Naruto Fan Fiction ❯ Version 2: My Life as Haruno Sakura ❯ New Kids on the Block ( Chapter 1 )

First off, I’d like to say that I don’t own ANY character that appears in this story! Naruto belongs to Kishimoto and Mayu belongs to Hello lover!

Second, you probably won’t get this unless you read My Life as Sakura Haruno by hello lover, so go check it out before you read this! … or you’ll probably be confused… -.-

The reason I wanted to do this is because I was so inspired by Hello lover. The My Life as... series was so great and I really hope Hello lover finishes the third installment of that series.

This is basically a “What If…?” type of story. How would the story change if Mayu had stuck around for the Chuunin Exams? I wanted to find out, but the story was stopped right before the chuunin exams started. So I decided to try to answer that question. I really, really hope it’s as funny and entertaining as the original.

BTW: I do have Hello lover’s permission to you’re her characters, so don’t go telling on me. Actually, Hello lover helped me out a bit with this chapter.

Anywho, on with the chapter!
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"I'm sorry... I didn't know you cared," Mayu whispered.

"I don't... idiot," Sasuke said.

"Whatever... bird brain," Mayu muttered, and then her eyes closed.

"M-Mayu...! S-Stop playing around!" Sasuke shouted. "Open your eyes!"

Because of his shouting, several heads turned in his direction; Naruto woke and looked over as well. Suddenly, Mayu/Sakura's chest stopped moving completely, causing Sasuke's eyes to widen. "Sasuke...! What happened to Sakura-chan?!" Sasuke hadn't even noticed that Naruto was right next to him.

"You... bastard!" Sasuke muttered as he stood with Sakura's body in his arms. "I... I won't let you live!"

"S-Sasuke! She's not dead... is she?" Naruto asked.

He didn't answer, instead he handed Sakura's body to Naruto. "I'll take care of him," Sasuke proclaimed. "I'll make him pay for what he did to her!" Haku watched on in mild surprise.

Mmm... this is interesting. His chakra level has increased.

"I see... so she was your precious person?" he said out loud. Without a word, Sasuke ran towards Haku with extreme speed, his Sharingan was activated. Haku didn't have his jutsu out anymore, so he couldn't dodge Sasuke's rapid punches; Haku tried attacking, but in Sasuke's eyes, Haku was just too slow.

A kick to the face sent Haku flying across the bridge. A flying fifteen-year-old caught Kakashi as well as Zabuza off guard, so they both jumped out of the way. Haku crashed into the bridge builder. Kakashi stared at his student in amazement as he rushed by him to finish his assault on Haku. "What has happened to him?" he thought, eyes wide in shock. "It's like he's received a power boost!" That's when his eyes landed on Naruto; his eyes widen even more. "S-Sakura...?"

He watched as Naruto sat Sakura's body on the ground, and then dashed over to the two. Naruto was still staring at Sakura's body in total shock. "T-This wasn't supposed t-t-to happen..." he muttered. "Sakura-chan wasn't supposed to..." Kakashi quickly glanced at Sakura's body and frown. He kneeled down, and then flicked her nose.

"Itai...! What the--hey!" the girl suddenly sat up. "Kakashi-san, Naruto? Where's Haku?!"

"SAKURA-CHAN! YOU'RE ALRIGHT!" Naruto shouted at the top of his lungs. Meanwhile, Sasuke had heard his teammate's shout and stopped mid-punch, his grip on Haku clothes loosened a little. He turned his head a little to see Sakura punching Naruto in the head for shouting.

"She's okay..." Sasuke muttered.

"Of course... she is," Haku panted. Sasuke turned back to Haku and glared. "I did not wish to kill her. I only wished to stop her from using my ability."

Sasuke's face returned to normal, and then he dropped Haku to the ground. "Your death would be pointless..." he muttered, and then ran over to his team.

"My death would be pointless...?" Haku muttered as he sat up, frowning; his mask had already been broken by Sasuke's fist. He watched as Sasuke wrapped his arms around Sakura, the girl appeared to be embarrassed, and then she pushed Sasuke away, muttering something. Haku couldn't hear what she said. Sasuke crossed his arms and looked away, almost equally embarrassed. "Pointless...?"

"Haku..." a deep voice caused the young boy to jump slightly.

"Zabuza-san!" Haku exclaimed. "I'm sorry... I've failed you..."

"I'm disappointed in you, Zabuza," a voice made everyone's head to turn to see Gatou and all of his men. The fog had let up, so everyone could see.

"Gatou, why are you here?" Zabuza asked, turning to face the man. Blood ran down his arms from his fight with Kakashi. "And what's with all these men?"

"Sorry, Zabuza, but... I'm going to have to kill you and that brat of yours," Gatou said.

"What?" Zabuza couldn't believe what he had just heard; he narrowed his eyes. "Then that means... I have no reason to go after Tazuna."

"I guess it will be easier to kill you now that you're injured quite a bit!" Gatou said, and then pointed his cane. "Get 'em boys!" Zabuza growled when Gatou's men began charging.

He picked up his zanbato, and then charged at the men. Some of them stopped in fear, but were quickly sliced in half by Zabuza's deadly weapon. He moved towards Gatou, slashing through anyone who dared get in his way. Zabuza never lost his nerves in his arms in his fight with Kakashi, so he moved through the henchmen like a bowling ball through pins. He punch, kicked, slashed, and head-butted his way through, never slowing down his speed. When Zabuza finally reached Gatou, who had back up to the edge of the bridge, he cut at Gatou, causing him to fall over the edge. Zabuza slowly turned, and then began walking back towards Haku; the rest of Gatou's men made a way for him because they were still afraid.

Team 7 watched Zabuza's actions intently. "Haku," he began, narrowing his eyes.

"Yes, Zabuza-san?" Haku asked, looking up.

"Live your life according to you."

Haku's eyes widen at his companion's words. "What?!" he asked. "B-But my life belongs to you! My purpose is to serve you!"

Zabuza sighed, and then closed his eyes. "No, that is not your purpose," he said. "Do not be a tool to me or to anyone. I will try to the same." He then opened his eyes to see Haku giving him a confused look. "It is best if we go our separate ways, but I will visit... I promise you," Zabuza said, and then disappeared in a swirl of water.

"Zabuza-san...!" Haku exclaimed, tears fell from his eyes. "Is this really what you want from me?"

Mayu watched all of this happening in surprise. She stood, staring at Haku’s back. Not that she wasn’t happy about these turn of events, but didn’t the ice user die? Her lips twitched a bit as she walked forward. “Kishimoto-sama is going to maim me when and if he finds out…” she thought as she continued to move towards Haku. Her teammates gazed at her retreating in confusion. “Oh well… if I’ve tweaked the plot already, mind as well mess it up entirely.”

Upon reaching Haku, she heard him saying something under his breath. “How am I–what do I do now?”

“Haku…” Mayu spoke. The older boy turned his head sharply to see green eyes staring back at him; there was a hint of pity in those green orbs. Haku slowly turned his head back, eyes trained on the ground. “You… You could come with us. Back to Konoha, I mean.”

“NANI…?!”

Mayu mentally sighed when she heard Naruto’s shout of disbelief. The orange-clad ninja rushed over to the two. “Naruto, you don’t have to be so loud all the time,” the girl groaned, rubbing her head.

“B-B-But Sakura-chan…! He’s–He tried to kill you!” Naruto pointed out.

“You couldn’t have forgotten that so quickly,” Sasuke, who had seemed to appear out of nowhere, said. Mayu just at his sudden emergence, and then glared at him.

“He didn’t try to kill me,” Mayu responded, huffing a bit as she crossed her arms. “Besides, I’m fine, aren’t I?”

“That’s not the point Ma–Sakura!” Sasuke almost shouted. Mayu only stuck her tongue out.

“Gomen… I must decline,” Haku finally stood.

“Demo…?” Mayu uncrossed her arms. The three younger ninja watched the ice user.

“I simply cannot do that,” Haku answered.

A burst of cold air hit the three genin, causing them to shield their eyes. It honestly felt like they were in a blizzard. When the wind stopped whipping at their skin, the three remove their arms from face. Haku had disappeared. “Well, he didn’t have to leave like that!” Mayu shouted to the heavens. “I’m cold as hell now!”

“Cold as hell…?” Sasuke repeated. “You do realize that that is an oxymoron, right?”

“Shut up, Sasuke, nobody asked you!”

Hands clamped around both Mayu and Sasuke’s heads. “Now, now, you two,” Kakashi began. He patted their heads as if they were pets, causing the two to glower.

“Kakashi-sensei… if that guy had accepted Sakura-chan’s offer… could he really come with us back to the village?” Naruto asked, staring up at his teacher.

“Hm… I suppose that he could,” Kakashi answered, removing his hands from the heads of his two students. “But it would be up to the Hokage if he could stay.”

“Well, that sucks! I invited without really thinking about that,” Mayu commented.

“Baka…” Sasuke almost rolled his eyes.

“Shut up, bird brain…!”

“Don’t start again, you two,” Kakashi said. “Our mission is now complete, seeing as how Zabuza and Haku are no longer a threat.”

“Aren’t you forgetting something?” a random henchman yelled. Team 7 looked towards the rest of Gatou’s men; the ones who weren’t killed or injured by Zabuza, that is.

“Oh, I forgot about them,” Mayu muttered, nonchalantly. The rest of the team nodded in agreement. Several henchmen blanched at their uncaring expressions.

“H-Hey, don’t ignore us!” another henchman exclaimed, throwing up his hand as if he were proving something.

“Yeah…! Who’s gonna pay us for our hard work when Gatou’s dead?!”

“You honestly don’t expect us to pay you,” Mayu shrugged. “Ninja don’t get paid! We’re broke!” Kakashi bopped on her the head.

“We’ll just have to force it outta ya!”

“But she just said…” Naruto muttered.

“READY, MEN?!”

“Yeah!”

“I can’t hear you!”

“YEAH!”

Mayu slapped her forehead with her palm. “No wonder they don’t have names,” she thought, rolling her eyes.

“CHAR-”

“I don’t think so,” a small voice interrupted. Although it was small, it seemed to echo throughout the area. Team 7 turned their backs to the mob of henchmen to see another mob, but this mob was full of villagers. This crowd seemed to be twice as big as Gatou’s henchmen. Inari, the client’s grandson, was in front with a crossbow in his hands.

“Look who finally showed up!” Naruto exclaimed with a grin. The henchmen looked on at the number of villagers with weapons in their hands. They definitely outnumbered them by at least a hundred.

“Uh… RETREAT!” one of them said, and then ran in the opposite direction. Sweat drops glided down the heads of Team 7 as they watched the henchmen leave.

“What a bunch of cowards,” Naruto commented.

That’s when the villagers started cheering. Gatou was gone and so were his thugs. The village could finally be at peace again. And that caused for celebration! “Yay…! They did it without doing anything!” Mayu cheered, throwing her arms in the air. Luckily, the villagers didn’t hear her.

“Quit it with the commentary already,” Sasuke muttered, rolling his eyes.
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The Zabuza saga may be over… The threat may have come to an end… However, when we complete these normal D-rank missions… it’s only a matter of time before a new threat comes to pass. As Squad 7, Naruto, Sasuke, and I must band together to face our toughest of foes. The next saga is about to begin! I can feel it in my bones–er… Sakura’s bones!

I tightened by headband around my forehead. Today, I styled Sakura’s hair in a low ponytail, instead of a long braid. Yeah, I was feeling pretty lazy today, even with the upcoming arc. “I’m off…!” I called over my shoulder as I walked out of the house.

“Be careful, Sakura!” her mother called after me.

Although I did get used to being called that, I still glowered. I didn’t like being called Sakura. It was kinda like an insult! Anyway, I walked down the street. Our meeting place is supposed to be at the little red bridge. Since it was so close to where I live, I’d probably get there first. Well, that’s what I initially thought! Imagine my surprise when I saw Sasuke leaning on the red railing, gazing down at the water below.

I purposely walked a little faster towards the bridge. “Hey, Sasuke…!” I exclaimed with a smile. He turned to me with a blank expression. Despite the look he gave me, I continued my happy feeling. But then he just turned away, without saying anything at all! My felt my smile crack and my eye twitch. “Well, good morning to you, too!” I grumbled. What crawled up his butt this today?!

I turned by back on him. Actually, this isn’t the first time. He’s been ignoring me since we left the Land of Waves. Sure, he ignores everyone, but it’s like I’ve had the worst treatment compared to Kakashi and Naruto! This pisses me off! “Why is he mad at me? What the heck did I do?” I thought, closing my eyes. I felt my eyebrow twitch as I continued to ponder Sasuke’s current attitude towards me. The more I thought about it, the angrier I got. “Fine…! If he wants to act like a jackass then I won’t pay attention to him either!”

Fast-paced footsteps suddenly caught my ears. I looked towards the sound. And who do I see running towards us…? Uzumaki Naruto, of course. Well, it definitely wasn’t Kakashi. He’s always late. “Ohayo, Sakura-chan…!” he told me with a cheerful grin and wave.

“Go jump in a river!” I snapped, turning my back to him. I crossed my arms and glared at the ground. I’m actually surprised that came from my mouth. I’m usually nice to Naruto… when he’s not being an idiot.

“Nani…?” I could actually hear the cheerfulness leave his voice. I instantly felt guilty. I turned to Naruto, who looked as though he’d been kicked. His shoulders were sagged and everything.

“Gomen, Naruto…” I said slowly. He looked up and I walked towards. “I didn’t mean to kill your cheery mood. In all honesty,” I glanced at Sasuke. Naruto always looked towards Sasuke in question. “I wanted to push the Uchiha in a river.” And push him I did! Man, I wish I had a camera at that exact moment.

Sasuke went flying over the banister and into the water below. As he went down, I saw that his arms were flailing about as if he were trying to fly. Ha! I hope it’s extremely cold down there! Naruto and I both peered down at the, now wet, Sasuke. Naruto guffawed as he clutched his belly with one hand. The other hand was pointing a finger at our glaring teammate. I gave him a smug grin as he stood.

“Why the hell did you do that?!” he almost growled at me.

“Humph… A ninja should always be prepared for an attack, unsuspecting or not,” I told him, never losing my grin.

“I shouldn’t have to expect an attack from my own teammates! You stupid cocoon!” he shouted.

“Oh, so now we’re teammates?!” I shouted back. “AND WHO THE HELL ARE YOU CALLING COCOON?!” I probably had giant white circles for eyes right now.

“Who the hell do you think I’m calling that, huh, cocoon girl...?!”

“Grrr…! That’s it!” I grumbled.

I jumped over the railing and onto Sasuke. He looked as if he wasn’t expecting me to do that, so I crashed into him, taking us both down. Unfortunately, Sasuke quickly became the one on top. Well, there’s no way I was giving him time to gloat! I flipped him over me, using my legs to do so.

I’m not sure how long we were going at it like this, tossing and turning, I mean, but someone finally pushed us apart. I panted lightly as I glared at the soaking wet Uchiha. In turn, he was glaring at me as well. Actually, I’m pretty much soaked, too. “Perhaps you two save some of this animosity for missions,” Kakashi’s voice caused me to look up. “You shouldn’t fight one another.”

“He/She started it!” it seemed that both of us exclaimed while pointing. “Oh, grow up, Sasuke! Quit being so childish…!” I lowered my finger and turned away, feeling as though I was the bigger person.

“You don’t have room to talk at all,” Sasuke response was quick; it made me frown.

“Why are you two behaving this way?” Kakashi asked. “I expect sort of behavior from Naruto-”

“HEY!”

“-Not you two,” Kakashi finished, ignoring the shout from Naruto.

“It’s not my fault she’s PMSing,” Sasuke sneered, turning his head away. I flush in slight embarrassment. How did Sasuke even know about that?!

“Why, you lil…!” Kakashi grabbed me again before I could tackle him.

“Stop that, Sakura. You both are wet enough as it is,” Kakashi reprimanded. I huffed indignantly. “Recently, all you two do is fight when you come into contact with each other. I didn’t say anything before because it was never physical.” He sighed heavily. “When will you learn the concept of teamwork?”

“Whatever…!” I grumbled, swatting Kakashi’s hand away.

I walked up the side of the bridge and landed near Naruto. He looked at me like had grown an extra head. I can understand this because it’s not every day that a girl my age would go attacking a hottie (bleh!) like Sasuke. “That bastard can go to hell for all I care!” I hissed in thought as I shook the water off me. Yeah, I have this weird thing about how I remove water if I don’t have a towel. My mom said that I looked similar to a dog when I do it. I don’t think so!

Kakashi and teme landed on the bridge after I was finished. Sasuke glared at me and I glared right back. Hearing Kakashi sigh, I turned to face him. “So what’s the mission for today, sensei?” I questioned, totally ignoring the look of disbelief he was giving me.

“Yeah! Yeah! What’s the next mission?!” Naruto was clearly excited about getting a new mission. “Come on! No more of that dumb beginner stuff! I want a really mission! A mission where I can show what I’m really made of!”

I stopped listening at that point. It’s a little annoying whenever Naruto gets like this. Seriously, I could feel the heat of excitement practically radiating off the guy! My eyes drifted back to the loner of the group, who was staring off into space. He must have felt my eyes on him because he looked towards me. After that, it didn’t take very long for our battle of glares to begin again.

“Still PMSing, I see,” he muttered.

Inner Mayu: I’ll show you PMSing, freak!
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After completing tedious missions–chores–we walked. Sasuke and I were carrying Naruto. I mentally sighed. How could someone get a black eye, fall down a waterfall, and nearly become barbequed all in one day? But then again, this is Naruto I’m talking about. He just had to pull all the plants and pick the biggest dog. Surprising, the dog was unhurt. I shook my head and sighed out loud.

“Naruto, I don’t understand why you do this to yourself,” I mumbled. He only chuckled nervously.

“You really are just one big problem, huh?” Sasuke asked, smirking. I repressed the urge to hiss at him. Hell yeah I was still mad at him! The jerk has still been ignoring me!

Naruto really did growl as he pulled away from said jerk. I released the loud ninja, hoping that he really would tackle Sasuke. “SASUKE…!” he made a strangling motion with his hands. The boy just walked off, paying no heed to Naruto. “Oi…! Don’t turn your back on me!”

“Yeah! You can’t just walk off when you feel like it!” I agreed.

“Watch me,” Sasuke called over his shoulder as he continued to walk away.

“I guess we’re not making much progress with the teamwork thing, huh?” Kakashi sighed heavily.

“That’s right…! Our teamwork is all messed up and it’s your fault, Sasuke!” Naruto shouted at the Uchiha’s retreating back. “You think you’re better than everyone else?!”

“Not everyone… just you,” Sasuke replied. “Face it. I’m better and stronger than you are.” He suddenly stopped moving. “It’s a fact… unless you have what it takes to prove me wrong.”

My lips twitched. His eyes weren’t only focused on Naruto. “That lil…!” I thought, baring my teeth. We seemed to stay in our positions for a few minutes until Kakashi spoke that is.

“Alright, guys… I think that’s enough for today,” he said. “I’m going to file the report on our missions.”

“Whatever… I’m leaving,” Sasuke announced.

I watched him go. It really felt as if my entire face was twitching. This was going to drive me insane! “Wait a minute, Sasuke!” I ran after him. He didn’t stop. “I said wait, damn you!” This time he halted, allowing me to reach him. He turned his head sideways. I took this as his way of telling me I could talk. Conceited lil… “Why are you doing this?” I asked.

“Doing what?” he asked as if he didn’t know.

“You know what! Ever since we’ve returned from that mission with Zabuza, you’ve been a complete asshole! Even more than normal…!” I told him. He scowled, but I didn’t care at the moment. “Whatever it is that I did, tell me and I’ll fix it! I thought–I thought we were more than teammates when we were on that mission. I thought we were actually friends!” I bowed my head. I truly did think of this boy as my friend. My eyes moved back up to see Sasuke staring at me in surprise. “Please correct me if I’m wrong, so I can stop feeling so abandoned and angry and–and hurt!”

“… Mayu…” Sasuke spoke after a few moments of silence. He was the only one who knew my real name. Actually, he was only one to figure out that I wasn’t Haruno Sakura, but still… We confided in each other. He told me things that not a lot of people know about… Well, a lot fans, like myself, know all about Naruto and everyone on the show, but that doesn’t count! “You… really are PMSing, aren’t you?” I growled at him. “But I understand how you’re feeling now.” He turned his back to me again. “… I’m sorry, okay? And we are friends.” He walked off after saying, in his view, probably the most embarrassing thing he has ever said.

“Wow…” I muttered, turning. “Really wasn’t expecting an apology, but I guess it’s all good now.” I felt like smiling, so I did. I even hummed a little. It wasn’t everyday that someone like Sasuke apologized like that. I have truly accomplished great things since I woke up in this body!

“Ne, Sakura-chan… What are you doing?”

It was at that moment that I realized that I was laughing like a fanatic. I abruptly stopped my sinister laughter and zoned in on the surrounding area. Three little kids had joined Naruto in looking at me like I was crazy. I recognized these three as Konohamaru, Moegi, and Udon. Some people believe that he is Hayate’s son just because the kid always has a snotty nose. I don’t believe it for a second. My vision focused on Naruto again; I saw that he was blushing.

Raising my eyebrow and frowning, I ask why he was turning red. Konohamaru suggested that I was his girlfriend. I scoffed as I rolled my eyes. I may be a Naruto fan, but actually dating the blond? No way in any world! I’ll leave that up to the Hyuga Princess. Speaking of which… “No, kid, someone already likes Naruto in that way. I couldn’t steal him away from her. That’d be wrong,” I told him and Naruto. “Besides, he’s not my type.” Ha! I don’t even have a type. For I am only twelve years of age! FEAR MY CHILDISH ANTICS!

“Yeah, yeah! You told me this before! But you never told me who!” Naruto seemed to bounce with excitement.

“I didn’t tell you…” I muttered, narrowing my eyes. Naruto flinched.

“Uh… What I meant was…” he trailed. I nearly rolled my eyes. “Well, anyway, it’s probably some weird, creepy girl that realizes that Sasuke would never look at her so she chooses me instead. Probably not important in the least. I’ll take my chances with Sakura-chan.”

“YOU DUMBASS…!” I shouted. I couldn’t stop myself from punching the crap out of him. He, seriously, flew back and hit the fence. Oops… “She is not weird or creepy! She’s cute, adorable, strong and loving! You ungrateful brat…!”

“BOSS…!” the three kids cried in unison. Konohamaru turned to me as the other two rushed over to the, most likely, bleeding shinobi. “You’re a witch!” he shouted. “And you’re ugly, too!” Normally, I would take his insult to heart, but seeing as how this isn’t my face… I walked off, completely disregarding Konohamaru’s insults. “You’re not human either! You–you annoying cocoon!”

I froze in mid walk. He must’ve heard it from Sasuke or Naruto once. I felt my eyebrow twitched. Naruto didn’t even know why Sasuke called me that and yet he still says it! I slowly turned around. Naruto had gotten up; he looked scared, and so did the others. I must’ve looked pretty darn scary at that moment. “What did you just call me?” I asked in a very calm voice. It took everything inside to keep my anger in check. I really, really, really don’t like it when someone calls me that.

“I said… th-that you’re… You’re an annoying cocoon!” Konohamaru made the mistake of repeating what he’d said. It was quiet for a few moments as we continued to stare at each other. That’s when I ran after them. The four shot off like a couple of bats out of hell! But I didn’t stop. Konohamaru will learn not to call me that!

Before it could become a full-fledged chase, Konohamaru ran into a dark figure. I slowed my run to a walk. I stood beside Naruto as the person picked up the little tyke by the scarf. Why was the kid wearing a scarf in this weather, I don’t know… I also noticed that a girl standing a little ways off behind him. I blinked. “OH MY GAWD…!” I resisted shouting. “IT’S TEMARI AND KANKURO!” It took all my willpower not to scream–I mean, squeal at the thought of their younger sibling.

Inner Mayu: GAARA! I’M FINALLY GONNA SEE GAARA!!!

“Does this hurt, punk?” Kankuro asked.

“Put him down or you’ll pay for it later,” Temari commented. She didn’t really seem to care for Konohamaru.

“Hey, could you put him down?” I asked, walking forward with a smile. “I haven’t got to maim him yet.”

“Ah…! Don’t put me down! Don’t put me down!” Konohamaru squealed at the sight of me.

“Well, that’s not very nice,” I said. “That’s very rude of you, kid.”

I saw that Kankuro was looking at my forehead protector. Either that or my pink roots… Unfortunately, I couldn’t get my hands on anymore black dye, so I have to go around looking like a person from a random anime show.

…

Oh, wait…

“I expect better manners from the grandson of our Hokage,” I commented. “But I guess you’re still just a gaki.” I noticed that the puppet master flinched. Next, he dropped Konohamaru as if his hand had been scalded. At least he knows not to mess with the leader’s kin. The small boy scurried back over to Naruto. I stayed where I was. I wasn’t afraid of no Kankuro. How could I be? I mean, it’s Kankuro for crying out loud!

A hand suddenly grabbed the front of my shirt. He lifted me off the ground! What a jerk…! “And… who might you be?” he asked.

“A Leaf ninja, moron,” I told him. I think he glared at me, but I can’t be sure because he didn’t open his eyes yet. “Didn’t the headband clue you in?”

“Ah, a wise-guy, huh…?” Kankuro smirked.

“I’m not a guy, doofus,” I stated.

“Could have fooled me with that flat chest of yours,” he was like a gunslinger or something! Dishing his insults out like they were rehearsed, I mean.

“That may be, but at least I have bigger balls than you,” I responded with a smirk of my own.

“I don’t like you, little girl.”

“Don’t like you or your make-up either,” I commented.

“HEY…! Let Sakura-chan go!” Naruto’s voice interrupted before Kankuro could say something else. He turned his attention to Naruto.

“No, I don’t think I will,” Kankuro replied.

“Frankly, you don’t have much of a choice,” I remarked, grabbing his wrist with both hands. He looked towards me, but by then I was already swinging my body over his arm. Using the momentum of my landing, I tossed Kankuro over my shoulder. “SHAZAAM…!” I yelled, slamming him on the ground.

Naruto seemed shocked by my actions. I guess he didn’t realize that I, too, train on my own. No one else knows this, but I sometimes spar with Hinata. Heheheheh… Not even her teammates or sensei knows about it. And we didn’t plan on letting anyone know about it. It actually began when I came back from the Land of Waves. Sasuke was being a douche at the time, so I couldn’t annoy him. Instead, I looked for an area so I could train myself. Lucky me, I found Hinata along the way.

Anyway, Kankuro looked up at me in shock. Why was everyone surprised? He didn’t even know the uselessness that is pre-time skip Sakura. I heard that Sakura got stronger after the time skip, but I’ll see if that’s true when I see it, but for now–wait, where was I going with this? Oh, the point was that Kankuro didn’t know about it!

Before he could move, I slammed by foot against his stomach. He didn’t look like he liked that at all. I moved my foot up to his throat. His free hand grasped my ankle; I still had his arm in a twisted position, after all. “You know, dude, it’s not a good idea to attack your allies,” I told him. “That could cause a war. No one but a snake bastard wants that!”

“T-Temari…!” Kankuro breathed out.

I took a sideward glance at the sand kunoichi. She only shook her head. “Oh no, Kankuro, I told you to stop, but you kept doing it,” Temari replied. “I’m not apart of this. You brought this on yourself. Not my fault you underestimated a kunoichi.”

“Where do you get off hurting little kids, anyway?” I asked, looking down at Kankuro. “That’s so lame and stupid. I would hate to be related to someone as pathetic as you.” Maybe I should stop while I’m ahead. Kankuro looks pissed off at me. “Gomennasai… This is only self-defense.” I released him and stood back.

Instead of being grateful for letting him go, he looked like he was about to blow! He stood glaring at me, but this glare was nothing. It pales in comparison to the real stoic characters of this show. “You little twerp…!” Kankuro shouted.

“Sakura-chan…!” Naruto exclaimed just as the puppet master threw a punch. No one has ever punched me before, not really… Perhaps it’s good if I get hit…

The hit that I was waiting for never came. I opened by eyes hesitantly to see that Kankuro was looking over me. I turned. “Oh, Sasuke’s here,” I thought. But that time, I actually wanted to get hit! He was tossing a small rock up and down.

“You’re a little too far away from home to be starting fights,” Sasuke said.

He didn’t seem interested in the fact that I was glaring at him. Maybe I should ask Hinata to punch me in the face next time I see her. It would take some talking, but I’m sure she would do that for me. “Oh great, another wimp to tick me off,” Kankuro muttered.

“Another wimp, you say?” Sasuke smirked. Did he just crush that rock in his hand?

“Nah, it was probably just a dirt clot.”

“That’s not what you were saying while you were under her foot. What was it…? Oh, it was ‘T-Temari…!’ What a loser,” Sasuke continued, oblivious to my thoughts. If he did hear that, I guaranteed that he wouldn’t be complimenting me. I guess that was a compliment… “I despise losers like you. Get lost.” Moegi squealed.

“Sugoi…!” Udon looked pretty amazed as well. Konohamaru sounded disappointed as he asked Naruto why he was cool like Sasuke.

“Hey, punk, get down here,” Kankuro demanded. “You’re the kinda pesky snot I hate the most. All talk and no action.”

My attention was focused on the puppet master again. He began taking off that thing that was on his back. I think that’s one of his puppets. “Nani…?!” Temari spoke up. Her voice sounded incredulous. “You’re going to use the Crow for this?!”

“Ah…! The Crow,” I thought, turning my eyes back to Kankuro.

“Kankuro…” a new voice spoke. It was deep and kinda gruff-like. “Knock it off.” My eyes expanded. Could this be…? I turned around sharply and looked towards the tree. Sure enough, there he was. The red-headed, sand-using ninja was standing, upside down in the tree, right beside Sasuke, whom was looking quite shocked at the moment. “You’re an embarrassment to our village.”

“H-Hey, Gaara…” Kankuro sounded scared. And he should be! I wouldn’t want to be an embarrassment to an entire village either. “Listen, Gaara… these guys, they started it.” I blinked. And I thought I was immature…

“Shut up,” Gaara replied, not caring for his excuse. “I’ll kill you.”

“I-I-I was at fault… Gomen… Go-Gomennasai…” Kankuro continued.

Gaara turned his head. “Excuse them, you guys,” he said. I resisted the urge to sigh in a dream like fashion. Gaara was soooooooo cute!

“Kawaii…!” I muttered. Sasuke stood as Gaara disappeared, and then reappeared on the ground beside his siblings. He stared at me, causing me to smile.

Inner Mayu: Kyaa…! Gaara is so awesome!

The adorable red-head turned to his siblings. “Let’s go,” he told them. “We didn’t come here to fool around.

“I know…” Kankuro replied, still a bit shaken. I bet he almost pissed his pants. The three began to walk off.

“Matte…!” I called out. Luckily, they stopped. I grinned when Temari answered. “I already know you guys are from Suna and that you’re here for the chuunin exams,” I began. Sasuke landed on the ground next to me. Oh, right… I guess I should ask for their names and not their autographs… Luckily, Sasuke unintentionally reminded me before it came out of my mouth. “… Ano…”

“What is your name?” Sasuke asked.

Temari stopped and turned around. There was a blush on her face. “Y-You mean me?” she asked, shyly.

“No, I meant the one with the gourd on his back,” Sasuke corrected. I noticed that Temari’s smile had turned into a frown. I rolled my eyes. He was such a jerk.

“Don’t be rude, Sasuke. Of course we want to know all of their names!” I said.

“My name is Temari,” the sandy blond kunoichi answered.

“Kankuro.”

“And you…?” Sasuke asked.

“Gaara of the Desert,” my adorable little Panda-chan answered, turning to face us. “I am also interested in you. What’s your name?”

“My name-” I pushed Sasuke out of Gaara’s line of vision and stood in his place. I clasped my hands together as I stared at the red-head; I’m sure that my eyes were now pink hearts.

“My name’s Ma–ah, I mean… Haruno Sakura!” I told him. “But you can call me Mayu-chan if you want!” He nodded his head. That meant that I was acknowledged! AWESOME!

“Mayu…!” Sasuke hissed at me.

“Gomen,” I muttered, falling back. Sasuke coughed, and then turned his attention to Gaara.

“Uchiha Sasuke is my name,” he said.

The two stared at each other. They didn’t seem to care about the gentle breeze that suddenly came. “Hey! Hey! Don’t you want to know my name?!” Naruto exclaimed, breaking the mood.

“I couldn’t care less,” Gaara responded. That probably flattened Naruto’s ego considerably. The three sand ninja turned their backs, and then jumped away.

I turned to Sasuke. He had a smirk on his face as if he just escaped the claws of a hungry cat. “Looks like we have some competition finally,” he said. His dark eyes turned to me.

“Looks like…” I muttered.

“Hey! Hey! Hey! What’s the chuunin exam, Sakura-chan?” Naruto asked.

“It’s exactly what it sounds like,” I replied. “It’s basically a test to see if a ninja is ready to advance on to the next level, a chuunin. As a chuunin, a ninja will receive better missions than D-rank.”

“Nani…?!” Judging from his voice, I could tell that this was first he’d heard of the chuunin exams. “I definitely want to take it!” I narrowed my eyes as I watched Naruto dance around and fantasize about becoming Hokage.

“Sasuke…”

“What is it?”

“It’s going to be hard…” I looked at him. “I want us to train together.”

“Together, just the two of us?” Sasuke gave me a skeptic look. “I don’t have time to go on dates.”

I could feel my eye twitch. “Like I’d want to date you…! And anyway, you still have to kiss Ino-chan for that bet you lost! I ain’t forgot!” I stated. Sasuke grumbled something. “And I meant the three of us. All of us, training together.”

“That would only waste my time and hold me back,” Sasuke said. “… and I’m not kissing Ino.” I rolled my eyes.

“We’ll talk about this later,” I stated. “I have to go now.” I jumped away with a smirk on my face.

Did Sasuke really think he had a choice?
******************

The next morning, Kakashi asked to meet with us. Of course, he was late again, but he made up for that by telling us that he recommended all of for the chuunin selection exam. Naruto practically glomped him after he had explained some things to us. Anyway, he told us that in five days, we should head back to the Academy to register, I think. In those five days, random ninja number two came after me. I know that it was Iruka in disguise, so I almost kicked him. Too bad he wasn’t even real, which sucked! I wanted to fight someone like Sasuke did!

Speaking of that Uchiha, he finally came out and told me why he’s been acting so moody. He said it was because I reversed Haku’s technique and saved him. Just because I saved him, he feels that he owes me. I remembered rolling my eyes when he told me and thinking to myself: Boys and their egos… I told him that I didn’t even realize what happened and how I did it.

Sasuke said that he’d copied the hand signs that I did and showed me. And then he had the gull to order me to master whatever jutsu that I had done. And he wondered why I looked at him like he was crazy. But since then, I have been practicing. Too bad I didn’t have it down yet.

… Uh… Anyway, it’s been five days, so that’s why I’m currently walking towards the Academy. “Sakura-chan…! You’re late!” Naruto almost pouted.

“You try making two colors in your hair look okay, and then say that!” I groaned, frowning. “At least I’m here, right?” I fiddled with my headband as my two teammates stared at me. “Nani…?”

“Nothing,” Sasuke was the one who answered, and then he looked away from me.

“Hm, sure… Well, let’s get this show on the road!”

Pretty soon, the three of us were with some other genin. It seemed that they were all trying to get into a room. We pushed ourselves through the crowd. I quickly realized that this was some type of genjutsu. Maybe it was because I’m a genius or maybe it has something to do with the fact that I am… knowledgeable about this episode. Hadn’t really decided.

I saw Lee getting thrown back by another ninja. I smiled. Lee and all his glory. No, he wasn’t as good as Gaara, but pretty darn good in his own right. “You’re trying to take the chuunin exam with that level?” one of the ninja asked with a smug voice. His nose and hair were… memorable to say the least.

“Maybe you should quit, kids,” the one with headband covering his head suggested.

“You’re still just kids, after all,” the spiky-haired one stated. Tenten stood up. She was the one who had comforted Lee when he was pushed.

“Please let us through,” she pleaded, only to get punched in the face. Seeing a girl get punched in the face was not cool, kunoichi or not. Speaking of which, I never convinced Hinata to hit me in the face. No matter how many times I asked her, she only said no. She had no probably using the Byakugan on my body!

Someone in the crowd stated that what the ninja did was cruel. “What did you say?” red nose asked. “We’re only doing you guys a favor. The exam is extremely difficult.”

“We have seen those who quit being a ninja or got injured severely thanks to this exam,” masked chin continued; he was grinning.

“Sasuke…! That’s not even the right door! Why are we still here?!” I whispered, loudly to my teammate. Everyone in the hall turned their eyes to me. “Oops…”

“So one of you noticed, eh?” masked chin asked.

Sasuke stepped forward, causing Naruto and I to do the same. “Of course we noticed,” he said. “Sakura’s eyes for seeing through illusions are the best on our squad.” I blinked at his bluff.

“… Right,” I agreed. “This is only the second floor, after all.”

“Yes…!” Naruto also noticed.

The room number suddenly changed into 201. There were gasps all throughout the hallway. “You’re pretty good. But being able to detect it isn’t enough,” red nose finally opened one of his eyes. He suddenly attacked! Sasuke, being who he is, tried to kick him back. Before the two could collide, however, Lee stopped them my holding their legs and standing in between them.

I grinned because of all the surprised looks. “That’s Lee, for you!” I thought. Rock Lee is super fast even with his weights on! Maybe I should try weight training like he does? I’ll definitely consider it!

Red nose jumped a few inches away, while Sasuke stared at Lee’s hand. So he still thinks he’s better than everyone, huh? The rest of Lee’s team stepped forward. “You broke the promise,” Neji stated. I recognized those eyes anywhere. He’s Hinata’s cousin, though she doesn’t like talking about him. “You’re the one who didn’t want to attract attention by doing something that stands out.”

“Demo…” Lee mumbled. He turned his attention to me. I noticed that Tenten was shaking her head. Eh…? Don’t tell me this is when he…? Lee walked towards me and I had to stop the nervous chuckle that threatened to come out of my mouth. “My name is Rock Lee,” he told me. As if I didn’t already know the name of the person I admire! “You’re Sakura-san, right?”

“Sure…” I replied. Lee blushed. I really had to force myself not to glomp my idol right then and there. Lee held a thumb up.

“Let’s go out together!” he proclaimed. “I’ll protect you until the day I die!” He was winking at me, and then his teeth shined.

I couldn’t take it anymore! I, with out hesitation, glomped him. Yeah, everyone’s probably looking at me weird, but I don’t care. I think Lee was also surprised because he stumbled a bit. I finally pulled away, hearing a: “Sakura-chan…!” from Naruto. My arms were still around the stunned-looking taijutsu user.

“I would love to go out with you…!” I declared loudly. Out of the corner of my eye, I noticed that Sasuke had this ‘WTF’ expression on his face. “But I… can’t…” I continued, letting my arms fall. “I’m too young. Besides, I want to focus on getting stronger. Maybe next year, Lee-kun!” I stood on my tip toes and leaned forward. Sakura’s lips made contact with Lee’s cheek. “Kissu…!”

I laughed mentally as I walked away. Sakura would probably freak out if she ever found out about that. Once I stopped laughing on the inside, I realized that both my teammates were glaring at me. “Nani…?” I asked confused. Sasuke grumbled something under his breath, and then turned away. Naruto about did the same. I only shrugged at their actions.

“Hey, you there,” I heard Neji speak. He was walking towards our group. Sasuke turned to face him. “Identify yourself.”

“You’re supposed to identify yourself before asking that information,” Sasuke replied, shoving his hands into his pockets. He really liked to do that, didn’t he? Come to think of it, Neji was doing the same thing… They are complete weirdoes…

“You’re a rookie, aren’t you?” Neji asked. He probably already knew that. This is why I think that he secretly likes Sasuke. On T.V., every time they see it each other, they greet each other in this weird way. “How old are you?” And now he’s even asking for his age!? Neji’s just digging himself deeper, isn’t he?

“I’m not obligated to give out that information,” Sasuke answered.

Neji didn’t like his answer, and to show that, he glared. “Nani?!” Neji sounded as if he was insulted. How could someone get offended by that when you’re doing the same thing? Boys confuse me to no end. I shook my head as they continued to stare at each other. Sasuke finally walked away and headed towards Naruto and me.

“Let’s go,” he said, sounding neutral.

The three of us walked pass Neji’s team, passing the still love-stricken Lee on the way. I giggled lightly at his expression. Sakura’s going to have her hands full when she gets back.

******************

I wrote this in one day, so forgive me if there are any errors! I think I got Mayu-chan’s character down; at least that’s what Hello lover says… Please review.