Cheer Up, Emo Kid (Or, It's A Family Affair)

[redbrunja]

I love it when I'm wondering about some element of a story - in this case, who polices Konoha - and I get an answer almost right away.

I think the idea of Sasuke's clan being the ones who were supposed to police the town and the other ninjas was nicely apropos, and surprisingly enough, I now have a lot of sympathy for Sasuke.

He's still making blindingly bad decisions, and ignoring all the ropes people are throwing him, but I adored how you could see Sasuke's father screwing up Itachi who screws up Sasuke, who goes on to think that his only real option for defeating his brother is to join Orchimaru.

(And he might not be wrong - if you set aside all moral and emotional considerations, chasing after the power being offered him is a clever move. It's not smart, but it's clever. Sasuke just has no fucking idea of what he's losing by doing so.)

Also, Sasuke learning how to make those fireballs, with his puffed out cheeks and little flash of belly button was just about the most adorable thing ever.

The Naruto vs Sasuke fight was very cool, and I loved the headband motif. Sasuke's line about being "more special than you" almost made me do a spit take, it was so hilariously lol-tastic.

I know how many slashers adore Sasuke/Naruto, and I usually don't use this argument, because I'm honest enough to know that if the genders were different, say if Gojyo was a girl, I'd be over Gojyo/Hakkai like white on rice, but this time, I have to:

Why does everything reduce to sex?

By which I mean, I kind of feel that if you watched that fight between Sasuke and Naruto and thought that the subtext was "I wanna get into his pants," I think you missed the point.

Look at the way that the characters interact: when they're interested in someone romantically, they are not subtle about it at all. We all know that Sakura is pinning after Sasuke, and Naruto is pinning after Sakura, and Hinata is pinning after Naruto, and in the case of the first two, they are fucking BLATANT about their affections.

There is no room for confusion about that. And when Sakura starts to think fondly of and respect Naruto, she treats him like a brother or friend - none of the blushing, subservant way she treats Sasuke.

We don't know how Sasuke acts when he is actually is crushing on someone, but look at how he acts with his brother: He wants attention, wants to be as good as/better then, and then he wants to kill his brother.

That is almost the same emotional arc as Sasuke's relationship with Naruto, with the exception that Naruto is the one striving for attention and to be as good as/better than, and Sasuke is the one not giving him attention.

My point is, Sasuke's main relationship are all fraternal, and Naruto explicitly labels his relationship with Sasuke in familial terms. (And wondering if being with Iruka was like being with a father made me wibble.)

In other news, I loved Temari's conversation with Shikamaru in the hospital (though I wish either Neji or Choiji or Kiba would have died, simply because everyone making it out alive stretched my sense of credibility.) Poor Shikimaru, getting tag-teamed by both is father and his girlfriend Temari. I love how cold and ruthless she is, and I loved Nara-senior's comment about how you have to stick around to keep your friends safe.

Seeing Sakura come to Tsunade and ask for training was fantastic, as was Tsunade's conversation about the skills medic-nins have to have but I have to say, I was almost nauseous when I saw Sakua healing the fish. I know that l soon every female ninja sans Temari is going to be getting medic training, which makes me go, 'way the hell to ruin any chance of letting Sakura be special.' Sure, she ends up all badass from her training, but the fact that every other girl is going to be doing the same thing takes away any value. It would be completely different if they were picking medics based on, you know, personality or skill, but the mangaka totally isn't. I mean, Ino? I love the girl, but she (and Shikamaru) are the worst people to work in medicine in the whole manga. What about Choiji or Shino or Rock Lee? (Okay, he can't do the medical techniques so he's out, but you get my point, right?) The idea that Ino could be more valuable in medicine than in information gathering is ludicrous.

*sigh*

End rant.

So... Kakashi gaiden.

wee!Kakashi: most adorable thing ever Y/Y?

That was fantastic backstory for him.

And I have to say, Obito, Kakashi must have really liked you, because you're whole, 'Your father was a hero' *two panels pass* 'Your father was even lower scum!' was... not an argument that I would have listened to.

But I adore the whole 'sharingan as a gift' and when Kakashi is crying out of just that eye.

I totally need a wee!Kakashi icon.

Also, when do we learn that Kakashi was in ANBU and how Rin died? Because what Kakashi was wearing sort-of looked like an ANBU uniform, but I didn't see a tatto and it was never mentioned, but I thought this was around the time he was being sent out on assassination missions? Or was that after he mastered his chidori?

Speaking of, Sasuke has three 'comets' in his eye and Kakshi has two, correct? And do you think the Sharigan 'remembers' things it has learned? By which I mean, if it was passed on, does it/new person use jujitsu that had been memorized before, or does the new person have to relearn everything?

So now I'm on to Shippuuden! Where Sakura wears awesome boots and rivals Toph for earthbending, Temari is a jounin and Kakashi continues to be awesome!

Comments

[redbrunja.livejournal.com]

Naruto and Sasuke could have that dynamic, but they could just as well not; it's the difference between "oh, I will blushingly admire this person from afar and/or be loving and fluffy and try to impress them" and "wow, I kind of want to shag this person against a tree right now". So comparing it to romantic relationships in the context of the show doesn't necessarily... work.

If we're getting into a canon argument (which I have no patience for, as I'm sure you know) I do think looking at how the mangaka writes other romantic relationships has validity.

My main point here, and it's only my opinion, is that making Sasuke and Naruto's fight about sex... it really takes all the emotional gravitas and weight of history out of it. It's like... watching the scene on the cliffs with Sokka and Toph and coming away from it with 'omg! Katara x Toph are totally doing it!' and missing everything it's saying about family.

Now, granted, I think people sometimes overanalyze 'subtext' in an attempt to verify things as canon (when did it become so wrong to ship a pairing that isn't canon?), but there is such thing as overanalyzing why a pairing can't be canon. After all, everyone is still going to read things differently. XD


I honestly hate the whole 'canon is better than fanon' vice versa, 'my fanon is canon' thing, but I KNOW at lot of people see that seen as full of UST and I just had to throw my 2 cents in.

Also, randomly, when and where is your birthday party this Sunday?

[tobu-ishi.livejournal.com]

*laughs* Good old Sasuke-in-a-bucket. Every time I feel frustrated with that boy, I just remember how big that thing was, and how much it got thrown, dropped, turned upside-down, played catch with, bounced off trees, etc., during that arc...

...and I smile. ^_^ No wonder he came out black and blue. Sasuke, no matter how big of a jerk you may ever be, I am confident you will always be the world champion of inadvertently and appropriately punishing yourself.

Incidentally, yeah, I do agree with you about the frustrating tendency of all relationships to be reduced to sex by fans. Example: I can't look at Edward/Alphonse fanwork without seriously wanting to smack something, not simply because incest squicks me (squick just prompts an eyeroll and a back button), but because that relationship is so complex, so fascinating, so codependent and interesting and messed up and wonderful, and introducing sex into the equation just feels cheapening. They're already bound for life. They'd already die for each other. Why do we need to be making with the bedtimes?

There are "officially" at least five kinds of love. (http://www.socyberty.com/Philosophy/All-We-Need-is-Love-Two.82350) In reality there are billions, not to mention many an interesting dynamic that doesn't involve love at all, but this is a good start. Learn 'em, people. >.>;

[redbrunja.livejournal.com]

Sasuke, no matter how big of a jerk you may ever be, I am confident you will always be the world champion of inadvertently and appropriately punishing yourself.

Yes, exactly! He's like Sokka's dark and much less awesome twin! *snerk*

Incidentally, yeah, I do agree with you about the frustrating tendency of all relationships to be reduced to sex by fans.

In a lot of ways, I'm just as guilty of this as everyone else, but I do try not to be, and I always have my platonic OTP, where I'm gaga over the friendship or the parental relationship. (Or both).

[tobu-ishi.livejournal.com]

Srsly. Let's see...platonic OTPs I heart in Avatar...

Sokka&Katara, Iroh&Zuko, Aang&Katara (I know, I know, Kataangers wanna eat me for this, but I fangirl them LIKE CRAZY, just not as a couple), Aang&Appa, Hakoda&Sokka, Sokka&Toph (I realize she has a crush on him, but while it's cute, it's their dynamic as the "guys" of the group that really amuses me), Sokka&Aang, Toph&Aang, Katara&Toph, Mai&Ty Lee (Fire Book, why you do this thing? ;_; ), Aunt Wu&Katara, Katara&Hama (hey, I can fangirl amazing dysfunctionality), Bumi&Aang, Gyatso&Aang, Jet&Smellerbee, Cabbage Man&Cabbages...

...I think I OTF more people than I OTP, actually. XD

[redbrunja.livejournal.com]

Thank you. But I have to say, "im such an itachi fan girl and i was righttt~" is a pretty spoilery thing to say, even without details.

[solace-adrift.livejournal.com]

I generally don’t get slashing in general, but doubly so with Naruto and Sasuke. I mean… their bond as brother’s is such a nice one (especially ‘cause, you know, it’s now broken) that I don’t know why you would make it romantic. But people see what they want to see.

I have to be honest and say I’ve never quite bought the gender switch argument (that if one were a man and the other a woman people other than slashers would find it romantic) simply because the context would then be different. Men don’t talk or act around women the way they talk around other men, and likewise with women. The context of their actions changes, and thus changes the meaning of their actions.

Yes, Temari is awesome, and her dynamic with Shikamaru is interesting.

And yes, it seems kinda weird that Ino becomes a medic nin. If I were to try and defend it (which I really don’t know why I would) I would say that Kishimoto was trying to keep up the rivalry motif with Sakura and Ino.

Kakashi gaiden is so… perfect for Kakashi’s character. I mean, I love how Kakashi really changed as a character from when he was young until now, and how much of Obito kinda lives on in Kakashi. That was the arc where I really finally understood Kakashi as a character, understood just how much his life sucked, and why he doesn’t let it bother him. And no, we never do quite learn about Kakashi’s ANBU time.

The mechanic’s of the sharingan are a mysterious thing, and only become more so over time. I would assume that the sharingan only serves as a sort of lens though, that allows the user to track an opponent’s hand seals and not as a memory bank.

Onward to Shippuuden, where everyone but Kiba has a cooler clothing but is only seen for a handful of pages.

[redbrunja.livejournal.com]

I have to be honest and say I’ve never quite bought the gender switch argument (that if one were a man and the other a woman people other than slashers would find it romantic) simply because the context would then be different. Men don’t talk or act around women the way they talk around other men, and likewise with women. The context of their actions changes, and thus changes the meaning of their actions.

You have a good point, but I think there are a number of situations where changing the genders wouldn't change the interaction that much or at all, and I think it's a nice reality check for both slashers and het fans - basically, if this was appealing to your shipping preferences, would you see it? And I think often the answer is yes.

I mean, I love how Kakashi really changed as a character from when he was young until now, and how much of Obito kinda lives on in Kakashi.

I know! It's just fantastically more interesting to realize that he's so different from who he used to be.

But doesn't Kiba at least learn how to brush his hair?

[solace-adrift.livejournal.com]

Oh, it does vary a lot from relationship to relationship. Some transition better than others, but even a slight nuance can utterly change how people see a relationship. Take for example Avatar, where I’m pretty sure that if Aang were two years older and an inch taller than Katara, the complaints about how she is too much of a mother to him would evaporate.

As for Sasuke and Naruto… I tend think that if one of them were a girl it wouldn’t really change much.

Kiba’s hair… I don’t think so. From what I remember it’s as unruly as ever.

[pikabot]

You should watch the fight between Naruto and Sasuke animated. I know that sounds bizarre coming from me, who has repeatedly described the anime as being akin to a horrifying plague, but this is one of the rare instances where it did something right: namely, they hired Norio Matsumoto to animate it. it's gorgeous. In fact, I saw it long before I read Naruto, and it's so superior in the anime that it sort of ruined it for me in the manga.

I think the idea of Sasuke's clan being the ones who were supposed to police the town and the other ninjas was nicely apropos, and surprisingly enough, I now have a lot of sympathy for Sasuke.

have fun with that while it lasts, it gets hit with a retcon bomb a few hundred chapters later.

But I will agree, the one time I've felt anything better than annoyance towards Sasuke was the scene with him learning to shoot fireballs.

[redbrunja.livejournal.com]

*nods*

I've heard multiple people say that that particular fight is fantastic, and I totally intend to watch it.

have fun with that while it lasts, it gets hit with a retcon bomb a few hundred chapters later.
</>

Oh, jeeze, people, haven't we learned how atrocious retconning is?

[pikabot]

Retconning's not in-and-of itself bad. This one was pretty hamfisted and awful, though.

[meganbmoore.livejournal.com]

"Why does everything reduce to sex?

By which I mean, I kind of feel that if you watched that fight between Sasuke and Naruto and thought that the subtext was "I wanna get into his pants," I think you missed the point."

If you ever figure out why "I want to fight you" (be it "we're friends/non-hateful rivals who want to know which is better" or "I want to stop you" or "I want to rip your heart out") is always interpretted as "I want to have sex with you even though we won't" please, I beg of you, let me know. Because most people who have ever touched a shounen seem to think it's a good excuse for why every shounen male ever would bang his buddy/rival/enemy. "X and B are fighting...they're so having sex!"

[redbrunja.livejournal.com]

See, I am totally guilty of doing exactly that - Spirit Oasis fight, Ino and Sakura's fight - but in this case... all the emotions are so clearly focused on the familial bonds, that it just REALLY doesn't seem sexual to me.

[terenewen.livejournal.com]

Oh, this arc. ;___;

On slashing/Sasuke Retrieval Arc: Usually on a show like this with so many great characters, I would be slashing left and right. However for some reason, I have no idea why, I have NEVER been able to ship anyone in Naruto, slash, het or otherwise. I mean, I can see where the subtext is, and I hear the faint sound of fangirls squeeing, but I can't make my own mind go there. Go figure. ANYWAY, the relationship building and breaking between Naruto and Sasuke there makes me die inside (in a good way). I mean...they're always had this wonderfully pure rivalry/friendship thing and seeing them actually trying to hurt each other is ...ouch. Believe me, when I watched that in the anime I was crying like a mofo forever. All I wanted was for Sasuke to stop being a dick, hug Naruto, go home and be BFFs forever. And I NEVER want that from two good-looking men who have chemistry. Anyway, where am I going with this? Um, I think the general trend is that for me, Naruto is brilliance that transcends sex in every way. It's about friendship and loyalty and self-empowerment and AWESOME.

And as for everyone living...heh, I totally understand that from a narrative point of view, but at that point I was lying in bed, barely able to see the screen of my laptop because I was crying so much, going "THANK GOD THEY'RE ALL ALIVE!"
...I have a major soft spot for Naruto characters. So yeah, that didn't bother me too much. :) You should see me at the end of Band of Brothers, when people actually DO die...it's not good.

[redbrunja.livejournal.com]

Naruto is, for what ever reason, totally a show about family. That's what they all want, that's what the teams stand for, that's what Kakashi and Sasuke and Naruto lost...

[enderxenocide.livejournal.com]

You know, you do have a point about the Naruto/Sasuke thing, but I think I would be upset with myself if I did not at least try to defend it! :) I don't speak for every Naruto/Sasuke fan, of course, but this is how I see those two.

There is NOTHING sexual about the fight. It's two twelve year old boys who are very emotionally messed up, and Sasuke especially so. The reason the fight stands out--not just for being an awesome fight--but for the first time the boys are honest with each other. Naruto labels Sasuke as his first and "most important friend" and "something-like-a-brother", and Sasuke openly calls Naruto his "most important friend", since he already has a brother and that boy does not need another sibling. They are trying, as best as they know how, to define their relationship with each other, but I think it's difficult for them because it's not just the difference between "friend" and "brother". Sasuke means more to Naruto than anything, and although Sasuke can never get out of his brother's shadow, this is the VERY first time he has ever admitted to anyone besides his brother that he cares for them, in whatever fashion.

Naruto will do whatever it takes to get Sasuke back, the point that he will abandon his dream of becoming Hokage. Sasuke will do everything it takes to not let Naruto become more important to him that he already his, even to the point that he leaves the only people who have shown him any affection since the murder and takes refuge with a pedophile.

In my opinion, these two idiots deserve each other.

Rather than any kind of UST, the fight (for me) is just one big ball of Unresolved Feelings. And this kind of epic love/hate relationship outshines any of the emotions Naruto might have for anyone else, I think. Until either Sasuke or Naruto dies (or both) these two morons will be dancing around each other, and it's fucked up and unhealthy and right up my alley. :)I think a lot of us in the Naruto/Sasuke corner of the fandom are also familiar with CLAMP's school of "most important person"="soulmate". Whether that is a healthy relationship or not. (There's also a huge connection between Naruto's demon and Sasuke, but I will not spoil that for you).

I also think that this line is rather romantic: "Even if I have to break all the bones in your body and drag you home, I won't let you go to Orochimaru!"

Or later, when he runs into Orochimaru again: "In my presence, don't you dare talk about Sasuke as if he belongs to you!"

Anyway. I know you won't agree with me, but I just didn't want you to think it's JUST about the sex, because to be honest, that's not what Naruto/Sasuke is about. Even if it was canon, these two will probably never get the opportunity to even think about having sex. It's just that I don't want to label them as "friends" or "something-like brothers", when the real meaning of their relationship is so much more complicated than that.

[redbrunja.livejournal.com]

I was waiting for your comment. ^_^ Because I know you ship those two, and I was reading this going, 'sorry enderxenocide, I just don't see it.'

You have some good point, and I have the feeling you are far, far more rational and clear sighted than the average fangirl (well, I know you are) but for me, the most important thing about Naruto and Sasuke is family, is that sibling bond, so I totally see it in a different light than you do.

[rashaka.livejournal.com]

The flashbacks for Sasuke did give me a lot of sympathy. I lost it when we got back to the fight, but I felt for the younger version.

"More special than you" has been a running joke in anime fandom now as a result of Uchiha Sasuke. It's the epitome of whiny me-monster.

By which I mean, I kind of feel that if you watched that fight between Sasuke and Naruto and thought that the subtext was "I wanna get into his pants," I think you missed the point.

I agree with you there. I'm actually kind of neutral about Sasuke/Naruto. I'm okay with it if they're much, much older, where you feel like enough time has passed for them to get acquainted with the idea of an "unconventional" (in the Naruto universe) sexuality and how rivalry can be an attraction as well as a repulsion (aka late teens or adulthood) AND provided that Sasuke has gotten over himself enough to be believably reformed. But when they're kids? It's all friendship and brotherhood. Attraction isn't even on their RADAR. It's not romantic love, here. Even twelve year olds know the difference.

That is almost the same emotional arc as Sasuke's relationship with Naruto, with the exception that Naruto is the one striving for attention and to be as good as/better than, and Sasuke is the one not giving him attention.

I completely agree, except that it's more of a two-way street with Naruto. Although Sasuke is the one holding back on attention, Sasuke feels the resenment "I want to beat you" for Naruto as much as Naruto does for him. He didn't at first, but I think Orochimaru being stopped by Naruto in the forest and then everything else that happened gave Sasuke this extra edge of jealousy and resentment where Naruto was concerned. Reflecting his resenment for his brother.

I know that l soon every female ninja sans Temari is going to be getting medic training, which makes me go, 'way the hell to ruin any chance of letting Sakura be special.'

Oh that bugged me too. I thought it was lessened somewhat with Hinata, but at least with Hinata we saw her give Naruto medicine in the chuunin exams so you could believe she had an interest. But Ino? I read that and I was like "fuck that, what a cop out". Obviously the mangaka can't think of anything women are good for except healing.

I know some people complained when Katara got the healing trick as being a default "female" gendered power to give a cahracter, but I was impressed with how they've handled-- or in most cases not handled-- it since. Yes, Katara has learned some healing, but when asked to choose she chose fighting hands-down. Katara is a warrior first and a healer/medic second.

But I adore the whole 'sharingan as a gift' and when Kakashi is crying out of just that eye.

I loved that gaiden, and was terribly sad when they skipped it in the anime. I was hoping they'd use the filler to do gaiden for all the teachers, but sadly they just filled it with random cliche plots instead.

Because what Kakashi was wearing sort-of looked like an ANBU uniform, but I didn't see a tatto and it was never mentioned, but I thought this was around the time he was being sent out on assassination missions? Or was that after he mastered his chidori?

I'm still not sure when kakashi became Anbu. In the gaiden he'd just become jounin, and that was before the Nine Tails attacked. Given that Kakahshi is 14 years older than Naruto, in that one or two year period between losing Obito and the Nine Tails being stopped is presumably when he became ANBU. I like to think Rin died during the Nine Tails nightmare, but I don't think that's actually been revealed that I know of.

Speaking of, Sasuke has three 'comets' in his eye and Kakshi has two, correct? And do you think the Sharigan 'remembers' things it has learned? By which I mean, if it was passed on, does it/new person use jujitsu that had been memorized before, or does the new person have to relearn everything?

Isn't it the other way around? At least in the "modern" timeline. Sasuke and Kakashi both started out with two, but by the time Team 7 is formed Kakashi has three. Itachi has the stage past three.

[redbrunja.livejournal.com]

"More special than you" has been a running joke in anime fandom now as a result of Uchiha Sasuke. It's the epitome of whiny me-monster.

What made me lol so hard was the fact that I have come across the running joke LONG before I actually started reading Naruto. LONG before. Which just added this whole special level of... sweet jesus Sasuke, listen to yourself.

I thought it was lessened somewhat with Hinata, but at least with Hinata we saw her give Naruto medicine in the chuunin exams so you could believe she had an interest. But Ino? I read that and I was like "fuck that, what a cop out". Obviously the mangaka can't think of anything women are good for except healing.

Yes. See, Hinata makes sense, but Ino? As I was saying to someone else, her talents are MADE for espinage. She couldn't be MORE the perfect spy if she had 'sydney bristow' tattoed on her ass. And he thinks she should be a healer? *incredulous*

I like to think Rin died during the Nine Tails nightmare, but I don't think that's actually been revealed that I know of.

That seems to be the consensus. I wonder if that was something the mangaka said in an interview or something.

Isn't it the other way around? At least in the "modern" timeline. Sasuke and Kakashi both started out with two, but by the time Team 7 is formed Kakashi has three. Itachi has the stage past three.

Okay, is that how it works? So having the three isn't the thing you need to kill your best friend for, but just a normal progression?

[rashaka.livejournal.com]

Yes. See, Hinata makes sense, but Ino? As I was saying to someone else, her talents are MADE for espinage. She couldn't be MORE the perfect spy if she had 'sydney bristow' tattoed on her ass. And he thinks she should be a healer? *incredulous*

Oh I know. If, like we've seen with all the clans, there are lots of types of abilities in the family category, then presumably Ino should be able to know or learn a lot more psychic or body-control techniques. I was writing this fic for a while called The Mindwalker Ninja, way back before the time jump, where I had plans to over several years chronicle Ino's advancing medical techniques, and the resulting cost. I had her go against Shino in the chuunin exams, and after several distractions and set-up take psychic control of his insects to attack him. That puts her in a coma for two weeks, and when she wakes up her mental powers are strongers, as well as having her be the first person to take over the mind of a contracted animal as she would a human. Then, in the chapters I haven't written, I had planned for her and Naruto to be intimately involved in saving Sasuke from Orochimaru... basically Naruto does all this crazy illegal shit involving stolen techniques and dangerous stuff just, in plot terms, to get Ino to where Sasuke is, at the moment of transfer, and Ino piggybacks mentally and helps or facilitates the death of Orochimaru's mind, essentially killing him before Sasuke can be overtaken completely. That process is so mentally traumatic that she goes into a second coma and doesn't wake up for over a month. And this time when she wakes up, she hears everything. It's turned her into a full-blown telepath and the first one in several generations in her clan. It takes her a long, long time to learn to control it and to be sane and healthy again. (also, she gets involved in this really bizarre relationship with Sasuke as a result of the whole Orochimaru mental tag team thing, and they both end up cheating on their respective boyfriends/girlfriends because they've been inside each other's heads and can't get over it.) Ino's abilities have so much potential!

But even IF you wanted to take her a medical route, I'd turn Ino into a psychologist or an interrogation officer. Psychology for obvious reasons, and interrogation because it's so similar to psychology.

I did read a really interesting chapterfic once where Sakura gets apprenticed to the interrogation guy (with the scar on his face), and it nicel chronicles how she changes as a result of the training and how the way other people treat her changes as well, knowing what she's being taught to do.

Re: Rin
That seems to be the consensus. I wonder if that was something the mangaka said in an interview or something.

I've never heard anything-- it's just the most convenient answer. Sure she could have died anywhere in that 16 year period, but we already know a lot of people died with the Nine Tails, so it fits.

type-o

[rashaka.livejournal.com]

*chronicle Ino's advancing mind techniques,

[redbrunja.livejournal.com]

Oh, I would love to read that fic! It sounds fascinating, and a way better use of Ino's abilities than as a medic.

That story sounds nicely twisted.

xI did read a really interesting chapterfic once where Sakura gets apprenticed to the interrogation guy (with the scar on his face), and it nicel chronicles how she changes as a result of the training and how the way other people treat her changes as well, knowing what she's being taught to do.

That sounds fascinating. Do you have a link?