Categories > Anime/Manga > Naruto > New Beginning
A New Member
It’s been only two days.
Sachiko felt empty. Everything was wrong. Why was she confined into a boy’s house? She was supposed to be in the forest, where she belonged, than here, in this huge big space of nothingness and what was supposedly called, “her room.”
Not only that, but the boy, (what was his name again? Sasuke or something?), didn’t even speak to her except to tell her to not go anywhere unless it was her room, the hall, the bathroom, and the kitchen.
Sachiko scowled. Who does he think he is, that boy, ordering her around. Besides, his house was bigger than even the Hokage’s place.
Looking in the mirror, the moody teen grimaced. Her long, black hair, which she used to let down freely living in the forest, was tied in ponytail. Instead of wearing deer-skin pants and shirts of rabbit fur like she used to, Sachiko had put on a light-blue fabric called a kimono.
Sachiko missed the forest, with all its friendly animals, trees, and most of all, the sounds. The singing of the birds in the morning, the crackling of the branches as a predator stalked its prey, and just life, as things it went on living.
All of a sudden, a ringing cut through Sachiko’s thinking. Picking up another weird device called an alarm clock, Sachiko saw that it was six in the morning: time for breakfast.
Sachiko sighed and walked downstairs.
“Morning,” Sachiko grumbled at Sasuke, who was already seated at the kitchen table. Sasuke didn’t reply. Sachiko’s black eyes flashed, and whatever Sachiko was feeling that morning got the better of her.
“Who do you think you are? When someone says ‘Good morning,’ it would be expected of you to respond back, gaki!”
Sasuke glowered at her. “Who do you think you are? First you come over here and start living at my house, and now you’re ordering me around?” he growled, “Feel grateful I let you live here,”
Sachiko laughed. “Oh, should I, pretty boy? Do you think I want to live in your poor excuse of a home?
Sasuke looked at her malevolently. “And you’re saying you don’t want to be here? Well, why are you here? First you come here, with no explanation, and now you’re complaining to me? Get out then. You won’t be missed. I’ll tell you that, dobe.”
There were angry, red splotches on Sachiko’s cheek.
“Dobe! Watch it, you prat! Do you think I know any better than you of why I’m living in such a crappy place? Is it my fault that my guardian disappeared and came back the next day to tell me that I’ll be living elsewhere from now on, and that he was no longer responsible for me? Is it my fault that I, who lived in the forest all my life, have no clue to what you villagers do? If you know the answer, o Smart One, tell it to me!” And with, that Sachiko stopped ranting and looked fiercely at Sasuke.
Sasuke returned her look. He replied calmly, “Number one, I don’t care. All I know is you are trespassing on my property. When are you going to get out?”
Sachiko stared at Sasuke angrily. “I don’t know! The Hokage didn’t anything to me, except that for the time being, I was to stay at this boy’s house.” Sachiko scowled at him. “And it seems to me that that boy is the world’s biggest fathead ever!”
Sasuke was about to reply when the doorbell rang. Still glaring daggers at each other, Sachiko went to open the door. A man with shocking white hair and a black cloth covering half of his face stood there.
“Yo,” Kakashi said.
“Who are you?” Sachiko snarled, not at all polite.
Kakashi heaved a sigh. “You guys didn’t have a fight, are you?”
Sachiko glowered. “If you have something worthy to say, I beg thee kindly to say it and not dawdle, gentle sir!”
Kakashi looked mildly surprised. “Normally, I would be flattered to hear something so complimentary, but alas, your sarcasm ruins it.”
Sachiko was about to explode again, but Kakashi cut her to it.
“Okay, okay,” Kakashi said, “You’re Sachiko, right? The Hokage wants to see you.”
“Well, you could’ve just said that damn thing!” Sachiko barked sharply. She stepped out for the first time in two days.
Kakashi looked at Sachiko’s bare feet. “Aren’t you going to wear shoes?”
Sachiko scowled. “Shoes? My guardian never had the money to buy that. And I remind thee, sir, to not loiter!”
“Very well.” Kakashi looked through the door to look at Sasuke. “Training is at eight today.”
“Meaning it’s at eleven, correct?” came the cold reply. Kakashi grinned. Turning to Sachiko, he said, “C’mon.”
Sachiko fidgeted in the empty room before the Third Hokage’s gaze.
“Correct if I’m wrong, okay?” the Hokage asked. Sachiko nodded.
“Your name is Sachiko, no last name. You’re thirteen-years-old, and you never knew your parents. You’ve lived in the forest all your life. You’ve only been to villages with your guardian to do trade.”
Sachiko nodded. The Hokage started writing stuff on a piece of paper. Feeling apprehensive, Sachiko said tentatively, “Sir? Mr. Hokage?”
The Hokage looked up with eyebrows raised.
“Do you know why all of a sudden this is happening to me?” Sachiko asked timidly.
“Ahh…” The Hokage sat back in his chair. “I thought you would ask me this question. However, I do not think this would be the perfect time to say.” The Hokage held up a hand as Sachiko opened her mouth. “Why? Well, what your guardian told us was very mysterious, and we want to make sure everything is the truth before making them known to the whole entire village.
“Right now, you are Sachiko, the child of parents who once saved me from a very tight fix. They wanted you to start learning the ways of a ninja, and thus, they sent you here from up in the north. We’ll leave it to that for the present, alright, Sachiko-chan?”
Sachiko, baffled, nodded her head again.
The Hokage smiled kindly. “I’m sorry, Sachiko-chan. I know how hard this is for you. Tomorrow, we’ll call all the teams of genin ninjas and see what team you’ll be in.”
Sachiko felt like crying in frustration. “Hai. Arigato.”
The Hokage’s eyes softening. “We’ll do our best, I promise.” Sachiko smiled.
“I believe you.”
“Good.”
“So, what’d he say?”
Sachiko looked surprised. Closing the door, she saw Sasuke standing in the hallway.
“How did you know that I got back?” she requested.
“Heard,” Sasuke growled noncommittally. “What he say?”
“I didn’t know you cared,” Sachiko teased.
Sasuke glared. “I only care when you’ll get out of my house.
Sachiko rolled her eyes. “Thought so. To your question, I don’t know.”
“Well, why are you here?” Sasuke asked suspiciously.
Sachiko froze.
“Um… m-my parents want me to study the ways of a… a ninja, so, um… yeah,” Sachiko lied, not looking at Sasuke.
Sasuke’s eyes turned into thin slits. “That’s not what you said this morning.”
“I—I got confused,” Sachiko replied, looking at the floor. There was a dreadful silence, broken a few seconds later by Sasuke.
“Breakfast and lunch is in the refrigerator. I’m going out for training.”
Sachiko was, once again, in front of the Hokage’s door. Taking a deep breath, she knocked and walked in.
Sachiko stared, breathless. There were tons of people in the small room. All of them were looking at her, and Sachiko spotted Sasuke and Kakashi.
“Welcome,” the Hokage said. “Here are the students and teachers that you can choose from. Everyone, this is Sachiko.”
“H-hajimemashite,” Sachiko mumbled. The Hokage smiled and gave Sachiko a box. She stared at it.
“There are numbers in there,” the Hokage answered to Sachiko’s questioning gaze, “Whichever one you pick will be your team. Understand?”
Sachiko nodded, her lips dry. She reached her hand in the ornate box and felt around. Sachiko decided on one piece of paper, pulled it out, and read it.
“Seven.”
It’s been only two days.
Sachiko felt empty. Everything was wrong. Why was she confined into a boy’s house? She was supposed to be in the forest, where she belonged, than here, in this huge big space of nothingness and what was supposedly called, “her room.”
Not only that, but the boy, (what was his name again? Sasuke or something?), didn’t even speak to her except to tell her to not go anywhere unless it was her room, the hall, the bathroom, and the kitchen.
Sachiko scowled. Who does he think he is, that boy, ordering her around. Besides, his house was bigger than even the Hokage’s place.
Looking in the mirror, the moody teen grimaced. Her long, black hair, which she used to let down freely living in the forest, was tied in ponytail. Instead of wearing deer-skin pants and shirts of rabbit fur like she used to, Sachiko had put on a light-blue fabric called a kimono.
Sachiko missed the forest, with all its friendly animals, trees, and most of all, the sounds. The singing of the birds in the morning, the crackling of the branches as a predator stalked its prey, and just life, as things it went on living.
All of a sudden, a ringing cut through Sachiko’s thinking. Picking up another weird device called an alarm clock, Sachiko saw that it was six in the morning: time for breakfast.
Sachiko sighed and walked downstairs.
“Morning,” Sachiko grumbled at Sasuke, who was already seated at the kitchen table. Sasuke didn’t reply. Sachiko’s black eyes flashed, and whatever Sachiko was feeling that morning got the better of her.
“Who do you think you are? When someone says ‘Good morning,’ it would be expected of you to respond back, gaki!”
Sasuke glowered at her. “Who do you think you are? First you come over here and start living at my house, and now you’re ordering me around?” he growled, “Feel grateful I let you live here,”
Sachiko laughed. “Oh, should I, pretty boy? Do you think I want to live in your poor excuse of a home?
Sasuke looked at her malevolently. “And you’re saying you don’t want to be here? Well, why are you here? First you come here, with no explanation, and now you’re complaining to me? Get out then. You won’t be missed. I’ll tell you that, dobe.”
There were angry, red splotches on Sachiko’s cheek.
“Dobe! Watch it, you prat! Do you think I know any better than you of why I’m living in such a crappy place? Is it my fault that my guardian disappeared and came back the next day to tell me that I’ll be living elsewhere from now on, and that he was no longer responsible for me? Is it my fault that I, who lived in the forest all my life, have no clue to what you villagers do? If you know the answer, o Smart One, tell it to me!” And with, that Sachiko stopped ranting and looked fiercely at Sasuke.
Sasuke returned her look. He replied calmly, “Number one, I don’t care. All I know is you are trespassing on my property. When are you going to get out?”
Sachiko stared at Sasuke angrily. “I don’t know! The Hokage didn’t anything to me, except that for the time being, I was to stay at this boy’s house.” Sachiko scowled at him. “And it seems to me that that boy is the world’s biggest fathead ever!”
Sasuke was about to reply when the doorbell rang. Still glaring daggers at each other, Sachiko went to open the door. A man with shocking white hair and a black cloth covering half of his face stood there.
“Yo,” Kakashi said.
“Who are you?” Sachiko snarled, not at all polite.
Kakashi heaved a sigh. “You guys didn’t have a fight, are you?”
Sachiko glowered. “If you have something worthy to say, I beg thee kindly to say it and not dawdle, gentle sir!”
Kakashi looked mildly surprised. “Normally, I would be flattered to hear something so complimentary, but alas, your sarcasm ruins it.”
Sachiko was about to explode again, but Kakashi cut her to it.
“Okay, okay,” Kakashi said, “You’re Sachiko, right? The Hokage wants to see you.”
“Well, you could’ve just said that damn thing!” Sachiko barked sharply. She stepped out for the first time in two days.
Kakashi looked at Sachiko’s bare feet. “Aren’t you going to wear shoes?”
Sachiko scowled. “Shoes? My guardian never had the money to buy that. And I remind thee, sir, to not loiter!”
“Very well.” Kakashi looked through the door to look at Sasuke. “Training is at eight today.”
“Meaning it’s at eleven, correct?” came the cold reply. Kakashi grinned. Turning to Sachiko, he said, “C’mon.”
Sachiko fidgeted in the empty room before the Third Hokage’s gaze.
“Correct if I’m wrong, okay?” the Hokage asked. Sachiko nodded.
“Your name is Sachiko, no last name. You’re thirteen-years-old, and you never knew your parents. You’ve lived in the forest all your life. You’ve only been to villages with your guardian to do trade.”
Sachiko nodded. The Hokage started writing stuff on a piece of paper. Feeling apprehensive, Sachiko said tentatively, “Sir? Mr. Hokage?”
The Hokage looked up with eyebrows raised.
“Do you know why all of a sudden this is happening to me?” Sachiko asked timidly.
“Ahh…” The Hokage sat back in his chair. “I thought you would ask me this question. However, I do not think this would be the perfect time to say.” The Hokage held up a hand as Sachiko opened her mouth. “Why? Well, what your guardian told us was very mysterious, and we want to make sure everything is the truth before making them known to the whole entire village.
“Right now, you are Sachiko, the child of parents who once saved me from a very tight fix. They wanted you to start learning the ways of a ninja, and thus, they sent you here from up in the north. We’ll leave it to that for the present, alright, Sachiko-chan?”
Sachiko, baffled, nodded her head again.
The Hokage smiled kindly. “I’m sorry, Sachiko-chan. I know how hard this is for you. Tomorrow, we’ll call all the teams of genin ninjas and see what team you’ll be in.”
Sachiko felt like crying in frustration. “Hai. Arigato.”
The Hokage’s eyes softening. “We’ll do our best, I promise.” Sachiko smiled.
“I believe you.”
“Good.”
“So, what’d he say?”
Sachiko looked surprised. Closing the door, she saw Sasuke standing in the hallway.
“How did you know that I got back?” she requested.
“Heard,” Sasuke growled noncommittally. “What he say?”
“I didn’t know you cared,” Sachiko teased.
Sasuke glared. “I only care when you’ll get out of my house.
Sachiko rolled her eyes. “Thought so. To your question, I don’t know.”
“Well, why are you here?” Sasuke asked suspiciously.
Sachiko froze.
“Um… m-my parents want me to study the ways of a… a ninja, so, um… yeah,” Sachiko lied, not looking at Sasuke.
Sasuke’s eyes turned into thin slits. “That’s not what you said this morning.”
“I—I got confused,” Sachiko replied, looking at the floor. There was a dreadful silence, broken a few seconds later by Sasuke.
“Breakfast and lunch is in the refrigerator. I’m going out for training.”
Sachiko was, once again, in front of the Hokage’s door. Taking a deep breath, she knocked and walked in.
Sachiko stared, breathless. There were tons of people in the small room. All of them were looking at her, and Sachiko spotted Sasuke and Kakashi.
“Welcome,” the Hokage said. “Here are the students and teachers that you can choose from. Everyone, this is Sachiko.”
“H-hajimemashite,” Sachiko mumbled. The Hokage smiled and gave Sachiko a box. She stared at it.
“There are numbers in there,” the Hokage answered to Sachiko’s questioning gaze, “Whichever one you pick will be your team. Understand?”
Sachiko nodded, her lips dry. She reached her hand in the ornate box and felt around. Sachiko decided on one piece of paper, pulled it out, and read it.
“Seven.”
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