I'M BAAACK!
So... I won't talk much here at the beginning but like... lol... I wanted to post this chapter on my birthday...
... On August 9th.
Then I thought. Ya know what? Imma post this mf on Kakashi's birthday instead... and then I didn't.
But this is FINALLY done and here for you guys hehehe... Coincidentally! I saw this post today on Tumblr saying that maybe we could instate the 28th of September as the official KakaSaku day! So there. It's almost the 28th here in my corner of the world anyway. Have fun :)
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Sakura woke up on a Sunday morning three and a half weeks after her promotion to an empty house with an equally empty fridge. The first rays of sunlight were only just slipping through the cracks in the blinds but she could already see that it was going to be a hot late Spring day.
She sighed at the pitiful contents of the fridge and trudged back to her room with lazy feet to shower. Sunday was the only day she didn't train if she was in the village and even her work at the office was light. She'd been looking forward to not doing much that morning but it looked like her shishou had forgotten to stop by the shop.
Again.
Sakura knew Tsunade had an early morning meeting with Shikaku and Inoichi so she was probably going to have breakfast delivered to her office, leaving Sakura to her own devices. Maybe I could go to that nice tea shop next to the hospital and give myself a break from cooking, she thought as she lathered shampoo on her long hair.
But no. If she didn't buy the things they needed right away, she would just have to do it later. It was better to do any chores she had now that the weather was milder than later on when it was hot and annoyingly busy.
Sakura applied a careful genjutsu to her ANBU tattoo as she got ready for the day. Her pouches were lighter than if she'd been going for a mission but she still kept them on her hips just in case.
The closer they got to Summer, the hotter it got throughout the day and Sakura had taken to wearing just a backless halter top, similar to the one she wore for ANBU, and loose hakama style cropped pants. The only inconvenience was that she had to hide her tattoo with a genjutsu all the time because of her bare shoulders but it was a small price to pay for not sweating through her clothes.
Sakura tied her hair in a messy bun on top of her head, buckled up her short black sandals and left the compound through the training grounds. As a second thought, she went back for a lightweight hoodie to complete her all-black ensemble. She always felt chilly in the cold section of the store.
It was too early for much to be open, the majority of the people on the streets were shop owners preparing for the day. Sakura walked through the familiar path with lazy steps before reaching the closest store.
The old lady behind the counter called a greeting that Sakura replied with a half-hearted smile and a wave as she made her way further into the store, stopping just to pick up a basket.
She was so tired.
These past few weeks had been ridiculously busy. Tsunade had sent her on two jounin-only missions the last week alone and that was on top of her regular missions with Team Ro. She felt old and tired and she really just wanted a nap.
Sakura stood in front of the dog food aisle for way longer than necessary, her mind so far away she could barely see what was in front of her.
Not for the first time that week, her thoughts drifted towards Kakashi.
She hadn't expected him to approach her like he had, the surprise at him doing so taking away much of the anger she had carried inside of her. Then he had apologised. It seemed almost unfathomable that he would do so and that had been what swept away any lingering hurt she had.
She felt like she could understand him a bit better. It was strange to think she'd been following in his footsteps by entering Team Ro but she was glad to see him back. She had nightmares of the things she'd read on his file, she couldn't imagine what it was like for him, being the one who had actually lived through those events.
Some of the habits she'd taken up with, he probably had as part of his day to day life since before she was even born.
Sakura knew she wasn't okay strictly speaking. She had nightmares that woke her screaming in the darkness, had her reaching for weapons and hyperventilating in the first corner she could find. She had come up with an admittedly troublesome habit of putting things away deep inside of her and not really dealing with them at all. How easy it was for her to fall into that battle-ready state of mind was downright scary at times.
She was self-aware enough to recognise all of that inside of her, mainly because she hadn't been raised to be a shinobi. Her parents had always made her emotions feel validated and that in turn had made her more tuned in to those aspects.
Kakashi hadn't. Not only did he have years of traumatic experiences piled up, he had suppressed his traumas beyond recognition. She couldn't fault him for overreacting when she'd seen him fall apart.
And then there was their weird interaction during her jounin promotion party.
He'd talked to her, really talked to her. He looked at her and saw her in a way he never had when she was his student. Their past stood between them but at that moment he hadn't been her ex-jounin sensei. He had just been Kakashi and she was happy despite everything else that just-Kakashi had chosen to stay and talk to her.
Sakura was more worried about him now than ever, especially when she looked around in her shishou's office for his file and noticed he'd spent a total of nine days inside the village in the last six months.
She was worried that he'd crash and burn and there would be nothing she could do. While she knew it was going to take a toll on Kakashi, working outside the village was what Konoha needed of him. Things inside the village were far from okay and Sakura knew that soon enough he'd be pulled into the mess that the upper ranks had created.
Just last week, Tsunade had appointed Inoichi as the next member of the council.
Most of the village had been in accordance with her shishou but the Elders had protested. Loudly. They had been even more difficult to deal with recently and during their many recon missions, Team Ro had noticed them meeting up with Danzou more than once in private.
The Root agents surrounding the meetings kept them from actually hearing what they were about but the entire situation had put Tsunade and Sakura on edge. The pieces on the shogi board had been placed and each side was making their move.
Soon, she was sure the Copy-Nin would be called back to help deal with their rodent problem.
Sakura sighed and moved on from that aisle until she reached the fresh produce section.
She had also been worried about their Uchiha problem. Sakura had talked to Tsunade about sending someone to get in contact with Uchiha Itachi but the woman had shut her down. It wasn't the time yet, she'd said, they had to be sure he wasn't compromised first.
Sakura privately agreed that they had to play it safe but she didn't know what exactly her shishou was waiting for. From the little she had disclosed, she figured Tsunade had someone tracking his movements but she couldn't be sure.
Then there was Sasuke.
There hadn't been any news on his whereabouts for the last year, ever since Kakashi had led a raid on one of Orochimaru's suspected hideouts.
Sakura had to reach him. Having the sharingan on their side against Danzo and the elders would be a huge advantage and besides, he had the right to know what had happened during the Uchiha Massacre. As of now, he was focusing his hate on the wrong person and Sakura didn't even want to think what would happen if he followed through on his promise to avenge his clan.
Not that he could, she tried to reason with herself. Sasuke wasn't strong enough to face off Itachi, even with Orochimaru's help. They still had time to deal with this mess.
Sakura huffed annoyedly and put the pack of broccoli back before quickly turning towards the ice cream section. Fuck it, she deserved it.
In her haste, she didn't realise someone had been standing on the other corner of the aisle. Her momentum was enough that she crashed right into the man, her forehead connecting painfully with his chin.
"Ow!" She rubbed at the tender spot and glared at the man even as her mouth formed the words to apologise. "I'm so—oh."
Sakura trailed off when she recognized the man. It was the ANBU Commander.
He stood tall—though not taller than Kakashi, a distant part of her mind registered—and for some reason, the sight of him was jarring. His dark hair fell over his eyes as he stared at her in shock and he looked—he looked sleepy.
His eyes were widened in surprise as he took her in, his hair a dishevelled mess. His white tee was wrinkled and he was wearing jogging pants. Everything about the situation looked wrong. It was deeply disturbing to realise that the man behind the ANBU cloak could look this endearingly messy.
The Commander had no right to stand in her shopping place with bed hair and sleepy eyes even if, okay, it wasn't even seven in the morning on a Sunday.
"Sakura-chan!" And just like that, the sleepy, caught-off-guard look was replaced by his usual cheery smile and eye crinkle. The hand that wasn't holding his shopping basket—three cartons of milk and nothing else in there—was suddenly on top of her head, messing up her already messy bun.
Annoying. He was so annoying.
Sakura slapped his hand away with more force than necessary but still put on a smile on her face to match his.
"Toshio-san!" She greeted with false cheer in her voice, purposefully using his name so he'd know she did her homework on him. "Long time no see, eh?"
The greeting is louder than it would normally be, mainly for the benefit of the old man paying for his things at the cashier. It took him an alarming five minutes to put his stuff inside his bag and leave, in which the Commander looked her over with an amused expression on his face as they faked small talk.
"I have a special assignment for you," he spoke quietly once the old man left. Sakura looked in alarm towards where the old lady stood behind the counter reading a magazine and he followed her gaze. "Relax, Unmei-san is a retired member of the forces. We go way back."
Sakura gaped at the old lady. She looked nothing like a shinobi in her pretty floral shirt and reading glasses. Though, when she looked at her with a keener eye, Sakura could see the old scar on her neck and that she was reading Tactical Life, a famous magazine among shinobi.
Sakura shook her head slightly to clear it before turning back towards the Commander.
"That sounds shady." She raised an eyebrow at him, her voice flat and low, dropping all pretence now that she knew she could. "I'm not doing any special assignment if it means Tsunade doesn't know about it."
"Hai, hai." He waved his hand dismissively, his amused grin firmly in place. "You already told me that, Sakura-chan. I was actually going to summon you tomorrow once Hokage-sama had a chance to speak to you about this. Why don't you come by my office later today after you talk to her?"
Sakura's eyes narrowed in consideration. Tsunade knew about this 'special assignment' so it wasn't anything she didn't agree to. Maybe this was a part of that extra work she had been promised—read: threatened with—when she officially joined ANBU?
"What is this about?" She asked when the Commander made to leave. There's no way she was going to wait until Tsunade was done with her meeting to find out.
The Commander looked even more amused by her small outburst. The way his eyes were crinkling down at her looked like he was greatly entertained by her sudden interest and found her cute. It was downright insulting.
Still, he gave her an answer.
"It's a side project I've tried to get approved every time a new Hokage steps up and so far only managed to convince the Godaime-sama." He shrugged and then looked her straight in the eyes. "I want you to teach iryo-ninjutsu to anyone capable enough in the forces."
What.
Sakura stared in shock as the Commander gave her a carefree wave and went to pay for his milk.
Her? Teach?
What about her missions? She didn't have the time to sit down and carefully guide operatives twice her age on the extremely difficult art that was iryo-ninjutsu. Scratch that, was she even advanced enough on her medical studies to actually teach them?
She knew she was good at it. In fact, Tsunade had boasted that Sakura was probably better than all medics they had inside the hospital, her skills not surpassing only her own and maybe Shizune's but still. Still.
Sakura finished her shopping and went to pay for her items, her mind running through different problems, coming up with solutions and then finding problems in those solutions.
"Will that be all, dear?" The old lady behind the counter smiled kindly at her and Sakura was struck by how understanding she looked.
"Unmei-obasan." Sakura put the money on the tiny tray on top of the counter and looked up with wide eyes when the old woman held her wrist before she could pull back.
"What's your name, child?" Her voice was lower now. It didn't sound unkindly but it also wasn't the normal cheerful way she greeted customers.
"Haruno Sakura…" Sakura found herself answering before she even thought it through.
"Ah, Hokage-sama's apprentice." Unmei's smile grew. "I've been hearing whispers about you. You're destined for great things, that's certain."
Sakura's jaw dropped. Not only was her name circling around the village already but what she'd said sounded… prophetic somehow. Sakura fought a shiver as the old lady continued.
"I did my fair share of fighting for the shadow corps in my time, dear, I know a good operative when I see one." Unmei laughed and let go of her wrist. Sakura didn't step back. "A word of advice? If your superiors are giving you extra work, you better trust their judgement. Even if you don't think yourself capable, it's your duty to make sure you rise up to the challenge, isn't it?"
Sakura stared at the old woman for a beat longer before she realised her jaw was still somewhere in the vicinity of her own shoes and snapped her mouth shut. She felt her cheeks burning.
"Thank you, Unmei-san." Sakura's embarrassed nod was interrupted by Unmei's laugh.
"Call me obaa-san, dear!" She waved her wrinkled little hands in the air. "And if you find some time, I'd be happy to tell someone about the old days. It's not usual for an old operative like me to still be around, you know?"
"I'd like that… obaa-san." Sakura gave the old woman a small genuine smile as she collected her groceries before bidding her goodbye.
Sakura left the store reeling.
She made her way back to her house with her bag as full as her head. She had to talk to Tsunade. Before she tried to make a decision, she had to talk to her shishou.
She scarfed down her breakfast and left her hoodie at home before making her way to the Hokage Tower. She waved at the few people milling about the place but didn't stop on her way to her shishou's office.
"I can't teach!"
Sakura blurted before the door was even halfway opened. Tsunade looked up from behind the pile of paperwork she was working on and raised an eyebrow at her.
"I take it the Commander reached you already," she said calmly before going back to her work.
"Shishou!" Sakura said urgently. She fully stepped inside the office and closed the door behind her. "I don't have the time to teach iryo-ninjutsu to a bunch of masks."
Tsunade rolled her eyes but put her pen down.
"Calm down, will you?" She snapped, annoyed. It didn't look like Sakura had caught her shishou at a good time. That was confirmed when she heard her mutter to herself, "Barely even morning and I already have to deal with so much bullshit."
Sakura snapped her mouth shut and sat dutifully on the chair next to her shishou. She pulled a few of the papers towards her and set to signing them. She might as well do some work now that she was already at the office. They remained silently working side by side while Sakura calmed her breath.
"Do you really think I can teach medical ninjutsu?" Sakura asked quietly, without looking at the woman. From the corner of her eyes she could see Tsunade turning to shoot her a grin.
"You're not supposed to give out formal lessons, Sakura." Tsunade went back to her own paperwork but her elbow nudged Sakura's lightly. "You're going to teach experienced shinobi how to do a better job at keeping each other alive in the field. None of these lessons are supposed to make them ready to operate at the hospital or anything like that."
"Okay…" Sakura said slowly.
Her pen was still poised over the scroll she'd been reading, ready to sign, but she could only frown at the proposal in front of her. This time, Tsunade dropped her work and turned towards her.
"This isn't an order." She raised her eyebrows meaningfully at her when Sakura turned her head to give her full attention. "This is entirely up to you. I know it's a lot to ask but I think you can handle it. Maybe we can't have a medic in every team but we can give a try at teaching something to ANBU. You said it yourself that this type of thing wouldn't be feasible in my time but this is something we can do." She paused. "You can."
Sakura's heart swelled with the immensity of the meaning behind her shishou's words. She was trusting Sakura to start a project that she had fought for and had been denied. Sure, it wasn't exactly the same thing but it was a start.
"What about my training?" Sakura asked, brows furrowed.
Tsunade scoffed.
"I already taught you everything I know, girl." She put a heavy hand on top of Sakura's messy bun and shook her head a bit. "You're a jounin now. A far better one than I was at that age, even. The only thing missing before I can safely say I can't teach you anything else is a tiny little seal."
Tsunade let go of her head and flicked her in the middle of her forehead with a laugh.
Sakura's eyes widened as her shishou went back to her work. Obviously, she'd known all of those things before but she hadn't really thought about them. The only thing left for her to do was master her Byakugou Seal.
She'd been storing chakra in the tenketsu right in the middle of her forehead ever since her shishou first started taking her training more seriously, almost three years before. She had become familiarised with the pathways her chakra took and it was relatively easy to create a reserve inside the tenketsu.
Over the years, Sakura had mastered the art of storing chakra into that spot. She had many headaches those first few weeks but it was only a matter of acclimatising herself to that constant drain on her reserves.
The kind of old jutsu required for the seal to form was obscure. No one really knew a lot about it but the way Tsunade had explained it to her all those years ago made it sound like the seal pretty much… created itself.
Once a certain amount of chakra was inserted, the physical manifestation of the seal would appear over her tenketsu and she wouldn't need to put any more effort into directing it there.
She didn't know how but she could feel she was close. It was like her whole body suddenly vibrated with the knowledge that she was almost ready. Just a little bit more and she would be able to say she was on Tsunade's level.
Inner Sakura scoffed at that idea as she went back to signing paperwork.
Sure, she had reached the limit of what her shishou could actually teach her but there were still decades of experience that put Tsunade ahead of her. Sakura could maybe take her on on a fight and win if she was really, really lucky and only if she went in with the intention to kill and not to win a friendly spar. She wouldn't be so presumptuous as to think she could reach her shishou's level so fast.
Maybe in a few years, she thought, maybe then I can have enough experience to safely say I could stand by Tsunade's side.
Sakura froze.
Her pen pressed heavily on top of the scroll and ink blotted the word she'd been writing. Sakura stared at it with a blank face.
A couple of years before her goal had been to stand by Naruto and Sasuke's side. She wanted to reach their level, show them that she didn't need to stay behind them anymore and be protected. Sure, some part of her still wanted that but…
When had it changed as a priority? Nowadays, she'd been using Tsunade as a goal and thoughts of the boys had rarely gone through her mind the more she felt a part of Team Ro.
Sakura took a shaky breath and pushed those thoughts away. They filled her with regret and made her second guess herself, made her question her loyalties in a way she wasn't comfortable dealing with.
She turned towards Tsunade with a sly smile as Inner pushed those troubling thoughts deep inside her mind.
"You know, Shishou." She wiggled her eyebrows even though Tsunade wasn't looking at her. "I think I know what the Commander's deal is."
"Oh?" Tsunade continued with her work.
"He's testing you." Sakura twirled her pen in her hand and huffed a laugh when Tsunade turned a fake exaggeratedly surprised look her way.
"Is he now?"
"Yep." Sakura nodded. "He said something about how he brought this project to both the Sandaime and the Yondaime and they both refused. I think you just scored some points with the guy."
"Fantastic," Tsunade said, sarcastically. "I'll be sure to trade those for chips at the casino."
"I'm serious!" Sakura giggled. "You know having him on our side is important." Sakura could practically feel her shishou's eyes rolling even though they were both turned away from each other and focused on their work. "Maybe you can ask him to come by for a drink, reach out, you know."
"Sakura, are you trying to set me up with the guy?"
Sakura barked an unexpected laugh.
"Shishou! No!" She shook her head and they both turned to look at the other. Tsunade was smiling. Sakura smirked. "Unless you need to blow off some steam, I'm sure no one would begrudge you…"
Tsunade rolled her eyes at Sakura's wiggling brow.
"What would you know about that, brat."
"Shut up." Sakura kicked at Tsunade's ankles beneath the table but it didn't hide her blushing cheeks.
Tsunade was right. Sakura had almost no experience in that department even though she had been on some seduction missions already with Team Ro. All those missions had made her pretty good at going far enough to get her target to want them to take it somewhere more private but she'd never had to cross that line on the field.
Ino, of course, has had plenty of boyfriends already. She loved going out with the civilian boys she met around the village and always liked to share everything with Sakura in excruciating detail.
She had long since shed any animosity towards Ino. Their competition only served as a source of amusement to them both nowadays and Sakura was glad they had moved past it. She had changed too much to fit comfortably into that role of 'nemesis'—or even 'frenemy'.
While Ino had progressed steadily with Team 10, she got to live a life that Sakura didn't. The blonde had clan responsibilities, trainings and missions just like everyone else but she still had a lot of downtime. She could socialise with people her own age and experiment with clueless boys, have dates and go to parties.
Sakura couldn't even think about ever being with a civilian.
The things she'd been through had set her apart from them. She couldn't be herself with a boy that had no idea what it felt like to have someone's life on his hands. While she liked the idea of having that type of fun Ino had, she couldn't see herself being comfortable enough in that scene.
In that aspect, Sakura envied Ino.
"Oh, no," Tsunade said, ripping Sakura from her thoughts. The blonde shot her an amused look. "Please don't tell me I just unlocked your curiosity."
Sakura blushed again, her cheeks burning even brighter when Tsunade laughed.
"We are not talking about this, Shishou," Sakura said as firmly as she could.
"Come on, Sakura~" Tsunade put an arm around her shoulders. "It's only normal—"
"Okay! Bye, Shishou!" Sakura stood up abruptly and made for the open window behind the desk. "I gotta go tell your boyfriend the news."
Sakura left the office just in time to dodge the paperweight thrown towards her.
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Going into the ANBU headquarters with her civilian clothes on was an extremely thought out act on her part.
Regulations didn't specifically say she had to wear her full uniform at all times so she wasn't technically breaking any rules but it would still raise some eyebrows. That's exactly what she wanted.
She flared her chakra briefly but didn't pause to knock on his door.
Toshio was sitting behind a dark wooden desk, signing mission scrolls. He made a point of continuing his work as if she wasn't there before putting down his pen and smiling at her benignly.
"Come in, Sakura-chan!" He gestured an open hand towards the single chair in front of his desk. "Have a seat."
Sakura's eyes narrowed in on the dried blood on his hand and she cocked her head to the side. She took a step forward and leaned her hip on the uncomfortable looking chair but didn't seat down.
Toshio looked at her with a mildly amused expression on his face but didn't press.
"Did you come to a decision?"
"I'll do it," Sakura said without preambles. "My duty is to serve Konoha in any way it needs me. If you and Tsunade-shishou think this is how I can be of help, then I'll do it."
Tsunade-shishou, not Tsunade-sama or Hokage-sama. Sakura was stating her fealty to the village but making it clear she wasn't just anyone. She was the Hokage's apprentice and he was asking her to take up higher responsibilities because she was literally the only one who could help him. That came with a certain shift in their interactions.
Yes, he was her Commander, but the power balance had just shifted slightly towards her.
"I'm happy to hear it." And he did seem happy about it. His smile was more sincere than ever although his crinkled eyes showed her he was fully aware of what she wasn't saying. He heard her, but he also saw the hidden meanings beneath her words, her choice of clothes and even the way she stood inside his office.
Underneath the underneath, wasn't it? Sakura wondered if he'd been the one to teach Kakashi that.
"I have a few conditions, of course," she said, crossing her arms loosely in front of her.
"Of course." His eyes twinkled with amusement as he leaned back on his chair. "So do I."
"I don't want my team to be compromised by this." Sakura kept herself short and to the point. "I imagine you're going to cut back on my missions so I can spend more time inside the village. I don't want them to be sent without a medic out there and even less so for them to get paid less because of the lower mission frequency."
"We won't be cutting back on your missions, Wolfie-chan." Sakura raised her eyebrows at him and fought back a reaction at the nickname. "While this is important, I would be a fool to mess up the perfect balance Team Ro has found with you."
"I… thank you?" Sakura blinked at him. Her surprise at the direct compliment made her break her façade. His amused chuckle made her stand up straighter and narrow her eyes at him.
"This project will be set up like workshops. While I won't cut back on your missions, I will stop any back to back missions Team Ro has and try to direct the team to less time consuming assignments while outside the village," Toshio explained. "My first condition is that the workshops should last at least four hours. I'll let you know which days at least a month ahead and will coordinate those with your team's schedule."
"And that still won't decrease the mission income for Team Ro?" Sakura asked, just to be sure.
"Whenever I feel like you need to spend more time inside the village, Team Ro will be assigned to the Hokage's Platoon," Toshio said simply. "As you know, ninja assigned to that particular mission have a better salary… as do teachers."
"Oh," Sakura said dumbly.
She really hadn't stopped to think that she was going to be a teacher. Being a teacher in their world meant being in the highest standing, their salary was at least double that of a normal shinobi, according to their rank.
"Yeah, oh," Toshio said with a carefree laugh. "That brings me to my other condition. It's not usual for inexperienced shinobi to be made teachers so I thought we could appease more traditional members by giving you a better standing inside the shadow ranks."
"What do you mean?" Sakura asked, confused. She didn't like the Commander's responding grin.
"I'm making you captain." Toshio laughed at her flabbergasted expression and continued, "Ideally, no one would ever become captain without a lot of practice first but that's not usually what happens here in ANBU. I want to slowly prepare you for that title. Maybe six months?"
"I—how… You want me to captain another team on top of everything else?" Sakura blustered through her exclamation. Was he insane?
"No, of course not." He rolled his eyes in a way that clearly said, you idiot. "Tenzou will be your mentor in this. You'll co-captain Team Ro for the next six months until he says you're ready to become a full-fledged captain. As of now, you are officially Wolf-taichou."
Sakura stared at him for a few beats. The Commander had an amused little smile on his face as he rested against the back of his chair. After a while, he scrunched up his nose uncomfortably and a small trickle of blood came out of it only to be wiped clean by his hand. So that's where the dried blood had come from.
"Did you get into a brawl, Commander-san?" Sakura immediately snapped into action, rounding his desk so she could reach him better. Unceremoniously, she grabbed his chin in her hands and tilted his head up and towards her. The way his whole body tensed up was highly satisfying even if his voice was annoyingly smooth when he spoke next.
"It's common for captains to spar together between missions." Sakura smirked at the way his words squished together because of her hold on him. With her other hand, she applied chakra to his nose. "I like to join in sometimes. Makes me feel less old."
The personal admission had surprised him as much as it had her from the slight twitch he couldn't hide from this close.
Huh, Inner thought, who knew we could grow to like the Commander.
"I'm looking forward to participating in those spars soon." Sakura stepped back, her work done, and went back to the other side of the desk. With a tired sigh, she sprawled lazily on one of the chairs. She'd been right, they were uncomfortable. "Think I'll have to kick a lot of ass before others start respecting me?"
She used his accidental oversharing to open up a bit herself. What she'd said to Tsunade about getting closer to the Commander was a bit of harmless jest but it held some truth to it. So far, everything pointed to him being a possible asset to their fight and it wouldn't hurt to let him get closer.
"I think you naturally inspire trust and respect, Wolfie-taichou." Despite the shit-eating grin on his face and the blasted nickname, Sakura was surprised by how candid he sounded. "You'll make a good leader, I'm sure."
"Hopefully I'll make a good teacher too," Sakura said, a slight sigh to her words. Tsunade-shishou had not been kidding about her taking more responsibility. Sakura waved a mental goodbye at any prospect of free time in the near future.
"I know you will, Sacchan." Toshio shrugged, his cheery grin growing.
Sakura huffed a small laugh. Damn him for saying such encouraging things while still being an annoying pain in her ass.
Even as she rolled her eyes at the Commander's antics, Sakura felt a small pang go through her chest. The only person who had ever called her 'Sacchan' had been her father.
Over the years, she had gotten used to the almost radio silence between her and her parents but in times like these where she accomplished something huge, she still had the urge to go tell them.
That urge had gotten significantly smaller and less present the more time passed and they refused to seek her out, but it was still there.
She could only hope there would come a time where she could be at their side and not feel like she was a failure in their eyes.
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Sooooo that happened. Lol the more I write about the Commander, the more I like him. I hope you guys do too. It just seemed so odd that this prominent figure (he's the ANBU Commander, dude) not be talked about at all? I guess you could say Naruto wasn't really supposed to know much about ANBU and stuff but still, this guys was on the meeting with the Daimyo. We could have had at least one sentence come out of his mouth. Anyway.
I have so many things to say to you guys!
First, some notes on the chapter! I always liked this idea that the next step for Sakura was going to be becoming captain but I felt like it was a nice touch to have Sakura first lead a project that Tsunade herself would have killed or at that age. Playing with the will of fire here hehe. I'm sure you guys have lots of questions about this so hit me up in the comments, okay? Either way, next chapter will definitely answer some of those questions and explain how these workshops will work a bit better.
About her becoming a captain...ish. My wonderful Beta, A, was a bit confused by this so I thought I'd address some things here. In paper, Sakura will officially be Team Ro's co-captain. In practice, she'll mostly lead Team Ro while Tenzou guides her for about six months so she could get some real practice while still being in a kind of controlled environment and by that I mean if she makes a mistake she won't kill anybody 'cus Tenzou will be there to guide her. Now, let me explain why that makes sense in my head.
I've read some fics (I'll link it down below because it's amazing) that when someone from ANBU is promoted to captain, they have to move to another team to effectively lead it. I get that, and in my universe that still happens to some extent. Remember when Toshio said: "ideally, no one would become a captain without having practice?" Well, that doesn't always happen. Sometimes, they would have a demand for more teams and hire more new operatives that would need someone leading them and so people would get promoted. But in an ideal world where they don't have to worry about having more teams, it doesn't make sense to just put someone as a leader no matter how much experience they have inside a team. A leader's job is very different from a normal operative. Now, I see ANBU as a more fluid organisation than some might. By that I mean that while Team Ro is a set team, I don't picture them exclusively taking missions with each other. Maybe there will be a certain mission that will need Tenzou's abilities paired off with a sensor-nin, I don't know. I do think they prioritize keeping people in the same team for the sake of familiarity. But think of jounin ranks for a bit and let's take Neji as an example. He's a jounin, so technically he could lead a team, right? Only he mainly works within Team Gai. That doesn't mean that he couldn't lead a team if there was a need for that. You see what I mean?
So yeah, if you don't understand where I'm coming from or disagree or even just wanna talk some more about it, hit me up.
Originally, this chapter was going to be fucken huge but I split it in two because things just weren't working. Being on a three month long writer's block was absolute hell for me, y'all. I'm so so sorry for taking this long to post something new i.i Please leave me some love on the comments 'cus I seriously need it lol. I hope everyone is safe and well! Please let me know what you think :)
Some links!
The fic I was talking about, it's AMAZING. I've been reading it for a while and it's always fun to see the similarities between that and DoF even though I've never even spoken to the author and we probably live like completely different lives. Here you go if you wanna check it out it's called Masks by madstoryteller999
Also, the post I was telling you guys about! It's a beautiful KakaSaku drawing over on Tumblr
By the way, come say hi on Tumblr! I changed my username to justjstuff
See you all soon!
~J