19Hiashi Hyuga was a man of few words. He was quiet, but carried an air of command worthy of a jonin, and a head of the Leaf's biggest clan. He was stern, unyielding, and demanding of the highest respect from every person he came across.
All of this was reflected as the Head of the Hyuga walked through the corridors of home. His bare feet were silent on the sleek wooden floors, but his mere presence turned heads as he passed. Heads that bowed immediately, and did not rise until he nodded, or walked away. Murmurs of his name accompanied the shows of respect, but he brought with him a cone of silence with him wherever he went. In his domain, he was the undisputed king.
The candles and lamps held back the darkness of the March evening, twinkling dimly in the nooks and crannies. Other people would have had a difficult time making things out in the chiaroscuro lighting of the Hyuga compound, but the Hyuga themselves possessed eyesight that was now unmatched by any other in Fire Nation, nay, even the Elemental Nations.
Hiashi came to a stop in front of the large sliding doors that led to the kitchens. He did not enjoy visiting such places, but that was where his daughter currently was, according to the words of her minder. He could have used the perception of his eyes to find her in a matter of seconds, but it was an unspoken taboo in their household to do so. And above everything, he was a man that loathed anything taboo.
He slid the translucent paper door open. The many Hyuga puttering about the kitchen immediately ceased their work and bowed their heads, murmuring his name as they moved to the sides of the room to make way for him.
He was not, however, received by the silence he usually commanded. A curious sound filled the room, soft and sweet and rising and falling, punctuated only by staccato beats of a knife chopping away methodically.
Hinata was humming. Hinata was humming. Hinata was humming. It was a tune he did not recognize, not at all like the traditional melodies played on the harp during the Hyuga Main House mealtimes. It was soft but light and happy.
Hiashi hated it immediately.
Hinata's back was to him, her concentration solely on the food she was chopping. Hiashi wrinkled his nose, making the Hyuga around the room exchange nervous glances. Such menial tasks were beneath the dignity of a woman of the Main House, let alone the clan heir, but Hinata had always been…different. He allowed her some of her eccentricities in the hopes that it might help her bring her potential to full bear. He might have to rethink his decision, though, if it brought such insolence.
Hiashi cleared his throat. For a moment, nothing happened. After a moment, nothing continued to happen. His subordinate Hyuga watched with tense, but impassive faces. Hinata continued humming and working on his vegetables.
Hiashi blinked once, slowly. The Branch Hyuga tightened their grips on whatever they were holding, from knives to colanders.
He coughed softly, only once. One of the people near the door quietly ushered her children out the door. Hinata continued to work, unmindful of the scene playing out behind her.
Hiashi blinked again, dragging it out for a long moment, lightly squeezing his eyelids before opening them again. He spoke. "Hinata."
The humming stopped. Hinata put her knife down and turned around, the little smile on her face falling off like kunai striking the ground after meeting the Heavenly Rotation.
"F-father," she stuttered, before lowering her eyes to the floor. "What brings you to the kitchen?" Her words infuriated him, though he did not show it. Over ten years of working with dedicated tutors had done nothing to fix her shameful stuttering. But it was not currently a matter that needed to be spoken on. Truly, it was a matter he'd given up all hope on. Hanabi did not stutter.
"Necessity," answered Hiashi solemnly, revealing none of his inner thoughts. "You were supposed to meet me as soon as you returned from your genin evaluations, but I waited two hours for you before deciding to seek you out myself." He did not inquire about the reason behind her lateness, nor why she felt her working in the kitchens like a lowly servant was more important than discussing her possibly poor future as a ninja. All Hyuga knew enough to understand that he was demanding an explanation with his statement.
Hinata blinked rapidly a few times. "Apologies, father. I found myself tired and wound up after my evaluations, so I directed myself to the kitchens after I had completed my ablutions. The matter of my meeting slipped my mind." She hung her head like she was a Branch Hyuga, a circumstance that now seemed like it was a matter of due course.
"I see," said Hiashi. Outside of spars, it would be improper to chastise her in front of their lessers. Her failures aside, she was still the Heir of the Hyuga household, if only barely. "Am I to assume your failure in the evaluation then, considering your desire to," he paused. "Unwind?" It was a subtle but painful jab, from a man used to dealing with the intricacies of politics and bureaucracy.
Surprisingly, Hinata raised her eyes to meet his. Her face bore the subtle redness that came with healing techniques, the sign of rejuvenated blood vessels flowing through the attended area. "I should inform you, father, that Team 7, in which I was placed, successfully passed their evaluation. I am now an active genin of the Leaf Village, on a cell with genins Sasuke Uchiha and Sakura Haruno, under the leadership of elite jonin Kakashi Hatake."
In any other household, whispering would have swept through the room at such a proclamation. But this was the Hyuga home, and as such, the other members of the room only looked at each other out of the sides of their eyes. It was tantamount to excited gossiping by the Hyuga standards.
Hiashi raised one eyebrow delicately, unwilling to show both his surprise and his approval. Team 7 was hallowed for a reason, because it tended to produce some of the strongest ninja in history…or killed the inefficient, in case of the Yondaime's team. Hiashi had no illusions as to which category his daughter fell under. He caught himself in a moment of rare concern for his elder progeny. Team Seven could mean the end of his daughter, one of the last two pieces of his late wife left in this world.
"I see," he said, keeping his face inscrutable. "An admirable accomplishment, your unfortunate Uchiha teammate notwithstanding, but perhaps I should speak to the Hokage about placing you in a team more suited for -"
The knife in Hinata's hand buried itself into the counter with a thunk, leaving it standing perfectly vertically by the tip and vibrating loudly in the silence.
Hinata shifted, the bangs framing her face casting her visage into shadows. "Father," she said, her voice suddenly cool and completely devoid of any stutter. "Are you trying to prevent me from reaching my full potential as a Leaf genin? To stop me from working with - with -"
The Hyuga's byakugan were their most distinguishing, and obvious, feature. Stark white and pupil-less, it had unnerved many ninja, ally and enemy alike. Hiashi had heard it described as impenetrable, unreadable, eerie, flat. Right now, as his daughter met his eyes without a hint of fear, he could see only a black abyss of death and destruction.
A cold trail of sweat ran down the side of his temple and onto his chin. Every Hyuga in the room watched it ball at the corner of his jaw and drop onto the floor. It might as well have landed like the wave of a tsunami for the wide eyes that spread around the room. For their clan, it was like they were shrieking and running about with their hands flailing in uninhibited panic.
"You are decided on your course, knowing the risks it carries?" For all of her weaknesses, Hinata was not a poor student. She was undoubtedly aware of the rich legacy of Team 7, of the expectations that she would carry on her shoulders.
"I am a ninja of the Leaf," Hinata answered quietly but firmly, her voice like the silent knife that slips through the enemy's ribs. The volumes she implied with her words went unsaid.
Hiashi let a beat pass, eyeing the knife buried into the counter. The solid steel counter. The solid steel counter that was specially imported from the Land of solid steel counter that was specially imported from the Land of Iron, that was resistant to both a metric ton of raw force as well as any kind of chakra.
"Very well," he agreed. "I will expect weekly reports on your progress." He turned sedately and walked out of the kitchen, sliding the door shut behind him.
He ignored the burst of whispering that began immediately after he left, as well as the patter of feet heading to the front of the kitchen where Hinata had been standing. He resolutely did not think about the strange rice balls his daughter had been making, with julienned seaweed arranged in three rows along each side. He did not ponder too long on his daughter's sudden and unexpected shift in confidence, on her nascent chakra pressure.
Hiashi lifted the corner of his mouth carefully, only on the left side. On anyone else, it would have been a kickflip and a cheer.
It was a beautiful day in the Leaf Village. The sun was burning merrily in the sky, the birds were singing, and Sakura Haruno was a ninja.
A genin, to be precise.
Sakura almost floated, rather than jogging her way through the village to Training Ground 7. Despite her scores and her performance on the final exams, a rather large corner of her mind had always been afraid that she wasn't cut out to be a ninja, that she didn't have the same cold-hard edge that many of her peers had sharpened themselves on. Sure, the Leaf was built on teamwork, but each team was only as strong as their weakest link.
And she was definitely the weakest on her team.
The day before, though, it hadn't mattered. A smile pulled at her lips as she thought back to their evaluation, thought back to him.
Naruto Uzumaki was an enigma, wrapped inside a mystery, buried under a puzzle. He was their age, but had never attended the Academy. Despite his lack of formal education, he was stronger than any ninja Sakura had ever seen, so strong that she made someone like Sasuke look like she was playing in a sandbox.
He was also a known quantity around the village, that had somehow slipped her attention all this time. Last night, she'd told her mother about the funny boy who'd literally dropped in to help with their genin test. Her mother had opened her mouth, hesitated, and exchanged a nervous look with Sakura's father. Then she'd just asked Sakura to be careful.
In the morning, the teashop under her house was filled with patrons discussing that Uzumaki boy being drafted into Team 7. People shot nervous looks at her and shut up quickly whenever she approached, but she'd picked up snippets here and there.
Even as she made her way through the streets of the Leaf, her ears picked up whispers about that boy. Everyone talked about him the same way, with their eyes darting about and their voices hushed. A current of discontent seemed to be running around the blond who'd crashed into her life the day before and would now be a permanent fixture going forward.
She rolled her thoughts about in her head as she approached their teams designated meeting spot.
"Hey, Sakura!" the subject of her thoughts appeared from the edge of the forest, waving his hands wildly. "Good morning!"
Sakura didn't consider herself a pervert, but she was a connoisseur of the male form. Out of his fatigues and in a white T-shirt with a mesh vest underneath, Naruto Uzumaki cut a strong figure. Her eyes traced over his forearms and the length of his long fingers -
Cha! Inner made her presence known. I'd like those fingers -
Sakura blinked rapidly to cut that stream of thought off.
"Hey, you okay?" Naruto asked as he jogged up to her. "You looked distracted for a moment there."
I'm not okay, doctor, I need an injection of -
Sakura coughed. "Yes, I'm fine, thank you. Just a lot of thoughts running around in here." She tapped the side of her head with her knuckles and chuckled.
Naruto's eyes widened. "Oh, you mean," he looked around before lowering his voice, just like the villagers who'd been talking about the blond himself all morning. "Your inner personality?"
Sakura was so shocked that she stopped walking, but was forced to keep up when Naruto didn't. "Wait," she said. "You know about that?" Inner was her single biggest secret. She'd only been discovered during the mandatorily enforced bi-annual mental health checkups at the Academy that had been put in place only after an Uchiha went far too long without any. Even now, she was working on a plan made for her by the Yamanakas to integrate Inner into her own self.
"Oh yes, of course," said Naruto easily, like he wasn't discussing her mental health. "I got dossiers on our entire team, actually. Say hi to Inner from me!" He wrinkled his brow. "Can I say hi to her?"
Oh hul-lo, darling, crooned Inner. It's so nice to meet a man with manners in this joint. Let's be friends, shall we?
"She says hi back," said Sakura, still reeling from having her private life invaded. "Listen, can you - "
This time, it was Naruto who stopped her, putting his hand on her shoulder. Sakura suddenly realised that the blond was over a head taller than her, taller than even Sasuke with her lithe figure. His ocean blue eyes bored into her own. "You don't need to say it, Miss Sakura. I'd never discuss a precious teammate's personal life with another person. Your secret is safe with me, believe it!"
It was a little over the top, and she still had her doubts, but the earnestness in his voice put her a little at ease. He must have caught sight of some of the uneasiness on her face, because he whispered to her again.
"Hey, I just wanted to say, I think you're really brave, ya know? I'm sure you had a lot of second thoughts, but I'm glad you decided to become a ninja, instead of dropping out like some people recommended to you. Besides," he said, gently pushing her to get them moving again, trekking over the bridge that led to the rendezvous point, "having a friend on the inside," he gave the loudest, most obvious wink she'd ever seen, "is hardly the worst thing a ninja could have. You won't believe the things I've seen."
It wasn't the best pep talk she'd had, but she'd take it. She'd never heard Inner referred to as a friend, though. To Sakura, she'd always been a pathology, another sign of her weakness. Naruto Uzumaki was a strange person. Not a bad one, but different from anyone she'd ever met.
I'm just another side of you, said Inner, pouting. You shouldn't need a gorgeous hunk to point that out to you to get it.
Sakura rolled her eyes.
No, replied Inner. You're just as pervy as I am, if not worse.
"Here we are," said Naruto, just as Sakura mentally stuck her tongue out at Inner. "Hey, Miss Sasuke, Miss Hinata! Good morning." Hinata was looking coldly at her for some reason. Had she lipread their conversation with her eyes?
Before she had time to panic about it, she was interrupted by her jonin teacher appearing in a swirl of leaves.
Naruto screamed. Loudly, and at a pitch much higher than his usual husky register. "Kakashi, what the fuck?" he said, his voice still reedy. "You're on time?!"
Kakashi closed his one eye and gave the impression of a smile. "That's Kakashi-sensei to you, my cute little genin subordinate," he said happily. The effect was ruined by the fact that he was obviously still in his clothes from yesterday. The tips of his silver hair were still edged with soot, the entire left side of his jonin vest was missing, and his pants were torn at the knee. Most noticeably, though, his strange red left eye was fully exposed, bloodshot and ringed with dark circles, and Sasuke was glaring daggers at it.
"Um, Sensei?" hazarded Hinata, also looking at their teacher with raised brows. "Did you not get time to change? We could wait -"
"Hold on," Naruto interjected. "Who cares if he's dressed like a Tanzaku hobo? He's on time, Kakashi's never on time."
"Now, now, little Naruto," chided Kakashi, "that's slander. Kakashi-sensei is always on time. After all, a team that supposedly defeated an elite jonin," Sakura's knees suddenly felt like they were inside out. "Must have a jonin that's always presentable and punctual, right?" The pressure vanished. Kakashi's scarred red eye looked at the four of them, daring them to reply. None of them did.
"That's what I thought," said Kakashi. "Why, if a team of little ducklings got the better of me and," he paused, and seemed to suck all the light of the day into his left eye for a moment, "ruined my precious book," he blinked, and continued, "I wouldn't be able to do this, right?"
He reached into the pouch on his side. Sakura tensed, and the other genin also readied themselves. Kakashi fumbled around and then pulled out…nothing.
Sakura watched, incredulously, as the elite jonin proceeded to cradle nothing in his left hand. The strange Sharingan in his left eye began to spin slowly. Kakashi then moved his right hand like he was turning the page of his book, and then he giggled.
The four genin exchanged quick looks. Naruto looked like he'd seen the ghost of the First Hokage.
"Sensei," said Sasuke, always short on both patience and tact. "There's nothing -"
The wind stopped rustling through the leaves. Birds fell silent, and a little dove thumped to the ground at the edge of Sakura's vision, unmistakably dead.
" - to stop us from training, right?" The Uchiha hastily changed tack, deciding that discretion was far the better part of valour. The wind picked up again. The birds let out a few hesitant chirps. The dead dove remained dead.
Sakura silently despaired at the sheer madness of the situation she'd been dropped into. Was it too late to -
"Change teams?" Kakashi asked, suddenly looking directly at her. "I'm afraid none of the other jonin could deal with such a…talented team. Besides," he smiled again. Sakura almost felt used to the chakra pressure this time. Almost. "I personally requested that I be allowed to train all of you up to my standards."
Sakura gulped. Had the jonin just -
"Read your mind?" Asked Kakashi, idly flipping through another invisible page. "The Sharingan possesses many talents, my little pink duckling. I'm sure you'll become intimately acquainted with it very, very soon."
Sakura carefully did not think of anything else.
"Now, to answer your question, Sasuke," Kakashi smiled. "Of course it isn't too early to train! Since you're all a team of elites who purportedly beat a jonin, why don't we begin with, let's say…a hundred laps around the village?"
Sakura gasped. Even Hinata flinched.
"Sensei," the Hyuga girl said, "a - a hundred? Are you sure?"
"My dear Hinata," Kakashi shut his 'book' with both hands and looked at her. "Run."
Sakura took off before the jonin could turn that gaze on her. Naruto and the others fell into pace next to her, leaping onto the trees and then onto the top of the giant wall that surrounded the Leaf. People whooped and cheered as they passed, and some ninja threw congratulations at them for forming a new team, but the same whispers that she'd heard all morning also followed them to the wall.
Naruto, if he heard them, did not react. Instead, he pulled a little ahead of the three of them and set the pace, before looking apologetically over his shoulder.
"It might seem like it's rough in the beginning," he offered, "but it's going to make you a lot stronger in the long run, believe it. No pun intended," he added, with a little chuckle. "Just do your best!"
"You," said Sasuke, "this is your fault. If you hadn't shown up today, Hatake wouldn't have gone insane and pushed us this hard."
"Well -"
Sasuke smiled. It was a crooked, misshapen thing, the smile of someone who'd perhaps never smiled before. Her lips were pulled far too wide, her teeth bared, and she looked as unhinged as Kakashi had with his lone Sharingan. "Thank you," she said.
"Yes, we won't let you down," Hinata added, from Sakura's other side. "Naruto-sensei?" She asked, half a question and half a statement.
She was right, thought Sakura. The Hokage had said that Naruto was also to act as an aide to Kakashi. Had she been too informal with her superior?
"No, please don't call me that!" protested Naruto loudly as they ran over the Western edges of the village. "That makes me sound so old and stuffy. I'm technically," he twitched a little, "the same rank as you. Just call me by my name, ya know?"
Oh I know a few things I could call you, honey.
Sakura ignored her and focused instead on the burning in her legs. She regulated her breathing as they completed their fifth circuit, and her calves began to protest the abuse. Before this, they'd done 50 laps around the Academy field, and Kakashi hadn't even allowed them to stretch.
By lap twenty, her calves were stretched and tight. Around thirty, they loosened a little. By forty, her shins were screaming and every time her feet struck the ground she'd feel a sharp jolt of discomfort shoot up her legs. Her throat felt like a desert, her lungs filled with sand as she tried to go another lap. Her knee wobbled but she steadied herself and kept going, her head down.
Out of the corner of her eyes, she noticed both her teammates going steadily. Hinata was breathing harder, but Sasuke only looked a little pink around the cheeks. Naruto looked like he was taking a walk around the park.
Fucking clan bitches, snarled Inner.
Sakura's vision swam as she rejected that thought. Clan or not, her two teammates had trained themselves to be fitter, faster, better than her. She blinked away her tears, even though her jaw still felt heavy. She pushed herself through another lap. Her legs felt like dead weight, alive only for the pain that hit her with every step. She finished another lap. Her sweat glands seemed to have stopped working. Her face was dry and itching with what felt like pure salt coming out of her pores. She pushed another lap. And another.
Without warning, her knees gave out. Between one blink and another, Sakura's vision went blank and returned, and she found herself leaning on muscled arms.
"I've got you," said Naruto, as her teammates stopped. "I've got you, you're done for now," he said. Hinata was bent over, taking deep breaths of air, more exerted than she'd let on. Sasuke sneered at her. Sakura turned her head away.
"I can do more," she rasped, even though she knew it wasn't true. She couldn't particularly feel any of her limbs, and she felt like someone was tightening a large belt around her chest and squeezing her ribs in. "Just give me -"
"Well, well, Genin Haruno," Kakashi cut her off with a drawl, appearing out of nowhere in their midst. "It seems that you have been defeated by the warm-up. How disappointing, from a genin who exploded her teacher twenty-seven times." He smiled. "I guess you're nothing on your own, are you?"
"Hey!" Naruto yelled in protest, but Sakura only felt the hot, shameful tears pricking underneath her eyelids again. The jonin was right, after all.
"I'll let her go," said Kakashi, "on the condition that her teammates do the additional laps that she couldn't."
"That's bullshit," said Naruto, glaring at the jonin.
"That's ninja training," replied Kakashi, shrugging. "Now, do her teammates agree?"
Sakura couldn't bring herself to look in Sasuke and Hinata's direction.
"Very well. Take her back to the training ground," Kakashi ordered Naruto. Her teammates must have agreed. Sakura didn't raise her head to look at the clone who took her gently into his arms and leapt off the wall. She turned her head into his chest and did her best to squeeze her lids and keep the tears away.
She'd allowed herself to get too carried away, to believe that she could really match her two classmates. She was who she always had been. Sakura Haruno. Civilian. Nerd. Weak.
Inner was silent.
A traitorous tear escaped despite her best efforts, and leaked down the side of her chin. They landed lightly on the training ground, and Naruto laid her on the ground. Sakura quickly turned her head to the side, so that the blond couldn't see just how pathetic she really was.
A warm hand reached under her chin and turned it to face him. "Hey," he said, his voice soft and kind. It made another tear fall down the side of her face. "Such pretty eyes shouldn't be crying. You shouldn't worry about letting your teammates down. They were glaring at Kakashi, not at you."
Sakura only shook her head and jerked her face out of his hand. While it was a relief that her teammates wouldn't blame her, she didn't think she could talk without bursting out into tears.
Naruto sighed. "Alright, I'm going to try and help you stretch. I can't use medical techniques, but I do know a few tricks, so I want you to trust me, okay?"
The clone took her silence as an assent, and stood up. Lifting her foot into his hand, he helped her stretch out and guided her legs through some simple motions, making sure to work all the joints from her ankle to her hip. He gave her a few sips of water. Then he knelt down beside her, and motioned for her to turn onto her belly. Sakura complied silently, her tears having dried up.
She felt something round being placed against her calf, and then she felt it dig deep into her muscles, rolling against the flesh -
Sakura couldn't help the loud, longing moan that came out of her throat. The ball felt sharp and even a touch painful against her calves, but it loosened the terrible tightness and left her legs feeling like pleasant jelly.
Naruto chuckled. "Hurts so good, right?" He switched to her other leg far too soon, loosening the knots and massaging as he went. "You know," he said, his voice a little pensive. "A very kind ANBU taught me this when I was five. I'd just been drafted into the corps, and endurance was one of my first lessons. I had a lot of energy and I always healed fast, so I would push myself beyond my limits every day. ANBU was my only chance at making something of my life, so I gave it my best shot every day."
He moved onto her thigh next. Sakura might have protested for the sake of modesty if she weren't currently melting in his hands, in every sense of the word. Naruto continued.
"But that healing factor didn't work immediately, ya know? I'd wake up as good as new every morning, but I'd go to bed crying from the pain every night. I never let my teachers see, because I didn't want them to think I was a weakling. I cried everyday for a month, and then, two days after my birthday, I decided to quit. It hurt too much. Even getting up in the morning used to make me teary, thinking about how much it would hurt at night. But I didn't, in the end."
"What happened?" Sakura asked quietly.
"One day, a kind senior pulled me aside. She'd noticed my discomfort, and she taught me how to roll my muscles after my training so I could feel better afterwards. And then she told me something I never forgot," he said. "She told me that strength, true strength, doesn't come from just pushing yourself those extra laps during a run, or from finishing those extra reps, or burning out your chakra a little bit more. True strength is in the moments in between those moments, when you have to face the idea of hurting yourself again the day after, of running through the pain. And you choose to do it anyway. As long as you make that decision, every day, and push yourself a little harder, every day, no one can stop you from becoming the best ninja you can be."
Sakura didn't reply. She turned back over again and let him work over her shin, nodding when he said that she'd have to stop by the hospital to get it fully fixed. She thought of the horror of a toddler in the black ops, forced to the limit every day, sent to bed crying. She thought of the kind blond massaging her legs, whose hands could create infernos just as easily as it could warm and heal.
"Thank you, Naruto," she said, and meant it. Naruto smiled, and the two of them shared a peaceful silence, enjoying the day as her legs slowly loosened and felt a little more like themselves again.
Hinata was the next person to be carried into the clearing, puffing and blowing in her oversized jacket. As soon as another Naruto clone laid her down she whipped her head to the side and vomited, clutching her stomach and wincing.
Naruto's other clone didn't flinch, calmly using an earth technique to bury the vomit underground, leaving the soil on top as pristine as it had ever been. He offered her a canteen and helped her out of her jacket as the Hyuga gratefully chugged the water down. Naruto whispered to her, and soon she was also having her muscles rolled, mewling in a voice that was so breathy and indecent that Sakura blushed and wondered if she had sounded like that as well. Hinata was red and trembling by the time Sasuke landed in the clearing, red like she'd been hit by one of her own fire techniques.
The real Naruto and Kakashi hopped back to the ground as well, Kakashi still reading something only he could see.
"Well," said the jonin. Sasuke waved off the real Naruto's help and performed her own stretches. The clones dispelled. "That was just pitiful. Looks like we'll be working on our endurance every morning before we can even think about the more fun stuff."
Sakura didn't even want to think about the more fun stuff. Kakashi continued talking.
"Now, after that…eye-opening display," Naruto growled, and Kakashi just smiled at him. "I think it's time to move on to the ninja arts. Pink duckling," Sakura flinched, and for some reason, Naruto did too, "since you got the most rest, let's start with you. Let's see how bad your hand-to-hand is. Hurry up, daylight's wasting."
Sakura rose to her feet, dread pooling in her stomach. Her legs still protesting, she took her stance as the other genin moved out of the way and Kakashi took a stance opposite her.
The next thing she knew, she was flat on her back and looking up at the sky. Then the pain rushed in, and she clutched at the side of her ribs and howled.
"Uzumaki, you're being paid to help me teach. Fix her…everything."
Sakura sat up weakly, her side screaming. Hinata was looking at her teacher in horror, and even Sasuke seemed taken aback. Kakashi looked remorseless. His attention was still on the empty space in his left hand.
"What the fuck do you think you're doing?" Naruto hissed, as he helped Sakura to her feet. "You're training genin, not helping someone trying to pass their jonin evaluations! Her stance is just fine, she needs to build her reflexes and awareness. I'm going to fucking report you to the Hokage if you just keep beating down on your students!"
"Right, right," said Kakashi, the threat rolling right over him. "Let go of the delicate genin, I'll take it easy on her next time."
With a mutinous glare, Naruto backed off. Sakura slowly raised her hands again, signalling that she was ready.
True to his word, Kakashi slowed down for his next attempt. Sakura managed to see him approach, and ducked under his swing. And then his leg swept through her knee and sent her tumbling to the floor again.
"Get up. Naruto, tell her what she did wrong."
"She got a vindictive shit for a teacher is what she did wrong," said Naruto, moving over to step in front of her. "This is supposed to be a teaching spar, not you taking your damaged ego out on her."
"Your words are noted, Naruto. Now stand aside."
"Like hell -"
"Let me do it," said Sakura quietly. Her knee was wobbling and her ribs on fire, but she pushed Naruto aside and settled into a stance again.
"Sakura, you don't need to -"
"Let me do it," Sakura repeated, studiously not looking at her teammates. She didn't know if she had the strength to do it again tomorrow, but she would be strong enough to stand up to her jonin right then. She knew that she'd overcommitted on the dodge on the previous round, moving both her hands out of position and leaving her sides open. It could've passed in the Academy, but any ninja worth their salt would've killed her immediately.
She might be weak, but she wasn't stupid. Learning was her domain, and this was just another lesson to be learnt. She nodded her head. "Ready."
Kakashi blew out her other knee.
Sakura crumpled to the floor as Naruto roared and charged at the jonin, a raging blue sphere appearing in his hand. Kakashi's own hand sparked purple in reply -
And then he fell over unconscious.
"Fucking pansy," muttered Naruto, hurrying over her and examining her knee. It was already blooming an ugly dark blue, and Sakura couldn't move it if she tried. "Don't worry," he told Sakura. "The idiot has exhausted his chakra by keeping his Sharingan uncovered. He won't be getting up anytime soon. Let's get you to the hospital."
A clone popped into being and adjusted Kakashi's headband over his eyes. It also kicked him in the side for good measure before dispelling. Naruto gathered her into his arms.
"Should we just leave him here?" asked Hinata, eyeing Kakashi's form with trepidation.
"Leave whom?" Naruto looked around the Training Ground with deliberate slowness. "I don't see anyone here with us, do you, Sasuke?"
Sasuke snorted.
Naruto grinned and took off through the trees, motioning for the others to follow. Sakura felt eyes on her as they hopped through the village and dropped onto the intersection near the hospital and walked the final stretch, but she focused on the warmth of Naruto's chest instead.
It's a nice chest, Inner offered.
Where have you been?
You know me, sis. Physicality is not my domain. I'm more a being of…imagination.
The image that flashed through her brain with those words left her cheeks burning, and unable to meet Naruto's eyes even as the medic ninja applied their healing chakra to her knee and asked her to remain in observation for a couple hours. Surprisingly, none of her teammates left as the four of them bundled into an empty room.
"I have something to confess to you guys," said Naruto, looking guilty as he shut the door behind him. The ninja met their eyes for a moment before tapping something on his wrist. With a puff of smoke, a familiar orange book appeared in his hand.
Sakura stared at it.
"I didn't really destroy Kakashi's book," explained Naruto, awkwardly scratching at his cheeks. "I meant it as a prank and I thought I'd give it back to him after training today, but I think he went a little too far. This is my fault," he said, and then met Sakura's eyes squarely. "I'm sorry. He hurt you because of my stupid prank. I'll give it back to him as soon as he wakes, and he can go back to normal."
"Will he stop training us so hard?" Asked Sasuke bluntly. "He was three hours late on the day of our genin test, and then he laughed and giggled his way through the fight before you showed up."
"Er," said Naruto, visibly stumped by the question. "I mean, he is a jonin still - "
"So yes," said Sasuke. "If the loss of his book has driven him to the edge, getting it back will turn him into a lazy, perverted lout again."
"Hey, don't you think that's a little harsh?" asked Naruto.
"He was really harsh on Sakura today," said Hinata quietly. "I thought he was going to break both of her legs before he stopped."
"Yes," said Naruto, seizing on the opening. "I don't know what's going on in his head, but he's training you guys like you're his personal ANBU squad, not his genin team."
"Don't give it back."
It took Sakura a second to realise that it was her who'd spoken. She looked up to see Sasuke looking at her with a calculating expression on her face, while both Hinata and Naruto looked stumped.
"Sakura," the blond protested weakly. "You can't mean that, Kakashi was being a bastard today."
"But you stepped in, right?" She challenged him, resolve rising within her. "He listened to you, even if he didn't pull his punches," she winced, massaging her knee. "Strength in the moments in between, right?" she asked him.
"You…" Naruto stared at her in wonder, before collecting herself. "But this needs to be a team decision. Do you guys really want to do this? I can try and talk Kakashi down, but I don't think he'll let up on his training until we return the book and bow down to him like good little underlings."
Sasuke didn't hesitate. "I vote to keep it hidden."
All of their eyes turned to Hinata, who was looking between Sakura and the book, dread written on her face. She started when she looked up and met their gaze.
"I don't know," she said, making Sasuke scoff. "Sensei was almost cruel today."
"We're soldiers now," shot back Sasuke. "Taking it easy is just getting ready to be killed. Besides, Uzumaki will protect you from the worst of it, right?"
Hinata turned to Naruto, who rushed to reassure her. "Of course, Hinata, I'll never -"
"There you go," Sasuke cut him off. "You got any more objections?"
"Wow, Sasuke," muttered Naruto. "You're sort of a bastard, aren't you? Hinata, don't let her pressure you into it if you -"
"I'll do it," said Hinata, looking into Naruto's eyes. "I will do my best to become strong enough to protect myself. Sasuke is right."
Naruto's eyes were round with disbelief. "You guys…"
He turned around sharply and hid his eyes in his sleeves. "You're going to be great ninjas, I just know it," he said, his voice thick. "It's totally not making me emotional, or anything! I'm just so proud of you all."
"Alright!" he said, whirling around again and unsealing an entire cornucopia of things onto her side table. Sakura spotted the little red ball he'd used to rub their muscles, several candles, a lightbulb, some oddly shaped kunai, a block of what looked like packed earth and a lot of leaves. "Let's get right into it then. Just because your legs are out of commission doesn't mean that there aren't other things to learn! And from tomorrow, the four of us will meet at 6 and go over stretches and tactics and stances and all of that stuff before Kakashi arrives! Naruto Uzumaki is going to turn all three of you into totally kickass ninjas, believe it!"
He's a little bit of a goofball, isn't he? Asked Inner, as he handed Sakura the earthen box, Sasuke the candle and Hinata the bulb. Well, at least he thinks you've got pretty eyes.
Sakura was glad that she could scream silently on the inside without breaking the solemn moment.
Bloody hell, I'd forgotten how much discipline writing took. The first bit of this chapter was written the day after the first chapter was posted. The rest of it took up the rest of my time. I even floated the idea of just writing random scenes along the timeline to write only fights and shenanigans, but I ended up writing and rewriting this several times, and I'm still not happy. Gotta live up to all the 100+ follows and tons of favourites, right? I had to do some character work and basic setting before I moved on to more fun things. Here are some notes that I made while writing:
Notes:
The Hyuga household was a lot of fun to write!
I don't really want to write Hinata's stutter because I will get it wrong and probably insult people who actually deal with it. The text before and after her dialogue will probably indicate that she's stuttering, or she isn't
It's tough to get different voices for different POV's
Why is bureaucracy so hard to spell?
Yeah, I'm giving Sasuke a crazy smile. Too many fem!Sasuke fics make her elegant and womanly, and Naruto head over heels for her. This ain't that story bruv.
If you've run a marathon, there actually does come a time when you begin sweating just salt, you're so dehydrated
Foam rolling. If you run, do it.
It was tough getting a handle on Kakashi. I wrote several different gimmicks before settling on this. Writing borderline crack and then him being an asshole is difficult to balance. I still don't know if I managed it. He will mellow out, but I can't wait for the first time someone points out that he's reading a book that doesn't exist. Shenanigans will happen.
How can it be a Naruto fic without him calling Sasuke a bastard? That's gonna be a topsy-turvy not-relationship
Just saying. This is NOT a harem fic. If anything, it's an anti-harem fic, because there will never be multiple people dating Naruto at the same time. Multiple people with feelings, even, er, doing things? Sure. Harem? Nope.