Chapter Text
Sakura’s team was haunted.
If she were any weaker, she might’ve collapsed at the maelstrom of energy circling the three. Instead, she stayed far from her new teammates and sensei, curling inwards on herself while the gray haired Jonin lectured them only a week after passing their initial Genin assessment. Surprisingly, he’d only kept them waiting for an hour rather than the three on the first day.
One might wonder what deity she’d pissed off in a past life to be assigned to the type of haymakers that comprised Team Seven. Her eyes flitted to the two phantoms behind her sensei, one a girl slightly older than her with cropped brown hair and purple markings on her cheeks. The other a much older silver-haired man with blood dripping from an open wound on his stomach. The girl had a black void in her chest, with faint involuntary twitches moving her limbs without her own accord. They hadn’t paid her any mind, instead focusing on the boys, and for that she was grateful. She could feel her own grouping of ghosts moving about behind her, poking fun and laughing at her torment no doubt.
Some of the ghosts that followed her childhood spoke of Hound and his prowess in battle; with the son of the Hokage and second heir to the Uchiha clan, it wasn’t surprising that a former ANBU would be pulled from his station to be their teacher. She only wished that she had been left out of the team makeup. Maybe Hinata might’ve made more sense, but the bad blood between the Hyuuga and the Uchiha would be overwhelming for the girl and only end in disaster. In the long run, Ino-Shika-Cho’s team wouldn’t be broken up, so Ino as a replacement would be out as well.
Her mind ran through the different profiles of the budding kunoichi in her pre-Genin classes, swiping imaginary folders away at the different fangirls that would only cause problems. Cursing internally, she scowled and hoped the gesture was hidden behind the knees that were drawn up to her chest.
Sakura fiddled with the long sleeves of her haori, the fabric splayed out behind her like a waterfall of swirled reds and purple. It was the only color on her outfit, easy to discard in battle, but a compromise of her own internal nature. The dark standard issue pants and tank top were tucked into each other, tight on her small form with bandages sealing away any exposed skin on her ankles. She cracked her neck and tilted her head side to side, feeling the long edges of her ponytail tickle her back.
“Bored, Sakura-chan?” Kakashi-sensei hummed from in front of her, pausing in his lecture to give her a cheery smile. She looked behind him towards the ghosts again, frowning slightly.
She shook her head, curling even tighter in on herself.
“She’s just spacey, Kaka-sensei. And weird,” Naruto muttered, crossing his arms over his chest. The spectral form of orange chakra behind him twitched in irritation. “Just ignore her and get on with it.”
She swallowed the lump in her throat as one of the tails of chakra reached out towards her, but was quickly batted away by a ghost.
She resisted the urge to look towards the second Hokage that took a liking to her rather quickly in her youth. His water-like presence often kept the more malicious spirits at bay, and his hissing of disapproval at her teammate and his ghosts were enough to settle her rattled nerves.
Sakura knew that the blonde didn’t like her, not that many of her classmates did. Busu-yokai followed her all throughout the academy. It was hard to focus on her education when the wails of children long lost and argumentative dead parents frothing at the mouth at the quality of ninja being produced often overshadowed Iruka’s lectures. If it weren’t for Tobirama providing her answers, she probably would’ve failed early on. It also didn’t make for a good environment for making friends, as many of the clan kids in her class kept to themselves or pre-determined groupings for training.
Civilians for one reason or another avoided her, and with her parents often out of town, her only friends were the ghosts that gravitated towards her.
“I just didn’t sleep well. I’m listening, I promise,” she replied, voice croaking a bit. Tobirama settled behind her, his legs splayed out on her sides and his body a calming force on her back. She relaxed a little, sitting more cross legged as her hands settled in her lap.
He nodded, eyes narrowing slightly but acquiesced and continued his lecture. “Tree walking is one of the essential lessons of a Leaf shinobi. Konoha is protected by leagues of trees that extend to the furthest reaches of the nation's borders. While we won’t be traveling by tree-hoping this early, being able to use your chakra to walk on trees, and later water, will be one of your first lessons.”
Naruto whined, “But that’s boring. I thought we were going to learn one of your cool jutsu’s, not something lame like tree walking.”
Kakashi-sensei shrugged, “I must’ve forgotten who the sensei was in this arrangement. If you want to walk everywhere and be leagues behind your teammates, then you can skip this lesson and tell your mother why you were sent home early.”
Sasuke snickered to the right of Naruto and she held back her own amusement at how quickly Naruto clammed up at the mention of her mother. She’d seen the red headed woman a few times when she came to pick Naruto up in the earlier days of the academy before he and Sasuke took to walking home together alone. She would shut up as quickly as he did at the thought of upsetting her, mother or not.
Kakashi stood up from where he sat on his haunches, before stretching slightly. Taking out three kunai, he threw it at their feet, gesturing for the pre-teens to pick them up. Walking over to the grouping of tall redwoods at the edge of the training grounds, he slowly placed his feet at the base and briskly walked upwards before settling on a branch high above their heads.
“I’ll explain this once before seeing if you’re smart enough to figure it out on your own. Simply circulate chakra to the soles of your feet, matching the frequency of the tree and using that to stick yourselves to the wood and walk upwards. Use the kunai to mark how high you get. First one to get to the top gets to decide where we’re eating for lunch, if you make it that far of course.”
Sakura doubted the incentive was a true one, since Naruto and Sasuke looked way too excited at the prospect. She’d only known Kakashi-sensei for a few days, but the familiarity between the three boys was impossible to ignore. She’d bet that he knew they wouldn’t be able to complete the exercise before noon, especially with the cracking of the bark and yells of Naruto as he tumbled to the ground.
Sasuke, distracted and laughing at his friend's misgivings, immediately joined him on the ground as the chakra he’d managed to stick to the tree easily faltered at the distraction.
She pried the kunai from the ground and walked to the remaining tree next to the two boys, touching her hand to the base and feeling the hum of natural energy radiating from the wood. She pulled chakra up from the tight ball in her stomach, reveling in the rush of power coursing through her veins. She could sense the thrum and spirits locked deep inside the wood, the energy calling out to her in hymns and whispers.
Tobirama leaned against the tree next to her, arms crossed over his armor. “This is child's play. They should’ve learned this years ago, not as Genin.”
Sakura hummed, wondering if she should request tempura or barbecue for lunch and she softly tapped her hand against the bark. She couldn’t deign Tobirama with a response this close to her team, but she nodded in agreement, thinking back on fond memories of crawling up and down her bedroom like a spider.
“Hey, he said to walk up the tree, not play patticake with it.” Naruto taunted from where he’d jumped off the tree, comparing his new mark with Sasuke’s.
The Uchiha glanced at the lower mark and smirked. “Maybe if you stopped staring at the civilian for a change, you might actually be able to beat me.”
“Shut it, you bastard.” Naruto yelled back before rushing at his tree again.
Sakura brushed off the taunts and dropped the kunai in the ground, knowing that no mark needed to be made in the poor tree. Placing her feet at the base, she slowly walked up the tree, almost mockingly so. Making it to the highest branch that would support her weight, she hung upside and smiled at them from above, relishing in their shouts of indignation. Small victories were important.
From up here, they wouldn’t be able to hear her talk to Tobirama as well. “I fear my new team doesn’t like me very much,” she confessed when he joined her. “I don’t know how to make it better.”
“Your team is composed of idiots, we know this. The standards for the Uchiha must’ve fallen if this is what passes for heirs these days,” he replied, sneering at the boys below her. “This is not your fault. Teams very rarely stay together once the students reach Chunin. You shouldn’t have to deal with them for too long.”
“It can take up to three years to become a Chunin, especially if my sensei doesn’t think we’re promotional material,” She huffed, running her hands through her ponytail and pulling out any knots along the way.
“We both know you’d be fine as a Chunin, and with those two on your team, it’d be nothing for you to goad them into an early examination spot,” Tobirama countered. “They can barely walk straight, but they’d fall over each other's feet if it meant outdoing one another. You can use that.”
She frowned, forehead reddening as the blood rushed to her head. “I don’t know how I feel manipulating my teammates like that. What if something bad happens.”
He rolled his eyes at her, “Uchiha’s may love deeper than others, but they are stupid and fool hearted. Manipulating one to do your bidding is well within your caliber. Wherever he goes, the other idiot will follow. Anything bad that happens is on them for not being prepared.”
“Not everyone has you, Tobirama,” She reminded, “If their parents chose not to teach them something like that, it was probably for good reason. We are still children after all, and we're not actively at war.”
Children that used to bully her in the academy was left unsaid. War was always on the horizon also echoed behind it.
Sakura spotted some of the ghosts that littered around Sasuke’s perimeter, most not of any notoriety besides Izuna Uchiha, who often glared at Tobirama with ferocity. He and Sasuke bore a striking resemblance, which might explain why the ghost often followed his descendant around. He might’ve heard Tobirama’s comments with the way he joined them on the branch almost immediately.
Tobirama scoffed and Sakura sighed, hoping the fight wouldn’t be too annoying to deal with. She crawled around the brand and stood upright, staring at the two ghosts.
“I couldn’t help but overhear your misgivings, you white-haired bastard. What did you say about my family?” Izuna bit out, glaring at the two.
“Oh, did I not say it loudly enough? Control your spawn and maybe he can make something of himself. If your main branch can’t even walk up a tree at this age, maybe it’s the end of the Uchiha as we know it.” Tobirama taunted.
“I don’t see any Senju around here? What’s left of your clan? A drunk and a few oba-sans across the country. At least my clan is still around and thriving.”
Sakura groaned, scrubbing at her face with her hands. “Enough, the both of you, please. I’ve had enough fighting for one day.”
“Shut it you brat, the adults are talking.” Izuna snapped.
Sakura fumed, careful to keep her voice down as she bit out a retort. Tobirama immediately stepped in front of her, blocking Izuna’s view, sensing the rising hostility from the ghost.
“If Madara could see you now, I’m sure he’d have words to remind you on how you should be treating a young lady,” Tobirama smirked, easily sidestepping the ghost that rushed at him. Sakura rolled her eyes at the two. Not even death would mature the actions of boys in the bodies of men.
“It seems the one with the best control is our little kunoichi,” Kakashi-sensei finally commented, looking upwards while blocking the glare of the sun with an orange book. “Are you able to get down in the same manner or do you need help?”
She shook her head at his offer, happy to leave Tobirama and Izuna to argue above the treeline. She steadily walked down the tree, landing softly on the ground before looking up at her sensei. She handed his kunai back to him, unsure of what to do next. Kakashi-sensei looked at her expectantly.
“I want barbeque for lunch,” she decided, nodding happily to herself. Kakashi seemed to be pleased with this answer, patting her on the head akin to a ninken. She could smell the scent of wet dog on his head, along with a few pieces of fur left on his clothes from where he must’ve pet the dogs before leaving for the training grounds. Unless he had a secret Inuzuka girlfriend she knew nothing about. A couple of Inuzuka ghosts used to follow her old classmate Kiba around, but the clan was surprisingly more of the lesser haunted lot.
“Wait, no Sakura, we should get ramen for lunch. If Kakashi-sensei’s paying, we should get the best bang for our yen, don’t ya agree? All you can eat barbecue is too much of a cop out,” Naruto pleaded, rushing over to the two.
She was struck at how quickly his attitude changed towards her, and she resisted the urge to scowl again since his only motivation to get on her good side involved where they were going to eat for lunch. Sasuke was steadfastly ignoring them, and she could hear Tobirama and Izuna’s argument growing louder and louder. At this rate, they’d attract the attention of more and more ghosts, and the ones already haunting the training grounds were more than enough for her. She could feel the beginnings of a migraine taking hold, the pressure building at her temples.
“Barbecue,” she repeated, crossing her arms over her chest. She’d be damned to back down from someone that had been so quick to insult her only moments ago.
“Ramen,” Naruto barked back. He stepped forward in an effort to intimidate her.
“I won the contest, and Sensei said that I could pick where we ate. I want Yakiniku. You can pay for your own bowl of ramen if you want it that bad,” Sakura replied.
The orange tails behind Naruto flickered with irritation, one coming close enough to lash out towards her, the energy coursing through her senses like burning electricity. She took a step away from the blonde, but he followed her almost unconsciously.
Despite the tails itching at her senses, she refused to back down. Her eyes flickered up towards Tobirama’s location, hoping the white-haired Hokage would intervene and help her out. Kakashi-sensei didn’t seem impressed at their display, but refused to intervene and instead watching the interaction play out.
“But how often is he going to pay for our lunch? He’s such a cheapskate. You should be a good teammate and make him take us to Ichiraku instead.” He pleaded with a gleaming look in his eye.
“You can be an even better teammate and see that I won fair and square. It’s not nice to try and manipulate me,” she hissed, “I’m not one of your fangirls. You and Sasuke can’t bully me into getting what you want.”
Maybe that was the reason she was placed on this team. Naruto behaved like a feral magpie, bouncing from sparkly object to sparkling object, easily distracted and even easier to offend. While her interactions with the Hokage were limited, she imagined Naruto took after his mother since she only knew of the calm, collected nature of the Fourth Hokage.
Sasuke behaved like any Uchiha would; haughty with a holier than thou outlook on life. She knew of his older brother, and had even seen him a few times with his and Sasuke’s mother in the marketplace. Itachi was polite, courteous, and the complete opposite of Sasuke. Being stuck with the childish counterpart of the two brothers is an insult when she’d seen how proficient the heir was. She was on Tobirama’s side with the amount of unchecked attitude that littered the Uchiha Clan.
It could’ve been the reason why Sasuke was so jaded, so easy to irritate, and so quick to clash with Naruto despite being his best friend. The two butted heads as much as they agreed to help each other, often paired in spars as they took it too far with any other partner. Naruto couldn’t hold back his punches and Sasuke chose not to. She’d seen many a civilian academy student break a limb or two at the force of the punches or the Uchiha kata’s that Sasuke learned, often resulting in them dropping out of the academy altogether. She couldn’t find it in her heart to blame them, if she was being honest.
“Now, now. Sakura wants barbecue, so we will get barbecue. If you practice enough, Naruto, maybe you can beat her when we move to water walking.” Kakashi said encouragingly. "Once you all master this, we'll move onto that next." He separated the two as he yanked Naruto back by the scruff.
Against her better judgement, Sakura took a few more steps backward and placed one foot and then the other on the lake that took up a large portion of their training ground. The sound of offense that Naruto made was well worth Kakashi-sensei’s defeated sigh.
-----
At the sight of Team Ten, Sakura briefly wondered if she should’ve just agreed with Naruto and had ramen for lunch. Even more so when their sensei waved Kakashi-sensei over to join them. Naruto was quick to greet the table, making space for Sasuke to sit next to him despite Ino’s cry for Sasuke to sit next to her instead.
Sakura eagerly sat next to Choji, who gave her a pleasant smile. It was unfortunately located across from Shikamaru, who barely spared her a glance before resuming his conversation with his teammate. She picked at a few pieces of pork that sizzled on the heating element in front of her, savoring the taste and hoping no one tried to interrupt her small moment of peace. While the workouts that Kakashi-sensei has had them do in the morning weren’t the most labor intensive, the pleasant ache in her muscles was a far cry from how the academy prepared them only a week prior.
Unsurprisingly, the members of Team Ten were not as haunted as her team. Asuma-sensei, she learned his name was, had one older woman that fretted over him and his smoking habits as he lit a cigarette in the middle of the restaurant. She curled her nose at the smoke that wafted towards her, wondering at how someone could be so audacious. Their team seemed to mesh well, much better than hers.
Ino-Shika-Cho were groomed for this , she mused, raised from babies with gifts and clan techniques that intertwined and ran together like a well-oiled machine. Their sensei being the son of the third Hokage might’ve been a coincidence, but they moved with the familiarity of years, not just a few days. Asuma-sensei loaded up Shikamaru’s plate before Choji could steal the more choice meats, and pushed vegetables onto Ino’s, ignoring the blonde's refusal to eat more than a few morsels of food.
Despite Naruto’s initial reluctance for eating at Yakiniku Q , he and Sasuke were engaged in a voracious eating contest with Choji. Sakura looked down at her plate, hoping that they’d be dismissed after lunch instead of continuing training. Tobirama had promised to work on her kenjutsu post graduation, and her time with the Nidaime would be more valuable than playing fourth wheel to her team.
She figured there would be two ways of going about being free of her team; either being promoted almost immediately or falling back and letting her team be promoted without and fading into obscurity in the Genin Corps away from her graduation mates and expectations from higher military power. Sakura didn’t know which fate would be more kind. She sucked on her chopsticks as she watched her beef cook in front of her. The expectations of a civilian born shinobi, especially the daughter of merchants, were low.
If she did decide to make it past Chunin, she would be expected to take on more unsavory missions that clan members were able to avoid. Seduction missions, assassinations in foreign countries with loose treaties, or undercover operations where she’d be away from the village for months or years at a time. While that seems preferable, the amount of ghosts she’d accumulate would be cumbersome.
“So, Sakura, is it?” Asuma-sensei interrupted her musings with gentle prodding.
Startled, she nodded, pulling the burnt pieces of meat from the grill from where she’d accidentally let them grill for too long. She apologized to Choji softly for ruining some of the meal, but he paid her no mind and ate the other pieces with the same ferocity as the rest of his plate. Sasuke and Naruto both looked green around the edges at the pace of food, and even Ino watched in slight horror at how they still tried to compete with the Akimichi.
“Haruno Sakura,” She replied, smiling softly.
“Haruno? Your family is from Iron then, right?” Asuma-sensei gestured with the hand not holding his chopsticks, hopeful that the quiet Genin would join in the conversation. She could see Ino frowning out of the corner of her eye, upset at the attention she now had on her. It was oddly reminiscent of her childhood, the blonde quick to brush her off when she started to get more attention when her confidence had the chance to grow. This was right before she’d gotten to know Tobirama or the other ghosts that followed her.
She looked around for the former Hokage, who was walking along the perimeter of the restaurant with affronted interest. Someone who grew up in war times didn’t seem fond of an all you can eat establishment.
“Yes, well, they were from Iron. They both passed a few years back,” was all she offered. Most people were uncomfortable with her orphan status, and it was easier than explaining the fact that she saw them when she returned to her motherland every year for the holiday season. Both had passed during a harsh winter one Christmas, where the illness left them too weak to travel home. They remained in Iron, rather than returning to Konoha with her. It was a small mercy, since they weren’t technically gone. Not for her at least.
“I’m so sorry for your loss. They weren’t shinobi, were they?” The question of whether or not they passed away on a mission was left unsaid.
“No, sir. They were merchants, but it’s just me and my aniki. I have a few cousins that were ninjas in the Land of Hot Water before it was demilitarized, but they joined my family's proceedings on retainer after the fact.” It was the most she’d spoken about herself, but it was also more questions than she’d been asked about herself in a long time. At least from people that were still alive.
Ghosts loved to talk, loved to learn, and were eager to share what they knew with those that were willing to listen.
Sasuke scoffed at that, and she quickly averted her eyes back to her plate, eager to get the attention off of her. Civilian was a favorite taunt from him, despite being incredibly untrue and unoriginal, it was a consistent one nonetheless.
“Don’t let her fool you, Asuma-sensei. Behind that pink exterior, Busu-yokai can’t be trusted,” Ino mocked, pointing her chopsticks at the other end of the table. “I can’t believe we’re desperate enough for fodder that you managed to make it to Genin.”
Asuma-sensei seemed shocked at how cruel Ino sounded, but Sakura had grown up with the type of bullying that Ino had perfected.
“And I can’t believe that farm hasn’t called you home for slaughter, you pig. Mind your business,” she barked back, glaring deeply into stone cold blue eyes.
“Ino, behave ,” Shikamaru hissed, waving a hand in front of the two girls to break up the sparks flying between the two girls. “Honestly, enough with the names. Just ignore her, Asuma-sensei was just being nice.”
Sakura scrunched her nose at the Nara, refusing to be placated and brushed aside from a clan kid.
“She doesn’t deserve Asuma-sensei’s attention. She’s going to hypnotize him and steal his soul with those beady eyes of hers,” Ino pulled down her lower eyelid and stuck her tongue out at Sakura. “You remember what happened to Ami. She had to quit the Academy because Sakura attacked her like the monster she is. I’m just protecting him.”
Naruto laughed alongside Ino, mirroring her gesture at Sasuke who rolled his eyes.
Sakura’s chopsticks snapped in her hand and she pushed away from the table, eager to escape the bullying with her appetite suddenly lost. “Thank you for lunch Kakashi-sensei, but I think I will take my leave. I will see you for training in the morning.” She bowed to her two elders, quickly vacating the restaurant with Tobirama in tow who gave the table a vicious glare despite them being unable to see it. She could only hope the two teams didn’t notice the tears threatening to escape as she rushed out.
“Ino, you have about two seconds to explain yourself before I make you run laps until you puke ,” Asuma threatened, waving away the waitress when she came to take their order from another round. Choji cried out, upset at the prospect of food being taken away from him.
“I don’t see what the big deal is, Asuma-sensei,” she pouted, crossing her arms over her chest. “She started it.”
“And I’m ending it. You do not treat a fellow shinobi like that, especially not in public. And especially not in front of me, or her sensei.” He commanded, brushing off her whine with a glare. “I better never see you act like that again, and you will be apologizing.”
“You’re being a bit harsh, Asuma-sensei,” Naruto laughed cautiously, hoping to diffuse the tension at the table. “It’s just harmless teasing.”
“Her and Haruno have always fought like that,” Sasuke added, “It’s just a girl thing.”
Kakashi frowned from behind his mask, taking a long sip of tea through the fabric. “It’s not a girl thing, you both don’t give her the courtesy she deserves. So start talking.”
Ino rolled her eyes, leaning back against the wooden chair. “I don’t know. We used to be friends, okay? I thought she was normal and then one day at the academy she just snapped.” She bit at the cuticle of her nail before giving her sensei another eye roll when he pressed her further. “There used to be this girl named Ami that bullied her and I guess Sakura just had enough. According to my Tou-san, after that she had to be shipped off to her grandmother in the countryside. Ever since then, Sakura’s been nothing but a freak. Back off already.”
“I mean, there’s not much to it. No one wanted to spar with her because if you did, you’d have your soul taken. The sensei’s didn’t really bother her or anything because her test scores were so high. She’s just spacey and weird. It takes you three tries just to get her to answer you half the time,” Naruto said.
Asuma turned towards Shikamaru with a raised eyebrow, who groaned when he noticed his sensei’s attention focused solely on him.
“I don’t know anything,” Shikamaru said, looking skyward. “She’s just as Naruto said, just spacey. She’s good at theory, and she’s smart. I’m just surprised they’d assign her to Team Seven is all.”
Choji nodded, eager to get back to the lunch and order more meat. “She’s just shy. She’s nice if you get to know her.”
Ino seemed startled at that. “You’ve talked to her? Recently? Consistently?”
He nodded, “Loads of times. I didn’t know you guys were fighting like that; you were always off with Hinata or the other girls when she joined our class. Since Shikamaru naps a lot, I got pretty bored and we’d talk sometimes. Shino probably knows more than me, since they usually sat next to each other.”
Naruto leaned across the table, poking at Choji’s cheek with a scrunched face, “And your souls intact? You’re out in the daytime so I don’t think busu-yokai turned you into a vampire. Choji, how many fingers am I holding up?” He asked, holding out three fingers and waving it in the boy's face. “Can you hear me properly? Do you feel safe at home?’
“Naruto, enough,” Sasuke interrupted, shoving the blonde back in his seat. “Leave him alone, you’re getting your sweat over the grill. Can we order more food, please. Enough about Haruno, I want to keep my appetite.”
“Actually, I think we better be going,” Kakashi said, getting up with a soft groan from where he was sitting next to Asuma. “And you boys better be on your best behavior from now on. Sorry for interrupting your lunch, Asuma.”
Asuma waved him off, “It was bound to happen. Kurenai’s been pushing me for a team spar, so I think the best course is to have all three teams do some post academy sparring, especially since it seems an attitude adjustment is in order.” He gestured towards the server to bring the bill, despite Choji’s groan of displeasure. “You guys, however, will be running laps for the rest of the afternoon while you recite the shinobi rules and remember your Will of Fire. It’ll be a long day in hell before you treat a fellow shinobi like that in my presence again.”
-----
In the safety of her apartment, Sakura crumpled to the ground against her bedroom door. She’d managed to hold back tears the entire walk back home, but now they refused to fall, especially with Tobirama staring at her from where he sat on her bed. He looked ridiculous against her pink comforter, with the armor of his shinobi regalia settling awkwardly against his frame.
“I hate them,” she muttered, knees drawn close to her chest. “I hated them in the academy, and I hate them now. Maybe I should’ve become a merchant or a baker or a librarian. That’d be easier than dealing with whatever this is.”
She didn’t mean it, and Tobirama knew she didn’t mean it. Very few people could claim they were taught by a Hokage, especially one as prestigious as Tobirama Senju. He’d invested too much time and energy into training her up to his standards, and she would be damned if she’d let an offshoot Uchiha and a spoiled brat ruin it.
“Yamanka doesn’t help now, does she,” he prompted, giving her a teasing look.
She rolled her eyes and banged her head against the door, grateful her older brother was out of the country on a mission. “If that girl somehow manages to make it past Genin, I’ll be surprised. No muscle tone, in a bright purple outfit with her stomach just exposed and waiting to be gutted.”
“Yet you still let her get to you."
Sakura sighed, getting up off the floor and shedding her haori and weapons pouch, resigning herself to an afternoon of theory and ice cream for dinner. Or a nap. Probably a nap. “Despite what you may think, I’m still a teenage girl. I have emotions, and big ones at that.”
She pulled her hair from its ponytail, scratching her itchy scalp and sighing in relief at the lack of tension pulling at her neck. It’s hard to place exactly why Ino affected her in the way that she does. It could be a combination of things really; egged on by her teammates and how much of a disaster the last few days of team bonding had been or because Ino always knew how to get under skin best. The falling out of their friendship, of Sakura’s earliest and truest friendship, still stung deep in her psyche. The taunts, the cruel comments, the lack of camaraderie and after school invites were noticeable now more than ever.
Sakura walked into the adjoining bathroom, shooing away some of the flies that flew in from the opening vent window. “I get sensitive, and I’m working on it,” she frowned, taking a wet washcloth and rubbing away some of the dirt and sweat that clung behind her ears and the back of her neck. “It doesn’t help that my stupid team joined her so easily. Who does she think she is? Bringing up old shit and rehashing it in front of the sensei’s.”
She clung to the basin of the sink, fingers tightening against the porcelain as she watched the dirty water swirl and disappear down the drain. Sakura didn’t know how long she stood there, just wishing for something to burst from the drain and take away her worries. It was only the cool brush of energy on the back of her neck that pulled her from her detached state, the blinding smile of the Shodaime easily soothing her troubled state.
“Your first mistake was coming to my brother for your troubles, Sakura-chan,” he said, pushing Tobirama aside to take his place. The two large ninja overtook her twin bed, and she was quick to join them, shivering as her legs kicked through their stomach and legs to rest on the mattress.
“The only issue is that he’s right,” she noted, staring up at the ceiling, unwilling to look them in the eyes. “I let my emotions get the best of me and now I seem weaker for it.”
“Weaker is good, we can work with perception,” Hashirama soothed, ever the people pleaser. “The only person you need to prove yourself to, is you. Everyone else is irrelevant, even Tobi and I.”
“Until she’s denied promotions and missions because they think she can’t handle it,” Tobirama interrupted, shoving his brother to the side. “She must be as strong and unbreakable as your trees. The Will of Fire runs strong through her veins, and I will not let the disillusioned offspring of Madara break her spirit.”
“He wishes I held him in a regard high enough to break me,” Sakura scoffed.
“And you’re here, in your bed, pouting like a child because of a few mean words.”
“You’re being much too harsh,” Hashirama pushed Tobirama to the side, joining Sakura in her prone state. “When is your brother set to return?”
Sakura shrugged, turning on her side and refusing to look him in the eyes. “Dunno, maybe this month? He said he’d return in time for graduation, but I guess not.” The crowd had been rife with living and dead alike, cheering their offspring on for taking the first steps in their hopefully long shinobi journeys. Sakura was the only one alone that day, with Tobirama on one side and Hashirama on the other. She’d held the shiny headband with a tight hand, feeling the metal corners dig into her shaking hand as she bit back tears of frustration.
“I’m sure he’s doing everything he can to get home,” Hashirama soothed, running phantom hands through her hair, the motion only half as soothing as it should be. “And then you can show him your terrible team and make them regret being mean to you, just like old times.”
She rolled her eyes at that and then closed them, letting the ministrations of the former Kage lull her into a fitful bout of sleep. The world was heavy on her shoulders and her lunch turned to ash in her stomach, but at least she wasn’t truly alone.