Pressure Points
Written by BokchoiBaboy

Prologue – Myself

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto.
Also, if anybody has read Blurred Reflection by pandaholic, then yes, these are VERYYY similar. Pandaholic is one of my best friends in real life, and she gave me permission to rewrite this fanfiction. So, this general concept belongs to pandaholic (and the general skeleton for this prologue), but the rest will be off my own ideas and such.

"What do you want to be when you grow up?"

"I want to be a doctor, just like my daddy!"

"Really? I want to be a doctor, too. My dad is one, too."

"Then let's make a promise!"

He stared at her curiously.

"We'll be the best doctors there are."

He smiled, and locked his pinky with hers.

"No! Why are you moving away?"

She stared at him, her eyes flowing with her shed tears. He winced and looked away, unable to bring himself to stare into her precious orbs.

"My dad got a job at a new hospital."

He heard her sobs grow louder, and he turned to face her, forcing himself to stare into her distraught face.

"We'll be the best doctors there are, so we'll meet again! The best doctors work together!"

She was able to brush away her tears and form a tiny, innocent smile.

"Until then, Sasuke-kun!"

She ran and gave him one last embrace, knowing that it may be the last time for a long time that she would be able to give her best friend (who she secretly loved) one last hug. He smiled at the girl in his arms.

"I'll miss you, Sakura-chan."

Tears one again began falling when he released himself from her hold. He took hold of her fragile hand, and placed a small object there. He then closed her hand shut around it, and gave her one last smile. He was satisfied when she returned the simple gesture, and turned around, hopping into the moving van.

"Sasuke-kun, I love you!"

It was the last thing he heard from her before the van moved out of her distance. He shouted in return, but he was sure she couldn't have heard him.

"...I love you, too, Sakura-chan."
Sakura's long, delicate fingers slowly traced every inch of skin on her face. They lingered there, as if they were wondering if she were to disappear in a matter of seconds. Her emerald eyes gazed at her reflection in the mirror, gazing at every inch of her face visible. She had the strongest urge to break her gaze, unable to take the intensity of her empty orbs.

It was like staring into the eyes of a corpse every single time she was met with her hazy reflection in the mirror. Her eyes seemed to be losing their precious shine and emerald color, turning into a dull, grey-green. They were growing duller and emptier as time passed.

She let a small sigh escape from her rosy lips. She let off one of those 'I'm-an-ordinary-teen' type flairs, but anyone that knew her would beg to differ. She was the Haruno Sakura, daughter of one of the most renowned neurosurgeons in the world, apprentice to the famous Tsunade, the savior to many dying patients who had less than fifty percent of making it out of their surgery alive. She wasn't the apprentice of Tsunade, or the daughter of the Haruno Satoshi, for nothing. Her skills as a surgeon rivaled even Tsunade's, even though she was only nineteen years of age.

She attended Konoha Medical University, the most famous and prestigious medical universities in the world. The admission percentage rates were below fifty percent, most students admitted usually had a GPA of 5.0 or a tad less. The reasons being were the tough courses provided. Konoha Medical's courses were the toughest of all medical school courses combined; once admitted, one was dedicated to a grueling eight-year curriculum of tough assignments, finals, and surgeries. And the fact that Haruno Sakura was admitted without a second thought made her subject to many media subjects and rumors.

'False Surgeon' was one of her most infamous titles. In a taboo article and report by media, it was said she 'paid her way into Konoha Medical, using the influence of her father's fortune and abilities.'

Sakura, of course, waved this stupid rumor off. Asking any Konoha Med. Student, and even the headmaster, Tsunade (Sakura's teacher), would instantly say that she had gotten into the university fair and square, using pure skills and talent. She was, of course, the top medical student, in what seemed the world. That being said, however, she was faced with extreme pressure, not only from her stubborn stepmother and teacher, but the press, the students, and all other doctors. She possessed so much skill and talent that the world would die to possess the same skills.

Her emerald eyes once again stared into the dull corpse in her reflection. They began to shine with unshed tears, but the salty liquids never fell. Instead, she was encompassed with bitterness and confusion. Ever since her abilities and skills had been discovered, it seemed that she never really did have a chance to enjoy her teenage life. She was always called in for surgeries to aid Tsunade, or for study hall, where she would be able to aid her peers.

In all this jumble and chaos in her life, she found the one question that most teens had asked themselves at least once: Who am I?

Never had she ever had time to think such a thing, but as the chaos continued and her stress and pressure increased by the hundreds, it slowly fought its way through her mess. She wondered if the path of a doctor was really set out for her. She wondered if it was her father's skills and abilities that were passed down by genes that had given her the path of the medical student, carving out her future easily and smoothly. When the thought of her inherited cunning crashed down on her, it made her feel empty, useless; what would she have done if her father were not the Haruno Satoshi?

Who am I?

She posed the same question in every surgery she had taken part of. She was reassured constantly by her closest friends and Tsunade that she was indeed the Haruno Sakura, the medical student who already rivaled her own father's legacy at the age of nineteen. But even with the precious reassurance, her mind wandered. When she was young, she had promised her best friend, the one she loved and possibly still loved, that she would become the greatest doctor, along with him. She wondered if he, too, was doing well.

But a part of her wished that she had never made such a naïve, innocent promise. Now thrown into the medical hustle-bustle of chaos, she wished she could be living an ordinary teenage life, with the ordinary teenage stress. But she knew that her path was already carved out for her, and she was in too deep to back down from her dream now. Even if her stress could bring the death of her, she would continue on to become one of the greatest doctors the world had ever seen.

It was inevitable that sooner or later, she would crack from the pressure. But she knew that once that crack had mended, and perhaps disappeared, she would be able to carry on. She was well prepared for her mind to snap from so much pressure and stress. She told herself that when that happened, she would back down from the surgeries and the school life, taking a light rest and blocking out every voice except hers. And when she found tranquility and serenity within herself again, she would throw herself back into the chaotic life of being one of the best medical students.

Sakura was only nineteen, after all. She still had the ripe ages ahead of her, full of surgeries, drama, deaths and even love. Her life was always a rollercoaster, going up and down, twisting and turning. It was controlled but it was unpredictable, making her state of mind dangerous when she was put under so much pressure. But, of course, any nineteen-year-old teen would want to live up to every expectation thrown their way. Which was the case for Sakura.

'You have to be as great as your father!'

'I know you can surpass even your father someday.'

She let off another loose sigh. Those expectations were anything but normal. They were demanding and threatening. Any regular person would find these as motivations, but for Sakura they were more than just petty words to motivate her. They were her code of life, her ways of living. If she strayed or failed, she would punish herself and get right back on track.

She was the Haruno Sakura, but she felt that she was someone different than what everyone was seeing.

Sakura once again gazed at her reflection, her emerald eyes seeming to grow duller by the seconds. She let off a frustrated sigh and abruptly got up and jumped onto her bed, hiding her precious orbs from the world. Her mind was in such a jumble that she couldn't even think straight. Her long, delicate fingers traced her face once more, feeling every centimeter of skin. Her reflection came through the darkness of her mind, and she groaned.

Just...who am I?

A/N: Hey, everyone! BokchoiBaboy, here! This is kind of experimental at the moment; I'm just seeing how many reviews this is going to get, if any at all. Anyway, if I decide to continue on with this, there will be some teenage drama and all those screwed up actions all people commit someday. This isn't going to be fluffy-fluffy fic; I'm going to try and write it in all seriousness. So, anyway, thanks for reading.

I somehow always make my introductions so boring. D:

And to reinforce my opening statement: pandaholic did give me permission to rewrite the fic and to use her idea. So please, don't flame me or anything. I have permission! D: