Parallel {My Second Life As Sakura Haruno}

He's Proud of Her

I wake up to a knock at my door. Slowly, I make my way out of my bed, a half-eaten carrot in my hand and empty chakra weights on my ankles. I open the door, seeing a tall, blurry figure. A woman's voice says, "You sure look tired, Sakura."

I rub my eyes, blinking a few times to refocus. Kurenai stands in front of me, looking identical to how she always does, probably because it's a TV show. "Ms.Kurenai? What are you doing here?" The older kunoichi smiled and grabbed me, hoisting me up and over her shoulder. I shout, "Wait! Put me down!"

Kurenai laughs, "I'm taking you back to the hospital, of course. Kakashi told me to look after you, so I won't just let you escape without a full recovery." I groaned, 'That old fart's name came up again. So what? He never paid attention to Sakura in the main series.' "Kakashi isn't even in town! Besides, wasn't he too busy with training Sasuke? Who cares what I do?"

Kurenai lept from roof to roof. I shut my eyes, trying to keep myself from looking down. The weightless feeling went back and forth, but the Squad 8 captain was completely unbothered. "He's proud of you, you know." I freeze in my tracks. 'Whom's proud of what now?'

Kurenai continues, "Kakashi wasn't there to watch, but he was pleasantly surprised after being informed. His wallet, however, didn't share the notion." I open my eyes, staring at the ground below, fifty feet away. I find myself crying, although I don't necessarily feel sad. I take a hand and reach it up to feel my own face. 'Are you there, Sakura? He's proud of you, you know.'

I didn't get a reply.

Somehow, I felt that Sakura was still here. 'I'm sorry for taking your life.' I didn't feel sorry. I liked it here, and maybe that made me a terrible person for feeling that way. Wherever Sakura was, it didn't seem like she wanted to talk.

A wave of nausea took over me, as I realized just how high up we were, and how fast Kurenai was moving through the air. I quickly shut my eyes again and swallowed hard. I felt my own heart clench up, although now I knew what I was feeling wasn't from me. I pressed my lips together. I did feel a little guilty now, knowing that she might've been feeling nauseous too because of me. 'Then I'll take your life, and I'll make your life everything you wanted it to be. Is that fine?'

There still wasn't an answer, but I figured that Sakura had agreed since my chest stopped feeling heavy and my nausea disappeared. I swallowed again and took a deep breath before shouting. "Kurenai?!"

The teacher hums in response, glancing back at me. I opened my eyes to look back at her, although the eye contact was awkward and difficult to maintain since I was upside down. "Do you think I could still take the chunnin exams?!"

Kurenai faced forward again, smiling to herself. "The last portion is in a month, and you'll be fully recovered around a week after that." I yell, "That's not an answer, that's a statement!"

Kurenai kicks off of another roof and shouts back, "Okay!" The pace increases, and I squirm in her grip. Kurenai pats my back with her free hand. "Don't let go!" I scream, "I wasn't planning on it!" 'Just how far away is the hospital?!'

I look around and see the hospital up ahead. I breathe a sigh of relief, knowing that it would be over soon. However, Kurenai doesn't slow down. I scream again, "Slow down!" Kurenai pretends not to hear me and goes straight past the hospital. I rapidly tap her on the back. "Wait! You missed it! Go back!"

Kurenai chuckles and speeds up more. "I thought you said you wanted to take the chunin exams!" I gulp and watch the hospital get farther and farther away. 'This better be worth it, Sakura.' "Y-Yeah!"

Kurenai finally starts slowing down and lands in a field. She takes me off her shoulder and sets me on the ground. "So, I'll train you." I look up at her, gasping for air. "Th-thanks..?" 'I THOUGHT I WAS GOING TO DIE?! ARE YOU KIDDING ME?!'

Kurenai stops laughing and her face hardens. "Start with this." She points to the river next to her. "Walk across it." I look at her and raise one eyebrow before walking over to the side of it. "Really? That seems eas-AH!" I take a step into the water, only to become completely off balance and fall face-first into the water. 

I lunge half my body over the shore and watch Kurenai step onto the surface of the water, smiling down at me. "Water walking. I'm sure a smart girl like you has heard of it." I nervously laugh and crawl out of the river. "Hah, yeah.. Water walking, like tree walking, but on water." 'AND A HUNDRED TIMES HARDER! SAKURA DIDN'T KNOW HOW TO DO THIS YET HOW AM I SUPPOSED TO DO THIS?! THE WHOLE CHA! FIST THING WAS A TOTAL FLUKE!'

I don't voice my thoughts, and instead stand up on the side of the shore and close my eyes. I take a deep breath and put my hands together. 'Come on, Sakura's muscle memory, do your thing.' 

I could feel it, like a second breath of life moving in sync with my own. I could feel the chakra. I pulled at it, urging it to direct itself toward my feet. It complies, moving slowly like molten lava. It warms my feet, like having multiple socks on.

I release my hands and run into the water, only to slip, fall onto my face, and gradually sink into the water. Kurenai's laughter fills my ears as I pull myself onto a rock. I squint at her. "It's not funny." She laughs harder. "No, it is. You did it easily, and then immediately tripped over your own feet. I didn't realize you were so clumsy, Sakura."

I feel my face heat up, and I slam my fist on the rock I laid on. "I'm not clumsy!" I blink, 'Wait, did she say I did it? On the first try?!' I relax myself, feeling my own chakra continue its normal cycle. 'All hail Sakura's chakra control.' I feel giddy, although I was pretty sure it was from Sakura and not me. 'Yes, yes, you are amazing.'

The emotion slowly disappears. Kurenai claps her hands together. "Well, since you seem to be such a chakra prodigy, do it again!" I sigh and pull myself to my feet. "I thought you said I mastered it..." Kurenai shakes her head, "I said you did it easily, not that you mastered it. Now,"

A shiver runs down my spine as Kurenai looks at me with a glint in her eyes. "Do it again."

I'm not sure how many times she forcefully brought me to my feet and made me walk across that river. Probably a lot.

When my chakara went dry, Kurenai called it a day and brought me back to the hotel, completely exhausted. "I'll be back again tomorrow, don't wait up!"

I weakly nodded and let myself collapse onto the bed. 'Oh, I still have the carrot.' I realized. I took a bite of it and closed my eyes, letting myself go to sleep. 'Sakura, thanks. For letting me experience something like this. Kakashi's proud of you, but I definitely treasure you more.'