Chapter 7: Sayuri's Flashback

"What do you mean I'm going to be an ANBU?" eight-year-old Sayuri asked. "I'm still an academy student."
"Let me explain it like this," one of the ninja in masks knelt in front of her and pulled out a kunai; he was much shorter than the others. "Sayuri, you know what happens when you're about to be hurt?"
"Yes," Sayuri answered, unsure of the relevance.
"That's only one reason." Itachi took off his mask; Sayuri wasn't very surprised to see him. "This is the other reason," he said, and quickly plunged the kunai into his arm.
Sayuri flinched.
"That was unpleasant," she muttered, before opening her eyes; she reached out and took hold of the kunai before wrenching it out of the muscle it was trapped in. Blood immediately began to flow down Itachi's arm.
"Very dumb…" Sayuri continued.
She looked slightly dazed. Itachi only smiled. An indigo aura was already beginning to surround the girl's right hand. She stared, spellbound at the flowing blood, before reaching out slowly with one hand, before pressing three fingers to the gaping hole that was Itachi's wound. Behind him, the three other ANBU soldiers froze. They had never seen something like this.
The instant Sayuri's fingers had touched Itachi, the wound had closed. It had taken only seconds. Itachi wiped away the blood and stood. He turned towards the three other ANBU and showed them where he had stabbed himself.
"But," one of the ANBU whispered. "there's no scar."
"A wound that deep would have scarred, even with healing from one of the best medical nin," another whispered.
Itachi smiled. "No training, no concentration. It's a remarkable gift. The only problem…" He trailed off and gesture behind him to Sayuri. She was exhausted, and paid no attention to the threatening aura given off by the assassins in front of her. "She can't control her chakra output when she sees a severe injury," Itachi continued.
"She could be using too much chakra to heal."
"No." Itachi shook his head. "She didn't over do it when she was healing me. She just can't stop the flow of chakra to her hands when she heals. It remains in her fingertips until her attention diverts; watch."
And without another word, the same kunai Itachi had used to wound himself was headed straight for Sayuri's brow.
One of the ANBU made to block the blade, but Itachi stopped him.
"Look," Itachi pointed. Sayuri had simply lifted her left hand and the kunai fell away before even making contact. "She's channeled the chakra to her other hand without a single thought, and built up enough to repel the weapon without even touching it."
Itachi drew another kunai; then another. The three ANBU watched as their captain threw weapon after weapon at the young girl.
Sayuri didn't even attempt to dodge. After the seventh kunai was blocked by merely raising one hand or the other, she stood still. She was radiating chakra, and the weapons still fell away, just before making contact with her body. She stared blankly at Itachi as he finally stopped throwing his weapons, and the aura of chakra fell away.
"Her natural healing power isn't her only gift," Itachi said. "And this is no Kekkei Genkai."
"I've never seen anything like this," one of the ANBU said, "and she was able to stop the chakra from flowing?"
"It's still being channeled, just not as defensively. She's perfected her use of the chakra, and control. I don't know why she can't do it when she sees someone badly hurt."
"But Sayuri's right; she's still in the Academy. She's not even a genin."
"So she'll go in front of the Hokage. He'll determine if she's ready to graduate or not."
"But to become an ANBU…Are you sure she can handle it?"
"That's for the Hokage to determine," Itachi said. "Her graduation exam is in three days. If Hokage-sama thinks it's appropriate, then he'll send her to the Sand for the chunin exams, and then test her for jounin."
"But the chunin exams are in three months…"
Itachi smiled with confidence.
"I'll teach her."