Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto, and this is making me no profit.
NOTE: What can I say that won't give this away? Well, nothing really, so enjoy this shocker! ;p
Warning
Language
The Wrong Shade of Green
'Four doses of Hyperthoel for the patient in 231; Two doses of Gensyth for both patients in room 117; Chakra burn medication for the idiot in 219; Poison medication for the kid that ate that toad in 104…'
Emerald eyes closed in frustration and disappeared under a mop of pink hair as the woman currently checking over her daily check ups sheet set her head down on the desk she occupied. Groaning lightly, the woman didn't seem so much tired, as more strung up. Indeed she was aching lightly, but the light stinging in her legs and arms wasn't exactly painful as it was annoying.
But that wasn't the only ache her body displayed; somewhere in the back of her mind, there was something nagging her. For the life of her, she wasn't exactly sure what the hell it was. Her concentration would slip every now and then because of this gnawing feeling. She had felt rather bad that one such time it had been with a patient and she'd accidentally stuck the needle in them a bit too hard.
'Just go away…I've gotta work…I have people that need me.'
'Chaaaa, this is SO damn boring…Let's go out, let's go DO something…'
'I can't abandon these people.'
'Oh the Hell you can't – they did just fine before we came, and they can do just fine after. We're not the only Medical-nin here, ya know.'
'Mmm…even If I did, what do I do? I don't have money for shopping; I'm not hungry, and I'm not tired…kinda still sore from yesterday…'
'Such a whimp…'
Sakura growled at herself.
'I'm not use to that kind of training!'
'Fuck yeah, let's go train! Hey we can bug Tsunade-sama, too. She hasn't been doing anything lately. She has no excuse not to.'
'I don't want to…'
'The hell you don't. You liked it, and you know it. It was different; it made you think on your feet.'
'………'
Sakura grumbled incoherently as she rested in her spot. She couldn't lie to herself and yesterday's little. . . adventure, had in fact, been pretty nice. It got her mind off things, kept her head in the game and she got to use her vast knowledge for once on a day she'd probably not have at all.
Her silence was interrupted by the sound of her door being opened, and a voice containing authority, addressing her.
"Slacking off, are we?"
Sakura picked up her head quickly, she eyes widened a little and her face flushed a bit. The paper she'd been marking was stuck to her forehead.
"No, Tsunade-sama, I was just…" she snatched the list.
"Check over today's duties…people…"
Tsunade smiled knowingly and walked over to her former apprentice.
"Well, sit up and give yourself a moment. I came to see how you are fairing."
Sakura sat up, but gave her superior a questioning look.
"How I'm fairing?"
"It may have been a week since your incident, and I'm sure you're fine; but a quick check up should be seen to."
"Oh. Right."
Sakura relaxed and took even breaths as Tsunade looked her over. The girl looked alright, and didn't seem to have any negative repercussions, yet…
"It seems you've recently exerted your arms and legs. You chakra well is a little higher than normal. You haven't been on a mission I don't know about have you?" Tsunade rose an eyebrow and grinned, knowing full well that the younger woman could be stubborn about missions and procedures.
"No, nothing like that." Sakura sighed a little. "I was caught up in training yesterday."
"Oh? You actually trained on your day off without bugging me?"
Sakura's expression deadpanned.
"I didn't have a choice; I was roped into it."
"Naruto again?" Tsunade asked as she looked over the girl's hands.
Sakura was about to answer, but stopped. For a moment, she seemed to recalling something that the older woman had no idea of. It was amusing to see the kunoichi hit upon some connecting idea, and saw how the light behind her eyes flashed upon getting some unseen answer.
"Oh my god, they're both so alike. No wonder he aggravated me so easily. He's just not a pervert like Naruto is."
The pink headed one's eyes narrowed lightly and she huffed.
"I take that back, they're both the damn same!"
"What are you going on about?"
"About two men who are really still just boys."
Tsunade chuckled and let the girl's hands go, moving to check the girls eyes.
"So I take it that means you were referring to Maito Gai, hm?"
Sakura gave an audible sound equivalent to surprise. Tsunade for her mirth, just grinned.
"Don't forget how long I lived in the village before I…took my previous leave. I watched all of the first generation grow, and now I'm watching the second. I've seen many of the same patterns play among many people. For example and probably the most noticeable to myself and a few others is the Ino-Shika-Cho trio.
"Yeah, that's right, Ino, Shikamaru and Choji are the second trio to that. I remember Ino tell me that once."
"That's correct. Their fathers were the first wave of that trio. There personalities were very much the same as well. Then of course was Kiba's mother, Inuzuka Tsume; who may have been a girl, but was still just as sassy as her son is now."
Sakura smiled and listened intently. Things like this were always so fun to hear and enjoy.
"Shino's father, Shibi…he too was a quiet one, but he did actually talk a little more than Shino does. Hyuuga Hina, from what I could remember of her was a quiet and shy young woman, but was very strong. Her true strength was driven from protection and love. Truly she was a remarkable kunoichi."
Sakura's smile faltered a little, at hearing the sad reflection – for she knew Hinata's mother had died shortly after the young girls first birthday.
"Thing about the Hyuuga clan though was that many of them at that time stuck to the clans, and not many enrolled for teams. Hina was one of the few, and it lasted only a very short time. The same could be said of the Uchihas…"
Sakura inhaled a little, but let it out steadily, and Tsunade went on. Sakura seemed to be alright with that mention.
"But then you had men like Tenshi, who I swear to this day must still have some kind of secret.."
"How so?"
"Tenshi was the master of any and all weapons the village had to offer."
Sakura smiled as she learned of the identity of who had to be TenTen's father.
"If I'm reading you right, you're absolutely right. Tenshi was our current resident weapon master and he was amazing at handling every one of them. Countless times I fretted when I heard tales of Tenshi teaching his daughter the tricks of his trade at age one. I was irrationally afraid he'd cut her clean through!"
Sakura laughed at that; she too would be apprehensive over such a thing.
"Lee's father was a civilian, and his mother had for a brief time been a stay-in-village medical nin, but they were very nice and friendly people. It was a few years before my proposal of having medical-nins on teams."
"I never knew any of that."
"I'm sure you haven't heard a lot of this."
"True…"
"So let's see….whom else…oh right, Kakashi."
Sakura grinned but rolled her eyes.
"Little lazy boy, pervy and smart-allic?"
"Quite the opposite actually; at least when he was younger. He was a very by-the-rules kid. He was a bit frosty and harsh as well. Lazy was not a word you'd apply to him at all."
"That's a bit hard to see."
"Well, traumatic events can change a person, as I'm sure you know."
Sakura's face flushed a little and she nodded. She then looked up and smiled.
"So tell me, out of them all, who was the most insufferable?"
Tsunade grins, a smirk crossing her features and a bit of a shine in her eye.
"Ah, that would be the little shit that was on Dan's team."
Sakura paused a moment and before going on. Dan had been the man that Tsunade had mentioned she'd loved very dearly. She wasn't completely sure if they had ever married or not, but she was sure if the man was living today, Tsunade would undoubtedly be so.
"He was loud, obnoxious, and foul mouthed. He was always hyper, high stung and always wanted to fight and train. When he wasn't training, he would cause havoc amongst others. Thankfully at one point, he finally found an equal to constantly annoy, which left everyone else alone. What's more, the kid was a total loser."
"That…" Sakura narrowed her brow.
"That sounds like how Naruto was before he graduated academy." She finally concluded.
"Indeed, problem is, this brat was like that even after he became a Genin at seven."
"He graduated at seven?! I thought you said he was a loser?"
"He may have become a Genin at seven and a Chuunin at eleven, but he had to work his ass off to do it. Of course, I still think to this day he only did it to prove everyone wrong."
"Who..?"
"Who do you think? You pointed out the connection earlier."
Sakura's eyes rounded and her mouth hung open lightly. There was just no way…
"That couldn't have possibly been him…ok, loud I can see, but obnoxious? Well, ok maybe that too, but foul mouthed?"
"And cocky. Oh god was he ever the cocky brat."
Sakura blinked a moment as a quick flash of a cocky smirk registered across her mind.
"So…Maito Gai was a hellion. Here I always thought Lee was a mini-version of him at that age; sweet and innocent."
"Lee for his core self, is. But Lee's docile personality and warming nature stems from other places; not to mention his carefully mannered speaking. Lee doesn't let anger or aggressions fuel him either. Gai on the other hand, when younger, did. We butted heads quite a few times when Dan was unable to train the team. He showed great potential though. I'll never forget the time he tried to work a fire jutsu and burnt his entire left arm."
Sakura began to grin slowly. She suddenly had an idea.
"Anything else he did that was really stupid?"
"Too many… why?"
"I need some blackmail."
Tsunade stood back up and shook her head with a knowing smirk.
"You realize Lee will just go ask him and he'll find some way around it. He's never lied to Lee, but he'd bend the truth; or turn it around to make it seem intended."
"Crafty, but not that smart."
"Oh, he's crafty, and smart. Gai just…tends to focus on the main ideal, and tends to forget about what would come after."
"So I've noticed."
Tsunade nodded and began to leave.
"Why don't you take the rest of the day off. You've been here for a good six hours already. Go do something, and get out of this stuffy office."
"Sounds like you want to yourself." The pink haired one grinned.
"Yeah, but I can't. I've got work to do that I've put off too long now and a couple of regulations to re-look."
"Mmm."
The blond woman nodded and waves as she left the room, leaving the younger woman with her thoughts.
'Well, that marks out training with Tsunade-sama.'
Gathering her things, Sakura made a quick check of the office, then left; locking the door behind her. As she departed the hospital, she began to mull over some ideas for what to do. It was then that she came to an idea.
'That's right, I blew off Naruto yesterday because of…well, yeah. I need to go find him and apologize. I'll treat him to some ramen.' She smiled to herself, and made to go find her teammate and long time friend.
- - - - - -
"So you're telling me…" Slurp. "…that five years from now…" Slurp. "I'll be prancing around in orange spandex jumpsuit, telling my students to embrace youth, and preaching to the children how with hard work you can achieve your dreams."
Naruto paused and looked away from his female lunch companion, eyes focusing on some distant point she could not see, while he brought a fist to his chin.
"I'll need a cape. No wait, a coat; with flame on it. Maybe if the suit's top half was orange and the bottom half black?"
"Argh, Naruto! You're missing the point." Sakura heaved a sigh and shook her head as she grabbed up a large measure of noodles, plunging them into her mouth. Leave it to the bright blond to come up with such a silly lament on something she found intriguing.
"Haha, I'm just playing, Sakura-chan. Well, the coat part would be cool…well and maybe the spandex-"
"Naruto!"
"Ne, Ne! I get it. I understand." Naruto finished up his bowl and smiled to her calmly; with a hidden smirk.
"I never really thought about it like that, though. I mean, he's a great sensei and all, and I guess we relate in a lot of ways I never thought to connect…but I have a feeling that all the times I've been under Kaka-sensei and Ero-Sennin's training…I think I'll be a bit more different."
"Oh? Like what, perverted?"
"Youthfully perverted!"
The two broke out into laughter that didn't stop for a full seven minutes. After finally calming down, the blond turned to his long time friend; his face giving her a more serious, but still warm and gentle look.
"So how are you feeling today? Better than yesterday I hope."
"Yes, and again, I'm sorry about before. I just…wasn't in the mood to hear any more…I didn't want to take anything out on you like I've done before."
"Ahh, Ne, Sakura-chan. You know I'll always be your number one punching bag, -tebayo!!"
She smiled and grinned at his smile, and chuckled lightly.
"Yes, well. . . I can't be doing that so much now; otherwise Hinata wouldn't have much of a boyfriend."
"Aaa… hehe, I can handle it!"
Naruto gave a goofy grin and rested his head upon his palm. Zoning out for a brief moment, the blond murmured a few words – one's sounding suspiciously like the young Hyuuga woman's name – and seemed to be off in a dream world. A gentle hand upon his own free one brought him back to reality. Turning, he found himself looking into the bright emerald eyes of his companion.
" I'm very happy for you, Naruto. Truly."
The blue-eyed man could only return the soft warm smile his friend gave him at such touching words.
"Thank you, Sakura-Chan. I hope…" He looks off to the side before pulling back to her gaze. "I hope you get the chance to be happy too."
Sakura pulled her hand away gently, giving him a shrug and a silly wave.
"Don't worry about me. I'm fine. I'm made of tougher stuff now. I'll worry about all that later. Right now. . ." Sakura turned back to her ramen.
"Right now, I just want. . ."
Naruto tilted his head as he watched the woman close her eyes, as if lost in thought. At that moment, he was particularly right.
Weightlessness, Darkness, Sinking; it sent a quick chill down her spine and Sakura was brought back from her thoughts. She shivered a little, and shook her head.
" I'll just focus on the here and now. Live life to the fullest, and try to really just… enjoy my youth." At that, Sakura blanched and brought a hand to her face.
"Oh god."
Naruto just laughed at his meal companion and prodded her a little.
"Me-thinks someone is hanging around the Green Beasts a bit much, ne? Next thing you'll now, you'll be wearing bright pink spandex and telling everyone how to embrace life with open arms!"
"Naruto! Would-you-be-quiet?!" Sakura smacker her friend on the arm with each word, while the sting of red lightly danced across her face.
Naruto in turn just laughter harder; pointing out the woman's 'hidden attraction' and getting himself even further down the hole into which he dug himself. After recovering from his bought of hysterics, Naruto sprang to his feet and gave his friend a quick hug.
"Oh, sorry to run out on you, Sakura, but you just reminded me of something. I'll need to hurry to catch her. Anyway, thanks for the Ramen, and the chat; it was fun. I promise we'll rehash things later."
"Wha-Wait, her? Hinata?"
"Yeah. She's probably still at the bathhouse right now, I wanna catch her before she leaves. See ya later!" With those last parting words, Naruto swept out of the Ramen stand, leaving behind his bewildered former team mate.
It only took Sakura a few seconds for the words to sink in.
"NARUTO! YOU PERVERT!" Sakura jumped up and yelled to her friends retreating figure.
"THAT'S 'YOUTHFUL' PERVERT!"
- - - - - -
Having had the pleasant lunch, and having enjoyed her entertaining conversation with Naruto, Sakura had decided a nice brisk walk was in order. Though she had the rest of the day free to herself at Tsunade's request, she found herself slowly falling into a restless state of mind once again.
'I guess there's no helping it.'
Making a turn in her little walk, she soon found herself trampling once again across her former training grounds. It was still relatively the same as it had been when she was a Genin, but one would of course expect the bit of overgrowth from shrubby and trees. It actually added a nicer feel to the place – though no training ground was every really secluded, the overgrown trees seem to give it the general feeling of a more private training area that it had previously been.
Gazing over the area brought back many memories to the kunoichi as she set down her bag. She smiled at the happy moments, and did not let herself be pulled down by the sad. Thinking of her younger self made her shake her head in a bit of disappointment. Perhaps if she had focused more back then on all over her ninja aspects instead of just a few; and of course other things at the time that seemed more important – perhaps she would be even more capable of more things now.
'What's passed is past. I can't change that. I can only work on here and now…and for what's to come. So let's get to it.'
Thus Sakura began to run down a few of her more practiced routines; followed by some newer ones she'd recently come up with, and had yet to employ. For a while she worked on every aspect she could think: Mind, body, chakra, and further. As things began to become more complicated and more in depth, Sakura threw out a few shadow clones. At one point she had henged a few of the copies into Kakashi, Naruto, Ino and Lee. After she had disposed of each of them, she took on a different approach.
'If what I need is to make myself strong – work out my own flaws and see what it is I lack, then my opponent needs to be myself.'
With this in mind, Sakura began a new regime and threw out a few copies of herself unhenged. As they would stay herself, they would keep her own style and sets. This was exactly what she felt she needed. During this whole affair, Sakura was at a deeply heightened sense, though at the same time, highly incensed to the heavy training in which she put herself in that she did not feel the arrival of another person onto the training field.
Swinging around with a scalpel chakra blade and catching on of her clones across the neck, it popped quickly, and Sakura whirled to fling two Shuriken into another advancing clone. She was breathing a bit more heavily than she had when she began and sweat was beginning to break across her brow. As she glanced to the sky to see another copy sailing down with a readying punch, Sakura left herself fall back. Swinging her legs up quickly, and hitting the ground on her hands, Sakura's leg caught the copy in the stomach. As she continued through with her backwards arc, the kunoichi threw the fake with her legs into the arc with her. Effectively, Sakura ended back up on her feet as the fake sailed out of the arc and onto the ground – skidding a few feet before popping and fading.
"Ok, that should be enough for now."
Her words were cut short as a commotion from behind her alerted another incoming attack. Spinning on the spot, she brought up a hand quick and caught the well aimed punch to her upper chest. Throwing the hand to her left, Sakura made to bring up a right hook, but it was deflected easily. A quick dip alerted Sakura to the next move being aimed for her leg; and her instinct had been right. A left leg swooped to knock her down, but she locked with it, and spun, causing her original self to now be behind her assailant. Again she went for the back of the neck, but was tripped up by the quick work of a backwards upper kick of the right leg.
Without proper time to dodge or block, the attack hit and she feel back onto the ground. Luckly, the fall didn't really hurt, nor knock any wind out of her – but it did slightly shock her a bit.
'When did I learn that move? Hmm, I'm getting really bad if I can't remember all my moves.'
Getting up slowly, Sakura dusted herself off, and looked up to the mirror image of herself standing where it had just knocked her back. Sighing a little and turning to the side, Sakura stretched a little.
"Well, that proves I'm slipping up a bit."
"Nothing a little hard work can't fix!"
Sakura glanced at her clone and gave it an annoyed look and grunted.
"Regardless that you may be correct, when I want your opinion I'll ask for it, thanks. Now go away. I'm taking a break."
Sakura turned and grumbled to herself lightly as she made her way back over to her bag. Rummaging around for a moment, she retrieved a bottle of cool water and drank down half of the contents greedily.
"Done yet?"
Sakura spun around, bottle top still clenched between teeth as she eyed her clone still standing in the same spot she left it. The clone just stared back, one hand on a hip. Narrowing her eyes, Sakura dropped the water bottle next to her bag and huffed.
"What the hell…" Concentrating for a moment, Sakura realized that she was not exhausting or seeding any chakra to this clone. Further prodding revealed that the clone had its own chakra that was not of hers. In short, this was not on of her bushin she'd created earlier.
"Hey! What do you think you're doing?!" The true pink haired one cried as she gripped her gloved hands.
"I'm helping you train." Came the reply, as if the answer was obvious.
"Ok, fine, but WHY are you like THAT?!"
"I was watching you train, and saw your tactic was improving upon your own faults and to find your week openings-"
"Yeah, but only I know my own set of moves and styles."
"True that may be, but by watching someone else perform them, in your image, your will be able to see how best to pull them off and how your body will react when pulling them off."
Sakura paused a moment in the debate as she thought this through. Granted, this was a very valid and good point to make – but it still irked her that someone was using her image. True, it wasn't the first time this kind of thing had come up, but those situations had always involved missions, and the beforehand knowledge of what was being planned. This however was completely random and unknown.
"Ugh, this is the same kind of childish, yet decidedly logical thing Naruto would do."
Sakura grumbled aloud, thinking of her blond friend. However another thought entered her mind and it caused her to snap back around to the fake female. With a small shriek of anger, she glared dangerously at her fake self and brought up a fist.
"GET THE HELL OUT OF MY BODY OR I'LL BEAT YOUR ASS OUT!"
"Such language, Sakura-San, such language."
"Consider that your final warning."
Without any further indications, the true pink haired kunoichi began to launch attacks against her clone. Hit for hit, each attack was deflected. This routine went on for a long while past the point in which Sakura would have normally called it quits a long while ago.
It was at this point that Sakura, in the midst of an attack, finally gained sight of something interesting. Her fake self would leave her back open for a second or two when executing a downward straight kick with her left leg. Though it may have only been a tiny opening, it was worth a shot at taking advantage of the situation. Pulling a Kunai to hand, Sakura once again launched into her normal forced attacks. She received the same thing back; effectively nullifying the originals. Finally, the clone pulled up and came down hard – left leg out for another downward hit.
"Got you."
Spinning at the last moment towards her clone, instead of away, Sakura swerved and swung the Kunai up and true. She watched as the blade danced inches away from the fake's back and for the copy to stagger away. Sakura smirked. Though the blade did not touch the fake physically, she'd forced chakra to extend around the Kunai's blade. With luck, even the missed blow should have hit a few good nerves in the back.
Sakura was about to comment until the copy halted and a clean rip was heard. Sakura felt her face slowly heat up as she realized not only was her attack effective for damage against the opponent; but it seemed to have made quick work of the fake's top as well. Sakura was glued to the spot as she watched her copy's signature red top split down the center and flutter to the ground below.
"Uh-oh."
Sakura gaped at the discarded cloth for a moment, as if trying to will her brain to understand exactly what had happened. However as her gaze turned upward, and onto the clone now facing her, she felt a streak of hostel anger surge right through her, followed closely by a streak of immense fear.
Though her copy was not completely without clothing on her upper half (and thank Kami for that), she was however wearing the exact copy of one of her more personal under-garments. No question about it; lacy, pink and the tiny little flower in the center. She'd never shown it to anyone; not even Ino (regardless of how many times the two went cloths shopping for cute things). The only way anyone could even possibly know about that was if they'd been in her ….
"You Bastard."
"I can explain…"
"I'm going to kill you so it doesn't matter."
"You know, Sakura-Chan, if you would maybe tidy up your room a little, then perhaps people would not see the things you leave lying around?"
"THAT IS NOT THE POINT! I DIDN'T ASK YOU TO TAKE ME HOME! NOW GET OUT OF MY BODY BEFORE SOMEONE SEES ME..er, you, ARGH, YOU AS ME!"
An angry Sakura was a very scary, and very powerful, Sakura, so at once, the clone broke – causing both it and the fallen material to vanish in a wave of smoke, as the real person was revealed behind it all: one anxious looking Green Beast.
Glaring dangerously, the girl growled as she stomped closer to the other nin, and coming within reach, grabbed the neck of his jumpsuit and yanked it tightly forward. Effectively she was forcing the man to be face to face with her, which wasn't all that hard as over the years Sakura had finally hit her final height of 5'8".
"I'll give you five seconds to explain why in the name of Hell you would even do that."
"I really don't think-"
"Damn right you don't, now you're wasting time. Three…"
"If you must know, it's because I…I can't…"
"Can't what? Four…"
"I can't do any less."
Sakura raised an eyebrow at the man, clearly confused at his words; though it didn't exactly abate the anger. Huffing lightly, she left her grip go. Crossing her arms, Sakura stared up at him.
"And that means what exactly?"
Gai sighed, and rubbed at his neck where the suit had pinched under the woman's grip. Frowning lightly, the older nin closed his eyes lightly, as if trying to form the conversation in his head before launching into it. Looking back up into the sky, which was now an array of oranges, pinks and blues, Gai dropped his hands to his sides.
"As everyone knows, I am Konoha's Taijutsu Master – though it seems Lee will take my place any day now."
A small smile placed across the man's face at the thought of student surpassing teacher. It only stayed for a moment as Gai went back over the topic at hand.
" So everything I do is geared towards that art; the Art of Taijutsu and extensions of the hand-to-hand combat style, such as when I use my Nunchaku."
Sakura listened quietly, though her stance was a bit more relaxed as she had lost a bit of her heat; for her anger was slowly beginning to become taken over by curiosity and confusion.
" Due to this, everyone assumes that I either can't use Ninjutsu and Genjutsu, or that I just don't use either, because I don't need it. Granted I do not use either as other shinobi do, but the fact of the matter is that I can. Yet that is where the problem lies."
"How is it a problem that you can use them?"
"The fact is that when I do, I do them too well. I use them….too much. Overly. This is the problem."
"So then, just don't use them so heavily like that."
Gai smiled sadly and shook his head.
"That is part of the problem. I can't regulate them in the way that you can. All my life I have trained myself with straining and harsh conditions. That is what's gotten me to where I am today with my Taijutsu. However, it seems I cursed myself as well. When I was younger, I was terrible at almost everything. Like Lee, I had to work hard and put every ounce of effort into every training exercise I received."
Sakura frowned a little and tilted her head.
"How would that hinder you?"
"Every time I was given a Ninjutsu to work on, or a Genjutsu to use, I would throw my entire effort into it. Many of these techniques as you know need to be slowly built into. Steps are needed to follow through and train one's body and chakra for them. I chose to ignore this. I was able to pull them off through my awkward ways of training, but the cost was great. I preformed them well. Too well. One use of a Goukakyuu jutsu at that age and I was almost depleted for the rest of the day. Others were easier, and sometimes worse. Heh, I once tried a fire jutsu that landed me in the hospital for four days."
Sakura hide a smirk to herself, vaguely wondering if this was the incident Tsunade-sama had told her about earlier that day.
"The point is, that due to the way I trained in these aspects, is that I can't regulate the jutsu. I can only perform it, and expect it to be intense. That said, any time I use a Henge jutsu, I can only produce something that is a completely authentic copy. That is what I meant when I said I could not do less. My body and mind instinctively have me use my full efforts, and resolve the jutsu from there."
After hearing all this, Sakura could only blink and stare. She's truly never heard of a case in which someone's training caused such a happening. Though the idea sounded logical, and after running over the previous day's little session in her mind, she could understand now why some of those jutsus had been so intense.
"I had no idea."
"Of course you didn't. No one knows this except the very select few. For safety reasons, if you will. Now then, I'd say you were done for today. You should rest up for tomorrow."
Sakura nodded and began to pad back over to her bag, but stopped after a few steps.
"Wait, what's tomorrow?"
"We'll be heading out on an early mission!" Gai gave her a wide smile.
Sakura gave a look of pure and complete confusion and pursed her lips.
"We? Who is 'we?' "
"My Team and you."
Sakura narrowed her eyes in further confusion.
"Why was I not informed of this earlier?"
"That was the very reason I was sent out to find you. I was going to inform you that you would be joining my team for the mission tomorrow, which I will be going over once more when we are all at the gate; and before you ask, I requested an extra person for this mission. Tsunade-sama was the one who suggested taking you along."
"I see." Sakura mumbled, not sure whether to thank the woman, or put chili power in her sake.
"Guess I will need sleep then." Sakura gave a half grin, before turning back to get her things.
Removing a small cloth, she wiped her brow and downed the rest of her water. Rummaging around in her bag for a moment, pushing away various items, Sakura reflected over the previous conversation. She wondered if there was a way to medically correct such extreme cases of jutsu use; but then she pushed the idea aside. If one's body had been honed to do this from day one, then altering it could be just as bad as the act itself.
Stopping a moment when her hand hit an extra top she's packed for emergencies, Sakura frowned. Something was nagging her. Something about Gai's statement – true or not – rang in her ear that something was a bit…smudged. Turning back to look behind her, she could still see the older jounin was just now leaving the clearing. Standing up quickly, Sakura called back to him.
"Gai-San!"
Stopping a moment and looking back, Gai turned back to the approaching kunoichi, seeming to miss the personal notation.
"You needed something, Sakura-San?"
"Not really, I just…wanted to thank you. For telling me about all that."
"Think nothing of it."
Sakura nodded and gave a small smile.
"I guess in a way you can see it as very impressive. I mean, you were able to make such a perfect clone of me. Probably could do anyone that well."
A light, almost unnoticed tint of red could be seen on the older one's cheeks; but only if you were looking for it.
"Well, perhaps, I guess…"
"Though I guess I'm flattered, really."
"How so?"
"Well, if what you said was true, about needing to be correct, then I guess I'm just flattered that you would have chosen my more accenting bra than the plain white one I was wearing the night of the party." Sakura casually spoke, with a light voice.
She had remembered how she'd woken up with them still on, yet in her night shirt; meaning the man had someone helped her change into, at the time, cleaner clothing.
Gai gave a little shrug.
"The pink one was cuter."
Sakura's light expression suddenly changed into one of pure evil. It was this change of expressions in which Gai finally realized he'd fallen into a trap and had just given himself away. Needless to say, the man didn't get very far before falling to the wrath of the very powerful and very scary pink hair kunoichi.
x chapter 3 x
AN: Quick word to say that, chapter 4 is already underway, and is, fufuf, Action intense. Also, the background and theories are all my own; though the ages of Gai becoming Genin and Chuunin are accurate. Anywho, hope this chapter was worth the wait.
