Chapter 5

Sakura rubbed her eyes, attempting to ease the heaviness that threatened to tease her into sleep. She stretched, first rolling her head in a full circle, her neck emitting little popping noises from being held in the same position for so long.

Beside her laid the form of her sleeping mother, filling the hospital room with deep, regulated breathing that matched the slow rise and fall of the blanket. Reassured by the presence of another, Sakura felt her tension and weariness ease.

Earlier in the day, Team 7 had been granted approval after the stressful events of their examination. To Sakura, their passing had been nothing short of a miracle, and she had essentially resigned herself to the increasing possibility of being returned to the Academy.

Kakashi had minced no words after their first attempts to grab the bell., revealing the true intent of his exam as a test of teamwork rather than individual skill. He berated each of them for the actions that led to failure, mercilessly picking out the individualistic tendencies that inhibited their potential to succeed as a team.

Naruto tended toward reckless attack, acting solo without planning ahead or even considering a dynamic that included his other teammates.

Sasuke assumed superiority, immediately labeling his teammates as hindrances toward his goal and therefore disregarding beneficial possibilities based arrogance.

Sakura perceived the others as tools rather than teammates, seeing their attacks as opportunity for openings for her own success, excluding her teammates from her plans and preventing teamwork.

After his scathing criticism, he granted them another chance at teamwork, allowing a short lunch break before their second attempt, and disappeared with a 'poof'.

Sakura and Sasuke were granted food to the dismay of the tied up blonde, but Sakura didn't touch hers. Instead, the implications of her failures ran through her mind, fixing a glare at the grass.

How could she have failed to realize the ulterior motives of the jounin? Ninjas were supposed to see through deception, and yet she failed to recognize the glaring signs that Kakashi placed out for them.

In the back of her mind, she had realized the impossibility of any of them beating a jounin, but stubbornly ignored it.

She was snapped out of her thoughts when Naruto's stomach rumbled loudly, the blonde grimacing as his hunger changed to physical pain.

Sakura's disappointment had outweighed her hunger, and it sat untouched before her. She grabbed the box and held it toward Naruto. At the same time, Sasuke offered his own lunch.

The two shared eye contact, surprised, but neither retracted their offers.

Sakura laughed as Naruto's blue eyes welled up with tears at the unexpected empathy,. She gently put her bento down at Naruto's feet, implying that she was relinquishing ownership of it. "You two can share mine - I ate breakfast," she shot the two a teasing grin, "unlike you gullible bastards."

Naruto's stomach grumbled again as the smell of beef wafted from the box. "B-But you can't, Sakura-chan! You heard what the sensei said-"

"Kakashi's not here right now," Sasuke interjected. "We're supposed to grab these bells as a team, and if one of us can't perform because of hunger, then the entire mission is jeopardized anyway. So eat quickly, before he comes back."

A couple more seconds of hesitation dragged out, in which each teammate understood the next step but were reluctant to confront. Sakura took initiative and cleared her throat, grabbing a kunai from her holster, pointing it at Naruto while giving Sasuke an expectant look.

"Sasuke, will you be so kind? Naruto seems to be short of hands."

At the implication, Sasuke nearly choked on his rice, but before he could protest, Sakura had gone on. "While Naruto eats, we should discuss the plan of attack to grab those bells."

Naruto let out a faint noise of discomfort, and glanced at Sasuke uneasily. He was bummed that he couldn't be fed by a cute girl, or at least someone radiating less… animosity, but being tied to a pole he recognized that his outcome could be much worse.

Sasuke was internally torn at first, his pride made him livid at the thought of feeding an idiot, but as Sakura began drawing figures in the sand to form plans of attack, he was reminded that these were procedures necessary for success. Absentmindedly, he took a piece of egg from Sakura's bento to feed Naruto, intently keeping his eyes on the shapes forming in the sand to stay sane.

That's when Sakura sensed chakra buildup signifying a teleportation jutsu.

We've been found out!

She immediately propelled the kunai she was drawing with into the rope that bound Naruto to the pole, cutting through the strands and releasing the blonde from its grip. Then, she turned to face Kakashi's looming figure.

If he was going to fight them for breaking the rules, she would be damned if they were going in handicapped.

The next sequence of events consisted of the genin falling into defense, preparing to face whatever the jounin had up his sleeve next.

Then, suddenly, they had passed.

Somewhere, among the hours of the tense examination, they had recognized each other as teammates, and unconsciously decided to band together against a common enemy - even if it meant he was their only path to become true genin.

Sakura, however, was not satisfied. This still meant that she lacked the skill to bring her teammates to victory, and failed to protect them in a real life scenario. Their first mission would be assigned tomorrow, and she had yet to assure herself of her own capabilities.

This led her to the current scenario, in which she spent the rest of the evening catching her mother up to current events, and the two retreating into their own minds as the elder Haruno engrossed herself into a book, and the younger one into her studies.

Emerald eyes glanced at the clock overhead, and released a light sigh through her nose when she realized the night had slipped by. It had been 4 AM for a couple minutes now, and her team had plans to meet up at 8.

Considering the current pattern, he probably won't show up until 10.

At that thought, she quietly turned off the lamp that illuminated the desk space that the nurses had allotted as hers, eyes dilating as the moonlight became the only source of light bathing illuminating the room.

Before leaving, she pressed a kiss to her mother's forehead, whispering a quick farewell before she was gone, the window opening and closing without a sound.

Little did she know, dark onyx eyes outside caught her movement, watching her departure with curiosity.