Hello! Thanks for reading up to here. It truly means a lot. This story is dedicated to anyone who reads it, and especially to those who review. Reviews are the writer's candy.
This has been a long chapter. It's like 800+ long than the second longer one. Also, it's my favorite chapter up to now, although I shouldn't say so. I love the scene at the end.
No more rambling on, then! I Hope you enjoy.
Disclaimer: Hmmm... nothing has changed since last time so... I still don't own Naruto (And I don't think I ever will).
Weren't you planning on giving it to someone as an apology?" she said.
"Well, judging by how the circumstances are right now, I've decided it's better not to do anything. I'm sure that person wouldn't like a flower like this, anyway."
"So what did you buy it for then?"
"I don't know, Sakura… I don't know anything anymore."
Chapter 9: I Want You To Look At Me
It was an early Sunday afternoon, the sun shining high in the clear and cloudless sky, which was almost a perfect sheet of blue. Sasuke Uchiha was in the training grounds behind his house, watching the beauty of the universe in a posture similar in which Shikamaru observed his clouds. The light breeze which flowed made the leafs of a nearby tree rub against each other, producing a pleasant and calming sound.
Besides him, also sitting down on the grass in a posture of uttermost elegance and dignity was Tsunade, watching something which was going on a few meters apart.
Under another tree, Hinata and Sakura were seated down with their legs crossed and their eyes closed. The wind caressed their hair and faces. Their breathings were relaxed. The silence present in the air was penetrating, almost a part of the scene by itself.
The two girls were meditating, focusing on everything and nothing at the same time. They felt life around them like they never had before, as if they had been blindfolded up until that moment and they were suddenly being shown all the beauty and secrets of the world.
"Can you feel the energy, Sakura-chan? It's everywhere around us, including our own body."
Sakura nodded. She understood what Hinata meant now.
"Therefore, this is what meditation's for. Now that you've sensed the energy of life, the chakra within you, you'll be able to understand better what I'm going to make you do now."
The blue haired girl opened her pupil-less, and with a swift motion rose up. She then helped Sakura stand up.
"I'm glad you're wearing an appropriate training attire, Sakura-chan."
"Why?"
Hinata smiled in a way which reminded Sakura of a child being given his favorite piece of candy.
"Because you're going to climb up this tree now."
"Wh-what? But… there are no branches I can grab onto!"
"You're going to climb it using chakra. Now that you've been able to sense it, I want you to focus on bringing it to your feet. By doing it the right way, your feet will stick to the trunk without any further problems. If you put too little, you won't be able of climbing up. If you put too much, you'll be repelled by the tree. It might take a while, but it's necessary to get this right before we start."
The Hyuuga stepped forwards and, demonstrating her statement, walked up the trunk with any problems. She then sat on one of the highest branches and dared Sakura with a defying glance to go and catch her.
The pink haired girl took a deep breath, closed her eyes for a second and focused on her chakra again. Feeling its continuous flow around her body made her feel calm and ready. She opened her eyes and followed Hinata's steps. As soon as she reached the trunk and put a foot on it, she transmitted to her limb what she thought was the right amount of chakra. She was shocked when she noticed the stability she had, her foot pushing against the tree almost as if she was walking on the Earth. Not letting her little triumph distract her, she continued doing the same thing with the other foot.
In the first try, she reached the same point as Hinata.
"Impressive, Sakura-chan. I'd never have figured out you'd be able to pull this out perfectly the first time. You should know what comes now"
She then proceeded to let herself fall from the branch to the floor, falling soundlessly and unharmed. Sakura followed her teacher this time too, letting her body travel through the air effortlessly and, the second before touching the ground, concentrating a small amount of chakra on her feet. She landed in the same way as Hinata.
"You're good, Sakura-chan."
"Thanks, Hinata-chan. You're good too."
"Well, I've been training for years now, so I guess it's just natural that I know this much. You're a much more naturally talented person than I am. Now that we've gone through the control part, I'll actually start teaching you how to do techniques."
-
"Seems like she's a quick learner."
Tsunade's comment made Sasuke open his eyes. He was not interested the slightest bit in the training, and he was just there because he had told her he would be. In reality, he didn't have the slightest idea of why he had had to impose such a condition. He knew that Hinata was a perfectly capable person, and he wasn't particularly interested on her improvements.
"Yeah."
"Sasuke-san, I'm positive that you've been told about the movements we detected outside Konoha."
"Yes."
"Therefore, you must have deducted that the importance of your mission has increased."
"Yes."
"However, you'll also be in a more vulnerable position. With more ninjas than we had expected, there are more possibilities of you ending up being caught. Don't think of me as doubting: I'm perfectly aware of your capacity as a ninja. Nevertheless, we can't afford to send more teams, since it would be difficult to hide so. A five member team is already quite numerous, but I'm still concerned for you safety."
Sasuke didn't say anything.
"I'll send you a map of the surroundings before you leave, indicating the points where you are most likely to find other ninjas. I want you to avoid those at all costs. The main purpose is to investigate the campsite near sound, where all activity seems to be controlled from. I'm positive that, if we manage to bring those ninjas down, all the other squads will be forced to retire from their position, retreating to where the leader is. But remember that the priority is to collect information. Killing will only be allowed in case your own lives are threatened."
"I know that, Tsunade-san."
"I know you know, Sasuke-san. But don't think that, because you're an ANBU team member, any action will be allowed."
"Your attitude towards me lately seems to be quite more aggressive and distrusting than usual, Tsunade-san."
"I needn't remind you, Sasuke-san, because you must've probably have noticed, that the timing between that girl's appearance and the ninja detection has been too exact. I simply can't bring myself to think of this as a coincidence. And, if my theory is correct, you're standing somewhere in between all this. It might not be a casualty that you found her, Sasuke-san."
"Are you implying… that I am involved in this? That I am cooperating with those ninjas and Sakura is our weapon of destruction?"
"Do not misquote or misinterpret me. I haven't ever mentioned anything like that. I've already pondered on the fact that Sakura might be a weapon sent to us in disguise, or a missing ninja. I've checked all existing data on kunoichis, and I can assure you there are no missing ninjas with pink hair."
"It might be dyed, or it might be a jutsu."
"I don't think it's either of those. I've checked her while you were gazing at the sky, and she doesn't have any kind of jutsu placed upon her. As for the dye, I don't think it would be possible to have such an homogeneous tonality, roots included. We've got Kakashi's white hair and Anko's purple one… why can't there be someone with pink hair?"
"I don't know."
"Look, it seems like she's already learned the seals. I guess they'll start off with techniques now. She's proving to be quite capable…"
Sasuke, uninterested, closed his eyes again and rested on the grass.
-
"I'll start teaching you one of the most basic techniques: the bunshin no jutsu. It basically creates a carbon copy of yourself."
"Alright. But… do you think I'll be able of doing it?"
"Of course you will, Sakura-chan. It's not difficult if you've learnt the base. Try to see the progression of signs, and once you've distinguished them, do them and transfer chakra so the technique takes place and you create a copy."
Sakura moved her eyes intently to Hinata. She noticed the heiress' small, pale hands, delicate, but bearing a strange force and strength which probably resulted from so many years of training. She followed each and every movement of those hands, capturing in her mind the shapes they made, almost like taking a quick series of pictures.
A clone of Hinata appeared beside her. Sakura was left bewildered. The new girl was identical to Hinata. From the basic traits, the wrinkles of their clothing, their way of moving… Everything! The two girls looked at each other, both of them smiled, and one disappeared with a poof.
"Did you manage to get a hold of the signs, Sakura? I can repeat them a bit more slowly if you want me to."
"No… you don't need to. I think I've got all of them. Let me try."
The pink haired girl concentrated and brought to her mind the mental pictures she had taken of Hinata's hands. Then, with a mesmerizing accuracy, she went through all of her mental pictures, one by one, replicating those signs with her own hands, while transferring a low and steady amount of chakra. As she finished, she raised her eyelids and was surprised to find an identical copy of herself. With a shriek, she cut off the chakra supply and her other self vanished immediately.
"See, Sakura-chan? It's easy."
"Well… I didn't expect it to be like this. I was a bit surprised, at first."
"Seeing how you can manage easy techniques easily, we'll go up to the next level. If you can successfully complete more advanced techniques, I'll keep on pushing you farther until you can't do them. Do you think you'll be able to do it?"
At first, Sakura was scared. She knew that the lady sitting and watching her was the Hokage, and she didn't want to be left in ridicule in front of her. However, as she reflected on Hinata's previous words, she started pondering on the idea of truly having a talent. If she actually was special… it would be a honor to be seen by the Hokage as she successfully completed advanced jutsus.
"We won't know until we try, so let's get on with it."
-
"Seems like she's on to try something a bit more… dangerous. She managed to complete the bunshin no jutsu in the first try."
"Well, it might've been luck."
"I wonder what they'll do now. It looks like she's a fast learner. Maybe we should ask her to become a ninja for us? She'd be suitable for the job."
"She's already working. For these past days, she's been helping my mother around. Since she's young and full of energy, my mother has now a lot more time in her hands, and she's able to go out more. Since my mother refuses to take in any assistants, and this is Sakura's payment to our family, she'll not be taking any occupation as a ninja."
"Quite possessive, aren't we, Sasuke-san? Are you jealous of me? Or do you feel you'd spend less time with her?"
"I simply tell you the facts, Tsunade-san. I hope you realize that I don't see her as anything special, just as our guest."
"Well, I won't blame you. She's quite good-looking, isn't she? Plus, she doesn't seem to dislike you."
'See? That's just what I've been telling you!' his inner self mocked.
Suddenly, Sasuke felt like the stupidest person in the world. Ever since the previous day, when he had actually protected her, she seemed a lot more eager to talk to him and seemed to enjoy his presence. And then and there, the Hokage herself had to tell him that he liked Sakura and, even further, than Sakura reciprocated his feelings! It was the craziest situation he could imagine himself in.
"Tsunade-san, I'm afraid you don't realize that I don't like Sakura."
Tsunade sighed.
"Obviously. I almost fell into the trap of thinking that you could like a girl, Uchiha."
None of them missed the more than obvious innuendo in Tsunade's statement. The Hokage was obviously implying that Uchiha Sasuke, the most gorgeous guy in the whole of Konoha... wasn't straight. However, in his usual unresponsiveness and disinterest, Sasuke didn't answer and went into a state of deep thinking again.
-
"Let's see, Sakura. Now I'm going to teach you an actual ninjutsu technique. This can actually be a bit dangerous, so you've got to be careful. We'll aim in the opposite direction to where Sasuke and Tsunade are seated."
Using that as an excuse, Sakura took a quick glance in her savior's direction to see if he was looking at her. Much to her disappointment, she could see him lying on the grass and looking at the sky, uninterested to say the least.
'If he wasn't interested… why did he even come in first place?' she thought, strangely hurt by his indifference. Within her mind, her inner self started poking her playfully, but as infuriated as Sakura was, she sent her other self a mental glare which left her reduced to ashes.
'Well, if he isn't interested… I'll make him interested! I'll do something really difficult and cool!'
"… so the first thing we've got to do is… Sakura-chan, are you listening?"
Sakura came down to the earth. Hinata was looking at her, and she had no idea of what the Hyuuga heiress had just been saying. All the possible shades of red colored her face.
"Sorry Hinata-chan… I was distracted. What were you saying?"
"I was telling you that there are five basic chakra types. Fire, water, wind, earth and electricity. As a ninja, you should have an affinity to at least one of them. If you don't, that means you're a medical ninja, so you wouldn't be as much of a fighter as you'd be of a healer. So the first thing we've got to do is determine what element or elements you have a natural affinity for."
"And how are we going to do that?"
"We'll make you perform a jutsu for each element. The ones which turn out to be better and come out more easily will probably reflect your natural type. I certainly can't see you as a fire or lightning bearer, so I'm guessing you'd me more of the other three types."
"So, if I'm not of a certain type, does that mean I'm unable of performing jutsus of that kind?"
"No! Nothing of the sort. You'll just find it easier to fight with the element your chakra represents. Therefore, let us start with… earth type."
Hinata then showed her the corresponding seals for a jutsu she called the Genseki no jutsu.
"This jutsu will make a piece of rock lift from the earth's surface. However, you need to be careful, Sakura. If you can't control the piece after you lift it up, it might fly around and hit other people."
As an example, Hinata did the seals, released some chakra, and a piece of rock broke loose form the garden. She kept it afloat for a second, and let it fall to the Earth again.
"Now you, Sakura."
The pink haired kunoichi breathed in. She would do it. She would put all of her heart into it and she would definitely do it so well everyone would be amazed. She did the hand seals Hinata had instructed to, pronouncing the words of power.
"Genseki no Jutsu"
Then, within her subconscious mind, something snapped. A switch was pressed. At that moment, Sakura felt a large power, a blinding light, invade each and every single cell of her body, engulfing her in its radiance. She knew she was capable of doing anything she wanted. And, letting that mysterious power overflow her and spill to the outside, she thought.
'Just wait, Sasuke-kun. I'm surely going to impress you.'
-
Sasuke was the first person to feel it. Lying down as he was, oblivious to what was going on, deep within a state of meditation, he noticed the earth tremble. At first it was almost, unnoticeable. The second time was a bit more bothersome. By the third, he opened his eyes.
A fourth tremor then shook their surrounding noticeably. The surge of power making those vibrations was filling the air with a static energy which made all of the heirs on Sasuke's body stand on end. Looking at the place where most of the chakra seemed to be coming from, the Uchiha found himself staring at the girl he had saved a few days before. She had her eyes closed, and you could tell she was doing some kind of technique.
"Tsunade-san, what jutsu are they doing?" he asked.
"Genseki no Juutsu." She answered.
A fifth tremor then shook the earth, and Sasuke understood everything at once.
'Shit.'
He sprung up with an almost unnatural elasticity and ran towards the place where Sakura was standing, leaving the Hokage behind. Tsunade realized what was going on, and sat down to watch. She'd intervene if things got out of control, but she was sure the Uchiha would manage to get a hold of the situation. Hinata was beside Sakura, not seemingly understanding what was going on.
Sasuke remembered some of the geography classes he'd taken back at the academy. He remembered being told that Konoha was built within a natural valley completely made of stone. It was delimited by the Hokage's cliff on one side, and the forest by the other.
If Sakura was putting enough energy into it, she could lift the whole of Konoha from the ground.
As to gain time, the Uchiha leapt into the air while taking out a single kunai. He activated his Sharingan and, as he had expected to, he saw an almost impossible wave of chakra surging from Sakura and moving towards the inside of the Earth. Hinata stood there dumbfounded, as he gracefully descended towards Sakura. He noticed the Earth shake for a sixth time, the leaves of the trees rustling and his house, a couple of hundred meters away, give out a worrying noise. If he didn't stop her, the whole of Konoha would be destroyed, the plate on which it lay rising from the Earth. The girl was so immersed in her action she didn't notice the agitation she was causing, or the presence of Sasuke near her.
With a swift movement, using the hand he wasn't holding the kunai with, Sasuke pushed Sakura violently onto the ground. He knelt down on her and pinned the kunai against her throat, in an attempt for her to stop. A single drop of blood fell form the tiny cut the blade made. The metal reflected a single ray of light, dyeing it in a red color. However, this didn't seem to wake Sakura up form her trance. The girl simply stared ahead with no emotion whatsoever on her face.
"Sakura-chan!" came Hinata's scream.
"Wake up, stupid!" screamed Sasuke, fearing for the villagers' life. "You're going to kill everyone!"
Sakura didn't hear him, and a seventh tremor hit the land, strong, but still not violent enough as to make houses fall down. Nevertheless, Sasuke knew that if an eight tremor came, that would be disastrous. The rock would completely separate from the ground.
"Sakura!" Hinata's scream pierced his ears and echoed in his mind, driving him crazy. He was about to lose self control.
"I said, wake up!"
He took away the kunai from her neck and, in an action caused by his frustration, slapped her violently across the face. At first nothing happened. Everything stayed motionless, as if someone had frozen the scene. Nobody spoke, nobody moved. The only thing which was heard was the sound of that simple movement.
A few seconds later, Sakura blinked, and went back to normal. The earth seemed to shudder with alleviation. The suspended energy vanished into nothingness. Life resumed itself, birds chirping, the sound of the water in the lake, the wind blowing again, more strongly now.
Hinata seemed like she was about to cry. Or maybe she would faint. Or maybe both things. Sasuke didn't really know what to make from the emotions reflected on the girl's face. Tsnuade, who had been about to take action a few seconds before after seeing Sasuke didn't trigger any response, leaned against a tree and gave a sigh of relief.
Sakura moved her neck and stared at Sasuke, who sin response tared at her. She looked horrible: a string of blood fell from her nose, and her right cheek was becoming bruised where he'd hit her so violently. Her hair was messy, stained with dirt form the hard floor. He knew they were in an awkward position, he leaning over her with his knees on her stomach, but she didn't seem embarrassed. Her face just showed pure surprise.
Anyone would have expected Sakura to snap at Sasuke and yell at him, asking why he had treated her in such a violent way. However, she just asked him with a surprised voice.
"Sasuke-kun? What're you doing?"
The Uchiha released all the accumulated tension. All the feelings of protectiveness and almost... tenderness he'd felt towards her the day before were thrown out of the window. He didn't care about forgiveness anymore. She'd gone far beyond the limits. He grabbed her by the shoulders and shook her, his red eyes shining fiercely.
"Are you stupid? You almost killed half of Konoha back there, idiot!"
Sakura didn't seem to understand.
"What… what are you talking about? I was just practicing a jutsu with Hinata, right?"
"Don't you remember? You've almost lifted the whole village up!"
"Sasuke-kun… Sakura-chan… calm down, please." Hinata's voice went by unnoticed.
"But… I… I just wanted to give it my best so you'd feel proud, Sasuke-kun."
"If you can't learn to control yourself, then we'll all end up dead before you can prove anything to anyone!"
"Uchiha, refrain from making unnecessary assertions, please."
Sasuke directed his furious Sharingan, which was still on, to the Hokage, who was standing beside him. She didn't seem the least bit affected by this, although she'd addressed him rather impolitely. After a few seconds of glaring contest, the Uchiha disconnected his Sharingan and stood up.
"But it's true. We could've died for all we know."
The Hyuuga helped Sakura stand up, and with the end of her sleeve, cleaned all of Sakura's blood from her face. Tsunade then ignored Sasuke and faced Sakura.
"I understand you're Haruno Sakura, then?"
The disheveled girl could do nothing but nod.
"We haven't been properly introduced. My name is Tsunade, and I'm this village's Hokage."
"Umm… nice to meet you." She said, feeling somehow uncomfortable. Although the lady was the image of kindness itself, Sakura couldn't bring herself to relax.
"Nice to meet you, too. What you did back there was incredible. Spectacular, to say the least. I don't think even I could've managed to do something like that. You truly need very large amounts of chakra."
"Well… thank you."
"Don't praise her. What she did was wrong." Sasuke said.
"Shut up, Uchiha. From now on, I'll be the one supervising her training. Hinata, you've done a good job. However, I've got other plans in mind for her. So, starting tomorrow, you're to become my apprentice, Sakura. Is that okay with you?"
The pink haired girl looked helplessly at Hinata, who nodded.
"Yes, sure." Sakura said.
"Now, I'm guessing today's session is finished with. I shall be taking my leave, then. I'll send someone tomorrow to communicate you when our first session is going to be. Sasuke-san, please come with me. I need to discuss a certain matter with you."
After bowing her head, Tsunade left, Sasuke walking beside her. Sakura was left standing there, with Hinata next to her.
"I messed it up big time, didn't I?" Sakura thought aloud.
So... what did you think? Please, read and review. Any kind of criticism is welcome, as long as it helps me improve this story and know what I'm doing alright and what I'm failing at.
COC