Disclaimer: For this, the before and all the chapters in the future, I DO NOT OWN NARUTO. Only the OC's I decide to throw in and the altered story from the original. Anything new that you don't recognize, chances are that it's my creation.

Summary: What if you open your eyes and find yourself in the Naruto world? What would happen with a Sakura with a different mindset and knowledge of the future? Stay and read :)

Authors note: It may seem slow or confusing in the beginning, but I promise you I will clear it up later. If not, slap me in the review section and I will hurry to fix it. Thank you! (^U^)

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Chapter 2

After some time, I grew accustomed to this world. My body had certain routines that made it easier not to look into things too much. It was pretty much sleep, eat, sleep, more sleep and observe all around me. Still, the muddled daze that resided in my brain left me confused but with not enough energy to really care.

It was perhaps an aftereffect of analyzing things too much in an undeveloped brain, or it was just the way things were as a child. I didn't really have any experience either way. My mother was worried about me though. She kept on casting worried glances in my direction and murmuring distressed things to my father.

I had a vague idea why she was so troubled.

It all started with the coughing, after all.

Through the daze and in those moments of clarity, I still noticed... something. It was hard to describe it. Like a feeling crawling through your skin, the air thick but yet light and shapes everywhere I looked despite my blurry eyesight. I could even close my eyes, and I would still feel it, see it, and even taste it! Almost like when you see the dust particles in a sunny room. Except it was constantly. And literally everywhere, stretching outwards at least a whole room with me as the anchor.

And if I took a too deep breath my coughing began, an automatic reaction to having something foreign in my lungs.

Like strange liquid flowing in separate veins. It was a part of me, but at the same time it was alien.

There really was no other explanation than for it to be chakra. It made sense since I was in the Naruto universe. I think I remember reading that everyone was born with it?

… Well. Even if it made sense, even if I had figured it out... Chakra? Naruto? Death and returning into birth?

I would be on the safe side to say that this whole thing was freaking me out. In a very mild, sleepy and childish way, but those moments of clarity made my chest heave and the coughing began.

Still I made no sound except for the few coughing fits when I became overly conscious of the chakra. I've been like that since I was born, and by that I mean my other life. Having close to zero facial expressions. Making no sounds. Avoiding socializing. Every single one of them was a symptom that I've lived with my entire (former) life. Or at least that's what they used to say. Had they ever thought about that maybe I liked it that way? That I was the definition of introvert? Probably not.

My new parents didn't think so either.

One day my mother scooped me up and took me to the hospital.

I tried to protest. Saying something like "No!", but no sound came out. With a frustrated grunt I realized that my vocal cords hadn't finished developing yet.

A nurse greeted my mother when we arrived. "How may I help you?" She said this in Japanese. Luckily for me I had studied the language before and did not need to learn it now. The dialect was hard to understand though... or perhaps it was because of my hearing perception.

"I'm Haruno Mebuki and this is my daughter, Haruno Sakura. I am here concerning her odd behavior."

I rolled my eyes mentally. This was going to be tiresome. Though she confirmed my suspicions that I was in fact the Sakura Haruno.

I closed my eyes reflexively when I saw all the chakra in the air. The hospital was swamped with it. Probably because they used more medical ninjutsu rather than technology. I wrinkled my face when I realized that I could still sense the chakra with my eyes closed.

Suddenly, I felt a sharp pain in my arm and my eyes snapped open. A doctor had a cloud of chakra in his hands, the green color seeped into my skin with an urge of healing and safety. I felt drowsy almost immediately. Sleep overwhelmed me.

Even months later, the experience left me grumpy. The doctors had declared I had a rare birth disorder causing a weak body and chakra sensitivity. Almost like I was allergic to it.

But that was just false.

I had discovered early how easy it was to manipulate the chakra in my body. Expanding it, shrinking it and to a somewhat extent, pulling it outside my body and sticking it to items next to me. It was a bit tricky. Some chakra didn't like being together with others. Somehow, one time I managed to convert my chakra to blend in with the surroundings. I got so surprised that in a blink of an eye it returned to normal again.

Add that to the problem of not having much chakra. I guess that was the problem with toddlers. Now I know why they learned jutsu at age eight. Even still, it was fun playing with it. A mental challenge, so to speak. Just try being stuck in a small body with nothing to do except playing with chakra. Of course anyone would be happy to be exhausted mentally.

After awhile, it flowed so naturally that I barely had to think about steering it right.

Of course I was careful to not let it show. Being labeled as a genius would have it's drawbacks. For one, you would have to go through tests and talk with people. I shuddered at the mere thought.

Ninja wasn't something I desired to be either. Killing, not something I would like to do, but that wasn't why I disliked the practice. I understood the need of a military power, that a world would develop into using chakra with violence. Technically speaking, this universe was still young with only a few generations experiencing the stability that came with villages. Shinobi as defense would make sense.

That wasn't what I disliked.

It was simply the mere idea of working together with others. The Will of Fire, and all that. I wasn't a people person, I wasn't even a working together with people person. I saw no need to. I couldn't understand the motives that urged a shinobi to lay their life down for the abstract goal of the 'better good' for the village. Maybe I was a selfish person and disliked death? If I was a ninja, then I wouldn't have the leisure of deciding that.

So. Following after Haruno Sakura's footsteps?

No.

Anyway, I hardly think that my parents would allow it after that diagnosis.

That didn't stop me from learning to control my chakra though. The other way around actually. I became more motivated to learn it.

Day in and day out I experimented with controlling my chakra. Trying to learn how to stick my hands on the wall, like tree walking but with my hands. Infusing different things with my chakra, blending them in the process. Water, for example, was very malleable.

After just an hour or two I dropped like the toddler I was though. I often slept blissfully as a result of the exhaustion.

At three years old I had learned how to walk, read and speak. Though I hardly did the last aforementioned.

My dad, which I found out was named Kizashi Haruno, let me wander the town by myself at this age. My mom was against it. Saying I was too weak to handle it, that it was too dangerous and so on. But dad, bless him, was more relaxed and confident that I could take care of myself. He noticed my restlessness and wanted me to have fun. Oh how I loved him at that moment. Besides, he would reason, why else would they live in the middle of a hidden village as civilians if not to benefit from the protection they gave?

"It's not for the taxes at least, I can tell you that," mom mused.

Dad laughed. "True enough."

I watched their interaction with curious eyes. They seemed lovely, almost too good to be true. Though when I had asked them if I could learn some jutsu techniques, for curiosity, they bluntly said in unison, "No!"

I frowned. "Why not?" I stared at them.

They shared a look and mom spoke up. "Sweetheart, trust us, it's for your own good."

I didn't answer but my eye twitched. Taking away knowledge was for the best of me? I took a deep breath and then moved towards the door. "Back at dinner," I said before stepping out and moving towards one of the training areas in Konoha.

Ever since I could be outside alone I had taken advantage of it and started training. The green clearing had a soothing effect on me and I had often ran laps around, getting better each time. Not even close to the old me though. I had taken acrobatics in my old life. Something that my parents had insisted on. Glad for it now. So I continued training it while I was away from the Haruno family's watchful eyes.

I first started with some warm up stretches, doing a certain routine from my old life consisting of small bends and twists; slowly increasing the movements and speed until my eyes could hardly notice the landscape except a big blur.

Panting, I slowly came to a stop. A satisfying gleam in my eyes when I noticed that this was the first time I had the strength to do the whole routine without stopping in the middle for a breather. I was becoming better and I even let my mouth stretch into a smile, which was incredibly rare, upon the realization what I could entertain my boredom with in the future.

Still smiling I made my way to the small lake beside me and dipped my head into the water. With some chakra encasing air around my nose, I stayed down there a bit longer then I would have normally done, the chakra letting me breath one time under water without inhaling the liquid. I wasn't good enough to contain more air though. I did this as an exercise to train my control over how much I could stretch my chakra without letting in water, and to actually cool my head.

With ripples erupting from where my head had been moments ago, I looked down at my hazy water mirror. Even then I could see the pink hair reflect. Pink! Pink like cotton candy or gum or,.. or, ..or.. pink! It was such an eye catching hair that I was thinking about dying it a different color but decided differently since my mom, still weird to call her that, absolutely adored the hair. Her dazzling puppy eyes convinced me that it was okay enough to live with.

Still gazing down I noticed the pale skin of a three, soon to be four, year old. Her, my, I corrected, bright green eyes looked indifferently back at me even though she was soaked and the pink hair slick against her head.

My smile faded away and I frowned when noticing chakra signals in the trees moving fast past my training spot. It was often like that. I was wary of those signals since I wanted to live normal and not grow up like the Sakura I remembered. It was most likely ANBU doing some secret missions and running around. I thought they would be better at concealing their chakra. Either I was too good and they were bad or they didn't feel the need for it in the village. Probably the latter.

Another frown appeared on my face as I sensed something else.

In the distance, chakra was spiking like crazy, another training field I presumed. I had noticed that at this time on school days they were always practicing. It piqued my interest as to what they were practicing. Though, like every other time, I simply ignored it.

I shook my head, ridding me of any visible expression and flinging water around myself. Standing up and stretching leisurely, I began to run around the clearing. My mind blanked as I eased into controlled breathing. It was very –

I tripped as a huge chakra flare brushed against my senses.

Barely managing to catch myself, I frowned at the training field where it had come from. It was too far away for me to sense anything except vague blurs of chakra. Shapes were more defining the closer they were to me, but though my area of sensing has expanded with age, the edges only felt like a brush stroke of fat ink.

Brushing my clothes off, I started off with an soft jog –

I stumbled as another chakra flare momentarily blinded me.

What in the –

Another chakra flare.

This was –

More chakra flares.

… Huh.

I sighed loudly and made my way to the place that was absolutely brimming with blue jutsu chakra. "Do they have to be so distracting?" I muttered quietly to myself.

Almost there, I jumped up onto the nearest tree with slightly chakra enhanced legs and jumped to another tree that had even better view over the training field. While the chakra would be very bright this close, I felt my action was justified to sate my curiosity. I could also practice tolerating chakra flares this way.

I felt my mouth tug upwards into a smile. Mimicking the green beast of Konoha I thought silently to myself; the power of youth. They were ninja-to-be from the looks of their age and their chakra amount. They were practicing different hands seals and doing all sorts of jutsu.

I was a bit jealous of them. My parents didn't allow me to do something even remotely close to jutsu. I couldn't even go to the library and look at some information about it. The closest I've gotten them to comply with was history books and a book named "language of the seals". Not the hand seals but sealing the Kyuubi kind of sealing. Though, admittedly, I was a bit interested at how that worked. While the book didn't write anything advanced, the first few chapters went into length about its uses in practical situations and safety measures one would need to apply.

Though still feeling a tad bit angry at how they distracted me from my routine, I watched closely at a young boy with brown spiky hair that seemed to be gathering chakra at his hands. It did twists and turns while he was doing hand seals, right before it lashed out at an object nearby, making them switch places.

I widened my eyes in unconscious awe. Was that the replacement jutsu?

My eyes swept hungrily through the training field, trying to memorize their movement and then trying it myself later on. There was a limit to how much you can create training for yourself. It gets boring pretty fast. Especially if you are the size of a three year old.

I hardly noticed the sunset until the people I was staring at packed up their bags and left. "Crap," I murmured. My parents had expected me back long before dark. It wasn't my fault though. When I happen to concentrate on something the world just kind of... disappears. Only the item of my interest remains.

I sighed and started walking back home. After a moment I stopped and prepared myself to open my front door. What was expecting me behind this thin wooden frame didn't amuse me at all.

My mother suddenly burst open the door, halting my stretched forward arm, and sobbed "Sakura-chan!" It startled me so badly I clumsily took a few steps back. She scooped me up in a bear-like hug despite my feeble protests. "Don't do that," she murmured into my ear, arms tightening against my back.

Not knowing what to do, I awkwardly patted her back. I had not been expecting that.

"Sakura," my dad said from inside the house with such warmth I began to feel embarrassed. Had they really been that worried about me?

"Hi," I cracked out from my suddenly dry throat. He took me from my mother and gave me another bear-like hug.

I glanced at mom and noticed that she seemed to want to say something but changed her mind. Instead she gave me a warm smile. "I've got good news for you. But first, let's go inside." She grabbed dad's arm and practically shoved him inside.

I began to feel confused. What news? Then I saw the woman waiting for us. I blinked once. Then twice. And about the fifth time I reluctantly remembered.

It was Ino's mother.

You can't blame me for not remembering immediately. It had been about three years since I last read Naruto.

I turned my gaze towards my own mother and waited for an explanation. Fortunately, I didn't have to wait that long.

"You remember the flower shop, right?" I nodded slowly. She had taken me there a few times. "Well, this is the owner and her child. Since we're so good friends, we decided that our children should also be that way. So we arranged a play date for the two of you."

Play date?

Suddenly I realized that Ino stood beside her mother, fiddling absently with a flower from our garden. I hadn't seen her.

I frowned. I should have realized that people was waiting inside. What was the chakra sense for if I couldn't use it accurately in my own home?

My mother smiled at my frowning expression, she was probably happy that I made an expression at all. My father did however hug me closer before putting me gently on the ground.

I stared at the blond and blue eyed child in front of me. She simply smiled back which seemed to annoy me even further. "Run along and play," Ino's mother urged us. With a beaming smile, the small blond nodded and took my hand before running to our small back-garden, dragging me along.

When Ino finally stopped and released my hand, she turned around with the same smile. "Hi! I'm Yamanaka Ino! What's your name?"

"...Haruno Sakura," I muttered, not that happy over being forced to talk. I could almost literally feel my mother's expectant gaze digging into my shoulders blades. How she was able to see through walls, I will never know. I'm going to pin it down to the mystery of mothers though.

"What a beautiful name," she said, huge blue eyes almost glittering as her smile widened.

I didn't answer.

"Your name suits your hair," Ino pointed out after a brief paus.

I didn't answer her, but my mouth twitched slightly. I wanted to tell her that pink hair was something that I would easily trade with her blonde hair. How the DNA worked in this world was a mystery probably best left alone. How I envied her... Sort of. She would grow up to be ninja. A female kunoichi. Part of the rookie nine.

Seeing her felt weird in so many levels. She was a character in a 2D series. Not the living type in front of me.

Actually, I had already accepted the fact that I was in this world. But... seeing another character alive was a whole different thing than just believing. Her hair looked more vibrant, strands stuck together against her puffed up cheeks as they reddened and her tongue slipped out between her teeth as she gave me a cheeky smile. "You don't talk much, do ya?"

I offered her a completely deadpan look.

She threw her head back and laughed. "You funny!" She managed to slip out between peels of laughter.

Well. Happy to entertain.

I turned on my foot and walked away from her. I heard a slight gasp and the abrupt stop of her laughter. Her chakra made an odd lurk and then Ino threw herself against my back, the sudden weight making me yelp and fall face first down, arms flailing. The landing hurt, and I think one of my recently made teeth just dropped out.

I touched my gum with my tongue to ascertain the theory, but quickly realized that they only felt numb. No teeth were missing though. They just ached. A lot.

"Ouch," I groaned.

Ino scrambled off my back, hurried apologizes leaving her lips. "Oh I'm so, so, so sorry! I didn't mean to!"

Rolling onto my back, I again breathed out, "Ouch. That hurt."

I was perhaps stating the obvious, but I felt justified in stressing that single important fact.

"I'm sorry!" Ino wailed. Her face crumpled and she looked genuinely sad. "Can I help – Wait a moment. You talked!" She began smiling, her mood swinging around as she fist bumped the air. "Yes!"

I stared incredulously at her.

She bent down, crouching so that her face came closer to mine. "I like your voice," she informed me. "Please use it more often?"

What.

I... That didn't deserve an answer, I decided. It would only make her happy. Or sad. Or angry? This girl's mood swings were odd.

With a nudge, Ino brought me back from my thoughts. "Nice seeing you, Sakura-chan! Got to go home now. I promised daddy that I would clean up my room before he got home. I probably, eh," her eyes shifted around sheepishly, "stayed a bit too long. But I wanted to meet you."

Disinterested, I looked at the sky behind her and saw it had darkened. The sun was still shining brightly, but it was hanging so low that the shadows cast were quite long. Probably, if I hadn't stayed as long as I had, Ino and I would have had more time to 'play'.

I was suddenly very glad I hadn't gotten home sooner.

"See ya another time, friend!" She yelled and waved while going towards her mother that waited patiently for her in the living room.

I stared at her retreating form, incredulous. Did she just call me friend? I groaned at the thought. It would probably entail me to talk later on.

A/N Sorry, I know I promised to not be that person that doesn't update in a very long time (a week)

... Sorry. I just had so many teachers that thought "Oh. The holidays are coming up in about a month. Why not give them homework, tests and some more grade deciding exams? Sure. That sounds great!"

...Yeah... Enough about me. Hope you enjoyed reading this chapter that I decided to do instead of finishing a homework due today. Enjoy! ... Or else... *Evil glare*

Oh, yeah, almost forgot. Stay and read the upcoming chapters. Only one more filler (they are somewhat necessary you know for character development) and then the real action kicks in!

Favorite, alert, review, read etc. Every single one of them will make my day!