The next week was spent doing team training in the mornings and one to two d-rank missions in the afternoons.
Team training usually consisted of either one-on-one or group sparring for an hour, a follow-up hour where Kurenai lectured them on what they had done right and what they hadn't, along with with some one-on-one work on their taijutsu.
Kiba, unsurprisingly, almost always won the sparring matches. The last hour was spent on chakra control exercises, which Gaara and Sakura sailed through and Kiba was average at.
D-ranks were boring, and Kiba spent a lot of time complaining bitterly about them, but he never shirked on his work. Whether it was weeding gardens or babysitting the children of nobles, he went about each task with a single minded enthusiasm that both Gaara and Sakura found impressive.
Sakura was actually waking up looking forward to spending time with her team each day, despite Kiba's over abundance of energy and quick temper.
He was always careful of Gaara, whose gentle nature and quiet disposition had won Akamaru over within the first few days. He was also pretty funny, and never took his teasing too far.
They'd been a team for about a week and a half, and were walking back to the administration building after their second mission of the day, paint splattered but content, when they turned around a corner and came face to face with Team Ten.
Ino raised an eyebrow at Sakura's sweaty, messy hair, falling out of the ponytail she'd quickly pulled it back into when she realized Kiba wasn't great at getting the paint where it was supposed to go, and the dirt and paint marring her dress.
"Looking as attractive as always, forehead," she drawled with a sniff, and Shikamaru sighed next to her in a long-suffering way.
Sakura shifted in discomfort and barely kept herself from bringing a hand to her hair while she glared at Ino. Before she could say anything, Kiba beat her to the punch. "It's pretty pathetic, huh?" he said almost casually, and Sakura started before sending him a hurt look.
Gaara slowly turned his head to stare at Kiba in disbelief before he continued. "I mean, you get up early to make yourself look like that, probably spend hours on it," Ino straightened and preened a bit at his words as he continued, "I bet you even hold back in practice and missions so ya don't get all mussed up."
The girl looked less sure of his words now, but didn't say anything, and Shikamaru's focus had turned fully to the Inuzuka while Chouji shifted uneasily in the background.
"Yet Sakura here gets up, gets ready quickly because we start practice early, works just as hard as Gaara n' me even if she gets dirty, and still ends up looking better than your ugly mug ever could."
Sakura's jaw dropped open in shock along with Ino's, and Kurenai, having caught up to her team after stopping to chat with a chuunin she knew, smacked the back of his head. "Kiba!" she scolded, but Sakura had heard her really scold them enough times to know it was half-hearted.
Which meant she probably heard the comment Ino made that started the whole altercation.
Ino's hands had clenched into fists, and a vein was popping on her forehead. "Like anything a mutt like you says matters," she hissed, and Asuma groaned.
"Ino, don't be -"
"Better a mutt than a pig," Gaara said calmly, and Sakura stepped in front of him when it looked like Ino might lunge for his throat.
"That's enough," Kurenai snapped, and the room around them darkened. "This is conduct unbecoming of a shinobi of the leaf. Team Eight, after we report in, you will run three laps around the village."
Their mouths dropped open in horror, and Kiba cringed. Yesterday they had run just one lap and it had been torture. "Aw, Kurenai-sensei, it's my fault, Gaara and Sakura shouldn't have to -"
"You are a team, so you will take your punishment as one," Kurenai said in a no-nonsense voice.
"That's right," Sakura said, and sent him a smile. Despite the punishment, she couldn't help but feel warm at the way Gaara and Kiba had come to her defense.
Kiba blinked when he realized Gaara was smiling at him too, and turned red, rubbing the back of his neck.
"Aw, guys..."
Kurenai sighed as she realized they were pretty much unrepentant, but then turned her attention to Asuma, crossing her arms over her chest and staring him down until he hunched in on himself a bit and sighed.
"Right, um, Team Ten will be joining you. It's...very bad to insult your fellow leaf kunoichi, Ino. And Chouji and Shikamaru, you should have...stopped her?" he said the last like a question, looking to Kurenai, who nodded.
Shikamaru's and Chouji's faces had morphed into masks of horror. "But, sensei - !"
"No buts!" Asuma said, having straightened under Kurenai's regard. "Next time, you'll think twice about letting your teammates break the rules, and hopefully Ino will begin to understand that her actions...have consequences for the rest of you!" He said the last as if he'd just had an epiphany, and Sakura could have sworn she heard Kurenai sigh while the missions assignment desk chunin snickered at them from behind their hands.
It was an exhausted and sweaty Gaara and Sakura that stumbled home that evening after saying goodbye to Kiba.
The boy had apologized for getting them into trouble, but Sakura had just thanked him shyly for coming to her defense.
"Hey, Kiba's actually pretty cool, huh?" Sakura said to Gaara as they staggered upstairs under the amused gaze of their mother.
"It was very good of him to defend you," he said softly.
"You were pretty cool too." Sakura sighed. "We should make a pact to just ignore Ino-pig, though, because I do not want to have to run that many punishment laps again.
The next morning they did their usual sparring and chakra control exercises, but instead of heading to the tower, Kurenai led them to a small clearing out of the way of passerby, and pulled out a picnic basket.
"We won't be doing any missions today. Instead, I wanted to talk to you guys about something important," she said after they'd settled on a blanket and started in on the sandwiches their sensei had brought.
"Sure, Kurenai-sensei, what's up?" Kiba answered for them. She quirked a smile at him, but then went back to being completely serious.
"The Hokage has made a request of Team Eight." She put her hand up before Kiba could pepper her with enthusiastic questions. "Before you answer, I want you to go home and think very carefully about it. No matter what you decide, nobody will think less of you."
Gaara and Sakura exchanged worried glances before focusing on Kurenai. "We understand, sensei," Gaara said calmly.
The woman sighed, and looked out over the clearing before continuing. Sakura realized whatever this was had the woman worried. "What do you know about specializations in teams?" she asked.
"Most teams are trained for a specific purpose, such as front line heavy-hitters, intelligence, or tracking," Gaara supplied, and Kurenai nodded.
"That's right. Now, what do you think this team's specialty is meant to be?"
Sakura furrowed her brow, and glanced at Kiba, who shrugged. Gaara also seemed perplexed. "Well...I guess we could be a support team?" She said hesitantly. "Gaara wants to be a medic-nin, and Kiba has his clan techniques. I'm...well, I did well with traps and on written tests in the academy..." Sakura trailed off, and frowned.
Kurenai hummed, and looked at them. "I'll tell you what pulled the attention of the Hokage and prompted him to team you up. Gaara and Sakura, you are both extremely intelligent, and as you said, scored high in traps and intel gathering. You both also have extremely good chakra control.
Gaara is listed as a potential medic-nin, since he's already shown interest there, and Sakura, you are listed as a genjutsu type. Kiba and Akamaru are also quite smart, though they're geared more toward tracking, stealth and combat."
The three genin blinked at her, and Kurenai sighed. "The Hokage would like to request that you specialize in Reconnaissance and Sabotage."
Sakura tipped her head to the side, but it was Kiba who voiced their thoughts. "What's so bad about that?"
Kurenai's face tightened. "It is considered to be one of the most dangerous specializations for a team to have. The average lifespan of somebody in this type of work is eighteen years old," she said bluntly, and Sakura couldn't help the small gasp that escaped her. Gaara had tensed and reached for her hand, and Kiba was uncharacteristically silent.
"If you agree to the Hokage's request, you will be filling a much needed role in the village. Reconnaissance and Sabotage teams are responsible for getting sensitive information to the village, preventing war, and even striking blows from behind enemy lines.
Your talents are particularly suited to this. Gaara, you would provide support as a medic-nin and I would also have you take on a secondary focus in trap setting. Sakura, you would be the close-range combat specialist with your kenjutsu, and you would have a second specialization in genjutsu.
Kiba, you and Akamaru would be the tracking and heavy combat specialists, with a third specialization in interrogation. All three of you would be required to become proficient in stealth, intel gathering and survival techniques. Your high combined intelligence scores weighted on one team was done on purpose, as half of your job will be creative problem solving."
Kurenai took a deep breath and met each of their gazes in turn. "If you accept this, I will not go easy on you. You will wake up with the sun, and you will train until it goes back down. I will make you faster and more well-prepared than all of your peers combined.
You will become a cohesive unit. You will train together and bleed together. You will share each success and failure, because if one of you fails, you all do. I will do all of this with one goal in mind: to give you what you need to survive."
Kurenai took another deep breath, and for a moment they were all silent, reeling from what she just said. "And if we choose not to?" Gaara asked.
"Then you will not be punished in any way. I will train you as a general support team, and once you become chunin you will separate into your chosen specialties."
Sakura's head snapped up from where she'd been frowning down at the floral print on their picnic blanket. "Separate?"
Kurenai inclined her head. "Yes, you would probably be on the ANBU track, Kiba in tracking and combat, and Gaara as a floating medic-nin."
"But if we say yes to the Hokage's request, we will remain a team?" Gaara said thoughtfully, and Kurenai nodded.
"Yes - all of your training would be geared into making you a permanent unit, as I said.
Now, I want you all to take the evening to think about it. Discuss it between yourselves and with your families if you want. Please, do not make this decision lightly."
They nodded, and helped their sensei pick up their lunch. She gave them a gentle smile before she left. "Whatever you decide, I'm proud to be your sensei," she said.
After she was gone, Kiba sighed and put his arms behind his head. "Well, whatever you guys decide, I'm in," he stated, and Akamaru barked in agreement. Sakura and Gaara stared at him in shock. "What? Ma always said I'd go where the Village needed me most.
If the Hokage needs me on the hard stuff, then that's what I'll do. Plus, I guess you two aren't so bad to have as partners. You don't look down on me just 'cause you're smart and you're nice to Akamaru."
Sakura shifted uncomfortably, because really her thoughts on Kiba in the beginning hadn't been very charitable, though that test Kurenai gave them had changed her mind pretty quickly. He misinterpreted her discomfort, though, and quickly added, "Not that I'll be upset or judge ya or nothin' if you guys decide not to do it. I'll be fine joinin' the tracking and combat units."
"I am also in," Gaara said, and Sakura whipped her head towards him.
"Wha -" Sakura started, but he cut her off.
"If we refuse, you and I will be separated, which would make the whole reason I decided to become a medic-nin moot. Also, if you joined ANBU you would be in just as much danger as if you had stayed on our team, but I wouldn't be there to heal you and watch your back." He was silent for a moment. "I'd rather spend my next six years with you than two decades as a medic-nin without you."
Sakura stared at her brother, eyes wide. "I - I won't join ANBU then. I'll become a medic-nin instead..."
"No," he said, and met her eyes. "I know you want to keep me safe, but if you give up your dreams for me, I swear I will find the most dangerous specialty possible."
Kiba burst into laughter as Sakura gaped at Gaara. Finally, she sighed and looked down at the ground. She didn't doubt he meant it.
The thought of being separated from her brother was painful, but she couldn't help the knot of fear that formed in her chest at the thought of him dying ...
"Sakura-nee, I want this," he said in a quiet voice. "I know you do to."
Another moment of thought, and she raised her head, body suddenly blazing with determination. "Okay," she said. "Okay, but if we do this, we do it right. We learn everything we can and we always, always come back alive."
Kiba gave a feral grin, and Akamaru yipped in excitement. Gaara returned her gaze and his lip quirked up in a smile. "Right. Okay, here's to Team Eight," Sakura said, and put her hand out, palm down.
After a moment, Gaara place his on top of hers. Kiba sighed, but added his as well after picking up Akamaru so he could put in his little paw.
When they released their hands into the air Kiba made the sound of an explosion, and Sakura giggled while Gaara broke into a grin.
From where she was hiding in the trees, Kurenai squeezed her eyes shut before taking a deep breath, then left to start setting up the extra training her team would need to survive.