[Naruto] [Sakura] Knockout
Title: Knockout
Author/ess: rilina
Series: Naruto.
Length: 1399 words, oneshot.
Character/pairing: Sakura-centric, mentions of pretty much everyone in Konoha.
Rating/warnings: Spoilers through volume 28 of the manga, but if you're watching Shippuuden you'll be fine. Rated PG.
Summary: Sakura during the time skip (and a little after it too).
I kind of powered through the Naruto manga in the space of a few days, something I tend to do for most things and something that I've recently discovered may affect my appreciation of a particular series. I was debating characterisation in Doctor Who with a friend who pointed out that because I'd seen it condensed, I hadn't had time to notice subtle changes within the character, and that's probably why I never had a problem with Sakura's 'power up' after the timeskip. I can see how it might have been hard to swallow, however, and this fic goes a long way towards filling in the gaps.
Told in a series of numbered situations, in the absence of her teammates, Sakura undergoes some changes. She trains with Tsunade, works with the other teams, and moves on without Naruto and Sasuke, even if they're never truly gone.
Oh, this is fantastic work. It's pretty much a perfect Sakura and it's certainly one of the most accurate portrayals of her that I've ever seen. My favourite part was probably the section where she considers the bonds between the members of the other teams, but all the moments were wonderfully written and showed us a strong, resiliant kunoichi who, far from remaining idle while her teammates were away, worked hard to make herself stronger and to bring herself closer to wherever they were.
Preview: Tenten, Lee, and Sakura are all newly minted chuunins, and Neji's a jounin in everything but name. When one of the Rock nins calls forth a barrier of earth to buy time for an escape, Lee immediately steps forward to smash it.
Sakura pulls on her glove and says, "Please move aside, Lee-san. I can handle this."
She's trained so long that she doesn't even have to think about molding her chakra; she just pulls back her arm and lets go. The barrier crumbles spectacularly, revealing the spooked faces of the two Rock nins. Out of the corner of her eye, Sakura notices that Gai and Lee's jaws are slack with astonishment, and even Neji's expression is blanker than usual. Only Tenten shows no surprise; she winks at Sakura before she fires a fistful of kunai toward their enemies with her usual deadly accuracy.
Author/ess: rilina
Series: Naruto.
Length: 1399 words, oneshot.
Character/pairing: Sakura-centric, mentions of pretty much everyone in Konoha.
Rating/warnings: Spoilers through volume 28 of the manga, but if you're watching Shippuuden you'll be fine. Rated PG.
Summary: Sakura during the time skip (and a little after it too).
I kind of powered through the Naruto manga in the space of a few days, something I tend to do for most things and something that I've recently discovered may affect my appreciation of a particular series. I was debating characterisation in Doctor Who with a friend who pointed out that because I'd seen it condensed, I hadn't had time to notice subtle changes within the character, and that's probably why I never had a problem with Sakura's 'power up' after the timeskip. I can see how it might have been hard to swallow, however, and this fic goes a long way towards filling in the gaps.
Told in a series of numbered situations, in the absence of her teammates, Sakura undergoes some changes. She trains with Tsunade, works with the other teams, and moves on without Naruto and Sasuke, even if they're never truly gone.
Oh, this is fantastic work. It's pretty much a perfect Sakura and it's certainly one of the most accurate portrayals of her that I've ever seen. My favourite part was probably the section where she considers the bonds between the members of the other teams, but all the moments were wonderfully written and showed us a strong, resiliant kunoichi who, far from remaining idle while her teammates were away, worked hard to make herself stronger and to bring herself closer to wherever they were.
Preview: Tenten, Lee, and Sakura are all newly minted chuunins, and Neji's a jounin in everything but name. When one of the Rock nins calls forth a barrier of earth to buy time for an escape, Lee immediately steps forward to smash it.
Sakura pulls on her glove and says, "Please move aside, Lee-san. I can handle this."
She's trained so long that she doesn't even have to think about molding her chakra; she just pulls back her arm and lets go. The barrier crumbles spectacularly, revealing the spooked faces of the two Rock nins. Out of the corner of her eye, Sakura notices that Gai and Lee's jaws are slack with astonishment, and even Neji's expression is blanker than usual. Only Tenten shows no surprise; she winks at Sakura before she fires a fistful of kunai toward their enemies with her usual deadly accuracy.