Sakura knew lots of things.

She knew that her hair color was odd.

She knew that Mommy didn't like it when Sakura met new people.

And she knew that the eyes she wore each day, weren't the eyes she woke up with.


"Sakura. Its time to get ready." Mommy called from the bathroom. Sakura blinked at herself in her dresser top mirror. Yellow, split pupil eyes looked sadly back at her before the child obediently turned and headed to the bathroom. There, her mother, Mebuki Haruno, stood. Mommy's blond hair was put in its normal middle bang and she had already elongated her eyelashes with dark mascara. Her green eyes were deadly serious as she gazed at Sakura.

Sakura swallowed and slowly began the daily routine that made up one of her most important interactions with her mother. She allowed herself to be picked up and placed on the counter beside her mother's beauty products. Then, Sakura held perfectly still while her mother looked into her bright yellow eyes.

"Honey, you know I do this for your safety, right?" Mebuki asked. Sakura didn't even blink. She knew this question and the answer to it.

"Hai, Kaa-san." She answered it every day. Mebuki smiled but it didn't reach her eyes. The she twitched her hands through a few complicated seals. A dull light began to shine, and Sakura was careful not to even blink when it flashed brightly before disappearing. It burned when it hit her eyes, but she didn't cry out. Sakura was used to it by now. Once the burning had faded Sakura allowed herself to blink and hop off the counter. When she turned back to look in the mirror, forest green eyes met her solemn gaze. These eyes did not glitter like gemstones nor did they portray the cunning of a wild beast. Instead, they were tame and quiet.


Sakura hated them.

She hated these eyes that were not hers.

She hated that her mother made her wear them and paraded her around Konoha with them like some sort of statement.

She hated how no one ever noticed they were no more hers than attitude she was told to display.

She hated acting shy or dumb and she hated hiding behind her mother when she really wanted to go make some friends.

Sakura hated that she wasn't and could not be normal.

But what Sakura really, really hated? She hated that she didn't even know why.


I needed a break from my other fics (I have severe ADD, give me a break). This is actually one prequel of three that I'm writing for a story I'm going to call the Sannin Switch. Its optional to read the preludes, they don't really effect the main story line but they do add extra background and seasoning to the story.

I will probably finish with the preludes sometime this semester and begin the Sannin Switch during either the coming summer or the fall. For now, enjoy these little snippets. They are going to set the beginning theme for the first few chapters of the Sannin Switch.

-Blitza