Behind

Premise: Sasori was a puppeteer, a manipulator, that's why he could see right through her the moment he met her, "Sakura, join me and the Akatsuki. We can promise you something your teammates never could…to never be left behind."

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto.

Notice: Tell me what you guys think about the extras sections at the bottom. You like? You don't like? Critique is always good. Beta volunteers are good too! Thank you.

Chapter 1: Teammates

'Sasuke-kun had never left.' Somehow, though Sakura couldn't fathom how, between the chuunin final exams, Gaara's hate driven destruction and the gates of Konoha, they had managed to convince him to stay. 'However, his goal of revenge never dissipated. In Kakashi-sensei's attempt to give Sasuke-kun the power that he had given up by not following Orochimaru into the night they had left the village for a two-year excursion through the countries to gain knowledge and the power that Sasuke-kun had so desired.'

Sakura knew that Sasuke was Kakashi's favorite student. It was an unspoken fact, but of what she had heard about Kakashi's past, the favoritism was reasonable. 'Kakashi-sensei had wanted to save Sasuke-kun like how Uchiha Obito had saved him.' But Sakura laughed slightly, 'wouldn't it have logically been better to let Sasuke-kun stay around Naruto longer and let the boisterous blond work his intangible magic?' Sakura's expression turned grim, 'ah', she thought, 'Kakashi-sensei didn't want Naruto to end like Uchiha Obito had. Plus who knew if Naruto's magic would work on Sasuke-kun anymore, they had been exposed to each other for much too long.' Sakura shook her head, 'of course it would work, and it was probably the reason why Sasuke-kun had stayed just for Naruto, just for Kakashi-sensei.'

So Sakura had been shocked when Kakashi had told her privately the night before they had left of what his plans were to be. "He will be consumed by his vengeance if something isn't done to save him. I'll be taking him to other lands so that he can learn, and gain power, but more so… to gain knowledge. If he does so, the knowledge will restrain his vengeance and he won't be consumed. Or at least that is the theory," Sakura had looked up at him hopefully as he had gazed back down at her. "It'll just be Sasuke and I," her smile disappeared, "take care of yourself and Naruto. We will all be okay in the end."

Naruto at that time had been offered an apprenticeship with the frog Sannin, Jiraiya, and he at first was reluctant to accept the position. Naruto had wanted to stay behind for Sasuke, but that all changed when Naruto had found out about Kakashi's plans. Naruto and Jiraiya had left the day right after Kakashi and Sasuke, promising to be back within two years time as well. Naruto's goal was not only to become the next Hokage, but he needed the power to make sure that his best friend was never tempted to leave the village again.

Teammates

Sakura bit her lip as she stood in front of the Hokage tower. It had been less than a week since Naruto had left with a hop and skip out of the village. He had waved good-bye to her until she could no longer see him on the horizon and his smile had never faded from sight. In their rush to gain the power they had needed to reach their goals, once again they had left her behind. She was sure Kakashi never meant this to happen, she was sure Kakashi had thought Naruto would be staying. But her teacher although a great shinobi was limited in his teaching skills and in his understanding of genin dynamic, Team 7 being his first team and all. Kakashi didn't account for other mentors that would've whisked his other male student away for their own conquests.

'Other mentors', Sakura thought. She was still within the walls of her home village and with nothing left to lose she was standing in front of the Hokage tower. "I promise you Naruto, the next time we fight together, I won't get in the way," Sakura murmured as she took one step closer to the great doors. She wrung her hands from apprehension as she stole a look to the windows of the Hokage's office, reflecting the light of the sun and preventing anyone from seeing inside.

Sakura jolted slightly and gasped as three swirls of color flashed before her eyes; orange, blue and green, the backs of her teammates.

"Sakura?" a voice called from behind her. Sakura turned around and came face to face with her best friend and greatest rival.

"What do you want, Pig?" Sakura muttered as she glanced at the doors to the Hokage tower. It didn't seem as though she had gotten any closer with that one heart-wrenching step.

Ino's eye twitched instinctively but she brushed off the insult with a shake of her head and smiled at her friend. "Shikamaru, Chouji, Asuma-sensei and I were planning to go get some barbeque pork. Would you like to tag along with us? You could eat some of Chouji's portion, he needs to cut down on all the food after all."

Sakura smiled weakly, "I doubt that would work Pig. He'd probably just order more and dig a bigger hole in your pocket or Asuma-sensei's pocket. I'm okay Ino, go on." Sakura tried to emphasize the double meaning in her sentence. Ino stared at Sakura, her eyes betraying the pity that her words tried not to express. "You and your team should just… go. Have fun, enjoy yourselves, and be together like you should be."

Ino nodded reluctantly before turning away, "See you later then, forehead!" Sakura watched as Ino walked away and took notice of how Ino's fist clench and relaxed periodically. Her short blond hair was still incased in the bun but Sakura could see that it was growing longer. 'She can't be anything but absolutely gorgeous,' Sakura thought with a shake of her head.

Turning back to the Hokage tower Sakura smiled sadly and took another step toward the great doors; she let out a sigh when her vision wasn't invaded by swirling hues. Sakura closed her eyes and thought deeply, Ino had never been left behind by her teammates and the blonde knew that. Though they had so many things in common, this was the one thing that separated them, that defined them. Ino's team was THE Ino-Shika-Cho, a two-generation phenomenon. They relied and depended on each other for everything that they did. Ino had never been left behind, she never needed to be, she was strong, top of the class, and something that Sakura from the making of Team 7 was not.

Smiling slightly and taking another step she glanced to where Ino had disappeared beyond the horizon. She was happy her friend still cared, still cared after all the crap they had been through, but she needed to do something about her own team, her own life, instead of intruding on someone else's.

"Are you just going to be standing there all day?" Tenten remarked as she pushed herself off the wall of the Hokage tower turning her head from staring at Ino to the pink haired girl. Sakura looked up shocked, the weapon mistress hadn't been there before.

Tenten had learned to be quick and quiet from an early age. She was one of the better kunoichi in Konoha, and the famed weapons mistress, but that might have also been because of her age and greater experience. 'Or her team,' Sakura thought bitterly as she gazed into Tenten's fierce dark, brown eyes. "You're Hyuuga Neji-san's teammate," Sakura stated trying to make idle conversation with the kunoichi she had never really talked to before.

Tenten rolled her eyes before smiling and nodding. "That I am. What are you doing anyway? You've been taking one step per minute, Lee would have circled Konoha once or twice by now." Tenten stuffed her hands into her pockets and walked to stand beside Sakura. Sakura smiled up at Tenten and noted that the girl had a warming presence despite the slightly harder outer shell.

"I'm…"

"I actually really don't need to know, Sakura… what ever you want to do is your problem, its just interesting watching you walk like a snail."

Sakura looked up at the weapon mistresses confident and caring eyes, "You're teamed up with a prodigy and… Lee-san…"

"You can call him a hyper-active weirdo like the one you want to compare him too, god knows that I do…and that Neji does…silently," Tenten laughed to herself.

Sakura winced opening her mouth again, "What…"

"Is it like to be the weakest link?" Tenten asked and looked at the pink haired girl. Sakura nodded meekly, "I'm not the weakest link. Sure I'm not the strongest, not the fastest and definitely not the smartest, but I'm me, and my team needs me."

"How…"

"Do I know? Because they are my team, and I will do anything for them and they will do anything for me. I won't be left behind because I refuse to be left behind. The fight with the sand bi—" Tenten paused, "Temari-san…just showed me what I needed to do to get stronger. I've been training everyday every day ever since, Neji's been helping me out as well."

"Ah…"

"I'm guessing that's why you're here, to get stronger."

"Yah."

Tenten smiled at Sakura, "You were pretty incredible during the chuunin exams, different for sure but okay, I can see why. Good luck then, in finding your own way," Tenten span on her heal, as graceful as the weapons mistress she was, "Catch up to your team Sakura, whether they know it or not, you are part of them." With a single flick of her wrist Tenten was gone with the wind.

Sakura bit her lip and grasped onto the soft material of her clothing. She stared at the spot where Tenten had disappeared. "That's what I need," Sakura muttered to herself, "I need to think like that. If I just think like that then I'll have no problems with them at all, no problems," Sakura smiled and looked back up at the tower between her lashes. Her eyes hardened as she took another step closer to the entrance. Reaching the door she lifted an arm to push it open. From the other side the door suddenly snapped open much quicker than Sakura had intended and she collapsed forward with a scream.

"S-Sakura-san!" squeaked Hinata as Kiba pulled her out of the way of the tumbling pink haired girl.

"Shit…" mumbled Sakura as she rubbed her head and looked up at the girl who was infatuated with her hyperactive blonde teammate. "Hinata-chan, Kiba-kun, Shino-kun, I'm so sorry…I was just…"

"Oi, don't bother about it so much," Kiba grinned, "No harm done." Akamaru barked from beside him and licked Sakura's knee tenderly. Sakura smiled and patted the white puppy on the head.

Shino silently offered her a hand and she took it. Standing up she nodded at them as Hinata turned a bright red. "S-sorry Sakura-san, I didn't m-mean to make you f-fall."

Before Sakura could reply Shino spoke, "Hinata, don't take the blame all the time, I'm sure Sakura-san doesn't blame you." Through the sunglasses Shino gave her a pointed look.

'Like that was needed,' Sakura thought. "It's okay Hinata-chan, no harm no foul right?"

Hinata nodded really quickly as Kiba dragged her outside, "Bye Sakura!" Kiba shouted as Shino tagged along behind them. Sakura watched as Shino caught up with his two teammates. The two boys placed Hinata right between them automatically and conversed with her quietly. Kiba still had his hand loosely clutching Hinata's shoulder supporting her, as she continually looked back at Sakura her eyes reflecting sadness. It seemed at though Hinata missed Naruto just as much as she did.

Sakura tilted her head, turned around and smiled as she looked around the lobby of the Hokage tower. 'First part of the mission finished,' she thought triumphantly. It might have taken an hour longer than expected, but now that she was actually inside the building; one of the harder parts was over.

Her steps were much quicker now as she walked up the stairs to get to the Hokage's office. Sakura brushed her hands against the railing and a wave of nostalgia washed over her; she had been up these steps many times before but every other time she had had one of her best friends going up with her. Now she was walking up the incline by herself, she had no choice but to. There was no one to be with anymore. No Naruto, no Sasuke-kun, no Kakashi-sensei, just little Haruno Sakura.

Coming up to the top of the stairs she came to a hallway that circled the giant dome that sat on top of the building. Walking around to the other side with the clicking of her standard issue sandals and passing the many unidentified rooms, she came to the desk that Shizune was sitting at.

Sakura scoffed the soles of her feet against the wooden floor and walked up to the Hokage's assistant who was mumbling about drunken Hokage's at nine o'clock in the morning harshly while taking a brush, dipping it into a pot of ink and neatly running the tip over the last page of document sitting on her desk. "Sh-Shizune-san?"

The Hokage's assistant finished her stroke, confirming to Sakura that Shizune had heard her approach, deeming her safe and watched her nod before looking up. A smile blossomed across her face immediately at the sight of the pink haired, shaking girl, "Sakura-san. What a pleasant surprise. What can I do for you today?" The brush in her hand was set down on the table without a sound and Sakura marveled at the simple display of skill.

"I would like to request a meeting with Tsunade-sama," Sakura mumbled meekly as she felt all the courage that she had gained walking up the stairs seep away from her. Shizune was already showing her unconsciously what she lacked in skill as a shinobi and she wondered if the decision she was making was the right one.

Shizune nodded thoughtfully and tapped her lip. "Tsunade isn't in a meeting right now, but I don't think she's very fit to be talking with anyone at the moment. I'm sorry, Sakura-san."

If all of the courage Sakura had gained was seeping away quickly before then, the comment blasted the rest out immediately. "Is t-that so? I will come back another time then. Thank you Shizune-san."

Shizune smiled sadly as she watched Sakura turn around and stiffly walk back to the stairs. Everyone knew who Haruno Sakura was, not directly, but by dire association. Everyone knew who Naruto was and if not him, than they knew the Uchiha or the copy-nin.

Shizune was pulled out of her reverie when a foot stopped down onto the hard wooden floor. Her eyebrow suddenly rose as she saw Sakura pause before clutching her head and muttering angrily at herself.

"How dare you just give up like that?" Inner Sakura yelled and began to rip at the barrier of the inner mind angrily with her fists.

"I can't!" Sakura gritted out.

"Get back there! GET BACK THERE AND SHOW THEM THAT YOU ARE TEAM SEVEN!" Inner Sakura continued to scream shrilly.

"Shut up already!" Sakura ground out and stomped her foot again. Shizune stood up in worry for the pink haired girl who was still yelling at herself. "Don't you DARE! Crap!"

And suddenly, just like that, Sakura turned and around and grinned at Shizune confidently. "From what you were muttering before I spoke Shizune-san, I'm guessing the reason that Tsunade-sama can't talk right now is because she has a hangover. I'm still willing to talk to her even if she is inebriated, what I have to ask her is very important."

Shizune quirked her eyebrows again as she watched the meek, little pink haired girl suddenly have a fire burn behind her eyes. Nodding slightly she watched as Sakura's lips twitched as though they weren't totally in her control. Turning around she stood in front of Tsunade's door and knocked gently. "Dodge everything that comes your way Sakura-san."

With that, Shizune pushed her into the room. A stapler slammed into the wall just to her right and Sakura ducked in time to miss the lamp that came flying at her head.

"What do you WANT!" Tsunade groaned as she lifted her head and stared at the girl in front of her. One side of the Hokage's face was covered in ink and both of her eyes were droopy from exhaustion. Sakura's hair stood on end from fright but she surged forward to have her face directly into that of the Hokage's.

"I want to be your student!" and with that all of the fire died in Sakura's eyes and suddenly the fear swam right back in. Shizune giggled from the other side of the door noting down that they severely needed to redo the sound proofing in the Hokage's office. Tsunade looked at her curiously as Sakura suddenly backed off and assumed a pose of submission, much different from her face shoving attitude mere seconds ago.

Bracing herself against the desk, Tsunade leaned back on her chair and inquired the girl quietly. "Why?" she simply asked. Her headache was pounding on her eardrums, but what the girl had to say, Tsunade knew, was going to change everything.

Sakura's eyes fluttered up to the Hokage and watched as amusement passed by on the Slug Princess's face. "I don't want to be left behind, n-no I refuse to be left behind by my team." Sakura remembered Ino, Tenten and Hinata, she was glad that she had met them before she had reached her destination. She knew now what she wanted more than ever. She wanted the feeling of belonging; she wanted to belong like the other three kunoichi belonged on their teams. She was going to do anything to feel like that.

Tsunade nodded and stared outside of the window. "Considering that you are from Team 7 and it was Naruto who got me here in this beautiful hellhole in the first place, I have read quite a lot about you Haruno Sakura."

Sakura nodded, "Ah…"

"Kakashi reported you as having flawless chakra control during your first training session on your first mission. You had also graduated the academy with astounding academic results, Iruka said that you loved to read and memorize books. However, you did poorly in combat and all other areas, but that has improved has it not?"

Sakura nodded as her eyes lit up again, "It has improved slightly Tsunade-sama, but that is what I am here for, to improve myself even more." Her back straightened, her stance defined itself and she stared hard into the Hokage's serene but hard brown eyes.

"Very well Sakura, I'll make you my student, despite swearing never to take on another brat ever again."

Sakura's eyes flashed with a burning fire as she thought about her two teammates and her sensei, she was finally going to be able to catch up. Inner Sakura yelled in victory. She was finally not going to be a burden to Naruto. No more swirling colors would invade her vision, no more turned backs.

"On one condition Sakura," Tsunade hummed as she sat back in her chair and put one foot on the desk, her grin intensified, "No one must know about your apprenticeship but those I get involved in your training."

Sakura's eyes flashed again as Inner Sakura speculated before egging her on, "Understood Hokage-sama." She didn't dare question the condition. She didn't want to know the answer.

Next Time on Behind

Two years ago she had stood here, two years ago she had met the three other kunoichi that would define their generation, two years ago she had been a different person, but now…now she was Haruno Sakura, apprentice of; one of the three legendary Sannin, the Godiame Hokage, the Slug Princess, and she was the third best medical nin in all of Fire Country as overtly declared.

Secret's Corner

Since this is just the first chapter, nothing much is up for discussion. But the gist of what goes on down here is that I'm just going to be mentioning a couple things that I had in mind during the writing of the chapter. Song inspiration, art inspirations, the mind set that I was going for as well. Deleted scenes would also probably take a stand in this section because sometimes you really want to put something in, but you just can't make it work with the story no matter what you try to do. Also this place can give people ideas for discussion, or where I'm going to be replying to interesting comments. If you have something awesome to say, but decide you don't want it discussed down here, just tag it along in your note and discussion can happen else where. Here's hoping to hear from all of you soon!