Should've Known | A Sakura Story.

Prologue.

SAKURA STARED AT HER teammates as they brawl it out in the training grounds. Kakashi next to her, playing close attention as she stood next to him.

She felt.. weak, just looking at her teammates as they punch or kick with such force, spam ninjutsu like they have oceans of chakra to spare. She felt a familiar emotion in her chest, but refused to believe she was feeling it.

Sakura clenched her fists at her side. She didn't know why she suddenly felt like this. Maybe it's the overwhelming power she felt from the other two as they brawl it out.

Not even a month ago, they were in the academy. Sakura and the others were getting their team assignments. Naruto, the dead last who couldn't even do a simple clone jutsu, failed the exam but still managed to graduate.

It's beyond Sakura how Naruto can go from not even doing a simple clone jutsu and a perfect transformation, into making hundreds of clones continuously and still fight without breaking a sweat.

She watches as Sasuke kicks Naruto into a tree and widens her eyes— he was so cool! —but the feeling was dampened right after she felt was something that shocked her, the same feeling she was pushing away earlier while watching their fight,

Jealousy.

It's not the "kicking someone into a tree thing".. it's the amount of.. power. The word felt heavy on her tongue as she continued to watch her teammates spar. The word sounds right, she didn't want to seem like some sort of egoistical villian like from the ones she reads in the library.

The capability to do that, the option to send someone flying if Sakura needed. Sakura can throw punches and kicks all she wanted with the academy-taught textbook perfection, but nothing with such explosive force. To have such force and explosive power in one's arsenal must be.. fulfilling.

She could do more physical training, she mused to herself but felt like recoiling at the thought of bulky muscles. It wasn't lady-like as she was taught. But the logical side of her, developing some sort of muscle on her body felt nice.

But the other side of her, the one she was taught to be like— her mother would probably want her to become a kunoichi who can be beautiful, slender and powerful.

Her parents didn't really support her new job of becoming a kunoichi. They think she is setting herself up for failure, for death. They believe it should be left for the clan kids to become shinobi as the civilians stick with being merchants etc.

She isn't surprised, most people think like that. Sakura was the only graduating civilian born. The rest of the 'civilians' had some sort of small clan or were apart of powerful clans. She was an outcast among her peers.

Hell— even that idiot Naruto probably had a good clan. The name Uzumaki was a familiar word to her eyes, ears and tongue. The symbol— which she figured out from some gossiping nannies, It was on the back of every Jonin or Chunin flak jacket she had seen.

Her curious mind would probably get the best of her and she would find out about it later. Sakura clenched her fists as Sasuke blew a giant fireball from his lungs, heading straight towards Naruto.

She turned to Kakashi. "Kakashi-Sensei.. can you teach me some chakra exercises?" Sakura asked, rocking back and forth on her feet. "Maa, Sakura—" Kakashi started but was cut off by Naruto tacking Sasuke while shouting out curses.

He sighed as he went to break it up as Sakura frowned. She was dismissed so quickly by Kakashi. It reminded her of all the other times she would be training with her team. She would stand on the side for the spars and when she did any sort of physical training and tired out — she would be dismissed as the boys continued their training.

She took one last glance at her team before stalking off. If she wanted to get stronger, she knew she would have to do it herself.

She listened to the whispers of the villagers as she walked through the streets of Konoha. They were talking about the Kyuubi, which wasn't a foreign subject to her ears.

She knew it had to be something about Naruto, that's all she would hear from the villagers when he was near or the hot topic of the village due to a stupid prank he did.

She continued walking until her ears caught a conversation. "The Uzumaki kid, the Jinchuriki right..?" She heard an old lady say. "Shh! We can't talk about that!" Another elderly voice said as she walked past the comfort of their home as they gossip on their front porch.

Jinchuriki..?

That was a foreign word, she hadn't heard of it. She glanced around before turning to the old ladies. She slowly walked over and put on a innocent face — thanks to the practice she got from using it on her parents millions of times.

"Excuse me.. sorry I happened to hear the conversation.. what's a Jinchuriki?" Sakura asked, her hands in front of her, twiddling her thumbs 'shyly' as the old ladies coo over her and her bright pink hair.

"We cannot tell you, sorry dear.." One of the old ladies frowned, rocking back and forth in her chair as she stared at the little girl by them. "Please.." Sakura pouted her bottom lip and showed them her wide green doe eyes.

"Oh, fine.. but don't tell anyone." Another old lady said as she beckons over Sakura — who complied happily with a smile as the lady whispered something to her.

When Sakura managed to get all the information she needed, she wished them all a good afternoon and said her goodbyes before leaving the porch.

A Jinchuriki is a person who holds a tailed beast inside of their body, their body acts like a prison due to a tailed beast being sealed into their body.

That made some sort of sense to her. Naruto was a Jinchuriki, the nine tailed Jinchuriki at that. She made it to the front of her house and scoffed lowly.

Of course Naruto was some sort of power house. He had a large source of chakra inside of him on top of his giant chakra reserves and monstrous stamina. No wonder why he was so close with the Third Hokage.

She Should've known.

She was placed on Team 7, a civilian born girl was placed into a team, a team of powerhouses. A Jinchuriki, the Last Uchiha and An Ex Anbu S Rank Ninja.

She was a place filler, a cannon fodder. They knew she wouldn't make it past Genin.

She was watching their backs as they walk further and further away from her, down the road of power.

Sakura wanted to run. She wanted to run in front of them, to sprint as fast as she can until her legs gave up on her. She wanted to be miles in front of them as they watched her back, watched as she became someone who wouldn't be looked down on.

She wouldn't be looked down on because she wasn't born privileged. She will fight tooth and nail, crawl through the pits of hell and back and become the strongest, some stupid fate from God wouldn't stop her.

Sakura would become the strongest, even if it was the last thing she would do.