I do not own Naruto.
She walked slowly down the path, lost in her thoughts.
All members of Team Seven were reunited once more, Naruto, Sasuke and Kakashi were all back.
She remembers it so clearly. She remembers Naruto dragging Sasuke through the streets of Konoha covered with too many bruises and wounds too count. She remembers him smiling at her (one of the brightest smiles she had ever seen on his face) and said with the same loud voice she missed so much, "look at who I brought back, I still kept our promise Sakura-chan"
She remembers going to Ichiraku's with them and Kakashi sensei after they recovered from their injuries. She remembers celebrating with them after they passed the Chunin, Jounin and ANBU exams.
That was a year ago.
Twelve months since they told her not to join any more missions with them as it would be too 'dangerous' for her. (They still thought of her as a weak and useless little girl who wont be able to fight for defend herself.)
Ten months since they had hung out together as a team.
Eight months since they last spoke to her.
Eight months since she had last seen them.
When she asked Tsunade about their sudden disappearance, she remembers the confused look that adorned her Hokages face. "Did they not tell you about their ten months long mission to protect Konoha from the outside of the fire country?"
She remembers the pain in her chest. Everytime she thinks of these words she feels like screaming and crying and rippping her heart right out of her chest because it hurts sososo much. It hurt that she was left behind again.
"Did they not tell you"
"Did they not tell you"
Those words kept repeating themselves over and over again until it felt like her head would explode.
But she understands why they left her behind.
AgainAgainAgain.
She knows she is not as strong as them, (even though she defeated S-class shinobis) she knows that she does not have the chakra reserves to match theirs (the seal on her forehead says otherwise, she has more chakra in there than nearly all of Team Seven have, her chakra control can make her chakra last as long as the Kyuubis.) She knows that they see her as a hindrance, someone who would only drag them down and get in their way. It didn't matter to them that she is also an ANBU level shinobi, they still saw her as weak. (Tsunade may be a medic but first and foremost she was a shinobi and she taught that to her apprentice as well.)
But she also understands that those words don't define her anymore.
Weak
useless
hindrance
She knows she has become a strong shinobi and she knows she can still improve even more. She will continue to learn and grow and she won't and will not let anything or anyone hold her back. Not anymore.
She walks through a familiar door and smiles brightly and cheerfully at her Hokage.
She was going to live and not just survive and wait for her team (old team) to take her back. It didn't work that way for her anymore. She will not be held back any longer either beacuse she was tired of being left behind, tired of being in the background and tired of waiting for her team to come back and welcome them.
Sakura Haruno had enough.
When she entered the door, Tsunade knew something major had happened. She saw it in her eyes.
It was the beginning of a new chapter after the previous one had been reread too many times.
She watched as her apprentice turned around and walked out.
She was happy for her. The apprentice she thought of as a daughter had grown and improved so much. She knew the girl needed to see the outside world. A world outside Konoha and the Fire Country. To see and try and learn new things.
Tsunade knew her dear apprentice would come back to her, and she wishes her all the best.