A guilty pleasure. This story is, more or less, how I feel Naruto should have gone after that fateful moment in the Chunin exam. I think the title, and summary!, speaks for itself on what it's about. Enjoy~
Never Turn Back: A Flower Blooms
Summary: "I will... become stronger. I will defend my teammates, my friends. I will not turn back into that girl I was before. I am Sakura Haruno, and I'm going to kick your ass." Born with nothing but minor talents, it's up to one girl to use all of them to survive in this Ninja world.
Warning: Descriptions of characters already pre-made will be rather vague on purpose... Because I'm lazy. Anything 'new', however, will be as detailed as I can get it.
Deep within the village of Konoha was a large forest known as "The Forest of Death"... unofficially, at least. Officially it was training ground 44 and the location of a large portion of the Chunin Exams that took place every few years for upcoming Ninja. Many villages from many different areas all gathered for this event, which shuffled between each village's location so everyone would have a chance to set up unique challenges for the Chunin hopefuls.
This time it was Konoha's job, and they decided to go with what they were best at: Surviving in the forest. This forest was home to many monsters of various types, from giant leeches to horrifying snakes. Not even the Genin from Konoha were used to these monsters, and some had already fallen prey to them.
But the biggest challenge was not even the monsters, but other Ninja. The challenge was to survive for, at least, three days with your team with other teams trying to hunt you down to get a 'Heaven' or 'Earth' scroll. If you ended up getting to the middle of the forest, where a large stone tower stood, without both scrolls in your possession...
Then you failed.
The same thing happened if you came to the tower with one of your teammates either dead or too wounded to lift their heads up. What was the point, after all, of surviving if one of your friends ended up dead for it? Such team work was what Konoha was known for.
Which brings us to one of the most questionable teams in Konoha.
One made up of the last Uchiha, the Junchiriki of the Kyuubi, and a simple pink haired girl who's only strong quality is her chakra control and book smarts. These three have had constant conflicts between each other, but none can say they would ever abandon anyone. Not a single one of them would dare put their teammates in harms way if they could help it.
But that didn't mean they could avoid trouble all together.
The three had found themselves targeted by Orochimaru of the Sannin, one of the most powerful and feared Ninja in the world and an 'Missing Nin' of Konoha. He had left Naruto Uzumaki, the Kyuubi's container, and Uchiha Sasuke completely incapacitated with one seal on each of them.
With Naruto, it was a seal on his stomach where the Kyuubi's prison was located. Putting one seal on another is like putting hot sauce on ice cream: it just doesn't mix well. The two seals put together ripped poor Naruto's chakra coils apart, rendering the boy unconscious until the Kyuubi could sort things out from the inside.
Sasuke, on the other hand, had a seal placed on his neck. The contents of the seal were unknown to the trio at this moment, but it had been applied by Orochimaru sinking his teeth, quite literally, into the boy's neck. The act had left him unconscious almost instantly...
But that was only the start of the group's problems. With only one of them awake, they were prime targets for others looking for their scrolls. So their 'awake' member, Sakura Haruno, decided to hide the two under a tree and stand by. With various traps around the entire clearing, there was no way anyone would ever get to her...
Right?
'Stupid.' Sakura thought to herself in annoyance as she felt the Sound Nin pull on her long pink hair once again, keeping her held down as the black haired girl's other teammate began to walk towards Sakura's team underneath the large roots of a tree.
The Sound Nin had fallen upon her without much warning, disabling her traps and leaving her helpless to their assault. Their unique abilities were also key in keeping the girl from even reacting much.
The girl who held onto her hair, for instance, was named Kin and had small bells on the end of small needles she threw. The bells released subtle rings that caused Sakura's vision to swim, which caused her to be a prime target for her teammate, Zaku, who had metal tubes sticking out of his hands.
The tubes were more than just show, however, as powerful gusts of wind shot out of them and sent Sakura flying backwards into the very tree she was trying to protect. While she slid down to recover, the last member of the group, Dosu, had charged forward and slung his arm towards the girl.
While the blow didn't connect, or even come close to the girl the large metal gauntlet the mummified boy wore on his right arm caused a large wave of sound to cause the girl's ears to suddenly start bleeding, leaving her stunned long enough for Kin to get behind her and grab the girl's long pink hair.
Kin and Zaku were both mocking her now, with Kin hitting the nail right on the head as she said the girl was "Nothing but a girl playing Ninja, hoping for her prince charming to save her." The words cut keep with Sakura as the girl mocked her hair, saying she only kept it long and 'pretty' to attract boys.
It was true, too. The pink haired girl had only left her hair long because she heard Sasuke liked long hair. She only became a Ninja because Ino talked her into it, and then because Sasuke had taken the attention of both the girls...
'And now he's about to die because I'm too useless to protect him.' The girl thought to herself, closing her eyes tightly as tears began to form. Endless visions popped through her mind as she recalled how often she had simply stared at Sasuke instead of training.
How long she had stared at that back, hoping one day to walk along side him?
But she merely waited, and while she waited for that, she found Naruto, the class 'clown' back in the Ninja Academy, had long since passed her. She had been passed by the so called 'dead last' in almost every quality. Even his strategies were a step ahead of hers. She had two backs to look at...
But now, for once, they were counting on her. They were counting on her to save them from death.
'And I've failed them...' The girl's head lowered slowly as she whimpered, though the pain from her hair did not cause the whimper. The pain of failure, a taste she rarely had, was bitter and...
'CHA! What are you talking about!?' The sudden voice caused her eyes to widen as time seemed to slow itself down. 'You are alive! They are alive! Get up! Stand! You don't have time to sit here and cry! Take out these sons of bitches and tear that girl's hair out! Now, Sakura Haruno!' The voice was familiar, and very loud, yet it felt like the first time Sakura had ever really heard it.
But that was unimportant.
The important part... was saving her teammates. At all costs.
The first thing to do was to survey the scene.
Behind her was Kin, keeping Sakura on her knees near the entrance of the tree as she held the girl's neck. The Sound Nin had still not stopped mocking her, but Sakura had long since started to ignore it. Zaku was taking his time heading towards the tree himself and was about half way there in the large circle-like clearing. He was also mocking her and looking back towards Dosu, who stood near the tree line in the back, though Sakura didn't know why.
Dosu was the only one being quiet, yet he too showed his arrogance as he did not so much as glance at Sakura. The only thing to really do now, was wait... and as if on cue, the girl felt the grip on her hair loosen slightly as Kin's head jerked back to laugh at something Zaku said...
Her eyes were closed.
'I'm not as fast as Sasuke.' The girl thought, her hand jolting to the side to grab at her kunai pouch as a plan began to form in her mind. 'I'm not as strong as Naruto.'Her hand shot upwards, slicing off her own hair and shocking the three Sound Nin who had thought the girl had completely given up.
Kin was the most shocked and stunned by the move, as she had been holding onto the hair which was now lacking any weight holding it down, and she had been leaning back as well. Stumbling back, the girl couldn't dodge in time before Sakura's form shot upwards, slicing up the girl's chest with her kunai as pink hair began to blow across the field quickly from a gust of wind.
Kin could only stare in shock with her mouth agape, but it was quickly closed as Sakura's left leg shot upwards from the side, slamming into the side of Kin's head and sending the girl flying to the side towards a tree... which caused her to instantly fall unconscious as she hit against it with surprising force, head first.
"Kin! You bitch!" Zaku's words were almost lost on Sakura in the haze of adrenaline that was shooting through her veins, but it was warning enough to kick herself to the side quickly.
Not quick enough, however, to completely dodge the blast of wind that Zaku sent her way. It clipped her side and made her spin in mid air from the force, but instead of resisting the force, she let herself be guided by it and slammed her kunai into the tree she had been shot towards. She was rather close to the tree Sasuke and Naruto were hiding under, but not quite.
But that didn't matter. The girl used her kunai to pull herself up and she pushed her feet against the thick bark. 'Come on, Sakura! Push all of your chakra into your feet, just like Naruto did back then!' The plan was simple: Get up into the trees.
But Sakura was not known for her chakra amount, only her control. She knew the basics, and knew how to climb trees using only her chakra at her feet. She, and the rest of her team, had been taught that back in Wave and she was the first to master the exercise... though that wasn't too impressive, now that she thought about it.
But now she had to do it the wrong way and use it to her advantage.
She forced as much chakra as she could and then spread it out under her feet. She could feel the bark threatening to break under her feet and her muscles creak as well as the chakra built up...
And then she was off, just in time to dodge another blast of powerful wind from Zaku.
"Damn bitch... Thinking she's gonna run away after that, I'll..!" Zaku was starting to aim towards the trees above, where Sakura had disappeared, when a green blur suddenly shot from the side and went towards him quickly.
Zaku had been lucky Dosu was paying attention, however, as the boy yanked his teammate back from behind just in time to dodge a punch from the green blur, which revealed itself to be Rock Lee of Konoha just a moment later who was glaring fiercely at the two.
Zaku was taken completely by surprise by the sudden movement, and could only sputter as he felt Dosu release him from behind. "W.. What the fuck? Who the hell are you?" Zaku spat out, seeming to completely forget about Sakura for a moment.
"I am the fierce beast of Konoha, Rock Lee!" The young boy shouted, his large eye brows narrowing as he held one hand up towards the two. "I will not allow you to harm another hair on my Sakura-chan's head!" The boy stiffened as if he was about to run forward, when a soft cough from behind caused the boy to pause as he turned his head slightly.
Sakura stood there with a frown on her face, causing the boy to blush slightly at being so close to his crush. While the two had only met briefly, Lee had been smitten by her beauty at the get-go... Though it was mostly the pink hair, if he had to be honest.
"Sakura-Chan! Don't worry, I'll..." Sakura held her hand up as Lee started, but her gaze was locked onto the two past him.
The action caused Lee to pause and his blush to fade as he stared at the intense expression the girl was wearing, with her green eyes staring at the two so hard that Lee was surprised the two didn't burst into flames. "No, Lee. I appreciate it, but this is my fight. I'm tired of looking at someone's back..." She glanced back towards the sleeping forms of her teammates. "Keep an eye on them, if you can. But I'll handle these two."
Zaku, who could only stare at the exchange, suddenly barked out a laugh, "You'll take care of us? You got Kin by surprise, I'll give you that, you trash... But there's no way you can take Dosu and me at the same time! Little Konoha bitch thinks she's suddenly hot shit for taking down someone..." His words earned a sharp glare from Lee and the boy opened his mouth to respond...
When Sakura's hand shot in front of his face as she stepped past him. "Lee. Back up. I'm..." She clenched her fist in front of his face, letting out an audible pop as her muscles clenched. "Going to punch the shit out of him."
There was a brief moment of silence before Lee nodded, jumping back and standing in front of the opening in the tree with his arms closed. "Very well! I will not interfere, no matter what! Let your flames of youth burn, Sakura-Chan!" The girl smirked back at him and nodded, not letting the oddness of his words get to her.
Zaku just rolled his eyes, stepping away from the silent Dosu and putting his hands forward. "Fine, you want to go hard? Let's go hard, hm!" The air seemed to almost shake in front of the boy as he began to channel chakra to his arms, but Sakura didn't bother moving away. She simply walked towards him calmly with a determined frown on her face.
With a loud shout of "TAKE THIS!", Zaku's hands shot out a massive gust of air that swallowed Sakura whole. Thankfully, while the blast covered a large area, it didn't cover a large distance. The wind died down before it reached Lee who crossed his arms in front of his chest, though he had a look of worry on his face as he stared at the massive amount of dust and dirt being thrown into the air.
This kept Sakura's form from view, and Zaku showed no sign of letting up as he laughed loudly, knowing the girl would be ripped to shreds by his technique.
Dosu, however, was not as arrogant as his partner and far more skeptical. The boy moved to give out a warning that the situation was too good to be true, when Sakura suddenly appeared from above and slightly behind Zaku.
The boy had no time to respond as Sakura's fist slammed into the back of his head, sending him towards the ground. But his hands were still shooting powerful gusts of wind, which sunk into the ground a bit as he was sent to the ground. The force sent him flying upwards and straight into the branches above.
One particular branch was rather thick and didn't succumb right away to Zaku's force, and instead blocked the boy from going any higher. But this resulted in his back being bent the wrong way with his chest sticking down towards the ground as his eyes rolled into the back of his head.
The blow also caused the flow of chakra to stop, letting Zaku's hands finally rest and allowed his body to fall towards the ground. Sakura, however, had no intention of actually letting him hit the ground so easily and her foot met the side of his face as he came down, making him twist painfully in the air before falling onto his stomach.
Lowering her foot, Sakura turned her head towards the last remaining member who was frowning under the bandages that covered most of his face. "Like what you see?" Sakura questioned with a playful grin on her face, placing on hand on her hip.
Dosu knew she wasn't referring to her body, but rather her plan. As the dust finally began to settle down from Zaku's attack, he was not surprised to see nothing in the large tear in the ground except for some branches and the remains of some leafs that happened to fall into it.
The girl had used Lee's interruption to her advantage, tricking Zaku and the green boy to thinking that it was the real Sakura by using a mild Genjutsu to create sound waves near it, so it could speak and make noises it wouldn't normally be able to do. The basic Bunshin was only a visual fake, after all. It had no physical presence and could not make any sound. Even the vocal cords didn't work.
But there was, obviously, ways around that and the girl used that to advantage. She hid in the trees and only had the clone come down to throw him and Zaku off, while she climbed through the branches above. The wild life and Zaku's noisy attack kept either of them from hearing her approach either. Having Zaku blast himself up was probably not part of the plan, the girl had no way to know about his technique being that powerful, but it was a welcome bonus, he was sure.
Dosu clicked his tongue slightly. "Seems there's more to you than I thought, but you don't stand a chance against me, at least." Dosu wasn't quite sure of his words, but it would be a shame to his teammates if he didn't at least try to avenge them. With a sudden step forward and a swing of his Melody Arm that he wore, he sent a blast of sound towards the girl...
… Only for her to just stand there and take it without any reaction.
His eye widened as a result and he took a step back. 'No way... Did she already figure out the secret of my melody arm?' As if reading his thoughts, the girl smirked as she poked the side of her head.
"I figured your attack was sound based like that girl over there, especially when I heard more ringing when she didn't throw anymore bells. There are three types of leafs in this forest that are like cotton and easy to roll up into a ball... I just stuffed some in my ears so I can't hear a dang thing." Sakura explained, crossing her arms as she saw Dosu's one revealed eye narrow.
She was not done talking, however, and Dosu had no intention of interrupting. "I will let you take your teammates out of here if you leave your scroll behind and leave us alone. Next time I won't be so gentle. The girl should be fine, my cut was shallow so she won't even have a scar." Dosu wasn't quite sure the girl knew that, since it seemed like a bloody blow from where he had been standing...
But he wasn't quite in the position to deal with her. Even though he was sure he could take her in a fist fight, there was the chance of the green boy in the back stepping in and the Uchiha waking up.
Deciding to take his chance, the boy nodded and pulled out his scroll, tossing it to Sakura who caught it quickly. She stepped back and Dosu wasted no time in collecting Kin first, checking her wound. Sakura did seem to be telling the truth, it was mostly Kin's clothing that took the cut...
But the giant bruise on the side and top of her head was the most pressing matter. The bruise on top was much larger, due to it being from her slamming into a tree, but it didn't seem likely either would leave permanent damage... Although the bruise itself was surprising. The girl didn't look it, but she sure knew how to throw hits. If Dosu had any guess as to how she did it, it was probably her positioning.
The kick she had gave Kin was like out of a scroll, after all. Perfect to the T.
The lack of muscle on her body was made up for with the perfect form, something not even the strongest can really do without a lot of practice. It didn't seem like the girl had too much of that, but...
Well, none of that mattered.
Gathering up Kin, Dosu quickly moved across the field and pulled Zaku over his shoulder while he held Kin with one arm. He gave a brief nod towards Sakura before disappearing into the trees, leaving nothing but a large marking on the ground and a few leafs to show that they were there.
After waiting a few moments to make sure they were gone, Sakura let herself fall to her knees and she plucked the ear plugs made of leafs out of her ears, letting out a sigh of relief. 'I did it... I did it! I … I protected Sasuke-kun and Naruto on my own!' The feeling was refreshing... She wasn't so useless after all.
'Don't let it get to your head.' The sudden voice made her head jerk up slightly. 'You're not walking beside them yet. Work harder. Stay strong. You can't go back to how you were. If you stay weak...' Visions of Orochimaru suddenly invaded her head; images of how easily he had handled Sasuke and Naruto, as if he was toying with them. She had just stood by and watched...
The voice, whatever or whoever it was, was correct. 'I can't go back to just watching their backs because I did something right for once... I need to work harder, I need to plan better. I've got my strengths, things even those two can't do...' The idea that Sasuke couldn't do something was enough to make her stomach jump for a moment, but something seemed to push the feeling away.
The affection she had for Sasuke seemed so... childish now. How could she love someone she didn't really know? And it was obvious the boy had no romantic intentions for her... But if she could just stand beside him, that would be enough.
A sudden hand on her shoulder made her jump and she blinked up towards the grinning face of Rock Lee who was staring down at her. "Yosh! Well done, Sakura-Chan! That was a most youthful display!" Sakura grinned weakly at his response, starting to push herself up to her feet. She blinked as Lee helped her and she gave him a grateful smile.
"Thanks... for both things. But... What are you doing here anyways, Lee? Shouldn't you be with...?" His team. Rock Lee was part of 'Team Gai', a Konoha group made up of Hyuuga Neji and a young girl named Tenten. Both were fairly strong, and Lee himself was able to take down Sasuke with the Sharingan while only using Taijutsu.
The guy was unable to use Ninjutsu of any kind and Genjutsu was just a dream. But his Taijutsu was polished to perfection. Sasuke's Sharingan could not even track it.
Lee, still smiling from Sakura's actions and her words, opened his mouth to respond when both Ninja were interrupted by another voice calling out to them from the trees, "Lee! There you are. Why did you run off all of the sudden?" Neji and Tenten suddenly appeared behind him, both sporting frowns on their faces.
Neji, however, was frowning towards Sakura and ignoring Lee all together as Tenten began to berate him for running off without a word, leaving the two staring at a trail of dust. Neji's clear eyes stared at her without any sign of emotion and Sakura tried to resist shuffling her feet from the intensity of his stare.
She still wasn't used to seeing those eyes, despite having dealt with Hyuuga Hinata back in the academy. All Hyuuga had no pupils in their eyes, leaving just a light gray or lavender in Hinata's case. This was due to their Byakugan which allowed them to see the area around them and view the chakra coils and points inside someone's body...
But even without the Byakugan on, the girl felt like Neji was staring right into her.
"And another thing! You're too noisy! Why didn't you just sneak up on them and punch them in the back if it was that bad!?" Tenten's voice caught her attention and was a welcome distraction from Neji's stare. Lee was rubbing the back of his head, muttering "Sorry..." and Sakura couldn't help but smile, laughing softly which brought Tenten's attention to her.
"It's fine.." The pink haired girl waved her hand dismissively, smiling at Tenten who regarded her with curiosity. "He was a good distraction because he was so noisy." There was a playful tone to her voice and Lee blushed in embarrassment and from being 'praised' by his crush.
Tenten laughed at Sakura's remark and rolled her eyes, " I guess that's one positive, but still..." She shook her head. "Anyways, we should..."
"Wait." Neji suddenly spoke up, his Byakugan spiking to life with the veins on the side of his head growing more intense as he looked towards where Sasuke and Naruto rested. "It seems... we may have another problem." All eyes turned towards where he was looking and Sakura gasped as she saw Sasuke slowly getting to his feet.
But it wasn't the Sasuke she knew.
Black markings covered his face and dark purple chakra was whipping around him like a snake. His Sharingan was also active and seemed to be a darker red than normal as he turned his gaze towards Sakura slowly. The boy stepped over Naruto, who was still fast asleep, keeping his gaze locked on Sakura as he walked. The chakra around him seemed to calm as he walked, disappearing into the air.
The three beside her stiffened slightly, seeming ready to fight if the boy went hostile, but Sakura stepped away from them towards her teammate. "Sasuke... Are you alright?" The concern in her voice made Sasuke pause and he seemed to consider her for a few more moments before responding.
"Sakura... Who did that to you?" He was staring at her hair and at the scars along her exposed arms from when she was attacked by Zaku's wind blades. But the way he said it didn't really have concern in it, but... warning. He seemed to glance at the waiting members of Team Gai, his dark red eyes narrowing slowly. "Was it them?"
The three stiffened, but Sakura hastily waved her hands in the air in front of herself. "No, no. Lee was just helping and they came after him... I chased off the ones that were fighting, no need to worry, Sasuke." The lack of -kun barely registered to either party and Sasuke clicked his tongue, but regarded Sakura with a bit of confusion.
"You chased them off..? Hn..." The slightest smirk seemed to appear on his face and the black markings slowly receded back into the marking on his neck. "They must have been pretty weak, then..." He stared at her while Lee and Tenten bristled beside her, while she was just stared a bit blankly.
A taunt. He was taunting her. Calling her weak. Nothing new there, but the way he said it...
It was the same kind of taunt he'd throw at Naruto.
She smiled playfully and shrugged her shoulders, not letting the taunt get to her. "They were too arrogant, I just got the jump on them. But I got their scroll." She held the scroll up, earning a sharp nod from Sasuke as his eyes shifted away from the Sharingan into the normal onyx shade.
"Hn, fine. We should get to the tower then... Where is..?" She pointed behind him and he let out a huff as he turned to see Naruto snoozing with a bit of drool coming out of the side of his mouth. "Right, I'll get him..." As the Uchiha began to walk away, Sakura turned back towards the three and smiled, bowing slightly.
"Thanks for your help Lee... And since you're moving freely, I'm guessing you guys have your scrolls?" Neji eyed her warily at her words, but Lee was quick to nod, giving her a thumbs up.
"Yosh! We claimed both scrolls just moments after the test started!" The green beast exclaimed, earning a soft sigh from his teammates.
Tenten waved her hand slightly, "What Lee said... and it looks like you have both your scrolls now too. So what do you..?" She let the question hang in the air and Sakura was quick to oblige on answering.
"I was wondering if we could team up to get to the tower." She held her hand up as Neji began to open his mouth, surprising the other two as she placed her other hand on her hip, staring at him. She didn't know Neji too well, but she knew his type... He was a lot like Sasuke, if she was honest with herself. Lee was a lot like Naruto too... just more intense.
Which meant she knew exactly what he was going to say.
"I know, you don't need our help and we're kind of in the bad position here. But there's someone out there... someone extremely strong. That's why those two got knocked out... Someone named Orochimaru attacked us in the forest. I don't think anyone here can handle him." Neji frowned at his words being predicted, but his eyes widened slightly at the name 'Orochimaru.' Lee just had a confused look on his face and Tenten was visibly shaking from the name.
"Orochimaru attacked you? Why would he be here?" Sakura just shook her head at Tenten's question.
"I've got no idea. I think he was after Sasuke, but..." She rubbed her head slightly. "I don't know, he was pretty cryptic..." She let out a sigh, looking towards Sasuke who was walking over with Naruto walking beside him. The blonde was nursing a large bruise on his head and pouting as he walked towards them with his body hunched over slightly.
"Ow... you didn't have to hit so hard, teme..." The whiskered boy muttered, grumbling softly but for once seeming to tired to yell about it.
"You wouldn't wake up." Was the simple reply as the pair stopped in front of the group. "So, what's the plan?" He seemed... eager to leave, despite having just woken up, but Sakura ignored it.
She gestured towards Team Gai with her left hand, keeping the right on her hip. "Well, if they agree, then we'll head towards the tower with them." Sasuke let out a soft 'hn' with his eyes narrowing slightly.
"We don't need to..."
"We do." She interrupted, holding her finger up and the two boys blinked up at her as she glared at them. "You two are tired, and who knows if we'll run into Orochimaru again? Plus we don't know what those seals he put on you guys does..." Naruto paled slightly at 'seal', glancing down at his stomach while Sasuke palmed the spot on his neck.
She smirked a bit at their expressions and turned back towards Neji. "So? Do you mind?" The boy stared at her for a few more moments before sighing, nodding his head, earning a surprised look from Tenten and a large grin from Lee.
"Fine... But don't slow us down."
Sakura smiled, nodding her head. "Good! We should get going before we attract attention. I'm sure that idiot's attack caused a lot of people to head our way."
Neji nodded his head slightly in response, his Byakugan activating as Lee pumped his fist up into the air. "Yosh! Let us go then, my youthful companions! Our friendship will lead us to victory and to becoming Chunin!" Sakura chuckled a bit nervously as Naruto pumped his own fist into the air, letting out a "Yosh!" in excitement.
Tenten sighed, shaking her head as Neji let out a soft 'hm' with his Byakugan deactivating. "There was someone nearby, but they're out of my vision or left awhile ago. I only saw foot tracks of a group. Let's get going before they return." The group nodded and set off for the trees, heading for the tower.
Sakura was pulled back slightly by Tenten, and the two began to engage in a small conversation, both lamenting about the similarities between their groups. The only real difference was the abilities of the group... Sasuke and Neji brought up the rear and only Sasuke noticed Neji glance back into the clearing they had just left.
"Something wrong?" The Uchiha questioned, wondering if someone was following them by chance.
Neji just smirked, shaking his head. "No, Uchiha. You... just have an interesting teammate." This got him a confused look from Sasuke, but the boy had no intention of going further and he sped up to catch up to the rest of the group to keep Sasuke from inquiring further.
In truth, Neji had not just saw footsteps from another, unseen group... But he also saw the numerous traps that had been laid above and how exactly they had been placed. If not for his Byakugan, it was unlikely he would have actually seen them, but...
There was several traps set up to take out Dosu if he had not agreed to Sakura's demand, and even a rope trap near the entrance of the tree Sasuke and Naruto had been resting in. They were all set up with small ropes that could be cut at any time with a thrown kunai, or by pulling on one of the many ropes hidden under thin piles of dirt.
'That girl... She's not strong, nor will she ever be. That is not her fate. But...' Neji smirked slightly, staring at Sakura's back as the girl talked with Tenten as the group jumped through the tree branches. 'She has a clever mind, I'll give her that.'
The group continued on for a few hours in a rather peaceful manner. The only conflict had been a few words between Naruto and Sasuke regarding who's 'fault' it was that Sakura cut her hair. That had been resolved with a swift fist into the back of Naruto's head and an explanation that she had 'cut it to escape the enemy' so it was her own fault for getting caught.
It got a smirk and admiring gaze from Sasuke too, so it was apparently the 'right' thing to say. Naruto had only pouted, and Lee stated she looked good with short hair too.
Which was flattering, but it took three sentences for him to get to the point.
Now the group was running through the darker portion of the forest, being rather close to the tower now and several small rivers and streams were beginning to grow larger as they came from the source, which was a large river that came from outside the forest and went under the tower in the center.
"We're nearing the end of the second day, which means..." Tenten stated, holding her finger up with a smirk as the group walked along the bottom of the forest now. They had decided that it was too dark to go by tree branches, due to hidden wires and traps that they could run into.
"Which means we're allowed to enter the tower, right?" Sakura finished, smiling at the girl who grinned with a nod.
"Yep! So we're almost done. Which is great, this forest was getting annoying." Sakura nodded her consent while glancing around slowly.
Something seemed... off about the forest they were walking through now. It was... too quiet, and too...
Her eyes widening, Sakura jerked to a stop and held her hand out. "Wait.." The group paused at her order and she frowned as she walked up to the nearest tree, placing her hand on it. "I've... seen this tree before. I noticed it had claw marks on it, probably from a wolf or something..." Naruto scratched his head, frowning towards the girl.
"Eh? There's lots of stuff like that around here... But..." He frowned, seeming to connect the dots as to what Sakura was saying. "They never look or feel exactly the same." No one really wanted to know how he knew that, but in truth Naruto had spent quite a bit of time in the forest while he was younger. Not this particular forest, mind you, but there wasn't much difference between forests.
His pink haired teammate nodded and looked back at the group with a frown. "We're in a Genjutsu."
At her words, Sasuke, Neji, and Tenten all formed the 'release' seal and the air seemed to shimmer around the group before the trees shifted slightly in their vision. They were now in a completely different part of the forest, but not too far from where they thought they were.
"Hn, it seems someone wanted to ambush us..." With his Byakugan springing to life, Neji let out a 'tch' of annoyance. "Clones are starting to form. Get ready." On cue, a large amount of clones began to form on the trees and on the ground, seeming to form slowly with the head forming forest and finishing with the feet.
Each clone appeared to be from the same group, and they were all wearing very similar outfits. The headbands for 'Ame', or the 'Village Hidden in the Rain', was shining on their head and each clone had slightly tall spiky brown hair, with the exception of one set of clones that had their headband keeping their hair down underneath.
Each clone had white bands covering their eyes, though some seemed to have one or two eyes revealed, and gray breathing masks on their mouths. Their outfits were a tan and rather tight looking one piece outfit that was stitched up the center to keep it closed.
There was at least thirty, if not more, clones and they quickly sprung towards the group to attack.
Lee was the first to respond with his fist flying through one and his leg flying through another, but both just turned to water and fell to the ground. "Water clones!" He stated, his fist going through another that tried to attack him.
Neji and Sasuke were in a similar state, both hitting away any that came towards them with Sasuke mostly focusing on kicks and Neji simply poking them twice which made their chakra-held bodies explode from the back.
Sakura clicked her tongue as she stepped beside Tenten who threw a few kunai, nailing five of them in the head and making them disperse. But with each one that fell, another two seemed to form in its place...
"They're just trying to tire us out." Sakura muttered, looking back and forth while dodging a punch from one of the clones and slamming her fist into the clone's gut. 'We need a plan... and fast. The first thing to do is locate the targets...' Textbooks. She had practically memorized everything she could back then, and maybe now it would come in handy.
All that really mattered was if she used them correctly... and if anyone actually listened.
Location. Byakugan. "Neji!" The boy turned his gaze towards her slightly as she said his name, casually dodging and destroying another clone as he did. "Can you locate the originals?"
He gave her a slightly annoyed stare and sighed, nodding as he activated his Byakugan again. He had turned it off after the clones appeared, due to the chakra in the air being slightly annoying to deal with... But he'd never tell her that.
After a quick glance left and right, the boy sighed slightly, keeping his voice low so the owner's of the clones could not hear him. "One is a bit above us in the trees, almost directly above my head and far ahead of Lee." Lee had moved quite a bit back, knocking clones out with a single blow, which kept the clones from telling their creators that they had been found out.
Mizu Bunshin (Or Water Clones) were very similar to the Kage Bunshin (Shadow Clones) that could relay information to their creator... But the clones were being taken out too fast to really register any of their voices, and unlike the Kage version, they did not relay information by dying, only through voice. Kage Bunshin, on the other hand, gave their 'experience' to their creator by death.
Neji turned his gaze forward, staring past Tenten in front of him who had spread a scroll open and was using it to create an almost endless supply of kunai and shuriken to throw at the clones. "The other is far past us... And the third is outside my vision." Sakura nodded her head, rubbing her chin thoughtfully as she thought of a plan.
"Hmm... Alright..." She nodded. "Give Tenten directions on the one in front of her. Naruto!" She turned towards the boy, who was on the left side of the group and stumbling slightly at the sudden call of his name as his hand went through one of the many clones.
He turned and gazed at her curiously, "Eh? Yeah, Sakura-Chan?" He seemed... surprised that she called him out and almost a little pale.
'Must still be recovering...' The pinkette thought to herself before responding, "Make as many clones as you can to fight them off. Neji and Tenten need to focus." The boy grinned and nodded, putting his hands together in his favorite, and most used, seal.
"Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!" The cry was loud, but the pop of smoke was not even close as three clones formed beside him. He blinked in surprise and Sakura could only stare in slight shock. The boy was known for his almost endless chakra supply and the last time she saw him use that Jutsu, it made nearly a hundred clones perfectly. To only make three...
Something was wrong, very wrong, with Naruto's chakra. 'It must be that seal on his stomach. If only I knew more about it... Well...' A change of plan was needed. If Naruto couldn't use a lot of clones, she'd make him use them in a smart way. But how to word it?
Naruto himself seemed visibly upset with the lack of numbers and let out another shout of "Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!" which formed five clones this time, adding to the remaining three. Naruto was extremely pale now, however, and seemed to be panting slightly. "D... Damn it, what is going on?" He muttered slightly, glaring angrily at the clones who seemed confused as well.
But time was of the essence and Sakura couldn't let him sulk about it too much. "Never mind that, just use all the kunai and shuriken you can with them on clones away from us. Have the rest try to land sneak attacks from behind the clones. Alright?" A sharp nod was his answer and Sakura smiled at him. "We'll figure out what's wrong with your chakra once we're out of danger."
Another nod, but this one Sakura didn't bother watching as she turned and ran towards Lee who had just back handed one of the clones, sending a spray of water onto a nearby tree. "Lee!" He had already sensed her and was glancing back with a warm smile, even as his fist went through another clone. "Toss me up into the trees!"
The 'Green Beast' was surprised by the sudden request, but nodded. "Hai, Sakura-Chan!" He turned towards her, his leg going through three clones as he spun, and cupped his hands low. Sakura jumped as she reached him, placing both of her feet onto his hands.
A moment later, she slightly regretted choosing Lee for this part of the plan as the boy blushed from Sakura being so close to his body... and proceeded to toss her up with all of his strength, rather than a careful amount. This sent the pink haired Kunoichi flying like a rocket up into the trees, breaking through several branches on her way up.
Thankfully, unlike Zaku, she had rather good luck and flew past the thick branches rather than into them. The girl was careful not to make much sound either, despite the screams that wanted to come out as she felt herself fall onto one of the thick upper branches.
She allowed herself a moment to catch her breath as she laid on top of it before shaking her head, moving slowly as she raised up and planted her feet onto the wood below. There were leaves everywhere, making it hard to see, but Sakura had a very clear idea of where she was in regards to everyone else.
'Neji said that one was just above him, but far behind Lee. He was probably the one in charge of the Genjutsu.' An assumption, but that meant he may toss one at her if she let him.
She just had to make sure not to give him the chance.
Carefully straightening herself, the Kunoichi began to climb slowly across the branches, using her training to stick her hands and feet to trees to keep herself active. It was possible the Ninja up here had heard or seen her being tossed, but she doubted it with how thick the branches and leaves were around here. She could barely make out the sounds of battle from where she was, and she had only seen one flash of a gray outfit underneath her.
'No need to think of what if, though. I just need to find him.' As if on queue, the girl saw the back of one of the Ame Nin, staring down through an opening in the branches with a kunai clasped in his right hand. She couldn't see his face from here, but she could see his brown spiky hair above his head, along with the slight edge of some sort of mask he was wearing.
Sakura allowed herself a small smirk as she pulled a kunai out from her pouch, moving closer to the boy slowly. As she got in arms reach, the Ninja began to pull his hand back as if he was about to throw the kunai downward.
Not wanting to chance him harming a teammate, Sakura shot forward and gripped his wrist with her left hand and using the force to slam his hand downward, pushing the boy's kunai into the branch near his feet. He let out a surprised gasp as she put the kunai in her own hand up to his neck, staring down at him slightly as her feet rested on a thinner branch right behind his.
Sakura put her head close to his, pushing the kunai closer to his neck as she saw his left hand twitch to act. "Don't even think about it, boy. Dispel the clones and let go of that kunai... Hand us your scroll too, and you can go." She definitely didn't enjoy threatening the boy, but the way he shivered sent a bit of excitement up her spine.
It felt nice to be scaring someone else for a change.
The boy didn't answer her and she frowned slightly, pushing her kunai harder against his neck while her other hand squeezed his wrist. "You can't escape, and I've got no qualms about killing you." A complete lie, of course, but he didn't need to know that. "Just surrender and make it easy on yourself."
After a few moments, the boy slowly nodded and Sakura smiled, feeling him let go of the kunai she forced him to stab into the tree. She yanked his arm up, just in case he tried to grab for it again, and gripped his wrist with her right hand this time, still holding the kunai close to his neck with that same hand.
"Now, down we go..." She gripped his other hand, putting it behind his back and lifting him up to his feet. She blinked a bit as the boy glared back at her with his two eyes clearly visible, which did match one set of the clones underneath. "Dispel your clones too. I know you don't need seals for it."
The boy just glared more and she rolled her eyes slightly. "Going to be difficult..." She huffed and suddenly shrugged, pushing the boy forward with a smile, holding his wrists tightly as she pushed him off the branch and let his feet dangle over the opening he had been staring through before.
Panicking from the sudden loss of a foot hold and his arms being held high above his head, the boy began to thrash around. "W.. What! You crazy bitch, let go! Dammit..!" He glared angrily up at her, but paled with his eyes widening as he stared up at her wide smile.
"Alright."
That was his only warning before Sakura simply let go of his wrists, causing him to yell out in panic as he fell from the tree tops onto the rough ground below...
Right in the middle of a battle field.
But he was a sturdy Ninja and was already pushing himself up before anyone really registered he was there. However, while his strong body could account for an argument with gravity, it could not account for a young pink haired girl to drill her knees into his back.
With a loud yelp of pain, the boy fell onto his face with his eyes closed and all of the clones that appeared as he did began to pop out of existence. Sakura huffed as she got to her feet again, though she quickly began to dig through the man's pouches for his scroll and smiled as she pulled out the opposite scroll that Dosu had given them. This meant they had the Heaven and Earth Scroll and could pass the exam, since the teams all needed both to open the tower.
Orochimaru had... eaten theirs, or had simply tossed it away, so she was glad they weren't going to be held back because of something like that.
The girl gave the battle field a quick look around, noting that Tenten was dragging back the other clone user that only had one eye revealed and his hair covered, while Neji walked beside her. Lee was running up to her with a large grin and Sasuke was supporting Naruto who was very pale and panting heavily as they moved towards Sakura.
Lee was, of course, the first to reach her. "Nice job, Sakura-Chan! Your flames of youth burn brightly! To have taken another one down all on your own..!" Sakura resisted the urge to drill her finger in her ear as the boy yelled beside her and gave him a weak smile instead.
"Ah... Thank you, Lee... I wasn't alone, though. You all helped me a bit." His smile got even wider and brighter at her words. As he opened his mouth to speak, she hastily began to move towards the rest of the group. Naruto leaning on Sasuke was her first target and she frowned as she reached the two, "What happened, Naruto?"
The blonde turned his blue eyes away from the girl, seeming ashamed or about to be sick as he looked at the ground. Sasuke clicked his tongue slightly, glancing down at the boy he was holding onto. "The idiot tried making a bunch of clones after the first few got popped." There was more annoyance than usual in Sasuke's voice, but Sakura pushed it aside as she stepped closer to them.
She hummed staring at Naruto's pale face as his eyes glanced between her and Sasuke, who's annoyed expression seemed to fall into a more neutral one as he noticed Naruto's eye darting around. Sakura smiled to herself at the bit of concern she noted in Sasuke's own gaze, but focused on Naruto as she began to dig through her kunai pouch.
"He's got chakra exhaustion." Sakura announced, causing both boys to arch their eyebrows in surprise. Naruto had never got chakra exhaustion, especially not from forming clones. Sakura, noting their alarm, quickly explained. "It's probably from whatever Orochimaru did to him. We'll have to ask Kakashi-Sensei. But first, eat this." The order was followed up by dropping a red pill into Naruto's hand, who stared at it oddly before his eyes lit up in recognition.
A soldier pill. One of the many ways Ninja over time had learned how to restore chakra to their own bodies, though it was temporary. Not only that, but the method forced chakra out of the body itself, to keep it from being foreign chakra, which meant that taking more than one could be deadly. The body needed chakra in itself to live, after all.
Sakura nodded as Naruto popped it into his mouth, chewing slowly and making a sour face from the bitter taste the pill had. Still, just one bite into the pill seemed to restore the coloring of his skin and he pulled off Sasuke with a brief nod of thanks towards the boy.
"That should last you until we get to the tower." Sakura stated, looking around to see where Team Gai had gone, noting it was too quiet when Lee had been just beside them.
She smiled at them as they were all waiting patiently by the tree that had alerted them to the Genjutsu, with Tenten snipping at Lee for getting a cut on his shoulder. "You shouldn't use any chakra until then, Naruto. I don't know how long that pill will last you."
Naruto nodded again, rubbing at the back of his head. "Sorry, Sakura-Chan. I should have listened to you and waited." Sakura shrugged in response, starting to head towards Team Gai while Sasuke rubbed at his neck.
"It's not a big deal, just be careful. We can't have..." She paused as they reached the other team, noticing Neji staring at her with his eyes slightly narrowed. The pink haired Genin tilted her head slightly at the boy, letting out a "What?" in confusion.
Neji's gaze grew a little harder as he studied the girl, before he glanced back towards her teammates. "It seems we're doing more babysitting work than working together, here." The boy noted, getting a slightly annoyed look from Sasuke, while Naruto just blinked.
Tenten huffed, poking at Neji's arm. "Don't be like that. Sakura took one down, and those two kept me from being smacked around by those clones." Neji sighed slightly, glancing over at his teammate.
"Yes, before one fell over after apparently getting chakra exhaustion and the other clutched his neck and nearly got blind sided." Now the boys of Team 7 were both staring at him, though Sasuke's neutral expression gave nothing away while Naruto rubbed the back of his head slightly. "We're just babysitting at this point."
Lee frowned at his teammate, an action mirrored by Tenten. "You're being most unyouthful, Neji. Why, if not for Sakura-Chan, then we would still..!"
"It's fine, Lee." Sakura suddenly interrupted, speaking up as she stepped in front of the neutral Uchiha who was grabbing at his neck. The white around Sasuke's knuckles alarmed her, as it told her how hard he was gripping his skin, but he showed no pain or anger on his face...
'Which probably means he's pissed.'Sakura's other half noted, which the girl couldn't disagree with. There were faint signs of Naruto being upset as well, but he was hiding it with a grin of embarrassment. 'It's amazing how many little details you missed before, Pinky.' The Voice teased.
Again, she couldn't disagree. The slight clinching of his teeth, the way his fingers curled each time he scratched at his head... And even the way his eyes were clinched were signs that Naruto was getting very upset. Thankfully, there were also signs of his recovery, as his skin had already regained a healthy shade. His recovery time had always been very swift.
The pink haired Kunoichi cleared her mind as she stared at the harsh pale eyes in front of her... and she slowly bowed slightly. "I'll admit we're relying on you more than you're relying on us. But in truth, I think staying with us is your best course of action if you want to get to the tower quickly." Neji's eyes narrowed slightly and he let out a slight grunt, and Sakura opened her mouth to continue...
But Neji beat her to the punch. "Yes, I know that a larger number of people will keep others from trying to attack us, unless we walk into their trap." Sakura's eyes widen slightly at the boy's observation, surprised that he had figured out what she was going to say. The surprise on her face apparently amused him, as his the corner of his lips turned upwards slightly. "But..."
A slight bit of … competitiveness found its way to Sakura's heart, and she hastily interrupted before he could continue his own thought. "But you feel that we're holding you back more than pushing you forward, with two of us being crippled." Neji blinked once, causing Sakura's own lips to tilt into a grin as she saw the flash of surprise in his eyes.
The other Genin exchanged slightly confused expressions at the competitive sparkle in the eyes of Neji and Sakura, with the irritated feeling of Team 7's boys disappearing as they did. Sasuke even let go of his neck as his anger faded, just as Sakura spoke up again.
"But we haven't held you back yet, Neji-San, so let's keep going together. If we get into a position where saving us wouldn't be a benefit for you, then you have permission to leave us behind. We'll manage." Sakura's words caused a slight smirk to appear on Sasuke's face, while Naruto just scratched his cheek.
Tenten was openly gaping at her fellow Kunoichi, surprised that she would give permission to be abandoned. And Lee...
"I refuse!" The young Green Beast shouted, his fist in the air. "I vowed to protect you, Sakura-Chan! I would never just..."
"Fine." Neji interrupted, uncrossing his arms as Lee turned a harsh gaze towards him. But Neji knew he wouldn't say anything... Not when the boy knew he could take him out with two strikes. "I'll accept that condition. So don't expect to be saved if anything happens." Neji's 'warning' was slightly negated with the bit of respect sparkling in his eye, though it was missed by all but Sakura as he turned away to look back towards the tower.
Sakura just grinned.
Despite the conflict the group had with Team Gai "babysitting" Team 7, it seemed that just moving together had lowered the conflict rate by a large margin. The Oboro Brothers the group had left back at the "Genjutsu Tree", as Sakura mentally labeled it, had been the only group willing to fight a group of six.
That they actually ran into, at least.
The only other group they had found had been instantly cowed into surrendering under the harsh gaze of two powerful Clan members. Even without the Sharingan or Byakugan active, the idea of them enough sent the team begging to be forgiven for even trying to come close to them.
'Bunch of cowards.' The Voice had growled out in Sakura's mind. 'Probably just said that to make their reasoning for leaving not seem so weak, but... Could have at least tried.' The rant had not ended there, and caused Sakura a bit of a headache, but she kept it off her face as the group made their way through the forest...
And, finally, they arrived at the tower.
Chapter.. End!
There's actually a bit more to the story, but not enough for a full chapter without a lot of work! I decided to just cut it off here. Heck, that's 18 pages anyways!
Honestly, this one was a guilty pleasure. I always loved the potential Sakura had. I hate her canon character with a passion, but she had so much potential that just went to waste. If she just put her temper behind herself and really put in some effort to change... She could have become something great.
But she didn't. So I wrote a story where she did. Or at least part of one.
Now unlike Naruto, in canon and in Tales Of The Kunoichi, Sakura wouldn't be a brawler. She doesn't have much chakra. She doesn't have much of anything, really, except control. She'd have to use her mind more than I make Naruto do so in my main story. Sakura's fighting style would have been careful planning and execution of techniques, or seals, unlike Naruto who runs mostly off instinct.
A more serious Sakura... How would the series change? Would Sakura beat Ino? Would she even fight Ino?
… The answer to that one is yes, sorry for the spoiler.
But how would she do it? And then, how would she handle the monsters she'd go against if she did win? Naruto, Sasuke, Shikamaru, Shino... Gaara. Could Sakura have matched up to any of those guys?
Who knows! I do, having the plot up until Shippuden written down for this one in a script, but I'm not saying! Tell me what you thought!