Five
Sakura observed her mother with a worried gaze. The woman had been asleep for years — a coma, the textbooks told her. Now that Sakura had made genin, she would be able to afford more treatment and actual medicine — but that also meant she had to leave her mother unattended for hours at a time. The young rosette could only hope that the team wouldn’t go out of the village for an extended period of time any time soon.
She didn’t even think they were ready to. Their sensei barely taught them anything, instead he made them do D-Ranks every day in lieu of teaching/training. (Sakura supposed that she had to keep learning from the dusty scrolls in the library, and the scrolls lying around at home). Naruto and the Uchiha would bicker all day, and reduce their pay because their brawls often caused collateral damage.
It annoyed her, really.
She also didn’t like how the Uchiha looked at her with disdain, like she was a piece of gum on the bottom of his boot. Inner wanted to punch him.
She had had a crush on him, when she was much younger and more naive. It didn’t last long.
Now, Sasuke irritated her. It hadn’t helped that a really pretty girl – who had defended Sakura once – happened to be the “leader” of his “fanclub” and now hated Sakura’s guts, because there was a rumour that she liked the Uchiha boy, and ended up on his team. Really, Sakura would willingly trade places with her (as long as Naruto came along).
‘Quit daydreaming, Missy,’ the grandma barked. Sakura’s mind crashed back into reality. Right, she was weeding some hag’s garden. Sakura set back to work, her hands moved deftly. It was therapeutic work, it was something she was used to doing. Though she usually kept a tight hold on their chakra, she let some of it ooze out and intermingle with the grass.
The plants told her things, how life was for them, how they liked their things, how they hated impudent children who trampled upon the flowers. They told her stories about the hands of many genin who’d come to groom their home.
The mud didn’t bother Sakura, though it was certainly not “ladylike” and Aunt Tsuki would usually scold her for, Sakura liked the mud. Aunt Tsuki wasn’t with her anyway.
When Team 7 was finally finished — Sakura had a small, mild smile on her face.
‘You’re smiling,’ the Uchiha pointed out, mildly confused.
‘Yes,’ Sakura blinked. Her smile fell. ‘Why do you care?’
‘You never smile,’ said the boy. ‘Also, we were weeding someone’s garden. We’re covered in mud. Why would this make you happy?’
‘Because I’m getting paid to do something I enjoy,’ Sakura shrugged. Even if the pay was reduced due to your fight.
The conversation didn’t last after that.
Sakura continued to hurry around the village, she’d already done many D-Ranks with her teammates. She was completing some odd jobs around town — rent was due next week and Sakura needed to pay on time. She also needed to save up for equipment, there was a huge, shimmering chained axe on display that she badly wanted but couldn’t pay for.
The old man who ran the shop was already kind enough to offer her kunai and other basic equipment at low prices. It was kindness, the only reason Sakura had made it so far. Kindness shown to her, a grace given to her. Kindness from old man Feng (the old man who ran the weapons’ store), Teuchi (the owner of Ichiraku’s who often just fed her for free), Granny Baki (who’d lowered the rent for Sakura and her Mother, and was specially patient with the small girl), and from a few other civilians ensured her survival. Their graciousness, in return, taught Sakura how to be kind as well.
The young rosette knew how ugly the world could be, but she had also seen how even the smallest, gentle kindness could light up murky skies.
It was something she held dear to her heart.
As tradition demanded it, Team 7 soon set off to collect the missing devil-cat, Tora. (Sakura knew it wasn’t actually a devil-cat, but she had heard a lot of gossip and had already agreed with the term in the first 15 minutes of their mission.)
The three genin were already covered in scratches and bruises by the 15-minute mark. Marks littered their skins by the 30-minute mark.
45 minutes, and Sakura had had enough . She grabbed the collars of her two teammates and dragged them into hedges from where they could observe the demon cat grooming herself.
‘We need a plan,’ she said to them. ‘Look, I have better things to do. I’m not spending the whole day trying to catch some runaway animal. We need to work together and end things quickly.’
‘Ya think we can get away with giving a look-a-like to the old lady?’ Naruto asked, and while Sasuke looked unimpressed — Sakura heavily considered the suggestion.
‘A doppelganger… it could work,’ Sakura hummed to herself. ‘What if one of us henges and goes to her? We could run away later.’
Sasuke looked incredulous. ‘None of us even know how to do a proper henge.’
‘...Oh, yeah.’ Naruto sighed along with Sakura.
‘Come on then, we need to plan.’ Said the girl.
It took them the entire day.
No matter how many treats they left lying around, Tora either swiped the treats or just completely moved past them. No matter how many times they ambushed her, she’d slip away. No matter how many traps they left lying around, Tora either didn’t fall for it, or scratched her way out of it.
The whole time, she looked at them while she licked her paw — the goddamn cat was taunting them. It got on their nerves.
After they made a last-ditch attempt at a trap, the team couldn’t help but cheer when Tora had finally fallen into their grasp and was unable to leave. Of course, the cat yowled and scratched, but Sakura was determined to get the mission over with.
The trap had been laid in a catnip bush, and Sakura may or may not have pushed for the roots to secretly ensnare the feline until Sasuke had sprung the net on the demon.
‘We should go to Ichiraku's to celebrate,’ Naruto looked at her when he spoke. She mulled over the idea.
‘It’s been a while since we hung out with him.’ Said Inner.
‘It could also be team-bonding.’ Sakura added internally.
‘We can have a team dinner,’ Sakura added hesitantly. Now that the frustration had worn off, Sakura was back to her awkward quietness. She looked at Sasuke, who wore a scowl, and then at Kakashi.
‘That’s a great idea, Sakura-chan!’ Kakashi’s visible eye crinkled in a way that told her he wore a threatening smile underneath that mask. While it was much kinder to her, Sakura noticed how Kakashi aimed a silent threat to the Uchiha. ‘Isn’t it, Sasuke-kun?’
‘Hn.’ Sasuke’s expression was anything but agreeable.
‘Baby steps.’ Sakura thought to herself as she sharply inhaled. The words repeated themselves over and over again, even as Naruto practically dragged her to Ichiraku. ‘We’re taking baby steps.’
One at a time. All in due time.