Weaker & Weak

Chapter 11

The darkness surrounded Sakura and she never felt more alone even though Yuuki stood mere metres away from her. Her only closure was the fact that she was doing this to become strong.

Yuuki suddenly stopped and Sakura was relieved. They had been travelling for the whole day and even though Sakura tired, Yuuki did not stop stating that they should reach their destination before the snow storm began.

Yuuki gestured towards the sight in front of them. A village was lit up with beautiful lights and Sakura remembered that it would be time for the annual winter festival in Konoha. With sadness she wondered if it would be cancelled due to two leaf ninjas leaving the village. She shook her head and focused on Yuuki.

"Come." Said Yuuki. They walked through the crowds who walked from stall to stall buying food and enjoying the festival. Yuuki stopped and entered a small inn. They entered a room and Sakura noticed that there were already two futons on the floor. She looked up and recognized two people. Kandachi and Toki nodded at Yuuki and stared at Sakura as if she was an intruder.

"Hey Yuuki. Why did you bring that kid here? I recognize her from a few days ago." Said Kandachi.

A vein throbbed on the side of Sakura's head at being referred to as a kid. Yuuki hesitated slightly before nodding, "Yes. About that...I am going to train her...her name is Sakura. I came to tell you that to train her I will have to leave for a while." Yuuki never showed much emotion in the time Sakura had seen her but she thought she could see a flash of sadness pass Yuuki's maroon eyes before disappearing as if it had never been there. Toki and Kandachi remained emotionless for a while but then as if reaching a conclusion, Toki nodded and said, "Fine. But..." Yuuki stared at him silently, "...But if you leave us. You will become our enemy." Yuuki's face darkened and she stared at both of them before gesturing towards the door. Sakura followed Yuuki out of the inn. They soon reached the crowds that reminded Sakura of the festivals in Konoha.

The left the village behind and continued travelling. Finally they stopped and Yuuki formed some hand seals and placed her hand on a tree in front of them. The tree seemed to be sending tremors into the ground as the ground opened up in front of them. Yuuki jumped into the opening and Sakura did the same. They both landed on the ground and Sakura looked up to see a hallway lit by torches. Yuuki walked forward and led the way through many different hallways. They arrived at a door and Yuuki gestured towards it. Sakura entered a plain room with a bed and a chest of drawers and also a couple of other necessities.

"You can sleep in here. If you need me, just spike your chakra." Said Yuuki. Sakura nodded and said, "Fine."

Yuuki left the room and Sakura looked around and realized there was no window. She sighed and placed the backpack she had packed after Sasuke left, on the bed. She lay down and sleep overcame her before she had even removed her weapons pouch.

Sakura suddenly awoke and she sat up quickly to see Yuuki standing at the end of the door. "I'll wait outside. We will begin training." Sakura nodded and rushed around before realizing that she had fallen asleep in everything she needed. She sighed and walked through a door at the end of her room that she was fairly certain led to a bathroom of some sort. She splashed her face and walked out of the door. Yuuki was waiting their and she walked down the winding corridors and reached a room which she entered. Sakura noticed that there was a metal table and on the table was a scroll on which lay a barely moving fish.

"Try healing it. I am sure you know how to bring the healing chakra to your hands. We will work on strengthening it." Said Yuuki.

Sakura approached the barely alive fish and she placed her hands above the fish. She scrunched her eyebrows and soon green healing chakra surrounded her hands. She spent a while trying to heal it until a bead of sweat appeared on her forehead. Suddenly the fish went into a small container that Sakura just noticed. It was filled with water and the fish was in there now fully healed.

Sakura turned to Yuuki with a smile on her face.

Yuuki stared at the container; I haven't seen such talent in a long time.

Yuuki nodded her head approvingly and said, "Good."

Sakura felt as if her jaws were working harder than normal to form the smile.

Shikamaru knocked on Naruto's door. A sleepy Naruto opened the door complaining.

"To achieve this you must focus your chakra into one point in your body and then release it." Yuuki demonstrated. She kicked a ball like item at Sakura. The ball hit Sakura so hard that it knocked the breath out of her as she hit the ground. How...it's just a ball...

Yuuki seemed to notice the confusion and curiosity in Sakura's eyes. "I released my chakra as I kicked the ball." Sakura began to understand but then Yuuki punched a wall and it crumbled, "I focused my chakra into my hand..." She then pressed her foot into the ground, "Focusing my chakra into my foot..."

Sakura stood up and shut her eyes while trying to concentrate her chakra into her hand. She punched the ground and opened her eyes. Her fist had caused damage similar to a mini earthquake. A weak imitation compared to Yuuki's damage but it was still a start. Yuuki seemed impressed at Sakura's first try.

Sakura punched the ground again without shutting her eyes. The same amount of damage was caused as the last time.

"Concentrate Sakura. Focus your chakra into your fist and then release it." Said Yuuki.

Sakura gritted her teeth and punched the ground.

"I see." Said Iruka. "Sounds like it'll be a long trip." Iruka ate some of his ramen, "Listen, make sure you train hard and don't slack off." Naruto turned to Iruka with a smile on his face, "Sure thing. Leave it to me!" They both dug into their bowls of ramen. Jiraiya pushed aside the sign that hung over the stall and said, "Let' get moving Naruto." Naruto turned to Jiraiya and said, "Okay." He drunk the rest of his ramen, "Well, I'll be on my way, Iruka-sensei. I'll pay for the ramen when I get stronger." Iruka sighed and said, "Geez!"

Naruto and Jiraiya walked along the streets of Konoha towards the gates of Konoha. Iruka stared after them and smiled, Good luck, Naruto.

Naruto stopped walking and raised his hand towards the carving of the fourth Hokage's face in the cliff, "Just watch me." He clenched his fist and smiled. "What are you doing? I'll leave you behind, Naruto!" yelled Jiraiya. "Huh? W-W-W-Wait up!" Naruto ran after Jiraiya.

Hinata watched Naruto walk away; she smiled and blushed, "I must also work hard to catch up to Naruto-kun." Naruto and Jiraiya approached the gates of Konoha and Naruto smiled.

Sakura stood on a boulder by the sea. The water sprayed against her skin making her shiver slightly. Yuuki watched her from a distance and was about to call her name before realizing that Sakura was deep in her own thoughts. Yuuki turned around and walked away.

Sakura wondered where Naruto and Sasuke were. No matter how much she tried to get rid of it, there was always a voice in her head that told her that she missed them. She missed the hyperactive, blonde ninja and she also missed the stoic Uchiha. She vaguely wondered what things would be like if they had never said what they did about her. Would I still be in Konoha with them? Sakura shook her head to rid herself of the naive thoughts. No matter how much she tried she was never able to act cold towards anyone. Her former, warm personality always peeked through her cold exterior somehow. She stepped down from the boulder. She had been looking in the direction of Konoha without realizing it. As she walked away from the boulder she thought, Look after yourselves.