Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto or any of its characters.
"Talking."
'Thinking.'
"Kyūbi/Jutsu."
"Inner Sakura."
Chapter 7: Trip to Wave, Part Four
Breakfast, the Next Day...
"Hahaha, this is fantastic! It's been so long since we've had so many guests at our table!" exclaimed Tazuna as he sipped his alcoholic beverage at the head of the dining table. To his right was Kakashi. Next to the Hatake was Naruto (who was feeling slightly better), then Shikamaru, Chōji, Ino, Asuma, Sakura, Sasuke and then Inari, who finished at Tazuna's left. Tsunami was cleaning up in the kitchen.
Currently, the Uchiha and the Uzumaki were engaged in a vigorous eating battle. The two Genin wolfed down every scrap of food in front of them, barely chewing what was already in their mouths before shoving more in.
Sakura, eventually becoming disgusted at the sight of her long-time crush acting like an animal, decided to go over and inspect the picture on the wall. Her attention had been drawn to the torn-out corner of the photograph, however she didn't have the time to ask about it until now.
"Um, excuse me?" asked Sakura. "The corner of this picture is missing. Is there a reason for that? I noticed Inari glancing at it during dinner."
Suddenly, the activity in the room halted. Inari stopped poking his food with his spoon, Tazuna put his drink down, and Tsunami stopped cleaning. Even Naruto and Sasuke paused their battle in favour of hearing the story behind the picture.
"That's my husband," said Tsunami, looking down sorrowfully.
"They used to call him a hero in this land..." Tazuna continued.
"Inari? Where are you going?" Tsunami asked as her son stood up from his chair and left the room, slamming the door behind him. The woman quickly followed, glaring at her father as she walked past him.
"And the plot thickens."
'Shh, I want to hear this.'
"Inari seems so... what happened to him?" Ino asked.
"Is there a story behind this?" Kakashi closed his book and placed it in his pouch.
"He wasn't Inari's real father, he came into our lives later, and he brought so much happiness. He and Inari were very close. Until..." the old man took a deep, shaky breath before continuing, "The word 'courage' was taken from this land."
"What happened?"
"First, you need to hear about the man that taught us the word in the first place. The hero in this land. He came here about three years ago..."
As Tazuna finished telling the story about Kaiza and Gatō, Naruto began to feel the pain in her stomach grow from uncomfortable to agonising REAL fast.
'Oh fuck, why now?'
"I'm going to go rest for a while," said Naruto as she slowly got up.
"Are you okay?" the Nara asked. He had noticed Naruto shifting a bit as Tazuna was wrapping up his story, but he refused to comment in case the blonde shouted at him.
"I'm fine. It's just a stomach ache," she said. As the Uzumaki started to walk towards the staircase, her sensei stood up.
"Are you sure? That training earlier could have-"
"I said I'm fine," Naruto whipped her head around to glare at Kakashi, however the outburst didn't faze the Jōnin at all. In fact, he hardly even noticed it. Instead, his attention was focused on the brief flash of red coming from Naruto's visible eye. He frowned underneath his mask, narrowing his eyes as he watched Naruto leave the room.
'Some of the beast's chakra is leaking, just like that time during the fight with Zabuza, albeit much less this time. I doubt anyone except Asuma and I noticed it,' a quick glance at the other shinobi confirmed his thought. 'Something must be wrong with the seal if mere spikes of anger are triggering it. I must let the Hokage know as soon as we return to the village.'
"I hate being like this!" Naruto shouted as she kicked the pillow that was laying on her futon, regretting the action immediately when her wound acted up. The small girl leaned against the wall, then slowly slid down until she was sitting, holding a hand to her stomach. "Everyone is watching me like a hawk in case I suddenly collapse, especially Kakashi-sensei. They're treating me like I'm some fragile little girl."
"Right now you are a fragile little girl."
'Like hell I am. Why is this taking so long to heal?'
"Don't blame me! This poison counters any healing attempts... well, it's supposed to. Because I'm the strongest Tailed Beast, I can get rid of it without too much difficulty, the only problem is that it takes some time. I'm sure some expert medic ninjas could also get rid of the poison."
'But we don't have a lot of time, Zabuza is going to appear any time now, and I have to be ready!'
"Calm down! I'm sure Kakashi and Asuma can handle Zabuza easily between the two of them, especially if they don't have to worry about protecting you or any of the other Genin."
'What about the fake Hunter ninja?'
"Although I hate to say it, Sasuke could probably take him on."
'Yeah, I guess...' Naruto sighed and closed her eyes. She wouldn't admit it out loud, but she agreed with the Kyūbi. Sasuke was strong, probably stronger than Naruto, even with her Kyūbi enhanced abilities and new Dōjutsu. 'He's stronger... for now. Hey, Kyūbi?'
"Hm?"
'You said you had a great arsenal of jutsu, even greater than the Sandaime's, right?'
"Right."
'Can you teach me some?'
"You want me to teach you? Ha! You're not ready."
'Oh come on! I'm not asking you to teach me how to use a Bijūdama, all I want is a couple of new jutsu that can give me an advantage in the upcoming fight. Oh! You could teach me how to use Kage Bunshin without hand-signs.'
"Hm..."
'Kakashi-sensei hasn't taught me anything yet, and the only real jutsu I know are from the academy while Sasuke knows some cool fire jutsu that he got from his clan. It's not fair.'
"Not fair? You have a Dōjutsu, but what about Sakura? She came from a family with no ninja history and no clan jutsu. Now that's not fair."
'True, but she's smart. Like, really smart. I'm sure she can find a way to use her chakra for something offensive.'
"True, but... oh whatever, I can't be bothered arguing about this. Just fall asleep and come to my cage like you normally do. When you get back to the village, we should probably find a way to do this without you having to sleep."
Later that Night...
Sakura sighed as she turned over in her futon for the fourth time. She envied her love-rival and her ability to sleep peacefully. The Haruno considered giving Ino a rude awakening, but decided against it because the other girl would probably wake everyone else up with her furious screaming, and Sakura didn't want Naruto's much needed rest to be disturbed.
The pinkette clutched her fist to her chest when she felt a stabbing pain in her heart. 'Naruto... why does the thought of her make me feel sad? No, it's not the thought of her exactly, it's the thought of her being hurt,' Sakura sat up and looked at the door to the room that she and Ino shared, wondering whether or not she should go and check up on her teammate. After a few moments, she shook her head. 'No, I shouldn't bother her. I'm probably the last person she wants to see right now anyway. Besides, Naruto's strong enough so I know she'll be all right. In fact, she's way stronger than me, and so is Sasuke... damn it, why do I have to be the weak link in the team? Those two did the most work during the Bell Test and the fight with Zabuza, all I did was get caught in a genjutsu and hide with Ino and Tazuna.'
Sakura held a lock of her hair in front of her face. 'I spend way too much time looking good instead of training, even my hands are still as soft as a baby's instead of rough like a real ninja's.'
The kunoichi flopped back down onto her futon and groaned, however she froze when she heard Ino move. The Yamanaka sighed and flipped over onto her stomach, and when Sakura realised that the blonde was still asleep, she released a breath that she never even knew she was holding. 'That was close.'
The Haruno looked through the window to her right and thought about her experience as a ninja. So far, she hadn't done much, but that was to be expected seeing as she just officially became one. In the academy, she either spent her time daydreaming about Sasuke, fighting over him, or making herself look good for him. She was a quick-study, so Sakura rarely had to put any effort into the academic part of the academy, which at the time she was thankful for, but now? Now she wished she would have used that extra time for something truly worthwhile.
With a new kind of determination, Sakura stood up and changed into her ninja clothes as quietly as she could and exited through the window, using her new skill to run down the side of the building and into the forest. When she found the same clearing the teams used for the tree climbing exercise she sighed. She had no idea how to do this.
'I've never seriously trained before, and everything I did at the academy I've already mastered. Ugh, Ino was right. I would be the one to slow everyone else down, not her.'
"Cha! That pig! If it wasn't for her Shintenshin no Jutsu she would be in the same boat as me! It's not fair!"
Sakura clenched her fist and with a battle-cry, she turned and punched the nearest tree. She immediately regretted the action when she pulled her hand away and saw her now bruised and slightly bloody knuckles. "Damn it!" She clutched her damaged her to her chest and hissed in pain. Almost childishly, the pinkette looked up and glared at the tree, but instead her brows furrowed in confusion when she saw that the tree was the bigger victim. Where her fist had connected, there was now a decently sized cracked dent, similar to what had happened when Naruto had first tried the tree climbing exercise.
No longer focused on her injury, Sakura stepped closer to the tree in order to inspect the damage she had unknowingly caused. 'Did I really do that?' she thought to herself. At first, she blamed it on a spike of anger and adrenaline, however the knowledgeable part of her quickly threw that explanation in the trash. 'Of course it wasn't that. My body isn't capable of doing something like that on its own, no matter how emotional I am.'
Sakura used her healthy hand to lightly trace some of the cracks in the wood. 'Hm... chakra is the only sensible conclusion. Huh, that could be pretty useful in combat. Now, to figure out a way to replicate what I just did without hurting myself again.'
The Haruno quickly pulled out a roll of bandages from her pouch, and after she carefully wrapped a layer of it around her injured hand, she used the rest to create a thick barrier around her other one. Sakura stood in front of a different tree, closed her eyes and took a deep breath. 'Control your breathing, centre yourself, channel your chakra, and...'
"CHA!" the Haruno pulled back her protected fist, and instantly bright blue, wild chakra was coating it. The girl threw it forward, and when her fist connected, the tree cracked violently and almost caved in on itself. There was a dull throbbing in her fist, but other than that Sakura was completely fine. The kunoichi looked up and smirked when she saw the top half of the tree bending forwards slightly. It wasn't close to falling, but it was a good start.
'Sasuke-kun, Naruto... I'm one step closer.'
Morning, in the Forest...
Haku hummed quietly to himself as he picked another herb from the dirt. He had spent the last fifteen minutes searching for common plants to help Zabuza recover. Although the elder ninja's wounds were almost one hundred percent healed, the pain and discomfort was still there, so Haku wanted to at least ease as much of it as he could.
A light pressure on his shoulder made him turn his head, and when he saw the feathery creature perched there, the boy smiled. He lifted his hand into order to gently pet the bird, but something a short distance away caught his eye, as well as the bird's it seemed as the fragile animal took flight. It landed on a sheet of metal that was attached to piece of cloth, which was currently being used as a hair band for a girl with pink hair.
Haku, curious about the girl, walked up to her until he was standing next to her, and when the bird flew away, satisfied by what he saw, Haku narrowed his eyes. He recognised the symbol on the girl's headband. It was the same symbol that was engraved on the headbands of the ninja that Zabuza was fighting before Haku saved him.
Noticing that the girl was asleep, the boy silently crouched down until he was leaning over Sakura, slowly reaching down until his hand was a hair's breadth away from closing around her neck, however he hesitated when he saw the ripped bandages that were doing a poor job at covering the pinkette's bloody knuckles. Haku frowned, and looked up. He never noticed it before, but half of the trees in the clearing had multiple large cracks and dents. 'Did one girl do all this?'
The fake hunter-ninja looked down again and gazed at Sakura's face, like he was analysing a puzzle in order to find the solution. 'I wonder why she worked herself into exhaustion like this...'
"You'll catch a cold if you continue to sleep out here. Wake up," Haku placed his hand on the Haruno's shoulder and shook her until her eyes began to open.
"Huh?" Sakura asked no one in particular. She sat up, rubbed the sleep from her eyes and turned her attention towards the person next to her. "Who are you?" realising what she had just said, rather rudely, Sakura quickly corrected herself. "Oh sorry. I didn't mean to sound like that."
"That's quite all right. Might I ask why a ninja is out here all alone? Destroying nature as well, I might add."
"Wait, how did you know I was a ninja?" Haku smiled lightly at the question and there gestured to Sakura's head. "A-ah, of course," Sakura reached up to straighten her ninja headband. "I was training."
"You train by destroying nature?"
"Well no, not usually. I just discovered something last night and I wanted to develop it more as soon as possible."
"I see," Haku reached into his basket and pulled out some bandages, a few leaves and a wooden mortar and pestle. "You shouldn't push yourself so hard."
"What are you doing?"
"I'm crushing some herbs that help the healing process. I noticed the state your hands were in when I walked over here."
"Oh. Well, thank you," the Haruno smiled, blushing when Haku smiled back. Sakura wasn't used to such kindness from strangers, so this situation, although pleasant was a little bit embarrassing for her. Suddenly, a thought entered her head. "Wait, do you have any more of those? Perhaps stronger ones?"
"I think I do. Why?"
"It's my teammate. She was poisoned on the way to Wave and although she's getting better, she's in a lot of pain. Could you help her? Please?"
Haku stopped crushing the herbs and thought for a moment. This girl and her teammate were ninjas sent here to aid Tazuna, meaning they were enemies of Zabuza. Haku should have snapped her neck when he had the chance. But of course, he didn't. Haku wasn't like Zabuza.
"Your teammate... is she precious to you?"
"What?" Sakura asked. Haku was now looking at her, making direct eye-contact, like he was trying to see whether she would lie to him or not.
"I asked you if she is precious to you."
Sakura didn't know what to say. At first, she was surprised by the sudden seriousness in the boy's tone, but now she felt something else. Something she couldn't describe.
"Yes. She is very precious to me," the Haruno didn't exactly know where these words were coming from, but somehow, they felt right.
"Good. I will help you."
"Really? Thank you!"
"On one condition."
"Anything."
"Hang onto her."
"Huh?" Sakura asked for the second time that day. "What do you mean?"
"If she is truly precious to you, hang onto her and never let go. Precious people can't be replaced, and they can never leave your heart. So hang onto them for as long as you can. Fight for them. Defend them. Protect them with your life. Promise me you'll do that."
Sakura took a deep breath, and then exhaled. "I promise," and she meant it.
Once Sakura had explained who Haku was, the boy was allowed to enter the 'Medical Room' and help Naruto. Under Team 7's supervision, of course. Kakashi especially. He refused to let a stranger near Naruto unless he was right next to them, however when he recognised the herbs Haku was using, he relaxed. Slightly.
"We never caught your name," Kakashi said casually. He was leaning against the wall directly behind Naruto, who was gazing up at the ceiling and occasionally wincing when the herb paste hit a particularly sensitive spot. Sakura sat on a chair nearby and Sasuke stood near the door.
"That's because I never gave it," he said, not turning around.
"Why not?" Sasuke glared at the boy, almost accusing him of being the enemy.
This time, Haku turned around and smiled. "No one asked."
Sasuke turned away, his cheeks turning a light pink from embarrassment.
"If you don't mind, could please tell us? It would be nice to know the name of the person helping us," Sakura asked politely, fidgeting in her seat.
"Haku."
"Haku?"
"That's right."
"Okay. Thank you, Haku."
A/N: I'M A MESS! It's been 2 months since I updated, so I'm sorry!
I managed to reply to some people and I did say to some of you that I should be back to regular updates soon, which is true. In a way. By 'regular updates' I mean I should post one chapter every 2 weeks, maybe a bit more depending on my current situation. More drama and school stuff have popped up, leaving me a bit stressed but I'm recovering and things should be back to normal soon.
Anyway, some notes on the chapter:
As you can see I've started Sakura's chakra enhanced strength waaaaaay earlier than in canon. That's because I want her to get stronger BEFORE the Chūnin exams and not after like I had planned in the original MtHtS. Obviously since she's just starting she hasn't learned how to stop injuring her hand when she punches stuff, but she'll get something for that after Wave. She's also going to have a moment in the Team 7/10 vs. Zabuza and Haku fight.
Like in the original, I had Haku help Naruto (this time without him adding stuff that weakened her a bit) because he's a softie inside :) I also made Haku give Sakura a small 'precious person' speech, just to speed the NaruSakuIno along a bit ;)
Ino's time will come, I assure you. Probably after the Chūnin exams and for those of you that kept up with the original, you'll know where I was about to take it.
Please keep voting on my poll! The results will probably affect the story (especially if it's a Naruto pairing), so if you want some of those pairings in here, vote!
