She still hadn't come to terms with the fact that she was going to a foster parent. Her parents had died before she had gotten to known them, and Orochimaru wasn't the best of role models…Oh, when would she just admit she was scared? Scared of not being good enough. How could she raise a child? Hell, she was only eighteen!
Iruka comes out of the door, a bunch of children trailing behind him. They pass by him, running and walking, waving as they leave school.
"Have a nice day!" He calls to them all. It's then that he notices Anko. "Oh? Mitarashi-san, what are you doing here?"
"Can you point out Haruno Sakura to me?"
Iruka nods.
"Yeah, just look for the pink-haired girl…Oh! There she is!"
He points toward a little blob of pastel hair up ahead. Anko nods a thanks and rushes ahead.
"Sakura! Sakura!"
The girl stops and turns around just as Anko reaches her. It doesn't pass by unnoticed that she's walking home alone, unlike other girls.
She stares at Anko for a moment, before her green eyes light up with recognition.
"Oba-chan!"
Anko stops.
Did she just call me Auntie?
"Okaa-san showed me a picture of you before!" She looks around eagerly, her green eyes searching. "Did Okaa-san come back from her mission yet?"
Oh man, I'm going to have to tell her…
"First of all, you must call me "Anko" or "Nee-san". I'm too young to be an auntie." Anko takes a deep breath. "And…Well…About your mother…"
Anko is holding a sleeping Sakura in her arms. She brushes her hand through the pink locks. With a wave of nostalgia, she realizes that this was a little habit that Kurenai would do with her hair.
It hadn't been easy to tell the child that her mother was dead. Surprisingly enough, the child had reacted quite quietly. Instead of whining and denying it, she had accepted it with horror-filled eyes, before resigning to crying softly. She had obviously experienced death before.
And now, here she had cried herself to sleep in Anko's apartment.
As Anko watches her, she realizes that Kurenai was right. She was cute. Her large head and her other oddities like her pink hair only added to the cherubim look of her.
Anko lets her fingers drift to the girl's cheeks, her fingers grasping peach skin. With a small squeal, she revels the soft marshmallow like feel of Sakura's cheeks. The girl doesn't even twitch.
With a small grin, she repeats the action several times, stretching and squishing the girl's soft faces, chuckling at the funny faces made by the oblivious girl.
"Hehe…I have a feeling you're going to a really bad guard…" Anko says in amusement.
Gently, she puts down the resting child on the couch and gets up. Going to the window, she looks outside and notes the gray vision of dusk outside. Then, below on the streets, she sees several people working on setting up a stage.
Oh right…the Bon Odori is in a wee—
"OKAA-SAN!"
Startled out of her thoughts, her eyes immediately flies to Sakura. The girl is turning and twisting uncomfortably, a look of despair on her sleeping face.
"Okaa-san!!!" She whines out again, her arms reaching for something. Anko goes to her side, panicking. What to do? What to do?
What would Kurenai do?
Without any better idea, she reaches out for the small girl and holds her, pinning her struggling arms down. One hand starts to go through the girl's pink locks while the other pats the child's back.
"Sh…" She tries to whisper in what she hopes is a soothing voice. "Shh…Saku-chan, it'll be alright…"
And amazingly enough, the girl begins to quiet down. Within seconds, she gradually stops wriggling, her breathing becoming more relaxed.
It takes Anko several seconds to realize that the girl is quiet.
Wait—what? I…I did it? I actually quieted her down?
As small as it is, this achievement fills Anko with an odd sort of warmth she's never felt before. Like…like taking a bath with warm water...or like peacefully eating dango with a cup of tea on the side.
She doesn't even notice the girl's eyes opening.
"…Okaa-san?"
She looks down—
Oh god…déjà vu.
—into the swirling tomoes of the Sharingan.
Shing.
Anko feels the tip of metal at her neck.
"Mitarashi Anko, you're under arrest for the kidnapping of Haruno Sakura."
Her eyes flash to Sakura. Sleeping. Had she just imagined the moment before?
"Kidnapping? There must be some misunderstanding. Perhaps you could release me?"
The sword does not move. Anko lets out a sigh.
"Fine, we'll clear this up at the station."
AN: ERm...for once, I don't have much to say. I hope you liked this chapter. I hope I update soon.