Hi! So I was discussing with my sister how while I love Sakura, it still kinda makes me bitter that she's pretty much just a Tsunade number 2 with the exact same moves and everything, when Naruto and Sasuke both remained unique despite their time under Jiraiya and Orochimaru.
Anyway. This is an exploration of different mentors Sakura could have had. So far, after Kakashi, I have: Chiyo, Kurenai, Shisui, Tobirama, Kabuto, Ibiki, Shikaku, Jiraiya. (Yah lmao not all of them r realistic but I'll try.) if you have suggestions, please suggest someone and what Sakura could learn from them.
These 'oneshots' are more just of brief snippets of Sakura's time training underneath them? No real plot, I guess, but relationship building and training montages.
The first day after Naruto left with Jiraiya in his quest to get stronger, Sakura had to physically force herself to get up, put on her red dress and walk to their usual meeting place on the bridge.
She showed up a little later than usual, 2 hours late, aware that without Naruto and Sasuke—and god, it hurt to even think his name, she can't she can't she can't—she had no one to talk to to fill the time while waiting for Kakashi-sensei.
She waited for her sensei to show up, late as usual and with a flimsy excuse and his eye crease smile thing.
It took her until the sun set before she realized he wasn't coming.
She went again the next day, trying in vain to keep the little fire of hope lit inside of her.
It must have been a fluke. Maybe he was assigned a mission, maybe he was sick, or in the hospital (she didn't know how unlikely this was then), or maybe he got caught up reading his perverted book.
There must be a reasonable explanation for Kakashi-sensei's absence. (Even though he's never been absent before without a sub or an explanation or a letter or something.)
She sat down to wait, fiddling slightly with the hem of her dress and wondering if she should buy a new outfit. The dress was always a bit impractical, and she had no one to really dress up for now so… She winced.
She leaned back on her palms and looked up at the sky, gnawing on her lip slightly. What if Kakashi-sensei didn't show up? What would she do? Her heart ached slightly and she closed her eyes against the feeling of hurt, fingers tightening around cloth.
It took her only 6 hours this time to admit that he wasn't coming.
She was on her way home when she bumped into Kakashi-sensei near the dango stand. Kakashi had his nose in his book, as always, and when he saw her over the top of it, he simply waved. Sakura opened her mouth to scold him for not showing up and keeping her waiting—and then Kakashi kept on walking.
Right past her.
Sakura faltered, and turned around to stare at his back as he goes farther and farther.
Nothing. Not even a stupid excuse, or an apology, or a time for their next training. Her heart clenched, her fists turning white as she gaped. She could recognize a dismissal for what it was.
(In another world, the sight of her sensei's back—a familiar sight that she has grown to hate as it was only a reminder of her weakness, of how far behind she was, and how she could only dream of catching up—was the last straw for her before she stomped into the Godaime's office and asked to be her apprentice.)
No. She wasn't going to let him walk away from her. She had already lost Sasuke—don't think his name, don't don't don't—and Naruto. She wasn't going to lose the last remaining member of Team 7 too.
He promised! He taught us that those who abandon their comrades are worse than scum, Inner Sakura raged. Isn't that what he's doing now?
Silently, Sakura agreed, her expression twisting slightly.
Sakura stomped up after him and caught his sleeve with her hand, making sure to stay on his right side so she could see what wasn't covered by his mask and hitae-ate. She needed all the help she could get in reading him, honestly.
Kakashi stilled at her touch. He didn't jump, but Sakura could feel his muscles tense slightly as he merely tilted his head to regard her warily.
With all the confidence that Sakura could muster—could fake—she sniffed disdainfully and pulled her hand away to cross her arms over her chest.
"You made me wait the whole day for you yesterday, Kaka-sensei," she said, raising her chin to meet his eyes with fiery determination. "I won't wait more than 5 hours for you next time," she continued airily, waving her hand around in the air even as her heart beat faster inside her chest, a solid thump against her ribs that she wouldn't be surprised if Kakashi-sensei could hear.
Kakashi blinked at her, and for a moment, Sakura held her breath and prepared for the rejection.
'Sorry, you're not worth training,' she imagined.
'You're not cut out to be a kunoichi, stop playing as one.'
'You're too weak.'
'I have better things to do.'
All Kakashi did was smile at her, eyes creasing in that way that Sakura always found a little annoying. "Sure, Sakura-chan," he said pleasantly, and Sakura hesitated before she nodded stiffly. She stepped away and let him walk away from her this time.
The next day, Kakashi-sensei showed up 4 hours and 50 minutes late.
(Sakura definitely wasn't about to go home to cry her heart out.)
Kakashi knew that it had already been 4 hours since the time they were supposed to meet.
It shouldn't be this hard.
He had already failed Sasuke. Maybe it was unfair to judge his standards on what may have just been a lost cause, but Kakashi refused to think of Sasuke as such. His student was already broken by his own brother—another of Kakashi's former subordinates, and wasn't that another can of worms he didn't want to open? Maybe there really was nothing he could have done for him, but Kakashi had tried, and that was probably what hurt the most.
Kakashi didn't begrudge Naruto's decision to train with Jiraiya, he understood that he was a shit teacher. What the fuck did he teach the three of them anyway, aside from the importance of sticking with your comrades? Tree walking? Wow. That surely saved their lives.
Look where it had left them. A scarred broken man and his cute little student ,who a few months ago, couldn't even be bothered by anything other than her precious Sasuke-kun and her hair.
He shook his head at the thought and smiled wryly. It was stupid to think that Sakura was the same person she was back during their introductions. Her hair sheared short was testament to that, if one didn't take the time to look into her eyes and see the haunted pain that lingered.
He had failed all three of them.
Sakura, maybe the most. At least he had tried with Naruto and Sasuke, but he had cast Sakura aside in favor of her teammates and convinced himself that she didn't need to be strong. Him and the boys would protect her. She could keep her innocence for longer. He had thought that she would have eventually given up on being a kunoichi and that in the future, she would have found a nice husband to settle down with and remain a civilian pseudo genin.
Her determination was stronger than that. He should have known.
His neglect had almost cost her her life. If he had helped make her stronger… His thoughts trailed away, mouth setting into a grim line underneath his mask.
This was his chance. He was going to do right by her.
He closed his eyes against the image of another young girl. Nothing like Sakura with her brown hair and plain features. Rin was sweet, and kind, and although Sakura could be sweet and kind, there was a fierceness that lurked underneath the veneer that Kakashi could only barely see through. See underneath the underneath indeed, except he couldn't even quite do that.
"Rin, Obito," he murmured and dipped his head towards the stone.
He showed up at the bridge with 10 minutes to spare. He pretended not to notice that Sakura had her pack in hand and looked about ready to leave.
Before he even had the chance to say something, excuse ready on the tip of his tongue, Sakura stood up straight and bowed to him until her upper body was parallel to the floor.
"Sensei!"
She looked up, and there was that determination in her eyes again that Kakashi has never quite seen—or noticed before.
"I understand why you never took me seriously before," she said boldly, "But this time I'm serious! I don't want to be left behind anymore, I want to be strong so I can protect my precious people!"
Kakashi blinked at her. Her expression faltered for a moment, her eyes scrunching and fuck, if she started crying—Kakashi flinched, ready to bolt or awkwardly pat her head, but Sakura only bowed again.
"So please!" She begged, voice breaking, but both of them ignored it. "Don't go easy on me!"
Kakashi couldn't help but smile. She was going to regret asking for that.
There was a few things that Kakashi-sensei believed in, Sakura grew to learn in the months they spend training together. She already knew about one of these things, of course. she knew about his fervent belief that the mission was never more important than a comrade's life, and maybe there was a reason for that, but Sakura wasn't quite confident enough to outright ask.
The day that Team 7 took the bell test, Kakashi had tried to give them a lesson in all three ninja basics. Taijutsu. Genjutsu. Ninjutsu.
This is what he trained her in, day after day, his attention focused solely on her. She had always wanted his recognition and approval, but if she had known that this is what it would mean… She thought that maybe the Sakura from a few months ago wouldn't have wanted it that much.
One of the things that Kakashi-sensei believed in was well-roundedness in a shinobi. Sure, he was known as Copy Ninja, master of a thousand jutsu, but no one could say that he slacked off in the other aspects.
Kakashi wasn't a 'jack of all trades, master of none'—no. He was more like, master of everything that he put his mind to. Sakura was only realizing that now, that despite the veneer of apathy that her sensei put up… He was a damn good shinobi. He was a genius in every sense of the word. Smarter than a Nara, better sense of smell than an Inuzuka, and master of the Sharingan despite not being an Uchiha.
Hell, Sakura bet that he could pick up a new weapon mid-fight and use it better than you, against you.
It was so unfair.
Sakura had to work for every bit she had and she felt like even that wasn't enough and that it would never be enough. Her parents were both civilian born and Sakura started out her shinobi career with literally nothing, only the bare bones of a promise to be there for her and help her out from a friend that didn't even stay her friend—granted, it was Sakura's fault that her and Ino weren't friends anymore but—
"Again!" Kakashi drawled from where he's lounging on the tree, book still in hand as he glanced towards Sakura.
Sakura grunted as she slid back on the ground and came out of a tumble from the force of the kick. She panted and wiped at the sweat dripping off her forehead before going back into an offensive stance. Kakashi-sensei's clone in front of her slouched, unaffected as usual by Sakura's determined expression.
"Maa, Sakura, just get one hit on me," the shadow clone said, his tone reasonable, as if he wasn't putting Sakura through hell and Sakura huffed. Easy for him to say! It was harder than he made it seem! She was just a genin and Kakashi-sensei was an elite jounin who wasn't taking it easy on her at all.
She scowled, rocking back on her heels before she darted forward, fist cocked back. Kakashi dodged it easily. The only balm to her pride was that at least the clone Kakashi wasn't reading his book.
Kakashi let her try to hit him a few more times before his hand suddenly flashed out, and before Sakura could even blink, much less dodge, he hit at a pressure point and she crumpled to the ground gracelessly.
Sakura closed her eyes and grit her teeth, splayed out as she was on the dirt.
Damn it.
She looked up. The clone dispersed in a cloud of smoke and the real Kakashi dropped down from the tree. She watched as Kakashi pocketed the book and regarded her, hip cocked to the side and hand on his hip.
"You're still slow," he said blandly and Sakura nodded dejectedly. She knew that.
She couldn't help but scowl though, a pout on her lips as she got back on to her feet. "Maybe if you let me take the weights off," she started to complain, shaking her leg slightly to emphasize the garish orange legwarmers that weighed her down. Seriously, why couldn't he have borrowed from someone other Gai-sensei? So unfashionable.
Kakashi raised an eyebrow and Sakura immediately quieted, any further complaints quelled, chastised as she was just by a single eye. Inner Sakura raged inside of her.
"What's that? You want me to increase the weight?"
Sakura stayed quiet, biting back her retort. She bowed her head respectfully. If there was anything she learned in the past weeks, it was respect to her sensei. The more she trained with him, the more she learned just how good he really was. She doubted that she's even really seen half of what he was actually capable of, even if you count their fights again Zabuza and other rouge nin.
It bothered her that she's afraid to see how strong Kakashi truly was.
"Let's mix things up a bit."
Even as he said this, before she even got to reply, Sakura could already tell that the genjutsu has already been cast. She doesn't know if it was testament to his teachings, or her own leanings towards genjutsu, but she dispelled it as soon the tendrils of chakra touch her skin.
She grinned, triumphant, but Kakashi's face stayed unimpressed as he darted forward, kunai in hand. Sakura parried his slashes, her eyes wide, but she recognized how his speed was adjusted to hers. He was just a little bit faster than her no matter how fast Sakura tried to be.
It took her 5 minutes to realize there was another genjutsu underneath the one from earlier and that her chakra spike didn't quite take that one out.
She dispelled that, and was disappointed to see no one in front of her. She looked up, and she blushed in embarrassment once she realized that Kakashi-sensei never left his spot on the tree.
"You're supposed to be a natural at this," Kakashi said, eyes riveted to his book. Sakura flushed, drawing in on herself. "You noticed and dispelled the wide-spread genjutsu during the Chuunin exams earlier than even some Chunin."
Sakura didn't know what to say to that so she simply nodded. Who—who would even expect another genjutsu underneath another one?
"Fortunately, you've been able to detect and dispel the mid and some high B-rank genjutsus I've been throwing at you." Kakashi scratched the back of his head, sighing slightly.
"Maa, I don't really fight with genjutsu but I can teach you some that I copied back during the war."
Sakura's eyes widened and she nodded eagerly. She was actually going to learn a new jutsu! So cool! That was so much better than their taijutsu practices.
He paused for a moment, and Sakura waited breathlessly. He only looked awkward for a moment before his eyes crinkled. "You're improving, Sakura-chan," was all he said. Sakura gasped.
Hell, that was more than she's ever gotten from him before! She was going to take that.
"But there's still a long way to go," Kakashi-sensei continued, coughing slightly as he adjusted his stance. Sakura's face fell before she forced herself to straighten up and nod.
"Hai, sensei!"
Poisons, genjutsu, taijutsu, ninjutsu—even medical ninjutsu—tracking, kenjutsu, infiltration and espionage. Everything and anything that Kakashi could teach her, he did.
She will never have a fighting style that's unique to her, and she will never truly be the best or a master of anything. Kakashi is training her to be a jack of all trades, master of none—but, Sakura thinks to herself, oftentimes better than a master of one. Maybe she would never reach his level, but she would damn well try hardest to get close.
Kakashi felt himself a genius, except he didn't know quite how to handle Sakura. Women, he could definitely handle, although maybe not the morning after. Little, pre-pubescent girls that were somehow already considered adults in their shinobi world? That was a whole different story.
In the early days of Team 7, Sakura only ever stayed in the periphery of his mind, a passing thought and always forgotten. Unimpressive compared to the Kyuubi jinchuuriki and the last Uchiha. Kakashi's attention was always divided between the two of them, they had plenty issues of their own that Kakashi didn't feel close to qualified for.
If Naruto was the sun, and Sasuke the moon, Sakura was the earth their shadows fell upon.
Sakura was intelligent, but any shinobi worth their hitae-ate knew that wasn't quite enough to shield one from death. The Naras might say differently, but even they depended on their shadows and Sakura didn't have hers anymore.
Sakura was determined to prove herself, determined to catch up, and this is what Kakashi capitalizes on. If her intelligence and her sweetness isn't enough to keep her alive, then Kakashi would give her the tools to stay alive, to survive. If Sakura's need to be on the same level as her teammates was the reason for her to grasp these tools and learn how to yield them, then Kakashi would push her until her grip was strong, her aim perfect, her hits solid.
Soon, he hoped that her goal would change. That instead of simply wanting to catch up to them, she'd want to surpass them.
(Even if the earth could never quite reach the sun or moon—well. Kakashi was never good with metaphors.)
Mhmm, again, if you have suggestions on possible mentors for Sakura that I didn't list, please suggest! So far, I have Chiyo, Kurenai, Shisui, Tobirama, Kabuto, Ibiki, Shikaku, Jiraiya. Next chapter will be Shisui because he's my favorite Uchiha. I already finished it, so I'll have it up by next week :)