Author's note: The scene where Kakashi talks to Sakura about her being a genjutsu-type and such is inspired by a scene in Kill Your Heroes by TheLightAtLastAndAlways. If you haven't read that, I highly recommend it!
Also, uh … trigger warnings for absolutely horrible training advice?
They return to the apartment late in the afternoon, Sakura weighted down by the weights in her harnesses as well as the bags from Tanigawa Armoury. Between that and the excessive amounts of training she's done today, her legs are literally trembling with effort by the time she's able to sink down into Kakashi-sensei's couch.
That's it, she thinks. She's not moving an inch more today.
Unfortunately, Kakashi-sensei has other plans.
"Empty your weapon's pouch and kunai holster."
Fumbling a little she does as told, kunai and shuriken clattering against the table surface as she simply pours everything out without a thought to orderliness or damage to the table. With practised ease, Kakashi-sensei digs through her things, idly sorting them into piles as he inspects the quality. Sakura thinks that she has a pretty decent showing - she hasn't actually lost many of her weapons since he helped her restock it, and she's been careful to keep everything in decent condition.
"Not too bad," he says at last. "But you need to keep the blades sharper, and of course you need more of everything."
Reaching for the bags with stuff they've bought, he digs through them, picking up several packages and depositing them on the table in the correct piles. By the time he is done almost everything has doubled in numbers - except the kunai, which have tripled.
"Sort everything through and start sharpening," he instructs her, standing. "I'll get dinner started."
"I don't think all of this will even fit into my weapon's pouch," she grouches even as she reaches for her whetstone.
"We'll make it fit, or we'll get you a bigger one."
It is slow and tedious work, especially with the ridiculous amount of blades she is to sharpen. Worse still is the fact that Kakashi-sensei keeps an eye on her despite his cooking, forcing her to start over whenever he's not happy enough with a blade.
At least it's not more laps or anything equally preposterous.
By the time dinner is ready she still has over half of the kunai left and all of her shuriken. Kakashi simply puts their bowls down between the piles and they eat in mostly silence.
All in all it is well over two hours before all of her weapons have been sharpened to Kakashi-sensei's approval, and another half hour before her weapon's pouch and kunai holster have been restocked in an orderly fashion.
After that, Sakura is just about ready to pass out on her sensei's couch again, but the evil bastard follows her back to the Genin Corps Dormitories, with orders of showering and properly tending to her injuries before bed.
They've got another busy day tomorrow.
Altogether far too soon, in Sakura's opinion, she's being prodded awake again. Her whole body protests consciousness. Every muscle in her body, including some she hadn't previously been aware that she even had, is stiff and sore. Not to mention that she is probably sporting some considerable bruises, after yesterday's sparring exercises.
"Time to wake up, Sakura-chan," Kakashi-sensei says, penetrating the haze of ache and sleepiness. "We're going running again. Before breakfast, this time."
"No!" She buries her head in her pillow, refusing to acknowledge his horrible words.
"If you're not up in three minutes, I'll pour cold water over you."
Sakura weighs the possibility of being drowned in cold water against staying in bed, not entirely convinced that moving is worth it.
"Two minutes remaining!"
Regardless, she's entirely convinced that he isn't bluffing. And if dousing her in cold water won't do the trick, he'll find something even worse to force her out of bed.
Like …
Like pouring lava on her instead, or … or setting the bed on fire … or …
So Sakura groans and forces herself to get up.
"And don't forget your weights!"
He waits outside her window as she gets dressed, and then they're heading towards the village wall again.
Surprisingly, the second day of training with Kakashi-sensei is even worse than the first. Despite some stretches before they go running properly, her body continues to protest the exercise, and between the pain and lingering exhaustion, her mistakes are even more numerous than the day before. Kakashi, on the other hand, shows no remorse as he continues to throw those evil pebbles at her whenever she slows down too much or loses control of her chakra.
She actually falls off the wall that morning - twice! - as she collapses from exhaustion. Kakashi-sensei shows no greater concern for her than to grab a hold of the back of her shirt to keep her from falling before urging her to get back to running.
By the time they return to his apartment for breakfast she's too exhausted to properly appreciate the food, though she forces herself to eat anyway.
Breakfast is followed by hours of sparring, this time against Kakashi-sensei himself. And if Sakura was outmatched by Neji the day before, it is even more obvious that she is outmatched against Kakashi-sensei. Every block he makes, every opening she herself fails to guard and block, is a painful lesson in her own inadequacy.
Then he starts quizzing her with random questions on her knowledge of advanced chakra theory, how to calculate projectile movement patterns, foreign cultures and other equally absurd subjects.
Without pausing in the sparring.
Sakura scrambles mentally for answers even as she struggles to keep her guard up against Kakashi's continued assault.
She can do this, she tells herself.
She can do this.
She can def-
Kakashi-sensei grabs onto her hair from behind, using it to swing her into a tree.
-definitely do this.
She gasps for air for a moment, fingers digging into the rough bark of the tree, before she turns around and attacks again.
Kakashi-sensei is finally giving her his attention. Just like she'd wanted.
He's challenging her. Helping her grow into a stronger and better shinobi.
Sasuke learned the chidori from training with Kakashi-sensei.
Even Naruto was able to learn both the Rasengan and the summoning jutsu, after individual training with Jiraiya.
If they could manage, she can manage.
She won't be weaker than them.
So she can definitely-
"I can't do this," she groans as she's once more painfully knocked down. "I just … I can't."
"Yes you can."
"I can't. I … I'm not Naruto, or-or Sasuke. I can't!"
The boys would probably excel under this kind of training. Probably even turn it into some stupid contest between themselves, spurring each other on enough to leave her behind in the dust.
Except, of course, they aren't here. They've already left her behind. That thought alone is enough to almost push her over the edge to flat out crying.
"Come on, Sakura-chan. Get up again."
She's not the boys. She's not strong like them, or durable enough, or stubborn enough, or … or …
"I'm a girl," she protests lamely, rolling over to crawl into a ball of misery. "I can't do this. I'm not strong enough."
"So you're giving up?"
Kakashi's voice is enough to make her flinch and she squeezes her eyes shut, trying to block him out.
"I'm not giving up. I just … I can't do this. I need to pace myself."
Vaguely she remembers one of her kunoichi-teachers saying something similar. It is important to know yourself or you'll wind up hurting yourself striving for excellence. She clings to the memory now, allowing it to strengthen her resolve.
"Do you want to know the main difference between you and Naruto or Sasuke?" Kakashi asks, crouching down beside her.
"I'm weak!"
The admission hurts and she curls further in on herself, wishing that she could just crawl under a stone somewhere and never again appear.
"It is that you lack discipline." Kakashi-sensei's voice is nothing like soft, though the earlier edge is gone. It doesn't make his words any more difficult to hear. "Sasuke has both discipline and skill in spades; what he sets out to do he will achieve. What Naruto lacks in skill he will make up for in determination, which means that whenever he sets out to do something he usually succeeds."
Kakashi-sensei makes a dramatic pause, pushing her tangled hair out of her face so that he can meet her eyes.
"You, on the other hand … You are a genjutsu type. Like me. Which means that you're too smart for your own good. You're not used to resistance the way they are. You'll take one look at a problem and have it solved, with as little effort as possible on your part, before moving on to admire Sasuke's flawless backside."
The last words are delivered with a heavy dose of sarcasm. Sakura blushes, partly because of the comment about Sasuke's behind but mostly because there is truth in the words. All of her academy career, summarised in a few unflattering sentences.
"Which is not to say that you haven't struggled with other things, or haven't matured in your own way. Unlike the boys, I expect I can give you a list of books to read and a diagram or two, and you'll learn pretty much anything."
The praise, at least, takes some of the earlier sting away and Sakura finds herself relaxing a little again.
Yes, Sakura likes books. Books and diagrams and scrolls, that make sense of the world without her having to exert any physical energy.
"However, building muscle memory and strength will save your life in combat situations. And while most Academy graduates have developed enough discipline to build upon their pre-existing strengths, you have mostly learned to deflect your weaknesses."
Sakura sighs. Maybe Kakashi-sensei is right.
She did think, just yesterday, about how much nicer Iruka-sensei was as a teacher - never really pushing her the way Kakashi-sensei is. But then, she hasn't really been pushing herself either. Not until pretty recently, that is, and never as hard as this.
"I realise that sparring and drills are a poor fit for your learning, but it is unavoidable if you want to end up as anything other than a paper ninja. So I will use whatever means I deem necessary in order to trick your busy little mind into distraction, but you need to supply the discipline. Do you understand?"
Awful as it is - bruises, scratches, aches, weights and all - she does. For the life of her she still can't see how she can possibly endure all of these expectations that Kakashi-sensei is placing on her, but he does. And worse still, he is willing to help her through it, even if his help doesn't feel like help at the moment. She just needs to continue trying her best and trust in him to be right.
It's not "just", she thinks sourly.
It is, however, the basic premise of the shinobi. Shinobi are those that endure, she remembers Iruka-sensei saying. Apparently a quote from the first Hokage. She has just never anticipated that "endure" would be so closely connected with her own experience. Foolish of her, she thinks now. For someone who had memorised every one of the shinobi rules verbatim she really ought to have realised sooner just how many of them spoke of endurance, of obedience and of discipline.
Better late than never, she thinks as she forces herself to unfurl, slowly crawling to her knees and then up to standing again. Kakashi-sensei stands with her, and though she can't quite meet his eye - she's still ashamed of her weakness and from the verbal beating she has just taken - she takes her stance.
"Good girl."
They continue to spar.
November turns into December.
Kakashi-sensei gets assigned another mission and leaves, handing her training over to Gai-sensei.
There isn't enough time to get everything figured out. There's still some sort of problem with the apprenticeship-paperwork that has to be sorted out, so she still cannot take missions - which is ironic, considering that the village is basically screaming for manpower and Sakura is just about ready to scream if she gets nothing useful to do soon.
At least Kakashi-sensei has set her up with a stipend now. Even if she were to be pushed out of the Genin Corps Dormitories - which seems unlikely, but still - she won't be homeless or go hungry.
Gai-sensei is called away on a mission too, and so he hands her over to Asuma-sensei and team 10. Sakura doesn't mind, because she likes Asuma-sensei, not to mention Ino, Shikamaru and Choji.
Winter in Konoha is mild - it is rare to see snow, and the temperature rarely sinks below freezing - but there is plenty of rain and grey days. Sakura is grateful for her new uniform; a simple green dress that is short enough that the skirt does not get in the way, with brown tights, as well as both wrist- and ankle- warmers that help keep her warm and match her hair. Ino teases her, saying that she looks like a tree, but Sakura likes it. It's the most comfortable and practical clothing she's ever had.
Asuma-sensei is called away in a hurry and doesn't have time to leave her to anyone in particular. He leaves a very apologetic note, telling her to just keep working on her exercises and that he'll be in contact whenever he gets back to Konoha.
Sakura doesn't complain and tries not to worry. The village is in a disarray. Her wish for a consistent sensei is the least of their current problems.
With little else to do, training makes out the majority of her days.
Training, training and more training.
She runs.
She meditates.
She practises her kata. Sparrs, if she can find someone to do so with. Hajime, Tomomi, Aimi and Takeshi are the most reliable and able to spend almost every evening with her. Team Gai makes nice sparring partners as well, whenever they run into each other during their morning runs, but seeing as they are more experienced genin they too are often busy. Team 10 have similar issues, what with Shikamaru now being a chunin and all, but Sakura still likes to join them whenever she can.
When she's not training, she's reading; anything and everything she can get her hands on. Geography, strategy, philosophy, cultures, chakra theory, history. The Genin Corps has a surprisingly large library, and then there's the common shinobi library as well, so there's plenty of books and scrolls for her to dig into.
The fact that she keeps herself so busy comes with one advantage; she doesn't have the time or the energy to bother with the looks and whispers levelled at her by other genin, or even chunin sometimes. Hajime, Tomomi, Aimi and Takeshi do their best to protect her from it, but Sakura is neither blind nor deaf.
"Foreigner", people whisper behind her back. "She's got no loyalty to Konoha."
"She's the comrade of that traitor, Uchiha Sasuke."
"She used to be all over that guy. Do they really expect us to believe she's not an accomplice?"
"And she's friendly with that boy too. The fox."
("Hush! We're not supposed to talk about that!")
Sakura would mind, but she's too exhausted to bother. So she keeps her head down and focuses on herself; on putting one foot in front of the other, on eating, on keeping strictly to her routine, and luckily people leave her mostly alone. Now that Tomomi and Aimi are back, the attempts at physically humiliating her have drastically decreased.
Her sleep is heavy and dreamless, and her body constantly bruised and aching. Sakura is too exhausted to even contemplate arguing with Kakashi-sensei or her temporary teachers, so she just does the exercises she's assigned without too much complaint. She doesn't think of it so much as discipline as a necessary consequence of her own cowardice. If she stops now, she won't be brave enough to start again, she thinks to herself more than once.
The routine is interrupted one afternoon when Lee decides to challenge her to an official challenge, since they are apparently Eternal Rivals now.
"No," she says, shooting him down immediately.
She has seen enough of Lee to know that he rivals Naruto in energy levels and she has heard enough from Gai-sensei to know the kind of ridiculous challenges he and Kakashi-sensei engage in. And she really doesn't have the energy to spare at the moment.
"But we are Eternal Rivals!" Lee objects, coming uncomfortably close to passionately look into her eyes. "Destined to spend our Springtime of Youth challenging each other, like our esteemed sensei have before us! It is important that we continue this youthful tradition of measuring each other's bravery and prowess!"
Uncomfortable with the proximity, Sakura takes a step back. Right into Tenten.
"You might as well accept," the other girl advises. "Once Lee sets his mind to something, there's no convincing him otherwise."
"True," Neji agrees.
Sakura looks between them and Lee, who's still looking tearfully at her, with a sinking sensation in her stomach.
"I said no."
Lee stands frozen in place for a moment before he deflates, almost looking like he will melt into a puddle on the ground.
"I see," he says quietly. "Someone like me is just not worthy of-"
"No, it's not like that! It's just …"
Lee straightens immediately.
"So you will consider my challenge at a later date then?"
"No!" she repeats, more firmly again now. "Please don't take it personally, I just …"
"I see, Sakura-chan! Such a talented and beautiful flower such as yourself cannot lower herself to the likes of me. But don't worry, Sakura-chan, I will endeavour to one day be worthy of your time! And in that respect, I will now make myself run 20 laps around the village!"
With those passionate words Lee is off, leaving a cloud of dust behind him on the street. Sakura exchanges a look with Tenten and Neji.
"He's not giving up, is he?"
"No," they chorus.
Indeed, the next day Lee approaches her again, challenging her to a mad dash around the village.
"No," she shoots him down again.
"I see. Then today I will make myself run 30 laps around the village in order to improve myself to your standards!"
Before she can stop him he's off again.
On the third day when he approaches her, Sakura shakes her head as soon as she sees him.
"Can't," she tells him, pointing to her newly twisted ankle. "No running anywhere today, Medic's orders."
Lee frowns worriedly for a moment before his face lights up into an enthusiastic smile.
"Then of course the challenge shall be adjusted to fit our limitations. I suggest we run on our hands in order to spare our feet!"
"No."
She's finally starting to get somewhat used to the weights but she is nowhere near ready to take all of that weight on her hands. Come to think of it, she might actually need to practise that before Kakashi-sensei returns and decide to force her to do it anyway. She makes a mental note of it.
"Then another type of challenge?" Lee suggests. "An epic battle on the kunai practice range? A food eating competition? Weight lifting?"
"How about Rock Paper Scissors?" she suggests tiredly instead.
It seems to her the quickest and easiest way to get it over with.
"I see!" Lee says excitedly. "On the surface a child's play, but beneath the surface requiring great observational skills as well as logical reasoning. Challenge accepted!"
Sakura sighs, feeling that she has probably made a mistake in offering a challenge to begin with. Then again, Lee never seemed likely to give up to begin with.
"Alright. First to three?"
He accepts, and they face off, right there, in the middle of the road. An annoyed civilian glares at them as he's forced to walk around them, and Sakura offers an apologetic shrug.
Sakura's rock beats Lee's scissor in the first round.
Lee's paper beats her rock in the second round.
"An exciting endeavour indeed, Sakura-chan!" Lee declares as they prepare for the third round. He's vibrating again, practically sweating bullets in excitement.
Sakura's rock beats Lee's scissor again in the third round.
"Well fought, Sakura-chan! As skilled as you are beautiful, indeed!"
At least after that he leaves her alone for a day or two, before their paths cross again and he offers another challenge.
"First to climb the Hokage Monument?!" he offers.
"How about the quiet game?" she suggests instead.
Lee looks disappointed for a moment before he offers her a wide smile.
"A wise choice indeed, Sakura-chan! The ultimate test of a shinobi's skill …"
"Uh, uh," she says, shaking her head. "Quiet, remember?"
And he is blessedly quiet.
Except, to her annoyance, he then proceeds to follow her around the village as she runs her errands, generally being in the way and trying to use some sort of sign language she does not understand with her.
It gets annoying really quickly.
"Here you go," Sakura says clearly as she hands the cashier the money for her groceries.
It's not as if she cares about winning anyway.
"One victory each, what an exciting start to our rivalry!" Lee declares as they leave the grocery store.
"Yeah yeah," she sighs in resignation. "See you in a couple of days?"
She absolutely refuses to admit that there's a smile tugging at her lips.
"Before you leave there is something else we need to discuss."
Kakashi stops, already halfway turned away from the Hokage, and gives her a politely attentive look. Looks like it's becoming a routine for him to stay after reporting home for a mission, and talk about something entirely unrelated.
"This," she clarifies, placing a small pile of papers on her desk.
Approaching the desk, Kakashi soon recognizes his own handwriting and the application he filled out when he first took Sakura in. It is distinctly void of an approval stamp.
"What is the problem?"
"It lacks a very important signature."
She gives him a very pointed look. Kakashi just frowns back at her, genuinely confused.
"Both Sakura and I have signed it."
In fact, she's the one who demanded a formal contract to begin with - something about it being unsuitable otherwise. Something about her being underage and unmarried and a girl student, he suspects. And Kakashi might find it strange that someone would attach those specific adjectives to her, but he's wholly supportive if a contract is going to make Sakura more comfortable.
So, back to the contract, which he has not only filled out and signed, but also turned in on time! Like, at least a month and a half ago.
As far as he's concerned, this issue is entirely Lady Tsunade's fault.
Or possibly bureaucracy's.
Same thing.
"Clan law insists that the Head of Clan approve any and all apprentices and apprenticeships undertaken by a member of the clan."
Kakashi's stomach drops a little.
"Sakura has rejected her clan," he points out. "And I am theoretically my own clan head."
"Oh? Do you plan to attend the Clan Council meetings then? Make peace with the other members of your clan?"
Ah.
No.
No way.
Kakashi stares blankly in front of him.
Lady Tsunade sighs, and the sound is exhausted enough to reveal something about how much older than him she really is. How does she do that? Make him feel like a boy again, just by a sigh?
"I know that you blame them for your father's death." Her voice is surprisingly soft. "Isn't it time to start to let old wounds heal?"
"I blame her," Kakashi clarifies. "Not that the others did anything to help."
And no, he's not going to go crawling back to that woman.
Lady Tsunade sighs again.
"Regardless, clan law is clear; no signature from the acting clan head, no official apprenticeship."
She hands him the application back and he stiffly accepts it, dismissing himself.
Perfekt.
Just, perfekt.
Not.
"Sakura-chan, my Eternal Rival! I challenge you to a great challenge of our youth; first to complete a full lap around the village on our hands!"
"No!" Sakura exclaims, horrified. "How about hide and seek?"
Lee looks like he is about to accept the change of challenge before a hand clasp down on her shoulder, making her jump in surprise.
"Ma, Sakura-chan, don't you know it's bad form to reject an offered challenge and then offer your own?" Kakashi-sensei's voice is mock-disappointed.
When did he even get back to Konoha?!
Before Sakura can express her surprise at seeing him, or tell him how happy she is that he's back or ask how his mission went or anything, Gai-sensei appears next to Lee and decides to chime in as well;
"Indeed, indeed! In fact, proper protocol declares that if one party offers such a clearly set challenge as this, the other party might choose the time and place for it to occur."
"Exactly!" Kakashi-sensei smiles, far too innocently. "So for this challenge, when Lee has declared that the challenge is to run around the village on your hands, you might choose that you do so along the inside of the village wall at dusk."
"An excellent choice, my dear rival! And as it is our respective protégés competing, it seems only fitting that we compete as well, to show them how it is done!"
And so it is that Sakura is manipulated into accepting Lee's ridiculous challenge.
She loses, of course.
Badly.
Which apparently puts their Eternal Rivalry Score at 2-1 in Lee's favour.
And of course Kakashi-sensei punishes her for it by setting a number of new exercises for her, intended on strengthening her arms. And adding further weights to her harnesses.
Thankfully, he does not order her to continue trying to run the village wall on her hands, though that might have to do with her inability to complete even one full lap, rather than his lack of intention to do so.
"Kakashi! I wasn't expecting you! Come in, come in!"
Kakashi feels more than a little awkward as he enters the office of the Commander of the Genin Corps.
Kichiro's surprise at seeing him is justified. In the last decade Kakashi hasn't voluntarily sought the man out more than a handful of times.
He's not sure whether this technically qualifies as such, given that his purpose isn't exactly voluntary.
"Tell me, how are things going with Sakura?"
Coming to stand before the desk, Kakashi is strangely reminded of being summoned to the office of the third Hokage, learning that he had been assigned to the students that would eventually become team 7.
Another room, another authority figure, he tells himself.
Though Kichiro isn't strictly speaking so much an authority figure as he's … well, the only member of his clan that he is on an even remotely good standing with. And of course Kichiro's not so much a member of the clan as an uncle-by-marriage, but still …
"It's acceptable."
Kichiro gives him a calmly expectant look that must work wonders with genin.
"She's improving," Kakashi elaborates.
Slowly Kichiro raises his eyebrows, wordlessly demanding more.
What's there to say? Things with Sakura are … frustrating. Not necessarily because of her, but because there always seem to be so many other things interrupting their apprenticeship. Like a mission, most commonly, or like right now, stupid, bureaucratic rules.
"Have you seen her yet?" Kichiro asks at last, referencing the conversation they had just before Kakashi asked Sakura to become his apprentice.
And to that, at least, there's only one answer Kakashi can give.
"Yeah. I think so."
He's seen her, alright. All of that potential, and in particular that chakra-control of hers, partnered with a mind that's just begging to be challenged.
Kichiro smiles, almost proudly.
"Don't tell me she's driven you insane already and you're here to return her?"
Kakashi shakes his head and places the application forms on the desk before Kichiro. He picks them up, scanning them quickly before realising what they are.
"You haven't turned these in yet?" There's a distinct note of disapproval in the question.
"They need her signature."
He doesn't clarify who she is, but from the look Kichiro gives him it is clear that he understands anyway.
Kichiro sighs. "You'll be better off asking her yourself."
Kakashi swore a long time ago that he would never speak to that woman again.
"You do realise that if you don't ask her yourself she's going to refuse, and eventually you'll have to come ask her yourself anyway and she will make some sort of ridiculous demand just to penalise you?"
That would be exactly like her.
But Kakashi is just as stubborn as his aunt, and he won't budge on this.
Kichiro's shoulders slump.
"She worries about you, Kakashi. She'd appreciate the visit. And if you ask her yourself, there's no reason for her to refuse."
Part of Kakashi is almost tempted to believe Kichiro. If it really were just that - if all he had to do was go there and ask her to sign - then he'd do it in a heartbeat. For Sakura. But the thing is, doing so would mean letting go of grudges that Kakashi has held for the better part of two decades. And he's still one-hundred percent certain that she'd still refuse to sign, just to spite him.
So no, Kakashi won't ask.
And maybe - maybe - Kichiro will be able to convince her. He's probably the only one to see anything soft about that woman - possibly except Gina.
"You two are so much alike, sometimes." Kichiro shakes his head ruefully. "But I'll ask her for you."
"Thank you."
"I, Sakura, challenge you, Rock Lee, to a challenge of Hide and Seek!"
She's not sure who's the most surprised; Gai, Kakashi-sensei or Lee.
Sakura has done the maths, learned from her earlier mistake of giving Kakashi-sensei the chance of meddling with this ridiculous rivalry-thing and decided that it is better to set her own terms for a challenge.
Thus; Hide and Seek rather than running around the stupid village on her hands.
Lee recovers first, giving her a teary-eyed look of excitement. "I happily accept your challenge, Sakura-san! It will be an honour to face you in such a worthwhile challenge of shinobi skill!"
"Excellent challenge!" Gai-sensei agrees, giving her the thumbs up. "Kakashi and I will happily serve as judges in this exciting event!"
Kakashi-sensei doesn't look entirely happy to be volunteered for the task but doesn't object either.
"Who'll start counting?"
"Ladies first?"
"Agreed!"
And so it is that Sakura finds herself facing a nearby tree counting to fifty, while Lee hides and Kakashi-sensei and Gai-sensei make sure that she's not peeking.
Sakura smiles against the bark of the tree, feeling victorious already. Between having outsmarted Kakashi-sensei and tricked Lee to hide from her she has one peaceful afternoon to look forward to.
No one says that she has to actually search for him, after all, and she doesn't mind giving him another victory.
"Fifty!" she finishes counting. "Ready or not, here I come!"
Turning around she eyes the park they're in, clearly void of a hiding Lee. Slowly, frowning as if she's focusing intently, she starts to search for him in the bushes.
"Sakura-chan?"
Instinctively tensing at Kakashi's innocent tone, Sakura looks over at him.
"If I don't think you find him within an acceptable time frame, I will be pouring that cherry scented soap of yours down the drain."
"But that ..!" she objects, cutting herself off.
That soap is expensive! And it smells like her mother, and it's the only good thing she has to look forward to after a long day of training, save for being able to go to bed!
"Chop, chop," Kakashi-sensei says, clapping his hands.
New motivation burning underfoot, she hurries off, desperately searching for Lee.
"How did it go?" Kakashi asks that afternoon, climbing through the window of Kichiro's office after having left Gai in charge of Genin Hide and Seek.
"How do you think it went?"
Kichiro plops the contract on the desk, on the corner closest to Kakashi, without looking up from his paperwork.
"No signature then, I take it?"
"Like I told you."
"Any chance you can convince her?"
At last, Kichiro looks up. "She nearly bit my head off, just for asking."
Disappointed, Kakashi reaches for the papers.
Well, who needs official documents anyway?
They're more of a formality, really.
He can just keep training Sakura anyway, and if she doesn't know there's no official apprenticeship it won't hurt her.
Though she will have to start taking missions eventually. And the lack of missions will be a dead give-away to her that there's not actually a contract yet.
Which means that he's back to square one.
"And Kakashi?"
The serious tone in Kichiro's voice makes him look up again, suddenly worried.
"She said that you better approach her yourself to ask for that signature, or she will make damn sure that "that girl" is torn to shreds before the year is over."
Kakashi swallows, suddenly nervous.
It's already december. Less than four weeks left of the year.
"Does she mean socially, or ..?"
"Socially, professionally, figuratively and literally. You know her."
That's not good. That's … Fuck.
Sakura literally stumbles into Lee where he's hiding in an alley under a cloak of invisibility, using the shadows of the alley to hide the fact that his cloak does not quite match the pattern of the wall he's hiding against. As a result, they both fall to the ground, clumsily somehow managing to tangle their legs and arms with each other.
"Two hours and sixteen minutes!" Gai-sensei declares, producing a stopwatch. "Excellent time, Sakura-chan, I will be sure to report it to Kakashi."
"Yes, excellent time indeed, Sakura-san!" Lee agrees, helping her up again. "I will be honoured if I manage such a good time against you, for sure!"
Dusting herself off, Sakura tries not to blush, hoping that Kakashi-sensei will indeed find her time acceptable.
Personally, she's disappointed in herself. Somehow it seems wrong that it took her so much time to find Lee.
Then again, he is a much better shinobi than the body suit lets on, she thinks to herself.
"Alright, Sakura-san! If it is acceptable to you, I will stay here with Gai-sensei and count to fifty whilst you hide! Or, if it is not acceptable to you, we will find Kakashi-sensei and he too can stay and make sure that I don't-"
"I trust you not to peek, Lee."
When Lee turns around to count she sighs before heading off to find a hiding place of her own.
If she knows Kakashi-sensei right, he'll probably pour her soap anyway if he doesn't think that she manages to stay hidden for long enough.
Maybe there's somewhere for her to hide where there's food? She hasn't had lunch yet.
In the old days - when the Hatake Clan was still large and revered - the gates to the Hatake Compound would have been guarded by Hatake shinobi. Just like the Main Gate is always guarded by Konoha shinobi, and the Hyuuga compound is always guarded by Hyuga shinobi.
These days there aren't enough people with the Hatake-name around to staff a full time guard, and so the only thing keeping Kakashi out is old memories.
That, and the fact that he hasn't been through these gates in over two decades, which means that they are much more mentally imposing than their physically humble looks would suggest.
Kakashi has his reasons for having avoided this place for so long.
Good reasons.
His hands clench around the apprentice application.
He's doing this for Sakura.
To save her.
Because by making her his apprentice, he has also placed her in the line of fire of a conflict she has nothing to do with.
Which Kakashi should have realised from the very beginning, and taken appropriate steps to protect her.
Because that is exactly the kind of thing that she would do. Always meddling, always getting involved in things that don't concern her. Except for the one time when it really mattered.
As it is, it's his fault that Sakura's reputation and future career is in danger - and Kakashi isn't convinced that his aunt is above actually killing a Konoha Genin, so even that is probably a best-case scenario - and it is his job to fix it.
So Kakashi forcefully pushes the memories aside - his father's lifeless body, the blood, the faces, the scorn - and pushes the gate open to enter Hell.
It both has and hasn't changed since he was little.
The trees are bigger.
The long, winding road with shadows that seem to reach for him is the same.
The old-fashioned houses are the same, hidden away and barely visible between the trees.
The facades are a little more aged than he remembers.
He can feel the eyes of non-humans watching him. Following him. Stalking.
That, too, is the same.
The main house is old but neat, with familiar sliding paper walls that let the sunlight through. The engawa wraps around the whole house, separating the outdoors from the indoors.
Kakashi remembers spending long evenings there, enjoying the sun-warm wood and talking to his father about everything and nothing. Back before everything turned Bad.
Kakashi doesn't bother knocking, knowing that she has known about his presence since he stepped through the gates to the compound. Maybe since before then.
He should have been prepared for the attack.
As soon as he enters, a cold hand grabs him by the scruff and sends him flying back the way he came.
"Whelp! You dare step into this house after all this time hiding behind Kichiro's skirts?!"
Did Kakashi mention that he's a very well-renowned shinobi? Feared internationally and everything.
Yeah.
Because he is.
Feared, that is. Respectable. Or, well, respected at any rate.
He lands in a roll and is back on his knees and reaching for his weapons before he even has to think about it. Then he hesitates. Because he's not actually here to fight.
He just needs her to sign the contract.
That moment of hesitation is enough for her hand to close around his throat this time, and a moment later he's being pressed down against the ground like an errant pup.
Pebbles bite hard into his back and she's literally growling at him as his hands grasp at her arm, trying to pull her off. Trying to give himself a chance to breathe.
He's not here to fight her, he forcefully reminds himself. He's here for Sakura's sake.
Her canines are sharp, as clear a warning as the growling and just as dangerous as a blade.
His head is spinning, both from being thrown around and from lack of oxygen.
He needs to fight.
But he's here for Sakura. Not to fight.
As much as he'd like to tear her to shreds, he needs her to sign the contract.
Air.
He needs … needs to …
Kakashi turns his face to the side, exposing his throat.
Showing that he's not here to fight.
Showing … submission.
Even just the thought of it makes him feel dirty.
"Not even going to fight me, are you? You always were weak, just like your father!"
The edge of his vision is going dark, his body relaxing against his will.
He glares, as best as he can. She has no right to talk about his father!
"Look at you; you're pathetic. A dog! Not even man enough to defend yourself."
"I'm here," Kakashi croaks back. His voice seems to be coming from very far away. "That's what you wanted, right?"
Somehow he's still conscious. Still able to get just enough air to keep his lungs burning, straining for more.
The years certainly haven't made his aunt any kinder. If anything, it seems to have etched lines of anger even deeper into her already thin and sharp face. Her hair, kept shorter than even his own, has more white than grey in it, but that does not make her look any less dangerous at all.
Some shinobi are like that, simply growing more dangerous as they get older, whilst those around them grow weaker.
"Is that what you think?"
The hand around his throat tightens further, and for a moment the world does go black around him before her face comes swimming back into a fuzzy focus.
"You said you'd ruin her if I didn't come!" Kakashi's own canines are hidden by his mask, but he knows she can tell that they're there anyway. "So say whatever you have to say and sign the damn paperwork!"
There's a dark gleam in her eyes, and for a moment Kakashi truly fears for his own life.
Then she lets go and dismissively turns her back on him, stepping back up on the engawa.
Kakashi scrambles to his feet, stumbling dizzily for a moment before the ground stops spinning beneath him.
"You're a shame to the clan. Do you honestly think that I'll permit you of all people to take an apprentice?"
Kakashi does not really remember his grandfather, but for a moment he almost thinks he does, memories too vague to even be labelled as such flashing through his mind. She looks - and sounds - just like him.
"Sign it, and I'll be out of your way."
"No. Weakness like yours, and that of Sakumo, should be culled at birth."
How Kichiro can see anything soft or kind in this woman is far beyond Kakashi. But his father had seen it too.
Don't mind your aunt, he remembers his father telling him at some point. She just wants to make your grandfather proud of her.
Sakumo had been different from the rest of the clan. Not so obsessed with being strong and ruthless, and more concerned with protecting his comrades and fostering good relationships with people. How he'd done it, Kakashi will never know. He's just happy that Sakumo had protected him enough for him to be able to get out, after his father committed suicide.
"From what I hear, that girl of yours is even worse."
Kakashi's hands fists angrily at his side.
She smirks down at him.
"Go on, boy. Try to bite me if you can. Prove me wrong. I dare you."
Oh, he wants to. He'd love to throw her around like she's thrown him. To kick and bite and scratch and tear at her until nothing but slices remains of her.
And then he'd scatter those slices in the most dishonourable places he could imagine.
But he needs her to sign the contract.
For which she needs to be alive.
Furthermore, he needs to be alive - and also not in jail for parricide - in order to keep Sakura as his apprentice.
Konoha is ridiculously strict when it comes to killing your aunt.
So.
No killing.
No maiming.
Even if he really, really wants to.
"You're nothing but a whelp. Whelps can't keep apprentices." Disdainfully, she turns her back on him and heads back into the house. "Grow the fuck up before you ask me again."
With those last few words she roughly closes the door, leaving Kakashi standing outside.
He's trembling, adrenaline pumping through his body. Oxygen finally filling his lungs, strength returning to his limbs.
Slowly, he turns around, making his way back to the gates.
He has a choice. Kill his aunt and take over the clan - and most likely wind up in jail and still unable to train Sakura. Or, play along with his aunt's stupid, implied games.
Anything else and Sakura will be ruined. Kakashi does not doubt that his aunt is serious. She might not actually kill Sakura - if only because she's a Konoha shinobi - but she will drag Sakura's name through the mud until she'll have no choice but to resign and probably leave Konoha.
Sakumo would not approve of the more murderous choice.
But the second choice means giving his aunt exactly what she wants.
It's not really a choice.
Kakashi knows what he has to do.
Stupid, fucking Hatake Sarana.
"I don't recall summoning you, Kakashi," Lady Tsunade says when Kakashi climbs through the window of her office ten minutes later.
Her scowl should probably be intimidating, but Kakashi's intimidation-parameters are off already, and so he just ignores it.
"You didn't. I'm here because I need to request time off."
"Well, that is easily solved then." She raises an unimpressed eyebrow. "Request denied. I've got a new mission for you starting the day after tomorrow."
Dismissively she returns her attention to her paperwork.
Kakashi is officially out of fucks to give when it comes to terrifying women.
"Alrighty then, see you in two days. Oh, and don't worry if I'm a little bit late. You know how I am."
He turns around to leave - through the door, just for the sake of change - and feels her eyes burning into his back.
"How late?"
Beneath the mask, Kakashi smiles. Victory.
"I don't know. Depends what obstacles I meet on the road of life." He gives her a look as if that ought to be obvious. "It might be a day or two though."
Has he lost his mind?
Probably.
Yeah.
Laughter rises in his throat and he has to force it down. At least he has enough self-preservation left not to laugh when Lady Tsunade is glaring daggers at him.
"How many days and where are you going?"
"Hm, probably about two weeks. At least. And I'm going to the Land of Iron. To begin with."
Further north, really, but the quickest and easiest road will be through the Land of Iron, at least from what Kakashi remembers from his father's tales.
"You need two weeks off to go to the Land of Iron?" Lady Tsunade clarifies, her tone chilly. "Why?"
Kakashi grimaces. "Clan politics."
"Mhm. And does this possibly have anything to do with your application for Sakura to become your apprentice?"
Seeing no obvious need to hide the truth, especially given that Lady Tsunade has already guessed at the connection, Kakashi nods. She gives him a long, considering look, and Kakashi bears it quietly, waiting as patiently as he can for her judgement.
"Fine."
Kakashi breathes a sigh of relief.
"On one condition."
He tenses again, giving her a weary look.
"What?"
"That you bring Sakura with you."
"No."
The look she gives him brooks no argument. Kakashi stands firm though.
"It's too dangerous," he explains. "Where I'm going is no place for a genin."
"Good thing she won't be alone then. She'll have you to look after her."
"She's not coming."
"She's going, or you're not going."
They stare off, until finally Kakashi has to look away.
"She's your apprentice, Kakashi," Lady Tsunade says, her voice unexpectedly soft. "The two of you are unlikely to get any other missions together, and considering you've only done a handful of D-ranks with her it is high time you take her outside the village walls."
Closing his eyes, Kakashi admits defeat.
"Fine. But we're leaving today."
With the Hokage's approval at last, Kakashi leaves her office, intent on tracking down Sakura.
Which proves surprisingly difficult given that she for some reason is using a fairly good transformation technique to disguise herself as a pigeon in the park. Kakashi is able to sense her chakra signature though, and makes a mental note to teach her how to hide it as he calls her down to inform her that they're going on a mission.
They're packed within the hour, Kakashi taking the time to survey her packing and stop by the stores to buy her some better winter clothing.
"I feel like we've forgotten something," she says as they leave the gates behind.
Kakashi just hums quietly, his thoughts already on the journey ahead of them.