Of all the melodramatic, pitiable things that have happened to her in the last week, this was arguably earning its title near the top of her list.
She knew the moment she read the name on Kakashi's summons that her mentor was going to be a dud- she was actually quite familiar with this particular instructor. He'd been a substitute teacher on a few occasions that Iruka-Sensei couldn't make it into class or needed a helping hand in controlling the overzealous students, not that he was much help anyway.
Mr. Gozou was just about as useful as a daycare teacher- especially when it came to combat.
It was clear in the first few hours that he was simply walking her though the basic motions of movement and giving her brief, sloppy lectures he was nearly reciting word for word from sections taken from academy textbooks.
She almost longed for running laps around the village, at least then she'd feel like she was doing something productive. Also, Naruto was nowhere in sight and Mr. Gozou was hesitant to give her an answer explaining his absence. It wouldn't surprise her if Naruto had one look at the man and took off out of spite- or simply made a scene to which the older, stuffy acting man couldn't condone.
She considered just leaving too, as she was just wasting time at this point, she didn't even bother wearing her shinobi garb, knowing there would be no point.
After a couple of hours she was sent home with all but a gold star for her efforts, feeling more childish and patronized than ever before- she wondered if Kakashi just loved seeing her fail. She also wondered if he even cared if she did, and if her temporary mentor was any indication- she'd didn't think so.
On her way back she noticed something unusual, the older brunette who she'd seen help drag away the strange green-clad shinobi. The brown haired girl was standing in the centre of one of the training grounds, the scene was odd. It almost looked like a weapons scroll had exploded.
"Oh, hey." The brunette smiled, wiping a bead of sweat from her forehead as she began to pick up the assortment of weapons strewn around the training ground, "It's Sakura, right?"
"Oh, uh, yeah." Sakura nodded, bending down to grab a handful of senbon, "Sorry, I never got your name." She smiled sheepishly, feeling awkward, she was sure she'd heard it during the exams, but couldn't place it.
"It's Tenten," the older girl laughed, thanking the pinkette as she carefully placed the senbon over a blank scroll, "I saw your match, congratulations."
"Thanks." Sakura smiled, still feeling a bit awkward over the bare-fisted, raw fight she and Ino had managed to conjure. It lacked the grace and wit most shinobi battles included- and left her feeling guilty and embarrassed.
"It's still so strange to me…" Tenten sighed, scratching her head as she sealed the pile of weapons back into a scroll and strapped it to her hip, "I have thousands of weapons, and all it took was one chick with a fan to take me out." She snorted, Sakura was sure the older girl was trying to make a joke, but she could see the sadness behind it.
"Yeah." Sakura nodded, "If I'd been paired with anyone else during the exams… well, I'm pretty sure I wouldn't be moving on to the next phase. That's for sure."
Tenten raised a brow to the other girl, wiping some of the dirt from her hands onto her pants as she began to walk beside Sakura, "The exams are no joke, people die there. Most people don't even make it out of the forest. You should count that alone as an accomplishment."
Sakura smiled, lips tight as she tried to focus her eyes ahead. Memories of the snake-like man and the sound ninja danced around in her head, she wondered if any of the other genin teams could even fathom what their experience in the forest had been like. She herself wondered if she could fully grasp what she'd seen.
"Yeah… I don't think I'll be able to luck out on the next round." Sakura grumbled, wondering why she was telling this girl her problems. She didn't need to seem more pitiable than she already was, or felt.
"Hey, isn't Hatake Kakashi your mentor?" Tenten exclaimed, causing Sakura to halt in her tracks, face growing red, "Gai-Sensei talks about him all the time- he's supposed to be some legendary copycat ninja, what are you worrying about?"
"He's not training me." Sakura grit, feeling her fists involuntarily clench at her sides. She kept the tears back, simply feeling vulnerable and frustrated had left her emotionally sensitive but she'd be damned if she made a fool of herself.
"Really? Why not, if you don't mind me asking."
"He's off training another one of my teammates. Just kind of left Naruto and I in the dust." Sakura breathed, pushing some stray bangs from her face.
"What a jerk."
Surprised, Sakura looked up to see the older girl momentarily deep in thought, brown eyes lighting up before she smiled widely, clapping a hand to the other girls shoulder, "Hey, I've got an idea!" She grinned.
Before Sakura could say anything else the other girl was directing her towards the centre of the village, she hadn't realized how far she'd actually strayed from the training grounds but it was too late to turn tail and return home, so she let the gleeful brunette pull her towards the innermost part of the village- unaware of where she was going and feeling sheepish at the sudden physical contact with the newly met brunette so she simply blushed and tried to keep pace.
They stopped somewhere in the shinobi quarters of the village, where a bar or a weapons shop sat at every corner. She stared lamely at the brunette who was signaling her to wait a moment, before she sprinted up to a collection of townhomes, knocking loudly on one of the doors.
In little more than a few seconds the door flew open and Sakura swore, for no better explanation came to mind, the air began to glitter around a freakishly tall, green clad man. She saw the most identical resemblance she could imagine to an older version of Tenten's teammate- a far louder, dramatic version too.
Sakura could sense where this was going, and though she was sure the older girl had the best of intentions, and considered running now for both her sanity and future hearing abilities.
"Tenten!" Gai gasped, clutching both of the annoyed looking brunette's hands, "you've come to visit your sensei!"
Tenten cleared her throat, tiredly retracting her hands and dusting them off once again, "Actually, Gai-Sensei. I had a favor to ask." She smiled, the dark haired man now absolutely beaming.
"Of course, my young pupil. What can I assist you with?" He grinned, placing a firm hand over his hip as he stared intently at his student.
"Well…" Tenten smiled, nodding her head in the direction of the pinkette. Sakura suddenly felt very awkward. Like an uninvited guest. She didn't know either of these people well enough to ask anything of them. She was also well aware that Naruto was going up against Tenten's teammate in the final part of the exam- according to Ino.
"Ah, if it isn't one of Kakashi's students!" Gai exclaimed, strolling down the steps to extend a hand to Sakura, she meekly shook his hand, cheeks feeling hot as she tried to look anywhere but his dramatic grin.
Tenten must have sensed her discomfort, because she quickly stepped beside her, smiling tightly at her mentor, "Gai-Sensei, would it be okay if Sakura came to training with us tomorrow?"
"Training, huh?" Gai sighed, scratching his head in thought.
"I don't mean to impose." Sakura said quickly, face feeling unusually hot as she tried to gather her thoughts. Things had been happening so quickly, and so oddly recently.
"No, it's not that." Gai smiled, "isn't Kakashi training you for the exams?" He questioned, thick brows drawn together in question.
"He's training one of her other teammates one-on-one, and since Neji is training at the compound right now and Lee is…" She trailed off, eyes looking distant for a moment before Gai stepped forward, gently rustling her hair with a smile so tender and genuine Sakura nearly felt like she she look away.
"The more the merrier. Have you had any weight training, Sakura?" He questioned, smile softer than before.
"Only in the academy." Sakura smiled, feeling heat once again rising to her cheeks.
"Hm. You just look like your build is best suited for speed. Kakashi never did like taijutsu, preferred ninjutsu to anything else." Gai mumbled, seemingly deep in thought as he circled the young girl.
"Do you have any weights?" He questioned, to which Sakura quickly shook her head, once again feeling awkward.
"That's no problem, I'll just loan you and old pair of Lee's, eh? I'm sure he won't mind." Gai smiled, winking as he climbed up the steps to his home, waving for the two girls to follow him inside.
Hesitantly, Sakura climbed the steps just behind Tenten, who looked entirely comfortable as she strolled inside, plopping down on a long, white couch once inside. She happily patted a seat beside her as Gai disappeared into a back room, presumably to grab the leg weights.
"I know he can seem like a bit much," Tenten sighed, "but he's an excellent teacher, he really does push you to your limits."
"Did you do weight training too?" Sakura asked, folding her hands in her lap, feeling slightly more comfortable than before.
"Yeah, we all did." Tenten smiled, "Gai-Sensei is very serious about the importance of training your body. It was actually probably for Lee, mostly."
"What do you mean?" Sakura questioned, from what she saw Lee was outstanding with Taijutsu, far beyond what most Jounin bothered with. It was almost an outdated form of combat.
"Lee can't perform ninjutsu or genjutsu." Tenten nodded, taking in Sakura's look of surprise. "Yeah, I know. I was surprised too, but he never let that stop him. He was desperate to prove he could make a name for himself despite that."
Sakura had questions, but the look in Tenten's eyes portrayed that she didn't want to continue, and after what Ino said went on between Gaara and Lee, she wasn't surprised. So she settled on saying nothing, knowing pity wasn't well received in the ninja world.
Gai returned not long after, two weights clasped tightly in his fist, looking incredibly pleased with himself.
"These are Lee's old training set, they should be good for practice tomorrow. If you do well, we'll move up a size." He said, bending down to strap them tightly around her calves. She immediately felt a burn in her muscles. There was no way this was Lee's training set. She grunted in discomfort as the weights pulled uncomfortably on her skin.
Tenten snorted softly, offering a sympathetic smile to the pinkette as Gai examined her once again, nodding to himself as he dropped into a chair across from the two girls.
"Go ahead and do a lap around the village tonight, Tenten you should join her. The hydrangeas are in full bloom." He smiled, a mischievous glint in his eye as he waved the two girls off, Sakura wincing and grunting at every step.
Tenten walked beside her, helping to stabilize the younger girl as she made her way down the steps, a feat that took nearly five full minutes.
"Guess Gai-Sensei is trying to push you." Tenten smiled, "Neji and I started at fifty pounds per weight, but Lee had to be over the top as usual."
"How much are these?" Sakura winced, not sure she could make it twenty more feet let alone around the entire village.
"Seventy-five."
"You don't have to come with me, you did so much already." Sakura waved, feeling awkward making Tenten trot alongside her at such a slow pace.
"Don't worry about it, it's better to have someone with you anyway. I passed out the first time." She chuckled, admiring the handiwork of a handcrafted katana at one of the nearby stands as Sakura strained to follow behind her, body already screaming with pain.
"Really?" Sakura panted, stomach twisting with cramps as she forced herself forward, nearly toppling over the awkward shift in weight.
"Oh, yeah." Tenten nodded, "Neji had a hard time making it even halfway through the village and he's… Well, he's good at everything."
"Yeah, I saw some of his fight with Hinata. So she's his cousin?" Sakura breathed, trying to find anything to speak about, suddenly very grateful the other girl had come along, she needed something to distract her from the ungodly pain her legs were in.
"Yeah," Tenten paused, examining a shop window with mild interest, "his family is very… traditional, you know? He isn't as cruel as he seemed. He's actually a very sincere person."
"What do you mean?" Sakura questioned, beads of sweat now rolling down the back of her neck, causing her long hair to stick uncomfortably beneath the collar of her top.
"The Hyuga clan is actually one of the founding clans, they came here just after the Senju and Uchiha formed the village." Tenten smiled, "They're divided into two parts, the main family and then the branch family."
"That's how most clans work, don't they?"
"Yeah, but not the way the Hyuga do…" Tenten trailed, "the Hyuga treat the branch family like outsiders. Essentially a pecking order that has nothing to do with strength or abilities, you're just instant born and branded as something, lesser…" She muttered face twisting in anger as she kicked at some loose earth, waiting for Sakura to catch up to her.
"I just figured all clans worked that way…" Sakura grumbled, brow now drenched in sweat as she attempted to waddle in a way that at least lessened the sting in her thighs.
"I wouldn't know for sure, but I've seen how Neji's uncle talks to him… treats him. I just... makes me sick, you know? I think that's why Neji was so hard on his cousin. That's the only chance he'd ever get to stand up to a main branch family member."
"That makes sense," Sakura nodded, "but is that really Hinata's fault?"
Tenten sighed, "No, not really. She's not really exposed to a lot of the lower branch members. She's the heir to the clan, so aside from the handmaid's I doubt she even has to look at the branch members often."
"Can't imagine what it's like… to live like that." Sakura mumbled, finding it hard to catch her breath. She felt oddly delirious, but also incredibly nauseous.
"Yeah." Tenten snorted, "I can't imagine being from such a big, well-known family. My family owns a weapon shop on the other side of the village, and some of our regulars still call me Tenako."
Sakura chuckled despite herself, feeling oddly jovial in the other girl's company.
"By the way, I've been meaning to ask," Tenten paused, taking a moment to meet Sakura's eyes, "Your family isn't from around here, right?"
Sakura paused and would have collapsed had Tenten not looped an arm around her, steadying her wobbling legs, Sakura found that if she stopped moving she couldn't keep her knees from knocking uncomfortably together, yet when moving they still trembled from the weight. She felt more like a newborn calf than a shinobi in training.
"Uh, yeah." Sakura coughed, face feeling hot, "My parents came from across the sea."
"I thought so." Tenten smiled, "So does mine. Were you born here?"
Sakura nodded, feeling an odd sense of familiarity now that she examined the other girls features and clothing, so familiar to her own.
"I wasn't," Tenten whistled, "but my parents brought me over with them when they decided it would be more profitable to sell unique, handcrafted weapons here. Guess you can only make so many swords before you get bored." She chuckled.
"Did your parents train you?"
"Oh, no. I mean, not outside of the usual stuff. I just, well, I wanted my own style." She smiled wistfully, wind lightly tossing the bangs framing her heart-shaped face.
"I can respect that." Sakura smiled, now nearly gasping as she spoke, but sincerely in some strange way, enjoying conversing with the other girl.
"Yeah, problem was I just couldn't pick a weapon I wanted to commit to." Tenten sighed, "and there's definitely no shortage of choices either."
"So you settled on all of them?"
"Yeah, bit over the top, isn't it?" Tenten sighed, smile receding only a fraction as her pace slowed slightly. "Lee and Neji are just so…"
"Unique." Sakura finished, now awkwardly trying to use the leverage from the weights to swing into steps, hoping it would ease some of the immense bodily pain she was experiencing.
"Yeah," Tenten groaned, "Neji has his byakugan and Lee, well, he's just about unstoppable if he really puts his mind to something."
"Believe me," Sakura whistled, "I get where you're coming from."
Sakura eventually lost track of how long she and Tenten had been talking, they spanned many subjects, mostly little facts about themselves and small talk, but Sakura felt a strange kinship to the other girl. She genuinely enjoyed her company, and Tenten had been right, that agonizing trek would have been impossible had the other girl not been there to keep her mind off the pain, Sakura would not have made it.
When Tenten helped her walk into her home, dropping her off with excitement in her eyes as she promised to meet her at the training grounds tomorrow, Sakura found herself feeling very giddy.
She slept like a rock that night, no dreams of blurred faces and no strange fields of poppies. She woke the next morning feeling refreshed mentally- but physically she wondered if she could walk to the training grounds, let alone participate in whatever hellish feat the green clad jonin could possibly conjure.
Tenten picked her up that day, as promised, happily talking with her parents as she waited for Sakura to get ready, seemingly in no rush. They chatted happily on their way to the training ground. The subject matter much lighter than the day before, but interesting and engaging nonetheless.
Sakura was surprised, to say the least, to see Gai standing happily in the center of training ground ten, looking just as enthusiastic and energetic as the day before. She assumed she'd become so used to Kakashi's tardiness that the mere thought of a mentor being on time was refreshing and exciting- it felt like he truly wanted to be there, teaching and interacting with them. Sakura wondered if her insecurities were always so obvious to her teammates and sensei, she wondered if it was childish for her to want to feel wanted.
"Tenten, it's good to see you, and Sakura!" Gai exclaimed, the air around him once again mysteriously gleaming, "Tenten relayed to me that you were able to complete the test! Excellent work!"
She blushed, feeling less patronized than she would had anyone else spoke to her that way. As annoying as he could be, Gai really was an excellent teacher.
"For now, let's just do some stretches so Sakura can prepare her muscles, okay?" Tenten spoke, reaching into the black duffle bag she had previously slung over her shoulder, producing two tightly rolled foam mats, and handing a soft blue one to Sakura with a smile.
Sakura took the rolled mat with an appreciative nod, rolling it out on the grassy patch just below her, watching as Tenten and Gai did the same. She noticed how well team ten seemed to work together, even with only two members present, there was a certain give-and-take that showed equality and respect between both mentor and student.
Sakura soon realized that even the warm ups were extreme, though by the end of it her sore muscles had started to ease. They struck poses Sakura had never seen and still managed to look at ease while doing it. Gai clearly had a very literal mantra of taking care of the mind and the body, as he showered both students with praise but silently corrected them when they made mistakes- or, when Sakura had made mistakes, she should say.
After that they eased into sparring, first Gai and Sakura so that he could get a better feeling of her strengths and the areas that needed improvement, which were expansive and she could see in his eyes that he was confused by her sub-par physical state, yet he said nothing to that effect, instead he told her to try her hand against Tenten.
While the match was slightly more lengthy, and just barely at that, Tenten too seemed to be silently instructing her as they fought, but she pulled no punches. She was quick and vicious with her attacks, aiming mostly for center of mass and balance distribution. She managed to trip Sakura so many times Sakura doubted she would ever get the grass stains out of her top.
Gai watched them spar intently, nodding to himself as he seemed to scan every movement on both sides of the field. He then went over the error in Tenten's stances and technique at length, though Sakura had thought her fighting style to be nearly flawless and elegant in nature. She gulped as he turned to her, knowing there was little if anything positive to say about her performance.
He held nothing back as he critiqued everything from her sloppy attacks to her sluggish movements, and Sakura feared all the blood in her body had ran to her face as with every criticism her legs felt more and more unsteady, the forgotten ache from earlier returning with a vengeance. Near the end of his lecture Sakura felt as though she should take a seat from the sheer magnitude of his words. She felt small once again, her mind wandering oddly back to the day on the bridge so long ago- how helpless and useless she'd felt as she watched Sasuke and even Naruto display the true gap between the three of them.
"You have a very nice build for speed, suited best for a long-range fighting style, however," Gai sighed, dragging a hand through his inky black hair, "I can see promise in your close-range attacks too."
"I've never had much endurance," Sakura frowned, "In the academy I was listed as a genjutsu type, so my curriculum was standardized to that." She shrugged sheepishly, trying not to reveal the fact that she was deeply embarrassed by the whole situation.
"I figured."Gai smiled, ruffling the pinkett's hair in hopes of erasing her forlorn expression, "There's still promise, and as long as you're willing to learn I'm willing to teach."
The rest of that day was focused on endurance and a recap of the basics, yet with more hands-on and strict regimes than she was used to. Her team focused mostly on advanced technique with little forethought or preparation. For as well as Gai seemed to know Kakashi, which she had learned through his lengthy stories of their so called 'rivalry', they couldn't seem more different. If anyone could be seen as the polar opposite of Kakashi, it would be Gai.
When they were finished Sakura was spitting blood and her knuckles felt as though they had shattered beneath her skin- but she felt good, the rush of adrenaline from such a strenuous workout had numbed some of her pain. She felt empowered, and as Tenten laughed loudly beside her, also looking as though she'd been dragged from one side of the village to the other, Sakura imagined something strange.
What would it have been like if she'd been placed on another team? One better suited to her like this one? A team without three impossibly gifted shinobi, a team of normal genin with normal aspirations. Guilt bubbled just beneath the thought, but she still shamelessly wondered what her life would have been like.
"Hey, are you listening?" Tenten laughed, happily smacking Sakura on her bloodied arm, to which Sakura groaned but smiled despite herself.
Tenten sighed dramatically, "I asked if you were hungry, I'm starving!"
"I could eat." Sakura smiled, a thought quickly drifted into her mind, "No ramen though."
Tenten's nose scrunched quizzically, "I don't really like ramen anyway. I was thinking about the teahouse on Taku street, do you like soba?"
Practically beaming, the two girls made their way into the inner depth of the village, the strange question still ebbing into her mind, what if?
Sakura was familiar with the specific teahouse Tenten had mentioned, it was a favorite of her parents and whenever they had the money when she was younger, they would come and drink tea and soak in the hot springs across the street.
While they were far too bloodied and scuffed up to take a soak at the bathhouse, the waitress didn't seem to mind their rough looking attire- not surprising considering its proximity to the shinobi training grounds- and soon the two girls were happily chatting and enjoying the freshly brewed jasmine tea that had made this particular teahouse such a popular spot.
Just as Tenten was in the middle of a surprisingly funny tale of her team's first out-of-village mission, a head of spiky, white hair caught her attention. It wasn't like Kakashi's silvery mane, but stark white and sticking up in all directions. The man it was attached to was no less puzzling, she couldn't see his face but the bright red attire he wore had drew her attention with ease. She was sure he was a shinobi, by the clothing alone. A foreigner maybe?
"That's weird." Tenten hummed, her attention now focused on the man Sakura had been openly gawking at.
"What is?"Sakura commented, leaning forward as she expected a hushed response.
Instead, she was met with an incredibly bemused attention as Tenten's brown eyes sparkled with amusement, "I didn't know you were into old dudes."Tenten snarked, laughing as Sakura batted at her.
"You can't tell me he doesn't look out of place," Sakura muttered, stirring her cup of soup, still stealing glances at the oddly dressed man, now leaning in closely to the waitress, whispering something into her ear. Her own ears perked up a bit, as she strained to catch his words over the happily chatting patrons.
Tenten too seemed to be trying to read the man's lips, and if her expression was any inclination, the waitresses unhappy gasp was entirely due. Not moment's later a sharp slap silenced most of the chatting as everyone strained to see where it had originated.
Sakura was confused to see the man wearing a horned headband, and etched into it was the insignia of her village. He was a leaf shinobi.
Not much more thought could be put into this discovery, as the door to the teahouse soon flew open, and though it obscured her view- she knew that voice anywhere.
"Hey! Prevy-sage!" An enraged, wheezing Naruto screamed from behind the door, "You get back to the bathhouse and pay your tab! Mitsuki's gonna' kick my ass if... "
As the door slid shut Naruto's expression changed slowly from rage to confusion to glee as he caught glimpse of Sakura, that glee slowly fading into confusion and concern as he seemingly lost focus and stomped over to her booth, blue eyes widening the closer he got.
"Are ya' hurt, Sakura-chan?" He sputtered, leaning in close to examine her wounds, nose scrunched slightly as he shuffled around in the pocket of his apron, presumably his work uniform, from the snippet of what she'd heard.
"here," He smiled, a fluffy towel in hand, "It's s'pose to be one of those fancy essential oil towels for the ladies at the bathhouse."
Awkwardly taking the towel from his hands she lightly patted the wound on her shoulder- the one he had been examining the closest. She watched the odd white haired man shuffle over, clapping a hand over Naruto's shoulder as he bent forward, a surprisingly warm smile on his face as he greeted her.
"Nice to meet you, Sakura. Naruto has told me a lot about you." He grinned, "I'm Jariya."
Where has she heard that name before?
"You're one of the sannin!"
Everyone's eyes shifted to the now bashful looking Tenten- definitely a strange look for the usually assertive brunette. She cleared her throat and straightened herself out in the booth, attempting to look more casual.
Jiraiya grinned, slapping a hand on the table, "I prefer to be known for my work as an author." He swooned, shuffling around in his pockets as he procured a small book, "I am the mastermind behind Icha-Icha paradise!" He beamed, practically screaming over everyone in the restaurant.
Sakura's jaw nearly hit the table as the three gennin all gasped in surprise, Naruto screaming loud profanities at the gleaming man as he angrily wrestled the book away from the older man, securing it in his apron pocket as he grumbled under his breath.
"See what I've gotta' deal with?" Naruto lamented, whiskered cheeks twitching as the older man turned an amused look toward Sakura.
"Naruto tells me Kakashi left the two of you kind of dusted?"Jariya questioned, raising an eyebrow to Sakura as he examined her dirtied state, "But I see someone's taken you in. That's good."
"Yeah…" Sakura sputtered, still trying to understand what was happening, "Gai-Sensei let me join in on his training today, well, thanks to Tenten." Sakura smiled, shooting Tenten a genuine thanks for the millionth time today.
"It's no big deal, since… well, what happened to Lee. It's nice to have something on my mind." Tenten sighed, eyes darkening slightly as she folded her hands in her lap.
"Rock Lee is the boy who fought the sand ninja in the preliminaries, right?"Jariya questioned, sliding in beside her as he spoke, "Is he alright?"
Tenten nodded silently, eyes now firmly set downwards, "But the bones in his legs… they're just about crushed, they don't know if he'll ever be able to work in the field again." She whispered, voice cracking slightly.
"He's very lucky to be alive, but you shouldn't give up hope." he smiled, his demeanor warm and friendly once again, "they said I'd never get back up a thousand times, and a thousand times I did."
"You're so full of yourself, old man." Naruto huffed, slapping a hand onto the table and hunching himself over to eye the man more intensely, "Now come back and pay your tab."
The odd interaction quickly died down as Jiraiya excused himself to use the restroom, or go and flirt with the younger, bustier waitress that had the misfortune of starting her shift while he was around.
"So, who's this?" Naruto drawled, his mood obviously dampered by the threat of losing the job Sakura wasn't sure why he had in the first place.
"This is Tenten, Naruto. Lee's teammate? We were talking about this literally a second ago." Sakura sighed, massaging her now aching temples.
"Heh. Sorry, Sakura-chan. Nice to meet ya' Tenten," Naruto grinned, "Sorry about bushy brows." He frowned, stuffing the discarded towel back into his apron.
"So he's been teaching you?" Tenten questioned, jabbing her thumb towards the direction Jariya had once been standing.
"Yeah, he's teaching me this super secret jutsu." Naruto grinned, eyes lighting up as he wagged his brows excitedly, jabbing Sakura with his elbow, "you'll be really impressed."
"Of course he is." She muttered beneath her breath, Naruto seemed to miss her snarky comment, but Tenten's knowing gaze seemed to lock on to the pinkette.
"Speaking of, I better go drag that pervert sage back to the bathhouse." Naruto sighed, straightening himself with a tired grunt, "see ya' later, Sakura-chan."
She waved tiredly as the blonde disappeared out of sight, noticing Tenten's sly smile.
"What?" Sakura sighed, knowing damn well what the brunette was going to say. She knew envy was an ugly trait, she told herself that enough.
"It's crazy how much we have in common." The brunette laughed, surprising Sakura as her shoulders slowly relaxed.
Tenten sank back into her seat, spreading herself out as she seemed to recall something funny.
"You know, it's hard enough being a female in this field. But with teammates like ours it's easy to feel invisible." She lamented, scratching at one if the neatly placed buns atop her head.
"Yeah, it is." Sakura frowned, feeling a little disappointed in herself for being so transparent, but also for being so petty about it.
"You just have to learn not to compare yourselves to them. Some people are just born with a natural edge."
"That's the problem…. Just once, I want them to be the ones staring at my back."
"Then I guess you'll have to learn to run faster." Tenten laughed, surely it was her attempt to lighten the mood, surely it was a kind hearted joke.
Yet, like how her grandmothers mantra was ebbed into her mind, Sakura decided at that moment that Tenten was right, and maybe, that could be her mantra.
The only way she could show them her back, was to be faster.
I know this is a short chapter than the other ones, I hit a bad patch of writer's block and kind of got a bit lost. And to some of the people asking about pairings I'm sorry, I sincerely don't know what I'm going to do in that regard. If I decide to include a romance it'll probably be really subtle. I kind of just wanted to focus on team seven for right now.