bite me.

Vikachu

"The heart was made to be broken."
― Oscar Wilde.

Chapter i –

A young girl ran in the small village of Konohagakure, her rosy pink hair was whipping at her face, her emerald eyes were glowing with childish innocence. This young girl was none other than the "forehead girl," Haruno Sakura. The girl who would soon be paired with the only surviving Uchiha and blond Uzumaki; fate had its ways of joining them into the most clever ways. But this, readers, is a story that happened before you knew about the Uchiha and Uzumaki orphans – this is the story that was carefully kept hidden . . . until now.

"I made it!" she chirped with her energetic, childish voice. "I made it! I'm gonna be a ninja!" Heads of villagers yanked away from their current actions to see the interruption of their daily chores and schedule. They smiled at the girl's innocence, not knowing she would be a dangerous killer in the future – a legendary kunoichi under the Fifth Hokage's care and trust.

One of the villagers knew this little girl very well; the silver-haired man was, after all, her caretaker, Hatake Kakashi! He chuckled under his mask, both of his eyes showing a glint of amusement. "Oi, Sakura!" he called out, stopping the child. She knew it was him; she turned around, a grin already on her round face.

"Kaka-chan!" she squealed, hugging him. "Didjya hear? Well, didjya?" Sakura giggled and kept on talking, not letting the man answer her. "I'm going to be a ninja – just like you! So ya better watch out, Kaka-chan, I might just beat you up!"

Kakashi snorted, not believing that would ever happen, but he smiled, just for her, and kept up the façade. "Oh, Sakura, please don't! I don't want to end up in the hospital because of you!" He smiled, receiving a melodious laugh in return.

The seven-year-old placed her soft hand in the twenty-something-year-old's calloused one. "Kaka-chan," she murmured, her voice significantly softer. "I wanna visit Mama and Papa." After hearing this, the man felt a pang of hurt in his chest; her mama and papa weren't too far from the village – it took only ten minutes to see them. But Kakashi kept the smile on his face and nodded, leading Sakura to the training grounds they visited every week.

"Were the entry exams easy?" he asked her on their way there, wanting to strike up a conversation and curious to see her insight on the simple test he once took long ago.

"Yes. Though, I don't think I did so well with the section on genjutsu . . ." Sakura sighed and looked down. "I forgot which structure of the brain it affects."

Kakashi was silent before lightly hitting against her head. "What are you talking about?! Ninja don't forget! We went over this, Sakura!" He stopped, in the middle of the forest, which stopped her as well. "Repeat after me: pros encephalon!"

The pinkette puffed a cheek with annoyance; she couldn't believe he was making her do that . . . in the middle of the forest! She was used to Kakashi's short temper– she ended up eventually picking it up, too – although that was just random. But for her mother and father, it would be worth it; she wanted to be just like them anyway. "Pros . . ." She took a deep breath, hoping not to butcher the second part of the word. ". . . En . . . encephalon . . .?"

The Jonin nodded with approval. "Good. It's also known as the forebrain."

". . . Why couldn't I just say that?!"

"Because . . ." His dull black eyes trailed down to his wrist, where they spotted his imaginary watch, and placed a hand over his masked mouth. "Oh, my, look at the time! We won't be able to see Kizashi and Mebuki with all of these questions!" Kakashi knew this would curb the curious student's questions.

"Let's go then, ya geezer!" Sakura dragged him to the training field, using all of the strength she possibly could. He chuckled and shook his head.

His eyes widened a moment later. ". . . I'm not old!"

They had arrived at the training grounds; all conversation immediately ceased. Sakura let go of Kakashi's hand and walked ahead – in the direction of a small memorial for the fallen. She smiled sadly at the sight of it. "Mama, Papa," she managed to whisper out. Her eyes scanned over the names engraved into the stone; she was looking for their names. Even though she had been there many times, and knew exactly where 'Haruno Kizashi' and 'Haruno Mebuki' where located, Sakura still liked knowing those who died to protect not only her, but also the villagers of Konoha; she always silently thanked them – grateful to still be alive.

She finally found her parents' name after a short moment; their names were the largest on the stone – it was insisted that the Hokage and his wife be honored that way. However, their names were carved with a tiny flaw that one would only see if they had the opportunity to get a close-up: their surnames had small cracks on the kanji for "no." Even though she knew they wouldn't mind, it still annoyed Sakura that the man who ran Konoha, along with his loving wife, had his family name, in a way, tainted.

A large hand landed on her shoulder; she remained unflinching – she knew it was her Kaka-chan. She knew he felt the same emotions she did. She knew how close he was to her mother, who was like an older sister to him. She knew that their deaths affected him the most.

"Sakura," he finally said, "tell your parents about your big achievement." The said girl shook her head, feeling as if she'd cry if she would start talking – she was fragile near the monument. "I'll tell them." His dark eyes stared into the two Haruno names and he beamed, puffing his chest a little. "Kizashi, big sister . . ." He paused, gathering his thoughts together. "OUR LITTLE SAKURA GOT IN THE ACADEMY! . . . With my help, of course. I taught her everything I learned from the both of you. And, Kizashi . . . Insects can't be affected by genjutsu!" Then, Kakashi rambled on about how he was correct and his senior was not, backing it up with facts he learned from a member of the Aburame clan.

Sakura sighed and walked away from Kakashi's prattling, but not too far – incase he would finish anytime soon. She stopped in front of a cherry blossom tree, feeling attached to it; the blossoms reminded her of Kizashi – his hair being similar to their shape – and her mother – it was her favorite flower.

She sat down in front of the tree, glancing over at a dancing Kakashi. 'There's a sight I'll never be able to forget!' She chortled and suddenly, as if on cue, a single blossom landed on her lap; it was still intact and not at all damaged. She fingered its petals and lifted the flower to her nose, taking in its sweet scent. 'Home used to smell like this . . . Hundreds of cherry blossom trees surrounding our house!' Chills of nostalgia – and hints of sorrow – ran down her spine.

Suddenly, everything was silent; Kakashi had finished giving Sakura's parents his weekly report. He turned around and gestured her to come back. "Go ahead and say goodbye." After she stood in front of the memorial, the male walked away, giving her a moment to do so.

"Mother, Father," Sakura began, with a soft and serious tone, "I'm going to be one of the top students at the academy. I'm going to be number one. . . .I'm going to be Hokage, and take Konoha under my wing. That is a promise of a lifetime." She held out two fingers, her index and middle, from her right hand and pecked them. Then, she pressed them on the space separating Kizashi and Mebuki's names. "I miss you so much . . . and I love you." The last three words were soft; their speaker could barely hear them come out herself. She grinned and bowed down before the stone. "Thank you all." Kakashi overheard her and began walking away at a slow pace. Sakura spun around on her heels and caught up with him, interlocking their fingers together.

"That was a nice visit." His pink-haired companion wasn't paying attention; she was occupied with admiring the vibrant and warm swirls exploding from the sun – it was a beautiful sunset. He realized this and smirked to himself. "How about we get some ramen, kiddo?" He knew that food would get her out of her daydreaming.

"Race you there!" Sakura sprinted away, her hair flying behind; it wasn't long until Kakashi could hear her soft panting, even when she was a couple of meters away.

"You always had a weak stamina, eh?" he observed before following her . . . until something small managed to hit Kakashi on the head, knocking off his balance. He stumbled down on the dirt and cursed aloud; Sakura was fortunately still running, so she wasn't there to witness the incident.

The young adult stared at the object with curiosity. ". . . Make-Out Paradise?" It was a small, orange book with a boy chasing a girl on the front cover. He never liked reading much, but the book seemed . . . interesting, so he hid the book under his jacket and chased after his pink-haired responsibility.

She was already at the Ramen Ichiraku, where, as Sakura and Kakashi liked to say, the best ramen in all of the ninja lands was. She was seated and politely waiting for him, her back facing him as soon as he arrived at the stand. "Hope you weren't waiting long," he said, taking the open stool next to her. "Oi, Ayame, the usual!"

A young brunette emerged from the kitchen in the small restaurant with a welcoming smile gracing her lips. She nodded, a small blush appearing on her face as she delivered the requested order to her father, Teuchi. While the pair waited, Kakashi decided it would be appropriate to investigate the content of Make-Out Paradise. He pulled it out and opened it to the first page, reading to himself.

After reading only several sentences, he felt a blush slowly creep onto his pale face. He shut the book and carelessly threw it behind him, into the busy and crowded roads. He heard a silky chuckle coming from the customer sitting on the stool to Kakashi's left. His eyes narrowed as the corners of his mouth twitched up. "Menma."

"Kakashi," the so-called Menma replied, greeting him with a nod. He leaned back, looking behind the tall man; he was staring at Sakura. "I see you brought Pinky with you." 'Pinky' gasped and glared at the dark-haired boy, her large eyes turning into tiny slits and staring into his azul blue eyes.

Before Sakura could utter an insult directed at the young boy, Ayame came back with their – including Menma's – bowls of steaming ramen. "Enjoy!" she chirped, her gaze focused directly on Kakashi; and she walked away, her brown hair swishing back and forth.

"Looks delicious," Kakashi commented, splitting his chopsticks away. "Let's eat." And in his mouth went the specially made noodles. "How were the entry exams, Menma?"

The said boy snorted and smirked. "They were too easy. Seriously, the academy could've done a better job challenging us at least." He looked over at Sakura. "I bet you flunked yours, Pinky." That statement made Sakura yank her head to his direction.

"Bite me, Menma!" she growled. "You're just bluffing! I saw you looking off of Ino's test papers!"

He shrugged. "Yamanaka should've done a better job covering her paper . . . and I needed a little help on genjutsu! I probably got the highest rank!"

"You probably didn't!"

"You probably didn't!"

"That is enough!" Kakashi had enough of listening to their childish bickering. "You two can see the results tomorrow, when they're posted on the bulletin board!" That ceased their arguing and they continued quietly eating their ramen until Ayame came back with the bills – one for Kakashi and Sakura's meals and the other for Menma.

"Thank you for eating at Ichiraku!" she had added after placing the correct bill in front of its owner; again, her gaze was focused on the silver-haired man. She flushed, finally realizing how long she had been staring at him and scurried back into the loud kitchen.

"Hm, Ayame seemed a bit out of it just now . . .," Kakashi muttered, unaware of the young teenage girl's obvious attraction to him. He sighed and pulled out it wallet, leaving the appropriate amount of money, plus a generous tip to their hostess. He turned to Menma, who was cursing under his breath and digging into his pockets. "You don't have money?" The eight-year-old shook his head, and Kakashi let out an aspirated sigh, pulling out some more money. "I'll pay for your meal . . . but you better pay me back! I don't care if you are Sensei's kid, I'll kick your ass if I don't get my money by tomorrow!"

"Yeah, yeah," Menma drawled. "I'll pay ya back, Kakashi . . . Chill." He didn't like the fact that he needed someone's – especially if it was Kakashi's – help. It embarrassed him – he was the legendary Yellow Flash's only son and the Nine Tail's host! He knew Kakashi was enjoying this on the inside; he often enjoyed tormenting him.

The boy stood up and began walking away. "I'm leaving." He flicked his wrist in a waving manner and turned his head – but only so slightly; so he could see his pink-haired classmate and her guardian from the corner of his eyes. "See you at the bottom of the bulletin board, Pinky." And then he was gone, leaving a flustered Haruno Sakura and an amused Hatake Kakashi at Ramen Ichiraku.

"He's just like Kushina-san. . ." Kakashi chuckled and offered his hand to Sakura. "Come, let's go home. Tomorrow's the big day . . . your first day at the ninja academy."

Her jade eyes twinkled with excitement as she held his hand, smiling that dear smile Kakashi loved to see on his little Sakura's face.

They walked out of the small restaurant and headed to their cozy apartment. The stars were already out and the full moon stood out on the dark sky; it was nights like this that Kakashi wanted Sakura to experience, calm and peaceful . . . but deep down inside, he knew he couldn't protect her from the dangers of the ninja world. As much as he'd want to keep her from that academy, she'd only rebel against him and attend the classes – she was stubborn, much like her mother.

"But, big bro, you have to walk me to the academy! Dad said so!" Sakura noticed a short boy around the same age as her on the back of someone for whom she had thought was his older brother. From what the moonlight could show her, the boy had fair skin and dark eyes full of life with matching hair styled like the rear of a chicken – at least, that's what Sakura thought. Then, she realized she saw him somewhere else; he was also at the academy's entrance exams! He was sitting on the other side of Ino, and from what she had heard him say before the big test, Sakura knew he wouldn't make it in the ninja academy – that guy was absolutely dense.

"Sorry, Sasuke, maybe next time, okay?"

"It's not fair!" Sasuke whined, pouting slightly. "I'm gonna be a ninja, too!"

"I know that, Sasuke, but I'm unfortunately busy tomorrow." Sasuke's big brother smiled sadly.

"You're always busy . . .," he mumbled, resting his head on his older brother's broad shoulder and closing his eyes. The two brothers were silent after the little boy's comment, continuing to walk in the direction of their home.

"Who were they?" Sakura asked with wide eyes, pointing in the direction they were headed.

"The Uchiha brothers . . . They're the sons of the police department's captain."

"Wow! That Sasuke seems really stupid though!"

"Ha, I wouldn't let the youngest Uchiha fool you; they're all geniuses."

"Oh, Kaka-chan, please! You should've seen him earlier at the exams! He was talking to almost every single girl and flirting with them!"

". . ." Kakashi's overprotective mode kicked in; he stopped and knelt down in front of her, placing his large hands on her tiny shoulders. "Don't let that Uchiha boy get anywhere near you, Sakura! He's stupid, I tell you, stupid!" The Jonin had said the last part a little louder than he had wanted to; nearby villagers stopped and stared at him with strange expressions on their faces – but at least he had emphasized his point to Sakura, and that was all he wanted.

They continued walking until finally approaching the apartment building they both lived in together. Luckily, they lived on the ground floor, so Kakashi unlocked the door and opened it. Sakura rushed inside, running to her bedroom; the apartment had one bedroom, and Kakashi decided to give it to Sakura – to him, the couch was more comfortable than some noisy and cheap bed.

It was a rather plain, small room; but Sakura still loved every part of it – even if the size was smaller than the bedroom in her old home. She had made special memories there – she had sleepovers with Ino; she eagerly listened to stories from Kakashi's past involving his Minato-sensei and teammates; and she always had nice, happy dreams there.

She kicked off her sandals, forgetting to take them off at the front door – oh, how her mother'd always scold her for doing so! She stripped out of the clothes she was wearing, folding them neatly, and slipped into her sleepwear: a simple, long and pink nightgown with an innocent, lime green ribbon near her chest.

Kakashi knocked on the door. "Come in!" He slowly opened it after being given permission and smiled at her.

"All set, kid?" She nodded, hurrying to the bed and tucking herself in; he leaned against the door frame with a small smile. "Good. See you in the morning. 'Night." With a quick swipe of his finger, the lights were turned off and Kakashi passed out on the couch.

It was a wonderful morning in Konoha – the birds were singing their same but beautiful songs; the sun was shining its brilliant rays on the small village; and miserably tired ninja children were waking up and preparing for their first day at the Konoha Ninja Academy. Yes, it was a wonderful morning indeed!

Our petite, pink-haired heroine already had her daily, warm shower and was brushing the small tangles out of her pastel hair. Her caretaker lazily made some buttered toast and set a juicy apple and milk on the dining table along with the box lunch she prepared last night before he trudged back to his comfy couch.

Sakura dried her hair and checked herself out in the mirror; she wasn't wearing anything spectacular – just her comfortable blue shirt and khaki-like pants. Her pink bangs were specially styled so they wouldn't fall on her face. Her sandals were cleaned before she stepped into the shower. Oh, yeah, she was definitely ready for classes.

She ate her breakfast as quickly as she could and grabbed her bento box. "I'm off! Bye, Kaka-chan!" She blew him a kiss and ran out of the door, unaware of the fact Kakashi was in a deep slumber.

The bubblegum-haired kunoichi-to-be skipped to the ninja academy. She passed the Yamanaka's flower shop, where Yamanaka Ino, Sakura's best friend, was walking out of. Sakura saw her and halted with a large grin. "Ino, wanna walk together?"

"Sure," the long-haired blonde softly replied, fidgeting with her hair so it would cover most of her face. She was a natural beauty, but the young Yamanaka didn't care for much attention – in fact, she tried her best to avoid it. The best friends started walking.

Sakura noticed what Ino was doing and sighed, shaking her head with disappointment. "Ino, you're so cute! Why don't you show your face just for today?"

Ino squeaked, a red blush covering her face. "N-No way . . .! I don't want anyone to notice me."

"You're so hopeless sometimes!" Her green eyes curiously trailed down to Ino's hands and smiled. "Hey, that's the ribbon I gave you!" She pointed to a dark red ribbon securely tied around the timid girl's left wrist. The other girl nodded, blushing even more. "I'm glad you kept it, Ino!"

They continued their journey conversing about what was going on in their lives and about how fun they thought the academy would be.

"Menma actually thinks he got the number one score on the tests! Tch, as if!" Sakura growled, crossing her arms.

Ino giggled at her friend. "You always talk about Menma . . . Do you . . . like him, Sakura?"

"Me? Like Menma?! Please, Ino, don't make me barf!"

They both laughed; but little did Ino and Sakura know, they were being watched.

As soon as the small crowd of young seven and eight-year-olds was in hind sight, Sakura ditched her friend to read the bulletin, where her name would be right at very top. She shoved past the chattering kids. Her eyes started reading from the bottom; after reading more than half of the list of passing students, Sakura saw Ino's name placed at number seven. 'You go, Ino!'

But the anxiety was killing her! Unable to wait any longer, her eyes darted to the top of the list. "Pinky!" She couldn't believe her luck; but then again, this would be the perfect opportunity to see the look on Menma's poor face after he saw her name on the top of the list of graduates.

"Hello, Menma."

"Oh, disappointed not to see your name?"

"Actually, I was waiting for you to bask in shame after you see 'Haruno Sakura' and not 'Namikaze Menma'!"

"Whatever."

Sakura ignored him and took a deep breath, closing her eyes. 'Number one, number one . . .' Her eyes eagerly shot open and she read the first line.

'Number one –'

"WHAT?!"

author's note: That was the revised & new chapter of Bite Me! You may be confused with the unusual personalities of our beloved Konoha villagers and wondering who 'Menma' is; I simply added the latest Naruto movie, Road to Ninja, into my story – I loved the concept & I thought it'd help add something unique to this story. Please don't get mad at me for changing the story a lot! I hope you enjoyed this chapter; follow, favorite, & PLEASE DO REVIEW. It really helps speed the writing process! I apologize for any mistakes. Thank you for reading!