EDIT: I've finally added a picture of Sachi. Only what, 8 years after writing it (loool) Lmaoooo some comments here won't make sense now
In the chapter title, Sarah is Sasuke. Lol. Or I suppose could be Sakura... only Panic fans will get what the chiz I'm on about xD
---
"Sachiko!"
I quickly walked through to where the voice had come from.
"Yes, Yamanaka-san?" The blonde woman sighed.
"I wish you would stop calling me that... I've acted as your mother for years now, why can't you call me that?" she asked, and I bit my lip.
"S-sumimasen, Okaa-sama." I apologised, and she smiled prettily and ruffled my ash blonde hair. Well, the part that wasn't in a tight bun. I handed her the flower I'd grown, a blue petaled bloom, and she smiled, putting it in the vase with the others that were on the windowsill.
"Morning glory... do you know what it symbolises?"
"Affection?"
Mrs Yamanaka nodded and smiled.
"Yes. You're improving, Sachiko. And this is a lovely bloom. Is this one of the ones you grew?" I nodded shyly.
"Yes."
"Well, it seems you have the green fingers, Sachiko, you lucky girl!"
"Okaa-saaan!!" I smiled meekly as Ino, Mrs Yamanaka's only daughter, ran into the room, hugging her mother tightly.
"Hey, Ino." Mrs Yamanaka said, patting her head of short blonde hair. Ino smiled at me, then pulled me into the hug.
"I can't wait for you to join the Academy tomorrow, Sachiko-chan!" I smiled; I'm a year younger than Ino, and Hokage-sama was going to put me in the year with people my age, but thought it best to put me in Ino's class. I'm not sure why.
"Etou... Ino-chan?" the blonde girl gave me a quizzicial look, and I frowned a small bit. "What's it like in the Academy?"
Ino's eyes lit up in realisation, and she let go of Yamanaka-san and guided me through to the flower shop. She gently stroked the petals of a red and white Snapdragon, which symbolise graciousness and strength.
"Sachiko-chan... don't worry. You are strong, just like a snapdragon. And... I will protect you. I am your onee-chan, after all!" she grinned at me, and I grinned back and hugged her. It must have taken her by surprise, but she hugged me back, beaming. I'm a very huggy person, after all.
* * *
I looked on proudly as my latest masterpiece formed, slowly shaping into place. I had snuck out to come here; Koro-jiji's weapon house is the only place with a furnace nearby my home.
I came here a lot, as the furnace was necessary to my favourite pastime.
I blew gently into the little tube, making the extremely hot liquid expand as an air pocket formed, and then I used various other tools to shape the molten glass.
That was my hobby- glass blowing.
Ino's birthday was coming in two days, so this was for her. A Calla lily... and, as it cooled in the cooling chamber, I dare say it's my best one yet. Calla lilies represent magnificent beauty, so hopefully Ino will like it.
People back in my old village used to say I have a gift; my Father showed me how to blow glass, but even he couldn't do it like this. Only the Yamanaka's know about it, though... I fear my classmates will think I'm weird, if they find out.
* * *
I stuck close to Ino as we entered the Academy that morning, and she smiled at me comfortingly, sensing my nerves. I bit my lip, my main comfort being hung on a chain, dangled across two belt loops. A small glass heart, made by my Father, and two wedding rings, my Mother's and Father's, were strung on it. Some say I have a terrible history, for a seven-year-old... I say I mustn't dwell on the past, and must keep moving forward. After all, nothing I do will bring them back.
My mother was a kunoichi, she was largely known as 'the red sky of the Hidden mist' because of her blood red hair and air-based abilities. My Father was a carpenter, but he made glass sculptures to sell in the shop too.
Mother was hunted down and killed, though, for bounty. I wasn't supposed to know the reason, Father told me she died of illness, but I heard the talk. And I'm not naive. I knew my Mother was a well-known kunoichi, and obviously would have a bounty on her head. My father and I were heartbroken, and Father closed the shop, not having the motivation to even move anymore.
Then, one day, I had been out getting groceries, and I had opened the door and turned the light on, only to be greeted by the sight of my Father dead on the floor, blood pouring from slashes on his wrists and neck.
He had left a note, bound shut by the two wedding rings, and the small glass heart on the table next to it. All it had said was 'Live on. Lots of love, from your Father.' so I did.
I couldn't bear the Mist village any longer though, so I filed for a transfer to a different village from the Fourth Mizukage. He probably didn't care either way, a six-year-old girl who barely knew a carpenter's ways, so I ended up here. The Hokage told me that someone had to take me in; a six-year-old couldn't very well live by herself, then told me that the Yamanaka's wanted to take me. Mrs Yamanaka's infertile now; and incident involving Hidden Stone shinobi a while back. She had wanted another child for a while, so I was accepted straight into the family.
They thought me strange at first, though. I overheard Yamanaka-san talking with Haruno-san about how she was worried that I didn't act like a normal six-year-old. They think I'm extraordinarily mature, but then they learned what brought me here, and didn't question it any longer.
"Sachiko-chan!" I was brought out of my reverie by Ino shaking me, and hissing in my ear.
I blushed, seeing everyone staring at me, and mumbled, "Gomen nasai."
Sensei just gave me a strange look, then smiled warmly, before turning back to the rest of the class. "Everyone, welcome our newest student! Would you like to come out and introduce yourself?"
I smiled happily and walked to the middle of the front of the class, smiling at everyone. First impressions count, you know.
"Ohayo, mina. My name's Sachiko Yamanaka. I'm seven years old." they all stared at me like I was crazy, but I just shrugged it off. It was true! I am seven!
Then, I was face-to-face with some blonde kid, his blue eyes boring straight into my red ones. I blinked, and stepped back a little.
"Iruka-sensei this girl's a whole year younger than us! Why's she in our class?!" I frowned, standing up straight.
"I may be younger, but I'm still taller than you." everybody burst out laughing while he grimaced and blushed. I felt sort of bad, but hey, he started it! And I probably wouldn't be for much longer.
And then Ino went into protective sister mode, stepping up to Blondie. "Yeah! And probably smarter, so leave her alone, Baka!"
"Okay, okay, that's enough." sensei said, "Naruto, Ino, go to your seats. Sachiko, you can sit... next to Kiba. Kiba, raise your hand please."
A boy in the back row with a dog on his head rose his hand, and I went and sat next to him. He grinned at me, and I smiled back. His dog yipped.
"Hey, I'm Kiba and this is Akamaru." he whispered to me as sensei started the lecture. "You seem cool. We'll show ya round at break if you want."
I blinked at him in surprise, then grinned and nodded. "Sure, that would be nice, Kiba-kun. I'm Sachiko."
He grinned wolfishly at me. "I know."
* * *
"Naruto-san!" the blonde head swivelled, and he stopped walking as I caught up to him. He scowled at me, but I kept the easy smile on my face.
"What do you want?" he asked rudely, but I brushed it off, still smiling.
"I want to apologise for what I said earlier." he blinked in surprise, "I was out of line, and felt horrible afterwards. So..." I paused and pulled him into a quick hug, "I'm sorry."
He just stared at me, gobsmacked, and I tilted my head curiously. "What?"
You'd think these people had never experienced hugs before. That's it! I'm going to make sure I hug everybody in this class at least once! Even Iruka-sensei!
He blinked, "W... what was that for..?"
I just smiled. "Hugs are the best way to tighten a bond with another person. In my opinion, anyway." I pursed my lips, then gave him a quick glance. "Wanna go get some ramen?"
* * *
I laid back on my bed with a happy sigh. My first day at the Academy, and I had already made some friends.
Kiba and Naruto. They didn't seem to mind each other, but I think they had a bit of a rivalry going on. I did hang out with Ino and her friend at lunch (since Kiba and Akamaru showed me around the Academy at break) but all they did was talk about boys. I mean, sure, I like boys, Kiba and Naruto are great, as well as some of the others, but I don't see what's so great that they have to discuss them all the time. So after I had finished eating, I went to the Academy library to do some quiet reading. I wanted to catch up with my classmates.
While I was in there, I saw another boy sitting at the table, in the chair across from me. He was reading up on katon (fire style) jutsu.
I had a book on the basics; chakra control and the bunshin (clone) no jutsu. After all, I couldn't do any of this stuff yet. But him... he must be good, if he's learning Katon already.
In fact, I think I recognised him. He was in my class earlier. What was his name? Susay... no, Sasay? Uh, no... Sakay... no! Saskay, Sasukay, Sasuke! That's it! Sasuke!
How in hell did I forget that?! Those girls were shouting it nonstop earlier... ugh, never mind.
I kind of wanted to speak to him. Maybe if I got a feel for his character, I'd know how he became strong.
"Katon? That's a little... advanced, for our class, isn't it?" he looked up at me, and smiled wryly.
"I guess... I myself can't seem to get a grip on it." I was surprised, he didn't use those stupid childish words like other people in our class did. "But I must!"
I stood up, going round the small table and sitting in the seat next to him, but pulling the chair a little further away, in case he had an issue about personal space.
"You seem pretty set on learning Katon." I commented, and he nodded, seeming to go into a world of his own.
"I need to surpass nii-san, and show Otou-san that I'm strong!" I stared in surprise, then smiled happily. I understood a little more why those girls liked Sasuke so much now. But still, I hoped I wouldn't be like them when I got older.
"Well, I won't try and give advice, since I'm new to this, but I will wish you luck. So... good luck, Sasuke-san." I gave him a tight hug, and he seemed shocked at first, but then hugged me back. I let him go and waved. "See ya in class!"
Then I skipped away, hearing him mumble, "See ya..."
* * *
It was a few weeks since my first day at the Academy. I had been training with Inoichi-sensei and Ino, and he said I had improved a little. I had always been quite strong for my age, as I was an only child, so had to help Dad with lifting and carrying stuff in the shop. Today, Iruka-sensei said we were going to have a sparring tournament. He also told me I didn't have to take part, since I was knew, but I wanted to. I wanted to test my strength against a fellow student.
It said on the board that my number was 17, and then sensei picked five of us to pick another number that would decide our sparring partner. I drew number 11. I looked up on the board; I was up against some girl named Sakura. Sakura Haruno.... oh yeah! Ino's friend.
I wrote my name and number on the back of the piece of paper, then handed it to sensei. Once he had collected the numbers from the other four people, he called the match-ups.
"The matches are; Naruto versus Sasuke," the two aforementioned boys glared at each other, "Shino versus Shikamaru, Kiba versus Choji, Hinata versus Ino, and Sachiko versus Sakura." Then five more people picked numbers, and Sensei read out those pairings, then five more, and five more, and so on. Then we all paraded outside, the people who weren't fighting standing at the sidelines to watch the matches, while a pair at a time went up to spar. I went and stood next to Kiba, not really wanting to be seperated from him since he was my first friend here. Obviously, I knew Ino, but my brain would be fried by boy talk if I stayed with them.
Naruto and Sasuke's match was up first. Mine was fifth.
I sat down on the tarmac, and some of the others followed. I blew my dirty blonde fringe out of my eyes; it was being mental again today, sticking up all over the place, but I decided I didn't care.
"I can't decide who to route for." I mumbled as they started, and Kiba gave me a strange look. I explained, "I'm sort of friends with both of them."
"Well, I'm backing Naruto. He's a baka, but that Sasuke guy... I don't like 'im." Akamaru barked in agreement, and I giggled. I watched as Iruka signalled for the fight to start, and the two charged at each other.
"I've decided! I shall route for both! Deciding between two friends is like deciding whether I like strawberry or vanilla ice cream better. There's no way I can choose." Kiba gave me yet another strange look, then laughed. I smiled, "Anyway, they both deserve to win."
However, this said, Sasuke managed to pin Naruto, and was therefore the match victor.
I smiled at both of them as they shook hands then parted, and both saw and grinned back. After that, the other matches passed with interesting results; especially the one between Shikamaru Nara and Shino Aburame. Just when Shino seemed to be defeated, a swarm of bugs flew out of his collar, making Shikamaru have to release his shadow possession. It was amazing to see the Nara boy in action; he was impressively intelligent.
But now, it was my match. I stood, beaming at Kiba as he wished me luck, then walked to centrefield, across from Sakura. She smirked; she seemed happy to be against me. I wonder why?
She glanced over at Sasuke, and then I realised. She was one of those Sasuke fans... oh dear. She must have seen when he smiled at me earlier.
I'm going to be in pain in the morning.
---
Fan, vote, comment!! Tell me what you think of chappy 1!!