The remaining years will probably pan out like the following chapter. I'm immensely grateful for all the support, but at the same time, it's increasingly pressuring.
Hopefully, the following doesn't come off as cruel fluff. I've been called out quite a few times for the machinations I tried to fluff.
Year 1
Her first day of class is fairly ordinary.
Really.
She was in the classroom fairly early, and Shika-chan waved her over.
She settles down next to him for a pre-class nap, only to realise it extends well into class.
Her sensei, Umino Iruka-sensei is a fairly patient man who cares a great deal for his students.
His well-aimed piece of chalk, Sakura envisions a kunai in its stead, and she nods.
He must make a fairly lethal ninja.
It's just too bad that her chain snaps out, deflecting it.
As she nods sagely, she thinks, well, that chain would have made a really good ninja too.
Years of surgical training honed her hand-eye coordination skills, but would leave her forever uncertain and worried if her eyes could be trusted.
Gently, she prods Shikamaru with her pencil, whispering the question again.
He half mumbles the answer back to Sensei, who seems resigned, 3 months into the school year, that Shikamaru would forever be like that.
That would stay mostly true.
Akimichi-san, who becomes Chouji-san under a day, then Chouji-kun over lunch break sits one seat down from Shika, and has his hand perpetually in a bag of snacks.
Iruka-sensei doesn't mind this much, because Chouji pays attention and does alright for tests.
Ino, who from Ino-san, becomes Ino-chan, sits in the row in front of them.
She turns every so often to ask Sakura for an answer or two.
Sensei can only verbalise his disapproval, but never manages to stop her.
Aburame-san who progresses to Shino-san never thaws to anyone in particular, and Sakura's relationship with him is fairly stilted.
On occasion they get into discussions of chakra theory, but other than that, he's just another classmate.
Hinata-san slips into Hinata-chan and she begins to understand the meek and gentle girl so afraid of hurting others.
Shyness and stuttering, it was all Hinata, and perhaps, it made her hate the Hyuga Clan Head.
For all their All Seeing Eyes, he seemed blind to Hinata's weakness, and never seemed to realise why exactly, Hinata was weak.
They spar, and are forever matched up against each other during practice.
The Juken leaves her sore and achy, with the sensation of pinpricks racing across her skin, despite the fact that only her chains come into contact with them.
It's far from gentle, and a direct hit downs her no matter what.
Sadly, Taijutsu was compulsory, so no matter how weak her body was, she would have to grit her teeth and bear with it.
Inuzuka-san becomes Kiba-san, and she only knows him as a brash troublemaker, much like Naruto.
Uzumaki-san who became Naruto-san during their first meeting becomes Naruto-kun with much ease, their personalities sliding easily against each other.
She encourages his pranks, "As long as you don't hit me, it's fine."
She applauds his artistic flair, "No, no, the Yondaime did not have orange hair, besides, isn't the rock already orange?"
She celebrates his birthday with him quietly, while all the village is in mourning, remembrance, "Just because people are sad doesn't mean that you aren't allowed to be happy, Naruto-kun."
And she supports his dream, "When you become Hokage, I'll be your Chief Medic."
And then, the dark eyed, cheery child who pipes in, "Yeah, and I'll be your ANBU Captain, along with Itachi-nii!"
Because Sasuke is a bright eyed, adoring child in the face of his brother.
So starved of attention, Sakura tries to make up for it, but she would never compare.
On the rare occasions that Itachi-san turns up, Sasuke basks in his attention, and Itachi's love is only Sasuke's.
Sakura can see it, and she's glad.
She's glad that Sasuke-chan remains happy.
Her second day of class unknowingly places her on a path that helps her well on into her next life.
It's Kunoichi class, and everyone is taken into an assessment room.
The first test is one of Chakra Control.
The next is on flexibility.
The last is on memory.
She passes the first 2 with flying colours, and completely flunks the last.
Ino-chan is ready to give up after she confuses the meaning of a red rose and an orangey rose.
Well I don't see much importance in remembering such things.
Suzuki-sensei strikes a compromise.
Sakura could choose to not take Floral Arrangement, but she would have to whole heartedly take Medical Ninjutsu, and learn how to dance.
Medical Ninjutsu she had always planned on, so thrown such an opportunity, she gratefully took.
The dancing bit she wasn't so sure of, but she believed she would at least pass.
Sakura…accepted.
Sakura was 6 years old and orphaned, so there was no one to tell her the implications of dancing.
And 6 year old Sakura, for all her knowledge and analytical skill never did understand why Kunoichi would dance.
It would only be after she told Shika-chan that she managed to avoid taking Floral Arrangement classes that anyone knew.
A shocked Ino, who was by now a proficient gossiper somehow made it spread.
Only after the rumours started, a worried Shikamaru would go home to ask his father.
Said Clan Head was duly horrified at the thought.
Everyone heard horror stories of the graduation dancing test, and everyone carefully made sure Sakura heard none of it.
Thus, 6 years ahead, preparations for her exam were already being made.
Suzuki-sensei coached her on the basics of healing, but once she realised Sakura could heal without hand seals, she was sent off to the hospital immediately.
It wasn't so much of a hand seal-less technique, but that her fingers were just bad at making hand seals.
Despite the importance of the hand seals, she could never remember those.
The hospital had no immediate work for Sakura, after all, Konoha's Medic-nins were the best in the nations.
Little Sakura was given a blue plastic coat, and got ordered about by the Medic-nins, other interns and patients alike.
It helped that her chains were extra pairs of hands.
Bandages, scissors, plasters, antiseptic, burn cream and tweezers.
She was never allowed into the healing wards, just the outer, less prioritised sectors.
Water, food, or call so-and-so.
It would be in the hospital that she met the same genin who delivered her books.
"Kabuto, Yakushi Kabuto. Nice to meet you again, Haruno-chan."
While the medic-nins and most interns viewed her as their little errand girl, patting her on the head, giving her candy, and shielding her from burn marks and blood, Yakushi-senpai didn't.
Once, while holding onto a tray with bandages and antiseptic liquid for him, she asks him why.
"Well, Haruno-chan, someday you're gonna be an intern here, right? And sooner or later, you'll become a Medic-nin like me."
She nods in agreement, a chain unrolling the bandage for him.
"Then, you'll have to deal with this kind of stuff. If you shy away from it now, then you should probably drop out. If you can't stand this…trust me, it gets a lot worse up there."
He points his scissors at the ceiling, still smiling.
It's something about that smile that makes her mistrust him.
Something about his muted chakra that keeps growing.
Though, maybe it was just because he was much too nice to her.
Regarding dancing, Suzuki-sensei frequently comments on her lack of figure.
It doesn't matter much to Sakura, because she's never been particularly self-conscious.
She doesn't realise the wistful implication in Sensei's voice.
She's sent to tea houses to learn how to serve tea for most of first year.
What tea leaves are good, what taste different leaves produce, what the type of tea leaves imply about the person who has them.
It was a lot of memory work, but Sakura could tell.
The subtle differences in the colour, the way the leaves unfurled, and scent that the freshly brewed tea gave off.
She's taught how to sit properly, how to pour tea right, and what snacks to serve with what tea.
Her ankles and heels grow accustomed to the pressure of sitting in seiza, but she still rolls her ankles after every lesson.
Her wrists grow accustomed to the weight of a filled tea pot, though her arms still shake from the strain of holding it in place.
She tries not to complain that much, though on occasion, she wishes she stuck with Floral Arrangement.
"Just be glad the Formal Tea Ceremonies were removed from the syllabus. At one point, that was a sub exam. Until the Hyuga's declined the invitation, no one passed. They were really strict."
To Sakura, what that means is that the Hyugas are very good with tea.
She and Yakushi-senpai knock off around the same time.
She has a 3 hour break before her 'dance' class, and he has a 2 hour break before team training.
"Senpai, will you teach me how to heal?"
"Sure, but don't you think you're taking it too fast? The Academy has you working as a runner until at least next year."
She looks up at him, contemplating how much she should tell him.
"I…actually already can heal a bit. But I don't get why it works."
Interest glints in his eye, "Really?"
Oo…sinker.
"Mm. Shall we talk over tea?"
He accepts, and she guides him to the tea house she trains in.
Choosing the tea, and the snacks, they wait in relative comfort.
When the tea arrives, she comments to the waitress that the sanbancha is still relatively fresh this year.
It's a lovely clear green, and the scent is vibrant.
She pours her senpai a cup first, then pours herself one.
The earthen tone of the clay cup goes well with the vegetal notes of the tea.
"You were saying that you can already heal? Show me, Haruno-chan."
She extends a chain in front of both of them, a pale blue.
"That's advanced chakra manipulation, your control must rank off the charts, Haruno-chan."
She shrugs, saying that she has no idea herself.
It's her senpai's chain.
She concentrates a bit, and tells the chain to heal.
It glows green.
While it does flicker, there was no doubt that it was green.
"And that's medical chakra?"
Yakushi-senpai's hand glows green after he makes a hand sign.
She recognises it as a diagnostic technique.
His hand runs over the chain.
"Yep, that's medical chakra alright. But what's even more peculiar is that your construct is not giving off chakra. It's not expending anymore. You don't feel any pull or strain on your reserves, right?"
She nods.
"And you only feel a tug when you heal something?"
Sakura hasn't noticed, so senpai takes it upon himself to help her.
Using his kunai, he cuts himself on the back of his palm.
A little blood dribbles out, but what she notices next is the small cut on senpai's chain.
Still, she directs it forward, and her chain dips just the slightest, beneath the surface of his skin.
It seals quickly, and at that point, she feels the tug.
Drawing the chain back out, she watches the end link reform.
"Did you feel it?"
"Mm, I did."
He smiles, inspecting his hand, "You're good. Remember to watch your reserves though. See you on Friday, Haruno-chan."
He leaves her the tab, but that's alright by her.
Yakushi-senpai…is a friend.
Kunoichi classes are on Tuesdays and Fridays, and generalised Ninja classes on the others.
They cover Math, Science, Language, Chakra Control, History, Geography, Taijutsu, and Ninjutsu Theory.
Sensei says that Ninjustu and Genjutsu will be covered from Fourth Year on, once everyone has decent reserves and control.
Shikamaru, Chouji, Naruto, Kiba, and on occasion, Sasuke skip classes.
They may seem silly, perhaps even to an idiotic extent, but they skip only the non-ninja related classes.
Math, Science, Language, History and Geography.
Shika-chan is lazy, certainly, but he's not dumb.
Chouji-kun is loyal to a fault, and he trusts Shikamaru.
Naruto-kun may be slow at times, but he's ingenious, creative and thinks on the fly. Books can't capture his interest.
Kiba is a hot-head who longs for adventure, but he cares very much what his mom thinks, so it helps that Tsume-sama doesn't care as long as he passes the exams.
Sasuke-chan skips only History class, because, "Itachi-nii was allowed to drop that class to graduate early."
The Academy Instructors don't complain to Nara-sama, because he's the Jounin Commander.
Not to Tsume-sama who doesn't care, and downright terrifies them.
Not to Uchiha-sama, because he's an Uchiha, and they have no qualms waxing poetic about Itachi-san to Sasuke-chan.
To Sasuke-chan who's trying not to crumble under the weight of their expectations.
To Sasuke-chan who's nearing the end of his first year, but hasn't graduated yet.
And yet Naruto-kun.
He's the only one they all complain about.
He has no guardian, no one to hear all the complaints or shield him from them, no one to apologise for him, and that's why they do it.
Because Naruto-kun is a convenient scape goat for all their frustrations and angers and that makes Sakura-chan angry.
Because Naruto-kun's grades are nowhere as poor as his report sheet implies.
No matter how little attention Naruto-kun pays class, it's impossible for him to continuously get zeroes on every. single. test.
Hinata-chan is a Hyuga, and every bit prim and proper.
"Indeed, Sakura-chan. We hold Tea Ceremonies at least once every month. It's tradition. Tea soothes the soul and calms the heart, and helps one keep inner peace. A-although I'm not t-that good at it…"
She starts off strong, yet tapers off weak.
Sakura-chan can see very well what Hyuga-sama has done, but she's powerless.
"Oh, I'm sure you're much better than me, Hinata-chan. Suzuki-sensei told me to be grateful that it isn't tested as my graduation exam. Say…would you be able to help me with tea pouring etiquette?"
Slowly, she builds her up, ups her confidence in one thing, forces Hyuga-sama to see that if she has confidence, there is so much Hinata-chan can do.
They have tea outside on the patio, Hinata in a formal kimono, back straight, exuding power and authority.
In contrast, Sakura's slackened seiza, it makes an impression.
Hyugas are always superior, that is what he must think when he sees them.
They drink tea, smile lightly, nibble on snacks and chat.
Hinata points out her weaknesses, her flaws, corrects her, guides her, helps her.
They flourish.
At one point, Hyuga-sama calls for Hinata to spar with her sibling, while they were in the middle of tea.
How rude, Sakura thinks, but she brews the tea quickly.
"I believe that as long as someone has something to protect, they can be strong."
The tea smoothens the worry creasing her face.
Perhaps Sakura should feel sorry for smiling, because immediately after, a strong strike downs the younger Hanabi.
She exits her seiza, a hand supporting her as she flips, legs in an arch that narrowly avoids the low table set out.
Her flexibility is both a blessing and a curse, because her arch extends and she must compensate for it.
Landing on both feet, her breath puffs out of her.
As Hinata covers her mouth in shock, half torn between horror and said shock, Sakura is oddly satisfied by the faint approval in Hyuga-sama's eyes.
A moment later though, she's vaguely horrified by it.
Her chains extend, glowing green, supporting Hanabi-chan up, healing her after Hinata unseals the sealed tenketsu.
"You will resume training with your sister and I starting tomorrow."
"A-ah, hai, Otou-sama!"
He spins on his heel, every bit of his Hyuga pride surrounding his frame.
Though, Hinata shoots her an apologetic look, that means an end to Tea Class with Hinata.
Sakura shakes her head.
"You are strong, Hinata-chan."
"I still have a slot free on Sundays! I-I mean if you would like to continue…"
She smiles, "Would it be alright? I've learnt a lot from you the past few months..."
Hinata-chan nods, "Of course!"
She helps Hanabi up, who thanks her for healing her, and then her sister for unsealing her tenketsu.
"Then I'll see you next Sunday."
Apart from the Hyugas, Sakura visits the Naras on a weekly basis.
Shikamaru wouldn't let her have it otherwise.
They would spend a few hours lazing about, then start on weekend homework.
The good thing about Kunoichi classes was that the theory was memorizing.
All tests were application tests, and Sakura never had written homework.
The Shinobi classes weren't so lax.
Naruto forever complained about the sheer amount of memorisation.
Personally, Sakura didn't get why Kunoichi didn't need to know how to set traps or do interrogations.
"Probably because boys don't want to learn about flowers and dancing."
She laughs at that, because that's the explanation she likes best.
"Mm, maybe. Naruto must be good at trap setting?"
Shikamaru groans.
"He rigs the classroom every week. Iruka-sensei's exasperated. Because he falls for at least one."
"Not much field application though. Traps take time to set."
They laze about more, until Nara-sama gets back with dinner.
"Take out again?"
"The usual, Nee-chan."
She hums.
It's probably the only reason why Sakura regrets being unable to cook.
Regular, like clockwork.
Every dinner she partakes in at the Nara Clan Compound is rice with either fish or beef.
"Does Nara-sama buy it from an Akimichi store?"
He shrugs, "Perhaps? I only know that noodles on Monday, fried rice on Wednesday and Friday's chef recommendation comes from Chouji's Dad."
Then again, she isn't one to be talking. Most days alone she forgets to eat dinner.
Surely eating something is better than nothing.
"What do you like to eat, Shika-chan?"
"Kelp," his succinct answer.
"And fried mackerel. Ooh, do you think tou-san will buy that today?"
He does, and Sakura thinks that Nara-sama knows very well what his son likes.
Her head rests on her palm, her disposable chopsticks in between her teeth as she watches.
She sees the eyes with which Nara-sama watches over Shikamaru.
She has no doubt that that's parental love.
It's warm.
Up till then, she spent Mondays after school alone, Tuesday breaks with Senpai, Wednesdays with Naruto at his ramen stand, then Sasuke at the Uchiha Senbei Stall, Thursdays with Shikamaru, and Friday breaks with Hinata.
But her Friday breaks were now free.
It's easy for her to find the right Akimichi restaurant.
All she had to do was ask for Akimichi-sama.
"What does Shikaku like, did you ask?"
They were former teammates, so it doesn't take him long to remember.
"Tofu actually. Both Inoichi and I were surprised, because tofu's a fairly tasteless, even if healthy thing to eat. Normally you pair it with something, but not Shika."
He laughs heartily, "Why he eats it plain as if it's the most delicious thing on earth!"
His cheeks glow with his laughter, "Though, why do you ask, Haruno-chan?"
She smiles gently.
"Shika-chan told me that Nara-sama gets noodles on Monday, fried rice on Wednesday and the chef's recommendation on Friday from here. I was just wondering…"
Chouza-sama nods, "Young Shikamaru's right. Shikaku does get that every week. It's routine. I have it prepped even before he says a thing."
"May I ask then, what is today's recommendation for dinner?"
He must begin to get where she's headed, "I haven't decided yet. Do you have a suggestion, Haruno-chan? It's always good to have someone give fresh thoughts."
"I was thinking something along the lines of kelp soup with tofu..?"
He whips out a notebook, scribbling, "Mm, and what kind of kelp?"
Unsure now, Sakura shoots off the first idea that comes to her head, "The kind in miso soup. Um…kombu?"
He directs a clearly amused look at her, "So you do know a little about cooking. Now, what about the tofu? Momen, silken, firm, soft?"
She blinks, before asking rather weakly if tofu wasn't just tofu.
I'm never going to be able to cook.
"Of course not, they're lots of types, in fact they're semi-firm tofus too. Then there's the freeze dried kind and then the frozen sort. Though, I suppose you're looking for the one that Shikaku likes?"
She nods mutely, eyes flickering to the clock.
"Alright. I know what to cook now. You can run along now, I'll take care of it."
She bows gratefully, even as he waves her off.
She leaves in a hurry, towards the Tea House where her 'shift' was due to start.
In the end, around half past 6, a lady with the customary Akimichi markings turns up, asking for her.
The tea house owner falls over her own feet shoving Sakura out.
It's one of the few establishments who don't ban outside food, as long as you buy something from them.
She orders a pot of green tea, "Mild, with fruit notes, which ever you recommend, Sakura-chan."
Sakura complies, and serves the tea.
"Sakura, keep your spine straight, just bend over gently. No gently, Sakura-chan, right, just like that."
"Now if any dribbles from the spout. Yeah, like that, just use the cloth, no haste, and wipe side wards, use the curve of the pot."
"Have a seat, Haruno-chan."
She's not sure what to make of the tone, but she slips into the booth.
The lady double taps the privacy seal, and only then, do her eyes warm.
"I was curious, when my husband said that this was your suggestion. I was even more curious, because the soup was lovely."
Lady Akimichi sips her tea, before sliding the plastic container of soup over to her.
"It was like miso soup, but less salty. More clear, fresh. Less savoury, but less sweet too. There was much more umami."
Sakura has no idea how to react to that, because it just sounds like technicalities.
The lady laughs.
"I see Chouza was right. You've never cooked, have you, young one?"
She gestures at the soup, "Have some, Haruno-chan."
Obediently, she sips her soup.
"That, is silken tofu. The firm version."
Their meeting ends after she wrangles a supply agreement from Sakura.
In total, Sakura's head just spins.
I wish life could be simple.
Either way, her word is given, and she arranges for supplies of some 20 types of tofu, seaweed and miso paste from Lightning, Wave and Water country.
Now, does anyone remember what happens in second year?
Nothing particularly action-y in the first year, but the second has something.
