I already have the second chapter for you and most likely the third will be in progress as you read this. I hope you enjoy it. And please, leave a review, I'd love to hear your input. Thank you!

Finally away from her mother's ever watchful eyes and now in the company of her best friend, Sakura felt as ease, even as she attacked the punching bag Ino held onto for her. Her mother would never approve of her taking up such a violent hobby, deeming it too masculine, but there was something about it that Sakura thoroughly enjoyed. It gave her a rush that her dance classes, gymnastics, and yoga sessions didn't. Don't get her wrong, she enjoyed them too, but they were too tame. Besides, she needed a hobby that had absolutely nothing to with bettering or furthering her career.

She fell in love with it after accompanying a dear friend of hers to his boxing lesson. Naruto, one of her oldest friends aside from Ino, was also a public figure, though an athlete instead of a singer. She had accompanied him for publicity sake, Kakashi deeming it necessary for the public to know of their longtime friendship in hopes of attracting new fans that normally she would not have access too. As she watched him from the sidelines, she yearned to join in with him., but of course she had to act as if she was the epitome of femininity. Though as soon as she had Naruto alone, she practically begged him to teach her. Naruto could never say no to the woman he considered his souls-sister, even he agreed she should pick up something more invigorating. So she trained with him in secret whenever she could escape from her mother's watchful eyes. Whenever he was out of town for one of his sporting events, she would practice in Ino's basement, which she turned into the perfect work out room.

"So Kurenai was no different than the other interviewers?" asked the girl who Sakura fondly named Pig. The woman was quite different than her pinkette bestie. She was beautiful in a sensual way with her long blonde hair that always looked as if it was made of silk and her3 eyes were a beautiful shade of cobalt lined with thick lashes she just loved to flutter to attract male attention. The blonde was also more gifted in the chest area than Sakura, something the Pig often teased her for.

"No." Punch. "Not really." Punch, punch. "You'd think these people would stop having me on their show considering they all ask me the same set of questions. 'How proud are you for being nominated slash winning the award for such and such?', 'Do you ever plan on following in your mother's footsteps by pursuing a career in acting?', 'Oh wow, is your hair natural?' That one is my favorite." The pinkette mocked as she wiped away the sweat on her brow with a stray rag. "Do you know how bad I want to give them some snarky ass comment every time I get asked that? No! Of course it is not natural! I just decided to randomly dye not only the hair on my head but my eyebrows, eyelashes, and practically any other hair on my body pink too. I go through so much effort every single day just to make you believe it is all natural."

The blonde snickered before taking a drink from her water bottle. "I would seriously pay some good money to actually hear you say that to someone." Pulling her blonde locks out of its ponytail and running her fingers though it to tame the stray locks, the woman grinned at her best friend. "Hell I'd pay to see anything happen that your mother would deem a disaster. No offense girlie, but your interviews are dull as hell."

Sakura couldn't help but laugh at the thought of the face her mother would make. "No offense taken, I agree with you. It's even worse being a part of them." She too pulled her hair from it ponytail and shook it out, but she didn't care if her hair was a wild mess. "But hey, maybe you'll get your wish. I have an interview with Anko next week and you know she isn't the most pleasant woman in the world to deal with. If any of these media icons were to ask me real questions, it will be her."

"Are you sure you want to do that?" The blonde asked, her mood switching from lively to concerned in the matter of a single heartbeat. "Anko can be rather cruel to her guest on the show. She is ruthless Sakura and a bitch to boot. Remember what she did to Neji?"

Of course she remembered what happened to Neji, she was actually there in the studio that day for moral support for both him and Hinata. The snake of a woman had gotten under his skin attacked him where it mattered most. At first they were minor jabs about his appearance, mostly his long chocolate brown locks, and how impractical they were for a martial artist and personal body guard to his younger cousin. But then she latched onto a sensitive subject, one of the few that could get a physical reaction out of the usually stoic man: his status among his family. Long story short, the Hyuuga had been banned from entering that studio after he ruined a chair and nearly attacked the host.

"I know Oinkers, but that is what I am counting on." Sakura stared at her reflection on the wall of mirrors the girls used during dance practice, her fingers playing with the ends of her hair that nearly reached the bottom of her ribcage. "Mom doesn't realize it, but I am a joke. The media might adore my princess persona, but only children like the pop garbage her and my record label make me sing. And you know, that would be fine if I was still just a kid myself. But I am nineteen, and do you want to know what most adults thing of me? They either think I am extremely fake, which in a way they are right, or they think that I have been groomed to be perfect to the point that I am not relatable and just plain dull. I am a sell out with nothing real to say, just a mindless zombie created by the music industry to try to steal money from people by producing mind numbing and infuriating music, which again, they are right!"

The blondes face scrunched up is displeasure. "Are you really sure about that Forehead? I mean its obvi you're going to have some haters; all the big names have 'em. But things can't really be that bad."

Emerald eyes turned to look into the pools of blue that belonged to her bestie. "Ino, my approval rating for anyone over the age of eighteen is a measly fourteen percent. I've been digging into it myself, searching forums, joining chatrooms, and messaging random people under the guise that I was a student that needed data for a college paper. Some of them were absolutely brutal, but they were right. My mother micromanages my career too much. She needs to not care so much about keeping this façade of this perfect little doll and just let me start being myself in front of people. Yeah, there are going to be people that hate the real me, but it honestly cannot be much worse than the hatred I am receiving now." As she spoke her voice got firmer, her determination becoming more and more apparent. "If I make a guest appearance on her show, there is no doubt in my mind that she won't be able to resist bringing up dwindling fan base. I am sure she will have the numbers and statements to back up her point ready. She will try to throw me off and upset me to the point where I lose my cool and blow up on her just like Neji and practically every guest she has ever had has done. But the thing is, I will be expecting it, hell I will be counting on it. I will be ready and I will handle her with grace, but after, it will give me a perfect excuse to finally convince my mother and Kakashi that this princess image is hurting me more than helping. I may not be able to produce the music I want to because of my stupid ass contract with the record company, but maybe at the very least I can stop wearing those high waist flared skirts mom forces me in to hide my ass."

"Is that really why you are always wearing those damn thigs?!"

"Yes! It is so ridiculous! Apparently it is too firm, rounded, and sensual for the innocent look she was hoping for." The pinkette looked at said body part in the mirror. Her hips and rump her rather curvy and defined, one of the butts that were perfect for yoga pants. If she were honest, it was something she was quite proud of and wished she could show off more. "It would not surprise me if she would have had me get it reduced if she could find a plastic surgeon she could trust."

"Your mom has just reached a new level of crazy in my eyes." Both girls burst into laughter at the shear hilarity of the whole thing. Sakura would never have believed a mother to think such of thing if it were anyone else but her own.

"Now enough with all this talk about my mother and my career b s. I know there is a jar of Nutella in the kitchen with my name written all over it I plan on stuffing my face with its nutty goodness." Her face split into an eager grin, making her look almost the same age her mother was trying to portray her to be.

Throwing one of the dirty rages at her, Ino burst out into a fit of laughter. "Girl! You need to think before you speak! Say that shit in public and you will become the next cover girl of Icha Icha Paradise."

"Maybe that's the plan!" she joked before running off to the treat that was just calling her name.

That night at Ino's was just what Sakura need to through what she deemed the last week of annoying perfection. The two had spent most of the night doing what girls their age did, eating junk food, blasting their favorite music and watching movies that scared them to death but they watched anyways. It was very therapeutic and just the boost she needed in order to get herself through this interview. Unlike most interviews, she was nervous for this one as her future can drastically change and hopefully for the better.

It was no surprise that she was dressed in the style her mother seemed to love oh so much: a three quarter sleeve black knitted sweater with a white collar with a white knee length flared skirt with black polka dots and a black mesh underskirt to give it extra volume. Her white painted toes were visible through the black mesh peep toe booties that, admittedly, she absolutely adored and her pink locks were pulled up and held into a stylishly messy bun with a vintage hair comb decorated with small diamonds and pearls. As per usual she looked like the epitome of femininity and grace, though hopefully for the last time.

So here she was, standing nervously off to the side of the stage waiting for her cue to make her appearance. Unconsciously she chewed on her bottom lip in anticipation. She knew she could do this, she had everything planned out, it was just a matter of remaining calm when Anko started getting pushy. Unfortunately, despite what the general public may think, she actually had a pretty short fuse, they just have yet to see it because no one dared to anger her out of fear of angering Mebuki.

"Miss Haruno, that's your cue. Good luck." A stage hand whispered, nudging her forwards gently as Anko announced her name to the audience.

'You got this Sakura. This is what you wanted so just remember your lessons.' After a deep calming breath, she stepped on the stage with a new found confidence. This needed to be done. In order to have even the slightest ounce of freedom, she needed to dive straight fist into the dragon's den and that is what she was prepared to do.

So how was it? I hope you enjoyed it.

Don't worry, Itachi and the rest of the Akatsuki will be making their debut appearance in the next chapter, but they may not meet Sakura just yet.

And I want to send out a special thank you to those of you who liked the first chapter enough to follow the story. As I finished this those readers are:

DarqueDeath4444

KidGoneWacko

Lenaar

Pastapower

mbravesgirl7

Thank you so much for your interest. It truly means a lot to me.