Space to Breathe - [ Sakura Haruno ]

CHAPTER 02

The inside of T&I was more well lit than Sakura had been expecting. In her mind it would have instantly been prison cells and torture rooms, but in reality she found herself inside a relatively normal, although a little bland, waiting room.

"The fun stuff happens further inside, mostly in the lower level," her mysterious acquaintance explained, as if having read her mind as he walked forward. His strides were long, and Sakura almost had to take two steps for each one he took.

"Uh, Shinobi-san?" She spoke, realising she didn't know the man's name, as they walked down a long hallway,
" where are you taking me? "

The man huffed a short chuckle then before responding, "my name's Morino Ibiki, " he said, "and we're going to my office."

Sakura quickly shuffled her perception of the man around in her head, realising he must be important if he had his own office.

They walked another minute or so before Sakura realised she'd yet to introduce herself, too. "I'm Haruno Sakura."

Ibiki nodded, before stopping abruptly and facing a door that looked like the rest, except it had his name on it.

Opening the door, he walked in ahead of his guest. Sakura walked in behind him as he sat behind his desk, clear of paperwork. She stood awkwardly for a moment before Ibiki sighed.

"You can take a seat," he gestured to a wooden chair sat beside her. She nodded and sat, adjusting the chair to be straight on and facing Ibiki, wincing when it scraped against the concrete floor.

"We'll get straight to the point," Ibiki said, sounding tired. Sakura felt guilty about dragging the man back to work when he was obviously about to do something elsewhere. "You're feeling like your team isn't taking you seriously, but what do you want to do about it?"

Sakura was taken back by the question, shocked that the man wasn't going to hand her the answer. She was used to that at the academy, and Kakashi always ordered her around and told her exactly what to do, even if it was a menial task or exercise.

She sat still, totally silent, for a few minute as she thought about what she actually wanted. She knew she wanted to be a shinobi without a doubt, she actually doubted her ability to do anything else after the mission in Wave.

"I want to catch up," she decided on after a while, "I'm not stupid enough to not realise both Naruto and Sasuke are better shinobi than me."

Ibiki nodded at that, seeming both pleased and not. "It is a good thing, to know your weaknesses," he said, "but it is also a good thing to know that strength, justu and physical power are not the only things a shinobi needs."

Sakura nodded back, taking in the lesson her impromptu teacher was giving her.

"Your teammates are both strong, that is true," Ibiki continued to speak, "but you are smarter than either of them, and you should use that to your advantage."

Pushing the fact Ibiki knew more about her team than she'd told him to the back of her mind, Sakura replied, "How can I compete with them without being as powerful?"

"Don't get me wrong," Ibiki admonished, "power is an important part of being a shinobi, too. What I'm saying is trying to catch up to them with your chakra reserves would take a while, and they won't wait for you."

"Instead, you should study tactics, alongside your training," Ibiki said, "and research specialist skills that could enhance your skillset."

Sakura nodded, "I have really good chakra control, and I did the best in my class on the written exam."

"Then use those," he smirked, "both Medical Ninjutsu and Genjutsu are well suited to those with good chakra control, and whilst requiring more physical training, Bukijutsu and Taijutsu are both usable with minimal chakra, even some of the high level techniques."