Different

Sorry I haven't updated for a while. I've been pretty busy and I'm trying to make my chapters longer.

Thank you for the reviews!

By the way, Sai does not exist in this fanfic. Sorry for those who wanted him in it.

Enjoy!!

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto

"Hi"- Talking

Hi- Inner Sakura

Hi- Outer Sakura

Recap: "I know, and I'm glad too. And because of that, I can pull my own weight during missions, I'll actually be called a kunoichi, and I'll never make one of the biggest mistakes of my life by crushing on a bastard like you."

I quickly disappeared in a swirl of cherry blossoms. I didn't care if my statement was harsh, cause whether he like it or not, Sasuke's going to learn to changes that happened around him.

Chapter 3: Difference in Strength.

Sakura's POV

-Beep beep beep be-

-crash-

Great, that's the fifth alarm clock this month. Why do I keep on breaking these things?

Maybe cause you're not getting enough sleep due to you all night studying sessions.

Shut up.

I yawned and stretched my arms. Today's the first day training with all of squad seven, including Sasuke. I frowned as I thought about the Uchiha. I was pretty sure that he has grown stronger during those three years with Orochimaru. The question is, how much? Is he stronger than me? Probably. But what about Naruto? I've been feeling pretty good about myself ever since I've begun training with Tsunade-sama in chakra control and medical ninjutsu. I've also been picking up a couple genjutsus from Kuenai-sensei. However, I've recently realized it's not enough. Both my teammates are still much stronger that me in chakra and stamina. I wonder if I'll ever catch up.

I sighed thinking about the subject of getting stronger. There was no time to worry about that issue now, since I gotta get to the training grounds soon. However, I left myself a mental note to ask Tsunade-sama for more training hours. I will not be the weakest member on my squad!

I dressed myself in my usual outfit, red tank top with the Haruno symbol in the back, black shorts, and a beige skirt. I ran a comb through my hair and tied on my headband. I grabbed a rice ball from the kitchen counter and headed out.

I headed for the bridge, which is where squad seven always met for training and missions. Sasuke was there first, of course. It was as if we were twelve again. The old Sakura would've tried to hit on him has soon as I saw him, but she doesn't exist anymore. This time, I stood, about three yards away from Sasuke, and did not acknowledge him in any way. I kept on my emotionless mask and refused to look at him. I figured I'd give Sasuke the silent treatment until I thought that he deserved my attention as a comrade. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw that he merely glanced at me for a second, then looked away.

It was quiet. Too quiet. I wish Naruto were here. He's always making some sort of noise and can't stay still for a second. The atmosphere around us was very tense. I couldn't stand it. I'm usually pretty good at keeping my emotions in check, but this was too long. I needed something to do, anything! Luckily, I remembered that I still had a small medical textbook in my bag. I took it out and began to read. After about thirty minutes, Naruto finally showed up.

"OHAYO SAKURA-CHHHAAAAAANNNNNN…….and Sasuke-teme."

I bonked him on the head.

"Not so loud you baka!"

"Ow, Sakura-chan, that hurt."

"Well you deserved it for busting my ear drums."

Sasuke's POV

Great, top of the morning and they're already on my nerves. I don't know what's more aggravating: Naruto being loud, or Sakura purposely ignoring me.

"Why were you so late, Naruto. You've got to be more responsible."

"Aw, come on, Sakura-chan, its not like Sensei's ever on time."

"That's not an excuse. You shouldn't pick up bad habbits."

"Sorry, hey teme, why are you so quiet. Has your vocabulary become shorter during the last three years?"

Sakura let out a small giggle.

"Tch, shut up, dobe."

"Don't call me dobe, teme."

"Then make me, dobe."

"Teme"

"Dobe"

"Teme"

"Dobe"

"Teme"

"Dobe"

"Teme"

-Poof-

"Yo."

Finally, he showed up.

"YOU'RE LATE KAKASHI-SENSEI!!"

"Well, A black cat crossed the path and-'

"LIAR!!"

I was surprised that Sakura didn't join in with Naruto in accusing Kakashi for being late. Then again, she's changed, a lot.

"Well, let's get going if we want to start training."

All, three of us followed Kakashi to a clearing in the woods. I recognized it as our usual training spot from when we were 12.

"Since Sasuke has been gone for a while, I figured we could have some one on one spars against each other. This way, you'll know each other's strengths and weaknesses. Naruto and Sakura, you two won't have to fight each other since I know you guys are familiar with each other's fighting styles. However, Sasuke, you'll have to fight both of your teammates, individually of course. You can handle that, right?

"Hn"

"Good, Sakura, you and Sasuke are up first."

"……."

She didn't say a word. We took our spots in the clearing. She faced me with no emotion. Neither of us moved a muscle.

"Begin!"

She disappeared in an instant. I tried to sense her chakra signature. I couldn't. It was as if she disappeared into thin air. Suddenly, vines came shooting out the ground and wrapped themselves around me. They began squeezing the life out of me. I couldn't breathe, and I couldn't break the vines. I activated my Sharingan, trying see where she was hiding. I couldn't find her, but I did realize that this whole thing was a genjutsu.

With a couple difficult attempts, I finally released the genjutsu. Then, I sensed a chakra presence from behind. It turns out that Sakura was charging at me at full speed. I jumped out the way but was still scratched by her attack, which left a throbbing pain on my left arm. Then, the ground around me began to shake. I realized that Sakura's attack had hit the ground, and the earth was splitting into pieces. What was even more surprising was that neither Naruto nor Kakashi seemed surprised by her strength. I had underestimated her, big time.

It was time to get serious. I began launching several fire jutsus, which she dodged with ease. Then, we both landed on the ground and began to fight with taijutsu.

Sakura's POV

Just as I thought, Sasuke's really good. Luckily, I'm doing pretty well so far, but that was because he underestimated me. Now, I'm pretty sure he'll begin to fight seriously.

I'm starting to regret going into hand-to-hand combat. As I suspected, He's faster and has more stamina than I do. And what's worse, he has the Sharingan, which allows him to see through all of my moves. I gave medical ninjutsu a try. My right hand began to glow with chakra and and I aimed for a pressure point in one of his arms. I chose that left one because it was already injured, and would be easier to hit. My attack was a success, but Sasuke had a plan up his sleeve as well. Before I was able to pull my hand back, he grabbed my wrist, twisted it, and broke the bone. I let out a small yelp, and pulled away quickly. We were a good ten meters apart. I watched as his right had reached for him left arm. He glared at me, and I glared back. My attack was not only painful, but prevented him from using his arm. This way, he won't be able to perform any complex seals that required two hands. I stared down at my wrist. It was also rendered helpless. I quickly healed it with my other hand. This is where I had the upper hand. I had the ability to heal injuries, while Sasuke did not.

Before I had a chance to completely heal my wrist, Sasuke drew his sword. He charge at me and missed by mere inches. I could not fight without an injured wrist, so I bought some time by launching another genjutsu. He was caught, but only for a little while. However, by the time he broke free, I already finished healing my wrist.

He charged at me once again with his sword. I got out a ten-inch dagger that Ten Ten had given me and taught me how to use. It wasn't much, but at least it was something. We charged head on. I planned on aiming for his sword's handle hopefully knocking it out of his hands. Sasuke had other ideas.

"Chodori Nagashi!"

My eyes widened. The lightning knocked my dagger out of my hand and pushed me back into a tree. I screamed. Then coughed up some blood. Kakashi-sensei and Naruto came running towards me.

"SAKURA-CHAN!!"

Naruto kneeled beside me with worried eyes. Kakashi-sensei looked sternly at Sasuke.

"Sasuke, that was unnecessary. She's your own teammate.'

"Yeah teme, you could've killed her!"

"I-I'm f-fin-ne."

"Sakura-chan, don't talk, you'll-"

"He didn't nearly go all out. Trust me, I fine."

Every one's eyes were on me. I felt a little uncomfortable. Finally, Naruto spoke.

"He still should've attacked you with Chidori. Teme, apologize."

Sasuke didn't say a word, and I didn't expect him to. After all, he was never polite and would rather die than damage his precious Uchiha pride. I sighed.

"It's fine, he doesn't need to-"

"Sorry"

I stared at him in surprise. That was very unexpected of him. He turned away, refusing to look at me. We were all silent for a moment.

"Okay, well, why don't we get on with the next match. But first, Sakura, please heal Sasuke's arm."

It was silent again. We didn't look at each other. I knew it was inevitable, so I stood up. I approached him.

"My arm doesn't need to be healed."

Stupid pride. He's so dumb. And to prove my point, I gently flicked the part of his arm that was grazed during my punched. He flinched and grunted from the pain. I smirked.

"Yeah sure, you'll be able to fight perfectly with an arm like that.

Sasuke sent me another glare, but allowed me to heal his arm. Afterwards, Kakashi-sensei and I sat down by the trees and watched Sasuke and Naruto's battle. However, I was barely paying attention. Instead, I was going through my head for more ways to become stronger. At this point, I'm nothing compared to my teammates. Then an idea popped into my head.

AN: cliffhanger! Did you like it? You better cause I wrote the whole thing in a single day. Don't expect future chapters to be this long. I was just feeling pretty good today since it's my birthday. Please review!!