A/N: fourth instalment of the Italian saga, after "Attacco Di Panico". It's not strictly indispensable to read the others first, but it surely helps.
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The next morning, Sakura arrived at training ground four perfectly on time. She was still the only one there.
Exactly ten seconds later, Uchiha Itachi appeared next to her. As he took notice of her, he smirked slightly at her punctuality.
The pink-haired medic refused to think about the many things she could feel embarrassed about and simply inclined her head in greeting.
"Good morning, Taichou," she said, politely. She had to call her captain with the title he deserved, even if he had told her otherwise.
His thoughts seemed to be similar to hers. "Good morning, Sakura-san," he replied smoothly, using her name without shame.
The pink-haired woman sighed inwardly. It would not do for her peace of mind, already unsettled by his earlier actions, if he called her like that. So she said, bluntly, "Taichou, if you don't mind, in front of the team at least, please use my surname."
He fixed his eyes on her, scrutinizing her. He was aware that she had not said that to be rude or snobbish, but because it was only correct that the newest member of a team was treated with some detachment at the beginning. She had not said that she was against him using her first name, however, and that made him smirk inwardly. So he gave her a short nod, letting her know he had understood what she meant.
The medic sighed in relief, before being struck by another thought: had she just communicated with her captain without speaking? Oh, no, no, no, that wouldn't do!
Well, actually, to be honest, it was a very useful thing during missions, especially considering that she was going to be in his same team, but still… oh well. It was already obvious from the beginning that 'normal' was not something that would be part of her experiences together with squad Alpha.
As soon as one entire minute had passed after her arrival, her new teammates appeared as well.
"Well, well, look at whom we have here," Shiranui Genma said, looking at Sakura and winking.
"You could have told us it was her, Taichou!" Uchiha Shisui added, with a large smirk.
Both ninja already knew the medic. She had healed them many times at the hospital, so they were familiar with her kind personality. They didn't know much about her fighting abilities, though, except the fact that she was the Hokage's apprentice.
Itachi took one step forward and formally introduced them. "Genma, Shisui, this is Haruno Sakura, our new squad member. Haruno-san, these are Shiranui Genma and Uchiha Shisui."
Genma grinned. "Why, Sakura-san, how nice to see you again… I'm aware that your medical abilities are wonderful, so now I can get injured on missions without fear because you'll be there to bring me back on my feet…"
Shisui had instead a thoughtful expression. He observed the young woman carefully. "I wonder… Taichou told us he had found a good medic to be with us. But he hasn't accepted anyone in years. So, what did you tell him to make him consider accepting you?"
Itachi didn't give Sakura the time to answer. "It wasn't Haruno-san who asked to be in this team. I was the one who offered her a place."
Both Shisui and Genma had now quite shocked expressions. They looked at Sakura with new interest in their eyes.
"Then what do you have that caught Taichou's attention?" Shisui asked, eager to know.
Sakura didn't answer immediately. Nor did she change expression for a while.
She was quite uncomfortable. Uchiha Itachi had probably noticed her because of her outburst about seduction missions. But there was no way she would tell Genma and Shisui about that and besides, she wasn't even sure that was the real reason he had asked her to be in his team.
So she looked Shisui straight in the eye, unashamed. "I don't know."
Itachi smirked at the disappointed faces of Genma and Shisui.
He deemed it wise to stop them from digressing anymore.
"Hn."
That was a Captain command. Unusual, maybe, but still a command. And all his team members snapped immediately into attention.
"Something has to be made clear. Haruno-san, you are going to be our medic; therefore, you will not be in the front lines as a fighter. But that doesn't mean that you won't fight." He met her gaze. "You are expected to be a part of our team to the fullest, so you will engage in combat together with us, even if maybe you'll avoid exposing yourself too much. Is this clear?"
Sakura nodded resolutely. At the first words of her Taichou, she had been about to protest, but then she had decided it was best to keep quiet. She had learned long before that it was better to let people finish before voicing any objections.
Satisfied, Itachi continued, "Now for the training. We meet for the sparring sessions of the whole team every other day when we don't have missions. Today you will learn and become familiar with our various fighting styles, Haruno-san, and next time we will test teamwork."
Sakura nodded again. She was pretty sure she would have to fight each of her new teammates.
And she was right.
Itachi told her she would have to fight Shisui first. The playful Uchiha laughed and said he would go easy on her. She didn't reply, but she called him some pretty rotten names in her mind while maintaining a straight face.
Sakura thought quickly as they prepared for the fight. Shisui was a fast shinobi, even if not as fast as Itachi, and had the Sharingan. She knew he was skilled, but she had never seen him in real combat. The only thing she could use to her advantage was the fact that he had said that he would go 'easy' on her. Sakura smiled inwardly while putting her gloves on. That would be his doom.
Still, she had to be very careful. Facing the Sharingan was not a game, and Shisui's personal skills were still a mystery to her. Furthermore, if she had to fight Genma and Itachi later, she should be even more wary. She couldn't afford to waste too much chakra, nor could she show all her abilities. Three different opponents were not a joke.
So she waited for Shisui to attack her. She stayed in her position and looked at the ground, seemingly uninterested in the fight. As she suspected, Shisui didn't like being ignored. He jumped towards her, kunai in hand.
At the very last instant, the pink-haired woman dodged. At the same time, Shisui realized what she was doing and tried to jump back. But Sakura was faster and managed to pass an arm around his neck. He was slammed to the ground in an instant and didn't get up.
Itachi raised one eyebrow while Genma openly gaped at Sakura.
In about fifteen seconds, she had won against Shisui!
Sakura helped Shisui get up. The Uchiha was pouting.
"I want another round, Sakura-san! And this time I will not go easy on you!"
Sakura threw a glance at her Taichou. He nodded, with faint amusement in his eyes.
"Fine, Shisui-san."
After they had resumed their positions, she was the first one to attack. She threw her senbons at him. Shisui, who had been expecting kunais or shuriken, was again taken by surprise. But this time he took the fight seriously, dodged her attacks and activated his Sharingan.
Sakura was expecting that. In her time at the interrogation unit she had perfected the ability to fight against an opponent without looking him or her in the eye. That way, she was sure she wouldn't fall under any Sharingan illusions. As they began a hand-to-hand session of taijutsu moves, Sakura whispered something. She created three clones and jumped back again.
Shisui smirked. This is easy, he thought. He analysed the clones carefully, but to his surprise, he couldn't discern which one was the real Sakura, not even with his eyes' ability. He frowned in displeasure. The four Sakura were surrounding him, all identical, all ready to attack… but something was off.
Shisui's eyes widened as he understood. He quickly brought his hands together and yelled, "Kai!"
As the illusion dissipated, he found himself on the ground again. Sakura was smiling at him, sitting right next to him, and with a hand on the back of his neck. She didn't meet his eyes, because he still had the Sharingan on. Smart girl.
She got up and turned towards Genma and Itachi. Shisui tried to move, but he couldn't. His eyes widened again as he realized that she had momentarily paralyzed him.
What an interesting woman. She had completely avoided his Sharingan and had been able to trick him with a genjutsu. Then, while he was caught in it, she had used the paralysis technique on him. Shisui looked at her with new respect.
She turned towards him again, released her jutsu and gave him another smile. Shisui slowly got up.
Itachi smirked a little. The look on his cousin's face had been priceless. And seeing him, a Sharingan user, fall pray of a genjutsu had been… interesting, to say the least.
The ANBU Captain nodded to Genma, who took one step further, grinning. He was going to be Sakura's next opponent.
Sakura knew Genma had very precise chakra control and was able to infuse chakra in any object he wanted. That was also why he always had a senbon in his mouth, ready to be used. Shisui was the type who could get worked up about insults or tauntings, but Genma was not. He maintained his calm demeanour even in life-threatening situations, and he was rarely caught by surprise.
The pink-haired woman thought quickly. Catching Genma by surprise would be difficult… but maybe there was a way. Yes, there was a way. After all, Genma didn't know her abilities and, like Shisui, he might underestimate her. She still had to be careful, though, because she couldn't afford to lose much chakra. Her Taichou, the infamous Uchiha Itachi, was going to be her last opponent.
So Sakura waited. Genma attacked her with objects full of chakra, as she expected, but she was surprised by his speed. She would have to be more cautious than she thought.
They exchanged a quick series of taijutsu blows, neither surpassing the other.
Then the senbon user appeared behind her, ready to strike. Sakura played her trump card. She turned to face him, and flashed him her most dazzling smile.
Genma faltered.
That short hesitation was all the woman needed: she jumped forward and made her fist connect with Genma's body. He was smashed through a tree and landed a few metres away from it.
Sakura straightened up. She had won again. While she went to Genma to check on him, she allowed a little, honest smile to grace her lips. Two down, one to go.
Itachi observed her with growing interest. She had used Genma's flirtatious nature against him. That was something difficult to do. She had found his weakness - probably his greatest weakness - and she had used it.
As Sakura healed some of bruises she had inflicted on him, the senbon user looked at her with wide eyes. "That was a dirty trick, Sakura-san!" he complained loudly.
The medic didn't seem concerned. "It's called 'payback', Genma-san. This is for all the times you tried to grope me at the hospital, when you were injured."
The raven-haired ANBU captain, at hearing this, changed expression for a split second. No one noticed the short glare he sent Genma, nor the approval directed towards Sakura.
As the healing was done, Sakura stood up and turned around to face her last opponent. She was suddenly very nervous.
Uchiha Itachi was a very, very strong shinobi. He was clever and fast, and his abilities both with and without Sharingan were amazing. He could make illusions not only by using his eyes, but also other parts of his body, for example a finger. Sakura was perfectly aware that she wouldn't be able to win against him.
She was not being pessimistic. She was aware of her limits and could accept them. She knew her Taichou was stronger than her, and that she wouldn't be able to defeat him. But that didn't mean she couldn't put up a decent fight at least.
She refused to be taken lightly. She smirked inwardly. It was a good thing she hadn't used too much chakra until then. She could now unleash some of her other techniques.
She knew she couldn't take him by surprise. Genma and Shisui, even if they were ANBU, had underestimated her, because she was a woman and was petite, but Itachi wouldn't make the same mistake. He never took an opponent lightly.
The fight began. It was surprisingly long. They used all types of jutsu. Itachi used fire techniques, she countered with water abilities. Whenever he tried to use an illusion, she managed to anticipate it and avoid it. She had a natural affinity with it, therefore she was able to resist, even if his Sharingan was much more powerful than Shisui's. When Itachi came closer and began to fight with taijutsu, she used a little chakra in her limbs to match his speed.
Fighting so closely finally gave her the opportunity to use her fists and kicks full of chakra. But she didn't know that Itachi had specially trained for years to feel chakra immediately, therefore he was able to dodge all her attacks.
That made her frustration grow. She knew she wouldn't be able to defeat him, but at least land a blow…! Surely there had to be an opening…
She concentrated hard on the fight, never looking directly at him and carefully examining his speed and his movements. Slowly, she began to sense a pattern in his moves. It was difficult, but when he aimed at her stomach, the medic was able to anticipate that he was going to try for her left knee next. There was the possibility to land a hit on him, but only if she allowed him to touch her first. She quickly made her decision.
As soon as his punch was arriving towards her knee, Sakura allowed him to graze it. Then, as quickly as she could, she concentrated her chakra in her right hand and hit his left shoulder.
It worked, but only partially. Clever Itachi had seen what she was doing and felt her chakra-laden fist descending towards him, therefore he was able to avoid the most damage. Sakura's hand did indeed touch his shoulder, and left a nasty bruise, but Itachi jumped then back to avoid the full force of the blow. Sakura didn't bother stopping the track of her fist, and it slammed on the ground.
A loud rumble shook the earth, and a large crater appeared in the training ground. Sakura was standing in the middle, with her fist still connected to the ground. Shisui and Genma weren't able to hide their surprise. She had not shown what she had really been capable of when fighting against them. So, it appeared she really was the Godaime's apprentice.
As soon as Sakura extended her senses around her for Itachi, she felt his quick approach from the right. She jumped out of the way and aimed at his injured shoulder. But she had forgotten one crucial detail, and it was her Taichou's speed.
She managed to hit him on his shoulder, but her satisfaction was shortly lived. She was caught from behind and immobilized. A kunai was pointed at her throat.
Sakura stopped, without surprise nor fear. She had known from the beginning that that was going to be the eventual outcome of the fight.
But what she didn't expect was for her captain to lower his head and breathe in her ear, "Impressive." Sakura had a hard time not blushing.
Itachi released her a moment later. He told the team that they would now all revise some tracking exercises. When the medic offered to heal his shoulder, he politely refused, telling her he wanted to keep the bruise, as a reminder of a worthy opponent. This time he succeeded in making her blush.
After a few hours, Sakura had a clearer idea of her new team. Working with them had turned out to be surprisingly easy. After fighting each one of them, she had been able to understand them all a little better. And they seemed eager to accept her in the squad. More than once the pink-haired medic had caught her Taichou's gaze on her, and he seemed to regard her with pride.
When it was one in the afternoon, Itachi declared it was time for a break. He said they had exactly one hour to eat and rest. In the afternoon they would work on hiding techniques. For the moment, they were dismissed.
As Sakura reached her house and went to take a shower, she reflected on that first meeting with her squad.
It could work. Her teammates were skilled and it didn't seem too difficult to work with them. For the time being, at least.
Yep. So far, Sakura really liked her knew team. Silently, she thanked Uchiha Itachi. If it hadn't been for his offer, she would never have ended in his squad.
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A/N: If you thought that Genma and Shisui were too easily defeated, remember that they are skilled ANBU, but they had always seen Sakura in the hospital, and they had no idea she was proficient as a ninja. Also, don't be mad if Sakura couldn't win against Itachi: Itachi is one of the most powerful characters of all times in the Naruto world; even if this is an AU, it's unlikely for Sakura to win in a sparring session.
"Incontro La Squadra" is in Italian and it means "I meet the team".
The next one is going to be called "Cambiare Idea". However, I have to undergo an operation first, so... if there are no complications, see you in ten days, hopefully?
Thank you for reading!
KitsuneMiyuKendraHyuga