Three weeks later, once the girls had gotten into their now daily routine Sakura and Karin met up with Omoi and Karui on one of their all together off days since Cee and Samui had gone off on separate missions.
"Gods these last few weeks have been an absolute nightmare" Karui groaned, plopping down in the booth opposite her female friends, leaving the space next to her free for Omoi who slid into the seat next to her a second later.
Omoi nodding his head in agreement "Yeah those D ranks are positively awful, we keep trying to hint to Samui-sensei that we're ready for a C rank mission but she won't hear of it" Omoi sulked unhappily as he slouched over the table.
Looking utterly lazy in that moment that the unlikely sisters couldn't help but crack smiles of amusement "Well just be lucky you don't have Cee-sensei, if you aren't use to him, you'd be calling him a slave-driver with the schedule he has us on" Karin commented.
Karui perked in response "Three days a week we train for four hours and do missions for two hours, on those days, plus the weekend we also work four hours at the hospital, two days we're given individual training and work eight hours those days at the greenhouses" Sakura listed.
Both Karui and Omoi stared at them in horror at what seemed like an outrageous schedule to them "How do you get any time to yourselves" Karui spluttered, though it did make her realize why the two hadn't had much time to hang out until now.
Cee had kept them working hard to not only sharpen their skills but improve and even learn new things "It's not all bad really, Cee-sensei just really wants us to be able to survive when we do start going on higher ranked missions, especially when we become Chunin" Karin assured.
Quite fond of their tyrant of a blonde sensei "Exactly Kids, never doubt that Cee isn't doing all that for your own good no matter how tyrannical or fanatical about your training he may seem" Darui commented from a short distance away.
He was sitting at a table across from them "Of course Darui-san like there's any question about that" Sakura snorted softly, verdant orbs glittering with amusement, a smile tugged at one corner of his mouth as he chuckled lightly.
"Nearly forgot Cee wanted me to give you a message, this mission he's off on is going to take a couple of days and he wants you to train a couple hours with your weapons until he's back but that's about all the training he wants you to do" Darui said.
Remembering Cee's instructions for his kunoichi "Geez even while he's gone you don't get much of a break" Omoi groaned, Sakura shrugged but didn't seem to be to bothered about the instructions from her sensei.
Neither did Karin who was actually quite relieved to have some time solely practicing with her metal fans, so after sitting a bit longer, chatting to Omoi and Karui while eating, Sakura and Karin headed for the usual training grounds.
There was another kunoichi occupying the grounds as well but the younger duo didn't bother her any, merely set up for their own practice "Ready Sakura" Karin called, intent on using her sister for target practice.
Since Sakura was more flexible and could dodge better, the pinkette nodded, so she drew her fans from their pouch and began the session by waving the metal fans while hitting the button to release a barrage of throwing needles at Sakura.
Who jumped back and up to avoid the rain of senbon, both genin missed the curious looks being thrown their way by the older kunoichi on the field "Ow I think you got better at aiming" Sakura admitted half an hour later.
As she pulled the thin weapons from her arm and legs, not having been able to keep up continuously dodging the entire time, Karin apologizing all the while "I'm sorry I really didn't mean to hurt you Sakura-chan" Karin apologized for the seventh time.
Until Sakura held up her hand "It's okay really Karin-chan" Sakura assured, finally Karin relaxed and soon turned to the targets in order to keep practicing while Sakura got her turn in at training with her huge boomerang.
That was extremely dangerous as well, the hidden button on it, released two scythe like blades on the other side so when thrown it cut through enemies as well not just knocked them out from the blunt wooden weapon.
By the time it was three both girls had worked up quite the sweat working with their individual weapons and the older kunoichi was impressed "Given the way you handle those weapons your still not use to wielding them" the blonde kunoichi walked over.
Seeing that the girls were about to leave "Huh oh yeah, we've only had them for about three weeks now" Karin jumped having not seen the older woman approach and her first reflex was to duck behind Sakura.
But not wanting to appear weak held her ground by not moving "Really that's even more impressive than I expected, I'm Yugito Ni by the way, one of the Jinchuuriki of this village and something like a cousin to Raikage-sama" Yugito introduced.
Sakura tilted her head to the side "Jinchuuriki…..you mean you have one of the nine tailed beasts sealed inside of you" Sakura inquired hesitantly not sure if it was a sensitive topic or not but definitely curious.
Yugito smiled "That's exactly what I mean, I have the Two Tailed Cat inside of me, he might look mean and scary but Matatabi is alright since we get along with one another" Yugito nodded, glad that she didn't have to explain.
And also relieved that neither girl seemed to be disgusted over the fact that she had a huge tailed beast sealed away in her "You get along, I didn't know you could do that with tailed beasts" Karin chimed in, a look of confusion on her face.
"Mhm, he helps me fight sometimes and doesn't try to take over my body to get out" Yugito informed, amused at their curiosity, which made her wonder "By the way, who is your sensei" Yugito questioned.
The pinkette perked "Cee is our sensei, he's currently gone off on a mission right now for the next couple of days but he made sure to leave instructions for us so we didn't slack off on our training" Sakura announced.
Satisfied with that tidbit Yugito waved and headed back towards her own spot to continue training while the younger kunoichi left and marched towards the hospital to get in their four hours work for the day.
"What a day" Karin sighed as she plopped down on the couch face first when they finally got back home to their apartment after being out and about all day, Sakura snickered at her on her way into the kitchen to start cooking supper.
A couple days later they learned the Cee's mission had been extended "So he asked that I watch you train until he returns" Darui said, finished reading the message that had been sent to him via messenger bird from Cee.
In front of him were Karin and Sakura who'd already been on their way out the door to do some training "Oh he also wants me to make you do a few missions because when he gets back he's going to assign you a C rank mission to test you" Darui added as an afterthought.
Thankfully neither Sakura or Karin were the argumentative types "That's fine, come on Karin-chan, lets work on the mystical palm today" Sakura grinned, really wanting to get medical ninjutsu down.
Just so that she could say she'd finally learned it "Yeah…wait actually would it be okay if we did a couple missions first as a warm up" Karin nodded eagerly before pausing, Sakura thought the idea over before nodding as well.
Darui shrugged seeing no point in telling them no since it seemed like they really did want to take on a couple of D ranks so off the three of them went to the tower where Sakura and Karin were assigned two simple missions.
One of them however made the girls grimace "Joy rapture we're going to fail again" Sakura sighed, glaring at the picture of the menace known as Shun the greyhound, Darui bit his cheek harshly to keep from laughing.
While Ay snorted having no qualms about finding their situation hilarious "Good luck brats your gonna need it to catch him" Ay dismissed them with a wave, sending the brats off to complete their D ranks.
"Lets do the other one first" Karin suggested, seeing that the other mission didn't involve chasing after a miniature horse sized dog, Sakura agreed but it took them very little time to complete it so now they had no choice but to start their search for Shun.
So being the burgeoning sensory type shinobi that she was Karin closed her eyes and spread out her senses, knowing Shun's chakra like the back of her hand now from the previous three attempts at catching him.
It took a couple of minutes before she found him and after five minutes stumbled across the huge greyhound who immediately recognized them and started running and they made chase after him, Darui pacing leisurely behind them from the rooftops.
Sakura grit her teeth when Shun leaped over a high wall and in mid run focused chakra into her feet to go straight up leaving Karin to climb over the wall normally as she continued to race after Shun she was practically breathing down his neck now.
So she made to reach out and grab him around the middle when Shun skidded to a stop and bolted in the opposite direction "Gah you little" Sakura growled in frustration as she spun on her heels and boosted her speed with chakra to regain the lost distance.
By this point Karin had rejoined her on their run through the back streets of Kumogakure "For crying out loud" Karin grumbled when Shun jumped another wall in an attempt to shake them off his tail.
Emerald orbs burning with determination Sakura pushed up off the ground to leap over the wall instead of wasting time running up it, this proved to be the wrong thing to do as Shun was waiting for her.
Obviously done being chased because the minute she touched down he gave a growl and lunged clearly intent on attacking her, just before his massive jaw was about to close around her arm Darui swooped in and saved her.
"You alright" Darui asked, watching the feral dog run off and inwardly thinking that maybe they should stop having genin try to catch Shun to return him to his owner, Shun was getting to be a little bit to dangerous.
Clinging to his waist Sakura trembled slightly "Yeah I'm okay, I was just a little surprised is all" Sakura admitted not having thought that the greyhound would try to attack her but now she doubly loathed Shun and never wanted to try and catch him again.
Darui grimaced "What happened" Karin called up to them, seeing Sakura up on the roof with Darui, Shun no where in sight and when she got the explanation Karin grimaced as the three of them trudged back to the tower to report in.
Once they got their mission pay for the completed mission Darui sent the girls off to the training grounds ahead of him "Boss, I don't think we should leave Shun to genin anymore, he just tried attacking the Kid" Darui informed.
Ay straightened in his seat "Those brats weren't hurt were they" Ay questioned, having thought they were quieter than usual but he hadn't seen any injuries on the brats either, Darui shook his head in response.
"No I got to Sakura in time but he was clearly aiming to bite her" Darui explained, Ay nodded in understanding then dismissed his subordinate with a wave so that he could watch those brats train as Cee had requested of him.
By the time he reached the training grounds the girls were being instructed by Yugito Ni so he leaned against a post to watch, smiling every so often when laughter from either Karin or Sakura reached his ears.
They trained for the next three hours before heading off to a restaurant for lunch and finally to the greenhouses that they worked in for the rest of the day, so by the time Cee actually returned from his mission a solid week and a half had gone by.
"Good to have you back man, it's been mighty interesting while you were off on that mission" Darui greeted, glad that Cee was back as much as he liked those girls, it was exhausting watching them train.
Cee rubbed his temples "The next time your going with me to help with the clean up" Cee grunted, in a foul mood from the mission he'd been on, Darui winced and watched his friend trudge off for home no doubt ready to relax.
Until he remembered the following morning that he had students to train, imagine his surprise when he arrived on the training grounds to find it already occupied by Yugito "Ah Cee there you are, Darui mentioned you were back" Yugito greeted.
Walking over to stand in front of him, Cee quirked a brow in confusion "Right I'll get straight to the point, I'd like to help train those girls they have potential but it's clear they need a kunoichi's guiding hand to round out their skills a bit more" Yugito requested.
Practically demanded more like "Alright in fact if you want to take over today completely that would be great as I'm really not up to teaching them anything today" Cee offered, pleased that he was having a chance to take the day off.
Yugito blinked in shock as he hurriedly left, and a couple seconds after his departure Karin and Sakura arrived "Thought for sure I felt Cee-sensei's chakra but maybe I was wrong" Karin frowned having wanted to speak to the man.
"He's still a little tired from his mission so he's leaving your training up to me today" Yugito informed, chuckling softly when the girls gave her stunned looks "So how does Cee normally train you on Thursdays" Yugito questioned.
And Karin stepped forward "Cee-sensei gives us separate instruction on Tuesday and Thursday, Sakura has Tuesday I have Thursday and sensei usually works with me on further developing my sensory skills" Karin explained.
While Sakura turned and left, waving as she did so, and once far enough away made a break for the market because there were things she needed to get, like groceries and other such stuff for the apartment so they didn't run out of food or necessities.
"It still surprises me whenever I see one of you two girls, being so responsible at your age" Atsui commented from behind Sakura when he spotted the pinkette musing over the best vine of tomatoes to get.
Sakura shrugged lightly in response "Eh being mature and responsible is so ingrained into me that I don't think that I could ever really change my ways now" Sakura admitted, finally choosing what she wanted and adding them to the storage scroll she had on hand.
Atsui shook his head but followed her into the next shop "Sakura this is probably going to be a very sensitive question but if that Isha lady hadn't passed away you would have never left and still been with her to this day wouldn't you" Atsui questioned.
Very carefully because he didn't want to upset the girl or make her cry "Huh….oh yeah probably or she could have sent me off to gain experience I dunno hehe" Sakura laughed, pondering over what Isha would have done if she hadn't died that day.
"Have you remembered anything from your past, like where your really from or anything yet" Atsui inquired gently, knowing that the topic was extremely sore for Sakura who slumped her shoulders and shook her head.
Making his wince in sympathy "No, at this point I'm guessing I'm probably never going to remember Atsui-san, it's been seven years I think I'm done holding out hope something will trigger my lost memories" Sakura said with a note of finality in her voice.
"Right, sorry for bothering you while you were shopping and all, see ya around Sakura" Atsui waved, fleeing the shop, feeling guilty all the while, but Sakura continued her shopping before returning to the apartment.
And seeing that she had time made a very simple lunch, along with a simple lunchbox to take along to the greenhouses for dinner, Sakura got done just in time as Karin barreled into the house "Ugh I think Yugito-sensei is more unrelenting than Cee-sensei ever was" Karin groaned.
Looking like she'd been through the wringer or something "Looks like we're gonna always be stuck with unforgiving sensei huh Karin-chan" Sakura snickered lightly, gesturing to the food already on the table.
Karin gladly flopped down in a chair and dug in thankful for having something to eat to replenish her chakra with after working with it extensively the past few hours and when she was done, hurriedly did up her portion of the dishes.
Before dashing off to take a quick shower and change out of her dirty clothes into clean ones for work "Ready…me to lets go" Karin asked when she emerged wearing a thick dark purple dress that went past her knee's.
"Yep" Sakura nodded, leading the way out of their apartment and down the streets of the village to where the greenhouses were located so that they could begin work as was required of them every Tuesday and Thursday.
Once there both genin happily immersed themselves in learning all the properties of each plant that was grown in the greenhouses "That'll be all for today, see you next Tuesday" the herb specialist waved.
The minute it turned eight o'clock on them, Sakura and Karin grabbed their bags and hurried towards their apartment, "Hmm what is this huge box for" Karin frowned when the reached the floor of the complex their apartment was on.
Only to see a huge box sitting in front of their door "Dunno….that's Cee-sensei's hand writing, so it's for us" Sakura echoed Karin's frown for a moment before recognizing the handwriting, so carefully hefted the box into her arms.
While Karin unlocked the door and held it open for her "Well what does it say" Karin inquired, impatient as Sakura set the box on the floor agonizingly slow then opened up the message that Cee had written them.
"Found these abandoned in what could have been a library at one point in time, thought you might find them useful, we'll meet tomorrow, regular time on our training grounds, Cee" Sakura read off, opening the box now only to freeze before tenderly lifting the top book out to look at.
There emblazoned on the front was a familiar name Isha U. "Isha as in that lady who taught you how to make medicines and stuff" Karin gasped, recognizing the name as well from how often Sakura use to talk about the woman.
Sakura's hands trembled "One and the same" Sakura said, feeling a bit overwhelmed about being unexpectedly reunited with a part of her past, that was supposed to have been hers in the first place but the villagers had taken it away from her despite her mentors wishes.
"Wow there's so many" Karin gaped, as Sakura continued extracting the books from the box and neatly piling them on the floor, each one had Isha U. monogrammed onto the front "Guess we'll never have to buy another medical text" Karin commented.
Realizing that they practically had their own library now "I know what you mean, Isha-sensei's collection was extensive…hmm hold on this isn't a regular scroll, this has the enclosing seal on it" Sakura nodded.
Picking up one of the random scrolls only to recognize the seal draw on it "Go on open it" Karin urged excitedly wanting to see what else they'd be getting out of this random box deal that Cee had given them.
Curious herself Sakura bit her thumb and swiped blood on the seal "Unseal" Sakura called softly not expecting the huge explosion of smoke so she waved her hands with Karin helping until the smoke dissipated enough to see what had been sealed away.
"More books geez and are those letters…there's even children's clothes in here" Karin noted, looking over what had just been revealed to them while watching Sakura carefully as she gently lifted the neatly folded pile of clothes.
That had been mended with care "This is what I was wearing the day I met Isha in the town pharmacy, just wandered in to get away from the rain" Sakura explained, before sealing the clothes back up.
Before reading the letters only to laugh softly to herself at what one of them said, then handed the letter over to Karin who examined it with a confused look on her face which morphed into understanding "My name is in this letter" Karin said.
Sakura nodded "Indeed, your mom wrote Isha-sensei, both of whom are Uzumaki's, which makes you an Uzumaki as well, your mom wanted Isha-sensei to come get you from Kusagakure and raise you in order to protect you" Sakura smiled.
"So that means if she hadn't of passed she would have come got me and we would have grown up together anyway" Karin realized, Sakura grinned and Karin couldn't help herself as she threw her arms around Sakura's neck.
Hugging the life out of the slightly older girl "Irony is oh so sweet" Sakura declared softly, hugging Karin back until the redhead let out a jaw cracking yawn which meant it was bed time for the both of them and with that the day came to an end peacefully.