She wrote in his book. Not just notes, but paragraphs of thoughts in the margins, little square papers tucked between the pages. In the back, there were pages where she's written an alternate ending to the book.
He didn't know what to do. Instead of reading the notes, or the story at the end, he tossed the book into his drawer, taking out its sequel and placing it in his flak-jacket.
Kakashi spent the last couple of hours following his new team around, though none of them catch sight of him, there was a tenseness to both Sakura and Sasuke that leaves him wondering if they had noticed his presence.
He wrote Sasuke off as a product of his clan but, Sakura surprised him. Originally after seeing her in the academy, he hadn't though much of her but, then he watched her mute Naruto's chakra, compressing it into a tight little ball rather than its usual overwhelming cloud.
She was too young to have that kind of chakra control. Or perhaps not too young to have it, but to hide it. Someone should have known. It should have been in her file. Her own chakra seemed too low to even attempt hiding the nine-tailed fox's chakra. She must have been hiding the full extent of own as well.
What had Momo-chan been teaching her? And why hide it?
His job was hard enough as it is. Looking at Naruto was like taking a knife to the ribs. The memory of Minato's warm eyes, his sensei's quick hand ruffling his hair made it hard to breath. He'd give his life a thousand times if it meant that Minato could be here.
Kakashi failed him at every turn, first with Obito, then Rin, and now Naruto. The other thought that ached at him—worse than Minato—was Kushina. She would love Naruto, the same way she loved everything else, with every ounce of her being.
He could deal with all the rest. He lived with his demons long enough to know that. But there were moments when he watched Naruto and was reminded so sharply of Kushina that something in him just shattered.
Sasuke was not any better, a constant reminder of his own sharingan and Obito. Of Itachi who Kakashi had taken under his wing and taught, only to have the boy turn around and murder his own family.
Sakura was supposed to be the easy one. Top kunoichi, high scores on her tests, middling taijutsu and ninjutsu skills. Easy to teach and easy to ignore.
Instead, it turned out she has an ANBU operative for a sister, two dead parents, and secret chakra skills.
Kakashi sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose and pulled his mask higher up his nose. His students would be arriving at the training field soon. He had no intention to show up until later but, now he would watch them from the trees.
He needed information, even if it meant stalking children.
Ensui glared at Suzu over his paperwork. Her head, resting in the palms of her hands, tilted to the side, smile growing.
"No, Suzu."
"Ensui, come on. It's not like I'm asking for you to kill your clan leader or something."
"I'd rather you did. At least then I'd be able to report you to T&I and let Inoichi-sama deal with you."
"Honestly, you're being so dramatic. I just want you to free up one of the training grounds for me."
"There's a month's long waitlist to reserve one. The academy students just got assigned to teams. Use the communal ones."
"But, Ensui…"
"Suzuran." He held her gaze steadily. Huffing out a sigh, she sprawled her arms over over his desk, and rested her head against the cool wood. Ensui was in one of his "I'm a good shinobi" moods and there was no getting him out of it.
"At the very least, will you join me for lunch?" she asked, trying to lighten his annoyance. "Shikaku's been working you like crazy and I haven't seen you in ages."
He softened, the corners of his eyes not as tight. Suzu hid a squeal of delight as the Nara stands and stretches, his back cracking loudly. She waved a hand, two neatly wrapped bento boxes appeared in her hands. Stretching out a hand in Ensui's direction, she waited until he took it to apparate them out of the dusty office.
The two of them find a sport among the soft grass of a field near the edge of the Nara compound. Ensui's tense shoulders relaxed, and she threw another smile in his direction, unwrapping her own bento box. She folded the cloth covering the box, and ties it around her wrist, cracking her chopsticks in half. Muttering a quick itadakimasu under her breath, she dug in.
"How was the mission?" Ensui asked.
"Boring. I stole a scroll from some Kumo bastards. One of them got me on side with those nasty new bombs they've been testing."
"Did you at least take one for R&D?"
"Of course, I did. I'm not a genin."
"Thank kami for that," he grinned behind the mouthful of rice, cheeks puffing. Suzu rolled her eyes, sending a small bit of magic his way that causes him to choke. Though he had no way of knowing it was her, he glared in her direction.
Ensui managed to calm his sore throat and watering eyes, finishing his bento before lying in the grass. A part of her wondered if she liked the Naras for their deer, which remind her of Lily and James Potter, or for their laid-back attitude to life.
Lying beside him, she enjoyed the easy calm. Head clear of thoughts, she watched each cloud lazing by against the bright blue sky. The soft, aromatic scent of wildflowers filled her nose.
Suzu thought she could lie here forever watching the world pass by in the clouds.
It wasn't the deer or the calm, it was the fact that they see more of the village than any other clan. When Minato handed her missions over to Shikaku, Suzu fully expected to be sent on the same solo assassinations she was used to. Suzu was isolated, alone, unused to having someone watch her back. As much as Shikaku saw a solider, he also saw a girl who had lost herself in the darkness.
It was him that introduced her to Ensui, something she would forever be grateful for. Ensui hadn't put up with any of her bullshit, figuring her out in a matter of weeks. He'd seen her at her worst, after missions that had broken whatever parts of Harriet were left.
"The Hokage asked for you to be assigned a team," Ensui admitted, breaking the comfortable silence. Suzu tensed, rolling over onto her stomach so she could look at him.
"Why didn't you take it?" he asked, eyes narrowing, highlighting the thick green eyeliner wore.
"I don't have the stomach to teach a bunch of kids how to kill," she bit out. Hokage-sama and her have always had a tense relationship. It was hard to trust a man who had been willing to overlook her 'reconditioning' for the sake of the war.
"Suzu, this world isn't kind. You know that better than most." Though there's no judgement in his voice, she could hear the confusion at her words. Ensui believed that they were justified in doing terrible things to protect the good in the world. Suzu didn't know what to believe anymore.
"You should think about it. It'd be good for you." He said, leaning back down and closing his eyes.
Suzu rolled over again, sinking into the grass, her head by his shoulder and shut her eyes too.
Kakashi arrived at the training field approximately three minutes before Sasuke crept in. Sakura and Naruto trailed in afterwards. A small bento box in Sakura's hands was handed to the Uchiha who eyes it in trepidation.
"He said not to eat," Sasuke said, a stubborn tilt to his jaw that Itachi also shared.
"Come on, teme. Just eat it, Suzu-chan spent all morning making it," Naruto answered, shoving the bento box into Sasuke's face. The boy sat unmoving for a few seconds before he caved under the withering stares of his team-mates.
Kakashi almost found himself liking them. Though Naruto and Sasuke fought the whole time, there was a smoothness to their bantering that took the real edge off.
Sakura, he could tell, had a temper. She jumped between talking casually with the boys, weeding out words from Sasuke, to yelling at Naruto. Naruto didn't seem to mind the sudden burst of violence, either outright dodging her punches or letting her chase him around the field, only for her to pummel him to the ground.
She nearly turned on Sasuke once, stopping only when his glare turned in her direction. Her cheeks grew pink under the boy's gaze, leaving Kakashi with the troubling reminder that all three are about to enter puberty.
Can he retire early?
Looking after a bunch of brats wasn't what he signed up for when he became a shinobi. Who's going to take care of his dogs while he watches the gremlins? He'd bet that the Hokage hadn't even considered his dogs when he assigned him this team.
It wouldn't be that bad if he failed them.
Sighing he hopped down from his tree, just as they start falling asleep. Well, Naruto and Sakura. Sasuke seemed to have also inherited the Uchiha stubbornness.
"Good morning, everyone," he called out.
"You're late!" Naruto and Sakura shouted in unison, jumping to their feet at his arrival.
"Well, a black cat crossed my path so, I had to take the long way," he lied. Smiling cheerily at the team, though he supposed they can't really tell, he waved hello.
"Well," he cleared his throat, turning away from them, "let's get started.
Pulling an alarm clock from his bag, he placed it on a post in the middle of the training field and set it for noon.
He reached into his pocket, pulling out the two beaten-up bells that Minato left him. Swallowing hard, he let them dangle in the air pulling the kids attention to them.
He wondered whether any of them will be able to steal one. It had taken him months of training before he could even get close enough to Minato to touch one, let alone grab it. But, he wasn't Minato and if these genin were anything like their parents, minus Sakura, they just might surprise him.
"Your assignment is very simple. All you have to do, is take these bells from me. That's all there is to it." He raised his hand once, snapping the bells together so they make a sound. Narrowing his eyes in their direction, Kakashi pointed towards the three posts at the end of the training grounds.
"If you can't get them by noon, you'll go without lunch. You'll be tied to those posts, and you'll watch while I eat my lunch in front of you."
Would it be odd to admit that he's hoping they fail? Just so he got the satisfaction of watching their frustration as he ate as slowly as possible, not letting them get a glimpse of his face. The thought brought a smile to his face.
"What? Why would you do that to us?" Naruto asked, face dropping into a heated glare.
"It's all right, Naruto. We've already eaten, sensei. It's more important for a shinobi to have energy than not being sick."
"Very good, Sakura-chan. Great initiative from all of you." He smiled again, watching closely as her eyes narrow at the bells. Good, she already caught on.
"Wait, a minuet, why are there only two bells?"
He chuckled, dropping it quickly when she flinched backward. He wasn't that creepy, was he?
"Well, that way at least one of you will end up tied to a post and ultimately disqualified for failing to complete the mission," he waited a beat for the news to sink in, "That one goes back to the academy."
"Then again," he mused out loud, "all three of you could flunk out, too."
Ringing the bells once more, he put his serious face on. Staring at each of them forcefully, he watched as they straighten up under his intense gaze.
"You can use any weapons, including shuriken. If you're not prepared to kill me, you won't be able to take the bells."
"No problem, sensei." He watched as a slow smile grows on the pink-haired genin's face. If it weren't for the fact that she was still a kid in every sense of the word, he'd think she was eager to try and kill him.
"When I say start you can begin," he smiled at them again.
Sakura crouched, slipping her hand into her side holster, and pulled out a kunai. Though Sasuke and Naruto tensed, getting ready to run at him. She stayed crouched, eyes bright, one hand pressed against the ground.
"Begin."
Naruto moved first, launching himself forward, hands quickly pulling out a kunai. Kakashi caught the kunai in his hand, twisting Naruto around so that the kunai is aimed at the back of his neck. Too easy.
Kakashi glared down at the blonde head of hair, taking note of the step back that Sasuke made. Sakura was unmoved, hair framing her face so he can't see what she's thinking.
"I didn't think you'd be first, but you came at me with the full intention of killing me, Naruto. I can't believe I'm saying this; I'm starting to like you guys."
As soon as Sensei was distracted by Naruto, Sakura moved her hands, forming the hand seals to make a clone as quickly and quietly as possible. Trading places with the clone, she followed Sasuke into the bushes, watching as Naruto took on Kakashi.
Once she was hidden in the trees, she closed her eyes, ignoring Sasuke's confused expression for the moment. Suzu taught her, after their parents had died that terrible day, how to sense and mask chakra. Sakura hadn't been very good at it, but she trained hard to learn. The fear she felt that day, paired with the inability to do anything at all while they died, changed her.
Her parents were been murdered by rouge-nin from Iwa, eager to pay Suzu back for something she did during the war. Sakura never asked what it was. War stories are like darkness, there was a before and an after, what happened in the shadows, stayed there. She loved her sister too much to ask her to relive it.
But Sakura remembered the grinning, deranged smile of the Iwa-nin, his rust-red clothes turning into a muddy-brown after he killed her parents. She didn't think of shinobi as monsters before then.
Sakura fought, with every ounce of training that the academy taught her but, it wasn't enough. Not against a jounin-deserter. Sometimes when she slept, when she let the memories take over, she saw her mother spread out on the floor, throat pulled open from ear to ear. White bone spilling out amongst the pink tissue. Her father hadn't lasted as long.
Suzu burst through the doors, face craved from solid stone as she pulled Sakura away, handing her to the ANBU-nin with her.
She was still close enough to the apartment to hear the man's first screams.
In the months afterward, Suzu was vicious, scared to go on missions, eager to protect Sakura in any way she could. She was hesitant to train Sakura, despite the days she spent begging.
"Geniuses didn't last long in Konoha," Suzu said.
Despite it, Suzu caved, swearing her to secrecy. The need to rid herself of the fear and guilt she felt motivating her, Sakura clung to her sister's every word.
And then Suzu taught her about magic and Sakura hid everything away. She didn't know what the borrowed memories Suzu had meant. What little she knew was hints and half-remembered stories from her sister.
Though, Naruto's charka overwhelmed her senses, Sensei's own lightening-based chakra had a similar feel to Suzu's that she can tell it's not the real him.
She watched as he got ready for a big jutsu, hands forming the sign of the tiger seal. It must be a fire jutsu. Sakura didn't think, straightening quickly.
"Naruto, get out of there quick, he's going to destroy you." Sasuke tensed next to her and they share a quick, worried glance. When Kakashi finally delivered the move, "A Thousand Years of Death," she wanted to die.
Did that count as harassment? He shoved his fin-
No. She was not thinking of it.
"Those two are just idiots," Sasuke muttered to her. Sakura nodded, her clone finally standing to fight Kakashi.
While Naruto's intervention distracted him, Sakura planted small genjutsu traps around the training grounds, designed to be activated while Kakashi stepped closer to her.
They were little tricks designed to buy her some time while she found out where the real Sensei was. Trivial things, like throwing off his aim or making him think that something was closer than it was.
He tripped up. Her kunai caught his sleeve, ripping into loose fabric. She didn't hide her smile at the slight surprise in his eyes.
He matched her taijutsu, blow for blow, but Sakura was enjoying the challenge. He was a lot stronger than the people she was used to fighting. Despite the lean muscle and quick feet, fighting him was nothing like sparring with Suzu. Kakashi was both quick and blunt, going for the moves mostly likely to take her out quickly.
Sakura didn't have a chance to see if her strongest genjutsu, "Hell Viewing Technique" would have worked on him. Kakashi sent a strong punch her way, that her clone was unable to block, popping the clone in a puff of smoke.
She smiled from her tree as he spung around looking for her. Launching herself toward the ground, she crawled into the bushes as Sasuke took his turn.
Now, she had to find Naruto get him in on her plan and somehow convince Sasuke to play nice with them so they can get the bells.
Finding Naruto was easier than she thought. His blonde hair stuck out amongst all the green and he waved eagerly at her, all while laughing at the beating that Sasuke was getting.
"Naru-chan, I have a plan." She announced. Naruto turned towards her, blue eyes wide.
"Me too, we should team up and take down Kakashi-sensei together. He called me a loser; you know? I'm not a loser."
"What? When did he say that?"
"During our fight but I'll show him. He's underestimating me. I'm going to be Hokage one day and prove to everyone that it doesn't matter if you're dead last or first in class."
Sakura smiled softly at him, intertwining their fingers together and giving his hand a tight squeeze.
"What was your plan, Sakura?"
"Oh, basically the same thing but, we're going to need Sasuke to fight him." As soon as she said his name the boy was bounding into the woods near them.
"Naruto make some clones to distract Sensei while we plan," Sakura ordered, grabbing onto Sasuke's shirt, and tugging him down to her level. He glared as he hit the ground but, didn't try to run away.
"Good. Now that we're all here, this is the plan…"
Once they finish discussing, Sakura sent the boys on their way and launched into the clearing, forming a quick hand sign that filled the clearing with a misty fog. It was not as dense as it could be but, it made Sensei aware that she was there. Sakura launched into another series of hand signs. Maybe she'll get him with her Hell Viewing Technique now.
Sensei's hands covered her own before she could finish the jutsu. He raised her trapped hands above her head and Sakura latched onto him, pulling her body up on arm strength alone, wrapping her legs around his arm. Hanging like a monkey from Sensei was undignified and he realized this, letting her fall quickly. She swung her body around, hands brushing one of the bells as she did so.
Perfect.
He glances down at the bell, that Sakura has a chakra string wrapped around. She wasn't as good with it as she liked but her chakra control was better than most. She can keep it up for another minuet at most.
"Now, where did you learn that?" he asked, head tilting. Instead of answering, Sakura tugged at the bell again, watching as it lifted from his waist. It didn't get far as Kakashi clutched it between his fingers, his other hand hovering near her chakra string.
"Very clever," he complimented, before flickering out of her view. She spun around feeling the surge of chakra lighting up behind her. "But, not quick enough."
Sakura smiled, shaking her hands as the string dissolves. She ducked down quick, feeling the shuriken fly out from the tree behind her. Kakashi tried to follow her but, her leg sweeping out beneath his feet forced him to the left and right into their trap.
Sasuke met him there, sparing with him as Naruto's shuriken land into the tree. Ninja wire gleams in the sunlight and Sakura moved as Sasuke forced him backwards into the wire. Sakura got another string ready, latching onto the two bells.
Just as she pulled them towards her, both the bells and Sensei disappeared in a cloud of smoke.
Another clone.
She's starting to hate clones.
The three of them glanced at one another, breathing heavily. Her chest ached from the exertion. Fighting a jounin was not fun.
Just as they're about to launch their next attack together, the alarm went off.
Sensei reappeared smiling, though Sakura doesn't know why, they'd failed. Sakura's shoulders slump in disappointment.
Sensei moved toward them, chakra forming a dark cloud around him, he formed a couple of quick hand signs before Naruto. Sakura moved without a thought, matching Sasuke's pace, to stand in front of their teammate.
"Any last words?" Sensei asked them, meeting their gaze evenly.
"You said this was a team exercise," Naruto screamed, shoving his way forward, "There are three people to a team. How can you only have two bells?"
"We're a three-man squad and we're all in it together," Sasuke said, backing Naruto up.
"That's right. Even though we didn't get the bells, we wouldn't have wanted them anyway. We're a team, we're not leaving anyone behind," said Sakura firmly.
"You all failed to steal any of the bells. Each of you tried individually. Naruto, far to brash with your attacks and sloppy with all your hits. Sasuke, you failed to ask your teammates for help when launching your attack. Sakura, you were clever but, your plan fell apart once you got distracted."
She slumped down, hair sticking to her face. She didn't meet anyone's eyes and her stomach churned at the thought of having to go home and tell Suzu she had failed.
"But all three of you came together to try and steal the bells. And for that, you all pass."
Naruto was the first to register the words, launching himself into the air with a furious yell. Sakura looked up, meeting her Sensei's single eye. He smiled, the eyes shutting and forming a curve. She didn't think it was possible for a single eye to convey that much warmth.
"What?" Sasuke asked, casting quick glances at her and Naruto.
"You pass. You're the first class that ever succeeded. The other's fell into every trap. They couldn't think for themselves. A ninja must see through deception. In the ninja world those who break the rules are scum, that's true. But those who abandon their friends are worse than scum.
"He's kind of cool," Naruto whispered, bumping into her. Sakura nodded, watching as Kakashi-sensei preened at the compliment.
"The exercise is over," he stated, "Everyone passes. Team Seven starts its first mission tomorrow."
Sakura jumped up, joining Naruto in his celebration. Chest feeling lighter than air, she smiled happily, throwing her fist in the air.
They'd done it. They had really done it.
"Let's go home," Kakashi-sensei said, leading them away.
When Kakashi got home, he ate the meal he'd prepared earlier that day and then wondered over to his bedroom.
He didn't have any intention of reading Suzu's notes. Even though she had clearly left them there for him, he was still unsure about the woman.
Kakashi was used to learning about people through training with them. Spars, the regular ninja way. He can't challenge her to a spar without reason.
He could steal her chart from ANBU HQ, but the effort that would take wasn't worth it. The last thing he needed was people wondering why he was chasing down a woman.
He opened the book, pulling out the little cards she slipped between the pages. He took out the sheets at the end as well, setting them aside to read at the very end. He picked up the first note, written on pale pink paper that smells like the sweet rolls from the bakery beneath her apartment.
Hatake-san,
I enjoyed the book but, thought it could use some work. Here are some slight changes I made and some commentary on the Jiraiya-sama's thoughts on kunoichi. You'd think having been on the same team as Tsunade-sama, he'd be a bit less of a perv. Anyway, I personally thought that Aiko-san should have ended up with Haru-san.
I apologize for stealing the book in the first place. Once I felt the traps in my apartment go off, I got worried about Sakura. After what happened to our parents, I'm a bit overprotective. I'm sure that's something you understand.
Haruno Suzuran
Fuck.
Kakashi leaned forward, head hitting the wall. He'd forgotten.
Naruto and Sasuke were alone, breaking into their houses meant nothing. They were children without a sense of security. Whatever privacy they had was non-existent due to the constant ANBU guards stationed around them.
He'd been careless around Sakura. She might not have been what he imagined but, her only living relative was a ninja, a kunoichi of this village. Attempting to break into her apartment was crossing a line. Ninja homes were untouchable, it was the one place they could escape to after the things they did in the real world.
And he hadn't even cared.
Kakashi recklessly tried to get past the seal and traps surrounding the apartment. A pit formed in his gut, and he drops his head into his hands, rubbing at his eyes.
How had Suzuran taken it so lightly?
The look on her face when he had stopped her on her rooftop popped into his head. Silent resignation scattered over the dips and shadows of her face, pain lingering in her furrowed brows. She'd been injured, holding onto her ribcage as if it was the only way to stop from collapsing.
Kakashi groaned, hitting his head once again on the wall.
Tomorrow, he'd find her. Though last time he tried, she'd proven hard to find. What had the Hokage said about Shikaku-sama? Didn't she work there?
Maybe it was time for him to pay the jounin command a visit.