Hi everyone. I just decided to update this because I couldn't take the italics it was in anymore...I might decide to fix the other chapters in this story but we'll see! I'm sorry if you thought this was something new.

Well, I guess since I got your attention, you can re-read this story! Haha, nah you don't have to do that.

Edited: 12/10/2015

"Inner Sakura"

Prologue: Passing

I was once a bud back then, not knowing what could happen in the blink of an eye, always standing frozen. Useless. The three of them had always been there to protect me from anything and I thank them for it, but somehow it's gotten out of hand. It seems like all they think of me during a fight is "protect!"

They hurt themselves, just to save me from getting hurt myself. I've caused them so much pain and annoyance, that they do it before I can act. Well, no more of that!

Today was the day: the three of them are gonna watch from the sidelines, not moving a muscle as I tackle down the most important test of my life.

The Jounin Exams.

It was finally time for me to go up and beyond the level of a Chunin. I wanted to become something more to them, something more than a best friend and a girl to protect. I wanted to be able to fend for myself and prove it. I've studied hard with Lady Tsunade, becoming stronger each day and learning the knowledge of the medical world, beyond belief. About a week before the exams, I trained with the Hokage from morning, till night, working my new techniques and learning to not just use my chakra, wasting it all.

She taught me that you need to use something other than those chakra filled punches, something like taijutsu. So, for hours on end, I used taijutsu, using the strength I had (not chakra filled) to whip through the air, breaking boulders and wooden posts.

"Excellent Sakura," She praised, walking towards me with a hand on her hip. She held a satisfactory grin on her impressed face, putting a hand on my shoulder. Panting for air, I smiled back at her through the breaths, ecstatic at her praise.

"Now, moving on," She said, her serious face stretching back on to her face. My face contorted with surprise as she turned around.

"You know what it feels like to be in a genjutsu right?" Tsunade asked, facing her apprentice with hardened eyes.

"Yes!" I replied straightening my stance, fists clenched.

"Well, at those Jounin Exams there will be shinobi who have cruel tricks up their sleeves. Keep an open eye out for suspicious things. If you feel it's a genjutsu, get out of it immediately. I assume you can handle that without a problem," She smirked, looking down on her pink haired prodigy.

"Of course!" I replied once again with a nod. A simple genjutsu shouldn't be a big problem.

"You are my student so I know you'll pass this exam. You've been working so hard these past years since Sasuke and Naruto came back." She said with a small smile on her face, also remembering the two boys in her past.

"I'll do my best!" I said with my chin up, meeting her strong gaze. The Hokage's lips turned upward, becoming a bright smile.

"Good. The exams are in a few days so I want you and the Rookie 12 to spar with each other, taking turns. I want your stamina to be at its best level, not lowering for even a second! You understand?" She suddenly started yelling, running at her student, preparing to strike.

Seeing the opening, I ducked on her first punch and struck into her side, sending her sliding back. Jumping back, I avoided thrown branches and pulled out kunai from my shuriken pouch, launching them at my opponent with precision. Tsunade dodged it easily and disappeared into thin air. Dazed for a moment, I knew exactly where she was, jumping forward to avoid her sky kick. The ground cracked underneath my feet, making me stumble.

Leaping to an area where it was firm, I put a hand to a tree, catching my breath when I heard something rustle beside me. Pulling a kunai out quickly, I jumped away from there, only to have a sandal find itself in the center of my back, shoving me forward. I was met face down on the ground as Tsunade sat down on top of my back, grinning as she looked down at me.

"Well, I can see that things are going well here." That calm and smooth voice belonged to Kakashi Hatake. He held in his hand, the always here, Icha Icha Paradise. He came from behind the trees.

"Sensei!" I called out, a smile on my face. The masked man met my eyes, a bright spark in them. From underneath his mask, I saw his lips move upward into a smile.

"Sakura," He said simply, tilting his head in acknowledgement. The weight off her back lifted and she got to her feet, coughing and dusting the dirt and dust off her uniform. Tsunade stood beside her, a hand on her hip as the old sensei sauntered over quietly.

"So, is my always cheerful student ready for the exams?" He asked with a raise of his eyebrow. The Hokage snorted and rolled her eyes at him, placing an arm around my shoulders, pulling me closer.

"Of course she is! Who do you think taught her?" She said in a deadly voice as she became protective of her only student. The teacher put his hands up in submission and laughed nervously.

"Yeah, yeah, well I better be going. Oh and Sakura," I perked my head up as I heard my name, seeing the Sharingan user staring at me with his one silver eye.

"Yes?" I asked, my eyebrows rising up.

"Watch yourself during the exams. People can get pretty brutal in the last stage." Was the last thing he said before disappearing in a puff of smoke.

"You heard him Sakura," Tsunade now said, turning to face me.

"I know. It's the most important test and I should watch everything carefully." I replied, knowing the words by heart. It was originally stated by Kakashi when he let me join the tests.

"Exactly," The Hokage said with a grin, clapping me on the shoulder in approval. "Just remember, we're out there cheering for you. I'm pretty sure that Sasuke and Naruto will be there as well, watching your performance. Heh, are you happy that they won't protect you during the exams?" She asked with a raise of her eyebrow, leaning in towards her student.

"Hell yeah! It's gotten really annoying on how they always do that, Kakashi-sensei and Sasuke especially," I replied, a fierce look on my face. My master laughed and we walked back to the village, talking.

"There's my young pupil." She said with a shake of her head as I ranted on and on about how those three guys always gets in front of me somehow and blocks the blow.

-.-

As the toilet flushed, I washed my hands in the bathroom and ran a hand through my pink hair, looking at myself in the mirror. The first two parts of the test weren't that bad, just some running around and some answering. However, this last part seemed to be the hardest, stated from Anko. She said that she would explain what it would be as soon as the bell for the last part rang.

Exiting the bathroom, I walked through the halls, seeing unfamiliar faces, yet some familiar. I saw some people from Konoha like Tenten who is also trying to become a Jounin. Neji had trained her over the edge, leaving her with an ultimate anger against him. She promised him that she'd somehow get revenge. I also saw Ino as well, though she looked kind of worn out from the first two, I knew that she wasn't ready to give up just yet.

Smirking at the thought, I made my way to the testing room where we were supposed to meet. Seeing a sign, I approached it and took a look:

MEETING ROOM SWITCHED.
HEAD TO THE ARENA FOR FURTHER INSTRUCTIONS.
-ANKO

Narrowing my eyes, I took a step forward and placed a hand on the sign, gliding my hand over the writing. Then, I leaned forward and took hold of the door knob, quietly pushing the door open to take just a peek. Smiling in realization, I stepped in and shut the door silently behind me, looking up at the shinobi standing alone up on the stage.

"So, you saw through it huh? Well, can't blame you, you are the Hokage's apprentice so…" Anko trailed off her sentence with a grin as she ate a stick of dango. Glancing around I saw that no one was here yet, did they actually-

"Did the others actually fall for it?" I asked, bewildered. Anko tilted her head to the side, thinking, then she shrugged nonchalantly.

"Some, but those were just the weak ones. There are much more people here with observing abilities far beyond what you can expect. And you're going to have to fight one of them." Anko briefly explained as she stuck the last dango stick in her mouth, sliding it out and placing it on the stack of empty trays of previously eaten dango.

Taking a seat in a nearby table, I thought of my techniques and battle tactics when the door opened wide, the sign that Anko wrote fluttering off. A hand shot out and caught the drifting paper, crumpling it in his hands. Then with a slight squeeze, the paper in his hands burst into flames, turning into ash. Whipping his hand to the side, the ashes fell to the ground, disappearing. Behind him were other shinobi, all with menacing looks on their faces.

I studied the one who just made the sign burn up in flames. The symbol on his forehead protector was one from the Hidden Village of Cloud. That's where the fire came from. The ninja had a scowl on his handsome yet frightening face. He had no color in his eyes that they looked almost clear, but seeing a few gray flecks in them, I knew that that couldn't happen.

"Well! You seem to have seen it." Anko said loudly as she crossed her arms over her chest. The group of ninja's stepped in, all filing to the desks and sitting at them, frowns of anger expressed all over their faces. The shinobi who burned the sign was still standing there, his gray flecked eyes flickering.

"You tricked us," He said in a low yet attractive voice. Closing her eyes, Anko smiled and nodded, letting her arms fall to her sides.

"And you're mad about that? All I did was get rid of a few more people for you so there wouldn't be that many for you to fight." A kunai flew straight at her face and she caught it right before it hit her directly in the middle of her eyebrows. Flinging it to the side, she opened her eyes, now physically angry. Her pupil-less eyes narrowed in rage as she stared down the teenager from the Country of Lightning.

"Now listen!" She snapped, catching the attention of everyone. I also noticed that I was the only girl left. I guess they got caught in Anko's trick. Facing the Jounin, she looked scary and her personality was exactly like a snake. The emotion she showed just now was the snake coiling up in a circle to strike.

"This last part of the test is going to be the most difficult of them all. All your goals here are to survive and become a Jounin. If you are either knocked unconscious or killed, you are disqualified. Now, the test itself…is to fight each other," Chatter erupted around the room, low murmurs of worry or anger. Anko stomped down on the wood below her feet, hearing it crack like a whip. The shinobi turned their attention back to her in astonishment. Her personality was absolutely shocking.

"Exactly, this seems exactly like the Chunin exams. Hahaha! Well no. It's not at all like that. What the difference is this test is that you're all going to fight each other…at once." Anko grinned and took a step back as yelling exploded around the room.

"What? I can't fight them! They're my friends!" Someone dumb enough to say that yelled in exasperation. I watched Anko shrug and narrow her eyes at the person who said it.

"Too bad, you'll have to either kill them, or just get out of here, disqualified." She stated sharply, with her eyes closed.

"What? No! I can't leave!" The shinobi yelled in complaint. Anko leaned forward in anger and appeared by the ninja's side in a second. He flinched in surprise and was pinned against the wall with a kunai pointed at his neck.

"You've just decided your faith for yourself. Leave. Now." Anko snarled, thrusting her hand to the door. The talking ceased as the now silent shinobi lowered his head in shame and walked through the crowd of people.

"Nice job," One of them whispered followed by a snicker. Anko then appeared back on the stage, her usual personality back on.

"Okay! Prepare your battle tactics and plan while making your way out into the arena! I'll meet you out there in a few minutes." She said before disappearing in a puff of smoke. As the shinobi filed out, the teen from the Country of Lightning turned around, meeting my eyes. He smirked and it reminded me of someone I knew so well; Sasuke.

"I'll see you out there, Konoha nin," He smirked again and left the room, bringing the cool he had with him. It wasn't just his cool that was unnerving, it was the way he burned the sign into a crisp. He seemed to be a tough opponent, just by a glance. He held that powerful look in his eyes, giving it that cold glare.

I stood up and thought about my plans. Everything had gone right so far and I believed that I passed the first two. But will I make it out of this last one? Everyone I know out there is counting on me to become a Jounin, but will I even come back alive?

"Forget it, they can't jump in and protect me now. I have to fend for myself, just like I promised I'd prove to them." Making my way out to the arena, I was met with a loud chorus of cheers as Leaf's only entry walked in. There were thousands of people, depending on me to show Konoha honor in becoming a Jounin.

I lined up with the other Chunin and kept a confident face on, sure I could do this. Glancing up, I scanned the crowd real quick and spotted my friends and sensei's sitting near each other, all calling out Konoha's name.

Right! I am doing it for them! I'll show them that I can become stronger and aide them! Facing my opponents we all stood in a circle, looking at each other's faces, seeing who would go first. Mine happened to land on the one from a few minutes ago. I glared at him, my fists clenching and all he held was a smug frown.

Anko suddenly appeared in the middle of the circle, another dango in her hand. She held a tray of it in her other hand, enjoying it.

"Okay guys! You are all finally proceeding onto the last stage of the Jounin exams! And, the time to start and fight is…" We all positioned ourselves into our fighting stances and heard the crowd become quiet. I tightened the gloves on my hands and had my hand near my kunai pouch.

"NOW!"

-.-

"They're starting!" Naruto excitedly said as he watched his best friend jump away from instantly thrown kunai, jumping into the few trees that were around.

"Shut up Naruto, Sakura needs to concentrate, she can't do that without you yapping your mouth all the time," He said in a deadly voice, glaring at the blonde haired teen. The ninja turned to his chicken haired friend and narrowed his eyes.

"Same goes for you," He whispered, a smirk appearing on his lips. Sasuke scowled and whacked his on the back of the head, seeing a huge bump come out of it and watching Naruto grip his head in pain.

"Dobe," The jinchuuriki hissed as he raised his head to watch the fight. She had no idea that they were Jounin's as well. They wanted to surprise her by telling her once she passed. A hand found itself on both of the strong ninja's shoulders and they turned to see their sensei with narrowed eyes, a cold glare. He only did that when there was trouble.

"Kakashi-sensei?" Naruto asked, an eyebrow raised up in question.

"Looks like Sakura's going to have a hard time in this test," He said, pointing to the fight that was going on in the arena below. The two teens faced back to the battle, trying to find their pink haired friend. She was nowhere to be seen.

"Where is she?" Sasuke asked to his companions, his muscles tensing up. Kakashi squeezed his shoulder and he snapped his head to him in surprise.

"Calm down Sasuke, I'm sure she'll be-no Sasuke!" He said in a shocked voice as he saw his student's onyx eyes turn into the Sharingan, scanning the arena.

"Ergh, there's too many people. I can't locate which exact chakra's her's." He replied, his onyx eyes returning as he took a glance to his best friend. He had a knowing and faithful look on his face as he waited for his friend to come out victorious.

Maybe he should have faith in people more.

-.-

Jumping up into the dense trees, I watched as ninjas from around the world chased each other down, either killing them or knocking them seriously unconscious. Ooh, that would put them in a coma for about a week…I made a face as I saw one fall to its knees, his eyes rolling to the back of his head. As much as I wanted to help him out, I could not afford to let those medical skills to come out. I am in a fight, not taking care of patients!

Take this seriously Sakura! My Inner Sakura yelled at me, telling me to get a grip. Blinking out of my daze, I realized from the suddenly decreasing strong presences of chakra that they were getting taken down one by one. Anko said that the goal here was to survive, but also win and become a Jounin. Clenching my fists I felt that cold and powerful chakra somewhere on the other side of the arena. I bet it was him, taking out all those people, looking for me.

Well, what the hell does he want? My other personality questioned her words loud and true in my head. No matter, I had to take this guy out in order to survive, so far she had taken down a lot, decreasing their numbers bit by bit. Glancing around the corner of the trunk, I saw movement and heard running footsteps, quick as lightning and caught a glimpse of sleek, silver hair and saw a ninja with a barrage of kunai's in his back, face down on the ground.

The person standing over him had silky, smooth dark brown hair and was holding a deep scowl. Widening my eyes, I realized that it was him. I couldn't meet up with him yet, I had to make sure he was last or-

"Finally, I found you Konoha ninja," His words broke my thoughts as I saw him slightly turn from his position, his clear eyes scanning the trees with a cold expression. Not making a sound, I turned and jumped through the trees, popping up through the top. I heard the clangs of kunai's hitting against each other from areas of the stadium, but when I heard the soft whoosh nearby, I pulled out a kunai and whirled around, the weapon barely saving my life from a long, silver katana.

Flying back from the force, I leaped back to the clearing where everyone could see me and released the kunai from my steel grip, seeing the handle of it, bent in little places. It clattered to the ground and disintegrated to pieces. Gasps were heard from the crowd as I watched the katana, shimmering with a coat of lightning. I quickly stuck my hands in my shuriken pouch and thrust them forward, rushing in with eight kunai in my hands, adding it to the barrage as well.

I covered my face as I felt a gust of static electricity hit me with a wave, the weapons I threw hitting the ground. Putting my hands down, I gritted my teeth in pain as little shocks of lightning made my fingers twitched. The ninja from the Country of Lightning smirked and twirled a kunai in his hand.

"Hm, you call yourself a ninja? You're more of a disgrace to this village, not being able to become a Jounin. Oh and, you do know that you are the only one left?" He asked, glancing around for a moment.

I could feel the gazes of everyone around, depending on me to win, hating the guy who just insulted the Hokage's apprentice. Narrowing my eyes, I clenched my fists and remembered my training. Now was the time to use it. It was the only time if I didn't want to die.

"Go Sakura!" I heard my friends cry out in unison, cheering me on. One voice reached my ears, jolting me back to the fight that was in front of me. Naruto.

"So, is he one of your-" His words were cut short as I appeared under the blade of the katana, delivering a strong uppercut, not chakra filled, watching him slowly move backwards before summoning my chakra into my clenched fist, not tight but packed. I slammed the knuckles into his stomach, hearing some ribs break.

Blood spewed out of his mouth as he flew back, wide eyed into the trees, the impact of the force breaking them in half. Running fast, I picked up a tree and swung it at him, eventually throwing it at his surprised face. I heard the loud cheers of the crowd as they rooted for me, telling me I could win.

"YEAH SAKURA!"

"YOU GO GIRL! KICK THAT GUY'S ASS!"

Rolling my eyes, I knew that it was Ino who said that. Standing in the surrounding dust, I could feel the lightning user's chakra surrounding me. Sending my chakra to my feet, I exploded off the ground, just before I saw the circle of lightning joining together.

I sent a kunai down at a bewildered shinobi, blocking it with the katana. Landing down about twelve feet away, I smirked as he walked through the smoke, his eyes narrowed. He rubbed his side, making a pained face before switching back to his cold and stoic one.

"My turn," He state simply before disappearing. Even before I could detect his chakra, I felt sharp pain in my shoulder, the sword plunging in. Scrunching my eyes in pain, I shoved the katana out and whirled around, sending taijutsu kicks and punches at the guy, each holding up our end. I panted, taking a step back and putting a hand to my shoulder, feeling the wet sticky liquid drip down my arm.

Are you just gonna stand there? Fight back ! You're stronger than him! You've been trained by the Hokage! Beat this bastard to a pulp!Inner Sakura bellowed, her voice echoing in my ears. Breathing deeply, I brought my hands together and made a seal, hearing that sound as I felt the wound close up. They certainly didn't say anything about healing in the instructions. Of course, Anko said that there were no rules. So, I'm sure this is perfectly fine.

I could feel his chakra, strong but faint, circling me. It was that move again. Closing myself eyes, I focused trying to locate where he really was. When I heard the buzzing of the lightning, I flipped backwards and hit the ninja square in the face with the heel of my boot, sending him into the ground. Hearing him groan, I whirled around and picked up by the scruff of his uniform, bringing his face close to mine.

"Do I look like much of a disgrace now?"I hissed, letting him go and appearing behind him, hitting his pressure point with two strong fingers. His knees gave out and his eyes rolled to the back of his head as he fell to the ground, unconscious.

I stumbled back and looked up at the crowd, hearing them cheer for me. I spotted Team 7 and saw the proud looks on their faces, happy. However, my vision suddenly blurred and my knees almost gave out when an arm caught me.

"Great job, kid." Anko's voice whispered in my ear as I opened my eyes, my hand to the side of my head.

"Thanks," I replied, giving her a weak smile.

"You're a Jounin now, like me." She added, walking me back to the infirmary, the echoes of the crowd growing softer as we entered the building.

"I'm happy, and relieved that I passed." I replied sighing.

"Haha! Tsunade worked you down to the bone!" Anko laughed cheerfully, as she led me into the infirmary, letting me sit down.

"Congrats on making it. I'm pretty sure that your friends are going to be here any second, coming to congratulate you." Smiling in relief I closed my eyes.

I passed the exams. Finally.

End of Prologue

Well? What did you think? Only a few things were changed really. But hey, you got to relive this chapter right?

Hope you're all doing well.

-FallenWing21