Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto. Oh, and is you can't tell by reading my
other fics, this is my little dark side writing.
* * * * * *
"I'm going out to train, mother!" called Sakura she finished brushing her hair out. Today, she decided, she would were it back- it got in the way during training. She dashed out of her bedroom and into the kitchen, only to be met with a worried woman standing in her way.
"Sakura honey, I don't think you should be training," she said, handing her daughter a piece of toast. Sakura took the food gratefully. "After the state you came home in, I'm worried about you."
"Oh mother," Sakura sighed between bites of breakfast, "I'm alright now- see? I'm not shaking anymore, and my bruise has faded dramatically." Sakura held up her left wrist for her parent's examining. The dark purple had, indeed, faded to a lighter blue.
"I'm still not sure," replied Sakura's mother. "What if whomever did that to you comes back?"
"Mom- I'll pay more attention today! I was being careless yesterday! I'm fine now!" Sakura whined as she finished her toast.
"I'm not quite happy about it, but I suppose-" The elder Haruno woman halted midway through her sentence as she realized that her audience had disappeared. Sakura was already out the door, stumbling as she shoved her shoes on. The pink-haired ninja girl had not even bothered to say goodbye.
"Be careful, Sakura," whispered Haruno Amaya after her only child.
* * * * * *
Sakura sighed as she trained, shuriken and kunai throwing being her first exercise. Each day, she would set up a target and berate it with her weapons until each landed in the center, and then she would move the target back two feet. It may seem slightly arduous to anyone with less patience than Sakura, but to the girl, it was the perfect means of improvement.
After that, she would focus on stamina and chakra control- but only stamina practice was really necessary. As almost anyone would say that Sakura had almost jounin-ly chakra control.
Third, she would focus on strength, then speed, and defense. She would hang upside-down from a tree, holding a rock over her head, and if she dropped the rock... well, she would fall and get drastically injured. So she made sure this never happened. This was conditioning practice for both chakra control and stamina as well. For speed, she would throw a kunai as far as she could, and race to catch it. She punished herself if she didn't catch it- one less bite of her rice balls. Finally, for defense, she would rig traps and set them off, and avoid the painful purpose of the traps- it helped somewhat.
Lastly, Sakura studied her scrolls and practiced hand-kata formation. If she managed to get the katas perfectly formed; she would work on her speed in completing them.
Thus Sakura trained, faithfully, day in and day out.
* * * * * *
Sakura fell backwards, limbs splayed out in any direction as she breathed heavily. She let the water bottle roll from her hand as she closed her eyes slightly, her muscles strained and crying in exhaustion. She had just finished her speed training, and was completely worm from a hard, half- day's work. She sighed and closed her eyes, focusing on relaxing her muscles completely.
Her rest was going pleasantly until the sunrays suddenly faded away behind clouds and a chill breeze swept through the forest. That sudden cold that she had felt the day before returned, and her eyes snapped open in shock at the sudden feeling. She stumbled onto her feet; looking around and focusing on the frigid chakra that emanated from nearby.
But the cold seemed to be all around her, pressing in on her from all sides, choking the happiness from her heart. Sakura collapsed to the ground, and decided to do what any smart shinobi would do- ask questions.
"Who are you?" she called out to her strange visitor.
"Who I am is of no pertinence at the moment, Sakura-chan," replied the voice slowly, in that same icy, sickeningly-sweet tone as yesterday.
"What do you want? Why are you here?" she asked again, hoping for a better answer this time.
"I am not here today to harm you, child, just to talk to you," the person replied. "I am only here to talk."
"About what?" Sakura snapped back, annoyed by the voice's lazy calmness.
"About you, my dear, about you."
* * * * * *
"I'm going out to train, mother!" called Sakura she finished brushing her hair out. Today, she decided, she would were it back- it got in the way during training. She dashed out of her bedroom and into the kitchen, only to be met with a worried woman standing in her way.
"Sakura honey, I don't think you should be training," she said, handing her daughter a piece of toast. Sakura took the food gratefully. "After the state you came home in, I'm worried about you."
"Oh mother," Sakura sighed between bites of breakfast, "I'm alright now- see? I'm not shaking anymore, and my bruise has faded dramatically." Sakura held up her left wrist for her parent's examining. The dark purple had, indeed, faded to a lighter blue.
"I'm still not sure," replied Sakura's mother. "What if whomever did that to you comes back?"
"Mom- I'll pay more attention today! I was being careless yesterday! I'm fine now!" Sakura whined as she finished her toast.
"I'm not quite happy about it, but I suppose-" The elder Haruno woman halted midway through her sentence as she realized that her audience had disappeared. Sakura was already out the door, stumbling as she shoved her shoes on. The pink-haired ninja girl had not even bothered to say goodbye.
"Be careful, Sakura," whispered Haruno Amaya after her only child.
* * * * * *
Sakura sighed as she trained, shuriken and kunai throwing being her first exercise. Each day, she would set up a target and berate it with her weapons until each landed in the center, and then she would move the target back two feet. It may seem slightly arduous to anyone with less patience than Sakura, but to the girl, it was the perfect means of improvement.
After that, she would focus on stamina and chakra control- but only stamina practice was really necessary. As almost anyone would say that Sakura had almost jounin-ly chakra control.
Third, she would focus on strength, then speed, and defense. She would hang upside-down from a tree, holding a rock over her head, and if she dropped the rock... well, she would fall and get drastically injured. So she made sure this never happened. This was conditioning practice for both chakra control and stamina as well. For speed, she would throw a kunai as far as she could, and race to catch it. She punished herself if she didn't catch it- one less bite of her rice balls. Finally, for defense, she would rig traps and set them off, and avoid the painful purpose of the traps- it helped somewhat.
Lastly, Sakura studied her scrolls and practiced hand-kata formation. If she managed to get the katas perfectly formed; she would work on her speed in completing them.
Thus Sakura trained, faithfully, day in and day out.
* * * * * *
Sakura fell backwards, limbs splayed out in any direction as she breathed heavily. She let the water bottle roll from her hand as she closed her eyes slightly, her muscles strained and crying in exhaustion. She had just finished her speed training, and was completely worm from a hard, half- day's work. She sighed and closed her eyes, focusing on relaxing her muscles completely.
Her rest was going pleasantly until the sunrays suddenly faded away behind clouds and a chill breeze swept through the forest. That sudden cold that she had felt the day before returned, and her eyes snapped open in shock at the sudden feeling. She stumbled onto her feet; looking around and focusing on the frigid chakra that emanated from nearby.
But the cold seemed to be all around her, pressing in on her from all sides, choking the happiness from her heart. Sakura collapsed to the ground, and decided to do what any smart shinobi would do- ask questions.
"Who are you?" she called out to her strange visitor.
"Who I am is of no pertinence at the moment, Sakura-chan," replied the voice slowly, in that same icy, sickeningly-sweet tone as yesterday.
"What do you want? Why are you here?" she asked again, hoping for a better answer this time.
"I am not here today to harm you, child, just to talk to you," the person replied. "I am only here to talk."
"About what?" Sakura snapped back, annoyed by the voice's lazy calmness.
"About you, my dear, about you."