Three years later….
"Earth Style, Earth Rampart Jutsu!" Sakura leaps into the air atop her raising mountain away from the mass of kunai bombs Itachi just threw her way.
"Nice one flower!" Shisui calls to her from the ground.
"Thanks!" She yells back to him then drops into a crouch drawing three kunai and jumping over the clone Itachi sent after her to throw her kunai across the murder of crows reining down upon her head.
"Not good enough." Itachi smiles and red eyes spin, she shuts her eyes and whirls to focus the air around her into chakra drawing water from the atmosphere and turning them to bullets compressed by her insane level of chakra and hurtles them at Itachi.
"Argh." Itachi falls and spins kicking up to avoid her fist coming down on him, he rolls, the ground breaks apart as her chakra filled fist hit the earth and they both go careening down the side of the mountain and lay spread eagle at the bottom.
"Hello there my flower, have a good time did we?" Shisui grins and lifts her up over his head spinning her.
"Put her down, you look ridiculous." Itachi looks at them blandly then smiles a little.
Sakura giggles madly in Shisui's arms and he gently sets her down.
"Big day today Sakura, I know you and Sasuke will do well, good luck on your genin test." Itachi says as he looks to the sky. "You had better get going, I am sure Sasuke is wondering where you are."
"See you later!" She smiles and flickers away.
Shisui grins at Itachi, "A little jealous there cuz? Our little enigma is growing up isn't she. In the next four or five years she is really gonna turn into a looker. We're going to have to beat the guys off with spears."
"She is 12 years old Shisui, I don't think of her like that. It isn't appropriate for you to pick her up and swing her around like a doll anymore though, she is getting older, as you say." Itachi gives him a stern look.
"If you say so, doesn't matter anyway, Sasuke has it in his head that they are going to be married I bet anyway." Shisui watched his cousin for the twitch.
Itachi's jaw twitched...there it was.
"Sasuke can think as he chooses, that fact is she has never once looked at him that way." Itachi flickers away.
"But you have." Shisui grins and flickers away.
Sakura met Sasuke, Naruto and Ino by the front gate to the academy.
"I'm so excited, I know I'm going to pass I just know it!" Naruto is pumping his fist in the air jumping up and down like some orange Yo-Yo.
"Of Course you will pass idiot after how many days and hours Sakura spent working on your clones with you, you better pass." Sasuke told him.
"And not just any clones, shadow clones! I still can't get over how you knew that forbidden jutsu Forehead!" Ino smiled at her best friend in admiration.
"You guys need to read more." Sakura yawned.
Everyone started walking into the academy, excitement ran like lightning from one student to the other.
3 hours later they all walked out with their head bands in their hands. Ino already had hers tied around her waist.
"How are you going to wear yours Sakura?" Ino asked.
"Around my Forehead." Sakura said, she could cover her seal that way and her hair covered her other one.
"You just want to wear it that way because Sasuke is going to wear his that way." Ino pointed at Sasuke who had just finished tying his headband to his forehead.
"No, I think it is easier this way, won't fall down as much and will keep most of the hair out of my eyes." Sakura smiled at her blonde friend.
Her other blonde friend had tied his around his Forehead and was grinning like a loon.
"My mom is probably waiting for us at the house Sakura." He took her by the hand and started leading her away from the group.
"Hey , you can't just take her and walk away like that lover boy, she had another friends you know!" Ino called after them as they got further and further away. Ino smirked.
"Why does he always do that?" Naruto frowned after his two friends that were heading to the Uchiha compound.
"He is in love." Ino said simply. She had long given up on Sasuke, she could see he clearly had eyes only for Sakura, no matter how much Sakura tried to deny it. She just didn't understand that girl...who wouldn't want an Uchiha head over heels for them? Although, Ino grinned to herself, maybe Sakura wanted a different Uchiha.
"Well I'm off, I have to help mom at the flower store, you coming over for dinner tonight Idiot?" Ino smile at Naruto.
"Believe it!" he gave her two thumbs up and she rolled her eyes, idiot.
Sasuke slid the door to their house open for Sakura and she stepped inside to the smell of the most amazing thing, fresh dango.
"I love your mom's cooking Sasuke, she is the best cook in the world." Sakura could almost taste the tender sweet dango and her mouth was watering.
"Is that you Sakura dear?" Mikoto came around the bend in the hall dango sticks in hand.
"Tadima." Sakura and Sasuke both said at once." Saskura almost lived with them half of the time she was there so much, like an extended non sharingan Uchiha.
"Okaeri." Mikoto smiled at them. "Tea is in the tea room and ready help yourselves, Shisui and Itachi are already in there. Your dad should be home for dinner soon Sasuke."
Sasuke and Sakura made their way to the Tea room and sat down at the table by Itachi and Shisui.
"So congrats guys, welcome to the world of ninja." Shisui teased them as he poured Sakura's tea for her.
"Congratulations Sakura and Sasuke." Itachi half smiled at them both pulling out a long box, one with silver wrapping, the other red. He handed the silver one to Sakura and the red to Sasuke.
"Wow Itachi! Thank you!" Sakura was grinning as she looked at the box.
"You didn't unwrap it, how do you know to be happy, you don't even know what it is." Sasuke looked at her confused.
"It's a katana of course." Sakura started to unwrap the present She ran her hands over the smooth dark wood grained surface of the traditional box it came in and murmured, "So beautiful." then she opened the box and let out a gasp." Ita."
Sasuke and Shisui had both been looking at the sword but when Sakura had called Itachi Ita, they both looked at her in surprise...and so did Itachi, who was smiling.
"It's so beautiful Itachi." She pulled it from the case admiring the craftsmanship, drew its length from it's scabbard and skimmed her hand to bloody it, then slid it back home with skill.
"This is not the first time you've handled a blade." Itachi watched her.
"No," She smiled.
"I'm sure she can tell you all about it after we see Sasuke's...Ita." Shisui teased them.
Sakura's face went red and Itachi blushed...Sasuke's face went red too but with anger.
"What's going on? Why did you buy Sakura a katana Itachi? I'm your brother but she isn't even part of the family." Sasuke said meanly.
"Sasuke." Sakura looked at him hurt.
Sasuke had enough shame to look guilty and sorry but he didn't apologize, he just glared at Itachi.
"Sakura is like family since you brought her home with you 5 years ago, she has been here with us in our lives ever since. I just wanted to say congratulations to both of you for all your hard work." Itachi looked at his brother to say something to that.
Sasuke made some sort of grumbling noise and looked away.
"Open your present Sasuke and stop being a jerk." Sakura raises a brow to him and he immediately started to tear at the paper. It was a beautiful blade, almost identical to Sakura's, except it had an Uchiha clan symbol on it whereas hers has a cherry blossom tree.
Sasuke turned it over in his hand and drew it our admiring the blade and went to drive it home when Sakura stopped him.
"You need to bloody it." She told him.
"Why?" He looked at her confused.
"You always bloody a new blade with your blood, that way it doesn't turn on you and it knows its purpose." She told him as if he should have already known this. He looked to Itachi and Shisui.
"She's right, it is an old tradition, but it is only done in clans of prestige and honor, such as ours." Itachi smiled at Sakura as he motioned Sasuke to do as she said. He did and slid the blade home.
Dinner was wonderful per usual and Sasuke walked Sakura home just like he always did.
They were coming up to her home when Sasuke stopped and took her hand. "Do you um, do you like my brother?" He asked her like he didn't really want to know the answer.
"Huh?" She said.
"I saw you looking at one another and well, it seems like you are closer than you appear." He hesitated. "I only wondered if you were."
-well of course you are duh, you only train with him almost every day and if not him with Shisui-
"I like your brother as I like you Sasuke, and Shisui, I love all you guys, you and Ino and Naruto." She smiled at him. She knew what he was asking she was 16 in her mind not 12, but she also wasn't ready to revisit those feelings. It confused her because she was 16 in her head and not 12, and she had started to have feelings for Itachi and Shisui and maybe a little for Sasuke if she were honest.
"Oh, okay." He said and let go of her hand.
"Sasuke, I am really glad we are friends. You know I care about you right?" She touched his shoulder.
He brought his hand up to hers as it rested on his shoulder and took it in both of his hands. "I know." he kissed her on the cheek and walked away before she could respond.
She spun around and watched him walk away her hand to her cheek where he had kissed her. She groaned into her hands and shook her head walking into her home and closing the door.
Red eyes watched her walk upstairs and turn the light to her bedroom on and draw the shades, then they were gone.
Sakura woke up with mixed feelings. Today they would meet their genin team. She was sure that she would have the same teammates and that they would have the same sensei, but she was not sure how she felt about seeing Kakashi sensei again. She loved him, but she remembered how he never really taught her anything and how in this life he had wanted to test her for Anbu.
Both Itachi and Shisui had told her, under confidence that Kakashi had been taken out of Anbu and put in charge of a Genin team because the Lord Third thought he was losing his humanity. The solution, give him three fresh out of the academy students to torture and ruin right?... Right.
Rolling out of bed she dressed in her new norm, a black short kimono wrapper tied around the waist with a green sash the color of her eyes and black capris. She had switched out the blue headband wrapper last night for a green one to match her sash. She looked at herself in the mirror, she likes it, she looked nice.
She strapped her katana to her back and headed out her window yelling goodbye to her mom.
She met Ino by the front door and they walked to the academy together for the last time.
"It feels weird doesn't it Sakura? Being real Genin?" Ino asked her on the way there.
"A little but, I am excited. I can't wait for my first mission." She couldn't either, her first real mission that is. She wanted to test her skills against Haku.
"I hope we get put on the same team but since I am a Yamanaka we probably won't. I'll be with Shikamaru and Choji." She made a face. It was bad enough she saw them at every family gathering every event and at school, she didn't want to be on the same team with them but it was inevitable.
"I hope I get a good team." She already knew of course but she had to keep up appearances.
"I wonder who will get stuck with Naruto, don't get me wrong, I like him a lot better than I used to but man is he annoying!" Ino laughed and so did Sakura.
"He isn't that bad, I wouldn't mind being on his team." She smiled thinking back to the first time she heard she would be on team 7 with him.
"There's Sasuke, he can't take his eyes off you girl!" Ino was doing that annoying squealing thing again that hurt Sakura's ears.
Sasuke was standing by the gate to the academy and he was looking at her. She smiled and waved at him and he waved and started walking toward her.
"Ino, can I talk to Sakura alone for a sec." He asked the shocked blonde.
"Uh sure, I'll meet you inside Forehead." Ino waved and grinned at her.
"Sakura, I uh, if we get put on different teams I still want to hang out with you like we do now. I don't want us to um, I don't know, drift apart. I ...care about you." He wouldn't look at her, but a slight pink tint crept up his face.
"I don't want to lose track of you either Sasuke." She thought for a moment. "Promise me, on your name, Sasuke Uchiha, that you will never abandon me, never turn your back on our friendship, our bond." She pulled a kunai from her waistband and knicked her thumb, then held out her hand.
Sasuke stood there looking at her dripping thumb for a moment and then did the same, pressing his thumb to hers. "I promise as your friend Sasuke Uchiha to never abandon you or break this bond." Then he leaned forward and kissed her on the mouth. "Until we form another bond." he took her hand and led her stumbling into the building.
-What the fuck just happened-
