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 Four – Pushing the Limits
"Yo, Sakura," said a familiar voice, waving his hand. He didn't seem to notice the hitai-ate around her face. If he did, which was most likely the case, he was ignoring it or he'd already heard of her training from either Tsunade or Shizune, more likely from the latter. Sakura lifted her head up and smiled, acknowledging the presence of the Jounin. "Naruto's back today from a brief, solo C-Rank mission," informed the male as he stood in front of her, without the orange book in his hand. Looking around, he seemed to be trying to look for someone. "Seen Aya yet? She told me she had something to give," he said with a tone of urgency in his voice, "I've got to go somewhere in a few moments." A sad grin found its way to Sakura's face as she opened her mouth to speak.
"Going to the epitaph, Kakashi-sensei?" she asked with the same tone in her voice. Kakashi laughed nervously as he expressed that her guess was right. "After four years, I've finally realized why you're late all the time. You could have told us from the start you know," said Sakura as she leaned on the railing. Kakashi smiled beneath his mask, opting to not comment. Sakura nodded understandingly, knowing not to pry any further into his private life. She had been here for the past few minutes, the Crescent Blade hanging on her back, pressing against the railings of the bridge she had remembered waiting on when she was twelve. Kakashi would come hours later with a stupid excuse as to why he had made them wait for such a long time. "You knew Aya-sensei?" asked Sakura, trying to strike up a conversation. The Chuunin was waiting for her here, as the Jounin had instructed yesterday. Kakashi had a slight look of surprise when Sakura had added '-sensei' to the end of her name. He didn't notice the blade on her back. "And Naruto, I suppose, is asleep or eating his instant ramen, right?"
"Sister of a Jounin I used to work with," he explained, not pressing into any further details, "And yes, he's in his apartment. He should take notice of his health. It's bad to live off instant ramen every single day of your life." Sakura let out a chuckle as she leaned back slightly. Kakashi had the habit of popping up near Naruto's window, a basket of vegetables in his hand. Tucked neatly between the vegetables, usually between the carrots and the lettuce, was a sandwich wrapped in paper. Sakura's house was on the way to Naruto's so Sakura had made it a point to wait outside with a sandwich she prepared herself so that Kakashi could give it to Naruto. "You know, I miss the Fridays I'd go to Naruto's apartment with a few vegetables, stopping by your house before going to his place," said Kakashi with a nostalgic smile beneath his mask.
"Yup, I do too," said Sakura wistfully. Straightening her back, she stretched out her arms and let out a silly grin on her face. Kakashi nodded once more as silence reigned between them. Team Seven had officially disbanded when Naruto had left Konoha for training with Jiraiya. Sakura had gone to the Godaime for training to become the excellent Medical Specialist that she was. She had even signed a contract with the Slugs, just like Tsunade had before her. When Kakashi had found that out, he smiled a bitter smile. The beginning of another legendary trio was starting. Naruto was growing up to be another Jiraiya, having a contract with the Toads since he was twelve. Sakura was growing up to be another Tsunade, beautiful and strong, with a contract with the Slugs. He had assumed Sasuke had a contract with the Snakes when he found out the race Sakura was bound to. That fact was proven when he had been brought home a little over a year ago. "How have you been doing lately?" she asked, breaking the silence.
"Fine, I've been fine," he said, his lone eye crinkling with amusement. Sakura had a look of worry on her face but nodded anyway, hoping for the best for her former Jounin sensei. When Team Seven had disbanded, he had been going to out for drinks a bit more than usual to try and forget everything that had happened. In his opinion, he had failed his duty as a Jounin sensei and a proud Jounin of Konohagakure no Sato. Because he didn't keep a close watch on Sasuke, the last remaining Uchiha had left the village to become a Missing Nin. It took them three years to bring him back. When he had left that time, they had resorted to sending Genin and a sole Chuunin to lead them in order to bring back Sasuke. Naruto had nearly died because of that mission. Sakura, feeling helpless, had sought out training from the Godaime. "I really am, you know. You should stop worrying about others and worry more for yourself," he said as he gave Sakura a pat on the head. He had been out on missions as of late, keeping himself busy as he no longer had a Genin team to teach. Sakura nodded once more, a dubious look on her face.
"Sakura!" shouted a familiar voice as footsteps grew louder with each passing second. The Chuunin turned her head to face the direction the voice came from. "Sakura, I hope I didn't make you wait too long," said the female apologetically. It was a bit past six in the morning when she had arrived. Looking up, she noticed the lax figure of a Jounin a year older than her. "Kakashi-kun, I didn't expect you here this early!" exclaimed Aya as she felt around in her pockets for what she was going to give him. Kakashi let out a smile from beneath his mask, his lips moving against the dark material. "Here, Godaime-sama wanted me to give you this," she said simply as she handed the older Jounin a cylindrical object wrapped carefully in thin paper. "Godaime-sama would have given it to you personally but she's been busy lately," explained Aya as she scratched the back of her head. Sakura let out a soft giggle. Tsunade had always been like that.
"A scroll?" he asked, his lone eye squinting to examine it. Unfurling it, he stretched a bit of the paper out to read what had been written on it. A piece of paper fell out. The male Jounin picked it up and stuck it on the scroll before Aya could read what was written on it. Kakashi made a sound of understanding as he rolled it back up. After reading, he had inserted it in a free scroll pouch to ensure that it wouldn't get lost. "I better go now," he said as he waved his hand and began walking away. The two kunoichi bid him goodbye as he continued walking towards the central building of Konoha. The Godaime wanted him to do something. She could have simply written it down on a piece of paper then gave him the scroll later rather than insert the paper into the scroll but the Godaime liked to do things out of the box every once in a while. "A retrieval mission, eh?" he said to himself quietly, an amused tone hidden within his words, "Been a while since I've done that. Wonder what I'm going to have to get this time…" Taking one more step, Kakashi had disappeared in a flurry of leaves. He always liked the flashy entrances and exits.
"Sakura, come on, it's time for your training. We've wasted enough time, as it is," said Aya as she shoved her hands into the pockets of her black pants. The Chuunin nodded as she followed the golden haired Jounin silently. "Glad to see you take care of the Crescent Blade, even if it's just new," commented Aya as she looked back, silver glimmering in her otherwise plain amethyst eyes. Sakura blushed slightly as she continued walking. When Team Seven was still complete, they had been assigned a mission to clean a bunch of weapons for the Academy. When they had seen the weapons they were assigned to clean, they were practically dull that they couldn't even slice through food. It took them the whole day sharpen and clean the kunai and shuriken to be deemed useable. Since then, the trio had an odd obsession about making sure their weapons were clean, sharp and pointy. A single D-Rank mission took the whole day when the norm was to complete three or four and have training afterwards.
In the Forest
"Okay, Sakura, remember all that you've learned yesterday and let's see if you can handle a thirty-minute sparring session with the Crescent Blade," instructed Aya as she fell in her own stance, her Crescent Blade shining against the morning sun. Sakura nodded, flustering as she grasped the handle tightly. She mirrored Aya's stance, the one she had been taught. The Crescent Blade was stretched out in front, placed diagonally, the upper left tip in a three hundred and fifteen degree angle. Sakura's left hand supported her right, to ease the strain. "Remember, Nin and Gen Jutsu are allowed, as well as other Tai Jutsu techniques and the usage of other weapons you may with you," explained Aya as she flipped her hold of her Crescent Blade to her left hand, holding it in a sixty-five degree angle, completely opposite of what Sakura was doing, "Because I will go all out on you." Without another word, the two kunoichi sprung into battle, Sakura's arm feeling the strain of carrying such a heavy weapon in battle.
The Crescent Blades clashed heavily against each other, sending the weaker of the two backwards, slamming onto a tree trunk. Sakura's eyes blanked momentarily as the impact of the crash took effect on her. The Jounin gave no time for the Chuunin to catch her breath. Taking one step forward, Aya dashed towards Sakura, her Crescent Blade glimmering dangerously. Digging her own blade into the forest floor, the pink haired girl gave herself some leverage before pushing herself off to another direction, not a second too soon before Aya's weapon met the tree trunk. A long slice on her right thigh opened as blood started to flow steadily from the long gash. Wincing as she steadied herself on her feet, she began performing a quick series of hand seals as Aya began pulling away her lodged weapon.
"Kanashibari no Jutsu!"
Sakura's jade green eyes bore into Aya's amethyst ones as she performed the Gen Jutsu technique on the Jounin. Pulling out her Crescent Blade, Sakura moved into the safety of the trees. The sparring session had barely started and already she had to use her techniques. Lodging her Crescent Blade momentarily into the tree branch, Sakura had begun to perform Chiyute no Jutsu to close the wound on her thigh, to make sure it wouldn't be infected in any way. Down below, Aya was struggling to perform the hand seal required to cancel out the Gen Jutsu. She couldn't move her body. It felt like her body was being dragged down by heavy weights. After what seemed like forever for the Jounin, she had managed to position her hands and cancel out the Gen Jutsu.
"Sly, very sly Sakura," she said as various shapes, sizes and colors assaulted her senses. Falling into stance once more, the Jounin began looking for the pink haired Chuunin, hidden amongst the leafy foliage up above. Lifting her Crescent Blade to her right, she deflected a few shuriken, giving away Sakura's position. "Think, Sakura!" shouted Aya as she moved towards that direction, deflecting more shuriken and kunai on her way there, "Throwing projectiles haphazardly like that will give away your position!" As she inched closer, Aya's violet eyes widened as she heard paper crunch beneath her feet. Looking back, she saw multiple sparks ignite. Sakura wasn't trying to strike her to begin with! She had used the shuriken and kunai as distractions so the Jounin wouldn't notice the presence of exploding notes stuck on the weapons. "Shimatta!" she cursed as she jumped into the bushes, avoiding most of the impact. Despite her quick reflexes, a rather large stone managed to slam itself onto the midsection of her right shin, the jagged edges tearing a muscle in the process.
Sakura jumped from the trees, her arms crossed over each other, her Crescent Blade pointing outwards. Dragging her right leg as fast as she could, the Jounin launched herself into the bushes as Sakura's Crescent Blade swung one hundred and eighty degree horizontal swing. As soon as the swipe was completed, Sakura had concentrated chakra onto her left hand, punching the ground and releasing the chakra in a split second. The ground ripped apart as chunks of hard earth poked out in a haphazard pattern. Straightening her posture, Sakura's jade green eyes focused themselves onto Aya's broken and beaten body, lying unconscious on the earth. A shout from behind broke Sakura's concentration as the pink haired Chuunin struggled to pick up the Crescent Blade, the weapon clashing with another one of its kind. The Aya behind her disappeared in a puff of smoke, the Chuunin falling under the weight of the impact. A long gash appeared on Sakura's right arm, her blood flowing steadily.
"Kanashibari no Jutsu!" shouted Sakura once more after forming the appropriate series of hand seals. Aya jumped back, quickly canceling the Gen Jutsu before her entire world darkened once more. Sakura's chakra, however, wasn't a waste. The pink haired Chuunin managed to move back and hide. There wasn't any time to perform Chiyute no Jutsu once more and seal the wound and avoid the next attack. Aya's blood dropped onto her thigh, caking almost instantaneously, as the pink haired girl moved back. The Jounin already knew where she was hiding. The sparring session would end soon enough. In the blink of an eye, the Jounin appeared in front of Sakura, charging with the final blow. With nothing left up her sleeves in such a limited space, the Chuunin charged forward. Seconds later, both kunoichi were hunched forwards, their legs spread apart. Sakura began falling to the forest floor, tired, her Crescent Blade beside her. Before her body could reach the floor, Aya had caught her.
"Impressive, very impressive," said Aya as she handed Sakura a soldier pill to eat to regain her strength. The pink haired girl took it gratefully and began chewing it. "Been a while since I had sparred like that with anyone, even with a Jounin," began Aya as she helped Sakura stand up and lean against a tree, struggling with her wounded and painful right shin, "And you're the first in a while to make me fight like that." Sakura laughed nervously as she looked at Aya's bloodied shin. The blood from her arm had already started to mix with her sweat, a stinging sensation throbbing through the open wound when her sweat fell into the wound. "If you don't mind, could you check up on it? I really think the muscle tore," said Aya with a laugh as she scratched the back of her head. Sakura nodded as she motioned for Aya to sit down with her right leg stretched out, her strength starting to return to her.
"Yeah, the muscle did tear," murmured Sakura as her trained green eyes focused themselves onto the exposed internal body of the Jounin. Gingerly, Sakura ran her fingers against the still connected skin. Aya winced in pain, biting her lower lip and clutching her hands closed, as she tried to avoid making any sounds of complaint. Laughing slightly, Sakura had begun to perform a series of hand seals. "Chiyute no Jutsu," she said simply as she began adding a higher concentration of chakra onto her hands. It would take quite a bit of chakra to regenerate the torn muscles and regenerate the dead skin cells. The Chuunin's brow furrowed as she let her hand hover over Aya's wound, her chakra regenerating the cells that had deteriorated due to the attack. "You'll be able to stand soon enough after this, Aya-sensei, but try as much as possible not to exert as much strain on your right leg," said Sakura as new skin began to close over the wound.
"Yes, Sakura-sensei," said Aya with a mischievous grin. Sakura blushed at that and just continued to close up Aya's wound. Aya had a lazy grin on her face as she leaned back, the tree supporting her. She had never really seen a Medical Specialist in action. If a Medical Specialist actually examined her, she was knocked unconscious by the time she was brought to the hospital or wherever the nearest Medical Specialist could be found. The blue light emanating from Sakura's hands was cool to her undamaged skin but stinging on the skin that had separated from each other. "And this is why Ran idolizes you, Sakura," complimented Aya as she ran a hand through her goldenrod hair. Sakura reddened even further. "I mean it! You're talented in Medical Nin Jutsu and you have a very good head on your shoulders," said Aya. Sakura nodded slowly, continuing on the task at hand.
Three Weeks Later
It had been three weeks since her training began. Her fingers were already starting to get calloused that it was no longer uncomfortable for her to be holding the Crescent Blade for long periods of time. The basics were drilled in her mind and today, she was going to start using the Crescent Blade with her blindfold on. Indeed, she had been determined to learn and master the Crescent Blade. Aya had spied the pink haired girl training even past the set training schedule. Occasionally, she'd spy someone else with her, a blonde boy with ocean blue eyes, helping her train. When she was resting, they were talking like friends. Aya was impressed with the way Sakura was dealing with things. "Guess you were both right, Kakashi-kun, Godaime-sama, that Sakura is indeed one who is determined to learn all she can about things," said Aya to herself as she walked away from the forest. Behind her, she could hear things being sliced. Sakura was still training and it was almost eleven in the evening.
"Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!" shouted a male voice as a few other copies of him appeared, brandishing weapons. On the right hand, kunai stuck out between his fingers. On the left hand, shuriken were found. "Get ready, Sakura-chan!" the Bunshin shouted more as they charged towards her, letting go of the projectiles simultaneously. Sakura crouched low, as she stood there, her Crescent Blade glistening in the moonlight. Seconds later, she swung around a full three hundred and sixty degrees, repelling all of the projectiles that were flying towards her. Each weapon managed to strike a Naruto Bunshin, causing them to disappear. The real Naruto remained, effectively evading the shuriken and kunai that were sent reeling towards him. "That was great, Sakura-chan!" exclaimed Naruto gleefully as he ran towards the pink haired girl, a silly grin on his face.
"You weren't half bad yourself, Naruto," said Sakura as she scratched the back of her head, a satisfied smile on her face. Her Crescent Blade was now standing erect on the ground, a bit of it digging deep into the earth. Naruto grinned as he continued babbling excitedly. Sakura had her blindfold on and she was starting to get used to using the Crescent Blade without opening her eyes. The girl had trained far longer than required to in order to get used to moving around and wielding the Crescent Blade. Up in the trees, a certain other male watched down below. Even he didn't train so far into the night and among the three of them, he had been the most obsessed about training. "Naruto, can I trust you to bring my Crescent Blade to me?" asked Sakura as she faced the blonde male. A confused expression found its way to his face as he nodded slowly. "Thank you," she muttered before her knees buckled, falling to the forest floor.
"Sakura-chan, Sakura-chan!" shouted Naruto as he managed to catch her without a second to spare. Her skin felt hot to his touch. The male up in the trees had to resist all urges to jump down and see what was wrong with her. "Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!" he shouted as a few more Bunshin appeared. "You guys should stay here and guard Sakura-chan's Crescent Blade while I bring her to Tsunade-ba-chan," commanded Naruto to his Bunshin before picking up Sakura and started running to where the Godaime could be found. The Bunshin nodded as they stood around the Crescent Blade, guarding it. "Sakura-chan, you shouldn't have trained if you knew you were sick!" muttered Naruto urgently as he dashed forth, "You really shouldn't have! You're the Medical Specialist, you should now!" Sakura had not the energy nor the consciousness to reply as Naruto pushed himself to move faster, before Sakura's life would be put in grave danger.
Tsuzuku…
Hah, yay! I managed to write chapter four before I actually left the house for my weekend vacation!
Hope you liked it and don't slaughter me for the lack of Sasuke's appearance. He just didn't seem to fit into any section except the very last part.
Kakashi finally makes an appearance! I feel sorry for him that he sort of got depressed because of how his team ended. In the end, he got over it and is now better.
By the way, Sakura's training lasts for an entire year before the Jounin Exams. We're just around one month into her training.
Next Chapter: Chapter Five – Two Days' Rest
Chapter Preview: "You should know better, Sakura," said Tsunade with a sigh as she sat down on the chair near Sakura's bedside. The Chuunin laughed nervously, scratching the back of her head. "I mean, you're a Medical Specialist and you have gone under my training so I expect you to know better!" she added as she rubbed her temples. Sakura's fever had gone down, at least, but she was still too weak to train today. Tsunade had decided for her to postpone her training for today and tomorrow so that her body could rest. Kakashi, Naruto and even Sasuke were there in the hospital room, visiting the sole female in their basic four-man group. Standing up, she made one last reminder before leaving. "You're to do absolutely no physical training whatsoever today. I'm leaving Kakashi, Naruto and Sasuke a last D-Rank mission to make sure you stay in this hospital room today and tomorrow," announced Tsunade. Sakura made a weary response as she fell back in her bed. This was the last thing she wanted to happen to her, for Sasuke to be able to see her fragility once more.