Title: Oyogu

Summary: "You are a part of the ocean's secrets Sakura..." When you're part mythical creature and part shinobi, the secrets you hide more than double. Yet when times become turbulent, Sakura finds herself trusting in a blank-faced, stoic ANBU captain every significant step of the way, much to her team's consternation.

Pairing: ItaSaku (later)

"Ne Sakura-chan, why did you become a shinobi?"

His tone was warm, and his body language not in the least hostile, yet she couldn't help but draw into herself as his question took her by surprise. Though a common question by nature, it was one that gave her difficulty. Few people cared about her motivations or her life in general, and the need to stay guarded always-always-always! took over. Even when she had the opportunity to be honest with her teammates, people who were supposed to be her family.

"Ah... I'm Haruno Sakura..." My likes? I like to read a lot, "I like teacakes, I dislike..." Bullies, "Early mornings and my dream..." Was she allowed to dream though? Was someone like her allowed to dream about strength, family, or love? "I guess my dream is to surpass my best friend."

She had chuckled after, having always viewed Ino has the kind of kunoichi she should be. But it was a dream because at the time, she had found it a little hopeless. But as much as the memories and self-discouragement tried to take over, Shisui's question cut through the bullshit of the last few years; from the fear at dinner with the Uchihas, to the desire for equal footing in her team, and even the utter despair over the cards life had dealt her.

In that un-snooty voice of his was a quality that took her back to a moment in time; she was pressed against a dirty brick wall, piles of garbage in front of her and the constant urge to protect herself cloaking her presence. Her eyes took in the sheer brightness of Konoha's bustling marketplace located in a wealthy civilian district. Residents dressed in colorful kimonos making their way through beautiful sights and scents. It was another world, where women had the leisure to paint their lips red and choose sparkling brocade, where children could point and take and eat all that they wanted. The scene, watched from a crack between two buildings kept her dreaming. Wishing for a better life. Today, it was solace. Her fist in her mouth and eyes red-rimmed from all the sobbing of the day because children with no one and were vicious. They took as much as they could and that included power, as little Sakura was finally learning. A sudden shriek drew her attention and all she saw was a dark blur, fleeting and suddenly solid as a man in black took form with a thief in his hands. As generic as his clothes were, -just a nobody- this man instilled the first feelings of fight in Sakura. He made it look so easy. She learned that it wasn't. Each time she fought back she found herself sobbing louder, the punches hitting harder. But something changed. It was very minute, but as she lay still and often prayed for it to be over, she would remember him. As oba-sama iced a swollen forehead or bandaged a nasty scrape, she would see his ordinary, masked face.

So all she wanted was revenge. To never be helpless again.

But before she could take her baby steps to ninjahood she met Naruto. A blonde boy about her height standing still, crying, as kids and adults alike sneered. Dirt and rocks were scattered across his body, making her wince because she knew those had to hurt. But something in her clenched too because why wasn't her fighting back? He was a boy! Boys were strong! For the first time, she wasn't okay with staying still and waiting for it to be over.

She hated that all she could think of was the masked man, that she couldn't stop the mean people. She wanted to fight. Fight for someone that wasn't her. Fight so that he would never have to feel so weak and unimportant.

"Well... I..." She pursed her lips, wondering how honest she could be. Could she tell them she learned at a young age that there were two kinds of people, the weak and the strong? That the only world she was decided by the strong? She looked up at the two shinobi before her, one of them with a reputation even genin like her knew, the other from a clan known for their power and decided on the truth in an instant. If she was going to seek help, she needed honesty.

"I wanted to be strong." She said, and then added with a lighthearted smile, "And Naruto-kun asked me to join." 'And so that I can protect the weak.'

Shisui nodded, "Sakura-chan," He paused for a moment, as if remembering something "are you a sensor type?"

If Itachi and Sakura had been the type, they would have shown an outward display of exasperation. As it was, Inner Sakura was palming her forehead.

"Shisui-san... what exactly is a sensor type? You're the second person who has implied I may be one."

"Oh? Who else has noticed your fantastic~ chakra control?"

She ducked her head as her face flushed, but Shisui caught eyes flickering toward Itachi. O-ho~ so Itachi-chan had told her so? A quick glance at his cousin yielded no answers but the pinkette was more than obvious.

"Just... someone I know." She muttered.

"Ahh.. just someone you know..." He repeated, smacking his lips together in an exaggerated fashion while Itachi continued to avoid eye contact with him, "Well a sensor is basically someone who is really awesome at well... sensing chakra."

Sakura tilted her head to the side, "Can't all shinobi do that?"

"Well..."

"What Shisui means to say is," Itachi said, interrupting his cousin, "Few ninja are able to recognize a person based on their chakra signature-"

"Yeah! And I'll bet you have really good control too!" Shisui jumped in, forcing Sakura to focus back on him "Well most sensors do and you don't have to be a sensor to have great control but-"

"You are innately skilled."

Did they realize they tended to finish each others' sentences? It was almost.. kind of cute.

"Ano.. Shisui-san.." She said slowly, "Itachi-san... so... I mean... what are you guys good at?"

It was a strange request. Mainly because most genin had at least some semi-exaggerated idea of The Uchiha Itachi's abilities, while Shisui himself, while not well-known amongst genin, had a reputation that preceded him as Shunshin no Shisui.

Realizing they both weren't speaking and worried she had crossed some kind of line, Sakura waved her hands in front of her frantically, "You guys don't have to tell me... I was just wondering cause I'm only good at chakra control but I don't even know how to train it... I was going to ask if you would know..." She muttered the last sentence, more than a little paranoid of rejection.

"Ahh" He said, understanding her, "Well I'm kind of well-known around Konoha for my really speedy shunshin while big bad 'tachi-chan here is just good at everything. Like, everything."

'Shunshin?'

Now where had she heard of that before?

"What is Shunshin?"

He stood up dramatically, "Well I'm glad you asked Sakura-chan." He placed both palms together in a seal, "Basically it's where you do this," vanished before her eyes, appeared under a crop of trees several meters away before blurring suddenly, "really fast!" and appearing behind her.

She looked at him in amazement, and then noted the pale blue, almost non-existent trail of chakra -was it chakra? that traced all of Shisui's movements. When she pointed it out, he just laughed and said, "You're definitely a chakra-type."

"So... so would you know how I can improve on that? I'm not any good on a lot of things, but I'd like to be really good at this."

Shisui nudged his younger cousin while planning how he might set them up together, "Well 'Tachi-chan here should be able to help you. Shunshin might need really good control to do it that quickly, but this guy's control is better than mine in general so... you guys should have a good talk about it..."

He made an obvious excuse, saying Mikoto-sama needed him or Sasuke-chan had asked for some help, before high-tailing it out of the area. Sakura was probably a bit young for Itachi... but his stoic cousin had finally said more than two sentences to a female other than Mikoto-sama, not to mention, dare he say it, his tone lacked its usual curtness that seemed to drive females away.

"Itachi-san..."

"Hm?"

"So you're good at a lot of things huh?"

He inclined his head.

"Hmm... Maa must be nice..." She said under her breath, not intending for him to hear her.

He then surprised her by saying, "Genjutsu was... a challenge for me."

Nani?

"What?"

Did he just admit he wasn't good at something?

"ReallY?"

He nodded.

"Ne.. Itachi-san... so... how do I improve on chakra control."

"Sakura-san.." He started, "On average how much does a ninja's natural rate of control improve by?"

Hmm. "Well.. it varies by how gifted the ninja is... and I guess how aware they are of their chakra coils?"

He didn't stop her so she continued, "Most shinobi have a natural control range around sixty to eighty percent, while you do have some special cases like Naruto-kun who can execute complex jutsu while failing at basic Kawarimi or bunshin, they are typically successful and can do a lot of damage with that level of control. It is already pretty good. Some really high-ranking shinobi have chakra control in the ninetieth percentile, allowing them to use highly volatile jutsu. Meanwhile most kunoichi have a chakra control range of seventy to eighty-five percent... usually because they have smaller coils although that in itself is not a major contributor... it also depends how young they begin practicing manipulating chakra..."

She was on a roll now, "However a ninja can begin at a relatively low level of chakra control and be able to push their percentile range up to the ninetieth percentile... either through meditation or constant practice so I guess it is also a play on awareness of chakra..."

She sighed, "But does it really matter how good a person's chakra control is? At the end of the day a shinobi with amazing control is useless if they don't have the quantity for it, or the ability to do anything else. Ninjutsu is so important... as is genjutsu and taijutsu. The best shinobi are always those who can utilize all of this no?"

Before she could ramble further and bring her confidence to a lower level, he interjected, "But the difference between two shinobi of the same caliber, same type and strength, can be how they utilize their chakra. Greater control conserves more chakra. Greater awareness allows one to manipulate chakra more creatively. Most importantly mastering chakra means a ninja has mastered the very crux of their skills. It is as important to your spiritual body as basic kata is to your physical ability."

She wondered Sasuke was just melodramatic about how busy his brother was because for all that the broody Uchiha would complain that 'aniki' was busy, the longer-haired male seemed to spend quite some time with her at the training grounds. It was definitely more time she would spend with her teammates outside of training.

Sakura took a deep breath and centered her awareness onto the chakra within her body. With each inhale and exhale, she relaxed her body further, delving into the sensation of only her chakra coils. She noticed for the most part, her spiritual energy was evenly distributed save for a cluster within her belly, where it seemed the very core of her energy started and ended. She concentrated on the cluster, examining the hundreds and thousands of strands intertwined together, pulsing along the beat of her heart. Slowly, she did as Itachi advised. Instead of merely focusing on her coils, she began to tug at the strings that made up the cluster. She expelled chakra through her feet and hands in a steady stream, ensuring she was pulling chakra from her core not the rest of her coils.

As Itachi mentioned, she immediately felt her reserves drain. Most ninja, he had said, tended to expel as much chakra as they can to empty their reserves in an attempt to increase their capacity. Yet typically, it was not by much because they tended to drain their coils instead of their core. By draining and tugging at the energy of her core, she was almost forcing it to split. To repair itself, more strands would be created, thus increasing the quantity of chakra she housed.

Sakura bit her lip, trying her best to shift her weight. From her front split, she was arched backwards and trying to push herself into a standing position through articulating her foot. Her hands steadied her as her vision changed and the floorboards became the ceiling, chakra cycling through the weaker spots of her foot that threatened to drop her. Finally, she found herself in a wobbly standing split. As she tried supporting herself wholly on her single foot, she toppled to the side.

"Ugh" She groaned with a mouthful of hair. Every time!

Nevertheless after daily morning practice, her already flexible limbs had finally held the position for more than a few seconds.

She sped along the hill that shadowed the orphanage, making a game out of her running exercise, forcing herself to expand her senses lest she fall over in the darkness of the forest. By the time the sun's rays lit up the dusky sky, she had circled the small hill twice and had begun kicking a tree with as much speed as she could. Alternating between two minutes of all out speed and three minutes of slow, technique focused practice. With luck and time, her limberness would be combined with speed.

Right now however, as her tail flicked water into the air and she prayed the hill stayed remote -because who wanted to be seen bathing- the bright morning sun filtered through the green shade making for a gorgeous morning scenery. As her eyes unfocused, she closed her eyes and mimicked her nightly meditation. Breathing in and out. Instead of tugging at her chakra cluster however, she drew all attention onto her tail. Slowly, the tell-tale tingle appeared, pricking her hips and thighs until instead of scales, slightly tanned skin shimmered beneath the surface. As her legs appeared, she honed in on her chakra center, watching herself with interest as she noted the dimensional shift within her spiritual body. The first time she had done this, her chakra seemed to disappear altogether and in it's place was a central space without chakra. She freaked out before remembering that bodies without chakra still housed energy, albeit a different one.

Now however, the fear had abated and curiosity had taken its place. She shifted her yin-natured energy just so until instead of having disappeared altogether, it seemed to gather beside her chakra and yang energy. It's effect was a humanoid figure with separate limbs whilst fins adorned her arms, legs, and spine. Then, she pushed everything telling her her actions were unnatural, sunk underwater and took a controlled breath. The sides of her neck felt funny and her instincts were still screaming at her, but she no longer coughed or choked like a madwoman. In fact, with a great deal more practice, she would be able to switch forms with ease.

...

Her freshly washed hair dripped onto her shoulder as she made her way to the training grounds, a futile effort in staying clean. Next would either be more physical training intended on pushing the limits of her sweat glands, a spar she would lose early on, or a D-rank mission. Although Kakashi-sensei would focus on her every now and then, she would feel the tugs of envy when he casually called out adjustments to the boys' spars. Ordinarily, she would have felt undervalued and unwanted. However for the past two weeks, she had spent time after team training with Sasuke's older brother. Although he surprised her in the beginning, she found herself feeling less discouraged around the humbler brother who would offer valuable advice.

"Itachi-san, are you sure it only takes four minutes?"

He nodded. "It is the most intense form of stamina training whilst also being the shortest. You will expend all your energy doing basic strength exercises for twenty seconds, pause for ten, and repeat eight times."

"O-kay..."

"Then you will sprint one hundred meters three times, repeating the entire set five times in total. Once a week, you will sprints in the above format as well. "

"So this is in addition to doing laps everyday?"

"Running basic laps daily is not conducive if you have not fully built up your strength."

She nodded.

"Are you ready?"

She startled but hid it by tying a makeshift blindfold around her head and slid her feet into a defensive stance. Instantly, she felt three presences flare to life. As she had done at every session with him so far, she allowed a small amount of chakra to ripple across the ground, pulsing in gapped circumferences ten meters around her. Then, she formed a diamond with her palms, controlling her chakra so that only the smallest bubbles left her palm. After nights of practice, she had finally managed to keep the pure chakra globules hanging in the air a few feet from her. Although she didn't have many, she had enough in strategic enough points. The trickiest part however, as she had found each time Itachi's clones sparred with her, was moving the bubbles as she moved.

The clones ran toward her one by one. She sensed the first presence moving toward her, pinpointed it's direction and then it's exact position as a fist came into contact with her hovering chakra. She bent backward whilst straightening her elbow and shifted her weight onto her left foot, chakra kept her steady as she bent her knee and used the outstretched arm to spin herself as she felt a kick come for her. The other two clones attacked simultaneously. She ducked a blow aimed at her neck, kicked out behind her, and dropped to the ground, her hands curled in a hammer fist. Chakra filled her palms and she slammed the end of the fist into the ground. It shook and for all her effort, merely dented the surface but was enough to dispel a clone.

They continued until she had attacked ten of his clones and dispelled all of them.

"Your control has improved."

"Hai, and I think my reserves have increased too but... although I can expel chakra from my hands and use it to steady myself, I can't seem to completely protect myself with it while making myself stronger. I probably could have made a bigger dent but then this hand might be broken..."

She continued rambling, telling him about her flexibility exercises that morning and how easy it had been to inject her foot with chakra, so why was it so difficult with her hands? Considering she had known him for less than a month, she was surprisingly open. She had imagined herself as a lot more hesitant discussing her shortcomings with Sasuke's older brother of all people, but was surprisingly at ease with him.

Enough so that when they fell into a routine of eating onigiri after she sparred with his clones, it didn't feel entirely weird. Some days Shisui would join them, training with Itachi as she stared in amazement while she attempted to execute a jutsu the Shunshin expert would share. Other days, it was just her and the man who for all of his fearsome reputation, listened to her extraordinarily normal day to day, interjecting once in a while.

"The hands are more complex than the feet," he finally said as they left, replying to her earlier ramblings.

As they arrived at the orphanage and the sun faded from the sky, the strangest thing happened. Perhaps it was because he came to her rescue during the disastrous Uchiha dinner, or maybe because he would tell her very factual things out of the blue that reassured her.

"Read up on anatomy," or even because he paid her more attention than her sensei.

But for a second and only that second, she found the faint light on Uchiha Itachi's face rather pretty and finally -sortofkindof- understood Ino's obsession with Sasuke. The little flutter made her want to wonder 'was this a crush?' but she quashed it instantly, storing it deep in her mind because those feelings would only get in the way and she couldn't risk affecting this new found mentorship.

The swish-swish of the wooden whisk filled the quiet space as the Uchiha matriarch eyed her eldest child. With the eye of an observant jounin-turned-mother, she catalogued her son from the dip of his head down to his crossed ankles. Even at rest within their home, his posture was nothing short of impeccable.

He left the house early each day as usual, taking on dangerous missions that might kill a lesser shinobi or training. As always, he returned home late, either having spent time on his own or avoiding the political machinations of the clan elders by 'hiding' with Shisui. In short, his time at home with the family was minimal. Tonight she had decided that enough was enough and she was going to have some quality time with her son whether he liked it or not. Not that he would reject her -she knew that deep down he would never deny her his time- but catching him free was simply impossible.

However, as little as she saw of her son, she knew something was up.

She walked to the table with the freshly mixed matcha tea and a plate of dango she made earlier that morning. She drizzled the sweet anko sauce over the mochiko. Mikoto picked the dango and with a smile on her face, handed it to her son. After chewing it slowly, he then did the same. It was a moment mother and son repeated sparingly over the years. Had it been any other family, she would have insisted he bite the dango off the stick as she held it, and he would have complied without reluctance, but they were Uchiha.

"Itachi," She spoke softly, "have you been well?"

"Aa" He replied, "I have."

They spoke quietly, not wanting to disturb the peace. As they did, she took a good look at her son, burdened by the village and his family.

In an unguarded state, despite the perfect posture ingrained in him, she caught the signs of fatigue in the curve of his neck and tension in his shoulders. His eyes were weighed down and the lines of his face were ever so deep. She knew the days were difficult on him, and the nights even more so. While he endured the spiteful words of jealous colleagues and loneliness he would not admit to during the day, at night Fugaku only focused on his duty to the clan. Worse so, he would criticise Sasuke with an icy bite and deepening his inferiority complex. While her son never reacted and only ate quietly, she saw the shift in his eyes and they way he focused on his dinner plate before he allowed his gaze to sharpen. Wherever it may be, her son could not be himself. There were only expectations. Lately though, his chin did not dip so lowly. Before her eyes at the very least, he was willing to slouch against the chair and take a deep breath, the corners of his mouth curling ever so slightly as he spoke to her. It was hardly anything, but she couldn't remember a time he seemed willing to visibly relax himself.

Her son didn't seem quite so sad.

AWW Sakura-chan has an itty-bitty crush on Itachi-saaaan~, and what is this? Does he feel the same way? JKJK guys. She is just... someone who lets him be who he wants to be. He doesn't have to be the perfect heir, he doesn't have to be the best big brother, and he doesn't have to be an ANBU op. He can just be Itachi, someone who is guiding her. And I bet you guys are wondering why she could splinter a tree with her foot but not even make a dent with her hands right? All will be revealed in due time! I hope I'm conveying Sakura's emotions and feelings well, as well as not overplaying her ability with chakra. I have no intentions of making her a genjutsu master, I'll be upfront, but I'll let you guys in on a secret.

She's meant to be a mermaid right. Although in mythical stuff they aren't the ones with the magic voice box, we're going along with that. Plus don't forget she's got the weird mermaid crap happening to her as well. So what are her skills exactly? Perfect chakra control, out of the box abilities, and a magical watery upbringing? What could all of this mean? Think carefully and do let me know. I love your comments!