She stood at the gates of Konoha, was she ready? Leaving would make her a missing-nin, like Sasuke... and what would she do with her life after she's finished training? Settle down with some woodland creatures for a cup of tea? She'd just have to wait and see. Naruto hadn't come back from his training with Jiraiya yet too.. how would he take her disappearance?
Shaking her head to rid the thoughts, Sakura stood tall and looked straight ahead at the horizon. 'Looks like we have forest.. followed by more heavily forested areas and slightly more trees! What a variety.' Securing her backpack, Sakura looked back at Konoha for one last time before whispering "Goodbye". She had less than four days to get as far away from Konoha as possible, Tsunade would definetely send a search party or two to track her down after being alerted of her disappearance.
Sighing, Sakura took her first steps as a missing-nin, if she ever returned she would be more powerful than ever. Sakura had been so foolish to care about her looks and impressing Sasuke more than her Ninjutsu, she fell so far behind her team-mates.
It was true, she was a hindrance and she couldn't deny it, no matter what anyone said, or how hard she tried to convince herself otherwise... A Burden.. An inconvenience to anyone she went on a mission with, she was always the one being 'saved' and Sakura hated it ever so much. This was why she had to leave. Anyone she trained with always went easy on her, they never gave her a real challenge.
She began to study ninjutsu and certain scrolls in her apartment, hardly ever interacting with anyone anymore. The odd occasion she'd run into Ino or TenTen when she was shopping for supplies. But studying paper wouldn't help her strength increase or stamina. She needed Taijutsu training as much as Chakra control and ninjutsu, Sakura knew if she stayed, she'd end up dying from a simple attack on a mission.
Sakura began to walk... Out of Konoha. Into the wilderness, not giving it a second thought. It was about 1:35AM and she had made good distance between her and Konoha.
'Hopefully no-one comes around my apartment for the next few days.. but the chances of that happening are slim' Sakura was so engrossed in her thoughts, it was lucky she had stopped when she did. A thirty metre drop was only a step away. Jumping back, Sakura decided to stay well away from her thoughts for the meantime, (Which is literally impossible).
The sun was rising quickly and Sakura was getting tired, luck had just struck again, in the distance Sakura could hear the sound of rushing water. She could fill her water-bottles and wash her face and possibly catch some fish while she's at it. Saving supplies was extremely important, there weren't any nearby shops or villages she could go to restock.
Ino was sitting with Shikaramaru and Choji, as usual at a barbeque restaurant. Choji stuffing his face while the other two ninja watched, as if waiting anxiously for him to finally explode.
"Well, If anyone's gonna break the silence.. it might as well be me" Ino said with determination that Rock Lee himself would be proud of.
"Has anyone heard from Sakura lately?", Shikamaru and Choji looked up. "She hasn't been seen in days." Choji paused to stuff his face with even more barbeque, "Nothing unusual about it though", Shikamaru sighed and rubbed his temples. "I guess I'll stop at her apartment sometime tomorrow" mumbled Ino, picking the smallest piece of barbeque with her chopsticks. "This whole ordeal.. is too troublesome".
After Shikamaru walked Ino home, she suspected he and Choji would go do some... whatever they did in their spare time.
Opening the door, Ino was met with a warm breeze. It was a simple home, pictures of her team-mates hung on the wall. The largest asset of the house was clearly the wardrobe, filled with so many colored clothes, you'd mistake it for a rainbow. A double bed was placed in the corner next to a classic bedside table, littered with Kunai, and directly above a shelf full of scrolls hung on the wall.
Ino made her way to the bed yawning sleepily, not bothering to change out of her usual attire and just relax on the soft mattress. "I'll definetely see her tomorrow.. I'll definetely see Sakura tomorrow."
A/N; Ehhh, sorry for the short chapter. Suggest some pairings yo, and if you'd like me to continue the fanfic. Citrus Hype Out-