A/N: My apologies for the slightly shorter chapter this time! I just wasn't feeling that inspired and I mainly wanted SAKURA TO FINALLY STOP BEING A SASUKE-FANGIRL in this chapter (spoiler warning: accomplished!). On that note, next chapter things will finally start happening and the plot will start moving forward. Just at warning though, things are going to stray pretty far from canon, at least until the chunin exam. Anyways, more info to come and as always, enjoy!

[chapter 4]

They'd spent the rest of the hour talking about meaningless things and with each minute Sakura could've sworn she saw Naruto smile brighter.

He wasn't bad to be honest and his mischievous sense of humour was refreshing. In terms of people their own age she'd only really interacted with a few of the other girls at the academy, and even then the talk had mostly been about guys and vain, superficial things. It hurt, but she could hardly even remember why she'd cared that much. Years of her life, wasted.

Sasuke had shown up about half an hour before eight.

He walked past without any greeting, sitting down a little bit away from them on the other side of the bridge.

"Good morning, Sasuke," Sakura said brightly.

He ignored her.

She sighed and turned back to Naruto. Despite the irritation that had welled up when Sasuke didn't even acknowledge her, she knew it was her fault.

You like Sasuke because everyone else does.

Maybe if she hadn't fangirled over him for years they could've been friends by now. That would've been nice, she reflected thoughtfully.

The trio spent a few more moments in silence and Sakura thought about it.

The sense of calm had mostly faded by now - it'd been strongest as the rising sun illuminated the beauty of their surroundings - but it was still there, in a subtler way. It was nice, helpful even. She felt like she could think about things without anger, without pride. She could see the truth.

She'd made peace with Naruto in the hopes of starting a friendship. What did she want with Sasuke? If Iruka was right - and deep down she acknowledged that he was - then she needed to stop pursuing a romantic relationship. Not to mention that it was driving him away, apparently it wasn't even what she wanted in the first place. So what did she want?

Sasuke was strong. Cold and not friendly in the least, but strong. She respected that, and in all honesty she was jealous. She wished she was as cool and powerful as him. While she'd had the highest academic marks at the academy, Sasuke had always led in physical marks such as sparring and accuracy. She wished that she had his seemingly effortless grace and fighting prowess.

She wanted to be friends.

She wanted friendship with Sasuke, Sakura decided. She wanted the same thing him and Naruto had, even if they didn't acknowledge it, where both encouraged the other to grow stronger. She wanted to grow stronger.

"Sasuke," she called out, suddenly coming to a decision and doing her best to push aside her worries.

The black haired boy turned slightly and sent her a glance. He didn't bother responding but she understood the wordless sign that he had heard her.

"I'm not going to fangirl over you anymore," she said determinedly.

She swore she saw surprise flash over his face for an instant, as if that wasn't what he'd expected her to say, before his face was blank again.

"Hn," he replied emotionlessly, turning away again.

But she smiled. She'd done it. She'd pushed aside her misgivings and said what she needed to say.

Beside her Naruto had a much more obvious reaction.

"Eh? You're finally over the bastard?" he crowed happily.

Sakura nodded at him, knowing Sasuke was listening.

"Iruka asked me the same thing this morning that you did yesterday," she said. "He asked why I liked Sasuke. And I realized that the reason I liked him was because everyone else - all the other girls in the class - did too. So I decided that since my feelings were never genuine in the first place, I should place our team coherence as a priority and make sure that Sasuke didn't feel awkward working with me."

Naruto was staring at her in wonder and surprise and even Sasuke seemed shocked from what she could see.

"That's really… inspiring, Sakura," Naruto said slowly.

Sakura frowned but laughed genuinely, feeling her heart lighten as she did. "Inspiring?' she asked teasingly. "Does that mean you had a crush on Sasuke too?"

Naruto blushed and immediately twisted his face up, disgusted.

"Ew! No, of course not," he shouted.

"It's just," he looked at her shyly. "I wish I was as cool as you, Sakura."

She grinned. That's right. She, Sakura Haruno, was cool. It had felt good, to put aside the opinions of others and hug Naruto, to summon up the courage to tell Sasuke how she felt. It had been freeing almost, the sense of breaking free of her restrictions.

Truly, she wanted to become a better person, and with what she'd done in a single morning… well, it didn't feel so impossible anymore.

Kakashi, of course, chose this moment to reveal himself.

"What? You don't want to be as cool as your new sensei, Naruto?" he asked, feigning hurt.

Naruto practically jumped into the air in surprise, turning to face Kakashi.

"You!" he exclaimed, pointing a finger at the silver-haired jounin. "You're late!"

Kakashi scratched his head. "Ah, sorry about that. I was on my away here when I saw an old lady crossing the street, and being the good citizen I am I couldn't just leave her…"

That was a blatant lie if she'd ever heard one, but thankfully due to Iruka's warning of Kakashi's tendencies she wasn't that peeved. Not as much as Naruto, at least.

"Liar!" He yelled loudly and Sakura was sure her eardrums had broken due to the frequency. "We had to wait for you, for like, forever."

Kakashi attempted an apologetic smile and patted the blond on the head. "Well I'm here now, so do you guys want to go on your first official mission?"

Instantly, Naruto perked up, seemingly forgetting his anger. It was odd how fast he could switch between personalities like that, in a way that didn't seem quite normal.

"Yes! We're going on a mission!" he called loudly. He turned to her, "Sakura, did you hear that? We're going on a mission!"

Yes, she had indeed heard Kakashi. Sakura fought down the urge to hit Naruto on the head, telling herself that this was just his way of showing his excitement.

"Yeah, that's cool," she said instead.

She sighed. Naruto probably hadn't been listening during one of Iruka's many lectures in the academy, but she had. All fresh genin started out with D-ranked missions, except in times of war. And as far as she knew, D-ranks weren't very interesting.

Iruka had explained how the missions were classified. The ranks corresponded to the mission's possible danger and level of importance. Less dangerous missions such as C or D-ranks were usually either within Konohagakure or in the land surrounding it - Fire Country. These missions had little to no chance of combat against other ninja, although C-ranks could include contact with bandits or low-ranked mercenaries.

As the ranks increased, so did the danger. Iruka had presented a set of statistics to them: the percentage of deaths on a mission increased exponentially as the rank went up. S-ranks were the worst, assigned to only a few extraordinary shinobi. Darkly, she remembered a chunin jokingly telling them that the 'S' stood for 'Suicide'.

Kakashi handed Naruto a scroll which she assumed contained their mission details. As Naruto eagerly opened it, she prepared herself for his inevitable disappointment.

D-ranks were only within the village, and as such, were usually mundane tasks. They were designed to slowly get genin accustomed to dealing with clients and the more difficult missions that would come.

"Our mission is painting a fence!?" Naruto cried loudly in dismay. Sakura winced. If her eardrums hadn't been broken before, they certainly were now.

Sasuke was frowning too, looking disappointed. Had he seriously not been listening to Iruka either? She'd expected it of Naruto, but Sasuke had taken the top spot of the class.

"It's good practice," Kakashi told them cheerfully.

Well that was technically true at least. They'd never have to necessarily paint a fence on a real mission, but it would help them with basic physical abilities.

"Anyways, let's get a move on. We're supposed to be there around," he glanced up at the sun, "now."

Sakura groaned and Naruto looked like he wanted to punch Kakashi.

The jounin held up his hands appeasingly. "Maa, maa, calm down. It doesn't matter that much that we're late."

The three genin relaxed.

"All it means is that according to the village guidelines the client technically doesn't have to pay us anymore."

"What!?" Naruto screamed in outrage, leaping towards Kakashi.

He landed smack on the ground of course, the jounin having disappeared in a cloud of smoke.

Sakura rolled her eyes and went to help Naruto up. She turned to Sasuke who'd picked up the scroll Naruto had dropped in his hurry to attack their teacher.

"Does it say where we're supposed to go?"

Sasuke nodded. "Hn. It says the client lives on a farm to the west."

He sounded a bit awkward, as if he wasn't quite sure how to interact with her yet, but that didn't faze her. That he'd even responded was a step in the right direction. Now all she had to do was prove that she'd meant what she'd said and maybe he'd warm up to her.

"I'm pretty sure I know what farm that is," she said with a smile. "I can take you guys there."

It was true. She had a pretty good idea of which farm they were supposed to go to. The fact that she'd been born to civilians was, for once, a good thing. Her father had been a merchant, travelling and exchanging goods throughout Fire Country and the surrounding lands, and she remembered going to the farm when she was little. Supposedly, they grew a special type of crop there, a sort of modified wheat that held much more nutrients. It was one of the ingredients in the soldier pills that shinobi used frequently, which explained why the farm was inside the village, she supposed.

The journey to the farm wasn't bad. All three were too focused on getting there as fast as possible to talk. She sprinted through the streets of the village as fast as she could, but Sakura felt a bit guilty. She knew she was holding them up. They all wanted to get there as fast as possible, but since she was the only one who knew the way, Sasuke and Naruto had to match her speed. She narrowed her eyes, determined to get faster.

Unluckily, their training grounds were in the opposite direction from the farm, but they still made it there in good time, only about fifteen minutes after they had supposed to arrive.

All three genin came to a stop, sweating and breathing heavily. Sakura had it worse than the other two, her legs barely able to support her.

Kakashi and a man who she vaguely remembered as the owner of the farm stood in front of them.

"So I see you've finally arrived," Kakashi said, looking down at them. "I thought I told you to be here fifteen minutes ago."

Naruto's jaw dropped in surprise. "What!? But-"

"Ah, yes. I appreciate you being on time," the farmer said gruffly to Kakashi.

Naruto closed his mouth, narrowing his eyes at their teacher in anger. Sakura rolled her eyes. Kakashi had probably planned this all, informing them too late of the mission and then shunshining all the way here to make it way before them and on time.

"I'm going to kill you," Naruto hissed.

Kakashi laughed nervously. "Ahaha. Well we should probably go inside and get the paint."

The farmer nodded. "My wife is inside. She'll help you out."

Sakura gave him a polite nod, a bit disappointed that he hadn't recognized her, and the three made their way into the small farmhouse.

Inside, the farmer's wife turned out to be much kinder than her husband. She also instantly recognized Sakura.

"Darling! Look how much you've grown," she exclaimed with a smile once she saw them. She immediately embraced her in her arms.

It was a tight hug and Sakura's cheeks flushed when she realized how close she was pressed up against the other woman's chest.

"It's nice to see you again," Sakura greeted politely. She gently slipped out of the hug, a bit embarrassed.

"Eh? You know her, Sakura?" Naruto asked curiously.

"Oh yes," the farmer's wife - Shimizu, she remembered - said. "Sakura used to visit us all the time with her father!"

"Oh," Naruto said. "Is he a farmer or something?"

A silence followed his words.

She looked down awkwardly. "He was a merchant," she told her team.

Shimizu winced.

"I'm so sorry, I didn't mean to remind you," she said, and Sakura could hear her sincerity. "I heard what happened."

"Huh?" Naruto didn't seem to get it.

Sakura sighed. "My father died about a year ago. He was attacked by shinobi from another country near the border," she explained quietly. They deserved to know. "My mother was, well, against me becoming a kunoichi after that, but…"

She shrugged. "Here I am."

Naruto's eyes saddened. "I'm sorry, Sakura. I didn't mean to…" he trailed off.

Sakura met Naruto's eyes. "It's fine. It was a while ago. We weren't that close anymore by that time anyways."

The blond frowned, unnaturally serious. "Still… I just - I know how it feels."

Sasuke looked away.

Right. She'd forgotten they were both orphans. Naruto had never known his parents and for Sasuke it was probably even worse. He'd known his parents only to have them ripped away from him by his own brother.

She was lucky, she knew. Her father was gone and her relationship with her mother was strained - she'd probably move out soon - but she'd had a happy childhood, she'd known them at least.

"Well," Shimizu interrupted with a voice that was too cheerful to not be forced. "How about I get you three started?"

Sakura smiled gratefully, thankful for the conversation change. "That'd be great. We're painting the farms fences, correct?"

"That's right! The paint is peeling a bit though, so first you'll have to scrape off the old paint before adding the new coat."

Kakashi gave the older woman an eye crinkle. "Well, just show us where to go and I'm sure my team will have it done in no time at all."

The three genin were handed scrapers, little metal plates with a sharp edge, and then sent out into the fields.

It hadn't been so hot at first, but as the sun rose and the temperature grew sweltering. Soon, Sakura was regretting having put on the long pants and shirt. If only she'd worn the red dress then maybe she wouldn't feel like she was about to melt, she thought with a sigh. She looked over at Sasuke and Naruto and winced, changing her mind. While they'd all been given large straw hats to shade their faces, the boys' exposed limbs had suffered under the sun. Their arms and legs had turned bright red, and Sakura had to stifle a laugh at what type of tan lines they must have now.

Shimizu took pity on them though, inviting them inside for a cool glass of lemonade. All three genin promptly decided they had never tasted anything better.

The fences had been scraped within an hour though, and the paint job was done in three. By around midday they had finished the mission and they happily made their way back to the village, although with only half the pay. The farmer had indeed taken advantage of the fact that they had shown up late, and it was only due to the kindness of his wife that they'd even made a bit . Not that they'd get to keep it, of course, since the village demanded a percentage of every mission - in fact, they were losing money. Still, the job was done and all three genin were in high spirits.

"Hey, Sakura! Do you want to go get ramen with me from Ichiraku's?" Naruto asked enthusiastically, bounding up to her, and she had to laugh at how much his body looked like a tomato.

She squinted against the bright sun. "I don't know, Naruto. It's way too hot for ramen."

He slumped dejectedly.

"Uh, maybe we can get something cold instead?" she offered, feeling guilty.

The blond perked up again instantly. "Yeah! I know a nice place. Let's go!"

He made to run off but Sakura grabbed his arm.

"Woah, woah, hold it," she said laughingly. "You didn't even ask if Sasuke wanted to come."

Naruto made a face. "Does the bastard really have to come with us? Besides, he probably thinks he's too high and mighty to eat with us commoners."

Sakura sighed. "Sasuke, do you want to come get lunch with us?"

"Hn. Sure."

Naruto glared at him with narrowed eyes, as if he didn't really believe that the Uchiha had agreed. Personally, she suspected he was going more to piss off Naruto than because he actually wanted to, but still it made her smile a bit.

She turned to their sensei. "Kakashi-sensei, do you want to come as well?"

He looked down at her with a comically pained expression. "Ah, well, you see, since you three showed up late today and the farmer refused to pay us in full… my wallet has been feeling a little thin."

"My treat," she offered with a grin.

The silver-haired man gave an eye-crinkle. "Well if you're offering…" he said, as if he hadn't been shamelessly leading her into it.

A smile lit up across her face as Naruto dragged her off, Sasuke and Kakashi trailing after them. She hadn't really got it at first, but now she felt it.

They were a team. And gods be damned if she would ever let them go.