The first time she walked through the forest it had seemed to be so lush, green and welcoming. Now, as she stumbled towards her village leaving a path of blood, she decided it had grown cold and smothering over the years. Once walking this very root with team mates seemed to far away now. Don't get her wrong, she had walked the same path many times since with both Sasuke and Naruto and sometimes on occasions when he wasn't late, Kakashi. Right now they were back in Konoha, the very place she was trying to reach and the very place she hated going back to. Sasuke was a shell of his former self and Naruto was detached, scared to release the wrath of the Kyuubi onto the people around him, and Kakashi, well he was a perverted idiot. She laughed and had to fall to her knees, blood pouring in rivulets down her chill, a pulsing pain pumping from her sides and chest. She could feel the hot liquid running down her stomach and legs. She wasn't going to die here. No way in bloody hell.

She pushed upwards, screaming un-caringly at the pain and she staggered on, knowing that at her next turn she would see those big brown gates, see the carvings on the stone and know she was home.

The mission, as it always did, turned out to be more than the hokage had bargained for. Five, FIVE, missing nins had ambushed her. Killing them hadn't been a problem but it was the ambush by the sound country that had done her in. Her alone could not have taken on a whole village, no matter how strong, how fast or how smart she was. Escaping had been her only option and that had proved deadly.

"Come ooooon you useless excuse for a body! You gonna let a bunch of gushing holes stop ya from doing your job" She encouraged herself violently, gritting her teeth in determination with every step. "One foot in front of the other. We haven't finished our mission yet! Warn the Hokage and then you can let my soul bugger off to hell" The gates were in sight and she almost collapsed from relief. They seemed so much bigger than they had done the first time she left through them. Funny, weren't they meant to get smaller?

"Hey! You oka-? SAKURA!"

Oh good they noticed, saves me some breath. She thought practically, finally allowing her body to fall into the arms of the guards.

"GET THE HOKAGE!" Sakura had no clue which one of them called but she grabbed onto them, her eyesight rapidly going dark and throwing things into pools of darkness.

"Not yet you don't" she managed with a smile. The pain was becoming an interference and she frowned. " Sound ... they've gone rogue. The treaty is nulled. Prepare for war." She breathed out, unevenly. She looked thoughtful. "I think that was all? .. yeah ... yeah ... it was" And she sighed contently in the guards arms. Okay body, I'm done. Do what you want.

Sakuno died on the 7th anniversary of her ninja training completion. She had meant to meet with her team mates and friends that evening. Instead they were told she was dead.

That night Konoha went to war.

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Don't get me wrong, I actually like Sakura (but only in Shippuuden, pissed me off way too much before that.) I just liked the idea of writing her death ... morbid ain't I? Lol R&R XD