I woke up with a slightly sore back, the odd position I had found myself in was sure to have caused that. It was the last day before the last part of the Chunin exams. I stretched from underneath my sheets and yawned, unwilling to get out of bed. The birds chirping from outside my window were going to lull me back to sleep if I didn't get out anytime soon. Groggily I pulled myself out of my warm cocoon, exposing myself to the cold air of the morning.
'Shit, it's too early for this, last day before the exam and I wanna sleep' Inner whined, she preferred when I was asleep because she could do whatever she wanted in my dreams.
"Wait a minute... Inner, is it possible for you to control me? Like switch me with you, even for a little bit?" I squinted my eyes in thought.
'I mean if it was possible I would've done so already, do you know how many times I've tried to guide the real Sakura away from Sasuke?' Inner rolled her eyes as if that piece of information was already known.
"Ouch, alright. Calling me a fake I see how it is" I huffed.
I followed through with the rest of my morning routine, making my bed and all of that. The most frustrating part was most definitely washing my face. While my acne was slowly going away, scarring still littered my face- mostly my cheeks.
"Goddamnit, How the hell do I even get rid of this" I groaned in annoyance, I knew there wasn't any advanced face wash or treatments in this world as health was more of a priority.
'I mean you could try medical ninjutsu again, every time I suggest it you turn it down. You either don't see my vision or you don't appreciate my genius enough' Inner huffed, sitting dejectedly in the corner of my mind, to which I rolled my eyes.
"No it's just because I've had better things to do or learn" I thought, having a nice clear face would look better, especially since I was to put on such a great performance tomorrow.
"Fine I'll try it" I muttered, raising my hands to my face and sending healing chakra to them. I grazed my hands over my face where the scarring was, however it didn't change a single thing.
"It's not working, got any other ideas?"
'Idiot, you have to tune it, the healing Chakra you're thinking about fixes wounds. Acne scars aren't wounds since they're already healed- Duh' Inner rolled her eyes like it was the most obvious thing on earth (It was obvious but not THAT obvious).
"That actually makes a lot of sense, but that's only a hypothesis" I pushed up my imaginary glasses. I took the healing chakra and changed certain aspects about it. I imagined it in my head as cutting certain strings on a harp and replacing them with different types. I held my hand over my face, checking to see if each change in my Chakra did anything.
On the seventeenth try a spot of my face was devoid of acne and acne scarring. I gasped, this was a revolutionary technique, a miracle! I made quick work to heal my whole face. The outcome was flabbergasting to say the least, I took a couple steps back and jumped around.
"INNER I DID IT! WE DID IT!" I screamed, my excitement was something heard not just inside my house, but outside as well.
With a bang, a yellow blur burst through my door looking ready for a battle.
"WHO ARE YOU EVIL MAN- TRYING TO KIDNAP SAKURA-CHAN!" Naruto stood posed for battle, hand at his Kunai pouch. We stood there in silence for a good 30 seconds before I broke the silence like glass.
"NARUTO, MY SKIN! IT'S SO NICE NOW!" My grin was almost on par with Naruto's sunshine smiles.
"Woaaah- It's so smooth now Sakura-Chan" Naruto squinted his eyes and got closer to inspect my 'new' face. I danced around a little more before pushing the blonde boy out of my room.
'All right, we have to get ready for real this time, we're losing daylight' Inner nagged.
I made quick work to get changed into some basic civilian clothing. I put on a basic black tank top and gray sweatpants- the ultimate cozy outfit. I admired how the tank top clung to my torso. The fact that my abs could still be seen despite the material, was either a testament to my hard work or a sign that the tank top was made of cheaper material than I originally thought.
"Kinda hot, I like it" I grinned admiring my razor sharp teeth, today was a self care day.
I had everything planned out, I would cook a nice breakfast, meditate, make some more seals, go on a date with Shikamaru~
'Shikamaru, oh Shikamaru, where art thou Shikamaru?' Inner cried dramatically, resting her hand on her forehead.
"Oh shush, I haven't seen him in so long- I miss him" I admit, looking away from the mirror with pink tinted cheeks.
'I mean last time we saw him was at the exams, but that was a shit show' Inner replayed the exams in my head, almost like a slideshow.
I finished all I had to do in my room and made my way downstairs to the kitchen, where the blonde sunshine boy was located. He was slumped over on the kitchen island with a bowl of ramen in front of him. I stood there momentarily, eyes lingering on his sleeping form, how did he fall asleep eating?
I shook the boy, waking him up from his short slumber on the counter. He blinked a couple times, looking at me with a dazed expression.
"Sakura-Chan?"
I rolled my eyes and opened the fridge door, grabbing a couple eggs and a pitcher of juice. I moved over to the stove and placed the eggs in the bowl next to the stove. Placing the juice on the kitchen island for anyone to take a glass. I rummaged in the cabinets for the right spices to add flavor to the tamagoyaki.
"What are you making?" Naruto questioned, getting down from his spot on the kitchen stool.
"I'm gonna make some tamagoyaki for breakfast, you want some?" I explained, raising an eyebrow in question. Naruto nodded quickly with a big grin on his face, his cerulean blue eyes shimmering.
"I wanna try more of your cooking, it's always so good!" The boy spoke loudly, making me sigh.
Would he always be this loud?
'Yes'
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I finished up what was on my plate, eating the last bits of the egg omelet I had cooked. The tips of my ears turned slightly red due to the heat of the dish. I had added spices to give the omelet a little kick, however I added too much habanero chile powder to the omelet. I sniffled as my nose began to run, I stood up abruptly and hid my face behind my hand. Running for the tissue box I ended up slipping and face planting.
'If blondie was here, no doubt he would've burst out laughing' Inner rolled her eyes, giggling behind her hand at my fall.
I groaned as I stood back up, rubbing my red face now covered in snot. I grabbed a tissue from the box and wiped my nose and face- disgusted.
"Great way to start my day" I grumbled, throwing my snot rag into the nearby trash can.
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After cleaning the dishes and cleaning my face for the second time that day, I found a comfortable spot on the floor in the living room. I adjusted my legs to sit criss-cross applesauce and closed my eyes. I focused on my chakra and imagined it growing and stretching, twirling and twisting, waning and wavering. I smothered the flame- imagining a blanket being thrown over it, suddenly I took away the blanket and my chakra flared. I stretched my chakra to each chakra node in my body, weaving it through my tenketsu and releasing it from my fingers. From my fingertips I spread it on the outside of my body, coating myself from head to toe. I then stretched it thin, moving it from outside my body to the area around me. I stretched it around until it covered half a mile radius from where I was sitting.
'This is nice and all, but we're going to be late for that date' Inner mumbled, with crossed arms.
I shot up like a rocket, eyes widening in panic- I was going to be late. I stumbled to the front door and put on my issued ninja sandals. Quickly I ran out the door and ran up my house to the roof, jumping from roof to roof to get to the Nara's forest. I knew the pineapple haired boy would be lounging around watching the clouds. Clear skies always meant cloud watching.
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As soon as I arrived at Shikamaru's spot and saw his spiky hair, my mood lifted from the previous panic to a content hum.
"Hey pineapple head, it's been a while" I walked to the boy's head, looking down at him with a grin. I got a small lazy smile in turn.
"It has been" His voice was a little different from when I last saw him- a little deeper.
I moved to the spot next to him on the grass and laid down, I stared at the clouds with him in content silence. After a couple minutes of watching I turned to face the boy, I blushed when I met his eyes.
'How did you not notice him observing you' Inner face palmed.
"So Shika- how was your month of training?" I nervously questioned, scratching my jaw- unsure what to do with my hands.
'Why am I so awkward around him?'
"It was a drag, I just want to watch the clouds" He sighed, moving his head to stare longingly at the clouds, I followed his gaze.
"My training went well, I spent time honing my skills with my sword and picked up a new Jutsu. I just wish I had more time" The last part was more of a whisper. I let out a breath I didn't know I had been holding and wiped my hand across my face. I had gotten so much training in, my stamina and strength increased a little bit- as well as my chakra reserves. Through meditation I was able to expand how far I could sense other chakra signatures.
"I read and trained, but I don't feel satisfied with my progress I guess" I shrugged, turning to look at the boy once again.
"You say you've made progress, isn't that what you were trying to achieve in the first place?" Shikamaru asked, eyebrows raised in question. I met his eyes with a small smile and nodded.
"I guess it is" I suddenly jumped up from my spot on the ground and stared down at the boy.
"How about a small sparring match, no chakra, just raw strength- hand to hand" I grinned, flashing my sharp teeth at the lazy boy. He groaned as I pulled him up off his spot on the ground.
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I stood there opposite of the boy, panting lightly. I had fared well in our little match, a couple bruises starting to form on my legs. However Shikamaru wasn't doing as well. A large bruise was forming on his cheek and his breathing was a lot heavier than mine.
"Your honor, my client pleads oopsie daisies" I smiled at him apologetically, scratching the back of my head. I jogged over to him and lent him my hands- glowing green with medical chakra. I healed his bruises and scratches, leaving him like new. I also bent down to heal my bruised legs- which felt better without the purple spots littering them.
"What a drag, you're tiresome woman" Shikamaru muttered, shoving his hands in his pockets and making his way to the path home. I giggled and tagged along, walking beside him and every so often bumping into him.
"You know what?" I asked the dark brunette boy as we headed down to my street.
"What?"
"You're really cute" I turned my head to look at the boy, a smile spreading across my face. The tips of Shikamaru's ears turned pink and he looked in the opposite direction.
"Troublesome..." Was all I got in return.
As we walked to my house, I stood on the front step to my house, the silence loud. I waved to the boy and told him how much I had enjoyed our meeting, however, before I entered the house he spoke.
"You're pretty cute yourself woman" He grumbled with a small smile tugging at the corners of his lips.
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