Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto, nor do I own Death Note
(-)
The sun, signaling another wonderful day in Konoha, shun through the windows of a four year old girl with bright pink hair and dazzling green eyes. She, of course, grumbled and tried to roll away from the pesky light that dared disturb her wonderful dreams in la la land.
THUMP
"Ack" Was the noise that came out of Haruno Sakura when she'd fallen out of her bed
She grumbled, and then proceeded to rub the sleepiness out of her eyes, looking at her calendar
She grinned wildly and got up to clumsily bolt into her bathroom, getting entangled in her blankets and stumbling on the way.
She tossed her clothes about and hopped into the shower. Finishing up, she brushed her teeth and then, combed her short, shoulder length pink locks. She then topped her head with her favorite red ribbon given to her by her new best friend, Ino. She wore a bright red dress with a petticoat underneath to make it sway in the wind and blue ninja sandals.
"Alright! Time to meet up with Ino chan!" She said, rushing down the flight of stairs, giving a quick wave to her mother. She was just about to run out the door when-
GRABS
THUMP
"OOF!"
DRAGS~S
"Don't even think about it, you haven't eaten breakfast yet" Came the words of her mother
"What?! I'm not even hungry!" Sakura whined in protest
"It's my responsibility as a mother to feed you, otherwise, you'd have no meat on your bones when I cook you in the oven and feed you to the boogeyman" Her mother said with malicious eyes and a twisted grin
"WHAT?!" Cried Sakura as she dug her nails into wall to slow the process of reaching the kitchen
"NO~O!"
(-)
"Man, why does mom always have to pick on me?" Sakura asked herself, as she waited in a park for her friend Ino. They had promised to play together that day, after all. She was, however, late.
Sakura sighed and sat on the floor. It had only been a couple of minutes, but, being the child that she was, it felt like forever.
Her eyes wandered around the park, and she soon found something that caught her eye. Some kids were picking on a boy with spiky blonde hair and blue eyes. He was obviously outnumbered, and there was no way he'd win. He was trying however
Sakura's breath hitched. They'd just kicked him down to the floor, and they were currently holding him down and kicking him. She felt like crying, it was scary
'SHANNARO! What the hell are they picking on him for?! Four against one is so unfair!' Screamed Inner Sakura
Sakura silently agreed, but dared not help, in fear of getting picked on herself
'I can take them! I can take them all!' Screamed Inner Sakura once again, dripping with confidence
She really did want to help him, though…
FLASHBACK
"Sakura chan, you should be a lot more confident. It's why you get picked on so often, since they know you won't do anything back and you'll just cry like you always do." Ino lectured
SNIFF, SNIFF
"But-hic-m-my forehead-sniff-it's huge!" Sakura whined
Ino sighed
"You know, you're actually pretty cute. No matter what, they'll always find a reason for picking on you. You can't keep being a crybaby over every little thing they tell you. Have more confidence in yourself. If there's something you want to say or do, don't chicken out of it! Or else, you'll just be a COWARD!"
END FLASHBACK
'I-I DON'T WANNA BE A COWARD!' Sakura screamed in her mind angrily, wiping the small droplets of tears that had gathered in the corners of her eyes. After all, she knew what it felt like to be picked on, maybe not physically, but mentally
'HELL YEAH! Now let's go kick some ass!' Screamed Inner Sakura
NARUTO POV
I had done it again. I had gotten myself into a bit of a situation again. I had placed a whoopee cushion under the wrong kid, and who knew that the wrong kid had friends? Honestly, it wasn't his fault they couldn't take a joke! And it was only because they didn't want to play with me again; they're always excluding me from everything! And I bet it was because of those stupid adults again. They had told their kids not to play with me, I just know it!
I smirked
There's no way I'M going down without a fight!
I swung a fist, and felt the contact. However, I didn't get to enjoy the victory for long, as someone grabbed my legs, giving away my balance. I fell, and scraped my chin. It stung, but not as much as the kicks and punches I was receiving from one kid while the other three grabbed my arms and legs to hold me down.
'Pathetic, they're my age! I should be able to take them on!' Naruto thought as he struggled in their grip
'It's just not fair' I thought as angry tears started to gather at the corners of my eyes as I watched the kid stand and begin to kick my side.
"This is what you get for messing with me you idiot!" Said the kid with a wide grin on his face as the others laughed
To my shock, someone came literally flying in, kicking him in the head quite hard.
His bodies skidded a bit, and in his place stood a girl with short pink hair with a pretty red dress fluttering in the wind and, were those strawberry panties he saw?
I blushed and ogled her majestic form, a determined look in her eyes
"And THAT'S what you get for fighting dirty, idiot!" She snapped
"Who the hell are you?!" One of the kids still holding him down asked
"Haruno Sakura, age four and the person that's going to Kick. Your. Asses!" The girl named 'Sakura' said as she pointed a finger at the group
'I think I'm in love' I thought
NORMAL POV
Sakura was currently freaking out; she wished she were as sure as she sounded. She then glanced at the boy on the ground and noticed he was staring at her.
'Oh crap, he thinks I'm his hero.' Sakura thought
'HELL YEAH! I've come to save the day! Watch my mad moves in action!' thought inner Sakura
Sakura grinned with a hardened resolve, she wasn't sure of what she could do, but she'd do her best!
"CHAAA!" Came Sakura's battle scream
'No turning back now' She thought as her punch landed on some guys face.
"Get her!" Said the others as they pounced off Naruto and onto her
Naruto instantly mobilized and went to assist her. Of course, being the terrible fighter that she was, she instantly got slammed into the floor. Right before a kid had the chance to punch her face, someone punched him
"When I said to have a little more courage, didn't mean go and pick a fight with the first group of boys you found!" A girl disciplined her
"Ino chan!" Sakura called out in joy
The boy on top of Sakura jumped off her just in time to dodge Ino's punch
Sakura jumped to her feet and began fighting once again
"Alright, who's going to come next, the Hokage!?" Said the boy that had jumped off Sakura, angered by so many intervening in their fight that didn't involve them
There were now three boys against them, the boy Sakura had kicked upon her entrance mysteriously gone
'Ch! Coward…' Thought Inner Sakura
(-)
Apparently, that boy wasn't a coward. After somehow defeating the other three, Sakura now stood, muddy and bruised, in front of three genin.
The boy had brought his and two of others, older brothers.
"Okay, now this is really low" Sakura stated, Ino nodding her head in agreement, a little less muddy than Sakura
Naruto however…
"Come on! I can take you all on!! Bring it on you weak bastards!"
The three genin were instantly offended, and Ino screamed "RUN!" as she dropped the smoke bombs she'd brought to show Sakura that evening
She took off, Sakura behind her. Of course, Naruto, being an idiot, decided to stay behind. Sakura went back and dragged him along. She'd gotten a bit separated from Ino because of this, and so she ran her own way.
She soon reached the Konoha main gates, the guards coming into view
'They'll help!' Sakura thought as she neared them. She didn't quite get there, however, before she was yanked by the hair by one of the genin.
"Ouch! Let me go!" Sakura screamed in protest
"That's the girl that kicked me!" Said the spoiled little runt
"Say you're sorry!" He added
"Like hell!" She screamed
"Leave Sakura chan alone, you bastards!" Screamed Naruto, struggling in the grasp of the others
'Sakura chan?' Sakura thought, wondering why he was addressing her so informally
"Hey, cut that out you kids!" Screamed the guards, running towards them
The one currently grasping her hair let her go instantly.
"Let's get out of here!" One screamed as they scampered away
"Are you okay, miss?" One asked Sakura
Yeah, Sakura said, caressing her hair after its brutal treatment
The guards then turned their attention to Naruto
"Why am I not surprised it's you again, Naruto?" Screamed one with a bandage over his nose
They then entered an argument going along the lines of
"They started it!" and "This is the third time this week"
Sakura, however, wasn't paying very close attention to this conversation as she continued to run her fingers through her hair, finding something missing in the short locks
Realization donned on her like a strike of lightening
'My ribbon!' She thought
She turned her head above and saw it flying high in the wind
Her eyes widened as she bolted up and chased the dancing ribbon out the Konoha gates and into the woods
'It must have fallen out when that genin grabbed my hair!' She thought, running as fast as she could to catch it
If she'd been paying attention, she would've heard the pitter patter of small footsteps following not so far behind her.
'Dumb forehead girl! Where does she think she's going?!' Thought the young girl behind her, trying yet failing to catch up to the girl
(-)
"I know it fell somewhere around here" Thought Sakura as she searched through the bushes
She was crouched down on all fours trying to catch a glimpse of her red cloth.
What she found, however, was a foot, connected to a leg, connected to a torso, connected to the arms and head of the person that had her ribbon.
"Looking for this?" The person asked with a grin
Sakura beamed, jumped up and grabbed her ribbon from the hands of the person holding it.
"Thank you so much!" Sakura said to the person with a smile
"I don't want your thanks, I want your money. Do you have any?" The man asked
Sakura shook her head
"No, but I found this flower in the bushes over there if you want it" Sakura said, holding out a yellow daffodil.
"Doesn't it look pretty? It's shaped like a star and the center is-
SMACK
She didn't get to finish her sentence as her pretty flower was smacked out of her hands.
"Do you take me for a fool?! Here I caught your precious ribbon and all I get in return is some filthy plant?!" He screamed at her
She stumbled back and fell
'S-scary' She thought, staring up at the man, now towering up above her
She now took the time to take in his appearance. He was extremely tall, and-
'Extremely ugly' Thought Inner Sakura
To her dismay, she found a headband on his forehead with a foreign symbol on it. That, however, was not the bad part. The bad part was the deep gash running across it. Now, Sakura was pretty bright for her age. She was proud to say she was the most well known four year old in the Konoha library. She always checked out books, and she'd memorized most of it, so she knew exactly what that deep gash on his forehead protector meant
"Missing nin…" She uttered
The man smirked "How about I hold ya in for hostage money? I bet I could buy myself a couple of cups of sake with it at least. What do you say? You wanna make me some extra cash?"
Sakura smiled nervously
"I hear the ichiraku ramen stand is a bit short on help. I hear the pay's good too and-EEK!" Sakura said as his large hand reached out and tormented her poor pink locks of hair for the second time that day.
"I don't think so" Said the man as he looked into her eyes full of fear.
Tears leaked out of Sakura's eyes as she took in the situation. She wasn't ever going to see Konoha, or her mom, or even the hokage! She was too young to die! She had so much more to do! She still had yet to accomplish what everyone secretly fantasized about! Those deep, dark desires that lurked in everyone's hearts, she had to do it at least once!
Of course, she was talking about tasting the different sweets of the world! Then, and only then, could she die in peace.
She close her eyes tightly, thick tears rolling down her face
"Crybaby!" Screamed a voice as a small figure leapt out and bit down on the hand holding Sakura's hair
Her eyes snapped open, and she saw-
"Ino chan!"
The man yelled as he let go of Sakura's hair.
"Let go you scrawny little bitch!" Came the rough voice of the man
Ino's teeth remained firmly pressed on the man arm. She wouldn't, no, couldn't let go. She knew he'd attack them both if she did. She had to stall for time. The gates guards had to have noticed them exiting the gates. They'd surely come after them, right?
(-)
Sakura watched as the man beat on her constantly. She wanted to help, she really did, but she was no match for a missing nin. Didn't his punches hurt Ino? Wasn't it painful? Why was she trying so hard? It was just like the boy earlier. Why was she the only one that was weak? Why couldn't she fight too? Even when trying to save the boy, she had to get Ino's help.
Tears streamed down her face
'Coward' replayed in her mind several times as she watched her friend get beaten before her very eyes. Each second passed by so agonizingly slow
While in reality, Ino had only just bitten the man a couple seconds ago
Of course, time was not being taken into account as Sakura was tormented by her inner turmoil of indecision.
Sakura closed her eyes tightly; she didn't want to see her friend get hurt anymore!
"STO~OP!!!" Sakura screamed in pain and anguish, running towards her dear friend
"Don't hurt her anymore! She's my precious friend!!" Sakura screamed at the man. She wasn't sure of what she could do, but just because she knew she couldn't win, knew the differences in power, it just didn't make it right to give up and watch as her friend took a beating for her! She didn't want to be protected anymore!
She jumped in the air when she was close enough to pounce on the man
He smirked, ready to punch her as Ino accidently let go of him to gap at her crybaby friend.
Just as he was about ready to attack her, a bright light emitted from Sakura's small form engulfed him.
Sakura, the man, and Ino were soon found falling in a twinkling green light, reminding Sakura of a picture of the northern light she had once seen in a book. She didn't get to admire it for long though, as she noticed the man soon scream as he soon disappeared, lost in endless light. Sakura then noticed Ino to her right, as she drifted away from her. Not wanting to be separated from her friend, she grabbed at her hand, and held onto it tightly
"Sakura chan!" Ino screamed, gripping onto Sakura's hand just as tightly
However, the gravitational pull was different for them both. While Sakura was being pulled to the left, Ino was being pulled to the right
"Don't let go!" Ino said pleadingly, scared with tears streaming down her bruised and battered face
Sakura gripped her hand tighter, however, it was only a matter of time before the pull was able to weaken their grip on one another, and tiny hands slowly slipped from one another. They held on to the last pinky, till they were torn from one another, falling into the abyss
They called one another's names, though the screams soon turned to echoes as they fell farther and farther away from one another.
(-)
One of the Konoha guards chased after the kids who had slipped out the gates while they had been lecturing Naruto. The other, of course, taking care of the gates
"First Naruto, then these girls, this is why I hate kids…" He muttered
He didn't get to complain any further as he noticed a bright light up ahead. He landed on a tree branch
"What the heck was that?" He asked himself
He soon continued towards the light as it began to go out
When he arrived however, he was met with nothing.
He scratched the back of his head "Does this qualify as something I should report to the hokage about?" He asked himself, wondering if he hadn't had enough sleep and scratching the back of his head
(-)
A tall man began to shake the shoulder of our pink haired heroine. She grumbled
"A couple more minutes…" She muttered as she rolled away from the hand
The man sighed and took in her form
She had the strangest pink hair. Was it dyed? No, that'd be ridiculous! What kind of a parent dyes their daughter's hair pink at that age? She was also very muddy, her clothes were a bit torn and she had a couple scrapes and bruises here and there. She looked like a street rat, though very young. It was such a shame to have a kid like her out on the streets already. She was too young to face the cold cruel world. Her eyes were very puffy, an obvious sign she'd been crying a lot. However, he knew better than to get involved with other people's problems. He stood up from his crouched position over the small form of the girl. He, of course, was wearing a long, black jacket, and a matching hat and gloves. He then turned to walk away, only to be stopped by a small hand grabbing his jacket. He looked back, an action he'd immediately regret, as he looked into the face of the angelic little girl. He was in the middle of a forest right now, a place located away from civilization. It was the perfect place his orphanage, which was where he was headed now. His orphanage was located a bit farther ahead and he wondered why any parent in their right mind would lose their child there. It was no place for a child her age, was she really an orphan too?
He sighed, whatever the case may be, he just couldn't leave there and pretend he'd never seen her. He didn't have the heart to tear her hand away and abandon her to her own devices. With that thought in mind, he scooped her up and headed towards his orphanage, he had a gut feeling that he'd come to regret it someday…
(-)
Whammy walked through the gates of his orphanage, and was instantly noticed by the children. In his hands, he carried the small, pink haired girl
Questioning eyes looked his way
'A new genius?' Was the question on everyone's minds. They also took in her battered appearance and instantly began calculating scenarios which could have leaded her up to that state.
Others turned away, figuring their questions would be answered if it were necessary for them to know by Whammy himself. Drawing false conclusions would be a waste of time
(-)
Upon awaking, Sakura noticed several things. First of all, she was in a white room, in a bed, that was not her own. Secondly, she was wearing black sweat pants and a shirt that seemed a tad big for her small frame. Third, she was covered in bandages and last but not least, there was an old man in funny clothes at the foot of her bed staring her down.
She got up and just as she opened her mouth to speak, the man said
"You're in the nurse's office of my orphanage, I found you near here, your clothes are being washed and mended as we speak and food will soon be provided soon. We've also dressed your wounds." He said, reading her mind
'Freaky' Inner Sakura thought
She quickly recollected the past events and her eyes widened
She stumbled out of bed and grabbed the mans suit.
"Hey! Hey! Did you find a girl with me? She's my age and has light blonde shoulder length hair and blue eyes! Did you see her? Did you?" Sakura yelled tugging at the old mans suit at each question, hopeful eyes pleading with him.
"No" He regretfully informed her
Tears were now streaming down her face
"She's my friend! She was protecting me! I have to find her!" She screamed, bolting out the door
Whammy sighed; he knew he'd regret bringing her
He looked out the window as clouds began to gather, a storm was coming
(-)
Sakura rushed out the gates and into the woods, pricking her feet here and there as she was barefoot
She ignored it a ran about, calling Ino's name, hoping she would hear her
She finally began seeing a light through the trees
'Konoha?' Sakura thought
Yes, surely they'd help her find Ino. She quickened her pace and burst through the trees, into the light. What she found, was not Konoha, but the edge of a very high cliff. She skidded to a halt, shocked at what she saw
It wasn't Konoha.
Beneath the cliff, a small city with oddly shaped buildings and foreign structures lay. It was huge! The city went as far as the eyes could see and atop the cliff, everything looked so tiny. She then felt a pellet of water fall on her face. She looked up and second pellet followed, along with a third. It was then Sakura noticed the clouds had gotten a lot darker.
It soon began raining and Sakura sunk to the floor.
Where was she? Where was Konoha? And better yet, where was Ino?
Tears began to stream down her face; she wanted to be with her mom. She wanted to go home. She regretted not kissing her goodbye before leaving home that morning; for she wasn't sure if she'd ever get to see her again now.
She brought her knees to herself and cried into them.
"Mom, Ino chan, I want to go home! I'm scared, I'm lost and-sniff-I don't wanna be here anymore!" Sakura cried as the harsh rain beat on her small form
Soon, she couldn't feel the rain hitting her anymore. She looked up, and found that someone was holding an umbrella over her.
"Old man!" She cried as she hugged him tightly and began crying
She was, after all, a child
(-)
Upon arriving back at the orphanage, the man, now identified as Watari had a talk with Sakura
"Haruno Sakura, right? You say you have nowhere to go, so if you'd like, you're welcome to stay in this orphanage."
Sakura looked up "What about my friend though? I don't know where she is! She's probably scared and alone, I have to find her!" Sakura screamed, getting out of her chair. They were currently located in an office, a towel over her form as the one named Watari sat in a chair behind an oak desk
"There, there, sit down. No good will come out of running about aimlessly when you yourself said you don't even know where you are." Watari said. He'd heard the girls' story and figured she was just some abandoned kid in denial. He resisted the urge to shake his head; he'd give her points for her creativity though. The story about getting separated from a friend, however, was plausible
Taking a look into her fiery eyes, he knew he wasn't going to get her to not chase around all of England for her if he didn't give her a good reason not to
He inwardly sighed, signing his fate with the girl.
"Listen, if you stay here long enough, I might help you find this friend you're looking for. There's nothing that goes on in the world that this household is not aware of, so finding your friend should be easy, after a bit of time" he said
Sakura's eyes brightened
"No way! Does this mean you're ninjas? I thought this was an orphanage?" Sakura said
Watari shook his head
"No, we're not ninja's. However, this is no ordinary orphanage; it's a school for the top geniuses of the world. If something comes up pertaining your friend, I'll instantly notify you. However, this will only be done under certain conditions." He stated
Sakura straightened up
"Alright, I'll do anything!" Sakura said
"First, everything you see and hear here is to be kept secret. To the world, this place must remain as an ordinary orphanage. Secondly, please don't cause too much of a ruckus around here" He said, rubbing his temples. How did he get himself into this mess? She wasn't a genius, she shouldn't be here! The other kids would have a fit if they were to ever find this out. He should've dropped her off at some other orphanage. Who cares if she ran away to find her friend and got hit by a bus, raped, kidnapped or killed? It happened every day; he didn't have time to help every kid he found. He then looked up to see her smiling face, a twinkle of happiness in her eyes at finding a friend in this foreign world
His lips began to twitch upwards into a smile, despite his protests, she was contagious.
"Gotcha boss-err-Watari san!" She said, pounding a fist to her chest
"Another thing, you are not to call anyone by their names outside this household, nicknames are used here, usually in the formed of the single letters at the beginning of a persons name such as "A" or "B". For example, yours would be "S". The children here are training to be the best, so you'll find quite the competitive youths residing here, so please be careful." Watari said
"Definitely!" Sakura said
Watari looked at her questionably. She was no ordinary four year old. She was definitely brighter than was normal and she seemed to know a lot about life. She also seemed to understand everything he was saying. Her will power was also something to be admired, she hadn't cried once about the pain in her wounds, yet she'd cry over a lost friend? Normal kids would at least complain about aches and pains, yet she seemed numbed by it
He smiled; there was no doubt in his mind that her stay in the orphanage was going to be an interesting one. He also couldn't wait to see the effect this bright child would have on the kids there. There was strangely something in her that made her an all around lovable person
"One last question, Sakura." Watari said
"Yes?" Sakura replied
"Is that really the color of your hair?"