The Legend of Konoha's Shooting Star

Sakura's Depression

"Here, take these applications," Kakashi said as he handed out the papers he was holding, quickly getting back to business.

"Hehehe!" Naruto laughed, grinning as he held onto his.

"However, this is just a nomination. It's up to each of you whether or not you decide to take the exam," Kakashi explained calmly. He wanted it to be their choice. "Those who wish to take it should sign those papers and go to the school to turn them in at room 301 tomorrow by 3:00pm tomorrow. That is all," he concluded, disappearing in a puff.

'But... I still have questions...' April thought, disappointed that he had just popped off like that. After making them wait for so long, he could've at least stuck around a little longer... Maybe he wasn't allowed to talk about it?  She sighed. If that was the case, then hunting him down would just be a waste of time and energy. 'Oh well, guess I'll just have to figure it out for myself...'

"Hihihi!! Chūnin exam!!! Chūnin exam!!!" Naruto laughed, grinning excitedly as the four of them left together. 'There's going to be a lot of strong guys in this thing. Like him!!' he thought as an image of that Kankurō guy's face popped into his head. 'And him...!!' he thought, giving Sasuke the evil eye.

"!" Sasuke furrowed his brow, wondering what his problem was.

'Naruto...' April thought wryly. She could pretty much guess what he was thinking.

'Ok!!! I won't lose to him!!!' Naruto thought determinedly. 'If I win this, I'll be Hokage in no  time.' He could see it now, that old geezer would finally acknowledge his strength and retire to let him have the title! "Hihihi!" Naruto  laughed excitedly.

"..." Sasuke looked down and smirked to himself as he began to tremble with excitement. 'I might be able to fight him...' he thought, looking forward to the possibility being able to face a strong opponent like Gaara.

'They're both so excited...' April thought with a small smile as she glanced at the boys. 'Can't say I blame them. I've been training nonstop ever since we returned from the Land of Waves to try to build up more stamina, but... I guess I'm still a little nervous...' After all, there were bound to be more guys like Gaara and Kankurō participating. She let out a quiet sigh as she glanced down at the application in her hand. She furrowed her brow and smiled  ruefully at herself, chagrined at her own indecisiveness. 'What am I hesitating for?' she chided herself. 'Sensei probably knows this already, better than any of us... and yet, he nominated all of us  to participate... I'm sure he wouldn't have done that if he didn't think we were ready. This paper is proof of his faith in us. This exam is his way of pushing us out of the nest. I don't know if I'll be able to fly yet, but I'll never know if I don't try! Alright, I'll take the leap, and grow my wings on the way down!!' April decided determinedly with a new, steady glow of resolve in her eyes. "Hey, guys! Let's meet up early so we can have lunch together," she suggested. "I'll make a special stamina bento for everyone, so we'll have plenty of energy to win this thing!!"

"Yeah!!!" Naruto cheered.

"Hmph. Sounds good," Sasuke agreed with a smirk. When it came to taste and energy, her cooking always delivered. Eating her bento beforehand would definitely give them an advantage over an average meal.

"..." Sakura was silent a she trailed behind the others. 'I... don't want to...' she thought, feeling troubled. 'I can't even keep up with my own teammates... and now the Chūnin Exam...'

The next day...

Despite how she was feeling, Sakura showed up on time to meet with her teammates.

"Hey, Sakura-chan!!!" Naruto greeted her enthusiastically. "You're kinda late..." he realized with a small frown. That wasn't like her.

"Yeah... Sorry..." she apologized a bit weakly with a forced smile.