Chapter I: The Lady in the Cave
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The forest behind Tazuna's house in the Land of Waves was for once filled with the noise of shinobi. The lone girl, Sakura, looked down at the two boys who had yet to come close to her level. Despite the praise her sensei had given her, the young ninja could sense he had done so to rile up her teammates. Pouting slightly, she stared down and panted. She'd run up the trees several times and now her chakra felt depleted, unlike Sasuke and Naruto who made no progress but were still going.
Sakura wasn't stupid; she knew one of the reasons she had good chakra control was because her lacking chakra reserves. Her tou-san had said himself when he attempted to drill the Academy basics into her. It wasn't like Haruno Kizashi had been mean about it, just lightly honest. Honesty was something the pink-haired man respected, Sakura had come to learn from being raised by her parents. Both were shinobi, but her mother had practically retired to raise Sakura and Kizashi, as a low-ranked chuunin. And the truth was that Sakura was steadily slipping behind. Perhaps the boys hadn't noticed the gap these past few months (they were always busy squabbling) but Sakura had since the first day. Naruto had at least attempted to fight; Sakura was out from one genjutsu.
And on the road she could do little. Her first instinct was to protect Tazuna, of course, but there had been a very distinct awareness in the back of her mind that Zabuza could slice through her as if she was nothing. All she could do was watch the backs of Sasuke and Naruto as they pulled off teamwork and freed Kakakshi. The gap was wide and Sakura already wondered how she would breach it. Every time she asked her mother to help her train, the woman shrugged and changed the subject. It really left a girl to her own devices.
That's why when Naruto came up to her asking for help, Sakura smiled on the inside. At least in this she was ahead and on top. And if she could get them to keep coming back to her, her comrades, maybe the gap would close.
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Sakura had never seen poverty before. The sight of it swelled uncomfortably in her stomach as she met the gazes of hungry faces. Dirty children played in ruined in streets that looked ruined. It wasn't that Konohagakure was free of the poor, Konoha had slums of course. She had ended up lost a couple of times in the Red Light district, a couple of connected alleys, during her life. But it never really hit you in the face, like here. She'd already given a couple of sweets to some rugrat who'd begged her for some.
"And that brat better be thankful, we don't have much left!" chimed her inner voice in her head.
Sakura couldn't have said no to him. The uncomfortable feeling of guilt rose up into her throat and made it harder to swallow. The old man had said that the bridge was to rekindle courage in the people, but what good was courage when there were empty stomachs?
She kept that question to herself as they went along the famous Wave mangroves to Tazuna's house. Along the way something caught her eye. In the distance, on the shore, she could see something glinting in a cave partially hidden by beach rocks. Curiosity piqued, she stared until she could make out something, no, someone. A figure of silver?
"Tazuna-san?"
"Yes, Haruno-chan?" the old man asked. He was kindly to her, despite the attitude he gave Naruto. Sakura thought it probably was because she was girl and thus more approachable.
"We're almost to your house now. Do you mind if I drop you off and go, umm, scouting?"
Tazuna shrugged.
"Makes no difference to me, as long as I get home in one piece. Don't stay out too long though, girl, my daughter's making dinner." Said the old man gruffly.
Sakura nodded and quickened the pace. Within two minutes they were at the house and Sakura set her bags down and burst off back to the shore.
"Where's she going?" asked Kakashi nonchalantly.
"Said something about scouting."
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Sakura crept towards the cave silently, in case enemy ninjas were hiding there and she had to run to Kakashi. For all she knew this could be where Zabuza and that masked kid (Kakashi's theory was plausible) were hiding, though it seemed slightly too open a hiding spot for that.
"I can tell you're there. Come in."
The voice of an old woman floated out from inside the cave and Sakura swung to get a look at the speaker. A woman with very long light hair and a formal looking kimono stared back. She didn't look that old to be honest, just the hair and the voice, but she had a refined air to her anyway. There was a small fire in the cave beside the woman, who was resting on some cushions and a futon.
Sakura turned a little red. The lady didn't seem like a ninja and Sakura was probably disturbing her. She kicked her heel in embarrassment.
"I'm so sorry Ma'am, I just saw something shiny and thought perhaps you were a ninja."
The woman had a very beautiful face, with pupil-less eyes. Sakura couldn't exactly tell what expression she was making but something in her gut said the old woman was sizing her up. So she was surprised when the lady raised her hand and gestured towards an empty cushion.
"It's alright, kunoichi-san. But now that you are here, would you care to share some tea with this old woman? It is not often that I receive company."
Not wanting to be impolite, Sakura nodded and bowed to the woman before sitting on the cushion as properly as she could. The cave wasn't very pretty but the genin had a feeling that the lady was someone to be impressed, maybe just by how she spoke. For the first time she noticed that near the woman was a tea kettle with a tree painted on it, and beside that a mortar and pestle. The woman took a cup that matched the kettle and poured it for Sakura as the girl ran through the steps of traditionally tea ceremonies in her head. Things like this were taught in the academy, but Sakura had never thought she'd need them as a genin.
"Thank you." Said Sakura taking the cup with both hands and sipping. The woman simply observed her, neither smiling nor frowning.
"From where do you come from, child?"
The tea was hot and bitter and had a strange taste. Not unpleasant, thought Sakura. She set down the cup and pointed to her headband.
"Konohagakure no Sato, Hi no Kuni. I'm here on a mission with my team."
The woman drank her own tea, closing her own eyes for a second.
"Please call me Takehana. I am also a traveler to these islands with a mission of my own. Do you have a name child?"
"My name is Sakura. Haruno Sakura."
Takehana's eyes flew open and she eyed Sakura again. This time a shiver passed through the twelve-year old's frame as those shrewd and clear eyes looked her up and done. Sakura broke eye contact and drank her tea quickly, not sure what she should say the woman sizing her up.
"That is a powerful name, Sakura. Do take care of it; it speaks of many adventures ahead. But as a ninja, you already know of adventure, yes?"
Sakura shook her head.
"This is our first trip outside our village. And while something did happen earlier I don't know if it fits the mold of an adventure." Sakura paused to drink some more tea before adding quietly. "I'm lucky to be alive."
Somehow Sakura found herself loosening up with every sip of the tea. If she had been better trained she would have been very wary of the strange woman and her tea, but instead she just got more comfortable as Takehana kept asking her questions.
"Every fight is a lesson. You should say thanks that you have another day to learn from your battles. It is rare that one lives long in your profession, Sakura-san. Only the strong shine."
Once more the words spilled out of Sakura, truths she didn't feel ready to tell anyone yet but yet shared with this woman.
"I know that. But it is hard, especially when you only see the backs of your comrades." Sakura shrunk in on herself for a moment before noticing that Takehana had refilled her cup of tea. She could tell that the sun was setting outside, leaving a soft red light in the cave.
"Sakura-san, what does one do if one has the will to get ahead but not power?"
Feeling that this was a rhetorical question, Sakura just continued drinking the tea in silence, unsure of the answer herself.
"You seize it. By force if needed be." For the first time since Sakura entered the cave, a smile entered the woman's face. It did not illuminate her features, rather just made Sakura's spine feel cold. The tea was so soothing but underneath that calming atmosphere were Sakura's instincts to leave. The woman looked harmless, just like a lost noblewoman, but why did Sakura feel so uncomfortable?
Takehana looked deep in thought.
"You see, Sakura-san, I came to this land because somehow I thought my grandsons were here. But as of yet I have not come across them. But it seems that our paths were fated to meet."
"Huh?" asked Sakura, quite confused.
"You seem to be in need of guidance and polishing. And I seem to be in need of companionship. So, young one, how about you make a deal with me? You visit me daily as your mission allows and I teach you something that might help you fight a few more battles."
That uncomfortable feeling was back and stronger. In the last minutes of sunset Takehana seemed to look almost ethereal, and the shadows on her regal-looking face started to look menacing. The fire crackled for a couple of seconds before the woman extended a hand to the young girl. Unlike her other features Takehana's nails were long and wild-looking and Sakura reluctantly took the hand and shook it.
'What harm could come from this,' thought Sakura, even though every hair on her skin was up in dread. 'She just seems lonely and if I learn something cool I could show up Naruto and Sasuke-kun!'
Sakura swore she saw a glint of fangs as the woman smiled widely.
"Then it is settled. Come tomorrow and I'll show you something."
Sakura took this as a cue for her to leave, wondering how her tea cup managed to get to Takehana's side so quickly.
"Thank you for the tea, Takehana-san." Sakura bowed before freezing after remembering something. She took a leftover wrapped sweet from her pocket, handing it to the woman. The woman palmed it, staring at it as if unsure what do with it.
"It's a sweet I had left over, from Konoha."
Takehana nodded, leaving it on her lap.
Waving goodbye, Sakura exited the cave and headed for Tazuna's house, wondering if she should mention Takehana to Kakashi-sensei. Those same instincts told her to approach him about her but Sakura just decided to keep to herself during dinner. Takehana was her secret, after all.
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Takehana met her outside the cave the next day after Sakura finished with her bridge watching duties. She noticed how awfully tall, especially for an old woman, Takehana was. Her kimono was layered and looked very well-embroidered, hiding her figure well.
"You must forgive me, Sakura-san, but I will say I cannot teach you very concrete jutsu as you shinobi like to call them."
Well that ruled out Takehana as being a shinobi. But she didn't seem like a civilian either. Nevertheless, Sakura straightened her back to show she was paying attention.
Takehana paced around the girl, looking her up and down.
"You are able to walk on water, yes?"
Sakura shook her head. She had seen Zabuza and Kakashi walk on water, but she had no idea how they did so. She could hear Takehana suck her teeth.
"But you are able to walk on trees, yes?"
"Yes! I'm actually the one who managed to do that in one try." A hint of pride could be heard in Sakura's voice. The noblewoman nodded and pointed to the water outside the cave. As Sakura reached the edge, Takehana started explaining.
"It is a similar process to that but unlike the tree, which is steady and unyielding, the water flows and crashes. Temperature matters as well, but we will work with the cold waves of this land. I trust you can swim if something happens."
Sakura nodded and took a step. She lifted her foot and focused her chakra into the balls of her feet, imagining some flat surface made of chakra and then repelled the water with it. She let out a gasp as she saw that her foot met not water but something solid. A minute later Sakura was about several feet from the beach. She turned around to grin at the old woman.
"Yeah! I did it!" Sakura let out, before remembering her inside voice and covering her mouth. She gave a sheepish smile towards Takehana, who nodded. Suddenly Sakura felt her control slipping as a large wave crashed into her back. She fell into the water and swam back to shore, her earlier elation now replaced with irritation. How was she going to explain wet clothes to the others? She took Takehana's hand and pulled herself up, huffing as she squeezed her hair of water.
Takehana poked her head and pointed to ships not far from them.
"This island is under a blockade. Which means that crossing sea to get to Fire is dangerous. However, I have a mission for you. Practice around the shoreline until you can run across water. When that happens, whether today or not, I want you to make yourself as inconspicuous as possible before running across to get to the other shore and retrieving some items." She handed the pink-haired nin a small scroll.
"Those items will come in handy in our other training."
Sakura frowned, looking inside. The names of plants and their descriptions were written in very neat kanji. Takehana took the scroll back and waved her hand to show that Sakura should continue.
Being early May, the days were getting much longer and warmer, especially in the warm Land of Waves. By the last few lights of sunlight, Sakura could zip around the shoreline, and she figured out a trick to getting herself steady during incoming waves. If the waves were small, she'd steady her feet with just a tiny bit of chakra. If it was a wave of several feet, she'd pour chakra into knees as well and her lower legs would then repel the water away from her.
Naturally this took out most of her chakra, so a damp Sakura tiredly walked back to the cave. Takehana was drinking tea again, looking up after a minute.
"I trust you will be able to run across to the other side tomorrow."
Sakura nodded reluctantly. The shore of the land of fire would only be fifteen minutes away if she ran, however she felt uncomfortable at the idea of running and being caught by Gatou's men. She decided to not voice these fears to Takehana, mainly because as a ninja she should be able to deal with being captured. She hoped.
If Takehana noticed the seeds of doubt on Sakura's face, she didn't mention it, just gesturing to another cup full of tea. Sakura noticed the smell was different this time and that the mortar and pestle had been recently used.
"It's a brew I made to help regain strength. You should drink it before you collapse, Sakura-san."
Sakura smelled it curiously before drinking it. The taste was bitterer than yesterday, but with a sweet aftertaste. After a couple of sips she felt a little more alert than before in regards to her chakra.
"Takehana-san? Does this replenish chakra?"
"Ah, you've noticed. Only a little. My teas are quite special."
Sakura looked into Takehana's clear eyes, once more noting how the woman felt dangerous. Though from their training, the young genin felt that the woman didn't wish to harm her and, unlike Kakashi-sensei, actually gave her personal training. By the time she finished her cup, Sakura felt some of her chakra return and her body felt less store.
"That's why I am going to teach you some of my mixtures."
Sakura felt herself sweatdrop. Teach her to make teas?
'We don't have time for things like that. I wanna kick some ass!'
'Be quiet Inner.'
"Ah, but my brews are special, as I have said. Imagine if you are out of chakra, nearing exhaustion, and need to get out of a tricky situation. A few sips from a flask of the tea you have just drank and you'll be back on your feet in no time. Don't underestimate non-traditional shinobi arts, Sakura-san. I could show you how to make balms that will heal scars, undetectable poisons that can take out an enemy camp. In fact, that's why I need those herbs."
Sakura opened her mouth in awe.
"Those plants…they can do that? And you're going to teach me that?"
Sakura never really considered following into poisons, or medical jutsu. Though she knew had the control for it, iryojutsu always seemed too complicated, too much of a support. The medic-nin she'd encountered in her life were almost certainly confined to the hospital. Combat medics were rare. Sakura, with the little thought she'd ever put into her future as a konouchi, wasn't sure what her exact career path.
Takehana had begun pouring the tea into a bottle. The character for "bamboo" was stamped on it. She wordlessly handed the bottle and scroll to Sakura.
"I will if you'll learn, child. Make sure to eat and rest up for your task tomorrow, Sakura-san. You'll need your head if you want to get through the blockade unnoticed."
"Hai, Takehana-san."
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"Why do you guys have to make even eating a competition?" Sakura yelled at her vomiting teammates, who kept asking for more food.
"Must..train." said Sasuke in between large bites of food.
"Must beat Teme." answered Naruto, though seeing him eat with such great gusto and absolute lack of manners was less surprising than watching Sasuke eat.
'These two idiots!' huffed Inner.
'Yeah,' thought Sakura. 'But they're my idiot teammates.'
"Ah, Tsunami-san? May I please have another portion?" asked Sakura, raising her bowl. Kakakshi stared at her with an amused expression.
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After Naruto stormed off to go train, with Sasuke following close behind, Sakura looked intently at Kakashi. After hearing the story about Kaiza that Tazuna had told, her doubts about being able to make it to the shore she looked at her empty plate she wondered if there was something she could do to conceal herself. Her dress and hair were not the best things for a misty-
"That's it!" squeaked Sakura out loud before clamping a hand to her mouth in embarrassment.
'He had his Sharingan on, right? That means he could have copied that Mist technique and that means he can teach it to us, well, me. I can use that to hide myself as I go across the water.'
Kakashi looked up from his porn.
"What is it, Sakura?"
"Oh..umm. Hey Kakashi-sensei, you think you can teach me a technique? You know, since I'm beyond tree-walking." Kakashi closed his book in thought, looking at her. Sakura widened her eyes a little, to help the decision along.
'Ha, no one can resist Sakura's Wide Green Eyes of Adorable!'
"Maa, of course. Le-"
"Ah, so you'll show me the Hidden Mist Technique, right, Sensei?" Sakura grinned at her teacher whose lone eye looked a little exasperated. He stood up, firmly walking on his crutches and motioned for her to follow him. It was dark already and the sounds of Sasuke and Naruto doing night training could be heard in the distance as they reached a small creek near Tazuna's house.
"Now, tell me, Sakura-chan, why do you want to learn something like this?"
"Well, you see, Sensei, during the fight I noticed how well the mist hid Zabuza and how useful it would be to remain undetected. So I thought that perhaps if I learn it I can have the element of surprise on my side or I can hide in places with water." Which was true, per se. Sakura wasn't lying about how useful or what she would be using the technique for. She looked in to Kakashi's eyes to see if he bought it.
"Alright. That's some good uses for the technique. I have a few more you might be interested in. You see, it's lucky that Zabuza hadn't gone up against a Sharingan-user before because otherwise he would have seen that my eye doesn't do well against his mist. Do you know why that is?"
Sakura tapped her foot and thought back. That was the first technique the Mist-nin had used. There was an incredible amount of chakra around him and then the chakra turned into mist, dispersing killing intent all around them.
"I've got it. It's because your Sharingan can generally only follow chakra and since the mist is the user's chakra, you can't distinguish the user from the outward chakra."
Kakashi's visible eye crinkled upwards.
"That's why you're the top-ranked Konouchi in your class. Yep. Though other doujutsu like the Byakugan would be able to spot him. But as you can see, it is a very deadly technique." He adjusted his crutch and made a seal with his hands.
"The only seal is the tiger seal, so hand seal-wise, it is not difficult. The difficulty you'll have is getting it to work. Now, since you're the brainy-type, I'll explain the concept behind this technique so you know how to use it. Ever heard of Chakra transformation?"
Sakura shook her head.
"When breaking down techniques, there are two processes to creating them. One is chakra shaping and the other is Nature Transformation. Usually when combining the two you can create your own jutsu. Luckily Kirigakure no Jutsu works without Nature transformations if you have water, or else I wouldn't be able to teach you that technique."
'I've got to look up Nature Transformations when I get home.'
Sakura stored the information for later. She knew that ninjutsu of higher levels generally followed an elemental release; but she didn't exactly know the theory behind it. Considering the fact mist came from water, she could guess that the Hidden Mist jutsu was a Suiton or Water Release. But Kakashi had said she wouldn't need an understanding of the elements to perform the jutsu. She looked into her sensei's eye quizzically.
"Let's see if your chakra control is good enough for this. Release some."
She made the tiger seal and let out good portion of the chakra she had left. The familiar feeling of her own chakra surrounded her as she opened her eyes again to look at her sensei. Even in crutches he looked so cool, so laid back. He lazily pointed to the water and Sakura began trying to move her chakra to the water. She focused on a image in her mind of carrying the water with her chakra and within a couple of seconds she could feel water whirling around her with her chakra. Smirking at being able to do this so quick she focused on making the chakra-laced water mist around her. Her teacher's surprised eye was the last thing she saw before the mist obstructed her view of him.
"Sakura, try spreading it out."
It took several minutes to do so. Though she didn't need to add chakra to the mist, she instantly knew how much the jutsu needed; spreading her chakra out took more focus than drawing up the chakra from her admittedly small pool of it. By the time she got the thin layer of mist to spread around her a little more her head was aching.
Kakashi clapped his hands together twice, though the sound sounded as blank as his expression. Sakura dispersed the jutsu, rubbing her head from the headache it left her.
"Focusing that much was hard, huh?"
Sakura nodded. She could wasn't sure how many more she could do of those without falling to mental exhaustion. Especially since she was supposed to try and attempt it tomorrow along with running across a large body of water. She hid the urge to yawn and looked at her sensei again.
"Okay, let's try it a couple of times, hopefully your have enough chakra to manage it more." And then he went off to sit on a large log, his crutch resting while absentmindedly flipped through Icha Icha. Sakura's aptitude was pretty surprising. From the stats he received from Iruka he knew of her chakra control being exceptionally well. Exceptionally good chakra control was generally the sign of below average or untapped reserves, though sometimes it came naturally.
It wasn't her prowess with the technique that gave Kakashi pause; it was that she actually asked for help. Generally genin who passed the exam are self-sufficient to some extent. Many are clan brats and have their families' techniques to help them out. Naruto was an example of a non-ninja raised conscript. More peculiarly, Sakura was raised into a family of ninjas who didn't seem like wanting to train her. Kakashi only briefly knew Kizashi and Mebuki, they were of Minato-sensei's generation. Kizashi was a chunin and he couldn't really remember anything remarkable about the man's skills. And as for Mebuki, well, she retired.
"Hai, sensei." Her cheery but strained voice rang out as she tried the Mist technique a couple of times. Occasionally she would sneak a peek at her reading sensei, looking for some reaction. After an hour her chakra was near depleted and Sakura could feel the edges of chakra exhaustion. But that effort had been rewarded with a less concentrated mist, one that was a little more spread out and could cover her actions as well as the surrounding area. It was far from perfect and Sakura had no idea how she would keep it up and make her way across the water.
"You look pretty done for tonight. We should get home before you pass out."
Sakura nodded and stretched herself. Kakashi was already en route back to house on his crutches and she walked behind him. Something about this trip was dong her good. Maybe it was the unexpected train from both a stranger and her actual sensei, but Sakura could feel content about her actions that day. It wasn't a normal feeling, coming home to rest knowing you have accomplished something, but it was than Sakura thought to be one she likes.
Right before she was to enter the room she got to herself (she couldn't share with Naruto or Sasuke), her two teammates came back in from after dinner training. The two parts of Team 7 looked at each other, noting how exhausted each other member looked and nodded in acknowledgement of each other for that day's work. Sakura fell asleep to the image of approving glances from her teacher and teammates and a content feeling in her chest.
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The forest behind Tazuna's house in the Land of Waves was for once filled with the noise of shinobi. The lone girl, Sakura, looked down at the two boys who had yet to come close to her level. Despite the praise her sensei had given her, the young ninja could sense he had done so to rile up her teammates. Pouting slightly, she stared down and panted. She'd run up the trees several times and now her chakra felt depleted, unlike Sasuke and Naruto who made no progress but were still going.
Sakura wasn't stupid; she knew one of the reasons she had good chakra control was because her lacking chakra reserves. Her tou-san had said himself when he attempted to drill the Academy basics into her. It wasn't like Haruno Kizashi had been mean about it, just lightly honest. Honesty was something the pink-haired man respected, Sakura had come to learn from being raised by her parents. Both were shinobi, but her mother had practically retired to raise Sakura and Kizashi, as a low-ranked chuunin. And the truth was that Sakura was steadily slipping behind. Perhaps the boys hadn't noticed the gap these past few months (they were always busy squabbling) but Sakura had since the first day. Naruto had at least attempted to fight; Sakura was out from one genjutsu.
And on the road she could do little. Her first instinct was to protect Tazuna, of course, but there had been a very distinct awareness in the back of her mind that Zabuza could slice through her as if she was nothing. All she could do was watch the backs of Sasuke and Naruto as they pulled off teamwork and freed Kakakshi. The gap was wide and Sakura already wondered how she would breach it. Every time she asked her mother to help her train, the woman shrugged and changed the subject. It really left a girl to her own devices.
That's why when Naruto came up to her asking for help, Sakura smiled on the inside. At least in this she was ahead and on top. And if she could get them to keep coming back to her, her comrades, maybe the gap would close.
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Sakura had never seen poverty before. The sight of it swelled uncomfortably in her stomach as she met the gazes of hungry faces. Dirty children played in ruined in streets that looked ruined. It wasn't that Konohagakure was free of the poor, Konoha had slums of course. She had ended up lost a couple of times in the Red Light district, a couple of connected alleys, during her life. But it never really hit you in the face, like here. She'd already given a couple of sweets to some rugrat who'd begged her for some.
"And that brat better be thankful, we don't have much left!" chimed her inner voice in her head.
Sakura couldn't have said no to him. The uncomfortable feeling of guilt rose up into her throat and made it harder to swallow. The old man had said that the bridge was to rekindle courage in the people, but what good was courage when there were empty stomachs?
She kept that question to herself as they went along the famous Wave mangroves to Tazuna's house. Along the way something caught her eye. In the distance, on the shore, she could see something glinting in a cave partially hidden by beach rocks. Curiosity piqued, she stared until she could make out something, no, someone. A figure of silver?
"Tazuna-san?"
"Yes, Haruno-chan?" the old man asked. He was kindly to her, despite the attitude he gave Naruto. Sakura thought it probably was because she was girl and thus more approachable.
"We're almost to your house now. Do you mind if I drop you off and go, umm, scouting?"
Tazuna shrugged.
"Makes no difference to me, as long as I get home in one piece. Don't stay out too long though, girl, my daughter's making dinner." Said the old man gruffly.
Sakura nodded and quickened the pace. Within two minutes they were at the house and Sakura set her bags down and burst off back to the shore.
"Where's she going?" asked Kakashi nonchalantly.
"Said something about scouting."
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Sakura crept towards the cave silently, in case enemy ninjas were hiding there and she had to run to Kakashi. For all she knew this could be where Zabuza and that masked kid (Kakashi's theory was plausible) were hiding, though it seemed slightly too open a hiding spot for that.
"I can tell you're there. Come in."
The voice of an old woman floated out from inside the cave and Sakura swung to get a look at the speaker. A woman with very long light hair and a formal looking kimono stared back. She didn't look that old to be honest, just the hair and the voice, but she had a refined air to her anyway. There was a small fire in the cave beside the woman, who was resting on some cushions and a futon.
Sakura turned a little red. The lady didn't seem like a ninja and Sakura was probably disturbing her. She kicked her heel in embarrassment.
"I'm so sorry Ma'am, I just saw something shiny and thought perhaps you were a ninja."
The woman had a very beautiful face, with pupil-less eyes. Sakura couldn't exactly tell what expression she was making but something in her gut said the old woman was sizing her up. So she was surprised when the lady raised her hand and gestured towards an empty cushion.
"It's alright, kunoichi-san. But now that you are here, would you care to share some tea with this old woman? It is not often that I receive company."
Not wanting to be impolite, Sakura nodded and bowed to the woman before sitting on the cushion as properly as she could. The cave wasn't very pretty but the genin had a feeling that the lady was someone to be impressed, maybe just by how she spoke. For the first time she noticed that near the woman was a tea kettle with a tree painted on it, and beside that a mortar and pestle. The woman took a cup that matched the kettle and poured it for Sakura as the girl ran through the steps of traditionally tea ceremonies in her head. Things like this were taught in the academy, but Sakura had never thought she'd need them as a genin.
"Thank you." Said Sakura taking the cup with both hands and sipping. The woman simply observed her, neither smiling nor frowning.
"From where do you come from, child?"
The tea was hot and bitter and had a strange taste. Not unpleasant, thought Sakura. She set down the cup and pointed to her headband.
"Konohagakure no Sato, Hi no Kuni. I'm here on a mission with my team."
The woman drank her own tea, closing her own eyes for a second.
"Please call me Takehana. I am also a traveler to these islands with a mission of my own. Do you have a name child?"
"My name is Sakura. Haruno Sakura."
Takehana's eyes flew open and she eyed Sakura again. This time a shiver passed through the twelve-year old's frame as those shrewd and clear eyes looked her up and done. Sakura broke eye contact and drank her tea quickly, not sure what she should say the woman sizing her up.
"That is a powerful name, Sakura. Do take care of it; it speaks of many adventures ahead. But as a ninja, you already know of adventure, yes?"
Sakura shook her head.
"This is our first trip outside our village. And while something did happen earlier I don't know if it fits the mold of an adventure." Sakura paused to drink some more tea before adding quietly. "I'm lucky to be alive."
Somehow Sakura found herself loosening up with every sip of the tea. If she had been better trained she would have been very wary of the strange woman and her tea, but instead she just got more comfortable as Takehana kept asking her questions.
"Every fight is a lesson. You should say thanks that you have another day to learn from your battles. It is rare that one lives long in your profession, Sakura-san. Only the strong shine."
Once more the words spilled out of Sakura, truths she didn't feel ready to tell anyone yet but yet shared with this woman.
"I know that. But it is hard, especially when you only see the backs of your comrades." Sakura shrunk in on herself for a moment before noticing that Takehana had refilled her cup of tea. She could tell that the sun was setting outside, leaving a soft red light in the cave.
"Sakura-san, what does one do if one has the will to get ahead but not power?"
Feeling that this was a rhetorical question, Sakura just continued drinking the tea in silence, unsure of the answer herself.
"You seize it. By force if needed be." For the first time since Sakura entered the cave, a smile entered the woman's face. It did not illuminate her features, rather just made Sakura's spine feel cold. The tea was so soothing but underneath that calming atmosphere were Sakura's instincts to leave. The woman looked harmless, just like a lost noblewoman, but why did Sakura feel so uncomfortable?
Takehana looked deep in thought.
"You see, Sakura-san, I came to this land because somehow I thought my grandsons were here. But as of yet I have not come across them. But it seems that our paths were fated to meet."
"Huh?" asked Sakura, quite confused.
"You seem to be in need of guidance and polishing. And I seem to be in need of companionship. So, young one, how about you make a deal with me? You visit me daily as your mission allows and I teach you something that might help you fight a few more battles."
That uncomfortable feeling was back and stronger. In the last minutes of sunset Takehana seemed to look almost ethereal, and the shadows on her regal-looking face started to look menacing. The fire crackled for a couple of seconds before the woman extended a hand to the young girl. Unlike her other features Takehana's nails were long and wild-looking and Sakura reluctantly took the hand and shook it.
'What harm could come from this,' thought Sakura, even though every hair on her skin was up in dread. 'She just seems lonely and if I learn something cool I could show up Naruto and Sasuke-kun!'
Sakura swore she saw a glint of fangs as the woman smiled widely.
"Then it is settled. Come tomorrow and I'll show you something."
Sakura took this as a cue for her to leave, wondering how her tea cup managed to get to Takehana's side so quickly.
"Thank you for the tea, Takehana-san." Sakura bowed before freezing after remembering something. She took a leftover wrapped sweet from her pocket, handing it to the woman. The woman palmed it, staring at it as if unsure what do with it.
"It's a sweet I had left over, from Konoha."
Takehana nodded, leaving it on her lap.
Waving goodbye, Sakura exited the cave and headed for Tazuna's house, wondering if she should mention Takehana to Kakashi-sensei. Those same instincts told her to approach him about her but Sakura just decided to keep to herself during dinner. Takehana was her secret, after all.
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Takehana met her outside the cave the next day after Sakura finished with her bridge watching duties. She noticed how awfully tall, especially for an old woman, Takehana was. Her kimono was layered and looked very well-embroidered, hiding her figure well.
"You must forgive me, Sakura-san, but I will say I cannot teach you very concrete jutsu as you shinobi like to call them."
Well that ruled out Takehana as being a shinobi. But she didn't seem like a civilian either. Nevertheless, Sakura straightened her back to show she was paying attention.
Takehana paced around the girl, looking her up and down.
"You are able to walk on water, yes?"
Sakura shook her head. She had seen Zabuza and Kakashi walk on water, but she had no idea how they did so. She could hear Takehana suck her teeth.
"But you are able to walk on trees, yes?"
"Yes! I'm actually the one who managed to do that in one try." A hint of pride could be heard in Sakura's voice. The noblewoman nodded and pointed to the water outside the cave. As Sakura reached the edge, Takehana started explaining.
"It is a similar process to that but unlike the tree, which is steady and unyielding, the water flows and crashes. Temperature matters as well, but we will work with the cold waves of this land. I trust you can swim if something happens."
Sakura nodded and took a step. She lifted her foot and focused her chakra into the balls of her feet, imagining some flat surface made of chakra and then repelled the water with it. She let out a gasp as she saw that her foot met not water but something solid. A minute later Sakura was about several feet from the beach. She turned around to grin at the old woman.
"Yeah! I did it!" Sakura let out, before remembering her inside voice and covering her mouth. She gave a sheepish smile towards Takehana, who nodded. Suddenly Sakura felt her control slipping as a large wave crashed into her back. She fell into the water and swam back to shore, her earlier elation now replaced with irritation. How was she going to explain wet clothes to the others? She took Takehana's hand and pulled herself up, huffing as she squeezed her hair of water.
Takehana poked her head and pointed to ships not far from them.
"This island is under a blockade. Which means that crossing sea to get to Fire is dangerous. However, I have a mission for you. Practice around the shoreline until you can run across water. When that happens, whether today or not, I want you to make yourself as inconspicuous as possible before running across to get to the other shore and retrieving some items." She handed the pink-haired nin a small scroll.
"Those items will come in handy in our other training."
Sakura frowned, looking inside. The names of plants and their descriptions were written in very neat kanji. Takehana took the scroll back and waved her hand to show that Sakura should continue.
Being early May, the days were getting much longer and warmer, especially in the warm Land of Waves. By the last few lights of sunlight, Sakura could zip around the shoreline, and she figured out a trick to getting herself steady during incoming waves. If the waves were small, she'd steady her feet with just a tiny bit of chakra. If it was a wave of several feet, she'd pour chakra into knees as well and her lower legs would then repel the water away from her.
Naturally this took out most of her chakra, so a damp Sakura tiredly walked back to the cave. Takehana was drinking tea again, looking up after a minute.
"I trust you will be able to run across to the other side tomorrow."
Sakura nodded reluctantly. The shore of the land of fire would only be fifteen minutes away if she ran, however she felt uncomfortable at the idea of running and being caught by Gatou's men. She decided to not voice these fears to Takehana, mainly because as a ninja she should be able to deal with being captured. She hoped.
If Takehana noticed the seeds of doubt on Sakura's face, she didn't mention it, just gesturing to another cup full of tea. Sakura noticed the smell was different this time and that the mortar and pestle had been recently used.
"It's a brew I made to help regain strength. You should drink it before you collapse, Sakura-san."
Sakura smelled it curiously before drinking it. The taste was bitterer than yesterday, but with a sweet aftertaste. After a couple of sips she felt a little more alert than before in regards to her chakra.
"Takehana-san? Does this replenish chakra?"
"Ah, you've noticed. Only a little. My teas are quite special."
Sakura looked into Takehana's clear eyes, once more noting how the woman felt dangerous. Though from their training, the young genin felt that the woman didn't wish to harm her and, unlike Kakashi-sensei, actually gave her personal training. By the time she finished her cup, Sakura felt some of her chakra return and her body felt less store.
"That's why I am going to teach you some of my mixtures."
Sakura felt herself sweatdrop. Teach her to make teas?
'We don't have time for things like that. I wanna kick some ass!'
'Be quiet Inner.'
"Ah, but my brews are special, as I have said. Imagine if you are out of chakra, nearing exhaustion, and need to get out of a tricky situation. A few sips from a flask of the tea you have just drank and you'll be back on your feet in no time. Don't underestimate non-traditional shinobi arts, Sakura-san. I could show you how to make balms that will heal scars, undetectable poisons that can take out an enemy camp. In fact, that's why I need those herbs."
Sakura opened her mouth in awe.
"Those plants…they can do that? And you're going to teach me that?"
Sakura never really considered following into poisons, or medical jutsu. Though she knew had the control for it, iryojutsu always seemed too complicated, too much of a support. The medic-nin she'd encountered in her life were almost certainly confined to the hospital. Combat medics were rare. Sakura, with the little thought she'd ever put into her future as a konouchi, wasn't sure what her exact career path.
Takehana had begun pouring the tea into a bottle. The character for "bamboo" was stamped on it. She wordlessly handed the bottle and scroll to Sakura.
"I will if you'll learn, child. Make sure to eat and rest up for your task tomorrow, Sakura-san. You'll need your head if you want to get through the blockade unnoticed."
"Hai, Takehana-san."
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"Why do you guys have to make even eating a competition?" Sakura yelled at her vomiting teammates, who kept asking for more food.
"Must..train." said Sasuke in between large bites of food.
"Must beat Teme." answered Naruto, though seeing him eat with such great gusto and absolute lack of manners was less surprising than watching Sasuke eat.
'These two idiots!' huffed Inner.
'Yeah,' thought Sakura. 'But they're my idiot teammates.'
"Ah, Tsunami-san? May I please have another portion?" asked Sakura, raising her bowl. Kakakshi stared at her with an amused expression.
_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________
After Naruto stormed off to go train, with Sasuke following close behind, Sakura looked intently at Kakashi. After hearing the story about Kaiza that Tazuna had told, her doubts about being able to make it to the shore she looked at her empty plate she wondered if there was something she could do to conceal herself. Her dress and hair were not the best things for a misty-
"That's it!" squeaked Sakura out loud before clamping a hand to her mouth in embarrassment.
'He had his Sharingan on, right? That means he could have copied that Mist technique and that means he can teach it to us, well, me. I can use that to hide myself as I go across the water.'
Kakashi looked up from his porn.
"What is it, Sakura?"
"Oh..umm. Hey Kakashi-sensei, you think you can teach me a technique? You know, since I'm beyond tree-walking." Kakashi closed his book in thought, looking at her. Sakura widened her eyes a little, to help the decision along.
'Ha, no one can resist Sakura's Wide Green Eyes of Adorable!'
"Maa, of course. Le-"
"Ah, so you'll show me the Hidden Mist Technique, right, Sensei?" Sakura grinned at her teacher whose lone eye looked a little exasperated. He stood up, firmly walking on his crutches and motioned for her to follow him. It was dark already and the sounds of Sasuke and Naruto doing night training could be heard in the distance as they reached a small creek near Tazuna's house.
"Now, tell me, Sakura-chan, why do you want to learn something like this?"
"Well, you see, Sensei, during the fight I noticed how well the mist hid Zabuza and how useful it would be to remain undetected. So I thought that perhaps if I learn it I can have the element of surprise on my side or I can hide in places with water." Which was true, per se. Sakura wasn't lying about how useful or what she would be using the technique for. She looked in to Kakashi's eyes to see if he bought it.
"Alright. That's some good uses for the technique. I have a few more you might be interested in. You see, it's lucky that Zabuza hadn't gone up against a Sharingan-user before because otherwise he would have seen that my eye doesn't do well against his mist. Do you know why that is?"
Sakura tapped her foot and thought back. That was the first technique the Mist-nin had used. There was an incredible amount of chakra around him and then the chakra turned into mist, dispersing killing intent all around them.
"I've got it. It's because your Sharingan can generally only follow chakra and since the mist is the user's chakra, you can't distinguish the user from the outward chakra."
Kakashi's visible eye crinkled upwards.
"That's why you're the top-ranked Konouchi in your class. Yep. Though other doujutsu like the Byakugan would be able to spot him. But as you can see, it is a very deadly technique." He adjusted his crutch and made a seal with his hands.
"The only seal is the tiger seal, so hand seal-wise, it is not difficult. The difficulty you'll have is getting it to work. Now, since you're the brainy-type, I'll explain the concept behind this technique so you know how to use it. Ever heard of Chakra transformation?"
Sakura shook her head.
"When breaking down techniques, there are two processes to creating them. One is chakra shaping and the other is Nature Transformation. Usually when combining the two you can create your own jutsu. Luckily Kirigakure no Jutsu works without Nature transformations if you have water, or else I wouldn't be able to teach you that technique."
'I've got to look up Nature Transformations when I get home.'
Sakura stored the information for later. She knew that ninjutsu of higher levels generally followed an elemental release; but she didn't exactly know the theory behind it. Considering the fact mist came from water, she could guess that the Hidden Mist jutsu was a Suiton or Water Release. But Kakashi had said she wouldn't need an understanding of the elements to perform the jutsu. She looked into her sensei's eye quizzically.
"Let's see if your chakra control is good enough for this. Release some."
She made the tiger seal and let out good portion of the chakra she had left. The familiar feeling of her own chakra surrounded her as she opened her eyes again to look at her sensei. Even in crutches he looked so cool, so laid back. He lazily pointed to the water and Sakura began trying to move her chakra to the water. She focused on a image in her mind of carrying the water with her chakra and within a couple of seconds she could feel water whirling around her with her chakra. Smirking at being able to do this so quick she focused on making the chakra-laced water mist around her. Her teacher's surprised eye was the last thing she saw before the mist obstructed her view of him.
"Sakura, try spreading it out."
It took several minutes to do so. Though she didn't need to add chakra to the mist, she instantly knew how much the jutsu needed; spreading her chakra out took more focus than drawing up the chakra from her admittedly small pool of it. By the time she got the thin layer of mist to spread around her a little more her head was aching.
Kakashi clapped his hands together twice, though the sound sounded as blank as his expression. Sakura dispersed the jutsu, rubbing her head from the headache it left her.
"Focusing that much was hard, huh?"
Sakura nodded. She could wasn't sure how many more she could do of those without falling to mental exhaustion. Especially since she was supposed to try and attempt it tomorrow along with running across a large body of water. She hid the urge to yawn and looked at her sensei again.
"Okay, let's try it a couple of times, hopefully your have enough chakra to manage it more." And then he went off to sit on a large log, his crutch resting while absentmindedly flipped through Icha Icha. Sakura's aptitude was pretty surprising. From the stats he received from Iruka he knew of her chakra control being exceptionally well. Exceptionally good chakra control was generally the sign of below average or untapped reserves, though sometimes it came naturally.
It wasn't her prowess with the technique that gave Kakashi pause; it was that she actually asked for help. Generally genin who passed the exam are self-sufficient to some extent. Many are clan brats and have their families' techniques to help them out. Naruto was an example of a non-ninja raised conscript. More peculiarly, Sakura was raised into a family of ninjas who didn't seem like wanting to train her. Kakashi only briefly knew Kizashi and Mebuki, they were of Minato-sensei's generation. Kizashi was a chunin and he couldn't really remember anything remarkable about the man's skills. And as for Mebuki, well, she retired.
"Hai, sensei." Her cheery but strained voice rang out as she tried the Mist technique a couple of times. Occasionally she would sneak a peek at her reading sensei, looking for some reaction. After an hour her chakra was near depleted and Sakura could feel the edges of chakra exhaustion. But that effort had been rewarded with a less concentrated mist, one that was a little more spread out and could cover her actions as well as the surrounding area. It was far from perfect and Sakura had no idea how she would keep it up and make her way across the water.
"You look pretty done for tonight. We should get home before you pass out."
Sakura nodded and stretched herself. Kakashi was already en route back to house on his crutches and she walked behind him. Something about this trip was dong her good. Maybe it was the unexpected train from both a stranger and her actual sensei, but Sakura could feel content about her actions that day. It wasn't a normal feeling, coming home to rest knowing you have accomplished something, but it was than Sakura thought to be one she likes.
Right before she was to enter the room she got to herself (she couldn't share with Naruto or Sasuke), her two teammates came back in from after dinner training. The two parts of Team 7 looked at each other, noting how exhausted each other member looked and nodded in acknowledgement of each other for that day's work. Sakura fell asleep to the image of approving glances from her teacher and teammates and a content feeling in her chest.
And lol, Kakashi looked up from his porn XD