Sakura, like everyone, is flawed. It would be foolish not to agree, seeing her many mistakes displayed in the Naruto series. But it is what makes her human. These flaws and humanity are what make her a strong character capable of changing others.

And I decided to portray that flawed, human side that I love about Sakura. The emotional side others make fun of her for showing.

I really hope you enjoy reading this, and make sure to read the end for an analysis.

—love, @konoha_ninja

✿ ✿ ✿

"He's with them again, Sakura-chan."

The medic tried to ignore the immediate desire to turn, something she was deeply embarrassed by, but ended up doing so. The words left her mouth before she could think, quietly, unheard. "Sasuke-kun." Sakura felt shame fill her, and she internally chided herself, turning away nonchalantly. You've been through basically hell already and you're fawning over a teammate. Get a grip, Sakura Haruno. She pretends she isn't hurt by the view of Sasuke hanging around with Team Hebi—Taka, whatever it is, and she tells herself that she doesn't have to appear in Sasuke's life for him to be happy.

Sakura swallows down her thoughts with a dry throat, and takes a sip of water, facing Teuchi and Ayame. She brightens, pushing all thoughts of Sasuke Uchiha out of her mind. For now, at least. "I've heard you're going to expand Ichiraku! Is that true?" This question made Naruto turn around and query as well, and soon enough, she had forgotten about him. For now.

She could be content with what she had. The war had taught her that. Sakura should be grateful that she has running water and food always available, but instead, the person she tells herself to forget pops up again, and she is filled with anger towards herself. She fears this will haunt her until the day she dies. But for now, she is determined to just push it to the side and not make a scene. For now. Yes, that would be nice.

✿ ✿ ✿

Naruto visits her office once in a while, always with the request of going out to eat ramen or to visit Sasuke. But Sakura knows, she knows from the time after her teammates' epic final battle, when she healed them, that Sasuke doesn't want her to be a part of his life. Because as she healed his injuries, he said nothing, and looked the other way the entire time, determined to not even spare a glance at her. Sakura understood what that meant, and wasted no time with lingering touches and heartfelt stares, because she was happy as long as if her boys were happy.

And now, as she sat underneath the shade of a tree reading medical tomes, Sakura wished she had not accepted Naruto's invitation. She could have stayed home, or went out with her girls, or even worked late at the hospital. But instead, she was sitting and trying not to watch the training session between Naruto and Sasuke. Sakura focused long and hard, determined to get something productive done, but her concentration snapped as Zabuza's sword was leaned against the trunk with a thunk and Suigetsu sat beside her.

Sakura glanced at him, watching him word the inscriptions to himself before deflating against the trunk of the tree. "Man, I'd never be able to be a medic! It requires too much brain power. Although I'm a bit skeptical that Karin can be called a medic if being smart is a qualification."

Sakura quirked a small smile, enjoying Suigetsu's Naruto-like qualities. Immediately after thinking he might not be so bad after all, a single kunai hit the trunk of the tree where his head was, water exploding. She quickly jerked up her book, avoiding soaking her texts, and then took the time to watch the water reform into a head. "Pretty cool party trick, huh?" Suigetsu gave a lazy smile and took a long drink from the water bottle beside him.

Sakura stared, analyzing what had just happened under a couple of seconds and then blinked. "Amazing, actually." She began to scrutinize the rest of Suigetsu. "So you have to drink fluids constantly, I'm assuming." The medic thought for a couple more seconds, then asked, "Could you technically switch genders? Like, grow breasts?"

A short, boyish laugh erupted from in front of the two. "Sakura-chan, that may be one of the strangest medical questions you've ever asked!" Naruto walked over to the two, bending over to grab a water bottle on the other side of Sakura, then opened it, pouring water on his face and into his mouth. Sasuke trailed behind the blonde, looking impassive as usual.

Sakura tried her best to act natural and shrugged. "I'm a doctor, Naruto. What can I say?"

Naruto laughed. "Weird questions aside, are you gonna spar with someone?" He stretched, wincing, and then relaxed.

Sakura shook her head, then looked up and smiled. "Nah. I'm content reading here."

"And asking me weird questions," Suigetsu muttered. "Although I'd make an exception for Pinky any day." He winked at her, causing Naruto to gag, holding his throat. The shinobi watched Sakura carefully, offering her a sly look, showing off his sharp teeth. "But I sort of want to see you spar, Pinky. See what else you have hidden." Suigetsu eyed her up and down, giving her another flirtatious wink.

Sakura sighed and shook her head, amused, then opened up her book again. The noise that had surrounded her dispersed as Naruto challenged Sasuke to a taijutsu-exclusive spar, and the earth shook once more as the two rivals came at each other. To her right, another figure sat down next to her. "Aw, man," Suigetsu whined. "Paws off, Karin. I was just getting to know the little lady."

Karin shifted, turning towards the man, pushing up her glasses, a warning look on her face. "Shut it, Fish Face." She shared an apologetic look with Sakura and then peeked over her shoulder, reading along. "I can see why you avoid coming here," she muttered in her ear.

Sakura froze up defensively, glancing around her surroundings before staring at Karin in the corner of her eye. "What?"

"The way they treat you," Karin said, passing a small, sad smile to her. "Almost like you aren't really enough. Like you could break at any moment." She stared ahead, and Sakura followed her gaze. The redhead watched the fight with partial interest, before turning to her once again. "You've seen it too, haven't you?"

Sakura glared. "Excuse me?" Her face was flushed with anger, and it felt hot, even with the cool shade and occasional branch-swaying breeze.

"The look," Karin explained, her eyes now on Sasuke. She sighed. It sounded more disappointed than dreamy. "He's lost it. I remember when I first met him. The second round of the chūnin exams. He saved me." Her grip on the grass below her tightened, and she ripped the green from the ground. Karin watched the interaction between all four men, Sasuke and Naruto, along with Suigetsu and Jūgo. The few birds that rested on Jūgo's shoulder were slowly being coaxed onto Naruto's hand. "The look is gone."

Ah. Sakura remembered the look Sasuke had once given her during their genin days. It had been buried underneath all the reserved scowls and false promises for her alone, so many negatives that it covered up the rare positives. But it was easier for Sakura to try and forget Sasuke if she could only remember the bad things. And she was very determined to forget, she told herself, not even noticing Karin leave the training grounds, leaving her to her thoughts.

✿ ✿ ✿

The next time Sakura agreed to come to the training grounds was around a month later. The balmy weather that kept a thin sheen on sweat on her was now gone, and a cooler wind had replaced it. She was, again, with her books, but this time she was not alone. Karin, Sakura learned, was a pretty decent person, and even if she didn't fully trust her, it felt nice to divulge the redhead little things. The two were resting against the thick trunk of a tree, and were together reading a book on theoretical procedures.

Taking a short break, Sakura looked up and watched Naruto talking animatedly with Suigetsu. The two laughed, and it was then that she realised only she was still resentful of Team Taka. Their replacements. Naruto had forgotten his own dislike of them, and Sakura knew it was to be expected. He was the village's hero. The one that was always forgiving and very predictable in this manner. He was always willing to give others a chance, unlike her. Naruto was too trusting for a shinobi, and if it weren't for Kurama, he would have been dead long ago.

Her skin prickled. Someone was watching her. Sakura's eyes quickly swept the area, and then landed on Sasuke. He might have been staring at her for minutes now, and she wouldn't have noticed. But now that she knew...Sakura met his eyes and stubbornly held his gaze. She would not back down. Then, his eyes left hers. Sakura's eyebrows shot up. Sasuke Uchiha, the notorious wielder of the Sharinnegan, had backed down to her, Sakura Haruno. She squashed that pitiful part of her that yelled in victory, running laps around her brain in jubilation. Her eyes slid down to the book, and focused. Soon, her head began to sink deeper and deeper.

"Hello, Ugly."

Sakura's head shot up. When has she fallen asleep, and for how long? Her second thought was—"Someone needs to get you a bell, Sai."

The pale teen bobbed his head happily. "Thank you."

Ignoring his strange response, Sakura stood up and bushes herself off, noticing it was just the two of them. Where did Karin go? "Are you training today, Sai?"

Sai nodded again. "Kakashi told me you would be here. Although I thought you didn't like being around Traitor." He frowned, but kept the rest of his thoughts to himself. After a minute of contemplation, he looked up. "Shall we spar?"

Sakura shook her head. "I'm sorry, Sai. I have an important surgery later tonight and I'll need all the chakra I can get. But you could ask Suigetsu. You two would make an interesting fight."

"Ah." Sai gave her an odd smile and made his way over to the small band of men. Sakura stretched, enjoying the cracks her neck and back gave out, and then slumped over, touching her toes.

"Sakura-chan!" She glanced stood back to her full height and raised a brow. Naruto was waving frantically for her to come over to him and the others.

Sakura huffed, then reluctantly left her books behind. "Yeah, Naruto? What is it?" She put her hands on her hips, leaning forward and backward, stretching out her legs.

"We're gonna have a free-for-all! Please, please, please join! Sai told me you've got an appointment later, but we all want you to spar!" Naruto gave her the puppy-dog stare, something he knew she couldn't say no to, and Sakura gave in with a sigh, and spread out from the others, widening her stance to fight as the others scrambled for a spot. The six of them formed a hexagon, each about twelve feet from each other. "Are you ready...? Go!"

Sakura dashed for Suigetsu, pounding her feet as the dusty ground became hardened rock. She made eye contact with Naruto, who kicked his large sword out of the way as she made a couple of hand signs, and three slabs of rock enclosed their foe. "Gomenesai, Suigetsu," Sakura laughed. "But I don't think turning to liquid form will help you too much." She kicked the solid ground. "There's nothing you can be absorbed into, huh?"

Sakura hurtled herself away from Naruto just as a blur of orange and blue ran past her. She and the blonde exchanged looks before ending their temporary alliance.

"Sasuke!" Jūgo rumbled, the earth shaking with the giant's might. His opponent slithered past Sakura and went to fight Naruto again. Pushing all the dirty onto me, she thought sourly. How rude. Jūgo charged like a bull, and at the last second, Sakura propelled herself into the air using chakra, and then flipped, grazing his forehead with her pointer finger. Slowly, Jūgo blinked as he came to a sudden stop. "What did you...do to me?" He slumped, then fell over, shaking the ground once again. Sakura smiled. Karin had explained to her that Jūgo was actually the curse mark's origin, and how Orochimaru had kept him in the furthest and most isolated base. Something to do with the enzymes, Karin had told her. After further analysis and tests, Sakura had unlocked the key to understanding the mystery illness.

As soon as Jūgo toppled over, a shot rang out. Sakura ducked instantaneously, covering her head. After a second, she looked around, and then focused on the wall of where she had imprisoned Suigetsu. In the thick rock was a hole the size of a ryō coin. Water leaked from it, then gathered on the other side. "Now, Princess, that wasn't too nice of what you and Blondie did earlier, was it? Although, props to you, that was some clever thinking."

He turned just as two black objects crashed into him, and as he turned to water, he flinched. "Oh, gross!" One of the two ink eels melted into the water, blinding Suigetsu. And as he tried to solidify, the second electrocuted him, effectively knocking him out.

Sakura turned to Sai and nodded to him before they both headed towards Naruto and Sasuke. The two were engaged in an armlock, with Sasuke at the disadvantage, because he only did have one arm to work with. Sakura smiled, pulled on her gloves, and then nodded to Sai. "Shanaroō!"

The ground shook, and then broke into pieces, some of the smaller ones rising into the air before coming back down. Sakura zoomed past the falling debris and towards Sasuke. In the corner of her eye, she caught Sai and Naruto already engaged in a fight. It seemed Naruto was more tired than he let on, and he also seemed to be...blushing? What had Sai said about Hinata this time?

"Hn." Sakura's attention snapped back to Sasuke, who stood above her, thanks to the rubble. She couldn't help but imagine him back when they were searching for him at one of Orochimaru's bases. They had found him, and had been forced to look up at him, the sun blinding them. He'd told them they were fools for thinking he hadn't cut off his ties with them, and then proceeded to lead them on another wild goose chase.

Not today, Haruno, she told herself. We're over reminiscing. Sakura grinned, bringing her leg down as her signature axe kick once again split the ground, causing Sasuke to evade falling in between his platform. Immediately she shot after him, a bullet from a gun, having decided her best bet was to catch him off-guard. Or as close to it as he got.

Sasuke was ready for Sakura, and lifted an arm up to block another kick. He made a half-attempted to grab her ankle, but knew she was too skilled to fall for a simple trick like that. He grunted from the impact. Even without chakra, her taijutsu-based attacks were painful, and so he made an effort to quickly get away from her. They were equally matched in taijutsu, and so he activated his sharingan to catch her in a genjutsu that woud only require seconds for her to break, but it would be enough for him to incapacitate her.

Sakura surged forward, her eyes shut tightly, and Sasuke hesitated. She looked to his feet, saw his pause, and took this moment to pin him. They both breathed heavily, Sakura still keeping her eyes away from his, and Sasuke, temporarily stunned from the jarring jolt he had gotten as the back of his head made contact with the ground. By now, Sai and Naruto's fight has ended, and they made kept to the sidelines, watching the final spar.

"Sakura-chan! You won!" Naruto and Sai came down to the lower ground, waving away the dust and coughing. The blonde approached her with a pep in his step.

Why is he so surprised? Sakura trembled, her free arm in a tight, balled fist. She felt the familiar burning in her eyes, but she was determined to not let herself cry in front of them.

"Sakura." Her eyes opened and lowered to meet Sasuke's. It was the first time in months since he had last spoken directly to her. Sakura's determination to forget him and all the things he had done shattered, and she watched his eyes widen before she slugged him as hard as she could against his left cheek.

In an instant, Sakura was thrashing against the hold of Naruto and his multiple clones. Sai's ink creations held nothing on her, and she easily broke the restraints, trying to get closer to her fighting opponent. "Let me go!" Sakura shrieked, pulling and clawing at anything she could reach. All muscle memory left her, and pure instinct from inside emerged. She was determined to shred her opponent to pieces, to prove her point, her worth. She ignored the protests of the blonde and got out of his grip, and in a flash, was holding Sasuke's collar. "I am enough," she hissed, watching his eyes widen even more. Her green eyes glistened with unshed tears as she choked back a sob, shaking him again. "And I won't take anymore crap from you, Sasuke. I won't let you hurt me. Naruto may have forgiven you, but I am not the naive little girl you called weak and criticised constantly," she said quietly, the calm before the storm.

All of her pent up emotions—shame, frustration, nostalgia—each and every one of them packed a different punch. Sakura straddled him, using her powerful legs to trap his arm, and shut her eyes to avoid his cursed eyes. Only when he was pinned down by her did he think they were necessary against her. And then she began to punch, the first she felt break his nose, and she pushed past the grotesque grunts of pain she heard below her, and she punched like never before. It was the first offensive move she learned, and it ended up being her signature. She shut her eyes tight, forcing back the threat of spilled tears, and gritted her teeth. Why won't he fight back? Why doesn't he struggle?

Slowly, she opened them. And Sakura knew, with a drop in her stomach, that he'd allowed her to bloody and bruise his face. "Why?" she whispered under her breath, loosening her hold on his arms. And she knew that, with a wave of shame washing over her, that he had done nothing to deserve this treatment. She shook, watching him do nothing but stare at her, disoriented. Anger seized Sakura, and she grabbed his collar. "Why?" She demanded, feeling sick as she watched his head loll around as she shook him. Eyes wide, all the tenseness melted away as he finally met her gaze. The look is gone, Karin had said, but as the two stared at each other, trying to determine each other's motives, Sakura could say, without a doubt, it was back.

the end.

In order to fully understand this piece, because I think this was the most confusing of the current three existing, I should explain. After this part, I imagine Sakura and Sasuke facing their own demons before they can finally settle down; Sakura's being her feelings of inadequacy and Sasuke's being the fear of commitment to others.

Let's talk about Karin. In many fics, I've read about the bitchy, clingy, and for lack of a better word, just plain annoying girl. I don't want that, at least, not for this piece. I think Sakura and Karin could be great friends. In fact, I'm a bit saddened when, despite it being canon, we never actually see interaction between them.

The scene where Sakura low-key melts down was written first, actually. It's the point where you sort of get to that really bad mindset and hating how you think and feeling ashamed that you think certain things in the first place. This point was when Sakura reached the peak of frustration and confusion, and it boiled over. The anger at herself for loving Sasuke despite trying so hard to let go is something I have felt before, so it was a bit therapeutic to write her thought process. As she pinned and started punching Sasuke, and how he lied there just taking it, I intended for it to be interpreted as him feeling like he deserved it, which I'm sure you picked up on. Sasuke, like Sakura, also feels guilt and shame, but I think that's one of the beauties of a limited perspective. You sort of just pick up on his own feelings, even if you don't get his thoughts.

As for the end, there were two major components I wanted to discuss, one not-so subtle, and the other being so. The part that jumped out was supposed to be Sasuke's "look", which would look something like a crossover of soft and protective. The fact that he was willing to finally look at her signifies he was finally willing to face his own fears of commitment and loving her. The second component included interesting wordplay that I thought should be brought up. The word determined, in Sakura's POV for the entirety of the piece was always about proving something, whether it was her worth or telling herself she had closure. I turned the understanding and negative connotation of the word determination on its head, and instead made it uncertain, maybe even hopeful. Determination is not always perseverance, but can also mean figuring things out.

I hope this in-depth explanation helped, and maybe you'll read the piece again and determine some of the meanings yourself!

What other emotions do you want Sakura to brave?