Friend; a person whom one knows and with whom one has a bond of mutual affection, typically exclusive of sexual or family relations.
Sakura, before coming to Konoha years ago, didn't have any friends. Hidan didn't count, simply because he was Hidan.
Did the stupid mutt named Kiba count as a friend? Or the ramen obsessed fool? Or the lazy cloud loving smartass? Or the food loving idiot? Maybe the fate obsessed moron? Or the revenge obsessed Sasuke?
Did they count as her friends?
Sakura frowned, 'No. Being friends implies that I care, which I don't.' the twelve year old girl thought.
'But you do care, you're just pretending.'
Ignoring the voice in her head, Sakura got out of the shower, ignoring the droplets falling from her as she wrapped a towel around herself in order to make her way to her room. Really, if it wasn't for Kotetsu and Izumo's insistence that she remained covered at all times, she would have simply made her way to her room in all her naked glory.
But no, the first time she had done that the two idiots taking care of her threw a hissy fit.
It was amusing, really.
'Just a few more days till graduation.'
'And finally sacrificing that uncultured bitch to Jashin-sama.'
Sakura didn't hold back the eerie smile that overtook her at the prospect of killing Ami as she put on her standard outfit.
A sleeveless red qipao dress that reached her upper thighs, with white trimmings and a white circular design on the back, tied with a black obi. She wore black shorts underneath the dress, black gloves, and grey elbow and knee protectors. To finish off the look, she wore a pair of black boots she had received from her "friends" for her birthday. Of course, she also had a pouch filled with ninja tools wrapped around her right thigh.
Her scythe, which she was told was impractical to just have on her back at all moment, was sealed away in a scroll. The scroll in question was simply tied to her hip. It was a self-made storage scroll, considering she wouldn't trust anyone with her precious scythe. So she had gotten basic Fuinjutsu lessons from Izumo, who surprisingly knew the basics. Aside from that, Sakura didn't pursue Fuinjutsu.
Not because she didn't want to, but because there was no one to teach her. It was apparently rare for someone to be skilled in Fuinjutsu.
It was a shame, really.
"Oi, she-devil! Stop admiring yourself in the mirror or you'll be late!" Kotetsu yelled.
Sakura didn't even blink. "I already am late!"
"Sakura-chan, just get to the academy." Izumo calmly said, walking past Sakura's door.
Sakura didn't need to be told twice.
She jumped out of her window, a habit which she had picked up from her two idiot guardians.
Outside her room, Izumo smiled.
"What are you smiling for?" Kotetsu asked his partner.
"Sakura-chan's come a long way, hasn't she?"
"The she-devil's gotten worse you mean," Kotetsu snorted, "Honestly, I don't even know how she managed to make more friends than enemies during her time in the academy."
"I don't mean that, idiot," Izumo sighed, "She's just more laidback and open now."
"She's still as crazy and creepy as ever in my opinion."
The two friends shared a chuckle.
Really, Sakura did change though.
Because four years ago, she didn't show a hint of the famous Will of Fire.
Now, however?
It was there, barely.
.o0o.o0o.
"Sakura-chan, you gotta help us!"
Sakura blinked as Naruto, Kiba, Akamaru, Shikamaru and Choji appeared in front of her. She raised an eyebrow, no longer affected by Naruto's orange color or irritated by the lack of color her other friends had.
"Troublesome," Shikamaru yawned as the others pointed towards their latest handy work.
Sakura looked at the Hokage monument, seeing that it had been vandalized.
The First Hokage, whom Sakura considered an idiot for the 'Will of Fire' ideal he had, had been re-made into a garden, basically. Flowers were painted all over his face and water was pouring from his nose.
The Second Hokage, whom Sakura would have loved to fight one day, had received a zombified make over. His face was green and covered in gory bruises.
The Third Hokage, who Sakura played with the idea of killing if she ever defected from the village (just to test her skills), had gone off quite lightly. He simply received a pedophile stash and nosebleed affect.
The Fourth Hokage, who Sakura really didn't have an opinion on, had clown make up on.
"Nice work, guys," Sakura said, but despite the praise her voice was as blank as ever.
Something which her friends had gotten used to already.
"How come you didn't immediately realize it?" Chouji asked, curiously.
"I don't care for the monument."
"Whatever, you gotta help us before Iruka-sensei finds us!" Kiba hastily said.
"NARUTO! KIBA! SHIKAMARU! CHOJI!"
Sakura contemplated leaving the idiots behind, but then sighed.
"First thing's first, we get rid of Iruka-sensei and the others chasing you guys." Sakura said, breaking off into a run.
"How?" Shikamaru asked, silently giving Sakura permission to let Sakura come up with a plan.
"What do men fear most?"
Shikamaru's eyes widened in realization, "A women's ire," he said with a victorious smirk, "Iruka-sensei and the others...I pity them."
The other three boys shared a confused look.
"I just hope you all have mastered Naruto's sexy jutsu."
Slowly, realization dawned the others.
Oh, they have. It was useful for sneaking in or blending in or distraction after all. Really, sometimes they all wondered how Naruto could be the dead last. Sakura simply chalked it up as Naruto not being a traditional ninja in training.
Ten minutes later, Iruka and his friends were chased by a crowd of female civilians who were defending five innocent girls from perverted shinobi.
Hiruzen could only sigh at the amount of complaints he was going to receive.
.o0o.o0o.
The whole class quietened when the door suddenly went open.
They had expected to see Iruka dragging in the four troublemakers, but were all surprised to see the four walk in with smug expressions.
"Shikamaru? Chouji? What happened?" Ino asked, always wanting to know everything.
Before either could answer, Sakura walked in with a blank look.
"Oh, her." Ino sneered before walking away.
Sakura didn't even glance at anyone as she made her way to her spot.
Right next to Sasuke, her sparring/training partner. (And the person she learned the Fireball jutsu from, not that he was aware of it or anything. Honestly, copying a jutsu with the Sharingan was overrated compared to simply seeing it performed enough times to master it on your own.)
The two shared a nod.
They weren't really friends or anything per say, they simply benefited from each other. Just like they benefit from sparring with Neji too. Her association with Sasuke wasn't by any means as innocent as it was as her association with the Four Idiots.
"Neji told me to tell you he won't make it today. Team training."
Sakura sighed, "Ever since he's gotten in a team, it's been hard to schedule training." she mumbled more to herself than to Sasuke.
"Hn."
Why associate with Neji and Sasuke?
Easy.
They piqued her interest.
Because just like Naruto, they both had colors.
Neji's was the most complex shade of green she's ever seen, representing copious amounts of envy, hatred, and grief.
Sasuke's was grey, basically meaning revenge.
"Sa~ku~ra..."
Sakura turned around to look at Ami, who was giving her a sweet smile.
"Help me with my lipstick?"
Sakura's mouth twitched into a small smile.
That was Ami's code for: "It's time to beat you up, verbally and physically."
Ignoring the concerned frowns her friends sent her, Sakura eagerly followed Ami, knowing that it would probably be the last beating Ami ever gave her.
Four hours later, when she limped back into the classroom, everyone had been dismissed already.
"Shikamaru and the others were forced to clean up the mess they made," Ino informed her, shoving past her.
Sakura winced at the pain.
Really, sometimes being hurt wasn't as much fun as it used to be.
'Going soft now?'
'No, it was more fun.'
.o0o.o0o.
"To pass, you must perform the Clone Jutsu!"
Kiba, Shikamaru and Chouji all glanced at Naruto in concern.
'He's fucked.' Sakura thought, not bothering to even look at Naruto.
She, on the other hand, was going to pass with flying colors.
.o0o.o0o.
Tying her new forehead protector around her neck, Sakura stepped out of the academy. She had left the academy a bit late, since her sensei for the kunoichi classes wanted to have a word with her.
"You, are by far the worst student I've ever had."
"..."
"You can even learn a thing or two from Ino-chan and Hinata-chan."
"..."
"But, I suppose you did earn full marks on our last test."
"..."
"Jeez, stop giving me that creepy look. I guess I should have skipped talking to you."
Apparently, she had spoken to her students who passed.
Honestly, Sakura didn't really care.
She was just annoyed that she'd be home late.
Sakura stopped walking.
'Naruto...'
He looked pitiful, really. She knew he would fail, but damn, she was kind of hoping that Naruto would surprise her. He did have a habit of doing that after all. But maybe Neji was right.
"Once a failure, always a failure."
Sakura felt cheated really.
To think she had placed high hopes in Naruto.
If Shikamaru and the others were here, they would comfort Naruto in their own way. But they couldn't, because they all were clan heirs, which meant they had to go celebrate their graduation.
Sakura, on the other hand?
Well, she simply walked away. Izumo was going to cook her favorite meal after all.
'Oh~? Maybe I was wrong. You're as cruel as always.' The voice inside her head giggled.
Sakura shrugged.
When Hidan had walked away from her, she had gotten stronger. Naruto, she thought wouldn't need such harsh treatment to grow stronger, but apparently he did need it. It worked for her, because now she was ranked number one in her class, so it would work for Naruto too.
.o0o.o0o.
Ami muffled her sobbing with her pillow.
Sad thing about being an orphan? You had no parents to comfort you when you fail at something. Ami had just failed her graduating exam, all because she had gotten nervous.
The girl froze as someone knocked on her door.
Thinking it was her neighbors trying to comfort her or something, she stomped towards the door, ready to give a fake smile.
"Sakura?" She gasped.
"Oh hey, failure. I thought I'd stop by to show you my forehead protector."
Ami flinched before putting on a false bravado, "Well, you can leave." she moved to slam the door in Sakura's face, only for Sakura to stop her by placing her foot forward.
"Actually, I came to ask you something."
"What?" Ami sneered, wanting to get rid of the girl in front of her already.
"Have you ever heard of silencing seals?"
Ami raised an eyebrow.
Sakura grinned, causing Ami to step back, afraid of the disturbing grin Sakura had.
.o0o.o0o.
Hidan froze, various images of a girl he left behind popping into his head. (A girl that he hadn't forgotten, despite him never admitting it.)
"Hidan? That's a stupid name."
"Hidan. How are you?"
"Hidan! Don't scare me like that."
"Hidan?! Why are you covered in blood?"
"Hidan~! Train me~!"
"Hidan, what's love?"
"Hidan, I..."
Taking in a deep breath, Hidan gripped his the pendant of his necklace. A pendant that looked just like Jashin's symbol. He closed his eyes, a new scene flashing in his head.
He saw a room covered in blood.
A girl with purple hair's mouth was opened in a silent scream.
A girl with pink hair stood in the middle of this beautiful destruction, her body having taken a black and white design similar to his. She had a scythe in her hand and a satisfied smirk.
"Sakura..."
"Hidan?" Kakuzu asked, narrowing his eyes at his partner.
Hidan chuckled.
'Welcome to Jashinism, Sakura.'
.o0o.o0o.
Chapter End.
.o0o.o0o.
Author's Note: Well, that came out of the left field, didn't it?
Questions:
1. What would happen if the Four Idiots discovered Sakura's true nature?
2. Will Sakura get away with murdering Ami?
