~Four Years Later~
Cee had been an unmerciful, unrelenting sensei towards the two girls as he taught them but today all that would change as he declared them fit and ready to take the graduation exam to become genin like the others in their age group.
"Glad to finally see you in the classroom Karin, Sakura" Karui, one of their best friends greeted as they slid into seats next to her, this was Sakura and Karin's first time in the classroom since they'd spent all their time cooped up in the library of the academy.
Sakura waved from the other side of Karin who chose to sit in the middle next to Omoi "Hey Karui, Omoi and yeah this is nice, but now I'm ready for those tests" Sakura said, having always been the most studious out of the four of them.
The crimson eyed redhead shook her head "Nee-chan's a nerd" Karin giggled teasingly, affectionately calling the pinkette who was a few months older than her, her big sister, since that was what Sakura technically was to her now.
Because the Raikage had helped them sort out the paperwork to be adopted siblings and family to one another "Your one to talk Imouto-chan" Sakura harrumphed with a smile as she engaged in the witty banter with her sister.
Off to the side Karui rolled her eyes in mock annoyance at their sisterly antics "Sheesh you both are something else you know that" Omoi commented with a shake of his head, crunching down on his sucker.
Just then the teacher entered the classroom, Sakura silenced herself prompting Karin to do the same "I'm sure you all know what today is right, good I'd really have to repeat myself" the sensei questioned, daring one of the brats to ask.
No one raised their hand and he hurriedly passed out the tests "Get started and if I see any of you cheating off someone else you'll be held back until the next batch of idiots are old enough to be genin" the teacher threatened.
Sitting down now that all the brats had a test in front of them and after imparting that warning had them begin the written test of their graduation exams, immediately his gaze honed in on two girls who had never been in his classroom.
As they set up folders to block each others view from the others exam and started scribbling answers down frantically on their test papers and he wondered why the Raikage had such high expectations for the girls.
To him they didn't seem all that special even if their mannerisms were odd, he just didn't see anything beyond them being brats like all the other brats were, such thoughts consumed him until everyone was finished.
So while he graded the tests, the brats were called one by one into the prepared room for the physical portion of the graduation exam, some as he expected failed, others didn't like Karui and Omoi who were two of his brightest students.
And then it was finally their turn Karin went first an obvious bundle of nerves as she headed into the room without Sakura, only to return seven minutes later clutching a Kumo hitai-ate victoriously in her hands.
Before her name was called Sakura tenderly enfolded her arms around Karin for the warmest of hugs "See, told ya that you could do it Karin-chan and I'm proud of you for passing" Sakura praised, drawing back.
Karin blushed, retreating into her shell some as she realized all eyes were on her now even as Sakura marched down the aisle of desks with her head held high into the exam room and returned with her own headband.
"Congratulations, the lot of you who have a headband are now genin, the lot of you who don't have a headband will receive remedial lessons until the next graduation exam which won't be for six months, dismissed oh and meet here tomorrow to find out your teams and sensei" the teacher clapped.
Relieved to be rid of most of his students as they scrambled from the classroom "Yikes I'd sure hate to be one of the ones who didn't pass, having to wait six months to try again would suck big time" Omoi grimaced.
Earning a snicker from Sakura until Karin tapped her arm and pointed "Looks like we have to go show Cee-sensei that we passed" Sakura said, seeing her blonde instructor, stood beside him was Darui as well.
Omoi and Karui waved "See you tomorrow Sakura, Karin" Karui called, Sakura wiggled her fingers in farewell as she and Karin ran towards Cee who had an expectant look on his face that morphed into a smirk of pride.
When his unlikely students showed off their hitai-ate's indicating they'd passed the exam and become genin "You know what I still can't believe, is that they took so well to Hidden Cloud" Darui commented.
Watching the girls, no longer the eight year old's he remembered, hurry off to their shared apartment "Agreed, those first few days were tense and I never expected them to do so great at practically raising themselves but they did and I'm proud of them for it" Cee nodded.
Admitting that much to his partner who was equally fond of Karin and Sakura as he was "Who do you suppose Boss will assign as their Jonin" Darui inquired, feet leading him in the direction of the tower so they could find out.
"Lord Raikage will probably give me that duty, I've already been teaching them for four years, whats several more at this point, at least they respond well to me and have never once disobeyed me or argued with me" Cee shrugged.
Not to put out by the idea as they reached the Raikage's office where other Jonin were gathered "Cee, I'm putting you in charge of those brats, I got the test results and I know they'll do better under you than anyone else" Ay barked.
Cee nodded in acceptance "So now that it's all official, how do you plan on testing them for the genin test" Darui chuckled, unsurprised that his partner was now a proper sensei to a couple of genin kunoichi.
"Mm good question, I know I want to get to work on teaching them the intricacies of the mystical palm, so maybe I'll test them on teamwork" Cee mused, already planning out a training schedule for his genin.
Darui grinned widely in response "Need a hand preparing, I know you man, your just like those girls who always plan three steps ahead for everything so if I'm correct you'll most like start setting up right now" Darui offered.
Ebony irises rolled upwards in mock annoyance "Like I said teamwork, so perhaps something that tests their sensory skills while in combat, clones maybe that they have to seek out and once found take down together" Cee said.
Meanwhile as the two Jonin were setting up Sakura and Karin were celebrating their accomplishment of finally becoming genin by splurging a little "Are you sure Sakura-chan" Karin asked knowing how careful Sakura always was managing their funds.
Sakura bobbed her head "Absolutely Karin-chan, we've been saving up for awhile so it's okay just this once since soon we'll be going on missions" Sakura assured, leading Karin into the clothing store to get some new clothes.
Because they didn't want to look like little kids anymore now that they were official shinobi "What do you think about this then Sakura" Karin called a few minutes later when nothing had caught her eye so she headed towards her sister.
To see her wearing a strappy gray tank top with black shorts and a light purple sleeveless high collared open jacket that went down past her hips, to complement the outfit she was also wearing knee high open toed boots with dark purple knee warmers underneath.
Along with black elbow length gloves covered by dark purple mesh "Oh wow that looks great Karin, you should totally get that and that color really suits you" Sakura gushed adoringly, ruby irises lit up.
And ever the dutiful little sister towards her big sister handed something over "Here I think this would look great on you Sakura-chan" Karin explained, fidgeting as Sakura vanished into the changing room.
Five minutes Sakura was back sporting a zippered tube top in dull pink, a flowing skirt in the same color that had slits up either side and a pair of black shorts underneath and a jacket just like the one Karin was wearing in dull pink, for the accessories to complement the outfit.
She had put on the metal plated strappy calf length boots with long leg warmers that covered her knees in black, metal arm guards with black gloves and dull pink elbow warmers and holding back her waist length hair were two dark red hair clasps in different places to keep it out of the way.
Needless to say the style really suited her and after buying an extra set of clothes in the same color while Karin did the same, Sakura and Karin left the clothing shop wearing their new clothes "How about we get some new gear as well Karin-chan" Sakura suggested.
Getting this feeling that they were going to need new weapons for tomorrow, by the time Karin and Sakura returned home it was practically dinner time as they set their purchases on the floor in the living room and headed into the kitchen to eat a quick supper.
Which was basically salad as they didn't want to eat to much that night "I still can't believe you got that big boomerang Sakura-chan" Karin commented while going through the bags to find the things she'd picked out for herself.
"Couldn't help it Karin-chan, it called out to me like those fans called out to you no doubt" Sakura reminded, gesturing to the metal fans that one could fill with throwing needles and press a button while swinging it to launch a wave a senbon at a person.
The response was immediate as Karin blushed and clutched said weapons to her chest, Sakura quirked a brow at her and her cheeks darkened "Okay, okay you win Sakura-chan" Karin relented after a moment.
Sakura snickered softly "But I do agree that it is big" Sakura added as an afterthought as she spied the large weapon in the corner of the room, the weapons store employee had told her that the boomerang had something special hidden inside of it.
But the button to reveal the surprise of the boomerang was well hidden so not even he knew the extent of what the weapon did which had made her all the more curious about the giant boomerang that was practically the same amount that she weighed at the moment.
Eventually once the rest of the purchases had been evenly divided between the two of them Karin and Sakura took individual showers then headed into their separate bedrooms since they no longer shared a single room to get some shut eye for the next day.
And after a heavier breakfast than usual the next morning while packing a couple of bento's for lunch Sakura and Karin headed for the academy to meet up with Karui and Omoi like promised so they could all find out who their teammates were and who their sensei would be.
"Wow what's with those get ups Sakura, Karin" Omoi blinked when the kunoichi duo slid into the seat below him and Karui, both of his friends were wearing completely different clothes unlike their normal attire.
Karin giggled softly "Sakura-chan and I splurged a bit to get new clothes and new weapons yesterday cause we wanted to be ready for today and we also want to be treated like adults and not little kids anymore since we're now shinobi" Karin explained.
Omoi groaned while Karui cackled loudly next to him "I would like to know how it is you two grew to be so serious about everything" Karui asked once she'd eventually calmed down enough that she could speak without giggling every couple of seconds.
Sakura linked hands with Karin "Let's just say a month before Raikage-sama ran into us, we'd been living out in the wild, fending for ourselves, learning to survive and protect each other from danger that threatened us like Karin's old village for instance" Sakura intoned flatly.
Realizing how sensitive the question she'd asked was Karui winced an apology on the tip of her tongue "Don't it's okay to be curious Karui-chan, that time is long behind us now, it's just hard to talk about sometimes considering what we both went through" Karin soothed.
Seeing the guilt in Karui's golden orbs "Oh yeah and what did you both go through" someone in the row across from them snorted and Sakura recognized this girl as the one who'd shoved Omoi down the hill four years ago at the park.
"Loss, we both lost someone important to us, physical torture and mental trauma, being a shinobi isn't a game" Sakura informed, remembering that Kusa-nin that she'd killed, it had been that defining moment that had made her rethink everything she ever knew about the shinobi lifestyle.
The girl curled her lip and rolled her eyes before turning back to her own conversation "Quiet" the sensei demanded as he walked into the classroom, "Right I suppose you all want to know who your teammates are" the teacher grunted.
Practically throwing himself down into the chair behind his desk as he flipped open a file then started listing teams "Karui, Omoi are Team 2 and last Sakura, Karin your Team Thirteen that is all your respective sensei will meet you here in this classroom within the hour" he scowled.
Fleeing the room to avoid questions about who their sensei's would be "Well we all know who's going to fail and be sent back to the academy once we're given the genin post academy graduation test, the ugly billboard brow and her sister" the girl from earlier snickered cruelly.
"You wanna know why, cause you got Unlucky Thirteen, every team that's been assigned that number have failed or eventually gotten killed if they managed to pass the genin test that the sensei give their students to see who will make it or break it as a genin" the girl announced.
Clearly trying to rattle Sakura and Karin "Hey you leave them alone Minori, kami your such a bitch" Karui growled, irritated and it had barely been five minutes since they'd been assigned squads and team numbers.
Just then the door slid open to reveal a familiar person to Sakura and Karin, so Sakura smiled and waved once he noticed her, imagine her surprise when Cee gestured for her to follow him "Really, really we get you as a jonin instructor Cee-sensei" Karin gaped.
Allowing Sakura to tug her down the aisle of seats towards the door "Of course, Lord Raikage thought it best if I continued to be in charge of your training" Cee snorted, leading his genin towards the chosen training grounds.
Halfway there Darui joined them "So drab ditching me like that Cee man" Darui grunted lightly in a miffed tone for being abandoned while Cee went off to fetch Sakura and Karin, who shared an amused grin with one another.
Behaving normally until they reached the training field "Alright I'm sure you've already learned that there are post graduation tests given to newly create teams of genin, so get to it" Cee barked, vanishing in a blinding flash of light.
Dazing his kunoichi for a second, Sakura blinked rapidly trying to get the spots out of her eyes as something unnatural prickled at her senses "Ah genjutsu" Sakura understood after a second so she flared her chakra breaking out of the illusion.
"That was a dirty trick Cee-sensei" Karin huffed, shuffling a bit so that she was stood back to back with Sakura, the both of them had broken out of the genjutsu with ease to Cee's amusement, but now came the hard part.
Figuring out the test and the meaning behind it as well "What do you sense Karin" Sakura asked, holding out a kunai defensively before her as she warily scanned their surroundings in one direction while Karin had the other direction.
At the question Karin focused her chakra and spread out her senses "Four, five, wait no six….seven maybe….nine, thirteen clones in all" Karin informed, relieved that her sensory range had expanded over the past four years.
"Clones…which means we probably have to fight them, you lead and we'll take them out together alright" Sakura hummed, above in the tree, Cee rolled his eyes while Darui silently laughed at his friend and partner.
As the girls headed off into the forest to begin their test "Figures, of course they couldn't be like normal fresh graduates and fight with one another, still this will be memorable day" Cee sighed realizing he should have accounted for the fact that the girls would fight together automatically.
Without arguing about what they should and shouldn't do in this kind of situation, instead took immediate action "Well at least you won't have to brow-beat it into them that being a shinobi isn't all fun and games" Darui chimed in.
Over his amusement as they watched Karin and Sakura go around massacring the clones he and Cee had placed strategically throughout the forest for them to hunt down and take out together, testing not only their senses, but teamwork and combat skills.
Until all thirteen had been wiped out "Hmm now that I've seen them in action I have a clearer picture of how to train them, together and separately to cultivate their individual skills" Cee commented.
Noting which of the two girls were more physically inclined, Sakura had brute strength on her side, while Karin was the softer of the two kunoichi, she was less apt to get in a fight unless Sakura was with her so genjutsu would be her ace in the hole.
Though both had an apparent aptitude for illusion jutsu to his pleasant surprise it was something he would on later as he dropped down in front of his students "Well done, you pass" Cee clapped, glad that they would remain as his students.
Instead of going back to the academy "Phew and here I was thinking that post graduation test was going to be a lot harder than that" Karin admitted, wiping her brow free of sweat, relieved especially after what Minori had said.
Cee quirked a pale brow at her "Why would you think that Kid…sure Cee can be an ass sometimes but he wouldn't purposefully sabotage you or rig the test to be impossible for you two, to figure out" Darui inquired.
"Well one of the other genin said that whoever is assigned to Unlucky Thirteen either fails or dies" Sakura explained, not having really believed in that crap that Minori had spewed, the white haired girl had most likely been jealous or something to that effect that she didn't really care about.
Darui grimaced "Don't believe what others say alright, all fresh graduates and assigned teams have the potential to fail or die, it's just the number thirteen is supposed unlucky so it comes with a lot of stigma and stupid rumors" Cee scoffed.
Earning a sheepish smile from Karin "Minori-san had most likely been nervous about her own upcoming genin test so likely tried to bolster her own confidence by picking at someone else and trying to scare them" Sakura pat Karin on the arm gently.
Rationalizing the other girls actions "Anyway, since we passed your test and all, what are we going to do now" Karin inquired curiously, hoping that the test wasn't the only thing that they were going to be doing that day.
Their blonde sensei smirked down at them and Karin got an uneasy feeling about that slightly sadistic glint in his coal irises "Since your so eager Karin, we'll skip straight into doing a couple of D ranks and once those are done we'll have a sit down and talk about our training schedule" Cee informed.
Karin relaxed some having thought that Cee was about to say something worse than D rank missions which were easy if not demeaning but she and Sakura were use to menial tasks since they already did them day in and day out.
Cee rubbed his temples while Darui started laughing at him again "Good luck Cee man" Darui waved intent clear to leave him alone with his students and for the next hour Sakura and Karin went on their first official missions.
The first of which had been to locate a specific herb inside the village the grew rarely at this specific time of the year when spring was fading into summer and having been a pharmacists apprentice for three years.
Sakura was able to differentiate between the several plants that the herb looked like to find the right one "That's Onee-chan for you Cee-san, of course she would be able to find it easily" Karin grinned.
Excited that their first mission was complete and they could move on to the next "Imouto-chan" Sakura rolled her eyes in mock annoyance even as she bundled up the herb and handed it to Cee who led them towards their next mission.
"Consider this like an initiation, every genin will most likely be slated this mission several times while still genin" Cee smirked, unease curling in the pit of Karin's stomach again as he handed over the mission scroll.
Displayed on it was a picture of a dog, his breed was listed as a greyhound "Uh Cee-sensei is this a subtle way of telling us we have to capture this dog as a mission" Sakura frowned, not to sure about this whole thing.
As Cee nodded "Yes, his name is Shun and he belongs to the wife of our countries Daimyo, he is extremely intelligent and like the meaning of his name is exceedingly fast" Cee informed gleefully wanting to see them struggle a bit and probably fail.
Failure on a mission this early would make them realize that not everything was going to come easy for them, it would also give them insight and challenge them to come up with new ways to capture their target.
Sakura and Karin shared a wary glance with one another but set forth into the village to find Shun the runaway greyhound, it was nearing lunch when Karin felt something prickle at her senses "This way" Karin grabbed Sakura's hand.
Leading her down an alleyway, twisting and turning when needed until they came to face with Shun and both girls realized the picture hadn't done him any justice because Shun was freaking massive and they knew that there was absolutely no way they'd catch him.
Still they had to try because catching him was technically a mission so Sakura and Karin carefully crept towards the huge greyhound who hadn't noticed them just yet and right as Sakura was about to lunge to wrap her arms around his body.
His nostrils flared as the wind shifted allowing him to scent them and with that the chase was on, they ran as fast as their feet could carry them after the greyhound as he led them through the winding back alleys of the Hidden Cloud Village.
Out into the commercial streets, past Samui who was going around with Karui and Omoi as their sensei having also passed the post graduation test, their lungs burned from exertion but somehow Karin managed to bypass Sakura.
Who was right on Shun's heels, arms spread, ready to take the lunge when she rammed head first into someone who'd been imbibing a bit to much on alcohol and was angry the patron had cut him off since he was already so drunk.
So he took it out on the first thing he saw which was Karin, Sakura's heart lurched as she saw the empty bottle being swung and kind of did this lunge roll to knock Karin out of the way and clenched her eyes shut waiting for pain.
"You can open your eyes Sakura" Cee intoned simply having arrived 1 second before that bottle could smash down on her head and caught the drunks arm, Sakura slowly opened her eyes and let Karin pull her back out of the way.
With their hearts calming down Sakura and Karin realized their target had gotten away from them and groaned "Times up anyway, try not to take it to bad, failure is good so you don't get cocky" Cee informed.
Helping his kunoichi up on their feet "I'm sorry, I lost sight of my surroundings by only focusing on Shun" Karin apologized feeling absolutely terrible about making such a rookie mistake, considering everyone expected better of them.
In response Cee gently ruffled her hair "Let that be a lesson in taking care to always pay attention to your surroundings alright, now lets go turn these in and I'll take you to get lunch, my treat only for today" Cee ordered.
Leading the way to the tower, Ay wasn't surprised that they'd failed at catching Shun, gave the brats the pay for the mission they did complete and waved his hand dismissing them where Cee took them to his favorite restaurant in Kumogakure.
"You said that you'd talk to us about how our training will go from this point on Cee-sensei" Sakura reminded once they'd gotten their food and had given their thanks for the meal before digging into it.
Since the blonde was paying that afternoon "I did..this is just a rough draft so far, Monday, Wednesday and Friday we'll meet on the training field for training to improve upon your skills" Cee listed.
Chewing on a juicy tomato "Training will last from 8-12 so that gives us roughly four hours, you'll have an hour lunch then we'll meet back up for a few missions each of those days from 1-3" Cee continued.
Genin listening with rapt attention "Tuesday and Thursday I'll be working with you individually, there will be no missions on those days however you will be doing volunteer work at one of the greenhouses learning all sorts of plants and their properties for eight hours" Cee announced.
Waiting for complaints but he got none instead their response to this were wide grins "Last thing, if your both aiming to be medical shinobi who can use the mystical palm, on Monday, Wednesday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday you'll do volunteer work at the hospital for hours a day" Cee finished.
"So that's roughly twenty hours a week for hospital work and sixteen hours a week at the greenhouse, still leaving us with plenty of time to hang out with Omoi and Karui if we want when their not busy with missions or training" Sakura mused.
Calculating out the math and finding it very acceptable, it was a rough schedule for sure but it did leave them plenty of wiggle room to add new things as they went along to learn whatever Cee wanted to teach them.
With that they finished their meal, Cee paid as promised and dismissed them to meet on their training grounds tomorrow morning at 8o'clock sharp, when Sakura and Karin arrived home they practically collapsed in a heap of exhaustion but forced themselves to move after awhile until it was bed time.