Naruto and Sasuke have identical black smudges on the inside of their pointer and index fingers.
It isn't until they're standing across from each other that Sakura realizes how symmetrical they are.
"It's gotta be a coincidence," Shikamaru grumbles. His soulmark is a firm handprint smacking into the left side of his face, a mark that Sakura has never once found surprising.
That being said, she knows from careful experimentation that it is not her hand.
Still, she hopes Shikamaru is right—she's spent the last few weeks of classes and practices watching Sasuke curl and uncurl his hands, occasionally revealing the black bars layered across his pointer and middle finger.
The shape isn't close to her own soulmark by any stretch, but that hasn't stopped Sakura from plotting it out in her head, thinking of all the ways her hand could press up against his, her tiny fingers grabbing onto him and never letting him go.
It'd be just like Naruto to ruin something like that.
"I'm gonna beat your ass!" Naruto promises, but he's immediately jerked back by his ear. "Ow! What was that for?"
"First!" Iruka-sensei says, "for swearing. Second, for bad sportsmanship." Their sensei sighs and rubs his temples. "Now, because of your bad sportsmanship, you two are going to make the seal for reconciliation before your match, and then you can begin your spar. Do you hear me, Naruto?"
"Yeah, yeah, whatever," Naruto grumbles.
Sasuke's face hasn't so much as twitched, but he dutifully holds his hand out toward Naruto.
Sakura finds herself leaning in closer, waiting to see what will come of it.
Their hands connect, and Naruto yanks his hand back as if he'd been burned. "Damn it!" he yells, just as Iruka-sensei steps in to chide him again. Naruto holds up his hand and Sakura and Shikamaru and everyone else watching the spar can see the silvery smear on the inside of his fingers, bright like a fish's scales.
Sasuke stares down at his hand for a long second before clenching it and shoving it in his pocket. "Are we gonna spar or not?" he asks, chin held high, eyes firm. "Or are you too chicken?"