Of Tales now and Long Ago

Of Teams and the Scarecrow

Chapter EIGHT

Time passed really quickly for Sakura. Before she knew it, a year had passed.

Sakura went on a Neji hunt after the Academy had ended, to congratulate him of his graduation.

Neji liked anko flavored dango. He was also grateful that Sakura had actually bothered to congratulate him. However, he had a hard time trying to tell the pinkette that. After all, he could barely breath with dango sticks shoved down his throat.

Sakura sat back and watched Neji cough, trying to clear his airways.

"You can choke." She told him between giggled. "I know enough medical ninjutsu to heal that. Those are easy to fix."

Neji glared at her, but he doubted that it was effected. Thinking back, he begrudgingly admitted that he must have looked funny. However, he was never going to admit that out loud.

The next year passed quickly and Sakura's graduation was coming up.

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-  

"Look, Sakura-chan, Teme! Let's take a peek."

"Shut up, Dobe. Are we even allowed to? It might contain classified information."

"Come on Suke! Aren't you curious as to what kind of books the God of Shinobi reads?"

"Well...I guess..."

"Come on, Sakura-chan! I'll carry you. You reach for one of the books."

"Don't drop me."

"Sure thing."

"Here."

"Okay...first page..."

"Uh...Sasuke-teme? Is this what I think it is?"

"I think so..."

"Suke? Ruto? Let me see."

"Uh..Sakura-chan? This might be a bit too...uh..."

"Inappropriate for you. You're too young."

"But we're the same age!"

"Well, you see-"

"What are you children doing?"

"Bi-Biwako-sama?"

"Is...is that...Icha Icha Paradise?"

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-  

That night, the three were gathered in one of the further houses in the Uchiha Compound which they had dubbed theirs. As children, it had been nothing more than a club house of sorts, and it had stuck.

"I have a secret to tell you guys." Naruto breathed out. "You know...in case we aren't on the same team..."

Sasuke and Sakura, who had been arguing about whether or not emotions made one weak, stopped. Naruto sounded way too serious, and they knew that whatever it was, this secret was something big.

"The other day, my father called me. You know he taught me the Kage Bunshin, right?" Sakura and Sasuke nodded. "That was because I had too much chakra and too little control to create an ordinary clone."

Sasuke scoffed at the 'Little control' part. Sakura elbowed him.

"And...and..." Both stopped again to look at Naruto. Was this really Naruto?

"And...and then he told me that the reason I have so much chakra is because...there's something..." He trailed off. "You know about the Kyuubi invasion, right?"