Disclaimer: Standard.

A/N: Yep, short and brutal battle against Haku. I don't think the kind of drawn-out, repetitive battles we see a lot of in the anime are really suitable for writing. And, as Haku's battle in canon was against what were really untested gennin, I felt that matching him against First Flower-Sakura would result in a decisive battle. Because Haku just lacks that instinct to kill. Thanks to everyone for your wonderful reviews!

The First Flower of Spring

-Chapter Eight-

Put On My Blue Ninja Shoes

Sasuke's hands wouldn't stop shaking. He was glad that Naruto, loud idiot that he was, had decided to accompany Tazuna-san into town, leaving him alone in his vigil. Kakashi-sensei's breathing was deep and even, but he was still unresponsive.

"Dammit," Sasuke cursed under his breath, "Dammit!" The faintest hint of tears edged his words, because he was alone. If I can't even stand against that, how can I face that man? he thought furiously.

The dobe had been the one cowering against those other Mizu-nin, but it had been Sasuke who had faltered at the much larger obstacle of Zabuza. He'd eventually pushed through his fear to attack, but the missing-nin had mocked him out loud, letting the others know of his fear. Even Sakura, who he'd thought had run off after the swordsman's first attack.

Sakura… The trembling in his hands grew so bad he had to fist them on his thighs to keep them still. Even It—that man, he hadn't looked like that. Not until that day. The memories were buried deep, but they were there. It was unnatural, the calm with which she killed.

He'd felt it a few times in practice, a nagging feeling that Sakura might not care if those tags of hers really did cause more than a few burns.

And then when she'd killed that boy, she'd almost fondled the body. It was unnatural. It was disgusting. And he was envious.

"Sasuke-san." Sasuke had to lock his expression down tight to keep from letting out an undignified yelp of surprise or jumping to his feet at the sound of Sakura's carefully modulated voice.

She came and settled down near him, sitting something on the floor with the faintest sound of tinkling metal. He glanced over unobtrusively and saw that it was a little pile of senbon, some with drying blood on them. "Where did you get those?" he asked, schooling his voice into his characteristic disinterest.

"Jun pulled them out for me," she said, flushing for some odd reason. Her voice was small as she continued, "I didn't think about them when the battle was over."

Sasuke grunted his understanding. Silence descended between them, uncomfortable for him. He would like to be alone, but he couldn't make himself leave Kakashi. Not until he found out how he had gotten that eye. Until he knew how he was connected to his family.

"You don't like to watch people die, do you, Sasuke-san?" Perhaps the judgment he heard in her voice wasn't really there, but for Sasuke, Sakura might as well have lanced open a boil with a red-hot needle.

"I don't have a problem with it," he said gruffly.

Green eyes studied him curiously. "I don't think it's a bad thing," she offered tentatively. "Most people don't like to kill or watch people die, do they? Even ninjas." She glanced down at her lap and flexed her hands in it, like she was trying to remind him that those hands had killed recently. Sakura shuffled around on her knees until she was facing him. "I might be envious of you, Sasuke-san," she pronounced.

He couldn't help the question that formed on his lips. "Why?"

"Because you don't have to kill to win."

Sasuke snorted. "That's just because I'm weak," he said acidly.

Sakura blinked. "Why would you say that?"

Sasuke's jaw clamped shut as if it had been wired in place. If she hadn't noticed the way his hands had shook and how sweat had beaded on his forehead, he was not going to point it out.

Sakura tilted her head, the action making the faint wisps of pink hair that had escaped her braid fall into her face. "If you don't want to kill people, then don't," she offered.

"I'm a shinobi," he growled.

Sakura nodded, one narrow hand reaching up to brush back the hair. "I know," she said. "But there are lots of ninja jobs that don't focus on the killing. You like protecting people, don't you?"

Sasuke scowled. She was making big assumptions about his character. So what if his childhood dream had been to join the Military Police? To stand beside his father as he helped protect the citizens of Konohagakure? That dream had been ripped to shreds in a single blood-spattered night. Now he couldn't afford to focus on anything but the killing. "That's none of your business," he hissed.

But Sakura didn't react to his anger. Had, in fact, never reacted to his coldness and the way she reacted to Naruto's friendliness had something stiff and artificial to it as well. "Why does watching people die bother you?"

Sasuke's head jerked over to face her. She couldn't have just asked that. He had to have heard wrong. It had stung a bit when she had pointed it out to his face that he didn't like watching people die, but he knew it wasn't unusual for a gennin to react badly to his first kill. He'd been fine with the violence, but watching someone actually die in front of him had triggered flashbacks to his own personal horror. But it wasn't just him.

It was human instinct to shy away from death, both seeing it and causing it. It was why they went through so many years of emotional conditioning before they were ever allowed on a live mission. "Doesn't it bother you?" he asked defensively.

Sakura shook her head.

They were silent again for a while. Sasuke was unsettled by the girl, but he refused to show it.

"When our team was first put together, you said there was a man you would kill. I know you haven't killed before now, so he must have done something terrible to make you feel that way," Sakura said awkwardly. "May I ask what offense he committed against you?"

He wondered at her suddenly formal language, but it didn't change his answer. "It's none of your business."

Silence.

"If I may be so bold, Sasuke-san, I think you should give up on your dream."

Sasuke jolted like he'd been struck.

Her next words tumbled into each other, like she was nervous. "It's only just—you're better suited for other things, Uchiha-san. Sh—A man I respect very much said that we can change everything about our lives, but we cannot change our natures. A kind man will be a kind man, no matter what brutality he endures, while a cruel man on a throne can only be a tyrant. Sasuke-san, you seem like the kind of person who needs something to protect."

Sasuke's voice was very cold. "Are you insinuating that I'm too weak to kill that man?" he snarled.

"Well, I haven't actually met that man, so I could not say, Sasuke-san. I was only trying to advise you. Gomen, I was just told…it was something done among friends. I'm sorry for the presumption," she apologized.

"And you think you're suited to killing?" he challenged, rather than falling back into his usual silence. He was angry, in part because everything she said was true.

Her lips twitched, then spread into the most genuine smile he'd ever seen the girl wear. "You don't need to worry about me, Sasuke-san."

He wanted to protest that he wasn't, but he bit down on the words, having already said more than he intended. "Hn."

Sakura glanced over at Kakashi-sensei. "I know it probably wouldn't make him wake up any quicker, but it would be nice if we had someone who knew something about medicine, to make sure chakra exhaustion really is the only thing wrong."

Sasuke made a noise of agreement. "You…you're fine?" he asked gruffly after a moment.

"Yes, they were just senbon," Sakura said dismissively.

Senbon or not, most of the girls he knew would be whining about their injuries. It only confirmed his earlier impression—Sakura was unlike anyone else he'd ever known, but there were eerie resemblances to him.

-X-X-X-

Naruto stole glances at Sakura-chan across Tsunami's dinner table, regarding her thoughtfully as he chewed his rice.

"Oi," he said, shifting his attention to Sasuke, "bastard, any clue when Kakashi-sensei will wake up?"

Sasuke scowled. "No," he said shortly.

Tsunami, Tazuni's daughter and their hostess, looked on them with an expression of sympathy. "I'm sure he'll wake up soon," she said with forced brightness.

Naruto forced himself to perk up. "You bet!" he assured the tired-looking woman with a grin. "Kakashi-sensei's awesome!"

"Dobe," Sasuke snapped, "what does a person being awesome have to do with recovering from chakra exhaustion?"

"Wow, chill, teme," Naruto said. He waved his chopsticks around as he spoke, prodding the air for emphasis. "It means," he stressed, "there's no way that'll take him long to get up and going again! And then he can go take care of sword dude!"

"Everything is very simple in your life, isn't it?" Sasuke asked dryly.

"Sure! Simple is best, after all. Like this rice, Tsunami-chan. It's delicious!" he enthused.

Sure, what he'd seen yesterday had been a little strange, but Sakura-chan was still a nice person. Naruto had an instinct, part trained, part inborn, about when people were dangerous. Sakura-chan was a lot like Kakashi-sensei. They had the potential to be downright terrifying, but most the time they were just a kinda quiet girl and a pervert who couldn't arrive at his own funeral on time.

Unlike Sasuke, Naruto was nothing if not adaptable.

-X-X-X-

Kakashi's eyelids felt heavy as he finally forced himself back to consciousness. Like a bad morning after trying to outdrink Gai at a bar, the light in the airy, open room he could himself in pricked at his retinas and his mouth felt like it was full of cotton.

And, of course, who should be waiting for him to wake up but the loudest of his disciples. "Hey, hey!" Naruto yelled in a voice that was entirely unnecessary, "Kakashi-sensei's waking up!"

Before he could blink properly, Sakura and Sasuke were flanking the blond.

Kakashi cleared his throat roughly. "Well—," he began but his throat caught. He sighed. Any pithy remark he might have made had effectively lost its impact. "A drink?" he rasped with a raised brow.

Surprisingly, it was Sasuke who disappeared to fetch it. Kakashi deliberately didn't thank him when he handed it over.

"So what now, sensei?" Naruto inquired before he'd even taken a proper sip.

"We watch out for Zabuza while Tazuna finishes the bridge, dobe," Sasuke sniped.

"We eliminate Gato," Sakura said at the same moment.

Kakashi winced. "Ah, Sakura-chan, that might be a little outside the scope of our mission. Just because he is a possible threat to our target doesn't justify attacking him. Unless he confronts Tazuna directly, we can't act against him." Sasuke threw the girl a superior glance.

Those blank green eyes told him she didn't see the logic and Kakashi resisted the urge to pinch the bridge of his nose. "Sakura-chan, no matter what Tazuna said or what Gato is actually doing, he's still a business man, a civilian. Without the proper orders, killing him is a civil crime, which means your case will be tried by civilians, not your superiors from Konoha. If you exceed the bounds of your mission too much, then you can be tried for excessive use of deadly force in Konoha anyway," he explained to her. When her expression cleared, he was reassured.

This mission wasn't the time or place for it, but when they returned to the village, there were some questions he intended to ask Sakura's guardian. He had between now and then to come up with a tactful way to ask, "What in kami's name have you done to this child?"

He had a feeling he wouldn't like the answer.

-X-X-X-

It took Kakashi-sensei until almost noon to rise, but once they'd eaten, he'd limped on the crutches Tsunami-san had found for him into a clearing in the forest.

The look in his one visible eye was serious when he addressed them. "I injured Zabuzi badly before he escaped," he said flatly. "It might take him about a week to get back to full strength. Unfortunately, the same can be said about me. The good thing is Zabuza doesn't know that, so the chances that he'll attack are low. However, there is a risk. So the three of you will be accompanying Tazuna when he goes to work on his bridge. Beyond that, your every waking moment will be spent training." And there was a certain cheerful glee in his voice as he said the last sentence.

"Now, let's see how much you know."

Naruto's knowledge of jutsu turned out to be fearsomely instinctive. Sakura had felt a little shaken that a concept so basic as chakra had to be explained to him, but she'd seen what he could do with it. If a musician could learn music by ear, was it really so bad that he couldn't read a single note? Sakura couldn't decide.

At first, when Kakashi-sensei had explained the exercise, she had been tempted to pretend, just a little, that she hadn't had the chakra control necessary for it since she'd started training as a ninja. It wasn't something she was particularly proud of. After all, she hadn't had to struggle to achieve it or train long hours to understand it, so it was just the way things were. Like being able to walk or breathe.

It was how all of her Haruno trainers treated it, like it was nothing more than expected, and they'd focused on other areas of her training instead. But from the first moment she watched both of her teammates hit the ground roughly, she realized it wasn't something one could take for granted.

She hadn't been totally oblivious to the struggles of the others in the Academy, but most of them also came from ninja clans, which meant that they had some basic training before they ever stepped foot inside the classroom. This drove it home.

But if they all wanted to improve, as Tsubasa-sensei might say, The first step was being honest about your abilities. So Sakura strode up the tree like it was a pleasant trail through a meadow.

Sakura had wilted a bit when Kakashi-sensei had sighed. And then he'd used it as a taunt. "Looks like the only girl on the team has got it before either of you."

She wanted to point out that when it came to fine control, it was a documented fact that kunoichi were more talented than shinobi, but had shallower reserve pools when compared to a shinobi of the same age, training, and general background. It was a biological fact, like having a smaller lung capacity or more difficulty developing muscles. But she didn't.

Training with people like Shiki-dono made outright contradicting or correcting a teacher a feat in bravery and foolhardiness. And while Sakura knew Kakashi-sensei wasn't a Haruno, that didn't stop that instinct from kicking in.

So, she was set to run figure eights around a set of trees, a pair of weights Kakashi-sensei "just happened" to have on him clutched in her fingers. Again and again, faster and faster, until she was using the trees like springboards to help propel her across the gap, duck around the trunk, and then back again until she was almost dizzy with the movement and her lungs burned.

She had just enough air to laugh, brightly, gaily.

Neither Sasuke nor Naruto came back to the house that night, so Sakura bedded down alone in the spare room. Kakashi-sensei, despite needing the rest, was out there somewhere watching them unobtrusively, she'd bet.

When she woke, she sensed someone in the room with her. Jun. Sakura peered blearily at the man who sat with one knee drawn up to his chest, playing with something between his fingers. "G'morning," she greeted.

"Morning, jou-chan. Decided to meet your teacher today," he told her.

"And?" she asked, sitting up.

A red-blonde brow rose. "I haven't met him yet. I'm waiting for you to give permission."

Sakura considered. Kakashi-sensei was a ninja of considerable skill. She'd give it perhaps a day or two more, with Jun's talent, but killing intent or not, Kakashi-sensei would notice something strange. And it might be…safer for the others if Kakashi-sensei knew Jun was there.

"Where did you disappear to, after we left the crematorium?" she asked curiously as she set aside her blankets.

"Oh, here and there. Your charge really is an impressive bridge-builder," he confided.

Sakura nodded, accepting the far from complete explanation. "Do you know if either of my teammates came back yet?"

"They're still eating breakfast, I believe. But if you don't hurry, you might miss them."

There wasn't much to do in the way of getting ready. She changed clothes quickly, splashed some water on her face, then scampered out into the house. Everyone was already eating by the time she got to the table.

"You're late!" Naruto accused.

Sakura nodded. "Did you get to the top of the tree?" she inquired as Tsunami-san served her portion of the fish and rice.

A black look stole across the faces of both of her teammates and they began to eat faster. Sakura blinked. Guess I shouldn't have asked.

-X-X-X-

Kakashi was aware of someone approaching as he sat alone on the porch. Neither of the boys had been happy when told to stop their training, but they'd grudgingly accompanied Tazuna into town. Knowing it wasn't Tsunami or the boy, Inari, the one that had such a fit at the breakfast table this morning, he glanced up over the pages of his novel.

A half-clothed man with long, braided hair settled against the post on the other side of the stairs. He was perhaps a little younger than Kakashi, with the smoothly muscled build common to shinobi. Dangling teardrop earrings drew his attention for a moment, but the rest of what little he was wearing was remarkably plain, not revealing any allegiances.

He smiled at Kakashi like they were old friends. "I'm Haruno Jun. It's a pleasure to make your acquaintance, Kakashi-san." He had a soft, pleasant speaking voice that Kakashi would bet had talked many a woman into doing things she wasn't sure she wanted.

"A relation, I assume, to Haruno Sakura," Kakashi said dryly. And I seem to have seen you somewhere else, too…

"Yes. Distant cousins."

"Ah. And why are you here?"

"Because you have questions about jou-chan."

Kakashi narrowed his eyes at the man. "Are you here to answer those questions or to stop me from asking them?"

Jun held up his empty hands with a laugh. "No need to be so aggressive, Kakashi-san. If it doesn't involve clan business, I'll answer any of your questions."

"Oh? Then maybe you won't mind telling me who trained Sakura?"

"Oh, lots of people had a hand in jou-chan. But telling you who, that might be a problem. You Konoha-nin have the strangest ideas about what constitutes conspiring with an enemy nation. Just know that every single teacher Sakura had before she came to you, their loyalty was to the clan. And only the clan."

Kakashi intentionally took on a semblance of relaxation. "And Sakura?"

"Jou-chan doesn't have to be loyal to the clan." Jun's warm smile became eerie for a moment as his eyes became shadowed half-moons. "One day, jou-chan will become the clan."

Kakashi turned over that cryptic statement in his head. As he did so, he suddenly made the connection he'd been missing before. Haruno Jun had featured prominently in the bingo books about five or six years ago, but then he'd disappeared. And he hadn't been calling himself a Haruno then. He'd been best known by his nickname. Kurutta-inu. Insane dog. He'd had a taste for gore and there'd been rumors of cannibalism at the time.

And this person wanted to associate himself with his student?

"Does Sakura know you're here?"

Jun nodded, playing idly with one of his earrings, which appeared to be made out of some green gemstone, wrapped in gold wire. "I carried you to Tazuna's house."

Kakashi's eyes narrowed again. "You were at the fight?" And you didn't interfere?

"Yes. But I'm not allowed to interfere in jou-chan's fights. It's not healthy, so I wouldn't recommend it for your students, either."

"So you're here to…observe Sakura?" Kakashi asked. That wasn't so unusual among clans, but until this conversation, he hadn't been aware there was a Haruno clan to interfere like that.

"I'll make myself useful to her," Jun promised. And then his aspect turned teasing. "But I'll be of most use to her when she gets just a little bit older and wants to know what to do with that heat from a kill."

-X-X-X-

Kakashi-sensei had met Jun. That was the only reason she could think of that he would assign her to walking those figure eights she'd run yesterday on her hands, attempting to balance wooden bowls filled with wet river sand on her feet.

-X-X-X-

For all their training, Kakashi-sensei had the battle with Zabuza-san well in hand. Not that she could see much of the battle, what with the fog, but it only distorted and muffled her hearing a little bit. She'd already unsealed Shiho-nii, taking the front position in their triangular formation in case she needed to block a strike from Zabuza-san.

Shiho-nii was busy frowning over her head. "I think there's something moving in the mist on the end of the bridge," he informed her.

Sakura frowned. She had thought Haku was Zabuza's only associate, but Naruto had defeated a couple of samurai on his way to the bridge after he'd woken late this morning after finally making his way to the top of his tree. Was Gato making a move? Sending support for his hired assassin?

In a barely-there movement, she twitched her head towards the end of the bridge, indicating that Shiho-nii should check it out. He glanced over at the battle between the two jounin, then towards the end of the bridge. Loose robes flowing, she couldn't help but notice that the fog only enhanced his handsome, ethereal features as he strode off.

"Be ready," she warned her teammates, "something else might be coming."

"What is it?" Naruto asked anxiously.

Sasuke was quicker on his mental feet. "Gato," he spat.

"Now would be a perfect time for him to strike, while the strongest member of our team is otherwise occupied," Sakura murmured. Clever. But not clever enough, if he thinks his thugs can really measure up against shinobi. Even gennin could take a half-wit with a sword.

But she was worried about her teammates. Gato had spent money on quality talent in Zabuza. Likely a lot of money. And that kind of money could buy a whole lot of unskilled help. With that many opponents, quick and brutal elimination was the key to preventing being overwhelmed by numbers alone. Sasuke was alright with bloodshed, but he didn't like killing. But then again, they did have Naruto. And his Kage Bunshin technique was nothing to scoff out when it came to a mob of orange-clad menaces.

Her distraction almost cost her as she barely managed to raise Shiho-nii in time to block a sweeping strike from Zabuza-san's enormous sword. As it was, she flew backwards into Tazuna-san, bowling them both over.

Ouch, she said quietly in her mind, hands gone numb against the shaft of her weapon. Rolling quickly to the side, she noted approvingly that Sasuke had immediately filled her vacated position, stance low and one kunai braced defensively in front of him.

But Zabuza-san had eyes that swept over the bridge-builder and landed on her. "So you're the girl that broke my tool."

Sakura was about to nod, but Naruto chose that moment to speak. "Tool? He was a person. He fought Sakura-chan for you! Why would you call him a tool?"

Zabuza-san sneered. "Because that's what he was, kid. If you're a shinobi, get used to it. We're all disposable objects. Use them when they're useful, get rid of them when they're not."

"No," Naruto protested. "That's not true! Didn't you feel anything when he died?"

"Disappointment," Zabuza pronounced. Sakura nodded. It was a reasonable enough emotion.

But not to Naruto. No, Naruto would never be satisfied with an answer like that.

-X-X-X-

At the end of the day, it was not a legendary jounin, a Haruno clan heir, an Uchiha clan prodigy, or even the number one unpredictable ninja of Konohagakure who saved the day. It was one small boy with a heart full of courage, equipped with only a slingshot and a populace ready to throw off the yoke of their oppression.

But while Inari, the boy who hadn't believed in heroes, saved the day, it was Naruto who saved the half-twisted, almost lost to darkness existence that was Zabuza Momochi. He was also the only one who cried, when they dug him a grave overlooking the town, wedging his sword there as a grave marker. Sakura's lips were pursed thoughtfully, though, as she spilled out Haku's ashes over the grave, mixed with a handful of wildflower seeds.

"When the spring comes, he'll help the seeds to grow," she told Naruto.

"Uh-huh," Naruto said sloppily, swiping his sleeve across his face. Sasuke looked disgusted by the action, but he didn't comment.

"Kakashi-sensei, does it ever…get easier?" Naruto asked.

Kakashi ruffled his blond hair fondly. "Usually, you don't bond with your opponents like this," he told him dryly. "You're a special kid in a lot of ways Naruto."

"Hehe," Naruto giggled. "And they named the bridge after me!" He threw his arms up in the air, almost hitting Sasuke in the face.

The rest of his teammates blinked at him. Extreme emotional swings much?

A/N: Yes, couldn't totally cut Naruto's very first conversion experience. You're familiar with how it works, so please forgive me if I don't type it all out. This chapter left Sasuke and Naruto both unblooded. What changes will that bring for Team 7? Read on and find out.