Sakura looked around and sighed. Everything was dark and there was no way to find out where she was. She would have thought it was her mind but Inner was absent. She grew worried and ran to the void. Either way everything was the same.
Her steps faltered and her breathing grew heavy. A strange sensation sat on her chest. Looking down, there was nothing holding her down but the feeling wouldn't go away. A nearly imperceptible noise drew her attention behind her. She saw a bright mist coming straight at her and threw herself to the side. The mist left a blow of air in its haste and threw her out of the dark.
Her body wouldn't respond to her commands to move and her mind eventually shut down.
Outside, Minato was waiting for everyone to wake up.
Sakura was currently glaring at the ceiling for what seemed like forever. She had just woken up and she didn't feel good. Her limbs refused to cooperate and she swore she heard her inner cackling like a deranged witch.
Her pinkie twitched but quickly gave up on any more movement. Frustrated was inefficient to describe what state she was slowly going into.
When she reopened her eyes once again she was back home which was creepy since the door and window were supposed to be locked and trapped by a genjutsu and she only closed her eyes for a minute. She didn't even hear someone approaching. She wondered if it was a dream.
She yawned and got up. She had less than ten minutes to get ready so she rushed without taking a breakfast and her new ninja outfit laid on top of her small closet. The outfit still had a few changes to be made before she even considered wearing it. It was unnecessarily fancy and lacked something called modesty but so cheap.
The crowd seemed really big this morning. She had difficulties to go to the academy. Even the roofs were full. It was crazy and kind of expected when she saw the proof of the fact that she had not been dreaming.
Naruto was talking to the forth next to the entrance. They were not being stealthy at all. Their blonde hair was like a flashlight. Now would have been a good time to ask how she ended up in her bed when she obviously was outside when she… when she… when she fainted. Argh! How could she faint?!
She silently walked to their side and waved her hand. Naruto jumped while the forth just smiled at her.
"Uh hello...uh…." She fiddled with her fingers and searched for a way to ask how she was brought back.
Minato seemed to understand what she was trying to say and whispered.
"I was the one who took you back so don't worry." He patted her head. He turned his head towards the sky and went away like a flash. She felt more confused than before.
A mind reader.
A face read. You're like an open book.
Why don't you just go back to your side?
I'm bored.
Ahhhh just, just leave.
Inner surprisingly offered no resistance. She didn't know whether it was good news or if she had to foresee some sort of coup d'etat in the future.
Naruto smiled at her and went inside. He looked unusually worn out.
She took her usual seat and watched the class get filled. Iruka-sensei arrived and the noise settled down. She zoned out and tried to recall her dream.
"...nata, Uzumaki Naruto and Uchiha Sasuke."
"What?" Naruto and Sasuke both shouted.
Hinata blushed like it was her last day on earth and every fangirl in the room screamed. They directed all their anger on poor Hinata who had no interest in their idol. She was too busy trying to stay conscious to be able to dodge whatever came her way. Ino looked ready to tear her a new one but was restrained by Choji who was asking Shikamaru to help him.
Sakura felt a tap on her shoulder and turned over. She saw the Uchiha insignia on his sleeve and narrowed her eyes.
"Haruno Sakura?" He asked. His voice was mature for his age and he looked like a no nonsense kind of guy.
"Yes?"
"We're on the same team. Uchiha Katou." He shook her hand and shifted back to his previous position. Well, now she knew she missed her team announcement.
She felt a glare from the other side of the room and saw Ami. If looks could kill she would be six foot under the ground.
She missed her second teammate's and sensei's names. It was not a good start and she was still pondering on what happened with the hokages. They were really noticeable, you really couldn't miss them so why was there not an uproar?
"Uchiha-san?"
"Hn?" It has been a while since she heard the famous uchiha language.
"Was there any announcement this morning?" He looked at me like I was crazy.
"How could you not hear about it?" Well, excuse you, I wasn't really paying attention." Our hokages have been brought back to life to guard the village against the new threat."
"A new threat?" He gave me the look that said 'Are you that dumb?'
"Orochimaru." Ok, that was idiotic of her not to have guessed. It's been a while since the traitor planned to take his vengeance against the village. As if the leaders would condone experiments on the population. The guy was completely nuts.
She eyed his ponytail with nostalgia. She swore she saw a similar hairstyle before. She eyes her undone braid and pouted. His hair was so straight and shone so brightly. Her senbon was sticking out and the poison had been absorbed by her hair that looked healthier after the intake. She wondered how poison could have benefits for her hair. Maybe its color was not just for show.
While she mused another boy sat in front of them and fixed his gaze on both of them. It was a little unnerving for the Uchiha to be stared by those blank lilac eyes, it was like being stared by a bind person.
He turned to his new female teammate and resisted the urge to scream. He was an Uchiha and it was a requirement to be fearless but it was kind of different when you had the son of your clan head planning your death. Everyone boy their age knew not to go near her. He didn't think she even noticed how the Uzumaki was the only one with enough guts to talk to her but he was suicidal so he did not count.
The girl did not seem to care about their presence. Was he supposed to feel relieved? He was not used to being ignored with his clan genes, the girls tended to drift towards their kind but this one was like an anti-uchiha girl. He never saw her interact willingly with any of them.
"Are you gonna stare at me any longer, Hyuga?" Sakura asked after feeling too uncomfortable with the looks in her direction.
"So you're the famous Haruno Sakura." He already sounded like a stuck up clansman. She could not have it easy for once.
"Famous?"She pointed at herself. The guy dared to raise an eyebrow and smirk at her mockingly.
"Hmph. You're Uchiha Sasuke's girlfriend, of course you're famous around here." She just died and went to hell. That's it. It's all a big nightmare.
"How jealous is he going to be that a Hyuga gets to be on your team? It should be interesting."
"I am not his girlfriend." She gritted her teeth.
She breathed out and recoiled from the sudden realization. She was put with an Uchiha and a Hyuga. Were they trying to kill her? You never the two dojutsu clans together, it was like asking for war. And they put her with them. She was doomed.
"I'm so jealous of Hinata and forehead!" Ino screamed before being dragged away by her team."Noooo!"
"Why does she keep on calling me that? It's getting old." Sakura muttered under her breath but she was heard by both.
Time passed and no one took them. There was only two teams still in class. Even Iruka-sensei went away a long time ago.
She heard Naruto's complaining and Hinata's pleas for him to calm down. Her own teammates were a little better if you liked the cold silence of an old clan rivalry. What kind of sensei make their students wait for 3 hours?
Sasuke was too quiet. It made her paranoid, expecting something to jump on her anytime soon. He wasn't even paying attention to his surroundings. Was he sick? She wanted to check on him but refrained for fear of getting him too fired up. She recalled the one time she checked on him, he pounced on her and rubbed his face against the top of her head while encasing her in his arms. She remembered suffocating and begging for freedom.
Her conscious was betraying her. She twitched on her spot.
Don't move. Don't move. Don't move!
On the other side, Inner was having an epiphany. She decided to move.
She peered at the doorway whereas Narrator prepared his prank.
"Should teach him good to make us wait!" He snickered.
"Na-na-na-nar-naru-naruto, y-yo-you sh-shoudn't..." Oh god, someone put an end to this stuttering. At the beginning it's cute but now it just grates on her nerves.
Sakura sat at the back of the class away from everyone and stared at the window like she used to. Outside, 2 morons were running straight into the entrance door. She laughed.
Sasuke broke out of his daydreaming at the sound of laughter and his eyes widened. Rarely did Sakura laugh in his presence and he was not gonna waste this opportunity to see a happy expression on her face.
He was distracted by a noise coming from the corridor as she stopped smiling and the door slided open.
She was impassive as she saw the two get caught in Naruto's trap. So far she wasn't impressed as she saw their hitai-ate and deduced them to be their new sensei. They were both out of breath and arguing like brats. The chalk powder was like the icing on the human cakes. Sasuke moved and slapped one of them over the head.
"Ow! Sasu-chan! How dare you hit your cousin?!"
"Shut up baka." She never saw him look so stoic in all the years she knew him.
"Aw! Sasu-cakes is angry." The black haired one exclaimed. He had an eye patch and his hair was in disarray just like Naruto but shorter. He was undoubtedly a moron. Uh….an Uchiha.
"You heard him, moron. Shut up." The silver scarecrow had the guts to blurt out. He was no better than him, covered in chalk powder. That's what she thought until she missed their talk and saw him poof out. It was a clone.
She had to pay attention or else she wouldn't be qualified to call herself a kunoichi. The rest hurried to the rooftop. She was quickly told to hurry to the rooftop and saw them all rush out of the room to take the stairs. She stared at the door for a minute before opening one of the window and walked up. She jumped over the rails and watched in silence as the teachers stared at her.
"Did they learn to do that at the academy?"The black haired one asked.
"Of course not." The silver haired one scoffed.
A minute later they all arrived with panted breath, even Sasuke. Naruto pointed at her and looked behind him several times before receiving a chop on the head courtesy of Sasuke.
"Don't point at her, dobe."
"Bu-but she was..."
Sakura was sure Hinata knew how to walk on walls with chakra but had followed Naruto. Her teammates grumbled before walking on each side of her. Better her in the middle than them starting their staring fest.
"So it's time to introduce yourselves."The scarecrow began.
"Why don't you do it first?" Naruto asked.
"I guess you need an exemple. My name is Hatake Kakashi. I have many likes and dislikes. I have enough hobbies to occupy my time and I don't feel the need to share my dreams. Your turn." His name suited him perfectly but that's basically the only thing they learnt.
We all glanced at the second sensei.
He coughed." I'm Uchiha Obito. I like a lot of things and dislike the teme next to me. I help the elderly and what I have is not a dream but a reality, I'll become hokage." He said the last sentence with so much conviction that she could not find it in herself to refute him though he also didn't say a lot about himself." Blondie, go first."
"Oi! My name is Uzumaki Naruto. I like ramen and the color orange and I hate the time it takes for ramen to cook. I love pranking people and training. My dream...I don't have one." Sakura snapped her head at him.
"And hokage?" She whispered. He glanced at her and shook his head.
"Uchiha Sasuke. I loves girls and loath boys who think they can steal my treasures. I train and hang out a lot with my dear roses. My dream is to surpass my brother and marry the girl of my dreams."
"Oi. Be serious." Obito deadpanned.
"I am serious."
It was Hinata's turn but she was trembling so much that Sakura just walked to her side and gently put her hand on her temple before releasing soothing chakra. A bright emerald light was emitted from her finger tips and the result was immediate. Hinata thanked her before speaking.
"Hyuga Hinata. I love my family and disapprove of bullies. I love making medicine and I hope to be able to unify my clan." She shyly declared.
"So it's Obito's team turn."
Katou took a step forward and began his introduction.
"I'm Uchiha Katou, I'd like to stay alive and I'd hate to die. I thrive to improve myself to avoid dying and my dream is to remain in one piece." They took some time to digest his words and wonder if the guy was joking with them. Katou sweatdropped and crossed his fingers. This introduction was directed at his fellow clansmen who looked ready to kill him when he heard which team he'd be on.
The other Hyuga looked down on the Uchiha and sneered." Hyuga Hikyo. There are few things I like and I dislike the rest. I train most of the time and I dream of freedom."
Sakura was stunned. She never ever thought they would be so open if one could say that about them, specially Hikyo. He did not look like the type to just speak about himself or even reveal his objectives but freedom was ambiguous so he kept a little of his mysterious aura. He flipped his pristine ponytail and waited for her to talk.
"Last one."Obito was staring at her hair.
"My name is Haruno Sakura. I like sweets and dislike spicy food. I have a lot of hobbies you don't have to know and...I will become the best medic in the world."She caught her braid in her hand."My hair color is natural."
"So, the test begins tomorrow at 5 am." Kakashi stated.
"Test? What test? We already passed the test." Katou replied.
"That was just to weed out the hopeless ones. This is the real test. Over 70% of the academy graduates usually fail so you better be ready." Obito responded.
"What?!"
"Yeah. You better not eat breakfast unless you want to puke." He grinned.
They vanished and the genins were left alone. Naruto walked out first and Sakura saw him join an anbu. Hikyo reluctantly followed Hinata who was watching Naruto go away and Katou took this moment to escape. Sasuke had focused his attention on Sakura.
"We're not on the same team."He was solemn for such a petty reason.
"It won't change a thing. Our new senseis are too close with each other.." Sasuke lit up and invited her to his house. She politely refused for once and went to the hospital without checkinf if anyone ad followed her.
She slowed down and took a deep breath.
"I'm here!" She came in.
"Oh Sakura! Good timing!"
Next to Shisui stood the famous Uchiha Itachi, Shisui's best friend and Sasuke's older brother. He was discussing with who she now recognized as Uchiha Madara.
"Meet Itachi and our ancestor, Madara."
"Nice to meet you Sakura-san." He greeted her while bowing. She bowed back.
"What a coincidence."Madara whispered, staring directly into her eyes." She looks just like my wife's younger self."
Shisui's eyes bulged out of their sockets while Itachi just let out a startled sound but it had to mean a lot judging by Shisui's face. Sakura had two options. Either she could walk out of the room and run for dear life for no reason, either she took the matter in her hands and attempt to resolve it. How could she look like the unknown wife of Uchiha Madara? It was unlikely with her outlandish exotic looks. As far as she knew the Uchiha clan was made of stuck up assholes and submissive but dangerous and vicious women.
"Are you sure you're not getting the colors wrong, Uchiha-sama?" She bluntly inquired.
He answered with an infuriating smirk." I think not."
Itachi and Shisui just observed the scene. Both of them were curious about their ancestor's mysterious wife because while Madara was pretty famous, his wife was never revealed, be it by name or appearance and the majority couldn't believe their ancestor settled down and had kids until the blood tests.
"I can't bring myself to ignore one who's practically the spitting image of my late wife. You're welcome to visit me at the Uchiha compound at any time." He brushed past her and left.