Hidden Meanings
Sakura went back home after the training and ate a snack, smiling happily. Her plans had worked, for the most part. They had found sensei after going through bushes, swimming through water after the bridge had turned out to be an illusion (at least it got most of the dirt off), going through a huge spider's web, breaking two genjutsu, and tracking down a random rabbit that had another hint on its fur. There had been traps set with dull weapons, paint, water, syrup, and one memorable bucket that had dumped wet, slimy ramen noodles all over Sasuke's head. Sakura had to admit that that one had been perfectly planned by Naruto's clones, and she couldn't stop giggling at Sasuke expression, no matter how severely annoyed it got. Naruto kept muttering dire threats against his clones and Kakashi-sensei the whole day through, which was also incredibly entertaining.
She sighed happily, swirling the water in her cup with chakra. The boys had both worked together seamlessly, almost as if they could read each other's minds when they were mad at the same person. It was a big accomplishment, especially for two people who never stopped insulting each other, but she wished it could happen more often.
After a while, Sakura decided to take a bath and went up the stairs to get ready, taking stock of what injuries she could feel. There weren't many, in fact, but still enough that she would be sore in the morning. She filled the tub with warm water and then looked in the mirror in the bathroom.
And froze.
She had forgotten that the Konoha hitai-ate was still tied around her forehead from that morning. The whole day she had worn it, showing off her identity as a shinobi of the leaf for everyone to see, labeled across her head, and she hadn't even noticed. Her bangs had fallen over part of it, but enough showed to make it clear what she was wearing so obviously.
Sakura swallowed and then carefully untied the headband, fingers moving very slowly.
She took it into the tub with her and looked at it, inspecting every tiny blemish and washing the fabric and steel clean.
Did she count as a shinobi now?
Kakashi-sensei had never once told her she was weak or not doing enough after that first meeting, and she had to admit that she was slightly better at fighting than the boys, though with a bit more practice that would change. And Sasuke had even graduated at the top of their class, so why did Uncle Shin believe she was so weak?
Naruto and Sasuke both learned incredibly quickly when they were determined to do so, though. Maybe that was it.
Did Kakashi-sensei think the same thing about her as Uncle Shin, and just not tell her? Sakura bit her lip and set the headband aside, sliding deeper into the water. She had thought she was doing so well, but, was it all for nothing?
She tried not to cry, but…
Sasuke walked into his apartment and relaxed slightly, letting out a real smile. Today had been a good day, and his reaction time had noticeably improved. He ate quickly and then went to bed after cleaning, but it was still a long time before he went to sleep.
His apartment seemed too quiet, too silent. Like right after…
No. He wouldn't think about that tonight.
That decision though, didn't stop the nightmares. It never did.
Naruto ate at Ichiraku's, talking with old man Ichiraku and Ayame about that day's training session, and why he was covered in blue paint. They all had a good old laugh over it, and after eating a ton of ramen, he went home.
One person stopped him on the way though, someone he had never met before.
"Are you lost, sweetie?" the lady asked kindly.
"Uh, no," Naruto scratched his head, confused. This hadn't happened before.
"But you're so dirty, and all alone at night like this, where are-" The lady cut off in the middle of her sentence and her eyes narrowed. "Oh." She said, all traces of kindness gone. "You're that boy. Well, never mind." She sniffed, annoyed, and walked away quickly. Too quickly.
Naruto clenched his teeth together and moved on. She hadn't recognized him under the paint without his bright orange jumper, he assumed. Just once, though, it would have been nice to have someone care.
Naruto went home and began to practice furiously. He was still terrible at ninjutsu, and Sakura had given him chakra control exercises to help.
He would show them. All of them. And then they'd have to recognize him, to respect him like Iruka-sensei did.
Naruto had cried enough, now it was different. Now he was a shinobi. He wouldn't give up.
He couldn't give up, anyways. He wasn't better than the Fourth Hokage yet.
Kakashi sat across from the memorial stone, staring up at the stars.
His genin could easily do a C-rank, by now. Technically they hadn't done nearly enough D-ranks to qualify, but with the relationship between Naruto and the Hokage, Kakashi assumed that they would get one relatively soon.
In the heat of their first real battle, Kakashi expected Naruto to clam up, Sakura to look out for the team and finish the mission, and Sasuke to systematically destroy the opponent. If his suspicions were correct, then the only thing that would help the team would be more "situations," particularly ones where Sakura wasn't protecting Naruto.
Kakashi let out a breath, trying to think of what would best prepare them. Sasuke would be the one with textbook strategies to all situations, which was a problem. That kid trusted authority too much. To believe that a textbook could teach you as much as an experienced ninja was something incredibly naïve that Kakashi had completely expected from him. None of those strategies were applicable inside a real situation at their level, with no experience.
Naruto was a strong jinchuriki, an imaginative prankster, and a walking accident surrounded by incredible luck, (whether it was good luck or bad Kakashi honestly wasn't sure). Sasuke was the last of the Uchiha in Konoha and the brother of a man who murdered his entire clan, and Sakura was already at a high chunin level in strength, strategy, and experience.
Now let's add in the infamous Copy-Cat Ninja, and see if all of the missions we go on don't go to hell in a handbasket, Kakashi thought to the Hokage sarcastically. Even if he basically been roped into this team to be a bodyguard for the Uchiha and the Jinchuriki, that didn't necessarily mean it was a great idea.
Well, he would be ready, whatever happened. That much he promised to his old teammates.
