An: All right, here is chapter three. Thank you to those the few who found it in their hearts to review. I tried to make this one longer by combining two of my original chapters. I think they actually came together quite nicely. I know not much is happening here. I am simply trying to establish Suki as a character a bit more. The plot will start moving forward next chapter, I promise. I am sorry for skipping the spar but, as I've proven, I don't write fight scenes very well. As always, I love reviews to let me know how I'm doing.
"Man, Sakura-chan, you've gotten so strong." Naruto said between deep breaths. "This is really good training." He said with a smile as the two of them sat under a tree to catch their breaths.
It had become habit for the two of them to spar during training when Kakashi wasn't around. They made an excellent team when he was there and they had to work together in matches against their sensei . Naruto was gaining more respect for his teammate's newfound abilities every day. He had been back for a good while now from his training trip and yet she still amazed him. She, of course, hadn't been the only one to grow and Naruto certainly threw her some challenges in their spars.
The two of them looked at each other, realizing how worn out the other was. They both began laughing at this. Originally, they were going to do some light sparing and call it a day; after all, they each had other things to do that day. Once they had gotten going though, it had turned into quite the challenge and neither had wanted to stop.
Suddenly a puff of smoke appeared on a tree branch in one of many trees surrounding them. When it cleared Suki was revealed, sitting on the branch in a rather child like way. Her long hair, in a braid today, could be seen swinging behind her.
"Oy, Suki-san, what are you doing here?" Naruto asked, "Isn't class still going on?"
"Hokage-sama asked me to come. With most of the Jonin out on missions, including Kakashi and Yamato, she wanted to be sure that you were keeping up your training. Tsunade-sama may have some missions for you soon." Suki said with a smile.
"I can see the two of you are keeping each other in line just fine." She said dropping to the ground with little effort.
"Yes, we have been sparing regularly." Sakura said
"That's good, not only does it give you good training and make you stronger, but it also gives you a healthy respect for your teammates." Suki said, taking a seat cross-legged in front of them. Both nodded their understanding.
In the time since they had first met Suki, the two of them had gained a great respect for the pretty konochi. It was easy to forget she was jonin when she was confined to the village. Because she had been away for so long, she had to spend some time under probation. This was merely a precaution, not a single person the woman had worked with felt she was any danger. Most felt she should be out on missions now; seeing as the village had been so busy lately. On the occasions they had seen her sparing they had learned enough to know she was worthy of her rank.
Looking around Suki asked, "I may be counting wrong here but aren't there supposed to be three of you?"
"Sai opted out of this training session." Sakura said
"Ah, I see. That should be discouraged. A team needs to work together and that means training together." Suki said "Team work is the most important thing a team can develop. Without it, everyone is in much greater danger each time the team takes a mission."
Naruto laughed, "You're like a female version of Kakashi when it comes to teamwork." This earned him a smack from Sakura. Suki only laughed at their antics. "Besides, we have been training together. Sai just isn't here today." Naruto added.
Stretching out her arms behind her Suki stood up. "You guys aren't too tired to take me on are you?" she asked, "I'm dying for some good sparing."
Naruto jumped up at this and said, "I'm never too tired for a challenge." The two of them had twin grins that showed their excitement.
Sakura stood up, ready to go too. "Gesh, Suki is more like a more mature, female, version of you Naruto." She commented, putting her gloves back on. This earned her disbelieving looks from both Suki and Naruto.
Everyone took his or her places and Suki spoke, "Ready, begin!"
"You two really are strong Ninja." Suki said later as she was preparing to leave the training grounds. Naruto and Sakura were panting and resting against a tree. "Well on your way to becoming your best and some of the best this village will see." She said waving goodbye with much enthusiasm. Turning around she called back to them, "Would you like to meet for some ramen later?"
"I never say no to ramen!" Naruto called back, receiving a laugh from the retreating ninja.
"How does she still have that much energy?" Sakura asked Naruto in an exhausted tone. "Even you are wiped." She said looking at him.
"It's like she didn't even try." Naruto said, upset.
"At least she looks like she puts more effort in than Kakashi-sensei." Sakura said, "I think she just has good stamina like you. Besides, she is a strong Ninja. She wouldn't be a jonin if she couldn't handle the two of us." Sakura commented
"Still, I don't know how she does it." Naruto said. Having recovered somewhat, he stood.
"That's what a lot of people say about you Naruto." Sakura said with a fond smile. Her blond friend's stamina had never ceased to amaze her. His ability to keep going, even under the harshest conditions, had inspired many. It occurred to her that Suki was similar to Naruto on more than just that level. The woman seemed to have the same eagerness too. Come to think of it, she used a lot of moves today against Suki that she often had to use against Naruto.
A silver-haired jonin chuckled at his former student's comments. He had returned from a mission earlier that day and, after some rest, had come to check on his team. To his surprise, he had found Naruto and Sakura sparing with the new jonin in the village. Kakashi had not had the chance to say more than two words to the woman, yet alone see her in action. To be honest, the woman was good.
Certainly, she had her flaws just as anyone else but her fighting style seemed strong and her ability to adapt had saved her from Naruto's attacks several times. The thing about Naruto was that you never knew quite what to expect from him. Sure, people called him a knucklehead, but he had a way of surprising you. It seemed she worked well with his blonde-haired student. Perhaps she would do him a favor and teach the boy a thing or two.
"So you lived in the Land of Wind?" Naruto asked Suki in between slurps of ramen.
"Yes, I lived there for nearly ten years." Suki said with a smile. Naruto tended to have that effect on her. The boy, no matter how annoying he could be, was loveable.
"That must have been so cool!" he said with a grin. Suki was so cool! She had been everywhere and seemed to know something about everything.
"Actually, it was rather hot." Suki said, earning an annoyed look from Naruto.
Sakura rolled her eyes at the older woman's bad joke. She was just as bad as Naruto at times. Naruto was right though, living in the Land of Wind must have been quite interesting. "Wow, you must have learned so much about other cultures from traveling so much." Sakura said enthusiastically. Naruto's happiness at being at his favorite ramen shop and interesting stories from Suki was catching on.
"I suppose so." Suki said, "I didn't really think of it that way but I guess I did. I just wanted to see what each land had to offer." The older Ninja took a bite of her ramen, clearly enjoying it. "This is really good! I can always appreciate a good cup of ramen."
"I told you this was the best ramen around." Naruto said with a knowing smile on his face.
Sakura could not help but notice how well the two of them got along. It was as though they had known each other for a long time. It wasn't an odd occurrence for new people to slip into their lives like this anymore and yet this felt different.
"Why did you spend so much time in the Land of Wind?" Sakura asked as she continued her meal.
"Oh, that's where my father was from. My mother met him on a mission and I guess the rest is history." Suki said a sad but sweet smile on her face. "I've been told they loved each other very much. They both passed away when I was young so I don't really remember much about them."
"Oh, I'm sorry to hear that Suki." Sakura said
"Don't be Sakura. It's something I accepted a long time ago and it's really more of a strengthening thing than saddening now." Suki said, "My parents left me many things that help make me who I am even if they aren't here."
Naruto and Sakura just nodded at this; there wasn't really anything to say.
After several moments of silence Suki spoke again "Well now, enough on that topic." She said, "Why don't you tell me more about you…"
Just then a voice interrupted her "Should have known I'd find you two here." The voice was soon followed by Kakashi ducking into the ramen stand.
"Kakashi-sensei!" Both Naruto and Sakura said.
Kakashi was happy to see his two students. It had been quite some time since he had actually had a chance to have any meaningful interaction with them. Although he could find himself exasperated upon spending great amounts of time with them (more like Naruto), he truly did care for his students. It was after he entered the ramen shop that he noticed that Sakura and Naruto were dining with the woman he had seen them with earlier. He had seen her around but hadn't spoken or come into contact with her. He wasn't even certain he knew her name. As he entered he could have sworn he saw a surprised look cross her face upon seeing him but in the blink of an eye it was gone.
Rubbing the back of his neck in his typical way the silver haired jonin gave a light chuckle and said "Oh, I'm sorry, am I interrupting?"
"Not at all Kakashi-sensei, we're just hanging out with Suki-san. She's been telling us about her adventures." Naruto said with his trademark grin.
Ah…so that was her name. Suki….now that brought back some memories. Stopping his mind from wandering Kakashi focused on the woman seated next to his students. She was pretty with dark brown eyes and long brown hair that reached far beyond her waist. 'She's not bad on the eyes', he thought. 'But not as pretty as she was.' Another voice seemed to speak in his mind. Forcing himself, once again, back into reality he smiled at her, the affect somewhat lost with his mask.
"Naruto, they weren't adventures, just travels." Suki said in a correcting tone. Turning toward Kakashi she smiled "It's a pleasure to meet you Kakashi-san. I've heard a great deal about you from these two." She said nodding toward Naruto and Sakura. "My name is Suki Sano by the way, as Naruto so kindly introduced." She said with a laugh.
"I see, it's a pleasure to meet you as well Suki-san" Kakashi said, taking a seat next to the other three. "I certainly hope they don't spend all their time with you talking about me." He said
This produced angry looks from the two younger Ninja and a giggle from Suki. "Certainly not, Naruto spends the other half of his time talking about ramen." She said, making Sakura nearly snort out the last of her ramen. Naruto just sat there staring open mouthed at the older Ninja.
It wasn't long after this that Suki excused herself and made her way home. Team Kakashi deserved some time to catch up.
As she lay in bed that night Suki reflected upon the day. Part of her was overjoyed at being back and how close she was getting with Naruto and Sakura, the other part simply wanted to run. Her heart had ached for Konoha over the years and yet it was difficult to return to a place where she had lost so much. Seeing Kakashi again had made her heart skip a beat. To see him all grown up and the leader of his own team, it blew her mind. Of course, he hadn't recognized her. She simply didn't look like herself. No one knew who had truly returned to the village and she didn't plan on letting anyone know anytime soon.
Kakashi stood in front of the memorial stone, staring at the same names but thinking of another who wasn't on the stone. No, she had never received that honor and yet she was equally important in his mind. A picture of a pretty, blonde-haired, blue eyed, girl came into his mind. She was laughing and playing around, just as he always remembered her. Unfortunately that's all she was, just a memory.
Kakashi hadn't thought of her this much in a long time. Hearing her name again had brought her forward in his mind once again. Just a silly little girl who always seemed to get in the way during training and yet she was as sharp as a tack. Four years younger than the actual Ninja being trained and, half the time, she knew the answers before they did. Such potential, it was too bad she died before she had truly blossomed as the top of her class. Sighing, the jonin forced himself to turn and walk away from the stone. He definitely needed some sleep tonight.
Hope the confusing feeling may have left you by now. I know you've not a clue where the plot is going but I hope the events of the chapter were clear, at least the parts that were ment to be. Please let me know what you think. I would love to be able to improve. That pretty button is calling to you...isn't it?