Chapter 1

.

.

.

.

"Chakra exhaustion is a state of total burn-out of a ninja's chakra reserves. Being in this situation is extremely risky, especially if you are on a solo mission or if your teammates have been eliminated…"

In the air ducts, removing her chakra to the point where you can no longer feel her - at least, if you didn't concentrate very hard - as she had learnt to do very recently, Sakura took notes religiously of the fifth-year teacher's explanations.

She wondered why Mizuki-sensei was not teaching them about chakra exhaustion, and why they didn't practice on chakra yet!

No. She was being dishonest. She knew exactly why, but they'd already been at the academy for half a year already and she was just dying to be able to test chakra. Properly. Not the bastardized version she was using herself, even though she was terribly proud of it. Apparently, according to Mizuki-sensei, if they started practicing their chakra right now, while their spiritual energy and their physical energy were not sufficiently balanced, especially for civilians, then they could possibly be crippled because of it. It was all a question of balance.

The first use of chakra was essential. The chakra coils could not be able to withstand a too high flow of chakra in one side and would burn out. Chakra coils were like an elastic muscle. The first use was always the most tricky and unless your control over your chakra was perfect or close to 95 percent, it was impossible not to damage them. So they trained the physical energy and the spiritual one everyday. Especially spiritual energy, since the physical energy was always being built up. When you walk, you fill your physical energy. Even if it's a little bit.

The goal was to have some semblance of balance. Physical energy, for example, should not outclass spiritual energy, but it was no big deal if there were just a slightly more.

The clan children did not really have this problem because they worked unconsciously every day. Meditation, chakra research, physical training. While most of the children of civilians who did not have parents who became shinobi did not have this luxury.

Sakura had shivered when Mizuki-sensei had told them about those few people who had tried to use their chakra too early and had found themselves with significant internal bleeding. Some had died while others could never use their chakras again. Others had even become disabled.

But it was getting just boring to just study theory….

Don't get her wrong, she loved theory, and she was more at ease with it, she even excelled at it, but Sakura knew that she needed more than theory to be an excellent shinobi. And she needed to be an excellent shinobi, she couldn't be less. She had no choice in fact. Only the strong ones, those who can made a difference in the battle field, survive.

In her class, there was Yamanaka, Nara, Inuzuka, Uchiha, Akimichi, Aburame, Hyûga and Uzumaki. The latter being the son of the Fourth Hokage and an Uzumaki, the extinct clan who'd been masters at fuinjutsu. The former being the heir of their clan. She was of course talking about Yamanaka Ino, Nara Shikamaru, Inuzuka Kiba, Akimichi Chôji, Aburame Shino, and Hyûga Hinata. Apart from Uchiha Sasuke who was the second son of the clan head. Uchiha Itachi, his older brother, was the one who would take the succession of the prestigious clan. Unless he died. Then, the position would be inherited by Uchiha Sasuke. At least, she had read it in Explanations of the general functioning of clans.

(Sakura didn't think that Uchiha Itachi would die this easily. He was, after all, a renowned prodigy, being a genin at seven and a chunin at ten. She didn't have any more information about him, though.)

There was naturally some other people from those clans in her year, but not too much. In fact, there was just three Uchihas in her class and Uchiha Sasuke rarely talked to them. They were the ones who would talk to him.

And from what she had been able to gather by pretexting a few questions to ask Mizuki-sensei on the way to the teachers' room - the chûnin didn't really pay attention to a small seven-year-old shinobi in training - she knew that the constitution of her class was something rare. There was a particular concentration of future clan leaders, thus making her class one of the best of the bests. This class would graduate, this class was an elite, this class would be successful.

"…in case of chakra exhaustion, what solutions could you think about?"

Sakura began to write down, her mind buzzing with ideas, answers, lots of things, as usual. She couldn't not think about several things at the same time.

There isn't much solutions in case of chakra exhaustion. I couldn't think of any solutions anyway. So, I think we should be prioritizing the mission and the potential information we wield.

Sakura waited for the answer, eyebrows frowned by the concentration. She realized that she was gently tapping her lower lip with her pencil and stopped immediately. She couldn't afford to have tics or make any noises while on mission. Umeno-sensei was a chûnin, yes she knew how to suppress her chakra thanks to her chakra control that she worked on every single day. But it was because he was not paying attention on his surroundings. True, it seemed very lame for a ninja to not do so, but he was not actually paying attention to chakra.

(She'd discovered that she had no difficulties at all at manipulating her chakra at a very young age when she'd attempt to stick her hand on the wall in an effort to mimic a ninja – a man with a creepy green suit- she'd once seen walking on his hands on water. That was why she hadn't understood Mizuki-sensei's warning about the use of chakra...and when she had connected the links... well, she happens to have a chakra control of at least 95 percent, if not perfect.)

If he tried very hard to find a chakra signature, he could very likely sense hers, but very weakly. It was a fact that she didn't like at all. Sakura didn't want to be spotted. Being spotted meant failure. Failure in real life situation meant death. Death meant that you wouldn't be able to complete your mission. Sakura wanted neither failure, nor death nor being unable to complete a mission. How could she make a name of herself if she died or if she couldn't even be still? Couldn't even avoid being spotted by Umeno-sensei who was not even trying to search for a potential intruder?

It was not a joke, Sakura, she scolded herself.

It was not a joke, because her comrades, they all have something, something great to use in a fight. A Kekkei Genkai. A clan training. Natural talent. All at the same time. They would not die in the field the first moment. They would survive. And they would be great.

Not like civilians who aspire to become ninja and eventually ended up as a cannon fodder.

And there was her, Haruno Sakura, a nobody in the great schemes of thing. Some civilian wannabe shinobi with no Kekkei Genkai, just the daughter of two merchants. She loved her parents, they were the best, they didn't yell at her when she said she wanted to be a shinobi like Yume's parents did. They had even forbidden her to become one.

She was still remembering Yume's sobbing voice and red face. "I'm sorry Sakura-chan, I won't be able to be a ninja like you. I'm sorry. I…I think it's not for me" and secretly she agreed with her.

A ninja would never back down, Sakura would've never backed down from being a shinobi, it was her dream and she had a will made of steel.

Fortunately, her parents just asked her if it was really what she wanted in a serious and mature ton as she'd exposed her reasons. That was what she liked about her parents, they didn't treat her like a little girl who understood nothing.

Her hero was Namikaze Minato, he became Hokage at the young age of twenty-four-year-old while some at this age were trying to become jounin or were just chûnin, and those people were generally a part of clan or with a shinobi's parents in their background. The luckiest were trained by powerful people, which was the case with the fourth Hokage. His sensei was Jiraiya of the Sannin. However, he had achieved the best results in the Academy's history alongside with Hatake Kakashi and Uchiha Itachi. And even more, he had a ton of high-ranking missions under his sleeve and a reputation as a "flee-on sight" in the bingo book. How cool it was?

Namikaze Minato had made a name for himself in the history of shinobi from scratch and with his own bare hands and she admired him for it and Haruno Sakura would do the same. She refused to be hidden by all the important figures in her classroom. She would be part of the elite who will graduate from the academy, she would be an excellent ninja, like him, she would be a legend, her name would be written in the history books.

Ami could laugh at her all she wanted but she was no better than her. But Sakura knew something. Even without a clan. Even without a big chakra reserve, she had two things. Two little small things who made her, her. Her chakra control was on point, and she was determinate to let it evolve to the point it would be perfect. And she was smart. She was outclassing Uchiha Sasuke and Hatake Setsuka in written exam. She was the best of her class.

(Though she was not sure about Nara Shikamaru…he had this sharpness underneath this lazy attitude. It was only a supposition, because Sakura couldn't help but catch things, she was sharp, but Nara Shikamaru…he was too smart.)

But she knew it was not enough. She needed to be physically in an excellent shape. The taïjutsu spar at the Academy was a good way to measure her abilities against others, but girls were always against girls and boys always against boys, which she found completely stupid. In real situation, the enemy wouldn't care if you were a boy or a girl.

She wanted to be the shadow of the shadow. The kage of the Kage. Like wind she wanted to shape herself as a something -someone- quiet, invisible, essential, vital. But also fiercely deadly, sharp on the edge like a kunai and ferociously lethal, as a real storm, a catastrophe that leaves nothing in its path. She wanted to be untouchable, she wanted to walk on clouds, lift mountains with the sole force of her muscles and juggle with fireballs with her bare hands. She wanted her name to be luminous, bright, like an intense sun that would make you blind. She wanted it to be too powerful to be pronounced, so powerful that whoever heard it will become deaf.

The teacher voice was light and gently strong and snapped her from her deep thoughts. She scowled at herself for not paying attention and resolved herself to listen more attentively, "Yes, Kagami-kun?"

" Military ration pills are generally used to boost chakra…"

Sakura twitched. Millitary ration pills? She wrote it on her notebook very meticulously and pointed it out twice, indicating that it was an important information that she should go to the library to check for. Sakura must know absolutely everything about Military ration pills. She didn't like not having a general understanding of her future carrier.

She bit her lower lip, forcing herself to be still, the position was being unconformable, but what kind of shinobi she would be if she couldn't be motionless for two hours and correctly collect information?

Concentrate, Sakura, concentrate.

"…they allowed the user to keep fighting for three days and three nights."

Sakura opened her eyes wide. Three days and three nights?!

"Very good," the teacher voice was laced with an edge of satisfaction, " however, could someone tell me what are the side effects?"

Side effects…of course, something this cheated couldn't be without bad effects. Three days and three nights? Just…wow.

A silence, then Umeno-sensei pointed someone, "Kagami-kun."

The same boy answered, voice calm, firm and light, "The shinobi who would use those military ration pills would be brought to the point of complete and utter exhaustion."

"Exactly. Chakra exhaustion is one of the most dangerous and disabling situation for a shinobi."

She heard a chalk slipping fluidly on the surface of a blackboard and moved slightly to find a better position. Her legs were starting to hurt her and she bit her lip, again, she'd been trying to ignore the pain for thirty minutes now, but she was starting to really feel it.

The air duct was not the most comfortable place in the world, really, but it'd taken her one month to be able to obtain a concrete plan of the academy, or more precisely of the rooms that interested her. That is, the teachers' room, the fifth-grade class and the different escape paths, one of which led to the roof. The air ducts, concretely, took her everywhere in the Academy but she had to memorize the layout of the room, so that if she wanted to go to the room, she could quickly escape without getting caught. It would make an excellent stealth training for her. She was a paper ninja after all. She liked to plan.

It had taken her one month to locate the few surveillance cameras that were scattered throughout the Academy. There was one at the entrance and one in the teachers' room. She had spotted a few, two or three if we wanted to be specific in certain hallway corners. It took her a whole week to find all the dead spots to avoid cameras. She had even thought about trying to find out where the control centre was, but she retracted eventually. It was much too risky for her and, on top of that, she knew that these cameras only produced a very poor image. No one would think of infiltrating the Academy, because it was at the very heart of Konoha, and to infiltrate the village, you had to be very good. Besides that, what would a spy be doing here? If Sakura had to spy on another village on behalf of her own, she would try to infiltrate the Hokage Tower… so she really don't understand the cameras. She could only think about one thing: it was to simply monitor students or possible student intrusions.

The cameras had not been easy to see. They were hidden by a weak genjutsu and in nooks and crannies. When she'd planned this self-attributed mission, she hadn't thought about cameras. Sakura realized that there may be ones because, facing the door of the Hokage tower, she had spotted one in a corner. It was not hidden by any genjutsu, she saw no interest in it except to intimidate the civilians.

Anyway, she had just started training her genjutsu skills. It was only because she had begun to take an interest in genjutsu and the techniques to dissolve one and feel one, had she finally been able to find the surveillance cameras. She had read some scrolls about genjutsu in the library, in the "Academy Student" section, but this one was very limited. Surprisingly, she discovered that she found the genjutsu…rather easy. Oh, she was under no illusions. It was only genjutsu of E-rank, even F-rank. But it was already something. She was building herself an armor, a set of kunai and shuriken, sharp and deadly.

She'd known the techniques and the seal to display very weak genjutsu but she had no partner to train with. With that, she just tried to sense if there was some techniques of illusion. It had taken her some time to spot chakra variations, especially since it would have seemed very suspicious if she had dragged on too long in the corridors. She then volunteered to help Mizuki-sensei after class, returning some documents to the teachers' room and helping him organizing some insignificant documents.

She was even looking for him in the corridors, always with a pretext in mind. It had allowed her to inspect the nooks and crannies discreetly and to spot them. And she'd found them. She'd found the chakra variation and she'd see through a genjutsu. A weak one, very weak one, but she'd seen through it. She was proud of herself. She couldn't tell anyone about this, but she was goddamn proud.

Of course, she'd not dispelled the genjutsu. She was not stupid. First, she would have been spotted, which was not the goal at all. Secondly, she must have to cast the same genjutsu afterwards. In the same condition. This last option was not possible since she still didn't know how to cast genjutsu and her chakra would have been different from the one that had placed it there. Even if she doubted that the person behind these Genjutsu had left any trace. She had read that when we tried to cast a genjutsu, we also had to know how to modify our chakra signature.

And she doubted that Konoha's ninjas were incompetent, especially since the Uchiha clan was proficient in genjutsu matters thanks to their Kekkei Genkai. She wouldn't even be surprised if it was an Uchiha who had cast them. Sakura had made it a point of honor to study the different clans of Konoha. So, she knew their Kekkei Genkai, knew, as, general knowledge of course. It wouldn't be any good if she stuck her nose in Clan's secrets.

When she'd been able to just see through that Genjutsu, she'd planned on how she could go around them without being filmed. She had then discovered dead spots. See, cameras were placed in such a way that they could film almost everything. Almost everything. She thought that if she put herself in a blind spot, she would necessarily escape surveillance.

By pure chance, she had seen the entrance to the air duct while she was in class. An idea had then formed in her head, and she had waited until the class emptied itself, while helping Mizuki-sensei at the end of the classes, before hiding in the classroom, removing her chakra and then trying to climb into it.

And that's when she discovered that the air ducts were more or less connected to each other for every classroom. But not elsewhere. Not into more specifics rooms. Class room were connected to each others and the other rooms were connected to each others. Only the classroom's air duct led her to the roof.

(It didn't really surprise her. It was like an emergency exit.)

So she didn't have to climb down the hallway, where they would have seen everything. She could began on her own class.

She hadn't tried to sneak out to the teacher's room… yet. She was not confident enough with her ability to suppress her chakra, nor to be able to avoid the cameras monitoring by hiding a their blind spots. So she was trying here. To kill two birds with one stone. One she could learn more advanced theories. Secondly, she could train and polish the essential skills of a ninja: gathering information without being noticed. Plus, she'd been able to organize her schedule to be able to work on her own classes- which were really not difficult from her point of view -, to do her daily chakra control training, while leaving herself a place to study the fifth year notions that would serve her to polish her knowledges and shinobi skills. And, above all, she'd learned patience.

She heard that the Fourth was a patient man.

With that on her mind, she took a gentle breath and focused on the class. The same boy, again, was talking. Seems like he was at the lead of the class. Shoot! She missed at least half the explanations!

"….we should prioritize the mission and the potential information we wield. The best answer is that we should not be at this kind of situation, and if it was the case…"

Sakura slightly beamed, she'd guessed right!

.

.

.

.

Sakura helped Mizuki-sensei to organize taïjutsu spare two days after. She had gotten too used to helping him during her little search for surveillance cameras to stop so suddenly. And It didn't really bother her, honestly she liked Mizuki-sensei. He was dedicated to his work and he didn't make any favoritism even if he had at his charge a class full of elite. She was grateful for him for that. It wouldn't be any good if he was just some opportunist.

He was the kind of teacher who was not as extroverted as some - like Umeno-sensei or Tanaka-sensei- but just as competent. He'd a way to explain theories that was both simple and complex enough to not miss the important points.

Sakura drew the circle where the taijutsu session will take place and then put the chalk in a small box.

Ami sneered at her when Mizuki-sensei turned around to do something else. Sakura disregarded her superbly and gave the notebook filled with all the names of her comrades to Mizuki-sensei.

The sun was high in the sky, indicating noon sharp. Sakura knew this because a ninja didn't necessarily have access to a watch and it was something they must know. She assumed that clan children learned this early, she was lucky that her mother knew about it since she often went fishing with her father when she was younger.

She did the same thing with Sakura, who considered it as a training. What time is it? How can I hide in a clearing? How to improvise a weapon? How to catch a fish bare hand? How to keep quiet footsteps in a forest full of hidden twigs?

Sakura liked to guess by herself, to self-study, it made her proud that she could accomplish those things without any help. But she couldn't go on like this forever. There were things where it was preferable, even mandatory, to have a teacher. It was starting to worry her, she was a firm believer of self-made people, but she couldn't learn all by herself perfectly. She winced before walking to blend in with the crowd of students. Her eyes locked on Ami's one and then the purple-haired girl smiled, meanly.

"Bootlickers!" snickered Ami.

"Die in pieces," Sakura retaliated dryly.

Ami face deformed into a grimace of anger and she scowled, eyes in fire.

Sakura gave her a defiant look. Ami had already waited for her outside the academy several times with some of her friends to hit her. Of course, Sakura had never let herself be beaten so easily, but these friends of her came from a higher class and were stronger than her, taller than her, faster than her and Sakura was not good in taïjutsu.

Not good at all. She lacked speed, stamina and coordination. She was no natural in it.

But it was no big deal. Because with or without talent, she would become as strong as the Fourth Hokage.

She had learned on the job to dodge. And she'd learned how to study her habits, facial expressions and attentions to be able to avoid her and her crew.

And sometimes, it was a good training to fight against more than one person. It was a good training to be able to withstand pain while trying not to stop dodging, to think about a way to counter the attack, it was a perfect situation.

So, Ami, please. Keep up your childishness. You make me stronger, Sakura thought with a smile for herself.

The boys would be the first to fight. Sakura internally scoffed. She wanted to fight boys damn it. She knew her level against girls but she wanted to know her level against boys too. Hyûga Hinata, Yamanaka Ino, Uchiha Yori, Uchiha Keiko, Hatake Setsuka, Watanabe Rika, Kurosaki Chiyuki, Kiryuu Hana and so on….they all beat her. They beat her far and straight. In fact, she was not good in taïjutsu, it was her worst subject. She was among the worst in taïjutsu on the girls' side…if not the worst. She'd always been a bookworm. And she didn't have any natural predisposition on physical activities. All she have was her mind and determination. She knew she was first in theory and in writing test, both in the girls' and boys' rankings. They hadn't moved on chakra use, yet, but she already knew how to use her chakra, but, again, she wanted to see where she stood.

(Maybe being in a class full of elite made her feels inapte. )

She bit her lower lip, hard and blinked, because she couldn't allow herself having such a thought, because she was beyond that, furthermore she knew that it wasn't because she was clanless that she worth less.

And, more importantly, your blood wasn't what made you what you was but your actions.

Sakura scanned the surroundings and her eyes were drawn to silvery, square-cut hair and a calm and quiet profile. It was a girl. A very slight smile adorned her lips as Uzumaki Naruto was speaking to her quickly, Uchiha Sasuke at his side. The latter had this expression of his, a slightly calm face but happy eyes. He seemed to be annoyed by his blond friend, but it was this friendly annoyance, this strong bond. There was like an indestructible bond between the three of them.

Sakura had never experienced this kind of bond, of friendship, she didn't have friends. Yume was just an acquaintance and her parent didn't want her to talk to Sakura anymore now that she was at the Academy to become a ninja. Sakura had been picked on a lot to wanted anyone to be her friend now that she could escape them or tell them off anyway.

(Something slightly pinched her heart but she ignored it and stepped at it like a freaking cockroach)

She looked at the girl with the silver hair again. Hatake Setsuka. The strongest girl in the class, in terms of taijutsu, shurikenjutsu, track course, in dodging, in the game of tag... Anything physical, she was the best. Sakura only outclassed her on the written exams. The only one who could eventually rival her on taïjutsu was Hyûga Hinata. But the Heiress of the Hyûga clan was too gentle. She didn't want to hurt anyone and while Sakura could admire this heart's kindness, she knew that on the field, it was a serious weakness.

However, even if Hyûga Hinata wanted to really win the spar, Sakura was sure that Hatake Setsuka would still beat her. The girl was Uchiha Sasuke equivalent in term of prowess and talent, and even if she'd never saw them fighting each other on a taïjutsu spar -because girls and boys didn't fight each other's in first year, and yes she was rumbling but that was just so dumb- but Sakura was quite good at analyzing fighting spare. Her body was not just a natural at it.

Not to mention that she was Sasuke's friend, if not Sasuke's best friend. Uzumaki Naruto, Hatake Setsuka and Uchiha Sasuke were all very close, from what she had observed. They were "the" trio, "the" mischievous squad, their abilities to pull pranks and to get away with it was famous. They were seen as rising stars, not only due to their background but also because they were good. Sakura had heard about their recent prank. Well "heard" about it. Technically, they hadn't done anything. If you question them, they will only make an innocent face – it was what Sakura imagined about them, though- and just shrugged off the suspicion with a smile. Prank. Make a mess of things. Let it be big. But, above all do not be caught. That was the hidden rule. If you were caught, then it was lame, it meant many bad things for a shinobi. The Trio liked to suggest that they were the ones who messed things up without anyone being able to prove it. And even without it being voluntary on their part, there were always clues, something that could eventually link them to them, they were evidence, because the schemes were the same. They were predictable but were never ever being caught…well if they were caught, it was never made public, at least. But they were good, very good and they knew it.

And yeah, sometimes, she could see them running in the village without even trying to cover up their pranks. They were laughing, a big smile on their lips and they were dodging any attempt to capture them.

Sakura was different. First of all, she didn't like to be noticed. Second, she didn't like to point out that she had done something. She wanted the thing she had done to remain unknown, maybe never discovered but that had been beneficial to her. To her.

And then maybe in a month, a year, someone would notice something strange. A book that was missing from the jounin section. Explosive tags that were slowly disappearing from the school's general supply. But no links. No obvious connections. No way to know that it was the same person, or if it was just a mistake.

Yeah. She didn't want to show off. She wanted to be the true shadow. And for her, it was the better thing. Not until she was "flee-on-sight".

(Well, she was not saying that she had done those kind of things…yet. Well, not all of them. She was still thinking of how she could infiltrate the Jounin section. She really needed some advanced chakra control techniques and a few Genjutsu scrolls…)

(Okay, maybe, just maybe, she was in a competition with them…only in her head. But she had objectives. Big objectives, and she wanted to improve her skills.)

Deep in thought, she didn't look away. And soon, Hatake Setsuka made an eye contact with her. Their eyes clung and she raised a silver eyebrow, as if she was judging her. Soon, Uchiha Sasuke looked in the same direction as her friend and laid his black eyes on her. His round face was slightly scowling.

She froze slightly, and, as if an iron bar had taken up residence in her spine, she straightened up discreetly, in all the small size of her one metre twenty inches.* She calmly held their gaze.

"Huh, what are you looking at, dattebayo?!"

A pair of big blue eyes landed on her, like the Fourth's one and….

"We will begin!" Mizuki-sensei said in a loud voice, his notebook on his hands. and thanks all the gods. She now had an excuse to look away without looking weak, "Inuzuka Kiba against…Aburame Shino!"

Don't get noticed Sakura. Not now.

The boys came face to face. Inuzuka Kiba and Aburame Shino. Inuzuka Kiba would be evidently a close-range fighter, perhaps a middle range one too. While Aburame Shino had the profile to be a long-range fighter.

Sakura's interest was picked up. Of course, she had carefully collected any information she could have about her classmates. Their strength, their weakness. It was all based on her own observation skills.

"Begin !"

They pounced at each other. Inuzuka was fierce and fast, whereas Aburame was all of smooth and fluid movement, however the boy with the round sunglasses had less stamina than his opponent. He was quickly overwhelmed by Inuzuka and soon, his movements became erratic and less precise. She almost frowned. If she had a forehead protector, she would have use it to blind her opponent. He could even try to do it with his glasses. But unfortunately, it was not the case. It was just a simple Taïjutsu spar, without tricks. It was not in the first-year program. She was sure she could have won some spars she'd lost with some cunning tactics.

Aburame will not forfeit, Sakura thought. Though, he'll probably come out of the circle if he kept going backwards in this way and he most likely knows it.

She saw the way he was trying to take steps forward while trying to get away from his opponent's blows. His body was tense and he was trying to make a circle around Inuzuka. However, he did not have enough technique while the young boy with the wolf's eyes seemed to be in his field of predilection.

Inuzuka pivoted on his support and threw his foot very high, aiming at Aburame's chin, who bent back at full speed to avoid him, in the bridge position.

His hands were outside the circle.

"Stop! Kiba-kun has won! Make the seal of reconciliation!"

Inuzuka grinned, widely while the others were applauding and cheering him. Aburame Shino silently regained his place on the crowd as his of sharp canines did the same.

"Next is Uchiha Sasuke against Nara Shikamaru!"

Girls started to scream. Very loudly. Sakura's nose scrunched up. Too much noises. Too much unnecessary noises. And by the look on Nara Shikamaru's face, he was thinking the same thing. Uchiha Sasuke was very cute, and yes, Sakura might have a tiny bitty crush on him….but it wasn't an hindrance to her objectives. They were just making a fool of themselves.

Uzumaki Naruto was just grinning widely at his best friend and he must have said something to him, a private joke maybe, because the Uchiha made a slightly offended face, but it was just as much playful.

"Quiet!"

Authoritative voice and a convincing presence.

Silence.

"Sensei, it's too much effort. I forfeit." Nara's lazy voice was like a resounding lighting bolt in the silence.

"Shikamaru-kun, you haven't even tried."

"Oh please sensei, you know very well that he would win," he said while yawning...and took a step back. "Besides...I'm already disqualified. I stepped out of the circle. I lost."

Nara Shikamaru hated any physical activities. But since his clan was training him enough on that side, he didn't really need to give it all to the Academy on that side.

Not that he was giving his all on anything. He had one of the lowest scores in the class in the written exams. He was unmotivated and always sitting far away from the board. But Sakura knew better than to underestimate him. Because Nara Shikamaru seemed to always notice things that the others didn't see.

He was far from being an idiot, and on that, Sakura would say that it was a big euphemism. He was just not showing his fullest intellect. Sakura didn't really been aware of him. But one day she'd heard him muttering something along to "troublesome". She hadn't really paid attention of it at the beginning. But three hours later, "the" Trio had pranked all the Chûnin sensei.

That's when her brain had made the connection between that "remark" and the prank. Of course, it could have been a coincidence. Of course, her mind could play tricks on her. But Sakura was going to become a shinobi. A shinobi as strong as the Fourth Hokage. So she believed in her instincts. And it told her that she was right.

She had no real proof of that, though.

Sakura glanced at him. She will take action, and she will do it very, very soon.

Mizuki-sensei let out a long suffering sigh, "All right, I can't force you to fight if you don't want to."

Akimichi Chôji has been pit against Uchiha Sasuke who won his fight in less than ten seconds. The cheering was twice as strong as those for Inuzuka. The latter, by the way, made an annoyed pout. The rest of the boy's taïjutsu session went on smoothly, with the expected results for some people.

"Haruno Sakura against Yamanaka Ino."

Her heart rose to her throat, quickly, as fast as the renowned Namikaze Minato's speed before going veeeery slowly down.

She could do it. She can do it. It was a training. She won't win, she knew it. But she will do her best. She will see if she had become faster or better at dodging than last week…

Yeah, she could do it.

She walked into the circle as Yamanaka Ino was already in it.

"Begin!"

Okay, she needed to dodge. To dodge and then lure her out of the circle. She wasn't fast enough to hit her. She was just hoping that she could more or less duck everything.

One, two, three, four, five, six…

She had noticed that Ino always started with a punch before moving on to a twirling kick. She managed to dodge the following movements, but barely. Her foot brushed her shirt.

...seven, eight, nine, ten...

She had no coordination, she was clumsy and had trouble getting a rhythm. She clenched her teeth. She could do it! She was just supposed to use her hea-

A punch in her belly.

Her breath was cut off under the surprise and the force of the blow and she involuntarily bent in two. She regretted it the next second. Bad move! She needed togetawayquickly!

She then tried to roll to the side, narrowly ducking her next hit that reached her halfway on her cheekbone. The pain exploded in her entire face and she clenched her teeth.

...thirteen, fourteen, fifteen...

She took a deep breath and clumsily stood up as Ino charged at her, jumping and aiming at her with her leg. She jumped to her side, or at least tried, her body not being fast enough, her dodge being of a calamitous clumsiness.

Lure her out of the circle, Sakura! Quick! Quick!

...eighteen, nineteen, twenty….

She tried to place herself discreetly so as to attract her where she wanted. If only she could use something, a stone, a root that slightly protrudes... anything to fool her!

Don't stop dodging! Don't stop dodging Sakura!

Her breathing was getting faster, her muscles were getting tired, but she had to keep going, she must not give up.

...thirty, thirty-one, thirty-two, thirty-three, thirty-four….

Maybe she could use the sun to her advantage? No. Impossible. She had nothing, no kunai to reflect the rays of sunshine, nothing. How could she win?

Ino next hit touch her on her jawbone. Teeth clenched, she endured the pain, like a true shinobi, and forced her legs to stay there, by her simple will, despite her tiredness.

How?

An idea struck her while she gasped brutally, Ino's foot reaching her shoulder, destabilizing her support.

...fourty, forty-one, forty-two, forty-three, forty-four…

She bent down abruptly leaning on the muscles of her legs, forcing herself to extend her arms, clearly aware of each of her actions, as if she were a puppet pulling herself the strings that allowed her to move. The air agitated her hair as her opponent's blow passed over her head.

...fifty, fifty-one, fifty-two…

Now!

Sakura immediately closed her arms around... the void. Nothing. Ino's little hand came to rest on her back as she jumped over her.

Shoot!

She backed up hastily. Hurry! Hurry! Don't turn your back on her! She spun around to face Ino and tried desperately to-

Sakura didn't see it coming. Her feet were mowed down by Ino who moved to fast for her. And since she was already having a hard time dodging, she was getting tired on top of that.

Sakura fell on her back, heavily and lost her breath momentarily.

...sixty.

Ino was above her, her fist raised.

She had won.

And Sakura had lasted sixty seconds against her. One minute.

"Yamanaka Ino is the winner! Make the seal of reconciliation!"

One minute, Sakura thought eagerly...and a bit frustrated as she made the seal of reconciliation, her vision blurred. She was no negative person and she didn't do self-pity, but…

One minute. It seemed so long to her. But it was…

...just one minute.

It was extraordinary - for her because she'd never lasted so long in a taïjutsu spar, especially against those at the top of the class- and depressing though...a little bit.

She slapped herself mentally.

No. She was improving. She had to keep going.

She just had to think seriously about a solution to make more concrete progress. And she already have one in her mind.

As she returned to the crowd, she met Mizuki-sensei's gaze, who nodded very slightly towards her.

It made her feel better.

He too had noticed that she had lasted longer.

Her joy was crushed when she saw Ami's face. Mean expression. Narrowing eyes. Ah right, she had told her to "die in pieces".

Today, she will have to be careful at the end of school.

But, thank you Ami. I've been able to make so much progress in dodging thanks to you, Sakura thought with a satisfying smile.

Oh, maybe she wouldn't avoid her and her friends today. She was so full of energy that she needed to spend it.

What kind of girl would she be if she didn't thanks her and her crew properly?

Sakura's hand raised up and waved at her, with a shit-eating grin.

.

.

.

.

( She must check her cheekbone, though. It was throbbing.)

.

.

.

.

Sakura decided to act one week after the taïjutsu class. The sky was blue, so, so blue, like the thousand bluebells her mother used to describe to her when she was still reading her stories at night.

She climbed on the roof using the ladder, her book in hand, the wind gently moving her short hair around, without making a sound. She almost never came here and when she did, it was always empty.

But she knew that someone was here because she'd studied more or less his habits. It was not that difficult anyway, huh. She always heard his friend asking him if he will watch clouds after class.

It was an hint for Sakura, that meant he liked to think. Oh, he could be seen as a just a lazy guy, and, frankly, he could be one. But when she didn't do anything, she was always thinking. And for someone as smart as him - as she suspected him to be, her guts were telling her so, she trusted them- it would be impossible to not think about something.

The first thing she saw was his spiky ponytail. She calmly walk straight at him, her book open, as she was reading on Military ration pills - she had tried to look for information about it at the Library, but it seems to be for the upper classes. So she had to... steal the book. It wasn't very difficult.-

He didn't even look at her, still watching straight the clouds, seeming not even noticing her presence.

But she knew better, even though she may be look carefree -hoped to, like this silver-haired dude who sometimes picked up Hatake Setsuka from the academy, she didn't know if he was her brother or her father, though, she wasn't really paying attention at them-, she had seen his shoulders stiffening slightly before immediately relaxing.

And Sakura could bet her life on it, but she was sure he was observing her right now. She didn't know how…she blinked looking in front of her, sharply.

Oh. Right. I forgot that detail.

The building right in front of the Academy building had a mirror which was used to watch the adjacent street. She was far away, but she would swear that at that distance, he could see her.

What if she came closer...

Well, he would look at the clouds leisurely, without her even knowing that he had inspected her from head to toe.

The corner of her lips tickled her and she wanted to smile, a big smile. Something burned in her belly.

Something telling her she had made a good judgment. He worth it.

She sat one meter from him, legs crossed, before diving into his book.

About an hour passed, she was sharply immersed on her book. Or it seemed so. Another part of his brain, however, was attentive to any movement on his part.

He talked first, "Are you always this serious?" his voice was slow, disinterested.

Sakura blinked. Her only reaction. The corners of her lips were tickling her. Oh…nice one Nara.

She answered simply, "I'am."

He muttered a "troublesome" and didn't respond to her.

She looked at him on the corner of her eyes. His arms were crossed behind his head and he was looking at the sky. Same position. Same expression. Same erased aura. Oh he was very good. Very very good at this game of pretence. Pretence to be just a harmless boy and in a sense, he was an harmless boy...physically. She had the feeling that he could outsmart you in a fight easily.

"Isn't it too hard to be at the bottom of the class?"

Here. The dice were thrown

His sharp eyes were on her the following second for the first time. Not in a threatening way – why must he feel the need to threaten her? She was asking a simple question- but in a very lazy motion, in a very keen way.

She smiled at him, her book on open and placed on her mouth, the cover facing him.

Sakura was not laughing at him. She was not mocking him because she was better than him.

He'd caught the real meaning of her question : It's not too hard for you to stay at the bottom of the ranking on purpose.

He'd perfectly understood. Of course, he was this smart.

Ah. Sakura didn't even know if she was as smart as him. Being able to score just the right amount to not really fail while remaining at the bottom of the class was an interesting challenge. A challenge she would be willing to take if the written exams were not her only strong point.

"Not really."

Easy as pie.

"Aah."

Nice for you.

She hid a smile as best she could. Really, it was so much fun, it was refreshing.

But she knew now that he would take her more seriously now.

Good.

Because she really wanted to test their intelligence.

And she wanted his help for something.

(Or maybe it was Sakura's intent to have some kind of friend...or a comrade she knows a little better than the others.)

She closed her book.

Now, she needed to find a personal sensei. Or at least something who would be close to it.

.

.

.

.

Shikamaru's lips rose up very slightly after she left. She had come to see him on purpose where he usually looks at the clouds whereas they had never met here before. It was not really a secret he liked to stroll around on the roof of the Academy, but few people knew about it except Chôji and Ino.

Her goal was to warn him about his habits. They were too easy to decipher and, above all, Chôji was not discreet. He was sure that it was more or less through him that she knew he was coming here. Since his friend would never rat him...well, it seemed it was very easy to listen at their conversation.

Shikamaru was also sure that she would come here from time to time because the Academy's ladder was squeaking and she hadn't made a sound when she climbed it. She had done it purposely.

I come here often but you don't know it because I'm more discreet than you. My habits are not trackable.

His smile widens a little more.

She had stood by him for an hour without speaking once. At first glance, you'd think she'd only come here to read. However, she had not turned the page of her book once.

She just wanted to show him that she had enough patience to sit here for hours if necessary and that if he wanted to know why she had come to see him, he had to speak first.

"Are you always this serious?"

You are too tense.

Because it was not a question. It was an affirmation. He wanted to tell her that she was as predictable as him, even more than him because of her seriousness. She needed to be more carefree to be able to pass everywhere.

"I'am."

Do you really think I'm just serious?

He answer however was a question. She was telling him that she was just showing what she wanted to show...like him.

Then...she showed him her book while smiling.

On purpose. That he could see she had steal an upper-class book on the Library, without being caught. That she was skilled to blend into the mass. That she had even done it once before. Without getting caught once. Because she could stand still a long time like she'd showed him. While saying to him that she knew he was scoring the right amount to not fail while remaining at the bottom of the class.

She was basically saying to him : I worth it.

And, it was true.

She worth it.

Troublesome but interesting.

Author's note :

Humm...

Yeah I know I should update my other story, but heh, I couldn't get this story out of my head ughhh, so I needed to write it and post it!

I hope you have enjoyed this chapter ! :) it's the beginning of Sakura's adventures ahah I know what I want to do with her until the graduation...more or less!

I wanted a badass seven-year-old Sakura with a tiny crush on Sasuke but objectives in her mind. And I didn't wanted her to be friends with Naruto or Sasuke...right now, she will not be their childhood friend! I wanted to explore another dynamic between them. As you can see, she'd no intention to talk to them, or them to talk to her, they were already a Trio with someone else :) Oh and I didn't wanted her to be helped or noticed by Itachi or Shisui...I'm seeing this plot soo frequently, I wanted to explore other things. I hope what I have on mind will please you ;) a smart and sharp Sakura without making her OOC.

Thanks to Niina Lexy for having corrected the mistakes I may have made in this chapter!