Who I Am

Chapter 9~ Not So Normal

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Chapter 9: Not so Normal

            It's around 11 p.m., the park was almost void of people. Gentle, wispy winds whistled through the chains of rusty swings, one of these swings currently occupied by a little girl named Sakura. Next to Sakura, was her best friend, Tobi, and both were gazing at a still midnight sky. Warm yellow streetlights surround the park's gate, yet only adding to a somewhat eerie atmosphere. Everything seemed to be so still, so quiet. Not a single soul dared to be out at this time, ever since the attack. Not a single soul except for two. Though Sakura was worried and anxious, a part of her couldn't help but feel hopeful. For her whole life, she always felt so out of place. There were so many things that she couldn't yet understand and she herself felt misunderstood. Tobi glanced at Sakura's pale face and spoke up, his gentle voice rivaling the soft wisps of the winds. He could only get so far into a sentence before Sakura spoke instead.

"Tobi, have you ever gotten that feeling... where you feel like, you're trapped?"

"I don't understand," he replies thoughtfully. When she noticed that Tobi didn't quite get it, she almost wanted to stop talking. She should have been excited to be able to leave her father's house, even if her mother was in hospice. Earlier today, when the park was filled with kids her age, she would either sit under a shady tree and read or, she would simply play by herself. She didn't like playing with children her age because to her, they were, well, childish. Sometimes she thought about other kids, kids with a loving family and friends. To her, while they were dumber and careless, their lives seemed to be so much easier and fun. Aside from the irreplaceable tea parties and bedtime stories, she couldn't help but feel a tiny bit of jealousy, wishing that sometimes she was as oblivious as them. Although Sakura was content with spending her days learning new things from Tobi, that didn't change the fact that she was abnormal and different in so many ways. She's spent her Christmases and birthdays either learning multiplication or reading about history, but no level of education could tell her why she was always the one to pull the short straw. It didn't help that she seemed to have this nameless feeling all the time, and she couldn't tell Tobi because she wasn't able to describe it. It made her confused and lost, all she wanted to do was cry. When Sakura spoke again, there were only three words she could say.

"I don't know," she says, sighing dejectedly.

"Am I the only one being treated this way?" She continued while digging her torn sandals into the sand. In the distance, a little blond boy walked sullen along the sidewalks, asking himself the same question, though they didn't notice. Tobi felt horrible. What could he possibly say? Tobirama grew up in an era where abusive parents were normal, especially to their daughters. He may not seem like the type of person, but Tobirama absolutely hated it. He never knew how a person could willingly bring a child into the world, only to treat them as a slave. It made him absolutely livid and Kizashi was a prime example. He treated Sakura as if she weren't human; sometimes it was even hard to see Kizashi as human himself. It's been 5 years since Sakura was born and he wasn't able to do a damn thing. Sure, he could've easily told Sakura to tell someone physically present about what she's going through, but while Sakura is extremely intelligent, she's still only 5 years old. When Tobirama first reappeared on earth, he decided to explore and learn everything about this new generation of the leaf village. This meant that he was very aware of the civil conflict that took place in the hokage's tower. He saw that his former student had twisted and manipulated all of his teachings and everything he stood for, abusing so many children only to cover it up and say it was for the good of his village.

Danzo. The name tasted sour on his tongue. He knew that Danzo was emotionally distant, and that he sometimes lacked sympathy and remorse, but when he saw what he was doing to young orphans and prodigies, there was nothing that could've him made him more angry. Tobirama wished he was alive simply to take his life. He was the main reason why Sakura couldn't be free. With her unusual intelligence and the fact that she can quite literally see the supposedly dead 2nd hokage, some skeptics (Danzo) are sure to arise.