Authors Note: So, this is my first fanfiction. I'm still working on my writing and most likely I'll be making some tweaks to each chapter as time goes on. If there are any mistakes in editing, feel free to inform me. I hope you enjoy this.
Disclaimer: I do NOT own any of these characters (but I wish I did). They belong to Masashi Kishimoto.
'thoughts'
"speaking"
*FLASHBACKS*
It was a blistering hot day as a young pink haired kunoichi stood at the training grounds. The sun beat down on her petite body as she panted, her chest moving up and down with each exhale. Her skin glistened as sweat trickled down her body. The girl's jade orbs were alert as she scanned the forest looking for any signs of movement. Abruptly, she focused her chakra into her fist and pummeled it into the ground, splitting the earth beneath her into ragged pieces. The strength of her blow revealed a blonde haired boy nestled in the ground. He gave out a frustrated grunt while the girl ran at full speed at him, with the intent to kill. She raised her fist and focused her chakra once more into her hand. Just before her attack made contact with the boy, he jumped onto the limb of the tree and plopped down.
"Awww! Come on Sakura-chan! We've been going at it all day. You need to replenish your chakra and take a break." Naruto said. "Besides, I'm in the mood for some ramen."
"Resting won't do you any good." Sakura said harshly. "Training will improve our skills."
"Sakura, you've already reached ANBU status and you're the top medic-nin in Konoha. Do you really think that a day's rest is going to kill you? Plus, you just got back from a mission yesterday. Take a break."
"No Naruto." Sakura snapped. He flinched as her words reached his ears sharply. Sakura's eyes softened as she saw her best friend retreat from her words "No, it's fine Naruto. Go on to Ichiraku's without me."
"Okay then. But next time you're going with me. Dattebayo!"
Sakura smiled at Naruto's retreated figure. He was the one of the few people that she talked to let alone was nice to. He'd been with her since they were Genin and needless to say, he held a special place in her heart. Naruto was her best friend. Nothing more and nothing less which was the way she liked it. Slowly, she smoothed out the wrinkles on her shirt and went back to training. After hours of beating herself and pushing to her max, she gathered up the remnants of her energy and started walking back to her apartment. As she walked down the busy marketplace, she felt the eyes of Konoha's residents bore into her back. She was used to this. The boys gawked at her while the girls gossiped about her. One boy in particular made no attempt to hide his stare. Sakura shot him a glare and he immediately averted his eyes to the sky.
Sakura reached towards her apartment. She brought her hand up towards the brass door knob and opened the chipped, red-painted door. Slowly, she walked inside and hung up her holster. Sakura went straight to her bathroom and started healing her wounds from her training session. A green glow emitted from her hands as they tended at her gashes and bruises.
Sakura looked at herself in the mirror. Her hair was long and pink, flowing all the way down to her belly button. She no longer wore her hair in layers like she used to as a kid. It was now pin straight and clipped to the side with two black clips. Tsunade once told her that her hair style reminded her of the Fourth Hokage's wife, Kushina. Sakura's face had thinned out as she grew older and her body had gotten curvier and more womanly. The most prominent change in her were her eyes. They no longer had that glint of innocence and happiness that they once possessed. They were cold and hard just like she was. She laughed to herself. It wasn't like she expected them to be full of life and love. She lost that a while ago. She was a killer now. An assassin. Konoha's Cold Cherry Blossom as she was known as. She never showed any compassion towards anyone but Naruto or Ino. She never spoke unless spoken to.
Sakura healed her last wound and stepped out into her room. She stripped down to a white tank top with black shorts and climbed into bed. She stared up at the ceiling as the red glow of her clock changed with each passing minute. She'd been having trouble sleeping ever since her family was brutally murdered.
*FLASHBACK*
"Mom?! Dad?! I'm home!!" Sakura sang as she hung up her overcoat. She'd just gotten back from the Hokage's office and was brimming with excitement. She'd been promoted to Jounin. The pink haired beauty walked into the halls of her home.
"Okaasan? Tousan? Where are you guys anyways?"
About halfway down the hallway, Sakura felt something wet on her feet. She looked down and saw a crimson pool around her. Her eyes widened and her mind processed what could have happened. 'No. No. No.' She started running for the kitchen, screaming for her parents. "OKAASAN!! TOUSAN! WHER--" She stopped dead in her tracks. Her heart stopped beating as her eyes widened at the sight before. Her parents' corpses lay lifeless in front of her eyes. The arms of her mother were mangled and cut while her father's neck had a large deep cut. Blood decorated the once pale yellow walls of the kitchen. Furniture was toppled over and various items littered the floor. Sakura kneeled at her parents and frantically attempted to heal them. Her glowing hands tried to sow the wounds as tears pricked her eyes. After a few minutes, reality hit her. There was no way that she could heal them. They were too dismembered to even attempt to heal. Someone's loud sobs and cries of help interrupted her. The sound echoed through the empty halls, getting louder and louder. Sakura looked around to see where it came from and soon realized that they were her sobs and her cries. There was too much pain in her heart. She felt like she was going to burst as her head reeled.
"Sakura." a deep voice murmured.
Sakura looked up and saw the outline of a male figure emerged from the shadows. her eyes widened as she realized who he was. She was looking at her parents' murderer.
*END FLASHBACK*
Sakura winced as she remembered. She rolled onto her side and pulled the blanket over her body. She tried to shake off the memory and scolded herself for letting herself remember. She attempted to think of other things as she wished desperately for sleep even though she hadn't had a dream in years. The steady humming of the air condition filled the room while Sakura slowly drifted off into unconsciousness.
A small beam of light hit Sakura's face, forcing her to open her eyes. She groaned as she got out of bed. The cold air hit her like a wrecking ball. With a sharp intake of her breath, Sakura quickly changed into her regular attire: a red sleeveless top that bore the Haruno symbol on the top and white shorts with black boots that reached up mid-thigh. When she walked out of her apartment, she wasn't surprised to see Naruto there, waiting for her.
"Ohayo Sakura-chan!" Naruto said brightly. Sakura merely nodded before the two descended down the street. Sakura stayed silent (as usual) as Naruto babbled aimlessly about his date with Hinata. As she reached the entrance of the hospital, the blonde haired boy waved goodbye to her as she approached the doors of the hospital.
The automatic slider doors glided away from each other and Sakura stepped in. The familiar smell of sterilizers and non-allergenic cleaning chemicals wafted through the air. The pink haired girl stepped into the elevators and pushed the button for the 12th floor. It seemed like eternity until the silver doors opened.
"Ohayo Haruno-san" the nurse said as soon as she saw Sakura. Sakura merely looked at the brunette as she glided past and into her office. She slipped on a white coat and picked up her blue fountain pen. Swiftly, she started to sign papers and overlook patient's medical cases. After what had been an hour of writing and reading nonstop, Sakura stretched her arms out above her head and tilted her neck back, getting out the kinks that had developed there. Suddenly, her office door burst open to reveal a panting woman.
"Haruno-san! There's been an emergency on floor 13. You must come at once!" the young nurse sputtered. Sakura sprang up from her seat, making some papers jump up and flutter to the ground. She dashed towards the 13th floor.
"What's wrong with the patient?" Sakura asked as the nurse handed her her sterile gloves.
"Major damage to his internal organs, broken ribs and arm. He has also been poisoned. Shikamaru's Team had brought him back this morning in critical condition. He's hanging by a thread. Haruno-san, his name is-"
"I don't need to know who he is nor do I care. Get me some bowls of water and meet me at the operating table. NOW." Sakura barked. She burst through the doors to see Tsunade already operating.
"Sakura! Work on getting the poison out of his leg. Once you're done with that help me mend his wounds!" Tsunade ordered. Sakura immediately got to work. She dipped her hands into a bowl and channeled her green chakra to her palm. Carefully, she lifted up her palm up and carried a bubble of water towards the patient. She pressed her hands down close to his skin and forced her hand through his leg. The patient screamed in agony. Sakura moved her hand around, making sure that the globe of water soaked up some of the poison and lifted her hand out of the body. The once clear bubble now had little purple wisps of poison in it. Gracefully, Sakura brought her hand above an empty bowl and released the water, making it splash around the edge of the bowl.
"Keep those bowls. I'm going to need the poison to identify where it came from." Sakura ordered the nurse.
"Hai."
Sakura continued to work and extract the poison. For hours, she repeated the process until she was sure that there was no poison left in the body. Once she was done, she wiped the beads of sweat that had formed on her head.
"Sakura, I need you to help me mend his wounds." Tsunade said.
Sakura nodded and emitted her chakra once more to her hand. Moving towards the patient's rib cage, she meticulously forced the bones back to their rightful places. It was like fixing a puzzle, except this puzzle was alive and breathing.
As soon as Sakura was done, she stepped out of operating room. It had been a success. Sakura looked up at the clock and frowned. It was already 10:00 PM and she came to the hospital at 9 AM. She'd been working for 13 hours.
"Sakura, you've done well. I'm afraid you've surpassed me." the Hokage smiled. Sakura nodded. "I was wondering how you would react today, but you seemed quite calm."
Sakura gave her master a confused look.
"Did you even realize who the patient was?"
A/N: Sorry this chapter was so short. I promise I'll make the next chapter longer if people end up liking this thing. Again, I apologize for my amateur-ness.
twilista
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