Sakura Haruno sighed as the stems she was tying fell apart in her hands. She dropped the herbs and brushed her fingers clean before swiping the back of her hand across her brow. Sweat had glued her short pink locks to her forehead and the sides of her face but the sun was unrelenting in its heat. Looking at her half-full basket, she frowned and turned to look at her partner's almost full one. Their third member, Ino Yamanaka, had wandered some distance away. Sakura hadn't seen the girl in some time.

Her eyes moved from the basket to the girl beside it. Her fingers were moving deftly over the same herbs Sakura was supposed to be collecting, tying and depositing them to the side like a second nature. She imagined Usagi had much more experience doing this while Ino and Sakura were away on missions. Lady Tsunade was known for her short temper and dismissed them on tasks like this often when she became frustrated teaching them medical ninjutsu. They had all learned not to complain.

Sakura focused on Usagi again. The long golden tresses that she used to wear in buns during their academy days had been braided over one shoulder to stay out of the way. Her cerulean eyes were entirely focused on the task at hand, framed by long dark lashes. She paused to wipe at her forehead much like Sakura had moments before, and Sakura caught herself thinking how much smaller it was than her own 'billboard brow,' as Ino often called it.

Scowling down at her green-tinged fingers, Sakura mentally scolded herself for slipping once more. How much time had she spent comparing herself to Usagi, trying desperately to find it; that one thing that let Usagi win? Was she prettier? It's true that when Usagi smiled, her heart-shaped face took on a glow that was somewhat mesmerizing. For a long time now, however, that smile was nearly nonexistent. Could it be her gentler nature? Patients always preferred the sunny blonde who was kind, endlessly patient, and always sympathetic to their problems, and with her natural talent for healing jutsu, extremely competent.

I'm doing it again. Sakura was pretty in her own right, even if her forehead was a bit large in proportion to her face and she was somewhat flat-chested in comparison to other girls her age. She accepted herself, had become a skilled ninja under Lady Tsunade's tutelage, was so much stronger than before.

And yet...

"Sakura-chan?" She jumped, startled, and looked up at Usagi again. The now full basket was in her lap, and she was eyeing Sakura's own mediocre efforts. "Would you like me to help you? I'm done over here." The blonde smiled, but it couldn't cut through the sadness that seemed to be lingering around her eyes recently, something that had dwindled since there was a Naruto and Usagi. Unable to work her vocal chords, Sakura just nodded. Usagi moved beside her and set to work, so Sakura did the same.

Sakura had never really considered Naruto in a romantic light. She found him annoying, obnoxious, and immature, even though he sometimes had his moments. Still, his unabashed pursuit of her had been flattering to her ego. But Usagi had taken that from her too, Naruto's and Sasuke's affections, even though she was on a different team, even though she wasn't as strong as Sakura, even though she had never even tried to take them.

"Sakura-chan, Sasuke came to see me." Sakura wasn't aware of the tears of frustration collecting in her eyes until her head snapped up and she focused them on Usagi, wide with disbelief. Her blue eyes were focused on her hands, no longer tying and storing herbs, full of something like guilt. "I'm not sure what he wanted. He didn't stay long. But I," Usagi paused and looked up at Sakura, her eyes steady where Sakura's were surely trembling, and said, "I know how you feel about him, so I wanted to tell you. I wanted you to know he's okay."

"What did he say? What did you say? Why didn't you make him stay?" These were just the first of the millions of questions that flooded Sakura's brain, the only ones she could formulate into comprehensible sentences.

"Sakura…" Usagi looked away from her again, frowning, while Sakura fought the urge to grab her and shake her, demanding answers. "He asked me why I didn't come that night, why I didn't try to make him stay here instead of seeking out Orochimaru."

"What did you say?" Sakura tried to keep her voice level. She didn't want to show her emotions now, of all times, and compromise the strength that she always struggled to convey. But as Usagi focused that set of endless eyes on her again, Sakura had the usual feeling that the blonde girl could read every emotion on her face regardless of how much or how little she showed it.

"I told him the truth Sakura. Let me tell you something that I believe about Sasuke, and it's entirely up to you whether you agree or disagree." Sakura felt something inside of her shiver; maybe her heart, maybe her soul, she couldn't tell. Usagi looked in her face just as the first tear slid down her cheek, and it occurred to Sakura that she had not seen the blonde girl cry since the day Sasuke left the village. "Sasuke will never give up his vendetta against his brother. He is full of anger and pain. He doesn't have the capacity to love someone else no matter what he thinks."

Usagi stopped and let the silence stretch for a moment, her gaze still direct but somehow far away, like she was collecting her thoughts, or remembering something. "There is no doubt in my mind that he will accomplish his goal. He has given everything, there's no way he can fail. I only fear what he will do once Itachi Uchiha is dead. I'm afraid he may lose his identity, his sense of purpose. I hope that he comes home, but I don't know that he will. I could have begged him to stay, Sakura, but he never would have. I know you probably hate me-"

"I don't." Usagi stopped this time, her eyes wide. Sakura pressed her hand over her mouth, attempting to stifle the sob rising in her throat. "I don't hate you, Usagi. Thank you for telling me about Sasuke." Sakura stood, and Usagi wordlessly passed her the basket before she set off at a run. The pink-haired girl didn't turn to look back at Usagi as she fled the field. She simply concentrated on running as fast as she could, back to village, back to her reality, ignoring the tears that were still streaming down her face.

She couldn't figure it out. What was Usagi trying to tell her? Was she just pathetic for trying to stop Sasuke that night, for continuing to chase him to this day? Why couldn't she just let go and move on like Usagi had?

But had she really? Sakura stopped as she reached the edge of the village, thinking. When was the last time Usagi had smiled? She couldn't even remember hearing her laugh, not like she would in their academy days, loud and infectious. On the outside Usagi gave every sign that she was content and moving on with her life, but she had undoubtedly changed.

"Sakura-chan? What's wrong?" Sakura looked up into a set of blue eyes and for a moment she thought that Usagi had followed her after all. But a second later she realized that it was Naruto looking down at her, his brow creased in worry.

"N-Nothing. I just," Sakura looked around and then remembered the basket in her hands. "I'm heading back to Lady Tsunade. I have to go." She waved and set off, leaving the puzzled Naruto behind. As she hopped over the rooftops, she realized for the first time that the basket in her hands was full.

xXx

Eh heh. I know, I said I was done. But I wanted to round it out with the final member of Team Kakashi. I've been watching more of Shippuden though and I have this crazy strong urge to flesh this three-part piece out into a full story. It would be posted separate from this story of course; I would still want this story to stand on its own. It's a whim, I'm not sure what will come of it, but let me know if you would like to see such a piece or if I should work on a totally new Naruto/SM piece.

By the way, my other stories are not dead, I promise! They will be updated soon. Thank you for your patience and for reading. (: By the way this is a piece I wrote in one sitting and I'm having a problem with my eyes right now so I can't proof read it very well. Expect some mistakes.