key:
"talking"
'jutsu'
thinking
"flashback"
nonhuman
Chakra, Jealousy, and Dreams
"That was easy!" The pink haired girl smiled brightly down at her comrades sitting casually on one of the highest branches, kunai buried in the truck of the tree just to her right.
"Well, now we know which of you three has the best chakra control, our young lady." Kakashi spoke, still hanging upside from the tree he had previously strolled up with little effort. Sasuke just sighed at the thought of losing to a girl, especially one with pink hair.
"Incredible! You go, Sakura! That's my girl!" Naruto cheered, but couldn't help but feel a little ticked off as well.
"Guess that means that you guys have some practicing to do," Sakura winked at them and let her body fall backwards off on the tree branch. Her three teammates instantly panicked.
"Sakura!" Naruto yelled terrified for his female teammate who was about to crash head first into the ground. The kunoichi however maneuvered her body masterfully and landed on her feet with ease. All three male ninja let out a breath they didn't know they had being holding once they realized the girl was unharmed.
"Hm… seems like Sakura is the closest to becoming the next hokage, and the hope of the Uchiha clan isn't very impressive either." The silver haired ninja's words definitely caught the boy's attention. Naruto and Sasuke sent each other a quick glance and soon both were determined to surpass their female teammate at tree climbing.
At least their motivated… Sakura thought but she didn't like the dirty looks she was getting. Whatever I'm not going to fall behind either! The pink haired ninja proceed to cross her legs and meditate.
"Sakura you're not going to practice tree climbing any more?" Her sensei had already climbed down his tree and was now towering over his female student.
"No, I want to try to expand my chakra capacity. Right now I have the stamina of a child." She muttered, angry at herself for being so weak.
"Well don't push yourself too hard." Kakashi smiled and ruffled his cute student's hair, he didn't want to see her risk chakra depletion again. Sakura was instantly annoyed by being treated like a helpless baby, but she quickly got control of her emotions. She closed her eyes and concentrated on letting her chakra slowly pour out of her body and stretch around her, two feet, five feet, ten feet, by now she had reached Naruto and his tree. She smiled mischievously and forced her chakra to adhere to Naruto's feet.
"Eh? What? I can't move my feet!" Naruto shouted while trying to pry his feet from the ground, his panic attack drew an annoyed glare from a certain Uchiha. Sakura was only slightly surprised when Naruto's chakra instinctively pushed her own chakra away, it was a natural reaction after all. She moved her chakra slowly like a slug away from Naruto, who was now cheering about being free again, to where Sasuke was. When her chakra found Sasuke however, she didn't try to trap his feet. Instead she forced her chakra push Sasuke's feet out from underneath him. It worked perfectly and the startled boy feel flat on his face causing Naruto burst out in laughter. Kakashi who had been watching the scene play out chuckle at the sight of boy who was now muttering curses at his blonde companion. He was surprised to find that his pink haired student had such excellent chakra control and concentration and he wondered where she had learned such a feat. By now Sakura was thoroughly exhausted and had let her chakra retreat back into her body, what was left of it that is. She sprawled out under the shade of one of the tall trees and sighed, I'm already this tired and I haven't even practiced Taijutsu.
"Can I help you, sensei?" She didn't open her eyes but she knew he was there.
Kakashi just smiled at the girl, "I was wondering where you had learned to manipulate your chakra in such a way."
She knew he had notice, but she didn't know what the big deal was, even Naruto would be able to accomplish such easy chakra manipulation in the near future.
"Just experimenting," She keep her eyes close, not wanting to make eye contact.
"I still suck at Taijutsu, Ninjutsu, and Genjutsu… I need more practice." By now she had opened her eyes but she keep her gaze on Naruto and Sasuke and their tree climbing efforts, still refusing to make eye contact with her sensei.
He must have noticed, because the man suddenly grabbed her chin and forced her viridian green eyes to meet his onyx black eye, "Don't you think your being a little too hard on yourself? You are only a genin after all."
There was silence as they stared at each other for a minute.
"I just what to be as strong as you guys." Sakura throat felt tight. Kakashi's shoulders slumped at her words and Sakura soon found her face pressed against the man's jounin vest, she couldn't help but blush at the action.
"Don't be in such a hurry to grow up and get stronger," Kakashi sighed and soon felt an odd prickly sensation at the back of his head. He looked over his shoulder to find Naruto and Sasuke glaring daggers at him with distinct looks of horror and disgust on their faces. He looked down at a tense beet red kunoichi in his arms and he himself turned red realizing he had overstepped his boundaries. Embarrassed by his actions, he quickly released the girl and stood up reaching for his crutches that leaned against the tree they had be sitting under.
Now standing with the support of his crutches he recomposed himself, "Ahem, I-I'm going to check on Tazuna, keep practicing everyone," and with that he was gone. There was an awkward silence before the boys decided to get back to work climbing tree. Sakura decided to practice some Taijutsu forms, and by the time she was done she was quite disappointed in her speed and strength. She decided to check up on the guy's progress. Sasuke could now climb four feet higher then when he first started, but it wasn't really anything to brag about. Naruto on the other hand couldn't even make it five feet off the ground, it really quite pathetic.
"Dang it!" Naruto shouted in frustration and started to walk away from his tree toward his crush. He crouched down in front of her so his eyes was leveled with her own and he whispered, "Hey, Sakura. Could you help me get the hang of this?" Sakura could help but smile at her blonde friend, "Of course I'll help you Naruto."
Sasuke did not like the sight of his two teammates conversing with out him, and for some reason he had a strong urge to punch Naruto in the face. He quickly shook his head at the thought and went back to work climbing.
"The key to controlling your chakra is focus, so don't get too excited or stressed out. Take it easy and relax. Remember to focus on the tree and adjust the amount of chakra you need to stick according, okay?" She explained.
"Yeah, I think I got it." He was about to stand up and get back to training, when a hand on his shoulder stopped him. He turned back to Sakura who's face was now only a foot away from his own and blushed.
"One more thing Naruto, don't lose your determination. You can do this!" Her words made him the happiest guy in the world and without thinking he pulled the girl into a tight bear hug. Sakura was shocked by the sudden embraced, but she didn't pull away.
The hug however didn't last long because a certain dark haired teammate suddenly grabbed Naruto's ear and pulled him back to his tree, "Let's get back to work, Dope!" "Ow! Sasuke, ow!" The scene made Sakura laugh so hard she could feel her eyes water, and the boys stopped their argue for a moment to admire the beautiful sound and sight of Sakura's laughing.
The next day Sakura was in charge of watching over Tazuna as he continued his bridge.
"Hey, where are blondie and pretty-boy?" Tazuna brought Sakura's attention back to reality.
"They're training." She answered automatically.
"Then why aren't you with them?" The old man questioned and the young girl replied, "I've already finished that particular training."
With that Tazuna went back to work, until one of his coworkers called him out, "Tazuna, can I talk to you?"
"Yeah, what is it, Giichi?" He barely looked up from what he was doing to respond to the man.
"I've been doing a lot of thinking recently and… I want to quit." The older man explained.
That certainly caught Tazuna's attention, "W-What? Why? Not you too!"
"I want to help you, but if we continue Gato is sure to do something about it. And if you get killed we could lose everything!" Giichi tried to persuade his old friend to stop his insanity, but Tazuna was not about to give up, "This bridge will bring trade, commerce, and influence to us and put our poor little land of the waves on the map, I won't quit."
"Tazuna…" Giichi's plea but was cut off, "Giichi… you don't have to come back tomorrow." And that was the end of their conversation.
"Hey, Tazuna…" Sakura interrupted the man's pacing.
"Hm?" Tazuna mumbled, but didn't stop pacing.
"Can I help you with the bridge?" Sakura had his attention now.
"What? Your just a little girl?" The old drunkard gaped at the small girl's offer.
"Hey, I'm an official shinobi! Let me help, even if it's just some heavy lifting," She shrugged, Besides I need the workout and with that she unleashed the cutest puppy dog eyes she could muster to persuade the man. That certainly threw Tazuna off and he gulped, who can say no to that face?
When Tazuna and Sakura came home that day cover in sweat and dirty, the rest of Team 7 was nothing short of surprised.
"Sakura what happened?" Naruto asked and had almost spat out the tea he was drinking at the sight of his beat up comrade.
"Were you attacked?" Kakashi immediately left the table to check the two for injuries, he was so distraught that he forgot his crutches and knocked into Sasuke who was leaning over the table for another helping of fish. The Uchiha was pushed right into an unsuspecting Naruto and the two collided right at the lips. Yes, they both just lost their first kiss to each other. The silent room was soon filled with Sakura's laughter and the two boys separated immediately looking at one another in disgust.
When Sakura's laughter died down she explained Tazuna's and her appearances, "Don't worry we weren't attacked or anything. I was just helping out with the bridge building that's all." Her teammates we relieved by the news and by now Sasuke and Naruto had resumed stuffing their faces.
"More please!" Naruto and Sasuke shouted in sync and then glared at the other for being a copy cat. Sick looks suddenly crossed their faces and they proceeded to vomit up the food they had just consumed.
Their stupidity was starting to tick Sakura off and she gave them both a knuckle sandwich to the back of the head, "Stop wasting food you idiots!" Sasuke just glared at her and Naruto was about to speak up when the pink haired girl swiftly cut off his monologue.
"I know you guys want to get stronger, but if the food doesn't stay in your system it won't do you any good. So… eat… slower…" She spoke the last words in a dangerous menacing voice that left her male teammates with chills.
After dinner Sakura sighed, she didn't want to, but she had to bring up the top of Inari's father again so that it would motivate the team and light a fire in Naruto. She quickly glanced from Inari to Naruto and promptly stood up from her spot at the table.
"I'm gonna go take a shower," she explained to the inhabitants of the room and used it as an excuse to pass by the torn picture of Tazuna's family on the way to the door. She stopped in front of the frame, internally kicking herself for what she was about to do.
"Um… Why is this picture torn? Is it deliberate?" She could feel her seemingly innocent question stirring up dark feelings in the room. When Inari and Tsunami left the room in anger, the young kunoichi who had deliberately posed the question felt horrible, but she knew it had to be done. And with that Tazuna began his tale about Inari's father. She could practically feel the intense spark of determination that filled Naruto by the end of Tazuna's tale.
With that the blonde shot up from the table and made his way to the door, but he quickly lost his footing and fell on his face when his silver haired sensei spoke, "Don't even think about it. It you train any more today without getting some rest it could kill you."
"I'm going to show him…" The boy spoke after lifting himself off of the floor and then he exited the room with one last statement, "I'm going to show Inari that there are still heroes in this world!"
Sakura smiled inwardly at her blonde teammate's words and she left the room. She took a short shower, the cold water felt good against her sore muscles, What a day… She was pooped. A large yawn escaped her mouth as she walked over to the futon in Tsunami's room that she was currently occupying. She was so tired that she was unconscious as soon as her head hit the pillow. That night she had a strange dream. In her dream she was running towards something, but she wasn't sure what that something was and in a moment it didn't matter. On either side on her there was a sudden flash of blue light and collided against her turning into a burning hot white light that incased her body. The sudden pain caused her to wake up in a cold sweat. The pink haired shinobi looked around the room quickly, trying to remember where she was. The room was dark but she could identify the furniture in it. She noticed a slight shift in the bed and was glad her sudden awaking hadn't disturbed Tsunami's sleep. She got up and opened the currents slightly and had to squint at the bright morning light. What an odd dream… She quickly and silently got changed knowing a morning walk would clear her mind.
"You'll catch a cold sleeping in a place like this," Naruto could have sworn the voice belonged to an angel, but when he opened his eyes he only saw a beautiful woman with dark hair smiling down at him.
He quick sat up and wiped the sleep from his eyes, " Who are you?" his voice was groggy. The girl quickly introduced herself, and soon enough Naruto was helping her pick medical herbs in the forest.
"So what were you doing out here at the crack of dawn?" The woman mused.
"Training!" Naruto grinned.
"Really? Your head protector… are you a ninja?" She wondered out loud.
"You noticed? Yeah! I am a ninja!" He was ecstatic that she could tell at a glance.
"Why are you training?" She smiled.
"Because I want to be stronger!" Naruto answered automatically and flashed her his signature fox grin.
"You look plenty strong to me." Her voice was sweet.
"Nope! I need to be a lot stronger!" There was silence for a moment, till the woman spoke again, "But… Why?"
Naruto had been waiting for her to ask, "So i can become the best ninja in my village and everyone will acknowledge my strength. I also need to prove something to someone!"
His answer caught her attention, "Are you doing this for the sake of that person or for your own satisfaction?"
Naruto just stared at the girl like she had just ask him an advanced algebraic problem. She giggled at his confused response.
"What so funny?" He shouted defensively.
She just smiled at the childish boy, "Do you have anyone special in your life?"
The blonde's mind quickly flashed to the image of his pink haired teammate and his face turned bright red. So he has a crush, huh? She smiled inwardly, "When a person has something important to protect… that's when they truly become strong."
This made Naruto smile and he thought about Iruka sensei, "Yup! I know all about that."
"Naruto?" a familiar voice drew Naruto's attention away from the dark haired beauty in front of him. He was happy and surprised to find the voice belonged to Sakura, She came looking for me? He blushed. Haku smiled that this, so he likes her… Sakura by now had walked up to the two and joined the conversation.
"Hi, my name is Sakura Haruno!" She bowed and greeted the stranger. Haku quickly returned the greeting with a false name, but he could tell the girl knew exactly who he was by the look in her eye.
"Well, I've got to get going…" Haku turned to leave, then stopped.
"I'm sure you'll get stronger Naruto, and I know I'll you two again soon." He peeked over his shoulder to glance at Sakura, smirked and then walked away leaving Naruto waving good bye, and Sakura confused and a little scared, Why'd he smirk?
"So.. Sakura…" Her attention was brought back to her shorter teammate.
"You came looking for me, huh?" Naruto started to shuffle his feet like a shy school girl.
"Yeah, I-" She started by was cut off.
"Hey, Kakashi's looking for you two," Sakura and Naruto looked behind them to see Sasuke leaning cooly against a tree. Bastard interrupted our romantic moment again, Naruto glared at him. Sasuke however was unfazed by the dirty looks he was receiving from Naruto and quickly turned his back to them to lead the way back to their slightly concerned sensei.
Author's Note:
I'm happy to receive such good reviews from you all and I wanted to say thanks. I'm still unsure what I'm going to make the pairing exactly, right now I'm leaning more towards Kakashi x Sakura and Naruto x Sakura, but I have some ideas for Itachi x Sakura in future chapters, and I like making Sasuke jealous… but who knows how it'll end up in the end? I'm not even sure where I will stop, can't exactly rewrite the whole original Naruto story with future Sakura in it now can I? I've also taken up the suggestion of skipping lines to separate the dialogue, I hope it helps make reading easier and I hope you guys are looking forward to Chapter 10, the big battle scene with Zabuza and Haku. I myself can't wait to write about the chunin exams, but that's later. I hope you guys keep reading and keep commenting! Thank you very much! :D
