Disclaimer for entire story: I do not own Naruto, but the new plot is my own.

New Strength

kkstev

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Today was the day. Her sixteenth birthday. Sakura smiled, opening her eyes to the morning light peeking through her shades. She got out of bed, washed and dressed for the day, and collected her books. She walked downstairs to hear her mother slamming things around in the kitchen and quietly cursing about something new her father did. 'Hypocrite. And so early in the morning, too,' she thought mockingly as she headed toward the door, not bothering to say goodbye to anyone.

She walked through the dusty streets, earlier than teenagers normally would for school. But that suited her just fine – she did not exactly love her peers anyway. But she smiled lightly at the children she passed, waiting impatiently for their mothers outside their homes in need of accompaniment to their destinations. They would whine and stomp their feet, but would then quickly be distracted by something more interesting to hold their attention before being scooped up lovingly into their mothers' arms.

She wondered if she was ever like that. If her mother was ever like that without the strings attached. Was there ever a time when she was carefree, when she wasn't so serious?

Definitely not willing to dwell on this thought, she inhaled deeply with closed eyes as she kept walking slowly, listening intently to the soft chirping of the birds just waking up. She saw the details of the early morning street passing her by with the sounds alone, her soft footfalls marking the time methodically. The air was crisp and clean so early, the time where spring is melting into summer. There was plenty of sunshine to caress her skin with warmth, accompanied by a comforting breeze to keep back the real summer temperatures. This morning felt like a good one, which in and of itself was so rare. So why ruin it with her regular life?

Sakura opened her eyes, looking around quickly and realizing just how far she had gone. She turned her head to look down the road that led to her school.

'Pft, I have so got better things to do,' she inwardly scoffed and just kept walking.

She stopped at a stall that was just getting ready for the morning rush, and picked up a bento box with a simple lunch. She opened her wallet that she learned to always keep on her, revealing the multitude of bills she had earned. 'Hard work pays off, literally,' she thought as her lips quirked slightly at her own joke. The expression quickly dissipated as she frowned and furrowed her eyebrows, realizing there were quite a few bills missing. On the bright side, she had plenty of money for today.

Nodding resolutely, Sakura paid, then continued up the road and out of the village. Barely any bothered to look as she walked by, so used to seeing her figure exiting Sengaku. They saw a rather ordinary villager going about her regular life. She wore plain clothing, none too fitted, muted in their colors. Her mid-back length hair was braided tight to her head, though a wide brimmed hat mainly covered it her careful work. The traditional bamboo served a dual purpose, shielding a large part of her face from the sun as well as from the rest of the world. Most figured – of those to even took the trouble to – that by her way of dressing coupled with her almost daily morning exits from the village borders, she was a traveling merchant of some sort. She appeared to be the fully-grown adult that she was since a young age as she walked leisurely by.

Everything in Sengaku was tightly packed, and the closeness of the surrounding villages was no exception. Sakura took a path she had never taken before, which became more possible the farther away from her village that she went. Passing through a few more villages, she still got hardly any looks from passerbys, simply being too plain to catch their notice.

This was her time to reflect. Her name: Haruno Sakura. She is sixteen years old today and absolutely hates her life, currently. But the thought makes her smirk, knowing exactly what that meant – that it will get better. Right now, there is no place to go but up - or as she liked to think, forward. It is really nothing more than the fact that she is alone. She still has no friends – or at least none that would not be willing to hurt her if presented an opportunity where it could benefit them, nor idolized her for being something she is clearly not. So, no friends. She has a pathetic excuse for a family. Though there are times when they genuinely try, they love to know the best ways to rip at her feelings or her pride, and try to put her down whenever she shows promise for success greater than their own – which was becoming a more and more frequent occurrence.

'The future is mine to make, but right now is right now. Dramatic or not, it still sucks.'

And, while still looking down, her face in shadow to the world, she cannot help but let slip a true smile.

She also knows how to hold tightly and covet her determination, her drive, her pure wanting for success. Haruno Sakura knows independence, personal strength, and self-reliance. She does not have to lean on others for support, or for help. Her frustration throughout the beginning years of her life has made her who she is at this very moment.

A person she is truly happy to be.

Which is something no one can take from her.

At her resolute thoughts – the only things that can bring this reaction out in her – Sakura looked up to the sky and smiled brightly, her eyes shining, reflecting the hope and promise of all the world that she can see in its beautiful blue depths. She took a deep breath and just relished in the moment.

The jerk of her head that revealed her face, and the sincerity and hope in the emotion found there once exposed, caused a quite a few heads to turn toward her. She ignored them all, savoring in the genuine moment she took to herself. The moment she deserved. The moment that kept her sane. The moment that kept her moving.

But that moment, always so short, was quickly up, and she felt the stares, hating the attention. Blushing, she looked towards her feet again, until a shiver ran down her spine. She knew that she still had more attention on her than was appreciated. But something was different about the intensity of what she felt boring past her protective hair and hat.

Looking up slowly through the stray strands of hair that fell to her face after her sudden movement to protect herself, she subtly scanned the people whose attention she had. But when she tilted her head left and saw them, she knew instantly they were the main source of her discomfort.

The three boys never faltered in their progress in the opposite direction of her as she caught their eyes, they just continued walking. They never even moved their heads. But she immediately wished to break eye contact, and so she looked down again quickly.

Her analysis was not very thorough, but interesting enough. One looked about her age, the other two definitely somewhat older. They all wore loose black pants and black shirts with some sort of netting underneath. They had dark, matching marks on the skin of their left arms peeking out of the bottom of their short sleeved shirts, the full shape of which she could not make out. All of them wore fingerless gloves and carried traveling packs. From what she could still see while avoiding their faces, they were very nondescript.

But there was something different about their movement. Or maybe it was their overall presence? It was all just so perfect. The view was more than that though, and was so difficult to describe. Their aura, if there was such a thing, was somehow different. And never before had she noticed something like this, though she felt like she wasn't supposed to. Which of course is why it interested her so much. 'But why would I even waste the thought on them? I will admit that I may have noticed that they seem... fit' Here she paused, laughing inwardly at her sad attempt to hide from her own teenage hormones, 'Okay, they're pretty cute, but "Perfect?" Really… that might be a bit much. Regardless, I'll probably never see them again in my life, so why waste any part of it on them?' Sakura thought, shaking her head slightly in an attempt to brush off the incident.

That was all of the information the glance had to offer her, and she didn't care enough to dwell on it. Taking a few more steps, she almost wiped her strange thoughts about the curious boys completely. Because, of course, she had places to go.

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Each of the boys could not help but refocus their attention on her, the movement was so sudden, and the girl was curious after all. The little civilian girl was probably daydreaming about some crush as she fixed her clear emerald eyes towards the sky. Nothing of significance. But still, they watched her as she realized exactly what she had done, attempted to ridiculously hide in plain sight, before cautiously looking up to notice them.

She had noticed them, picked them out of the crowd. That was definitely not okay, and not normal. Possibly not safe.

Before they had time to think about this, never mind act on it, she blushed faintly, and finally shook her head slightly. Her eyes turned forward again with determination, not bothering to look back. No remaining worries about her being dangerous at least.

The two older boys felt their initial assumption about her thoughts were quite possibly incorrect. The passing girl was probably more interesting than she seemed. Whatever the case, all three pairs of dark eyes followed her until they could no longer watch without turning their heads. But this girl definitely did not leave their thoughts even once she left their sight.

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Sakura was walking for a couple of hours before she decided to veer off the road. She preferred places that weren't so busy. So, after passing by the bustling villages, she ended up on roads used more for distance traveling rather than daily life. Once there, she made sure that it had been a solid thirty minutes since she passed home or person. That was when she finally thought it safe to stray from the path and into the forests her country was known for.

Being familiar with wooded areas and knowing them as though they were a second home are two very different things. Sakura had always been fonder of the forest than city, and so sought to spend time there, but she lived in a place that was more like a city. It was inevitable that she spend less time in the woods, which also meant that she was never formally taught anything about survival. And this was something she would not willingly choose to learn through experience.

So once she stepped through the tree line, Sakura made sure she went no further into the woods than being just out of sight of the road. She found a nice clearing at this safe distance, with enough space to move around easily while still providing privacy from the surrounding trees.

Setting her school bag and hat down in the grass, Sakura sat down on a fairly flat rock with a large exhale, slumping down while closing her eyes. Lying back, she was surprised at how cool the stone was for being in a spot that the sun was hitting through the canopy of trees.

Coming to the decision that the feeling was comforting, she let her back, which had arched out of reflex, relax down onto the rock's surface. She sat still momentarily to just listen to the area around her. Things were fairly quiet, but after a few minutes of her sitting still, the woods began to come back to life around her.

She heard the birds begin to call out quietly again, though not as vigorously as they had in the early morning. Small tree limbs began to move lightly above her head, the heavy whisper of leaves initially indistinguishable from that caused by the wind. But before long she began to hear the chattering of squirrels as they tried to outdo each other with their acrobatics. When they tired of that, there were a brave few that descended from the trees to the forest floor. After exploring for a few moments closer to earth than usual, there was a sharp rustling of the bushes near Sakura's head, followed by a squeak of terror as a fox shot out from its hiding place after the squirrel. Leaping and dodging, crashing through the underbrush, the squirrel created an enormous racket. Finally back up in the safety of the trees, there was new, angry chatter followed by a low growl as the fox stalked away from its intended lunch.

And Sakura was able to see all of this without ever even opening her eyes. Things in this place were so simple, so cut and dry. But never boring – events may be similar, but never the same. There was a strange comfort in that. Life and death, light and dark, quiet and loud... Things can change, and do change, both slightly and drastically.

Breathing deeply, Sakura reveled in the freshness of the air entering her lungs. It was purifying, even more so with the scent of pine and pollen that lingered with the air. Heck, with a deep enough breath, she tasted these things on the back of her tongue. It was just so natural, so right.

Then the contrast of the ever-cool stone at her back and the still-pleasant sun at her front, combined with the warm breeze at her sides, completed her state of utter relaxation. After what felt like just a few minutes of just allowing herself up to take all of this in and remember it, Sakura opened her eyes and blinked a few times until they adjusted to the brightness of the sun that was now above her.

Realizing just how high the sun was, she blinked a few more times, looking up through the canopy of trees. 'I'm no expert at telling the time from the sun's position, but it seems like it's close to noon... I must've been laying here for longer than I had thought.' The only emotion to accompany that thought was surprise. But Sakura quickly realized that this happened almost every time she wanders out to the forest for peace. 'I really have to watch that! I can't keep letting that much time slip by while I'm here!' She mentally scolded herself.

Brushing off the few bugs that decided to take an interest in her, Sakura sat up and reached for her bag. She quickly ate the dumplings she bought earlier. Finishing, she opened her bag again, her eyes scanned over the many books and scrolls that were in there. She was anxious to get to the books – they were her favorite – but she knew the scrolls had to come first.

School was a joke to Sakura, though it was apparently a humorless one that no one else seemed to get. The lessons were so extremely easy, but that may have also been partially due to her gender. Though school in her village was required for all until graduation at eighteen, it seemed more like 'Housewife Prep Course 101'. Most of it at least. But Sakura in no way planned on being a simple housewife, popping out children for some pompous jerk for the rest of her life!

Not like she couldn't though – she was actually quite good at, as well as accustomed to, doing housework, as well as caring for people. She had to do it at home all the time.

It was more just the principle of the thing. There was so much she wanted to accomplish, so much more she wanted to do with her life, wanted to see, wanted to try! She couldn't imagine looking back on her life, not having done anything real. Unfortunately though, none of this could happen without finishing school in Sengaku first. Getting back on track with some effort, she followed her mental list of priorities. Sakura pulled out the first scroll, a book for reference, and a few writing utensils, got comfortable, and set to work.

Even though she didn't particularly see it as a necessity to attend school regularly, she still knew that the work assigned there had to be completed so she would be allowed to move forward. Along with the extra work assigned due to her regular absence. Sakura felt her lips quirk slightly at that.

Most of her teachers liked her – she was a top-notch student (besides the whole attendance thing), highly respectful to her elders and, somehow, even her peers. She abided by most of the rules set by the school (once again, disregarding absences), and always completed her work on time.

It was the principal that had quite a few issues with her, or so she thought. Every time Sakura did actually come to school, she was summoned to the office. And every time Sakura would calmly point out that she thought her time would better be spent in class, seeing that she was present, rather than in the office. This always started these meetings off so very well. Sakura would just calmly sit in the uncomfortable chair opposite the 'intimidating' principal's desk...

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Flashback

"I assume you understand exactly why you are here?" he paused, leaning one hand on the desk from his standing position, closing his eyes and gritting his teeth, growling out, "Again."

Sakura simply looked up at the intimidatingly large, muscular bald man and nodded, "I do, sir, but seeing as I am here today I would much rather be in class. I have assignments that I want to make sure are handed in and a few exams to make up."

"Well, that would not be such an issue if you attended those classes as frequently as you are supposed to."

This time, Sakura just regarded him quietly. She was surprised he was able to speak at all without unclenching his teeth. But he had not asked her a direct question, and so she thought it best not to answer. 'Besides, this guy believes in the whole "women should not speak unless spoken to" crap. I don't want him to think I'm trying to be sassy, and would really prefer to get this over with quickly. Besides, I might get into actual trouble this time, despite my good marks, if I'm not careful.'

The principal sighed, rubbing his eyes as though he had a migraine, as he sat down in his luxurious chair. He rested his elbows on the desk as he continued to massage his temples. Sakura was not sure of exactly where this was going, as normally the principal went with the 'Constant anger, show no weakness!' approach to these sessions. While she waited for him to say something, Sakura's thoughts began to wander, 'I bet the big fancy chair for him and the small crappy chair for the visitor is both for intimidation and to show superiority. Pft, if you want respect, ya gotta give some to get some, buddy.'

When he started to speak, he snapped Sakura back to the present, and she began to feel somewhat sorry for her previous thoughts: he decided to take this moment to show some compassion.

"Why? Why is it that you just do not come? We have been meeting for months now, and from what I can deduce you are not getting into trouble nor are you involved in anything dangerous inside or outside these walls." Here he opened a file that had been sitting on his desk and quickly scanned it. "Your grades are excellent. Your teachers mainly praise you and have nothing but good things to say." Closing the file, he looked up at Sakura again. "In my office, you are pleasant and to-the-point. Always calm but also very aware. You frustrate me to no end…" At this, Sakura blushed slightly and looked down to the floor while he continued more gently than before, "But you are a good kid, very kind and caring. Sharp too. If you would actually come here, maybe even get involved, you would be a tremendous asset to this school, one that I can brag about to future students."

Sakura's eyes shot up, looking back and forth between the eyes of the principal staring back at her, looking for some sign of deception, some hint of attempted manipulation. She had not realized that during all of these meetings he had been studying her so closely. He had deduced things about her on his own, beyond what her daily teachers note, beyond what she thought she showed. And for the most part, though his statements were vague, they were also accurate.

She studied the man for a moment longer, still searching for any sign of any emotion. If he knew this much about her already, he may know that she had the embarrassing tendency to be overly eager to please. His compliment may have just been a ploy to get her to comply with his wishes.

As if he thought she were plotting against him, and realizing he may have given her the upper hand in such a situation by his honest words, his eyes hardened and his arms crossed as he leaned back into his chair. "Well, do you plan on answering?" He snapped out at her, looking straight down his nose.

Surprised, Sakura was lost for words momentarily. "Uh…" She took a moment to focus and regroup, looking aimlessly around the room. What was that question again? Oh, right, that one…

Apparently her answer was not quick enough, because he added, "It's not even like you are lazy and sitting around or sleeping at home! We had someone check a few times, and you weren't even there! Where could you possibly go for so many hours at a time?"

At this Sakura's jaw clenched. 'So that's how my parents found out! I knew they would never bother to snoop on their own.' Sighing in defeat, she realized, 'It's too late now though, regardless of the source. They already have the idea in their heads.'

"So why?"

Never one to lie, Sakura figured there was no way out of this one. He was adamant for an answer this time. She would just choose to ignore his question of her whereabouts, keeping her one place of peace to herself, and hopefully keep him focused on the why. She figured it was the lesser of the two evils. "I just don't like being here," she began quietly, "I go through hours upon hours learning material I already know or don't care about, doing busy work that I can finish in minutes, pushing through every moment of the day with people that I don't even want to talk to or be around."

'Not like I could even if I wanted to.' she silently added on to the end.

But the principal did not seem to be in an understanding mood, as he didn't really listen to what she had been saying. Not that she had really wanted him to, as she was careful with her wording and her tone. "So you are just too good for my school, huh? Above all of us, just a regular, run-of-the-mill genius, superior to the world I suppose?"

Before he could continue with his rant, Sakura quickly cut in, being careful only to do so at the end of his sentence. "There is nothing wrong with your institution, sir. It is just that…" Taking a deep breath, she said the statement she never uttered to anyone outside the family. They had laughed at her, so why wouldn't he? "I wish to study medicine, and there is none of that taught here. I have to go outside these walls for that." And her eyes glued themselves to some random knick-knack on his desk.

Red faced and stopping mid-rant, the principal looked down at her. He had not even realized that he had stood. Habit, he supposed. He regarded her seriously, thinking back over everything he has seen, and everything he knew about her. He had not witnessed it often, a female in the medical field beyond the status of a nurse, the one aiding the true doctor. He considered his next words seriously before he responded.

"Do you think you can do that, and succeed?"

Fierce green eyes met his own, determination and confidence reflecting back at him. Without hesitation, in a sure and steady voice to match her unwavering expression, she simply replied, "Yes, I do."

Turning around and shuffling around some random papers on the cabinet behind him for something to do, he smiled. He released the tension in his shoulders slightly. There were some cases of great female doctors, and they tended to surpass many in their field. He thought this girl might just be able do what she claimed, if, of course, she held onto that burning dedication and her (admittedly) near-genius intelligence.

Trying to keep some anger in his voice, with his back still turned, he simply said, "Fine then. If you are going to be some fancy doctor, what are you wasting time in my office for? I better not see you in here again."

Taking that as a dismissal, Sakura stood up slowly, uncertain of how smoothly that had gone. But still she gathered her things, and began to walk towards the door.

"Oh, and Haruno," the principal called out as her hand touched the doorknob. He sat back down and began writing at his desk, waiting for her to turn around.

"Sir?"

"Since you find the work here so easy, I will be assigning you extra, outside your regular classes. You can pick it up with the secretary up front at the end of the day." He paused for effect, trying to force down his smile, but at his next words, he failed somewhat, letting some of it show through. "Each and every time you find yourself in my office."

Realizing what had just happened, Sakura smiled softly as well. "I understand, sir. But you may want to assign me double today, so I can get ahead." The principal looked up and quirked an eyebrow. "I will be missing classes tomorrow as well."

"And why may I ask, will you be excusing yourself tomorrow?" he asked, eyes narrowing slightly, and voice becoming rougher again.

"Well, tomorrow is my birthday," and she smiled wickedly, adding, "plus, I believe I feel the flu coming on."

Eyes widening faintly at her sincerity and her freely displayed banter, he replied in a gruff voice, beginning to scribble at some work on his desk and playing along, "Well then, be sure to drink plenty of fluids and get lots of rest."

It was now time for Sakura's eyes to widen, and the smile to be wiped off her face to be replaced by a look of shock. She once again turned to leave when, once again, she was stopped after touching the doorknob.

"And Haruno," Sakura almost sighed out loud, looking down at the shiny doorknob accusingly, 'What is this thing, a damn buzzer? This may have been one of the more pleasurable visits in here, but still, this is getting old now…'

"Happy birthday – enjoy it."

'…Well what do you know, maybe he did actually hear me.'

End Flashback

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Sakura smiled down at the now-complete scroll she was holding.

When she had gone at the end of the day to pick up the extra work yesterday, she found that her principal had assigned her all medical-related research. Well, sort of. For now, she was to get information about where there is medical training offered in all of the five major countries, as well as how to be eligible to be taught at these places.

It wasn't due until next week, but Sakura thought she might just drop it off for him tomorrow. She also thought it best to put a note on it that she would be most grateful if it were returned for future reference.

Satisfied, Sakura picked up the next scroll – her regular schoolwork – and set to finishing it.

~-~-~-o-~-~-~

A few hours later, done with all of her schoolwork for the remainder of the week, Sakura stretched until her joints popped. Satisfied with herself, she thought it was time for a reward.

'Novel time!' She thought excitedly as she jumped to her bag and dug through it. Another one of her favorite times of the day was when she was able to lose herself in a story. In someone else's tale of tragedy, humor, mystery, romance – anything really was fine by her.

It was difficult to find a good time to read at home, because she was constantly interrupted for one reason or another. And some of the novelty ('Pun not originally intended, but, seeing as it works, it's intended now!' she inwardly giggled) was lost with disruptions. You just never fall as hard into the world you are reading about the second time you try to pick it up after being thrust momentarily back into real life.

Reveling in the time ahead, Sakura settled down and began to read.

~-~-~-o-~-~-~

Only when the sun began to set and extinguish her light source did Sakura decide to close up her book and begin to pack away her things. Standing up, settling her pack and resetting her clothes, she looked up to the sky that was masked by trees once more before she began to leave her secluded spot.

'Being able to actually see those few individual rays of sunlight, strong enough to fight their way through the leaves of the trees at the end of the day, always seems so symbolic' Sakura thought, taking a last look behind her into the forest before fully stepping back onto the road.

She suddenly snorted mid-step with a smile playing at her lips. 'What am I, a philosopher now? I can't even think of what it could possibly symbolize… I think I am definitely starting to read too many cheesy novels. Besides, philosophy doesn't exactly go well with medicine. Hmm, lets ponder for three years about whether this procedure is the right thing to do… oh well now! The patient seems to have died at some point during our pondering! We should ponder on that so that we may understand its meaning for the future!' Unable to contain herself, she began to giggle quietly at her own train of thought.

But still, for some reason, that vision refused to leave her thoughts completely.

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