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Notes: There was this one tumblr post wondering why no one trained Sakura with the same dedication as her teammates had been; one of the comments was an off-hand suggestion that Kishimoto could have at least introduced Tsunade's 'evil twin sister called Denatsu who could train Sakura since Tsunade was too busy being Hokage' and, well, here we are.
Chapter: 1/?
Summary: As Hokage, Tsunade is too busy to train Sakura the way she needs. As it happens, she has a twin sister with sufficient enough skill to mentor Sakura in her place. An evil twin sister, that is. [OC. Crack taken seriously. Sakura-centric.]

o.o.o

"Lady Tsunade is giving you up?" Ino sounded so shocked by the idea that Sakura had no choice but to love her for it, but as flattering as Ino's genuine surprise that someone could treat her less than she 'deserved', it didn't change anything. Sakura still couldn't help but feel abandoned; weak and left behind, yet again.

It had been two days since Sakura received the summons to the Hokage's office, which were forty-eight hours that Sakura had spent crying in her room. It took her best friend literally crashed through her window demanding to know what was wrong before Sakura was ready to face what had happened.

A walk to the nearest kissaten and three cups of gyokuro tea later, Sakura had filled Ino in.

And Ino looked furious. Sakura shook her head, asking her silently to stand down. "Don't be mad; I get it. Lady Tsunade… she's busy. Extremely so. There was no way for her to balance her duties to the village and her duties to me as her student. She had to prioritise, and there's no question on which one she should value higher."

Unsatisfied, Ino pressed, "What about Shizune? Can't she teach you?"

"Shizune is overworked enough as it is," In fact, Sakura used to help Shizune with her duties. Watching the young woman frantically run about the village satisfying Tsunade's needs had tired Sakura out, and she found it impossible to stand by and watch without offering assistance. She knew first hand how difficult Shizune had it. "I couldn't ask that of her."

"Well, does this mean Lady Tsunade is letting go of all of her apprentices?"

That's right. Ino was apprenticing under Tsunade as well, wasn't she? She must have been worried, listening to Sakura.

"No! No, no, no, she wouldn't do that!" Ino looked quietly relieved, and Sakura patted her hand apologetically, guilty for her part to play in her friend's distress. "Lady Tsunade is upholding her commitment there. She was a medic nin before she was Hokage, so it's a point of pride for her to bring the hospital up to standard. That includes the staff. It's only for the more… personal tutoring – she can't fit it into her scheduling."

Ino flipped her hair over her shoulder. There was a dissatisfied twist to her lips that flattered Sakura, pleased to realize that she really did have her best friend back. Even if Ino's training wasn't compromised, she was still angry about the situation, still angry at Lady Tsunade. The impertinence of it was heart-warming. It didn't matter that it wasn't Ino's place to judge the Hokage's decisions. Sakura was upset; that was enough reason for the Yamanaka heir.

Sakura gripped her hand tighter. "I don't resent Lady Tsunade, Ino. You shouldn't either."

"I don't," She scoffed, lying, "It's just – do you realize how absurd her reasoning is? I understand that she's Hokage, and I respect her strength as a medical nin and the only female member of the Sannin, but her jutsu – her strength is a secret technique, an invaluable one. It belonged to the Shodaime. If she doesn't have a student to pass it down to, the secret will die with her. How could she just let it die?"

Of course. As a clan kid, Ino would be prickly on the subject of jutsu inheritance. Lady Tsunade's unique strength-enhancing chakra technique was not a kekkei genkai. It could be taught. It could be learned, and if the technique wanted to live on, it had to be. It was the same deal with the Yamanaka Mind Transfer jutsu. It was the same as with any Hiden jutsu. To Ino, the act of deliberately keeping the technique to yourself was near blasphemous; such a selfish act would be to doom an entire clan and its legacy.

"She simply doesn't have the time," Sakura said, understanding her friend's feelings. Oh, she understood them alright. Two days hadn't been nearly enough; it wouldn't be for anyone, let alone Sakura, who felt things more intensely and fiercely than she sometimes knew what to do with. "The fact that she juggled me for six months… it's a miracle we made it this far, Ino."

Ino blew out a harsh breath. "That's not the point!" She scowled. "She knew why this was so important to you, didn't she? Isn't she the one who told you all the time to 'not give up' and to 'harden up' because she wasn't going easy on you? She can't lay the foundations and then quit!"

Sakura sipped from her cup, desperate to earn herself a moment of quiet contemplation. Ino's anger was not only understandable, but enticing; it would be easy to match her. Sakura had the capacity for it. She was hurt enough that it would be easy to lose her temper on the subject – she was temperamental at the best of times, after all.

But Sakura wasn't so childish. It had been six months since both of her teammates left her. It was hard, but Sakura grew up. And besides, she respected Lady Tsunade far too much to talk about her in any way that wasn't kind. Her teacher had earned that basic decency and more.

"Six months was enough," Sakura insisted. She smiled.

It was tremulous, unsteady, and she was on the verge of tears. Talking about this was too hard for her and Sakura was not unaffected. But her actions weren't to reassure Ino that she was fine – that wasn't the point, not at all. It was a white flag, a surrender. This wasn't a fight she could win.

"It's enough. I'm happy with the time I had. Lady Tsunade did all that she could afford to do for me. I can't ask anything more from her."

"Sakura…"

"I'm not in any place to demand for more, Ino. Now please, let's stop talking about it, okay? There's nothing… there's nothing we can do."

Ino visibly battled with herself on it, but ultimately bent to Sakura's request. She nodded once, eyes wide and sympathetic, and ordered another pot of tea. "I'll tell you about the party Choji's parents threw last week then if I haven't already."

"You have, but tell me again."

"Well, you know how Nashi Wa Nashi has been dead-set on being an independent restaurant in the village without a Civilian Merchant representative? Choji's mom finally managed to talk to them about how stupid a decision that is, so Nashi Wa Nashi ended up signing on as a…"

Neither of them cared for restaurant politics, but Sakura needed the distraction and Ino had the means to provide one. Sakura listened to the story of how the Akimichi's managed to acquire yet another restaurant for their chain and thought, quite decisively, that she had the bestest best friend the world could offer.

o.o.o

Lady Tsunade's training regime was hard, but it was a regime that Sakura had gotten used to.

It was also one that she couldn't do on her own. Her first option was to approach Kakash. Sakura was still a genin, he her official sensei, and it made sense for her to go to him to monitor her training. When she attempted to track him down, however, Gai informed her that Kakashi-sensei was on a mission.

"It's, of course, an S-rank; I would expect nothing less from Kakashi! It should take months to finish, although knowing my Eternal Rival, he'll complete it in half the time! Nevertheless, he isn't present!"

Sakura had had no idea. Her relationship with Kakashi had never been something for the history books, but it still surprised her to realize that she was so out-of-contact with her sensei. An S-rank mission. Those were dangerous. He might not even survive it, and she was only now finding out that he was gone from the village? That he'd been gone for weeks?

That left Sakura no other option but to approach her second choice.

Who was right in front of her, actually.

"Then, Gai-sensei, could you supervise and assist me with my training?"

"I would be honored to! Unfortunately, I do have my own dear students to train. Depending on how exhaustive your regime is, I may not be able to fulfil the duties you have so humbly requested of me."

"Lady Tsunade herself developed my regime. It usually takes half a day to get through, and it's intense the entire way through. I'm sorry, Gai-sensei, I wasn't thinking."

Gai was not deterred. When was he ever? "Hmm… half a day? Monday and Thursday are days where my dear students are permitted rest. That is all I can promise you, youthful student of Kakashi!"

Her mouth twitched down. 'He'd remember Naruto's name,' she thought viciously, 'or Sasuke's. So why not mine?' Besides, 'student of Kakashi' was a stretch of the imagination. She was a member of the three-man genin team assigned under Hatake Kakashi. Sakura was no student of his – she learned nothing from him.

Not to be ungrateful, Sakura bowed deeply. "That is more than enough, Gai-sensei. Thank you very much!"

Gai laughed and slapped her on the back. "I'm happy to be of assistance to a shinobi dedicated to improving herself! Run me through the details: what exactly does your regime entail? Where shall we meet on Monday? At what time? I will ensure that your fitness is not compromised under my supervision, youthful one!"

The enthusiasm was new. And grating. Sakura shook her head sharply of the thought. 'Be grateful he wants you,' she scolded herself. Being wanted was a novelty. She had to learn how to appreciate it.

Sakura told Gai all that he needed to know. He was suitably impressed by the gladiator training and expressed how unsurprised he was by it – "I would expect nothing less from the strongest kunoichi in the world!" before they agreed to meet up at the Hokage mountain.

Three very low-intensity-morning-runs later, that's exactly where Sakura was. It was four in the morning and Gai was running her through her stretches. They lapped the village forty-three times: Gai allowed her to stop early, insisting that pushing her too far would hurt her body more than it would help. Sakura had been grateful. Lady Tsunade never let her finish early.

Next was the strength training, done underwater while wearing weights. Gai handled it admirably, being a man of impressive strength himself. He understood the principles and carried Sakura through it gently. Though stern, Gai was careful not to toe the line. He claimed it was because he had no clue about what she was capable of, so he would play it safe until he was sure.

The part of the training where Lady Tsunade would test her with medical questions or war tactics was attempted at, to little success. While Gai was not at all unintelligent, he admitted to going through battles relying on instinct, muscle memory, and improvisation. He emphasised that the battlefield was an unpredictable place, and his fighting style was heavily reliant on speed. There was no time for thinking.

That hadn't been anything like what Lady Tsunade preached.

"The battlefield is never exactly as you expect and you can't plan for every eventuality. It's stupid to try. Overthinking in any situation is trouble; on the field, it could get you killed. But shinobi are people, Sakura, and people follow patterns. Learn these patterns, and you're five steps ahead before the game has even begun."

Chakra control was another aspect of Sakura's training that she had to tackle alone.

On reflexes, Gai-sensei was an immense help. He was reluctant to throw rocks at Sakura, but Sakura wouldn't let him back down. He threw them in the most apologetic way that one could throw rocks, and although Sakura completed her training, by the end of the day, there was a strange feeling gathering in the back of her throat.

At the end of Lady Tsunade's training, even if Sakura was covered in bruises, even if she had sprained her wrist or rolled her ankle, even if she was so exhausted when she returned home that the only thing she could do was collapse on her bed without even eating dinner, she was thrilled to do so. She'd hurt, but it would feel good because she'd hurt herself in the process of getting better; her pain had been the result of the teaching of one of the Sannin, and it had been an honor.

Training under Gai could not compare to that.

Sakura didn't feel as if she'd learned anything new. She did not feel as if she'd evolved, as if she'd taken those crucial steps closer to where her teammates were. She still felt weak; forgotten, left behind like dead weight.

She couldn't get better alone. Sakura needed help, and she knew it. The problem therein was that everyone who could help her didn't want to, and the truth of it burned.

o.o.o

"You needed me, Lady Tsunade?"

Tsunade looked up from the document she was scribbling over. "Ah, Sakura. You're here."

"Lady Tsunade…" Sakura almost fiddled with the hem of her shirt. She resisted. Tsunade told her to banish the instinct to be submissive, which included fidgeting in the presence of powerful people. Even if a certain powerful person regularly threw stones at Sakura. "... Are you feeling alright?"

She asked because Tsunade was surrounded by stacks of paperwork. There was a cup in her hands, which she was filling up with sake. On her desk and scattered on the floor were empty bottles. Present across her forehead and under her eyes was a rare sighting of wrinkles, paired with the characteristic bags of someone who wasn't getting enough sleep.

The Hokage seemed unwell.

"I'm fine," Tsunade said gruffly, waving her hand. Sloppy. Was she already drunk? "I… I've survived wars, Sakura. I've survived losing my little brother and my fiancee. I didn't think paperwork would be the enemy to fell me, but I underestimated the petty complaints of the masses."

Sakura stayed silent, unsure if this is where she was supposed to speak. Tsunade poured a cup and drank it like it was water. She sighed harshly. Sakura swallowed and asked, "Does Shizune know that you're drinking so heavily, Tsunade?"

"No." A snort. "She's off addressing some uppity civilian nobles in my stead. She wouldn't approve of my drinking, I'm sure, but since she'll no doubt be returning with another crate of paperwork, she can shut up about it. I need the sake if I want to stay awake."

"Is staying awake the best option for you?"

"If I don't, I'll be buried by tomorrow morning." Tsunade said flatly. She tapped her pen frantically on the desk. If it were anyone else doing it, Sakura would call that 'fidgeting'. "But that's not what I called you here to talk about."

Sakura tilted her head. "Shishou? Is everything alright?" Did something happen to Naruto? He was the only person she could think of who would make Tsunade nervous, if that was indeed what Tsunade was. Her teacher loved Naruto. Sakura was kind of envious of it.

"Sit down, Sakura."

Sakura sat down. 'To hell with it,' She thought, and began to twist the fabric of her skirt between her fingers. Tsunade steepled her fingers in front of her mouth. Her eyes were on Sakura's small form, unreadable. She seemed unhappy.

Sakura swallowed, inexplicably and absolutely nervous. What had happened? Was there something wrong with Naruto after all? With Orochimaru? Did she receive intel about Sasuke?

"I want to first state that I think that you will go to spectacular places. You're a bright, dedicated pupil, and you have the capacity for greatness the same as any other shinobi. Your chakra control especially opens up many avenues for you, and it is something to be proud of. I believe in you, Haruno Sakura. I always will. Regardless of what happens here, you will always be my pupil."

Sakura froze. "... Shishou?"

"There is no easy way to say this. I won't draw it out any longer: I'm sorry," said Tsunade, closing her eyes, "but given the unforeseen intensity of my duties, I can no longer mentor you, Sakura."

Sakura's heart plummeted to her stomach. Her dreams went with it.

o.o.o

Sakura trained with Gai every Monday and Thursday for two months. She even employed the assistance of Kurenai for chakra control and Asuma for tactical training. Sakura trained with the teams when necessary and spread herself all across Konoha, desperate for someone to see something in her worth cultivating.

It never happened. She remained 'Kakashi's student,' an intruder upon the training of others. She was achingly aware that she was a lost little girl, abandoned by her teammates, her sensei, and her teacher. Her chakra control was amazing, it really was, but without a technique like Lady Tsunade's to bring it to its full potential, her control brought home no bounties; and with just about every kunoichi in Konoha taking medic nin lessons from the Hokage, not even Sakura's Mystical Palm was inexpendable.

The fish flopped to life from beneath her hands.

No one else in the room had managed that much. For a second, Sakura felt a vicious thrill of pride. She instinctively turned to Lady Tsunade for approval, for the slight nod that would vindicate every bruise and broken bone that Sakura had endured up to this point. She'd look and she would know that this accomplishment was real.

Lady Tsunade was standing at Hinata's shoulder.

Sakura deflated. 'That's right, stupid. She's not yours anymore. She isn't personally invested anymore.'

The fish jumped off the table and hit the linoleum floor with a wet smack. From the nearest station, Ino looked up from her subject and smiled. "Good work, Forehead," She whispered. Her face was bright with pride. "Wanna tell me how the heck you managed it?"

Tearing her eyes away from Tsunade, Sakura settled on a shrug. "I could, but – "

"But she shouldn't," Said a new voice, deeper and matured. Ino startled in a very not-ninja-like manner. Shizune had come up from behind the Yamanaka and was now picking up Sakura's thrashing fish. "Lady Tsunade wouldn't like it if you didn't achieve this on your own, Ino-chan."

Ino pouted. She looked dearly as if she wanted to say 'who cares what that old hag thinks?!' but didn't dare. Ino was angry on Sakura's behalf; she wasn't an idiot. She wouldn't dare bad-mouth the Hokage while in the same room as her.

"Good work, Sakura-chan," Shizune said, genuine warmth in her voice. There were dark circles under her eyes that Sakura was finding difficult not to stare at. "I knew you would be able to do it. With proper guidance, you could have better chakra control than anyone in this room."

"Even the Hokage?" Asked Ino, a bland smile on her face.

"Perhaps," Shizune said coyly. "You didn't hear it from me, though, okay?"

Ino winked. Sakura cleared her throat. "Shizune, have you been sleeping well?"

"Huh? Me?" Sakura thought for a moment that Shizune would lie, but then the medic nin laughed. It sounded more like a groan. "To be honest, not really. I'm busy addressing Lady Tsunade's problems and there's no time for eight hours. I really miss my bed…"

"Have you been sleeping in the office?"

"And in the mission room. And the receptionist desk. And while standing outside Lady Tsunade's doors whenever she has meetings. Being the personal assistant of the Hokage herself is very hard work."

"I'll say. It can't be good for you if you're only getting naps here and there."

"It can't be helped," said Shizune. She was looking at Sakura now. "Lady Tsunade gets even less time to herself than I do. The council almost demanded that she shut down the medical lessons, deeming them a waste of her valuable time."

Ino frowned. "That can't have gone down well,"

"Oh, it didn't. Lady Tsunade won't give up these lessons. One of the most pressing issues for her is the state of the hospital since it's a personal matter; she needs it to reach her standards before she can entertain the idea of leaving the office to sleep."

Sakura looked down at her hands. The callouses that those precious six months of training had rewarded her with were softening up. She was faster, stronger, smarter than ever, but something was missing. She had been so sure that Tsunade would lead the way, show her carefully, patiently, what Sakura was missing.

Sakura had been selfish to assume that much out of the Hokage.

"I'm glad," she said faintly, "that these moments are the calmest parts of her day."

"Sakura?"

Sakura clenched her fists and swallowed back a fresh flood of pathetic, pathetic tears. "The Hokage deserves her peace."

And she meant it. She did. Just because she was upset about it didn't mean Sakura's heart wasn't in the right place. Surely everyone knew that – surely Shizune could tell? The dark-haired kunoichi was eyeing her thoughtfully. Despite her feelings, Sakura only wished the best for her former-teacher. She didn't begrudge her a single bit.

The hair on the back of Sakura's neck rose.

There was a noise – too contained to be a throat-clear yet too deliberate to count as anything else. Sakura spun. Tsunade was looking down at her with a single eyebrow raised, expression casual if not slightly amused. "That's flattering," She drawled, and Sakura struggled with all the feelings suddenly vying for control of her tongue. "But the amount of peace I experience in my day-to-day life is nothing you need to be concerning yourself with, Sakura."

It was, though. Or it had been. 'Until you threw me away.'

She really needed to tone down on the angst.

"You revived the fish. Congratulations on being the first." Tsunade praised. Sakura looked at her feet. She fisted the hem of her shirt. How did one form words, anyway? There was a heavy pause. Sakura wished she had the courage to look up and meet Tsunade's eyes, to see what expression she was making. "Yamanaka Ino, don't you have your own fish to revive? Gossiping with your friend won't improve your Mystical Palm jutsu any faster."

Ino laughed. "Sorry, sorry, Hokage-sama. I was just telling Sakura how well she was doing and asking for some tips. I didn't mean to get so distracted."

"I'm sure you can manage on your own,"

"Mmm-hm!" The Yamanaka chirped, overly excited. "I'm sure I could. Well, once again: good work, Forehead. You're doing really well for someone who didn't have any help!" Sakura sighed. "I'll catch up, so don't get comfortable in your 'number one' position, alright?"

Ino went back to work, humming. There was no way Tsunade wasn't aware of what she was doing, but didn't seem mad. Shizune made a sound that Sakura couldn't decipher. "I'll make sure the rest of the class is on track," She said, and swiftly left to make her rounds of the room.

Tsunade's presence was even more suffocating with no one around to buffer it.

Sakura ground her teeth. Why was she so weak? It had been two months without Tsunade! Why was this affecting her so badly?

"Sakura,"

"Yes, Hokage-sama?"

Tsunade ordered her to: "Stay behind after class. I have something I want to ask of you." Sakura nodded. Far be it from her to question the Fifth Hokage. "... Very good work on the fish. You really do excel at this type of work. I'm proud of you."

She turned on her high heels and left.

Sakura kept staring at her feet, unsure of how she was supposed to feel. Ino cleared her throat. "Forehead, you okay?"

"Yeah," She answered distantly. Her eyebrows furrowed. "I'm – fine. The trick is to concentrate your chakra on points of interest, by the way. Hills, heart, lungs, all the important organs. If you can keep them warm and operational, the body takes over by itself."

"... That makes so much sense, what the heck. Thanks, Sakura."

Sakura shrugged.

Why would Tsunade want to see her after class?