Summary: What if you open your eyes and find yourself in the Naruto world? What would happen with a Sakura with a different mindset and knowledge of the future? Stay and read :)

Authors note: This became a AU the second she decided to go to a civilian school. But don't worry. I'm going to force her to become a ninja… Mwahahahahaha~~

Enough about that (before you drag me to the madhouse). Did you know this is the second chapter at the same day? I contemplated making it longer but felt that it was a good place as any to end.

… Still, the second chapter at the same day! I'm on a roll! Please enjoy for my sake! You're going to love it!

… Or let's at least I hope so.

o0o0o0o0o0o

Chapter 4

´Watch out. The teacher is glaring at you again.´

I jolted slightly at the voice. It took me a moment to place it before –... Oh. I sighed. You again.

You startled me. Again.

´That's what I'm here for.´

I sighed, exasperated. It was no use arguing with it-

´That's awful! I thought we were past the name calling stage. I told you, I'm Inner Sakura, and don't you dare forget it again!´

Right. Inner Sakura. The same weird personality disorder the Sakura in the manga had... joy. I dare not think about what that would say about my own mental state.

´You would think that two years would be enough time getting used to me.´

Wait, it's been two years? Already?

´... I don't like you.´

Yes, yes, I know. You were saying?

´Look. Up.´

Up? Sure...

I straightened myself from my peaceful half slumber on my desk and looked up. Nothing abnormal was happening in the classroom, so I have no idea why she poked me. No large insects buzzing around, only the low droning voice of our home teacher as he – Wait, no, that wasn't right. With a small sinking feeling in my gut, I looked further up to see my teacher standing in silence. His eyes was narrowed, and the instant my eyes met his, I knew that he was fuming.

Crap.

´Ha ha!´

It's rude to laugh at someone else's misfortune! Besides, did you miss that small fact that you're in my body?

´Oh.´

Yeah. My thought exactly. Oh.

I sat up straighter and looked at my teacher neutrally. "Yes?"

He gritted his teeth and narrowed his eyes at me. Just when he was about to say something, the school bell rang, signaling the end of class. Cheers could be heard from the other seven year old children that practically ran outside as if someone had lit a fire behind them. Nobody liked his class. Unfortunately, we were stuck with him for the foreseeable future since he was our homeroom teacher.

I tried to sneak past him, I really did, but he found me much to my disappointment. A hand on my shoulder halted my forward movement, and I winced when looking back at him. His mood had not been improved by being cut off by the bell. "Come to my desk after school," was his curt order before leaving himself.

Just like that, I had suddenly earned myself a death sentence. Who knows what he will come up with?

´I tried to warn you.´

Thanks. Could have been useful to have heard that a bit sooner though, I grumbled to Inner Sakura.

´Not my fault you like to sleep in class. I guess he just had enough.´

It's my way of stomping down any retaliation that's just itching to come forward in his presence. Shutting him out works wonders. Well, that and it's also really not my fault the classes here are so easy and boring.

´Then go to the Academy instead! I bet it's more challenging there.´

Not having that conversation again. I'm not going to be a shinobi, and that's final.

´ … Just saying.´

I sighed and slowly made my way outside. This was going to suck, I had a feeling.

´This sucks!´

Told you so.

My teacher sat behind his desk and was literally glaring at me. I idly wondered what I had done to make him so angry. Sleeping at his classes didn't seem to be that bad, and I had avoided opening my mouth anywhere near him. What else did he want?

He fixed his glasses absently on top of his pointy noise, the light momentarily bouncing and mercifully hiding his glare.

´Really, what's wrong with him? What does he want with us?´

Ignoring Inner Sakura's voice, I stoically met his eyes. Two years had gone by from our initial meeting and it seemed like he still harbored a grudge. It had been lurking there, in the background, peaking out from his eyes when I handed in assignments or when he lectured us about shinobi history, as if daring me to say something contradictory. I didn't, of course. Once I've made a commitment, I was going to stick through with it.

I couldn't deny that it was slowly chafing at my control though. It was as if he tested me every chance he could get, provoking me to respond so that he could point at me and say in that highly smug way of his, 'See? I always knew she was nothing good. Here's the proof'.

It was exhausting.

Once, and only once, I tried talking to Ino about it. After hesitantly asking her for advice, without mentioning any specifics of course, she told me in all of her infinite wisdom seven years brought her that he probably had a crush on me.

Without even letting that mental image sink in, I promptly discarded it and buried it somewhere I would never find it again. Perhaps asking Ino hadn't been that good of an idea after all.

While I was pondering the benefits of opening the window and jumping out at the third floor, since I could certainly do it if I tucked and rolled, my teacher was slowly becoming more aggravated. The silent method wouldn't work for me, and he was probably only now realizing it. Eyeing him, I guessed that if steam started to come out his ears right about now, it wouldn't actually surprise me. He was really that riled up for some reason.

"I called you here so that we could talk," he finally spat out. I could only roll my eyes mentally at that. I had no clue, I thought he was simply going to stare at my pink hair for an hour.

"What was it that you wanted to talk about, sensei?" I said instead, careful to not sound as sarcastic as I felt inside.

"You do know that sleeping in classes is unacceptable?" He asked with narrowed eyes.

I frowned inwardly. That was an old subject. He hadn't bothered me about it before, almost seeming darkly satisfied when I averted my eyes and laid my head on the desk. Every teacher on this school was used to my napping. I practically started doing that since starting at age five. And it's been, what, about two years?

I couldn't say that, though. Trying for a respectful tone, I made a lame excuse that Kunimaru probably would have tried. "I'm just resting my head, sensei. I'm actually listening." His expression didn't change, so I fumbled for something to add. "Really, sensei, it's not like I get bad grades."

At the last sentence, the teacher made a grim face. I proverbially stumbled as I found it. That was the place the shoe pinched. He probably didn't like the fact that my grades tended to stay at exactly the same spot without a visible effort from me. Well, what could I say? Sorry I'm not trying with too easy tests? Sorry I actually made an effort of getting middle grades? Nope. Not happening. I still had rule three to follow, however butchered it might have become because of this very teacher.

"If you keep this up, I will have to talk with your parents," he warned threateningly. "I don't like the attitude." His eyes seemed to be gleaming with joy as he paused, and I immediately narrowed my eyes suspiciously. He never gets happy. It was like he was in perpetual cloud of dark emotions when I was around. The teacher, seeing my expression, smirked wider. "I think this has been going along for long enough, don't you think, hm? It might be time for drastic measures. I'm sorry to say that if you continue this way, you will be expelled from school."

He didn't sound sorry at all.

My eyes bulged slightly, panic tingling around at the outer edges of my mind.

´What! He can't do that!´

Exactly! This was the first time I had even heard about this. No warning, no disapproving looks from parents and certainly not a call to the principal. Everything was alright in the grade department, and I was even being right next to average in the few athletic lessons we had.

He cannot do this!

Can he?

A smug smirk could be seen on his face as nodded. "That's all. You can leave now."

Resisting the urge to jump out of the window, I whirled around and practically stomped out, looking for a release that I could pour my emotions into. I was going into overdrive, heartbeat thudding loudly in my ears and eyes losing focus. I needed a good training. Or an Ino hug. Or my bed.

Really, I could settle for anything if meant getting my hands away from his throat. Even if he was pushing it.

´I almost want you to turn back. Almost.´

(Change of perspective. Iruka P.O.V.)

Iruka was strolling casually down the street with a stack of papers in his hands. It seemed that after the tragic Uchiha massacre, his job entailed more and more paperwork than he found acceptable. But of course, being the gentleman Iruka was, he didn't complain and instead accepted it gracefully.

If he was quick to hand it over to the Hokage, or a secretary if he was busy, he could find Naruto and take him out to ramen. A smile tugged at his lips at that thought. Naruto would love it. Maybe he would even allow him to have as many servings as he wanted? It would be expensive, but he could afford it.

Imagining the moths that would fly out of his empty wallet, he turned a corner and was too distracted to avoid slamming into something, or rather, someone, as it yelped.

Iruka was torn between helping the person and watching helplessly as his meticulously sorted papers flew everywhere. He groaned at the thought of fixing it again. Something pink brought back his attention to the ground and at the person he had stumbled upon though.

"Are you okay?" Iruka asked worriedly and bent down to her, offering his hand.

She, as he noticed, only looked to be about Naruto's age. Apparently a civilian as he had been memorizing his students faces, and he certainly would have remembered that hair. The girl shook her head slowly and looked up at him. Something flashed across her eyes, too quick for Iruka to see, but he correctly identified the confusion that was its replacement. "...Iruka-sensei?" She asked, disbelieving.

The man in question gave a bewildered smile. "Yes, that's me. But I don't think you're one of my students, so the sensei part is unnecessary," he pointed out. "I don't believe we've been acquainted either."

She still sat on the ground, not bothering to move and tilted her head slightly up at him. She reminded him of a Uchiha with that blank face. Then she groaned, muttering, "Troublesome," under her breath, and he had to scratch that thought. She reminded him of a Nara.

Smothering the smile that threatened to break out, since some children were quite sensitive if an adult showed amusement after they had fallen, he helpfully offered his hand again. "Need some help?"

She stared at his hand for long moment, certainly longer than what he thought was necessary for consideration, but in the end she nodded and took his hand.

With ease, he hoisted her up to a standing position.

"Sorry again," he apologized, "I didn't see you there."

"Obviously."

One of his eyebrows shot up.

She gave out a long drawn sigh before meeting his eyes, a faint apology shining through. "I'm sorry too. It takes two for one to knock the other onto the ground, after all."

What a peculiar child, Iruka mused. "That's true enough."

There was an awkward moment, at least from his side, as she continued to stare. Did he have something on his face? He closed his eyes, smiling grimly. If Naruto had pranked him again with that glitter, then so help him, he would –

Finally, he heard the girl making a small agreeing sound. He opened his eyes again and it was only when he saw the girl bending down and picking up several of the scattered papers that Iruka remembered the situation he was in. He hurried down himself. "Oh no! You don't have to! It was my fault after all."

"I knocked into you, remember?" She pointed out reasonably. "It's my fault."

He shook his head, frowning. "No, no," he insisted, "I can do this."

The look he got for his gentlemanly efforts could only be described as 'heavily scolding', and Iruka drew back, blinking in confusion. It wasn't often that someone could inspire feelings of chastisement with just a glance. Even less was it that someone within his student age bracket could do it.

Watching the girl easily shuffling around the papers with one hand as she picked up more with the other, he had to admit that she at least seemed qualified. With just a small bit of grace, he relented with an awkward smile. "Well then, I guess a thank you are in order."

She nodded, and he bent down again to help her help him.

And yes, it still sounded awkward in his head.

"So, how did you know I was a sensei?" Iruka questioned to fill in the silence.

The girl shrugged. "You were genuinely concerned about me. You had a shinobi headband, and the sheer numbers of the stack of papers places you firmly in the administrating section. So probably, you're a teacher."

He blinked in slight shock as he digested that. "... You're quite smart for your age."

She winced, now finally looking straight at him. "Don't say that. It was mostly guessing, and besides," her whole face softened and a hint of a smile appeared, "I have a friend who is in your class."

His smile broadened and he nodded his head in understanding. "That explains it," Iruka mused. "Still don't know your name though."

"Really? My fault then." She gave him a look that almost suggested that was her purpose all along.

Silence spread until Iruka coughed a bit discreetly to expel it. "... And your name is?"

A sigh escaped her, almost inaudible, but the chūnin-level teacher heard her. "Haruno Sakura," she told him.

The name confirmed Iruka's suspicions that she was a civilian. No shinobi clan had that name as far as he knows, and he of all people should, considering he was a teacher. He could faintly remember the name from somewhere, but nothing popped to the forefront of his mind. That left Iruka in the inconvenient position of wondering who exactly she was. Her observation skills was obviously high for a child.

Before he could say anything to the mystery child with a neutral look, a hand shoved several papers onto his chest, forcing him to catch them if Iruka didn't want them to fall yet again.

And, just like that, she rounded a street corner, effectively leaving a confused teacher behind.

Glancing at the recently returned papers, he noticed with shock that they were sorted out alphabetically, just like they had been before he dropped them. He hadn't himself bothered with sorting out his own pile yet, and with a short glance around confirmed his suspicion that she had picked up the rest of the documents that had fallen while he had been distracted.

A question arose yet again.

Who was that girl?

Scratching his head, he continued to his destination.

After handing out the paperwork, he encountered a familiar face.

"Hello, Iruka. It's been awhile." Sarutobi smiled warmly when he saw the teacher. "How has life been treating you?"

"Yes, everything's been going good." Iruka thought about the blond prankster in his class and had to smile. "Or at least, like normal."

The Hokage smiled at that, seeming to know who his thoughts was directed at. "That's great to hear. Has anything interesting happened lately?"

Immediately a flash of pink entered his mind. Seeing his hesitation, the Hokage asked him gently what was wrong. "Well..." Iruka didn't know how to bring it up. "There is this girl..."

Sarutobi lifted an eyebrow and smirked. "A girl?"

"N-no! That's not what I meant!" He hurriedly corrected, mentally shuddering. "I meant I ran into a interesting child on the way here."

"Really? Interesting how?"

Iruka thought about it. "...Many different reasons... But I believe there is something about her. She would probably make an excellent ninja, intellectual wise at least. She would do good in the T&I in the future, I think. The girl reminds me of Uchiha blended with a Nara."

"Oh?" The Hokage's interest was piqued. "What is her name?"

"Haruno Sakura."

He absentmindedly huffed on his pipe, making little smoke columns. "Then let her become a shinobi."

"Sorry?" Iruka asked, bewildered.

"You do know that we have a shortage of good shinobi right now because of the Uchiha absence? We need every person we can get." Iruka nodded. He was very well aware of that. The pressure on the teachers for the quality of the education had increased. "I suggest you check on her and then decide if she is worth the trouble."

Iruka nodded. "Yes, Hokage-sama."

The man smiled grandfatherly, nothing on him showing the shrewd intellect Iruka knew hid behind those eyes. "Well then," he joked, "what are you waiting for? Run along, youngling."

Iruka bowed when the conversation ended and went outside. He found himself looking into the archive, trying to find a file on her. It took a bit of time since the personnel was apparently almost all on mother leave, but he smiled when he finally saw her name on a piece of paper containing information on her. The man that helped him find it instructed Iruka that any additional content was likely stored in the school since she was still underage.

Thanking him, he headed directly towards Rosario. It was really convenient that there were only two schools in the whole Konohagakure. Now it was only the simple matter of finding her homeroom teacher.

"...lways disrespects her authorities, never pays attention and will shamelessly lie right into your face!"

Iruka looked at the civilian teacher with disbelief. Maybe she wasn't that good of a person after all. Only one question to the teacher about a girl named 'Haruno Sakura' made him bristle and let a tidal wave of information out. It was quite odd, since Iruka's initial impression of her was so very different than what he was describing.

Iruka contemplated if this was worth his time but shrugged the contemplation off. There was no use second guessing himself now seeing as the Hokage had asked. Or rather; ordered him. He was going to have to trust his gut instincts.

Then continue searching it was.

"May I see her tests?" He asked politely.

The glasses bobbed up and down reluctantly at the man's nose. "Of course." He showed Iruka the large pile of papers that reminded him of the never ending paperwork that comes with being a teacher. He let out a sigh, sharing a tired understanding look with the civilian teacher, and began looking at them with Sakura's teacher behind him still going on about her 'bad ways' to fill in the silence.

Seeing as this was not one of those few times he appreciated conversation, but being too polite to shoo him away, Iruka settled on ignoring him in favor of the tests he was skimming through. Much to his disappointment, he noticed nothing out of the ordinary. She made faults, big ones and small ones. Absolutely nothing hinted at the intelligence he had seen earlier. Not even the observation skills.

Her tests was always average. Sometimes below, sometimes slightly above.

She was normal.

Nothing at all sticking out.

If he had to say something, then it was that she was your average civilian child, almost painstakingly normal.

Iruka frowned at that. Then how did she so quickly sort out his papers? Was it only a coincidence? Somehow he doubted that, but a quick glance at the papers again confirmed it. He sighed, preparing to leave and report his findings to the Hokage when something stopped him. The letters lingered on his retina, almost dancing in his exhaustion, and that was when it hit him. It he was to shuffle them around a bit –

...Could it be?

No. No way could someone calculate the points awarded for the questions and then pinpoint exactly what would give them a half point and then –

No, he shook his head in bemusement. There really was no reason. He was just imagining things, surely.

… Iruka quickly grabbed a bunch of her tests, scanning intently for what he hoped was a delusion. The ink wouldn't budge though. The results slashed in ink wasn't lying. Quickly shuffling through the tests, from the newest to the oldest, he only needed a second to readjust when he knew the similarity.

This was –

His eyes widened when he recognized the system that was being used. It was a fairly simple shinobi code, but not one that was regularly used. Iruka could faintly remember it being in the back of a dusty old book, and if he thought about it, the chances were high that it was in the open sector of the library. Grabbing three more tests, he looked at her results and nearly choked when he saw another easy shinobi code rearranged to fit the final result her answers would make.

Three tests in a row. Always having the numbers spelling the same three words in codes that she kept switching. It might be his imagination, but at the increasing amount of tests he was sorting through, he felt that the chances were getting slimmer. Even he couldn't fabricate the result to fit his half hopeful, half delusional mind in every individually graded paper.

Iruka had to admit it.

She was a prodigy.

Very much like a Nara in that manner, if he may add.

He glanced yet again at the papers that revealed her emotions. Sarutobi would probably snort with amusement when he hears what she always writes.

Always the same three simple words.

I.

Am.

Bored.

(A/N) Hurray! Second chapter in a row! On my birthday! And take it easy, I won't demand a congratulation or something *puppy eyes* but I would appreciate a review, a favorite, an alert, and, most of all, that you keep reading and sticking through with this story! That would make me the happiest! *smiles so brightly you can see rainbow unicorns behind me*.

...Hm, yeah... enough about me. If you have a question, please feel free to ask. You can PM me or simply review. (Beware that I might not answer directly if you choose to do the latter.)

Have a great day!