A/N: Here's the next chapter :) I actually struggled a bit with this one, especially the end. My goal for this chapter was to slowly try to phase Sakura out of her Sasuke fangirling. I kinda feel like I rushed it a bit though, but let me know what you think. Also, I just thought I should address some of the questions about the last chapter.

1. In this version, Sakura does not have an inner personality. I know it doesn't really fit with canon but to be honest her inner didn't do much and it's such a trouble to incorporate into the story especially since it doesn't really play a role. So basically just forget about inner ever existing lol.

2. A bit of a spoiler (oops!), but the thing that the Yamanaka felt when examining her mind is actually the same thing that caused Sakura to lose consciousness after touching Hashirama's skin. As slightly explained in the summary of the story, in this universe kekkei-genkai's are at least slightly sentient.

3. The reason that Naruto did not fail the exam is indeed that he was taught how to perform the kage-bunshin. Who taught him I never really thought about but for the purpose of the story you can assume the Hokage taught him. However, because he did not fail the exam, Naruto never learned that he holds the nine-tailed fox.

4. Orochimaru did already have Hashirama's DNA (Yamato is alive in this story). However, although it might not ever be mentioned in the story, Konoha destroyed one of Orochimaru's bases, which happened to be where the DNA was being stored. This meant that Orochimaru needed to retrieve more, which is why he ordered Mizuki (who was in Konoha at the time) to retrieve it for him. Mizuki did not want to risk himself and therefore got Sakura to steal it. However, when Sakura didn't show up where she was supposed to meet Mizuki, he realized that she would be discovered and therefore ran away.

Hope that helps! As always, thanks so much for taking the time to review and I hope you enjoy :)

[chapter 2]

With a bow to the Hokage she made her away out of his office, finding Iruka waiting for her outside the door. He smiled kindly at her.

"Let's get you to the academy, alright? he said softly. She nodded and together they made their way out of the tower.

As they walked, Iruka attempted to make conversation, but perhaps sensing her unwillingness to talk he soon stopped. Her thoughts were a turbulent mess, thoughts spinning into and out of her mind too fast for her to grab ahold of. Councilor Shimura and the Hokage's voices kept ringing in her mind.

She must be disposed of.

I'm disappointed in you, Sakura.

I've seen far too many promising shinobi die because they let their emotions govern them.

She couldn't get the Hokage's sad and tired eyes out of her mind. Is that what being a shinobi was like? He'd lived through all three wars, she remembered learning. Just how many friends had he seen die?

They strolled through the streets instead of taking to the roofs like she knew more experienced shinobi did. Despite this, they reached the Academy within minutes. It had been built close to the Hokage tower - one of the first buildings constructed by Hashirama during the founding.

She'd expected there to be students milling around in front of the Academy waiting for school to start, but to her surprise the courtyard was empty. Casting a quick glance of the sun she realized it was about half an hour after school was supposed to have started. In the end the meeting with the council of elders must have taken longer than she'd thought.

They travelled through the hallways - empty as well - to their classroom. It was quiet, the only sounds the tapping of her boots against the floor and the chaotic thoughts swirling through her mind.

Just outside the door, Iruka paused and turned to her.

"I know the last 24 hours must have been pretty hard for you, but don't let it ruin your first day as a genin of Konohagakure, ok?" He said quietly.

Sakura nodded without responding. She'd been looking forward to this day for months now, anxiously awaiting the moment she could wear her headband with pride. Now, though, Councilor Shimura's cold words kept ringing in her ears.

She felt so small, so insignificant. A genin of Konohagakure, huh?

So easily disposed of.

Even just the thought of Mizuki sent hate rushing down her spine. She'd been so naive. Where was she even supposed to go from here?

From his back pocket Iruka pulled out a headband, similar to the ones that had been given out yesterday. It was made out of a navy blue fabric and the Konoha symbol carved into the unblemished metal plate in the center shone. It wasn't the same one she'd been handed after graduation, but it didn't matter. In the face of everything that had happened a headband seemed so much less important.

Iruka gently turned her around so her back was facing him. Then, carefully, he looped the fabric over her forehead, tying it at the back with deft fingers.

"Wear it with pride, alright?" He said.

Wordlessly, Sakura ran her fingers over the cool metal of the headband now resting on her forehead. It was hers now.

With a measured bow to Iruka she muttered a quick thanks.

The only response her teacher granted was a small, sad smile, before he opened the door to their classroom and gestured for her to enter.

As she stepped into the room, she felt all eyes instantly on her. Her classmates sat waiting in their rows of seats, curiously examining her.

Self-consciously Sakura looked down at herself. She was still wearing the same dirty clothes from last night. Normally on an important morning like this she would have spent hours working on her appearance, worrying over every stray hair. She'd hadn't exactly dressed to impress the dead last night, quickly throwing on a pair of sweatpants, tanktop and a light hoodie at home. Her hair was in tangles too, nothing like Ino's silky-smooth ponytail from where she sat beside Sasuke.

For some odd reason though, Sakura just didn't care. She kept seeing the Hokage's impossibly tired eyes in her mind, as he told her about the shinobi he'd seen die, and Iruka's sad smile he'd sent her only moments ago as he studied her. So what if she looked like a mess or Ino had taken the seat next to Sasuke.

She could still feel the blood running through her veins, her heart pounding loudly. At least she wasn't dead.

"Iruka-sensei! You're late!" Naruto called loudly from the back row. Iruka stepped out from behind her and moved to the front of the room.

"Sorry class," he said apologetically. "Sakura and I got held up by an important meeting at the Hokage's tower."

He turned to her. "Sakura, if you could find a seat? Then we can get started."

She nodded soundlessly and scanned the classroom for empty seats. The desks were arranged in triplets, with three sets per row and three rows. Shikamaru, Choji and one civilian boy she'd never interacted with sat behind Ino, Sasuke and Ami. Kiba, Shino and Hinata sat together. At the back of the room Naruto sat alone, no one willing to pair up with the dead last. The two seats on either side of him were the only empty seats in the room.

Without a word she silently climbed up the aisle and sat down beside the blond boy.

"Eh? Sakura?" He asked happily, confused.

She didn't deign to respond, instead turning back to face the front of the room. Iruka was staring at her in surprise, as if he hadn't expected her to take the seat without protesting. Looking around, she saw that Ino as well as a few others had the same look. Flushing a bit, Sakura sank down lower in her seat.

Iruka coughed loudly, drawing everyone's attention back to him.

"My apologies for the wait," he said. "Since we are running a bit late, I'll do my best to keep it short. Now, first and foremost, I'd like to congratulate you all on graduating."

Iruka paused. "From here on out, you are shinobi and kunoichi of Konohagakure."

The class cheered loudly at his words and Sakura tested the phrase out on her tongue. A kunoichi of Konohagakure. That was what she'd always aspired to be, wasn't it? And now she was finally here. Beside her, Naruto was beaming so brightly it would've been impossible not to notice. Pride and satisfaction, she guessed, afterall he'd already failed twice.

After a moment though, Iruka stopped the cheers by raising his hand.

"But the life of a ninja is not without dangers," he told them seriously. "Which is why you will be placed into three-man teams under a jounin-sensei, designed to keep you alive until you grow stronger."

Three-man teams, huh? Sakura had vaguely known about this from seeing genin teams around the village, but from the startled looks of the people around her they probably hadn't realized. Closer to the front of the room she saw Sasuke glare angrily at his desk. Right, supposedly she was on his team, according to Councilor Shimura.

"Now I know you probably all want to be with your friends," Iruka continued," however, the teams have already been assigned by the Hokage and all of your teachers. They were created based on your individual strengths and weaknesses, as well as the personality traits we have seen you display. There will be no trying to switch around or complaining once I announce the teams. Understood?"

Collectively the class groaned and she saw a few of the girls look hopefully over at Sasuke. She felt the faint urge to gloat. They wouldn't be on his team. She would.

"These will be your teammates at least until you reach the chunin level, so I suggest you make an attempt to get to know them better," Iruka said. "After I finish announcing all the teams your new jounin-sensei will come collect you for a team meeting."

There were nods from students in the rows before her.

"Well, if everybody is ready, I will announce the teams now. Please wait to move until all the teams have been listed."

Everyone in the class seemed to sit up a bit straighter in anticipation. From his back pocket Iruka pulled out a sheet of paper.

"Team three will be Daichi, Ami and Koji."

Three of her classmates groaned in unison.

"Team five will be Fuki, Sansho and Nobori."

Sakura noticed Naruto staring at his desk in confusion.

"What is it?" she asked him, feeling slightly bad about how surprised everyone had been when she'd sat down next to him.

It's just… why did Iruka-sensei skip team numbers?"

From the away he'd asked it was obvious he thought it was a stupid question that everyone except him knew the answer to and she was about to roll her eyes when with a start Sakura realized she actually had no idea. She frowned, looking back to Naruto.

"I'm not sure," she admitted. "But I'll ask Iruka-sensei."

The blond boy paled. "No, it's ok Sakura. You don't have to. I don't want you to get in trouble, you know, 'cause he's talking right now."

With a shrug she raised her hand anyways, ignoring his protests. She'd never gotten in trouble before for asking questions. Iruka always praised her instead.

About to read off team seven, Iruka looked up, noticing her hand.

"Yes, Sakura?" he asked, admittedly sounding slightly annoyed.

She stood up in her seat. "Naru-"

She paused, having been about to mention Naruto. It had been his question after all, and that away they wouldn't think badly of her if it turned out to be a stupid question.

Hesitating, she looked at him. But that just wasn't fair, was it? Naruto hadn't even wanted to ask originally. It had been her who'd raised her hand, despite his protests - and even then he'd been looking out for her, not himself. She'd always thought of Naruto as loud and obnoxious, but now… with a frown she realized she was worse. She was taking advantage of him, exactly like Mizuki had taken advantage of her. And he'd only been able to do that in the first place because of her stupid care of what other people thought of her.

Clearing her throat, Sakura started again. "-I was wondering why you skipped certain team numbers. For example, the first team you announced was team 3, not team 1."

"For those of you that don't know," Iruka started, and Sakura couldn't help but feel a bit of heat rise to her cheeks in shame, "the team numbers are actually assigned based on which numbers are available. To use your example, Sakura: Team 1 and Team 2 from last year are currently active teams, while Team 3 - a team assigned a few years ago - had members who passed the chunin exam last year, effectively disbanding it."

With a nod, Sakura sat back down. That made sense. They couldn't very well have two teams with the same number. She grimaced, angry with herself for not having figured it out by herself.

Naruto seemed to mistake her anger as directed at him though.

"Thanks for asking," he said quietly, looking down.

At the front of the room, iruka continued reading off his list. "Team seven will be Sasuke, Sakura and Naruto."

She is a danger to the Uchiha and Jinchuuriki.

She gave a half-smile to Naruto that felt slightly forced.

"It's fine," she told him.

The Uchiha was obviously Sasuke, but she'd assumed that Jinchuuriki was a name. But if her third team member was Naruto…

What did Jinchuuriki even mean? She had a pretty big vocabulary but she'd never heard the word used before. Was it a title maybe? Naruto was an orphan, if she remembered right, so maybe he'd had parents in positions of power? She remembered all his failed attempts at clones throughout the year and scoffed internally. She doubted it.

"Hey!" Someone called, pulling her out of her thoughts. The girl sitting in the row in front of her had turned to face Sakura with a sneer.

"Don't go thinking that just because you're on Sasuke's team he'll like you!"

It was easy - way too easy - for her to instinctively slide into her fangirl persona.

"Don't be jealous, Ami," she told the purple-haired girl. "After all, the team assignments just prove that me and Sasuke are fated to be together."

Ami sent her a glare before turning back in her seat as Iruka called out a reprimand. From beside her, Sakura saw Naruto giving her a look. Was that disappointment she saw in his eyes? For some reason it reminded her of the away the third Hokage had looked at her earlier that morning and angrily she turned the blond boy.

"What," she hissed, not caring if she was being rude.

Naruto frowned at her. "I don't get it. What's so great about Sasuke anyways."

Sakura immediately opened her mouth to respond. Then, for the second time that day, she paused. She glanced over at the raven-haired Uchiha. He was so handsome, she thought to herself, taking in his silky hair and pale skin. But she couldn't tell that to Naruto, that was just so vain and girly. She didn't think of herself as someone who liked people just based on their looks. What else could she say though? It definitely wasn't his personality. He was cold and stuck up and arrogant.

She shook her head. What the hell was happening to her. Sasuke wasn't any of those things, he was just cool and strong. Her eyes caught Naruto's deep blue ones and suddenly she didn't know what to say.

Sakura turned away from his with a huff, crossing her arms. "You wouldn't understand," she told him condescendingly.

The blond boy just shrugged - not as loud for once - and turned back to his desk.

By now Iruka had finished with the rest of the teams. She hadn't really been listening after he'd announced her team, but now she watched as various older shinobi entered the room. They were probably their new jounin-sensei.

"Uh, could Ino, Shikamaru and Choji please come with me?" A brown-haired man with a cigarette hanging out of his mouth drawled.

Another jounin, this time a woman with dark hair and startlingly beautiful red eyes, took Shino, Hinata and Kiba with her.

Team by team the kids filed out of the room until it was just her, Naruto, Sasuke and Iruka left.

Iruka cleared his throat sheepishly. "Sorry guys, but since we were running a bit late when we started I have to get to a meeting now. I'm sure your jounin-sensei will be here in a bit."

Then, without waiting for a reply, he disappeared from the room as well.

There was silence for a moment between the three of them before Naruto groaned loudly.

"Our jounin-sensei sucks," he declared sulkily.

Sasuke didn't bother replying - he hadn't even turned back to look at them since the teams had been announced - and Sakura just rolled her eyes.

"I'm sure they'll be here soon," she said to no one in particular. Naruto got up from his seat and started spouting some rant, but she ignored him, choosing to rest her head in her hands. She just needed some time to think about everything that had happened in the last 24 hours.

First, there'd been that odd thing that had invaded her when she'd touched Hashirama's skin and then looming even larger in her mind was the meeting with the council of elders and the Hokage this morning.

Councilor Shimura scared her. By all accounts he looked like an old man, the same age as the Hokage and the other two elders, but there was something so cold about him. There was the feeling that he would've slit her throat himself without a second thought - guilty or not - if the Hokage hadn't been there.

She lifted her face out of her hands to find Naruto perched on the desk right in front of her, staring at her intensely.

"Oh, hey," he exclaimed. "Iruka said you guys were at the Hokage's tower. You never told me what happened."

Sakura blinked a few times, not knowing what to say. She wet her dry lips with her tongue.

"I was… in trouble," she said slowly, not sure how much she could tell him.

Naruto blinked a few times in surprise. "You pull a prank or something?"

Right. Sakura forgot that Naruto knew the third Hokage. He'd probably been in that office more times than she could count. Except he probably hadn't had a Yamanaka pick apart her memories like it meant nothing. He hadn't had Councilor Shimura talk about her like an unwanted piece of clothing.

A feeling akin to jealousy and anger bloomed in her stomach. Naruto had vandalized the visages of all four Hokage carved into the mountain less than a week ago. But had he been accused of being a spy?

"Something like that," she muttered darkly.

Perhaps sensing her mood, Naruto backed off, making his way to the classroom door to plan a prank on their late teacher. Half-heartedly she watched him. She doubted any jounin would fall for a simple trick like that.

It wasn't long after that the door opened once again and in stepped their new sensei. To her surprise, the blackboard eraser Naruto had set up fell straight onto his head, sending out a ploom of dust. Naruto was full on rolling on the floor in laughter and even Sasuke had an expression on his otherwise apathetic face.

The jounin was tall and lanky, with gravity-defying silver hair sticking up in spikes. He wore a mask over his lower face and one eye was covered by his headband. In fact, the only part of his face visible was a single stormy grey eye.

The man looked at them blankly and vaguely Sakura felt some tingling of recognition, as if she had seen a picture of him somewhere before.

His eye crinkled in a smile. "My first impression of you is…"

All three pairs of eyes were on him.

"I hate you."

Naruto slumped almost comically. Well he'd certainly made quite a first impression, Sakura thought irritatedly.

"Meet me on the roof in two minutes," he told them emotionlessly. He disappeared in a cloud of smoke.

Sakura silently stood up from her desk and followed Naruto and Sasuke out of the room. Together, the three made their way up the stairs of the academy to the roof of the building. There, they found the silver-haired jounin waiting for them.

"Good morning, my new students!" the man crowed happily when he saw them, a stark contrast to how he'd been acting before.

Sasuke glared at him.

"It's afternoon," he said cuttingly.

The jounin just tilted his head, amused. "Maa, maa, it's hard to keep track of time these days."

Sasuke looked like he wanted to say something but Sakura cut in. "Did you call us up here for our team meeting?"

He blinked. "Ah yes, I did indeed."

"As Iruka probably told you, we'll be Team 7 from now on," he said. "That means we need to get to know each other better. So I was thinking we could do a nice getting to know each other exercise..."

"I already know Sakura and Sasuke," Naruto said, scowling.

The masked shinobi just waved his hand. "Well, we're doing it either way so have a seat."

The three genin sat down cautiously in a semi-circle around Kakashi. Sakura wriggled a bit uncomfortably. The roof of the academy was covered in gravel and the sun had been out long enough that it had heated up to an unbearably hot level. Looking at the others, she noticed that Kakashi and Sasuke didn't seem to notice at all and even Naruto wasn't showing any sign of being bothered.

Normally she would've complained about it but as she opened her mouth she stopped herself. Did she really want her first impression on her new sensei to be as a whining little girl? She bit her tongue and shut her mouth.

"Alright," their jounin sensei started. "How about we go in a circle and introduce our likes, dislikes and goal for the future."

He looked to Naruto as if to indicate to start, but the blond boy stared at him blankly.

"Uh, how about you go first as an example?" he asked sheepishly.

The jounin sighed.

"Alright then. My name is Kakashi Hatake," he said.

Sakura's mind was sluggish today from lack of sleep but even that didn't stop her from recognizing the name. She'd thought she recognized his face and it was true. Kakashi Hatake… he was in the bingo books. The copy-nin of Konoha, son of the White Fang. He had a sharingan in one eye supposedly. Was that why he'd been chosen for their team? To train Sasuke?

"I have a lot of likes and a lot of dislikes," he continued. "And as for my goal for the future..."

Kakashi paused and chuckled. "I can't tell you."

Naruto groaned. "You literally didn't tell us anything except your name."

The jounin just shrugged. "Ok blondie. You're up."

Naruto stuck out his lip but conceded. "My name is Naruto Uzumaki," he crowed happily. "I like eating ramen and hanging out with Iruka-sensei and playing pranks. I dislike food that isn't ramen and," here he looked at Sasuke, "Sasuke."

"My goal in life is to become the Hokage and have everyone recognize me!" he finished off.

Sakura almost snorted, as if that was a surprise. Naruto had announced his 'goal' to the class practically every single day back in the academy. Kakashi seemed to take it all in stride though.

"That's nice," he told Naruto appeasingly, although without an ounce of sincerity. He then turned to Sasuke. "You're up!"

Sasuke scowled at the roof in front of him.

"My name is Sasuke Uchiha," he said coldly and while before Sakura probably would've fantasized over his cool tone, now she actually felt a pinprick of fear run down her spine.

"I don't like many things," Sasuke continued, "however, there are many things I dislike."

Here, Sakura winced a bit. She had the feeling his words were aimed at her. Sasuke had always called her annoying after all.

"As for my goal..." he said. "It is less of a goal and more of a future. I will kill a certain man and avenge my clan."

If she'd been uneasy when he started speaking, Sakura was now scared. Even the air seemed to grow thicker as Sasuke uttered his words darkly.

The tension remained for a moment before Kakashi broke it with a simple eye crinkled.

"Sounds good," he said to Sasuke as if he hadn't heard a word the boy had said. Then the jounin turned to her. She didn't need to wait for him to tell her it was her turn.

"My name is Sakura Haruno," she said, introducing herself. "I like…"

She thought about it. What did she even like? Training? Not really, it just made her muscles sore. Friends? She didn't really have any. She ate lunch with the other girls, sure, but they weren't friends - they were just as likely to stab her in the back.

Blinking a few times, she decided to leave it unanswered and move on.

"I dislike…"

Mizuki, Councilor Shimura, her mind immediately filled in. She wasn't sure if it was a good idea to say it out loud though.

"-people who take advantage of others," she said instead.

"And my goal is…"

She knew what her goal was, right? She'd loudly proclaimed it multiple times in the past. Her goal was to marry Sasuke. She cast a glance at the black-haired Uchiha. He wasn't even looking at her.

Narrowing her eyes a bit, she noticed that something about him had changed. There was something… off about him.

Normally she could've fangirled over him for hours but there was just something different about him now that she looked at him closely. Was it his hair? No, it was the same glossy black as always. His eyes? Nope. He still stared sullenly into the distance.

With a start, Sakura realized that Sasuke hadn't changed at all.

She had.

Mentally, she slapped herself. What was wrong with her? She'd done so many things just in the past few hours that she never would've done before. Sakura cringed. She'd sat next to Naruto for one, which was tantamount to social suicide. And then she'd stumbled over her words again when he asked her why she liked Sasuke. She was slipping. Despite the events of the past day she needed to get herself together, otherwise Sasuke would never see her worth.

Unbidden, another, quieter voice spoke up inside her. Would that be all that bad though? Did Sasuke really matter? To be completely honest she liked herself better like this.

Kakashi coughed loudly, bringing her out of her thoughts. "Your goal, Sakura?" he unsubtly nudged.

Sakura frowned and looked down at the gravel of the roof below her.

"I don't know," she finished lamely.

Both the boys were staring at her curiously and she felt herself flush in embarrassment. She looked away.

Kakashi sighed and unfolded himself from his sitting position on the roof to tower over them.

"Alright, well that was an informative meeting."

Yeah right.

"Do whatever you want for the rest of the day. I have a meeting to get to. I'll see you tomorrow morning at 6 am at our team training grounds. Don't be late!"

With a poof of smoke he was gone.