AN: So back with another story, this time it's more of a development, Team Seven story and Sakura finding her way with so many rules and regulations for kunoichi. I hope you guys like it, I love Team Seven stories and decided to write my own. R&R!
Chapter One: Short hair is mandatory.
It's the day after their final Genin exam and the newly formed Team Seven is assembled in Training Ground 10 early at the crack of dawn, Sakura for her part is starving but she's on a diet and can't afford to eat breakfast. Naruto and Sasuke-kun settle into stretching exercises and she watches from the side as she leans against one of the many trees, she keeps taking sips of water figuring she may as well fill her stomach with water so she could keep the hunger at bay. Sakura isn't very good at the physical part of it but she can make up for it with her intelligence. Still, Naruto and Sasuke-kun don't have to stretch yet, Kakashi-sensei won't be arriving until three hours later or at least that's what she's expecting.
What she's not expecting is for her legs to be kicked out from under her, she's barely able to catch herself and when she stands both Naruto and Sasuke-kun are in front of her and ready to fight. But its just Kakashi-sensei and he's looking at them speculatively.
"Good to know two members of my team are ready for an attack. Great job, Sakura you just got yourself killed for not paying attention." Kakashi-sensei deadpans and Sakura grimaces, not the best impression but she could do better.
Naruto and Sasuke-kun glance at her and she can feel their dislike for her, she wasn't exactly the most wanted member of Team Seven.
"Now, let's begin with some light exercise. Thirty laps around the field, now!" Kakashi-sensei must be freaking crazy because there is no way she's going to be able to complete them and she hadn't even stretched! But Naruto and Sasuke-kun are already far ahead of her and close to the halfway point, reluctantly she follows after them but she can see that Kakashi-sensei is looking at her with none too impressed eyes.
Her lungs are burning by the time she gets to lap twenty, there is at stitch on her side and she can barely keep going. Naruto and Sasuke-kun are done and stretching to prevent their muscles from cramping up, Kakashi-sensei is just looking at her and waiting for her, they're all waiting for her and Sakura can feel her eyes prickle. She isn't a very good shinobi. By the time she gets to her last lap, she can barely stand up and she gulps as much water as she can before it's harshly ripped from her hands.
Naruto is looking at her with the bottle in his hands. "It's not good to drink so much water at once, don't you know that?"
Sakura blushes and resists the urge to smack him, the last time she had done that Sasuke-kun had gripped her arm so tight, she had a dark purple-green bruise for the better part of a month. Sasuke-kun was extremely protective of Naruto after he had found the blonde boy beaten to pulp in alley, no one really knew how it happened but ever since then Sasuke-kun was always with Naruto and didn't let anyone bully him.
Kakashi-sensei finally looks at her and just shakes his head at her, "Not the best time Sakura, how do you expect to take missions if this is how fast you go?"
She looks at the floor and really tries to hold back the tears but it's hard. She doesn't have shinobi parents like Ino, she doesn't have anyone to teach her how to train and guide her, she only has her books and those can only get her so far. Naruto nudges her and she reluctantly looks at him, he smiles at her a bit and she feels slightly better.
"Now, we're going to be sparring for a bit. In real battles, enemy shinobi will use any trick they know so when you're fighting use whatever it takes to win the match. Got it?"
Sakura is in deep shit.
Naruto had barely passed the Academy in terms of intellectuality but he was physically stronger and a better fighter than she was, she could've been dead last if she didn't have her smarts, but now those were certainly not going to help.
"Sasuke and Sakura, you're up first. Try to last as long as you can just no jutsus, okay?" Kakashi-sensei is leaning against the tree and Naruto is looking at her with a pitying look but he gives her thumbs up either way, he was way too nice to be friends with Sasuke-kun.
"Genin, fight!"
She really was no match for Sasuke-kun, he's on her in a second and she can barely dodge the first punch that he throws at her by dropping to the ground with only a second to spare to roll away from the incoming kick. Adrenaline is surging through her, and she jumps up only to barely use the back of her forearm to stop the arm coming for her face but can't stop the kick that catches her in the stomach. His kicks have such incredible strength that they push her away from him, as she's falling on her behind, she catches the boring look Kakashi-sensei is throwing her and resolves to fight harder.
But Sasuke-kun won't even give her a chance to fight, she sees him in the air, his leg aiming for a straight kick to her stomach and for a second she can't move, she has no strength left and barely manages to catch Sasuke-kun's leg with her arms. With a crazy snarl, she twists his leg with as much strength as she can manage and throws him away from her. Her arms hurt and now she's at the end, she makes to jump away from that spot when she feels a hand tangle in her hair and harshly pull her back and onto the ground.
"Enough Sasuke let her go." Kakashi-sensei calls and she feels the harsh grip on her hair loosen. Sasuke-kun pats her head and walks away but she can barely acknowledge that, she made a fool of herself in front of her team. She wasn't made for this but she was trying and now they all knew that she wasn't good enough.
She slinks back to stand next to Naruto; she can't look at any of them.
"You did good Sakura-chi, surprised all of us!" Naruto laughs and she can barely lift her head, her eyes are blurry and she's going to cry any second but instead she's surprised to see her team looking at her differently.
They're all smiling; Kakashi-sensei reaches over and pats her head, and tangles his hand in her hair. "Take a break, Sakura-chi."
She nods and slips onto the ground, they approved of her! She hadn't lasted more than a minute but it was against Sasuke-kun and she had given it her all and they noticed! Sasuke-kun even acknowledged her!
She can only watch distractedly as Naruto and Sasuke-kun spar, they're on a different level from her but she could catch up, she knows she can. Kakashi-sensei watches the boys and she stretches meanwhile, her body hurts but she can go for another round.
"Let's stop," Kakashi-sensei stops them, "We're going to start missions tomorrow and keep meeting before and after to work on your strengths and weaknesses."
She hands water from her canteen to Sasuke-kun and Naruto rather timidly but they accept it and Naruto flashes her a smile. They all sit down in a circle and wait to be dismissed.
"Sakura-chi," Kakashi-sensei looks at her. "Please come with your hair cut tomorrow."
She freezes; Sakura has been growing her hair ever since she heard Sasuke-kun liked girls with long hair. Not only that, her long hair makes her forehead look smaller than when she has short hair.
"Shinobi should only have long hair if they're able to stop enemies from grabbing it like Sasuke-chan did earlier, until you can stop them properly you are not allowed to have long hair."
She knows it makes sense, if Sasuke-kun had had a kunai in his hand he could have easily slit her throat and she would have been dead but emotionally, she loves her hair. It makes her feel better about herself, makes her feel a bit like Ino; confident and strong, like she can stand proudly next to her peers.
Sakura can't stop the tears now and hangs her head in shame because she's a shinobi now and she shouldn't be crying. There is no place for crying when on the battlefield.
"Maa, maa Sakura-chi there's no need to cry. I know somewhere we can get your hair cut and you'll look cute, ne?" Kakashi-sensei makes her look up and wipes her tears away. Naruto and Sasuke-kun are both at her side and patting her head, they just feel sorry for her. "Sakura-chi, shinobi life is hard but it's especially hard for kunoichi, there are more rules and regulations and know-hows than for male shinobi but if you grow in strength, you can bypass all those rules and regulations."
"I understand, sensei." She stands up and Kakashi-sensei holds her hand and as a team they go back to the Village center. Naruto and Sasuke-kun linger behind her, she stopped crying but she can't stop her hands from shaking. They stop at a small barbershop and when they enter, she's confronted with a huge, hairy man littered with scars all over his body.
"I don't think this is the right place…" Sasuke-kun says and she can't help but nod, this man looks like the only thing he can do is give buzz cuts and she doesn't want that. She tries to pull her hand away from Kakashi-sensei but he's not letting go and drags her over to an empty seat and makes her sit down.
"Please make it cute."
She sits in that chair for thirty minutes with her eyes closed, she can't look especially when he starts cutting her hair, the sound of scissors cutting pretty pink locks makes her want to cry but she just grips the arms of the chair tightly.
"All done, miss."
Naruto squeals in delight and she can hear Sasuke-kun chuckling but she doesn't open her eyes, she can't.
"Come on Sakura-chi, open your eyes you look so cute."
She opens her eyes and looks in the mirror with wide green eyes; her hair is really short so that it only reaches below her ears but it's been curled so that it folds gently in and gives her face a slimmer look. She looks completely different but still it somehow makes her look and feel cute, she loves it. She looks deceivingly innocent, while she may not have been as physically strong as Naruto and Sasuke-kun; she was still stronger than the average male civilian.
"For kunoichi, using their looks is as much a strength as any other. Deception is also a part of the job and you look like an innocent little girl who couldn't harm anyone. Use it to your advantage Sakura-chi."