Things are troublesome but then again when are they not? It's not that everything can be a bother...it's just that things have been hectic because of what have happened a long time ago. The reason why I am writing this is because something inside of my brain urges me to tell the tale of tragedy. Then again, tragedy isn't the right word.

It all began on my 16th birthday when Ino gave me a journal. I honestly expected things like clothes or a big-ass weapon, but never a journal. I wasn't really a writer since ninjas never have the time to write...or so I heard. But it was the visit of the grave that sparked my interest in writing. My first entry sucked, I admit. As I said before, I'm not a writer. So, without further ado, I am going to write about Team 7: Uzumaki Naruto, Uchiha Sasuke and Haruno Sakura.

I first met them during the Chuunin Exams with my team. Based on observation, they balance each other out. Naruto was the loud-mouth, Sasuke was the quiet brooding one and Sakura the in-between, only more jolly. I have to admit that among the teams that entered the exam, they were the standouts. Then again, maybe it has to do with Naruto. I also admit Sasuke was handsome and cute. My reaction to Sakura? What a BIG forehead! If Sakura read this, she'll sure kill me, if she had the chance. It was funny that I remembered that time. I recall Ino and Sakura fought for Sasuke who just ignored them. And of course, Naruto declaring everyone that he'll become Hokage one day.

During the time when we were at the Forest of Death, based on what Ino said, they ran into big trouble. First, it was the Grass-nin who was Orochimaru in disguise. It seems that he was after Sasuke because of the Sharingan. If that wasn't enough, the three Sound-nins fought them. At that time, it was only Sakura who tried to fend them off because right after their run-in with Orochimaru, both Naruto and Sasuke were unconscious. Luckily, Lee came in to the rescue but his efforts were in vain. Then, Ino, Shikamaru and Chouji helped them. Alas, that didn't work out. According to Shikamaru, it was then Sasuke woke up and turned into something else, which Anko-sensei called it the Curse Seal. It was given by Orochimaru. Sasuke managed to defeat them but he went out of control. Sakura helped him return to normal by I don't know what. This was the part Ino, Lee, Shikamaru and Chouji weren't sure about by the time Neji and I located Lee and the others.

I'm not going to dwell on what happened in the Chuunin Exams but what I can tell is that things aren't the same. The Sand and the Sound allied together to invade the Lead but we were victorious but with the price: the death of the Sandaime, who Orochimaru killed. Just as things went back to normal, Sasuke's brother, Itachi along with a companion who are now the members of the Akatsuki at that time, paid Konoha a visit. From what Gai-sensei told me, Itachi mysteriously put Kakashi-sensei and Sasuke into a coma. I heard that the reason for their visit was because they wanted Naruto. Why? I have no idea.

Weeks have passed and finally we have a new Hokage: Tsunade, one of the legendary Sannins. My first reaction? Those are huge...breasts! She seemed young but Naruto told us that she was 50. Hokage-sama wasn't pleased at that. Okay, you maybe wondering why I am writing this. This is where the chaos began.

Right after Hokage-sama came to the Leaf, she healed Kakashi-sensei and Sasuke. Sasuke wasn't a happy camper when he woke up. He immediately challenged Naruto for a fight. Luckily, Kakashi-sensei stopped them before it became ugly. The next day, Sasuke ran away from the village to join Orochimaru. Hokage-sama dispatched a team led by Shikamaru, who by then was a Chuunin. He picked Naruto, Chouji, Kiba and Neji to bring Sasuke back. It took them nearly a day to finish the mission. Sadly, the mission failed despite the assistance of the Sand-nins and Lee, who quickly came to Naruto's aid as soon as he was healed. Neji and Chouji were in critical condition while Kiba and Shikamaru had minor injuries. Naruto also suffered from minor injuries but that was nothing compared to the mental pain he received. I could never forget his face which was covered with sadness. I knew despite their rivalry, Naruto seems to care for Sasuke. Uchiha Sasuke, the traitor whose actions nearly killed Chouji and Neji. Up to now, how I wish I would pluck his precious Sharingan eyes out.

As soon as we received word that they were at the hospital, Sakura, Ino, Hinata and I went to visit them. When we arrived, Sakura was surprised that they didn't retrieve Sasuke and immediately scolded Naruto, who just sat at the bed without saying anything. You could say Sakura was a bitch for doing that. It seemed that she loves Sasuke but for crying out loud she needed to regain her common sense. When Sakura slapped Naruto, it was then Ino broke in and slapped Sakura. The two then went in to a cat fight. Fortunately, Temari, the one who defeated me at the Chuunin exams before we became friends, stopped the fight. Hinata and I were holding Ino back while cursed Sakura. From a physical brawl to a verbal brawl, it seems their rivalry was more vicious that Naruto and Sasuke's. The only thing that I recalled what Ino said to Sakura was that she hopes that she dies for siding a traitor or something like that. Ino had no idea how much those words would come true. Sakura ran away afterwards, and that was the last time I saw her...alive.

Naruto was immediately dispatched from the hospital but unfortunately the wrath of the villagers ruined his day, if Sasuke defeating him wasn't enough. They began to throw rocks at him. He was defenseless at that point. It was then Kakashi-sensei and Iruka-sensei saved him. But one should know, the damage had already been done. I felt sorry for him so Hinata, Ino, Shino (who by the way came back from his mission with his dad) and Lee visited him. But he shunned everyone, including Iruka-sensei. Then, Jiraiya came back and after hearing what happened to Naruto, he offered him a training trip. Naruto immediately agreed. From what Gai-sensei and Kurenai- sensei had told us, Kakashi-sensei didn't like this. It would appear that as if he wasn't a competent teacher. He and Jiraiya had an argument on who should really train Naruto. They have their own defenses. Kakashi, for being Naruto's sensei and Jiraiya, who trained him for the final Chuunin exams and taught him the Rasengan, a very powerful jutsu. It didn't matter since Naruto chose Jiraiya. Kakashi was obviously upset at this. Based on my opinion, Naruto chose Jiraiya because he thinks that Kakashi-sensei focused more on Sasuke. Tough actually since favoritism was Kakashi's downfall. It was at this point that he and Jiraiya never spoke to each other. Gai-sensei told me Kakashi was upset now that his team is disintegrating. What happened next changed our lives, or in Kakashi, Naruto, Lee and Ino's case.

Early in the wee hours of the morning, everyone woke up by a loud explosion. The source of this came from the Haruno household. By that time, everyone patched in to stop the fire but it was too late. The Harunos were dead, including Sakura. We managed to locate their bodies and suffice to say, it's not a pretty sight. I couldn't believe this. We couldn't believe this. Sakura was dead. All I could do while watching her and her family's bodies is cry and mourn. Ino took it worse. When she saw her former best friend's body, Ino shrieked and cried. This was the side of Yamanaka Ino I have never seen. She wept on the ground while Shikamaru and Chouji were trying to calm her down. Everyone was in disbelief. It was, in fact, surreal. After a thorough investigation, it was a gas leak that caused the investigation but Shikamaru thinks otherwise. Whatever it is, it wasn't going to bring Sakura back.

Two days later, everyone gathered for the funeral of the Harunos. Ino continued to mourn and blamed herself for what happened to Sakura while Lee lost the spark that made him so lively and boastful. Everyone was quiet, including Kakashi, who all he could do is lower his head in shame and regret for not saving her. The only ones who were missing were Naruto and Jiraiya. I have a gut feeling that they're probably watching the funeral right before they left. And then, everything went back on track, except with the old saying: "things are never going to be the same again". However, things have gone from bad to worse.

Two weeks after Sakura's funeral, Jiraiya came to Konoha and to Hokage-sama immediately...alone. I later learned that during their training that he and Naruto have crossed paths with Itachi and his partner that a fight occurred. According to Shizune-san, Jiraiya and Naruto fought the two of them that ended in a loud and flashy explosion. Itachi and his partner got away again and Jiraiya was looking for Naruto. After a while, he couldn't find him. It took him a week for the search and then decided to go to Hokage-sama for help. Due to the lack of shinobi, Shikamaru was assigned as the leader again only this time me, Ino, Shino and Hinata came with him to look for Naruto along with Jiraiya and Kakashi-sensei. A few days later, our mission failed. Everything changed badly. Sasuke's gone. Sakura's gone. And now, Naruto.

After the mission, Kakashi-sensei quit being a sensei for the genins to continue being an ANBU. There was a radical change in him. He became cold, aloof and a loner. He avoided everybody and when someone greets him, he gives them a cold shoulder. One time, he was invited for a party by Gai- sensei to lift his spirits up. Obviously a bad idea. The party was destroyed by Kakashi-sensei by destroying the furniture. He cursed everyone and gave them the big "FUCK YOU". The next day, I learned that he quit the ANBU. It doesn't take a genius to learn that he didn't take the departure of Team 7 very well. He shunned everyone completely and was stuck in his house. That is until Iruka-sensei scolded him for his bad attitude. That led into a big fight between a Jounin and a Chuunin. A few days later, I saw Kakashi-sensei talking to Iruka-sensei at the academy. It seems that Iruka-sensei was, and still is, his only friend who understands him. But from what I've gathered, he urged Kakashi-sensei to reconcile with Gai and the others. Guess what? It worked, although I wouldn't say that between him and Jiraiya.

As for us? Ino and Lee still mourned for Sakura and the disappearance of Naruto that they spend their time training harder than before. Same thing goes for Kiba, Shino and Chouji. Shikamaru, as a Chuunin, assisted in looking for Naruto or killing Sasuke. Hinata, sadly, was disowned by the Hyuuga Main House. She was happy though that she, in her own words, was finally free from the cage. It also influenced Neji. The two cousins became close soon after. The sand siblings continued to look for Naruto but to no avail. Iruka-sensei still misses Naruto, Sakura and Sasuke while his young friend, the Sandaime's grandson misses Naruto. Hokage-sama, from what I can tell, also misses Naruto. Jiraiya blames himself for loosing Naruto but what's done is done. The funny thing is, in the midst of the tragedy of the three genins, we became close. How close? Just friendly close. As for me, even though I barely knew the three of them, their disappearance had an effect on me.

Six months after the Chuunin exams, another one was held in the Hidden Sand Village and at that time, me, Shino, Lee, Neji, Gaara and Temari became Chuunins. The next one, Hinata, Chouji, Kiba and Kankuro. Right now, all of us including Shikamaru, are applying for the Jounin exams.

It has been four years since the disappearance of Team 7 that we moved one but couldn't deep down. I really don't know what to think except that it drove us harder to become better shinobis. So, in my very first entry, I dedicate this to them. To Uchiha Sasuke, may your soul rot in hell for choosing sides with the devil. To Haruno Sakura, may your soul rest in peace. And to Uzumaki Naruto, wherever you are, you'll always be in our hearts. In ending this entry, I decide to write this poem which I found one time.

The year's at the spring

And day's at the morn;

Morning's at seven;

The hill-side's dew-pearled

The lark's on the wing;

The snail's on the thorn;

God's in his Heaven -

All's right with the world!


AUTHOR'S NOTES:

1. I think by now you know whose POV is this. It's Tenten. When I first wrote this, I first decided on Kakashi, then Iruka, Tsunade, Shikamaru and then Ino and Hinata. Why Tenten? I really don't know. You have to remember. This is Tenten's POV so she doesn't know the REAL story.

2. This takes place after Naruto and Sasuke fought at the current manga arc. It's more of a "what if" fic.

3. "Pippa Passes" by Robert Browning is about a girl named Pippa. In the poem, she says that she is happy with the world around her, no matter how mean or cruel the world is. A poem fitting for Naruto, if you ask me.

4. Trivia: in the poem, the lines God's in His Heaven, All's right with the world is based on Evangelion which was used as a logo for Nerv.

Any feedback / criticism / comments would be appreciated. Please do it constructively.