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Sakura could list the things she loved on two hands, and while her hands weren’t very big and didn’t accurately represent the full amount of love she felt for these things, they would have to do for now.

She loved anmitsu and mitarashi dango.

She loved learning how to be a shinobi from Iruka-sensei.

She loved her friends, Naruto, Sasuke, Ino, Shikamaru, and Choji.

She loved reading.

She loved her okaa-san.

Sakura didn’t know how many fingers she would need to count the things she hated. Maybe she would know, but her okaa-san had always said that ladies shouldn’t hate anything. Ladies should always be polite and ready to help their husbands or other men in their lives. Ladies shouldn’t be angry, shouldn’t louder than a soft whisper, and they definitely should not become shinobi.

‘“Shinobi?” Her okaa-san scoffed one afternoon as she washed dishes. “You want to become a shinobi? Ladies shouldn’t want to become trained assassins. Wherever did that absolutely preposterous idea get into your head?:

Sakura lowered her hands from where they had been clasped together hopefully by her chest. “I dunno.” Looking down at her feet scuffing around on the floor was easier now then looking into her okaa-san’s reproachful gaze. “All my friends are gonna become shinobi, and I thought-”

A light smacking sound echoed through the kitchen. A four-year-old Sakura reeled back, her hands now covering her smarting forehead. Her okaa-san still had her hand raised when she sighed. “It’s those friends of yours, always putting foolish thoughts into your head, making you want to become something you’re clearly not cut out for.” She went back to washing the dishes, not paying any mind to her daughter who was in tears at her side, hands still over her forehead.

“If they’re going to make you think those things, then I forbid you from being around them-”

“Okaa-san!”

“Don’t argue with me, young lady.” There was a dangerous look in her eyes, but Sakura wasn’t able to comprehend that as thoughts began to bombard her brain.

“But I’m supposed to bring snacks for tomorrow’s meeting and I-”

“Sakura.” Her okaa-san tried to interrupt, but Sakura was clearly in distress and wouldn’t stop rambling, her breathing becoming heavy.

“Ino is gonna braid my hair later an’ she’s gonna show me how to do it-”

“Sakura.”

“An’, an’, I just met this boy on the swings two days ago, an’ he said his name was Naruto-” Sakura’s breaths were rushing in now at such a speed that she couldn’t feel the air coming in anymore.

“Sakura.” Sakura’s okaa-san’s voice made Sakura suck in air and suddenly stop. The voice was back.

“Clearly these,” a huff of air was expelled as if saying the word was the most awful thing in the world, “shinobi children are corrupting you. You will not see them again. And if you see that demon boy around, don’t interact with him. He is the reason your father is dead.” The grip around her arm and the steely look in her okaa-san’s eyes were staring straight into Sakura’s soul.

“Sorry.”

“You had better be.”

Sakura loved her okaa-san because she was supposed to. She listened to her okaa-san because she was supposed to. She hid her forehead because her okaa-san said it made her look ugly. She never told anyone what she was actually feeling because ladies don’t tell anyone what they’re feeling. No one would care about what she’s feeling. She just needed to do what her okaa-san said and everything would be fine.

Everything would be fine.

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

When Sakura first met Uchiha Sasuke, she didn’t understand what everyone was so excited about. Sure, he had this cloud of angst and mystery swirling around him that could only be broken by his older brother Itachi, but that didn’t make him swoon-worthy material. Yeah, he came from a prestigious family and he was the top of the class, but to Sakura that wasn’t a good enough reason to devote every second of your life fawning after him. Apparently, her okaa-san didn’t think the same thing.
“That Uchiha boy, the one in your class would be a good husband.” Sakura’s head shot up quickly from her homework about chakra control when her okaa-san spoke out of nowhere. Sakura was six, and even though she was young, she understood the concept that six-year-olds generally don’t think about marriage.

“Okaa-san? I… I don’t understand.”

A deep sigh that seemed to arrive on schedule exited her okaa-san’s mouth as she turned in her chair to stare her only daughter down. “How do you not understand? I still don’t know how you convinced me to let you join that wretched shinobi school, but if you have to be fraternizing with those killers, I might as well get something out of it.”

Sakura turned back to her homework in hopes of getting away from her okaa-san’s gaze. After a brief pause of her pencil tapping on her paper, focus lost, a small phrase was uttered from Sakura’s lips. “I understand.”

Scoffing overtook the silence. “Are you sure? Because sometimes I think you understand what I’ve done for you, and then you go and hang around that devil child. Some would think I didn’t teach you correctly.” With those words out in the air, she leaned in close. Sakura stopped moving her pencil and slowed her breathing. Maybe if she didn’t move, her okaa-san would leave. A childish thought, really.

“You are grateful aren’t you, Sakura?” Her okaa-san’s voice was in a deep rasp, her breath so close Sakura could feel it on her ear. “After your father died, I gave up everything to make sure that you wouldn’t end up like me. Potential lost because of getting married to someone who couldn’t support me.” Her arm wrapped tightly around Sakura’s shoulder, pulling her close into her side. “I was stupid back then, getting married to someone who I thought I loved.” Her words were interrupted by a dry laugh. “I’m not going to let you make the same mistakes.”

Sakura scrunched her eyes closed, pulling her homework closer to her chest, knowing what was coming next wouldn’t be pleasant.

“So for your own good, you need to get that Uchiha boy to notice you. A boy from a clan like that would be able to keep you healthy through all of your days. You would have status and respect in the village.”

“I don’t-” Sakura didn’t know what drove her to speak out of turn, but as soon as she did, she regretted it. The arm around her shoulders clenched tighter, and Sakura knew it would leave a bruise. But that was fine, she had spoken out of turn, she deserved it.

“What? I don’t think I heard that. You don’t what, Sakura?”

“...Nothing, Okaa-san.”

“No, you had something to say. Since it was clearly important enough to speak out of turn, why don’t you finish that sentence.”

“I just,” Sakura mumbled, “I don’t really like Sasuke like that.”

Sakura’s fear only mounted when her okaa-san burst into laughter, tears pricking the corners of her eyes. During this fit of supposed hilarity, Sakura was shoved away from her okaa-san's side and collided roughly with the ground. Trembling on the ground, she kept her head down, bright pink locks covering her tears from view.

“Like? You think I care if you like the Uchiha boy like that?” Her voice suddenly lowered and all previous laughter from the air dissipated.

Bright green eyes were staring into her own as Sakura was pulled up from the ground by an iron grip on her arms. “Be grateful for once in your life, girl! I’ve provided everything you’ve ever eaten, anything you’ve ever worn, and I even let you go to that school.” Her voice began to get progressively louder. “Don’t you know I can take those things away as soon as you do anything out of line?”

Sakura whipped her head up and down wildly, her breath coming in quicker. She just wanted her to let go.

“Speak your words, Sakura.”

After a few rushed breaths, Sakura whispered, “I understand.”

Saura flinched when her okaa-san’s voice raised once again. “What? I couldn’t hear you!”

Every blood vessel in Sakura’s body felt like it was on fire. ‘I understand, I understand, I understand, I understand. Please, let me go.’ The words were rushing through her head, but she wasn’t able to force them past her lips.

“Well?”

“I- I under-understand.”

There was a sharp pain in her forehead as she was dropped back to the ground.

Her okaa-san’s footsteps were the only broken by the sound of her next words. “Next time, be able to say that to me while looking me in the eyes.”

Sakura didn’t know how long she sat on the ground after that. Unlike before when she could feel every cell in her body being lit on fire, now all she could feel was a still nothingness. But it’s okay. Everything is going to be okay. If she did what her okaa-san said, it would be okay.
With shaking hands, Sakura reached for her homework, trying in vain to straighten out the paper where it had been crumpled earlier. Almost methodically, she walked up the stairs to her room, her hand gripping tightly to the wall beside her.

Only when she sat herself down on the floor with the door closed did she let the tear rolled down from their prison. She wouldn’t let her okaa-san see her tears. She needed to show her okaa-san she could be strong.

She wore a long sleeved-shirt the next day to school.

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

Sakura did a lot of things in her life because her okaa-san wanted her to. She tried to get Sasuke to notice her. She failed, but Sakura was pretty okay with that. She learned as much as she could, and as fast as she could so that she wouldn’t fall behind in class. She was one of the only civilian born kids at the Academy and all the other students would get help from their parents. Sakura couldn’t ask her okaa-san, or even mention the word shinobi in her presence. But despite all of the things going against her, she’s graduating, just like the rest of her class. Well except maybe for Naruto, but he’s the kind of person who always figures something out in the end.Sakura snorted quietly at the thought of Naruto crashing through the window, his brand new hitai-ate gleaming on his forehead. That would be a very Naruto thing to do. Ino glanced over at her, a questioning look in her blue eyes, but Sakura only shook her head, a small smile on her face. The blonde-haired girl smiled back, still confused, but turned back around to berate Shikamaru about falling asleep and missing their meeting the day before. Again, Sakura smiled and went back into her thoughts as the Nara heir half-heartedly fended of Ino and her quest to be difficult.When Ino had told Sakura about her crush on Sasuke, she had been secretly relieved that she now had an excuse to not be around him. Ino had really liked him for a time but began to get over him after the novelty wore off. But it wouldn’t have mattered to Sakura if Ino was in love with Sasuke forever, got married to him, and had twenty babies. Okay maybe that’s a bit of a stretch, but Sakura didn’t care if Ino liked someone her okaa-san wanted her to marry. Having a friend was more important than marrying some pretty boy with a superiority complex. ‘But is it really?’ Sakura flinched at the raspy voice that begins to whisper in her ear almost as if summoned. ‘Is it really okay that you don’t want to do what your okaa-san says? I mean she’s your okaa-san, isn’t she? She’s only doing what’s best for you, and you know that.'Sakura’s hand reached up and began twisting her long, pink locks between her fingers.
‘You should be grateful for everything she’s done. Why don’t you appreciate her more?’
Her grip on her hair become more intense, but Sakura was blinded to the pain that began to appear on her scalp.
‘When she tells you your forehead is why you’re ugly, she says it only because it's true. And when she tells you to go on diet because you’re getting too heavy, she only says it because she knows what’s best for you. And when she says you’ll never succeed as a shinobi, it’s because you’re weak and cowardly-’
“Sakura!” The voice was cut off abruptly when Ino yelled her name and simultaneously threw a piece of paper at her.Sakura flinched, letting go of her hair, breathing deeply to calm herself down. Everything was fine, she was good at pretending everything was fine.She turned around leisurely knowing Ino would start ranting even if she wasn’t ready to listen yet.“Tell Shikamaru that a lot of important things got discussed yesterday and if everything wasn’t just a pain for him, then he would actually do well in school!”Ah, the neverending argument.As soon as Sakura finished turning her head, she was greeted with an intense stare. For a moment though, Ino’s eyes weren’t blue, they were green, as green as if Sakura was looking in a mirror. For a brief second, Sakura thought through everything she had done that day and wondered if it had been up to standards. Then she blinked, and Ino’s eyes returned to their normal color and the only intensity left in her eyes was friendly. That’s right, everything was fine.When she looked past Ino, who was wildly waving her arms to match her flamboyant words, she shared a small shrug with Choji who was sitting behind her, a bag of chips in his hands. Next to Choji with a look of everlasting boredom was Shikamaru, who wasn’t even pretending to pay attention to Ino. Ino, of course, was too preoccupied scolding him to notice that he wasn’t actually listening to her.“And another thing-” Ino was cut off by the door swinging open and the massive shout that came from the now open space.“UZUMAKI NARUTO IS HERE!” Sakura rolled her eyes fondly when she saw Naruto grinning widely, his orange jumpsuit as bright as his smile.“Baka-Naruto!” Ino spun around from attacking Shikamaru to screech at the dead last of the class. Well, he apparently wasn’t doing as badly as everyone thought, because that was definitely a hitai-ate resting underneath his unnaturally bright yellow hair. But in all honesty, Sakura had no room to talk.Sakura snorted in her brain as she brushed her pink hair behind her shoulder, and as Ino continued to interrogate Naruto on how he had possibly passed. Her gaze continued to follow Naruto as he simply shrugged with a sly grin on his face, and marched up to Sasuke with his hands behind his head. Sasuke simply raised an eyebrow at the blond as he began to crow about how he got his hitai-ate was a village secret.Chuckling, Sakura turned away from them to glance at her hands. She winced when she noticed the small crescent shaped scars that were undoubtedly hidden under her fingerless gloves.Shaking her head, she moved on to think about what everyone in this room was probably thinking about. Who was going to be on her genin team? That’s right. Sakura was a genin now. Her hand unconsciously reached up to rub her new headband that was in the form of a brand new hitai-ate.Sakura scanned the room. Well, all the people Sakura was already comfortable with wouldn’t even be a possibility if the council didn’t want to anger three major clans in Konoha. Ino, Choji, and Shikamaru were bound to make up the next generation of Ino-Shika-Cho, which left Sakura out.The next person her eyes landed on was Hyuuga Hinata. Sakura supposed she wouldn’t be too bad, but she didn’t think that there had ever been a team with two girls on it. There was conveniently just the right amount of girls in her class to have each of the teams be one girl and two boys.Next was Inuzuka Kiba, and right away Sakura knew she would be bulldozed by his never-ending energy. Akamaru was pretty cute though. Currently, the new genin and his nin-dog were chatting together, which pretty much meant Kiba was explaining a new taijutsu move to his dog and Akamaru was sleeping in his hood.Sakura didn’t have to look behind her to know that Aburame Shino was sitting behind her. He never talked and always had his hood pulled up and his jacket covering his mouth. Shino was a very difficult person to read, which would probably mean that Sakura would need to get to know him better if they were put on a team together.Now Sasuke… He was the one person Sakura hoped she wouldn’t be put on a team with. Yeah, Sasuke was nice enough and would definitely make her want to better her skills as a shinobi, but there was the problem of her okaa-san wanting Sakura to marry him one day. And Sakura was trying to avoid that as much as possible. There was also that problem that he was so consumed with being better than his older brother Itachi that he sometimes forgot to be considerate.There was only one person left in the room that Sakura knew and at the moment he was being pushed by someone from behind into a kiss with none other than Uchiha Sasuke. Sakura almost released a loud snort but held it in when all of her okaa-san’s teachings came back to her.
‘A lady shouldn’t do anything unladylike if she wants to get married someday. And you need to get married, Sakura to have a good life.’
Sakura closed her eyes for a brief second amid all the horrified screeching of Sasuke’s fangirls.
‘That’s right, Sakura. Okaa-san knows best.’
Okaa-san knows best.Whenever Sakura had a thought that even went slightly against her okaa-san’s, the voice in her head was always ready to jump in and right the wrong.Shaking her head, Sakura moved back to her people watching. Naruto was now being chased by a large crowd of girls and Sasuke was still sitting at his desk with his hand folded, but his eyes now seemed to be filled with trauma. Some girls sat by him, pressed up against his side. They were whining loudly about how awful Naruto was for stealing a kiss from their beloved Sasuke-kun. Whining about how Naruto had the right to even get that close to Sasuke-kun.Sakura wasn’t really sure why so many people hated Naruto, and by many people, she meant pretty much the entirety of Konoha. Her okaa-san didn't even call him by his name, only devil boy, or devil child, or husband murderer. Sure Naruto was annoying sometimes, but Sakura didn’t see how that made him the reason her father was dead. He would have been just a baby like the rest of her class when her father died when the Kyuubi attacked. Sakura knew her okaa-san wanted her to hate Naruto, but she couldn’t find it in herself to say no to him. She saw how so many people treated him, and she knew what it felt like to have people hate you for just being yourself --‘WHAT?! WHAT DID YOU SAY?’ Sakura’s smile crept off her face, instantly regretting her own thoughts. Of course, the voice would come back. The voice always comes back when she thinks anything that’s wrong about her okaa-san.
‘Your okaa-san only does what she does because she wants what’s best for you. HOW DARE YOU THINK THAT YOU KNOW BETTER THAN HER! SHE HAS SACRIFICED SO MUCH JUST TO GIVE YOU A BETTER LIFE.’
Sakura felt her mind begin to curl in on itself. ‘I know, I’m sorry, I’m sorry, I’m sorry. I won’t do it again, I’m sorry.’ She said pleadingly to the voice.A deep laughter echo through her head. ‘Sorry doesn’t cut it Sa-ku-ra-chan. Think before you speak and maybe your okaa-san won't have to do so much to take care of you.’ The voice scoffed. ‘Worthless. Annoying. Coward.’“Hey, Sakura?” A hand on her shoulder halted the voice’s words.Whose hand is that on her shoulder? Why would anyone want to touch her? Her, someone so worthless, and cowardly, and annoying, and ungrateful. Sakura felt the world around her going by as a blur. There was a dull pain in her arm, but who was she kidding. She probably deserved it.“Sakura? Are you okay? It’s me, Ino.” There was worry permeating the air now, and whispers encircled her head. Now Sakura could feel everything going on around her. The pressure on her shoulder, the pain in her arm from her nails digging into her skin, Choji asking Shikamaru what was wrong, and Ino repeating her question again.“Sakura? Are you okay?” Everything was fine. Sakura was fine. They didn’t need to worry. This was normal. Stop worrying.Sakura blinked a few times, the desk in front of her coming into focus. She turned her head slightly to the left to see Ino staring at her, concern bright in her gaze. Shikamaru glanced at her from above, questions brimming in his eyes and Choji had paused eating his chips. A tight smile was forced onto her face.“I’m fine.”“Are you sure?” Ino questioned, her hand tentatively leaving Sakura’s shoulder when she noticed her pink haired friend tensing.“Yeah.” Sakura brushed her hair out of her eyes and tried to make her smile more genuine. “I was just worried about what team I’m going to be placed in.” Not a single one of her friends seemed convinced that she was telling the truth, but they seemed to understand that Sakura wasn’t going to say anything else. What could she say? That she had a second voice in her head that corrected her whenever she crossed a line and that she was scared to go home and face her okaa-san.
‘Scared of your own okaa-san, wow, you really are pathetic. Why would you be frightened of her? She never hits you.’
Sakura’s thought rushed to all the times she had gone up to her room with her forehead smarting.
‘Your okaa-san does that to knock some sense back into you. Kami knows you need some of that if you ever want to succeed in life.’

‘I sorry, I’m sorry, I’m sorry.’
‘Simply words.’ There was a brief pause in the voice’s words and in that time, Sakura smiled again at Ino who was trying to figure out what was going on with only her eyes. She was definitely a Yamanaka, Sakura thought.‘Remember, Okaa-san is always right. Remember that, Sa-ku-ra-chan.’ With that, the voice left and Sakura could finally breathe properly again. She turned to face Ino and was about to give some more excuses about her behavior when the door opened again and all the students were greeted with a cheerful, “Good morning, students!”Iruka-sensei had a soft smile on his face as he glanced proudly at the new genin in front of him. Then he let out a small chuckle and said, “Well, I guess I shouldn’t call you that anymore because as of today, none of you are my students.” A sad look crossed his face when he rested his gaze on Naruto who was simultaneously pouting and looking very proud of himself at the front. Iruka-sensei always seemed to have an extra special bond with Naruto and they could often be seen together at Ichiraku’s. The fact that Naruto at least had one person who cared about him was what comforted Sakura when the voice made her leave Naruto by himself. Sometimes she was able to fight it enough to let Naruto sit by her or to be in the same group as him. But more often than not, the voice won, and Sakura left Naruto alone on the swings wistfully looking at families being reunited after school.The voice growled at her to get her head out of the clouds and pay attention, so Sakura shook her head a bit and focused on what Iruka-sensei was saying. “Alright, and now the time I’m sure you’ve all been waiting for, the genin team assignments.” Whispers erupted all around, but Sakura remained silent and stared straight ahead at Iruka-sensei’s paper that he was holding. That paper was the thing that would determine Sakura’s future as a shinobi, and she wasn’t sure if she was ready for what the future held.And so she kept her breath in as Iruka-sensei began to read out names.A few teams had gone by when he uttered the words, “Team 7. Uzumaki Naruto, Haruno Sakura.” Time seemed to pause as Sakura’s eyes widened and released her breath as Naruto lept up with glee from the row in front of her. He glanced back at her adoringly, and Sakura wondered why Naruto even liked her.But that wasn’t important because the last person on her team was about to be announced.Everything would be fine if it was anyone but Sasuke. Everything would be fine if it was anyone but Sasuke. Everything would be fine if it was anyone but Sasu--“And Uchiha Sasuke.”
Everything was not going to be fine.

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

The next three hours were some of the worst hours in Sakura’s life. After Ino’s sensei had come, the blond had rested a comforting hand on Sakura’s shoulder and walked out the door with Choji and Shikamaru. As the Nara stepped out of the room, he shot a glance at Sakura over his shoulder, but turned back around quickly. Hinata’s sensei had come not two minutes after that, and the Hyuuga had followed the black haired jounin with Shino walking behind her silently and Kiba practically prancing with Akamaru in his arms. Then it was just Sakura left alone in the classroom with Naruto and Sasuke. Iruka-sensei had stayed in the room with them for the first thirty minutes of waiting, claiming every so often that their new sensei should be there soon. But as time passed, every time he said it now sounded like he needed to convince himself of this fact also. And when Iruka-sensei left, saying that he had other matters to attend to, Naruto slammed his head into the desk in front of him, letting out the largest exasperated groan Sakura had ever heard. Then he lifted his head up again, looked at the door despairingly, and plunged his head back down again. Each time his head collided with the desk, Sakura flinched back, wishing that their sensei would just come so Naruto would stop. Then she wished that her sensei would never show up so that she would be obligated to stay in the classroom to wait for them, which would then prevent her from going home. If she didn’t go home then okaa-san wouldn’t tell her everything she already knew, that she was ugly, that no one would love her, that she would never make it as a shinobi, that-Naruto’s head crashing especially loud into the desk forced her from those thoughts. Sakura was partially glad because if her thoughts had continued down that trail for much longer the voice would have come back to knock her in place. So instead she blinked a few times and turned to watch Naruto raise his head once more.But before he could lower it, a scoff was heard from by the window. “If you keep doing that, you lose the few brain cells you started with, dobe.”Naruto’s head stopped inches from his desk as he let out an enraged shout of, “TEME!” He then proceeded to vault over his desk.Sakura smiled with no humor as she watched the boys get into a shouting match with each other, the most common words being teme and dobe. Yeah, this genin team wasn’t shaping up to be all that great. An extremely late sensei, a callous prodigy, an overexcitable spitfire, and a useless coward.
“Hmmm, guess you should have just listened to your okaa-san, Sa-ku-ra-chan.”
It’s fine, Sakura. You don’t have to listen to the voice, the voice doesn’t control you.
“Did you actually think that you could become a shinobi?”
Iruka-sensei wouldn’t have passed her if he didn’t think she could do it.
“He just couldn’t think of a reason to fail you. Sure, your grades are fine but have you seen yourself during the practicals. It’d be surprising if you could hit the center of the target from two feet away.”
Sakura could get better at that. Genin was just the first step.
“Do you think you could actually get better? Do you think your sensei will actually pay attention to you? Look at your teammates.”
Sakura grimaced as she did what the voice said, no longer able to hold it at bay. She focused on her two teammates who had stopped yelling at each other but had instead decided to glare at each other from opposite corners of the room.
“Well lookie what we’ve got here. The Uchiha prodigy that’s going to be Konoha’s pride and joy soon. Sure his personality has some work to do, but no one can doubt his skills. Sensei is really going to love him.”
Sakura began to feel her fingernails begin to dig into her forearms.
“And hey, Naruto might not be that bright, but he sure knows how to keep fighting. That’s a good trait in a shinobi, isn’t that right? Too bad you never have the courage to even start something.”
That’s not true. Sakura convinced her mom to let her become a shinobi in the first place--“She only let you into the academy so you could get this stupid out of your head. She only let you in because she wanted you to realize that you would never have what it takes to become a good shinobi. And let’s face it.” The voice suddenly dropped an octave. “You’ll never be a good shinobi.” Shivers ran up Sakura’s spine. She could faintly feel liquid running down her arm, but the voice wouldn’t let her focus on anything except itself.
“I bet if you walk out this door right now no one will care. Naruto and Sasuke will be better off without you.”
Maybe the voice was right.Sakura turned to look at her teammates again. Sasuke was staring out the window with his arms crossed while Naruto was throwing a kunai up and down, quietly counting whenever he caught it. They wouldn’t notice. Naruto acted like he liked her, but how much of that was actually true. Ino had been her friends since she was four when they bumped into each other when Sakura was lost one day and she had met Shikamaru and Choji not long after. But they were only friends because of coincidence. Would they really still want to be her friends?
“No one would notice if you just left--”
“Hey, Sakura-chan? Whatcha looking at?” Sakura blinked her head a few times and she was met with Naruto looking at her curiously while balancing kunai on both of his index fingers.“Oh, um.” The voice’s presence disappeared as if Naruto had chased it away with just a word. Sometimes when people started talking to her, the voice just continued on its rant, but now that Sakura thought about it, it never did that with Naruto. Sure it said awful things about Naruto, but it never spoke when he was. Almost… as if it was scared of him.Now fully aware of what was going on, Sakura frantically hid her arm from sight, covering the crescent shaped cuts on her arm.“I was just looking if I could see our sensei coming.” Sakura laughed sheepishly.Naruto grinned at her as if her answering his question was one of the best things she could do.Then he made a little growl and jutted his lip out in a pretty adorable pout. “Our sensei sucks! Why are they so late?” Naruto flung his arms up. “I betcha they fell asleep and forgot to get us. Or, or, or they were on a top secret mission and they couldn’t get back in time for us.”“I’m sure they’ll get here soon.”Naruto continued to pout. “That’s what Iruka-sensei said two hours ago! And then he left! He’d better repay me with ramen later.” Naruto proceeded to scowl the door as if that would make their sensei appear from thin air. Then a mischevious smirk crept onto his face that made Sakura immediately nervous about he was about to do. Naruto was notorious for his pranks and an expression like that could only mean trouble. But then he began cackling and Sakura was convinced he was about to get her murdered. Even Sasuke looked up from his brooding, and the only sign that he was even the slightest bit concerned was the fact that his left eyebrow was raised slightly. The Uchiha glanced over at Sakura and for one second it seemed like they understood each other. They were both in the same boat of about to be murdered by their teammate before they even had their first mission.Sakura shrugged when she saw the question in Sasuke’s eyes and they turned to look at Naruto snickering on top of a chair, placing an eraser between the sliding door.Okay for all that build up, the end result was a bit of a letdown. The least he could do was rig some elaborate wire trap that would at least do maybe a little bit. But then again their sensei was an elite jounin, so Sakura doubted any prank Naruto pulled would actually work on them. Sasuke put on his patented smirk. “Hn, as if that would work, dead-last. If our sensei couldn’t evade a simple eraser trap, then Konoha’s standards for jounin have really gone down.”Sakura sighed as she sensed an upcoming fight, dropping her face into her hands. She was definitely going to be the mediator of this team. Somehow feeling that this day wasn’t going to get any better after this point, Sakura moved to sit back in a seat near the front, her hands resting loosely on the desk with her chin between them. Honestly, their sensei had better have a good reason for being this late. Whenever Sakura was late for doing something for her okaa-san, the end result was never good. After the first time Sakura was late getting back from a meeting with the youngest generation of Ino-Shika-Cho, she learned it was just better to come back at least five minutes early. Sakura shivered just from the memory.A loud gasp echoed from across the room, and Sakura shot her head up to see what was going on. Was their sensei finally here? After she figured out what made Naruto gasp, Sakura really wished that had been the case.“Sakura-chan, what happened to your arm?!” Naruto was now crouching on the desk in front of her, a look of concern in his expressive eyes. He reached out to grab her bloodied arm, something she had totally forgotten about as she watched Naruto’s antics. She flinched on instinct, pulling her arm against her body, and pushing her chair back from the blond-haired prankster.Sakura had always been so careful. People hadn’t asked about these sorts of things before. She always wore her fingerless gloves to hide the marks on her hands. She wore long sleeved shirts and full length pants when necessary, but that didn’t happen often. How could being around Naruto make her comfortable enough that she forgot?“Sakura-chan?” Naruto kept leaning in closer and Sakura kept leaning back. For a moment Naruto was just a shapeless figure looming over her, and it was like Sakura’s breath was sucked out of her lungs.“Are you okay, Sakura-chan?” Sakura felt a tentative hand on her shoulder and she was shaken out of her reverie. She took a second to regain her bearings, focusing first on the chair under her and the hand on her shoulder.Everything was fine. She wasn’t at her house. She wasn’t with her okaa-san.“Yeah.” Her voice was weaker than she wanted it to be, so Sakura cleared her throat and looked up to meet Naruto’s eyes. “I’m fine, Naruto. Don’t worry about it.”But Naruto wasn’t as dumb as everyone thought he was. The look of uncertainty was still clear in his eyes, and out of Sakura’s peripheral vision, Sakura could see Sasuke watching the whole exchange. Wow, really great start for the team. Sakura moved her hand to cover the marks and flashed a quick smile. “Yeah, it’s totally fine! I just ran into a cat on the way here and it wasn’t all that happy to see me.”“Those didn’t really look like cat scratches, and believe me-”“Naruto.”“I know what cat scratches look like cause cats frickin hate me, ya know. They just attack me wherever I go-” Naruto rambled on, waving his arms, and keeping pretty good balance as he continued to crouch on the desk.“Naruto, really-”“And another thing-”“Dobe, if you don’t stop talking-” Like a switch was flipped, Naruto immediately rounded on the Uchiha with his fists raised.“Ehhh? Say that again, teme!” Sasuke smirked from his position leaning against the war farthest from the other two members of Team 7. For one split second though, he glanced at Sakura and then her arm with questions in his eyes, but then it was gone and he was facing off with Naruto again. Sakura didn’t want to read too much into his look, but for whatever reason, Sakura was glad he got Naruto’s attention off of her.Sakura wasn’t too worried about the boys, but their fight became louder at an exponential rate, and Naruto finished each of his sentences by jumping the desk over until he was right in Sasuke’s face. Sakura grinned despite herself, thinking to a few hours earlier when they had been in that exact same position, but then Naruto had been pushed into a kiss. Wouldn’t it be funny if history repeated itself?Sakura shook her head, but the grin seemed to be stuck on her face. But that grin was soon wiped off when the boys didn’t end their yelling two minutes later. Sakura could deal with a lot. She could deal with being insulted, yelled at herself, and being smacked on the forehead every so often, but if there was one thing that Sakura couldn’t stand, it was prepubescent boys fighting like actual two-year-olds.Before Sakura knew what her body was doing, she was marching over to the confrontation, shoving herself between Sasuke and Naruto and planting a hand on both of their chests and pushing back.“Boys! Are you seriously fighting right now?” Sakura whipped her head around ferociously and didn’t even register the shocked looks in both of their eyes. “I get it, our sensei is late, but that doesn’t give us the reason to act like children. Now if we want to be a good team, you two can’t be fighting each other every time one of you says something the other doesn’t like!”“Wow, wow, wow. Look at little Blossom-chan, taking charge and everything.”  Sakura almost jumped at the drastically different voice in her head than usual. The voice was back, but something was different this time. Instead of being deep and raspy, the voice was high pitched and mocking. “Didn’t know the little delicate blossom had it in her. Wonder why you can’t stand up to your okaa-san like this.” Wait, what? Since when did the voice ever say anything about standing up against her okaa-san?
“Hmm, I don’t know either Blossom-chan. Don’t really feel like sucking up to mother dearest right now, you know.”
Sakura didn’t have any time to ponder on this new development when she heard a thunking sound and a thoughtful noise coming from the doorway. Almost as if on command, Sakura, Naruto, and Sasuke all turned their heads towards the door in perfect sync.“Maa, maa, maa. Hmm, you guys are interesting.” There in front of them stood a tall jounin in standard jounin dress, the flak jacket zipped up over a blue long-sleeved shirt. Loose blue pants were secured at the thigh and standard toeless shinobi shoes adorned the person’s feet. A skin-tight mask covered the person’s face up to their nose, and their hitai-ate covered their left eye. But even with all of the other features on this person, Sakura found what really drew her attention was the gravity-defying silver hair with chalk dust as a decoration.Sakura felt her mouth dropping open, her hands still positioned on Naruto’s and Sasuke’s chests.“You’re our sensei?!” Naruto practically stole Sakura’s words from her mouth and she could hear the voice inside of her head cracking up, just not as cynically as usual. Sasuke pushed Sakura’s hand off him, and Sakura suddenly remembered her position and her previous boldness, and her arms shot back towards her chest. She had never done anything like that before, what had possibly come over her? She looked warily at her new sensei, hoping he wouldn’t be too displeased about her audacious actions, but he still seemed to be sizing them up with his one visible eye. Then the part of his mask where is mouth should be situated lifted up in what Sakura assumed was a sarcastic smirk.“Meet me on the roof in two minutes.” With that her new sensei disappeared in a cloud of smoke.Sasuke and Naruto shared a quick look before they dashed off out the door at the same moment, both clearly intending what their sensei said to be a race. Sakura followed behind them more slowly, pondering her previous actions. She pondered as she left the room, and as she climbed up the stairs. She pondered as the echoing of footsteps in the stairwell reached her ears and she pondered as she heard the shouts that came when there wasn’t a clear winner in the unofficial race the boys had just run. She was pondering when her hand turned the doorknob to the roof, but she suddenly stopped pondering when she was greeted with three gazes.At that moment all of the boldness in her body escaped her, and she shrunk in on herself. Sakura walked slowly to the stairs where Naruto and Sasuke were sitting and positioned herself a decent ways away from both of them. She felt their curious glances and felt her sensei’s analyzing stare pierce her soul from where he was leaning against the railing.“Maa, I guess introductions are the first thing to do, huh.” Sakura thought it sounded rather like their new sensei was talking to himself instead of to them.“Introductions? We don’t even know who you are, super-late-sensei!” Naruto lept up from his spot on the stairs to point accusingly at their sensei. “And you even fell for my eraser prank! How good of a shinobi could you possibly be?”Sasuke sighed and Sakura face-palmed internally.“Hn, shut up, usuratonkachi,” Sasuke deadpanned.
“Hm, this team is going just swimmingly, huh, Sa-ku-ra-chan? Maybe this is just the universe giving you a sign. Uncooperative teammates, a late sensei, and this fear clenching around your insides.”
The voice was back to its usual bass tone with the underlying rasp and Sakura could almost hear the smile when it continued to speak. “I wonder what okaa-san is going to say when you tell her you’re on a team with Uchiha Sasuke and the devil child?”Sakura froze and she could almost feel the cold breath on her ear as the whisper trailed of by saying its last piece.
“Won’t she just be thrilled...”

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

For once in his life, Hatake Kakashi wished something could be simple. But then again, most shinobi don’t get simple lives, especially when they just so happen to be child prodigies as well. One day,

just one day

, he wanted to be able to wake up in the morning, be perpetually late for all of his obligations, read some Icha Icha, stand in front of the Memorial for hours on end, and ultimately go home to sleep at night. BUT NO! He just had to be saddled with yet another team, even after he tried so hard to fail all the other ones. He thought that maybe the Sandaime would see that Kakashi really didn’t want students, and then would just stop giving them to him. But the Hokage seemed pretty keen on Kakashi being a sensei, especially the sensei to the new Team 7. This new Team 7 that was comprised of the younger Uchiha heir, the son of Kakashi’s late sensei aka the Kyuubi jinchuriki, and some obscure pink-haired paper kunoichi.

Kakashi woke up the morning he was supposed to go and “meet” his team, even though he had already been spying on them for the past two days. He didn’t really see anything of interest other than the fact that Naruto ate too much ramen, Sasuke had some intense need to prove himself, and Sakura was the unknown fourth corner in the newest Ino-Shika-Cho. Okay, so maybe that last one was surprising for Kakashi to find out, but after watching the girl for a little bit longer, he didn’t really see out of the box talents like both of her teammates.

Kakashi had followed Naruto as he set up one of his pranks and if anything, Kakashi was impressed that he could be so stealthy in the bright orange jumpsuit he never seemed to take off.  Kakashi saw a side of Sasuke that many people probably didn’t see as he was almost having a breakdown while trying to perfect a complicated jutsu. Kakashi was sure that if he passed this team, it certainly wouldn’t be boring.

From his time observing them before the official creation of the team, he noticed that his three new students didn’t really seem to be close to each other. Naruto would exuberantly greet Sakura, but she was never enthusiastic with responding. She would give a small smile to him but then turn back to the security of the blond-haired Yamanaka. Sakura seemed to especially avoid Sasuke, never really meeting his eyes but never showing outright animosity.
But speaking of outright animosity, the two boys of the team have no trouble letting each other know how much they despise each other. Part of Kakashi knew that some of it was just because they were rivals and they always wanted to one-up each other, but there was also just the factor of their very similar personalities. Both Naruto and Sasuke wanted to be noticed by people, the village or their family respectively, which led to a lot of conflicts.
Hmm, nope, getting too deep. Better go read some Icha Icha.

But even if he was ultimately going to fail them, Kakashi was dreading the time he had to spend with his next group of gremlins.

‘Why does the Sandaime hate me?’

Kakashi wondered as he stood outside the classroom door. Even as he walked up the hallway he could hear two voices yelling, and Kakashi was guessing since every other word was either teme, usuratonkachi, dobe, dead-last, or bastard that Naruto and Sasuke were having another one of their friendly chats.

Kakashi stood just outside the doorway, calculating if he had time to read a new chapter of Icha Icha while he waited for his cute students to descend into madness. He was about to pull it out when he heard new footsteps aside from the other ones already scuffing around together. He almost fell forward when he heard what he had observed to be a shy girl directly put her teammates in place.

Oh this, Kakashi had to see.

Of course, Kakashi had noticed the eraser prank that Naruto had most definitely set up, but Kakashi always liked surprising people after they underestimated him. Their faces of absolute shock when he kicked their butts were some of the only things that gave his life real meaning. Another thing that was giving his life meaning just so happened to be his cute little genin in a position he never expected to see them in.

Sakura had pushed herself between the two boys, her hands on their chests keeping them from charging again.

“Maa, maa, maa. Hmm, you guys are interesting.”

All three of them were in similar states of shock, but each was showing it differently. Naruto immediately began to loudly profess his disbelief, Sasuke looked ready to faceplant into the ground, and Sakura was beginning to shrink in on herself. She looked like she expected Kakashi to yell at her or something.

Interesting. Maybe there was more to the pink-haired kunoichi than he thought.

Kakashi smirked. Alright, time to get this show on the road.

So, of course, the first thing he decided to do was screw with them.

“Meet me on the roof in two minutes.” As Kakashi disappeared he heard the cry of outrage coming from Naruto and the two pairs of feet beginning to run up the stairs. The last pair of feet followed at a more sedate pace, hesitation clear in each step.

There is definitely something up with his only girl student, Kakashi thought as he perched on the railing of the roof, just waiting for the imminent yelling that he soon would be able to hear coming from the stairwell.

“STOP PUSHING ME, TEME!”

“Stop making excuses, usuratonkachi! You just don’t like that I’m winning!”

“I’M THE ONE WHO’S GOING TO WIN!”

The door burst open with Sasuke and Naruto falling on top of each other after trying to squish past each other in the one-person doorway.

The following argument was one of the most entertaining, yet exasperating things Kakashi had ever witnessed, aside from Gai. Lots of shouting, insulting, and tackling ensued and Kakashi was glad that he hadn’t been like that as a kid. Or maybe he was, being around Obito had made him extremely immature sometimes.

“I get it, extreme rivalry and all that crap, but can you save that energy for actual spars?”

Both of the boys whipped their heads at him, Sasuke in the middle of having Naruto in an undignified headlock and Naruto with his hands trying to rip out Sasuke’s hair.

Wow, they really get serious over nothing. It was like watching those soap operas that Genma recommended to him.

“You still haven’t even told us your name, baka-sensei,” Naruto proclaimed, not moving an inch. “Why should we listen to you?”

Sasuke nodded as well as he could with Naruto holding onto his hair.

These guys really have no respect for authority. Eh, better to ingrain some fear in them now.

Kakashi smiled. “Because I’m the one who will determine if you can compete in the Chunin Exams.”

Sasuke’s eyes widened, and he reluctantly let Naruto go.

“Ehhhh, Chunin Exams? What are those?” Naruto narrowed his eyes suspiciously, having yet to release the Uchiha’s black locks.

“How did you even graduate from the academy? Did you ever actually listen in class?” Sasuke wrestled himself away from the excitable Uzumaki, smacking his hands a few times for good measure.

Naruto whined at him, rubbed his neck a few times, but then looked expectantly at Kakashi.

Kakashi sighed. “We’ll talk about the Chunin exams if you three get that far.”

Naruto looked like he was about to jump into some more fast-paced questions, but at that moment, Sakura walked onto the roof. There was a look in her eyes that Kakashi knew all too well, and it was at that moment that he knew for sure that there was something else about Sakura that nobody else knew. Kakashi figured he would have to add some more sleuthing onto his agenda.

As soon as the kunoichi sat down, Kakashi said, “Maa, I guess introductions are the first thing to do, huh.”

Naruto, being the predictable kid that he was immediately felt the need to yell something at him, and Sasuke, also predictable was quick to insult his intelligence. Sakura didn’t say anything, but a look of fear was slowly growing in her eyes as she studied her teammates.

“Your names, likes, dislikes, hobbies, dreams for the future. Stuff like that.” Kakashi lazily pointed at Naruto. “You start, blondie.”

The Uzumaki opened his mouth, then closed it in a scrunch faced pout. “Why don’t you go first, Baka-sensei. Give us an example, ya know.”

Wow, turning this stuff on your own sensei that you just met five minutes ago. How noble of you Naruto.

“Well alright then. My name is Hatake Kakashi-”

“HA! We know your name now, Baka-sensei!” Naruto crowed. “Baka-sensei…” A thoughtful expression was adopted on the Uzumaki’s face and then a devious grin almost threatened to split his face apart. “Bakakashi-sensei!”

Kakashi froze. When was the last time he had heard someone call him that? That nickname was reserved for only one person in his life and that person had been dead for a long time. But as Kakashi looked at Naruto grinning in front of him, it was almost like he was seeing Obito again, professing that he was going to become Hokage.

Kakashi cleared his throat. “And I like a lot of things, dislike a lot of things too, and my dreams for the future are of no consequence to you three.”

Naruto’s grin dropped as he tilted his head, confused. “So all we learned was your name?”

Sasuke snorted, crossing his arms. “Did you expect to get anything interesting, usuratonkachi?”

Naruto was about to rear forward in retort, but before he had the time, Kakashi was right behind him, gave him a light smack on the head and was back to his place before they even noticed he had moved.

Kakashi huffed a bit, then gestured at the put off Uzumaki. “Like I was saying, it’s your turn, blondie.”

Naruto scowled but launched into his introduction anyways. “My name is Uzumaki Naruto, don’t forget it! I like cup ramen, and I especially like Ichiraku’s ramen when Iruka-sensei treats me!” He seemed like he was thinking unnecessarily hard about what he was going to say next. “I dislike the three minutes that it takes for cup ramen to finish cooking.” Again a mischevious smirk crept on his face and he pointedly turned to Sasuke who was pretending not to listen to what Naruto was saying.

“I also don’t like Sasuke.” He stuck his tongue out at Sasuke as the Uchiha prepared to send himself barreling at the Uchiha but was held back by a single look from Kakashi.

Why did simple introductions have to take so long?

“I also like pranking,” Naruto continued. “And my dream for the future is to become Hokage so that the whole village will recognize me!” There was a short second when there was sadness in Naruto’s bright blue eyes, but it was gone as quick as it came.

Kakashi tipped his head at the person next in the line of genin. “Alright, broody. Your turn.”

Sasuke scowled and crossed his arms more aggressively. “My name is Uchiha Sasuke. I don’t like a lot of things, I dislike Naruto, I like training, and my dream for the future is to surpass my brother.”

Well, that was predictable. Kakashi was almost surprised he said as many words as he did.

Kakashi finally rested on the last person. Sakura hadn’t looked like she was actually paying attention to what the others were saying and was simply looking at her hands.

“Pinkie.” When Kakashi uttered those words, her head shot up. “Your turn.”

She began to twist some of her long hair between her fingers. “Umm, I’m Haruno Sakura. I like anmitsu, dango, and my friends. I dislike.” At this she paused. But then after a moment, she took a deep breath and continued. “I don’t dislike a lot of things and I like to read. I…” Again she stopped and clenched her fingers together. “I don’t really know what my dream for the future is.” With that, she looked up and met Kakashi’s eyes for a second then looked away as if she had done something wrong.

“Alrighty then! Now that we’ve got that over with.” Kakashi clapped definitively. “I’ll have to break some bad news to you guys.” He stopped for a few seconds to let the suspense grow. Dramatic pause and all that show-biz stuff. “You guys aren’t genin yet.”

Naruto lept up, already yelling protests and questions. Even Sasuke and Sakura looked up in surprise, both of them with genuine confusion and some fear mixed in there as well.

“You guys took the test that’s used for screening who has the

potential

to become genin, and so you have another test that you need to pass before you can become full-fledged genin.”

Oh, this was Kakashi’s favorite part. He leaned in and dropped his voice to his intimidation tone. “And of course there is only a 33% percent pass rate.” With that, he turned around on the railing, only looking behind him to say, “Meet me at Training Ground Three, tomorrow morning at 0700 hours.” Then he jumped off the roof, leaving confused yelling behind him.

This was going to be fun.

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

The moment Kakashi-sensei jumped off the roof Sakura felt all the dread that had been building up for the past five minutes drop straight in her shoulders. It was hard to breathe for a second, and she just sat, frozen, on the stairs. She could feel Naruto’s confusion and Sasuke’s annoyance without even understanding what they were saying. She could hear the beginnings of a mock spar erupting not too far away from her position, but she didn’t care too much until she felt a sharp pain on her right cheek. Immediately, Sakura sprang back, almost tripping on the now bloody kunai that landed behind her. Clasping her hand to her cheek, she winced when her fingers brushed the new cut that was bound to leave a scar if it wasn’t healed quick enough.

“Sakura-chan!” Naruto yelled, anger clear in his voice. Sakura looked up slowly just in time to see the concern in his blue eyes, but he spun around to glare at Sasuke. The Uchiha’s normally emotionless face was twisted into an expression she had never seen on someone’s face after they had hurt her.

Guilt

. His arm was still extended in picture perfect throwing form, but he quickly shrunk into himself.

Sakura brought her hand into her line of vision watching almost entranced as red liquid dripped to the ground from between her fingers. Even when her okaa-san was angry, she never drew blood like this.

She quickly closed her fist in order to keep her fingers from trembling and stole a quick glance back up at her teammates. Naruto was berating Sasuke, complete with aggressive hand movements but Sasuke seemed to be unaware of everything that was happening. He was just staring at his hand not unlike what Sakura had just been doing moments before. Backing up a few steps, Sakura wrapped her arms around herself. Everything was going to be fine.

Will it really though? Okaa-san definitely won’t think it is. What do you think she’ll do this time, huh?

Sakura shook her head as if doing that could dislodge the voice from her ears.

Hmmm, maybe no food for a week again. That one was well deserved last time, wasn’t it? Or, or, or, maybe she won’t let you see those Yamanaka, Nara, and Akimichi brats for a month. Or maybe…

The voice paused as if thinking. Violently shaking, Sakura stumbled a few steps back until her back hit the railing of the roof.

Maybe she won’t let you become a genin.

Sakura’s hands flew up to grasp her hitai-ate. No… she wouldn’t.

Maybe she’ll force you to give up being a shinobi and make you stay with her instead until you get married.

She couldn’t.

She’ll make you get married to Uchiha Sasuke, or maybe even someone you’ve never met before. Won’t that be lovely? Because Okaa-san knows best.

Those words seemed to be the final push as Sakura let out a choked sound and jumped off the roof just like she had seen Kakashi-sensei do a few minutes earlier. The wind whipped past her face as the ground got closer. As she fell, Sakura could only wonder what had come over her. She didn’t even know how to do these sorts of things safely and yet she had just jumped off the roof.

A whooping sound echoed in her ear.

FINALLY, BLOSSOM-CHAN DOES SOMETHING IMPULSIVE!

With that, Sakura landed stunned on the ground of the alley, the shock making her knees quiver with pain.

SHE TOOK

MY

ADVICE THIS TIME! GET WRECKED OTHER VOICE INSIDE BLOSSOM-CHAN’S HEAD!

The high-pitched voice continued to rant about how she was superior in every way to the ‘filthy okaa-san supporter’ but Sakura couldn’t even comprehend what it was saying. She could hear the Naruto’s shouts continuing from the roof as she slid down the wall of the building she had just jumped off of. The joints in her leg were alight with pain, but Sakura paid them no attention as she tried to comprehend the squabbling going on in her brain.

‘Who… who are you?’

Hmm, oh me? Well thanks for asking, I just so happen to be your sense of adventure and all your outspokenness that should have been cultivated if it weren’t for that other voice in your head that took my spot.

The voice almost seemed like it was… pouting.

Basically, I’m everything fun about you, Blossom-chan.

For some reason, Sakura felt indignant about its answer. ‘Fun? I’m plenty of fun!’

The voice snorted.

Yeah sure, you funky little angst baby. You would be a whole lot more fun if you let me help you out a bit more. Then you wouldn’t let Okaa-san push you around as much.

‘Okaa-san… she doesn’t push me around. Whatever she does, I deserve. She only wants what’s best for me.’ Sakura recited as if the deep voice has taken over her mouth.

The voice paused as if it didn’t know how to respond. Sakura looked down at the blood on her hands in the silence. This new voice couldn’t possibly know what it was talking about. Everything her okaa-san did was because she loved Sakura.

Well, that’s a bunch of BULLSHIT.

Sakura reared back, her head banging into the wall behind her. ‘What?’

If that sorry excuse for a woman actually loved you, you wouldn’t walk home every day scared of what she was going to say to you!

‘But-’

If she cared about you at all, she wouldn’t say things to you just to make you feel bad about yourself.

‘She cares about me, I know she does-’

IF SHE GAVE A DAMN ABOUT YOU, YOU WOULD KNOW WHAT LOVE SHOULD FEEL LIKE.

With that, Sakura felt her teeth clench together and there was a familiar tingling in her eyes.

The voice calmed down, but none of the passion was gone from its tone.

You deserve so much better than a woman who tells you that you are ugly and worthless. You deserve to go home to someone who will tell you how freakin’ amazing you are every single day. You deserve the right to have your own dreams.

The voice quieted down to almost a whisper as the first tears left Sakura’s eyes.

Blossom-chan, I know it’s hard to hear, but she doesn’t love you, at least in the way an okaa-san should. She only uses you for her own gains. She only sees you as an object to project her own failed wishes upon. Her life didn’t go the way she wanted, so now you have to live her life for her.

‘That--that can’t be true. I mean--she’s my okaa-san. She loves me… she has to.’

Blossom-chan you need to wake up.

‘No, no you’re wrong! She isn’t like that!’ Sakura’s hands went up to her hair and clenched tightly.

No, you have to listen to me. You need to get away from her as fast as possible.

‘She’s my okaa-san! She loves me! Maybe a bit differently than others, but she has her reasons!’

If you stay with her much longer, there won’t be any Sakura left. You have to understand that what she’s doing isn’t right!

‘I’m not listening to you!’ With that, Sakura shot up and ran out of the alleyway, and straight into a flak jacket. She jumped back and looked up to find a jonin with his hitai-ate in the form of a bandana and a senbon sticking out of his mouth.

“Whoa, kid! You good?”  His left eyebrow was raised slightly, and unconsciously, Sakura found it impressive that the senbon didn’t fall out of his mouth as he talked.

“I apologize jonin-san.” She bowed shallowly, not meeting his eyes, and then dashed away from him.

What’ll we do with you, Sa-ku-ra-chan?

The bass was back, it’s familiar rasp almost making Sakura freeze, but she kept on running.

Losing faith in your okaa-san like that. Tch.

She had to get home. She had to prove the other voice wrong. Her okaa-san did love her!

That’s right, Sa-ku-ra-chan. Your mother loves you just as much as any okaa-san.

She knew it. She just knew it.

The town was rushing past her in unrecognizable flashes of color, and the only sound Sakura could hear was her feet pounding against the pavement and the voice crooning in her ear. It got increasingly more excited the closer Sakura got to her house, showing more emotion than it ever had.

Just you wait. Just you wait.

It kept chanting, but Sakura tuned it out. Everything was going to be fine.

As soon as her house came into view, Sakura slowed her steps down abruptly. Okaa-san didn’t like it when she rushed in the house all out of breath. It wasn’t ladylike. So Sakura caught her breath as she straightened her hair and clothes out. She cleaned the blood off her hands under a nearby water faucet and tried to get it out of her hair as well. Once she felt she was sufficiently clean, clean enough that her mother wouldn’t be mad, Sakura took a deep breath and walked up to the door.

Opening the sliding door and shutting it softly behind her, Sakura called out quietly into her house, “Tadaima.” When there was no answer, Sakura slipped off her shoes and put them neatly next to her okaa-san’s.

She lightly stepped around the corner was greeted with the sight of her okaa-san sitting at the kitchen table, a teacup in her hand and her gaze directed at Sakura.

Sakura’s breath seemed to get stuck in her throat as she dipped her head. “Okaa-san.”

“Sakura. How did the team assignments go?” Her okaa-san uttered with no emotion in her voice.

Suddenly all of the fear Sakura had felt on the roof came back to her and it was like she was paralyzed.

“I- I was, um-”

“Speak up, girl. You know I hate it when you mumble.” Her okaa-san’s gaze never left her own.

Sakura swallowed. “I was placed on Team 7 with Hatake Kakashi as my sensei.”

Her okaa-san scoffed as she took a sip of tea. “That disgrace? Even I know that his father was a dishonorable man and I wouldn’t be surprised if he was too.”

Kakashi-sensei’s father? Had he done something wrong?

“Girl!” Sakura was jolted out of her ponderings. “Who are the other members of your team?”

Sakura’s flicked from her okaa-san’s face to the floor, to the walls beside her. Everything would be fine, everything would be fine. Her okaa-san loved her. Everything was fi-

A hand roughly grasped her forearm, and Sakura gasped in shock and looked up to see steely green eyes staring into her own.

“I asked you a question, girl. When I ask you a question, you answer it promptly and without all the shifty eyes.”

“I...I’m on a team with, uh.” Sakura couldn’t focus as the fear was slowly overtaking her system. The grip on her arm tightened, but Sakura couldn’t find the strength to struggle.

“Out with it.”

Under her breath, Sakura whispered the two names that she knew would change her life. For better or for worse, who knew, but at this moment in time, things certainly weren’t going well for her.

“Uzumaki Naruto and Uchiha Sasuke.”

The wind was knocked out of her as she felt her back crash against the wall behind her. Sakura tasted blood in her mouth as she bit her tongue as she slid to the ground. Her back was burning as she was pulled up from her seated position by her hair.

What was going on? Her okaa-san had never been like this before. She… she loved her, didn’t she?

Sakura barely recognized what was happening as she was shoved into a chair. Her head tipped forward as if its strings had been cut, shock rushing through her body. But she was snapped back into the present when she felt pain in her forehead and her hands instinctively went up to clasp it. When she did, she was greeted with one of the darkest stares she had ever seen her okaa-san make.

“What… what did you say?”

Sakura tried to mover her eyes away, but a hand held her chin in place.

“Girl.”

“I’m on a team with… Uzumaki Naruto and Uchiha Sasuke,” Sakura forced out.

Her face was let go abruptly as her okaa-san spun around sharply. She stood there in silence and Sakura raised her hand to her forehead, surprised to feel warm liquid dripping from her hairline. She kept her hand at her forehead, unsure of what her okaa-san wanted from her.

Her voice came out in a deadly whisper. “You will try your best to get close to Uchiha Sasuke.” At this, she turned around, her fists clenched. “You will stay away from that, that

devil child

.” Her steps towards Sakura came slowly but they were heavy and each time her okaa-san moved closer, Sakura felt even her heart begin to tremble.

When she reached the area right in front of Sakura, her okaa-san leaned over her, hand on the back of the chair Sakura occupied. Again Sakura was caught in her gaze that could freeze over the whole world. “You understand?”

Sakura didn’t answer. She couldn’t answer. What was happening? What was her okaa-san doing?

What you deserve.

“Do you understand, girl?”

You deserve this.

“I asked if you understood?”

You deserve this, you worthless, cowardly child.

“I- I understand, okaa-san.”

The chair behind her was released and a deep sigh echoed through the kitchen. “Good.” Her okaa-san was walking away when she next spoke. “After everything I’ve done for you. After all I’ve done to make sure you don’t screw up your life, you get put on the one team that can mess everything up! Hatake is a poor excuse for a sensei, being on a team with the Uchiha will make him realize how weak you are, and- that

devil child

can rot for all I care.”

There was a pause in both her steps and her words as Sakura slipped out of the chair and onto the ground. The impact jarred her knees and made her head throb with pain.

Everything was fine. If everything was fine, why was she in pain?

Because you deserve it.

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

Every step that Sakura took sent jolts of pain up her back. Her head pounded as if her heart had found a new home and her legs shook more and more the closer she got to Training Ground Three. Sakura hadn’t eaten breakfast that morning, just as Kakashi-sensei requested, but when looking back at it now, she doubted she would have anyways. The moment Sakura had taken a step into her kitchen that morning, rubbing her neck in an attempt to alleviate the pain, she was greeted by her okaa-san’s burning stare. She was sitting at the dining table, her movements strange and jerky as she stirred her coffee. Reading the room rather quickly, Sakura had quickly scooped her hitai-ate from where it had been abandoned last night on the ground, slipped on her shoes, and raced out the door. Unlike most days, there was a sense of fear winding its way around her heart, telling her she needed to get out of her house as soon as possible.

But why would she think that? Every other morning, Sakura would just wonder what she had done to deserve her okaa-san’s anger, but today… today was different. Instead of feeling like everything was her fault, Sakura almost felt like there was something wrong. The words that the new voice had said the day before just seemed to be sinking in now. Whenever she walked around the village to do groceries for her okaa-san, she never noticed any other parent saying something to their child like Sakura’s okaa-san did. Those parents smiled at their children and even gave them things that they asked for. At first when Sakura noticed this, she only thought her okaa-san was the way she was because Sakura was a bad daughter. But now… Sakura didn’t know what to think. This was usually the time when the voice would start speaking, reprimanding her for ever thinking that something was wrong or out of place. But ever since last night, the voice seemed to be strangely absent.

Letting out a quiet sigh, Sakura glanced over to the closest clock to ensure that she wasn’t running late for the test.

A loud scoff echoed through Sakura’s mind and she fought the urge to roll her eyes. Ever since she had woken up that morning, the new, strangely aggressive and sarcastic voice has taken up residence, claiming that it was spring cleaning and the old voice’s services were no longer needed.

Yup

, it drawled,

the old okaa-san supported got swept out the second you wondered why things were happening to you. That gave me enough wiggle room to be the only weird voice in your head. Usually, that ain’t how it works but…

at this moment, the voice’s smirk became almost audible,

I’m just a super powerful inner voice, eh? Of course, there is all that technical stuff about if you succumb to darkness and despair and all that stuff, I won’t be able to have a hold on your mind anymore, but I’m not going to let that happen.

The voice softened its tone as it continued.

You’ve got too much to offer this world for it to be squished by the things that lady says.

Sakura shook her head, only partially paying attention to what the voice was saying. She still didn’t even understand half of what her… inner voice had exactly meant. Sighing again, Sakura walked forward to her impending doom. Sure Sakura was good at tests, but she had the feeling that this would be a test unlike any other. Fear started to slink its way into her mind. Her new sensei had an air around him that screamed for Sakura to be cautious. Even as chalk dust stained his hair from Naruto’s eraser prank, power seemed to radiate from Kakashi-sensei’s veins. Sakura couldn’t really describe it, but she knew that there was more to Hatake Kakashi than meets the eye.

Ya, nah. That’s one tough cookie you might not want to make angry at you, Blossom-chan.

Again, Sakura fought the urge to roll her eyes which seemed to be a common occurrence when it came to her new inner voice. Even though her back ached and her okaa-san’s words still stung, there was a certain light in Sakura’s mind whenever the old voice was forcibly shoved out by the new one. It felt similar to when Sakura was around Sasuke and Naruto, at least when she wasn’t focused on her okaa-san’s words about her new teammates.

Sakura’s inner voice let out a little chuckle.

Yeah, those boys are gonna be big someday.

Sakura raised her eyebrow at that comment. ‘How do you know that?’ She thought, scanning around for the correct path to take to get to Training Ground Three.

Just a hunch.

A brief silence occurred as Sakura continued walking and her inner voice seemed to be deep in thought.

You’ll be big too, you know that right?

At this, Sakura almost walked straight into a tree. She quickly waved off a nearby shinobi who looked at Sakura like she was crazy, embarrassment burning at her cheeks.

Shaking herself a bit, Sakura sped up, seeing Naruto’s bright orange jumpsuit in the distance.

No matter what other people say, you are the only one who can determine your own potential, and what you can and cannot do. Your okaa-san doesn’t have the right to tell you you aren’t worth anything unless you marry a certain person, or unless you give up your shinobi dreams in order to live her own.

‘She’s my okaa-san. She’s just doing what’s best for me.’ The robotic answers seemed to come easily to Sakura as if she needed to fill the voice the old voice had filled. Even with all the light that was filtering in, Sakura could still feel in the deep recesses of her mind the broken parts of her that wouldn’t be fixed. That was okay though. She deserved it.

Nope, nope, nope, Blossom-chan, no thoughts like that. In this mindspace, we support people and their dreams. You’re worth so much more then you’re willing to give yourself credit for.

‘I’m just a worthless cowardly child who doesn’t know what she’s talking about.’ Sakura responded and the pain in her back flared up, making her falter.

Now you’re just quoting your okaa-san! Don’t believe what she says, Sakura!

The voice seemed to be becoming more desperate in her words.

What you’re feeling isn’t right and nobody should have to go through this, especially not alone. Don’t shut me out!

Sakura blinked, resting her hand against the tree closest to her. In a blink of an eye, the light was being sucked out of the cracks and the darkness slowly crept in.

Sakura jumped when she felt a hand clasp her shoulder and she was suddenly pushed out of her thoughts. Almost falling to the ground, Sakura spun around, ignoring the fire that was suddenly lit in her back and shoulder from where she had been touched.

“Ne, Sakura-chan, what are you doing out here when you have a test to get to?” Sakura lifted her eyes up and she was met with the one eyed gaze that could only belong to one person.

“Ka...kakashi-sensei?” Sakura stuttered, slowly backing away with her hand on her shoulder. Her new sensei was standing right behind her, leaning against the tree that Sakura had previously been occupying, his little orange book in his left hand. He looked closer at her face, snapped his book closed, and then took a small step closer to her.

She then assumed that he was smirking under his mask because the corners pulled up. But if Sakura had looked closer she would have noticed how Kakashi-sensei’s forehead was creasing and how his eyes were narrowing.

“Now, as I said, Sakura-chan, don’t you have some teammates to wrangle?” He nodded his head over to where blurs of orange and dark blue were rolling around on the ground, exchanging punches and kicks. Occasional clouds of dust and insults rose in the air and Sakura wondered for a brief moment how she hadn’t noticed an of that.

Sakura glanced at him blankly for a few seconds, before she shook her head for a few seconds in order to clear her head. What was even going on? A whirlwind of thoughts overtook her, making her miss Kakashi-sensei examine her body, his eyes darkening.

“Sakura-chan? Are you alright?”

“Oh, um, yes, Kakashi-sensei. I’m just…” Sakura’s words drifted off as she focused on her trembling hands.

Snap out of it, Blossom-chan.

The voice now seemed to be pleading with her.

“...Just nervous about the test, you know,” Sakura murmured quickly, moving her hands behind her back.

Kakashi-sensei studied her for another moment before his eye closed, which seemed to be a sign that he was smiling. “Maa, don’t be too nervous. As long as you look underneath the underneath, everything will be fine.” He then opened his book again as he hopped onto a tree branch. “Could you tell those two idiots that a black cat ran across my path right before a saw you, so now I have to go make sure I don’t get bad luck later one?”

Sakura blinked a few times, not even sure if Kakashi-sensei was serious. But when she saw that his expression didn’t change, she nodded once and walked over to the war zone that her teammates had created.

As she walked away from him, Hatake Kakashi dropped his smile and put Icha Icha back into his pouch. He would have to be a pretty awful shinobi if he didn’t notice how stiff she was when she was walking or if he didn’t see how she reacted when he touched her on the shoulder. Even now as she walked away her hands rubbed her back and a grimace was pulled across her face. Her expression always seemed to show some sort of inner turmoil and her green eyes danced with shadows.

Sakura hadn’t been in this sort of physical pain yesterday when he had first met her, and she definitely didn’t have that scratch on her face, which meant that something that happened between then and now.

Kakashi turned on the branch to face the main city of Konoha, narrowed his eyes and lept off in the direction of the Haruno household. He had some questions to ask.

***

As Sakura approached Sasuke and Naruto, they seemed to be at a standstill, each glaring at one another and wiping the dust off their faces angrily. The closer she got, the more she panicked as she remembered exactly what had happened between the three of them yesterday. Of course, Sakura had dramatically jumped off the roof of a building in order to get away from them, leaving Naruto to yell at Sasuke. If they asked questions, she would have no idea what to do, or what to say. All the while as she thought this, her mind was finally empty of voices, the new one surprisingly silent, and the old one’s presence was creeping to the forefront of Sakura’s thoughts.

The moment Naruto saw her, concern flashed through his eyes as he stared at her cheek. Self-consciously, Sakura slowed down and wrapped her arms around her body in an attempt to calm herself down.

“SAKURA-CHAN!” A bright orange shape dashed towards her and Sakura almost fell over when Naruto was suddenly in her personal space. Noticing her reaction, he took a step back but he continued to study her.

“Are you okay, Sakura-chan? You dashed off so quickly yesterday, we didn’t have the chance to see if you were okay.” At the mention of the word we, Sakura took a quick glance behind Naruto to see Sasuke staring intently at her cheek, but then turning his eyes to the ground and crossing his arms when she met his gaze.

“I’m okay, Naruto. Thanks for worrying about me.” Sakura smiled. “Sorry I ran off so quickly.”

With those words, Sakura felt a cold feeling creep over her mind, and she realized that it was so much easier to pretend everything was okay than to admit that something was wrong.

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

Sakura scrunched her eyes closed, wishing that the action would somehow be the answer to her current dilemma. Yells were echoing around her and the sound of people rolling around in the dirt was becoming almost normal as the three members of Team 7 waited for their perpetually late sensei in the shade of a large tree that sat in the middle of Training Ground 3. The boys had gone back to fighting the moment they realized that Kakashi-sensei wasn’t going to be back anytime soon and when they saw that Sakura wasn’t going to explain anything about what had happened the day beforehand in any more detail. All the insults that Naruto and Sasuke seemed to use on a regular basis were beginning to sound overused (as if they hadn’t been already). The two boys were currently locked in a fierce wrestling match, all techniques forgotten as they tugged at each other’s hair. Sakura might have been concerned about the current relationship between her new teammates, or even a little bit annoyed if it wasn’t for the chattering in her mind.
Ooooooh, if Naruto and Sasuke don’t shut up immediately, Imma pummel them.

What if you punch them, hmmm?

Wouldn’t that be sick as hell, Blossom-chan?

Or, or, or, hear me out. You could pick up that tree over there and hit them around a bit. That would of course require years of training to pull off. Or, I don’t know, a really convenient kekkei genkai that would replace the need for any sort of effort. You got any training montages in your back pocket?
If Sakura was going through any emotional distress at the moment, her aggressive inner voice with a penchant for randomly cackling at the thought of any sort of violence definitely wasn’t helping her out. Letting out a deep sigh, she briefly settled into a familiar pose for meditation, her hands automatically running through various seals. As her fingers moved, Sakura felt a strange, slow stream of calm wash over her mind and erratic thoughts. She could feel the voice in her head recede into a deeper section of her mind. Background noise faded as she focused on her chakra running from her core, to her shoulders, along her arms, and to the very tips of her fingers. Her toes curled in time with rushes of chakra and she twitched her head to the left and right every so often. Everything was calm. Everything was quiet.However, had Sakura not completely shut off the world around her in an attempt to remain calm, she may have noticed the scuffling die down. Dirt on their faces and clothes, with hands still clenched to each other’s shirts, Naruto and Sasuke stared peculiarly at their silent teammate. It wasn’t as if it was strange for Sakura to be quiet, however, the boys hadn’t really ever seen her concentrate to this extent. Blue eyes met black, then turned back to look at Sakura.“Whatcha think she’s doing, teme?”“How would I know, dobe?”“I don’t know! I thought your special eyes were supposed to know everything.”“I can’t read minds, Naruto! We’ve been over this!”Scrunching his brow, Naruto shook Sasuke’s grasp from his muddy jumpsuit and began to study Sakura closer.“Ya think she’s sleeping?” He waved a hand in front of her face only to receive no response.Sasuke simply huffed and stalked back to the tree in the middle of the training ground. He feigned the lack of any sort of interest and settled on the ground with his back to the trunk. Naruto continued to stare at Sakura until a grin split his face. He plopped down right next to her and mimicked her pose to the best of his ability. Sakura didn’t outwardly acknowledge him, but as the silence in her mind persisted, she could have sworn she felt an orange warm settle in beside her.***Hatake Kakashi liked to think that he was a very easy going person. Look over the fact that he was trained to be a merciless instrument of war since the age of four, and someone besides himself might also think that as well. Admittedly, at the moment however, he didn’t feel any leniency as his uncovered eye scanned the Haruno household. The flowers were too well maintained and there was no sign of anything out of place. Everything looked fine from the outside, but with the way Sakura behaved, Kakashi knew for certain something rotten was festering in the urban utopia.After doing some investigation he learned that his pink-haired student lived alone with her mother as her father had unfortunately been crushed by a building on October 10th. Haruno Mebuki had never shown any unusual signs of mental distress after her husband passed and was able to continue to support herself and her daughter with saved funds and insurance money. A brief scan of the house let Kakashi know that the house was currently void of any life. With that conclusion, he flickered through the window that lay open directly in front of the branch he had been beginning his outdoor scan from.Now, Kakashi didn’t know many twelve year olds, but he was pretty sure no twelve year old’s room was supposed to look like this. There were no personalized decorations. There were no signs of any hobbies or interests besides the massive collection of skin and hair care containers that sat on a pristine vanity. A small bed that was neatly made was nestled into the corner. The lack of any kunai or shuriken made Kakashi doubt that a shinobi in training lived here. He clenched his teeth and tried to contain his anger. No one looking at this room would think a child lived there, much less a prepubescent girl. Kakashi scanned for anything that could potentially redeem the room. Anything that could convince him that his new charge was completely fine. That his student was just extremely clean, or that she didn’t like decorating. Anything.His eyes landed on a door he knew wasn’t the one that led into the hallway. How did he know this? Well, he certainly wasn’t in possession of any blueprint of the Haruno house. That would just be absurd and a complete breach of his job as a shinobi. He grasped the door knob and turned it. The minute the door creaked open, Kakashi could almost sense the despair and loneliness that radiated from the space inside. The closet was barely big enough to comfortably fit two adults, yet it looked more lived in than the actual room behind him. Books lined a small shelf that was tucked into the corner and a modest array of shinobi instruments were laid precisely in boxes. Flipping through the books, Kakashi discovered an array of topics that encompassed the basics of chakra control, various kata for Academy students, and papers on diplomacy, strategy, and stealth. This was not a child’s room.While Kakashi didn’t have a traditional upbringing, he knew based on theory that twelve year old’s shouldn’t be considering the “best way to verbally deescalate conflict” or “the cause and effect of various guerrilla tactics”. As he sent another sweeping glance over the small space, a certain book caught his eye. Flipping through what he had deduced to be a journal, Kakashi felt his emotions harden as he read several passages.
‘What could have possibly caused her to write something like this-’
His musings were halted when he sensed a faint chakra signature reaching the front door of the house. Clicking his tongue, Kakashi eliminated his presence and jumped out the window. It was time to talk to his pink haired student.***“Why did we get the worst jonin sensei?”“Hn.”“If you respond like that one more time, Imma show you exactly how quickly I can fill all of your shampoo bottles with hair dye.”“Hn, like you’d be able to pull that off.”“Yeah?! I betcha I could turn your hair pink quicker than you can go whine to your brother about it.”“Don’t you bring Itachi into this!”Sakura had accepted that she wouldn’t be able to maintain her meditation for much longer. At some point in time, Sasuke had presumably gotten bored and sat on her other side and blue jolts joined in with her calm and the orange heat. Predictably, the silence only lasted a couple of moments until Sasuke started some unspoken and idiotic competition with Naruto. She assumed it was a breath-holding contest when she began to hear gasps for air followed by grumbling break through her silence. Her seals faltered when she heard the argument getting louder in both ears.Naruto began detailing his plan to infiltrate the Uchiha Compound while Sasuke scoffed his disbelief at Naruto saying he could find his way to Sasuke’s room and cause mayhem without altering anyone.“-And I’m telling you, teme, I frickin’ know how to spray paint a house in under 15 minutes. I’m literally the god of graffiti-”“And I’m telling you, dobe, that even the youngest Uchiha could smell your stupidity the second you stepped a foot onto our grounds.”“TEME!” “Hn. Don’t get mad at me because I’m right.”“WHY YOU-”“Maa, maa you two. I thought you two would be more focused on becoming official genin instead of maintaining this childish rivalry.”Sakura’s eyes snapped open and she was immediately met with the sight of Hatake Kakashi lazily holding Naruto back by his collar as the hyperactive twelve year old struggled to wrench out of the jonin’s grip.“Lemme at him, you late sensei!” Naruto paused his flailing and turned his head to glare at the mask-wearing adult. “You were the one who was late, why are you yelling at us?! What were you even doing?!”Kakashi’s eyes crinkled up in what Sakura understood to be a smile. “Oh, I just had to tie up some loose ends.” He briefly met her eyes, and for a moment she felt as if he could see right through her.'What did he know?'

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

As if Kakashi sensei’s declaration wasn’t ominous enough, Sakura could feel his gaze flick over to her pointedly as he gave his lazy explanation for the upcoming test. Struggling to maintain her focus on the task at hand, Sakura shifted from foot to foot and tapped her fingertips against each other in a rhythm. The repeated actions allowed a smooth lull to go over her mind and Sakura felt her gaze unfocus until she could only see the blurred colors of Kakashi-sensei’s outfit. She didn’t know how long she was lost in her thoughts in this manner, but a sharp clap from in front of her caused her to jolt and blink rapidly.“Alright kiddies, you have until this timer rings-” Kakashi-sensei tapped the clock a couple of times before continuing. “-to take these two bells from me. Whoever gets a bell will pass and become a genin.”Sakura furrowed her brows at this statement and she halted in place as if frozen. If there were only two bells, did that mean they wouldn’t all be able to become genin? Sasuke would definitely get a bell, he was the first in the class and Naruto would try and try until he got one. Where would that leave her? Her throat tightened as Sakura attempted to swallow away the surge of emotions that threatened to drown her mind. What would happen if she didn’t become a genin? Why did she want to be a genin in the first place? Would being a genin really free her?
Free you? Free you from what, Sa-ku-ra-chan?
‘I don’t know, I don’t know. I promise, I don’t know. I don't know why I thought that.’
Free you from someone who has sacrificed everything to take care of you? You want to be freed from the only person who loves you? How ungrateful.
‘I don’t know. I don’t know. It’s not like that.’
Hmmmm, Sa-ku-ra-chan. You know how much she hates muttering. If you want to be heard, you had better—speak—up.
Sakura could feel her breath quickening and her palms started to sting as her nails began to trace sharp paths. ‘I…I…no, I–”Abruptly, a familiar orange warmth snapped her from her thoughts and Sakura felt compelled to turn her head jerkily to the side. As she did, Naruto and Sasuke came into focus as they glared angrily at Kakashi-sensei. Sasuke had his arms tightly crossed over his chest while Naruto was waving his hands pointedly at Kakashi who seemed to be purposefully not paying attention. Naruto huffed, while pointing an accusing finger at the nonchalant gray haired jonin. “Bakakashi, you didn’t even bring the right number of bells. There are three of us!”At this exclamation, he grabbed Sakura by the hand and pulled her into his side. A simultaneous grunt from his other side made it apparent that Sasuke was getting the same treatment. While his grip on her caused her to startle, Sakura couldn’t find it in herself to pry herself away like Sasuke was attempting to do. She glanced up at him and was met with a bright smile and in that moment she realized that despite his energy and inability to stay still, Naruto had calmed her thoughts in a single gesture. The voice wasn’t saying anything anymore.Sakura looked from Naruto’s smile to Kakashi whose gaze had turned more complex as he watched the three students stand shoulder to shoulder. He focused on her for a second longer than the other two and tilted his head to the side in thought. “Hmmm. I guess there are three of you here, I was too busy giving my dogs a bath to count that high. But, alas, the test must go on.”Letting out a little hum, Kakashi made a point of ringing the bells from their place on his waist and moved to a more central location in the field. He relaxed his posture and let his hands rest loosely in his pockets.“Now on the count of three, the test will begin. You can use any strategy–” Kakashi ducked to the side as Naruto launched a kunai in his general direction. “--I didn’t finish explaining. I know my track record for counting to three isn’t the best, but at least wait until I get to two, alright?”Naruto let out a ‘tsk’ and it was at this time that Sakura realized that Naruto was still grasping her hand. Glancing down at their clasped hands, she pondered the reason why she hadn’t let go yet, but before she could reach the answer, Kakashi-sensei continued.“Okay, I’m going to start counting now, and you had better let me finish.” Pausing for dramatic effect, he looked at each of them as if he was confirming something, before he smiled, his eye crinkling upwards.“1.”Sakura stiffened and nervously shifted her body weight to prepare to run.“2.”Feeling a tug on her hand, Sakura turned to see Naruto nodding at her. His gaze confidently held hers as he clenched her hand tighter before releasing it. She felt the loss of his warmth almost immediately, but she tried not to think of that. Unconsciously, Sakura glanced at Sasuke and was almost unsurprised to see that he hadn’t moved whatsoever. A small grimace was painted on his face, and there was an uneasy look in his eye despite the confidence that his posture exuded. As if he felt her gaze, Sasuke looked at her for a moment, blinked, and then turned his focus back to Kakashi-sensei. Sakura tensed preemptively for the countdown to finish.“2 and a half.”“WHAT THE HECK, BAKAKASHI!”“Just thought I’d test your counting. One of us on this team is going to have to be good at it for this to work out.”
I really thought that this was going to be serious business or whatever, but it turns out that this dude is just a weirdo, Blossom-chan.
Sakura pushed the very accurate conclusion out of her thoughts and instead focused on catching whenever Kakashi-sensei ended up finishing the countdown. He seemed to ponder the numbers in his head and through exaggerated movements, counted up to three a couple of times on his fingers.“Oh, look at that, I accidentally started the timer! And here I was stalling so that you three would have less time!” The grin that crept across his face could only be described as maniacal, even as only one eye was visible.
So he’s weird and psychologically fucked in the head. I say we beat him up Blossom-chan.
‘I don't think that's a good idea and it’s definitely not even close to possible.’
Well not with that attitude.
‘You have enough attitude for both of us.’
Hurtful. True, but hurtful.
“3.”As if a switch was turned on, Sakura jolted from her stillness and sped to the forest’s edge, placing herself away from Kakashi-sensei’s line of vision. Spying an adequate hiding place, Sakura clambered up the trunk of a study tree and exhaled for what felt like the first time since Kakashi-sensei began his countdown. Her nerves felt like they were on fire as the effects of adrenaline coursing through her body finally began to take effect.Come on Blossom-chan. Let’s think about this test or whatever. I say, you jump out of his shadow and steal the bells and then kick him in his bells. ‘You do know that there is no way for me to even begin to attempt that?’
Well, worth a shot. That gray haired, mask wearing jonin is way too cryptic for his own good so I thought we should give him a taste of his own medicine. By kicking him in the balls.
‘That isn’t even correlated to him being cryptic and is literally the worst idea ever.’The moment after she dismissed the voice’s ideas, Sakura came to the conclusion that she had no idea how she was supposed to steal something from a fully fledged jonin. She started to consider the appropriate trajectories that she would need to throw her kunai and shuriken from her vantage point.
Or……..I don’t know, you could–
‘I am NOT kicking Kakashi-sensei in the balls.’
Dang it!
Had Sakura been paying attention, she would have seen Naruto and Sasuke launching themselves at a book reading Kakashi with little to no success. Shouts of frustration filled the air and were met by strange cackles and lessons about taijutsu and ninjutsu. Flashes of orange and blue clashed with each other as the two boys occasionally got in each others’ way in their attempts to steal the bells. One particular collision elicited a shriek about cheating from Naruto and an equally childish retort pertaining to his lack of intelligence from Sasuke. And all the while, Hatake Kakashi, renowned jonin, was giggling every so often as he flipped through the pages of a little orange book. Had a more observant or experienced person observed him, they would have noted his periodic glances to a specific tree. They would have seen his sharp gaze analyzing the two students in front of him and their preferred techniques when it came to attacking the jonin or even shoving each other. Hatake Kakashi was considering the children in front of him more than he was thinking about the Icha Icha book in his hand.Kakashi pivoted to the side as Naruto crouched and attempted to swipe the jonin’s legs out from under him. When that failed, he grumbled before switching tactics by confronting Kakashi head on with a flurry of heavy blows. Without any communication between the two, Sasuke began his assault on the offbeats of Naruto’s strikes. When Naruto went high with a punch to the chest, Sasuke went low to grab for the bells. All the while, the two boys continued their argument without realizing how they were timing their attacks to complement the other. Kakashi observed on, seamlessly dodging while occasionally throwing out unhelpful advice or bopping the students on the head.Sakura’s thoughts and potential strategies continued to consume her until she felt a faint mist creep into the edges of her mind. The sounds of the fight in front of her slowly came into focus as her internal thoughts were washed away by the mist. Squinting, Sakura attempted to focus on the yells of her classmates when she saw a flash of orange and blue that rippled and changed shape until they became Sasuke and Naruto. Sakura witnessed them incorporating various jutsus and hand to hand combat in a clear rhythm. Naruto made a few signs before dramatically yelling, “Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!” and the field was suddenly teaming with a few too many clones wearing bright orange jumpsuits. That was definitely never taught in class. Sasuke took the clones in stride and launched a barrage of shuriken at Kakashi, who was currently shaking off a clone who was hanging on his shoulders.Sakura clenched her teeth together at the scene in front of her. She needed to help. She had to get one of those bells. At the thought, the mist seemed to rise in response and attempted to cloud her mind again, even going as far as to block her vision. Before it could completely close her off from the test, however, Sakura concentrated and a burst of chakra cut through the mist. The chakra burned through the mist and Sakura took a sharp breath when she saw a trail of the mist leading to Kakashi-sensei. As soon as she made that realization, bright blue chakra shot out and severed the line between them.Immediately, Kakashi’s gaze turned and met Sakura’s gaze on, even through the leaves that obscured her from vision.“Genjutsu. Techniques that can alter the mind’s perception of reality.”“What you are–oof–talking about old man?! Stop playing weird mind games and just give me the dumb bells!” Naruto grunted in exertion as various shadow clones clambered around in their attempt to distract Kakashi to give the original body a chance at the bells. As Kakashi turned his attention back to his hyperactive assailants, Sakura reached into her hip pouch, and drew three shuriken. Lining up her shot in a split second, Sakura launched them at the masked jonin who simply slipped to the side to avoid them.Frustration was seeping through every pore in Sakura’s body as she continued her barrage of weapons that were all dodged with seeming ease.
Come on, chill and think. You keep aiming at the bells, but that clearly isn’t working. Focus and adapt Blossom-chan.
‘What could I possibly do against a jonin?! I’ve tried everything! I have to be a genin. I have to.’
Maybe try a new perspective? I don’t know, I’ve got the same info as you, Blossom-chan, I just use that info to suggest aggressive amounts of rage.
‘A new perspective?’ With that thought, Sakura silenced her presence to the best of her ability and flitted her eyes across the forest to find a new vantage point.There! Hoping that Kakashi was adequately occupied with the clones and the giant fireball that Sasuke just launched, Sakura dashed to her new hiding spot. Poking her head out from behind a branch, Sakura scanned the three figures in the field. Naruto was grabbing at the bells, seeming to have gotten tired of more strategic approaches and Sasuke had begun to distract the jonin’s attention on him by sending more fire jutsus his way. All the while, Kakashi-sensei pivoted, ducked, and dodged out of the way with ease. The only time the jonin showed any evidence that he was human and not some controlled puppet was when a fireball got a little bit too close to his book. Kakashi-sensei swiped the book away and made a show of checking it for marks or scorch marks.That was it. Sakura just had to occupy the jonin for a long enough time to give her a chance to get the bells. Sakura took a quick breath, focused on the bright orange target in front of her, and threw her last kunai. A dramatic gasp echoed throughout the field as Kakashi stared in disbelief at his poor Icha Icha book that was currently pinned to a tree trunk with a kunai right through the center.“Nice Sakura-chan!” Naruto crowed as he launched himself at a grief-stricken Kakashi. The jonin dodged out of reach while simultaneously catching Sasuke’s fists. Kakashi flung the two away and let out a low laugh, much more serious than before.“Well, it seems the third has finally joined the party. But–” Kakashi swiveled around to look at Sakura for a moment, she felt sudden panic weigh her bones down. “--Unfortunately, time’s up.”As the shrill alarm sounded, a chill crept to Sakura’s core from her fingers and toes. The test was…over?“No, no, no,” Sakura muttered with increasing intensity and panic. No, this couldn’t be it. They had to have more time, Kakashi-sensei was just messing with them. “No, no, no, no.” Her voice broke and unwelcome tears welled up in her eyes making it difficult to make out the gray haired figure making his way to her.“We have more time, I have more time, there has to be more time. It can’t be over, it’s not over, it’s not.” Fumbling over her words, Sakura wrapped her arms around herself, her nails scoring up and down her arms. Hands grabbed her own as she continued to mumble and frantically blink tears from her eyes.“Sakura-”“I have to pass. I have to pass. I’m not going back, I’m not, I can’t. I have to be a genin, I have to get out-” A strangled cry left her lips as Sakura felt herself being lowered to the ground.“Sakura, can you hear me?” A hand reached forward and guided her fingers to rest on the cool grass underneath her. Her muttering continued but lowered in intensity as Sakura began to focus on brushing past the blades of grass and soil. What was happening to her? Why was this happening to her? She deserved this, didn’t she? How could she ever say these things out loud, how could she be so ungrateful, so stupid.“You aren’t stupid Sakura, and you aren’t alone.” A soft voice rumbled in front of her, and Sakura felt herself latching onto the steady tone. “It’s me, Kakashi-sensei. Can you tell me something that you hear right now?”“I can’t–I can’t…” Gasping breaths jolted out of Sakura’s mouth, making it difficult for her to say anything coherent without sobbing. “I can–hear you.”“Good job Sakura. Can you tell me something that you see?” Startling at the praise, Sakura blinked fiercely to clear her vision. She slowly looked up and saw the even, calm black eye looking back at her. The eye blinked when she did and it kept her gaze without flinching. The voice didn’t berate her tears, didn’t yell at her inability to speak without mumbling.As if the floodgates opened, Sakura met Kakashi’s gaze through the remaining tears and with quivering lips said, “Kakashi-sensei?”“Yes Sakura?”“I can… I can trust you right?”Without wavering he responded. “Of course.”Sakura clenched the grass tightly, glancing away. “If I told you something – something bad. Would–” Looking at the sky, a shuddering breath escaped her body. “--Would you believe me?”“I would.”“Do you promise?”“I promise.”Tears in her eyes, Sakura met Kakashi-sensei’s eye again and was greeted with an aura of stability and protection. Could she tell him? Was this actually okay? The voices in Sakura’s head had gone silent and she just wished that one of them would appear to tell her what to do.Before she could convince herself otherwise, Sakura sobbed out, “Kakashi-sensei, I need help.”His eyes softened. “I can help you Sakura. I will help you.” Kakashi reached his hand out to her and after a brief hesitation, Sakura placed her shaking hand into his. He pulled her up from the ground and gave her a gentle pat on the head.“Just leave it to your sensei.”

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

A weight dropped in Naruto’s stomach when Kakashi-sensei proclaimed that the bell test was over. His first instinct was to yell, to fight against his statement, because even if he didn’t have any of the bells, there was no way Naruto was going back to the academy. By his side, Sasuke seemed similarly prepared to contest the jonin’s decision as anger materialized in his body through a full body shudder and a piercing gaze.Naruto, feeling vindicated by Sasuke’s reaction, opened his mouth, but snapped it shut at the sight in front of him.Sakura-chan had slipped down from the tree where she had thrown the kunai that pierced Bakakashi-sensei’s Icha Icha book and was now crumpled on the ground. Holding her hair with an uncompromising grip, Sakura-chan was repeating a series of words almost in a chant.“--no, no, no, I have more time, more time–”“Sakura-chan?” Naruto didn’t know why his voice sounded so weak. Shaking memories of nights in alleyways trembling while covered in wounds and harsh words flashed through his mind as he stepped forward towards the girl shaking on the ground in front of him. A hand reached out and grabbed his arm, causing Naruto to jolt and spin around to see Sasuke with a strange look in his eyes.“Why are you stopping me, teme! Sakura-chan needs help!”Normally, Sasuke would have fired back an insult, but he was strangely subdued as he shook his head in response. “Hatake-san can handle it. Too many people trying to help will only make things worse.”“How do you know that? I can’t just stand around doing nothing! I just–” Naruto could feel his frustration at his inability to help boiling beneath his skin as he wrenched his arm from Sasuke’s hold.“Naruto-! Just…” Sasuke paused, taking a glance over to where the gray haired jonin had settled beside the hyperventilating girl on the ground. He looked away quickly as if he had seen too much and instead reasserted his grip on Naruto’s arm, pulling him a distance away.Naruto wanted to fight him. He wanted to wrench from Sasuke’s grasp and run back to Sakura-chan. He wanted to ask what was wrong, what could he do to help. He wanted to do anything but stand by and wait. But something was stopping him. Maybe it was the fear in her eyes that reflected Naruto’s own when he looked in a mirror. Maybe it was Sasuke’s hand which shook, not with the exertion of holding his classmate back, but with his own frustration. It didn’t matter what stopped him, but Naruto took a shaking breath in. And then he let it out.Almost crashing to the ground, Naruto settled against a tree, keeping Kakashi and Sakura-chan in his line of sight. Instead of joining him, Sasuke stood to Naruto’s left and leaned against the bark, and began to rhythmically drum his fingers against his crossed arms. They waited in silence and waited as gasping breaths echoed from the other side of the field. Naruto tensed as her crying was intermittently broken up by steady words from the jonin in front of her.“Hey teme.”“Usuratonkachi.”Naruto hesitated. “--I… I guess I always thought Sakura was too perfect to be true.”Sasuke remained silent but his fingers stopped moving.“She didn’t yell at me like everyone else. She didn’t make fun of me for having no one to pick me up after school,” Naruto continued, words coming out of his mouth as if they had been locked up until this moment. “She… she even smiled at me sometimes. Not a lot of people do that, ya know.”Sasuke continued to keep quiet.“But, when she thought no one was lookin’, she would get real sad. And quiet. Like, maybe, if she was quiet enough, no one would notice her.” Naruto scoffed slightly to himself and brought his legs to his chest. “That type of thing doesn’t work, though. I used to think it would, but people–”Naruto cut himself off, grimacing.Sasuke sighed in response to his silence. “So you decided to be loud instead?”Naruto ducked his head down and brought his hands to rest on the back of his head. “I guess. Getting in trouble for things I did on purpose is way better than getting in trouble for things I don’t even remember.”“What’s that supposed to mean?”“Nothin’ teme. Don’t worry about it.”“I’m not–!” Groaning, Sasuke lowered himself to the ground and pulled at the grass in frustration. The boys’ momentary silence was broken by another sob. They both jolted and looked in the direction of the sound and were greeted by the sight of Sakura being lifted from the ground by the hand. Kakashi said something neither of them caught. The jonin gently patted the girl’s head and said something else which renewed a new stream of tears.Actively fighting the urge to run over and comfort Sakura, Naruto knocked his shoulder against Sasuke’s.“Oi–!”“Sasuke.” The protest died against the Uchiha’s lips before they could even be spoken. “I think Sakura-chan needs our help.”Sasuke shook his head vehemently, and continued to pull grass from the soil. “She doesn’t need our help. We don’t even know what’s going on. We barely even know each other and we’re only on a team together because of some past Team 7 tradition–”“Well screw the dumb traditions! We’re a team now, and that’s all that matters, dattebayo!” Naruto leapt up as if he had regained all of his energy in an instant.Sasuke paused, fist clenched around another handful of grass. “We aren’t even a team. We didn’t pass the test, remember dobe?”Naruto scoffed and dramatically appeared in the middle of Sasuke’s vision. A bright, but determined grin was plastered on his face. Sasuke found himself unable to look away as he was drawn into the light that was Uzumaki Naruto. “We’ll just force Bakakashi to make us a team! If the three of us all work together, he won’t know what hit him!”“How do you even know if Sakura wants to be on a team with us?!” Sasuke pushed himself up to stare Naruto down. His blue eyes were unflinching.“We’re gunna be a team, I can just feel it.”“You can ‘just feel it’? What type of bullshit is that?”“I don’t know about you, Sasuke, but I wanna be the one protecting and standing by Sakura-chan’s side instead of being the one hurting her.” Determination blazed through Naruto and Sasuke took a step back, unwittingly remembering the cut across Sakura’s cheek. Instead of retorting, the Uchiha screwed his eyes shut and shook his head again.“Ya can’t hide from me, teme. Even if you close your eyes, I’m still gunna be right here.” Naruto continued and Sasuke found that he could still feel the warmth of the sun from the shadow of the tree. “I’m gunna get stronger with you and stand by your side too.”Sasuke opened his eyes and was met with the same, consistent smile. “Cause we’re a team, ya know!”The Uchiha grimaced. It was easier in the dark, easier to hide in the shadow cast upon him by his brother, his parents, his clan. Remaining there meant that no one would see his failure, his failure to become as good as Itachi, his failure to live up to the Uchiha name. Sasuke had seen the effects of the Uchiha name in the way Itachi came home after a long mission with a blank look in his eyes and trembling fingers. In the way that Itachi would sometimes shake so hard during the night that Sasuke was afraid he would hurt himself. He would hold his brother down, tears streaming down his young face as he yelled for his mother and father. What good has the Uchiha name done for Itachi?But what good had Sasuke done for the Uchiha name? What good has he done for Itachi? Convinced that his big brother could handle anything, Sasuke stepped aside and watched as Itachi took mission after mission and suffered, night after night.“Sasuke.”Why was the sun talking to him? Couldn’t it tell that he was made for the darkness. Made to live in someone’s shadow?“I don’t know what’s going on through your head, cause we don’t really talk all that much, ya know. I mean, we fight a lot, but I guess that ain’t really talking.”Sasuke looked up and was practically blinded by the light.“But I do know that me, you, and Sakura-chan are on a team for a reason, dattebayo! And I know that Sakura-chan needs our help right now, and as her super awesome teammates, we gotta help her in whatever way we can!” Naruto grinned and outstretched his hand.As if he was compelled, Sasuke reached his hand out to meet his teammate’s but flinched back when sunlight hit his skin. Before he even had time to back away, Naruto leaned forward, grabbed his hand, and pulled him into the light.***For all of his confidence, Hatake Kakashi was unsure how to proceed. His little student seemed to have no intention of letting go of his hand and was instead using it as a makeshift life line. Sakura’s fingers clenched his own in desperation as if she thought he would leave if she dropped even the slightest bit of pressure. She was having a hard time looking at him but that isn’t to say that Kakashi wasn’t having a similarly difficult time looking at her. When he attempted to meet Sakura’s eyes, he saw her tear stained cheeks, her bloody arms, and her bloodshot eyes. And when he blinked, Kakashi saw brown hair instead of pink, brown eyes instead of green.Despite the many nights spent at the Memorial Stone, Kakashi considered himself to be completely fine and definitely thought about being the last member of Team 7 a normal amount of times. Continuing the cursed legacy that the name ‘Team 7’ brought was not a burden he was ready to carry. The weight of Minato-sensei, Kushina-nee, Obito, and Rin already rested too heavy on his shoulders and to add three more names to that list would undeniably be his downfall.And Kakashi knew this. He knew that he couldn’t handle it. Handle losing another team without losing himself in the process. He knew this, but why was it so difficult to let go of her hand? Bracing himself, Kakashi looked down and was met by green eyes. Green eyes that held so much darkness, but, somehow in this light, Kakashi could see a beam of hope.Sakura tightened her grip and frowned. Kakashi tilted his head in question at her expression but she remained silent for a moment longer.“You promised, right, Kakashi-sensei?”“I did.” Sakura paused again to search his gaze as if she was trying to gauge the integrity of his words.“I have something to tell you, Kakashi-sensei.”Kakashi took a slight breath in, knowing that whatever he heard would change everything. It would change the distance that he had planned to establish with the trio when he was told he would be their sensei. It would rework his unknown desire to remain in the past and would force him to care for the three students he had been entrusted with. It would make them…his students.“I’m listening.”Sakura grimaced and raised her free hand to smack against her head. After one hit, Kakashi grabbed it and brought her hand back down. He met her eyes and tried his best to smile softly. “None of that, Sakura-chan.”Gripping Sakura’s hands with the same intensity that she had held his, Kakashi sealed his fate. “I promised, didn't I? I can’t let one of my precious students get hurt when I’m able to prevent it, now can I?”She blinked slowly and when Sakura’s eyes opened again, a glint of steel was present. “I don’t want to go home, Kakashi-sensei.”“I see.”“I don’t ever want to go home, to that house again.”“Are you able to tell me why that is?” Kakashi blinked in unison with his pink-haired student.“My kaa-san. She…” Staying silent, Kakashi held Sakura’s hand firmly and continued to match her tempo. “She makes me…she makes me hate myself. She makes me hate everything about who I am, what I do, and how I do it. She yells at me, she throws things, she makes me do things I don’t want to do, makes me think things I don’t want to think.”Sakura was shaking now, tears welling up again in her eyes. Her hands shook as trembles coursed through her body. “She makes me scared to be alive…” Sakura jerked her eyes up to stare Kakashi down and he was almost startled by the mettle he found there.“Is it so wrong that I want to be a shinobi? Is it wrong that I have dreams outside of being married? It’s not my fault that the only thing she got out of life was a dead husband and daughter she didn’t want!” Her voice was rising and her tears were flowing. Despite the volume, Kakashi could hear the footsteps of his other two emotionally suppressed students approaching. If Sakura noticed them, however, she chose not to pay them any mind.“So what I come home 2 minutes after curfew! I had a question about the homework because how else would I prove that I could be a shinobi unless I was the top kunoichi. And what do I get for my efforts?! No food for a week and a slap to the face!” Gasping sharply, Sakura almost growled under her breath.“I will never step into that house again…I promise.”Kakashi continued to meet her gaze as her chest heaved up and down from the emotional exertion. Harsh breaths echoed and the glint in her expression gave the tear stains a new meaning. Something within Sakura had snapped after 12 years of keeping it in, and Kakashi found himself doubting that she would ever go back to the way she was before. Previously caged emotions of rage, sadness, and hope shone in her eyes, lighting up the dull gaze.Already planning his subsequent actions, Kakashi focused on his student and considered the best place to bring her until he was able to…handle the situation. “Is there some place that I can take you where you would feel safe, Sakura-chan?”Before she was able to respond, two boys decided to make their presence known. Or, at least one did, and the other joined unintentionally.“We can take care of Sakura-chan, Kaka-sensei!” Naruto proclaimed proudly with his hands on his hips. Sakura startled in surprise at his announcement but didn’t outwardly appear to be upset with his announcement.“You…you want to take care of me?” Disbelief colored her statement as she unconsciously leaned closer to the light. “Do you even know what that means?”Naruto hummed thoughtfully and tilted his head to the side, squinting his eyes slightly. “Do I have to know what that means?”Sakura’s grip tightened and Kakashi looked down at her in response. She was gazing at the two boys, considering the validity of the words being spoken. “Naruto-”“The only thing I know,” Naruto interrupted while smiling, “Is that you’re Sakura-chan. And that’s all I need to know!”“That doesn’t even make any sense, Naruto!”Naruto crossed his arms and grumbled childishly. “Do I gotta make sense? It makes sense to me, and it makes sense to Sasuke-teme!”Huffing, Sasuke stepped forward closer to Naruto. “When has anything you ever said made any sense, dobe?” Despite his tone, Sasuke's posture was more open than usual and there was no hesitation in his stance.“I’m choosing to ignore that.” Naruto focused again on Sakura and his gaze and smile softened. “I want to take care of you because you’re Sakura-chan! That’s all there is to it.”Kakashi chuckled at his argument. Leave it to Naruto to make something this complicated absurdly simple. Similarly stunned at his words, Sakura inhaled sharply and straightened her posture. The breeze began to pick up, gently inspiring the leaves on the trees to dance. The grass rustled beneath their feet and pink strands of hair began to sway.Despite the wind, the sun never seemed to waver. Naruto took a deep breath, glanced at Sasuke, before turning back to Sakura who seemed to be waiting in anticipation for his next words. “We’re a team after all! Right, Sakura-chan?”Kakashi raised his eyebrows at the two boys. Sharp conviction outlined Naruto’s frame as he confidently grinned at his sensei. Slightly behind him, Sasuke stood in his teammates shadow, but the darkness did nothing to hide his unknowing desire to stay and protect his teammate. Sighing, Hatake Kakashi looked down at his pink haired student who had yet to release her unwavering hold on his hand. Sakura glanced up at him briefly before her gaze was yet again drawn to her two teammates who met her eyes with warmth and stability. Even though it seemed impossible, Naruto brightened when Sakura looked at them and outstretched his hand out to her.Without saying a word, Sakura tightened her grasp on Kakashi’s hand before letting go. He felt the cool wind brush past his fingers as he watched Sakura walk slowly to the boys. She met Naruto’s eyes before looking hesitantly at Sasuke. The Uchiha blinked a couple of times, then took a step forward until he was standing next to his blonde teammate. His hand twitched by his side as if he was fighting the urge to reach out in a similar manner to Sakura.Kakashi watched as his three students stood at a standstill, words flowing between them without any of them ever being spoken. Seemingly finding what she was looking for, Sakura lifted a hand forward with slightly trembling fingers. There was a pause when she reached as far as she could and there was a moment where her hand started to fall. In that split second of hesitation, another hand shot out and grasped it tightly. Naruto beamed at Sakura and tugged her closer to him while Sasuke oriented himself to catch her when she stumbled.After steadying herself, Sakura looked up at the two boys and it was as if someone had suddenly cut the strings from a puppet. She crumpled forward, grabbing both of Naruto and Sasuke’s shirts in her fists and pulled until they were close enough for Sakura to throw her arms around them. Both froze as if stunned, and Kakashi could only imagine what was going on through their minds. Naruto’s eyes widened and tears welled up as he almost ferociously clung to Sakura. Sasuke took a moment longer, but slowly, as if trying not to startle her, he worked his arm around her stiffly until his hand rested on her back. After a couple of beats, Sasuke lifted his hand and began to gently pat Sakura on the back while Naruto leaned in closer to rest his head on her shoulder.Even though he was only looking through one eye, Hatake Kakashi knew he had just witnessed the beginning of something much larger than he could ever comprehend. Letting out a soft chuckle, he turned his attention to the village in front of him and honed in on the Hokage Tower in the distance. Kakashi looked back one last time at his students, and felt an unconscious, yet genuine smile creep onto his face. He met Sasuke’s gaze, gave him a small nod, then shushined away in a swirl of leaves.***“Are you implying that Haruno Sakura, the stable and intelligent top kunoichi of her class, is being harmed by her own mother?” Sarutobi Hiruzen looked up from his paperwork for the first time since Kakashi had arrived into the Hokage’s office without warning through the window.“If it sounded like I was implying anything, Hokage-sama, I suppose I should rephrase my report.” Kakashi’s eye narrowed as he attempted to fight back the anger that had been simmering under the surface since Sakura had pleaded for the bell test not to be over. The tears gleaming on her cheeks in combination with the darkness that swept over her eyes caused Kakashi to clench his teeth while he attempted to work her out of the attack.“What evidence do you have?” The Sandaime asked, leaning back in his chair and meeting Kakashi’s eye.“The only evidence that matters. Haruno Sakura personally told me about her mother’s behavior.”“And can you trust what she says?”“I have seen her cover up wounds that were not there the day before. I have seen her flinch at any conflict with authority. There has never been any indication that I could not trust what she says.”Sighing, the Sandaime picked up his pipe but made no attempt to use it. “What are you asking permission to do, Kakashi-kun?”Kakashi tightened his fists behind his back. “Hokage-sama, with all due respect, I am not here to ask for permission to do anything. I am simply informing you of the situation before I carry out my duty.”“And what duty is that, Kakashi-kun?” Hiruzen questioned, a searching glint present in his eyes.“The duty that you have given me, Hokage-sama.” With a slight breath out, Hatake Kakashi steeled himself for what he was about to say. “The duty of leading Team 7.”The Sandaime blinked a couple of times before the hard lines on his face began to soften. He briefly sighed before speaking. “I see.” He lit his pipe and brought it to his mouth. “Then fulfill your duty to the best of your ability, Hatake Kakashi.”Already turning to the nearest window, the Jonin-sensei of Team 7 leapt out into the sun.