I do not own Naruto,
Please note, if you disagree with me about Sakura's hair don't flame me for having a diffent opinion
Sakura looked at herself in the mirror, paying special attention to how her cropped pink hair framed her face.
She liked the effect even though it made her look younger. Indeed that was why she liked it. Her long hair had given her a womanish look. She had always thought she liked the way it made her look older but now she finding out she preferred herself this way.
"I look like a twelve year old now." she told her reflection with a grin, glad she no longer looked like a boy crazy teenager and no longer had to act that way. Now she could focus on her talents instead of her façade. She would dedicate herself to her training. The Forest of Death had taught her that the boys would not always protect her. She wanted to be strong enough to protect them the next time she had to.
The difference was very clear when she attended training the next day. No longer did she moon around Sasuke but threw herself as completely in to training as the boys did. She didn't even notice that her dress tore a little on tree she was climbing. Kakashi was surprised by the way his girl smiled throughout the lesson. It was easy to tell that she was enjoying herself.
In the D rank mission of the afternoon, weeding a garden, Naruto complained as usual. Sauce grunted, making it clear the he thought it a waste of time. Sakura also complained, but she did the work until her hands started to bleed, then asked for a break.
Once her hands had stopped bleeding she went right back to work with a strong will. Naruto stopped complaining and started to race her. He would never let himself be outdone, and Sasuke moved on to match their pace with out even realizing it. Needless to say, they finished the job in record time.
Naruto's smile became mischievous and he began to throw mud at Sasuke. The other boy didn't respond, but Sakura threw mud back at the blond. Her aim was off and hit Sasuke.
" Oh my god, I'm sorry"! She exclaimed afraid she had offended her crush. Naruto took advantage of the girl's distraction to throw another at Sasuke, which missed and hit Sakura in the head getting into her hair. The girl chucked another mud ball at him.
Smack!
Sakura grinned to se that her mud ball had hit its target, Naruto's Jacket was covered in mud, and then she ducked his return. Naruto's next shot hit Sakura dead on and she tripped and fell into the mud, splashing it to completely cover Sasuke. The mud fight went for another twenty minutes, before Kakashi put it to a halt.
" We can't have you destroying the garden. Stop fighting."
They stopped. Kakashi sensei was usually right and if the mud fight continued they would have destroyed the garden.
"Besides", the sensei added. "You three need to wash, you look like mud creatures."
It was true too, they were covered in mud, and Sakura had one or two patches of pink showing on her dress and hair. Naruto's hair was clean but he was almost completely covered. Sasuke was by far the dirtiest of the three, though he had not participated and had merely been caught in the crossfire.
In her shower, sakura reflected on how easy her hair now was to clean. The mud washed right out of the fine strands and didn't get stuck like it would have before she cut it. She looked down at her developing body, and for the first time didn't waste time worrying about it.
"I'll grow up, in time" she thought." "Meanwhile I'm only twelve"
Sakura went to sleep that night the most content she had been in a long time. She didn't know that her teacher was just outside the window, watching her.
"She looks younger, but she is growing up." He mused.
Four busy years passed in which Sakura worked as hard as either of her team mates.
. She never would catch up, her body just didn't have as much charka, but she improved by leaps and bounds. When Tsunade took her as an apprentice Sakura continued to improve, she was finally stepping out of the boys shadow and into her own area. When Sasuke left, she was filled with sorrow, but more because she wanted to protect him then because of her lingering crush.
When Naruto finally succeeded in retrieving Sasuke, it was Sakura who cared for them until they were back on their feet. None of the other medics dared to go near either boy, for the tales of their ferocity had spread. They were also scared of Sakura. She had let her temper out on more then one person who dared to unfairly criticize the boys. She was protecting them again and more than adept at it.
When the boys got out of the hospital, Sakura trained with them. While she still had not caught up with her teammates, she could keep up in the team work exercises ad hold her own in a fight much better then before thy left. After the training Sakura went home and examine her reflection.
Sakura looked almost nothing like the little girl she had been when team seven started.
She had stopped wearing her bright pink, and now wore a short green dress that matched her eyes over black leggings
She had grown to a tall and slim young woman of 17. Her body was slim but sturdy and determination showed in her eyes and the way she held her self. Her pink hair was down to her waist and worn in a half pony. By now the style fit her perfectly. Everything about her fit perfectly. Sakura couldn't help grinning.
Kakashi outside the window had just enough time to think, "My little Sakura has become beautiful."
Kakashi was not alone in the thought. Every boy in the village was now hoping to get a date with Sakura. She just laughed them off, but all her suitors got annoying, indeed she could see why Sasuke, who was by now going out with her, had always been so short tempered with admirers.
The girl noticed her sensei's presence and before he could even move, Sakura opened her window and pushed him out of the tree.
" You never change, sensei"
Maybe not, but she had.
The end