Four years and nine months until graduation...

Sakura Haruno, a seven year old almost turning eight civilian training to be a ninja, blinked at her best friend, her only friend actually, not knowing how to feel about this new revelation. What revelation exactly? Apparently her best friend had a crush on the same guy she has a crush on. Sakura idly recalled her mother watching a movie about two friends crushing on the same person and knew that this wasn't going to turn out well when Ino finds out that she herself has a crush on the raven haired Uchiha.

But Sakura decided to stall it a bit, maybe Ino will crush on someone else? She decided to wait to see if Ino's crush would last.

"Oh, that's good Ino-chan..." she said through the blond girl's rant

"That's good? I just confessed to having a crush on him and that's all you have to say?!" Ino yelled in disbelief not worrying in the slightest if anyone else heard them, they were after all at their spot and it was break time

"A-ah, I-I'm s-sorry..." Sakura shyly stuttered out, Who does she think she is anyway?! Cha! Her alter ego yelled in her head in anger but Sakura ignored her as usual, her mother did say that the voice was just an imaginary friend, a fantasy being that only she could hear because it was made from a fragment of her own mind. Though she wondered why her mind ever wanted an imaginary friend so loud.

Ino sighed, "Stop stuttering Sakura, my mother told me that ladies shouldn't stutter" she gently said earning a small shy apologetic smile from Sakura

"It's just that you were yelling at me..." Sakura explained in a mumble

"Sorry, it's just frustrating how you just said that me having feelings for Sasuke-kun was just something good" Ino explained making Sakura blink at the honorific on Sasuke's name

"But I wonder why Sasuke-kun hasn't come to school these days..." Sakura absently wondered aloud making Ino blink at the honorific before shrugging it off, there was no way her best friend had a crush on her crush, right? Then registering Sakura's phrase she gave Sakura a look of disbelief

"Don't you know? Sasuke's whole clan was mascacred" Ino stated

"Massacred" Sakura corrected before the phrase registered in her head "WHAT?!" she yelled in shock making Ino's eyes widened, it was the first time the blond has seen her friend react so loudly, she popped the thought of Sakura having a crush on her Sasuke-kun before sighing at her best friend

"Yeah, just three days ago" Ino confirmed

Sakura's eyes saddened, she couldn't imagine how Sasuke was feeling right now, he was probably so alone now and she played with the idea of visiting him in order to comfort him and winning him over. She blushed at the thought, Cha! He'll notice that all he needs is a loyal girl like us! It didn't even cross her mind to ask what exactly happened nor did she feel embarrassed by imagining herself taking advantage of the situation.

In fact Sasuke's new situation appealed more to her, who wouldn't want a boy with a dark past? It was very alluring for young Sakura who only knows of a sheltered life.

"My sources," Ino began in a whisper going into gossip mode and Sakura leaned in knowing that the sources were Ino's mother and other women who loved to gossip and that these women were pretty good sources of information "They say that the whole Uchiha clan were murdered in cold blood by one single person in the span of one night"

Sakura's eyes widened One person? She repeated in her head in shock, how could one single person kill off an entire clan filled with ninja who had the most powerful dojutsu, well in her opinion, not to mention in a single night. She gulped glad that Sasuke was still alive, this person seemed dangerous and powerful.

"And you won't believe this, the one who did it is Sasuke-kun's older brother, Itachi Uchiha" Ino continued "My sources don't know why exactly he did it, the most likely reason being he just snapped" the blond finished

Sakura's mind was blazing, she searched her memories of Itachi Uchiha and remembered that sometimes Sasuke was picked up by an older boy after the academy. It was embarrassing to only figure out now of all times that the older boy, who she thought was handsome, was her Sasuke-kun's big brother. Well I guess we won't need his blessings now, cha! Inner piped in

But Sakura's mind wasn't done yet, there were millions of questions running in her head. Why did Itachi leave Sasuke alive? Why did Itachi killed his own clan? How could he be that strong? Will she one day snap and kill her own parents? Will she one day kill her best friend?

"Sakura!" Ino yelled shaking the girl's shoulders

Sakura let out a yelp looking at her best friend "Y-yeah?" she stuttered feeling sweat dripping down her face

"You didn't answer so I got worried" Ino explained frowning in concern "Are you alright? You seem a bit pale" she questioned

"A-ah, n-no I'm fine" Sakura assured Ino with a weak smile "Just got dazed there.." she explained pulling her knees to her chest "I feel so sorry for Sasuke-kun"

"Yeah, me too" Ino agreed

Cha! Sasuke-kun needs a BIG HUG! Inner exclaimed loudly Shut up, you're annoying. Sakura said making the imaginary friend of her go away

"Anyways, I brought this for you" Ino informed taking out a book from her bag "Since you're such a bookworm I decided you should know something that might actually help in the future"

"Flowers?" Sakura questioned seeing the cover

"Yeah, medical and poison!" Ino informed handing over the book to a not protesting Sakura

"Arigatou Ino-chan" Sakura thanked hugging the book to her chest with a grateful smile

"No problem, you can read it while I'm away" Ino said with a grin

"Ri-, what?" Sakura asked blinking, did she hear her right?

"Well you see dad wanted me to get some clan training in and I told him the academy's keeping me busy so he decided to let me get a few days off to train, so annoying!" Ino complained with a huff

"Oh" was all Sakura could say, she couldn't just ask Ino to ignore her clan duties just because she would feel lonely without her

"I hope Sasuke-kun doesn't come back before I do! It would ruin my chance to make my move on him" Ino whimsically mused aloud

Sakura briefly wondered if Ino didn't care about leaving her alone before deciding that she would also worry more about Sasuke than Ino if it came down to it "Why do you even like Sasuke-kun?" she decided to ask

Ino looked at her as if her forehead had gotten bigger making her blush cowering behind her bangs, she had forgotten her ribbon today at home, and old habits die hard "Sasuke-kun's perfect, someone like Sasuke would be the perfect boyfriend" was all Ino could manage as the bell rang, she turned to go to the classroom of Iruka while Sakura had to go to Mizuki's class. The two were in different classes due to their rank difference, Iruka's class was the one filled with natural talents who were more likely to pass while Mizuki's class had the others. Sakura had resolved to work very hard to be in the same class as Ino...and Sasuke-kun of course

But Ino's statement had an effect on Sakura, whether it was negative or not is up to debate.

Sasuke-kun really is perfect, he's way out of everyone's league. Sakura sadly thought, for that small moment she had accepted the fact that Sasuke wouldn't fall for her, but then she glared at the ground, it didn't matter to her because she would make him fall for her. But first she has to get into Iruka's class!

As she stood up the second part of Ino's statement made her pause, she hated the way Ino said "someone like Sasuke", it made her think, Sasuke Uchiha apparently the survivor of the Uchiha clan, top student and good looking. He practically had it all. To her Sasuke was like the moon, unreachable. But then what was she and Ino like? Ino was like a star, beautiful, from a noble ninja line, smart, strong and confident while she had a way too big forehead, was from a civilian family, nerdy, weak and had no self confident. What was she like? She was like the earth. So far away from both the star and the moon. No matter how close she and Ino seemed, they were farther apart than she would like to admit.

She clenched her fists wiping off the dirt on her dress before bounding to her classroom Will the earth ever be able to reach them? She wondered to herself

.o0o.o0o.

Sakura let out a sigh as she continued reading the book Ino had lent her to pass time while the Yamanaka heiress was attending some clan training, right now Sakura was glad that her bullies were in another class, she didn't feel confident enough to defend herself while her friend was away. We don't need Ino, cha! The annoying voice loudly exclaimed making Sakura scowl Shut up, you're annoying. She hissed making the annoying counter ego of hers deflate and fade away much to her relief. Now Sakura was a good girl, she always came to school early, now she's kind of regretting it considering it's so boring without her friend and she feels isolated.

She glanced at the clock at the front of the class relieved at seeing that class was about to start right about "Good morning class" now. She was never so glad for Mizuki being punctual as she looked at the white haired man who stood confidently in front of the class. That was always something she admired about her teacher, he was always confident and never showed any doubt in anything he talked to the class about.

"Now before we begin there's something Hokage-sama wanted all of the academy instructors to give all of you a warning concerning Sasuke Uchiha from Iruka's class" Mizuki started earning the rapid attention of the girls, including Sakura, and some frustrated sighs from the boys which were rewarded with glares from the girls, even Sakura gave a small glare.

"A lot of Sasuke-kun's admirers have been visiting him with gifts of condolences and while the Hokage appreciates their concerns over Sasuke, he has noticed that these gifts are having a negative effect and is making Sasuke's state worse. So from now on all of the students here in the academy are forbidden from initiating contact with Sasuke" Mizuki finished with a no nonsense tone "Understood?" he questioned

"Hai sensei!" the students all chorused, the girls were all a bit sad while the boys couldn't care less

Sakura on the other hand glanced at her bag which had an extra bento she had planned on giving Sasuke, it seems her efforts have been wasted. We can just sneak in and leave it in front of his door, cha!

"Oh, and Sasuke-kun's no longer staying at the Uchiha residence to avoid his mental health getting worse" Mizuki added opening a book

Shut up, you jinx. Sakura hissed at Inner convinced that it was the annoying voice's fault.

"Now class today we're going over genjutsu" Mizuki announced

Sakura dutifully took out her notebook to start taking notes as Mizuki patiently explained things for them,

Genjutsu (Illusionary Techniques) are deployed with chakra and hand seals just like Ninjutsu, but instead of attacking the body genjutsu attacks the mind. Genjutsu requires precise control and great concentration.

The Uchiha clan a- were renowned for their prowess in Genjutsu, the best merely needing eye contact with their victim in order to inflict effective and deadly genjutsu.

She read over her small note with a frown, Mizuki didn't really explain much about genjutsu compared to taijutsu and ninjutsu. But that was to be expected, the academy only gave you the general idea of what genjutsu is and how to break free from it.

Soon enough the day ended but instead of going home Sakura decided to visit the Uchiha land, Mizuki never did say you weren't allowed to visit the land instead of Sasuke, besides Sakura wanted to get a general view on the land for future purposes. What she didn't expect was to get lost in the big property, after ten minutes of walking around in circles and swearing that she passed a certain tree before Sakura took the next best option which was to follow the river and hope for the best.

Ten minutes later she wondered how large the river was, because it seemed like it would never stop somewhere. Her clothes were wet from sweat as she wiped the sweat off her forehead,honestly she has never done this much work. She was after all the dead last in taijutsu class, her saving grace being her brain. She squeaked hearing something growl only to realize it was her stomach.

She blushed in embarrassment and could practically hear Ino scolding her "Mom told me that ladies' stomach never growls!" It made her a bit annoyed, she was human too, and humans needed to eat.

So she glanced around looking for a spot to eat her late lunch. It didn't take her long to discover a tree with a perfect shade to rest under, it took her ten seconds to plop down and lean at the tree with her gaze high looking up at a cliff.

"Ah, this is the first time I've seen someone in forever" a voice said making Sakura freeze

She looked to her right only to let out a terrified shriek, her face bright red as she started apologizing "I-i'm s-sorry for trespassing! SORRY! I didn't see you there!" she cried out

"Hey relax, no harm done!" the voice reassured her making her pause her apologizing streak

She looked at the person in front of her, her cheeks tinted pink from her embarrassment glad that Ino wasn't here, as much as she loved her friend she knew her friend would never let her live this down. The older boy in front of her was rather handsome. The boy had short, unkempt, dark-coloured hair and a relatively broad nose and well-defined eyelashes, that were turns upwards at each end. He was wearing the standard attire of the Uchiha clan which includes a high-collared, dark-coloured outfit along with a tantō strapped to the right side of the back of his shoulder. He also wore what appeared to be a harness for his tantō which ran across his chest and fastened over both his shoulders. She blushed when she realized that she was shamelessly staring at him.

"W-who are you...?" she questioned averting her gaze from him

The boy chuckled in amusement "Isn't it rude to ask for one's name without giving out your own first?" he questioned raising an eyebrow at Sakura who ducked her head in embarrassment

"I-I'm S-sakura Haruno, m-may I please know your name?" Sakura asked biting her lips

"No need to be that formal, I was just kidding!" the boy laughed before crouching down in front of Sakura with a grin making Sakura's eyes widen, the girl thinking just how perfect the grin was, filled with the confidence she didn't have.

The boy used his thumb to point at himself "Well you see, my name's Shisui Uchiha!"

Sakura blinked once, then twice as she processed that simple yet powerful sentence in her head, 'Bullshit! Every Uchiha except Sasuke-kun and his older brother Itachi!' And for once Sakura had to agree with the annoying voice in her head. Unless he is Itachi but he's pretending to be this Shisui person with the transformation jutsu or genjutsu. She didn't notice Inner blinking at her in shock, it was a shock to Inner that Sakura had even talked to her without telling her to shut up.

So Sakura did the only thing she could think of bringing her hands together in a hand seal yelling "Kai!"

Shisui on the other hand looked curious "What was that for?" he asked

"So it's a transformation..." Sakura said aloud completely ignoring the question

"Transformation? No way! I'm the real thing" he tried to persuade

'We should play along or he might kill us' Inner suggested and Sakura mentally nodded in agreement "...alright then" she said aloud, but the doubt and hesitance were easily spotted by Shisui who was a high rank ninja back in the days...or about a week ago. He didn't really count the days since he died

"Gee, you don't sound convinced there Sakura" he casually said making Sakura's face pale '..He's going to kill us!' Inner cried out, but Sakura was frozen in fear knowing that even if she tried she couldn't escape. Her academy training wouldn't help with nothing right now, so she quickly blurted out the only thing she could think of "Please don't kill me!" she exclaimed quickly closing her eyes

"Kill you?" Shisui questioned in confusion, "I'm not going to kill you, I'm not sure I could even if I tried" he added the last part absently

It took Sakura no time to process his words and let out a relieved sigh before looking opening her eyes to see a clearly amused Shisui, she blushed at the close proximity inching back "Promise?" she questioned aloud knowing it was childish of her, but she needed something to rely on.

"If it makes you feel better," Shisui shrugged making Sakura relax despite knowing he didn't exactly promise anything, but she wasn't dead yet so that counts for something, right? Right. "Who did you think I was anyways?" he asked raising an eyebrow, but somehow that just made Sakura focus more on his unique eyelashes "Earth to Sakura!" Shisui exclaimed waving a hand in front of Sakura who yelped in surprise, she blushed again for the who knows how many time before replying in a quiet voice as if it was taboo "Itachi Uchiha"

"Itachi?" Shisui echoed and Sakura couldn't help but notice way Shisui said Itachi's name, in an almost familiar way. "Nah, I'm way handsomer than him!"

'How could we even know how Itachi looks?! Cha!' Inner yelled while Sakura just deadpanned "I don't even know how he looks like"

"Oh? Then why did you think I was him?" Shisui questioned in interest

"Because aside from Sasuke-kun he's the only Uchiha left alive" Sakura answered in a matter-of-fact way making Shisui chuckle "But how can you be so sure I'm even an Uchiha?" he asked making Sakura blink, she hadn't thought about that before, but she wasn't gonna tell him that. No way was she going to embarrass herself further than she already has, so she brought her thoughts together quickly coming up with a reasonable explanation expected from a seven year old

"You're wearing the Uchiha crest. Only members of the Uchiha clan are allowed to wear the crest, it's forbidden for someone to freely exhibit them. Those who do so could be sentenced to death in extreme cases or sent to jail for a long period of time" Sakura explained

"You're a smart cookie, you know that?" Shisui complimented making Sakura avert her gaze from those captivating eyes, "It's common knowledge" she muttered but Shisui merely shook his head at her humbleness

"Yeah, I know. But not many kids your age could explain something like that making it sound more complex with your big vocabulary, it's great misdirection skills, even reminds me of...someone I knew"

"Who?" Sakura found herself asking

"It doesn't matter" Shisui answered and Sakura didn't pry, it was none of her business either way.

But then Sakura's brain reminded her of one little fact she had been unknowingly ignoring "Y-you can't be an Uchiha! They're all dead except for Sasuke-kun and Itachi!" she pointed out in a louder tone than she had intended, but that couldn't be helped.

"So you finally caught on to that, it was only a matter of time" Shisui commented aloud with a grin clearly not displaying the emotions he should be showing right about now

Sakura stayed quiet as Shisui once again leaned closer to her, their faces inches apart "You see, I'm dead" he whispered in a dramatic way making Sakura's eyes widened in shock

It was then that Sakura noticed two things; Shisui did not have a shadow nor was he breathing. Cautiously the seven year old girl thrust her hand in front of herself to verify the information, her hand easily going through Shisui, she then waved the hand around just to be sure before bringing it back to herself with a look of pure horror. Shisui looked amused and couldn't help himself "You okay Sakura? You look like you've seen a ghost..." he asked the amusement clear in his voice, he was rewarded with an ear piercing scream making him wince before a thud sounded followed by silence

"Ah, she fainted" Shisui commented aloud staring at the passed out Sakura "Well that is to be expected..." he chuckled to himself standing up to stretch and wait for the interesting kid to wake up

.o0o.o0o.

It's almost night time. Was the first thought Sakura had when her eyes fluttered open, she tried to recall what happened before she passed out knowing she wasn't in her bed

"You're finally awake sleeping beauty" a teasing voice said from beside her

Ah, now she remembers. She had met a ghost. G-h-o-s-t, ghost. 'Could things possibly get weirder?' Inner asked with sarcasm which Sakura didn't need right now Shut up. She hissed in her head as she sat up

"You're not as scared as earlier" Shisui noted

"...sorry..that..it.." Sakura tried to find the right words before shaking her head "Just a lot to take in..." she mumbled

"I know what you mean" Shisui said earning a skeptical look from Sakura "I've been dead for at least some time now and suddenly one day an academy student comes around, but she can actually see me" he elaborated not bothering to hide his amazement at the feat

"How did you even die anyway?" Sakura asked before she could help herself, she inwardly face palmed at herself knowing how stupid that question was

"I jumped off of that cliff" Shisui said pointing at said cliff, the tone he talked in was as if he was talking about the weather.

"...Itachi didn't kill you?" Sakura asked blinking

"Nope" Shisui cheekily said as if it was something to be proud of

"You committed suicide" Sakura stated, she had meant it as a question but her tired mind couldn't work around that fact

"Yep!" Shisui nodded as if they were talking about the weather

"Your mother must have been an oracle" Sakura said in a snarky tone before she realized what she just said, she quickly looked apologetic "I'm sorry!"

"Nah, it's okay. Maybe you're right anyway, she might have predicted what happened. Mothers always know best after all" Shisui waved her off

"Mothers...oh no!" Sakura yelled jumping up "It's almost curfew!" she exclaimed seeing Shisui's questioning look

"Realization dawned Shisui "I can show you the exit"

"Thanks!" Sakura promptly thanked, it was odd talking to a ghost but she considered the annoying voice in her head as practice.

As Shisui led her out of the Uchiha land he belatedly realized something, "Why were you here anyway?" he asked

"Secret" Sakura stated giving no indication of wanting to say more, but the tint of pink on her cheeks gave her away

"Aww, my baby cousin has a fan" Shisui teased

"Everyone likes Sasuke-kun" Sakura stated in a matter-of-fact way "Wait. You're Sasuke-kun's cousin?" she questioned in a disbelieved tone, after all how could a down to earth and cheery person like Shisui be related to the cool, stoic and proud Sasuke?

"The one and only!" Shisui grinned

"Dear Sakura, a friend of mine gave your father and I a her room in an inn (that has a hot spring!) for today, tomorrow and Sunday. So we'll see you on Monday, please be good and we trust you not to break any rules. Love, mom and dad" Shisui read the note stuck on Sakura's fridge aloud as Sakura fumbled around her kitchen looking for suitable ingredients to make stir fry

"Well that's a bit odd, how old did you say you are again Sakura?" Shisui asked glancing at said girl

"Seven, turning eight in march" Sakura answered without missing a beat

"And your parents just left you home? Alone? For three days?" Shisui questioned taking note at how Sakura stiffened as if not wanting to talk about it but didn't say anything else

"You're just a stranger, so why should I explain anything to you?" Sakura harshly asked opening the fridge and then grabbing an apple not feeling like cooking anymore

"How rude" Shisui chided but he didn't seem the least angry nor sad at Sakura's harsh statement, "Besides it's not like telling the ghost which only you can actually see will do any damage"

"It's not like you're going to tell me anything about your personal life anyways! So why should I?!" Sakura yelled at him, how dare he be persistent while she herself didn't pry into his past!

Shisui however looked taken aback before sighing knowing that Sakura had a point "Fine, then how about an exchange of information?" he asked and seeing Sakura's eyebrows rise he added "Anything you ask me, I'll answer honestly and whatever I ask you, you'll answer honestly"

"How close were you to Sasuke-kun?" Sakura questioned without missing a beat

Shisui gave her an amused look. Out of all the questions she could have asked she asked something he would have told her eventually on his own, but he wasn't complaining, in fact he was glad Sakura asked something easy. He chuckled seeing the expression on Sakura's face as she too realized the same thing "I was Itachi's best friend so I saw Sasuke-chan a lot, I even helped him train sometimes when Itachi was busy"

"Alright," Sakura said nodding accepting the information and storing it in her head "Ever since I joined the academy my parents and I drifted apart, they didn't want me to be a ninja" she answered his previous question

"Oh, well that isn't exactly uncommon either" Shisui commented as the two walked upstairs to Sakura's room

"Yeah, it doesn't really bother me anymore" Sakura mumbled

"You shouldn't lie to yourself" Shisui lightly chided

"You shouldn't put your nose into other people's business" Sakura retorted rolling her eyes at the too cheerful ghost

"Ouch! I'm wounded...what happened to the sweet and shy little girl I met before?" Shisui dramatically asked making Sakura blush mumbling an apology for her rudeness under her breath "Relax, I was just kidding! Besides I like this side of you too, it's cute" Blushing a bright red at the first compliment she ever received from the opposite sex which isn't her father she sped up leaving behind a confused Uchiha who could rival Naruto's denseness at the moment. Ninjas really knew how to take obliviousness to a new level.

"Aww, you're blushing!" Shisui teased

"Am not" Sakura grumbled

"You know denial isn't only a river in the land of river" Shisui smirked making Sakura blush harder

'What's happening to us?! CHA!' Sakura dutifully ignored inner with ease opening the door to her room while munching on her apple to distract herself from that, that smirk on the stalker ghost's face! Then she registered what he said and raised an eyebrow "Was that supposed to be funny? Cause I'm not laughing" she stated clearly not amused at the joke

"You should learn to take a joke" Shisui said raising his hands up in mock surrender

"And you should get rid of your stalking tendencies" Sakura retorted, it was her turn to sport a smirk at the Uchiha's flabbergasted expression "I-I'm not a stalker!" Shisui exclaimed "You should learn to take a joke" Sakura used his earlier line against him raising her hands in mock surrender

Shisui looked like a proud father "I take what I said earlier back, you have a sense of humor underneath your uptight facade" he casually said but Sakura was unnerved, not even Ino knew about her sense of humor and now a ghost who she barely knew for two hours not only knew that but also her super secret family situation?

"It's not a facade" she grumbled plopping down on her bed "Why did you follow me home anyway stalker?" she asked

"Keep telling yourself that, I escorted you home to make sure you reach home safely" Shisui answered

"Like you could do anything if I get into trouble" Sakura said with a snort

"...hn"

Sakura blinked, 'There's no doubt about it, he's an Uchiha.'

.o0o.o0o.

"Are you going to lay in bed all day cherry?" Shisui questioned after exploring Sakura's medium sized room

"Huh?" Sakura asked blinking as she sat up, registering Shisui's answer she shook her head "I should start on my homework" she said walking over to her green backpack to take out her books and notebooks

"You're probably a teacher's pet, right?" Shisui teasingly asked making Sakura blush idly noting that making Sakura blush is way too easy and fun, back when he was alive the only person he could make blush was Sasuke. His fan girls didn't count

"N-no" Sakura denied skimming through the note on genjutsu she had written earlier in the day before her eyes landed on the humming ghost who belonged to the Uchiha clan who practically specializes in genjutsu, deciding that asking won't kill her she opened her mouth "Ano, Shisui-san?" she timidly asked, after all she wasn't used to asking others for help

Shisui looked a bit surprised at Sakura using his name for the first time before grinning "Something wrong cherry?"

"Um, you're good at genjutsu right?" she questioned not looking him in the eye

"Back when I was alive, why?" Shisui questioned raising an eyebrow

Sakura softly sighed holding up her notebook so Shisui can read it, "Genjutsu (Illusionary Techniques) are deployed with chakra and hand seals just like Ninjutsu, but instead of attacking the body genjutsu attacks the mind. Genjutsu requires precise control and great Uchiha clan a- were renowned for their prowess in Genjutsu, the best merely needing eye contact with their victim in order to inflict effective and deadly genjutsu." he read aloud in a monotone

"...this is gotta be one of the worse explanation describing genjutsu there is..." Shisui bluntly said making Sakura wince a bit at his brutal honesty, the dead Uchiha looked at Sakura with pity "Is this really what they teach you in the academy these days?" he questioned, the girl hesitantly nodded making Shisui sigh "Good thing I graduated early.." he muttered to himself

"S-so what exactly i-is genjutsu?" Sakura decided to ask

"There isn't really an explanation for it, genjutsu falls under the category of Yin release. Yin Release are techniques based on the spiritual energy that governs imagination, but that's not important right now. Do you know how genjutsu attacks the mind?" Shisui questioned making Sakura go thoughtful before shaking her head "Genjutsu techniques manipulate the flow of chakra in the victim's brain, thus causing a disruption in their senses." Shisui lectured

Soon enough the dead Uchiha went into a full blown explanation on genjutsu, how to break free from one, how to recognize one and even how to successfully execute one. The whole time Sakura was eagerly writing down everything he said, for the first time ever the pink haired girl found a lecture interesting and for the first time ever Shisui had taught someone other than Sasuke out of his own free will.

.o0o.o0o.

"When is a genjutsu created?"

"Genjutsu is created when a ninja controls the chakra flow of the opponent's cerebral nervous system, thereby affecting their five senses"

"What's the difference between genjutsu and ninjutsu?"

"Genjutsu attacks the mind while ninjutsu attacks the body"

"A ninja gets trapped in a genjutsu, what should he or she do?"

"The ninja needs to stop the flow of chakra in their body, and then apply an even stronger power to disrupt the flow of the caster's chakra; this is called Genjutsu Dissipation This can also be done by an unaffected ninja by applying a sudden surge of chakra into the affected person. Another is through intense pain not caused by the genjutsu and utilising the resulting pain to bring their senses back in order"

Shisui grinned giving Sakura a thumbs up "You got the theory down!"

Sakura smiled humbly at him "It was all thanks to you Shisui-san, you're a great teacher"

Shisui sheepishly smiled at the compliment "Well you're a great student, even better than Sasuke-chan!" he returned

"Don't say that about Sasuke-kun!" Sakura scolded crossing her arms

Shisui sweat dropped "Did I say something wrong?" he questioned

"Yes! No one is better than Sasuke-kun" Sakura informed in a matter of fact way and Shisui scoffed before throwing his head back to laugh making Sakura confused "What?" she asked

Shisui just wheezed before shaking his head "It's just well you know, Sasuke-chan's better than most I'll give him that but he's not the best. Have you ever heard the phrase 'Nobody's perfect'?"

"But compared to me everyone's perfect.." Sakura added

"Who said that?" Shisui questioned

"No one...well I mean come on, I have a huge forehead..." Sakura answered bringing her knees to her chest

Shisui merely shook his head at her "I think your forehead is cute" he stated in a matter of fact way making Sakura whip up her head to stare at him in shock, no one, not even Ino her best friend has ever complimented her forehead before. Yet here a complete stranger just complimented the one thing she hates more about herself and instead of protesting against his compliment...why does she feel so happy? "In fact I think every part about you is cute! Your hair, your eyes, your shortness, your bookworm tendencies...everything about Sakura Haruno is cute in my eyes. So don't you dare degrade yourself ever again"

Sakura stared at the dead Uchiha in front of her with tears streaming down her face "Did I say something wrong?" Shisui questioned in panic "Come on, please don't cry! Damn I can't even wipe away your tears for you..."

Sakura blinked finally realizing that she is indeed crying "Huh? I can't cry..."

"Why not?" Shisui questioned

"S-shinobi r-rule number twenty five...'A shinobi must never show their tears'.." Sakura recited in a trembling voice

"Then I guess it's a good thing you're not a shinobi yet, no?" Shisui asked smiling slightly "Sakura, if you feel like crying you shouldn't hold back your tears. You should let it all out while you still can - because when you get bigger sometimes you can't cry even if you have something to cry about." the dead Uchiha wisely said

And Sakura finally broke down sobbing while repeating two words "Thankyouthankyou!" over and over to the dead Uchiha who merely looked on as she cried with a small smile at getting his point across

They say that we should love ourselves first, before other people learn to love us, but it's not as easy as it seems. Sometimes, we need someone to accept us and love us first, then we would learn to see ourselves through that person's eyes and learn to love our-self.

Yuki Sohma (Fruits Basket)

As Shisui lay on Sakura's bed patiently waiting for Sakura to finish her bath he let his mind wander off to the two official surviving members of the Uchiha clan, his best friend and his best friend's brother. His fists clenched in frustration, he was angry at himself for not being strong enough to make sure the Uchiha clan's schemes didn't destroy Sasuke and Itachi's bond. He failed all because of Danzo, he didn't really hold a grudge against the elder for that though. He held a grudge because he saw what was underneath Danzo's bandaged arm. For that he could never forgive the elder no matter how hard he tried and trust him, he did try.

Even now he can't do anything because neither Itachi nor Sasuke can see him, he did play with the idea of getting Sakura to help him but decided against it. He didn't want to involve Sakura into this huge mess he and the others made. The only thing he could ask Sakura to aid him in is looking after Sasuke and making sure the latter doesn't live a life full of hate. He was sure that Sakura would gladly help him judging by Sakura's little crush on Sasuke.

Though sometimes he's glad that the two siblings can't see him, mainly because he doesn't know how to face them. He feels as if he forced a big burden on Itachi and condemned Sasuke to a life of solitude all because he couldn't prevent Danzo from stealing one of his eyes.

"Are you okay Shisui-san?"

He glanced to the side to see Sakura who had a worried look on her face, he gave a strained smile "Yeah, just feeling a bit melancholy"

Sakura didn't press the matter and for that he was glad, instead Sakura simply changed the topic "How was life as a ninja when you were alive?" she asked as she dried her hair with a white towel

Shisui had a thoughtful look "Life as a ninja was hard yet satisfying. On the downside I had to kill people or do some pretty harsh things sometimes but on the upside I got to travel, see new things, learn cool moves and meet new people" he explained as best as he could

"That sounds..." Sakura started trying to find the right word "romantic" she finished with a small smile

"Yeah, I guess it does, doesn't it?" Shisui agreed with a nod before jumping up emitting his usual cheeriness "Now it's my turn to ask a question!" he grinned at Sakura who blinked in confusion "I never agreed to that..." she murmured in protest but nodded in confirmation regardless

"Why did you want to become a shinobi?" the spirit asked seriously curious as to why Sakura wanted to become a ninja, "It can't be because of Sasuke-chan 'cause you didn't know him before" he added

"I can't remember" Sakura answered with a frown, her eyes filled with frustration.

"Oh?" Shisui questioned raising an eyebrow

"I know there's a reason why I wanted to become one, but for some reason I just can't remember no matter how hard I try. I've never told my parent why either so I can't ask them" Sakura elaborated before huffing "It's not like it matters why does it?"

"Actually it does, having some ambition can never really be a bad thing you know?" Shisui teased, however he was curious as to why Sakura can't remember why she wanted to become a ninja. Did the girl hit her head or did someone place a genjutsu on her?

"Ambition, huh? I suppose right now my ambition is to get into the same class as Sasuke-kun, graduate, land in the same team as Sasuke-kun and eventually marry Sasuke-kun" Sakura said in a determined tone making Shisui cringe at the too fantasy like ambition, he knew it wasn't going to end well but for now he could use Sakura's feelings

Inwardly apologizing to Sakura for playing with her feelings for his cousin he stated "I know where Sasuke-chan is right now" and apparently those seven words made Sakura's face lit up as she gave Shisui the look which clearly demanded to be told where exactly Sasuke was, the spirit merely gave her a small smirk "I'll tell you on one condition, no make that two condition"

"Deal!" Sakura yelled without caring what those conditions were

Shisui inwardly sighed at the girl wondering if there were any reasons for Sasuke to ever like Sakura and likewise if there were any real reasons for Sakura to like Sasuke. He hoped for her sake that she quickly wake up from the romance fantasy she thinks she's in. On the outside he held on finger up "First, you won't pressure Sasuke and merely try and befriend him, don't pressure him" not waiting for her reaction he held up another finger "Second, since Sasuke-chan hasn't gone to the academy for some day now you'll bring him your notes"

Sakura nodded in agreement "Alright, seems reasonable."

Shisui was glad that even though Sakura was on the road of being a fangirl that the girl knew how to be reasonable.

"Finished!" Sakura yelled in triumph with a tired grin on her face

Shisui shook his head in amusement at the girl wondering just how willing the girl was to get Sasuke's attention "Well," he finally said jabbing his thumb towards the clock "It's time for bed so you'll have to give Sasuke-chan those notes tomorrow, alright chibi-chan?"

Sakura visibly deflated, she had wanted to give Sasuke the notes as soon as she was finished but of course she had to finish later at night. Grumbling about how unfair things was she glanced at the clock "It's only seven..."

"It's not really polite to visit people without notice at night" Shisui pointed out

Sighing in defeat Sakura grabbed a book from her bag before plopping down on her bed already opening the book with a small smile "Let me know when it's nine, okay?"

"Roger!" Shisui said with a mock salute

We were strangers, starting out on a journey...

A/N : So yeah, I mashed up all the old chapters together to make it easier to read and help me get new ideas.

For those of you who are new to this fic...

Okay, the things you should expect in this fiction is...

1. I'm going to be messing around with the Yin (spiritual energy) concept a bit at the start of the story, gradually it will follow Kishimoto's idea on it.

2. Sakura will be stronger than the original version of her (duh) but so will the other Konoha 12

3. Sakura will have multiple love interests so I'll be creating multiple epilogues at the end

4. Ship teases of yuri or yaoi pairing might appear depending on how you squint your eyes or others might tease others with people of the same gender, but no official yuri or yaoi couple at the end

5. The whole child of prophecy thing will not follow canon much

6. Sakura will be getting other summons, other characters will get too but I'm not sure who yet

7. Sakura has no foreknowledge of the future so if she starts bashing a character it's mostly because of what she knows so far of them and just to be clear she'll be bashing a lot of characters but then will realize her mistake after realizing she didn't know what she was talking about. Of course I don't do favorism so a lot of characters will be bashing Sakura too, sometimes for when Sakura makes mistakes or about things they too don't know about Sakura

8. Sakura's character as whole will be that of an Anti-hero with weird morals. Of course she'll inherit the will of fire but her perspective of it gets complicated as she grows.

Disclaimer : I don't own Naruto, just the plot. The previous statement is not a lie. The previous statement is the truth. So, you tell me...do I own Naruto?