My Heroes - Chapter 1

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto.
Summary: One-Shot from Sakura's POV, describing her feelings for Naruto and Sasuke.
Warnings: Part 2 Spoilers!
Nettie's Note: I wrote this while I was contemplating Team 7's relationship. Feel free to comment.
 

We have faced the darkest days together and prevailed despite the harrowing odds stacked against us.
 

We have journeyed through life, learned and grown, made mistakes and made up for them, loved and lost.
 

Though we are still young, have many years of youth ahead of us, the life of a Shinobi is uncertain. We could be killed at any moment. This is true of every living creature, but for a Shinobi it is a reality we must face all the time, lest we drop our guard and find a discreet kunai slipped between our ribs.

Naruto has changed. For a while I assumed that he'd grown in the time we'd known each other. For me to have gone from loathing his existance to seeing him as my lifeline, he surely must have changed substantially.

However, I now see the folly of my earlier views. Naruto has not changed, he's surely grown and become stronger but he has not changed in his determination, his dream, his pure nature. Those things that make Naruto the great person he is have endured.

For this, I respect him, as it shows that he was truly great from the beginning, though I'm willing to bet he doesn't know it.

I've changed. I've come to see Naruto not as the annoying, useless little pest I once believed him to be, but as a precious friend.

The qualities in Naruto; his courage, his loyalty, his way of looking to the future rather than dwelling on the past, are the reason I have developed feelings for him.

In the beginning, before Team 7, before I really knew anything about either Naruto or Sasuke-kun, I was a fool.

In the past, I loved Sasuke-kun so much. His mysterious good looks, his brooding nature and his skill in battle attracted me like a moth to the flame. I focused, single-mindedly, on this love. I made it my dream. I even gave up my best friend because of my love for Sasuke-kun. It wasn't his fault; he had never led me on, never given me any indication that my feelings were mutual.

But it was painful. So painful. I was desperate for his acknowledgement, though I didn't really deserve it. What had I ever done for him? What had I done for either of my teammates? Nothing. I was always following behind them. In a way, I still am.

Then Sasuke-kun left. Left Konoha. Left me.

To him, we were no longer necessary, and he abandoned us in search of power. His path leading down into impossible darkness. Somewhere Naruto promised to bring him back from.

Naruto loves Konoha and all of its people. He strives for the acknowledgement of them all. He wants to protect Konoha with everything he has. His dream lies in the future, the new life, the new generation, the hard work it will take to build a better Konoha.

Sasuke-kun wants only revenge. That detestable ambition has driven him rather mad. His greatest desire is to destroy his brother, and he will do anything to achieve this. His dream lies in the past, the old hurt, the dead loved-ones, the hate and power needed to spill the blood of the person who once meant the most to him.

In a way, the two of them have travelled in different directions from the start. Naruto has built up his life from the lonely, neglected orphan he was. Sasuke-kun has spent his life attempting to cut off every living tie.

They have been actively moving in different directions since we became Genin. Tragic clashes were inevitable.

They are like the night and day - inseverable, but never one.

The bond they share will always be more important and meaningful than any bond of mine.

So I will grow stronger and braver, I will do whatever it takes to save them from the evil that pursues them. Why? Because I love them both the same and more than anything else. I love Sasuke-kun because I wish to protect him. I love Naruto because he wishes to protect me.

I will always love my boys ... my teammates ... my heroes.