Hi everyone and welcome to the beginning of my Naruto fanfiction!

I would like to start off simply by thanking you for being here, and also by mentioning a disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or anything else I mention in this fanfiction.

Secondly I would like to warn out that this may not to be your typical fanfic. I thought it would be fun to try to create a realistic, life-like version of the Naruto story instead of the odd, entertaining but iritic, anime it is. I hope this is of as much interest to you as it is to me.

Also, note:

This indicates that it is a flashback

While this indicates that it is being said by Inner Sakura

Thanks again, and enjoy!

Shikamaru exhaled slowly as he sat on the grassy lawn in the front of Naruto's house, starring up at the clouds in the bright summer sky. The spot he was in had quickly became one of his favorites over the last few months. More often than not Shika could be found spending his leisure time in that very spot, watching the clouds float by while his friends fussy over Naruto's vehicle.

"God damnit!" The blonde haired boy cussed, scratching the back of his head in confusing while eyeing up the hunk of scrap metal in front of him. "I was sure that would do that trick!"

"You say that EVERY time, dumbass." Sasuke scoffed from behind the wheel of the busted up old jeep.

Naruto had recently purchased the used jeep from an elderly neighbour. When he bought it the bucket of bolt didn't even start, but the energetic young blonde was determined to have it up and running in time for his summer vacation. He enlisted the mechanical help of his friends various times over the last few months, but only now was his precious vehicle showing its first signs of life. Unfortunately for them, their summer was coming to an end rather quickly.

"That's what you get for buying a car for only $200." Shika mumbled loud enough for the other boys to hear him. "It's more trouble than it's worth."

Naruto growled in frustration. He was about to retort when he notice a small navy blue car pulling into the driveway beside where the boys were working.

"Hey guys." Iruka greeted as he stepped out of his car. "How's the jeep coming along?"

"It's not." Sasuke muttered, slouching back into the driver's seat.

"Ah, that's too bad. I'm sure you boys can get it done by the time school rolls around!"

Naruto growled again, this time the irritation caused him to gain extra enthusiasm. He picked up a wrench and dove back under the open hood. "The point was to have it for summer, not for stupid school."

"Speaking of school and driving." Iruka chose to ignore Naruto's comment, "You'll never guess who I ran into today at the store."

Naruto popped his head out from underneath the hood, eyeing up his foster father suspiciously. The way this conversation was starting made him think this was somehow a trap.

"Who?" He questioned.

"Office Haruno. We got to talking a little, and he mentioned that his daughter was going to be joining us again for school this year. He seemed worried about her, so I suggested that you could drive her to school and help her settle in."

"Whoa, whoa. Wait a sec." Naruto's face filled with confusion once more, "Sakura moved back? Since when?"

"Earlier this week, I believe."

"And you just expect me to drive her around?"

"Yes." Iruka said, while walking towards the front door of their home. "That is, if your jeep is running by then."

Naruto knew that there was no getting out of this. Iruka hardly ever asked anything of Naruto, so when he said the teen had to do something Naruto listened.

"Sucks to be you." Sasuke smirked once Iruka had vanished inside.

"Shut up, Sasuke." The blonde shoved his head back under the hood of the jeep and started tinkering away. "You're just jealous."

"Of what?"

"You don't get to drive a pretty girl around."

Sasuke scoffed. "I am not jealous of you being forced into spending time with Sakura Haruno. You can have her. In fact, do me a favor and keep her all to yourself."

"Wow, Sasuke. What climbed up your butt?"

The raven haired boy narrowed his eyes into a slight glare. "Nothing, dope. I just don't see the thrill in hanging out with a know-it-all, whiny, attention craving bitch."

"To be fair," Shika piped in absent mindedly while still gazing upward, "She's probably only so troublesome from spending so much time with Ino. Being subjected to such a high amount of bitchiness for an extended period of time would make anyone annoying."

Sasuke snorted. He doubted that was the reason.

"Oh come on," Naruto said, "You're being too hard on her. She's really not that bad!"

"Says the guy who was practically fucking in love with her." Sasuke commented, rolling his eyes.

"Fuck off." Naruto scowled, throwing a glare over to his dark friend. It was true; back in elementary school Naruto did have quite the crush on Sakura. She had been so cute, pretty, and smart. She was always one of the top students in their class. She was also one of the only girls to ever notice Naruto. Sure, it wasn't always in the nicest of ways, but at least he could get her attention. That was much more than he could say for most girls his age. Even now.

After a moment of silence passed between the boys he spoke up once more. "You know, we could be totally wrong about her. She could have changed a lot since we last saw her."

"She's been gone for, what, four years?" Shika mused, "She's probably a lot different now."

"I doubt it." Sasuke mumbled. He was always so negative. That's one thing Naruto didn't particularly admire about his friend. The two boys were very different in that regard.

Naruto let out a sign as he stood up and stretched. Hunching over an engine for so long can sure make his back stiff.

"Whatever, man." He said, finished arguing about it. "Just cut her some slack, she's been through a lot."

Silence fell between the boys once more. What Naruto had said was right, and they all knew it. She had been through so much in the past few years. She definitely deserved some extra patience from them, considering everything that had happened.

"Alright, Sasuke. Try it again." Naruto took a step back from the vehicle and waited.

Sasuke turned the key in the ignition for what felt like the hundredth time. The teens held their breath in anticipation of what was to come. Unfortunately, all that could be heard was the desperate cries of a sick engine.

Shika exhaled slowly, bracing himself for the loud curses that were bound to soon follow.

"God damnit!"

The young girl sat up with a start, jerking her whole body upright, opening her eyes to see only darkness. She clutched onto the blanket that she was still engulfed in, gasping for breath. Trying to calm her racing heart beat she held the blankets so tightly her knuckles were turning white. Her eyes swiveled in all directions but could only see what the green glow from her alarm clock would allow her to. All the many shadows of the room now seemed to hold a perilous monster or ghostly apparition waiting to whisk her away, back to her nightmare.

It took a while for her head to clear enough to know she was safe in a cluttered living room, just having woken up from yet another nightmare. Shuffling backwards so her back pressed against the backrest of the couch she had been laying on, Sakura whimpered a little.

"When are these nightmares going to stop?" She whispered to herself, her voice cut through the silence of the suburban home. Her hands released the coral colored blanket, letting it fall back down on top of her temporary bed while she brought her knees up to her chest, hugging them tightly. She rested her forehead on the top of her knees and closed her eyes, every once in a while taking deeps breathes in order to calm herself more.

She should have been used to this by now, these nightmares she would get. They occurred every time she was stressed or had something unpleasant on her mind. And, as it so happened, she had been stressed almost constantly, having nightmares a few times a week.

Every time it was the same nightmare; the same play by play of everything that happened that day - it was always exactly the same. She could quote word-for-word what she had heard that day, she could mimic people's actions precisely, but that didn't mean she understood what had happened. Most of her nightmares and memories were fragmented; she couldn't make sense of it all.

-Flashback-

It was nearing the end of March, the day was warmer than normal in the backyard of their home in Konoha Village. Many had gathered there that day to celebrate her 13th birthday. Family, friends from school, and people from around the neighborhood, even some coworkers of her father's had stopped in.

Her father had been manning the BBQ, adorn in a "kiss the cook" apron, while her mother was bustling away in the kitchen trying to get everything prepared and organized. Her mom was a bit of a control freak, while he dad was very laid back and relaxed. It wasn't unusual for her mother to be elsewhere, working away trying to get everything done.

Sakura herself was at the head of the table, opening up all manner of presents. As it was her 13th birthday, it was the year she would finally become a teenager – something Sakura had been looking forward to for quite some time now. And in congratulations for meeting this milestone of life she was being showered in gifts and attention by everyone there.

She remembered being so happy. She remembered feeling very excited, having everyone's eyes on her. She was the star of the show that day, and she loved that feeling.

"Mebuki!" her father had called out for his wife. "Hurry up and get out here, we want to open presents!"

"Coming!" she called back in a sing song voice as she was exiting backdoor of the house. While reaching for the door handle the metal accidently came loose from the wooden board. Sakura watched as her mother slipped the door knob into the open hand of Mr. Haruno. She kissed her husband on the cheek lightly and gave him a teasing smile, "Best get to work, Mr. Fix-it-man. Our house is falling apart!"

-End Flashback-

Sakura relished cool breeze that came through her window that stood slightly ajar. She slowly climbed out of her bed, as to not wake up her parents from their peaceful sleep. A small amount of pleasure graced the bottom of her feet as she quietly fumbled her way across the cold hardwood floor.

She had never liked summer much. She preferred spring over any season, when the snow melted away revealing the colourful buds of flowers and lush green grass. As summer came rolling around the sun would grow so hot that the flowers would shrivel and the grass would become a sickly brown colour. But alas, summer was inevitable and it came every year at the same time. Sakura was quite thankful that it was almost over. Autumn was right around the corner, and school was mere days away.

Reaching the window she pushed it all the way open to let in a small amount of cool air. She stood there for quite some time with her eyes shut enjoying the change in temperature, even if it was a small one. After a moment the draft ceased and Sakura opened her eyes ones more.

Across the street was a small park, some of its outlines weren't visible in the darkness of the night. A look of anguish rose on her soft features. She always liked going to the park, but for a long time she hadn't been able to bring herself to step food upon the graveled ground.

-Flashback-

Sakura was thirsty! It was such a hot day outside and she needed juice asap. As she skipped her way inside the back door she passed by Ikura as he hurried to leave the kitchen. Sakura didn't mind him, she was on a mission!

When she stepped into the cozy kitchen she immediately felt a change in atmosphere. She hear the hushed voices of her parents coming from the living room. She was very curious as to what was going on, so she quietly peeked her head around the corner to see.

"You can't." Her mom hissed in a hushed tone. She was clearly angry wish something and Sakura could probably guess what that was. Her dad had a tendency to sneak out of family events at the most inopportune times. It felt like he was always leaving every important event because he was called into work. True, her dad had a very important job, as he protected the lives of all the citizens of Honoha, but that never seemed like much of a consolation to Sakura.

"I have to." Her dad replied while pulling his arms through the sleeves of his uniform jacket. "You know that I would stay if I could. But it's an emergency, Mebuki."

"It's ALWAYS an emergency! How could one small bloody town have so many goddamn emergencies?" Her mom threw her arms up in the arm, raising her voice a little louder. "It's probably those damn bratty Akatsuki kids spray painting walls or just terrorizing the Inuzuka's dogs again!"

"You don't know that for sure, honey."

The golden hair women let out a cry of frustration. "How could you leave now? It's Sakura's birthday for god's sake. What are you going to tell her?"

Her dad was sitting on his reclining chair tying up this work boots. He didn't respond for a moment, he seemed to be thinking of the proper thing to say. After while he sighed and glanced up at his wife, his deep green eyes filled with an apologetic look.

"Oh, no." Her mom said instantly knowing that face, "No chance are you leaving this for me to deal with! It's your choice to walk out on her birthday, you're the one who has to tell her."

her dad finished tying his boots and stood up slowly, not saying anything as he made his way over to his wife. he looked her in the eye and said softly, "I have to go. Tell my little sweet pea that I'm sorry, but daddy's gotta go catch bad guys. I'll make it up to her."

Her mom snorted, "She's going to be furious."

"I know."

"I am too."

"I know."

Her dad let out another sad sigh. He leaned down to kiss her mom on the head, but she pulled away and started walking back toward the kitchen.

"I love you." He called after her.

"Just leave." She seethed.

Sakura stayed hidden in the doorway until she was sure her father and mother were gone. She watched at the front window as her dad's squad car took off down of the driveway. She had sat there and that very seat countless times before. Her heart dropped in her chest every time.

-End Flashback-

Another breath of wind blew through the neighborhood, causing the swings in the playground to sway. The sound of rusty metal echoed between the houses on the street.

Closing her eyes once more, Sakura let out a painful sigh. It hadn't been that long ago that she and her parents had sat on those swings, just joking around and enjoying their time together. But now it seemed like an eternity had gone by since she had smiled.

After opening her eyes again, Sakura turned around in the dark room and stumbled back to her bed. Laying down she threw her thin coral blanket over herself trying to get comfortable, a thing she doubted she could do. She had never been able to relax and consent to comfort while she had something on her mind. And on nights she had that nightmare her mind was always racing.

-Flashback-

Later that night after everyone else had gone home, Sakura, Ino and Tenten settled down in the living room for the night. Do to the weather the girls couldn't have a camp out in the backyard like that had originally planned. Instead, Sakura's mom had set up sleeping bags in their living room and lit the fireplace so that the girls could have a makeshift camp out. Her mom had gone to sleep upstairs hours ago, but the girls were too hopped up on sugar to feel sleepy. They had been telling ghost stories by their fireplace for an hour already, and the girls were getting a little freaked out.

"The footsteps came closer; step Scrape, step Scrape, step Scrape." Tenten did the motions along with her story, drawing the two others in more, "They came closer, closer. Finally she reached the front door, turned the knob. Gasped! It was locked! Slowly, she turned around and… ARGH!"

Tenten screamed, flailing her arms around like she was holding the bloodied hatchet of the psychotic lumberjack, pretending to chop the limbs off of her friends. Ino and Sakura both started screaming in terror!

After a few moments the screams erupted into giggles and the girls settled back down again.

"That was a good one, Tenten!" Sakura complimented.

"Thanks!" She replied, "I go camping with my family a lot. I know all the best camp fire stories."

"I'm getting kinda tired of scary stories, though." Ino complained. "I have a better idea!"

Sakura had learned that when Ino plays truth or dare she plays it aggressively. After a few rounds of simple questions and dares, Ino started getting more outlandish.

"Sakura, it's your turn. Truth or dare?" she asked

"Umm," Sakura thought about it for a moment, "Truth."

"Ugh, forehead!" The blonde whined, "You always pick truth! Pick dare for once."

"Yeah, Sakura. Come on." Tenten prompted.

"Okay, fine." Sakura gave in, "Dare."

"Oh, forehead. I have the perfect dare for you!" Ino started giggling in amusement which, for Sakura, is never a good sign. "I dare you to go get a bottle of your parent's alcohol!"

"What?" Sakura was taken back, "N-no, I can't."

"What's the matter?" Ino teased, "Is little itty bitty Sakura scared? Aww, I thought she was a cool teenager now, but I guess I was wrong."

"Shut up, Ino-pig. This is serious. We could get in trouble!"

The blonde scoffed, "Oh whatever, Sakura. Stop being such a chicken! Just go do it already!"

Sakura has always been a shy, nervous young girl. But ever since she had become friends with Ino and Tenten she was being taken out of her shell. "Dragged" was probably a more accurate term. The other girls would tease, pressure, and bully her into doing whatever they wanted her to do. She felt that if she stood up for herself they wouldn't like her as much. Her whole life she had just wanted to fit in and have friends. She wasn't about to mess that all up by standing up for herself now.

It was only a matter of time before Sakura gave in to the other girls. Together the three of them quietly crept into her basement where her parents kept their liquor. Once they opened the cabinet they discovered that none of the girls had any idea what the bottles of liquid were. They decided to bring a few of the open bottles upstairs so that they could have a little taste of everything.

"Owhg." Sakura choked out a sound as she tried not to spit the brown liquid all over her friends. "That's so gross!"

"Oh, man up!" Tenten jeered, taking another swig from a different bottle. She too cringed as the taste hit her mouth, but she seemed to be handling herself much better than Sakura.

"Shhh, keep it down." Sakura whispered, "We don't want to wake my mom!"

"Ugh, Sakura, relax would you?" Ino said between swallows, "Everything's going to be fine!"

-End Flachback-

Throwing her blanket back off of her overheating body, Sakura rolled over on the couch and buried her face in her pillow. She let out a groan; she'd rather not remember what came next. Not that she wanted to remember all that had gone through her head already tonight. Believe her; nothing could make her want to forget it more.

Groaning again, she pinched her eyes closed and tried desperately to shake the visions from her view. But like every time she started thinking about her mother she could not get the images of her out of her head.

-Flashback-

Sakura awoke a short while later; she and her companions had all passed out a short while after they had started drinking. Her head was spilling a little, she was very groggy, and she felt abnormally warm. Her eyes fluttered open slowly and immediately her heart started to race.

Fire.

Fire was dancing all around her. It started at the fireplace and branched out across the walls, and it was now nearly incompacing the whole room. She tried to scream - call for help - but fright had left her without a voice.

Quickly she leaned over and shoved Ino and Tenten awake. "Get up! Get up!" She screeched over and over, grabbing at their sleeping bags. Both girls awoke, startled, and sat upright with terrified expressions as they took a split second to witness the sight around them.

"Oh my god!" Ino screamed, stumbling as she tried to jump to her feet.

The girls all fumbled around frantically trying to find a way out – a way to safety. Sakura scrambled up from her sleeping bag, her heart racing. She wildly looked around the room. Through the smoke she could almost make out a path to the kitchen. If she could just make it through there she should be able to escape through the back door. It was a risk, but at this point it was her only shot.

"This way!" She called out. She held her forearm up to her brow and squinted, trying to cover her eyes from the sting of smoke and flying ashes.

She tried to lead the way through the smoke and flames as fast as possible. It didn't matter how

A pained scream rang out from behind her. She halted in her spot and spun around, trying desperately to see where her friend was.

"Ah, my arm!" She heard her friend's voice through the thick grey plooms of smoke.

"Ino!" She cried out into the darkness."Tenten!"

"JUST RUN!" Ino screeched as her silhouette finally came into Sakura's view. She was clutching her bicep her hand and dashing toward the kitchen, Tenten in toe.

The girls were able to weave their way around the last of the flame. They bust through the backdoor at the same time, all falling to a heap on the ground.

"Aaah! It burns!" Ino wailed in pain, sitting on the ground and clutching her arm.

Disorientated, dizzy, and nauseous, Sakura scratched at her burning eyes which stung so much she could hardly open them. Coughing, choking, and gasping for air, she slowly crawled further from the house. The young girl used the last bit of straight she had left in her arms to push herself into a sitting position on the cold ground.

"Ahh, make it stop!" Ino's cries filled the neighbourhood.

"Oh my god, what was happening?" She questioned herself as she continued to gasp for air. She desperately racked her brain for any explanation, but came up with nothing. She couldn't think straight. Nothing made sense.

She spun around to face the burning building just in time to witness the top floor of the small suburban home give way to the flames. She heard a few creaks, and then the second floor collapsed with a horrendous crash. Sakura's eyes widened in horror and she let out a scream at the top of her lungs that cut through the night.

"MOM!"

-End Flashback-

Fresh tears filled to the brim of her emerald eyes and she tightly squeezed them shut. She was unable to contain the sadness that poured down the pale skin of her cheeks.

So, what do you guys think so far? Please, let me know! I'd love to hear from you.

Cheers.