NOTE: Changed the title since I noticed it was wrong! Akai Kage is the original name from my drafts, I don't know where Akarikage came from lmao.

Chapter Introduction: Haruno Sakura

Haruno Sakura woke up hearing birds chirping outside.It's morning already?

Sitting up, she stretched her arms all the way up and yawned. The sun was shining on the window pane, casting sunlight all over her bedroom, and perking up her mood. She could smell the strong aroma of food from the kitchen and hear the familiar pan searing of her mother's cooking.

She had to admit it; waking up with the sun already up in the sky was a little foreign to her. She was used to setting her alarm clock just before sunset, so she could get many things done before she went to school. But school was over. For now.

This did not mean she was complaining, of course (she could already hear the buzzing of mockeries from her friends).

What a beautiful morning.

Then she remembered all of last night's events. Apparently, on the way to the Uchiha residence, her friend, Naruto, discovered a murder in one of the alleyways on their street (sadly, this wasn't his first time). It was terrible! The guy had killed his girlfriend—reason still unknown. It was a good thing Itachi and Sasuke came just in time. If they hadn't shown up when they did… Sakura didn't even want to think of how things would've turned out, then.

Seriously, if Sasuke and his family were ordinary people, Naruto wouldn't stand a chance.

Sakura knew Naruto was no ordinary boy himself—even without the ability to float, she wouldn't call him ordinary—but his… gift wasn't exactlyhelpfulwhenever he had to escape a situation where he could get himself killed. Sasuke was the one to rush in to save him every time.

And every time, Sakura would feel a needle slowly piercing through her heart inch by inch; the pain growing the longer she imagined the "what-if" scenarios.

She only found out about all of it when the police knocked on their door during dinner last night—amidst post-graduation celebration—asking questions. They quickly notified them about the incident and advised them to lock all doors afterwards.

Not that they needed the heads up. Her mother went into frenzy paranoia; she double locked everything and added some extra layer for security around their apartment. She put some of those white-looking ashes that always smelled strange (she never touched them). They were spread around every corner in every room of the apartment, including the windows. Plus some talismans. They supposedly warded off bad spirits and even hengeyokai.

They were an ordinary family who knew how to live in Konoha.

Even though the police didn't suggest any abnormality in the situation, her mother never took chances. One time, a suspicious figure was rumored to be breaking into their neighbor's kitchen to steal fruits, and her motherforbadeher from walking into their house's direction for a week, only for them to find out that the suspicious figure was a cat.

A murder was definitely worse than a cat burglar, so this time, Sakura thought her mother's actions were justified. You never know what else could be lurking around unknown…

As someone who was born and raised here, these things weren't uncommon for Sakura, they even get a bit tiring a few times. But when it involves a family or a friend, she would always become a bundle of nerves. Because whenthesethings happened, the outcomes were not definitive; there was no scale to weigh them, no scenarios, no numbers or figures to predict with because…anythingcould happen. No logic or reason applied, when it came to these things.

It could be just murder,she had told herself last night. Not that murder was anything butjust. Still.

Sakura couldn't sleep afterwards, her mind set to overthink about all the possible worst-case scenarios, worried about both Naruto and Sasuke who were probably alone that night because Itachi-nīsan would be working that time. Even though she knew Sasuke was skilled enough to protect himself and Naruto, she just couldn't stop the incessant thoughts. In the end, she decided to dial their house. She wanted to hear either of their voices and reassure her that they were all right. Which was obviously the correct choice because she slept well.

It was important for Sakura to know everything. In this city, knowledge is a person's weapon against a mystifying force. You needed to be aware and learn to adapt, otherwise, you would end up dead. There were folks who remained in denial, writing them off as mere strange phenomenon and, foolishly, became victims of their very own hometown.

The first time she encountered such a phenomenon was when she was just seven years old. Well, it was more of aweirdphenomenon, rather than ominous. Sort of.

One day, that knucklehead, Naruto, was climbing a tree at the schoolyard, trying to reach for something—she couldn't remember what. He was climbing too high up and she and the other girls were telling him to come back down. He didn't listen, because,of course. And then they heard a snap. Before they could react, Naruto was falling off a branch, headfirst, and he wasstilltoo high up.

Sakura thought he was going to die. Right before their eyes.

Then the falling stopped. She blinked and he was back on his feet, hand on his chest, face red from the summer heat and sweating buckets. She on the other hand, felt her heart and mind froze. What in the world just happened?

That was the day she found out Naruto could float. She had mixed feelings about it, to be honest. It really wasn't a dangerous ability. But then again, he wasNaruto.

He was always in the center of chaos.

Sakura shook her head and took a deep, calming breath. Last night was over. Naruto and Sasuke were both safe.

Everything's fine. There's no reason to panic anymore.

Right.It could be just murder.It was the problem for the police to solve now. Naruto didn't sound traumatized at all over the phone, he was as happy as ever talking to her, and Sasuke was calm and cool, like he always was.

Before she could get carried away with that last train of thought, Sakura mentally pushedhisimage and the bad thoughts from last night away and rose from her bed to stand in front of the tall mirror against the bedroom wall.

She couldn't help but smile, finally able to relax. She just remembered how she finally graduated from elementary school, so yesterday wasn't all bad. Now, in just two weeks' time, she would embark on a new academic challenge in junior high school. And honestly, the ambitious pinkette couldn't wait.

In fact, she had already planned out what she would be doing during these next two weeks. Unlike some of her friends, she wasn't going to just sit around all day long, playing video games and slack off until the new semester rolled around. She needed to get a head start of their syllabus if she ever wanted to keep her honor student status and get those academic credits that would help get her into any college she wanted (she had a list and was taking the time deciding which one would be a perfect pick). Also, she recently enrolled into a cram school with Ino, the Hyūga cousins, and… Sasuke.

Don't think about him!Not right now, at least. She still needed to categorize this week's agenda in her head. And as much as she loved swooning over the ever-aloof Uchiha and his naturally charming looks and mesmerizing—

Sakura shook her head, willing her imaginations away.No, Sakura, no! You can't afford to get distracted. Remember,thisis for your future! Sasuke's only looking for the best girl out there, and it's going to be me,shannaro!

Even though she was incredibly brilliant for her age, the girl still didn't know exactly what degree she wanted to take in college or what career she wanted to pursue for that matter. But this didn't concern her. After all, she had a lot of time to think about it. Right now, she was focused on excelling at school.

Giving her mirror reflection an encouraging smile, she walked closer to the mirror stand and took the sticky note attached on the upper left side—"syllabus overview: notes on the first 3 lessons".

A few weeks ago, she received her acceptance letter before their graduation, so that was one step she accomplished. Today, she planned on collecting her books and uniform, so she could get started on her notes before the semester began.

"Sakura!" Her mother called out. "Breakfast is ready! Don't tell me you're still in bed."

"I'm up!" Sakura walked away from the mirror and stepped out of her bedroom.

In the kitchen, she could see her father already seated on his usual chair and reading today's newspaper. Her mother, in the meanwhile, was preparing their cooked morning meal to set on the table.

"Good morning," Sakura greeted and made her way to the kitchen with them.

Otōsan looked up from his newspaper, and smiled, his blue eyes twinkling with mirth. "Ohh, good morning! Come join us for breakfast! Since it's your vacation now and all. After all, no school, no diet, right?" He then proceeded to let out a boisterous laugh (she randomly imagined her friend, Kiba, an older version of him, laughing in the same manner). He looked silly with his star-shaped pink hair all messed up from sleep.

She groaned—Seriously? That's not even a joke—and sat down at the table in front of him.

All her life, Sakura had never learned to take her father too seriously. Haruno Kizashi had a frivolous personality, and she believed he was aware of this, too. He liked to make "jokes" on all occasions, especially on inopportune of times. What's worse about it was when he would make the same joke. Sometimes on the same day! He actually had favorites, like those involving condiments in their coffee shop downstairs.

"I keep telling you, Sakura, that dieting will do you no good," Okāsan reminded for what seemed like the fiftieth time this month. She was carrying a tray of their plated dish and bowls of rice. And unlike both father and daughter, her short blonde hair was neatly combed back. "You'll only hurt yourself. It might work for some, but what happens when you get sick?" She set them down on the table. "Anyways, your thin enough as it is. You don'tneedto diet." She gave Sakura a pointed look (it was one of those rare moments when she could actually recognize how she inherited Kāsan's piercing green eyes). "You remember what Asaki-obasan said the last time she was here?"

Where Kizashi lacked the ability to scold Sakura, Haruno Mebuki passed up no chance on reprimanding her only daughter whenever she had the opportunity. She didn't support her dieting or understand the reason behind it. She was critical in every choice Sakura made, big or small: from what shoes she should buy to what school she should enroll in. What's more, she would always bring up her older sister, Sakura's aunt—the very person she herself constantly argued with and contradicted. It was hypocritical.

"Now, now." Otōsan lowered his newspaper to look at her mother who finally took her seat. "Give it a rest, Mebuki-chan. Our daughter is twelve—"

"—She's turning thirteen next Tuesday, anata—"

"—Oh, yes. Right. But all the same. Sakura is just about to become a teenager. Let's not worry too much."

"And why wouldn't I worry? Kids her age don't realize the mistakes they make half the time. You remember when we were teenagers? Good grief. Can youimagine?"

"All I'm saying is that our Sakura is still young and likes to follow the trends. You know how they are. She'll grow out of it eventually."

"She still shouldn't starve herself…"

Sakura was seething internally, her frown deepening by the minute. All she wanted was a delightful, peaceful breakfast, yet here were her parents, talking about her as if she wasn't even in the room!Shannaro!

As if the heavens had mercy on her, the telephone rang. She quickly got up to answer. "I'll get it!" She walked over to the brown table by the genkan hallway where they put the flower vase and the telephone. She picked it up. "Hai."

"Is this Sakura?"

She smiled as she recognized the voice to be Yamanaka Ino's. Her best friend. She laughed a little. "Yeah, this is me. Thank goodness you called!"

Ino chuckled back in response. "Your parents giving you a hard time already?"

She grumbled, pouting. "All I did was say 'good morning'. So, what's up?"

"Oh, I just wanted to know if you wanted to go on a delivery run with me. We can hang out afterwards with Hinata and Tenten, if they're not busy."

"A delivery run?"

The Yamanaka family were famous in Konoha for their beautiful flowers. They had flower shops all over the Hī region and a flower garden, the Yamanaka Gardens of Konoha City. It was one of their best local tourist spots.

"Hm-hm. Okāsan's finally letting me go on deliveries. So, will you come?"

"I see." Sakura pondered about it for a moment. She could go buy her books and uniform afterwards. "Yeah, sure. Sounds fun."

"Sakura!" Okāsan called out. "Say goodbye to Ino-chan and eat your breakfast. Your food is getting cold!"

"Okay!" She turned her ear back to the telephone. "I gotta go, Ino. I'll see you later!" Their conversation ended and she hung up before going back to the dining table.

Otōsan finished reading his newspaper and was now talking to Okāsan in between bites. "Well, I'm surprised is all. They usually have it all over the papers the next day. There were a lot of reporters last night. I was so sure they were on a race to finish writing up their articles, so their publishers can send print outs in the morning. Or so I thought."

"I don't think we'll be hearing anything officially from the police, anata. I went down to the market earlier and you remember Kaori-san? The fruit vendor?" Otōsan nodded, taking a sip of black coffee from his mug. "One of the police involved came to her house earlier this morning to ask about thatfriendof yours again—"

"He's not my friend. Can you please not spread that rumor?"

Sakura let out a sigh before taking another bite of her tamagoyaki. Yep. That friend was the same guy who was arrested last night. The one who murdered his girlfriend and almost killed Naruto. It turned out Otōsan was acquainted with him. He mentioned about having him as a customer a few times in the coffee shop they owned downstairs. They had casual conversations. And for some reason, her nor Okāsan had never met him. What were the chances her overly chummy dad would befriend a future murderer?Makes you think of the other odd people he talked about over the years…

"I told you," Otōsan began explaining what he already explained last night to Okāsan, "he came by a few times, he ordered the same black tea, and he was always alone and depressed. I thought it wouldn't hurt if I talked to him whenever he dropped by—quick hello's and how are you's. He was harmless! At the time."

"Wait," Sakura decided to join in. "Why was the police asking about him again this morning?"

Okāsan gave Otōsan a distasteful look. "Kaori-san told me they were looking at the case in a new angle. Apparently, there were new developments and they need to dig up more information from people whoknowsthe guy."

Otōsan threw up his hands. "I barely know the guy!" He still had this humorous curl in the corner of his lips though, as if he found this whole discussion silly. Or maybe he found his wife getting overly suspicious of him sillier.

"AllIknow is that those police will drop by to askyouquestions. I just hope they come upstairs here, and not through the café downstairs. People talk you know." Okāsan added a scoff. "Especially in this neighborhood."

You mean people like you?Sakura fortunately, had the wisdom to keep her mouth shut.

"Hmm…" Otōsan folded his arms. He was wearing one of his rare stern expressions. "No papers. A new angle…" He turned his gaze towards his wife and hesitated. "You think it means what I think it means?"

Okāsan paused for a moment. Her expression also changing. "I… sure hope not." Sakura noticed the tightening of her fingers around the chopsticks.

Just like that the mood changed.

The worry in their eyes were obvious. They were thinking about the possibility that adifferentpolice would show up in the neighborhood to ask questions. If that was true, then she would have to retract her previous statement about last night being 'just' a murder.

Great. This also meant that those police would undoubtedly show up at their front door. Those guys were from the underground division of the Uchiha Police Force—TONINBU agents. They were strictly made up of hengeyokai and kaminochi alike.

She knew this because her family was on their list of kaminochi clans. Plus, Sasuke's older brother and cousin were one of those agents.

The Uchiha family were one of the prestigious hengeyokai clans in Konoha, and almost all of them worked in law enforcement. So, she would assume it was natural for them to learn every hengeyokai and kaminochi family residing in the city. She guessed that was how Sasuke found out about her before they met in school.

Well, there was nothing to reveal, really, since she had no gift. The same went for her parents.

They were just an ordinary family.

Kaminochi were people withgiftedabilities. Even though in her family's case where the trait wasn't passed down, the Haruno family was still listed as a kaminochi clan.

Speaking to every hengeyokai and kaminochi within the area of an incident was mandatory for the TONINBU department, and since the Haruno family was on the list, they were one hundred percent coming over.

Which also meant her father was doomed.

"Well, I guess we should stock up on tea," Otōsan chuckled, completely dismissing their worries. (And was that supposed to be a joke?)

Okāsan groaned. "I have a bad feeling about this. You have a habit of saying the wrong thing, Kizashi. So, please, try not to say unnecessary things."

"Oh, relax. We're going to be fine."

"When did I say 'we'? I'm talking toyou!"

Otōsan laughed and Sakura was now getting the same bad feeling as her mother.

At this rate, her father was going to be a person of interest in this case.

"Here you go." Sakura handed over both the hot, medium sized espresso and change of coins to the customer, before giving him her customer smile (the one Tenten dubbed as her "I'm-a-perfect-student-and-you-know-it! smile, to which Shikamaru counter-remarked as her people-pleaser smile, to which he earned a sniping glare).

The customer bowed in thanks and pocketed the coins into his brown slacks. He was a new customer, so Sakura made an observation. He looked to be in his thirties, and he wore a very boring corporate attire—brown pants and brown coat with a white buttoned up shirt and black tie—and didn't looked too happy to be up and about so early in the morning. He adjusted his squared glasses and turned around to leave.

Sakura waved a hand, all smiles and cheerful. "Thank you and come again!" The bell above the door jingled on his way out and jingled once more when a customer she recognized walked in. "Welcome!" This one was a regular. He was a mechanic. Otõsan usually called him whenever he needed advice for an affordable car to rent. "Good morning, Kōji-san!"

"Ah, Sakura-chan…"

Sakura fell into her usual routine behind the counter, taking orders, passing them over to her dad, handing over takeouts and accepting payment. Otōsan made the coffees while Okāsan prepared the food. Both of them would take turns in serving customers. Sometimes, Sakura would make the coffees herself when Otōsan became busy serving tables. They had one server, Ukyō-onēsan, but she recently took a one-week break for a short trip with her family. Although, the three of them could manage the café by themselves, they needed help to get through the morning and afternoon rush whenever Sakura was at school.

It was half past eight o'clock in the morning already, so customers were flooding in. Haruno Café was pretty popular in their neighborhood and often recommended to people coming over to Senju District, which was the heart of the city. The municipal building and other city government-affiliated agencies were here, as well as some of the biggest private companies, schools and commercial buildings. Many of the people who worked in these establishments were their regulars, since a lot of them live in an apartment complex nearby.

As more people occupied the tables, the café settled into a more relaxing service.

Then a ceramic mug shattered, startling everyone for a moment.

When Sakura looked over, she noticed that it was that clumsy, awkward guy who was hunched over the broken mug. She sighed.Seriously? He broke another one?This was the third time. The guy had become one of their regulars two weeks ago. She suspected he was new around Senju. Last week, he inquired them about directions on local areas. He looked unsure of himself and looked like the type to search frantically about for his reading glasses that he was already wearing.

Otōsan wiped his hands with a towel. "Ah, here we go." He hung the towel over his shoulder before grabbing the cleaning materials.

"Pleasedon't tell me that's another mug," Okāsan frowned as she stepped out from the kitchen, wearing her apron.

"Yup." Sakura nodded, putting her hands on her waist. "It's that same customer from three days ago, too."

Okāsan put a hand on her forehead. "Oh, not this one again." She went over to join Otōsan and the customer. "Hey, you there. This is getting ridiculous. Just how many times are you going to break our dishware? Those aren't cheap, for one thing. Not to mention…"

Sakura just shook her head and focused on the new arriving customer after hearing the bell.

She was very surprised to see none other than Uchiha Sasuke walking into the front door. "Sasuke," she uttered his name absentmindedly. Almost like she was programmed to say it whenever she saw him. Recently, she and her friends dropped the honorifics from their names, and she was still getting used to saying his name as it was. It felt foreign to her tongue but exciting, and every time, her heart raced.

"Ah." Sasuke walked over to the counter and looked sideways with slight confusion. "What is going on?"

She suddenly remembered the current commotion with their customer and her very upset mother. Stricken with sudden embarrassment, Sakura tried to brush it off and divert his attention. "Oh, it nothing! My parents are just… having a friendly chat with one of our regulars."

"If you're not paying, then you'll have toworkhere! We arerunning a businesshere, you scrawny bastard!"

"I see." Sasuke continued to stare as her mother berated the fumbling customer.

Sakura let out an involuntary nervous laugh. She wanted to crawl into a hole and never come out.This is so embarrassing! Why do stuff like this always happen whenever Sasuke's around! Shannaro!

"Anyways, I came here for this." Sasuke placed an item wrapped in brown paper bag on the counter. Sakura didn't even notice he was carrying anything with him. She was distracted by his face. "My birthday gift."

Sakura blushed. He bought her a gift. And came to her place just to give it in person.

Her heart was racing again. At this rate, she would die of palpitation andnotcaused by caffeine. She peeked at his face.

Sasuke didn't look at her. "Naruto thought I should give you something better than a cupcake."

Right. Last year, he gave her a strawberry cupcake. She didn't really complain. She treasured everything he gave her. And that cupcake had pink frosting on it, so he must have thought about her when he bought it. And ultimately, that was what counted! She remembered the spring in her step on the way home, holding the precious delicacy. She kept it on their refrigerator for days, refusing to eat it, until Okāsan scolded her for wasting food.Sakura, you can't possibly immortalize a cupcake! It's going to spoil any day now!

The cupcake didn't taste good. It tasted like cardboard—but that was beside the point! He thought about her enough to give her something and—he just bought her a gift!

Sasuke put his hands inside his pockets and closed his eyes (it was something he did whenever he was embarrassed and was too stubbornly adorable to show it). "It'll be annoying if everyone saw me give it to you, so I'll just give it now. No doubt they'll make a big deal out of it like always."

Narutoreallycoerced him into buying one. Honestly, she didn't want to make him feel obligated to give her anything, especially if it made him feel uncomfortable. Dammit! Now she was feeling guilty. "You really didn't have to bother this year, Sasuke. Really—"

"Just take it."

"R-right." He was looking at her now with that same annoyance in his expression, so she quickly took the brown paper bag. Her fingers immediately recognized the texture. It was a book. She looked back up at him and gave him a soft, shy smile. "Thank you, Sasuke."

He made an awkward grunt in acknowledgement before looking away. "See you." He turned around to leave.

"Wait!" Sakura almost forgot to ask. "How's Naruto? I know he occasionally gets himself into trouble, but i-is he all right?" She knew she already called, but after this morning's conversation with her parents, she thought maybe Naruto was not out of the woods yet.

Sasuke turned halfway to look at her and sighed. "Don't worry, he's fine. You know him. He always gets back up on his feet. But if you're really worried about him, you can come over to my house and ask him yourself. He's staying with us for a while."

"He's staying at your house? Why?"

He shrugged. "Itachi-nīsan's orders. It's only until the crime scene in your street is cleared, and the news dies down a bit. They don't want neighbors hounding Naruto with questions."

Ah. Sakura understood it well. Since one of those said neighbors were her parents. The police didn't want anyone to risk people spreading misinformation. "I see. Then, I'll drop by later."

"Right." Sasuke turned to the door once more, then left.

Reassured that Naruto would be safe, Sakura freely expressed her giddiness. She sighed dreamily while embracing the brown paper-covered book. She had always been an avid reader and always got excited around books. But now, it was even more special, because someone precious to her gave it as a gift.

She pulled out the book to inspect it further. Her mouth fell open. The title read:Medical Terminology & Basic Surgery Procedures. It was that same book she was reading through whenever she stopped by the bookstore before going home from school. She had initially picked it up out of curiosity and to exercise her memorization skills, but ended up deeply immersed about the wonders of the operating room, the doctors and their functions. She was meaning to save up to finally buy the book—it was expensive!—but she hadn't realized Sasuke actually paid attention to it.

Oh, Sasuke…He would make such a cute boyfriend (in the future, like she promised her parents).

Sakura's mouth twitched upward. Ha! She couldn't wait to rub it into Ino's face.

"No way." Ino gasped after Sakura told her about Sasuke's visit. She picked up Sakura at the café after lunch and were now on their way to deliver a basket of spring flowers. "He actually gave you a giftfirst?" She scoffed. "Doesn't he realize that only makes his situation worse?"

Sakura smiled, blushing from the memory. "I think he's just shy to give it in public."It was still so cute, though.

"And a book about medicines?" Ino huffed and turned her head away. "It's not even romantic. So, I wouldn't call this a win, Dekorīn."

Sakura couldn't help but be amused and proud that she was going to let the nasty nickname slide.

It was difficult to one-up Ino most of the time because, well… because she was Yamanaka Ino. She was downright beautiful; kids at their school would turn heads every time she walked down the hallways. Her now long blonde hair that she recently tied to a ponytail was always so soft and glossy, a few girls in their class were jealous of it. Her charming sky-blue eyes never failed to attract attention. She was confident and poised and blooming. And on top of that, she was an honor student.Shewas Jōryoku Elementary School's model student.

"Ohh? Is Ino-pig jealous?" Sakura gave her best friend a victorious grin, throwing her own foul nickname for the blonde, and folded her arms to further accentuate her dominance.

As expected, Ino shot her a glare. "Ehh?! Of course not! Get real! Why would I be jealous over such a boring gift?! As if!"

Sakura giggled at her response.

Months after Sakura told the other girls in their class that she had a crush on Sasuke, she found out Ino liked him, too.

Ino had become distant and a bit snobbish after Sakura's admission, resulting to one of their first fights. And so, Sakura ended up venting to a mutual friend, who blurted out the reason why Ino was acting indifferently, and that was when she found out. Sakura was shocked. For weeks, they barely talked. And when they did, it was to hurl insults towards each other. Their relationship had become so strained that even their friends were affected by it.

After another heated argument, they both actually declared that they never wanted to speak to each other ever again.

Although, that statement stayed true for barely a week. Sakura had sorely missed her best friend. In the end, they found themselves running into each other's arms and sobbing. They made up and decided to compete for Sasuke's affections together—a friendly rivalry.

"So, where exactly are you delivering those?" she asked, gesturing to the basket of flowers.

"It's for one of our regulars. Their last order must have wilted by now," Ino explained. "They live two towns over. We'll take the bus uptown."

Sakura nodded and followed her friend. Realizing something, she paused. "If we're going to the bus uptown, then we should've turned the block from the café." She half turned around, trying to decide whether they should still go back or continue walking on the path if they were already too far.

All of a sudden, she felt Ino firmly grabbing her arm. "We can't."

Startled by the shift in tone of her voice, Sakura stared at her. "Ino?" Her friend had an uncharacteristic grim look on her face.

Ino looked away, contemplating. She sighed. "Look, we're already far ahead." she said, somewhat resigned. "For now, let's take the long route."

Sakura's pink eyebrows creased, but she didn't argue with her. "Okay."

Ino was a kaminochi. She was a different type though.

There were two classifications of kaminochi: the common type and the hereditary type.

Sakura's family were the common type. One notable aspect common kaminochi shared was the gifts they possessed—the common gifts. There were three subtypes: the elementals (they wielded one of the five elements - fire, water, wind, earth and lightning), the chōmono (heightened senses, strength or speed), and the healers. Her grandfather was a chōmono who had super strength.

Unfortunately, this type often skipped a generation or two. Which was why she and her father didn't possess any of the common gifts.

Ino's family, on the other hand, belonged to the hereditary type. As the term suggested, their family was able to pass down their gift to their children consistently. Not only that, but the gift they possessed was unique and only existed within the family.

The Yamanaka family had the uncanny ability to see souls and spirits. They could sense it, even if they can't see it.

They continued to walk on the longer path. They would have to turn a couple of blocks to exit the neighborhood, but in all the years Sakura had known Ino, she learned not to argue when she was like this.

She couldn't help but wonder though, did it have something to do with the incident from last night?

Ino stiffened, startling Sakura once more. They didn't stop moving but Sakura frowned. "You just read my mind, didn't you?" She stated, rather than asked. Part of her unique abilities was mind reading.

A pause. Ino closed her eyes for a moment. "We'll talk about it later."

Sakura knew how much Ino wanted to respect the privacy of those she was close with. Trust was important to her. Her ability to read minds was incredible, but it also made Sakura uncomfortable the first time. She didn't like the thought of someone having access to her thoughts.

Ino understood this as well. She also didn't like reading people's minds—unless absolutely necessary. Which could mean—

"I can hear your thoughts, Sakura," Ino softly cut her off with a scoff. "I'm not peeking, but your thoughts are jumping out."

That didn't make Sakura feel better. She blushed. "Fine! I'm worried. Is Naruto involved?"

"Don't worry, he's fine." Ino groaned. "Seriously, that guy is always getting into trouble, yet you're worrying as if it's the first time."

"But—"

"Can we please just forget about it for now, so I can enjoy my first flower delivery?" Ino gave her a pleading look. "Please?"

Sakura finally gave in. "Fine." She took a deep breath to ease her anxiety. "But tell me later?"

Ino nodded with a sad smile. "I will."

Honestly. Part of the reason why she was constantly worried was because she felt helpless. If something happened to any of her friends or either one of her parents, she didn't know how she could help them. She wasn't like Sasuke who could jump in and save people before they were harmed, or sense one coming their way like Ino. She wasn't like the rest of her friends who had an extraordinary edge that enabled them to protect those they loved. All she had was her big brain behind her big forehead.

This was one of those days when she wished she wasn't so ordinary.

Hey! So, it's been a year, I know. Last year, something tragic happened that tilted my world a bit, and I just couldn't get back to writing. But now, I'm trying again. Writing is one of the things that gives me a sense of fulfillment, so I know I couldn't give up on it.

Anyways, if you made it this far, thank you for reading! I'll try posting on the same day next week.

This story is available on AO3, Wattpad and Tumblr.