Chapter 99

Sakura watched the fight that was taking place before her with mild interest. While Sasuke had no trouble at all with the Academy student, Hyuuga Ikane, he was having a little more difficulty with Konohamaru. Well, more difficulty in the sense that the fight wasn't being ended nearly as quickly as the other one, and Konohamaru actually had a chance to attack.

He was attacking Sasuke as well as he could, but he could not land a single hit on the Uchiha, and naturally this was frustrating the genin to no end. Sasuke on the other hand was almost provoking the boy, leaving an opening and then blocking it at the last moment. Sakura had no idea what he was trying to accomplish by this, but was watching with satisfaction that his previous skill, combined with him being almost completely accustomed to his blindness, that he could fight well enough for him to learn the method she was planning on teaching him.

Konohamaru gave a loud shout as he tried punch Sasuke in the face, but the Uchiha caught this fist in his hand and pushed it to the side, redirecting the momentum of the blow. As Konohamaru's victorious shout turned into a loud cry of surprise, Sasuke neatly grabbed the small ankle that was passing by and pulled the boy downwards onto the ground, where he planted a foot on the complaining boy's back.

"Get off me, you big buffoon!" Konohamaru was shouting, pounding his fists on the ground and kicking his legs wildly, "Let me try again and I'll beat the crap out of you!"

An amused smirk passed over both Sasuke's and Sakura' lips as the boy continued to flail and shout; she couldn't say for Sasuke, but she herself was strongly reminded of Naruto.

"Okay, okay," she said stepping forward, "The fight is over, Konohamaru, sorry. And Sasuke, you've made your point—you don't have to toy with him like that."

Sasuke took his foot off of Konohamaru's back, giving a small 'tch' sound; but a victorious smirk decorated his lips regardless. She smiled slightly at his behaviour—a win against a mildly challenging opponent must be a nice break. After Konohamaru had picked himself up off the ground, still complaining, Sakura took two bills from her kunai pouch.

"Thanks for taking on this mission, Konohamaru," she said kindly, "Here's a tip to add to your pay."

"Thanks, Sakura-neechan," the boy took the bill from her and shoved it in his pockets. He paused a moment before whirling and confronting Sasuke in a Naruto-like manner, "You just wait, Uchiha! Someday I'm gonna be the sixth Hokage and then I'll be able to beat you so easily that you won't even have a chance to blink!"

Sasuke shrugged, looking slightly amused by the mere notion, but said nothing. Sakura on the other hand turned and shooed the boy off, "Say hello to Moegi and Udon, will you?"

"Sure thing, Sakura-neechan," the boy replied brightly; he cast a distrustful glance at Sasuke before running off.

"Well, you pass," she said to Sasuke brightly, "And you've shown me that not only can you defeat a genin with ease, you can actually go out of your way to lead them on."

He gave a light shrug, "Alright, I've passed. What were you going to teach me?"

Sakura smiled; typical Sasuke, getting right to the point as usual. "It's something that can be practiced in town, so I'll tell you about it on our way back."

She approached him and linked her arm with his, leading him back towards the village, "Most people talk about the five senses, sight, sound, touch, taste and smell—but there are actually two other senses that can be added to that list. The one is a sub-sense: balance. The other is what is most commonly known as the sixth sense. The sixth sense is actually the detection of chakra signatures."

They walked leisurely down the familiar road that they took to get back to Konoha, the gentle breeze sweeping gently through the trees; the path was well worn and not too rough, Sasuke getting by the rough patches easily, having grown accustomed to various surfaces. It had been worse when they had first come down this path, having almost fallen a number of times on the rough parts, but she was always there to make sure that he didn't actually fall.

"The sixth sense is often confused with the presence of spirits and such because people who are not ninja don't know anything about chakra. Most people who swear that they've sensed a ghost most likely have sensed someone's chakra signature somewhere nearby," she explained cheerfully, looking up at the leafy canopies of the trees, none of the leaves jarring loose, "When people walk through graveyards, they are usually frightened and wary, picking up on their own chakra signatures more readily, and that's why many say they can sense presences there. You'll find that if you are unafraid to walk through a graveyard, you won't be aware of your own chakra signature—most people are used to its presence and can't tell it's there."

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