Chapter Text
“Isn’t it obvious? You are going to spar against Gai’s students.”
Something between a groan and a gasp escapes Sakura - quite an undignified sound, which just makes it all that much worse, doesn’t it? She looks from her sensei - and for a moment she’d almost forgotten what a sadistic bastard he is - to Gai-sensei and his students. All three of them are present now, she notes. The girl - Tenten - looks sweaty but has the same determined expression as Lee, while Hyuuga Neji looks rather more the perfect picture of calm dignity beside them. Last time Sakura saw him he was still on crutches. Now he’s walking under his own power, though from the fact that he wasn’t running on the wall with the others, Sakura surmises that he might still be recovering from his injuries.
She swallows nervously, keenly aware how pathetic she must look to the three of them. Though the chakra meditation - and she still can’t believe that she is apparently learning something supposedly as difficult as chakra meditation! - has eased away most of the pain from her muscles, she’s still exhausted. Sweaty, exhausted and disgusting!
And Kakashi-sensei is expecting her to do more today.
After what has already been the most intense workout she’s ever had.
The other three genin studies her with the same curiosity that she studies them. Neither of them look nearly as exhausted as she feels, and Lee is practically bouncing on his feet in excitement. Meanwhile, Sakura is drenched in sweat, and her clothes are rumpled and even have green splotches on them from sitting on the grass.
“Lee and Neji here,” Kakashi-sensei continues, gesturing to the two boys, “are excellent Taijutsu users, and this young lady I’m told is very proficient with bukijutsu. Watching you fight them will give me a great opportunity to evaluate your skills.”
“The name’s Tenten,” Tenten says, immediately glaring daggers at Kakashi. “I ain’t no young lady .”
If Kakashi-sensei notices her glaring it falls off of him like water on a duck.
“Who wants to go first?” Gai-sensei asks, eyeing his students expectantly.
“Oh, oh, I’ll go first Gai-sensei!” Lee answers immediately, eagerly raising his hand and waving it around in a manner that reminds her of Naruto. “And if I lose I shall run another twelve laps around the village, I swear!”
“Lee, you will run those laps regardless of whether you win or lose.”
Gai-sensei’s voice is stern but Lee only looks motivated, hands fisted as he swears loudly to do his best not to put his sensei's teachings to shame.
Sakura looks at Kakashi, hoping against hope that he will declare the whole thing a joke and that they are done for the day. When he doesn’t, she reluctantly steps away into the middle of the training field. Lee joins her a moment later, teary eyed from his passionate declarations of dedication and motivation.
They face off.
Remembering his fight during the Chunin Exams, she automatically takes a defensive stance. He’d been very fast and skilled, only defeated because he’d been poisoned from a very minor wound. She can’t afford to underestimate him.
“I want you to know,” he says as they face off, eyes gleaming with determination, “that although it pains me to fight such a beautiful blossom such as yourself, I will not dishonour you by giving it anything less than my best! And I expect you to do your best in return!”
She cocks her head a little, confused at the declaration. Though she can’t quite put her finger on it there is something about it that feels like a backhanded compliment. She’s not quite sure that she appreciates the promise of him doing his best against her - especially given how tired her muscles still are - but at least he’s taking her seriously.
“I’ll do my best,” she says, raising her hands a little higher and giving him a small smile.
“Good. As the protégés of our respective sensei then, we are forevermore Eternal Rivals in honour of their Springtime of Youth.”
Her surprise doesn’t even have time to register fully before he’s attacking her and she hastily has to block a series of powerful strikes. Ow, she thinks as her forearms take the pure force and she is forced to stumble backwards. He really isn’t pulling his punches against her.
The series of punches is exchanged for a violent kick and she hastily jumps backwards, trying to create some space between them. However he’s quick to follow, forcing her to retreat further to avoid another kick.
The kicks and blows keep overlapping each other quickly enough that she doesn’t have the chance to regain her footing properly, much less to anything but hastily try to block them.
It isn’t long before a sweeping kick manages to get under her guard, hitting her painfully on the hip. She goes flying, crash landing clumsily. Both of her elbows and one knee scrape painfully against the ground, the trousers tearing in the process, and her eyes tear up with pain.
Before she has the time to get up again, Lee is at her again and she just barely has the time to throw her hands up to block his blow. Kneeling as she is, she's unable to bring her legs up to protect her unguarded belly from the following kick, and she sees his foot approaching with terrifying speed.
Her hands run through the signs - tiger, boar, ox, dog - and already before she can form the snake-sign she feels her body being pulled away in the body replacement technique.
Wood splinters beneath Lee’s foot and she takes a deep breath, relieved to have escaped that. Careful to keep her head down she watches him from the tree she now finds herself in. He turns around in the clearing, looking around for her. She won’t be able to stay hidden for long, she knows. She’ll have to come up with some sort of plan, but what to do?
He’s stronger than she is, she states to herself. There’s no way that she’ll be able to beat him using brute force. But Kakashi-sensei wants to see what she can do, so she has to do her best.
Even if she’s doomed to fail. She’ll just have to channel her inner Naruto, and his unwavering optimism.
Speaking of Naruto …
Her fingers run through the signs - ram, snake, tiger - and she throws herself from the tree with a clone on each side. They’re not like Naruto’s shadow clones, just the Academy-taught clone technique, but she sees Lee’s eyes grow a fraction larger with surprise.
“A worthy rival indeed, Sakura-san,” he says.
He attacks the clone on her left first, giving her the opportunity to grab a fistful of dirt to throw in his face to further confuse him. His kick goes straight through her clone and he blinks rapidly against the dirt, trying to clear his eyes.
Sakura exchanges places with the clone on her right, so when Lee kicks out his foot passes right through again. The kick leaves him momentarily unbalanced and she aims her own kick.
Vaguely she hears Gai and Tenten gasp from the sidelines but she doesn’t have the time to worry about that.
Her foot connects with his stomach and he falls into a roll, quite a bit more elegant than her own fall previously. When he comes out of the roll he’s facing her again, hands already up to parr her blows.
“Excellent display that not only skill but also smarts is required to win a fight,” Lee says, his eyes gleaming with excitement. He’s practically vibrating with it.
Her muscles are already protesting the fighting and she doesn’t have the breath to answer him. Instead she sinks down in a crouch, aiming another kick at him in hopes that a kick might cause some damage.
Lee easily blocks her kick with both of his arms, not even wincing with the force of her kick. A moment later his hand locks around her ankle and she has a moment to register the devious smile he gives her before she is sent flying again.
She crashes into a tree, having just enough presence of mind to crawl up into a ball to protect herself from damage. The force of it has her mind spinning, and by the time she can orient herself enough to separate up from down she finds herself sprawled against the base of the tree with Lee standing over her.
“I yield,” she groans.
Immediately Lee steps back, offering a hand to help her up. She accepts it, groaning in pain. Quickly she checks that nothing is broken. She’s got scrapes, bruises and tears in her clothes, but to her relief nothing is broken.
“Well fought, Sakura-san.”
“Thanks. Sorry I wasn’t more of a match.”
They exchange brief smiles, make the seal of reconciliation and make their way back towards where the others are waiting for them.
“You were a worthy opponent nonetheless, Sakura-san. And I am sure we will face each other again.”
As they approach the others she finds them eyeing the two of them strangely and she worriedly checks herself over again. Scrapes and bruises but no serious damage, and none of the tears in her clothes are anywhere indecent. So why ..?
“Ma, Sakura-chan,” Kakashi-sensei drawls, “if your kick had only been aimed a little bit lower you could have won that match.”
Beside her Lee blushes and Sakura looks confused between him and her sensei. What does he ..?
When she realises what he means she blushes furiously herself. “Sensei! That’s vulgar!”
Even so she makes a mental note of it. In another fight, against someone who is not a comrade, it might be useful.
“Well fought Lee! Who’s next?” Gai eagerly eyes his two remaining students and they exchange glances.
“Ladies first,” Neji says, mock-bowing to Tenten.
She scowls at him, but steps up to face Sakura in the middle of the clearing. Before Sakura has a chance to take a stance, Tenten pulls out a scroll from one of her pockets, unrolling it and swiftly summoning a long metal stick, studded with sharp looking iron spikes.
“You don’t mind if I use my kanabo, do you?” she asks, smiling sweetly as she takes a stance with her legs far apart. “I know it’s not a very ladylike weapon.”
The last part is delivered with another glare at Kakashi-sensei.
Sakura swallows nervously and gives Kakashi a half hearted glare of her own. He had to go and make Tenten angry with that lady-comment, didn’t he? And Neji is just as bad, clearly gauding his teammate on.
“Of course not,” she replies, trying to hide the tremor in her voice.
It’s not as if she has much of a choice anyway. Wearily she eyes the sharp spikes. She cannot let Tenten get a hit in. That thing will easily break her bones, even without the spikes. The kanabo is almost as tall as Tenten herself, with a handle thin enough for the other girl to comfortably hold on to but thickening out until it is about as thick as a leg at the end. The spikes start about halfway up and Sakura can’t help but think that it looks a bit overkill. Like a tool capable of breaking through thick armour. Or walls or … anything really.
Either way it is definitely not a very ladylike weapon.
Taking a deep breath she pulls out two kunai of her own, hoping that the fighting style of the kanabo is somewhat like that of a sword. Because at least she has some experience fighting Tanigawa and his sword, even if fighting a literal war club will no doubt be very different.
When Tenten swings the kanabo, Sakura abruptly realises that it is nothing at all like Tanigawa’s sword. The similarities begin and end with the two handed grip. While a sword will break her skin and make her bleed, the kanabo promises to break bones even more surely than Lee’s blows earlier, and certainly will not be stopped by a kunai or two.
With an undignified squeal she drops her kunai and throws herself out of the way. Tenten has a positively wicked smile on her face as she takes a step forward to recover from the blow and quickly steer the club into another wide arch heading for Sakura.
Forced to retreat again, Sakura scrambles for anything resembling an idea. Using kunai against the kanabo will be about as useful as sewing needles; likely to break from the sheer weight and force of the thing and unlikely to do any damage at all.
“You can’t keep dodging forever,” Tenten taunts her as she throws herself out of the way of another blow.
Even so, the words do help Sakura form the beginnings of a plan. The kanabo is tall and heavy, no doubt requiring a substantial amount of effort to swing. If she can keep dodging long enough, Tenten might tire herself out enough to make a mistake. Maybe even leave an opening that Sakura can exploit.
That plan in mind, Sakura dodges another blow, using a little bit of chakra in her feet and legs to shoot off further away to create some decent distance. As soon as she lands again Tenten is already running at her and Sakura’s hands weave through the signs - ram, snake, tiger.
Clones at her side, she runs towards Tenten, both her and the clones running in a zig-zag pattern as to hide who the real her is. As they get closer she falls back a little, allowing the clones to take the lead.
Tenten swings at the first clone and the club runs straight through it. Sakura is already creating more clones as Tenten regains her balance enough to swing again, aiming for the second clone.
When the club passes through the second clone and Tenten spots the barrage of clones - nowhere near Naruto-amounts but a respectable four more - she growls in annoyance. Quickly adapting her footing she swings again and this time the club passes through two of her clones. The remaining two draw their kunai to attack as Tenten is still regaining her footing. With a look at the two kunai wielding clones Tenten shoots off, jumping back a few metres to create distance between them.
For a few moments Sakura and her clones face off against Tenten again in silence, neither moving. Tenten's eyes move between her three opponents and finally locks onto Sakura with a smirk.
“Found you,” she says.
Ignoring the useless clones she shoots forward again, heading straight for Sakura.
Crap! she has the time to think before she catapults herself away, leaving behind a small crater in the ground. She lands in a tree on the other side of the clearing, quickly locating Tenten again.
The other girl is already on the move, halfway across the clearing with the kanabo raised high. Surprised, and terrified at the growing realisation that Tenten does not only wield a powerful weapon but she also does so at great speed and agility, Sakura kicks off again. This time she keeps her eyes carefully trained on Tenten, hoping to spot a weakness.
There is a momentary delay as Tenten recovers her balance again, forcefully pulling the heavy kanabo in another direction to follow Sakura. Hoping to take advantage of the delay, Sakura throws a barrage of shuriken towards Tenten, but once the girl gets moving again she easily dodges the shuriken as her eyes lock once more unto Sakura.
Out of any better ideas than to stay out of the way, Sakura jumps again, weaving through the signs for the clone technique again as she does so. As she lands the clones and her shoot in different directions.
Forced to take a moment to look carefully, Tenten follows all three Sakuras with her eyes. All three of them weave through the signs for the clone jutsu again but it is only her who actually creates another two clones. Tenten immediately locks on to the fact, so when she lands again Sakura makes sure that she and a clone change places before they jump off again.
This time she refrains from doing any more clones. She’s at her limit anyway.
With Tenten once more unsure of which is the true Sakura, she follows the newer clones to join the older ones, mingling with them until she is certain that Tenten can’t tell which is the true one from this distance.
Off they go again, and as Tenten struggles to keep all five of them in her sight Sakura takes the first opportunity to hide when Tenten is distracted. Her clones continue to move, jumping around, feinting attacks and keeping enough distance between themselves and Tenten that it is not readily apparent that they are all clones.
“I can keep swinging all day!” Tenten shouts at her. “I dare you to come closer!”
Crouching low in a treetop, hidden by the leaves, Sakura believes her. Their fight has already gone on for much longer than the earlier fight against Lee, and Tenten shows no signs of exhaustion.
What can she do then? If she can’t get into close combat for fear of breaking her bones, if her own kunai and shuriken are basically useless and if Tenten won’t tire, what can she possibly do?
Her mind comes up blank.
“You know, Sakura-chan, while running and hiding might be a good idea in a real life battle, the idea of this exercise is for me to see you actually fight.”
Kakashi-sensei’s voice is calm but clearly audible across the clearing. As she peeks out from her hideout she sees that he’s looking straight at the tree she’s hiding in.
Tenten sees him looking too.
Traitor, she thinks before she runs again.
Not about to let her join the clones again, Tenten shoots off too, jumping up to meet her in the air even as she wields the kanabo. Sakura curses silently, seeing the club coming straight for her. Tiger, boar, ox, dog - she vaguely notes that she doesn’t seem to need the last snake sign again to make her chakra perform the jutsu - and the body replacement technique pulls her out of the way.
Behind her, the block of wood splinters under the force of Tenten's blow and Sakura has a moment to think that all of Gai’s team seem to be ridiculously overpowered. When Tenten lands in the tree again she struggles for a moment to regain her balance, and Sakura sends another barrage of shuriken her way. This time the other girl yelps and hastily has to jump out of the way.
That’s it! Ruthlessly using the exposed opening, Sakura sends another shuriken, aiming for precision rather than quantity this time. She doesn’t have that many shuriken left in her pouch, after all.
Once more Tenten is hastily forced to dodge the shuriken, pulling the heavy club with her. Sakura ponders briefly that Tenten looks agile enough that without the club it’d be next to impossible to hit her. However, out of balance and dragging the club with her, Tenten is at last at a small disadvantage and Sakura can’t afford not to use it.
The next time Tenten lands, Sakura sends a kunai flying towards her, following it closely herself. Again Tenten manages to dodge the attack but when she jumps aside Sakura is there, kunai glinting dangerously as she strikes.
Tenten has just enough time to pull the kanabo up to protect herself.
Prepared for the block, Sakura is already halfway through the signs for the body replacement technique again, and the club crashes into another block of wood. Sakura doesn’t give herself time to regain her breath after the replacement, immediately shooting off towards Tenten’s exposed back.
Caught between the splintering wood and Sakura, unable to turn around to protect herself whilst still in the air, Tenten at last drops the club. With only her own body she is agile enough to avoid Sakura’s attack, but when they finally land on the ground Tenten pulls out two kunai of her own.
The club lands some distance away, momentarily forgotten.
“You should have kept dodging,” Tenten smirks.
The attacks that follow are so quick Sakura is barely able to get her own kunai up in time to block the blows. Kunai clash against kunai, and quicker than she can think Tenten is shifting, attacking again. She twists out of the way, dancing out of range only to have Tenten advancing on her again with ruthless efficiency.
Before she knows it she’s caught with her back against a tree and Tenten’s kunai against her throat.
“I yield!” she hurriedly calls, panting heavily.
Tenten remains frozen in place for another moment before she backs off, pocketing her kunai and heading off to collect her club.
“I can’t believe you forced me to drop my club,” she comments as she returns.
She flashes Sakura a smile. Hesitantly Sakura smiles back.
“Me neither,” she admits. “That thing is terrifying.”
Tenten makes a face.
“Maybe it was a bit overkill. It is intended as an anti-armour weapon, after all. Sorry.”
Sakura blanches a little. She’d thought as much, but hearing it confirmed somehow seems to make it more real.
“Remind me to never get on your bad side,” she comments as they join the others.
Tenten shares a high five with Gai and Lee, and Sakura shoots Kakashi a pleading look. She’s exhausted already and he has surely seen plenty of her fighting today! Even if it is two losses he has seen.
“Your turn, Neji-kun!” Gai says eagerly. “Do your best!”
“You too, Sakura-chan.” Kakashi-sensei gives her a wholly unapologetic smile.
Still breathing more heavily than usual from her previous two matches, Sakura slowly makes her way back out into the middle of the clearing. From the corner of her eye she studies Neji. His walk is confident and relaxed. If he has any remaining issues from his injuries from the fight against Gaara of the Sand he doesn’t show it. Given the fact that he’s a fellow Konoha shinobi she can’t even be angry that Tsunade-sama has done an excellent job healing his injuries.
Even if that also means that her chance of winning is that much smaller.
“Fair warning,” Neji says as they take their stances, his voice calm and polite, “my Byakugan is able to easily tell the difference between you and a clone, so don’t bother with the clone technique.”
Mentally cursing, she falls into a defensive stance, hoping to at least be able to hold him off long enough to offer some resistance. They face off against each other and his pale eyes meet hers as he takes the stance she remembers from the Chunin Exams. She’s ashamed to note that her arms are trembling with exhaustion.
It takes her a few moments to realise that he’s waiting for her to attack rather than to attack himself. She’s not sure whether she should be grateful or not.
“Taijutsu?” she asks, suddenly hesitant.
“Whatever you wish to use.”
His voice is calm and his face relaxed. It takes her a moment to realise that the haughtiness she remembers from their first meeting and his fight against Hinata during the Chunin Exams is gone.
“Alright.”
After a brief hesitation, she whips out her remaining shuriken, sending them in a barricade towards him. He easily dances out of the way, to her surprise even plucking one of them out of its trajectory and sending it back towards her with effortless elegance.
With a yelp she pulls out a kunai to deflect it, awkwardly noting that he’s still not attacking. Apparently he’s perfectly comfortable waiting for her to attack.
Clenching her jaw in determination, she draws another kunai and attacks. Coming at a friendly opponent armed while he’s unarmed feels strange but she pushes the feeling aside. She needs every advantage she can get.
He easily parrs her attack, hands somehow reaching past the edge of her kunai and pushing her arms wide aside. Once past her defence his hands swiftly come at her again, pushing at her chest and sending her stumbling backwards.
Exhausted she stumbles over her own feet, landing roughly on her bum. Instinctively she brings her kunai up to protect herself against the follow up attack, only to realise that it’s not coming.
He stands where he last was, having returned to his original position and patiently awaiting her attack.
“This is humiliating,” she grumbles as she stands, painfully aware that neither Tenten nor Lee would have allowed her the room to do so in their fights.
Neji doesn’t answer and she can only be grateful that at least he’s not taunting her.
Once more she faces him, taking a more offensive stance now that she knows that he’s waiting for her to attack. Studying him for a few moments she adjusts her grip on her kunai, allowing the blades to run more parallel to her forearms. It means a greater risk of cutting herself, but it should also make it more difficult for him to parr her blows.
Distantly, she notes that he hasn’t even activated his byakugan yet.
Before she can lose her nerve she attacks again, circulating chakra through her limbs to make herself faster and stronger. Despite this he easily keeps up, somehow managing to par her blows anyway. This time she is careful to quickly bring her arms back inwards again, not leaving herself exposed like last time.
They exchange blows, or rather he blocks her attacks and doesn’t attack back, leaving enough opportunity for her to strike again. The gap in their skills is obvious, even to her.
With a growl she forces more chakra into her arms. If she can’t get in a good hit she’ll at least make those blocks painful!
“Byakugan!”
Before her eyes, Neji’s pupils dilate, becoming more distinctive in his otherwise pale eyes, and the veins around the eyes bulge. The sight alone is enough to make her hesitate but she forces herself to continue.
The next blow is spurred by chakra, circulating rapidly through her arm to give it more strength. Except when Neji parries her this time there is a distinctive sting to it that wasn’t there before, and her chakra twitches .
She gasps and drops her kunai in pure surprise. That’s definitely not normal.
Having some idea of what his fighting style is from having watched him fight Hinata during the chunin exams, she tries to redirect her second blow. He blocks her nonetheless, with a similar sting as before. This time she just barely manages to hold on to her kunai and she quickly swings it towards him again, aiming lower. Towards his stomach rather than his chest, which is where his guard is at.
Despite her best attempts he easily blocks her, redirecting the power of the blow in such a way that she finds herself stumbling, out of balance. His other hand forms a fist and connects with her diaphragm. Thankfully not one of his clan techniques, because the blow is painful enough as it is.
Her lungs spasm as she falls to her knees, struggling to breathe through the pain. Stars dance before her eyes, and all she can think of is the burning need for air .
“I think it is fair to say that Neji-kun won that one,” she hears Kakashi-sensei say once she can focus beyond the sheer need to breathe.
Yeah, Sakura can only agree. Neji definitely won that one.
Kakashi-sensei and her have lunch in a nearby park, opting on Kakashi’s discretion to sit in the trees rather than on any of the available park benches.
At this point Sakura is too exhausted to protest.
It’s probably easier to just run with his weird quirks.
“Please tell me we’re not doing more training after lunch?” she says halfway through the meal, when she’s feeling slightly more human again.
She eyes the remains of her bento box, looks at Kakashi-sensei and remembers her earlier episode throwing up on the wall. That does not need a repeat.
“Not in that sense, no.”
His assurance is less than comforting. Giving him another hesitant look, she slowly starts to eat again.
His bento is already finished, of course.
When they are done eating, he thankfully doesn’t lead her back towards the training grounds, but rather towards the market place. Which might not be that much of an improvement, given her current condition. Her muscles are stiff and aching now that she has been sitting still for a while, making her movements awkward and jerky. The numerous scrapes on her arms and legs have started to scab over, and she hasn’t bothered to bandage any of them properly in anticipation of a shower and a chance to properly clean them.
Not to mention that she stinks.
All in all, Sakura blindly follows Kakashi-sensei through the crowds, staring at the ground rather than watching people undoubtedly stare at her in disgust. Which is why she doesn’t even notice where they’re going until it’s too late.
Tanigawa Armory.
Sakura lingers by the door for a moment, wondering when this day of repeated humiliation on her part will end. Kakashi-sensei, of course, has no such qualms.
“Don’t linger, Sakura-chan. We’ve got plenty of places to visit today.”
Reluctantly, she follows him further into the shop. It hasn’t changed at all since her last visit, it seems. One large room, well lit and filled with various display cases showcasing different kinds of kunai, shuriken and other smaller weapons. The walls serve as displays for numerous different swords, glinting sharply in the light.
Kakashi ignores the wares at display and heads immediately for the counter at the back, leaving Sakura to trail behind him.
“I want to establish a line of credit for my apprentice,” he declares as he reaches the counter.
To Sakura’s horror, it’s Tanigawa Akihiro manning the desk. He looks up from whatever he’s been doodling on, eyeing first Kakashi and then noticing her behind him. His eyes grow larger with surprise.
“Sakura! Are you alright?”
In a moment he’s up, rounding the counter and Kakashi. Surprisingly gentle hands grasp on to her arm, lifting it up to inspect some of the more badly looking scratches there.
Please, let her die now.
Please, just let a hole open up in the ground and swallow her whole.
Please, anything to end this humiliation.
“I’m fine. Just, uh … coming straight from training, that’s all.”
Her cheeks are burning and she cannot make herself meet his eyes. Or look at Kakashi-sensei.
“Let me help you bandage that up.”
Uncaring of her protests and Kakashi-sensei’s raised eyebrow, he swiftly pulls her behind the counter, pushing her to sit on the stool there. A basic healing kit is retrieved from a drawer and a moment later he is dabbing on her wounds with an antiseptic.
“You don’t have to do this,” she manages to protest after a few moments of awkward silence.
“It’s no problem.”
“No really, I just scraped myself during practice.”
She tries to pull her arm away but his grip is surprisingly firm, even as he remains gentle as he takes care of her wounded arms.
“Sit still for two minutes and let me take care of you, will you? Sheesh.” His voice is still gentle, but also chiding.
Awkwardly, she stills again, allowing him to finish cleaning both of the scraped arms and then bandage them up. Her face continues to burn with humiliation, but now she cannot make herself look away from him as he takes care of her.
His hands as he works, the focused expression on his face.
The way a green lock of hair has fallen out of his ponytail and is brushing against his cheek.
“Ma, Sakura-chan,” Kakashi-sensei says, breaking the moment in the most awfully teasing tone, “what will Sasuke-kun say when he finds out he’s been replaced so quickly?”
It’s a wonder she doesn’t drop down dead from sheer embarrassment.
“Stop being so crude, sensei! It’s nothing like that!” She gives him the most potent glare she can manage, which probably isn’t very frightening at all.
He smiles genially back at her and strolls off to browse the store.
Where are those Kiri-people who may or may not be after her when she could use them? Just … come take her now. Kidnap her, kill her, whatever. She doesn’t care.
Tanigawa’s gentle hands on her trousers, rolling them up to reveal her scraped knee, breaks her out of her fantasy of dying.
“Ouch. That one looks like it hurts.”
Wincing sympathetically he starts swabbing that too. The sting of the antiseptic makes her flinch at first and he gives her an apologetic look as he continues. It makes something in her stomach twist; not quite uncomfortably, but not entirely comfortably either.
“I can take care of my own injuries,” she informs him, glancing towards Kakashi where he’s browsing stacks of exploding tags.
“Then why haven’t you?”
That she was too tired to even think about it doesn't seem like a good argument for her own competence, somehow, and so she doesn’t answer. She watches him work, her fingers digging into her thighs as she endures his care.
“This one is deeper than the others,” he frowns.
She winces but doesn’t reply. It hurts a lot more than the smaller scrapes on her arms do.
Akihiro glances up at her, and then towards Kakashi-sensei and back, before focusing back on the knee before him and muttering quietly; “You’d think a responsible sensei would make sure your wounds are seen to.”
Definitely not quietly enough that Kakashi doesn’t hear him.
Worriedly, she glances over towards him again, but diverts her gaze before their eyes can meet. Though she’s seeing and learning a lot more of Kakashi-sensei lately, she can’t really imagine him as the overly caring type.
Definitely not the kind of sensei to sit on someone’s bedside.
Especially not unless it’s, like, really serious.
“It’s not that bad,” she answers, trying and not quite succeeding to make her tone dismissive. “Just … scrapes. It’s not the worst I’ve had from training.”
Not very far from the worst either, but she doesn’t need to tell him that. He’ll probably find some way to make fun of her for it anyway.
And why is he being so kind all of a sudden? Last time they saw each other they had gone right back to their rivalry, exchanging insults and fighting and she had liked that.
As much as she liked anything Tanigawa, at least.
She doesn’t like this kinder Tanigawa who probably pities her.
“Well, forgive my civilian sensibilities then and allow me to take care of it anyway.” There is a certain bite to his tone, but the hands are still gentle as he bandages her knee.
Her mouth snaps shut with an almost audible click and she flinches, not entirely from the pain.
Wanting to say something smart she struggles for words, watching him work as her mind scrambles for order. Before she’s done sorting through her thoughts he has finished bandaging up her knee.
“There. All done.”
He stands, packing up the first aid kit and returning it to the drawer it came from. While he does so, he doesn’t look at her and she suddenly wishes that he would.
“Thank you.” Rolling her trousers back down she stands and walks around the counter.
Kakashi-sensei joins them a moment later, and she’s not sure whether she’s relieved or not.
Tanigawa still doesn’t look at her.
“About that line of credit?” Kakashi says casually, depositing an impressive amount of mixed kunai, shuriken, exploding tags and other small equipment on the counter.
“Ah, yes.” Tanigawa diggs out a small stack of papers and a pen from another drawer. “What was the name?”
“Hatake Kakashi.”
Still awkward, strangely aware of the fact that Tanigawa still isn’t so much as glancing towards her, Sakura stands beside them as the forms are filled out. Distantly she listens, in case they need her input on something, but she allows her gaze to wander. It is quite naturally drawn against a particularly flashy display of several large katana in different colours.
If she’d had something like that today, she might have fared a little bit better against Tenten, she muses.
“Any upper limit for the credit?”
“Nah. Just send a bill every month or so with the specifications.”
Tanigawa hesitates a moment before noting it down. It takes Sakura a moment longer to understand what she’s hearing, and when she does a small gasp escapes her.
“Sensei?”
“I want you to be properly equipped at all times, Sakura-chan,” Kakashi says, giving her a smile before turning back to Tanigawa. “Oh, and please note that the credit is not to be used for swords.”
Tanigawa raises an eyebrow, glances quickly at Sakura and notes that down as well.
“Why not?” Sakura can’t help but pout. “If I had been able to use a sword today I might have done better against Tenten. And the others as well.”
She imagines keeping Lee and Neji at bay with a sword and smiles at the image. They can be however skilled they want; if they can’t get close enough to land a blow they can’t win, can they?
“I’ve already explained why a sword would do you no good.”
“I still don’t get it.”
Tanigawa turns the papers around, indicating for Kakashi to sign, and he does. Then Tanigawa takes the papers back to file them behind the counter.
While Tanigawa is busy with the papers, Kakashi-sensei walks up to a display of sleek, sharp-looking katana and picks one out. Sakura immediately perks up.
“Come here.”
She’s there in a flash, positively vibrating with excitement as he straps the sword to her back with practised hands.
“Try moving around with this.”
A sword! Kakashi-sensei is really giving her a sword! Sakura can barely refrain from dancing with joy, imagining how she’ll be able to best Tanigawa in his own game, and-
Kakashi-sensei kicks her feet out from beneath her, sending her tumbling ungracefully to her back. She yelps as the hilt of the sword digs painfully into her already bruised backside, and the handle gives her a good smack to the back of her head.
“That’s why I’m not giving you a sword.”
“That’s not fair! You could have at least given me some warning!”
“An enemy won’t be giving any warnings before he attacks you either.”
Grumbling, Sakura stands, noting irritably that the sword is both ungainly and loud as she does so, forcing her to roll over ungracefully, only to then have it clanking loudly against the floor.
Reluctantly, she lets Kakashi-sensei remove the sword and put it back on the display.
She could totally learn to move with it though. Especially if she were to use a smaller sized sword. Though the bigger ones certainly look more intimidating.
“Is this all today or do you want to continue browsing?” Tanigawa asks from the counter, where he has apparently finished ringing up the pile of weapons there.
“We also want to look at harnesses for weights.”
Tanigawa glances at her, without really meeting her eyes.
Sakura’s heart plummets and she can’t help but stare in horror at Kakashi. Does he honestly mean ..?!
Tanigawa leads them to the opposite corner of the store, where the displayed swords are overtaken by various weights. There are dumbbells and barbells of different sizes and colours, as well as several rows of smaller weights that look like little discs.
“We have harnesses in both leather and nylon,” Tanigawa explains, gesturing towards displays that showcase both models. “Leather is more durable but also more expensive. Nylon is cheaper and more comfortable to wear close to the body.”
Kakashi-sensei diggs around among the ones in nylon, picks one up and holds it up against Sakura. Giving it a visual estimate he puts it back in favour of one in a smaller size, which he tosses to her.
“Try it on.”
Heart still somewhere on the level of her knees, she fumbles with the multiple straps, struggling to make sense of it.
“Here. Let me show you.”
Tanigawa reaches for the harness, untangling it quickly and showing her how to put it on. Awkwardly she accepts the help. Once it is on he helps her adjust the straps until it fits snugly against her.
He’s careful that his hands don't actually touch her and though he’s close it’s as if a wall of professionalism has arisen in between them.
“Isn’t it a bit too tight?”
It feels awkward against her as she stretches to get a feel for it, and she wonders how long and often she will be required to wear the thing. It seems like it ought to get in the way when she moves.
“It’s supposed to be tight,” Tanigawa explains, pulling another strap a little bit tighter. “If it’s too loose it’ll chafe and get in the way.”
Meanwhile, Kakashi walks over to the display of little disc-like weights and picks out a few.
“We recommend starting out with the green ones to get used to the harness and the extra weight,” Tanigawa explains distractedly, still watching Sakura to make sure that the harness fits as it is supposed to. “Once you are used to the harness you can always add more weights.”
Taking no heed to the words, Kakashi returns with a number of yellow weights, quietly placing them in the pockets of her harness.
“How does it feel?” he asks once they are in place.
Sakura rolls her shoulders a little. The harness itself still feels strange, and the extra weight is just as strange but not overwhelmingly heavy. Yet. Depending on how long she’ll have to carry it, that might change quickly.
“Ok, I think. How long will I have to wear this?”
“A year to start with. Do you have weights for the wrists and ankles too?”
Her worst fears not only confirmed but outclassed, Sakura can only gape, even as Tanigawa obligingly shows her sensei the mentioned harnesses and weights. They return a few minutes later and Kakashi wordlessly straps another set of weights to both of her wrists and ankles.
“These will get tiresome really quickly,” she mutters as she tries to move in them. “Won’t they get in the way?”
Already her arms are protesting the added weight, and she can’t imagine her legs will be any happier once she starts walking around. And they’re ugly too. The harness she might at least be able to hide under some loose clothing. These, she’ll have to be more creative if she wants to hide.
“You’ll get used to it.” Kakashi’s voice is annoyingly cheerful.
“I bet I could get used to moving with a sword too.”
Kakashi-sensei ignores her words, and instead pointedly picks up a number of additional weights before returning to the counter. Sakura suppresses a groan, but has enough self preservation to realise that continued arguing probably isn’t in her best interest.
Kakashi-sensei pays for their things and they leave the store with three heavy bags, which of course Kakashi insists that it is her duty to carry, as the apprentice. Sakura casts a last glance back towards the counter but Tanigawa has already busied himself with something else and doesn’t notice.
“What do you even need all this stuff for?” she asks once they are outside, struggling to find a good way to carry the tree bags. Somehow she’s always off balance.
“Most of it’s for you, actually.”
She gives him a surprised look.
“But I already have a full weapon’s pouch. You even helped me fill it, remember?”
“I do. And as far as I recall I helped you fill it to the general standards expected for the Chunin Exams. Now that you are my apprentice, the standards have changed.”
Weaving through the masses of people on the market place, weighted down by the three bags and the new weights she struggles to keep up with him. She almost runs into an older civilian man and hastily has to apologise before sprinting to catch up with Kakashi.
“What does that mean?” she asks, trying to catch her breath.
“It means that I intend to equip you for your current fighting style, which we will build and improve upon.”
“What fighting style?”
She frowns, wondering if he’s teasing her. So far her fights have felt more like trying not to die, or in the case of the fights today against Lee and Neji, maybe more like trying not to lose too quickly. Tenten and her kanabo definitely fall into the earlier category, she thinks with a shudder. Had any of her fights been graded by her Academy teachers, she would most certainly have lost massive points for deviating from her forms so often.
“Currently your fighting style is built upon the basics you were taught in the Academy: taijutsu, shurikenjutsu along with the body replacement technique and the clone technique. At your current chakra levels, you won’t be able to master any flashy ninjutsu to expand your abilities, so we will simply use what you’ve got while we improve upon your chakra levels.”
“Oh.”
She can’t help but feel like it’s somewhat of a failure on her part. Sasuke had learned the chidori from Kakashi, and even Naruto had learned the rasengan as well as the summoning jutsu from Jiraiya-sama. That Kakashi-sensei feels she needs to practise the basics clearly speaks to the gap in strength between her and the boys.
Before she can delve too deeply into that thought, Kakashi-sensei stops in front of another business front, this one with large windows displaying a number of practical and beautiful outfits. Gina’s, the storefront sign simply says.
“I’ll take those,” Kakashi says, taking the bags from her, “and you go in and get yourself a set of decent clothes. Nothing too flashy, mind. I’ll wait here.”
“Alone?”
“Yup. Tell the owner to charge it to me.”
Curious and confused about her sensei’s strange behaviour, Sakura hesitantly enters the store, a bell ringing above her head as she enters. The store itself feels entirely different from the armoury; it’s smaller, less utilitarian and more cosy. There are a number of racks with assorted clothing, with mannequins throughout the room displaying various outfits.
“Oh, how nice to see you again, missy! What can I do for you?”
A vaguely familiar woman in her twenties approaches her, smiling invitingly. It takes Sakura a moment to recognize the short, silvery hair and the purple streaks in it. It’s one of the nurses at the hospital - except today, she’s not dressed in a nurse’s uniform. Instead she’s sporting a short, purple dress with a high neckline and matching, tall boots - probably what Kakashi-sensei would call too flashy .
“I, uh … I need clothes?” Sakura manages to stammer, momentarily confused.
Instead of laughing at her, the woman - Gina, Sakura remembers her introducing herself as. 29, chunin, specialising in medical ninjutsu - continues to smile at her.
“You’ve come to the right place then. Were you looking for anything in particular?”
Sakura nods, trying not to stare but afraid that she’s failing miserably. A shinobi, a nurse and then that very loud outfit?
“Just … new clothes, I think. Sensei said to charge it to him.”
The woman raises a questioning eyebrow.
“And where’s your sensei?”
Awkwardly, Sakura gestures back towards the door. Kakashi-sensei has taken to leaning against one of the shop windows, already lost in one of his books.
To Sakura’s surprise, the woman’s eyes grow large. “Oh, fuck me, I thought you were kidding about that ´Kakashi-sensei´-stuff.”
With an apologetic smile, Gina moves past Sakura and opens the door to speak to her sensei.
“Are you hiding from me, cousin?” Her voice is a lot less welcoming than just a moment before.
“Not at all. I just trust you ladies to be able to manage clothes shopping on your own. Preferably sometime this month.”
The woman scoffs and looks like she wants to hit him. Sakura almost wants her to. After the day she has had, seeing her sensei taken down a peg or two might actually make it worth it.
“Are you fine paying then?” she asks after a moment instead of hitting him, a wolfish grin on her face. “No family discount for cousins who haven’t spoken to me in over a decade, you know?”
“I’ll pay, don’t worry.”
From her spot, Sakura sees her sensei wave vaguely in the air, not even turning around to face the store or the woman talking to him. How rude, she thinks.
“Suit yourself then, Kashi-kun .”
With that the woman closes the door again and turns back to Sakura, smiling even wider than before. Sakura can’t help but stare at the woman using such a childish nickname with her sensei.
“In case you hadn’t guessed, my name’s Hatake Gina,” she explains. “Your sensei is my baby cousin, and since he’s apparently moping over the past, let’s not mind him, shall we?”
With gentle hands she steers Sakura further into the shop, towards a couch in the back. They sit down on the couch, even though Sakura feels entirely out of place in such a fancy store.
“Now, tell me everything. When did you become his student? Apprentice?”
Awkwardly, because she isn’t sure if she should answer if her own sensei isn’t even on talking terms with the woman before her, Sakura answers the question. It is then followed by further questions, and because sensei hasn’t told her not to speak to her, Sakura decides to continue answering the questions. So she tells Gina about first being on team 7 and being given Kakashi as their sensei, and then briefly explains that both of her teammates have left the village for the next few years to train with other people.
“I’m frankly amazed that my cousin is taking on an apprentice at all,” Gina admits. “You must be very special.”
Blushing, Sakura lowers her gaze. “I think it was more a matter of me being the last one left.”
“Perhaps, but Kakashi wouldn’t be trying so hard if he wasn’t seeing something in you. That harness you’re wearing, it’s brand new, isn’t it?”
“Yes.”
“And from the state of your clothing I assume you’ve been training all morning. Trust me, if Kakashi didn’t want you, he’d be happy to delegate all this onto someone else. And he most certainly wouldn’t have come to me, even if I am the best at what I do.”
Sakura isn’t entirely sure that she believes Gina’s words. Kakashi might be giving her plenty of attention right now, but she still isn’t convinced that he won’t tire of her and send her back to the genin corps.
Either way, she intends to take full advantage of any teachings of his while she can.
“What is it that you do, exactly?”
“I make the best kunoichi clothing in Konoha of course! You haven’t heard of me before? Most clans know about me.”
Sakura shakes her head. “Civilian born,” she says by way of explanation.
“Well, that explains it then, I suppose. I guess you’ve been shopping from the Haruno clan or some such nonsense then?”
Her breath catching in her throat at the mention of her family, Sakura can only nod, hoping that she does not come across as rude. Gina just nods, standing to fetch a measuring tape.
“Well, let’s take your measurements then and I’ll get you properly fitted for something more durable.”
Obligingly, Sakura stands. While she works, Gina continues to talk, helping Sakura to relax a bit more.
“I mean, don’t get me wrong. The Harunos make some extraordinarily beautiful kimono but their clothes are not very practical. Some of the other general shops and some of the tailors offer better quality but quite frankly there is no one who beats me. And I make it look cute too!”
Measurements taken, Gina steps back to eye Sakura critically.
“Yellow, I think,” she says ponderingly. “That will make a nice contrast against your hair. Or maybe purple.”
“Kakashi-sensei said nothing too flashy,” Sakura offers belatedly.
Gina hums and throws a glare over her shoulder, as if she’s personally offended by Kakashi limiting the colour palette of her creativity.
“Maybe green then. Or blues, but that might come a bit too close to the normal genin corps’ and chunin uniforms.”
“I like green,” Sakura says.
“Green it is then. Perhaps with some details in brown, to tone down the loudness of your hair. Or pink, to run with it.”
Decision made, she heads over to several clothing racks, rummaging around and appearing with several pieces of clothing.
With Gina’s help Sakura tries on a number of different options, debating the pros and cons of each option Gina. A number of dresses, skirts, trousers and blouses are discarded for various reasons - fabric that gets in the way when she moves, shades that don't suit her, fabrics that irritate her skin, cut doesn’t fit her and so on and so forth - before they find something that is both practical and cute on her.
“I’ll have it fitted within a day or so, so you can just return and pick it up whenever it’s convenient.”
“Thank you,” Sakura says, meaning it. Clothes have been a real struggle ever since she graduated from the Academy.
Just from having tried the clothes on she can tell that the quality is far superior to anything she has ever owned before.
A thought crosses her mind, and with a hesitant glance towards the door and Kakashi-sensei she gathers her courage to speak.
“May I ask something?”
“Sure. Shoot.”
Gina turns fully towards her and Sakura finds herself blushing again.
“I was just wondering if you had any ideas what to do with these?” she asks, gesturing towards the wrist weights she’s wearing.
Gina grimaces apologetically.
“Not much I can do about that, I’m afraid. Wrist- and ankle warmers are probably your best option. Do you want me to fit you with some?”
Glancing again towards Kakashi-sensei, Sakura gives a decisive nod. If he’s making her wear the weights, he can pay for making it look a little less ugly too.
“Yes please. Do you have any in pink?”