By the start of their third term at the academy, Sakura and Asano have successfully become Sakura-And-Asano, which is perhaps a dubious achievement. Sakura's happy with it though. She's not completely sure she deserves it, since she's pretty sure Asano continues to keep some pretty big secrets from her.
At the start of the year, Asano drags Sakura to the front the crowd to read the score board. Sakura is number three out of the girls, and Asano has dropped to tenth, out of 15 girls. Mostly because Asano is… well she's slow. Not mentally! But running… She's slow.
"I guess I'll need to get a bit better," Asano says with a smile before pulling Sakura back out of the crowd.
"I don't get it," Sakura says as they walk into their new classroom, the room number having been on the top of the chart. "You're definitely top of the class in technical knowledge, by is your score so low?"
"I'm not sure," Asano hums, Sakura waits, because even if she claims not to know, Asano has an idea at least. "It's probably that they're weighted differently. So the first year it was all about technical knowledge and how hard you tried - or something like that. Then last year was mostly about pre-existing, or the speed of improvement, when it comes to physical prowess."
Sakura pulls Asano into a row halfway between the teacher and the back of the room. At the end of last year Nao-sensei had said he was retiring, but he didn't mention who would be their new teacher. Asano, if given the chance, will falter for several minutes before choosing a seat three row from the front. Which really is far too close.
Sakura sit, and when Asano doesn't she looks up to find Asano staring at her intently.
"What?"
"Can I sit next to the window?" Asano asks, in a surprised tone, as if she assumed that Sakura knew that Asano would want to. Sakura stands, and they do the awkward shuffle so Asano can sit next to the high windows that show a stretch of Konoha. Thinking back, Inner points out that it should be rather obvious, Asano always chose the seat by the window. Sakura herself thinks that the fact that Asano thinks it's obvious should probably tells Sakura something about how Asano thinks. Asano notices patterns maybe?
After a few minutes, other students start to trickle in. Sakura's never spoken to most of them. Shikamaru and Choji, two clan kids who always sit at the back, come in first. Shikamaru is a bit weird honestly, but Choji sends a friendly wave that Sakura returns. They could speak, it's quiet in here and they aren't far apart. The quiet of the room is calming though, and Sakura doesn't want to break it.
A few minutes later Kiba, who has an adorable puppy that Sakura sometimes thinks he doesn't deserve, and Ino, the girl Asano thought she should befriend, enter together. Kiba and Ino are fighting rather loudly, apparently Sasuke is top of the class?
It seems kinda obvious that he would, to Sakura at least. He's from a Clan (even if they are dead now). He doesn't have any friends (or family) to waste time with. His brother killed his clan (if Sakura were him, she would train really hard). Maybe he wants to be able to protect himself if his brother comes back?
The two of them fit near the front of the class, but Ino makes sure that she's closer to the aisle so she can sit next to Sasuke when he arrives. Sakura knows this because Ino announces it loudly and then adds,
"So you bitches don't be getting any ideas!" Which Sakura thinks might be a joke from the way Kiba laughed? But it also definitely wasn't one by the warning glare Ino shot her.
Hinata and Shino and the civilian kids, Karu, Etsuo, and Atsuhiko enter. All five of them are quiet, not so much walking together, as walking in the same direction simultaneously, upon entering the classroom they scatter and sit on different benches.
Hinata sits near the front, Shino sits near the back. Karu sits the row diagonally behind Asano and herself. Etsuo and Atsuhiko both sit on the same row as far apart from each other as possible.
By now there are enough kids that Sakura feels content in the knowledge that they are definitely in the right classroom. She could talk to Asano, but a glance shows that she's content staring out the window with a pensive look on her face, and honestly Asano is pretty terrible at conversation when she's like this…. Asano is always terrible at conversation admittedly.
Asano was silly for thinking she wasn't a good friend, she is, Asano is very dedicated and all that. Just. Either she doesn't want to talk at all, or she has something to share and she doesn't really want to listen. Every couple of days she'll be happy to have an actual conversation, and Sakura's okay with that. She just doesn't want to fool herself into thinking that Asano is good at conversation.
"Hello class, my name is Iruka Umino, you can call me Iruka-sensei. I am a chunin and your new teacher. I know most of you are familiar with each other, but let's go through the class and introduce yourself. Just your name and your goal. Let's start with you," Iruka-sensei says, pointing to Hinata, who turns pale and stands up.
"My name is Hinata Hyuuga, my goal is to honor my family and be a good clan head," the ending sounds like a question.
"My name is Ami, my goal is to be an awesome ninja!" Ami is an orphan, Sakura realises, she'd thought about it a while ago, but that confirms it. In Konoha only orphans don't have last names. She also uses the civilian term 'ninja' despite starting her second year at the shinobi academy. Sakura's inner self pities her, because it feel a bit cruel, while also making her feel better about herself. Sakura herself just dislikes her.
"I'M HERE! NARUTO UZUMAKI HAS ARRIVED!" Sakura sighs quietly to herself, while Asano lets out a violent twitch.
"Have a seat Naruto-kun," Iruka-sensei says after taking a deep calming breath. Sakura's inner self gives him a gold star not punching Naruto in the head for being such an idiot!
The introductions go around for a while. Sakura is surprised by how many people say things like "I want to own a bakery" or whatnot. They're in a shinobi academy! Why are they here if they don't want to be shinobi?!
"My name is Sakura Haruno, and I want to be strong." Sakura says, she's not entirely sure it's the truth. It is, kind of. She wants to be strong enough to help Asano prevent things like the Uchiha Massacre. She want to be able to decide that what someone is doing is wrong, and then be able to stop them. She wants to be strong enough that her parents are proud of her. She wants to be strong enough that she stops feeling bad about her huge forehead and silly hair.
That seems like too much information to share though.
"My name is Asano Sakurai and I want to-" Asano freezes, quietly she finishes, "I'd rather not share." When Sakura reach out to touch her hand, is shaking.
Sakura misses most of the rest of them, but no one could avoid hearing,
"MY NAME IS NARUTO UZUMAKI AND I'M GOING TO BE HOKAGE!"
She feels a bit disappointed later that she missed them, but mostly she just wants to know why Asano suddenly looks terrified.
Unfortunately, it's the first day of school and they have a new teacher, so Iruka-sensei will probably be hyper attentive to any "trouble making". So instead of leaning over and asking Asano what's wrong, Sakura keeps her mouth shut and faces her teacher.
Iruka-sensei explains that this year they will start learning sparring and hand signs, and girls will start kunoichi class, which everyone is welcome to be a part of. Next term they will begin to learn to consciously use chakra. This earns a derisive snort from Sasuke, which Sakura thinks it pretty unattractive, especially considering how very attractive he is normally. Mostly it's because Sakura knows that all the clan kids will know how to do it already, but shinobi born kids sometimes, and civilian kids usually don't.
Sakura, for one, doesn't know how to consciously use chakra because a couple years ago when she asked if she could, her dad said she didn't have enough chakra. He said that if she tried to do it now, she could get hurt or die. At the time that had seemed like a terrifying concept, right now Sakura thinks she'd be willing to risk it. She wanted to be a shinobi so that she could do cool jutsu and stuff like that, so far all they've done is sit in a classroom and run around on a field.
Admittedly she's really enjoying learning things at the academy, it's significantly more interesting than civilian schooling had been.
That afternoon, Sakura pulls Asano out of the school and towards the Hokage Monument. Near its base there's a tiny little tea shop that Sakura adores. It has the frozen mochi balls and since it's already October, it'll be too cold for them soon.
The matron of the store (she calls herself the matron, Sakura will admit to not knowing what that really means or entails) is a stout middle aged woman who greets them cheerfully then nudges them inside to warm up.
The tea shop (technically called Cherry Tea, but Sakura never calls it that because it's kind of ridiculous for Sakura and Asano Sakurai to drink at Cherry Tea) is cozy inside.
The air is warm, and slightly humid, similar to the weather in the summer months. As they it the smell of flowers and tea waft in. Sakura (or at least Inner) will punch anyone who says tea doesn't have a smell. It so totally does! Asano looks out the window towards the village says,
"Konoha's pretty big… How come it qualities as a village instead of a city like the capital?"
"The capital where the Daimyo lives?"
"Yeah, the capital where the Daimyo lives, where else would I be talking about." Asano says, looking at her aggrieved.
"I said it like that because the capital is a city because the Daimyo lives there."
"Oh," Asano smiles, and sips from the water placed before them. The matron knows what they like, so she'll bring it when it's ready without making them order it again.
"So why were you acting all weird today about your goal?"
"I've always had a pretty clear goal. But my goal is no longer to survive to the age of 10. I'll do that in a little more than a year."
"You're almost nine now?"
"Yeah? So are you?" Asano raises an eyebrow in confusion.
"But you didn't tell me it was your birthday!" Sakura exclaims (quietly). Last year they had met after Asano's birthday.
"Oh, I don't really celebrate my birthday or anything." Asano shrugged, sipping her water awkwardly.
"Why not?!"
"It's on October 10th."
"Oh." October 10th is a day of mourning. At night fireworks will go off to tell the story of the Yondaime killing the Demon Fox, but during the day everything is quiet. The graveyards are always be packed, incense sell out in stores. People (civilians) start crying on the streets. October 10th is not a great birthday.
It gets so bad sometimes, that people who are too cheerful get attacked by grieving civilians. In years past the Uchiha would stop any fights. ("That's not exactly an option now is it?" Inner says, a morose grin on her face.)
"Yeah, I don't really care much about my birthday anyway."
"Well next week I'll bring you a present anyway." Today is October 8th. There is a holiday on the 10th. Then it'll be the weekend. Asano usually sleeps through those, from what Sakura understand.
"If you want to, it's never been very important to me." Asano shrugs as the matron delivers their pots of tea with a smile, and small ruffle of Sakura's hair ( since she's the one who's closer today).
Sakura sips her tea, content in her thoughts. It was something she had rarely felt before she had met Asano. Her thoughts has always been rushed, half formed, and often not very kind. Now, they are softer. She's not perfect at it, but Asano always preaches mindfulness and mediation, and Sakura has done her best to follow.
"Do you know why I joined the academy in the first place, Sakura?" Asano asks in the deceptively light tone she always uses when sharing important, and often devastating information. Mostly for drama, Sakura imagines, Asano is a bit of a drama queen sometimes.
"No," Sakura obliges, "I don't. Why did you join the academy?"
"Because when I was younger, six to be exact, I went to the doctor with my parents, and I got an exam. After the exam was done, and my parents had left the room, for one reason or another, my doctor - a Hyuuga - told me if I didn't become a shinobi, I would die. He said that if I didn't join the academy, and improve my physical level of skill as well as increase my chakra levels, I would die. I would start to fade by the time I was ten, and be dead by 15. He said that it would be mostly painless, but it would be slow. And that I would die young without a doubt."
Asano takes another sip of her tea, while Sakura looks at her in blank horror, echoed by Inner.
"He said," Asano continued, "that if I became a shinobi, there was still a 50% chance I would die. But, that I would almost definitely live longer. He said that if I became a shinobi I would die painfully, whether it was on the field or in my bed, it would hurt. He summarised it by saying 'if you want to live past 15, become a shinobi and suffer through the pain'."
Asano paused again, and glanced out the window.
"I think he meant to be poetic with the last part, but it's stuck with me. He told a six year old civilian girl that she could be shinobi or die, and purposefully didn't include my parents in the conversation." Asano sighed deeply,
"I've spoken to him a few times since, I see him every six months, and he said that he wouldn't tell my parents because it is my choice. That he wouldn't fault me for choosing to die young, to die easy. He also said that my chances of survival go up to almost 75% if I can have jonin levels of chakra. Which is a possibility, considering how much chakra my Ka-san has."
Asano has slowed down, is speaking more clearly, as if lovingly shaping each word as it comes out. Sakura doesn't know quite what to say.
"I'm going to be a shinobi, I just need a dream beyond surviving, or graduating." Asano pours herself some more tea, "I think," Asano continues, voice calmer than before, "the problem is that I have a lot of things I want to do. I'm terrible at prioritising them. I need to decide what my overall goal is, and then act accordingly." Asano leans slightly, so their shoulders brush and Sakura smiles to herself.
"That sounds like a good idea." Sakura agrees, "I said my goal is to be strong." Asano looks away from her tea, towards Sakura as she continues talking. "I want to be strong, but I want to be strong so that I can do things. Maybe your goal needs to be like that. Less specific, you know?"
The matron brings out the mochi balls and Asano grabs the chopsticks. It's so silly, you're supposed to eat mochi by hand! Asano insists that it's better to savour it, and have clean hands. Sakura thinks she just fussy.
"I like that," Asano nods, poking at an ambiguously yellow coloured ball. The matron makes her own mochi and asks that they guess what flavours they were after eating them. In exchange they get the mochi for half off.
When the mochi is gone, and the bill has been paid, and Asano and Sakura are standing to leave, Asano speaks.
"My dream is to make the world a better place. I want to make a difference"
