"Excuse me, nin-san?"

Ibiki kept walking toward Yakiniku Q, assuming she was talking to someone else. People generally took one look at him and decided against approaching; children and dogs were the same way.

"Hello? Nin-san?"

He stopped. Maybe if he didn't make any sudden movements, his face wouldn't completely terrify her. Ibiki slowly turned toward the young girl who looked up at him with big, earnest eyes. When he faced her completely, he was a little stupefied at what he saw. She was dressed in training clothing, with her arms wrapped in bandages, but her hair …

What sort of shinobi has pink hair?

She blinked at him and then pointed at the tanto he had absent-mindedly shoved through his belt as he left the T&I offices. "Nin-san, may I ask where you got that?"

"My name is Ibiki." He had not meant to say that. In fact, he had meant to turn and leave as soon as he saw that atrocious hair color. In some vague way, he knew that girls tended to experiment with their looks starting very young, but he was still surprised to see it in an Academy student.

The girl squinted at him, looking dubious. "O-okay, well, then. Ibiki-san! May I ask where you got that tanto?"

"I took it." If she was going to ask personal questions, he might as well return the favor. "May I ask why you dyed your hair, girl? A shinobi's best asset is their ability to hide in the shadows."

She grinned at him, not at all thrown. "Be that as it may, Ibiki-san, I can't help what I was born with. Think of it as my own bloodline limit."

"A genetic abnormality that allows you to broadcast your location wherever you go?"

The girl huffed at him. "More like a curse that makes people underestimate my abilities." She pointed at the senbon poking through her bun. "Plus, it's booby-trapped."

He couldn't help but laugh. The sound carried through the marketplace they stood in and a few of the chunin who knew him stared, wide-eyed. They looked torn between investigating the cause and running away as fast as possible.

"I like you, kid."

"My name is Sakura, not kid. I would say the feeling is mutual if you stopped refusing to answer my simple question about your tanto!"

"What's it to you? I don't see a headband - you're not even a genin yet."

Sakura hummed thoughtfully. "Fine. How about a trade? I'll treat you to lunch if you tell me more about that weapon. Equal exchange."

This girl is unreal. She can't be more than nine and she's trying to weasel information out of me? Still, free lunch is free lunch.

"You're on, kid." He laughed again when she scowled at him.

"So," he said as he placed another piece of beef on the grill between them, "why are you so interested in this tanto?"

Sakura snatched a finished piece of meat out of the reach of his chopsticks, stuffing it into her mouth triumphantly. "Mmph. I need a weapon for close quarters combat. My taijutsu is improving, but I don't want to limit myself. It is important that I become competent as an offensive shinobi."

"Important for what?" It was his turn to scowl as she snagged another piece of beef away from him. At this rate, his free lunch was going to turn into a free snack.

"For myself. For my precious people."

She is way too serious for a kid. Why is she in such a hurry?

"You have years left to do worry about that, kid. Wait until you're a chunin before you ride off to play war."

She paused in the midst of stealing more food from his side of the grill and glared. It was a pretty spectacular effort for a girl who looked as offensive as a kitten. "I'm not trying to play at anything, Ibiki-san. I read, I observe. This world is not a nice place filled with fluffy clouds and rainbows. I won't watch my friends die when I could have done something to prevent it!" Sakura flushed pink as her namesake, green eyes sparkling with murderous fervor.

What the hell? She seems pretty convinced that her friends are all going die without her help.

She looked at his impassive face and guessed at his thoughts, "A shinobi must prepare before it is too late. Those are the rules, I'm just doing my part. All knowledge is worth having."

Ibiki hated to admit it, but he was impressed. Sakura burned with the Will of Fire, but it was tempered by a cold, ruthless appreciation for the power of words and manipulation. He could only imagine what she would be like as an adult.

No one could stop her.

He needed to keep an eye on this girl.

"Say, kid. Do you know what I do for Konoha?"

Sakura pointed her chopsticks at him rudely. "Does it have something to do with taunting people with information that you refuse to provide?"

"Hah! Actually, that could actually be a portion of my job description. Why don't you come along with me after we eat and I'll tell you more about this tanto at my office."

"Hmm, fine. I agree, but only if you also introduce me to someone who can teach me how to use one of those things."

He grinned widely at her, not reacting to the neighboring table's wince at the sight. "Kid, if you can deal with my office, I'll teach you."

The scarred jonin and his little pink shadow ignored the looks and whispers as they walked through the doors of the Intelligence Division.

"What is she doing with Ibiki? She looks a little young for kunoichi training."

"Surely he's not starting that program up again?!"

"Maybe he's training her in information extraction?"

"Who even allowed him near kids?"

Sakura kept pace with him, her short legs working overtime as she tried to glance at his face. "It must be hard."

He kept his eyes forward. "What?"

"Knowing that not even your subordinates trust what kind of person you are."

She was right, but he wouldn't give her the satisfaction of knowing that. He was too professional to let a nine year old rattle him - even if she was a creepily omniscient nine year old.

"And what kind of person am I, kid?"

Sakura was nearly jogging now to keep up with his quick stride. "Right now, I'd say you're the type of man who enjoys making people run for no reason."

Ibiki slowed and then stopped in front of the door that had "Torture and Interrogation" engraved on it. "Are you ready for this?"

She crossed her arms and frowned at him. "What? A doorway? I think I can handle it."

"You can read, right? You know what that says."

"I've known where we were going since you told me your name. Despite my age, I'm not actually an idiot. All Konoha's shinobi should know Morino Ibiki by name, if not by sight."

He opened the door and ushered her inside, not holding back his laugh this time either. The girl was something else. He wanted to keep her as an office mascot.

All the members of his unit had turned toward the door, recognizing his unmuted chakra. They froze at the sound of his laughter. Ibiki supposed it was probably in poor taste to laugh in this particular unit, but he was the leader. He could goddamn laugh if he wanted to.

Inoichi raised an eyebrow at the sight of the girl with him. "Sakura-chan? What are you doing here?"

"Hello, Yamanaka-san!" She greeted him cheerily. "Ibiki-san promised to train me."

Inoichi sputtered a bit. "Ibiki-san is going to train you?"

She blinked, a bit nonplussed at his reaction. "What? Oh! Well, with the tanto. I imagine anything else he wants to impart is up to him."

"I didn't promise anything, kid."

Sakura waved him off airily, pretending not to notice the blatant stares from the other shinobi in the room. He could see that she was aware of their scrutiny and had just decided to ignore it. "Pft, as if I couldn't handle this office. You owe me now! I bought you lunch!"

"So you did, so you did. Come, let's go to the weapons locker. I'll allow you to choose a tanto from the ones we've confiscated."

"Aha! So that's what you meant when you said you "took it". Sneaky, Ibiki-san."

Ibiki dragged Kotetsu with them to help with her selection. He knew of the chunin's interest in weaponry and allowed him to distract the girl with the pros and cons of each tanto as he left the room in search of Inoichi.

The blonde was staring at a requisition form when Ibiki came to stand by his desk.

"How do you know Sakura?"

"Sakura-chan was friends with my daughter."

"Was?"

"Ino-chan is … exuberant with her affections toward a particular boy in their class. Sakura has become very close friends with this boy. Ino-chan did not take it well."

"She didn't seem all that upset to see you, though."

Inoichi sighed. "Sakura-chan has always been level-headed. I don't even think she's interested in this boy as anything but a friend, but Ino-chan won't see it that way. She is only a child."

"So is Sakura." Ibiki paused, thinking of the best way to word his question. It was clear Inoichi had developed a fondness for the girl and he wanted to tread lightly. "Tell me, has she always been … this way? Her intelligence is unusual for her age."

"When I first came to know her, she was nearly cripplingly shy. It's taken years for her to get to where she is now. Who knows how brilliant she was before she would speak to anyone?"

"Kotetsu-san, what do you think of this one?" Sakura had her back to the door, holding up her ultimate selection, a twelve inch blade with no guard in an understated blue sheath. If he remembered correctly, it had been taken off the body of an Iwa missing-nin only a few months ago.

"That's a good choice, but it seems kind of big for you, Sakura-chan."

"Eh, I'll grow into it. I'm going to have to find a way to carry this thing."

Ibiki appeared in the doorway silently. "Ready, kid? I don't have all day."

"Yeah, yeah. Places to go, people to torture. I get it."

Kotetsu's eyes widened at her remark. He had never heard anyone speak as casually to Morino Ibiki as this little girl did. He was astonished when Ibiki only smirked and said, "That's right. So move your mutant ass outta here."

"Such language from a respected elder, Ibiki-san! My ears are hurting." Sakura slid the tanto into its sheath and walked toward the door, only to stop and bow slightly at him. "Thank you for your assistance, Kotetsu-san."

He waved her off and watched the two of them disappear toward the T&I training space.

I think things are going to get interesting around here.