Chapter two: Why can´t I keep drifting?
It was another of those "perfect days" according to Sakura, no one to socialize with, no schedule to follow besides her shift at the hospital later in the evening. So she retorted to her new favourite hobby, walking in around in the village counting pebbles on the ground. Who knew, perhaps she would bump in to Konohamaru and his team and talk to them for a while about Naruto and the pranks he used to pull? It was safe to say that she was not aware of the dark haired boy, waiting for her outside her grey house. She had barley step out before he raised his voice.
"Ugly common let's go train." Sai had step in front of Sakura, hands in his pockets in his usual droner look on his face, she looked up at him, he was a half head taller then her.
"Sai…" And with that she punched him in the face .She let her breath out… and started walking again. "I don't want to." She sulked like a baby, was he going to ruin yet another day?
"You haft to." With that Sai started walking to the training ground they had used only a week before. Sakura noticed that he was in his regular ninja gear with his pencil and papers in pocket.
"What do you mean with that you piece of crap?" Sakura yelled at his leaving back, first he didn´t answere but then he seemed to change his mind. He turned his head towards her, a sneaky smile had crept over his face.
"Well. I am your new sensei so i guess I'm in titled to tell you what to do." And with that he kept walking, the light breeze ruffling the leaves in the trees.
`That ass hole, who does he think he is, our new sensie? As if! Inner Sakura was throwing a tantrum... `I think not!´
"If you don't believe my, you can always ask Tsunade-sama, but if you leave training now, you will be punished…" His voice leaving no doubt about how serious he was, he kept walking and soon he was out of her sight.
Sakura immediately turned on her heel and ran the whole way to the hokage-tower, sprinting the stairs to her Shisous office. Without any hesitation she stormed in to Tsunades office where her shisou where pouring her self some sake, with Ton Ton poking around at the floor, squealing starlet when the pinkett busted the door open.
"Is it true that deep-shit is my new sensei!" She squealed between her huffing she topped it off by glaring angrily at Tsunade. Sakura was still at sixteen a hot-headed girl that from time to time let her emotions run wild with her.
"Yes, actually he volunteered for the job, it was even his own suggestion. And I must agree with him, you have been drifting around town a little too much lately. You got your duties at the hospital but that's not enough since you are only needed for more complicated procedures. You got no team and you do no training. Sai will be good for you. Besides, did you think that I would let you in on information about the Uchiha for free?" Tsunade said in her stern voice without looking up from the papers in front of her. The air in the room changed from serene to icy and tense. Tsunade choose to ignore her pupils stare and kept scribbling; waiting for the argumentation she knew would come. She mentally slapped herself for raising a mini-version of her self.
"But why that bastard? I don't want him get me someone else. He get´s on my nerves and he does it on purpose." Sakura placed her hands on her hips adding flaring nose drills.
"It's not open for discussion. He is your sensei and that's final. Besides I'm counting on you to help him with his emotional training, he is still lacking profoundly in that department. Ooh and I expect you to help Shikamaru in the weeks to come to." She looked up with her fierce golden eyes at her student and downed her sake and then poured another one.
"But he is a jackass." Sakuras forehead vein started to pop.
"I don´t want to repeat myself". The Hokage had the voice that clearly stated that the discussion was over and that you had just lost. She turned to her papers again, mumbling to her self. So Sakura found her self at the green grassed training ground in front of the boy that now was her new Sensei. She was fuming.
He glansed at her under his bangs, she had gowned in the years he had known her but at since Naruto had left the second time she just seemed out of lust for life. He exhale, ´ For some one as smart as her, she is really stupid´, he cleared his throat, "Dog-face, I'm only going to say this once, I'm a very strict sensei, I will not allow you to talk back, to try to ditch training, to be sloppy or lazy, if you are then I'm going to punish you without hesitation. Now your punishment for doubting me and for going against what I said will be to run two laps around Konaho after the training." He smiled a true smile; yes this was probably going to be the time of a life for Sai.
The day had drifted on while Sai had been evaluating her and her skills,
"Sakura, you need to be able to do taijutsu without using chakra since you need to conserve it so you can heal your team-mates." Sai told her while trying to punch her in her gut with all his might.
"I know Sai…" She was panting and sweating, growling out her answer Sai was as he had stated himself a very strict mentor, forcing her to go thrue the same movements over and over again during their training sessions. The sweat gleamed on her sizzled body.
"Don´t think you can break my, sensie" she stated mockingly. He continued his monologue unfaced by her attitude, she was going to pay for it later.
"We are going to focus on taijutsu without chackra in the mornings." He continued his pale face still lacking the sweaty shine that Sakura sported.
"Okay, okay". She was barley able to answer, that is what two hours of intense training will do to you if you aren't in top shape like one ex-anbu.
"By the way dog-face, have you ever done the paper-test?" aiming a punch at her face.
"No?" she blocked the first punch, ducked her head down for the second punch she was expecting, staggering a bit but regaining her senses.
"You need a break." He stood up, while she bent over placing her hands on her knees and breathing hard. She puked, she could identify the breakfast she had that morning, rice, boiled vegetables and some fish. He reached down in one of his pockets and plucked up a tiny pice of paper while he stepped towards her and handed her the paper. The moment she took it in her hand it started dripping wet. She remembered what she had read about the paper-test during her academy years, how it would show witch element you leaned towards.
"Ooh. Guess that means I´m water elemental…." She said without enthusiasm ´of course the exact opposite of Sasuke-kun´ `Screw this. I don´t want to be water elemental. I want to be fire, fire! God dammit, make that paper buuuurn!´. `Guess this is just my luck´ ` No! It´s all that bastards fault, he did it wrong I´m sure!´
"Yes. Very good, it´s a strong element, the down side is of course that you need access to water. We will be training your ninjutsu in the evenings when you don´t have shifts at the hospital." Sai locked up at the clear sky. ´water elemental, just like me. That´s good that will make the training easier for the both of us´. He was actually kind of glad that she had the same elemental as him and not as the traitor-bastard.
"For-head, you will need to take this training seriously you know" That nickname he borrowed from Gorgouse-san should be enough punishment for her mockingly tone earlier he thought. As if Sakura needed to be reminded about what it was that was on the stakes.
Flashback
Tsuande smashed her hand in her desk, demanding attention,"Suck it up Sakura, you are a ninja and not a little kid any more. Now, I do believe you got some training to do? And besides, since you are living alone, you need to provide for yourself and I do believe the Chunin salary isn't that good. You are going to lose the house if you can´t provide for the bills. The only possibility is to earn more money and as a Jounin you can do just that. And if that's not enough as motivation, you know that Naruto is going to be Jounin level when he comes back. You will be left behind and the rest of team Kakashi will be jounin, I can´t let you stay with their team, you would be holding them back" That was the answer The pink haired had got when she had started to argument again. Sakura knew that the words that the fifth Hokage told her where all to true, she just wished that things where different.
End of flashback
´Ooh he maybe cocky now, but just he wait, his owns training wont be a walk in the park... I will make him growl before me.´ ´Yes let him crawl in the dust before us...Let him beg for mercy.´
Sai had since he joined team Kakashi become better with people, even if he still didn´t understand all the social settings and he still did silly mistakes. He had also learnt some heartbreaking things. The day Naruto left with the two men he had actually felt loss, when he looked at Sakura and Hinata he felt pained since they also missed him and there was nothing he could do or say to comfort them, besides being silly and drive Sakura mad. So that was what he had decided to do, he couldn't comfort her, just distract her a moments with that horrible anger of hers. And slowly he had begun to understand that her anger was a way for her to protect her self, and for keeping her from crying and long after the persons that had left her. Sai wasn´t stupid he just lacked in knowledge of the human heart and emotion, but with time he had come to understand more, he had started to understand more.
He straightened himself out. "ugly. I don´t care what I will have to do but my mission is to sort you out so be prepared. I will met you her again tomorrow at dawn."
She exhale and sat down under one of the luscious trees.
´Is it really worth all this trouble? Ooh Naruto? When are you coming back to us? Life as a Shinobi is so painful....´