Kanemitsu-Uzumaki Naruto¹

Episode Seven: Indecisiveness and Insecurities

Episode Seven: Indecisiveness and Insecurities

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Sakura was a mess. She felt like a mess. And she wanted to throw Naruto and Sasuke over the bridge and into the river because their bickering was getting on her nerves. They arrived at said bridge because their teacher told them to meet up. Only, in a routine they were sadly growing used to, he hasn’t shown up yet.

It’s been two hours. 

Sakura sighed, rubbing her forehead in an attempt to keep herself calm. So many things were going through her head, and it all started after hearing about the Chunin Exams. After leaving the scene with the sand shinobi, Sakura wandered through the streets, with no destination in mind. She tried to shove the worry and concern over the exams to the very depths of her mind, but no matter how hard Sakura tried to focus on other things, the exam would always spring up and take over. 

It got to a point where she crossed paths with Ino. In their true rival fashion, Ino was the first to instigate the insults. But instead of quipping one back, Sakura instead hummed, waved and said hello to the Yamanaka. At that moment, the pink haired girl had never run so fast in her life. 

And now, here’s Sakura, hours later and still worrying over the exams. The noise of her teammates certainly did not help with the stress. 

What are they even arguing about? Sakura thought, deciding to listen in on the bickering.

“My stone went way farther than yours!” Naruto argued. 

“No, yours was quick to plop into the water,” Sasuke said with a hint of annoyance. “Are you that pathetic that you’ll result in deluding yourself that you actually did something impressive?”  

“And are you that stuck up that you’re willing to disregard the fact that my stone skipped way more than yours?” Naruto quipped back. 

Sakura’s eyes and eyebrows twitched. They’re yelling and arguing over…stone skipping? She shook her head. These boys would fight over anything. Sakura had known this for a long time, since their academy days. From the moment it was established that Sauke was a prodigy and Naruto was not, these two extremes would find ways to argue and clash with each other.

“Guys, can you–” Sakura said, until she felt a strong, but familiar presence appear. 

She, along with Naruto and Sasuke, looked towards the bridge’s entrance to find Kakashi squatting on top of it. 

“Yo, folks. Good morning,” Kakashi said. 

All three of his students gave him an annoyed glare. 

“You’re late!” Sakura and Naruto exclaimed. 

“Ah, well I got a little lost on the path we call life…” 

Kakashi trailed off when the glares of his students intensified. Clearing his throat, he jumped, then appeared in front of the genins in a blink of an eye. He raised his right hand towards his covered mouth in a quieting motion. 

“Uh, moving on,” said Kakashi. “This is sudden, but I recommended you guys for the Chunin Exams, so,” he handed them three paper forms. “Here’s your application.”

Naruto and Sasuke felt pleasantly surprised that their teacher recommended them, both feeling excited to take on a new challenge. Sakura, meanwhile, tried not to let the dread she felt inside be shown externally. Her heart started to beat faster as she stared at the papers, Kakashi’s words echoing in her head like a nightmare. 

“That being said, it’s not compulsory,” Those words caused Sakura to snap out of her thoughts. “It’s up to you guys whether you take the exams or not.”