I can't believe it! It's my first chapter. XD

DISCLAIMER: I do not own Naruto.

Sakura sat under the shadow of a cherry blossom tree, protecting her from the mid-afternoon sun. The day was pleasant, and the wind was gently blowing her pink locks away from her face. Good thing Tsunade let her off early today, so she could finally have her break from the hospital work.

She removed her gloves and let a green glow emanate from her hands. As she stared at the glowing chakra, she remembered the last time she exhausted all of her strength, causing her near death. Although a year had passed since that dreadful day, she would never forget the feeling of helplessness as she lie among the rubbles...

She remembered the pain that shot through her whole body. She closed her eyes tightly.

Oh God,she gasped, I can't die right now...not yet! Pictures of her family and friends flashed through her mind.

This coul not be my end yet,she told herself, I need to find Sasuke first! I will bring him back...I made a promise to Naruto!

She opened her eyes but tears clouded her vision. Through the blood and dirt, she saw Lady Chiyo running towards her.

" SAKURA!"

She tried to steady herself with her arms, but she failed. She struggled until she was able to get up. She looked up. Horror flooded her when she saw the man behind the elder, his sword raised, preparing to strike the old woman from behind.

But Sakura acted fast. Another round of pain enveloped her whole body as she received the blow from the enemy's sword.

The weapon went through her stomach.

Sakura could not see the face of her attacker because of the mask he was wearing. He was enormous, and the deadly metal tail in his back was swishing to and fro, making him look like a scorpion.. Suits his name well,Sakura thought.

The odd man towered over her.

"It's over, girl."He spoke in a dangerous tone.

His words echoed through her heart.

Akasuna no Sasori.

Scorpion of the Red Sand.

She coughed out more blood. She could not hardly believe that this man was actually Lady Chiyo's grandson. He was all too evil.

She remembered the look of pure shock in the old lady's face when they first encountered Sasori and his partner earlier before the battle.

"That's not his true form."Chiyo blurted out."The real Sasori was inside that hideous body."

But,the hell,until now,I had not been able to put a crack on that puppet armor!Sakura thought. She wanted to salp herself if it wasn't for the numbness that was creeping up her body.

She found herself falling into Lady Chiyo's arms.

"Sakura, hold on! I'm going to heal you... Just be strong Sakura!" Lady Chiyo repeated over and over while she was healing Sakura's wounds.

"Such a waste of time." She heard him say. " Her wounds may be healed, but my poison would not allow her to live no longer than three days."

"That's what you think." Sakura managed to spat out.

She was not able to see it, but her enemy was amused by her answer.

" You're brave, little girl.."

She was suddenly enraged. "I'm not a little girl! I'm going to kill you and I'll make you tell me everything you know about Orochimaru! Do you hear me?!" She was out of breath from shouting at him.

Sasori let out an evil laugh.

"Try to hunt and kill me then. If you'll ever had the chance to live…"

She tried to answer back, but she was slowly losing consciousness..

Then all of a sudden, her mind went blank.

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"Hey, Forehead!"

Sakura recognized Ino' s voice. The blonde girl waved a hand in front of Sakura's face.

"Oh, Ino,it's you. What are you doing here?"

"I should be the one asking." Ino huffed. "You've been so preoccupied with your thoughts you didn't notice I was standing here in front of you for about five minutes."

Sakura didn't say anything. Ino sat beside her.

Ino pushed on. "What's bothering you, girl?" She paused. A look of worry for her bestfriend was on her face. "Are you… are you still thinking about… Sasuke?"

"Huh? No. Not really."

"Then who were you thinking of?" Ino asked innocently. Sakura glared at her nosy bestfriend.

"I'm not thinking of anyone in particular. No one, in fact. I'm just pondering about random thoughts in my head."

"Really?" Ino grinned at Sakura. Then she punched Sakura lightly on the shoulder. "You should get a boyfriend soon," she teased,"so that I would know who were you thinking of."

Sakura rolled her eyes. "I certainly don't need a boy in my life right now…"

"How about next month? Come on, Sakura, despite your humongous forehead…"

"Wow, thanks for the compliment, Pig…"

"Let me finish, old hag. Now, where am I? I was just about to say that you are still gorgeous, even though you have a…"

"Humongous forehead. Say, Ino, is it really that big?" Sakura then measured her forehead with her hands.

Ino giggled and smile to herself. Of course she was just exaggerating about the size of Sakura's forehead. It was just a scheme to divert Sakura's thoughts from whatever that was bothering her. In fact, Ino had noticed her bestfriend was growing prettier each passing day. She wore her hair long again, her curves were just perfect, and her most striking features—for Ino and maybe most people—would be her eyes. They were bright emerald green and they seemed to be lit with an undying fire of determination. Those eyes matched her silky skin and pink hair perfectly.

Poor girl, Ino thought, she doesn't know how beautiful she is. And Sasuke was a fool for dumping her. She just shook her head.

"No? It's not big Ino?"

Ino laughed."Don't worry girl, even with that forehead, Gaara was still checking you out." She finished with a sheepish smile.

Sakura's mouth hung open. "You Pig! Try to mention it ever again or I'll tell Sai you had a crush on him!"

"Hey Pinky, don't you ever dare do that or I'll frame you up with Kankuro instead!" Ino tried to catch Sakura, who already had run away.

Their voices and laughter fade away slowly as another breeze swept over the trees, making the leaves rustle with some unknown music…

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AUTHOR's Note: Ta-da! End of first chapter. Next chapter will be finished tomorrow. And by the way, Merry Christmas to all! Reviews are very much appreciated. Just drop in to say hi: