Title- Ink Cartridge

By- Envo

Genre- General/Humor/Friendship

Type- Non-Massacre AU

Theme- Classmates

Disclaimer- Do not own Naruto.


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Take Seven: A day of Norm

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The air was still chilly and the sky was still a deep shade of aqua, yet the village situated among the lush forest of Fire Country was already wide-awake.

Tiny puffs of white accompanied with each breath appear and disappear as the three figures hunching down behind leafy shrubs huddled together for warmth against the freezing wind.

"Why me—" A loud, complaining whine amplified by the stretching silence echoed throughout the glade. But before the sentence could complete, it was immediately muffled into an inarticulate 'mmph!' when a hand faster than lighting slapped itself onto a loud mouth.

"Shut up, dobe." A hiss. Then all was silent.

Curling as tight as a ball to conserve what little heat that was left, Sakura ignored the impending brawl to the side featuring her two classmates and eyed the empty clearing ten-ken away from their hiding place.

Emerald eyes narrowed to slits in attempt to see through the fog rolling lazily over dew-dotted grass blades. Slightly paled lips pursed lightly and she gazed up to the lightening sky.

Soon. Very soon.

When the first ray of light that pierced through the heavy haze, a silhouette wavered in the far right of her sight; without a thought, her numb, icy hands reached out and thumped the boys on their heads while letting her glare silence the yelps on their lips. An index finger motioned for them to keep quiet, she returned her gaze to the clearing now occupied by two figures roughly five shaku high, ignoring the grumbles to her side.

"You're late, Shisui-san."

The familiar voice cleared the gloom on Sakura's face. She spared a gaze to her temporary companion and had to stifle the giggle on her tongue at their eyes that were wide as saucers and mouth gaping like fish out of water with what was at play in front of their eyes. Mentally tucking their facial expression away for later blackmail purposes, she returned her attention to the pair in the clearing.

"No, you are just early, itoko-chan," was the tired and slightly sarcastic reply.

Without realizing, a small smile began to bloom on her face. It wasn't everyday anyone got the chance to see two strong ANBU spar with one another. So of course, the price of waking at three and walking down the empty streets of Konoha amidst of the bitter December was easily well worth the trip.

The soft crunching sound drew her attention away from her thoughts. The two profiles were much closer now; with only a distance of five-ken, she could easily pick apart the pieces of their black and white uniform with the rapidly clearing fog. Though their stances were lax and completely at ease, Sakura knew it would change at any moment. At this, she trained her eyes on one of the figures unblinkingly, not wanting to miss a detail. The urge to laugh was starting to bubble up her throat again and she could almost see the faces of pure stupefaction in her mind's eye. Oh, she couldn't wait.

It was Saturday. And it was, as she would like to call it, an all-out day.

And in that instance, both figures blurred as the clash of metal ringed in her ears.

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Sasuke simply couldn't fathom the reason why he was to partake in this escapade. Not only was he forced wake in the wee hours of morning on a supposedly school-free Saturday and attempted at slipping out of the compound without being detected, but was also coerced to tail behind one weird, pink-haired girl and the infamous troublemaker of their year who didn't seem to know when to shut up.

He had always scoffed at the nonsense sprouted from the girl, Sakura… or whatever her name was. Even a half-brained idiot like that Uzumaki would know that no academy student were allotted in any Training Field, least of seeing two members of the elite ANBU practicing in said Training Field.

Her delusional comments regarding the ANBU that was supposedly from his clan stemmed from inquiries of his family scraped his nerves that day, so he challenged her.

"Prove it."

And that was what landed him in this extremely unsolicited prediction. With what little he learned from poking and eavesdropping here and there, he knew what he knew best. There was simply no way that a mere slip of a little girl like her would be able to get into a Training Field, let alone witness a match between two strong shinobi, as she so bubbly announced.

Well, that was what he thought before crossing the wide span of forest that gave him a warp sensation of ample distraction and resistance. Genjutsu.

And now as he kneeled behind the ridiculous-looking, pitiful bundle of leaves, he couldn't help but sneak a glance at the tiny girl to his right. He didn't see the path that she led them through. And yet from what he knew, Training Fields were heavily guarded with high-level genjutsu and wards. So how was it that this girl could cross the barrier like it didn't exist? Scratch that. Just how in kami's name did this girl even knew the place exist?

His thoughts were rudely interrupted with the non-too-lightly thump on his head. His hands immediately came up to nurse at the lump. Directing a glare to his assailant, he was about to let loose the string of stingy words when the hidden message conveying in her eyes shut him up. Before he could frown, a familiar sensation crawled up his skin and directed his attention to the clearing they were facing.

There was simply no way…

Aniki?!

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He didn't understand why Sakura-chan wouldn't let him try a few of his new pranks on that stuck-up Uchiha. He even offered it, too; he could score a whooping success with a single can of non-washable paint easily.

Even though she was harshly retorted and then labeled a liar—least she proved herself when she offhandedly complimented the skills of Uchiha clan with what she saw—her attitude was still pleasant to that Uchiha. So when he, Sakura-chan's best friend—Uzumaki Naruto, decided to lend in a hand, all she had done was a pinch to his cheeks that smarted for the rest of the day and a clear warning to leave the boy alone.

Why?!

The only one who had bothered to talk to him beside Iruka-sensei was Sakura-chan. And with their conversation throughout the years, he knew Sakura-chan better than anyone else. The Sakura-chan he knew was sweet and understanding; at the same time, she was also different from other girls of their age. He knew the label that teme gave her was unfair. His Sakura-chan would never lie!

Now that his favorite pastime was out of the question whenever that baka Uchiha was concerned, the only option he had left was to play tag along when Sakura-chan offered to 'prove' to the Uchiha that she was telling the truth. No one knew what was in that Uchiha's head, and there was no say in it that he wouldn't do anything extreme. Therefore he must stay with Sakura-chan. So leave it to he, the great Uzumaki Naruto-sama to protect his Sakura-chan! Because against that teme, he still had his bag of tricks to defend Sakura-chan. Excuses could always be made later.

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Though she had thought to tease the boys with their stunned faces, Sakura couldn't quite keep the measure of bewilderment from surfacing herself at the power display. All the coldness forgotten, she and her mates sat on their heels and observed the deadly dance of two shinobi for the past two hours. Despite the fact that she had seen such a spar in the past, it never stopped her from being awed at the display that made her understand bit by bit of what experienced fighters meant when they compared their skills to forms of art.

The green, grass-covered soil that was once the base of the Training Field now sported streaks after streaks of burnt marks, jagged chunks of earth uplifted by innumerable earth jutsu, and mud puddles with the depth to her waist. Deflected weapons littered the trunks of wood across the field along with a few that landed a step short from their hiding place. The air was heavily charged with chakra that it felt like a sleek coat that spread throughout the entire glade as the combination of heat and moist sent a wave of uncomfortable burning sensation down her throat whenever she breathed. It was only a few hours into the morning, and yet it felt as if it was already mid-afternoon.

Through the steadily rising steam mixed with debris and through the rippling moist air, she could make out two blurry sets of tensed shoulders shook ever so slightly with hours long exertions. But the tangled pair showed no signs of pausing from their trade of blows. A katana in one hand while the other clinched around the hilt of a kunai, the swift forms twirl and dance away, only to come back to clash at each other once again. A flash step pushing both apart, and the process would start all over again.

It had long since occurred to her that trying to catch their fast-moving bodies was in itself an impossibility, so when the pace suddenly changed, she could only stared wide-eyed at the change of course while her body remained paralyzed at the upcoming event.

Sakura wasn't even sure what transpired in the last three seconds; only that she did not have a kunai's end pointing a hair's breadth away from her face, and most definitely did not have said weapon in her hand seconds ago.

It took her two seconds to stop herself from going cross-eyed at the sharp edge that gleamed underneath the rays of sun, and another three to grasped the situation. By then, she could hear the gasps from the two by her side and feel her heart beating rapidly against her chest. She let out the breath she didn't realize holding.

"You are so cruel, itoko-chan. Why do you always fling a kunai at Sakura-chan every time you see her, hmm? And on a day when we have extra guests, no less." A voice came from her behind made her jump, and judging from the jerky movements from her side, it seemed like she wasn't the only one surprised.

Then a lean, sixteen-year-old boy came into her view. Sakura watched as said boy hunkered down on the empty space to her right and engulfed her kunai-holding hand into his.

"You can let go now, Sakura-chan." Feeling warm fingers prying away her chilled ones, she slowly loosened her digits. She could feel her lips lift as she became more and more aware of what had just happened. It didn't take long before she was beaming brightly in front of her classmate's clueless faces. Then her eyes met with the now standing, tall boy.

"Good morning, Shisui-san," the bubbling of excitement could be heard in her voice when she greeted the now smiling Shisui.

"Good morning to you as well. Catching the kunai with your own hands, you've done well this time, Sakura-chan." Then his hand came down and ruffled her shoulder-length hair playfully in the middle of her giggles. "But you'll have to excuse our Itachi-chan. It is his way of greeting. With a sharp edge, that is."

"And it seems to me that you haven't have enough practice for the morning, Shisui-san."

Laughing good-naturedly, Shisui lifted both of his hands in a surrender motion quickly and then turned to face the younger ANBU joining in their little group. "Extra cold and stingy. You seemed to be lacking some blood sugar today, 'tachi-chan," he disregarded the glare sent to his direction and commented lightly.

"Tread carefully, Shisui-san," Itachi replied lightly, but the shining kunai appearing in his hand suggested otherwise.

Completely oblivious to the threat, Shisui dropped his hands and tucked them behind his head casually all the while talking with a singsong voice, "I don't mind your violent personality, itoko-chan. But I would point that thing in the other direction so no one gets hurt."

Itachi frowned then direct his attention to a sitting Sakura with audible concern in his voice, "Are you hurt?"

Loose pink hair fanned out to form a silky curtain around her face as she shook her head with a smile. Her hand reached up and clenched at the air as if grasping an imaginary kunai, "No. I caught the kunai with my hands. Did you see, Itachi-san?"

"I saw," he inclined his head slightly with a short-lived smile that gave way to a serious façade moments later, "but didn't I told you coming here is dangerous, Sakura-san? With friends, no less…" He rotated his gaze across her two other companions sitting to her left, dazed, and questioned.

"They are my classmates, Sasuke-kun and Naruto-kun. They insisted on coming, so I took them with me," Sakura supplied happily and waved towards her two mates, whose faces were a surprisingly matching tomato red.

Shisui, now leaning against the tree behind them, burst out laughing, earning a few cautious glances from Sakura and Naruto while Itachi's brow lifted.

Sensing the intense gaze, Sasuke looked up with residual pink tinge dusting his cheeks and spoke meekly, "A…niki."

Sakura perked up with interest, "Itachi-san is Sasuke-kun's nii-san? Why didn't you tell me, Sasuke-kun?" Lips pursed, she turned to Sasuke. Then as if with sudden insight, her frown smoothed into another cheeky smile, "It's no wonder you were so angry when I said—"

"Sakura, shut-up!" Everyone could see the recently receding red bloomed again on Sasuke's face.

A hand stationed on top of Sasuke's head non-too-lightly rattled the youngest Uchiha's teeth as, surprisingly, Shisui's voice rang above his head. "Language and manners, Sasuke-chan. Never forget those in front of a lady or else you'll end up a forty-year-old virgin."

On the sidelines, Sakura had to muffle her laughs with her fist at the turn of events along with the swift, pained expression that glossed over the younger ANBU's face. In the end, the giggle won over.

That was until Itachi returned his gaze to Sakura did she sobered up enough to not bend over during her laughing fits. "You shouldn't come here anymore, Sakura-san. Not only is it dangerous, it is also against the rules—"

"Give it a rest, 'tachi. She couldn't resist our charming personalities anyways. And even if you report back to HQ, the only thing you'll get is another long lecture from the Third. Besides, it just didn't matter what we use, Ojou-chan here seems to be able to brush by without much effort. It's useless, I tell you. Useless." Done embarrassing his youngest cousin, Shisui sauntered back and winked at Sakura, earning another heartfelt giggle.

Itachi sighed.

"Can you teach me?" Naruto finally overcame the shock and interjected, reminding them that there was still another person in their group that was silenced by awe.

With a hand holding out for Sakura, Shisui mused, "You have interesting friends, Sakura-chan. However, Naruto-kun, I wouldn't suggest you do that. That one can bite, whereas I—"

"…Shisui."

Waving off the chilling aura emitting from an ANBU captain, Shisui proceeded to help Sakura up from the ground and gave her a toothy smile. "You and your friends are welcome to come and play here as often as you like—"

"Shisui!"

"—But seeing as someone is about to explode without his breakfast, I suggest that we head over to the village and grab something to eat."

"Can we go to Ichiraku?"

"Shut up, dobe—ow!"

"Language and manners, Sasuke-chan. How many times do I need to repeat that?"


A/N: A little something I wrote back in December. Didn't really planning on posting it because back then, this looked really bad. Guess that's why they say wait a bit before editing eh?

Not much going on in this one. And sadly, no romance even if you squint. I really do like writing Shisui, though I think I probably overkilled his character this time around. Since this one features the Uchiha members and Sakura more than others, so Naruto kind of just appear and disappear from the picture. Sadly, I couldn't fit him into any of the mess (or should I say, lucky him?).

Well, I'm still trying to convince myself to write something for the upcoming events (Chinese New Year or Valentine's day). So hopefully my muse will cooperate when it's time.

Thank you again for reading and reviewing, and hope you enjoyed the laugh. Comments are welcomed!

Envo 02/04