Sakura Blossoms
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Chapter 1: Sakura Blossoms
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Disclaimer! I do NOT own Naruto or any of the characters featured in the story. This story is completely based on my inner fandom and love for Haruno Sakura.
I opened the window in my room, as I peered out into the wondrous village of Konoha. Below me were merchants, school-children, store-owners, and townspeople. I inhaled, allowing the crisp, fresh air to flow within me and listen as the breeze whispered calmly in my ear. My soft-pink coral hair waved behind me, pushed backward by the wind. "Ahhhh," I said, as I let out a dreamy sigh, "What a great day for training." I walked toward my clothes dresser, with the picture of Kakashi-sensei, Naruto, and Sasuke-kun. "I really hope you're all okay..."
After a couple of moments of reminiscing the great times with the trio, I opened the first draw, which was my weapon draw. I took out my new pink pouch, which had heart and flower designs on it. I loaded twenty shurikens, fifteen kunais, two scrolls, and two exploding bomb seals, which I neatly packed inside the pouch. Next, I strapped it onto my belt, a little past my right arm. After three minutes of getting dressed, brushing my hair and teeth, I was finally ready to go. I let out a deep breath, sat on the floor, and meditated for the next two minutes, as was instructed in a letter I received. The letter said that I would be receiving a new sensei, and gave directions to the place of training. The letter was signed by Anonymous and ended with, "when you find out who I am, you'll have to look twice."
When meditation was complete, I quickly stretched, and lept out of my bedroom window, landing gracefully upon a market roof. I jumped in the air, flipped over, and landed again on the floor. "Ah, good morning, Sakura-chan," Mrs. Rosenbul, a neighbor said. "'Morning!" I replied back. I started to dart along the streets of Konoha, dodging sharply in order to miss the people. On my trek through Konoha, I had noticed the many people working to repair the village. The village was attacked a couple of weeks ago by Sand and Sound nins. Buildings were completely destroyed, monuments in ruin. It would take long, but the re-building of Konoha was the town's number one priority. A few nights after the attack, Sasuke-kun left the village. The next day, the Hokage sent out Naruto, Shikamaru, Chouji, Kiba, and Neji out to find Sasuke-kun. I volunteered to go, but they refused.
I continued to swoop in and out of loopholes, until I finally reached the forest. The forest stretched about 10 miles long, but my training spot was only 3 miles. I stopped for a bit to catch a breath as I rested my thighs on a branch. When I was ready to continue my journey, I heard an earsplitting scream from deep within the forest. It was no doubt a girl's cry. I quickly jumped up into a tree, and began jumping from tree to tree, as fast as possible. I jumped, and dodged, as tree branches, kunais, and shurikens came flying out from all directions. This was obviously a trap... a setup. I stopped on a tree, picked up various weapons. Two shurikens were held in one hand, a single kunai in the other, and the last one in my belt, for easy accessing and emergency situations. I was now prepared for any surprise-ninja.
After a bit more dodging, three ninjas had appeared before me. "Where'd they come from?! I couldn't even sense their presence!" Three shurikens were thrown, two dodged, and one that lightly scratched my arm. "God... what would Sasuke-kun do? Sakura... you have to fight them. Now isn't the time to rely on your comrades," I said to myself. I inhaled and exhaled. I was prepared for battle. I threw the two shurikens, and a kunai at one of the ninjas. The shurikens were dodged, but the kunai hit the ninja in the stomach, and he fell to the ground. Without weapons in my hand, I decided to use genjutsu, illusionary techniques. I molded my hands and performed the necessary seals. I roared, "Deafening Nightmare!" Suddenly, an enormous cage appeared around the enemies (only visible to myself and them) with kunais sticking out from each of the intersecting bars. The enemies would spend an hour or so in a cage, being tortured with incoming kunais from every direction. The energy they put in to dodging them would be the energy used in the real world. "This should keep them busy," I said, as I continued to the spot where I heard the scream.
Finally arriving there, I saw a man holding a kunai to a young girl's face. "Let her go," I said, as I jumped off of the branch. "Whoahoahoa! What do we have here? Another annoyance to be robbed and raped? Whahaha!!" the man yelled. The man appeared about 6'5" with a bald head, a Konoha headband, a black vest, and black shorts. One of his eye had a patch on it, and his face looked extremely angry, and tense. "Let her go!" I repeated.
"I'll let her go, just not easily. I'll strap her to this tree with my chakra. If you defeat me, the chakra will disperse. However, if I defeat you, I swear from the deepest pits of my heart to kill this girl, and yourself," he said. I gulped, and agreed. The girl was flung to the tree and a yellow chakra mold appeared around her, clamping her tightly to the tree. "My first one-on-one battle..." I was nervous. "I can't back out now. I've already made a commitment to protect the girl! I have to stick with it!" I said to myself.
"Here I come!" I shouted. I pulled out two kunais from my pouch, and charged toward the man. I crossed my arms, holding the blades outward. I felt the wind rush past me, as I continued my pursuit. The man clenched his hands together, but I was there before he got to perform the jutsu. I held the kunai to his chest. He was about to punch me! Instead of taking the blow, I inserted the blade into his chest. POP! The figure turned into a log. "Kawarimi no Jutsu? When did he--" The man swooped down, holding a kunai to my throat. The young girl screamed in fear. As I tried to struggle, the man increased the pressure. I could feel the metallic blade digging into my skin. At this point, I couldn't even swallow due to the pressure. I quickly set up a seal, then finally punched him in the face. He increased the pressure to full throttle, and sliced. To his dismay, he missed! I was now behind him. "How did you do that?!" he asked.
"It's a technique that my sensei taught me, 'Transparency no Jutsu.' This technique harnesses the ability of genjutsu, creating the illusion of my whole self, while I, transparent, sneak behind you. Never, EVER let your guard down when facing me." I stuck the kunai into his back. He fell to the floor and keeled over. I checked his pulse. Dead. I looked over to the girl, and she was fading away. I ran over to her, but I was too late. She was gone. I turned back to look at the man. The same fate was in effect for him, as well. I was completely confused.
Suddenly, in front of me, a huge white whirlwind of fragrance appeared. Standing right before my eyes was Tsunade, the Fifth Hokage. My jaw dropped, as I rubbed my eyes to make sure I wasn't dreaming. "Hello, Sakura. I told you that you'd have to look twice."
