(Author's Notes: This drabble takes place following the completion of the Four Sound story arc and the resultant major battle. Spoilers may exist for those who watch the series on CN this fall, but most everyone else up to date on the series (at least in the manga) can read without having things spoiled)
It was not hard to see the signs everywhere.
Everything in the village held signs, from the buildings in the marketplace to the footpaths winding through the village. They were subtle signs. Here, on this tree, was a faint mark where a kunai had impacted. There, across the way, scrapes on the wall of a house. These were only the most obvious signs.
The signs that were harder to spot existed only in her memory. Here, on this bench, she had offered to go with him. There, up on that bridge, she'd spent hours thinking about him (she didn't want to call it an obsession since that was too much like a stalker, and calling it idolization only made her sound weak).
Though she had a tough time admitting it, she knew that these were all the signs that drove her onwards. The memory of sitting beside him under that tree was enough for her to push her chakra control to its limits. The thought of his battle on the roof of the hospital, where the bed sheets fluttered like doves of peace, brought out her newfound curiosity in healing. The sight of his curse seal drove her on to ask questions of her new teacher.
Yes, she admitted to herself, she had failed in her last trial. She had been unable to protect the thing that mattered most to her. In her mind she chastised herself for not being strong enough or fast enough. Sometimes, when the dull ache of worked-out muscles clouded her judgment, she even cursed her own intelligence for not seeing the signs of his plans. That hurt the worst.
Through it all she kept the determination that another friend had taught her. When they'd gone to the Academy together, it had seemed he would never grow or learn. When he'd left on that last mission, she knew that he'd grown more than she or their teacher could ever realize. Yet she had not shown the signs of growing that they had. Now it was her turn to grow.
The signs around her showed the approach of winter. The nights were cooler and the sun set earlier. Villagers gathered their crops and began preparing for the winter that was coming – a winter far colder than they had known in the past. Even the squirrels in the trees around the village seemed to know what was coming as they likewise gathered their hoardes of nuts.
Somewhere inside her she could feel the signs of what was coming beyond that winter – somewhere off in the future. Her companions had left her, one to seek a tempting path and the other to train and prepare to make good on a promise that he'd made to her only months ago. She knew that in three years the three of them would be together, be it on the battlefield or in the ramen shop near the marketplace. They had survived so much together.
As she walked through the village she could see the signs that she had never seen before. Her new teacher had brought new perspective. She valued that perspective, cherished it, and worked harder than she'd ever thought possible. Some may have called her weak or pathetic but she could see the signs in herself. Every blow she took or bit of chakra she exerted in her training was a sign to her. They were signs of her determination. More importantly, they were signs that she would become stronger than they expected.
Haruno Sakura knew that the signs were there. As she grew and trained hard, she no longer shed tears when she experienced them in her mind. Her breath no longer caught in her throat when she encountered the telltale physical signs left, like scars, on the village. She knew now that the most important signs were those deep within her – signs of growing up.
(fin)