Sakura stood in the clearing of training area nine, awaiting her shishou to meet her.
Pulling her comfortably worn leather gloves on, she surveyed the familiar landscape.
Whenever Tsunade-sama finally began training her to use her chakra to enhance her strength, they moved to this area. Further away from the village than the other more frequently used training areas, their mutually enhanced blows didn't disturb the other villagers or have dozens of shinobi running to see what was going on.
Not much had changed in the year or so since she'd been here. Each tree stump she could see protruding from the ground was a memory of learning and pain she could clearly recall. She didn't mind the pain – it was simply a testament to her training which had been very successful. The large clearing gave plenty of space for her to maneuver about and to train in eluding her enemy.
She absently began doing her stretches as she recalled the time spent here.
When she wasn't in the hospital or library, she spent the majority of the past four years training in this space. Alone with Tsunade-sama, being knocked down or thrown back again and again until she perfected the use and timing of her chakra.
Tsunade-sama could be a harsh trainer when it came to hand to hand combat, but Sakura knew it was all for her benefit. Her shishou encouraged her and pushed her to her limits; this made her into the strong shinobi she was today.
She was glad for the lessons and admired her shishou more than anyone, but those training days were ones she was glad she didn't have to repeat.
From sun-up to sun-down Sakura could be found in the forest, sweat pouring down her face and knuckles bloody from failed attempts to destroy trees or boulders with a single punch. Though her chakra control was above average, it took a great deal of time and practice for her to be able to discharge her chakra at the precise moment required to destroy objects.
Tsunade-sama also drilled into her the importance of staying completely alert in battle in order to avoid being injured in any way. Dodging the blows and weapons her shishou threw at her was easier said than done.
However, after sometime working with her one on one, she was finally able to steer clear of the attacks her shishou directed to her. After that, she would occasionally work with Genma, Izumo, and Kotetsu. Their spars, while surprisingly fun, were a lot of help to her training.
Being attacked by multiple opponents kept her on her toes.
Anyone who thought age had slowed her shishou down at all should spend ten minutes in battle with her. Thanks to her medical prowess, she didn't have the scars to prove how fast her shishou was.
"Sakura."
The pinkette looked up from her stretching to see the Hokage approaching her in the clearing. "Shishou, why did you want to spar today?" she asked. They hadn't trained together on combat situations for nearly a year before Naruto returned.
Tsunade stopped her approach and regarded her student with a small smile on her face. "Tired of looking at paperwork; besides, I'm sure you need a change of pace yourself."
Sakura returned her smile. "Well, that does sound appealing at this point. Where shall we start?"
"We're still waiting on some people. Keep stretching until then."
Sakura was confused but followed her master's orders.
It was another fifteen minutes before another set of shinobi cleared the forest line. While she'd originally assumed Genma or the others would be the ones to join them, she was surprised to see Naruto and the Uchihas walk into the clearing.
"Oi, baa-chan!" Naruto called loudly as he waved to her. "We're here! Whatcha want with us?"
Sakura could see the narrowing of her mentor's eyes and the twitch that developed at Naruto's continued use of that name for her. It wasn't too hard to reason that her shishou was fighting the urge to throw something at the young man.
"The message I sent told you to bring Sasuke with you. Why are they both here?" Annoyance clearly heard in her tone.
"No, it didn't." Naruto replied stubbornly, slightly confused with her irritation. "All it said was to come to training area nine with 'the Uchiha'. I wasn't sure who you meant, so I brought them both." He said with a dismissive shrug.
"Baka." she muttered quickly under her breath.
"There's no one else in the vicinity, and I was under a henge during our trip here." Itachi informed her.
"At least one of you has sense."
"Hey!" Naruto cried.
"Itachi, Sasuke. You two can take a seat at the forest's edge while I get Sakura started. We'll talk in a minute. Naruto, come over here."
Itachi and Sasuke followed her orders - though the latter did it slowly and with a large frown marring his face -– while Naruto followed her to where Sakura continued to wait in the clearing.
"Since Naruto's actually in the village this time, we can go through your training a lot more efficiently than usual." she told Sakura. "Naruto, I want you to use your clones to spar with Sakura. Let's say, thirty of 'em?" Tsunade said with a glance to Sakura. The pinkette was a little wide-eyed at the number, but gave her nod of agreement.
"What? Thirty? Baa-chan that's crazy!" Naruto exclaimed loudly, worry mingling with his outburst.
Tsunade narrowed her eyes at him as she took a step closer. "Yes, Naruto, thirty. And they should each be armed with at least a kunai. Oh, and let me go ahead and tell you: do not hold back with her. If you do, I'll make sure you only receive D rank missions for the next year."
Naruto visibly gulped; he was very aware she could and would follow through with her threat. With a grimace, he formed his familiar hand signals and numerous, exact replicas of himself filled the area. Each of them pulled a kunai from the weapons pouch around their thighs and stood awaiting orders. Tsunade led the real Naruto away from the clearing –- towards the Uchiha siblings –- and gave the signal for Sakura to start.
"Since you're here Itachi, I'll go ahead and update you on that information you gave me last week." Tsunade began as she took a seat on a large stump near the Uchihas. He turned away from the sight of Sakura sparring with Naruto's clones to give the Hokage his full attention. "So far, ANBU has been able to check out four of the Akatsuki locations you gave me. All four have been abandoned and according to their reports, it doesn't seem as if anyone has been back since."
"It was expected." Itachi replied. "As far as I am aware, he doesn't know the location of many of the Akatsuki former hideouts, so it would not be off base to think he wouldn't be there."
"True, but the bases needed to be destroyed anyway. It was just wishful thinking that he would be there as well." She turned to the other brother. "Sasuke?"
"Hm?" Sasuke replied offhandedly; his eyes were glued to the scene before him: his former female teammate hashing it out with Naruto's multiple clones.
It was astounding, really, how good she was.
That was something, considering he could honestly never even remember thinking about her fighting - he and Naruto always had to save her. She was good at genjutsu and intelligent –- though she mostly acted like an over-emotional little girl when they were younger –- but never had he seen her fight like this.
Naruto's clones never let up on their attacks.
They ran at her in waves; clusters of them attacking her at all angles with their kunais bared. Almost effortlessly she blocked their attacks and dispelled them one by one; arms and legs flying out at all angles to deliver blows to them as they attacked.
Her form bent in impossible ways to avoid every strike they made against her.
As a large group of them surged forward, she back flipped several times before righting herself and immediately going on the offensive. The fluidity of her movements was almost beautiful to watch.
Most impressive of all was her constant awareness of his presence. Even through the clouds of smoke left after a clone was dispelled, he saw her eyes stay on the rest of them. She was constantly alert and didn't close her eyes for a moment. It was instinct to any individual to shut their eyes tight just before a punch could be landed, but Sakura kept her eyes open, always looking for the way out - even to the last second.
As loath as he was to admit it, he was impressed with her taijustu.
"Teme?" Naruto called when he failed to answer something the Hokage asked him. He tore himself away from the graceful performance Sakura was putting on to finally face the (annoyed) Godaime.
"Let's try this again, shall we?" she asked in a voice that sent warning bells running through him. Her tight lipped smile only made those bells increase in sound. "You realize Kabuto's still on the loose right?" she asked him.
He nodded in affirmation.
Of course he remembered.
Kabuto was the one responsible for bringing his brother back from the grave. While he himself was glad to be able to have the opportunity to speak with his brother again, he knew Itachi never wanted this to happen. He was dead, and though that pained him, Sasuke knew he should have remained that way. Kabuto was at the top of his list of things to deal with after Itachi was put to rest.
Tsunade eyed Sasuke carefully as several thoughts flitted across his face. "ANBU tried tracking him after the war, but so far nothing's turned up. He's dangerous and we need to deal with him as soon as possible."
Impassive as ever, Sasuke merely stared at her. None of this was new information to him, so he was slightly confused as to why she felt the need to say all of this.
Sighing, the Godaime shifted her sitting position to face the younger Uchiha. "We're not the only ones searching for him. You realize that, right? He brought back shinobi from all the hidden villages. He insulted everybody with his actions. This is turning into another combined effort of the Allied Forces."
Averting his gaze from the elder woman, he watched as Sakura ripped a kunai out of a clone's hand and destroy another five with it. "What does that have to do with me?" Somberly, he asked.
"I want you to give me all the locations of Orochimaru's bases that you're familiar with."
Rather than turn in face her, he focused on Sakura's fighting.
Now, it all made sense.
He'd been wondering why she would freely discuss all this information with him since he wasn't a trusted member of the village. She was simply using him as an information source.
It was hard for him to resist the urge to laugh in her face.
Just because he'd came back to this village and hadn't made an attempt to kill anyone yet... Did she really think he gave a damn about helping Konoha, or any of the villages for that matter?
He was an avenger. He would find justice on his own –- the way he'd always done.
Standing, Tsunade relinquished a pained sigh. "I know exactly what you're thinking, you know? You really aren't that hard to read."
He gave her a harsh glare at that statement.
"Itachi."
"Yes, Hokage-sama."
She turned and began walking towards her apprentice. "Talk some sense into him, will you?"
Putting away the kunai she used, Sakura wiped the sweat from her brow. Her breathing wasn't too harsh, nor did she feel overly tired from her spar with Naruto's clones.
She smiled at that.
When she first started sparring with Genma and the others, she would be so wiped out from the fight that she'd collapse in the middle of the training field after she was done.
Now, she'd successfully defeated all thirty of Naruto's clones and felt as if she could continue fighting. Her stamina had increased greatly from her early training years. She wasn't one to brag, but she took a moment to be proud of all she'd accomplished.
"Took you long enough."
Sakura turned to her shishou with a smirk. "You think? I was simply giving you time to finish you're discussion."
Tsunade felt one corner of her lips turn up. "Don't be cheeky, brat. Are you ready to continue?"
Confusion clouded her face. "What do you mean?"
"Fighting stance Sakura, or else I'm gonna wipe the floor with you again." Tsunade said as she cracked her knuckles.
Sakura quickly slid back into her defensive pose as she recognized the attack position her shishou had taken. Within seconds, Tsunade launched herself into the air and headed straight for Sakura. She rolled out of the way just in time to avoid a direct kick that split the ground in two.
Jumping back to her feet, she dashed to her shishou's back and threw a chakra laden punch –- which Tsunade caught with her own hand. The resounding smack caused by two such strong forces meeting echoed through the clearing.
Those around were sure the bones of the women's arms had been shattered.
Tsunade gripped her apprentice's hand tightly, and, using a bit of chakra, threw her over her shoulder towards the nearby forest.
Sakura twisted in midair, causing her to hit the tree with her feet. She forced her chakra to surge through her thighs and pushed back off, sending her flying back towards her shishou.
The women met again, their hands clasped onto the other in an unbreakable grip.
"You didn't move away when I tried to grab you, Sakura. Have you gotten complacent in the fact that you can be stronger than others when you need to be?" Tsunade asked as she wrenched her hands from the girl's and sent a strong kick to her abdomen.
Sakura slid back several feet on the slightly battered terrain. She wiped the small trickle of blood she felt flowing from the corner of her mouth. She was in pain and felt the beginnings of some internal bruising, but it was nothing that couldn't be fully healed later.
Her head raised slowly as she gathered her chakra in her fist once again. "Of course not, Shishou. It was simply a mistake on my part. I'll work hard to make up for that." With a smile donning her face she threw her fist into the ground, releasing her pent up chakra through the hard earth.
The ground split in several directions; chunks of earth upended from the compressed soil and Tsunade was forced to retreat.
Before the dust could even settle, Sakura heard the muted sound of something being thrown into the wind. Only because her eyes were so clearly focused on the area she last saw her shishou standing in, allowed her to see the large boulder headed straight for her.
xx xx xx
The three men sat in stunned silence as they watched the amazing 'spar' commencing before them.
Sakura's fist remained within the air, even after the shattered remains of the boulder fell around her.
"Though I had heard rumors about the amazing strength Tsunade-sama possessed, it really is different when you see it first hand." Itachi said as he leaned forward from his perch on a fallen log to engross himself in the women's battle.
"Yeah, baa-chan can be kinda cool when she wants to be." Naruto added. "But it's a hell of a lot different when she turns it on you! That old bat flicked my forehead before, and I thought I was gonna die!"
You were probably doing something stupid like usual, Sasuke found himself thinking.
"It is kinda cool getting to see them train together though." Naruto murmured wistfully as he lowered his head to rest on two clasped hands.
Itachi turned to regard the jinchuriki. "Have you never watched them train before?"
"Nah. I was out of the village training with Ero-sennin for three years." Sapphire hues shifted to regard the elder Uchiha. "She'd already started working with baa-chan before I left, but by the time I got back, she was already finished training."
Itachi saw the remorseful look cross Naruto's face, but before he could even comment it had passed. The jinchuriki chuckled once again as he scratched the back of his head. "I guess we all got strong on our own, huh?"
Though Sasuke remained apart from the conversation, Itachi noted the slight twitch within his jaw. Even if no one else could, he could trust Naruto to get through to Sasuke, whether he realized it or not.
"What are you going to do, otouto?"
Angling his head slightly, Sasuke leveled his bother with a blank stare. "About what?"
"Kabuto."
"I'll deal with him."
"What are you talking about, teme?" Naruto exclaimed loudly, butting into the conversation. "You can't just go running off again!"
"This doesn't concern you." Aggravation bled into Sasuke's tone.
"I disagree with you, Sasuke." Itachi leaned back, glancing at his brother with impassive eyes. "This time it most certainty concerns many more people than yourself. Kabuto wounded many when he used the Edo Tensei to resurrect their loved ones."
Their nearly identical obsidian eyes locked onto one another. "He is a mistake that I allowed to live. I'll deal with him."
"And leave everything behind once again?" They lapsed into silence as they observed one another.
Fed up with the silent staring session, Naruto jumped to his feet and stood in between the brothers. "Dammit, Sasuke! It doesn't have to be like that! Just give baa-chan Orochimaru's bases, so the ANBU and other village's shinobi can search them!"
Still focused on Itachi, Sasuke ignored the blonde.
A loud crash broke the silent tension among the three.
Sakura lay slumped against a tree that bore fresh cracks in it –- probably made from her body flying into it. Her breathing was harsh and her body was covered in lacerations. Though she was conscious, it was obvious she couldn't go on.
Tsunade stood over her, a small smile on her face.
She was the victor in the spar, but had not won it without taking damage herself. Many cuts and bruises littered her body, and though it was hard to tell from their vantage point, her left shoulder seemed to be out of place.
Itachi rose from his seat. Peering over his shoulder, he spoke lowly enough for Sasuke to hear - uncaring if Naruto heard. "Sasuke, do you have such faith in your friends to continually chase after you? To suffer another betrayal from you?" Lowering his cool, onyx gaze and a saddened upturn of his lips, he continued. "I never wanted you to be like me, otouto."
Sasuke, unable to form words at his brother's sudden assertion, merely watched as Itachi walked away from him.
Why couldn't Itachi understand it was his responsibility to deal with Kabuto? Yes, other people had suffered because of his actions this time, but it was his decision to allow him to live after he'd killed Orochimaru. Because of that moment, Kabuto had grown in power and had been able to cause so much damage during the war.
It was his mistake; therefore, he should be the one to deal with it.
After he'd disposed of Orochimaru, he knew Kabuto would be of no threat no him. Sasuke was still opposed to killing needlessly, and with the med-nin's master gone, he placed little thought into what Kabuto would do. All he'd ever seen him do was follow Orochimaru around blindly –- devoting himself to the snake's every need. Servants like that would normally fade into the background once their master's were gone.
He'd miscalculated badly.
Now, with Kabuto fusing himself to some of Orochimaru's cells, he'd gained power. Coupled with the intelligence Kabuto already possessed and his vast knowledge of jutsu, that he formally had no power to wield, he'd become a dangerous adversary.
Kabuto had made the mistake of crossing him in bringing Itachi back against his will, so, naturally, he would have to pay with his life.
But why couldn't Itachi understand this?
"He's wrong."
Sasuke's train of thought severed at Naruto's nearly inaudible words.
The sad smile on his former friend's face did not reach his eyes. Instead, his blue eyes seemed to hold nothing but pain.
"I'll continue to chase after you, Sasuke. No matter what you do or where you go, I'll always be a few steps behind you, trying to catch up to you."
... Why?
Why was Naruto so persistent with such trivial matters - with continually following after him?
Was his friendship that important to him?
Why did he care so damn much?
Again, the blonde spoke, this time the disheartenment more evident. "I just... I just wish you wouldn't choose to run. That, you'd learn to rely on your friends... Even if just a little." Dejected, cerulean eyes lifted to regard him heavily. "You don't have to face everything alone in life, Sasuke."
Rather than imitate his brother, Naruto remained at his side - just as he always had. Quietly for once, the blonde seated himself near the Uchiha, and allowed him to take in his words.
He'd been alone for so long. Since the night Itachi killed their family he'd been alone –- single-minded in his need to exact justice for their clan. He didn't need other people around him; he was just fine taking care of himself.
But...
That wasn't entirely true.
Naruto had quickly become a rival to him, someone he could match strengths with and push himself against.
Kakashi had been someone who could show him new techniques, help him expand his strengths as a shinobi.
Sakura had cared for him, no matter how rude or callous he was to her at times.
He grit his teeth as he fought against himself.
It was hard. It was so hard to try and change his way of thinking.
Back when he was younger, it seemed to come so naturally. Falling into a comfortable place where he protected others, and allowed them to do the same for him was so much easier back then.
It wasn't the same now. After everything he's seen and done, how could he just...?
Sliding his obsidian gaze towards his auspicious counterpart, he noted that Naruto hadn't moved; he continued to sit quietly beside him, watching the Hokage and Sakura talk to Itachi while they healed their wounds.
When did he start to think of Naruto as an enemy? Had he truly been so jealous of Naruto's progress as a child that he stopped thinking of him as a friend?
Why was it that all his firmly rooted ideas were now beginning to crumble?
The smell of fresh paint assaulted her nose the moment she turned into the new corridor of the hospital. This wasn't her first sight of the newly made laboratories, but the last time she trekked down these halls, everything was horribly bare. Now, all the doors had been put up and smooth tile lay along the floors. The only construction left to do was completing the individual rooms themselves.
She shifted the box in her hand as she reached for the knob on the last door of the hallway. This room was definitely larger than the previous workspace she'd dealt with.
Plastic coverings were draped over nearly every piece of furniture in the room; only the large counter in the center stood bare. Placing the box on top of the newly made counter, Sakura began gently lifting the sealed bottles from the container.
Tsunade-sama's idea for this room was one Sakura was definitely pleased with.
The previous lab had to function as a workspace for DNA analysis, pharmacological studies, and poison analysis. With the expansion of the hospital, Tsunade-sama had separate rooms built for each specific area. Now, the lab techs would have more room to devote to their profession –- and perhaps not argue so much about space.
Sakura took the plastic covering off the cabinet behind her, and began carefully placing the bottles along the shelves.
Things were progressing so well in Konoha at the moment.
According to the contractors, there was less than a month left of construction to be completed. Also, the patient level in the hospital had finally returned to normal so that the double -– and occasional -– triple shifts the nurses and med-nins had been working were gone. Moreover, shinobi were finally being rotated between missions and construction.
Sakura was even back on a normal schedule.
Since their wasn't a critical patient load in the hospital any longer, the medics were able to handle the cases they had. Sakura could now move about once again in helping the Hokage with her errands and assist with the hospital as she needed to. With the way things were going, she might even be able to leave on a mission if one came up for her.
A noise from the doorway caught her attention, but the person entering was the very last one she expected to see.
Too focused on bringing in the three large boxes cradled within his arms, Sasuke didn't notice her presence. Carefully, he navigated his way around the room - all the while, Sakura studied him.
Unsure as to what had happened during her training with Tsunade-sama, something had struck a sensitive chord within the Uchiha. The hardened expression of his eyes, he seemed angry, but confused as well. It was difficult to tell, but she couldn't very well ask him. Even if she did, he would probably just snap at her and walk away.
The moment he set the boxes on the ground he seemed to register the fact that he wasn't alone in the room.
His eyes lifted to hers before she was able to turn away.
For a a split-second, Sakura felt herself lost in those dark eyes of his.
They weren't filled with hatred or contempt for her presence, they were simply curious. As if asking her silently why she was in the room. For that brief moment, she felt as if she was looking at the old Sasuke.
But thoughts like that were dangerous, in more ways than one.
"What are you doing in here?" She asked first.
Perhaps there had been something slightly off in her tone because before he answered, his eyebrows raised in question. "Delivering."
She resisted the strong urge to give a very unladylike like snort at his arrogant tone.
Concentrating on stocking the herbs once again, she turned away from his penetrating gaze. His presence never left though. She could feel him, walking around the room silently, stopping every so often to study the contents of the area.
It was difficult, but she forced herself to not turn around and watch him. This was the first time she'd been in his presence, alone; yet surprisingly, she wasn't afraid.
Maybe it was because he had been working to restore the village, or perhaps it was being around him with Itachi-san. Whatever the reason, she was glad to be able to stand around him without fearing his blade.
Why she was still nervous, she wasn't sure.
"What is the purpose for this room?"
She glanced over her shoulder, slightly startled at the sound of his baritone voice. He stood leaning against the counter, eyes on her as he awaited an answer. "Poison analysis."
"A talent of yours?"
"How did you know that?"
"That's what you told Itachi."
The conversation she had with Itachi in their apartment flashed through her memory. "Oh yeah, sorry, I forgot about that." She went back to arranging the bottles and allowed the silence to fill the room once again.
However, he didn't leave.
This was weird. She could feel his gaze on her as she continued to empty the box she was working on. It felt as if he were studying her, analyzing her movements.
It was irritating.
She was now hyper aware of every move she made. Every time she moved her hand, she could feel his eyes trace the path she took.
What was his problem?
It had not even been four days since she last saw him at the training fields. What exactly had changed about her during that time?
Just as she felt herself reaching the end of her patience, her shishou came in the room. "I've been looking for you."
"I'm sorry Tsunade-sama, what can I do for you?" Sakura asked.
"Not you, him."
The Uchiha simply cut his eyes to her in acknowledgment. Non-plussed, the Hokage walked into the room to stand directly beside Sasuke. "Have you made a decision about the topic we spoke about the other day?"
Sakura was instantly curious.
Was this what had Sasuke upset the day she trained with her shishou? She couldn't be sure since Tsunade-sama didn't give a specific reason, but the thought was very plausible.
Sakura watched the two powerful ninjas in front of her.
While they didn't seem angry, they both had their guards up. They faced each other in seriousness, neither one backing down from the other.
It was some time before Sasuke huffed a breath and turned away from the Hokage's eyes. From the pocket of his nin-pants, he withdrew a folded piece of parchment.
"It's your problem if your people get themselves killed."
After handing over the paper, he pushed himself off the counter and walked out of the room.
Her shishou opened the sealed document and scanned it's contents quickly. Whatever it contained brought a smile to her face.
"Umm... Shishou? What is that exactly?"
Tsunade laughed as she folded the paper and placed it in her robes. "The room's coming along well, Sakura. Keep it up." She too exited the room, leaving behind a very confused young woman.
She knew her shishou well and had become accustomed to her moods. No matter if she was putting on her fake smile for the council or keeping her temper in check with a particularly difficult client, Sakura could spot her real emotions instantly.
The entire conversation she just witnessed left her confused, but what was most confusing to her was the honest relief she heard through her mentor's laughter.
A/N:
Ya know, the more I write the more I find my chapters becoming longer. In the beginning, when I was first bringing myself back into the world of writing, I think I was only clearing like 2K words each time. Now, each one is like 5-6K+. (Not that I think anyone is complaining) I just noticed that when I was looking at my stories page. Thought I'd share that moment.
I hope you enjoyed the update! Reviews are always welcome and very much appreciated.
I need to start taking Ginko Biloba...
Pardon the repost but as I forgot to thank perpetuallyInked (the artist formerly known as j-nxed) for her amazing help as my beta for this fic I had to correct that. Thanks so much for keeping me going in this fic, an amazing job as always!