Team seven walked through the dim, green woods hurriedly. They were anxious to be back home, as it had been weeks since they had last glimpsed at their beloved Konoha. They happened to be returning from an escort mission, in which they had been paid handsomely to bring the Waterfall Village's leader home safely.
Sakura watched on in mild amusement as blond-haired Naruto, and raven-haired Sasuke bickered over who had been the greatest asset in this recent mission.
"Sorry, Sasuke, but Naruto did carry the man most of the way there when he was tired." Both boys shut up at once, giving her a funny look. She shrugged, smiling at their confusion. They just didn't seem to be able to wrap their minds around how her long-lasting infatuation over Sasuke could have disappeared so abruptly. Sakura half suspected that her loss in interest regarding Sasuke was mostly thanks to Ino. Ever since Ino gave up on Sasuke and agreed to go out with Chouji, Sakura hadn't really had anyone worth competing with, and her juvenile little crush had dwindled to nothing.
The young shinobi fingered her short, pink hair absently. She wasn't quite sure why she kept it short even months after it had been originally cut off, but she figured it must have had something to do with her new, rebellious attitude she'd taken on. Finally, she no longer felt as though she was the weakest link in the team. She felt as an equal.
The boys, she noticed, had gone back to arguing, and she considered punching them to silence their annoying argument. Without Kakashi—who had returned a week ago (Sakura found it hard to believe that such a simple mission had taken almost three weeks total) at a summons from Konoha—there was no one else but her to quiet the near constant fights between the hot-headed boys.
They were nearing the village, the landscape familiar. Sakura could tell just from memory that the training grounds where she had been spending a considerable amount of time recently, were just about a mile east of them. The team picked up speed, eager to be home. Their excitement clouded their senses, so none of them noticed the ninjas that were following close behind.
Sakura suddenly felt a sharp ripping pain, searing her muscles as she fell, blood spreading from a kunai that was now deeply embedded in her back. She struggled to stand, while both Naruto and Sasuke fought fiercely against what were roughly five people who were completely shrouded in black.
"Sakura!" shouted her blond teammate, his voice laced with worry. She nodded in reassurance as she barely suppressed a moan of pain. The knife was wedged beneath her shoulder-blade, and she reached back with her opposite arm, curling her fingers around it tightly. A shrill scream was heard above the other sounds of battle as it pierced the air. She had ripped the kunai from her body, tearing at her raw muscles. Both of her teammates turned to glance at her with worry etched clearly in their features, their distraction once again giving the enemy an advantage. The two remaining enemies took the chance given to them, rendering both boys unconscious with heavy blows to each of their heads in turn. They both crumpled into twin heaps, and the people turned to take her out.
The pain in her back was not easily ignored as she retrieved and gripped several throwing stars from the pouch at her lower back. When she threw them, her breath caught in a strangled cry, and she fell once again into a ball of pain. The black figures easily deflected the offending weapons, and started towards her limp form.
"What is the password to the gate?" asked one of the frightening people, their deep voice suggesting that he was a male.
"No," she spat defiantly, not about to give them a way into the village. Only citizens of the Hidden Leaf Village knew the password that was required to enter the village, and a visitor had to be vouched for by a resident. Sakura held her tongue, determined to keep her home safe.
"Then we'll just have to make you tell us, because I don't believe the password is 'no,'" promised an unmistakably feminine voice. A foot connected solidly with her ribs, but though she felt some of them crack, she merely gritted her teeth against the searing pain. It now hurt even just to breathe, but she refused to give up the password.
Fists connected with her face again and again, until her nose was shattered and her vision swam with stars. Afraid she would accidentally betray her village if this continued any longer, Sakura removed a kunai from a different pouch then she had earlier pulled the throwing stars. Her attackers looked on in amusement, wondering if she was really going to try and fight back, rather than just giving in. Oh, she was fighting back all right. Just not in the way they thought. With one last longing look at her unconscious friends, she brought the kunai to her chest, and pulled back to build up the force she needed to puncture her heart.
Suddenly, the wind seemed to pick up for a mere second, blowing the weapon and the enemy ninjas away. Sakura vaguely wondered what the quick green blur that crossed her vision was, or if it was even real. Then, she let the darkness that had control over her team claim her, and temporarily erase all of her pain.