Author's Note: Special thanks to Archeeka-sensei, because she did more than proofread this, she practically co-wrote it with me, and…YES, ARCHEEKA-SAMA, YES!!! XD
-Oceanside-
Sakura adores the ocean.
It is so big, so vast, and it can swallow her up without any hope of return.
But still she adores the dangerous monster.
Sakura loves the beach.
Somewhat.
It's such a gritty expanse, so get-between-your-toes annoying, sometimes littered with glass--always between her and the beautiful ocean.
But she can't have the ocean without the beach, as much as she may wish it.
Either way, she is dwarfed by them both.
The ocean's reach is vast, and it goes on seemingly forever to the horizon.
The beach's reach is considerably smaller than the ocean's, but still the boundaries of its expanse are unparalleled, undeterred from the vast murky depths.
The ocean and the beach are beautiful by themselves, but since the beginning of their existence, they have crashed and mixed. Ocean swallowing what it can in a furious display before receding back into its comforting depths. The beach, a firm entity, stays.
The kunouchi hates this confliction. It scares her; the power when they clash is terrifying. After a few days, the storm blows over, and she can breathe a sigh of relief.
Peace is a thing of wishful thinking. Such opposite forces of nature will always war.
---
Sakura jumped when a hand touched her shoulder. After spinning around and discovering the owner of the hand, she sagged with relief and smiled. "Oh, it's just you, Kakashi-sensei!"
Kakashi looked at her, his eye twinkling. "Who else would you expect?"
Sakura swallowed and offered him a friendly grin, yet saying nothing in response to his question. Kakashi respectfully accepted her silence and he looked out into the horizon before making a subtle imploring gesture with his hands. "You seemed rather occupied." He glanced back at her, dropping his hand smoothly at his side before shifting his weight on one foot and crossing his arms nonchalantly. "I thought you were getting a tan?"
Sakura's smile resurfaced as she looked out over the ocean, raising her hand to shield her eyes from the intense glare from the sun. "Nope."
The scarecrow raised a visible eyebrow, but otherwise his countenance remained the same. "Really?"
Sakura barely registered the fact that he hadn't asked her what she was doing, but she knew the answer. She remained silent for a moment more, then smiled sadly and offered her sensei an explanation: "I was making analogies."