Note: More people are following this than I had expected for this first chapter, I'm glad people like it. Thank you all so much for reviewing and following the story :) Anyway, this chapter is a bit slower paced and still focused heavily on Sakura, but other characters are going to start showing up more frequently next chapter.

It's taken some time, but Sakura thinks it's safe to say she's gotten the false surroundings technique down. She could only cover a small area, but she was confident that her range would grow with practice and an increase in her reserves. 'It'll be a while before that happens, sadly.' Sakura thought as took note of what was left of her reserves. Less than three hours in and she was already facing minor chakra exhaustion. Naruto and Sasuke-kun could've done it for days...well maybe Sasuke-kun could. Naruto, for all his determination and insane chakra levels, was hopeless when it came to anything needing even a little finesse.

'But having all the finesse in the world won't help me if I get tired this quickly.' Sakura grimaced. She needed to boost her reserves, but meditation was so time consuming and barely yielded any results. There was nothing for it but to keep going at it, she supposed. "And in the meantime I can check for anything useful at the library." Sakura smiled for a moment at the thought of books. They'd been her friends long before Ino or anyone else had come along. "Time to get a move on. I don't want to keep my 'friends' waiting."

XXX

The library was a wonderful resource-just not if you were trying to teach yourself genjutsu. "Genjutsu is one of the three Shinobi arts. And it doesn't have enough books for a single shelf!" Sakura fumed. With so little information on the subject, it was no wonder Kurenai was the only genjutsu expert in the Leaf. 'Now that I think about it, someone really needs to fix that. Sound was able to render nearly everyone who wasn't a Jounin unable to fight with that one feather technique.' The genin paused for a moment. Putting enemies to sleep before the fighting even began, now that was something worth looking into, especially given her current skill set...or rather lack of one.

After an incredibly thorough search of the library that lasted nearly forty minutes, Sakura dumped her findings onto an empty table. Three scrolls on chakra manipulation, a textbook on anatomy that contained what looked like a promising section on the brain, a book on hand signs, and a novel that might not necessarily have anything to do with training (Despite her newfound enthusiasm, she wasn't going to devout all her time to training).

"These books should definitely help me out. They might not be on genjutsu, but they could have something useful." Sakura pulled out an empty scroll of her own and opened up the first book. "Let's see what we can find."

Sakura stayed until closing writing down whatever she thought might be useful, much to the librarian's annoyance. She was dead tired from the physical and mental strains of the day, but she was satisfied. She'd always been one to take studying seriously, but this was one of the few times where it would help her outside of the academy. 'I wonder if Naruto and Sasuke-kun feel this happy whenever they train. Maybe that's why they like to do it so much.' Sakura looked up at the sky, decorated in various shades of orange and red and pink. 'I wonder if they're thinking about me too.'

The pleasant feeling was replaced by a sad one, and Sakura was suddenly hit with the urge to cry. Sasuke-kun probably wasn't. Kakashi too. They were gone. Naruto might be thinking about her, but he was gone too. Sakura was well aware of the status of her team, or lack thereof, but for some reason, it had really hit her right now. They weren't a team. Not anymore. Sasuke-kun had his vengeance. Naruto had the Toad Sage to teach him. Kakashi had other matters that didn't involve being her teacher. But what did Sakura have? She had nothing.

XXX

Kurenai observed the spar between Kiba and Hinata whilst Shino took a quick break on the sidelines. Kiba's attacks were seemingly random, and not timed with Akamaru nearly as well as she'd witnessed with some of his older family members, and it was painfully obvious he was holding back. Most of his attacks either missed or were so weak Hinata hardly had to block to avoid taking damage.

"Alright, pause for a moment." Kurenai instructed. Kiba instantly relaxed from his fighting stance and Hinata let out a quiet sigh of relief. Hinata rarely came out on top in a spar with her teammates unless they lost willingly. Hinata's strength lied in taijutsu-even if her family couldn't see it-but she was just too reluctant to use it. And since she never went all out, Kiba and Shino didn't either, unless they were facing each other, which did nothing good for Hinata's self esteem. Kurenai resisted the urge to bite her lip. They meant well, and Kurenai was happy that they cared for one another, but the lack of significant progress could be frustrating sometimes.

"I know neither of you wants to seriously harm the other, but a little force is okay during the spar." Kurenai advised them, keeping her voice gentle and features relaxed. Kiba grimaced and Hinata stared forlornly at her feet and mumbled an apology. Kurenai walked over and placed a hand on their shoulders, "It's okay. It's good that you care for your teammates. But holding back in sparring will only hold back your development. Don't go crazy, but don't go easy either. Now why don't we start over? Shino, would you like to join in?"

Shino got up and walked over to his teammates. Kurenai gave them a nod and the sparing began all over again. Punches and kicks had more momentum behind them and the fighting went at a faster pace. Kurenai watched her team, satisfied that they took the advice to heart, when she registered another presence on the training field.

It was Kakashi's student, Haruno Sakura, whom was once again all by herself at the training grounds. Kurenai waved at the genin who eagerly waved back, and couldn't help but wonder where her sensei was. 'Perhaps he just waits until later on in the day? But it's nearly two o'clock. Even he wouldn't show up that late. It doesn't leave a lot of time for missions. Maybe he lets her take D-ranks on her own? Sakura seems capable of taking matters into her own hands. And Kakashi is a more hands off type of person.' Kurenai thought Kakashi should pay more attention to his student, but not everyone taught the same way. Maybe it also helped make them independent? Then again, Sakura had was coming to her for help. Someone who was practically a stranger. While Kurenai was more than happy to provide the genin with assistance, Kakashi had more than enough knowledge to teach her the false surroundings technique and should've been willing to let her test the hell viewing technique on himself. He would know that genjutsu needs some assistance of it's to be taught. Unless he wasn't assisting her at all.

"Afternoon Kurenai-sensei. I hope I'm not bothering you, I just wanted to ask some questions real quick." Sakura told her. "Of course, it's no trouble. Shino, Kiba, Hinata, why don't you guys take a quick break." Kurenai suggested to her students. The three genin ceased sparring and sat or laid down on the grass. Kurenai turned back to see Sakura watching the, with an odd expression.

Kurenai realized it at once. She'd been the teammate of the demon container Naruto and the Uchiha. Both left the village, meaning Sakura no longer had a team. Kurenai knew that must've stung badly. And her prior assumption was correct. Kakashi wasn't teaching her. He wasn't teaching anyone despite the fact that that's what he was supposed to be doing. Kurenai kept her expression calm and her voice light and pleasant despite her anger at the copycat ninja, "So what can I help you with?" Sakura produced a scroll and unrolled it to show small, neat handwriting. "I went to the Library to look up more genjutsu but they didn't have any so I did research on other things that might help me and I remembered that really strange genjutsu someone used during the Chunin exams and thought it would be really useful to have, especially with a few modifications, but I'm not sure how it works and I had a few ideas but I needed help testing them out or seeing if they were even accurate." Sakura blurted out all in one fast paced jumble.

"Alright. I'll take a look and see if I can give you any advice." Kurenai took the scroll and glanced over it for a bit. She was impressed, especially by some of Sakura's ideas to make the technique more subtle, such as it being triggered by a small breeze or some other background noise. "I see...that's an interesting idea. It certainly would be a useful technique." Kurenai said. She recalled Azuma mentioning the technique to her since she had been with Hinata at the hospital and unable to witness it for herself, but Kurenai hadn't thought much of it afterwards. White feathers falling from the sky? Too eccentric for her tastes, and Azuma did say that it failed to trick even some of the genin. So she had brushed it off, never even thinking of trying to create a better genjutsu from it.

"I haven't fully read through it all, but most of it seems solid. I would be happy to provide assistance to you in figuring it out." Kurenai rolled up the scroll and offered it to the genin, "There's just one thing." Sakura tilted her head slightly, "Um, okay. What?" "I like you to come training with my team. This way they can have more experience detecting and dispelling genjutsu and you can have someone to practice on." Kurenai said. 'And also that you don't get killed out on the field because your sensei seems to be shirking his duties.'

"Sure, thank you so much for your help Kurenai-sensei!" Sakura told her. "I'm happy to help. See you tomorrow at eight."

XXX

"See you tomorrow at eight." Kurenai stated before giving a friendly wave of her hand in farewell. Sakura cheerfully said her goodbyes before practically skipping home. Sakura had been expecting only a few tips and pointers, but Kurenai was actually going to teach her. Sakura was going to learn something unique to her, something someone wanted to teach her specifically and had not just been obligated to teach a group she'd been a part of. She couldn't wait.

Note: I hope Kurenai agreeing to train Sakura didn't seem too fake. Next chapter we'll start to see more of team 10 and maybe some action. Any suggestions or comments would be appreciated. Thanks for reading!