Disclaimer: This is but a fanfiction, Naruto belongs to Kishimoto.

Lo and behold, the forth chapter! Have fun :D

Chapter 4

After meeting Shirakumo-san at the library and getting herself a fitting taijutsu scroll, Sakura had only stopped to pick up a scroll with introductions to basic human anatomy and pressure points before she went home.

Although her time in the library had felt like half an eternity, it was still only a little past noon when she stepped outside the library building. Feeling tired out but content, the pink-haired teen hugged her newfound treasure to herself and started down the streets.

Arriving at her home a couple of minutes later, she opened the door and called her greetings to her parents. From somewhere within the house, her mother called back. She went to her room smiling fondly all the way. In the safety of her room, she allowed herself to drop onto her bed with a satisfied sigh. Rolling onto her stomach she opened the taijutsu scroll reverently. She took in the different katas for "Dance of a thousand cranes" with wide eyes, absorbing the knowledge like a sponge. In her head she analyzed every move and every stance. Where the center of balance was, what areas where targeted, how the complicated footwork helped to evade blows and confuse enemies. Bit by bit she broke down the fighting style, familiarizing and understanding it more and more. Her conclusion was, as the name stated, that the style was a deadly dance form made to incapacitate and kill. For a moment a queasy feeling made itself known. A shudder ran down her spine as she realized that at one point in her carrier she would kill with this beautiful technique.

She would kill.

Uncomfortably she rubbed her hands over her upper arms to chase away the goosebumps.

Sure, the rosette had known that. They had been taught how to kill in the academy from day one. But learning and actually doing were two entirely different things.

Taking a life. Could she do it?

She closed her eyes and took a deep breath. When it came down to either her or her enemy, she would always choose herself. This was a fact. She had people to protect and she couldn't afford dying before actually doing anything or without assuring her precious people were safe.

She shook her head to chase away these morbid thoughts and concentrate on the now. Looking out of the window she was surprised to be greeted with the rays of the setting sun. Reading the scroll had taken longer than she anticipated. With a good stretch accompanied by popping sounds she made her way down to the kitchen as the smell of dinner wafted into her room.

The next morning the rosette opened her eyes blearily. She had spent a good part of the night reading over her taijutsu scroll once again, missing out on sleep in the process. But she didn't regret it, the stances and katas were all so interesting. With difficulty she heaved herself out of bed and went into the bathroom to splash some cold water onto her face. Looking into the mirror she was relieved that the bags under her eyes weren't all that visible. Then her eyes wandered to her short hair. A smile grazed her lips and she tucked her hair behind her ears. Deciding better safe than sorry she took an elastic with her in the case she needed it in school or for training. Skipping back to her room after finishing her morning routine she put on the same jade green three-quarter sleeve shirt than yesterday, a pair of black shinobi pants, her sandals and her hitai ate around her neck. Nodding to herself she made her way downstairs to have breakfast with her parents.

Her parents greeted her and they began chatting about work, their friends and the prices of fruits in the market. Suddenly the topic changed to Sakura and her soon to be teacher and teammates. Worries she didn't even notice she had clawed their way to the forefront of her mind. What if they didn't like her? She hadn't talked to many people besides Ino before their argument but afterwards she had been pretty much a loner. More and more disastrous ideas popped into her head.

Her parents noticed when she stopped eating and encouraged her. Her father's jolly reassurance of "Who wouldn't want to be on a team with my pretty flower?" and her mothers caring "You will do great, believe in yourself" helped immensely with her fraying nerves.

After breakfast she hurried out of the door, excitement radiating off her. She was at the academy in record time which also meant she was extremely early. Navigating through the nearly empty building she met her teacher Iruka-sensei on the stairs. "Good morning Sakura-chan, you are early. How are you?" For a moment she only stared at her heavily bandaged teacher and gaped. When she got her voice back she answered incredulously. "Shouldn't I be asking you how you are doing Iruka-sensei? Are you sure you should be teaching in this condition?" "Ahaha…" The teacher rubbed his head sheepishly. "Oh no, this is nothing. Don't worry Sakura-chan. I wouldn't want to miss your classes last day at the academy for anything." Deciding that arguing with her teacher wasn't that high in her priority list, she let the matter go and continued after him to their classroom.

The classroom was nearly empty. A few students stood around in groups to talk. She spotted Choji and Shikamaru in the back and decided to join them. Halfway to their table she noticed Sasuke.

Only her iron will kept her walking without faltering in her steps. The opportunity seemed too great. Sasuke-kun was sitting all alone and Ino wasn't here to take him from her. The desire to sit with her love warred with the determination to focus on her carrier. A long and excruciating battle of priorities. In the end, determination won, if barely. She walked past his aisle and slumped into the seat besides Shikamaru with a groan. Choji greeted her kindly, voice tinged with a little bit of surprise. "Morning Sakura-chan. You look a little depressed. Is everything alright?" His answer was another groan and a dejected tone. "Must let go of opportunity…must resist…focus on being a ninja…" "Ehh?" His questioning look fell on a sleepy Shikamaru. The latter sighed and translated quietly for his best friend. "She wants to sit with Uchiha but doesn't because she wants to focus on her shinobi carrier rather than her love life." He got a noise of agreement from Sakura and an impressed look from Choji for his effort. They chatted a little afterwards, the rosette to keep her thoughts away from Sasuke-kun and the other two out of pure curiosity. It was surprisingly easy getting along and opening up to the duo. They soon found themselves talking about their favorite foods and the best restaurants in Konoha. They were so immersed in their conversation that all three of them jumped when a horde of girls suddenly started squealing all at once. The next moment, said gaggle of banshees surrounded the last Uchiha's desk, Ino at the front of them. All asking to sit with him.

Choji and Shikamaru shared a meaningful look and glanced to the rosette. The horror etched into her features made the duo hard pressed to hide their amusement. They snorted near silently, but it seemed not silent enough. Sakura's head whipped around, eyes wide with disbelief and a little self-loathing. "They-Did I…I acted like THIS?!" Choji slapped a hand over his mouth to stop from laughing. Shikamaru looked at her, face suddenly solemn. He deadpanned. "Yes. Be a witness to the sad truth. The behavior of a fangirl from an outside perspective." The girl stared at him, jaw hanging open. Then a soft snort escaped her. She slapped a hand over her mouth, not comprehending why she found this funny. Before she knew it, all three of them were sharing amused smiles.

A ruckus at the front of the class drew their attention. Naruto had suddenly jumped onto Sasuke's desk, leaning precariously close to said boy and complaining about something or another. A boy a row further down bumped into Naruto from behind and the fangirls fell into a shocked silence. For several seconds Naruto's and Sasuke's lips stayed locked. Onlookers were in disbelief. Then the pair broke apart, both clawing at their throats and retching. "Uwaahhh my mouth is rotting!" the blonde's desperate cries and Sasuke's toneless disgust were interrupted by Iruka-sensei's arrival. Everyone scrambled to get to their seats. The fangirls had either a gloomy or a murderous aura surrounding them. As for Sakura, she looked on, eyes wide and blinking rapidly. She couldn't believe what she had witnessed. A slight nudge of Shikamaru's elbow made her focus on Iruka's speech, so she decided to just think about it later. Their Teacher praised them and congratulated them again on becoming official shinobi of Konohagakure. He told them how proud he was and imparted a little wisdom about the Will of Fire. The students listened captivated by it all. An then finally, Iruka-sensei started listing off the team placements.

Sakura was practically shaking in her seat from excitement but also anxiety. "… next is Team 7. Haruno Sakura,…" The pink-haired teen snapped to attention. "Uzumaki Naruto…" Mixed feelings bubbled up in the rosette. To her, Naruto was an annoyance. He was obnoxious, loud, acted stupid and harassed her constantly by asking her for dates. But it also meant that she wouldn't automatically be the worst ninja of the team. Because if one believed his tests, he was more brawn than brain. And then, everything got worse. "and Uchiha Sasuke." Every other time in her life she would have celebrated and whooped in joy but now she felt as if the gods were playing a joke on her. She had decided that she would be a better kunoichi, damn it! As much as it hurt to admit but to her, Sasuke would be a distraction she simply couldn't afford. Not to forget that he was far stronger than her or Naruto. The power balance in their team, if something like that existed, would be completely askew.

Without mercy for her feelings Iruka-sensei continued. "Your Jonin sensei will be Hatake Kakashi. Now moving on…" At this point she blended out everything else, she couldn't hear Naruto's complaining or Ino's jealous comments or even Sasuke-kun's annoyed sigh. The only thing she heard was the blood thrumming in her ears and her unsteady breath. She clenched her teeth, took a deep breath and released all the tension by breathing out.

"You alright Sakura-chan?" the pink-haired girl turned to Choji and smiled at him weakly. "Just not what I expected…" The big boned boy gave her a reassuring smile and offered her a chip under the safety of the desk. She took it gratefully, appreciating the gesture and the effort to cheer her up. It hurt to think about but it had been a while since she had had real friends. She promptly voiced this thoughts in a secretive whisper, if phrased a little differently. "You two are good friends." Choji blushed a little while Shikamaru just raised an eyebrow at her, probably wondering why they got all emotional of a sudden. Just her luck to see his lips quirk up when he laid back down onto the table. A warm feeling spread inside her.

Joy.

Acceptance.

Before they knew it, all the teams were announced and the bell rung for lunch break. Sadly they had to split up as it was an opportunity to get to know their teammates better and she didn't fancy confronting Ino right now. She made her escape with a quick "bye" and "see you later" and searched the classroom for her teammates. Sasuke-kun was nowhere in sight and she did not think herself capable of handling Naruto's antics right now so she took her bag and left the class in search for a quiet place to read.

In the end she found herself in an abandoned classroom. Making herself comfortable on a nearby aisle, she took out her bento and the scroll on anatomy and pressure points from the library. Reading the text and distractedly chewing on her food. This is how she spent her lunch break. To say that Sakura was fascinated by the topic was an understatement. She drank in all the knowledge nearly religiously. After pouring over the scroll for the entirety of lunch break she decided that she needed more reading material at the rate she tore through the scrolls. This meant a trip to the library after meeting her sensei. An excited thought came to her mind. She would probably be seeing Shirakumo-san again. The little part of her that was nervous about seeing him again was shut down instantly. He had helped her without any other motivation than goodwill, she had no reason to be nervous.

Come to think of it, should she be more worried about meeting her Jonin sensei? In all actuality, she had never heard of Hatake Kakashi before but to be fair, she hadn't heard about any ninja who were not former Hokage or some kind of legend like the sannin. Maybe she could buy a bingo book.

The information in there will surely fuel any nightmares to come…

Interrupting her internal musing in favor of packing up she began heading back to her classroom.

Meeting her sensei couldn't possibly go wrong.

AN: Ohh, Sakura jinxed it! I am feeling devious. Muahahaha!~
See what happens in the next chapter!~