Author's Note.
It's AU, so yes things are going to be different.
Give it a shot okay?
They start out at age fourteen/fifteen, instead of twelve/thirteen.
And today, they're going to be placed in their three man squads.
xxXXxx
Sakura stared at the hitai-ate in her hands and frowned.
How should I wear this thing?
Her hair had finally grown out to a length she loved and her fingers touched the soft pink strands. If she put it on her forehead, it would draw attention away from how large she thought it was. In all honesty, it might not have been, but let's face it, she'll be turning fifteen in a few months, and her personal appearance was something she hated.
But she wanted to look like a woman, not a child. Because Kunoichi's were poised, and sexy. Finally she placed it on top of her head, and tied it under her hair, having her bangs frame her face. Giving herself a wink she noticed the time.
I'm going to be late!
Her parents were gone on a three month mission and just left last week. She was used to it by now, her father was an ANBU and her mother was a medic. They were both highly important.
She chose black shorts and a red cotton t-shirt top that was loose on her stomach as her ninja outfit. The red circle on her back was a sign of the Haruno clan that originated from Iwagakure. Apparently, that's where the clan is, but it's also where her parents met. When her father was in danger, a cute young kunoichi medic apprentice from Konoha saved him. He sought her out a few months later and he gave his oath of allegiance to the village once they were married.
Sakura sighed at the story of her parent's love with a smile. She loved when he mother told her that story. Zipping on her knee length ninja shoes, she grabbed the keys to the house and locked the door behind her, covering her eyes from the sun.
Today they were being assigned their three man squads, and she was beyond excited.
I hope Sasuke-kun's on my team!
Sakura giggled to herself and saw that her path had led her in front of the local flower shop, owned by her former best friend's family. The smile turned into a frown as she thought of the petty rivalry between the two but shook it off.
Finally, at the academy she entered the room where the meeting was held and smiled at an almost open bench. Stopping in front of it, she tucked a piece of hair behind her ear, only to have it fall back in it's place.
"Sasuke-kun? Can I sit here?"
He looked at her indifferently before looking back ahead a the front of the class. She took it as a silent acceptance and she sat down, leaving an empty seat between them. Her cheeks turned pink as she sat with her hands in her lap. He was dressed in a simple pair of white shorts and a black t-shirt with a flat wide collar. The sign of his clan was bright against the dark color of his shirt.
I'm sitting next to the year's number one rookie, Uchiha Sasuke-kun!
"Sakura-chan!"
Suddenly she was slid next to Sasuke, their shoulders bumping as Naruto slid in next to her. He was dressed in a pair of baggy orange pants that fell over his shoes and a black t-shirt with a red swirl on his chest.
"Ah, morning Naruto-san!"
"Isn't this great? We're going to in teams! I can't wait! Where's Iruka-sensei?"
"Wait a minute Naruto, just calm down. We have our whole lives to be ninjas!"
Sakura used a polite tone, but her meaning was condescending.
"I know I just can't wait!"
She smiled at his wide grin and turned to Sasuke, muttering a soft apology for bumping into him.
But like his usual route of choice with her, he just ignored her.
How mean.
Not dwelling on it longer, she placed her hands in her lap again and looked forward, seeing who was all in the room with them.
They didn't wait long, for Iruka-sensei came in with a single piece of paper in his hands.
"Congratulations are in order, for today you all have become officially ninja. However, you are at the genin level. You'll be in a squad of three, and carry out your missions under you jonin teachers. The teams have been already chosen in order to keep a balanced skill level. Now, for the teams!"
He went through six squads before finally the moment came.
"Now then, next is squad seven. Uzamaki Naruto! Haruno Sakura!"
Naruto grinned at her and she smiled politely with a nod.
"And.. Uchiha Sasuke!"
Her heart skipped a beat and Naruto slammed his fist on the table in front of them, startling Sakura.
"Iruka-sensei! Why does an exception student like me have to be paired with this guy?"
Sakura gasped and pulled Naruto's sleeve forcing him to sit.
"Sasuke has the best scored amongst the graduates. Naruto, you have the worst."
She sighed as Naruto stubbornly crossed his arms.
"Just don't get in my way, loser."
Her body tensed and she was immediately sandwiched between the two teenage boys.
"You want to say that again teme!"
"Naruto! Get off of me!"
"Hn, bring it on idiot."
"You have an hour until you meet your Jonin squad leaders! Until then, dismissed!"
She finally pushed Naruto off of her and out of the bench before quickly leaving the room.
An hour gave her enough time to eat the bento she packed under the trees around the academy.
"Sakura-chan!"
Looking up, she saw Naruto with a travel ready bowl of ramen from the ramen shop.
"Hey Naruto. Would you like to sit with me?"
He wasted no time and sat next to her with a grin and a slight blush on his cheeks.
"Naruto? Are you sick?"
"N-no just a little hot!"
Naruto never stutters.
Brushing it off, she dug into her bento happily, and saw Sasuke walking along the trail.
"Sasuke-kun! Over here!"
He stopped walking a few feet from them, one hand in his pocket, the other holding the boxed lunch.
"Come eat with us!"
She offered a bright smile and he made his way over anyways, and sat next to her.
"Hey, hey, Sakura-chan! What do you think our teacher is like? I bet he's super cool!"
Sakura pressed her chopsticks to her lips before realizing she probably ate to much and put them away, covering it with it's lid.
"Who knows. I mean, how do you know it's a guy? It could totally be a girl!"
"Yeah, but that'd be lame!"
She glared at him.
"So having a girl teacher would be lame?"
"Well, maybe but-"
Sakura stood up quickly.
"See you both in class!"
xxXXxx
She sat on a desk, swinging her legs as Sasuke sat not to far off from her and Naruto leaned against the teacher's desk in the room.
"He's late!"
"You've sad that five times now you idiot."
"Well it's true! Everyone else is gone!"
He grabbed a stool and eraser, before standing on the stool and jamming the eraser in the door.
"He's not going to fall for that weak booby trap idiot."
"Well it's his fault for being late!"
Sakura sighed and pinched the bridge of her nose, feeling a headache coming on.
When she looked up, Naruto was laughing, and the eraser was on the floor.
"I got him!"
"Idiot."
Sakura however smiled and threw herself at the taller man.
"Kakashi!"
"Yo!"
"Sakura-chan, you know this guy?"
She pulled herself out of the one sided hug and nodded.
"Kakashi is a relative of my dad's, he's like a cousin! I forgot he was a Jonin!"
"Yeah, yeah. Let's head up to the roof alright?"
They followed him up a flight of stairs since they were already on the second story and soon they were sitting on a set of steps, with Kakashi leaning against the railing.
"Let's try an exercise. I want you three to introduce yourselves."
"Like how?"
"What are your hobbies? What are your likes and dislikes? Future goal for yourselves and such."
"You should go first!"
Naruto exclaimed before crossing his arms and leaning back.
"Me? My name is Hatake Kakashi. I don't feel like telling you guys my likes and dislikes. I never thought about my future dreams. As for my hobbies I have plenty."
Naruto huffed about the lack of information but stayed silent about it and went first.
"My name is Uzamaki Naruto! I like instant ramen, but what I like more than that is ramen from Ichiraku! What is dislike is the three minutes after pouring hot water into instant ramen. My hobby is comparing and eating different ramen! And my future goal is to become the next Hokage!"
Sakura stared at Naruto with a smile as he adjusted his hitai-ate.
Silly. I don't think he ever has a home made meal though.
"My name is Haruno Sakura! I like to study and to cook! I hate when my parents leave for missions, but I understand that they protect the village. As for hobbies, well I like to go shopping! And when it comes to my future dreams, well I want to run the hospital some day."
With a content sigh, she turned to look at the boy next to her. Sasuke sat with his hands elbows on his knees.
"My name is Uchiha Sasuke. I have no particular likes, and plenty of dislikes. My hobby is training, and my future goal is to be on ANBU."
"Very well. You're all incredibly dull."
Sakura almost fell forward.
"Kakashi-sensei!"
"What gives?"
"We start training tomorrow at dawn. Don't be late. Oh, and you might want to skip breakfast."
Sakura looked up.
And Naruto asked the question before anyone else could.
"What's that?"
"You'll throw up. Dismissed!"
He disappeared in a blur and Naruto made a whining noise.
"Oh man! How the hell am I going to get up before dawn? What time is dawn?"
"It's five in the morning Naruto. Well then, I'll see you boys later. Bye!"
With a wave she jumped off the building, determined to head home quickly and prepare.
It was times like these she wished she could talk to Ino about it. But that was a moment that passed quickly.
xxXXxx
Sakura yawned as she adjusted the weapons pouch on her waist and the strap on her thigh. Grabbing the two bentos, she placed them in her shoulder bag and put it around her and stepping out of her house, making sure the door was locked.
The sky was still dark, but the birds were awake. Making her way to the training grounds, she found Naruto and Sasuke standing near each other, and Naruto in a wide yawn.
"Morning!"
She smiled brightly but the other two weren't having it. Not that she could blame them, it was way too early for teenagers to be up. Hours passed, three to be exact. When Kakashi found them, they were all sitting back to back in a circle, leaning against each other.
"Morning!"
"YOU'RE LATE!"
Naruto's outburst was loud and annoying for the morning and Sakura elbowed him in the side harshly.
"Well you see a black cat crossed my way and-"
"Enough!"
She pinched his ear.
"Ahem, oh well."
He placed a timer on a stump and pressed the top down.
"It's set for three hours. Thos who can not pass the test will not each lunch, as well as be sent back to the academy.'
"WHAT?"
Sakura elbowed Naruto again.
"Ah yes, this is a training exercise. Our of the twenty seven academy graduates, only nine will move on to be actual genin. All twenty seven are facing a test today, most will be different, depending on the teacher. Mine is simple. You must retreve the bells from my side."
He held up two bells on red strings.
"But Kakashi-sensei, there are only two."
He turned to her with a smile, but it seemed entirely fake.
"That's right, only two of you have the chance of passing. However, you all could fail. All ninja gear is allowed. If you do not come with me with the intent of death, you will not pass."
In seconds Naruto had a kunai in his hand, and in the next second his arm was twisted around kunai at his own neck. Kakashi had twisted his arm, and his other hand was on Naruto's keeping it still.
"Naruto!"
"I did not say start yet."
Sakura's eyes caught Sasuke's, but he was watching the clock.
Time was wasting.
Kakashi pushed Naruto away, and the kunai stuck in the ground.
"However, you have the right idea. Ready?"
They all tensed, ready to go.
"Start!"
She hid in a tree, watching as Naruto attempted to take down Kakashi and instead, falling into a very lame trap.
Her teeth nibbled on her bottom lip as she saw Sasuke step up to the plate.
Sasuke-kun will last against Kakashi, hell even Naruto will get out of that trap.
I'm stuck, my skills are in knowledge, nothing really hands on.
Sasuke was always the best at skills, and Naruto himself has an immense amount of chakra and determination. Not to mention he knows the shadow clone technique.
What the hell do I have?
A flat chest and a large forehead.
She sighed before turning away from the fight and placed her back against the trunk of the tree.
I understand using two bells instead of three. However maybe it's best for us to attack together and get the bells. I'll take the fall and those two can move on into the squad.
With her mind made up, she threw a kunai, letting Naruto free from the rope. In the shadows of the bright sun she moved closer to him, knealing behind the tree.
"Hey, Naruto!"
"What?"
He blocked her view from the fight, but they both saw the large fireball come from Sasuke.
"We need to attack him as a team, that's the only way to get the bells from him!"
"But there's only two!"
"I'll take the fall, don't worry. You and Sasuke deserve to move on from here."
"Sakura-chan!"
It was then that Kakashi disappeared.
She looked around everywhere before feeling a hand grip her head and pulled her into the lake.
Struggling against him, she managed to elbow his gut before he floated in front of him. Her eyes caught a hand sign but soon the water was swirling around her. She lost her breath and felt dizzy. Kakashi was gone and suddenly she was in a desert.
"Hello?"
Her voice echoed everywhere and suddenly the sand was swallowing her in.
"Wait a second! Naruto? Sasuke? Kakashi-sensei?"
She was sunken in up to her nose before a hand reached out and grabbed her shoulder roughly.
Suddenly she was on the ground, coughing up water as a shoe came into view followed by a pale leg and a set of white shorts.
"S-Sasuke-kun?"
A buzz was heard in the clearing.
"Damn."
Her head sunk.
It's all my fault.
When the two made their way back, they saw Naruto tied to a pole. Sakura blanched before moving to untie him.
"I wouldn't do that Sakura."
In seconds Sasuke was under Kakashi's foot, while Kakashi sat on his back.
"What the hell!"
"Kakashi-sensei?"
"Get off!"
"Untie Naruto, and I'll kill Sasuke. Kill Naruto, and I'll let Sasuke go."
"WHAT?"
Her body froze before shaking his head.
"I won't do it Kakashi-sensei."
"Then I'll kill you."
She shrugged, moving to untie Naruto again.
"S-Sakura!"
Her mind registered that it was probably the first time Sasuke said her name.
"Do it Kakashi-sensei, kill me. I've already told Naruto that I would go back to the academy to let these two continue on. I probably still need proper training anyways."
"But it appears Sakura, that your other two teammates did not think of you, or each other. They thought of themselves. Do I pass the two idiots with strength or pass the one student with the sense to figure out the test."
Silence dropped between them, and Kakashi moved off of Sasuke.
"I will give you all once more chance. Eat your lunch. Everyone but Naruto that is. For attempting to each without the others, you do not get lunch. If anyone feeds him, your status as a ninja will be removed."
With that, he disappeared. Sakura grabbed the bentos and handed Sasuke one from his bag, and pulling one out of her own. She broke her chopsticks and began to eat, but she only ate half. With a sigh, she looked up at Naruto and sat up, bento and chopsticks in hand.
"Sakura."
"What are you doing Sakura-chan?"
She grabbed some food and held it towards Naruto's mouth.
"Don't worry about me, I can still achieve my dream the hard way without being a ninja. Now hurry, before Kakashi-sensei comes back."
While she fed him, Sasuke finished his food and untied Naruto. Just as Sakura was packing up her bento, Kakashi appeared before them.
"Congratulations."
Sakura raised and eyebrow as Sasuke glared at Kakashi.
"What?"
Naruto placed an arm over Sakura, stepping in front of her.
"I guess you all can pass."
Sakura smiled before hugging him.
"Thank you Kakashi-sensei!"
He placed a hand on the top of her head.
"Your welcome. We meet up tomorrow for training, bright and early!"
While walking home, she saw the Uchiha compound where a woman was hugging Sasuke at the gates with a smile. Sakura smiled at the scene, where as Sasuke blushed pink before stuffing his hand in his pockets.
His mother caught her eye and smiled with a wave while Sakura smiled back brightly with a wave of her own before continuing on her walk back home.
Entering her home, she placed the spare bento in the fridge, deciding to eat it for supper, and taking off her shoes. With a sigh she drew up her bath. For the rest of the day it would be nothing but studying the ninja arts, and watching TV.
