Hello Everyone!

This here is Tsukiai Ujigami, here with my very first Fan Fict eva!

First I'll tell you to think of, in every Anime you've seen or Manga you've read; think of the damsel in distress or the hopeless girl that always needs a man to fight for her.

Got it?

Well I'm her.

In every Anime I have watched I am nicknamed (by friends and little sister) that hopeless young girl who is only there to create conflict between the main male character and their worst enemy (doesn't say much about me, huh?). I have the nicknames of Azmaria Hendricks from Chrono Crusade, Winery Rockbell from Fullmetal Alchemist, Kagome Higorashi from Inuyasha and Sakura Haruno from Naruto (I think that's all of them...!).

But the name "Tsukiai Ujigami" comes from a story my friends, little sister and I are writing together (an anime based story of course, we have no life!).

Tsukiai (pronounced; Sue-key-ah) is my character; the meek little teachers pet that wont do anything out of line. The word 'Tsukiai' is actually a Japanese word I found, meaning "Friendship", and her last name "Ujigami" (you-gee-ga-me) means Guardian spirit (What I would do without my Japanese dictionary, I'll never know!).

Jeeze! Have I taken up a third of the page already! I talk too much!

Anyway, getting to the story, I love the whole Sakura and Sasuke idea (not the way Sakura obsesses over him, god it shits me!), so I have written my own version on how I think it should be.

I hope you enjoy!

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- True confessions –

Chapter 1: A gap in the panel

Quick footsteps ran across the grass, soon stopping as an oblivious eye looked out from its hiding place. Dead ahead stood a circle of 3 teens; one fair blond wearing an orange jumpsuit, one mysterious black wearing a blue high-necked t-shirt and white knee-length shorts and the last luscious pink wearing a long red kimono trimmed with white.

The hidden eye brushed briefly upon the gleaming kunai held firmly in each teen's hand, and over the tall thin stick sticking out of the ground in the middle of their circle.

The hands of the eye clapped quietly together in the form of a bizarre hand-sign, the mouth muttering a couple of choice words. The circle of teens looked forward as 7 puffs of smoke erupted from thin air at the edge of the forest clearing, and out of the white smoke came 7 masked men wearing green vests and dark blue pants.

The black haired teen mouthed something to the others, then his hands came together in his own hand-sign. 10 puffs of smoke later there were 10 clones of the dark haired male attacking the 7 masked men.

One by one the masked men disappeared in a wisp of smoke at a single strike from the dark haired clones. The dark haired male retracted his clones once the masked clones had been defeated, and then he stood back into the circle around the tall wooden stick.

The oblivious eye ran out of its hiding place, throwing ninja stars and kunai at the teens. The blond and the dark haired males hit back the weapons, using their own kunai. The enemy jumped over the blonds' head, but was knocked back as the dark haired male threw a kunai at his stomach. The pink haired girl winced, thinking that that course of action was too harsh, but was pulled away from these thoughts when the body of the struck enemy turned into a log; the transformation jutsu.

The pink haired girl yelled and ducked in fright as the real enemy jumped out and slashed at her with a kunai. He landed on the other side of the circle, stood up straight, turned his head to the teens and smiled.

"Game over."

The teens looked at the centre of the circle, where the wooden stick still stood... 2 inches had been sliced off.

"DAMN!" the blond, formally known as Naruto, yelled, stamping his foot in rage.

"Not again!" the pink haired female, known as Sakura, groaned.

'I didn't even see him!' The dark haired male, going by the name of Sasuke, thought, burying his hands deep into his pockets and placing the usual scowl upon his lips.

Their Sensei Kakashi looked at them as he put his kunai back into its pouch, his smile hidden by his deep blue mask.

"I see you need a little more training." He remarked, his one visible eye looking into that of his students.

He looked directly at the crimson female.

"Sakura…" he began, but paused. He sounded stern, like he was going to point out her faults.

"… good work."

Sakura's heart sank. "Thanks Kakashi sensei."

His eye closed in the form of a smiled then he turned away, giving tips to Sasuke and Naruto. It was always like that. Kakashi never pointed out what she was doing wrong; he would just compliment her on not dying. God she felt pathetic. Every mission and practice session, she would just stand there and be rescued by Sasuke or Naruto. She never did any of the fighting; she just stood back and watched as the others completed the mission… like they didn't even need her.

"Let's all go out for Ramen, I think I've pushed you guys enough today." Kakashi announced, sending Naruto cheering and jumping up and down like something on Ecstasy.

Sakura tried to look interested in her dinner that night, but failed miserably. She stared at the soggy noodles before her, prodding it with her chopsticks.

Why did Kakashi treat her so differently? He was always treating her like she was the youngest of the group... when she was actually the oldest. She felt so useless.

"I think I'll give you all the day off tomorrow." Kakashi said, putting his chopsticks down next to his empty bowl. "Give you some time to rest."

Naruto looked up from his bowl, a fistful of Ramen dangling unattractively out of his mouth. "Rest... for what?"

Sakura and Sasuke also took their eyes off their meals, interested in the rising conversation.

Kakashi leaned back in his chair. "I've been pushing you guys too hard lately... I think this'll be a great chance to rest yourselves."

Naruto leaned forward, his nose almost touching his Sensei's. "What's the catch?" he asked, eying him carefully.

Kakashi simply closed his eye gently. "No catch... just a day off."

Naruto sat back in his chair, still looking at Kakashi suspiciously; something was up, and he wanted to know what.

When everyone had finished their 2nd bowl of Ramen (and Naruto, his 5th), team 7 exited the restaurant into the calm breeze of Konoha.

"I shall leave you now, don't go tiring yourselves out tomorrow, ok? Get some rest." Kakashi instructed turning and leaving.

Naruto watched Kakashi walk away, waiting till he was out of earshot. Once he was sure of it, he turned to his teammates. "Did any of you two think it odd how Kakashi just gave us a day off for no apparent reason?"

"There was a reason stupid. He said we needed rest, that's all." Sakura yawned, stretching her arm muscles.

"But none of us are worn out! There has to be a catch!" he continued, hitting the palm of his hand with his fist. "He wouldn't just give us a day off like this, there has to be something else to it!"

Sakura's eyes drooped, her heart giving up on the fight she usually enjoyed. "Whatever, think what you want Naruto. I'm going home."

She turned and started to walk the path back to her house, oblivious of Naruto and Sasuke's following eyes.

"What's up with her? She would've usually started attacking me by now, physically or verbally." Naruto remarked quietly.

Sasuke's eyes narrowed. 'She's been acting distant since the last practice session today.' he thought, watching the last glimpse of her fade into the dark of the night.

Sakura's feet led her leisurely up the moon-lit path, the wind playing with her long cherry pink hair. Her hand rest upon the doorknob to her house, and she entered quietly.

"Hi honey." He mother greeted from the dishes in the kitchen.

Sakura looked up at her mum, placing a fake smile upon her face. "Hi."

She placed her shoes neatly at the door and hurried up the stairs to her room, avoiding further conversation.

She dropped her bag to the ground and collapsed onto her bed, her mind racing.

Sasuke and Naruto always seemed to be moving forward… but not as far as they could. They seemed to hold back, not wanting to move forward just yet. Sakura couldn't figure out why; why they didn't live up to their dreams and give it their all; prove how strong they could be. Some suspicion inside of her told her that it was her presence that slowed them down, that they wanted to encourage her… almost dare her to keep up.

"Why bother anymore?" Sakura said quietly, rolling onto her stomach and resting her chin on her pillow. "I try so hard everyday, and I've pushed past my limits more than once before. But… no matter how hard I try, the boys always seem to be two steps ahead of me."

She buried her head into her pillow. "I might as well give up and take the duty I've tried to avoid all this time; the luggage transporter."

Sakura awoke to the fresh smell of Konoha, and the tranquil sound of the birds within. She sat up and rubbed her head, realizing she had slept in her clothes again.

After a quick breakfast of plain rice and freshly squeezed juice, Sakura cleaned herself up, put on some tight dark-teal jeans, a pink shoulder-slit t-shirt, tanned-cream sandals and a white backpack then headed out into the morning air.

Not sure where she was going, she decided to visit the market.

Stalls of all different shapes, sizes and materials filled the center of Konoha; different sounds smells and colures surrounding them. Food, cosmetics, clothes, hand crafted weapons; it was all for sale!

Sakura smiled as the loud chatter of happy villagers became louder as she strode into the moving mess. She moved from stall to stall, admiring the craftsmanship of hand made jewelry, weapons and figurines.

She stopped at a stall that was covered with good luck charms and gem stones. She picked up a pendant that was a small twig of flowers. The petals were glistening with pink stained glass; the stem a deep green. She turned the ornament over in her hand, noting every elegant detail.

"It's a prosperity charm" said an elderly woman from behind the stall bench. "Said to bring bad times to an end for the wearer."

Sakura looked up and smiled. "Do you make these yourself?"

The woman smiled back. "Yes I do, with great time and patients."

"They're all so beautiful." Sakura complimented, looking back at the flower in her hand.

The woman smiled again. "How's bout I drop the price on that for you? I'll give it to you for $5.00."

Sakura looked up. "Are you sure?"

The woman nodded. "I think it'll go good with a lovely girl like you."

Sakura smiled, handing a $5:00 note to the woman. "Thank you."

She turned and left the stall, the pendant placed safely around her neck by a black leather rope. She smiled as she faced the busy crowd of people; her spirits were rising already.

Suddenly an orange blur rushed past Sakura's view.

She turned and saw Naruto, running madly through the mass crowds of the market.

'Good feeling gone.' Inner Sakura groaned. "What's he up to?"

Sakura ran after her teammate, apologizing to all those she pushed past on the way. Naruto looked to be in a real hurry!

Suddenly he jumped onto the roof of a building and continued from the rooftops. Sakura jumped also, trying not to hit anything as she landed on the roof and jump after him. She smiled as Naruto sped up; this was getting interesting.

Naruto looked back and saw the kunoichi chasing him. He smiled competitively and went a little faster.

'If I can catch up and stop him, there's still a chance of me becoming stronger.' She encouraged herself. She sped up, giving it her all.

Ahead, Naruto could see her desire to catch up to him; the game was on. He clapped his hands together and yelled: "Shadow Clone Jujitsu!" creating 6 clones of himself that ran in a straight line next to him.

'Heh, you can't fool me that easily!' Sakura thought. She pulled out 6 ninja stars, aiming carefully. 'The middle one is the real one!' She threw the stars at the 6 Naruto's either side of the middle (and real) Naruto.

"Gotcha now!" she yelled.

The ninja stars hit the 6 Naruto's, puffs of smoke erupting from each one that got hit.

"OW!"

Sakura stopped and looked up, gasping as two Naruto's remained; one bending over the other that was on the ground clutching his left knee.

Sakura gasped again; she'd hit the real Naruto.

Naruto groaned as Sakura ran over, kneeling down next to him. "Are you alright!"

He pulled the ninja star out of the back of his leg. "Yeah, but what'd ya hit me for!"

Sakura hung her head. "Sorry, lost control of myself." She pulled her bag off her back and rummaged around for a bandage.

Naruto looked at her carefully as she began to bandage up the wound. "Are you alright?" he asked gently. Sakura looked up at him. "I mean, you haven't been your usual happy self lately, is it something I said?"

Sakura smiled at his observation, but decided against telling him of her plan to give up completely. "I'm ok, just tired." She fibbed, pinning the bandage in place around his leg.

He stood up and stretched his leg, checking her handy work.

"Why were you in such a hurry?" Sakura asked, putting the rest of the bandage away and placing her bag on her back.

A white flag arose in Naruto's undeveloped brain. "SHIT! He's probably long gone by now!" He grabbed Sakura by the hand and ran forward.

"Where are we going?" Sakura yelled over the roaring wind in her ears.

"We're shadowing!" he said wickedly, a dark smile consuming his face.

Soon Naruto stopped running and bent down over the rooftop to look at the ground. "Found him!"

Sakura looked down and saw, looking through the… adult books; Kakashi Hatake. "Oh no." Sakura groaned.

"I haven't quite caught him yet, but I'm sure Kakashi will reveal to me; the reasons for this 'day off'." Naruto whispered to Sakura. "I can feel it!"

"You really have nothing better to do, do you?" Sakura asked sarcastically, sitting up. She rolled her eyes and stood up. "Well, I've got better things to do." She said, though, really; she had nothing to do.

"Hey! It's the Third Hokage!" Naruto suddenly announced. "What's he doing out here?"

Sakura lay down next to Naruto again, her interest in the situation now rising.

The Third Hokage approached Kakashi, who turned and listened attentively.

"Argh! I can't hear anything!" Naruto complained. He clapped his hands together in a hand-sign and winked to Sakura. "Come on!" He vanished in a puff of smoke, and reappeared on the verandah of a nearby shop. Sakura followed her teammate, soon landing beside him, now in earshot of the conversation between the Third Hokage and their sensei.

"Kakashi, I require your assistance on a little matter." The Hokage said. "I need you to pick up and escort a new student from the Waste Villa to Konoha."

"What's the boy's name?" Kakashi asked calmly.

"Kanashii Nodono, he's a distant relative of Iruka. He's starting his first years as a Genin here at Konoha."

"And you want squad 7 to bring him here?" Kakashi resolved.

"I knew it!" Naruto said, thumping his fist onto the textile verandah. "He want's us to rest up for a mission tomorrow!" He thumped the fabric again, this time his hand going right through. Sakura gave him a cold stare as the hole began to tare.

"I hate you."

They both yelled as the verandah gave way, crashing down on a closed noodle shop. Kakashi looked at them, not merely as surprised as them. Naruto smiled sheepishly. "Hello?"

The third Hokage shook his head at the two, then turned to Kakashi. "You begin tomorrow morning, have Kanashii here within 3 days of leave. Good luck." And with that he turned and left Kakashi to stare unimpressed at Naruto and Sakura.

Naruto groaned, trying to get up. "Can you help me out?"

Kakashi just looked at the two again, then turned and left.

Sakura's cheeks went bright red. "Thanks a lot Naruto! You've just humiliated me in front of my Sensei!" she yelled. "I'll never be able to look at him the same way again!" she added in and embarrassed mumble. She looked up at the sky. "Ah, well. It could be worse. At least Sasuke's not here to see me like this." She looked forwarded again, and almost died of a heart attack. Sasuke stood on the spot, looking at his two teammates among the remains of the noodle shop.

He looked at them briefly, before turning away. "…I don't wanna know."

Naruto groaned as he and Sakura were left alone. "I got chopsticks up my ass."

Chap 1- Fin