This Would Be Paradise

PROLOGUE: Come On and Do Your Worst

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"I ain't scared of lightning; thunder's never killed. I was born in a summer storm and I live there still."

-Tom McCrae, 'I Ain't Scared of Lightning'

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Sakura.

That name- that accursed name that her mother had given her on a whim while hopped-up on epidural and hospital-grade pain medication ensured that everyone within earshot knew that she was weak from the moment it left her lips.

That was all that it took. A greeting; an introduction.

Sakura. So delicate. So fragile. So short-lived.

Being named after a tree that only bloomed for a fleeting moment in time; a flower known for its extreme beauty and quick death, was quite unfortunate. Especially for a young woman determined to live a life brimming with danger and casualties.

Being reminded of her almost inherent weakness with every call of her name certainly didn't help.

However, Haruno Sakura was determined to do anything but live up to her namesake.

She would become strong and deadly (for Kami knew that she didn't have the beauty it entailed- she knew all too well from the urchins' teasings), willing to do anything to serve her village and defend those she held close to her heart. And those that she treasured were few and far in between.

With her father, Haruno Kizashi, Yondaime Hokage of Konohagakure, dead, Sakura had firmly resolved to accomplish a single thing with her otherwise meaningless; to live in his place.

To this very day, she was reminded of his death every time her mother even so much as glanced in her direction. It was actually quite painful, really, realizing that you remind your only remaining parent of the very act of sacrifice that caused their other half to pass away.

Well, to be fair, she did have his hair. And his laugh. Even his eyes.

Or so everyone around her said.

Their downcast eyes and murmurs of sympathy and gratitude, their instantaneous respect and pleasant demeanours made her feel…

Made her feel…

Well, to be completely honest, they made her feel sick.

Her stomach lurched with every "How are you, respected daughter?" and "What may I do for you, Sakura-sama?"

She felt the urge to retch whenever a shopkeeper offered her free wares and waved it off as 'nothing' while a ragged child sat begging for spare change on the same street corner.

The world closed in and her breath grew short in the moment in which a faceless stranger offered their quiet condolences on that day.

Her head would spin with dark voices, screaming at her from the most convoluted recesses of her mind. They would remind her of everything she hadn't accomplished. They wouldn't let her forget all of the pain she would have to live through before she could bury her thoughts of inadequacy in the face of such reverence and blind dedication deep in her memory.

Sakura. Delicate, frail and short-lived indeed. Weak.

But most of all, what made her feel the most sickened was herself.

One morning, she woke up and came to the simple and obvious realization that those dark voices were her own; berating her for what she didn't- couldn't do.

Because even though polite phrases, free trinkets and words of sympathy couldn't bring her beloved father back to life, she simply couldn't help herself from knowing that for the daughter of such a revered, powerful and wise man, she was nothing. A nobody.

She didn't deserve anything, let alone what everyone else gave her day after day.

She was a nobody. She didn't deserve to allow herself to be recognized as the daughter of the great Yondaime.

So Sakura would put aside her namesake.

It was no longer time for the vain days of before. She couldn't afford to spend any more time being selfish anymore. The time for childish things was past. She had squandered it all on petty things and empty friendships that would not last the test of the shinobi. None of her playmates would know what it was to offer up your life in defense of so many others who didn't have the strength to. They would never see the light leave the eyes of their comrades. They would never stagger home, sapped of energy and soaked in the blood of ally and enemy alike.

It was on the morning of the anniversary of the death of Hourglass Kizashi that Sakura spoke six words to her weary mother, ragged from the latest of her endless slew of missions. And that was all that it took to reduce her only living parent, a seasoned kunoichi with a decade of experience to tears.

"I'm going to be a ninja."

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Right, so, a new story.

First off, I want to establish that this story will be taking place in the genjutsu world of the movie Naruto: Road to Ninja, only it'll be the real deal; no illusions, just kinda-AU. Basically, I'll tweak things to my liking and add to elements seen in the movie. For example; instead of Kiba just hating dogs and wanting to be a cat shaman, according to the subs (WHAT EVEN IS THAT), his clan'll be 'Nekozuka', or since Tenten was always patching herself up due to how bad her aims was, she'll be a medic-nin.

Secondly, this story will actually hold a bit more humor than my other stories. Yeah, I know, the prologue seems kind of depressing in that context, but then again, most shinobi in the Narutoverse have tragic backgrounds. It'll mostly be sarcastic stuff, but then again, I don't really have any other sort of sense of humor.

Finally, a new chapter for 'I Don't Hate Mondays' IS on its way, but I've had MAJOR writer's block, and I literally just got a summer job. But it'll happen, no worries.

So, that's it. Enjoy, and tell me what you think. The first chapter'll be up in a sec.

Merida