After tediously convincing Sakura to show her the shop, Ino had finally won. Along the way back from school, the pinkette warned her new friend many times to be careful.
"Just be careful, okay?" Sakura pushed the door and allowed the blond in, "I know, you told me that too many times now!"
"Wow!" Ino looked around the shop in amazement, "everything here must be so expensive!"
The shelves were filled with delicate glass jars with helpful herbs inside of them, although they were a bit dusty, it was still quite beautiful.
"Not really, but it depends on the rarity of the herbs, we keep those rare ones in the back."
"What kind of cure does that one have?" Ino went up on her tippy toes to pick up a purple jar with blue petals inside of it. She appeared to have taken a liking to the colors.
"That one helps arthritis, but it also helps with open wounds from getting infected," Sakura explained happily, showing her life passion in a prideful manner.
"Wow… You know so much about herbs!" Sakura blushed at the compliment.
"It's the only thing I'm good at," she muttered.
They continued to tour the shop. Ino was amazed by the amount and the massive variety of herbs in the little shop.
"Why aren't there many customers?" she asked, because behind so many magical cures there had to be customers.
Sakura looked down at the hardwood floors, "we used to have lots and lots of them, but then people began calling us witches. Civilians and ninjas alike are scared of me and mother," Sakura looked up to Ino, "you should be too."
Ino was shocked with Sakura's words, "you know forehead, you worry too much."
"Forehead?"
"It's my new nickname for you since you have a large forehead!" she chimed. Sakura covered her forehead with her palms, "my forehead isn't that big!"
"I was just kidding," Ino giggled, "…forehead," she poked Sakura in the forehead, "hey!" Sakura yelled and pouted.
"Pig," Ino looked at Sakura strangely, "what do you mean?" Sakura puffed, "I'll call you pig, or do you prefer pig-sama?" now it was Ino's turn to get angry, "I am nothing like a pig!"
"Excuse me," the two jumped to the direction of the voice. An old woman on a cane had come into the shop.
"Yes? Can I help you?" Sakura politely turned to her.
"Is Sachiko-chan in today?" the old woman asked in return.
"Yes, I'll go find her, come on Ino!" Sakura grabbed her new friend's wrist to search for her mother.
"It's okay Sakura-chan, I'm already here," her mother chimed. She gracefully walked over to the counter, ready to take the lady's request.
Sakura and Ino were getting tired of surprise entrances.
"Can I help you?"
And the madness began, the lady lifted her cane to some jars on the shelf and swiped them down, they shattered one by one, making an unbearable sound to both Sakura and Ino's ears.
"Pardon me, I couldn't control my cane," she knocked a few more down, "I apologize, but can you leave this shop, obaa-san?" Sachiko calmly took the cane from the furious lady.
"Don't fool me! This shop should be obliterated! Witches should not be allowed here!" she roared, Sachiko took the protester's wrist, "baa-ch-"
Sachiko was slapped by the daring lady; Ino and Sakura couldn't believe their eyes.
"You've corrupted your very own daughter and this poor child too!" she pointed to Ino and Sakura, who were completely shocked by the lady's behavior.
Sachiko rubbed her cheek, "I haven't done anything wrong, so please, if you have a complaint like this, go see the Hokage."
The lady puffed her cheeks and left, she violently pushed another table down before leaving. This was the first time that someone actually did that. Sachiko expected it, Sakura did not want to think about it, and Ino was just plain shocked.
"I'll go get a broom," Sakura said, Ino began picking up some glass and the spoiled herbs, "Girls, you don't have to do this," Sachiko smiled, "don't worry about it," Ino mumbled while picking up the glass, tears began going down her cheeks, "you shouldn't be treated like this, this is an amazing shop!"
Indeed it was, it was rather small, but the cozy wood floors and the olive green walls gave the place a nice holistic feeling; just going into the shop made Ino feel like she was being healed of some unknown illness in her body that had yet to emerge.
It was a truly magical place, but not a place in which witches would practice their crazy black magic. There were no upside down stars, no dead animal carcasses, no dead anything actually. So why would people accuse them with such a nonsensical idea? Was it because they had pink hair, or the bright green eyes?
The thoughts that flew through Ino's head made her forget that she was dealing with glass; a heavier piece slipped out of her hand, and cut her bare arm. It was only a scratch, but it was enough to make Sachiko concerned, "Does it hurt? I'll go get something to heal that…" Sachiko took a jar from one of the shelves and opened it, "you don't have to do that Haruno-san."
"You got injured in a medical herb shop, we should do something about it," Sachiko pulled out a piece of paper and put some herb powder on it, she then took a dropper and dropped some water on the dried herb.
"What does that do?" Ino asked, "It has antiseptic qualities," she replied, "it also makes it easier for the skin cells to regenerate."
Sachiko rubbed the powder turned paste onto Ino's scratch. The little girl was surprised, it didn't sting, like the rubbing alcohol her father used when she fell on her knees. Sachiko then put a band aid on.
"Thanks so much," Ino couldn't help but smile, whoever thought these people were wicked witches, were wrong, these two females just want to share their knowledge with the rest of the world.
"Can I work here?"
She didn't know what made her ask such a thing, she didn't know whether it was the desire to prove people wrong, or know more about herbs. She just knew that she could help in some way.
"I'm sorry Ino-san, but I can't let you," Sachiko didn't want her to face the hardships like she and her daughter did.
"Oh," Ino sighed dejectedly.
Sachiko smiled as she reset the table, "you want to help don't you? Ino-san, its better you stay-" a fit of coughing suddenly took over her; she fell on her knees, coughing and coughing.
"Haruno-san!" her blues eyes were wide as she ran over to Sachiko.
"Okaa-san, I found
"th- Oh my!" Sakura paced herself as she got her mother's side, it was a way she calmed herself down. Her mother coughed up blood; she kept coughing up more and more.
"Call the hospital," Sakura said to her friend.
"That's not…" Sachiko struggled with her words; she then fainted into her daughter's arms.
When Ino finished calling the hospital, she noticed Sakura wasn't crying, instead, she held her mother in her arms and sang her a small lullaby.
"Sakura-chan…" Ino stood there, watching the scene with a blank expression.
"Depression?" Ino repeated what the doctor had just said; she had accompanied Sakura and her mother to the hospital. The pinkette just sat there, trying to accept the truth.
"Yes, your mother now has to stay in the psyche ward until she gets better," the doctor turned towards Sakura, she merely nodded.
Her mother was depressed, and her daughter didn't blame her either, with her failing business, her weak daughter…
Then Sakura found her resolve, it was simple really.
She would find every way to become stronger.
For her mother, and for their crumbling business.