A/N: Hello everyone. This is a quick one-shot that I came up with off the top of my head and figured why not just get a new NaruSaku fic out there. I'll save my closing remarks at the end, but I hope you guys enjoy this nevertheless!

Her Beacon of Light:

When Sakura used to think of Naruto, the words that usually came to mind were ones such as nuisance, pest, fool, etc. Just like everyone else in their class, Sakura believed that the dead last of her graduating class didn't have what it took to make the grade as a ninja, let alone become Hokage one day. If only the pinkette knew how wrong her initial impressions of Naruto could be.

After being assigned to Team Seven with Sasuke and Naruto under the leadership of Kakashi of the Sharingan, Sakura gradually came to realize that she was the one holding her teammates back. The realities of being a kunoichi out in the field were vastly different than what were portrayed in textbooks.

Her obsession with maintaining an appealing physical appearance proved to be a major liability that her opponents could potentially exploit. Such was the case when Sakura's long hair that she had grown out purely based on a rumor to please Sasuke ultimately resulted in her being trapped by a member of Team Dosu while trying to protect her teammates in the Forest of Death.

Taking a long hard look at herself, Sakura was determined to begin finding a way to correct her past mistakes and advance her growth so that she too could fight on the same level as Sasuke and Naruto.

Tsunade Senju, another member of the Legendary Sannin and the newly appointed Fifth Hokage is where Sakura would ultimately find her true calling, training to become a medical ninja.

After Sasuke betrayed the village and Naruto almost died trying to bring him back, at the request of Sakura herself, the pinkette was determined to make sure that she would be strong enough to fight alongside him and support him in his goals no matter what.

As time went on and Naruto returned to the village from his three-year training trip with Jiraiya, the two remaining members of Team 7 reunited and continued once more in their aspiration to save Sasuke from the clutches of Orochimaru.

Fighting side-by-side through countless endeavors such as rescuing Gaara to defeating a reanimated Madara Uchiha during the Fourth Great Ninja War, Sakura knew that there was always one person she could count on to have her back no matter what. Unbeknownst to Naruto, Sakura's feelings for him were slowly starting to grow as well, eventually reaching a point in which the pinkette herself didn't quite know how she felt towards the hyperactive blonde and the Last Uchiha.

And so on that fateful day when she found her two idiotic teammates lying on the ground next to the river in the Final Valley with each sporting only one arm, Sakura found her answer as she set to work providing emergency first aid to stop any further bleeding.

What caught Sasuke and Kakashi by surprise was how instead of immediately fawning over the Last Uchiha like she did in her genin days, Sakura brought Naruto into a tearful embrace. As her tears continued to fall, staining Naruto's jacket, the blonde-haired jinchuriki couldn't understand why the medic-nin was so upset.

Just as he was about to ask her what was wrong, Naruto found himself abruptly cut off before he had a chance to speak when he felt Sakura gently brush her lips against his.

As the two separated from their steamy kiss, Sakura stared at Naruto and smiled. She went on to explain that her true feelings were no longer conflicted as they once had been in recent months. The pinkette told Naruto that her heart now belonged to him; the one who had stood beside her in times of both good and bad, always believing that she could do anything she set her mind to.

Naruto was the one who had always kept his promises, including the one he made her all those years ago that he would reunite Team Seven once more. Because in the grand scheme of things, Naruto was Sakura's beacon of light. Naruto was the one person that always gave her hope for a brighter future and a better tomorrow.

End

A/N: And there we go! I came up with the idea for this one-shot in hopes that it would remind readers that no matter how difficult a situation we may find ourselves in, there's always a light at the end of the tunnel. I hope you enjoyed this story and I'll see you next time back in the next chapter of It's Better to Share the Pain.