9:00
A little girl with pink hair is lying on her bed reading a picture book entitled "The Heroic Tales of the Fourth Hokage". She rests her head on her clasped hands and slowly sways her head left and right as she reads the book.
{The Fourth Hokage is my hero.} She thought to herself in admiration, looking at a picture of Minato Namikaze. {He was just an ordinary boy with ordinary civilian parents, he didn't belong to any of the shinobi clans, but through hard work and a strong dedication to his dream of becoming Hokage, he managed to achieve his dream, he became Fourth Hokage, he inspires me so much that I want to be just like him.}
The girl rises from her bed, stands up and strikes a heroic pose, left hand resting on her hip, right hand pointing to the sky. "One day I'll become Hokage like he did, Sakura Haruno, the Pink Flash." Sakura had an expression full of determination.
"Sakura! It's time to go, I'm taking you to meet Naruko Mitarashi today!" Shouted Kizashi from downstairs.
"Ah..." Sakura got so excited that her hair slowly started to levitate a little. "I'm meeting Naruko today! I can't wait to meet her." Sakura is so excited to meet Naruko that she sprints out of her room, leaving her book on her bed. "I'm coming!"
Naruko and the World Tree
Adoption Arc
Chapter 10 – My Dream, Sakura Haruno
Haruno Household
Hallway
09:00
Kizashi and Mebuki Haruno are standing downstairs in the hallway next to the front door. "Are you sure you want Sakura hanging out with that girl? I'm worried that she might end up in danger if she's around her." Mebuki is worried about Sakura hanging out with the girl who has the Nine-Tailed Fox inside her.
"Mebuki, Naruko isn't the Nine-Tailed Fox, she's a sweet little girl who had the misfortune of having the Nine-Tailed Fox sealed inside her, please give her a chance." Kizashi said calmly and put his right hand on Mebuki's left shoulder.
Mebuki nodded. "Alright, I trust you, I had forgotten you could be such a big-hearted buffoon." {But that's exactly why I fell in love with you.} They gave each other a quick kiss.
Kizashi looked towards the stairs. "Sakura! It's time to go, I'm taking you to meet Naruko Mitarashi today!" Shouted Kizashi.
"Ah...!" Kizashi and Mebuki can hear Sakura. "I'm meeting Naruko today! I can't wait to meet her. I'm coming!" Shouted Sakura, coming carefully but quickly down the stairs to where her parents were waiting.
"Here, I can't wait to meet Naruko!" Shouted Sakura excitedly, she couldn't wait to make her first friend.
Sakura is three years old soon to be four, she's a few months older than Naruko but they're close enough in age that they'll be in the same year when they attend the Shinobi Academy.
"I'm glad to hear that, my sweet Sakura, now let's go before the sun sets." Kizashi was exaggerating a lot, he picked up Sakura so she wouldn't have to walk all the way to the Sarutobi clan compound and then be too tired to play with Naruko after such a long walk.
Sarutobi Clan Compound
Mitarashi Household - Gate
09:35
Arriving at the gate of the new Mitarashi household, Kizashi presses the gate bell and waits patiently for Anko to open the wicket door. "Good morning Kizashi, I assume this little beauty you are holding is Sakura, she is beautiful." Anko greeted them sincerely.
"Thank you Anko, I brought Sakura to introduce her to Naruko, she is very excited to meet her, she does not have any friends at the moment so she's very excited to meet your daughter and make her first friend." Explained Kizashi to Anko.
Anko let out an overdramatic gasp and covered her mouth with both hands. "And here I am keeping this precious little girl from meeting my daughter, how cruel of me, I will not keep Sakura from meeting my Naruko any longer, please come in." Said Anko overdramatically, inviting them onto her property.
Mitarashi Household
Living Room
09:35
Naruko is sitting on the living room floor watching Anime Network, she's fixated on watching the latest episode of Dragonball which is about to start, Kizashi puts Sakura down on the floor who then slowly approaches Naruko and becoming nervous, Kizashi and Anko are just watching, Sakura has become so nervous she finds it hard to speak, she doesn't know what to say.
But then the intro of Dragonball starts playing and Sakura immediately notices Naruko watching it. "You like watching Dragonball too? I really like Bulma, she's really pretty and smart." Said Sakura meekly, hoping not to upset the other girl for talking during her show.
Naruko suddenly turns around and looks at Sakura, who flinches in response, Naruko suddenly starts smiling at her. "Yeah, I love watching Dragonball, Goku is my favourite character, he's strong and super cool." Naruko starts patting on the floor next to her, prompting Sakura to sit down where Naruko was patting next to her.
Kizashi sighs. "That's a relief, at least I know they'll get along, your Naruko really is a sweet girl." Kizashi returns a compliment about Naruko.
"Thanks, I consider myself very lucky to have her." Said Anko humbly.
"Unfortunately, I can't stay, now that I've been made chairman of the Civil Council, I've got a lot of work to do, and with the inauguration coming up, there's been no end to it. Sakura will be alright to stay here for a few hours, right?" Kizashi hopes he's not imposing on Anko.
"That's not a problem at all, it'll be nice for Naruko to have a friend her own age, especially another girl." Replied Anko, reassuring Kizashi that his daughter would be in good hands with her.
"Thanks." Said Kizashi sincerely before he left, leaving Sakura in Anko's care for a few hours.
11:00
Anko, Naruko and Sakura are watching Anime Network together, Sakura turns to Anko who is sitting on the sofa. "Do you like watching Anime Network too, Anko?" Sakura is curious to see an adult watching cartoons and anime. {My Mum and Dad say that cartoons and anime are for children, so they don't watch them, just me in my household.}
Anko nods once. "Yeah, I love watching Anime Network, I love anime, they have visuals that allow children like you and Naruko to enjoy them, but they also have enough maturity that teenagers and adults like me can enjoy them too, I love Anime Network because Naruko and I both enjoy watching the shows on it." Anko isn't ashamed to admit that she likes Anime Network and anime.
"Yes, before this me and Mum used to watch a more childish cartoon channel, but I was the only one who liked the shows on there, my Mum only liked them because of me engaging with those shows and that's it, but she actually likes these shows on this channel, if Mum didn't like this channel I wouldn't have care for it, I love spending time with my Mum more than anything." Naruko said that with the brutal honesty of a typical child, but it was the brutal honesty that touched the heart rather than breaking it.
"Oh that's really cool, I stumbled upon Anime Network by accident, I was messing around with the TV remote while my Mum wasn't in the room and watching me, I found the cartoons she had me watching boring and they made me feel stupid all the time, plus they showed a lot of disgusting things that made me feel sick." Sakura shudders when she thinks of those horrible cartoons.
"I hated that channel, so I played with the remote to find another channel with cartoons, and I happened to come across Anime Network, luckily my Mum lets me watch anime, because to her they're still cartoons." Sakura explained how she had found Anime Network.
"Hahaha..." Anko laughed cheerfully. "The fact that even you found those more childish cartoons made even you feel stupid and grossed out says a lot about how terrible they are." Anko found it ironic that a child hated shows made for children.
Dining Room
12:00
Anko, Naruko and Sakura watch Anime Network until noon, Anko makes Naruko and Sakura something to eat as she doesn't want them to go all day without eating, she doesn't believe in being skin and bones to impress boys and intends to drive those thoughts out of Naruko if she ever starts having them.
Naruko and Sakura are sitting at the dining table when Anko sets a cheese sandwich out for each girl. "Here you go." Anko puts one down for herself too, she wants to set a good example, she doesn't want to be that parent who says it's important to eat breakfast but never eats breakfast herself, if Naruko has to eat breakfast and lunch, she has to.
"Thanks, Mum." Naruko said before putting her hands together and bowing. "Thanks for the food."
"Thanks Anko." Said Sakura next before putting her hands together and bowing. "Thank you for the food."
"You're welcome." Anko does the same. "Thanks for the food."
Living Room
12:30
After lunch the three decide to play a board game, Naruko chooses Shogi, Sakura doesn't know how to play it, which Naruko was happy to hear because it means she could teach it to someone else, Sakura is quick to pick it up which shows her intelligence.
"Shogi is a really complex game, isn't it?" Asked Sakura, amazed at how complex the game was.
"Yeah, it took me a while to understand the rules, but once you do, it's all the more fun, we're both beginners, so let's play and get better together." Naruko enjoys playing Shogi and hopes that Sakura likes the game enough that she wants to get better at it.
Anko decided to join them. {It can't hurt to start sharpening my mind, once I start training Naruko I'll start training again myself, but that doesn't mean I can't start training my mind now.} Anko plays, but she doesn't hold back, she plays to win.
13:00
They played a few games, but Anko defeated them easily each time. "You know, I think it's really unfair for you not to hold back against us, Aunt Anko." Sakura complained, deciding to call Anko her Aunt because she spent as much time with her today as she did with Naruko.
"Life is also unfair Sakura, if you and Naruko ever become shinobi you could one day face forces so overwhelmingly powerful that most would find it unfair, your only chance to survive is to retreat, to try and escape, but those forces could be so powerful that even escape is impossible, things like do that happen and it's really unfair, but that's life and sometimes there's nothing you can do about it no matter how careful or prudent you are." Said Anko, petting Sakura on the head.
"But we're playing a board game, is it really that important?" Asked Sakura, but not out of anger, but out of curiosity, because Anko is a fountain of knowledge compared to her, so she might as well ask to see what she can learn from an older and therefore wiser girl.
"That's because strategy on a Shogi board game is no different from strategy in a real battle, according to Asuma, the man who taught Naruko how to play Shogi, every commander knows that." Replied Anko based on what Asuma had told her and Naruko about the Shogi game.
"Oh wow, that's cool, and in what ways can playing Shogi help in a real battle?" Asked Sakura in amazement when she heard that.
"It can help you strategise when you're leading an army or multiple units against an enemy faction, and it can influence your decision making when you're fighting an enemy, even in a one-on-one battle." Anko stands up and performs the Shadow Clone Jutsu.
"For example, if you're someone who uses clones, you can manoeuvre your clones based on a similar strategy that you used when you played Shogi, and because you played Shogi, it's kind of like having hindsight, of course it's not always going to go to plan, but when you play Shogi, you can learn to minimise the number of mistakes you make both in the game and in a real battle." Replied Anko and then dispels her Shadow Clone.
"Okay, but that doesn't explain why you don't go easy on us." Said Naruko, wondering why her mother wasn't cutting them any slack.
"I won't cut you guys any slack because it'll give you experience in dealing with an overwhelming force or odds stacked against you. Just because they're overwhelming doesn't mean there is no way to overcome them and be victorious. But to overcome these kinds of odds, in most cases, you need years of experience in dealing with such odds stacked against you. That's why neither I nor Asuma will cut you any slack when you play Shogi against us, so that you can gain that experience from the safety of a board game. At some point in your lives you will encounter these overwhelming odds, whether it's an army or a single enemy, you'll encounter them, and it's better that you prepare for such situations earlier in life than later." Anko finished her explanation, she doesn't know if what she said is true, but if it makes Naruko and Sakura work harder to make sure they can overcome overwhelming odds when they encounter them, then it was all worth it to tell them that, whether it's a lie or not, whether Anko knows what she's telling them is true or made up, the outcome justifies the means.
Naruko and Sakura are left awestruck by how great, wise and cool Anko is, which of course Anko takes advantage of because it feels great to be admired by young girls. {I wonder if Mum, Kushina and Tsunade felt the same way when they were idolised by younger girls.} Anko couldn't help but grin.
Naruko and Sakura decide to continue playing Shogi with Anko, who is true to her word and doesn't go easy on them, but she starts giving them tips and hints and suggests different strategies that she knows from playing shogi with Asuma, she won't go easy on Naruko and Sakura but she can at least give them some guidance.
Garden
15:00
After playing Shogi for two hours, Anko stands up and stretches. "Okay, I've had enough of playing, why don't you two go play outside for a bit until Sakura's father picks her up. It's a nice day, it would be a shame to just spend it all inside."
"Okay, let's go, Sakura." Said Naruko and stood up.
"Alright." Sakura had no objection to playing outside.
"Before you go out, please stay away from the pond, I don't want either of you to fall in, so please stay away from it." Asked Anko with concern in her voice.
"We won't, I promise we'll stay away from the pond." Said Naruko without a hint of complaint in her voice.
Naruko and Sakura went outside, they played different games like hide and seek, tag and ninja and a combination of all three, they explored the garden and looked at different wild flowers that grew in the garden, they looked at some insects and caught some but released them afterwards, they even played a copycat game, where they imitate the different creatures they saw in the garden, but they never went near the pond, because Naruko respected her mother's instructions, she never went near the pond, nor did she entice Sakura to go near the pond, which showed great maturity for her age.
16:00
After playing for an hour, Naruko and Sakura lay down on the grass and watched the clouds move through the sky above them. "This is so nice." Naruko said in a relaxed manner.
"Yeah, I really like watching the clouds, I often lie on my bed and watch them for hours." Said Sakura with a grin on her face.
"You know, I was reading a book earlier." Said Sakura, looking at Naruko.
"What's it called? What's it about?" Asked Naruko, looking back at Sakura.
"It's called "The Heroic Tales of the Fourth Hokage", it's a picture book based on stories about Minato Namikaze, the Fouth Hokage, I really like reading that book" Said Sakura with a big grin on her face.
"Did you know that Minato Namikaze was my father?" Asked Naruko, wondering if Sakura knew that.
"Hmhmm." Sakura nodded. "Yes, my Dad told me you were, but he also told me not to befriend you because you're the daughter of the Fourth Hokage, I should befriend you because of who you are and nothing else." Sakura gave Naruko a sincere smile.
"Then why did you mention the book if you already know?" Naruko asked curiously.
"Because I want to tell you my dream, I want my first friend to be the first person I tell it to after my parents." Said Sakura, Naruko sat up and listened carefully.
"Minato Namikaze was an ordinary boy who came from an ordinary civilian family, he didn't come from any of the shinobi clans, he was just normal, but through hard work and dedication to his dream of becoming Hokage, he was able to achieve his dream, he became Fourth Hokage." Sakura spoke passionately about this.
"Oh wow... I didn't know that about him." Naruko is amazed to hear that her father was a normal person from a normal family.
"That's what the book said, I started to admire the Fourth Hokage, he was just ordinary but he became Hokage and that's when my dream came to me. Naruko, my dream is to be like your Dad, I want to become Hokage one day, I'm just a normal girl from a normal civilian family, I think if I work just as hard with the same dedication he did, I'll become Hokage myself one day, just like Minato." Sakura told Naruko about her dream, she didn't know if it was the right thing to do but it's out there, she told Naruko her first friend.
"Wow Sakura, you already have a dream, that's so cool." Naruko looked at Sakura in awe.
"Then I hope you can do it Sakura, I believe in you." Naruko gave Sakura her support.
Sakura sat up, she and Naruko hug, the beginning of a strong bond between them, unnoticed by them, Anko and Kizashi had been watching and eavesdropping.
"Yes, when she told me and Mebuki it was a surprise, but she's so passionate about it, it's hard not to believe she has the drive to do it." Kizashi said proudly of Sakura.
"It's wonderful to hear that a girl her age already has a dream, tell you what, when I start training Naruko, bring Sakura over to mine and I'll train her too, I would like to help her achieve her dream." Anko offered to train Sakura when she starts training Naruko.
"If she remains so passionate when the time comes, I'll accept the offer, if it helps Sakura to achieve her dream, I'll do everything I can to support her." Said Kizashi, fully supportive of his daughter.
Naruko and Sakura started playing together almost every day, Kizashi and Mebuki took turns to bring Sakura to play with Naruko, and Mebuki quickly realised that Kizashi was right. {No, Naruko isn't the Nine-Tailed Fox, she's a sweet girl who unfortunately had the Nine-Tailed Fox put inside her.} Mebuki softened considerably towards Naruko.
She even allowed Naruko to come over and play with Sakura and sometimes stay a night or few, which allowed Anko to take on high C-rank missions, but nothing that would keep her away from Naruko for too long.
Sakura quickly became something like a big sister to Naruko, Kizashi and Mebuki became something like an uncle and aunt to her, Naruko gained more people who loved her and that was to have a big impact on her life.
To Be Continued
Next Chapter - Chapter 11 - Sensei's Girl, Kakashi Hatake
Thank you for reading, please leave a review.
Trivia Section
Trivia Section: The Trivia Section isn't important to the story and can be skipped completely, it's a section I created to bundle all my author notes, thoughts and information I want to give about the World Tree Universe, what plans I've for future stories and so on, check it out if you want but it's not necessary.
Spin Offs: The World Tree Universe has quickly become my passion project and I'm thinking of trying to expand it further by giving some characters branch or parallel stories to the main story.
Sakura Haruno could get her own parallel story that runs alongside the main story so that the main story doesn't get cluttered with tonnes of stories with multiple characters, this allows Naruko to breathe in the main story but allows the other characters to shine in parallel stories.
What Ifs based on my story: I won't be able to give every character a parallel story, many characters in this story will only used to bring more life to this world, not here to be important or useful in combat, just to fill the world with interesting individuals for the main characters to interact with between the main story arcs, and during the slice of life moments of this story.
That said, if any of you reading this story would like to give these characters parallel stories or write what ifs with these characters based on my World Tree Universe, feel free to do so, I just ask that you mention me when writing stories based on my World Tree Universe.