(A.N. I've recently read some 'unique power ups' type fics. They were very entertaining. I had an idea for this one and it wouldn't leave me. So I had to write it down to get it out of my head. It's very light and uncomplicated. Hope you like it.)

Pink Parasite

Sakura came out of the genjutsu Kakashi had placed on her for their survival test. She was shaking from fright at seeing Sasuke injured so badly. Her inner cursed her sensei for frightening her. Feeling worry nag at her, she went looking for her crush. She could hear Naruto off somewhere on the training grounds but ignored the idiot.

Somewhat frantic she finally found Sasuke buried in the ground. "Oh my god! Sasuke-kun! He beheaded you!"

Before she could faint Sasuke grumbled at her, "He buried me, idiot."

"O-oh!" Sakura got a hold of herself. "Don't worry, Sasuke-kun I'll get you out of there." And then he will be so awed by my help that he will ask me to go on a date, and then be his steady girlfriend, and then marriage and then…"Kya!" She didn't notice Sasuke cringing at her squeal of delight. She put her hands under his arms and tugged with all her strength. There was a sudden warm rush through her hands, but she put it out of her mind. Sasuke groaned in pain and his head lolled to the side.

Alarmed, Sakura set him on the ground. "Sasuke-kun, what's wrong?" The boy's eyes focused on her weakly and he mumbled something Sakura couldn't understand. She grabbed a hold of his face to keep it steady and that's when she noticed it. Sasuke's skin was becoming pale where her fingers were touching him. She felt warmth rush through her hands again as Sasuke's eyes began rolling and foam started forming out of his lips. She screamed and pulled away from him just as he passed out.

She stared at her hands in confusion and fright. Off in the distance the alarm bell rang. Kakashi appeared in a flurry of leaves next to her. He hummed at the sight and Sakura blanched in fear. "Looks like Sasuke learned why you shouldn't miss the most important meal of the day, ne?" He smiled at her from under his face mask. Sakura laughed nervously and thanked her lucky stars Kakashi didn't ask her what had happened.

(Break)

After Kakashi put them through the emotional roller coaster of failing and then passing their team Sakura had no energy to beg Sasuke for a date. Now that she was by herself she was thinking on what had happened with Sasuke. She touched her palms and brought them up close to her face so she could figure out the mystery. She had felt warmth and she realized that she hadn't felt very hungry or tired when Kakashi was berating them after the test.

Sakura knew her limits well. Whenever they played survival games at the Academy she had to pace herself. Usually she was wiped out at the end of them. Kakashi's test had been hard on even though she hadn't done much. The hiding, sneaking around, the affects of the genjutsu had all taken a toll on her. That is, until that warmth.

She was so preoccupied that she didn't quite realize she was home and standing in the entrance foyer still staring at her hands. "Sakura-chan? Is something wrong with your hands?" her father interrupted her thoughts. Sakura's startled green eyes took in the unexpected sight of her father. The man was of slight build with pink hair as bright as hers. He was smiling at her but his eyes were very intent. Sakura quickly hid her hands behind her back.

"No, Dad, everything's ok," she smiled weakly.

Before her father could say something her mother came out of the kitchen. "Did she hurt her hands at the test?"

"She was just about to tell us what happened at the test," her father said and frowned at Sakura.

Sakura was a little taken aback by the look on her dad's face. In their family her mother was the one who disciplined, her father was always laid back and playful. That is, when he could be around and wasn't on missions. She found it hard to lie when he was frowning at her. "Something weird happened when I tried to help Sasuke-kun today."

Her father nodded and stepped back to take a seat at the dining table. He waved his hand, gesturing both the Haruno ladies to sit down. "Go on, Sakura."

"Kakashi-sensei used an earth style technique to bury Sasuke-kun." Sakura felt her mouth dry and swallowed. "When I touched his skin my hands felt warm…and he…" Her mother pushed a glass of water to her. Sakura raised her eyes to thank her mother but quietly drank when she saw both parents frowning. "I'm just being stupid, it was nothing."

"Finish your report, Sakura," her father said firmly.

"Kisuke-" her mother tried to protest but her father raised a hand to stall her. Again Sakura was stunned by her father's manner. He was never so short and serious.

"What happened to Sasuke when you touched him?" he prompted.

"He started moaning in p-pain," she stuttered. "His skin got pale and he…he fainted."

Her mother gasped. "Did anyone see this, Sakura? Did you report it?"

"No," Sakura blurted quickly, alarmed by the urgency in her mother's voice. "Kakashi-sensei thought he fainted because he hadn't had breakfast."

Her mother breathed a sigh of relief and used a dish towel in her hands to wipe her brow. "Kisuke, is it…"

Her father's expression was closed off. At length he asked, "Was the test today hard? Did you get tired?"

Sakura nodded in answer. "But at the end I didn't feel too bad. I wasn't even that hungry." Her parents exchanged a glance at her answer. Sakura couldn't take it anymore, "Mom, Dad, what's going on?"

"Sakura-chan, give me your hand," her father said with a smile. Slowly Sakura put her small hand in her father's large palm. As soon as she touched it she felt warmth rush in her but along with it came a flickering image of her father doing hand seals. Before she could figure out what was happening her father pulled his hand back sharply. His hand shook a little and he put in on the table palm up. A small white imprint of Sakura's hand was on it. In seconds the imprint faded.

Sakura's mother looked at her husband's hand and murmured, "No."

"What? What is it?" Sakura looked between her parents in worry.

Her mother blanked her expression and stood up. "Sakura-chan, go down to the basement and set chairs for us."

"But, Mom-"

"Go, Sakura!" her mother snapped.

(break)

Sakura was in the musty basement and grumbling at the unfairness of it all. She had taken off the tarp covering stored furniture to get at chairs. Now she was sitting on one of them, waiting for her parents. In a few minutes they walked down with her mother carrying a tea set. Sakura hurriedly pulled a small table and set in between the chairs for the tea.

Her mother took her time getting the tea ready, much to Sakura's ire. She did notice that her mother was looking far more composed now. Her father seemed to be lost in thought and for some reason had a blanket sitting on his lap. Once the teacups were handed out, her father spoke, "I have sealed off the basement so we can speak without being spied upon. You have awoken a blood limit, Sakura-chan."

Sakura took a moment to process that. "But we don't have a blood limit, Dad."

"We do have one. It shows up rarely. In fact, to my knowledge it has been three generations since the last one in our family developed it."

"Oh, so we're a clan? What's our blood limit called?" Sakura asked excitedly.

"We were once a clan," her mother interjected. "Now we're small families, spread over Fire Country, loosely linked." Sakura picked up on the anger in her mother's tone and decided to not ask any more questions. It looked like her parents were going to explain things anyway.

"You absorbed life force through your skin today," her father explained.

"I didn't know our family could take chakra from others. I've heard of that blood limit, doesn't someone in our village have it?" Sakura said.

"Ours is a little different, Sakura-chan. You didn't only take chakra, you took knowledge and abilities as well. This is a blood limit can that even steal other blood limits." Her father looked at her somberly. "If you had held on to the Uchiha long enough you could've killed him."

"No, I would never do that!" Sakura shouted.

"You can't control it!" her mother snapped back. Sakura was cowed by her mother's temper as per usual.

"Sakura-chan," her father said gently. "This ability is very dangerous. Long ago before the age of shinobi villages it made us enemies of everyone around us. We were hated, feared, and killed. It's like how people reviled the Uchiha."

"B-but, no one hates Sasuke…" Sakura whispered.

Her mother shook her head and laughed ruefully. "You don't remember what it was like when the Uchiha were around. With the Sharingan they could copy any technique. Think about how their comrades in the village felt," she said, pausing to let the idea sink. "Imagine you spend months, maybe years, learning a technique and some Uchiha sees you performing it. Within seconds he bypasses all the hard work you've put in and knows your technique."

"That's just jealousy, Sasuke-kun would never steal from a comrade," Sakura defended loyally.

"This isn't about Sasuke, your mother is trying to make you understand the situation. Pay attention!" her father nearly growled at her. "Jealous or not, right or wrong, it doesn't change the truth. No one likes someone else copying their techniques without permission or hard work."

"But," her mother interjected after putting a hand on her father's hand to stop his rant. "Our blood limit is worse than even that, Sakura. The Sharingan can copy a technique without harming you. You weaken them when you consume their life force, their knowledge, and their abilities. This is why I asked if someone had seen you use it. We don't want anyone to think you're a threat to your teammates."

Something cold had settled in the pit of Sakura's stomach. She could hardly think, let alone understand all she was being told. She had stolen from Sasuke…she could've killed him. He would hate her now. Her head snapped up. "There has to be a way to control it, every bloodline is controlled in some way."

Her father's face softened and he looked at her sadly. "I'm sorry, Sakura-chan. Most of our knowledge was destroyed when we decided to dissolve the clan. Too many of our leaders had experimented on the ones with this blood limit. They made them do terrible things."

Her mother nodded. "The truth is our clan was destroyed from the inside. This blood limit is so powerful that anyone who developed it was seen as a short cut to greater power for the clan. And the leaders wanted more weapons, so they tried all sorts of awful things to make others in the clan develop them."

"Before the time of villages the clan went to war with each other. Most didn't want their children to be experimented on. When we broke apart, by mutual agreement we destroyed all research and knowledge gained from those experiments. So that if another one of us became hungry for power they wouldn't know how to abuse us," her father finished.

Sakura shook her head with tears running freely down her face. "So there's no way to stop this? I can't touch anyone?"

"No," her father said. "I'm sorry. And you cannot tell anyone, you must hide this. I don't want our village to use you. The example of the Uchiha is before us. They will use you and discard you."

Sakura hung her head and began sobbing. After a moment she felt a blanket settle on her. Her father picked her up and cradled her. The blanket made sure that none of her exposed skin touched him.

Sakura wept pitifully. She couldn't even hug her parents anymore. The last thing she remembered before falling asleep from emotional exhaustion was her mother singing her a lullaby as her father rocked her.

(Break)

The next morning a big breakfast was waiting for Sakura. She grabbed orange juice and pecked at the eggs morosely. Her mother shot her disapproving glances for her eating habits, which Sakura had learned to ignore long ago.

"Your father wanted me to ask you a question. Do you know if the Uchiha has awakened his sharingan?" her mother asked while taking a seat next to her at the table. "Do you feel anything if you focus chakra to your eyes?"

Sakura made a hand seal to aid in concentration and sent chakra to her eyes. Her mother looked at her intently and after a few moments Sakura let her focus go. "Did anything happen? I've never seen Sasuke-kun use it."

"No, nothing." Her mother breathed a sigh of relief. "Good, it would've been very bad if you had developed it too. Make sure you don't touch him. As far as I know you would have to nearly kill him before the sharingan could be copied in your blood, but we don't want to risk it."

Sakura nodded trying to swallow food past the knot that had formed in her throat. She didn't know how she was going to deal with this. "Ok," she said.

Her mother handed her a roll of ryo. "After training today upgrade your equipment. Get clothes that will cover your skin and also body armor. We don't want you ending up in the hospital. If they end up using any techniques that need skin contact…your secret will be found out."

Sakura gulped. "I think I'll go to training now."

Her mother squeezed her shoulder and passed her a lunch box. "Make sure you never get to the point of starving. Some stories say that would make the blood limit act up and force you to drain someone."

"What!" Sakura's shrill voice made her mother wince in pain. "Now this damn thing is going to mess with my diet too?" She swiped the lunchbox in a huff and stomped out of the house before she could break down crying again.

By the time she reached the bridge of their training ground her anger had subsided to worry. She wondered what Sasuke thought had happened the day before. Did he know she had taken his chakra? She stood on the bridge fidgeting. After only a short while Sasuke appeared from the other end. Sakura watched his expression like a hawk. He settled himself against one side of the bridge with a slouch and grunted once in her direction. After that he went to staring ahead.

"Good morning, Sasuke-kun!" Sakura said with false cheer. The boy looked at her once, nodded, then went back to his silent contemplations. For once this response didn't depress Sakura. In fact she was nearly jumping for joy inside. Sasuke was treating her just like he always did. If he knew what had happened, she was sure he would look at her hatefully.

Relief flooded her and she slumped against the railing. She looked at him excitedly and opened her mouth to ask him for a date after training. 'Make sure you don't touch him,' her mother's words echoed in her mind. Her happiness evaporated as she was reminded of the conversation from the night before . Her father had said she wouldn't be able to touch anyone.

No holding hands, no kissing…no romance, she thought.

"Ohayo, Sakura-chan!" Naruto's loud greeting made her ears ache. "Yo! Bastard, going to faint again today?" He snickered.

Sakura was on her feet in an instant. Her punch sent Naruto tumbling off the bridge. "Idiot!" she shouted down at him. "Don't talk to Sasuke-kun like that. It wasn't his fault he fainted yesterday!"

"Sakura," Sasuke muttered.

Sakura whirled, hearing her crush call her name. "Yes, Sasuke-kun?"

"Shut up."

Sakura averted her eyes from him feeling her spirit crushed. She hardly heard Naruto come to her defense and get in Sasuke's face. She had drained him yesterday, it had been her fault. She could've stolen his sharingan, his birthright!

Hey! Outer!

Sakura rolled her eyes. Her inner self was going to be annoying again.

You know, I can hear everything you think, right? Anyway, this bloodline sucks, but guess what? We learned a couple of new jutsu.

Sakura lost her bad mood as he natural curiosity was piqued.

We got the grand fireball technique from Sasuke-kun and we got the shunsin from Dad last night. Her inner sent Sakura knowledge of the hand seals for both techniques. We're going to be awesome, Shannaro!

Trembling with excitement Sakura started practicing the hand seals for the grand fireball. She made sure she was turned away from Sasuke. The last thing she wanted was for him to find out. Her hands and fingers moved smoothly through the seals as if they had the muscle memory of doing them for years. "Hell, yes!" Sakura pumped her fist. She then noticed Naruto and Sasuke looking at her strangely. She laughed nervously and waved. Glad I didn't mould chakra while doing that. I'll try it later.

"Ne, ne, Sakura-chan? After training today, do you want to go on a date?" Naruto asked and just like that Sakura was depressed again. The emotional roller coaster was really getting her down.

"No, Naruto," she said softly. I'll probably never get to go out with anyone.

"Um, ok, are you alright?" Naruto asked, his eyes scrunched in worry.

In answer she just got up and walked away.

(Break)

Training that day had been horrible. Kakashi-sensei wanted to do team work exercises and taijutsu practice. Sakura had never realized how much they had to brush up against each other or would make skin to skin contact. She shied away from getting near either of her teammates. Everyone kept giving her odd looks, wondering why she was being so skittish.

During taijutsu she only used kicks and dodged rather than blocked. Sasuke nearly beat her into the ground and Naruto simply stopped the match when she didn't hit back like he was used to. She feigned being tired. Kakashi had looked at her with that half-lidded one eye and then smiled to reassure her that she could sit out. Somehow, Sakura thought, that he knew she was faking.

Finally the day came to an end after a ridiculous grocery run 'mission.' They were back at their training ground. Sakura's nerves were thoroughly frayed. She couldn't wait to be away from people.

"Now, my cute little puppies, remember we have to take our team picture tomorrow. So dress nice and be on time," Kakashi-sensei said and disappeared in a shunsin.

"We're not puppies!" Naruto yelled after him.

Sakura watched Sasuke leave. For the first time since Ino and she had started their rivalry she didn't ask him for a date. After all, Sasuke wanted to restart his clan, he couldn't do that with a girl he couldn't touch. She sighed and turned to go home only to come face to face with Naruto.

"You look down, Sakura-chan. What's wrong?" he asked and wiped his nose on his sleeve.

Sakura scowled at his terrible manners. "Nothing's wrong."

"Ramen makes me feel happy when I'm sad. I can show you the best place in town," he offered with a large smile.

It had been a long, emotionally taxing day. Sakura snapped. She grabbed Naruto by the collar and pulled him off the ground. She didn't notice the boy's hands come up and wrap around her wrists. "No, for the last time, for the hundredth time, I don't want to go on a date! I will never want to date you. Just-" she stopped when she felt that warm feeling from yesterday.

Naruto had his eyes shut and he was flinching in anticipation of Sakura's fists of fury. But Sakura was preoccupied by Naruto's hands on her wrists. They were turning a little white where he was holding her. Warmth was flooding into her as if she was standing under a waterfall. She felt the aches and tiredness from the long day just disappear. Images flickered through her mind that she couldn't make out. She didn't pay attention to them. She was staring at Naruto's face which seemed no different than any other time she had hit him. His reaction wasn't at all like when she had touched Sasuke.

"Naruto, are you ok?" she asked.

"If you don't hit me, I will be fine, Sakura-chan, hehe," he said and opened one eye tentatively to see if she was still angry.

"Are you tired? Do you feel like you will pass out?" she demanded, shaking him a little.

"No, I'm fine, Sakura-chan!" he hollered.

Sakura kept holding his collar and lifting him off the ground, using the little height advantage she had over him. Which meant, in turn, he had to hold on to her wrists to keep himself steady. The life force rushing into her made Sakura feel like she could take on the world. The chakra itched under her skin, almost as if it wanted to be used. Slowly she let him go. He fell to the ground and groused.

Sakura just stared at her hands and marveled at the sensation of power in herself. "Show me your hands, Naruto."

The boy gave her a puzzled look but held up his hands. She helped him up so she could look at his palms closely. There was no evidence of the pale whiteness she had seen on her Dad or Sasuke. It was as if she hadn't touched him at all.

"Um, Sakura-chan?" Naruto said after a while.

Coming to herself she stepped away from Naruto and shot him a confused look. How can this idiot not be affected. After a moment's thought she realized she had put Naruto in serious danger. If it had been like yesterday, she might've killed him by touching him. She couldn't lose her cool like that and hurt someone. She felt crushing guilt and bowed her head. "I'm sorry, Naruto… I haven't been feeling well since yesterday. I just lost my temper."

"That's ok, Sakura-chan. I'm glad you feel better now. I was worried when you didn't hit me this morning for asking you out." He laughed.

Sakura gave him a weak smile. "Thanks."

"So do you want to-" he started to ask but stopped when he saw Sakura raise her fist.

"You know what, I'm hungry. So let's go eat," Sakura said suddenly. She was still feeling guilty about endangering Naruto. "But only as teammates!" she added quickly, unable to make herself heard over Naruto's shouts of joy.

(break)

"God, Naruto! Mind your manners!" Sakura snapped.

"Wha mawwers?" Naruto said with his mouth full of noodles. Behind the bar the nice older girl shook her head at Naruto and shared a despairing look with Sakura.

"Would you like some more, Sakura-san?" Ayame asked.

Sakura shook her head and gave a slight bow of thanks. "I can see why Naruto likes your stand so much. The food makes you feel warm inside." Ayame gave her a big smile.

"I knew you would like it, Sakura-chan!" Naruto yelled happily.

Sakura dearly wished someone had taught the boy manners. She winced inwardly when she recalled that the boy had no one. "Well, thanks for showing me this place. I've got to go. I need some equipment from the weapons shop."

"ooh! ooh! I know a great place, Sakura-chan. Jiji showed it to me. I'll take you there!"

Before Sakura could say anything Naruto had already paid for his meal and was walking down the street. She stood rooted for a moment but then followed. Does he mean the Hokage when he says jiji? she wondered to herself. It had been a shock to watch him talk to the Hokage so casually. Despite herself she was curious about the shop the Hokage had recommended.

Naruto had almost completely exhausted any guilt she felt by the time they reached the shop. It had no name. A sign hung from the door with two ANBU masks painted on it, one in the shape of an ape and the other a toad. Sakura grimaced at the ugly masks but followed Naruto in.

"I made it, I made it!" Naruto was shouting at a grizzled and scarred man sitting behind the counter. Sakura figured he was an ex-shinobi.

"Oh? Who's the poor bastard who passed you then?" the man said without looking up from his newspaper. Sakura stood awkwardly just inside the door of the shop.

"Hatake Kakashi, he's pretty cool," Naruto answered happily.

"Kakashi passed a team?" The man put down the newspaper and looked at Naruto.

"Yes, is that a surprise?" Sakura asked, finally walking up to the counter and giving the man a short bow.

"He has failed every time he's been given one. The man has some tough standards." The shopkeeper rubbed the stubble on his face and laughed to himself. "Well, well, well, who would think you would get this lucky, Naruto. Kakashi, known as the man who has mastered a thousand jutsu. He's one of our most feared ninja."

"Are you sure? He doesn't look that strong." Naruto scrunched his eyes and gave the man a suspicious look.

"Wow, that's pretty awesome," Sakura said.

"So who are you, girly. I don't get genin in here usually. You saw the sign, most of my wares are designed for ANBU use. If you're looking for weapons I can help you out, but if you're looking for a wardrobe…" he gestured to his shop shelves which didn't have things like battle kimono or other dresses of the like.

"Oh, c'mon, you can help Sakura-chan out, can't you? She's my teammate," Naruto whined.

"Actually, sir, this might be where I should be," Sakura said, spying the body armor. "I'm Haruno Sakura."

"Well, kid, I don't know if I should congratulate you on making it on Hatake Kakashi's team or not. The village will have high expectations of you both. Go ahead and look around, your sensei will approve of anything you get here. He was an ANBU once upon a time," the man gave her a crooked smile.

Sakura smiled and skipped excitedly into the aisles. She had no idea her sensei had such a reputation. Maybe getting armor wouldn't be so bad if it helped her live up to his expectations. She did feel a little sad that she would have to leave her cute dresses behind.

"Megumi!" the shopkeeper yelled. "Customer for you."

Sakura looked over her shoulder to see a woman step out from a door behind the counter. She looked to be as old and scarred as the man. "They're letting 'em in to ANBU younger and younger. Is this one even potty trained yet?" the woman grumbled. Sakura felt her face heat up as Naruto and the man laughed.

"No, she's on Hatake Kakashi's new genin team with Naruto here. Needs a uniform. I think she'd rather have a woman helping her out," the man said.

The woman came around. "Hmm, so a smart one if she came here then. Most genin girls I see these days dress like they're seduction specialists. Stupid brats. Come here, girl, let me look at you."

Polite as ever, Sakura kept her thoughts about the woman to herself. "Thank you for helping, ma'am."

Megumi eyes her up and down and gestured her to turn around. Sakura obediently turned in a circle . "So what're you here for, kid?"

Sakura hesitated for a moment but decided to share exactly what she wanted. "I need body armor and clothes that cover almost all my skin… I'm not comfortable showing…" she demurely lowered her face. The act fooled the old woman well enough.

"I understand, girl. Don't worry. It's sensible to not attract attention on missions until you're strong enough to wear more provocative dresses. There's value in distracting your enemy though, so when you're ready you can show off," the woman cackled as if she had cracked a joke and Sakura smiled politely.

In half an hour Sakura was looking at herself in a mirror. She hardly recognized herself. She wore a formfitting half-sleeved red top. Over that she had body armor in style of ANBU, only it was black in color. Black gloves that covered her hands completely came up mid bicep. The gloves had metal protectors built in along the forearms.

The woman had brought her boots that came up to mid-thigh. The leather was comfortable and protection was built in metal plating along shin, calves, and knees. The little skin exposed between black bicycle shorts and her boots was covered by mesh stockings. A red apron skirt hung to her knees. Megumi had promised to have more skirts made with the Haruno symbol.

"C'mon, Sakura-chan, put it on," Naruto encouraged her, pointing to the mask she was holding in her hand.

Sakura sighed. It was true, the only skin left exposed was her face. But she figured that if someone was going to punch her face then they deserved her draining their chakra. Unfortunately, with Naruto, the shopkeeper, and Megumi-san standing there she couldn't refuse. She took the red face mask and put it on. Megumi slipped Sakura's head protector over one eye just like Kakashi. They all cheered and even Sakura giggled.

She had been dreading changing her gear but with Megumi's help and Naruto's enthusiasm to see a girl version of Kakashi, it had turned out to be fun. "Ok, Naruto," Sakura said between laughing. "I'll get the stupid mask but I'll only wear it on missions out of the village."

"Yay! I'll get one too. Our team picture is going to be awesome tomorrow!" Naruto cheered.

"At least I still have a skirt, I don't look like a boy completely," Sakura said.

"You look tough, Sakura-chan, and pretty," Naruto said in his usual blunt way.

Sakura giggled when she saw the boy had put on an blue facemask. "Thanks, idiot."

It was odd, she thought, ever since she had drained Naruto, she had felt so energized. She felt she could keep up with the hyper fool. It wasn't as bad as it usual was.

Maybe we should drain him more often, shannaro! Her inner self added excitedly.

Sakura considered it for a moment and was a bit horrified that she didn't immediately think it was a bad idea. To distract herself she asked Naruto, "Aren't you going to change your clothes, Naruto? I don't want to be the only one doing something special for our picture tomorrow."

"Eh, they don't have anything in orange." He pouted when Megumi smacked him up the head.

"I'll dye whatever you want. Come with me, I'll match you up with your teammate. Maybe you won't embarrass the reputation of Team 7 if you look the part," Megumi said and grabbed Naruto by the scruff of his neck. Sakura just laughed and went up to the counter to pay for her equipment and order more sets. Coming to the shop had been very educational. She learned so much about her sensei and the history of Team 7. She couldn't wait to gossip with Ino.

(Break)

She was finally able to get rid of Naruto at the shop and go home. She wore the mask to get used to it. Every now and then she would notice eyes on her and a couple of times she received respectful nods from civilians and other shinobi. It amused her that just dressing similar to an ANBU got her acknowledgment. She smiled widely under the mask. She couldn't remember feeling better.

At home her mother and father were waiting at the dining table. Her father looked at her and gave her an approving nod. He held open his arms and she happily rushed to give him a hug. Covered as she was there was no fear of her draining him. Her mother joked, "Oh good, I half expected you to show up with a gown."

"Mom, I'm not that bad." Sakura crossed her arms.

"So, how was your day? Anything to report?" her father asked her.

Sakura winced. She would have to tell them about Naruto. "I did something stupid. Naruto made me really angry so I sort of grabbed his shirt to yell at him. And…he sort of…grabbed my wrists."

"Is he alright? Did anyone see?" her mother demanded.

"He's fine and no, no one was around. But that's what's so amazing, he didn't feel anything. His energy was just flowing in me, faster than when it happened with Sasuke-kun or you, Dad. He didn't even notice." She saw her parents exchange a frightened glance. "What? What do you know?"

"Sakura," her father said quietly. "What were your emotions like after you drained him?"

"Happy. I felt like I could take over the world. I'd never felt better," She answered. "Do you know why he wouldn't feel anything?"

"So the chakra you got from him didn't hurt you. You didn't feel homicidal?" her father continued.

This time Sakura scowled at him. "Please, Dad, this is Naruto we're talking about, in what world would that idiot's chakra feel homicidal? And, no, his didn't hurt me."

Her mother snorted at her description of Naruto. "I swear you will be the death of me one day," she muttered.

Her father laughed too. "I think it might be because of his clan, Sakura. You did study about the Land of Whirlpools, yes?"

Sakura nodded. "I thought he only got the Uzumaki name because he's an orphan and the village wanted to honor our old allies."

"Officially there is no proof that he is an Uzumaki," her father said carefully. "I think what you experienced is the only evidence that the boy has inherited the special potent chakra of the Uzumaki clan."

Sakura was an intelligent girl, she understood enough not to pry any further into that line of inquiry. "So…you think Naruto is safe from me?"

Her mother nodded and smiled happily. "We're very lucky he's on your team. In case you ever lose control of your power and have to feed-"

"No!" Sakura stood up suddenly. "I don't want to feed on anyone. I…what if he had died? What if he's not so lucky next time."

"Sakura! Get a hold of yourself." Her father grabbed her shoulder and forced her back in her seat. "One thing we've suspected is that being low in chakra can trigger a need to consume someone. You will have to raise your chakra levels and your control. I will leave training scrolls with your mother in the morning. Until then be thankful that you blundered into receiving the gift of an Uzumaki's chakra."

Sakura nodded. She had never had her father snap at her as often as he had in the last two days. "I'm sorry…I'm just afraid."

"Don't be, child, we're with you. Now go, you should sleep and regain your energy." Her mother shooed her to her room.

(break)

Sakura changed out of her new uniform. Her emotions were in turmoil. She was forced to think of her annoying teammate in a different light. Both Sasuke and Naruto had such amazing clans. Unknowingly Naruto had even helped her. She didn't know how to feel about that.

Hey, outer, we learned a jutsu from Naruto. Go on, try it. Just follow me, her inner persona said.

Without thinking about it she followed along with her unrestrained aspect's desires. A moment later there was cloud of smoke and Sakura found herself naked. She looked in the body length mirror in her room. She had grown several years, her bust and hips had filled out, clouds strategically floated around to keep her from being completely exposed.

Her inner roared in laughter. Hahaha, Sexy no Jutsu Sakura version!

Sakura blushed furiously but looked at the henged body a bit longingly. She would kill to have a body like that. "Kai!" she dispelled the henge and cracked her knuckles. "You idiot, why did you make me do that?"

You were moping and besides it was fun. Naruto is one crazy bastard.

"I'm going to kill him tomorrow."

(End)