☤ PARADISA APPLICATION
CHARACTER NAME: Haruno Sakura
FANDOM: Naruto
CANON: Chapter 492; technically, though for practical intents and purposes when she last appeared back in Konoha, before Naruto left for island training.
WHAT THEY LOST: Aye aye aye the losses. I'd honestly like for Sakura to lose her voice. Kind of as a come back around to what she's thinking when Naruto and Sasuke face off, and Naruto makes his death promise to Sasuke; that she can do nothing, say nothing, etc. etc. Having to deal with what it really, actually means to be without a voice... I think she has the potential to learn from that, and have to work on developing other skills to cope with the lack in her most used and abused one. Speaking and shouting and sobbing and begging and all those things she's used to doing without (much) effort will be much harder when she has to rely on other ways of communicating with people.
ABOUT THE CHARACTER: Sakura is an intelligent, sometimes preachy (to those she knows and/or finds clueless about a given subject she is knowledgeable about), caring young woman. She takes her job as a medical shinobi seriously, and this seriousness is displayed in how she handles any work assigned to her. Sakura likes to be thorough, complete, and as close to "perfect" as possible, be this in her written reports, her abilities, her training, or any other aspect of her life. She's also neat, from what little can be seen of her home.
Her tendency to follow the rules also lends itself to her having little patience for people acting outside of established social norms, such as those displaying "perverted" natures - especially when "people" includes Uzumaki Naruto. (As a twist, Sakura herself is a closet yaoi fan.) Most her attempts to flirt fail, or end in her punching guys in the face. She does not like people implying she's flat-chested. She's not as sensitive about her appearance as she once was, but making an issue of it with her is asking for retribution.
Sakura is determined to achieve her goals, and achieve them well. She has a good grasp of tactics and a good mind for cryptology and research. Her memory is very good, and her detail recall is high, but not infallible. Sakura is also tenacious in her resolve. She is far less judgmental than she was as a pre-teen, and is far more likely to forgive (if not forget) people's minor indiscretions. (Or major ones, as in the case of Sai.) She holds teamwork as incredibly important, and still respects the opinions of her elders enough to listen to them when they give advice. Most the time, anyway.
Sakura is honest, even to the point of bluntness (though she has decent helpings of tact, so she's usually only blunt to those she knows well, or who she requires certain standards from), and has been known to overreact to people, particularly with irritation, anger, or outrage. What used to be repressed and relieved through "Inner-Sakura" is now more freely expressed to the world - not that it's always appreciated. She's the sort of person who could be talked into a challenge, even if she wouldn't blindly accept one (taking on challenges in even those things she's not so good at, due to a competitive spirit). Sakura hates losing, though she has to face the reality where she knows she can't, and won't, always win. it's painful.
She is confident in her skills and abilities, if not to a point where she doesn't feel the need to re-evaluate and take a look at herself from time to time. Her resolve to improve makes her a harsh taskmistress on herself, in order to make sure that she's able to stand equal with Naruto, Sasuke, Sai, Kakashi - everyone important to her - and not end up on the sidelines, unable to help. Perhaps her greatest fears and failures come from feeling inadequate in the face of her important people; being unable to help them would drive her up a wall.
Even with her more emotionally "open" personality, Sakura has displayed excellent bedside manner, doubtlessly invaluable in her profession. Her kindness towards others, including Naruto, and her ability to relate to them has improved with time. She does practice more restraint than she's probably given credit for by those in her own generation. She's also willing to pass off the things she's done if it avoids an explanation of what she found stupid in the moment it was uttered - telling Kakashi it was nothing when both Sai and Naruto had fat cheeks visiting him in the hospital, a consequence of them provoking her ire over something stupid.
Sakura is not above gossiping, though she keeps it to a minimum. She doesn't appear to talk about herself or her feelings often, presumably because she doesn't want to burden others and prefers to deal with them head on (if at all). Then again, most the time she reads like an open book in spite of her intentions. Some of her compatriots are simply too thick headed, or too uninvolved, to notice.
Now for the condensed history of Haruno Sakura: As a child, Sakura was timid, shy, and highly self conscious. She was often teased, and ultimately this might have gone on forever if Yamanaka Ino hadn't gotten a wild interested hair for Sakura, and started Sakura on a path to -- social acceptance! Ino was Sakura's first friend, and the person who inspired Sakura through her youth. Ino's faith in Sakura's ability to grow, given a chance, gave the young girl enough faith in herself to later cancel their friendship over... a boy.
Named Sasuke. Sasuke was the most popular boy in their Academy Grade, and since he ignored everyone, everyone subsequently had to try really, really hard to impress him. Sakura and Ino's rivalry competing for the attention of someone who didn't care continued up to Graduation, at which point Sakura found herself assigned to a three man team with Sasuke (OMG REALLY???) and a twerp known as Uzumaki Naruto. They were called Team Seven because originality is overrated and numbers are easier to keep track of, and Hatake Kakashi was assigned as their team leader.
He tested them out, and, well, they almost failed. But they didn't fail so in the end they got to stay a team and Sakura began to do something good for her: grow as a person. Sasuke wanted none of her affection, in it's over the top or deprecating to others presentation; and Sakura was forced to realize that the kid she thought of as a useless twerp was... not a useless twerp. She began to consistently find that both the boys of her team kicked ass and were strong and growing stronger, and suddenly? She wasn't.
However, she still managed to show up for the chuunin exam (thanks to Sasuke's encouragement more than Naruto's blind faith that she would because why wouldn't she), and then she started thinking for the sake of her other teammates - and Naruto in particular. The Chuunin exm was a turning point for Sakura, where she finally decided that how she'd been wasn't working, and that she had to have the same strength to fight for the people important to her as they'd had trying to keep her safe. She also had to face off against Ino, the person she respected most among her agemates, and get Ino to see her as an equal. They fought to an unconscious standstill.
The Chuunin exam cumulated in a massive genjutsu that Sakura didn't fall prey to for reasons that never get developed, and the assassination of the Third Hokage. No, wait, he sacrified himself. Anyhow "shit got real" and Sakura did as instructed by her sensei, following the visiting Suna Genin with the other awoken students, and then got knocked unconscious and fisted to a tree trying to save... Sasuke, actually.
Tension between Naruto and Sasuke escalated after that time, and Sakura didn't know what to do, and ultimately was powerless to help either boy. Then Sasuke left, and Sakura confessed, then begged to be taken with him, and... was knocked unconscious and left on a bench. Naruto makes a promise he'll bring Sasuke back when she wakes up and comes to him crying; THUS IS SHIPPUDEN BORN.
Sasuke wasn't brought back and Naruto almost died. This was the final motivator that got Sakura to approach their new Hokage and ask (or politely demand) to be taken on as a student. Fast forward three years, and Sakura is a young woman talented in the medical field, a chuunin, and happy to see Naruto's back. Then the remains of Team Seven are off with Team Gai to Suna, as that kid they chased down and Naruto beat into submission years back now rules the country. Sakura ends up saving his older brother's life, then being involved in a fight with a member of a super badass evil group called Akatsuki, name of the member being Sasori. With the help of Chiyo, Sasori is defeated, and Sakura almost dies but doesn't in the process. Gaara is recovered, and brought back to life by Chiyo, who in a very Fullmetal Alchmeist moment (equivalent exchange), dies in the process.
Sakura got intel from Sasori prior to him dying, and this leads them to the next mission, and New Important Characters named Yamato and Sai. Sai is the not-replacement for Sasuke, and he ends up being on a mission to assassinate Sasuke! Anyhow before that Sakura is knocked unconscious again at a bridge and the guy who convinced Sasuke to leave in the first place shows up and provokes Naruto into a fight that leaves Sakura burned (she recovers from KO's pretty quickly) because she tries to solve Naruto's problem by running at him with love and it doesn't work. Whoops?
Team Newsies finds where Sasuke is, though Sai got there first with the guys who trained/lived with Sasuke, and so he finds Sasuke first. Then there's a team reunion moment right as Sakura is crushing Sai's throat for being a traitorous ass!!! and Sasuke kind of calmly tries to off them all, but is restrained by Orochimaru (the guy training him) and they disappear in flames elsewhere.
Naruto has several developing arcs while Sakura cries at home alone at night, and then eventually, they fight more Akatsuki members. Sakura doesn't directly have much to do with this, so I'll fast forward to what she next does do: heal people when Pain Came To End Konoha. (Briefly, before any of that, Sakura and Naruto and other kids their age were traipsing around trying to track down Sasuke after he killed his brother, and while they get close they don't catch up, so it's a period of nothing really important for Sakura outside of pointing out she's met Tobi and she can travel.) Sakura heals people! Sakura doesn't sacrifice herself for Naruto, and she almost has a heart attack realizing she recognizes the chakra signature of the kyuubi right as Naruto is about to go NINE TAILS NOOO. Only his dad stops that so Naruto doesn't and then he saves everyone and he comes back and Sakura hugs him.
Then walking with Naruto and Sai they get ambushed kind of by a bunch of ninja from the Lightning Country and are informed that a) Sasuke is part of the Akatsuki and b) HE KILLED OUR MASTER. Sakura freezes in shock and is crying and is kicked? Sai catches her and brings her to her unconscious teacher's side (Tsunade), where she's later yelled at by Sai for causing Naruto undue pain and trauma and then told by Shikamaru that they must kill Sasuke and so she says "okay" and sets off to... find Naruto. Which she does! In fact she confesses her love in one of the most insulting ways possible and says she's forgotten about that nasty criminal Sasuke and then hugs Naruto only this time he tells her he hates people who lie to themselves while Rock Lee facepalms and Kakashi sweatdrops.
Sai tattle tales on why Sakura really came (not for a booty call or... love confession time, but for the Sasuke Kill Kill mission), while Sakura takes off to find Sasuke and KILL HIM! (Shush this is a brilliant plan you must kill all you love if it stops a war okay? Okay.) She manages to trick everyone she's with and knock them out with sleeping gas, then find Sasuke himself. Only he's colder. COLDER. She can feel it, and he doesn't believe her any more than Naruto did, though at least she didn't confess love that time. Sasuke tried to shank her with chidori, Kakashi showed up to save her, then tried fighting Sasuke, and Sakura healed this girl named Karin (who was part of Sasuke's new team, and their healer to boot, who Sasuke had shanked in order to get to Danzou, this guy who kind of helped slaughter his entire family, but those are minor details really) and then, though she'd just been bawling, came back to help Kakashi because she wasn't going to make him do this alone.
She gets right up to Sasuke and then CANNOT SHANK HIM because she's not that kind of woman or ninja or basically she can't kill what she loves, so Sasuke grabs her by the throat and is about to shank her with her own kunai this time when -- Naruto saves her. Sakura decides that she cannot do anything, and that Naruto can. So she sits back and absorbs the death declaration Naruto makes with/for Sasuke, and then supports Naruto kind of nonspecifically back in the village when they all get home. Then Naruto trains more but Sakura is in the village waiting for WORD ON THE WAR. Then she's not and she's in Paradisa.
THIRD-PERSON WRITING SAMPLE:
Her eyes opened to stone. In all the years of her life, Sakura could say a few things with certainty. She didn't like spicy food, for one, and not for a lack of attempting to be open minded over the years. She wasn't going to be tall. She loved the scent of early morning rain three days after the rain had started, when the only scents that came in through the crack in her window were clean and fresh, as if the world had decided to focus on the new for a while.
She had never yet woken to find herself examining interlocked stones in the ceiling.
Rolling off the surface she'd been lying on (a quick glance told her it was a bed, if of a design she wasn't familiar with) she gained her feet, on alert and the offensive. Sakura didn't remember entering anyplace like this, and her thoughts were jumbled as she told herself to focus and figure out the details.
The opulence, while foreign, was striking, along with the sheer size of everything she was seeing. If anything, it set her more on edge, sharpening both her confusion and agitation -- Sakura didn't know of any place like this, let alone any way she would have ended up in it.
A moment's work had her opening the doors of the wardrobe, leery of anything coming out. Nothing more exciting than a feather cap tumbled out and to the floor, which ended up being a squashed feather cap by the time it hit the floor. Feeling briefly ridiculous -- or indulging in the feeling for the moment, realizing all of this had an element of the ridiculous -- she then moved on to checking out the attached room.
The bathroom was as empty of detectable human presence as the room with the bed had proven to be. She backed out, brow creasing as she looked the room over once more. The window drew her attention as a possible source of information, drawing her cautiously toward it's light and view outside.
She stared outside, feeling more confused than she had before. She was up off the ground, looking out over a land she didn't recognize. Nothing of this reminded her of Konoha. She cleared her throat, asking a question under her breath.
Or trying. Her where am I didn't quite vocalize, and for the moment Sakura was willing to believe it was because of the thickness in her throat.
It was when she tried to speak again that she felt a stirring of concern different than the kind which had been demanding her attention. Where am I? What is this? She stepped back from the window, hands coming up to her throat. Nothing was tender; she didn't feel sick. Moving over to the mirror over the dressor. The memory of Sai's own seal prompted her into a ridiculous examination of her own tongue, and a reassuring lack of black lines against the warm pink of her tongue. There was a reassuring lack of anything on her throat and neck, but that was puzzling in it's own way.
She swallowed reflexively, trying to say something, say anything, and fighting against the rising panic as nothing came out. That, more than anything else, started her thinking, grasping, hoping for this to be a dream.
I know I said there was nothing I could say right then. I know. I didn't mean it literally! Not being able to speak to Sasuke, not knowing what to say to him hadn't meant she didn't know what to say at any other time. How to support Naruto, even if she was nowhere near him; how to work with and for Tsunade-shishou, the rest of the shinobi, with everyone that she needed to as the preparations for this war went forward. Wake up!
Please.
FIRST-PERSON WRITING SAMPLE: [written; journal entry presumed to be after she realizes where she is/someone has talked to/with her.]
[ At first, there is only a dot. A tiny dot. Sakura is resting her pen on the surface of the page, still reluctant to believe in all of this. She has to make the decision to start writing; it runs counter to everything she knows from back home. Back home. ]
Hello.
[ She pauses; her next words write out smoothly enough. ]
I'm Haruno Sakura. I've... been told I've been here before, so I guess this is hello again for some of you. I don't remember anything about this place, which I also heard about. It's fairly normal? Maybe it's got something to do with these losses in a more general way.
On the bright side, I don't have to guess about my own "loss." On a less bright side, neither will any of you. In the future, you won't so much be hearing from me as I'll be writing to you. I won't be all that vocal for a while.
[ And if that isn't a grim sort of uncomfortable reality, she isn't sure what is. ]
INTENT: I like being able to explore Sakura's reactions in new situations, and her way of growing and learning to cope with a world and people outside of her mindset, especially since doing so helps her out in the end. And other than that I don't have a set goal (interaction interaction woo?) as of now.
FANDOM: Naruto
CANON: Chapter 492; technically, though for practical intents and purposes when she last appeared back in Konoha, before Naruto left for island training.
WHAT THEY LOST: Aye aye aye the losses. I'd honestly like for Sakura to lose her voice. Kind of as a come back around to what she's thinking when Naruto and Sasuke face off, and Naruto makes his death promise to Sasuke; that she can do nothing, say nothing, etc. etc. Having to deal with what it really, actually means to be without a voice... I think she has the potential to learn from that, and have to work on developing other skills to cope with the lack in her most used and abused one. Speaking and shouting and sobbing and begging and all those things she's used to doing without (much) effort will be much harder when she has to rely on other ways of communicating with people.
ABOUT THE CHARACTER: Sakura is an intelligent, sometimes preachy (to those she knows and/or finds clueless about a given subject she is knowledgeable about), caring young woman. She takes her job as a medical shinobi seriously, and this seriousness is displayed in how she handles any work assigned to her. Sakura likes to be thorough, complete, and as close to "perfect" as possible, be this in her written reports, her abilities, her training, or any other aspect of her life. She's also neat, from what little can be seen of her home.
Her tendency to follow the rules also lends itself to her having little patience for people acting outside of established social norms, such as those displaying "perverted" natures - especially when "people" includes Uzumaki Naruto. (As a twist, Sakura herself is a closet yaoi fan.) Most her attempts to flirt fail, or end in her punching guys in the face. She does not like people implying she's flat-chested. She's not as sensitive about her appearance as she once was, but making an issue of it with her is asking for retribution.
Sakura is determined to achieve her goals, and achieve them well. She has a good grasp of tactics and a good mind for cryptology and research. Her memory is very good, and her detail recall is high, but not infallible. Sakura is also tenacious in her resolve. She is far less judgmental than she was as a pre-teen, and is far more likely to forgive (if not forget) people's minor indiscretions. (Or major ones, as in the case of Sai.) She holds teamwork as incredibly important, and still respects the opinions of her elders enough to listen to them when they give advice. Most the time, anyway.
Sakura is honest, even to the point of bluntness (though she has decent helpings of tact, so she's usually only blunt to those she knows well, or who she requires certain standards from), and has been known to overreact to people, particularly with irritation, anger, or outrage. What used to be repressed and relieved through "Inner-Sakura" is now more freely expressed to the world - not that it's always appreciated. She's the sort of person who could be talked into a challenge, even if she wouldn't blindly accept one (taking on challenges in even those things she's not so good at, due to a competitive spirit). Sakura hates losing, though she has to face the reality where she knows she can't, and won't, always win. it's painful.
She is confident in her skills and abilities, if not to a point where she doesn't feel the need to re-evaluate and take a look at herself from time to time. Her resolve to improve makes her a harsh taskmistress on herself, in order to make sure that she's able to stand equal with Naruto, Sasuke, Sai, Kakashi - everyone important to her - and not end up on the sidelines, unable to help. Perhaps her greatest fears and failures come from feeling inadequate in the face of her important people; being unable to help them would drive her up a wall.
Even with her more emotionally "open" personality, Sakura has displayed excellent bedside manner, doubtlessly invaluable in her profession. Her kindness towards others, including Naruto, and her ability to relate to them has improved with time. She does practice more restraint than she's probably given credit for by those in her own generation. She's also willing to pass off the things she's done if it avoids an explanation of what she found stupid in the moment it was uttered - telling Kakashi it was nothing when both Sai and Naruto had fat cheeks visiting him in the hospital, a consequence of them provoking her ire over something stupid.
Sakura is not above gossiping, though she keeps it to a minimum. She doesn't appear to talk about herself or her feelings often, presumably because she doesn't want to burden others and prefers to deal with them head on (if at all). Then again, most the time she reads like an open book in spite of her intentions. Some of her compatriots are simply too thick headed, or too uninvolved, to notice.
Now for the condensed history of Haruno Sakura: As a child, Sakura was timid, shy, and highly self conscious. She was often teased, and ultimately this might have gone on forever if Yamanaka Ino hadn't gotten a wild interested hair for Sakura, and started Sakura on a path to -- social acceptance! Ino was Sakura's first friend, and the person who inspired Sakura through her youth. Ino's faith in Sakura's ability to grow, given a chance, gave the young girl enough faith in herself to later cancel their friendship over... a boy.
Named Sasuke. Sasuke was the most popular boy in their Academy Grade, and since he ignored everyone, everyone subsequently had to try really, really hard to impress him. Sakura and Ino's rivalry competing for the attention of someone who didn't care continued up to Graduation, at which point Sakura found herself assigned to a three man team with Sasuke (OMG REALLY???) and a twerp known as Uzumaki Naruto. They were called Team Seven because originality is overrated and numbers are easier to keep track of, and Hatake Kakashi was assigned as their team leader.
He tested them out, and, well, they almost failed. But they didn't fail so in the end they got to stay a team and Sakura began to do something good for her: grow as a person. Sasuke wanted none of her affection, in it's over the top or deprecating to others presentation; and Sakura was forced to realize that the kid she thought of as a useless twerp was... not a useless twerp. She began to consistently find that both the boys of her team kicked ass and were strong and growing stronger, and suddenly? She wasn't.
However, she still managed to show up for the chuunin exam (thanks to Sasuke's encouragement more than Naruto's blind faith that she would because why wouldn't she), and then she started thinking for the sake of her other teammates - and Naruto in particular. The Chuunin exm was a turning point for Sakura, where she finally decided that how she'd been wasn't working, and that she had to have the same strength to fight for the people important to her as they'd had trying to keep her safe. She also had to face off against Ino, the person she respected most among her agemates, and get Ino to see her as an equal. They fought to an unconscious standstill.
The Chuunin exam cumulated in a massive genjutsu that Sakura didn't fall prey to for reasons that never get developed, and the assassination of the Third Hokage. No, wait, he sacrified himself. Anyhow "shit got real" and Sakura did as instructed by her sensei, following the visiting Suna Genin with the other awoken students, and then got knocked unconscious and fisted to a tree trying to save... Sasuke, actually.
Tension between Naruto and Sasuke escalated after that time, and Sakura didn't know what to do, and ultimately was powerless to help either boy. Then Sasuke left, and Sakura confessed, then begged to be taken with him, and... was knocked unconscious and left on a bench. Naruto makes a promise he'll bring Sasuke back when she wakes up and comes to him crying; THUS IS SHIPPUDEN BORN.
Sasuke wasn't brought back and Naruto almost died. This was the final motivator that got Sakura to approach their new Hokage and ask (or politely demand) to be taken on as a student. Fast forward three years, and Sakura is a young woman talented in the medical field, a chuunin, and happy to see Naruto's back. Then the remains of Team Seven are off with Team Gai to Suna, as that kid they chased down and Naruto beat into submission years back now rules the country. Sakura ends up saving his older brother's life, then being involved in a fight with a member of a super badass evil group called Akatsuki, name of the member being Sasori. With the help of Chiyo, Sasori is defeated, and Sakura almost dies but doesn't in the process. Gaara is recovered, and brought back to life by Chiyo, who in a very Fullmetal Alchmeist moment (equivalent exchange), dies in the process.
Sakura got intel from Sasori prior to him dying, and this leads them to the next mission, and New Important Characters named Yamato and Sai. Sai is the not-replacement for Sasuke, and he ends up being on a mission to assassinate Sasuke! Anyhow before that Sakura is knocked unconscious again at a bridge and the guy who convinced Sasuke to leave in the first place shows up and provokes Naruto into a fight that leaves Sakura burned (she recovers from KO's pretty quickly) because she tries to solve Naruto's problem by running at him with love and it doesn't work. Whoops?
Team Newsies finds where Sasuke is, though Sai got there first with the guys who trained/lived with Sasuke, and so he finds Sasuke first. Then there's a team reunion moment right as Sakura is crushing Sai's throat for being a traitorous ass!!! and Sasuke kind of calmly tries to off them all, but is restrained by Orochimaru (the guy training him) and they disappear in flames elsewhere.
Naruto has several developing arcs while Sakura cries at home alone at night, and then eventually, they fight more Akatsuki members. Sakura doesn't directly have much to do with this, so I'll fast forward to what she next does do: heal people when Pain Came To End Konoha. (Briefly, before any of that, Sakura and Naruto and other kids their age were traipsing around trying to track down Sasuke after he killed his brother, and while they get close they don't catch up, so it's a period of nothing really important for Sakura outside of pointing out she's met Tobi and she can travel.) Sakura heals people! Sakura doesn't sacrifice herself for Naruto, and she almost has a heart attack realizing she recognizes the chakra signature of the kyuubi right as Naruto is about to go NINE TAILS NOOO. Only his dad stops that so Naruto doesn't and then he saves everyone and he comes back and Sakura hugs him.
Then walking with Naruto and Sai they get ambushed kind of by a bunch of ninja from the Lightning Country and are informed that a) Sasuke is part of the Akatsuki and b) HE KILLED OUR MASTER. Sakura freezes in shock and is crying and is kicked? Sai catches her and brings her to her unconscious teacher's side (Tsunade), where she's later yelled at by Sai for causing Naruto undue pain and trauma and then told by Shikamaru that they must kill Sasuke and so she says "okay" and sets off to... find Naruto. Which she does! In fact she confesses her love in one of the most insulting ways possible and says she's forgotten about that nasty criminal Sasuke and then hugs Naruto only this time he tells her he hates people who lie to themselves while Rock Lee facepalms and Kakashi sweatdrops.
Sai tattle tales on why Sakura really came (not for a booty call or... love confession time, but for the Sasuke Kill Kill mission), while Sakura takes off to find Sasuke and KILL HIM! (Shush this is a brilliant plan you must kill all you love if it stops a war okay? Okay.) She manages to trick everyone she's with and knock them out with sleeping gas, then find Sasuke himself. Only he's colder. COLDER. She can feel it, and he doesn't believe her any more than Naruto did, though at least she didn't confess love that time. Sasuke tried to shank her with chidori, Kakashi showed up to save her, then tried fighting Sasuke, and Sakura healed this girl named Karin (who was part of Sasuke's new team, and their healer to boot, who Sasuke had shanked in order to get to Danzou, this guy who kind of helped slaughter his entire family, but those are minor details really) and then, though she'd just been bawling, came back to help Kakashi because she wasn't going to make him do this alone.
She gets right up to Sasuke and then CANNOT SHANK HIM because she's not that kind of woman or ninja or basically she can't kill what she loves, so Sasuke grabs her by the throat and is about to shank her with her own kunai this time when -- Naruto saves her. Sakura decides that she cannot do anything, and that Naruto can. So she sits back and absorbs the death declaration Naruto makes with/for Sasuke, and then supports Naruto kind of nonspecifically back in the village when they all get home. Then Naruto trains more but Sakura is in the village waiting for WORD ON THE WAR. Then she's not and she's in Paradisa.
THIRD-PERSON WRITING SAMPLE:
Her eyes opened to stone. In all the years of her life, Sakura could say a few things with certainty. She didn't like spicy food, for one, and not for a lack of attempting to be open minded over the years. She wasn't going to be tall. She loved the scent of early morning rain three days after the rain had started, when the only scents that came in through the crack in her window were clean and fresh, as if the world had decided to focus on the new for a while.
She had never yet woken to find herself examining interlocked stones in the ceiling.
Rolling off the surface she'd been lying on (a quick glance told her it was a bed, if of a design she wasn't familiar with) she gained her feet, on alert and the offensive. Sakura didn't remember entering anyplace like this, and her thoughts were jumbled as she told herself to focus and figure out the details.
The opulence, while foreign, was striking, along with the sheer size of everything she was seeing. If anything, it set her more on edge, sharpening both her confusion and agitation -- Sakura didn't know of any place like this, let alone any way she would have ended up in it.
A moment's work had her opening the doors of the wardrobe, leery of anything coming out. Nothing more exciting than a feather cap tumbled out and to the floor, which ended up being a squashed feather cap by the time it hit the floor. Feeling briefly ridiculous -- or indulging in the feeling for the moment, realizing all of this had an element of the ridiculous -- she then moved on to checking out the attached room.
The bathroom was as empty of detectable human presence as the room with the bed had proven to be. She backed out, brow creasing as she looked the room over once more. The window drew her attention as a possible source of information, drawing her cautiously toward it's light and view outside.
She stared outside, feeling more confused than she had before. She was up off the ground, looking out over a land she didn't recognize. Nothing of this reminded her of Konoha. She cleared her throat, asking a question under her breath.
Or trying. Her where am I didn't quite vocalize, and for the moment Sakura was willing to believe it was because of the thickness in her throat.
It was when she tried to speak again that she felt a stirring of concern different than the kind which had been demanding her attention. Where am I? What is this? She stepped back from the window, hands coming up to her throat. Nothing was tender; she didn't feel sick. Moving over to the mirror over the dressor. The memory of Sai's own seal prompted her into a ridiculous examination of her own tongue, and a reassuring lack of black lines against the warm pink of her tongue. There was a reassuring lack of anything on her throat and neck, but that was puzzling in it's own way.
She swallowed reflexively, trying to say something, say anything, and fighting against the rising panic as nothing came out. That, more than anything else, started her thinking, grasping, hoping for this to be a dream.
I know I said there was nothing I could say right then. I know. I didn't mean it literally! Not being able to speak to Sasuke, not knowing what to say to him hadn't meant she didn't know what to say at any other time. How to support Naruto, even if she was nowhere near him; how to work with and for Tsunade-shishou, the rest of the shinobi, with everyone that she needed to as the preparations for this war went forward. Wake up!
Please.
FIRST-PERSON WRITING SAMPLE: [written; journal entry presumed to be after she realizes where she is/someone has talked to/with her.]
[ At first, there is only a dot. A tiny dot. Sakura is resting her pen on the surface of the page, still reluctant to believe in all of this. She has to make the decision to start writing; it runs counter to everything she knows from back home. Back home. ]
Hello.
[ She pauses; her next words write out smoothly enough. ]
I'm Haruno Sakura. I've... been told I've been here before, so I guess this is hello again for some of you. I don't remember anything about this place, which I also heard about. It's fairly normal? Maybe it's got something to do with these losses in a more general way.
On the bright side, I don't have to guess about my own "loss." On a less bright side, neither will any of you. In the future, you won't so much be hearing from me as I'll be writing to you. I won't be all that vocal for a while.
[ And if that isn't a grim sort of uncomfortable reality, she isn't sure what is. ]
INTENT: I like being able to explore Sakura's reactions in new situations, and her way of growing and learning to cope with a world and people outside of her mindset, especially since doing so helps her out in the end. And other than that I don't have a set goal (interaction interaction woo?) as of now.