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Entry tags:
Teamwork - post-Teamwork2
SO!
This one-shot thing is potentially vaguely spoilerific, since technically it's in the aftermath of the scene I'm still writing. But it's written, and I'm a review whore, and besides the only things I still have left to write to complete Naruto's chapter and Teamwork 2 are applying the seal, and sexx0rs. And I'm still not entirely sure if I'll fade to black on the sexx0rs. XD
So.
"No visible sign of organ damage."
Tsunade steps away from the examination table, picks up a pen from her desk, and jots down a handful of quick observations. Her handwriting is crisp, fast, full of slashes. There's a wrinkle between her eyebrows, a tension in her jaws. Sakura waits. She heard the 'You got a lot more lucky than you deserved' underneath just fine.
Tsunade spears her with a narrow-eyed look, and then ignores her again. There's disappointment in there, and Sakura wants to flinch, because she knows that Hokage-sama counted on her to be the most responsible of the three, the one who doesn't run off to do half-baked things.
It would probably be smart to keep quiet, at this point. But seeing Tsunade-sama so angry that she isn't even willing to look at her more than necessary -- it hurts. Sakura doesn't know when she started to relax around the illustrious Godaime Hokage-sama, especially since she only got to be in the woman's company to make sure that the silly little girl who got in way over her head wouldn't become a danger to herself and to others; but losing her respect hurts.
"When should I come back for a check-up?"
"It won't be necessary."
Sakura is so stricken by Tsunade's dispassionate tone, she can't find the voice to question her.
"Jiraiya's fixes settled well. They'll hold. Kakashi will be monitoring your chakra levels; if there's trouble, he'll warn Jiraiya."
Sakura would be expecting another lecture there; 'if you feel anything abnormal, warn us', 'don't strain unless absolutely necessary, just in case'. Apparently, her common sense has definitely been put back on the questionable list.
Tsunade moves back behind her desk, sits down and takes a few more notes. It's a clear dismissal.
Sakura doesn't leave. Because if she leaves now she'll never find the nerve to come back.
"Tsunade-sama."
Tsunade frowns, surprised. Sakura doesn't allow herself to look away, meeting her eyes frankly. She can do it. She knows she can do it. She's not going to be afraid. She's got nothing to lose.
"Please train me."
She caught the woman by surprise, she can see her trying to make sense of that question. Good. That's an opening. A tiny one, but maybe it will be enough.
"It's not like you need help augmenting your chakra level anymore," the Hokage replies dryly.
Sakura shakes her head, still staring at her, clinging to her determination. She just can't back down now. "Of course I do."
Tsunade's brow wrinkles again; she leans back in her chair, an elbow on the desk; it's a 'you just won ten seconds of my attention, don't waste them' pose. Sakura doesn't plan to.
"That new chakra... It's not my strength. It's Naruto's." Sakura hesitates, looking for the right words. "The baby needs it. I need it. I don't want to die, so I'll take it. And if there's a mission and I'm in way over my head -- I'll take more. But it's not mine. It's -- it's cheating. And I'll cheat if I have to, but -- I don't want to have to."
Tsunade's brow is still wrinkled; but she's listening.
"... I'm just sick of having to rely on them all the time, to -- to ride on their coattails, and lag behind all the time" Sakura admits softly, a hand rising to rub at her belly reflexively. "I want -- I need to get stronger on my own. I hate that all that mess was necessary. There's just this ocean of raw chakra that burns me if I try to mold it, and if I do more than dip my toes, I'll end up bowled over. I can't do anything with it; it's just Naruto saving me again because I can't do it myself. I'm not any stronger now than I was last week."
She looks down briefly, and then meets Tsunade's eyes again, pleading this time.
"You made me stronger. You taught me jutsu I'd never heard of, that Kakashi-sensei doesn't even know, that Shizune-san would never have taught me -- and I know it was just so I wouldn't burn out on all the endurance training, but it was the most difficult and fascinating thing I ever learned, and -- I want to learn more. I really do."
Tsunade is still silent, still unmoving; Sakura's desperate hope wanes slowly.
"I know that you're very busy. I know that you only trained me because I needed help with my chakra levels -- and I'm not a genius or a chakra-monster by any means --" what she really thinks is that she's weak, and she dreamed too big when she took Tsunade's encouragements and pleased smiles to heart, when she thought that maybe she had what it takes to learn directly from the most powerful and skilled person in the village. "-- but I'd do my best. Even if I could just observe -- you wouldn't even have to teach me directly..."
Her voice dies. She's too close to begging, and that -- being taken in because Tsunade pities her and not because she has what it takes -- it would be even worse than being rejected.
Tsunade's frown smoothes out slightly; but her look isn't getting friendlier so much as clinical and remote. That's a no, then.
"What do you hope me to teach you?"
Sakura swallows past the knot in her throat, and gambles -- all or nothing. "Everything you know. Everything."
"Huh. Everything, really," Tsunade drawls. "You seem to have a high opinion of your abilities."
Sakura squares her shoulders, daring to hope again. That wasn't a rebuttal. It was a challenge. "I won't know if I can do it if I don't try my best. I know I'm not a powerhouse. I'm more suited to genjutsu -- to precise and subtle things. I want to learn to use that to my best advantage. And medical jutsu... There's so many of them, and so many ways to use them. I want to get better in taijutsu too -- and you're the strongest fighter in the village." She hesitates, then -- but only for a second. "I want to learn how the village works. How to deal with behind-the-scene influences."
She surprised Tsunade again, she can see it. The Hokage leans forward now, hands joined in front of her chin to mask her expression. "Hmm. I didn't peg you as someone interested in intrigues."
Sakura dares a smile, a tiny one. "I'm not. But Naruto will never be subtle enough to notice anything until it jumps him, and he will never know any other approach to solve things than getting in people's face about it. And Sasuke -- he's subtle enough, but he doesn't have the patience, and he'll hate it -- and I wouldn't be surprised if no one really trusts him. I want to learn to read the signs, so that we might at least be aware of what's going on. They will never be unimportant enough to evade all scrutiny."
Tsunade nods slowly. Sakura's smile widens a little.
"That's true... They have champions, though. You could trust them."
Sakura shakes her head slowly, still smiling. She can't express how grateful she is for the offer. Her voice turns soft; she lets it.
"I do trust you. But... I feel that we are behaving like children. Hiding behind the adults who deal with bad things on our behalf, and unaware of what's really at stake, and... It's unpleasant, but it's our problems. It's hard, to be patted on the head and told not to worry, that the adults will fix everything, when we're the ones who are really concerned -- the ones people are risking themselves for."
"... And you're not children anymore."
"No, we're not," Sakura agrees quietly.
Tsunade sighs, leans back in her chair, eyes closed, deep in thought.
"If you want to be trusted, you're going to have to stop pulling such stupid stunts behind our backs," she warns eventually, stern, almost grim.
Sakura starts to smile a little wider. "Yes, Tsunade-sama."
"Tomorrow, at five sharp. Now get out."
A grin blossoming on her face, Sakura bows deep. "Yes, Tsunade-sama!"
She walks out briskly. She's never had such a hard time keeping herself from dancing.
This one-shot thing is potentially vaguely spoilerific, since technically it's in the aftermath of the scene I'm still writing. But it's written, and I'm a review whore, and besides the only things I still have left to write to complete Naruto's chapter and Teamwork 2 are applying the seal, and sexx0rs. And I'm still not entirely sure if I'll fade to black on the sexx0rs. XD
So.
"No visible sign of organ damage."
Tsunade steps away from the examination table, picks up a pen from her desk, and jots down a handful of quick observations. Her handwriting is crisp, fast, full of slashes. There's a wrinkle between her eyebrows, a tension in her jaws. Sakura waits. She heard the 'You got a lot more lucky than you deserved' underneath just fine.
Tsunade spears her with a narrow-eyed look, and then ignores her again. There's disappointment in there, and Sakura wants to flinch, because she knows that Hokage-sama counted on her to be the most responsible of the three, the one who doesn't run off to do half-baked things.
It would probably be smart to keep quiet, at this point. But seeing Tsunade-sama so angry that she isn't even willing to look at her more than necessary -- it hurts. Sakura doesn't know when she started to relax around the illustrious Godaime Hokage-sama, especially since she only got to be in the woman's company to make sure that the silly little girl who got in way over her head wouldn't become a danger to herself and to others; but losing her respect hurts.
"When should I come back for a check-up?"
"It won't be necessary."
Sakura is so stricken by Tsunade's dispassionate tone, she can't find the voice to question her.
"Jiraiya's fixes settled well. They'll hold. Kakashi will be monitoring your chakra levels; if there's trouble, he'll warn Jiraiya."
Sakura would be expecting another lecture there; 'if you feel anything abnormal, warn us', 'don't strain unless absolutely necessary, just in case'. Apparently, her common sense has definitely been put back on the questionable list.
Tsunade moves back behind her desk, sits down and takes a few more notes. It's a clear dismissal.
Sakura doesn't leave. Because if she leaves now she'll never find the nerve to come back.
"Tsunade-sama."
Tsunade frowns, surprised. Sakura doesn't allow herself to look away, meeting her eyes frankly. She can do it. She knows she can do it. She's not going to be afraid. She's got nothing to lose.
"Please train me."
She caught the woman by surprise, she can see her trying to make sense of that question. Good. That's an opening. A tiny one, but maybe it will be enough.
"It's not like you need help augmenting your chakra level anymore," the Hokage replies dryly.
Sakura shakes her head, still staring at her, clinging to her determination. She just can't back down now. "Of course I do."
Tsunade's brow wrinkles again; she leans back in her chair, an elbow on the desk; it's a 'you just won ten seconds of my attention, don't waste them' pose. Sakura doesn't plan to.
"That new chakra... It's not my strength. It's Naruto's." Sakura hesitates, looking for the right words. "The baby needs it. I need it. I don't want to die, so I'll take it. And if there's a mission and I'm in way over my head -- I'll take more. But it's not mine. It's -- it's cheating. And I'll cheat if I have to, but -- I don't want to have to."
Tsunade's brow is still wrinkled; but she's listening.
"... I'm just sick of having to rely on them all the time, to -- to ride on their coattails, and lag behind all the time" Sakura admits softly, a hand rising to rub at her belly reflexively. "I want -- I need to get stronger on my own. I hate that all that mess was necessary. There's just this ocean of raw chakra that burns me if I try to mold it, and if I do more than dip my toes, I'll end up bowled over. I can't do anything with it; it's just Naruto saving me again because I can't do it myself. I'm not any stronger now than I was last week."
She looks down briefly, and then meets Tsunade's eyes again, pleading this time.
"You made me stronger. You taught me jutsu I'd never heard of, that Kakashi-sensei doesn't even know, that Shizune-san would never have taught me -- and I know it was just so I wouldn't burn out on all the endurance training, but it was the most difficult and fascinating thing I ever learned, and -- I want to learn more. I really do."
Tsunade is still silent, still unmoving; Sakura's desperate hope wanes slowly.
"I know that you're very busy. I know that you only trained me because I needed help with my chakra levels -- and I'm not a genius or a chakra-monster by any means --" what she really thinks is that she's weak, and she dreamed too big when she took Tsunade's encouragements and pleased smiles to heart, when she thought that maybe she had what it takes to learn directly from the most powerful and skilled person in the village. "-- but I'd do my best. Even if I could just observe -- you wouldn't even have to teach me directly..."
Her voice dies. She's too close to begging, and that -- being taken in because Tsunade pities her and not because she has what it takes -- it would be even worse than being rejected.
Tsunade's frown smoothes out slightly; but her look isn't getting friendlier so much as clinical and remote. That's a no, then.
"What do you hope me to teach you?"
Sakura swallows past the knot in her throat, and gambles -- all or nothing. "Everything you know. Everything."
"Huh. Everything, really," Tsunade drawls. "You seem to have a high opinion of your abilities."
Sakura squares her shoulders, daring to hope again. That wasn't a rebuttal. It was a challenge. "I won't know if I can do it if I don't try my best. I know I'm not a powerhouse. I'm more suited to genjutsu -- to precise and subtle things. I want to learn to use that to my best advantage. And medical jutsu... There's so many of them, and so many ways to use them. I want to get better in taijutsu too -- and you're the strongest fighter in the village." She hesitates, then -- but only for a second. "I want to learn how the village works. How to deal with behind-the-scene influences."
She surprised Tsunade again, she can see it. The Hokage leans forward now, hands joined in front of her chin to mask her expression. "Hmm. I didn't peg you as someone interested in intrigues."
Sakura dares a smile, a tiny one. "I'm not. But Naruto will never be subtle enough to notice anything until it jumps him, and he will never know any other approach to solve things than getting in people's face about it. And Sasuke -- he's subtle enough, but he doesn't have the patience, and he'll hate it -- and I wouldn't be surprised if no one really trusts him. I want to learn to read the signs, so that we might at least be aware of what's going on. They will never be unimportant enough to evade all scrutiny."
Tsunade nods slowly. Sakura's smile widens a little.
"That's true... They have champions, though. You could trust them."
Sakura shakes her head slowly, still smiling. She can't express how grateful she is for the offer. Her voice turns soft; she lets it.
"I do trust you. But... I feel that we are behaving like children. Hiding behind the adults who deal with bad things on our behalf, and unaware of what's really at stake, and... It's unpleasant, but it's our problems. It's hard, to be patted on the head and told not to worry, that the adults will fix everything, when we're the ones who are really concerned -- the ones people are risking themselves for."
"... And you're not children anymore."
"No, we're not," Sakura agrees quietly.
Tsunade sighs, leans back in her chair, eyes closed, deep in thought.
"If you want to be trusted, you're going to have to stop pulling such stupid stunts behind our backs," she warns eventually, stern, almost grim.
Sakura starts to smile a little wider. "Yes, Tsunade-sama."
"Tomorrow, at five sharp. Now get out."
A grin blossoming on her face, Sakura bows deep. "Yes, Tsunade-sama!"
She walks out briskly. She's never had such a hard time keeping herself from dancing.
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Adi
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*_*
(Anonymous) 2006-12-09 11:16 pm (UTC)(link)*resumes dancing*
-Attaya
Re: *_*
There were reasons why she never asked before, like overwhelming emo and "urgh too many things to worry myself sick over" but NNNGH I AM SO GLAD THEY DON'T APPLY ANYMORE.
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&hearts:&hearts:&hearts:&hearts:&hearts:&hearts:
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Thank you for giving us something really good and in-character to read. I can't wait for more! <3
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*hopes that whatever I typed makes sense if not then sorry*
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Teamwork always makes me ridiculously happy, but sakura having a spine is the best. <33333333333333333333333333333333!!!
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I'm not really sure what to say other than that...<3
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ahaha awesomepossum. ♥♥
Enter the politician.
What is most cool is what she is asking to be trained in. Medical stuff, big shock, physical stuff, so she can keep up with her toys. Intrigue. And this isn't just a "oh, this might be useful later on so I had better learn it", but a reasoned out, logical request. Fact: Naruto will become Hokage. Fact: Sasuke and I will be there to back him up. Fact: Naruto is subtle as a brick. (or less, bricks can have sayers after all) Fact: Sasuke is subtle, but few people trust him enough for him to be manipulated, and he isn't patent (I need power NOW, bitch) Fact: while there are people who can serve our purposes, they aren't to be trusted and they won't be there forever. Therefore: I must learn the art of politics and intrigues.
Still, what they did was rash.
Re: Enter the politician.
That's exactly it~ ^_______^ And Tsunade's thinking the exact same thing. "Well, if he won't learn politics, I'll teach someone and they'll do it for him."
Yeah, it was, but they were getting desperate. ;_; They're not going to need to pull another stunt like that for a good long while, hopefully.
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Now I look forward to the end of Teamwork 2^^
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... if I manage to remember how I wanted it to go. T_T
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it's great to see sakura achieve such a big thing on her own! she stood up for herself (without the help of sasuke or naruto)
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I'd change "question" to "statement" because it doesn't sound like at that point Sakura was asking or pleading with Tsunade.
Sakura would be expecting another lecture there; 'if you feel anything abnormal, warn us', 'don't strain unless absolutely necessary, just in case'.
First, periods and commas go inside quotation marks. Second, since you're using the present tense in the entire story, the first part of the sentence is in the wrong tense. Third, I'd change it up a little to make the punctuation a bit less obvious:
Sakura is expecting another lecture here, something like "If you feel anything abnormal, warn us," or "Don't strain unless absolutely necessary, just in case."
...it's a 'you just won ten seconds of my attention, don't waste them' pose.
Also double quotes, and also capitalize the sentence within them.
I am very happy with this and finally you can write kickass!Sakura now and have it make sense in your 'verse. GO YOU!
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And yes, FINALLY. urgh. XD
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Go Sakura!!!
(Also, yay Tsunade for not being a pushover even though she's partial to Naruto!)
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Ahaha. Tsunade isn't happy with Naruto either. ... or with Jiraiya. XD;;;
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And Sakura requesting that Tsunade teach her political intrigue is "I'm dead and gone to heaven, right". And she does it as Tsunade is unhappy with her, too! And Tsunade accepts, possibly because if she didn't she thinks next time might be worse!
And I'd be interested to know if/how Naruto and Sasuke had to deal with unhappy mentors too, or with unhappy Hokage as well.
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She's also thinking that Naruto can't become Hokage without knowing about politics, but he'll never learn on his own, so she might as well teach someone else to do it for him. XD
Well, er. Kakashi and Jiraiya were kind of. You know. inside the compound all night long. So, er. They kind of already know. XD;;; i'm not sure how I'll handle that, though. Maybe I could write a ficlet with them playing cards in the dark or something. XDDDDDDD
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OMG don't fade to black on the sexx0rs don't fade to black pleeeeeeease D:no subject
muahahahaha. maybe~no subject
What's even better is that my first true writing in the Naruto fandom turned out to be something that hints heavily at NaruSasuSaku. ^^
...I do hope I didn't butcher the one-shot, though. If anyone wants the link, just ask and I could post it here. :D
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I don't know if anyone has said this or not, *eyes aren't working right to check* But this seems like a bit of a run-on-sentance. And the end I don't think it should be hurts. Im thinking just hurt. There are a few other things that make the sentance sound just a little off.
And example could be: Sakura didn't know when she started to relax around the illustrious Godaime Hokage-sama, especially since she only got to be in the woman's company for specific reasons. Such as making sure that the silly little girl who gets in way over her head, wouldn't become a danger to herself and to others.
And for the record... *squee for Teamwork-ness* <3
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♥ ^____^
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Well written and great IC character development.
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story
(Anonymous) 2006-12-23 09:32 pm (UTC)(link)no subject
fangirl squeee
i'm looking forward to more! :D