~oO-Changes, a Haruno Sakura FanFic-Oo~
~oO-Chapter One-Oo~
Where can I begin?
Well, my name is Haruno Sakura. I'm 22 years old and I have very few true friends left and no family at all. I'm running as fast as I can though these trees. Oh, and I'm being hunted by the very place I used to call home.
Confused? You should be. I certainly am. Sometimes I wonder if I have indeed gone insane, truly madly insane, after everything that has happened.
If you had told me six years ago that I would almost lose everything that is precious to me because of the failed invasion by Pein, I wouldn't have believed you.
If you had told me four years ago that, that failed invasion had been a time-delayed trigger to the end of the life I knew, I would have laughed at you.
And if you had told me two years ago that nearly everyone I trust would be dead: my team, my family, my friends and mentors; I would have probably broken down and cried, because everything else had come to pass.
Not everyone has died though.
Ino gave up her ninja lifestyle and now runs Yamanka Flowers. Her father died brutally; unfortunately he was in the middle of communicating, using a long distance mind to mind jutsu, with Ino. She experienced his death, his last thoughts and feelings. That bright, bubbly, loud girl was changed forever. Her mother retired and is a recluse now as well. She didn't handle Inoichi's death very well at all.
Until I was forced to run I used to check in on Ino and keep her up to date with the shinobi gossip; tried to distract her from the obvious pain she was still going through.
My mum and dad died not long after Inoichi's fateful mission. I had been away on a long term mission in the Suna. I was recalled after a month because a fire had destroyed my childhood home and my parents had been caught in it. I was told later that my dad died on the scene tying to save my mother, who died from smoke inhalation a few hours later in the hospital. I lost nearly everything that night: my family, my home and every worldly possession apart from what was in my back pack.
Kakashi. It still hurts to think of him. He ended up burning out the chakra vessels to his sharingan eye in a fight against Sasuke. He also lost an arm from the elbow down. Naruto got to him though, before Sasuke could finish him off. Kakashi was left broken when he was told he could never be an active duty ninja again. He was offered a position in the academy, teaching. Instead he disappeared from the hospital one night. Shisou told me that she'd almost expected him to do it. That he felt he was either a Konoha shinobi or he was nothing; that was his choice. Now he was unable to protect his precious ones he saw no point being there.
I cried that night, surprised that I had any tears left.
Then Naruto was killed.
Everyone had been celebrating Hanabi's promotion to jounin. The village had been quiet for a few months and there was a festival that night. Tsunade had worked a tentative ceasefire with Iwa, so everyone was relaxed and enjoying themselves but Mist had sent a very large group of assassins disguised as civilians. They had mingled with the festival goers then attacked en masse, trying to get to Naruto.
A lot of his friends fell that night, including Tsunade. Her Creation Rebirth jutsu broke as I held her head in my lap. Her long silver hair, streaked with gold and splattered with blood, fanned across the ground. She smiled at me before I watched the amber fire die in her eyes.
The Mist assassins had expected Naruto to be surrounded by other skilled ninja and had overcompensated. One caught him with a blade coated in something that broke down the protein in his blood. I didn't notice until he collapsed halfway through the battle. He haemorrhaged out while we watched. By the time I realised what was going on it was too late. The Kyuubi couldn't heal him because his blood wouldn't clot. And neither could I.
Something began to break in Hinata when she cradled her lover's head. He was whispering to her, I couldn't hear what was said but it made her smile sadly. Then Hanabi fell.
Hinata sat there, already coated in her partners life blood, watching as her little sister toppled back with a blade jutting out of her throat. Something snapped there and then. Hinata rampaged through the rest of the killers. Blind with grief and rage, it changed her. Gone was the sweet, timid girl from before. She gained her courage but I think even she agreed that the price was too high.
Sai is still alive. I saw him when he was on a mission about a year ago. If anything, he is even more emotionally retarded now. Most people assumed he was emotionless before, but there was always something there, underneath, like a current under smooth waters. You just had to know what to look for.
Now there is nothing but cold indifference. He has been turned into a perfect, efficient, deadly tool for the village. He is utterly remorseless, though I still don't understand why he didn't try to capture me, or call for backup, when we last met. Maybe there is still a tiny shred of humanity under that facade. Still, I couldn't trust the lingering feelings of comradeship Sai may, or may not, be feeling. So I ran again.
I run; it's all I know now. The constant fear, living on the edge, never letting your guard down because that's when you get caught, or worse. I wish things were different. I wish we had known what would happen when Naruto allowed Madara and Sasuke to leave.
Madara used the fact that Sasuke was a missing nin from Konoha to damage our reputation, saying we were too weak to even capture our own stray ninjas. After a while we stopped getting offered the best, highest paying, missions. Madara planted the seeds and watched as Konoha began to crumble from the inside. There was nothing the newly appointed Hokage, Shikaku, could do either. He tried his best really. He attempted to shelter us from the worst of them and the more experienced shinobi like Ibiki and Anko got most of the more gruesome, violent missions. That still didn't stop me and my remaining friends having to do some horrific ones ourselves. I was mainly given the faceless stealth assassin missions, as was Hinata. We quickly became known by our reputations alone. Pink and Indigo whispering death.
Until, one day, the blood stains on my hands were too much; I refused to do my 'duty'. The council was in an uproar. ANBU never refuse their duty, I was stripped of rank and incarcerated for insubordination. Shikaku tried to force the council to be lenient on me, even tried to have them send me to the hospital as a full time medic instead. They refused. They hated the fact I showed how alike I was to my Shishou with my defiance of them, just as she had been in life.
Don't ask me why, but the first chance I got I escaped. The fact I was supposedly loyal to my village meant the guards didn't really pay me much attention until it was too late. My loyalties had, and still do, lay with my friends. They were stupid to assume otherwise.
And so I run. Trying to escape, not just the hunter-nins and bounty hunters, but the loneliness and the pain too. It's not an easy path but it's the one life has chosen for me, and it's much better than the one a lot of other people have.
I may not have regular company or contact with friends, but I have freedom. I can choose where I stay, and what missions I take, or even if I want to do one. I was trained by the best to survive and, after twenty months, I have become proficient at survival. I think my mentors would be proud.
My woodman skills are what have improved the most. I can tell you, right now, that there is a rabbit warren just ahead. That there is a stream of sweet, clear water running to the east; I can smell it from here. It's been a while since I was last here, but there used to be a small cave in the back of the waterfall about a mile further up. If it is still secure then at least I know I will have somewhere relatively safe to sleep tonight.
I tighten the pack on my back as I turn towards the stream and its promises of a safe haven.
(~oOo~)
After Sakura secured the area near her cave, she went in search of something to eat. One hour, two rabbits , honey and several roots, nuts and berries later she had something that could be passed off quite satisfactory as a meal.
The pink haired kunoichi leaned against the rough damp wall and gazed out through the shining water falling past the mouth of the cave. The sun was setting, the sky blazing with colours, almost as if the clouds were on fire. The sky was a pale blue fading down to a deep orange. Streaks of red flamed up from the burning yellow orb that was the slowly sinking sun. The small scattered clouds were barely visible though the sheet of crystal water flowing down, but she could make out hints of mauve and yellow. The water was picking up the colours in the sky as well. It was so beautiful it caught her breath.
It had been ten months since she last set foot in the Fire Country, but the hunter-nins had learnt she was travelling in Wind so she skipped the country, trying to throw them off her trail, for a short while at least. She had missed her home country. She had missed the trees, missed the warm breezes carrying the scent of leaf mulch. She had missed the native bird songs, and the wild animal noises that inhabited the forest that covered most of the Fire Country.
Sakura gave a small smile as she bit into her braised rabbit, watching the colours in the water turn it into a sheet of flames. She turned her thoughts towards tomorrow; she would need to find a small place on the outskirts. She knew a few places that would let her stay with anonymity. Generally, the closer she was to Fires border with Water, and especially in the Village Hidden in the Rain, the more places she could find to stay. Of course such towns attracted more bounty hunters, but right now the thought of a soft feather bed was outweighing the risk of a hunter with nothing but money in his sights.
Once she'd finished her food Sakura crawled over to the edge of her cave with the pan and plate she used and, after stretching out her chakra sense, she began to wash up. She crawled back over to her pack and rummaged through till she found what she was looking for. The herbal hair dye wasn't strong enough to completely cove her pink hair but it would darken it down to a deeper, almost red, colour. A colour that was far less recognisable then the almost electric pink it was now.
After she finished Sakura pulled a few strands in front of her face to check out the colour. She was actually quite pleased with the effect; it was still pretty unique, just not as 'in-your-face' pink.
The sky was tuning a deep indigo by now, if she could see the sky directly she would see the scattering of stars appearing like diamonds on velvet. Sakura grabbed her pack. Pulling her sleeping bag out she unfurled it and lay on top, using the rest of the bag as a pillow. Hands locked behind her head, Sakura lay back against her makeshift bed. Her eyes drooped heavily as night stole the last of the light from the cave and Sakura fell into a light, fitful sleep full of monsters and terror.
(~oOo~)
A/N This is my second fic, the plot is still unfinished, I will try and add more to it when i get time after 'In An Empty Field'
Its pretty much unbeta-ed been proof read by my friends though, I'm considering several pairings in this fic, with Kakashi/Sakura, Deidara/Sakura and Sai/Sakura, but that is still open for debate.
There is a bit of character death in the start (as you may have noticed haha), this is rated T but might change later on.
Also if someone could suggest a title for this chapter I would be eternlly grateful.
~Disclaimer~ I don't own Naruto nor any of the characters, though I wish I could live in Kishimoto-sama's imagination sometimes.