Mshinata: Sugoi! My first SasuSaku fan fic. This will be dedicated to my cousin, blahIMtooLAZYblah. It's her birthday present! xD I don't know if we'll be able to buy each other something, but...this will be part of your present. :P

Disclaimer: I DO NOT OWN NARUTO. If I did...I would've been furious with the fillers and stopped the Anime company from airing them. xD

"What to do…what to do…" Sakura Haruno pondered as she walked down the streets of Konoha. It was early in the morning. Most people think it's strange for a teenage girl to be out so early. Sakura had her reasons for being out so early.

She ran away from home. It wasn't for a stupid reason like rebelling against her guardian...she wasn't a spoiled brat wanting attention. She was actually raised as a decent child. Her guardian, Tsunade, made sure of that.

She was raised with her rich and wealthy family. Although, she was raised like a normal and cute girl rather than a snobby child. She was a foster child, but Tsunade raised her as if the girl was her own blood related daughter.

Sakura Haruno was the type to love adventures and journeys. Early in the morning that day, she declared that she would be going on a journey that not even Tsunade could stop her. Tsunade was very protective of her precious foster child and she wanted her to keep her intelligence and innocence.

Surprisingly, Tsunade let her go without any complaints.

And then, Sakura was wandering around the streets of Konoha.

"I didn't think going on adventures would be so…lonely." Sakura sighed to herself, running her hand through her light pink bangs.

"AHHHHH!!" A shriek was heard throughout the whole town.

"What was that?" Sakura muttered as a woman was running towards her. The woman was too pre-occupied with looking behind her and bumped into Sakura. The two women fell to the floor.

"A-ah! Gomenasai!" The woman shuffled to her feet, looking nervous and panicked.

"W-what's wrong, miss?" Sakura said, standing up.

"There was a thief trying to steal my purse!" The lady practically shouted.

"Okay, okay…I'm right here." Sakura said, covering her ears. Wait a second…the first step into living on your own is to make money, right? So maybe… A light bulb appeared right above Sakura's head. Inner Sakura was snickering as well. "Hmm…what if I caught this thief?" She asked innocently.

"A-ah! That would be wonderful! He wouldn't have to cause any more trouble to anybody. Um…I'll even reward you!" The woman said cheerfully.

Jackpot. Inner Sakura was laughing in victory. "Hai. I won't let you down." Sakura said with an angelic smile.

What a wonderful façade.

oO0Oo

A man about nineteen years old grabbed the innocent old man's shirt and lifted him up.

"I'll g-give you anything you want!" The old man trembled under the man's grip.

"You know what I want." The boy snickered as he tightened his grip on his shirt. The old man flinched in response and shakily took out his wallet.

"Hey you!" A female and unusually loud voice called out to him. He released his grip on the old man and turned her way. While the old man still had a chance, he scrambled to his feet and ran away.

"Is this the guy?" Sakura asked the woman who was now hiding behind Sakura. The woman nodded frantically. Seriously…Sakura had some guts. She wasn't scared of some guy. Sakura turned her attention back to the guy. "Apologize to this woman for attempting to steal her purse." She said firmly. The guy's expression turned into a sickening smirk. He approached her slowly. She wasn't about to give up! Especially when there was money on the line!

"Yes…I attempted. That doesn't necessarily mean I succeed, Miss Smarty-Pants." He said when he came in front of her. The woman behind Sakura trembled and hid her entire face behind Sakura's back. Honestly…Sakura would've rolled her eyes if there wasn't a thief holding a sword in its sheath around his waist right in front of them.

"But still," Sakura brushed aside the loophole, "apologize."

"Why should I listen to a little girl like you?" He smirked, stuffing his hands into his pockets. An angry mark appeared on her temple.

"I'm NOT a little girl, you old man! I'm sixteen for your information." Sakura huffed as she crossed her arms.

"And I'm not an old man. I'm nineteen." He mimicked her actions but without the huffing.

"Would you stop mocking me?! Are you trying to start something?!" She said, raising her fists. "I might be a girl, but I know how to fight, damn it!" The air suddenly turned thick as the nineteen year old and Sakura knew what their places were in each other's lives: Rivals.

"U-um…I think…it's settled now. I'll call off the job." The lady behind Sakura moved away from behind her. Sweat drops were all over her head probably because their fight was stupid. The lady slowly made a run for it.

"Great." Sakura put her hands on her hips. "You made my client run away." She glared at the unnamed nineteen year old.

"Client?" He raised a brow.

"Yes, my client. She was supposed to pay me to catch you." She raised a finger in the air while having one eye closed.

"Tch. You can't catch me when you're a girl." He said rudely, facing the other way.

"Shut up, you sexist bastard!" Sakura yelled. "That reminds me…you were stealing for money, ne?"

"What else would I be stealing? Plastic jewels?" He faced her again and rolled his eyes. An angry mark appeared on her temple.

"Maybe we should work together for money! Besides…every journey needs money after all." Sakura said, her mood switching to being happy.

"Journey?" He blinked.

"Yes. A journey. A life of a thief seems boring, ne? How about I make your life a full-on blast?" Sakura said with a confident smile and a peace sign. This seemed to interest the nineteen year old guy. He smirked.

"Sure. Why not?" He said.

"I'm Haruno Sakura at your service." Sakura curtsied for the thief. He twitched, not used to having a girl curtsy for him.

"Uchiha Sasuke." He said without the curtsy. Now, that would've been just weird. "So…why is such a high-maintenance girl wandering down the streets catching villains like an over-confident hero?" Another angry mark appeared on her temple.

"I'm not a hero. I'm simply a girl who has run away from home and looking for adventures." Sakura said politely, putting her hands behind her back. "And you?"

"I'm not on an adventure…I want to find somebody…and kill them." Sasuke said as he stuffed his hands into his pockets.

oO0Oo

"What we need is a job…" Sakura muttered to herself as her and the thief wandered the streets together.

"Sorry but you don't seem like the "working" type…if you know what I mean." Sasuke said, stuffing his hands into his pockets. She blinked up at the thief.

"What do you mean?" She asked innocently as the two stopped walking. He stared at her weirdly.

"Well…" He started out as he stared at her.

Sakura was wearing what most teens thought was…not casual for hanging out in the streets. She was wearing a pink dress. The top half was long-sleeved and it was a lighter pink than the bottom half. The bottom half was a darker pink that stopped below her knees. A red ribbon was tied around her neck, the bow showing beautifully on the right side of her neck. There was another red ribbon tied in her hair like a headband.

"I still don't see what the problem is." She said, twirling around and smiling. "I think it's completely pretty and normal."

I guess you're not normal then, eh? Sasuke sweat dropped as he continued walking.

"Anyways, we should ask around for information." Sakura said, following him.

"Information?"

"Yeah…I'm deciding that we be like detectives. It seems like I have the smarts. And by the looks of it, you look like a samurai, ne?" Sakura said bluntly.

"I'm not a samurai." He replied, his grip tightening on his sheath.

"Then why do you have that katana?" She asked obviously.

"…that's none of your business." He replied coldly, but being the tough girl that she was, she was unfazed.

"Hai, hai. I understand. Gomen. I shouldn't have asked that. C'mon, let's go ask for some mysteries, legends, or something." She said, brushing aside the cold remark that Sasuke just said. He stopped in his tracks. She actually surprised him. Sakura didn't pry on. Wow…that was something new to him.

oO0Oo

The two went into the dark forest of the town to start their first job. They had been traveling for quite some time and Sasuke was getting impatient.

"Are you sure you know where we're going?" Sasuke asked with an angry mark on his temple. He followed her as Sakura led.

"Of course! The villagers said that the lake was deep into the forest in this direction." Sakura said, looking back at him and also pointing up ahead of them.

"So…what are we supposed to do again?" He sighed as he continued following her.

"The leader of the village said he wanted us to extinguish a mysterious ghost girl." Sakura explained as the two continued to walk deeper into the dark forest at night. "Weren't you listening?"

"Half the time." He said bluntly. "Anyways, ghost girl?" She nodded.

"The village doesn't even seem to know the story behind her…all they know is that she comes out at night to dance on the lake in this forest. Some villagers came to see if this ghost girl was real, so they came there." She said.

"What if the ghost girl isn't real?" Sasuke raised a brow. "I mean…they could all be making this up and we could be wasting our time." Sakura shook her head.

"That's impossible…" She scoffed, "because when the people who came to visit the ghost girl came back, the people weren't normal. They completely shut themselves from everyone else in the world. It's like…she messed with them psychologically." She observed.

"I see…" He replied as he was now by her side. "So…we're to eradicate her?"

"When you say that, it sounds so serious." She laughed. "I guess so."

"Honestly…" He started, "…we're just looking for money."

"The leader of the village promised us a good amount of money. Be glad!" She nudged him.

"Are you sure you know where you're going?" He said randomly.

"Yes, I do!" She shouted.

"You have no sense of direction…do you? With you leading the way, we'll get lost and die here." He said rudely. "The ghost will already be gone by the time we get there."

"S-shut up!" She blushed from embarrassment. The two continued walking and found the lake right in front of them. Sakura stuck out her tongue at Sasuke. "Ha! Told you we'd get here." He totally ignored what she said and knelt down. He gently touched the water.

"It…seems like normal lake water." He said.

"That's impossible." Sakura put her hands on her hips. "The water has that eerie and unusual light blue glow and a ghost dances on it. I don't think it's normal." Sasuke stood up again. "Now…how do we drag her out of here?"

"Come out, ghost girl! We know you're out here somewhere!" Sakura said, pointing to nothing. Sasuke sweat dropped. This girl had too much confidence.

"We're not going to get her this way, baka." He scolded her. An angry mark appeared on Sakura's temple.

"Well Mr. Genius, do you have any other plans?" She shouted at him.

"Actually-" Sasuke was caught up with the lake glowing a more lighter tone of blue. A dark figure started to arose from the water. It was a girl's figure, Sakura noticed. And as the villagers said, the girl started to dance. But unfortunately, neither one of them could see her face nor her physical image. They could only see the outline and inside in the outline was just complete darkness.

"She's doing…" Sasuke started.

"…ballet." Sakura finished for him. She stood her ground and got her confidence back. "You there!" She pointed to the dark figure. The dark figure ignored her and continued to dance without a care in the world. Maybe because she was dead. Yeah. That was it.

An angry mark appeared on Sakura's temple. She just HAD to accept the mystery of a silent ghost girl. An idea floated through her mind. Maybe the ghost really was mute. Then, it would be harder to communicate with her.

"What's wrong? Your heart seems troubled." The ghost girl said as she twirled and continued to dance. That snapped Sakura out of her thoughts as she stared at her with questionable eyes.

"My…heart?" Sakura asked with a little nervousness in her voice.

"Yes." The ghost girl stopped dancing and pranced towards Sakura. She held out her hand and said, "Would you mind showing me?" The two could see the ghost girl's figure now. She was wearing a light lavender tutu with matching lavender toe shoes (A/N: Toe shoes are ballet shoes that go on point). Her dark indigo hair was tied up with lilies in her hair. Her outfit matched the color of her eyes. If Sakura didn't remember her mission, she would've mistaken her for a real live girl.

"Yes. I do mind." Sakura said firmly. The ghost girl's expression saddened as her hand returned to her side. She pranced away and resumed her dancing on the lake. "…I'm Haruno Sakura. Who are you?"

"Hinata." She said gently as she continued to dance. "Your heart is still wavering."

"How…can you tell?" Sakura asked, interested.

"My heart used to be like yours as well. It used to be sad and regretful." Hinata said as she mimed a sad pose.

"Sad? Regretful?" Sakura blinked. "Of course…she's a ghost…" She muttered to herself.

"What attaches you to this world, ghost?" Sasuke asked rudely.

"I broke a promise…and I intend to mend the broken promise by continuing my promise as a spirit." She said as she danced gracefully.

"So…you're…atoning for the broken promise." Sakura said.

"Yes." She stopped. "You must understand that…ne Haruno-san?" Sakura's eyes widened. How did she-

"Doesn't matter. We came here to eradicate you." Sakura inwardly rolled her eyes at Sasuke's bluntness. There goes him saying "eradicate" again. The ballerina seemed to trip on her on feet but stood firm. She was suddenly frightened by Sasuke's words.

"Iie! I…I have to keep dancing…for...for my lover." She said, putting a hand on her chest. "Don't you understand that?"

"No." He replied bluntly again.

"Sasuke-kun, are you an idiot? This girl's living in this world as a ghost so she can keep her promise to her lover." Sakura scolded him.

"…have you forgotten? A mission is a mission. You must complete it…no matter what the obstacles are." He said as he stared at the scared ballerina.

"I…I can't do it." Sakura said as her hands fisted and she shut her eyes closed.

"Whatever reason why you don't want to do it, overcome it. You women are so weak." He said plainly.

"You…" Sakura's voice trembled. Sasuke looked down at her, waiting for her sentence to finish, "you men are all insensitive jerks!" She yelled at him as she ran the opposite direction.

"Her heart…is troubled. You should leave her alone." The ballerina spoke again, her hand over her heart.

"You should shut up." He startled her. She took a step back. "You don't even have one." He said coldly.

oO0Oo

"Sasuke-kun is an insensitive jerk who doesn't even know how a girl feels." Sakura lied on her bed on her back. Her window was open in the cold night. The breeze flew in the window and brushed some of her pink bangs to her face.

"Well, that's Sasuke-teme for you." A voice out of nowhere said.

"Hai, hai…I know." She replied as she brushed aside the bangs that were on her face.

"If Sasuke can't protect you, I'll protect you, Sakura-chan." Sakura could just hear the person who said that smiling with pleasure. She rolled her eyes.

"Flattery won't get you anywhere." She said, putting the back of her hand on her forehead. "But even if I apologize to Sasuke-kun…he'll just tell me that we have to finish the job."

"A maiden's heart is very fragile. Why don't you let me handle it tomorrow night?" The voice said.

"Really? You'd do that?" Sakura sat up with a smile on her face.

"Yeah. Anything for Sakura-chan, of course." He said. Sakura could "hear" him smiling again. She rolled her eyes again.

"Anyways…just come whenever you feel like the time is right." Sakura said seriously.

"Ah. I understand." The voice said as his feet were heard on the roof. The person stood up and jumped onto other roofs to wherever he was going.

oO0Oo

Sakura sat up in her bed. She was as sleepy as hell but she couldn't sleep anymore. She sighed and ran a hand through her light pink bangs.

She somewhat felt guilty for not getting the job done right then. Sasuke probably was mad at her too. But still…he was still a sexist bastard!

She sighed out of frustration and dug her face onto her pillow.

"Good morning to you, too." Sasuke said as he was sitting on a chair and reading near the window.

"AGH!!" Sakura shrieked.

"You know…even though the villagers were kind enough to give us one room with two beds. It's only natural that I sleep on the other bed." He said. An angry mark appeared on Sakura's temple.

"I'm not really in the mood for your jokes…" She muttered as she dug her face into her pillow again. Now it was time for Sasuke to sigh.

"We have the whole day to do whatever we want. I think I want to go into town and check it out some more." He said as he stood up and put down his book on his bed. Sakura continued to have her face buried in her pillow.

"Wait." Before Sasuke's hand could make contact to the door, Sakura told him to wait. How strange. He knew this was coming. He stopped and turned to face her.

Yup…just like any other girl. She was going to apologize. She would bat her eyelashes and say that she wouldn't go against him ever again. It would be annoying to see that…but it would satisfy Sasuke. He knew that much.

"I'm not saying sorry for what I did. I don't regret what I did…it's just that…" Sakura hugged the pillow to her chest closely. Sasuke's eyes widened, "I guess…when she said my heart was sad and regretful like hers used to be…I guess she was saying that we're the same." She hugged the pillow tighter. "So I came to the conclusion that she knew what I had been through."

"…all I know is that you're a girl who grew up with snobby, rich people." An angry mark appeared on Sakura's temple. "But…I guess you're different." He smirked. Sakura's eyes widened and a faint blush appeared on her fair skin.

"Of course, I'm different." She said confidently, getting over his little remark. He scoffed amusedly at her and left the room.

There were still a lot of things they needed to find out about each other.

oO0Oo

"This time will be different. I promise." Sakura said as she, yet again, led into the dark forest of the town.

"Seriously…maybe I should lead-"

"Iie!! I know where I'm going." She said. Sasuke was about to say something but was cut off by her. "AND I know what you're going to say next! We're NOT going to get lost!" She pointed at him.

"You really need to stop pointing…didn't your rich family teach you some manners?" He said, shoving his hands into his pockets. She huffed as she crossed her arms.

"Of course they did. I just don't show them to you at all." She said. And before you knew it, they arrived at the lake faster than they did the day before. But this time, the ballerina was already there and dancing.

"Ah…you've come back." Hinata curtsied and resumed dancing.

"This time…we'll let your soul go to Heaven." Sakura said warmly.

"Gomenasai. Like I said yesterday, I am going to stay here and dance…dance for my lover." She said, putting her two hands on her chest.

"Your lover? Who is your lover exactly?" Sakura asked, putting her hands on her hips.

"Oi…what're you doing?" Sasuke whispered to her. She shushed him.

"You'll see." She whispered back.

"My lover…" Hinata trailed off as she continued to dance again. But this time, there seemed to be more emotion…more feeling, like a real live ballerina would dance like. "He had golden blonde hair…sky blue dazzling eyes…his smile was like the sun that woke me up everyday…his sweet, sweet voice always gave me courage…he was many things."

"I was, wasn't I?" A voice from a tree above the lake asked. The dancer stopped dancing and stared up at the tree. Her eyes widened as tears began to fill her eyes.

"Is that you….Naruto-kun?" Hinata choked out as the tears started to flow out of her eyes.

"Yo," Naruto jumped down from the tree and landed gracefully next to Sakura, "I came like I promised, Sakura-chan."

"Good. I would've hit you if you didn't come." She said plainly, crossing her arms.

"Hehe, I'd do anything for you, Sakura-chan." Naruto smiled that idiotic smile of his.

"Baka." Sasuke muttered, looking the other way.

"Shut up, teme!" Naruto pointed at him.

"N-Naruto-kun…" Hinata brushed away her tears as she stared at him with deep eyes.

"You know her, baka?" Sasuke asked, looking back at him.

"Eh…somewhat. Back in my rebellious years." Naruto scratched his cheek with his index finger.

"Naruto-kun…you've come back for me." Hinata said her hands on her chest. Naruto blinked. "Do you remember what you said to me six years ago?"

"Hm…" Naruto scratched the back of his head, "…something…I know it…it's just…"

"You said you liked my dancing…that I would shine better than any other dancer. That's the reason why I'm still dancing…" A few more tears flowed out of her eyes as she closed them.

"So it's your fault, baka." Sasuke said in conclusion. Naruto sweat dropped.

"And now…you're here to come get me." Hinata said. Naruto simply shook his head.

"Iie. You have somewhere else to go to." Naruto said with a gentle smile.

"But…I only dance for you! How can you see me dance when…?" Hinata trailed off, not wanting to even mention being away from him.

"I'll be happier that you're dancing for me…even in a different place." Naruto gave her a thumbs-up and his usual idiotic smile. The ballerina saddened but understood the situation.

"Hai. I understand…" Hinata replied with an understanding smile. Her body started to glow radiantly like the shining lake. The body started to slowly disappear. "Haruno-san, I hope you can let other people understand your sad and regretful heart in the future." Hinata smiled at her. "Ja ne." And with that, the girl was gone.

"That was easier than expected. Who would've known the baka would be useful for something." Sasuke crossed his arms as the three started to head out of the forest.

"Shut up." Naruto crossed his arms and had an angry pout. Sakura laughed.

"Ne, Naruto…was she your girlfriend or something?" Sakura nudged him. He blushed furiously and shook his head furiously.

"No! She was just…"

"Stop denying it. She was your childhood love." Sasuke said.

"I guess so…" The blush lessened. "But…I'm glad she's in a better place now."

"Well." Sakura stopped in her tracks and turned around to face Sasuke and Naruto. "Our journey has just begun. Let's go, Team Haruno!" She punched a fist in the air.

"Since when has it become Team Haruno?" Sasuke raised a brow.

"I think it's kawaii." Naruto said with his infamous smile.

"If you're trying to flatter me, I'll hit you." Sakura said.

"Ahahahahaha, same old Sakura." Naruto laughed as the three continued out of the forest.

Tomorrow was another day…another day for the three of them to have adventures.

Mshinata: I truly loved writing this fan fic. I know Naruto showed out of nowhere and Sakura and Sasuke somehow knew about him. That's a mystery. You all can figure it out. xD I won't reveal it anytime soon, so…just keep thinking! Please give me lovely reviews. –Sparkly eyes- Yes, it's strongly influenced by Hatenkou Yuugi but it's not that similar. I'm not copying the plot line either. It's completely different. And if anyone sees any similarities, then I don't own Hatenkou Yuugi.