' I signed and he looked confused. I then touched my throat and made a silent 'ah'. His eyes went wide and he jumped off the swing.
"You can't talk? What happened?" My eye twitched, was this kid for real? I crossed my arms and let out a silent sigh.
"Right. No talking. I know we could make up a signing language!" He beamed. I sighed again. I heard a stifle cry and turned my head and spotted the pink haired girl, Pinkie as I decided to call her for I knew not her name. She was ducked and horribly failed to cover her head with her hands. The girls from class were kicking her and poking her forehead while some girls tugged her hair. I jumped from the swing and Yuta-kun looked surprised as I strutted angrily over to the mess of girls. I pushed my way through and earned some cries, more like complaints.
"HEY!"
"WATCH IT!"
I reached down and pulled Pinkie's hand to drag her out of the circle of girls and over to where Yuta-kun was standing by the swings. A tug from my braid had me falling backwards. Pinkie saved herself by pulling her hand away. I looked alarmed as I fell on my butt. I glared at the hoard of girls.
"You should mind your business New Girl." I glared at the group of girls and got up. I turned to the Pinkie who was crying at this point. I really wished I could talk back. I stood up and grabbed Pinkie's hand again to lead her away only for the group of girls to surround us.
"Did you not hear what I said? Are you deaf or something?" I never in my life had been bullied so I didn't know what to do. I did know that I would not abandon Pinkie. So I held her hand tightly and she looked at me worriedly. I gave her a firm nod assuring her I would not leave her.
"BREAK IS OVER. GET INSIDE!" Momo-sensei called and the girls looked furiously at me and walked past me bumping my shoulder with such force that I fell on my butt again. This time however, Pinkie didn't let go of my hand.
"This isn't over New Girl." The girl that pushed me said as she walked away. I clenched my fists in frustration. Why was I so weak? In my frustration I let go of Pinkie's hand and I slammed my hands on the ground and looked up at Pinkie who looked at me worriedly. She had stopped crying and she held her hand out for me and I took it so I could stand up. I gave her a small smile.
"T-Thank you." Pinkie said quietly and I nodded as my anger simmered down. We got back to class for another rudimentary lesson, writing 30 new characters that we had to copy to perfection 30 times and turn in tomorrow, yippee (note the heavy sarcasm). The lesson was boring but what was going on while Momo-sensei was reading her over cheesy romance novel as we copied the characters in our best handwriting was enough for me to scream, if I had the vocals for it!
I had to endure and watch Pinkie sit in the sea of bitches. Two of them bitches (no point calling them girls due to their behavior) who sat next to Pinkie were purposely bumping elbows with the poor girl to mess up her handwriting. I clenched my fists and wanted to get up make noise, do something so Momo-sensei could pay attention to the ongoing bullying in her class. I was about to slam my hands on my desk when Yuta-kun's hands held my hands down on the desk. I looked at him with my 'What-the-hell' face.
"You shouldn't have helped her. Haruno is trouble. They make anyone's life miserable if you're nice to their target." I looked at Yuta-kun incredulously. I moved my hands from underneath his and took out a spare paper and wrote down angrily my reply.
You have got be kidding me. If you don't want to help that's your problem. I'm no coward. I won't sit by and let her get bullied.
I pushed the note over to him and he read it but his brow furrowed in the process.
"Fine." He gritted and began to ignore me. I mulled over what he had said about Pinkie then it hit me.
'No! This is… Haruno Sakura? Pink Banshee?! Uchiha Duckbutt's biggest fangirl and future teammate? Badass Sakura, pupil of Tsunade?'
Pinkie looked on the verge of tears as she pulled out another new sheet to re-copy the characters on the board. There had to be something I could do. It finally hit me.
'I can make her time easier, I can share my neatly written characters with her and that way she won't get in trouble and maybe… Maybe I could befriend her!'
After the lesson, we were released for lunch, I waited while the class, the sea of bitches included flooded out to get the best seats outside, as they said. I grabbed my lunch and approached Pinkie, she had yet to leave the class and looked hesitant to leave. She looked at me with an unsure look. Her green eyes looked quickly around the room.
'Want to eat?' I signed and she looked at me confused. I sighed and held out my hands, using the universal sign to wait. I ran back to my seat, grabbed my notebook and pencil. I returned and wrote in the notebook.
Want to eat together?
I showed her and she looked even more confused. I wrote again underneath.
I'm mute. I'm Hachimitsu Hachiko by the way, nice to meet you.
She had this 'Oh' face and then she spoke. I was surprised she had a small voice.
"I'm Haruno Sakura. Sorry that you can't talk. Why me?" She asked. I gave her my answer.
Why not? You look like you need a friend and I need a friend. Want to be friends?
"I-I don't know. Anzai will be mean to you if we're friends." She let her bangs cover her face and made this pouty face as she thought about it.
She doesn't like me already. Besides she was bound to pick on me at some point since I can't talk.
"Oh… Umm. Okay." Finally, I thought. We sat together and ate silently in the classroom. It was nice until the Sea of Bitches arrived.
"Just who I was looking for and look extras." I turned to the main antagonist. Brown hair, brown eyes, tanned skin… She vaguely reminded me of myself as a child only this girl had a mean streak, I at that age was nothing but fickle, a moderate fangirl and into different things at the same time. Not this angry child before me.
"Oh Forehead how you've stooped low, some one on the playground mentioned this one is mute. You wouldn't be the retard from the hospital now would you?" I glared at this wench.
"My aunt said there was a girl around my age, you fit her description. She said the girl attacked her mother and had to be restrained. How they let you into school-" She didn't finish her sentence as I had lunged at her. I knew I wasn't the heaviest kid around nor the strongest but I managed to knock her down and she hit her head on the wooden floor and in her surprise I grabbed her hair and banged her head on the floor. The other girls screamed and ran out calling for help.
"No! Hachiko!" I was pulled off by Momo-sensei and another teacher arrived to tend to the mess on the floor. I was still angry and running on adrenaline.
"What happened? Well?" Momo-sensei demanded. She set me down and looked sternly at me then at the girls in the room. The little fudge packer, Anzai, whatever her name is dared to cry and point at me.
"She attacked me! I-I was just going to get something from my bag and she attacked me!" I signed angrily but that didn't get me anywhere, as the two teachers were at a loss.
"Hachiko is this true?" I clenched my fists in frustration. My eyes swelled with tears but I refused to cry dammit. Instead I frowned and turned around picked up my notebook and wrote in it furiously. I ripped the page out and handed it to Momo-sensei. I packed my lunch up and went to my seat to pick up my things.
I'm going home. I've had enough of this place. Oh and you are terrible teacher. I've learned more at home and on my own than from you. Plus that girl I "attacked", Anzai, what ever her name is, she aggravated me and picked on Haruno countless times during class. Your perception sucks and I have nothing to learn from you. Good bye.
"I will not have you disrespecting me!" I seemed to piss off Momo-sensei. I tried to walk out of the classroom only for Momo-sensei to yank me back rather hard and I fell backwards and my head hit the edge of the door. I got dizzy and my vision blurred.
...
Ugh. Where am I? White ceiling, it must be the hospital.
"Awake I see? You gave your parents such a scare. Not to mention you managed to get expelled from school and get that teacher of yours fired. How are you feeling?" It was Medic Duelo.
'Head hurts. How long I been here?' I asked and then the door to the room flew open.
"Hachiko!" Mim was showering me in kisses and behind her was Dad and I noticed Pinkie.
'Mom. Dad stop her please.' I signed and I heard Dad and Medic Duelo chuckle.
"Sakura-chan has visited you for the past two days." I nodded then sat up quickly after processing what Medic Duelo had said.
'2 days!'
I touched my head and felt bandages and it was tender at the back.
"Her cranium should be healed up in a month. She might have some slight headaches but other than that. She'll be fine." Medic Duelo told Dad and Mim who were talking with him a ways. Pinkie approached me and waved.
"Umm, sorry about what happened to you. M-My parent's w-wanted to come and thank you personally for sticking up for me but D-Dad had a mission and M-Mom had to work." I smiled and signed only to remember she didn't understand.
"Ah, I'm learning to Tap and Sign! My Dad is teaching me some. Um wait." She attempted and it was a bit choppy, her tapping that is.
'Hello, Sa-Ku-Ra. You?'
'Ha-chi-ko. Nice to meet you.' I signed and she beamed, it seemed she understood.
"Hachiko, You're going home today. Let's get you ready. Sakura-chan you are welcome to join us. You're mother said she'd drop by at our place for you." Sakura nodded and I beamed at gaining a friend even if I had to go through hell to get one. Yes, Civilian School was equivalent to "The first level of Hell" if you had to deal with the Sea of Bitches.