Okay I'll say it, dialogue is difficult.

I don't own Naruto.

Also, I'm not sure how accurate my facts are on the civilian lifestyle since I haven't found anything that goes into detail. If anyone has any good sources then send them my way.

Hope you enjoy this chapter.

Fortunately, there hadn't been any more unexpected meetings the days following her encounter with the three clan heads. She had enjoyed the short walk they shared together but Sakura was certain that if she had spent more time with them then she'd end up blabbing about everything. That would surely end disastrous for her on some level. She did however take to heart Inoichi's words regarding the risk of chakra exercises.

In order to avoid a more serious case of chakra exhaustion, Sakura decided to treat the chakra exercises like any other muscle and start small. She found a kitchen timer her mother was no longer using and started off by doing the exercise for ten minutes then she would increase the time by five minutes every week. She found that it worked better when she did it right after her stretching routine in the evenings since the relaxation aspect of it also helped her fall asleep quicker. Plus if she did end up pushing it then she could just sleep it off in bed.

Unfortunately, Sakura's investigation into the missing kids had become stagnant. She hadn't been back to see the homeless kids for a few days, mostly because she had finished creating profiles of all those who had gone missing within the past two to four years.

Another major part of not going back was due to the increased risk of being detected the longer she lingered. While she had taken measures to blend in a little better, she knew it was only a matter of time before Danzo's agents or the man himself began to notice her wandering about. If they haven't noticed her already.

'Don't jinx it.'

So she had stopped going regularly and decided that she wouldn't plan her visits anymore. She needed it to be as random as possible. That meant only going if the impulse hit her rather than planning her day around it, so essentially if the thought of going hit her then she'd go. Assuming it was an appropriate time of day to do so.

That aside she wasn't at all sure what to do with herself now that she essentially had a lot more free time. Her parents were away on a business trip so she didn't have to make it home at a certain time for her mother's lessons which left even more time to herself. She enjoyed the alone time of course but found that if she sat still for too long then unwanted thoughts began to fill her mind.

Truthfully, she was nowhere near being able to sneak into the genin section of the library, much less the academy and it was beginning to frustrate her.

'Patience is a virtue.'

Despite her frustration, she had managed to come up with a somewhat decent plan through her observations. Every once in a while there was a civilian librarian manning the desk of the genin section. It wasn't a routine thing, most likely last minute changes to accommodate unplanned missions, so she had no way of knowing when the next opportunity would happen. All she knew was that she'd need everything ready to act when the chance came.

Her plan wasn't elaborate by any means, she had decided to stick to a well known acronym; K.I.S.S for Keep It Simple Stupid. First off she needed to make herself a little more forgettable, starting with her hair. She wasn't going to dye it, her mother would have a heart attack, but she didn't know how to perform a henge so the next best thing was a wig. Acquiring said wig was an issue since she had yet to figure out what she could possibly do as a job.

The second step in her plan was to create a small distraction, nothing major, something like giving the librarian a book that had been misplaced or telling them that someone was acting a little peculiar. She'd need to think a little more regarding that particular detail. Whatever it was, it would need to require the librarian to leave the desk or become distracted enough so that she could sneak past.

Anyway for the moment her priority was finding some source of income and maybe a friend if she was lucky.

Both those issues happened to be solved in the form of Masami Chinen.

Sakura had gone to the library as usual, she had started branching out into other sections of the library. She had even gone as far as to read a fiction novel that she had to admit was quite entertaining, it had been some time since she allowed herself to relax.

On this particular day however, Sakura had found herself in the plant and gardening section. Having knowledge of different types of plants could help in the long run, if she wasn't suited to become a medic then she could perhaps go into poisons or something. It would be a long time before that decision would need to be made but knowing about plants would help either specialities so no harm in learning. It would with life in general really.

As her eyes inspected the different titles she didn't notice a person coming to stand beside her.

"Are you lost?" Startled, she gave out an involuntary yelp before snapping her head towards the person. It was a girl, probably older than her, who was looking at her with the deepest amber eyes she'd ever seen. They reminded her of chocolate. The girl's hair was a lighter auburn color that complimented her eyes. Her features could be considered plain but she had a warmth to her that invited Sakura in.

The girl tilted her head, "Um hello? Are you lost? I can help you find your parents."

The comment shouldn't have irritated her the way it did. Sakura was physically a four year old after all and the girl's offer wasn't done out of anything other than concern for a young kid who was lingering in a section of the library that not many kids her age ventured into. Still, a part of her couldn't wait to get older.

'You say that now but everybody regrets growing up at some point.'

Setting aside her internal monologue, "No thank you, I'm not lost."

The girl looked surprised, "Oh? What are you doing in this section, can't imagine there's anything you'd like reading here."

Sakura couldn't stop one eye from twitching, "I could ask you the same thing." The girl looked appropriately taken back but soon her expression turned into one of mirth.

"Well, I'm looking for a book about herbs." The girl was giving her a look that indicated it was Sakura's turn to share which she did with an amused huff, "I'm looking for a book about plants and their qualities, if you must know."

The girl chuckled, "Maybe I can help you, are you looking for something in particular?"

Sakura mulled the question over, "Maybe plants that would be good for balms?" The girl nodded enthusiastically before scanning the shelves. She quickly found what she was looking for and handed Sakura the book.

"This is a good one to start off with, it's all about medicinal plants you can find in the Fire Country. They're also easy to grow if that's something you're interested in." Sakura nodded as she inspected the book in her hands.

"Thank you."

"No problem."

Sakura paused to look at the book again before making eye contact with the girl once more, "I'm Haruno Sakura."

The girl's smile widened in response, "Nice to meet you Sakura-chan, I'm Chinen Masami." Sakura smiled and nodded at her introduction, deciding to make her way to a desk so that she could dive into the book.

She had just begun the first chapter when she heard the chair next to her scrape across the floor. "Is it alright if I sit here?" Sakura nodded at Masami's request, secretly giddy at the girl's decision to sit next to her.

Masami took initiative, "So Sakura-chan, what made you interested in plants?"

In spite of herself, Sakura shuttered a little in her response, "W-well, I t-thought it might be good to know what plants do incase I want to become a medic." A small blush settled onto her cheeks, somehow she was embarrassed at saying it out loud.

Masami's eyes widened, "Wow really? You want to become a medic?" Sakura nodded, forcing herself to make eye contact as Masami continued, "That's a pretty big ambition. That means you'll have to go to the academy right?" Sakura nodded again in confirmation. She wondered if it was a good idea to share this with the older girl. She shook her head slightly to clear the paranoid thoughts threatening to overtake her.

'There are still good people in this world, just make sure not to give too much away and give her the benefit of the doubt.'

With that in mind, Sakura decided to redirect the conversation, "What about you Masami-san?" The girl in question brightened even more, if that was entirely possible before eagerly going into an explanation.

"I want to become a herbalist and I managed to get an apprenticeship!" The girl was practically glowing, "My teacher said it would be a good idea to get a head start on some reading so here I am."

"Wow, congratulations Masami-san. That sounds exciting."

Masami nodded enthusiastically, "It is!" She lifted a hand to rub the back of her neck, "It's been going kind of slow though. There are a lot of words I don't know so it's taking longer to go through the list."

Sakura tilted her head and nodded in understanding. This was yet another thing that baffled her about this world. There wasn't really an education system for civilians. It was left to the child's parents or caretaker to teach them how to read and write. Civilian children inevitably went into the same profession as their parents since their knowledge surrounded what their parents knew and after all the student could only be as good as the teacher in the end. This also added to the poverty issue, if the parents didn't meet the requirements for a job then their children wouldn't either.

This fact could also be an influencer in the divide between shinobi and civilians. While both groups lived in relative harmony, each sticking within their own boundaries, the lack of interaction between the two groups made it easy for misunderstandings. Not to mention the fear of shinobis in general. If shinobi and civilian children were able to socialize in a setting like school then surely the fear civilians had for shinobi would decrease. Plus there would be the added bonus of shinobi being seen as humans rather than weapons.

What also confused Sakura more was how no one had thought of educating civilians to take over job roles that didn't require a developed chakra network. She had yet to go to the hospital so she wasn't entirely sure how things worked but from what she remembered was that it was mostly medical-nin who were staffed as medical professionals. Surely civilians could be taught things that didn't require the use of chakra. It would certainly relieve the workload for the medical-nins.

'You just love finding more work to add to the list don't you.'

"Um Sakura, are you still in there?" Sakura blinked, looking back over to Masami. Her cheeks flushed from being caught in an internal monologue. She really needed to stop spacing out, "Sorry Masami-san, my thoughts sometimes carry me away."

Masami giggled, "Just how old are you Sakura?"

"I'm four."

Masami's eyes widened, "Wow really, you don't sound like one."

'Great, now I have that to worry about.'

"How old are you Masami-san?"

"I just turned ten." Masami made a peace sign, presumably proud of the double digit age.

Sakura couldn't help the sense of mischief that raced through her, "Ah, congratulations on becoming old Masami-san."

Said girl sputtered, "Wha-, how rude Sakura-chan. Didn't you know you should respect your elders?!"

"So you admit to being old then Masami-san?" Masami narrowed her eyes, there was no anger in them, in fact the girl seemed to be struggling to keep a smile from forming. In true melodramatic fashion, Masami crossed her arms and huffed, "Jeez, I go out of my way to be nice to you and this is what I get as thanks?"

Sakura couldn't help a giggle from passing through her lips at the girl's display. She hadn't felt this light-hearted and childlike for a while. At her giggle Masami's pout became even more dramatic. For the sake of not getting kicked out of the library, Sakura quickly apologized and Masami made an equally dramatic show of forgiveness before both girls turned their attention towards their reading material.

This was how they spent the rest of their time together, occasionally some idle chat passed between them when either found something interesting, but for the most part they sat in comfortable silence.

It was around lunch time when Sakura's stomach gave off a grumble, prompting both girls to giggle and decide that it was time to head out.

Sakura was a little disappointed when Masami told her she wouldn't be back in the library for a few days since her apprenticeship was starting the following day. She had enjoyed talking with the girl who drew out her childish side while also being able to keep up with her on an intellectual level. Masami seemed to be of the same opinion and promised Sakura she'd see her the following week if she was in the library.

"Say Masami-san, would you know if there's something I could do to earn money?" Sakura had been mulling the question over multiple times throughout the morning. Internally debating if it was a good idea to ask but ultimately deciding there was no real harm in asking. Hopefully.

Masami's brows furrowed in confusion, "You want a job? Why?" A fair question but Sakura couldn't stop herself from feeling a little embarrassed, "W-well, my parents aren't very happy with my decision to become a ninja so they won't pay for anything involving it. I need to get a job so I can start saving money for the things I'm going to need for the academy." That and to be able to buy a wig to sneak into the genin section as practice for sneaking into the academy to uncover a conspiracy involving a prominent figure of the village.

'Minor details.'

Masami frowned, "I see. I'm sorry Sakura, that must be difficult." Sakura furiously blinked away the burning sting that was building behind her eyes. She was not going to burst into tears at the girl's unexpected empathy. Instead she looked away and nodded, prompting Masami to continue, "Well I have an idea but she's not the easiest person to get along with."

Sakura tilted her head in question, "Who?"

"My grandmother has been looking for someone to do a few things for her but she doesn't really want to hire a genin team since there isn't a guarantee of getting the same team each time."

Sakura nodded, "So she wants a kind of at home carer?"

The older girl hummed, "Maybe more of a companion, I guess. It's mostly making her tea, sometimes doing chores but she really just wants someone else around. I used to do it but with my apprenticeship I can't be around all the time."

"Why not have her move in with your family then?"

Masami rubbed the back of her neck with a sigh, "She says she doesn't want to be a burden and that there's no reason for her to move out of her home since she's still able to do most things for herself." A sheepish expression filled Masami's face, "She's also a little direct so a lot of genin teams were kind of put off."

Sakura gave out an awkward chuckle, "Well, it can't be too bad. Would you mind introducing me?"

Masami nodded, "Yeah, we can go right now if you don't have anything on."

With that, she followed after the older girl. They reached their destination in no time and Masami gave Sakura one last look before entering the house.

'Please don't be a disaster.'

Thank you for reading.

The next chapter might be a little delayed as I have family coming to stay so that will take up my energy.

See you for the next one.