21. Protection

'Maybe…protection doesn't always mean protecting other people.' Sakura thought as she watched her best friend, Ino, play with her youngest daughter, Grace.
She almost admired her best friend's gumption.
Ino may be a little flighty at times, but that didn't mean that she didn't know how to pick herself up again.
Just a few days ago, Ino had come crying, no sobbing, to her best friend. She showed up on her doorstep in the middle of the night, crying her eyes out.
And, not saying two words to her, Sakura let her in, and held her. She let Ino cry her eyes out until she could speak again.
And that's when she found out that Ino was pregnant.
Not only that, it was Shikamaru's baby.
And he was already married to Temari.
"But…you don't love him, right?"
"No, but he…Temari says that he's still in love with me."
"Oh, oh my god, Ino. I'm so sorry."
"I thought that she would kill me after she found out…but no…Temari...she just told me to talk to Shikamaru. To let him go so she could love him…it was killing her to see him…not love her completely…"
"Well, you always said that you had that effect on men."
Ino chuckled softly. Sakura wiped her eyes with a tissue and sat her down.
"What am I going to do?"
"What every good kunoichi does. Roll with the punches, and stand right back up."
Maybe protection has nothing to with rescuing other people, she thought.
Maybe sometimes it means rescuing yourself.

22. Solitude

Naruto has never been much of a loner. He loves to laugh and be surrounded by people nearly every moment of his life. And this is why, after both Sakura & Sai have missions assigned to them in the same week, Naruto prefers to spend is "solitude" with his old sensei.

23. Stupidity

After awhile, hearing that chasing after Sasuke is a fool's errand gets extremely old. So when Naruto prepares his team for another mission chasing Sasuke's shadow, it is Sakura who turns a glare to the elder that admonishes their intentions.

"Perhaps it isn't stupidity," she says. "but human nature to chase after the lost souls of dear friends."

24. Camel

Whenever Sakura couldn't find a particular piece of clothing, she knew exactly whom it was who had taken it. And normally, she didn't care. She just assumed that it was Sai's way of learning about the things he had missed out on when he was in root.
But it was the straw that broke the camel's back when she couldn't find her lacy black thong.
"SAI!" she shouted, not caring if all of Konoha heard her. "I'm going to break every bone in your body if you don't bring back my underwear RIGHT NOW!"
And it was when she heard Naruto's uproarious laughter that she knew something was wrong.
She ran out into the hallway to see exactly what had happened.
And her jaw hit the floor.
"Hag, how exactly do you wear this thing?"
Sakura covered her eyes and tried to keep her cool. After this, she was buying a new thong.
"Not that way, Sai. You have it on backward."

25. Goodbye

No one ever thought that she would do it.
When Sasuke had left, everyone assumed that the Sakura they knew and loved had been lost forever. She would be forever doomed to weep and mourn her inability to stop him from leaving.
And part of that was true.
But Sakura knew that the only way for her to recover herself was to say goodbye and bury the Sasuke she thought she knew.

26. Pervertedness

Kakashi was a pervert. Everyone knew that.
So were Naruto, Jiraiya, and sometimes Sakura.
But no one ever really took Sai for a pervert. Sure, he talked about penis' a lot, but everyone chalked that up to him being brutally honest.
But when Sakura found out that Sai knew that she slept naked, (and had drawn it) shit hit the fan.
"WHAT WERE YOU DOING PEEPING AT ME WHILE I WAS SLEEPING?!"
"Research," he answered simply, that annoying smile on his face. Sakura promptly gave Sai a black eye.
"QUIT USING THAT DAMNED EXCUSE TO COVER UP YOUR PERVERTEDNESS!!"

27. Fortune and Fame

Though Jiraiya had gained much fortune and fame throughout the land with his porno books, Naruto thought that it was unfair that that was the legacy he left behind.
But, it wasn't until he became Hokage, did he realize that his legacy wasn't his books or reputation as the frog hermit, but his students and their great accomplishments.
Naruto could only hope for fame and fortune as great as that.

28. Music

There were a lot of things to be learned about Kakashi, Sakura knew that. But it wasn't until she saw him training while listening to the radio did Sakura discover that he liked music.
Not just any song, though. Only songs by one particular artist.
Johnny Cash. The man in black.
She smiled softly.
Somehow, she should've known.

29. Broken

She had thought she'd seen everything, until the night she held Sai while he was crying.
"Why," he kept saying. "Why am I doing this?"
"Because," she whispered, petting his hair. "You're heartbroken."
She knew the feeling all too well.

30. Morning

The most detestable quality in the human race is the ability to be a morning person.
There were many things that Sakura loved about Lee. But when he tried to wake her up at 3a.m. to do get a "youthful head-start" on their day, she wanted to wrap his green tights around his throat until he lost consciousness.
She settled, instead, for a chakra-powered punch to his "youthful" jaw.
"Lee," she hissed "If you want this relationship to continue…NEVER wake me up this early unless you are dying. I am NOT a morning person."