Hello, my beloved readers. Yes, I have shot out a new story albeit my many assignments that are due at school. I hope none of you guys are stressed like I am ): I just suddenly out of the blue got this idea and really like where this story will go. I would like your guys' opinion on this new story. After reading so many SasuSaku stories, I haven't read one that is like the one below, which is the one I am currently writing and you are reading.

Give me your opinions please! It is very much appreciated.

No updates till 10 reviews. So...review please x]

Disclaimer : I don't own Naruto. I own the plot of this story!

Chapter 1

The battle with Raikage took a lot out of Team Hawk and its newest member. Sakura ended up getting wounded across the back when she tried to get Sasuke out of Raikage's line of sight. It wasn't a huge wound, but it was deep. Thankfully none of her internal organs were ruptured or touched, or else she would be dead. However, immense amounts of blood were pouring out of her, and with only the clothes on her back and the cloak soaking up the blood, she needed to clot it fast. The blood dripping down her head was another factor to the immense blood loss.

Sasuke was seething in the corner, somewhat conscious as he tried to break free of Juugo, Karin and Suigetsu's grasp. After acquiring the Mangekyou Sharingan from his brother, Sasuke only turned colder and darker with every day that passed. It was as if he had a monster within him that could not be controlled and needed blood to spill like never before. If it hadn't been for Gaara and Temari's help, all of them would be in big trouble right now. Speaking of Gaara, he still believes in Sasuke; this meant an ally that they could rely on in the future if needed.

Sakura coughed up blood as the surroundings whipped past them. She refused to heal herself when there was a possibility that the enemy could appear at any time. Even with her limited chakra, she could still pack a punch and create a barrier that would be hard to break even with the strongest water jutsu. Her vision started to blur and she struggled to keep herself awake.

"Hey, White Fang, how long will we get there?" Sakura quietly spoke. I don't think I can hold up any longer…

(A/N: I used White Fang from my other story Gentle Lie, so if you have any confusions, read that story!)

"We're almost there. Another two hours should let us arrive. This is the fastest speed that I can go." White Fang rumbled back. "Brief them about what will await them at the Hidden Country of Light."

"Alright."

(A/N: I made that Hidden Country up. :D )

Sakura swayed a little from side to side as she kneeled down in front of Sasuke and the other three. Sasuke seemed to have calmed down a bit, either from fatigue or that the restraints were actually working. On the bright side, it looked like Juugo wasn't going to enter his killing mode any time soon. Suigetsu still had his broken Executioner's blade attached to the strap on his back, while Karin actually looked serious for once as she tried to hold an enraged Sasuke down. The three glanced at her briefly when she kneeled down in front of them, carefully sitting down on her cloak as to not get any blood on White Fang's white coat.

"Hey guys. Listen to me for a minute, okay?" Sakura tiredly said.

Sasuke's eyes were closing as Sakura said her words. The other three momentarily released their captive a little as they gave their full attention to her. They were all so…bedraggled, aside from Karin.

"We're going to the Hidden Country of Light, my birthplace and home for the first ten years of my life. There, you will find everything you need, allies, protection, healers, and yes, blacksmiths too." Sakura added as she nodded towards Suigetsu's sword. "My country is allied with everyone and they are a neutral country, much like the Hidden Country of Iron. However, the nation does not battle at all, even though it has one of the best armies in this world. The army is only to protect the land and not used for invading others."

Sakura paused for a minute before she continued. It was so hard to talk without passing out.

"When you get there, do not speak or look around, follow me and ignore the people around you. I will deal with everything, and none of you need to speak. Also, the Hidden Country of Light is surrounded by a genjutsu and ninjutsu breakdown barrier. People that are under genjutsu and ninjutsu will be dispelled from it, and people who put ninjutsu or genjutsu on themselves will be revealed. Understand?"

"Yeah." They all said, 'cept for Sasuke.

"Sasuke?" Sakura uncertainly asked.

"Hn."

She got up and slowly made her way back to the front, close to White Fang's ears. Sakura heavily sat there and waited for the ride over, to the place that she'd never thought she'd go back to. There were too many memories better left not remembered and she hated that family. How she despised the way they thought of such people, as if it's not enough to get such treatment from the whole country, but even family. Blood bonds were betrayed in that decision, and she hated it.

"Thanks, White Fang." Sakura murmured as she stroked her summons' fur.

"Call me out when the situation accounts for it." Then he was gone.

The ground was covered in thick but soft powdery snow. Evergreen trees lined the area they were in and it made the air smell fresh and clean with not a hint of blood. Sakura's vision was still cloudy, and she knew that the blood was already soaked through the black cloak. The whole of her back felt sticky and it stung every time she moved. She forced herself to trudge on, for her team and especially Sasuke's safety. Without a word, she walked through the trees as she left no trail. Her feet had a soft glow filled with her chakra, and she walked silently on top of the snow.

Sakura stopped in front of a light mist and looked back to see her teammates.

"We're here." Sakura quietly said. There was no need for her to speak so loud. The air was pleasantly tranquil and the smallest sound echoed throughout the vast Christmas-like scenery.

It was like they had walked through a warm and dry shower. The moment she entered the barrier, the town she despised and hated appeared before her eyes. People looked at her in shock and quickly lined up into a formation; a red carpet coronation with people on the sides looking on. As they quickly walked down the 'red' carpet, civilians were shouting happy things at them and soon, ninjas flanked them by their sides, making the four wary and unsure of what to do. Sakura put on a false and bright façade, waving to the people and greeting some occasionally.

"The Princess is back!" Sasuke heard some of them whisper to one another. What did this mean?

Once they arrived at the gates of the castle, the ninjas that escorted them stood in front of Sakura and stared her down. She took a breath and said in a clear voice,

"Onii-sama wa Haruno Takato."

With that, the gate opened and the ninjas further escorted them to the hall where the Queen resided. Now, the red carpet was indeed present, but without knights or trumpeters on the side. On the throne sat a woman of royalty, her pink-purple hair twisted into an elegant bun at the back of her head. Not a tendril of hair escaped the clasps that held it together. Her eyes were sharply shaped and they were reddish-brown. The flowing white dress-like kimono she wore accentuated her modest curves in a decent way, and the miniature tiara she had on her head only signified that she was indeed one of the royal family.

"What business brings you here?" The Queen asked, as she gazed at them.

Sakura kneeled down on the red carpet, uncaring if she soaked blood into the carpet. And she's tired, she's kneeled just too many times today. Way of the ninja or not, she needed a break.

"The 116th Queen of the Hidden Country of Light, Reina Joou-sama, I request for your service." Sakura humbly said as she bowed low until her head grazed the carpet.

(A/N: Joou-sama means Queen)

"And on whose behalf do you ask this for?" Reina lifted her eyebrow at her as Sakura asked the daring question.

"On mine."

"And who do you think you are to ask this from me?" Reina's voice stayed cool and calm throughout the conversation so far.

Sakura stood up and threw her cloak at the bottom of the stairs that led up to Reina's throne. It was heavily soaked with blood and without the cloak's protection, everybody could see that she too was drenched in blood from head to toe aside from her teammates.

"Haruno Sakura-hime of the Hidden Country of Light. The one who is in line for the 117th coronation of the Queen." Sakura proclaimed. Her voice echoed throughout the high ceiling-ed room and made it louder than it is by a hundred times.

The rest of her team had their mouths open. She was the princess and she became a ninja? Was she stupid? How foolish can she be, instead of breathing and living luxury, she decided to do hard labour and have calluses on her hands and feet!

"Men, bring out the test." Reina demanded.

Two men came out holding what seemed like a large bed sheet and stopped in front of Sakura.

"If you really do say that you are next in line to be Queen, then do not fear to prove yourself, my dear girl."

Sakura grabbed a kunai from the holster on her leg and held out her wrist. In one fluid moment, she slashed her wrist open, blood spurting forth and staining the white sheet. The blood disappeared within a matter of seconds and the men scurried away with the thick piece of spotless fabric. Reina hurried down from her throne and healed Sakura's wrist as medics came with stretchers for all of them.

"Imotou…" Reina whispered as Sakura was led away, unconscious, on a stretcher.

- 2 hours later -

"How is she?"

"Joou-sama, instead of asking me yourself, surely with your impressive healing skills, you would have done a better job patching her up than I have." The medic looked at her mischievously.

"So cheeky, want me to throw you in the guest bedroom tonight?" Reina responded light-heartedly. "She must be fine if you can be so happily joking."

"Hun, you know Sakura hates me and yet you still persist in trying to develop our relationship?"

"I know you loved her before and I know you don't in that sense anymore, so what's the harm, Izuki?"

"The harm is if she knows that I healed her back to health, she probably would've wished that she'd died instead." Izuki shook his head. "And haven't you noticed that she didn't call you onee-sama in front of everyone else?"

"That is how we were raised. It's not uncommon."

"No, it's because she still hasn't forgiven you for what you've done after so many years." Izuki softly said.

"…What's done is done. Most of us believe that looking ahead is much better than staying behind." Reina finalized as she swept out of the room and left the door open behind her. Izuki soon followed and shut the door behind him.

Sakura stared emotionlessly at the ceiling with half-lidded dark eyes. She still dislikes Izuki and hasn't forgiven Reina at all. The things they've done, the things they've ordered to be done are unforgivable. Because of them, she's been left alone and was forced to leave her hometown behind for another one. The parents that loved them were caught by a sudden influenza that swept across the country and died. And her beloved—

Sakura willed herself not to think of him. It was still painful after ten years. The person she sincerely loved was ripped from her, almost literally. And the next moment, he was gone. Forever and out of her reach. How could she stay when something like that happened? She pulled the covers off of her and gently eased herself onto her two feet. Her back was still tender and her head did not throb as it did when she was in the throne room. Dressed in nothing but bandages for a top and clean black shorts on the bottom, Sakura grabbed the pale pink kimono dotted with dark pink cherry blossoms that hung from a folding screen and put it on. She had difficulty with the red obi at first, but managed to fasten it without re-opening her wounds.

She left her hair alone at her waist for the moment and got into the noisy traditional slippers that were muffled on the carpet throughout the mansion. Sitting down in front of her bureau, Sakura slid out one of the small drawers and took out a few senbon-like pins that had ornaments on one side of them. Smoothly rolling her hair up into a bun albeit her bandages, Sakura pinned it there with the senbons and let a few tendrils fall. Even if she had to look like a hime in the castle, no one ever said she had to look like a strict one such as her sister.

As she exited her room, Sakura searched for Sasuke's chakra and headed towards it. It was only a hallway away, but a hallway in this sizeable residence was like a whole market street. The vastness of such a place could not be filled with human warmth. This was another reason why she hated this gigantic place that could house the entire city itself. As she reached Sasuke's door, Sakura could feel that he was sound asleep and opened the door without knocking first. A dimly lit room greeted her, and she was surprised to note that her sister was quite considerate in these areas of human habitation.

Sakura sat down on the king-sized bed beside Sasuke's sleeping figure. She placed a hand over Sasuke's eyes and let her chakra flow into them. The damage done by too much usage of the Mangekyou Sharingan and Amaterasu was clearly there. It was still small, but it would take a little bit before she could heal it back to the eyes' full potential. She was afraid Sasuke wouldn't stand for that and just use it before the treatment was done and furthermore damage his eyesight, which was probably going to be the case. Little did she know that because of these little secret treatments, Sasuke would soon be unable to keep her from his thoughts.

Getting up from her position after a few hours, Sakura decided to head back to her room before she fainted. She used too much of her own chakra, but if it meant that she could save the person she loved then it didn't matter. Too bad that Sasuke would never look at her in that light. He only cared about getting revenge and more revenge; even when he was injured, he only wanted to kill the Raikage. The man that she once knew was gone only to be replaced by one who didn't care about anything else but his own matters at hand. However, he refused to kill innocent people until a few hours earlier, where a few samurais fell prey to his offensive and violent attacks.

She walked down the hallway in her kimono and passed various maids as she did so. Each one of them had respectably called her 'Sakura-hime', but she was so sick of her title that she almost wanted to run away. She would have, if she did not think of Sasuke's security in this neutral country. Not even Akatsuki would dare come near here; they actually can't, but the details aren't important. All the maids reminded her of how they used to avoid her like she was the plague when she was younger. It was because of who she continuously hung around with that they didn't want to be involved with her. But it was this that made Sakura realize that the maids were false and shallow and only wanted a higher status. They chose this job themselves while they could have been higher-ups in the business industry or the sorts. They all had their eyes glued on royalty, to try to escape the wretched world of being commoners; they weren't even commoners, they were normal middle class people.

As she rounded the corner to the hallway where her bedroom laid, Sakura saw Reina at the door. She looked as if she was anxious about something; it must be about her disappearance without letting anyone know. Sakura approached Reina and slightly bowed.

"Joou-sama. What is it that you are looking for?" Sakura blankly asked.

Looking relieved, Reina grabbed Sakura's hands in her own. "You should have told someone where you went before you headed off somewhere."

"There are maids everywhere as much as there are cameras, Joou-sama."

"Can't you just call me by onee-sama for once, imotou?"

"If you'll excuse me, onee-sama, I'd like to go to bed. I'm tired." Sakura wanted this conversation to end as soon as possible. She didn't want to listen to the meaningless garbage that her sister had to offer her.

"Hold on. A celebration will be hosted a week from today and you will be the main event. You know how it is, so please, remember to have a dance partner." Reina told her softly in almost a pleading manner.

Sakura went rigid at the phrase, 'dance partner'. "Joou-sama, if you'd be so kind as to free my hands, I will excuse myself to my bed. Goodnight." She said icily as she jerked her hands from her sister and slammed the door behind her. The click of the lock could clearly be heard and Sakura shoved some chakra into the lock so that even the key would not work.

She pulled at the pins that held up her hair and flowing pink locks cascaded down her back as a result of that. Gently placing them onto the bureau, she then discarded her obi and hung her kimono around the high-backed chair before she went back to her bed. Once under the covers, Sakura could finally let the tears that she had held back for so long flow freely. She felt so alone at this place, this foreign but so comforting place. Naruto, Kakashi, even Sai, she missed them all. They were much better company than her real sister and brother in law could be. At least they didn't give a damn about positions and ranks…well, Naruto did, but in a different way. And most of all, they were her real family.

Sakura flinched as a tiny bit of her wound re-opened. The fetal position that she was in strained the wounds on her back and although it hurt, she only straightened a little to ease a tidbit of the pain. What she's going through now is nothing, what he had to go through was a hundred, no, a thousand times worse. As the tears continued to fell, Sakura drifted off to sleep, unaware of the dark and sinister chakra that passed by her room.

So guys, this is the new story! Please review, because I love feedback and reviews are my encouragement.

- Kanryu out 21/09/09