J A D E

Chapter Nine

No one says a word. They all look at one another and then back at me. They were all participating in the war. They can understand what I mean, but what they don't understand is, why I, a child, who has not seen war, is thinking about this. They wonder why I am scared of my future teammates lives.

"Ibiki." Third starts talking. All of us stare back at him. "Is she prodigy material?" He asks directly, bluntly.

Prodigy.

No.

I don't want to be a prodigy. I can't be a prodigy. I have to finish academy alongside Sasuke and Naruto and others. I have to create and take care of our bonds. I have to defend them, sacrifice myself for them, if needed. 

"Yes, Hokage-sama." Ibiki-sensei looks down, ashamed to sell me out like that. I know, he wished me to stay a secret. Secret, people would not know about, until it was already too late and I graduated with my class.

"Is she already suited to attend academy early and finish it early?" Hokage asks once again. Ibiki-sensei knows better than anyone else here, how much I can do. What kind of information my head holds. Ever since returning, I have been reading over and over again, revising everything I have ever learnt.

"She can leap into Genin rank, without attending, Hokage-sama." Ibiki-sensei whispers and looks away from him. I can see anger evident on his face. I can feel rage radiating off of him. But he can't lie, especially to his Hokage. And I can understand it.

"No," I shake my head again and again. Gazes switch to me, amused. "I don't want to." I whisper again with tears pooling in my eyes. If I have to cry once again in order to save my friends, I can cry them a river.

"What do you mean, Sakura-chan?" Inoichi is the one, who approaches me and hugs me tightly. I let myself cry freely in the arms of a person, who I always considered my second family. I can't count amount of days I spent with Yamanakas. They were my second family. And when I lost my real family, they basically adopted me. So, I cry. I cry freely and sob loudly in his arms, feeling of security settling around me. I mourn. I mourn the death of my parents. My friends. His. "It's okay." He pats my head gently and smiles kindly at me. "Tell us, Sakura-chan, what you don't want." He encourages me with his smile and I nod, wiping away the tears form my eyes.

"I don't want to attend academy early." I mumble with cracked voice. "I want to attend when my peers will. I don't want to be alone. I want to have friends my age, to have some fun and to create bonds." I sob out once again. "I want to finish alongside them and be in team with people I will trust and know." I sob out once again and look down in shame. "But I also want to continue training with my senseis." I sob out again and clutch to Inoichi-san. I let tears free once again, grief overpowering me.

The room is silent. Only occasional sound of my sobs break the serenity that is settled in the room. I can feel eyes on me, but I am hiding underneath Yamanaka-san's arms, crying everything out.

They wait until I calm down, Inoichi-san is patting my head and smiling kindly down at me. Like dad would do, when I fell and started crying. I breath in and out, trying to calm myself. I wipe the tears away and bite my cheek from inside to prevent form any more tears from spilling.

"I am sorry." I mumble and bow to everyone. Which seems to surprise them. "But, I don't wish to attend academy before I am of age, and I do not wish to finish it early." I add and bow once again.

"Okay." I look up surprised. Third is smiling down at me. "I will let you train under Ibiki and Anko, and I will not force you to attend academy, before you come of age and I won't let you finish it before designed age." I beam at his words, large smile appearing in my face. Smile, that is reaching my eyes. "Only in one condition." He adds, forcing my smile to freeze on my lips. "You will not overwork yourself." He looks at Ibiki and smiles. "Though, I doubt your sensei will let it." He adds with gentle smile. "You will visit Yamanaka-san once a week." I nod once again. "And, you will report your progress with your senseis by the end of every month." I nod, happy about the arrangements.

"Thank you, Hokage-sama." I bow to him with large smile plastered on my face.

"Ah, and one more thing." Hokage looks from me to Uchihas. "If you don't mind of course, as Sakura-chan has Yin Release and is Genjutsu type, I wish one of the Uchihas to train her alongside Anko to master it." He finishes with smug expression on his face.

Shisui-san looks at Fugaku-san and after the older man nods, he steps forward.

"I want to teach Sakura-chan." He grins and looks at me with large smile plastered on his face.

"I will try to help occasionally." To everyone's surprise, Itachi speaks up. He looks around, until his eyes land on me. "She reminds me of Sasuke." He shrugs his shoulders and offers me a small, kind smile.

With this the assembly is over. Everyone is leaving the room one by one, murmuring in low voices, looking at me from time to time, as if I am some kind of plague or puzzle.

"Sakura-chan!" Inoichi-san approaches me even before Ibiki-sensei or Anko-san has a chance to come to me. "How are you feeling?"

"I am better, Yamanaka-san." I smile at him. "Thank you for your help." I add out of politeness and beam at the man in front of me.

"You can call me Inoichi." He smiles at me and pats my head once again. "I will meet you next week, ne?" I nod and with that he is gone.

"You put quite a show, didn't you, brat?" Ibiki approaches me with smug smile. I look at him and shrug. He chuckles and leans down, picking me up. I look surprised at him, because even when I can barely walk, he just pats my head and shunshins us at the door of my house. And now he is holding me, like he would hold his own daughter. "Now, come, I bet you are hungry." He grins at me and shunshins away at the dango place.