DESERTED

Chapter 1

"Suicidal"

Sakura yawned and sat up in bed, rubbing her eyes. Slowly, she stretched her limbs pointing out in every direction. Stretching was usually supposed to be relaxing...but not for Sakura. Well, at least not anymore. Something was missing. No more muscular body pinned to hers, keeping her blissfully warm. The velvety voice whispering "good morning" in her ear was gone. As soon as she remembered him, she immediately shook her head violently, her hair flailing around. Trying to forget was much easier said than done.

Tears ran down her face, dripping to the floor. Sakura watched them drop like little crystals, and then shatter like glass, the liquid splattering in tiny droplets. "Just like my life." she whispered with a small, yet noticeable smile. Sakura tried calming herself by taking a deep breath...but failed. She just couldn't quit thinking about him.

Her life used to be so perfect, so beautiful. Like a crystal hovering serenely in the air. But...when he died, in hit the floor hard and fast. It had shattered as easily as glass in a construction site. Everything had hit rock bottom. "Damn." she sighed, looking up to the ceiling. "Why did you have to go? I guess it really is true that perfect things can never last long, huh Sasuke?" Sakura mused.

Quickly, she pulled her tired body out of bed to her washroom. Sakura threw off her clothes and turned the small silver knob. Water began to sputter from the showerhead. "Ouch!" she grunted when she felt the icy water hit her tense back. Shivering, she turned the knob all the way to the left. The sweet relief made a shudder over her skin with the touch of the first droplet of hot water. Trying desperately to relax, Sakura focused on the positive things, such as the warm water pelting her shoulders.

It was already 7:15 a.m. Sakura was going to be late of she didn't bust some ass. Soon enough, the kunoichi had finished her rapid shower, and was fully clothed. In her usual blood red zip-tank, with the menacing Uchiha symbol on the back. Ebony sport shorts, with an equally short tan medic skirt over them. Midnight gloves and metallic black leg guards. According to Naruto, she was an eyeful even when she was covered in enemies blood (she had promptly bonked him on the head afterwards). Then Sasuke glared at the Kyuubi vessel, Sharingan flashing in his gorgeous eyes. Sakura chuckled at the memory.

Running a brush through her freshly cut bubblegum hair, she walked into the kitchen, enjoying that "new cut" bounciness. "I think I've got time for just one cup, since I'll more than likely be late." She smiled; her lips quirking upwards. Pulling a mug from the cupboard and pouring the instant coffee into it with hot water. Sakura walked around her kitchen for a moment and randomly pulled out the utensils drawer…

A long, sharp knife was located further back in the drawer. Sakura set her mug on the counter and pulled the knife from its place, admiring its jagged teeth. The cherry blossoms smile gradually faded and she was caught in a deep trance, gazing at the shiny knife. It could end her misery; bring her to her deceased husband, the one and only Uchiha Sasuke. Slowly, Sakura ran her finger along its edge, noticing the crimson red liquid left behind. A ruby pathway to happiness.

Sakura could do it now, and nobody would know until it was too late. Naruto was on a mission, and nobody else usually came to visit her on Saturday mornings. She let a single tear fall. When she heard the tiny splatter from contact with the floor, she glanced at the clock.

It was hard to read through her blurry, tear filled eyes. "Shit." She ground her teeth and set the soiled knife in the sink. Quickly, she dumped her tasteless coffee into the sink as well. The bright red digital lines read 7:27.

Licking the blood from her finger, Sakura rushed back to her bedroom and grabbed her headband and weapons pouch. Just as she was about to leave, she stopped and thought about her flak jacket for a moment. Shaking her head, she ran out the door, slinging her pouch around her waist. Aggressively tying the knot under her pastel hair, Sakura glanced back to see that the door had been successfully locked.

"Shit, shit, shit, shit, shit!" she muttered to herself. Almost tripping over her own feet, Sakura flew through the packed Konoha streets, hurrying to reach the Hokage tower. It was in sight…

-In Hokage Tower-

"I'm please to see that you've made it here today!" Tsunade began, glancing around the room.

"Wait!" a woman's voice rang from outside the doors. Normally, Tsunade-sama would reject anyone who was late, but everyone knew that Sakura was pretty much Tsunades' adopted daughter. Besides, this meant so much to Sakura.

"You're late Uchiha!" that bitching amazon Mitarashi Anko spat with a glare.

Sakura growled, "Okay, so I picked up a bad habit from Kakashi. Shut it Mitarashi!" Then Anko scowled, crossing her arms in a huff. She pouted up at her beloved Kakashi.

"Hey, old habits die hard." The silver-haired Jounin whispered with a chuckle.

Sakura took her place and looked around the room, recognizing a few friendly faces. Hyuga Neji was surprised she had come, but when he saw her look at him, he smirked. "Glad to see you're finally joining the big league Sakura." He thought to himself.

Along with Neji, Commander Nara Shikamaru was there. He had been with ANBU for eight years now, making him highly respected among all the Konoha Jounins. Shikamaru was the youngest ANBU commander ever since he held the commander rank six years ago. At that time he had recently turned 16. He's 21 now.

Glancing from one end of the line to the other, Sakura saw another of the ninjas she's grown up with...Inuzuka Kiba. However, Sakura wasn't dumb and she already knew he was here because Akamaru was resting outside.

"Ahem! As I was saying, I'm glad all of you could make it here today. You're all going to make fine ANBU. Remember, that with great power comes great responsibility, so this will be no walk in the park. Commander Nara will explain." Tsunade trailed off, grabbing her sake bottle and downing every drop.

That was Shikamaru's cue. He stood from his place with the other officers and lazily walked to the podium with his hands in his pockets. His eyes scanned the lot of them, as if calculating which would be the first to back out. "Tch; Listen up! As you're all aware, this is not going to be easy! You will track, fight, and kill your opponent without mercy or compassion. Or...you'll die. ANBU isn't anything like being a normal Jounin. You're always alert, even when you sleep. And you're going to be on your toes. Trust me; we will be testing your limits. Squads are larger in ANBU and work more independently. If you're not one with a strong stomach, then get out now." He said with a stern tone, waiting to see if anyone would leave. Nobody even flinched.

"If you slack, you will fall behind. I'm sure all of you know what it means when you fall behind. Nobody there to help you, your just easy quarry for any other ninja. So step up to the plate. Congratulations." He smirked. Shikamaru gave one final glance over before walking back to his seat.

Next, another officer stepped up. He was tall, and muscular. Long, brown hair; and a gorgeous pair of caramel eyes. The backwards headband pulled back his hair. A senbon between those yummy lips made the Uchiha widow's skin tingle as she watched him move. Damn sexy. "Whoa…" she whispered to herself, eyes wide.

"'Sup! I'm ANBU squad captain Shiranui Genma. Congratulations to all of you! It's an honor to have each of you joining ANBU. Obviously, you have successfully passed the exam." He chuckled, his eyes gleaming with pride. Looking back at Tsunade-sama, then over to Kakashi, he nodded.

"There are two specific new members of ANBU that Tsunade-sama and Kakashi would like to give special thanks to." He grinned, switching the senbon to the opposite side of his mouth. "Hyuga Neji…Tsunade-sama would like to give honorable mention to you for that astounding Katon spin. What an incredible display of power!" the tall, silver-eyed man proudly flaunted to Genma to shake his hand.

Then Neji walked to Tsunade and bowed before her. "Arigato, Tsunade-sama." He thanked her. Then the new ANBU officer stood next to the older woman

"Another certain Jounin is to be given honorable mention as well. This ninja gave an incredible display of inhuman strength and charka control. Also, this kunoichi has shown amazing intelligence by completing the written portion of the exam with a one-hundred percent." Ha said, staring Sakura dead in the eye.

Uchiha Sakura's head was spinning. She was flushed and everyone else was smirking at her. It was obvious who sir Genma was talking about

"This kunoichi, Uchiha Sakura…is a well respected Jounin and the top dog among all Konoha kunoichi." Shiranui directed her to come forth, smiling all the while.

Anko growled, "The strongest my ass." she whispered. Kakashi glared at the stoic, plum-haired kunoichi.

"Do not underestimate her Anko, or you might just find yourself in the hospital." He chuckled darkly. He'd warned her, now it was up to her to heed the warning.

Genma shook hands with the beautiful cherry blossom and ushered her toward her first sensei. When he was finished he cheerfully called out, "Congrats to all of you once more! Meet me at the Northern Gates at o-seven-hundred hours tomorrow morning! Until then…I bid you adieu." He said, disappearing in a puff of brown smoke.

Shortly after, everyone else began with idle chit-chat. Sakura and Neji didn't bother talking. Instead, they left together.

So... this is the first hopedully perfectly edited, revamped chapter of DESERTED. I'm hoping to revamp the whole thing to make it wonderful. :)
Also, I will continue to COMMIT myself to writing more and updating more chapters. I just have to get back into the swing of things. ;D
Anyway; hope you fans enjoy the non-grammatical-error-littered version of the same cool story.
xoxo, Ra.