useless
✰ 愚か者
[SIZE=18pt]The seasons have changed,[/SIZE]
[SIZE=18pt]And so have [/SIZE][SIZE=18pt]we[/SIZE][SIZE=18pt].[/SIZE]
[SIZE=11pt]“Well, guys. Today’s the day.” Sakura breathed, her voice filling the otherwise silent room as she sat on her bedside, peering down at her lap with an excited smile. There, she held the photograph of her team. [/SIZE][SIZE=11pt]Their first ever photo together as a team. It felt like it had been a lifetime ago, but in reality, it had only been four years. Two years ago she had been that bubbly little girl, struggling to find her place while drowning in a sea of emotions. She had been so lost. Her goal as a kunichi was no longer clear. Had it ever been, though? Her only real goal before had been to gain Sasuke’s attention, then she realized her fawning and idolizing the ravenette[/SIZE][SIZE=11pt] was only making him hate her. He called her “annoying” and “useless”, which, to a twelve-year-old girl with a crush, was traumatic!
Thinking back to it now, though, Sakura could only smile and laugh softly to herself. She had acted pretty ridiculously back then… but she was different now! Her training with Lady Tsunade had helped her learn about herself. She could be strong, independent, and most importantly, [/SIZE][SIZE=11pt]dependable[/SIZE][SIZE=11pt]. Sasuke was not her reason for waking up in the morning anymore, and in realizing that, she had realized so much about herself and her potential. Perhaps it was this that allowed her to truly bloom while under Tsunade’s teachings? [/SIZE]
[SIZE=11pt]Smiling triumphantly, the [/SIZE][SIZE=11pt]pinkette[/SIZE][SIZE=11pt] set the picture down on her nightstand and pushed herself to her feet with a youthful hop, smoothing her gloved hands over her gray skirt to flatten it out over her black shorts, looking herself over in her full-length mirror to make sure she looked ready to go. “Today’s the day[/SIZE][SIZE=11pt],” she repeated, grinning a little now when thinking about just WHAT today was. [/SIZE]
[SIZE=11pt]Today was the day first day of the rest of her life! She saw it as a “redo” of sorts. She saw things differently now the [/SIZE][SIZE=11pt]hse[/SIZE][SIZE=11pt] did when she was younger. So she was excited to get out there and really [/SIZE][SIZE=11pt]start her life as a kunoichi of the Hidden Leaf! Reaching back beneath her cotton candy pink hair, she tightened her headband and turned, trotting from the room with determination practically radiating off of her. This was the first mission she had been assigned to after beginning her vigorous training beneath the Hokage, so there was also a part of her that was nervous. A part of her wished she could be with Kakashi, Naruto, and Sasuke for this mission, but maybe this was for the best? She needed to prove to herself that she could really do this, after all! [/SIZE]
[SIZE=11pt]It was just a little nerve wrecking to know that her team for the mission consisted of only herself and one another… one [/SIZE][SIZE=11pt]Itachi Uchiha[/SIZE][SIZE=11pt].[/SIZE]
[SIZE=11pt]Sakura’s [/SIZE][SIZE=11pt]pace[/SIZE][SIZE=11pt] faltered a little as she left her house and reflected on that little fact. Her smile became a nervous one for a moment as she thought about the older Uchiha brother. She didn’t know him, not personally. But she knew he was highly skilled and was said to be very stoic, but supposedly different than Sasuke in that he was polite and well-mannered. Sakura had seen him in passing a handful of times around Lady Tsunade’s office, but other than that, all she knew about him was what Sasuke said about him. Including that Itachi was an ANBU… but Sakura kept that to herself. She knew that information like that was supposed to be kept pretty quiet.[/SIZE]
[SIZE=11pt]So, knowing she was going to be alone with Itachi for potentially a few weeks was kind of nerve-wracking and very suspicious. Why just[/SIZE][SIZE=11pt] him? If the mission was as dangerous as the briefing the night before with Lady Tsunade made it seem, shouldn’t they have a full squad? [/SIZE]
[SIZE=11pt]Sakura had already decided that this was some kind of test. It was her first major mission in nearly two years, so clearly, Tsunade wanted to know how far she had come with all the training she had provided. Itachi was likely there to observe her… why else would he be sent [/SIZE][SIZE=11pt]with[/SIZE][SIZE=11pt] her on this mission??
Well, it was all speculation, but she felt it was pretty solid. She reassured herself that none of that mattered, though. She had a mission, and she fully intended to do what she could to see to it that it was a success. [/SIZE]
[SIZE=11pt]Finally, after the trek across the village, she came across their meeting place. She intentionally left early, arriving thirty minutes before they were to depart. Their meeting place was [/SIZE][SIZE=11pt]below [/SIZE][SIZE=11pt]a row of cherry trees, by the river. Looking around, it didn’t seem like Itachi was anywhere to be seen, so she took the moment to lean against one of the trees and mentally run down a checklist of all the things she had brought in her medic pack as well as the small back on her back.
It was her way of keeping herself from stressing over Itachi and what traveling with him would be like.[/SIZE]
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