Sakura's POV
The third time I woke up was early in the morning, going by the rays of light heating up my face and the energetic birds chirping outside the window. Hopefully, it was the day after the Uchiha massacre and not days after it. I felt well rested and didn't feel as sore or out of breath as I imagined I would be. I honestly hadn't expected one night of possibly eight hours or less to be sufficient enough to get my chakra to build up again.
As I took in my surroundings, I first noticed the obvious. I was alone, so that meant that I was well enough to not be constantly watched. I tried sensing if anyone was around and to note of the fact that most of the nurses and doctor's where in another location.
Pulling the covers off and jumping off the bed, I distinguished the difference in how light I was now, as opposed to before. Remembering that I had used up all the chakra that I possessed in my reserves as well as in my chakra weights had me groaning out in frustration. If there was one thing I didn't like, it was getting used to the weight; and all the time that would be needed to save up chakra again. I suppose I did have quite a while until the next main event, so I should be fretting to much over it. Besides my lack of patience would also cause me to fill up the weights faster and probably at higher quantities.
'Hey Inner, how are you holding up? Do you even get tired?" I asked curiously, since technically she and I weren't really the same.
"Actually yeah. I am a little tired. It's the same way I can experience feelings." She answered as she stretched around in my head.
'Hmm, you're still quite the enigma to me Inner.' I stated as I too stretched out my limbs.
"Hehe am I?" She said with a grin as I chuckled and shook my head.
'Ne, how about we go find Sasuke and the others?' I asked and felt her squeal and nod her head.
"Kyaaa! Yes!" Inner said and jumped around. Smiling, I walked towards the door and headed outside.
Tracking down the nurses was easy, considering they were using chakra like crazy.
'Could they still be treating the Uchiha?' I thought as I proceeded on my walk. Rounding a corner, I saw two ANBU stationed up ahead guarding some double doors. I walked up to the ANBU who were not the ones I knew; but some that I had sensed around the tower. Now that the massacre was stopped, Danzo's movements would be harder to predict.
Actually thinking about what Itachi had said made me realize the depth of truth it possessed. I needed to be less trustful. Meaning, if I wasn't completely sure that they were good like the characters I knew from the anime/manga, then I would have to always be cautious. Things have gone wrong before with trusting people so easily, I could not afford to let someone have my trust only to backstab me later.
"Ninja-san, is Reiko-san inside?" I asked and waited for their answer.
"She is currently performing surgery. No visitors are allowed." One of the ninja answered. I smiled and nodded up to him. It was pretty obvious no visitors were allowed during surgery...that was a big duh even for me.
"Okay!" I said and waved before leaving their sight.
'Fine. I guess I could wait...In the mean time, how about we go see Hiruzen?' I asked and turned back around to look for any nurse near by.
"Yeah, he could probably fill us in on stuff we might have missed." Inner stated. I nodded and continued on with my search for a nurse.
Once I found one, I had to persuade her to get my clothes. I attempted an amateur version of Ino's and Naruto's ultimate weapon, which must have been decent enough to work, since she had complied. When she returned I told her I would be changing, and she left not knowing that I wouldn't stick around for her to return. It's not that I hated the hospital or anything, I just had questions that needed some answers.
Finally being changed into my regular clothes, I left the hospital. It was actually really easy to just walk out. Sure, I had to use as much stealth as I possibly possessed, because my appearance was anything but unnoticeable.
When I stepped out of the hospital and walked towards the tower, I couldn't help but feel something was off about the atmosphere. The streets weren't as noisy as every other morning...and then I realized that it was school hours.
'Whoops, we just skipped school.' I stated as I received curious glances from the adults as I passed by them.
"Well it's not really skipping when we where in the hospital due to yesterday's event. The hospital however, we did ditch." Inner stated proudly. I hummed in agreement and observed how different the streets felt without children. Somehow it didn't sit right with me. The ambience that had given the village its joyous outlook, seemed to be missing. The children who exuded the untroubled, and adventurous feelings, seemed to really have a big influence to a villages future.
Reaching the tower with no interruptions along the way was a new experience. I had always been in interrupted by one thing or another. I Knocked on the door and entered when he allowed to. I only knocked when I knew someone was inside; but when it was just him, he didn't care if I just went through. We had a pretty close relationship with each other. He trusted me because he knew if I wanted to betray them and possibly destroy the leaf, I had the means to do it. I already possessed enough knowledge of the future as well as past and present information to do so.
Knowing that I would never betray him due to my strong bond with a lot of people here; and believing that I could not lie to him, he allowed me a lot of freedom to do as I please.
"Sakura-chan, how are you feeling?" Hiruzen asked and I smiled up to him and then up to Shikaku in a silent greeting. It had been a while since I had last seen him. Shikaku along with other shinobi had been given frequent missions, and that made it hard to meet up and chat.
"I'm fine! Just a little tired is all." I informed truthfully, considering the people who were present had a wierd ability to sense my lies at odd times.
Normal POV
"That's good to hear. How about we meet up for our lessons later? Do you think you can attend school right now?" Hiruzen asked and Sakura nodded.
"I can. I'll see you later Hokage-sama. Bye Shikaku-sama, I'll come visit whenever we're both able too." Sakura said with a smile. Shikaku nodded in agreement and waved a lazy goodbye.
'I suppose I could kill a few more hours by going to school.' Sakura thought as she turned around and walked out.
"Did she get hurt during lessons?" Asked Shikaku after Sakura had exited the room. Hiruzen breathed out a puff of smoke he had refrained from doing earlier. He had known of Sakura's dislike to the smell and usually refrained from smoking in her presence.
"It wasn't much of her being physically hurt, more like she exhausted her reserves." Hiruzen explained sticking to the truth as closely as he could. He had only lied about how it had happened but the chakra depletion had been the truth.
She had reached the hospital last night a ghostly pale color and barely able to stay standing. She arrived with only enough chakra to keep her alive whether intentionally or subconsciously on her part.
It had taken the Reiko and some nurses a couple of hours to get her out of a critical state and into a healthy stable one. He had only just left the hospital a few hours ago. Staying not only because he was worried about Sakura but as well as the Uchiha.
He had ordered Sakura as Reiko's first priority before hand, knowing Sakura to over push her limits when alone. He had been correct in doing so the moment her breathing wavered.
While Reiko dealt with Sakura, the other's took care of the Uchiha's. When unsealed, they were all unconscious and moved into rooms. The ones who were not harmed and only unconscious were separated from the injured. Some had tragically not made it, even after Reiko had arrived to help. Fugaku, having been Sakura's major concern even as she herself wasn't well, was looked at first by Reiko. She had managed to get him healed up with only a scar left on his shoulder down to his chest.
Hiruzen along with all the other's involved had been slightly concerned whether Sakura would be able to handle her part. Of course, they had believed that she could be capable of getting to a few families before her chakra ran out. Never before would they have thought she had enough reserves to get most of them. Even when some had fallen, it hadn't been the whole family just two or three from the families. And even then, most of the survivors were the innocent uninvolved members, albeit some of the elders had survived, but they could be dealt with.
Only through this incident had they found out how truly proficient Sakura was with her chakra. Knowing that she could handle such strenuous tasks, he would have to raise up her training to the next level.
~With Sakura~
School for Sakura today went by just like any other, besides all the questions she had to answer. She hardly paid attention to class, having already learned that material due to Hiruzen's homework.
Her thoughts were not focused on the lesson, but instead on a certain absent Uchiha, along with his family. Having sensed a lot of similar chakra signals inside the hospital before she left gave her a bit of comfort. She was just worrying whether Fugaku had been healed on time or not.
During class she began to transfer a small string of chakra from her small reserves that had built up though the night, into her weights. Having tested how sensitive Iruka's chakra sensing was, she knew the limit of what he could sense. Using that knowledge, she and Inner quickly used this time to start filling up the weights. Having placed most of the chakra inside the weights, Inner didn't have to suppress it all day, since there wasn't much anyways.
The excuse she had used for her tardiness was that she had done an errand for the Hokage early in the morning. She had told Iruka she would get him a note from the Hokage if he didn't believe her. He had dismissed the thought away, already knowing of her apprenticeship duties under the Hokage. He had also reassured her by stating that he was sure she wasn't one to skip unless necessary.
Before school was even out, more than half of the village and school had already gotten word of the event that had transpired last night. Sakura was inwardly baffled at how quickly word spread and she had worried whether people would hear about her part in it.
Once school ended, she apologized to her friends who had planned to meet up later to play. Sakura explained that she was going to check up on Sasuke and his family. Knowing that Sakura was probably the closest to some of the Uchiha's, they let her go with out much thought.
Not being the first time she had thought of them as such amazing friends. She kept thanking them mentally for understanding as she ran towards the hospital.
Arriving, she promptly felt the presence of not only the group of people who knew of her secret, but also the council, and Danzo. Frowning, she entered the building and saw Hiruzen speaking with Reiko. When she was noticed, she could already foresee the long lecture she would be receiving from Reiko for leaving the hospital. Before she could say anything in the presence of Danzo and the council that would cause suspicion, Sakura spoke out and asked about the Uchiha.
Reiko informed the group that everyone they could save had been, with only a few casualties inside and out of the hospital. Feeling a vast sense of guilt, Sakura depressingly sunk into herself which wasn't overlooked by a few. Knowing what would cheer her up, Reiko said she would allow a small window of time for visits.
Sakura instantly requested to see Fugaku first. Allowing her the privilege, she watched as Sakura quickly walked inside. She didn't fail to miss the glare coming from Danzo. Reiko may not be a field medic, but she could hold her own in battle if need be. She may not be as experienced as the ANBU in the room, but she had intuition. She knew something else was involved with this massacre that they weren't telling her. And somehow, she had a sneaking suspicion that it involved Sakura.
Sakura was over joyed when she had heard that most of the Uchiha she had sealed were okay. Fugaku calmly slept when she arrived in his room. The only thing that made her feel downhearted at the moment was the fact that not all of them had survived.
Last night she had been at her very low, who ONLY Inner had ever seen her at. She was planning on making it stay that way too. No one should see her like that except Inner, so she had decided to lock up her negative feelings just a bit more than before.
Sakura peeked over her shoulder. Not seeing anyone, she reached her gloveless hand towards Fugaku's. Gently touching her fingers to the back of his hand, she waited a second before she could see anything. During her constant training with Hiruzen, she could now see memories longer and clearer if she concentrated with Inner.
A scene was transferred over to Sakura as she noticed it to be his house at night. The whole confrontation wasn't as similar to the anime/manga. They exchanged a few words, that she still couldn't hear, and then they clashed. Each others katana pushing up against the others. Itachi mostly attacked, while Fugaku merely defended himself and Mikoto.
As Itachi moved to deliver the final blow that should have been a slash across his chest. A surge of chakra was felt that she could instantly identify as hers. It had caused Itachi to move his body for only a second as if to react to the chakra.
That second gave Mikoto enough time to pull Fugaku and have the katana barely slice through the skin.
Before she could see anymore, Inner informed her that the others were approaching. Already knowing what would have happened next, she let go and waited for the other's to enter.
Sakura's POV
As they came into the room, I knew by the way that they were inspecting him and talking, that they would be here for a while. I took the opportunity to find Sasuke while they talked. Tracking his chakra was tricky, they had restrictions in some area's so that chakra could not he used. When I had found him, he was in a room on the opposite side of the hospital.
He sat on a stool placed near his mother's bed. She laid asleep, and although uninjured, I could still see a few signs of fatigue.
Sasuke was also asleep and leaning his upper body on the bed. Arms crossed and used as a pillow underneath his head. Walking closer to him, I placed the tips of my fingers on one of his hands.
The memory started with him running home from the library. Even though he had yet to be any good at sensing, he seemed to have sensed the spike coming from his family. Picking up speed he made his way towards the compound.
When he entered, he ran straight to where he had felt the closest Uchiha. Since I had finished sealing them prior to his arrival, all he saw were the dead bodies. Inner and I saw the frozen look of shock that crossed his expression. A few seconds later he seemed to have realized that his brother was still around somewhere. He looked around in all directions and then began to run. He found Itachi and Shisui in an empty path with bodies scattered around them.
Sasuke began to frantically ask what was going on, but the other's had stayed quiet. When they wouldn't answer him, that's when a lot of screaming commenced, on Sasuke's part. The other two Uchiha's just stayed quiet and listened to all of Sasuke's screaming.
Sasuke soon found out that he wasn't going to get any answers, so he stopped talking. I could see the way he looked around and seemed to connect all the dots. Turning his attention back to his dear older brother and friend, his expression turned into that of realization; which soon morphed into one of anger. Tears streamed down his small face and he angrily yelled at them for explanations. It was hard to lip read in his current state, not that I was so great at it before, but his face twisting into angry and sad expressions were just unreadable.
After what seemed like a few seconds of silence, Itachi spoke out and was followed by Shisui. Explaining their reasons as to why they did what they did. The rest began to blur as our focus shifted to the stirring Sasuke. Before I let go however, I was able to actually hear the last words spoken by Itachi as he approached Sasuke.
"Foolish little brother." He had used the same words as in the anime/manga. I just hope whatever else he had said would not cause Sasuke to go down the same path as before.
'Nii-san...' My eyes refocused on his face. As he stirred I saw the last of a tear trail down his cheek. Waiting a few more seconds, I decided that I should leave. Right now didn't seem like the best time for an outsider to intrude, whether we were good friends or not.
Turning away to leave, I stopped at the door and looked over my shoulder for one last glance. Looking at his calm sleeping face now, made it hard to even think back on the expression he had used before.
Once out of the hospital, I went straight to the only place in the village that I could blank everything out. The trail was very familiar to me now and I would always remember the first time I came here. The Hokage monument was a place were I could find solace and a silence that didn't always make me think negatively.
Sitting on top of my favorite spot, which was on the first's head, I looked out to oversee the whole village. The sun was still out but in a few more hours the moon would rise and take it's place. I had yet to decide which view was the most relaxing. This was a place were I could see the Will of Fire and find a reason to fight for it.
"Sakura, we're all present if you wish to come." Hiruzen said as he walked up to me. Having not been able to sense his chakra should have worried me, but up here I felt comfortable enough not to worry over anything.
"Yeah...I know..." I said but made no movement to get up.
"Sakura, you know as well as us that not all of them would make it. It wasn't your fault." He said and placed a hand to my shoulder. I sighed and closed my eyes, feeling what my age should be for the first time ever.
"It's just hard to accept." I said and waited for his response.
"It will never be easy, but one must live on. Not only for ourselves, but for the comrades, families, friends, and everyone who has fallen." He stated sagely.
"...I know..." I responded and looked up to observe him. I realized that of course he too was having a hard time dealing with this. It's like he said, it would never be easy, not even time could heal certain things.
Getting up from my spot, I jumped down beside him.
"Come on, let go." I suggested and held his hand when he offered it to me. In a matter of seconds we appeared in the office where the others stood waiting for our arrival.
"Ugh...I don't think I've gotten used to that sensation yet..." I stated as I tried to right my self. The Body Flicker Technique was one that I've experienced only a grand total of four times. Hiruzen stated a while back that there was some techniques I should see him perform so I could be acquainted with. This one, being something I could actually be allowed to experience, was yet to feel comfortable.
"You'll get used to it." Hiruzen said with a chuckle as he walked to his seat. Doubtful, the feeling was like when one got on an extreme roller coaster for the very first time.
"Alright, so the whole operation was successful in the end. Although Shisui and Itachi got away, we were at least able to keep the innocent alive." Hiruzen stated.
"Once the Uchiha awaken, they will most likely ask what had happened." Ibiki pointed out.
"That's right. Are we going to tell them everything?" Genma asked. I frowned and moved over to Hiruzens desk. I leaned up on my tippy toes, so I could get his attention.
"Ne, can we not tell them that I was involved. It would arouse less suspicion of my abilities." I stated.
"Yes, I believe that would be best aswell." Hiruzen complied, and I lowered my feet to the floor. The desk, like many other things still had me beat when it came to height. I don't suppose my height has stunted because of all the early training I have put my body through...right?
"Then what will we say when they ask how we knew?" Hayate asked effectively breaking me out of my previous thoughts.
"All we will say is that the change in attitudes of the elders had been easy to observe." Ibiki said and I nodded along with Hiruzen.
"Then if that's all, I guess this is it. We wont be meeting up any more Sakura-chan." Genma stated as he patted my head. I raised an eyebrow.
'Perhaps we should mess with them?' I thought mischievously. I could hear Inner's laugh and nod of agreement.
"What are you talking about?" I said and watched as Kakashi shifted his weight to the other foot.
"He's saying our brief acquaintances will practically be over. There wont be any more long conversations between the six of us." Kakashi explained. I tilted my head and crossed my arms over my chest.
"What do you mean? This will most definitely not be the last time we have long conversations, Especially between you and me. And of course you Hokage-sama." I said with a smile towards him. He smiled kindly to me and I looked back to the confused glances of the others.
"Have you seen more visions?" Hayate asked. I shrugged and uncrossed my arms.
"Perhaps, one never truly knows what changes will occur in the future. One thing I'm absolutely, one-hundred percent sure of, is that our time as a group is not over." I said and looked at their raised eyebrows.
"They have no idea what you're saying!" Inner said and began to laugh. I broke my serious expresion and laughed along with Inner. Turning to Hiruzen, I smiled and waved.
"Okay, since everything's taken care of, I'll be going. I'll see you tomorrow Hokage-sama!" I said and waved goodbye to the others.
As I left the office and entered the streets, I could already hear the rumors spreading around like wildfire. I didn't care so much that there was rumors, but that they could be so untrue. Some would probably never know the real reason why Itachi and Shisui had done what they did, but they shouldn't be so mean. Though I could somewhat understand because they did kill some of their clan members.
~A Few Days Later~
When the Uchiha's had woken up, they were told of what had happened to them on that day. I was left out as requested and they weren't really suspicious of how the Hokage had found out. They were just grateful to be given a second chance.
Fugaku, in order to have the village be less wary of the remaining Uchiha, had told the Hokage that they would receive whatever punishment he would choose willingly. Hiruzen placed them under constant watch just so it could calm the villagers down. He knew and reassured them that they were innocent and that the elders along with their followers would no longer have a say in what transpired within the clan. He couldn't really condemn them to anything worse, since they hadn't really been able to even start their coup d'état.
A funeral was held a few days later for the members of the Uchiha who had died. I had went by Hiruzen's request, it had been the first time since the visit to the hospital that I had seen them. It was a private funeral, since it was a family problem and they didn't have that many close friends outside the family anyway. It had been the first funeral I've attended in this world and only the second in all my life.
I could only see a vast open field with black clothed Uchiha's and a line of coffins up in front. Hiruzen and I stood slightly off to the side as we allowed the Uchiha their space to mourn their beloveds.
Although most didn't openly weep, there was a few. Sasuke and his family along with Sachiko, didn't cry. They looked lost and sad but didn't necessarily look like they were going to cry. Perhaps they had cried in their own time?
We all held white roses in our hands to place on top of the coffins near a portrait of each Uchiha that died.
It was similar to the funeral held in the anime/manga for Hiruzen when he had died. The death had caused the vast number of the Uchiha to crumble. No longer was it so strong due to the fact that most of the ones who died where the ones with more experience.
As everyone walked to the coffins in a line with their roses in hand, I held all the roses I had purchased with both hands, hugging them to me closely. I had a lot in order to place one on each of the coffins. It was hard, to place a delicate flower on top of a coffin that held someone you could have saved. Even though I couldn't possibly save everyone, I knew that if I tried harder, I could save one more person each time than the last. This wasn't solely about changing the plot anymore. For me this was about helping this world and it's people. So as I walked back to my place near the Hokage, I took his hand and conveyed to him the first favor I believe I have ever truly wanted granted.
"Please, help me get stronger. So I can be able to save and protect people." I said with my eyes focused on the grieving people in front of me. I could protect people, whether civilian or ninja, or from any nation. In this world I had the ability to help change things for a better future. Feeling the gentle squeeze of his hand, reassured me of his answered. I will not be doing this alone, I have Inner, Hiruzen and so many others by my side. Together, I knew this world can be changed, slowly but surely.
~1st Year~
After the massacre event the rumors seemed to stay strong for quite some time. The Uchiha's had been hurt by them at first, but it soon turned into anger. It was justified anger, the rumors just wouldn't stop and it was getting annoying not only for the Uchiha.
People were attempting to go back to normal, as normal as it could get.
Sasuke had gone back to school after the funeral and as I had feared, he seemed to isolate himself. The only outside person he seemed to tolerate speaking to, was me. I was trying to carefully figure out what goal Itachi's actions had lead him towards. But he barely spoke, and hardly about anything personal, always just because it was necessary. I had to move at his pace and became his silent companion. I knew that deep inside he must have appreciated that. I never asked him about what had happened like the other kids, I tried acting like I always did. Trying to bring some sort of normality to his life.
His family was dealing with things much better than he was. They were more experienced and had their own suspicions of the reason behind their defection. I was glad that they had not pushed me away and had seemed to almost encourage my visits. I didn't mind, they were my friends after all.
It was a year full of struggle. By my request, Hiruzen had raised my training. I hardly had time for anyone else as I was adjusting my self to this new training schedule. I made a silent promise to make it up to everyone once I had things more under control.
Since I had finished and perfected my five fighting styles, Hiruzen had me practice at times with them. I was given books on the basic's of Fuinjutsu since he had heard from Ibiki that I seemed to have picked up on it really quickly.
The other thing we would be working on is my stamina. Every day after school he would have me go through with the whole schedule without stopping. I would return home, sore, sticky, and satisfied. Even if the new training schedule was hard to get used to. I didn't complain once, if he wanted to level it up tomorrow, then I would be grateful. I had asked him, and if it took me well into the night to complete it, I would without complaint.
It took me awhile to settle in to my new schedule, but as soon as I did, fulfilled my promise. I met up with the others in different occasions. Hanging out with Sasuke was my first priority at the moment. He had practically refused to go out unless it involved training or with his family.
He spoke more often seemingly getting used to the idea of moving on. There was only one time that I spoke to him about his personal life. It wasn't much but I liked to think that my words seemed to help him out of his depression...at least for the moment. I tried going over to his house every time I could to help him practice. Even if he was stubborn, he still listened and did what I would tell him to do.
On a completely different note, Naruto had effectively gained the title of prankster from everyone. He wasn't very shy anymore, but he still had those moments. His reading and writing had improved with Hiruzen's and my lessons. I would only join in on his pranks whenever I was in one of those moods of being mischievous. Naruto seemed to take full advantage of all the attention he received when HE was doing the teaching. I wasn't as good as he was but I certainly wasn't bad. The only time I would get a chance to eat out, it was usually to the ramen stand. Not only so Naruto could eat his favorite food once in a while, but to see Teuchi and Ayame.
Ino was getting in lots of training with her dad and Inoichi was enjoying the time. He was teaching her the Yamanaka fighting style, as well as getting her acquainted with the mind transfer jutsu.
Shikamaru and Choji were doing similar things. Shikimaru in his own lazy way started practicing on what his father taught him. Choji was learning from his father too, but in a more enthusiastic manner compared to Shikamaru.
Tenten, Lee, and Neji were busy with their own training and school work. Out of all three, Tenten was the one I spent more time with. I tried spending time with all the kids equally, but that wasn't the case.
Kiba and Shino were the two I spent the least amount of time with. It was unfortunate that we could only talk at school most of the time. When I did meet them outside of school and we were both had a rare free day, we spent it together. I found out that they were also busy with their own clan training.
This year had just been filled with work and hardly any playtime.
~2nd Year~
I was glad all my persistance had paid off when Hiruzen began to teach me more about Fuinjutsu. The complexity of it all intrigued me to know end. Fuinjutsu had gotten to be my second favorite ninja abilities, it came a close second to Taijutsu. Inner, however, thought completely opposite of me. She loved Genjutsu which she excelled at. We had practiced day and night on how to be able to give her more freedom to do other things then just our mind ability.
I didn't hate Genjutsu, I was just extremely bad at it. I could sense and dispelled it easily, but when it came to casting, there was no chance for me. It made the complexity in Fuinujutsu seem easy. I wasn't sure why I couldn't grasp it at all, each time I tried would end up in failure. In the end, I concluded that it was just not for me, and that it was up to Inner for her to improve on it. Since she was inside my mind, it would seem as if I casted the genjustu to anyone, but in reality since she and I were not the same, only she could perform it. That in itself gave us advantages. Inner could execute the hand signs with in my mind and cast it out, while I focused on other things like Taijutsu. I planned on enhancing that advantage to the max, considering I would never have the reserves as Naruto or Sasuke, but I did have Inner and our control. Ninjutsu was a subject that I was okay with, but again Inner was much better with it. We hadn't learned anything amazingly advanced. All we started off with were the simple graduation requirements.
During the rare free times that I had nothing to do, I crammed in as much medical knowledge as I could. I felt that I had been lacking in my training for medical knowledge, so I told Hiruzen of my interest in it. He had encouraged it and stated that although he wasn't as good as his previous student, he could help me with the basics. That had made me extremely happy.
Our relationship had also escalated to the point where it was an unbreakable bond. I started calling him Shishou since Hokage-sama was just too formal. He would give more errands to run ranging from simple messages to clans, or important documents to the T&I building. Our trust broadened and strengthened with each passing years.
When we had our regular get together with Naruto, we would all spend it in his Calligraphy room. Naruto had been getting more and more lectures from both Hiruzen and Iruka about his pranks. They had seemed happy that he was growing more outgoing but they didn't want him getting another bad reputation from the villagers.
The Kyuubi had yet to speak to him so the seal was probably still going strong. The chakra, however, did make it hard for him to control and so his transformation jutsu's and clone jutsu's didn't come out right. I tried helping him by giving him pointers, but that didn't seem to work. He had the concept down but accomplishing the task he did not.
The other kids had grown not only in size, but in strength. I could feel the difference when we met up. Their chakra reserves where a bit higher than last years and their sensing was just a bit better. I still played with them any chance I got and held a good relationship with each other parents as well.
Hinata's dad had been the hardest to bring into my friendship circle. We had a polite relationship and things had progressed slowly inside the clan. I couldn't train with Hinata as much as I used to, but gave her enough to work on when we did train. I noticed that the relationship between main and branch houses wasn't as tense but by no means equal.
When I would finish with training Hinata, I would meditate with Hizashi and Neji. They really had a strong bond and I was sure they would always have it.
With all the good progress that was occurring around everyone, there would always be the bad. I was shocked to have found out that some of the kids were still being bullied. I had not been a happy camper when I had seen the act in action with Choji. It was before school started and he was walking into the building. I had seen the two boys waiting for him and push him in between each other and taunted him.
I had not stayed on the side lines and waited. Being mentally eighteen, or in case my mind did grow, in my twenties, had my instincts kick in. Of course I also couldn't beat them senseless, as much as I wanted to. They were still kids afterall. I used a quick replacement justu with Choji and watched with amusement as they realized who they were pushing. Being not only the apprentice of the Hokage and our close relationship known, kids often tended to stay on my good side. I wouldn't run to the Hokage if I was bullied, in fact I would take care of the bullies before word ever got to him.
Seeing that most of my subtle efforts had been in vain with some bullies, I started to get more vocal of my dislike for them. If they so much as sent any kid a tease that was hurtful to them, they would be having a very angry glare fired in their direction. Usually one look said it all, but when they got brave and stepped over the invisible wall I had constructed over my friends, I would have to get a bit physical. A good beating during sparring time, had a great effect on them.
~3rd Year~
Everything seemed to finally go back to normal and enter a peaceful time. All the kids were getting very excited being so close to graduating. In my opinion, all theses kids where just that, kids. Although they had been getting more practice in and actually seeing themselves turning into heroic ninja, they were still too young in my eyes. Inner had stated as a joke that it was just because I was so old. That had been untrue, because I wasn't in my body anymore, so I only had the mind of an eighteen year old with the body of a ten year old.
A festival took place in Konoha that lasted four days. I took this time to make everyone take a break. I had asked Hiruzen to give all four days as my breaks. I had promised to train harder in return. When he complied, I went around and set up a schedule with all the kids.
The first day had been with Naruto and Tenten, since they had never been to one. We had gotten Naruto a nice kimono for him to wear on that day. Tenten had wore the Kimono I had given her and I had switched it up and wore the chinese style outfit she had given me. I had absolutely loved the outfit. It was nice and comfortable and cute enough for Inner to like it just as much. I had made sure they had experienced a great day by playing games from the stalls as well as the food.
Along the way, I found Lee looking from afar. He seemed lonely and sad and that was just not acceptable. As Tenten and Naruto checked out some colorful masks, I went over to him. Finding out that he had never been to one, I had told him to go home and get his mother and grandmother ready for me to pick up. When Naruto and Tenten had been to almost every stand and had gotten their fill of fun, I walked each one home and raced towards Lee's home.
They had been ready and waiting for me to arrive. They all had a slightly different chinese styled clothing compared to mine. They had commented on my outfit and had stated that it fit me well, effectively causing Lee to blush. Thinking it was out of barley contained excitement, I had thought nothing of it and lead them to the festival. I had made it a small mission of mine to make sure they all had no worries during the festival and left it with fond memories.
The second day had been with Sasuke and his family. Sachiko had also tagged along with them. Madoka, Kioshi and Chouko were also with me. I was very surprised when I noticed the slight differences from the first day. Thinking that they must have just been adding to each day, I would have never thought of what it was leading to.
For the first time in probably a year, Sasuke and his family looked happy. They smiled and talked amicably among the group. I was very content and had allowed Sasuke the privilege to lead the group to whatever he wanted to do.
The third day was with Hinata and her mother, as well as Neji and his father. They were a bit quiet at first but by the middle of the night, they had opened up. Hinata had been giggling and exuding a joyous attitude. Neji too had seemed to enjoy the festival. Making sure to capture all the lovely smiles from everyone, I had taken my camera every day.
We met with Shino and Kiba with their families and spent some time together. Our odd group warmed up to each other in the end and had a great time.
The fourth and last time was with Ino, Shikamaru, and Choji. The only reason they had been the last group was because Ino had a family reunion for someones birthday. It had been in a village outside of Konoha, she had said that since she couldn't go, neither could the other two.
Seeing that the festival was going to end and I was expecting some grand finale, I wore the kimono the Akimichi had gotten me. It would go nicely with the mood of the festival.
As expected the end of the festival was grand. They had set off fireworks that had shocked people at first by the sound. As they looked up in alert, they saw the night sky light up magically. The fireworks that held all the colors of the rainbow, seemed to bring out different reactions from people. I had made sure to take pictures of not only the kids excited expressions, but of all the people around me. It would always remind me of better times when everyone could get together and just have fun.
~4th Year~
This was our last year at the Academy. Kids were getting excited and ready to enter the real world, however, this was also a year to see if one could survive. Students were tested and taught a whole new set of materials. We would need to learn as much as we could so we could pass the graduation exam. It consisted of a written test that would see how well we've understood the materials. A practical test was also administered. We would have to perform our Clone Technique as well as a few other justsu's.
I wasn't very surprised when our Kunoichi classes also had a small exam that we had to pass. It consisted of how well we were at using infiltration techniques.
For my part, it felt like I had a thousand test to pass. Being the Apprentice of Hiruzen, in order to keep things fair, I was given more test to be evaluated in. Iruka was not my administrator either, it was the council. Due to Hiruzen's influence, they could not over step their curiosity at learning what I had learned. They could only evaluate the things that seemed to be necessary for an apprentice to know. Hiruzen and some of the others thought it was unnecessary, but I actually encouraged it. If they could see I wasn't wasting Hiruzen's time, then they could get off our backs and be less suspicious.
So as all the kids perfected the techniques and studied all the requirements they had, I learned even more. Inner was now able to cast Genjustu's three times and Ninjutsu techniques five times in a row at the same time I was fighting. The only Genjustu we knew how to cast were low level and lasted for a few minutes. We had learned some Ninjutsu that worked well with the five fighting styles we had created.
Taijutsu was our strongest category out of all of them. The weights had really given us a hard time with performing the katas correctly. The chakra in them had been raised to a level that we had not ever gotten them in before. Our normal reserves had also expanded slightly and Hiruzen had also stated his concern when it came to the rate that it do so. Apparently my reserves should not have been that slow to raise, at least not with the way I trained.
I had voiced my thought that it could have been because of the weights. He had rejected the idea, because other ninja had them but their reserves still expanded twice as fast as mine. We didn't think much about it and decided to wait until I got older. Perhaps it was just stunted.
What wasn't stunted and in fact getting stronger was our new ability. Now instead of two other people, I could speak to five as long as we were all connected. The ability to see memories was also getting too sensitive. Not only could I see people's memories with just direct contact, but things as well. Inner and I theorized that chakra must be a factor that allowed us to see the memories. Since everything had chakra, I could see the memories. When I first realized this new information, it was when I had laid on the grass. I had been running and was in need of a rest, so I laid down and touched the grass.
The way I saw memories of things was much different from the ones of people. I saw people's memories as if I was in them, like a ghost; but with other things, it felt like I was watching a movie.
The sensitivity of the ability had gotten so strong that I had passed out on the third time I had activated it. Not touching something was impossible and the memories of the things I touched were a became an overload of memories, like a movie going in fast forward each time I touched something.
When Hiruzen had gotten word by my parents, I had to explain to him what really happened. In the end, I had to use gloves everyday with a seal on them so my touch wouldn't activate a memory by accident. I was just glad that only my hands could do so. Inner and I knew that this new skill would take along time if ever to get used to.
I knew that if I could not control the strength that I would be obtaining, then one day, that could be my downfall.
Phew, that's done. Hopefully you guys liked it! The next chapter shall be on the Graduation!
💗💗Love and kisses😘😘