Slowly Slipping Away Chapter 1: Sayuri Marihasha, a naruto fanfic

Thanks for reading!

Disclaimer: Naruto does NOT belong to me.

Sayuri and any characters that have not and will not appear in the manga and/or anime are completely original.

Reviews are welcomed. Thank you.

Sayuri Marihasha

A young girl sat on the roof top of her home watching the bright orange sunrise. As the sun poked its head out of the trees that surrounded her home the birds that resided in the area began to sing filling it with their music.

"You should get ready, Lady Sayuri." A man said his face was covered by an ANBU monkey mask.

She glanced over her shoulder looking up at the ninja before turning her head back to enjoy the scene. "In a minute, Kenji..."

In a minute' she says, soon it'll be past noon and I'll be the one in trouble. Kenji sighed crossing his arms and shifting his weight, looking at the petite girl who sat before him.

XXX

"Team eight…" Iruka began looking at his clipboard. "…are…Kiba Inuzuka, Shino Aburame, and Hinata Hyuga."

Now I won't get to be with Naruto… Hinata thought in despair.

"Next cell…" Iruka went on "Sakura Haruno, Naruto Uzumaki…"

A blonde boy sitting next to a bright pink haired girl jumps up in to the air joy evident on his face.

I'm doomed! The young pink haired girl sitting next to him thought laying her head her desk.

"…Sasuke Uchiha…" Iruka continued.

"YAY!" Sakura yelled out standing up from her desk while the blonde boy took his seat back his head on the desk with the same thoughts that Sakura had not so long ago.

"…and Sayuri Marihasha"

"Huh?" both Naruto and Sakura exclaimed.

The raven haired boy next to them looked up upon hearing the name of the last member in team seven. Sayuri… he wondered closing his eyes his fingers still laced under his chin.

"U-Umm, Iruka-sensei…" Sakura raised her hand to catch her teacher's attention. "I think that you made a mistake. You gave my- I mean our cell one more member."

Iruka looked down at his clipboard "No. No mistake, Sakura, your team has four members due to the large number of graduates this year.

"I don't get it." Naruto said standing up from his seat "Why does a great ninja like me have to be on the same group with a slug like Sasuke?"

"Out of the twenty eight students here Sasuke got one of the highest scores, Naruto, you got the lowest." Everyone in the room began to laugh. "To have a balanced team we put the best students with the worst students."

"But, then why do we have an extra member? If Naruto got the worst score and Sasuke and I got the best-"

"You didn't get the best score, Sakura."

"I-I didn't? But you just said that you put the best students with the worst students, and since Naruto got the lowest score I thought…" Sakura began astonished.

Iruka sighed "The student who received a perfect score was Lady Sayuri. Her written and physical exams were the best. You tested higher in the written exam, therefore Lady Sayuri more than makes up for what you lack in physical strength."

"Okay, so where is this Sayuri girl anyway?" Naruto asks taking a look around the classroom.

"Hmm…That's a very good question."

XXX

"Lady Sayuri!" A stern voice called out to the young girl who sat on the rooftop of a building in the Academy area.

"What is it?" she asked calmly taking a bite of her rice ball.

"You failed to show up for orientation, that's what!" the ninja said with an exasperated sigh.

"So?"

Frustrated the ninja squatted down next to her "All right. I gave you a chance to go by yourself and since you failed to comply with my orders I will take you to the assigned classroom after lunch is over."

"W-What, you can't do that!" She yelled out turning to glare at the ANBU.

"Forgive me but captain Ryo gave me the order that if you didn't show up for orientation that I would have to accompany you to the classroom."

"Well maybe if you had told me that earlier, I would have gone!"

XXX

Naruto poked his head out of the classroom door before Sakura began to yell at him.

"Cut it out Naruto!" Sakura began as she leaned on one of the desks.

"Why are we the only team whose teacher hasn't shown up yet?" Naruto closed the door and turned around hands crossed over his chest. "Not only that but we're missing a team member too!"

Naruto paced around the room impatiently. "And do you remember what Iruka-sensei called her? He called her Lady! What's up with that? He never called any other girl Lady, so why this girl? It's not like she belongs to a really rich family or something."

"Hmmm…" Sakura wondered "You're right…why did he use the honorific?"

"Just who exactly is this Sayuri anyway?" Naruto asked

"You will call her Lady Sayuri."

"Huh?" Naruto turns towards the door to find an ANBU standing in the door way.

The ANBU stepped aside revealing a small girl with brown hair cut short like a boys. Her eyes were two distinct colors; the right eye was dark brown while the left was light brown.

"This is where you will wait until your teacher gets here, Lady Sayuri." The ANBU said turning to the girl who nods and steps inside. "Behave." He whispered to her before walking out of the classroom gently shutting the door behind him.

The four genin listened to the ANBU's footsteps until he was gone. Sayuri turned to the other three ninja and smiled.

"Wow you're a lot shorter than I thought you'd be." Naruto smiled down at her.

"I'm ten. What's your excuse?" she replied coldly. Behind Naruto, Sakura snickered while Sasuke smirked.

"WHAT DID YOU SAY?"

"Wow, not only are you short, but you're also deaf." She said covering her ears and looking away.

"ARGH! That's it! You're dead, brat!" Naruto looked ready to launch at her but Sakura managed to hold him back.

"Don't do it! That ANBU might come back."

"I don't care! That kid deserves to go down!" He tries to squirm himself out of her grip, glaring daggers at the young girl who stood calmly before him.

"Bring it on, pipsqueak. I can take you on, anytime, anywhere."

"PIPSQUEAK? Have you even looked at a mirror lately?"

"Naruto…stop!" Sakura said struggling to keep the blonde hothead at bay. Naruto's arms and legs flailed wildly, as if her were drowning desperate for someone to help.

Sayuri began to giggle making both ninja stop their bickering and look at her. "You're funny." Her giggling slowly turning into laughter.

Naruto eyed her suspiciously before relaxing, Sakura let go only when she believed him capable of controlling himself. Sasuke watched, with slight, but hardly visible, amazement, at how the young girls laugh managed to calm his team down.

Only when her laughter subsided did she speak again. "My name's Sayuri Marihasha, what's yours?"

"I'm Naruto Uzumaki," he started warily. "This is Sakura Haruno, and that over there is Sasuke Uchiha" Naruto received a punch in the head curtsey of a very angry Sakura.

"Don't insult Sasuke!" She yelled while Naruto rubbed his growing bruise.

Sayuri smiled at them and bowed. "It's nice to meet you all." She scans the room before turning back to Naruto and Sakura. "Where's our sensei?" she asked the two curiously.

"Not here…obviously. The other teams have already gone off with their teachers on super cool missions, while we're left waiting here for ours. Even Iruka-sensei left!" Naruto pouted crossing his arms while looking over Sayuri's head and towards the door.

Sayuri made her way towards the desk next to Sasuke's and sat on it, completely unfazed by the long stare she had attracted from team seven's stoic ninja. She watched as Naruto proceeded to place an eraser between the two sliding doors snickering mischievously at his actions.

"Hey! What are you up to Naruto?" Sakura asked as he jumped of the chair and landing on the wooden floor.

"It's what he gets for making us wait."

"Grow up!" Sakura says resting her hands on her hips. "I want no part of it!" she says. CHA! Stuff like this is the best! Inner Sakura yelled.

"Hmmf!" Sasuke who was finally paying attention to the two grunts. "No way can a jonin be caught by a simple booby trap!"

"I don't know…" Sayuri began. "I used to play those pranks on the ANBU when I was younger and they fell for every single one. They didn't see a place, such as a school or a home, inside the village as a source of possible threat. They had no reason to keep their guard up, and a jonin can't be any different."

"Not if he's a well trained jonin" Sasuke mutters in response glancing at her from the corner of his eye.

Naruto and Sakura looked at their team members a bit shocked by their little exchange. Sayuri had actually managed to get Sasuke to speak to her without even trying! But all was forgotten when they heard someone outside the room. Four heads turned to see a hand placed inside the room in order to open the door. A silver haired ninja, wearing a mask covering half of his face, headband worn at an angle covering his left eye, stepped in the eraser falling on his head with an audible plop.

"Told you so." Sayuri said covering her mouth trying to stifle her snicker.

Naruto lets out a loud laugh. "Gotcha sensei!" the blonde ninja points at his teacher mockingly.

"I'm sorry sensei; I tried to stop him but Naruto he's…" Hook line and sinker! That was awesome Naruto! Inner Sakura yells out giving him two thumbs up.

Could this really be a jonin? Sasuke asked himself after the spectacle he just witnessed.

"Hmm…How shall I put this?" The silver haired jonin rubs his chin as if deep in thought. "Based on my first impression, I'd have to say…" he paused and looked at the four genin before him. "I hate you!"

Upon hearing this, the four genin's faces drop to a grimace.

XXX

They sat on the stairs on top of the ninja academy. Sayuri's brown colored eyes took note of the blue sky and cotton-like clouds above them.

"Now I'd like for you to tell us a little about yourselves." Their instructor said while sitting on the railing of the roof, hands crossed, and any expression in his face invisible to the eye.

"Like what?" Naruto asked after a couple seconds of silence.

"You know…the usual. Your favorite thing…what you hate most," his visible eye closed as he shrugged. "Dreams ambitions, that sort of thing."

"Help us out here sensei. You go first." Naruto said.

"That's right; after all you are a complete stranger to us." Sakura agrees, leaning forward like readying herself for a story.

"Oh…me? My name is Kakashi Hatake. I don't have many likes or dislikes. As for my dreams for the future…they're none of your business. And I have lots of hobbies."

Sayuri blinks at her mentor, a brown eyebrow raised. "All he really told us was his name." She heard Sakura whisper; Naruto nodded his bright yellow head in agreement.

"Now it's your turn, starting with you on the right." Kakashi nods all his attention on the orange ninja before him.

"Me, right? My name is Naruto Uzumaki! What I like is instant cup ramen!" he fixed his headband slightly. "What I like even more is when Iruka sensei treats me to Ichiraku ramen! What I hate is the three minute wait after I pour in the boiling water. My dream is to become Hokage! Then all the villagers will have no choice but accept and acknowledge me!"

Kakashi raised his visible eyebrow at the young boy seemingly amused. Well hasn't he turned out interesting...

"My hobbies are playing pranks and practical jokes, I guess." At this Kakashi ruffles his hair and nods in understanding.

He's awfully enthusiastic about ramen, not to mention enthusiastic in general. Sayuri smiles at him, an image of an interesting life as his team mate forming in her head.

"Next!" Kakashi's words brought her back, her attention focusing in on Sasuke who sat one stair above her.

"My name is Sasuke Uchiha. There are plenty of things I hate, not that it matters considering that there is almost nothing I like. It seems pointless to talk about dreams, that's just a word…But what I do have is ambition. I plan to restore my clan, and kill…a certain someone." The raven haired boy finishes of with an intense glare.

Sasuke is so cool! Sakura thinks blushing.

I hope it isn't me… Naruto thinks gulping, a bit frightened.

Don't we have problems… Sayuri looks at Sasuke more closely than before. Why does he look so familiar…? She wondered her eyes focusing solely on his face trying to figure it out, before feeling a cold chill run down her spine. Uhhh…she trembled slightly and quickly turned away.

I suspected as much…Kakashi becomes visibly worried and turns to Sakura "Next…"

"I'm Sakura Haruno. My favorite thing is…well it's not a thing, it's a person…" Sayuri watches as Sakura glances back at Sasuke and giggles turning a light shade of pink. "Umm…my dream is…" She turns a dark shade of red and buries her face in her hands. "My hobbies are…" she glances back at Sasuke once more and giggles the blush on her face deepening.

Sayuri tilts her head to the side, eyebrows furrowed, as she watches the pink haired konoichi with wonder and amusement asking herself if she's ok.

"What do you hate?" Kakashi asked after it was apparent that she wasn't planning to continue.

"NARUTO!" She answers snapping back to her old self.

"Ouch!" Sayuri says under her breath looking at Naruto who seemed to be in distress.

It sounds to me that girls her age are more interested in boys than in ninjutsu. Kakashi sighs and turns to the final member of team seven.

"The Lady…" All of them, even Sasuke, looked at the girl sitting at the very bottom of the stair case.

"Umm…I'm Sayuri Marihasha…"she started as she played with the sleeve of her outfit. "Let's see…I like apples! And taking walks around the village." she laughed. "What I hate….that's a tough one, I don't really hate any-wait…yes I do! I hate it when people call me Lady, it annoys me. Umm…my dream is…to become a strong Konoichi so that I can take back what once belonged to my clan." She scratched her head and smiled.

"I have a question for you," Kakashi says leaning in slightly.

"…Ok…"

"How old are you?"

She furrows her eyebrows before answering. "I'm ten…" her answer sounded more like a question than a fact.

Wait…did she just…? Naruto thought back to when he first met her before it dawned on him. "WHAAAT?" Naruto yells out. "You…" he points his finger at the young girl, "…You mean that you graduated two years after you got into the academy?"

"And it took you this long to realize that…you must really be some sort of idiot." Sayuri deadpanned looking away from Naruto, uninterested, making him growl.

"That's it!" he jumps at her but mere seconds before he catches her, she stands up and moves leaving him to collide face first with the cement staircase.

"That's enough you two!" Kakashi drawled in the same monotone. "Naruto sit back down, Sayuri stop instigating."

"Humph!" Both plop down on either side of Sakura crossing their arms and looking rather annoyed.

"I suppose it's too late to request a change of teams?" Sayuri asked her new teacher.

"Now why would you want to do that? If you change teams neither of you will learn to get along. Now, ignoring the little outburst, we'll begin training tomorrow."

"All right so what will be our duties?" Naruto asks enthusiastically.

"Our first mission involves only the members of our cell."

"What what what? What is it?"

If he gets any more excited he'll fall off his seat…not that it wouldn't be funny to watch…Sayuri thinks leaning back slightly.

"Survival training." Kakashi finally answers, making Sayuri's attention to snap back at her sensei.

"What?" "Survival training?" both Naruto and Sayuri ask simultaneously.

"But why would that be a mission? Our school days were full of survival training." Sakura wonders

"This is no ordinary training."

Sayuri tilts head slightly in confusion. "Well then…what kind of training will it be?"

Kakashi tries to stifle a laugh but fails catching Sakura's attention.

"Hey, what's so funny sensei?" she asks eyeing him.

"If I told you, you'd probably chicken out."

"Why?" Sayuri asks leaning forward suddenly interested again.

"Of the 28 members of your class, 10 maybe only 9 will be accepted as actual genin. The other 19 or 18 will be sent to the academy for more training. The test we'll be doing tomorrow it has a 66% chance of failure."

"Six…sixty six…" Sayuri stutters eyes wide, besides her Naruto and Sakura are beginning to panic while Sasuke seems unfazed. Kakashi laughs again at the sight.

"See, I told you you'd chicken out."

"That sucks!" Naruto retorts. "We've been through hell already. What about the graduation exams?" he shouts.

"Oh! We wanted to eliminate the hopeless cases from your ranks. The ones who are left are the only ones who show true potential."

"That's real nice…" Sayuri mutters rolling her eyes.

"In any event, we'll meet tomorrow morning in the practice field so that I can evaluate your strengths and weaknesses. Bring all your ninja tools and weapons." Kakashi hands each of them a piece of paper. "The details of your of your assignment are on the handout. Memorize it and don't be late!" He says glancing at Sayuri as she takes the slip.

I can't fail that would mean leaving Sasuke. This is a trial of love! Sakura grips the paper tightly with determination.

Aaah! This is all in kanji! Naruto panics as he tries to read the instructions while Sasuke crumples it up once he's finished.

Sayuri quickly scanned the paper with a sigh. Tomorrow is going to be a long day.

"Oh! And one more thing…" Kakashi waits until he has everyone's attention. "Don't eat breakfast…or you'll puke."

Sayuri's mouth drops open Wonderful.