Chapter Fourteen: The First Day of School

The next morning Keiko woke up to the scent of her mother cooking pancakes for her. She quickly leapt out of her bed and used the bathroom before rushing down the hallway in her tiny pink nightgown. "Mmm Mommy are you making pancakes?" she questioned her while licking her lips as her mother laughed and smiled at her.

"Yes I am sweetheart how did you ever guess?" she questioned her back.

"Would there be chocolate chips in them by any chance?" Keiko wondered as her mother laughed again and nodded.

"Yep, your favorite. They should be ready in ten minutes, but after you're done eating Sasuke wants to take a walk with you in the park because he wants to talk to you about something. He just called a few minutes ago." She explained.

"Alright, I'm going to go get dressed then." Keiko told her mother before she quickly turned back around and raced down the hallway and back into her bedroom slamming the door tightly shut behind her.

….

After breakfast Keiko met Sasuke in the park. She was wearing her favorite purple dress with the matching purple ribbons tied inside her hair. "So, what did you want to talk to me about?" she wondered while they started walking down the path together side by side.

"A few different things." Sasuke began. "First of all, how did you sleep?" he wondered.

"Great!" Keiko exclaimed excitedly. "I had a dream that my mommy bought me a new puppy." She told him as Sasuke chuckled.

"That does sound like an exciting dream, and who knows, maybe it'll come true someday." He told her. "Second of all, a little birdy told me that you're starting the academy tomorrow." He said as she heaved a deep and heavy sad sigh and hung her head.

"Yeah,.." she replied.

"What's wrong? Aren't you excited about it?" he asked her.

"Yeah, but it's just that everybody else always thinks I'm strange and I won't know anybody there." She told him but Sasuke just simply grinned at her.

"You'll know me." He told her as Keiko lifted her head and looked at him.

"What do you mean?" she wondered.

"I'm going to be your new sensei." He told her with a grin.

"Really!?" Keiko cried while a wide grin stretched a crossed her face as Sasuke chuckled again and nodded.

"Yep. I figured that I would miss you too much if I wasn't with you every day." He explained. "However,.. I can't start right away." He began.

"Really? Why not?" she asked him.

"Because of this." He told her while removing an envelope out of his pocket. "I just got it this morning, and apparently I have a niece that I didn't know anything about." He explained.

"Really? What's her name?" Keiko inquired.

"Sachi. Her mother just died and her father,.. well,.. he was my brother." He told her.

"So you mean that she was Itachi's kid?" she questioned as Sasuke nodded again.

"Yep, he died before she was born and so she never even knew him. I'm the only family member that she has left now. So I have to go find her before she gets herself killed or seriously injured." He said.

"What do you mean go and find her?" she asked him.

"Well,.. apparently she ran away from the orphanage and to make matters worse she has the curse mark of Lord Orochimaru." He began before he squatted down in front of her. "Listen to me Keiko, while I'm gone you have to promise me that while I'm gone that you'll stay here with your mother and sister and be a good girl. Alright?" he questioned her.

"But I don't want you to go. I'm really going to miss you." She told him while her eyes turned a darker shade of blue.

"I know sweetheart, but I promise you that I'll be back as soon as I can." He told her as she heaved a deep and heavy sad sigh.

"Well,.. alright. Do you promise to text me every day?" she questioned him as he smiled and nodded at her. "Okay. Goodbye Sasuke-Kun. I love you." She told him sadly while he wrapped his arms around her and tightly embraced her feeling a few tears roll down her cheeks.

"I love you too." He told her before softly planting a kiss on the top of her head and then he slowly stood back up, turned around, and walked away into the distance. Keiko sniffed and wiped her nose on the back of her hand as she watched him go.

That night she received a text from Sasuke telling her to have a goodnight sleep and to enjoy her first day of school. Although she was extremely excited about it she already missed her big brother dearly and still didn't know anybody else there. All of the kids stopped and turned to stare at her as she walked into the classroom. Whispers broke throughout the crowd and that's when Keiko's eyes changed back into the darker shade of blue.

"I knew it! I'm a freak! They hate me already!" she cried before she burst into tears and raced back outside of the school. "I wish that Sasuke-Kun was still here!" she sobbed as she sat down on top of a bench and felt her tears hit her lap. She wanted to run away but then she remembered her promise to Sasuke. That's when suddenly she heard another little girl crying and she slowly turned her head to see that somebody was sitting next to her.

She had black hair, brown eyes and was wearing a red dress with her hair tied back into pigtails with red ribbons similar to what Keiko's style was. "Umm,.. what's wrong?" Keiko asked her with uncertainty as she turned over to look at her.

"I want to go home!" she sobbed. "All of the kids are just going to keep teasing me and calling me a crybaby for missing my daddy!" she cried.

"Well that's not very nice." Keiko said as she suddenly stopped crying.

"They think I'm fat too and make fun of my reading glasses." The other girl told her.

"Why don't you just ignore them?" Keiko wondered.

"I do, but that doesn't get them to stop." She explained. "I wish I had a friend." She told her.

"Join the club." Keiko said. "Everybody always calls me a freak. Everybody except for Sasuke and Sakura." She told her.

"Who are they?" she wondered.

"Well Sakura's my big sister and Sasuke's like a big brother to me. He had to go away for awhile though to go and find his niece. He's the only friend I have right now." Keiko told her.

"I can be your friend too if you want me to. My name's Saki." She said with a grin.

"Really? That's a really pretty name. I'm Keiko. How old are you Saki?" Keiko wondered.

"Seven. But I'll be eight in October." She replied.

"Really? My birthday is in November. I'm ten by the way." Keiko began. "Do you want to come and sit with me?" she questioned her new friend with a grin.

"Sure." Keiko replied as both of the girls stood up and then headed back inside the school together.