Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto.
AN: I felt compelled to write this after visiting some Naruto forums. There were a few threads about Sakura being useless and weak, and a lot of people hated her. Well she's one of my favorite characters, and I was quite tired of arguing with the Sakura haters out there, so in this fic, I show that Sakura grows to be a strong person. Not every character in an anime needs to be strong.
But I do agree on one thing. Sakura needs more abilities!! She's the ONLY one on Naruto without a special fighting trait. It's like the Naruto people forgot about her, or didn't want to develop her character more because the Uchiha and Kyuubi were more important than her. And that, my readers, pisses me off. Don't get me wrong, I still love the Naruto series…I just hope she plays some sort of big role in future episodes.
This story sort of follows my other humorous little fic "When They Were Young"…well, agewise, that is. In that fic, Sakura, Ino, and Sasuke are 7 years old, and the beginnings of a crush sort of develop there...sort of. That's why she mentions in this fic that it's been ten years.
So on to the story.
Summary: They are all 17 now…and Sasuke has finally accomplished his dream. He killed Itachi. Unfortunately, he had to sacrifice his life to kill him. Sakura finally realizes that she has wasted too many years chasing him.
-::-::-::-
Mistakes
What was I thinking?
Why did I do this to myself?
All those wasted years…I spent over half my life, chasing after…him.
And now he's gone. What am I supposed to do now that he, the one I've been vying for almost ten years, is gone?
I watched them…take his body away. I heard them telling me it was going to be alright.
But was it really? Going to be alright?
No.
Because ten years of my life just died on me. Ten years of chasing, admiring, cherishing. It's all gone.
And now that it's gone, I realized all the stupid things I have done in the past ten years.
I gave up my best friend, the first person to notice me for who I am, for him.
I didn't focus on my training after the academy days. He made me weak.
It was hard for me to make new friends, I concentrated everything I had on him.
I gave up almost everything for him, but…
He never once passed a glance my way. Not in the way I wanted, at least. He was focused on the things I should have been focusing on…to get stronger, and develop my skills as a ninja.
But like me, he was also trying to get the attention of another. For his brother…to finally acknowledge him as a stronger ninja. And then, he would kill him.
But little did he know…his brother wasn't the only one who was going to die in that room.
And…now he's gone.
Just like that.
I watch them as they end the funeral. The whole town is here to mourn the loss of a great prodigy. One that would never return, for he was the last of that prodigy.
We line up to pay our respects to the deceased one by one. I look at my friends…no, not friends. They are not my friends. I have never tried to get to know them.
I saved all of my questions for him. But they were never answered.
Out of the corner of my eye, I see my former best friend and rival with a serious look on her face. Even she had gotten over him, quite some time ago. And me?
Tears are spilling from my eyes. I bite back a sob as my blonde haired, loudmouth friend puts his hand on my shoulder. I look at his face; downcast, sad. Grieving over the loss of one of his best friends. He has matured greatly over the years. Unlike me. I have stayed at the same maturity level that I was at ten years ago.
But no more.
I wipe the tears from my eyes, a more determined look on my face, and shrug off his hand from my shoulder. My steady gaze meets his confused one.
I smile at him. It is my turn to pay my respects.
I walk up to the memorial, and set the flower down. I feel hundreds of eyes staring at my back. They all know me. The girl who has been pining over him for ten years.
But not anymore. They don't know me anymore. For today, I will have moved on.
"Uchiha, you and I are over." They are the last words I will ever speak to him.
From now on, I will correct my past mistakes. I will make up for them.
I step down from the memorial, walking away from my past.