A/N: Right, so I'm back. TCBR is still undecided right now as to whether I'm going to continue it. But I suppose with so many reviews and such I'll continue it. The first chapter is more of a background than anything else, but then we get into the really good stuff. Thanks for checking it out!

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto. Please don't sue.

Zanzo (残像): N. An afterimage; imprint.

This place is a madhouse. A mere institution more concerned in observing the responses of their patients rather than actually helping them. Or at least that was the way that floor S was run.

I'm never coming back to this place if I ever get out. Ever. Once I got out, theoretically, I would do everything in my power to stay out. But I suppose that goes without saying. The people here can barely survive their required sentence of three years. Try living in this place for 10. I don't know why I've been here for so long—the experiments were supposed to only last 4 years—but one thing I do know. I'm getting out in whatever way I can.

Of course, your way of getting out is far different from mine. You want to get out the confines of these walls to the world beyond. I don't have any desire for that. After being in such a place for a large majority of my life, I have no confidence in my ability to live outside of these walls. The sort of freedom that I am talking about is far different. My freedom requires contact with death. A partnership with death to be exact. To have it welcome me with open arms, in exchange for a complete amnesia of my time here. I would do anything for this kind of freedom.

Right, I bet that you're wondering who I am. My name is Haruno Sakura, 16 years old. I've been living here since I was 6 years old. That's really all that you need to know about me at this point. You'll learn more about me at a later point. How about I start out with how I got to Zanzo?

My introduction to Zanzo was long and confusing. I was not like the other "patients" at Zanzo. I had not killed someone, or committed some sort of moral sin against man. I was merely born into an unfortunate family, and I was their only way out.

The family that I was born into was a normal lower-class family. My mother and father worked long days to support their 3 children. I was the eldest, being 6, and took care of my siblings while my parents were at work. Every day I would pick my twin brother and sister up from day care, walk home, prepare dinner while they played with their toys, do my homework while they ate, read them a story and put them to bed. Then, if I still had more homework, I would finish that and make some plates for when my parents came home.

It seemed that we were forever going to live like this for the rest of our lives, which I didn't mind. We were happy the way that we were. While we might not have had much, it was enough. But one meeting with a well-dressed man, everything changed. That meeting was the start of my downward spiral.

Apparently my pink hair, something that had never happened before in my family, had attracted some attention. This man was the head of a genetic research project, and he wanted me to be a subject. In return for the un-conditional revoking of their child, they would provide my family with enough money for them to live an above average life for them and the coming generations. All they needed to do was sign a contract.

It was with this agreement that they handed me to this man. A man, who I later learned was named Kabuto, that later became my main caretaker. I became part of a twisted set of experiments, that I'm not so sure had anything to do with genetics. What my pink hair had to do with any of the experiments that I participated in, I have no idea.

By now, I'm sure you're wondering how such an institution could exist. Of course, Zanzo was not publicly conducting this project. In fact, I'm positive that no more than ¼ of the staff knew that any of this was going on; and of that only half of them knew the details of what was happening. On the surface, Zanzo was a normal institution. Many people probably walked out of the sliding doors, a new and better person. Zanzo was also quite a high-class business. Many patients were famous: politicians, idols, etcetera. Not only does this provide Zanzo with an amazing amount of income—which they can use to buy equipment for their experiments—grateful politicians turned a blind eye to the happenings and supported the experiments.

Why would they be grateful? Pushing aside the fact that Zanzo helped cure them of whatever problem they had, it also has the most amazing privacy policy. If a reporter were to come in, Zanzo requires that you make an appointment at least 24 hours in advance, they then notify the person that is going to be visited and if they wish to not meet with the person, Zanzo will tell them that they are unable to come. Before you are admitted, the institution will ask you whether or not you would like people to know if you are here. If you answer no, then they will deny having you here, even in the face of police. They have enough power that they don't have to fear the law in these cases. Thus, many politicians come here, they don't want the public to know that they have a drinking problem or that their schizophrenia is out of control.

Getting back to how they get away with this, they have the backing of so many powerful people, they have no need to worry about the police coming to infiltrate their labs. It is one of—if not the—most powerful businesses in the state of Japan. Sort of scary, huh?

This isn't what I wanted to focus on. What I want to focus on it perhaps one of my most memorable times in Zanzo. This is the first time that I'm going to go so in depth about my stay at Zanzo, so bear with me.

I can sense some of you wondering if I'm now dead or alive, in or out of Zanzo, happy or suicidal. I won't tell you that until the end. You can decide for yourself if my ending is happy or sad.

This is me. This is my story.

A/N: Eh, it's short. Like I said, the next chapter will be good. This was competing with 2 other stories, a one-shot based off musical lyrics, and a four-shot based off a music box. Those should come out at some point.

I'm taking requests on one-shots! That's right, requests! Put the pairing and your favorite song in a PM and send it! I'll make you a one-of-a-kind High Summoner Sakura one-shot.

As always please review, your feedback means everything to me.

Ja ne!