Snapdragons
“Good! A very youthful performance indeed young lady! Now, let’s start one more time from the beginning.”
Sakura’s feet danced around the ground as she once again charged towards Gai-sensei, her hands throwing one fist after another with a kick here and there. Gai-sensei had decided to teach her a very elegant and ‘youthful’ fighting technique, it was more acrobatic and seemed more like a dance than a fighting form. It also required an incredible amount of strategizing on the go, if she had thought five moves ahead then Gai-sensei would be already thinking ten moves ahead of hers. If she thought she had finally cornered him, he would pull an insanely fast maneuver and overtake her. The moment she finally took the lead in the fight, Gai-sensei would take it back with ease.
So what else could she do but improve? If he had seen through her moves then she would change her strategies as needed, if his speed was incredibly more advanced then she would make her movements quicker until she could match his momentum, if Gai-sensei took the lead during the sparring then she would persist until it was her who was leading. It was demanding and tiring work, but she was grateful for it if it meant she had any hopes of catching up with her teammates.
Once June ended, Kakashi-sensei had lowered the frequency of the meet ups to every other day to avoid overworking them. A very kind gesture on his part, but Sakura could not afford any time off when she still lacked so much. Therefore, the grueling work was not optional, even if she could barely feel her feet when she finally got home to rest.
The older men threw a kick at her face which she barely managed to avoid by leaning backwards into a flip. He threw a punch to her torso and she deflected it to her right, using the momentum and weight of Gai-sensei to pick him up and throw him over her shoulder and down to the ground. Before she could try and pin him, the green suited Jonin corrected his trajectory and swept her feet with a swift left kick.
Sakura yelped and braced herself as she fell forwards, but a firm grasp at the back of her qipao stopped her fall at just barely centimeters from the ground. The man let out a boisterous laugh, “Marvelous!” he exclaims, helping her back on her feet. “An incredible performance once again young lady!”
Sakura crouched forward and tried to catch her breath, wiping the sweat off her forehead. “Not incredible enough.” she said with a hoarse voice, “I don’t think I’ve won even once!”
She couldn’t help but compare the tanned man in front of her with her own sensei. While Kakashi-sensei was very reserved and avoidant, Gai-sensei was straightforward and animated. He would talk for hours, while training, about anything he could think of: elaborate competitions he has had over the years with Kakashi-sensei, passionate speeches about the importance of youth and even commentary on her incredible growth. But the biggest thing Sakura knew separated them was that Gai-sensei actually saw her and all the potential she had in her to become a great Kunoichi, while Kakashi-sensei only saw a glass doll that could break with one hit.
That and the ugly green spandex suit he wore by choice.
Gai-sensei laughed again at her previous complaint, “Success doesn’t happen within a day, you have kept chasing the peak of your youthful potential these past three weeks, and as a result your admirable skills have grown too.” he complimented with a blinding smile, “Be proud of your accomplishments, young lady!” She could only nod in response from where she was crouching as she tried to even her breathing. For as long as she remembered, the only thing her teachers would praise her for was her intellect, but Gai-sensei’s motivational speeches and praises on her fighting really moved her. She really wished that she could’ve had a Sensei like him in her early shinobi life.
“Take a couple of minutes to rest, we will resume once you’re ready to go again.”
“Yes, Gai-sensei.”
A bandaged hand gripping a cold water bottle appeared in front of her vision, “Please accept this water, dear angel! May it quench your thirst and restore your youthful strength!”
During her short time training with Gai-sensei, Sakura had naturally ended up meeting his three students at least once. Neji, Hinata’s older cousin, was a very cold and disinterested person. Although he talked very politely, she could tell he was very snobby while also having the biggest inferiority complex ever. Tenten, on the other hand, was very easy going. Tenten’s parents, a pair of retired shinobi’s, were the owners of one of the best weapons shop in the village and as a result, Tenten was very versatile with different weapons, a true jack of all trades.
Sakura grabs the bottle, standing up and giving a polite smile to the bushy-browed boy in front of her, “Thank you, Lee.” She opened the water and took a much needed sip, “And please stop calling me angel.”
Lee, however, was very much like his teacher. From the same ugly green spandex and bright orange leg warmers look, to the bushy eyebrows he sported and the horrid coconut haircut he proudly wore. Both his sensei and him were not able to manifest any chakra, but that has not stopped them from becoming great shinobi’s. His perseverance was admirable and he was a very thoughtful and kind guy, but his overbearing cheerfulness and flashy mannerisms were… A lot to be around. Not to say he was annoying, but he could be too much to be around at times.
And that’s saying something since Sakura is friends with the two blonde terrors of her entire class.
In a quick motion, he gently cups her free hand and moves a step closer to her “Even if I plead with my lips to not utter such truthful words, to even try and quiet my heart is impossible!” he declares dramatically, pulling a huge bouquet of roses from his back “Thus, please accept these as a testament of my feelings for you.”
Sakura avoided Lee’s intense and expecting gaze, looking anywhere but in his eyes. She did not know when exactly Rock Lee had taken an interest in her, but she did know that she couldn’t even consider his very obvious feelings while she was still trying to get over her own for Sasuke. When she complained to her mom about the situation, she had advised Sakura to be honest and tell him she wasn’t interested. The kunoichi had tried following her mom’s advice, but she also did not want to hurt the boy’s feelings. Which in turn landed her in a position where the more she tried to explain the more Lee would misunderstand her and fawn over her.
Sakura closed her eyes and let out a big breath, it was now or never. “Lee-”
“Sakura.”
She whipped her head towards the direction of the voice, “Sasuke-kun?”
He was a few feet away from where they were standing, his hands in his pockets and an annoyed look in his face. Naruto and Kakashi-sensei approached from behind him, the masked Jonin giving a two finger salute, “Yo, Gai.” greeted Kakashi. The green clad sensei wasted no time and immediately walked up to greet his old rival back with a strong hug. “My eternal rival!” he exclaimed, letting the other go and falling into a fighting stance “Are you here to pick up from where we last ended? Come then! Let us test the limits of our youth and glory!”
Kakashi-sensei straightens his clothes once free, “I’m actually here ‘cause Sakura-chan missed practice today.” Naruto huffed loudly, crossing his arms with an annoyed look on his face, “Had I know some bushy-browed bastard was gonna try an’ pull a fast one on Sakura-cha, I woulda come here sooner!” Sasuke’s frown deepened more than Sakura thought possible at the blonde’s statement.
She was completely mortified at this point, not only did she have to deal with a very dramatic and persistent love proposal, she had forgotten about their scheduled practice. To make it worse, her teammates were looking at her like she was some boy crazy girl that skipped practice solely to go on a date. She was more than sure that her face was redder than her qipao, and the roses were not helping her case whatsoever either.
Lee gently thrusted the bouquet in her hands and stood in front of her defensively. “Then, shall I take your words as a challenge?” he says in a serious tone, mirroring Gai-sensei’s previous stance.
Sakura pulled Lee back from his wrist, standing in between the two boys before any fighting took place. “Stop! It’s not like that!” She lets go of Lee, apologetically looking towards both of the sensei’s “Kakashi-sensei, I’m sorry for missing training. I had asked for Gai-sensei’s help and he’s been helping me develop my own fighting style.”
Gai-sensei steps in, crossing his arms and looking more serious than Sakura had ever seen him, “It’s true, she felt like her training was being neglected so she asked for some help. If I stepped out of line then I apologize to you Kakashi, but I will not ignore those who ask for help, it’s not in my nature.” he concludes.
Kakashi crosses his arms, “And I appreciate that.” he gives out a groan in defeat, “With that said, we should continue our own team training.” Gai-sensei nods with approval.
The masked Jonin turns around and starts to walk away, “I’ll pick it up from here Gai, thank you.”
The green suited Jonin gives a thumbs up in response with a dazzling smile, “Always a pleasure, my eternal rival!”
Sakura quickly bowed and thanked Gai-sensei for his help, she gave Lee the water back and ran after her own sensei with the bouquet in hands. Sasuke silently followed behind, a sour look on his face still present. Naruto huffed, “Yeah, we got it handled bushy-brows! Ya better learn to back off ya hear?!” he yelled, following the rest of his team while stomping. Lee just gave him a big bright smile in return, “Where love blooms there will never be defeat! Alas, till our youthful paths merge again my dear angel!”
“DON’T CALL ME ANGEL!”
“As you wish, Spring Fairy!”
Sakura groaned and buried her face on the roses, walking faster ahead and away from the dramatic confession. After some minutes, she finally collected herself and spoke again softly, looking over at the masked Jonin apologetically “Sensei, about the training…”
Kakashi sighed deeply from what seemed the millionth time, “You do not need to apologize. You told me many times what you wanted and I ignored you for my own dumb reasons.” he gives a warm smile from behind the mask he always wore, “I’m sorry, Sakura. It won’t happen again.”
She nods enthusiastically, “Thank you, Sensei.”
“I’m happy for you Sakura-chan!” Naruto cheers, “But I’m still ticked off about that bushy-browed bastard tryin’ to get one over on me, who does he think he is?!”
Sasuke tenses at his words, the blonde continues his ranting, “And flowers too? And What’s with the whole ‘Angel’ thing? He better not get the wrong idea about ya’!” he concludes. Sakura’s grip on the huge rose bouquet tightens slightly, “He’s not a bad guy,” she counters, catching everyone by surprise “sure he can be a little, uh, over the top with how he acts. But Lee is a genuinely kind person.”
Naruto huffed, “So what? You like him or somethin’ ?”
Sakura blushed again, “No!” Sasuke’s body relaxes a little, “He’s very sweet but he’s not the guy I like.” Sakura muses, looking at the roses in her arms, “I was trying to tell him that but you guys kind of interrupted before I could say something.” The three pairs of footsteps walking along hers stopped abruptly. “And now I’m stuck in an even bigger misunderstanding with him.”
It takes her a second or two before she realizes she’s walking by herself, she stops and looks back at the three wide eyed faces staring at her. “What?”
Naruto points an accusative finger at her, “You like someone?”
“I didn’t say that!” she counters quickly, making herself look even more guilty.
Kakashi-sensei smirks deviously, “But you just said Lee is not the guy you liked, meaning there is someone you do like, Sakura-chan.” he reasons, giving a knowing look to her two male teammates “Right, Sasuke?” Sakura wished the earth could swallow her whole in that moment. Since she was eight years old, she had never slipped up in her closest and most well guarded secret.
Yet here she was, opening her big mouth and confessing to having someone in her heart.
And that same boy was just a few feet away, staring at her and making her heart race like crazy.
Sasuke looked away first, hands still buried deep in his pockets and a very familiar sour look in his face. He resumed walking towards the training ground, not waiting for anyone else. “Stop being annoying Kakashi, we have training to catch up on.” he states nonchalantly, “Especially you, Sakura. Stop slacking off.”
Sakura lets out a breath she did not even know she was holding once Kakashi and Naruto started to walk again too. Minutes later, they finally arrive at their training grounds and pick up from their last session. With her secret training being not a secret anymore, Kakashi kept to his promise and resumed the same training Gai-sensei had been giving her. Meanwhile, her two male teammates were sparring with each other. She noted how much more unforgiving Sasuke was with his punches, something was bothering him and he was inadvertently taking it out on the poor blonde. Sakura assumed it was the fact that her little escapade had hindered his own training, he was a creature of habit after all.
She apologized to him in her mind and then turned to completely dedicate her focus on showing Kakashi why he should have never doubted her capabilities. Her eyes land a quick second on the first bouquet of roses she’s ever been given and Sakura makes a mental note to explain things to Lee properly. He has been nothing but sincere with her about his intentions, so she owed him honesty in the very least about hers. She needed to be honest and to the point, even if it meant hurting Lee’s feelings.
The training for the Chunin Exam had consumed so much of her time that Sakura had forgotten about the annual festival the village holds before the end of August. Had it not been for Ino mentioning it during their sleepover at the Yamanaka Residency, Sakura would have completely forgotten about it. All three girls were wearing their pajamas, their hair pushed back with headbands and a face mask freshly placed on each of their faces, courtesy of their very own beauty guru.
Since turning 13, Ino had given in completely to her girly side and started reading up all about the latest trends and the best beauty products a girl could ask for. So today, they were trying a new face product together to help them prepare for the upcoming festival.
“Ino-san, what is this for again?” Hinata questions, worryingly looking at the gooey green concoction that laid on her face through a mirror. The blonde girl was currently painting Sakura’s finger nails with the same matching color as her toe nails, she slowed her movements as she answered, “This mask is to give our faces their beautiful glowing look back.” She gives her handiwork a thorough inspection before she decides she’s content with the results. “These stupid training drills are so rough in my skin! And the errands we have to run are sooooo frustrating, I can feel my skin wrinkling at just the thought!”
Sakura hums, trying to be careful not to ruin her freshly done manicure, “Kurenai-sensei goes on like super stressful and dangerous missions and she’s super pretty anyways.” the pinkette points out, Hinata nods in agreement. “That is true.”
Ino scoffs, “She’s like, blessed by the goddess of beauty she doesn’t count!” she counters, grabbing a lavender nail polish and starting to paint Hinata’s fingernails as well, “And either way, we need to look our best for the festival! I’ve been thinking about it and it’s the most romantic place to confess to Sasuke-kun!” she continues with a dreamy tone while looking at the distance with what Sakura could swear were hearts in her eyes.
The remark had hit her like bricks; between the missions and the training, Sakura had somehow forgotten why she had allowed herself to become closer and more genuine with the aforementioned boy. Her happy smile froze and faded slowly at the words, Hinata locked eyes with her and she quickly resumed her smile and avoided her gaze. Hinata tilted her head with concern, but did not press the matter.
“Not to mention that you can totally try and make a move, Hinata!” Ino mused. The dark haired girl immediately stilled and went bright red in the face, “A m-m-m-move? O-o-on-“ she stuttered, unable to even finish her sentence as her blush deepened at just the thought.
Sakura chuckled, “Back off Ino, you know how she gets about her ‘Naruto-kun!’ " she says, mocking her voice at the end. Hinata lets out a yelp in response, “Not you too Sakura-san!” Both girls laugh at the Hyuuga’s expense, Ino moves on to work on her left hand once she’s sure the other one is dry “We’re just messing with you. But on a more serious note, you haven’t even been able to talk to the guy with more than three words before you run away. If you want it to work you have to put in work~!” She sing-songed at the end.
Hinata visibly deflates, lowering her voice and looking down to her lap, “It’s not that easy Ino-san.” She says with a soft voice that Sakura only ever hears when Hinata is in a gloomy mood. “I really do want him to notice I exist, but I’m- Well, I’m just a huge coward about it.” She says with defeat, she fiddles with the end of her nightgown and keeps her lavender eyes fixated on them, “I’m a really bad teammate, I’m even worse when it comes to my shortcomings and duty as heiress. I can’t even speak properly with my own Father about anything either.”
Sakura moves closer to her, gently grabbing her hand. Ino finally finishes, putting down the nail polish and giving the shy girl a serious look, “No offense whatsoever, but your dad is a total dick, Hinata-chan.” Sakura nods in agreement “Like, okay, I get the whole heiress thing ‘cause I myself am in the same boat. But he’s just totally crossing the line with his insane expectations of you!” the blonde counters. Hinata kept her eyes trained on her lap, her downcasted eyes letting a few tears swell in the corners, “But I should be able to do it, Neji-niisan is able to not only meet Father’s expectations but even go beyond them with ease! If he had been born in the main family branch, nobody would doubt his position as future head of the clan.” she concludes with a shaky voice.
It was Sakura’s turn to intervene, “Hinata, I’ve met your cousin before and yeah he’s very good with his ninjutsu, but he’s an asshole and that alone makes him a stupid choice for heir.” she replies while rubbing Hinata’s back. “Plus, your dad’s a huge dick so his opinion literally means nothing.”
The dark haired girl finally giggles, “Please stop referring to my father like that, it’s impolite towards a clanhead.”
“I will once he stops acting like the dick he is!”
“Same for me!”
“Ino-san!” Another round of laughs filled the room.
Hours later, all three girls decided to finally call it a night and arranged the futons to lay next to each other, Hinata had taken the middle while Ino took the left and Sakura took the one on her right. Sakura tried to will herself to just drift away to sleep but she could not bring her mind to quiet down as it kept reminding her of her blonde best friend’s words. She could try to convince herself that they were just words, that it should not bother her because she knew it was happening and that even if she realized that she wanted more than just be Sasuke’s teammate it was all meaningless anyways.
She had made a promise.
She conceded before she could think about it twice.
And that was it.
Sakura tried to even out her breath and calm herself before she started crying for whatever was left of her pathetic and broken heart. She didn’t want to worry her friends over nothing so she swallowed back the knot in her throat and ignored the heavy feeling of sorrow on her chest. She felt a soft and warm hand lay on top of hers, interlocking their fingers and rubbing the back of her hand with comfort. She looked to her left to see a very sleepy Hinata giving her a comforting smile, her voice came out in a soft whisper so as to not wake the sleeping Yamanaka, “Sakura-san, it’s okay.”
She hurried to dry her eyes and tried to give her most convincing smile, “I’m fine, I just had a nightmare. I swear.” Sakura whispered back.
“You do not have to explain, it’s okay to just cry.”
The pinkette’s lips trembled as they betrayed her, she buried her face on the dark haired girl’s shoulder and muffled her cries. Hinata wrapped an arm around her gently and rubbed comforting circles on her back like she had done on hers earlier, “I’m sorry.”
“Don’t be, you can tell me when you are ready.” Sakura nodded while more tears fell down and she cried until she was out of energy and finally sleep took over her.
Then she dreamed of raven black hair and dark onyx eyes that only looked at her and her only.