I don't own anything Naruto.
…
"Sakura-sensei! What are we doing wrong?"
The aggravated woman sighed and rubbed her temple, lamenting the sticky feel of her skin as sweat continued to bead off her forehead. Chakra control was difficult to master whether it came naturally or after years of practice, and only very few had Sakura's affinity. Still, continually encouraging her three genin as they repeatedly failed to run up the side of the tree was extremely frustrating.
Demonstrating the second-nature skill, Sakura stood on the thick trunk and looked down, thankful her bothered expression was hidden behind her short curtain of pink hair. It had been easier to teach them taijutsu and evasive skills, but when it came to coaching in what had come naturally to her, she did not know how to go about it. Chakra control was always something she could just do and, until medical jutsu, never had to work hard to excel. She did not know any short cuts or revelations only gained after strenuous perseverance and therefore couldn't relay any tips to them now.
"Are you sensing the flow of chakra?" she tried again. "Can you feel it gather in your feet?"
Manami dusted off her baggy shorts and Tarou grunted between heavy breaths. The increased humidity from a teasing storm had added insult to injury to the current heat wave, and the whole village was ready to break if the weather didn't. Tensions were high, a farming drought was on the horizon, and Tsunade had switched from sake to water. Shou peered up towards his sensei. "I can feel that I'm gonna pass out."
Her shoulders sagged, which was a relief under the weighted jounin vest. "It is about channeling," she attempted to explain for the fifteenth time that day. "Manipulating your environment is crucial for any ninja, of any talent or skill. The fewer limitations you have the better warrior you will become."
The sharpened canines of the ice-natured student gleamed as her scowl deepened. "Couldn't we have started with water?"
"Not everyone is as frigid as you, Tsunami," Shou immediately retorted.
"At least I can walk up the tree a bit, Baka," she scowled.
The blonde boy went to raise his fist, but Tarou, hunched over and struggling to breathe, managed to grab his elbow and push him back. "Seriously. You two. Stop."
Sakura's hand left her temple to fiddle with the strap on her weapon pouch. "Chakra perception is important not only for yourself, but for awareness of fluctuations around you. For instance…"
The kunai's sharp edge she unsheathed reflected the harsh sun and gave the impression of a fluttering fairy with the fluidity of the medic's motions. In one second, the blade was gripped in her small hand. The next, as Team Sakura froze from their growing apprehension, she had flung it deftly behind her, not even bothering to look at the target they had failed to notice. The sound of ripping leaves was barely heard over the clamor of cicadas, but the unmistakable whoosh as it was snatched from the air shocked all three. When Kakashi appeared from the blanket of leaves, twirling their sensei's kunai around a thick, calloused finger, they fell backwards into the dirt.
"Yo!" he cheerfully called out and stepped into the light.
Sakura rolled her eyes, finally looking behind her. "You're going to give them a complex."
"I think of their fear as a healthy display of respect." The silver-haired ninja continued to easily walk down the length of the trunk towards Sakura and threw the weapon her way. "You know, friends throw shuriken."
She caught it easily, and spun it on her finger in the same fashion to mock him. "Yeah, but real friends don't hold back."
His eyes creased. "Looks like I taught you a little something, after all."
Feeling calmer, she turned back to her team for a moment, commanding them to keep practicing their chakra control, before fully facing Kakashi and holstering her blade. His pale hair burned in silver flames where beams of light filtered through the leaves, but for the most part he appeared unaffected by the heat. He even wore his long-sleeve jounin sweater. Suddenly, Sakura became very aware of how her tunic was clinging to every sweat-soaked spot speckling her body.
"Why are you wearing so many clothes right now?"
His brows disappeared under his hitai-ate. "What?"
"It is boiling out here," she whined and pulled at her tunic for a small amount of air flow. "You are making me hotter than I already am."
He stiffened and blinked once. Then twice. Finally, as if he just became aware of the heat, a blush stained the small amount of cheek above his mask. "What!?"
"Ugh," she groaned and reached out. Her finger passed the neck guard of his vest and pushed into the pulse point on his neck. "What is the matter? Do you have heat stroke already?" Her head steadily bobbed while she tracked his heartbeat and searched his system for signs of dehydration.
Kakashi froze at her touch, but recovered quickly and gently grabbed her wrist. "I'm fine." He guided her hand away from him, and then promptly stuffed his own deep within his pockets. "Just distracted, is all."
"That is not like you." Sakura crooked her jaw and gave him a visual once-over just to ensure he was truly okay. Partially satisfied, she acquiesced with a roll of her eyes. "What brings you out here, Kakashi?"
He looked quizzically at her for a few moments before silently offering her a thickly bound scroll. Confusion marred the delicate features of her face until she was able to read the contents. It was a B-ranked mission, out of Fire Country, and unusual for a team without a single chuunin. Apprehension gripped her heart and her strong hands wrinkled the parchment as she continued to read the details.
He must have noticed the pink tint in her over-heated skin pale. "If you passed them," he reasoned, "then they should be able to handle this type of mission."
Her green eyes rose from the scroll and caught his. Although his expression remained passive, Sakura began to wonder if he had felt this same fear for them years ago after being assigned to protect a bridge in a small, broke village. He had always worried for their well-being, but did he fear for them? Was she not putting enough faith in the skills of her genin? In the past, did he ask for too much, or was she expecting too little now?
Kakashi smiled, but she looked away towards the training children. They were an odd group. Each had strengths that seemed to conflict with the others, but they would now have to work as a team to complete a true, higher ranked mission.
Breathing heavily, Shou shouted as he sprinted towards the tree again. Sakura could sense his over-molded chakra, so was not surprised when he was blasted violently from the trunk with a small explosion of splinters. The other two had fallen down laughing from the display.
"Were we really that young once?" she asked, transfixed by the childhood innocence her role as sensei would help slowly chip away.
Kakashi's shoulders sank and he reached out to ruffle her hair. "You are making me feel old."
She laughed and ignored the way her scalp tingled once his hand slipped away. "It's odd to receive missions this way. Why did you deliver it?"
The older jounin considered her for a moment, watching the questions dance in her eyes, before he revealed his other hand that gripped a significantly smaller scroll. Its red leather bindings and black wax seal constricted Sakura's chest. The foreboding scroll was well known to her from the time spent in the hokage's office. It was an assassination mission of the highest rank, with the deadliest connotations and lowest survival rates. Her attention lifted from the loose grip his large hand held on the damnable thing to catch his dark eyes in the need to convey her unease.
Kakashi smiled once again, and she recognized it as the one he hid behind. "It was on my way out of town," he said casually, as if he did these sorts of missions every week.
For all Sakura knew, he did.
Telling him to be careful would be idiotic, since this mission was as dangerous as they got. Also, to ask him to get home safe would never work, because when did he ever do that anyway? She held his gaze, not willing to let go until he acknowledge her anxiety.
Finally, his grin loosened.
"Kaka-sensei," Sakura began, and bent closer towards him. His expression widened and he forced a shallow breath, but did not move away as her low voice whispered towards him. "Next time, you are picking up the sake tab."
He gawked for a moment, caught off guard by her demand. "…What?"
She leaned back and crossed her arms, feigning exasperation. "I am stuck with D-Rank assignments for weeks, and you are getting paid for THAT this whole time?" She turned her nose in the air and forced a laugh that held back her concern. "It is not decent to make a friend pay the tab when you make more than them."
Her playful petulance broke the grim tension and he chuckled, sliding his scroll back into its hiding place and out of sight. "Fair enough." She glowered when his hand ruffled her hair again as he walked by down the tree. "Enjoy training, Saku-sensei."
"Ugh!" she moaned, turned towards his retreating back, and cracked the dry bark with a chakra-fueled stomp for good measure. "That's even worse! I am never calling you 'sensei' again."
His only response was a nonchalant wave from over his shoulder. The children parted quickly once he reached the ground and strolled casually by, but they continued to stare at the imposing ninja until he disappeared in the tree line. Shaking her head, Sakura tried to summon the confidence needed to lead them in this new mission on her own. He was right not to say anything more than to offer his trust in her decision, but the medic had learned long ago that your team is only as strong as the amount of strength you offer it.
"Alright," she commanded down at her team. "I will treat the first one of you that can reach me to dinner. Ready?"
With their attentions back to her, they squared their shoulders and attempted to channel the developing chakra, and she could sense the small progress she was unable to see only moments ago.
Genuinely, she smiled. "Go!"
.
Sakura drug her feet as she entered her apartment. The small pouch she had set on the console table immediately slid off, but she could not muster up the energy to care. Today had been… tiring, frustrating, and challenging, all in ways she never considered would be a factor. The three genin were unique, yet average ninjas. She was used to extraordinary ones. It was unfair to set such standards for them, but, as with chakra control, she did not know of any other way. She felt silly for always feeling so far behind Naruto and Sasuke when in actuality she had been far ahead of most in her generation.
It was not as if they were lacking, or incompetent. For most genin, chakra control took weeks of practice just to gain the ability of stabilizing on solid ground. If her team really pushed themselves, perhaps they could attempt water-walking next week. However, there was a mission to attend to before then. Sakura groaned as her tight, weary body sank into her second-hand futon and blindly unbuckled a pouch on her vest. The mission scroll slipped out into her hand, but she continued to stare at her dark ceiling. They were average genin. Their skills were interesting, but not truly note-worthy, and teamwork was their weakest trait. What about her team warranted being assigned such a mission so soon?
Sakura sighed and halfheartedly skimmed through the scroll's details once again. As much as she tried to put it off, she would have to go through their personal files after all.
It was not just Naruto unexpected progress during their younger years that had made her reticent to read them, but Sasuke's anticipated potential. Pressure was a killer, and no amount of heritage could tell you what kind of person you will become. She did not want to judge based on the past, because the ones she considered closest to her heart had the darkest histories. The jounin teacher tried to tell herself that no matter what information was discovered she would not let it affect her judgment, as she did not want what happened to her boys to happen to anyone else.
Luckily, the stacked files were gathering dust on the desk to the right of the futon, so she did not had to move much to obtain them. With a skillfully ricocheted soldier pill, the overhead light was switched on and she squinted in the sudden, artificial light. The file on top was Tarou's and her hand hesitated only a second longer before she flipped the manila folder open.
His official ninja registration picture perfectly portrayed the pervy boy. The black, calculating eyes gleamed with a sense of mischief and his half smile proudly exposed the gap from the missing tooth. His long, raven hair was neatly pulled back into a low ponytail and the hitate-tae's unmarred surface caught the flash of the camera. Even through the photograph, Sakura felt like he was sizing her up…
Or checking her out.
She shook her head and continued onto the information.
Hayashi Tarou. Twelve years old and started the academy a few years late. He had to study extra to catch up to his age class. There were no known shinobi affiliations or family listed and she quickly found out why. His residence was an area Sakura was familiar with by reputation only. It was a dangerous part of Konoha she had been told to never venture towards when she was a child.
Even a ninja village has a dark underbelly, and Tarou grew up at its epicenter. At once, his natural ability to quickly access an opponent and uncanny aptitude for stealth made sense. He had not just received training at the academy for such skills, but had lived with it his entire life.
The next bit of information made Sakura double-take. He was sponsored by the Akimichi clan. The academy's tuition, his weapons, extra tutors, even specialty gear upon request was to be handled financially by Choji's family. She scoured through the rest of the papers for answers, but, other than noting that there was no blood relation between them, the reason for their generosity and how he had earned such an honor was kept off the record.
The medic sighed. Reading the files was supposed to answer concerns about her students, not conjure up more questions. The olive-skinned boy's folder slapped harshly on her coffee table as her natural curiosity fueled her irritation.
Next, and thickest, in the stack was Shou's and the escaping blue slips of papers that made her groan. They were records of disciplinary actions taken and judging by the awkward bulging of the file, the blonde racked up quite a few demerits while in school. She was already wincing as the dossier wafted open.
Suzuki Shou. Twelve years old. He was the son of Suzuki Koba; a chuunin who died while on an unsuccessful mission seven years ago. Her brows knitted together while she read over the details. He had been the team leader and sacrificed himself to allow the rest of the team to escape. Usually, such an act was viewed as heroic, but the other nins never made it home, so instead it had been lost within the dark, daily tally of gains and losses. Tragedy like this normally darkened a ninja, yet Shou always shone so bright. His perseverance never escaped her notice, and his honest desire to become a ninja was untainted. Reading further, Sakura also came across his mother's ninja affiliation. She was listed as a non-practicing shinobi, which was not uncommon for females to quit the profession once they got married and had children, but her inactive date had closely followed the death of her husband. Sakura could not even entertain the thought of leaving everything about her kunoichi self behind, although could not imagine the amount of pain the woman endured that led her to making such a decision. Shou had enrolled himself in the academy as soon as he was able to, but a side-note in the file stated he was not accepted into the classes until his mother signed off a year later.
It had to be a painful part of his past, but he never let it show. Unexpectedly, she appreciated his loud mouth and exuberance almost as much as she had grown to respect Naruto's. He was talented in genjutsu, yet optimism appeared to be his greatest strength.
Next was Manami's, and the sheer lack of material gave her the most shock of all. Other than a list of demerits that rivaled Shou's, and upon closer inspection Sakura noticed most of those involved fights between the two of them, the girl had only her official photo and a half-completed basic information sheet within.
But what she could glean from it was that Manani's tuition, housing, and everything was sponsored by the village…
Just as Naruto's had been…
She collapsed completely into the worn cushions. They were unique, alright, but not in any way she could have imagined. Tarou was more responsible than most children from his upbringing, Shou was amazingly hopeful for someone who had experienced the lost he had, and the straight-forward Manami was a complete mystery.
Stretching across the futon, Sakura took note of the time. The questions mounted the more answers she received. There seemed to be some things she would have to fight to discover, but at least tonight she could find out what it was that brought these three together as a team, and her as their leader.
.
Iruka rubbed the bridge of his nose. Ever since the Fourth Shinobi War, submissions for the academy had sky-rocketed. Unfortunately, that also meant he had to reject more and more applicants. Konoha's children were enlisting for the glory of recognition instead of the honor of serving their village. Naruto had proved to be an incredible asset, but a horrible role-model for the true nature of a ninja. It was okay to have dreams of becoming hokage. It was an ill-suited trait to want the position strictly for hero-worship.
With a loud sigh, the chuunin teacher leaned back into the creaky chair and addressed the shadowy corner. "Sakura-san. What can I do for you?"
The pale moonlight highlighted her pink hair when she stepped out into the room and purposefully strode towards his desk. Her chakra was in check, but her imposing gait raised his hackles. She tossed the three photos of her genin on the desk. "Why did you choose these three for me?"
His eyes never left hers as he attempted to discover the nature of her supposed ire. "They were the best suited for you."
"Because of Shou-chan's genjutsu or Tarou-chan's taijutsu?" He could sense her unspoken queries about Manami. He had them himself.
"Well…" Suddenly, Iruka knew she was going to take his answer the wrong way. "No. Not really."
She cocked an eyebrow. "They aren't exceptional at chakra control."
"I never said they were." His eyes sheepishly darted away the harder she glared at him.
"Iruka-sensei, what aren't you telling me?"
"You see, Sakura-san, with your team history, those three seemed like the best fit."
Her gaze widened, but not out of shock. It was actually the answer she had expected. "I got the troublemakers because of Naruto!?"
"Well," the man rationalized, "Sasuke wasn't exactly an angel, either."
His sarcastic quip did not cheer her up, but she did drop her hostility. Dejected, she turned and leaned against the edge of his desk and stared out the open window. "For once, I thought I was going to be judged by my own merit, not in comparison to those two."
Iruka allowed the pause to stretch out before shaking his head. "Sakura-san, why do you think a team stays together for so long? It is because you are meant to be compared with the others." She scoffed and he was reminded that the intelligent , sweet-natured girl he had taught years ago had matured into the woman she was always meant to be- rough edges, shaky temper, and the kindest heart in all of Konoha. "Naruto is practically a divine being by now, but most still see Sasuke as the superior ninja because of his intellect. They are teammates, friends, and still rivals because of that comparison. You strove to be stronger for their sake and I ask you, what's wrong with that?"
Sakura's voice quieted. "What's wrong with wanting to be strong for your own sake?"
"I think you just answered your own question, though I don't believe anyone thinks you're weaker because of the trials you went through for your team. It was you who put the effort in, but those boys inspired what was already inside of you. If you are not being strong for someone else, what point is there in the strength?"
She did not respond as his answer sunk in, and after a long moment Iruka sighed and continued. "Just like your genin, you three all had great talent as individuals, but could not overcome your personal obstacles without a team helping you along."
Finally, the kunoichi turned and looked more gently his way. He was surprised someone who had surpassed him in so many ways could still value his wisdom so much. "Sakura-san," he smiled, "if anyone can ensure those three become ninjas, it is you."
The disquiet of her concern gave away, and when she returned his smile Sakura felt content. "Thank you, Iruka-sensei."
"You don't have to call me that. I have not been your sensei in a long time, Sakura-san."
Unwittingly, she rolled her eyes. "Not you too…"
…
A/N: YOU GUYS ARE AWESOME! I am so happy you like this story! It is fluffy, isn't it? There will be a bit of angsty stuff, though. And some fights. And sad stuff… And a separate smutty chapter for all of you old enough. You know- all the good things a fanfic needs. Speaking of, almost pure KakaSaku next chapter.
Thank you for reading/reviewing! :]