Sakura stared at her reflection in the water, training had just ended and she had asked Sasuke to train, he said no and Naruto asked the same thing and she said no. Kakashi was off somewhere but at the moment she couldn't care less because she was mulling over the words her 'teammate' had said to her not ten minutes ago.
Why do you always chase me? Your so annoying you're worse than Naruto, instead of trying to date me try getting stronger, your only slowing me down. At this rate you'll be the reason one, if not all, of us die during a mission.
Sighing she began walking away, she really did want to train but as the words had sunk in she realized that it wouldn't of helped him. Everyone else had either a family jutsu, family technique, or was super strong in certain areas.
Naruto was a chakra powerhouse, Tenten had perfect aim, and Lee was a master of taijutsu while Neji, Hinata, Shikamaru, Choji, Ino, Sasuke, Shino and Kiba all had kekkei genkai or family specialties to up their shinobi abilities except for her.
She hailed from a civilian family, no special techniques, and barely any skill as a ninja. Originally, she wanted to become a ninja because everyone else was going to be one, so she started at the ninja academy to fit in.
Growling at herself she kicked a small rock. Ever since the bell test, hell, since before the bell test she was useless outside of the classroom, all she had was knowledge and that did little to nothing in a real battle.
Looking up at the sky she silently prayed for answers, she heard a cry and swirled to her right to see a team she recognized in the middle of training. A boy clad in green, Lee, was fighting a white eyed boy, Neji, in a sparring match but it was obvious who was winning.
Lee charge again only to be struck down by Neji, she tried to get up but the brown haired boy said something and walked away. Sakura looked on thoughtfully, by what she knows the Hyuuga's could use their own chakra to block another's and thus rendering them unable to use chakra in that area as well as causing pain in that area.
If they could chakra so well they should be able to use it in a different way, not just their technique their famous for. Though it seems tradition was stopping them from spreading their skills besides the basics and their kekkei genkai, that causes them arrogance and often flaunt their weaknesses as strengths.
Wait… that's it! The Hyuuga must have some sort of weakness behind those eyes, and so must the Uchiha, which means their has to be a drawback for every kekkei genkai somewhere in the world, the problem would be finding it.
A specialty that they're either born with, or is worked on throughout life and work for that skill to become your specialty. She needs something like the latter, so she needs to develop some sort of skill or a way to make her a formidable opponent, or better yet, a powerful kunoichi. How are the question, and the only place Sakura knows, and trusts, could hold possible answer: the library!
Sakura sprinted in the direction, silently promising to workout more, until she reached her sanctuary. Grinning she walked in and waved at the members of the library, she may not have some fancy family jutsu but she definitely has something they overlook: resources.
She decided she would look up the basics of jutsu so she has a better chance of learning any jutsu she decides to learn, rolling out the scroll she got reading.
Hand-signs…
Chakra…
Stamina…
Balance…
Etc.…
Sakura sighed as she rolled the scroll; it held everything she already knew. Browsing the scrolls for something she might want to learn, fire to water, genjustu to kenjutsu and more but still nothing that she could use herself, or feel capable of using.
If only she had her own style or technique, then she wouldn't be so useless, and she might even be able to fight instead of sit back and become the background.
...
That's it! She can create a technique just like that! She learn how to cloak her chakra and maybe create some genjustu, though she would need to create something to help with that since there would be no way Sakura could hide from the Sharingan.
Grabbing scrolls on genjustu an chakra she ran home and instantly began studying, she continued to study through the night and when her alarm went off she realized she needed to get to training, having a quick shower she brushed her hair and changed her clothes before running at top speed to the training grounds, adrenaline still running richly through her veins.
When Sakura reached the red bridge she actually realized that she was the first one there, but Sasuke says that he waits hours for her and Naruto to show up, looking up at the sun she knew that she had only taken about half an hour.
So… Sasuke lied? Shrugging she decided to do something with her time, since her sensei is always a few hours late, and decided to do laps of the training ground at a jogging pace.
After her third lap she saw the young Uchiha leaning against the railing of team sevens meeting point, she wanted to stop and talk to her crush but decided it would be best to keep running, not that he would talk either way. Waving to him as she passed she continued on her jog, huffing all the way, and didn't look back to see the surprised face of the dark haired avenger.
By the time she had finished her sixth round Naruto had showed up and she decided it was time for a break, she drank from the stream silently agreeing to bring some mineral water with her next time.
"Sakura-Chan? Your later than usual" Naruto stated and Sakura sighed, looking at him with a slight glare.
"I wasn't late, I was here before Sasuke-kun and decided to run some lap's since I need the exercise" she stated and Naruto made a perplexed expression.
"But Sakura-Chan… your not fat at all, and aren't you on a diet?" Naruto wondered idly, confusion laced his words. Normally Sakura would hit him over what he said but Sakura stopped to think, she had practically starved herself to look good but really if she just ate right and did plenty of exercise she wouldn't need a diet.
"Not anymore" Sakura stated with a smile but Naruto just stared "I'm not going on anymore diets, I've decided that I need more physical training and starving myself is not helping, so I'm off the diet" she explained and Naruto grinned, she could already tell what he would say.
"So you wanna go out to ramen after training?" he asked and Sakura shook her head, she knew her teammates way to well.
"Sure, but only if you do taijutsu training with me and if you beat me it'll be my treat" she decided, thinking that she could make it a reward, and punishment, or something. Naruto grinned like crazy, but looked confused when she walked over to the training field.
"Kakashi-sensei wont be here for a few hours so might as well do something useful with our time, Sasuke-kun would you like to join?" she asked, he just scoffed and glared at her. Sighing she nodded to Naruto who had positioned himself in front of her, after a few moments of silence the two began sparring.
Sakura knew that Naruto had superior strength and stamina, so she would be dodging mostly, but she was more flexible and faster than him. Also all those years of running from bullies had turned her into a tactician, so every time one of her idea's failed she could come up with two or three more, granted Shikamaru could come up with a two or three dozen but it still gave her an edge.
Spinning under one of his punches Sakura lifted her leg and hooked it against his side, using the gained momentum she hurled him into the forest. Sakura could hear his grumbling from where she stood, her smile faded though when a large puff of smoke revealed thirty Naruto's, growling Sakura stood her ground.
They all came at her and she did her best to dodge, jumping onto their heads she ran on top of them before flipping up. Doing some quick hand-signs she flashed to the safety of the tress and watched as her substitution was overwhelmed, all except one of the Naruto clones disappeared and the original stood over her worriedly.
Taking her chance she dashed from the trees and flipped backwards, delivering her foot to his chin. He flew up into the air but Sakura didn't give him a chance to recover and pushed forward to punch him in the gut, this sent him flying and he flew and hit a tree only to poof into smoke.
Her eyes widened as she felt her feet kicked from under her, Naruto stood over her proudly and Sakura sighed before admitting defeat. The loud blonde jumped and cheered at the 'date' he had one, but Sakura just glared at him.
"You know that I said taijutsu, the moment you used your shadow clones the reward should have been canceled" his face fell "but since I expected you to break the rules I will allow it this one time, and is not a date" she stated firmly but he still grinned and jumped and danced around saying he won a free meal with Sakura.
Rubbing her sore neck she laid herself under a tree, the shade cooling her down, and reviewed everything she knew about creating jutsu. It would take a long time but it would definitely be worth it in the end, it would have to be a small genjustu that only covers her body and she would have to learn how to completely hide her chakra.
Going over the basic theories of her new technique she didn't notice the time pass, or the pop of Kakashi's arrival but she did open her eyes from the 'you late!' scream from her blonde teammate.
"Yo" he said and Sakura stood, walking over to join her teammates.
"Yo yourself" she muttered irritably, waiting for some stupid mission or lame training session that was designed to hone Sasuke's skills but not hers or Naruto's, and she wondered why she never got stronger since meeting her sensei.
Granted they learned new things but there training sessions involved Sasuke and Naruto sparring, and Kakashi would give pointers to Sasuke while Naruto would just receive what he did wrong but no instructions on how to fix it, while she would just observe.
Fucking Uchiha's, fucking favoritism, fucking sensei. Fuck them, and Naruto too, at least he gets some sort of training while she's stuck on the sidelines. Sexist asshole.
Sighing she watched the two spar, Naruto going in headfirst while Sasuke showed off. That's when it struck her: she didn't fawn over Sasuke, no emotion, no skipping heartbeat, ever since she decided to change things have changed within her, she treated Naruto better and was training more seriously. This must have nullified her fangirl-like ways, and she had to admit it was kinda fun cursing and badmouthing others, at least her male teammates.
"Hey sensei, can I spare with Sasuke since Naruto will be to exhausted to fight after this" she asked amiably as her sensei read his perverted book next to her, said teacher looked at her but didn't comment on her sudden change in demeanor.
"Sure, I don't see why not" he said off-handedly as he usually does, Sakura however sent him a suspicious glance, normally he would say something like 'a girl shouldn't fight someone like Sasuke' but it seemed he was giving her a chance. Naruto cried out in frustration when he lost the fight, Kakashi gave pointers to Sasuke but only scolded Naruto, gritting her teeth she stood and positioned herself to fight Sasuke.
"What are you doing?" she glared at him for his stupid question.
"Sparring with you, what does it look like?" she retorted, everyone stared at her for a long time. Tired of waiting Sakura dashed forward, taking Sasuke by surprise and landing a good hit on his shoulder. Growling Sasuke swung at Sakura who skillfully dodged, she had seen all his moves before and was going to use them to her advantage, and she knew his limits and his tactics.
They exchanged blows for a while, one became more frustrated while the other calmly commented and taunted the other. The pinkette waited for a mistake or an opening while the boy continued to allow rage to seep into his attacks and judgment, when the opportunity presented itself Sakura didn't hesitate.
Sasuke landed on the ground with a grunt and Sakura was on top of him with a kunai at his throat, when Kakashi called the match she stood from her position. Naruto congratulated her; smiling to him she turned and offered a hand to Sasuke. Violently slapping it away he growled at her.
"How did you do it?" he hissed "You could practically read my moves before I made them! How?" he yelled, Sakura sighed and pointed to the log she often sat on when told to observe.
"Every time we trained it was only you and Naruto who fought and I was stuck watching, I've seen both of you fight so much I know practically everything in your artillery" she stated, offering her hand again, and again he slapped it away. Standing he briskly made his way past her, glaring she grabbed his arm and pulled him back.
"What are you so fucking pissed about?" she yelled, "So I beat you, big deal! Maybe if you stop being such an arrogant, disregarding, prick that actually stopped and looked at what you had around you maybe you wouldn't be so angry that you lost one fight!" she finished, he glared at her for a long time but she refused to be scared, seemingly losing patience he moved to hit her but she just flipped him over and sat on his back with a kunai to his throat.
"How many times do I have to say it? I know all your moves. I know the truth hurts but instead of denying it and being angry you should try to improve it and then you can grow stronger" she explained, he just glared at her.
"What would you know on the subject? You've never had-"
"Never had my loved ones taken away? Bullshit! You don't know me Sasuke, you never even tried to, we've all lost loved ones Sasuke. Grow up" she said with such dark bitterness everyone froze, Kakashi tightened his grip on Naruto to stop from him interfering, Sasuke was learning an important lesson by the person he disrespected the most.
"What are you talking about? You have a family, you have loved ones, I have-"
"Nothing? I repeat, bullshit, look around you Sasuke; you have a village, you have friends, you have a future, but it seems you going to throw that all away for revenge. Tell me Sasuke, what means will you take?"
"Anything!"
"Even leave the village?"
"Yes!"
"Okay, and if you get your revenge tell me this: what will you do?"
…
"Do you think the village will just open up and let you back in like nothing has happened? Do you think anyone would care that you achieved your goal? You would break the hearts of your fellow shinobi just to kill one person that is going to die either way?" she questioned him, when he gave no answer she continued.
"When you insulted me yesterday I learned a very important, and very hard, lesson. But instead of brooding, bring angry, and ignoring that fact, like you, I worked to change it. Now will you try to change your flaws, and stay with us?" she questioned but the Uchiha remained silent.
"I've given you the lesson, whether you learn from it or not is up to you" she muttered as she stood up, asking Naruto if he would like to go to Ichiraku she began leaving. Sasuke sat up and stared after her, Kakashi doing much the same.
"What did she mean when she said…" Sasuke trailed off, his sensei knowing what he meant. Kakashi looked at his student, before looking back at the retreating Sakura.
"I don't know"
After a very pocket-emptying ramen lunch with Naruto Sakura made her way back home, looking around she assumed her mother is probably sleeping or out for a stroll, going to the kitchen Sakura prepared a small meal for herself and her mother.
"Sakura-hime?" lifting her head at the sudden voice she saw the beautiful face of her mother. Smiling she walked over and hugged her, the aging woman hugged back and waited until her daughter pulled back.
"Hey mum, did you have lunch?" the older woman smiled at her daughter.
"Not much, I'm still hungry" she whispered and Sakura nodded, moving back to the kitchen the pink haired girl finished lunch.
"Sakura-hime, your such an angel, I hope the man you marry will value you above all else" her mother said in a hushed tone, ever since the accident Sakura's mother has virtually lost her voice and the use of her legs. Her father, on the other hand, wasn't so lucky.
Sakura's mother and father are civilians but often traveled with ninja for business reasons and they also loved to travel, during one of their trips they were attacked. Her father was barely recognizable, and mother had been hit with shrapnel. Sighing Sakura tried to change her line of thought; smiling at her mother she made a big announcement.
"Guess what! I'm going to make a jutsu that allows me to be overlooked, I'll practically be invisible!" Sakura's mother smiled brightly, seeing it as a way that she would have less chance of her daughter getting hurt.
"That's wonderful Sakura-hime! Try your best!" her mother managed to finish but ended up coughing harshly, she spoke to loudly. Getting a glass of water Sakura ran back to her mother and helped her drink it all, sending some chakra into her throat to help sooth and waited until her mother could breath properly.
"Mother, I need to go, I'll get the neighbors to visit while I'm gone, okay?" the pinkette stood as the wheelchair bound woman nodded, smiling she grabbed the needed material and left after asking the neighbors.
Going over everything in her head Sakura began practicing, of course there was no way for her to tell if it worked, though if she did it right she wouldn't have a reflection or anything, but she would still be heard and would work on that later.
Hours passed, Sakura made little progress but she was at least able to make herself transparent, sighing she released the jutsu and made her way to the hot springs. Kami knows she needed some time to relax, at least for a little while.
Stopping she thought for a moment before turning on her heel and walked home, she would get her mother and they would both go. Sakura knew that her mother would love the idea, opening the door she convinced the older woman to go to the springs with her.
Pushing her mothers wheelchair the two chatted happily while they made their way to the springs, once reaching said building they allowed them to use one that would allow them both easy privacy. The two females smiled as they sighed into the water, Sakura's mother talked about home and books and trivial things and Sakura talked about her new jutsu and her training and how she noticed that Kakashi favors Sasuke over Naruto and Naruto over her.
"I see… well that's what happens when you have someone like Sasuke on your team, the council always has a say when it comes to the Uchiha" her mother sighed, slightly irritated that her daughter would be ignored for the simple reason that she was from a civilian family.
They two continued to talk as they continued to pamper themselves; Sakura had done enough missions to afford the whole treatment. Once they were finally left Sakura and her mother went to the bookstore, then the butchers, fruit & vegetable stands and even got some sweet dumplings along the way.
Sakura set her mother to bed and went to have a shower, thinking over what had happened she silently cursed at her own stupidity. The others would start to question what she had said about losing loved ones, now she would have to explain everything and it wasn't a subject she wanted to be pitied. Sighing she went to bed, all thoughts vanished as soon as her head hit the pillow.
When Sakura woke up she stared at the ceiling, mentally preparing herself for her day. She eventually got out of bed and changed her clothes, making her way leisurely to team sevens meeting place
