The only person you can truly trust is yourself.
Sakura cursed as yet another tree came flying her way, dodging just in time to see a second one approaching quickly. She modulated just enough chakra to punch and split the trunk harmlessly in half.
"Sakura, this isn't target practice! Dodge!" Tsunade stared her down with her hands on her hips.
"Sorry Shishou! I won't do it again!" Sakura put her hands up in defeat.
"I suppose we've been at this for the past few hours, why don't we call it a day? I have some sake waiting for me at my desk..."
"Of course Shishou..." Sakura laughed nervously and started her retreat before Tsunade changed her mind.
"Sakura!", Tsunade barked.
Startled, she turned towards Tsunade "What happened?"
"I heard a certain someone is coming back to the village today, you might want to stop by the front gates", Tsunade said with a wink.
That could only mean one thing. Sasuke was back! Sakura's mood lightened drastically and she giddily skipped towards the village gates. She remembered the day like it was yesterday...
Sasuke had attempted to skive off with Orochimaru and his band of snakes a while after the chuunin exams, but was caught before he could escape with them. He was placed under a much higher scrutiny after that happened and began to train exclusively under Kakashi, often going on missions outside the village. Meanwhile, the rest of Team 7 split up - Naruto going to train with Jiraiya and Sakura finding mentorship under Tsunade.
Sakura had still pined over Sasuke the past three years, from academy days to when Team 7 split up. At first she had liked him because that's who everyone liked in academy. She liked him for his handsomeness and aloofness, always out of reach and often harshly frank.
Sakura had always thought her crush would just be a crush. There was a point where she just accepted her infatuation with Sasuke as a part of her - it's not like there were any other boys she was interested in. Sakura tried to develop her friendship more with Sasuke, eating with him as friends rather than trying to ask him on dates. She never thought the day would come where he would actually accept her feelings. It was like a dream come true.
"Hey, Sakura. I realized that I've wasted these past few years and that I think we would go well together." Sasuke brought up casually once after a brief dinner stop.
Sakura was shocked, on her part. Well, it's not like she was going to say no. It's been her dream all these years, after all. "Of course! I mean, yeah I think so too."
Sasuke did a weird half smile-smirk at her and reached out for her hand. Sakura, blushing intensely, obliged.
And that was the start of the end.
Note: It's been a long time since I've written something! It's a bit of a rocky start, but hopefully not too bad. You can probably tell, but don't worry; Sakura isn't ending up with Sasuke. Thanks for reading :)