Split

Chapter 1: Daichi

"The problem with having problems is that 'someone' always has it worse."

―Tiffany Madison

The invasion in Konohagakure following the Chunnin exams left large casualties in the civilian quarters. Her father died quickly, the blood and organs of his body oozing out between crevices in the rubble remains of their home, but Sakura was able to identify him by the wedding ring of his dismembered hand. Her mother's death took longer. She sat in the empty, white hospital room, watching what little she could see of the blues and purples of blossomed bruises around her mother's face through the breathing tube with trepidation. Sakura's very existence seemed to hang on the steady exhales, and the constant beep of the heart monitor.

In the background were whispers. For days.

Soon Sakura couldn't tell if the murmurs were coming from inside or outside of her head.

'Her body is too damaged. She has lost too much blood. She won't last a fortnight'.

'I realize we are supposed to heal and protect our civilian population, but wouldn't these resources be better used for the injured shinobi? The attack cut our forces. We need to heal what we have left so that the other hidden villages do not come after us.'

'Poor girl. She knows there is no chance for her mother, right? Has she made reparations? Ria, go talk to her. Find out if she has somewhere to go.'

'Why isn't she saying anything?'

'She doesn't respond. She's in shock. But based on her records, she has no other family in Konoha. Where should she go? She is not the only orphan following the attack. The apartment set aside for other Genin in this situation is full.'

'Maybe she could be allowed in the Chunnin apartment?'

'Have they picked a new Hokage yet?'

'She won't talk'.

'Our village won't last another invasion…'

'Why won't she move?'

'Is the new shipment of medical supplies here yet?'

'She is helpless, isn't she?'

'Isn't she part of a genin team? Where are they?'

'Fucking useless.'

'Who is her sensei? Contact him. Maybe he can help.'

'Too weak to figure out her own shit.'

'Hatake Kakashi? Are you kidding? Like he would ever willingly enter a hospital unless he was on the brink of death.'

'Why is she still alive?'

Beep. Beep. Beeeeeeeeeeeeee-

Silence. Sakura watches as her mother's chest doesn't rise. She can't hear an exhale through the breathing tube. Watches the flatline on the machine dispassionately. The whispers stopped. There is no flurry of activity. As if the nurses knew, and accepted her mother's death as inevitable.

She feels empty.

Sakura doesn't remember standing or leaving the room, but suddenly a masked man is standing in the hallway in front of her. His only visible eye crinkles in false cheer. "Are you here to see Sasuke? His room is just down the hall, last door on the right. Can't miss it."

She remembers looking up and seeing him, noting the familiarity of his hair and the angle of his face, his purposely casual stance that doesn't hide the fact that he is distributing his weight evenly between the soles of his feet for better balance and dexterity (even off the battlefield). But she doesn't recognize him.

He must have noticed something wrong, because he frowns at her minutely, but then his face is filled with the same cherry false reassurance the nurses used to her face (not like the whispers made behind her back). Sakura hated it, and wondered if this man whispered about her too. Barely paid attention to the empty platitudes, "Sasuke will be perfectly alright, there is no reason to look so glum…hurry, Naruto should already be there…"

The names jolted her somewhat, and a shadow of indignation slowly uncoiled in her chest. Why does everything have to be about Sasuke and Naruto? What about Sakura? Didn't she deserve some reassurance for her suffering? Was this pain not enough? Or was it less about the degree of suffering, and more about the general lack of importance that was Sakura?

Weak. Annoying. Pathetic. Not worth the time of her supposed teammates and sensei.

And they had certainly demonstrated that readily enough, haven't they? She hadn't even spoken to any of them since the end of the Preliminaries.

But they were all she had left.

So it was with a resigned despair that Sakura followed the man into the room at the end of the hall. She barely remembers his muttered curse as they realized the room was empty. Then he murmured, "Come on, they're probably on the roof…" as he opened the window on the wall opposite of the door and proceeded to walk up the outside walls of the hospital.

She followed, feeling as if she was attached to the man by a pull-string.

Once she got to the top, Sakura realized that two blurs of crackling energy were about to collide in a shower of orange and blue, but then the man beside her disappeared. He reappeared between the two, and suddenly Sakura could see her teammates gasping for breath, angrily trying to pull their wrists from their sensei's grip. Two water towers posted on either side bore the brunt of the redirected energy.

Dimly, in the back of her mind beneath the shock and disassociation, Sakura registered their actions through a new perspective. One that had nothing to do with prepubescent crushes, and had everything to do with her sudden familiarity with fear, and desperation, and inevitable death. In fact, as affected as she was by depression and disassociation, Sakura couldn't even muster up any affection for her dark-haired teammate.

Their actions seemed like an act. A caricature of adult indignation and justification with all of the childish lack of forethought and deeper understanding of consequences. This was stupid.

Then, as if she realized for the first time that she did not need to be around to manage them, she thought 'They're both fucking idiots, and I don't have the time to put with their antics.'

She has more pressing concerns.

She is homeless.

She is hungry.

Her mother's dead body is cooling on a table somewhere downstairs.

As she pulled away to climb back down the hospital wall, she noted apathetically that she must have said some of what she was thinking out loud because the two boys were staring at her in confusion and affront. She couldn't be bothered to care. She went inside a random window and turned to find her mother's room.

The paperwork did not take long. She was allotted some monetary compensation for the loss of property, but a good chunk of that was used for funeral preparations. They did end up putting her in one of the Chunnin residence houses, but a social worker took her aside and outlined the consequences of a lack of affordable housing. These residence houses were better quality, but more expensive because their rates reflected the increase in pay a shinobi gets from jumping rank.

Sakura shifted in the hard plastic seat, muscles sore from sleeping in the hospital chair, dimly aware of her grimy unwashed hair as she listened.

She would need to work hard to be able to afford it. At least one D-rank mission a day, or a C-rank mission every three days.

Sakura nodded, a weird space between her ears that made her feel as if she was empty.

She found her new apartment with little fuss, barely furnished, but there was a bed and a dresser. She tried to sleep, she tried to eat, she tried to cry, but all she seemed capable of was laying on the dusty comforter while staring off into space.

She spent the time wishing for impossible things. She wished she was extraordinary. Like these clan prodigies, who seemed to carry all of the benefits of living in a hidden village- doujutsu, extra training, family support. She wished she could have the skills to become someone that merited strength, reliance, affection. Wished that her advancement in rank didn't seem like such an impossibility. Wished she could be like that Sand kunoichi who battled against Shikamaru in the finals; graceful, snarky, deadly.

Those things were easier to wish for than the life of her parents. That dream felt too weighted.

But in the end it all amounted to the same thing. Sakura wasn't enough. Sakura couldn't handle the pain, and the stress, and the fear... Sakura wasn't strong enough.

And suddenly, in the midst of her depression, the anxiety became biting. And then the muscles of her arm grew tight, and her chest began to ache horribly...

The light around her eyes dimmed, and suddenly she was swept unconscious. Her dreams were dark. A circle of chairs filled with shadowy figures, half defined and without faces. They watched with an intensity that necessitated trepidation, and Sakura struggled to remember how to breathe.

She jolted into awareness and realized it was morning. Belatedly she made to roll over on the bed, and couldn't stifle a gasp of pain. Her muscles were so sore, the smallest movement made her body burn. Sakura looked down in confusion and realized she was wearing different clothes. A black top with mesh sleeves, and black shinobi pants. Startled, she shot up in fear, and cried out from the pain. She looked around the room anxiously.

There were two more nondescript outfits in black or green and a flak jacket on top of the dresser, as well as a note. Sakura saw the paper, and forced herself to slide off the bed and shuffle towards the letter. The handwriting was neat and precise, an exercise in efficiency.

Sakura,

You need to stop wearing red. The color, and the rest of your outfits, are impractical for a shinobi that intends to work in the field. I took the liberty of purchasing some clothes I deemed more appropriate, as well as other necessary supplies.

Your muscles will be sore. I practiced exercises that worked out all of the major muscle groups. We need to improve your stamina, endurance, and strength as soon as possible. Eat the meat and vegetables I left in the fridge- dieting is nonsensical. Among the purchased supplies you will find muscle salves; I suggest you take a hot bath, put on the salves, and relax until noon. Your sensei ran into me last night and informed me that you have team practice at the usual time and place.

I will be back again. In the meantime, practice with the weapons you were introduced to at the academy. Practice until your arms feel like they will come off. Practice until throwing and meeting the target precisely is as easy as breathing. You will heed my advice if you want to stay alive.

Until next time,

Daichi

P.S. Feel free to leave a note on our dresser for me if you have any questions or concerns.

Sakura was numb. Then she looked around belatedly, and realized that there was indeed a small pile of supplies in the corner of the room. Getting closer Sakura could see a small pile of wires, tags, and bombs, empty fuinjutsu scrolls and a small calligraphy set, and a medical pack filled with bandages, salves, a makeshift splint, and a few bottles of pills. There was also a small assortment of weapons; a dozen kunai, a dozen shuriken, two dozen senbon, two tanto, a katana, a naginata, two tonfa, and a kubotan, of all things.

Sakura was in a state of disbelief. How did this all get here? It was undoubtedly expensive. A wash of dread filled Sakura and she just about tripped her way back to the dresser.

Her wallet was noticeably emptier.

Sakura called for her Inner, but there was no response.

Fuck.

She sat back on the bed, knuckles white, hyperventilating, and considered her new reality. She had done research about personality disorders before, of course, once she realized that not everyone has an alternate personality occupying their head. She had always been the one in control, however, so had not been concerned about her inner's presence. Sakura should have realized that this was an indication of mental instability on her part, an inability to handle stress and cognitively cope with her inadequacies. But she didn't anticipate tripping right into Dissociative Personality Disorder.

That was the only explanation. Someone else had used her body, bought things with her money, had spoken to her sensei on her behalf without creating suspicion, left a note in a different handwriting that spoke of her familiarly… She would have suspected a jutsu like that of the Yamanaka clan, but she would have been consciously aware in the duration of a ninjutsu. She had never heard of a technique that completely took over someone's body without the victim's awareness that did not necessitate their death. And besides, why would they? On her?

She was fucking scared.

The loss of control made her anxious and jittery and afraid. But what could she do? If she went to the hospital and admitted her condition, she would no longer be a shinobi. That meant she would no longer have a team (who still, somehow, carried the possibility of support), and she would no longer have a source of income. She would be alone and homeless.

So she had to cope. At least this personality, this Daichi seemed invested in her survival. She couldn't name anyone else who fit into that that category.

So it was with that bitter resignation that Sakura followed the note to a t. She made herself a robust meal of chicken, vegetables, and rice. She took a long bath, administered some salve that advertised pain relief and anti-inflammatory properties, and settled back into bed. It was then that she noted a book on her bedside curiously. It was about the theory and application of chakra control, and Sakura settled in with avid interest.

She finished the book with an hour to spare before practice. She tried her new 'shinobi appropriate' clothes, and admitted to herself that the extra pockets in the flak vest were rather convenient. She attached one of the belts next to her supplies and tossed in kunai, shuriken, and senbon- the generalized requisite Academy introduction into bukijutsu. And then with one last depressive glance around the empty apartment, she is alone, Sakura made her way to the training grounds.

Naruto and Sasuke were both there, and Sakura realized she was actually two hours late (but one hour early compared to her sensei). Sasuke granted her a look of annoyance, which she ignored, and Naruto pouted and loudly complained about the fact that Shikamaru was made a Chunnin, while he had to stay a Genin, which was so unfair after he won his fight… she ignored him too.

Sakura intended to train with her weapons, but first she wanted to try something out that was mentioned in the book. The next step after tree climbing; water walking. She walked out towards the edge of the water beside their bridge and watched the waves dispassionately for a few moments. And then she tried the method mentioned in the book- gathering chakra evenly over the sole, and attempting to matching the swirling volatile chakra that was the river.

Her first few tries were unsuccessful, and Sakura glared down at her wet hem of her pants and the squashy squeaks that came out of her sandals in irritation. Slowly, she started to get it though. When she concentrated, Sakura could feel the chakra distribution of the water, and inherently aware and in control of her own chakra, she was able to match it. First she was able to stand on the edge of the river bank, and she slowly made her way towards the river's center.

Once she became more comfortable taking small, wary steps, Sakura started to walk faster and faster, until she realized she was sprinting across the water's surface.

She barely realized she was grinning. She did it, in less than ten minutes, and the victory of her efforts were able to distract her from her painful, achy muscles. The joy was almost able to break through the surface of her recent dispassion. That was, before she could hear the whispers.

'How did she do that, Teme?'

'She has to be good at something, Dobe.'

'It looks so cool though…'

'Tch. Not really.'

'She is nothing special'.

She looked up and saw that the boys were watching her from the river bank, and that their sensei was fast approached.

"Yo." He called out to them, before watching Sakura return towards them with interest. She felt hopeful that perhaps, finally, she would be worthy of some kind of acknowledgement.

Naruto spoke up before he could say anything else. "Ne, sensei, how did she do that? I want to do it too."

"That was an example of chakra control, Naruto. Much like the tree climbing exercise we worked on in Waves."

"Oh, yeah! I totally mastered that exercise, so this should be easy, right sensei? After all, it only took Sakura-chan a few minutes to get it right."

Kakashi smiled indulgently. "You can certainly try, although I should remind you that Sakura has better chakra control than either of you."

Sakura smiled. Sasuke scowled. Kakashi turned towards the boys with a permissive smile. "Would you both like to learn how?"

But they were already heading out into the river, grim determination marring the Uchiha, and bright optimism marking the Uzumaki.

Kakashi turned towards her. "Right, well this will probably take all day. Why don't you go home, Sakura, and get some rest?"

Sakura barely stopped herself from pursing her lips. "You don't think I should train?"

Kakashi blinked. "Well, you can if you want. I just saw you out late last night, and figured you might be tired. What do you want to work on?"

"Bukijutsu." Sakura felt young, like she was whining her request. She hated it.

Her sensei nodded. "Ah. Well, you can practice on the training poles over there. I'll make my over there and see how you are doing after I help the boys."

Sakura was relieved and excited. Finally, he seemed to be taking her training seriously. He was looking at her. She made her way over to the poles, and took out the shuriken first. What followed was exercise in aim and consistency. She chose one distance and angle, and she threw until she stopped missing. She threw until the angle was just right and they all dug deeply into the wood. And then she picked out a new distance and a new angle and tried all over again. It was harder than usual, considering her sore muscles, but she didn't give up.

Kakashi came over once to fix her stance, which he stated should better allow her body to snap the weapon while remaining loose enough to dodge an enemy strike.

Sakura was grateful, and fixed her stance. He nodded, and that was the last she saw him for three hours.

By the time the muscles in her arms were shaking so bad she could no longer even hold a weapon, the late afternoon light was beginning to color the sky orange, and all of the boys were still by the river edge. She made her way over to them, but none of them seemed to notice. "Sensei, I'm going to the library."

He gave her a distracted wave, not even looking up. The disappointment of the day and all of her failed expectations seemed to sink into her at that point, and she felt something in her stomach drop unpleasantly.

She tried to tell herself it didn't matter. She tried to tell herself that she couldn't feel anything, had no reason to care, as she made her way through the training grounds. But a weight settled between her shoulders that spoke of despair and failure, and Sakura rushed to the library to find scrolls about Genjutsu (one of the most prevalent manifestations of chakra control, according to her new book). She would let the new information drown out her feelings.

Kakashi considered his three students as he walked towards the bridge, the position of the sun overhead marking it as midday. He wasn't too late, right?

Of course not. They were still there, after all.

Naruto was hopping along the bridge railings looking like he didn't have a care in the world. Kakashi smiled inwardly at his naiveté and his innocence, which somehow managed to persist following recent events.

Sasuke was sitting at the foot of the bridge, absentmindedly twirling a kunai in his left hand. His expression was contemplative, but his posture was tense and the twirling anxious rather than lazy. His behavior, when compared to the blonde, was obviously affected by recent events, and Kakashi couldn't help but feel a very familiar sense of dread curl in his stomach when he considered how the teenager would express that angst. Still observing, Kakashi noted that the Uchiha heir made it a point to look out into the distance ahead of him, but every minute or so his gaze would fix on his female teammate and his brow would furrow in consternation.

Kakashi followed his gaze until it met the only kunoichi in their group. Sakura no longer spent her time idly, and he watched as she threw kunai into a log several yards away, her posture perfect and her aim precise. She was the most obviously affected- in fact, recent events seemed to have changed her into an entirely different person. Her clothing style changed, and she was suddenly wearing nondescript greens, blacks, and greys. She seemed anxious at the possibility of an attack and thus always looked over-prepared, the pockets of her flak vest and utility belt full and a pair of storage scrolls permanently attached to her hip. Her hair was tied back, her bangs pinned under her forehead protector; this style made her look unusually withdrawn and serious, but there was an anxiety in the set of her eyes that spoke of unrest. And, most notably, she seemed to have forgotten that Uchiha Sasuke even exists.

Kakashi knew he had reason to worry about them both, but so far Sakura's coping mechanisms seemed to be the healthiest. Her desire to train was not surprising, but he assumed that what growth she would be able to accomplish perfecting the basics might be able to give her the reassurance she would need to return to normal.

He could admit to not having taken her training seriously so far as her sensei, but that was in response to her attitude. The Sakura of before did not spend every minute of her day on self-cultivation. She didn't not have the motivation to better herself. So even if he had spent all of his time poured into teaching her jutsu, it would not have actually helped her to improve.

Now that she had the interest and the drive, he might have more success. If she continued to be interested after she had handled her anxiety, that is. But first he had to deal with his other problem child, who could no longer use training as a coping mechanism because he felt as if he wasn't making progress fast enough. Sasuke's frustration was easy to see, but all of Kakashi's hints about not pushing himself seemed to fall on deaf ears. And considering the boy had just been handed a cursed seal that offered an increase in power without any hard work on a silver platter…

So Kakashi had been making attempts to keep the Uchiha's interests in Konoha. And this was but one of the ways he had justified the direction of his attention. The Uchiha lacked any kind of a support network, with no friends or family inside the village, so Kakashi knew how important it was to emphasis the team's bonds as well as the relevancy of the village's strength.

And what better way to strengthen a bond between boys than through rivalry?

"Alright boys! Today we are going to spar. And as an incentive? I will teach the winner a new jutsu."

They both looked interested. Good.

Sakura spoke up from behind him. "Just the boys?"

He turned around and considered the pinkette. She looked tired, but serious, pulling on a set of gloves he had never seen her wear before. Kakashi found himself nodding absentmindedly. This could be a good way to see how far she had gotten training alone, and give the boys confidence following her defeat. "You can all participate. Winner takes all."

"Alright!" Naruto said enthusiastically, throwing his arm up into the air in his excitement. Sasuke just looked at Sakura through narrowed eyes. The pinkette ignored him.

"What are the rules?"

Kakashi ran his fingers over his chin, pretending to think. "Hm. Well taijutsu might be too unfair, so…. All out?"

Sasuke's interest was back. Sakura just gave him a grim nod. Naruto grinned.

The three faced each other.

And then the boys sprung forward, and Sakura sprung backwards, an exploding tag wrapped around a kunai already in her hands. She threw it, and the three were forced back.

Naruto went after Sasuke, creating half a dozen clones almost absentmindedly as he threw himself at the Uchiha. Half of those clones came after Sakura, who engaged in some basic taijutsu exercises. Although the moves were nothing fancy, there was a fluidity and power behind her hits that spoke of recent strength training, and one clone was hit hard enough to disperse entirely.

Kakashi didn't realize that she had punched the clone with chakra until she did it again on the next one. He did note the look of surprise on her face that spoke of the technique as more as a happy surprise than a premeditated assault, and wondered when she had learned how to channel chakra into her hands. Although considering he taught her how to do it to her feet, perhaps the intuitive leap wasn't too surprising.

Sasuke was gaining on Naruto, simply too fast for the blonde to be able to handle. A well-placed kunai jab eliminated all of his clones, and the real Naruto kept having to throw himself out of the way, or quickly use a substitution jutsu.

Another exploding tag appeared that reminded the boys Sakura was still around. She then carefully formed the seals of a basic Earth jutsu, before stating, "Doton: Iwa Tounyuu no Jutsu!" Earth around her shot up into the air and flew towards both of the boys.

They scattered, and Sasuke retaliated immediately. "Katon: Gōkakyū no Jutsu." Sakura dodged the giant fireballs with aplomb, and then Sasuke was forced to dodge Naruto's fist and Sakura's kunai.

Sasuke then went after Sakura, apparently deciding to take care of her before focusing his efforts on his other male teammate. They engaged in taijutsu, but Sakura was obviously overpowered. She did her best to keep up, and was doing remarkably better than the last time they had sparred- Kakashi considered when the last time that was. Three months ago? Four?

But it was only a matter of time before he completed a move that served to knock her out and push her body towards the tree edge. Sasuke didn't even bother to look her over beyond determining that she was unconscious, before turning towards Naruto. They resumed their spar.

Kakashi was still looking at Sakura, trying to determine the severity of the damage, and was surprised to see her sit up and then stand. The way she was standing, though, and the look in her eyes… He thought she might be concussed. Her eyes were much darker than their usual viridian green, and her gaze was coldly assessive as she considered both boys. Her stance was much wider than usual, and there was an efficiency in her movement that spoke of experience he knew Sakura had never had.

Perhaps he was just seeing things. Always looking for the 'underneath the underneath' was an exhausting perspective, and he could readily admit to having been hasty in his approximations in his youth.

He would just let things play out.

Curious, he kept his eyes on his female student. Sakura stalled. Crouching, obviously waiting for an opening. After several minutes she found one, and with a speed Kakashi would have been positive was beyond her, she shot between them and knocked both boys out with just the right application to a select few pressure points. He recognized her attack; it was a common ANBU technique when capturing civilians or lower ranked nin. But how would she know it?

Both boys dropped, and the girl approached. The closer she came, the darker her eyes appeared, which had him rather concerned.

He pretended to play his concern off. "It seems we have our winner. Are you ready for a new jutsu?"

Her gaze stayed dispassionate, and when she spoke her tone was darker and more monotone than usual. "I would like you to teach me a genjutsu. And I would prefer it if you taught it to me the next time we meet. Would that be permissible?"

Kakashi felt his eyebrow raise in confusion, but he just nodded. And then she was gone, half a seal on her fingers marking a transportation jutsu.

Well, now he was a bit flabbergasted. What in the world was that?

He would need to figure it out the next time he saw her.

Both boys stirred and sat up at the same time.

"What was that?" Naruto complained.

Sasuke looked over to where Sakura's body had fallen after his attack. "Where is Sakura?"

"She left." Really, what else was there to say.

"Hn."

"We must have hit each other at the same time."

Sasuke scowled in agreement.

"Well, sensei? Are you still going to teach us a jutsu? Since we tied for first after all?"

Kakashi spent a good minute thinking it over, before the restlessness of Sasuke's fingers and the growing disinterest of his expression swayed his opinion. He mentally thanked her female student for asking for a later demonstration. "Well, I suppose fair is fair. Come here you two…"

The next time Kakashi saw Sakura, which was midday several days later, her legs and arms were covered in bandages and she had progressed far enough in her bukijutsu to begin throwing kunai at already thrown kunai in order to change their angle and hit multiple targets. By the purse of her lips and the wrinkles on her forehead, Kakashi could tell that the exercise was not an easy one for her, but she approached it systematically by degrees, and took careful note of how those small changes affected the angle.

He could tell that this approach would take at least three times as long, but it would also guarantee a much higher degree of accuracy later on.

He approached the three much as he had the last time they met. "Yo."

Naruto was the only one now who called out, "You're late, Kakashi-sensei!" in an accusatory manner, and Kakashi found that he somewhat missed the small chorus of aggravated voices.

"A black cat crossed my path, so I had to go the long way…"

"Liar!"

Kakashi shrugged and gave them what he hoped was an enigmatic smile. "So, for today, I want you boys to practice the ninjutsu you learned the last time we met. Sakura, you and I are going to practice a new genjutsu."

Naruto immediately started to complain, and Kakashi could tell Sasuke agreed with him based on the set of his mouth. "That's not fair sensei! I want to learn genjutsu too!"

Not for the first time, Kakashi was aggravated that he felt compelled to cater to the boy's whims, but held firm this time. After all, Sakura was the one who had actually won the match, and he had a small interrogation to conduct.

"Everyone has an aptitude for different things, Naruto. I can safely say that Sakura would not be able to do the ninjutsu you learned because her chakra stores are too small. However, her control is much better than yours, which is required if you want to properly execute a genjutsu. This technique may be beyond your present capabilities."

He should have known that saying it like that would make it into a challenge. One which both boys were very ready to participate in.

Kakashi wanted to growl in frustration. "I'll tell you what. If you can both properly demonstrate that ninjutsu after I am finished working with Sakura, I will cast a genjutsu on you both. And if you can detect it, without using the Sharingan," pointed looked towards Sasuke, "I will teach you the genjutsu. Agreed?"

Both boys nodded and turned away, and Kakashi couldn't stop the sigh. "Alright, Sakura, come over here." He led her to a small connected clearing, and sat down under the shade of a tree. His student followed his example.

"So, Sakura. How have you been?"

He really wasn't equipped to probe the emotional state of a teenage girl, but he would at least try.

Sakura looked back at him with a dispassionate gaze that he was sadly beginning to associate with her, head tilted. "I'm fine, Kakashi-sensei."

"Would you like to explain how you knew the technique you used against the boys during your spar?"

The girl froze and relaxed so minutely that it was almost imperceptible. But Kakashi was regarded as an elite shinobi for a reason. He continued to watch as the turn of her lips grew from anxious to mulish. "I have been reading about pressure points and medical ninjutsu. The books stated that those points would cause the person to briefly black-out. I thought I would give it a try."

Kakashi tried not to frown suspiciously. Her execution was rather flawless for it to be considered an impromptu execution made by a complete novice. And so far, Kakashi hadn't witnessed any prodigal attributes in her that would indicate that degree of aptitude.

He would have to dig around, as she was obviously keeping mum on the subject. So accepting it at face value… "That was a very dangerous and reckless thing to do, Sakura. The wrong pressure point, and your teammates could have just as easily been killed."

She blinked up at him apathetically, and Kakashi's concern grew when he realized he couldn't find an ounce of sympathy, concern, or guilt anywhere across her face. Just a hint of exhausted fear.

Perhaps she wasn't dealing with the stress of recent events as well as he thought.

He continued. "So please refrain from using that method until you have had the proper training."

Sakura nodded. "Would you be willing to give me that training?"

Kakashi paused, thinking. This could allow him the opportunity to better observe her mental state, while still acting as a demonstration of support. He could establish whether or not her actions during the spar had been a fluke, and ensure she didn't accidentally kill any future teammates. And this wouldn't require too much of a time commitment. He would still be able to help the boys, and find the very necessary time to devote to reading the latest volume of Icha Icha Paradise.

"Alright. We can start practicing pressure points next week. In the mean-time, I will send over the titles of more books I think you should read before we get started. Sound good?"

The smile she sent him was more than a little surprised and slightly desperate, and Kakashi had to push away the crowding of a familiar guilt in his chest. He ignored the feeling and returned the smile, although he couldn't help feeling as if the stretch of lips looked strained and unnatural.

"Now that that is settled, we should focus on genjutsu. This technique is called Dokuji no Gisou. It uses chakra and a visual illusion in order to blend your appearance into the surrounding environment, which can help you to evade detection."

Sakura watched him thoughtfully. "Wouldn't a strong enough opponent be able to detect me simply by locating my chakra?"

"Yes, but that is why most shinobi attempting to hide cloak their chakra."

"How?"

At least she seemed a little more invested and less apathetic after his demonstration of interest… "How in tune are you with your chakra core?"

Sakura stared up at him with wide eyes. "I can feel all of my chakra."

"Ah. Can you feel how your chakra interacts with the air outside of your body?"

The pinkette frowned, and then closed her eyes. He could feel the instant she spotted it- the waves exuding from her small frame became somewhat chaotic, and then more orderly. "I can feel it."

"If you want to cloak your chakra, you need to draw that energy back into your body. The smaller the space containing your chakra, the less noticeable you will be."

She nodded, her eyes still closed, and he could feel her attempts to reign in her chakra. It took five minutes of steady breathing and stark concentration creating lines on her face until he could feel the chakra retract into her frame. She paused, biting her lip as she probed her body, and then opened her eyes in triumph. "I did it."

Kakashi stared the girl in front of her. That was rather impressive for the average genin, although he knew already that she had good chakra control. More than that, though, it was a display of determination and intuitive application. Perhaps he should not have been so surprised to see her actions the other day?

Although the speed of the interaction still niggled something in his brain.

He realized he still needed to respond, and the girl's smile was dimming. He smiled again, and this time it did not feel so fake. "Good job Sakura-chan." He even leaned forward and ruffled her hair for good measure.

"Thank you Kakashi-sensei."

Again that feeling of guilt swarmed his chest. To be so sincerely thanked for something so simple… still, there was a bit of pride in there too.

"Of course! Now, in order to replicate this genjutsu, you need to be able to reproduce every sense of your environment. Focus on the smell and taste of the air, the feel of the moisture in the humidity, the texture of the bark behind you…."

He wasn't surprised when she was able to successfully reproduce the genjutsu ten minutes later, while simultaneously cloaking her chakra as much as she was able. Unfortunately, he also wasn't surprised when the boys were unable to spot them until Sasuke's eyes flashed Sharingan red in annoyance.

Shikamaru couldn't stop himself from sighing in exasperation as he walked with his team down the street. They were heading towards Yakiniku Q to meet Asuma-sensei and celebrate his recent promotion, and his team was loud in their enthusiasm. He shoved his hands in the pockets of his pants, brushing the edge of his new Chunnin vest as he looked up into the sky. No decent clouds. What a drag.

His attention was called back by his teammate's shouting. "Forehead! What the hell happened to you?"

His eyes snapped to the pinkette, and he could actually feel his head tilt curiously. He could see why Ino was surprised; Sakura looked utterly unlike the girl he had gone to class with for five years. This girl wore dark, nondescript clothing. Her lip was cracked and her fingernails chipped in a way he was sure horrified his teammate. She lagged in a way that spoke of sore muscles, and her arms and legs were covered in bandages in a way that spoke of weapons training with something much larger than a kunai.

Worst of all? The way her hands jittered anxiously, the way Ino's voice caused her to fold in on herself defensively, the apathy present in the line of her mouth, and the fear in her eyes…

Something was obviously very wrong.

Sakura's response was lackluster. "Why do you care, Ino-pig?"

Ino's was defensive. "I don't! I just wanted to know if you were giving up on Sasuke-kun. Because, let's face it, there is no way that he would go for someone who look like you right now."

Sakura's eyes flashed oddly. Her next response served to further demonstrate this obvious change. "Have the Uchiha, Yamanaka. I don't care."

She swept away, barely maintaining a careful grasp on the pile of books and scrolls she had been lugging across the street.

One fell anyways as she dodged a sudden crowd of people, but she didn't seem to notice.

Shikamaru considered ignoring it as his team continued down the road. He tried to convince himself of how much easier it would be to forget their confrontation with the pinkette, how troublesome it would be to follow after her and ask about what was wrong…

But he felt oddly concerned, and not-so-oddly curious.

Before he even realized what he was doing, he told his team to go on without him, and jogged the few steps to get the scroll before he was trailing after her. He caught up to her in a few blocks, grabbing her sleeve in order to get her attention, right before someone ran right into her and caused everything in her arms to drop to the ground.

There was a mumbled apology, before the teenager responsible ran off, and then Shikamaru was picking up scrolls and books. He noted the titles, and considered why Sakura was suddenly interested in physical chakra manipulation, fuinjutsu, genjutsu, and human anatomy and physiology.

He looked up to see Sakura staring back at him with a confused expression on her face. "Shikamaru-san?" she stated politely, gesturing wordlessly for her reading material.

Shikamaru shook his head, while inwardly mentally cursing himself. He wished he didn't care so much right now. "I've got this. Just point me in the right direction and I'll help you drop it off."

He watched her body tense warily as she looked at him in bemusement. After a few moments, something like curiosity shaped her lips into a pout as she nodded reluctantly. "Alright. This way."

After a few minutes, they entered an apartment complex that was clearly housing for single Chunnin, and Shikamaru shot Sakura a confused glance. She ignored him. Up three flights of stairs, and Shikamaru found himself in a living room empty of anything except a training mat and two tanto. He followed her into an empty kitchen and the kunoichi gestured to a table and chair pushed up against the opposite wall. "Put it on the table."

The books went on the table, and then Shikamaru turned to face her. He got right to the point- he had never really liked the process of exchanging useless pleasantries. "Are you okay?"

The smile she gave his was tense and dismissive. "I'm fine. Thank you for the help."

Shikamaru knew that this was his opportunity to leave. He didn't want to meddle. He really didn't. But words were coming out of his mouth that sounded like meddling. "Are you sure? You don't look like you've been sleeping. And why are you living here? Did something happen to your parents?"

She stared at him for a full minute before his words seemed to register, and then it was like something broke inside of her. Pain contorted her face, tears filled her eyes, and she collapsed. Literally. Sprawled haphazardly across the floor.

Shikamaru was uncomfortable. Extremely uncomfortable. What are you supposed to do with crying girls again? He hadn't had much experience; Ino rarely cried where they could hear her. He sank to the floor with her and started patting her back in what he hoped was a consolatory manner, but then her silent tears became sobs, and those sobs became cries of pain and anguish. She folded into herself.

Still uncomfortable, but very concerned and a little afraid of the sounds she was making, Shikamaru edged into her side offering some semblance of support. She turned and buried her head in his chest, and he froze. He could barely register the warmth, the proximity, and the noise with startled apprehension, before his hand came up to gently pet her head.

They were in that position long enough for his legs to cramp, but he stayed put until her cries eventually stopped and she pulled herself away from him. She looked at him, then, and the stare from her red eyes was intense in a way he hadn't really experienced before. Intense as if she was attempted to communicate all of her desperate hope onto his being, as if he was the only thing in the world keeping her in some semblance of a whole piece.

It was disconcerting. It was frightening. It felt like responsibility and expectations, and while he was still mulling over the consequences of his visit here today, she grabbed his hand and whispered. "Thank you." It was almost reverent.

Shikamaru just squeezed her hands, attempting to forget his nerves and unsure how she would take extricating himself, and asked, "Do you want to talk about it?"

She frowned, and was silent for several moments in consideration. And then she agreed.

Sakura started by describing a set of civilian parents that didn't care for her career choice, who raised her to be a 'good girl' who didn't fight back and married the man of her parent's choosing. She described her infatuation with the Uchiha as a rebellion; someone good-looking and talented, yes, but more than that someone she chose, who acted both as the glue keeping her relationship with Ino alive and the courage behind the demonstration of independence that began her attendance at the Academy.

Her parent's response was to limit her ability to train. They set a strict curfew and didn't allow her to practice kata or weapons at home. The only part of academy training she was able to really practice was the kind that could be learned through books and scrolls.

"They made me into a paper ninja," Sakura stated with a disparaging grin.

She knew that her lack of practice and lack of natural abilities for ninjutsu or taijutsu caused many of the kids at the academy to have a misconception of her. She knew it made her look like a worthless fangirl. She stated that she was doing the best she could with the resources at hand. She figured she could bolster those abilities later after she left the academy.

"I thought it would be easier to pick it up with the individualistic intensive training inherent with studying under a jounin. I didn't anticipate Kakashi-sensei's first impression of me to forever shape his perception of me as someone too weak and undetermined to merit serious training."

She didn't realize the potentially serious consequences to this lack of training until her first mission out of the village.

"We couldn't anticipate running into one of the Seven Swordsman of the Mist. Who would? It's only through Naruto's special brand of harebrained ingenuity and dumb luck that we survived. And I was too weak to contribute."

That originally marked a change in her investment in training, but it was only a few weeks of her frantic, clumsy attempts to increase her endurance with no real knowledge about how to train before Kakashi informed them that they would be participating in the Chunnin exams. During which she almost died again.

"What was I supposed to do, a paper ninja and a recent graduate, against a Sannin? I thought for sure I was going to die."

But she didn't. She hobbled her way through, and didn't last the preliminaries. She then described her isolation during that month before the third part of Chunnin exams.

"No one in my team contacted me. I still had no idea how to train. What was I supposed to do? And my parents thought that this was a fantastic opportunity to remind me of how worthless I would be as a shinobi, a guaranteed matchbox according to my mother, and how this failed exam was a sign that I should stop trying."

And then came the finals. Facing Gaara. Watching people she had known from birth slaughtered in the streets. Coming to her house to see her father in pieces, and her mother barely breathing. The hospital. Her mother's death. Her confrontation with her team. The more she spoke about this, the more her breathing staggered, her forearms tense as her fists clenched, her face scrunched into troubled lines.

And then finally she answered his original question. Her living situation.

"They ran out of room in the Genin apartment complexes. This was my only option."

Shikamaru was slowly piecing together everything he knew of her before with this new information, and was busy drawing his conclusions. "So this training now…" he stated, looking pointedly at the edge of the training mat peeking out from behind the doorway.

Sakura was tense, her tone shaky. "I don't want to die."

"But you still don't know how to train?"

Sakura shook her head in a slightly terrified manner. "I thought I would start by trying to perfect the basics. That," she gestured offhand to the two tanto lying along the living room wall, "is just an act to familiarize myself with the weight and length before I ask someone to help me."

"Do you know who you want to ask?"

Sakura curled up a little into herself again. "No. Because my parents were civilians, I don't have really have any established networks with competent shinobi."

But that is why she had a jounin instructor. "Have you thought about asking Hatake?"

Sakura frowned. "It's complicated. There is only so much he would be willing to teach me. His first priority has always been the boys."

Shikamaru frowned as well. He could definitely agree with that assessment, based on what he had been able to observe of Team 7. And he could see how this would be a troublesome situation. He looked at the pinkette, his gaze calculating as he considered how to word this next question. "Did you ever consider that your parents might be right?"

He halfway expected her to blow up in his face with anger and indignation, but she only sighed and rubbed her forehead, looking tired. "Of course I have. But this is something that I want to do. This is something that I can do. And I am not completely without my talents."

Shikamaru looked back at the table stacked high with texts. "Chakra control?"

Sakura smirked at him. "Clever boy."

He snorted.

She continued. "I meant to say something to you about that, by the way. I enjoyed watching your match. Our peers are so inwardly focused that a lot of them seem to have problems utilizing the environment. And too many of them are so obsessed with winning that they don't seem to understand the necessity of a tactical retreat. I can see why you were made Chunnin."

They looked at each other for several moments before he nodded, uncomfortable with the praise. "Thanks."

Sakura shook her head. "No, thank you. For staying through my crying fest and a recounting of my entire life story. I'm sure it was troublesome."

Shikamaru shrugged. He couldn't really think of an appropriate response, because it had been troublesome. Just not for the reasons that she probably anticipated.

And then he found himself considering his earlier reaction to her emotional burst. Now that he had context, he could better understand the depth of her despair. The death of her parents, the lack of support from her team, and the shock following a series of near death experiences was definitely enough to merit an outburst. In fact, it made him wonder about how normal everyone else was acting in the aftermath of the invasion. Why hadn't their perceptions changed in the same way hers had? Where was the desperation?

Still, he thought he might be able to help with her training problem.

"I was supposed to meet up with my team for lunch. Do you want to come?"

He could pinpoint the exact moment the depression, fear, and anxiety kicked back in as her face contorted and she began to raise her hands, an excuse on her lips.

He continued before she could say anything. "I thought that Asuma-sensei might be able to recommend someone to help you train. Considering who his parents were, he has a rather extensive network."

Instead of immediately acquiescing, Sakura bit her lip. "Ah, he was the Sandaime's son, wasn't he? How is he doing? This must be a rather difficult time for him."

Shikamaru had not anticipated that response. But he tried to work with it. "He is grieving, as are many of us. I'm sure he would appreciate knowing that you care."

Sakura looked surprised. "Really?"

Shikamaru sighed, before scooting just that bit closer to her. "Sakura? I am very sorry for the loss of your parents. I am sure you are having a very difficult time. Please know that if you ever need me for any reason, I will be there."

Sakura immediately understood the implication, he could tell. If she felt better, why wouldn't Asuma? But for that reason she seemed to doubt his sincerity. "Really?"

"Why else would I be here if I didn't care?"

She stared at him for all of two seconds, before she rushed into his arms and gave him a tight hug. It lasted less than five seconds, but Shikamaru could tell she meant it. "Alright. Lunch. Lead the way."

Shikamaru smirked, before heading to the front of the apartment.

"Wait! I forgot my pack. Just a sec."

He waiting in the hallway as she sprung through her bedroom door with a lot more energy than he had seen from her thus far. He looked into the doorway curiously, and noted at least a dozen pieces of paper that looked like letters pinned to the wall above her dresser. What was that?

Before he could take a step closer, she came out wearing a flak vest and a stuffed pack, as well as a naginata and a sealing scroll.

"Do you know how to seal weapons?"

He did. He wondered how she didn't know, before realizing that he learned it from his father, and that it wasn't something taught at the academy. He was then forced to consider how many other aspects of being a shinobi were left out of her education.

He taught her, and was a little surprised about how quickly she became adept.

"Alright!" she announced, "Lead the way."

To be continued…

A/N: This is a new idea I had. Please let me know what you think!

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto.