Hey everyone! Before you start yes I KNOW, I lied. This chapter is weeks, weeks, weeks, late so for those who were waiting all excitedly, you can go ahead and scream WELL ITS ABOUT TIME YOU LYING #&*%! It's OK I understand. Anyways I know I said I would wait to actually finish the story before rewriting it but gosh it drove me insane! New ideas, how something should be different, and how the plot should change, were constantly running through my head and I was so bonkers, I couldn't write the story itself. Also chapter one, I HATED it soooooooo much. Is it possible for an author to hate her chapter so much? I have no idea, probably. Anyways for those of you who were big supporters of this story before I rewrote it, I hope you enjoy this even more! It was because of your extraordinary support that I got my act together and wrote the new chapters before I lost my mind. This new version will, hopefully, be more organized. Also it will definitely be much darker, the chapters longer, characters that may have been main will now most-likely be minor, and the plot will be a lot clearer. In other words, this is a more bad-ass put together version of the other story. However the one thing that continues to allude me is the title. I have had a few absolutely wonderful suggestions but nothing has really stuck with me so if you have anything you think is great, let me know! Also please note the other version will be discontinued but will still remain on my profile so anyone can go check it and compare the two. OK, that's enough of my rambling. Without further ado, I now present to you chapter one of the rewritten story.
Disclaimer: If I owned Naruto, I wouldn't be spending the majority of my time doing homework for 9th grade and mourning the loss of my social life. I would be chilling by a pool, counting the money I would make off the manga. So there you have it.
"Sakura."
"Sakura-chan!"
"Sakura-san."
"Sakura-taichou!"
"Sakura-sama."
"Sakura-dono!"
Happy. Ecstatic. Delighted. Respectful. Relieved. Overjoyed.
"Sakura."
"Sakura-chan."
"Sakura-san."
Indifference. Spite. Hate.
"Sakura."
Love. Warmth. Joy. How can one word be said so many ways?
It's almost impossible to comprehend.
"Sakura."
Unknown. Ownership. Possession. Evil.
A Growl. The snap of jaws.
A curvy yet lean, figure stood over a pile of pale bodies, the victims' eyes glassy and unfocused. The dull shine of metal headbands glimmered on each of their foreheads. A small leaf insignia was carved into the shiny metal. Pink, full, lips pulled back into a smirk and revealed slightly elongated canines, blood dribbled down a pale chin and coated the tips of the sharp teeth. Frosty, evergreen eyes rimmed yellow gleamed in the dim light.
"Yes?" she whispered.
A maniacal cackle echoed from everywhere at once.
She bolted upright in bed, snatched the kunai from under her pillow, and panted as sweat poured down her forehead. Her panicking gaze scanned the room rapidly. As her chest heaved, she pushed damp strands of long, pink hair off her face and lowered her kunai from its defensive position. The other occupant of the bed stirred but did not wake. Pale, golden rays of sunlight peaked through the drawn blinds, dawn had made it's appearance. Sighing mutely, Sakura wormed her way out of the sticky sheets and clothes she was wrapped in. She made her way to the bathroom, determined to drown the latest night terror away. Stumbling into the shower she fumbled with the knobs, flinching as the cold water came into contact with her exposed skin and cursing quietly as she stubbed her toe. She shuddered then relaxed as she adjusted to the frigid temperature. After what seemed like an eternity, she turned and jerked the knob up. The cold water turned hot instantly and steam filled the tiny room as Sakura squirted a generous amount of scentless shampoo into her calloused palm. She scrubbed her scalp raw and rinsed the suds. Finishing with her washing minutes later, she shut the water off and wrapped a towel around her petite frame. Tip-toeing back into the dark bedroom, the pink haired woman fished a pair of loose, navy blue pants; a mesh, strapless shirt; and a long, grey sweater from the drawers. After dressing, she made her way into the kitchen where she retrieved an apple and a pen. Scribbling down a note, she grabbed a pair of black heels on her way out the door.
Sakura munched on the apple thoughtfully as she strolled down the pebble road, the slowly rising sun creating a pleasant warmth against her back. She took careful note of all the small sounds around her, the chirping of birds, the click of her heels on the road, and the small chatter from the upcoming market-place. The peaceful morning made her sigh happily and there was a spring in her step as she walked, the latest nightmare temporarily forgotten. "You're in a good mood." A voice commented. Sakura hummed. "So you're awake. Yes well, I can't put my finger on it but I feel like something exciting is going to happen today." "That doesn't always mean it's something good." The voice snorted. Sakura rolled her eyes. "Don't ruin my mood Inner." she thought. The playful banter between the two continued until Sakura halted abruptly. She turned and leaped into a near-by tree, masking her chakra quickly. She waited in silence until the group below passed her. A large, white dog barked excitedly as two youths, one with scruffy brown hair and the other one wearing green spandex, argued loudly. She released the breath she didn't know she had been holding. Inner grumbled. "You can't hide from them forever Outer. They were the ones who wronged you, you shouldn't have to hide." "It's not their fault. It was Karin's, she placed those suspicions in their head and acted like a perfectly innocent shinobi and well, things got out of hand when they all over-reacted." "You defend them so easily when they bluntly accused you of treason! They should have trusted you no matter the circumstance! If it wasn't for your position in the hospital, favor of the elders, and their lack of evidence then you could have been banished or worse!" "But I wasn't. Besides, it's like you said, they had no evidence that I work for Danzo." Inner growled. "That changes nothing, they could have had that air headed Yamanaka come snooping around here. Then we would have our heads mounted for the crap we've had to pull while under Danzo's command. Damn those old fools! Threatening us with the safety of loved ones just so we would work for them willingly." "Don't talk about Ino like that Inner. Anyways they would have no case. Whatever I have done under Danzo has been approved by a majority of the council, therefore legal in a sense of things." "However, we were assigned these backwater missions without the approval of Hokage-sama. If your little friends were to find out the things we've done behind closed doors and report it to her, it's all over. Have you betrayed your Hokage?" Sakura stiffened. "I followed the orders of a superior, who had the right to distribute missions and orders, for the sake of the village." She relayed almost robotic like."I have betrayed no one." she thought more quietly. Inner sighed. "You've gotten yourself into quite the mess haven't you?" Sakura ever so slightly titled her head upwards as if insulted. "I have no idea what your talking about." She replied haughtily. "Besides it's still Karin's fault. The others shouldn't trust her so blindly. I'm positive she's a spy working for Kabuto. I find it extremely hard to believe that a cockroach like that died so easily." "Yes well that's a fine theory and all but you can't say a word can you? They don't trust you and one word will only confirm their beliefs of your alleged jealousy." "Just because I work under Danzo doesn't mean they can't trust a friend who has been loyal all her life." "Danzo is not the definition of picture-perfect loyalty Outer." "True. True." she trailed off. She vaguely registered being surprised at this newly discovered mature side of her counterpart. "Hey! You're mean! I can be mature!" Inner protested. Sakura smirked. Never mind.
Despite the dark topic between the two beings, Sakura's mood had not been dampened in the least. The seemingly perfect day was off to a wonderful start. The pink haired woman continued her walk around the village in silence, the other voice in her head opting to stay silent and observe the scenery through her counterpart's eyes. Hours later the sun had climbed high into the sky. Sakura's stomach growled at her in annoyance as it reminded her again that noon was a time for lunch, or in other words, food. She placed a soothing hand on it, hushing it and looking around for a place to eat. She spotted a dango stand and happily made her way over. After purchasing her lunch, she turned in the opposite direction and walked toward the training grounds. Minutes later, she had settled comfortably under a tree, her legs stretched out into the sun's warm rays. The kunoichi munched on the treat, her stomach finally content for the time being. Weariness crept into her body from lack of sleep, and she blinked sleepily a few times. "One day off of training can't be that bad. Besides if Hokage-sama should so desperately need me, it wouldn't be to hard for any ANBU to find me." she reasoned silently. With her mind made up, the exhausted kunoichi succumbed into the dark depths of unconsciousness.
"HA! Take that Sasuke-teme!"
Her eyes snapped open and she shot up. Without thinking, she launched herself into the tree above her and masked her chakra while wreathing herself in a complex genjutsu. Panicky pupils darted back and forth, rapidly trying to find the source of the voice she knew so well. She sucked in a breath, great Kami they weren't even fifty feet away. It was a miracle they had not spotted her yet. Inner snorted. "Some shinobi they are." "We take what blessings we can get. Now let's get the hell out of here." As she pressed her palms together in the appropriate handseals, her fingers twitched and stopped moving. Sakura eyed them confusedly, she tried to move them again but they wouldn't budge. "What the hell?" she thought. "Inner?" she called out, wondering why her fingers were currently paralyzed. There was no answer. Frustrated, she tried to move her legs and jump down from the tree but there was no response from her muscles except for a spastic twitch. Her brow creased. Figuring she wasn't going anywhere anytime soon, Sakura sat in the tree and eyed her old friends, medical chakra running its course through her body trying to figure out the source of the problem. When she found no foreign substance or broken bones in her body, Sakura grew even more puzzled. Desperately, she tried moving her limbs again, only to find not even her big toe would twitch. She inwardly reached inside her mind, wondering if Inner had finally lost it and decided to spontaneously posses her. The usual snarky comment that would have responded to that thought was not heard. A low, guttural, growl sounded on her left and her head, thankfully that still worked, snapped toward the sound. There was no sight of any animal and it seemed the shinobi below her hadn't heard anything either. She couldn't help but roll her eyes at herself and sigh. "So when you finally decide to lose your fucking mind, you're stuck in a tree. Real smooth Haruno." she murmured under her breath. She focused her attention back on the ninja below. "Well as long as you're up here, you might as well evaluate your current 'enemies'." She sighed again. Talking to yourself was bad enough but when you actually expected someone else to answer, that was a whole other brand of crazy.
...
Sasuke kick. Naruto dodge. Naruto punch. Sasuke block. Naruto clone. Sasuke sword. Naruto back flip. Sasuke lunge forwards. Sasuke low sweep kick. Naruto jump. Que Karin squealing. Naruto wind jutsu. Sasuke fire style. Que obnoxious insults hurled at each other and the process started again. Kick. Dodge. Punch. Her left eye twitched and Sakura decided would beat herself with a stick if she could. Those two idiots were totally predictable. They would get so involved in their fights that they would leave themselves wide open for an enemy as green as a genin to swoop in and end their lives. Sakura had once been a naive child. Naive but undoubtedly intelligent, she would always analyze her two teammates with keen eyes when they fought. Every opening they left, every blow that could have been countered, any opportunity for a good kick was recorded into her pink, little head. After a while she knew their fighting styles like the back of her hand, the only thing left was the ability to hold her own in battle. Sakura was innocent, she wasn't stupid. She knew she was weak, but she felt that the day would soon come when she would be able to stand on her own two feet, she wouldn't need to be protected. She would be able to help them. Then they would be the perfect cell. They would fight as a whole and most importantly, they would be one big happy family. She had been foolish.
Sakura unconsciously bristled. It was obvious to anyone with missing brain cells that Sakura was a damn good shinobi. Why wasn't she good enough to fight with them? Why was it okay for Karin to? Why couldn't they trust her? Why couldn't they see she had always been on their side? Why couldn't they see she only works under Danzo so they don't have too? Why couldn't they understand? Why?Why!Why!Why! WHY! Sakura growled and snapped her jaws. Her eyes slowly grew darker, shimmering with the animal like lust for blood. She watched the shinobi below her as if she was a wolf stalking it's prey. "So they want to overlook me? Dismiss me like traitorous scum? Treat me like the weakest of the pack? Unforgivable!" she raged inwardly. "I'll show them that I'm worth more than they could ever imagine! I'll show them to bow to their alpha! And I'll start with that red-headed bitch over there!" A growl sounded again, though this time it seemed closer and as if it approved of her rage. She felt excitement bubble in her gut at the prospect of a fight and anticipation for screams clawed it's way through her mind. The faint sound of chains being dragged somewhere echoed around her. As if by an unknown command, her limbs were suddenly mobile again. Channeling a minimal amount of chakra into her legs, Sakura used the branch she was perched on as a springboard and flung herself into the air. Tucking her body inwards, she flipped several times before she plummeted toward the ground. The earth exploded and chunks tore themselves from the ground upon her impact. The pink-haired woman smirked humorlessly as she heard a choked "What the hell was that?!" from Naruto and a shriek from Karin. As the dust settled, Sakura climbed from the crater she had created.
Their faces were priceless and if Sakura had been any less high on the current rage flowing freely through her veins, she might have laughed at their comical expressions. Instead she threw a wicked glance at Karin. "I don't like you." she stated with conversational ease, while inspecting her nails. The red head gaped for a moment before she snapped at her. "If you think your any superior to me, your mistaken you traitorous bitch." A raspy chuckle escaped Sakura's lips. "I don't think I'm superior, I know I am." she stated confidently. "You wanna go you pink haired freak?!" Karin shrieked. Sakura looked up from her nails, an excited gleam entering her eyes. "Bite me, Yowamushi." Karin screamed in rage but as she was about to lunge for her, Naruto grabbed hold of her waist, effectively restraining her. Disappointed about her fight being disturbed, Sakura took a step back and regarded Naruto curiously, her eyes taking on a detached glaze.
"Karin I don't think you guys should be fighting." Naruto said warily, knowing he was treading thin ice. Sasuke snorted in the background and mumbled something along the lines of "Dobe got in the way of a fight between silly little girls." Naruto ignored him but watched as Sakura's gaze became more interested with undertones of dangerously wicked amusement. "And why is that Uzumaki-san?" she purred. Naruto fidgeted uncomfortably. "Well I mean, we all know what you two are capable of... It seems pointless to try and prove anything..." he trailed off uncertainly. He watched with a small growing fear as his old teammate's eyes flashed dangerously. "Are you suggesting that I am of the same level as her Uzumaki-san?" she growled lowly. Naruto gulped. "Well Sakura-ch, Sakura-san, the last time any of us checked, you were still a high B-ranked, chunnin medic-nin, which would be pretty close to the same as Karin."
Oh hell no. "The last time any of you checked? THE LAST TIME ANY OF YOU CHECKED!" she screamed, her mask gone and the rage once again making her ride high. "THAT WAS THREE YEARS AGO! I WENT THROUGH EVERYTHING I HAVE GONE THROUGH FOR YOU NARUTO, AND YOUR TELLING ME NONE OF YOU HAD THE DECENCY TO EVEN CHECK HOW FAR I'VE COME! HOW COULD YOU?!" a tear made its way down her cheek. "Everything, I did. To keep you safe Naruto. I thought you of all people would understand. You don't even know what I've had to go through, and even then you brushed me off. That was even before she came along. And..." she hiccuped. "And you replaced me so quickly." Big, fat, salty tears rolled down her cheeks and she didn't even try to brush them away, she lowered her head. Naruto gazed at his old friend in shock. Even Sasuke looked mildly surprised. "Sak-" Naruto began only to be cut off. "Don't try to make excuses for yourself you traitor, we all know your a dirty liar who can't ever amount to any-" Naruto tried to clamp his hand over Karin's mouth but he was just a bit to slow. The training ground hit sub-zero and the atmosphere was thick enough to choke someone. "shut up." Sakura mumbled, squeezing her eyes shut. "SHUT UP SHUT UP SHUT UP SHUT UP!" she screamed like a mantra. Karin grew bold and wiggled her mouth away from Naruto's hand. "Why don't you make me?" she taunted the clearly unstable kunoichi. The pink haired woman's head snapped up, her eyes a murky yellow with a horrifying amount of rage swimming in her irises while tears streamed down her cheeks. Her muscles tensed for a nanosecond before she vanished. Naruto didn't even have time to look confused before he was back-handed across the field and Karin was torn from his grasp. He landed on the ground and felt his jaw shatter and his nose break. He groaned and tried to sit up, purple stars swimming across his vision.
On the other side of the field Karin trembled in fear as she eyed Sakura. The pink haired kunoichi was stalking towards her slowly, mumbling incoherent things under her breath. Karin tried to put up a brave front but before she even got a word out, Sakura's hands came together in fifteen quick handseals to fast for the eye to track. Ne. Tora. Ushi. U. Tatsu. Mi. Hitsuji. Uma. Saru. Tora. Ne. Inu. Ushi. Mi. I. "Ninpou: Kekkan no byoki!" Karin seized and choked while falling on the ground and clawing at the dirt. Sakura paid her hardly any heed and continued to destroy the training grounds with sadistic glee. She ripped trees from the ground, punched fissures into the earth, shattered trees with a simple kick and clawed at the bark with her bare hands. As Karin tried to scream and breathe, Sasuke sprang forward attempting to tackle his ex-teammate. She easily stepped to the side, evading him and he caught himself, cursing at the situation he had been thrown into. As he regained his footing he noticed a peculiar sound coming from his right. It was choking? No, that was Karin. He heard muffled gurgling sounds but that was Naruto, he realized it was... laughing. He looked up disbelievingly, but there stood Sakura with her arms wrapped around herself and little trails of blood from her hands making their way down her white skin, giggling and laughing to herself as tears made their way down her cheeks. She continued to laugh and it looked like black storm clouds were swirling above her body. Sasuke stared for a few more seconds and realized it was chakra, black chakra. He trembled in fear, much like Karin had done, and sank to his knees. Her laughs turned to sobs and Sakura screamed in anguish while clawing at her head, leaving little rivers of blood in her wake.
A small poof sounded near him and Sasuke was vaguely aware of being hauled up to his feet. Yamato's hard eyes met his. "Go get Tsunade-sama. They need medical attention." he bit out through gritted teeth, indicating the other two fallen shinobi. Sasuke nodded warily before vanishing. After he had gone, Yamato turned and pressed his hands together in the correct seals. "Hokage-Shiki Jijun Jutsu — Kakuan Nitten Suishu!"
Tsunade had been peacefully glaring at her paperwork, minding her own business, when her attuned chakra sensing abilities picked up a foreign chakra. She flinched, her toes curling in displeasure as she continued to feel the awful chakra. Shuddering, she looked out the window while wondering what in Kami's name could produce such a raw, angry, malicious feeling. Deciding she didn't like the presence in her village one bit, she rose from her desk and left her office. The golden-haired Godaime walked down the halls of the Hokage Tower with purposeful steps, it was here she nearly crashed into one Uchiha Sasuke.
Before the boy had time to body slam her, Tsunade held out one finger and poked his chest. Sasuke stumbled back several feet and rubbed his now aching chest but stood straight when he saw Tsunade. "Tsunade-sama! Trouble! Training Ground 7! Medical attention!" He very nearly shrieked. The Hime raised her brow at the last member of the once stoic and prideful Uchiha clan, the term medical attention catching her interest. "Lead the way Uchiha." she demanded gruffly. Both disappeared in a swirl of leaves.
Upon arriving at the scene, Tsunade immediately recognized the evil chakra signature she had sensed only minutes ago and her honey brown eyes rapidly explored the grounds, searching for the potential threat. When she saw the raging storm of black chakra, her sight latched on to the shadowy figure standing in the center of it. She frowned wondering why the figure looked so familiar. Her frown increased even more as her instincts seemed to be raging a war inside her mind. The medic part of her screamed to turn and run from this dangerous looking enemy and heal the others while her brash and bold side, the side she used to run this village, screamed to get her ass in gear and destroy whatever was threatening her beloved village. However, there was an even louder, maybe paternal instinct that screamed PROTECT as loudly as humanely possible. Protect? Protect what? "Tsunade-sama, please the others..." Yamato wheezed, the effects of restraining the monstrous chakra taking its toll on his body. The Godaime blinked before springing into action. Protect the others, that's what it means, obviously. She shook her head to clear the thoughts and was at Naruto's side quickly. She ran a chakra coated hand over his body, coming to a stop at his head. A quick diagnostic ran through her mind. Shattered jaw and minor blood loss from a broken nose but it looks like he was knocked unconscious after that one hit... Tsunade's head snapped up as she realized with growing horror there were only two people in the world with the strength to knock a shinobi of Naruto's caliber unconscious after one hit.
And she was pretty damn sure she hadn't gone around punching her soon-to-be successor unconscious today.
Naruto's injuries were healed in an instant and the blonde beauty was at Karin's side immediatley after. The red head was deathly pale, her lips taking a slightly blue tinge to them as her breaths came in ragged gasps. She isn't getting any air. Chakra laced hands skimmed over her thin body, checking the lungs, throat, ribs, and even sending small electrical sparks to the brain to test for brain damage. Nothing. Inwardly she began to panic. Don't lose your cool. Don't lose your cool. You're the Hokage, be professional. Another ragged gasp left Karin's lips and Tsunade bit her lip in frustration as an overwhelming sense of helplessness covered her.
As if sensing her old master's confusion and despair, murky yellow eyes snapped open. First glassy then sharpening as their gaze became more focused. Pink hair was tossed about in a unknown wind and black chakra crackled like lightening across pale skin. Yamato huffed and puffed and tried to continue to subdue the malevolent chakra. With a few quick steps, and a chakra coated finger, the wood-user was knocked out. Sakura grimaced as an obnoxious pain shot through her head, she tried valiantly to shake it off but somehow knew she hadn't. She stumbled across the clearing, nearly tripping over Yamato's body in the process. She giggled as Tsunade's head shot up at her approach, the desperate confusion and silent plea was there in her eyes but so well hidden only someone who knew the Hokage as well as Sakura did would be able to see it. Her giggling turned into a sneer. "You're not trying hard enough Tsunade-shishou. Aren't you supposed to be the master here?" The pink haired woman could swear to Kami-sama she felt something inside her being pulled on furiously but ignored it, trying to refocus her attention. The Hokage shook her honey-blonde mane and ever so slightly trembled at the menacing sight of her old apprentice. "Please Sakura, what did you do?" The young woman before her visibly shook as she clutched her head. Her eyes were now more green than yellow but they flashed colors several times. "I-I. I... changed the shape of her blood vessels. She can't properly form oxygen because the enzyme shape has been altered. She needs to regenerate the blood vessels... After giving the proteins new information on how to make them... Use a blood pill after..." Tsunade blinked curiously at the genius of the technique but screeched a second later. "Sakura!" The pink haired woman screamed loudly and clutched her head a loud sound of something metal shattering was the only thing heard and Sakura collapsed. Tsunade gasped and nearly recoiled as a thick liquid oozed from Sakura's upper right half of the body. Blood? She thought nearly vomiting at the thought of so much blood being lost so quickly. She sniffed the air, her keen medic nose searching for the familiar, rusty, smell. However, the smell was not blood but rather more tangy. It took a moment but the smell was finally identified.
Ink?!
MWAHAHAHA CLIFFIE! Ano sa, ano sa, how was it? Worth the wait right? I think this is much better than the other version so far! Anyways I hope you guys enjoyed, this was over double the length of my other chapters from version 1 so a lot more to read. I hope to update soon but there's only one computer in the house and only so much time allowed on it so I can't place a specific time. (even though i would probably be late for it anyways.) You guys will just have to be on the look-out and trust that no matter how long the wait, I will never give up on the story!
ReViEw pLEAse!