Suiren, Prologue: Heaven & Earth…

If you lack Heaven, seek wisdom and be prepared.
If you lack Earth, run in the fields and seek advantages.
If you have both Heaven and Earth,
you will have success in even the most dangerous times.
These rules will guide a person though the extremes…

‘Motto of the Chuunin’
-The Third Hokage
 
 
 
 
 
Heaven…
 
 
 
“Welcome to Yamanaka Flowers!” Ino chirped cheerfully, though her enthusiasm faltered as her eyes lit upon the person walking in the door. “-oh, hello Sakura.” Leaning over the counter and propping her chin in her hand, Ino dropped the perpetually sunny mask she wore for the customers and waved lazily to the pink-haired girl. “What’cha here for today?” she asked in a more relaxed tone.

“Just another daffodil for Lee,” Sakura replied companionably, pausing to admire the botanical feast for the eyes that surrounded her. She still couldn’t understand why Ino complained about working in her father’s shop; she certainly wouldn’t mind working here. Walking slowly down the aisle, she stooped to examine the half-dozen daffodils they had in stock, looking for the prettiest one.

The blonde nodded in understanding. “How is he doing?” she asked after a moment, her voice dropping slightly.

Sakura could tell that Ino was thinking of their visit to the hospital the week before, when Lee had collapsed in front of them after trying to do push-ups. The memory brought a sad smile to her lips. “He’s getting better. He’s walking around a bit now; they got him some crutches.” They were still watching him like a hawk, though, to make sure he didn’t hurt himself.

“Oh… well, that’s good,” Ino replied without feeling. After an uncomfortable pause, she piped up with another, more hopeful question that was surely never far from her mind. “Any word from Sasuke-kun?”

“Ah- no,” Sakura answered quickly, grateful for the change in subject. “But Kakashi-sensei said he knew where Saksuke-kun was before he left. I’m sure there’s nothing to worry about…” She just wished she had more to report; was a simple heads-up too much to ask for? They’d already been missing for more than a week! God damn insensitive bastards, the lot of them! Even that moron Naruto!

The last Sakura had seen of the blonde boy, he was being dragged off to train with some creepy, middle-aged guy that he called ‘the closet pervert’- like Naruto needed any help becoming a pervert! The part that especially stung, though, was that Kakashi-sensei had said Naruto needed help with his chakra control, and her chakra control was great, but he hadn’t even asked her to help Naruto train! They’d all just left her behind… alone. Useless.

If only she’d really defeated Ino! Then she’d… what? Train by herself? Would Kakashi-sensei have found someone to help her prepare for the third exam? He complimented her often enough about how sharp she was, but he never really took any interest in her otherwise. He was always watching Sasuke and Naruto though, giving them appraising looks that he never cast her way. They were strong, and they would only become stronger, while she seemed doomed to mediocrity.

Not feeling like sinking back into her own personal pit of self-loathing right before she went to visit Lee, Sakura shook her head and tried to think of something else. Glancing up at the girl who had raised the painful subject, she gave Ino a disparaging look. “Shouldn’t you be helping Shikamaru train or something? He’s got an extra match; he’ll be eaten alive if he isn’t ready.”

“That lazy bum?” Ino replied incredulously. “Yeah, right. I don’t think he’s training at all- or at least not more than normal.” She looked back down to the fashion magazine in front of her. “Last time I asked, he said it was too much of a hassle to get worked up about it. I don’t think Asuma-sensei knows what to do with him.”

“That sounds like Shikamaru, all right,” Sakura replied, deciding on a flower and standing up. “Could you cut this one for me?”

“Sure.”

As Ino rounded the counter with a pair of shears, Sakura thought about the slick-haired boy. She wondered how calm _she’d_ be, if she were in his place. I’d probably be a nervous wreck. That Hidden Sand girl was dangerous, and it was no big secret that the Kagemane had a few limitations.

Shikamaru wasn’t a fool; he had to know how hard it would be to fight Temari, which meant that he either knew something Sakura didn’t, or he had more guts than anyone gave him credit for. Maybe he’s planning to forfeit; Shikamaru isn’t too proud to back down from a fight he knows he can’t win.

She, on the other hand… I guess I’m not that smart; I was so sure I could win this time. In reality, she hadn’t even caught up to Ino yet. It was more luck than anything else that had saved her from the Shintenshin. If Naruto hadn’t shouted at that very moment…

Sakura still wasn’t sure what had happened then, but somehow she knew that it wouldn’t have worked if Naruto had never opened his big mouth. Ino’s technique was powerful. Even Asuma-sensei had been surprised when she’d thrown it off. But Sakura had no clue how she’d done it, so she had no idea if she would be able to do it again.

Staring over her one-time friend’s shoulder, Sakura realized with a jolt that she wanted to fight Ino again. She didn’t want to settle for ‘not losing’ anymore. She wanted- she needed to prove that she could win. She needed it so much that it ached, like a gaping hole in the bottom of her stomach.

Is this how it feels? Sakura wondered detachedly, thinking of the fire in Lee’s eyes as he fought Gaara, even as is own body disintegrated around him.

“Here you go,” Ino said as she finished wrapping the flower, turning to Sakura. “What? Do you need something else?”

“I- yes- no. It’s-” Sakura mumbled, paying for and accepting the flower in a daze. Ino was giving her a funny look; she realized she was staring, and hastily averted her gaze. “It’s nothing.”

“If you say so, crazy forehead girl,” the other girl quipped, not sounding convinced.

DAMMIT, I’LL SHOW YOU CRAZY! But she couldn’t just challenge Ino right there in the shop. She’d lose for sure if she wasn’t prepared, and she’d sworn to herself that she wouldn’t lose anymore. What she needed was a plan.

Ino’s expression grew slightly worried when Sakura didn’t rise to the barb. “Hey, are you okay?” she asked.

“I’m fine!” the green-eyed kunoichi squeaked, thoughts shooting through her head at a mile a minute. “Um… I’d better get going, then. See you later!”

“Yeah, later…” Ino replied, waving as Sakura hurried toward the door. “Say hello to Lee for me.”

A parting cry of “I will!” slipped through the crack of the closing door as it jingled shut.
 
 
 
Slamming the bedroom door behind her, Sakura tossed her bulging shoulder bag onto the bed and began clearing some space on her desk. After visiting Lee, she’d gone straight to the academy and borrowed every scroll they would give her on mind control, mental defenses and genjutsu.

There hadn’t been much at first, but eventually she’d convinced Iruka-sensei to lend her some advanced scrolls that a genin wouldn’t normally have access to. It wouldn’t be the first time she’d come to him looking for study material.

Back in the academy she had memorized every text they’d assigned her, and then often did extra research to impress the professors. She was probably the only genin who’d passed the first exam without cheating once, and she hadn’t done any special preparation for it. Even if she’d never won against Ino at anything else, Haruno Sakura never lost to anyone when it came to studying.

That was what she was counting on now. Talking with Lee about his training- it was a subject they kept drifting back to, so anxious was he to return to it -Sakura had realized that in some ways they were a lot alike. Despite the fact that she could figure things out faster than most, Sakura was no more a ‘Sasuke’ or a ‘Neji’ than he was. They were both ‘hard working’ types, as Lee put it, he with his body and she with her brain.

Once they’d become genin, however, it’d felt like all the studying she’d done had been pointless; the real world was vastly different the classroom. When they’d been ambushed on the way to the Wave Country, Sasuke was the only one of them who had kept his head. She and Naruto had been paralyzed with fear at the first sign of a real fight, and while Naruto had recovered with a vengeance, she had only fallen further behind with time, always hiding in her teammates’ shadows just like she had been sheltered by Ino’s shadow before.

The Forest of Death had been a rude awakening for her. Caught in the open, unprotected, it had taken harsh words and painful choices to make her remember who she was. She wasn’t Ino’s sidekick, always trailing half a step behind, not Sasuke and Naruto’s delicate princess, basking in their triumphs and weeping at their defeats. She was Haruno Sakura, and she was a ninja of the Hidden Leaf. A sharp mind filled with knowledge beyond her years was her weapon of choice, and it was about time that she started using it.

Whipping open the first scroll on her list, ‘Genjutsu and the Mind,’ Sakura unrolled a blank scroll beside it and began plowing through theory-heavy descriptions of the various ways that the mind could be attacked, taking notes as she went. Genjutsu illusions and other types of mind attacks weren’t covered much in the academy, and while she was more knowledgeable than most genin, that still wouldn’t protect her from the Shintenshin.

Despite the risks, Ino had proven to everyone that it was possible to use the Yamanaka family’s ‘espionage’ jutsu in a fight, and Sakura was willing to bet that her rival hadn’t stopped refining her technique just because neither of them had passed the exam. She was probably already figuring out ways around the surprising resistance that Sakura had shown. Sakura would face a stronger opponent when she fought Ino again, and this time she was determined to be ready for it.

If that meant locking herself up in her room and spending every waking moment poring over cryptic tomes, then so be it; she didn’t have anything better to do. Until the exam was finished there were no missions, and she didn’t have a day-job to worry about, unlike Ino. At least I won’t have to worry about her chasing after Sasuke when I’m not looking.

For a moment, Sakura’s thoughts turned to darkness outside her window, flying over the mountains and forests surrounding Konoha, searching for any trace of her beloved Sasuke- STAY FOCUSED, DAMMIT! Slapping her cheeks, Sakura took a deep breath and continued reading; it was going to be a long, sleepless night, and probably not the last she’d have before she was done…
 
 
 
 
 
Earth…
 
 
 
“Alright, I think you’ve had enough. Stay here; I’ll be back.”

Her breath coming in raw gasps, Sakura was too winded to reply as her opponent backed away. Taking up a defensive stance, she waited until he’d disappeared from sight before collapsing in a heap at the foot of the wall he’d backed her up against. A groan escaped her lips; she could already feel the ugly bruises she’d have on her forearms and shins tomorrow morning. Aaaaaaah- this is insane! How did I get into this mess?
 
 
 
“-And so Ikuto-san asked if she’d gained some weight-”

“He didn’t!”

“He did!”

“Ugh- really! Of all the-”

Sakura breathed a sigh of relief as the two chatting girls passed by, ignoring her and turning the corner. She waited until their voices faded into the distance before lowering the minor ‘anonymity’ genjutsu she was using, crouching low, ready to bolt at the first sign that someone was coming. As she scuttled down the alleyway, her bloodshot eyes scanned the rooftops and windows of the buildings on either side.

In front of her at the end of the alley was the village wall. If she wanted to leave without being seen she’d have to either go over it or creep along it to the gate and then wait for a moment of opportunity. Right- like the guards aren’t gonna stop me. They’re on high alert already with all these foreign nins around. She should’ve just worn a mask; it’d be less suspicious.

Sakura’s mother had rolled her out of bed that morning with a determined scowl, demanding that she go outside and do something that didn’t involve studying scrolls for the rest of the day. Apparently, an entire week had passed without her even noticing, and her parents were starting to worry about her health.

At first it was infuriating; she was sure that she was on the verge of deciphering a major component of the Shintenshin, and she wanted to get back to work before her momentum faded. When she’d looked at herself in the mirror, however, Sakura was horrified to discover that she was much paler than normal, and dark rings had firmly engraved themselves under her eyes. If she’d dyed her hair black she could have passed for that sickly jounin who’d conducted the prelims.

That had clinched it. Though she didn’t want to be seen in public looking like that, it was definitely time to get some sunlight and fresh air. Perhaps she could go for a walk in the forest. If she was lucky, there would be nobody there to see her.

Unfortunately, just getting out of the village unnoticed was proving to be a grueling test of her abilities. She was pretty well-known around Konoha, despite being a mediocre ninja. It was the hair; people always remembered her hair. If someone saw her, Ino would know before lunch that her ‘pink-haired friend’ was wandering around looking like death warmed over, and the jig would be up. Maybe a hat would’ve been better than a mask.

Neither one would help her when she got to the gate, though. No matter how you looked at it, she wasn’t going to become a genjutsu master overnight, and there was no way her flimsy, self-made genjutsu would fool an experienced ninja who was already on the lookout for suspicious characters. She was just going to have to bite the bullet and let them see her… but that didn’t mean she had to let anyone else see her. Hadn’t there been a mask seller in the village square?

After a harrowing run down the narrow alleys and side streets of Konoha, already starting to bustle with morning activity, Sakura arrived at her destination. The leather-faced proprietor of the ramshackle little street stand didn’t even bat an eye at her anonymity jutsu; a lot of his customers probably didn’t like to be noticed.

She quickly selected a mask that looked sort of like a bird and pulled it on, paying silently. The long walk back to the gate was considerably less stressful than the run to the shop. No ‘face’ meant fewer details for her genjutsu to play down in people’s minds, allowing her to ease up a bit.

Unsurprisingly, the chuunin at the gate did demand that she drop her illusion and take off the mask, but a wry grin crossed his lips as he checked over her ID. “Not bad at all,” he noted, sounding genuinely impressed. “Don’t see a lot of kids your age with the patience to learn genjutsu.”

“Really?” Sakura wondered, blushing at the compliment.

“Yeah, I guess it’s not as ‘cool’ as ninjutsu or taijutsu,” the guard mused with a chuckle. “You planning on trying for ANBU?” he asked, nodding toward the mask in her hands.

“ANBU? Ah- I’ve never really considered it,” she admitted, glancing down. It did look sort of like the ones they wore. Actually, when she thought about it, she didn’t really have any plans for the future, other than becoming a ninja and marrying Sasuke. DAMMIT, HE WILL BE MINE!

Noting the serious look on her face, the chuunin gave her a reassuring pat on the shoulder. “Don’t sweat it. You got years ahead of you to decide. Better get going though,” he suggested, waving her through he gate. “Anko-sama’s coming this way, and she’s looking at me like she thinks I’m trying to chat you up.”

Glancing over her shoulder, Sakura found none other than the second examiner, Mitarashi Anko, was indeed coming towards them. The sadistically cheerful look on the woman’s face sent a shiver down Sakura’s spine, and she nodded a hasty ‘thank you’ to the chuunin before bolting out of the gate. She didn’t bother putting the mask or the genjutsu back on; she’d come to the forest to be alone, after all.

This, of course, was why at exactly that moment, who should appear but the last person on earth that she wanted to see. “Sakura! I haven’t seen you in a while,” Ino called, walking out of the forest carrying a bucket full of flower clippings. Her expression changed to a strange mix of worry and disdain when she saw Sakura’s face. “Wow, you’re a mess! Are you okay?”

“Mind your own business, Ino Pig! I’ve been s- sick!” Internally, Sakura congratulated herself on the save. If she told Ino she’d been studying, that might lead to all sorts of risky questions.

“Really? That’s too bad,” Ino commiserated, though she apparently wasn’t going to let the dig at her name slide. “Dad was thinking we needed some publicity, so I said I’d ask you if we could rent your forehead for advertising space. But if you aren’t feeling well…”

“Grr!” Sakura had had just about enough of this conversation. “Actually, the disease has entered a highly contagious stage. You’d better keep your distance.”

Ino quirked an eyebrow, and Sakura could tell she was resisting the urge to back away. “Oh? What do you have?”

DAMN! “Uuuh… Wave Country Sea Weasel Rabies,” Sakura replied lamely.

“Ha! Your giant forehead powers fail you! There’s no such thing!”

“Shut up! It’s none of your business! What would a pig know about diseases, anyway?”

“Hmph, fine! Don’t tell me, I don’t care anyway,” the blonde sniffed, turning away, but from the look on her face Sakura was sure Ino was still thinking about it.

As Sakura considered the various problems that she might be too embarrassed to talk to Ino about, she reddened in spite herself. She was going to say it was only insomnia when Ino’s expression suddenly cleared. “Oh, by the way, I heard Lee is getting out of the hospital today,” Ino noted.

“Really?” That made Sakura feel a little bit better, though somewhat guilty that she hadn’t gone to visit him recently. “Maybe we should go and see him off.”

“I thought you were ‘highly contagious,’” Ino drawled sarcastically. 

“Only to annoying pig girls,” Sakura quipped back, crossing her arms. “They tend to develop unsightly bruising around the hindquarters after only short periods of exposure.”

“I’ll keep that in mind,” the blonde replied, seeming thoroughly unimpressed, though Sakura noticed her knuckles whiten as she gripped the handle of her bucket. “So what’s with the mask? Don’t wanna show that scary ghoul face of yours around town?”

Bingo. SHUT IT, YOU STUPID SOW!
 
 
 
When they arrived at the hospital, the medical nins were just winding down in their explanation to Lee’s parents of what he could and couldn’t do. Gai and Lee were standing off to the side, listening, though Lee seemed altogether too frustrated by the arm-long list of ‘don’t’s, compared to the nearly nonexistent list of ‘do’s. He waved and limped over when he noticed there were there.

“Hello Sakura-san, Ino-san!” he greeted as they met him halfway. He’d had some of his bandages removed, and the swelling had gone down. He also seemed slightly more hopeful now, probably because he was going home. “You’re both as beautiful as always.” He apparently didn’t even notice how haggard Sakura looked, which lifted her own spirits a bit. Lee was too nice, as always.

“Hi, Lee,” the pink-haired girl replied, echoed by the blonde beside her. “So, are you ready to go back home?”

“I have never been so ready for anything in all my life! I don’t ever want to see the inside of another hospital ever again,” he swore, looking tearfully sincere. “I just wish they’d stop trying to make my parents as bad as the doctors- other than rehab, they don’t want me to do any training!”

“Well, ninja training isn’t all running around and stuff. You could study ninjutsu or something,” Ino suggested. For a moment, a pained look flashed across Lee’s face that had nothing to do with the casts and bandages he wore.

Remembering that he couldn’t do ninjutsu or genjutsu either, Sakura hastily tried to think of some way to cover for her rival’s slip. “Um… maybe you could research healing techniques. The library is always getting in all sorts of new scrolls, sometimes even from other countries. Maybe you’ll find something the doctors missed?”

A silent moment passed between them, and a fire seemed to light behind Lee’s dark eyes. Wanting to fan the flames of hope, Sakura launched into an impromptu recitation of the ‘Motto of the Chuunin’ that hung in the tower at the center of the Forest of Death.

“‘If you lack Heaven, seek wisdom and be prepared. If you lack Earth, run in the fields and seek advantages. If you have both Heaven and Earth, you will have success in even the most dangerous times. These rules will guide a person though the extremes.’ That’s what the Hokage said about becoming a Chuunin, right?” she added with a smile.

That did it. With a roar of understanding, Lee clenched his good fist in front of him. “Ooh! Thank you Sakura-san! I should have known that if there were anyone in the world as inspiring as Gai-sensei, it would be you!” Turning to focus his manly, tear-filled gaze upon her alone, he cracked what was definitely the beginnings of a patented ‘Gai megawatt smile.’

“I promise that I will definitely recover and protect you again, so please wait for me!” That said, he then hobbled quickly after his parents, asking them it they could stop at the library on the way home. “Goodbye Sakura-san, Ino-san, Gai-sensei!”

“Bye, Lee!” the two girls called sheepishly, waving.

“That was quick thinking, Haruno. Thank you.” This came from Gai, who had somehow appeared behind them had while they’d been watching Lee leave. The deep worry lines crossing his face disappeared for a moment as he gave her a smile- thankfully not the tooth-glinting ‘heroic’ smile that always made her cringe, but a small, grateful one, for making his favorite student happy.

Sakura returned the smile, looking down in embarrassment. “Oh, no problem. I’m glad I could help.”

Apparently Gai was a little more perceptive than his student, however. “Are you feeling alright? You look a bit pale,” he noted with some concern, taking a better look at Sakura’s face, then crouching down to feel her arms. “You haven’t been working out regularly, have you? Your conditioning is slipping.”

“Ah! I’ve gotta get going, my dad’s waiting for these!” Ino blurted, holding up the bucket and excusing herself quickly, before the super-thick-browed jounin could take notice of her. “See you later, Sakura! Bye, Gai-sensei!”

Waving to Ino, Sakura gave Gai a confident smile to show she was alright. “I’m fine, Gai-sensei. I’ve just been ill for the last week or so, but I’m better now.”

Thankfully, Gai seemed to accept this explanation at face value. “Alright then. Take care of yourself, Haruno,” he said kindly, then added with a wink, “I wouldn’t want Lee worrying himself back into the hospital, after all. And if you need any help getting back in fighting form, just ask…”
 
 
 
Which brought her back to the present, lying in an exhausted pile of aching limbs, staring up at the clear blue sky. ‘Run in the fields and seek advantages,’ huh? Maybe if I run fast enough, he won’t be able catch me.

“What are you doing down there?” Gai wondered in an indulgent voice, his teeth shining brilliantly as his smiling face hove into view above her. “You aren’t worn out yet, are you?”

WHAT THE HELL DO YOU EXPECT?!

“No- no, I was just resting my legs for a minute. Eheh…” Putting on a fake smile of her own and suppressing a sob as her muscles lit up like fireworks, Sakura stiffly got back to her feet. Hopelessly dusting off her sweat-soaked clothes, she gave her tormentor a look of expectation and dread. “So… what’s next?”

Gai seemed to consider for a moment, then shook his head. “Actually, I think I’ve seen enough. Your reflexes are good and your chakra control is excellent; I’m impressed.” Sakura swelled with pride for a moment, only to deflate like a pricked balloon when he continued.

“Unfortunately, your strength and stamina are both among the worst I’ve seen. We have a lot of hard work ahead of us if we’re going to make a fighter out of you… But we wouldn’t want to overdo it on the first day, right?” he finished, watching the changing expressions on her face.

“Then you’ll… help me?” After that last bit, she could hardly believe it- she hardly wanted to believe, truthfully. She’d never decipher the Shintenshin with Gai working her until she was too tired to think straight.

“Of course! How could I refuse a request from a pretty girl who’s also a friend of my Lee?” the jounin assured her jovially, his keen perceptive powers abandoning him for just long enough to miss the look of doom that flashed across Sakura’s face. “In fact, I was just going to get something for you, a kind of welcome gift. Here-” Reaching under his shoulder, he produced a small green bundle, holding it out to her.

“Oh? Really sensei, that’s-” Sakura’s hands paused right before her fingers touched it. Oh gods, no! Nonono, don’t let it be that! Eyes widening in horror, the pink-hired kunoichi stared at the small square of cloth like it was something unspeakable, obscene, diseased and probably poisonous.

Gai, taking her expression for simple surprise, shoved it into her hands; Sakura jumped like she’d been bitten. “Don’t look so overwhelmed- you’re going to have to earn it! But If you give me 150% of the dedication you showed me here today, I’ll bet the chuunin have another kunoichi before too long.”

Sakura was starting to really hate that smile. She carefully unfolded the bundle, not wanting it to be true. “S-sensei, you really shouldn’t  have…” It was horrible- just the color alone made her want to wash her hands, and the idea of actually wearing that fashion disaster… she gave an involuntary shudder. NO WAY IN HELL! I’LL TRAIN NAKED BEFORE I LET THAT MONSTROSITY TOUCH ANOTHER INCH OF MY SKIN!

Watching as Sakura held up the ridiculous green jumpsuit, nearly identical to the ones he and Lee habitually wore, Gai flashed her one more blinding grin and gave her an enthusiastic thumbs up. “Wear it with pride!”
 
 
 

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