She resented that she was only just feeling like herself again while Sasuke- who hadn't even thanked her, had been back on his feet not even two days after she'd removed the curse seal from him.
Anko in comparison had already given her the biggest fruit basket Sakura had ever seen and had freaked Yamato out when she burst into grateful tears, wailing that if they told anyone about her emotional breakdown their bodies would never be found.
It would take her a little longer still to fully recover after exhausting her chakra network twice in such a short period of time but it gave her time to read the mokuton scrolls Yamato had sourced for her.
It was a project that kept her occupied while she was laid up in bed resting. But Yamato had learned early on that her productivity dropped if she didn't have at least two or three things on the go and when she got bored she got frustrated so he taught her the sign language that ANBU used, and gave her her mask.
It was a bird mask with blue markings. The edge of the eyes were lined with the dark blue, and two triangular spikes of blue that covered from the edge of the mask of either side of her chin up to the middle of her cheeks. Her codename was 'Sparrow'.
She decided that there was some dark humour in ANBU giving 'Tiger' an apprentice 'Sparrow'.
Yamato grinned and didn't deny it. "There are some operatives that can't hide who they are no matter how hard they try. I'm one of them. Kakashi-senpai is another. My mokuton is rather unique, and Kakashi's abilities are also rather distinctive. Like me, your mokuton will be announcement enough but to those outside of ANBU who will never go up against you, you still need to keep your identity hidden. Unfortunately your hair will out you every time."
"Henge?"
"Can you hold it for the days, weeks, or even months that a mission can last?" he asked. Sakura scowled.
"Genjutsu? No that would be easily dismissed as well. How do others get away with it?"
"The few that have needed to disguise themselves to that extent have worn wigs, and contacts."
"Do I have to?" she whinged. Her scalp feeling itchy just thinking about it.
"Unless you come up with another way then I'm afraid so." He held up two wigs. One black, the other brown. "You own hair would be better shorter so it can be contained better."
"Brown, and I'm not cutting my hair. This is only temporary until I figure out a better way."
Ino brought her flowers and apologised for the years where they didn't speak to each other.
"I'm sorry I let Sasuke-kun come between us Forehead."
"Me too. I let my crush on him stop me from becoming the kunoichi I wanted to be when we were little."
"I don't know about that," Ino declared. "You went all the way to the finals. You took me and Sasuke-kun out of the running so easily."
"Sasuke just underestimated me. The next time we clash he won't and he'll win," Sakura confessed.
"I underestimated you as well, but I know you're out of my league now. You've put a lot of training in I can tell. Looks like I'm just going to have to catch up." Sakura nodded supportively and Ino smiled.
"I'm really glad that you came. I missed you," Sakura admitted and Ino wrapped her up in a hug and divulged that she had missed her as well.
They spent the day like they used to. Ino shared the village gossip while they painted each other's toenails. Sakura confirmed, when the blonde asked, that the wide bed and the sturdy dresser that had a large mirror mounted on top of it that she had in her room, were the ones that used to be in her parent's bedroom.
"The bookcase is new though isn't it?" Ino asked looking at the monstrosity that took up an entire wall and Sakura nodded.
"Yamato-sensei made it when he saw my book collection. He's using both of the ones that were provided by the landlord."
"I'm sorry to hear about your parents. They were lovely people."
"Thank you. They were lovely people. I know they were proud of me. I just hope they continue to be proud of me."
"I'm sure they will be."
Sakura leaned back into the pile of pillows that had been stacked into a decadent nest in the corner window. She was grateful for the change of scenery even if it was just the living room, and the scowling look of consternation that was currently sitting on Shikamaru's face was a delight to witness.
It was their third game of shogi and so far it was the only one that Sakura was sure she'd win. She'd won the first game but it was a much more even match, and she'd lost their second game by a landslide.
"That tactic shouldn't have worked," Shikamaru said conceding the game and lifting his eyes from the board to hers.
"The question is do you think your dad will fall for it the same way you did?" she asked, well aware that Shikamaru had yet to win a game against his father.
"Maybe," he contemplated. "Maybe not. I'll have to try it out," he added as he stretched his arms up over his head with a loud yawn. "I should get going, leave you to rest." He packed up the board easily while Sakura let loose a yawn of her own.
"Thanks for coming around. I really enjoyed this afternoon," she admitted. He grinned lazily over at her and helped her to her feet.
"I did too. The score is 2:1 to you. I'll be back at some stage to even it out."
She scoffed with a good-natured smirk, her eyes dancing with amusement. "You only think you'll even it out. I'm on a roll," she taunted as she walked him out.
"We'll see Haruno. We'll see."
Jiraiya had been Kami sent when he arrived with a scroll that he thought she might be interested in. He'd never had the control to make it work, but if Sakura was as talented as he thought she was, then she'd be working seals into cloth and leather in no time.
Sakura went through her pouches and scrolls in anticipation of making them better and easier to access, and came across a ring that had been sitting at the bottom of the pouch she usually strapped to her leg. She stared down at the simple band and the slate blue stone that were both covered in seals and tried to remember where she'd picked it up.
She was intrigued by the combinations used on the band and the way the stone resonated with chakra that seemed to amplify the seals that were engraved on it.
Individually each part was impressive. As a whole, the ring was a masters project that would have taken years to research and put together with a lot of trial and error.
She filled three notebooks with everything she managed to discover from it. She made a copy of her notes, and sealed the original set in with her parent's belongings before handing off the second set of notes and the ring to Jiraiya who looked at her in shock.
"Where did you get this?" he asked calmly to hide the excitement he could feel roiling around in his stomach.
"Pulled it off of Orochimaru in the Forest. It's been sitting in my pouch since then. I emptied it when you gave me that scroll and found it again. Those are my notes on it."
"What have you discovered?"
"I've discovered it's intense. This is one of a set of ten rings. I've pulled out groupings for communication- long distance communication, audio and a type of visual projection but there's a mental component as well. There're groupings that link or bind it into a network, and more groupings that act like a key to a lock, groupings for chakra transference, and groupings for location signalling that thankfully haven't been activated. I don't know what the metal is, but the stone appears to be a clear quartz that's reflecting the colour of the setting underneath it. You know quartz has a resonance with chakra and can act as an amplifier."
Jiraiya stared down at the innocuous ring incredulous by the functionality of it.
"This must have taken forever to put together."
"They're also blood sealed to the user. No one but Orochimaru can use it unless it's taken back to the master artefact and blood sealed to another."
"Do you think it's possible to replicate it?" he asked after a bit of contemplation.
Sakura shrugged. "Maybe. But whatever we produce wont be able to connect to this set."
"I'll need to discuss this with the Hokage." He looked apprehensive. "This is great work Sakura, but who knows about this?"
"Orochimaru knows his ring is missing, though I doubt he knows who exactly has it. Yamato-sensei knows about it, where I got it, and has seen me working on it, and now you. My teammates were unconscious when I got it, and I kind of forgot all about it until I emptied my weapons pouch because of the scroll you gave me."
"Okay. Consider this an S-rank secret until I or the Hokage tell you otherwise. You do not speak of it again. To anyone. Understand?" He was especially serious.
Sakura nodded. "I understand Pervy Sage."
"Watch it brat," he growled but the corner of his mouth was upturned.
Reviews are greatly appreciated.
~G