Chirihajime 1.4
"Dead Bodies are buried beneath the cherry trees."
Sakura stood in front of the academic section of the Academy, where the lectures were given. It did not bring her any joy, only shame.
She had thought she'd never have to take this particular entrance again, that after four years of hard work she would not have to wade through a field of hyperactive eight year-olds; that the hallway to the Mission Assignment Desk would be what she walked every morning.
Admittedly, it had lost its luster rather soon, given that D-Ranks were not the most rousing of things, but walking as a fresh Genin to get her first mission from the Hokage had been a defining moment. To no longer have the right to do so, even for such simple things as D-ranks, was a hard pill to swallow.
To be forced to roam once more in the world of classrooms she had been so glad to leave behind, no matter how well she had fared in them, was crushing; because even though no one but her knew it, this was a demotion, a stripping of the rank she had achieved.
It branded her a failure.
Yes, those familiar red doors judged her, without ever speaking a word.
Coming early was a mistake.
Sleep had eluded her, her last moments playing out upon her eyelids as soon as she tried to get some rest. Instead she wasted the night away as the reality of her current lot set in, asking herself questions she didn't have the answer to like, "Does this mean I have soul?" or "Is the soul really what makes up Chakra, the physical aspect merely the product of the soul inhabiting the body?" as well as "If this is reincarnation of a sort, why didn't I get full reset, as it were?" and the fun "Or did I relive my whole life, only to unlock my memories at this point in time?"
The most prominent one, however, was simply: "Why? Why me?"
When the lack of answers became too much she had tried to get her mind to focus on anything else, and usually reading was a good remedy for a wandering mind, but it would only be a page or two before they were back.
The hours had passed slowly this way, and the wait for day had been agonizing; with every minute that passed she could feel herself get more restless, more pent up.
A mounting frustration that had almost capped when she couldn't even meditate, as if she were some first year. Throwing her hands in the air Sakura had done the first thing that popped into her head, which turned out to be packing her bag. That done she had cleaned her room as silently as she could, and when that was complete she had started to obsessively clean all her gear.
None of it was enough to settle her, the questions ever burning, and she had felt the walls of her room closing in on her. She'd felt cooped up, itching to move, to act, and to do.
So, when she had seen the sun rise she had all but jumped out of the window, ready for a change of scenery. Sakura had been so sure that going out would solve the problem, that a proactive start would send her thoughts in a different direction, that she'd all but flown through her morning ritual.
Clearly, she had been wrong.
Her thoughts were still dark and dreary and the change of scenery hadn't improved anything. In fact, it was eerie, seeing the usually jam-packed grounds empty and deserted. There wasn't much light yet and the shadows were long, changing the atmosphere considerably. Most notably, however, was that it was silent; there was no din of loud and happy voices, and their absence bothered her more than she'd like.
It shouldn't ever be this empty.
Why though? Why was she so bothered by seeing the Academy like this, alone? It couldn't really judge her, and frankly she hadn't felt any less or more a failure when sat on her bed. What did it matter if it was empty, it couldn't starve to death! It was a building and it stood empty all the time, during weekends for example. Hell, it wasn't like this was the Bloody Mist and –
"Oh," she whispered.
Silent and empty, that is how the Mist Academy must have looked like when Zabuza snapped, killing over a hundred students. Sakura could almost imagine it, courtyard full of bodies and blood, only a boy with crazy brown eyes left standing. Among them she saw a head of pink, green eyes glassy.
The hairs on her neck stood up, and with a shake of her head the phantom image was erased from existence.
Fuck I'm messed up.
As standing in front of the Academy was clearly an even worse idea than sitting still in her room, she made her way to one of the kunai and shuriken practice ranges. She'd left early because she'd wanted to move, do and act, so she was going to do exactly that.
- 散り始め –
She'd always been okay at shurikenjutsu, never great. Her aim wasn't perfect, but it was near enough and being able to do textbook throws was technically all that was required. She hadn't ever put more effort into it than that, being able to draw and throw proficiently enough so that the teachers had nothing to really comment on as far as her form was concerned.
She hadn't ever gotten creative with it, never showed off. She'd always completed the maneuver in the way it had been shown, and once she'd succeeded let it be, never once revisiting the problem from a different angle. After all, she had reached a certain definition of perfection.
Rule 18: " A Shinobi must be able to improvise."
A rule she'd never paid much mind, but having seen Naruto throw together a plan that would surprise two Jounin, maybe rule 18 wasn't as minor as she had once pegged it to be.
She started off easy, doing her throws as she always had; completely and utterly textbook. She missed none, and only one of them wasn't completely dead center. She nodded to herself, as she had expected nothing less, that being what she had scored on her exam.
Getting her weapons back from the targets, she considered what she should do next, how she could increase the difficulty a notch. Coming to a decision she once again took up her position. Then, instead of doing each throw separately, allowing each of them to be perfect, she tried to create a kata for them; do them one after the other without pause in the order that she had learned them.
For the first time in forever she missed, not just the center, but the target as a whole. Some of her throws didn't blend well together, their movements too different to really flow into each other. As grating it was to miss, it lit a spark in her because this wasn't just any task; this was a puzzle. Not only was she very good at puzzles, she enjoyed them. There was reason that her pattern analyses grades had always been the highest in her year. What order would be ideal, what would make it all click together?
With a grin she went grab her weapons once more, and started to think about possible combinations that would work the best as far as the basic academy style throws were concerned. She knew more was possible, having seen Sasuke be a terror those strings of his, but that would come in time.
After all, as Iruka-sensei was fond of saying, "it's the basics that make up everything else". Taking her spot once more, she got ready, and started throwing, her mind making rapid calculations even as she missed.
Practice makes perfect.
Surely enough, with each successive bout of throws, rearranging the order every now and then, she started to miss less and less. The puzzle was coming together, throw by throw, the solid thunks a forming a rhythm she lost herself in.
Practice makes perfect.
She was so focused that she didn't notice the passage of time, or that her calculations and relentless repetition were what solely occupied her mind, as well as the silent arrival of her teacher, who watched her for a moment with a smile.
It was only when the sounds whose absence she had felt so strongly entered her peripheral that the spell she'd been under broke, realizing that the day would finally start for real. Gathering her tools, and putting them away she started to move to those red doors.
- 散り始め –
It looked better now, with children running around and a few parents talking by the gate. It was a familiar scene, and without even trying she zoomed in on the squabbling group of girls that was the Sasuke-fan club. It was an alliance of a sort, and though from the outside it looked like a friendly gaggle of girls giggling together over a shared crush, she knew it to be rife with internal politics.
It was a coalition in the loosest sense, each of them vying for his attention and eventual love. Every day the definition of fashion, style and beauty were discussed. Everyone claiming that how they looked would work best, and as such backhanded compliments were a given. Those whose fashion senses were closest together usually would back each other up; for example if it came down to defending the potential success of short hair Kagome and Ai would band together.
That was it at its worst, but when the claws were retracted and all the barbs had been thrown, tensions simmered down and lighter subjects would be talked about, such as the ranking of the other boys in their year, how there was some juicy gossip about what was happening at Court or how much of a hardass Mizuki-sensei could be during Taijutsu class.
Usually she would have made a beeline for it, to gauge with the rest of the club if Sasuke-kun was approachable this early in the morning or if he was in one of his worse moods. She would have walked over there with a smile and a strut, ready to prove to the rest of them that today she would succeed in getting his attention.
She wasn't feeling up to it, not in the mood to hear barbs about her forehead or any other part of her person when she was already down enough about herself as it was. Indeed, once again those red doors were taunting her, and with a slight grimace she walked towards them because she had been practicing her shurikenjutsus precisely because acing every exam the last for years in the manner she had… simply not been enough.
Two minutes later she was in the same classroom as always, and looking around she saw that Sasuke was already seated. Hinata was as well, the Hyuuga heiress seated in the first row and quiet as always. Some other were as well, Shinji and Kenji laughing in the back. If she remembered right they wouldn't pass their Jounin exam, as far as she was aware.
She could sit next to Sasuke-kun and piss off the other girls, but she remembered how no matter how often any of them sat next to him he wouldn't pay them any extra mind, and how on the day of their graduation he had called her annoying with a dirty look. Even having been on his team, his opinion of her hadn't changed much, if at all.
No…she could make eyes at him from any point in the room; she'd leave that seat free for someone else. Shinji and Kenji would fail, she had just been stripped of her rank, and so…fittingly she would sit next to them. Yes, she would earn her place beside Sasuke-kun, and not just assume and demand; after all, she had assumed she was a proper Genin and look where that had gotten her.
They weren't even the worst of her classmates, though to be honest she didn't know much about them apart from their names, travelling in completely different social circles. They weren't too loud and brash, like Naruto and Kiba, so she wouldn't have to put up with that nonsense.
That was good enough in her book, and so she took seat next to Shinji. The two boys stopped talking for a moment, looking at her and then back at each other, before shrugging and reopening their conversation. The topic was the return of Kenji's sister, who had been on border patrol for a long while now.
Sakura was curious which border, but clearly that factor was long known since Shinji never asked, and she didn't feel like intruding. So, she just grabbed her notebooks, and set up shop in the back of the room, where she rarely sat. All the while she learned that Amaya, the sister, was going to take a week off and spend time with the family. Shinji was invited for dinner, and he said he'd have to check with his mom, but that she'd likely okay it.
The rest of the class filed in, with Ino doing a double take before smirking and taking seat next to Sasuke-kun. The two boys next to her had focused on her when the Yamanaka took what was obviously a very coveted seat, expecting her to bristle like the rest of the fan club.
She thought about doing so to keep up appearances, but instead decided that today she just wouldn't; see what everyone else made of her behavior. Opening one of her notebooks she started to "read" and had to stifle the smile that threatened to appear on her face when she heard the confused whispers of her neighbors and felt more than one curios look directed at her.
Not a minute later the bell rang, and as punctual as ever Iruka-sensei walked in. That stopped her for a second, as it occurred to her for the very first time why the chronic tardiness of Kakashi-sensei had bothered her as much as it had; it was the polar opposite of the punctuality of the instructor they had had for four years.
Huh.
He started reading rollcall, and so she learned that the people on her bench were Maki Shinji and Nakano Kenji. She committed that to memory, and looked around the room, cataloguing everyone else whose name she had never bothered to fully remember. Looking around the room she saw that her other future teammate was not here yet, and his name was soon to be called.
As if having planned this – she wouldn't put it past him in the slightest – Uzumaki Naruto entered through the open window right as his name was called, a wide grin on his face. Iruka-sensei merely glared, and probably muttered something along the lines of "brat", before moving on. Had the boy come truly late, the scarred Chunin would have chewed him out in front of the class.
Besides, as most people had learned by now, if Naruto was early that meant he had something planned for during class, and if he missed a class it meant that the whole of Konoha might be his target. Barely on time was usually a good omen.
Taking a seat next to Kiba, he cast a glance at her and blushed. As annoying as he was, there was no denying that knowing someone thought you were the prettiest girl in the class was a confidence boost. The fact that she knew that he would graduate – never mind that she had never learned how – and that he had been able to move against Zabuza Momochi made some of her reservations fade.
He was still an idiot and the most garishly dressed individual she had ever seen, and Sasuke-kun clearly still had hold of her heart, but she wouldn't be as dismissive of him as she had been. He would be her teammate, and as Kakashi-sensei had drilled into them abandoning your teammates made you worse than trash.
She refocused on the present as Iruka-Sensei spoke, putting his clipboard down.
"All right, so everyone is here today, splendid. Glad to see that everyone is taking this seriously, because in a little more than two weeks you guys will be taking your graduation exam. That is why largely these next two weeks are focused on revision, and the new things you will be taught are of utmost importance."
Stern brown eyes swerved across the room.
"I expect each and every one of you to give it your all, as being anything less will not get you to Genin. If anyone has questions these are the days to ask them. If you want to get better at Taijutsu don't hesitate to approach Mizuki-sensei, and any questions about the academic load or ninjutsu can be brought to me. Genjutsu is Izumi-sensei, as you well know."
"That being said, today we are going to be learning about how the significance of the Chunin Exams and why their current form is actually more dangerous."
Everyone perked up at the mention of the Chunin Exams, and Sakura nodded to herself, memories of this lecture bubbling to the surface.
"Now, who can tell me what is different about the Exams we host today, and those that were held when the Sandaime was young?"
A few hands went into the air, and though she knew the answer, Sakura refrained from doing so.
"Yes, Jun?"
"Before the Third World War each village held their own Chunin exams, still bi-annually, but following it they were turned into an international project of collaboration – a promotion of peace."
Their teacher smiled. "Correct, that is a good synopsis of the situation. However, today were going a bit further than that. First we'll do quick review of ultimate effects of the Third World and why those, specifically, led to the creation of an international cooperation."
Taking out a pencil, she started taking notes, but not as focused as she usually did, much of the information already up for recall. It was interesting, though, because once the recap of the Third World War was complete, and the National exams had been discussed in detail – they, too, had only been held in a time of peace – he asked a pointed question about their current form.
"So, if these exams are held to promote peace, and improve international relations, why does the option of refusing to send any participants exist?"
She had known the answer before, but her recent experience gave her new insight. Last time she had merely said, "To punish, or make a statement to a rivaling nation". It wasn't incorrect, but it was…a surface level reason.
Looking underneath the underneath, as Rule 21 stated a shinobi must, she found that it existed because as much as these exams were a promotion of peace, a single incident during them could break the whole of the operation down, once again bringing war – and that was not their purpose. She knew that there were wavers that said that death during the exams was not an act of war, but that was a level of trust some countries might not be able to give each other; everyone knew damn well that Iwa would never send a team to Konoha and vice versa. Hell, she already balked at the mere idea of having hers be held in Kiri.
It was a game with stakes, and not only was it a pit of gambling for the civilian populace and the very rich, it was also a gambling game for each nation. Send participants and get reputation in a foreign place, and show off the prowess of your Shinobi, or send none at all to preserve the peace whilst letting your Genin get stronger so that half a year later they can dominate those exams. If the political tensions between two nations ran particularly high they might, if they felt it worth it, send one team.
This team would be a scouting team, a test for the hosting nation, because if this team turned up dead by the end of the exams, it would prove that their former caution was the correct stance to take; stoke the present hate in the troops.
She raised her hand.
"Yes, Sakura?"
"The option to not send any participants at all exists because while it is a collaboration, sending participants is still an extension of trust, one which a country might not be willing to make in regards to another. The lack of trust between these two nations, if they do choose to send participants, could exacerbate already tense relations, turning a project of peace into the thing that triggers a fresh war. That is not what anyone wants. Or similarly, the exams could be used to prove preconceptions and propaganda of another state right; for example the death of an Iwa team here in Konoha would prove that Konoha's conviction for peace is paper thin."
"Very good, Sakura, that is absolutely correct. The inclusion of it in the Chunin Exam Accords is because it was made with Shinobi rule 24 in mind, 'A Shinobi must be wary of the fragility of peace'. It is this provision that has allowed for international relations to strengthen to the patchwork of testy alliances that exist today."
Iruka-sensei continued, "Had it been mandatory to participate in every single Exam, regardless of its host, the peace of today would have fallen to the wayside years ago. After all, if it had no exit clause it would have felt too much like a trap, and the Kage who created the Accord were more than aware of that. Therefore, given that it is a collaboration but it isn't fully binding, the Accord is what we call a voidable contract."
Clapping his hands, he finished with a smile, saying, "And that concludes an overview of the Chunin Exam Accords, which means that this lecture is over. However, you still have a class before the break."
In a swirl of leaves Mizuki-sensei appeared. His grey hair down loose, and a grin on his face, green eyes glinting with joy. "Exactly, dear students, for the next two hours I shall drill some skill into you, and that, I am afraid, is very much a fully binding arrangement; no rest for anyone. Now come, anyone who is late will have to run 5 extra laps!"
People scrambled, leaving books and bags behind – everyone knew he wasn't bluffing. While Mizuki-sensei was just a kind as Iruka-sensei when class was over, he was a harsh task master during what he called "the hours where I own you all, where my word is law".
Disrespect got you extra exercises, disobedience got you extra exercises, and being distracted got you extra exercises. During sparring he was more lenient, but even there disrespect got you into trouble, so even Kiba and Naruto knew that starting shit was not a smart thing to do.
He always knew how to make everyone work up a sweat, but not overdo it so that they still had energy to go on through the rest of the day at the academy. He had also given everyone a workout that was tailored to them, one to complete when not on the academy grounds, but that was the one thing he never enforced. He had said he expected it to be adhered to, but that it was up to the individual if they upheld Rule 16 or not.
Rule 16: "A Shinobi must turn weakness into strength.
As long as you completed the exercises he tasked everyone with during Taijustu class he wouldn't bother you over it, no matter how slow you did it, though that would cost you points. As such her grades in this class had never been the best - the only average grade on her entire graduation list - since what she lacked in speed and stamina she made up for in form.
It had been an arrangement that had allowed her to both a lady and a kunoichi, and a tactic that more than a few in the Sasuke fan club used in order to "pass class and stay classy". A tactic she was no longer going to use, since it had led to her not being fast enough.
After ten minutes of stretching and warm up the training really began, and Haruno Sakura, 12 years old, pushed herself to the limit, as she started to uphold Rule 16.