Out Cold

by Smile-21-Hikari-8

So every once in a while Sakura gets knocked out while on a mission with Team 7, and she hates it. Even so, she knows that it'll be okay, because they're always there to protect her.

© Masashi Kishimoto

Out Cold

Sometimes during missions she passes out. A lot of the times it's because the enemy handles her thin body harsher than she anticipates and knocks her unconscious. Other times, it's because the fatigue of the mission becomes too great and she can't help but to faint with her aching limbs and exhausted mind. She'd like to say it wasn't her fault (even though sometimes it isn't when it comes to the enemy knocking her out), but she knows that it's because she's not strong enough that she couldn't withstand the hit she received from the enemy ninja, or that she wasn't fast enough to dodge it, or that she didn't have enough stamina or endurance to finish the mission, or that maybe she wasn't cut out to be a shinobi.

But when she wakes up from her unconscious state she is always greeted with concern; asked if she is alright, if it hurts, or if she is hurt. Even if she aches and the back of her head is bruised she denies it. Even if there's a gash oozing with blood on her arm she laughs it off and can't help but to apologize for all the trouble she has caused. For the trouble that she always causes. But they, Naruto, Sasuke, and Kakashi, all know that she's lying and they know that she was afraid and that she is weak, but they don't say it. Because it's been an unspoken agreement ever since the beginning, that they have to protect her.

And she thanks them. Even if she forgets to say it sometimes, she thanks them every time she wakes up alive and with them beside her. She is happy just to see that they're as alive as she is and that they are all there for her. Even if she's out cold, she knows that they'll protect her.