A Wave of Petals

When Sakura awakens it's to a pounding in her skull and an aching thrum in her body. As she shifts, pain flares in her legs, the sore burning kind. She places an arm over her eyes, shielding them from the harsh morning light pouring in through a window. There's a half empty sort of feeling inside of her. What happened?

She blinks, once. Twice. A dull, pained groan escapes her lips when she moves her arm and light burns into her sensitive eyes. Another ache sears though her legs, it's familiar but stronger than she remembered when carrying Tazuna. When she carried- ... -Tazuna(?)... oh. Oh! The memories of the previous day rush through her. At least, she thinks it was yesterday. There's really no telling how long she'd been out and that in itself is frustrating. Sakura absent mindedly notes the change of clothes.  They were warm and hung off her thin frame, but they were comfy. Someone must have changed her. A flush covers her face and neck and makes her ears go bright red, by Kami she prays that Tsunami changed her. 

Voices reach her ears from downstairs, and she thinks of her team. There's a pang in her heart but some of the anger still remains. At herself or them (or both) is left unsaid.  

Threading her fingers through her hair Sakura cringes sitting up. It's oily and the pink strands are shades darker with dirt, examining her skin, she finds it to be in similar condition. She desperately needs a shower. With that thought, Sakura rolls out of bed and pushes herself to her feet, only to collapse onto the floor with a resounding thunk the moment she tries to stand. The burning in her legs is worse by tenfold and the points where she collided with the floor make themselves known. 

The voices and sounds from downstairs immediately stop and there's a whooshing of air before Sakura rolls over and comes face to face with her Sensei. Kakashi's lone eye turns in a crescent shape like some sort of a smile. Of course, he'd know how to smile with his eye, Sakura bites her cheek stifling a giggle. 

"Ma, Sakura-chan you gave us quite the scare," He hums, taking a seat on the floor beside her. 

There's an unknown emotion swirling in Kakashi's eye but the amusement in his voice at her current predicament both endears and angers her. Sakura sits up tilting her head slightly to the right in thought. 

"How long was I out for?"

"A week."

Sakura blinks, her mouth forming a soft o. Kakashi chuckles at her and reaches out to ruffle her hair. Suddenly self-conscious of her greasy hair and hazardous looks Sakura's face burns while she bats his hand away and shuffles back sitting with her knees to her chest.  Kakashi just chuckles, shaking his head slightly at her. 

"Oh Sakura-chan," he sighs. 

Sakura fixes him with her harshest glare, but it has the opposite effect of what she'd hoped and just makes her sensei smile. 

"Tsunami said that when you woke up you could wash up in the second room to the left down the hall. I'll have her pick out some more dry clothes for you." 

Sakura nodded and began to stand again. Kakashi catches her when she falls again, her weakened legs giving out. 

"Well that explains the noise," he stated dryly. 

Sakura yelped as he scooped her up into his arms and began to head downstairs with her. She could feel her ears burning and heart pounding; surprise flickered through her. 

"Se- Sensei?" she croaked. 

"Just rest Sakura-chan, your body is still recuperating," he chirped cheerily giving her another eye smile. 

Sakura yawned, nodding at his words. She lay her head against his chest as he carried her though the house. Memories of her father scooping her up to put her in bed when she was younger filter through her mind. 

In the bathroom, Sakura is greeted to a half-full tub of lukewarm water and Tsunami who politely asks Sakura if she needs any help as Kakashi had set her down and left to quell the shouting match the boys were having. Sakura felt embarrassed and a bit self-conscious, but she couldn't deny that standing without assistance was exhausting. Quietly, she asked if Tsunami would help her get out of her clothes, then soap and rinse her back and hair. The older woman nodded and gently assisted Sakura as she needed, gently humming a song while the water sloshed as Sakura bathed. Soft hands massaged soap into her scalp and Sakura couldn't help the pleased sigh that escaped her when Tsunami turned her nimbly to wash Sakura's back and work out the kinks in the muscle formed from laying still for so long. After rinsing herself off, Sakura stepped from the tub with Tsunamis assistance and wrapped her body in a clean, worn towel. 

The whole thing was rather embarrassing, and you wouldn't be able to tell if the slight redness on Sakura's face was from embarrassment at being so exposed or the warm water. Washed and dressed in clean clothes Sakura felt much lighter. The two went into the living room where Sakura sat on one of the cushions while Tsunami set about preparing lunch. Sakura felt guilty that she couldn't help; Tsunami had been so kind and accommodating to their team after all. 

"So- " Sakura began slowly, "What, um. What happened after I passed out?" Sakura asked, worrying her lower lip between her teeth. 

Tsunami shot her a smile, "Well..."

...One conversation later.

Sakura lay withering on the floor half in giggles and half in sore, burning pain. Her legs hurt but her chest was bright with laughter. She could feel the beginnings of a stich in her side from the obnoxious giggles.  "Oh, my goodness!" she exclaimed wiping a tear from her eye, "I can't believe that Inari actually did that! Sensei must have been so surprised!"

"Ma, ma, Sakura-chan it's rude to pick on your poor old Sensei like that," Kakashi appeared in the room feigning hurt. 

In an abrupt wave of confidence and mischief, Sakura stuck out her tongue at him, "So, you admit that your old, huh Sensei!"

The whole thing was so Naruto-like that it made the man do a double take. 

This feels nice, Sakura realized. Just letting her inner attitude come out rather than be so Ms. pretty 'n perfect, all the time. Like many civilians, Sakura's parents had enrolled her into the academy so that she could find a nice shinobi, hopefully from a big clan, then retire early to run the shop. It was a common thing done in Shinobi villages. At first, she had wanted to be a Kunoichi, to protect others as Ino-pig had done for her. Somewhere along the way she'd lost sight of that dream. "... So, get your damn act together or resign..." Tsunamis words, while not directed at her, had resonated in her. Was she really much better that Kakashi in some way? He hadn't tried to train her or get her to try, but she hadn't even put in any effort herself. She was always hiding behind the boys. Sakura recalled Ino's shrilly voice as she cried "Sasuke-kun!" and chased after or clung to the brooding boy. Was she like that? Sakura shivered at the image. How had she gotten so lost...? 

Sakura re-grounded herself with a deep breath and turned to face her sensei. Swiveling around had caused pain in her sore legs to flair but she paid it no mind. Sakura bowed her head deeply.

"Teach me to be strong, please," she added as an afterthought. 

Sakura swore that Kakashi's very chakra flickered in surprise. A warm hand was on her head, ruffling her long, pink locks. When Sakura looked up, she was met with a look of pride from Tsunami and a warm eye smile from Kakashi, perhaps the most genuine one she'd ever seen from him. 

After the small moment Kakashi went outside to "make sure the boys didn't destroy anything else" Sakura suspected that the scene was too emotional for her false, cheery sensei to handle. Sakura sat humming to herself for a few minutes. Then Tsunami pipped up, sitting down beside Sakura with a cup of tea in hand, and a second one that she offered to the Pinkett. 

"Thank you."

The woman merely waved her off. "No problem. Would you like to hear a story, Sakura?"

Sakura nodded eagerly and sipped from her cup. 

"In the Hidden Village of Stone or Iwakura, lived a young woman-" Sakura got the sudden inkling that this story was much more personal than Tsunami had let on, but refused to mention so. If Tsunami was comfortable sharing for whatever reason, Sakura was honored to listen, "-who had long since childhood dreamed of being a Kunoichi and serving her village. This woman, as a child, had been placed on a fairly good gennin team. She had been blind, though, to the obvious lack of training that her sensei had provided her so that she'd get scared of combat and become a medic or take honeypots, which are normally not combat. When she finally became a Chunin, though almost a year after the rest of her gennin team had, the girl remained oblivious to the fact that she and several other kunoichi had been purposefully held back. The reasoning was they needed to "mature" more before they could go on missions or get the solo missions for information that Kunoichi were always sent on. The girls needed to be kept in the village to learn medical ninjutsu. There were few things that Kunoichi could do to move up in the ranks. Her chakra control wasn't good enough to be a genjutsu mistress or a high-level medical ninja. The only option to further her carrier so she could support herself were honeypots. They were not the most ethical of missions, but all ninjas knew that the mission would come above all else."  

Tsunami paused taking a sip of her tea and letting all that she'd said sink in. Then began again. 

"When she was twenty-one, the kunoichi got a b-rank honeypot mission to gain information on a client. It wasn't the first of such missions, so the Kunoichi thought little of it. She took all the protective measures including the mandatory pill from the village. "

Sakura felt dread pool in her gut as she began to piece everything together. Tsunami looked out the window at Inari who was in a shouting match with Naruto over food.

"The measures failed. I didn't even find out until almost a month and a half later when, for a week straight, I woke up running for the toilet. I went to see a medic and they informed me of what was going on. Soon, my superiors found out and I was given two options, retire permanently to raise my baby, or get an abortion. The baby that I'd gotten pregnant with all because they'd given me faulty medication, the baby who already had a heartbeat; they made me chose between my career and my child. I never regretted having Inari. It was only later that I learned that a select few high officials knew about the faultiness of the medication but refused to do anything about it, then looked down on the Kunoichi who got pregnant as though it was their fault. They had put their trust, given their lives for the village and they had betrayed it."

Sakura felt her heart bleed for the woman and the anger within her flared at the unfairness. 

"Inari's father, he's a noble in the stone daimyo's court," Tsunami shook her head. 

A gasp parted the pink haired girl's lips at the valuable information. If he knew... She dismissed the thought with a shudder. 

"Why tell me this?" She couldn't help but ask.

"As a warning. You remind me a lot of myself as a kid. Be careful, Sakura; get stronger, and-" Sakura caught Tsunamis determined stare, "Give anyone who tries to stop you from doing that hell."

With a grin on her face, Sakura nodded, taking in the words of the former Kunoichi before her. 

"Tsunami-san, would you happen to have any scrolls I could look at? I understand if you'd rather not show me."

There was an absolutely terrifying feline grin on the woman's face as she took off, returning moments later with a large scroll. As it turned out, there were several more scrolls sealed inside. Some contained information and other held clothes, weapons, salves and other such items. 

"Take everything, if you like."

"I- I couldn't."

Tsunami shook her head, "Nonsense, I and my family have no use for such things. It would make me happy to see such things put to use. Especially," she winked, "by such a determined Kunoichi and her team. I've got a feeling, kiddo, that you and your team are going to change things."

Sakura bowed, "Thank you Tsunami-san, I will make this up to you one day."

Her only answer was a smile, "I'll look forward to that. Now, your sensei mentioned something about you having very good chakra control. Would you like to learn a jutsu? I have all the ones I know written down in here somewhere, but I could just show you how to do one. Your team is welcome to watch." 

Sakura lit up. "Yes please!" 

Tsunami helped pull her to her feet and they went outside leaving their empty teacups on the table. 

In a few minutes everyone was outside in a small clearing near the house. Sasuke and Naruto were arguing but quickly shut up when Kakashi threated to hold off on their training if they couldn't get their acts together. The duo's affronted faces made Sakura, who was sitting a few feet from them, giggle. Tsunami slowly went through each hand sign then yelled,

"Doton, Tamaishi Danmaku!" 

Hundreds of small pebbles shook and lifted from the ground as Tsunami flared her chakra. Sakura could feel the chakra coming off her in waves to command the small stones. With another larger flare of chakra, the stones began to circle, moving so fast that they were only blurs; the speed was picking up a wind current and made a mini, weak tornado. After that, Tsunami flared her chakra again and this time the pebbles circled even tighter like a drill wind blew around them and back at the bystanders. Sakura watched amazed as Tsunamis control allowed her to take a relatively harmless jutsu and turn it into a weapon. The pebbles at their high rotation speed were sent barreling into a large tree; the trunk shattered apart on impact.  

Sakura watched with an awed look on her face and instantly decided that Tsunami was now her favorite person.