Chapter 11
Chapter 11
Sakura walked alongside Izumi through the village at a leisurely pace. The older girl had insisted on picking up a few snacks for them while they practiced and now Sakura had a box full of dango in her hands while Izumi carried two more bags full of the sweet dumplings. The pair reached one of the Uchiha’s private training grounds and Sakura could feel two distinctive chakra signatures ahead of her. Both were distinctly Uchiha, unlike Izumi who felt almost Senju.
“Izumi-chan,” Sakura glanced at her friend and the memory of the Senju man charging Madara flashed behind her eyes. She could see his panic and fear now that she wasn’t in the midst of the fighting. He had been terrified and also eager to do something. He’d seen children, easy prey in his eyes and he’d missed Setsuna following him, intent on ending his life to protect her kin.
“Yes Sakura-chan?” Izumi asked, glancing towards the younger girl. For her part, Izumi enjoyed the rosette’s company, though the girl seemed off today. Her mind was clearly elsewhere and her face kept shifting to an almost blank mask, as if she was in shock. She’d seen the look on Itachi’s face often enough as they were sparring partners. He was the only one in the clan who could provide her a challenge besides Shisui and the older teen didn’t enjoy her company like much of the rest of the clan.
“Are you part Senju?” Sakura asked and looked at Izumi with certainty in her eyes. She saw the moment the question landed, how Izumi’s eyes widened and then shuttered. “I don’t mind, nothing wrong with the Senju, the war’s over.”
“The war? You almost speak like you’re on the Uchiha side Mizu-chan.” Izumi sniped but Sakura let it slide. It had been a rather pointed question, clearly one Izumi was sensitive about. Sakura could understand though, the war was fresh for her and being next to a Senju chakra signature was making her twitchy. The Uchiha had been at war with the Senju on and off for centuries. How uncomfortable could it have been with an entire clan of them running around? The thought was oddly terrifying.
“Sorry Izumi-chan, I didn’t mean to upset you.” Sakura said quietly and Izumi’s expression instantly softened. Regret briefly flashed over the older girl’s face and she let out a small sigh. Izumi’s head tilted back as she looked at the clouds overhead, her chakra wriggling about before it stilled and swept through her in a pattern that Sakura knew meant she’d found her footing.
“I’m sorry as well, I know you’ve been bullied because, well, that was mean of me. People shouldn’t care where you’re from or that I’m not a pure blooded Uchiha. You know the Hokage put me in the ghetto with the rest of the Uchiha, because even a halfblood is still a threat to society? And of course to my so called clansmen I’m not a true Uchiha?” Izumi asked, her tone decidedly bitter as they walked onto the training field proper. Sakura’s lips twisted with annoyance because Tajima had taken her in and the clan treated her like family. Nobody had looked down on her or made her feel unwanted and for the current generation of the Uchiha to have fallen so far was disappointing in a way she couldn’t put into words.
“To me, you’re an Uchiha but you’re also Senju and that’s fine, the clans made peace. You’re the embodiment of the dream for peace between them. I think that makes you special Izumi-chan.” Sakura said as Shisui and Itachi came into view. Her emerald eyes moved to Izumi who had stopped walking, her mouth partly open and her eyes wide with shock. The older girl had clearly never heard anyone say that before and Sakura was bitterly disappointed. Even if the Uchiha weren’t treated well and Sakura had known Izumi long enough to notice the looks sent her way, it was better then the war as far as she knew.
‘Though I should start paying more attention. A bad peace is worse then a just war.’ Sakura reminded herself and smiled at Shisui who was waving them over. A gentle nudge with her shoulder had Izumi snapping back to awareness and the older girl positively beamed at Sakura. The smile was one of the most beautiful things Sakura had ever seen and her stomach and face felt all funny.
“Thanks Sakura-chan! You’re the best, you know that? Way better then Shisui-teme!” Izumi cheered, loud enough for the other two Uchiha to hear. Shisui let out an annoyed huff and crossed his arms, pouting visibly. Sakura recognized him instantly, his curly hair so much like Shou’s she knew Shisui was the boy’s descendant.
“Is your grandfather Uchiha Shou?” Sakura blurted out before she could stop herself. Shisui froze along with Itachi while Izumi just looked curiously between the trio. It was obvious that for all the Uchiha stuck together, Izumi wasn’t considered one of them, which was an utter travesty. Izumi didn’t ask to be born and the war was long over, the girl was free of guilt and in Tajima’s day she would have been treated like a treasured daughter and beloved cousin. She certainly wouldn’t have been kept out of the loop so severely that a silent conversation could pass between two clan members without her even noticing.
“Great grandfather actually but yeah, why?” Shisui asked and Sakura froze in place. She didn’t really have an excuse for how she would know such a thing and she shifted nervously. She could feel both Itachi and Shisui watching her now while Izumi peered on with interest. It was obvious her friend had been cajoled into letting this happen and her curiosity was what had pushed her into accepting. Sakura wasn’t mad, though she was a bit miffed about it.
“No particular reason, it’s just, no it’s silly.” Sakura blushed, embarrassed she’d messed up so badly. She had to keep her time travel a secret after all and she wasn’t going to admit to it only a few months after starting. She could feel her heart pounding in her chest as three pairs of onyx eyes watched her but finally, Shisui started to grin playfully. His chakra lit up, mischievous and happy, the sunshine and flames brightening with excitement.
“You know I remember a story my grandfather told me once, about the tiger summons.” Shisui started and Sakura looked over at him, distinctly uncomfortable without her bangs to shield her eyes. She’d cut them short so they wouldn’t get in the way during a fight and now she missed being able to hide behind them. She knew she was supposed to be brave but Madara wasn’t here and the Uchiha would never accept her now if they couldn’t even accept one of their own. “Said we owed a debt to the next pink haired tiger summoner. You wouldn’t happen to be a pink haired tiger summoner, would you?”
“Me?” Sakura squeaked and Izumi stepped forward, shielding her. The older girl crossed her arms and glared at Shisui who was clearly surprised by it. Shisui tilted his head in silent question and Izumi huffed, putting one of her arms back protectively, further keeping Sakura from the two boys.
“I agreed to let you three meet because I trust ‘Tachi-kun and because I thought you didn’t have a mean bone in your body Shisui. You might ignore me, but that’s normal, nobody likes that I exist but Sakura’s done nothing wrong. She gets enough from the villagers so be nice or I’ll punch you.” Izumi flashed her sharingan, tomoe spinning lazily in her eyes. It was a threat, one Sakura had never seen an Uchiha turn on one of their own. It also meant Sakura was seen as one of Izumi’s people, someone she would fight, bleed and possibly die for. The Sharingan were the crystallization of the Uchiha’s fire, their blazing emotions molding their bodies to match and when they came to the fore instinctively, it spoke louder then any words.
“…” Shisui remained silent for several long seconds before he turned to meet Sakura’s gaze. His face was clearly repentant, upset even and Sakura could feel his chakra dim to match. He’d been excited and trying to get at something, not intimidate her or upset her. “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to upset ya. Just got eager you know? My family, we have a debt to repay and we take debts very seriously.”
“A debt?” Sakura asked hesitantly and Shisui gave a nod. Shisui’s mention of family sounded more insular then Sakura would have liked. He spoke as if the clan wasn’t his family but rather his specific line and while the distinction existed in the past, the individual’s debts should be the clan’s debts and vice versa. It was a reminder that she was out of her time or rather Madara’s time, which felt oddly more comfortable then Konoha. In the past she was loved while in the present, she was merely a tool for the ambitions of adults she didn’t care for.
“Yup, a debt and a message but I can only pass it on to a tiger summoner you know? One with pink hair and sharp teeth. It’s a debt from one family to another.” Shisui eyed Sakura and Sakura shifted out from behind Izumi. She had fought alongside Shou for the first time just last night and Shisui’s chakra was very similar to the other boy. She could see the resemblance now, in the face and smile, the wild curly hair and the curve of his eyes. On the other hand, Sakura didn’t want to somehow prove she was time traveling or give anyone the wrong idea but time travel hadn’t been mentioned and it was a far less likely explanation then a debt between clans.
Without saying a word, Sakura slowly raised her thumb to her mouth and bit down. The gesture caused all three Uchiha to still in recognition. Her fingers rapidly wove the seals for her jutsu and she focused on the contract she had with the tigers. She could feel the two bonds tugging at her soul as she wove her chakra and knew she could not summon a fox in front of Konoha shinobi. That would not go well, not after the Kyubi had burned much of the village only five short years ago.
“Kuchiyose no jutsu!” Sakura called out and felt her chakra snap into place as the jutsu took. She let just enough chakra flow into the jutsu and a small puff of smoke appeared before her. When it cleared, she was left with a small white tiger cub with electric blue eyes staring at her. It mewed with excitement and pounced onto her chest. Sakura caught the cub as it began to purr happily, the noise causing something to stir in Sakura and her own chest began to vibrate in tune with the cub.
“Hello friend! I’m uh, Masami!” The tiger’s voice was high pitched and feminine. Sakura could tell it was a girl from what she’d seen, but somehow she hadn’t expected her tiger summons to be so cute and innocent. They were regal things, in her mind at least. “You’re Sakura-chan-sama! I’ve heard so, so much about you from Byakko-otou-sama.”
“Itachi, Itachi I’m gonna die. It’s too cute, they’re too cute.” Shisui wheezed, sounding somehow genuinely pained. He gripped the younger boy’s shoulder and leaned on the arm, gasping for breath as if he was experiencing a sensory overload. Sakura could feel Shisui’s chakra surging, utterly uncontrolled and realized he very likely was experiencing too much emotion. The positive emotions were just as overly intense for Uchiha as the negative ones and Shisui didn’t seem to hold back anything.
“She is purring.” Itachi stated, utterly confused by what he was witnessing. Shisui gasped again and let himself flop onto the ground. Itachi’s chakra and thus his emotions were far more controlled, though Sakura could tell his confusion was slowly bleeding into amusement, though that was likely more due to Shisui’s reaction then anything else.
Izumi however was stunned silent, her crimson eyes memorizing scene seen almost hungrily. Her chakra radiated fondness and amazement in equal measure. It was a reaction Sakura had seen before, and it was always when a young Uchiha, namely herself or Madara had done something to make one of their older kinsmen proud to the extreme. The precious memories were burned into their very souls, torches of brilliant happiness to combat the wicked flames of war and suffering. In a way, Izumi’s reaction was more Uchiha then either of the two boys and Sakura was quietly proud of her friend as Masami dropped down to the ground and sniffed at Izumi’s ankles.
“You have sakura-chan-sama’s scent on you! Does that make you her friend? Does that mean you’re my friend?!” Masami asked excitedly and Sakura saw Izumi’s heart melt into a gooey puddle. The tiny tiger was utterly precious, entirely unlike the one that Sakura had signed her contract with. Oddly, Masami seemed to command a similar level of emotional response, but it was certainly a very different emotion.
“Yes, I’m Sakura-chan’s best friend.” Izumi confirmed with a wide smile as she crouched down and held out her hand for the tiger. “It’s nice to meet you Masasmi-chan.”
“New friend! Here, have some of my scent so everyone will know!” Masami chirped happily and nuzzled Izumi’s hand. The Uchiha girl giggled with delight and let Masami nuzzle her hand to her heart’s content. When the tiny tiger was done, Masami ran back over to Sakura and plopped down next to her, attempting to radiate seriousness and failing utterly.
“Okay Sakura-chan-sama, what do you need?” Masami asked and Sakura glanced towards Shisui who was slowly recovering while sitting down, propped up by his arms which were angled backwards and locked at the elbows. The Uchiha boy let out a long sigh and shook his head, still somewhat off kilter by the flush of emotions he had just experienced. Sakura knew that suppressing his sharingan had likely made it harder on him, but she couldn’t exactly share that knowledge since she had no justification for knowing it.
“Shisui here says his family owed a debt to the tiger summoners so I had to prove I held the contract.” Sakura explained and Masami nodded her head vigorously. The tiny tiger’s entire body wobbled with the force of the enthusiastic motion.
“I see, well then I should go since you’ve proved that! Byakko-otou-sama says we shouldn’t be summoned fri-vo-lous-ly, whatever that means.” Masami chirped and then vanished in a puff of smoke and a crackle of lightning. It was a surprising display of power for such a small animal and the ground where she’d been standing was scorched black. Shisui whistled, impressed and turned his gaze onto Sakura, contemplation obvious within them.
“What year are you in the academy?” Shisui asked because he knew the girl wouldn’t be placed into a beginner’s class. She was too skilled and the council too greedy to allow such waste. No, Sakura would be pushed through the academy as fast as possible, especially with the tension currently burning through the village. The Uchiha were getting angrier by the day, the persecution they were facing worsening with every month that had passed since the Kyubi’s attack.
“She’s currently in the second to last year, but she could graduate this year if she takes the exam.” Izumi informed the two boys, her chakra and demeanor returning to their usual levels. Izumi wasn’t as controlled as Madara or Itachi, nor was she as enthusiastic as Shisui. Her personality was warm and caring, quiet yet unyielding. She was a good friend and Sakura would be forever grateful she’d gathered up the courage to befriend the half-Uchiha half-Senju girl.
“You going to try for early graduation?” Shisui asked and Sakura looked towards Izumi, pressing her lips together into a fine line as she considered the question.
The academy was boring and she wasn’t learning anything useful. She needed to learn what she could in this time so she could bring that to the past and aid the Uchiha. The war would only worsen, she knew that and every life she could save with medical jutsu and every edge she could give the clan with fuinjutsu she would. Someone had helped them stand toe to toe with the Uzumaki Senju alliance and Sakura had a sneaking suspicion it would have to be her. After all she knew how strong Madara was and he couldn’t do it alone, legend or not. Izuna wasn’t even mentioned in the history books, nor were any other members of the clan for that matter.
“Izumi-chan, want to train for early graduation?” Sakura asked and Izumi’s grinned happily. Sakura knew Izumi wanted to prove herself. She wasn’t loud about it and she didn’t get in people’s faces but she had perfect grades and was the top of their year. Itachi would have held that spot but he had graduated two years ago at the age of seven. Sakura would beat his graduation record by eighteen months or so if Izumi agreed.
“Yes, I think we’ll try. Hopefully we’ll get put on the same team.” Izumi replied happily and Sakura nodded in agreement. The older girl was her friend and it was tradition to put the two top students together along with the last place. Izumi was the best and Sakura was right behind her in grades. The question was, would the hokage break the traditional two shinobi one kunoichi layout or break the top two students, dead last formula that had created many of Konoha’s strongest teams including the sannin.
“Well the only way to do that is to make sure we’re the top two students by a wide margin.” Sakura pointed out because if they were the top two and it wasn’t close, then Hiruzen would be more likely to overlook his inherent sexism.
Sakura didn’t know much about the man as a person but his policies were obviously chauvinistic. The man had trained the last Senju, an heir to the Shodaime as a medic and it was public record that Tsunade had a combative, aggressive personality unsuited for the medical arts or role she’d been given. Worse, the laws enforced upon medics, falsely attributed to Tsunade, all but forced medics off the battlefield, which seemed reasonable until one realized almost every kunoichi in the village was pressed into the medical role if they weren’t being fast tracked into seduction.
“Hmm, you’re right. If only we knew two excellent shinobi who could help us prepare and who owe us a favor for upsetting my best friend.” Izumi smirked playfully at Itachi whose lips quirked up in a small smile. It was obvious the prodigy was more then happy to assist while Shisui let out a put upon sigh and grumbled a few choice words under his breath.
“Fine, but only because Sakura-chan is the cutest thing ever. She freaking purrs! Purrs!” Shisui shouted, gesturing wildly at the rosette who blushed furiously and hid behind Izumi. She was not used to such open, wild shows of emotional praise. Tajima was kind and loving but reserved and while he could be intense it was a quiet intensity, not the loud raucous displays that Shisui was prone to.
“I would not mind training with you two.” Itachi said slowly, considering the two kunoichi in training. His eyes moved from Sakura’s shy expression to Izumi who grinned happily at him. The corners of his mouth had remained slightly turned up since Izumi had made her request and his eyes seemed to sparkle with happiness. His chakra was still tightly controlled but Sakura could feel an edge of warmth within it that hadn’t been there before. “Would you mind if we began today?”
“Sakura-chan?” Izumi turned to the rosette who nodded, eager for more chances to learn. Itachi’s expression smoothed out as he nodded towards a few targets lining the clearing and Izumi rolled her eyes before withdrawing two kunai in one and a third in the other. She flicked the first two blades, both mildly off course then launched the third at a higher speed, striking the first two and sending all three into their respective bullseye. “I might not have a lot of chakra, but my other skills make up for it.”
“You have more chakra then I do.” Sakura countered and Izumi ruffled the girl’s hair affectionately. Sakura swatted at the offending arm playfully and stepped back, before turning her attention to the wild mess of pink spikes atop her head. “It’s true!”
“Yes but the moment I use my sharingan, it all just vanishes. It’s because I’m not a full blooded Uchiha, my body isn’t meant for the sharingan.” Izumi explained, which made absolutely no sense to Sakura. The sharingan were the visual representation of the changes made to the body by the raging chakra of the Uchiha. That Izumi had them was proof her chakra was Uchiha in nature. Even with a different elemental affinity, she still had a soul of fire.
“Well when I learn medical ninjutsu, would you mind if I took a look?” Sakura asked and suddenly all three Uchiha were focused on her again. Shisui was looking a mix of amused and contemplative while Itachi looked almost jealous. Izumi had a proud grin on her face, which was also slightly smug.
“See, I told you ‘Tachi-kun, she’s the best. I told you, you would like her but no, it took Shisui having to say he wanted to meet her to get you here.” Izumi gloated, walking over to her friend and grinning at the boy. Itachi glanced at Sakura before meeting Izumi’s eyes and then gave her a slight nod.
“Mother and Father did not want me wasting time on…” Itachi’s eyes were sad as he spoke and his words trailed off. His face shuttered in a way that Sakura had seen in the mirror far too often before she’d met Madara. A protective anger swept through her at the sight because she was Madara’s second, it was her duty to look after those of the clan. Itachi might be the current heir but Madara preceded him as did she. To her five year old mind, that made Itachi her responsibility.
“It won’t be wasting time. Tell your parents you’ve made a connection with the first person since the Copy-nin to graduate at the age of five. Tell them Izumi and I will be chunin within a year of graduating.” Sakura stated confidently because she would manage it. She’d seen the level of academy graduates and while Itachi and Shisui were far beyond her reach, chunin wasn’t. Hatake Kakashi might have managed to reach it in a year during wartime but it was actually easier to get promoted through the chunin exams then earn a field promotion, for a child at least. All she had to do was show off her summons in a match and perhaps some medical ninjutsu and she’d have her vest.
“Sakura-chan, maybe that’s a bit…” Izumi trailed off and then realized she had been included in the girl’s words. Itachi’s attention shifted to Izumi, consideration clear in his eyes before he dipped his head.
“You’re very talented Izumi. If you stopped trying to fight like an Uchiha and instead played to your strengths…” Itachi’s words caused Izumi to flinch and Sakura took the older girl’s hands. Izumi looked down and met a pair of burning emerald eyes that were far too knowing. Sakura had never come off as a prodigy, not to Izumi at least. Sure she was precocious and she spoke well but it was the behavior of a child trained to act that way rather then a child like Itachi who was simply mature before his time through a quirk of his brain and chakra. Right now though, Sakura looked oddly mature, as if she could see something in Izumi that she hadn’t even spotted yet.
“When we became friends, you said you had some ideas on how to use your chakra control to become a better ninja.” Sakura stated and looked into Izumi’s eyes. She did her best to radiate the calm confidence that Tajima always carried so effortlessly. The man’s quiet dignity caught the eye and held the attention of those around him without the need for a raised voice or chakra pressure. “I think it’s time you built upon your talents and who you are. You’re Uchiha but you’re also Senju and more importantly, you’re Izumi. You are a part of your clan but every clan member is an individual and fights in their own way. You help no one by forcing yourself to conform to a mold you should not have to fit.”
It sounded like something Tajima would say, at least in Sakura’s mind. She wasn’t sure if her words were truly meaningful but she knew how to speak and her parents were eloquent when they were of a mind to be. Haruno meant merchants and merchants were as glib as people came. Sakura might not be a Haruno by nature but she was certainly one by nurture, at least up until a few months ago when the flames were lit in her heart forevermore.
“Sakura-san is right, you have a lot of talent Izumi, you even awoke your sharingan before I did and you can use katon chakra despite being water and wind natured. If you embraced your talents, perhaps I would not be the Uchiha prodigy of this generation.” Itachi said truthfully, his words driving home the point Sakura had made. Izumi stood, looking absolutely axed by what she had just heard. The girl took in a slow, shuddering breath, her chakra wavering between joy and sorry, her eyes suddenly watery. Nobody said a word as Izumi gathered herself and gave a small nod.
“Thank you,” Izumi whispered and gave Itachi a quick hug before turning to Sakura. “Your words mean the world to me.” Izumi admitted, blinking away her tears and wiping them away before they could truly fall. A brilliant grin spread over her face, her eyes sparkling with happiness even as they remained slightly watery. “So, I guess I should share my idea huh?”
“If you want, I know this was apparently supposed to be between you and Sakura, right?” Shisui motioned to the girl and Izumi looked towards him and waved off his concern.
Shisui raised an eyebrow, because in truth he hadn’t truly treated her all that well. Sure there was no bad blood between them but there really wasn’t any positive emotions either. To him, Izumi was Itachi’s childhood friend, separated from him by the difference in social standing and expectations. He didn’t care that she was only half Uchiha or that she was part Senju but until now he had no reason to befriend her either. Itachi needed all the help he could get and there wasn’t time to hang out with academy students when the clan was burying the boy under impossible expectations.
“So I have an idea for kenjutsu and bukijutsu, focused on concentrating chakra into blades. I don’t have a lot of chakra, at least not compared to most Uchiha, however I have very high chakra control because…” Izumi trailed off and shrugged. It was no secret the Senju had very high chakra control, in fact hers was on the lower end for a Senju who averaged aroud 96%. if she polished her chakra control while growing her reserves, she’d be capable of becoming a truly fearsome ninjutsu specialist, assuming she stuck with her elemental affinities rather then trying to force out katon jutsu.
“Well anyways, I have high chakra control so I can make the chakra I put into my weapons incredibly dense. Normally this wouldn’t have that big of an affect but I was reading about the Raijin no Ken and how it could cut through nearly anything because of the sheer density of lightning chakra and that got me thinking. If I could reach 100% chakra control, I would be able to create a reinforced edge of chakra so dense that it could cut through anything without expending anymore chakra then what water walking requires.” Izumi explained and Shisui let out an appreciative whistle.
It was a truly revolutionary idea, but for the same reasons that nobody copied Tsunade’s strength, nobody would be able to mimic Izumi’s chakra blades, if she actually managed to perfect them. Itachi looked proud, his smile slight but noticeable and his eyes looked at Izumi with open affection. Sakura grinned at the sight, happy to see that Izumi had friends who cared besides herself.
“I’ll go pull what I can from the archives on similar techniques. If you’re going to go chakra control, you should mix in genjutsu and puppetry.” Shisui notably didn’t mention medical jutsu. He knew if Izumi had an interest she would have brought it up and if she didn’t, then he would only offend her. The habit of forcing kunoichi into the roll of medic wasn’t one that he supported both because sexism was a stupid way to waste potential and it also created a stigma against shinobi becoming medics, thus limiting the number of medics available.
“Puppetry? That…” Izumi thought over the idea before nodding to herself. “Perhaps not a puppet but controlling my shuriken through chakra strings would work. If I coated their edges with chakra, they would be nearly unblockable and guided.” Izumi smiled at the thought while Shisui shuddered at the idea of facing such a technique. Sure in theory Izumi’s foes would only have to interrupt the chakra string to reduce her shuriken back to normal metal projectiles, but for those who couldn’t see chakra they would have no way of knowing the shuriken were controlled remotely until they began curving towards them. “So nin-kenjutsu and puppetry bukijutsu for me. What about you Sakura-chan?”
“Fuinjutsu, medical ninjutsu and um…” Sakura kicked the ground idly before looking at Itachi and Shisui then to Izumi. It was obvious the girl wanted to ask something and Izumi instantly caught on to what was going through her head. They’d trained together a few times, mostly just throwing practice or exercise but they had spared in class and Sakura used a rather distinctive but archaic form of Uchiha taijutsu.
“It’s alright Sakura-chan, they won’t tell anyone.” Izumi’s smile was threatening as she looked towards the two boys. Instead of intimidating them though, it only made them more curious and they both nodded in agreement to Izumi’s words. Sakura let out a small sigh of relief and then looked at Shisui and Itachi,
“I need sparring practice but the style of taijutsu I use was once popular among Uchiha.” Sakura explained and Shisui looked thoughtful. Sakura realized she had an explanation already on hand and quickly added. “The tigers have been teaching me.”
“That would make sense.” Shisui grinned and accepted her words without suspicion. Itachi looked thoughtful and perhaps a bit eager to see what the rosette knew. Sakura couldn’t quite pin the clan heir down as he hid his emotions quite well. What she saw of him though showed a very thoughtful and rather caring boy who had far too much stress placed upon his tiny shoulders. “Well then, let’s do a review of what you two are capable of. We’ll start with the academy three and you can show us where you’re at for graduation. Sakura-chan, we won’t be telling the clan about your taijutsu so if you know anything else from your summons…”
“Just taijutsu for now.” Sakura answered back since she wasn’t good enough with kenjutsu or bukijutsu to claim to know anything else. She could swing a sword but in her hands it was merely a blunt instrument. Shisui gave a nod and then flashed a sadistic grin. His chakra turned playfully mischievous and Sakura just knew he was going to test their endurance and chakra reserves by driving them into the dirt. In a way that actually made her like Shisui even more, after all she would have done the same.