A/N: Welcome my peeps. Hope you all enjoy the story! Just remember, flames will be used to fuel the will of fire!
Disclaimer: I do not own, nor do I financially prosper off the Naruto franchise. Those honors belong to Kishimoto-sama.
Chapter Two: The Purple Menace
Anko, sensing her melancholy thoughts put a hand on her shoulder. "Stop that kid", she said. "You will improve...Under my tutelage anyway". Sakura shrugged Anko's hand off her shoulder and looked up at the woman. "So when do we start Sensei"?
A few uncomfortable moments passed with the purple-haired nin peering sharply down on Sakura. "Why, now of course"! She chirped, a cherry smile covering her face.
With that Anko abruptly stood up, reaching across the table to grip a small, pale hand into her own much larger one. "Onwards"!
Slapping a yen notes onto the table, the two dashed off.
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Running across the rooftops, the mismatched pair finally arrived at their destination. Sakura looked up from her feet, eyes scanning around the area.
The location was familiar. It was the same old training grounds she had been to multiple times. A small smile graced her lips as she continued to stare, mind focused on the bittersweet memories of her and her teammates.
"So this is it". The Pinkette said as she took a few steps forward. "What exactly did you have in mind for me? I'm so far behind, I'm not really sure where to start". Sakura looked back down at her sandal-clad feet, a melancholy look on her face.
Anko looked at her, smile still ever-present. "Well, since you asked so nicely". She trailed off with a giggle. She reached into the long pocket of her trench coat and ripped out two long packages and tossed them towards Sakura.
The packages landed with a thud in front of her, creating two melon-sized crates in the ground. Sakura's mouth gapped as she looked at the packages. "What uh, what could possibly be inside of those"? She asked carefully.
Anko chuckled again. "Well, why don't you take a look pinky"?
Sakura's brow twitched at the nickname, but otherwise she made no comment. Reaching a slim-hand down, she prodded at the odd package. The plain brown packaging was rock solid under her touch.
Sighing, she began to rip it off, sending brown paper flying in all directions. When she finished, she stared down confusingly at what lie on the ground.
It appeared to be some kind of clothing item. Where it went, she had no clue. The tan of the cloth clashed with the dirt and she inwardly cringed at how she thought it would look against her pale skin.
"Ano". She asked. "What is this"?
Pointing a finger towards the odd objects Anko began "those are weights. The set before you is meant to go around your ankles, the other is meant to go around your biceps".
Pausing for a moment, she took a deep breath before continuing on with her speal. "During your fight with Ino, I couldn't help but notice that your speed is sub-par. Considering your small stature, I was quite surprised that someone like you was so slow".
Anko took a couple steps toward the pinkette and reached down to clutch the smaller weights in her hands. "These ones go around your biceps". She stated. "The purpose of this set is the same as the other one, to increase speed and power via resistance".
She reached over, placing both sets in place. Sakura grunted under the weight of them. "Okay, I understand that much but-". She stopped and shrugged, grimacing at how her muscles shook under the added pressure. "How exactly am I supposed to do anything else"?!
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Hours passed and a certain pink-haired genin lie panting heavily on the ground, no longer caring how the dirt soiled her pretty dress and mussed her once flawless short locks.
She had been running laps around the training field under the sadistic Jounin's watchful eye for the better part of the evening. Every time she would slow down even the slightest amount, the purple-haired menace would throw a senbon at her, forcing her to either pick up her speed, or risk getting stabbed.
Anko smiled down at her tired apprentice. "I'm proud of your progress, but I can see we have quite a bit of work to do. I want you to go home and get some sleep. Be here tomorrow at sunrise. And don't be late"!
With that, she disappeared in a flourish of leaves.
Sakura sighed to herself and slowly picked herself up off the ground, brushing away stray dirt off of the front of her dress.
Her limbs ached something fierce. She had never trained so hard in her life. She had never had a reason to. The only reason she had continued on in the academy was her obsession with one raven haired Uchiha.
Is she were to be honest with herself, everything she had done up to this point was for him. And what thanks had she gotten? None. She had been called annoying, she had been ignored, and frankly she was tired of it.
But what reason did she have now? Sakura sighed to herself. Her life was consumed with a certain Uchiha and now, well now she was lost.
Tears poured down her pale face as she wallowed in her new-found emptiness. What purpose do I have now? Why am I here? Why am I so useless?
The pinkette raised a hand to wipe off the tears, but they just kept flowing as the overwhelming feeling of helplessness shook her to her very core.
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Off in the distance two pairs of eyes watched the young girl.
"Thank you, Anko. I didn't have the time to do this". A dull voice said, as he stared lazily at the pinkette.
Next to him, Anko bristled. "Of course, she needed this. It's not like she was going to get assistance from anyone else". She bit back.
The man sighed, pulling out a small orange book and flipped through the pages. "No, you're right. Trust I had my reasons, Anko". He said.
Anko clenched her fists at her sides. "Reasons"? She asked sardonically. "What reasons could there possibly be to leave a little girl, a little girl entrusted to you, to die out here, Kakashi"?
The silver-haired Jounin continued to flip through his book. "Leave her to die, you say". He stopped and looked upwards, through the thick branches of the trees towards the clear sky. "We all have our part to play Anko, and mine unfortunately didn't involve helping her".
Blood trickled down from the woman's hands where sharp nails had punctured pale flesh. Gritting her teeth in anger she began "Coming from the man who trained under the Fourth Hokage', I'm shocked at you". She growled out. "We all have our parts to play.." She chuckled sadly. "If that part involves leaving someone innocent defenseless in a dark world like ours, I refuse to play that part".
The silver-haired man bristled next to her. "You don't understand, the council-"
"-Can rot for all I care". She interrupted. "Fix yourself, Kakashi. The man I once knew would not do this to her".
With that, Anko disappeared in a whorl of leaves, leaving her companion to stare off at the clear sky in deep thought.
He closed his one visible eye, and lowered his head. Opening his eye, he looked at the pinkette cry her heart out into the dirt. But for once, he wasn't just looking at her, he took a moment to take all that was Sakura in.
"I'm sorry". He whispered to no-one as he too disappeared off in a whorl of leaves.
A/N: Pairings undecided as of now. Not sure if I'm gonna go yuri or het yet. Either way, it probably won't matter until way later. Aha~ I'll take suggestions though! Wow, Kakashi is very OOC here. I'm sorry. I tried! u.u
