AN: I was going to be lazy and just follow the plot of the 1998 Disney movie, but I guess that somehow just fell by the wayside. Heads up: ninjutsu is a thing in this alternative universe—I just tweaked a few details here and there. But then again, I'm taking a lot of liberties just by writing up this AU in the first place. Sorry, Kishimoto.
Also, apologies for the super short update—second round of midterms are coming up and I confess that I've been focusing more on another story. On the bright side, spring break starts in two weeks so I'll have more time to work on this and The Other Ones.
"Well then, off you go," Shiranui-san says. He scribbles something on a small slip of paper and hands it to her. "Give that to Hatake-taichou when you see him. Bear will show you the way out. NEXT!"
The man in the mask is already lifting the flap of the tent, and Sakura hurries to follow him out. The pudgy recruit waiting right outside the entrance visibly pales when she comes out of the tent.
"What's taking them so long?" she hears Genma grumble from within. "I SAID, NEXT PERSON!" The boy, quivering like jelly, hesitantly steps inside.
The man in the mask—Bear? she thinks is his name—beckons to her with a finger.
"Follow me." Bear grunts before disappearing around the corner, and Sakura follows suit. They circle around to the back of the tent, where there are two masked sentries standing guard in front of a small gated entrance. Bear nods at them, and the one whose mask resembles the snarling face of a tiger salutes before unlatching the gate. The door swings open to reveal a narrow forest path fringed with oak trees.
As soon as they pass through the gate, the outline of Bear's body flickers and the man suddenly disappears in a blink of an eye.
In one moment he's striding in front of her, the shadows of the leaves above creating dappled patterns on the dull grey metal of his armor; the next he's just…gone.
"…Uh, Mr. Bear?" Sakura looks around her. Where the hell did he go?
"I'm up here, kid," someone says distantly. Something rustles in the leafy canopy above her. "I don't suppose you know how to tree-walk, do you?"
"Of course not." Sakura scowls up at the leaves. "It's a jutsu. How would I know if it's illegal for civilians to know military techniques?" Well, technically, she understands the theory behind it but she never actually had the guts to practice at home. Naruto did, though.
There's an audible sigh from the canopy of leaves above her. "Not Clan, eh?" she thinks he mutters. "Alright, then," Bear says a little louder. "Just… follow the trail, and I'll tell you when to change direction. And, uh, we're a little short-handed and I need to go back to the tents to pick up a few more of you, so let's pick up the pace, shall we?"
"…Wait, what?" Sakura says, taken aback. There's a flash of silver; a kunai whistles past her ear and embeds itself into the trunk of the tree right next to her, and she shrieks and jumps out of the way.
"You could have just told me to RUN, you know!" She yells. Bear doesn't deign to respond.