-Naruto is something I don't own. (Sadly)-

Comeback

Summary: She was the weakling. She was the burden. Or so they thought. They haven't actually realised how strong she really was. And she was making a comeback to prove it.

Chapter 1: Welcome Back

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"The stupid neither forgive nor forget; thenaive forgive and forget; the wise forgive but do not forget."

-Thomas Szasz, The Second Sin (1973) "Personal Conduct"

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Sakura sighed as she watched another group of ninjas being dragged into her office in the hospital. The injured men had come one by one, each being severely injured. She could see a few familiar faces as she ordered the nurses to lay the patients in the separate beds for her to examine them.

Sakura walked over to the bed nearest to her and instantly recognised his face. His pale eyes were closed and his long brown hair was in disarray, sticking to his perspiring neck. His beautiful features were contorted in pain.

"Neji, what happened?" Sakura questioned as she started to let her chakra flow to her hands and glow a mint green. She slowly pushed her chakra into his body and started to examine the damage he had done. Careful not to cause anymore pain, she started to close the gaping hole in his stomach, knitting the muscles and veins back together. She leaked a little extra chakra into his body to numb the pain and slow down his breathing rate, efficiently calming him down.

He cracked an eye open and saw the pinkette's eyes closed in concentration. "We were ambushed by rouge ninjas," he croaked out, his throat was dry.

She opened her eyes at the sound of his voice and turned to look at him, a small smile gracing her full lips. She lifted her hands from his abdomen, "I've healed the damage and stopped the bleeding. You'll have to stay in the hospital for at least another day for me to make sure there's nothing wrong." A nurse was already in the midst of healing his other less serious injuries. Sakura scribbled some notes before moving on to the next person that was coughing a serious amount of blood.

Hyuga Neji had successfully become an ANBU Captain right after he had passed the Jounin examinations a few months back. He had grown taller and much stronger throughout the years with the help of his Team. Nothing seemed to be too difficult for the Hyuga to accomplish. He was also a very good sparring partner. Over the years, she had gotten closer to the Hyuga, forming a sort of mutual bond. If she wasn't busy in the hospital she was usually sparring with Team Gai.

Of course, she should have been training with her own Team Seven. But they were long gone, leaving her in Konoha. She had been hurt. Never once did she ever think that her whole team would leave her behind in their quest to bring back Sasuke.

We don't want you to get hurt. You're a burden.

You're skills are much more needed here in Konoha. You'll only get in our way.

These words were burned to the back of her mind, always reminding her to get stronger and to improve. Damn them if they think she was just going to sit down and wait. No more was she the little weak girl they left behind. No more was she the one that was going to be protected as she watched their backs.

But her Team had been gone for almost two whole years. She had received no news and she felt abandoned. That only served to fuel her determination to grow stronger and to even surpass their abilities. Sakura was going to make sure that she was going to drill into the thick heads of all her boys that if they ever were to underestimate her, she would not go easy on them. Hell, she was going to beat them to a bloody pulp and then heal them only to repeat the whole process again. Besides, there was nothing she did that she couldn't fix.

"Sakura-sama?"

Sakura blinked and noticed that she was in the middle of the room; her pen had been broken into pieces in her tight grasps. She blinked again as she stared in confusion at the person who called her. The nurse looked warily at the broken pen in her hand and the ink that was starting to drip. She smiled sheepishly as she threw the pieces of the pen and picked up a piece of tissue to dry her dyed palms and fingertips.

"Sakura-sama, the Hokage would like to see you now," the nurse said a small grin on her face.

She nodded and reminded the nurses in the room to take care of her patients while she was gone. They bowed respectfully before she left the room to remove her white coat and leave the cool comfort of the hospital, heading towards the Hokage tower.

Tsunade-shishou probably needs me to help complete more of her paperwork. She thought to herself as she sprinted towards the all familiar Hokage tower, the wind in her luscious pink tresses.

Little did she know of the surprise that was in store for her.

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Tsunade took a large swig of her sake as she felt the familiar chakra signature from the other side of the door. She let the liquid burn down her throat as the person knocked on her door. She sighed, "Enter."

The head of her apprentice/daughter poked into her room, a smile on her face.

"Shishou, you called for me?" She asked politely, entering the Hokage's office. Sakura frown sympathetically at her Shishou when she noticed that her office was decorated with bottles of sake and piles of never ending paperwork. She also noted that her Shishou had a very troubled look upon her features.

Tsunade's amber eyes studied her prized apprentice. She had become much stronger over the years. She had already successfully become the Head Medic, taking Tsunade's place. And she had only reached the age of twenty.

"Sakura, I think you need to sit down," Tsunade took another gulp from her sake.

"What's wrong, Shishou?" She obediently sat on the seat opposite of Tsunade and looked questioningly at her.

"They're coming back."

Those three simple words hit Sakura like a bucket of ice on her head. Her mind instantly blanked out, her viridian eyes growing large.

Tsunade took note of Sakura's shock and continued, "They are being escorted to Konoha this very moment by a group of ANBU. They should be arriving at the gates soon."

"Did they bring him back?"

Tsunade knew whom she was implying and nodded. "They would no doubt be in a complete wreck once they arrive. Kakashi and Yamato would fill us in on the details later."

Sakura was unsure how she was supposed to feel. Relief? Happiness?

Sakura stood up from the chair, her pink bangs covering her eyes, "I'll go and prepare the medical equipment for their arrival."

Tsunade watched as Sakura walked towards the doors, "Have you forgiven them?"

"Yes. Long ago," she turned to smile sadly at her Shishou, "But it still hurts."

With that she closed the doors.

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Okay! I haven't really put in Sakura's epic-ness yet. That would be the next chapter! Muahahaha! xD Don't worry, Sakura isn't going to be all doom and gloom!

Please read and review! :D