Drabble Request: Sarada vs. Sakura from Sarada's POV

Mama always had a tell, the little indication that she was about to attack.

Only, she hadn't figured it out yet.

Sarada faced her mother in the clearing.

Papa was off to the side. He was watching them fight.

Sarada's jaw hardened, her eyes narrowed.

She would prove to them that she was stronger, that the last training session from Papa had yielded results. Her sharingan was stronger, she could move more quickly and dodge rapid attacks that came at her. She had more control over her chakra now and she could mold it easily into her hands to make her punches more accurate. Her katon, she could aim with more precision at her enemies.

But her shuriken throwing skills. That was what she was most proud of. That was Papa's specialty, and she would show Mama that in that, at least, she was better than her.

"Are you ready, Sarada?"

Mama's fists were clenched at her side.

She could only nod in answer to her mother's question.

And found herself retreating a few steps as Mama's fists were swinging, her knees up to add another thing to dodge.

One hit and she would be done.

But dodging also took away some of her strength, and she had to rely on muscle memory to make sure she could preserve her chakra reserves.

Mama backed off. Maybe gave her a chance to rest?

"Sarada, you're relying too much on your sharingan. It depletes chakra, which you still need to control."

She knew that! There was no need to say it out loud.

That was why she was doing her best to get better, desperate to keep up with Boruto because he had everyone helping him.

Sarada glared at her mother and twisted her hands into fists.

She blasted a katon in her mother's direction and ran straight for the blaze, only to find Mama gone, a log in her place. She turned around when she felt something shift behind her and was able to avoid the clenched fist aiming for her head.

They both landed on the ground and stood a few paces away from each other.

Okay, breathe.

She could do this. Watch the tells. There was always something that would show her what Mama was thinking even if she wouldn't explicitly say it.

Sarada's sharingan flared again, and in her mind she remembered all her mother's moves. Chakra, punch, swings, knees lifted up to kick. Chakra, fists...

There!

Sarada ran forward, arm raised back, molding chakra, and infused power into her fist.

"Shaaaaannaroooooooou!"

And she smiled inwardly when Mama came rushing at her with the same exact move and the same exact battle cry.

It worked. She'd used her sharingan to copy her mother's fighting style and used the right amount of chakra that she could control.

Their fists met, but instead of being blown away, the impact created a blast around them as they nullified each other's power.

She was breathing hard. But then Mama's figure turned hazy as she suddenly felt weak and faint.

Crap. Chakra reserves gone.

But a warmth was at her back. She looked up and saw Papa's dark eyes smiling down at her.

"Good work, Sarada," he said.

Sarada laughed but it was hard to keep her eyes open. But she could hear Mama approaching, too.

"Sarada, you're strong."

It sounded approving.

Sarada sighed and let the darkness claim her.

So nice to have all this warmth around her.

Papa's and Mama's.