Prologue

It had been several weeks since the young Haruno Sakura had visited what she had deemed as 'her place'. She had tried only once since the accident, but the usual calm feeling that would wash over her had been mysteriously absent.

Not so mysterious, she would later think. The glum atmosphere that had taken hold of her home and family had seeped so far into her bones, into her once lively and cheerful heart, that nothing could have shaken her from the cold and desolate grip that had consumed her.

Now though, weeks later, she believed that it would once again bring the soothing calmness that she had so longed for.

This time she would not just escape from the endless rambles from her mother, nor would she be escaping the whining of her younger brothers - which were admittedly reasonable lately - but it was now an escape from all the sadness. All the pain.

Haruno Satoshi, well known jokester, war hero and all together good man; but most importantly her beloved father, was dead.

There could not have been any other news to reach her poor family that could have been worse. She still could not believe he had been taken from them. From her. A car accident, they had said.

"Accident," she thought with a scoff.

Such a horrible word to describe something that had been so profound. It was not as though a dish had been broken due to clumsiness. And yet with a similar finality of it, rendered to pieces, never to be whole again, such was the same with their family.

Catching sight of the familiar red ribbon she had tied around a tree when she was ten, the year when she had first stumbled upon 'her place', Sakura realized that she had arrived at her destination.

Pushing that final thought away, Sakura prayed that peace would take her. Shifting the last branch aside, her green eyes washed over the familiar scenery.

Before her stood the ruins of an old house. Surrounded by a grand garden that had long ago become wild, taking over the landscape, filled with various wooden benches and marble statues. At least what remained of them. Many had limbs missing. Others showed the obvious effects that time and the element had caused them.

In the very middle of the garden stood a tall weeping angel. One wing half gone, the other badly damaged. Vines and dirt wrapping around the remaining limbs, encasing it in an earthy outfit. This particular statue had been Sakura's favorite for many years.

The garden had changed little in the four years since she had first come here. Seeing it now eased her mind. Giving a gentle sigh, Sakura made her way toward her usual bench and sat before the angel. Staring up into its face, she felt a new sense of connection to it. Paying no mind to the slow drizzle that had begun, Sakura allowed herself to become lost in thought.

It could not have been more than mere moments when the snapping of a twig forced her to focus on her surroundings. Turning her emerald green gaze from the angel, she fixed her sight on the bushes that the sound seemed to have originated from. The very place she had arrived through not long ago, and the only way in or out of the overgrown entanglement of a garden. Peering at the area momentarily, she found nothing out of the ordinary.

Sakura was ready to dismiss it as nothing more than a small animal searching for shelter from the rain when another snap was heard, followed quickly by a shuffle and muffled curse she was sure her mother would not approve of.

Sakura's mind quickly raced back to what her mother had said the night before about the recent gang problems the road to Konoha had been having lately.

"How could I have been stupid enough to not remember this and leave the house anyway?" she thought, scolding herself. "Coming here is not worth what may happen if they find me."

Quickly scanning the ground around her, she spots a nearby rock nearly the size of her palm. Moving swiftly, Sakura stooped over and circled her fingers around her makeshift weapon.

Shifting into a better position she mumbled quietly to herself, "Well, they won't take me without a fight." And then quieter in a breathy whisper "Please protect me papa."

Eyes fixed on the small bushes she waited apprehensively until a tall raven-haired man pushed their way through and into the garden. Sakura barely heard the stranger speak into his phone before she gave a silent prayer, took aim and released her meager weapon.

Almost as though time had slowed, Sakura watched as the rock solidly met the stranger's temple. The surprise of the hit brought a low grunt to escape his mouth and caused him to lose his footing, stumble and fall backward. The force of his backside meeting the unmoving earth beneath him wiggled another sound to pass his lips. This time it was a whooshing sound, leading her to believe that the breath had been knocked from him. The phone fell from it's rumpled owners hand, falling into a nearby puddle with a great splash. Then, with time quickly catching up to the events, he laid there on the wet ground, unmoving.

Sakura's whole expression gave way to stunned wonder as she stared at the unconscious man. Wide-eyed and open-mouthed she breathed in relief, "I - I actually hit him!"

Refocusing on the fact that he would not be waking for at least a few more minutes, she shuffled to the bushes. Intent on making her escape as quickly as she could. As Sakura attempted to sidle around the guy without touching him, she unthinkingly glanced down at him, and for the first time, really took in his appearance.

Lowly gasping, Sakura paused her movements and stared at the handsome man before her. Unbidden a single thought came to her, "No way delinquents should have faces like these?"

Emerald eyes fixed on his face, Sakura gazed at him. He had a chiseled face accompanied with a strong jaw. Free from any signs of deep age she deducted that he wasn't yet a man and could have been about the same age as her. Dark raven hair framed his face perfectly though signs of blood had appeared and coated the locks where her rock had hit. Trailing her eyes downward she found broad shoulders wrapped nicely in a deep blue, elegantly cut jacket. Now almost completely covered in mud.

Lips pursing, she tisked, very much like her mother would when she or her brothers would ruin good clothes during play, "He'll never be able to get all that mud off. Especially with the fabric being so nice and-"

Trailing her words Sakura peered intently at the muddy garment she had just been evening. The fabric was indeed nice. Exceedingly so. It was the type one would find in only the best shops. Bought only by those that had ridiculous amounts of money to spare and spend as they'd like.

Sakura's eyes widened slowly as she realized the still unconscious man was not a who she had once thought and instead was most likely the sort that an actual gang member would set his sights on. Meaning she had clobbered a perfectly innocent stranger with that silly rock she threw.

Alerted by the low groan below her, she watched as her gang man turned innocent began to rouse. Quietly, she repeated the curse she had heard him speak before, thinking it accurately fit the situation.