27/06/17 Please note that this story is the re-written version of the original CtW (which I deleted; for more info go to my profile) and I'm still figuring out the kinks in the plot. I'll be posting one chapter per week, maybe two if the words just happen to flow particularly well. That said, I hope you enjoy!

Disclaimer: No, I don't own Naruto.

.

Chasing the Wind

Chapter 1
At First Glance

.

.

Sakura was twelve when she noticed something of rather great importance.

There was an Uchiha unlike the others.

The first time she saw Uchiha Shisui, she had been on her way to the academy when he had flashed into the left of her vision, crouched on a low brick wall with black wind tousled hair, pale skin and Sharingan eyes that had just swirled to onyx. When his eyes locked with hers, he had smiled something mysterious and winked before disappearing into thin air. Winked. Sakura really didn't know what to think.

In class, Ino had sat down next to her and kept muttering about how she would go about catching Sasuke's attention until Sakura jabbed her side with an elbow. Ino had huffed and shot her a glare, but it wasn't long until she resumed and Sakura realised that she wouldn't be able to concentrate in today's class either. A good half hour later the classroom door slammed open, stunning its occupants into silence, and Naruto appeared in the doorway gasping for breath.

Iruka narrowed his eyes. "Naruto! This is the third time you're late this week!"

Naruto straightened and smiled sheepishly. "But sensei, I think my alarm clock is broken and I haven't found another one that -"

"Just - just sit down, Naruto." Iruka only sighed when the boy grinned back.

Sakura was a little bemused. So far the day was turning out to be quite typical, and it would have been had she not seen something so strange that morning. She slid her eyes over to Sasuke, scrutinising his features and recalling the red eyes she saw on the face of the older man that day. Both of them were undoubtedly Uchiha, and yet they seemed completely different. A smile on Sasuke's face was a rare sight, and she'd sooner choke on her own hair than stomach the thought of Sasuke winking at anyone.

"Forehead!"

She snapped her eyes to her right and froze at the familiar sight of Ino's glower and twitching brow that was usually directed at Sasuke's fangirls but never her. It took a few seconds of gaping at the blonde's strange behaviour before she realised the entire row in front of them had heard the sudden outburst, and so had Iruka. She shrunk under their gaze, wishing that her chair would swallow her whole right then and there.

"Ino and Sakura, detention! You two will stay after class, got that?" Iruka snapped.

Her mum was going to kill her.

.

.

Sasuke probably knew that she was glaring at him if the tense line of his shoulders was any indication. Not that she cared. It had taken two days to convince Ino that she wasn't interested in stealing her crush, and she was certain that the blonde had only relented because Sakura had persisted for so long and bribed her with her favourite pudding. When her mum found out that she got into trouble, she had to sit through another lecture about etiquette and the importance of 'setting an example' before she somehow got guilted into taking on more household chores which meant less time to train and improve her skills. And this was all because one day she had taken notice of a peculiar Uchiha - not that she had intended to - and compared him with the only Uchiha in her class, only to be wrongfully accused of chasing after 'Sasuke-kun'.

So to her, it didn't matter if he wasn't the odd Uchiha who had started it all, because Sasuke still had a hand in everything and therefore deserved the hole she was trying to burn through the back of his skull. Naruto wasn't really helping. He had positioned the blackboard duster on top of the door frame and caught her attention so that when she looked away Sasuke's shoulders drooped ever so slightly.

"What are you doing?" she asked, half incredulous and half curious.

Naruto grinned. "Pranking our sensei. It's going to be hilarious, Sakura-chan!"

"You actually think he'll fall for that?" Sasuke said, eyeing the duster doubtfully. "He's meant to be a jounin."

"Well, you never know, do you? I bet it'll get him good."

When Hatake Kakashi finally arrived and did fall for it, there was a moment of silence before Naruto threw his head back and laughed so hard he couldn't breathe. Sakura could still see tears of mirth in his eyes when they settled on the roof for team introductions. At least one of them had managed to find entertainment in the two long hours it took for their instructor to arrive.

"Right, well, this is the part where we share our likes, dislikes, hobbies, dreams, and so on. Who wants to start?" Kakashi said. When nobody volunteered, he sighed before starting off the introductions, and Sakura was simultaneously frustrated and impressed by his ability to say things that didn't actually have any substance. A glance at her teammates told her that they felt similarly.

"I'm Uzumaki Naruto!" Naruto said after a pointed look from Kakashi. "I like ramen, my friends and old man Hokage! I dislike the three minutes it takes for ramen to cook. My hobby is pulling pranks, and my dream is to become the best damn Hokage ever!"

Sakura grimaced and squashed the urge to check that her ears were still in good working order. It wasn't as though she wanted to be rude… although her earlier glaring at Sasuke probably gave that impression anyway. Kakashi gestured for her to go next.

"I'm Haruno Sakura, it's nice to meet you. I like sweets, training and spending time with my friends. I dislike spicy food amongst other things. My hobbies include playing trivia games. And my dream is… to become strong."

"Well that's interesting," Kakashi said. Sakura would have been more inclined to believe him if not for his flat tone of voice. "And now for our final member."

Sasuke straightened in his seated position. "My name is Uchiha Sasuke. I like tomatoes and training. I dislike anything sweet and… fangirls. My hobby is to train, and one day I'll be the strongest in my clan."

"You'll have to beat me first, bastard," Naruto said smugly, crossing his arms, "because I'm definitely stronger than you."

Sasuke scoffed and seemed to be just about to reply to the provocation before Kakashi cut in. "No fighting, children. Save that for tomorrow when I'll be giving you your test to see if you'll become genin."

"'Become genin'?" Sakura echoed incredulously, "We already passed the genin test in the academy!"

"That was only to see if you three had the potential to become genin." Kakashi waggled a finger at them condescendingly and Sakura wanted nothing more than to break it. "The real test is up to me. So tomorrow, you three will come to the Third Training Ground and be tested on whether or not you will become genin, is that understood?" His eye crinkled up into a smile when they nodded. "Good. I expect you to be there at eight sharp in the morning and without eating breakfast-"

Naruto made a sound of protest from his throat and opened his mouth.

"-because you'll only throw up." Naruto snapped his jaw shut and huffed. "Well, good luck tomorrow! You'll need all you can get, considering most graduates fail and are sent back to the academy." Another maddening eye smile before a plume of smoke replaced where Kakashi had been only a second ago.

Naruto made a strangled noise and clutched his hair. "Ack, I can't believe he only told us that at the end! And I'm starving too. Ichiraku, here I come!" He clambered to his feet and disappeared so fast that he could have been the Yellow Flash.

Blinking, Sakura turned to her remaining teammate, ignoring the way he was eyeing her warily. The idea of skipping breakfast disappeared almost immediately after it appeared. Her mother was always harping on about the importance of a healthy and nutritious breakfast whenever she suspected Sakura of skipping, and she just knew that that was one battle she was never going to win. With that in mind, she said, "I don't know about you, but I'm going to eat tomorrow morning."

Sasuke raised a brow, seeming to mull this over, before nodding in agreement.

That night, Sakura lay on her bed and wondered about her uncertain future. Just when she thought she had made a big step forward in her shinobi career, she was faced with an obstacle that threatened to undo the culmination of her years of training. She only hoped that by one miracle or another, Team 7 would pass the test tomorrow.

.

.

Luck had been on their side. Or rather, they'd managed to figure out early on that they needed to work together to maximise the possibility of obtaining those silver bells. While they never quite succeeded in their task, Kakashi had passed them for their teamwork and then vanished after a short speech on the importance of comradeship. They would have been eating those bento boxes that Kakashi had brought had they not been knocked around and ruined by a wayward technique, and so the three of them found themselves on the hunt for some lunch.

"Let's go to Ichiraku to celebrate!" Naruto insisted.

Sasuke faced him with a frown. "I had ramen two days ago, let's get something different."

"There's an udon place not far from here," Sakura suggested. "I've heard it's good. Plus, they have other things on their menu if you're not in the mood for noodles." Sasuke contemplated this for a moment before agreeing, and Naruto had huffed but decided that he was too hungry to argue.

Upon arrival, only a few customers were in the small restaurant due to it being before the lunch rush, and they were able to get seated and order their food quickly.

"So what missions do you think we'll get?" Naruto asked, shifting restlessly in his seat. "Cool ones where we have to save a princess? Or fight scary criminals with huge ass swords? Man, I can't wait!"

"Those sound like A-rank missions, Naruto. Since we're genin, I doubt we'll be doing anything but D-ranks. Maybe C-ranks if we're lucky," Sakura pointed out.

Naruto wilted a little. "No fair! What are D-ranks anyway?"

Sasuke rolled his eyes. "Idiot, weren't you listening in the academy? D-ranks are basically missions where we have to do simple tasks like weeding gardens, babysitting and painting fences. In other words, they're a complete waste of time."

A disgusted expression made its way on to Naruto's face and Sakura shared his sentiment. The only benefit of D-rank missions that she foresaw was teaching them how to be patient, but otherwise she'd much rather take on missions that put more of her training into use. But they didn't get to dwell on their depressing genin days riddled with D-ranks that awaited them for too much longer before their food arrived and they dug in. Slurping up her udon, she wondered if Chouji was right when he said that people got closer when they ate together. There was only one way to find out.

"Sasuke," Sakura said, placing her chopsticks down with feigned casualness, "your brother is a ninja too, right? Did he give you any advice?"

Sasuke raised a brow, and after a few seconds of silence she thought he planned to ignore her, but then he nodded slowly. "He said it would be a good idea to know the difference between weeds and actual plants, and that if we ever look for a cat it's probably wearing a ribbon."

"Huh," Sakura managed weakly. That was certainly… unhelpful.

Naruto squinted at Sasuke. "Your brother sounds a bit weird. Are you sure he's a ninja? 'Cause, you know, anyone could've - ouch! Sakura-chan!"

"He can be a little…" Sasuke hesitated, "confusing." He muttered something about bad influences that she didn't quite catch before returning to his soup.

Naruto suddenly perked up. "Hey bastard, isn't that him behind you?"

Sasuke choked and spluttered. Hastily, he wiped at his chin before twisting his neck to look over his shoulder, and sure enough, Itachi was making his way towards them. Sakura had seen him pick her teammate up from the academy enough times that she could recognise him from a distance. It would have been fine had he been alone, but accompanying him was a slightly taller man with short black hair and dark eyes whom she couldn't put a name to.

It wasn't until the two men neared their table that she finally recognised the taller man. It was him. The strange Uchiha who winked and smiled at strangers as if it were an everyday occurrence! …And she had been blatantly staring. Mortified, she quickly hunched over her udon and lowered her head.

"Um, Sakura-chan, what are you doing?"

"Nothing," she hissed with some difficulty. The wafting steam was making her face feel uncomfortable.

"But you're… you're hiding! In a bowl. Why?" Naruto leaned closer, trying to catch her eye. Sasuke shot them a strange look.

She paused. Actually, why was she hiding? It wasn't as though she did anything wrong, and it certainly wasn't her who went around smiling and winking at unsuspecting people on the street. She straightened, cleared her throat and resumed eating next to a baffled Naruto. She only hoped that she wouldn't get dragged into any awkward conversation.

When Itachi and his companion arrived at their table, they were given a quick once-over before Itachi inclined his head in greeting. "You must be Sasuke's genin team. I'm Itachi," he gestured to the man next to him, "and this is Shisui."

"Hello, I'm Sakura. It's nice to meet you," she said, trying not to falter when her eyes locked with Shisui's.

Naruto grinned. "I'm Uzumaki Naruto, Sasuke's awesome teammate!"

Sasuke only looked unimpressed. He frowned at his brother and Shisui. "What are you doing here?"

"We thought we'd drop by to congratulate you and your team on passing, little cousin," Shisui said. His answer was innocent enough, but there was something suspiciously light in his tone of voice. Suddenly he reached out and Sasuke wasn't fast enough to dodge the hand that ruffled his hair. "Good job, Sasuke-kun. All that training finally paid off, didn't it?"

Itachi smirked at the sight. Naruto gaped.

Sakura flicked her eyes between the three Uchiha, cataloguing their interactions. This was the first time she had spoken with Itachi and seen him in such close proximity. Despite Sasuke's still-maturing features, there was an obvious resemblance between the brothers in the slope of their noses and the curve of their jawlines. There was also the way that Sasuke seemed to unconsciously relax around his two relatives which spoke with great familiarity, and although he was glaring at Shisui through messy dark strands of hair, there was no real heat to suggest that he actually objected to his cousin's treatment of him. Right then, Sasuke was less guarded than usual, and Sakura found herself liking that side of him more. Maybe one day he'll be like that with the rest of Team 7.

"Our apologies for interrupting your meal. We'll take our leave now," Itachi said, not pausing even as his fingers smoothed down a wayward strand of hair on Sasuke's head. "It was nice to meet you both, Sakura-san, Naruto-san."

Shisui turned to follow Itachi who had begun to walk away, but then paused to look over his shoulder, straight at her. A slow, feline smile curved his lips. "It was nice to meet you properly this time, Sakura-san."

To her horror, Sakura felt heat creep up her face, and Shisui must have noticed because he laughed lightly before turning to leave.

Sasuke and Naruto were staring at her.

"You're blushing," Sasuke observed, sounding bewildered. Little did he know that she was feeling the same way. He opened his mouth and paused, before promptly shutting it, seeming to decide it was better to not ask her anything.

"Well," Naruto said after a long second of silence, "that was, uh… interesting."

A memory suddenly jumped out at Sakura and a devious smile stretched across her face before she even registered it. "Yes, Sasuke-kun, your family is certainly very interesting." She was sorely tempted to let him know just how interesting she thought his family was by asking, 'Hey Sasuke, is it only your cousin who smiles and winks at strangers?' or 'Hey Sasuke, isn't your cousin a little too… strange to be an Uchiha?' but she doubted that would go down very well. They had only just become Team 7. She would rather they not become Team 7 For Just One Day.

"Oh Sasuke-kun, your hair is still a little messy. Here, let me fix it for you my princess," Naruto sniggered. He reached across the table with wriggling fingers, but Sasuke slapped his hand away before it could touch him.

Sakura took in the smug expression Sasuke wore and the way Naruto was cradling his hand while glaring at Sasuke, and thought that she definitely could have gotten worse teammates. Sure, she had initially been a bit uncertain of them and their first day as a team had been spent with some rather questionable company, but if this was a glimpse of what being a part of Team 7 was like… maybe it wouldn't be so bad after all.