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Sakura is the last of team seven to settle.
Kakashi settled, age 12 when Obito died in front of his eyes. As Rin had placed the Sharingan into his empty eye socket and shock ran through him and he knew.
Sasuke settled when he was seven, staring at his parent’s corpses with Itachi looming above them. That moment of shock is the last thing Sasuke can remember of the night. The doctors tell him that he must have shifted at least three times, given he was found unconscious from chakra exhaustion.
Naruto settled when he was nine. He hadn’t even known what had happened until he was taken to the Hokage, already in shifted form, for it to be explained to him.
When Team 7 forms and pass the bell test, Kakashi checks his student’s forms and gives a sigh of relief that Sakura hasn’t settled. That’s the last that he thinks of it for many years.
***
“Ah, my little starfish,” Sakura’s dad says, “your hair is so beautiful, just like Tsubaki's was.” Kizashi talks about his sister a lot, he says that Sakura’s a lot like her, but Sakura feels no connection to her long-dead aunt.
“You’re such a puppy, Sakura!” Sakura’s second oldest cousin says, throwing an arm over her shoulder and and pulling her into the wrestle for dominance that’s taking place in the backyard. Sakura’s too busy getting ready to win to listen.
“I’m gonna be a Shikra just like Inoue Yamanaka, and you’re gonna be a butterfly and then we’ll go and fly and spy on people together,” Ino says with authority. Sakura sits quietly on Ino’s bed while Ino braids her hair and predicts the future.
“You’re a sheep, baaaa! Baaaa!” Ino yells, just a few years later, “You’re slow and stupid and prey!” Sakura yells back that Ino’s going to be a boar, even if she doesn’t really believe it.
“I bet you’re a swan, Sakura!” Naruto says, his face far too close, “since you’re so pretty!” After a moment he adds, “and kinda scary too.” Sakura pushes him away, but he only grins.
People have told Sakura what her shift would be her entire life. It was always an uncomfortable occurrence because even when she didn’t know herself, she knew they were wrong.
***
Before Sakura settles she has all sorts of ideas about what her shift might be. Ideally, she’d be a bird or a cat, since almost all of the Uchiha were one of the two, and that would show that she’s compatible. (And Ino is almost definitely a bird as well so Sakura’s a little worried about that.) She wants to be something feminine, discrete, and powerful. Perfect for the future Uchiha matriarch.
There are a lot of moments Sakura almost settles.
In wave, surrounded by blinding mist and choking on fear, it happens for the first time. Sakura is looking around, trying to listen past the fighting to hear if someone is going to try and attack her and their client. Inner gives a gasp and shakes ever so slightly. At that moment, Sakura knows, she’s about to settle. She doesn’t know what it could be, but it would be a form given by her fear.
And that’s unacceptable.
“No,” Inner says, and it’s not a request. It’s not even a demand. It’s a statement of fact; Sakura doesn’t settle.
After that, Sakura reads a lot about shifts. What she did, it shouldn’t be possible. But she did it. She’s not used to the books being wrong. (For the first time, she wonders if they might be lying.) She doesn’t tell anyone.
The second time she almost settles, she’s in the Forest of Death. Her hair is scattered on the ground. Her conviction has never been this strong. But… she’s not ready yet. She’s not ready to settle. There’s so much more she wants to be. This victory, this conviction, is only a tiny win after a landslide of losses, It’s only the first step of many.
Sakura stands in the street, in the middle of the only way out of Konoha. Tears she can’t stop run down her face. She can feel fear in Sasuke, fear she doesn’t know how to help.
“I know you hate me,” she admits out loud for the first time. She’s known for a while, at least since they reached genin. Inner starts to shake but now is not the time! For the third time she refuses to settle, but Sasuke still leaves the village. She’s not surprised. He doesn’t have anyone to anchor him here if Team 7 isn’t enough.
And the fourth time, when Team 7 falls apart and Naruto leaves and Kakashi disappears. The fifth time, asking to apprentice to the HOKAGE. The sixth time or the seventh time, nor the ninth, tenth, or eleventh. It becomes reflex; Sakura doesn’t settle.
***
Sakura kills Sasori of the red sand and Inner gasp. It’s almost instinctive to push it back.
“Don’t do that girl,” Chiyo says, voice weak but still stern.
“What?”
“Let yourself settle,” Chiyo saying, leaning against a nearby rock. “You’ve done whatever it is so much it’s started to kill you.”
Confusion swirls Sakura’s mind but Inner obliges and allows what feels like an electric current run through her.
***
There’s something distinctly different about a person once they’ve settled. Not in any way that could be described, just something that anyone who pays attention to can tell.
“So,” Naruto says, running along Sakura back towards the village, “what’d you settle as?”
“Naruto! It’s none of your business!”
“You know my shift,” Naruto pleads, but Sakura just rolls her eyes.
“Just ‘cause you shifted in front of everyone the moment you could doesn’t mean you get to know my shift.”
***
Sasuke and Naruto are charging at each other, Chidori and Rasengan once more flying against each other. Sakura has a moment of deja vu before she’s running towards them, towards Naruto. She shifts in mid-air and tackles Naruto as Sasuke passes behind her, the screaming lightning making her back burn and her limbs twitch.
“What the-” Naruto starts, staring at the lion on top of him. “Sakura?”
She shifts back.
“You stupid idiots!” Sakura activates the seal on her forehead since manually healing her own back without her hands is way too hard for the amount of pain she’s in.
“That’s so unfair,” Naruto pouts, “a lion is way cooler than a fox!” Naruto turns to look at Sasuke, and Sakura follows. He’s staring at her, his hand extended as if to touch her. “It’s better than a mongoose too.”
Naruto sticks his tongue out at Sasuke and Sakura can’t help but laugh.
----- CHAPTER BREAK -----
“Oh,” Sakura says, smiling slightly, eyes slightly unfocused in a way that convinces 99.8% of male shinobi she’s an airhead. “My shift is no good for spying,” it’s self-deprecating and true but also a wholly misleading statement.“Aww, that’s too bad,” Chunin-One says, a predatory look flashing on his face, not for the first time that evening.“And after all that work it takes to get a shift too, that’s not fair,” Chunin-Two commiserates. His eyes linger for a moment on her throat as Sakura takes a sip of her drink.“Well,” Sakura sighs, “life’s not fair and all that.” She can’t really comment on the other part of the statement since it took her less than a week to get a working shift technique. Most people can spend upwards of a year getting it to work. As far as she’s heard, Naruto still hasn’t managed it.When Chunin-One drops a pill in her drink Sakura pretends not to notice. She’s pleased the shinobi stationed in the capital still haven’t heard a good description of the Hokage’s apprentice. Chunin-One and Chunin-Two still think she’s some half-rate career chunin. It’s not much longer she’ll be able to do internal missions like this, which is too bad.She likes dealing with scumbags like them.“I have to go soon, I’m supposed to meet with my team in an hour and I still need to get dinner,” Sakura lies, draining her glass and glancing at the clock.“We can show you the best places around here,” Chunin-One volunteers, standing and helping her out of her chair like a gentleman. Or someone who knows their victim might have difficulty coordinating and doesn’t want arouse suspicion.“Yeah, we’ve been in the capital for ages so we know how to avoid all the tourist traps. The best places are all hidden away.” Chunin-Two says, paying the tab for all three of time.“Oh, well,” Sakura dithers, “I wouldn’t want to impose."“It’s no problem,” Chunin-One says, leading her to the door, “There’s this cozy little shop just around the corner. It does the best mochi, and the dinners are pretty great too.” His demeanor is so casual and he does an excellent job of leading Sakura to agree, this is why shinobi can be so dangerous. This is why so despicable when it’s misused, only a shinobi of equal or greater skill would stand a chance.Make it a warning, Tsunade said, and Sakura was happy to oblige.Chunin-One on her right, leading her by the arm (stopping her from easily fighting him with her dominant arm). Chunin-Two on her left, talking to her about the meals the supposed restaurant. Sakura lets them while she focuses on filtering the drugs out of her system.The streets get smaller, the shadows between lights get longer. Chunin-One’s grip on her arm gets tighter and Sakura pretends to stumble.The shift form, a popular technique since the end of the Second Shinobi War is entirely based on the users' chakra control when they filter it through a seal. It’s hard to get any form at all and gets exponentially harder to get any animal larger than a squirrel. Less than a third of Konoha shinobi ever bother to get a shift form. It's considered difficult enough that having one helps when applying for a jonin promotion.Shifts are thought of as a spying technique, so Tsunade never bothered to get one. The mechanics of the technique were only discovered after she left Konoha. Kurenai has the largest record shift before Sakura, a coyote.When Sakura shifts in the middle of the alley there is a bear standing in her place. The chunin earn no mercy from her.