"I must not fear. Fear is the mind-killer. Fear is the little-death that brings total obliteration. I will face my fear. I will permit it to pass over me and through me. And when it has gone past. I will turn the inner eye to see its path. Where the fear has gone there will be nothing. Only I will remain."
Chapter I
Though belonging to a civilian family brought Sakura no powerful bloodline limits, it did ultimately provide her with a bequest of her own— an inferiority complex. A constant feeling of being lesser than. Being non-combatant in what was essentially a densely populated army base did that to people. The complex was practically a birthright throughout civilian households in Konohagakure, circulating through genes like a peculiar kekkei genkai.
To Sakura's parents, both non-combatant, her choice of profession was a matter of prestige, and really all they ever talked about. It was their golden ticket into relevance. Consequently, Sakura grew up to be very proud of her vocation.
But here in the Forest of death, as she watched in horror as a Kusa shinobi swallowed an entire scroll, mouth stretching grotesquely and tongue wrapping all the way around the scroll like a slimy fleshy cord, Sakura wondered what was so wrong with being a civilian anyway.
As sick to her stomach as she was, she found she couldn't take her eyes off the scroll that was slowly descending down the woman's mouth. It was fascinating, hypnotic almost. Most truly horrifying things usually were. She wondered if the woman's throat too would stretch to receive the scroll. Maybe she would start chewing it, instead.
Where's that Naruto? This was the second time the enemies were taking advantage of the fact that the moron was nowhere to be found. Yes, Sakura was going to give Naruto a good beating once he got back. Next to her she heard Sasuke-kun gulp, and she gritted her teeth. Any situation that made Sasuke-kun show physical signs of unease was not a situation Sakura wanted to be in. She held onto hope he was just reacting to the gruesome scene, and not giving an objective assessment of their opponent's strength.
Swallowing the last of the scroll (her throat did stretch), the corners of the woman's lips quirked up and Sakura realized.
She's telling us she doesn't care. About the scroll, about the exam. Doesn't care about any of it, Sakura could feel a cold shiver creep down her arms, legs, back.
She's in it for the blood.
''Well, then,'' the woman casually rubbed at one of her eyes, ''Shall we start?''
'This is a Chunin exam. They are all Genin, half of them are probably rookies, just like you, Sakura repeated to herself, ever the master of rationalization in the nick of time, You've faced S-ranks, for Sage's sake! Think of Zabuza and Haku. You made it. You survived. Nothing in this exam can be worse than them. Nothing can be worse than Zabuza.
Except, it could, and it did. Fast.
Everything happened in the split of a second and Sakura hadn't realized she'd fallen to her knees.
It was surgically precise, a knife carving out all of her phobias, neuroses and nightmares. All she could see, hear, smell, feel was death and rot and decay.
Death was there and she saw it, striking and vivid, like a brightly coloured grotesque in a dimly lit gallery. She saw her own lifeless body topple limply to the floor, green eyes staring at nothing.
It was paralyzing, the fear, and it had taken her a few seconds to realize that she was still there, alive and breathing. The atmosphere was heavy, bloodcurdling, and it soaked through her skin and deep into her veins. Her breathing was rapid, and she could feel bile rising in the back of her throat.
Next to her, a writhing Sasuke-kun was doubled over, retching.
Though she wanted nothing more than to never lay eyes on her again, Sakura was transfixed by the dark haired woman standing before them. Her paper-thin lips seemed to be permanently stretched into a smile of malevolent amusement.
''Don't worry, I'll make it quick,'' Sakura watched as she patiently, gently, took two kunai out of her weapon pouch. Her posture was relaxed and her movement indicated that this to her was no more difficult than running an errand ''I have to admit, I expected more from the famed Uchiha clan. All I found was a terrified shaking child. Not at all like his big brother. How disappointing.''
This was it, Sakura thought. The end.
There were still so many things she wanted, so many things she should've done. She would never have her first kiss with Sasuke-kun, and she would never get to rub it in Ino's face. Instead, she would die in the first hour of the Chunin exam, and her parents would be receiving an urn and a compensation cheque from the village. All for a career she wasn't even sure she wanted. Sakura suddenly hated herself.
Then she felt it. An uncanny sensation, a distinct feeling she'd seen this before, been here before.
She recognized the tingling feeling in her legs. The leaves twirling above the forest floor, never quite reaching the ground. The sudden onset of terror. Sasuke-kun's battered, bruised body impaled by kunai all over. How she'd never screamed so loud in her life. Hell Viewing Technique, Kakashi-sensei had later called it. Genjutsu.
It was no rational thought, but rather some strange survivor's impulse, that caused Sakura to savagely bite down on her lip until she could taste metal. Her eyes suddenly snapped open and there was no more fear, no more paralysis, only a sobering realization that she was still alive, followed by vehement thrashing somewhere inside her amygdala that screamed at her to get the hell away from there, because there two kunai were heading straight for their heads.
Adrenaline flooding her system and honing her reflexes, she threw herself to the side faster than she ever knew she could and slammed into Sasuke-kun before fastening her arms around his back and propelling herself up into the forest.
Behind her she heard a sinister chuckle, ''Well, well, what a turn of events indeed''.
Sakura ran.
ARTWORK CREDIT: vashito . tumblr. com
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