Yes, I am blatantly trying to schmooze you into forgiving me! Thank you for noticing!

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or any of the characters used in this story

For Sakura Haruno, it wasn't all that hard to remember.

The way a breeze would come by as she would cloud watch, or how good she felt after a training session.

But then there were other things that she could remember, Naruto's grin after he had his fill of ramen that she would inevitably have to pay for, Sasuke's eyes when he looked at her after she had just beaten him in a fight, or Kakashi's mask hiding away a face that she would have liked to see ever so much.

Yes, she could remember all of that. Even after they were gone.

Remembering them was easy, forgetting however. That was much harder.

She tried, she really did. Trying to move forward, trying to move on. And she found that although she tried time and time again she failed. Because she could no longer take a step.

Like being stuck in tar, thick and dark, holding her to the time where they were still there. Before they had left.

And the world moved on around her, never stopping to see that she was cemented to her past, and unable to see her present. Some of her friends tried to help her, but they grew tired and they moved on as well. The Rookie Nine eventually forgot about her all together. Well, most of them did anyway.

"Troublesome woman."

And when she was with those people, she would smile, and feel the past's grip around her ankles begin to loosen.

Night, however, was different. When she was all alone, and the tears would come and come and come, and the sobs shook her to her very core, the tar became thicker, unmoving, unchanging.

"Sakura, it's okay. Destiny… It's a tricky thing."

And in the morning when the two boys would visit her, she almost didn't feel the chains that binded her to a picture of three children, one man, and so many, many dreams.

"Thank you. For everything."

And she would smile and smile and smile, because she was happy that they were there.

And one night, the tears did not come. The sobs did not rack through her body. The memories did not assault her as they had for years, and years.

Slowly without her noticing, she had walked away from the mass of darkness that was her past. She had not taken one step or two. No. She had simply, walked away.

And she lived, for the first time in a very long time, she lived.

Watching clouds with a boy with unusually spiked hair and a love for shogi.

Training with a boy whose eyes could see everything, and yet could not figure out why dango was her favorite food.

And she found that she could keep going, moving and changing, becoming someone different. So she trained hard and laughed often and loved as much as she could.

And when word came that Team 7 was coming through the gates, she was there. She smiled because she was happy that they were home.

They looked at her uncertainly. Not sure what to do or what to say.

"Welcome back!"

And then she walked away. Not for fear that she would break, and certainly not for fear that she would love them again. No, instead she was walking toward something. To the presence of two boys who had recently told her that they loved her.

And when they told her, she laughing had replied, "Well of course I love you, you idiots. Where have you been all this time?"

Yes, for Sakura Haruno, it wasn't all that had to rememeber.

The way that Shikamaru Nara would kiss her when they would cloud watch together, or the way that Neji Hyuuga would hold her as they caught their breath after training.

It wasn't hard to remember at all.

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