Chapter 1

You can't escape his interrogation...

Sakura was insecure about many things, one being her looks, well mainly her forehead. It was always a sore spot for her, like a giant magnet attracting various insults-she believed this so adamantly that sometimes she wondered if the insults were from her invention-, and though Ino always lightly teased her over it, a part of her would always flinch at the other girl's comments. Why? A wistful sigh.

Her forehead became a scapegoat of sorts. It was easy to blame all her troubles on it. Whether it made sense or not, it made her feel better in a childish sort of way. Failing in a test of stealth? Stupid shiny forehead attracting attention. Getting on the same team as Naruto? Stupid idiot attracting forehead! I hate you so much.

But ironically enough, for the time being, Sakura was glad that she had an abnormally large head. (This would never be admitted of course, never in a million million years.) It was a symbol of her intelligence. Her brains were what got her through the first nine questions. They would get her past this last one. At least that's what she kept telling herself.

Sakura felt the sweat crawl slowly down her face as she let the new rules settle into her mind. It's not that hot; am I that nervous? She wiped the perspiration that was beginning to blur her vision, pushing her mind to focus on the test. Think forehead girl. There is no time! She bit the bottom of her lip, desperately trying to concentrate. She mulled over the two ridiculous rules in her mind. So basically, if one of the three chooses not to take it, everyone fails. And if you decide to take it…and get it wrong, you will be a genin forever…She couldn't find a loophole; both decisions were terrible!

Her confidence was already shaky at best. Genin forever? Hi, Sasuke-kun! Even though you love strength and I have to be a weak genin forever, we can still be together! Hah no! She could see her chances with him slowly slipping away the more she thought about failing.

…But she had done well on the first nine questions. She had completed them with relative ease, double, tripled checked them to be extra sure. Not a chance she missed any of them.

So, she didn't think she would miss the tenth one. Her brains would carry her through. I won't raise my hand. I have confidence I can answer it. And she didn't have to worry about Sasuke-kun. He was the rookie of the year after all, and he had the Sharingan. They were a monument to his skill and genius. If he couldn't get it, then there was no way she could. Then they would be genins forever…on the same team forever… She inwardly squealed at the thought. Yup. There was no way she would raise her hand.

Her eyes wandered to her other teammate though.

A sad smile formed on her face as realization struck her.

But Naruto… you're different…you should forget about us and think about the next chance.

She began to hear the sporadic murmurs of those quitting, the intermittent "I'm sorry"s blending in with the dreary call of disqualified numbers; she was dimly aware of the disappointment ringing in the air. She could hear the creaks and groans of shuffling chairs as people got up to leave. But she was oblivious to them all, only dissonance to her ears. Her eyes never left Naruto. Naruto… why aren't you raising your hand?

She knew why. She knew him so well it seemed.

One day I will be known as the SUPER ELITE Hokage!! My name is Uzumaki Naruto. Remember it!

I'm prepared to do anything to become hokage…

I'll surpass hokage and then make everyone acknowledge me...

They were fond memories, images of Naruto striking the silliest of poses. That kind of blind optimism and determination, they were what made Naruto special to her, the boy she was beginning to see as someone who was not as simple as he made himself to be. He wouldn't be the same without his dreams.

Dreams…Her mind drifted back to the land of the waves, the bitter realities of the Shinobi lifestyle shattering any ideas of glory and heroics. Though they were fortunate enough to all come back alive, the concepts of sacrifice and loss still left their marks.

While everyone else was celebrating, she had found Naruto sitting on the pier all by himself, dangling his legs in the water, lost in thought. She remembered the way his shoulders had sagged, the sadness leaking through his posture. She didn't know when she had begun to understand Naruto's thought process- he was pretty easy to read, she told herself- but almost instinctively she had known he was thinking about that boy… Haku. It was a rare moment; she had never seen him so completely silent, let alone serious.

With his back to her, Naruto was looking down at his hands, as if he were staring at some invisible stain. She was about to say something, anything to cheer up his gloom that she was starting to feel uncomfortable around.

"I told him…" he started and then paused, as if grasping for the right words, "I told him that if we'd met under different circumstances, we might've become friends. I… meant every word."

No words came to her. She had no idea that he had felt this way. Her thoughts had been on Sasuke. She had lost him and then she had discovered that he was still alive...the feeling of losing someone dear forever only to realize that he lived…. She was so caught up in her emotional roller coaster that she hadn't thought of Naruto at all. Guilt was beginning to creep its way into her conscience. Part of her said it didn't really matter, that it was just Naruto. Another side of her said otherwise. She considered him friend, sort of, a teammate at the very least… Sakura could only stare, trying to understand, could only offer her ear in sympathy. It was the best she could do. Even now she couldn't escape the feeling of uselessness. She sat down beside him and gazed off into the distance.

He turned to face her. She was taken back by his eyes, that forlorn look on his face radiating with a mixture of despair and anguish…She had never thought she would see such a hopeless expression on his face. He had always seemed so content. "We were so alike, him and me," he laughed bitterly, at something she didn't understand. Did she know him at all? He looked up at the sky suddenly, as if trying to fight back tears.

"He said he had lost his reason for living. I took that from him," his voice only a sliver of a whisper, "His eyes were so empty then… lifeless…" She saw him shake a little at that last comment. After another pause, he continued, "He didn't deserve to die Sakura-chan."

Naruto…

He had been so broken that day. She could only shudder to think of how he would act if he had lost his own dreams. A sad smile formed on her lips. Always acting like a fool who only knows one thing… Hokage... Hokage… I'm sorry Naruto… that impossible dream of yours, I don't want to see it crushed. Her hands were trembling as she came to a decision. Her eyes never left Naruto. She gave a sigh as she attempted to gather her determination. I don't want to see you so defeated again…

She began to raise her hand, slowly, almost timidly. Her throat felt so dry. She tried to find her voice. Part of her still didn't want to do this but she had to, for Naruto's sake. Her mind argued against her, but her heart was already committed. She didn't want to think about the aftermath, wanted to block out the embarrassment of quitting and disappointing her teammates, Kakashi-sensei too. She didn't expect Naruto thank her, and Sasuke would probably be furious. She was shaking now, the trembling that started at her hand earlier spreading to her whole body. She inhaled slightly and breaking the momentary silence…

"I quit."

Her eyes never left Naruto after all.

That sounded like Sakura…she wouldn't…

Sasuke glanced over in the direction of his pink haired teammate. His eyes widened in surprise as he saw her hand raised in the air. He cursed. He looked sharply at her as he clenched his fists in complete disgust. It wasn't what he expected. Though Sakura was somewhat fixated on him, he had to admit she was a competent ninja. He had grudgingly admired her superiority in chakra control and she seemed to have an affinity for sensing chakra. She was smart. She should have seen through this exam. This was her field, her expertise! He hadn't thought anyone on Team 7 would raise his or her hand, but if someone were to…he would have put money on Naruto. No. She should not have quit. He grinded his teeth.

There was silence in the room now. Put your hand down, Sakura. And maybe they will…

"Number 61 fails. 53 and 73 also fail."

He pounded his fist on the table in frustration. Sakura seemed to flinch at the sound, but he wasn't bothered by that now. Team 7 had failed. More importantly, he had failed. He suddenly felt so far away, so far from his brother. Hopelessness washing over him, making him feel so utterly weak... His brother was chuunin at the age of ten. ANBU at the age of thirteen, an endless list of accomplishments that he kept trying to live up to. But here he was, failing his first Chuunin Exam at twelve, already two years behind. No matter how hard he tried, it was just never enough. His brother's voice bore into his mind. Foolish brother…He closed his eyes in an exhausted attempt to drive back the flood of emotion and memories.

He reached for his test. He had been proud of his performance. He had looked underneath the deception and accomplished his task perfectly. In a flash of directed anger, he crumpled the paper, trying to squash all his pain into that simple piece of paper. He heard a satisfying crunch as the paper gave way.

Why Sakura. Why couldn't you see that I needed this? I need to get stronger so I can kill him! Why? He said nothing as he stood up. He had much practice in bottling his feelings. He had been alone for the latter part of his life after all. It's easy to show no emotion when you have no one to show emotion to. He took a solemn glance at the other rookie genins and also Rock Lee's team. He saw their surprise. Some sympathized with his position. He could feel Kiba's smirk, as if he were reveling in the fact that he would get farther than him. No...

Quietly, he turned on his heel and quickly left the room, ignoring the apologizing look Sakura was giving him and the empty look on the dobe's face. I cannot wait for them… They have slowed me down enough. He had to train. To get stronger. Sasuke closed the door and was gone.

He had failed to notice the knowing smile of a certain glasses wearing ninja.

Naruto was stunned really. For a brief moment, the loudest ninja in Konoha was unable to find any words. He just sat there with his mouth dangling open like a fish. He closed his mouth and then opened it again. Still nothing. He repeated the action as if it would somehow help him find the words to say. To those around him, he looked like a flopping fish out of water. It would have been funny…if it weren't so serious.

He turned around stiffly and found himself caught in Sakura's emerald eyes. He froze, almost mesmerized. Her hand was still in the air and she was staring at him somberly. Under different circumstances he would have welcomed her attention, but he felt unnerved by her concentrated gaze. He saw the emotion flashing through those eyes. Concern. Resolve. Uncertainty. Worry. Regret. Pain…

And it hit him.

For you. The words pounded his mind, filled with an accusing blame. He didn't know how, but he knew. He knew why she had quit. For him. Maybe he was just… over thinking. He wondered if it was some kind of sick hope that he was holding on to, that she would actually quit for him. He didn't know whether to feel touched or disappointed. Touched that she would ever do such a thing for him, because she cared for him? Was he that desperate for her attention? Or disheartened that she seemed to have complete confidence that he wouldn't get the tenth question right? Probably the latter. But maybe he was over thinking for once. Sasuke would have something to say to that. "Tch, the dobe thinks?" If he had paused longer, he would have realized that Sasuke wasn't talking to him right now. But instead, he scowled as he turned to the aforementioned boy.

He watched as the boy glanced at Sakura in disbelief. Though Sasuke managed to school his emotions well, Naruto had been around him long enough to know that Sasuke was pissed. Completely. Of course he was disappointed also, but he told himself he would get better, would learn from this. If it took him a thousand chuunin exams to pass, he would take a thousand chuunin exams. He would have continued down this motivational line of thought, but didn't. The idea of Sakura quitting because he was weak had struck deeper than he had expected. It couldn't have been. He was forced to accept his performance though. He didn't have to look back on his paper to know that it was completely blank, save for his name. He frowned. He was the weakest link after all. Why couldn't I get anything…A voice screamed in his head, WEAK…He struggled to block it out, but he knew it was true.

His frown deepened as he continued watching Sasuke. He narrowed his eyes as he saw Sasuke crumple his paper melodramatically and closed the door, seeing him go without an ounce of concern for his teammates. Sakura's wince at the sound of the door closing didn't go unnoticed by him. Sakura-chan… It didn't take a genius to know that she was crushed. Sasuke you go to far…

He gave a small sigh as he got up from his seat. He didn't glance back at his test. He would be okay if he never saw it again, never touched it again. All they have to do is erase my name and they can reuse it. A bitter smile. He walked quietly over to Sakura-chan's row and gave her a tired look, a silent message.

C'mon Sakura-chan. Let's go.

He could offer her none of his usual enthusiasm. He didn't have any. She seemed to understand though, nodded slightly. Wordlessly they left the room together.

Naruto broke the silence after a few minutes of walking; he had thought about asking her out on a date, as a distraction of sorts not that she would ever accept, but it hadn't seemed appropriate and settled with a simple "Are you okay?" It was a dumb question but he hoped it would spark something deeper.

She only frowned and gave him a sarcastic look that screamed Does it look I'm okay? He recoiled, hands flailing in the air for defense. Don't hurt me! She gave a feeble smile and shook her head. "Sasuke looked pretty angry when I made us fail."

He sighed and kept his gaze to the front. It was always about Sasuke. Who wouldn't want to be Sasuke? He was strong. People liked him, looked up to him. He had survived the loneliness that he was lucky to get through. Hell, he had sometimes wished that he was Sasuke. It was one reason why he was so determined to surpass Sasuke, to prove that he was someone who deserved to be acknowledged too. Sasuke…he was lucky. "I wouldn't worry about that…" he paused, rethinking his choice of words after a harsh glare, and ended with a lame "Sasuke. He'll get over it."

They continued in silence. But he had to know.

"Did you quit because you thought I would miss the tenth question…The way you were looking at me I thought…," he whispered half-heartedly. Did he really want to know the answer to that?

Sakura stopped walking. She seemed almost nervous and was avoiding eye contact, as if debating whether to answer or not. "Naruto…I…" She began. After struggling though, she gave a feeble nod instead.

"Oh," he couldn't bear to look at her now. He tried to ignore the pain, tried to push it down. It's not a big deal. Why should it be? He was failing to maintain control. She doesn't acknowledge me. She doesn't believe I can do anything…. Am I that weak? Weak? The words echoed in his mind, causing him to wince under the weight of the accusations. He tried to grin, put on a good show.

He couldn't trust his voice. Choosing as little words as possible, he managed to mumble "I've got to go…forgot…about…something." It was a poor attempt, but he had to get away. "See you later, Sakura-chan." Another nod. He turned and left. He wiped at his eyes, pretending it was a scratch or something, and slowly walked away.

Sakura held up a brave façade as she made her way to her house. Her face was emotionless. She said nothing. She ignored everything. Silently she entered her room. Silently she cried, letting the tears run down her cheeks.

She had isolated herself from her teammates; Sasuke was angry and Naruto was broken. Did I do the right thing?

A/N:

Thanks for reading and hope it wasn't that unbearable! Sorry for any grammar/spelling problems. Okay, so it looks like I caught up with my summary now.

I have to say, I found it difficult writing in these POVs. I don't think I'll ever know what goes on in the mind of any woman, let alone 12 year old girl. I'm trying to keep these guys in character, but they still may be OOC. I feel I may have toyed with their emotions, and exaggerated them a bit.

ehh I tried. :P

Anyway like I said, this is just my interpretation of the characters. Comments/concerns/advice would be appreciated.