Sometimes you can't remain the prey. Orochimaru succeeded in becoming Hokage and revolutionized the Academy. Konoha comes for Sakura one day, armed with doctrine and regulations. Thrust in a world where blood and power rule, she will need to adapt and swallow her hate, if she wants to stay alive. One way or another, Sakura will claw her way up to freedom. AU!

-0

[Snakeskin]

-0

Ami found Sakura in her room one autumn afternoon, and she came in after a tentative knock on the door.

Sakura shut her book on chakra sensing, memorizing the page number so that she could go back to it once Ami left. Ever since the incident at home and since Kushina had mentioned the ability, her interest was piqued. If she had been able to sense chakra, she would have known there was an intruder in her house. She wouldn't have been caught off guard as she'd been.

Ami looked around the room, her gaze roaming over the stacks of books and papers scattered over the floor. Sakura fought off a flush. If Mommy was here, she would have scolded her for leaving her room in a state of such disarray, and Sakura would have argued that there was a certain order to the extensive piles of scrolls and pages. Her notes on chakra scalpels were arranged by the door, and the information on summoning animals she'd spread out by her bed.

"I came to talk to you about something," Ami started, carefully stepping over a botched sealing array that Sakura had tried her hand at. "I went to the fence and I couldn't find Fuki anywhere."

"Maybe she just didn't have classes outside on that day," Sakura said with a shrug. She hadn't thought of Fuki in a while and the faintest feeling of shame fluttered in her chest. "I'm sure she'll turn up."

"No." Ami shook her head. "I mean that I have been going for the last months, and I haven't seen her. Not a single time."

"Maybe her parents took her out of school," Sakura suggested, and she sounded uncertain to her own ears.

Ami hummed. She plopped herself down on the bed and ran a hand over her face. Scrubbing at her eyes, she said, "They wouldn't do that, I don't think. Not this close to graduation, and Fuk wouldn't disappear without a goodbye. I have a bad feeling about this, Sakura."

"Maybe," Sakura started, casting around for reassuring words, "Maybe she had a training accident and was in the hospital for a bit. Look, why don't we go to Iruka-sensei and ask to go see her?"

"That's what I did," Ami said. "And he said no. He didn't mention a reason," she continued hastily, when Sakura's questioning frown grew severe, "he just said it wasn't allowed."

"Then we need to take matters into our own hands," Sakura said, sitting up straight. She leveled Ami with a stare. "Sasuke mentioned once his family owns message hawks. Maybe we could borrow one. Think we can get Naruto to convince him?"

"Or," Ami said casually, her features twisting as if she tasted something sour, "we could go to her. You jumped the fence once after all."

She stared. Ami's nose scrunched up. "Don't look at me like that," she huffed, her cheeks turning pink.

"I just thought I'd never hear you suggest to break the rules," Sakura said, feeling a little as if the world had tilted on its axis. "But that's an idea. Meet me at midnight by the fence. And don't wake anyone up."

-0

[Snakeskin]

-0

Sakura waited under an oak tree by the fence, clad in her thick brown cloak. She'd hidden her pink hair beneath her hood, and layered a genjutsu over her body to hide it away in the shadows. She scanned the tree line and the flat grassy landscape for any movement, but all was still.

She sat down against the tree, the bark pricking into the her spine. She leaned onto her forearms, and stared at the glass blades that sprouted up between her feet. It were times like these that she could forget about the Academy and all which had come with it – her mother's death, the upheaval of her daily life.

Finally, after her legs grew numb and her fingers ached with cold, two figures appeared on the horizon.

Sakura cursed silently under her breath. She rose to meet them and waited by the tree as they approached. The night was dark; smoky, wispy clouds blotted the sky, and drew out the moonlight.

"Let's go," Ami said, when they were close enough. Ino stood next to her, her blonde hair done up in a messy bun on top of her head. She smiled, when Sakura sent her a curious glance, but her eyes were hard and serious.

They climbed the fence and hopped down the other side. Sakura cloaked them in genjutsu, and they kept to the shadows as they crept over the courtyard. Ami led them towards the other side of the building, where she halted in front of the bedroom window, the nutty brown leaves crunched under her boots.

"I hope you don't mind I came," Ino whispered against Sakura's neck, her breath hot and breezing. A strand of blonde hair tickled her cheek. She wondered if Ino knew she smelled sweet, like flowers. "I couldn't leave you two to do it alone – you need someone to take care of you."

"We're plenty capable of that ourselves," Sakura whispered back, a smile tugging at her lips.

Ami shushed them with a jerky motion of her hand. She crept towards the window and peeked inside, and what she saw did not bring any happiness or joy on her face. She beckoned them, her features twisting up, but Sakura couldn't tell with what.

When she looked inside, it was clear what upset Ami. Fuki's bed was empty.

The other bunkbeds were occupied; Sakura could just make out the shape of a person burrowed in their sheet in the upper bed, and she spotted a head of curly black hair on the lower.

"She's not here," Ami hissed in her ear. "What do we do now?"

"Let's go," Sakura said, for the girl in the lower bunkbed was stirring. They walked silently, the wind playing with their hair. An owl flew over their heads, its black eyes unblinking.

By the time they reached the hills and the White Dorm came into view, it was as if an unspoken agreement flowed through them and they sat down in the grass. None of them wanted to drag themselves to their rooms, only to lie awake with their thoughts.

Ami sat with her head bowed, chin resting against her sternum, and she tore out blades of grass with jerky, angered movements. Ino lay a hand on her arm and with the other she intertwined Sakura's fingers with her own.

"It happened before, y'know," Ami began, her voice muffled. "Katsumi was there too, at first. She disappeared as well."

There was silence, in which the three of them took in the words. Sakura stared at the flat landscape around her, at the grass which moved like waves in the steady breeze, at the dark tree line where no light could penetrate.

"I had a cousin," Ino said, laying down flat on her back. She stared up at the sky. "Fuu. He went missing."

"Three," Sakura said, and flushed slightly when her friends both turned to look at her. "That's three already. Surely someone must have noticed."

Ino shrugged. "Maybe people did, but nobody knows where to look."

"Maybe they left the village," Sakura suggested. That's what she would do. And then she would be another name on that missing people list – just someone who got up and walked into the fog, never to be found again.

"Fuki didn't want to leave the village," Ami snapped. "She wanted to graduate."

"She didn't like it here either," Sakura argued, remembering what had transpired in the lavatory of the Red Dorm. Fuki's half-crazed eyes, the angry set of her mouth – her hands cinching Sakura's airflow.

For a while nobody said anything. Ami lay her head on Sakura's shoulder, and Ino's hand squeezed hers. They sat there in silence, all lost in their own thoughts, until the first golden rays of sunlight filtered over the tree tops, until the sky bled into a reddish hue that slowly turned blue.

When they trudged back to the Academy, to tackle another day of lessons, Sakura had one terrible thought. If she disappeared too, it would break her friends' hearts – and she had no idea what to do about it.

-0

Snakeskin

-0

"You're angry all the time."

Ino's words positioned themselves between them. They were sitting in the library in two velvet armchairs. They were meant to be studying for the upcoming history test. Sakura's textbook lay opened on the table, but Ino had abandoned all pretense of studying and was instead gazing outside, where the first snowflakes drifted peacefully to the ground.

"What?" Sakura said, startled. She looked up from the picture of the Shodaime in her book.

Ino placed her chin on her hand. "I doubt you've even noticed yourself, but I was trained in it, and it's a fairly obvious thing."

"I have no idea what you're going on about."

"If I've noticed, everyone else has too," Ino said, ignoring Sakura's frown. "I don't mean our classmates, especially not the ones you hang out with. Naruto is too clueless in general, and Sasuke has a too big inferiority complex to notice anything but himself. And Ami wouldn't know what emotions were if they hit her in the face. So," she added, leaning forward, "it is left to me to take care of it."

Sometimes, at times like this, Sakura wondered why she even liked Ino. The girl was friendly with all their classmates, and her personality was brash and blunt, but sometimes she was a little too calculating for Sakura's liking.

"Don't butt into my business, please," Sakura said tiredly. She pointed towards Ino's textbook. "Open that and get on with it."

"I heard from Naruto that you had a problem with your mom," Ino continued, as if she hadn't heard her.

"That isn't true." Naruto wouldn't have divulged her personal information like that. And Sakura didn't think Sasuke was one to gossip either.

"Nah, okay, it isn't." Ino shrugged. "I overheard you in the canteen."

"Then why pretend?" She couldn't keep the anger out of her voice. "You could have caused a fight between me and Naruto!"

Ino waved her off. "I haven't seen you get angry at him yet." She paused, and sucked in a whistling breath. "Is it because you think that if you hurt him his parents won't let you stay in their home?"

Sakura had enough. She pushed her chair back with such force that it bumped into the wall and swept her supplies into her bag. "Find someone else to analyze," she snapped, and stalked out of the library.

A long-suffering sigh rolled over her shoulder, and then Ino was walking beside her.

"You really shouldn't get so riled up, you know," she said, quickening her pace as Sakura walked faster. "I was only trying to help."

"No, you were trying to anger me."

"I was trying to get you" - and this Ino punctuated with a stabbing finger at Sakura's chest - "to admit that something is wrong. That perhaps you're more emotionally undone than you're trying to admit. You're pushing away your feelings, bottling them up, and one day they're going to cause problems!"

"Great. When that day comes, I'll know who to find," Sakura said.

Ino threw her hands up in the air. "Why do I even bother?" she asked, frustration lining every syllable. Not waiting for an answer, she added, "Because I'm a good friend, that's why."

"Keep telling yourself that," Sakura murmured and ducked to avoid Ino's slap.

"You're not sleeping," her friend said, as they stepped out onto a snow-covered lawn. The snow was trampled by their feet. In the distance, three children were having a snowball fight. "It's awful for your skin, y'know."

Sakura snorted. "My skin is perfectly fine."

"It really isn't." Ino tapped her cheek with a finger. "Look at those eyebags. I don't even know what to call them. Except for an abomination, that is."

Sakura shook her off. "Shut it," she growled, steadily ignoring Ino's hearty chuckle. "I'm fine."

"You most definitely aren't," Ino said, "but for now, I'll let you bask in denial. Here." She grabbed Sakura's hand and folded her fingers around something small and rectangular.

"A shrink?" Sakura asked, unable to keep the disbelief out of her voice. She stared down at the glossy, blue business card. "You can't be serious."

"I'll let you know that my cousin Inori is one of the best in her field." Ino's hand clasped her own and squeezed. "Just consider it."

"Fine," Sakura said, stuffing the card into her pocket. Her knuckles rapped against the metal of her token. "I'll keep it in mind."

-0

[Snakeskin]

-0

In her civilian life, Sakura had liked monotony. She had liked going to class, her lunchbox full of home-cooked deliciousness, her backpack full of heavy books. She liked going home to a house that smelled of detergent and warm dough. She liked struggling over physics question by the kitchen table, while Mommy rummaged away in the kitchen, and occasionally offered a helpful comment.

But here in the Academy, she started to detest it. The consistency, she found, was boring. She wanted to read her chakra sensing books. She wanted to find out more about chakra scalpels, and wire traps, and scent tracing. Instead, she was stuck in lessons that droned on about the Second Shinobi war, or where they were set to plastering leaves on their skin. They ran through the same katas every day, practiced the same kunai movements.

And so, it was with some relief that the notice about Kabuto's lesson arrived.

She asked Ami to go with her, and Sakura could see the excitement in her eyes, along with an uncharacteristic nervousness.

"I'm still no good at chakra control," Ami said, as they trudged down the stairs. "I can do the Expulsion exercise, but that's it."

The Expulsion exercise was a practice where leaves were propelled from the skin, by chakra alone. Iruka-sensei had showed it to them; he'd sent his leaf flying at the blackboard, with little difficulty. This was an exercise that Naruto was surprisingly good at, and he showed it off to every classmate.

"Sakura, do you think I'm impressive?" he'd said, as another leaf filtered through the air and drifted to the ground. She suspected it had something to do with his large chakra reserves. His achievement had little to do with control, she thought a little spitefully, gathering up her supplies. Naruto's leaves had no aim to them – they just floated around, following the path of least resistance.

"Very impressive," she agreed, for she didn't want to be mean, and steadily ignored Ino's sly look.

They arrived at Kabuto's classroom, and knocked twice on the door. Sakura slung the door open, before he could finish his "do come in!" and smiled widely.

"Hi there, senpai," she said. She gestured to Ami, who idled a little nervously beside her. "I asked my friend, Ami, to accompany me. She's just as eager to learn medical ninjutsu."

Something passed over Kabuto's face, but it was gone too fast to categorize – was it annoyance? She shook that thought off, when he beckoned them further into the classroom, with a smile. A coral row of teeth – friendly, inviting. There was no sign of exasperation or anger, she thought, but she was almost certain that she'd seen it, just for one short moment.

"Come further, come further," he said, with a hearty chuckle. "I always like eager students."

They both took a seat by Kabuto's desk and looked up at him. His smile hadn't left his face.

"Now," he said, "tell me, can any of you already form medical chakra?"

"No," they chorused. Ami's gaze burned on her face. Sakura opted to ignore it and instead gazed at her new teacher with a slightly apologetic smile.

"No harm done, that's completely fine." Kabuto's chest puffed up. "It is a fairly complicated practice, medical ninjutsu."

He set them to work on creating a concentrated mass of chakra on their palm, after which they were to split it in either Yin or Yang chakra. Not before long, Ami's forehead was entirely covered in sweat beads, and Sakura felt the strain on her chakra reserves.

"Very good," Kabuto praised. "Let's meet together next week, same time."

As they trudged back to their rooms, Ami said, a little too casually, "I find it interesting that you haven't tried your hand at medical chakra yet. All those medical books, and no progress yet."

"You have read much more than me," Sakura said, averting her gaze.

"I don't have top notch grades in chakra control." Ami studied her from the corner of her eye. "Was it for me, to make me feel less bad? Because then you failed miserably."

"I have no idea what you're talking about."

"Then you don't want him to know about your skills. Why not?" she asked bluntly, halting suddenly and placing her hands on her hips.

Sakura stopped as well, and looked around her. The hallway was empty, but there was no telling who might be listening. "I just don't think he needs to know everything."

"He's teaching you." Ami's stare was incredulous. "You won't benefit from his instruction, if you're not honest about your skills."

Sakura made a split decision. "Not here," she said, grabbing Ami's arm. "Come with me."

She dragged her friend towards her room, ignoring her long-suffering sigh and the muttered comments under her breath. Once there, Sakura pushed Ami inside and locked the door. "I received a sponsorship token." Sakura plopped onto her bed. "I got it that day of the transfer. Its sender was anonymous. I'm being watched."

"Woah. That's great news," Ami said, as if she hadn't heard the last sentence. "You've already caught the idea of someone."

"This isn't good news." Sakura wrinkled her nose. "I have no idea who they are."

"Let's show it to Ino," Ami suggested. "She's from a clan – maybe she can help."

"Absolutely not," she hissed. "What if it's Ino's clan who's sponsoring me?"

"Would that really be so bad?" Ami lay down on her bed and gazed up at her. "She's our friend."

"She's also a dangerous individual," Sakura huffed. "Have you forgotten that her clan is trained in mind jutsu? That her father works at the Torture & Intelligence office?"

"Don't be ridiculous. That's for traitors, and besides, Ino likes you." Ami hummed thoughtfully. "Maybe it's Naruto's parents. They're pretty taken with you, with how they keep inviting you into their home."

"I don't know," Sakura said. "The anonymity is strange. Why would you want to keep your identity a secret if you're interested in sponsoring me? It just feels...threatening."

"Maybe they want to wait and see what you're capable of. Look, why don't you just ask the principal?"

"She didn't give me a clear answer last time, and she won't this time either," Sakura said firmly. She was sure of that; she hadn't liked that calculating glimmer in Nagisa's eye one bit. Then an idea dawned at her. "But," she said slowly, thoughtfully, "you're right that Nagisa knows who it is. The information must be in her office."

She rounded on Ami. "Let's break into it!" she said.

-0

[Snakeskin]

-0

"This is illegal," Ami said.

"So you've said," Sakura sighed.

"Illegal. And dangerous. If we're caught we'll be in a lot of trouble. Maybe they'll kick us out."

"Good for us, less risk of death," Sakura said, her gaze surveying the area around them. She narrowed her eyes – was there something moving in the distance?

Ami still wasn't done. "We'll starve on the streets. I will never be able to fulfill my dream of becoming Lady Tsunade's prized student, and it would be all your fault and I will slowly waste away living in a box, until I die at the age of thirty from a drug overdose."

"Will you stop it?" Sakura rolled her eyes. "You have an annoying tendency towards hyperbole."

"I'm just being realistic," Ami huffed, as she opened the window latch and silently opened it. Sakura swung one leg over the railing and landed almost soundlessly in a crouch. A quiet ruffling told her that Ami had slipped into the room as well, as she surveyed the office with a keen eye.

In the moonlight, the principal's office looked as any other did. A mahogany desk, velvet curtains by the windows, book cases lining the walls – it looked almost homely. Ami's finger tapped a code against her thigh: booby-trapped?

Uncertain, Sakura tapped back. She searched for the glint of a metal wire, but found none. The office was still and quiet.

Then the light flickered on.

"Ami Fujimoto," Nagisa said, from where she was leaning against the wall. Clad in a long black dress, and with her hair pinned up, she looked as if she'd just came from a party. "Sakura Haruno. Why am I not surprised?"

Ami rose into a bow almost instantly, her head almost touching the floor. When Sakura didn't follow, her foot shot out and kicked her shins. Sakura mirrored her quickly. "Please forgive us, ma'am," Ami said. Her voice was slightly muffled, and she sounded, Sakura thought, close to tears.

Nagisa was silent for a long moment. Sakura peeked up at her from between her hair, which had fallen over her face. Nagisa's eyes caught her hers. They narrowed dangerously and Sakura gulped, bringing her gaze back to her shoes.

"Fujimoto," the woman said slowly. Ami straightened beside her, heels clicking together. "Leave us."

"Ma'am?"

"Leave us," Nagisa instructed. "Scurry back to that room of yours." When Ami still didn't react, sending Sakura an unsure glance, her expression grew severe. "I said out, Fujimoto."

Ami hastened to do so. Her increasingly apologetic expression would have been comical in any other situation, but now Sakura only felt a deep dread as she watched the door close behind her friend's back.

"To me," Nagisa said. Her voice brooked no argument. Sakura approached her slowly, tension lining every muscle and tendon. Images of dark cells and torture devices flashed through her head.

The woman grabbed her by the wrist and pushed her into a seat. Sakura let out a startled yelp. Nagisa leaned forward, hand slamming onto Sakura's forearm and thereby pinning her in the chair.

"You're a fool," she hissed, leaning so close that Sakura could feel her breath on her upper lip. "What were you thinking, breaking into my office like this?"

"You're hurting me," Sakura said. It came out as a whimper. Nagisa's grip tightened even further. "And you deserve it," she said, spitting droplets of saliva onto Sakura's face. "Do you know what they'd do to you?"

Sakura leaned away, and wished for someone to come through the door and take her far away from here. But the office was empty, except for the two of them and the only sound was Nagisa's labored breathing.

"I hate civilian children," the woman announced, releasing Sakura abruptly. She stalked back to her desk and collapsed into the leather armchair, which squeaked aggravatingly under her weight. Fishing out a cigarette from her breast pocket, Nagisa eyed her with all the danger a predator could possess. Make one wrong move, the gaze said, and I will gobble you up.

"W-Why?" The word escaped her before she could stop herself.

"They have no concept of danger." Smoke billowed over Nagisa's face, writhing like a living thing. "They come into this world like lambs, naive and stupid and thinking that their mistakes will be met with a slap on the wrist. No, that's not reality in here – in here, mistakes get you killed."

Sakura swallowed. Her heart hammered in her throat. "Is that what you're going to do to me?"

Nagisa stared at her and Sakura could see genuine surprise ripple over her face. "No, girl," she said mockingly, "You have potential and skill and right now that is the only thing that saves you. Certain parties want you to succeed and I am not in the habit of going against them."

A breath of relief whooshed out of her. Sakura leaned back in her chair, and sat on her hands to keep them from trembling.

"Your friend is not so lucky, I'm afraid." Sakura whirled her head around and stared at her with wide eyes. Nagisa stared back, one corner of her mouth twitching.

"I'm not going to kill her, if that's what you think," she said, before Sakura could form the question, "but she will be expelled from the Academy. She and her family will be denied every financial aid, every subsidy, from now on." She flicked some ash from her cigarette, and her mouth stretched into a real smile. Sakura shuddered at the sight of it. "Too bad her poor, sickly mother needs that money for her medical treatment, doesn't she?"

"You're lying," Sakura hissed. "Tsunade of the Sannin healed Ami's mother."

"Just because the woman is no longer dying doesn't mean she's completely healed." Nagisa rolled her eyes and took another tug of her cigarette. "She'll live a long, steady life with access to medication, but I doubt she'll last long without it."

"You're evil," Sakura said. She stared at the woman behind the desk and wondered how someone could be so merciless. "You'd let an innocent woman die for – for what? For this? Because we sneaked into your office?"

Nagisa's hand came down hard on her desk. The resulting twack sent Sakura flinching back in her chair, her blood pounding through her ventricles. "You think this is nothing, girl? I could have you whipped and paraded before your classmates, just to prove a point. People are watching you, Haruno, and they are not as inclined to forgive as I am. This is mercy."

There was a long silence in which they stared at each other. Sakura hoped Nagisa could see the hate in her eyes. She imagined her fingers on her chest, the medical chakra sweeping in and destroying the tissues, denaturing the proteins. She imagined Nagisa's caved-in chest, her unseeing eyes, the blue tint to her gaze.

It was Nagisa who broke their stare first. She threw the cigarette onto the floor and stamped on it with a sandaled foot. "Ami Fujimoto will be expelled from the Academy," she said, "unless you change my mind."

"Change your mind? How?"

"A favor. One," she added, holding up a finger.

"What kind of favor?" Sakura didn't like the glint in Nagisa's eyes.

"All in due time," the woman said. "But if you accept, your little friend will stay here and graduate. Her mother will keep her money and with that, she will survive. What do you think?"

Sakura sucked in air. It felt as there was not enough oxygen in her lungs. In the end, it wasn't much of a choice. "I accept," she said, feeling as if she'd just made a deal with the devil.

"Good." Nagisa's smile was full of teeth. "Get out of my sight then."

Sakura did as she was told, but halted in the door frame. She took a deep breath and peered over her shoulder. "Who's watching me?"

Nagisa held her stare. "Oh, girlie," she sighed. "Don't you see? Everyone."

-0

[Snakeskin]

-0

When she returned to her room, she found Ami anxiously waiting on her bed. She jumped up when Sakura came into the room, hands wringing together, the whites of her eyes showing. They stood in silence for a while, with Ami watching her, her mouth half-agape, her breath fast and panicked.

"Well?" she snapped at last, when Sakura didn't say anything. "Tell me what happened."

"Nothing happened."

"Don't lie to me," Ami said, stalking closer. Her hands, balled up into fists, trembled by her sides. "What's our punishment?"

"Ami," Sakura said. "I'm tired. I'd like to go to sleep." The sight of Ami's startled face made her lips twitch, just a little. "I'll see you in the morning."

"No, you can't – you can't just – you have to tell me-"

"Goodnight." With that, Sakura shoved her out the door and locked it. She stood by the door for a long moment, listening to Ami's labored breathing. Eventually she heard a muffled curse and then footsteps fading away in the distance.

She sank to the floor and put her head between her knees, heart pounding in her chest. People are watching you, Haruno. She dug her nails into the palm of her hands, and thought of Nagisa. Of the senbon in her hair, boring through her skull. Of her mother, laying in her bed, like she was just sleeping. I didn't know they would take you today.

She flashed through the hand seals and watched how Mommy flickered to life. "My poor girl," she said, pressing a kiss against Sakura's temple. Sakura leaned into her, and pressed her face against Mommy's shoulder, trying to breathe in her scent. But there was nothing there. "I'm here. I'll always be here."

"I just want to kill her," Sakura told her.

"I know." Her hand raked through Sakura's hair, her nails scraping over her scalp. "And you will, my sweetling. Just like you did to me."

-0

[Snakeskin]

-0

"This lesson I'd like to focus on the Sly Mind Affect Technique," Kurenai said. They were sitting in a training dojo. "It is a very interesting evasive technique which lets the victim believe they are walking in one straight line, but instead they are constantly walking in circles. While it is not a combat technique, it will buy you time if you are in trouble."

"Camouflage and evasion," Sakura said, "I feel like that's all we've focused on in these lessons."

Her teacher narrowed red eyes at her. "These are techniques that will save your life, Sakura. Too many of my colleques focus on flashy jutsu. I'll be frank with you: while that is all good and well in battle, with your skillset, you'll be running and escaping a lot more than you'll be fighting."

"I know," Sakura insisted, because she did. She had seen the way Naruto and Sasuke used their spars for showing off. "I just want – I need something more than that. I need something that does actual damage."

Kurenai's eyes were piercing, and Sakura had the interesting feeling that she was being vivisected under that red gaze. That thought brought her heart rate up and she told herself firmly to calm down, lest the woman noticed that. Her secrets were safe; no one knew about Mommy.

"What brought this on?" Kurenai asked, after a long bout of silence. Sakura cast around for words, but Kurenai beat her to it. "Iruka mentioned that you're doing well in all of your classes, so that can't be it," she said, her stare unwavering. She sounded like she was listing off pieces of evidence. "Is it that Uchiha boy? Iruka said your spar with him was surprisingly vicious."

"Isn't there something like confidentiality?" Sakura said, feeling faintly incredulous.

"I'm your teacher, Sakura." A smile tugged at her mouth. "That means I know everything."

Sakura told herself firmly that Kurenai was just riling her up. "It isn't Sasuke," she said, ejecting as much disbelief into her tone as she dared. For all that the boy could be an arrogant bastard from time to time, they did seem to tolerate each other most of the time and were even friendly when Naruto was around.

"I just want to be strong," Sakura said, thinking that she'd rather not tell Kurenai about her recent incident with an attacker in her home. There was no telling where her loyalties lay after all, seeing as she had so steadily ignored Sakura's own kidnapping. "They're all from a clan – they all have these abilities that I'll never be able to match. I want to be strong on my own merit."

Kurenai watched her for a long moment and then tugged at her collar. "Fine," she said, standing up and dusting off her knees. "Get ready."

"We're going to do it now?"

"No time like the present." And with those ominous words, the world began to sway and shimmer, like she was caught in a heat mirage. Kurenai turned around and the wall seemed to reach out for her; another step and it opened up, swallowing her whole.

Sakura waited with bated breath, but everything seemed still and silent. "Aren't you going to teach me anything?" Her voice echoed through the empty room.

The ground rippled under her feet and Sakura watched in horrified fascination as it bulged up to reveal Kurenai's face. Her wooden lips moved: "I am. Genjutsu is not like taijutsu or even ninjutsu – it is less about techniques and jutsu, and more about the limits of your own mind. It's an art, a craft for which you must work hard to call it your own."

A wooden hand snaked around her ankle. "I have given you many tools. Let's see which one you can use to do damage, alright?" And with that, she dragged Sakura under.

-0

[Snakeskin]

-0

Two hours later and Sakura was certain Mommy would have been mortified by her battered state. Sweat beads dripped into her eyes and her soaked shirt clung to her back. But there was a feeling of satisfaction too, as she brought her hands up into signs once more and layered one genjutsu over the other.

It was a testiment to Kurenai's skill that she had no trouble dismantling any of them. As quick as Sakura applied them, those carefully arranged genjutsu, subtly stacked up over one another, as quick did Kurenai tear through them like paper.

A kunai slammed into the wall beside her, missing her cheek by only a few inches. Sakura had no time to wonder if that kunai was even real, or an illusion, as Kurenai came for her again, followed by thick, green vines, which aimed to wrap themselves around her limbs.

Quick as a snake Sakura dove for the ground. She layered herself in genjutsu, letting herself bleed into the ground as she had seen Kurenai do. But before she could disappear from the woman's view entirely, those thick vines wound themselves around her shoulders and yanked her up in the air.

"A little mouse in a trap," Kurenai whispered, her voice distorted and not quite human. It's not real, Sakura told herself, none of this is real. But even though that knowledge was there, even though she felt Kurenai's chakra clearly in her own system, she couldn't quite believe it. The pressure of those vines was there, as they dug painfully into her flesh. If she squinted, she could make out little hairs running along the green stems.

She wriggled one hand loose and grasped her weapon pouch before another vine could sneak around and immobilize her once again. She brought her kunai up and slashed the jungle of plants, slicing through her ropes.

She fell to the ground and Sakura felt her ankle give way. Biting back a strangled yelp of pain, she looked up, only to see those vines reaching for her again, with Kurenai in their midst, and she had one single thought: she wanted them gone.

Her fingers moved on their own accord. Fire spilled from her lips, and Sakura thought about the heat from Sasuke's katon jutsu. About the fire that burned her, and the heat and pain that followed. For the brief moment in which those flames had licked her, the scorching heat had been unbearable, making her eyes water and her throat close up.

Her own flames devoured the vines quicker than she thought possible. It spread like a wildfire, leaving only grey ash on the dojo floor.

"Well done," Kurenai said. Her voice sounded normal again. She extended a hand to Sakura and helped her up. "You're getting better."

"Good," Sakura said. Satisfaction thrummed through her and she left the dojo with a spring in her step, the cold winter air biting at her face. The next time someone attacked her, she would make sure he joined Mommy, all those six feet underground.

-0

[Snakeskin]

-0

"Team Seven: Uchiha Sasuke, Uzumaki Naruto and Haruna Sakura. Your teacher will be Hatake Kakashi."

Beside her Naruto let out a peal of delighted laughter. He nudged Sakura in her ribs with his elbow and slung an arm around Sasuke, who leaned away with a pinched look on his face. "We're a team," Naruto said, "Can you believe it?"

She almost couldn't. As Naruto chattered on, happiness in every syllable, Sakura dug her nails into the flesh of her palms and stared at Iruka-sensei without hearing any of the words that came out of his mouth. She hadn't anticipated this. Had thought that Kurenai – the woman who had been training her for almost two years now – would be her new Jounin teacher.

Once the classroom began to empty, Naruto tugged at her sleeve, but Sakura waved him off.

"Go ahead without me," she said, "I have to talk to Iruka-sensei for a minute."

She was glad when he left without a fuss, Sasuke spilling out into the hallway after him, and dropped the fake smile that she'd taken to plaster onto her face.

"Sensei," she began, walking up to the man who was gathering a stack of papers. Standing before him, his gaze came to lie upon her face and she found that her throat had closed up.

"Sakura," Iruka-sensei said kindly. "This must feel as a surprise for you."

"A bit." She couldn't keep the bitterness out of her tone. "I always thought it would be Kurenai-sensei, you see."

"I admit I did too," Iruka-sensei said, raking a hand through his hair. "She did put in a request for you, but I believe it was denied in favor for Hatake Kakashi."

"Why?" Sakura asked. "Is he a genjutsu expert too?"

"No," her teacher said softly, "no, not at all. I believe he was chosen for you because of other reasons." His gaze traveled towards the window, which showed partial view over the lake, where Sasuke and Naruto followed their group of classmates down the grass lawn.

The stab of anger in her chest was almost painful. She twisted the stiff fabric of her uniform between her fingers, and she couldn't quite keep the bitterness off her face.

"I don't understand," she said at last, when she felt she could speak without inflection. "Naruto is friends with almost all our classmates. Surely someone else would have fit as well."

Iruka-sensei's expression was apologetic and he placed a hand on her shoulder. It was probably meant to be comforting, but she wanted to shake it off, snap his wrist back. She wanted to destroy this classroom until all that remained were wood splinters and broken stone.

"The higher ups thought that you'd be the perfect addition to the team," he said, his voice slow, as if he was coaxing a fearful animal out of its hiding place. "They are not often wrong, and we must trust them on this decision as well. Don't you like having them as teammates?"

"It's not that," Sakura said quickly, even though there was a soft, niggling voice that commented that it would be harder to leave Konoha behind if her ties here grew even stronger. "But what can Hatake teach me, if not genjutsu? Sasuke and Naruto are both heavily focused on ninjutsu."

"Kakashi Hatake is a powerful shinobi," Iruka-sensei said. "A once in a generation genius. A smart man, if a little eccentric. You'll learn vital skills under him. Believe me, Sakura, it may seem unfair, but let me tell you one thing – Hatake never lets his teammates die."

She believed him. The idea that there was a jounin she could not learn anything from was absurd, and she was certain she remembered seeing his name on one of Ami's bingo book pages. But it did nothing to stifle the anger in her chest – this outcome was unforeseen and threw all her plans in jeopardy. And, she thought a bit sourly, Hatake was close to Naruto, if Naruto's stories were to be believed. Between their relationship and the presence of a son of the Uchiha head, she was bound to be the least interesting, and thus the most ignored.

"Now," Iruka-sensei said, startling her out of her thoughts, "The Hokage's speech will start soon. Let's make our way to the stage, shall we?"

He led her out onto the training field, where Sakura sought out her friends. She found Naruto and Sasuke at the front of the assembled group, both of whom gave her curious looks. She ignored them in favor of looking at the Hokage, who had just stepped upon the wooden stage.

The first thought that entered her head at the sight, was that danger lay like a woman's perfume over his skin. Golden eyes, set in a chiseled, almost androgynous face, and dark hair that swayed in the light breeze. He looked utterly at ease in front of the crowd, clad in expensive white robes, with a confidence that would be called cocky in any other man.

"Welcome." His silky tones washed over the crowd, and Sakura shuddered against her will.. "Today you shall step into the world as proper ninja, and take your place in the game of survival."

His sharp snake-like eyes roamed over the assembly, and flickered over her face. She fought the urge to step back, to hide away from that predatory gaze.

"Other men would have stood here and waxed meaningless platitudes about bravery and cunning and the Will of Fire. I will not." Lord Orochimaru's face twisted into what could have been called a charming smile. "The outside world will be a trial for many, and it will bend you, break you and build you up again. It will devour you, will test the limits of your body, your abilities and your mind."

He stepped forward and she found she couldn't tear her gaze away from him. "But," he said, popping the word, "you all are ready. The headband ensures you are. And at the times of difficulty, at the depths of your desolation, Konoha will be here. Your Village will be the family you've always wanted, the friend you've always needed. Because, tell me, for whom do you fight?"

"For the Village," they chanted. Sakura hated that her lips moved as well, on their own, like it was a second nature. Like a trained dog, she thought.

The Hokage laughed and the sound vibrated in her bones. "And Konoha will fight for you in return. Now, go celebrate!"

Just like that, the effect was broken. The crowd moved towards the front of the building, where the parents were waiting. Kushina and Minato were there, stepping forward to embrace their son, and Sasuke bid her goodbye to go search for his family. Sakura put her hands into her pockets, hoping she portrayed the image of someone utterly at ease, even when she was feeling so out of place in the midst of her classmates and their families.

"Congratulations." Minato stepped forward and clapped Sakura on her shoulder. "It's lovely to see you again," he said warmly, blinking blue eyes at her.

"Sakura's on my team!" Naruto piped up. "Sasuke too. Kakashi-nii is our sensei, Dad!"

"I know." A smile tugged at Minato's lips. "He told me. He was ever so nervous about it."

"Aawh," Naruto whined. "I wanted it to be a surprise."

"Congratulations," a new voice piped up. Sasuke's brother stepped up to him, his headband gleaming in the sunlight. He had one arm slung around Sasuke's shoulders, and their parents came up behind them, the very picture of domestic unity. "Sasuke here tells me you had the highest grade in chakra control, Sakura."

She blinked. Sasuke's face twisted in a way that told her that he'd done nothing of the sort, or at the very least didn't want it spelled out in the open.

"I suppose," she said slowly. "I haven't looked at the scoring yet."

"That doesn't speak of ambitions," the man behind Itachi said. Fugaku Uchiha stared her down, and she was suddenly reminded that this was the leader of one of Konoha's most prominent clans, as well as head of a police force. There was something sharp in his dark eyes, almost cold, and she instantly disliked him.

"Ambitions take many forms," she said vaguely, unwilling to admit that her ambition consisted mostly of getting far, far away from here.

"Which form does yours take?"

Mikoto lay a hand on his forearm, a gentle, but quelling look on her face. Fugaku's face softened, and he leaned back a little, as if to convince her that her answer was of no interest to him.

"As of right now," Sakura said, "I'd like to be a good teammate and gain some experience under Hatake-sensei. As for what the future brings – well, I guess nobody knows."

"Wise words," Kushina piped up, leaning around her husband to wink at Fugaku. "But you wouldn't know now, would you? Spontaneity is a foreign thing to you."

Fugaku visibly bristled. Minato pinched his nose, but didn't seem surprised, like this bickering was a common occurrence.

"Why, yes, Kushina," Sasuke's father replied, an icy tone to his voice, "You couldn't think ahead even if you wanted to, with those precious few brain cells of yours."

Kushina laughed, a glint to her eye. It seemed to Sakura that she was truly enjoying herself, riling Fugaku on. "Those precious few brain cells did their work last spar, didn't they? Remember that little trap – the one that had you dangling from a tree?"

"That was luck," Fugaku bit out, and he looked like he had a lot more to say on the topic, but in that moment Mikoto piped up. "Shall we go and celebrate? I think our children deserve that after such a trying day."

"Yes!" Naruto cheered, yanking Sasuke by his arm so that he stumbled forward. He gave Naruto a truly withering look, and looked as if he was contemplating setting the other boy on fire. His brother patted his shoulder.

"Ramen!" Kushina said, a smile spreading over her cheeks. "Race you." She dashed away, followed by her son, who let out an indignant cry and set off after her. Sasuke sighed and started to jog as well. He sent a raised eyebrow at Sakura, as if to ask are you coming?

She smiled at him, and together they scampered off after their third teammate.

-0

[Snakeskin]

-0

O-kay, I have a few things to say.

Firstly, thanks for reading this and for leaving those lovely reviews. They made me smile. I hope you all enjoy this chapter as well. It is a bit on the short side; I decided to remove one training scene with Kabuto, because it didn't really add anything and it's been months since my last update.

I apologize for any grammar mistakes and typos. I was rereading a bit from the last chapter and the typos just seemed to pop up everywhere. Sorry for that, I am just one wholly inept individual.

I also don't know why it took four (FOUR!) chapters to finally get to the graduation. I hope the pace was alright – not too fast, not too slow – and that it was enjoyable nonetheless.

Wishing you all the best!