Assay

Standing in front of the Godaime Hokage, Sakura felt no shame in admitting that she lost pretty much all the bluster and bravado she displayed no less than ten minutes ago. She had just fabricated a story, lied to her superiors, to her Hokage, and falsified information regarding Konohagakure’s security. Images ran through her mind, countless hours under interrogation, the shame her parents would feel at having a traitor for a daughter, Naruto and Kakashi-sensei’s disappointed looks through a cell window. The idea of being caught filled her with dread, tension clawing its way up her throat and her heart pounding in her ears.

As the blonde-haired woman peered at them through steepled fingers, brows furrowed in deep thought, Sakura was sure that in that exact moment, the Senju could stare into their soul.

“A genjutsu, huh? A compulsion laced one...Maybe it was linked through fuinjutsu to that seal he gave you prior to the Konoha Crush,”

While the slug Sannin was internationally revered for her revolutionary medical knowledge and her work as an Iryo-nin, Orochimaru was also frequently acknowledged as having a great aptitude for medical ninjutsu. Of course, he ended up using it for less savoury reasons, but Sakura was betting that his capacity for medical ninjutsu was rooted in exceptional chakra control and high intelligence. Both aspects that she herself was greatly commended on during her days in the academy, and both aspects that were a necessity for genjutsu types and specialists. She tamped down her mounting panic. She was taking a big swing with the Godaime being  Orochimaru’s former teammate, the blonde probably knew the ins and outs of his preference for Jutsu and would know immediately that the Genin in front of her were lying through their teeth.

“He always was good at genjutsu.”

Big swings, big hits.

The blonde woman sighs and leans back on her chair, drumming her fingers on the desk. Sakura could see that each round of finger tapping left deeper and deeper grooves on the dark grain of the hickory desk, the baluster support seemingly groaning under the immense pressure of the rhythmic movement. The genin fought to keep the anxious tremors from her hands. The Hokage snapped her fingers, and 3 ANBU appeared out of the shadows, in front of Panther who was standing sentinel beside the two Genin.

“Cat, deploy patrols to sectors 1 through 17. Rotate every 6 hours, be alert for any suspicious activity. Tell the Yamanaka to fortify the barrier team. Owl, send 2 tracking teams up to the border, find any trace of Orochimaru or the remains of Sound. Badger, alert all ANBU outposts to be on the lookout for foreign Shinobi in the land of fire, be prepared to mobilize. We cannot afford another attack.Dismissed.”

As the Shinobi dispersed, the Hokage leaned back once more and regarded Sasuke cooly. After several months of being his teammate, Sakura could tell that he was internally fumbling under the weight of the blonde woman’s stare.

“I’m going to train you.”

What.

It seemed that for once, she and Sasuke agreed on the same thing.

“What.”

Although it seems she was a little bit more polite.

Tsunade snorts, hand reaching under the table and searching for something as the two stunned Genin stood in front of her.

“You, Uchiha Sasuke, will be training under me and my apprentice Shizune for the foreseeable future until I’m satisfied that you have developed enough medical skills to heal yourself in the event you get attacked or someone makes an attempt to nab those pretty eyes of yours. You will also be going under additional supplementary training under Shimon Hijiri and Toribo Tomitake, both Chuunin stationed at the Torture and Interrogation department. They will help strengthen your mental defences and train you further in genjutsu, we need to take precautionary measures in case Orochimaru tries this again.”

There was a pause, then another, then Sakura saw red.

Fucking typical.

Sakura was livid. Of course, the special clan kid with special organs inside his skull got exclusive training under the Hokage and T&I. Of course, it happens right after he tries to abandon the village in search of some vengeance-fueled pipe dream to kill his murderous older brother. Why would the universe work any other way? Clearly it was his show, and she was just a wash-out side character next to him. Sakura’s fist clenched, nails digging into the flesh of her palms as bitter envy surged deep in the pit of her stomach, jealous rage clawing at her soul, at the sheer injustice of it all-

“Oi, Pink Brat, you okay over there?”

“Y-Yes, Hokage-Sama!”

She read somewhere that it gets easier to hide pain and anger behind a smile when you’ve been doing it for a while. As the Hokage pours herself a cup of Sake, the item she was apparently pulling out from her desk moments ago, Sakura fervently hopes that it’s true.

“Panther, have your squad act as a guard detail for Sasuke. Three within fifty meters from him at all times. Engage at your own discretion. The two of you, go home. It’s been a long night. Uchiha, I expect you at training ground thirty-six at thirteen hundred hours. Dismissed”

The two Genin and ANBU bow and leave, Sakura numbly walking beside her teammate as she processed the night’s events, vaguely aware of the ANBU with his spotted mask walking a respectful distance behind them. Sasuke glances over at her and huffs.

“Well. You got what you wanted. Happy now?”

“Shut up, Sasuke. We got lucky and you know it.”

Sakura tries to compartmentalize. Tries to rationalize that she had a significant role in the recent happenings, that she was the direct reason why her teammate would now be personally trained by the Hokage and several other elite ninjas. That the alternative was much, much worse. She and Sasuke go their separate ways as Sakura heads to the civilian district, heart heavy with resentment and guilt.