(A.N. I decided to post a super-long chapter because I don't have school today! Play the music above for more effect!)

"Sakura-chan! Teme and I were just about to go find you, dattebayo! Where were you?"

"I was out training," the pink-haired genin replied, then slipped off her sandals.

"Oh." The blonde didn't look any convinced that she had gone training, but accepted the fact that she wasn't harmed. "We're just beginning to eat, —ttebayo. C'mon!"

He dragged her into the dining room, and even pulled out her chair for her. Sakura sat down and waited for the others to arrive and sit.

"Sak'ra! There you are!" Genta hugged her while she awkwardly sat in her chair, face still blank.

"Hey, let Sakura-nee go, Genta!" Inari pouted and then pushed the boy away so he could hug her. Still, she sat there.

Naruto sighed, watching the two now fight over Sakura, who couldn't care less. Why don't kids like me as much? At least I have more admirers than Sasuke-teme. He grinned foxily.

"What are you grinning stupidly about, Dobe?" Sasuke stalked over and sat next to Sakura, nodding to her in a silent 'hello' before turning back to Naruto.

"I was just thinking about how kids like me more than you!" The blonde was disappointed by his lack of reaction. "Teme."

Sasuke sniffed indignantly and sat up straighter. "Dobe."

"Teme!"

"Dobe."

The two continued calling eachother names, Naruto getting more and more fired up while Sasuke only smirked smugly and answered calmly.

"Now, now, my little genin, don't be so aggressive towards one another." Kakashi sat down, on the other side of Naruto, who was sitting next to Sakura and across from Sasuke. "Ano...Sakura, why don't you help Tsunami set the table and with last-minute touches?"

"Hey, are you saying that because she's a girl?! That's uncool, sensei, dattebayo!"

"Hn. Uncalled for," Sasuke agreed, glaring distastefully at their sensei, still mad that he left Sakura behind.

"Sasuke," the jōnin sighed, "As an Uchiha, you of all people should know that women need to know how to cook and clean, so that when they begin to have children, they quit their jobs and take care of the home while the husband is out."

The dark-haired genin gritted his teeth in anger. "Tch. I'm the only Uchiha, so I make my own rules for my clan."

"Sakura-chan already knows how to cook anyway, —ttebayo! She took kunoichi classes back in the Academy."

"Yes," Kakashi waved a hand mindlessly, "It's been a while. Perhaps Sakura should...practice it more."

"What is it that you are attempting to imply, Kakashi?" Not one person missed the gleam in her usually dead, green eyes.

"That you won't be a successful shinobi, ever. In fact, I should have failed you and sent you back to the Academy."

"What?! Sakura-chan's, like, the best in our class, dattebayo! No offense Teme."

"Hn." None taken.

"Name a famous, successful kunoichi," Kakashi stated, crossing his arms.

"..." Naruto quieted.

"Tsunade Senju, one of the legendary Sannin, the Slug Princess, etc. She is a world-renowned medic-nin and arguably the best out there," Sakura recited.

The grey-haired man clapped slowly. "Excellent, Sakura. Straight out of a book. You're a paper shinobi, not meant to be out on the field. The only thing good is your intelligence, which anyone can gain if they try hard enough. Also, Tsunade is medic. That's not the same as fighting, it's healing."

Everyone watched Sakura for a reaction, anything, but there was nothing. "Tsunade is famous for her monstrous strength and has a higher bounty than you. That must mean you are even weaker than her, and, according to you, she is weak. If she as so much as touched you, your skull could be crushed in. She is extremely proficient in the medical field, and you might not have been alive if not for her methods and discoveries."

He is only testing your boundaries. He most likely doesn't mean what he's saying.

It does not matter. He can not accept he is inferior to others.

"And how did you acquire my records?" Kakashi asked dryly.

"You say I am a paper ninja," Sakura quoted him. "I did an extensive background check on who was to be my inefficient sensei."

The genin watched their sensei stiffen. "Illegally, I presume."

"Just as illegal as possessing a clan's kekkei genkai, Sensei."

Naruto grinned. Sasuke smirked. Genta and Inari sensed Sakura's triumph, and laughed before sitting in their own seats.

"H-here we are!" Tsunami came in, placing plates and bowls on the table in front of people. Kakashi sent a look to the girl, almost as if saying, 'This conversation isn't over.'

Sakura ignored him and inclined her head as a 'thank you' to Inari's mother.

:::

"Pinky—Sakura," Tazuna corrected himself. "People around the village have started talking about you, calling you the Deadly Blossom. You've already got a reputation, and a genin at that!" He chuckled heartily, and took another bite of food. "Tsunami, this is delicious!"

"Sakura got it this afternoon," Tsunami said, looking towards the pinkette, who was still looking down at her plate and ignoring the curious stares.

"Speaking of this afternoon, I spoke to Akio!" Tsunami perked up.

"Really, Otou-san? How are he and Itsumi?"

The old man chuckled. "Good, good. They just found out a couple of days ago they were having their first kid, and you know how Akio refused to pay Gatō?" His daughter gasped happily at the news and then nodded, and Tazuna looked at Sakura again. "He's been sending small-time criminals after them, but earlier today he sent two serious ones."

Tsunami covered her mouth in shock. "And they're alright?! They have a baby on the way!"

The bridge builder nodded. "Yeah. Akio said that Itsumi said she was walking just downtown, and she noticed two men following her, and so she tried to lose them, figuring she could in a large crowd."

Inari and Genta were now listening carefully. "But they found her anyway, and so they began pulling her into the forest area—"

"No!" Tsunami gasped loudly. "What? Akio was still working on the bridge?"

"Yeah," Tazuna nodded. "But then a girl with bright pink hair, and green eyes had been watching, and then calmly jumped down from a tree and cut both men down."

Everyone was silent, looking at Sakura, who found interest in her soup.

"Oh! I know!" Genta bursted out. "Heya, 'Nari, we were with Sak'ra and she gave the groceries t' us and told us t' go home without her!"

"That's right!" Inari snapped his fingers. "She said she had something to do! She probably saw Auntie Itsumi and went to help her!"

Sakura sighed, nearly inaudibly. That woman is highly likely a gossip.

"Woah, Sak'ra! I really wanna be like you now!" Genta cheered, along with Inari for the girl.

"That's great, Sakura-chan!" Naruto beamed at Sakura, obviously proud of her. Sasuke nodded in approval.

"You didn't reopen any wounds, though, am I right?" Tsunami immediately began making her way to the pinkette.

"You are correct." Sakura shook her head, and finished up her dinner and then went to the bathroom.

Kakashi listened as Tazuna went into further detail, and the younger boys listened excitedly. Perhaps there is a shred of humanity in the experiment.

:::

"I miss ramen!" The blonde pouted as Team Seven made their way down to the bridge with Tazuna the next morning. "Haven't had it in a week, dattebayo!"

"Tch, Dobe." Sasuke replied to Naruto absentmindedly, looking at Sakura, who was quiet the whole time, straying from the group.

"Aw, Teme, you would miss your favorite food too if—" Naruto bumped into the pinkette, who had stopped suddenly. "Sakura-chan, dattebayo, what was that for?!"

She turned to look at them, never betraying the silence, and pointed in front of them. Tazuna blanched. "The others! Someone was already here!"

"Team, get into formation!" Kakashi barked his order, and immediately, all three genin surrounded their charge.

"The mist has come again," Sakura stated, pulling out a kunai.

"I'm back," a raspy voice singsonged, "and with more help."

Eight clones of Zabuza surrounded Team Seven's protective formation, and the mist cleared to show the real Zabuza and the masked boy that had pretended to be a Hunter-nin in front of them. "And look—the boy's still shaking," he said, referring to their last encounter when Sasuke hands were shaking.

However, this time, Sasuke only smirked. "My hands are shaking...from the excitement!"

He looked over to Kakashi, who nodded and said, "They're all yours."

The revenge-obsessed genin, quick as lightning, cut down the clones, turning them into puddles of water. "Impressive. This boy...the sign on his back—"

"This is Sasuke Uchiha, the last of his clan," the jōnin announced proudly, making Naruto frown. Sakura remained expressionless.

"Ah, I thought it looked familiar. Haku, perhaps there are two genin that will be fun to fight..." Zabuza paused, then looked at Kakashi. "Well, I guess we'll have our rematch now." He pulled his giant sword off of his back and the mist reappeared.

The three genin, still in formation, watched sparks fly as blades connected. "Sakura! Naruto and I will try our combo attack. You protect Tazuna, he's the priority and you can protect him," Sasuke instructed, then moved with Naruto towards the masked boy. This way, she stays out of danger.

The pinkette nodded solemnly and stood by the old man, listening for any indication that they were about to be attacked. "Will they be alright," Tazuna asked nervously.

"Haku's skills are unknown, so I can not foresee the outcome of Ramen-boy and Duckbutt's battle." Sakura watched as the long-haired boy used the water from Zabuza's clones to create... "Mirrors?"

It must be a kekkei genkai. I would be in favor of Haku...however, Sasuke also has a kekkei genkai, the Sharingan. I am not sure if he has been able to unlock it yet.

Sakura watched as her teammates fought, Sasuke on the inside, Naruto on the outer. For a while they fought progressively, but then the senbon came flying, and struck Sasuke. He kept fighting, attempting to melt the mirrors while the blonde created clones that tried to catch Haku as he traveled from mirror to mirror.

Sakura began watching Kakashi and Zabuza fight. The unnatural mist had cleared once again, and it was easier to see. However, the mist from the body of water below still masked some parts of the fight. It wasn't until she heard a, "SASUKE!" did she turn back to the ice mirrors, where she could just barely make out a figure on the ground.

"Ramen-boy, don't enter th—" Sakura stopped talking when he slipped inside too. "He will perish," she muttered darkly, focused on the bright orange jumpsuit.

I hope the situation gets better and Naruto manages to defeat Haku.

:::

Sakura watched as orange chakra whipped around wildly, smashing the ice mirrors to shards. For his chakra to be so visible and to manifest itself...

Kakashi glanced in the corner of his eye, alarmed by the orange chakra flailing rampantly. The Kyūbi...its seal! No, the nine tails would've appeared by now. Something triggered Naruto to release—

"Blanking out, Kakashi? You're easier to distract than I thought!"

Nonetheless, I have to stop Naruto from releasing any more! I'll finish it up quickly! Ignoring the cut in his arm from earlier, Kakashi used some of the blood spilled and summoned his dogs, that surprised Zabuza and placed their strong jaws into him. The chakra died down.

"You're just a fake, a copycat shinobi, and y—"

"Oh, don't worry, Zabuza! I'm using my own technique to end you, one I came up with on my own!" The jōnin gathered chakra through hand signs and then grabbed his uninjured wrist as it charged with power.

Sakura looked off to where she heard a loud chirping noise. Kakashi had finally gotten Zabuza, and was ready to use the white-blue crackling energy to kill him, somehow. "Chidori!"

:::

Sakura glanced over at the ice mirrors with that same gut-wrenching terror when she heard Sasuke's name being yelled. "It's okay," Tazuna said. "We can go over there." She nodded and began running, dragging him with her.

From the outside, Sakura watched as Naruto was struck down too, falling to his knees when he couldn't dodge the senbon fast enough. "S-Sasuke..." A powerful wave of air dispersed all the mist within a twenty foot radius, giving her clear vision. Sasuke was lying on his back, on the ground.

Sakura watched as reddish orange chakra swirled around, and shattered the mirrors, mentally tucking the information that Naruto contained a great amount of power and chakra that manifested itself into an orangey colour.

Suddenly, it died down, as if the chakra was being drained from Naruto, and he fell too.

It takes a strong shinobi to take in that much chakra... Only few are capable.

Orochimaru?

"Pinky, er, Sakura, you can go get them. Your teammates."

She nodded, and made her way past the frozen Haku that stood above the blonde and dark-haired genin. Slowly, Naruto groaned and sat up. "I feel terrible. All my chakra disappeared." He looked up at Haku's now visible face. "Did you...?"

He shook his head. "I am not able to absorb others' chakra."

"Oh, Sakura-chan!" Naruto had taken the silence to notice she was standing there, looking at Sasuke.

"Is he—"

"Sakura-chan...Sasuke, he's..." He watched as Haku stood there silently, drinking in the interaction between Sasuke and Sakura. He still had senbon in his hand, Naruto noted, but he's hesitating to strike. If I weren't so weak... Red filled his eyes and he passed out again.

Sakura heard a thump and turned to see Naruto on the ground, Haku not making a move. "He has passed out from exhaustion," the boy explained.

She ignored him and turned back to the lifeless genin next to her. "Duckbutt..."

What will Sakura do next? Will it be a tearful moment, or an aggressive attack?

What will happen to Naruto, or more importantly, Sasuke?!