"Crap, I'm late!" Sakura exclaimed as she shot out of her bed and headed straight to her wardrobe. She hastily put on her school uniform and didn't bother to check her appearance in the mirror. She grabbed her satchel and went out of her room within a matter of five minutes after waking up. She sped by her parents and bid them a quick goodbye before she rushed out of the door heading towards Konoha's Ninja Academy. Funny how they gave their high school that name though there wasn't any ninja training done at the school.
Seeing that her current pace wasn't getting her anywhere, she turned into an all familiar alley and jumped up onto the rooftops, using a cloaking jutsu to cover herself. She arrived at the Academy in two minutes. She landed on the rooftop of her two-storey classroom block. She was in her second year in high school; as such she used the first floor. She jumped down the rooftop onto the lower corridor. She took a deep breath and knocked on the door.
A short reply told her to come in and she entered the classroom, mentally and physically bracing herself from the lecture she was about to receive from Mrs. Shenji, Ino's arch-nemesis at school. By virtue of being Ino's best friend, she was bound to receive Ino's fair share of rebukes for the past week. "Haruno, could you please explain to me why you arrive five minutes just before the end second period of my lesson looking like you were dragged through the hell?" the woman asked, the mole on her face seemingly begin to enlarge as her temper began to rise.
"I," she began as she looked around the classroom. All of her friends were in class and weren't looking the least bit tired from last night's events. She didn't expect them to be, they weren't the one who had to fight and evade 11 jounin level ninjas. Her eyes lingered a little on Sasuke by virtue of him being her love interest before turning back to the brown haired woman. "Well?" she asked with raised eyebrows as she planted her hands on her hips. 'Here goes nothin',' she told herself.
"… I got lost on the way of the road of life," she said as her eyes locked with Mrs. Shenji's, firm with resolve.
The whole class was silent at her lame excuse. "You…got lost on the road of life?" the Biology teacher repeated her statement. She nodded vigorously. 'This is so embarrassing,' she thought as she earned a few not-so-discrete chuckles from the class. "Sit down," the woman said as she rubbed her temples. Sakura let out a silent sigh of relief and made her way next to Ino's seat. As soon as the bell rung marking the end of their Biology lesson, Mrs. Shenji walked out of the classroom as Sakura laid her head on her desk with a loud groan.
They had a free period at the moment. "You okay?" Ino's concerned voice rang. She closed her eyes as she tried to diverge her focus away from how her muscles were aching. Even though Shizune had taken care of the injuries, which were pretty minor, her muscles complained from being overexerted too much. 'I had been out of practice for too long,' she thought with a whimper. "Sakura, are you okay?" Ino asked again.
She raised her head to see Ino, Hinata, TenTen, Lee and Naruto hovering around her. "What happened to you? Did you get mugged or something? Tell me the bastard who did it!" Naruto exclaimed, earning several annoyed glances, including one from Sakura. "Quiet down you baka before you start rumors you can't finish," Sakura scolded him with a glare. "Sorry, it's just that you look so tired," the blonde said.
"Yeah, you smell like smoke," Ino commented. 'Sasuke's fireball jutsu,' she replied inwardly. "You have several cuts on your arms and fingers," TenTen said. 'Handling kunai way too many kunai and the shuriken you threw at me last night, which Shizune and I both forgot to, heal,' she replied again. "You also have minor bruises on your arms," Lee commented. "That was from blocking yours, Hinata and Neji's taijutsu," she mumbled. "I can't hear you, speak loudly Billboard Brow," Ino said.
"Look you guys, I spent the whole night trekking the forest with my shishou last night. And considering how she likes to work me to death, not a very pleasant experience," she groaned as her thigh cramped. She couldn't use her medical jutsu at such at open space and decided to endure the cramp as she planned her escape. "You mean that flat-chested blonde granny who wears glasses at the hospital?" Naruto queried. "Don't call her that and show her some respect you baka," Sakura reprimanded him. 'Some things never change, in this lifetime or another.'
"I need a fresh breath of air. I didn't sleep the whole night looking for a bunch of herbs," she said as she pushed her chair back and stood up. "I'll be back in a sec," she said as she walked away from them. "Hey Sasuke," she waved as she passed by his desk at the front. She felt a hand gripping her wrist and was surprised to find Sasuke holding her wrist firming, stopping her from moving any further.
Her heart thudded in her chest and the cramp in her thigh was soon forgotten as the two looked at each other. Sasuke's eyes roamed over her appearance twice before staring back at her questioningly. "Don't worry, just a long trek in the forest last night with my shishou," she explained with a reassuring smile. Sasuke stared in her eyes for a moment before letting her hand go and return back to glaring at the board. She immediately missed the warmth of his hand on her wrist. "Damn you Uchiha," she muttered as she proceeded to walk out of the classroom, ignoring her girl friends' knowing looks and the fluttering feeling in her stomach.
"Did you hear anything unusual in the forest last night?" Hinata asked as the four girls ate their lunch. "Aside from the occasional rumble of an earthquake and throwing stars coming out of nowhere, no" she replied as she munched on a piece of toast from Ino's tray. "Is that were you got those cuts and bruises?" Ino asked nonchalantly but Sakura could see the tension in her shoulders. Her interrogation skills were still subpar at this age, a far cry from the woman she had been at this age in her past life.
"No, I fell out of a tree during one of those earthquakes and there wasn't anything to cushion my fall. The cuts I got from playing with a rose bush before shishou yelled at me and pushed me towards it," she replied calmly. "That woman is a maniac," TenTen commented. 'Just like Lady Tsunade was when Shizune hid her sake,' she added in her mind. "Ah well, learn it, live it, love it. That's what she always tells me," Sakura said with a casual wave of her hand.
Done with this chapter. Sorry for not updating for so long. Hope you like it. Thanks to all who are reviewing and following this story.
Tozoonana
AfricanFire.