#and sakura gets a glimpse of an older girl who wrangles her teammates/has their respect and is all heart eyes

[rozaceous]

how bout an au where mariko is a year older and ends up on team gai?

awwwww this is so mean to tenten, so let's just say that she gets taken in by izumo and kotetsu so i can ease my troubled mind. otherwise this is quite fun.

Lee blows a kiss at her, making Sakura dodge the hell away from that, and the next thing she knows, Lee's tall, girl teammate is chopping her hand on the top of his head with an audible thunk.

Lee squawks, clutching his head, but his teammate just clicks her tongue.

"We're here for business, Lee," she reminds him. "And you've already blown our plan. Behave."

And then she scruffs him by the back of his green jumpsuit, lifting him and carrying him down the hallway, where, apparently, the Chuunin Exams are actually set to begin. The Hyuuga boy follows with a smirk.

"But Mariko-chan! The Bloom of Youth--!"

"Absolutely not," she snaps, shaking him, her bicep and shoulder visibly flexing through her mesh sleeve. Mariko's upper arm, Sakura thinks, is bigger than her thigh.