Darkest Before Dawn

Ibiki's Student

   "Sasuke, Naruto, why don't you two spar over there?" Kakashi suggested. It was the day after the bell test and it was the first day of official practice. Naruto and Sasuke complied easily and went to the far north end of the training grounds. Kakashi then turned to Sakura with what she guessed was a wide smile on his face.

   "That leaves you with me, Sakura. Are you up for a spar?" he asked cheerfully. She nodded, a suspicious feeling nudging her at the back of her head. He probably already had an idea of what she was capable and wanted to test it. Perfect. Sakura stood at the other end of the field and slid into a taijutsu stance familiar to Kakashi's knowledge.

   'Gai's stance...? No, it's his student's. Rock Lee's.'

   His interest was peaked.

   "Go."

   He didn't anticipate Sakura to bolt straight forward with her hands meshed in the Tiger seal. Before he knew it, she was up in the air and spiraling down with incredible speed.

   "Suiton: Mizu Kamikiri!"

   Her foot slammed into the earth, causing water to burst from the ground and travel towards her sensei as a slicing jet. Kakashi's eyes widened and jumped to the right. A B-rank technique? From her? Right when he landed on the branch of a near by tree, and exploding tag was triggered, sending him to the left. He landed right where he was from the beginning with Sakura standing a few feet away from him with a small smile on her face.

   Kakashi knew that this was going to turn into something serious, so he did what he had to do. He lifted his headband. Sakura cocked her head to the side.

   "You're only at the third stage?" she questioned, "I expected you to be at Mangekyou by now. I mean, I know what you have to do to get the Mangekyou, but I imagine you would have found a way arond that sort of thing."

   Time seemed to freeze. Kakashi stared at the genin with widened eyes. He slowly slid out of his stance and re-covered his sharingan eye.

   "With that knowledge, I now know for sure that you aren't just some genin fresh from the Academy. Ibiki's student, right?"

   "Hai, sensei."

   It was a smart move to put such an advanced shinobi on the team, Kakashi thought. He had caught wind of her abilities a while back but didn't know her name or a face to match the profile. Now he had both.

   "How many missions have you been on already?"

   "Fifty-five."

   "Do Sasuke and Naruto know of your true status?"

   "Nope. Only a handful of people know, and I'd like to keep it that way if you don't mind."

   Kakashi nodded and began walking, motioning for Sakura to follow. She sent a confused expression his way before trotting after him curiously. They walked in silence for a while before they arrived to the Third Training Ground. It was a rather large training ground covered with dense patches of trees. There was also one large clearing with the Konoha Memorial Stone standing proudly at the eastern edge. They walked towards it and stopped just feet from its gleaming form.

   Complete silence invaded the area for a few minutes.

   "Do you see those names on the bottom there? Obito Uchiha and Rin Nohara?"

   Sakura crouched down and peered at it.

   "What about their names, sensei?" she asked. She looked up at him to see his lone eye darken in sadness.

   "Back when I was younger... those two were my teammates. We got along fine and we were one of the best teams. But there was one mission that changed all of that. We went on a mission to Iwagakure and Rin was captured. Obito and I went in to save her, but when we arrived, she was killed. Next they came after Obito and I. We fought as hard as we could but our efforts were worthless. Mine, at least. Obito was crushed underneath a boulder seconds later. Both my teammates were dead and it was my fault that I couldn't protect them."

   With dread marring him, he looked so old and weary even if his face was covered. Kakashi turned towards the younger girl.

   "Sakura, the rumors that surround you say that you're incredibly strong, and I believe all of it- but I want you to keep something in mind."

   He grasped her shoulders and looked her straight in the eye.

   "No matter how strong you are, you cannot save everyone."

~

   Sakura went home that day with Kakashi's words ringing in her head. She dropped her things on the living room couch and walked to the bathroom. She stared at herself in the mirror, then to bottle of pills on the sink.

   No matter how strong you are, you cannot save everyone.

   A hollow smile touched her lips.

   'And maybe one day, I won't be able to save myself.'

Picture (that I do not own): Sakura's stance