She was sick.
Sick of being "weak".
Sick of being "annoying".
Sick of being...her.
Would she ever get any respect from anyone?
----
"Another day of watching Naruto and Sasuke train without me..." Sakura murmured sadly, her head hung. She trudged wearily down the bustling streets of Konoha, watching as the happy villagers played and laughed and shopped and chatted friendly amongst each other. Bitterness began to creep up inside her as she realized...
She would never make anyone happy.
No one cared for her. No one cared if she lived or died. No one wanted her.
No one respected her.
"Not for long."
Gasping, she frantically turned around to find the source of the voice...
No one seemed to be paying her heed.
"Silly. Of course you can't find me. I'm in your heart."
"In my...heart?" Sakura repeated quietly in disbelief. "But...why? How?"
There was laughter. "I'm here to help you. For you to grow stronger, you must first learn to accept who you are and what you want to change. You are wanted, Haruno Sakura-san. Don't listen to them. Find your Light deep inside yourself, and you will become stronger than all of them combined."
She suddenly felt excitement, "I-I...I can? How? Please train me!"
"Of course."
Suddenly, her surroundings blurred and darkened, and the luminous figure of a silver-haired boy around a year older than her stood a few yards before her. His gloved arm outstretched,
"Come with me, and I will show you."
Without a moment's hesitation, she walked forward and reached out to take his hand...
Everything went pitch black as Sakura could feel herself slowly drifting into unconsciousness.
----
Soprano voices echoed throughout the void, singing in a language she could not distinguish. Her emerald orbs blinking open, she struggled to stand up, glancing curious around at her surroundings.
So much to do... so little time... take your time. Don't be afraid.
Beneath her, a luminous mural was revealed as the darkness slowly receded into the void. She scanned the mural with her somewhat frightened gaze, and gasped quietly.
On the mural was her - or, at least, someone who looked almost exactly like her. Her shoulder-length pink hair seemed to gently carress her pale cheeks, bangs framing her bright forest green eyes. Long, dark eyelashes covered half of her sight as her gaze was directed towards the bottom of the mural. She wore a short-sleeved, black leather jacket with a silver zipper down the middle and pockets at either side of the bottom. It ended a little above her belly button, showing some of her stomach. She wore black cargo pants with a short black mini-skirt wore on top of it, and big, black lace-up boots. On her arms were black draping sleeves, and around her neck she wore a golden necklace with a crown-shaped object hanging from it in the front. Her arms were outstretched, and she held tightly onto what seemed to be a giant key-shaped blade.
"The Keyblade. It's what connects all the worlds...all our hearts. It's also the only key which will open the door, and free the worlds from the Heartless."
The silver-haired boy came and stood beside her, his ocean eyes also staring down at the mural. "The Heartless... those who've lost their own hearts, and feed on others. They come in many shapes and forms, but they all seek the same thing... in one way or another."
The mural changes slightly. To the left of her picture, a smaller image of her teammate Naruto appeared, his face lowered and distraught...
"Naruto..." She whispered in a mixture of acknowledgement and confusion. She turned to glance questioning at the stranger standing beside her.
He seemed to ignore her inquiring features, continuing on, "Some will seek to destroy the Darkness in their hearts..." She looked back at the mural, and an image of her childhood crush and comrade, Sasuke, appeared opposite of Naruto, his expression cold and angered.
"Sa...suke...kun?"
"...and some will seek to use its power, in turn losing themselves to the Darkness." The softened tone of the boy finished sadly, his eyes tired with great experience and knowledge for his young age. "Some, however, remain in Twilight, unable to decide their own fate..."
A picture of her sensei, Kakashi, also appeared behind her own, his back facing her as he stared emotionless back at her.
"Kakashi-sensei...?"
She felt a gloved hand grip hers, somewhat comfortingly, "It's up for you to decide your own fate."
Suddenly, a tall, mysterious doorway materialized in front of her. The platinum-haired boy beside her, still holding her hand, began to drag her forward, towards the door...
Upon nearing the door, it opened slowly to release a blinding light upon them. Sakura shielded her eyes with her free arm, yet the boy continued to tug her through the doorway, glancing back and smiling at her, which strangely reassured her...
They passed through the doorway, and Sakura opened her squinted eyes to realize the change in her surroundings.
It was...
The training grounds where Team 7 first became fully-fledged shinobi of Konoha.
Blinking, she also came to note the three figures standing around her in a triangle-like position. Ten Ten, from Gai's team. Kiba, from Team 8. Kankuro, from the Sand Siblings.
Hold on. The door won't open just yet. First, tell me a little about yourself.
She sauntered over to Ten Ten, tilting her head curiously, "Ten Ten? What are you doing here?"
She simply smiled back at her, "What's most important to you?"
Her brows furrowing in thought, she responded carefully, "Well...I've always wanted to be strong, like Naruto and Sasuke-kun! Sometimes, I even wish... to be stronger." She blushed slightly under Ten Ten's scrutinizing stare.
The brunette blinked, "Is being number one really so important?"
Sakura decided to go to Kiba next.
He grinned broadly at her, arms folded in a relaxed position behind his head, "What do you want most out of life?"
Sakura raised a brow, what's with all these deep questions?
"Hmm... probably to see rare sights?"
Kiba's dark eyes twinkled with something akin to amusement, "To see rare sights, huh?"
She shrugged, and walked over to greet Kankuro, who in turn asked her another question,
"What are you afraid of?"
Sakura's face became cherry red, "Actually...it's really stupid, but...I've always been kinda afraid of... getting old and wrinkley?"
Kankuro grinned, "Is getting old really so scary?"
You want to be number one.
You want to see rare sights.
You're afraid of getting old.
Your journey begins at dawn. Keep close to the light and your journey should be a pleasant one,
Sakura smiled slightly, "Sounds good to me."
She was, once again, enveloped in the blinding light...
The light faded to reveal another platform, this time covered with the image of the Sharingan.
There will be times when you'll have to fight.
Unexpectedly, black shadows rose from the platform to form bug-like creatures with glowing yellow eyes. Their antenna's twitched repeatedly, as they bounced on their claws slightly around her.
Sakura's eyes widened, "What the---?"
She felt something hard and heavy form in her hand...
...the same key-shaped sword she had seen in the mural.
Deciding it was the only choice she had, she gripped it tightly in her hands and began to hack away at the strange-looking creatures, which turned into wisps of black smoke upon being sliced.
Finishing them off surprisingly easily, Her victory was short-lived when the unknown voice spoke again,
The closer you get to the light, the greater your shadows become.
The soprano voices rose in a dramatic fashion as she turned to gawke at her very own shadow -- at least ten times her height and width!
But don't be afraid. And don't forget...
CHYAA! Who are YOU calling afraid, chickenwuss! We'll take down this...thing! In no time at all!
Her Inner's confident words motivating her, Sakura charged forward with her newfound strength and furiously began to attack the giant shadow.
Just when she thought she'd won, the shadow towered above her, the earth melting beneath her as she slowly began to slip away...
Don't be afraid - you hold the mightiest weapon of all.
And don't forget...
You are the one who will open the door.
------------
The Door to Darkness (c) Jenna Wood.
Characters, plot, and other ideas (c) Masashi Kishimoto, Square-Enix, and Disney.