Unbreakable Ties

Disclaimer: I Do Not Own Naruto

Chapter One: Forging the Path

The forest cried.

Tonight was a night that began the chaos. Tonight, a young man traveled from a far away land, ready to change his destiny. And his destiny began with an encounter in a small pub in the middle of nowhere...

"I heard you are a master at these kinds of things" a boy spoke to the shadowy figure in the corner of the bar. The figure, lean and long, rocked on the back legs of his chair. The boy stared deeply into his eyes.

"Do whatever you want to her, just get her away..." the boy laid a small some of money on the table with a picture. The shadowy figure leaned over the table, his red eyes gleaming in the candle light. His fingers gripped the picture and stared over it. This job would be a piece of cake and also it would be easy to complete.

The figure stared up at the boy, raven hair covering his eyes. If it wasn't for the high amount of risk, he wouldn't take the job. He leaned over the table one more time, staring the boy directly in the eyes. The boy shuddered but didn't dare glance away for one moment. A deep voice came from the figure. His vocals seemed to have lost all sense of boyhood left in them.

"Tell me why."

"What do you mean you are quitting the team?" a boy with spiky blonde hair shouted, about to lunge at the pink haired girl in front of him but a man with white hair held him back, "We just got back together and you are doing this!"

"Naruto, calm down. I'm sure Sakura has her reasons," the white haired man looked sad with his only eye visible. Naruto shook in disbelief of what had happened. The girl, known as Sakura looked him deeply in the eyes. Her eighteen year old body seemed awkward and at the same time, nervous. Pink strands of hair fell into her eyes, making her seem like the little, shy girl she once was.

"Naruto," she whispered under her breath. Her stunning green eyes stared up at him. Her eyelids were brimming with tears. "It wasn't my choice!" the words stumbled out of her mouth like an earthquake, shaking the souls of the three, "I know you don't know much about my family but... you have to understand. Anju won't be able to takeover the business and I'm next. Please, understand."

Sakura turned away from the two men and began to walk down the road leading to her home. Although, Sakura was a ninja, her parents were still very influential in the village. Her mother and father, whom both helped to defeat the nine tailed fox demon in many years past, were both born into a family of wealth and high stature. Just like their parents before, they were arranged to wed and take on the family business.

The Haruno family owned the Mecca of medical goods. The business was laid into the hands of their children; Anju and Sakura. Anju was placed as the heir of the fortune. She would become the leader since the Haruno family wasn't blessed to have any sons and she was the oldest. Just recently, the Haruno changed the plans of their business.

For a large portion of Anju's life, she had been diagnosed with a severe illness. For months, she has been bedridden. The doctors found her illness critical and thus her parents decided to remove the business from her hands, placing it with their second child, Sakura. Thus, Sakura was forced to give up her own career in order of pursuing the aspirations of her parents.

Life had seemed to take an unexpected turn on Sakura's future. Her emotions were boiling over. Everything ran through her head while tears brimmed her eyes, treating to come to fruition. Naruto's voice rang like a soft bell in the back of her head. No matter how far she walked away from him, she could still hear those three words that she dreaded most: quitting the team.

However, that was exactly what she was doing. She felt betrayal to her team, team 7, which had fallen apart and just grabbed itself back together in years past. Sakura's heart dropped but she knew there was nothing she could do about it. It was time to move on from her past... hanging on would just seem childish and useless.

Sakura entered the door to her home. Although her parents swam in money, they decided to keep their house simple. It was a two story house, most rooms painted either gold or tan. The colors were too inviting for a place that was dead of emotion. Sakura's ears perked up. Coughing was coming from her old sister's room. Voices soon followed. Instead of being caught by curiosity, Sakura walked into her room.

The room was a warmer color than the rest of the house. Her walls were tinted orange with one pink accent wall. Like her name, cherry blossoms aligned the curtains and the bed spread. The only furniture was a desk beside her mirror. Sakura walked over to her mirror, so long that it covered most of her closet door. She was dressed head to toe in her training gear. A sad look came across her face as she began to peel off her clothing. Her hand threw her shirt at the perfect angle to cover the picture of the old team seven.

Sakura opened her closet and pulled out her robes. At home, her parents preferred her to wear something more feminine. She pulled out a red, kimono like dress and slipped it on. The deep v neck plunged down her chest, showing more cleavage than she had ever wanted to show. A white sash wrapped around a high waistline and tailored out into the seams of her dress. Her clan's crest sat at the right corner, the silk fabric making it glisten. Sakura's hands tugged at the dress, only able to pull it past her mid thigh.

A knock came at her door. Sakura took one last look in the mirror, and pealed away her headband. Her hair cascaded over her shoulders as she did so, the remains of her ninja life stripping away at the very instance. The jagged edges of her hair had grown longer, and soon she wouldn't look like herself at all.

Sakura's bare feet treaded across the bare, oak floor. Her calloused hand glided over the door frame, bracing herself for who was about to come in. Standing at the door was her father. He was relatively short compared to his brothers, standing at a mere five foot ten. His green eyes, which matched his daughters, scanned over Sakura. A sigh came out of his lips. Sakura's knew what it meant. In that moment, he was comparing her to her sister Anju and how she would never look like her or be like her.

"I guess that will do for tonight. Your mom was going to help you get ready but you arrived home too late," his eyes stared straight through her, "Have you been training again?" Sakura looked down at the floor.

"No. I ended all that today..."