Hello Hello everyone!! I'm really happy I got to update today; my birthday is in two days, and I'm going to try and update all of my stories at least one time. I'm really glad so many people have taken interest in this story; I think it's going to be one of my favorites.
Please read, and enjoy!
Chapter 6: Training
"Kakashi-sensei exhausted his chakra network," Sakura said while taking one of Kakashi's hand and flinging him over her shoulder. "I don't think he'll be able to move around very well for a while."
Kakashi fell to the ground. "What's wrong with Sensei?" Naruto practically screamed as he ran over to him.
Sakura and Sasuke set Kakashi down gently on a mat near the back room. Sakura let out a sigh, and pulled a blanket up to Kakashi's chest.
"We need to talk about this," Kakashi muttered into Sakura's ear. Sakura just nodded, and sat down next to him.
"Zabuza is still alive," Sakura said quietly from beside Kakashi. "The hunter nin we saw... him leaving proves that."
"But I thought the hunter nin killed him," Tazuna said as he leaned against the wall.
"Just think about it," Kakashi said as he cautiously sat his body upwards. "The hunter nin used simple needles; simple needles. If he had wanted to kill Zabuza then why had he not used kunai?"
"He didn't have any?" Naruto questioned dumbly.
"No, dobe," Sasuke said while hitting Naruto in the back of the head. "It could have been simulated or something."
"No," Sakura said quietly. "It was most likely a momentary death. Kakashi-sensei's sharingan would have detected it if it was a jutsu. Zabuza was really dead, but now he is alive."
"But what if he comes back right now!?" Tazuna questioned while he flung his arms around him. A short black haired woman ran to him, and hugged him.
"Dad just listen to them," she stated. "They are ninja; they protected you before."
"You're right Tsunami," Tazuna said. "What will you do about this, Kakashi?"
"We need to train," Sakura said. "If Zabuza comes now we will be no match for him... and Kakashi-sensei can't really move."
"Zabuza will most likely be in a state much like my own for quite a while," Kakashi said with a sigh. "I will train you for five days; that is when I think Zabuza will attack. Hopefully we will be ready."
"What if we can't do it Sensei?" Sakura asked quietly.
"Don't say that Sakura," Kakashi said with frown. "You three have grown immensely in the little time you have been under my tutelage... you three are the most capable genin I have ever seen. Do not doubt yourself and do not doubt each other. Now Tsunami, I think breakfast would be wonderful."
"Sure thing," Tsunami said with a smile. "I'll meet you all in the kitchen."
"You're all going to lose," a voice said from the doorway. "You can't beat Gatou and his men."
"Inari is that you?" Tazuna called to the door. A little boy with a white hat ran over to give Tazuna a hug. "You know those weren't nice things to say Inari... these ninja protected me with their lives."
"I don't care..." Inari stated. "They're going to lose, and Gatou is going to end up killing them, too!"
"Hey listen Inari!" Naruto called over to the youngster. "I'm Naruto Uzumaki and I plan on becoming the strongest ninja in my village; the biggest hero! I don't plan on losing or dying anytime soon, believe it!"
"There are no such things as heroes," Inari said quietly. "You should all leave before you die."
"Inari!" Tsunami called as Inari left the room.
"I'll go see if he's okay," Sakura said as she stood. She silently walked up the stairs until she reached a door. Hearing something from the other side, Sakura pushed the door open carefully.
"Why are you crying, Inari?" Sakura asked quietly.
"It's none of your business!" Inari lashed out. He held a picture frame tightly to his chest, and large tears escaped his eyes.
"It's okay to cry, Inari," Sakura said as she sat down on the bed. "If you lose someone close to you... it's okay to cry."
"You would never understand!" Inari screamed as tears fell faster.
"I understand," Sakura said. She glanced up to Inari with a sad smile on her face. "My mother and father were killed in front of me, as well as the rest of my family members.
I sat and cried for a very long time about it, but then I decided to do something. I needed to get stronger, Inari. I needed to get stronger for my family. Even if they weren't around any more, they deserved me respecting their memory by living the rest of my life without any regrets."
"How could you do that?" Inari asked while walking over to sit next to Sakura. Sakura's smile grew a little, and she wiped a few stray tears from Inari's eyes away.
"Just think about it, if your dad was here, what do you think he'd want you to do?" Sakura asked.
"Keep Mom safe," Inari said, his voice filled with determination. "Be the man of the house."
"Then do that," Sakura said with a smile as she stood. "Because that's what he'd want you to do. Don't dwell on the past Inari; look to the future."
With that said Sakura left Inari in his room to his thoughts. She walked back down the stairs, and stood by the front door.
"Don't you want something to eat, Sakura?" Kakashi asked as he stood beside her.
"I'm not really hungry," Sakura said with a small frown. "Where are the boys?"
"They went out back already," Kakashi said with a sigh. He had a sturdy looking cane in his hand, and he motioned toward the doorway. "We should probably get going."
"Sure, Sensei," Sakura said as she opened the door for him, and followed him out.
"You know, Sakura," Kakashi said quietly as they slowly walked next to each other. "When I said that we needed to talk about this, this morning I didn't mean Zabuza. Sakura I meant about your past."
Sakura frowned. "They really don't need to know about that," Sakura said quietly.
"Sakura, they're your teammates," Kakashi said in a knowing tone. "Since we are practically a foot's step away from the Hidden Mist village, I feel they should know why you might be putting their lives in more danger than they should be."
"I will tell them when I am ready Kakashi," Sakura said while closing her eyes. They opened practically a second later, though they were a deeper green color. "They're a little bit further; a mile maybe."
Sakura blinked rapidly, and her eyes were back to their normal emerald green color.
"We should hurry then," Kakashi said while he tried to pick up the pace. Sakura laughed lightly, and walked in front of him.
"You can't really move that fast, Sensei," Sakura said. She bent over, and motioned to her back. "Jump on my back. We'll be able to move faster, and I can warm up for my training."
"Seriously, Sakura?" Kakashi asked with an eyebrow raise.
"Just get on my back, Kakashi," Sakura said. Kakashi grumbled, but then jumped onto her back. Sakura hesitated for only a moment; she used chakra to accommodate for Kakashi's weight, and then took off into a sprint.
The two arrived at Naruto and Sasuke's locate within a matter of minutes.
"What is Kakashi-sensei doing on your back, Sakura?" Sasuke asked with a raised eyebrow; Naruto's mouth was hanging open.
"It was the fastest way to get here," Sakura said quietly while she let Kakashi down to the ground.
"Okay kiddoes, lets start the training," Kakashi said immediately. He wanted to ignore the two stares he was getting from his two male students.
"About damn time!" Naruto said with a pumped fist.
"Do you all understand chakra and how to use it?" Kakashi asked. Naruto shook his head, causing Kakashi to sigh. "Sakura."
"Let me see if this will help you understand, Naruto," Sakura said with a small smile. "Chakra helps ninja do really cool, and sweet jutsu."
"Cool!" Naruto yelled. Sasuke and Kakashi sweat dropped to the side of Sakura and Naruto's conversation.
"By doing different hand signs it helps ninja use both of their chakra. There is spiritual chakra and body chakra so... so you can't do a jutsu unless your mind and body are in sync with each other."
"Un huh," Naruto nodded his head while he listened. "But I can already use jutsu..."
"Not effectively," Kakashi said from behind him. He nodded toward Sakura with a smile. "Wonderful explanation Sakura."
"It's hard to believe you could put it into an easy explanation.... so easy the dobe could understand it," Sasuke commented as he leaned against a tree.
"But back to not using chakra effectively. Sakura is the only one here, besides myself, that can do so. Both you and Naruto are wasting too much chakra, though you both have more compared to Sakura, Sakura's will last longer in battle because she can use it effectively."
"Unless we learn to control chakra better," Sakura commented. "We will not be the best shinobi we can ultimately be."
"Exactly," Kakashi said with a smile. "Now I am going to put you through some very tough training... You will all learn to control your chakra better through tree climbing."
"Tree climbing!?" Naruto questioned loudly.
"Only you will not be able to use your hands. You have to use your chakra effectively, and gather it at your feet to move up the tree. I'll show you." Kakashi said as he walked over to a tree. Placing one foot on it, Kakashi let his other foot follow, and soon he stood upon a tree branch some twenty feet up in the air. "This will allow you to gain the stamina needed for battle."
"Can we start?" Sakura asked as she walked up to her own tree. Kakashi nodded, and sent a kunai her way.
"Use the kunai to see how far you can go up on the tree," Kakashi said as he walked back down the tree. "Keep trying to surpass it. You might not be able to get your momentum going right away, so I want you to try and running up to the tree."
After Kakashi said this, he flung two more kunai, one at Sasuke and one at Naruto. He turned back around to see Sakura looking at the tree, and then looking back to her feet.
He heard Sasuke and Naruto fall in the background; maybe this was going to be harder than he thought. Watching Sakura again, he smiled when he saw a light blue chakra glow on Sakura's feet. She walked up to the tree, and experimentally placed a foot on the tree. Noticing the tree held her, Sakura placed her other foot on the tree, and soon began climbing up higher and higher into the tree. She stopped once she reached the highest branch. Slashing it, she tossed her kunai back down to Kakashi.
"What's next?" Sakura called from the top of her tree. Sasuke and Naruto both stared unbelievingly up at Sakura.
"Come back down here," Kakashi called to her. "I want to talk to you about something."
Sakura nodded and leaped down from the tree. She landed gracefully on the ground in front of Kakashi. "What is it Kakashi-sensei?" Sakura asked.
"Have you ever thought about medical ninjutsu, Sakura?"