Title: Are You Ready?
Chapter: 8 - Complications
Author: Killaurey
Rating: T
Word Count: 3247
Summary: AU. Sakura gives up on Kakashi as a teacher after Team 7 falls apart. Too bad fate, enemy ninja, and sheer bad luck have other plans.
Disclaimer: Naruto doesn't belong to me. It's Kishimoto's and I just play with it. Part 8 of ? Unbeta'd.
Kakashi waits as Tsunade-sama thinks over his request. As he waits, he studies her the same way she studies him.
He wonders what she thinks of him, when contrasted with his other self.
"I can keep the information from Sarutobi Asuma," she says, leaning back. "But some of your peers are going to figure it out. He might even figure it out."
"I know," he says. "And I plan to tell at least one of them myself." Gai deserves that much. Just as soon as Kakashi can catch him between missions, which hasn't happened yet. "But I want to see how Ino handles herself in the coming days on the matter of her old team. Sarutobi's confusion on my current situation will be more telling if he's not given a heads up as to what's really going on."
"That's a pretty harsh test of character," Tsunade-sama says. "She's just a Genin."
"I'm not going to coddle them," Kakashi replies firmly. "They've had enough of it, they don't want it, and I have every confidence that this test is one she can handle." Thinking about the way Ino and Sakura rely on each other, he amends his words to, "This test is one both of them can handle."
"You don't think it'll erode their confidence in you as their sensei?"
"It won't," he says, "because I'm not going to keep it a secret from them. I'm going to let them know and let them know if they need me, I'll have their back."
Her eyes, which had been coolly evaluating, soften slightly. "You're a good sensei."
"No," he says, "I'm just picking up the pieces of a mess another me made."
"That too," Tsunade-sama says.
Kakashi thinks he might love her for that, just a little. Which is terribly inappropriate.
"What are you going to do about the fact that they need a third teammate?" Tsunade-sama asks next. "I have no problems with your current team but they're not going to be able to qualify for the Chuunin Exams without a third."
"I'm not entering them this time around," Kakashi says quietly. "They're clever enough to pass, unless they came up against a monster or a genius," though there's not so much of a difference between the two, "but I don't think they're ready to become Chuunin. They need their basics shored up. Next round. So I've got time to consider a third teammate."
"Try not to poach another Genin from a viable team," Tsunade-sama says, with a wry twist to her lips. "Or you're going to get some nasty rumours going around about you. And I've got enough problems without having to smooth the ruffled feathers of angry Jounin sensei."
Kakashi smiles. "What if I get approached by another Genin who wants to transfer?"
She grimaces, like she's bitten into a sour apple. "Assuming that they're right, and you'd be a better fit, we'd have to allow the transfer."
"In that case," Kakashi says, picking his words carefully, "then maybe someone should be checking the suitability of the Jounin sensei before forcing them to take on team they might not be qualified to teach. I should never have become a sensei."
"You're a good one."
"I wasn't," he says. "That's the whole problem."
It's one of them, at least. He's not sure enough of his standing in the village yet-or even of the real state of the village itself-to say he's pretty sure there's deeper problems than just his other self having been a bad sensei.
Once he's done more looking into it… then maybe he'll mention it. Konoha should be stronger than it is. Training its Genin properly will help with that, but he's only one man, and out of his element.
Instead, he asks another question on his mind. "What's been ascertained about my… situation?"
Tsunade-sama sighs, standing and looking out one of the windows. "The longer you're here, the less likely it is that you've been de-aged or that it's a genjutsu. The predominant theory at the moment is that you've been swapped with yourself-that is, the Hatake Kakashi from this time, has taken your place in the past, while you've taken his place here. Thus far, we haven't found any way to undo the jutsu that caused this."
Kakashi nods slowly. It's about what he expected. His feelings are decidedly mixed. He and the Kakashi from this time had the same origins but their impact is decidedly different.
What makes them so different? He adds that to his list of things to look into. It might be important to know. If only for his own peace of mind.
"In my time, in ANBU…" Kakashi says. "That's… unfortunate."
He means that.
"Yes," Tsunade-sama says, her voice heavy. "It is."
They share a glance full of understanding. Being temporally displaced in ANBU is nothing good.
Okonomiyaki does the both of them good. The restaurant they'd wound up at is busy, but not too busy, and populated mostly by civilians, which leaves fewer people to stare at them for any waves they've made in the gossip tree of Konoha's shinobi.
She feels less stressed out and, unless she's misreading Ino entirely, some of the tension has left Ino, though she's not anywhere near her usual self either. Sakura picks at her leftovers, feeling pleasantly full but not overstuffed, debating if she wants to eat anything else, and covertly watches Ino drink.
"Stop staring," Ino says.
Well. Sakura had tried to be covert about it.
"I cheated," Ino admits, tapping her temple. "You weren't terrible."
"You're reading my mind again," Sakura sighs. "Honestly, Ino."
Ino just wrinkles her nose at her. "I should probably go home," she says.
Sakura cranes her neck back to squint at the restaurant's wall clock. What she sees, what she had suspected, makes her eyebrows raise. "It's early," she says. "You don't want to train?"
That's a first and, more than anything else, that worries Sakura. Ino tackles training with wholehearted fervour usually.
"I know," Ino says, grimacing. "But Shikamaru and Chouji have probably told their parents about my transfer by now. Dad'll need backup."
She wonders if that's true or if Ino just feels like it should be. Sakura chews on the inside of her cheek thoughtfully. There's times when being a first generation shinobi really does mean she misses things. She knows that the Yamanaka, Nara, and Akimichi Clans have a long a complicated history together, but she has very little idea of what that history is.
"Is it going to be bad?" she asked, fumbling for the right words for what she wants to ask. "What you've done?"
Ino squints at her for a moment, then sighs. "I don't know. Maybe? Probably. Dad said he could handle the adults, but it's still going to cause things to be weird." Ino's eyes darken. "It might be less complicated if our Clan were bigger, or if I was a boy, but—neither of those things can exactly be changed. Not easily and not quickly, anyway."
"I don't understand how those things matter," Sakura admits, though she's loathe to confess to ignorance. "Can you tell me?"
Ino opens her mouth, then shuts it, looking troubled and considering as she toys with her straw.
A large group of half-drunk civilians stumbles through the door and, as they get seated, Sakura judges that Ino isn't going to say anything further in here—not about anything important.
"Let's get out of here," Sakura says, waving for their bill and paying it all while Ino continues to frown.
The air is cool in the coming twilight. It rushes through her hair, and tugs at her dress, and makes her spirits lift. Sakura revels in that as she heads towards their usual training ground. The moon isn't up yet, but it's a cloudless night as the stars begin to come out one by one.
Ino follows her, a paler shadow, and neither of them speak.
When they reach their training ground, Sakura falls into her usual stretching patterns and Ino follows her lead, for once, instead of it being the other way around.
"I don't know what I can tell you," Ino admits, her voice a bit muffled as she leans deep into her splits, her face nearly touching the ground. "A lot of things aren't for out-Clan, unless they're formally allied with us, like the Nara and Akimichi."
Sakura shifts her grip as she raises one foot over her head and balances there, feeling her muscles respond. "Do you have to be a Clan to formally ally?" she asks, wondering if it is just a matter of swearing oaths before she can find out more. "I mean, Ino, I'm your teammate." It still gives her a thrill to say that. "I'm in your corner no matter what."
Ino lifts her head up. Sakura can tell she's smiling slightly only from how the shadows bunch around her cheeks. They'll have to light the lanterns once they're done stretching. "I know," Ino says, "but you're not an ally of the Clan. Nor would Daddy sign a contract with you. If we did, you'd benefit more than we would. It's not personal—it's business."
Letting her foot fall, Sakura tries to tell herself that it's stupid that her feelings are hurt by that, no matter how 'not personal' it's supposed to be. She swings her other foot up, bracing it with her hands and pulling higher. "Oh."
"Daddy might be willing to accept you as a formal ally to me, personally, since that's different than a Clan alliance," Ino says, after a few moments. "But I'd have to talk to him first and it's… with the other two Clans upset, it'd be a bad move for us to do that now. So I really don't know what I can tell you."
Sakura forces herself to smile. "We should get to training anyway," she says. "It's fine." It's not fine, but Sakura tries hard not to feel rejected. Ino is her teammate. She's being stupid. "Just… tell me what you can, when you know, okay?"
"Of course," Ino says, getting to her feet. "Why wouldn't I?" Ino pauses mid-stretch. "Wasn't I going to go home rather than train?"
Sakura laughs unevenly. "Want to sleepover instead, after training?" Sakura asks impulsively.
"Your mom is going to kill you," Ino notes.
"That's not a no," Sakura points out. "Is there anything you'd really be able to help your dad out with tonight if you went home? Can't your mom help him?"
"No," Ino says, something unreadable in her voice. "Mom can't do anything in this situation. But—you're right. I probably can't either. Dad might not even let me talk to the other Clan heads."
"Then come sleep over," Sakura wheedles, finishing her stretching and heading over to light the lanterns so they have enough light to correct their mistakes. "It'll do you good. In fact, my parents don't even have to know."
Ino is startled into a laugh. Sakura hugs the noise close to her chest. "You're going to be so dead," Ino says. "What if we get caught?"
"We're ninja," Sakura reminds her. "You're going to let yourself get caught?"
The jab at Ino's pride does what she wants it to do. "As if," Ino says, sounding more like her usual self. "Fine. I'll sleepover. Now come here so I can kick your ass."
Kakashi eyes both of his girls as they show up for training. Ino has borrowed some of Sakura's clothing, to his amusement, though he carefully says nothing about it. He's not surprised. Given the political mess Ino's transfer is likely going to cause for her father, it's probably for the best that Ino hadn't been home last night.
"Before we start today," he says, as they look at him expectantly, "I'm going to tell you what I told Hokage-sama yesterday."
The two of them exchange glances.
"Are there problems with our team?" Ino asks, frowning. Sakura looks anxious at the thought.
"No," he says, making sure his voice is reassuring without being patronizing. "It had nothing to do with that. It had to do with my… circumstances."
The girls swap glances again, even more doubtful at that.
"Does… does that mean they've figured out how to… fix what happened?" Sakura asks. Her tone of voice makes it clear that, if they had, she doesn't think it would be a real fix.
Kakashi's eye curves into a smile that he doesn't really feel. His feelings are more mixed on being out of his own time, but it's gratifying to know his students want him around. "No," he says. "We discussed, and Hokage-sama has agreed, that my situation is to remain confidential for the moment."
Ino's expression clears. "Oh," she says, "because of… Sarutobi-san, right?"
Sakura looks inquiringly between the both of them. Ino just shakes her head and gestures once—for later, he assumes.
"That's right," he says. "I understand that this is likely to cause a few more issues for you, Ino, given that you're likely to be questioned heavily about your decision. If people cause trouble for you, send them to me. That goes for you as well, Sakura. Do either of you have any questions?"
They share a third glance, and then shake their heads.
"Alright," he says. "If you have questions later, you know where to find me. Now stretch out and get ready for practice."
They scatter and he takes a deep breath. One step at a time, he reminds himself. One step at a time.
Then he focuses on what they're doing, and gets to work. "Sakura," he says, "make sure your back is completely straight. Ino, focus on your own footing, not on Sakura's."
"So," Kakashi says, once he's dismissed Ino, and Sakura for the day, "it's a week early, but does she pass your expectations?"
To all eyes, no one else is around, but Kakashi doesn't rely on just his eye—or on just Obito's eye, for that matter. And Yamanaka Inoichi melts out of the trees once his daughter is out of sight and easy hearing.
"She's doing better," the blond man allows. His blue-eyed gaze is penetrating. "I'll reserve final judgement for in a week."
"As you will," he says, unconcerned. If Yamanaka Inoichi had any real doubts, he'd have asked Ino to not tell her team of the transfer. That he hadn't bodes well for his final evaluation of Ino's progress under Kakashi's tutelage. "I assume you're not here for idle curiosity. What is it?"
"My daughter's training is hardly what I'd call idle curiosity," Yamanaka Inoichi observes, and Kakashi glances at him in time to catch the faintly amused smile fade. "I have a favour to ask of you."
Kakashi tilts his head slightly. "Oh?"
"Ino's mentioned you're focusing on shoring up their training for the moment," he says, his gaze taking in the training ground is a sweeping glance. "Rather than going on missions."
"That's right," Kakashi agrees. "Neither of them are desperate for the paycheques that D rank missions would bring them and most C rank missions are out of my comfort level for their current skills. And as a newly formed team, it's important to build synergy prior to putting it to the test in the field."
Though Ino and Sakura have some of the best synergy he's ever seen, hands down, from Genin through ANBU.
He slants a considering look at Ino's father. "Given that question… you want me to take them on a mission."
"I would prefer if Ino were out of the village for at least a few days," Inoichi admits. "There are conversations taking place that I'd rather not have her hear until things have settled a little. Yes, I would ask that you accept a C rank mission for your team."
Kakashi frowns. "Is there anything I should know about these conversations?"
Internal clan politics are rarely spoken of to outsiders—and Kakashi is an outsider, twice over, from being out of time and from being the last member of the Hatake family—but when it impacts a Genin, then a sensei has a right to know in some circumstances.
Yamanaka Inoichi shakes his head. "For now, there's not much to tell. The usual in-fighting and hard words are being said on all sides; accusations, mostly," he says, though he sounds like approves of the fact that Kakashi has asked. "I'd rather Ino not have to deal with all of that. She's more sensitive than she likes to admit. I'll keep you updated if that changes."
"Alright," Kakashi says, though he's unsatisfied with that answer. "If there's a mission I think they can handle, we'll take it. If not…"
Then he'll have to disappoint Yamanaka Inoichi. It's probably not a wise move, not when the man is both a Clan Head and in charge of his case, but Kakashi isn't going to risk the lives of his students when he isn't given more information than he has been.
"I understand," Yamanaka Inoichi says. "And while it's damn inconvenient for what I want, I appreciate your care with them."
Tucking away his irritation at not knowing more of what's going on, Kakashi shrugs. "I'm just following the example I was given," he says. He still wants to know more about why the other him hadn't done the same. But now, he's been given an opening to ask a question he's had almost since coming here. "Do you know why the quality of training has dropped? Is it solely a decade of relative peace?"
Yamanaka Inoichi hums thoughtfully. "That's likely a contributing factor," the man says. "And, too, the Sandaime was a great man. But he was an old man, and tired, and pressed into a job that he didn't want. Things became lax in the little ways and those… those add up. You're not the only one that's noticed."
Kakashi swallows the urge to retort that the training of their people is hardly a little thing. Yamanaka Inoichi's amused glance tells him that, even though he hasn't said anything, it's been heard anyway.
"And that's all it is?" Kakashi asks.
"Do you think there's more to it?" Yamanaka Inoichi asks interestedly.
"I haven't decided yet," Kakashi says. "I'm still looking into it. But the way things are is weakening Konoha."
And likely costing more lives than Konoha should be losing. Dying is always a risk for ninja, but for lives to be lost carelessly…
"Yes, it is," Yamanaka Inoichi says, after a moment. "I can't deny that. Let me know what you decide—on everything."
"One thing," Kakashi says, as Yamanaka Inoichi turns to go. "Have you considered that your request for me to take my team out of the village is another aspect of sheltering them when they shouldn't be? Ino cannot be shielded from the fallout of leaving her team entirely. It won't die out until she's dealt with it."
"It's possible," Yamanaka Inoichi admits. "Though it's also a father's prerogative to make such a request—and the reverse could also be true. Is keeping them from missions really going to strengthen them? Either way, what actually happens, I'll leave in your hands. Look out for her."
Then the man fades back into the trees and Kakashi is left alone in the training ground.
Great, Kakashi thinks sourly. Just what I needed. More problems and expectations.
More decisions to make.