I have decided to redo Things Could Be. After reading through what has already been published for TCB, I felt quite disappointed in my writing. Hopefully the new chapters I am making are better in quality and fluency. The main plot and idea will stay mostly the same but details will change. If how I was writing before did not make sense to me, I doubt it did to you.
I'd also like to apologize for my author's notes because I was quite insensitive about what I wrote. Looking back at them, I'm cringing.
This story will now be in first person, from Sakura's point of view.
Summary: With a powerful kekkei genkai and an agenda to eliminate those who wiped out her family, Sakura takes on the world.
Original Publication: May 1, 2014
I did change the summary because the original one did not suit how the newer chapters are going to be written.
Rating: T for violence, mild language, and romance.
Included Pairings: (Main) SasuSaku, NaruHina, ShikaIno, NejiTen, NejiSaku, ItaSaku
Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto. Some of the dialogue in the chapters are borrowed from the English anime which I also do not own.
Chapter 1: Team 7
It was around afternoon when the jōnin to lead the new Team 7 finally appeared: Hatake Kakashi. I had certainly wondered, Uzumaki Naruto and Uchiha Sasuke too I imagine, why a shinobi of Kakashi's rank would arrive so late on the day of our first meeting.
Naruto, the natural prankster he was, had balanced a chalkboard eraser on the door. Despite Sasuke's claims that their jōnin sensei would not fall for such a trick, Naruto had confidence.
I had to side with Sasuke on that matter. What jōnin would ignore their surroundings, especially if they were aware of Naruto's reputation?
So when Kakashi finally made his appearance and the eraser clunked on his head, I hid the surprise that had threatened to shape my expression. This man was a jōnin?
Then he had the nerve to call us idiots. Naruto voiced complaints for the team in that exceedingly loud voice of his.
Kakashi did not seem bothered at all by his reaction and took out a book. The title was infamous: Icha Icha Paradise. Was this really the man who was supposed to be our sensei?
He led us to the rooftop, never glancing up from his book. I was feeling more disgusted by the second. By how Naruto and Sasuke were reacting to the book, I assumed they had no clue what Kakashi was holding...not that they should know. Why do I even know?
"Let's start by introducing yourselves," he said as he took a position in front of us three sitting genin hopefuls.
Naruto scratched his head. "Hold on, I don't get it."
How Naruto's brain worked and how he maintained his sunny disposition was beyond me.
"Your interests, goals, those kinds of things," Kakashi explained. His eyes still had not left his book.
"Oh, okay." Naruto nodded. "Can you go first, sensei?"
"Alright then. I'm Hatake Kakashi. I have no desire to tell you my likes or dislikes. My dreams for the future...hm. As for hobbies, I have lots of hobbies."
Kakashi was ever the elaborator. Naruto looked just as confused as when he started but it seemed that he decided to just run with it. "My name is Uzumaki Naruto! I love ramen but I hate the three minutes you have to wait for it to cook! My dream is to be the greatest Hokage! Then the village will stop disrespecting me and start treating me like somebody! Somebody important!"
I felt a twinge of sympathy for him. The past had not been kind to any member of this team.
It seemed like Kakashi was satisfied with Naruto's introduction. He looked at me next, naturally when I was not prepared to talk.
Anytime I was supposed to talk about myself, I cut down how much I was allowed to say. No one had to know what my life was like because my personal problems had nothing to do with them. "I'm Haruno Sakura. My likes are training and reading. My dislikes, I have a lot. My goal is to...return a favor." I almost spat out the last word.
I saw Naruto's confused expression from the corner of my eye but I chose to ignore it. Even if I chose to explain my life to him, he would not understand.
Kakashi glanced at Sasuke who did not seem to be paying us any attention. It seemed however, that he was because he began to speak.
"My name is Uchiha Sasuke. I hate a lot of things and I don't particularly like anything. What I have is not a dream because I will make it a reality. I'm going to restore my clan and kill a certain someone." He said all this with hands folded in front of his face, elbows resting on his knees.
I glanced at him. Our agendas were similar it seemed. I knew who he wanted to kill: Uchiha Itachi, his older brother and once upon a time, a friend of mine.
The air exuded awkwardness. Naruto was fidgeting, clearly he was uncomfortable with either extended silence or Sasuke's introduction. "Uh, what's gonna happen tomorrow, Kakashi-sensei?"
Kakashi closed his Icha Icha book. "As I hope you know, you three are not genin yet. Tomorrow will be your test and if you pass, well then congratulations."
His vagueness was both annoying and...no just annoying.
Naruto's jaw dropped. "What?! We're not genin yet?!"
Kakashi proceeded as if the blonde had not spoken. "Sixty-five percent of you graduates will fail. Come to the training grounds tomorrow morning to take your test. Oh, and you may not want to eat breakfast."
Naruto looked offended. "Why?"
"If you eat breakfast, you'll puke." And then he disappeared.
The loudest of us remaining grumbled something about stocking up on ramen before morning and left in a hurry.
I stood up to leave as well. Sasuke was uncomfortable company. So many of the girls in our graduating class had their hearts set on him but if they knew what his normal attitude was like, they would be just as uncomfortable.
Years ago, I was one of those girls too. He was the epitome of dark and handsome, with jet black hair and eyes like charcoal, as well as the student with the highest marks. Being the superficial person I was back then, I had been attracted to him because of his looks. Then I realized there were important things in life than making the most sought-after boy in class like me.
Before leaving, I glanced in Sasuke's direction only to see he had disappeared. I doubted he wanted to stay in my company any more than I did. I convinced myself that the twinge in my gut was not loneliness.
My destination was the training grounds. It was ritual to go there almost every day.
Although I had a long distance goal, my main goal at the time was to get as strong as I possibly could. That would aid my future goal, which was to avenge my family.
Four years ago, they were all eliminated while I was spending the night with some girls from the Academy. There was no trace of who did such a thing but I knew that they had to be incredibly powerful. If I was to ever defeat such a person, I had to be stronger than them. That meant being stronger than everyone else.
When I was younger, being strong was not something I wanted. I liked having attention, wearing pretty dresses with as much appliqué as possible, and gossiping with friends.
My family was small and possessed multitudes of secrets. I had known nothing of the sort when they were killed. What I knew I discovered through scrolls and journals in my father's study. Family members each had above average chakra control. If they sighted a traumatic event, they could activate the two features of the family's kekkei genkai. First was the ability to blend in with the surrounding environment. It was especially helpful against non-dōjutsu users. Second was the ability to replenish chakra at a ten times faster rate than the normal shinobi due to the light of the sun. This was hardly ever seen in the family. The only person who had ever managed to conceive the ability was the very first Haruno.
I did not have the kekkei genkai. The only traumatic event in my life I was not present to see.
The familiar forested area of the training grounds was looming in front of me and I eyed the wooden posts used for fighting form. Before I could approach them to practice, I heard an overly exuberant voice shouting Kakashi's name.
"That makes us tied, Kakashi! And soon Konoha's Gentleman will overtake you!"
I decided to find were they were and spotted Kakashi's mop of silver hair through a gap in the trees. As I got closer, I noticed a...exceedingly odd-dressed man with him. He had a shiny bowl cut with thick eyebrows and wore a green spandex suit under a flak jacket. And were those leg warmers?
He did have a flak jacket though. The guy had to be at least a chūnin so who was I to question his fashion sense? I shook my head and took a hiding place on a tree branch with a thick amount of leaves. For a second, I wondered if it would make things easier if I had the kekkei genkai and could blend in.
It seemed that Kakashi had ignored the other man's statement. "How long has your team been genin for?"
So the guy was a jōnin instructor like Kakashi. He scratched the back of his neck. "Uh...well they're so youthful that time has no importance!"
This guy was a jōnin?
Kakashi seemed to sigh. "My point is that my team members all seem so independent, I don't know if they can prove they can work together."
Was that what us team members were supposed to do tomorrow? Knowing how much Naruto and Sasuke irritated each other in class, I doubted our team could suddenly cooperate as a functioning unit.
"Don't worry about it, Kakashi! They'll get it!" the exuberant man gave a thumbs-up.
At that moment, Kakashi turned slightly in my direction and I realized he knew I was there the entire time. I felt pathetic; why did I forget to hide my chakra.
As I was drowning myself in self-loathing, he turned back to face the other jōnin who started a speech about youth.
He was letting me go without questioning. The knowledge of that made me freeze for a brief second before I forced myself to act.
Why was he just letting me go? I jumped from the tree and moved a decent distance away from Kakashi and the other jōnin. He could have easily interrogated me on why I was listening to a private conversation between two shinobi of higher rank.
I recalled how they were talking about the team working together. Maybe he wanted me to tell Naruto and Sasuke about that.
Then again, he also knew I was there. He could have had the other jōnin help him stage a scene to make me believe that tomorrow's test was about teamwork.
Whatever happened tomorrow, I was going to be prepared for it.
Hope that was better than the original first chapter.
Sakura is not as cold as she was in the original. She is quiet and keeps everything to herself but since I made the new chapters first person I figured her thoughts spoke for her a bit more.
If any of you are DC fans, I needed a source for Sakura to recharge her chakra so I thought of Kryptonians and how they get their powers under a yellow sun. This will be elaborated on in upcoming chapters.
I also drew a cover image for this story to give a general idea of what Sakura looks like. My drawing is mediocre at best so tell me what you think about it.
Please review!