Chapter Text
Chapter 4: Germination
~oOo~
Slowly but surely Sakura made her way to Training Ground 17. The soft sunlight of the morning shone gently through the leaves, setting them aglow. It was a beautiful start into the day. She hoped she was also off to a good start with her new team.
It was still weird to think that she had actually went through with leaving Team 7. The day after Kawaru-sensei approached her had been sobering. She had done what she promised herself – she had tried her best to make things work for once. She had been as nice as she could to Naruto, respectful of Hatake-san and had not bothered Sasuke-kun. When arguments broke out she had stayed calm and tried to resolve them. When training time came around she had tried to ask to spar, asked for training advice and pleaded for book recommendations.
Hell, when Naruto asked her out for lunch, she had not flat out told him no, but wanted to make it into a Team gathering.
Every effort she made was either ignored, waved away, belittled or outright spat on.
Mostly ignored though.
By the time the day ended she could barely make it home before her body shook apart in gut wrenching sobs. That was that then. She raged and cried and cried and raged, not because of the treatment she received, but for all the things that could have been. When her mother knocked on her door in worry, she did not open it, just told her in a tear choked voice that she would soon be ok. Thankfully her mother left after telling her dinner was in the fridge.
It was times like these that made her really appreciate her mother. Despite being quite forceful and energetic, her kaa-san had a sixth sense for the times people needed her to back off.
This would be the last time Team 7 would bring her so low. It was time to stop being a cry-baby and do something about her situation, she could not wait for others to protect her from the world, not like Ino had had too, when they were younger.
After she had cried herself out she had gotten up and went straight to Kawaru-sensei. It had been later than she originally planned for, but luckily he was still at the training grounds. He did not comment on her dishevelled appearance.
When she told him her decision he did not ask her if she was sure, he just handed her the forms that already bore his signature and a pen.
The relief that swept through her surprised her in its intensity. Not being asked about her motives or choice was a nice change. It always made her feel like a stupid little girl that had not considered her situation enough, whose decisions had to be questioned. It was condescending. Maybe he just did not want her to back out, an option that was quite likely, but Sakura preferred to take it as a sign of trust and respect towards her.
She needed just a bit of hope that things would be different, that she would be acknowledged and heard.
It was probably why she had been so frank with Hokage-sama.
Kawaru-sensei had asked her when she wanted to finalize her switch to her new team and the pinkette was eager to get that over with as soon as possible.
Sakura had panicked when she noticed Sarutobi-sama’s reluctance to grant her her kami damned right. She knew he was close to Naruto. The only thing on her mind was a mantra of ‘nononononoNO!’. She was also somewhat offended on Kawaru-sensei’s part, there were very few people who had been as upfront with her and she really appreciated that.
In the end the Third signed, too.
It was not like he had truly a choice, Sakura was well aware of Konoha’s laws, especially those concerning Genin, as she had tried to look for a way to force Hatake-san into training her. She had been shocked just how much power he had over her future. The Law of Resignation had caught her attention then, but she had pushed it aside – it would leave her without a team and probably in the Genin Corps, again without training, as she knew no other potential Jonin-sensei at that point. She had been disheartened and had held onto the hope that the silver-haired Jonin would start training her sometime in the future.
Now her time on Team 7 was done and over with.
She was not a hundred percent sure how that made her feel, but decided not to dwell on it.
‘Now is the time to look forward.’ she thought determinedly.
A sign between two overgrown bushes told her she had arrived at her destination.
Training Ground 17 lied in the north-eastern sector of Konoha, close to the wall surrounding the village and deep into the woods. It was a wild and private place. In the middle of it a particularly high Hashirama-Tree towered over the area.
Her heart beat faster when she saw her sensei already there.
“Good morning Sakura-chan” he greeted her politely “Your teammates should be here soon.”
She nodded and returned the greeting: “Good morning, sensei.”
They only had to wait a few minutes until the other two arrived. One moment they weren’t there and the next they dropped out of one of the surrounding trees. Sakura had not noticed their approach at all. The differences between her previous team and her new one could hardly be more pronounced.
She also made a note to up her awareness training somehow.
“Hello team, as you can see we have a new member. As such our first order of business shall be to introduce ourselves.” Kawaru-sensei did not waste time to get started, his dark blue eyes serious as he took them all in.
“My name is Tsurisen Kawaru and I am a Jonin of Konoha. I am twenty-six years old. I specialize in Kenjutsu and Genjutsu, my chakra natures are Fire and Lightning. I often work together with the Intelligence Division. My likes include training and reading mystery novels. Favourite food would be karaage. As for my goals for the future: I would like to see you all make Chunin and to increase my Ninjutsu repertoire.”
She noticed the katana on his side and wondered if he would end up teaching her how to use it. She was curious how the assessment he had planned for her would go. She hoped not to make a fool out of herself. A warm feeling settled in her when he mentioned them all making Chunin.
Her sensei then turned to the slighter of the two teens in front of her. He had long blonde hair pulled in a low ponytail and pale blue, pupilless eyes, as was typical for the Yamanaka. His outfit consisted of dark purple shinobi pants, a navy shirt and a grey jacket. As expected he also wore a kunai holster around his right leg, what was less expected was an extra pouch around his waist. She thought she might have seen him around before.
“Seems like it is my turn then. Alright. My name Yamanaka Soru and I am sixteen. I specialise in poisons and my clans’ jutsu. I am alright with earth-based Ninjutsu. What else? Hmm, I like gardening and I love some good old miso soup. In the future I would like to focus more on creating original poisons.”
‘I better not leave any drink or food unattended should I ever tick him off.’ Sakura thought nervously. Poisons were not something she wanted to deal with.
“I shall continue.” came a deep voice softly from her left. The second teen had shaggy brown hair and wore sunglasses with a deep green sheen. His shinobi pants were the typical navy colour and he wore a baggy beige jacket instead of the trench coat that Aburame were renown for. She noticed a kodachi at his side.
“I am Aburame Kotai. Sixteen. I am proficient in Kenjutsu. I am also proficient in the use of my clan jutsu. I host Kikaichu. My elemental nature is Fire. I enjoy hiking. Dango is my favourite food. My goal for the future is the cultivation of a second hive.”
Sakura sweat dropped. That was short and to the point.
This was definitely a more informative introduction then Team 7 had had. They all seemed to know exactly where they stood and where their talents lied.
Sakura bid her lip. She was not so sure about her own strengths.
There was nothing for it, she would just have to push forward and hope she was not too much of a let-down for them.
“My name is Haruno Sakura and I am thirteen years old. I currently don’t specialise in anything. Generally I would say my greatest strength is my skill in memorization, as I have an eidetic memory. Ummm, I do not come from a shinobi family, so I only had access to what is taught in the academy…and I don’t know my affinity yet. My likes…reading and visiting the onsen. I like omurice and mochi. In the future I would like to find a specialisation and make Chunin.”
The young kunoichi felt mortified about how little she could contribute to the team at this time.
“Alright. Now that we all know a bit about each other, we should get to work. Warm up. Afterwards I want you, Soru-kun, to get started on your stamina training. You precision is good, but your poison can take time to come into effect. Kotai-kun, I want you to continue to practice the new kata I showed you. You need to ingrain them until they flow more naturally. Sakura-chan, we shall start with your physical assessment.”
Sakura gulped. She had hoped to start with her academic and mental assessment as she was sure to do better there. There was nothing for it, she would give it her all and hope Kawaru-sensei did not immediately start to regret ever asking her to become part of his team.
~oOo~
Haruno Kizashi nearly chewed off his lip with how hard he was biting it.
When his daughter came home, hair in disarray and dirt streaked across her form, but with a determined and satisfied expression painted on her face, he had wondered at the change. He had thought that maybe some things had settled with her team or that she had found out a particularly interesting bit of information. For a moment he had even shuddered as he considered that the boy she liked might have agreed to go on a date. The horror.
Now he wished for any of these things above what had actually happened.
During dinner Sakura had told them about her decision to switch teams. She had been short and not really explained her reasoning before ambling up the stairs. Neither Kizashi nor Mebuki could actually say anything about that; they had known things were not going as well as their little girl wished, they had seen her become more and more downtrodden, but they did not know what pushed her over the edge.
To be perfectly honest, the topic of Sakura’s career choice was widely avoided, so it was little wonder she felt uncomfortable with sharing details.
Mebuki had given him a single look and Kizashi knew he was responsible for the gap between them and their daughter.
Not that he had meant it to happen like this.
Years ago, Kizashi too had been taken by the idea of becoming a renowned shinobi. In the wake of the Second Shinobi War propaganda had been at an all-time high and he had eagerly signed up for the academy. He still remembered the talk he had with his own father…
‘”Why did you do it, son? The Harunos have been merchants for generations, what is wrong with that?” His father had asked.
“Nothing! But Tou-san, I want to be more! I want to protect Konoha! Like the White Fang and the Sannin!”
“My boy, do you really think we do not do our part in protecting our home? Our tasks might be different, but they are important in their own way.”
“Not like shinobi do. This is what I want to do!” he had insisted.
“It is your life and your choice. I just fear you do not understand what you are truly getting into. I both hope for and dread the day you will understand my point of view.”’
His father had always had a certain air of wisdom around him and Kizashi still often wished that he had listened better when he was given advice. Haruno Satoshi was the smartest man he knew.
He had been proud and headstrong and full of dreams of heroism.
The time he spent in the academy had put a damper on things. He did not do nearly as well as he had hoped he would. Clan children and those with shinobi relatives were already miles ahead in everything and trying to keep up with them was nearly impossible. Upon graduation he had failed to test into the Jonin-Track and been dumped into the Genin Corps.
Whereas the academy had put a damper on things, the Genin Corps outright killed off any true hope for his career.
Then the Third Shinobi War happened.
It was an utter nightmare. Very few of his year-mates in the corps survived. They were mostly untrained meat shields that had done little more than chores before the war broke out and broke them in turn.
The only reason Kizashi survived was Maito Dai. His sempai had taken him under his wing and taught him to stay positive, to never give up and to keep pushing. It was only thanks to his insistence on physical training that Kizashi had made it out alive on more than one mission.
Maito Dai’s death had nearly done what the war had not and destroyed him.
It was seeing his son’s insane training routines that reminded Kizashi of the fact that a part of his sempai and best friend lived on. Maito Dai was dead, but his spirit survived. That was the moment he truly understood the Will of Fire and swore to never forget what the man taught him: greet every day with a smile and don’t give up.
And so Kizashi pushed on, he was as enthusiastic as he could be and always tried his best. He met Mebuki. The war came to an end. He finished his ten-year contract and turned back to his roots, taken up his position as the heir to the Haruno-Merchant-Network.
The day his beautiful baby girl was born, was the happiest in his life. It was then that he started to style his hair like her name sake and proudly wore it like that ever since. A constant reminder of the love he bore for his daughter.
The very same daughter that came too much after him and wanted to be a shinobi.
He thought of the war and his own experience. There was little more he wanted than to outright deny her, but in the end he could hardly take away her right to make her own choices, especially when it was a choice he had made for himself years ago.
He never wanted to be that kind of man or father.
Still, the thought of his little one going through the same things he had was maddening.
His daughter was perceptive enough even then to notice his lack of enthusiasm about going to the academy and taken it badly. And so the topic of her shinobi-career became something that was not talked about and Sakura remained unaware of why exactly that was.
Mebuki and his father had warned him more than once to be more considerate of his blossoms’ feelings, but he could not shake off the cold grip around his heart at the mere mention of her possible future.
He had made sure to pay for her time spent in school, so she was not caught in the same ten-year contract he had been caught in as a way to pay for his education.
He had hoped that she would give up, as many civilians did, before she ever graduated.
He should have known better. His little girl was as headstrong as her father, as persistent as her mother and as clever as her grandfather. She did much better than him and even became Kunoichi of the Year. Kizashi was so damn proud he cried when she came home with her new headband. The terror lessened somewhat, she was sure to get on a good team, taught and protected by a Jonin until she could stand on her own two feet. They were at peace.
The terror returned when he heard about her team placement. The Uchiha-brat and the Uzumaki-prankster under Hatake Kakashi of all people? They were a recipe for disaster.
He should have reached out to his daughter when it became clear just how little the situation was working out and how much she was hurting.
He kept his silence, foolishly and selfishly hoping that this would push her over the edge and lead her to giving up on her dream.
Dai-sempai would be so disappointed in him.
Another miscalculation. His little cherry blossom did not give up. She jumped right into danger in a desperate attempt to find her place in a world set against her. Maybe she would have been less desperate if she had known her father stood behind her, assuring her of her worth.
But Kizashi had been too busy with trying to come to terms with his own past and not been the father Sakura deserved. The father she needed. Instead he had been too much of a coward to talk about the elephant in the room. His epiphany came too late, it was done now and his daughter’s path was set.
His lip started bleeding, he had bit down too hard.
‘I am so sorry, blossom!’ he mentally cried in regret.
He knew it was way past time now to sit down with his daughter and try to bridge to gap that had formed between them. He could not and would not delay that for much longer. Repeating mistakes was not something he wanted to do. On the other hand overwhelming her right now would also come with its own problems. Just because he was finally ready (or forcing himself to be), did not mean now was the best time. Better let her settle somewhat and get used to her new circumstances.
‘But soon...’ he thought.
Soon…
~oOo~
Sakura was finally done with her assessment. The last three days had been extremely tedious.
The first one was focused on her physical capabilities. Kawaru-sensei had thoroughly tested not only her Taijutsu, but also her stamina, form, flexibility, reflexes and reaction time. After he was done with that, he had proceeded to test her on her shuriken- and kunai-skills. She had never been so exhausted in her entire life. The number of breaks she had to take was embarrassing, her stamina was definitely bad, but she got an immense sense of satisfaction from the physical exercises. Finally she was moving again instead of sitting on the side-lines. This was already more than she had done during her entire time on Team 7 combined.
The second day was just as exhausting, although not in the same way and more interesting than satisfying for Sakura. It was the day they focused on her chakra. Her sensei had taken her to the hospital, straight to a brown-haired and golden-eyed Iryo-Nin who seemed to have expected them. Iyuga-sensei’s hands had started to glow a soft green, the colour of medical chakra, and proceeded to check over the pinkette’s chakra system. She had methodologically checked for any abnormalities, took a look at the development of her pathways and their elasticity and somehow determined her yin-to-yang ratio. Sakura had so many questions.
Once that had been done, Kawaru-sensei took her to another room, one for training purposes. Apparently it was used for patients to try out their chakra flow in a safe environment and with medical staff at hand. She made a note to research chakra conditions that could lead to the use of such a room and how typical they were. It sounded fascinating. She was bid to demonstrate her Ninjutsu and was constantly checked over again and again by Iyuga-sensei. All this served to determine her chakra stores, chakra flow and chakra recovery rate. When it came to her chakra control, she only knew the Leaf-Sticking-Exercise taught in the academy, but both Kawaru-sensei and Iyuga-sensei seemed pleased when she was able to spin the leaf at differing speeds. They also gave her chakra paper to test her chakra affinity. It turned out she was naturally attuned to both water and earth. Surprising as fire was by far the most likely nature for Konoha-Nin. She wondered if the second affinity came from Inner but did not dwell on that thought, she was too giddy with the revelation. The constant use of her chakra left her tired in a way she was not quite used to yet.
When the third day dawned, the young kunoichi was excited. This was supposed to be her last assessment-day and the one she was most sure about; it was the day they would test her mind and theoretical knowledge. This was where she hoped to impress.
The paper test that followed was gruelling. It seemed to her that she was questioned about anything and everything, from more concrete topics like history, geography, mathematics, physics, chemistry, cyphers, chakra and anatomy, to less concrete subjects like strategy, politics and trap settings. There were also entire sections with open ended scenarios meant to test the way she approached things, analysed them, potentially reacted to them or countered the problem. There were even units on memorization and logical thinking. All in all that day had been the longest. She had started at 8 o’clock in the morning and finished at a whopping 7 o’clock in the evening. In between she had only taken a single bathroom break. Her hands were cramping, her stomach howling, her brain had turned to mush and she had felt quietly accomplished; seldom had she been so challenged mentally.
With the testing done, it was hopefully time to start training.
She mumbled a quick ‘Good Morning’ to her new teammates and was greeted in return. For the first time she arrived at the training grounds before her sensei did. She was not sure whether that was because she was earlier than usual or because he was later than the norm. Maybe both. No matter though, he arrived punctually. That was still something she was getting used to.
“Hello team. I hope you are all ready for some training.” Kawaru-sensei addressed them.
“You know it!” exclaimed Soru-senpai cheerfully. Kotai-senpai just nodded, as did Sakura.
“Well then…” the Jonin continued “Sakura-chan, now that we have finished your assessment it is time to discuss your results. Would you like to do that in front of your team, or would you prefer to have that discussed privately?”
Sakura was nervous, she knew she was not that impressive at the moment and to talk openly about her inadequacies in front of the two older Nin left her feeling edgy. On the other hand they were teammates and it would only be logical to be well aware of each other’s strengths and weaknesses. It could be crucial for their future teamwork.
Taking a deep breath and doing her best to hide her anxiety she nodded firmly to her team: “I…I think it would be best if Soru-senpai and Kotai-senpai are aware of where I stand.”
Sensei gave her a little approving smile and some of her nerves settled.
“While a shinobi thrives in secrecy, a team thrives on honesty. Learning to balance these two aspects of our work will become very imported to you in the future.” He imparted seriously. “In these circumstances honesty will allow all of us to work together more effectively. Neither Soru-kun nor Kotai-kun will seek to use it against you. Be aware that others might. Always consider what someone else could use the information you give them for, the good and the bad”
Sakura swore to remember this lesson.
‘Trust, but do not do so foolhardily’ she thought.
“Alright then. Your physical capabilities are overall as expected. Your biggest hindrance will be your lack of speed and stamina. This is something we will need to concentrate on. Your biggest asset is your precision. Your forms are clean and your transitions and flexibility above average. Your reflexes and reaction time are acceptable. The Little Leaf Style is unfortunately unsuitable for you. We do not have the time to work on a new style at the moment, but a few new kata that fit you better should be easy enough to fit in. Combined with regular sparring sessions and a focus on getting your speed and stamina up to par, I think we can reach an acceptable level of Taijutsu before the exams.
Your chakra and chakra coils are well developed and your ratio heavily leans towards yin. That should serve you well for Genjutsu and Iryo-Ninjutsu if you are interested. Your chakra recovery rate is quite good, as is the elasticity of your coils and pathways. Your chakra stores are below average, which is a bit of a surprise considering how well your chakra system is developed. We will focus on using your chakra every day, which should stimulate your body to produce more and encourage core growth. You are dual-natured, which was a pleasant revelation. We shall see about teaching you at least one D-ranked jutsu of each nature, most likely a defensive one for earth and an offensive one for water. To that end increasing your chakra control will be vital.
And last your theoretical assessment. You did well above average across the board. When you introduced yourself you mentioned your memorization skills as one of your greatest strengths: you were right in that. Your analysation and deduction skills are also noteworthy. At this moment there is nothing that you would need to focus on in this area.
Concluding this is what we will concentrate on in the next few weeks: speed, stamina, kata integration, chakra control and giving you some more Ninjutsu as well as teaching you how to detect and cancel Genjutsu. Thankfully some of those can be taught simultaneously.
Is this something we can agree on? Is there anything else you would like to add or are interested in persuading?”
For a moment the girl could only stare wide eyed at the raven-haired Jonin. To be fair, she had come to mostly similar conclusions in concerns to her strength and weaknesses, but it was nice to have them verified. The information about her chakra and body was appreciated and not something she had considered so heavily before and really good to know. What she had not expected was the length of the list he wanted to focus on at once. Did her day even have enough hours in it to get all that done?
Then the question registered in her mind.
That he was even interested in her opinion on the matter filled her with contentment, while his willingness to let her increase her to do list filled her with trepidation and excitement. She had never been afraid of hard work and if he believed she could do all this, then she would give it her all.
‘Yeah! We are gonna kick ass!’ Inner cheered.
“I have no objections to your plan Kawaru-sensei. As for something I would like to learn more about…I am interested in finding out more about chakra. I mean, it is the basis for many shinobi arts and even those who do not focus heavily on it like Taijutsu specialists still use it to increase the power of their strikes and the like. Iyuga-sensei made me realise that there is much more to chakra than what I know right now. I would really like to study it in greater detail.”
One of her sensei’s eyebrows rose, but he acquiesced easily.
“True, even weapons can be made more effective with the right chakra flow, although they do have to be well made to handle the strain. While not a typical field of study, I do not see why you should not pursue it further and you did present a good argument. Very well, I will see if I can find some fitting material. If there is nothing else, I would also like you to think about studying cyphers in greater depth. Our team is geared towards intelligence services and you have shown an aptitude for it during your theoretical evaluation.”
Sakura did not need to think long about it. She wanted to be useful beyond getting Team 13 into the Chunin exams and it was indeed something that fit her well. Besides, one of her goals was to find a specialisation and this was a good starting point in her search.
“I am interested.”
“Then I shall add it.” Short, sweet and to the point. He was nothing like Hatake-san.
“Let’s get warmed up. Everyone ready? Go.” And so they began their training.
Once they were nicely warmed up and did their stretching exercises, Kawaru-sensei turned to them again.
“Soru-kun and Kotai-kun, today I want you to focus on your precision and dodging. Your poisoned senbon will need direct contact, Soru-kun, just like Kotai-kun’s Kenjutsu. Switch between who is on the offense and who is on the defence. I will leave it up to you to decide when to switch.”
Her teammates nodded in understanding and left to the back of the training ground.
“Sakura-chan, today I want to show you a new chakra control exercise. I trust you have noticed your fellow shinobi sometimes running on roofs or maybe even sticking to odd places?”
“Yes, I often wondered how exactly they did that.”
“It is a simple chakra manipulation skill. Konoha-Nin will typically start this training on trees, let me demonstrate.” With that he casually walked up a tree as if it was a horizontal surface. He walked down the tree just as calmly.
“The tenketsu on the sole of your feet are the hardest to push chakra from, while those on your hands are the easiest. For the Treewalking-Exercise your output needs to be constant to stick to the wood. Too much and you will be pushed away, too little and you will not stick. A kunai can be used to mark you progress. Any questions?”
Sakura mulled that over.
“No sensei”
“Then start.”
She approached the same tree her teacher had demonstrated the skill on and cautiously pushed her right foot against it. Carefully she pushed her chakra towards the needed tenketsu and slowly increased her output until she felt herself stick to the bark. Then she tried to take her foot off while still maintaining her chakra flow. No success, it was well and truly stuck. Satisfied to have seemingly found the right amount, she then lifted her left foot, got ready to mould her chakra and took a step.
…This was actually not that hard, once she knew what chakra quantity was needed, it was just a matter of timing. Step-Stick-Release. Step-Stick-Release.
What started off as a somewhat shaky gait, quickly became a more relaxed walk. In no time she had made it to the top of the tree and grinned down at her teacher.
“I did it sensei!”
She was surprised to see her grin returned, until now Kawaru-sensei had appeared to be stuck in the setting ‘serious Jonin’.
“I saw. Well done. Now come down and repeat the exercise at least thirty times.”
‘Well’ she thought ‘at least I will also get a good core and upper body work-out. He did say some training could be done simultaneously.’
Just because she could stick to the tree, did not mean that she did not also have to control the rest of her body.
‘I wanted this. I chose this’ she repeated to herself again and again as aches set in and she started to sweat like a pig.
~oOo~
Hatake Kakashi had not expected the summons to the Hokage office so early in the morning. While in the past a lot of missions had been time sensitive and he had been expected to appear in a horribly timely and impromptu manner, he was a Jonin-sensei now, which should have meant far less orders to come in immediately. What had gone wrong for him to be summoned?
With a feeling of trepidation he decided to be only fifteen minutes late (it was not a Code Red, so a very fast response was not needed, right?) and made his customary entrance through the window. The moment he saw the stony face of the Third he felt a heavy weight settle on him. His instincts bristled and it was only his long experience that kept him from tensing. His Icha Icha was nowhere in sight though.
“Kakashi” Sarutobi started “what exactly has been going on with your team?”
What had his puppies done now?
“Maa, has something happened with Sasuke-kun or Naruto-kun?” It could not be anything too dramatic, like an attack, otherwise more shinobi would be swarming all over the place. It was not a Code Red. He beat down the urge to check up on them right that second, he could always do that later.
“I am starting to see that she may have had valid reasons. Tell me Kakashi, who all were you assigned to?” A leading question and it was not like the Jonin was slow on the uptake.
“What happened with Sakura-chan?” He wanted answers and he wanted them now. This game the Hokage was playing set him on edge and he did not appreciate to have this dragged out unnecessarily.
“She has officially resigned from Team 7. I ask again and this time I would really like an answer: what has been going on with your team?”
Resigned?! Sakura-chan could not have resigned, why would she leave a team that had her crush on it? He remembered her introduction, that girl would have done anything to stay close to Sasuke-kun.
“A misunderstanding, Hokage-sama. I will see it corrected. By noon the matter will have been cleared up.” He gave an eye-smile to his leader and was just about to start searching for his cute little Genin to do just that –
“You will stay and answer my question.” The tone may have been mild, but the killing intent was certainly not. It bore down on him heavily and he was reminded that beneath the mask of the kind old leader laid a dangerous shinobi.
“Maybe this will help your memory; she cited neglect and insurmountable differences as her reasons. Is there any truth to these allegations?”
“No…? I…I do not understand, she was specifically assigned to me because she did not need much guidance in comparison to the boys.” Kakashi’s head was spinning. This could not be happening.
“Kakashi, little guidance is not the same as no guidance at all. What did you have her working on?”
“…”
“Kakashi…”
“Sasuke-kun and Naruto-kun needed my attention more. That was obvious from the beginning. I would have started her on something when they sorted themselves out a bit…”
“If you do not answer my question I will take it to mean you had her working on nothing, not even basic conditioning.” The Hokage was slowly losing his patience. When the Hatake still had no answer for him, he looked at him in shock and dismay.
“Kakashi! What were you thinking? Do you have any idea about the consequences of your stupidity?”
The Jonin could imagine just what this would do to Team 7. He could not have failed them already.
“I will make this right Hokage-sama.” He promised heavily. For all of their sakes.
“It’s too late Kakashi.” Sarutobi said quietly “She has already been reassigned to Team 13. It is done. The only thing we can do now is damage control.”
It was like one of Gai’s punches in the gut. Kakashi was left gasping for breath and a feeling of nausea overtook him. He needed to find out what exactly happened to push Sakura-chan to such a drastic action and how she was reassigned so quickly. Something was off here.
The Hokage sighed deeply and handed him a folder. “You have until next week to straighten out yourself and your team. Starting next Wednesday Team 7 will have a new member.”
Kakashi stared at the file in a daze. New member? This was not right. It was worse because the Hokage would not allow him to make it right.
“Dismissed.”
~oOo~
Aburame Kotai was busy doing what came naturally to him: silently observing the world.
The last few weeks had been extremely nerve-wrecking. His future was on the line and they had all seemed helpless in face of the inevitable. Then, out of nowhere, Soru had convinced their sensei to take a wild gamble and approach a dissatisfied fresh-out-of-the-academy kunoichi.
And she had agreed.
To be perfectly honest, he sometimes still believed her to be a Genjutsu.
She was tiny. And pink.
The thought of dragging the younger girl, with her pastel pink hair and spring green eyes, to Kiri of all places seemed like a bad joke. Nobody was laughing though. Or maybe the rest of Team 13 was, but not in amusement, but from sheer relief that they had one more chance.
Soru and he would have their hands full protecting her, between her soft looks and her out of the ordinary appearance she would basically have a target painted on her already. Maybe they could convince her to dye her hair for the duration? That would hopefully divert some attention off of them…
First they needed to concentrate on getting her ready though, at least as ready as she could be. For all of his blonde teammate’s keenness, Kotai was aware that Soru was sceptical about the girl. It had less to do with her abilities as a shinobi and more to do with her willingness to leave her previous team behind. Maketa’s actions had left deep wounds behind and the Yamanaka could hold a grudge like few other people he knew.
Suddenly being a four man cell again was jarring.
Kotai tried to be as unbiased as he could. He had purposefully only looked up the bare bones of her file and decided to withheld judgement until he had a better grasp on the girl’s personality. At the very least he preferred her quiet determination over the useless bragging of Awai-san, the Genin from the corps that had wanted to take the Taki Exam with them.
He could not deny that her introduction had been underwhelming, but considering her circumstances it was to be expected. Soru and he would pick up any slack. It would not be fair to have any big expectations for her, she had only just graduated. In the end he would not forget that she was doing them a favour and willing to take a risk on them as well.
He got the first very positive surprise when she agreed to share her assessment results. Even he could see her insecurity, had heard it during her first introduction. She still chose to let them hear such personal information. The show of trust did not go unnoticed or unappreciated.
Kotai made sure to listen closely, the more he knew, the better he could plan.
Hearing about her below average chakra core was a bit concerning, although at her age it could be easily encouraged to grow. No, what truly surprised him was the theoretical evaluation. Sensei did not see a single topic worth studying up on for her at the moment. Just how well had she done? The bug user was left very curious.
This was good. The first part of the Chunin Exam was after all often based on mental ability. It gave him hope.
The Aburame did not have to wait long for the second surprise of the day: the girl walked up the tree on her first try. He did not know anyone who had ever managed that. He shared a quick wide-eyed look with Soru before they continued their spar. Kawaru-sensei would probably admonish them for not concentrating more on their own training, but both were too curious about how the kunoichi would fare.
Kotai chastised himself to be more professional.
And so their day continued.
After a hearty lunch and some rest their sensei took the girl away to a nearby pond. It appeared he was just as interested to see how well she would do with another control exercise.
Two hours later he came back, without the girl. Only knowing the man for years allowed Kotai to read the shock in his posture.
At Soru’s and his look he explained: “She did it, she only sank in twice and she managed to catch herself both times. I have never encountered anyone with such an instinctive control of their own chakra. She is with Iyuga now; the continued exercise took much out of her.”
Now this…this changed things.
~oOo~