Disclaimer: At last, some other characters make an appearance! And guess what- i still don't own any of them ^_^;. Kishimoto-sensei is still the creator and owner of most of the intellectual propery used for this fic, and i can't say i've been terribly successful in convincing him to sell the rights to me for two bags of airline peanuts and a broken shoelace...
Spoiler and Continuity notice: If you don't know how the Chuunin Exam turns out, and you don't wanna find out through a fanfic, you may wanna consider carefully before reading this fic.
Non-Yaoi Warning: There are boys in this chapter, yeah, but... well, read the name of this warning, people ^_^;!
Sexual Humor Warning: Yup, Anko is still likes to embarrass confused and impressionable young girls...
...aaaargh! Well, as promissed, the Exam has at least started in this part. I got behind schedule again, though, so i had to decide whether to keep writing until I was done, at which point the chapter would probably be least two weeks late, or chop it into smaller sections for incremental release. In the end, i decided that releasing a little bit at a time was better than releasing a large chapter after a month of producing nothing, so here you go: the first part of 'Suiren - Breath.' As always, comments and criticisms about this chapter, previous chapters, or the fic in general are always welcome, and replies to reviews follow the fic, along with author's notes. Thanks for bearing with this horrible, but hopefully temporary lapse back into my habit of slow updates, and please enjoy the show!
~Eimii
SECOND BATTLE: BREATH, PART I...
"Crap! I'm late! Dammit, Akamaru, why didn'cha wake me up sooner?!" Storming out of the gates of the Inuzuka compound, Kiba pulled a hard left and started sprinting down the road that eventually led to the ninja academy, where he'd promised to meet Hinata that morning so they could walk to the stadium together.
The floppy-eared puppy bouncing along in the hood of his jacket let out an indignant yip, stating in no uncertain terms that it was entirely Kiba's fault for being such a heavy sleeper. Akamaru also growled a few choice theories as to why Kiba was so hot to see the soft spoken, medicine-smelling girl that morning.
Going red, the fanged boy vainly tried to glare back at his wise-cracking passenger. "I'm not gonna ask 'er to do that! Hinata ain't that kinda girl, she'd nev-OOF!" Distracted as he was, Kiba didn't even see who he'd hit before he was sprawled unceremoniously on his behind. Putting a hand back to steady himself, he looked up angrily. "Ouch! Hey, watch where you're go...ing..."
The words died on Kiba's tongue when the figure standing over him cast him a withering glance. The stranger's piercing violet eyes flashed dangerously as he gripped the wall for balance, and while the lower half of his face was hidden by a billowing black scarf, Kiba could fairly feel the sneer of contempt that graced the boy's lips. Judging from his lack of a forehead protector and the long sword that hung at his side, he was probably a kenshi bodyguard for some customer attending the exam exhibition. The palpable hostility was another good indicator; as they shared the same client base, there was generally little love lost between ninja and swordsmen for hire.
Pushing himself upright, the boy adjusted his peony patterned white kimono, which was held only partially closed by the heavy leather belts that ringed his waist. He wore a pair of beaten, faded bluejeans and a loose gray tanktop underneath. This haphazard choice of clothing, combined with his tanned skin and the shock of dark green hair that crowned his head, lent him a rebellious air, but his silent, menacing glare was so sharp that Kiba swore he could almost feel a blade at his throat.
Scrambling to his feet, the fang-toothed boy reflexively backed away a step. "Hey man, what's your problem? Chill, alright. It was just an accident..." In spite of himself, Kiba started sweating as the kenshi's hand began drifting toward his weapon. "Um... look, I'm sorry, okay? I gotta go now! Bye!" Sketching a hasty bow, the Inuzuka heir turned tail and fled, barely even registering that, by comparing their heights and builds standing up, the boy was a little smaller than himself.
"...Wow, Kiba actually apologized. I guess there really is a first time for everything." Reaching down to adjust the sword hanging at her hip, which had been jostled by the impact, Sakura peered down the half-open front of her kimono, and was suddenly struck by a crushing pang of depression. He just called me 'man'...
At first, the faux green-haired girl had been incensed when Anko suggested that she cross-dress, especially considering the way the jounin had pitched the idea. 'You don't got much to hide, anyway!' Goddamn exhibitionist cow... Once Anko had figured out that the young kunoichi was sensitive about her own... slow development, the examiner had taken every opportunity to point out that Sakura was still built more like a boy than like an attractive, fully developed woman such as herself. Sakura had finally agreed to try it out in the hopes that, by proving she wasn't embarrassed by her body, she could get Anko to shut up.
When she'd first put on the costume, however, she'd hardly have called it a 'disguise' at all- everything besides the sword had come out of her own closet, and to her eyes she'd still looked like an unfashionably dressed girl, even with the scarf covering most of her face. But in disguise training at the ninja academy, they had been taught that how you wear clothing is often more important than what it looks like, and with a little posture and attitude coaching, even Sakura had to admit that she could cut a pretty masculine profile, at least compared to most boys her age. That embarrassing realization had temporarily rekindled the flames of indignation, but this time she couldn't deny that the premise was sound. If she carried herself like a belligerent foreign swordsman, nobody would ever suspect that she was actually cute little Sakura in disguise.
The 'aura of intimidation' seemed to help significantly on that count as well- she'd never seen Kiba back down that fast, and all she'd done was glare at him. As her first official 'teaching... thing- duty, whatever' Anko had shown Sakura how a simple 'anonymity' genjutsu could effectively be 'inverted,' so that rather than dampening down the impression you made on a person's mind, you enhanced it, or certain parts of it. On the whole, it seemed like a pretty useful trick, since it required very little chakra and produced a subtle but potentially powerful effect. It was a good thing that Sakura was a quick study and had already known the basics, however, because frankly, Anko's instructional style kind of sucked.
To be fair, Kakashi-sensei was no great shakes in that department either; he seemed to favor a hands-off approach that bordered on the irresponsible. But Anko had obviously never tried to teach anything to anyone, and seemed to have no idea where to start. Though she'd had no dreams (so far) of Anko's training, Sakura knew that she'd been carefully selected by Orochimaru, and he'd probably started with some sort of concrete goal of what kind of ninja he wanted her to become. Anko and Sakura had just been thrust into their current arrangement by chance, however, and neither one had much idea of what to expect of the other.
While the examiner probably had a reasonable notion of what the average gennin could do, Sakura didn't trust her to come up with a sensible training regimen. Anko had only supplied a clipped, confusing explanation and brief demonstration before asking Sakura to reproduce the intimidation technique... Actually, that was a lot like how Kakashi taught, now that she thought about it, though his explanations were usually made a little more sense. In any event, neither of them compared to Iruka or Gai, when it came to having a structured, motivational teaching style, but Sakura supposed that beggars couldn't be choosers. She'd just have to grill Anko sometime on what sorts of techniques and strategies the jounin could teach her, and then go from there.
But that could wait for another day. Right now, she was just grateful for the chance to see her comrades again, even if she couldn't really let them see her. Cinching one of her belts a notch tighter, to keep the sword from swinging around so much, Sakura began hustling along the road toward the stadium. She and Anko had agreed on a section to meet up at, since it would be suspicious if they arrived together, and then Sakura had given her clone its duties and departed. Anko would be leaving a few minutes after her.
Sakura managed to make the rest of the trip without further incident, but finding somewhere to sit proved to be rather more difficult, as their rendezvous point was pretty much packed to capacity already. In the end, Sakura had to stand in the walkway behind the bleachers and wait, praying that Anko would arrive soon so they could find seats elsewhere. Leaning against the rear wall in what she hoped was a cool and aloof stance, the green-haired kunoichi scanned the crowd for people she knew.
Not coincidentally, the first familiar face that she noticed was Ino's. The blonde was sitting near the front of the gallery across from them, and was surrounded on all sides by an unusually large number of empty seats. Giving nasty glances to anyone who tried to sit near her, Ino was like a solitary island of quiet brooding amid a sea of excitement and anticipation. Well, I guess she's still mad at me. I wonder if mom's talked to her yet...
Felling a little exposed in spite of her 'disguise,' Sakura took another look around to see if her mother was anywhere nearby, but the Haruno matron apparently either hadn't arrived yet, or had already come and gone. As the green-haired girl returned her attention to her unhappy rival, however, a premonition of doom descend upon her. ...@_)*&$! What if she told mom she thinks I'm gay?!
No wonder Anko had seemed so amused. That sadistic bitch! She could've told me! But would Ino really say something like that to her mother- and, more importantly, would her mom believe it, and what would she do if she did? Suddenly feeling mildly ill, the cross-dressing kunoichi levered herself off of the wall and started walking toward the exit, intending to go over and ask Ino herself, secrecy be damned. I've gotta put a stop to this before Sasuke hears about it; it's hard enough to get his attention as it is, without him thinking that I like girls...
"I think it's a little late to kill 'er now," Anko mused thoughtfully, as she sidled up behind her 'student' and placed a consoling, restraining hand on Sakura's shoulder. With a shake of the head, the jounin breathed a heavy sigh. "Saw your mom on the way over; she didn't look happy, but I suppose stuff like this always seems worse when you gotta find out from someone else, y'know?"
"Stuff like what?! We're not doing anything that I need to hide!" the shorter girl growled under her breath, testily shrugging off Anko's hand.
"Of course we aren't!" the brunette agreed, smiling supportively. "You shouldn't have to hide the way you are. I still think your friend's just jealous, and I'm sure we can make your mom understand."
Rounding on the examiner, Sakura favored Anko with a reproachful glare, but bit her tongue. Aaargh! Ino's got the wrong idea because you keep saying stuff like that, she fumed to herself, well aware that Anko was teasing her in the hopes that she'd say or do something stupid, which the evil woman would then proceed to tease her about even more. Honestly, it's like I'm back at the academy, except she's a bigger pain than Ino ever was!
But then, Ino only teased her because they were both after Sasuke, and Sakura knew that their mutual mocking and one-up-manship wasn't meant to be genuinely hurtful. It was a friendly rivalry, despite how determined each of them was to come out on top. ...At least, I hope we're still friends, Sakura corrected unhappily. Ino had seemed awfully upset when she'd fled the hospital last night... but why? Hadn't she said that she didn't care about the 'lesbian' thing- that she was just worried, and sad that Sakura hadn't 'trusted' her? If that was true, then why had Ino recoiled from her touch? Was it because of how she'd lost control during the fight? I wish I knew what she was thinking, the young kunoichi mused with a troubled sigh.
"Oi, somethin' wrong?" Glancing up, Sakura found her co-conspirator peering at her quizzically. Placing a hand on her hip, Anko gave her charge a concerned but incredulous look. "Is this seriously botherin' you that much?" the tall kunoichi prodded in what was probably a 'gentle' fashion, for her. "Jeez, you kids are way too sensitive. I can't remember ever bein' that insecure, when I was your age..."
"That's a lie, and you know it," Sakura countered, giving a jounin a half-hearted smirk. She didn't have any of Anko's childhood memories to go on, but she was betting it was a fair bluff, judging from the way the woman felt about Iruka. She knew she'd hit the nail on the head when the briefest flash of mortification crossed Anko's face before she managed to don her usual mask of dangerous ease. "And I'm not being insecure," the green-haired girl retorted, not giving her tormentor a chance to argue. She continued in a more introspective tone. "I don't care if she thinks I like girls, or if she told my mom, or whatever- I just don't want her to hate me. Ino was the first friend I ever had..."
At last, Anko seemed to understand how deeply this was troubling her, for the brunette's expression softened slightly. With a reluctant sigh, she turned away. "Fine, we can talk to her about it- but later. It looks like they're gettin' ready to start." She pointed down to the center of the arena, where the remaining chuunin candidates were lining up in front of the ministers' box. "Lets go find somewhere to sit."
Nodding slowly, Sakura waited for a few moments before following the older woman around to the next section of bleachers. Okay, I guess it can wait a little longer. All I have to do is get Ino to listen, and I'm sure everything will be fine. Still, she had lingering doubts about Anko's ability to resist another opportunity for more 'harmless' mischief. Forcing herself to look down at the gennin standing at attention in the middle of the round below, Sakura attempted to put her worries aside for the moment.
Naruto certainly looks fired up, as always, she mused ruefully, a small smile crossing her face as the orange-clad boy stormed in seemingly at the last moment, ...but where's Sasuke? The bandaged-swathed sound nin was also missing, Sakura noted, but that wasn't so much of a concern to her. She watched until everyone but Naruto and Neji had cleared the field, but still, the dark-eyed boy failed to appear. I hope he's alright... Dammit, If Kakashi let something happen to Sasuke, I'll never forgive that broom-head. Frowning worriedly, the green-haired girl folded her arms inside her kimono and let her feet carry her over to the empty place beside Anko. Plopping down with the aplomb she judged appropriate for a rebellious young kenshi, Sakura slouched low in her seat, splaying her legs lazily with one foot in the aisle.
"Hey, watch the knees, buddy," the jounin snapped in mock anger, a faint smirk on her lips.
Sakura simply grunted contemptuously, favoring her instructor with a genjutsu-enhanced evil eye potent enough that, while Anko remained seemingly unfazed, the Hidden Rain gennin sitting on the other side of her practically crawled into his teammate's lap to get away. Huh, it's those guys again... When the one in the row in front of them turned around to see what the commotion was, the green-haired girl tried to mimic for him the gleefully sadistic look that the woman beside her so often wore. It probably wasn't as effective as it could have been, since he couldn't see her mouth, but she still nearly sent him tumbling over the railing at the front of the bleachers.
Hehehe... this is kinda fun- OW! Resisting the urge to rub her abused shin, Sakura glared at her companion once more. Anko was standing up now, and peering expectantly at the kunoichi in disguise as if she wanted to get past. Where are you going? The fight's about to start, Sakura asked with her eyes, to which the brunette responded by mouthing the word 'bathroom.' Frowning, Sakura made a show of reluctance before moving her legs to let Anko by. Looking around again, she found that the examiner's departure had precipitated a small exodus, as nearly everybody around her had moved a seat or two farther away. ...well, at least I won't have to save her a space, Sakura mused thoughtfully, turning back to the drama that was unfolding below.
"Goin' somewhere? 'Fight's gonna start in a minute..."
Freezing in her tracks, the blonde girl turned around slowly, clenching her jaw at the sight of the mesh-and-leather clad kunoichi standing just inside the stadium gates. Ino hadn't expected to meet Anko here with Sakura absent. Casually, she repositioned herself to face the jounin with her right side, conscious that her left arm was still in a sling. "Can I ask what business it is of yours, sensei?" she queried, though the hint of anger in her voice made it almost sound like a demand, rather than a question.
Smirking, Anko started walking toward her, hands stuffed in the pockets of her coat. "I wanted to talk to you; you got a minute?"
Ino tensed involuntarily as the older woman approached, but held her ground. Dammit, get a grip! She not gonna kidnap me and turn me into a lesbian or something! Forcing her body to relax, the blonde favored the brunette with a contemptuous scowl. "I was going to Sakura's house, to ask her mom to at least let her watch Sasuke's fight; I know how much she was looking forward to seeing him again..."
Quirking an eyebrow, Anko stopped a few feet away from Ino and peered at her speculatively for a moment. "...Feelin' guilty about gettin' her into more trouble with her mom?" the examiner guessed.
"Of course not- I didn't tell her anything that wasn't true," the injured gennin protested. All she'd said was that Sakura hadn't been acting like herself lately. She'd considered saying more, but even after a sleepless night spent pondering the situation, she'd been unable to sort out how she felt about her rival's recent behavior... but how did Anko know that she'd spoken with Sakura's mom? She's been watching me! Narrowing her eyes suspiciously, Ino cast Anko an accusing glare. "If anyone should be feeling guilty, it's you! I'm not sure what you're doing, but-"
"We're not really havin' sex, you know," the tall woman cut in flatly.
"Huh?" Blinking in confusion as part of her anger evaporated, Ino stared disbelievingly at the jounin. "But you-"
"Oh, we've kissed a few times, held hands and such; horsed around a bit," Anko admitted with a hint of amusement. "And I guess I've seen her naked, but that ain't such a big thing. Heck, you've known her forever, right? I'll bet you've seen more than me." The woman grinned at Ino suggestively, chuckling at the scandalized look on the blonde's face. "I know I kinda gave the impression that there was more to it, but there ain't- I was just havin' too much fun teasin' her. She's still ain't comfortable with the whole likin' girls thing, and she's so cute when she's embarrassed... But we ain't lovers or anythin' like that- actually, I think she's already got someone else she likes."
Anko let that sink in for a few seconds before continuing in a more serious tone. "And for your information, I talked to her this mornin'." The levity vanished from the jounin's face as she gazed in displeasure at the younger kunoichi. "She was more upset that you're still mad at her than about missin' the fight."
Unable to hold her accuser's gaze, Ino turned to stare at the ground. She'd lied before, when she said she wasn't feeling guilty, though it wasn't because of anything she'd told Sakura's mother. At around two AM her paranoia had finally worn itself out. Still unable to sleep, Ino had again tried to figure out why Sakura hadn't told her she was a lesbian. The possibilities didn't seem so sinister or uncaring anymore, now that she was thinking about it with a slightly clearer head. Sakura probably hadn't realized it until recently, and wanted more time to sort out her feelings- a good reason, the blonde girl had to admit, and something that she should have been more understanding about from the start.
Having Anko confirm her sin of insensitivity, while denying the more troubling aspects of their relationship, left Ino feeling like even more of a heel than before. She had to remind herself that she still had grounds for complaint. "How- How am I supposed to feel about how she was acting, then?" the blonde retorted haltingly. "She was like a completely different person during our fight, and then she played some weird trick on me afterward, so everyone thinks I'm the one that's going nuts!"
"That's somethin' she can't help," Anko retorted, though not harshly. "When I... met her for the second time, I guess, she was studyin' a lot, to get stronger so she could fight you. Mind control genjutsu mostly- dangerous stuff," the jounin explained gravely, a troubled frown on her face. "She... tried somethin' really stupid and reckless- left her kinda messed up in the head."
"Is... is she alright?" Ino pleaded, going pale as concern eroded away her lingering ire.
The older woman nodded slowly. "Yeah, I think she's got it mostly under control, now," Anko assured her, eliciting an unconscious sigh of relief from the blonde. "Sakura-chan's just gotta be careful not to get too exited- she gets kinda wild when she does. I doubt she expected it to act up during the fight though, or else she probably wouldn've called you out," the jounin continued, then added, with a wry smirk. "You're both lucky I was there to stop her. I think maybe she was gettin' a little frisky, at the end..."
"Gah!" Her ears burning, Ino suddenly realized what Anko had been insinuating earlier, when she speculated that Sakura liked someone else. "I'm not- I don't- I don't like her like that!" she sputtered plaintively. "She's just my friend!"
"Yeah, yeah- you think she doesn't know that?" the jounin prodded incredulously. "And she wants to stay your friend, even if she can't be anythin' else, so try to be nice, okay?" The brunette flashed Ino a wide grin that was equal parts friendly and threatening, then pulled her hand out of her pocket to glance at her watch. "By the way, shouldn't you be goin'? The Uchiha kid's fight is second on the card, and if the Hyuuga's still fightin' that loud-mouthed brat, I doubt he will be for much longer."
"Ah!" That's right- she'd been going to get Sakura so they could watch Sasuke's fight! The pink-haired girl's place was six blocks away, though, and she'd still have to convince Sakura's mom to let her go. I've gotta hurry! The blonde nodded and turned to leave. "I... thanks. I'd better go"
As she was rushing off, Anko's cheery, sing-song voice reached her once more, loud enough that they probably heard her back in the stadium. "HAVE FUN ON YOUR DATE!"
"AAAAARGH!" Face glowing like a brand, Ino slapped her hand to her forehead and tried to run faster. Dammit, what on earth does Sakura see in that woman?!
Author's notes: Not a lot to say in author's notes this time, as the chapter has just begun. Hopefully, the next part will be forthcoming soon. One item of note is that, as my main prereader will likely be very busy with work this summer, i have been encouraged to seek alternative sources of pre-release commentary, editing, brainstorming, and other such mysterious authoring... things, so i may consider looking for more prereaders. If someone is interested, and reasonably sure they can provide constructive feedback in a timely fashion, drop me a line. I was also somewhat surprised with how many reviews the previous short chapter got, so lets just seque right into to that now...
Sailor Tiamat: She was checkin' Sakura out, of course ^_^! ...not that way though... probably...
Death Phoenix: Fast updates have never been my strong suit, and this chapter was late, but i shall try to do better -_-;...
Dan Inverse: You'll just have to wait until the second part of this chapter to see how the fiasco surrounding the Chuunin Exam turns out differently, because of Sakura ^_~. It's highly unlikely that she can replicate Anko's special bunshin, though, since she has no idea how it works. And, with regard to Shattered Hearts on the Road, i do plan to continue it, eventually, but i've determined that, in order to proceed at any kind of respectable pace, i have to concentrate on one story at a time...
Silver Dragonfly: Interesting would be nice about now, wouldn't it ^_^;? Hopefully, the next part will be ready soon...
Skyrocket: Naruto and Rock Lee both seem the type where rumors fly completely over their heads until someone brings it directly to their attention, but we shall see...
MaxFic: Heh, glad the image amuses; i gotta take every opportunity to give Anko's character a little color, since the author has given us so little to go on...
tjal: Well, Kurenai did use a form of invisibility genjutsu right before she used her attack genjutsu against the two nins from Akatsuki, and Kabuto also used one when they were in the forest of death, but they're both jounin level, so it's hard to tell what level a ninja would normally have to be to start studying such things; it might not even be that well defined, since genjutsu seems to be a relatively rare skill... though kunoichi of that level are also relatively rare. With regard to the female characters, Ino, Kin (anime version of the fight), the kunoichi of the sound four, and Kurenai all use genjutsu. That's about half of the named female characters, perhaps a little less. About the teaching arrangements... yeah, i think Kakashi wouldn't have gone out of his way. Anko is far from ideal, and there will be little time for teaching after the exam, but she should at least be a fun sounding board as Sakura continues to experiment. Mostly, i think the relationship works out best for them because they're forced to pay attention to each other, and interact. Sakura will probably be on her own here pretty quick, though, since Anko seems to be part of the village evacuation team in times of emergency, but Sakura should be fine ^_^;... Sakura's ability to improvise intelligently is by no means a unique talent; most of the characters in the series display it to some degree. But Sakura's quick comprehension and application of jutsu theory, as demonstrated by her immediate success in the wall-walking technique, is a little special... but in a completely mundane way. She's smart, attentive, knows how to take advice, and has excellent control. Kakashi recognized this, but didn't seem to think much of it, since it doesn't speak of vast, untapped potential- silly broomhead, with his absurdly loud and flashy 'assassination' technique. Who needs stupid amounts of power when you can simply fight smarter :P...
Yuriwriter: Here you go! More mischief to come!
lackey H: Hey, i didn't say i was going to give up on any of my fics just yet ^_^;;... I've just decided to concentrate on them one at a time, and avoid getting side-tracked. The immediate inspiration for sakura's current 'look' is Magatsu Taito of the Itto Ryu, from Mugen no Jyuunin, and Kitafuro of the Siberian Yagyu, from Jubei-chan2, though it was also heavily modified from images of other series like Houshin Engi and Saiyuki and the general 'punk' feel of those two swordsmen working for Gatou... But Sakura is small, and thin, and has to work on the whole machismo thing -_-;. And yes, giggling inanely is indeed good for hours of wholesome entertainment...
SJ: Granted!
Lady Light: Well, i hadn't planned on stopping for a while, as long as i can keep up the momentum ^_^;...
rhiannon38: We shall have to see how perceptive they are, then...
Mess: Heh... well, as much as anyone but Naruto has a teacher, after the exam fiasco -_-;.
rogue solus: Hopefully, this part was amusing as well, even as short as it is; i'll try to keep the humor up, even though we're going into a big action sequence soon...
Jewel Song: Sorry! Can't help it- cliffhangers are just so tempting... ^_^;
Inari: I agree, the moment someone shows a little forethought, everyone seems to be terribly impressed, but i guess they are only twelve. At least it makes it easy to show Sakura as more of a 'thinker' than her contemporaries, though ^_^;... The current manga arc leaves much to be desired, in my opinion, since the fights are completely predictable, and there is quite a bit of deus ex machina going on... and the power of the supposed 'strongest' of orochimaru's desciples just seems kinda silly to me :P. I wish there had been more time to do fun stuff involving Gai, but with what happens after the Chuunin Exam, it will be hard to integrate the jounin in the story. I'm glad the story thus far is entertaining, though, and i'm consistently surprised by the number of people that agree about the female cast being treated poorly, since the vast majority of Naruto fanfiction centers solely around the boys. I shall try to keep giving the girls their moment in the sun, though; sometimes, i kinda wish there was a stronger fan-comic movement over here, but i can't draw, only write, so i shall just have to keep imagining what it would be like...
Nganny: Heh, i suppose you don't need to know much about the regular Naruto series to read this fic, since i tend to just focus on characters that are partially or wholly neglected by the original story. I'm pleased that the characterizations seem to work, since this is a character-driven story, but i've sort of had to piece together the inner workings of some characters' minds as i go ^_^;...
The Apprentice: Well, fortunately for Sakura, Ino is still her friend, even if she was upset. In the end, it seemed more appropriate for her to think about it a little more, before talking to Sakura's mom about her concerns. And i kinda doubt Kakashi will need to clear space on his mantle for any 'teacher of the year' awards any time soon. If you think about it, he'd turned down every set of prospective students they'd given him, before he got this set (which included a genius, a boy with some connection to Kakashi's own teacher, and a girl he could mostly ignore, because she'd already mastered the basics, but wasn't exceptional enough for special attention), which would mean that he has no experience teaching teams of gennin ^_^;. Regarding the Hokage, he indeed probably had something like that in mind, when he decided to saddle Anko and Sakura with each other, and despite the problems ahead, hopefully both of them will get chances to grow in the future. The matches will be in the next part of this chapter... really, so we'll get to see some of Anko and Sakura's thoughts on them... though i don't wanna linger too much on those fights. The chaos after the exam will go somewhat differently from in canon, but there will be ample opportunity for Naruto et. all to have some... amusing reactions to Sakura. Hopefully, i'll get that part done in the near future; sorry for the repeated delays!
Shy-Lil-Dreamer: Probably nothing as shocking as most people expected ^_^;
Yuriwriter: I'm a sucker for underdog characters; i don't plan on shifting the focus of this fic away from Sakura and Anko, though Ino might become a larger part of the picture. The relationships that will develop... are a secret ^_~. Hopefully i can keep you entertained long enough to find out how it will turn out...
Danica: Sakura looks... weird, there's no disputing that ^_^;. She's also acting weird, but there are reasons for that, mostly due to her experimenting with mind control jutsu. Hopefully, all will become clear as the fic progresses...
GSYH: I'm really starting to doubt that Kishimoto will ever return to the female characters, even the ones that have supposedly started to 'grow a little' through their contact with Naruto -_-;. He even... er... well, if you read the current manga, he's done something with other characters already, without turning his eye back to the ones he's left behind as the story progressed.
Sorako: Heh... i just gotta make sure she doesn't grow too fast, or it wouldn't be as worthwhile...
hattuteline: ^_^ If Sakura were a Samurai Showdown/Spirits character, this would probably something like her 'bust' version costume... though Anko would likely point out what an inappropriate descriptor that is for poor Sakura-chan. The overall plotline has indeed been progressing undisturbed by these events, though that's not really surprising, since Kishimoto more or less ignores the female characters for the most part from this point in the story onward. I don't plan on rehashing everything that happens in the exam, or even most of it, but stuff will start to change now that Sakura can interact with the plot-moving characters again. Don't expect the fights after the exam to be exactly like in the anime of manga, because while she may not be a monster like Naruto, Gaara, or Sasuke, even a mere human like Sakura can take care of herself, and stand on her own two feet.
...Whew! Okay, that's enough of a break; the next part is already in progress, so i'll just go back to that now. Thank's to everyone for reading and reviewing! I'll try to be more punctual about my more-or-less weekly updates from now on -_-;.
~Eimii