Chapter Four

Sitting on her bed, Sakura opened the anatomy book. Flipping through the beginning containing the table of contents, and appreciations of contributions; the first picture was a male and a female body. The paragraphs below went into depth about the differences between the two.

Reading it, Sakura lost track of time. About a quarter of the way through the book, a knock on her door drew her attention. Leaning against the wood was Kyo.

"Sorry to bother you Sakura. I have a quick question for you." He had a lazy smile on his face.

"Sure, what's up?" She saved her spot in her book with her index finger.

"Your mother didn't go into detail about any possible powers you might have; have you experienced anything odd lately?"

"Um, I'm mediocre in fighting and jutsu, but I have a large mental capacity which helped repel someone who tried to take over my mind." Sakura muttered lightly.

"That's good, but dangerous, mental control is good because if you don't have any, you can cause your own insanity or be controlled. Anything else?" Kyo's smile never wavered.

"Not really, I'm ah… trying to enhance my skills. I was stupid and followed a fad instead of just being me."

"We are all like that my dear, don't worry. I'll let you get back to your reading." Kyo closed the door behind him.

'Congrats for getting the chance to study under the Hokage, by the way.' Kyo's voice came through Sakura's mind startling her. 'Once you finish your trials, I'll teach you how to hone your abilities.'

A smile appeared on her face. Things were starting to look for her. Going back to her book, she read how muscles and tendons held the body together.

The next morning, Sakura rolled over from the sun in her face. She had stayed up late to finish the first book. The human body was so interesting and confusing. Groaning softly, the girl sat up and rubbed her eyes.

Looking at the clock, it read a little after seven thirty. Standing, the medic in training rolled hre shoulder's and popped her back. It was around eight last night when one of Shizune's helpers delivered three crates of new medic journals, much to her mother's chargrin.

Walking down the hall, she saw Kyo leaning on the kitchen counter sipping his coffee. As he looked up, he smiled at his younger cousin.

"Good morning." He said tiredly.

"Good morning to you as well." Sakura too made herself some coffee.

"You look like you are dying to ask me a question." She turned and looked at him in shock. "Sorry, in Hell, it was my job to watch people."

"Oh, you're really good at that."

"A little, it's part of my powers." Kyo tapped the side of his head. "You're curious about your family aren't you?" Sakura nodded. "You're mother told me to hold off telling you until your trials are complete, she doesn't want you to lose this chance, but what I can tell you is that our lienage is very extensive and we have a very long line of kick ass shinobi."

"Cool, I'm looking for those lessons." She smiled at him.

"Indeed, sorry to head off so early, but it seems that my presence here has made your Hokage a little nervous. I'll see you later, Sakura." Kyo placed his coffee mug into the sink and left the house.

Cocking her head to the side, the two toned girl downed the rest of her coffee before placing the mug into the sink as well. Going back upstairs she dressed in a pair of black shorts and a shorter, green version of her pink dress. Fixing her head band, she bounded down the stairs to see her father blinking blearily at her.

"Training again today?" He asked through his yawn.

"Just my version of training, I'll be home to finish my readings before Monday." Sakura said as she put on her shoes.

"Alright, be safe though, I don't need you getting hurt." Her father hugged his only daughter.

Feeling his worry, Sakura merely hugged him tighter. She placed her head on his shoulder and he patted her back comfortingly. Not needing to say words, she kissed his cheek and left.

The air was light and crisp and she walked to the training grounds. People stared and gaped at her, making her feel slightly self-conscious about her new appearance. Turning onto the bridge, Sakura saw Neji and Tenten walking towards her. They each were sporting dirt stains and minor cuts.

"Good morning Sakura!" Tenten called to her friend.

"Morning Tenten, Neji." The Hyuuga merely nodded his head in greeting.

"Going to train?" Sakura turned back to Tenten.

"Not really, just a place to think really." She smiled at Tenten's laugh.

"Well, it's super quiet right now, I doubt the birds will bother you. See you later?"

"Yea, I'll see you later. Bye guys." The three went their separate ways.

Neji turned to watch as Sakura turned left to head to the forest. He could see how confident she's become from the Chunin exams. It was a good to see her so different and if anything, it made her a little more attractive.

"You're staring Neji." Tenten said giggling.

He glared at his teammate who started running away from him. How Tenten found out he had a crush on Sakura, he'll never know, but still it was something he didn't want broadcasted.

Sitting on the grass, Sakura concentrated on her breathing. Closing her eyes she let her body relax into a near basic meditative state. Here she imagined the area she was in and how it looked. Once she got it as close to the real image as possible, Sakura began to strength the images of the plants around her.

Every time the image pulse, it got clearer and clearer. The color grew more vibrant to the point it looked like she was just gazing at her surroundings instead of being in mediation. It didn't seem like this was any sort of exercise, but she remembered what Kakashi had once told her. Knowing your surroundings could help in a life or death situation, the slightest thing off could be what you needed to stay survive.

Cracking twigs startled Sakura from her meditation. Jumping up, she put herself into a defensive postion only to see a little bunny come out of the brush. Releasing a shaky breathe, Sakura made the decision to go home, her nerves were jumpy and something was telling her to leave the area.

Looking at her watch, she found out that it had been roughly two hours since she had left her house. However it felt less than that, which was odd, but either way, she did have reading to do. Leaving, Sakura kept an ear and an eye out for anything that seemed even slightly off.

Getting home, Sakura saw that she was alone yet again, but that was nothing new. Going to her room, she opened the medical book on the circulation of the body. This particular book was about how the blood flowed, and how they are vital, how they can become injured and how they can be healed. Setting against her headboard, Sakura got ready for another long read.


A/n: Here's a better version of chapter four. Thanks for reading!