Chapter Seven
Sasuke thrust his fingers into the dirt. Grasping the base of the weed, he yanked the evil plant out of the ground. Ten down, only twenty thousand left. Has he ever weeded this before? I'm amazed there's anything growing in this sad excuse for a garden, much less all of this. Sasuke was educated in the "precise art" of gardening; the Uchiha's neighbor, an elderly widow who lived by herself, had been an avid gardener. She had babysat Sasuke when he was younger, and over the years he had learned more than he had ever wanted to know about gardening. Junko would be horrified by this garden. Too bad I can't call her in to take my place. She found gardening therapeutic, something completely unfathomable to the boy. Maybe I could- Crap! That hurt! Sasuke jerked his hand back and examined the damage. The diagonal slash decorating his thumb bled onto his off-white shorts. Stupid thorny weed, he grumbled, wiping the blood away. He hated those weeds.
Despite his run-in with the thorn, Sasuke had to admit that pulling weeds wasn't as horrible as some jobs. It was rather monotonous, but sometimes monotony could be enjoyable. Sasuke was free to let his mind wander to other things while he weeded; yanking weeds out of the ground did not require extensive thinking. He could mentally review katas, practice moving chakra throughout his body, conceive a plan to get revenge on Shisui, and any other number of delightful mental tasks. Yes, gardening isn't that bad, especially compared to other things. Sasuke shivered; he had heard that one of the other teams had been stuck with babysitting for their first D-rank, a fate truly horrific. The whole idea of babysitting a bunch of snot-nosed, whiny brats for countless hours while their parents disappeared was repulsive. Besides, no parent in his or her right mind would leave a kid with us. Sakura would be too busy imagining her future kids to pay any attention to the ones in front of us, Naruto would be his spastic, idiotic self, and I wouldn't last twenty minutes before killing at least one of them, if not more. Kakashi would definitely be no help either. His idea of a bedtime story is probably Icha Icha. He'd pollute their little minds. No, babysitting was certainly a far worse fate.
"Naruto!" Sakura yelled loudly. "You're pulling up the plants, not the weeds! Stop going so quickly!" That's the third time she's told him in the last hour. She really should just give up. I sincerely doubt Aoki will even realize that his plants are gone.
"But Sakura-chan, we'll never finish that way! We have to-" Naruto finally noticed the veins throbbing in Sakura's forehead and her ever reddening face. He snapped his mouth shut and turned back to his patch of garden, muttering as he slowed down.
Smart move, for once, Sasuke thought, turning back to his own work. They had to keep the peace, after all. Kakashi had assigned their D-rank and promptly disappeared. Sasuke sensed a pattern establishing itself. Hopefully he'll start sticking around once we begin our C-ranks.
"What have you done to my plants?" Sasuke jolted at the harsh shriek. A woman Sasuke knew as Aoki's wife was perched on the edge of the garden. She was heavyset and wrinkled, her gray hair forced into a severe bun at the top of her head. Her mouth was wide open, exposing yellowing, straight teeth, and her light brown eyes were staring at Naruto. "You horrible demon, you've destroyed them! Look at my precious babies, you evil child!"
"Demon" is a little cruel. He didn't mean to do it. He can't help that he's an idiot. Furious, Naruto abandoned his task, straightened his body, and started yelling back at her. "Look, lady, those stupid plants were probably already dead in the first place 'cause you don't take care of them!" The woman gasped loudly. Sasuke grinned. "And even if they weren't dead, I don't care! I didn't even want to weed your stupid garden in the first place!" There are positives to being completely uninhibited. Sasuke would have enjoyed copying Naruto, and from the look on her face Sakura would have as well. "I'm gonna be a ninja, not a stupid gardener, so just shut up!"
"Why, you little brat," she hissed, stepping closer to him. Naruto instinctively backed up/ "You'll pay for that! I'm going to speak to the Hokage about this! You'll all be demoted!"
"Naruto!" Sakura said. She ran to his side and clamped her hand over his mouth. "He didn't mean that! Really, he didn't mean it! He's just an idiot who doesn't know what he's saying!" Naruto protested from underneath Sakura's hand, a move that only encouraged her smothering.
Sasuke joined them. He didn't take the woman's threats seriously; they would have to do much worse to be demoted; but he wasn't about to the desert his teammates, even if this mess was their fault. "Those flowers can be replanted," he said in a calm, respectful voice. Itachi had long ago taught him the painful art of diplomacy. He rarely used it, but this was one of those times when it was necessary. "I can fix them, and we'll keep him from doing anymore damage." He had just added another hour of work to their plate, but an extra hour of work outside was better than an extra three hours of lecture from the Hokage and his family.
The woman examined him, and then Sakura and Naruto. Sakura was nodding her head wildly in agreement with him. Naruto, subdued by the pressure of Sakura's hand, was quiet. Finally, she grunted and left.
Sighing gratefully, Sakura let her hand fall. "Don't you do that again, Naruto! I am not getting sent back to the Academy!"
"She wouldn't have gotten you sent back anyway," Sasuke interrupted. "And since we have to replant those flowers and finish weeding, you should be quiet and start working again."
"Don't be rude to Sakura-chan, teme!" Naruto ordered. Sakura glared at him, raising her hand. Cowering, Naruto returned to his patch of Earth.
Count on Naruto and Sakura to make a boring D-rank far too interesting. You know you have troubles when you're wishing for a boring afternoon. Grimly, Sasuke set aside his troubling thoughts and continued the torture at hand. Aoki's wife oversaw their efforts for a few minutes before retreating to the comfort of her home.
Four excruciating hours later the job was finished. Aoki and his deranged wife were as absent as Kakashi, and Sasuke assumed the role of counting their contribution as adequate and dismissing them. Sakura was too tired to pester him about dinner together. She grinned happily and stumbled off into the sunset. Naruto cheered loudly before dashing after her. Smirking ruefully at his teammates, Sasuke gathered his things and trailed after them.
Sasuke yawned as he headed for the training ground the next morning. He had had a bad case of insomnia the night before; he hadn't fallen asleep until two thirty. There had been some sort of police emergency, and Shisui and Itachi had been called in for something. Naturally, he knew nothing. He never did. That may have explained his lack of sleep.
It doesn't really matter why I couldn't sleep last night. Regardless of the cause, the after-effects were still the same. His body felt heavy and weighed down, and his reflexes were half of what they should have been. Lack of sleep was damaging in any profession, but in a shinobi's line of work it was life threatening. Sasuke was all too aware of that fact, but there was little he could do about it now. Rubbing at his eyes, he continued towards the training ground.
Sasuke halted abruptly. He wasn't alone. She's here already? That's new. The pink haired kunoichi was poised in the middle of the training ground, practicing a kata Sasuke recognized immediately. The name escaped him, but it had been one of Shisui's favorites, and he was very well acquainted with its form and moves, both of which she was painfully abusing. It was a fairly advanced kata, difficult for most experienced students to perform, much less an amateur who had probably never done any katas half as complicated.
Why is she here this early anyway? Sasuke wondered. And who taught her that kata? She knew all the moves, even if she wasn't executing them correctly. Sasuke watched as she swiveled far too quickly on her last turn before her mikazuki. Although her body was completely off-balance, she threw herself into the kick. Don't do it! You can't perform a kick like that when you're so off-center-
BAM! Sasuke winced as Sakura's face hit the dirt. She pushed herself up, scowling fiercely. Sasuke studied her carefully. Her bun was coming loose, hair falling out in random places. The strands closest to her skin were plastered against her body with sweat. Her shorts were slightly torn and freshly dirtied; her shirt had a small smear of blood on the sleeve. She had obviously been training for a while. A new, uncomfortable thought struck Sasuke. What if she actually wanted help with her training? That can't be the whole story; she's always wanted to date me, not train with me. But what if that was part of it?
Sakura stood unsteadily, biting her lip. She was going to try again. Sasuke's already perturbed conscience started needling him again. Fine. But if she starts hitting on me, the deal is off.
"You're doing it wrong, you know." He could have said any number of things, but a slightly annoying and brutally honest reality check seemed to be the perfect way to introduce his presence.
Sakura's head whipped around to face his. Her scowl deepened. There was something humorous about her wholehearted attempt to look pissed. She just couldn't quite pull it off. After a minute or so of silent and angry contemplation, she gave up the ruse. "I know," she said humbly. She looked at him. He looked back. Neither of them said anything. "Aren't you going to tell me what I did wrong in the kata?" Sakura asked, hand poised on her hip. He raised his eyebrow, questioning her wordlessly. "Sasuke-kun," she started again, hand falling down, pretense crumbling even faster. "I really do want to get better. I mean, Kakashi-sensei called me pathetic."
"It's because you were."
Wincing at the comment, Sakura refused to back down. "I don't," she paused, licking her lips. "I don't want to be that."
And you had no ulterior motives whatsoever. Right. I'll believe that the day Naruto makes it through a day without saying "Believe it!" once. Obviously his silence told her his thoughts, because her babble picked up. "Okay, so maybe I did want to be around you too a little." More silence. The desperation grew in her eyes. Sasuke almost felt bad for her. Almost. "Okay, maybe I did a lot!" Finally, some honesty. It's rather refreshing. "But it's not fair to just watch me and make fun of me because I'm doing it wrong when you won't show me how to do it right!"
"No, it's not." He shocked her by agreeing. He stepped a little closer. "I'll show you how to do the kata," she giggled, and her face brightened, "but that's it. I'm helping you learn something, not," Sasuke grimaced; he couldn't quite force the word "dating" out of his mouth, "anything else. If you tell anyone that, you're dead."
She nodded solemnly. "I promise, Sasuke-kun." She was sincere. Her motives are still less than innocent, but I think she wants to learn. He wasn't certain, but helping her with one kata couldn't hurt too much.
Sasuke nodded at her. "Alright, now pay attention." She sank to the ground. Sasuke assumed the starting position.
He was a little rusty, but the techniques came back to him. He slowed his pace when he neared the crescent kick so she could clearly see what she had done wrong.
"Oh!" She jumped up. He backed off quickly, giving her room to move. "So it was like this?" Sakura asked, trying to copy him.
"Better," he said. She grinned. "Horrible," her face saddened, "but better than it was. You're capable of improvement." She beamed, the heavy sadness gone. That was fast. Her mood swings were uncanny and disconcerting. "Try again." Returning to her ready stance, Sakura started the technique again.
An hour later she had improved sufficiently, and Sasuke let her break. She collapsed on the grass underneath one of the trees, exhausted. Sasuke settled in a comfortable distance away. I don't think she'll be asking for help again anytime soon. Hopefully any romantic notions she had been nurturing had disappeared.
"Sakura-chan, are you okay? What did Sasuke-teme do?"
"Nothing, Naruto," Sakura said quickly. "I'm just tired."
"You should get some more rest, Sakura-chan. Ninjas are supposed to be alert."
"I know, Naruto," she shot back, irritated. He does actually care, doesn't he? He shook away his errant thoughts as they waited for Kakashi to appear.
He was late again, but for once his announcement of the day's itinerary beat expectations; they would spend the rest of the day training. Apparently, Kakashi had taken pity on their efforts the previous day and decided to allow them a break from another D-rank. Sasuke kept his celebration quiet, but he appreciated the move as much as his more vocal teammates did.
Throughout the day Sakura was true to her word around Naruto and Kakashi; she didn't mention their little impromptu training session. But she could tell someone else, he thought as they completed the last bout of training. I don't think she has many friends, but you never know. There might be others I don't know about. Unfortunately, there's nothing I can do about that. I'll have to trust her. The thought made his stomach turn. The number of people he trusted with sensitive information took up less than half his hand. Naruto ran off loudly, as always. Sakura yelled at him to "shut up and act like a normal person" as she started down the path.
Kakashi caught Sasuke's eye as he was about to leave. "You know, Sasuke," he began, reading his little orange book as he spoke. "A team's strength is dependent on all of its members. If someone within the unit is ineffective, then the entire squad is forced to make up for that person's deficiencies." Are we going to get to the point anytime soon? Sasuke was hungry and tired; home was calling his name. This is not the time for you to try and instill some grand life lesson on your student. "Therefore, it would stand to reason, then, that for a team to be effective it must consist of three competent people." With a brisk snap he shut the book. "Just a thought, anyway." Tucking the book in his back pocket, Kakashi headed back to the village.
How did he even find out about it? Sasuke decided not to lose any energy worrying over the small phenomenon. Kakashi's point was glaringly obvious.
Hiro would have called the idea antiquated and idealistic. Mikoto, on the other hand, would have allied with Kakashi. Hiro, Mother, Hiro, Mother, Sasuke balanced the two viewpoints in his mind. There was no question who won. Hatake was right.
"Ow," Sakura checked the training ground. It was basically the same scenario; Sakura was as sweaty, tired, and exhausted as she had been the day before. She was flat on the ground, staring at sky.
Why me? Teaching her part of the kata hadn't been so difficult, and she had not been nearly as distractible as he would have thought. Before reaching the training ground he had decided to aid her once in a great while as needed for the sake of the team. The last thing they needed was another Naruto,especially another Naruto with much lower levels of chakra.
However, this aid was not meant to be accessed every day. I could walk away. No, that was simply idiotic. No stupid genin girl is going to make me do anything. I'll simply not help her. Yes, sitting next to a tree while she failed miserably at some simple taijutsu technique would be uncomfortable, but who cared?
There has to be some mastermind behind this scheme, someone coaching her on what to do. Sasuke laughed at himself. Shisui would love this. I'm crossing over from the realm of reasonable suspicion to the realm of downright paranoia.
"Sasuke-kun, are you alright?" The sudden noise startled him. Reactively Sasuke punched at the intruder. Said intruder screamed as his fist collided with her face. Sakura fell to the ground, nose bloody.
Ouch. Sasuke pulled her up gently. "Don't do that."
"Sorry, Sasuke-kun," Sakura answered, touching her nose as she spoke. "I didn't mean to." I punch her, and she's apologizing. There's something wrong with this scenario. "Will you please help me again?" He sighed. I guess I owe her now.
"Come on," he waved her to the training grounds. She followed along behind him like an obedient little puppy.
"Thank you, Sasuke-kun."
"Hn," he answered. His conscience was fully satisfied. "Watch, and be quiet."
"D-ranks are so boring!" Naruto complained loudly. One week, and his patience has already evaporated. I guess I shouldn't have expected more from him. Sasuke was sure he heard their sensei chuckle at Naruto's protests. As usual, Kakashi was buried in one of his porn books, ignoring his team's antics."Tracking down cats, weeding garden, doing chores; it's so stupid! They should send us on some real missions!"
"Stop whining, Naruto. Every genin team is given only D-rank missions until they have proved their worth." Sakura sped off into lecture mode, and Sasuke ignored her. The reasoning behind the regulation of genin teams was sound, but it was extremely irritating as well. It's been seven days. They could take pity on us and give a mission worth doing.
"Naruto, are you listening to me?" Sakura was glaring at the blonde headed boy.
"Yeah, I'm listening, Sakura-chan. I just don't get why they don't give us any good missions!" Sasuke shook his head, partially from sheer exasperation and partially from honest amazement. He really is a glutton for punishment.
"Naruto, I just told you why!"
"You did?" Sakura punched him swiftly. Sasuke noticed proudly that her right hook was much more powerful and accurate than it had been. "Ow! Right, right, you did!"
Rolling her eyes, Sakura grabbed Naruto's arm and started yanking him down the street. "Come on, we're going to be late!"
"Aw, the Old Man's not gonna care. Besides, we're probably going to have to wait for a long time anyway!"
"Shut up and follow her," Sasuke ordered. Naruto buckled and obeyed Sakura. Kakashi trailed behind the three of them, reading his little orange book cheerfully. One of these days, Hatake, I'm going to burn all of those stupid books and make you stop living in your stupid fantasies.
On cue, Kakashi's head popped up. He wiggled his fingers in a ridiculous salute to Sasuke before submerging again. Sasuke rolled his eyes.
A/N: Merry Christmas! I hope everyone out there is having an amazing holiday season :) Love (and cookies, cupcakes, brownies, and other assorted holiday treats) to my awesome readers!
I'm starting to write Team 7's first C-rank, and I have a question to ask of all of you. Do you think Team 7 should go to the Land of Waves (like in the anime/manga) or do you think they should go on a different mission? I have a poll up on my profile or you can vote via a review (or PM me; whatever makes you happy). I can't guarantee I'll go with public opinion, but it will factor in to my final decision. Thanks so much!