Chapter Two: Beginnings.

The ground underneath her feet was crumbly – the sun had sucked the moisture out of it in the long months with little rain – a small breeze blew past stirring up the dust and swirling it around her feet. The leaves on the trees swayed with the movement of the wind, the branches swinging back and forth flexing as the forces acted upon them. The sun was barely creeping over the horizon, casting long shadows on the ground that would shorten as it rose up into the sky, but for now it only managed to change the inky blackness of the sky at night into a pale red and orange glow as if the clouds had been set alight by the heat of the sun.

The girl's bright emerald eyes glanced out of the darkness towards the sun before she slipped into a window on the side of one of the tallest buildings inside the compound. The sun hit the window moments after the girl's slight body passed through the gap – the window sliding closed just as the first rays of light started to pass through it.

On the wooden floorboards made no sound as the girl's footsteps crossed it, only the slight whoosh of air as her feet were placed down betrayed her position to an outside observer. However this was her home, the bedroom that she expertly crept across her own; she avoided every one of the warped floorboards so that they wouldn't screech loudly and she made sure to miss the spots on the floor where the boards were loose from age and weathering. The emerald orbs glanced at the well made bed, pondering another night of miss use for the wooden structure before she dropped down onto the edge of it and stared at the ceiling.

Minutes ticked by slowly, the girl was totally unaware of the passing of time though, taking in the grooves that ran across the ceiling of her bedroom. Her eyes closed for a few moments, and then her chest began to rise and fall rhythmically as she drifted off to sleep.

Visions of fire crossed her mind as she tossed from side to side in the bed, no longer breathing deeply and evenly but panting in exertion as if she had been trying to run, but was unable to. Pain seared across her face, she gasped hard once before bolting upright in her bed and panting quickly trying to get her breathing to return to a semblance of normal.

Running a slight tanned hand across her own forehead the girl sighed softly, shaking her head and swinging her legs over the side of the bed. One look at the sky outside her window told the girl that she had managed little more than an hour of sleep that night – but it was always the same on the anniversary of her death. The death of her clan, the death that she had brought about continued to haunt the girl even years after it had happened.

The girl had taken to spending most of the night awake – watching over the animals that had found a home inside some parts of the deserted compound distracting herself from the thoughts of the night of her eighth birthday. The Hokage had believed that she had come to terms with her role in the deaths of her family, but she hadn't really; she just understood that there was nothing she could do about it now.

Her feet touched the cold floorboards sending a shiver throughout her entire body, once the shudder had passed the girl climbed to her feet properly, padding over the cool wooden floorboards towards her wardrobe. Today was an important day after all, the final test for the Genin teams was being held during the morning, and she didn't want to give the senseis any reason for failing her again. Though because of who she is the girl had a feeling that whoever was judging with Iruka would find some reason to make sure that she wasn't allowed to pass, it always happened.

Throwing open the doors to her wardrobe the girl fished through the garments that were hung upon hangers that she rarely touched – memories from her childhood that reminded her of the events that happened during that period of her life. Some of the clothes that lived in her wardrobe had belonged to her older step-brother, he'd looked out for her when she had been unable to look out for herself. Most of the clothes were battered and beaten, but over the years the girl had grown more and more into the clothes that had once belonged to her brother.

Today the pink haired child drew a set of his clothes out of the wardrobe; an old battered midnight blue baggy t-shirt that was slightly too big on her frame, but she wore all the time because even after all the years that had passed it still smelled like her big brother, a pair of tight black shorts that clung to her frame like a second skin and a pair of slightly baggy black shorts along with a belt to keep them on her hips. From a draw next to the wardrobe the girl bug out a fish net style wire t-shirt that would go underneath her brother's t-shirt along with a roll of white tape that would be strapped around her right thigh above her shorts to allow her kunai holster to be attached properly.

The girl stripped out of her clothes, leaving herself dressed in only her tight black tank top bra and a pair of panties. Walking over to the floor length mirror the girl slowly brought her eyes up and looked at her body. On her legs there were numerous pink lines that were the newest cuts and scraps that she had received from the villagers along with many white and faded lines that were old scars, lifting her eyes the emerald focused in on the large gash that covered her stomach – the jagged edges cutting across the muscular surface. Emerald eyes slowly lifted up taking in the shape of small breasts before they drifted up her neck and finally fell on her own face. Unknowingly she kept her gaze from her own eyes, tracing the edges of the scar covering her nose before her gaze locked on herself, staring deeply into the swirling emerald green pools that seemed to be filled with pain and regret about something. The girl twisted away from those eyes – the eyes that never lied.

Pulling herself away from the mirror the girl slowly pulled her clothes onto her slim graceful frame; securing the belt around her hips and attaching the weapons pouch onto the side, tugging her wire shirt over her head until it covered the tank top bra that she wore before sliding on her brother's oversized t-shirt. Sitting down on the edge of her own bed the girl wrapped white tape around her right thigh, taking the kunai holster and strapping it to her thigh over the tape, making sure it was tight and secure before standing again. Smoothing down the creases in the material of her t-shirt the girl took a deep breath – taking in her brother's scent once more before turning and heading to her window. Sliding the pane open the girl leap out gracefully onto her balcony before sliding it shut again.

The girl looked behind her into the room for a moment before quickly pulling herself onto the roof of her complex and darting away from her house over the rooftops; tiles and wood making little noise underneath her feet as she went. The shinobi sandals perfectly designed to make little noise when moving quickly and across all different kinds of terrain, after all it wouldn't be much good for a shinobi to have sandals that made little noise on dirt, but made a racket as soon as they came into contact with concrete or tile.

Darting over the rooftops the girl watched for any signs of movement amongst the buildings, but as usual there was nothing but the animals. The emerald eyed girl turned her attention to the sky indeed, picking out the fluffy clouds that would turn into heavy rain filled clouds over the course of the day – and the ones that would descend down and become a fog that would cover the entire city. Tonight she would be forced indoors, unless she wished to get soaked to her skin in the downpour.

Once she reached the end of her compound the girl jumped down lightly onto the path and began following the dusty dirt track into town; she had long since learnt that the villagers preferred it if she didn't make a scene or being attention to herself, and one way to do that was to blend in with the crowd. A sharp breeze blew past the girl, picking up her pastel pink hair and blowing it about in front of her face before dying back. The girl smiled for a brief moment before tucking the lock of hair back behind her ear and schooling her face into one of indifference and solemness.

The pinkette's trip through the centre of Konoha was packed with hate filled glares, shoves and pushes that were meant to knock her over or at least get her annoyed; but she endured them indifferently, not particularly caring what the villagers did. The girl could always pick out the men that had hurt her from the crowd – there was one with his arm possessively around his wife's shoulders, escorting her through the market place with an air of superiority making it's way into his behaviour. He'd caused the scar across her stomach.

He had been drunk, and his girlfriend as she was when Sakura was ten, had been threatening to break up with him over something stupid. He'd drunk the night away before waking up the next morning and bumping into the pink haired girl as she walked meekly through the market place in order to get to the academy. The man had slashed at her with the broken bottom of a beer bottle; it had only been her fast reactions which meant that she was able to move as far away from the attack as possible. When she had finally walked into class that morning she passed out in front of Iruka's desk, blood seeping through her shirt.

There were others in the crowd that had been part of some event which caused the pink haired girl pain, but she didn't care about that. In her eyes it had made her strong enough to protect herself, and now the people would for the most part leave her along – thought she was sure that that was as much the Hokage's doing as her own strength improving.

The emerald eyed girl slipped silently through the crowd and up to the front of the Academy, taking a moment to look at the different targets on the field surrounding the Academy before she entered it and slid the door closed behind herself. Padding along the hallway the girl made little noise, passing adults and other students until she made it to her classroom, sliding the door open slightly before slipping inside. There wasn't any other students in the room but Iruka was stood at the front, sorting through papers.

"Good morning Iruka-sensei," The girl said softly, nodding towards him before taking her customary seat at the back of the classroom, keeping her head down against the desk – all in all it looked as if she was sleeping.

"Morning Sakura-chan," The man replied gently, "The final test is today. I'm sure you'll pass this time, Mizuki is going to be the other sensei for the test."

"Hai," The pink haired girl nodded after a moment, she didn't want to fail Iruka again after all that he had done for her over the years. This time the other judge wouldn't be able to find something to fail her on.

The rest of the pink haired girl's class slowly arrived, with the last entrant to the room being the loud and obnoxious Uzumaki Naruto. The boy was always trying to get Sakura to talk to him, even when she made it quite clear that it wasn't welcome and she wasn't interested. However that morning she was saved from the senseless chatter by Iruka, who called the call to attention.

"Settle down," The brunette sensei yelled loudly, finally getting the attention of the students scattered around the room, "Sit down now and I'll explain how this final exam is going to work."

A hush went over all the students, most of whom quickly sat themselves down in the nearest open seat and turned their attention onto Iruka, who stood at the front of the room rubbing the back of his neck as he looked around himself. "Right..." He trailed off for a moment before clearing his throat and beginning again, "One by one you'll be called forward into this room-" He pointed behind himself to the sliding door "-And you'll be asked to execute a Ninjutsu that you've all been taught... the bunshin ninjutsu."

Sakura heard people around the room groan, though she had to smile because the bunshin ninjutsu was one of the first that she had mastered when she still living within the Hokage's protected home after her eighth birthday. She had found a room where scrolls were kept, but she wasn't allowed to look inside at the time and so she had snuck back later that night with the intention to look at the scrolls. The girl had only managed to memorise the first technique on the scroll before she was found by the Hokage and punished for sneaking away, but ever since that say she had worked on the jutsu – making it and the similar form of the jutsu easier for her to perform.

"You'll be alright Sakura-chan!" Naruto exclaimed, slapping the girl lightly on the shoulder, knocking her out of her thoughts and causing her to turn towards the boy.

"What?" The pink haired girl asked in a daze, looking into the deep blue eyes in front of her.

"Your name has just been called." Naruto murmured softly, waiting for her to stand up, "Good luck."

"I won't be needing it." The pink haired girl replied stiffly. Standing quickly she gracefully made her way from the back of the classroom to the front, weaving her way between excited students and desks alike, making sure not to hit anyone of them on the way past.

Sliding the door open and closed behind herself smoothly the girl turned and looked towards the front of the spare classroom; sat behind a desk was the brown haired Iruka and the blue haired Mizuki. Iruka's hitai-ate lay proudly over the man's forehead, the metal engraved with the leaf symbol shining in the light as it streamed through the windows.

"Good morning Iruka-sensei, Mizuki-sensei," The girl nodded to both men before standing in front of their desk, waiting for her orders.

"Good morning Sakura," Iruka said softly, a smile spreading over the man's lips for a moment as he looked over his prize student – she might not be the best in the year, that right was reserved for Uchiha Sasuke, but that was only because she didn't allow her abilities to truly shine – but nevertheless the girl was Iruka's favourite, just for the reason that she never let anything get to her.

"Sakura, to pass this final exam at the Academy, as you've been told that you are going to have to execute the Bunshin no jutsu, we would like you to form two or more clones of yourself, though one good clone will enable you to pass... just." Mizuki said, crossing his arms over his chest and staring coldly at the pink haired girl.

"Hai Sensei." Sakura closed her eyes for a moment forming the seal for the tiger, whispering the words of the jutsu's name quickly under her breath. Moulding the chakra in her mind as she executed the jutsu, feeling a slight ripping sensation passing over her body before she opened her eyes and saw that the room was filled with multiple Sakuras, all of them perfect clones of herself.

"There are over ten clones..." Iruka marvelled, staring at the girl, and nodding his head, "Very impressive Sakura."

"Arigato Sensei." The pink haired girl beamed, sharing one of the rare smiles that she had with Iruka before turning her gaze onto that of Mizuki.

"Yes, very impressive." He murmured softly, "She passes."

The man's face scrunched up like the words were distasteful for him, but still he nodded towards the brunette sat next to him. Iruka's face lit up taking one of the hitai-ate that were sat on the table in front of where he and his other judge were sitting and handed it to the pink haired girl. "This is yours now Sakura, this is proof that you have passed the test to become a genin of the hidden village of the leaf. Congratulations." The man walked forward, pressing the metal forehead protector into the girl's hands and clasping his own over her's.

The pink haired girl looked at the hitai-ate in her hands and a lump formed in her throat, she hadn't been expecting to pass when she came to the exam, she had been expecting to be humiliated and thrown out of the room with the judges laughing at her for being a failure. "Thank you Iruka-sensei," The girl whispered softly, bowing once to him before turning quickly and slipping back out of the sliding door, ducking under the rest of her classmates view as she made her way back to the seat which is had claimed as her own.

Iruka smiled softly at the girl as she left, thinking a soft "You're welcome." before calling the next student into the room.

One by one the students went into the room as Academy students and came out of it as perspective genin shinobi. The pink haired girl slipped her hitai-ate into her hair as a headband, feeling the slight weight on top of her head causing her to smile brightly at the feeling.

"Alright class!" Iruka called out loudly, laughing at the amount of chatter that the class had erupted into over the course of the day, "Settle down and I'll give you all the information that you need for tomorrow."

"Tomorrow?" Naruto asked loudly, looking quizzically at the academy teacher, "What's happening tomorrow."

"Good question Naruto, sit down and I'll tell you." Iruka replied, raising his eyebrow at the boy before shaking his head and beginning to speak. "Tomorrow is the day that those of you who have passed meet their jounin teachers and get acquainted with them. Please be here before nine am, that is all. You are released for the day."

"Hai sensei!" Most of the class chorused loudly, nodding at their teacher before rushing out of the doorway. Probably to their parents to tell them that they passed the examination, Sakura bit down on her bottom lip painfully as she watched the parents congratulating their children and the other kids laughing with one another.

The girl silently walked past a few of the adults, her keen ears easily picking up their conversations even though they weren't meant for her to hear. "I can't believe she passed. I mean come on, she's-" Then the woman was cut off by her conversation partner who reminded her that they were forbidden to speak about whatever she had been about to say.

The emerald eyed girl slipped silently through the crowd of students and adults, her feet barely making the dust on the streets move as she padded softly along the ground, the placement of her feet barely thought about but done in such a way that she was barely noticed. Darting out of the way of the villagers as she passed them the girl sped through the deserted back alleys and through the crowded main roads before she burst out of the centre of the village, making it back to the outskirts of the actual town and into the training grounds in the surrounding area.

There were some training grounds that had been claimed by specific teams but most of them were left to nature the rest of the time. The pastel pink haired girl slowed her pace as she arrived at the path that led to her usual training area, preferring to spend that day in training instead of at her home – with the friends that she didn't have and the memories that haunted her.

Hours later sweat dripped down the girl's body, running over the scraps that she had accumulated throughout the day, blood trickling down from the bigger cuts that had been endured in favour of continuing to train. One of the places that had remained untouched by the flames of her eighth birthday had been the Haruno's knowledge vaults where they had kept the scrolls that documented various jutsu and abilities that they had seen or used. When Sakura had returned to the compound the Hokage had given her permission to use the library as she saw fit – seen as she was going to become a shinobi he hadn't felt like there was a problem.

For the last couple of days that emerald eyed girl had been subjecting her body to a gruelling schedule in hopes of mastering one of the abilities that had been talked about in one of the technique scrolls that she had found. The technique was an improvement upon the bunshin jutsu that the genin had to use to pass the test for advancement however instead of an image of the user the kage bunshin no jutsu would actually create a physical clone of the user meaning that the bunshin would be able to use jutsu and learn like the user would. Trying to perfect the kage bunshin no jutsu had allowed Sakura to improve her technique with the less complex bunshin no jutsu, before that technique had been one of her weakest.

Panting the girl looked up at the sky; watching as the clouds themselves seemed to darken as the sun disappeared under the horizon making it glow brightly for a short while before the inky blackness fell in the sun's place.

Idly scanning the sky the pale girl's bright eyes picked out the shape of someone fleeing through the forest with a large scroll attached to their back – she had seen that scroll before. It was the forbidden scroll of sealing that was kept within the Hokage tower; there was no reason that someone would be allowed to open it, for no reason would that same scroll leave the Hokage's tower unless it had been stolen.

The girl sprang up onto her feet, her pink hair flying around her face as she quickly darted out into the forest, following the direction that the man had been travelling it, hoping that she could meet with him before he managed to get too far away from her.

"Faster..." She urged herself as she barrelled silently through the trees, spotting the figure in front of her. He was going at a leisurely pace, as if he had all the confidence in the world that he would not be caught, "Faster."

Springing out of the trees barely five feet away from the man the girl gripped the scroll and tore it off his back, swinging it around her shoulders in one move and darting away from the man again before he managed to get a grip on her or the situation. Disappearing behind a tree the girl panted softly, not enough to allow the man to pinpoint her location based on how hard she was breathing, looking around the tree the girl could see that the man had shoulder length light blue hair that was allowed to fall around his shoulders completely free. "Mizuki..." She breathed lightly, surprised by the man – but not entirely by the fact that he had stolen one of the Hokage's scrolls.

"Whose there?" The man called out loudly, peering into the forest around himself. "Where are you?"

Sakura didn't say a word as she watched the man, trying to work out what he had done, her arms locked around the scroll keeping it close to her.

"How did they find me so soon? I made sure that none of them would be able to tell anyone..." The man murmured softly to himself cursing his luck as he scanned the surrounding area for the person that took the scroll off him.

Sakura growled softly at the thought of the man disposing of the shinobi stationed in the Hokage tower, obviously he had just been binding his time before he took the opportunity to steal the scroll. "Bastard..." She murmured under her breath before jumping off the tree branch that she was sat on and out into the forest away from the man.

The bark slapped against the soles of her sandals just loud enough to be heard, Mizuki's head snapped around to look at the direction that she was fleeing – back towards the city and caught a glimpse of soft pastel pink hair as it whipped around her head in shaggy long locks.

"The Kyuubi no Youku bastard child." The man muttered angrily, clenching his fist before quickly following the girl.

Sakura's hair whipped around her head, covering her eyes for moments before the air resistance on her face ripped it out of her field of vision again. Every couple of moments the girl turned and looked behind herself, trying to spot where the man was – he flitted in and out of her sight, sometimes appearing from behind trees that blocked her path and forcing her to dart in yet another direction – always circling back towards the village.

"You know what I'll tell them?" He asked loudly, calling out to her as he chased her. He waited for her to answer before releasing that she wasn't going to, "I'll tell them that you stole the scroll that I chased you down and recovered it. No one will suspect that it was actually me, and they won't believe you because of what you are!"

Sakura closed her eyes and bit down on her bottom lip as those words reached her ears. She knew that what he said was true, they would be more likely to believe that she stole the scroll than he did – because she was killer, and he was a respected chunnin academy teacher. The pink haired girl wondered if Iruka would believe that she didn't do it, and if the Hokage would give her a second chance to prove herself afterwards, but the girl never stopped pumping her legs powerfully darting between the trees and through gaps that the older man would be able to travel, trying to fool him and escape him.

"You're not going to get away from me," The man cried out loudly, "I'll get you fox bitch, and I'll make you pay!"

Mizuki stopped suddenly in the middle of a large clearing. He knew that the girl that he was chasing stopped, the sound of her footsteps faded out to nothing and the air was filled by his heavy breathing. "Do you know why so many people hate you?"

Shaking her head the girl breathed as evenly and as deeply as she could, keeping her eyes locked on Mizuki from her hiding place.

"Do you know why so many people have tried to kill you?" The man taunted, "It's because they hate you."

"I know they do." The girl whispered under her breath, biting down on her bottom lip hard.

"It's because they think that you are evil. Do you know the story behind the fourth Hokage's death, do you?"

"Of course I do." The girl replied to herself, every child in the village knew of the Kyuubi's attack on Konohagakure, and the fact that the fourth Hokage gave his life to protect the village and it's people.

"They hate you because-"

"STOP!"

A loud powerful voice cried out from the trees causing both Mizuki and Sakura's heads to snap round towards where the voice had come from. Mizuki's eyes narrowed as he took in the form of his chunnin academy partner – at the leaves that were stuck in his hair and the dirt marks on the folds of his pants. "Don't say it!" Iruka yelled loudly, his voice sending a power wave of happiness through Sakura. He knew that he would believe her, he trusted her.

"You have no right to tell her." Iruka carried on, walking forward into the clearing and standing opposite the man. Unconsciously putting himself between Sakura and Mizuki, effectively blocking her from the other man.

"They hate you because the Fourth didn't kill the demon fox. He imprisoned it." Mizuki sneered at the other man. "He sealed the beast inside you, you're its prison, and you are becoming it. That's why so many people want you dead – because if they kill you then they think that they are going to have killed the beast." Mizuki laughed loudly before carrying on again, "Even Iruka hates you."

"Stop!" The brown haired man begging, crying out for Mizuki to stop.

"You killed his parents, his entire family and left him an orphan. He wants you dead as much as the other villagers." Mizuki sneered, his eyes darting over to the tree that Sakura was hidden behind as she gasped loudly enough for him to hear.

Reaching behind himself the light blue haired man took a large Fuuma shuriken from the holster he had attached to his back and sent it soaring towards the girl with enough power behind it to send it through the tree that she was hiding behind and then through Sakura's body.

The emerald eyed girl's face went pale as she watched the shuriken heading towards her, she couldn't move a muscle in her body as she watched it approaching. In slow motion the girl's eyes followed Iruka as he leap in front of her and covered her body with his own, the shuriken lodging in his back causing him to cry out loudly with pain.

"Why?" She asked softly, touching the man's shoulders looking at the shuriken that was buried underneath his skin. "Why?"

"Because he was lying." Iruka replied, tears running down his face, dripping down onto her chin and mixing with the blood that was on her skin from him, "There was a time that I hated you. But then I understood – you are not the demon, you are a hero because you house the demon, you lock it away. I saw you, friendless and family-less and I pitied you... and I saw myself where you were."

"Sensei?" The girl asked, tears collecting in her own eyes as she looked at him. "What are you saying?"

"I... I saw you like I was, and I couldn't hate you. I wanted to protect you and show you that no matter what the other villagers think there are people that love you, and that want to be your friend. I wanted to show you that the world wasn't all dark." The man coughed harshly, blood seeping out from between his closed lips as he talked to the pink haired girl laying beneath him.

"Iruka-sensei..."

"Pathetic Iruka. Can't you see she's everything that the villagers fear that she is? She the demon!" Mizuki yelled, glaring down at the bloodied form of Iruka, protecting the scared pink haired young girl.

"She's not a demon." The brunette growled softly, speaking more to Sakura than to Mizuki, "She's not."

"If that's what you believe I might as well put you out of your misery now." The man laughed cruelling before taking out another of his fuuma shuriken and unleashing it in the direction of the prone girl and her protector.

Blindly acting on instinct the emerald eyed girl knocked her sensei out of the way of the shuriken and dodged it's path, darting across the soft earth towards the other man the girl drew a kunai and held it tightly in her clenched fist. "You won't hurt Iruka-sensei again!" She vowed, making a slashing motion with the kunai, managing to dig it into the man's shoulder when she struck.

The next few hours were a blur for both Iruka and Sakura, but by the end of it they were sat next to one another in the chunnin's favourite restaurant, ordering ramen to eat together. Sakura was smiling brightly, even as Iruka's hand came up and ruffled her hair – the Konoha hitai-ate sitting proudly in her hair as a symbol of the man's belief in her.