The first time Sakura had met her teammates, she'd felt like crying. Both from happiness and frustration. The fact that her lifetime crush Sasuke Uchiha was a member of her team had made her so happy that she could've go on a date with the dead last, but unfortunately for her said person, to her frustration, was also a part of team seven.
Sasuke Uchiha, a young boy with outstanding ninja skills, or for Sakura, the boy of her dreams. She'd been convinced that he was the one and only for her, but his need for revenge made him almost impossible to reach. When he'd called her annoying she'd felt like disappearing right there. And not only had she feared that her only chance had been wasted, she'd feared that all she'd done had been for nothing, including letting her hair grow longer.
The day that Sasuke had left the village without her being able to do something about it, she'd been devastated. It was as if the whole world was about to collapse right there and then. Never in her life had she felt as weak as she'd felt that day and yet she had survived, all because of one promise.
Naruto had given her so much that day. Hope, a sense of guilt, but most of all the realization that she couldn't continue like that. Day after day she'd buried her nose in all kinds of books, she knew every rule about the village, every written word about shinobi and all for a single purpose: to impress that one guy that she had no chance on. The moment that the rescue team had come back without Sasuke, had been the moment she knew that things had to change.
From that moment on she could no longer lean on her blonde teammate. She'd trained with Tsunade for two whole years. And she was happy to admit that she'd changed. By the time Naruto had come back to the village, she'd made it to jounin and was one of the best medical ninja in the Leaf. Her will had hardened over the years and now she was prepared to make the ultimate sacrifice.
And that was where she stood now.
Sakura's eyes narrowed as she looked across the village. The corners of her mouth twisting into a frown. It was time.
"You've really changed you know."
She nodded once and turned around to face her teammate. "I had to."
"Are you sure tha-?"
"Don't try to make me back down, Kakashi. My mind's made up."
The silver haired jounin raised an eyebrow and took a step toward her. "He's not going to like this, you know."
Sakura turned to him as she tied her hair together into a high ponytail and glared at him "That's why you won't tell him anything."
Kakashi watched in complete silence as she took a step forward and looked up to him, the fire in her eyes clearly visible. "Naruto is a great friend and I owe him more than I could ever repay, but you know how he gets when it's about Sasuke. Besides, he's anbu captain now, I'm sure that he has a lot on his mind. We shouldn't bother him with such minor things."
He let out a soft chuckle. "Minor huh? The old Sakura would've killed me if I'd say that her perfect Sasuke was only a minor thing."
"The old Sakura..." Sakura raised her head and looked at the sky. It had raining all week, but today there was no cloud to be seen. Rays of sunlight warmed her skin and filled her with new strength. It was as if the sun was reassuring her that everything would be okay.
"Looking back now, I realize how weak I really was. I was nothing compared to those two and yet... here I am. Preparing to take down one of them." She looked him in the eyes and smiled weakly. "The funny thing is that I'm not even the slightest bit sad. I've always looked back at my past with remorse and pity, but now I actually feel relieved."
Kakashi's eye curved into the familiar crease before he looked back at her. "That's because you've moved on from that. You've accepted what has happened and the fact that he won't come back. You've grown a lot since he's left, both physically and emotionally. In my eyes you've changed the most out of our team."
She shook her head. "No, I've yet to accept the fact that there are things I can't do anything about. Just thinking about it sickens me." Her eyes hardened. "Not knowing what's going to happen, that's what scares me the most."
The jounin surprised her by letting out a soft chuckle and she shot him a questioning look. He saw the unspoken question in her eyes and chuckled once more before answering her. "Maybe it's true that you haven't fully accepted it, but you know that there are things that you still have to accept, just as you know that there are things that you've already accepted. It is that knowledge that gives you the chance to accept things completely. It's true that you've still got a long way ago to truly accepting it and maybe you'll never do, but the fact that you realize that means that you're almost there."
Sakura stared at him, the surprise clearly visible in her bright green eyes. Finally the surprise faded away and the corners of her mouth lifted upward in a smile. "Almost there, huh. That doesn't sound so bad."
Kakashi smiled back and she turned towards the village again. "Not bad at all."