Snakes are Venomous, Flowers are Poisonous

Chapter 10: Bloom

The first thing Sakura notices when she begins to wake up is the smell of her old shampoo. After a stern talking to from Ino about ninken being able to track her by any distinct smells, she had switched over to non-scented soaps. But, as she took a deep breath, she could smell the old, strawberry smell that was an instant comfort. It reminded her of simpler times; she hadn't been chosen to be the apprentice of a legendary shinobi, Sasuke hadn't gone berserk, and life wasn't so full of the unexpected.

"Time to get up, pup."

Eyes snapping open, Sakura met the smirking face of Pakkun.

"P-Pakkun!" She yelped, scrambling to sit up. "What are you doing here?"

Looking around, Sakura's eyes grew big as she saw all of Kakashi's summons sitting in her room. Half were laying on the bed with her, while the others were enjoying her fluffy rug. Many tails began to wag, and she couldn't help the large smile that took over her face. She had always loved animals, but due to her father's allergies, she had never been allowed a pet.

When she had decided to enter the academy, she had seen her first ninken and instantly knew she wanted one, or possibly a summons if possible. The only problem was ninken were very hard to acquired—the Inuzuka's ninken rarely chose someone outside of the clan—and the Academy's library was empty on anything to do with animal summons. Even the genin section of the shinobi library had limited resources. She had asked Iruka about them once, but he didn't have much experience with them.

But, looking down at Pakkun, Sakura felt like slapping herself. Why had she never asked Kakashi? Many clans had their own summons contracts, the Hatake clan included, so she should have asked him much sooner. And thinking about it, the Sannin were renowned for their summons. Maybe Orochimaru would let her sign the snake contract?

"Pup."

"Huh?"

"Get ready. The boss has breakfast waiting."

"Oh!" Blushing, Sakura scrambled out of her bed, and wrinkled her nose at the state she was in. Still in yesterday's clothes, she had spread dirt and blood across her sheets. She had been so tired, she had only gotten her shoes off at the door, but nothing else. Ignoring the dogs watching her, she quickly threw off her disgusting clothes and rushed for the shower. She stunk!

By the time she was clean and in a shirt and shorts, she felt infinitely better. The small headache she had woken up with was gone, but her stomach was grumbling angrily. Thinking back, she didn't have dinner the night before. With the fights the day before and her use of physical strength and chakra, it wasn't surprising that she was practically starving. Usually, she was able to grab at least a ration bar before going to bed when she had stayed up too late studying.

Looking around, she smiled down at all the dogs waiting for her. Crouching down, she scooped up Pakkun, who didn't seem to mind in the least.

"Nee, Pakkun, why are all of you here? Not that I mind."

"Boss wanted extra security incase anyone got any bright ideas to come after Orochimaru's newest apprentice."

"Why would someone want to attack me?" Her eyes widened and unconsciously hugged him closer.

"Don't know if you know this kid, but when someone gets to be as powerful as the Sannin, they usually have a ton of enemies," Pakkun told her simply, leaning into her absentminded petting.

"I guess that makes sense," she murmured. It had never occurred to her that could be a possibility. Even with Kakashi being a legend himself, nobody had come after her or her teammates to get at him. "Thanks for looking after me."