Notes: I have two chapters of Consequence all written up but not typed, and I needed a break from all that dourness. So here is an OC, true, surrounded by many OC genin who graduate from the Academy. After I wrote it, I noticed a similarity between my narrator's name and the name of a main character of another, much better-written story. I can only say that I was thinking about Hiei's sister from Yu Yu Hakusho. That's the extent of my inspiration. Oh, and thoughts on the movie Millenium Actress. Take that as a spoiler if you like.
How is this even a SasuSaku story? If you've got the patience, please follow along with me.
(By the way, no Moping!Sakura here! …At least, not yet.)
Disclaimer: Naruto's not mine, although assorted parts of him are probably the legal property of Konoha and the Akatsuki claims everything left.
-----------------------------------------------
Even though the Ninja Rulebook warns against taking first impressions too seriously, most instructors would probably take "Mommy! Help me!" as an indicator that their student isn't cut out for anything worthwhile, and proceed to write off said student.
This wasn't the case with my sensei, for which I am eternally grateful.
I met my future teacher when I was four, and I kicked and screamed for all I was worth when my mom brought me to her. The kicking didn't help me feel much better, because one of my legs couldn't move at all. Of course, I did my best to flail around with my remaining limbs.
The two adults in the room ignored me at the onset. Now I know that she wasn't that old when we first met, but to a four-year-old, everyone is ancient except for maybe other four-year-olds. Three-year-olds are just total loser babies. Like my brother.
"…Just fell from a roof, seems like a stupid dare that kids make each other do." My mom's quelling glare was the first acknowledgment of my presence that I received since we entered the sickly clean hospital room.
(Later on, I learned that my future sensei had greeted me with a smile and a wave, but I had been too busy yelling and flinging my arms and leg around.)
"S'not some stupid dare!" My mom winced at the sheer volume of my voice. I was totally embarrassing her. "I was training to be a ninja!"
At that, she came over. "Stop this nonsense, okay? Only really gifted people become ninja. And only very exceptional girls become kunoichi. So be quiet!"
You'd think it'd be obvious that my mom had some kind of huge disappointment in her past. She was trying to make sure I didn't experience the same let-down through these rather harsh words.
To a four-year-old, this means nothing, except that your own mother doesn't love you or have faith in you.
My mom began her profuse apologies to my eventual teacher. I just tuned out and started bawling. I was the biggest failure in the world since the kid who'd failed to graduate from the Ninja Academy five times and had grown up to be an old assistant to the chef of a ramen stand.
"Yukina…Yukina-chan." A gentle, large hand applied firm but sympathetic pressure on my shoulder. I blinked and paused to look up.
The first thing I saw was a huge expanse of forehead. I poked it, amazed. In retrospect, it's even more amazing that Sakura-sensei didn't kill me. The next thing my eyes darted to was her other hand, which was glowing. Blue.
I flinched and tried to scoot back, but incredible pain shot up my dead leg. "Ow!"
That was when I looked up and met her eyes at last. They were kind of pretty, and I'm one of the best female judges of that in my year. They were a pure green color, darker than jade but softer than emerald. When I saw them as a kid, I already knew that those kind and friendly eyes belonged to someone I could trust.
I can still hear her say, in that low, clear voice pitched for my ears only, "Yukina-chan, don't let anyone tell you that you can't be what you want to be."
I don't remember exactly how I'd broken my leg – that wasn't the first time, and the fracture the second time around was supposedly tricky enough to merit the attention of the Hokage's apprentice.
I remember her wink, the confidential smile that my mother didn't see.
"You'd make a fine kunoichi, Yukina-chan."
-----------------------------------------------
There's a legend rampant among the girls of the Academy that, each year, there is a guy to die for in class.
I can tell you right off the bat that this is false, because the guy to die for had graduated five years earlier. He was charismatic, kind of good-looking, and the very one who helped me get a swing on the crowded playground, just because he and his two friends were hanging around. Plus, he had the smile of a winner. His name was Konohamaru.
(Actually, his name still is Konohamaru.)
Boys that age, especially cool ones, don't give love-struck eight-year-olds the kind of notice they want. Which is very, very reassuring since if they did, that would make them quite the young perverts, but a crush is a crush and I had an incurable crush on Konohamaru, the grandson of the previous Hokage.
The fact that the object of my affections wasn't in my class by no means equaled studious, attentive Yukina. But geniuses don't need to be studious or especially attentive, and even though the wishful legend of a guy to die for each year isn't true, it is true that each year has its genius. That year, my class definitely had one. Guess who?
I'm insulted.
Anyway, it was this boy named Makoto. To be really, truly, absolutely honest, he was quite good-looking, too, and I'll kill anyone who quotes me to him. Unlike some of his family members, he didn't hide his face behind tall collars or glasses. The problem was, he was an Aburame.
Kikai bugs. Icky.
I spent many of my Academy days daydreaming about Konohamaru. My class rank, when I graduated, was in the lower half of the spectrum. If I'd paid slightly more attention, I think I would have been in middle-to-top range. But then maybe the teams would have been different.
When genin are sorted into teams, the instructor takes one from the lower end of the spectrum, one from the middle…ah, this is common knowledge, so I'll shut up on that.
Waiting with my new teammates for our instructor to arrive was a nerve-wracking experience. For one, my teammates made me uncomfortable. One of them was a Hyuuga – Hyuuga Kurei. Not that he was particularly ugly, but his white eyes were just so freaky. The other one was Makoto.
Let me say something for myself. I have black hair and brown eyes, but absolutely no bloodline limit or family quirk. I do pride myself on speed because I can move really, really fast. But that's just training.
I'm the only normal unit in my three-man cell. Not to mention, the only girl, but I'm sure that was obvious.
Even though it felt like an eternity, our instructor arrived right on time, and I mean exactly on the dot. When the door opened, I sensed the two boys next to me sit a little straighter. (I was in the middle, like a buffer for their testosterone.) A very familiar jounin walked in.
"Huh." She put her hands on her hips, looking a lot more intimidating and hard to impress than I remembered. "It's good to see you all." Then she continued across the front of the classroom. Before we knew it, she had disappeared.
Kurei was on his feet, chakra veins in stark relief around his strange eyes. Despite this, he appeared just as ignorant of where our instructor had gone.
Suddenly, her face reappeared at the window. "Are you asleep, you lumps? Let's go."
I tried and failed to suppress my grin, thinking that if Sakura-sensei wanted us to chase her, I would have the edge.
Kids have a lot of idiot thoughts like that.
-----------------------------------------------
TBC