Darkest Before Dawn

Tenzou's Thoughts

   Tenzou watched as Sakura balanced herself with one finger on the tip of a kunai as her legs pointed straight in the air. It didn't matter how many times he saw her exhibit her sheer skill- he was always amazed at the things she could do. The first thing Tenzou saw was the water dragon, then her endurance with the weights, next the kunai dance, and finally, her perfect balance and chakra control. He didn't know just how at seven years old, a little girl could be as physically able and intelligent as a chuunin. It was simply unheard of.

   Sakura was the top of any prodigial talent he had ever seen.

   Then again, there was an equally head-turning downside.

   Tenzou was a specialized ANBU. The missions he was needed on came every once in a while, so he often spent his free time roaming around the ANBU headquarters. And contrary to popular belief, ANBU operatives weren't stiffs. They were gossip girls.

   Sure, during their work hours they were bland, expressionless, and unreluctant. But when off-duty hours came, off came the masks and on came the laughter. They'd talk about anything and everything, so naturally, Tenzou would pick up a few things here and there. One particularly interesting topic came up when he accompanied Kagura, Towa and Anko at the nearest bar.

   "So I went to the north end of the forest, right? I found nothing, so I went to go meet up with Ibiki. I caught up to him a few minutes later, and as luck would have it, he found jack shit at the east end." Anko said. She took a gulp of beer before continuing, "So then we head over to Sakura at the west end, and boy, were we in for a surprise."

   "She found the slave line?" Kagura asked. 

   "I wish she just found it. Sakura freed the civilians... but massacred the traffickers."

   Stunned silence crowded over the four. Anko stared into her cup, her expression suddenly turning serious.

   "There were five of them. Four of them had their midsections cut in half and the other had his head nearly decapitated. The worst part of it all was that she was completely unaffected. When we arrived, she greeted us with her sweet smile despite being covered head to toe with the enemy's blood."

   Only then had it occcured to Tenzou that there was a cost at Sakura being as good as she was. Along with all her raw, uncomparable talent came this mental instability. He had also heard from Ibiki that she tended to crack a smile when she kills her opponents. He hadn't seen her kill someone before, but he was sure it would be a terrifying sight. He sighed and looked over at Sakura. She was beginning to do push ups.

   For god's sake, the girl was seven years old.

   How could she both ruthless and kind? It didn't make any sense under any circumstance.

   Tenzou could only imagine what type of person she would become on the future. He was sure that she would be as kind and polite as she was now, but that trauma would still have its place and her skill would multiply tenfold if not greater. She would become one of the most powerful kunoichi out there. 

   At this young age, she had already experienced tragedy, death, and sorrow.

   In the future, she would fear nothing.

   And in the future, everyone would fear her.

   Sakura jumped up from her one hundredth push up and trotted over to the wood style user sitting on a nearby boulder.

   "Ne, ne, Tenzou-san! I just finished my training, you wanna head up to headquarters now?" she chirped. He mustered as smile and stood up. She wasn't at that point yet, and the least he could do was enjoy who she was now.

   "Lead the way, Sakura-chan."