Sakura's always known she's adopted.
It's not a big deal - of course not. There were a lot of orphans after the Kyuubi attack, and after the war that came before THAT, so Mama and Papa were happy to adopt a little girl. They tried to figure out who her biological parents were, if only so she could meet any family she might have had or see some pictures of them, learn about them, but they never managed.
For years, she knew nothing and was happy - it didn't matter. She loved and loves her Mama and Papa, and didn't need to know any more. When she was seven years old, she dyed her hair bright pink JUST like Papa's, and then nobody even thought she was adopted, not after that.
(When she's 12 years old and officially a genin, her parents sit down and tell her that actually, they have always known what happen to her mother - even though they don't know her name. She gave her life to protect Sakura in the Kyuubi attack, holding her as an infant in her arms, and her body was unidentifiable.
Learning that is a sobering start to becoming a ninja.)
Still, she's happy - she gets a team that's one-third fantastic and two-thirds annoying, and grows to be something welcoming and something she cares about. Sakura overthrows a horrible businessman with them, chases down cats with them, and actually maybe even considers them to be friends.
She enters the chunin exams with them.
And when everything goes to hell, when her teammates are unconscious and there are three terrifying genin who are trying to kill her and kill them, when she's the only thing that's standing between her teammates, between her friends and a swift death-
Her kunai tears through her hair, fragments falling around her as she rolls to her feet, and when she lunges forward-
Sakura's eyes burn red.
A/N: This was originally meant to be a oneshot, but people requested more, so there will be more incoming. Thanks for reading! As per always, you can find me on tumblr at my writing blog ftcoye, and my personal chadsuke.