35Summary: One of the first lessons you learn as a ninja is that things aren't always like they seem. Well, Sakura has a secret that she will take to the grave, and it all started when she was just a little girl. Eventually ZabuSaku.
Rating: T for now.
A/N: Yes I know, I'm still crazy. Updates really wont be this fast, but this idea has been sitting for a while and I already have a couple chapters written out. EDIT: Since it's been forever, I will try to re-vamp these stories and I apologize for the long wait. This first chapter is all 3 combined to add to the length and hopefully, all new chapters will be this length,
Disclaimer: I do NOT own Naruto, but I DO own this plot idea!
No Exceptions
Chapter 1
A five year old Sakura sat alone on a swing outside the academy, the ridicule from her peers flowing though her head.
"Forehead girl!"
"Useless!"
"Trash!"
Those were the most common, but all of them hurtful all the same.
Yes, she did have a forehead that was bigger than normal, but what was normal anyway? Sakura never wanted to be normal so she didn't mind that too much.
Useless? 'No!', she thought feebly. She wasn't useless. She was smart, caught on faster then most, but the execution of Justus was the hard part for her. She was realistic, her body wasn't meant to go through the trials of a ninja, but damn it all if she wasn't going to try.
"Trash!" That one hit the hardest, because sometimes when she was surrounded by all of the other kids with special clan justu or kekkei genkai, she felt like garbage amongst the gems.
Her feet connected with the ground, preparing to stand up. She needed to be distracted, she needed to learn.
Discreetly, she ran to the hokage tower, blending in to the building with a simple genjustu, before scurrying into the 'Classified Library' accessible only to Jounin and above.
'But for a classified room, they really have no security.', she thought, going to the row were she last left off. Sakura scanned the nearest book in line, "Forgotten Ninjustu's", hurriedly flipping through the pages and memorizing what she could. She wouldn't test her luck, and anyway, her memory was the closest thing to photographic next to the sharingan. Wasting no more than 30 minutes, she put the book back in its place and went to take her leave.
She needed to practice what she just read, while the information was still fresh in her mind, and the ideal, and logical, place was outside the city limits.
'Almost there', Sakura thought as she finally slid past the gates that had once kept her trapped inside their lovely little village of leaves. That was before she memorized their predictable routine. Sakura would often come to this spot during recess at the academy because they wouldn't let her into the library, convinced all children should have a mandatory time for childish games. But what use was that in the real world?
As Sakura stepped farther into the forest, she recalled that should she be attacked, she was not equipped with any weapons other than a lone needle that she kept tucked under her dress, but what could possibly go wrong in her time in the woods?
'Damn it!', Zabuza thought, as he looked at his failed attempt to wrap his wrist that was bleeding from a recent fight. Well, more like an ambush, with Hunter nins from the Mist cornering him from all angles. He knew he was lucky to get away with such a minor wound, but if he didn't get the blood to stop, it could become a more lethal wound.
'What an embarrassment.', he thought to himself. Zabuza was so wrapped up in his task that when he heard the sound of a little girls voice, his body tensed and his face shot up, eyes wide reflecting an animalistic madness. The pink headed girl was taken back at his sudden movement and ferocious face, but she quickly composed herself.
"Wh?… Do you need help with that?", she asked timidly, not looking into his eyes. Zabuza followed her gaze to his wrist, then glared back at her to get his point across of wanting her gone.
She clearly didn't get it, as the young child firmly grabbed his hand and started wrapping the taller man's wrist properly. The fact that the pinkettte knew what she was doing shocked him, but after giving a defeated sigh, he let her keep on with her work, knowing that it really was a convenience because he really wouldn't want to die of something so petty as blood loss from such a pathetic wound. Looking at the situation in his head, he sarcastically thought to himself, 'Wow, the ruthless killer Zabuza Momichi at the mercy and in the hands of a toddler.' Though he was grateful, he knew what he had to do with any evidence of his being here.
As the girl finished, she looked up with big emerald eyes, and his resolve crumbled.
"Thank you!"
Zabuza just blinked in surprise, expecting anything but what she just said to pass through her lips. He raised his non-existent eyebrow and couldn't help but ask, "What for?"
The girls cheeks matched her hair as she spoke the words that could possibly determine her fate.
"Well, I've never performed any medical type things before, only read about them and… thank you for helping me as the first injured person I could help."
"You mean you've never wrapped up an injury before?", the ninja asked, a certain tone to his voice. At this, Sakura blushed slightly from embarrassment and let out a mumbled, "Yes, sir.", before turning around and heading back to the village. It was probably time to be back anyway.
"Who are you?" Sakura froze her steps as the stranger called out to her. Gracefully as a girl her age could, she turned around to once again face the man. "Sakura Haruno of the Leaf. Who might you be, sir?"
The man's face was hesitant before he neared the pinkette. "Zabuza Momichi." Sakura just cutely tilted her head to the side and smiled. "Nice to meet you, Momichi-sama." The black haired man made a gruff like noise and answered, "Just Zabuza." "Well, Zabuza-sama, I wish you safe travels, but now I must be heading home. Are you coming this way?" The handsome shinobi thought for a moment, then nodded. "Not exactly, but I can walk you to the end of the forest."
'I have to kill her.', he thought, but another part of him was generally curious about the little girl. He was thinking up a plan, it was unlike himself, but if it worked out could also greatly help him out in the future.
"Sure."
As they walked, conversation just slipped out of their mouths and Zabuza realized that she was very wise beyond her years. They girls intelligence could even rival his in some subjects. Eventually, they were nearing the forest edge. He stopped walking and knelt down to the girl who, in a few short hours attached herself to his conscience. He would be kidding if he said the feeling wasn't mutual as the girl, Sakura, looked at him with anguished eyes.
"Does this mean you're leaving now?" she asked. She did not want leave him. He was the most interesting man and she knew she could learn a lot just from observing him.
"Do you not want me to go?" He couldn't stop his curiosity from asking.
She just shook her head from side to side, not even glancing up.
Zabuza felt for the little girl, he really did, but what was he expected to do? He was a missing nin after all and any association with him would end badly for the small child. Still skeptical, he made up his mind.
"How would you like to learn more than this village could possibly teach you? I could teach you, everything I know and more."
Sakura's eyes could not have shot up fast enough to meet his, welling up with amassment and eagerness.
"Yes, yes, a thousand times yes!"
She looked so happy, that Zabuza thought she might even hug him. Thankfully, she seemed to reign it in and she took in the seriousness in his eyes.
"This will not be easy. I expect perfection from any student of mine and if you do not live up to these expectation, I will have to kill you for knowing to much already. Do you still want this?"
Sakura knew what she wanted, even with the risks. She knew that this man would lead her to be the best kunoichi she could be.
"Yes.", she spoke, with all the certainty in the world.
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