The Cherry Blossoms Bloom Brilliantly

Haruno Residence

A Day Later

 

Sakura woke up at 6 A.M sharp as the alarm rang.

It was graduation exam day today and she needed to arrive at the academy early.

There was a glass of water already present on the little table her parents had arranged for her in their room as well fruits and biscuits for breakfast.

A stark contrast to yesterday when her parents had cared for her the entire day and it had ended in a outburst from her to make them stop treating her as if she were a new born babe.

As she brushed her teeth preparing herself for her graduation exams her eyes landed on the pendant that she always wore.

Hm? Did I damage it that day ?

She brushed with her left hand and with her right, caressed the cracked petals of the centerpiece.

Dad gave it to me on my birthday so he would be a bit sad.....gotta it hide from him.

Spitting the foam in the basin she went to take a quick shower and then dressed, all seemed to have returned to normality but there was something off with her.

Her youthful body displayed an unsteady gait for a moment as she came out the washroom, pointing to the child's hidden predicament.

My body feels so sluggish.....Why is this happening so often.

Randomly her thoughts would cloud up since yesterday, it felt like a dense fog had settled upon her mind which in turn caused her body movement to slow and lose precision.

Massaging her forehead lightly she ambled down the stairs and stealthily approached the main door.

"I am off!!"

Shouting this, she wanted to quickly make her exit but alas she was too slow.

"GOOD LUCK MY LITTLE GIRL!!!!!"

Receiving an ear-blasting shout of encouragement from her father who rushed from the living room along with her mother, she quickly ran out of her to avoid the embarrassing sight of him waving a flag with 'Victory!' written on it while her mom gushed about all types of precautions a delicate girl(such as herself) should undertake especially in the grueling Shinobi world.

She shut the main door with a slight blush on her face seemingly embarrassed from their antics but her lips had curved up slightly revealing her joy as well.

I don't even have to run around today, the test should be about clone or transformation jutsu.....

It was a clear day today with a moderate temperature and slight winds.

The Harunos lived in the northern residential district, the road in front of the house was made of compacted earth, this is done as a cost effective measure to ensure that water would drain downwards and out instead of clogging the streets which is the standard practice for most roads in Konoha.

The houses of the most residents were mostly made of wood, stone and concrete usually one or two storeys tall and fenced off from each other.

Typically the richer the household the lesser they used wood in construction and instead made stronger and firmer houses of other materials.

Standing outside her home she took a deep breath and calmed down, she looked around and felt the anomaly even more acutely.

Things feel so...woozy.

This has been happening ever since that dream.

Still it's way better than yesterday, that entire day had felt like my brain had fallen out of my head.

The girl mused to herself as she walked on the compacted earth of the streets and alleys of Konoha towards the Ninja Academy. She passed the bustling crowds, men, women and children going about their day and approached the main street road.

She felt acutely the haze settling on her senses slowly start to lift finally.

Yet it didn't mean the end of worries as the burden still weighed on her shoulders from the seemingly prophetic ordeal she had experienced and now she could think about it clearer than before.

Moreover she could somehow see it.

The images of her nightmare overlapping the still alive thriving Konoha.

If that dream is-........ NO what am I thinking?

She bit her lip trying to disregard her recent otherworldly experience as nothing but a nightmare.

No way any of that is true! I should just move on with my day, I can't be bothering with inane nightmares when I have so much on my plate already. Moreover it's the Graduation Exam today.

Yet she could not, something inside her resisted each time she tried to move on and forget.

If..................if it comes true then that means in less than three decades this will all prosper and then disappear.

Seeing the usual smiling faces of the villagers instilled a sense of crisis in her instead of joy as she remembered the date on the newspaper.

Year 92 of Konohagakure, so that means 27 Years till Dad and Mom........

Her steps unconsciously hastened as she shook her head and the haze rapidly disappeared as her thoughts sped up.

What could I possibly do!

Tell my parents that they will die? They will cast it off as a nightmare I had and a child's insecurity.

Tell the elders and seniors? I don't know any of the details and might end up in an even worse situation if I go on babbling about the destruction of the village 27 years in the future.

Such words could get an adult exiled under the charge of cursing for the downfall of the village. I would be lucky if they just branded me as the village lunatic.

Not to mention this goes beyond just Konohagakure.....

The corpses in her dream didn't just have the Leaf's headbands, other Hidden Village Shinobi had also been there. The more she thought about that nightmare and analyzed it, the more details were revealed.

Other Village Ninja not only being present in Konoha during a mass conflict but also fully armed, the Hokage Monument wasn't even slightly visible which means that it was also intentionally destroyed along with the village, all buildings thoroughly destroyed even the civilian housing at the outskirts.

She slowly narrowed down the possibilities.

 So the most probable conclusion is...War or more accurately a Shinobi World War.

 A war in which Konohagakure was razed to the ground.

Even if some Hidden Villages weren't initially involved in the conflict, once Konoha is done for then no one would hold back from feasting on the remains like vultures on corpses.

She bit her lips in frustration.

If I approach the wrong person then it could turn even worse.........there will be nothing left to do if my actions end up making all of it come true. After all the current peace treaties are based on the solemn promise of no new conflicts, knowing that a conflict was inevitable might even trigger a preemptive strike on current allies.

Her hands clenched into fists and her nails dug into the skin of her palms.

 If adults are out of question then I first need to confide in someone near my age to atleast have someone to consult with. Someone who would take my preposterous ramblings seriously. Then even if all this gets exposed I could possibly avoid it becoming something seriously damning on me.

Her mind quickly ran through a list of her acquaintances near her age leading to a rather embarrassing conclusion. 

I..... really didn't make any serious friends.

The list didn't really exist.

If not friends then anyone capable would do..........It really comes down to either Ino or Sasuke.

A friend turned rival/enemy and a boy who replied to your words once in a blue moon.

........my goodness, I really don't wanna do this!!!!

Her head and shoulders hung down in despair at the thought of the upcoming difficulties not noticing how her thoughts about her crush had subtly started to change.

Is there really no else who would listen?

There was a certain blond haired kid she thought of momentarily.

I can't even imagine approaching that idiot with something like this.

Immediately shooting down that possibility she looked towards the academy which caused her to reminisce about her school days as if they had passed long ago.

I really messed up breaking my friendship with Ino...

She thought about her time in the hospital, the memories were blurry but she could still remember the feeling of her holding her hand tight as her right hand clenched into a fist.

---

She arrived at the academy much earlier than the stipulated time and sat near to Sasuke, more accurately in the row just behind him.

Meanwhile Ino sat with Shikamaru and Choji seemingly occupied with discussing something important.

Even when I arrived so early the seats next to him are already filled.

There were girls already fawning over the unresponsive black haired idol of the class.

Sasuke Uchiha truly was the most popular one in the academy.

He was in his usual sitting form with fingers interlocked in front of his face and elbows on the desk looking dead ahead but his eyes weren't moving even a little bit which was unusual.

Oh god he is like that again.

She knew in this state he won't listen to a single word as this had happened before, she had tried to talk to him once when they were learning about missing-nin and the bingo book, he had looked exactly the same way at that time too, and wouldn't listen to anyone.

Well I shouldn't give up without trying.....

Thus began her efforts.

"Um Sasuke-kun ? Hello?"

"....."

All it did was to earn her a few glares from the surrounding fangirls who looked like rabid dogs ready to pounce at the slightest misstep into their territories.

Ok, he isn't listening. Maybe a note might do?

She wrote down a request to meet him after the exam and discreetly threw it in his row's desk when the girl next to him turned away to talk to the instructor calling her name.

Ok, now for him to pick it up.

One Minute Later.

Come on Sasuke-kun look in the desk!

Five Minutes Later.

...............Surely he will see it.

Ten Minutes Later.

Sasuke took out his bottle which had the folded paper next to it from the desk , drank a sip of water, put the bottle right back next to the paper and reassumed the same pose as before.

........

........

........

What the hell you punk ?! You looking down on me or something!?!?

The folded paper laid pristinely in its original position. It seemed as if it would remain undefiled till the end of time itself.

Sakura almost felt like having another anxiety attack due to the tension from trying to facilitate a opportunity to talk.

Take the fucking hands off your face!!!

The boy truly was like a statue, the only thing setting him apart was the fact he was breathing.

Her mind filled with burning hot anger as her gaze drilled into the back of the boy's head!

"Sakura Haruno! Come up for your turn!"

"Yes Sensei!"

Her build-up rage was abruptly interrupted.

Calming herself down, reassuring to herself that she still had many years to make a change, she focused on giving her graduation test with full focus.

She went into the exam room and was greeted with the familiar faces of Iruka-sensei and Mizuki-sensei.

"Good Morning! Iruka-sensei, Mizuki-sensei"

Sakura bowed while greeting her teachers.

"Oh! Sakura, how are you doing now, I heard you had a medical emergency two days ago, I am sorry I couldn't be there."

Iruka guiltily replied while Mizuki merely nodded in greeting.

"No, No it wasn't anything major Sensei, I recovered after receiving treatment plus I was right as rain after a day's sleep"

Sakura assured as she gave a smile of reassurance to her class instructor.

"Don't hesitate to tell me if anything's wrong , ok ? Now let's proceed with your exam, it's Clone Jutsu I am sure you're prepared"

"Yes!"

She walked to the front of the teachers desk, took position and brought her hands to her front.

Ram - Snake - Tiger

Immediately 3 identical copies of Sakura appeared in puffs of smoke.

Iruka and Mizuki sharply inspected the clones for any inconsistencies after which they noted down words on the score page.

"Maintain it as long as you comfortably can, 3 minutes is the limit for the exam"

"Yes Sensei!"

Mizuki instructed and Sakura relaxed her body as she replied.

---

 

Iruka and Mizuki wrote down the last row and filled the grade sheet after 3 minutes passed.

"Well done as always Sakura, you can dispel them now"

Iruka said as he grabbed the grade sheet and the headband.

The clones disappeared and her body fully relaxed as she fixed her eyes on her now former class instructor who approached her and wrapped the headband around her forehead.

He stared in her eyes with a gaze full of dignity.

"Congratulations on becoming a Kunoichi!!! Sakura Haruno you are now a Genin of Konohagakure, uphold and fulfil your duties honourably and skillfully as they rightfully deserve!"

Sakura stood ramrod straight as she shouted.

"YES!"

Iruka patted the top of her head with a smile on his face and sent her out.

"Good job Sakura you can leave and go celebrate, Alright! Send the Next Candidate!"

"Thank you Iruka-Sensei!"

Sakura thanked Iruka as Mizuki's face subtly twitched from jealousy behind them which he immediately controlled.

Returning to the classroom she saw that some girls immediately focused their razor sharp gazes on her.

Looking down she spotted the torn remains of her secret note which had failed to reach its intended recipient.

Oh shit.....

Making any contact or moves with Sasuke Uchiha whether it be romantic or otherwise was a strict no-no and would put you on a quasi hit-list by the girls.

She immediately did a 180-degree turn and bolted out of the classroom as the girls gave pursuit to their prey.

Thus began a rather long chase which covered the entire academy.

........

".....I really.............don't wanna try.......again"

Sakura huffed out as she gasped for breath after the hour long pursuit which had ended with the instructors nabbing their students back to their classrooms.

By the time she returned to the classroom, Sasuke and Ino were already gone.

.....Damn it, that was such a pain!!! I didn't even manage to start a conversation.....

The now Genin girl thought defeatedly as she walked to the entrance of the academy.

She stepped out the academy to the hustle and bustle of parents and students celebrating and looked around, which resulted in her spotting Naruto Uzumaki but there was one thing different about him today.

He looks kinda......depressed.

The blonde hair kid truly wasn't his usual boisterous self as he walked with his eyes to the ground towards his usual spot, the swing under the tree, the air around him heavy as if dark clouds had gathered around his head.

The test didn't go well, did it? Well time to fix him up!

For some reason she, for a moment, wanted to go to him, smack him on his head and shout for him to cheer the hell up.

She took a step in his direction and abruptly stopped.

...What the hell? Why did I think something like that???

Giving up on her Village Destruction Prevention Initiative for now as she ran her fingers through her hair in confusion , she went home.

Thank goodness I warned Mom and Dad not to come otherwise they would make such a ruckus.

She mused as the noise of celebration boomed behind even after she had walked a considerable distance.

And so an important day passed like nothing

Home was different since the incident, where her parents used to appear annoying as she felt like they treated her like a child, now it felt  so different, the warmth of her family comforted her troubled heart as she gained a new appreciation for her situation even if the future was supposedly bleak.

Kizashi and Mebuki were over the moon , their daughter had started giving them hugs since yesterday and spent so much of her time with them. Her happiness was apparent in her now abundant smiles shown to her parents although unknown to herself, the Haruno Household was full of laughter and joy.

Night came as everything wrapped up, Sakura went to sleep in her room as usual having assured that she will call for them if she felt anything.

Now, time to hit the hay I guess.

If only it could be like that.

Damn it, I can't sleep!!!!

Sakura was denied the dreamlands as she got up from the bed feeling a sense of restlessness.

She stomped around the wooden floorboards of her room frustrated, feeling that she was missing something from her routine.

I don't usually do this but.....

She put her palms on the floorboards and straightened her body for doing pushups, a stark contrast to her usual self who avoided muscle building exercises to remain slim for an attractive feminine look.

One! Two! Three! Four! Five!

This went on till 70 pushups as she stopped when she saw sweat wetting the floorboard in front of her eyes and she slowly got up from the floor with her arms sore.

I definitely feel better now. Is this some sort of side effect of the medicine the doctor prescribed?

The feeling of missing a routinely activity had disappeared.

Might as well grab a book to read to sleep.

She went to bookshelf and what she saw surprised her.

Her brand new notebook was marked on the spine and 10 new scrolls were clearly opened from their packaging.

Who the hell went in my room?! Could it be....a thief?!

Her head swished around as she looked around and saw nothing of note missing from her room, everything was where it should be with only the notebook and scrolls being noticeably tampered with.

Nothing seems missing though....was it a thief or some kind of a prankster? Who would break in but not steal ??

After checking the locks and seeing they weren't broken she was even more confused, the only clues remained were the items tampered with.

She grabbed the new notebook and saw incomplete sentences polluting the brand new white pages.

"Kakashi-Team 7, Sasuke, Naruto, Sakura"

Damn the intruder's handwriting is better than mine, hmmm Kakashi, Team 7? Why would someone write this ??? Does the guy who wrote this want to say I would end up with Naruto and Sasuke on a team? Those two will tear each other apart on the first day if that were true, who is this Kakashi guy anyway?? What a weird thing to write down.....

The intruder's words threw her thoughts into a mess, eventually she let out a sigh and gave up on understanding.

Well, no way this is happening anyway since Naruto must have failed today otherwise he wouldn't be so depressed plus no way I am lucky enough to end up in Sasuke's team, that would make consulting him about the dream way easier.

Despite the seemingly wrong prediction written on the page, she read on and the next sentence stumped her completely.

"Naruto-Hokage marries Hinata, Sasuke Missing-Nin returns and marries Me"

Okay, now this is just bullshi-

Seeing something like would have made her laugh out loud but even when the words written should have appeared absurd even hilarious to anyone who knew the people it concerned, for some reason she didn't laugh as the feelings inside her mind surprised her.

Why......why do I feel this is believable??? This is just wrong from the get-go, Naruto just failed today , how could he become Hokage and surely there is no way Sasuke would leave the village and who the hell is 'ME' ?

Feeling confused and a bit lost she put the book back and instead picked up one of the scrolls the intruder had written in.

This is just gibberish. No way this is a real jutsu, why is the application and technique so complicated???

The title read Ninja Art Creation Rebirth — Strength of a Hundred Technique followed by a seemingly endless amount of instructions and parameters which took up the entire scroll with a few blank spaces where words were missing.

There were also theoretical phases written down for the modification of the technique.

What the hell is this..........Screw it! No way I am gonna deal with this damn prank tonight. I will tell Mom and Dad about this mess later.

She once again checked the locks on her window and went to check the front entrance on the ground floor after which she returned to her room.

Looking outside her window she spotted many shinobi on guard on village rooftops, seemingly searching for someone or something.

That's strange.......why are so many people on duty tonight? Could it be they are after the prankster as well? I hope they catch whoever it is, the bastard really hurt my wallet by using up my new scrolls!

She had no clue that they were after Naruto Uzumaki who had just stolen the Scroll of Seals thus triggering a village-wide manhunt.

It should be safe since there are so many village Shinobi outside, I should go to sleep.

The one upside of this fiasco was that now she was thoroughly tired and had no energy to bother with all of it.

She lay down defeated in her bed and closed her eyes.

I need to try to talk to Sasuke and Ino before we start going on missions......I will talk to Mom and Dad in the morning about this prank.

Sakura thought as she fell asleep.