Chapter One

Bleed. It was something all ninjas did. It trickled from physical and mental wounds; some of these healed, and some of these stayed raw, always bleeding, never healing. It was their blood that forced them to see their mortality. It was proof that they were human, made of flesh and blood. It was proof that they could make mistakes, that they did make mistakes.

Haruno Sakura, a tough, twenty-one year old ANBU member and one of Konoha's best medics, was definitely not an exception. Her wounds ran as deep as the physical wounds that she healed, the physical wounds she gave, and the physical wounds she received. They ran deep and still bled, even after all these years, and it filled her life with pain, as if she were in a living, breathing hell.

She lived alone in a small apartment in Konoha, with a cat and a plant named Mr. Ukki to keep her company. She mainly kept to herself, having pushed all her friends away from her. It's not that she didn't still care for them; she still kept tabs on them, from the gossip on the streets and the rare occasion when she scanned the newspaper.

She knew that Ino and Shikamaru had married about a year ago, and were expecting their first child. Hinata was instated as the leader of the Hyuga clan, and had named Neji as her heir, declaring that she would never marry, much to the chagrin of the others in her clan. The others she had once known had long faded from her, news of them rare and unimportant.

Her friendships with them had simply ended. She just couldn't see life the way they did anymore. They lived their lives one day at a time, enjoying what little time they had on earth. She lived simply to die. She accepted the toughest missions, went on the most dangerous assignments, fought the vilest of villains, never knowing if she was going to live to see tomorrow. They fought to survive; she fought because it was all she could do, the only thing she could control.

Her love life was nonexistent. Sure, she had a couple one-night stands every so often, when she needed an itch to be scratched, but it never went past that. She was not looking for love, not when she had lost it so many times.

Staring up at the ceiling, Sakura sighed. Another day... Untangling herself from her sheets, she slowly pulled herself up, sitting at the edge of her bed, head hung low. Although her heart was heavy, painfully throbbing with every beat, not a single tear slid down her cheek. She had shed her tears… she had cried enough.

Rubbing her most-likely blood-shot eyes, she got up, ignoring the throbbing pain in her head. She was used to these headaches, for they were as common as the pain in her heart. She groggily made her way to her bathroom, turning on the water until it was nearly scalding, and stepped inside her shower.

She let the water run down her body, wishing it would wash away everything, wash away her agony. But she knew that it would not, that it never did, and so she continued her shower, her idle thoughts taking her far, far away.

Stepping out of the shower, she walked to the mirror, wiping the mist from it. She was not surprised to see a stranger staring back at her. She was no longer the cheerful, little girl she once was. She had kept her hair the same, jagged and shoulder-length, but that was where it ended. She no longer wore her hitai-ate, for she no longer needed it, now that she was in ANBU. She was beginning to get bags under her eyes from her frequent sleepless nights and late night outings. Her face was practically emotionless, her lips no longer pulled into that ridiculous smile she had always seemed to wear. The only emotion she betrayed came from her eyes, sad, deep forest green eyes. They alone showed how lost she was, how alone and sad she was.

Shaking her head, she turned away from the mirror, walking to her bedroom. She pulled on her ANBU uniform, but changed the white vest for her pink vest, since she was going to work at the hospital, not on a mission. Gazing around her room, she sighed at how plain and simple it was. This is my life… the life that was given me, she thought to herself, as if she were reminding herself, giving an excuse for what she saw.

Stepping outside, she walked to the hospital at a slow pace, gazing at the world around her. She could not help but feel as if she were not really there; that if she disappeared, vanished into thin air, no one would notice. But that's a lie, she told herself, but there was a lack of confidence in that thought that scared her.

Six hours later, finally finished with work, she sighed, stepping out of the hospital. Today was busy, she told herself, feeling slightly drained from using so much chakra. She turned her face upwards slightly, allowing herself the moment of basking in the fading sunlight. A long, slow sigh escaped her lips, a whisper in the gentle breeze.

"Hey! Sakura!" called a voice from behind her, interrupting her rare, peaceful moment. Turning, she saw a tall male walking towards her, an easy-going smile on his handsome face. Catching up to her, he squinted in the brightness of the sun, his grey-blue eyes sparkling in the sunlight.

"Hi, Kin," she replied, but no smile graced her lips.

"Thanks, for the…" he said, gesturing to his arm, currently in a sling. "I appreciate it."

"No problem," she said, and began to walk away.

"Wait, Sakura," he said, and when she turned back to him, he nervously rubbed the back of his head with his good arm. "I was wondering if you had any plans today."

Gazing at him, gauging his intentions, she finally replied a few moments later, a soft, sad smile alighting for a little while. "Sorry, Kin. I have to go see some old teammates of mine." Turning away, she paused, saying, "Maybe next time."

Sakura gazed at the memorial tombstone, her eyes scanning the names of all the ninjas that had died in battle, receiving the honor for dying a warrior's death. Her eyes scanned lower and, though she resisted against it, a single tear escaped down her cheek. She could never control her emotions here, not when it practically smacked her in the face. Through her blurry vision, she read the three names that caused her heart to cry out, that filled her every waking moment with pain, filled her sleep with nightmares.

Uchiha Sasuke

Uzumaki Naruto

Hatake Kakashi

Phew! That took a long time to write! It's probably not that great, you probably don't like it, but I can live with that. I tried to make it as realistic as possible (maybe it'll seem more realistic once I explain everything). I really hope you guys like this. It got stuck in my head one day as I was listening to a song (the song is called "Bleeder" by Alkaline Trio) and I just had to write it. Please review. It's probably not the most original beginning or anything, but I'm hoping the story will be. So please. Reviews are nice, I'd love some. Alright. Laters

I do not own Naruto.