A/N: Hey guys, this is my first Naruto fanfic so forgive me if it isn't… that great :P Also I'm not really up to date with the manga so if you find anything that doesn't really match up just, well, ignore it if possible :P Enjoy & Review (:

Disclaimer: … I need a disclaimer? On a fanfiction site? Oh-kay then… *darts eyes*

Golden Child

Sakura had long since gotten over her childish infatuation with Uchiha Sasuke and a once deep longing had turned into a kind of simple hatred for the infamous traitor of Konoha. But when their paths cross unexpectedly, their relationship is brought together by one sweet yet powerful golden child. Sakura H. / Sasuke U.

One

'I So Hate Consequences' Relient K

Sakura flittered from tree branch to tree branch, muttering strings of profanities and several curses sending no one in particular to the very depths of hell and back. Twice. She had only just returned to Konoha after a particularly long and meticulously chakra-draining B grade mission and yet, almost the moment she returned, a desperate looking Tsunade had assigned her another one. As if being allocated a new assignment before she could even say hello to her friends wasn't enough, this mission was an A grade. And she was to complete it alone.

She wasn't even informed of any new revelations on the status of, well, anything that happened in the village while she was gone. Talk about becoming a hermit.

Unconsciously she placed a hand on the scroll tied to her belt. Sakura's objective was clear; there had been an abnormal burst of chakra, quite strong chakra, on the outskirts of Konoha and near a small community; population of about a hundred. She was to investigate the source of the strange incident and escort anyone she thought to be involved back to Konoha for questioning. Of course, if that particular someone could be a danger to Sakura or the village she was to report back to the Hokage as soon as possible and a squad would be sent out. Tsunade wasn't sure what caused this strange burst of chakra however and saw fit that only one able-bodied healer should check it out instead of wasting a team of ninja who could be used elsewhere.

"Sake-drinking, temper-drive, uncaring little…" Sakura muttered, letting go another string of profanities at her situation. The spurt of chakra could have been anything. Or nothing. Tsunade could have at least had a sliver of kindness and let Naruto or Hinata join her on this mission, especially since it was an A grade. And she hadn't seen them for almost a month. Besides, it was always good to have back up in case something did not go to plan.

A shiver went up Sakura's spine, a small premonition of things to come.

But the Leaf nin just brushed the feeling of foreboding off, realising that she was close to the area of the strange phenomenon. Just ahead she could feel several strong chakra, probably a team of Jounin, or high level Chounin. Masking her own chakra, Sakura stealthily made her way through the foliage before gasping at the sight before her.

Still hidden from sight, she let her eyes slowly take in the scene before her; orbs as emerald green as the leaves surrounding the rosette calculating and assessing. Shock and horror, for the moment, was pushed roughly to the side. A team of high ranking Sound ninja were in a rough circle around the edges of the strange clearing, devoid of any form of vegetation – every blade of grass seemed to have been ripped right out of the ground. Several more ninja lay unconscious – although Sakura could tell that they were most likely dead as their chests did not lift up and down in the slightest and their skin already had a deathly pallor. What really shocked the kunoichi though were the two beings in the centre of the ring of heavily armed, very strong Sound nin.

A dishevelled looking woman and her little child, who was clutching with trembling fingers to the remnants of her mother's ripped and blood stained shirt.

Sakura's bright, bottle green eyes narrowed considerably, fury building up in her chest like a volcano readying itself to erupt. And when this kunoichi let go of the shaky rein of control she had over her temper, her rage was not unlike that of a massive explosion of spewing, bubbling, red hot lava, suffocating ash and massive, killing boulders falling from the sky; a disaster on all in close proximity.

And, at that moment, that shaky rein of control was becoming more and more like a weakness to hold her back than a necessary precaution.

Sakura bit her lip to stop herself from crying out. She had sensed it before she saw it; the shuriken whizzing through the air. The shuriken flying towards the woman. The mother. The shuriken imbedding itself in the back of her neck; a shot cleaning slicing her spinal cord so that even if she did not die, never would she be able to move her limbs again. But as the woman collapsed onto the hard, lifeless earth with a bone chilling snap, Sakura knew it was her end.

The midnight-haired child, wide eyed and gaping, stared at her mother, not fully comprehending what was happening. Not fully comprehending that this event would change her life forever. She whimpered and tears collected in her terrified, dark orbs.

Sakura had had enough.

Before the Sound nin's advanced on the child, she threw numerous shuriken as hard as she possibly could in her drained state, which was still quite hard, towards the edge of the clearing. A distraction. Then, as quick as her chakra-infused legs could carry her, Sakura ran at the tiny girl, scooped her up and sped at a break-neck pace back into the forest. She forgot her mission, she forgot how tired she really was, she forgot to wonder why they were after this harmless girl and her mother; she forgot everything except the small, shaking bundle in her arms and the team of angry, powerful ninja racing after her.

Sakura's heart pounded in her chest and her legs started to cramp, but her mind was crystal clear.

Therefore, the kunoichi knew she was doomed.

But there was still a chance she could save the child. As long as she got near enough to another settlement – or even Konoha if she could manage it – so that the child to be able to get there by herself with just a point of a finger in the general direction. Then Sakura could sacrifice herself as a distraction.

I mean, I'm going to get axed either way so I might as well save her, she thought somewhat bitterly, letting herself take a moment to glance at the child in her arms. One thing was for sure; she was terrified and salty tears streaked down her cheeks. Doing the only thing she could think of, Sakura lightly ran her fingers through the girl's silky, midnight tresses and gently hushed her.

Soon enough, the tears stopped and the child hiccuped. "Mummy?" she whispered in possibly the sweetest voice Sakura had ever heard. Tears pricked the back of the kunoichi's eyes but she didn't let them fall.

She hadn't cried since… that day. And she wasn't about to start now.

"No sweetie, Mummy isn't here," Sakura said in what she hoped was a reassuring and soothing tone but on the inside she was bordering on hysteria.

The ninjas were coming closer.

There was silence for a moment, only the tell-tale sound of a few snapped twigs and rustled leaves from behind, confirming the squad was still there, and closing in fast. Then one word: "Dead." It wasn't a question. There was no sadness in the young girl's voice. In fact, there was no feeling at all. Just a dry and bitter realisation that the one person she loved most in the world was gone forever. Sakura slowed down a fraction in shock and looked down into two dark orbs. Her eyes completely and utterly contradicted the child's bleak tone. It was the eyes of someone's heart breaking.

Sakura would know.

But this youngster was only around four years of age. Four. No one should have to feel the sting of losing a loved one at so young an age.

The kunoichi realised that she couldn't possibly reach a settlement or village fast enough. Her legs ached and her chakra was quickly wasting away. So she had two choices now and neither comforted Sakura. One, she could put down the girl, hide her somewhere quick and then try and fight off all the Sound nins and somehow manage to defeat them all. Or two, she could put down the girl, hide her somewhere quick, point in the general direction of the closest settlement and run in the opposite direction, hoping she would be followed.

Number two had a somewhat better chance of succeeding and maybe, if she managed to shake off the squad somehow, Sakura could loop back around and quickly escort the child to safety. And if the ninjas caught up with her, well….

"Okay sweetheart," said Sakura, putting the child down but not daring to stare into her eyes; the kunoichi had experienced enough heartbreak for a lifetime. "See that fallen branch over there? You go lie flat on your belly under there alright? Don't move, even if creepy crawlies tickle you, and don't make a sound until you hear that I have left, and especially those other scary men. Understand?"

They were less than a hundred paces away, now. Not waiting for an answer, Sakura continued, "See how the sun is going down in that direction? You have to follow the sun and even if it disappears you keep going in that direction. When you come to a road or a path, follow it still in the direction of the sun, understand?"

Fifty paces away.

"Okay sweetie, go. Go now!" The child didn't move. Sakura resisted the urge to scream. "Don't you get it? Go! Hide! Before they come!" she hissed, taking a few breaths to try and calm herself. She didn't want the mother's death to be for nothing.

Twenty paces away.

Sakura grabbed the girl's shoulders and lifted her chin up, shaking her slightly. Looking into those two shadowy orbs, the rosette saw fear, shock, loss and knew that the child could hardly grasp the incident in the clearing, yet alone the vague instructions being hastily imparted to her. But there was no choice. "Child," Sakura knelt down and stared into those innocent, dark pools, "I know this is scary and I know you're afraid, but don't let your mother's passing be for nothing. Save yourself so you can remember her, and share your memories with others. The memory of her smell, her laugh, her smile." Sakura wasn't sure whether there was a father somewhere or whether he was dead as well, but she didn't ask in case it brought up any more distressing memories. "So, go now. Hide." The kunoichi placed a soft kiss on her forehead.

The child nodded slightly and heeded her words, tottering unsteadily to the huge, fallen tree trunk and lay down underneath it, her small body hidden by the shrubbery.

Sakura breathed a sigh of relief just as the Sound nin's appeared, seemingly from the shadows and blocking every possible exit. She knew it was her end and she embraced it. It would not help the child in the slightest if she broke down now, when the girl lay no less than ten paces away. Sakura would miss her friends; Naruto, Hinata, Ino, Shikamaru, Tenten, Neji, Kakashi, Tsunade and everyone else in her precious, beautiful village. She hoped Tsunade wouldn't get too angry at her for not completing the mission. She hoped everyone wouldn't grieve for long, and get back to their daily lives. She hoped they would play a happy song at her funeral, instead of one of those sappy, depressing ones. She hoped the child made it the settlement safely and that, if he was still alive, she was reunited with her father. The pink haired woman faced the Sound nin with her head held high, and forced herself to not regret that she had never got to see him again. It would do no good to regret losing him.

A shuriken flew out from the foliage and sliced her thigh, forcing Sakura to fall to the floor, on her knees. She stopped herself from crying out and instead took steady, shallow breaths. How was she supposed to run now? She mentally urged the child to stay completely still. It was hard for youngsters to stay in the same place for a long period of time, after all. But this girl was different somehow. She would be fine. She had to be.

What seemed like the leader of the group jumped off a branch and landed gracefully in front of her. He gently lifted up Sakura's chin, and stroked her jaw line. "Kunoichi," he said in a low voice, his tone containing the hint of a warning. "Where is the girl?"

Sakura glared up at him, her emerald eyes burning viciously.

The Sound nin sighed, and the hand which was once caressing her cheek pulled back and slapped her with a sickening crack. He leaned in even closer. "Don't test me. Tell me where she is and your death will be quick and painless. Quite a waste though…" he added as an afterthought, eyeing her hungrily as he ran his fingers down her slender neck.

She couldn't hold back a shudder and the leader grinned wolfishly.

"Where is she?" he asked again, pronouncing each word slowly and with added menace. Sakura didn't reply. He took a fistful of her pink locks and jerked brutally, lifting her emerald orbs up to his muddy brown ones. He looked absolutely murderous and, again, he slapped her. Harder this time. Livid bruises appeared on her tearless cheek, and this lack of emotion seemed to infuriate him further. "Not answering are you, little whore?"

Ripping her shirt to mere shreds hanging off her body, he pummelled the once clear skin on her arms and torso; her stomach dealing most of the heavy blows. "I shall only ask you one more time, pathetic excuse for a kunoichi," he hissed, dropping her to the ground in a bloodied mess before kicking her harshly. "Where is the girl, you useless bitch."

Sakura gulped down a couple of shallow breaths of air, inhaling dirt and her own blood as well. Then with her last ounce of strength she lifted her head and spat on the Sound nin's polished boots. "Fuck you."

Her mind was a mess and every thought was like wading through a marsh. She knew nothing but the pain which stabbed at her like a million sharpened kunai. Dots blurred her vision as she saw the man readying for the killing blow. Then he turned, distracted by something. Sakura turned as well, and her skull pounded.

She saw the child. Coming out of her hiding spot. Walking towards them. Dark eyes flaming. The Sound nin's converging on her. Feeling dizzy. Sudden. Intense bright, golden light. A huge burst of chakra. Trying to cry out. The child next to her. "Dead," she whispered. The child turning. Sakura turning. A figure in the shadows.

With onyx eyes.

Him.

Him?

The child crying. Him staring at the mess before him. Him coming closer. Him saying her name. "Sakura." Her saying his name.

"Sasuke?"

Then, finally, darkness…