Stuck Together

Sakura-Sensei Faces her Fear

Sakura was happy, but more importantly she was proud. It was just one small aspect, but she proved she could be better than the other two who were sprawled on the ground looking up at her. From her seat in the tree she listened as Kakashi-sensei put her in charge. Even better when she made it back to the ground he gave her a book, though she didn't know if she'd actually be waiting around long enough that she'd get to spend much time reading. She already knew how talented Sasuke was and she chose to have faith in Naruto who even in the short time they'd been together showed he was far more competent than anyone had been giving him credit for.

Apparently she overestimated the two because after a few more attempts neither had made much progress. She figured she might as well offer her help now, whether they listened or not would be the real issue. "Alright, Sasuke you're pushing too much chakra into your feet and Naruto you aren't adding enough. Plus neither of you are keeping a consistent flow, which means even if you get the right amount eventually you'll still fall because it's fluctuating," she spoke to the two boys who were both watching her with different expressions. She could tell Sasuke seemed annoyed, she was hoping it was at his failure not her pointing it out and Naruto seemed more than eager to listen. She knew she really needed to cut the blonde haired ninja some more slack, he was a good person even if he was a bit loud for her tastes.

"Alright what should we do Sakura-sensei?" Naruto asked a smile accompanying his question, she felt herself laugh slightly at the term.

Sasuke for his part didn't smile, but did turn his attention to her showing he was at least willing to hear her out.

She walked to the tree Naruto was trying to climb and lifted one leg, she pushed it against the tree and held it there. She then focused chakra on that foot and slowly increased the amount until the bark broke from too much pressure, which Sasuke had managed to do several times on accident. "What I want is for each of you to push your leg against a tree and let chakra flow to the soles of your feet, start small and see if your foot sticks if not keep increasing until you reach a point where it stays solid against the bark, if you go too far it'll break and you'll be able to tell the limit. If you do that for a little while you'll eventually be able to feel when your chakra is at the right level. Try walking around on the ground while keeping the flow steady. Once you have it under control try climbing the tree again and see how you do," Sakura laid out her plan. She knew Kakashi-sensei probably would have given them less information so they could learn it themselves, but Sakura wanted to see results.

"You know Sakura-chan, you're really good at this," Naruto sent her a grin over his shoulder as he lined his foot up with a tree and began following her directions.

"I thought she was Sakura-sensei now," Sasuke interjected with some sarcasm in his tone, but it was accompanied by the slightest hint of a smile and Sakura wished she didn't relish it as much as she did. Love wasn't a weakness she chose to believe that, but even she realized she couldn't be an asset to the team if she was, "Mooning over Sasuke" as Kakashi-sensei rudely put it. She wasn't going to wait letting this fester, tonight after her teammates completed their task she needed to have a talk with Sasuke and just get everything out in the open. She knew he didn't like her back, but she needed to hear it from him if she was going to try moving past it. Pushing that into the back of her mind for the time being she cracked open the book Kakashi-sensei gave her and started reading about the basics of genjutsu keeping her ears open in case Naruto or Sasuke needed further help.

Aside from a few questions they worked relatively quietly, the only noises were footsteps, falls, breathing, and the occasional crack of bark. It made for a weird, but oddly calming background noise as she studied. She couldn't place the exact passing of time, but almost out of nowhere both boys declared that they'd done it. Of course that meant they had to descend into an argument over who was first, it was so petty that it was almost funny especially considering how much longer it took them than her which she was more than happy to point, "Well, I did it before either of you so you shouldn't be so quick to argue about who was faster."