Beta-reader: Terror-Of-The-Crimson-Night
Chapter: Two – Serve
Type: Mini-Story – Incomplete
Word Count: 6,310
Disclaimer: If you've heard of it before, then it's obviously not mine.
When she woke, the first thing that occurred to her was that her head hurt. The next was that her hands were bound and the last was that it didn't feel like there were any restraints or suppressors on her chakra. She groaned softly, opening her eyes just a bit so as to try to get a visual. She would have guessed she was still in the room just before the King's Chambers, if it weren't for the fact that her hands were trussed behind her, making her shoulder blades ache almost uncomfortably.
She almost huffed, she'd been kidnapped. That was the only explanation for why she was in her current position.
Belatedly, she felt like she was moving, more specifically, the ground she was on was in suspended motion. The only time she'd ever felt like this was when she was in or on a flying object.
Great. That was just freakin' peachy. Now she had to figure out how to escape.
But the first step was figuring out how long she'd been out then where she was and whose possession she was currently in. Then she could devise a plan of escape. So she focused on getting accustomed to the bright electric lighting above her. The bedding beneath her felt something like a mat, slightly cushioned but definitely not made for comfort.
She turned her head to the side, deciding she would bother with her feet later – she could feel the bindings on them too anyway. It crossed her mind to send out her chakra, feel her surroundings and how close any living person was to her, but she discarded it in favor of not chancing having her chakra suppressed on top of everything else. Not to mention the fact that she was pretty much on her own, even if she could contact Danzo or Konoha, she wasn't really in the mood to come home almost five months early when she didn't have to.
So instead, she settled for a thorough observation of the room she was being kept in. It was relatively small, storage room size almost, but it wasn't full of boxes or anything of the sort. In fact there was nothing but the almost white walls and tiled ceiling in the room besides her and the mat she was placed on. They weren't even courteous enough to give her a blanket like Deidara had when she was kidnapped by Akatsuki so long ago. But that was a different story that she didn't have the time to dwell on if she wanted to get out of this situation as soon as possible.
Her green eyes searched for the door since there was clearly no window. It was in front of her; she could see the small gap at the bottom of the wall between her feet and knew if she looked upwards she would find a handle not too far above it. Well, gee, wouldn't this be a task? Huffing inwardly, she pushed aside her irritation so as to figure out what she needed to do. The bindings on her hands weren't just on her hands because they spread from her wrists to her elbows and they were thick metal as they held the backs of her hands together. The ones at her ankles were also thick but not as far reaching. So she was going to have to get inventive.
Before she could even attempt to however, she saw the shadow of boots appear at the door just before it opened. Immediately she berated herself for being so caught up in her thoughts that she didn't even hear them approach. But that thought was set aside quickly because the person behind the door was the same one she had fought in the huge room just before the King's. Just as when she'd first seen him, there was no expression on his face, but this time there was someone with him. Another man in the same uniform; though he was taller, his black hair uncovered by any hat and his eyes unseen behind sunglasses. What threw her was that he had a sucker in his mouth.
The pale haired man stayed in the doorway as the other approached her. She felt her body still completely as she tried to decide who she should pay more attention to and decided that as lethal as her opponent had been, the more imminent problem was the black haired man. He bent down and easily got an arm under her neck and the other under her knees; from there he proceeded to stand as she stiffened further, quick mind grasping at all the ways out of this situation before it escalated any more. But instead of lifting her up with him, he set her directly on her feet and facing his superior. Green eyes stayed trained on him, refusing to flit about the door or to the hallway behind him.
She allowed her head to tilt to the side as she smiled slightly at him, not feeling the least but humored, "So much for forfeiting my life."
His lavender eyes narrowed slightly, "Do you wish to die?"
She blinked her eyes once at the question, "Of course not. But the world doesn't always work that way."
The man behind her chuckled, "Nope, but this time it does."
The smile fell from her face and she zeroed in on the Barsburg officer, this time searching instead of looking, "Oh? May I inquire as to why that is?"
His eyes returned to their normal size as he seemed to relax back into his posture, it made hers stiffen further, "You will be my begleiter."
Now a frown found its way to her face, "I'm sorry, I'm not familiar with the term." And she wasn't, but she did have a pretty good idea of what it meant for her and her well being. And that simply couldn't happen.
Her statement seemed catch him by surprise slightly, "It means you will be my assistant and apprentice."
She felt her heart sink as her suspicions were proven true. "If I refuse?"
To her surprise, he merely smiled almost indulgently, "That's not an option."
Green eyes narrowed, she'd always hated being caged into anything she didn't want any part of. Not only did it irritate her, but she knew she was going to have to deal with it enough once she returned to Konoha. "Then I'll make it one."
He didn't seem to like her response, in fact neither did the swordsman behind her. She'd expected that, but she also thought his grip would tighten or those angry red letters were materialize, neither thing happened though. So they weren't unnecessarily malicious, that was good to know. It gave her a chance to even try to talk her way out of this, if there was any chance left after her statement.
For a moment, the whole room seemed to be void of sound all together, until the man before her broke it. "I was under the impression that you were agreeable to militia-like jobs. Why is this one different?"
Again she was thrown off by the response. Whatever she had expected, that was not it. Especially since she didn't think he'd use that one line she'd said to him before their fight against her. She sorted quickly through her thoughts for a viable retort that wouldn't give him ammunition to use. "My apologies to give such an impression."
He tilted his head, "Then it is false?"
Trapped, her mind told her, she was trapped. And by the look in his eye, he knew it too. "What does being your begleiter entail, exactly?"
She felt rather than saw his triumph as it colored his countenance. If she hadn't known Itachi as well as she did, she never would have been able to see the minuscule differences that gave him away. And it made her want to lash out like a child at the feeling that she had lost to him again. This time though, without a fight.
"That you will carry out any command that I give you, and figure out everything else on your own."
She figured that much, it was implied when she learned what a begleiter was. "You said 'apprentice' was also part of being a begleiter."
The black haired man's chuckle vibrated through her body and it made her wonder when he was going to let go of her. "Yup, we'll test you to see where you're lacking. But Aya-tan said you were really good at maneuvering your body and hand-to-hand combat. Plus you had a wakizashi. And not to mention that you have green energy. So I guess we'll work off of that instead."
Her heart sank even further as she realized she had been seen healing herself. And here she'd been hoping that at least she had her chakra and healing abilities as a good trump card, apparently not. She felt herself nod stiffly, "I see, and how long will this be?"
The smile on Ayanami's face grew slightly, gaining an edge that made Sakura's stomach turn uncomfortably. Instinctively, she knew she wasn't going to like any answer she got. "As long as you're useful."
Definitely didn't like it. But the buried optimistic part of her told her how it could make things easier; if she made herself as useless as possible there was still a chance. The voice was almost immediately stamped out by the simple fact that she didn't think it would work no matter how hard she tried. As well as the fact that she was presuming that in his mind, useless meant dead.
She was so screwed.
And she still had Konoha to worry about on top of everything else.
Apparently, Ayanami was the slave driver type of teacher and superior. That didn't quite surprise Sakura, what did however, was how much he had her do. After introducing her to the rest of the Black Hawks and removing her bindings, he set her to menial tasks. Simple things that could be considered the job of help or housewives. He wanted her to sort and file everything in the office, he wanted her to cook dinner for all members of the team and he wanted her to make sure everything was order. When he'd told her that, she could only help but stare at him because she'd been under the impression that he wanted her as a fighter, not as a…well, as a maid.
But after he'd given the orders he'd turned and walked away, Hyuuga on his heels. She'd blinked once, then twice.
Sure they were on an aircraft so sparring probably wasn't the best idea, and certainly she still had some nasty wounds on her legs – ones she hadn't felt until the bindings were released and she was standing on her own – but that didn't mean she wanted to be something like a house maid. That was why she was a kunoichi; she was no good at such tasks. Granted, her cooking had gotten much better since the time she'd unintentionally poisoned Naruto and she always had been something of a neat freak, but that didn't mean she wanted to do those things.
After mulling over just why he would have her do such things she realized that there was the distinct possibility he was testing her. If she wasn't reading too much into things, like she prone to, then the sorting and filing was to get her acquainted with the material the Black Hawks dealt with, the cooking was to see how much she'd actually try to be useful and the organizing was to see if she had the ability to keep up and stay on top of it. And doing all of it would show him she could follow orders. But that was all on the possibility that he did indeed have a reason for it and wasn't doing it just to see how fast she would snap or was assigning busybody work so that she wouldn't be under his feet.
That said, she let her eyes slip shut as she decided what she would do. She'd been cornered into this, but would she really do it or would she see how much it would take before he simply threw her overboard?
Getting herself killed when he gave her a chance didn't sound like the wisest idea, perhaps if she lived under him long enough he would get agitated with her behavior as Itachi had. Living meant seeing another day, living meant hope. What good would suicide by another's hand do her? None.
Taking a deep breath, she opened her green eyes and started for the kitchen. Something told her it was almost evening and dinner would be a good thing to start. But if she was going to make a proper dinner, she was going to have to socialize even a little. First with the cooks themselves to see what the team liked, and if that wasn't helpful enough then she'd ask said members themselves. After all, the most unpleasant one of the bunch had been Ayanami, the rest had seemed pretty friendly, or at least polite. It wouldn't be like dealing with Hidan or Kakuzu.
She shivered at the thought of the zombie twins and how she'd done everything she could to simply avoid them. Then she pushed thoughts of them to the back of her mind because thinking about her time with Akatsuki so long ago would not get her anywhere. Especially not with the knowledge that most of them were dead anyway.
Sakura shook her head in attempt to derail all thoughts on that train and set to the task at hand. It occurred to her too late that she'd never gotten a tour of the ship, but she was determined to do this.
Getting to the kitchen was more of a task than she thought it would be with how much she got turned around and lost inside the carrier, but did find it in good time. She rapped her knuckles on the metal door a few times before she pushed it open and stepped onto the tiled flooring. It was a lot emptier than she would have thought, but she didn't falter as she made a beeline for them.
The rosette smiled as pleasantly and politely as she could. "Hello." She bowed her head to all the occupants before continuing on because she had everyone's attention, "I'm so sorry to barge in like this, but the Chief of Staff has decided that I should cook this evening's meal for the Black Hawks. I sincerely hope it's not too much trouble."
One glance at all of their faces told her that they were relieved, which told her two things. The first being that she wouldn't meet resistance from them, and the second was that this wasn't going to be as easy as she'd thought it would.
"I was wondering if any one of you would be able to suggest what each member likes."
A collective shake of heads.
She tried not to groan. This was going to be impossible. But she'd tried for the impossible before and managed, so why not this as well? Setting her shoulders, she nodded to them again, "Thanks anyway, I appreciate it.'
The kunoichi turned on her heel and headed back out the way she came in, now for operation search for the Black Hawks and figure out what they like to eat.
The first member she found was the blonde, Konatsu. For that she was thankful, he was close to her age range and seemed friendly enough when she'd first meet him not twenty minutes prior. He was settled on a couch in the main gathering room of the ship, a book in his lap as he sat cross-legged and absorbed. He glanced up, light brown eyes immediately finding green ones when she entered the room.
Sakura smiled easily at the teen as she had done earlier and he in turn, smiled back. "Hey, I have an odd question, may I ask it?"
He blinked and she noted that she really liked his eyes. They were almost the hazel of her Shishou's but not quite, they were too amber to be that but not enough to be a golden shade either. Brown was a common color, usually neutral, but his were bright and almost telling of an open personality but also of keenness. "I don't see why not."
She nodded happily, thankful that it was going well, "Well, it seems I'm cooking dinner tonight and I was hoping you would tell me what you like to eat."
The blonde smiled and nodded, "That's not a question, you know."
"Oh, but I already did when I asked if I could ask you one."
Amber brown eyes blinked at her in surprise before he too started laughing. "Fair enough." He shifted in his position as he seemed to think about what to tell her. "I don't like anything spicy, preferably something on the sweet side and not too much seafood."
The pinkette smiled, this was definitely easier than she had first thought it would be. "Thanks so much, that makes my job a lot easier."
The blonde nodded to her, "I hope you like it in the Black Hawks."
"It doesn't seem easy." She told him in return, feeling a pang in her chest telling her that she shouldn't be here, she shouldn't be getting attached to someone she was just going to walk away from. But she was doing it anyway, to make the most of the time while she was there. Besides, her last kidnapping had taught her too well that she couldn't shut herself off even if she tried and back then she hadn't known the people any better and she'd liked them even less.
"No, but it's worth it."
She wasn't surprised when she found that he wasn't lying or even exaggerating, he truly did believe in this team and the people of it. It was nice to have that, she thought sullenly. Especially since hers had been ripped apart more times than she cared to count. But she still had them, she still had Naruto and Ino and Sai, the war had simply taken most of the people she held dear. And it had also put Danzo in charge of Konoha. The pang struck again, this time in a different way, telling her that if she didn't stop thinking about such things then it would make her chest ache something fierce with emotion that she had no time for. So she pushed the thoughts away as best she could.
"I know how that feels." She wouldn't commit to anything, but that didn't mean she couldn't empathize and get along. "I'm glad I had the luck to meet such a team."
Again those eyes blinked at her in surprise and she wondered if her own had taken on a faraway look like the one welling in her chest. Before he could say anything though, she nodded, bowing slightly as she did so. "It's nice to meet you, Konatsu."
Turning on her heel, she left the room intent on finding the others. And because she was already almost out the door she didn't see how the blonde smiled, or the way he murmured a 'nice to meet you, too' before he returned to the book in his lap.
Five months, she had five months before something needed to be done about her newest predicament. She would make the most of it.
After having found searched out all of the members she got the answers she'd wanted. Hyuuga and Konatsu's had been the most helpful, but she had still gotten sound answers from the entire team which surprised her. The Chief had been surprised when she'd knocked on the open door to his office. He'd glanced up and she'd taken that as her cue to come a few steps forward and ask if he had any preferences in food. Surprise had flitted so fast and so faintly in his eyes she wasn't really sure if she had seen it, but Hyuuga had grinned at her in much the same way Naruto did and answered for both his superior and himself.
She'd nodded her thanks, smiling lightly before turning on her heel and heading back to the kitchen since they'd been the last one's she had needed to ask before she could begin preparing dinner. Because of the almost wide range of answers she'd gotten, she'd decided she would make something of a smorgasbord, but still managing to tie all the foods in so it wouldn't look like she'd picked things at random. And since she was used to cooking for friends and teammates and colleagues the medic had easily guessed how much she would need and what she would need.
She'd known it would take a little while so she had busied herself with exploring some more and getting herself familiar with the surroundings as best she could. When she couldn't get too far away from the food, she would let her gaze settle on one of the windows in the kitchen. They weren't big but they gave her a clear view of the steadily darkening sky. It had occurred to her that she could probably do a little organizing or one of the other chores she'd been saddled with before deciding that she was likely to get too immersed in them and forget about the food.
Once she had it finished she asked the cooks how they normally informed the Black Hawks that it was dinner time. To which the head cook had told her nervously that they rarely ate together and that the meals were usually taken to each one respectively. The green eyed captive knew that doing it the normal way would probably be best, but she instinctively knew that it was possible for it to be used against her. If she did it the cooks' way, it would be very easy and logical to assume she hadn't cooked dinner by herself as she'd been told to, and since she had done as ordered she wasn't going to chance getting in trouble for it.
Decision made, she asked if they head a dinner table or dining room. Sakura had expected the head of the kitchen staff to answer her but instead it was one of the cooks who had been keeping quiet, telling her that there was but they team didn't use it. The teenage boy who couldn't be any older than Konatsu had continued to tell her how she would traditional get the news to them without having to search them out.
Green eyes had blinked, but she'd given the younger boy a dazzling smile all the same and told him that she appreciated the help. Even so, she'd decided that since she'd already searched them all out once, she would do so again rather than use the convince of bells and telegraphed messages, besides it meant that she could do even more exploring. However, she figured it would be pertinent to set the table beforehand.
With that, she'd proceeded to find them all again, going from closest to farthest from the kitchen instead. By doing so she'd managed to throw all of the members off guard yet again. With the exception of Kuroyuri who had happily told her that he would be right there without missing a beat. Konatsu had blinked those pretty eyes of his at her but closed his book and stood, offering to tell the rest of his superiors. Smiling had been inevitable to his proposition but she wanted to do it herself and so had shaken her head, thanking him not for the first time that day. Hyuuga had hummed happily, exclaiming that he couldn't wait and proceeded to grab his Chief of Staff's sleeve and pull said man to his feet. Ayanami gave no resistance as his eyes seemed to try to pick her apart for reasons to her actions, in the end still walking past her.
She didn't follow however, having faith that they knew where to go and since she hadn't set the table for herself there would be no point in joining them. And just because she was doing as she was told did not mean she was willing to simple start acting like part of the team so easily, whether she'd been declared that way or not. She was not going to give this up without even so much as a minor fuss, but she found she was still irritated with how compliant she was being. Akatsuki's members – Itachi and Deidara especially – had bared the brunt of her anger the first few weeks and her attitude even more than a few weeks after that. Yet here she was, smiling and going out of her way to make their lives easier. Could she not find a balance for those who had captured her?
Idly, she wondered if this was going to turn out the same way, if she was going to return to Konoha when the Black Hawks were all but eliminated by some force or another much as had been the circumstance with her last kidnapping.
Shaking off the thoughts yet again, she padded soundlessly into the room the others had vacated minutes ago, reasoning that now was as good a time as any to start in on the other two orders. First would be sorting and filing, then she would organize from there. Because she had a feeling that organizing applied to more than the offices in the ship.
Finishing the tasks remaining tasks had taken longer than she had thought it would, but Sakura still got it done before the night got too dark and thankfully after she was pretty sure most of the staff and the Black Hawks had retired for the night. Still, she found her feet silently carrying her to the balcony she had found earlier and she didn't even so much as pause as she left the warm confines of the ship for the crisp night air and speed induced winds. Instead she didn't stop until she was close enough to lean against the darkened railing, allowing her hips to rest squarely against it.
From there, she lazily stretched her body in a catlike manner, quickly stopping at the shock of pain that pulsed from her calf and thigh. Emerald colored eyes blinked with mild surprise as she realized that in her effort to get everything done she forgot all about her wounds. Belatedly she also acknowledge that being up and about for so long had probably undone the healing her body had managed on it's own and probably even some of what she'd done when they were still fresh.
Sighing almost soundlessly, she placed still gloved hands on the railing and lifted her body onto it, balance coming so natural she didn't even think about it as she tugged one leg up to her chest, placing a sandaled foot on the circular beam beneath her. Without preamble, she rolled up her pant leg until she could clearly see her wounded calf and set to poking and prodding the already agitated flesh. Judging by the pain it got her, she'd say she managed tear the muscle tissue completely and the bone tissue was so taunt and raw that it was close to tearing also. She pursed her lips at the damage she'd managed to do and mentally berated herself for her carelessness. At least the skin had begun to scab enough that she was bleeding on top of everything else.
"Well that looks painful." She flinched, jerking just enough that she started to fall off the railing and off the ship entirely. Instinctively, she sent chakra to where her body touched the metal so as to halt her fall without even so much as sliding. She wasn't surprised that the prospect of almost falling to her death didn't cause her heart to either stutter or speed up even slightly. It occurred to her that maybe that wasn't a good thing but she brushed it aside all the same.
Green eyes flickered to sunglasses and grin, though she could tell that he'd been ready to lounge when she'd shown signs of falling. In return she shrugged nonchalantly, "Not really." Which was true, for all the damage all she felt was a dull ache when she focused on it and when she didn't it was easy to forget there was any damage at all. That probably wasn't a good thing either. Her subconscious blamed it on having been through war, but she refused to even think about letting it become conscious; it was too long ago and hurt far too much.
He gave her a surprised look, though she felt it more candid than anything. "Not even when you first got it?"
"I'd numbed my limbs so no, not even then." She knew how that sounded, but it was far too habitual and it wasn't like she was using it to bypass limitations, she just didn't want it hindering her unnecessarily.
His sunglasses feel enough down the bridge of his nose for her to see the blue color of his eyes as well as the sharpness of them as he pinned her with his gaze, suddenly very serious despite the fact that he was still grinning same as usual. His body language and his tone didn't match, "You can numb your limbs at will?"
She paused, wondering if the full truth would be better than answering his question as simply as possible. Lying by omission was something Naruto and Sasuke had pulled on her more than once and she knew that stance and the look in those eyes. Full truth it was. "I can, it's not wise and I did so the pain wouldn't be crippling, but I can."
The deadly calm that his posture exuded died down as he took a more curious one. "Really? How?"
She couldn't help but quirk her lips, "How is it unwise or how do I numb it?" Even as she spoke the words she made the universal sign for him to come forward and then placed her hands on either side of her calf and directly below the wound.
"Both?" He came forward a few feet until he had a good view of the wound itself.
Without further adieu she centered chakra into her fist, the night seeming less dark as the almost pale green color outlined her hands. She knew it would be quicker for her to put her hands directly over her damaged body part but this way he would see the affects much more clearly. In fact, he came even closer when the film of chakra covered her black gloves. Then she started in, working from the inner most damage outward until the scab was gone and not even so much as a faint line remained on either side. It was easy and basic for her to do, and took no time at all, but Hyuuga clearly found it fascinating.
Enough to reach out a white gloved hand and draw his index finger across where the wound had been but there was no scar and no telltale sign that anything had ever been wrong in the first place.
"So this is what the green energy does?" Finally his blue eyes came back to her and he removed his hand from her leg.
She nodded, shrugging lightly. Since the leg was properly tended to, she rolled down her pant leg and shifted so that it rested beside her other. "It's not all powerful, however. It has draw backs, like death. Anything short of death is in my range – provided I have enough energy at my disposal and can fix the problem before it's too late."
"No battlefields?" He was as inquisitive as a cat. She paused, and so was his fearless leader.
Green eyes darted to the doorway and she hopped of the railing, landing on steady, silent feet. She proceeded to skirt Hyuuga until she was within sight of Ayanami and then she finally answered, "Not so. I was trained as a battlefield medic, so yes, if need be I can work under constant threat."
Almost as if one, the two much taller men moved closer until they were mere feet in front of her and Hyuuga was back to being at his superior's side. It gave Sakura the slightest pause and not because she was being shown a united front by obviously formidable people.
"Training?" Ayanmi.
She nodded again, shrugging. This was going to get a bit tricky, after all, showing them what she knew and telling them where it came from were two totally different things. But she'd put up with ANBU and Itachi and still managed straight answers that didn't really answer the question. "Among the hand-to-hand combat and maneuvering, I was taught healing. The wakizashi however, was something I never really had that much of a knack for; I prefer my own two hands by choice of weapon."
"Splitting the ground?" Again, Ayanami.
"When I was learning to be a battlefield medic. It wouldn't do if I couldn't hold my own, otherwise that would get the person or people I was attending killed and most likely myself." No who's or when's or where's, she didn't trust these guys enough to potentially jeopardize her home like that. That; and it was still the first day.
Violet and blue eyes turned to each other for just the slightest of moments and then they turned back to the smaller woman. "The energy itself, how does it work?"
Again she hesitated; answering that would give them blueprints and guidelines. It would be showing them her greatest strength and therefore her greatest weakness. But she knew how zaiphon worked as well, and part of her was never big on being unfair after she'd already used her advantage. "It's like zaiphon in a manner. An essence of life and can be used. But that's pretty much where the similarities end. It draws equally on physical energy and spiritual energy so its not a matter of not having it, it's more of a knowing how to use it and being able to, rather than having it dormant and not always usable."
Hyuuga tipped his head, "Then there has to be a different limitation."
She was surprised that all she felt was her own cautiousness at the direct question, no warning bells no anxiety. Nothing. "It does – a very big one. As far as I can tell, zaiphon is all but limitless. Chakra is not, it is very possible to run out of chakra, and if that happens then death isn't just possible."
The purpled haired man shifted only slightly, and green eyes noted how Hyuuga seemed to react to it. Without moving so much as muscle, without putting out a different aura. If that wasn't her tip off, she didn't know what was. "In other words, it's useful like zaiphon but necessary as food or water."
She bobbed her head slightly, "It has the same telltale affects as physical exhaustion because it affects the body the same way. Low chakra can be like low blood supply. Too much is not a good thing, either. And lastly I do have a chakra circulatory system that's just as abundant as my veins and is wrapped around all the important organs."
With all the drawbacks laid bare, she realized just how much of weakness the strength itself could be. How paradoxical, she thought idly, but it didn't matter.
"If it's like veins and all, does it have pressure points too?"
She blinked, "Yes, it does. 361 points, in fact, but they don't work the same way, not exactly. If pressured or pressed correctly, the point can either accelerate chakra flow or halt altogether."
"Neither is good." Hyuuga guessed from the answer she'd given to his question.
"Depending on the situation, but normally no." She confirmed, slightly miffed at how easy all the information she had volunteered and hoped that her instincts were right. Hoped she hadn't just made a costly mistake.
The two seemed content for silence after her answer, not speaking but their eyes met again. She had the distinct feeling that they were finished with their mini interrogation, what with their curiosity sated. Until she was the recipient of Hyuuga's sunglass-gaze once more, "You said it's like zaiphon…"
"Does that mean it does other things than healing?" She finished and paused. Then she nodded, "There are three categories, though they aren't the same as zaiphon's." If she had been taught correctly by the soldiers of Antwort, of course. "Instead of being separated into attack, healing or manipulation, it's sorted into the spirit-to-physical energy ratio. There are ninjutsu – which covers all physical offensive as well as medicine –taijutsu – which rarely has chakra laced into it, but I do – and genjutsu – which is all the surreal offensive and illusionary stuff."
Again, she got the feeling that they were done with their questions and she was partially thankful. Not once had the pushed for places or locations or even tried to get such things out of her. After she'd evaded anything past the surface with Ayanami's training question, neither had even bothered for it. Sakura wondered idly if that was a good or a bad thing.
But she did have the time to find out, whatever it was. In the meantime, she had a thigh to heel and a good night's rest was sounding nice.