Summary: She had given up on the idea of being anything more than a friend to him, concentrating more on her training than him. During the course of her training, he had begun to realize that what he felt about her was past peripheral vision. Sasuke/Sakura.
Pairings: Sasuke/Sakura
Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto, at all. All the characters belong to Kishimoto Masashi-sensei. The only thing in this story that is mine will be the OCs and the plot itself.
Past Peripheral Vision
Chapter Two – A Casual Hello
Sakura had a slight smile on her face as she snuggled deeper under the covers. Her parents did not ask her about the reason she was wearing her hitai-ate around her face, covering her eyes. They had automatically assumed it was a special kind of training assigned to her by the Godaime herself. Sakura was at least thankful for that. Twisting slightly, she faced the ceiling, her eyes still closed. She had used her fifteen minutes to look for a long strip of paper and traced out characters she could cut around. She didn't have enough to actually cut the blank are between one line and the other making the character whole. She would have to do that. She had written 'I will get over you.' On the paper and would post it near her door, feeling out the black spaces of the characters before she'd go. Her fingertips touched the cold metal of her hitai-ate. The cloth had dried out after her shower, setting the hitai-ate beneath a powerful lamp. Turning on her side, Sakura hugged a pillow closer, allowing her tired, aching muscles the chance to rest.
The next morning, Sakura had gone down the stairs with slight difficulty. She scraped her knee on the wooden railing, much to her mother's worry. Sakura laughed nervously as she used her chakra to close the wound, telling her mother she didn't need to worry. She was a doctor, so to speak, but one who specialized in the use of chakra to regenerate and heal rather than traditional medicine. Her mother laughed slightly, forgetting about her daughter's training under the Godaime momentarily. Breakfast had gone smoothly, a regular family occasion with the exception of the daughter voluntarily sightless. Sakura didn't need to remove her hitai-ate to see the worried glances her parents threw at her every once in a while. Opening her mouth, she spoke.
"Okaa-san, Otou-san, don't worry," said Sakura as she rested her hands on her lap. The balls of her palms pressed down on her lap, her fingers spread out as she bent her head down, her pink hair spilling over slightly, covering her face. Her parents looked at each other before looking back at Sakura. "This training is important to me. I'm going to try out for the Jounin Exams next year here in Konoha, or so Tsunade-shishou has told me," informed Sakura as she lifted her head, a smile on her face, "So please support me until then." Her parents breathed a sigh of relief. So their assumptions were true. She was training. Breakfast continued smoothly after Sakura had spoken of her voluntary blindness until a knock on the kitchen door. She assumed it was exactly six in the morning. The day in the Haruno household usually started early anyway.
"Good morning," said a feminine voice, tresses of goldenrod hair that fell straight covered her face pleasantly, the locks reaching slightly below her shoulder blades. "My name is Mikizuki Aya and I'm here under the order of the Godaime. Is Sakura there?" introduced the blonde, her amethyst eyes flickering slightly. Sakura's father motioned for his daughter to come and stand, stepping aside. "Ah, so you're Godaime-sama's disciple. It's nice to finally meet you," said Aya as she stretched out a hand. Awkwardly, Sakura shook it before letting her hand drop back at her side. "Anyway, it's time for your training, Sakura-san," said Aya as she scratched the back of her head slightly. A silver glimmer appeared in her father's brown eyes, the weapon slung on the Jounin's back shimmering in the artificial light.
"I'll be seeing you later then, Okaa-san, Otou-san," said Sakura with a smile before exiting the kitchen, following the Jounin. Various thoughts swam in Sakura's mind as she thought more about the name of the Jounin she was going to be under. The Mikizuki Clan was famous for its use of two unique weapons, the Crescent Blade and the Moon Blade. The Crescent Blade was like its name depicted, a sword shaped into a crescent moon with a rod connecting it from one point to another. The Moon Blade came in various different sizes but all were swords forged into a ring shape, its sharp edge facing outwards. With the manipulation of its movements using chakra, it rotated violently and so quickly that its center of gravity became so strong that it could attract virtually anything. The minute an object met the Moon Blade's center of gravity, it would break down. "Aya-sensei, if you don't mind my asking, which of the two Mikizuki weapons do you master?" asked Sakura as she looked up. A faint smile found its way to the Jounin's face.
"I started learning how to use the Moon Blade at first and my older brother started learning the use of the Crescent Blade," began Aya as memories of her younger years started to flash in her mind, "But we had lent each other our weapons from time to time to get used to it. Our family found it difficult but they didn't try to stop us. When we had both started showing proficiency in the use of both weapons, they decided to take it into their own hands to teach us both. I'm still a bit better with the use of the Moon Blade but I can use the Crescent Blade without any worry of it backfiring. Shinji-nii-san likes to tease me just because I'm starting to catch up to him on his use of the Crescent Blade." Aya laughed slightly as she scratched the back of her head. "Why'd you ask?"
"No reason in particular. I can just hear two metals clanging against each other from your back, that's all," said Sakura simply. Aya smiled slightly. The girl was smart. Even if her opponent could see, it was very difficult to tell which weapon a Mikizuki Clan member would use. They could see a curved edge from behind their back but both weapons had curved edges. "The sound of two kunai or two shuriken bumping against each other is deeper but the sound I can hear is hollower and lighter," said Sakura softly as she remembered the exhibition match of the Jounin. Mikizuki Clansmen had been there and were matched up against each other. She remembered the sound of the Crescent Blade and the Moon Blade clashing against each other, melodious, soft and smooth.
Soon enough, they had arrived in the forest clearing. Taking out the slip of paper that the Godaime gave her, she handed it to the Jounin. A thin eyebrow rose as her amethyst eyes looked at the words. The Godaime was serious when she briefed her yesterday about Sakura's training. Tsunade had mentioned that Sakura didn't merely cover her eyes for training alone. Tsunade had said that Sakura was trying to build foundation for her strength and that she didn't need to use her eyes to see what was truly underneath the underneath. Aya left out a soft sigh as she scratched the back of her head once more. She had done that quite a lot today.
"Sakura, do you know what kind of training you're up against today?" asked Aya as she looked at the pink haired girl, her eyes narrowing slightly. Sakura shook her head, a cue for Aya to continue. "Well, it's mostly physical training. First off, you'll need to do a total of one hundred and twenty push ups and sit ups then you're supposed to practice your Tai Jutsu on a log for thirty minutes. Afterwards, we're supposed to go to the track where you're supposed to sprint twenty-five rounds, one round being from starting point to the end and back. It says to do that everyday until the number dictated becomes easy for you and then I'll start adding more. When all is done, it's time for us to spar. Lunch comes after an hour of sparring or when it strikes noon, whichever comes first. And then you're supposed to do weights for all your muscles. If you don't have any new Nin or Gen Jutsu to study, it's sparring again. Morning session is from six fifteen to twelve and afternoon session is from twelve forty-five to six," explained Aya as she looked at the Godaime's training regimen, "It's pretty harsh, if you think about it." Sakura let out a slight laugh.
"That's Tsunade-shishou for you. She may be very strict but her training hits all the right spots. You always tend to hate the training but in the end, it's good for you," said Sakura good-naturedly as she sat down on the forest floor, her knees apart from her chest. Aya nodded as she watched the pink haired girl cross her arms over her chest and started to do the assigned number of sit ups. Slumping down on the ground herself, the blonde Jounin picked up a stray long and fished out a kunai from her holster. Pressing her thumb against one side of the kunai, she began to affix her right hand into position. Her pointer stretched out and held the other side, the other three fingers curled around the handle. In a repetitive motion, Aya began to carve the wood. She had done a few wooden figurines on occasion, when she could spare the time.
The sun had continued to rise slowly as Aya focused on the carving. She was planning to thin out the wooden log into a small plank that was a couple of centimeters thick. Afterwards, she'd score the wood into a shape of a cherry blossom then etch in deeper to make the features more distinct. With years of experience, she would do the same to the other side with pinpoint precision as to where each etching would be, mirroring the completed side. Beads of sweat had begun to trail down her face. It had taken a little over an hour when Sakura had finished the one hundred and twenty sit ups, the pink haired girl resting before continuing her training. Wood chunks and shavings piled up beside Aya as she concentrated on cutting out the excess wood of the replica of a cherry blossom.
"Aya-sensei, what are you doing? I can hear something but I can't quite make it out," asked Sakura as she faced the Jounin, a look of confusion appearing on the girl's face. A small smile found its way to Aya's face as she stood up. Raising Sakura's hand, she let the pink haired girl run over the slightly rough edges. She'd smooth it out in a few moments. "You're making a wood carving? Aya-sensei, I never knew you could do such a thing," said Sakura as she let her hand drop to her side. Picking up the kunai, the Jounin made her way to beneath the tree before replying.
"It's just a hobby. I'm not great at it or anything but I can carve decently," said Aya as she began to smooth out the rough edges. Sakura nodded before falling into position for a push up. "You don't have to be quick about it, you know. Godaime-sama told me that you used to do only eighty of both so adding forty to the number can be quite tiring," said Aya as she looked up. Sakura stopped momentarily, smiling. Concentrating once more, she continued to finish the amount the Godaime had assigned to her. Sighing in defeat, Aya continued to smooth out the edges of the blossom. Sakura was a girl of determination, the Godaime herself had said that and Tsunade was pleased with the way Sakura was taking the training. Very few shinobi allowed to be trained in this manner and Sakura was one of them.
At Noon, in the Marketplace
"It's been a while since I trained like that," said Aya as she stretched out her arm, the material of her white sleeveless shirt rising slightly, revealing her well-toned belly. Slight bruises appeared on her skin, an irregular pattern. Sakura laughed apologetically, offering to look into them and heal it for her, as the white of Aya's shirt met the black of her loose pants that covered until the midsection of her calf. "Don't worry about it. It did me some good anyway," said Aya, brushing off the apology Sakura had offered. The Jounin's face became stern as her thumb brushed against her own hitai-ate around her forehead, the cold metal beneath the skin of her thumb. "Sakura, the Godaime-sama told me that you were planning to take the Jounin Exams next year. It's of utmost difficulty. You depend on yourself for the most part but at times, have to depend on total strangers," said Aya as she looked at the pink haired girl. Sakura had long stopped listening to the Jounin. A look of fear and panic gripped her, the girl's heart beating loudly. Facing her amethyst gaze in the direction Sakura was facing, Aya looked for the reason why Sakura froze.
Sakura's heart stopped momentarily, wrenching with pain as she sensed his presence. He was probably twenty meters away in the busy marketplace, stopping every once in a while to look at some things. He was probably trying to fill his pantry today. Gulping, she clenched her fists together tightly as her heart pounded against her rib cage. She couldn't move at all as he came closer and closer towards where she was standing. The wind was cold against her skin, flushed due to the heat of the bright sun. Moments later, he was lingering in the stall next to where she was standing. Looking up, he saw her standing there. "Sakura," he acknowledged casually before looking back down at the wares of the stall, a few ryo clutched in his hand.
"Sa-sasuke-kun! Wha-what a surprise to see you here," said Sakura, stuttering the first part. The Uchiha's eyebrow rose as he continued to simply look at her. "It's a force of habit so, you don't have to worry about it," explained Sakura as she looked down slightly, her blindedgreen gaze refusing to meet Sasuke's sharp, onyx one. Aya's hand ran through her blonde hair, a soft flick resounding when she met the end of her goldenrod tresses. "Oh yeah, Sasuke-kun, this is Mikizuki Aya-sensei, the Jounin whom Tsunade-shishou assigned to take care of my training for me," said Sakura as she introduced the Jounin. Sasuke looked at her and nodded; it was a sign of acknowledgement for the Uchiha. Aya merely smiled in return, the two blades glimmering in the sunlight. Light flashed in the Uchiha's eyes but he decided not to press further. "Sorry to be leaving you like this, Sasuke-kun, but we really have to go," said Sakura apologetically before waving and running off, Aya following her. The pink haired girl's heart was still pounding.
Sasuke looked off into the direction where the two had gone. It was different and funny to see Sakura wear her hitai-ate around her face, covering her eyes instead of acting like a headband as it did for the past four years. Clutching the ryo in his hand even tighter, the Uchiha forced himself to look at the wares. When Sakura had told him that she called him 'Sasuke-kun' now because it was a force of habit, his heart plummeted. He didn't understand why it did, it's not like she meant anything more to him. Frowning, he pocketed his hands, stashing the ryo as well. Wheeling around, he decided to just to grocery shopping later. It was much too busy and much too crowded for him to do so. It wasn't that he was going to buy much, just rice, seaweed, salt and some tomatoes. He lived off Onigiri, after all. His eyes narrowed as he continued walking back to his home, to train some more. Why did his heart plummet when Sakura had mentioned that it was just a force of habit to call him Sasuke-kun, that it didn't mean anything more?
"Sorry, I just don't want to talk to Sasuke-kun more than I have to. At least, not yet," murmured Sakura apologetically as they sat down in Ichiraku. Surprisingly, Naruto wasn't there. He was probably off training or he had just gotten assigned a mission earlier in the day. Aya nodded understandingly as she traced invisible circles on the wooden surface. "But, I'm okay. At least I didn't feel like running away the minute he said my name," added Sakura as she looked at the Jounin, a smile appearing on her face. Aya nodded once more, this time, drumming her fingers against the soft wood. Facing the interior of the stall, the owner of the Ichiraku smiled at Sakura as he set down her bowl of Oriental Ramen. "Thank you, Ojii-san," said Sakura with a smile. Reaching out, she picked out a pair of chopsticks, broke them and began to eat.
"She's a good kid you know," spoke the elderly man, his words soft, as he began cleaning a bowl. Behind him, his assistant was preparing another bowl of ramen, Beef this time, and it was for Aya. The Jounin raised a delicate eyebrow as she looked at the old man, curiosity glistening in her amethyst optics. She wondered why he had said that. "Ah, I usually see the three of them here; on occasion their sensei was here too. Usually, Naruto-kun would sit over there, to the right of Sakura-chan. Sasuke-san would sit to Sakura-chan's left. She always got mad at Naruto-kun but she had always adored Sasuke-san. It seems that now, she has lost interest in Sasuke-san. I wonder why. She was a lively girl back then," explained the elderly man. Aya nodded slowly, interest shining in her eyes. "Your ramen will come soon," he said as he set down the bowl he was cleaning, picking up another.
Lunch had gone quickly, no words exchanged between them, as they ate their ramen. Sakura had gotten better with the use of the blindfold. It had been around thirty hours since she started wearing it, after all. A couple of other customers, civilians, came by and greeted the two kunoichi cheerfully, a response coming from the two. They had noticed Sakura's eyes covered but didn't question it. It wasn't that the pink haired girl was blind, they knew that. They would have heard if the medical specialist had gotten into any accident and if anyone could help regenerate the damaged optic cells, it was the Godaime. The likelihood of her going blind was close to nil. Soon enough, the two had finished their lunch. With a polite wave and paying their bill, they were off to continue the pink haired girl's training.
A couple of hours had passed while Sakura had been lifting weights targeting certain muscle groups. Aya was impressed that Sakura didn't complain. Most would have and just started off with learning another Jutsu to strengthen their bodies even further. Sakura was content with doing what she was assigned to do, her muscles screaming in protest every once in a while to give them a break. She refused to use her knowledge as a medical specialist to use chakra to restore herself, saying it made her feel like she was cheating. Aya had continued to etch the nearly completed cherry blossom carving she had started earlier. Occasionally, the Jounin looked up from her place to see what Sakura was doing next. The pink haired girl was still dutifully completing the training that had been given to her.
"Sakura, if you don't mind my asking, what made you ask to become Godaime-sama's student?" asked Aya as she pocketed the kunai, slightly dulled because of her carving. Sakura didn't respond as she continued to lift the weights, concentrating on finishing this first. The Jounin ran her calloused fingers above the various raised carvings and the indentations made on the piece. The artist in her was satisfied with the outcome; the only thing lacking was the paint. A few moments later, Sakura was done and opened her mouth to speak her response. Aya was all ears when Sakura had begun to speak.
"Four years ago, Sasuke-kun… he left the village to go to Orochimaru to gain power. Shikamaru, Kiba, Chouji, Neji and Naruto had been assigned then to bring him back. I asked Naruto a favor then, the only favor I'd ever ask him, which was to bring Sasuke-kun back," began Sakura as invisible tears began falling on her face, "When he had returned, he was unsuccessful. He had left with Jiraiya-sama on a training journey but before he left after he was released from the hospital. I had told him when I had met him the day he came back that I would come along and bring back Sasuke-kun. I was the weakest among the three of us; I always was and probably still am. I had asked Tsunade-shishou to make me her student so I could at least become stronger and fend for myself." A slight smile found its way to Aya's face as Sakura finished giving her reason.
"Sakura, you want to become strong right? You're strong in your own right, a Chuunin who's striving to become a Jounin at the age of seventeen," said Aya as she looked at Sakura with utmost seriousness, "And only very few have gotten to become a Jounin in their teen years, most during their late teens to their twenties, some even later." Sakura looked up at Aya, a slightly confused expression on her face. "I had heard from Godaime-sama that you have excellent chakra control, utmost talent in being a medical specialist and one of her best students. I will ask my family if I can have permission to teach you how to use a Crescent Blade, the Moon Blade being far too much a family secret for it to be taught beyond the Mikizuki blood." A smile started to form on Sakura's face as she realized what Aya was going to do. "Don't worry; it will probably turn out okay anyway. There have been a couple of instances where outsiders excelled in the use of a Crescent Blade compared to a full-blooded Mikizuki."
"Thank you, Aya-sensei!" said Sakura breathlessly, a grin on her face. When she was a Genin, Kakashi had said she was the smarts of the team, Naruto was the brawn and Sasuke was both though leaning more into brawn. Growing up, she had started developing her body and her mastery of Nin, Gen and Tai Jutsu. Her Nin Jutsu consisted mostly of medical Jutsu with the addition of the occasional offensive Jutsu. Her Gen Jutsu was impressive but not as compared to Kurenai's. Her Tai Jutsu style was similar to the Godaime herself, exploding chakra from her tenketsu as her body connected with something. With the addition of learning the use Crescent Blade, the need of her to use her chakra would lessen greatly, allowing her the use of multiple weapons from the standard kunai and shuriken to the more exotic Crescent Blade. "I'll do my very best not to disappoint you!" A smile found its way to the Jounin's face as she told Sakura to continue her training. It wasn't going to be a mistake to teach the Godaime's favorite student the use of a weapon very few outside of the Mikizuki Clan could use.
Tsuzuku…
And here comes the end of chapter two.
Mind you, the basic ideas of the Crescent Blade and the Moon Blade don't come from me. The idea for the Crescent Blade came from the animanga, Flame of Recca. I forgot the name of the character who uses it, Tsukishiro I think, from the Uruha Ma. The Moon Blade idea comes from Get Backers. Miroku Yukihiko uses this weapon.
Hope that's clear for you and remember, I'm not claiming the idea of the Crescent Blade and the Moon Blade. Both weapons just seem to suit the Mikizuki (Crescent Moon) Clan very well and the Naruto world.
Oh yes, this is more a Sakura-centric fanfic over a Sasuke/Sakura one but don't fret, I'll add moments for the two of them every now and then.
As usual, here's the chapter preview!
Next Chapter: Chapter Three – Sighted Determination
Chapter Preview: "And that's the Crescent Blade you're going to use. It was forged to fit your exact specifications which I got from Godaime-sama," explained Aya as she let her fingers run along the silver of the blade Sakura was currently holding. It was only now that Aya had seen the jade green of the girl's optics. "For two hours each day, you're going to be learning the basics of the Crescent Blade without your hitai-ate around your eyes. When you've mastered it, you will be back to wearing your blindfold as you refine your techniques. I'm sure you can manage it when you've mastered the basics of the Crescent Blade. After all, Godaime-sama had called you a prodigy at learning," added Aya as she laughed slightly, Sakura reddening in embarrassment. Up in the trees, another prodigy was watching. They wandered near the area he had always trained in. Standing up, he jumped down and began walking away, forcing himself not to look back at the girl who had always adored him.