It was odd to be living a new life. Sakiko was now five years old and it was strange how time flew by when you were young. Most days were just filled with her sleeping, eating, teething then sleeping, repeating the cycle all over again. Although she didn't mind spending time with her sister, Sakura. As far as Sakiko could tell, Sakura was a timid albeit fiery child.

In Sakiko's past life she never had any siblings as Violet, but now she had a twin sister, even though they didn't look like each other it was still strange.

"Onee-chan*!" Sakura yelled with a disgruntled look on her chubby face, pulling Sakiko out of her thoughts.

"Huh? Ūfu*, oh sorry, Saku-chan." Sakiko apologized before tossing the ball back to her. They were currently playing catch in their backyard to pass the time while their parents were bickering, once again, in the house. It was a natural occurrence in the Haruno household to see the parents arguing regularly, while one twin was zoning out and the other getting upset for not getting any attention from the other.

"Sakura, Sakiko, time for dinner!" Their mother called out from the kitchen window. "Hai!" they both rang out before running into the house, quickly taking their shoes off at the sliding door. Their father pushed them off to the washroom so they could wash their hands. Sakiko stared at her reflection while she washed her hands absentmindedly. She never got sick of looking at her appearance. Her hair was a pale pink color and reached her back, her mother always tried to convince Sakiko to cut it but she was adamant on letting it never be cut more than half an inch. Unlike her sister's bright green eyes, her eyes were a warm yellow with a type of dullness and tiredness to them that can only come with age.

A firm hand then landed on Sakiko's shoulder, while another pulled her hands away from each other. Being startled, Sakiko let out a gasp and looked up to see her father above her looking down at her, worried. "You alright? You weren't responding to our calls." Kizashi spoke in a hushed tone. Pulling her hands away, Sakiko nodded and hummed a yes before quickly heading out of the now crowded bathroom. Her hands ached and glowed a mean red. She hadn't even realized that she was scrubbing that hard and long.

Sitting at the table, it was an awkward silence. Sakura kept glancing at Sakiko and pushing around her food, while Kizashi and Mebuki spoke in hushed voices. It was annoying. It was irritating.

"Sooo, Saku-chan, What do you wanna do when you grow up?" Sakiko asked childishly. She couldn't help but 'act' her age, it was tiring to act older when there was no need to. Not worrying without a care in the world for once was peaceful. " I wanna be a Kunoichi*! So I can protect the people I love!" Sakura exclaimed happily, with a big toothy grin on her face. "What about you Saki-chan?" Sakiko didn't need to think for long, for her answer was already in front of her.

"I'll go anywhere you do Saku-chan! So I can protect you!" Sakiko smiled. She could feel their parents staring at them, smiling as well.

Happy it was not as awkward anymore, Sakiko continued to eat her dinner, and continue a friendly banter with her sister.

The night rolled around quickly. The sky was cloudless and filled with twinkling stars against the dark black sky. Sakiko was looking out the window staring, watching the stars, while Sakura changed into her pajamas and getting ready to go to bed. Their room was quite small. Two twin beds laid against the opposite of each wall tucked in the corner. In the middle of the bed was a box window with enough space for Sakiko to sit comfortably. Across from the window was a small closet that both sister's clothes were in. The room was painted pink, with little white painted flowers blooming all over the walls.

Hearing the rustling of sheets and blankets, Sakiko looked away from the sky, seeing Sakura getting into bed. Sakiko sighed and got up to go into her own bed; taking Sakura as a sign to go to sleep, or at least try to. Getting under the covers, Sakiko turned on her side so she could look at Sakura. "Good night, Saku…" Sakiko whispered. Sakura turned to look at her sister as well and responded in the same manner before closing her eyes, clutching onto a plush doll.

Sakiko didn't know how long she watched Sakura, but before she knew Sakura was sleeping deeply, soft snores coming from her little body. Sakiko laughed dryly. 'What a creep.' she thought, turning on her back and looking up at the ceiling. Sakiko couldn't sleep, or more like maybe she didn't want to, she didn't know which. All she knew was if she closed her eyes, she would see sights that she never wanted to see again. Sakiko feared that she would wake back up as Violet, in the dingy cell that she once resided in for who knows long. When she closed her eyes she would also see her old loved ones that no longer existed, blood on her hands that never even touched this new body of hers. Laughs and voices of people she doesn't even know anymore. This all scared her, brought back horrid emotions that she tried to keep locked deep down, and didn't want to confront anytime soon. Especially since she just got used to living this life as Sakiko. 'No she is Sakiko, Violet doesn't exist anymore.' She thought weakly, rubbing her hands in her eyes.

She had a family here that cared about her, and precious people that she had to protect no matter what. She didn't want to disappoint them like she did her last…. Last nothing, it didn't matter anymore, at least not now.

Before Sakiko even realized her eyes were ten pounds heavy, as she closed them unwillingly, 'kid stamina sucks', she thought weakly already drifting off into a deep sleep.

Today is their birthday. Sakiko always looked forward to this day, it was nice. On the day of their birthday, Mebuki would take her and Sakura out to shop for ingredients to bake a cake together. Usually, Kizashi would be shopping with the three as well, but he wasn't able to get the day off much to his daughter's dismay, but at least he would be able to celebrate later that night.

"Are you two ready to go shopping?" Mebuki asked looking down at her two girls. Sakiko and Sakura were dressed up in a similar pink summer dress, decorated with flowers and butterflies. Sakura had a small white ribbon tied into the side of her hair, while Sakiko had her long hair tied into a long pony-tail. Mebuki couldn't help but internally coo at her girls dressed up so cutely together, it was rare for Sakiko to let her make her up, so Mebuki made every moment she had to count.

"Hai!" both girls chorused out, a matching giddy smile on each face. The three then made their way out the door, and onto the busy morning streets of Konoha. It was a nice cloudless day out, with light winds. Perfect for a day outside. "Soo," Mebuki started "What kind of cake are we gonna make?"

"Chocolate!" - "Strawberry!" Sakura and Sakiko spoke at the same time before looking at each other puzzled. The two girls typically agreed on most things, but it seems today was not going to be such a day.

"What! No, it has to be chocolate!" Sakura yelled at her sister, quite upset. "Uh- I suppose-" Sakiko started, nearly buckling under Sakura's whims.

"Now, now girls, how about we make a chocolate strawberry shortcake? That way it has both flavors." Their mother offered, while putting her hand out for one of the girls could grab so they could get going. Sakura thought about it a moment and huffed out a fine, before putting her in her mother's and grabbing her sister's hand. Sakiko was happy at the little agreement they came to, well if you could call it that. It wasn't often that the two girls argued, and when it did happen Sakiko would usually cave first, not wanting to make her sister unhappy.

Sakiko sniffed the fresh air as they walked through the streets of the market. It was crowded with women shopping for groceries, and kids running around, playing ninja. She enjoyed being outside, it was nice to feel the sun on her skin. Sakiko knew she would never take it for granted again.

"Alright you two, stay right here while I go into the shop, it's a little too crowded in there for you two," Mebuki said with a serious expression etched onto her face. "Sakiko make sure your sister listens to that as well." Sakiko nodded her head quickly up and down. "W-What!? Why does she have to watch me! We're the same age!" Sakura exclaimed crossing her arms with a huff. Mebuki sighed before giving her a stern look. "You two may be the same age, Sakura. But Sakiko is much more mature and responsible than you are. Knowing you, you would run off to the flower shop over there, now wouldn't you?" Mebuki retorted. Sakura gasped, at a loss for words, but only shutting her mouth and looking away. She knew her mother was right. Sighing, Sakiko grabbed Sakura's hand and sat down on the ground outside of the shop, nodding at her mother that it was alright for her to leave now. Mebuki then headed into the store, stretching her arms, looking ready to beat a clerk down for lower prices.

"It's not fair." Sakura huffed looking at the ground with a pout. Sakiko blinked looking at her sister. She knew why she was upset, but she knew anything she would say would be taken in childish offense. As a distraction then, Sakiko kept her gaze on the people passing by. Sakiko enjoyed people watching, it helps her realize that other people have a life as well. An old man walking with a cane, a girl latched onto the side of a sleazy guy, even a young man with his nose stuck in a book as he walked. They all had a place in this world, even as little as they may have. But even then she wanted to protect this little enjoyment and happiness that this village had. It was one of the reasons why she was okay with aspiring to be a ninja, to protect the things she loved. Even if it meant tormenting herself, it was just simply a role that she has chosen a lifetime ago and is too stuck to get out of, not that she minded that is.

Yells and shouts brought Sakiko out of her thoughts, looking up she saw a shopkeeper yelling at a little blonde boy. The boy ran quickly past her and Sakura and into a nearby alleyway somehow losing the adult. Blinking, Sakiko got up, letting go of Sakura's hand, gaining her attention. "What're you doing Onee-chan?" Sakura questioned, scrutinizing her actions. "I-I have to go check on something… Just please stay here, I don't mind Kaa-san getting mad at me, I just don't want her mad at you." Sakiko tried to reason, but Sakura didn't seem to want her to leave, but she looked away and sighed. "Fine, but if mom comes out and you're not back, it's on you.". Sakiko smiled and patted her sister's head and muttered thanks, before quickly running off to where to blonde boy hid.

The alleyway was dark and dank and stunk of trash. But she guessed it would've been weird if it didn't smell like that. Sakiko walked carefully around the puddles of who knows what, and the broken glass on the ground. Way in the back of the alley sat the boy curled in tightly behind a couple discarded trashcans. She could see his bright blonde hair contrast against the grunge of the area.

"Ehm... Are you okay?" She asked cautiously, not wanting to startle him. His head shot up immediately, eyes wide. His face was dirty and scuffed up, what surprised her the most was the whiskers on his cheeks. "Are those natural?" She blurted out before covering her mouth quickly and muttering a sorry.

The boy seemed to calm down at her strange antics, before angrily saying "W-what's it to ya dattebane*?" and wiping his eyes furiously. "Mmm, I was just making sure you were okay… What's your name?" Sakiko asked, stepping closer to him.

"Uzumaki Naruto, dattebayo*." Naruto sputtered, surprised as the girl in front of him grabbed his hand, shaking it to mimic a handshake. "Haruno Sakiko, but you are okay, right? I have to head back soon or else Kaa-san will be upset." Sakiko spoke.

"Yeah, yeah I'm fine," Naruto huffed patted himself down and standing up. "See?" He then put his arms out and did a little spin to show her that he was fine. Sakiko nodded, happy. " Ūfu, Alright Uzumaki-kun, I'll see ya around." Sakiko smiled and quickly turned around running out of the alley. Naruto sighed and slumped back on the ground, a light blush on his face. "Strange girl." He huffed, rubbing his neck.

Sakiko quickly made it back to Sakura, right when their mother came out of the store, luckily she didn't notice that Sakiko had left. "Alright, girls one more stop and we can be on our way home to bake a yummy cake." Mebuki cheered, handing a bag each to her daughters. Sakura stumbled a bit at the sudden weight on her arms, while Sakiko practically almost dropped the bag. "Another stop?" Sakiko and Sakura questioned, thoroughly confused.

"Yes, just one more." Mebuki responded, tight-lipped, leading the girls to their next destination. Sakiko and Sakura didn't know what to think about this sudden change of plans. They usually never went somewhere else after buying the cake ingredients. The three walked for quite a bit, getting closer and closer to the ninja district. It made Sakiko nervous, going somewhere she never properly been to before, but she supposed there was a first for everything. Sakura felt rather excited albeit not having a clue of where they were all going.

"Alright, we're here!" Mebuki said, placing her hands on top of the children's head. Looking up, Sakiko saw a rather obscure shop called Kiki's Gear. The shop was in between the ninja and civilian district and was quite quaint. Heading inside, Sakiko and Sakura quickly realized it was a ninja training supply shop made for academy students. "You can pick out two things, for your birthday." Mebuki said, leaning down to their point of view. "Hai!" They chanted, dropping their bags in front of their mother and running off into the store to explore. Mebuki sighed, worriedly looking at all the fake dangerous weapons. "If they get hurt, I'm going to kill Kizashi." Mebuki mumbled under her breath.

Sakiko looked at the room with stars in her eyes, she always loved knives, and blades, they were fun to mess around with, she never really used them seriously in a fight though. Looking around she didn't want to get plain old shuriken or kunai. She knew she would be able to train with those once in the academy. But something did catch her eye, a practice kusarigama. It had a small hard silicone 'blade', connected to a heavy black plastic handle, forming a small scythe. The handle was also connected to a long metal chain with a heavy silicone circular weight at the end. Sakiko practically jumped in glee grabbing the weapon off of the rack, she wasn't sure what else she wanted looking around, Sakiko spotted Sakura already picked out her two things. She picked out some practice kunai and a pink fan… Not even bothering wondering why she would pick a fan out everything else here, Sakiko settled on a set of weighted armbands that were black. The armbands were thick and the weight could be adjusted with chakra. Sakiko hummed knowing she would have to experiment with it one day.

Once everything was in her arms, she ambled towards her mother and sister slowly, the weight being quite heavy for her small stature.

Mebuki stared at how her two daughters contrasted with their pickings. One grabbed something simple, and cute while the other grabs something quite dangerous even if it was a practice weapon. 'Why did I let Kizashi talk me into…" Mebuki thought as she paid for the items in her kids' hands. The total ending up rounding out to 7822 Ryo, and Mebuki reluctantly forked the money over. The things she does for her daughters' happiness.

Once home, Sakura and Sakiko quickly place their new belongings on their respective beds, before rushing back down to the kitchen. There Mebuki hummed while the three got busy cracking eggs, cutting strawberries, and mixing the batter. It was a rare occurrence for Mebuki to be so relaxed with her children, but today was their day, and she didn't want to put them off by being stern.

It wasn't before long that Kizashi came home to see Mebuki reading a book and his two girls fallen asleep in the kitchen watching the oven as the cake baked.

"So, I'm guessing today was a success then ne?" Kizashi said, pecking a kiss to his wife as he flopped onto the couch next to her. Mebuki sighed, snapping her book shut as she looked at her husband. "Yes it was, Sakiko especially seemed happy with the little surprise we gave them. She ended up getting a k-kusarigama, I think it was called." Kizashi hummed in response leaning back into the couch closing his eyes, "As long as their happy, they can get whatever they want." he sighed. That statement instantly irritated Mebuki. "I'm not sure, Kizashi. I'm sure this ninja crap is just a phase." She huffed.

Sadly for Mebuki, It was definitely not a phase.

Onee - Big Sister

Kunoichi - Female Ninja

Dattebane/Dattebayo - Naruto's speech tic I'll typically use Dattebayo when its a statement or when he's excited while the Dattebane will be when he uses it in questions, confused/skeptical.

Ūfu - Sakiko's tic. Meaning oof but more like woof. She typically says it when surprised or slightly nervous.

TADDAAA and that concludes Chapter 2. I'm planning on the next chapter to start on the academy-team meeting phase hopefully. I typically have a pretty firm plan on where a chapter is going, but sometimes writing can just take you to different places.

I'm also going to be trying to write longer chapters, the first chapter was short since I was just testing the waters in a sense.

I also wanted to say thank you for the people who followed my story when it's in a WIP. I'm quite guilty of only reading long fanfictions and skipping over the newer ones so I really do appreciate it.

I'm also hinting at some things with Sakiko, if you can guess what it is I'll give you a cookie :).