"A…a bother?" Sakura repeated lowly, biting her lip.
Sasuke-kun had called her annoying before, a few times, less than a week ago even when they were given the registration forms for the Chunin Exams.
He'd called her annoying then, and claimed she was weak, far weaker than Naruto even after she asked him out on a date.
That had stung fiercely, but now, she couldn't even deny it. Naruto had fought that Orochimaru off for a bit, even injured that humongous serpent he was riding on. before Orochimaru beat him down while she and Sasuke cowered from the man.
'Cha! I'll show him a bother!' her inner self raged.
Sakura cringed, ignoring her. Her chest hurt.
But, she found she couldn't refute what was said to her. Sasuke-kun more often than not turned up to their team meetings beaten, bruised and bloody, with a satisfied smirk on his face.
From training with Daiki.
Daiki was probably the person Sasuke-kun was closest to, beyond maybe Naruto. As much as they argued, Sasuke-kun and Naruto always seemed to be attached at the hip during team meetings and missions.
…She was always left behind. If Naruto didn't constantly pester her for dates and the new revelations she just got about Sasuke-kun from Daiki, she might have suspected something more was going on there.
"Well, all that and she can cook as well, Sasuke seemed to think you're a horrible cook," Daiki shrugged and Sakura felt another metaphorical arrow pierce her chest. Just stick her over a camp fire at this point, she was done, "Though, Sasuke's just into that traditional shit, being an Uchiha and all and honestly, I feel like a lot of the traits he feels are best in a woman are just because he idiolized his mother."
'Damn momma's boy, Cha!' her inner self spat.
Her lips quirked for all of a second before she remembered how far that stacked the odds against her, her breasts weren't going to balloon in size just because she wished for them to….though maybe she could change her attitude a b-
"Either way, romance is the last thing on Sasuke's mind anyway," Daiki broke her from her thoughts with a shrug of his broad shoulders, "Besides, he has trash taste in women unlike me."
"…The most I've seen out of you in regards to romance, is you commenting on how much you like my ass." Sakura deadpanned.
Daiki grinned at her, all teeth, "You have a great ass, best of our graduating class," he unashamedly shot back, "Besides, I'm pretty sure I complimented you on your hair and eyes as well."
Despite herself, Sakura felt her cheeks heat up a bit at his blatant admission, "…You're such a pervert." she sighed, but felt her lips quirk up just a little bit regardless.
"I just know what I like and I'm not afraid of saying so." the boy shrugged bluntly.
He was like that, all up front and blunt, he had no tact at all in this case. But…she couldn't deny that his words made her feel better.
Especially since Daiki was definitely very handsome himself. His was a handsomeness that was different from Sasuke-kun. Sasuke-kun, was beautiful, a beautiful person if there ever was one, and had all the baring of a tragic prince right out of a fairy tale.
Daiki on the other hand, he was broad and muscular, tall and strong. He had a wild air about him that just enhanced his looks, that all but screamed, 'Bring it on!' - as if challenging the world itself. Daiki, was far more humble in his handsomeness there was no doubt, but his muscles and frame aspired a sense of safety that she could see the appeal in, and he was far more raw than Sasuke-kun, more open.
If she had to compare them in just a few words, Sasuke-kun was like a full moon reflected on a calm water surface, while Daiki was like a gargantuan predator roaring his challenge to the world.
Both vastly different, so different they couldn't even be compared properly, but yet, majestic in their own different ways.
"And what you like is my ass." Sakura replied to him, forcing a deadpan look on her face.
"And the floor is made of floor." he snarked back, before suddenly standing up and making his way to the front of the tree hollow and peering out.
Her heart almost leapt into her throat, "A-are you going somewhere?" Sakura asked, the air changing around them almost instantly.
"I'll have to soon," Daiki replied without turning around, "This is an exam you know? And beyond that, I need to make sure the Hokage knows about Orochimaru being here."
That was right, Daiki was part of the exam as well, he had to finish and pass himself, if he was stuck looking after them, he wouldn't be able to do so.
And then there was Orochimaru as he said.
"…What about us?" she bit her lip, "If another team attacks, I won't be able to beat them and protect Sasuke-kun and Naruto."
"You can come with me if you want," Daiki shrugged and looking over his shoulder to look her in the eye, "But if you do, you'll probably be disqualified from the exam."
…She personally wouldn't mind giving up here and now, there would be way more chances to become chunin in the future. But…what about Naruto? And Sasuke-kun? Would they see it the same?
This exam was important to them, beyond important. Naruto needed to become chunin and get stronger for that silly dream of his and Sasuke-kun always wanted to get stronger and fight strong opponents.
She didn't know why exactly, but she had an idea:
'My name is Sasuke Uchiha. I hate a lot of things, and I don't particularly like anything. What I have is not a dream, because I will make it a reality. I'm going to restore my clan and kill a certain someone.'
His voice drifted in her ears, from back then, on that very fateful day they became the three man cell Team 7.
'…Is this a choice I can make on my own?' she fretted.
"This is your call Sakura," Daiki said, "Sasuke and Naruto are down, so you're calling the shots here. If you want, I'll get you guys to the tower safely."
…It was all on her then.
Suddenly, it felt like a heavy pressure was pressing down atop her shoulders, rooting her in spot.
"I…." her thoughts raced, going with Daiki was the safe option, she would be safe, as would her teammates, she wouldn't need to worry, but-, "I can't, I'll stay." she decided.
Weak as she was, there was some things she just couldn't abide by or be cowardly about, and she couldn't trample on and betray the dreams and aspirations of her teammates.
"Oh?" Daiki's eyebrows rose, and his eyes regarded her with an almost piercing look that she couldn't describe, before slowly, a smirk spread across his face, "Well, you'd definitely need a pretty sturdy back bone to carry all that ass around."
She gaped at him, before growling, "You pervert!" Sakura huffed in accusation, the tense air was completely broken, "Everything was really serious there and then you bring it back to my ass! And you called it fat even! My ass isn't fat!"
"Yeah it is," Daiki shrugged unrepentantly, "Or well, it's on the way there, which is great, a nice big round ass is great on a girl."
…A fat ass, was a good thing for a girl?
"Anyway, if you're gonna stick around here, I suppose I can leave you with a little bit of help," Daiki mused, turning around fully and walking back over, kneeling down in front of her, "Lemme see your hands, I wanna try something."
"Why?" Sakura asked, brows furrowing in suspicion, "You're not gonna do something perverted, are you?"
Daiki gave her a dry look, as if she was the one that said something stupid here, "You realise I've been playing it up right? Because it gets a reaction out of you?" he deadpanned, before smirking, "Besides, if I was gonna do something perverted, I'd have told you to turn around then squeezed your ass."
'Turn around! Let's see if he's all talk or not, cha!'
Sakura sighed, to think she really thought he was super cool before after he defeated Sasuke-kun and during the mission to Waterfall. He was just a super strong, perverted idiot.
"Alright, fine." she relented and held her hands up to him.
Daiki rolled his eyes at her, "I'm trying to do you a favour here, you know." he pointed out.
Oh…right, she had forgotten, so caught up in the perverted banter he was unashamedly throwing around.
"Sorry." she apologised, face flushing.
He just rolled his eyes again, before reaching over and placing his palm over the top of her right hand. She was about to ask what exactly he was doing, when she felt a warm, powerful chakra spread over her hand and saw a purple glow emanate from his palm.
She felt something spreading out over her hand, threading between her fingers and going down into her palm.
Daiki pulled his hand back a moment later, and to Sakura's astonishment, there was black markings over her hand now. It started at the back of her hand from a single diamond like mark, branching out into multiple strands that looped elegantly over her knuckles, circled her finger bases and disappeared down into her palm forming another diamond like shape in the middle of it.
"…What is this?" Sakura asked. She knew it had to be a seal of some kind, which she had no clue, but since when could someone apply such a thing without ink of some kind?
"Nice! It worked!" Daiki pumped his fist into the air happily, "You know my Force Palm Jutsu?" he asked.
"Yeah?" Sakura nodded, of course she did, it was what he used to defeat Sasuke-kun.
"Yeah, well this seal will let you use a jutsu like that, you'll just need to channel your chakra through the seal I put on you to do so," Daiki informed, "You aren't quite built like me, so I put it around your knuckles to use through a punch and make it easier on you, and you already know how to use explosive notes, so the trigger will be easy for you to get down since it's based on that."
Sakura's eyes widened, "You…isn't that like your personal jutsu?" she asked, shocked. And he was just giving it to her? She bit her lip, wanted to refuse the generosity, it was really too much, but, forced herself not to…
With Daiki's jutsu, she would definitely be able to protect them, for sure!
"Kind of, it's a bit different if the same applications, instead of the Force Palm Jutsu this would be the Shockwave Fist Jutsu," Daiki explained, taking her other hand and repeating the same thing to apply his seal, "Don't go using it willy nilly though, your arms won't be able to handle the kickback, even I could only use it sparingly at the time I fought Sasuke back during that first time, right now, a few uses of it will probably break your arms, so make it count."
Sakura swallowed heavily, but nodded, "Alright, got it." the pink haired girl said. She had to pick the time she would unleash the Shockwave Fist Jutsu wisely, because…she was too weak to use it properly without it being a double edged sword.
Moments later, he was done and stood back up, dusting himself off and preparing to leave. On instinct, Sakura wrapped her arms around the boy, hugging him, "Thank you." she whispered gratefully, expressing her gratitude.
Not only for the seal and jutsu, but helping them, driving off Orochimaru and more. If he wasn't there, who knew what that freak would have done to them.
"It's fine," he waved her off, "Besides, I've already got my payment in my palm."
Sakura blinked in confusion, "Your paym-Eeee!?" she eeped, not finishing her sentence as she felt his fingers cup her backside through her shorts.
On instinct, she pulled away from him before growling and swinging a fist for his face, righteous feminine fury driving her.
Her fist met air as Daiki side stepped and spun around her and she yelped, jumping lightly, an echoing clap resounding through the forest as his palm met her backside in a cheeky spank.
She whirled around on instinct, only, he wasn't there, and then she jumped as another spank clapped against her other ass cheek.
"Daiki!" Sakura shouted, face burning red as she whirled around again, only he wasn't there.
Her hands went to her backside instinctively to protect it from another grope or spank, only she felt nothing…
Daiki's boisterous laughter echoed through the forest above.
It seemed he had left.
Sakura sighed, "That damn pervert." she complained, shoulders slumping and sliding down to her knees.
Despite that though, she found a small smile splaying across her face and she just sat there like that for a few moments, before remembering where she was and slapped her cheeks.
'Focus, I need to build some traps just in case.' she told herself and the pink haired girl forced herself to her feet.