Stumble [Rewrite]

Impression

Naruto couldn't stop bouncing in his seat. He couldn't. After all the hard work he did studying past midnight everyday and practicing his upper class-men material, he was finally going to graduate! Two years ahead of his friends too! He glanced to his right at Sasuke, then to his left at Sakura before grinning.

This was going to be the start of it all. At last, they were going to be the shinobi they'd always dreamed of.

Sasuke felt a proud bubble swell in his chest. He might not be as advanced as his aniki was, but he was doing much better than many of his other clan members. His father and mother certainly had been proud when he ran home a few months ago saying that he'd graduate early with the two people he cared about the most (though he'd never readily admit it). There was nothing that could make him happier.

Though it couldn't be said that their optimism was shared. Sakura was detailing a poison's antidote as her boys eagerly awaited the arrived of their new sensei, her free hand holding her right bicep. A few months ago, she was careless. She was sure she could reveal the Yin seal and have her trump card just as she had before, but there were things she sorely misjudged like the fact that she was creating two seals instead of one, or that she was no longer in an adult's body thus unable to take the same amount of strain.

The seals had exhausted her body to the point of sending her into unconsciousness for two whole days. When she woke up, she was in an unfamiliar apartment with two faces glowering down at her.

Sakura blinked awake, squinting at the shadows glaring down at her in the candle-lit darkness. First she saw Anko with a scowl on her lips and a tired look in her eyes.

"You've got a shit ton of explaining to do, kid."

Did she?

"First, you're gonna tell us why in your right mind you'd attempt that freaking mother of all chakra control—"

Ah. That.

"—and second, you're gonna tell us how the hell you were able to do it," she finished. Sakura pushed herself into a sitting position and winced when she became aware of the burning sensation curling around her right arm. Her head tilted downwards and she saw a design encasing the entirety of her bicep. They were like... dark veins; tendrils winding down to the crook of her elbow. Not jagged or curved, rather a bit reminiscent of neurons.

"Did you... seal my Yin seal?" she questioned incredulously. Ibiki stepped into her line of sight with that same frown and tired look.

"Unfortunately, no. Something like that can't be sealed," he said. "The next best thing we could do was mask it. Now talk ."

Sakura sighed, then proceeded to feed them her lie.

Her entire right arm was wrapped to cover both her blade and the unaccounted for seal, but she had to admit that it was better than to try explaining why she suddenly decided to cover her forehead when she, on multiple occasions, said how much she liked it despite it being a smidge too large. So her new hitai-ate sat as a headband just like in her older days.

Just thinking about it made the grip on her arm grow tighter.

"Ne, ne, who do you think our sensei's gonna be?" Naruto asked. "I saw jiji yesterday and he said he knew but wouldn't tell me! You think they're super cool?"

Sasuke grunted. "They'll be good, whoever it is. Aren't they all?"

Sakura folded her paper and tucked it into her pocket. "We'll be the judges of that," she added. By now, it was common knowledge that she didn't care too much for status if she wanted to get her point across. Her very first Academy sensei had been a prime example and perfect display of it.