Arrival
What had induced her once again to become a kunoichi? If she was honest with herself, then her motives were ridiculous. Back then she wanted to go to the Ninja-Academy because of the friendship with Ino and then, then there was Sasuke-kun. Unapproachable and handsome Sasuke-kun, which she wanted to impress, so she won him over. She had given up her friendship with Ino for this dream, this wishful thinking - to become Sasuke's later wife. Even her training outside theory had neglected her in the belief that he would never choose a girl who was sweaty and too muscular. After all, so she was told, Kunoichi's were beautiful, slender women. She had been on an extra diet so as not to overcharge, although she had read, that muscles were heavier than fat and they needed to eat enough to grow, especially if they exercised a lot. But she did not want to and could not lose to Ino-Pig! So all concerns were thrown overboard. Instead of having a well-balanced education she had taken care of her appearance and Sasuke-kun's progress. How stupid and reckless that was of her. She thought she was better because she had the best grades in theory at the Academy, so she chastised Naruto a useless idiot, who was of no use. In the course of this, it was her, which was no use. While Naruto and Sasuke-kun had fought side by side to help Kakashi-sensei against Zabuza, she just stood there rooted, unable to do more than armed with a kunai to face the client she had to protect. Even when the missing-nin rushed towards her or better Tazuna, she could not move. Instead Sasuke-kun jumped protectively in front of her and while her inner fangirl jumped for joy, because her very own sasuke-kun came to her aid, she gradually agreed with the other voice. She was useless, weak and had no right to call herself Shinobi.This only became clear to her little by little, and it took her almost the entire way to Tazuna's house, after meeting Zabuza, until she came to the conclusion that in retrospect she had only harmed herself and her career. It took an S-rank missing-nin and a mission that got completely out of hand to make her aware of that! She had always believed that her mind was her greatest strength. But compared to Sasuke-kun, Kakashi-sensei and even Naruto she was a nothing without special talent. Bitterness filled her with that reality and did not allow her to fall asleep.
It was the middle of the night, her sensei and her teammates were sleeping. Chakra-exhaustion and the healing of injuries tugged at their bodies, demanding recovery. Sakura on the other hand was wide awake, despite the distance traveled. She had no injuries, had not fought, and just stood at the sideline. She did not deserve sleep in her eyes, but what should she do?
If she thought about it… She had taken a scroll on chakra-manipulation that she could read outside or in the kitchen. In the room with her team it was not a good idea, she did not want to wake anyone just because she was restless. Gently, she took the said scroll from her bag, as well as a flashlight and carefully peeled off her sleeping bag before she tried silently to leave the room. Behind her, she closed the door and made her way outside.
Cold, damp night air greeted her as she stepped out of the house. Sakura suppressed a shiver. Everything around her was quiet, almost too quiet for her liking, but she could not relent the oncoming fear. Damn it, she was a ninja from Konohagakure, she could not be afraid of a silent night!
'It's nothing bad. We know that there is something out there somewhere and as long as Sensei and the other two are out of action, we are all that Tazuna grants security. We can feel anxiety there.'
Inner was right, but it did not change the slightest of her discomfort. She could not do anything to someone like Zabuza, she was too weak and she could not protect anyone. But right now, she was everything her team and the client had to be safe.
Again she shivered, but not because of cold this time. The realization and the associated responsibility only increased her fear. She had to pull herself together! It was unlikely that they would be attacked in the middle of the night, the day after their arrival. She was just thinking too much and who knew, maybe, maybe tomorrow the world would be different again. Taking a deep breath, Sakura straightened her shoulders and sat on a few boxes next to the house before she opened the scroll and began to read. Everything was better than playing through possible scenarios and knowledge she had always absorbed like a sponge. This scroll was no exception, and the more she read, the bigger her eyes became. So many possibilities for chakra-manipulation! The academy had not even covered a third of what was in this role. If she ... if she could use and apply only a fraction of what was possible, then … Then there was a chance that she would not be a mistake as Kunoichi. She just could not be allowed to be stopped by someone.
The sun was not even on the rise, when she had internalized all the important information from the scroll. There was something good about being a bookworm, you could read much faster than the average, and it helped her understand the content better, even though she had read the text only once. Sakura's gaze wandered to the horizon as she processed all the information in her mind. Together with her previous knowledge, she tried to create a plan only for herself. Her training level was well behind that of Naruto and Sasuke-kun, because she had neglected her training so much. Both were ahead of her in many ways and she did not want to be a hindrance to them, not more than ever. The scroll neatly rolled back together, she entered Tazuna's house and put the roll on the kitchen table before she disappeared back outside. It was time she turned her thoughts into action, and for a balanced chakra, she needed both physical and mental/spiritual training. While she had always encouraged her mind, she had not taken her physical training seriously, so she had to change that, and with that she started running, again and again the same track until she could barely stand on her feet. Sweaty but happy, she leaned against the boxes at the house, after she had walk quietly for some time to get her breath under control and relax her muscles. Tiredness crept into her bones and with a mild smile she stepped back into the house, took the scroll from the table and disappeared into the bathroom to at least rough wash herself before quietly sneaking back into the room where her team slept and crawled back in her sleeping bag. Sleep was not long in coming.
___
Voices roused her from her sleep, followed by a loud clatter. Humming the female member of Team 7 turned in her sleeping bag, trying to fade out the annoying sounds, but to no avail. Her head boomed and the last night came back to her memory. No wonder she was so drained, she had used the night for training and had hardly slept. What time was it at all? Yawning Sakura straightened up in her sleeping bag and looked around the room. Kakashi-sensei was still unconscious in his bed, but there was no sign of her teammates. Presumably they were already awake and had kindly left the room not to disturb her or sensei. As soon as she tried to get up, she felt her aching muscles from the unusual nocturnal activity. Grumbling she grimaced. She had to get used to that, without pain, successes in her development would be quite small. She did not like pain. Even less did she like the fact that she needed help and could not defend herself on her own, so she'd somehow survive the pain. After plumping herself and not feeling as stiff as a board, she changed and went to the kitchen, where surprisingly she saw Sasuke-kun and Naruto sitting at the table, apparently at breakfast.
"Sakura-chan! You're awake." she was loudly greeted by Naruto and she had to pull herself together, not forgiving her face due to the volume.
"How you see Naruto. What time is it actually?"
She had already searched for a watch the night before without finding some, and since she was not out there, she could not orientate herself to the sun. A female voice answered her question when Tsunami, the bridge builder's daughter, stepped out of the kitchen.
"It should be about half past eight. I suppose you are hungry like these two. Come sit down, I made you a little breakfast."
Gratefully Sakura nodded to the woman, not realizing how hungry she was until she saw the food. Silently she ate her breakfast, constantly having to fight her guilty conscience. She was a kunoichi, she was not allowed to go on an unnecessary diet, yet she could not afford to unnecessarily prepare much circumstances for her client's family. After all she had seen in what condition the village was and food was something that not everyone could afford daily.
"What do we do while Kakashi-sensei is unconscious?"
This question had been burning on her tongue for a while and it was also a good topic of conversation because they still had to fulfill their mission. But without her sensei, they were lacking someone to guide them, and Sakura was not keen on being alone and on her own.
When she received no response from her teammates, she lifted her eyes from her plate and found that both Naruto and Sasuke-kun were staring at the tabletop. Apparently, the two had no idea also.
"We are waiting" heard she the apathetic voice Sasuke’s and saw how Naruto started to make a counter-argument.
"Is probably the best. I'm sure Sensei will wake up soon, then we can see further " Even though she had agreed to her crush, she did not feel well. The fear was still too deep for that. They were not ready yet to make such heavy and difficult decisions that were due now! After breakfast she helped tsunami clear the table and her two teammates said, that they would be training outside the house, whereupon Sakura only slightly nodded.
„Tsunami-san“ she started, after the door fell shut behind her boys. The next words did not just come easy over her lips. "I…" she swallowed her lump in her throat. "When Kakashi-sensei wakes up, can you let me know? I ... will go to the bridge, after all … we are here to protect Tazuna-san."
Not that she took this task out of inexplicable courage. Inwardly she wanted to run away from fear, back to Konoha where it was safe, but she could not abandon her team or the client. She was not trash! Waiting for a response, Sakura turned her gaze to the bridge builder's daughter, and when she nodded slightly, she thanked her and set off.
It was not far to the bridge, but the foulness took a lot of the view and this fact alone made goose bumps on Sakura's arms. The idea of what could lurk behind the mist did not take away her fear. Only muted voices and the sounds of workers made her relax a bit. As long as they worked on the bridge, everyone was still safe and that gave her a bit of safety back.
“Tazuna-san” exclaimed the Haruno, when, after a few minutes, she arrived at the unfinished bridge and discovered the person responsible for forwarding instructions to his workers.
Irritated Tazuna turned around, discover the brat, which belonged to the team that should protect him. He had not expected that she would visit him without her sensei and her teammates.
"What?" His voice sounded harsher than necessary, but the brat did not seem to be made for the task. Even less than her two teammates. Everything about her looked as if she were like a porcelain doll: pretty but fragile. Her boys had shown more skills, despite their not straight meaningful appearance. But this girl ...
"I'm here to keep an eye on you. After all we are here to protect you. Even if Kakashi-sensei is not conscious at the moment, it does not change our actual mission. And while my teammates train and keep an eye on your family, I'm here. " Sakura's voice sounded firmer and more confident than she felt. Yes, logically, what she intended to do was the right thing to do, yet it did not change the fact that she was not really fit for the task to guard. The look she got from Tazuna confirmed her adoption. He too did not believe that she could really stop potential attackers. She could not blame him, not after the encounter with Zabuza, where she had done nothing.
"Maybe I can help you out, meanwhile. Strong am I not really, but it would also be a workout for me and I fulfill my real task. " If she was already on escort, she was also able to help while building up her muscle power and stamina.
"And you really think you can do it?"
No, surely she was not, but she would condemn herself, if she let herself be stopped now.
“Hai” She had sworn not to be a burden for others, anymore. For that she had to jump over her own shadow, no matter how strong her anxiety and insecurity were.
“When you think so, Brat. Then help the men over there wearing the straps and the other tools they need." With these words, Tazuna pointed in one direction to a group of men and waved Sakura away with a wave of his hand.
She would do what she could and a little more, over and over again. It were the small steps that counted and the will not to give up. The latter she had snapped from Naruto. And with that she got down to work. She helped the men where she could, paid attention to the surroundings and always tried to give a little bit more than her body could normally afford, before she allowed herself a little break.