Sakura's POV
I arrived at the top of the stairs and saw them sitting side by side in the long sofa. The atmosphere was warm and inviting, until I saw who was with them. It was our neighbor, Marianne. She came accompanied by a man I had yet to meet.
'Inner, who is that?' I don't ever remember seeing him, then again neither did I see Marianne.
"It's her husband, I don't really remember his name, sorry." She informed me, hectically trying to find some information of him within our mind.
'No, that's enough information. I can't expect you to have every piece of information so readily in hand. Besides, this is actually a good thing.' I said, smiling as I inspected the man from my spot on the second story.
"How?" Inner asked, stopping her pursuit of the man's name.
'It gives us a chance to show our extreme shyness, and our unwillingness to interact with people we feel uncomfortable around.' I voiced and she simply frowned.
"I thought we we're going to change that."
'We are, but later when we want them to really think of us as a prodigy. No use in rushing everything.' She smiled brightly as she understood my reasoning. I slowly made my way down the stairs and towards them.
"I get it! If we act all shy and show we aren't comfortable with people they will pick up on it and not pressure us. That could work but what if it doesn't? What then?"
'We have to make it work. So for now, we're just going to keep everything average except for when we practice alone with them.' Inner nodded at my response.
Finally making it down the stairs, I walked over towards them, shyly hiding behind Kioshi. He was the first to verbally announce my presence.
"Sakura you're already finished? Come on, don't hide we have guests." I bowed a little as I smiled shyly up at Marianne, using my bangs to make me look at her shyly. The hairs tickled the corners of my eyes and I had a hard time trying not to show how aware of it I was.
"Good afternoon Mari-san..." She smiled at me along with the others.
"Oh how cute, she's shy! Sakura this is my husband Yashiro; you don't have to be shy around him." I just hid even more, but nodded at her suggestion.
"…. Good afternoon Yashiro-san..." I bowed my head and spoke softly. Trying to make believe my shyness with my stuttering words.
"Madoka, I'm surprised she speaks and acts so well." Commented Yashiro, with a curious glance at me. He's seems pretty observant so Inner and I will have to be on the lookout for him.
"Yes, I have been giving her lessons, but just the basics so far." Marianne and Yashiro nodded at her with an easy expression. Perhaps it wasn't too unbelievable to think I was this well-mannered.
Kioshi took the time to stand up from his spot on the sofa as they continued to talk. I looked up at him with an eyebrow raised in question.
"Sakura and I will just excuse ourselves from your work conversation and head outside." Kioshi suddenly said, and I titled my head in thought.
Madoka nodded and Kioshi took that as his cue, easily picking me up and walking outside. This was my chance, Kioshi had a tendency to answer most of my questions anyway.
"Hey daddy, is Yashiro-san a ninja?" I asked with a childish curiosity.
"No, he works with mommy at the bakery. He's a good guy so you don't need to be shy around him." He said as he put me down. I grabbed the yellow ribbon on my dress and fiddled with it to appear nervous.
"I get nervous..." I took a peek through my bangs and he looked down at me sadly.
"Sakura...if it's about what happened to you before, then don't worry, mommy and daddy love you just the way you are." He kissed my forehead. I blinked but didn't comment as he stood up and left me by the door.
'Inner...what did he mean by before?' She stayed quiet for a while, not really attempting to answer my question.
"I'll tell you about it later." I tilted my head, confused by her evasive attitude.
'Alright...' I didn't continue the conversation and instead sat down in front of Kioshi.
"Alright Sakura, last training for the day. You will try to move the chakra through your chakra circulatory system." I nodded for him to continue.
"Okay try to concentrate on your chakra again, don't worry I can tell whether you have found it, and when you do, try to move it." I closed my eyes and placed my fingers in the correct placement. Inner and I both concentrated on finding the chakra again, after a few minutes less than last time we found it. The tingling sensation was pretty easy to remember.
I frowned, this was just as hard as before. It was hard focusing on something so small without having a clear feel to it. I spent a few minutes of just feeling it and remembering it.
I was right, it felt slightly different than Kioshi's. His felt warm, reminding me of the same warmth his aura would be like when he gave us an affectionate hugs. I suppose all chakra feels tingly; but just as Kioshi said the more I focused on the feeling the more comfortable it was. The sensation was leaving and I concentrated on the other part of it.
If I had to describe it, I would say it felt...jumbled. I concentrated harder on it. How was I supposed to move it? I imagined the chakra gathering together and spiraling; but just imagining it wouldn't work.
"Good job Sakura!" My eyes snapped open, effectively losing my concentration immediately.
"What daddy?"
"What are you talking about? You just spiraled your chakra inside!" My eyes widened at his exclamation.
"Really! But all I did was imagine it." He smiled at my confusion.
"That's good! You're supposed to imagine it, that's where the spiritual part comes in. I told you before, the physical part is so you can contain and endure it, while the spiritual part is so you can mentally control what you're doing."
"Oh, I thought it was wrong." I smiled up at him, feeling a bit better.
"Good. Now do it again, but try and also feel it going through the circulatory system." I closed my eyes, so we could try and do it again. We still lasted a few minutes searching, though it took less than before, but only by a few seconds. When we found it, I figured the only way for it to go out is through the circulatory system. If we found a place for it to go through, then we were going through the right direction.
It took me five times until I got my tiny little chakra to move. I kept on losing concentration, and with my over sensitivity for things unsettling me, I just kept losing it.
On the fifth try, I had gotten the hang of wiggling it around. All that was left was to move it completely. On the last try, I breathed in deeply before attempting to move it. When I felt ready and somehow knew Inner was too, we moved it together as one instead of separately. We calmly concentrated on only moving it, and we soon, very slowly moved the chakra through the circulatory system.
We got pretty far...well, far for us, since this was the first time we even succeeded to move it. We were going to move it further, but a sudden blockage stopped that attempt. The obstacle in our way felt weird, not hurtful just out-of-place.
"That's enough for today Sakura." My focus was broken and I lost the mental image I had made. I opened my eyes and looked at Kioshi.
"Why couldn't I get through?"
"You found a tenketsu." He replied, leaning his elbows on his knees for support.
"What is that?" He smiled at my inquisitive expression.
"They're points in the body where the chakra can be released." Kioshi explained. Oh? Right, it's what the Hyūga clan used.
"Oh, Okay. Are we done for today?" I suddenly asked, remembering he had stopped me.
"Yes, it's already getting dark." I looked around just barely noticing my surroundings. It really was getting late.
How long did we stay outside for?
I have to make sure I don't always lose track of time when I'm concentrating on something. I went inside following after Kioshi and noticed that Marianne and Yashiro were still here. They stood up and began to walk towards the foyer leading them out.
"I will make sure to come in and check on her." Promised Marianne, the last of their conversation just barely being overheard. Madoka nodded her thanks and all the adults came together to say their goodnights.
"Goodnight Sakura-chan! I will see you tomorrow!" I smiled at her and bowed a little.
"Goodnight." I managed to say before shyly waving them off. They both waved back and stepped outside.
"Sakura!" I was suddenly picked up and twirled around the hallway.
"Mommy?" She stopped spinning only to hug me tighter.
"I feel like I didn't get to see you all day! It's not fair that daddy's hogging you all to himself!" She playfully glared up at Kioshi who was half a head taller than her. He in turn smiled and hugged his wife from behind, managing to keep me in the embrace as well.
"What's wrong with having a little father-daughter bonding time. You did have a mother-daughter day yesterday." She pouted but soon smiled and kissed his cheek.
"Let's eat dinner, I was able to make it before they had arrived." I nodded eagerly and allowed Madoka to carry me towards the kitchen.
Dinner went by fast as we talked about our day. I answered some questions that they asked me of my academic homework and I kept it at an average level. Kioshi went on and on about my accomplishments but warned me not to practice with chakra until he correctly showed me how to use it.
When dinner was done we stayed at the table and talked. I also figured out why Marianne and Yoshiro were here. It appears that apart from Marianne visiting a friend, Yoshiro who worked at the bakery, came to report his day. I was happily surprised by the dessert Madoka had made. It was just as good if not better to what I imagined.
She made three chocolate tartes. The ones that have the creamy chocolate inside and topped with fruits and powdery sugar. It was really good and I enthusiastically told her I wanted to bake just like her. She smiled happily and said I was sweeter than any pastries she ever made.
I went upstairs once we finished talking and picked out something to change into. It was a cute baby blue nightgown, with silver stars scattered on it. It was nine forty-two and I wasn't as tired as I thought I should be. I mean, the exercises were taxing for a child my size; And yet, I couldn't fall asleep.
Instead of going to bed, I walked over to the window nook and jumped up on it. The cushions where creamy white and had the softest pillows. I opened the windows and allowed the wind to flow through my short pink hair and ease out the tension my shoulders carried.
The night air felt great and the sounds where relaxing. It reminded me greatly of my world. The sounds, smells, and sight of it all. I crossed my arms and laid them on top of the sofa. Closing my eyes, I took in a deep breath. When my eyes are closed I couldn't even tell the difference between the two places, but when opened them, I would see my new world.
"You should sleep." Inner suggested, yawning as the sleep seemed to seep into her. I smiled and closed my eyes again.
"I can't...too many thoughts." I said, trying to settle them apart from each one.
"Then tell me some of them." I chuckled at her. She was obviously tired so it was nice of her to try and stay up.
"I thought you could hear them." I countered, still finding it perplexing to think about.
"Do you want me to?" Inner asked, raising an eyebrow in question.
"It doesn't matter." I eventually said. If I was going to live like this with her for a while, she might as well get to know me well.
"Then I won't when I can, or when they seem important." She said and I smiled at her consideration.
"I was thinking about our parents."
"What about them?"
"I was wondering why Sakura hadn't been taught all of this when she was little. But then I realized that as a normal two-year-old, she would only want to play. And when she could understand, before she could get interested in what her parents did, she would only be having thoughts about Sasuke." I said, voicing out my thoughts.
"What's wrong with thinking about Sasuke-kun!" She was suddenly more awake now.
"Nothing, I just realized that Sakura missed a good opportunity when she was younger. Not that I know if she really didn't get any training from them.
"That can't be all you're worried about." I chuckled at her correct guess.
"It seems like you already know me pretty well." She giggled at my comment.
"Your observation skills have been rubbing off on me. Now I can't even stop from looking for something that might be off."
"My bad...and yes, you're right. There is something else." There was a complete moment of silence where the only sound was that of the night creatures. The noises they were making were almost deafening.
"...I'm sorry Inner, but I know how much you wanted to help Naruto and meet Ino; but we can't. At least, not right away." I could already feel her eyes widen and I closed mine in thought.
"...Why?..." She asked, and I frowned, covering my face with my arms. Trying to shield them from a particularly strong gust.
"I tried thinking about different ways of doing it, but all are just too risky. No matter how hard I think about it, no loving parent I know would let a two or three-year-old out by themselves. Of course, I take into consideration the fact that we are in a safe and friendly village; and that we are to be ninja's. I know kids who are to become ninjas are given more independence because they can protect themselves, but not toddlers."
"I... understand..." I felt her sadness instantly.
"Don't worry Inner. Do you really think I wouldn't think of something positive in this? Even though you say I'm negative, I do think of positive solutions. I know it's sad but if we plan, study, and train for a year and some months, we can make great preparations." She looked up from her depressive thoughts and smiled, finally finding the hope in my plan.
"Alright and what else?" I lifted my head and looked out into the vast dark sky.
"We have to avoid suspicion, being thought of as a prodigy but not meeting the others."
"But why! I mean what if it's an accident, like at the park or something."
"I know, but we can't let that happen. Listen to me, what if we are with our parent's and we stumbled upon Naruto? What if they don't like him and our previous plan gets ruined?"
"Okay, that one I can understand, but what about the others?"
"Just like you believe in privacy, I believe in equality. It wouldn't be fair that we make friends with the others just because they have good parents and backgrounds that would allow them to come play, unlike Naruto. No, if we're doing this plan, then after that time frame, when we turn four we can find them all. I'm sure with the early training, our parents will trust us enough to let us go around the village on our own for a while. Plus, we will still have around two years till the academy starts, so we'll have enough time to make up for lost time." She sighed dramatically after a moment of being pensive, placing her hands on her hips.
"Fine. It's not like I could convince you otherwise, you're too stubborn." She said, and I chuckled.
"That's right...thanks Inner, for agreeing with this plan." I said, and she shook her head.
"No. It was honestly the most reasonable one we have, we really need to plan...and train...and study, Augh! There is so much to do!" She stomped around inside my head ranting about how much we needed to do.
"Don't worry Inner, since our goal will always stay the same, we'll have time."