Warning: It's really lame to have to do this but better safe than sorry. This fiction is AU- Alternate Universe. I have chosen for no other reason than to experiment with something different to write the characters outside of their usual surroundings as well as somewhat out of character. For some it will be a lot out of character since there is nothing Ninja about anyone in this particular story. They are normal people going through the motions of life. If that's not something you like to read about please don't read.

People are related who are not related in the series but are in my fic through chains of events. For instance Naruto and Iruka. As usual Naruto is completely Alpha. He's a dominant sexual male, and he makes no apologies and well, neither do I. If you want to read about Naruto being a moron this story is not it. If you want to read about mature I know what I want Naruto, then this story is it.

Like I said, Characters will be out of character. In some instances they will do and say things they probably would never say in cannon but this is fan fiction and I just so happen to be writing it. If any of what I have written sound offensive, PLEASE DON"T READ! Now if you're itching for something that strays from the norm, come on in have a seat and read till your hearts content!

Finding Destiny

By animechick262003

Chapter One

In the Beginning there were Two

New Years Eve 2003

Naruto settled into his seat in the corner of the room, a beer in his hand and a cigarette poised at the corner of his mouth. It was New Years Eve and the large ballroom at Kakashi publishing was filled to capacity with assorted members of the publishing industry. Some were there to make new business connections, while others were there to simply cut loose. He should have fallen into the second category. In fact, the second category was precisely why his elder brother had dragged him there.

He needed to cut loose and get away from his work every now and again, Iruka had said. Iruka was right. He did need to cut loose, let his hair down and enjoy all life had to offer. Not that he had not before, but in recent months he'd been tied to his office as he completed four MS's in just four short months. Tonight was supposed to be a celebration of his hard work and the impending result on the local book market. Still, he wasn't feeling as festive as he should have, and not without reason.

Naruto always found himself lost to memories of a different time, and a life that would never know its full potential. Two years had passed since then and still he'd yet to let it go. Naruto smiled weakly as he turned the glass on the table in front of him. What he was experiencing, his refusal to release the past was stupidity at it's finest. It was the same stupidity that had dared him to free a bird from its cage just to see the results. It was this very stupidity that had left his marred and damn near broken man. Naruto grabbed his glass from his table and chugged down the last of the clear bitter concoction inside, then grabbed his beer and climbed to his feet. He glanced briefly to the two women who sat on either side of him, for the first time recalling that they'd been there. Shit, he'd been so lost in thought he'd forgotten he'd collected them for his amusement.

Quietly, he maneuvered his way out of the booth ignoring the puzzled glances from his intended night's conquest and quickly lost himself in the crowd, preventing them from giving chase. It was supposed to have been a festive night, but for him it was anything but and the only thing he wanted to do was get as far away from the noise and the crowd as possible, and he knew just the place.

XXXXXX

Sakura sipped leisurely on her fifth glass of cherry wine and watched her assistant from the safety of the corner of the room as she mingled with fellow party goers. So this was what a party with Kakashi publishing was like? There were lavish decorations for as far as the eyes could see, and anything and everything the heart would or could desire for both dining and drinking pleasures was readily available for consumption. Even more appetizing was the array of publishing industry moguls that filled the room.

The room was alive with the who's who of the publishing world. It was complete paradise, and under normal circumstances she would have been making her rounds, getting as many numbers and making as many acquaintances as possible for future business dealings, but not tonight. Tonight, her spirits wouldn't let her travel beyond the corner she'd hidden herself away in. Tonight, she couldn't waste her spirits on soliciting business deals. No, tonight she had to use what little spirit she had left to fight off the desire to collapse to her knees and cry till her heart content.

Tonight, she had to focus on being strong…to not give in to the hurt that at that very moment wound its way through her chest and painfully constricted her heart. She couldn't give in she couldn't give in and yet at that moment her only desire was to cry. Sakura polished off the cherry wine that filled her glass, and as the waiter carrying drinks made his way by, grabbed two more, and made her way towards the ballroom exit. Her legs were like gelatin beneath her but somehow carried enough strength to propel her out the ballroom door, and into dimly lit labyrinth of hallways known as Kakashi Publishing. She chugged down her sixth glass of the sweet wine and when she'd finished tossed the empty wineglass to the floor.

Clumsy legs led her towards a spiraling stair case which she quickly hiked. She reached the end, and a door, and hurriedly opened, it escaping into the crisp cold air of the snowy night. She was finally free…safe from prying eyes to see, and with that freedom came the first flurry of hot wet hurt from her eyes and across her cheeks. She stumbled forward, grabbing the ice trimmed rails that guarded the deck. She leaned forward, and opened her mouth, and then at the top of her hurt filled lungs, screamed with all she had. Screamed until the strength that had held her up, slowly let her down until she was on her knees, her vision of the skylines off in the distance becoming a nothing more than a blur as her eyes welled to capacity and the raw emotion she'd been trying to stifle most the evening forced its way through.

"Here it is I wish for a princess and receive a real damsel in distress," a male's voice chuckled startling her. Sakura pulled her head up from its downcast position, and turned ever so slightly towards the side, receiving her first visions of the shadowy figure who'd spoken to her. He took a shallow step forward, bringing himself partially out of the shadows as he extended his hand and with it, a bottle of the beverage she'd played close companion to most of the night. "Mind if I join you?" he said, although his words weren't so much an inquisition as it was an announcement of his intent Sakura learned as he settled on the ground beside her and folded his legs one over the other. Normally, she would have protested, but she hadn't the strength and his offer of another helping of the sweet cherry wine was too good to pass over.

With cautious regard, she watched him from the corner of her eyes as she made use of the bottle he'd handed her and its content. He was a suspicious one, hiding outside in the cold all alone, but she supposed she must have looked just as suspicious favoring a cold snowy deck over that of the warm room of the party. He didn't utter another word after that and she was thankful. She wasn't in the mood for mindless chatter and it seemed he was under the same sentiments. And so, they sat gazing aimlessly into the bright snow covered night for hours.

It was inevitable that their quiet time together would come to an end. The night was growing colder, not to mention coming to a close. Sakura could clearly discern the beginning of the New Years Count down as the music shut off the peoples voices grew louder. Without a word, her mysterious companion stood.

Ten

Nine

"We'd better get back down stairs if we hope to bring the New Years in properly," he said offering her a hand.

Eight

Sakura tilted her head up, and for the first time caught a glimpse of her companions face. She was stunned at what she saw glaring back but only mildly so. After all, the parties were not just for the writers or the publishers, many a cover models attended these events. With a face like his, he had to be one such model. If she wasn't busy nursing a broken heart, she may have actually hit on him.

Seven

Six

"You're quite handsome," she boldly announced her words slurred together as she made clumsy effort to get to her feet.

Five

"You're not bad yourself," he answered back causing her cheeks to flame. Her green eyes locked with his as she placed her right hand on the ground and pushed up, stumbling along the way. She quickly learned how over indulged she'd been as she toppled forward, collided with him, causing him to lose traction on the snow covered deck, tumble backwards and carry her along for the ride.

Four

They landed with a thud him on the deck her on top of him, their eyes locked.

Silence passed between them as they laid there surprised by the chain of events.

Three

Sakura supposed at that point she could have just apologized for being a klutz and removed her self from atop of him.

Two

But staring into his face, and thinking about all she'd been through that evening, she decided she deserved at least one treat to compensate for her heartache.

One

And his lips were the perfect compensation.

"Happy New Year!" the voices of the party goers below rung into the night as fireworks lit up the navy blue sky. There on a snowy deck Sakura lay reveling in the arms of man whose name she didn't know, gleaning pleasure from the exquisiteness of his sake and cigarette laced lips. His tongue against her tongue, his lips against her lips two lonely souls compensating loss. Finding something they both lacked, however brief in that moment.

The door to the deck flew open and their moment was shattered. The partygoers from below were now moving to the deck to watch the fireworks show. Panting like crazy Sakura's gazed down at the man who she'd yet to release from beneath her. Desire spoke through his eyes. He wanted her in the worst way, and had she not been nursing a very recent wound, she would have eagerly obliged. It was best to leave things as they were.

"Happy New Year," She whispered as she prepared to rise to her feet. He caught her by the arm held her still.

"Come with me to my place," he said his voice gruff with desire to take things beyond a kiss. An impish grin graced her tiny mouth hearing his plea for more. She new well the far reaching affects of her lapse in judgment in taking what she wanted over his body. The evident were hard to miss, standing proudly in the confines of his dark and very expensive Armani slacks.

A mixture of embarrassment and satisfaction rose over her as she slowly descended from her alcohol induced high. Quietly, she gathered herself together and proceeded to remove her body from atop of his. Cold air swept underneath her tiny skirt and between her thighs reminding her of the inviting warmth she was turning away. Sakura stared down at the male and he continued to stare up at her. It would have been so simple to collapse into this mans arms and let him have his way with her whatever way that might have been until they bother lay sweating and defeated by exhaustion. But she new all to well the repercussions the morning would bring. When the sun rose, all the hurt and anger she'd tried to abandon would merely resurface, and she would regret her tryst however good she knew it would be.

Sakura smiled weakly, longing to take this momentary escape, but denying herself the pleasure of doing so, and said. "If the heavens are willing maybe we will meet again, and I won't regret being your lover even for one night," She finished, turned and disappeared into the oncoming crowd.

XXXX

It was a brief bout of being dazed and delirious with desire that had kept him on the icy grounds as the pink haired beauty had made her escape into ever growing crowd of part goers gathering on the deck. Shaking off his stupor, Naruto hurried to his feet and began his pursuit. He searched the entire deck, and when there was no sign of her there, he made haste to the floor just below. He didn't know why but there was an urgent need to find her. Desire, maybe? Or maybe it was the fact that something was triggered. Something he'd thought he'd lost a long time ago. He had no answer, but finding her…if he could only find her he'd at least have a start at getting answers.

"Where in the hell did you go? Where?" He gritted in frustration as he stared into the endless swarm of people.

Who was she? She was at Kakashi Publishing's Party, maybe she was staff…a writer or maybe and editor, perhaps a secretary? No there was no way she was a secretary. That little skirt suit she wore was far too expensive to be paid for off of the measly salary of a secretary. He could tell that much. But then that would mean she was a higher ranking official within the publishing world. Then again, she could have merely been a guest of one of the other workers. Who was she?

"Oi, little brother?" A slurred voice shouted from the opposite end of the hall as a familiar shaky figure made his way towards him. Maybe Iruka knew. After all he spent far more time at Kakashi publishing then he did. Naruto rushed towards his older brother.

"Iruka, I have to ask you something."

"Did I ever tell you how much I love you," Iruka said his word broken by a mixture of hiccups and slurred speech.

"Yes, more times than I care to think about. Now seriously I have a question for you-"

"Even after you tore mister Fluffy-Chan to pieces with your fire crackers, I still loved you. I still-Fluffy-Chan! What'd he ever do to you? What?" Iruka wept, and if Naruto had the time to spare he would have died from the embarrassment.

"Answer my question and I'll by you another Mister fluffy-Chan." Like hell he'd buy another one of those damned clowns. As long as he could remember clowns had given him the creeps, and that was precisely why he'd blown the damn thing up in the first place, but if there was a chance he would learn once and for all who the identity of the pink haired vixen, he'd say anything. In fact he'd sale his very soul if it meant he would find her again.

Iruka stared up at him his eyes heavily glazed "How do I know you're telling the truth, and you'll buy me another Fluffy-Chan? Iruka leaned forward, bringing their faces inches apart, then belched, releasing fumes so toxic Naruto wanted to rip his own nose off and throw it away.

"I promise I'll buy you a new stuffed clown," Naruto said desperately trying to censor his gag reflexes.

"It's a deal. I'll tell you what you want to know, and you will buy me anew Fluffy-Chan."

"Hai, "Naruto mumbled begging his increasingly queasy stomach to settle down. In the morning he'd kill Iruka for this.

"Ask away,"

"I met a girl tonight."

"You meet a girl every night." Iruka snidely replied.

"Yes, but none like this girl. I need to find her, Iruka."

"Why? She stole your wallet or something? I've told you about picking up hookers.

They're nothing but trou-"

"God damn it! No, it's not like that. Look, I can't explain it, but something tells me I need to find her now, or I may not see her again or for a while if at all. So please, for a moment, pull yourself together, and answer me. Do you know a girl about this tall," Naruto stepped back and held his hand mid chest level, then continued, "with amazing green eyes and really pale pink hair? Please tell me you do?"

Iruka stared at Naruto's hand a minute and then met him eye to eye. " Pink Hair? You been messing with gramps stash again?"

"God Damn it Iruka!? Be serious."

"Alright…alright to answer your question no, I don't know any pink haired girls about this tall," Iruka replied mimicking Naruto's gesture of holding his hands chest high. " Satisfied?"

"Not particularly," Naruto grumbled sinking back into a state of defeat having learned that Iruka was a dead end for finding information on the pink haired mystery girl. Naruto did a full turn, letting his eyes scour the room, hoping against hope that he would catch a glimpse of his lady fair, but something deep inside told him all hope of locating her at this point was gone. Recognizing defeat for what it was, Naruto did the only thing he could at that point to calm his nerves. He reached into his pocket and plucked out a pack of cigarettes and a lighter. He peeled the pack open and withdrew one of the tobacco filled stick , positioned it between his lips, and lit up.

"If the heavens are willing maybe we will meet again, and I won't regret being your lover even for one night,"

Her last word echoed through his mind, hammering in his regret. But he wasn't a fool, and he never made the same mistake twice.

"If the heavens are willing we will meet again, and I won't make the same mistake of letting you get away."

XXXXXX

Two Years Later

Sakura sighed and slumped down in her seat as she stared out the window of the two o'clock bullet train from Tokyo. She rested her head against the warm glass and took in what she could of the scene on the other side. Not that she could make out much. The acceleration of the train made what would have been a picturesque scene an indiscernible blur as it carried her towards her destination. Konoha huh? She'd never heard of the place before today…before she'd shoved her big fat foot into her mouth.

Sakura let out another sigh and sunk lower as the weight of the reality she'd stupidly created weighed down on her. What had she been thinking back there? Her declaration had been beyond inane, but she had to do something. Two years earlier she'd arrived at Ton Ton Publishing. Naturally with hard work and determination it hadn't taken her long to be named a rising star in the publishing world, and catch the eye of the company's owner. She'd barely had two years in the industry when she surpassed editors that had more tenor to take up post as Tsunade's right hand woman, and third in command. She'd been aiming for second in command. Unfortunately, that position had already been filled and its occupant wasn't taking the arrival of a new challenger for the coveted spot kindly.

Shizune had been by Tsunade's side since the inception of Ton Ton Publishing. It was rumored the much older woman and the younger woman had more going on than met the eye. Sakura had to admit she sometimes got that vibe and suspected this to be partly the reason Shizune had positioned herself to make Sakura's inevitable rise to partner a difficult one. To Shizune she'd somehow become not only a rival in business, but a rival for the affections of the pretty blond woman that headed Ton Ton Publishing. Not that Sakura was interested. She preferred her conquest to come in the masculine. Somehow Sakura didn't think Shizune would believe her even if she stated this out loud. Either way, Shizune was not the sort to be taken lightly. She was a cunning, level headed woman that thought every aspect, of everything she did to completion. Everything. This very fact was the reason she found herself on the two o'clock train headed to a little known village located in the middle of no where.

It was no secret that her last two deals had fallen through. She was given the task to sign two up and coming writers. Mysteriously, both had backed out hours before they were due to ink their signatures on the contract lines. Although she could never get any proof to validate her suspicions, Sakura was certain Shizune was behind the writers defaulting on their agreements with her. Not that it would have mattered one way or the other with her boss. Tsunade only cared about results, and her results in recent months were so bad they'd left her up the creek with one paddle, and a waterfall rapidly approaching.

Sakura had been around long enough to understand the inner workings of the publishing company. She was third in command and there were sharks just below her waiting for signs of blood so they could take her out and take her place. Like hell she'd let that happen, and Shizune had known it too. That's why she'd craftily dangled the prospect of signing the most renowned erotic writer in all of Japan in front of her.

It seemed the creator of the Icha Icha Paradise series contract with Kakashi Publishing had recently come to an end making the creator of the hottest erotic literature to date a free agent that over half of the publishing world would sell their souls to sign. This was the kind of assignment that only the most skilled dared to take on. After all, most suspected that Hitake Kikashi, head of Kakashi publishing would simply cave to the demands of the writer and quickly re-sign their top selling author. Only a fool would take on a task of this magnitude. Convincing an author to leave the publishing firm that put them on the map was akin to running head first into a brick wall and expecting good results. Still, after having failed to sign her last two clients, Sakura was just desperate enough to take on the challenge, and Shizune knew this.

" Give me one month, and I'll have the contract with the writer for Icha Icha Paradise signed sealed and personally deliver it to your hands or quit Ton Ton publishing for good," She'd declared like an idiot…like Shizune knew she would.

This had been Shizune plan all along. She'd been baited, she'd bit and now she was flopping around in her own blood as Shizune circled, patiently waiting to inflict the final wound to end her. Or maybe Shizune would sit back and watch her choke on her own blood. Either way was no good. "Damn it!" Sakura grumbled angrier than ever she'd fallen head long into Shizune trap. Still, the game wasn't over. She hadn't waddled in the grimy, shark infested pits, shutting off every ounce of her humanity for the last two years for nothing. Everything she'd done was to claim the success she'd longed for, and finally the door she'd banged on relentlessly was opening. A little more and she'd be the youngest woman to be made partner in the firm. There was no way in hell she'd let Shizune keep her from her dream of becoming a force within the publishing industry. She needed this. She needed this more than anything, and with a little seduction on her part, she'd make it happen.

Of course she'd never liked using sex to get what she wanted. That simply wasn't her style, but this was a rare circumstance. Besides it wasn't as if she had to actually sleep with anyone to get what she wanted. From what she'd heard through her contacts, the creator of Icha Icha Paradise was an old pervert. The key word being old. It wouldn't take much to convince him to see things her way. A flash of a leg, and a little boob action would get the old guy off and she'd have him signed to Ton Ton, and be on the midnight bullet train back to Tokyo.

Ah well here is my latest endeavor. As you can see, I don't like writing the usual. And this is pretty far from it I think. I hope you don't flame. As usual if you don't like, don't read. And if you do like feel free to continue coming back for more. One last thing, I'd like to apologize for the earlier deletion of Grind. I deleted the fiction well, because it wasn't what I wanted, but then I decided to repost to learn that two chapters had been lost during a computer crash preventing re-posting. Sorry!! Anyways, I will definitely finish this story. I hope you guys enjoy and don't hesitate to tell me what you think okay!

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