Disclaimer here! Rose doesn't own Harry Potter or Naruto!
Part Four
Two months into the new year in a new class with a new instructor was pissing her off. It wasn't the instructors they were fine and it wasn't even the class in general no what really pissed her off was the constant discussions about her. It was like all of the older girls had a tick, a bug that made them coo over her adorable looks. If she was honest with herself she was slightly scared of the way they looked at her. She was so ready to take a pointed object to their eyes because they kept traveling toward her when the teachers weren't looking.
When it came to the more girlish aspects of being a konoichi she was nervous every class. One because she had dreams of her life from before and two because the teacher for that class was so strict she was afraid to mess up anything. One of the classes was to arrange a variety of flowers for various ceremonies and occasions and it was one where she was thankful to Luna and Neville for their conversations of the meanings behind flowers. She was even more grateful when the meanings were almost universal.
0o0o0
Three months into the new school year and she'd been asked to stay behind for the fourth time in as many days. Because some of the older girls got upset when she pointed out, rather loudly, how unsuited to the life of a ninja they were and how they were most likely to die. Of course she had not been quiet about it so she had been on the receiving end of a few glares and then asked politely to remain behind.
"Sakura if this keeps up I'll have no choice but to keep behind for another year. Do you want me to do that?" Haruhatsu-sensei asked.
Sakura wondered if he knew that she wouldn't mind staying in the academy for another year if he'd do it or not. She knew though that if he got the slightest hint of her feelings he would he was just like that.
"No sensei, I just don't like the comments they make about me and to me. I am not some doll they can play with. And they have tried sensei." he winced but was firm in his stance.
"I can't do anything about that Sakura but you could use it for evasion training."
0o0o0
When month five came around with no change in the behavior of her female classmates she decided it was open season for pranks. 'Let the games begin.'
They began innocent enough bugs in the hair, books mysteriously vanishing only to turn up in the hand of teacher with newly added decorations and glue placed in strategic places such as the toilet seats in the girls bathroom. When, after she'd framed them for the coffee incident, they still refused to back down she decided to pull out the metaphorical big guns. Not Kenji and Shikamaru no, this was her problem and she was going to handle it.
One week into the seventh month all of the girls except her were suddenly overcome with the urge to express their hidden feelings for their teachers.
It was in the words of Kenji "rather wondrous" to observe so many declarations of love in a single day. Nothing could be done until the girls regained control themselves and that didn't happen until the teacher acknowledged the declaration. Either by rejecting or returning the feeling it didn't even have to be true the moment the words were uttered the girl would fall unconscious and would remain that way until the dreams ended.
When the girls woke up only five of them still wanted to be konoichi. It was a good day for Sakura herself because they were the five that had taken their studies seriously. Though she unknowingly altered team assignments Sakura was excited for the rest of the month. Then something went wrong, very wrong.
0o0o0
When she opened the door she thought it was Kenji after all he woke her up with his kikaichu and she didn't really know the other members of his family that well. The few times she'd been over to have supper with his family was fairly intimidating. When she'd met his father she thought she was meeting another Snape. As she talked with his family and listened to them talk about clan things it was obvious that Kenji's father and Snape were nothing alike. For one Mukoharu loved his family, treated her fairly and wasn't overly sarcastic for the man did posses a very sarcastic sense of humor and wit at least when he was relaxed.
Still she wasn't sure he would come to her home unless…
She opened the door to the form of Mukoharu and she thought her heart would burst beating as fast as it was. Only to feel as though she'd been punched in the gut at his words.
"Kenji is in the hospital and will most likely not live out the day, come." She dressed in record time and was at the hospital before she could blink. 'Body flicker' she thought absently.
"In there." he said pointing towards a door. "He wishes to speak to you privately first."
Sakura was a bundle of nerves as she entered his room, seeing him looking at her so stoically had her nearly in tears. 'Damn this body and its girly reactions. He looks like hell, for him at least.'
"Sakura you're staring."
"Of course I am, you don't have on your jacket so I can see your face now." she smiled at him and sat gently on the bed. He was looking rather pale, paler even then he usually was and there was sweat beaded on his forehead.
"I wished for you to know that I had more fun then I believed I would in my final year." she whipped her eyes to his faster then she'd ever moved them.
"What do you mean 'my final year'? Did you know this would happen?" she didn't yell not in a hospital but it was a near thing. He smirked, smirked the smug bastard.
"I did." she couldn't believe this. The whole time he knew he was dying and he never said a gods damned thing. If he weren't in the hospital bed she'd kill him.
"Kenji you're my best friend, how the hell am I supposed to prank Konoha without you?"
"You still have Shikamaru." she knew that but that wasn't the issue. He was leaving her.
"That's not what I meant and you know it. If that were the case I could get that blond kid you told me about to help me out with pranking." He smiled something that was rare and then he did something even more rare he hugged her.
"I will be here," he pointed to her heart. "Whenever you need to talk to me. Or just to bounce your insane ideas off of."
"I'll say her ideas are insane, it's true then?" Shikamaru had come in all of his slouching glory.
"It is." they shared a hug between the three of them before Kenji began to shake.
Calling for the doctor was only the beginning of the five hour episode to keep Kenji alive. She had thought about using her magic but she had no idea what was wrong with him nor did she know where to begin to help. 'This is the last time, absolutely the last time anyone dies in front of me.'
0o0
His funeral was held two days later and she remade her vow, "no one dies if I can do anything about it, no one."
Her vow leads her to begin her education as a medic-nin and a whole slew of doors open for her when Mukoharu pulls some strings for her. It grants her a teacher one Shinko Aburame and a small place in Shinko's lab in which Sakura was assured she would be able to practice to her hearts content. Which she knows she'd never be, she will always wish to be better and make things easier for her.
Her education in the medic field started mostly with books, a seminar on anatomy and minor rolls in helping with the injured patients that came to the small Aburame clinic. Shinko had taken a liking to her and had explained that Kenji was her nephew and he had gushed about her, at least as gushy as an Aburame could get about someone.
"He spoke highly of you Sakura and I am starting to see why."
0o0o0
The weeks until the graduation test are filled with her absorbing everything she can, not only with medic ninjutsu but also with refining her seals. The only time she crashed was that first week after the funeral but her friend Shikamaru beat some sense into her with his overly large brain and vocabulary. She was thankful that she still had him, 'no one else' she's going make sure of that.
Her basic three ninjutsu had become almost seal less by the time the test came around and she knew without a doubt, she would pass.
When the written test didn't cause her to pause and the taijutsu test had the instructor in pain the overseers really began to see why she had been selected to be tested sooner then normal for peace times. When Shikamaru's exam didn't go as well as hers she had to know why so while they were waiting for the ninjutsu portion of the test she asked him.
"Why are you failing?" his response wasn't what she had expected of him but she could understand.
"My father asked me too wait until I was older to pass." it still hurt to think that he would remain in the academy while she went out and did other things.
"Okay." he knew what she was thinking because he drew her into a hug and then let her take her test.
She came out of the room with a new forehead protector and instructions. She was to meet to go to the Hokage tower for a meeting.
X0x0x0X
Hiruzen was sure he was doing the right thing as he watched the two of them in his office. When he had met the younger of the two he hadn't been certain that she should be allowed to receive the headband she was so young, not as young as some of the past graduates true but younger then any peace time graduate. He had been skeptical about her until she walked in and had impressed him with her knowledge and her desire to be the best medic since Tsunade of the Sanin. The other person who stood before him was a child genius himself and had been well on his way to being an ANBU however, Hiruzen had felt that this would be a better fit for him.
"Now let me introduce you, Sakura Haruno this is your new sensei Itachi Uchiha. He was just promoted to jonin and you are in fact his apprentice. Do you understand what this means for you?"
X0x0x0X
Oh she knew what it meant to be apprenticed to the heir of the Uchiha clan. She would have to walk softly and carry a big stick to deal with the clan if he ever invited her for a visit.
"Yes, sir. It means that I will train exclusively with him unless I'm at the clinic so that my medic training isn't neglected." when neither of them refuted her statement she continued. "I just have one question if I may?" at his nod she said, "Why him? Not that I don't appreciate the opportunity I'm merely wondering."
"It was for a lot of reasons," he began. Her new sensei merely watching the conversation from his position between her and the Hokage. "There is your dual status' as child prodigies. There is also the matter of team placements with your graduating class, we couldn't place you on a team without upsetting the balance of the teams themselves. Now the two of you should get to know each other."
With that dismissal Itachi led Sakura out of the tower and to a small training ground not far from the Uchiha compound.
X0x0x0xX
When the Hokage had promoted him to jonin instead of ANBU his father had been furious but he had been relieved. He hadn't wanted the promotion to Anbu but his father had said it would benefit the clan. That was his motto 'do what benefit's the clan' and by placing his son close to the Hokage the clan would benefit.
It was two weeks after his jonin promotion that he met with the Hokage for this assignment. He was to receive a student. One that was becoming known as a prodigy in the medical field apparently. Looking at her though made him question, if only for a moment, the truth of that.
Still he would be her sensei and he would make certain that she didn't burn out like so many child prodigies tended to do.
X0x0x0X
Looking at her new sensei Sakura was a little intimidated. Sure she had seen werewolves and vampires and weird snake-like humans but they were magical and not as… emotionless. At least he looked emotionless to her, though she wasn't sure that was the case but it did seem likely.
"Perhaps it would suit us best if we were to introduce ourselves properly?" he asked. His voice was a monotone almost robotic, flat.
"Okay, do you want to go first?"
"My name if Itachi Uchiha, I like pocky." If anyone had been there they would have face planted at the way he said that sentence. As it was Sakura was the only witness to this interesting piece of information.
"Oh, right." she began. "My name is Sakura Haruno, I like my friends and other stuff. I dislike having others underestimate me. My hobbies include dancing and reading."
It was more information then he had given her but she decided that he would eventually meet Shikamaru so keeping him a secret was impractical. She also knew that he would need at least a little bit of information on her that didn't come in her file.
"Very well we begin with and evaluation of your skills."
The evaluation he put her through made her wonder weather or not Genma had just been humoring the three of them a year ago. It was more difficult and definitely more harsh then the one Genma had given to them.
'Still at least he isn't underestimating me.'
0o0o0
Three weeks later and Sakura wasn't sure if her sensei wasn't trying to kill her. Her days were so full she almost had no time for Shikamaru. Most of her mornings were spent training with him on her speed, accuracy and increasing her reserves. Her chakra control was so near to perfect that Itachi had decided to allow her to continue her own training in it.
If she wasn't training with him in the morning then they were taking D ranks. Which were not as bad as most made them out to be except catching Tora. She hated that cat with a passion and she was glad that they had only had to catch the cat four times before her sensei took them off the list for that mission. The other missions while boring were still beneficial to training and so she tried to keep her complaining to a minimum.
Her afternoons were spent at the Aburame clinic learning the ins and outs of becoming a medic-nin and she was also learning how to run the clinic from Shinko-sensei. Sakura had begun to watch how Shinko-sensei ran the clinic and had taken upon herself to learn all of the protocols and procedures. That way when Shinko-sensei named off a protocol that needed to be acted upon Sakura wasn't lost as to what was going to happen.
When she finished at the clinic she went home to her mother and father most nights. Other nights she went to visit Shikamaru, those night she was exhausted and didn't want to see her parents worry. When she did visit him, he would tell her about his classmates and the loud mouth blond that sat in front of him. The blond had been transferred to the class a week ago and hadn't stopped talking since.
0o0
Six weeks after her appointment to genin apprentice Sakura was in the Hokage's office with her sensei and another more interesting man. He was lean, then again most if not all ninja were, about five eleven, had silver gravity deifying hair and he wore the standard jounin outfit. However none of this is what caught her attention, no it was his headband that did. It was covering his left eye.
"It was brought to my attention two hours ago sir." the man was saying.
"I see," the Hokage looked old in that moment. "Very well then. Kakashi, you Itachi and his apprentice will go and find him."
The man, Kakashi looked as though he would protest after a glance at Itachi and Sakura's way. But Itachi beat him to it much to Sakura's shock.
"Sir, with respect Sakura capable as she may be, isn't up to a long term high ranked mission like this. I would prefer she stay behind and in the care of Maito Gai." Sakura was at once grateful he cared and horrified at the thought of being left in Gai-sans care. She didn't know weather to laugh or cry when the Hokage refuted this.
"She has skills that would compliment this mission isn't that right Sakura?" she knew what he was asking and with the way her sensei was looking at her he had no knowledge about what he was speaking of.
"Yes sir." she said softly.
"What skills exactly apprentice?" Itachi asked in that tone that he had, the one that said tell me or you'll be doing drill until you drop and then some.
"I've been making my own seals for a while now sensei." the only surprise he showed was the twitch in his eye. The one he developed shortly after she had been assigned to him. Kakashi on the other hand nodded as though he had confirmed something.
"That settles it then she comes, sir?" he said turning back to the Hokage as Itachi gave his pupil a slight glare-sigh of disappointment that caused her to flinch slightly. "If the mission takes longer then the time limit?" the rest went unsaid. If it took longer they would have to write the man off as KIA.
As the meeting finished there was a knock at the door and then it burst open to admit a blond haired boy about her age. She was curious as to why her sensei and Kakashi both dropped their guard when they saw who it was.
"Oi old man! We have to talk…Oh I didn't know you was meeting with…people?" he sounded curious about them but they had their mission and they had to go. Before she left she heard one last thing, "Naruto it's good to see you…"
0o0o0
After leaving the Hokage's office she had to go home to pack and tell her parents that she was off on a mission. 'They're not going to like that.'
And they hadn't liked it at all but knew better then to argue with her and her assignment.
"You were planning on going to that festival anyway and I'll be back in time to see you off so you don't have to worry. Okay?" she told her parents.
"Alright but be careful, Sakura and know that we love you." her mother, the fierce warrior woman trying not to cry because her baby is going out into the world.
'Yeah and the moment I'm out of ear shot she'll start balling, I hope papa can keep up with her.'
"Will you let Shikamaru know that I'm on a long term mission? Oh and please make sure Orion is fed while I'm gone?" when her father nodded she hugged him and ran off to the gate, waving until she was out of their sight.
'Wonder who the blond kid was?'
Original A/N: Now you all know why I invented Kenji and his family istead of having her make friends with Shino. And look at that, Itachi and Kakashi both in one chapter. Lord what the hell was I thinking? I seriously need my brain checked because I didn't know how to write two child genius' it just isn't possible. But I told myself "Self you have to try or the story will never finish" So now that they're written please, please laugh with me, hahahahahahaha! Such a sorry attempt but whatever.
Hope you got some enjoyment out of the chapter and not just my weird author's note.
New A/N:(4-3-12): So I changed some more things in this chappy and added some others, do enjoy.
~Rose.
