Otokage

Chapter 1

Normal P.O.V.

"Any last words bitch?" Karin sneered.

Sakura could only grunt. Sasuke and Karin had come to the village about one year ago. She had a long gash on her arm and leg, three broken ribs, kunais sticking out of her back, and a punctured wound. It was a miracle that she was still alive and breathing.

"No one's going to come save you." Karin said.

Sakura knew it was true. No one would come. It was still dark and her "friends" wouldn't come either.

Flashback

Sakura skipped happily to Ichiraku's. She had finally memorized all 523 different poisons that Tsunade had assigned. Just as she rounded the corner to Ichiraku's, she heard some talking. It was about her.

"I'm thinking of dropping Sakura as my apprentice soon." Tsunade said.

There was a painful stab at Sakura's chest.

"Really? Why?" Naruto asked.

"I don't think she's cut out to be a ninja let alone a medical ninja." Tsunade replied.

Stab.

"She doesn't have any special qualities other than that ridiculous pink hair and green eyes." Tsunade continued.

"Don't forget that ridiculous forehead." Ino added.

Sakura heard her friends nod.

"Karin would make a good apprentice." Tsunade commented.

"Thank god I'm not the only one who thinks Sakura has no special qualities other than her hair and eyes." Naruto said. "You should relieve her of her ninja status. I'm getting tired of saving Sakura all the time."

"hn. Dobe, don't talk so loudly." Sasuke said.

Sakura felt hope well up in her chest.

"Though I doubt she'll hear anything because that big forehead of hers would probably deflect everything." Sasuke continued. "She's still annoying and pathetic."

Her hopes shattered like her heart.

"Sometimes I wish that I could enter her body and kill her." Ino said. "I actually thought about it during the chuunin exams. I went easy on the poor girl, so she wouldn't be permantley scarred."

Tears threatened to spill out of Sakura's eyes.

"She doesn't train either." Kakashi said. "I wonder how she even became a jonin anyways. Probably pure luck."

Hot tears cascaded down Sakura's face. Her nails dig into her palms drawing blood. She turned away and ran all the way back home.

Flashback ends

Sakura didn't say anything back then. Even if none of that was true. Tsunade's training wasn't difficult. It was easy. But Sakura was afraid of hurting her mentor's feelings if she said that the training was too easy. Sakura didn't need to be saved. She could take care of herself. But she was afraid that she would hurt her best friend's pride if she told him that she didn't need his protection. Sakura wasn't pathetic and weak. She was just trying to be nice to Sasuke because everyone was shunning him. She was nice because she was afraid of losing him again. Sakura knew Ino wasn't going easy on her during the chuunin exams. She was trying her best. But Sakura didn't want Ino to feel bad so she purposely made the battle a tie. Sakura did train. Just not with Kakashi because he was always focused on Sasuke and Naruto. Sakura just didn't want to make her feel bad. And because of those sympathetic feelings, Sakura was now bleeding to death. She could have easily smashed into the ground Karin's face into the ground, especially training so hard with Hinata, Neji, Sai, and Shikamaru. But she didn't. Her "friends" would ask why she did it and who would believe Sakura when she would say that Karin had tried to kill her? No one. Because they always took Karin's side.

"Now, how should I kill you? Torture? Dehydration? Starvation? Hypothermia? Maybe I'll just leave you to bleed to death." Karin laughed. "Yeah… Yeah I'll just let you bleed to death!"

With that, Karin jumped away laughing like a maniac. Sakura painfully sat up against a tree and watched the blood seep through her cuts.

"I'm tired…" Sakura thought.

"Whoa Saku. Don't go to sleep! You won't wake up if you do!" Inner screamed. "And you still need to kick some serious Team 7 and Ino-pig butt!"

Sakura mentally locked her inner in a closet and focused on breathing. Her arms lay limp on her sides, too sore to do anything. She noticed her breathing getting shallower and shallower. Sakura tried to keep conscious. Everything was going fuzzy.

Maybe dying here isn't such a bad idea…