In the morning, it's Tomomi who forces Sakura to return home. Something about having a home and a jounin sensei who looks after her already, and the importance of valuing that rather than throwing such an opportunity away or … Yeah, Sakura isn't really in the mood to listen, but she gets the general point.
The boys, who have overheard the conversation between Tomomi, Aimi and Sakura, are mostly just annoying. Hajime snorts violently when Aimi offers Sakura to come back to share a bed, and then hastily has to duck as Tomomi swings a violent blow to the back of his head, hissing something that Sakura cannot quite make out. Takeshi just blushes, apparently finding his shoes to be extremely interesting.
So Sakura returns home to the Hatake Compound in the morning, a part of her silently praying that she still has the right to call it her home. Gin greets her halfway to the house, yipping excitedly and jumping at her in joy.
She finds Kakashi-sensei in the kitchen, already cooking breakfast.
"Just in time," he just says, pouring her a bowl of miso soup.
He doesn't comment on the fact that she didn't return home last night or their argument yesterday. Sakura breathes a silent sigh of relief and gratefully accepts the bowl of soup for the peace offering it probably is.
He doesn't apologise.
Neither does she.
She's not sure if that's a good thing or not, but at least things between them aren't completely destroyed.
Yet.
Still, she cannot bring herself to be truly sorry about her outburst yesterday. If he cannot take her seriously as his student, then she does not owe him the respect of a teacher. She may not be Naruto or Sasuke, but no one forced him to take her on as his apprentice either.
And if he really is treating her differently because of her gender … if he sees her more as a girl than an apprentice or a fellow ninja, then … Well, then she cannot afford to let him dictate the conditions of her life anymore.
That's it, really.
She doesn't want to start another argument, and so she doesn't quite dare bring any of that up.
So, silence hangs heavily between them as they finish the meal, questions and worry, fear and determination unspoken between them.
She's relieved that he isn't pushing the issue, but the tension of it all is just building, threatening to explode any moment. Sakura finds it difficult to even sit still, fidgeting with her utensils until Gin decides that she's clearly done eating and in desperate need of cuddles from him.
"Have you done your morning training yet?" Kakashi-sensei's voice is quiet but relaxed, almost as if he's asking her about the weather.
"Not yet."
Sakura doesn't look up from Gin, a smile tugging at her lips despite the worry in her gut. He's moved on to chewing and tugging on her sleeve, and she gently tries to get it back before it's completely ruined.
"I'm afraid I have a couple of errands to run, so I can't join you today."
"That's ok."
Given their fight yesterday, she's not sure that she wants him there anyway.
"However, after lunch I want you to meet me at training ground 12, alright? Bring Gin too."
Finally, Gin lets go of her sleeve, and Sakura rubs his belly in return.
"Ok. What are we doing?"
"A test."
Sakura looks up from her playing with Gin. Kakashi-sensei is relaxed, leaned back and for all appearances thoroughly engrossed in one of his books.
"A test?" she repeats nervously.
"Just a small one. Nothing to worry about."
Coming from him, that definitely sounds like something she ought to worry about.
Unless he's, like, decided that she's enough of a baby that he needs to see if she knows how to brush her teeth properly, or something.
"Should I prepare for anything in particular?"
"Just standard, everyday gear is fine."
Sakura hums, momentarily distracted again by Gin, who apparently doesn't appreciate not being part of the conversation.
"If you pass, I'll let you take C-ranks again."
When she looks up again, he's already gone.
Leaving her to clear the table and do the dishes before she heads out for her training.
"At least in the Genin Corps, I wouldn't have been stuck with the dishes," she tells Gin.
He licks her chin and then tries to bite her nose off, and Sakura has to laughingly wrestle him off of her.
Later that day Sakura arrives, as instructed, at training ground 12 just after lunchtime. Much to her surprise, she's not alone.
"Hinata! Long time no see!" She exclaims, possibly a little bit too excitedly upon suddenly realising that she hasn't really seen the other girl since the invasion, which was months ago.
To her surprise, Hinata flinches at the words, seeming to shrink in on herself as she turns to Sakura, mumbling something that is probably intended to be a greeting.
Kiba and Shino are standing next to Hinata, apparently engrossed in a conversation between the two of them.
"How are you?" Sakura makes a point out of making her voice softer, so as to not startle Hinata so again.
"I-I-I'm f-f-fi-ine, t-th-ank y-you. Y-y-ou?"
Unable to fully hide her worried frown, Sakura nonetheless tries for a friendly smile. Hinata's stuttering seems worse than ever, her demeanour even more self-effacing than usual. And at some point since the last time they saw each other she has taken to wearing her headband around her forehead rather than her neck, like she used to. It leaves her hair flattened against her forehead in an unflattering manner, and she wonders what has happened to make the already mousy little Hinata want to stand out even less.
"I'm good. Just a bit nervous. Are you here for the test too?"
Team Gai are already doing push ups a little bit to the left of where team 8 is standing, so Sakura surmises that whatever test she's supposed to take isn't just a Kakashi-thing.
"Yes, Kurenai-sensei said to meet here," Hinata stutters, drawing each syllable out painfully, making the words almost unrecognisable.
Sakura opens her mouth to say something, though she isn't exactly sure what, when another familiar voice suddenly calls her name.
"Sakura!"
Spinning around, she spots Ino and Choji approaching, Ino already waving at her.
"Didn't expect to see you here." Ino gives her a quick hug, which Sakura reciprocates. "Is Kakashi-sensei testing you too?"
"I think so."
Just like that, she's easily pulled back into the familiarity of team 10, reminding her of the month she spent with them just after her graduation, after she'd finally been able to leave the Haruno Clan. Ino tells her about how many missions they have been running lately, most of them C-ranked and without Asuma or even Shikamaru to lead them.
"And Shikamaru is even getting B-ranked missions!" Ino exclaims, jealousy clear in her voice.
"He's in Suna right now. Been going there a lot lately," Choji says thoughtfully.
"It's so unfair!
"The same is true for team 8," Shino comments, team 8 almost seamlessly joining the little group. "About the mission load, that is. Not about getting B-ranked missions."
"Though that last escort mission could've been," Kiba adds. "Akamaru an' I almost got our heads chopped off!"
"That is not an accurate measurement of the mission difficulty. Why? Because you …"
"Hey!"
Kiba goes off on an angry tirade, trying to shut down Shino's monotone explanation of Kiba's idiocy. Ino rolls her eyes and wordlessly pulls both Sakura and Choji aside to continue her complaining about the mission load and the unfairness of Shikamaru getting B-ranked missions.
A glance over her shoulder tells Sakura that Hinata, meanwhile, is just standing next to her teammates, gaze steadily lowered as if her feet are the most fascinating sight in the world, occasionally twitching or flinching as her teammates get especially loud in their antics.
Something has definitely happened, Sakura deduces worriedly.
"- and don't even get me started on those Sand-shinobi," Ino continues to ramble, sounding very much like one might when talking about something particularly revolting.
Predictably, Kurenai-sensei and Asuma-sensei arrive together, shortly after Ino and Choji.
"They think they're being discreet but they're totally dating!" Ino whispers to Sakura, temporarily pausing in her tirade about all of the negative attributes of Sand shinobi.
Sakura is inclined to agree - about Kurenai and Asuma, that is - just from how comfortable the two of them look standing so close to one another.
Gai-sensei, who's been doing push ups along with his students, saunters over to the other teachers. "Do you think Kakashi will be here soon?"
"Knowing him he'll probably be late," Kurenai replies.
"He's the one that suggested we meet here and when," Asuma says. "Maybe he'll be on time after all."
Gai sensei shakes his head.
"Do you guys know what we're going to be tested on?" Sakura asks quietly.
Ino shakes her head. "Asuma just said it was a good time to test how much we'd grown since graduation, seeing as how it's been almost a year now."
It's insane, thinking about how much time has passed. Almost a year. She'd been so proud about having graduated and earned her headband. And then, of course, came the whole incident with the Haruno Clan and a whole bunch of other things Sakura would rather just not think about.
She shakes her head, trying not to think about the bad memories.
Only a couple of minutes late, Kakashi-sensei finally arrives. Gin, until then mostly happy to stay cuddled up in Sakura's arms, yips and immediately demands to be let down as he runs to greet Kakashi, wagging his tail as if it's been days or weeks since they last saw each other, and not just a couple of hours.
"Hello there," Kakashi greets his fellow sensei. "Have you gotten started explaining things yet?"
"No, we were waiting for you," says Asuma. "Now that you're here, let's get started."
Sakura, along with the other genin, straightens as the sensei turn their attention towards them.
"Alright, listen up!" Kurenai-sensei's voice carries surprisingly well given her otherwise soft demeanour. "Asuma, Kakashi, Gai and I have decided to coordinate a test for all of you. You have all been genin for almost a year now, or two years for Team Gai, which makes it a good opportunity to measure how far you've come in that time, as well as how well your skills measure up to that of other genin of similar experience."
"The test is the same for all of you," Asuma-sensei picks up. "Your mission is to get to the top of the Hokage Mountain, where we've set up a finish line for you, as fast as possible."
Mentally, Sakura makes a map in her mind. Training ground 12 is pretty much as far away from the Hokage Mountain as you can get without going outside the village walls or into one of the more extreme training grounds. There's a lot of forest to get through before they'll even be back in the village proper. Which isn't really that far, but probably a good ten minute rush at least for Sakura and the other genin.
"And you had best hurry," Gai-sensei continues, "because you'll only be given a five minute head start before we come after you. If we catch you, you fail the test."
"And if you haven't made it there by sunset, you fail," Asuma says.
"Regardless of whether you've been caught or not." Kurenai smiles, suddenly looking quite dangerous.
"In other words, this is not so much a test of your fighting skills as it is of your ability to make it from point A to point B without getting noticed or caught," Kakashi-sensei continues. "The only rules are the time limitations. Any questions on that?"
Ino raises her hand, and when Asuma nods in her direction she takes it down and asks her question:
"Are we supposed to work as teams or individually? Because I notice that not all teams here are fully present." She gestures meaningfully to herself and Choji, and then to Sakura.
Sakura glances at Kakashi-sensei. Team Gai and team 8 are both fully present, but like Ino had pointed out team 10 are one man short, namely Shikamaru. And Sakura is all alone. Is she supposed to work with team 10 then?
"Good question," Asuma says. "There is no rule against you working together, but you'll be judged individually."
The genin exchange glances then, Ino giving Sakura an inquisitive look.
Sakura hesitates. Kakashi-sensei is big on teamwork, and working with others might help give her an edge. However, teamwork also means that they risk getting caught together.
Subtly, Sakura shakes her head at Ino. Team 10 have been doing a lot of C-ranked missions, and have been training regularly with Asuma-sensei besides. Sakura will likely just hold them both back.
Besides, she has a feeling Kakashi-sensei wants to see how she'll do on her own, considering the fact that he knows her teamwork with Hajime and the others is fine.
"Like I said before, if you pass I'll let you take C-ranks," Kakashi tells her quietly. "I'll even step up your training, like you requested. However, if you fail, you'll keep doing D-ranks and not doing any excessive training, without complaint, until I deem you ready for more. Deal?"
"Deal." Her voice comes out breathless, but mentally she's all but quivering in anticipation. Finally he'll stop treating her like she's made out of glass!
Sakura will not fail this test.
She can't afford to.
"Get ready!" Asuma starts.
"Set!" Kurenai continues.
"Go!" Gai finishes, making a wild gesture with his hands.
Nine genin shoot away from the clearing, at first in a collected cluster heading for the closest path across the village but quickly spreading out more. With her heart pounding harshly, Sakura pushes chakra into her feet and takes to the trees. The more distance she can put between herself and Kakashi before he starts chasing her down, the bigger her chances will be.
Distance won't be enough though.
Not if he's going to take her seriously. Which, given the parameters of this test, he probably will.
Stupid Kakashi, taking her seriously for once just to justify not taking her seriously later!
Grumbling angrily to herself about the unfairness, but determined not to fail, Sakura quickly pulls up one of the many mental checklists she'd memorised back in the Academy. In this case, what to do when pursued by an enemy.
She's creating distance as best as she can, so there's that.
Then there's the issue of her leaving tracks. Kakashi-sensei has taught her how to leave next to no traces behind even when walking on snow, but he's a decent tracker and she has no doubt that "next to no traces" won't be good enough. Besides, he has Gin and could easily summon the dogs, meaning that even if she doesn't leave any physical traces there's still going to be her scent for them to follow.
Tracks and scent.
Evasion manoeuvre it is, Sakura decides and leaps to the side. She allows herself to fall from the trees, landing on the ground again a good fifteen metres to the left of where she was just a moment ago. She takes off running, only to stop a minute later and carefully backtrack, making sure to put her feet down exactly in her old footprints. Once she has backtracked a couple of metres she leaps to the side again, taking care not to leave any deeper tracks behind.
Mid-jump, she forms the hand seals for the transformation jutsu, and when she hits the ground again she does so in the shape of a squirrel. Unused to being on all fours, she stumbles for another moment before regaining her balance and keeps running.
The nearest path to the Hokage Mountain is straight ahead, but that's also the most obvious way. So, rather than doing what he'll probably be expecting her to do, Sakura keeps the village on her right side and aims to run a circle around it.
That should at least give Kakashi-sensei some trouble tracking her, she thinks with satisfaction.
There's still the scent though. Regardless of her transformations, she still smells like herself.
And even if he'll hopefully have some difficulty finding her tracks, and thereby her scent, she needs to figure out a way to hide it.
Her ears twitch as they pick up the sound of running water nearby, which makes her smile grimly to herself. Perfect.
As soon as she reaches the riverside she leaps again, letting go of the transformation and instead running her hands through the hand signs Kakashi-sensei taught her back at Okami Island. The water envelopes her, cool but not freezing, the stream nothing but a gentle tickle against her skin.
It's the first time she uses the jutsu in anything but snow, and it's entirely different, Sakura realises. Where the snow was static and immovable around her the water is flowing, the stream trying to carry her away even as the jutsu counteracts its effects. She takes a moment to get used to it before coming up for air again, looking around to navigate herself.
Following the river will lead her back into Konoha, where the Hokage Mountain looms on the opposite side. She'll need to swim against the stream to get there, but with the jutsu that's certainly easy enough. Sakura starts to swim, but then she hesitates.
She'd been meaning to take another route; one he wouldn't be expecting her to take. This is the exact opposite of that.
Despite her countermeasures it's unlikely that he won't be able to track her to the river. As long as she stays in the river, there will be no scent to tell him where she's going, but as soon as she gets out she'll be back to having the same problem again.
And he'll expect her to head for the village and the mountain.
Downstream it is, Sakura thinks and takes a deep breath.
She dives again, letting the stream carry her along with it this time.
She tries to recall the maps of Konoha and the training grounds, but cannot quite remember where this particular river goes. Hopefully it won't bring her straight back to where she started. Kakashi or one of the other jounin will certainly be able to sense her chakra then, and then all of her efforts will have been for nothing.
How long has it been since the start anyway? Surely more than five minutes. So most likely there won't be anyone there to sense her, but it's a bad risk to take to begin with.
Reluctantly Sakura lets go of her jutsu. Immediately, the icy-cold water knocks the breath out of her and she has to resurface, gasping for air.
Once she's managed to convince herself that she's not, in fact, drowning in an icy ocean or fleeing from a monster bear, she makes sure to suppress her chakra before diving in again.
Hopefully, Kakashi-sensei is still following the tracks she left behind and not focused on trying to sense her chakra.
If he's randomly standing around and looking down into the water, he'll spot her immediately, but there's nothing she can do to prevent that.
Satisfied with her reasoning, if not the terrible cold, Sakura allows herself to be carried downstream as she tries to formulate a decent plan. She has to stay hidden and get to the Hokage mountain. The fastest route would be to just head straight there and climb the staircases in the front. However, as she's already decided, the straightest road is also the most expected and therefore the most dangerous path. Besides, climbing the stairs will leave her rather exposed for anyone to spot her.
Better then to take the path around the mountain and climb the forested backside, she decides. That will give her far more opportunity to hide.
If there's time, that is.
First she'll figure out how to cross the village without being noticed. Considering that she is now further away from the mountain than when she started that seems like an important part of her plan. Otherwise, Kakashi-sensei will probably give her negative points on the test. Is that even possible? The part of her that has always done well on test quivers at the thought, but that is also what ought to make this misdirection of hers more effective.
She surfaces to breathe again, trying to navigate herself. There is a new taste to the air. More industrial. And there's a distant roaring quickly getting closer. Or rather, she is getting closer to it.
As the river rounds a bend, a building comes into her view and she almost shivers with disgust. Konoha's sewage disposal plant. Logically the water coming out ought to be clean but it still feels disgusting, thinking of all of that sewage water. Sure, it'll be dirty going in, but going out …
She freezes, mentally backtracking.
The sewers.
NO! A part of her absolutely refuses to even consider the idea, but the calculating part of her mind is already at work.
She hides near a large rock, debating herself.
Kakashi will be expecting her to go upstream, and to cross through the village. Even if she gets out of the stream right here he'll be scouring the streets for her, and if he summons the dogs it'll be a matter of minutes before they find her.
If he's taking her seriously, that is.
He won't be expecting her to go underneath the village.
For good reasons, granted. Those sewers are disgusting.
Her skin crawls at the thought but it's also strangely appealing. A way to surprise her sensei. To prove to him that he needs to take her seriously.
But the sewers.
And the sewage.
Ew.
… But C-ranked missions.
Kakashi-sensei taking her seriously again.
It's not an easy or obvious choice.
But the water is really, really cold and she really needs to make a decision before she freezes to her death. THat would most certainly be a failure.
She could just … check the place out a bit? See if there's maybe a tunnel or something. An opening that might let her into the sewers without forcing her to actually be in the sewage water. Just walk on top of it.
That is at least marginally less unappealing.
In fact, weighing it against the prospect of many more months of continued D-ranks and halfhearted training it's positively an enticing thought.
Pleasepleaseplease, she thinks as she dives again.
Finding the effluent of water from the sewage plant is surprisingly easy. There's a strong stream wanting to pull her away, which forces her to let go of the chakra suppression and again use the jutsu to allow her to move through the water.
The outlet is just one pipe, submerged beneath the water. Not a large pipe, mind. An adult could never get through. A soon-to-be-thirteen-year-old though? That might work.
Might.
Sakura hesitates, but since she's come this far she might as well check it out.
She dives again, swimming against the stream until she reaches the pipe. Then, because the pipe seems just about big enough, she continues ahead.
Pleasepleaseplease, she thinks desperately.
Then, it's clean, it's clean!
It's only the jutsu that allows her to move through the pipe, and even then she has to keep her hands close to her body. Her elbows scratch against the rough material of the pipe, and her feet repeatedly hit the walls.
This was a bad idea, she decides, just as the pipe finally opens up into a larger chamber of some sort. Sakura experimentally swims forwards, and upwards, hoping to find the surface. However, the surface level must be much higher here in this chamber than outside.
She swims and she swims, and realises that the whole chamber might just be filled with water.
Desperation starts to set in, because she really, really needs to breathe and at this point she's not sure that she can find her way back to the pipe that led her here, when she finally breaks the surface.
Gasping for air, she takes a couple of minutes to calm down, allowing the terror to settle.
She made it.
She made it through the pipe and into this chamber.
Now what?
Orienting herself is difficult, because the chamber is completely dark. Hands outstretched, she eventually manages to find a wall to cling to. The ceiling seems to be high though, because even as she reaches as far as she can Sakura cannot touch it.
Apart from the beating of her own heart, she can hear the noise of water falling from a tall height. There must be another pipe, maybe even multiple pipes, somewhere above her, letting water into the chamber. Those pipes must lead into the sewage plant proper, and then the sewage pipes of Konoha.
Of course it's not as easy as just following one pipe straight into Konoha, she thinks, cursing her own stupidity. But now she's here, so she might as well continue.
Letting go of the water jutsu, she uses both her hands and feet to pull herself out of the cold water. She shivers, but circulates her chakra to keep herself warm. The cold water of Konoha has nothing on that icy ocean, she tells herself.
Shifting from swimming in the water to climbing on the wall is strange and it takes her a few moments to get used to the new sensations before she starts climbing, using both her hands and feet to stick to the wall. Like a monkey, she thinks to herself with a wry smile. A very wet and cold monkey, but still.
Although she still cannot see well enough to make out any shapes in the darkness she still senses that she's approaching the ceiling of the chamber. And the pipes. Water splashes against her face as she gets nearer but this close she's not about to give up. It's probably clean anyway. It has to be.
Once she is near enough she reaches up for the pipes, ready to pull herself up on it. Instead a hand appears out of nowhere, grasping onto her wrist and forcefully pulling her up with enough force that she loses her grip on the wall.
"Hello there little monkey," a cheery, sharp voice says, a face that must belong to the hand appearing out of the wall as well.
Genjutsu, she thinks as she's pulled into the harsh grip of the woman, a gasp of surprise escaping her.
"Who are you, trying to invade our water plant? Sand-scum that has somehow managed to get past the wall? Or is it Sound?"
Then everything goes dark.
"Who do you think will make it the furthest?"
"My team are tracking specialists, and do have the advantage of being a full team."
"True. I think Ino's a natural at intelligence gathering though."
Kakashi listens with half an ear to the chit chat of Asuma and Kurenai, turning a side in his book. Three more minutes.
Ahead of them, the immediate rush of genin has quieted down to a more respectable silence of shinobi trying to stay hidden.
"Don't forget that Lee, Neji and Tenten have the advantage of experience above the others," Gai says.
"Kakashi? What do you think of Sakura's chances?"
He doesn't look up, pointedly turning another page. "We'll see, we'll see."
It doesn't really seem to be in Sakura's nature not to stand out somehow. If nothing else, her hair colour certainly works against her in that regard. And with the metaphorical carrot he's given her she's sure to try her hardest, thereby likely making hasty decisions.
Then again, Kakashi isn't really interested in seeing what she'll do when she's at her best. No, right now he's more interested in what she'll do when faced with impossible odds.
Survival rather than the success of the mission, because if he's going to be sending her out of Konoha on C-ranked missions then he's going to have to make sure that she'll be able to get back alive as well.
Two minutes.
"Meet at Yakiniku when we've rounded up our students?"
Asuma aims the question at the whole group but it does not escape Kakashi that he looks at Kurenai when he speaks.
When are they going to get engaged already?
One minute.
They agree to meet for dinner.
"Whoever's students does the best foots the bill," Asuma says.
Kakashi pockets his book.
That's five minutes.
"See you in a little bit then."
He stretches. They nod in agreement, and then they set off to find their respective students.
Gin follows closely at Kakashi's heel, already sniffing the ground, searching for Sakura.
"Good boy," Kakashi says, petting the puppy on the head briefly.
They find the place where she diverged from the rest of the group, taking to the trees instead. Kakashi grabs Gin, putting him under his arm, and they follow.
She barely leaves any tracks for him to follow, he notes with approval. Good girl.
There is a very light imprint of her foot, slightly slanted, where she left the treetops. Already having a hunch of where he'll find the continuation of her tracks, Kakashi nonetheless drops to the ground and puts Gin down.
"Find her!" he orders. "Track!"
They haven't practised tracking - haven't practised much at all actually, save for Down from the table or Don't eat that! - so Kakashi doesn't have high expectations. Gin is already circling around, nose lowered to the ground as he sniffs around.
It takes him a couple of minutes, but eventually he does find the spot where Sakura landed. Even if Kakashi hadn't been able to follow her track himself, it still would've been obvious that Gin had picked something up as he suddenly starts following an eerily straight line
The track proves easy enough to follow, for a couple of minutes at least. Then Gin stops, before circling the area again, looking for the scent. The pup looks up at Kakashi, clearly confused, but quickly continues his search. Kakashi has a suspicion but decides to allow the wolf to continue his search, curious to see how he'll do. This is a teaching opportunity for both Sakura and Gin, after all.
Seeming to work on instinct, the pup continues to circle the area in ever larger circles.
Kakashi remains standing in one spot, so as to not distract the cub, and after a couple of minutes the pup finally barks from behind a couple of bushes. Kakashi follows, allowing Gin to lead the way with an eagerly wagging tail.
With amusement he notes that they're no longer following the trail of human-sized feet, but rather that of a squirrel.
Smart girl, he thinks. A double distraction, both stepping back in her own tracks and then to transform into a whole different animal. For anyone not tracking by scent it would be thoroughly confusing.
Too bad Kakashi has never been one to depend solely on visual cues when tracking.
Another few minutes later they reach the river and Gin sits down on the riverside, giving Kakashi a look that clearly says that he can't track through water.
"Good boy," he says, petting the pup's head.
He knows roughly where he is, and looking around he can see the village in the distance, further up the stream
"We'll just have to see where she gets up," he tells the pup, pointing further up the stream. "Search!"
With a bark the wolf sets off to try to find the scent, and Kakashi follows at a leisurely pace.
So they walk. And look, and smell the air - or in Gin's case the ground - for any signs of her scent.
Despite the cold day it seems Sakura has opted to stay in the water for quite some time. Probably utilising the jutsu he taught her at that place. There is a small ball of mixed emotions in his chest that he tries not to acknowledge.
On one hand he's a little bit proud. He taught her that jutsu, and now she's utilising it.
On the other hand, they haven't actually practised the jutsu in water. Just snow. And she's still having nightmares about the ocean.
He's still having nightmares.
So he focuses intently on the task of finding her scent. Her sweet, industrially strawberry, alive scent.
Except, as they leave the forest behind and follow the river into the village proper, there still is no traces of either her scent nor her tracks. Has she decided to swim to the Hokage mountain?
The river takes a turn, turning east, away from the mountain. Gin whines worriedly.
"We'll find her," he says, patting the pup on the head.
Finding a lone genin shouldn't be difficult.
"Wake up, monkey! No time to sleep now, you've got questions to answer!"
A hard slap to her cheek and shouted words startle her awake, eyes flying open and her heart already in her throat. A woman stands before her - somewhere around Kakashi-sensei's age, unnerving, pupil-less brown eyes and spiky, violet hair. She's also uncomfortably close, forcing Sakura to look up to meet her eyes and making her uncomfortably aware of the fitted mesh body suit that the woman is wearing and which really doesn't leave anything to the imagination.
"Thought you were smart, did you, trying to infiltrate Konoha infrastructure using some measly D-rank technique? Thought we wouldn't be on the lookout, wouldn't notice you sneaking in?"
The woman's voice is loud and harsh, making Sakura's head pound as she tries to figure out what is going on. She's tied up, thick ropes encircling her body firmly, and seated on the floor, leaning against the wall. The room she's in is made out of stone, with no windows and light coming from one bare lightbulb above them. A steady looking door occupies the wall opposite of the one she's leaned against.
"Don't look away from me, monkey!"
Another slap stings at her cheek and she quickly returns her attention to the woman before her. She remembers the woman appearing out of nowhere. Back in the sewage plant.
Shit, she thinks.
No pun intended.
"You might think you're smart, monkey, but we're going to figure out who you are and what you were doing! My colleague is getting his tools right now you see, and when he gets back we'll start cracking for real. Bones, that is. Yours. So if you want to avoid some pain you'd better start singing now, before he gets back!"
Abruptly she realises what's going on, what her little scheme to trick Kakashi-sensei must look like. Terror wells up within her, forcing tears to her eyes, and something akin to a throb escapes through her throat, which suddenly feels altogether too tight.
"Please! I'm not an intruder! I-I'm a Konoha shinobi!"
"You think I'll fall for your lies?" the woman screeches, slapping Sakura across the face again.
Her ears are ringing with the force of the blow and her nose and throat are clogged with a mixture of terror and snot. Desperately she tries to tug herself free but the ropes hold strong.
"Ninja registration 012601, my name is Sakura and I'm the apprentice of Hatake Kakashi! Please, we were just doing a training exercise and I wasn't thinking!"
The woman scoffs at her then, folding her arms across her ample bosom.
"You expect me to believe a Konoha genin is stupid enough to try to infiltrate our sewage plant? Try again, monkey! Who are you?"
"I'm telling the truth, please!"
The woman leans over, grabbing onto the ropes holding her and pulling her upright against the wall, pressing her harshly into the cold stone as she presses even closer.
"Keep telling your little lies. My colleague Morino Ibiki is getting his toys as we speak and trust me, he loves it when people try to lie to him. Let's him be more creative, you see."
Her breath catches in her throat, because she remembers Morino Ibiki. It's been months since she saw him during the chunin exams but even then she'd gotten the impression that he was not someone she wanted to get on the wrong side of.
And now she'll be subject to his torture.
"Oh, heard of him, have you?" the woman says, voice almost purring. Like a cat playing with a mouse. "He'll be happy to know he has a reputation in Suna or Sound or wherever you're from."
"I'm from Konoha, please! I swear!"
The woman steps back, letting go of Sakura. Tied up as she is she cannot stand and winds up tumbling to the floor again, wincing as she's unable to catch herself.
"You'll need to provide some serious proof if you want me to believe that, little monkey."
"Ask Kakashi! Ask Commander Hatake, please ask anyone of them! They'll know who I am!"
"And give you time to escape while we go and investigate your ridiculous claims? I don't think so, monkey."
The woman pauses, raising her head a little before a wide grin spreads over her face.
"Here he's coming. Last chance, monkey. Spill the beans, or it'll be Ibiki and his toys for you."
And she doesn't have any proof; she's told the woman her ninja registration number, has told her of the people who'll recognise her and she knows how bad this looks. What kind of stupid idea was it anyway, to go through the sewage systems? For the sake of impressing Kakashi-sensei and getting to take C-ranked missions?
"Please, please, please," she begs as the handle lowers and the door starts to swing open. "You've got to believe me! I'm Sakura, ninja registration 012601 and I'm an apprentice of Hatake Kakashi! Please believe me!"
Tears escape her and she bows her head in desperation, forehead touching the cold stone floors as she fervently wishes that she could wind back time. She sobs, understanding their suspicions but absolutely horrified by her own mistakes and the thought of torture.
"What are you up to now Anko? Cancel this genjutsu immediately!"
The familiar voice startles her and she quickly raises her head, eyes falling not upon Morino Ibiki but none other than Yamanaka Inoichi.
Ino's dad.
"Inoichi-san!" she breathes. "Please …"
Her voice doesn't carry but she begs with her eyes. He doesn't look at her though. Instead he's having a stare down with the woman, frowning at her in displeasure.
"You're no fun, Inoichi," she whines. But she does bring her hands up into the hand sign to break genjutsu, muttering "Kai."
The room floods with sunshine then, the dark stone walls and floor morphing into wood and a large window appearing on the wall next to the door. The cold, terror filled atmosphere dissipates, and suddenly she finds herself able to breathe more easily.
"And the ropes," Inoichi continues sternly, almost as if he's talking to a misbehaving child.
With a heaved-upon sigh, the woman brings her hands together again in another hand sign, and a moment later the ropes fall off of Sakura. She scrambles to a sitting position, pushing her back against the wall as she stares at the two adults.
"What," she stammers, gaping, "what's happening?"
And the purple haired woman turns back towards her then, flashing a smile that is not nearly as dangerous as the one she offered a minute earlier but yet somehow at least twice as insane.
"Just a lesson, monkey. So you'll remember to be more careful next time."
"I think that's quite enough, Anko," Inoichi says, finally turning away from the woman and stepping towards Sakura. He offers her his hand and when she takes it he pulls her upright, offering her to instead sit on one of the chairs by the table, both of which definitely weren't there before.
Genjutsu, she thinks with a shudder.
"I apologise for leaving you with Anko, Sakura-chan. I just had to report to the Hokage about the high alert in the sewage plant being a false alarm."
Cheeks burning, she lowers her gaze, fiddling with her hands. There are marks on her arms from the ropes.
"I'm sorry. I wasn't thinking."
"You were clearly thinking something, Sakura-chan," Inoichi answers, sitting down on a chair kitty corner to hers. "I have known you since you were little, and you've never done something as foolish as this. So tell me what made you do this."
His tone is gentle and there is no accusation in his voice, but she still feels her shoulders hunching. Yeah, this was a pretty foolish idea of hers, wasn't it? Of course she wouldn't just be able to walk - or rather swim - straight into such an important part of Konoha's infrastructure.
Of course there'd be alarms if that happens.
And of course it'd be Ino-pig's dad scolding her about it.
"I'm sorry. I just … It's a training exercise, sort of. And I just really wanted to impress Kakashi-sensei."
She tells them about the exercise, about her little quest and her reasoning behind her actions. Inoichi nods, and though she can't bring herself to look up to meet his eyes he doesn't seem angry.
"I see," he says when she is finished. "I believe I understand your reasoning, but I would like you to think things over once more the next time. As it is you set off some high alert alarms, and you were lucky there weren't any traps or you might have wound up seriously injured. Do you understand that, Sakura?"
"I understand."
"Look at me."
Very reluctantly she raises her head, still unable to quite meet his eyes. Instead her gaze settles somewhere around his chin.
"I understand," she repeats. "I won't do it again. I'll think before I go somewhere in the future, even if it is for a training exercise."
"Good," he says, giving her a small, reassuring smile. "Then you're in no more trouble than the need for an incident report, which I understand that Kakashi will be responsible for writing."
She meets his gaze then, astonished at the prospect that she's not in any worse trouble.
"Really?"
"Really. I believe you've learned your lesson. However, before we let you go there is one more thing we need to do."
Anko grins again, stepping over to the large window and pulling it open.
"There's a long standing tradition in Konoha not to aid genin during an exercise with their sensei," Inoichi explains.
Before she can fully register the meaning of his words Anko is shouting out he window, her voice loud enough that it has to be chakra enhanced somehow;
"Kakashi? Have you lost something?"
Her stomach pummels for an entirely different reason then and she looks from Anko to Inoichi, gaping in surprise. He meets her gaze for a moment, then subtly tilts his head backwards. The door, she realises.
"Congratulations on the apprenticeship," Inoichi says, grinning.
Before Sakura can even make a conscious decision of what her plan will be from here she's scrambling for the door, running down a long corridor and then jumping out a window on the other side of the building.
Behind her she can hear the woman - Anko - cackling like crazy.