The Legend of Konoha's Shooting Star

Sakura's Depression

"..." April and Sasuke said as they watched the exchange.

'Sakura... She seems weird today...' Sasuke thought.

'Is it nerves...?' April wondered, furrowing her brow slightly with concern. "Are you alright, Sakura-chan?" she asked. "You look kind of pale..."

"Ah, yeah... I'll be fine... Don't worry," Sakura answered with another forced smile.

"... I see," April said with a frown. She didn't want to talk about it, but something was definitely bother her... "Well, here." April handed her a bento. "Eat up," she said with a smile.

"Thanks, but I'm not really that..." Sakura started to say, when April closed the gap between them and pressed the bento into her hands.

"Eat," April said firmly, using a tone that left no room for argument, as she smiled at the younger girl, refusing to take 'no' for an answer. "You need your strength."

"A-Alright..." Sakura agreed a bit awkwardly, sweat-dropping. Why was this girl always so intense when it came to food?

"By the way... Where exactly am I supposed to sign this thing?" Naruto asked as he held up his application, causing them all to sweat-drop. You mean, he still hadn't done that yet...?

"Can't you read?" Sakura asked, chagrined.

Once they had finished their bentos, the four of them headed over to ninja academy together to turn in their applications.

'Huh? Why is the hall so crowded... Isn't this only the second floor? The stairs just stopped like we had reached the top, but I only counted two flights... It must be genjutsu, but why?' April wondered, furrowing her brow slightly, as she walked with her teammates.

WHAM!

"Hah! You plan to take the Chūnin Exam with that!?" She heard someone scoff. "You should quit now," a kid with wild hair and tape on his face told the odd-looking boy in the green jumpsuit that he had just beaten. "You're just a brat."

"Yeah, yeah," his partner agreed with a smirk.

"Please... Let us through..." a girl wearing her hair in two buns and a pink Chinese-style shirt said timidly as she tried to take a step forward. They were blocking the doors of classroom 301.

"Ugh!" she grunted in pain a she was punched back.

"!!" the boy in the green jumpsuit gasped.

"Horrible..." one of the other genins watching commented.

'Maybe, but... those two don't really look like they're trying that hard to get  in,' April thought as she watched. At a glance, they looked like they were taking a lot of damage, but they had controlled their falls too well for two people who were supposed to be that weak. They were probably trying to keep their true strength hidden until the exam started... Not a bad idea. She'd also rather keep a low profile until they knew more about their opponents. But April knew that was going to be easier said than done with two showoffs on her team.

"What did you say?" the kid with wild hair asked the commentator, narrowing his eyes dangerously. "Listen, this is our kindness. The Chūnin Exam isn't easy... Even we have failed it three times straight."

"There are those who take this exam and end up quitting as shinobi, those who die during the exam... We've seen it all," his partner added.

"!!" Sakura gasped, startled. No way... People have actually died taking this exam?

'So, it is that kind of test...' April thought seriously with a frown. She had thought that might be the case. This was an exam for ninjas, after all.