Luka1Sakura: So, so sorry about my late update! My computer was in a temporary coma and I was heartbroken!!! T.T Please enjoy!
"It's great to see you awake and okay, Sakura-chan!!" Naruto exclaimed to her joyfully as he hugged the hell out of her. "Yeah, me too" she told him truthfully but awkwardly padded his back in his hug. He let go of her and she sighed in relief from his grip. The team stood there in silence enjoying each other's company in the hospital room. A sudden slight sharp pain shot through Sakura's temples making her instinctively massage them with her fingers and an irritated look on her face. She looks back up to her group to check if they hadn't caught her reaction, which she regretted as she found her dark haired teammate called Sasuke staring back at her with cold and observing eyes.
His uncomfortable, dark stare making her look away nervously as she recognized that look from Sasuke. He wanted answers, but he didn't seem like he would begin interrogating her in front of Kakashi and Naruto. He was going to wait.
The door to her room swings open and in comes in a woman with long blond hair tied in two very loose and low pigtails, and piercing hazel eyes landing on her. "Sakura you little brat!!!" she came in insulting her and staring at the pinkette with complete annoyance.
Flashback
The sun was set when a woman yelled at a 5 year old pinkette as they trained together in the demolished training grounds. "Come on you little brat!! Get a hit on me! You aren't leaving 'til I can't see straight!!" she taunted the little girl. The said girl was on her knees exhausted as she stared at her sensei taunt her and try to make her angry. Which worked since the girl was gritting her teeth and glaring dagger at the woman before her. "I would Tsunade-sensei but your damn face keeps on distracting me!!" she retorted back in taunting back the blond. Honey colored eyes blazed into a deep red with hatred "You damn brat!!!!" she charged at the young girl as the pinkette smirked at her succession.
After that whole spar which was more like war the two females lay flat on their backs and stare at the stars as they rest. "Not bad Sakura, but next time keep your little insults to yourself" Tsunade warned her student. A light chuckle beside her catches her attention "Right back at cha' you hag" Sakura continues to grin as she stared at the stars above. Tsunade could only smile and ignore what the young girl added at the end of her retort.
End Flashback
"Tsunade-sama?? What the hell is one of the Legendary Sannin doing back in Konoha??" Sakura blurted out just as rudely as the woman had. Tsunade seemed to have taken the question as an insult as she stuck her nose up in the air in disapproval. "For your information you brat, you're annoying little blond idiot of a teammate wouldn't stop pestering me on returning so that I could heal you idiots!" she bit back as she inched closer to Sakura in the most frightening way.
Sakura could only tsk and look down at her hands as she played with the white blanket beneath them. "Boys, I'm going to have to ask you nicely to leave the room so that I can run some tests on Sakura here". Sakura doesn't bother to look back to her teammates as they scurry out of the room with quick 'byes' ,obviously afraid of the blond woman's wrath.
"Wow, they really listen to you Tsunade-sama" Sakura looked back at the medic bewildered. "Of course they do. After all I am the 5th Hokage and they have to respect my orders" she told her patient as she gathered her file from the foot of her bed and handed a glass of water to Sakura as she read the file. Sakura choked on the water she was drinking at the sudden news "What?!?! They made you Hokage?!!? They must be insane!!" she shrieked between coughs. Tsunade could feel a vein pulse violently on her forehead as her anger began to boil. "What's that suppose to mean?" she asked with a twitching brow.
"Well from what I've read from all the three Sannins is that you were a mean drinker and a crappy gambler. You could be drunk most of the time as Hokage to Konoha! We're doomed!!" she continued as another vein began to pulse on the other side of Tsunade's forehead and gritted her teeth. "I can't imagine how much in ruins the village will be under your leadership!" the pink headed ninja just didn't know when to shut up. Suddenly the clipboard in Tsunade's hands that were holding the files snapped catching Sakura's attention.
"You really think so low of me…you damn little BRAT!!!" she charged towards the bewildered girl in bed. Sakura jumps off the bed with a yelp just in time to dodge to woman's insane strength. The bed that was once being occupied by Sakura was now smashed to pieces by the enraged woman. Sakura, who was now standing next to the door that led to the rest of the hospital was sweating like there was no tomorrow.
She laughs nervously as Tsunade begins to walk towards her and she proceeds to lean her back on the door. "Would you like to repeat that?" the woman asked her murderously as she cracked her knuckles violently. Sakura's hand touches the door knob and makes to turn the knob slowly "Uh…um…bye!" and she bolts out the door and sprints down the hall of the hospital screaming with Tsunade not far behind "GET BACK HERE SAKURA!!!!!".
Sakura looks back quickly to see how far the old woman was to her 'Oh…crap…' she was doomed. She turns her head back to watch where she was going and was blessed with an angel sent from Kami-sama himself. "Shizune-sama!!" she shrieked and swung passed her and hid behind her just fast enough to stop Tsunade from colliding with her assistant. Shizune could only blink in confusion as she watched her master heaving in anger before her. "Umm…Tsunade-sama…is everything alright? What's going on here?" she asked as she glanced at the frightened genin using her as protection. "That good for nothing brat insulted me!!! She must be punished with a pounding from me!" she explained as she struggled to regain control of her emotions.
Sakura chose to interject and disagree with the pissed blond "It was not an insult it was a common fact!! You clearly have to admit that with Tsuande as the new Hokage and is drunk most of the time, Konoha would be doomed under her command!!" she argued back which made Tsunade growl in distaste. "Well…that is true Tsuande-sama. You do have a drinking problem…" Shizune admitted unsure of her own words with the way her superior was glaring at her.
Tsunade continues to glare murderously at the two as they sweated bullets under her frightening gaze. "Fine!" she barked, truly defeated for the very first time in years. "But remember…I will get you back for insulting me, and Shizune here isn't going to be there next time! And Shizune! You're doing this brat's physical" and with those threatening words she turned on her heels and bolted with a dark cloud following her overhead.
Sakura relaxes and sighs in deep relief catching Shizune's attention by turning to look at her. "Sakura-chan, it's you! I haven't seen you so such a long time!" she embraced the younger girl warmly. Sakura felt awkward because well…she didn't even know this woman and she was hugging her and telling her that she missed her! And the most confusing part was that she—herself knew this woman's name!! 'How is that even possible when I don't even know this lady!!' she freaked in her mind.
"Uh…hi?" Sakura greeted the black haired woman named Shizune still in the tight hug. "Oh, I'm sorry! I-I didn't mean to freak you out!" Shizune let her go but held her at arm's length "We knew each other when you were years younger! You probably don't remember me because you were so young!" Shizune explained to her as she raised a pink eyebrow as Shizune explained nervously. "It's seems logical, I guess" she wasn't completely convinced but the story had its logic.
"So what now, my check-up or something?" she asked Shizune as she got weird looks from nurses and some patients. "Oh! Yeah, let's get you back to your room" she walked away before Sakura could warn her about the catastrophe in her hospital room. "Eh…w-wait Shizune-san!!" she jogged to keep up with the short haired woman.
When they arrived at her door Shizune could only sweat drop at the sight of the door being ripped off its hinges and leaning on the wall across from it. She walks in and she falls over when she sees the bed and the wall behind it destroyed. "Uh…yeah…she kind of chased me from the room" she told her sheepishly as her nervous laugh joined in. Shizune could only sigh, still facing the destroyed room "You haven't changed a bit".
Sakura was given another room since her room was destroyed and was done all the exams. "Okay Sakura-chan, your results will be back by late afternoon, but for now try to get some rest" she told the pinkette as she left her room. The pink haired kunoichi was left to her darkening thoughts in the too bright room, as she succumbed to sleep.
The next morning Sakura awoke to a shout somewhere close to her room, with sleepy eyes she scans the room and finds the door to her room slightly open. 'Damn…must be some patient' she wondered as she sat up in her bed, the sun wasn't even up yet! She looks up to check the time and reads '4:26' am. She groans as she realizes the times and smacks her head back unto her pillow 'Kami why did I have to wake up at this time!' she complained to herself like an idiot. "Well…there's no sense in staying in bed since I don't feel like sleeping" she muttered to herself as to not attract any nurse's attention to her room. She gets up off her bed and walks out of her hospital room.
She spent most of her time walking in the hallways when the sun began to rise and she rushed back to her room silently. Once she reaches her room she stretches her arms into the air and an unfamiliar scent reaches her nostrils making her nose scrunch up in disgust. "Ewe, I smell disgusting! I need a shower now!" she ran into the bathroom in her room and jumps into the shower faster than Lee could ever run a mile.
After a while of scrubbing and cleaning she was clean and refreshed as she exited her bathroom in search for her clothes with a towel wrapped around her body. "Damn it, where the hell did these people leave my damn clothes!" she rummaged through some drawers and finally found her clothes washed and folded neatly. "Aha! Found them!" she grinned triumphed.
"Excuse me Miss Haruno…but I believe you should be in bed resting!" a woman called out to her out of nowhere making Sakura jump in her place. 'Ah hell, I have the worst luck I swear it!' rolling her eyes at the nurse's order for her to get back in bed. "Look lady I want out of here!" she began to nag to the nurse who was holding a tray of nutritious food. The young nurse could only frown at Sakura's behavior "I'm sorry to hear that Miss Haruno but I can't let you leave! Also Shizune-san has asked me to bring you breakfast and you must eat it!" she ordered her as she placed the meal on the side table and left the room, but not without giving Sakura a 'you-better-do-as-I-say-or-else' look.
Sakura could only roll her eyes in annoyance and snort that showed just how un-lady like she was. "Chya right lady" she muttered as she dressed herself in her red kunoichi dress and slipped on her sandals and gear. She slides the window open and takes a step on the window sill when her stomach made the most unearthly growl. "Hmm…maybe I should eat breakfast" she thought as her eyes wandered back to the plate full of surprisingly delicious looking food.
Making up her mind she ate her breakfast and finally jumped out the window of her hospital room and booked it before anyone knew where she had gone. Suddenly she heard the old woman herself growling her name out, she giggles to herself and runs off towards her home.
Not far from her home she suddenly halts just in time to stop herself from colliding into a tall figure "Goddamn it! Kakashi-sensei, can't you see I'm trying to get as far away as possible from Tsunade-baa-chan!!" she cursed out at him as she regained her balance. He could only raise a brow at her unusual attitude against him "Now, Now Sakura…shouldn't you be in the hospital resting?" he asked her, completely ignoring her earlier rants. She tsks and rolls her eyes at his nonchalant posture "I'm just fine! The only thing I need to be doing is getting the hell away from Tsunade—the she devil herself!!" she told him as she looked back to the direction to the hospital to see if she was being followed. The response only made his visible eyebrow rise higher and his eyes shine in slight amusement "Hmm? Is that so?" He continued to keep her. "Yes!" she growled out.
"That's very uncharacteristically of you" he commented her disobedience of the Hokage herself. "I also heard about what had happened right after we left from the hospital yesterday. Something about being chased around the hospital by Tsunade-sama??" he mused as her expression became one of horror. "Ugh, don't remind me of that nightmare! Now I've got to go, see you tomorrow for training you porno addict!!" and with her last words she took off leaving a very baffled and embarrassed sensei behind.
It was dark out when Sakura arrived home and headed straight to bed as she sat there to think. Her room was dark and the moonlight gave her small room an eerie look and casted a dark shadow over her form. She sighed as she sat there to organize her thoughts. 'Okay so I'm having strange images going through my head, Itachi knows me for some unknown reason, Tsunade seems quite familiar in a very creepy way 'cus I don't recall any of this! And apparently I'm going insane with all this!!' she groaned frustrated at what she was mixed in.
She let herself relax into her comfy bed as she lied there with mixed thoughts. She stares out at the full moon before her and the stars that twinkled in the night sky and bidding her a well night. 'The question is…what does this all mean? And how am I involved in all this?' her eyes grew heavy as she recalled all that had been happening to her. 'I feel so…confused…' were her last thoughts as she drifted into the darkness.
Flashback
"Sakura, you have to try harder than that if you want to be an accomplished shinobi! I want it done perfectly!" an old man told the young girl sternly. "Yes grandfather" she replied politely as she did the hand signs once again to summon her jutsu…again. "Water Style: Spiral Canon Jutsu!" she performed it as if she done the jutsu for years now, which in reality she had just learned it that exact day. A spiraling canon of water launched itself at a nearby tree and hit it dead on, successfully destroying the tree and making it splinter into tiny, sharp pieces.
The child could only hope her grandfather was at least happy with the result of her jutsu, as she fought to catch her breath. "It is acceptable… for now, but for now I have something to give you…a gift" he informed her as she bowed respectfully and he reached for his said gift. She came forward and he presented it to her; it was a beautiful long katana with intricate designs on the handle and sheath. "I suppose you want me to learn the art of kenjutsu, grandfather?" she asked him as she reached for her gift and held it in her small hands. "That is correct Sakura, but for now I want you to focus on your Ninjutsu training with me, you're group training with your team, and your training with Lady Tsunade's as well" he told her as he rose from his seat on the mat and stared down at his eldest grandchild. "Very well, grandfather. I thank you for your gift, it will be most useful when used in battle" she bowed to her grandfather and clan leader in respect as he walked away from her and she was left there alone.
She rose from her arched position and glared at her grandfather's retreating back as he left the Haruno clan's private training grounds. 'How I hate that old man' she told herself as her bright green eyes turned into the cold and distant eyes her grandfather had achieved with his cold attitude and harsh training and relationship towards her. She stared down at her 'gift' and held it tight in her grip 'All this brings me is more work and training' she squeezed her eyes shut for a moment to cool off her anger towards her grandfather if that was what anyone else would call him but all he was to her was a miserable old man.
'One day…one day…' her thoughts were cut short when a very familiar voice reached her senses "Saku-nee!! Saku-nee!" she turned to look back at her beloved younger brother. "Kimi-kun" she greeted him with a huge grin as she turned to face her brother. He ran into her arms into a hug and grinned up to her "Can we play?" he asked her with pleading eyes. She sighed and unwrapped her arms around her brother "I'm sorry Kimi-kun but I have things to do…" she trailed off as she watched her brother's smile fall. 'Oh come on just spend time with him…' a voice in the back of her head persuaded "But I do have time for ice cream…you want to come?" she asked him with a small smile and hopeful eyes. Her answer confirmed as she saw his eyes grow as big as saucers and a huge grin replace his frown. "Really Nee-chan, can we??" his hopeful expression made her giggle and nod to him. "Yeah, really…" she told him as he grabbed her hand with his own small one and began pulling her towards the ice cream shop. Her smile became sad as she stared at her brother dragging her enthusiastically 'Really…'
End Flashback
Sakura awoke from her bed and laid there as the dream or whatever it was processed itself in her mind "Kimi-kun…" she whispered to herself as she remembers his face, his slick silver hair and bright blue eyes that could rival the skies. The sudden image of his innocent face covered in blood raced through her mind and she rose from her bed and looks at the digital clock on her night stand that read '4:13' and groaned 'Why am I up so early?' she rubbed her eyes tiredly as she got up and entered her bathroom. She splashed her face with cold water to wake herself up fully.
Her hands on the edges of the sink counter as she stared at herself in the mirror. There she saw the same little girl who was always in her dreams, 'It's me…when I was younger…' she blinked to clear her vision but the little girl was gone. She sighed then looked back into the mirror and only saw herself with a deep grimace 'Or I'm just going crazy' she decided on the latter. She sheds her clothesand entered her shower to clean herself from the night's sleep. After a short shower she got out, wrapping her towel around her form and headed for her closet. What hung before provided her with a scowl 'I seriously need a change of clothing. This dress seems so….bleh…' she thought to herself as she went through her clothes to look for something decent to where.
"Hmm…." She continued to go through racks of clothing which was all a bright red, pink, dresses, or just plain….bright. The thought made a shiver run down her spine "What was I thinking wearing all these damn colors! I'm a ninja for Kami-sama's sake!" she ranted as she continued to look through her clothes. Finding herself a pink kimono shirt "No…" and then found another, though this one was a pink dress "Nope". Then another which was a fresher kimono dress in a bright gold color "Never" she grimaced and passed through the next thirty bright clothes that were horrible for a ninja of her status 'Not that I have much' she thought darkly. "Aha! I like this one" she had found a small zip up vest that was dark red—almost blood like in color. She smiled at the old thing that was crammed in the back of her closet, it was perfect. She tossed the vest on her bed and moved on to look for her bottoms.
She didn't feel like wearing a shirt of any sort so she settled for some black cargo shorts that were a lot like what Sasuke wore most of the time, but his wear white…which was odd since it was so easy to get white clothes dirty. She shrugged her shoulders at the thought and moved to get some undergarments to wear and a white muscle shirt to go under her red vest.
Quickly slipping her clothes on and looking at herself in the mirror she discovered she didn't look half bad. The vest was comfortably tight on her but it was elastic which gave her room to move smoothly when she was on duty. The mildly baggy shorts accented her small waist, and they were extremely comfortable unlike that old dress she always wore. She strapped her gear on but she felt empty in a way like something was missing, beside her Konoha headband which lay on her nightstand. She stared at her hands, her arms, and her legs…what was missing. "Oh…maybe I can…." She opens a drawer that was occupied with many sharp shurikens, kunias, and scrolls about chakra control and medical ninjutsu.
She didn't know why she studied medical ninjutsu scrolls, the mumbo jumbo and gibberish that were written in all the scrolls or in anything that obtained that kind of information just made complete, utter sense to her. She never thought about her weird obsession until now, and until now she never thought of it as an obsession. A glance around her messy room caused her to sweat drop, brushes, dull kunias and shurikens, books and scrolls about medical ninjutsu lay all around her room. 'Umm…was it always this messy in here?' she thought dumbly to herself but shook the stupid thought away. Her eyes brightened when she found what she was looking for, a new roll of gauze wrapped nice and neatly tucked in together as to not fall apart.
She unrolls the clean medical tape and rolled it onto her wrists to her forearm. She tosses the roll back in its place in the drawer as she makes circles with her wrist and tightened her fists, she smiles as the bandages stayed in place and hope they would help. The thick but elastic tape was especially made to keep limbs in place and if she fell on her hands the tape would prevent her wrists from becoming seriously damaged.
With her new clothing on she headed out with only an apple in hand at '6:12'. She knew she had to book it fast before her parents woke up and began nagging at her for making them worry, and escaping from the hospital, and all that junk. She walked in a slow pace as she bit small pieces of her sweet apple when a low voice cut through her thoughts "Sakura, what are doing up so early? Shouldn't you be in the hospital?". "Hmm?" she turned her head to see her teammate with the cockatoo hair style "Oh, I just woke up early is all, and I decided to just get up early" she explained to him as he stared at her incredulously with a lifted eyebrow. "At…" he looked over to the closest clock to him which was "6:26 in the morning?" he glanced back at her as she simply shrugged in response.
"Why so curious Sasuke-kun?" she asked him slyly with a flirtatious smile. He rolled his eyes in annoyance and just began to walk past her 'She hasn't changed'. She scowled at his lack of response to affection as she took another bite from her apple "Whatever…jerk" she mumbled as she changed directions and walked the opposite way from where Sasuke had left to. "What?" she blinked and Sasuke was just inches away from her. "Nothing" she told him as she didn't dare look him in the eye and move to walk away from his very close body. She felt his hand wrap around her arm "Sakura…" his low tone made her look him in the eyes bravely "Tell me" he told her in a warning tone.
She didn't know why but she felt angry at the boy that she had been crushing on since she was seven years old and still in the ninja academy. She felt angry at the fact that her presence matters to him only when his older brother is involved. Her nervous glance narrowed into slits as her anger rose and she yanked her arm from her beloved teammate "I said 'nothing'!" she told him as she took a hasty step away from him. Her new reaction made him raise a brow in question; she had never acted that way….at least not towards HIM.
No, Sakura Haruno has never, ever disrespected him or has she raised her voice to him. Never has she snapped at THE Sasuke Uchiha, one of the last of the Uchiha clan, and one of the last to posses the Sharingan. No…never has the pink haired girl in Team 7 so much as looked at the Uchiha in the group in such a distasteful way like she was now, never. Sasuke never thought this annoying fangirl could ever have spoken at him with such venom in her words, never. She had never inched away from him the way she did, like her skin burned from his touch, never.
Sasuke could only stare at the pinkette, only stare at her as she glared at him and stood her ground under his own stare. He blinks once and sees her eyes widen in sudden realization. 'Oh my…I can't believe I just did that…to Sasuke…' she panicked and turned to walk off, away from her situation, away from Sasuke. "I've got to go" she told him hurriedly and left before he could order her to stop.
"What was that all about?" Sasuke wondered as he continued to stare at the spot where she once was. 'There's something up with her, and I'm will find out what it is' he plotted as he stuffed his hands in his pockets and walked off.
Sakura sat under a tree as she recollected herself after what had occurred between Sasuke and herself. She groaned and hit the back of her head on the tree 'Now Sasuke-kun will never like me….' She pouted and cursed herself and her short temper for snapping at him. 'Screw him! He deserved it!' she heard a voice in the back of her mind reassure her. "Maybe he did…" she told herself, she knew he did but with her showing Sasuke how she really feels about his demanding requests just lowered her chances of ever him liking her and being with her.
Her thoughts were cut short when she sensed something coming her way, fast. Her reflexes taking over she titled her head to the left and felt the air sliced by the weapon and the loud whizzing sound after it. She blinked a couple of times and looked back to the tree and found a shuriken sunk into it, "Oh…" she could only say. She didn't know how she dodged that without even realizing it, it just came to her naturally. She stood from her position under the tree and looked at the shuriken that was centimeters from hitting its false target, her head.
"My apologies…my teammate and I were training and a shuriken went out of course after I reflected it" a familiar white eyed and brown haired teen said as he bowed towards her; his female teammate with very familiar brown hair and two buns walking towards the two "Sorry about that" she added with a apologetic smile. Sakura smiled at the two "Don't worry about it. There's no need to apologize Neji-san—Tenten-san. I'm fine either way" Sakura reassured them as she pulled the shuriken from its place on the bark of the tree and handed it to Tenten, who was most likely the owner of the weapon. "How do you—or you're that girl…from the Chunin exams. The one in Team 7 with Naruto and that Sasuke guy" Tenten said as she accepted her weapon back. Sakura smiled 'That girl in Team 7…' she contemplated. "Yeah, Sakura Haruno" she introduced herself with a curt nod and a small smile to the two.
Tenten smiled back to her while Neji only nodded back to her in acknowledgement "Nice reflexes by the way!" the brunette complimented. "Hmm? Oh yeah thanks!" she smiled to the older girl. "Well I've got to go meet up with the team. It was nice running into you two, Tenten-san, Neji-san! Maybe we can train a little sometime" she told them as she waved a hand in their direction as she walked away from the two brunettes.
Tenten could only turn to her Hyuga teammate with a scowl "Couldn't you be a little nicer?" she scolded him playfully. Neji only sent her a glance and looked back to the pinkette as she made her way out of the training grounds to meet up with her team. "I wasn't being rude" he told her simply "I simply found no reason as to make conversation, let's get back to training shall we?" he told her as she sighed in defeat and followed him back to their training grounds.
Sakura looked down at her wrist watch and saw that she had at least 30 minutes 'till Team 7 had to meet for team training so she decided to take her sweet time, walking the empty streets of Konoha as she sun slowly began to rise and start the day for Konoha's citizens. Time flew by as she made her way to 'Team 7's Bridge' as it is now known for, she didn't know why but she liked having something named after her team and herself. She reached the bridge and leaned her body on the wooden rails and let her hands hang limply off the rail as she stared at nothing in particular. A few minutes passed when she felt her dark haired teammate approach the bridge, but she ignored his presence as they stood in an awkward silence. Naruto soon came as loud and bouncy as ever greeting them both "Hi Sakura-chan!! I heard you ditched the hospital, nice!!" he smiled broadly towards her "Yeah, I couldn't stand that place!" she told him as she giggled.
"Shizune told me what happened after we left too! The old lady really chased you all around the hospital?!?!" he asked her with excitement in his features "Oh that….well… let's just say that the hospital is going to need some repairs after what happened. That woman is an atrocity!" she told him, as his eyes grew as huge as a bowl of ramen. "Whoa!! Are your serious!?!! That's awesome Sakura-chan!!" he laughed as he imagined Sakura being chased by the old lady in a rampage. "It wasn't easy, but I managed to get away" she laughed.
Sasuke happening to hear his teammates have this ridiculous conversation couldn't believe what he was hearing. Sakura apparently provoked the Hokage and was chased throughout the whole hospital?! That's just crazy! Sakura wasn't the kind of person to go on disrespecting people like that! That was Naruto's job, looks like Naruto has been a bad influence on Sakura as of late. 'That would probably explain her earlier outburst' he wondered to himself. Sasuke couldn't help but stare at Sakura and he finally noticed her new choice of clothes. He observed her outfit up and down and had to admit that he liked it better then that dress she would always wear.
"Hey Sakura-chan, I like your new clothes!" Naruto seemed to notice her new clothes too. "Oh! Thanks, I figured I need a change. The dress was getting really frustrating and I'm not really sure why I wore it all the time" she told him as she stuffed her small hands in her short pockets and leaned on the rails again.
They waited for hours until Kakashi finally decided to join them. We had a small delivery mission to a small town close to the village that should take about an hour or so. So they headed out and completed the mission easily without any arguments…well between Naruto and Sakura anyway. Though the arguments between Naruto and Sasuke could never be avoided, the team managed to reach Konoha in one piece.
The team decided that training was in order so they decided to have a free for all, Naruto, Sasuke, and Sakura were to spar each other until Kakashi stopped them otherwise. Sakura was up in a tree watching Naruto and Sasuke fight contemplating her next move 'Hmm…what to do, what to do? I could wait until one of the two leave me any way to attack…or I could set up a trap and wait until that's sprung…' she went through different ways to get those two idiots attention. When she remembered what she had down when she fought against the elder Uchiha. 'If only I knew I how I did that in the first place!' she berated herself when she sensed danger coming her way.
Snapping out of her thoughts she dodged a kunai and a barrage of shurikens by slipping off the branch and keeping her feet connected to the tree as she stood on the branch upside down. "I found you Sakura-chan!! Where have you been?" he asked her as he charged her and she pushed herself off the tree and landing on the moist grass gracefully. "Well, I was planning on kicking back and waiting until you two mindless idiots knocked each other out, but now that's now going to happen is it?" she taunted him, and he pouted. "Hey! That's cheating!!" he whined as he pointed a finger at her, she couldn't help but laugh at his accusation "I wouldn't call it cheating…I would prefer it to be called using your head" she said as she threw a well aimed kunai at his face. He yelps and dodges her kunai and charges her dead on. 'Ah crap! Ima lose!!!' she thought as she made to dodge a punch which she did but didn't see his kick and was sent flying towards the open field.
"Ow" she could only say as she got back on her feet and lowered herself into a fighting stance as Naruto came into view with a worried look in his eye. "Are you okay Sakura-chan? I didn't mean to hurt you so bad" he told her as he searched her for any wounds. "Naruto, focus… you can't go easy on her, what if she was the enemy!?" She heard Kakashi scold him in the sidelines. 'He's right what if I was the enemy and I couldn't defend myself, then what?!' she asked herself as she observed Naruto lower himself into his own battle stance. 'I could attempt to try what I did against Itachi!' she pondered as Sasuke came at the most perfect time to show up and buy her some time. She moved to hide into the trees again until she felt she was ready and concentrated 'Okay…so I destroyed that wall back then, I did it once I could do it again. So how can I do it again?!', a loud explosion caught her attention and then it went silent. 'Damn one of them is down, but which one?!' she panicked as she tried to sense her teammates' chakras. "Pay attention to your surroundings Sakura" she hear that all too familiar voice 'Crap!' she moved to get some distance between them but he caught arm and held her in place as he twisted her arm behind her back. "Give up" he warned her in his deep voice that made a shiver go up and down her spine. "Hardly" her words came out of her mouth like butter, without her even realizing it and she quickly dug her elbow into his stomach hard.
The force on which she applied to that hit was strong enough to send him flying into a nearby tree and hearing him groan from the pain shocked her to her very core. "Oh my…" faster than she had Sasuke into that she he was behind her with a kunai dangerously close to her neck. "Alright, alright I give up" she told him as he released her and they regrouped with Naruto and Kakashi. "Good job you guys, you're all improving" Kakashi-sensei told him as his eyes lingered on Sakura for a cool second. "That should be fine for today you guys; you can have the rest of the day off" he told him as he disappeared his usual way.
"Alright Sakura-chan, you got the teme good!!" he laughed as he remembered Sasuke go flying from the pinkette's hit. "Uh...yeah thanks" she told him unsure of what she felt toward the past event. She turned to Sasuke worriedly "Sorry Sasuke-kun, I didn't mean to hit you so hard" she told him, but she only received his usual grunt and walked off. His reaction towards her made her frown 'Jerk…I said I was sorry'. "Well Naruto I've got to go, see you around okay?" she told him as she began to walk away from the blond with a small smile.
Sakura entered her home with a tired sigh when the unthinkable happened "Sakura Haruno, where the hell have you been young lady!" her oh-so precious mother bellowed. "I was training with my team mom, like always" she snapped back as her father walked into the living room from what seemed to be the kitchen. "What I mean is what are you doing out of the hospital?! I heard about that little stunt you did, leaving the hospital without permission! What were you thinking!?" she continued to nag to Sakura who was getting extremely annoyed by her mother's yelling. "Why does that matter?! I fine and I don't need to be in the hospital!" she yelled back at her mother as she waved her arms around. "It matters because you disrespected our Hokage and you broke so many rules in that hospital, including the one about leaving the hospital without permission!" she continued to berate her only child. She growled at her mother's constant lecturing and stormed upstairs into her room.
She threw herself on her bed and growled loudly into her sheets and childishly pounded on her bed in anger. She heard a soft knock to her door but chose to ignore it 'Just leave me alone mom…' she was too furious to voice her thoughts and her thoughts were cut short when she heard her father call out to her in his usual quiet voice "Sakura…please try not to be angry with your mother. She was just worried is all" he tried to reassure her as she felt her bed sink to his weight while he took a seat in the corner of her small bed. She continued to say nothing as her father continued with a sigh of defeat "At least go to Hokage-sama and apologize…" he advised and left her to her thoughts as he exited her room with the silence she oh-so-loved at this very moment.
Sakura groaned into her sheets as she thought over her father's request 'Why does he have to be so…nice. Now I can't refuse to go 'apologize' to the old lady' she twisted her body as to face the ceiling and took a long and deep breath to try to calm her raging anger towards her nagging mother. She sits up from her bed and stares out of her large window, and finds herself staring at the biggest tower in the village also known as the Hokage's Tower. She slips out of bed, walks to her door and locks it; opening her window and silently slipping through it. She slides the window closed and takes off by the roof-tops to the Hokage's Tower.
She knocked on the door, each knock silent and slow "Come in" she heard the Fifth Hokage call out to her visitor and Sakura walks into the office and shuts the door behind her. Tsunade who was currently fixated on reading and signing paperwork looked up from her work and stared back at Sakura unexpectedly "Sakura? What are you doing here?" she asked the young female genin as she folded her holds in front of her and placed her elbows on her desk. The blonde woman stared Sakura down and waited for Sakura to explain her sudden visit, watching as Sakura walked forward towards her desk and keeping her eyes lowered only spiked the woman's curiosity further. Sakura mumbled something incoherent which made Tsuande a bit annoyed "What?" she bit out. Sakura finding her courage returning looked up to stare the annoyed woman in the eye and speaking boldly "I said I'm sorry for leaving the hospital without your permission".
Tsunade was shocked to say the least when the words exited the pinkette's mouth but recollected herself "Is that all you want to apologize for?" she asked her sarcastically. "That's all you get, lady" she retorted back to the short tempered Hokage; Tsunade couldn't help but crack a smile and chuckle at Sakura's hot tempered personality that reminded her about herself. She received and skeptical look from the girl "You know…you remind me of someone I knew a long time ago…" the random statement made Sakura blink confused towards the Hokage. "So you're in Team 7…with Kakashi, Naruto and that Sasuke kid huh?" Sakura doesn't bother to answer her pointless question as she continues "Kakashi has told me you have exceptional chakra control…abnormal is what he described it…" the statement causing Sakura to stare at her weirdly "Yeah, so? It's not like it helps me in any way to become a great ninja like I should be" she told her sardonically as she stared down at the floor at nothing in particular. "On the contrary actually, that kind of skill is rare to find and can possibly make you into the best shinobi" she explained as she leaned her torso on her desk to get a better look at Sakura's shocked reaction to the news. "Are you serious?" Sakura could only ask hopefully. "Yup, and I'm going to help you. From now on you'll be my apprentice" she announced.
Sakura could only blink in shock "Excuse me?" her continuous shock only made Tsunade angry "Either take it or just get out of my office, Sakura" she suggested harshly. "NO! No…I accept. Thank you" she bowed her head to the blonde respectfully for the first time "Good. Training begins tomorrow morning at six. I'll inform Kakashi that you're training will be under my supervision, now get out!" she informed her newly appointed student or apprentice and Sakura rushed out.
Walking back home realization suddenly hit Sakura like a pile of rocks and she smiled 'I'm the Fifth Hokage's apprentice…' her hands curling into fists in anticipation 'I won't be left behind anymore…not anymore' she made a silent vow to herself on that cool and breezy day.
Luka1Sakura: I tried to make it as long as I could for all the time that I lagged on updating, so I hope you guys enjoy even though it's not an exciting butt-kicking chapter. The next chapter will be alot better since Sakura will have better ninja skills and a slight change of personality considering all that things she's going through. I hoped you enjoyed! Please review....
