"Now are you sure you can handle your sister during the day" Nimaijita asked her son one last time before he scurried off to the academy toting his sister with him for the big day known as bring your siblings day.
Orochimaru gave a weary sigh and glanced over at his two year old sister, Sakura was currently entranced by a pretty green butterfly "Absolutely mama, imouto-chan is always so well behaved" he boasted proudly, Orochimaru was glad he had a good mannered sister.
Yudoku chuckled and patted Orochimaru on the shoulder "Alright then you two best be off, here are your lunches and things for Sakura to do" he gave Orochimaru an extra backpack, Yudoku watched with interest as his son took his sister by the hand and walked slowly for her sake.
"I'm glad they get along so well now" Nimaijita sighed in content leaning her head on her husbands shoulder, at first neither of them had been sure why Sakura had disliked her brother so much but that had changed and now they were thick as thieves.
Nodding in agreement to his wife, Yudoku wrapped his arm around his wife's waist "Yes, as I am, now we should prepare for our own mission" he turned and heading in to start packing, it would be a three day mission.
Nimaijita did as her husband and tossed a bunch of weapons and neatly folded clothes haphazardly in a bag, her two children had been offered a place to stay with the Senju's thanks to Hashirama's insistence and she and Yudoku had seen no reason to refuse.
Across town, the two Toigatta siblings paused at the gates to the academy "Are you okay Sakura" Orochimaru asked worriedly when she looked up at the entrance with sadness in her emerald eyes, at his question though, Sakura eyes snapped to his and bored deeply into the gold irises.
Knowing it was making her brother uncomfortable, Sakura lowered her gaze to the ground "Yes I'm alright Ni-san" she smiled sweetly, the truth was she wasn't, she actually hadn't expected to end up here so soon but the memories upon seeing the academy had sprung up anyway.
Smiling fondly, Orochimaru hefted Sakura into his arms and carried her across the entrance of the academy grounds "See that wasn't so scary" he flashed her a teasing grin when she puffed up her cheeks at him though Sakura couldn't help but giggle.
"Thank you Orochimaru-ni" Sakura hugged him round the middle some of the parents of the other children caught this and cooed at the cute sight, Orochimaru's cheeks flushed in embarrassment but he quickly wrapped his arms around Sakura to hug her back lest she get huffy with him.
"See that little girl, the pink haired one isn't she absolutely adorable" Sakura's ear's caught the tail end of a conversation and turned around searching for the one and spotted the telltale blonde and honey brown eyes of her future mentor.
Getting an idea, Sakura flashed a teasing grin at her brother and sped away from him, they had a little bit of time to get in a good game of chase, though this particular game would end near Tsunade because the one thing Sakura wanted was to befriend the blonde girl.
Tensing at that mischievous smile, Orochimaru sighed and situated the backpacks more comfortable so the lunches within didn't get ruined and took off after his little sister, Sakura once she was in the mood was extremely playful.
"Na, na, na, na, na can't catch me Orochimaru-ni" Sakura singsonged cutely flashing across the academy grounds heading on a straight path to Tsunade, though she supposed she should have been paying attention as she crashed into another familiar face.
Shaking her head upon seeing stars, Orochimaru skid to a halt by her side "Imouto-chan are you okay" he asked kneeling down next to her and pressing a gentle hand to the back of her head feeling for any bumps that might have formed with her none to light impact on the ground.
"I'm k" Sakura blinked her eyes rapidly and winced when Orochimaru put a hand on her forehead, the boy she had crashed into also leaned down and she found herself looking into Jiraiya's onyx eyes "I'm very sorry for crashing into you" Sakura apologized feeling unwanted tears gather in her eyes.
Jiraiya cringed as Tsunade came to stand at his side "It's alright cutie, you should be more careful though" he patted her lightly on the top of her head seeing the rather ugly bruise blooming across her forehead, Jiraiya faced the little boy that was still kneeling next to the pinkette.
"Sorry, I'm Jiraiya and this is Tsunade Senju, you should probably have that looked at" Jiraiya introduced himself and the blonde before pointing at the bruise on the pinkette's larger than normal brow, Orochimaru glanced down and panicked.
"Oh my god Sakura you are definitely not fine, the names Orochimaru Toigatta and this is my sister" Orochimaru jumped up and scooped Sakura into his arms and took off towards the academy to the nurses office to have her bruise healed up by the medic.
Blinking at the rapid departure of the raven haired boy, Jiraiya seized up in laughter, Tsunade gave a roll of her eyes and started heading to class "Better hurry up or I'm going to leave you in the dust" she called over her shoulder interrupting Jiraiya before he could truly start a laughing fest.
"Nurse can you heal my sister, she got a bad bruise on her forehead" Orochimaru crashed through the open door of the nurses office and the young green haired woman turned around in her chair before gasping in horror at the sight of the bruise.
Sakura sulked feeling uncomfortable under the woman's scrutinizing gaze, she became even more so disconcerted as the woman healed her forehead, the feel of foreign chakra in her system was extremely wrong and Sakura knew from then on she would heal herself.
"There you go but I suggest that your precocious little sister take it easy for the rest of the day" the nurse scolded sternly before dismissing the siblings from her office, Sakura subdued for the time being followed Orochimaru obediently to his classroom.
A few minutes later, Sakura wanted to laugh, it was funny how things turned out, the minute she and Orochimaru had entered the class, Jiraiya had waved his arms madly and gestured to the two seats in between himself and Tsunade.
"Oy Orochimaru over here" he shouted across the classroom behaving like a buffoon, so Orochimaru seeing no reason or any other empty seats decided to sit there, Sakura was squished to his side stuck between him and Tsunade which she was happy for at least she got to be by the young blonde.
As the lesson got underway, Orochimaru sneakily handed Sakura a drawing pad and some colored pencils so that she wouldn't be bored, though she seemed to interested in listening to his sensei talk about the history of other countries that bordered the land of fire.
Honey brown eyes shifted subtly to the side to peer at the tiny pinkette squashed in between her and the raven haired boy the girl had come with, Tsunade was curious, sure it was bring your siblings day but the pinkette was to well behaved.
Sakura feeling the burn of someones gaze boring into the side of her head snapped her eyes up to look into honey brown, Tsunade's cheeks turned a red as she was caught in the act of staring and turned her head, feeling mischievous Sakura tugged on the sleeve of her shirt capturing Tsunade's attention.
Glancing at her sensei briefly, Tsunade leaned down "What is it little girl" she whispered lowly silently wondering what the pinkette wanted since she had obviously tugged on the sleeve of her shirt for some reason or another.
"Is there something you'd like to ask Tsunade-san" Sakura asked innocently, her large emerald eyes trained on Tsunade's face that twitched at the question and with a huff Tsunade straightened in her seat not wanting to get in trouble.
Frowning slightly 'Well this is going to be harder than I thought it would be' Sakura mused inwardly prompting her inner self to emerge and start ranting and raving about how much of a brat Tsunade was 'Inner stop it I'm trying to concentrate' Sakura barked.
'Sorry Saku-chan' Inner sulked before disappearing, Sakura harrumphed inwardly before focusing on the lesson that was still going on, soon since it was old details, Sakura took up the colored pencils and drawing pad and started drawing.
Twenty minutes later, Orochimaru glanced down at his quiet little sister and almost gasped out loud, but he refrained from doing so, Sakura had started drawing herself sitting on a bench the very same one they were all one currently surrounded by Tsunade, himself and then Jiraiya.
And by the kami the drawing was gorgeous, then Orochimaru wondered what other latent talents did his sister possess, forcing himself to pay attention to his sensei again and jotting down notes here and there, he waited patiently for the lesson to be over.
Tsunade also found herself shifting her gaze to peer at the little girl again and her jaw dropped in open shock "What the hell" Tsunade spluttered interrupting the lesson, her sensei leveled a scolding glare at her and she sat down sheepishly.
Distracted by the exclamation, Sakura looked up into surprised honey brown eyes before looking down at her drawing, she had been doing it on autopilot so hadn't realized she had started drawing the three seven year old's sitting with her in the classroom.
"Would you like my picture Tsunade-san" Sakura asked sweetly neatly ripping the page out and handing it to the young girl, the blonde couldn't contain her soft gasp and gently took the drawing in her hands before placing it in her bag.
A couple hours later after a change in lessons, the children and their siblings were dismissed for lunch "Hey Tsunade what did you make that huge commotion for anyway" Jiraiya asked as they sat on a bench far away from the Toigatta siblings.
Scowling softly at having been caught off guard by a little girl, Tsunade pulled the drawing out and presented it to Jiraiya "That little pink haired girl drew this while in class and then gave it to me" she huffed and the white haired boy looked down.
His brows climbed into his bangs "What the, are you telling me a little two year old drew this haha that's hilarious Tsunade-chan" Jiraiya laughed boisterously only to get whacked over the head by an angry fist courtesy of his female friend.
"Why the hell do you think I shouted in surprised you dolt" Tsunade huffed at him angrily and gently shoved the drawing back in her bag for safe keeping, Jiraiya held his head with both hands just as the two siblings wandered over to them.
Sakura smiled impishly "Hey Tsunade-san would you like to play a game of shogi with me, my Ni-san packed his board but won't play with me anymore" she tossed Orochimaru a pout that he ignored with all the grace a boy his age currently possessed which wasn't much.
Eye twitching madly on her face, Tsunade pressed her lips together "Sorry I don't know how to play you should ask this buffoon" she jerked her thumb at Jiraiya, at that Sakura settle her emerald eyes on the white haired boy and Jiraiya gulped.
"Will you play a game of shogi with me Jiraiya-san" Sakura batted her lashes at him pouting her lips cutely so that the boy couldn't say no, a moment later he nodded his head with a sulk but sat down on the ground to play the game as she had requested.
It became increasingly obvious to Tsunade why Orochimaru would no longer play shogi with his little sister as Sakura beat Jiraiya seven times in a row without missing a beat "Who taught her how to play so well" Tsunade turned her attention on Orochimaru.
"According to her Lord Nara" Orochimaru shook his head not surprised "But my imouto-chan has always been different, talking and walking like that at only three months old" he explained and Tsunade's eyes widened before the snapped over to Sakura to peer at her with curiosity.
Sakura snickered "Thanks Jiraiya-san" she smiled all to sweetly before swiftly packing up the board, she would have usually gone to see Shikaku but since she was stuck at the academy with her brother not that, that was a bad thing, Sakura couldn't do what she normally did during the day.
"Yeah no problem kid" Jiraiya ruffled her hair and Sakura shrieked in dismay attempting to fix her hair but found it impossible due to it's long length, Orochimaru seeing the problem hurriedly pulled out the purple brush Sakura had requested for her birthday and brushed her hair.
A few minutes later the pink hair was smooth once again "Love you lots Ni-san" Sakura hugged his neck squeezing tightly but not to tightly, then decided to be a little more nicer and pressed a wet kiss to his cheek, inwardly grinning at the look of thinly veiled disgust.
Orochimaru grimaced and wiped his cheek "Aw gross imouto-chan" he stuck his tongue out at her childishly but Sakura merely smiled innocently "And I love you to" Orochimaru finished up with a hug of his own causing some of the teachers to grin at the adorableness.
Feeling bored all of a sudden, Sakura got an idea though she knew it would shock a lot of people, she didn't care right now, she longed to sing so when Orochimaru spotted her opening her mouth, he thought she was going to scream and jumped forward only to pause in shock.
"May the good Lord be with you, down every road you roam. Forever young May good fortune be with you, may your guiding light be strong Forever young Forever young And when you finally fly away, I'll be hoping that I served you well. Forever young. Forever young.
And may sunshine and happiness surround you when you're far from home.
And may you grow to be proud dignified and true.
And do unto others as you'd have done to you.
Be courageous and be brave and in my heart you'll always stay.
Forever young.
Build a stairway to heaven with a prince or a vagabond.
And may you never love in vain and in my heart you will always remain.
Forever young.
Forever young.
Forever young.
For all the wisdom of a lifetime no one can ever tell.
But whatever road you choose, I'm right behind you, win or lose.
Forever young.
Forever young."
Silence settled over the academy playground like a thick blanket, Sakura opened her emerald eyes to peer around nervously, "Uh Oni-san what's the matter" she asked looking at her pale looking brother, he was paler than normal which was saying something.
"Who taught you how to sing like that imouto-chan" Orochimaru questioned shakily his whole body had froze upon hearing that song and his hands trembled as he pulled Sakura into his side where she was going to stay from then on.
Realizing to late that maybe it hadn't been such a good idea to sing out in the open like that Sakura cursed at herself mentally all while trying to come up with a good lie to tell her brother "Yoshino-san likes to sing sometimes" Sakura blurted out hoping that it was believable.
At that the playground became a cacophony of sound and a couple of the sensei's rushed over to the gathered group of children "Excuse me Toigatta-san, but that's your little sister right" one sensei asked of Orochimaru who nodded mutely.
"Give this to your parents when you return home because we would love to have such a talented child in our class" the other handed over a scroll and Orochimaru took it shocked to his very core, he wasn't sure he would be able to handle having his sister in his class.
Sakura groaned inwardly berating herself for being so stupid 'Great just what I freaking need more people fussing over me cause I'm such a damn prodigy, I'm really beginning to hate the kami' she scowled deeply falling silent.
Feeling the anger wafting from his sister in waves Orochimaru released a long suffering sigh and pulled Sakura into his lap "It's ok imouto-chan, I doubt mama and papa will enroll you into the academy so young" he soothed gently rubbing her hair.
Relaxing in Orochimaru's hold Sakura leaned her head back to peer into his golden eyes with large unsure eyes "I don't know oni-san, what if they do decide then what" her lip wobbled and tears welled in her emerald eyes only to spill over.
Not sure what to tell his sister at that Orochimaru squeezed Sakura tightly, he was scared for her, he didn't want Sakura to have to suffer because she was supposedly a prodigy, it was a horrible situation all around "Well then we'll just have to stick together" he finally vowed.
Rubbing her eyes to get rid of the tears Sakura gave her brother a watery smile unable to help herself, despite her initial reluctance, she had gotten attached to Orochimaru, Sakura was certain it was due to the interference of the kami but couldn't find it in herself to care.
The rest of the day passed by quietly as lessons resumed, Sakura once again drawing in her sketch book passing round pictures when she finished them to each of the three older children that she sat with all while absorbing the information the sensei was telling them.
Tsunade was surprised though when her parents came to pick her up and announced that Sakura and Orochimaru would be coming home with her, the three days there passed by in a blur and soon the toigatta siblings went home.