The next morning Shima woke Sakura and Omoi "Alright you two time for breakfast" she ushered them out of bed and down the hall to the kitchen where the food was waiting on the table for them, Fukasaku, Darui and Cee already sitting in their seats.
"Good Morning" Sakura greeted cheerfully, today she and Omoi were going to play leap frog with the four young toads that were her friends, Fukasaku chuckled and placed a plate in front of her before returning the greeting.
"And a very good morning to you tadpole" Fukasaku sat down "Your father has gone to the Leaf Village for some business, so Shima and I have been tasked with watching out for you two today" he explained when he noticed Sakura looking around the table.
Sakura dropped her fork and groaned, if Fukasaku and Shima were watching them that meant they were stuck in the house "I promised Gamajosei and Gamadansei that Omoi and I would play leap frog with them today" she sulked and leaned her head on her hand.
Darui covered his mouth to hide the grin that had spread across his lips "I'm sorry tadpole but you know the rules, now eat" Shima stared intently as Sakura as she started eating again but not without complaints.
"Cee and I could watch the two" Darui offered suddenly "I mean how hard could it be what with them being busy playing leap frog" he shrugged, it wouldn't be so drab to sacrifice training for the week especially since nobody could bother he or Cee here on the mountain.
Fukasaku glanced to the side at Shima "Come on Ma it's not like they would be unsupervised we could even get Gamabunta to watch them" he didn't see a problem in letting the two teens watch over the tadpole and they did have important things to do today after all.
"Fine but you better watch after the tadpole, she likes to get in trouble sometimes though not intentionally" Shima huffed and started clearing up the table "I'm only allowing this because Pa and I have very important things to do" she put the dishes in the sink and started washing them.
Sakura's eyes sparkled with happiness "Thank you Elder Fukasaku, Elder Shima I promise to do my best to not get in trouble" she vowed and pumped her arm before getting out of her seat and helping Omoi up from his own.
Cee laughed lightly, little kids and their short attention span, Sakura would most likely forget in an hour about her promise "So where are we heading to today" he was curious where Sakura would take them that day.
"Yeah Sakura-chan where are we going today, yesterday you only showed us the pond and the toadstools" Omoi joined in on the conversation wanting to be included, he hadn't talked earlier due to not being quite alert but now he was ready to go.
"To the Flower Field it's where we always play, Gamajosei and Gamadansei probably already told Gamakichi and Gamatatsu so they are more than likely there waiting for us" Sakura announced, the flower field was her favorite place on the mountain.
Gamakichi noticed the four humans first "Hey pink tadpole over here" he called out and Sakura turned in his direction before running over to him and the other toads, dragging Omoi behind her by the arm.
With that the game of Leap Frog began with Sakura taking the lead like she usually did but Omoi was right behind her, Darui and Cee sat down "Do you regret coming here" Darui asked wanting to know what Cee thought of the mountain.
"No it's relaxing, we should take more time off and come here more often" Cee stated calmly this place was perfect to get away from the stress of being a shinobi in the Hidden Cloud Village and next year they were going to take more time off for Sakura's birthday.
In the Leaf Village, Jiraiya had finally decided it was time to talk to little Ami Himekari and her parents, they needed to know that it wasn't fine to just let their daughter hurt someone and then walk away without making sure the other little kid was ok.
When he knocked on the door to the Himekari household Ami's mother opened the door "Master Jiraiya what can I do for you" she greeted politely, Mrs. Himekari had completely forgotten what her daughter had done.
Jiraiya's brow raised into his hairline "Your daughter Ami, broke my daughter Sakura's arm Mrs. Himekari" he stated and the woman took a huge step back "I hope you punished her" Jiraiya stepped into the house and followed Mrs. Himekari into the kitchen.
"Darling what's going on who is that man" Mr. Himekari asked when he spotted the white haired man standing in the doorway of his kitchen "Tell him to go away" he waved his hands rudely and Jiraiya glared harshly.
"Honey this is Master Jiraiya, he's here to talk to us about what Ami did to the little pink haired girl from the playground" Mrs. Himekari explained and her husband paled while little Ami smiled innocently not that Jiraiya believed it for a second.
Jiraiya took a seat across from the three Himekari's "Why did you push my daughter and don't lie about it because I got told about it from several people" he directed his attention on the four year old girl who just smiled widely.
"She was on my playground and I told her to get off of it but that stupid freak ignored me so I pushed her to get my point across, I didn't do anything wrong" Ami picked up her fork obviously done talking to the strange man sitting at her kitchen table.
Mrs. Himekari saw the anger on Jiraiya's face and twisted the material of her apron into her hands she to had gone pale and felt sick to her stomach, they hadn't even punished Ami for what she had done.
Jiraiya's face turned red as anger swelled within his chest "You need to learn some manners you little brat and if you don't, I'll make sure your life as a shinobi is very difficult" he stated as calmly as he could and Ami dropped her fork in shock.
"And you two as her parents, you need to teach her she can't get away with everything and by not punishing her like you should have it tells Ami that what she did wasn't wrong" Jiraiya focused his attention on Ami's parents.
"We've tried teaching her but she doesn't listen to us and who the hell are you to tell us how to raise our child" Mr. Himekari burst out only to lean back into his seat to try and make himself look smaller as Jiraiya exploded.
"The Hokage Has Given Me The Permission To Make Sure You Teach Your Little Brat Some Manners, if you don't then she will be taken from you and put in a place where she can become a better person" Jiraiya slammed a scroll down on the table.
Mrs. Himekari picked up the scroll and read it before slumping in her chair "Master Jiraiya is telling the truth" she pushed the scroll into her husbands hands "What do you want us to do whip her" she bit her lip hopefully it didn't come down to that.
Jiraiya was horrified "No I swat Sakura on the butt from time to time but I never hurt her, what Ami needs is to be put in time out for a period of time if she does something wrong make a list of rules and enforce them" he pulled out a sheet of paper.
Ami started crying it wasn't fair she hadn't done anything wrong it was her playground after all but some man she had never met before was giving her parents orders and making them enforce rules on her.
"Stop your crying" Jiraiya loved little kids but this one was just a brat who didn't care what she did "Now, if you ever see your kid push another kid again, you don't just walk away you make sure they are alright" he glared, he was still pissed over that.
Mr. Himekari flinched, he knew they should have gone back to make sure the girl was alright but they were to focused on Ami "Here's the list of rules and I'll be checking in frequently" Jiraiya set the rules on the table and stared at Ami again.
"If I ever find out you were mean to another little kid again then I'll make sure your punished for it and you need to get over your jealousy the village playground isn't just yours so stop claiming it like it is" Jiraiya let his words sink in causing Ami to cry again before he left.
Back on the Mountain the game of Leap Frog had come to an end when it started raining, the young toads were upset as Sakura and Omoi ran for the little house off in the distance, Darui and Cee rushing off after the two four year olds.
"Well that sucks Sakura-chan, now we can't play, how come it's raining" Omoi huffed as they ran, Sakura shrugged, she didn't know why it rained here but it did "What if it rains like this for the rest of the week and we end up going stir crazy from being kept in the house" he was terrified.
Sakura rolled her eyes "Omoi-kun the most it's ever rain is a couple of hours so probably after lunch we'll be able to go back out and play some more" she giggled at her friend who pouted Sakura was always shutting down his fears and worries.
By the time the four kids reached the house they were thoroughly soaked "I was just coming to holler for you all" Shima opened the door before Sakura could reach for the handle "Well get in here so you can dry off" she ushered them in.
Cee sat down on floor and wrapped a towel around his shoulders "Well that was at least fun while it lasted" he sighed and leaned back so that he was laying flat on his back, it had been pretty interesting to watch the kids play, Sakura surprised them though at being so good.
Sakura laid on her side before spotting her colored pencils "Darui-san, Cee-san may I draw you a picture" she looked at the two older boys, who shrugged but nodded to her question, Sakura hopped to her feet and grabbed her sketch book and colored pencils.
Omoi rolled over until he was right next to Sakura and watched her draw "That's pretty good Sakura-chan" Omoi's eyes widened when he spotted what Sakura was drawing in her sketch book, she was a really good artist.
"You think so I thought it might need a little more color" Sakura scooted a little closer to Omoi until she was pressed into his side and allowed him to see the sketch book better, the little boy looked down and his jaw dropped.
"I think it's perfect and Darui and Cee will like it" Omoi stated bluntly, the two boys in question shared a look between them as Sakura hopped to her feet and went over to them to present the sketch to both boys.
Sakura twiddled her thumbs nervously, her papa hadn't really liked the picture she had drew him because he never hung it up in his room, but she hoped that Darui and Cee would like the picture she had drew them.
Darui took the sketch and flipped it over to stare at it only to blink in surprise it was of him and Cee and they were training Cee had a green glow around his hands and he was wielding his sword "That's pretty cool of you Sakura where did you learn to draw like that" Darui asked.
Cee grabbed the picture out of Darui's hands while Sakura smiled sweetly at Darui "I don't know I've been able to do that for as long as I can remember" she scratched the back of her head before skipping back over to Omoi and laid down to start drawing some more.
The door opened again and Jiraiya appeared "Sorry it took me so long but I had to talk to the Raikage, I'm sorry but you three boys are going home, Omoi your parents were called back to the village" he explained what took him forever.
Sakura dropped her pencil but remained silent, she would get to see these three again Sakura was sure of it, Omoi threw Sakura an apologetic look but stood "I'll see you later Sakura-chan" Omoi gave her a little hug.
"You bet you will cause I'll bug papa until he takes me to see you" Sakura snickered but everyone could tell she was upset, Omoi had told her they were staying for the whole week but sometimes unforeseen circumstances cropped up ruining carefully planned out plans.
Jiraiya rolled his eyes, he had no doubt that his daughter would pester him, Darui and Cee sighed there went their two weeks of vacation on a peaceful mountain with no distraction, but the two gave Sakura a side hug and took hold of Jiraiya's arm.
Sakura sadly watched her three friends disappear from Mount Myoboko, though she returned to drawing Fukasaku could tell her heart was no longer in the activity "Don't be sad tadpole that's just the way of life" he rubbed her head gently as tears splashed down her cheeks.
Shima headed into the kitchen, Sakura barely cried but some honey pot ants usually cheered her up, Sakura sniffled as she looked up at Fukasaku with her large green eyes that were filled to the brim with tears.
"I don't mean to cry, I have my friends here but I'm lonely" Sakura wiped her eyes but more tears swelled and slid down her cheeks until she was full on sobbing it wasn't fair that Omoi had to go home when he promised her.
Fukasaku cringed and silently willed Shima to hurry up and get that snack for Sakura "There, there tadpole you know that if something hadn't of happened then your human friends would still be here" he shushed her but Sakura just cried even louder.
"That makes it worse, I know and I wish I didn't why do I have to be not normal" Sakura stood and rushed down the hall to her room, she left behind her sketch book and colored pencils, a few minutes after she rushed off Shima entered the living room carrying a bowl.
"Pa, where's the tadpole" Shima scratched her head in confusion, surely Sakura wasn't that upset about the departure of the three boys who had come to visit her on the mountain "I even got her favorite sweet" she sulked.
Fukasaku sighed as loud sobs filled the house "Ma we hurt the tadpole horribly from our actions those three years ago" he admitted out loud, the two elders didn't talk about it but now Fukasaku could see they should have addressed this issue years ago.
So the two toads sat down and talked about what needed to be done, in the cloud village it was pandemonium, the third Raikage had died and Ay his son had become the new Raikage, he had recalled all of the shinobi to the village for the funeral.
Jiraiya took Omoi back home once Darui and Cee had headed off in the opposite direction once the four year old had been dropped off with his parents Jiraiya rushed in the direction he had come from Sakura needed him he could just feel it.
When he arrived back on the mountain it was still pouring which was unusual there was an air of sadness and Jiraiya headed for the house, the minute he opened the door he got blasted with the heart wrenching sounds of Sakura's sobs.
Instead of saying anything to Shima and Fukasaku, Jiraiya ran down the halls to Sakura's room after snagging the bowl of honey pot ants from Shima's loose hold "My sweet little cherry blossom open up" he called when he found the door to his daughters room locked.
"Go away" Sakura cried loudly and burrowed her head underneath her pillow, but when her father knocked on her door again Sakura sat up, took her pillow in hand and threw it as hard as she could against the door.
Jiraiya jumped back when a loud thud hit the door "Come on sweetie, I've got your favorite snack don't you want to have some honey pot ants" he tried to coerce Sakura into unlocking her door, finally after several minutes the lock clicked and Jiraiya slowly opened the door.
What greeted his eyes made his heart squeeze in pain "Papa why am I so different from other kids" Sakura was sitting on her bed clutching her newly retrieved pillow to her chest, with tears rolling down her cherubic cheeks.
"Oh Sakura you poor baby" Jiraiya set the bowl down and cautiously walked forward before sitting on Sakura's bed to envelope her in his arms "Don't ever degrade yourself like that, your unique and that makes you special" he knew Sakura was different.
"But Papa, I can draw but I don't know why, I learned to talk properly when I was two and I can mimick actions and repeat them perfectly why, why, why, why, why all these questions and no answers hurt" Sakura clenched her shirt in her hand where her heart lay beating in her chest.
Jiraiya's eyes grew wide and hugged Sakura to his chest "My precious little girl in due time everything will be answered just be patient that's all I can tell you" he wiped Sakura's cheeks from her tears after pulling back.
Sakura yawned just then "I'm not hungry right now, I think I'm going to take a nap" she laid down on her bed and her breathing evened out as she fell into a restless sleep, Jiraiya gently rose from her bed before covering Sakura up then he tiptoed from her room and shut the door.
The rest of the day passed by with Sakura only coming out of her bedroom to eat lunch and dinner then to have her bath, she didn't talk just stayed silent and it hurt both Shima and Fukasaku more than they cared to admit while Jiraiya was just worried it had been a very toady day.