Sakuragachamon!

by minuseven

Somebody isekais into Haruno Sakura, an orphan from the Ninetails' attack on Konoha. Life is tough when your isekai powers mess with your chakra, but full of opportunities. Now if only the system wasn't intent on bankrupting her! (Gacha Pokemon powers, SI-OC)

First posted on Questionable Questing forums and Wattpad as individual little chapters. Cross-posted on AO3. Complementary images (pokemon list) available on Wattpad (per chapter) and on AO3 (per arc).
All gacha pulls are randomly rolled before being written. There is a spreadsheet just for that.

---

— ONE : ACADEMY DAYS —

Haruno Sakura, just orphaned in the Nine Tails Attack, regains the memories of her past life, where she had been a normal young woman. Cheating, out of context powers are part and parcel of isekai-ing. Unfortunately, hers are not easy to use, and they disrupt what should have been a healthy ninja magic chakra flow, too!

That's me, by the way.

This was how my second childhood went by. Somewhat lonely, a bit boring, far too busy. I still managed to make some friends and overcame the Ninja Academy's hurdles. All without being able to use the ninjutsu and genjutsu that normal kids could.

This new world is dangerous, so let's get strong enough to not be afraid.

---

— Reborn somewhere I should probably remember! —

"Hmmm." The white-eyed ninja said as he scrutinized my 'chakra pathways' with his 'all-seeing eyes'. "I see."

He saw. He saw… "What? What's wrong with my chakra?"

The ninja didn't move a single inch, his eyes unmoving, as he spoke to the ninja doctor and the ninja teacher that were accompanying me in the hospital. I wasn't hurt. However, somebody had finally realized that my failure to do the simplest of chakra exercises right might mean there was an underlying problem with my body. Not that I was being lazy or slow.

I very much doubted I was slow or lazy, because secretly, I was a twenty-something person who'd been reborn in another world!

It'd all started a lifetime ago. Well, when that life ended abruptly and painfully. I remembered I was on vacations with my recently obtained money from my first job. I went somewhere and then… then the building collapsed. My guess was that an earthquake must have hit us and then, logically, a lot of people had died because the buildings weren't up to code.

I wasn't fond of remembering this part of the story. But it should have ended there.

Eight years ago, the Kyuubi no Youko attacked Konohagakure no Sato… a nine-tailed demon fox attacked the leaf village. Many people died trying to stop the fox, until the Fourth Hokage managed to banish it. And… many people died, ninjas and villagers alike. In the aftermath, they managed to retrieve a baby from a collapsed building, bleeding from a single wound on her forehead. Her mother had protected her six-month old daughter with her body and life, and her father was later identified amidst those lost in the attack.

She was called Haruno Sakura.

And whatever future she had, it was co-opted by my incomplete memories. Now if only I could figure out why there was such a nagging sense of familiarity about my story…

"The chakra pathways are… out of place." Back in the present, the Hyuuga described my problem. His clan, apparently, were the only ones with these special eyes that could see the chakra pathways. "I've never seen anything like this. Her tenketsu are not where they should be, and the pathways themselves are misaligned."

"That's not possible." The medic-nin beside me was bewildered. "Everybody has a natural variance in their pathways, are you sure…?"

"Yes, I am sure." The white-eyed ninja released his doujutsu and turned to the doctor. "This is no mere variance. Even the Eight Gates are not where they should be! The classical map of chakra pathways they teach you medics is entirely useless."

"Hm." I raised my hand. The adults quieted down and looked at me. "Is that bad for my body and doctors? It sounds bad for my body and doctors."

He shook his head. "No, most healing… well, medical ninjutsu doesn't need your chakra pathways to be in a specific place, that shouldn't be a problem." Even as he said that, I noticed that the doctor was writing down notes on my files. "However, this is why you cannot use normal jutsu, Haruno-kun. Normal jutsu and handseals are made for chakra pathways that follow a certain… type of map. Your pathways follow a completely different type of map, so you can't do what the teachers tell you to because their explanations don't work for you."

The doctor muttered something too low for me to hear, but I had the distinct feeling that it was something like 'probably'.

It was best not to dwell on that. "Does that mean I can't be a ninja?" Because that would suck.

The adults exchanged looks among themselves. "Well… no?" The white-eyed man sounded uncertain. "Her chakra is there, she just can't mold it the way we can."

"I have a boy in the year above her that can't use ninjutsu or genjutsu." The teacher that had come with me spoke up. This was new information to me.

My head swiveled back and forth as the adults discussed my situation. I was an orphan, daughter of ninjas, therefore I had been enrolled at the Academy. To their credit, they'd asked a five year old child if she'd like to be a ninja like her parents had been. I'd said yes after only a moment of thought.

I hadn't been reborn, or gained memories of my past, or whatever sorcery had put me in Konoha, without being blessed with strange and unknowable powers. It would be counterintuitive to not pursue a career path that would let me use them. Also, magical ninjas mercenaries.

My consultation ended with me more or less where I'd been before. I was still going to go to school at the Academy. Now they were just expecting me to work extra hard, and the teachers were left with vague instructions to 'let me figure out jutsu my own way'.

On the way home, following next to my tired teacher, I looked up at the four faces carved into the mountain that overlooked the village. The Hokage was the strongest ninja in Konoha, and much like a president, they got their faces sculpted so everybody could look up at them. They said the Hokages looked out for us like this. Every now and then, a ninja bounded over the rooftops, moving at incredible speeds to and fro. I couldn't lie, I yearned for that. Being able to be that free, and to be that strong.

I'd tried their way. My power had obviously interfered in some way. It was time to try it my way.

---

— The mysterious power wants my piggybank! —

Home was a sort of orphanage-slash-way-house where I and several other children lived. I'd gotten moved here after leaving the orphanage, which was for really small children. From my observations of the other kids around, in two or three years I would be leaving this place too. If not sooner. Some children got scouted into apprenticeships, like weaving or blacksmithing or carpentry, and they left to live with their masters. If I did manage to graduate as a ninja, I would also be considered emancipated, or adult, and would also leave.

The house had two floors. The upper floor was taken up by everybody's rooms, one for the boys, one for the girls, and one for the adults. One shared bathroom for us all and one for the adults, who opened it up for the older kids to use after them. This way, a bloodbath was avoided every morning. The ground floor had a big kitchen and a big living room. So long as you followed the rules the woman in charge laid down, it was an okay place. A bit stifling. I had to try really hard to keep my knees from bouncing or my foot from tapping at dinner time. Otherwise I could go hungry for a bit.

"Hey, scar-head! Did they kick you out of the Academy?"

Oh, and then there was the general name-calling and judging that was typical from humans at this age. I didn't even bother responding, but I did wish I had earphones. Music of any sort. Only three other children were in the Academy with me, and they weren't in my year.

When they'd dug me out of the rubble that fateful day, I'd been injured. I didn't remember that day very well, since I'd been six months old. It was, on the other hand, my first clear memory from after my first life. There was pain, panic and I'd cried a lot. Enough that the ninjas had been able to locate me quickly. But not quickly enough to avoid getting a scar right in the middle of my forehead. Head wound, it bled a lot but wasn't too serious, and the on the spot healing I'd received had left a very noticeable scar.

Scars were badass. I stood by that principle. I looked like an anime character twice over. Not only was my hair naturally pink like my namesake, I also had really bright green eyes. A cross-shaped scar, like that anti-hero from an anime long ago, was the cherry on top.

I climbed up the stairs to our rooms. Since I was a quiet, well-behaved kid that just had a bit too much energy, I was allowed that. I threw myself on my bed, grabbed my one plushie, and crawled under the covers so I could think better. Being comfortable was key.

Regarding my power: I'd always had this feeling that there was something inside of me, in my head, that hadn't been there in my life before. Like a metaphysical itch. First I thought it was just the same chakra that everybody had here. But then I got taught how to check my own chakra and it definitely wasn't that. Chakra was extra energy you felt inside yourself, almost weighing inside the stomach, and was really tricky to get a hold of. Supposedly, a ninja could fan their chakra engine and get more chakra. But my power was entirely mental. There was no physical component at all.

It had gotten much clearer in my head after I'd started understanding chakra. The meditation exercises they taught at the Academy worked for something, at least. Perhaps it had to do with the spiritual energy that made up half of all chakra. Or maybe it was my eight-year old brain that was getting better at thinking. Now that I had a better sense of the power, I could tell it was composed of two parts. The first felt empty. It had space. The second was the itchy one. That one wanted me to do something about it.

So I poked at it. Like carefully going around, scratching with the tip of my nail. It kept slipping, like an edge you just couldn't pry open. It was really, really, really frustrating!

"Shah! Work damn it!" And then it did.

I stared at the ceiling. I had done it? I had! Finally! My power presented itself to me, fuzzy but clearing up piece by piece. It felt like a spark, a warm, wild spark that…

"Wait."

The spark laughed at me from a distance. Gimme, it seemed to say. I shook my head. A headache was building, my nose was itching and–

"Achoo!"

Something snapped into place and an image crystalized in my head. A panel, advertising the power and abilities of the monsters I'd known best in the world before. Pokemon. Unreal… and it just cost… it cost. One thousand ryou. Each random, blind, little bit of power. Just the price of… I didn't even know. A whole set of brand new kunai and shuriken? A meal at a high-end restaurant?

I stared. Twitched. Blinked.

But no. My power was still telling me the same thing. If I wanted nifty little gifts, I was going to have to play the game. A gacha game.

Me. The state-sustained orphan who didn't even have an allowance yet.

Well, I guess I had an excuse to be crying at dinner tonight after all.

---

— The result of hard work is too strange! —

"There. It's done." I saluted to Kanetake-san, the kind old man who'd hired me. "Your garden has been cleaned and the garbage is outside."

"Practicing to be a ninja so early." He laughed. "Well, you've earned it with your efforts. Here's your payment." A generous bill was placed in my eagerly cupped hands. For an eight year old, fifty ryou was a small fortune. To me, it was just five percent of what I needed.

Today I received the last fifty ryou I needed to finally use my power. Six months had passed since I discovered my power's greatest limitation. The year was coming to a close. After realizing I was going to have to move it, I started to look around for odd jobs. Little chores that people would be willing to pay a pittance to a kid that needed pocket money. It was a slow process.

One, in the neighborhood, there weren't a lot of people willing to pay. Then, those that were had tasks that were too much for my small body and assigned age.

Two, since my problems with chakra were discovered, the Academy required more of my time. I had to have good grades, and everything was in a language that had two alphabets. One of which had thousands of different characters. My brain didn't like it. The only educational silver lining was that I was fully immersed in the language and didn't have a choice about it. On top of that, I was expected to really focus on taijutsu or hand-to-hand combat like the boy Rock Lee in the year above me. I had to spend extra time exercising and practicing katas.

A few times per week, I got paid a few dozen ryou. Enough for candy if I was a normal child. Saving up had been the hard part. I didn't want people to start asking weird questions about where I spent so much money, so I couldn't ask the matron to hold it for me. Places in the house weren't safe either, and I'd lost several hundred ryou to somebody's sticky hands. That was the one time I got into a fight, but Takeru deserved it. Even the punishment was worth it, especially since people knew he was a dirty thief who'd taken the money from a hard-working, forward-thinking little girl.

The solution was to just carry the money in my pouch everywhere. Nobody robbed a seven year old, most other kids didn't even imagine the amount of money I lugged around, and I spent a few here and there to give the illusion that I wasn't saving up. I just had to be careful to trade my coin excess for bills so that I wasn't clanking around like a piggy bank.

I felt like cackling. Months of work, more than one setback, and finally, it was time. Unlimited power awaited me!

Bowing to Kanetake-san, who had back pains and had turned into a regular client, I dashed off to the open fields near the Academy. The ones for my age, which I could enter without weird looks, were effectively big, mostly empty playgrounds. I found a tree on the edge and sat down cross-legged.

Hands shoved in my pouch, I looked for the now familiar mental spark. It was greedy and wanted my money. "You're in luck today. Take my money!"

My pouch was suddenly lighter. A ringing like a coin twirling on the ground filled my head. The empty space inside was no longer empty, a familiar creature slotting itself in a mental shelf. A white seal with a horn. Seel, the Sea Lion. Or, the way my brain insisted, Pawou.

I blinked. "Huh, okay? That's not bad but what can I do with you?" Could I summon Pawou now?

I eyed the empty grounds. The sun was setting and the temperature was quickly dropping. Nobody was watching. Nobody was at the windows of the nearby building. Nobody was traveling through the rooftops that I could see. It would have to do. I got up, dusted the back of my trousers. Got to be careful with clothes.

I thought for a moment before I squared my feet and formed the handseal of confrontation. It was the basic handseal to rouse chakra, among other things, and the only one I knew sort of worked for me. It was a concentration mnemonic too, one I used every day. Then I closed my eyes and focused on the image of Pawou in my head, hard.

It felt much more natural than the few chakra exercises we'd been taught. Almost second nature.

"Pawoooouuu!?"

And then, with a pop, I was a Pawou. Tail, fangs, flippers, whiskers and all. I literally flopped on the ground. I twisted around, belly up, and pulled my tail up so I could see it. "Awou?"

What. Henge?! How? Why? Why not? … Now what?

There was enough time for me to blink stupidly before another pop, leaving my regular human self sprawled on the ground, legs and arms pointed at the sky. I let my limbs fall.

A moment of silence while I processed. I rubbed my eyes, blinked again, counted my fingers then sat up to count my toes. "Yeah, okay… That was… a thing."

---

— The decision to be the strongest! —

"I want to stay at the Academy and become a ninja." I remembered insisting another time. "I know it will be hard but still."

Haruno Sakura had turned nine in March, just after the school year ended. My birthday was always during the vacation weeks before the Academy reopened. I was always one of the oldest kids in class. The fourth year, they'd said, things started getting really hard, and much harder to quit. That day, I was being encouraged to give it up. Hints had already been dropping throughout the year.

The chuunin teacher visiting the house had rubbed the bridge of his nose. "You are a hard-worker, Sakura. You can find another path to pursue. You've proven to be good at things like gardening and taking care of animals. You could choose to apprentice under a gardener or to study to become a veterinary."

"That's because I want to buy my own stuff, not because I don't want to be a ninja." Also, I would have to put myself in debt, or contract, to afford that kind of education. They hadn't told me that, of course.

I liked learning the ninja craft, even with the undeniable fact that we were junior soldiers. There was no war and I liked pushing myself and fighting. In the end, they'd quit and gone back. I was remembering that day because, for the first time, something had shaken my conviction.

A massacre.

I twirled a ryou coin between my fingers. We were all forbidden from leaving the house for now. It'd been two days since that had happened. Nobody had told us children anything, but the adults couldn't stop talking about it themselves and it naturally trickled down to our ears. Among the kids of the house, it was a poorly hidden gossip topic. They were still children, civilians at that, and couldn't grasp what those words really meant.

A massacre. It wasn't a word used for a normal killing. It was a brutal, systematic extermination. It sent shivers down my spine, and the context of it only made me sick. A prodigy of the Uchiha Clan had… snapped… and killed his family. His entire clan, elders to toddlers. Genocidal in his madness. There were rumors of a sole survivor.

A ninja had done that. A ninja had been so affected, so traumatized by his job, that he'd snapped seemingly out of nowhere. He'd been ANBU, which people weren't really meant to think too hard about, and that meant not just elite bodyguards and. It meant assassinations too. It was in the name, a so-propagandized legacy.

That had been the result of being a Konoha shinobi. Of course, Uchiha Itachi could have just been a secret psychopath all along, but still, it made you think.

Soldiers are cool and all, but they're the ones that go overseas with dreams and return with PTSD.

Was it worth being a ninja, a shinobi? I wasn't sure.

But there was another thing that scared me. People were strong here. Hideously so. When the books said First Hokage had made a forest sprout for the village in a matter of minutes, they were being literal. I lived in this world. A world where a single man had decimated his clan, which included almost the entirety of the police forces of Konoha. A world where there were other ninja villages and rivals and even enemies, who were certainly smelling the blood in the water.

The world that had turned, in one single night, suddenly unsafe.

Unless I was strong. The strongest.

It wasn't impossible. My power was Pokemon. Creatures that could fly, go through walls, live under the ocean, manipulate the elements, read minds, teleport, heal, reshape continents. Three generations of power were within reach.

I was weak now, because I was poor. But I knew how my power worked after a few months of experimenting with it and crucially, I knew its limits. I could transform into pokemon and I could use their moves as a human. Each time I got a pokemon, they went from non-existent to level five. Then ten, and so forth. The higher the level, the more I could do it and the stronger I was. At level five, I could transform for six seconds a day, and using a move was only doable once per hour.

I could be very strong, if I dared. If I put my nose to the grinder and spent all my money, I'd eventually get there. It would take me millions, a tightrope budget, and a good amount of luck, but it was possible.

Did I dare, rather than vanish into an obscure, seemingly safe civilian life?

I felt the money clutched in my hand disappear, those coins and bills I'd been painstakingly saving up. My third use of my power.

I did.

"Pffft. Oh come on." My hand met my face. Making such a bold declaration and this was what I got? This?

---

— Forehead, Scarhead, girls can't leave it alone! —

Ninja education introduced, during the fourth year, a class I hadn't been expecting. Kunoichi class.

Womanly-girl-ninja studies.

If we were older, I'm sure it would have things like seduction or something distasteful like that. Because we were nine at our oldest, it was about paying attention without looking like we were paying attention and artisan or homemaking skills that would have us go by undetected and underestimated. To civilians and to most lower ranked ninjas, that was.

Our teacher had given us a good example. She'd asked us to try and remember the face of the last woman with a stroller that we'd seen. Naturally, we couldn't. I, like many others, couldn't remember the last time I'd seen a stroller. Then she'd used Henge no Jutsu and turned into a very familiar woman. We'd been struck dumb. It had been the best lesson we could have had on awareness.

Suzume-sensei was kind of awesome like that, even if I disliked her classes. I did not like having to play into the sexism inherent in society.

To be fair to Suzume-sensei, she'd also never singled me out, neither for my behavior, nor for my appearance. She'd occasionally talked to me in the halls to encourage me to try harder in her class, but I think she'd realized that my focus on taijutsu to compensate for my deficiency was my priority. I couldn't say the same thing about the students.

Girl on girl fighting had become very common. Perhaps it was the start of puppy crushes and the sudden crunch in our numbers. It definitely had something to do with Uchiha Sasuke.

The kid, the only survivor, had returned to school with a blank face and even more drive. He was traumatized and surely angling for either revenge or survival. And, in the eyes of nine year olds, he was very, very cool. Good-looking, strong, mature for his age and, I believe, some part of most girls saw him and went 'I can fix him'.

I was already kind of bullied in a quiet way, just nasty comments here and there. I didn't care or have time to care, so it mostly went over my head. But now, when everybody was looking to eliminate the competition… Puberty was going to be so not fun.

Which brought me to today and Suzume-sensei's very useful class on makeup. The usual suspects weren't even bothering to pipe down in front of the teacher.

"Can't hide a forehead that big." "It's not like she'd be useful, anyway." "Muscle-head." "Target-face." "Ugly."

Chicks dig scars, I felt like telling them. Especially shounen-protagonist type scars. I showed it off to the world, since I liked having my hair out of my face, and rarely had it untied. The name-calling would probably hurt if, you know, I didn't have most of the maturity of a twenty-something person in this tiny body. It was just very, very annoying.

"Fuki, do you have anything you want to say to the rest of the class?" Suzume-sensei's voice rose above the usual chatter, killing it dead.

I suppressed the urge to sigh.

Put on the spotlight, Fuki tried bravely to defend herself. "W-well, Sensei, we, I was just wondering how Sakura would manage to disguise herself since she has that huge scar!"

Suzume-sensei was expressionless as she motioned for me to approach her. I resisted the urge to plod as I made my way to the front of the class and sat in front of her. She winked at me, then told me to close my eyes. The pass of the brush was soft as she expertly applied and worked the pigments onto my face. Her hands were steady but strangely, not very calloused. Ah, I thought, maybe that was one of the things that could give away a kunoichi.

"There, done." She said and turned me around to face the class. Oohs and aahs broke out. I didn't need a mirror to tell me that my scar had probably vanished as if by magic. I reached for a mirror anyway. My face was smooth but otherwise entirely unchanged. The cross-shaped starburst that made shallow divots over my eyebrows was gone. I couldn't see how she'd done it. Makeup magic. "A skilled kunoichi doesn't need genjutsu. Makeup is just as effective a tool as a shuriken."

"That almost makes me want to be good at these things like you, Sensei." I told her. She shook her head at me. "Can I have my face back, this is a bit weird." I'd never seen my forehead unmarked in this body. It was really weird.

It seemed to quell the idiots in the room, so I counted that as a win.

"Sakura looked so happy, she was going to cry." "Maybe she thought somebody would finally find her pretty." "Don't joke around, who'd kiss a scary face like hers anyway?"

For about five minutes past the bell. Okay, that was enough, the lesson clearly wasn't sticking. I stopped, marched over to the four girls snipping and crossed my arms, saying. "Do you have a problem with my face?"

Fuki and Ami seemed taken aback. Kasumi rallied. "Yeah, I do. Your mug is just too ugly. How about you quit and go running home?" Then she smirked, pleased with herself, and crossed the line. "Not like you have a mama to go cry to."

I blinked. Orphan jokes. Of all the things. My jaw worked as they laughed. Several insults came to mind, but I was just a bit too shocked they'd actually dared. I didn't have any strong feelings about being an orphan. I'd grieved my past family years ago. But Haruno Sakura… she deserved better. Mebuki and Kizashi deserved to be missed.

"Oh yeah, I have a problem with your face too, you round-shit, pug-faced, onigiri-head. Fart-hair." I improvised. "How about you look in the mirror sometimes, huh? Guess the mirror is just going to tell you to fuck off before you break it with your uglyness in your heart. You bitch … cow."

I wasn't good at improvising. But I knew more swears then all of these kids combined.

"You, you…" Kasumi had actually taken a step back. Her face colored red. Everybody in hearing range was gasping.

I put my middle fingers up. "How about you go cry to mommy, fuckface."

---

— Playground showdown, beginning of the Hard-Headed Demon legend! —

We almost starting brawling then and there. I managed to throw down the gauntlet. "You and me, or are you too much of a coward? Chicken, chicken, bawk, bawk!"

We headed out to the closest training field, just outside the classrooms. The rest of the class was encouraging us in turns. Bloodthirsty little tykes. We were in the middle of a makeshift ring.

Kasumi probably knew I was better than her in taijutsu. She was just too angry to make that judgment call. To be fair, I'd also gotten angry and failed the judgment call to not start a fight. I could beat Kasumi, or Fuki, or Ami. All of them at once, not likely.

I grinned and made a come hither motion before the seal of confrontation. It didn't really apply to the situation but well, force of habit.

Kasumi responded curtly before launching an all-out attack. I hopped sideways, guard up. She was taller than me, which made her a bit stronger. I swayed playfully. But I was quicker and more skilled. I jabbed at her guard, testing it. I could probably use a move… Seel and Headbutt, Chimecho and Wrap, Spink and Splash. Wrap?

She kicked, breaking my distracted stance. I retreated. "Come here you coward!"

"Bitch, I ain't gone nowhere!" One of my jabs slipped through and snatched some of her hairs.

"Ow!"

I laughed. It was kind of fun when she was this mad. If she got me tho… well, I didn't want that.

I'd thought about Wrap but that was a bad idea. I still wanted to use a move. To finish her and have them know that I was strong. Splash was useless, of course. But my first move was strong and terribly appropriate.

I planted my feet and raised my arms in a bastardized boxing stance. Blinded by rage, Kasumi didn't see the trap for what it was and charged. I waited until the very last moment. Nômaru-ton… Reeled back, aimed and smashed my head into hers.

"Zutsuki no Waza!"

My forehead impacted the crown of her head with a loud crack. Kasumi crashed down like a rock, face-first into the ground.

I straightened up slowly. My marked forehead glinted, immaculate, not even red. A move that should have ended on a double-knockout left only one standing. Kasumi was out. I was the winner.

Cheers and yells broke out.

Headbutt was Seel's only known move. Powerful and, unlike Head Smash, I didn't take any recoil damage. This much let me walk out unscathed.

Kasumi however… Headbutt was a power 70 move. I kneeled down. She was completely unconscious.

I… might have overdone it.

"Hey, one of you call a teacher! Kasumi needs the nurse!" Or a doctor. The adrenaline was fading and I got more and more worried that I'd seriously hurt her. I hoped I hadn't given her…

"...a cracked skull." The nurse informed me in the office. Suzume-sensei and Mizuki-sensei were present.

Crap.

I'd messed up. I told my story, word for word, and apologized. Several people corroborated it. Since it was my first offense, and the bullying had already been pointed out, I got away with a slap on the wrist. Just staying after school to help out, and writing graded essays about what I'd done wrong.

Kasumi's mother wanted my head on a stick. That worked out in my favor since Kasumi actually dropped out. A cracked skull and a resounding defeat were too harsh of a shock to her system. And the ninjas in charge wouldn't do anything to me for a student who'd quit over that. It went against the hard work ethic that the Academy prided itself in.

I made enemies. Maybe gotten some minor credibility. And I'd definitely got a reputation. Monday I returned to classes and was greeted by the excited whispers of eight and nine year olds that had just discovered a new wrestling move or whatever.

The Pink-Haired, Steel-Headed, Foul-Mouthed, Scarred/Scary Demon Girl of the Fourth Year. Lovely.

---

— Fourth Year sees some progress! —

Yamanaka Ino was the kind of girl that, in my past life, I would have had an embarrassingly huge crush on. Not at nine, but at eleven, twelve… until the fifth grade I'd been too busy climbing trees and playing ball with the boys to realize I could hang out and spend time with girls. Ino was popular but nice. Outspoken, full of energy, talented and always willing to help out and talk to people. If she grew her hair out, she would be the kind of girl I would have swooned and sighed over.

I was nine for now, but trying to account for my past-life maturity made whatever future romantic prospects I could have… awkward. Anyways.

Ino was in the other class, but we shared kunoichi class. Boys and girls from both classes would have lessons together. While girls had Suzume-sensei, the boys would have Mizuki-sensei teach them how to notice stuff and counter some of the tactics and techniques we learned. Or just use it as a free-practice period. Mizuki-sensei was easy-going like that.

I was very surprised when Ino sat down next to me in our next kunoichi class. I wasn't the only one.

"Hi, I'm Ino." "I know?" That made her laugh. "What do you think today's class is about?" "Looks like sewing. That's useful…" "Oh, I guess so. It's easy tho, I liked last class better." "...ugh." "Hey, how did you manage to use your head like that against Kasumi? You should have gotten a huge bump!" "I hit a training log like everybody else." "With your head?" "I started with a padded log…"

I wouldn't say we were friends, but we were friendly. That was almost as good for fourth graders. Beating people up worked wonders for friendship when you look like a shounen character.

The fight had made my guardian forbid me from making money for the first two weeks of summer vacation. Unpaid labor only. That was a real punishment. Without close friends, I spent summer like I hadn't in years.

Wandering, exploring the city, playing make-believe and exercising for fun. How novel-nostalgic chic.

In the second semester, we were taught proper ninjutsu: Bushin no Jutsu and Henge no Jutsu. Ninjutsu classes had already been composed of handseal practice and chakra control exercises for me. Admittedly, those were very important skills I was somewhat behind on. My control and awareness was hindered by how completely different my chakra behaved within my body. The instructions given to the rest of the class only worked at the most general level. I had a hunch my chakra had seventeen types, for no particular reason… Handseals were a similar topic. The twelve handseals had been standardized since ninja villages noticed they needed a core curriculum, derived from the teaching of the Sage of Six Paths. They worked because humans all had similar chakra pathways. Except for me.

The teachers couldn't help me even if they wanted to. Ninjutsu class was half theory, half self-practice. It was trial and error for me, like the very first ninjas. I needed to figure out where my chakra flowed and how. Only repetition and time could help me. On top of that, I was going to have to invent my own handseals. I could use the half-seal that was commonly called the seal of confrontation as a basis, even if my version had a slightly different finger positioning. So if I wasn't practicing the standard handseals to increase my finger coordination and flexibility, I was contorting my fingers in weird ways in the vague hope I'd figure out something new.

Sometimes it was disheartening. Those days, I enjoyed a good sealion self-cuddle. Seels are very, very soft, and squishy. Only six seconds, but six seconds to heal the soul.

"Off to work again?" Ino asked as I packed up my things. It was December already and the sky was threatening snow. "It's not fair Dad doesn't pay me when I work at the shop…"

"Your Dad pays you in food and clothing and loads of other things." I mentioned distractedly, winding up my scarf around my neck. I was eager to go. "See you next week and have a nice weekend."

She winced a little bit. "Sorry, sorry… Bye! Work hard!"

I dashed out of the Academy. I'd secured a gig chopping wood recently. It paid less per hour, but it was steady work. I wouldn't have trusted most nine year olds with even a mid-sized axe, but being a responsible fourth year Academy student gave me some credibility.

I was almost up to a thousand ryou again, and I couldn't wait to pull for the fourth time. I had high hopes! Until now, all my pulls had been two-star pokemon, or Uncommon rank. Meditating on my power had revealed to me that the gacha rate was something like 5-10-35-50, from Ultra Rare to Common. I had about one in ten chances of something good, and this time, for sure–

Common. I hit my head against the tree I was sitting against. "Way to jinx it, Sakura." I only had myself to blame. "It's not a bad pull. Magmag, or Slugma… That's a nasty close-quarters surprise." Seeing as I would be made out of magma. I would also stop needing a flint to light the campfire. Maybe Slugma started with a fire-type move, but my hopes weren't great.

A second later I was sitting up with the biggest grin on my face. Slugma didn't know fire moves. But it did know both Yawn and Smog. A status-effect normal move and a damage-dealing poison move. It was the first move not of the normal type. A milestone I needed to start better understanding my chakra, for sure, and a useful move on top!

Suzuki no Waza was basically identical to a normal headbutt, but Sumoggu no Waza was not going to be confused with anything other than a proper ninjutsu! Unless they thought I used poisonous ninja tools of some sort.

… And if I use either of my new moves, I was locking the other out for a full hour.

"This requires… experimentation."

---

— Meeting with the boy that couldn't use jutsu! —

I climbed the tallest post. The training ground had a file of ten thick tree trunks, some still padded, others not. I was scratched and bruised, but so was this post. Not that I was going to hit it. I had a better plan.

My hands formed what I called the Normal Seal. It wasn't quite there yet, but I believed the final form of this handseal was almost in my reach.

"Nômaru-ton: Haneru no Waza."

And I let myself fall. The technique spread almost instinctively within me. I hit the ground and– plopff– bounced off, my momentum cancelled. I'd done it!

Then I hit the ground again. "Ghu–fff."

Haneru no Waza, the Splash Move. The most infamous Pokemon move, on the account of being completely useless in-game. I'd tried it out because I could and because I was also curious about it. All I did was… flop around like a fish out of water. It was a good move to test out the differences between automatically using moves as part of my innate power and using moves as deliberate ninja-like techniques. So I'd ended up discovering a few interesting things while testing it out. For one, I didn't get hurt. Even tho it made my body drop down and pretend half of me was a spring.

Now, using moves as they were in my head was quick and powerful. They wouldn't fail. But I could only use them as the pokemon would. That was fine with Seel's Headbutt, but had been a problem with Chimecho's Wrap. Chimecho used its tail. I did not have a tail. It ended up tripping me up before my body realized my legs were the closest thing I was going to get.

Spoink's Splash had me bounce on my butt. Not dignified.

The solution was to use my chakra-energy. It offered greater flexibility in how I used the moves, but it required me to use at least one handseal to concentrate. As I'd used and gotten used to a Normal move and a Poison move, I'd started honing in on the handseals for those type releases. Because I was still figuring out which handseals would work for the rest of the technique, it took me some time to concentrate and mold my chakra before I used my moves outside their predefined patterns.

Thus, Splash practice. More specifically, practice in using Splash as a fall-breaking technique.

All things considered, it was going quite well. I still needed some time to concentrate, but Haneru no Waza was simple and wouldn't have a lot of handseals. All it did was convert what little momentum I had into a harmful flopping motion. I still hadn't managed to keep it going for more than a couple of bounces. I could sort of use it as a bouncy-hopping motion while standing in place which… did nothing. As advertised. The goal was to be able to hit the ground in any position and bounce harmlessly.

"We're getting there." I told myself. I sat up and rubbed my jaw. "Okay then, time for the other ones."

This one I could do much better.

Normal Seal. "Zutsuki no Waza!" {Headbutt Move}

My head hit the training post with a loud crack. If the birds in Konoha weren't entirely used to ninjas, they'd have flown off.

"Excuse me!"

I startled and wiped out a kunai at a kid, standing several meters behind me. Black-haired, strong eyebrow and square-jawed, he couldn't be much older than me.

"Pardon. I was wondering if I could also use this field, but I saw you train. What style of taijutsu is that? I've never seen anything like it!"

I blinked. "Errr…"

He seemed to falter, but it was hard to tell, because his face seemed perpetually stuck into a determined expression. "Oh, sorry, I didn't mean to be nosy. I was just curious. Please forgive me." And he gave me a polite little bow.

"It's fine." I shook myself. "You just startled me. It's… hm." Well, I didn't know if I actually wanted to answer that question. I was still working out how to remind the Academy teachers of the tiny print in my medical file that said yes, I could use jutsu. "It's something I'm working on. I'm sorry, but who are you?"

This time, a small blush rose on the boy's face. "My name is Rock Lee! Fifth year, Class 1! It's nice to meet you."

"Haruno Sakura, fourth-two…" Was his surname Lee…? "Wait. I know you, you're the kid that's like me!"

"Like you?"

"You can't use ninjutsu or genjutsu, right?" He nodded. "I can't, well, I can't use ninjutsu or genjutsu like a normal person either."

"Really!? I did not know that there was somebody else trying to be a ninja using just taijutsu." He was excited.

I felt a little bad about making my problems with chakra look like his. "I's not like I won't ever be able to use ninjutsu… My chakra pathways are all messed up, so I have to discover entire new jutsu for myself." I explained. "Our situation isn't exactly the same… sorry."

But Lee just brushed it off. "It's still amazing! You are a very strong person, Haruno-san! Trying to graduate without ninjutsu is hard, don't diminish your hard work! You can do it!"

I found myself laughing. His praise felt good and made me blush. Wow, had it really been that long wince admiration had been turned my way? "By that logic, aren't you also amazing and strong?"

Rock Lee stopped, his brain tripping over itself. A deep blush turned his cheeks red. "Ah? Ahah?! Wa-ha, no, I just… I want to prove I can become a strong ninja. Ahahah…"

"That's cool." I ran my eyes over his body with more attention. His outfit was scuffed and showed signs of great use. For a kid, he was obviously in great shape. And his hands and shins had callouses like I'd never seen on an Academy student. "I'm sure you'll succeed. I'm going to practice some taijutsu myself. You're free to use the other posts."

"Yosh!"

And that was how I met Rock Lee, a complete taijutsu maniac.

---

— Don't forget those that loved this girl! —

Just after I finished the year, the Academy's fourth out of seven, I was called up to discuss my situation. For once, not my ninja situation. It had been accepted that I was going to be a ninja, half-assed or not. It was about my stay at the way-house.

I was having my tenth birthday in under two weeks. I was already one of the oldest children at the house.

The matron and a social-worker, I believed, sat down with me.

"A whole apartment?" I questioned. "I can't pay for that."

The older man nodded, adjusting his glasses. "Of course, the village will support the greater part of your living costs. Academy students without parents are often emancipated around your age. After graduation, you'd be an adult in most respects anyway, so it's customary to ease students into independent living."

"Okay, that's a relief."

"Beyond that, it's been withheld because you were a child under the care of Konoha, but your parents' assets will become available to you as well."

I blinked. "My parents had assets?" The question was stupid. Of course they did, even if just some money in the bank. They'd been ninjas, no matter how low-ranked. I'd never connected those dots. "Oh."

They were talking about controlled access and supervision and regular check-ups. I paid as much attention as I could. The world was opening into an array of choices and opportunities that I'd never thought I would have. Not so soon.

I really owed the Harunos. What a curious feeling… it made my eyes water.

With the help of the village's child services, I found a tiny apartment in a good-enough zone. It was in a better neighborhood than where I'd been, and only it's size cut down on the price. The kitchen and bedroom were separated by a folding screen, but the appliances were okay and the plumbing was good. There was a single window in the kitchen area.

My vacations were spent getting a hold of how my life was changing and scouring second-hand shops for furniture.

Not sharing my living space with other children was a game changer. I had privacy? I could have my own things without fear they'd be damaged or 'lost'. I cut a hole in a celebratory cookie tie to make a piggy bank, now that I didn't have to carry everything in my pouch. I had to get an alarm clock because I no longer woke up with the noise of the water running.

Budgeting was going to be a struggle, I thought as my eyes devoured the paper representing my outstanding balance. There was more than expected. For the first month, I took only enough to top up what I needed for the next pull.

Fittingly, a golden rare star lit up in my mind. A starter, Kimori, better known as Treecko. Helpfully, both Leer and Pound became available, a status move and another physical move easily incorporated in my taijutsu.

I let myself sprawl on the floor of my new, own home. As I grew up, things started looking up. Or maybe that was just the increased agency. The walls of the apartment were nearly bare. The few photos that had survived my parents were carefully tucked into a drawer until I found a place to make copies of them. The mini-fridge was stocked, there was instant ramen in my cupboards. My Academy books occupied half a shelf and my weapons were in a straw basket missing a handle.

I imagined a mirror on the ceiling, and contemplated Sakura.

Chewing gum pink hair, straight and neat, was pulled back into a short ponytail. I supposed I could choose my own haircut now that the matron wasn't the one to take the scissors to it. Were there cheap saloons nearby? Standard dark blue ninja sandals, open-toed, along with comfortable blue pants that tightened around my ankles. They lacked pockets, but I always carried my things in my holster or my pouches. Today was loose white t-shirt day. It was always loose t-shirt day, but I had a few colors to choose from. My winter hoodies, the only two hoodies I had, were hanging in my new closet along with my one and favorite sleeveless vest. Likewise my usual hand wraps were drying, since I did not train today.

I had money to actually buy clothes that I wanted now. I could have a style instead of the mishmash of colors that were handed down to me or on sale. I could get those cool robes and some proper fingerless gloves.

It was almost overwhelming.

"I guess… yeah. Thanks. Mom… Dad."

I'd never called them that before, not to myself. I spent the rest of the afternoon imagining what Sakura's life could have been like in a kinder world. I decided to visit the memorial before the Academy started up again.

---

— I don't think it's strange that I have friends! —

I felt a familiar dismay as Lee dodged my glowing fist. I knew what came next. I tensed up in preparation, and managed to withstand the kick that sent me down with only an average level of pain. "O-okay, I yield. That's enough."

"Are you sure?" I could hear the 'already?' in Lee's voice.

"Yeah, I need to rest up before my job." The hustle never slept.

"Oh, of course." … "You can keep training Lee, you know that I don't mind." "Yosh. Thank you for your consideration, Sakura-san!" "Ye-ye…"

The sound of fists hitting wood filled the training ground as I regained my breath. The fall's colder temperatures had the proud leaves of the trees around us yellowing and falling. We weren't in the one near the Academy. Lee knew more than a few training spots, and he'd introduced me to this one. We used it for our regularly scheduled joint taijutsu training, the only training we could do together.

"Hey Lee, mind if I think out loud to you?"

"Not, 33. At all, 34."

"Hm, thanks. Anyway, you know I've recently gotten a handle of a few more ninjutsu." Now that I had more money, I could regularly pull once every three or so months. Since the year had started, Aerodactyl and Houndour had joined my arsenal. "I've even gotten a fire type jutsu." Ember from Houndour.

"That's right, 46!" And Lee would know, we spared together once a week.

"Hm, yeah, and I'm getting better with my handseals, but I still can't use my moves consecutively." A noise of understanding. "So I'm thinking that unless I manage to get that hurdle down 'til the end of the year, I'm not going to tell the teachers for now."

Well, I could use Leer, Niramitsukeru no Waza, twice per hour. However, since that would block either Hinoko no Waza {Ember Move} or Hataku no Waza {Pound Move}. And those were the attacking moves I used the most. So I could, in theory, use a genjutsu and prove it wasn't a fluke.

"Why not? 71! Your grades would, 72! Surely improve, 73!" I knew a straight-laced kid like him would question my decision.

"Because my progress is too slow. It'll look like I stall a lot," And I sort of did. "My consistency will always be called into question, so I wanna get things to a better level first. This sort of perception trick is part of being a ninja, so I think it's fair game."

"Underneath, 99! The underneath, 100!" Lee paused, breathing deeply. "That's smart, Sakura-san! Alright, another 200 kicks!"

I smirked. "Glad you think so, Lee-san!" I was going to get him to stop with that pronoun one day. "Anyway, I know I've made progress, and not just in jutsu. You know what I think has been my greatest achievement so far? Having you and Ino as friends."

Lee missed his kick, unbalancing and falling backwards with a yelp. "Sa-sakura-san!" He was red as a tomato.

"Anyway, when's your birthday?" "N-next month, November 27th? Why?"

"Ino invited me to her birthday party a few days ago. It was nice." I said. "I'd like to at least give you a happy birthday when the day comes."

I wasn't being farcical or exaggerating in any way. Ino's birthday party was the place where I suddenly realized that I had two actual friends. It blew my mind. I'd been always distant from kids my supposed age, which was natural. Plus I was an orphan with very few means, I was always working and all I did at the Academy was study. I had a bad reputation. They called me the Greedy Demon at the way house, because I wanted money. Whatever.

That had been the first birthday party I'd been invited to. Ino had rallied when she learnt that, and she made sure I was having fun, even tho the party was for her. Her father was taking pictures… I'd asked for a copy, since, well, it would be the second picture of me to ever exist. I had a picture of my mother, pregnant, and my Academy file surely had one but me? Just a normal picture?

Not until then. I wanted to have a lot more pictures. I was here. I was alive and I was living well. I wanted some sort of proof that I existed, maybe. I wondered if Lee's mother would take a picture for us…

---

— Graduation time is here, but not for me! —

We faced each other in a clearing without snow. Our referee stood over us on top of the training post. "Ready?" Ino raised her hand. "Go!"

I… turned to wiggle my butt at my opponent, blowing a raspberry at him. Lee skidded. "Wh-what? Wait!" Too late, Nômaru-ton: Shippo o Furu had been a success. I couldn't let up. I wiggled more with a cute little giggle. {Normal Release: Tail Whip Move}

"I will not be cowed, Sakura!" He resumed his attack and… fast! I managed to squeeze out a single seal before I dropped limp, dodging the first of his attacks. Haneru no Waza! One hand on the ground, I pivoted quickly and cried out my own attack. {Splash Move}

"Zutsuki no Waza!" My head collided with Lee's block, but it was weakened and I managed to gain some space. I had to keep it that way. My hands flashed through seals, the few I needed, as I brought my ninjutsu to bear. All the while, I ran back, keeping my distance the best I could.

Mushi-ton: Ito o Haku no Waza! Niramitsukeru no Waza! Nakigoe no Waza! Niramitsukeru no Waza! {Bug Release: String Shot Move} {Leer Move} {Growl Move}

"You cannot dodge forever!" The boy crashed a kick against a hastily raised block.

"True! Akubi no Waza!" I yawned. {Yawn Move}

Lee's eyes widened, familiar with the genjutsu, but it was too late. He pushed me away and tried slapping himself to drive back the drowsiness. I had to capitalize on it. Strings dangled from body and he was already rattled from the constant Leers and Growls. I had one chance.

I wound up my fist in a completely telegraphed move, hand starting to shine. Every syllable left my mouth like a promise. "Hataku!" And I clocked Lee in the jaw. {Pound}

I'd done it… Lee's eyes snapped open. Or not, or not! Too close, I had to go for a Wrap–

Shin filled my vision, then the sky was down before I crashed painfully into the ground. I'd done a backflip courtesy of Rock Lee, who now sat on my back and applied a submission hold. "Do you yield, Sakura?"

I managed to weakly tap his arm.

"Winner: Rock Lee!" Ino crowed to the non-existent crowd!

"YOSH! Ah! Let me help you up!" "P-please…" "Wow, you have no mercy at all, do you Lee-kun?"

Ino joined us on the ground-level as Lee helped me become less of a defeated smear on the pavement. The year was ending. Specifically, the civil year that marked the end of three-quarters of our sixth school year. Well, for me and Ino.

"Ow, my face… You definitely have nothing to fear. Lee, you're going to ace your graduation exam."

Lee, one year older, was on the seventh and last year. His final exams were coming up, and his performance on the only category they could grade him on, taijutsu, would determine whether or not he got to wear the Konoha headband. As an official genin. And he could try to hide it, but Lee was definitely nervous.

Ino and I, but mostly me, had generously dispensed some of our winter vacations to help him out. Studying and sparing, which meant Ino got to lecture him and I… got my ass kicked.

"Fighting Sakura is as hard as ever." He commented as he stretched his shoulders. "I need to do three times more effort than normal, your genjutsu is truly amazing!"

And yet he'd still taken me out in one blow. "Well, that's the only strategy that works on somebody that much stronger than me. If hadn't, you'd just shrug me off." Lee was going to be a beast. Whittling him down with status moves was more efficient than trying to overpower him with attack moves. Because he'd just dodge.

Been there, done that, lesson learnt.

Time was passing so quickly, between my efforts and the Academy pushing me to prove myself. I'd settled into something of a routine, broken only by the now regular uses of my power. My arsenal was growing! I was getting closer to pulling any pokemon, just one, please, another time. Level 10 haunted me. I desperately wanted the power boost and the ability to transform for more than a measly six seconds. I had to be able to at least pretend to do something like one of the three basic jutsus, and Henge no Jutsu was right there!

Ditto would do too, but that was an exception.

My capabilities had been revealed in increments to both Lee and Ino. Lee and I had a partnership of sorts and we helped each other get better. We'd just spared with no transformations, but that was because I had already spent most of them before. Incorporating them into my style was a hundred percent only possible because he helped. Ino was just a friend that liked watching us train more than she liked training with us. She did find some of my transformations cute and cuddly. Somehow, I'd been coerced into providing her with a Ponyta ride when I got better at being a horse.

I had a couple of aces in the holes. Aerodactyl to fly off, Absol as the fastest even at level five, and two fish pokemon transformations that would let me breathe underwater for twelve seconds. I liked my chances a lot better now that my capabilities had expanded, but still. Still.

Well, I had another two months and another pull before I had to worry about my grades.

---

— Scarhead can do jutsu, too! —

Lee did pass, when the day came. I gave him a pair of nunchucks as a graduation gift. He was probably going to wear them down before three months were past, but I couldn't resist it.

He got put in a classic three-man formation with a Hyuuga that was his class' 'rookie of the year', a girl that used throwing weapons and a Gai-sensei, who he really wanted to impress. He was a lot busier as a genin, so I'd barely seen him in the following month or so.

Which wouldn't matter too much, because my own end of year exams were around the corner. And I needed to do well in these.

The seventh and last year of the Ninja Academy was different from the others. It was shorter, only nine months ending with the graduation in January. Breaks were smaller. Very little new material was on the syllabus, the year was focussed on perfecting and testing what we'd been taught until then. And there was only a single class of students.

This was a bottleneck.

I found myself in front of a panel of teachers. My case was to be discussed. It was a familiar position for me. Every year I had to re-justify and prove my commitment to the ninja path.

"Haruno Sakura. Your theoretical grades are still excellent." Naturally, after getting a handle on the language. It wasn't like they required literally mastery from us. Memorization and math I could do in my sleep.

"Top ten in taijutsu, and good marks in weapons and tool usage." The teacher, a familiar young man that also had a large scar on his face, put down my papers. "There's been some improvement in your chakra control but… well, considering the handicap you are working with, do you think that's enough to become a genin?"

I took a deep breath. "Sensei, I-I have news actually. I've made progress with my self-studies."

The chuunins traded looks. "How so? Can you perform any of the three basic ninjutsu?"

"Kinda" I hurried to explain. "I can use Henge but only to transform into certain animals? But I managed to figure out my own fire jutsu and a genjutsu."

"Really. Demonstrate your transformation, please."

So I showed off my… horned seal. And horned fish. Ta-da, I could transform my body! The teachers gave off the distinct impression that they were scratching their heads about me. Because my transformations looked perfect, but their subjects were not. The main teacher rubbed the bridge of his nose.

"Alright… How about your, fire jutsu, was it?"

"Of course." I turned to the side, since I didn't want to set them on fire, and ran through the four handseals that stabilized this move. "Honô-ton: Hinoko no Waza!"

An inhalation, and I spat out a plume of fire that wasn't quite strong enough to hit the wall of the classroom. The temperature of the room had spiked, and the suddenly dry air made me cough. First time using Ember in a confined space. Perhaps I should have modulated it better, but well… I sneaked a peak at the teachers. Eh. Eyes wide, mouths open.

I cleared my throat, noting how bad it was. That worked in my favor, I could only use it once a day. "I… don't think I can repeat that… but," cough, "hmmr! Genjutsu."

Suzume-sensei wrote down something on her papers. "Of course, of course. Drink some water, Sakura."

I thanked her. "Alright. I'll use my genjutsu next. Ready?"

I looked them in the eyes, seals woven. "Niramitsukeru no Waza." And I Leered.

My eyes, the whole thing, glowed red. My interviewer reacted in different ways, some shifting defensively, others stilling. I knew from using it on Lee and Ino that Leer's defense lowering effect worked somewhat like a genjutsu on people. Which meant it could be fought off mentally, but that chakra release techniques had limited effectiveness. I wasn't targeting their system with my chakra directly. Somehow. Moves got weird.

What followed were a series of questions about Niramitsukeru's effects, another demonstration, and more question how I had basically 'invented' my jutsu. There was little to say there that wasn't fantastical. My story was true, I'd gotten there by modifying handseals through trial and error until both the 'right' feeling and 'right' effect were achieved. I just applied them to the move pattern that a seemingly higher entity imprinted onto me. It was a tripartite venn diagram of frustration. I was getting better at it, my move and handseal sample pools expanding as I worked at it.

I passed, their complaints not void but attenuated. Sure, I still couldn't do the Academy basics… but I could do better stuff. Of course, now that I'd shown my hand, I was going to have to somehow improve on it.

---

— The ninja candidates are going to be a headache! —

I started the new year feeling good. I was going to be in Ino's class, along with her childhood friends-slash-required-limpets, Chouji and Shikamaru. I liked Ino, and Chouji too from the times we'd met at her birthday parties. Shikamaru I was reserving judgment on, since we never really talked and I knew better than to trust a preteen's opinion on boys. I knew half the people in my new class, but the rest would be from Ino's old class, which included a lot more famous names from our history lessons than mine.

I finally remembered where I knew the teacher with the scar, Umino Iruka-sensei, from. I'd seen him year after year, every tenth of October, at the memorial for Nine-Tails' victims. Specifically, the memorial for ninja casualties. The matron took me and some other kids there on the day, back when we were younger. He wasn't that much older than me, so he must have lost family to it. I hadn't been to the memorial on the anniversary of the attack since I'd gotten my own place and scheduling freedom. Too many people.

I reached the Academy as the bell was about to ring like always, fresh from my newspaper run. Everybody was already there or loitering near the door. Entering, I sought out Ino and found her sitting next to, unmistakably, Uchiha Sasuke. She was completely absorbed, talking to him. That's right, she had the biggest crush on him. There were no empty spaces next to her and, honestly, I wasn't looking forward to being next to my best friend as she tried to get a man's attention. I could be a wingman but…

I surveyed the girls that would be my classmates. Was Uchiha catnip or something? Ugh, preteens.

Instead, I climbed up to my usual row, at the very back. "Is this seat free?" I asked a boy sitting alone.

"Y-yes. G-go ahead." He stuttered out. I caught a glimpse of white Hyuuga eyes. It had been a while since I'd seen those. I hadn't known there was a guy from that clan in our year.

"Thanks." Actually… " Hey, you… would you know a boy that just graduated, Hyuuga Neji?"

"N-n-neji-nii-san?" He startled, head lifting from the collar of his jacket. It was adorable and I also wanted a nice jacked like his. "H-how d-do you k-know N-n-neji?"

"He's in the same team as my friend Lee. I've never actually met him, honestly. Just got curious."

I was going to keep the conversation going, but Iruka-sensei chose that moment to shoo in the kids outside and close the door behind him, signaling the start of classes. The bell rang, right on time.

We started with introductions. Name, favorite subject, a personal detail. I noted all of those down, of course, because Suzume-sensei's lessons had taught me well. I would never be a social animal and crap at engaging most people, but I'd become surprisingly detail-aware. And these little things people told you without meaning too were a lot easier for me to gather and parse than trying to weedle out of them by directing conversations. We were supposed to start with Aburame Shino, from a clan that I tried not to think too hard about, but Inuzuka Kiba interrupted because his ninja puppy Akamaru technically came first. I forgave him, because Akamaru was a ruffly, adorable, fluffy ball of hidden murder. Shino absolutely didn't.

We were almost at my name, which was in the later half of the syllabary, when the classroom's door rattled and opened, letting in a blonde and orange cannonball.

"I'm not late!"

… He so was.

Uzumaki Naruto. Hard not to have heard of the biggest troublemaker in the Academy. I vaguely remembered he'd been in one of my classes in the very early years of school. I did not remember him being so… loud. Uzumaki was the bad orphan example. When we behaved badly, and only when we behaved really badly, that was the one they would compare us to. We were behaving just like that Naruto. We didn't want to be like that Naruto. It felt almost prejudiced, but aside from his bright hair he didn't look like any different from most people in Konoha, already a diverse group. On the other hand, the punk was yelling in front of the whole class and I could already feel a phantom migraine.

Oh, and of course that triggered counter-yelling. My eye twitched.

The excessively loudmouth ninja prankster… and the perfectly brooding ninja idol (plus entourage). I let my forehead thunk against the desk's top and ground it left and right. I hoped this was not an omen. Then I remembered that part of this year's focus would be team exercises. Group projects.

Hyuuga was probably looking at me weird when I released a low moan of "Nooooo…"

---

— The pastures are green for the noble beasts of Konoha, what! —

"Sakura-chan!"

"Hey Lee-eee!?" What the fuck. "Wha-wha-what-t's with the… chan. And the… haircut?"

Rock Lee posed, actually idol-posed, in front of me. Bright shiny grin, had he treated his teeth? Hair cut in a perfectly round bowl-cut shape. A victory 'v' in front of his eyes and a wink. That was… something.

But the green form-fitting onesie? Hmm, doubt.

I couldn't say anything about the orange leg warmers. Orange was an awesome color that I regretted not being able to wear in large swathes anymore on account of the pink hair.

"Sakura-chan! I am in the springtime of Youth! Gai-sensei has accepted me as his personal pupil!" Lee expounded with much too vigor.

I blinked, processing the sentences.

"Indeed I have!" Holy– a man dressed exactly the same as Lee appeared next to him. "Hello, Sakura-chan! I am pleased to meet one of Lee's most youthful friends!"

"Errr… who are you?"

"Sakura-chan, this is Gai-sensei!" Lee rocked in place, shocked.

I was the one shocked! "You never described him to me! Physically!"

"Ah." He blushed and turned to his sensei. "My apologies Gai-sensei!"

"No harm done!" Gai gave him a thumbs-up. The most thumbs-uppy thumbs-up I'd ever seen. "Anyway, Lee wished to introduce me to you. I am Maito Gai, a jounin specializing in taijutsu! I have witnessed Lee's fires of youth–"

"Gai-sensei!"

"–and pledged to do my best, no! I will push myself to my limits to help Lee achieve his dream!"

Honestly, good for Lee. He deserved more people believing in him. He had an infallible working ethic and was a good person. "Did Lee mention my chakra problems?"

"That's right!" "I apologize if I was too presumptuous, Sakura-chan! But I think Gai-sensei could really help you too!" "Your concern for your friend does you credit, Lee!" "Gai-sensei!"

I raised a hand, weakly. "Hum, Lee, you know that I don't train as much as you because I just don't have the time, right?" Also, Lee didn't comprehend the meaning of fatigue, probably.

"Perhaps you could join us for fourty laps around the village before sunrise!" Gai proposed.

"Newspaper run job." I countered.

"Twenty warm-up laps an hour before sunrise!"

"Sleep is an important part of an exercise regime!"

"Good point! What do you do after classes?"

"Warehouse job, cleaning job, bar job. Homework, study. Then preparation for the day after." I raised one finger. "Except today, I do extra practice here, as usual. And tomorrow, which is a resting day."

"A most youthful schedule!" Gai nodded, then thought. "Hmm, are you in the habit of studying quietly or while doing some sort of exercise?"

"Yep, I know that trick. I stretch or do isometric exercises." I really, really didn't have a lot of time, which was why I enjoyed my very early nights in a comfy bed, and a good nap on the grounds of the Academy during the day.

"Sakura-chan, the fires of youth burn brightly within you too!" Lee yelled.

Hm, no. "I just really need money and really want to graduate."

"Nevertheless, the passion of youth is clear within you!" Gai leaned forward. I kept my face blank. "Somewhat… hip and cool as well." What? "Regardless, join us for training today! When Lee and I have no missions, we should train together!"

And that was how Gai-sensei started giving me extra taijutsu lessons. Once or twice a month. I wasn't going to lie, after the first time, I could barely crawl home. I was very glad that they only happened occasionally.

Lee… I couldn't say anything when he was this happy. And getting so stronger. I could only glimpse his progress and it was shiver inducing. Even if… well, his master's eccentricity had

It was two months later, after we'd 'warmed up', that Gai politely asked to assess my musculature. Which would probably ring some alarm bells if the eccentric man wasn't also an accomplished physiotherapist. Probably. He certainly knew his shit forwards and backwards.

I watched him poke my calves with professional hands. "Your muscle tone is good. And you are already twelve, is it not? Good! Then, I believe you can benefit from weight training like Lee does!" He raised a hand before I could remind him of my circumstances. "Lee! Show Sakura your progress!"

Lee jumped to attention. "Yes, Gai-sensei! Sakura-chan, look here!" And he lifted his now customary leg warmers, showing me a band of white fabric with rectangles embedded in it.

I blinked. "Wait… are all of those… weights?"

"Yes! Lee uses these weights to continuously train his body!" Gai-sensei explained. "These are special ankle weights that increase the strain on the legs, allowing Lee to train his legs and speed. This is especially important for the Dancing Leaf techniques I am teaching Lee."

Oh. "Oh, so wearing something like this I could train even while I work."

"Exactly! However, you are not ready for such a training yet!" He patted my shoulder. "Also, these weights could interfere with the taijutsu that your sensei will want you to learn when you become a genin!"

I already knew Gai-sensei enough to guess what came next. "Different weights then?"

I will skip the youthful declarations. I was happily instructed on finding a good set of light weights for myself, how to use them without hurting myself and how to progress to a certain level.

Needless to say, life became harder.

---

— A conversation with the strongest! —

The thing about a hard life was that it passed by very, very quickly. It also paid its dividends, and not just in my growing strength and ability to kick ass. There were fewer things happier than jumping in the branches of the Konoha trees and realizing I had become capable of rooftop hopping like I had dreamed of as a child.

I had… summoned something repeated!

Absol! My beloved! I could be a beautiful, ominous detector of doom for twelve full seconds!

Whismur joined that restricted group too, today in fact, and with ten move types present in my arsenal, I actually felt somewhat confident about being a genin. I had Absorb and Protect, Thunderwave, Supersonic… It was hard keeping the smile off my face.

"Hey, Sakura, are you going to visit the memorial tomorrow or another time as usual?" Ino asked me before classes started. My friend had grown her hair and become a beauty. I was acutely reminded that she was not only just twelve, but also very straight. The hormones had started last year, but they hit at the weirdest times.

There had been… incidents, this past year.

I shook my head. "The usual. Well, maybe a bit later than usual tonight."

After Ino had returned to her seat, I felt Hinata's curiosity. She tended to start fidgeting when she wanted to talk. She. Because Hinata was a girl.

I had mentioned incidents, hadn't I? Meeting Hyuuga Neji had started a whole thing. It had ended with Hinata becoming my friend too, but the trip there had been rough.

"My parents died in the fox attack twelve years ago." I waved off her concern before it manifested in a full-blow Hinata Stutter. "Doesn't really matter. Anyway, on the tenth there's always too many people for my liking, so I tend to go the night before."

She nodded, and I felt more than heard her very little "Okay." and "I'm sorry."

I gave her a thumbs up.

Class was soon derailed by Naruto getting dragged in by Iruka-sensei. Right on time.

Knowing that tomorrow I wouldn't have to go for my usual early morning job, I let myself reminisce through work and later dinner. My home was still the same, two years later. But now, the empty walls were decorated with photos and shelves contained a collection of improvised flower pots and their little plants. Ino had learnt that plants had to be resilient near me. A good set of weights gathered dust in one corner, too light for me at this point. I hadn't sold them yet because they'd been a gift from Lee.

I was doing well. I would make sure to tell the Harunos that.

It was dark and nearing eleven when I made my way, leisurely, to the memorial. The big stone monument had been carved with names since the founding of the village. With time, more and more of the stone had been raised from the ground, so that more names could be added.

The Harunos were here too. Their bones were interred in the cemetery, which I visited when March ended. But for the remembrance of their deaths, not the life they'd brought into the world, I came here. Part of it was habit, from the time of my early childhood. Hunting down the graves of two people was too much for the caretakers of orphans, who had too many kids to handle. They brought us to a single place instead.

When I was a toddler, I cried a lot in front of this stone. Not for these names, but for all I'd lost from before. Funny how I barely remembered who those people had been.

I sighed.

Thank you, for protecting this body. I was doing my best to live a good life. I had pictures of it as proof. I'd found friends. I was keeping healthy. I hoped you found peace, or at least oblivion.

"I hope to not see you soon." I joked, as usual.

"I would hope not." A voice answered from behind me.

I whirled around. Stopped, disbelieving. I'd only seen this man a few times in my life, but the white and red hat, the robes, the weathered face… The Hokage. The most powerful ninja in the village, and one of the five most powerful people in the world.

And he was just a meter or so away from me.

I mentally shook myself, closed my mouth, straightened up and found myself at parade rest, staring straight ahead and coincidentally at the memorial monument. This was crazy. I was wracking my head over what to say to the supreme leader-slash-general-slash-president when the man itself approached. He settled next to me, cane hitting the ground quietly.

"There's no need to be afraid, I too, came to pay my respects." He chuckled.

"That's… easy to say. But…" like, he could ruin my life. Not to mention how powerful he just physically was. I bet he could break my spine with his pinky. I glanced at him, turning my head as little as possible. "Hm, should I leave you to your, hm, alone, sir?"

"There's no need."

"Because I'm finished, I can go home, now."

He chuckled. "Please wait a little, Haruno-san. Indulge an old man in his reminiscing." There was a moment of silence, as he pondered the names on the stone. "... I remember the day the Nine-Tails attacked Konoha. It came out of nowhere. Konoha was dealt a grave blow that night."

"Hm, yeah." The night I awoke, drenched in blood in a tiny baby body.

"We lost many ninjas and even more civilians. Minato… the Fourth Hokage, made the ultimate sacrifice. And my wife too…" The sigh that escaped his lips seemed to curve his entire body.

Was it hard? I was sorry? I hadn't known the Third Hokage had also become a widower. "Oh."

I wasn't very good at words.

The Hokage shook his head. "It was… many years ago now. I have had time to mourn. And I wasn't the only one to lose loved ones that day." He looked at me. Paused like he was thinking about what to say next.

"I don't remember the Harunos at all." My heart beat once before I realized I was the one who had spoken up. "What I mean is… sorry. But I didn't lose anybody, because you have to have something to be able to lose it."

"Is that so?" I thought I could detect a hint of surprise in this face. "Mmm, but you could have had a normal life with your parents if the Nine-Tails hadn't attacked. That is something you lost."

The Hokage had a point. But still. "Maybe. Or maybe they wouldn't be good parents, or maybe something else would kill them anyway. They were ninjas." I shrugged. "It's just pointless what ifs. I'm not going to dwell on that, that's my opinion."

"An uncommon opinion." He closed his eyes as he smiled. "Very peculiar. Tell me, Haruno-san, what do you think of the Nine-Tailed Fox?"

"... I don't know? I guess…" I rubbed my jaw as I thought. "I guess, I think it was scary. It almost destroyed Konha in a single night." That sort of power was, frankly, unimaginable. Even in a world where people could break rock with their bare hands, jump several meters in the air and breathe fire.

"Do you hate it?"

Hate?

"No."

"Most people who fear something also hate it." The Hokage said wisely.

I couldn't see myself hating a mysterious monster. Fear, always, but hatred? Hatred was human. The Nine-Tailed Fox had killed the Harunos, perhaps even all three of them, but the death I remembered hadn't come from the jaws of a monster. It had been the rumbling of the earth, the confusion before a quick crunch.

"It's pointless. To hate a monster like that. It'd be like hating storms, or floods. Earthquakes." There was a quote I'd never managed to forget. I didn't know where it was from, who'd said it. I looked at the Hokage and shrugged my shoulders. "The dead are gone, the living are hungry."

---

— School is ending! —

The second week of January was the most important week for all us ninja hopefuls. Five days in which we were all evaluated and tested on the various facets of being a ninja.

Combat, taijutsu only or using jutsu, against our teachers and between ourselves.

Accuracy, basic weapons standing, crouching, running, under fire, into static or mobile targets.

Jutsu, demonstrations of our mastery of the techniques taught, handseal speed and recognition.

Theory, from geography to maths, logical tests, tactics and large scale strategy.

Of course, I was sure we had been continuously evaluated throughout the year. Namely, things like survival, awareness, social exercises and the like… or endurance and fitness. This week was just to put our feet to the fire, and determine who really couldn't make it.

I, like Lee before me, had different criteria for certain tests. Namely, nobody ever asked me to perform the Henge, Bushin or Kawimari. I just couldn't be taught those jutsu. It would be like asking a blind man to describe color. Instead, I'd been told plainly, I needed to do exceptionally well in other areas. And, of course, demonstrate what I could do with my own special techniques.

My taijutsu and my theory scores were great. They'd been my focus for years, and I had Lee and Gai-sensei to help me. Ninjutsu and genjutsu were a breed apart, but I knew I would be able to impress with some of my moves. Weaponry was where I faltered a bit. I was more than handy with kunai in hand, especially in close-quarters. Hikkaku no Waza {Scratch Move} in particular had required me to invest in better knife-fighting. But throwing kunai and shuriken?

Well.

For one, pulling more pokemon meant I had less money to use on tools. So I practiced less with those I had, which were of inferior quality. For another, something in my schedule had to give to accommodated for my jobs. My friends had been very helpful and put me through my paces the last two weeks. I was no longer mediocre. I could pass as average. I hit the targets at the regular distance but had trouble with anything further away.

The final test was saturday and, fittingly, was about ninjutsu.

Any of the three 'true' ninjutsu they taught at the academy could be selected for the final test. This year it was Bushin.

For everybody else.

Iruka and Mizuki were behind a desk, a few headbands primly displayed in front of them.

"Sakura." Iruka greeted me with a smile. He had a sheet of paper in his hand. "You already know how this goes. Bushin no Jutsu is, like you wrote in the theoretical, used as a complementary technique in offensive or evasive actions. Please demonstrate a technique that could be used in the same role."

I'd thought hard about this one. There were two possibilities when it came to this test. Either Bushin or Kawimari would be tested for. Kawimari, defensive, I could emulate with a Quick Attack or Barrier. Bushin was a bit trickier. I had plenty of offensive techniques, and I wasn't doubting I could pass using them, but Iruka was a professional. He'd dock me some points.

So instead I used something that, properly channeled, could have that effect. "Doku-ton: Sumoggu no Waza!" {Poison Release: Smog Move}

Inhaling through my nose, I expelled a cloud of toxic fumes from my mouth. The handseals for this technique had one slight variation, one more seal than it normally would. I'd been working on Sumoggu for years, and I'd long since feared poisoning Lee in a spar… so this version was deliberately weak. The dark grey cloud that I aimed at my feet billowed into an impressive smoke screen, however.

When it blew away, I saw Iruka and Mizuki-sensei smiling. "Congratulations. You pass, Sakura."

I received a forehead protector and was, finally, an official ninja. I tied the band around my neck for now, and left the room with a bow to my teachers and a smile I couldn't quite contain. I threw Ino a victory sign and returned to my place, briefly touching Hinata's elbow as we crossed each other. It was her turn after me.

When I plopped down, I took a deep breath and let it out slowly. I felt nauseous and my eyes stung. Despite my best efforts, I'd still inhaled just a bit of Smog. A poison-type move with a status chance.

"Ah… Really had to go poison yourself, didn't you, idiot?" Was I going to need to pass by the hospital after this? Lame.

I couldn't wait for the rest of my ninja career. Getting a team and a jounin sensei, finally going on missions, getting paid… it was just a bit daunting.

Well, I think I was going to do ok.

---

— Notes:

All things start with SIs then transition to SI-OCs. First time I do a Sakura fic. This power was intended for a worm SI that never went anywhere. I reused bits of it for Monsterability. This is the parred down, original version. Somehow both my SIOC pokemon crosses have a kid cursing at other kids. Because it's Naruto, I feel like there should be a measurable quantity of gratuitous japanese mixed in. Hence, Sakura's brain wants her to use the japanese names for everything. Yeah, I am doing japanese names of jutsu because this is self-indulgent and I wanna cry naruto technique names in my head as I write this. 0 regrets. To visualie moves I've been going a lot over the anime depictions of it, it's easier than using the games.

Ryou to Yen to Euro conversions are an exercise in futility. For simplicity's sake, a ryou is 10 cents. So each pull requires 100€. Yes, it's a lot, but I discovered that D-rank missions pay from 5000 to 50000. Even if you split it by three genin, that's 160€ minimum. And 1600€ max. I set graduation at January 15, Japan's hm, adult Day? It's an important enough date that currently defaults to the second week of Jan but before 2000 (when Naruto was first published) it was on the 15th. By the by, I've been setting the Naruto timeline as if it was set in 1997 in regards to week days and moon phases. 1997 because that's when the original Naruto one shot was published. It also fits the one day of the week we have been given according to the timeline.

She's currently discount Rock Lee, which obviously has implications for her friendships at the Academy, aside from the personality changes. About the weights, they will never be as heavy as Lee's. I kinda want to get to the part in which Kakashi blanks out for two seconds flat as he realizes who sakura is friends with. She's a weird recluse child worker for a long time, and it's Lee and Ino doing wonders for her. Photos are gonna be one of the ways Sakura keeps herself grounded to people. It helps a lot that she's acclimatized to Konoha after years and, well, that she's finally surrounded by kids in their double digits. At long last. Wanted to get a Lee confession scene here too but it didn't work out. As one might expect, he will be refused because Sakura is quite gay.

Yes, the Hokage was sorta interviewing a future candidate for Naruto's team, because of the Kyuubi factor.