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Chapter 22
🕑 Added 2024-03-31 19:58:32 +0000 UTCWanted this to be funnier than it was.
This chapter is kind of proof that the arc got more serious than I wanted to. Over like 16 chapters I found very little that was worth adding in that was more funny than impactful.
I'm so excited about next arc, I get another chance to get it right and do the middle ground I'm looking for.
Looking back was a new perspective, and I don't regret it.
What I do regret is trying to write this chapter in past tense, I bet even after hours of editing there's still dozens of editing errors and tense errors.
Chapter 21 should be out tomorrow, I think.
I'm getting tomorrow vibes.
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Spotting the puddle in the middle of the road as abnormal was as easy as breathing for Kakashi, it was mid-day on a relatively hot day, it hadn’t rained in a few days, and even ignoring that the dirt around the puddle was still dirt, meaning the water hadn’t had time to seep in and start turning its surroundings to mud. He half expected Sakura to see it too, he knew Naruto wasn’t going to, and whether Sasuke is paying enough attention to his surroundings at any given time is a coin flip at best. The boy’s too stuck in his world, too muted, and just as he expected the only person who gave the puddle any more thought than instinctively stepping around it was Sakura. Mostly, because instead of stepping around it, she paid even less attention and drove herself foot first into it.
He was ready to react instantly, it took everything he had not to already have a jutsu completed before the splash. What was about to happen relied entirely on whoever made that puddle. If they were especially skilled and not after them, nothing would happen, she’d have stepped on someone’s face and they’d grumble about it over a drink later.
If they were especially skilled and after them, they’d come out swinging in a moment pissed off and with a shoe mark on their face.
If they were bad at this, Sakura just killed two people, and their bloodied remains would explode into the world in a fest of gore so vivid and traumatizing he’d have to knock out all three genin before they memorized it like the idiot children they are.
Nothing happened. He sighed in relief, he kept walking and kept an eye on them.
That’s when it happened, when they revealed that yes, they were pissed off and after them.
Specifically, they were after Sakura and their face on her shoe only made it worse.
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Watching Sakura quickly and efficiently put down the demon twins was more astounding than anything. He knew she was getting stronger fast, and he even knew she’d made vast improvements since the start, and it’s not a secret that missing nin get stale pretty quickly for a vast number of reasons including unstable food procurement, desperation, and a lack of professionalism.
He had all the parts to get the correct answer, but seeing it come together and watching his students not just defeat but butcher two other living beings in live combat… He wasn’t prepared for that.
At their age he’d already killed people, it wasn’t special for him, and in a way he’d never left the war so the child in him wasn’t phased at all. But before he could take this team they’d made him take several lessons on the modern day genin, what was expected, what they’d be capable of, what to try and drag out of them and what was too far.
Sasuke’s not an average Genin because he’s traumatized beyond all reason and there’s no sparing him the pain of reality. He had feared Sasuke might pull ahead of his teammates in a very real way, taking things much more seriously and leaving them in the dust in a way he couldn’t help with. He’d be watching the past repeat itself, and he’d be doomed.
Naruto’s not an average Genin because Naruto’s, well, let’s just say lineage is a huge part of your capabilities as a ninja and having almost infinite chakra only made him more capable. He didn’t expect Naruto to take it super seriously, and he definitely didn’t expect greatness from the boy, but with a kunoichi's below average chakra pool by nature, her lack of a clan, and her general failure to take life seriously, he expected Naruto to outpace Sakura by leagues. Even if he didn’t have a murderous bone in his body, he’d surely strive ahead of her because he had infinite potential and tons of time training, and Kakashi had to get good at her favorite games just to harass her into sleeping.
He figured Sakura would be a Rin situation, but somehow so much worse. That he’d be watching history repeat itself in the bloodiest way it could without a war hanging over their heads and the need to grow up so fast the growing pains started when the maturing stopped.
Watching Sakura stand over the corpses of two Chunin, one burning and the other severed into bite sized chunks he’s genuinely worried she might take a bite of just to prove a point, it occurs to him that he’s had them all wrong.
Sakura’s him. That was before he watched her steal a wallet from the remains, count the coins before the body cooled, and do a happy wiggle-giggle at the loot. “Wallet obtained!”
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“I do believe this belongs to you.” Standing in front of him was a boy with a white mask over his face, and lustrous black hair that trailed down his back. It’s a common tactic among ninja that need to hide their identity, finding different ways to confuse those in front of them to basic details like their age or gender. Standing with a bit of a slouch distracts from their height, and made it hard to get a good idea of how much they might weigh.
He’d be forgiven for not thinking much of the boy, because what he held was Sakura, bandaged, covered in blood, her face was cut down the middle and her chest was partially caved in. She looked dead, very dead, only the slightest raise of her chest at her breath took his attention away from her pale blue lips and the limpness of her limbs. He took her, holding her in his arms and nodded to the hunter nin. “I trust you’ll take care of the missing ninja?”
“Of course.” That’s all he needed to hear. He barely took notice of the sword and pack handed over as well, split and damaged at its core. He recognized the cuts on the pack, and on her body, her own sword went and betrayed her. A part of him wondered if it was his fault somehow, for giving her that sword instead of leaving her with the piece of crap she’d originally shown him. That sword would have likely bounced off her when she got sent flying.
The fact that she’d have been torn in half by Zabuza’s sword instead when it went through her old one made him feel better when he thought of it. The relief was just enough for him to forget about his jello legs for a second.
“Is she…” Sasuke asked, his steps took him to them a lot quicker than Kakashi expected. It seemed that after an intense battle, with tensions in the air and a moment to get his bearings, Sasuke can in fact express himself about them in something more than a complaint.
“She’s breathing.” Kakashi said, “Naruto, I need clones to carry us, I’m gonna pass out.”
“Pass out, Kakashi-sensei?” Naruto asked, just before his limbs gave in, and he fell over. Kakashi only had the energy left to cradle her before he landed, so she didn’t hit her head. “Ah.”
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“Oh, so you care about when they die, but me, I’m just complaining?” Sakura’s words hit him differently. Even if there wasn’t fire in her eyes, even if Hunger’s influence wasn’t still ruminating in her body enough for her anger to take a physical form - luckily cosmetic only at the moment - she’d still have just punched him in the face. Sometimes someone says something that makes you redefine how you see them, how you treat them, a few words can change an entire person in the blink of an eye.
For Sakura, she probably didn’t think of those words as meaningful, for him, he realized an unintentional bias that’s slightly altered every interaction with her so far. He had to resist reaching out to pat her head, or ruffle her hair, or squeeze her cheeks to remind himself she’s alive and not one of the fallen on the stone. He could see more than one of his dead friends in her, the trouble is, one of those was the long dead him.
He’s always hated that guy.
“When you die, you’re annoying.” He managed to articulate through an airway that fought him, and sludge in his stomach. Did she actually die? Does it matter? Who cares what actually happened, she’s here in front of him and his words matter to her.
“When they die, we’ll wish they could be.” He offered out the stick he held upon her request all the more firmly, you’re ours Sakura, we can’t lose you, the path you’re on is dumb and I’d like to help you, all words he’d like to have said instead.
It doesn’t matter, the girl who’s first choice is self sacrifice, and who’s second choice is to lash out about it, took the stick and seemed to understand the unspoken words just this once. “I’m not human anymore.”
He watched the girl sniffle, watched her whole world crumble as she said words that are too hard to say. He wished he could do the same. She grabbed the stick, at her own words, and at least that was one step forward in a puzzle he’s never been prepared for.
“I know.” He answered back, he’d known for a while. It’s not the sword, Hunger never did to a person what seemed to be happening to her. What was different about her was foreign, and seems more demonic than any weapon he could ever hand her. Insidious was its middle name, and if he could reach into her and rip out whatever’s causing her to actively seek death at so young an age that she’d literally jump through her teammate’s fireball for an advantage, he wouldn’t hesitate.
“My life’s a game now.” She looked into his lone eye, and he wished he could have his sharingan out just to remember the vulnerability in her face. This was Sakura, not a dead friend, not someone who he’d watched suffer atrocity, this scared little girl was Sakura and he needed to remember that above all else. “I have stats, and skills, and traits, and my money is held in an invisible prompt box so it doesn’t weigh me down, and, and, and I heal when I sleep.”
That’s not what he expected to hear, but those that snapped so young tended to have delusions connected to their interests. That’s not what’s happened here though, he knows that, because she was still alive and in front of him at that moment so shortly after taking injuries that’d take a jonin out of the fight for weeks. “I got that last part.” He said from the bottom of his stomach, refusing to explain to her that something evil is masquerading as a power to her.
Something wanted her to view her life as a token in an arcade’s money slot, something replaceable and without value. She was vulnerable, she was scared, she was still alive. He doesn’t say anything about that, at best he’d scare her, at worst he’d sever her trust in him permanently. “I’ve started carrying sedatives around in case I need to knock you out in an emergency.” He admitted, forcing the most playful smile he could manage. He doesn’t reveal he’s palming one of those sedatives right that moment.
“That’s smart.” So many dead, so many by his hands, and he still has to use every skill in his body to talk to a little girl.
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He’d been looking forward to this. That dungeon was just the excuse he needed to torture his students like they would have back in the good ol days. Normally village rules would say he couldn’t even risk pushing them on the path towards Itachi, or Orochimaru, or any of the other crazy village traitors, but they asked for it which meant this was totally okay! Watching Sakura run around a track while carrying Sasuke’s unconscious form had him so giddy he couldn’t even begin. He’d skip and clap and play if he had the energy, and wasn’t a grown man with much better things to do, like nap.
Six hours between sessions, about an hour before she passed out, she’d been getting a little more - statistically - than three hours of brutal all out training per day. It was harsh, and the fact that it was all she’d done for four days is harsher. Gai would be mad at him, this wasn’t how you train someone to be stronger, it’s how you get someone used to working on their last legs for as long as possible. Gai would say someone should burn out like a star, bright and then gone, they shouldn’t work on suffering through the hardest times, they should seek the best times at all costs and always ensure every moment is spent working towards being one step ahead of the enemy.
Kakashi knew better. Naruto was getting brightness training, in between Sasuke and Sakura he’s been spending a lot of his time learning soft skills. Clones can be used to teach him proper reading, writing, he’s even started him on the first step to seals - he had to do right by his parents - but he won’t tell him that. He needs to get his hand writing down before he tells him he’s training him to blow stuff up with paper he made. Monster inside or not, he’s not Sakura, he’s not possessed by some evil spirit that tells him it’ll all be alright no matter what stupid self sacrifice he makes. He could be trained on tomorrow, Sakura needed to be trained on today.
And Sasuke? Sasuke appeared to be getting sensitivity training.
“Is this reasonable?” Sasuke asked, carrying Sakura over to the grass next to him so she could plop down like the sleepy girl she was. “This has been going on far too long, Kakashi.”
“She’s getting better.” He said.
“What if she snaps?” The boy looked more angry than concerned, but that was natural for a guy. It’s hard to express worry when the entire world has told you that’s weakness, and you’re better off glaring at the problems until they’re too afraid to approach.
“She already has.” Kakashi pointed out, unraveling a scroll and pulling out a long wooden stick from it. He kept it, of course he did, Sakura found it important for some reason. He then poked her cheek with it, and watched as she tilted her head and began to chew on the damn stick. “See? She’s even chewing on a stick.”
“Kakashi, don’t stick things in girl’s mouths while they sleep, it’s creepy.” The deadpan on the boy’s face made a shiver run up Kakashi’s spine.
“Is it?” Kakashi asked, “what about boys?”
“Yes.”
“... Huh. That explains more than I’d like.” Kakashi nodded to himself. “Okay, but you get the metaphor.”
“She’s still chewing on it.” Sasuke’s dead tone only got worse.
“Well I’m not gonna take it from her.” Kakashi pointed out, dropping the stick, “she’s already crazy, at this point she either snaps or becomes great, the impact we have on her is all that matters.”
“So pushing her towards madness is…” Sasuke’s stare never ends, it’s his one defining character trait, one that Kakashi would like to avoid, but it seemed if it’s not Sakura, it’s Sasuke, the boy had called him out about Sakura relentlessly over their last few days together.
The boy might have had a crush, which was funny because Naruto definitely had a crush. Naruto’s crush was only made worse when she moved her blond teammate into her house like that was a perfectly normal thing to do. “Sometimes the cure is worse than the poison. At least right now, she’s diving into it for your sakes, it’s the best time to push her forward.”
Sasuke doesn’t like it, but he lets it go, for now.
Kakashi got the feeling he’d be hearing from Sasuke about Sakura a lot more in the near future.
Too bad, little Uchiha, Sakura’s not just some cute girl with an ounce of talent. She’d never fall to Hunger, because something much worse had a hold of her, and he can’t do anything about that but give her the tools she’ll need to keep going when all is lost. Everyone else on the team already has that skill, and they’ll need it, she will too.
“Besides, maybe after this dungeon is over you can ask her for a congratulatory kiss.” Kakashi teased the boy, watching him fight back a genuine flush and flip him off instead.
He left Sakura with her stick.
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“Where’d you get the goggles, Sasuke?” Kakashi asked, as heavy footsteps approached the house. They sounded wet, and he didn’t like that, best to move the conversation to where Sakura could sneak past without notice and get clean. Besides, he’d rather know why he’s staring at another Uchiha with goggles. The painful memories would overtake him, if that wasn’t every moment with this team.
“The dungeon.” Sasuke said curtly, allowing his Sharingan to spin to life. “I unlocked my birthright while I was at it. For a silly little diversion, I am happy we did it.” Kakashi had known about the Sharingan the first time he’d laid eyes on him after the dungeon, there was a new confidence to him, like reality had manifested itself the way it should. Either he’d gotten that kiss, or he’d unlocked his Sharingan, and he had his money on the Sharingan because the boy being sociable enough to ask for the former was practically impossible.
“That’s nice. Just remember not to look at anything you wouldn’t want to memorize, with those eyes of yours.” Kakashi said.
“Speaking from experience, Kakashi-sensei?” Naruto asked.
“Oh yes.” Kakashi nodded, rubbing his hands together to draw their attention just as Sakura got to the door, the least he needed is for everyone at this table to -
Bang!
Suddenly look at Sakura the moment she came through the door because she kicked the door open like a pissed off and drunk protagonist. Seeing a girl covered in blood wasn’t surprising for him, let alone Sakura like that. The pieces of person in her hair and sinew coating her were a new aesthetic, but he couldn’t say he was surprised. He thought perhaps they’d fight monsters in that dungeon, but humans aren’t an absurd concept when it was about taking down the shipping magnate himself.
Unfortunately what he’d rather avoid happened, Sasuke looked at her with his eyes full and powered on. That he didn’t seem surprised enough for it to matter hurt him deeply, but they were ninja, he couldn’t hide the world ahead of them forever even if he wanted to.
One day this would be normal, and Sakura was likely skewing when ‘one day’ was by years.
“He’s dead.” Sakura said, as her eyes locked onto their charge, Tazuna. She reached into her pouch, and before Kakashi could realize she was about to pull out a finger or something, Sasuke beat him to it. He was getting very good at predicting their teammate.
“Please don’t do that.” Sasuke spoke up, warning his teammate about the horrifying trauma she was about to inflict on everyone at the table. That she didn’t care or get it, but still followed his words filled Kakashi’s soul with a bit of soothing balm.
She was measured madness, they can control her. One step at a time, maybe they’d turn her into a person with enough time. His job was to make sure she lived long enough to become a happier him… Did that even exist? The thought threw him through a loop, who was he? He’s not prepared for all this, this is not what he signed up for.
“Who’s dead?” Their caretaker, Tsunami asked.
“Gato.” Sakura said, her eyes still gently glowing, the evil enchantment of a powerful sword trampled underfoot like it never mattered in the first place. “We killed him.”
“Uh… is that, um, him?” Tsunami asked, pointing at the girl tracking gore onto her floor.
Sakura took a sole moment to look down at herself, look a little guilty, then shrug it off, “yes, this is probably gato, I imagine this came from when I climbed on him and started stabbing.”
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“Why does Sakura need to be told things like ‘don’t approach the child while covered in person?’” Naruto asked Kakashi, as he ate his second bowl of food lovingly crafted by Tsunami “isn’t that like, obvious? She’s really smart…”
“Sometimes being smart makes you dumb.” Kakashi said. “Our brains can only track so many things at once, no matter how advanced they are. They prioritize what they understand and discard what they don’t. For Sakura, violence is unimportant, Inari and telling him the good news is.”
“I’m happy she loves my son, but isn’t that a bit much? She’s known him for a bit over two weeks.” Tsunami pointed out, “I found her passed out and snuggling him the other day. Should I be worried?”
“No.” Kakashi shook his head. “Yes… Maybe… Not about anything you’re worried about.” The Jonin decided after a long moment to think. “She’s latching onto someone innocent because her world shook recently. It’ll pass, or it won’t, but even if it doesn’t she’s not going to hurt him.”
“She just tried.” Tsunami pointed out with a bit of annoyance in her tone, not a lot but, it was there. A scorned mother is not a weapon he wanted aimed at Sakura right now, if he could help it.
“Think of it more as an idiot trying to help your son.” Kakashi said.
“That’s worse!” Tsunami groaned loudly and pained.
“Maybe, but the alternative is that he didn’t learn about Gato’s death and kept being anxious,” Kakashi pointed out, “and Sakura found that unacceptable.” It only took a moment, but he watched the woman scramble out of the room to go share the good news now that it had clicked with her that Inari still didn’t know.
“She’s so dumb.” Naruto groaned. “And so smart. I’m confused.”
“What else is new?” Sasuke said, the closest thing the Uchiha had to laughing, a little mirth in his tone. “The dungeon was… bad.”
“Did you get beat up by an old man?” Kakashi asks with a laugh.
“Yes.”
“So much.” Naruto agrees with a groan.
Comments
Dopplerdee
Kakashi: well she's already crazy so I can't fuck her up worse than she already is. I love it. I also love seeing this from outside of Sakuras garbage Cha stat.
