A/N:
Yo guys, I've gotten my hands on a lil' time so I thought I could write the next chapter.
Also I'd like to thank you for the favs and follows, they mean lots to me!
Aaand I still don't own Naruto.
Recap:
Hearing a cry of 'Nii-san' Sakura and Itachi turned to see Sasuke running toward them. When he arrived he grabbed Itachis hand and tugged on it while shooting Sakura a glare.
"Come on nii-san, I'm hungry."
Itachi's response was to chuckle at his brothers antics and turn around towards the exit of the academy field. He turned his head and waved at Sakura over the shoulder before calling back "Don't grow up too fast Haruno-chan."
Sakura could only stare at their retreating backs before turning toward the source from where her name was being called. Running towards her parents she threw another glance at the Uchiha brothers only to find them already gone.
'Interesting.'
Over.
After arriving home and changing in a simple red T-shirt and blue, bellow the knee, pants she ran out with a shout to her parents 'Going to the library to study'. The library wasn't that far away from her home, maybe 5 minutes give or take. Speeding inside and asking for information at which section are books filled with information needed to her she quickly gathered as much material she could carry and headed to a table that had good lighting.
Her eyes breezed over the texts and pictures until she stumbled upon a picture with a detailed sketch of a person with slumped shoulders and a bowed head. There were other sketches next to it with different facial expressions and/or hand gestures.
'Shame, huh?'
Her eyes squinted as she tried to remember Sasuke's exact body language that very day. Thank god for her memory.
'Shame is characterized by devastating and paralyzing feelings of self-condemnation, disgust, anger and inferiority and the pronounced desire to withdraw and disappear.' *
But why would Sasuke feel ashamed? The teacher praised his brother, shouldn't he be proud? Her mind ran over endless possibilities. She sat there contemplating the information for about half an hour before coming back to her senses. She shook her head before diving agin in the books.
'I'll have to find a dictionary too.'
By the time her research was done and she headed home it was already starting to darken, the sun halfway disappearing. Her litttle feet carried her as fast as they could towards her home. There were a lot of people around, the Konoha climate leaving them with a pleasant evening a lot of adults took advantage of.
Her big round orbs strayed from one person to another as she strayed around their feet feeling like dancing instead of evading. Her eyes wistfully looked over the rooftops imagining how easy it would be just to hop over them. Her train of thought was stopped, just like her legs, and her mouth made a small 'o' as she saw few ninja quickly dart over the roofs in the path towards their Hokage.
She would've continued to search for more ninja had some one not clipped her shoulder and made her stumble forward barely catching herself. She sent a glare towards the lady scowling at her but she composed herself and sped of.
After a dinner filled with lame jokes, courtesy of her father, and a lecture about respecting her curfew, by her mother, she took a quick bath and changed into her pajamas.
Crawling under the covers and finding the most comfortable position she closed her eyes and tried to fall asleep. But sleep came to her only after a few hours when she was finished with her new plans on hardening her body.
The following months were spent carefully planned. Her training regime was harsh but her books and scrolls told her it was most efficient. She researched almost, if not every, training method that could be found in the Konoha Shinobi library in the sector that had books allowed to all ranks. Exploring about every method individually than extracting the best ones and combining them into one she had made the one most suited for her.
In the early morning she would be awoken by her father and stretch before practicing her shuriken and kunai aim with him in the back on the veranda sipping tea and shouting words of encouragement or pointers. After that she would go bathe and dress for school as her mother and father busied themselves in the kitchen preparing her a healthy and nutritious breakfast ("Like all ninjas eat so they can be strong, Sakura-chan!"), and lunchbox.
After the academy she would stay with Ino and play for an hour in the park, or the fields before running to the library for an hour to study about body language, hand gestures and facial expressions. After that she would go home eat a light snack before meditating and expanding her chakra for about an hour and a half, then she would practice taijutsu and building up her stamina with both her mother and father.
Telling her parents about her plan to become the best Shinobi was her best decision. They supported her and seeing as they were both ex-shinobi, retired after her birth, they both gave her tips and information that could be only found in the field. Her mother was a Tokubetsu Jonin, or a Special Jonin, who was well known and highly respected for being in a part of Iryō-han, Konohas medical team, and she had an amazing set of skills in her sleeves just waiting to pass them onto her daughter who had chakra control as good, or better, than her already.
Her father was a Jonin who was famed for his Shurikenjutsu. He would've continued with shinobi duties a few years after Sakura's birth but on his last mission, when his Mebuki was still pregnant with Sakura, he got an injury that had damaged his tendons and nerves in his left knee, after hiding it and refusing treatment the damage was done rendering him useless for further field work.
It was approximately six months since she last spoke to Uchiha Itachi, she turned 7 and just finished her 1st year at the academy. The amount of work she placed in her ongoing training had placed her on top of almost all of her classes. Her best friend cheered her on and event went and proclaimed herself as her rival. Sakura was still ahead of her since she started earlier and she had no clan jutsu to focus and spend majority of her time on.
The boost in her skill and strength also gave her a boost of self confidence. She wasn't shy like she was before, sure her cheeks went ablaze when someone gave her a weird look or said something inappropriate but she made sure to keep her emotions mostly in check. After studying on human behavior she better understood how to hide her own expressions and intentions. She was almost like a porcelain doll in the presence of others beside her parents, Ino and In's parents.
She observed everyone around her critically, exploring their weaknesses and strengths. She took in details around her, always keeping an eye on her surroundings. She was going to be the best, and in order to be the best she needed to best the rest.
"Oh Mebuki, don't you think we went about this the wrong way?" The voice was thick with emotion, the slight tremble gave his sorrow away. His baby girl is growing up too fast.
The woman in question turned around to fix her dark green eyes on the deep blue ones of her husband. "Kizashi, she applied to a shinobi academy. We may have started a little soon with the training but it will ensure that she lives longer."
The scandalized man turned to his wife with a furious look. "What the hell are you talking about Mebuki?! We could've sent her to the hospital to be a med nin or- or to work somewhere in an office or- or a laboratory!"
The woman only shook her head and sadly gazed at her daughter entering the academy with Ino. "You know her the best Kizashi. Once she sets her mind on something it's over. There is nothing that will change her mind. If she wants to become the best shinobi then she will. I know it. But she needs time, time to learn to defend herself and fight, fight so she can gain experience and so no one can beat her."
"You are putting too much faith in her dream Mebuki."
"Am I putting too much? Or are you not giving enough?"
"Mebuki, do you really believe that she will rise so high to become the best? The daughter of the first shinobi in both sides of their civilian families?"
"I have to Kizashi. She's my daughter, so if she believes than so will I."
"Aa. Let's go home Mebuki."
"Aa."
Sakura was very uncomfortable.
Correction, she was extremely uncomfortable. At the beginning of the second year Sakura promised herself she would lay low and not attract too much attention to herself. The element of surprise was her best friend.
But now...
She was on the receiving end of all the female classmates evil glares. Well, almost all. Ino was shooting her sympathy filled glances and smiles that didn't reach her large baby blue eyes. Sakura knew why. Ino was afraid of her classmate currently seated on her left and in love with the one on her right.
The pink haired child sighed twirling a strand of her rose colored hair that now reached to the middle of her shoulder blades before glancing at the loud blonde on her left. He was a boy her age, younger by a few months, with short spiked hair, large ocean blue eyes and three whisker like marks on each cheek. He was quite cute and had a warm aura around him.
She never understood why everyone avoided him like a plague, but she swore she'd find out seeing his smile dim at the whispers around him of 'demon', 'monster' and such.
The boy in her right was a completely different story. He was the schools heartthrob, even if he had no idea about it. The black hair that was shorter at the back with longer side bangs reaching to his chin and ones covering his forehead to stop above his coal black eyes. The high collar of his clan's traditional black shirt covered his mouth as he crossed his arms over his chest, huffing in annoyance.
'What have I gotten myself into?'
*I used the line from the book 'Shame : Interpersonal Behavior, Psychopathology, and Culture' edited by Paul Gilbert and Bernice Andrews. So yeah that line belongs to that book, just wanted to put that out here.
Also, I'd like to know your opinions on this story so far, so, if you can, leave a review.
Also about pairings: I haven't decided yet. I was going with SakuxMulti in the beginning and than later I could pair her up with someone, but I'm not sure.
Hope you enjoyed it!