A warm breeze tousled Sakura's court, spiky pink hair. Her eyelids fluttered open; she was in the forest outside Konoha. "Hmmm…" she sat up slowly, and outstretched her arms, looking up at the morning sky. A few of the clouds were painted a light red, "red sky in the morning, Shepard's warning," she lazily drawled. Sakura had a very long night the evening before, and she wasn't in any mood to go bouncing around training, or going out on a date with Naruto, either. She lay back down on the soft clearing floor, staring up at the sky, thinking about the previous night. So much had happened in only ten days, it was so strange that so many people knew about her secret now.
She sighed, and turned over on to her front, plucking away at blades of grass absent-mindedly, her chin resting on the back of her hand. "I wonder what's going to happen next…" She murmured to herself. Sakura hadn't really thought it through this far, she was two drowsy to think about the future, her eyelids felt heavy, and her eyes began to close. She drifted sweetly into a flashback.
"Sakura!" I can hear someone screaming my name… I wish they wouldn't be so loud… "Sakura! SAKURA!!!" My eyes feel heavy, I have an overwhelming sense of calm wash over me. I tilt my head down; the screaming hasn't stopped, although it is more distant and muffled now. Everything is blurring slightly, what's happening to me…? I feel numb. My eyesight is recovering slightly, I see blood. Lots of blood, is it my own? I can hear a voice calling, me, wait, is that Naruto? I look up; Naruto is running towards me, everything is happening so slowly, unnaturally slowly. I look back down; I now see the kunai protruding from my chest… I think I'm dieing. Blood is pouring out of my chest, why can't I feel it? I'm starting to feel panicked. Everyone's screaming, it's getting louder… My ears hurt. I just want it to go away, I want to go home and sleep, I want to sleep… Naruto's by my side now, Saskue behind him. My legs feel weak. I'm falling down now; I can see the grass coming closer towards me.
Someone catches me before I hit the ground. I don't know who it is; the screaming has turned into crying now. Loud sobbing. Who's crying…? Everything is moving normally now. People are saying things like "quickly" or "hurry up!" I really want to sleep. I begin to close my eyes; I feel something sting my cheek. Someone just slapped me. "No! Sakura! Stay awake!" but I want to sleep…
The pain hit me; someone just pulled the kunai from my chest. I scream, the pain is unbearable; I want to die. To end it. Hot, wet tears stream down my face. I arch my back, they hold me down. I can feel them un-zipping my dress. I want the pain to stop. They pour something cool down on top of me. It hinders the pain, but doesn't stop it. My throat is sore and dry with the screaming. I can hear my drum-beat heart-beat. It's as if it is right nest to my ear. I still haven't stopped screaming. I open my eyes, and I see lots of people above my head, I don't know who they are, I cannot see their faces. They are all shouting at me, "Stay with us!!! Don't sleep!" I don't want to sleep anymore, I just want to die. My breathing is becoming short; I can only take short breaths in, my lungs hurt when I breathe. I'm hyperventilating. I'm not breathing enough, I feel like someone's sitting on me, like a really heavy weight has been dropped onto my chest. I close my eyes, and don't open them again. My consciousness slips.
I can hear voices; murmuring quietly. Where am I? I crack my eyes open, it is really bright. I hear people gasp, someone drops something and it makes a loud sound. I hear footsteps. Someone is rushing over. I try to get up, but flop back down again. I feel a searing pain in my chest. I want it to stop, I yell in pain. Someone is at my bedside. I turn my head to look over. There are four people there: Kakashi-sensei, Naruto, Saskue and Tsunade-sama. Tsunade is saying something, but I can't hear. Kakashi is too. They all look very worried, especially Kakashi-sensei. Naruto and Saskue leave. My hearing is coming back, I can hear them softly talking. I wonder what I look like. Am I all bloody and scratched up? Oh no: has the jutsu worn off? Am I still Sakura? I can hear Tsunade-sama talking, but I'm not listening. Kakashi tells me to pay attention. He looks upset and afraid. I close my eyes again, and I hear shouting… I wish they would be quiet.
My eyes shoot open, I'm awake. I sit bolt upright. I suddenly remember where I am. I remember the fight in the woods with Kiba, Hinata and Shino. I remember punching Kiba, and then him lunging towards me with a kunai. I close my eyes, lye back down and sigh. A tear beads amongst my eyelashes. I look around, there isn't anybody in the infirmary, I look out the window, it looks like it's the early hours of the morning. Naruto will be out training. I sit up, and swing my legs over the side of the bed. I wonder exactly how long I was asleep. I go over to a nearby table with a basin on it. I look over it to wash my hands, then freeze. 'Oh no…' I think to myself as I stare back down into the water beneath me. I don't have short, spiky pink hair around my shoulders anymore. My hair is now long, of a very dark brown shade, almost black, and my eyes aren't sparkling emerald green, they're a deep blue hue, with very large soulful pupils. 'No… the jutsu… it wore off when I fell unconscious… Everybody there will know who I am…' All of a sudden, I couldn't remember at all who was a witness to my stabbing.
I feel the air in the room move, spin around and wince and clutch my chest, where the source of the pain is. I am met with Kakashi-sensei staring at me; he looks old, very old. His eyes don't have his usual twinkle; instead, they have very large bags under them. He standing with a slouch, and starts off towards me.
