Prologue

Over a decade had passed since she had last entered the Forest of Death. The first and only time had been when she first attempted to take the Chuunin Exam. Back then, she had entered it as a fangirling kunoichi with very little skills to recommend her amongst her peers. It was embarrassing to her as she looked back upon the behavior of her pre-teen self, although she was able to console herself a bit with the knowledge that she had been only twelve and thus allowed some excuse for the fangirling.

But then again, when she thought about the two years she had taught in the Ninja Academy as a temporary sub until a replacement could be found and the female students she had taught... Well her twelve-year old self seemed even more immature and selfish to her. She could only be thankful that she no longer acted that way and that she had come a long way since then.

She no longer displayed any fangirling behavior, well perhaps not often and in a totally different context then she had in the past. She was no longer weak and without skills. She could hold her head up high and say she was worthy of being called a ninja of Konoha and that she ranked pretty high among the kunoichis. She could probably say that without a doubt that she was damn better then that Ino-pig. Their friendship might have returned after their first attempt at the Chuunin Exam, but the rivalry that had developed in their early years would always remain.

The forest was eerily silent except for the rustling of the autumn leaves that littered the forest floor by the wind. That same wind played with strands of her hair that were the same shade of pink as the blossoms that she was named for. Her stance seemed relaxed, but the trained eye could see a level of focus and tension in her. She was well aware of the monsters that called this forest home and had no intention of becoming their meal. Not only would it be a shame for her to die so young, but it would be incredibly embarrassing considering she was no rookie Genin anymore.

Jade green eyes surveyed the clearing around her. It had been a while, but she was certain that this was the same spot where the Sound-nin had attacked her team all those years ago. The same spot where she had vowed to get stronger. No longer would she stare at the backs of her companions as they fought and be protected by them. She would fight by their side and protect them as they had done for her. She would no longer shame herself or them by not being strong enough or skilled enough. Or just… enough.

Logically, she had known then that the difference between her and her teammates was an ever-widening canyon. There was a chance that she might never reach an equal footing with them. But she hadn't let that stop her from trying because not trying was worse then never being their equals. It was better to try and do her best. So she had decided then and there that she would train and get as strong as it possibly was for someone like her.

She hadn't been like her teammates and age-mates. They had all had come from a long line of shinobi and some were blessed to be in families with bloodline limits. She was only a second generation shinobi. Her father had been the son of a baker, who had wanted more in life then to bake bread and cakes. The talent had been there and he had proven that he had the determination to become one of the best and rise high in the shinobi ranks. But his career had been cut short during a Rank B mission that had left him with a permanent limp, a handicap that would make it impossible for him to continue with his life's dream.

Having to give up his life as a ninja and becoming a baker like his father had made Haruno Hisoka into a bitter man. It wasn't that he was incapable of happiness and joy or that he had been a cruel father. He had merely been hard to live with sometimes. She understood that losing a cherished dream was hard and while he loved her, she knew he had been disappointed that she had not been his hoped for son, that would fulfill his dream. Her birth had been a complicated one, with the end result being that her mother was not to have any more children unless she wanted to risk her life.

As much as her father wanted a son, he would not risk the woman he loved. He would just have to place his dream in the hands of his daughter. It was only because she had wanted to please her father that she had entered the Ninja Academy. At the age of five, she really had no aspirations to be a kunoichi. Her dreams had been more along the lines of getting married to a prince and having a family of her own. But she loved her father and then there was nothing more that she wanted then his approval.

The first few weeks at the Academy had perhaps been her most frustrating. Most of the other students already had some training from their parents, so they were able to perform the simple jutsu. Her father had refused to teach her, whether out of bitterness of the past or because he wanted her to prove herself on her own like he had done, she didn't know. The only thin that she had known was that she wasn't doing so well, she felt shy and out of place, and the other kids were making fun of her because they said her forehead was too big. It was the first time anyone had mentioned anything of the sort to her.

She remembered the first time she had come home crying. Her father, thankfully, had been a way since she had a feeling he would have scolded her. A good ninja never showed their emotions, he would have said. But her mother had been there to comfort her. Haruno Mizuki was a woman who wanted only her child's happiness and had been concerned that the pressures that her husband placed upon their daughter, subtle and not-so-subtle, would do more damage then good. She was a simple woman who respected ninjas, yet there was something in her words that said that she wasn't entirely pleased with the entire code of the shinobi. Sakura often wondered whether her mother's past before she had married Hisoka had anything to do with it. Mizuki had told her daughter that it was fine to choose a different path and that she would deal with Sakura's father if he made too much of a fuss.

But Sakura had refused to give up. She wanted to make her father proud, because she was bright enough to realize that while he loved her, she was a disappointment because she didn't have the required appendage between her legs to be his son. So she had plowed ahead, using the intelligence that she had inherited from her parents to help close some of the gap between her and the other students. This in turn had increased the teasing about her forehead because now her forehead size was equated with her being overly intelligent. Feeling more self-conscious about her appearance and the difference between her and the other children, she had become a bit introverted and lost what little confidence she had to stand up for herself.

When it seemed like things just wouldn't get any better, Ino became her friend. Ino had been her first real friend (one could not consider her much-cherished teddy bear, Pooka to be a real friend after all). She had defended Sakura from the bullies and had helped build up Sakura's confidence piece by piece. So it had been with great regret that she had ended their friendship, when it was discovered that they were both crushing on the same boy. If they had remained friends, she was certain that she would have given up to Ino simply out of gratitude for all she had done. The blonde would have been furious if that had happened because Ino didn't like winning by default and because she hadn't spent all that time building up Sakura to have her give up so easily, even to her. She would have wanted a rival and an equal and Sakura had been determined to fulfill her friend's wish.

So Academy life had improved due to Ino; their friendship and rivalry. And in some ways her crush upon Sasuke had been a plus because it was an extra incentive to do well. But she had still lacked the motivation to be a ninja. It wouldn't be until she graduated from the Academy and became a Genin on Team 7 that she would begin to make that change. However it wouldn't be until the Chuunin Exam that she found her reason to be a ninja and made her vow to become stronger and then even longer still, until the arrival of the Godaime Hokage, before she could truly being to fulfill that vow.

And a change had occurred in her. She was no longer a ninja because of her father's dream, nor was it because her friends and teachers. She was a ninja because Haruno Sakura wanted to be one. She wanted to the strength and the skills to protect all that she loved and the best way to do so in her eyes was to become one of Konoha's strongest ninjas.

"I kept my promise," she whispered to the forest. "I have the power to protect the ones I love. I'm not weak any more."

Perhaps it was her own imagination, but she felt like the forest answered. It approved of what she had done. Of the change that she had made in herself. Once she had been a self-centered and shallow young girl who was lacking in so many different areas. Now she was a confident and strong kunoichi.

Then she heard the slightest of movements, reacting as soon as she recognized it as a possible threat. She drew a kunai as her body turned and settled into a stance that would allow her to defend against attack or go on the offensive at a moment's notice. The sight that graced her made her eyes widen and intake a sharp breathe.

"Sasuke?"

Final Thought from Sakura:
…Sasuke…?

AUTHOR'S NOTE: Okay I'm probably a little behind in the manga at the moment, but I'm not completely oblivious to what's been going on. However, as far as this story's concerned, everything that happened after the "Save Gaara" arc does not exist. Also this is another story of mine that's being revised, most of it's fairly the same as the first go around although there are some bits that are reworded or added to. I also decided to rename the story which was once called "Back To Your Heart".

I don't have a Beta so if you anything that I missed while editing, let me know so I can fix it. Thanks!

kunoichi - female ninja

Disclaimer: I do not claim any rights to Naruto or the characters associated with the anime/manga. Those rights belong to Kishimoto Masashi and anyone else he says has rights to it.