Sakura,
I'm sorry for not telling you about this before I left, but it would have been too hard. I needed to get out as soon as I could and I don't know if I could have done it if I saw you. I'm going to the city to find a job and another place to stay. Once I can get myself established, I'll try to get you out as soon as I can.
Be respectful to Aunt Rin and she won't bother you. Again, I'm sorry for leaving you like this. You might not hear from me for a while, but I promise I'll stay in touch.
It's going to be okay, Sakura.
-Sai
Blankly, I stared down at the letter that my twin brother had left for me. This couldn't be real, I thought. There was no way he would just abandon me with Rin - our aunt who was our father's sister and the closest family that we had left. Living with her had been my own form of hell.
At first, I was in denial. This had to be some sort of joke, I decided. How would Sai even have the money to go to the city? We had had part-time jobs before our mom died, but when we had to move in with Aunt Rin we had to give them up. I thought about the small amount of money we had hidden in the dresser drawer of the room we shared and immediately went to check on it.
When I got there, it was gone.
"Dammit, Sai." I whispered, now close to tears. How could he do something like this to me? We had always been close - I knew everything about him. At least, I thought I did until now.
It suddenly dawned on me that Sai was exactly the type of person to leave me behind. Of course, it wasn't like he knew he was being selfish. That was just his personality. Sai was one of those people who thought about himself first and others afterwards - usually I was the only exception. I knew that he really thought that he was doing something that would benefit both of us.
That didn't stop the wave of tears from coming, though, once I realized I was stuck in a house with my aunt and her new boyfriend, Hidan, who gave me the creeps. I hated being in the same room with both of them, much less the same house.
Rin was gone that night, meaning I had the house to myself. I went to bed frightened that night of what would become of me once she knew that Sai had run away. When I finally fell asleep, I couldn't help wondering why Sai hadn't just taken me with him.
There was no sign of my aunt the next day - she was probably over at Hidan's house or something. Good riddance. I had been hoping that the letter left behind by my brother had been just a terrible dream, but it was there on my bedside table when I woke up that morning.
I sighed and called my best friend, Ino, on the phone. The house we were living in still had a landline for some reason, so I could usually sneak downstairs and call her when no one was home. Usually Rin wanted Sai and me to be confined to our rooms.
"Sakura!" Ino greeted me once she realized who had been calling. "It's been forever! How are you doing?" I could hear the worry in her voice. Ever since we had moved away, my calls to my friend had gotten less and less frequent.
"Not so great," I admitted. I was so used to putting up a facade when I was talking to Ino - I didn't want to let her know how I was living now. It wasn't like I was starving or wearing bags for clothes, anyway. "Sai ran away." I gave her the entire story about how I had found his letter.
"Wow," Ino said once I was finished. "What a jerk."
"I know," I answered. "I don't know what to do anymore. My Aunt Rin hasn't gotten home yet and I don't want to have to explain everything to her-"
"Sakura," Ino interrupted. "Calm down. She's not going to be mad at you, right? It was Sai."
"You never know," I sighed. When Rin wasn't ignoring us completely, she could be a bitch. Ino had a theory that she was only watching over my brother and me because of the inheritance left behind by our parents. We weren't technically allowed to have it until we were eighteen, besides an allowance set up for us every month that was promptly taken by Rin - living costs, she said.
Okay, so maybe it was more than a theory.
"Maybe you should run away, too." Ino finally said, after a long pause.
"Where would I go?" I felt the tears of desperation coming back when I thought about how helpless I was at the moment.
"Come stay with me," Ino pleaded.
"It's not that easy," I insisted. "Besides, you're so far away." Ino was basically across the country from me. How would I even get there?
"Okay." Her voice was still calm over the phone, but I could tell she was still upset. "Let me call you back and ask my dad about some options." Ino's father was a lawyer.
"Thanks Ino," I said, even though I felt that there wasn't much of a point.
We got off the phone and I managed to run through some of my daily routine on the weekends. Cleaning the kitchen, taking a shower, getting some homework done, and checking the mail were some of the tasks that I busied myself with. It wasn't until I checked the mail that I had an idea.
Mr. Haruno,
As one of the most prestigious schools in the country it is our pleasure to announce that you have been accepted to be a student at the Konoha Academy. We hope you will find that the students who attend Konoha Academy end up moving on to Ivy League schools and successful careers. Let the Academy be a place where you can let your abilities grow and flourish.
If you have any questions, please contact us using the information stated below. Before you arrive on your first day, be sure to send in the forms attached. We look forward to meeting you.
Sincerely,
Headmaster Jiraiya
I studied the letter, considering what was in front of me. I had known that Sai had applied to go to the same boarding school as our dad, but I hadn't thought too much about it. The idea of Sai leaving me was too unbearable, especially to be stuck in this house without him.
Now, he was already gone.
I called Ino again quickly after the plan formed in my mind. "Ino, I'm about to tell you something completely insane."
"What?" She sounded relieved, probably because I sounded more like myself.
"Well... I got a letter in the mail about Sai. He's been accepted into Konoha Academy."
"You mean that boarding school for boys nearby?" I could hear the confusion in her voice. "What does that have to do with anything?"
"I think I'm going to go," I admitted, wondering if she was going to think I was out of my mind. "Sai and I look enough alike and he hasn't sent any information about himself in yet besides the application process. They don't have any photo ID of him yet so they won't be able to tell..."
"Sakura," Ino said. "Please tell me you're not going to pretend to be your brother."
"What other choice do I have, Ino?" I said desperately.
She sighed. "I'll help you," she decided. "But this is only temporary, okay? I talked to my dad. He said that what your aunt's doing isn't right and if we can get proof of what she's using your monthly allowance on she can get in big trouble. Maybe you could even come live with me if we can get you out of this. He also said you can look into getting emancipated, but that might take some time..."
I sighed. "Okay, we can try that, but I don't know. Aunt Rin is pretty good at covering everything up. I really just want to go somewhere until I'm eighteen and can officially escape. For now, is it okay if I come stay at your house? I have enough money for bus fare."
"Yeah, of course!" Ino said. "You can stay for as long as you want. But Sakura?"
"What is it?"
"If my dad asks, your aunt knows you're staying at my house. He doesn't want to get you into any more trouble with her."
"Got it." If I was lucky, Aunt Rin wouldn't even notice I had left for a few days. I was pretty good at keeping to myself.
"See you soon!" Ino sounded excited now. "God, I feel like it's been forever since I've seen you."
"I know, right?" We talked for a few more minutes about logistics and Ino was nice enough to look up bus times for me online. We figured out exactly what time I would be leaving for my old town and what time she would need to come pick me up.
"I'll be there!" Ino chirped through the phone. "Be careful!"
"I will, Ino." I reassured her.
We got off the phone after that. I decided that I would need to come up with a good plan - she needed to know that Sai was still in school, did it matter if I went missing? I decided that I would risk it. Who cared if she thought I ran away?
I thought for a moment before leaving Rin a letter. What would Sai say in this situation? He was way more clever than I was usually. Rin mostly left him alone because he was so good at making threats that sounded harmless.
Finally, I figured out what I was going to write:
Dear Aunt Rin,
As you can see from the letter below, I have been accepted into the Konoha Academy. Don't worry, I have full scholarship there so it's practically free. I'm going to be staying with a friend from back home before I go to school in the next couple of days. I thought it would be easier this way since now you only have one person in the house to worry about.
I'll try not to bother you too much from school, just know that I'm where I need to be. After all, it's where my father went, too.
Thank you for your consideration,
Sai
I studied the letter, admiring the handwriting that looked just close enough to Sai's to pass. I hoped I got the tone of the letter right. Normally Sai was just a tiny bit pretentious, even when talking to Aunt Rin. It had always been something that I had admired about him, honestly. He didn't seem to fear anything.
Deciding that the letter should be fine, I left it in a prominent spot in the kitchen - along with Sai's letter of acceptance as proof. Then, I made sure that I packed Sai's real letter to me in my suitcase along with the few things that I would be bringing with me. Thankfully, Sai hadn't been able to pack everything of his when he left, so I had some guy clothes that I could wear. I made sure to pack that too.
I left the house, feeling strangely liberated. For once in my life, I was doing something for myself. Of course, it was a crazy idea and would probably get me in trouble, but what else did I have to lose? There was no way that I was going to spend the next two years living with my aunt and her creepy boyfriend by myself. It was time to take control over my life, I decided.
I didn't look back on my way to the bus station, which was mercifully only a few blocks away. The only money I had left was going to a one-way bus ticket back home.
The bus ride wasn't as bad as I thought. Maybe a little sketchy, but I was too happy to care. I imagined the look on Rin's face when she finally realized that we had left. I hoped that it took her awhile to realize that both of us were gone.
"Oh my god!" Ino practically ambushed me when I met her at the bus station. I found myself in a tight hug as soon as I saw her. "I've missed you so much! You look so thin." She pulled away to study me.
"Let's go," I told her. After the long bus ride, I was ready for a shower and bed.
"So I've been thinking," Ino began. "You look enough like Sai to pull this off. I mean, we'll have to do something about your hair, but besides that I think this could work."
"So you're on board with the plan now?" I asked. After thinking it through, I was beginning to have my doubts.
"Well, it would be better for you to stay at Sai's school than at Rin's house." Ino rolled her eyes. "Even if you're not technically supposed to be there. What's the worst they can do to you, kick you out?"
"You have a point," I replied. Plus, it would be amazing to take classes that advanced. I had heard a lot of good things about Konoha Academy from our father when he was still alive. I had even wanted to go there, until I learned that it was only for boys.
We made more plans on the way to Ino's house. Luckily for us, her parents were going to be out of town (now that Ino was old enough to be home by herself, her mom normally traveled with her dad when he left for business trips) so we wouldn't have to explain ourselves the next day when trying to make me look like a boy.
"Hello, Sakura." Ino's mom greeted me when we walked through the door. "It's so good to see you again." Before I could respond, she gave me a hug.
"Hi Mrs. Yamanaka," I replied.
"Sakura!" Ino's dad, Inoichi, appeared in the living room. "It's nice to see you."
"Thanks," I smiled back. "It's good to see you too." I had always liked Ino's parents. After our parents died, they welcomed Sai and me to stay at their home until we figured out what we were going to do. They had even offered to take us in before Rin stepped in.
"Come on," Ino said. "Let's put your stuff in my room."
I followed my friend upstairs into her large bedroom.
The next day, after her parents were gone, we started on my transformation.