NORMAL P.O.V.

Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick.

Everything hurt. Especially Sakura's chest. Her eyelids felt glued shut. Everything was dark. Sakura slowly opened her eyes. Even that hurt. She blinked a couple times to get rid of the sleep. The first thing she noticed was that she was breathing.

I...I'm alive? Sakura thought.

'No shit Sherlock.' Inner said.

Inner?

'Yep! I saved you from certain death.'

Why?

'Because Sak, if you die, I die. And I don't want to die yet! I mean we haven't even had our first kiss! And there are tons of smexy beasts around.'

So you didn't save me because you were worried?

Inner laughed sheepishly. Sakura mentally rolled her eyes and craned her neck to get a better look around. The room she was in, was completely white. Except for some pictures and chairs. She heard the steady beep of the heart moniter.

Let's see if I can get up. Sakura thought. Or at least move...

Sakura hesitantly moved her arm. A jolt of pain shot up her arm. She bit her lip to prevent herself from gasping in pain. She felt unusually empty and weak. Sakura tensed when she heard footsteps. The door slid open silently. Sakura looked to her side. She saw three people at the door. Two males and one female. The first male had dirty blonde hair and dark brown eyes. The second male had black hair and red eyes. And the girl had sandy brown hair, forest green eyes and a splash of freckles across her face.

"Oh, you're awake!" she exclaimed happily. "How are you feeling?"

"Like I seriously need some Asprin." Sakura replied. "Where am I? Who are you? How did I get here? How long was I out?"

"Whoa there pinky. Slow down. Kei, Rin and I found you bleeding to death in the forest while we were on morning patrol. You were out for about a week. Kei is the blonde, Rin is the chick and I'm Itsuki. You're in the Village hidden by the Sound hospital." Itsuki explained.

Sakura felt a feeling of dread pool in her stomach. Her breathing came out in short pants. She was in Ooruchimaru's village... Where he killed and expiramented on countless innocent people. The heart moniter began beeping uncontrollably.

"Hey! It's ok! Ooruchimaru isn't here anymore. He disappeared." Rin said quickly.

Sakura's breathing slowly calmed down.

"Since we introduced ourselves...could you tell us who you are?" Kei asked.

"Right. Sakura Haruno. Konoha jounin and medical nin." Sakura said.

"Is everything ok? You seemed kind of upset saying that last part." Rin said.

"I-I'm f-fine. My... My injuries are just a bit sore." Sakura said.

"You're lying." Rin said. "What happened?"

Sakura didn't know what came over her. Maybe it was because she felt so vunerable. Maybe it was because Rin, Kei and Itsuki seemed like such nice people. Or maybe, Sakura just needed a friend. Tears blurred her vision.

"I...I was actually targeted. By a girl named Karin. She came back to Konoha with Sasuke. My former teammate. She... I don't know what I did to make her so upset... She just tried killing me while we were on a mission. I could have easily taken her down. But I didn't... Because my team wouldn't believe me if I said that Karin had attacked me first." Sakura explained shakily.

Rin wrapped her arms around Skaura's shaking form.

"Everyone... Everyone in Konoha except for four others thought I was weak. My former team and best friend... They... They called me weak. Pathetic. Annoying. But I'm not. My sensei never trained me because he was too focused on Sasuke's curse mark. And Naruto's potential. He never took the time to train me. My mentor, Tsunade-shi-, Tsunade-sama, said that she was going to relieve me of my ninja status. She didn't think I could handle the life of a ninja. But I could. My friends helped train me. I'm ANBU level. But nobody cares...I have nobody now..." Sakura cried.

"Shh... Shhh... It's ok. Just let it all out." Rin coaxed. "You don't have nobody. You have me. You have Kei. You have Itsuki. You have all of us now."

Twenty minutes later, Sakura stopped crying and dried her tears.

"Sorry if I burdened you." Sakura said.

"It's fine. You aren't a burden." Kei said. "I think that you're amazing for being able to put up with that shit."

Sakura gave him a small smile.

"Why do I feel so weak by the way? I feel...empty." Sakura said.

"We had to seal away your chakra. You were being really destructive when the nurses and doctors were healing you." Itsuki explained.

"Oh. When will it be back?"

"About two weeks."

Sakura frowned.

"Oh. Thanks for taking care of me but I really should be going now." Sakura said.

"Already? You're still recovering!" Kei exclaimed.

"Well I still have to let my friends know I'm ok." Sakura said.

Kei, Itsuki and Rin frowned.

"Ok... We'll walk you to the gates." Rin said.

AT THE GATES...

One thing that Sakura noticed when Kei, Rin and Itsuki escorted her to the gate was that the village was filled with criminals. Along with other sound nins and civilians. They even seemed to get along great. She had never seen any crimanal that happy before.

"Hey, how come this place has a lot of criminals?" Sakura asked when they arrived at the gates.

"Well... This place is kind of like a shelter for criminals. They can act like there real selves here and not get judged or attacked. Of course it a criminal harms anyone in any way, he/she will be kicked out. Surprisingly, when the Otokage allowed criminals to stay here, the village was fine with it so...yeah..." Kei explained.

"Ahhhh... I see." Sakura said. "Thanks for bringing me to the gates by the way."

"You're welcome. Come back anytime ok Sakura?" Rin said.

"Sure." If I don't die first...

Sakura waved goodbye to Rin, Kei and Itsuki and disappeared into the forest.

TIMESKIP ONE WEEK...

Some of Sakura's chakra started coming back making it much easier for her to travel longer distances. Along to way back to Konoha, she picked up a discarded brown cloak. It kept her warm and hidden. It was mid-afternoon when Sakura arrived at Konoha's gates.

Here goes everything... Sakura thought.

'I suggest we go and kick some major Naruto, Sasuke, Karin, Ino, Kakashi and Tsunade ass!' Inner thought.

Don't forget I have next to no chakra and they would most likely kill me. Sakura thought.

Inner shut up and let Sakura walk into Konoha's gates unnoticed. Sakura was surprised when she saw no one at the gates. It was probably Karin and Ino's turn to guard and they probably ditched to go shopping of hook up with some guys. Sakura stared blankly into space. Her hood hid her face and hair well. She let her feet carry her around. Before she knew it, Sakura was at the graveyard.

Might as well visit mom and dad's grave... Sakura thought.

Sakura trudged through the graveyard. As she approached her parents' grave, she saw a new addition. Her eyes widened in shock when she saw what it said.

Sakura Haruno

XXXX-XXXX

Killed in Action

May she forever rest in peace

Sakura felt her hands clench into fists. Blood dripped onto the grass. She suddenly heard footsteps and moved as quickly as possible behind a bush. From her hiding spot, Sakura saw five figures. Naruto, Sasuke, Kakashi, Ino and Karin. Kakashi had his typical orange book in his hand.

"Too bad Sakura died." Naruto said.

"Who cares Dobe? She was too clingy." Sasuke said.

"Yeah! I searched hours for her body!" Karin said.

"True. She was way too violent anyways." Naruto commented.

"She was never a good shopping partner." Ino said.

"And she wasn't much of a ninja either." Kakashi said.

Silence.

"Well! We're done here! Let's go get some ramen!" Naruto said happily.

Everyone agreed and left. As soon as they left, the sky darkened and began raining. Heavily. Sakura stood up from her hiding spot. Her bright emerald eyes were now lifeless and dull. Everyone thought she was dead. Gone. Nobody searched for her body.

What did she have to live for now?

Hey guys. Thanks for reading. I hope you liked thins chapter better than the first. Please inform me of any spelling, mistakes or grammar. I DO NOT own Naruto.