A/N: Okay... this hit me out of nowhere... and this will be a one-shot. It is a side-story/prologue after all, and if you want to see the continuation, go check out Unspoken Bonds. For those that already read Unspoken Bonds... well... comment all you like? Btw, what genre is this? I'm at a loss at what to put. I should also be writing Unspoken Bonds, but for those readers, I am currently working on it.
Summary: Sakura looks inside herself somewhere to find the courage to ask Tsunade to be her sensei.
Note: Because she's only 13-ish (don't remember the exact age) here, she definitely is not as mature and is quite more simplistic.
And as always, feedback is always welcome and appreciated.
Side-story to Unspoken Bonds:
Finding the Courage
The gregarious pink-haired girl was happy.
She had just finished a mission with her team and had gotten her pay, something which had always given her a feeling of achievement.
"Let's go to Ichiraku!" Naruto cried.
Sakura could not understand how the blond could possibly be hungry.
"You're still hungry?" she replied incredulously with a somewhat disdainful expression on her normally cheerful face. The blond, though he could be somewhat endearing at times, was first and foremost a constant annoyance.
Inwardly though, Sakura wondered if all boys could eat as much as they wanted without gaining weight. Sighing, she turned to Sasuke-kun for another teammate's input.
The stoic young boy made no reply, his onyx eyes narrowing in slight irritation.
Nevertheless, Sakura let her eyes admire the young Uchiha's good looks for a few extra moments, and, reminding herself of her good luck, shifted her inquiring gaze to Kakashi-sensei.
Her sensei gave a non-committal shrug, and before Sakura could think twice, she found herself trailing Naruto-kun to his favorite ramen place.
Sitting next to Sasuke-kun managed to keep her good mood intact, and soon she found herself chatting with Naruto about training.
"Jiraiya-sensei offered to teach me train," he said excitedly, his voice muffled from the food in his mouth.
Her features distorting in disgust, she reminded him not to speak when his mouth was full and turned back to her own food.
Her steaming noodles, though they were the exact same as that of her crush, suddenly seemed less appealing.
A single thought nagged her for a couple moments before she thought it through.
Where was she supposed to go if Naruto-kun left?
Sasuke, of course, had the private tutelage of Kakashi-sensei to turn to, but how was she supposed to become a full-fledged kunoichi?
Kakashi-sensei, seeming to sense her slight unease, asked her what was wrong.
"Just wondering who will teach me when you're busy with Sasuke-kun, sensei," easily relaying her feelings on the matter.
"Ahh..." she watched her sensei's eyes dull slightly in thought for a few moments while waiting for his response.
"I believe..." he started.
"What is it sensei?" she prodded him eagerly, emerald eyes wide.
"Another of the three sannin is back in Konoha for a while," he continued, muttering something under his breath about sake and crazy women.
Wrinkling her forehead in slight confusion, Sakura was silent, but stared expectantly at her sensei to continue.
"Her name is Tsunade-sama," he finished somewhat abruptly.
Sakura's eyes widened in realization at her sensei's implication and hurriedly finished her food.
Once she had finished, she excused herself politely, and with an extra glance at the good-looking Uchiha boy, left the ramen stand and didn't look back.
After asking around a bit, Sakura managed to gather bits and pieces of information on the recently-returned sannin, many of which she did not know what to make of.
The lady was supposedly extremely strong and, now that she was back in Konoha, the best Konoha medic available to the people. She was also, apparently, a large fan of sake, and normally in debt because of it, according to a somewhat bitter shop owner.
Still slightly confused, Sakura decided to head to the Hokage Tower for hopefully, a more authoritative source to guide her.
Once she was inside, she asked one of more familiar-looking elders where she could find Tsunade-sama.
She was escorted to the door of the room she had become somewhat acquainted with. Staring at the door for a couple of moments in bemusement, she turned to the elder which had guided her there.
"Tsunade-sama will be our next Hokage," he said summarily.
Suddenly, the pink-haired girl felt all the more afraid. How could she ever expect such a great woman to teach some like her that had little natural ability?
Her previous happiness having dissipated, she attempted to gather the courage to knock on the door. Failing the first time with a strange feeling in her chest, the elder offered to open the door for her, his eyes twinkling in amusement.
She declined his offer, thanking him, and stared at the door again. The rectangular wooden door seemed so much larger now, its height growing with her uncertainty.
Upon hearing the elder walk away, she tapped herself on the head to correct her vision.
It's now or never, her Inner reminded her. Unsure of whether that was a twisted form of encouragement, Sakura took a few deep breaths to calm her palpitating heart.
On the third breath she lifted her small fisted hand to rest on the wood. With a sudden surge of courage, she managed to knock three times before dropping her hand, her arm hanging limp by her side.
"Come in," a female voice called.
Sakura touched the metal handle, sending a chill throughout her entire body, before turning it slowly and pushing the heavy door open.
Upon entering, she bowed quickly, her lengthy pink hair flopping forward, as to assure her respect before lifting her eyes to meet the occupier of the room.
The light brown eyes were hard and tired, but Sakura sensed a faint hint of curiosity at her appearance.
"Yes?" the woman asked, interrupting Sakura's thoughts.
Sakura had been loosely studying the blond's sharp features, and upon interruption, blushed in embarrassment, the light pink just visible on her relatively rosy cheeks.
Reaching into herself for some semblance of courage, she took in a breath before speaking.
"Would you please teach me?" she asked, her green eyes open, yet not quite pleading. Her voice came out more confident than she had hoped, and Sakura focused her gaze on the blond for an answer.
"What is it that you would like me to teach you?" the older woman asked.
Sakura blinked in confusion.
If she had been honest with herself, she would have admitted that she had never thought that far. It had only been the thought of having a personal sensei to teach her that had been pleasing.
Now that she was face-to-face with a potential candidate, the girl was at a loss for words.
The woman did not say anything, her brown eyes boring into Sakura's emerald ones.
Sakura responded hesitantly, having coming up with a tentative answer, "I want to become a full-fledged kunoichi, and I would like for you to help me reach this goal. Please teach me whatever you know."
Though the older woman's gaze had been somewhat calculating moments ago, the intensity of her eyes was now much lighter though she still said nothing.
"What merits do you have?" the blond suddenly asked, interrupting the momentary silence.
"I," Sakura paused, "have excellent chakra control?" Inwardly Sakura winced, that hadn't meant to sound like a question.
To solidify her answer further, she continued on, "At least, that's what everyone always tells me."
Refusing to look at the ground, Sakura kept eye contact with the woman. She noted that the older woman's eyes had a glint of some sort.
Interest?
Disappointment?
Sakura was not quite sure, but her confidence that she had attained minutes earlier was slowly draining, her normal self suffocated by the unfamiliar presence inside the room.
After a few minutes, she heard a reply.
"Alright. I will teach you."
The affirmative answer had an almost immediate effect on the young girl, her delicate features brightening with delight.
"Arigatou!" she replied, adding tentatively, "sensei?"
"Ah," the older woman's lips curled into a slight smile, "Be ready to start training next week."
"Understood," Sakura replied seriously, though a smile of her own threatened to ruin her forced blank expression.
Bowing low to excuse herself, the girl slowly left the room, turning back every so often to assure that she was not dreaming, and that this powerful woman had indeed agreed to teach her.
As the wind greeted her warm cheeks outside the tower, Sakura thought about how she currently felt, her various emotions having swelled up inside her.
Relief flowed through her veins along with a feeling of happiness that she could not describe. The thought of happiness brought yet another thing up for a young mind to ponder. Perhaps before, she had not really been happy, if her current euphoria was any indication.
Her self-analysis stopped abruptly there, the young girl seeing no reason to explore the thought further. She now had a teacher to help her, just like Naruto-kun and Sasuke-kun did.
A teacher of her own.