We are All Mentors in Our Own Right
“Are you kidding me?” Sakura’s hands slammed down on the abused bureau that had become her and Jiraiya’s meeting spot while Lady Tsunade was making her rounds through the village. She hadn’t thought much of the fact that she hadn’t seen her peers in a while; she certainly wouldn’t have guessed that Tsunade had sent all of them on a mission—everyone but her. Was she not capable enough? Did Tsunade not trust her enough? “She sent Hinata on the mission. Hinata!” She repeated the name to emphasize her horror. The name hung in the air like a bitter reminder. It wasn’t that she had anything against Hinata, but the injustice felt overwhelming. How could Tsunade choose someone else over her?
Jiraiya's hands cupped his temples, a usual resting spot for them as of late. “Sakura, I understand your frustration. Really, I do. But you have to understand, Lady Tsunade is a very smart woman; if she picked Hyuga over you, there must be some reason for it.”
Sakura eyed Jiraiya; she didn’t entirely appreciate him solving her problems—she just wanted to wallow a little bit longer. “Then what about Sasuke? We're both on Naruto’s team. Why should he go instead of me?” Sakura felt guilty even uttering these words; she fully understood the reasoning behind Sasuke’s leave, but still, she couldn't help but feel useless. Her hands gripped the desk, nails digging into the wood as tears threatened to spill. She wanted to cry, to let the frustration pour out, but what good would it do? Who would that help? She felt trapped in her own emotions, battling the urge to break down when all she truly desired was to prove herself worthy, to be someone her teammates could rely on.
“What would you do then, if you were on the mission to find Naruto?” Jiraiya asked, his stare growing more intense by the moment. “What would you contribute?”
She frowned. That hadn’t been her thought process, not in the least. She wanted to be there because Naruto was her teammate; despite his stupid antics, he was their comrade. He was their Naruto. “I don't know...” Her voice trailed off as she stared at the floor, seeking an answer to the question she’d been asked. Her brows furrowed deeper. Team Eight had Hinata; she was their eyes. Team Ten had Ino; she was their mouth. And Sakura? She was just Sakura. She didn’t come with any extra powers; she was just a girl on a team of ninja. Sakura cringed at the thought, one she hadn’t come to realize until she was on her own.
“Jiraiya.” Sakura’s voice was sudden; she hardly realized what she was saying until it was too late to take it back. “I want you to train me. I want you to help me be someone who can be relied on; I want to catch up to my peers.”
The Sannin representative was hardly surprised; he figured she would come to this conclusion at some point—it was just a matter of when.
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Shikamaru was pissed.
Actually, “pissed” was the understatement of the year.
They had been sent off with less than a page’s worth of information to follow regarding Naruto’s whereabouts and just about nothing on the case itself. Just what were the ANBU and high-ranking Jonin doing? He couldn't wrap his head around it.
“What a drag,” he muttered to himself, holding the essentially blank page as they swung from tree to tree. The ink smudged slightly, a reminder of how little clarity he had. It was infuriating; he was used to strategizing with all the pieces on the board, not guessing in the dark. He assumed this must be how Naruto felt—the guy had just about nothing going on in his brain, nothing but his own wants and needs. What an idiot. Was he really going on an S-ranked mission just for him? Shikamaru shook the thought away; he was going to complete this mission because he was told to—not because of any personal relationship he had with the victim.
However, what bothered him more was not the mission itself, but the motive of the assailant. Why would anybody want to kidnap Naruto? He was just stupid Naruto, after all. He couldn’t pry his mind from the fact that something bigger was going on, something that the Hokage didn’t feel like telling them. Kiba’s voice drew Shikamaru from his invasive thoughts.
“Hey. Isn’t this one of Naruto’s?” Kiba’s voice cut through Shikamaru’s spiraling thoughts. He paused mid-leap, glancing down as Kiba picked up a dented kunai from a nearby branch.
Shikamaru squinted, a sinking feeling washing over him as he recognized the weapon. The dents all over the blade were clear evidence of Naruto's careless handling, and the flecks of paint on the hilt screamed of one of his infamous pranks. “Kiba, was that kunai hanging on the branch before?” he asked, trying to suppress the growing dread.
“Yeah, it was,” Kiba frowned, his red face tattoos scrunching alongside the rest of his features. His positive outlook quickly faded, replaced with confusion and concern. “Why? Do you think it means something?”
Shikamaru nodded in response. “If it was just dangling there, then Naruto probably dropped it. He wasn’t fighting at all... Probably,” Shikamaru reasoned.
“So what?” Sasuke cut in. “You think he just dropped everything and left? That's nonsense, Shikamaru. You know that.” He was angry; Shikamaru recognized Sasuke's frustration, which was becoming more and more prevalent every day.
“That’s not really what I was thinking,” Shikamaru replied, forcing himself to stay calm in the face of Sasuke’s anger. “More so... I think our enemy knocked Naruto unconscious.”
There was a deafening silence for a few moments. While Naruto certainly wasn’t the most talented of the Hidden Leaf Genin, it would take someone with serious prowess and a knack for the job to knock out the adrenaline-pumped twelve-year-old.
Hinata was the first to break the silence. Her pupil-less eyes were wide with fear. “Naruto-kun is really in danger, isn’t he, Shikamaru?” she asked, her lips curled in an unfortunate frown. Shikamaru could’ve sworn he saw a tear escape from her rattled eyes. He didn’t respond.
“Come on, we have to hurry; we’ll never catch up to them at this pace.”
Like his peer, Sasuke was practically fuming.
Kiba and Neji kept finding different paths, paths that were completely misleading. Whoever the assailant was, they were certainly familiar with the tracking abilities of the Hidden Leaf Village. Scents and chakra signatures overlapped constantly, enough so that Sasuke was sure they had circled the same Sycamore tree for the third time.
“This is getting ridiculous, we haven't made any progress whatsoever.” He shot a glare towards the two tracking “experts” as they had been labelled by their peers.
“And what’s the deal with Girl-Hyuuga? Does she not have the Byakugan? Why isn’t she being helpful?” he spat, pointing an accusatory finger at Hinata, who stood with her sleeves clamped over her eyes, desperately trying to rub away the persistent tears that had been building up. Her quiet distress only fueled his annoyance.
“Dude. She's like, trying her hardest not to lose it!” Kiba reprimands, flailing his hands at the pale kunoichi’s defence. Sasuke's accusation was certainly not being helpful towards the waterfall that was her eyes.
“Sasuke. Last time I checked, your eyes weren’t any good for tracking either,” Neji shot back, his tone as cold as ice. Though it was a subtle jab at both himself and Hinata, the sting of it resonated, especially coming from a fellow prodigy.
He clenched his jaw, resisting the urge to lash out. “Tch,” he grunted, a noncommittal sound that barely masked the anger bubbling within him.
Shikamaru bears witness to the argument, offering only a concerned glance. Sasuke keeps his mouth shut, arguing with the others certainly didn’t help time pass the way it did with Naruto. Nothing was the same without him, not even arguments, it was pitiful.
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The stone room is cold, it wasn’t too bad temperature wise, it was cold in the way Kakashi spoke when he had to deliver bad news, cold in the way Sasuke disregarded any compliments thrown his way. However, it was worse than both; because neither Kakashi or Sasuke were here.
Orochimaru had promised that I could think his offer over, and make a decision that reflected my best interests; though, I had little certainty that he would follow through with that.
He had locked himself in the isolated room where he first regained consciousness, desperate to avoid another encounter with Kabuto. The sight of that smug face was the stuff of nightmares, a relentless reminder of the twisted world he had been thrust into. Every minute spent in this room was like a countdown to an inevitable confrontation. If he left, Orochimaru would expect an answer; or I would see Kabuto again- or probably both, and maybe at the same time. On the other hand, the room was desolate and draining, despite my apparent free will, I felt caged.
I could try and escape, and maybe make it to the Hidden Leaf Village and everything could go back to being normal Naruto; the Naruto who was a monster in the eyes of the villagers, and useless in the eyes of my peers. Or, I could follow Orochimaru’s path, I could be a monster with power in my hands, I would finally be rightfully accused of my crimes. Was that not better than a fake?
“What am I doing here?” he whispered, clutching his temples in distress, feeling the weight of his choices pressing down on him. The walls closed in, and the room felt suffocating. His fingers tangled in his hair, tugging at it as if he could pull the answers from his mind. “Am I really willing to give up everything?”
I would find no answers here, that much was becoming painfully obvious.