Welcome, my little Springlettes!

Sakura: *trying to disguise her snorts of laughter as coughing*

*eyebrow twitch* Welcome to the second chapter of Spring!

Sakura: *still snorting*

*both eyebrows twitch* The adventure continues, and you, my dear readers, get to see the beginning of how Sakura-chan gets so strong - as shown in the last chapter!

Sakura: *bursts out laughing*

*eye twitches rapidly*

Sakura: *breathless, still laughing* G-Good one, Author-c-ch-chan! Bwahahaha!

*irritated, seething* If you're up to making sarcastic remarks, maybe you'd like to handle the 'author duties' for once.

Sakura: *smug smile* I would love to. *kicks me out of the Author chair and sits in front of the mic*

Hey! *falls off screen*

Sakura: Hello, ladies and gentleman. Sakura Haruno, your heroine here; thestrengthofacherryblossom is . . . *clears her throat* incapacitated at the moment, leaving me in charge. I'll be handling the author's note from here on out. The special guest for today is . . . drum-roll please!

*grudgingly does a drum roll, glaring at her*

Sakura: Kakashi Hatake, the most popular character according to the Third Databook! Welcome to the book, Kakashi-sensei. Coincidentally - or not so much, considering Author-chan - Kakashi-sensei is actually - sort of - appearing in the chapter today. But, anyway, hey, Kakashi-sensei.

Kakashi: *walking on to the stage, nose buried in his book* Maa, maa, hello, Sakura-chan.

*glares at him*

Kakashi: And Author-chan.

Sakura: *glares at him*

Kakashi: *rolls his eyes* And the (*whisper* nonexistent) readers.

Sakura: *leaning back in her chair, appeased* Well, at least you're not late today.

Kakashi: *shrugs nonchalantly* Yeah, I know - it surprises me, too. I guess the black cats decided to avoid me today.

*snorts quietly*

Sakura: *tick mark throbbing on the back of her head, ignoring his remark* Now, Kakashi, how about you read thestrengthofacherryblossom's replies to the comments we've gotten.

*mumbling* Why can't you do it? Y'know, since you can do my job so much better than I can?

Sakura: *ignoring me*

Kakashi: *sighs deeply* Sure, Sakura-chan. *sits down in the other chair and puts his book away* To Sunny ver 2.0, she thanks you and would like to say that she is sorry for the update taking a while; she says life kind of got in the way, there for a bit. She's just having a hard time, it seems, with feeling homesick.

*blushing a little bit*

Kakashi: She would also like to say: "I'm glad to be writing again! There was a point in there where I was struggling with a lot of motivation to keep writing. The stress with school and just life in general has really been getting me down. But I'm doing slightly better now, so here I am! Also, I do believe you read the original - I seem to recall reading your comments on it." She smiles at this point. "Thank you for all of the compliments - I'm glad you enjoyed it, and I hope you continue to enjoy the story moving forward."

Sakura: *tapping her papers and then folding them* To Just Anonymous, thestrengthofacherryblossom would, first, like to thank you for commenting. And, second of all, she would also like to say, "Thank you so much! And I totally agree with you. Strong!Sakura stories are so hard to find, and they're, like, my favorite Naruto fanfictions to read. I wish more people wrote them. Sakura deserves so much more than what she got from Kishimoto, and most people can't even see her potential; I wish that more people liked her - she doesn't deserve to be hated."

Kakashi: To Twisted Musalih, thestrengthofacherryblossom replies, "I will be sure to oblige your request, milady/my sir/whatever you wish to be called by. No worries; more is soon to come. Sorry about the hold up."

Sakura: In reply to gabi2801, thestrengthofacherryblossom says, "Thank you so much - both for reading, commenting, and your compliment! I love ItaSakuShi, too; I think they all would have had a very healthy relationship if they got together in canon. And no worries; I'm not stopping this story any time soon."

Kakashi: Answering DellaLothely's rather well-written comment, the strengthofacherryblossom says, "Aw, thank you! And I'm glad that you like fanfictions like mine; I love them, too. Thank you for reading and everything else. And no worries - your English isn't all that bad." She smiles.

Sakura: In response to AnimeNerd667, thestrengthofacherryblossom winks and says, "You got it!"

Kakashi: And, finally, to Guest, she states, "Aw, you're so sweet! Thank you so much for your kind words! And I really hope you enjoy where I'm planning on taking this story."

*clears his throat*

Kakashi: Also, to everyone else (who actually bothers to read this), thestrengthofacherryblossom would like to personally thank you for reading. She hopes that you will continue to enjoy the story and would like to invite everyone to let her know what you all think of the story so far.

Sakura: She's kind of a comment-whore if you think about it.

*glares at her*

Itachi: *poking his head into the door* We're now behind, guys. You've got to wrap this up; we've got people complaining outside.

*freaking out* SHIT! THIS IS THE LAST TIME I LET YOU DO THIS, YOU HEAR ME, SAKURA HARUNO!? THE LAST TIME!

Sakura: *leaning back in her seat, smiling smugly* Hai, hai.

*curtains close*

Kakashi: *pops up in front of the curtains* Sorry about this, but thestrengthofacherryblossom insisted. "Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto. Believe it." *opens his book and starts reading* That's all, folks. *Body-Flickers away*


Spring


Chapter 1


"I'm not gonna run away,
and I never go back on my word,
that is my nindō!
My ninja way!"

-Naruto Uzumaki, Naruto


'Naruto's sobbing is starting to get really annoying,' Sakura thinks, but, staring at the graves they'd made for the missing-nin - Zabuza Momochi of the 7 Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist - and his apprentice - Haku of the Yuki clan - after they'd died fighting her team, she can't bring herself to quiet him. There's an aching to her muscles that suggests that she wouldn't be able to even if she wanted to, and, besides, she's too deep in her thoughts to even think about moving, let alone yelling and/or punching him.

She winces at the thought. She's cruel - really cruel. She's never really thought about it before, too absorbed in being like everyone else, arguing with Ino, and vying for Sasuke's attention.

'And speaking of Sasuke-kun,' she thinks, and she glances over at the Uchiha in question.

Sasuke-kun's clothing is still torn in multiple places, his navy-blue shirt, with its high collar, riddled with holes and rips from his battle with Haku and all of the needles the nin used. The crimson of his blood is still smeared on his pale skin - his face, his uncovered forearms, his legs - and has stained his clothing; the scratches and holes from being pierced by the senbon Haku utilized in his attacks are still raw and red and oozing blood in some spots, causing blood to slide down his muscular arms and legs - accenting the developed nature of his muscles. Still, despite his haggard and less-than-stellar appearance, his dark, fathomless eyes in her direction is more than enough to make her heart skip a beat.

She frowns at herself and looks away, staring back at the makeshift graves they'd dug. She'd gotten to hold Sasuke-kun on the bridge, clutch him tightly to her, but that - that foolish mistake - had come at a cost. A high cost, though nothing had actually happened. Her one job, her one role in all of this, was to protect Tazuna - that was what they'd been hired to do; that was the only order Kakashi-sensei had given her. But in order to hold Sasuke-kun, she had abandoned Tazuna - she'd left him behind.

Sure, Tazuna had followed, trotted along beside her dutifully, but the moment she'd seen Sasuke-kun, seen his broken, bleeding body sprawled out on the concrete of the bridge and staining the pale gray stone, all thoughts of Tazuna flew out the window and all she could think about was Sasuke-kun.

If Zabuza hadn't been tied up with Kakashi-sensei, if Naruto hadn't distracted Haku, if Zabuza had sent so much as one Water Clone - or any clone, really - after them, Tazuna would be dead, and they would have failed her mission. And it would have been all her fault.

Sakura has absolutely no doubt on this matter - one Water-Clone would've been more than enough to kill Tazuna, even if she had been paying attention; he was a renowned missing-nin at at least jōnin-level, and even if he wasn't - even if he was just a chūnin or genin, he would easily overpower her with her pathetic and lacking skills in shinobi arts. If Tazuna had been killed, it would have been all her fault, and she would have reduced everyone's efforts, Kakashi-sensei's injuries and exhaustion, Sasuke's wounds from being turned into a pin-cushion, Naruto's bravery, her tears shed over her crush's unconscious body to nothing. It would have all been for nothing.

Her face burns hot with shame.

She was useless. Her intelligence, the vast stores of knowledge she'd boasted of whenever Ino had taunted her about the size of her forehead or her flat-chest and boy-like figure, wasn't enough to help her or her team - even at the very beginning, when the Demon Brothers had appeared; it wasn't that she hadn't noticed the puddle (glaringly conspicuous as it was), and it wasn't that she wasn't aware of the Water Release jutsu the Demon Brothers had used - it was on the syllabus for the Academy and she'd read more than enough books at the Academy level to know of its existence. It was that she had just disregarded the first lone puddle they'd encountered since they'd left Konoha when it hadn't rained in weeks; she'd ignored it in favor of admiring the way Sasuke-kun walked, with a comfortable grace that she couldn't mimic, despite the fact she was fairly certain it was his first time leaving the village.

She had pride in herself, in her ability as a kunoichi, but, now, she was starting to think that she was an idiot for being proud of herself. Yes, she had graduated the Academy with top grades and she had a rather high intelligence, but the only reason Kakashi-sensei and Sasuke-kun had ever so much as looked her way at any point during the fights they'd gotten into while on their mission was to make sure she was still guarding Tazuna, that she hadn't abandoned her post, that she was still alive. Because she was just a liability to them, something pathetic to drag around on their missions - she probably was only on their team because it was expected that the squads have a female member on them, not for any particular reason other than that. She was the weak link, without a doubt.

Because Sasuke-kun and Naruto, they'd managed to cooperate and work together to free Kakashi-sensei from Zabuza's Water Prison during their first clash with the missing-nin. Naruto had even made a scratch on Zabuza! They'd fought him, despite being vastly outmatched by the missing-nin's skill, experience, and sheer willingness to kill anything that got in his way. But Sakura, where was she during all of this? She stayed on the safety of the shore, a meager kunai drawn and held in shaking hands while her teammates and sensei were off doing the works of legends.

She's never felt so useless - not even when she was marching along in Ino's shadow.

And thinking on that, with those thoughts in mind, an idea starts to come into shape in her mind, blooming from nothingness - a small flame of determination flickering and dancing within her with gentle warmth. She'll work on her skills as a ninja, she'll get Sasuke-kun to notice her - but not in the way that he has on this mission, not as something to protect - because they both know that she can't protect herself.

She's started to loathe the girl who started the rumors about the type of girl Sasuke-kun prefers - long-hair, slim, pretty, confident - everything Ino insured she was but never received any more recognition than a "Hn. Annoying."

Because Sasuke-kun doesn't need a fan-girl in Team 7. He doesn't need some pretty girl standing on the side-lines shouting encouragements at him, telling him how great he is. Because if anything he's done on this mission is to go by, he already knows; his willingness to challenge a ninja who he only knew was incredibly loyal to a renowned missing-nin to a one-on-one battle displays that he's more than aware of his prodigious talents.

What he needs, she realizes with amazing clarity, what allowed him to work so seamlessly with Naruto, as though they'd been teammates for years and despite their constant petty arguing and bickering, is trust. He needs someone he can trust on the team. Because Naruto, with all of his shortcomings, with his lack of knowledge on chakra, with his ignorance on basic thing taught at the Academy, he's proven resilient, determined, strong, and, most of all, trustworthy.

Everything Sakura isn't.

"Hey, Sakura-chan! Hey, hey, are you okay!?" Naruto exclaims suddenly, loudly, and Sakura flinches back from the hand waving extremely close in front of her face.

She looks from the still-waving hand to the person it's attached to, barely restraining another flinch when she sees Naruto's bright blue eyes considerably closer than they should be, considering they're walking -

Wait, they're walking? Since when?

She does her best to look around inconspicuously, figuring that they must have started walking while she was thinking; she knows she tends to zone out when she's really thinking hard. From the look of things, they left the Land of Waves behind a while ago; they're probably closer to Konoha now, rather than the small town they'd come from. She must've been really out of it.

"Sakura-chan?"

Again, Naruto manages to snap her out of her thoughts, and she realizes with a jolt that Naruto is still waiting for an answer to his previous question. And he sounds - and looks - more concerned for her well-being than anyone else since she ended her friendship with Ino; it's nearly painful how jarring that realization is to her.

Sakura bites back her grimace, and, instead, she smiles at the blonde. "I," she chokes on the word but swallows hard and tries again. "I'm fine."

Really, she's not, and she can tell by the disbelieving look on his face that he can tell. Still, though, he plasters a giant grin on his face, tucks his arms behind his head, and nods.

"That's good, Sakura-chan! Believe it!" he exclaims, and she feels a sudden surge of appreciation for him she can't really explain.

For all of the ways that Naruto can annoy her (though if she's honest with herself, she's being a hypocrite because she does the same thing with Sasuke-kun - and her Inner winces at that realization), he can be so incredibly kind and thoughtful.

And so, Sakura decides she'll make an effort. "Naruto," she calls hesitantly, and he turns to look at her, a heartbreakingly hopeful expression on his face.

She's struck by another realization at his expression - was I really that horrible to him? Have I really been that awful?

Inner runs thought all of their memories of their interactions with him in an instant and comes up with one solid, definitive answer: yes. And both Sakura and her Inner feel an enormously painful surge of guilt.

We'll fix that, like everything else, Inner promises, and Sakura agrees with a sharp mental nod.

"Yeah, Sakura-chan?" Naruto asks, his voice still so full of barely restrained hope, and she forces herself to smile a bit wider. Because she's going to try - dammit!

"You . . . you did really well on-on the mission," she chokes out. "With, y-you know, Haku and Gato's thugs and . . . stuff."

For a moment, Naruto's expression is totally, absolutely raw and exposed; it's as though, with her simple words, she's stripped him of all his defenses. He seems pleased, obviously, but there is a pained edge to his extreme joy - as if her acknowledgement, something he'd strived for since meeting her, is something he thought totally out of reach and to receive it now shakes his whole world and changes everything he knows. She can identify with him, then.

Though her family is, indeed, complete, there is a deep estrangement between her and her parents, as if they're not quite sure how to respond to her. That metaphorical wall or rift or valley between them has always existed, even when she was a young child, but when she first expressed interest in the rest of her family - and even more so when she said she wanted to be a ninja - her parents recoiled and nearly ostracized her.

Sasuke-kun claimed she has no idea what it's like to be alone, but she thinks it's him who has no idea; you're never lonelier than when you're alone in a crowd of people. Parents who don't love you are no better than no parents at all.

The expression fades from Naruto's face and is replaced by a grin that's somehow more blinding than the first. "Thanks!" he shouts, and she's thankful to him for not mentioning - or even acknowledging - her awkwardness. She knows that if she were talking to Sasuke-kun, he'd probably taunt her.

She hears Sasuke-kun snort, and she prepares to be wounded by whatever cutting remark he's winding up to unleash. But Naruto saves her. Again.

Cutting Sasuke-kun off and talking over him, Naruto rattles off a "I'm one step closer to Hokage, believe it!" and awards her another blinding grin. He seems totally unaware of the fact that he completely cut off Sasuke-kun and talked over him, but she has a sneaking suspicion he isn't so oblivious - and maybe he did that on purpose.

As her smile widens a smidge, Sasuke-kun frowns deeply at Naruto's interruption, and he huffs and looks away.

Sakura falls back into her thoughts, then, but not before allowing the boys to pass her by so that only Kakashi-sensei is behind her.

Throughout the entire mission, Naruto, Sasuke-kun, and Kakashi-sensei protected her. They didn't let her do anything! They held her back and told her to watch Tazuna while they went off and did the work of legends. And she, being the trusting fool she was, went right along with it.

Rage burns in her chest at the unfairness of it all, but she pushes the emotion away, choosing to keep a clear head. She needs to plan.

She wants to be stronger, to become someone her teammates can count on. But she doesn't have Kakashi-sensei's support - he's only ever awarded Sasuke-kun that - and she doesn't have a nearly endless supply of chakra - like Naruto does - but she does have a clan; true, only a few members reside in Konoha, but she knows where the compound the First Hokage, Hashirama Senju, had awarded them after they helped fight off Madara Uchiha and the Kyuubi under his control (it's more of an honorary thing, considering that the Haruno clan has their own hidden village, called Harugakure, but several members have taken up residence there). She knows that if she explains herself, at least one of her fellow clan members should be willing to help.

As for her parents . . . well, she'll cross that bridge when she comes to it.

Sakura looks up, over the leafy tops of the trees that tower over her and her team, far into the distance. Looming over even the monstrously tall trees the First Hokage was said to have created (probably to show off, as is the norm with males) are the cliffs that Konoha was built against; the carvings of the Hokage, both previous and current, in the cliffs draws her eye, and she takes a moment to imagine the future.

A grown-up Naruto, mature and reasonable but still rambunctious and mischievous, watching over the village - both in person and as another carving on the Hokage mountain. A living legend, a true hero.

Kakashi-sensei, same as ever - except a little more tired. An exceptional shinobi, despite his age - a shining jewel in Konoha's crown if there ever was one.

And Sasuke-kun, victorious. Vengeance complete and rebuilding of his clan on the way. Powerful as Naruto, yet less arrogant than before. Another living legend.

As for her, as for Sakura, well, she's not quite sure yet, where she's going.

Once, she'd wanted to be Sasuke-kun's wife, to be the mother of his children, but now she's not so sure. She can see who he really is now, and she doesn't really like the view. He's arrogant, stuck-up, and cruel; he only cares about himself.

If she's going to end up with someone now, she doesn't think she wants it to be him. He's pretty, yes, but the only beauty he has is on the outside, not the inside.

And even if Sasuke-kun does manage to ever change, Sakura knows she'll only be expected to stay at home and raise her children. Be a stay-at-home mom whose only jobs are full-time motherhood, cooking, and cleaning. She doesn't want that - she became a shinobi for a reason, and it wasn't to give up now.

Finally, Sakura knows what she wants, and, recalling the lecture at the Academy on the Will of Fire and one's own ninja way, she makes a vow on the Hokage Mountain and on the fire burning within her chest. 'I won't bend, I won't cave, and I won't break. I will be a proud kunoichi, will be a proud shinobi, and I will be useful to my team. I will make them watch my back. That is my ninja way.'


Sakura strides out on to the training field, alone and with no one else in sight. She draws a kunai from the pouch wrapped around her thigh and, with no hesitation, slices through her long hair in one move. Strands of pastel pink hair float down to the ground, and, with nothing left to support it, her forehead protector begins to fall. She catches it, though, and ties it around her forehead, her emerald green eyes burning with determination.


Finished!

So what do you guys think? That little ending scene wasn't originally part of the idea, but while I was trying to sleep (which is when most of my ideas come to me, unfortunately) I came up with it and had to add it.

Again, I know that there's a lot of borrowed elements from Pulling My Weight, and I give credit where credit is due - but I promise it will get a lot more original from here on in. Next chapter has a batch of OCs from the Haruno clan entering the story - one in particular is incredibly important to the overall story and she's great.

I'm exhausted. It's really late here, and I stayed up just to finish typing this up so you guys didn't have to wait any longer. So here it is.

Now, I'm going to go to bed.

Feel free to let me know what you think in the comments below. Every comment, fav, and follow is greatly appreciated and helps give me the strength to keep carrying on. Thanks for reading!

Ja ne!

~thestrengthofacherryblossom