Maybe

Last month until...

So these past few days a lot new people came to read and 'like' this story!
It makes me so happy that people like my fic!! I'm so grateful to you guys!
Thank you!!

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As she wandered around the village, Sakura wondered if the mystical palm she had done whilst healing Hayate-san was just a fluke, or if she really had some talent.

Curious to test it out, she sat down on a nearby bench, and took out a kunai. Pressing the edge against her finger until it bled, she then concentrated her chakra on her other hand, just like she had done on the roof.
Her palm glowed green for a few seconds, before the light flickered and went out.
Scrunching her nose in concentration, the young girl tried again, and this time, managed to stop the bleeding.

But the cut wasn't completely healed that already she was feeling a little dizzy. Even with her perfect chakra control, she still managed to waste some of the precious energy.
Her microscopic reserves were becoming more and more of a pain everyday...

Sakura slouched down on the bench and sighed. Her life had never been so hectic and it was honestly kind of tiring. But... She still had a lot to do.

Getting up, she strode determinely to the hospital. There, she climbed the stairs, directly to Nanami-san's office and knocked.
She would have gone to Kabuto-san, but she hadn't found him anywhere ; his chakra had seemed to dispaear out of thin air, which, considering the shunshin technique existed, wasn't that hard.

Sakura didn't have to wait long, before a clear voice called her in:

"Come in!"

Pushing the door slightly, Sakura popped her head inside and waved shyly at her mentor.

"Well? Come in you dolt!" Nanami barked out at her. Once inside, Sakura stood akwardky in front of the medic, moving her weigh from one feet to the other.

"Well?! What did you come here for?"

"So...I'm looking for Kabuto-san?" the girl said. Her statement coming out more like a question.
"Do you know where he is?"

Sakura wrung her hands anxiously. She didn't know if she was supposed to be here.
Maybe this was a test to see if she could locate him on her own. Nanami-san probably found her annoying, popping in at random times without warning... Oh gosh! What if they decided not to train her anymore? What then?

Noticing the genin's panicked face, the head medic sighed.
Her student's overthinking habit would either save her or doom her. More than likely doom her.

"Hey. 'Tis fine." She reassured. "Kabuto told me he had some important business and I gave him leave. The idiot apparently forgot to inform you."

Sighing with relief, Sakura stopped twitching and stood a bit straighter.

"Then... are you goingto continue my training?" She asked. "To be honest, I don't think I'll ever stand a chance against Temari-san."

"Don't say that!" Nanami suddenly shouted, slamming her fist on the table and getting up.
"You still have a whole months to develop a strategy and kick ass! No student of mine will lose against mere genin!"

Sakura frowned softly, but decided against telling the woman that she was a genin herself, and that, technically, she had already lost countlesss pars against her own, genin, teamates.

"So...What am I going to do."

Nanami'slips twisted into a feral grin and her eyes lit up with mirth.

"Why...you're going to train and try not to die!"

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For the next month or so, Sakura spent her time training.
And, she noticed, that it was kind of all she ever did these days.

Not that she minded! Sakura was not naive enough to think that you'd wake up strong overnight, but still... She missed the days when she would hang out with Ino or play-fight with the other fangirls.

But enough with the sappy nostalgia! After this month of torture, Sakura felt she was stronger.
She was more confident, and could see the changes it had on her body, her muscles starting to be more defined, her body more lithe and agile.
She could also now run several times around Konoha without breaking a sweat (and yes, two counts as several. It's more than one, therefore : several!)

Sometimes, Kabuto would drop in when Nanami-san had meetings or special patients she needed to take care of personally, and these days, Sakura would experience pure death.

The man was truly ruthless, making her brew poisons while dodging projectiles, and then forcing her to inject herself with small dose of the poisons to build up immunity.

It was called 'mithradatism', but Sakura called it dying.
Why? Because it made her insides burn, her head throb and her vision to blur. It made her want to throw up, to rack her throat and open her own stomach just to relieve the pain.
Honestly, it wouldn't even be useful for her upcoming fight, but nothing she did with Kabuto ever made sense, so she just rolled with it.

Her two teachers had dismissed her begging concerning the mystical palm, declaring that it was a very difficult and tasking technique that would take her too much time to learn. They chose to prioritise offensive techniques for the duration of the exam and planned to teach her afterwards.

Sakura didn't really understand why. After all, she had managed to do it perfectly fine with Hayate-san, but she didn't mention it.
S-rank secret and stuff.

So, the girl had then decided to practice it herself.
They wouldn't teach her, but what stopped Sakura from teaching herself?

Each night, after she got home at around 10 pm, she would stay awake a few more hours to perfect the jutsu.

Having nothing else to practice it on, she used herself as a guinea pig, and soon, her hands became riddled with small scars, more or less healed.
After a week of practice, Sakura could confidently say that she was able to perform the mystical palm for about 15 minutes without fainting.

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Nanami and Kabuto weren't stupid, and they saw the change in their student.
She was more tired, snappish ; but also very determined and stubborn, sometimes going as far as to disregard her own health to continue training.

Kabuto didn't care. He didn't care if she lived or died, and honeslty preferred the second option.
With the annoying pink head out of the way, he'd have a lot more time to help Orochimaru-sama with the plan.

Nevertheless, he never missed a single one their training sessions.

Nanami was more worried. She had come to see, rather reluctantly, the young girl as a friend, a young, foolish friend. Like a daughter or sister figure? She didn't know. Being raised the way she had been made it difficult for her to know how family bonds worked.
But she knew one thing, and that was thar she cared for the uoung girl.
And... she was worried for her health, physical and mental.
She had heard rumors of the C-rank turned A-rank, and guessed it was probably a source of trauma for Sakura.
Nanami had even gone as far as to ask Kakashi for information (though she never told him why).

Caring for Sakura was something Nanami shouldn't do. It was dangerous, and she knew it.
A ninja shouldn't have any useless emotional weaknesses, and this was one. Nanami cared for the girl.

And it wouldn't end well.