Chapter 1: Partner-in-Crime

Beep. Beep. Beep. Be-

Crash.

"What the-" the girl looked down at the smashed alarm clock on her side table. She blinked.

"Oh god." She screamed. "Dad! How could you?"

She leapt out of bed, hastily brushing her long pink hair. Throwing on the first items of clothing she saw, she hastily brushed her teeth before grabbing her backpack and slinging it over her shoulder.

She ran down the stairs, only stopping to yell, "Dad, why did you let me sleep in! I'm going to be late!"

"Well, I was walking home after an early morning walk when a black cat came and-" he looked around. She was already gone. He sighed, before making himself some coffee. Well, so much for that.

She ran out the door, stopping before an impressive black motorcycle with a design of sakura petals trailing over the side. "Hey there, baby," she cooed, before slinging her leg over the bike and revving it up. She rode without a helmet, and she speeded along before coming to a halt, scratching the bike ever so slightly on a shiny Audi Coupe.

"Watch it!" she screamed, before shooting off again.

Screeching to a halt at the school grounds, she did a neat hop off the bike, before running into another boy, tackling him to the ground.

"Sai!" she screamed, hugging the boy. As she continued hugging him, Sai was steadily turning blue.

"Can't… breathe…" he choked.

"Oh, sorry." She let go of him, rubbing her head in embarrassment.

"I hate you, Ugly," he muttered.

She beamed. "I love you too, Bastard!"

Then she noticed the blond sitting next to Sai. "Hey, what's your name?" she said enthusiastically.

The blond stared. It wasn't every day your best friend got hugged to death by an insanely attractive woman with pink hair. "Is your hair for real?" he blurted, before covering his mouth with a look of horror on his face.

"One hundred percent! I'm Haruno Sakura, nice to meet you!"

"Uzumaki Naruto, at your service!" she hugged him hello, while he gave Sai a thumbs up behind her back. Then, Sakura's attitude did a complete one-eighty.

"Bastard!" she screamed, punching Naruto in the face. He fell against a tree.

"Jesus, woman, you punch like an ox-" seeing the vein ticking in her forehead, he stopped before she could do any lasting damage. "How do you know Sai?" he questioned hastily, changing the subject.

"Are you kidding me? He's been my partner-in-crime for the last three years!" Naruto sighed. Again with the cheery attitude. Was this girl bipolar or what?

"Did you see that girl?"

"I think I'm in love, un!"

"Itachi, what is that idiot talking about."

"Stop giving your questions inflections that belong solely to statements. A girl passed by not too long ago and scratched our car."

Kisame snickered. "She was hot, though."

"Odd hair color though, wasn't it, Sasuke?" Itachi stared cryptically at his younger brother.

"What color?"

"Pink."

There was a crash as the glass in Sasuke's hand fell to the ground.

"So, so what? I am a rock star! I got my rock moves! And I don't neeeeeed you! And guess what, I'm havin' more fun, and now that we're done; I'm gonna shoooow you tonight! I'm all right! I'm just fine! And you're a tool, so, so what? I am a rock star, I got my rock moves, and I don't waaaant you tonight!" Sakura sang along to her iPod, dancing in front of a shocked crowd. She turned around, just noticing her audience. "Uh, nothing to see here people!" she muttered, embarrassed.

When nobody moved she screamed, "I said there's nothing to see!" and gave a satisfied smirk as the crowd scattered.

"Sakura…" she looked around to see a dark-haired boy step out of a familiar Audi Coupe. He looked at her ring finger, and saw a silver band inlaid with diamonds. So, she has kept it after all these years…

He expected her to come running to him, but instead she gave the exact opposite reaction.

"You! You're the owner of that stupid Audi Coupe! You scratched my bike! And how do you know my name?" she shrieked, hiding behind Sai's back.

Naruto burst out laughing at Sasuke's look of consternation. "Ahahaha!" gasp. "Sasuke-teme just got owned by a girl!"

Sasuke walked up to Sakura. "You…" She doesn't remember me. She really doesn't remember me!

Inwardly, he started hyperventilating. That's right. Play it smooth.

"I what?" she glared.

"You… I… You know what? Forget it." Sasuke stomped off.

"What was that about?" Naruto asked.

"I've never seen Emo Boy act like that before," Sai noticed.

"He's probably just PMSing," Sakura surmised, shrugging. "Come on. Introduce me to your friends. Now."

He punched the wall before him, not caring that the hard stone shredded the skin on his knuckles. She doesn't remember… Why won't she remember?

A fourteen-year-old Sakura laughed, swinging higher and higher into the air as Sasuke pushed her.

"Sakura," Sasuke called.

She dug her feet into the ground, stopping the swing. "Yes, Sasuke-kun?"

"Here." He held out a box, embarrassed.

She opened it, and she found a gleaming silver ring with a pattern of diamonds inlaid on it. Written on the inside of the ring were the words "I love you".

"It's beautiful!" she gasped.

"Here," he took her hand, and slipped the ring onto her finger. "This is my promise, okay? When we're old enough I'll get you a real ring, and we can marry right after, all right? I love you, never forget that."

She hugged him, and then they kissed. As they separated, she said, "I love you too, Sasuke-kun. Why would I forget?"

"I don't know," he replied. "I just have a really bad feeling."

They spent the rest of the day at the park, and when Sakura was going home Sasuke called after her, "Never forget! No matter what happens, I'll always love you!"

"I won't!" she had said back.

Then the next day, her parents were murdered.

"H-How did you get that ring?" Hinata murmured.

Naruto and Sai had introduced her to the people in her new class. They sat in groups of three, and the first group had Aburame Shino, a bug nerd, Inuzuka Kiba and Akamaru, a dog lover and his dog, and Hyuuga Hinata, a shy girl who, Sakura had found out, had a crush on Naruto.

The next group had Tenten, a girl who Sakura found had much in common with her when it came to fighting, Hyuuga Neji, Hinata's ice block of a cousin and Tenten's boyfriend, and Rock Lee, a boy who had asked Sakura out a total of five times already and whom Sakura found downright odd.

Then there was Nara Shikamaru, an extremely lazy but intelligent boy, Akimichi Chouji, who never separated from his potato chip bag, and Yamanaka Ino, who had already claimed Sakura as her new best friend.

Finally, there was her, Naruto, Sai, and Sasuke. They were the only group of four because of the odd number of kids in class.

"Honestly, I'm not sure," Sakura smiled weakly. "The last thing I remember was when I was fourteen. I woke up in a hospital, and the doctor said my parents had been murdered. Apparently I was there when it happened, and when I tried to escape I got hit by a car. I had been in a coma for a week, and the doctor said I had amnesia. I didn't even know my name." She smiled sadly, and then frowned. "I woke up with the ring on my finger. I don't know when I got it, or who gave it to me, but I kept it because it connected me to my past. Right after I left the hospital, Kakashi adopted me and we moved to Sunagakure. But now I'm here!" she spread her arms out wide and faked a smile.

"You left out the part where Kakashi turned out to be an assassin and how he trained you to be one,"Inner Sakura snickered.

"How did you meet Sai?" Ino asked.

"We met him in Root ANBU three years ago on an important mission where we had to use our sniper skills to kill a dangerous S-class criminal," Inner Sakura supplied.

"We, uh, met in art school." Sakura looked at Sai for confirmation and he nodded almost imperceptibly.

"All right, Shrimps! Enough chat time, I'm going to work you all to death now!" their teacher Mitarashi Anko proclaimed, whacking her pointer stick across the flat of her palm.

"W-Wait! I have one more question!" Ino said. "Forehead girl… You don't remember me at all?"

Sakura stared. "Should I? And what did you just call me?"

"N-No! You used to be my best friend! You used to call me Ino-pig and we would fight and have sleepovers and you would work with me in my flower shop. you don't remember any of it? What about Sasuke-kun? You must remember him!" Ino cried, tears swimming in her baby blue eyes.

"Sasuke?" Sakura whirled around to face him. "I used to know you?"

"I- Yeah." That's why she doesn't remember. She has amnesia.

"Were we friends?"

"…No." He looked at his feet, refusing to meet Ino's accusing look.

"Oh… I thought maybe…" she looked down at her ring, not finishing her sentence. "Never mind. It doesn't matter."