Chapter Three
Progress
For the first week, they moved at night, catching snatches of rest while the sun beat down. The first day out of Konoha, Kakashi showed her their projected journey and she traced a curious finger over a map of the Earth Country.
"Why north-west?" she asked, wanting to know the significance of their route. He smiled, then, a crinkle of one dark eye.
"I closed my eyes and pointed at the map," he explained seriously.
She clenched her fists and wondered if she was too mature to hit her teacher.
The second week, it rained. Sakura entertained the thought that perhaps they'd gone too far south and ended up in the Rain Country, but when she asked Kakashi he just looked at her and she felt very foolish.
They continued, albeit slowly, despite the rain, taking a break only after Sakura landed awkwardly and nearly fell from a tree. He must have sensed her lack of balance, because one moment her foot twisted beneath her and she noticed with a detached surprise that the forest floor was coming up to meet her awfully fast; and then the next strong arms were depositing her safely on the ground.
Sakura was struck once more by the familiar feeling of uselessness, and it took all of her self-control to mutter an ungracious thanks.
The next day Kakashi deemed them far enough from the village to decrease their pace, and she took that as an opening to request daily training sessions. With the pressure off them to travel with haste, they'd have more time to do other things, and if matters were as bad as he'd led her to believe she was going to need to be prepared.
If he was surprised, he didn't show it. Instead, he agreed.
----
He was, Kakashi realised, a failure as a teacher. It was a good thing he'd refused to pass all those other genin groups, because if the members of Team 7 had any skills at all, it certainly wasn't because of him.
No wonder they'd all gone off to seek power in their own ways.
If he'd felt shame at his neglect of Naruto, the way he'd inadvertently ignored Sakura filled him with disgust. She'd been the girl, the weakest link; her head was filled with silliness and Sasuke. So he'd left her alone to grow up and out of it, and then the unluckiest woman in the world had come along, and had seen her potential. The potential the great, observant Copy Nin had managed to overlook.
Because Sakura...well, Sakura was good. Not as good as him - she was just a chuunin, after all. But her attacks were no longer hesitant and unfocused. She moved fluidly, purposefully, and had a surprising arsenal of moves.
Although, he wished Tsunade hadn't taught her that super strength thing.
So they sparred, and exercised, and fought till they dropped, and it was some time during the third week that she asked him for more.
----
"Kakashi-sensei," she started, suppressing with much difficulty the urge to look away and twirl hair around her finger. He didn't make her nervous - much - but the idea of asking a favour from a jounin intimidated her a bit. I need to take a few lessons from Tsunade-san about this. I bet nothing has ever intimidated her.
He was silent, but she knew he was listening. He'd been reticent ever since explaining the details of their leaving, and she couldn't say she blamed him.
Not that anything he had said surprised her, truly. In her heart of hearts, she'd known what the outcome of Sasuke's journey would be. That was why she'd begged him to take her with him. Selfishly she'd considered herself able to help him, as if her presence would bring him back from the brink.
It had been too late, even then. Sasuke's heart was filled with darkness, and she'd been a fool to think there had been room in there for her.
"I am strong." Her voice surprised her. It was firm and resounded with conviction. She believed this, she knew this, and suddenly it was all going to work. "I have strength, and control, and power. But I need skills. Jutsus. Tricks and plans."
She grabbed his hand because it seemed like the right thing to do.
"So teach me, Copy Ninja Kakashi of Konoha village." She grinned at him. "He of the thousand-and-one jutsus. Don't be stingy and share the knowledge."
He laughed then, a low chuckle that startled her. The sound brought a strange warmth to her chest, because neither of them had laughed in what seemed like a very long time.
For a moment she forgot what they were doing, why they were here, but then the sun broke through the cloud cover overhead and memory returned like a sharp pain.
"When you put it like that, how can I refuse?" Kakashi's tone was dry and she returned her attention to him, belatedly realising she'd gotten her way. Another grin split her features and she pulled him to his feet, dragging him up by their still-joined hands.
"All right!" Punching the air, she dropped his arm, then went to stand a way down the clearing. Determined, she faced him, tightening her forehead protector. Her eyes were dry and felt unusually hard, but she welcomed the focus.
"I'm ready."
----
The years of practice in front of the mirror had paid off, Kakashi decided, his voice low but carrying effortlessly across to Sakura as he explained the first jutsu.
It was a simple genjutsu, a technique that fooled the enemy into thinking you were slower than you really were. It was one he favoured, since his own speed was not unremarkable, and many an enemy-nin had died astonished at the distance he covered in what seemed like an instant.
The technique unsettled his opponents, and that was how he liked them to be.
"The crow," he said, naming each seal as he went through the motions. "The bear, the tiger, the bull, the snake."
He could see her watching, taking in the fluid hand motions. Then she settled into a defensive combat position as he started running toward her. Shuriken slipped down between her fingers, her head turning to follow his movement. And then she gasped as the tip of a kunai pressed against her neck, held from behind by her teacher.
"Impressive," she choked.
"The aim," he continued as if nothing had happened, "is to confuse your opponent. They will think they know, but you will show them they know nothing. And in that moment of confusion, you will strike."
Infinitesimally, he increased the pressure of the kunai. He felt Sakura hold her breath. Then he stepped back and it was her turn.
----
"Kumokasumi Senko no Jutsu!" Sakura's voice cracked on the last syllable, but she ignored the exhaustion and pushed off, trying to get a good runup. They'd been doing this for days, and she was still unable to fully grasp the technique.
She had a good feeling about this time.
Digging deep into her remaining store of energy, she moulded her chakra into a thin layer across her skin, concentrating a pool of condensed chakra at the sole of each foot. Taking a deep breath, she shifted, pushing sideways, air rushing past her at an impossible speed. She felt rather than heard it whistle indignantly as she pushed again, repositioning her body even before landing.
Colours blurred around her and time ground to a halt as she flew, she inched closer to where Kakashi stood, apparently immersed in a book. Knowing just which book it was contributed to the grim satisfaction that overcame her as she whipped out a kunai, floating over and around him, before turning and slicing down...
...only to have the blade stopped, a whisper from his neck, trapped easily between two fingers without him even giving her the courtesy of looking up from Icha Icha Paradise.
"Better," he said, releasing the kunai to lick his finger and turn a page.
Incensed, but too tired to lash out physically, she contented herself with concocting elaborate schemes in her head where Kakashi begged forgiveness for his cruel and indifferent treatment. Smiling evilly, she recovered enough to give him a very rude gesture behind his back.
"I saw that."
Suddenly it didn't matter. She hadn't succeeded yet but she'd come close and the improvement gave her access to stores of energy she'd never known she had. Her body felt more alive than ever before. Chakra seemed to sizzle across her flesh and simmer beneath the skin, while her bones felt both too heavy and yet incredibly light. Her hair crackled, and her senses were almost brutally aware.
This feeling...this awareness...this was the way of the ninja. She wondered distantly if this was how Naruto felt all the time and a newfound respect for him was filed away for later.
And then she was moving, if she could call it that. Moving was such an inadequate term. To describe her current speed as merely moving was to compare a teardrop to the ocean. Instead, it was like she'd found a tear in the fabric of the world and managed to slip inside. Now she was one with the dirt and the trees, with the birds and the clouds and the sun and the air. Tunnel vision took over her eyes, the peripheries melting until all she could see was Kakashi.
He'd glanced up, at least. He was looking towards her but Sakura felt heady in the sudden fierce knowledge that he couldn't see her.
Sensation filled her. A kind of giddy joy took precedence - no technique had ever clicked this way, nothing had ever felt so right. In the past, if at first she hadn't succeeded, she'd tried again, and eventually her mind and muscles sorted things out. But this sense of completion came only with mastery, and right now, she knew she was level with Kakashi.
A thought proved an instant later, when she stood behind him. He stiffened, taken unaware.
"Where's the kunai?"
She laughed. "I don't need it." She tapped him on the back of the head with Icha Icha Paradise, and she heard his sharp intake of breath. Then his shoulders relaxed and a moment later he was gone.
Shading her eyes, she found him perched in a nearby tree, the book once more in his possession.
"It looks like you have a handle of the basics with that one." His words weren't all that encouraging, but the barest hint of praise from Kakashi had always been more gratifying than gushing admiration from others. She beamed up at him, exhaustion forgotten.
"Again."
She was already off the ground.
----
Kakashi sighed as a small arm pulled tight across his throat, squeezing his windpipe. He stood there for a moment, acknowledging the point, then ducked out from her reach and turned to regard his pupil.
Sakura was exceeding all expectations. Older now, and away from the often trying presence of Naruto, she worked hard without distractions, and had just successfully completed the twelfth jutsu of their renewed training.
Without a mission log, he'd lost track of time, but he estimated they'd been out of Konoha for close to three months. For Sakura to have made this kind of progress in such a short time was nothing short of amazing. Gone was the over-emotional girl who let her teammates do all the work. In her place stood a powerful kunoichi who was inching closer to jounin level skills. He made a mental note to enter her in the next jounin examination when they returned.
If they returned.
Refusing to dwell on such negative thoughts, he realised Sakura was waiting for him to comment on her performance of the jutsu. He reached out and ruffled her hair, a throwback to the early days of Team 7. It was a gesture meant to convey affection, but for some reason doing it now reminded him of Jiraiya leering down at her when they'd left, and he pulled his hand back as if burnt.
Sakura appeared to not have noticed, too caught up in her accomplishment. Panting heavily from the exertion required to get him off guard, she gave him an enthusiastic thumbs-up, which he found himself returning, quashing his strange thoughts of a moment ago.
"I think that's enough for today, don't you?"
"Un." She nodded, still out of breath. They'd work on her stamina tomorrow, he decided, but for now they'd both earned some rest. He walked over to the pack and began sorting through it. By unspoken agreement this served as the cue for Sakura to gather firewood, and she promptly disappeared to do so.
Really, this exile was a comfortable arrangement. So much so that sometimes he even forgot why they were here. But such lapses of memory were selfish and distracted him from the task at hand, which was, of course, to protect Sakura.
Ah, Tsunade. It's a shame your skill for reading people doesn't extend to the card table, because you sure know a sucker when you see one.
Not that he supposed his sense of duty was in any way a secret. The Hokage hadn't taken a gamble at all, entrusting Sakura to his care. She'd known he'd protect her with his own life.
His fingers brushed the scroll Tsunade had handed him before leaving.
His own life, indeed.
"Kakashi!"
He'd just left Sakura's home and was heading for his own when Tsunade stopped him. He paused on the roof of the bakery and waited for her to catch up.
She landed, a tad unsteadily. "You've spoken to Sakura?" Her voice was brisk, and he knew better than to mention her graceless entry.
He nodded. "She wanted to say goodbye to a couple of friends, and as I planned to leave this evening anyway, I didn't consider it a problem." His tone was questioning, but the Hokage waved it off.
"No, whatever suits you best. I just needed to give you this before you left." She reached inside her shirt and pulled out a small black scroll.
He felt his eyebrows rise and could barely keep the surprise from his voice. "That is --"
"Yes." She cut him off. They both knew its significance. "Kamikaze no jutsu." Her whisper was faint, pained. "Promise me...it's too much to ask, and yet I must. Promise me you'll use it if you're truly in danger of being taken by Orochimaru."
No trace of hesitation this time. Her eyes were pleading. "The sacrifice would be terrible, but if he were to gain even more power..." Pale, she seemed at a loss for words, unable to continue. Before he could stop himself he was stepping forward and taking the scroll.
"I understand," he said, and he did. To use this would be an honour, a privilege. And maybe it was his destiny. Maybe he'd be seeing Obito and Rin sooner than he thought.
Nodding once to the Hokage, he tensed his muscles and leapt, continuing home. A serenity he hadn't felt in a very long time washed over him like a soothing balm.
He could do this. He would. Because now he knew what was at stake.
Sakura interrupted his reverie with her return to the camp, arms bristling with sticks and twigs.
"No dead trees," she said, explaining the absence of logs. It didn't seem to worry her, and she set about building up a suitable fire, humming under her breath while wrestling with the branches.
He noticed the scroll was still in his hand, and returned it hastily to the pack before Sakura could see it. He didn't feel up to explanations tonight.
---
Later, they ate the last of the pack mix dinner with bored expressions until Sakura stiffened and looked around. He stirred his soup and watched her out of the corner of his eye, waiting until she asked casually how many packets of the surprise noodle mix were left.
He closed his eyes and stilled his chakra, arcing it out in all directions, unsurprised with what he sensed. He counted silently then gave her a level stare.
"Eight, last time I checked."
She nodded, her eyes bright. She licked her lips before querying him again.
"And which direction would the nearest store be, do you think?" Her voice was light, careless.
He blew at the steam coming from his bowl. "I'd suggest north."
She jumped to her feet and busied herself with setting out the bedrolls. Once they'd been laid out, Kakashi doused the campfire. They wasted time with frivolities and Sakura was particularly vocal about brushing all the twigs away from her sleeping place. Then, to all intents and purposes, they settled down for the night, the silence punctuated only by the occasional hiss of steam from the fire pit.
For safety's sake, he made them wait for what seemed like an eternity, then gave Sakura the signal. In a puff of Kawarimi no Jutsu, they reappeared on a tree branch north of their sleeping "bodies". He could tell she was bursting to ask him questions, but the who and why could wait until later.
The eight enemy-nin concealed around them drew closer. They remained where they were, watching and waiting.
It was going to be a long night.
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Notes on Jutsus:
Kumokasumi Senko no Jutsu: a Jutsu of my own creation. Its name translates to something along the lines of "Disappearing Flash Technique". The more advanced technique Kakashi uses in Naruto canon is the Shunshin no Jutsu, which in turn is inferior to the Hiraishin no Jutsu, a technique used only by the Yondaime Hokage.
Kawarimi no Jutsu: Replacement Technique. The ninja replaces his or her own body with something (usually a log) and so avoids being injured.
Kamikaze no Jutsu: We-ll...it should be obvious, and I really don't want to explain yet. We'll save that for later, shall we? ;)