THIS IS IMPORTANT!!! PLEASE READ AUTHORS NOTE!!!

AN: First of all you should know that I only started watching Naruto 3 weeks ago and I have not read the manga; Also the only episodes I have seen are the ones during the chunin examine.

Secondly, I am an American and I know nothing about the caoorect usage of honorifics so I will try to keep them to a minimum.

Third, and most importantly, I have never written fan fiction before, in fact I have never written mush of anything before. So I desperately need you to review so I can decide whether or not to continue. So please! please! please! review and tell me what you think!

Chapter 1

Sakura stood outside the gates of the village she once called home. Her once short rose-colored hair was now long and black, her bright green eyes now a cool gray, a crimson mask, reminiscent of Kakashi's, covered her nose and mouth. She steeled herself against the onslaught of memories that she knew were coming.

It had been almost five years since she had been back, and as she looked in on her former home she almost wished it had been longer.

FLASHBACK

Shortly after Naruto left to find Sasuke, her parents had died. After their deaths she became very close with Kakashi, he had taken it upon himself to make sure she knew she was not alone. His presence was a great comfort to her and she had begun to live her life again. She trained vigorously with Tsunade, learning everything she could and quickly becoming one of the top kunochi in the village. With Kakashi and Tsunade's guidance she passed the jonin exams with ease.

But every once and a while the sadness began to creep up on her. Normally when this happened she would go to Kakashi, he was able to comfort her like no other. Unfortunately, on one occasion, Kakashi was nowhere to be found. Sakura learned later that he had been on a mission, but this news was of absolutely no comfort to her now.

It had been on the one year anniversary of her parents death. With Kakashi absent she did the only thing she could think of, she went to a bar and got drunk.

After several rounds she was approached by some villager, he sat down and part of her was happy for the company. He continued to buy her drink after drink until she could no longer sit up by herself. He politely offered to walk her home and in her alcohol induced stupor she said yes.

He guided her with an arm around her shoulders but as soon as they were outside he roughly pulled her into an alley. Her mind struggled to understand what was happening as he threw her against a wall. He pressed himself to her, his hands roughly groping her. She whimpered no as he forced himself on her. She tried to fight back but her intoxicated body refused to comply.

When he had finally finished he simply walked away. She slid to the ground and just lay there awhile. Her head rolled back against the cool bricks and she closed her eyes allowing sleep to come.

She woke to the sound of someone calling her name, it was Kakashi. He had just returned from his mission to find her lying disheveled in an alley. She stood as quickly as she could, hiding the telltale signs of last night. She could have written it off as a bad dream except for the pain between her legs.

She attempted to laugh off what happened saying that she had just passed out but Kakashi knew something was wrong.

After that night in the alley something in Sakura broke. She began to withdraw from everyone including Kakashi. She put every ounce of energy she had into her training. She applied to ANBU, much to Kakashi's shagrin, and was readily accepted.

She excelled in ANBU, quickly becoming one of the top members of the strategic planning unit. She was just beginning to become comfortable again when Naruto returned with Sasuke. Before, she had thought that when Naruto and Sasuke returned things would be better, it would be like before, Team 7 together again. But nothing was the same anymore.

She tried her best to act normal around them, to fit in again. But the truth was, even with them around she still felt alone. The longer she was around them, the more alone she felt until she finally couldn't take anymore. She requested the first long term assignment available and left without saying goodbye.

Sakura shook off the unpleasant memories and continued toward the village.

She had a feeling it was going to be a long day.

Sakura sat stiffly in Tsunade's office. The debriefing had taken hours and all Sakura wanted to do now was go home, take a shower and sleep. Unfortunately it didn't appear that Tsunade was going to let her off so easily.
For the last five years she had been assisting various allies of the leaf village with strategic planning, tactics and the occasional mission.

"So, Sakura" Tsunade began " What's with the new look?"
Sakura stared at her for a moment before realizing what she was talking about
"You mean my hair?" she asked tentatively
"Yes" Tsunade said, her lips quirking slightly with amusement. "Your hair and eyes, and since when did you wear a mask?" she asked
"Oh, well…my hair and eyes tended to make me stand out and I didn't want to draw attention to myself." Sakura stated simply.
"And the mask?" Tsunade pressed
"Well…to be honest, it became somewhat inconvenient trying to do my job when the male shinobi kept hitting on me. I found that wearing the mask was an effective deterrent." Sakura answered.

She knew she should have told Tsunade the real reason that she chose to change her appearance, but she wasn't ready. And besides, it wasn't really any of her business what Sakura did so long as she got the job done.

Tsunade laughed out loud "You know Sakura you don't have to wear it around me, I don't swing that way"

Sakura slid the mask down and it pooled around her neck. She felt a little naked without it but decided it would be rude to keep it on.

"So…is there anything else Tsunade-sama? I was kind of hoping to head home, maybe get some sleep." Sakura hinted.
"Hold on for just a moment Sakura, there's someone I want you to say hello to and he should be here any minute." Tsunade said, looking impatiently at the large clock on the wall. Sakura sighed internally, trying to guess who it was that she was going to see.

Kakashi sighed as he made his way to the Hokage's office, he couldn't imagine what she needed him for now. Things had been quiet lately and missions had been scarce. As he approached the door to her office something made him stop. He could feel someone behind the door, someone familiar. But he couldn't quite place it. He knew who it reminded him of but this chakra felt different than hers. Stronger.

His mind must have been playing tricks on him. He pushed the door open and took it the room.
Tsunade was sitting at her desk as usual, but there was someone else in the room with her.

He slowly took in the young woman sitting before him.
She had long hair the color of coal and cool gray eyes that seemed so familiar. She wore an ANBU uniform that seemed to hug every curve perfectly. He was certain that he had never seen this woman before, he would have remembered.

He cocked his head slightly, staring at her before turning to Tsunade. "Kakashi!" Tsunade said sternly "You're late again"
He shrugged his shoulders slightly, trying to come up with an acceptable excuse, and failing miserable.
Tsunade looked at him expectantly "Well aren't you going to say hello?" she said nodding toward the beautiful young woman that sat across from her.

Kakashi looked confused for a moment, he didn't know this girl, did he?
He stepped further into the room to introduced himself. "I am Hatake Kakashi" he said bowing slightly "And you are?"

Tsunade was barely able to stile a laugh as she saw this. She looked over at Sakura and nodded that she should also introduce herself.

Sakura sighed softly, she didn't have the energy for this so she decided to do it as quickly as possible. She stood and faced her clearly confused former sensei. She closed her eyes in concentration, releasing the jutsu that kept her hair dark. Long pink hair flowed down around her shoulders and she opened her now green eyes slowly as realization dawned on Kakashi's face.

"Kakashi, it is good to see you again" she said, forcing a smile to her lips.

She quickly turned to the Hokage and bowed. "Now, if you will excuse me, I really need to get home." she said before disappearing in a burst of flower petals and leaving her former sensei standing there, too stunned to speak.

Sakura pulled her hair back into a tight ponytail and performed the jutsu necessary it keep it dark. She slid her mask back up and slowly walked out of Hokage tower.
She knew it was extremely rude of her to just up and disappear like that but at the moment she didn't care. All she wanted right now was to go home.
So??? What do you think? Continue or not? Review Please.