Haruno Sakura slowly began to become conscious. She unconsciously felt that she was not in the training area she and Naruto had been in, but rather, was covered and laid down in her soft, comfy bed. Feeling the bit of anxiousness we all feel in the morning when we realize that we cannot stay asleep any longer (or keep trying, but find that it doesn't work), she began to slowly open her eyes.
While everything before her started as a blur, she blinked once or twice, and things became clear.
Very clear.
For no apparent reason, her mind had never felt as peaceful as it did right then. Naruto? Yes, yes, he had done something to her, but she knew he had a good explanation for it. After all, he had made Sakura feel so free. No worry about going to the academy today, it was a Sunday. Wonder how Sasuke was.
And then Sakura thought, 'well how about Sasuke?'
She had laid back down on the bed, her eyes idly staring at her white ceiling. Sasuke? Well, he was good looking sure. A good Shinobi most likely. Has the emotions of a tapeworm though.
Sakura then gasped. Was she really thinking about Sasuke in such a way? Yes, yes. The more she thought about this, the more her mind sped up.
Is Sasuke a nice guy? Not really.
Does he ever just try to be nice? Not that I've seen.
Does he ever talk with anyone in a tone other than annoyed? No.
Does he seem arrogant?
Why is he so closed off?
Is he really worth all this hassle?
Can you ever reach him?
Do you really love him, or is it just infatuation?
That thought cut deep. With that, Sakura finally realized what her mind and her heart had been trying to tell her, constantly battled by hormones, her peers and a desire to be seen as someone who had something worthy.
She had never been in love with Sasuke, just the idea she had had of him.
I wanted to prove myself. I wanted to show that I was strong, stronger than those girls who had bullied me, stronger than Ino who had to save me!
But…
That's not really being strong. That's just being arrogant and selfish. Even if I spent a decade trying and trying to get Sasuke, would they even care anymore?
Would I?
Continuing to think, Sakura idly thought of Naruto again. He had said this might have been a curse or a blessing. In a way, it was both. She was quite angry with him for doing such a thing even though she had never asked for it. She had never shown Naruto what her 'Inner Sakura' could do, but she felt it was just punishment for such a thing.
However…
He HAD helped her. Their contract didn't specify HOW exactly the blonde was supposed to help her, just that it did. It was a good lesson, in a way, especially for Shinobi.
Naruto also didn't seem like the type of person who would willingly hurt her. He was shy, serious, and a much sweeter guy than she had thought possible. He had helped her get stronger, and was able to cater to her training needs in a way much better than those at the academy.
Feeling this immense train of thought begin to wear off, Sakura began to wonder especially about this infamous Tatsu Naruto was always talking about.
Tatsu-sensei says to always be nice when you meet a person, even if they seem disconcerting.
Tatsu-sensei told me always to be nice to pretty girls.
Tatsu-sensei made me who I am.
She had no idea who this Tatsu was, as he was certainly no Shinobi, (as Naruto had told her) but from Naruto's descriptions of the man, she always pictured him as a wise old sage, deep in some mountain. Briefly, she entertained thoughts of Naruto being raised in a monastery and meditating bald. She stifled her giggles, and decided enough was enough.
Especially when her rumbling stomach reminded her that it was time for breakfast.
After eating quite a good deal more than she usually had for breakfast, (Sakura had finally realized that she could use more energy if she was to take training more seriously.) Sakura began to look for Naruto. She didn't know exactly where he lived, but it was somewhere near the east side of town she had heard. However, after a long time searching, Sakura found that Naruto was nowhere in the city itself, so of course he was at THEIR training ground.
Indeed, Naruto stood leaning against a wooden pole. Rather than his normally calm smile however, he looked rather forlorn and sad. Sakura came forward, confused.
"Naruto…hi."
"Sakura-san… I… I… I'm sorry!" Naruto let out tearfully.
Eyes widening in surprise, Sakura gaped while Naruto went on.
"I had no right to tamper with your mind, even if it was to help! You're my first, and best friend!"
He continued to rant and rave until finally, Sakura lost her temper and let out a little bit of 'Inner Sakura'.
"GET AHOLD OF YOURSELF! SHANNARO!"
This punch apparently was enough to get Naruto out of his self-pity, and he became even more surprised when Sakura give him a tight hug.
"Next time you want to help with something… just ask me, okay?"
"Um…sure."
Feeling quite liberated, both at realizing that she had become stronger, and that her friend was feeling better, Sakura was hit with determination.
"Naruto…-kun, can you think of anything else to help us become stronger?" she asked.
Naruto smiled. "As a matter of fact…"
Although Naruto and Sakura had by this point already surpassed the requirements to become Genin, they continued to train diligently.
Naruto's Chakra control improved a great deal, although he still wasn't able to perform a proper Bushin no Jutsu, as the ability required such little Chakra that he would need a level of control even better than that of a medic-nin to do so. Because he would most likely not be able to learn said technique in time for the exams, Naruto instead was able to create illusions of himself similar to the technique. However, the difference was that only someone looking at Naruto himself would think so. When Sakura had asked him how he had learned such a skill, he only remarked that again, Tatsu had taught him.
In the meantime, Naruto continued to work on all of his abilities.
Sakura herself was becoming no slouch either. Taking the Chakra spear concept further, she developed a whole line of Chakra weapons. Most noteworthy among these were a whip, a shield, a barrier, a sword, a bow and arrow and last but certainly not least, a gigantic mallet. These were limited to physical damage, but were still incredibly effective.
However, this was not the only usage she had gotten out of her 'Chakra-ryu'. Sakura had also figured out how to extend Chakra strings. Using said strings, she would stick into internal organs and would often use the strings to bind, incapacitate or trip her foes.
Continuing to build her Chakra reserves, Sakura also trained often with Naruto in Taijutsu, mainly in physical exercises to help build up stamina. They would constantly spar together, and even though they both worked hard, Sakura could tell that Naruto was holding back in their matches. Especially seeing as how Naruto could for some reason, nearly always predict her movements.
Still, she was very satisfied with her progress. After another month or so of training, Sakura decided to 'cross the Rubicon', and surprised even Naruto by publicly challenging Ino to an exhibition match. No stakes, no prize, just a fight to see who was better. Word soon spread, and Iruka-sensei decided to make it a special event at the academy for parents to watch. However, it wasn't only their parents who had come. For some reason, several Jounin, a couple of Chuunin, a few ANBU members and even the Hokage himself had come. As was the custom for a Shinobi duel, both girls needed a second. Ino had asked Sasuke of course, and also of course, he had turned her down. So instead, Shikamaru was dragged to the fight after having been hurt due to 'pillow taking'. Sakura surprised many of her classmates, and even the Hokage by having 'Muhi Naruto' as her second. They had discussed it before, and Naruto was adamant that Konoha should just forget the 'demon brat' ever existed. The fight was about to begin, and both girls stepped onto the field.
Ino grinned in a cocky fashion. "I'm surprised you even challenged me, big forehead girl! I hope you're prepared to lose!"
Sakura, her normally long hair tied into a long braid, just stood calmly. "Ino… I shall prove to you that I have become stronger than you can imagine."
Ino's eyes widened at this confident, unflappable Sakura. Where was the crybaby who needed her help against bullies? Where was the girl who would constantly compete with her in the littlest of contests? In vain, Ino tried once again to shake Sakura emotionally.
"After this fight, I'll be the one to get Sasuke-kun's love!"
Sakura just shrugged, and let a bit of her 'Inner Sakura' come forth. "As far as I'm concerned, you can have him. He's never going to let me in, so what's the point? He's an 'avenger' sure. Well Sasuke can shove it if he can't realize that he's not the only one who's had a hard life."
Openly gaping now, Ino wondered if the Sakura in front of her was using Henge no Jutsu. Their referee, Iruka-sensei, was wondering the same thing, but couldn't detect any traces of Chakra usage. Shikamaru, Chouji, Kiba and even Shino all looked at her with surprise, than began to chuckle, respect earned from them. Naruto just smiled, proud of his student and friend. Tapping her foot impatiently, Sakura asked,
"Iruka-sensei, are you ready yet?"
Seeming to have come out of a daze, Iruka shook his head and regained his composure. Clearing his throat, he explained the rules.
"This will be a single round exhibition match between Haruno Sakura and Yamanaka Ino. Any tools, Taijutsu, Ninjutsu and Genjutsu are allowed. Killing is forbidden, and victory is gained when an opponent is either made unconscious, unable to battle, or gives up. There is no time limit. Are both fighters ready?"
Still seeing Sakura's unnerving calm, Ino nodded anyway. Sakura nodded in turn.
"Very well then. Hajime!"
Backing away from each other, the two girls started off. Sakura began by throwing her limited number of Shuriken and Kunai, not aiming them for Ino, but rather for the trees, stumps and ground around the surrounding area. Confused, Ino was distracted for a second, but then began to quickly form seals. Sakura finished off her weapons throwing and as Ino began the last seal, she leaped using a Chakra enhanced jump. Ino stopped and threw three kunai in her path. Sakura quickly formed a seal, and the three kunai were embedded into a log.
"Kawarimi?"
Ino barely registered the sound of footsteps before she heard a shout:
"BLUNTED SPEAR TACKLE!"
Quickly, Ino registered an immense sensation of pain around the middle of her body, vaguely seeing in her disoriented state that Sakura had what appeared to be a battering ram made of Chakra around her arm, and said ram had knocked her for a loop. Painfully landing on her front, Ino began to use her hands in hopes of getting up. On her hands and knees, Ino vaguely noticed a trickle of blood come down her mouth and slowly began to get up. Sakura was nowhere to found, and thankful for the reprieve, she used bushin no Jutsu in an effort to distract Sakura and gain time to rest. However, after about five minutes, Sakura leapt out of a tree, and her aura flared.
To her horror, Ino noticed that around Sakura were six Chakra strings, all attached to the weapons she had thrown earlier. However, what truly alarmed Ino was that said strings went through six of her body's vital points, connected to the Shuriken on the other side. Meaning that if Sakura pulled out the Shuriken and Kunai she had used, there was a good chance that she could die.
"Ino, I do not wish to hurt you. Please, give up!"
Sighing, and realizing that Sakura looked barely winded, Ino raised her hand.
"I, Yamanaka Ino, give up."
Sighing in relief, Iruka-sensei gave a proud smile.
"Winner, Haruno Sakura!"
The crowd, who had looked in astonishment for almost the entire fight, cheered loudly, clapping at the success of the incredible, and yet almost unheard of, female ninja Haruno Sakura.
Remembering certain pearls of wisdom Naruto had shared from his ever so mysterious sensei, Sakura walked forward and helped Ino to her feet. Then she extended a hand.
"Good Match, Ino-chan."
Gaping again, but giving a small smile, Ino shook her hand.
"Sakura…-chan. How did you get so strong?" she asked.
Smiling wanly, Sakura replied. "Everyone has the potential to be strong Ino. I just had someone point me the way, and it helped more than I could have imagined."
"Who pointed the way?" Ino asked in surprise.
Sakura just pointed to a beaming Naruto in the crowd.
"Muhi Naruto? The silent guy?"
"Yes. You might want to talk with him some time. He has things to say you might be interested in listening to."
Sakura ended the conversation. While this was going on, the crowd commented.
"Sakura suddenly seems a lot prettier than before. Wonder how she got so strong?" Kiba remarked grinning.
"Yeah. I thought Ino would have beaten her for sure, huh Shikamaru?" Chouji said through a mouthful of his favorite black-kettle chips.
sigh "Women are troublesome, but I guess Sakura is a little less troublesome now. The planning behind that trap was good." Guess who said that?
"Yes. Her coordination impressed me." Shino surprised nearly everyone by saying more than three words.
And Muhi-Uzumaki Naruto just smiled proudly.
In the meantime, four Jounin were fighting amongst them with Sandaime listening in with an amused smirk. The topic of choice was who would get Sakura on their team come graduation, or in Maito Gai's case, how to get a 'beautiful flower blossoming in the springtime of youth to teach his adorable students burning with silent passion'.
"She could aid my ever youthful student Tenten in controlling Chakra strings to control her weapons more easily!" Gai shouted for what seemed to be the millionth time.
Yuuhi Kurenai and Sarutobi Asuma just rolled their eyes, not considering Gai's argument valid. Kakashi, who had been reading his beloved 'Icha Icha Paradise volume 6: One in hand is worth two in the bush' , merely raised his head as if just listening.
"Huh? You say something Gai?"
Gai's face went into shock while trying to figure things out in his head; the remaining three made their cases.
"Her Chakra control would make her an ideal Genjutsu student, and I could relate to her more easily being a woman." Kurenai argued.
"Yes, but I could train her in weapons usage and how to improve their capabilities myself." Asuma countered.
"Well, unless she dies from second-hand smoke first." Kakashi commented idly. "I would be able to teach her a little bit of everything."
"Yes, everything about Icha Icha Paradise, chronic tardiness and mysterious eating habits." Kurenai commented viciously.
Sandaime, while amused at first, grew irritated. "Enough of this! You are aware that I end up making the final team selections, are you not? I will make sure that Haruno Sakura ends up on a balanced team, like standards mandate. Is that clear?"
Ashamed, the Jounin muttered, "Hai, Hokage-sama."
Having made her way over to Naruto, Sakura surprised him by quickly glomping him and giving him a tight hug.
"Thank you Naruto, for helping me feel strong. Is there anything I can do in return for you?" she asked.
Naruto, feeling very proud and happy after having had steered one person in the right direction, and having it pay off tremendously, only said one thing.
"Could you help me make more friends like you?"
Although she had thought the request strange at first, Sakura realized that Naruto was severely lacking social skills and didn't understand exactly how to make friends. Their friendship had come somewhat as an accident, but it HAD worked well. Seeing as how Naruto's method of 'pointing people in the right direction' and working with her to help had borne them friendship, Sakura decided to use this method for other people as well.
A good majority of the academy students were not strong, talented or useful in almost any way. While it could be argued that they needed said help more than others, Sakura could see that a good majority of them had enrolled into the academy for the wrong reasons.
Nearly all of the Kunoichi enrolled had, like herself, trained only in an effort to see or try to win Uchiha Sasuke. It was rather sad really. The only standout other than Ino and herself had been Hyuuga Hinata. Her shyness probably would make her a good friend to Naruto, she mused.
The Shinobi were in some ways worse. Many of the males enrolled were in the academy to 'get girls' 'kick ass' or in several alarming cases, had odd fetishes or loves of violence. The only ones that seemed at least somewhat dedicated were the ones from various Konoha clans: Shikamaru, Chouji, Shino, and Kiba were the only ones she could see Naruto getting along with.
So, she had all of them meet with Naruto and herself(for 'coaching') at various times, seeing as how they were quite interested in the boy who had gotten Haruno Sakura from merely average to low Chuunin/High Genin level in such a short time. While nearly all of them were interested in getting better at least SOMEWHAT, Shikamaru was merely curious.
Initially when he had met Kiba, the brash and loud boy had been doubtful that Naruto could teach him anything new or powerful. After consenting to let him use Akamaru in a spar with him, Naruto had proved to Kiba that while his teamwork was to be admired, his individual skills still needed more variety if he wanted to make sure that his partner could be kept safe. This was proven when Naruto displayed an insane amount of speed, easily dodging a Gatsuuga the two had thrown at him, and taking Akamaru out quickly with a devastating heel drop. Naruto then proceeded to take Kiba himself out using an uppercut on the quickly speeding Kiba head-on, finishing with a brutal roundhouse kick to the face. Humbled, Kiba decided that asking for help wouldn't kill him, especially when Naruto, almost eternally silent, asked but one question:
"Akamaru is your friend Kiba. Don't you want to make sure he's protected?"
The next day, Kiba did in fact ask Naruto if he had any advice. The boy just smiled again, and gave Kiba a scroll with his name on it.
Enclosed was a list of suggestions that Kiba could tell much thought was put into. Some of these included:
Tip 1: The cornerstone of a Shinobi is stealth and that one surprise strike. I don't know much about improving stealth, but see if someone can help you with it.
Tip 4: If the Inuzuka clan can use Chakra to enhance their sense of smell, why not use it to enhance other senses as well? Hearing, touch and even taste have their uses. I wouldn't suggest eyesight though as the Hyuuga clan might get pissed. And try doing the exercises blindfolded for extra effect!
Tip 6: Your speed seems to be quite an asset. Try to increase your speed by wearing weights. You can get some fairly easily at weapon shops.
Tip 9: Experience always makes a Shinobi better than just training. See if you can find sparring partners. Yes, partners, plural. More variety will make you a better Shinobi.
Tip 12: Your Tsuuga move seems to indicate that you have knowledge with rotations. Try experimenting more with this. I might suggest spinning while standing, similar to a tornado. This may be able to deflect projectiles and other things. Just don't call the move Kaiten, whatever you do!
A week later, Kiba came in wearing weights, looking fairly beat up, but happy. Following him was the equally beaten up form of Haruno Sakura and the statuesque Muhi Naruto. As he took his seat, he began to put on a blindfold.
For the last three months before the academy graduation exam, Muhi Naruto had become quite popular. The infamous 'student teacher' impressed not only his classmates, but Iruka-sensei, Sandaime, and quite a few Jounin as well. While one might have thought that Iruka would have been jealous, he simply didn't have the time to focus on individuals that Naruto did. Naruto didn't teach just anyone, and he even once told Iruka he was quite impressed that he hadn't burst a blood vessel before. Iruka still remembered that day, as it was the one he realized that while Naruto was constantly silent, he was their number one most surprising ninja.
Naruto helped a fair number of people, and through sparring, exchanging tips, and (at Sakura's suggestion) going out to eat a fair number of times, he began to make good friends.
Most of the students were only interested in him because he was 'popular' and usually he had only given them basic training scrolls with no personalized instruction. After spending time around his peers, Naruto slowly began to grasp how social concepts worked, and realized that he didn't need everyone to like him, just the people who he liked.
Suitably impressed with how Naruto had aided Sakura and gotten Kiba to concentrate a little more, Yamanaka Ino had taken Naruto out to lunch, Shikamaru and Chouji tagging along. After Ino had described her particular fighting style and abilities, Naruto had asked the two boys the same thing. Surprised that he would take any interest at all, Chouji slowly, but gradually told him. Shikamaru sighed, saying it was too troublesome. Then Naruto asked if he liked to play Shogi. Needless to say, the almost unflappable Shikamaru was nonplussed, but after several moments of awkward silence he responded in the affirmative.
The next day, Naruto had given Ino and Chouji personalized scrolls and began a (somewhat) rivalry with Shikamaru. Idly, the deer-raiser wondered why he had said something so troublesome.
At the same time, Hyuuga Hinata managed to work up the courage (of course, she was dragged by Sakura) to ask if Naruto could give her any advice as well. After spending a sparring session with Hinata, he determined that her main problem was confidence. Simply put, Hinata thought too much during combat, and seeing as how her thoughts constantly strayed to how 'weak' she was considered, Naruto decided on a different way of teaching for her. These sessions mainly focused on teaching Hinata meditation and methods of focus, as he had no idea how to improve on her confidence. After many of these lessons, Hinata began to spar with her classmates, and after many near wins, and several wins, her confidence began to slowly and gradually improve. After a smiling Hinata had told this to Naruto and thanked him for doing so, he could only look nonplussed and dumbly agree.
Naruto did enjoy the occasional game of Shogi, but his other habits were somewhat strange for those who didn't know him very well. Whenever he wasn't studying, training or sleeping, he nearly ALWAYS read manga. On a survival exercise they had undergone, he had once packed his entire backpack full of manga, as he was 'getting interested' in five different stories. He enjoyed movies, and liked good food. Naruto at this point wasn't a ramen addict, as Tatsu-sensei had beaten that habit out of him (not literally) around his ninth birthday.
The last person he had been asked for help from, namely Shino, he had had trouble figuring out what kind of advice to give. After a long sparring session, the two had gone off for several days. When they came back, they had seen Shino give the boy a bow on his hands and knees, with Naruto looking embarrassed.
As for Uchiha Sasuke… well, if he had ever asked, Naruto might have considered giving some help. He hadn't though, and Naruto's friends were surprised that when they had asked him about it, it was the first time they had actively seen any kind of dislike on the 'student teacher's' face.
Naruto himself continued to work on everything he knew, and also started to learn sealing, now that his Chakra control was better. It started when he asked Iruka-sensei for a book on making exploding tags, and interested in the subject, he continued from there.
Finally, the day came. The academy exams were to be taken that morning. However, the Jounin sensei who were to pick students from the graduates had become perplexed after realizing that said students were no longer the people the Jounin sensei had assumed. So, at Sandaime's request, and because of the success of Sakura's match months ago, something special was to happen after the exams had finished.
The graduates… were to have an exhibition tournament. The prize? An extremely rare, Raiton jutsu, and rumors abounded of a personal lesson with Hokage-sama himself…
Okay, second chapter out. Sorry about the wait, it took a little while to get into the right frame of mind. Hope you enjoy. (Am I going too slow?) Sakura's 'Blunted Spear tackle' is basically a high speed thrust of Sakura's Chakra Spear, but non-lethal. It's pretty much almost exactly the same as Shin's Spear Tackle from EyeShield 21 if you've ever seen that.
And yes, I know that the title of Kakashi's book is EXTREMELY perverted (If you understand the meaning.) and am wondering if I should put the rating of the story up. Any input is appreciated.
Please read and review