Summary:

"I have no past, and no future. I kill without mercy, without thought. I became a ghost of the world, there one minute gone the next. I am a warrior, a soldier, an assassin, a machine, glossed over with humanity. I am a Hunter."

Six years ago, Sasuke betrayed Konoha and went to Orochimaru. Two years ago Naruto left on an extended mission to capture said missing-nin. Just three months after she become a Jounin, word came back that Kakashi was missing and presumed dead. The once Haruno Sakura had died, and in her place was a Huntress; one who killed without mercy and without thought. She did it not for Konoha, not for herself, but for her boys. She became a ghost of the world - there one minute gone the next. She was Rei.

Parings: KakaSaku in the way future. Maybe some NaruSasu

Rated: M

Disclaimer: I sadly do not own Naruto or any of its characters. Naruto belongs to Masashi Kishimoto

A/N: Ok is it Jounin or Jonin!? Cuz I've seen it both ways and it makes my brain hurt trying to figure out what it is.

Edited: 4/14/08

Prologue

The Huntress sighed and absent-mindedly balanced on the small cliff edge. She usually never got bored on missions, but her target was late - several hours late. She knew civilians were slow, but not this slow.

She had showed up an hour before sunrise, hoping to catch her target in the dark. If he went off course she was screwed. She mentally groaned and rubbed her hands over her mask-less face. She couldn't afford to screw up this mission.

She sighed aloud and angled her katana into a more comfortable position on her back that will not hinder her should there be a surprise attack. She sits down; a dark figure against the dark night. She pulls her knees up to her chest; one would think this was due to the night's icy bite, but she does it out of habit really, not for the warmth it brings. She can't remember how long ago it was, but she knows that there was a time when she was one of them, ignorant and still human, having a heart and emotions. It doesn't matter to her anymore.

Her pale skin and sakura flower colored hair stood out against her dark Hunter's uniform in comparison; the standard sleeveless black leather vest and skintight pants that cling to her legs. She hasn't brought a coat, but then again, she doesn't need it; she had been in much colder temperatures than this and her chakra kept her warm enough if needed.

She can't really remember the time before she joined the Hunters except for the random shreds of memory that pop up every now and then, and she has the feeling that she doesn't want to remember it. Now her lips curl into a derisive smile as she remembers some of the other memory shards she's experienced: terror, fear, and above all, helplessness. It's a complete contradiction to everything that she knows as a Hunter: you're as good as dead if you let fear blank your mind; prey if you run and let them hunt you down, and worse than dead if you don't die and you can't fight back.

A memory hits her now, and she's overwhelmed by the backlash of emotion that comes along with it. The sudden flurry of whirling feelings that hit her makes her heart beat faster, and she gasps at the rawness of it all. Images slip and slide through her mind, and she catches glimpses of them.

Silver hair and mismatched eyes; one onyx the other crimson. She can't remember who they seem to belong to, but she knows that those eyes are important to her, and the strong sense of protectiveness makes her choke momentarily on her breath. She catches a glimpse of a knowing smirk on handsome masculine features, but she can't put a face to it. Whispers of longing, hope, passion rush through her ears as she hears his voice, but she doesn't know who it is.

And then, just as suddenly as the rush of memory has appeared, the images disappear again, leaving her with bitterness, cold and a phantom pain that aches painfully in her heart.

She can't understand the how and why of it, as she presses her right hand just slightly above her left breast, trying to will the pain away, but it refuses to leave, and just as she knows that the pain is not physical and cannot be removed so easily, she also knows that she lost something very important – probably the most important thing to her back – in her lifetime of shattered and for the most part, forgotten memories.

The sound of footsteps, and the unfamiliar presence close to her makes her snap out of her silent reverie as she freezes for a moment before she scrubs the tears away from her tears none-too-gently with one hand, reaching for her katana in the other. She turns looks warily towards the intruder as her grip tightens on the hilt of her katana, and feels her eyes widen slightly as she takes the sight of him in.

A strange feeling of familiarity seeps into her skin as her eyes travel upwards from the black boots he wears, bandages pulled taut against his legs that stop just below his knee. She continues the once-over, noticing his disheveled clothes. But that silver, and those mismatched eyes, that handsome face, the familiar chakra. She knew; "Kakashi?"

The stranger smiled widely, "Hey Sakura."