Well ... I thought about an IbikixSakura thingy^^ since they are a complete crack pairing, and I just need something to get down a bit of stress and clear my mind for other stories as well. So ... here we go, I don't own Naruto and I don't own the poem, Matsuo Basho does.
...
On love and Barley
or
The Beginning
...
Sakura cursed … of course she had to be put up with this … TREE! You couldn't even say it was a man … not even human, because damn it … this thing was just a tree … a walking tree, but a tree nevertheless! Even his name screamed 'From The Forest'! God gracious … and she was stuck with him.
"What was shishou thinking?" she muttered as she rubbed the bridge of her nose.
"Maybe you should ask yourself what she's been drinking instead." The … talking tree … sneered as answer.
"Shut your trap, tree giant." She snapped back.
"Haruno …" UGH! She just hated it when he was giving her that …
"Yes …" she sighed.
"Yes, what?" he queered.
"Yes … sensei." She growled.
"Good girl, you want a lolly now? Get back to work."
She growled lowly and stared back at the paper. Three weeks prior her shishou had decided to get Sakura to the last step of the 'hardass-package' like she had called it.
After she had surpassed her shishou in medical skills and had sucked out every knowledge of her shishou, the thirst for knowledge still hadn't stopped. She always found that there was something more … something she hadn't found out yet and so she was passed from jonin to jonin …
She had passed her genin days with Kakashi, meaning she had learned the basics from him, before she had asked Tsunade for being her master.
After Tsunade she had passed to Gai, for taijutsu. Not only her weakness but also the thing that interested her the most.
After Gai, she had passed on to Asuma: strategies. She found that Go or Shogi were highly interesting games; one was able to take out an enemy with completely simple moves that were at the same time unexpected or unseen. Asuma opened and ended a session with Go ... or Shogi.
After Asuma, she had been passed to Kurenai, who had taught her the fine differences in Genjutsu. She and the red-eyed woman had come along quite nicely.
And then … then her shishou had passed her on to Hayate, to Genma, to Kotetsu … everyone had been able to teach her one thing or the other. And her thirst was still not sated … she always wanted to know more. She saw the links in the techniques, but she wanted to know why they were there.
She had never lost her contact to Tsunade, since she had been taught besides her job as medic and assistant in the Hokage tower. Two times in the week Tsunade had been taking her aside. One time for politics and the other for a talk.
When the two had their 'talk', Sakura always told her of all the things she had learned, the fabulous techniques, the links she saw. But she wanted to know why the links where there, she started making up theories, threw them out of the window because something essential was missing, threw herself into research again until she had finally found it.
Three weeks … three weeks ago her shishou had announced one final step to her.
Flashback
"Sakura … I think I found the excellent teacher for you." Tsunade announced as she took a sip of her sake.
"You did, shishou?" Sakura looked at her a bit confused.
"I think I did. He will be able to support your thirst for knowledge and he will also be able to use that clever head of yours with all those techniques saved inside." The Hokage tapped her former apprentice lovingly on the forehead.
Sakura smiled as her shishou tapped her carefully. Sometimes she wondered if her mother would have done something similar. She had never gotten to know her parents, they had been killed on a mission when she had been six. At the time she had been with Ino and only heard about it later.
"Who is it, shishou?"
Tsunade sighed. "That's the problem, Sakura. Not only is he a very strict man, but I believe also that he is the nightmare of almost every person in this village."
"Errrm … al … right?" Sakura tried.
"Listen Sakura. I will ask you now … and not a second time. Do you REALLY want to do it? And … after this answer there is no going back. Absolutely none …"
"Shishou … who is it?"
"I can't really tell you. Do you want to do it? I warn you, he is strict, he is … intimidating and he does one of the dirtiest jobs in whole Konoha. He's working in a filial with only … one woman. And he is a true devil … if you say no it's alright …"
"I'll do it." Sakura interrupted her shishou, who looked now with wide eyes at her. "See … this is a 'now-or-never-decision'. I take it. I've survived with a jumping, green spandex, I've survived fifty perverts … or was it fifty-one … however. I've even told Kurenai about it …"
"You told her?"
"Unavoidable … we trained on genjutsu."
"I see…"
"So … what I want to say is that … devil or not, I'll do it. This is a chance for me, not only to be useful but also to learn … and that's what life's about, ne? You learn until you die, there's no such day where you can say: right now I've stopped learning. And if this opportunity is there, then I'll take it."
"You are to meet him tomorrow at five in front of the Hokage tower. You know the usual ritual, right?"
"Hai, shishou."
Flashback end
And now … now she was stuck with the talking, tree-giant: Morino Ibiki. What the fuck had she been thinking.
See honey, that comes from being so eager
Shut your trap, Kura.
What … you wanna tell me that's not the case?
No … but it's alright. I'm gonna learn … it's important to learn. I want to be useful.
Honey … no offense but you've been 'learning' for the past ten years
It's not bad … I'm also the only one who's been accepted in ANBU
That may be true … but no one knows it
I don't care about the others. The Hokage knows it and that's the only thing that counts. I want to be useful to my country. Since my team no longer exists …
Right … Naruto is still training to become Hokage and Sasuke is still not back
He will be sorry if he does come back
Oh yeah baby …
She chuckled deeply before she went back on training. The training she currently received from Morino was an easy feat, one would say. It consisted in memorizing lists of names, ancient poems and stuff. She didn't see how it would help her – yet. She knew that there was always something behind seemingly unnecessary tasks; and she had gained the patience to wait until it revealed itself.
It had already been three weeks and she had found out that Ibiki wasn't thatintimidating. Of course he was … gigantic and … well, a tree. And although he was very strict and disciplined his subordinates she found out that somehow it amused the man that she was talking back. Not even Anko dared to do so.
Damned … Anko. That woman would be the dead of her once. Not only her name alone made Sakura want to puke, but that woman lived up to it too. Anko Mitarashi … dango, dango, dango. That meant sweet, sweet, sweet. Sakura just detested sweets, she couldn't stand them, couldn't see them … she couldn't smell them.
On missions where contact with the target was needed she was able to punch her hate for sweets down, but otherwise she just couldn't see them. Anko was a nice woman … really now, she liked her. There were only two things she really didn't … support about her.
Number 1: Anko was a bitch
And the woman didn't even give a damn about that reputation. If anything she used it. The woman would come to work every day, completely sated and satisfied and tell Sakura in her breaks about her newest captives … he sex-toys. And good lord … the suggestions she made … There was absolutely no man in her 'target-group' that she would not make suggestions to if she ever crossed their way – and believe it, this woman came around quite a lot. She even made suggestions to IBIKI for crying out loud!
That part about her was harder to digest, seeing as Sakura just didn't understand it, how one could just … need it that much. But she wasn't a medic for nothing, soon putting up the theory that Anko was just, simply put a sex-addict.
But god gracious, she had to be desperate if she was suggesting to MORINO! The shock was still sitting in Sakura's bones.
Number 2: Her addiction to sweets
Concerning this topic the two of them just were like yin and yang. Anko was able to eat them in tons! She came to work with her coat full of sweets, ate them during the first shift, returned home at noon with empty coat pockets and returned to the afternoon shift with full pockets. Only to return home in the evenings with empty pockets once again.
Sakura had heard that sugar helped to think better, but was that much really still healthy for a human body to have? Really now! It couldn't be healthy anymore.
But Sakura looked over that fact … she still liked her.
Well … back to topic. Even if Anko was making suggestions, she would never dare to speak back to her boss. Sakura didn't give even a shit. She knew that she was more or less at Ibiki's grace, but she also knew that apart from the Hokage there was not really anyone who had such a knowledge of techniques stored in only her mind. She knew that even if Ibiki would throw her out, he would try to come back one day, and even if it was only because she was the quickest way to get to information.
"I'm finished, Morino … sensei." She added silently.
Calling Ibiki 'sensei' was something she thought of never getting used to. It was just so … strange, to call this gigantic being a sensei. She wouldn't have even thought it possible that he would take an apprentice … even less HER.
"Good, lollypop. Now analyze this nice text for me …" he instructed.
She had KNOWN it! She groaned inwardly before she closed her eyes and recalled the text she had just been reading.
"The Haiku as we know it today had been developed in the 16th century, when Japan had been closed off from strangers and the poets all had a similar background …" she began.
Analyzing a text was necessary to skill her in … well analyzing from the spot away. She loved literature, she really did and Haiku were exceptional … but she had a hard time to keep her thoughts together when Ibiki was trying to defuse her concentration – like he was now.
She was already used to him standing up in midsentence and walking behind her, where she couldn't see him. She was also already used to kunai blades or other weapons grazing her neck or even drawing blood from her as they broke her skin. He tried to put her under physical pressure to make her forget what she wanted to say.
Soft torture one could say.
"Recite it." He ordered suddenly … and so she did.
From moon wreathed
bamboo grove,
cuckoo song.
Summer grasses
all that remains
of soldiers dreams.
Not one traveller
braves this road -
autumn night.
Clouds -
a chance to dodge
moonviewing.
Orchid breathing
incense into
butterfly wings.
Spring - through
morning mist
what mountains there?
Autumns end
how does my
neighbour live?
Old pond
leap - splash
a frog.
She waited for other orders, but when none came she continued analyzing the poem. When she was finished he nodded – signaling her that she was released.
