All rights to Naruto belong to Masashi Kishimoto.

They had a one day's rest before the second exam started. After getting over the shock that she had actually passed the first exam – though in a much unexpected way – Sakura had a mini-celebration with Naruto when they got out of the testing hall. Sasuke stood behind them silently, but an inconspicuous smile started to form on his face.

When they told Kakashi of their success, he looked aloof and said that they did well monotonously, but Sakura could see a certain relief and happiness in his eye that told her that he was truly glad that his "cute little genin" had passed.

Naruto and Sakura were getting ramen that night. She asked Kakashi and Sasuke to join them, much to Naruto's chagrin, but Kakashi denied and disappeared, while Sasuke said that he had better things to do than hang out with them. For the first time, his refusal did not immediately elicit a sad response from her. She even scowled at his negativism, angered that he still had that opinion of them even after all they had been through together.

Naruto had just gotten through his fifth bowl before slamming down and letting out a ginormous burp, making a few other people at the ramen stand cringe in disgust.

"Please, Naruto. We're in public." Sakura said as she rubbed her forehead.

"Sorry Sakura-chan..." Naruto said, but she could tell that he had only said that out of convention, and the grin on his face was all the proof that she needed. "Anyway, I need to stalk up on energy. It only gets harder from here!" Naruto said as he pumped his fist in the air.

Sakura sighed a little pessimistically as she finished off the last of the broth in her first bowl. She probably only did okay because it was a written test and it did not require any physical expenditure. She hoped the rest of the test would not be out of her capabilities.

"Hey, what's wrong?" Naruto asked, nudging her a little bit with his shoulder. Sakura nudged him back in a friendly way before sighing again, letting her shoulders slump.

"I'm just scared about the rest of the test. I completely froze up during the written portion. I was putting so much stress on myself that my brain couldn't function. I looked over the test after Morino-sensei already said that we passed, and I noticed that I probably would have been able to answer a lot of the questions easier than I perceived. All the stress on me had caused me to not think straight." She said as she laid her forehead on the countertop. "If I freeze up during something like that, what will happen out in the battlefield?" She asked.

"Hey, I did the exact same thing, Sakura-chan." Naruto said as he patted her back. Sakura straightened herself and looked at her friend, a slight frown tugging at her lips.

"No offense, Naruto, but you're not very good at taking tests in general." She said, hoping that he wouldn't be hurt by her statement.

Instead, Naruto just shrugged good-naturedly. "Yeah, guess you're right about that. But you don't have to worry about it in an actual situation. For one, I know you'll think when the situation demands it, and secondly, the teme and I will be with you. You won't have to worry about anything if we're around." He said confidently.

"But that's just it. What if you aren't around, or you're both hurt? I don't want to lean on you guys for strength, but I know that if you two are injured in some way, I stand no chance."

"No, Sakura-chan. It's not that you're leaning on us, it's just that we work as a team. Even though Sasuke is too much of a bastard to admit it, we have your back just as you have ours." He said, swinging an arm around her shoulders and pulling her into a side-hug. She wrapped an arm around his torso in an innocent gesture, returning that hug.

"Thanks Naruto. I never knew that you could be so insightful." She said as she ruffled his hair. Naruto huffed indignantly.

"Oh, young love." A voice said from behind them. Sakura and Naruto broke from their hug and turned around to see Kakashi entering the ramen stand. Sakura glared at him and shook her head, and then looked at Naruto to gauge his reaction. He scowled at his sensei, but then he turned his head towards her and wiggled his eyebrows jokingly. Sakura snorted and hit his shoulder. Ultimately, he started to laugh as well.

After recollecting her composure, Sakura turned back to Kakashi. "What are you doing here, sensei? I thought you had stuff to do." Sakura asked.

"Well I did, but I needed to drop by to tell you two something." Sakura and Naruto nodded, listening intently. "Sakura, I hope you can handle your own training or even find Sasuke and spar with him tomorrow. I'll be taking Naruto somewhere." Kakashi said as he put a hand on Naruto's shoulder. Sakura's eyes widened, at first in shock, but then in delight for her friend.

Naruto looked absolutely ecstatic. "Cool! Where are we going? Am I going to learn a cool new jutsu? Or some high-level weapon techniques? Tell me!" He said boisterously, jumping up and down in his seat. The hand that was on his shoulder pushed him down, trying to stabilize him.

"Well, I can't tell you yet, but there are a few things that I want to show you before you take your second exam. Sakura and Sasuke already have some things to work on, and I suppose it is time that you learn a few helpful skills as well." Kakashi said. Naruto grinned widely, and Sakura mimicked his expression, happy that Naruto got some of the attention too. "Is that alright with you, Sakura?" Kakashi asked.

"Mhm, that's fine." Sakura hummed. "I have a training session with Lee in the morning, anyway. I'll probably get Sasuke and force him to train with me, also." Sakura said contently. She then turned to Naruto and held up her fist. "You better show me something really impressive when I see you next." She said teasingly.

Naruto grinned confidently as he met her fist with his own.

The next morning, Sakura ran down to the training field at promptly six in the morning. A smile stretched across her face at the thought of meeting her mentor, who she had not seen since the beginning of the first exam. She wanted to congratulate him on passing the first test, although she had no doubt that he would.

When she entered the training field, she was surprised to see not Lee, but Neji in the middle of the field. He was sitting down with his eyes closed in a meditative stance; his breathing was deep, yet steady. Sakura had half a mind to turn back and go the other way, thinking that Lee might be at some other part of the field. However, her feet propelled her forward, and before she knew it, she was standing only about a meter away from her tormentor. She could tell that he had sensed her, but he did not open his eyes.

"What are you doing here?" She asked, not caring if she broke his meditation. Neji sighed exasperatedly, expertly lifting himself off the ground without his hands. He huffed when he saw her. Sakura had to stop herself from rolling her eyes at his rudeness.

"Please remove any thought from your mind that might think that I am here for you. This is a public training field, so it is not just for your use." Neji said monotonously. If he did not have the emotional capacity of a rock, she would probably hear venom in his tone.

Sakura scowled at his implication of selfishness. "I know that. Lee and I just decided to meet here. I'm just wondering why you're here instead of him." Sakura asked, crossing her arms and staring deep into his pearl eyes.

Neji shrugged symmetrically. "I did not know that you were going to meet him this morning. I just happened to come at this time." Neji said as he began to walk away. "There is no point staying here if it will be rowdy. Good morning." He said with his back turned to her.

Sakura's words were stuck in her throat as she tried to think of something to say back to him. "Hey!" She called out to him. He stopped and turned around, and she immediately lost her courage to say anything to him. He raised his eyebrow and waited for her to continue. Sakura ran her tongue over her chapped lips and took a deep breath. "Good job." She mumbled.

"I'm sorry?" He asked politely, but she could hear his agitation at her soft words.

"Good job completing the first exam." She said louder, still not meeting his eyes. Both of Neji's eyebrows raised, not expecting her to congratulate him.

He chewed on his bottom lip and turned around. "I guess I have to say the same. Just remember what I said about fate. Your victory might have just been a stroke of good luck. If you truly want to continue, then you better be on your guard." He said as he started walking again.

"It wasn't a fluke! Fate has absolutely nothing to do with this!" She yelled at him, but he did not turn around to endorse a conversation any longer. "Jackass. Thinks he knows everything, does he?" Sakura muttered to herself.

"Indeed, I believe he does think that." A voice said from behind her. She turned around immediately to come face-to-face with Lee, who had a bright smile on his face despite his flustered appearance. He looked like he had just run to the other side of the Land of Fire and back. In spite of this, he still sported his usual winsome smile.

Sakura's frown immediately turned into a smile, walking up to Lee and embracing him, sweatiness and all. Lee stood frozen for a split second before he returned the hug, patting his disciple's head. "We did it! We made it through the first round!" Sakura exclaimed in joy. She felt Lee nod.

"I am very proud of you. I knew you could do it." Lee said as he pulled out of the hug.

"Yeah, but that really didn't test anything that I learned from you. I suppose the rest of the test will be based around fighting." Sakura said.

"I believe so as well, so we better get to work." Lee replied, patting her on the shoulder and motioning her over to some tree stumps. Sakura followed without indignation.

By the end of the session, the tree stump that Sakura had been working on had been whittled down and a large gap surrounded by smaller holes remained as evidence of her effort. Because she was still not nearly as strong as Lee, she had to infuse her chakra into some of her moves to get a similar effect to Lee would, something that Kakashi had taught her while they trained together.

"Well done, Sakura-chan. I can already see that you are improving quickly. However," he said, looking at the stump that had multiple disorganized holes in it, "you might have to work a bit on your accuracy. You cannot blindly throw punches at an enemy that is moving." Lee said. Sakura scratched her head in embarrassment.

"Sorry about that." She said, rubbing her bruised fists. Lee dismissed her by a shake of his head. He then looked up towards the sky.

"I predict that it is around ten right now. I think that is enough for today." He said.

"Alright. Thank you for helping me again. I'm sorry if I'm taking time out of your training schedule." Sakura apologized.

Lee sighed. "There is no need to apologize. This is a part of my training schedule." Lee replied, making Sakura grin. "Your Leaf Whirlwind has actually improved tenfold, Sakura-chan, and I am seeing lots of improvement in your speed has well. You've come a long way since you first started." Lee said truthfully.

Sakura looked down a bit, a small yet sad smile on her face. "Maybe, but I still have a long way to go if I want to be on par with Naruto and Sasuke." Her head then perked up. "But I won't give up. I'm so much closer to achieving my goal. And once that's done I can work on my second goal." Sakura said.

"Hm? What's that?" Lee asked. Sakura faked an offended expression.

"How could you have forgotten? I want to beat that asshole you consider a teammate." Sakura replied with her hands on her hips, her lips tugging into a smile.

Realization passed on Lee's face, and he in turn gave her one of his wide grins, his teeth shining in the morning sunlight. "Well then, Sakura-chan, as your mentor, I guess I will just have to beat him before you." Sakura laughed.

After that conversation, they wished each other luck in the next round and went their separate ways. Although Sakura felt tired and she was aware of the perspiration that lined her forehead, she did not feel particularly famished, which she considered a good thing in the case of a mission where they had to do a lot of moving around. Sakura placed her hands behind her back as she walked back to village; her eyes squinted shut to mend the dryness that plagued them. She stretched her arms out took a deep, refreshing breath of air, produced by the trees surrounding her.

Suddenly, she heard a slight whistling in the air, and she ungracefully rolled onto her side to avoid the kunai knife that had planted itself right in the position she had been in. She took in a shaky breath as she observed the projectile, as if it would turn into a venomous snake at any moment. She then quickly looked up into the trees to see where the weapon came from. Her question was immediately answered when she saw Sasuke on the top of a branch, his profile facing her. His face was aloof as he twirled another kunai around his right index finger.

Sakura stood up and dusted herself off. "What the heck, Sasuke? You could have killed me." Her voice was oddly calm, as if she was used to that kind of treatment. She guessed she was just finally adapting fully to the caution a shinobi must always present.

"If I wanted to do that, I would have taken into account your evasion." He said as he jumped down from the tree. He picked up his kunai without looking at her.

Sakura's eyes widened a little at what he insinuated. Had he expected her to have the capacity to dodge when she was in an inattentive state? She internally grinned at the implication of a compliment.

"You know, there are other ways to say hello than attacking people." Sakura said with her arms crossed and a mocking grin stretching across her face. Sasuke scoffed and rolled his eyes, placing his kunai in his pocket.

"Where's Kakashi-sensei?" He asked abruptly. Sakura wanted to audibly sigh because of his lack of responsiveness, but she just held it in.

"He went with Naruto to train somewhere. He said they'd be back by tomorrow." She replied. A scowl etched itself onto Sasuke's pale features. He then turned away from her and started to walk away.

"H-hey! Where are you going?" Sakura called as she chased after him. When she finally caught up with him, she was surprised to see that Sasuke did not speed up his pace. However, he refused to look in her direction or even acknowledge her. This is why I should be over him by now. Sakura chastised herself.

"To train." He answered simply.

"Kakashi-sensei said that it would be best if we trained toge…"

"I train alone." He replied as he kept walking. She struggled to keep up with him slightly because his strides were so long.

"But…"

"Go away. You're being annoying." He said, hoping that she would leave him alone after that. Instead, that just fueled Sakura's anger.

Sakura paused and grasped his forearm, forcefully turning him around to face her. He immediately wrenched his arm out of her grip, but did not turn to leave. Instead, he just glared at her.

"What is your problem? Whether you like it or not, I'm on your team, and teammates are supposed to help each other out. I don't care if you're some prodigy who thinks he has it made for him. The least you could do is be considerate to the people around you." Sakura scolded angrily.

"I don't need anyone else to help me."

"Oh, get your head out of your ass! Of course you do! Everyone needs help with something, and that's what friends are around to help each other out with! I'm working my butt off trying to mend my relationship with you, and you just cast it off like it's nothing. I don't give a damn about your approval or what you think, but I want us to be able to work together so one of us doesn't end up dying on the field because we couldn't trust each other. So stop being such a selfish jerk all the time, because quite honestly, you're not any more important than Naruto or I am." She said in just a few breaths. She took in deep pants to calm herself down, and the piercing glare that Sasuke was giving her was not making her feel any better.

Sasuke did not speak, and he did not even seem to be contemplating what she was saying. She waited for him to tell her that she was being delusional and annoying, like he always did. She decided to just walk away, her head down in shame at her temper.

"You're going to get yourself killed," she heard him start from behind her, "if you are not able to sense your enemy's chakra, like you weren't able to sense mine when I threw that kunai at you. It'll weigh the whole team down. Throwing some chakra-induced punches has no effect if you do not have a target." He said. Sakura turned around to face him.

"Then…will you teach me?" She asked him cautiously, wondering if he had just said that to insult her.

Sasuke paused for a moment. "Come on." He said indirectly as he started down his path again. Sakura ran to catch up with him.

"Hey Sasuke?" Sakura asked, remembering something he said.

"Hn?" He grunted.

"Were you spying on my training session with Lee?" Sakura asked with a grin.

Sasuke disappeared as he jumped, without a word, into the trees. Sakura giggled amusedly as she followed him.

Sakura stood in the middle of Training Ground Five and listened to her surroundings carefully. She was distinctly aware of the white blindfold covering her eyes; it blocked off the one sense she was always proud of having, with her perfect vision. She acutely tuned her ear to any sounds from around her, knowing that Sasuke was not far away and he was either waiting for an opportune moment to attack or for her to notice him.

Sakura did just as he told her to do: using her own chakra to link to someone else's. However, it was not as easy as Sasuke (almost condescendingly) told her it was. She might have had perfect chakra control through the body, but dispersing it outward was a completely different story.

It had been over an hour since she and Sasuke had started their training together: ten minutes were spent on him lecturing her about what she should feel when someone with a chakra signature was close and the remaining fifty were spent without her sense of sight. Throughout that whole time period, Sasuke had only went at her twice. The rest of the time was spent waiting for even a postulate of a sound that would insinuate his position.

The first two times he had assailed her, he had knocked her down without her even noticing. Before she knew it, her back had made contact with the ground and her breath was knocked out of her. The only sound she could hear over the beating of her heart was the voice of Sasuke telling her to get up and try again. Her patience was wearing quite thin. She would not let him touch her another time.

She focused her chakra towards the frame of her body, making her nerve cells hyper-aware. She then slowed her heart and breathing rate, waiting for the moment that Sasuke would come to her. He was waiting for her to let her guard down because of her impatience, but she would not give him that opportunity. She had to beat him at his own game; a lot more than just learning the technique was riding on her victory against him.

It was then that her chakra spiked with the presence of another. Even though it was just for a split millisecond, she knew that Sasuke was to her left side. Without thinking, she culminated her chakra into her fist and sent it in the direction that she felt her comrade in. She hoped that she would be able to punch him down, but he was much too fast for her. Instead, her fist met the solid ground, which cracked slightly under the force. She briefly saw a flash of navy blue before she ended up on her back again, staring at the sky with Sasuke's standing form hovering over her.

Sakura groaned and threw her forearm over her eyes to shield them from both the sun and the judgment in Sasuke's eyes. Although she did not care too much about his opinion of her anymore, she still found it embarrassing that she had been taken down thrice. She had not even made a mark on him.

"How did you do that?" Sasuke asked, making her remove her arm from her eyes. She sat up so that the sun would not blind her and looked up at Sasuke again.

"What do you mean?" Sakura asked. Sasuke said nothing and merely pointed to the spot where her fist had landed. Apparently, the crack she had made in the ground was much larger than she had originally thought. The dirt had caved in on one spot and the area around it was ruptured. It did not look as if a little girl's fist had done it, either. "Uh…I don't know." Sakura answered truthfully, not knowing anything else she could have said. "I guess it just…happened?" Her statement turned out to be more of a question.

"Did you use your chakra?" Sasuke asked as he knelt down so that she did not have to strain her neck. She was thankful for that, but not for the fact that she was even closer to his piercing glare.

"Y-Yeah. So?" Sakura stuttered as she tore her eyes away from his dark orbs. I'm over him, I'm over him, I'm over him…

"Tell me how to do that." He demanded of her. Sakura's eyes snapped back to him, and she could not help raising her eyebrow.

"Wow, your manners astound me." Sakura said sarcastically, earning a chilling glare from the boy in question. She heard him growl lowly, and knew that what she said probably was not the best thing she could have at the moment. Still, it gave her a sense of pride to know that she could easily cast off his disapproval.

"Sakura." He said threateningly, his eyes narrowing even further. Sakura simply sighed and stood up, dusting herself off. Sasuke followed her movements, his question still lingering.

Sakura then gave him a bright smile and stuck out her hand. "If you teach me how to master sensing chakra, I'll tell you a bit about chakra control. Does that sound fair?" She asked with a bubbly smile.

She waited for a few moments and watched as Sasuke's eyes traveled from her face to her hand. He looked reluctant to take it, as if it had been rigged with paper bombs. In the end, Sasuke took it robotically and gave it a curt shake in acknowledgment and then dropped it. The faint trace of comradery was enough for Sakura.

"Perhaps…" Sasuke started. Sakura looked up at him hopefully as he continued, "this won't be a complete waste of my time." Sasuke said. Sakura could do nothing more than roll her eyes.

Hi guys! Sorry for being gone for so long, but there were things I had to deal with that trumped the time I could work on my writing. Please leave a review to tell me what you thought, because all reviews are deeply appreciated.

Also, I hope you guys like the pacing at which Sasuke and Sakura's relationship is, because I am trying to make it as realistic as possible. Of course, Sasuke is not going to do a one-eighty about Sakura because she has fawned over him for so long, but I feel that, at the end of the day, emotions are not things that can be changed easily, and that's what makes us human.

Sorry for that little rant.

Anyway, I hope that everyone is having a fantastic day wherever you are! See you guys next time!