Standard C&C Disclaimer: All the below is my only occasionally useful
humble opinion, my only occasionally correct grammatical and spelling
corrections, and/or my only occasionally funny humor.
Eimii wrote:
> Pulling her now spiky bangs before her eyes, Sakura sighed at their
> familiar, verdant hue. A curious glance below revealed that, yes, down
> there was also a slightly deeper shade of green. *I'm like a
> poinsettia.* Idly, Sakura wondered if there might not be some sort of
> long forgotten, plant-based bloodline in her family's distant past.
At one point in the manga, I was speculating that Sakura would at some
point somehow gain access the First Hokage's wood element techniques.
> "Hmm..." Examining the lightly armored shell, Sakura saw that there
> were smaller plates woven into the fabric between the large, visible
> ones. *These are probably expensive to make,* Sakura guessed. That was
> one small mystery solved; she'd wondered why ANBU armor wasn't
> standard issue for all ninja.
Based on canonical evidence, the reason is because wearing it increases
fatality rates up to nearly 100%...
> Tilting his head back as if lost in thought, Yoshinari was silent for
> a moment. "She seems very fond of eggs," he suggested.
>
> "Eggs?" Sakura repeated; that was one she hadn't heard before.
>
> Yoshinari nodded. "She has a raw egg with her lunch every day."
...
> Since she'd been given the fox mask, however, Anko had become her
> 'mentor,' Yoshinari had become her friend and confidant, Asano-san
> probably wanted to eat her and nearly everyone else who worked in the
> interrogation building seemed to at least know her name. It was...
> nice, for the most part; comfortable. Despite what she'd told Ino,
> Sakura didn't want a new mask just yet.
...when did she talk to Ino about the mask? Don't remember that.
> The abstract swirls of the tattoo were bright arterial crimson, like
> smears of fresh blood, but when Sakura scrubbed her fingertip across
> them they did not rub off or hurt. "That's a neat trick," Sakura
> commented numbly, wondering how long it would take for the mark to
> disappear. *This is _so_ gonna get me in trouble...*
Does anything in this story _not_ get Sakura in trouble? ;)
> Cracking her eyes, Sakura received a shock when she found herself
> staring up at a woman that the spitting image of her mother- except
> that her mother didn't normally wear Hidden Sand combat fatigues,
> complete with desert brown flak jacket and half-veiled forehead
> protector. "Oh, fuck!" Sakura blurted astutely.
"that was the spitting image"
> "I think how we feel when we do it is important; it kinda 'defines'
> the copy." Holding up her hand, the adult Sakura produced three long
> needles, fanning them between her fingers with a flick of the wrist.
> Their tips glistened wetly in the sun. "I know she's the enemy," she
> declared gravely. "I know better'n anyone that Temari came prepared ta
> to do anythin' she needed ta do ta complete 'er mission."
>
> Then, with a helpless sigh, she made the needles disappear. "Whenever
> I see 'er, though, I can't help but feel like I need ta protect 'er. I
> can't explain why, but I can't fight it." Lowering her arm, she turned
> to give Sakura a rueful smile. "I think that's _my_ 'mission.'"
...interesting.
> "Did you succeed?" the ANBU asked, holding a finger against the back
> of Temari's neck (presumably to keep the blonde girl under).
>
> Sakura pondered this question for several seconds before shaking her
> head with a worried sigh. "Not exactly. I made contact, but there may
> be a problem..."
There's an understatement...
Temari'll have to be very lucky to ever get released now; I doubt ANBU
would care to let go of someone who had a copy of a Leaf ninja running
around in her head.
Which could be how Sakura ultimately convinces that part of her to come
back, I suppose.
> Kurenai's feet eventually led her to a squat, unimposing building near
> the center of town. She'd been to the torture and interrogation
> facility before, but unlike most of her peers, she'd never had the
> 'pleasure' of working there. She'd had other duties while Asuma and
> the rest had been sneaking around in the service of ANBU. Still,
> Kurenai recognized the woman standing guard when she walked in.
Huh. So in your Naruto world, most jounin go through a time in ANBU?
> Quirking an eyebrow, the red-eyed woman signed next to the timestamp
> that Asano indicated. "I need _clearance_ to see her?" she asked
> incredulously.
Hee.
> Paradoxically, the second floor the ANBU interrogation facility looked
> just like any other office building in Konoha. The halls were well
> lit, anguished screams and strange odors were conspicuously absent,
> and no masked guards confronted her with dire warnings and release
> forms.
"the second floor of the"
> The only odd thing she noticed was that doors that marched down the
> eggshell white walls were very closely spaced; the rooms behind them
> had to be little larger than closets. Finding the one she was looking
> for, Kurenai raised her hand and knocked. "Haruno Sakura?"
"that the doors that marched"
> "Anko brought me to ANBU headquarters to sign some contracts so I
> could open them safely, and she showed me the seals to do it," Sakura
> assured her. Then the younger girl's expression grew slightly
> distressed. "I did sort of wonder of it was really okay for me to have
> this level of access. The archivist didn't look upset, but-"
>
> A smile tugged at the corners of Kurenai's mouth. "Probably not."
>
> "Dammit!" Scowling, the pink-haired girl pounded her fist on the desk.
> "Why is she always doing crap like this? I'm in enough trouble as it
> is!"
Hee. Poor, poor Sakura-chan.
> *She did _not_ just say that.* It _had_ to have just been her
> imagination. At times, Sakura reminded Kurenai far too much of Anko,
> and that was definitely something Anko might've said. At other times,
> however, Sakura displayed a responsible, self-conscious nature that
> almost reminded her of...
>
> *How long has it been now?* Kurenai wondered, counting the years. She
> could now definitely see why Anko adored the excitable pink-haired
> girl. *Perhaps Hokage-sama had another reason for putting them
> together,* she speculated, remembering the guilty look that Anko had
> worn when she'd asked Kurenai to watch over her new apprentice.
Hmm. That's an interesting (and new, if I recall correctly) hint at
something there...
> Sakura was _sure_ she'd almost managed to break Ino's resolve, last
> time. Reversing her 'aura of intimidation' so that it made her seem
> 'vulnerable and appealing' rather than 'frightening and dangerous' had
> been a great idea. She just needed to refine it a bit more; Ino was a
> pretty tough customer.
...Okay, Sakura. You can't blame Anko for this one any longer...
> Blinking, Ino frowned uneasily. "That's a little weird, isn't it? Why
> just you?"
>
> "That's the _really_ confusing part..."
And that's this chapter.
If I remember correctly, there was a year-plus gap between this and the
next bit the first time around; try not to do that again. ;)
As ever, looking forward to more!
--
Aaron Nowack
"Never let reality get in the way of a good hypothesis."
http://www.mimiru.net/
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