Before Sasuke and Sakura knew it there was only one day until the academy instructor's exam "Have you seen my pencil box Sakura, or even my calligraphy set" Sasuke scowled knowing if he didn't prepare now then he would be late the following morning to the exam.
And that was something he didn't want happening at all no matter what "Under your bed I think Sasuke, like I told you before you're a chunin now please try to be a little more organized" Sakura snorted lightly, having already prepared her pencils and whatnot for the exam.
Neither of them knew what they were going to have to do though but at least it would be a challenge and then they'd finally be able to start helping academy students "Did you find your stuff Sasuke-chan" Shisui sniggered earning a scowl.
"You know nothing will come of teasing otouto Shisui-san" Itachi pointed out politely, trying to reign in the sole exuberant Uchiha in existence now, with little success as Shisui proceeded to pull Sasuke into a headlock and roughly rub the boys head with his knuckles.
Which caused them to tousle about on the floor nearly breaking something again until Mebuki firmly put her foot down "Boys that is enough if you can't behave then out" Mebuki put her hands on her hips looking like some kind of demon emerging from hell.
Shisui felt goosebumps rise on his flesh as he promptly released his baby cousin and sat on the couch like a good little Jonin "See what you did Shisui, you got her angry" Naruto shuddered lightly himself as the woman stormed off into the kitchen to get started on lunch.
"It's never a good idea to get on her bad side" Kizashi piped in helpfully, while Sakura nodded sagely, getting in some last minute studying, cramming as much information into her head as she could until Sasuke sat to do the same thing, eyes flying furiously over words and flipping through pages at a high speed rate.
Until Mebuki called them in for lunch "Just remember from now on if you two want to roughhouse go outside and do that so you don't break anymore personal objects" the emerald eyed blonde woman scolded Shisui who nodded and kept his mouth shut.
Itachi was tempted to laugh at his best friend but didn't want to draw the woman's ire onto himself "Roger that Mebuki-san and I'm sorry" the twenty year old apologized seriously, sometimes he couldn't help himself though but he knew when enough was enough.
"Let's hope you actually understand this time Shisui cause your teasing is ridiculous, we're not children anymore" the raven haired preteen huffed spearing a vegetable onto his fork and shoving it into his mouth with manners that had been somewhat drilled into him.
Sakura was the worst off though, eating with her mouth closed, swallowing every last bit of food before talking, no elbows on the table, back straight, he wasn't sure he'd be able to handle that and he was just glad that Mebuki allowed him a little slack.
Even Naruto, though he'd gotten stricter instruction from Mebuki to mind his manners at the table "So you two really don't know what's going to happen on the test do you" the blue eyed blonde questioned halfway through lunch when his plate was nearly cleared of food.
"Nope and asking questions has gotten us no where, the principle, Iruka-sensei, Sasuke went and asked, but the academy sensei are pretty tight lipped about it" the pinkette admitted, staring at her plate for a moment then polishing off the rest of her food.
Hopping up when she was done to was the dishes she'd used, Itachi lining up behind her moments afterwards "I wouldn't worry to much Sakura-san, you and Sasuke have a knack for tests and such, so you'll both do fine I'm sure of it" the Uchiha heir assured seeing the worried expression.
And wanting to do something that would ascertain her fears a little about the academy sensei exam "Yeah Sakura-chan, Sasuke-kun, you'll do fine" the pink haired male quipped knowing his daughter best, she was studious by nature and very smart, Sasuke came right after her.
With hope in their hearts now, the duo crammed until their brains hurt for the rest of the day, even somewhat through dinner, Mebuki allowing them a little slack this time because it was for an important cause and they were still eating with manners.
Finally as the village was settling down to get some sleep, Sasuke and Sakura crawled into their beds, setting an alarm as they went and drifted off, to get as much rest as they could, only to be woken by a blaring noise in their ears signaling it was time to get up.
They took showers, dressed in their best, ate breakfast, and after writing a quick note headed out the door to where the exam was being held "Who the hell let two genin brats in here" an older man spat the moment they showed up.
"Excuse me Sir, but Sasuke and I are both Chunin, also why else would we be here but to take the instructors exam" Sakura shot right back not taking any crap that morning it seemed, which promptly shut the older man up to others amusement.
Who'd been insulted as well "Man remind me not to get on either yours or Mebuki's bad sides ever" Sasuke shuddered taking a seat next to her, seeing as the one conducting the exam wasn't there yet and he was sure they'd be separated once the man arrived.
Imagine their surprise when the principle of the academy himself showed up "Listen up, today's the academy instructor exam if your here by mistake then get out, if not, spread out, cheating is absolutely forbidden if your caught even once your out" the principle began.
Passing around the exam papers while the nine potential academy sensei before him spread out among the rows so they couldn't cheat off one another "There's one other rule, if you can't supply an answer for any of the questions consider yourself failed, now begin" he warned.
Sakura ran a hand through her hair as she flipped over her exam to start answering question and was immediately stumped 'What kind of question is that, if your students begin fighting one another how would you solve the problem' she thought with a frown.
Not that it was very hard, she'd take them to task of course, separate them and give them a scolding on the importance of teamwork, if they were going to be shinobi they would have to learn how to get along whether they liked the other person or not.
It sounded like a reasonable answer after all as she cranked off the next three in similar fashion, two rows below her, Sasuke scowled inwardly wondering what kind of exam this was to have such weird questions on it.
'Like how am I supposed to know what to do to stop a kid from skipping all the damn time' Sasuke grumbled inwardly, thinking long and hard as he remembered the principle's warning about leaving any questions unanswered.
Then finally came up with a suitable answer that would hopefully not get him landed in jail for it, hopefully he wasn't to sure if punishing the kid and making him serve detentions that require hard labor was a good answer but it was all he could come up with at the time.
And he was pretty sure it was the same kind of answer Sakura would have thought up to, scratching down the next couple of answers in quick succession as he really worked his brain to come up with unique answers and not rely on his teammate even in mind.
For the next hour the only sounds that filled the exam room were scratching of pencils on paper and little frustrated sighs when someone would stumble over a ridiculous hard to answer kind of question most likely, the principle of the academy watching a clock behind their heads.
"You lot take a ten minute break, stay in your seats, drink some water if you must but if your eyes wander I'll know so no funny business" the principle ordered in the next moment, and Sakura cracked her wrist and drew a canteen of water from her storage pouch.
Glad she'd even thought to bring some in the first place, ten minutes passed by relatively fast, then she picked up her pencils and read the fiftieth question 'K, so they want to know how I'd handle confrontation on my own if a parent doesn't like my teaching methods' the pinkette frowned.
Reading over the question a couple more times to make sure she wasn't misreading it, then scribbled down a suitable answer that would satisfy even the most burly of parents, then scratched down the next several.
Until it felt like their hands were going to fall off from the countless questions on the exam, reading through each question when she'd answered them all to make sure she hadn't missed a single one and even tweaked a few of her answers.
In all the exam had lasted a good three and a half hours "Right that's it your done, tomorrow they should be graded so come back here late afternoon" the principle of the academy collected the stacks of exam papers as he told the wannabe instructors to come back the next day.
Sasuke sidled up to Sakura on their way out the door to the exam room "Did you find that just as weird as I did" the ebony haired preteen questioned with an odd look on his face, that exam had been really weird, a little to weird for his tastes actually.
"Believe me Sasuke it was weird, yet challenging in a way, I'm sure there's a purpose, but we don't know so just suck it up if you want to be an academy instructor" Sakura rolled her eyes lightly bran feeling like mush just a little.
Thankfully Sasuke didn't complain anymore as they walked the streets home "We're back, we won't know until tomorrow if we passed" Sasuke called as he opened the door for them to shuffle into the foyer and take off their sandals.
"Well that took an unreasonable amount of time for an exam, you were back in an hour and a half from the first round of the Chunin Exams so why did this one take so long" Kizashi frowned concerned that the two kids had been put through more than a written exam.
Sakura sighed "Just a lot of questions Dad, that's all really and it was different than the Chunin Exams, only nine people were there for it, us two and seven others, I think I was the only girl to" the pinkette creased her brow trying to remember.
It was hard because all she'd been able to concentrate on is that bloody test "Yeah it was weird to, with strange and unusual questions, but like I said we won't know if we passed until tomorrow, we have to go back then to find out" the raven haired preteen plopped down on a couch.
Coincidentally right next to his brother who smiled in amusement "Either way I'm sure you two did just fine, tests were always your forte's after all" Itachi pointed out gently, really knowing how to boost confidence in someone and teach them that they could do it.
Kizashi chuckled at that and nodded in agreement while Sakura smiled and joined Naruto at the low table, pulling out her list of hospital rules and regulations to finally finish after three weeks, Tsunade thankfully hadn't pressured her into finishing it sooner.
So she was all to happy to send it off with Mibojin when she did get done with it to Shizune and Ittei at the hospital, with a copy going to her Shishou at the Hokage Tower "What was that all about Sakura-chan" Shisui asked curiously.
"Oh uh Tsunade-shishou requested I make a list of new rules and regulations for the hospital, due to what's been going on I only just got it done, so sent it off to be reviewed and hopefully implemented" Sakura explained, looking unburdened for the moment.
Just then a knock erupted on the door, Naruto popped up to go answer it "Sakura-chan it's for you" Naruto poked his head through the living room doorway, pointing at the door, Sakura spread out her senses and felt nothing but stood anyway to go see who it was.
"Morning brat, had a little free time so I thought we could have a training session" Tsunade greeted with a smirk, Sakura met that smirk with a resigned smile as she turned and hurriedly strapped some of her weapons pouches and her medical pouch onto her body.
When she was done she followed Tsunade from the house to the training grounds they'd used before "Right let me see how far you've come on your medical ninjutsu so I can figure out what else you need to be taught to improve first" the honey eyed woman demanded.
Plopping down a fish before her apprentice "Got it Shishou" the pinkette saluted, pulling a kunai from her pouch to basically gut the fish in front of her, then make a hand sign until her hands were glowing a bright green, filled with exactly the right amount of chakra.
To which she pressed to the now injured fish to heal it, sharp honey eyes watching her every little move as she healed "Very good brat, I admit I'm impressed, you've only been a fully qualified medic for about four months now and training for about seven right" Tsunade questioned.
As the bright glow faded from Sakura's hands to reveal a completely healed fish, in fact it seemed even better now as weird as it sounded "That's right Tsunade-shishou, Sasuke's been training for only five and a half months since he started a month and a half after me" Sakura nodded.
Looking to her hands which were rough from use and harsh treatment, Tsunade smiled watching fire burn in her eyes determinedly oh yes this girl was practically the embodiment of the will of fire they prided themselves on, her heart was in the right place and she fought for her loved ones.
"Not bad for an Uchiha, listen brat, Sakura, you can't stop people from badmouthing the Uchiha's, they have to regain their honor themselves through hard work without giving up, now practice summoning Katsuyu" the honey eyed blonde ordered.
Sakura flashed through a set of hand signs, bit her thumb and concentrated fully on which summon of her's she wanted to bring out "Ninja Art: Summoning Jutsu" the rosette placed her hand on the ground and watched with interest as a patchwork of seals spread out before her.
Followed by a poof of smoke which dissipated to reveal a miniature version of Katsuyu "Well I see someone's been practicing, keep practicing and eventually you won't have to concentrate so hard" Tsunade instructed with a smile of amusement.
"I promise I won't let you down Tsunade-shishou" Sakura vowed bright and full of life as she dismissed the summons, then practiced the summoning jutsu over and over until her thumb was red and raw with her chakra reserves dwindling.
It was more than just concentration to it seemed and she knew she would have to find a way to use less chakra "Moving on brat….let's see you dodge me this time" her mentor called it on her summoning jutsu training and lunged.
Barely giving her apprentice a chance to scramble up and out of the way, ducking under the powerful swing of her arm, any second later and she was sure she would have been sent flying "Holy crap Shishou your gonna kill me" the fuscia haired teen, teased.
Earning a roll of honey eyes, by the end of their two hour training session, she was covered in a myriad of bruises and cuts, maybe a concussion and a broken bone or two "Perhaps I went a little overboard" Tsunade mused as she watched her apprentice flop lifelessly to the ground.
Knocked out from the beating she'd given her, she could be nice this one time and heal the brat, who in the future would definitely give her a run for her money "Can I go home yet Shishou" Sakura was surprisingly still awake when she approached.
"Let me heal you first Sakura then you can" the blonde woman barked out a laugh, seemed little Sakura was quite resilient to pain as she knelt and began healing the damage she'd dealt to her apprentice until every last bruise, cut or broken bone was healed, the concussion to.
When she was done Sakura stood on slightly shaky legs "Thanks for the training session Tsunade-shishou, oh what did you think about the list I sent you with Mibojin" the pinkette perked up interested to hear what the woman had thought.
It took her a moment to understand what the brat was saying "Nearly forgot that I set you the task of coming up with new rules and regulations for the hospital, I haven't had a chance to review it yet" Tsunade admitted with a little shrug of her shoulders.
"Ah I see, just let me know if you want me to change some things on it, anyway heading home now" Sakura waved lightly, marching from their training grounds and back to home where her parents, the last remaining Uchiha's and Naruto were waiting for her.
Even Itachi was slightly horrified at her appearance "What did Tsunade-sama do to you" his eyes were slightly widened in shock, as he looked over the young girl who'd saved them technically in a way she had if she hadn't gotten interested in outing Danzo.
"A little of this a little of that, evasion training, sadly my evasion skills are lacking more than I thought, Shishou healed me though so don't worry Itachi-san, Shisui-ni" the rosette plopped down, not even bothering to take a shower right now, waving off their concerns at the same time.
Sasuke snorted "You should have seen her after the first training session, she looked like Lady Hokage had tried to turn her into a human pincushion, she even called me Sasuke-chan that's how tired she was" the raven haired preteen grunted.
Naruto dissolved into obnoxious laughter at that, with Kizashi throwing in a few chuckles and Mebuki giggling to his disgruntlement "Poor Sasuke how can I ever apologize" Sakura even laughed which was worse than everyone else.
Causing his cheeks to flare with heat and become red in embarrassment "You know Sakura-san I've been wondering ever since that time, how did you overcome the trauma of that jutsu" the Uchiha heir cut through the laughter with a very serious question.
She went silent and even a little pale "It wasn't easy..those nightmares were awful, but I had Naruto, Jiraiya-sama to even, they lifted my spirits every day, I couldn't fail in finding Tsunade-shishou not when Lord Third asked us to, so had to remain strong" the pinkette answered.
Shisui blew out a breath "Pervy Sage didn't even want Sakura-chan on the mission you know, he was against it until that moment, when he realized that nothing he said would keep Sakura-chan from continuing on with the mission" Naruto piped in.
Remembering how his own Sannin sensei had acted at first "Speaking of genjutsu's, do you have enough chakra to perform your genjutsu Sakura-chan" Shisui spoke up curious about what would make even a Cloud Shinobi cringe and reflexively release her genjutsu.
There was a glint in her eyes as she checked her chakra reserves before nodding "Just remember Shisui-ni you did ask for this, let's go out back though" Sakura reminded gesturing at the backdoor to their now expansive backyard.
He was the first one out the door, followed by Itachi who was interested himself, Sakura took a deep breath and followed the duo into the backyard "Okay Sakura-san let us have it" Itachi gave a kind encouraging smile.
With a nod Sakura flashed through a set of hand signs, then there was a flurry of cherry blossoms that surrounded them emanating a sweet smell "Huh that's so like Sakura-chan I guess" Shisui laughed not seeing anything out of the norm.
Yet that was the question as he frowned "Uh nothing happened" the Uchiha sulked heading for the door or at least he tried but found his feet glued to the ground when he looked down it was less glue and more tendrils of long flowing pink hair.
And when he looked behind him there stood Sakura "Why Shisui-ni, how could you abandon me like that" this Sakura had tears in her eyes, he felt his heart jerk and guilt fill him for all the terrible things that had happened since he'd been gone.
"You gotta understand Sakura-chan that if I'd known things would turn out like that I would have never left" Shisui pleaded forgetting all about how this was actually a genjutsu, inwardly he was thinking more along the lines that this was the only way she could speak her mind.
It certainly seemed that way after all "No you still would have left and you know it Shisui-ni for that I can never forgive you" the genjutsu rosette hissed, fuscia locks snaking forward to wrap around him and lift him high into the air.
Before yanking him down with all her strength, he squeezed his eyes shut waiting for impact only to hear a splash as he was submerged in liquid, it burned and ate at his clothes and skin until he realized that it was flesh eating acid much like what Katsuyu could produce.
Still forgetting how this was all just a genjutsu somehow as he was pulled up "Please Sakura-chan, please I'm sorry, I'm sorry I didn't want any of what happened to happen" the raven haired man begged feeling as if he was about to pass out from the pain.
Sakura wouldn't hear of it now instead plunging him deep within the acid again for longer this time and when he was pulled up, he found himself facing his best friend "Always doing everything on your own" Itachi shook his head in disappointment.
"If you'd waiting, we could have brought Danzo down together, the clan wouldn't have had to die, we could have worked towards peace, but instead I had to murder my own parents, betray my little brother and in the end leave taking down Danzo up to children" the Uchiha heir continued.
"For that Shisui I can't forgive you either, you're a disgrace to the remains of the great Uchiha Clan" Itachi seemed to set his jaw in determination, closing his eyes and then when they opened awakened his mangekyou sharingan power black flames enveloped him.
In that moment it really felt like he was burning alive in the inextinguishable flames before he found himself flat on his back Sakura hovering over him worriedly "There you are Shisui-ni, are you alright" Sakura was frowning deeply.
He felt like an idiot "Y..You mean that really was all just a genjutsu" Shisui asked nervously, gaze flitting around warily just in case, throat strangely sore until he realized that he must have been screaming during that moment he really thought he was dying as the black flames ate him alive.
Sakura nodded lips pressed into a thin line "Of course I did warn you Shisui-ni remember, everything that happened was only in your mind" the pinkette reminded in an exasperated tone, everyone seemed to forget it was a genjutsu once it got past a certain point.
"M..Man that illusions really potent I thought I was, you were, guess that Cloud Shinobi had it right nightmare based indeed" the twenty year old hung his head, all of his nightmares had been brought forth by the illusion so he couldn't really blame Sakura at all.
It was his fault for wanting her to put him in it "Darui-san, but yes, and he went through it several times while I was creating it" Sakura let a smile curl her lips in amusement, focusing healing chakra into her hands to heal Shisui's sore throat and his fatigue from the illusion.
"Can I ask what prompted the genjutsu in the first place" Itachi cleared his throat, also having gone through the nightmarish illusion, he seemed in better condition to Shisui's frustration, was it only him that had got it bad.
The thirteen year old craned her neck "Initially it was a way to get around my final round opponent during the Chunin Exams, but Shibi-sensei actually got me a decent sensei for the month long training period and I got really interested in illusions" the fuscia haired teen grinned.
"Like you weren't already Sakura-chan, reading about such things when you were an itty bitty five year old if I recall" Shisui laughed suddenly while Itachi grimaced lightly as the three of them headed back in to find lunch ready, followed by the rest of the day passing at a fast pace.
And then Sasuke and Sakura were off the following morning to find out what their test results on the exam were "Only seven of you passed" was the first thing out of the principle's mouth when they sat down with the others, indeed two of the exam takers were missing as Sakura looked around.
"One of them attempted to cheat on the exam and the last, he failed because one of his answers weren't to our liking, we take our jobs as sensei quite seriously you know" the man continued, explaining why three of the exam takers had failed.
"Congratulations to the rest of you though, you'll be moving on to the second part of the instructors exam, in two days time I want detailed lesson plans on my desk at the academy of your strong suits, as you no doubt know the academy will soon be adding new classes we need to know if you lot can hack it, now get to work" the principle finished.
Dismissing them all in the same breath "Come on Sasuke let's go get started on our lesson plans" Sakura popped up with a grin, excited and eager to try her hand at creating a lesson plan that would hopefully help students improve their academics and whatnot.
Sasuke shook his head in amusement "This is going to be interesting you know" Sasuke commented already thinking about the kinds of things he could teach kids probably as they made the trek home and gracefully sat at the low living room table to work on their task.
Everyone else seemingly gone, probably on missions or working at their stall in the case of the older Haruno's "Did you pass Sasuke-otouto, Sakura-san" Itachi was the first to wander into the house an hour or so later when they were still focused intently on their lesson plans.
"Huh oh yeah we passed the first round, the next is detailed lesson plans, we have to have them in two days from now, the exam is very cut throat though more so than the Chunin Exams if I do say so myself" the rosette smiled brightly.
His little brother nodding along "Quite, the principle is actually the exam proctor which is the biggest shocker and he doesn't take any crap from anyone" the youngest Uchiha shuddered lightly then focused his full attention on the sheaf of papers before him.
Already full up with a multitude of things that were to his strong suits, taijutsu, medical ninjutsu, elemental ninjutsu, Itachi chuckled under his breath at their antics, pleased that even after what happened their friendship was still as strong as ever.
Of course he'd known that Sakura could never hate his little brother no matter what the brat might say sometimes "Don't let me get in your way then otouto, Sakura-san" the Uchiha heir bowed his head and found a book to read for the time being.
Until the more rowdier duo of the house returned "Just got back from talking to Baa-chan, she says that in a week she'll begin negotiations with the elders and academy principle and sensei's to implement all the changes we suggested" Naruto burst into the house with a rush of excitement in his steps.
Finding his two best friends already home, suspicious he narrowed his eyes until he realized they weren't exuding any sort of depression from their person's "You passed that's great Sakura-chan, Sasuke" the blonde clapped flashing them a whiskered grin of happiness.
Proud of their accomplishment "First round knucklehead, there's more apparently and a lot more unforgiving than the Chunin Exams" Sakura returned his smile with one of her own as he joined them at the low living room table.
Grabbing his fuinjutsu books to work on that for awhile "We're on the second which is lesson plans, they want to test us on if we're able to create lesson plans though I don't really understand why" Sasuke frowned probably wondering still yet unable to figure it out.
"Well either way I'm sure you two will do fine, after all you two are the studious ones of our class more so than Shikamaru or Hinata-chan" Naruto shrugged, scratching down an idea for a new seal formula to test out later.
Before they knew it the two days they'd been allotted were up, instead of walking Sasuke and Sakura body flickered to the academy, it was hard to believe that even after they graduated, the academy was still a focal point for them with the written round of the Chunin Exams.
And now for their instructor's exam "Sasuke-kun, Sakura-chan what are you two doing here" Iruka caught them on their way into the building, having been cleaning up the academy training grounds now that his afternoon taijutsu class was over for the day.
"Handing in our detailed lesson plans for the second round of the academy sensei exam Iruka-sensei, we decided to become sensei just like you at least part-time anyway" the pinkette announced shocking him because he hadn't thought this was how their lives would turn out.
Or that this was the kind of path they would take "Don't be to shocked we've been planning this for over a month and a half now I thought you would have heard the rumors" his former second best student teased lightly and Iruka shook his head with a sigh.
"Go on now you two don't want to make the principle wait for those, he's gets a little tyrannical when your late in turning them in" the brunet chunin shooed his former star pupils off, proud to see them branching out and living their lives to the fullest.
A couple minutes later they were stood in the principles office for the second time in a month and a half "Five that is all that's left of you I see, one couldn't hack it and resigned from the exam and the second is late, good you know promptness" the principle nodded in acceptance.
Relieved that at least some of the participants had a good head on their shoulders "But it's time for the finals, each of you will go through a trial based period of three days, the trial you'll undergo is based on how you answered the questions of your written exam" he cleared his throat.
Catching their attention again "Sakura Haruno based on your written you're trial is putting you in charge of a small class of advanced students in their last year of the academy, you have three days to straighten them out and get them to learn at least one thing, that will be useful to them as genin" he set his sights on the lone girl.
Announcing her name first, before handing her a vanilla folder stuffed full with papers "I expect you to have memorized each of your students names, and be able to explain in great detail one thing each student is good at ability wise" the principle finished.
Shoving a piece of paper at her that had the room number of her class of students on it "Sasuke Uchiha, based on your written, your trial has you with some juniors that don't take their taijutsu seriously" next was Sasuke.
Who inwardly gulped at the scrutinizing stare "By the end of three days, I want them to at least understand more than just the basics of kata's and taijutsu form, they need to be able to spar, you need to learn and memorize all of their names and explain in great detail how they've improved" the principle ordered.
Then Sasuke was shoved out of the room and he made his way to the academy training grounds to meet his students like Sakura had already been sent off to do, this was nerve-wracking because they were only a couple years or less older than the older academy students but he squared his shoulders and marched forth.
~Meanwhile~
Sakura had basically done the same thing, squared her shoulders and marched confidently into the classroom full of senior academy students, there were five in all, the advanced class was dwindling down to nothing it seemed during the time she'd graduated.
"Who the hell are you pink haired freak and where's our sensei" one eleven year old demanded and her eye twitched but she calmly shut the door and stalked towards the teachers podium until she was stood behind it.
Peering out over the class "For the next three days I am your sensei, Sakura Haruno and I expect you to address me with respect Miharu-kun, despite that it seems like I'm around your age, I am in fact a Chunin Rank Shinobi so no more mouthing off or you'll be doing punishment homework" she narrowed her green eyes on the boy.
Immediately whispers broke out among the five eleven year old's before her "Quiet, I am here on a three day trial based period to teach you five one thing that will be useful to you even as genin, I've decided that one thing will be chakra control" Sakura clapped.
Effectively silencing the eleven year old's "Chakra control, how is that going to be useful Sakura-sensei" another boy, who was three times more polite than Miharu it seemed and she made a note to thank him after class.
Despite how it seemed she was really nervous about all of this "Well Atama-kun, you use chakra for your jutsu's right, what happens if you don't have good control, the jutsu doesn't turn out right does it, with better chakra control, your jutsu's will become more effective" the rosette explained.
Awing her trial students with her seemingly infinite knowledge "Okay, okay but how do you do that" one of the two only girls in the class huffed upset that her cute and handsome male sensei had been replaced with this weird girl with pink hair who was nearly the same age as them.
"First you'll practice chakra control exercises, Atama, Miharu, Chisana, Majika, Kido line up before me and we'll get started" Sakura instructed, hopefully they'd be willing to put up with her for now since she was only just getting started.
Instantly the five eleven year old's were stood in front of her, good at least they understood the importance of following directions, it would help them when they became genin "And now I want you to practice sticking a leaf to any part of your body" the pinkette commanded.
A couple of them looked reluctant until they actually tried the exercise and found it more difficult than sticking a leaf to their thumb, having it stick to a part of their body was hard, as their chakra responded sluggishly and the leaves refused to stick.
"While your practicing, how about you tell me about yourselves, things your good at that kind of stuff" Sakura inquired knowing it help would if they learned how to split their concentration otherwise they'd be continuously caught off guard.
The other girl perked up, Majika if she remembered "I love genjutsu, Kido-kun likes constructing \different types of poisons, he's quiet and probably won't talk to you though" Majika brightened before frowning as she shot a concerned look at the third male student.
"Given time I'm sure Kido-kun would talk to me, for now I won't pressure, just practice, then once you master this exercise we'll move on to another" the fuscia haired teen cleared her throat, glad that she'd managed to get one of her students talking.
Even managing to learn what two of them were good at ability wise or rather what they liked "This is stupid" Chisana grumbled, as she failed to yet again execute the exercise they'd been set "Chakra control is stupid to, why do we have to learn this we're gonna be genin anyway" she huffed and crossed her arms over her chest.
Viridian irises narrowed on her and she felt her heart stop "With a better understanding of chakra control it lets you do all kinds of things, genjutsu, ninjutsu, even taijutsu, channeling chakra into your attacks, water-walking, tree-walking" Sakura began a lecture.
"Everything requires chakra though, some more delicate than others, let's say your facing down an enemy Chisana-chan, and your chakra control is below standard, the jutsu you use will be less than effective and will probably even get you killed" the pinkette continued.
"By practicing chakra control, even the biggest jutsu's could require less and less chakra, just a tiny sliver of chakra could help you cast the most nightmarish of genjutsu's, helping you survive, as genin you don't know the kinds of missions you'll go on" Sakura took a deep breath.
"Some of them might even be life-threatening which requires you to fight for your lives, don't say chakra control is stupid it could be a matter of life and death knowing how to use your chakra efficiently in a fight" the rosette concluded.
A stern frown on her lips, Chisana nodded her head eagerly not wanting to experience that kind of lecture ever again probably, which kept the other four almost preteen's in line as well as they continued with their chakra control exercise.
An hour or so later the kids were coming along nicely "Alright you five, my time is up, you'll have your regular sensei for the rest of the time, my homework for you is to write an essay on the things you like and can do, and to keep practicing your exercise" Sakura called, ending their practice.
They all nodded at their strange homework as their very young sensei scurried off, on her way out she met up with Sasuke who looked like hell "How is it you look okay, I thought your trial students were supposed to be advanced and unruly" Sasuke narrowed his eyes in suspicious.
"Contradiction Sasuke, at first glance they seem unruly, disorganized, loud and bratty, but get below that surface, and you'll find why their in the advanced class" the pinkette calmly informed, feeling good about how her first class had went.
Sasuke creased his brow in confusion "Just how many students do you have" the Uchiha questioned, feeling as if he got the short end of the stick with five junior students, who didn't listen to a word he said no matter what he said.
"Five most likely the same as you Sasuke, how did it go for you" Sakura inquired curiously, though she could probably guess that his first run didn't go so well and that's why he looked like he'd try to tear his hair out in frustration.
His shoulders slumped "They wouldn't listen to me at all and I got nothing concrete out of them" Sasuke sighed, realizing in that moment he might not be able to hack it as a part-time academy sensei, Sakura was more suited after all.
She shook her head "Be firm with them Sasuke, don't be a doormat, and if you want to get them interested show off a little, taijutsu is one of your specialties" the fuscia haired teen reminded gently as they finally got home.
And he wanted to slap himself for being an idiot "Right I'll do that" the ebony haired preteen vowed already thinking up ways that would get his students listening to his every word, like how Iruka could enrapture them in a lecture.
The next day as they showed up at the academy for their trial, he did just as suggested, the moment his feet hit the training grounds and he spotted his five students slacking off yet again, he launched into a complicated maneuver and nearly broke the pole.
Gasps could be heard as he turned to face the five 9 year old's "Take your taijutsu lessons seriously and someday you might be able to do that" Sasuke crossed his arms over his chest and stood tall, reminding himself to not be a doormat and to be firm.
Immediately the 9 year old's gathered around him eyes wide in awe and interest, excitement oozing from their very beings and he set to teaching them the proper forms of taijutsu that aren't taught in the academy while Sakura made her way to her own students.
Upon arriving she heard laughter coming from within the room and sighed, pulling open the sliding door, immediately the laughter faded as Miharu, Atama, Kido, Chisana and Majika fell silent and faced forward then Chisana stood.
"All rise, Good Afternoon Sakura-sensei, we're looking forward to learning under you, bow, and seat yourselves" the little blonde girl who'd given her lip commanded obviously having had a change of heart since the day before.
Immediately Kido's hand shot into the air "We finished our homework to, do you want us to hand it in" the quiet boy who hadn't spoken a single word, yesterday asked when she nodded at him to go ahead and speak.
She was so proud of him "I'm glad you feel comfortable enough to talk to me Kido-kun and yes, then while I'm looking over your essays, I want you to practice the leaf sticking exercise and a very good morning to you five as well" Sakura smiled fondly.
Quite attached already as they lined up before the podium that she was sitting behind to turn in their essays, then they got started on their exercise, Sakura watched with keen eyes as their chakra responded a lot more smoothly, allowing them to perform the task easier.
And as soon as she was done reviewing their essays, nitpicking through each one, she set them to the side "Okay, looks like you've completed the first exercise, so time for the next, encasing your hand in water, and if you want you can expand on the exercise later" the pinkette stood.
Placing down six glasses of water, demonstrating to their fascination as water covered her whole hand just from chakra "We'll do it Sakura-sensei" Atama grinned the first to try as he focused chakra into his hand and stuck his hand into the glass.
When he pulled away only a little followed him so he tried again and again, Sakura-sensei just watching them with knowing eyes until it was time for her to leave them again "I did better today" Sasuke exclaimed when they met up at the entrance of the academy.
"Me to, I've successfully completed part of my task, memorized all their names and found out one thing they each can do ability wise, you might have a student interested in learning and crafting poisons under you if this all ends well" Sakura admitted.
Sasuke perked up with interest but she remained tight-lipped "All be Sasuke-chan is actually doing pretty well at being a sensei huh Itachi-chan" Shisui sniggered having been spying on his baby cousin the entire time.
"Indeed Shisui-san, but lets not tease him alright" Itachi chuckled amused, yet proud, his little brother had hardly changed and he was glad of that fact as he and Shisui discreetly followed Sasuke and Sakura home.
Where the lot of them met up inside to mess about for the rest of the day and the next one signaled the end of Sasuke and Sakura's trial based period "Today's the last day I have with you" the fuscia haired teen explained, hoping that they'd managed to master what she'd taught them yesterday.
"Aww do you have to go Sakura-sensei, our other sensei isn't nearly as cool as you" Miharu pouted looking a little down in the dumps, but with a quick smile flashed in his direction, he was perked right back up to her inward amusement.
"Unfortunately, but if all goes well I might be back to teach you lot many more interesting things than just chakra control, so I want you all to line up in front of me again, and practice encasing your hand in water, if you have that down I'll teach you another exercise that I want down before tomorrow when your reviewed" Sakura clapped.
The five eleven year old's scrambled to do as she bid as glasses of water appeared before them and fifteen minutes later it was easy to see that they understood the exercise quite well "Can we learn something new now Sakura-sensei" Chisana pleaded hopefully.
"Of course, of course Chisana-chan, this is probably the most difficult of chakra control exercises to practice until you become genin, but it will definitely help, learning the right amount to perform ninja tasks like tree-walking or water-walking" the pinkette began.
Knowing that this was going to blow their little minds probably "To practice this exercise, you'll be basically using your chakra to glue these plates together, word of warning, to little and it won't stick and to much it will cause a tiny explosion, these plates must be in good condition when your done" she warned.
Handing over five bags of a single broken plate of various broken pieces to really challenge those that she knew had good chakra control "Got it Sakura-sensei" Majika nodded as she pumped her arms to pump herself up for the exercise.
As the five of them returned to their seats to work on their tasks, sweat beading on their brows as they worked hard until their time was up "What do you think Sakura-sensei, did we do good" Kido was the first to show off the plate.
Completely fixed without a crack, or scorch mark and she patted him gently on the head, followed by the others, each of them had really taken to heart her words of being careful "You were right Sakura-sensei, chakra control is amazing, so I apologize for what I said on our first day" Chisana apologized when she was on her way out the door.
"Don't worry about it Chisana-chan, you learned that's whats important, keep practicing and when it's time for you to graduate, carve your own paths as genin of the Hidden Leaf Village" Sakura smiled brightly for the kids then shut the door to their disappointment.
And the next day they were called in to be reviewed, Sakura as expected she would went first, going into great detail about what she'd taught her five students and what she'd learned in turn, calling them each by name in a fond sounding tone of voice.
The principle nodded and scribbled some things down, making Sasuke go next since they were the youngest exam takers until each of them had been reviewed, along with their students "Alright out of the seven of you that remain, only four of you pass" the principle announced.
Eight minutes later "Haruno Sakura, Uchiha Sasuke, … you four are the ones who have passed, congratulations, you all start in four months at the new term when new six year old's are signed up to attend the academy" the principle finished.
Dismissing them, both Sasuke and Sakura shared a triumphant smile with one another and went out to celebrate their victory of passing the instructor's exam and the next day they were pulled into a meeting to discuss the overhaul the academy curriculum would be getting.
Which would start at the beginning of new term, and then at last it was Tsunade's Hokage Inauguration day "Welcome all to the official succession ceremony, Tsunade Senju please step forward" Hiruzen came out to do one last thing for the people of the Hidden Leaf Village.
Tsunade did as commanded, wearing the official Kage robes for once, to her utter disdain, her honey orbs peered out over those that had gathered and she immediately spotted her brat apprentice stood with those she called family.
"Do you Tsunade vow to put your life on the line for your village and country as the Hokage" the Third questioned finishing his duties by seeing this one last thing through to the end so he could spend the rest of his life happy and peaceful in retirement.
His old student nodded "I vow it, this village I will protect until my dying breath" Tsunade vowed and the questions continued on like that until Hiruzen bowed his head and took a deep breath before stepping closer to the edge of the roof of the Hokage Tower.
"With her promises and vows, I now present to you the Fifth Hokage, Tsunade Senju" Hiruzen raised his arm and gestured to Tsunade, the entire population of the village erupted into roars of cheers and applause.
Thus the inauguration ceremony came to a swift end "Go on Sakura-chan, don't want to be late to Yugao-san's wedding do you" Naruto ushered Sakura off, Sakura who was wearing the prettiest green kimono, he'd ever seen for the wedding she'd been invited to participate in.
Yugao and Hayate were very pleased to see her as they'd only arrived on top of the mountain themselves a couple minutes before hand "Sakura-san thank you for coming" Hayate coughed not having been as worried as his about to be wife.
"I wouldn't miss your wedding Hayate-sensei, plus Yugao-san asked me to be the flower girl remember, I take things seriously" Sakura grinned wide to his amusement, getting in a quick hug with the bride to be.
"Lovely kimono by the way Sakura-san, it's perfect" Yugao couldn't stop herself from commenting on the kimono that the young girl was wearing, it looked beautiful on her if she did say so herself.
Sakura blushed lightly "Shino-kun was actually the one who picked it out oddly enough, he knew I was going to be in your wedding Yugao-san, and said he saw it in a window display and decided it would be perfect cause he remembered you said green" the rosette admitted.
Face beet red now to the adults amusement as the wedding finally got started and a couple hours later it was all over as Yugao was officially known Yugao Gekkou, even crying tears of happiness that she got to marry the man she loved.
She left them to set off on their honeymoon wherever it may be and hurried home "How was the wedding" Sasuke questioned when she disappeared and reappeared several minutes later wearing much more relaxed clothing.
"Beautiful, Yugao-san was beautiful and I swore Hayate-sensei had tears in his eyes, though he wouldn't admit it, but now their off on their honeymoon, I hope they live long happy lives" Sakura smiled softly, probably dreaming of her own wedding.
As they went through the rest of the day doing odd or random things to entertain themselves since they had nothing really pressing to do, until Mebuki told them all sternly to go to bed and stop making a racket in the living room