Chapter Seven: Introduction to the Chuunin Exams
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"Can you believe how awesome I was on that last mission Sakura-chan!" Naruto asked his adopted sister excitedly. Naruto had taken to sitting in trees when they were just sitting around. He told them that it made him feel like a monkey. Sakura knew it was because he liked to look out at Konoha, just like she does.
"You did great, both of you did." Sakura was only mildly surprised by Sauske's half smile. However, it did not escape her notice that the action was preformed when Naruto was busy looking at something else, a caterpillar.
"Ah, you did great too Sakura-chan! I wish that Haku would have come back with us though." The blonde commented sadly as he picked at a leaf. In his heart the blonde knew he could have found a real friend in Haku if he were given the chance. Sakura was just glad that the possibility still floated far in the future.
"Haku has his whole life ahead of him," The female explained, looking up at Naruto with comforting eyes. "Right now he needs to find his place in the world without Zabuza's presence besides him. He needs to forge his own destiny. Haku knows where we are; he can come and visit or even live here when he's ready." Sakura finished with a smile.
"Yeah! And when he comes I can show him how great the ramen here is!" Sauske grunted in what Naruto thought was annoyance but the dark haired boy had been amused. Sakura smiled distantly, something only one of the two boys noticed – she was physically next to them but miles away.
"Naruto." Sauske addressed the blonde sharply, his eyes still on Sakura.
"What Teme?" Naruto retorted as he hopped down to the ground; he scowled and started shaking his legs to get rid of the pinprick sensation.
"Go get lunch for the three of us. Kakashi-sensei won't be here for a while." Normally, Naruto would have protested and whined, but Sauske was providing him with money and the choice of menu. You know what they say, don't look a gift horse in the mouth and the Uchiha was betting on that.
"Okay, what is it." Sakura commented bluntly as she watched Naruto's retreating back.
"You seem preoccupied." He answered, sounding uninterested in the topic. Sauske's back was to the tree which meant he could easily watch Sakura where she lay four feet away. Unlike her friend, Sakura had to twist her neck uncomfortably to look at him.
"Yeah, I am. Something big is going to happen soon, women's intuition and all that." She added with a wink.
"Can I ask you a really personal question?" Sakura added in a rush of words as she sat up.
"Hn." She translated his response into, 'yes you can ask me a question but if I don't like the question I meant no back off woman.'
"I know that you want to get revenge on Itachi," Sauske tensed and looked at her like she had a weapon to his back. "But do you ever wonder about what your clan would think of your actions?" Her words started to mush together from the speed they were spoken at, "I mean what if you do something wrong, what if everything falls apart, what if you fail?"
"Sakura, I don't think you're talking about me." He blurted out before she could continue. The rest of her questions stuck to her throat as she saw him giving her a look.
"Oh." She breathed out in a whisper.
"I always think about how they would view me. For a long time it was all that I would think about. Sometimes, I think that they would want me to be happy and to carry out my life. Then I just get angry and that anger grows until I am overcome by it. I know I have to get revenge. It's the only way I can get peace. I decided that a long time ago." His clenched hands shook and she could see small red droplets fall through the cracks of his fingers. Trails of blood that fell from the cuts his fingernails had gifted him with. Gently, as to not startle him, she began the long process of getting him to unclench his hands. She laced her fingers through his and healed the cuts as she offered him comfort.
"You know it doesn't have to be all or nothing." His eyes darted to meet hers; he searched for meaning and for truth. An alternative had never seriously occurred to Sauske. "Rage isn't the only emotion that can create power, you can live your life and be happy. You don't need to face Itachi tomorrow. There is no clock, and I don't think your family would want you rushing in, risking your life when the outcome unfortunately can't change anything."
"Sakura," He growled, sounding so much the part of his past self, "I need to kill him."
"I know," she replied simply, squeezing his hand. "But when you do, be it tomorrow or ten years down the line, remember Naruto and I will be right besides you."
The sheer simple truth behind her words took him off guard. He didn't make any indications of response for a while but finally he squeezed her hand back.
"You know," she continued looking out towards some invisible point. "I have to wonder if you're looking for answers or just his blood." He froze but allowed himself to think on the matter. Sakura did not want him thinking too hard on it at the present and quickly changed the topic. "Speaking of that blonde goofball of ours," She spoke with a cheerfulness she did not feel, "What's taking his so long – I'm hungry."
Sauske stood and offered her a hand up which she took without hesitation. It didn't matter if he was the old Sauske, the new Sauske or a tree, he was important to her and she would never shy away form him.
'Ready for our run in with Gaara-kun?' The Inner asked nervously. Had the persona had a physical body to fidget, she might have looked a lot like the younger Hinata.
'Not at all,' her solid twin answered without having to think about that matter. "You?"
'I'm a part of you-' she started with attitude. Inner did not like acting like her counterpart. She enjoyed being fiery, brash, strong, independent and brave – not meek!
'Yeah, yeah,' Sakura waved off her other's comment, 'I was just hoping that I knew on some subconscious level that everything would be okay.''No such luck.'
'Lovely.'
"Looks like Naruto has gotten himself into trouble again." Sakura observed out loud as she and Sauske approached the confrontation.
"Hn." Her companion replied from a few steps beside her. Sauske eyed the blonde haired kunoichi and the face painted ninja with interest. After a few moments he switched his efforts into locating the third unknown chakra source he could faintly feel in the area. Without much thought he moved slightly closer and in front of Sakura in a protective stance.
"Release him you freak!" Naruto screamed out in anger as he pointed at Kankuro. "If you want to fight someone, fight me you coward!" If Naruto had noticed their arrival, he made no indication of his awareness.
"Enough Naruto," Sakura announced, passing Sasuke and placing a calming hand on his shoulder. If nothing else, it would sooth the fox.
"Please release Konohamaru," She continued, now addressing Kankuro. Her request was a big surprise to the captive. Only Iruka-sensei and Naruto didn't address him as the Third's grandson or the Honorary Grandson. "I'm sure this is all just a misunderstanding. If you would kindly release Konohamaru, I will be more than happy to show you the way to the registrations building." Her teammates both turned to stare her, but she continued to watch the siblings instead. In some part of her brain, she knew that both boys saw the inconsistencies in her behavior. Maybe one day she could tell them the truth.
"Why should I let the brat go? He ran into me and should learn to watch where he's going." Kankuro replied, amusing himself with bobbing the academy student up and down by his grip on his ankle.
"Be that as it may," the female replied calmly, "we hardly need a political dispute over something so minor. Not only would this become a confrontation between Leaf and Sand Shinobi just before the chuunin exams, but also an issue between the children of the Kazekage and the grandson of our Hokage."
"What's the chuunin exams." Naruto called out loudly. Sakura felt bad for once again ignoring the blonde. With that thought, she promised to sit down with him before the exams and teach him the terminology and key points of their profession.
"Release the boy or I will kill you." Gaara growled dangerously from a nearby tree branch. Everyone but Sakura and Sauske tensed at the sudden arrival.
Konohamaru was released and quickly scurried behind Naruto as Kankuro stuttered an apology.
"You are?" Sauske mocked with an air of superiority. Sakura didn't know if she wanted to cringe or rolled her eyes. Most likely the cause of her two personalities.
"Sabaku no Gaara." The red head answered harshly, his sand was already moving towards Sauske. Without hesitation Sakura stepped in front of the sand. The grains wrapped around her own body to the horror of all the onlookers. "You would die for a comrade, women?" Gaara sneered, spitting out the word like a curse.
"I would. However, I have no intention of dying here." The pink haired kunoichi replied gently to the redhead's rough words. "Naruto, Sauske, don't interfere." She ordered in the voice of an older sibling. Sakura had not needed to break eye contact with Gaara to know that they were reaching for weapons.
His sand wrapped around her until it was closely encasing her body. Much to the displeasure of the demon host, his sand would not tighten and further around his opponent. "Why does my sand not want your blood?" He questioned in confused anger.
Temari and Kankuro watched on with shocked expressions on their faces. Never had the demon inside of their brother not craved blood – be it from the most evil villain to most innocent new born. The girl in question only smiled kindly.
"What is your name, woman?" Gaara demanded as he made another attempt to crush her.
"Haruno Sakura," she replied kindly as the sand withdrew on its own accord from her body.
The sand siblings all left in varying states of confusion. Sakura simply smiled a fake smile at her teammates and suggested that they go find Kakashi. Her boys were also confused albeit less so.
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"…and then Sakura-chan replies really calmly, 'Haruno Sakura'." Naruto recalled excitedly to his sensei in a voice poorly imitating Sakura's. Their sensei was currently occupied reading his famous orange book.
"Is that so?" Kakashi responded absentmindedly. Lightly, as to not damage his prized reading material, he turned the page.
"Yeah," Naruto confirmed. "Sakura-chan was awesome!"
"Well," the jonin said, redirecting the conversation. "These forms are for the chuunin exams. Should you choose to take them, you'll need to report to the testing building tomorrow at three o'clock."
"Ah, but what's the chuunin exams?" Naruto asked for the second time, rubbing the back of his neck in embarrassment. Back in the academy, these things hadn't seemed so important. He had wanted to learn cool new jutsu and save the damsels and kick butt. Maybe it was time to go pay Iruka-sensei a visit…
"It's a series of exams which test your abilities and show them off to the higher ups. If you do well enough, you get promoted to chuunin, the next classification of ninja rank." The female answered as she worked on the form. Sauske sat beside her as he usually did these days, doing the same.
"Really? This is awesome! I am going to kick butt and become a chuunin!" Without pause, he mimicked his teammates' actions and began to fill out his form. His handwriting was messy compared to Sauske's neat script and Sakura's formal lettering.
"I'll meet up with you guys tomorrow." Sakura announced as she completed her application first. It did help that she had filled out quite a few similar forms in her day and had read even more during her time as a kage. Man, she was getting old.
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"Hey Kakashi." Sakura greeted as she sat down beside him. To her, it was clear that he was up here on the Hokage's monument waiting for her. During this time he had no other reason to be at the location.
"Are you okay?" The surprise Sakura felt was not a byproduct of his blunt words. Nor was it due to his concern. What surprised her was the absence of his orange counterpart.
"I guess so, it was," She paused, searching for the right words, "it was strange to see him. I felt like my heart was going to break. Everything hurt, just because I couldn't hug him or tell him how much I love him." Again, her hands found the vial of sand that she kept so close to her heart. Even when it was only meant for communication purposes, it held sentimental value to the woman. "But at the same time, I felt happy. Happier than I have felt in a long time. He was there, standing in front of me, alive. But…" she trailed off.
"But he doesn't know who you are." Kakashi finished with sympathy.
"Yeah, something like that." She agreed distantly. They stayed in their places trying to think of nothing because life seemed easier that way.
After awhile Sakura couldn't think about nothing. As easy as it might be, her life wasn't easy. Sakura knew that trying to make it seem that way was only her trying to run away from her mission. "Everything went differently then I expected."
Her confession seemed to draw something out of Kakashi. He felt disappointed in his student, something Sakura easily noticed. "You're relying too much on what happened in a timeline that no longer exists." His tone was neutral but they cut into Sakura deeper than any blade could.
A timeline that does not exist, villages of people that she failed – people whom she had abandoned; every tie she had to those people he was regarding as useless. The mere thought made her dizzy but she also felt anger. Anger which she latched onto like a lifeline.
"What's wrong with trying to nullify the negative effects of situations by using past occurrences. I can use what I know as a baseline of how the people might react again. You're the one that went nearly rouge on that mission to Wave." He held up his hands in a mock surrender.
"Things have changed Sakura, and yes you have a rough outline of what will happen, that's good. What you need to do is stop thinking that you can control these situations. You are not a god and thinking you are will end up getting you killed. You don't have the power of a kage. You have the power of a chuunin level ninja."
"You think I don't know that?" She spat out. Sakura missed her Kakashi, the one that knew her better. The one that wouldn't accuse her of playing god. The one that would see what was actually going on with her. "You make it sound like I rush in to situations and think that I'm immortal because I got through it once before. I know I'm not immortal, I know death just as well as you do, if not more." She snapped. "My mortality is not going to stop me from doing what I have to do; I am willing to die for my village. I also happen to know my own strength. Losing the strength of years worth of training isn't exactly something I wouldn't notice."
"Then what the hell were you thinking facing off with Itachi?" He yelled, an odd occurrence for the Shinobi and one which would be frightening to most.
"Ah, the root of the problem." She sneered, disgusted with her mentor. "I never faced off with him. I was scared shitless and not once did I engage him physically. I played his mind games and a few of my own. Physically, I am still weak, I know. But my mind has not changed, and that is the reason I am alive right now. He left, I left, if I thought that I was some kind of god or that I was invincible or even at my old strength, I NEVER would have let him get away." She spoke in low tones but the impact was the same as yelling. Sakura didn't let him respond, she didn't want to hear it. She left and didn't look back.
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"Good morning boys." One third of the team stated as she met up with her counterparts. They were standing beside the testing center which Sakura noted was in much better shape then it would be years from now.
"Morning."
"Good morning Sakura-chan!" Naruto greeted, bouncing off the walls with excitement. Sakura laughed good-naturedly as she discreetly watched Sauske. He was eyeing Naruto not in disgust, but some other manner, which showed how Sauske underestimated Naruto. Once upon a time, Sakura had done the same. She too had fallen victim of Naruto's shinning smiles and immature behavior. Years had passed even after she and the blonde were good friends before she realized how smart and observant the fox like boy truly was.
"We should head in." The Uchiha prompted, throwing Naruto into action. Sakura allowed her fox brother to throw his arm around her shoulders as he went on about his wonderful ramen-filled dream. Still laughing, Sakura linked one arm around his waist to lead him to the correct place without breaking his story. With her other arm, she grabbed Sauske's wrist and pulled him along, making him frown, feigning annoyance.
"What's going on here?" She asked, breaking Naruto's anecdote. With manufactured surprise, she broke contact with her team as they all neared the group. "Interesting Genjutsu, everyone seems to think that we are on the right floor." She mumbled, entering her famous thinking mode. Sauske had been looking at the floor the same way as she had and it made sense. He was after all, the one who had noticed first before.
"What is the big idea here?!" The Uzumaki yelled as he rushed up to the scene with the discretion of a charging elephant.
"These chuunin won't let us in." Hinata answered quietly, stumbling over multiple syllables. Her voice was heard throughout the hallway due to the utter silence Naruto's entrance had prompted.
"But this is just a Genjutsu." Those who knew Naruto stared at him in shock. "Sakura-chan told me!" He added, proud of his female teammate. To the leaf ninja, that explanation made a lot more sense.
"Come on Naruto!" Sakura called from her place besides Sauske on the stairs. "We have to get going."
"Coming Sakura-chan." He called like an obedient little brother as he blurred over to where they were both standing. To be honest, his speed at his age surprised Sakura. Before they continued, another nin appeared before them.
"Your name is Sakura correct?" Lee asked, appearing out of left field.
'Damn. I had hoped to avoid this.'
'That makes two of us.' Unlike the outward Sakura, the inner one cringed.
"Yes." She answered while fighting the urge to back away from her infatuated friend. She sighed in relief as her two teammates moved to stand between her and Lee. Good old protective boys, they can always be counted on.
"Please Sakura-san, do me the honor of becoming my girlfriend and allow me to protect you with my life!" Lee proclaimed in his usual green-beast enthusiasm.
"Hey, hey, hey - back up bushy brows! Just who the hell do you think you are!" Naruto stated in a rather intimidating presentation. Sauske was glaring at the green garbed ninja and his teammates. Tenten and Neji had appeared, silently supporting their third.
"My name is Rock Lee, the beautiful green beast of Konoha! I would be honored if Sakura-san would explore the wonderful aspects of youth with me!" Lee continued without noticing Naruto's spiking chakra and Sauske's dangerous aura. Neither of his teammates missed these facts.
"That's sweet Lee-san." Sakura started slowly and in a clearly explaining type voice. She was trying to put an end to this situation as quickly as possible.
'Stop the air kisses, stop the air kisses.' The voice in her head pleaded.
"But," She continued, "I am not looking to be in a relationship anytime soon and so don't deserve your," She searched for the word, "devotion. Why don't you ask your teammate? She is cute, ne?" Tenten blushed at this comment and seemed surprised that Sakura could so easily see her hidden attraction to the oddball.
"You are such a modest and youthful flower!"
"She is not interested. Back off." Sauske warned, fully placing himself in front of team seven's girl. She belonged to the three of them and no one else.
"And you are?" The pale-eyed teammate asked, stepping forward to square off with Sauske.
"Uchiha Sauske. You are?"
"Hyuga Neji."
"Hey Sakura-chan?" Naruto asked in a stage whisper.
"Yeah Naruto?"
"Why is everyone always so interested in the teme? I can understand why they're interested in you, because well, you're Sakura-chan!" He explained in what to him summed up his point nicely. "But why teme?" Sakura laughed and patted Naruto's arm affectionately.
"Come on Mr. Popularity," Sakura teased, taking a hold of Sauske's arm. "We are going to be late."
