Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto, if I did I wouldn't have to wait around week after week to find out what happens next because I'd already know.

Authors Note: Okay, so this is my first fanfic, hopefully I don't have too many mistakes, if I do let me know so that I know for future chapters. This is a SakuKaka fanfic, and the rating will most likely be bumped M in later chapters, but this chapter is safe.

Extra Note: In case I forget to put a disclaimer on any future chapters please know that Naruto is in no way my own creation, just this story.

Shadow Blossom

The wind was harsh today Sakura noted as she stood outside the main gates to Konoha. She was still wary, unsure about Tsunade's orders.

"Sakura."

"Yes mom?"

"You remember how I told you that your grandmother used to be a ninja like you before she retired?" Sakura scratched her head, wondering what her mother was getting at. Sakura had things to do.

"Vaguely. Why?"

"She wants to see you. She won't tell me why because I'm not a ninja like you, something about a family secret." Her mother looked slightly frustrated but Sakura sighed and nodded. She left a few minutes later, using chakra to speed her journey to her grandmother's small house on the outskirts of Konoha. She knocked on the door.

"Grandma? It's Sakura, are you home?"

"Ah. Yes, come in Sakura." Her grandmother sounded weary, and when Sakura opened the door she realized that her grandmother was bedridden. To weak to move very far.

"Grandma you should be in the hospital!"

"Pah. Nonsense, I'm perfectly health, and I'd like to die in my own bed, I hate that hospital, it's seen too much of my life already." Sakura nodded, not wanting to upset her grandmother.

"Why did you want to see me?"

"Ah. Yes." Her grandmother reached a wrinkled hand to something beneath her pillow and pulled out a scroll.

"I knew you were coming so I wrote this up for you."

"What is it?" Sakura took the large scroll and opened it. Thousands of hand seals lined the scroll.

"That is the Haruno secret jutsu. You must memorize all of those hand seals and then perform the seals properly. Once you have done it once, you need never do the seals again. All you have to do is think and you can do." Sakura frowned.

"Grandma, what is this jutsu?"

"It is called kage riyousha jutsu. It allows you to control and use shadows. You can do anything from seeming to be a shadow, to transporting through shadows, to creating creatures from the shadows. It is a powerful jutsu, known only to the ninja within the Haruno family Sakura. Once you have memorized the scroll you must burn it. Only write it down when you go to pass the jutsu on. Never let another know how to perform the jutsu. As I said, perform it once and you need only use one thought to perform it again. Its possibilities are endless Sakura." Sakura frowned.

"But grandma, if this jutsu is so powerful how come the Haruno family isn't well known?" Her grandmother smiled.

"Not many of us had enough chakra to complete that jutsu, me included, but you have enough Sakura." Sakura frowned.
"Grandma, I don't have that much chakra."

"Perhaps no compared to your team-mates, but compared to the other Haruno ancestors, you have one of the highest chakras known. You can utilize this jutsu Sakura. Make me proud."

Sakura studied as hard as she could, thankful for her quick memorization abilities. Her grandmother had passed away as soon as Sakura had left, and now Sakura was determined to complete the jutsu. After assuring herself that she had the entire scroll memorized Sakura performed the jutsu. It took almost all of her chakra to activate the jutsu, but she did it. She burned the scroll soon after, and then began to practice her kage riyousha jutsu. She found that after the initial hand seals utilizing her new found jutsu required very little chakra, and, as her grandmother had said, the possibilities were endless, anything her mind could come up with, although some things required more chakra than others.

Sakura came out of her thoughts. That had been when she was sixteen, Sasuke had just come back and had been restricted to Konoha for two years. A few months after that Sakura had proposed her idea to Tsunade.

"Tsunade-sensei, I wish to 'go missing'." Tsunade looked up sharply.

"What?"

"I wish for Sakura to go missing and to be thought dead when I'm on my next mission."

"Why on earth would you want that Sakura?"

"Because then I can become an unnamed ninja that works for Konoha, one that is always in the field, one that has no name, and no one will know it's me, because I'd be thought to be dead already."

"But Sakura-"

"Please Tsunade-sensei, I know what I'm doing, and I'll come to you in secret, so that I can give you my reports and you can give me new missions, but I think it would be best this way, I don't want my friends to wonder where I am, or, if I become a threat, to be in trouble. I want this. Please? I'll still follow your orders. Besides, with Sasuke back and restricted to Konoha and Naruto back to training with Jiraiya there really is no reason for me to be here. Please, I don't want my friends to worry about me, and they can't worry about someone thought to be dead sensei." Tsunade frowned, but slowly nodded.

"Very well Sakura, on one condition."

"What is that sensei?"

"When I order you to come back, you have to return and once again become Sakura Haruno. Understood?" Sakura bowed.

"As you wish sensei."

That had been three years ago. And now Tsunade had ordered her to return to the 'living' as she put it. Sakura wasn't all that happy about returning. For the past three years Sakura had been the unnamed ninja of Konoha, also known as the Ninja of the Shadows, or the Shadow Ninja. Sakura liked the second name, it suited her now. After all, she was part of the shadows and they were a part of her. But to return to Konoha and allow people to see her, and to once again become Sakura. It would be strange, and Sakura wasn't sure how her old friends would react. She wasn't even sure of Naruto's reaction, she had been gone so long, and they had all probably changed. Sakura herself had changed. Living alone could do that to a person.

Sakura sighed and strode slowly up to the gate. Glad that she was still wearing her own uniform, one that hid her identity from the world, yet one that was readily known to be the Shadow Ninja's. She had knee high black boots instead of the normal sandals, and she wore a mesh shirt that didn't cover her stomach, but it went down one full arm, and partially down her other. She wore a tight black hood that also covered her eyes. It served both as cover for her pink hair and as a mask. Then she wore another mask, the same as Kakashi's, it made it so that only her green eyes were visible, nothing else. She wore short black shorts, and a black vest. She also had ribbons of black material tied to her body in several places. It made her look more like a shadow, more dangerous. And while most ninjas would find that the ribbons got in their way Sakura had worn her uniform for so long that they didn't hinder her at all.

Sakura strode into Konoha, her protector was worn like a belt on her shorts. The guards gaped at her, probably having heard stories, yet none of them tried to stop her, not that they could, but still, what if she had been an enemy? Sakura had come back, but that didn't mean that she wasn't going to try to convince Tsunade to change her mind. Sakura didn't want to return to the living, because she was still the Shadow Ninja, and combining both personas would be hard, and she knew that in the end she would scare those around her. Because she was, essentially the Shadow Ninja, taking back her name couldn't change that. And the Shadow Ninja wasn't normal, and she tended to scare people. Sakura didn't want her friends to fear her, or think her strange, or look at her with distain. So she would fight. She would lose, she knew, but she would still fight.

The sharp edge of a kunai pressed against the fabric at her throat.

"Who are you, and where do you think you're going?" It may have been three years, but Sakura still recognized the voice of her former crush, even though his voice had deepened. She didn't hold any feeling for him, but she felt a thrill at meeting him again, even if she didn't know who she was. Sakura hissed.

"Why, I'm the Shadow Ninja of Konoha, going to see the Hokage. Care to escort me since you distrust me so?" The kunai didn't move.

"Fine. Move, let's go, and then we'll see if you really are who you say you are."

Sakura sighed as they entered the Hokage's office. Tsunade looked up sharply, her eyes going rather wide when she noticed who held the kunai at Sakura's throat.

"Sasuke, what are you doing?"

"Hokage-sama, this woman claims to be the Shadow Ninja, she wanted to see her, but she seemed suspicious, so I escorted her here." Sakura decided to speak up.

"Really Hokage-sama, I return and get a kunai to the throat, I think this clearly demonstrates that it would be better for me to just leave again-"

"No. You remember our agreement, you agreed. I have decided, it is time for you to return. You can still go on missions, but you need to come back now. No arguments, I'm not in the mood."

"But-"

"No! Sasuke, may I introduce the Shadow Ninja to you, also known as Sakura Haruno." The kunai dropped away.

"What?" It was a whisper, and it sounded strained. Sakura winced and slowly turned around to face Sasuke. Her secret was out now, no point in denying it. Sighing Sakura pulled down her face mask and then pulled her hood off, revealing her long, pink hair.

"Hello Sasuke-kun. So good to see you again." Sasuke just stared at her, then shook his head, looking at Tsunade.

"No. That isn't possible, it is an illusion, Sakura is dead Hokage-sama." Tsunade sighed and massaged her temples.

"I assure you Sasuke, that is in fact Sakura, and, if you remember correctly she was pronounced missing, not dead. Sakura had been active for the past three years as Konoha's Shadow Ninja. Sasuke shook his head.

"But, how? We searched everywhere for her. There was no trace, not even an indication that she was still alive. Kakashi even used his dogs to hunt for her." Sakura winced, perhaps she shouldn't have pretended to be dead, if Sasuke was taking it this badly she hated to know how Naruto or Ino would take the news.

"You cannot track by smell if the person teleports Sasuke." Sasuke stared at her.

"Teleporting can only move you by a maximum of 30 meters, the dogs still would have picked up on your scent." Sakura sighed. What he said was true, but with her kage riyousha jutsu she could teleport to anywhere as long as she had the chakra. Teleporting tended to use the most chakra, but it was useful.

"I have a way to teleport further than that Sasuke, I teleported far away enough that nothing could track me." Sasuke stared at her.

"Why?" Tsunade suddenly spoke up.

"Simple really Sasuke. Because she didn't want anyone worrying about her, or being targeted because of her. As you know, the Shadow Ninja has a very large price on her head. But enough of this, Sakura, I've already rented an apartment in your name. Your bank account is also back under your true name. I want you to be back here in an hour, same with you Sasuke. Sasuke, you are to get Naruto and Kakashi, I want them here also, don't tell them about Sakura. They'll find out then." Sakura raised an eyebrow.

"You just want to see their reactions don't you Tsunade-sensei?"

"Of course. And Sakura, be here, don't try to escape, a deal is a deal, besides, I think it's time that Team 7 got back together." Sakura sighed but nodded, as did Sasuke. Both of them bowed and then exited her office. Sakura sighed.

"I apologize Sasuke." He stopped, as did she.

"So you're the Shadow Ninja?" Sakura frowned.

"Yes, and I truly am sorry for any pain I cause you Sasuke, but it was the easiest way." He nodded slowly.

"I suppose. Naruto will be overjoyed, I don't think he ever truly believed that you were gone." Sakura winced. She wished that she could just disappear, she shouldn't have agreed to Tsunade's condition three years ago. Sakura cursed her younger self.

"It's good to have you back Sakura, you've been missed." Sakura smiled at him.

"It's good to be back in a way." Sasuke raised an eyebrow.

"in a way Sakura?" Sakura shifted slightly, not liking the calculating look he was giving her.

"Yes, in a way, I mean, I missed everyone, but I'll miss the freedom of just being the Shadow Ninja." Sasuke nodded slowly.

"I suppose that makes sense. You'll probably have to adjust to being on a team again." Sakura sighed and nodded. Sasuke squeezed her shoulder.

"I'll see you in a little while Sakura, don't run off, and Sakura." She looked up at him. He gave her a small smile before leaving.

"I get it." Sakura sighed in relief. Three words, but underneath that was forgiveness. Sasuke at least forgave her. He understood. That was good, she just hoped that everyone else would to." Sakura took out the address and key Tsunade had given her and headed to her new home.

The flat that Tsunade had rented for her was huge. It was more than enough room for a three person household, let alone one single ninja. There was already furniture in the place as well, and food Sakura noted wryly. The flat probably cost a bundle to rent, but Sakura didn't really care. Her bank account held more than enough money to rent several flats indefinitely. Sakura had been busy in her three years away.

Deciding that there was only time to take a shower before heading back to Tsunade's office Sakura sighed and walked into her large bathroom. Eyeing the large sunk-in tub Sakura decided that a bath was better for muscles than a shower. So what if she was a few minutes late? Kakashi would probably be hours late anyway. Getting out of her bath Sakura donned her uniform, and added short black fingerless gloves to the ensemble. She donned her masks as well, not wanting to reveal her identity until Tsunade said so. Also wanting to postpone the other reunions until the last possible moment.

Okay, that was the first chapter, hope you liked it. Reviews are welcome.