Chapter 54: How Cute~~
"Sakura-chan!"
The blond gremlin and the black-haired boy were standing in the middle of the road, waving at the pink-haired girl who'd just walked out her front door.
"Morning."
Sakura waved back with a yawn.
"Morning, Sakura-ch— eh?"
"What's that on your forehead?"
Naruto had been beaming his usual big grin, but then he caught sight of a violet rhomboid mark peeking out from beneath the pink bangs.
"Oh, this~~"
"You'll find out eventually, Naruto."
Sakura touched her forehead with a smile.
"Let's go. The Chūnin Exams are about to start — don't be late."
Sasuke gave Sakura a brief glance and started walking.
After spending real time together, he'd gradually begun to accept his two teammates. The cold distance in his dark eyes had started to thaw.
"SAKURA!"
The moment they arrived at the exam venue, a figure came flying at Sakura at full speed.
"It's been forever — did Sakura miss me?"
The pale-blonde girl buried her face in Sakura's shoulder, breathing in her scent, eyes crinkled into happy little arcs.
"I missed Ino too~~"
Sakura patted Ino's back with an easy smile and gently nudged her upright.
The first stage of the Chūnin Exams was the written test; the testing hall was on the second floor, but the first floor was already crowded with candidates from multiple villages. Making a scene like this — Sakura didn't particularly care, but Ino's Ino-Shika-Chō squad couldn't afford the attention. And knowing Shikamaru's personality, the extra hassle was probably already annoying him.
"Seriously... don't be so conspicuous..."
Right on cue, Shikamaru shuffled over with Chōji in tow, looking deeply unamused.
"Naruto, want some?"
Spotting his Academy buddy, Chōji grinned and held out his bag of chips.
"BBQ flavor — my favorite~~~"
Naruto's eyes lit up and his hand was instantly in the bag.
"Ahh... what a drag..."
Looking at Chōji and Naruto, Ino and Sakura, Shikamaru's exasperation deepened.
His gaze drifted to Sasuke, searching for some kindred-spirit solidarity.
Sasuke glanced at him once. Said nothing.
I tried to find common ground with this guy? I must have been spending too much time with Chōji and Ino. I think I'm getting dumber~~~
Shikamaru sighed.
"Alright, reunion's over. Ino, let's head into the exam hall."
Sakura gave Ino's head a pat.
"Mm! Whatever Sakura says!"
The blonde beamed and bounced after her.
But —
A boy in a green full-body spandex suit, with bowl-cut hair and the thickest eyebrows in the five great nations, stepped directly into their path.
"Excuse me — would you be Miss Haruno?"
Rock Lee.
The easy smile on Sakura's face froze solid.
If she was remembering right...
"Hey, bowl-cut, what do you want with Sakura?"
Ino squinted at the boy, suspicious.
And then Rock Lee suddenly went squirmy. A flush of crimson crept up his cheeks.
"My name is Rock Lee! P-please go out with me!"
He seemed to have gathered every ounce of his courage — and fired it off in a full ninety-degree bow and a shout that echoed through the hall.
!!!
Every single person standing near Sakura went rigid.
"WHAT?!"
"Don't get ideas, eyebrow-boy!"
Naruto was the first to crack, snarling at Lee.
Even Sasuke's gaze turned distinctly unfriendly.
"Yeah! You've gone too far, bowl-cut!"
For once, Naruto and Ino were on a perfectly united front.
"Please believe me — my feelings for Miss Sakura are true love!"
"Ever since that day at the Academy when you glanced back over your shoulder..."
Lee's voice trailed off into some private emotional replay and tears began streaming down his face.
Sakura: ...
When? What glance? I have absolutely zero memory of this.
"That does it — you're finished!"
Naruto couldn't take it anymore and charged straight at Lee.
But —
A single open palm blocked Naruto's attack and simultaneously cut off Lee's advance.
Long black hair. Calm expression. A pair of pure-white, pupilless eyes.
Those eyes weren't looking at Naruto. They were looking past him — at Sakura.
"Sakura. It's been a while."
The boy named Neji Hyūga spoke quietly.
"It has. Good to see you, Senpai."
Sakura met his gaze, level.
"This was out of line. I apologize on Lee's behalf."
"I'm sorry."
Without waiting for Lee's objections, Neji hauled his teammate away by brute force, a bun-haired girl trailing after them as they cleared the path.
Once they'd disappeared up the stairs to the second-floor exam hall, Lee gave Neji a petulant look.
"Lee. If you like Sakura, you had better have the strength to overpower her first."
Neji looked at his teammate with mild exasperation.
As the boy who'd once been selected by Iruka as Sakura's opponent for her first-to-second-year grade-skip exam, Neji had a working understanding of her abilities. She'd been a year younger than him, and one punch had sent him flying.
Six years later, there was no reality in which Sakura had been standing still or progressing slowly.
"Eh?"
Lee blinked at Neji.
Miss Sakura... is strong?
She looks so delicate...
Arriving at the second-floor exam hall, Sakura saw it was already packed with candidates.
She scanned the room quickly and found, tucked into a corner, a red-haired figure.
The red-haired figure was staring at Sakura without blinking.
"Ahem — everyone find your assigned seats~~"
Sakura cleared her throat, and then, very discreetly, sent a small wink toward the red in the corner.
Watching Sakura walk off, Naruto scratched his head. Something felt a little weird. He couldn't put his finger on it.
Meanwhile, a silver-haired, bespectacled figure was already approaching their group...
Sakura paid no attention to the Kabuto Yakushi performance currently unfolding behind her. Expression unchanged, she walked toward the redhead she had recruited the night before.
She's coming... she's coming...
Watching the pink-haired girl close the distance step by step, Karin felt her heart rate climb.
After Sakura had left the night before, Karin had had plenty of time to replay the whole encounter in her head.
A total stranger showing up in the dead of night. Draining more than half her chakra without so much as a by your leave. And then, after wiping her mouth clean, having the audacity to say come follow me.
From every angle, it was the playbook of a total scumbag. A scoundrel. A rake.
...A female one, but still.
In every measurable way, unreliable.
Karin had tried to write it off — just pretend a stray dog bit you and move on. But then she saw those smiling eyes and that pink hair walking toward her again, and —
Her traitorous heart sped up anyway...
A hand came down on the top of her head, and a voice — both familiar and not — murmured close to her ear.
"How cute~~"