Disclaimer: They aren't mine, we all they don't belong to us, because if they could, it would be the catfight from Hell. I lay odds 3 to 1 on myself.

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Ch 1

Her life wasn't supposed to have turned out like this. When she was younger, she had planned it out neatly, had her goals organized. By 18, she would be married to Sasuke, and a Jounín by 20. Only the latter had been accomplished, six months early no less. She was six months shy of being 20, and the only thing she had to show for her life was a healthy bank account. She had tried to figure out where it had all gone wrong on a lunch shift one day, and hadn't succeeded. There hadn't seemed to be any real point she could look at and say it had been the beginning. Maybe when her parents died within months of each other when she was 16? Or when Sasuke left? Which caused Naruto to leave for a few years to train with Juraiya to bring Sasuke back? Or perhaps it had been when Sasuke had actually come back and everyone moved on with their lives? That was the most likely possibility.

She had been so busy at the hospital, training with Tsunade, training for the Jounín exams, missions… what little time she had left was divided between her own personal time and whatever friends had time to spend with her. But then Sasuke had married Ino.

Sakura was old enough and knew herself well enough that she had not been upset when they had started dating. Besides the fact that she didn't even have enough time for a one night stand much less a relationship, she had accepted the fact that she had been the ultimate fan girl, which by no means meant actual love. So if they both found love with each other, all the better for them. But that meant that Ino's priorities were no longer in sync with hers; it's hard to gush to your girlfriend about your totally perfect boyfriend when said girlfriend used to believe the world rose and set on her love for that man. Kinda awkward. Things became even more distant after they became married, as Sasuke made good on his promise to revive his clan. Ino was spitting out children as quickly as was biologically possible, and Sakura really didn't understand what the big deal was when a toddler made an involuntary facial expression that was apparently 'totally adorable'. And even if Sakura had felt the desire to spend time with Sasuke, he was always gone on missions to support the small village he somehow had time to cultivate through Ino.

Two best friends gone, faded away, drifted away, however it happened or was described, they were friends that received only waves and the cursory inquiries if they passed by.

Naruto had finally matured enough to realize Hinata for who she was and they had been joined at the hip for the past year. Not being a person to do things in half-measures, she hadn't seen the devoted and smitten blonde in three months, except for the occasional hospital visit, which was spent discussing how great and perfect Hinata was. While she absolutely and completely did not begrudge him his happiness, Lord knew the man deserved it more than the entire village put together, it had been difficult to one day wake up and realize she had been unintentionally dropped. Naruto had matured, but not that much; he still tended to forget the obvious, or maybe he simply didn't know how to be devoted to more than one woman in his life. She didn't want to be the main woman in his life, just a friend. Yet she didn't feel it was fair to bring up the complaint to him when she had so little time herself. She knew she would feel horribly guilty if she talked to him, and would then have to turn down half of his attempts to spend more time with him due to her work. It would make her feel like a hypocrite. So she said nothing.

Somehow, at the age of 19, she had ended up completely alone in life, her two teammates gone with significant others, and Kakashi didn't count. The man was barely her former teacher in her book, and that merely brought up issues she had that only pissed the fuck out of her to think about. Kakashi was one subject she never thought of if she had a choice.

Ok, fine, her problem was this: she understood that she a miserable excuse for a genin, what with being all Sasuke-fanatical and all, but there should have been some effort to train her. Naruto's training had suffered as well, but he had gotten what little time had been left over. Her lessons were what he was teaching the boys. Her superior chakra control should have been something to be honed, not dismissed without even a compliment. The feeling of constantly chasing after the boys in ability and strength, and to have that feeling reinforced by her own teacher by virtually ignoring her had taken her years to overcome. If not for Tsunade… Who knew where she would have been? So when Naruto had left, Kakashi had apparently assumed his responsibility was done and she was left on her own without even a farewell. She had gone to Tsunade to find out why Kakashi hadn't been showing up for training and had been informed he had gone back to ANBU, as he had no students left to teach. It had been the first and only time someone other than her parents had seen her cry. While he may have done her a favor in the long run, she felt she owed him nothing when all was said and done. He was the party most guilty of abandoning her, and she hated how he always made her feel so uncool and like a pathetic little girl. Bad memories, bad associations, and bitter feelings were directed toward him for being responsible for them.