Naruto 1. Crash

**A/N: I do not own Naruto.**

Crash

When Team Kakashi got home from missions, they didn't often go straight home. Sometimes, if the mission had been super successful, they went out to the pub to celebrate with whoever else was there. If they had come back after an easy going mission (these were few and far between, especially ones concerning the _entire_ team being sent out) they went to Ichiraku, much like they had done when they were younger. When they got in from a long, difficult mission late at night, then often they wouldn't go home at all for a few days- unlike other teams, whose members typically belonged to large clans, the members of Team Kakashi simply went to whoever lived closest to the village gates.

This tended to be Sakura's house, and regardless of whether she had been on the mission or not, she was expected to provide a bed (no matter how makeshift), some form of edible food (if she had been on a mission this was often provided by her mother, who liked to pop in whilst Sakura was away and fill the fridge with food) and medical treatment. The hatred Kakashi had for hospitals- legitimate though it may be- had somewhat transferred itself to Naruto and Sai, both of whom avoided the hospital like the plague. It hadn't always been like that, but once Naruto had started crashing at her place, Sai and Kakashi had been quick to fall in line behind him.

It was the day that Sakura came home to find Shikamaru and Chouji pigging it out on the sofa, with Ino wandering in not that long later with a towel wrapped around her head that Sakura decided to put her foot down. She did not relish the idea of providing a home for all the returning ninja.

**A/N: Okay, so this year I have decided to embark on a project based off a list I found on LiveJournal. Most of the time school work prevents me from writing out fully-fledged chapters, and sucks up all of my creativity, so I have come to the conclusion that this sort of project is exactly the sort of thing to keep my imagination going, and should hopefully prompt me to update my other stories… hopefully. My plan is to update once a week, and for them to be less than 300 words, and I have 52 prompts to work through so this should take me all year. **

**Please Review!**


	2. Dim

**A/N: I do not own Naruto**

Dim

"He's checking you out."

"Sure. Is this going to be like last time and it turns out they were actually checking Ino out?"

"No, this is legit this time, I swear!"

"Well?"

"Well what?"

"Does he seem pleased? Happy? Attracted in any way?"

"Uh… I guess… yes, he's smiling."

"And he's still looking at me?"

"Mhm."

"...Is he attractive?"

"How the hell should I know?! Look for yourself."

"Hm. He is attractive."

"Maybe- oh, he's approaching now. Act cool."

"Psh, that's easy."

"Are you sure?"

"Yup. _Anyone _can look cool when you're around."

"Hey!"

"Well it's true."

"Mah, you're just jealous."

"Oh yeah, wanna bet?"

"Sure. You're jealous of all the jutsu I can do and you can't."

"Of course. My self-esteem revolves around how many jutsu you know."

"Just be glad I'm not Ka- wait, where did the guy go?"

"Ummm… oh."

"What?"

"He's over there. Talking to Gai-sensei."

"Oh, guess it was another false alarm."

"You really are dim, Naruto."

"You love me for it really, Sakura."

**A/N: This chapter is ****_a lot_**** shorter. Apologies. School has been really busy this week and it doesn't help that I've had a weird, almost but not quite cold all week. Also, sorry I didn't update Sunday. This is the first chance I've had.**

**Please review!**


	3. Futile

**A/N: I don't own Naruto**

Futile

Sakura had been eating a leisurely breakfast when he had jumped through the window unexpectedly, covered in blood and leaves littering his hair. Sakura had frowned and was about to rebuke him, when she noticed the wild look on his face and, taken aback, the words had morphed in a question of concern. As of now, the mess on Sakura's kitchen floor had been forgotten, and Sakura was peering at something on the table intently.

"Can you help? I wouldn't ask but…" Sai watched Sakura carefully, hands behind his back and eyes brimming with rare emotion. Sakura sat back in her chair and looked at Sai, trying to keep her face neutral. The situation- Sai coming in so early and unexpectedly had caused her to yelp and spill milk all over her dressing gown which was now drying into a dark stain- was vaguely comical, yet at the same time heartbreaking at the expression on Sai's face.

"To be honest, Sai, I can't really help. Inuzuka Hana-san would be better."

"Inuzuka Hana?"

"Kiba's sister."

"I see. Thank you very much, Sakura." Sai moved over to scoop up the bird, who appeared to be mildly perturbed at being carted around Konoha, but was surprisingly docile.

"I see. Before you go, would you like me to heal those scratches on your hands?" Sai shook his head.

"I have bandages at home." Sakura nodded solemnly, but couldn't resist a chuckle as Sai left. What Sakura had previously thought to be a training incident gone wrong, had in fact turned out to be a rescue mission for a bird. However, as Sakura mused on the incident, she shouldn't have been so surprised...

**A/N: Sorry this is so late. I had a really bad week the week it was due to go up, and changed my mind on what I wanted the chapter to be. It's gone from angsty to fluffy… that's how much my mood has changed. But, you get a double update so…**

**Please Review!**


	4. Glass

**A/N: I do not own Naurto**

Sakura often used to feel like a grain of sand.

Compared to her teammates, she didn't feel all that special. Naruto was strong, so strong, and getting stronger right before her eyes; although he remained the rank of genin for longer than any of the others of their generation, his power rivaled that of a Kage. It was unnerving, the rate that he grew, and the power he wielded was both awesome and terrifying.

Sasuke was strong as well, although perhaps not as strong as Naruto. The trail of destruction that he left in his wake was limited mainly to top jounin and S-rank criminals, all those that were in bingo books, despite his own missing-nin status. This was the man that defeated Itachi, Orochimaru, Danzou and more; Sakura felt small compared to him. When they were genin, Naruto often lamented about not being as strong as Sasuke, but quietly Sakura wished she was as strong as the two of them, because she was just _so far behind._

It wasn't until she started training with Tsunade that she began to feel like she was made out of glass, transforming herself into something more unique and special. And it wasn't until the Fourth Shinobi War that she began to feel as strong and as powerful as Sasuke and Naruto, something more than glass.

Something less breakable.

**A/N: This is brought to you courtesy of my irritation and frustration at not saving a chapter for a different story and it getting lost. That is why it isn't as fluffy as usual.**

**Sakura is probably one of my favorite characters in Naruto. Apart from the irritation she causes me when she's around Sasuke, she is an incredibly interesting and complex character, and a lot of the stuff that I read on here and write about surrounds her. Hence, most of the chapters have been a little Sakura-centric :p I'll try and focus on one of the other characters for the next chapter.**


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Naruto