"By the way…" said Ino, suddenly changing the subject. "Don't think I've forgotten about that miracle cream you promised me. Make sure to bring some next time you visit, 'kay?"
As expected, she hadn't forgotten…
"I'll definitely make you some," said Sakura pleasantly.
Sakura made a mental note to ask the System about the newbie gift that she had received months ago; she hadn't bothered opening it at the time, since she'd still been busy adapting to the life of a mission ninja back then, but now seemed like as good a time as any…
Sakura and Ino continued chatting about this and that, making sure not to broach the sensitive subject that was Uchiha Sasuke, until 20 minutes later, they heard Asuma's voice calling for Sakura. It sounded like Asuma had lost his game of shogi to Shikamaru in record time…
"Just go," Ino yawned. "It's getting late, and I need my beauty sleep…"
"Why don't you come here and tell me what you expect to learn from me?" said Asuma, upon seeing Sakura poking her head out of the curtains which Ino had drawn around her bed to enjoy a private conversation with her. "Kakashi told me a bit about you, but I'd still like to hear from you first-hand…"
Sakura hopped out of Ino's bed and walked over to Shikamaru's bedside, looking rather thoughtful.
"That depends on what you can teach me, Asuma-sensei," said Sakura bluntly. "What are you best at?"
Despite his relative weakness, which left one to wonder if he hadn't attained his rank through nepotism, Asuma was still an official Jōnin. As elite shinobi of the highest rank (apart from Kage), Jōnin were expected to have attained a certain level of strength and to be well rounded; as opposed to Tokubetsu Jōnin, who would possess Jōnin-level strength in only one highly specialized area.
"I know Wind Style and Fire Style for support," said Asuma, rubbing the back of his head wearily. "But my fighting style is mostly based around Taijutsu and my chakra blades. Here, why don't you have a look…"
He drew one of his brass knuckles-style knives and handed it to Sakura, who examined it carefully. She also used a cold weapon made out of chakra metal, so having someone to guide her through the process of imbuing her sword with chakra would be quite nice.
After all, there was a limit to how much help Orochimaru's and Kin Tsuchi's mental imprints could offer her when it came to training, since they were stuck inside her chest.
"I heard that your good friend Kurenai is the best Genjutsu practitioner in the village," said Sakura politely. "If it's not too much to ask, could you please convince her to give me a few tips on Genjutsu?"
Kurenai's students— Hinata, Kiba and Shino— all came from established shinobi clans, so they would rather train with their fellow clan members to learn their family's tried-and-true Jutsu than with their sensei, a newbie Jōnin. Furthermore, only one of Kurenai's disciples had made it past the preliminaries— Shino—
He'd probably spend the rest of his free time learning bug stuff from his parents, leaving Kurenai with nothing to do for the rest of the month.
"I suppose I could try to convince her…" said Asuma, grinning slightly, "but I'd need something to make it worth my time. I promised Kakashi I'd help with your training, but I can't force Kurenai to do anything, you know?"
Sakura gulped; he wouldn't ask her to repay him with her body, right…? Probably not, but judging by the pitiful looks that Shikamaru and Chōji were sending her way, this favour would likely cost her dearly…
"So, how about this?" said Asuma. "These guys are due to get released from the hospital tomorrow, so I was planning on throwing a party to celebrate Team 10's recovery. If you'll cover the costs for the party at Yakiniku Q's— that BBQ place downtown— I'll gladly make the introductions. Of course, you'd be welcome to come celebrate with us…"
Sakura discreetly reached for her wallet and checked its contents.
Nope, she barely even had one single Ryō to her name. Since Team Kakashi's mission in the Land of Waves had dragged on for much longer than it was supposed to, they'd immediately jumped into the Chūnin exams arc without getting the chance to do some more missions in between arcs to make some money. And since Tazuna had only paid them the fee for a C-rank mission, Naruto and Sakura were now completely broke…
"But I saved your team," Sakura argued. "Isn't that worth something?"
"But you said it was to repay us for saving you in the first place," said Chōji in between two mouthfuls of potato crisps. "Aren't we even now?"
Sakura glared at Chōji— He had actually heard that? The plump boy could be astonishingly sharp sometimes, if free food was concerned…
"Then, how about this," said Sakura, her eyes drawn to the shogi board lying on Shikamaru's bed. "We'll play shogi— if I beat you, you introduce me to Kurenai, and I also get to eat at Yakiniku Q's for free. However, if you beat me, then you can also invite Kurenai and her team to the party, and I'll pay for everything. Even if I lose, I still get to meet Kurenai-sensei… Win-win, right?"
"That's not a bad idea, actually," said Asuma mirthfully. "Okay, let's do that, then… but one condition. You won't be facing me, but Shikamaru! Is that okay with you?"
At this point in time, it was an open secret that Kurenai and Asuma were dating. They'd blush and refute any insinuations if asked about their relationship status, but it was quite obvious to anyone who wasn't as dense as Naruto that they were in love with each other— so in Asuma's eyes, any excuse to spend time with Kurenai in public was a valid one!
"No problem," said Sakura casually. Whether it was the genius Shikamaru or Asuma, it would make no difference to her!
Chōji shook his head helplessly as he watched them set up the board. In his opinion, even though Sakura was certainly smart and studious (he knew that she had consistently held the best grades in their class throughout their time together at the academy), she was nowhere near the lazy Shikamaru's true tactical genius! The only reason why Shikamaru kept scoring so low in his academy exams was because he couldn't be bothered to study…
"You go first," said Sakura confidently. "Just to make it fair."
"It's your funeral, I guess," Shikamaru replied nonchalantly.
"System," Sakura whispered into her fist, pretending to cough. "Start a game of shogi on the highest difficulty setting, with me going first."
That's right, Sakura was going to cheat!
Sakura waited until Shikamaru made his first move, before copying his move into the illusory game of shogi on the System's translucent screen, which only she could see. Then, when the System's artificial intelligence made its move, she mimicked its play on the real shogi board…
…
Little by little, the confident expression on Asuma's face turned into shock, as he watched Shikamaru get pushed into a corner; again and again, he fell for her traps, set who knew how many moves in advance…
"How's the game going, sensei?" Chōji asked through a mouthful of crisps.
Shikamaru's brow was scrunched up in concentration, his brain almost overheating from all of the calculations it was performing.
"I'm… not quite sure," Asuma admitted. "The level of play is so far above me that I can't see through…"
"…and, that's checkmate," Sakura suddenly called out. "So, I'll see you and Kurenai-sensei tomorrow at Yakiniku Q's, Asuma-sensei?"
Chōji's mouth fell open in shock. Shikamaru had actually lost!?
Completely stunned, Shikamaru replayed Sakura's last move again and again in his head. How on earth had he missed that huge trap…? It seemed so obvious in hindsight …
"Y-yeah, at six in the afternoon. We'll go after your training," said Asuma with difficulty. "It seems like Kakashi's taught his disciples well, huh…"
More like he taught his disciples how to be cheap bastards like him, Asuma inwardly raged!