Chapter 6:

'You killed them.'

The graves were rudimentary. Two simple wooden crosses with a food offering each and some flowers. Some villagers had come out of curiosity, but nobody knew them, they were missing nin after all. The sword was missing from the picture. What would have happened to it without her? Would they have let it behind, waiting to be picked again by some impostor?

Kubikiribocho, who now served a crutch let a soft whine. They are together now, nothing could separate them. With one last look at the grave, Sakura turned her back to the Land of Waves.

'Nothing could make you forget that.'

XxX

Nothing was said while Sakura and Sasuke waited for Naruto back at Konoha. One week had passed since the events of their first C rank mission. 'Didn't it become a A rank?'. Two of them almost died yet almost nothing gave it away. While her broken nose had been healed perfectly leaving no trace of a fracture, the burn marks on her shoulder had already scarred by the time they reached Konoha. The newly added bandages on both shoulders weren't there for aesthetics.

During this one month where they had been gone, some things changed. 'Some? Are you kidding?' The sight of the village hadn't given her any comfort. The arms of her father around her had felt more like a cage than a hug. Their wary looks at her sword seemed like yells of reprimands. They didn't ask question about the mission after seeing her state and she didn't tell anything. Did Kakashi told them? Did they know what she had done?

Fortunately, "Kuki", 'Are you serious !?', had been there. 'It's a sword where do you want it to go?'. She didn't remember a lot of thing of before she woke up, bruised ribs and broken fingers, with the corpse of Zabuba laying next to her, her kunai the killing blow after so many. One thing was for sure, Kubi was now "officially" hers. It had never seemed so light in her hold, and the calm and silence (would these words ever leave her mind?) it provided had never been better.

"Hey Sakura!" yelled a cheerful voice. "How 'you doing?"

Naruto was running toward them and like their return ignoring Sasuke while asking about her. It wasn't like before, the enmity toward Sasuke was more out of awkwardness than anger. In the same way, he was genuinely concerned about, it wasn't some crush. Were they becoming friends? 'Everything has changed.'.

She smiled softly at him and answered that she was fine, like she always did. She felt so slow, so soft, so peaceful and yet empty. She didn't grin anymore, nor did she guffaw, never mind yelling. 'the sword can't cure everything'. Sakura huffed. With a new resolution she stretched her smile.

"So, how long do you think it will take for Kakashi to comes?" she tried to joke. 'It's sensei! Show a little respect!'

The blind stared warily, his blue eyes widened a little and his smile slipped. But then her joked back, his signature grin back on his face.

Sasuke stayed quiet, shutting them out. Sakura didn't mind, she was too calm, too aloof to really care for her crush. It would be so tiring. Naruto was better, he was warm. It reminded her a little of how Kubi made her feel.

The team's dynamics have changed, and it was strange, yet felt right. 'We have changed too.' Maybe they all did.

XxX

Coming back to Konoha was strange. Leaving the Land of Waves as a hero and coming back home as a pariah had felt like waking up from a dream. And what a dream (more like a nightmare) it had been. Reality had hit him hard, and it still continued to.

Every time he would see the enormous sword on Sakura's back he would think of it impeding in her stomach. Of her welcoming it as one would do an old friend. When he would catch Sasuke's dark eyes, he would see red pupils full of tears. Every grunt seemed like the soft "don't die" (ironic really as he was the only one who could heal almost instantly). But then he would see them as they are, alive, and he would smile for them. Because Sakura seemed so aloof and Sasuke was shutting them out. They needed him in a way, and didn't he promise himself that he would be there for them?

So, Naruto joked and smiled for the three of them. He would act angry when Sasuke would throw an "idiot" because Sasuke liked to rile him up. And he would grin more than ever because then he could finally see teeth on Sakura's smile in return. Maybe he would never be able to heal them with cool jutsu like the medics did but he would always have some herbs and a grin. Maybe sometimes it was even better.

XxX

"Now, starting with Kakashi…"

Time seemed to slow down. His head full of thoughts and memories, Kakashi hesitated.

Sasuke was the best fighter of team 7, he was more than ready for the exam. But could he handle it mentally? The mission had shown that Sasuke wasn't him, that he was a child. He could freeze up because of fear, becoming too cocky, try to avenge instead of helping a teammate. Sasuke had the capacities but being a Chunin was more than that. He had to learn to open up to his teammate and not only in a time of crisis. (He could remember Naruto crying at the feet of the body, 'O-o-obito ?')

Sakura was the weakest physically. Her taijutsu skill were basic and her natural strength left untrained. Th-The sword could help her gain a better reach and more powerful hits but the weapon still too new to be trustable for combat. But Sakura possessed a will to survive unlike her teammate. Thanks to this she's able to act rapidly in a time of crisis and gain a little access to her untapped potential. As she had shown before she could be ruthless in a battle (No, he didn't want to think of her). Yet the repercussions of said acts were serious. If the girl had already shown sign of clash between her civil upbringing and her ninja schooling, she was now developing a serious case of mental trauma.

Naruto. The blond was maybe the more fit for the exam. With a never-ending stamina and chakra and a taijustu rapidly progressing the boy could be a force to reckon on a fight. He was starting to see the reality of being a ninja and seems able to handle it. Naruto is becoming the pillar of the team, as a medic could be. Yet, the boy was still too driven by his emotions.

It was no secret that team 7 had been dysfunctional since its beginning yet Kakashi had refused to see it. He thought they could become like his old team, but he now knew that it would have only ended in disaster. His refusal to train Sakura has anything more than the medic he had wanted her to be, had made her used to being protected by the boys and himself. The lack of implication he gave into Naruto's training let him with only natural abilities to rely on. And the attention he gave to Sasuke only solidified the boy's opinion of being an adult. Their own relationship was unhealthy: Naruto mocked by all, Sakura left as a bystander and Sasuke feeling superior.

Yet, they had saved each other life. Sakura had fought Zabuza, putting herself at risk, to help Sasuke. The Uchiha almost died to protect Naruto. And it was this same blonde's team spirit that made the strategy to free him from the water justu.

That was why Kakashi still believed on his team.

"The Kakashi led team 7, Uchiha Sasuke, Haruno Sakura, Uzumaki Naruto, under the name of Hatake Kakashi, I nominate them to take the Chuunin selection exam."

XxX

It had all happened in an instant. Some kids had wanted Naruto to play ninja with them as she proposed him to train together. As they joked, Konohamaru made fun of Naruto who decided to chase him. The kid bumped into a foreign group of ninjas and it went downhill from there.

"Basically, I hate midget…" the stranger while griping Konohamaru by his neck. "Especially younger ones that are rude… makes me want to kill them."

Those last words made Sakura flinch. Who did he think he was? 'Calm down.' Coming into her village, the one place where she was in security. Who did he think he was? she repeated to herself, lava building in her stomach. What right did he have to bring fight and murder in here. For the first time in weeks, Sakura finally felt emotion. How sad was it to be anger? Inner was calming her, but she could feel the soft caress of Kubi's aura against her chrakra. It was hungry. The stranger hitting Naruto square on the chest was the last straw, hate exploded.

The caress of Kibi became an order and she swung. Before he could comprehend what was happening as a rock hitting him made him lose his gripe, the stranger found himself in the semi-circular cut near the handle of her blade. Sakura felt a rush of excitation, never had she moved so fast before. She grinned at the boy as a craving made himself known in the pitch of her stomach. 'What is it Kubi ?' She would give it whatever it wanted.

"I want you blood." She said calmly, still smiling.

She didn't care for the gasp of shock from behind her. The only thing that mattered was the soft whispering of Kubi. As the boy narrowed his eyes and tried to speak but she was already moving. She couldn't make Kubi wait after all. As Naruto and the girl who accompanied the fool tried to intervene, the sword cried out. Sakura stopped, her blade cutting only lightly the boys neck, leaving a slight trail of blood. But Kubi didn't take it, something else had its attention.

"You're an embarrassment to our village."

'Is a "meet a stranger at every corner" day?' The red head seemed to be their age unlike the two teenagers. Swung on a tree like a bat, the boy seemed to be the leader of this group. The two-misfit seemed to feat him while Kubi only sung in happiness transferring it to her. This rush made Sakura's head roll. In her state of happiness all sense left her, disconnecting her from the scene around her. 'What is happening? Who is this guy? Outer! Wake up'. Not caring, Sakura just lowered her sword.

Even when the boy appeared a few meters away from her, between the two strangers, Sakura did not react. Kubikiribocho's interest seemed to come from the boy's gourd. And as their eyes found each other, green against blue, the pinkette felt a rush of excitement. Still high she grinned at the stranger.

"I'm Sakura and you?" she greeted him.

He stared for a moment at her, but she didn't break the eye contact. Kubikiribocho was singing in her ear, chanting how wonderful all would turn out. So, it was with eyes full of trust and warmth that Sakura looked at the red head.

"Gaara of the desert."