Her Second
"I'm an outcast now, along with a friend."
Jiraiya stared blankly ahead. He had no idea what to reply to that. One of the reasons he sent his son to a school far away and even in a disguise was so that he wouldn't be ostracized. Is being shunned a natural occurrence for the kid? He coughed, "Uh... why?"
"... Girls are scary."
This time though, he laughed. He was well aware of that fact when it came to the opposite gender. He had a fair share of that experience and line of thought. "Who's your friend? She a nice girl?"
"Yup!" came his cheery reply.
Jiraiya couldn't help but smile at that tone of voice. It was the first time he heard it. He knew sending him to an all girl's school wouldn't exactly be the best of choices, but he didn't have any other options. It was the perfect - a bit perfect - environment for the kid. If he had stayed in Suna, he would be an outcast, no doubt. Of course, he was an outcast in Konoha now too, but at least he had a friend along with him. Even if it was only for a year or less, Naruto should at least get a taste of companionship before he returns home.
Because once he comes back and starts living his real life, things are going to be a lot more harder for the boy.
It was a win-win situation. Naruto got to have friends, even if only for a few months. He would get accustomed to a friendly atmosphere and start trusting others.
And, if he did well, he might even complete his mission and help save countless lives.
The only regret in sending Naruto on that mission was that he might see things... differently from then on. I hope girls that age don't talk about make-up and boys, Jiraiya thought grimly. If they did, and if Naruto ended up getting influenced by them...
He did not want a gay godson.
I'll probably send him to an all boy's school once he returns, the white-haired man mused.
"Ero-sennin?"
His eye twitched at the nickname. Naruto kept calling him that after he saw one of the pictures in his book. It wasn't the best memory he had with the boy. "What is it, Naruko-chan?" he asked with a grin. No doubt the boy was getting agitated at the name. Two can play that game... Jiraiya inwardly groaned, was he coming on par with a six-year-old?
"You said I should make friends with the Haruno girl. But what makes her so special?"
"I already told you when I assigned you the mission," Jiraiya answered with a frown.
"I wasn't listening."
The attention span of children never failed to awe him. He looked back down at the documents on his table, all dealing with the hospitals and various patients.
"Her mother is Tsunade."
These patients were infected by a virus, a man-made virus that must have come from the enemy.
"Okaa-sama! I'm back!"
Tsunade looked up from the papers on her desk to face her daughter... and stared. "What are you wearing?" she asked.
Sakura grinned and adjusted the goggles on her head. "It was a gift from Naruko-chan!" she proclaimed proudly.
She sighed and smiled at her adopted daughter. She heard stories of the infamous "savior" from yesterday, and inwardly thanked the girl for helping her daughter. Ever since Sakura entered kindergarten, she became quieter and got so insecure of her forehead that Tsunade letSakura grow her bangs to cover not only her forehead, but even the tips of her green eyes.
She even went to the school once and demanded to know who bullied her. And to her dismay, that led her to have a fight with her own daughter, the one she came to defend. Sakura didn't want her mother to come and help her. At first Tsunade was put off by it, but later learned that her coming there only increased the bullying.
Her mother didn't know what to do to help her. Home-schooling was out of the question, she wanted Sakura to make friends. And approaching the parents of those that were bullied would probably bring about worse results; they would start doing it in secret and in a more cruel way. She constantly told her daughter that she was beautiful, that her forehead was perfectly normal, but the pink-haired girl always replied that mommy's were supposed to tell their children that. For once, Tsunade was left completely helpless on how to help boost Sakura's self-confidence.
Then suddenly a girl she hardly knew told her she was pretty, and she had believed it.
Tsunade flipped back one of her blonde pigtails and motioned to her lap, for Sakura to sit down. Why is that children trust other brats more than their own parents? the old woman thought while patting Sakura's head.
Sakura looked up and stared into her mother's hazel eyes. "Okaa-sama?"
"Hm?"
"You said that I should always talk back to enemies, that I should learn to fight back when they hurt me..." the girl looked back down to her hands, "... How do I?"
Her eyes widened. Whenever she told those things to Sakura, she had only nodded meekly in reply, and Tsunade knew that she wouldn't end up doing it. But now, she was willing to fight back, when she finally obtained a friend? But why- Tsunade smiled at the realization. They were probably hurting her friend, and this time, Sakura wanted to be the savior. "First, you have to start acting brave. Don't cry when they tease you and don't run away."
Sakura nodded and listened attentively.
"If what they are saying is a lie, then counter it with the truth," she continued, stroking her daughter's hair again. "If they hit you, hit them harder."
"But sensei says that violence is bad!"
"Uh, y-yeah, of course. Violence is indeed bad. Forget what I just said."
The incident with the "bullying" was kept a secret from the teachers. Ami said that it would be best if only the class knew, she wanted to appear kind-hearted to those that wronged her, saying it was done out of anger and it would be a shame if they were to be punished. And it worked. She was now viewed as a nice girl that gave mercy to the monster duo.
The two, on the other hand, were outcasts within the classrooms. They were each other's only companion during class hours and breaks.
And even if Sakura didn't believe it, Naruto was glad it was only the two of them. Being with his pink-haired friend was far better than his two other acquaintances. She actually let him talk, unlike Ino, and actually talked, unlike Hinata.
"I don't watch TV a lot," she told him with a frown.
Naruto's eyes widened. "But you should watch this show! It's the best ninja series ever!"
She smiled this time, but it didn't reach her eyes. "Okay then! I'll make sure to watch it later, it sounds really interesting."
The disguised boy narrowed his eyes at her. He began to notice that she was agreeing with everything he talked about. He always thought that girls their age didn't like action stuff, but instead liked the cute and romantic shows. He knew Sakura was no different. Everything he liked, she said she liked too. She didn't want to lose a friend by disagreeing with them. At first, Naruto was glad that she considered him so important, but now it was starting to really annoy him.
It's almost like it was she who was on a mission to befriend him and not the other way around.
"Sakura-chan?"
"Yes?" she responded, looking up from her textbook to face him.
"Do you want your hair to grow longer?"
She smiled and nodded. "Yup! Long hair looks really pretty!"
"And if I said I liked your hair shorter?"
This time, she frowned. "Oh..." And then the smile crept back in. "Then maybe I should leave it short!"
Naruto's eye twitched. "Why? Didn't you just say long hair looks really pretty?" Their relationship was going to be so shallow if she kept this up.
She tugged a little on a lock of her pink hair, her gaze down at his question. "B-But you said you liked my hair shorter...?"
"If I said you looked better with no hair, would you shave it off?" he asked instead.
Her eyes narrowed a bit. "N-No." She couldn't understand his line of reasoning. Did he not want her to be agreeable?
"Then why are you agreeing to everything I say?" he asked. "It's alright if we don't have something in common. In fact, it'd be better if we liked different things!"
"B-But-"
"No 'but's, Sakura-chan! If you don't like something about me or what I say, say it out loud! I won't get mad and we won't stop being friends!" he assured her. Maybe his statement was a bit blunt, based off of her shocked expression. But he didn't know how to hint at it and he was getting tired of her lies.
Silence was the answer. Naruto thought he said the wrong thing, or maybe it wasn't a girly thing to say, but then Sakura smiled at him. "You won't get mad?"
He grinned. "I'll never get mad!"
"I don't like how you interrupt me when I'm trying to say something. I don't like how most of your sentences are so loud that I think I might go deaf. I don't like watching television; I prefer books. I'm not a fan of action themed stories. I adore long hair. And I think the goggles you gave me looks hideous," she admitted.
Naruto blinked, not really expecting all of that. He knew they had different opinions on some things, but he didn't realize that his own actions were annoying her.
Sakura was looking down at her table when she said those negative comments, a frown on her face. Naruto was about to say something before she abruptly looked up at him. When their eyes met, she continued, "But I like you. So all that doesn't matter... right?"
"Wh-What do you mean?" he asked, still baffled at her confession of his bad quirks.
"I'm still thankful that you actually talk to me, rude or loud. I like learning new things from you. I adore your long hair. And even if these goggles don't match me, I like them because they came from you." Sakura looked back down at her table, "I-I'm sorry if the things I said were weird... you're my first friend, so I'm not sure when I should agree or disagree with you."
Naruto scratched the back of his head, unsure of what to say. She was his first friend too. He had no idea what to say or do in these kinds of situations... But at her expecting eyes, he should come up with some sort of encouragement! "... A-Ah... Just be you, Sakura-chan!" he finally said. "I'll always be your friend, so you don't have to worry!"
Tears brimmed her eyes.
He panicked. "E-Eh? Did I say something wrong? I-I'm sorry-"
"Thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you..." she muttered in a soft voice, wiping her eyes. She never knew how good it felt to have a friend by her side. She hated herself for being such a crybaby, but she was too happy that she couldn't help but get watery eyes.
Naruto's grin came back. "No problem, Sakura-chan!"
Ino stared down at her desk.
Hinata glanced at her hesitantly.
They didn't mean to, but they happened to eavesdrop on the conversation that occurred behind them. And well... it changed a lot. Were these two really monsters that bullied a helpless girl? How could such bad girls be able to have such a nice talk?
"I-Ino-san?" Hinata said wearily. Ino was always loud, so seeing her say nothing was making her worried.
The blonde huffed and crossed her arms. "... I don't make wrong decisions," she finally said.
Hinata smiled when she understood her friend's statement. Ino had chosen the option of believing Ami and not the two and she was going to pull through it... But Hinata wondered if that was the right thing to do. She only knew Naruto for a day, but it was easy to see that he was a good person. She could even relate with Sakura on the first day, she hadn't spoken a word. She would too if it weren't for the talkative blonde.
She gave a small glance to the smiling duo behind her...
... and couldn't help but also smile at the sheer happiness radiating off of them.
"U-Um... N-N-Naruko-chan?" Sakura began hesitantly. She was done eating and had already packed her lunch box and chopsticks away.
Naruto looked up, mouth still filled with food, and asked, "Yeah?" He was a bit worried that she went back to stuttering.
"Can I fix your hair?"
He blinked. "Eh?" he intelligently said in reply. He put down his chopsticks and reached up to pat his high ponytail. "Something wrong with it?" Naruto really never cared for his wig... he hardly even cared about his own real, blonde locks. He could never understand why girls were always fretting over it.
Sakura's fingers twitched a little as she gave a comforting smile. "No... but can I, um, restyle it?" she asked, eyes wide and brimming with hope. He faltered.
Did he even have the willpower to say no to such a face?
He nodded his head in approval and she quickly stood up and went behind him. Naruto ignored the hands working on his hair as he continued eating.
The young stylist was in awe at how soft her friend's hair was. She reached into her pocket to pull out her small comb and an extra ponytail then set to work. Naruto was pretty, but for some reason, her hairstyle seemed a bit off with her bangs and personality as a whole. He was bright, always smiling, cheerful and friendly; his appearance made him appear cool and nonchalant. Sakura liked to say she didn't care about looks, but it was her own appearance that led to her great insecurity around peers.
After a few seconds, Sakura took a step back and smiled. She had put jet black his hair in two, high ponytails. If she could just find a way to dye his hair yellow, his look would be complete! "What do you think?" she asked in a cheerful tone.
Naruto patted his twin tails and shrugged. "I don't really see the difference," he honestly said. What was the difference between one and two ponytails anyway? "But if it looks good for you, then I'm not complaining." He turned his head slightly to glance at the beaming Sakura... with the set of goggles still strapped around her hair. He had given her quite the ugly accessory, while she went and styled his hair... He knew petty things like that weren't important, but a lot of detailed things seemed to be important to girls. He raised up his hand and placed a finger on the goggles. "You don't have to wear them," he said with a frown.
Her smile did not waver. "I'm not that pretty, so wearing them doesn't make much of a difference!" Naruto puffed out his cheeks a little before he retaliated. It was going to take a while for him to make her stop looking down on herself.
Halfway through their friendly argument, Naruto suddenly froze. Sakura tilted her head in confusion at the odd behavior. "Something wrong?" she inquired.
"A-Ah... no." He faltered. "I just saw some white lady behind your back!"
"EH?!" Sakura paled and clenched her hands together. While she was panicking, Naruto narrowed his eyes slightly at the irony of the whole situation.
The girl he had planned on not making friends with was his only friend.
"So what if her mother is Tsunade?"
"The Influenza D... 'slug flu' was made by her and we need the treatment."
Jiraiya placed a hand to his forehead and let out an exasperated sigh. He could not believe that their only hope was a six-year-old boy. Just what has their country fallen down to? At the sudden ringing of a phone, he slowly answered it with a tired greeting... It was actually good news from the Kazekage. The quarantine of the hospital was successful, but the patients were still suffering severely. No one died from the virus as of yet, the only thing it brought about was pain.
The outbreak was being kept under control. It only began two weeks ago yet dozens were already infected. Fortunately, it was only transmitted through droplets, so quarantining the patients was fairly easy. Word of its spread was only known among the village, as they did not want word to reach the surrounding countries. Because if Konoha was aware that their virus was successful, they'd come over to Suna no doubt.
Leaning back on his chair, Jiraiya regarded the papers in front of him yet again. Tsunade was the best doctor of their decade, maybe even century. She could easily make a virus that would bring about pain but not death. Not to mention the effects of the virus was related to her own personal fetish for slugs - slimy skin, dilating eyes, and paralysis of the limbs but not of the body trunk. And ever since the outbreak, various political men from Konoha have been requesting permission to enter Suna for disclosed reasons. All evidence pointed to that country.
"But to send a child in enemy territory..." he muttered under his breath, itching to call Naruto again. Tsunade's laboratory was right under her own residence. The entire neighborhood she was in was heavily guarded, not even the best infiltrators had succeeded.
It had to be an inside job.
The only vulnerable aspect connected to the great doctor was her adopted, young daughter. Jiraiya had volunteered Naruto to take up the mission issued by the Kazekage for the child's own development... but he was seriously regretting it now.
Naruto was still a child that had yet to experience true friendship. With this task, he was going to betray his first friend. The young girl herself would also get immensely hurt... Children were about to suffer because of adults.
What a fucked up pile of old people we are, he lamented with a dry chuckle.
"Cure complete," Tsunade announced with a smirk towards Shizune, her medical assistant and personal secretary.
The black-haired woman smiled brightly in turn and clasped her hands together. "As expected of Tsunade-sama! See what you can do when you're sober?" she said.
The grin disappeared and the blonde woman stared blankly at her. Shizune hugged onto their pig, Tonton, tighter and bowed deeply in apology. Tsunade swiveled her chair back around and took hold of the test tube with a yellow, turbid solution. It had taken her weeks to make, but it was all worth it in the end! "How goes the slug flu?" she asked with a serious face.
Shizune quickly grabbed a cage with a single slug that was unmoving and a very pale blue. Tsunade leaned in towards it and grinned. "We'll have you cured in no time!"
The medical doctor made a move to open up the cage, but her assistant quickly retracted it. "T-Tsunade-sama! We could all get infected! When it came in contact with other slugs, they too were diagnosed with the disease," she warned with wide eyes. "Do you not recall that?"
In reply, Tsunade only raised an eyebrow and said, "The slug flu doesn't affect humans."
A/N:
Hah, slug flu. I know it sounds so odd but I like it.
