Signal (Deaf Sakura AU)
(This took me a while to churn out but I’m not mad at it; I love any sort of feedback so feel free to chat with me in the notes or via my askbox! You can find this on AO3 right here, so stop by and drop a kudo/subscribe if you can!)
Sakura sat on the bridge with her teammates, fidgeting with the choppy bangs framing her face and the stiff fabric of her new headband. Naruto kept glancing at her with a nervous grin, like he wanted to approach her but wasn’t sure how. She smiled politely back at him, not really wanting to start a conversation through notepad this early. Sasuke on the other hand stood motionless, not acknowledging either of them.
She sighed and scooted over to one of the poles supporting the bridge, resting her ear on the cool metal. Its surface buzzed from the river rushing below, and she watched a large branch drift towards her until it hit the bridge, sending up a hollow bang that vibrated in her ear.
That was a habit she’s had since preschool; it wasn’t a ‘deaf' thing so much as a ‘Sakura’ thing. Her favorite memories involved sprawling out on the school’s merry-go-round and pressing her ear against it while Ino and the other girls played around her. She’d giggle at how the vibrations from all their running, stomping, and spinning tickled her ear, and they’d gush about how her laugh was “so cute, like a baby’s!” later on (not that she’d know or care about how her laugh resembled a baby’s).
Now she sat here with two former classmates she barely knew and was desperately missing her old friends. Ino was the only one in the academy who could sign, so why on earth weren’t they put on the same team? Why did she have to be stuck with the hyperactive knucklehead who was always shouting at her? Or the sullen emo boy who wouldn’t look at her to talk, then got mad when she couldn’t read his lips?
Sakura sighed again, not caring who heard. And this new sensei who always wore a damn mask over his face? That had to be the worst part. She couldn’t even read his lips. When she motioned for him to pull the mask down, all he did was take out a sticky note and write down his directions (she made it a point to never write anything back). And here they were, one day after the bell test, groggy, bored, and probably being stood up by their new sensei.
Suddenly she sensed someone, their chakra to be exact. Probably the teacher. She could tell he was coming towards them quickly, his energy flickering wildly through the tree tops.
She tapped Sasuke’s foot to get his attention, but he barely glanced at her. She tugged at his pants leg, and he pulled away, making it a point to step just out of her reach. She quickly turned around, jaw clenched and cheeks burning. Naruto however was still watching her, now eagerly scooting closer to hear what she had to say. She paused before pointing at the canopy of leaves; he looked back and forth between her finger and the forest, brow knitting in confusion. She covered her face with the free hand and gestured towards the trees again. His eyes flickered.
“THE TEA-CHER?!” he shouted, over-enunciating every syllable. She gave him an awkward nod and a smile. Sasuke actually perked up at this, but he still wouldn’t look straight at her.
Within a second Kakashi appeared, perched on the railing with an arrogant grin clearly plastered on under the mask.
‘Good morning guys!’ he signed, lips moving under the mask as he spoke in tandem with his signing. He smiled at Sakura. ‘You signaled to the others that I was coming. Now tell me, how did you know that?’
‘I sensed...’ her arms froze as her mouth fell open.
‘My chakra?’ he finished. ‘That’s actually pretty good coming from a rookie. Good job.’ She stared blankly at him before her lips twisted into a snarl.
‘You sign?!’ He grinned and tried addressing the group again, but Sakura leapt in front of him and pulled his arms back down.
‘Why didn’t you do that yesterday?! Instead of making me read through all those stupid little sticky notes!’ She stomped her foot at the last word.
‘Relax, relax....’ his held his hands in the air defensively. ‘I’m still getting to know you guys and you’re still getting to know me. Can’t be spilling all my secrets so quick, can I?’
‘Liar!’ she snapped.
Honestly, he had no good reason. Maybe he didn’t want to get too chummy with a team he didn’t expect to keep. Maybe he didn’t want her bonding with an ANBU assassin until he knew he wasn’t going to go get his ass blown up on an S-rank mission. But none of that he wanted to explain right then and there.
‘Listen, I want you to be able to trust me, alright? From here on out I’ll keep signing. I’m not gonna let you fall behind or feel like you’re not a full fledged member of Team 7. I promise.’ He squeezed her shoulder. She eyed him pensively before nodding.
‘Okay.... First and foremost, let me give you two these. That should kick off your signing.’ He handed the boys two pocket-sized books labeled “Beginning Fire Nation Sign Language”. Sasuke scowled.
“Why do I have to be the one to-”
‘From here on out, this is officially a bilingual team. Most ninja develop some sign language to communicate on stealth missions and to work with deaf civilians and clients. However, you three will-’
“On stealth missions?! So like, you use it as some sort of secret code?!” Naruto snapped.
‘Yes, it’s like a secret code you can use on stealth missions,’ Kakashi repeated, trying to keep Sakura in the loop.
“That’s awesome!!!”
‘No,’ Kakashi shook his head. ‘Follow me.’ He held up his hand to his face and bent his fingers like claws, then motioned Naruto to do the same. He waved it over his mouth twice, nodding when Naruto mimicked perfectly.
‘Awesome,’ he repeated. ‘Start working on this; you say it and you sign it. That’s how we all communicate.’ Naruto grinned and repeated the sign to Sakura who smiled back.
‘Like I said, most ninja learn some sign, however working on this team your skills will greatly exceed that of your peers which will open you up to more missions. Just like any other skill set, I expect you all to work on your communication skills both during and outside of official practice. Is that understood?’
Sakura nodded her fist for ‘yes,’ and Naruto followed suit. Sasuke nodded curtly.
‘Great!’ Kakashi smiled. ‘Now, let’s get on to some real training.’
..........
To say Kakashi worked their asses off was an understatement, but to his credit, he did give them breaks.
Naruto collapsed in the grass after his tenth lap around the training grounds. Kakashi grinned and handed him a dictionary.
“If you have time to sit, you have time to study!” he said a little too sweetly. Naruto happily obliged, quickly thumbing through his new book. Sasuke used this as motivation to keep moving until he was dry heaving at the base of a pine tree.
When Sakura fell to her knees panting, he loomed over her with that same saccharine-sweet grin behind his mask.
‘Let’s see.... You obviously don’t need to work on your signing. What can we work on while sitting down, hm?’ She shrugged sheepishly. He hit his fist into his palm with sudden realization. ‘Your academy teachers said you were great with chakra control!’
He pulled her up by her elbow and dragged her to the edge of the pond.
‘You’ve used chakra to climb up trees before, right?’
‘Just a little bit.... Ino’s dad taught me.’
‘Great! Well this isn’t much different. Focus your chakra at your feet, and just follow me.’ He stepped out onto the water and took three wide steps before turning back to her. She was smiling ear to ear in awe.
‘It’s the same idea, except you’re using your chakra to gently repel the water rather than glue yourself to the surface. Your turn, follow me!’ Sakura glanced between her sensei and the water before taking a shaky step onto the pond. Once she shifted enough weight on it to know it wouldn’t fall through, she lifted her back leg from the shore and put it in front. She started hobbling over to Kakashi’s side, latching onto his arm before she could lose her momentum. He quickly turned and dragged her out further onto the pond until they were way too far from shore for Sakura’s liking.
‘Now....’ Kakashi made the sign for chakra by his shins, telling her to redirect her chakra there.
‘And now sit!’ He pushed down on her shoulders until she awkwardly knelt on the surface. She bobbed shakily, her calves getting swallowed and spat out by the water until she found the right balance of chakra over so much surface area.
‘Good work. Now see how long you can hold this position while I go check on the boys.’ Kakashi grinned.
‘Wait, I just stay here like this?!’ Sakura snapped.
‘Yup, just come join us when you’re done!’
‘I don’t wanna fall in!!!’
‘Hm.... I can’t say I blame you. You better focus then!’ With that he disappeared in a puff of smoke.
“Now...Naruto, how are you doing?” he hummed. Naruto perked up at Kakashi.
“Oh...I’m doing great! I really like this stuff Kakashi sensei!” he grinned.
“Great. Show me one sign you’ve already learned.”
“Okay!!!” Naruto eagerly crossed his forearms and stuck up his thumb and pinkie on one hand, then started flexing his fingers on the other.
“Bullshit!!!” he hollered, cackling to himself. A single bead of sweat slipped down Kakashi’s forehead.
“Okay great. No, really, fantastic. Got anything useful though?” Just then a scream echoed around them followed by a splash.
“She can swim right? Okay, yeah, she’s swimming, she’s fine,” Kakashi mumbled before turning back to Naruto.
Naruto hummed before touching his pointer finger to his wrist and waving his free hand.
“Leaf! Like the village.” Kakashi gave a more earnest smile at that.
“Alright, how about you Sasuke?”
“Tch.”
Kakashi sighed and Naruto grimaced.
“Come on bastard, this stuff is actually pretty cool! Plus you should try to learn to talk to Sakura just a little bit! Not like we can be passing notes in the middle of a mission.”
“I don’t need to talk to her, loser. I don’t even need to be talking to you, either. You’ll both just get in my way.”
“Sasuke,” Kakashi hummed, giving him that fake smile. “No man is an island, no accomplished ninja today got where they are on their own. I know you have...goals. And signing with us won’t exactly help you accomplish them. But trust me when I say, becoming an integrated member of your four-man squad will help you develop your skills in the long run. It’s in no one’s best interest for you to isolate yourself.” He calmly held Sasuke’s gaze until the younger broke away. Just then Sakura came trudging in, soaked pond water.
‘I fell in!!!’ she snapped, huffing in anger.
‘You poor thing. Will you live?’ Kakashi snorted.
‘I saw him sign “bullshit” and it broke my concentration! How did he learn that?!’
“Ooh Kakashi-sensei, she cursed at you! I caught that! I’m already pretty sharp, huh?” Naruto laughed. Sakura caught just enough of what he said to look bemused.
‘Alright team!’ Kakashi spoke and signed. ‘I’d say we got off to a good start today. Meet back at the bridge tomorrow and we’ll start discussing our very first mission! Until then, you are all dismissed.’
Sasuke quickly turned on his heels to head home, while Naruto started running off and yelling his goodbyes behind him. But as Sakura tried to leave, Kakashi tapped her shoulder.
‘I’m just now realizing, I never got your sign name,’ he said. Sakura smiled shyly. She held up two fingers on each hand and traced them down the sides of her head, from her scalp to her ears. Kakashi copied her.
‘Ah, so like your headband?’
‘Not really. I had this ribbon growing up that my friend Ino gave to me. I wore it to hold my hair back with every single day until I was given my headband. I still have it though, the ribbon!’ she grinned.
‘Okay then, Sakura....’ He emphasized her name now that he had it. ‘I’ll see you back at the bridge tomorrow first thing in the morning. In the meantime, I want you to start thinking up sign names for all of Team 7 so we can easily communicate. Understood?’ She nodded before he once again he disappeared in a puff of smoke, letting Sakura be the last one to leave the training ground.