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Non-massacre / alternate universe / sakura-centric

With her team gone for three whole years, Sakura Haruno has no choice but to succeed.

"Enter!"

Sakura nearly sprinted back to her home at the loud, irritated voice of her relatively new Hokage. Taking two deep breaths she steeled herself before pushing open the oak doors. Tsunade Senju sat behind a large wooden desk looking every bit as annoyed as she sounded.

"I don't have all day, kid. Either spit it out or leave."

Sakura choked on her saliva at the command. The woman's very being radiated power, making it quite clear she would tolerate no foolishness. The intricate plan she had been working on for two whole weeks dissolved into nothing and before her brain could catch up with her mouth, she roughly spit out, "Make me your apprentice!"

"Eh!?"

Tsunade smirked at the buzzing girl. Today was the first day of Sakura's physical training and the blond Hokage was sure her new apprentice had no idea what she got herself into. It had been a week since she had accepted the pathetically scrawny kid as her prodigy and so far, and before any type of training, Tsunade had made sure that the pinkette knew every word of every medical text Konoha had to offer.

"Alright, brat." At the Hokage's commanding tone, Sakura straightened, falling into a determined persona. "What is the number one rule for a combat medic?"

Sakura pondered over the question, comparing what she read in the library to her knowledge of battles. "A combat medic must stay alive long enough for them to heal their teammates and in order to do so, they need to avoid being caught by an enemy ninja... So, they need to be able to avoid being hit?"

The blond's smirk widened as she nodded her head. "Yes, that is correct Sakura. What we will be working on today is dodging."

And when the first boulder went flying, Sakura wondered just what had she done.

Sakura stared at the wreckage she had just caused. She hadn't meant to destroy a whole training ground. It was the beginning of the fourth month of being Tsunade's apprentice and Sakura had finally managed to mirror the blond Senju's signature technique after many trials and errors. Painful errors. However, she seemed to have underestimated exactly how much chakra she had put into that stomp.

Chakra flared behind her and Sakura gulped loudly. Turning around slowly, she fully expected to see an enraged Hokage. However, as she finished her pathetically slow pivot, Sakura was surprised to see a small smile on her Shishou's face.

Tsunade cackled loudly at the look Sakura was sporting. She looked like a child who had just been caught doing something naughty. The Hokage strode up to the girl, smacking her on the back of the head. "Do not look so frightened, brat. I did the same thing when I first managed that attack."

Sakura rubbed her aching head and let out a slow breath. She had been quite afraid that Tsunade would punish her with another torture- she meant rigorous training session. The pinkette breathed a nervous chuckle and matched Tsunade's smile.

The first time Sakura had finally managed to heal a fractured bone -with Shizune acting as a vigilant supervisor of course- she had nearly leaped for joy. However, seeing as that was completely unprofessional while still attending to a patient, she had politely waited until she left the room to do so.

Shizune laughed at her antics, smiling proudly. "You are progressing very quickly Sakura-chan. Certainly faster than I did. Tsunade-sama and I are very proud."

Sakura blushed lightly at the praise. "Thank you, Shizune-senpai, but I still have a very long way to go before I could even be called a medic."

Shizune brushed away the comment. "Don't downplay yourself Sakura-chan. You are quite the prodigy in the medical arts. And quite the humble one too." Shizune smiled softly at her fellow apprentice's darkened blush. "Come, let's finish our rounds then I will treat you to some dango."

At the mention of her favorite dessert, Sakura grinned. Today was a good day.

"I am signing you up for the upcoming chunin exams."

Sakura took time to process what Tsunade had just told her. Just a year ago she would have fiercely objected, insisting on waiting for her absent teammates. However, requesting to be the Hokage's apprentice had been the best choice she had ever made. Tsunade did not coddle her in the least and Sakura was extremely grateful for that. It gave her the room she needed to grow and mature.

So with new eyes, she oversaw the possible outcomes of the blond's decision. Two minutes past, with Tsunade knowingly observing her prodigy. There was a raging fire behind her green eyes as the kunoichi answered with a fierce, "Yes, Tsunade-sama!"

"Winner, Haruno Sakura!"

Sakura panted harshly, her knees hitting the ground. Her heartbeat still thumped loudly in her ears, blocking out the approving roars of the crowd. Her opponent lay unconscious before her, injured but in no ways maimed.

The exams had been long and trying, however, they were still a very far cry from the disaster a mere two years ago. She had filled the empty slot in team ten, and Sakura was grateful for Tsunade's insight, as it allowed her to begin to patch up her broken friendship with Ino.

She, along with team ten had flown through the first two assignments and just like the last chunin exam, the final round was a one on one match. Her opponent had been a genin from Kirigakure and Sakura could admit she fought with gusto. However, Sakura had prepared for this and while the girl's attacks were gruesome, they were nothing compared to her blond shishou's.

Sakura looked around her for a moment, reveling in the praise she was receiving. It felt good to finally, finally be acknowledged for her strength. Catching Tsunade's proud eyes from where she sat inside the Kage stand, she couldn't help the large grin that made its way to her face.

Shannaro!

Crash!

Shisui's head snapped up, looking towards the next training field over. Exchanging a look with his dear little cousin, they both disappeared toward the location of the disturbance. Stopping in a tree, Shisui and Itachi observed the scene before them.

There stood the Hokage's prized apprentice, beating bloody fists against a tree. There was no chakra infused into her punches, and Shisui was a bit taken aback by how much raw strength this tiny girl possessed. The tree was greatly damaged, hinting at just how long the girl had been here.

"Dammit!" The frustrated cry was whispered underneath her breath, but both shinobi heard it clearly. The two men took a few moments to assess the situation. Based on Sakura's blood-stained scrubs, she had just come from the hospital. Her glassy eyes and defeated expression could mean a multitude of things. However, it all pointed in the same direction. Something terrible must have occurred while Sakura was on shift. And seeing as there was only so much that could happen in a hospital, the Uchiha cousins concluded she must have lost a patient.

Shisui glanced at his cousin. "Should we interfere?"

Itachi didn't respond, taking the time to really observe the distraught female. The kunoichi was wise to not use chakra and she was not hurting anyone around her, excluding herself. However, that was not as relevant considering she was a medic.

"Hn." With the soft grunt, his cousin disappeared, seemingly back to their own training field. Shisui's eyebrow creased for a moment. There was not much he could do even if he did confront Sakura. He did not know her. With a heavy heart, he followed his cousin, leaving the now crying girl to mourn by her lonesome.

"A mission, Shishou?" Sakura caught the scroll that Tsunade tossed, snapping it open and reading through it in one graceful movement. Pink brows furrowed and Sakura shot her mentor an irritated glance. "To Tea Country. Shishou, if this is another sake run-"

Tsunade rolled her eyes at the fuming girl. "Hush, brat. This is exactly what you need, Sakura. Don't think I haven't noticed you sulking around lately."

Sakura blushed a bit guilty at her mentor's blunt statement. "Shishou... I-"

"I understand, Sakura." The blond cut in gently. She gave her student a rare soft look. "I understand. The first ones are always the hardest." Before her young apprentice could interrupt, she continued a little more firmly. "Besides, this not a vacation. I have need of some documents a colleague has in his possession. You are to find him and retrieve the scrolls. This is not a solo mission, either. I will be sending you with team ten with Shikamaru as captain."

Sakura sighed. It is true that she had been slightly depressed every since the loss of her first ever patient a few weeks ago, she was still not quite ready for Ino to pick through her mind. The young kunoichi had tried to almost religiously avoided the Yamanaka since the other woman had gotten wind of the tragic incident. She didn't want to talk about her feelings on the matter, not yet at least. The pinkeye simply wasn't ready.

Sakura wilted a bit at her dark thoughts. Raising grieving and guilty eyes to her mentor, she couldn't help but sigh a bit heavier. "Yes, Tsunade-sama."

oooooooo

Sakura let out a long content breath as she lowered herself deeper into the steaming hot spring. Ino mirrored her bliss across from her. It was their final day in Tea Country and most likely the last time for a while before she'd be able to fully relax. The mission had been quite simple and had not taken much effort, and the man they were assigned to find had given little complaints as he realized exactly who's apprentice Sakura was.

"Sakura.." The pink haired woman looked up at her best friend, then sighed at the look on Ino's face. Sakura knew she wasn't getting out of this conversation, she was just grateful Ino had enough insight to wait until an appropriate time. "Do you want to talk about him?"

Him being the patient she lost all those weeks ago...

Sakura mulled over the question for a quick moment, deciding if she'd want to tell Ino or reject the blond's offer. She shot her friend a small wobbly smile. After all, the pig was just trying to help.

"Sure, pig. I would."

The next hour was filled with guilty confessions, lots of tears, and snuck-in sake. However, in the end, it was worth all of the resurfacing pain, because Sakura hadn't felt so light in weeks.

"Haruno-sama! We have a code 3!"

Sakura stood from her desk, having just finished her paperwork. She rushed out of her office, making her way to the operating rooms and quickly scrubbed in. The operating room was in complete chaos and Sakura wasted no time in barking out orders. She scanned a critical eye over each patient and made her way over to most injured ANBU member.

Hands glowing a bright green, she began the long process of saving the shinobi's life. Green eyes glinted in sharp determination. She wouldn't fail this time.

The operation had taken the entirety of the night. By the time the sun just began to peek over the horizon, Sakura was swaying on her feet. She had worked a double shift before the whole fiasco had occurred, and was now feeling the severe consequences of chakra depletion. The pink-haired kunoichi slumped down into her chair. Neji Hyuuga's wounds had been the worst out of his team, and it was nothing short of a miracle that he had survived. If he had made it to the hospital any later he would surely have died.

Sakura groggily signed the bottom of Neji's health report. He, along with the rest of his team would have to be taken of the roster for at least two weeks. Sakura sighed, feeling a headache coming on. Sakura made her way out of the hospital, completely exhausted. Ready to pass out, she didn't feel the two sets of eyes that trailed after her.

Tsunade observed her apprentice. It had been almost exactly three years since Sakura had demanded to be her student. Three years since the blond Hokage had accepted. Long gone were her days of being a pathetically weak fangirl.

Although the young woman sitting beside her was quite comfortable in her own skin, Tsunade briefly wondered how Sakura would react to the news she was about to learn.

"Sakura." Sakura didn't glance up, merely humming and continuing to sort the Hokage's seemingly never-ending paperwork.

"Hm?"

"The rest of team seven is scheduled to return to the village any day now." Tsunade watched closely as her little apprentice paused in her work for a millisecond, then continued on as if nothing happened.

"Ah, that is good." Sakura glanced up, feeling Tsunade's gaze still on her. She sighed lightly and placed the paperwork down. "I don't hate them Shishou. I know what I was like before, a lot better than anyone. I was weak and I can't hold their decision to leave against them."

Tsunade sipped on her sake, humming. "While that is true, even I can see how much Hatake neglected you as a student. Will you forgive him too?"

Sakura merely smiled. "I've taken the time to think about it and in reality, we are all only a little more than strangers." Sakura elaborated at Tsunade's questioning stare. "Team seven was only in action for a few months. I was too focused on my feelings with Sasuke to try and understand Kakashi and Naruto. Naruto was too focused on his rivalry with Sasuke and his crush on me. And well, Kakashi never tried to get to know any of us beyond the first introductions. So you see, I don't know them, Shishou. Not like I know Ino or any of my friends now." With a small smile, Sakura began sorting the paperwork again. "If they decide to approach me, then I won't turn them away, but never again will I chase people who don't mean a thing to me."

At Sakura's words, Tsunade was struck once again with just how much her beloved student had grown.

And she'd be damned if she didn't admit how fucking proud she was in that moment.