Thank you to my amazing beta, SweetGurl818! ~Koi


"Hold her down!" Ami shouted, sneering down at the sobbing pinkette in front of her. Her friends rushed forward and grabbed the said girl, shoving her to the ground. She screamed and flailed, resisting as much as she could.

Ami snorted as they pinned the small child down and hovered over her. She brandished a kunai she'd stolen from kunoichi practice earlier that day. "Stay still," she hissed, and pressed the blade to the girl's neck. Immediately, the shrieking silenced.

"For someone who wants to be a shinobi," Ami said, "You're pretty pathetic." The girl hiccupped. Ami's smile suddenly turned sinister. "I'll give you a treat," she whispered, and dragged the blade to the girls wrist.

"Ami," one of her friends said, "Isn't this going a bit far?"

Ami shot her a glare, " To be a kunoichi, you have to be used to pain." Ami turned her attention to the girl under her, "Consider it as another lesson. Cover her mouth, will ya?" One of Ami's goonies shoved her hand over the girl's lips as their leader's kunai sliced her wrist.

The girl screamed, but the palm over her mouth smothered the sound. Ami repeated the motion until the pinkette's entire forearm was covered with bloody lines. She was about to move to her other limb when there was an ear splitting screech.

"Sakura!"

Ami swore and sprinted off, her friends behind her. The girl, now dubbed as Sakura, curled up into a ball and began sobbing hysterically. "Ino-chan," she cried, watching as the blond ran up to her.

"Hinata," she snapped, turning to her lavender eyed companion, "Get help."

The Hyuga, looking at Sakura's arm in disgust and terror, nodded, gritted her teeth and turned around to search for someone who could help.

"Don't get a teacher," Sakura whimpered, "Please, I don't want my parents to know."

Hinata glanced back at her best friend worriedly, her mouth set in a grim line, "Fine," she replied, her voice at an average level for once.

Ino pulled out her handkerchief and pressed it over the gashes in effort to stop the bleeding, trying not to gag at the sight of all of Sakura's blood. They remained that way for a while until Hinata returned with her guardian, Ko, out of breath and looking worried.

Ko-san rushed forward, gently asking Ino to move out of the way. The Yamanaka nodded slowly and hesitantly pulled bloodied handkerchief away. The Hyuga's hands lit up green as he rested his palms above Sakura's cuts.

One by one they healed, albeit slowly, and Sakura's skin started to slowly gain color once again. "Will they scar?" the girl asked.

Ko-san looked her in the eye, "Wounds healed by medical ninjutsu will only scar if the weapon was poisoned or if it's been over ten minutes since the wound was made."

Tears welled up in Sakura's eyes and she let out a sob. Hinata covered her face with her hands and started to cry. Ino punched the ground until her knuckles were red and raw, swearing the entire time. Ko-san looked at the girls, then down to the Academy student in front of him.

"I can grow new skin," he said, "It'll feel tight and sting for about a week, but you won't scar."

"Can you do that?" Ino hiccupped.

Ko-san smiled, "Yes, Yamanaka-dono, I can." Her face lit up. "But don't come to me if you have an internal injury or something wrong with your chakra pathway; only a handful of medical ninja can actually handle wounds like that."

"Thank you," Sakura whispered, bowing her head.

Ko-san turned to Hinata, then back down to the pinkette, "You're in debt to the Hyuga family, now, though," he said, "This isn't battle, and I'm not a registered medical ninja; this is an act of kindness."

Ino wrinkled her nose up, "But Hinata's the heiress!" she whinnied.

"That's w-why," the said girl muttered, "It's be-because I had to go to t-the trouble of getting Ko, and he had t-t-to use h-his chakra on a civilian who h-hasn't gr-graduated yet."

Ko-san smirked, "I believe your father would classify it as 'wasting my chakra,' but, yes, that is how our clan works."

Sakura looked down, "I can give you guys food from my bakery."

Ko-san shook his head, "That wouldn't work." Sakura frowned. "But, I am the one who decides how I want you to pay us back." He got to his feet, signifying he was done. Sakura sat up and rubbed the new skin on her forearm, wincing a bit.

"I want you," he gave a questioning glance over to Hinata, and the girl whispered Sakura's name, "Haruno Sakura, to learn the Mystical Palm jutsu once you have graduated the Ninja Academy, so you may never have to use the chakra of a Hyuga clan member to heal yourself."

Sakura's face scrunched up, "Mystical Palm?" she asked.

"What I just used," Ko-san explained, "You filter out your yin or yang chakra until you only have either one. It'll turn green, and you'll be able to heal."

"So," Sakura said, "How much time do I have after I graduate to learn it?

"Until you become a chunin," Ko-san said.

Sakura nodded, "Got it."

Ino scoffed and crossed her arms, "Really?"

"It's better th-than some," Hinata stuttered. Ino huffed but stayed silent.

Ko-san shrugged, "Who knows," he said, "Maybe you'll become one of the best medical ninja in Konoha."

Ino snorted, "Konoha? Sakura'll become the best in the Land of Fire." Hinata nodded in agreement.

Sakura smiled softly, "I doubt it."


Sakura looked down at her forearm and rubbed the skin. It seemed so long ago that that had happened. 'When I get back to Konoha I'll need to tell Ko-san that I did it,' she thought to herself.

"Everything okay, Sakura-chan?" Naruto asked. Sakura glanced up to find her teammate staring at her with a fixed expression. Across the room, Sasuke's eyes were locked on her as well. "You look sad, 'ttebayo."

Sakura shook her head, "I'm fine, Naruto, just spaced out. Thanks for asking."

He grinned, "No problem."

Sasuke rolled his eyes and walked towards them, plopping down so the three genin sat in a triangle, "Kakashi said that Zabuza's going to appear tomorrow."

Sakura frowned, "Sasuke-san, why don't you use 'sensei'?"

Sasuke looked her dead in the eye, "You just brushed off the fact that an A-Rank criminal is going to come after us," he deadpanned, "Something is wrong with you."

Naruto snorted, then made a choking noise in order to hide it.

"And you just threw my question about honorifics aside," Sakura countered, feeling a bit smug at the comeback. Sasuke just stared at her like she'd stripped down to her chest wrappings.

"It's disrespectful, you know," she continued, "Even Naruto uses 'sensei.'"

"Yeah, dattebayo," he said, "Even I – wait a second, 'ttebayo! What do you mean even me?"

Sasuke smirked and Sakura fell into a fit of giggles. Naruto's laughter joined within seconds, and soon all three were chortling, even though Sasuke's sniggers were barely heard.

Kakashi-sensei found that the right time to walk in. He raised his visible eyebrow at the sight in front of him, "Did someone give you drugs?"

"Why does everyone think I'm high, dattebayo?!" Naruto suddenly shrieked, throwing his hands up. Sakura couldn't help her giggles, clutching her sides, and Sasuke put his hand over his mouth in order to smother his snorts, and cover his grin.

"Everyone?" Kakashi-sensei asked, quirking an eye at Naruto

"S-Sasuke-san asked once" Sakura explained through her laughter.

"I see. Anyways, I just wanted to tell you three to rest up," his eye curled up into an upside-down half circle as he smiled, "But it's good to see you three having fun. Relaxing together helps teamwork."

"Does that mean we should bathe together?" Naruto suggested with a leer. Sakura and Sasuke smacked him upside the head as Kakashi-sensei sniggered.

More banter was exchanged until Sakura finally got fed up with it all, smacking both of the boys hard on the arms and strutting towards her futon. "Good night," she huffed out, pulling the blanket over her head and shutting her eyes.

"Night, 'ttebayo," Naruto grumbled. Sasuke grunted.


"Naruto," Kakashi-sensei instructed the next morning, "I want you to make some kage bunshin and leave them behind at the house to guard Tsunami and Inari." The blond nodded and three bunshin poofed into place.

"Why do they need guards?" Sakura asked.

"Gato's an underhanded man," Kakashi-sensei said, "He wouldn't think twice about using hostages to stop the bridge from being completed."

"He didn't think twice about sending Zabuza, ether," Sasuke muttered.

Naruto snorted, "I'll beat up anyone that comes here, dattebayo!"

"Except for civilians," Sakura added.

"Yeah, except for them." he replied sheepishly.

Sasuke sighed and shook his head, "Usuratonkachi."

Naruto glared, "Teme."

"Don't you even think about starting on that," Sakura hissed, "We're leaving to go to the bridge now and I am not having you two fight the entire way there."

Kakashi-sensei whistled, "Wow, it's rare to see you be so assertive, Sakura."

The pinkette sighed, "If Zabuza's really going to attack," she said, "I don't want to be mentally exhausted because of these two idiots when he does." Kakashi-sensei opened his mouth to reply, but snapped it shut when Tazuna closed the door to his house.

"Everyone ready?" he asked. The genin of team seven and their albino sensei nodded. "Okay, let's head out."


"Zabuza-san," a cool voice said, breaking Sakura from her stupor. She'd been staring at Zabuza and Kakashi-sensei, who were currently moving at speeds she couldn't track with her bare eyes. A figure in a mask stepped into view.

"You," Sasuke growled, lowering his stance.

Sakura leaned over towards him, "Who?"

"The fake hunter nin, 'ttebayo," Naruto explained.

"One of you take care of him!" Kakashi-sensei ordered. Sasuke nodded and rushed forwards towards his opponent. He grabbed two kunai and ducked down once he got close to the masked shinobi, slashing at his chest.

Sakura gritted her teeth and forced herself to stay in position. She couldn't charge out and help him like she wanted to; she needed to make sure Tazuna was safe. He was her team's charge, and even though a battle was going on, no, because a battle was going on, she wasn't allowed to leave him alone and unprotected.

He would be killed in an instant if Zabuza got to him. If Sakura wasn't able to hold her own against the nuke nin, Tazuna wouldn't last a second.

Still, it pained her to watch as Sasuke dodged attack after attack from the enemy. The mission always came first, she'd written it down on enough tests to remember it. Sakura never knew it would be this hard, though, having to stand by as her teammates and sensei fought with their lives on the line.

'No wonder Kaa-san wanted me to think twice about being a kunoichi,' Sakura thought to herself, 'She had to endure this for twenty plus years before she retired.' She watched as the genin stared as he raised his arms, his hands flying through a familiar set of seals.

Realization dawned on the pinkette; weaving a jutsu would leave him open! It was their first real mission – there was no way in hell she'd accept those stupid D-Ranks as an actual assignment. She wouldn't be able to live with herself if she let Sasuke die on it.

"Sasuke!" she shouted in attempt to warn him, "Don't!"

Her words came too late. Just as Sasuke was about to spew out a torrent of flames from his mouth, the masked shinobi rushed forwards, driving the three senbon in his hand into Sasuke's abdomen. The boy stumbled back in shock.

The ninja snatched Sasuke's kunai from his hands and drove it into the genin's shoulder. The dark haired boy grunted in pain and dropped to his knees. Sakura's eyes widened, her mouth agape in a silent scream. No, there was no way, he couldn't be, no. No!

Sakura screamed. The masked shinobi held up his hands in a seal unknown to the Haruno and spoke calmly. "Makyo Hyosho." Mirrors of ice rose up around Sasuke and his opponent, blocking them off from everyone else.

Naruto quickly made four kage bunshin and sent them out to guard Tazuna on all sides, before charging into the mirrors after Sasuke. Sakura watched in horror as his form disappeared.

"Naruto!" she screamed so hard her throat felt raw, "Sasuke!"

"Don't you dare follow!" Kakashi-sensei commanded, parrying a strike from Zabuza's Kubikiribochi, "I need you here!"

Sakura turned to stare at him, her eyes wide. She nodded slowly, getting back down into a ready position.

"Heh," Zabuza sneered, "Don't feel left out, Pinky."

Tazuna noticed the bunshin before Sakura did. "Sakura!" he shouted, and the girl pivoted to her right. A kunai drove itself into her shoulder and she grunted in pain, dropping to the ground and clutching at the wound.

The masked shinobi's bunshin stared down at her from the inside of his mask. "Tazuna," Sakura hissed, "Will you be alright with Naruto's bunshin?" The bridge builder nodded slowly, back tracking a few steps.

The blond haired masses of chakra followed, keeping their formation tight around him. Sakura struggled to her feet and ripped the kunai out of her shoulder, placing a glowing hand over the cut. She could only hope a muscle hadn't been severed.

If it was just a stab wound, the Mystical Palm would heal it just fine, but if she needed to knit something back together, she was screwed. She had just barely mastered small cuts.

"Medical jutsu," the masked shinobi hummed, "is rare to find in a genin, since you need amazing chakra control." Sakura glared at him but stayed silent. "Still, that's the knife I used on your teammate, so you better hope you're compatible."

Sakura inwardly cursed. Sasuke was an AB, she knew from Ino's constant spewing about him. As an O type, his blood would make her body attack itself, and that was never a good thing. However… She raised her head and stared through his mask's eye holes, "A small amount of blood won't do anything," Sakura said, "It'll be replenished in a second."

The shinobi tilted his head to the side, and Sakura could practically see his smile through the plaster. "I wasn't talking about blood types," a wave of pain spiked through Sakura's shoulder, "The kind of chakra that's attached to it will." Sakura winced and bit down on her lip.

"That boys a Raiton type," he continued, taking a step forward until they were almost touching.

Sakura hissed in pain, he knees wobbling, "How do you know that?" she growled.

"I've been spying," came the blunt reply. "But at least, know you know that you're weaker to lighting than most, seeing your reaction is more than expected; which means you're a Doton."

Sakura glared up at him. That had to be a simple assumption, no one would analyze that much. Well, maybe Ino could, she did get top marks after all.

Sakura gasped as he grabbed her by the throat, breaking her from her stupor. He hoisted her up and up until her feet were flailing around in attempt to touch the ground.

. Memories of the Demon Brothers flooded through her mind. Sakura thrashed around, clawing at the shinobi's hand. She needed a plan, and fast.

She wasn't being used as a hostage like she was before, that meant it was a matter of time until he killed her. Her eyes traveled over towards where Naruto and Sasuke were. They were trapped in the ice mirrors and she wasn't able to do anything about it.

Wait. Ice mirrors. Ice mirrors!

Sakura let out a laugh, "Thanks," she forced the words out, "For letting me know about my affinity." His mask hid the boys' expression, so Sakura couldn't tell what he was thinking.

"You're from Kiri, aren't you?" he stiffened. She let go of his arms and summoned as much chakra to her hands as she could. "My mom came from there, so I've heard all about the purging. Must have been hard, with your Hyoton and all."

"What are you playing at?" he hissed, strengthening his hold on her neck. Yeah, she'd definitely have a bruise. 'I'm starting to get thankful for Ino buying me this mock neck,' she thought, knowing it'd cover the marks.

Sakura sucked in as much air as she could and slammed them into the boys' chest. He immediately dropped her and stumbled back, clutching at where he'd been hit. A crack suddenly appeared where his heart was, snaking out until his entire torso and some of his shoulders looked like a broken mirror.

"Smart," the bunshin said, before shattering into hundreds of pieces of ice.

Sakura scrambled to her feet, having watched the entire thing from the ground, and drew a kunai, getting into her Hyuga stance.

"How'd you do that?" Tazuna asked, "You can't possibly be that strong."

"It's Sakura-chan," one of Naruto's kage bunshin said, "What do you expect, 'ttebayo?"

Sakura glared at the bunshin and kept her voice calm, "Hyoton," she repeated once more, "The ice release. It combines Suiton and Futon. I'm a Doton, as you know." she could practically feel his shock grow, "Earth trumps water."

"That…," Tazuna said, before sighing, "Makes sense."

The bunshin suddenly stiffened, and Sakura heard Naruto shout from inside the mirrors. "One of our brothers was expelled, 'ttebayo" the blond on the left hissed.

Tazuna whirled on him, "Is my family alright?!"

The bunshin behind the bridge builder nodded, "Yeah, some people came, but it looks like the other two are taking care of them. One is already knocked out."

The right bunshin winced a bit, "You're daughter's scarily protective, dattebayo."

"What'd she do?"

The bunshin in front of him let out a shaky smile, "She said that if anyone hurt Inari, she'd bite her tongue off, dattebayo, and swallow it so they wouldn't have any hostages."

Sakura and the other bunshin gagged along with Tazuna. "I guess she gets that from her mother," he said, laughing a bit.

"The other two expelled themselves," the bunshin on the left said again, "Both of the thugs are gone, 'ttebayo."

Tazuna nodded, "I see," he said, before taking a hard look at each of the kage bunshin, "You guys act differently than Naruto does."

The bunshin guarding Tazuna's back shrugged, "We all have our own personalities."

Sakura hummed. The Kage Bunshin no Jutsu was even more powerful than she'd first thought. Physical bunshin made of chakra, the ability to relay information after they were dispelled; what next? Substituting them for other bunshin? Hiding bombs in them?

Sure, the jutsu was amazing, but it made Sakura feel even worse about her own abilities.

The only jutsu she knew were the standard three and the Mystical Palm. But the latter wasn't even useful in battle, and her henge may have been good for a genin's, but it was weak for an overall kunoichi's. People knew how to tell a normal bunshin from the real body, too.

The only useful jutsu she knew was the kawarimi, but it starts to become predictable after a while.

Sakura's eyes darted back and forth, switching from watching Kakashi-sensei to staring at the ice mirrors. She gotten rid of the bunshin, but that was through the use of Doton chakra, which neither of her teammates had.

Suddenly, there were four poofing sounds and a sudden rush of chakra that had Sakura dropping to her knees. "Shit," she muttered. Behind her, Tazuna gasped and stumbled back.

"The clones are gone," he muttered.

Sakura didn't even bother to correct him since she was too focused on the overwhelming chakra that was rushing over her in waves. It was probably what had dispelled the bunshin. "Sasuke," she whimpered, "Naruto."

In the back of her mind, she knew it couldn't be the masked shinobi that was letting off the demonic chakra; simple Doton chakra wouldn't be able to do anything against it. And if he had the chakra inside him, so did the bunshin.

But it couldn't be Naruto or Sasuke ether, they were only genin. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Kakashi-sensei stop and pull out a scroll, wiping some blood from his wound. He created a kage bunshin before smearing the liquid on the scroll.

The bunshin sprinted over to her and hauled her up by the shoulder, "Sakura," he said, "I need you to listen carefully."

"Kakashi-sensei," Sakura whispered, turning to look at the mirrors, "What's going on."

"I need you to run into the mirrors and deal with Naruto."

"What do you mean deal with Naruto?!' Sakura snapped, "Shouldn't I be dealing with that masked shinobi?!"

"I'm staying here and guarding Tazuna, Sakura. Naruto knows you well enough for you to be able to stop him."

"Kakashi-sensei!" She seethed, "What the fucking hell is going on?!"

"Sakura!" he shouted, "Go. In. There. It's an order."

Sakura looked from Tazuna, to her sensei, then to the wall. Without another word, she turned on her heel and ran towards her teammates. She burst through the mirrors, skidding to a stop. What she found stopped her heart. She sucked in a breath.

'Sasuke…' Naruto let out a roar. 'Sasuke…' "I kill you!" he charged at the masked shinobi and punched him in the face. 'Sasuke…' His body was sent flying, crashing through the mirrors.

The blonde growled, stalking towards the shinobi as his mask crumbled. 'Sasuke…' The Uzumaki suddenly stopped, staring. 'Sasuke…' "You," he said, "You're the one that helped me with my Futon jutsu."

The boy leaned up and smiled, "Y-Yeah." 'Sasuke…'

"Why?" Naruto screamed, "Why did you…why did you...," the blond choked on a sob, tears welling up in his eyes. Sakura's own went wide.

'Do you understand, Sakura? The world is cruel. Everyone wants to use you, just like they used you mother and your grandparents. They see tools. You can only rely on those who know you.'

Sakura turned her head to look at Sasuke's body.

Senbon were everywhere, sprouting from his neck, his torso, his arms. They were everywhere. 'You can only trust those who love you.' Her eyes found the small trail of blood running down his chin. 'Sakura…'

It was the voice she'd heard when she was meditating, Sakura knew it. She'd known for a while. It'd commented on things every once in a while, but had stayed silent the past month. Yet, now, here it was.

'You can only trust…me.'

"You killed Sasuke," Naruto whispered, more to himself than to the shinobi.

Sakura sucked in a breath. She shook her head, tear trailing down her face. No. NO!

'KILL IT!' the voice hissed. Before she even knew what she was doing, Sakura rushed forwards as the shinobi struggled to his feet, reaching towards Naruto's neck. She whipped out a kunai and with an animalistic roar she lodged it in his neck. Naruto yelped and scrambled back as she tore the knife across the rest of his throat.

The boy's eyes went wide as he coughed up some blood and sucked in a breath…

Only to hold it for eternity.


Do you all hate me now? ~ Koi