Complete summary: (Sakura's POV) AU. I'm drifting again, just drifting blindly through life. I go anywhere they tell me to, kill anyone they they even point at. Why? It's hard to remember. I've been doing it since... my first kill. Funny how it's almost like your virginity; once you lose it, you can cry all you want but you'll never get that certain something back. I'm numb now, so numb I can't even tell if my heart is there sometimes, though that may be for the best because sometimes I see the faces of those I've killed—some friends I dared to call dear.Now, my only purpose in life is to destroy, and being in Konoha doesn't change anything.

Hello my fellow obsessive Naruto fanatics.This was my first fanfic, oh, I don't know, nearly three years ago and has been abandoned for quite some time. Have no fear! I'm back with a(n) (actual) plot line with (hopefully) better writing abilities and more! I winced at my old writing; I really did. It was god awful, so much that I'd like to slap myself but I'm allergic to pain.

This will be a very AU fic, with a few relations to the original (wonderful) Naruto world.

Konoha, sand, mist, etc. will now be various cities around the country. Ninja's aren't everywhere, but violence and guns sure are. Chakra's a rare thing, and smart people like to keep their abilities hidden or they'll either be targeted as threats or rounded up as experiments/soldiers.

In the original version of this, Sakura and company were 14 and in the 8th grade (what was I thinking, yikes. There's not enough drama in middle school). They've made a move up, however, and are now lovely little 17 year-olds.

Last but not least! Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto, or anything of any value for that matter, and writing this is totally bogus but quite entertaining because it shows how entertaining you can be. In this case, I suppose I fail.

Now, happy reading.

Drifting

Sakura swayed in the wind, the soft hushing noise a sweet lullaby to her. Standing under the shifting shade of a tree, her eyes were closed in sweet bliss. Heavenly. That was the only word she could think of to describe her life of eight years thus far. There was nothing that could beat the light of which her life flared so violently, so happily.

She began to hum, because she knew there was no way she could express her feelings by words. Next to her, sitting at the base of the tree, the older boy smiled softly.

Raven black hair fell into his charcoal eyes as they drifted over her petit figure. After a moment, he began to hum to.

Together they created a lovely melody with highs so steep she thought her soul would topple over and shatter, but then his low, smooth voice was always there to catch her and swing her in his arms just before she fell. In the distance the sun dipped, and the wing settled, just a brief second, for a fleeting minute, and after a blessed set of five.

Then, she spoke, ever so softly as if something very dear would shatter if she weren't cautious. "Ne…" At this moment, her life's light was at its peak, blazing so vigorously that it was possible it outmatched the sun.

His deep orbs met her ever brilliant green ones. "Yes, Sakura?" he whispered, sweet and more understanding than anyone of his age. Bright, bright, the fire was so beautiful and orange and vibrant.

"Will we be like this forever?" she asked earnestly.The boy looked taken aback, something Sakura noticed. She blushed. "I mean, it doesn't have to be forever. Just a really long time."

His eyes lowered. "Of course."

Gleeful, she twirled out from under the tree, tilted her head, and threw her gaze at the heated sky. Oh it was so perfect, illuminated in glory. With one leg out for balance and the other planted firmly on the ground, she continued to spin like a tinkering ballerina.

Then a writhing shadow emerged and consumed everything.

"No!" Sakura groaned and rolled over on the cold wooden ground, her heart hammering uncontrollably in her ribcage. She gasped in air, trying to calm her thudding chest, and realized what had happened. Like a lazy fool, sleep had claimed her after her morning workout. It had been inevitable, she knew. A person could only go for so long without sleep, and she hated relying on the dreamless pills.

They screwed her up more than any lack of sleep ever could. Vomiting, heart palpitations, it came with a whole list of problems, but she still preferred them over dreaming.

There was nothing worse than dreaming.

Dimmed green eyes checked the time. It was 6:30, barely enough time to shower before heading to her first day of class. Funny how after ten years of blatantly ignoring the educational system, she was shoved into one until "further notice" according to the orders she had gotten. The only other thing it had mentioned was to stay low and become familiar with the surroundings.

Orders, that's all she lived for now: little tiny words scrawled on scraps of paper, all doomed to be burned lest someone else find them.

Sakura shrugged off her bitterness and headed to the bathroom. She mercilessly scrubbed her face before climbing into the shower, but even then she could not help but catch a glimpse of herself in the mirror.

Chestnut brown hair weaved down her head, lifeless and uncared for and gleaming blue contacts stared back at her. She was a stranger in her own body, but it couldn't be helped, as she liked to tell herself. None of this could be helped, because she was back in this cursed town where it had all started and no one was allowed to recognize her.

Konoha, the catalyst of all her life. Even that was an understatement because so many other things revolved around the sleepy city, so much crime that it made the most hardened individuals cringe and angels cry tears of pity.

Stop thinking, she reprimanded herself. It only makes things more horrible.

The shower was brief and to the point. First she was sweaty and dirty, now she was clean. She didn't earn much money and her employers refused to pay for her living expenses, so she was stuck in a grungy presentment that lacked hot water, cutting most of her showers short. Getting dressed, she put on her simplest clothes: simple, torn, black jeans and a red and white blouse. The blouse was a lucky one; she wore it on the first day of all her new missions.

She grabbed her bag and keys and made her way out of the apartment. The doorknob was flimsy and almost to the point where it was falling off, she noted. It was another thing she'd have to pay for, most likely.

Sakura didn't enjoy the walk to school. Clouds were moving in, suffocating the sun out of the sky and faint rumbles could be heard. It'd rain today, drenching the city in more sobs and water. There wasn't even anything particularly appealing to look at on her trek to school. A rundown building here, a browned lawn there—the most interesting thing to look at was, in fact, the spidery cracks that ran along the sidewalk. It was almost entertaining to wonder when they had first appeared and how had they come to life.

Was it the shifting of the earth? Perhaps someone with a handgun had missed a moving target and hit the cement instead? The possibilities were numerous.

She finally reached the school and an intimidating amount of teenagers were stooped in front of the main building. Apparently, it was the cool thing to do to hang out with your friends before the first bell. Sighing, she perched herself against the wobbly wooden sign of the school.

It read: Welcome to Konoha High School. Except someone had slashed out Konoha High School and scribbled in Hell.

Hope you liked it, because if you did, that means I should be expecting wonderful little reviews, right? Even if you didn't like it, hated it even, that little review button is plenty wonderful for constructive criticism.

Are you still reading this? Hit that button already. You can do it.

Anyhoo, forgive me for any OOCness you may notice. Take note that this is AU, characters have experienced different things (Sakura mainly, really), and this is my first (technical) fanfic (though in the process of being rewritten).

Much hearts and kisses.

-Nihilly