vindication | noun | vin·di·ca·tion | proof that something or someone is right, reasonable, or justified | the act of clearing someone from blame or suspicion

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They make an odd pair, a chunin and a jonin. Technically, they shouldn't be allowed on mission together. Protocol for the B rank missions they take usually call for two Jonin or three Chunin, unless there are special circumstances. But Tsunade makes exceptions, she lets it slide without a second thought. People are going to complain no matter what she does anyway.

There are cries about favoritism, to which the older woman sneers and orders the offender out of her office after screaming that she doesn't owe an explanation to anyone who can't figure it out for themselves. Sakura has only seen it happen once, but it's a favorite memory of hers.

Their first mission is a disaster, however. Not enough for Tsunade to refuse to pair them together anymore, but it's still on the back of her mind every time she hands them a mission scroll.

The first mission isn't a failure because they failed to complete their objective. If anything, they go above and beyond expectations, delivering the package to the Daimyo without any diversions along the way. In fact, they're due to arrive back three days ahead of schedule and even have time for a detour to one of the roadside teahouses. She had always begged to go to one whenever they had taken missions back then.

They are two hours from Konoha's gates when they meet her. She is a missing nin who has as many names as bounties on her head. On this occasion, she chooses to introduce herself as the Black Widow and Sakura immediately recognizes her from the Bingo books. A ranked, she remembers reading, with a strong favorability towards poison.

And the poison she uses is potent, Kakashi is just barely nicked by one of her senbon and starts to lose feeling in his right leg. "My, my," the Black Widow chuckles, "The mighty Copy Nin taken down by such a silly little thing? That's quite disappointing." Her voice is cold and sends shivers down Sakura's spine, but she stands firm anyway.

"Sakura. You need to run." Kakashi stares at his former student with grim determination, "I won't be able to stand for much longer."

The sensation is familiar and Sakura realizes she is reliving the Wave mission all over again, though this is not one of her many nightmares of that fateful fight. But this time she is strong and just like last time, she will not dare to run away. So without hesitation, she cracks her knuckles and splits the ground apart.

There is little time to work with. Her first priority is moving Kakashi out of the fight safely. It is lucky that the poison is not lethal, though the Black Widow definitely is. From what is written in her bingo book entry, she prefers to use paralyzing poisons so that she can torture and then execute her victims. The thought alone makes Sakura shudder.

In the midst of the confusion, Sakura utilizes Kakashi's favorite technique and pulls both of them into the ground and leaves him there. Though he's fading in and out of consciousness, she whispers a quiet promise that she will be back and an even more dangerous promise that they will both survive. Before the dust begins to settle, she reemerges.

"Where the hell have you taken my prey?" the missing nin snaps, darting forward in the blink of an eye.

"You won't be able to find him, he's long gone by now!" Sakura barely dodges the kunai in the woman's hand and leaps away into the thick treetops. Chakra pumps through her legs as she struggles to put distance between them. The only question now is how to keep her promise and survive?

But the Black Widow takes the bait and gives chase, hissing through her clenched teeth, "You'll pay for this, girl!"

The chase begins and whatever plan she had been following up until this moment has run out. Right now, as she carefully decides her next moves, all she can do is pray that she is quick enough on her toes to stay alive and figure something out.

It hits Sakura suddenly, when her mind is racing through the information she knows about her opponent. She remembers the spools of thin, razor-sharp wire that sits in her pouch. Using the woman's namesake again her would be predictable, but there was no way Sakura would be able to win in a direct fight. She has to at least try.

She pushes herself harder to give herself the distance and time needed to set the whole thing up. While the woman is stunningly fast, she is not local to the land of Fire and can't navigate the forest as well as someone who has lived it their entire life.

The trap takes a while to lay. She does not have to time to spring the wire all at once, but leads the Black Widow on a grand chase, circling back to the area where the strings up a few more wires, then quickly escapes. If her opponent has caught on to her plan, she has made no indication that she is aware of it and Sakura takes solace in that, at the very least.

There are close calls, many more than Sakura would have liked. The poisonous weapons comes too close for comfort on a few occasions, and she is just barely able to dodge or pull out her own kunai to deflect them. She can extract poison, but such a fast acting one would spread throughout her bloodstream before she can do much about it.

At last, the wires are set and it is just barely in time, because Sakura is quickly running out of chakra. Her legs burn from overexertion and her speed falters, causing her to lose footing on a branch and fall tumbling to the ground below.

The missing nin sees the opportunity and takes it. Her hand grips the poisonous kunai and draws back to deal the long-awaited blow that will end this chase that has drawn on for much too long already.

At the very last moment, Sakura manages to right herself and plants her feet on a tree trunk to launch herself away. She is cut by a few of the wires and they slice deep, but she does not allow herself to be caught in them. She skids on the ground, rolling in the dirt before digging her feet into the soil to stop herself.

Black Widow is not so lucky. She falls and falls and ensnares herself into the web that Sakura has weaved for her. The wires cut deep into her skin and flesh, wrapping around her and trapping her in its painful grip. "Cheeky brat," she coughs, her body trembling at the pain and the kunai falling from her useless grip, "You dare use my own name against me?" Suddenly she laughs. "You're a smart one, aren't you? I underestimated you."

Sakura has nothing to say. She nods slowly.

"I'm dead any way you look at it, so listen here, girl. I'll give you a little present for defeating me." She tilts her chin, beckoning Sakura to come closer.

Cautiously, the pink haired girl approaches, shoulders tense and her fists balled tight in anticipation. "Unless it's the antidote," she sneers, "I don't need anything you could give me."

"My poisons have no antidote. But I can do you better than that." For a dying woman, her eyes gleam with a haunting ferocity and her mouth splits into a grin. "They are yours now, you'll find them in my pouch. You're a medical nin, I know. I've had my eye on the students of the Copy Nin for quite a while. This is priceless for you."

Sakura opens her mouth in protest, she has no need for such things, but she is cut off quickly.

"Take them, decode them, and do what you will."

"Why? What's the point in giving this to me?"

"That is the law of nature. When one is defeated, all that they are is either consumed or returned to the earth." There is a mad glint in her eye and though she cannot reasonably lash out, the look still gives Sakura an uneasy feeling.

The young girl shakes her head and falters backward, struggling to put distance between her and this madwoman. "You're insane if you think that will ever happen."

"They will call you Orbweaver. Tricky little things, their poison is not quite as deadly like a black widow or a recluse, but they lure you in and ensnare you."

"Absolutely not! I'll have no part is whatever sick thing you're thinking of, I-"

"Oh child," she purrs, gaining just enough strength to reach her bloody hand out to Sakura, "You will be my legacy."

The Black Widow dies without much grandeur. There is no screaming or crying. Instead, there is only her mad ravings before she takes a low, gasping breath. And then there is silence and Sakura feels strangely alone in the midst of big, open forest.

A wave of exhaustion hits her and she almost collapses on the spot, but there is much to be done in the wake of their battle.

Sakura, or rather, Orbweaver, is cautious as she takes the aforementioned poisons from the dead woman's pouch, but they are there as promised. She gives the woman one thing, and that is that she is correct in that these glistening, dangerous vials hold so much knowledge and potential that it makes her heart flutter at the possibilities.

But that is for another time, when they are safe behind Konoha's walls.

She holds no affection for the Black Widow, nor does she have cause for any, but all the same, Sakura carefully cuts the wire and releases the woman from her eternal prison. There is no time for a burial, but she burns the body and scatters the ashes in the wind. In there, there is something to be said about the laws of nature that the missing nin had been so adamant about, but the words do not fall from her lips. Not from Sakura's pink, chapped ones, and certainly not from the woman's tinged blue ones that are long, long gone.

True to her word, Sakura returns to Kakashi, a bit bloodied and with a sizeable dent in her chakra reserves. She brings him to the surface, mildly surprised he hasn't already dug himself out. He checks her over not once, not twice, but three times to make sure that she is alive. He can't handle losing another teammate and the fear that their opponent inspired was incredibly real.

Initially he's mad that she didn't follow his orders, that she didn't run like he had instructed, and he lets her know this. When he's done yelling, (though his version of yelling is harsh, quiet words through clenched teeth) her head is bowed in shame and she is unable to meet his eyes.

But above all else, he is proud. Incredibly so. She had been able to survive an opponent who was able to down him so easily, even if it was out of his own recklessness. Kakashi places a firm, but gentle hand on her head and ruffles her hair.

Shock mars her features as she finally brings her head up to look at him. His expression is not one of anger, like she had expected, but there is the tiniest hints of a smile in the corners of his face. She's learned to read him quite well.

It takes a bit of convincing, but he reluctantly allows her to heal him, but the stipulation that she take at least a week off when they return home. She won't settle for less, her pride and her position as a medic simply won't allow her to let him travel in his condition. She pops a soldier pill and sets to work.

She finds that his system has been able to process most of the poison out. It seems it was never meant to be lingering in the first place, most likely because the victims wouldn't be alive for much longer anyhow.

"Are you okay?" Kakashi asks quietly, his voice only a bit louder than the chirping crickets that signal the setting of the sun.

"You checked me like, fifty times for injuries already."

He shakes his head. "That's not what I meant."

Sakura falters slightly, the glow of her hands stuttering momentarily, but she surges forth anyway, drawing the last remnants of poison from his system. "I'm not sure," she replies honestly, biting the inside of her cheek, "But I'm alive aren't I? That's all I can ask for."

No more questions are asked, and for that, she is grateful. The silence overtakes them as they set off again, in the burning blackness of the night, towards Konoha.

It's not until a week later that the topic is encroached up again. Surprisingly, it's Sakura who brings it up, in the middle of the mess of a dinner Kakashi has whipped up this week.

"She was my first kill you know," she says, as easily as if she was commenting on the weather, "Even though it wasn't directly by my hand, I set the trap and led her to it."

"Are you okay?" Without any mention of name or any other detail, Kakashi knows immediately who she speaks about. And without hesitation, he in turn asks the same question he did before and his eyes flicker up to watch her. He does not know what trap Sakura is talking about. In fact, he knows almost nothing about the fight between her and the Black Widow, but he listens on.

"Yes. Well, no. I feel like I should feel guilty, shouldn't I? I took someone's life, it's something that can never be given back." She takes a deep breath, setting down her chopsticks and leaning back. "But I don't. I can't help but to think about if I had faltered, what moves lives she would have taken and I can't bring myself to feel any remorse. Is that wrong? Am I wrong?"

He does not respond immediately. Instead, he picks his words with intense care. "Life is very precious. It is a tragedy any time it is lost."

Her lips press into a thin line.

"But I believe that the life of a comrade, of someone you care for, is more precious than that of the enemy. If you don't feel guilt, then you have made the right decision for yourself."

"Right," she whispers, and then laughs, feeling silly that she had ever doubted Kakashi's trust in her, "Thanks, sensei."

He smiles and nods and they fall back into their meal. "Well, let's not stop there," he says, sneaking a piece of food past his mask, "Tell me the juicy details, this old man is quite starved of gossip."

So Sakura weaves the tale, not unlike how she weaved her web, with precision and acute accuracy. She tells of every close call, how the plan almost fell apart multiple times, every single detail and encapsulating the fear and adrenaline in each word. It builds and builds until the very climax, when the Black Widow falls prey to the web of another spider.

"She called me her legacy," Sakura recounts, "And she even gave me a name."

"Oh? What was it?"

"Orbweaver."

Kakashi looks contemplative, tilting his head slightly as if trying to envision her shoulders carrying the weight of the moniker. "You know? I rather like it."

She shrugs. "Not like it's actually going to go anywhere though. I'd rather build a name for myself, not ride the coattails of some other nin."

"Well, I can't argue with that, but every has to get their name in the bingo books somehow. Wouldn't hurt to have that in there, and you can say you chose the name for yourself, not the other way around."

Sakura freezes. "Wait, wait, wait," she sputters, "What?!"

And while she is thrown off about the whole thing, Kakashi is unperturbed as he begins to clear the table. "Well you killed someone that was already in there. It's something like a rite of passage. The new edition's coming out in a month, hope your photo is up to date."

Whether fortunately or unfortunately, Sakura does not, in fact, show up in the bingo books. She credits it to the fact that there's no real way for the death to be traced back to her, seeing as there was no body to be found. The Black Widow might have just taken an early retirement, for all the public knew. However, there is one thing for certain, and that is the fact that Sakura's face will not grace the bingo books. She will not stand amongst the greats quite yet, but there is a spark in her fingertips and a shiver down her spine that tell her of great things to come.

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After training one day, Sakura asks him to help her move. Kakashi agrees, but can't help his curiosity and asks who she's moving in with.

She gives him a funny look. "Myself?" she responds, tilting her head. Before he can say any protests, she quickly cuts him off. She wants the freedom, mostly. Her parents may be shinobi too, but they will always be parents first. The overprotective kind who complain every time she does anything more dangerous than paperwork.

Yes, her budget can handle it, her hospital work and missions make sure of that. And yes, he can still use her as a clinic instead of going to the hospital. This seems to pacify him.

She doesn't have much to move, only a few boxes, but perhaps this shouldn't be a surprise seeing as all the furniture she owns technically belongs to her parents. But not to worry, she assure him, she has a bed and dresser already and the other furniture is simply waiting to be put together or delivered.

Pakkun even helps out. Well, as much as breaking in her new bed for her is helping out. She gives him a pass because he's cute and is at least staying out of the way. However, Kakashi is none too amused when the pug gives him a smug look as he brings in another two boxes into the bedroom.

Their work is done quickly, perhaps an hour at most. Sakura assures him she doesn't need help unpacking, but she would take up him on his offer of helping her put together the new furniture she has ordered. Really, she doesn't need help with it, but she just wants to see him try. Kakashi doing anything vaguely domestic will always be a wonder to her.

It takes two hours to put together the coffee table. He swears that the instructions are in Latin and Sakura rolls her eyes before informing him the screw will not go in because he's using the wrong screwdriver. Nevertheless, the table is damned beautiful and she swears she'll never get rid of it til the day she dies.

Unfortunately, there's still a dining table and set of chairs that needs to be put together. At the rate they're going, she just might have a furnished apartment by next month. So they take a break to pick up food before setting themselves to work.

"You're not allowed to move again," Kakashi sighs, stuffing his face with the takeout they brought back with them. He is laying down on her couch, conveniently delivered just two hours ago, and observing the fruits of their labor. Not bad, if he says so himself.

Sakura snorts and kicks his feet off so that she can sit down too. "Not planning on it. Or at least next time I'll ask someone who knows basic carpentry. I bet Ino-pig would've been more helpful."

"You wound me," he says, giving her a dejected look, "Physically and emotionally." His words are a bit garbled. She is amazed at how the hell he still manages to eat without anyone seeing.

"Yeah, yeah, just eat your food and get the hell out of my apartment."

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When she is sixteen, Kakashi again helps her celebrate when she passes the Jonin test. This time, there is more than just the two of them. It takes convincing, because he really dislikes crowds, but they go to the new bar that has just opened downtown. Sparrow's Nest, they call it.

Imagine her surprise when Team Ten is there as well. Ino is tipsy, clinging on both Shikamaru's and Choji's arm as she stumbles across to bar to greet them. She tells them about her plans to get absolutely blackout and Shikamaru lets out an exaggerated groan. Choji is a bit nicer and says nothing, but the nervous look on his face betrays his silence.

After ordering from the bar, the five of them find a table a bit out of the way. While it isn't that much quieter, it's at least out of the path of the drunk people they would much rather not deal with.

"Aren't you all a little young to be drinking?" Kakashi asks, taking a sip from his drink through his mask.

"That's disgusting." Sakura grimaces, ignoring his question completely and instead focusing on the slightly darker patch on his mask. "Can't you at least be sneaky like you usually do?"

He looks offended. "I don't even know what you're implying. Are you trying to avoid the question?"

"Uh huh, sure." She waved her hand dismissively. "Don't worry, sensei, you're not promoting underage drinking, we're all legal here."

"Ah, no more of that. Now that you're Jonin, I'm not really your sensei anymore."

"Oh, right right," Sakura replies with a nod before a grin overtakes her face, "So I get to call you senpai now?"

At some point, their humble group of five expands. Team Eight makes an appearance and the other senseis, as well as a handful of other Jonin Kakashi is familiar with, joins the fray. Expectedly, Gai is among them and the drunken chatter soon turns into drunk screams about youth and challenging his eternal rival.

However, the rest of the night is forever lost to the both of them. All Kakashi remembers is waking up face down on Sakura's floor. How the hell he was convinced to drink so much is beyond him and he sits up with a groan, his back cracking in protest. Oh no, nevermind, aching joints are surely from Gai's challenges.

There is a distinct throbbing in his temples, though luckily there's no urge to vomit. Really, as much fun as he presumably had, he's much too old for this. More importantly, he notices offhandedly, his mask is nowhere to be found.

Sakura enters the room with a loud yawn, holding two mugs of coffee in her hands. "Kakashi-sensei, are you awake yet- Holy shit." She nearly trips over her own feet.

He stares up at her for a few seconds, wondering what the hell she was staring at before realization dawned on him. He grabbed for the first thing within reach, one of the pillows on her couch, and buries his face in it. "Nope, it's a henge. Not my face, not at all. Fooled you again, don't you feel dumb?"

"No way, that's what you've been hiding all along?!" she shrieks, stalking over to him and sitting down the cups on the coffee table, "That's so not fair, it's perfectly normal, handsome, even. You don't even have buck teeth or fish lips!" She pauses and let out a girlish squeal, throwing herself down on the couch. "Naruto's gonna be so jealous!"

"Maa, Sakura-chan," he ventures, peeking up at her over the fringe of the fabric, "Any chance we could forget this ever happened and protect my face from the world?"

She pursed her lips. "I might consider it. If and only if you come in for your monthly check ups. Not just by living room either, I mean the hospital. You know, the one that's a few blocks down and is open and free to the public?"

He deflates a bit, but not seeing any other way out of his predicament, gives the tiniest of nods.

"Great!" she cheers, hopping up and pulling incessantly on his arm, "We're starting today, let's go!"

Unfortunately for him, she has always been strong and easily pulls him to a stand. He almost loses grip of the pillow that is shielding his last bits of privacy.

"Wait wait, Sakura, can't I get a sick mask or something?" he panics, digging his heels into the wooden floor, to no avail, "You're a medic, you must have some of those!"

She looks back at him with a mischievous expression he hasn't seen since her Genin days and a sinking pit forms in his stomach. "Nope!"

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"Are you sure this is what you want?" Kakashi asks, his hand hovering above the dotted lines. All he has to do is officially sign his name as her ANBU sponsor and she will begin the arduous recruitment process. He remembers his own all too well.

"Yes," Sakura replies, her voice unwavering, "I've had a lot of time to think about this."

"You're already head medic at the hospital, are you sure you can handle ANBU as well?"

"Kakashi."

But he remains firm. "You know I'm not questioning your abilities Sakura. I just want to know if you've taken all things into consideration. It's more than just strength."

She meets his eyes and though only one is visible, her gaze burns through the thick cloth to stare directly at him. "I know."

And without anymore pointless words, especially when her mind is already made, he presses the pen into the paper and blemishes it with his red signature.

In three days, Sakura receives a letter. It appears suddenly when her back is turned, in the middle of the desk in her office. The handwriting is unfamiliar and purposely plain, with no distinct lilts or curves to it, untraceable. It instructs her to return to where the letter was initially found at midnight of the same day.

There is nothing more to it, no markings or seals, and nothing is revealed when she sends threads of her own chakra through it. It seems that was all there was to it, and she burns the paper before leaving to complete her shift, though the letter stays in the back of her mind the entire time.

When the clock strikes midnight, Sakura is standing in her office and then suddenly, in a whirl of colors and wind, she is in an unfamiliar room. Surrounding her are other candidates, most of which she did not recognize, but she notices Shino amongst the faces.

In front of them, ANBU are lined up to face them. Their masks cover their faces and hide their identities, but there is one that she knows all too well. As her sponsor, Panther takes his place and stands in front of her, his hands clasped behind his back. Though she can't see it, she knows that he is staring her down.

Before her mind wanders and questions why they have brought the sponsors here, one of the ANBU steps forward. "Recruits," he calls out, his voice muffled and unrecognizable under his Horse mask, "You have now entered the first stage. In two weeks, you will undergo the first trial. In this time, you will be under the instruction of your sponsor to prepare yourselves." He scans the crowd of them. "Dismissed."

For the first time since she took her position at the head of the hospital, Sakura uses her vacation time and leaves Shizune to run the place. The majority of the time is spent training and if she thought that Kakashi was a hardass before, he pushes her beyond anything she has experienced so far. Even her years under Tsunade seem to pale in comparison.

"Get up."

"Stop, Panther," Sakura snarls back, tugging her arm away from him as she heals one of her more serious injuries. It is only the third day of training and she is running on a little more than two hours of sleep. She is exhausted. Determined, yes, but oh so very tired.

But Panther does not allow himself to be brushed off so easily. His grip is firm on her arm and he stops the healing process. "There will not be a moment in battle where the enemy will stop and let you recover," he hisses, "Go again, and no more breaks."

She sneers at him, but complies anyway. The first lesson he had taught her is that the word of superior officers is not to be questioned and though she does not really believe it (and doubts that even he believes it), she puts up the front.

They spar for another hour before her chakra is spent and she feels dead on her feet. She stumbles and because he does not pull his punches, he lands a jab to her gut that makes her crumple.

"Yield," Sakura gasps, unable to gather the chakra to dismiss the pain. Instead, she lies in the tall grass of the training field with her eyes screwed shut and a hand over the sensitive part of her stomach.

There is a shuffling and she can feel him sit beside her. After a short silence, he suddenly speaks. "Medics don't survive ANBU."

Her eyes snap open an she turns her head slightly to look at him. His own gaze however, is fixed on something in the distance. The porcelain mask he had been wearing only seconds prior is gone from his face and, equally as surprising, so is his cloth one.

"Contrary to what we like to tell the citizens, ninja from other villages aren't dumb. They know how to cripple our forces effectively, and that almost always means going for the medic nin first. There is a reason medics are standard issue in Jonin or Chunin teams, but not in ANBU."

Though it is a struggle, Sakura sits up, only wincing slightly at the bruises that pepper her body and the soreness that tugs on her muscles and joints. "Yeah, well, I'm not applying as a medic."

He turns to her and searches her face. "Good," Kakashi says, giving her a feral grin. It is almost predatory. His sharp, pearly white canines glisten and, though Sakura already knows how strong he is, she can't help but to think that he looks positively lethal. "I'm not training you as one."

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At the end of their two weeks, they are given yet another scroll and Sakura finds herself standing in the exact same place that she had before. It is only then that the first stage is revealed: elimination matches. She can't help but to think back to the Chunin exams.

Each candidate will go through two opponents in no limitations spars, and only the victor of both will proceed to the second stage.

Sakura's first opponent is an Inuzuka girl. She looks no different than many those of her clan, messy brown hair and red triangles on her cheeks, but there is no dog that accompanies her. And while she may look the part, she does not act like an Inuzuka. Instead, she is quiet and withdrawn, and her brown eyes are twitchy and calculating.

Their fight does not last long, however, because as clever and admittedly strong the Inuzuka girl may be, she is still missing the core part of her namesake. She is exceptional at taijutsu, her strikes are strong and well-timed. But the style is not meant for a single person alone. Her clan was built to stand with their partners, to fight alongside them. The Inuzukas are not just a family, they are a pack and above all, they are never loners.

"What's your name?" Sakura asks, after the match draws to a close.

The girl looks up at her and does not respond immediately, her eyes tracing Sakura's face, as if memorizing every detail. She finally concedes though, when she draws her gaze away. "Kira," she replies, and offers nothing else.

Sakura nods and they part ways.

Her second match takes much longer. He is from a clan she does not recognize, but she knows for certain that he must be a part of a clan. The way that he carries himself is not unlike the way many of the clan children did so. She should know, she grew up with a majority of the heirs.

Most distinctly, he has heard of her, the apprentice of the legendary Tsunade.

"It's such a shame," he whispers into her ear, after their match had been going on for some time, "Such power is wasted on a pitiful thing like you." When he draws away, there is a trace of a smirk on his face, expectant and arrogant. He wants to see the damage his words have done.

Sakura refuses to let him have that. Instead, she smiles back and fractures his knee with a blow that he had not been expecting.

From there, the outcome match is fairly obvious, but she will admit that he is headstrong and persistent. Or just stupid, they tend to go hand in hand. He continues to put up a good fight, but his speed is crippled and it is just enough for Sakura to gain a distinct upper hand.

When the match is finally called, she does not ask his name, but she does watch his face when the realization that he has just lost to a kunoichi born a civilian finally sets in. It's immensely gratifying.

The group of candidates is noticeably smaller than before and Sakura is rather pleased to see that Shino has made it through the first stage as well. But really, she hadn't expected anything less.

The next few stages seem to fly by, a genjutsu test for the second stage, and then they are assigned into teams and thrown into the Forest of Death for the third. (Seriously, this whole this is just the Chunin exams but a bit more dangerous) But the final stage, almost two months after they received their first scrolls, is something she, admittedly, never expected.

A spar between them and their sponsors.

And it's perfect, because it is their sponsors who have been guiding them this entire way, and in turn, have been learning their strengths and weaknesses. They will be able to predict the moves and actions of the potential recruits.

But Panther knows that about her anyway. While she is sure there are many, many things she doesn't know about him, she has worked alongside him for six years. She may know only glimpses into his past and only glimpses past the masks he wears, she knows how he fights and how he moves and lives and breathes.

And that is enough.

Their fight is more intense than any spar they have had before. Not when she was a Chunin, or as a Jonin, or in the weeks and weeks of training they have spent together in preparation for her examination.

He is quick, never lingering in one place for too long. He tends to favor his right, but is ambidextrous. Competent in taijutsu, ninjutsu, the list went on. And above all, his eye. But she knows all of this already.

Their fight is a blur.

Sakura has to push herself to her limits, and then beyond, to even begin to match his speed. They clash, and then withdraw, and then he pursues like the predator that he is. The kunai that he holds switches hands and he strikes again.

She parries and dodges. His attacks come so quickly that there is no time for her to return his blows.

Then it hits her. That she is using the techniques she learned as a medic, the lessons and tendencies that were instilled into her while under Tsunade. That a medic cannot afford to be hit or to go down in a fight. They are to stay alive to support their teammates above all else.

And she did not come into ANBU as a medic.

Panther stabs forward with his kunai, and this time, Sakura does not move out of the way. His aim is slightly to her right, where he has predicted she will try to dodge to, and the tip of the blade skims her flesh, leaving a line of crimson in its wake.

It is obvious that he is not expecting that, and the momentary falter is all the time she needs. In a split second, with speed that he would be proud of, Sakura draws her fist back and smashes it into his chest.

He goes flying, but lands on his feet in a skid. This is the first pause in their battle, and he simply looks at her for a moment.

She cannot see it, but she can sense that same feral grin under his mask.

The moment is over quickly, and they are back into the fight. It is the same pace as before, simply a blur of figures, but everything else is much, much different. Sakura no longer remains unscatched, but, she notes proudly, neither does he.

But the real moment of pride is when the sound of chirping birds breaks through the silence and the air becomes static. Blue lightning crackles in his hand, skittering across his skin dangerously. He surges forth.

It is an hour later, when Sakura comes too. Instinctively, she checks herself for injuries, but it seems they have all been taken care of and there is not a single scratch left upon her. There isn't even a trace of the Chidori. Though she is able to avoid the full brunt of the attack, he just barely catches her in the side. The lightning assaults her skin and electrifies her and burns and burns and burns.

"Yo," Panther calls, giving a nonchalant wave. He is the only one left in the room with her.

Sakura sighs, rubbing her sore arms. "Guess I didn't pass, huh?"

"Well, I beg to differ." He reaches behind him and unclips a mask from his belt. He hands it to her.

"What?" She takes the porcelain in unsteady hands. "But I lost?"

"It wasn't really about win or lose," he says with a shrug, "It's about adapting to your situation and all that. You'll have to ask Horse if you're really curious, he's in charge of the recruiting process." He pauses, and then reaches over to ruffle her hair. "Proud of you."

She snorts, but doesn't question her insane luck. She can't contain her grin and bumps her shoulder against him. Her attention then is directed towards the mask in her hands. There are eight distinct red circles on the face and at first she can't tell what animal it is. But she figures out soon enough.

"A spider, really?"

"I'd personally like to think of it more as an Orbweaver," Panther comments offhandedly, moving to stand up and offering her a hand.

She laughs as he pulls her to stand. "I never said I was going to actually go by that, anyways. Like I said, people will think I'm trying to gain fame off of someone else's legacy."

"I don't see it that way."

"Oh? And why is that?"

"Because," Pather says, "You'll be so great that everyone will forget there was even a Black Widow in the first place."

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The first time Kakashi invites her to the Memorial Stone, it is on the date halfway between Obito's and Rin's deaths and Sakura has half a mind to refuse. That's his sacred area and she doesn't want to trample on that.

But he insists and she has never really been able to refuse him.

They buy a bouquet of pretty white lilies from the Yamanaka flower shop and burn incense, as is the tradition he's fallen into. And then they sit in silence.

"You're quite like me, you know," Kakashi says, after almost a half hour has passed. He does not turn to look at her as he says these words. Instead, he keeps his eyes trained on the stone in front of them. It is almost without question which two names he is retracing.

Sakura does not turn either, though her eyes flit towards him for a brief moment. "Oh? I thought I was like Rin." She tries to hold a teasing tone in her voice, but it falters.

"I thought so too." He rises from his kneeling position and stuffs his hands into his pockets, turning his gaze to the sky. It is a clear, cloudless day. The vibrant hues of the rising sun are unfettered against the brilliant blues.

"Rin was a healer. And stubborn as an ox. But she always put the happiness of others before her own, even when it meant going out of her way for them. Did I mention she was a healer? Not just a medic-" Kakashi cuts himself off, wiring his mouth shut with such force that she can see the tremble in his jaw.

Sakura furrows her eyebrows, unsure of the point that he is trying to make, but whatever it is he's not making it very well. She stares up at him incredulously before moving to rise and stand next to him.

Finally, his eye lands on her. And it carries and unspeakable amount of weight and bitter sadness in it. "But I think the both of us were born lonely."

"Yeah," she whispers back as the bright dawn turns into a beautiful morning and ellipses into a hazy afternoon.

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Well this is a long chapter. I really should have cut the two Kakashi chapters different but oh wellllll. But things will start moving to plot next chapter, I promise.

Geez Kakashi, why does mom let you have two animal masks? Because the Kakashi then and the Kakashi now are different.