“Ninja Tutoring”
by: QuasiAngel
Disclaimer: I don’t own Naruto…
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Chapter 1: I’ve been assigned a WHAT?
Today was Sunday- a day like any other day in the Hidden Village of Konoha. The sky was blue, the sun was shining and the grass was singed. Naruto, Sasuke, Sakura and Kakashi, formally Team 7, met every other Sunday in the same grassy field, rain or shine unless someone was on a mission or in the hospital. This Sunday, everyone was off duty and in tip-top shape.
The past four years had flown by for the group. Naruto was the first to become Chuunin only a year after their first try at the test. He had not only grown in strength, but he grew as a person. He demonstrated the principals of teamwork, the meaning of self-preservation, and was able to see beyond the obvious. It also didn’t help that he mastered the summoning of Kyuubi at will, giving him the upper hand against all of his opponents. It was only fair for the elders to grant the boy his promotion.
Sasuke’s successful completion of the Chuunin exam took place the following year. He probably would have reached this level the same year as Naruto, but the Hokage held him back, saying his sudden departure and reentry into the Leaf was suspicious. He needed to regain the village’s trust and he did so with flying colors.
Kakashi, being the mysterious Jounin he had always been, never really told his ex-comrades what he did with himself during those few years. He just greeted them with a smile and when asked what he’d been up to he’d simply answer, “I’ve been keeping myself busy.”
Sakura had also been keeping herself busy. She knew right off the bat that she wasn’t ready to become a Chuunin with Naruto, or even Sasuke. She took the advice of the dark haired boy, reluctantly lost her silly little crush and trained until she was ready. During her years of training, she would seek the guidance of the three deadliest Kunoichi in Konoha- TenTen, Shizune, and the 5th Hokage herself, Tsunade. Most would think that she would have become one of the most feared women in the Leaf Villiage, but that wasn’t the case. She had only gained enough techniques from these three women to pass her own Chuunin exam.
After careful analytical musings, she came to the conclusion that she didn’t need to be a Jounin. She’d stay a step or two behind her comrades and would stay a Chuunin. She figured it was where she belonged. It’s where everyone expected her to be.
Like all of their Sunday’s spent together, she contently kept one eye on her reading material and the other on Naruto, Sasuke and Kakashi. They would always spar like this- like young boys. Like old times. The three were not boys and she knew it. Including Kakashi, she had always considered her team a bunch of boys- even after Naruto became the tallest of the group and Sasuke’s deep velvet voice dropped a few octaves lower. It was now only a few months away from their Jounin exams and it dawned on her that they were no longer boys- they were men.
A few years ago, she had wondered why boys (or men) pushed themselves so much. To this day she still didn’t know the right answer. It must be a guy thing, she thought. She was content in her conclusion and didn’t dawn on it any further. She accepted it, never questioned it, but in her heart she still worried. That was not a girl or guy thing. That was a human thing.
She looked at the pocket watch adorned with the Uchiha fan, one of the belongings Sasuke asked for her to hold during his sparring, and sighed. It was almost noon. Like clockwork, Team 7 would be finishing up, she would check for any major injuries, bandage them, and then the group would settle down in the lush grass and eat a large lunch prepared by her.
It’s just the way things were supposed to be.
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The pink-haired Chuunin handed out individual bentos to her male counterparts and settled down between Kakashi and Sasuke.
“I so kicked your ass with that new move,” Naruto shouted with a mouth full of food, pointing an accusing pair of chopsticks in Sasuke’s face.
“Whatever, dobe.”
“You saw it, right Kakashi-sensei?”
“Sorry Naruto, I must have missed it.”
“Sakura-chan?”
It had always come down to this. She was always the deciding factor.
She slowly finished chewing and swallowed, then lightly dabbed the corners of her mouth with a handkerchief. She loved to watch the eager anticipation of the blond one while he waited for her answer.
“Of course, Naruto. You were fantastic as always,” she had lied. She did watch their mock matches, but never really paid attention to who was beating who.
Naruto’s eyes lit up like they always did when Sakura complimented him. He also proceeded to rub his “victory” in the face of the young Uchiha.
She turned to Kakashi and noticed the distinct shape of a smile beneath the navy blue fabric that covered his nose and mouth. They both knew it was easier to give Naruto the victory he wanted than disappoint him. Sakura had also given Naruto a bit of slack since the days of their first Chuunin exam. He deserved much more than the cold shoulder.
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The three finished their meals (and still had not seen Kakashi take one bite, but his bento was empty) and they all laid in a row, silently watching the clouds. It wasn’t the sparring or gossip that brought them together every other Sunday; it was the quiet meditation surrounded by “family”.
And as quick as it started, it was over.
Naruto shot up from his space on the grass and stretched, “Well, it’s time to go you guys.”
Sakura looked up at him and squinted a bit at the late afternoon sun, “It’s six o’clock already?”
She glanced over at Sasuke who checked his watch, “It’s actually three minutes after.”
“Time sure does fly,” Kakashi said as we got up from his spot.
She smiled sadly and closed her eyes, “That’s an understatement.”
“Do you want some help cleaning up, Sakura-chan?” she opened one eye and looked at Naruto.
“What do you think?”
“Yeah, yeah. I don’t understand why you refuse our help. It’s not like we offer it frequently,” he turned to Sasuke, “Hey, wanna race?”
“To where?”
“The Academy.”
“Fine,” Sasuke got into position and looked back at Kakashi, who was in the process of standing, “You coming Kakashi?”
“No, you guys go ahead. I’m going to help Sakura.”
Sakura stood up and proceeded to protest, “But-“
He put his large hand on her shoulder and left it there for a moment. He must have had something important to discuss with her because he touched her. He never touched her unless he had to. She figured his lack of touching was due to the whole puberty thing. Most older guys tend to be a little skittish around young women. Especially if these young women are growing curves; curves they didn’t have only a few years ago, “I insist.”
“Oh, I see! Kakashi-sensei wants to be alone with Sakura-chan. I heard you liked them young, but this-“
Naruto’s trap was abruptly shut by Sasuke’s hand, “Shut-up, dobe.”
Kakashi cleared his throat, “As much as I enjoy Sakura’s company, I think attempting to win her heart would be a waste of time. I don’t think I’m her type. Isn’t that right, Sakura?”
Embarrassment kept her from responding so she merely nodded.
“Alright,” Sasuke nodded his goodbyes to Kakashi and Sakura, took his hand from Naruto’s mouth, and turned towards the direction of the Academy, “Let’s go,” and he took off.
Naruto was torn between catching up to Sasuke and watching over Sakura. He decided he hadn’t kicked Sasuke’s ass enough today, “Alright- you just keep your hands off of her, old man!”
The silver haired Jounin removed his hand from the speechless girl and said, “You can trust me.”
The blond nodded to the both of them and he was off.
Kakashi knelt by the mess their lunch had left and looked up at Sakura, “Shall we?”
“Oh, yeah,” she picked up the blanket they had used and folded in into a neat square.
When everything was packed away, they stood side-by-side, facing the setting sun. The two hadn’t been alone together in a very long time and although Sakura should have been enjoying her quiet time with her former teacher, the air was a bit unsettling.
“Kakashi?” she said in a voice barely above a whisper, “Why did you stay?”
“Hmm,” he kept his eyes on the sun, “I can’t hide anything from you, Sakura.”
“No, you can’t. It’s not like you to clean. Nor is it like you to defy my request to be alone. What it is that you have to tell me? Or ask me.”
He didn’t know any other way to say it, “You’ve been assigned a tutor.”
“I’ve been assigned a what? A tutor? You’re joking! Where’s Naruto? I bet he’s behind this,” she said, laughing.
He turned back to her and shook his head, “It’s no joke.”
“B-but I’m a Chuunin! I am satisfied that that. And the Hokage said I’d be great working with strategic operations and negotiations- no fighting. Maybe even healing! I would be content to do that. I don’t need to get stronger! I’m strong enough to get by, right?“
“I’m sorry, Sakura, but even if you were to apply for a position in Strategics or Negotiations, your scores in the Chuunin exam were unsatisfactory to uphold a position. They wouldn’t accept you.”
She mouthed the word, ‘unsatisfactory‘ and sighed.
“I thought you knew these positions were only held by qualified individuals who scored a certain amount on their physical exams.”
She tried to erase the defeated look on her face, but failed miserable, “I- I was under the impression that the Hokage could over-turn technicalities like that.”
“She can, but that would be unfair. And besides, your application would be denied by the elders anyway. You won’t have to take the Jounin exam. You just have to pass a few tests and you’ll be fine.”
“Well, who said I wanted those jobs, anyway? I could be a teacher.”
Kakashi shook his head. He knew she wouldn’t be content in teaching, “Is that what you want?”
“Sure, I mean I-“ she watched the shapes beneath his mask form a frown, “No.”
“I know you won’t mind a little extra hard work, Sakura. You just need a little push in the right direction. A tutor is not the end of the world.”
“Can’t you train me?”
He sighed. He knew he hadn’t done his best to train her, but he had always seemed to have his hands full with the boys, “You know I’d love to, but I have been ordered to help train Sasuke for his Jounin exam.”
She threw her hands up in defeat, “Naruto has Jiraiya! Sasuke has you! Where does that leave me?”
“Sakura-“
“It leaves me in the dark, getting treated like left-overs.”
“It’s out of my hands now. I haven’t been your sensei for four years. Yes- I wish I had focused on your skills as well, but I didn’t expect to have a demon, a traitor, a Hokage assassination and a war thrown into my lap!” he cleared his throat. He hated yelling at her, but that seemed like the only way to get through to her, “Look, my past teaching strategies are not under the microscope right now. I am simply the messenger. You will meet your tutor in front of Jounin headquarters tomorrow morning at 8am sharp.”
“Who’s my tutor?”
“I am not at liberty to say.”
“Why not?”
“Because,” he said simply.
“Because why?”
“Just because.”
“Argh! You are expecting me to go into this blindfolded? This is your fault, Kakashi! If you would have just taught me then I wouldn’t nee-“
She abruptly stopped and walked a few feet away from her teacher. Ashamed, she sat on the ground Indians-style with her back to him and her face in the palms of her hands. What she said was harsh because she knew, for once, he actually had a legitimate reason for not being there for her. He was right- it was out of his hands.
“I’m sorry,” came a tiny voice heavy with emotion. She blinked her tears away and suddenly her sensei was in front of her, sitting on his heels at eye level with her.
“Give me your hands,” He held out his hands and she hesitantly put hers in his, palms face down. He turned them palm-up and inspected them briefly, “When we return here in 6 weeks I want to see your nail polish chipped, your nails broken, your palms blistered and your finger tips calloused. Promise me!”
“I promise I will do my best, Kakashi-sensei,” she turned her hands around so her palms were facing his again and she closed the space between them.
“I know you will,” he gave her hands a reassuring squeeze and smiled a bit under his mask, “Also, I want you to catch up with your Icha Icha reading.”
She instantly turned red and tried to take her hands away, but he held on tight.
“I- I don’t know what the hell you’re talking about!”
“Now-now. You don’t have to lie to me. I know that’s what you were reading.”
“No way! I-“
He took her book out of thin-air and waved it in front of her face, “I have memorized the size, shape, page count and every single word on every single page of these books. A mismatched dust cover won’t fool me,” he took the foreign cover off of the book to prove his point.
“I- I- I-“
“Don’t be so embarrassed Sakura,” he placed the book on the ground next to her and stood up, “It’s a great series. Full of character development and such.”
She sighed in defeat and placed her book securely in an empty kunai holder, “It has its charm.”
He gave a good laugh and helped her stand, “Well Sakura, I am off. Good luck!” and he disappeared into a cloud of smoke.
“Thanks for nothing.”
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TBC