Hey guys! Sorry I couldn't get this out earlier. I actually cracked my computer screen and have been finding it really hard to write when I can't really see what I'm writing : / Hopefully I will be getting a new computer soon, but it may take longer than I am hoping for. Please be patient with me!
Shout outs go out to: our same world, Macel, and Corbetta! Thanks for the continued support and all of your reviews! They make me soo happy : )
Sending out love to my wonderful Beta Art-Chan, because she makes me happy and this story wouldn't be nearly as good without her : )
Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto
Chapter 29: A Month of Training 5
Xxx Sakura xxX
Sakura closed her eyes in concentration as she tried to go through the more complex kata Kotetsu was trying to teach her. She was becoming more and more comfortable with her tanto as time progressed. The kata she was in the middle of currently had her flipping backward through the air while swiping her tanto; it ended with a dramatic twirl at the end.
Landing on her feet, Sakura panted slightly while she opened her eyes. "I can't quite get the sword swipe with the flip and turn."
"It is a hard thing to do," Izumo mused from his spot beside the koi pond. Even when she was only learning something from one of them, the two were always there together. She had worked on the water jutsu with Izumo yesterday, and today Kotetsu was having her work on kenjutsu. "You should practice the swipe without your tanto first several times, and then bring in your weapon. When you're comfortable with that add in the extra spin while kicking your feet."
"That's the practical way to do it," Kotetsu said with a frown as he leaned against the rock Izumo was sitting on. The two of them had been correcting and working with her on her form for the past few hours. Sakura's game against Shikamaru felt like it had occurred days ago, when it really had just been that morning. "Keep trying it with the tanto sword, Sakura-Chan. I'm sure you're going to get it sooner or later."
"Practice without the tanto first," Izumo said as he slapped the back of Kotetsu's head. "There is a reason Kotetsu doesn't train with anyone other than me."
Sakura nodded before sheathing her tanto. Back springing backward, Sakura moved through the motion of the flip. Flipping wasn't her go to move; she'd much rather dodge to the left or the right, but this was the kata Kotetsu had wanted to teach her. It seemed a little too flashy to be practical, but she assumed she would be gaining more agility if she kept going through the motions.
"Your form was better that time," Izumo commented. "But you need to be less stiff while you flip backwards. If you're dodging an attack, you'll need to be able to adjust quickly."
"Meh," Kotetsu said with a small frown as he opened up the bottle of syrup that was sitting next to him. "As much as I don't like agreeing with Izumo, I think he may be right. Your form was a lot better in that one."
"See," Izumo said with a slight smirk. "I know what I'm talking about."
"It would also be easier if you weren't wearing your weights," Kotetsu added while ignoring Izumo's smirk. He looked thoughtful as he took another sip of syrup… Sakura could never understand how he could drink that. "But we'll practice it a few more times before you take your weights off."
"I still don't understand how you both haven't taught someone else before," Sakura mused to the two before getting back into her stance.
Taking a step backward with her right leg, Sakura transferred her weight and started flying through the air. Using her hand as her tanto, Sakura swiped her hand out in midair. When she was about to land on the ground, Sakura kicked out her legs, and ended the flip with a dramatic twirl.
"It looks better the more times you do it," Izumo mused with a nod. "Once you work on it with your tanto for a while, I'm sure it'll become easier to do. It's all about doing it over and over so your muscles can get used to it."
"A type of muscle memory?" Sakura questioned as she took in another deep breath.
"I think that's enough though, for today," Kotetsu said while standing from his place near the rock. "We wouldn't want to make you too tired for the rest of the day, ne, Sakura-Chan?"
"Yeah," Sakura said still feeling a little winded. "I'm supposed to start taijutsu training with Gai-sensei tonight."
Kotetsu broke into a fit of laughter and Izumo looked a little concerned. Sakura raised an eyebrow at the two's responses. "What?"
"Oh Kami," Kotetsu said with a grin. "If he's training you, I doubt we'll even be able to have a training session tomorrow morning."
"I trained with Lee-senpai," Sakura said with a slight shrug. "He really can't be that bad, can he?"
"We'll work on basic katas tomorrow," Izumo informed her as he stood up. "Hopefully we'll get those engrained into your muscle memory and then you'll be able to do them no problem. That, and it'll be a nice reprieve from the training you're going to have later tonight."
"So he really is that had, huh?" Sakura asked as she tried to remember more about Lee's sensei. He was eccentric, and maybe a little bit over zealous, but she didn't think he would be crazy.
"You have no idea," Izumo said as Kotetsu started laughing again. With a shake of his head, Izumo looked over to Sakura. "Did you want to head over to the library now? I can let you into the chuunin section if you're interested."
"No thanks," Sakura said with a sigh. "I'd like to go tomorrow though, if you're not busy. I promised myself I'd visit Lee-senpai today, and I was going to pick up Sasuke-kun's birthday present."
"And here I thought I was the only special one," Kotetsu said with a small pout. "I didn't know you got birthday presents for everyone."
"Not everyone," Sakura said with a grin as she patted Kotetsu on the shoulder. "Just special people."
"You know, Sakura-Chan, if you were about ten years older-"
"Tomorrow after training I'll take you to the library!" Izumo said as he slapped the back of Kotetsu's head sending him tumbling to the ground. Sakura's eyes rose in slight alarm, before shaking her head. She could never take Kotetsu seriously outside of training.
With a wave to the two, Sakura started to slowly head to the market. She knew she had to stop and grab Sasuke-kun's present, but she figured she'd do that after she visited Lee. She did have to pick Lee up a flower, though. She knew that a visit and a flower might brighten his day a little bit.
Heading over to where the Yamanaka flower shop stood, Sakura quickly walked in before trying to find the flower she wanted.
She was thinking either: a gladiolus which symbolized strength of character, a peony which usually symbolized healing, or a zinnia which symbolized thoughts of friends.
She was hoping that seeing the flowers would help her decide which one to give him. As Sakura walked through the front door of the flower shop, little bells chimed signaling her entrance.
Looking to the register, Sakura noticed the person on duty had yet to realize who she was.
"Welcome to Yamanaka flower shop," Ino said while looking through her magazine. Her eyes looked up as she said her next sentence. "Can I help yo-… Sakura."
It was weird to see Ino's blue eyes change from being bored to being frightened so quickly. Sakura hadn't had anyone give her that look before, but she knew the reason why, and it angered her. Ino had hurt Naruto-kun because she had called him a monster, and even though he had pretended to act fine, she knew he wasn't.
Sakura ignored the rage of anger that flowed through her. "Ino," Sakura said with a nod as she started to head toward an aisle of flowers.
Naruto-kun's life had been hard enough; he didn't need people like Ino staring at him in fear and disgust every time they so much as thought about him. Naruto-kun was one of Sakura's precious people, and it made Sakura hurt to see him hurt.
She'd have to talk to Ino about it later… she was too upset to talk to set the blonde straight now.
Looking through the flowers, Sakura's eyes stopped on several different gladiolus plants. If Sakura remembered right, the gladiolus could grow in almost ten different colors. The ones she was currently looking at held flowers that were a soft pink, and had a long green stem. It was beautiful, and Sakura hoped Lee-senpai would be able to know the meaning behind this flower.
Grabbing one of the flowers, Sakura walked up to the register where Ino sat looking stiff. Sakura handed Ino the flower, and the blonde bit her lip before speaking.
"Would.. would you like a vase with it?" Ino asked trying to be polite. Sakura knew that Ino's parents would not be happy with her if she was not polite to a potential customer. Sakura shook her head quickly.
"No," Sakura said as she watched Ino wrap the flower in a white tissue paper. "I'm stopping over at the hospital to visit Lee-senpai."
Ino froze for a second before she nodded her head. Handing Sakura back the flower, Ino walked to the register. Typing in a few buttons, Ino spoke again without looking at her. "50 yen," Ino said as she held out her hand.
Sakura frowned before putting the allotted money in Ino's hand. Before she could pull her hand away, though, Sakura grabbed it. She just wanted to make Ino understand what Naruto-kun felt when those eyes were directed toward him.
"Ino," Sakura said as she felt Ino try to rip her hand out of Sakura's own. "You need to look at me."
"Let go Forehead," Ino said as she tugged at her hand again. Sakura ignored Ino's plea, until she met the blonde's blue eyes.
"Whatever you saw inside Naruto-kun's head, that is not Naruto-kun," Sakura said as she let go of Ino's hand. Ino flinched when Sakura said Naruto's name, but she continued. "I don't even consider it apart of him, but it is a part of him.
"It's scary, but Naruto-kun is still Naruto-kun," Sakura said as she started to head toward the door. "He still wants to become the Hokage, he still loves ramen, and he's still the loveable, troublesome baka he was in the academy."
"The monster that is inside of Naruto-kun," Sakura said as her voice quieted. "Naruto has to live with that everyday… every single day, Ino… instead of the fearful, disgusted looks you send him, maybe you should try to befriend him. Having that inside of him his whole life has only made his life hard."
Sakura walked through the flower shop door and didn't look back. She doubted her words would affect Ino in the way she wanted them too, but hopefully the blonde would be able to move past seeing whatever was locked away inside of Naruto-kun's head.
Continuing her journey to the hospital, Sakura tried to shake the meeting with Ino out of her head. She was going to see Lee-senpai and she was not going to be in a bitter mood when she was there. Lee had enough going on without having to deal with her current emotions.
Taking in another breath, Sakura rolled her shoulders before calming down. It was nothing she could change right away, any ways. As much as she'd like to change what Ino felt for Naruto-kun, she knew she couldn't. The blonde would have to change her ways of thinking herself.
The hospital wasn't that long of a journey from the flower shop, and Sakura was able to get there rather quickly.
Entering the hospital, Sakura walked to the receptionist's desk. She smiled at the receptionist who smiled back.
"I'm here to see Rock Lee," Sakura said as she leaned against the counter. "Could you tell me what room he is in, please?"
"Rock Lee?" The receptionist asked with a frown as she shook her head. "I can let you know his room number, but I'm not promising he'll be in there. We've been having a hard time keeping Lee-san in his room."
"That doesn't sound like Lee-senpai," Sakura said with a frown. He was being difficult in the hospital? Sakura had thought Lee would stay in his room and try to heal… then again he really did like training, didn't he?
"He keeps sneaking out of his room to train," the receptionist said with a huff as she motioned Sakura to head down the hallway. "He's on this floor, but we're thinking about moving him… apparently it's too tempting to be on the ground level floor. Room 127."
"Thank you," Sakura said as she bowed her head slightly. Heading down the hall in the direction she was sent, Sakura frowned at the thought of Lee-senpai not being in bed like he should be. She had remembered everything that had happened in the preliminary battles… Everything he had done to his body, along with what Gaara had done to his arm. She shivered at the thought of Gaara's sand crushing Lee's arm; the sand had done it with such little effort.
Finding Lee's room easily, Sakura headed through the open door, and frowned when she didn't find him in bed. Walking through the room, Sakura's eyes darted around until they landed on the window… he would probably be moved to an upper level soon.
Lee was outside doing one handed pushups. He looked like he had been doing them for a while, and his one arm was shaking with the strain from his body, while his broken arm was wrapped against his torso. Sakura also noticed there was a nurse standing near him looking beside herself with worry.
She seemed to be trying to tell him to stop, but knowing Lee-senpai, he wouldn't be stopping until he had finished whatever ridiculous goal he had set for himself.
Deciding to end it before it got out of control, Sakura slipped through the window and continued walking until she was a few feet away from him.
"Lee-senpai," Sakura said with a sigh as she watched his arm shake again. It was going to give out with the strain he was putting his muscles through… she knew they were still healing.
"Sakura-Chan," Lee's voice cracked with surprise as he tried to push his body up once more. Sakura's frown worsened when she saw his body wobble on his arm. Stepping forward quickly, Sakura kneeled down to help steady Lee before he could fall over.
"Lee-senpai, please," Sakura said as she felt Lee try to fight off her hands. It was a little heartbreaking to see Lee struggle against her. "Let's go back to your room… I brought you a flower and some spices that should hopefully speed up your recovery."
"But I'm not finished yet!" Lee yelled as he tried to shove his body off of himself. "I can't give up!"
"Lee-senpai," Sakura said with a deep sigh as she held his body tightly. Seeing him try this hard when his body was badly beaten made her heart clench. It wasn't fair to see Lee-senpai, someone who tried so hard to be as strong as he was, in this situation. "You're not giving up… you're giving your body a chance to recover. Your body needs time to rest after everything that has happened. It doesn't make you weak, Lee-senpai… it makes you human."
Hearing that, Lee's body sank into Sakura's hands and she couldn't help but sigh in relief. She felt him pass out and she gently laid him down on the ground.
"Oh no," the nurse spoke with a soft shake of her head. "He's worn himself out again… I'm going to have to get him a stretcher. Please watch over him as I do so."
Xxx Sakura xxX
Sakura grinned to herself as she tucked Sasuke-kun's birthday present inside of her closet. She knew he would never go looking for his birthday present, and she wanted to make sure Naruto-kun didn't go blowing the surprise.
Closing the closet door, Sakura snuck down the stairs and started to look for something to make for dinner. Earlier, all of team seven had actually been together for training, and Sakura was more than happy that all three of them were together for at least a little bit of time.
Naruto-kun and Sasuke-kun were showing each other what they had learned over the last couple of days in the backyard. Sakura was more than happy to watch them through the window as she made dinner.
"I thought they would be too tired after our session to even move," Kakashi mused as he spoke from his spot on the island. "I need to go harder on you guys next time."
"They're just excited to show off their new techniques," Sakura mused as she put the rice in the rice cooker and started to make some chicken stir fry.
"You're not jealous are you?" Kakashi asked with an eyebrow raise.
"Nope," Sakura said with a grin. "They haven't really hung out with each other much lately with how much we have all been training. I've been hanging out with Naruto-kun a lot lately, and next week I start my training with Anko and Sasuke-kun… We'll all get our time together."
"And you still have training tonight with Gai," Kakashi said with an amused tone as he took a sip of his tea.
"Why do you sound so amused?" Sakura questioned with a frown as she stirred the stir fry. "Kotetsu was laughing when he said I was going to train with Gai-sensei too."
"Oh," Kakashi said with a shake of his head. "You'll figure it out."
Sakura pouted slightly, but Kakashi-sensei still didn't share what he found was so amusing. Sighing, Sakura got back to finishing up dinner. Gai-sensei couldn't be that bad, could he?
