I hope you enjoy reading this as much as I enjoy writing it.
Full Summary: Sakura, seeking more out of life, abandons her village to truly taste freedom. In a collaborative effort, she joins together with a wounded Uchiha to kill the one person that wasted both their lives. She wants revenge, he wants contentment. Both want to find a brand new reason for living, and they might just find it in each other.
--
Prologue
Buildings loomed ahead, appearing suddenly and then vanishing just as quickly, as Sakura dashed through her village for the last time. Her heart hammered in her chest as though it wanted nothing more than to leap out and stay in Konoha. But this was a mind over heart matter, and her mind was telling her what her heart couldn't bear to say; that it was time to make her own way through life, separate from her village.
The gates to Konoha were in sight, closed of course, but just visible in the half-moon light. She was fifty yards away. Thrity, fifteen, ten-
"Agh!" Sakura skidded to a halt, inches away from the hurt and confused face of Ino.
"You can't be serious! Go home, Sakura!" Sakura felt her heart almost tear with sadness. She hadn't been expecting to face anyone.
"I can't, I've made my choice, you've got to let me go Ino!" She whispered back. If she didn't get away soon, she might not be able to outrun the Anbu that would surely follow. Ino clenched her hands.
"Look, I know you've been hurt. I know what Sasuke did, but this… is too much. You don't have to leave- You still have us!" Sakura frowned.
"Ino, I don't know if you have your facts strait, but Sasuke has done nothing but treat us- Naruto and I- like shit. He's changed for the worse! Before he left, he was always polite, but now he's…" Ino gripped her friend's shoulder not unkindly, but spoke in a stern tone.
"I know what he did. I know he's been playing around with your emotions for God knows how long, and he went too far. If you're upset about having sex with hi-" Sakura glared venomously at the blonde. She was ashamed for being so stupid, thinking that sleeping with Sasuke would bring them closer, but it had only ripped the gap between them into a wide valley, and Sakura had had enough of it. Freedom from the demanding bonds of her village had never looked so good before, and she was hell-bent on taking what she wanted for once. She had a life that needed living, and not even Ino could convince her otherwise. Leaving them would be the hardest thing in her life, but Naruto would still have Kakashi, and his close friends.
"I'm going, Ino. I've done nothing but live for others. I'm sick of trying to mend other peoples broken hearts when what I need is to go far away and mend my own." Emotionally pained at what she had to do next, Sakura embraced her speechless friend, holding Ino close, before snapping around with sudden speed and knocking her hand behind the blonde girls head. Hadn't someone else done that same to her, many years ago?
Nobody would ever know how much Sakura cried that night, as she dashed up the vertical wooden gate and down the other side, leaving Ino behind on a bench. But unlike Sasuke, Sakura wasn't coming back. Pelting off into the woods, running as fast as legs could run, she didn't bother trying to stop the flood of sadness. It would take a lot of hard work and getting used to, but no matter how tough, this was what she wanted.
After two days of running, sleeping, eating on the go, and more running, Sakura leapt up a tall tree and stood on its highest branches, looking at the world in a different light. Far in the East, a tall pagoda stood in the middle of a city with a lake beside it. To the North she could make out the steep silhouette of mountains capped in white. Sakura turned to look ahead and saw an endless forest dotted with hills, and to the West more towns and villages. A little river trickled through the towns that clung to the flowing water like a lifeline. Sakura breathed in the rich air of the forest and closed her eyes, and asked herself something never asked before.
'Well, where do I want to go?' The answer was simple enough.
'Wherever I want, of course.' And with an optimistic smile she pounded off in the direction of the nearest town.
--
Don't worry; the chapters will not be anywhere NEAR as short as this. Anyway, the title for this fic was shamelessly stolen from the beautiful ending theme of Innocent Venus. I don't know what the translation is, nor do I want to know, but everything about the song makes me think of sunrises on a spring morning, when the whole world's fresh and yours for the taking.
If you'd like to read more cool stuff about when and where this fic was written, just drop a click and stop by my profile.