Chapter 12: Glass Eyes
"A ship in harbor
is safe
but that is not
what ships are for"
-William Shedd
Sakura grunted as sweat poured down her face. She could feel her arms muscles begin to wobble in a feeble protest of overuse. But she continued on, literally pushing through the pain.
Kakashi-sensei had upped their training regime. Currently her, Naruto, and Sasuke were on their third set of one hundred push-ups. In the brief moment she had managed to wrench her head up, Sakura had noticed that both Naruto and Sasuke were equally as drenched in sweat as she was. But Sasuke's almost mechanically quick push-ups, and Naruto's sloppy, yet energetic ones guaranteed that they would both finish before her.
She was not going to fall behind.
Kakashi-sensei had already (infuriatingly so) informed her in front of both her teammates that she could have a lighter workload. Because even though her burns had healed, leaving nothing but unblemished porcelain behind, her skin still felt tight and itchy. But that was more of an annoyance than a hindrance.
She had openly scowled something fierce at her sensei as Naruto had bombarded her with questions, and Sasuke had sent a curious glance her way. Delicately as she could, she explained the incident to her teammates, trying her best to recount the event in the least embarrassing way. But judging by the horrified look Naruto granted her, and the unimpressed stare Sasuke sent, she fell short.
And Sakura hated that feeling with even more passion than she hated one of Grandmother Satomi's insults. So she ignored her sensei's offer, and continued her physical training with gusto. She relished the way her muscled ached, stomach burned, and head pounded.
She was becoming better.
But as her eyes sought out Naruto- who even under physical duress still had the energy to throw some inane challenge at Sasuke, she felt bitterness. It was a disgusting sort of feeling, but a useful one. It fueled her arms to push harder- faster. To not fall behind the two absolute powerhouses her teammates were.
She could see it in the way they trained. In Naruto's boundless energy, and Sasuke's natural fluidity- they were born for this. To be powerful shinobi. They were naturally gifted in areas that Sakura had worked her whole life to become proficient at. But luckily for her, she had never minded hard work. She would push herself to the very last reserves of her energy if it meant she would be standing beside, not behind them. And even if her body could never fully compare to Kami given ones Naruto and Sasuke possessed, she had her mind. And Sakura knew that her mind was the sharpest tool she had.
"Alright my cute students, lets take a break for lunch," Kakashi called, eye barely lifting from the indecent images in his book.
Sakura slumped to the ground, black spots dancing in her vision. She hadn't even noticed that the three of them had long passed their set of one hundred.
And as she looked up, she was half tempted to call Kakashi-sensei out on his facade of reading. She knew he was studying them just as intently as they were working. But revealing this sort of information was not pertinent at the moment. She would have to save the little scrap until the opportune moment presented itself.
She got to her feet and ignored the way that Naruto was crowing about his apparent victory over Sasuke. But the way his blue eyes kept darting over towards her, she knew he had meant to garner her attention.
"Naruto if you are so far ahead of your teammate, than you should be looking for ways to help Sasuke, not rubbing your success in his face," Kakashi drawled.
The three of them stared at him for a moment, abandoning the unpacking of their lunches. Sakura looked over to see a light flush heating Sasuke's cheeks. But she, like Kakashi, like Sasuke, and probably like Naruto knew that out of the three of them, Sasuke was the most skilled.
Naruto looked as though he didn't know what to say for a moment. But then his whiskered cheeks curled up with his sly grin. "Yeah teme, I should help you since you're so far behind me."
"You only wish you were half as talented as me dobe," Sasuke spat back
Sakura didn't hold back her eye roll at the bickering session that started. She didn't know why Kakashi bothered lecturing them on how they should be working with each other and not competing against each other. Every training exercise he made held an element of competition…
"And how are you today Sakura-chan?" Kakashi asked, his voice almost lost under Naruto's outraged yell at whatever Sasuke had just said to him.
Sakura chewed on her ongiri before meeting his eye. She had been more than aware that Kakashi had been watching her intently since the trip to his house three days ago.
"I'm fine sensei, how are you?" she inquired, her tone reflecting nothing but stiff politeness.
Kakashi's dark eye bore into her and she met it with a challenging stare. He would get nothing from her- no emotions would betray her in her cool green eyes. No weakness, or stuttering nerves like before.
"Good, good," he murmured not taking his eye off of her. "You'll be happy to hear that we have another mission this afternoon."
Naruto and Sasuke abruptly stopped bickering at the scant mention of 'mission.'
"A real mission sensei or is more chores?" Naruto half questioned, half complained.
Half of Kakashi's masked lifted up, mimicking the smirk that lied beneath. "Ito Yori is a wealthy spice merchant. He is away on business, and you will be tending to his gardens in his absence."
All three of them groaned in unison.
"When are we going to start getting real missions?" Sasuke asked, biting into his rice ball almost viciously. It was a swift departure from his normal impeccable manners.
"This is a real mission. And need I remind you three that you are only genin? You are not permitted to accept any missions that are beyond a 'C' rank." Kakashi-sensei not so patiently explained. It was a speech he found himself giving daily to his three little whiners.
"I do not understand how gardening is going to help us become better shinobi," Sakura said, barely bothering to hide the scorn in her voice. "Shouldn't we be learning how to strategize attacks, escape ambushes, or learn stealth jutsus… you know, something that is actually useful?"
Kakashi-sensei's stare bored into her, and she flushed slightly, waiting for some sort of reprimand about teamwork, when Sasuke of all people came to her rescue.
"Sakura's right. How is this useful?"
Kakashi-sensei sighed, "Why the Hokage had to stick me with the three most ungrateful brats in the village, I'll never know…" he muttered below his breath, yet loud enough that they could all hear him clearly.
"Kaka-sensei, shouldn't we be taking down bandits by now?" Naruto piped in.
Sakura suppressed a sigh. Naruto did not seem to understand that if they hadn't even been taught how to execute basic battle strategies, or proper sleuthing procedures first, than taking down bandits was not anywhere in their near future.
"All you three did was whine, whine, whine about not getting any missions, and now you are complaining about the ones you do get," Kakashi-sensei stated with a huff. "I want you all to remember what I told you at the memorial stone. Being a shinobi is difficult. You we see and do some terrible things in the future. I have to prepare you physically, emotionally, and mentally for those things."
Sasuke was openly scowling at this point, and if Sakura had been in any less control of her emotions she would have joined him. But not under Kakashi's watchful scrutiny. Naruto, on the other hand looked a little unsure, but kept a brave face.
"And though I know you may have already experienced terrible hardships," Kakashi said, carefully meeting Sasuke's furious eyes, "you are still twelve years old. You should cherish these years, and not be too eager to confront the hell this job can put you through."
Sakura felt her jaw drop. She was aware enough that the missions most genin went on were coddled ones. But she didn't think Kakashi-sensei would actually admit it.
A hot fury rose within her as she thought about the utter waste these 'missions' were! She had long ago shed the last dregs of her innocence, and she was sure that Sasuke, and for the most part Naruto had done the same. So these flimsy excuses for missions were more a hindrance to their improvement than anything.
What use would the knowledge of how to properly weed a garden or chase down a cat be if the village was being attacked? What use would picking up litter or delivering mail be when a very real and very dangerous enemy was breathing down your neck?
"So we are stuck doing useless missions until the village deems us 'ready?'" Sasuke confirmed, looking even more grumpy than usual.
"Yes," Kakashi-sensei simply answered, uncaring of the fierce scowls adorning all three of his student's faces.
The rest of lunch was spent in a tense silence after Kakashi-sensei's speech. And though it seemed like the young members of Team Seven were finally on the same page with their feelings, each one of them were to busy mulling over their personal tragedies or trepaditions to gang up on their sensei even more.
After lunch finished, they packed their bags and Kakashi led them through the village. And though Konoha was not by any means a large village, the journey took quite some time. It didn't help that every so often someone would stop Kakashi to ask the great nin a question, or Naruto would be jeered or hissed at by a passing civilian.
"Where exactly does this 'Ito Yori' live?" Naruto grumbled as his eyes intently watched a mother hurry her two young children away from him.
"We aren't far now," Kakashi airily said.
He had said the same thing twenty minutes ago, so none of the members of Team Seven were inclined to believe him.
"We are almost at the outskirts of the village," Naruto said, relief tempering his normally enthusiastic voice.
Sakura figured that he was actually grateful for once to be out of the spotlight. She knew that the boy normally longed for attention. But the kind of attention he always aroused from civilians and some nin alike was never good. She had a sinking suspicion that Naruto was embarrassed at being shunned in front of them… almost like he expected them to join in.
"Many wealthy civilian clans live on the outskirts of the village, right Sakura-chan?" Kakashi stated.
Sakura hummed her affirmation.
Her family was considered wealthy. But the Haruno residence sat on the outskirts on the opposite side of the village. She was sure that her father probably knew some of the people who lived here, but she herself had never met them.
"I didn't know your family was rich Sakura-chan," Naruto said, eagerly grasping onto the threads of the conversation. "But I suppose it makes sense- you always wore such fancy kimonos at the spring festival. Last year it was a purple one, and the year before that, a pretty jade one…"
Sakura slowly turned to face Naruto, eyes wide.
She wasn't the only one.
Naruto's whiskered cheeks flushed as Sasuke stared at him, eyebrow raised, and Kakashi's muffled chuckle rang out.
"Well, I, I mean- it was hard to miss a girl with pink hair," Naruto mumbled.
Sakura smiled politely, not wanting to delve into a conversation about her family, but knowing it would look more suspicious if she didn't offer a simple explanation.
"My father is a silk merchant. He and the rest of the clan own several shops throughout fire country."
"Oh, that explains the kimonos then," Naruto said, his cheeks still stained with residual pink.
The rest of the walk was made in near silence. Silence seemed to be a natural state for every member of Team Seven minus Naruto. And after his slight embarrassments during the journey, his spirit was quite subdued.
"Here we are," Kakashi finally announced, as they approached a plot of land secluded by tall trees. The brush was so thick that it blended right into the neighboring forest.
The lot was covered with wild grass, and lush flowers. And standing at the very and of the pathway was a very large, very traditional house. It looked grand and imposing- the embodiment of what every wealthy clan wanted their property to look like.
Sakura's eyes studied the tall flowers with undisguised appreciation. The entire property was a bizarrely perfect combination of serene wildness. If she were the owner then she wouldn't bother with genin gardeners, and let the wilderness freely encroach.
"Yori-san's family is not home?" Sasuke questioned, his eyes fixed on the darkened windows of the house.
"Yori-san is an elderly bachelor. He lives alone," Kakashi-sensei explained.
"And he wants us to weed the gardens?" Naruto questioned, his voice filled with doubt as he stared at the ivy vines that had crept across the curved rooftops.
Kakashi-sensei smirked, "I thought this place would keep you three busy for a while. I'll check back in at five o'clock."
Sakura whirled around and watched as her sensei disappeared in a cloud of smoke. Her lips tugged into a frown as she considered what Kakashi-sensei's version of 'five o'clock' was.
She turned back around and gazed at the wild greenery with newly found dispassion in her eyes.
"Shall we split up?" she offered.
Sasuke nodded, and Naruto eagerly agreed.
"Lets try and get the front yard finished first. That way we can keep an eye on the dobe and make sure he isn't digging up the wrong plants, again," Sasuke stated.
"Hey!" Naruto growled, "its not like I meant to! And don't act like it's a mistake that you wouldn't have made!"
"It is a mistake that I didn'tmake," Sasuke scoffed as he slowly walked over to the east side of the property.
Naruto stomped off in the other direction, ranting under his breath about what a terrible teme Sasuke was.
Sakura sighed deeply before setting her eyes on the thriving plants situated at the front of the house.
A plethora of colors stared back. Everything from bulbous yellow petals to senbon small lavender blossoms greeted her. And amongst the jungle of blooms were horrid, horrid weeds.
Sighing, Sakura sat on her haunches, bare knees pressing into the soil. The tedious process began…
Hours went by in relative quietness. Once in a while Naruto would break the mundane quiet by shouting some childish competition to Sasuke- one that Sasuke would always participate in. And the only reason Sakura had kept her mouth shut concerning her two idiotic teammates was because their latest competition was about who would weed a flower bed the fastest.
By the time she had finished her portion of flowerbeds Sakura was feeling wholly uncomfortable. Despite the shade the thick trees provided, her neck burned from sun exposure, and she could taste sweat on her lip. Even the soil that she had fully immersed herself in was beginning to feel dry and crumbly.
"I think we should head to the back yard now," she called to the others.
"Good idea!" Naruto exclaimed.
And as they walked around the side of the massive house, Sakura's eyes tipped up to the sky. The overbearing sun was beginning to creep below the branches, its descent signifying the arrival of night. By her estimation it was well past five o'clock.
"Same areas?" Sasuke asked once they had made it to the equally large back yard.
"Awe man, this is going to take us forever," Naruto huffed.
Sakura grimaced. It wouldn't take them forever, but it appeared as if it would take them all night. Even with Sasuke and Naruto's peacocking.
Focusing on the flowers stationed at the back porch Sakura slowly trudged over, weariness making her limbs feel heavy. The combination of sun exposure and being hunched on hard ground all day was causing a fatigue in her body that was so very different than her usual exhaustion.
Huddling herself next to the closed morning glories, Sakura began pulling the newest batch of weeds, ignoring the sting in her hands. But as she rotated around the garden, her palms began to ache more and more as the harsh stalks chaffed against them.
Throwing a weed down harshly to her pile, Sakura checked over her shoulder to make sure neither of her teammates was watching. She didn't want Naruto to steal her idea and end up in the hospital with a finger cut off.
As she looked, both Sasuke and Naruto were on the opposite ends of the garden, the shadows from the trees creeping upon Sakura shivered, not at all liking that in the darkness, the flora seemed less pretty and more dangerous. She couldn't shake the feeling that just like her, someone was crouched upon the foliage watching her team.
Sakura huffed at her own ridiculousness. Withdrawing her kunai from her weapons pouch, Sakura ignored a little voice in her head that sounded an awful lot like Iruka-sensei chiding her that weapons were not to be used errantly.
But as she quietly used the blade to dig and then sever the weeds, palms not stinging, she couldn't help but smile. Being a nin was all about resourcefulness anyways…
And soon she was onto the next heap of flowers. Her movements becoming more efficient with each chop. The pile of weeds grew bigger as the night sky fully descended upon them.
"Ugh this is pointless. How are we going to be able to see if we are digging up weeds or flowers?" Naruto whined.
"Pay closer attention dobe," Sasuke said, but judging by how close to the ground he was, he too was having difficulty.
Sakura didn't fret. She could feel the end of their menial job was near…
Shoving her kunai into the next patch, the metal made an odd squelching noise. The dirt felt curiously supple as she wiggled her kunai around. Frowning, Sakura dug around the dirt with her other hand until she met resistance once again. Dusting the dirt off whatever object was hindering her progress, Sakura's breath caught in her throat.
Jumping backwards, Sakura caught the scream before it left her throat. She gripped her weapon, heart hammering in her ribs.
"Are you okay?" Sasuke asked, voice startling her.
He was standing much closer than she expected.
"You two better not be telling secrets without me," Naruto said, bounding over.
But Sasuke's eyes remained rooted on Sakura's frantic face. He watched as her green eyes darted about the encasing forest.
"What is it?"
Sakura's eyes caught Sasuke's and she lowered her voice so both he and Naruto could hear. "There is a dead body in the flower bed."
"A what!" Naruto shouted.
Both Sasuke and Sakura glared.
"Keep your voice down," Sakura hushed. "I was using my kunai to dig out weeds, and it got caught in-" Sakura covered her mouth "Oh Kami, I-"
Sasuke brushed past her and over to the garden. And for once, Sakura didn't flinch as Naruto gripped her free hand in his own. But her eyes were too busy taking in the liquid that was slowly dripping off the end of her kunai in thick congealed lumps. Blood- it was blood, his blood.
She almost wanted to hurl her weapon to the ground, but common sense thankfully cautioned her that she might need it.
"Do you know who it is?" Naruto softly called to Sasuke.
Sasuke stood up and faced them, "I'm not sure, but I think it might be Ito Yori."
"What are you three doing just standing around?" a voice suddenly called from behind them.
Naruto yelped, Sakura stumbled, and even Sasuke startled at the newcomer.
"Sensei," Sakura said, rushing towards him, "there is a body in the flowerbed."
Kakashi's lazy posture straightened the instant Sakura rushed forward. His dark eye widened as he took in his student's words, coupled with their three panicked faces.
"Stay put," Kakashi ordered, as he brushed past Sasuke to peer into the garden.
Sakura returned to Naruto's side and Sasuke joined them. They watched as Kakashi crouched over, examining the glassy eyes of one Ito Yori.
A whistle of airborne weapon broke the tense silence of the night and Kakashi instantly jumped out of its path. A shuriken embedded itself into the ground where he had been standing.
Each member of Team Seven's eyes widened as they looked up towards the treetops where the weapon came from. A tall woman wrapped in dark clothes was standing on a thick branch, twirling a kunai in her hand.
"Like the present I left for you, Sharingan-Kakashi?"
A/N: Hi everyone I hope you like this chapter!
I got a lot of interesting responses from the last chapter. And as much as I want to explain my decisions to all of you, I would rather let you see how my characters form with the story :)
I am looking for a beta if anyone is interested :)
As always, please Read and Review :)
-Nyx
