A Last Request

Written by: Mikami

Warnings: Profanity, sexuality, main character death.

Gai lifted a hand to wipe away a proud tear as he observed the sight before him. Normally, the dramatics would be reserved for his favorite Lee but by turning out as the former sensei to an Anbu was almost of equal status.

There weren't many that were able to obtain the position as an Anbu member. Anbu was a formidable handful of shinobi whose job was to assassinate with dead silence or protect with an iron will. They were chosen from the most skillful Jounins; they had a tendency to live longer than the average shinobi, hence the fact that the time to select new Anbu was almost rare and only took place when a present member died.

Neji had received his chance and Gai was ecstatic.

Kakashi, I've beaten you again… He grinned to himself.

" Remember to keep your wits about you. And never lose spirit or focus."

" Gai," Neji's eyes had narrowed, " I've already done six missions for the first two months. I think I can handle it."

" Oh, of course. Just making sure." Gai winked. " I'm also here to remind you to keep in mind my inspirational words of the past."

" Sure."

It sounded like Neji wasn't listening anymore but it didn't matter; Gai had to smile nonetheless. There was little change in Neji's attitude as he watched him grow from boy to man. Even the very first time Gai met him as a child, he wondered if the presence of Tenten and Lee could bring him out. It worked to a point; Neji was able to function in a group and cope with teamwork but his true relationships never really extended beyond comradeship.

Same old, same old, Gai shook his head fondly.

He reached out to pat the shoulder of his former subordinate. " The assignment is straightforward. I'll be on the west end and Iruka in the north. Don't worry too much about the south since Kotetsu and Izumo's classes are in the southern wing of the Academy. Either one is available for assistance if you need any outside in the east."

Neji nodded casually as he donned a black hooded robe and fetched the decorated mask of a ram.

" No mistakes." Gai said before he exited the doorway.

" Mistake ?" Neji called back, " That word is foreign to me."

Brandishing his katana, he slipped the mask over his face and headed toward the Ninja Academy.

Gai was left, looking after Neji's footsteps. Today would be a tricky day.

" Good morning Sakura-sensei."

Sakura forced a smile at the arrangement of children that were seated at her feet. It felt a little awkward to be called a teacher considering she had never done this before. She found herself wishing that it were a smaller group; perhaps she could've been the temporary replacement for a three-person team of genins instead. Sasuke would make fun of her in his own way if he knew…

" Okay," Sakura said, clearing her head. " Is everyone here ?"

She glanced down at the clipboard list of names, reviewing it one last time. No one said a word so she put it down on the grass next to some teaching props she brought along.

" Your sensei told me before she left that you were only starting to exercise the use of chakra with the hengen no jutsu. Chakra is very important to a shinobi whether doing ninjutsu or taijutsu. As a mixture of both bodily and spiritual energy, it is a conversion of the stamina you start out with."

A hand shot up in the air and Sakura paused to call on the skinny kid with a wrap of bandages around his head.

" Our sensei already told us all of this." He said. " It's boring."

Sakura laughed, " In the technical aspect, yes, it is. But basic knowledge is key to every degree of difficulty. I've been told that most of you haven't been practicing at home and therefore you convert more stamina than you actually need to do the hengen no jutsu. That's a waste of chakra. Now, I want everybody to stand up and pick something here to transform into."

There was some groaning in the process but the children managed to stand. The sun was bright and becoming hot with the arrival of the noon hours. Some of the children yawned widely and looked halfheartedly at the outside surroundings.

Then, shouts of " henge ", filled the air, as did puffs of smoke. Instead of the children Sakura walked around, there appeared various objects that ranged from trees to rocks.

The child closest to her had attempted to turn into a bush. The bush was full and leafy like any other, except the colors were of human skin and the clothes the child was wearing that day. Another child in the back failed to transform into a squirrel, having only a large shaggy tail extending from his backside.

Sakura rubbed her forehead in hidden disdain. Everyone had something that still distinguished him or her as a human and none were successful.

How the hell did their sensei get a teaching permit ? She thought, irritated.

Walking around a bit more, Sakura noticed a human-shaped rock, a post with a nose, a bird with human legs and a tree trunk with arms and ears. Sighing, she told everyone to transform back.

" Focus. Concentrate to mould the chakra into the desired jutsu and release." She said. " Again !"

" Henge !"

For the next two hours, Sakura was exasperated. Some students were using up too much stamina while others had shaky control. They went through an additional twelve rounds of the hengen no jutsu before lunchtime and Sakura swore she heard the word henge more than a hundred times. It had completely lost its meaning to her own ears.

When the children started to complain, Sakura knew it was lunchtime. They were tired and needed a break, so she gave them an hour off. She watched them scatter inside to eat and to get away from the blistering sun. Hearing her own stomach growl, Sakura followed suit.

She sat down to eat a cup of beef-flavored ramen noodles at a desk while the children chatted and bickered. The hot noodles calmed her hunger but at the same time reminded her of a hyperactive ninja that would much rather be having them than she. And looking up, she noticed one of the girls shyly going up to a boy, asking if he wanted to eat lunch with her.

Sasuke… Sakura frowned into her soup.

For some reason, she always felt that he'd come back; that suddenly he would appear in the doorway with his hands in his pockets. It was a sign of the terrible ache she still felt and the tears she still cried when she reminded herself that Sasuke could never come back from his position under Konoha soil.

As for teaching, Sasuke would cross his arms and smirk at the concept of her as a teacher—his way of teasing her. Of course, back then it was hard to think of anybody from Team 7 as a sensei. Sasuke-sensei would be even more scary than shinobi-Sasuke. And as for Naruto-sensei……that would just be plain disastrous.

The flavor of ramen stayed on her tongue after she disposed of the cup. Sakura headed back outside to meet with the children, trying quickly to formulate a better teaching scheme. She heard this class was bad but not THIS bad.

Sakura stuck out her chest and prepared herself for another period of exasperation.

" Alright everybody. After today's class I'm going to have everyone do one last run through of the hengen no jutsu before you leave. As for now, we're going to be moving on to basic weapons."

More groans.

Sighing unenthusiastically, Sakura stooped down to pick up her pouch of props.

These kids…I swear, it's like I'm teaching thirty Shikamaru clones…

She pulled out three items and tossed the pouch back to the grass. Holding it up, she asked them to identify the basic weapons. The shuriken was the easiest, the kunai was the next but most were having trouble with the third.

The children wore blank expressions as they stared aimlessly at the metal spikes in her hand.

" Um…is it senbon ?" someone finally said.

" No." Sakura huffed, trying to keep her patience at a temperate pace. " It starts with an 'M', and when you plant it on the ground, the enemy may heedlessly step on it. I'm sure you've already learned this…"

" It's too hard ! We give up !" The kid with the bandages whined.

A flame of irritation burst inside Sakura's head.

" Makibishi !" She had lost her patience by eighty percent. " The most basic of all traps ! Has your sensei EVER taught you anything ?"

" She only started a few months ago, since transferring here from the Water Country." The kid replied.

" What ?" Sakura looked attentively at him, wondering if the Chuunin she was replacing had a specific reason for being sent to the Water Country. That was her origin after all.

" We never have classes outside. And inside, she always looked through the windows as if she was nervous about something."

" I see." Said Sakura thoughtfully.

Something felt wrong. The months of teaching the children had from a former Water Country occupant was low in standard. But why ? And now that Chuunin was sent away for a mission…

After a moment more of pondering, Sakura forced herself back to reality by putting away the basic weapons.

" Let's forget about that for now," she said with a wave of her hand. " Before you do that last run through for me, I want you to do an exercise to practice your chakra control. And I don't want to here any of you groan because it's really simple."

They watched as Sakura put her hands together and inhaled. Her body remained relaxed as she slowly stretched one arm out for all of them to see. Then, opening her hand, a vertical stream of chakra wavered out of the center of her palm. It flicked back and forth in front of the students' eyes with complete control.

" The only place I'm releasing my chakra is through my palm. By concentrating the flow to the desired spot, I'm able to push it out." She said. " Further control is established to move it back and forth above my palm. Once you perfect this exercise, it will make it easier on you to learn new jutsus."

Mesmerized by the colored aura of the Sakura's wavering chakra, the children's eyes widened considerably until they sat back and started to attempt it themselves. Soon, all their faces were masks of deep concentration as small spurts of chakra burst from their palms.

The next hour of class was more bearable and Sakura was glad she was able to get them to cooperate with her. By the second hour, the children were getting better at controlling the amount of chakra they released through the palm. Some had quickly advanced to the wavering stream as well.

" Look, look ! Sakura-sensei !"

Echoes of excitement started to surge in the air as they ran up to her, pushing and shoving each other eagerly to show her their success.

" Good. It's an improvement." She said. " But I want you to keep practicing. Hard work only makes you better."

" Like Lee-kun ?" asked a small girl with red hair.

Sakura gave her a smile, " Yes, like Lee-san. The Jounin taijutsu specialist."

" No, more like Sasuke." Said a brunette boy, who challenged the girl. " He was hardcore."

For a while, Sakura blinked. People were already starting to talk about Uchiha Sasuke in past tense. She ignored a stab of pain in her chest, taking it heavily that Sasuke really wasn't coming back. She looked down at her feet until the bickering between the kids stopped. She had just started to enjoy teaching when Sasuke was brought up again.

" I want to see that last run through now." Said Sakura, losing the spark of normalcy. Her voice had quieted to a low tone.

The children obliged readily; they didn't catch the swift change of Sakura's mood. After doing the chakra exercise, their new attempts at the hengen no jutsu were much more successful. One by one, they lined up and turned into an outside object. Sakura saw countless rocks, bushes and trees. She congratulated them and forced a smile as they jumped up and down in victory.

Finally, the kid with the bandages stepped forward. He appeared excited about his turn since he was last in line. The boy glanced around thoughtfully, looking for the best inspiration for the jutsu. Sakura saw the expression on his face; she knew he wanted to make it good. After spotting something in the distance, he grinned widely at her and put his hands together.

" Henge !" He yelled passionately.

A puff of smoke engulfed his form. When it cleared, Sakura did not congratulate him or appreciate his transformation. Instead, the Jounin whirled around and whipped out a kunai.

" Everybody, inside !" She commanded the startled children. " Now !"

They were suddenly confused but decided to obey her anyway as random fear began to spread.

The boy with the bandages, obviously upset because of Sakura's lack of appreciation, transformed back into his normal form and scowled at her back.

" What did I do wrong !" He demanded angrily.

" Get inside."

" No ! Tell me first !"

Sakura's tolerance disappeared quickly like a dynamite fuse. She glared at the boy. Using the hengen no jutsu, his transformation hadn't been a rock or a tree, but a full-grown shinobi with two heavy metallic arms that was dressed in blue. If the boy had picked something like that to transform into, he must have seen it while she wasn't looking.

Suddenly it was too late. Something shiny and silver whizzed past Sakura's head in the form of a high-velocity blow. She barely dodged it, while also taking time to grab a hold of the little boy to get him out of harm's way. The shinobi intruder landed a few feet away from them.

Rolling on the ground, Sakura stared urgently into the boy's newly frightened face.

" Listen to me," she grasped his shoulders tightly. " I want you to get inside and alert the classes. Find Izumo and Kotetsu-sensei. Go !"

Nodding frantically, he stumbled to get up. When Sakura was assured that he was safely in the building, she got to her feet and resumed her battle stance in front of the stranger.

" Identify yourself. You are not of Konoha Village." She ordered in a strong tone.

The intruder didn't answer. Instead, he turned his head to peer at her with his yellow eyes. The grin on his scarred, painted face was massive as he lifted a metal arm to point at her.

" Tell me where Teruyo is." He spoke to her in a raspy voice. " Tell me now, or I will have to string you on that tree by your entrails."

" Teruyo ?" The Ninja Academy Chuunin… Sakura realized.

" I'm waiting…" He rasped, producing a threatening clicking noise with his metal fingers.

" You're wasting your patience." Sakura scoffed. " The Academy is of no use to you and you have no business here. Leave or face dire consequences."

" I've always been told that Konoha women were stubborn bitches."

Eyeing her up and down, he slowly licked his lips and charged head on toward her. His speed was swift, arms out and ready for a devastating blow. He aimed to connect his metal fist to her head but Sakura ducked quickly and forced the kunai upwards toward his chest. The tip scraped slightly against one of his hardened pectorals but he jumped back to avoid another swipe.

Sakura didn't allow him too much time to put distance between them. Yelling out, the Jounin rushed at him quickly and faked a high leap in the air, giving her a second to execute the bunshin no jutsu. Six clones appeared before the enemy's eyes, all wielding full hands of kunai. She released them, showering him with blades.

Immediately after, she sped under them and planted a series of punches and kicks to his midsection. He reeled back in surprise, his attention barely skimming the flying kunai.

" Jishintai no jutsu !" The enemy growled, forcing his hands together.

Sakura let out a cry as both his enormous metal arms penetrated deeply into the ground, causing a wave of chakra to shake it profusely. An earthquake erupted violently to knock her cleanly off her feet. Dirt and rocks rumbled fiercely as she hit the ground. Then he leapt high in the air preparing to hammer Sakura into the quaking rock.

Before her shaking vision, Sakura could barely see the enemy above her because of his earth-based jutsu and with the shaking ground preventing her from moving, there was a slim chance to escape.

She quickly reached inside her pouch and threw a handful of shuriken—which ricocheted off his metal arms.

Unexpectedly, a blur of black and gray intercepted the enemy. The sound of clashing echoed loudly, as did the waves of power given off from the impact.

Shocked, Sakura looked up at the hooded figure that shielded her from what could've landed her in the hospital next to Naruto. The ground stopped shaking instantly.

The intruder peered arrogantly into the masked face of the figure that interrupted him. " That's very rude." He said with a smirk.

" If my interruption is for the purpose to kill you, then I enjoy being rude." Came the toneless voice from behind the mask.

Anbu. Sakura stared, open-mouthed. There was something bigger coinciding with Teruyo than she originally thought.

The silver blade of a katana was pulled out from within his robes and pointed outward. Then he vanished from the spot in front of Sakura and reappeared behind the enemy to catch him off guard.

A splatter of red spilled from the katana, staining the grass. With a yell of pain and anger, the intruder swung a metal arm backward. But the fatal wound from the sword slowed his movements with pain and his opponent stepped away easily. Swiftly and silently, the killing was made and the enemy's heavy body crashed lifeless to the ground, a trail of blood escaping his mouth—opened in horror from his defeat.

Gasping for air from her first battle in nearly two months, Sakura hurried to stand. She rushed over to the body quickly to examine it.

" No forehead protector; nothing to identify where he's from." She said, searching around.

" He smells like the sea. He's from the Water Country," came the reply.

Sakura stopped searching instantly to recognize the flat, emotionless voice from behind the mask. She lifted her head slowly toward him, noticing the decorated face of a ram.

" Tell me what's going on." She said. " Were you waiting here the whole time ?"

" I see that Tsunade-sama didn't tell you the entire reason. The Chuunin, Teruyo, that you replaced had an inescapable past. She came to Konoha on a legal transfer from the Water Country. On the documents, she omitted the part that identified her as a former associate to one of the country's warlords. By moving here, she hoped that they'd forget about her."

" Today had something to do with fixing the problem didn't it ?"

" Teruyo's situation was discovered and she was sent into the Water Country accompanied by the aid of Jounins to deal with it as cleanly as possible. The shinobi council feared that since she was also affiliated with the Ninja Academy, her enemy would come looking for her here as well."

" Tsunade-sama didn't issue me the replacement job just for the sake of teaching." Sakura realized, looking back at the enormous body. It was also to protect the children.

Glancing up at the figure in the hooded robe, she watched as he wiped the katana clean from the streaks of blood. The blade shone once again as if it had never been tainted. Then, it disappeared back into his robes.

She could see the mask of the ram turned toward her, giving her the feeling that his eyes, although covered, were on her face.

" By the way, your chakra lessons are missing the Inner Coils System." He said.

Sakura grunted. She was now completely sure of the Anbu's identity. " The syllabus states that this year the Academy teaches only basic chakra techniques. The Inner Coils System is reserved for NEXT year." She replied a little sarcastically.

The Anbu huffed, " The sooner they learn, the better. Whether difficult or not, when I was in their place it made no difference to me."

" Everyone goes at their own pace……Neji." Sakura crossed her arms.

Neji lifted the corner of his mouth behind the mask. " Harsh as it may seem, in the future that ideal won't even matter."

Before Sakura could counter his arrogant statement, Kotetsu had burst through the nearest exit of the building, Izumo in hot pursuit. Each Jounin had the manifestation of anxiety written on their faces as they approached the pair outside. Their stride quickened when they saw the motionless body of an unknown shinobi.

" Sakura, are you alright ? Are there any more ?" Izumo demanded upon arrival.

" No, so far it's just him." Sakura said pointedly.

" There could be others." He responded. " Kotetsu, go inform Gai and Iruka."

His comrade nodded and was gone in a flash of smoke.

Izumo continued, glancing at Neji. " So, we were right after all in taking extra measures. The rest of the shinobi that we have on standby will be put into place until the dispatch to the Water Country has been resolved."

" Wait. Just WAIT a minute," Sakura said irritated. " Why wasn't I informed about any of this ? I was apart of this whole dispute just fifteen minutes ago !"

" Well…" Izumo scratched his head. " To tell you the truth, the measures of security around the Academy were insurance……like a ' just in case ' thing. There was no hard evidence that Teruyo's old friends would be lurking here. But we still couldn't let that slide."

" What he's trying to say is that you were a convenience." Neji revealed blatantly. " If the attack didn't come, you'd be teaching. If the attack came, you'd be there for protection. All in all, it's convenient."

The matter-of-fact tone in Neji's voice was nerve-racking. " But why not tell me ? There was a couple of weeks to do that !"

The Hyuga just shrugged, " It wasn't my problem. If you're that anxious about it, see the Hokage."

Sakura's cheeks turned red with aggravation after seeing him turn his back to leave.

" Why is he such an asshole sometimes ?" she asked out loud.

" It's Neji, enough said." Izumo replied.

She was flying through the woods with a ludicrous idea in her head. Greenery passed by in a blur of leaves and tree trunks with each branch she touched in order to get to her desired destination. She remembered the route; the last time she was in the vicinity wasn't too long ago.

Sakura landed swiftly from the high branch. Between the trees, a few feet away, stood a red-shingled roof. Evening was breaking through the clouds and the forest was becoming darker by each second as she trekked her way to it.

There was an air of determination around her when she reached closely as possible without going back on her decision. Sakura would find her target or more likely, he'd find her first. And she was right.

" If I didn't know better, I'd say you like trespassing. A vicious cycle of yours ?"

The serious look on Sakura's face when she turned around to meet Neji incited a spark of curiosity inside him.

" Good," She said confidently. " You've saved me the trouble of looking for you."

" Pleasure." The bite of sarcasm still infected his voice.

" I have a favor to ask."

Neji raised an eyebrow. This sounded rich. He leaned casually against a tree and waited for her to drop the bomb. " How very bold."

She ignored him and closed the distance between them. Sakura's green eyes met his pale ones, unflinching and resolute.

" Neji," She spoke. " I want you to teach me the combat style with a blade."