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Chapter 1: Leap of Faith

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-"Sakura Haruno, come up here please." The teacher motioned. A young girl of twelve sauntered up to the teacher's desk.

-"Yes ma'am?" She asked. The teacher waited until all the students were out of the class. She cleared her throat and held up a test with an 'F' marked on it.

-"Can you please tell me why you failed this quiz especially after we reviewed this whole thing for weeks?" The teachers.

-"Gomen Kurenai-sensei, but I just didn't have enough time to study." Sakura answered fiddling around with her ragged dress. Kurenai eyes for a moment and then sighed.

-"Please do better, you're on the verge of failing the year."

-"Yes." Sakura bowed at her teacher and then left out the door. A boy with blonde hair and cerulean eyes stood near the door waiting for her.

-"What was that all about, Sakura-chan?" He asked.

-"Nothing Naruto-kun, just something about my test." Sakura answered forcing a smile upon her pasty face.

-"Ok then," He mumbled. "Come on, let's go to lunch." Naruto grabbed her hand and led her to the cafeteria. Sakura winced at the loud noise of chattering filling up the whole cafeteria. Naruto grabbed a seat and Sakura grabbed one as well. She brushed away some strands of her pink locks away from her face. Her sea green eye searched throughout the crowd for someone.

-"I can't wait to eat my ramen!" Naruto exclaimed taking out his lunchbox. Sakura only sat there looking down at her hands that withheld some cuts. Naruto noticed.

-"Don't you have any lunch, Sakura-chan?" He asked.

-"No, I just don't feel hungry." Sakura said in her soft voice.

-"You haven't had a lunch for weeks now! How can you not be hungry? You're just plain skin and bones!" Naruto cried out.

-"I already ate a lot at home." Sakura answered with a shrug. The truth was that she didn't actually eat anything at all. She had no lunch because she had no money and she wasn't allowed to take food out of the house.

-"Here." Naruto handed Sakura a granola bar.

-"What? No, I couldn't!" Sakura said.

-"Nonsense! I don't mind, you need something to eat." Sakura hesitantly took the granola bar. She tore off the wrapper and took a small bite. She was really tempted to just scarf the whole thing down but she didn't want to seem like she had no manners.

-"Aw man, I just remembered that we had math homework last night! Sakura-chan, did you do it?" Naruto asked. Sakura swallowed the last bit of the granola bar.

-"Sorry Naruto-kun, I couldn't get to it last night. I…was busy." Sakura lied.

-"Aw man! Kakashi-sensei is totally going to get mad!" Naruto groaned. Sakura giggled for a moment but then stopped when she saw a group of kids her age walking up to her table. Sakura gulped. She knew they wanted to tease her, like everyday.

-"Hey Pinky!" A brown-headed boy sneered.

-"Nice dress? Where'd you get it? The garbage can?" Most of the kids began laughing.

-"Lay off Neji!" Naruto yelled.

-"Make me!" Neji mocked.

-"He's not worth it, Neji. He's just as stupid as Freak Show over here." A blonde said. Sakura mumbled something. Her eyes were downcast.

-"What's that Pinky? I couldn't hear you. " A girl with two buns for hairstyle asked.

-"My name is Sakura." Sakura said louder.

-"Your point? You're still a freak."

-"Shut up Ino!" Naruto growled. Ino only yawned.

-"Guys, this is getting boring. Let's go."

-"Right with you Shikamaru." Neji said.

-"Later Freak Shows." Tenten yelled running off with Neji, Ino, and Shikamaru.

-"I hate those guys!" Naruto growled clenching his fists. Sakura patted Naruto's shoulders.

-"It's fine. Who cares what they think?" Sakura asked. Naruto looked at Sakura and then smiled.

-"Yeah, you're right." Naruto chuckled. Sakura smiled back at him.

-"See you tomorrow Naruto-kun!" Sakura waved. Naruto waved back.

-"Later Sakura-chan!" He yelled as he ran the other direction to his home. Sakura watched his retreating figure and then turned to her direction. She walked in a slow pace. Her home was near a creek and Sakura loved to walk by it and watch the fish swim by.

-"Father needs dinner tonight so I better go to the market soon." Sakura said as she climbed the rocks that blocked her way home. Sakura coughed a few times so she wrapped her arms around herself. It was pretty silent from where she was. A few birds chirped and Sakura heard the water streaming down the creek. She saw her home straight ahead of her. She wished that home wasn't so close. Sakura entered her house.

-"I'm home." She mumbled sullenly. She hung her backpack on the wall and remembered to put her shoes outside. The house was quiet except for the sound of a television turned on in the living room. Sakura walked into the living room.

-"I'm home, Father." She whispered bowing her head.

-"Whatever, get my dinner ready." He grunted. Sakura nodded and walked into the kitchen. She put on her apron and got a pot ready. Sakura set the table for her father. As she did that a woman walked into the room. Her hair was messy, she was wearing a robe, and her eyes were red. She also held a cigarette in her hand along with a baby sucking on a bottle of milk.

-"Here, he's been bugging all morning." She grumbled passing the baby to Sakura.

-"Yes Mother." Sakura bowed. The woman rolled her eyes and left the kitchen. Then baby played around with Sakura's hair.

-"You must be hungry, aren't you, Inari?" Sakura asked. Inari only blinked his black eyes. Sakura smiled and set him down in his highchair. As the soup was heating up Sakura fed her baby brother some baby food. Inari ate some of it but then he would just let the food drip from his mouth. Sakura wiped it off with a napkin. A timer then went off.

-"Ah, the soup is ready." Sakura poured the soup into a bowl and set it on the table. Sakura grabbed Inari and put him in his playpen. Sakura walked back to the living room.

-"Dinner is ready, Father." She informed and then went back to the kitchen. She heard her Father get up from the couch and his heavy footsteps leading to the kitchen. He sat in his seat as Sakura passed him a spoon.

-"What the hell is this?" He demanded.

-"It's soup." Sakura answered. Her father took one sip and then spit it out.

-"Are you trying to kill me? This stuff tastes like poison!" He cried out.

-"But it's g-good f-for y-you." Sakura stuttered.

-"Then you eat! Here! Eat it all up!" Her Father shoved the hot bowl into Sakura's arms. Sakura gasped at the burning sensation and accidentally dropped the bowl. It shattered into shards of glass as the soup leaked onto the floor. The father growled and slapped Sakura across the face.

-"I'm sorry!" Sakura cried shielding her face.

-"Clean it up you runt! Don't just stand there!" He yelled. Sakura nodded as tears formed at the corners of her eyes. She began washing the floors with a wet rag as her father brushed past her going upstairs. Inari only giggled form his playpen. Sakura was careful not to leave any unclean spots. She washed the rag and headed towards her room. Her bedroom was actually the attic, which she was forced to sleep into. The room only consisted of a mattress with a pillow and blanket, a trunk for her clothing, a small mirror, and a small night-light. Sakura sat down on the floorboards. She brought her backpack with her to do some homework. She was really in trouble in school. Sakura looked down at her math homework and panicked. She knew nothing about these problems. They seemed confusing.

-"I have to do this. Who knew this could be so hard?" Sakura searched her paper for some easy questions. But none were found.

-"Sakura! Get down here!" Her mother barked. Sakura scrambled up from her seat and sprinted to her parent's bedroom.

-"Yes Mother?" Sakura asked bowing.

-"Get me some more cigarettes." Her mother said.

-"But it's really late." Sakura said.

-"I don't care!" Her mother spat.

-"Ok." Sakura murmured. She went downstairs. She grabbed a jacket and slipped on her shoes. The store was pretty far but Sakura knew her way around. It took awhile but Sakura made it to the store. But as soon as she entered the place people stared at her. It was probably because of Sakura's hair color or maybe because she looked dirty and her clothes were way out of date. Sakura ignored the looks and made her way to the cigarette rack. She grabbed the pack that her mother liked. She waited in line until it was her turn.

-"Aren't you a little young to be buying cigarettes?" The man asked suspiciously.

-"They're for my mom." Sakura said.

-'Right." They guy said. Sakura knew he didn't believe her. But she didn't blame him. Who would actually believe a dirty kid with ragged clothes? Sakura thanked the man and left. But before she could reach the door she bumped into someone.

-"Oh, I'm really sorry!" Sakura apologized. She looked up and was surprised to see Gaara no Sabaku here. He is a student from her school. He has red hair with green eyes. He was considered to be a rebellious punk boy. He barely talked to anyone and mostly kept to himself. Sakura bowed her head.

-"Hn." Gaara grunted and walked past her. Sakura watched him wander around the store and then she just left as well.

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Sakura walked to the bus stop. Her body ached so much. Her mother got mad for Sakura being late and made her pick weeds form their yard until there weren't any left. At moments her father would kick her side and tell her to hurry up. Bruises formed across her sides and there were a few cuts right near her rib cage. Sakura wore khaki Capri's with a red t-shirt but she had jacket because it hid some of the bruises on her arms and plus she felt cold. It was odd since it was still warm. Sakura turned around and smiled when she saw Naruto running up to the bus stop.

-"Hey Sakura-chan!" he greeted.

-"Good morning Naruto-kun." She greeted back. Naruto grinned but then looked down at Sakura's jacket.

-"Aren't you a little hot in that?" He asked.

-"Not really." Sakura shrugged.

-"Ok. By the way Sakura-chan, Iruka says you can sleep over tomorrow! Can you?" Naruto asked. Sakura smiled. She has slept over many times before because she knew Naruto wasn't perverted and they were really good friends.

-"I'll ask my parents." Sakura said.

-"Great! We can watch movies and eat all the ramen we want!" Naruto exclaimed. The bus then reached the stop and opened its doors. Sakura and Naruto stepped onto it. Like always, they sat next to each other.

-"So did you do the homework? It was pretty hard but Iruka helped me out." Naruto asked.

-"I finished some but I couldn't with the math. It was too difficult." Sakura admitted.

-"Didn't your mom or dad help you out?" Naruto asked.

-"They were busy." Sakura said.

-"Tch. How busy could they be?" Naruto asked.

-"Pretty busy, I guess. Especially since Inari has been born." Sakura said.

-"Speaking of him, how is Inari?" Naruto asked.

-"Good. He's been crawling on his own now." Sakura said.

-"Cool."

-"Settle down everyone, class in now starting." Kakashi-sensei said. The students sat in their seats. Sakura sat in her seat doodling on paper.

-"Can everyone hand up their math homework?" Kakashi asked. Students began passing up their homework. Sakura only passed up the pile without handing in hers.

-"It's ok, I'm sure Kakashi-sensei will understand." Naruto whispered. Sakura nodded. Class went by quickly with Kakashi teaching math. Naruto basically passed along some notes to Sakura without being caught. The bell rang and students went out the door.

-"Naruto-kun, wait for me outside. I need to do something real quick." Sakura said. Naruto nodded and left. Sakura walked up to Kakashi's desk.

-"Um…Kakashi-sensei?" Kakashi turned to Sakura.

-"Ah Sakura, just the person I wanted to talk to. What happened to your homework?" Kakashi asked.

-"I couldn't figure out the questions. They were really hard and confusing." Sakura said.

-"Sakura, I'm starting to think that you need tutoring." Kakashi said.

-"Tutoring?" Sakura asked.

-"Yeah, after school tutoring. You can stay after school Tuesdays and Thursdays and a teacher can tutor you." Kakashi said. Sakura shook her head.

-"I'm sorry Kakashi-sensei but I can't. You see, I have a baby brother to take care of so I won't have time." Sakura said.

-"Well I could talk about with your parents."

-"No! I'm fine, I'll just study harder." Sakura said. Kakashi was surprised at Sakura's tone. He looked at her for a moment.

-"Fine. But just pay more attention and any problems, come to me. Ok?" Kakashi ruffled Sakura's hair.

-"Thanks Kakashi-sensei." Sakura said. She smiled at him and then headed out of the classroom.

-"Come on Naruto-kun." Sakura said. They walked into the hallway and started talking about some shows they recently have been watching. But they immediately became silent when they saw Neji and the others walking in front of them.

-"Let's turn around, Sakura-chan." Naruto whispered. They tried turning around but they already caught sight of them.

-"Well if it isn't the Freak show!" Neji mocked.

-"Just keep walking, Sakura-chan." Naruto whispered. Sakura nodded in response.

-"Hey! Don't just keep walking when we're talking to you!" Tenten yelled.

-"What do you want?" Naruto demanded glancing at them. Sakura grabbed hold of Naruto's hand. Naruto squeezed her hand tightly.

-"We only want to have some fun." Ino said.

-"Do it with someone else!" Naruto yelled.

-"But you guys are such easy targets. Why would we want to give up on that?" Tenten asked. Sakura glanced at Naruto and then back at Neji.

-"Let's just go, Naruto-kun." Sakura said tugging onto his shirt.

-"Let's just go Naruto-kun!" Neji mimicked in a girly voice. Sakura felt her cheeks turn red.

-"Shut up!" Naruto yelled.

-"No." Neji smirked. Naruto got really mad. He let go of Sakura's hand and charged at Neji with his fists in front. Sakura reached for Naruto.

-"Naru-ah!" Sakura clutched her throat as she began coughing madly. Naruto stopped on his tracks.

-'Sakura-chan!" He went by her side. Sakura fell to her knees coughing. Her throat burned and she couldn't breathe.

-"Hey, is she ok?" Tenten asked walking up to them. Naruto held his arms up like a shield.

-"Stay away! You're just going to make it worse." Naruto cried.

-"I'm going to go get a teacher." Shikamaru said.

-"N-no. I'm fine." Sakura croaked. Her coughing subsided.

-"Are you sure, Sakura-chan? You remember last time." Naruto said.

-"It's ok. The coughing has gone now." Sakura assured Naruto. He was uncertain.

-"We're leaving now." Neji said. Ino, Tenten, and Shikamaru followed him in the other direction. Naruto put his arm around Sakura's shoulders.

-"Come on, I'm taking you to the nurse." Naruto said. Sakura knew she couldn't argue with Naruto.

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-"So is she ok?" Naruto asked the nurse.

-"She'll be fine, I'm sure she just has a cold. But I suggest that you get some rest once you get home." The nurse said to Sakura who nodded.

-"That's it? But she was having a huge coughing fit in the hallway!" Naruto argued.

-"I know what I'm doing, Mr. Uzumaki."

-"Yeah, and you're doing nothing." Naruto muttered crossing his arms.

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Sakura sat on her swinging moving her feet. She was sent home since Naruto kept arguing with the nurse saying Sakura was really sick. The nurse finally gave up and told Sakura to go home and rest. Of course, Sakura lied to the nurse saying her mother was going to pick her up. Instead, Sakura sneaked out of the school and went home on her own. Her mother was probably out at some bar drinking and her dad must be gambling seeing that they weren't home. Inari was at a local daycare center so Sakura didn't have to worry about taking care of him. Sakura looked down at her old sneakers. They were dirty and much of the color has faded away. Swinging wasn't much fun so Sakura decided to explore around her backyard. Her house was really deep in the forest so there were many places to explore. Sakura examined some plants and watched some of the animals scurry around. Sakura giggled as she saw a group of baby rabbits playing around. The mother rabbit was watching nearby. Sakura sat by the creek and took off her sneakers and socks. She dipped her feet in and just relaxed.

-"Why can't everyday be like this?" Sakura asked. She closed her eyes for a brief minute. But then Sakura's eyes snapped open when she heard a sound. It sounded like…a bird chirping. But it was very weak. Sakura got up and put her sneakers back on. Her eyes searched around the grass.

-"Where could that sound be coming from?" Sakura whispered. The sound continued. It wasn't until then Sakura that a group of rabbits were crowding around something. Sakura loomed over them looking down at what they were poking. It was a bird.

-"Oh my goodness, it's hurt." Sakura shooed away the rabbits and picked up the bird. It was the size of a canary but it was a strange dark blue. It was barely moving and there were a few small cuts around his body.

-"What should I do?" Sakura asked. She picked up the bird and took it into her house. Sakura set up a small box with a rag and set the bird in there. Sakura observed the bird.

-"Judging by its movements, it looks like he broke his left wing." Sakura said. Before Sakura could do anything else she heard a car park in the driveway.

-"Mom's home!" She hissed. Sakura grabbed the box with the bird in it and dashed upstairs to her bedroom. She waited for her mother to go into her own bedroom. She usually does that to go drink sake or smoke a cigarette while watching television. She heard her mother slam the bedroom door and exhaled. She looked back down at the bird. It was moving weakly and it's chirping was dying down.

-"You need some bandages. These cuts are going to open up soon and bleed." Sakura crept downstairs cautious not to alert her mother. She went to the bathroom and went to her room with the first aid kit in her hand. She wrapped a bandage around the wing and making sure that it didn't cause any pain. She added some special cream to the cuts so they wouldn't re-open.

-"Poor thing, what could've happened to you?" Sakura asked the bird knowing she wouldn't get an answer. The bird recoiled every once in awhile to the pain. Sakura petted the bird with her index finger. But then stopped when she began coughing. Sakura winced a little but then covered herself with a blanket. The bird still had its eyes closed and every once in awhile he would give out a small chirp. Sakura softly smiled at him and then placed the box right next to her bed.

-"You'll need a lot of rest, so just sleep…" Sakura trailed off as she felt her eyelids droop. She yawned for a moment and closed her eyes.

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-Naruto's House-

-"Naruto, are you almost done with your dinner?" Iruka asked. Naruto nodded and pushed away his plate. Iruka picked up his plate and took it to the kitchen. Naruto sat still at his seat for a brief minute.

-"Iruka?"

-"Hm?"

-"I was just wondering, do you happen to know Sakura-chan's parents?" Naruto asked. Iruka paused and then turned his head to his foster son.

-"We used to go to school together but we then just separated after only one year of college. Why do you ask?" Iruka questioned. Naruto shrugged.

-"It's just that Sakura-chan never once invited me over to her house and well…she doesn't really much talk about them."

-"Her parents never were once good role models back in school but I'm sure they take good care of Sakura and Inari." Iruka said. Naruto looked out the window.

-"I wonder…"

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'Ugh…my whole body hurts! Why can't I move my arm? I have to wake up…and…go to school. C'mon eyes! Open!' He fluttered his eyes opened and his searched the whole room. 'This isn't my room. Where am I? Why does everything seem bigger? What are with these big walls? Am I in a…box? Oh…my…god! I have wings!'

'I'm a bird! Wait! This isn't my voice, it sounds like chirping! What the hell happened! Someone help me!' The small blue bird chirped loudly. Sakura stirred and opened her eyes. She sat up straight and looked directly to the box. She saw that the bird was chirping loudly.

-"I see you're awake." Sakura smiled. The bird stared at her with his onyx orbs.

'Who are you?' He chirped. Sakura only kept smiling.

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To Be Continued…

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A/N: Well, I finally updated my new story, FLY AWAY. It took me awhile to write it because school is starting soon. Sorry, if the first chapter wasn't that good but I always suck at writing the first chapter of every story. But I hope you liked it. By the way, the bold letters that is used for talking is the bird chirping but that's the translation. Just to let you know. Hope you liked the chapter!

PLEASE READ AND REVIEW

Here's a preview of the next chapter: Voices Carry

-"You're going to need a name, but what name?" Sakura asked the bird as he ate.

-"How about Sparks?" Naruto asked.

-"That's more of a dog's name. What about…Sasuke? You know, after the boy who disappeared days ago." Sakura said.

-"You mean that Uchiha kid? I suppose that's a good name." Naruto said. The bird looked up at them.

-'I am Sasuke Uchiha! That's my name!' The bird chirped loudly. But of course, no one understood him.