The Absent Savior

by LoneWolf-Jcg

A relationship that starts off so innocent is then seen for what it truly is. But before these two can reach the end of their story, they must face challenges and obstacles that will test what they hold most dear. *This is a tribute to all the movies that me and my friends grew up with. We thought it was sad how kids today don't get to enjoy stories like this anymore.*

4. They Meet Again

ok so here's the next chapter :D i'm not sure if you guys are enjoying this story or not so leave me a review other wise i might just stop writing this also tell me if you guys need a guide so you know what everything is/means so with that said here's chapter 4

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They Meet Again

It was an early Saturday morning, the streets were filled with the sounds of the villagers like it always was. Though, it was not as bad since it was still early in the day. Merchants setting up their stands, shinobi walking in and out of the village gates, the sounds coming from the many businesses, hospital, and hokage building, and the gentle sound of the birds. It truly was just another regular day in Konoha, but that isn't what one shinobi in the village wanted.

Sakura was walking through the village, her light jade eyes tired and uninterested as she headed down the many streets of the village. Her eyes looking straight ahead as she walked, one arm holding onto a small green book while the other hung at her side swinging softly with each step, and her steps were long and slow. It was rare for the streets to be this quiet so she decided to take advantage of it and walk slow enjoying the peace. Well it was as close to peace as she could ever get to. She was on her way to the library, seeing as she didn't have anything else to do.

The young ninja had just left the hokage building after reporting to her master for her daily training session or possibly having to help out in the hospital again. But when she entered the office, the pinkette was surprised to see her master hunched over her desk, papers piled up high everywhere, and no sake bottle in sight. Her master had told her that she had too much paper work that needed to be done and when Sakura offered to help, Tsunade just waved her off saying that she had been working too hard and needed the break. Of course Sakura wasn't too happy about this 'What am I supposed to do now? Master said that I couldn't do any training and if she saw or heard of me being at the hospital working she would personally beat the shit out of me. Ok, I'll admit that I'm a workaholic but there's nothing else to do today. Ino is busy helping her mom at the flower shop, Hinata is off training with Neji and her dad, Ten-Ten won't be back from her mission until tonight, and Temari had to go do some embassador stuff. There isn't anything for me to do and all my friends are busy doing something else. It's like if Tsunade-sama knew that I was going to be bored to hell today, damn her and her evil ways.'

She continued to grumble to herself in her head as she moved through the small crowd of people that was starting to become bigger and bigger as the morning was slowly fading into afternoon, her peace fading as well. The pinkette waved and smiled at the villagers that greeted her "Sakura-sama, how are you this morning?" "Hello Kiko-san, I'm doing good." "Oh Sakura-sama, you aren't with hokage-sama?" "No, I have the day off today."

"Sakura-sama, I wanted to thank you for bandaging my wife's leg." "It was nothing really." This was how it always was whenever she walked through the village, villager after villager would greet her, everyone smiling at her, or somehow showing that they knew she was there, and she having to put a smile on her face each time. It wasn't too hard to spot her out in even the most crowded area with her bright pink hair, which she thought is a bit of a curse seeing as it's her natural hair color.

Though, it was rare to find her wandering the street, she was usually off training with her sensei, training on her own, or at the hospital, not really one of the usual people you would see. Over the years, the young pinkette's life had changed greatly from how it was before. She had become Tsunade's apprentice, leading her to be well known not only in Konoha but in other villages throughout the country in only a year's time. It didn't take long for her to become one of the greatest medical ninja in the fire country, even being said to have surpassed her master's skill in such a short time.

Along with her gaining of skill and power, she had also grown into a beautiful women. She had a well toned body with nice curves, a chest that could give Tsunade a run for her money, and of course her signature short bubble gum pink hair was a trait that made her stand out from everyone else. Her outfit was a simple red sleeveless with her family's crest, a simple white circle, on her back, tight black boy shorts under a short pink medical skirt, and her ninja boots. Throughout the village she was known to everyone as the prodigy of the hokage and was a member the famous hottest kunochi club.

The male population, and some of the female, had constructed a "club" of the most beautiful, skillful, and known kunochis of the leaf village. Of course Sakura was high up, if not at the top, in the club. The club is even more popular when the other members were Sakura's closest friends Ino, Hinata, Ten-ten, and Temari. It had become even worst when they each gained their own nick names to go along with the club and they each had their own fan clubs, getting all kinds of gifts and the occasional stalkers. Neither of them really thought much of the club, but they did enjoy teasing the guys when they had one of their famous "Girls Night Out" where they would flirt with so many that they have a contest to see who can get the most in one night.

Though, having so many eyes on them and getting the constant gifts from their admiers was getting on their nerves. Sakura had to have it the worst when it came to the annoying fans, even after she knocks the shit out of them they still come back saying that they were "honored" with being hit by her. Every guy and even some girls in the village wanted the pinkette while the others envied her for everything that she was and had. No one really knows of her past, everyone only hearing as far back as when she started being Tsunade's apprentice. But with all the fame and respect that she had, there was also the danger that came with it.

Assassins were hired to kill the young ninja, bandits trying to capture her for ransom, and there was even the times that a wealthy noble from another village wanted to buy Sakura from Tsunade. No matter what the danger was, Sakura was able to get herself out of it, and of course Tsunade never agreeing to any of the offers from other villages for her student. Since Sakura had become so important, Tsunade didn't allow her out of the village without some kind of escort and not letting her take on to many high up missions unless it was really necessary which annoyed the young ninja to no end.

Sakura didn't understand why her master treated her like a "princess" when she was a god damn ninja. Every day, a ninja's life is put on the line, each risking their lives for their village. She hated how she was treated differently from other ninja when she should be able to risk just as much as any of them. It was very true, everyone in the village treated her like a princess not just the hokage. She didn't have to wait long in restaurants or shops, everyone greeted her on the streets, she wasn't even aloud to really lift a finger without someone appearing to do it for her.

The villagers respected her, but she just wished that they would let up on the respect. She truly thought that she wasn't going to die fighting but instead by how much the villagers suffocated her. Sakura was loved by all in the village, still she was different from the rest of the villagers and it didn't go unnoticed. This didn't keep guys and girls from asking her out or some even asking her to marry them. Ino always teased the pinkette that she set the record for the most marriage proposals in a week, the blonde actually even counted how many and lets just say that Ino would have been right. Even so Sakura didn't want the simple life that the village and the many people that would try to ask her out offered. She didn't know how to explain it, but the life that the village offered didn't make her truly happy. Like there was something out there that could, not here in her personal prison. As she walked down the street to the library, she got lost in her dreams:

Little town {Looking up at the sky}

It's a quiet village {A small smile as she stared at the clouds}

Every day {Sighing at her boredom}

Like the one before

Little town {Looking around at the villagers}

Full of little people

Waking up to say…. {Watching as they all moved around}

(Villagers) Bonjour!...Bonjour!...Bonjour!...Bonjour!...Bonjour!

There goes the baker with his tray, like always {Points to the baker}

The same old bread and rolls to sell {Baker spot her quickly waving her over}

Every morning just the same {Smiles, walking over to him}

Since the morning that we came {Stops to talk to the baker}

To this poor provincial town

Good Morning, Sakura! Good Morning, monsieur. And where are you off to? The bookshop. I just finished the most wonderful story about a beanstalk and an ogre and a-That's nice. Marie! The baguettes! Hurry up!{Leaves the baker to the library}

(Villagers) Look there she goes that girl is strange, no question

(Villagers) Dazed and distracted, can't you tell…. {Villagers watch her walk by}

(Villager) Never part of any crowd

(Villager) Cause her head's up on some cloud {They all smile as she passes them}

(Villagers) No denying she's a funny girl that Sakura…

Bonjour. Good day. How is your family? Bonjour. Good day. How is your wife? I need six eggs. That's too expensive.

There must be more than this provincial life {She finally reaches the library}

Ah, Sakura. Good morning. I've come to return the book I borrowed. Finished already? Oh, I couldn't put it down. Have you got anything new? Ha ha! Not since yesterday. That's all right. I'll borrow this one! That one? But you've read it twice! Well, it's my favorite! Far off places, daring swordfights, magic spells, a prince in disguise. If you like it all that much, it's yours! But sir! I insist. Well, thank you. Thank you very much!

(Villager) Look there she goes that girl is so peculiar {Watches her leave the library}

(Villager) I wonder if she's feeling well…. {Sakura is reading and walking}

(Villager) With a dreamy far-off look {She easily evades villagers, nearing the park}

(Villager) And her nose stuck in a book

(Villagers) What a puzzle to the rest of us is Sakura {Stops to sit under a tree}

Oh, isn't this amazing {A cat walks up to Sakura under the tree}

It's my favorite part because you'll see… {Sakura smiles at the cat, petting him on his head}

Here's where she meets prince charming {The cat mews, laying down for a nap}

But she won't discover that it's him till chapter three… {Gets up, walking away}

Now it's no wonder that her name means beauty, her looks have got no parallel. But behind that fair facade, I'm afraid she's rather odd. Very different from the rest of us. She's nothing like the rest of us. Yes, different from the rest of us is Sakura…..

Wow! You didn't miss a hit, Sasuke! You're the greatest ninja in the whole world! I know. No ninja alive stands a chance against you. Ha ha ha! And no girl, for that matter. It's true, Suigetsu. And I've got my sights set on that one. Hm! The hokage's student? She's the one, the lucky girl I'm going to marry. But she's-The most beautiful girl in town. I know, but- That makes her the best. And don't I deserve the best? Well, of course! I mean you do, but-

(Sasuke) Right from the moment when I met her, saw her I said she's gorgeous and I fell…

(Sasuke) Here in town there's only she{Watches her pass by}

(Sasuke) Who is beautiful as me {His signature smirk clearly in place}

(Sasuke) So I'm making plans to woo and marry Sakura {Begins following her}

(Villagers) Look there he goes {Some of the girls see Sasuke}

(Villagers) Isn't he dreamy? {A couple faint, the others frozen on the spot}

(Villagers) Monsieur Sasuke oh he's so cute {The girls have hearts in their eyes}

(Villagers) Be still my heart {They have their hands to their chests}

(Villagers) I'm hardly breathing {The street becomes crowded}

(Villagers) He's such a tall, dark, strong, and handsome brute

Bonjour! Pardon. Good day. Mais oui! You call this bacon? What lovely grapes! Some cheese. Ten yards. One pound [Scuse me]. I'll get the knife [Please let me through!]. This bread- Those fish- it's stale! They smell! Madame's mistaken.

There must be more than this provincial life {Walking towards her apartment}

(Sasuke) Just watch, I'm going to make Sakura my wife {Pushing through crowd}

(Villagers) Look there she goes a girl who' strange but special {Crowd gets bigger}

(Villagers) A most peculiar mad'moiselle {Everyone keeps watching her}

(Villagers) It's a pity and a sin {She keeps walking, book still held up to read}

(Villagers) She doesn't quite fit in {Sasuke trying to push through the people}

(Villagers) Cause she really is a funny girl

(Villagers) A beauty but a funny girl {Sasuke finally getting through the crowd}

(Villagers) She really is a funny girl…

(Villagers) That Sakura….

The pinkette exited the main streets, walking down a mostly deserted road that lead into a wealthy looking neighborhood. She kept walking in silence pass many homes even some that looked more like mansions instead, her eyes never lifting from the book until she stops in front of a huge two story house at one of the street corners. The home was rather huge, its two stories stretching over much of property by itself. It was a pale tan color, a dark wooden balcony on the second story, an average amount of windows, a good sized porch at the front and one in the back made of the same dark wood, the railing of the front porch and the roof over it was made of the same wood, while the back had a little color and there were steps leading down into the backyard.

There was a two seater swing hanging from the ceiling on the front porch swinging softly from the slit wind, two more chairs that looked to be made of some kind of plush material sat on the other side of the porch. The rest of the property was a beautifully kept yard with three oak trees, one in front, two in the back, a breath taking flower garden in the backyard, and a small white fence that cut off into a high wooden fence in the back surrounding all the way around. Sakura walked up, pushing open the gate without a thought and strolled into the yard where she was met with a happy bark and sniff from her dog Aiko. Now to say that Aiko was no normal dog and she isn't little like you were thinking.

Aiko is the same size as Akamaru, maybe a little smaller than him. She glanced down at Aiko, who was standing right in front of her with a huge dog smile on her face, with a warm smile, petting her as she continued towards the house. Aiko followed happily beside the pinkette, who still held her book up as she read quietly in her head, nudging her side every couple of steps. Sakura walked up the steps to the porch and to the door where a "welcome" mat sat at the foot of the door. Closing her book with a soft thud, she rummaged through her pockets for her key, muttering a little when she still couldn't find it. After a couple of minutes she pulled out a small silver key, placing it in the lock and turning it until she heard the soft click.

Sakura was just about to open her door when she felt a chakra signature nearby. She tensed, frozen on the spot ready to fight off whoever it was until she finally recognized the chakra that was when Sasuke appeared beside her. Sakura sighed, relaxing her muscles a bit 'Just great, there goes my relaxing day off. How does this duckbutt always show up at the worst of times?' "What do you want Sasuke?" not even bothering to cover up her announce from the proud ninja, but of course this didn't affect him in anyway. He just stood there his signature smirk in place, arms crossed, and leaning against the door frame watching her while she waited for his answer "I just came here to see what you were doing. Is that such a bad thing?" trying to flirt with the pinkette.

Sakura glanced at him for a brief second with the same annoyed look in her jade eyes "Don't see what I'm doing is any of your business so yes it's a bad thing." she stated flatly while sticking the key in the door again. Sasuke gave a quick chuckle "Awww, come on now Sakura. We use to get along so well, why can't we go back to that?" a smug look crossing his face while he leaned on the door completely now so she couldn't get it open, reaching out with his right hand to stroke her cheek. The young Haruno quickly swatted his hand away before it was even a foot from her, a bored and annoyed look to her face. Sakura took in a deep breath "It's too late for that Sasuke." using her inhuman strength to get the door open but to only have it slammed shut by one of Sasuke's hands.

He leaned in close to Sakura's ear, while Aiko came to stand closer to Sakura "It's never too late. Whatever happened to the Sakura that would always follow me around, saying how she loved me so much and that she was going to be the future Mrs. Uchiha, I really miss that Sakura." grinning at how stiff she suddenly became. The pinkette glared at the Uchiha wishing that she could make him burst into flames "That Sakura died when she found out how much of a real bastard that you can be. So you should go find another fan girl to bother cause I'm not interested." She tried again to open her door only to have Sasuke hold it in place "I wouldn't be too sure of that. In fact, will you marry me?"

She looked at him in disgust "No way in hell would I EVER marry you. Now leave before I make you regret ever coming here." Aiko lowered herself a little growling threateningly at Sasuke, she was practically saying "Get away from her before I kill you". Sakura reached down, putting her hand on top of Aiko's head to calm her, using her free hand to finally get the door open and stepping inside with Aiko following in after her. The door slammed in Sasuke's face with much force, leaving a sharp ringing in his ears. He stared at the door for a couple of seconds, his grin never wavering in the least from what the pinkette had said or the fact that the door was just slammed in his face 'We'll see about that Sa-ku-ra.' his smirk grew even larger as he turned and walked away from the house.

Sakura leaned against the door, Aiko sitting beside her licking her hand comfortingly. A small smile crossed her face, scratching the dog's ear, sighing in relief when she was sure that Sasuke was finally gone "Thank god, I thought that asshole was never going to leave. I don't get what goes on in his head, doesn't he understand the word no at all?" She sighed slowly as she slipped off her shoes and placed them by the door, then walking into the rest of the way into her living room and placing her book on the coffee table. Aiko followed her as always, jumping up onto the couch so that Sakura had enough room. With worried eyes, Aiko watched Sakura pace up and down a couple of times furious at what Sasuke had told her:

Can you imagine? He asked me to marry him.

Me? The wife of that boorish, brainless… {Shaking her head at the image of being married to Sasuke}

Madame Uchiha, can't you just see it?{Stomping up and down her living room}

Madame Uchiha, his little wife {Made her way upstairs into her bedroom}

No sir, not me I guarantee it {Aiko following after her}

I want much more than this provincial life….

I want adventure in the great wide somewhere {Sitting at her window}

I want it more than I can tell {Aiko laying down by the foot of the bed}

And for once it might be grand {Sighs looking down to the floor}

To have someone understand {Lifts her head up slowly}

I want so much more than they've got planned…. {Looks up into the clouds}

She slowly slid down her window until she was sitting on the floor, eyes still looking at the few passing clouds. "Why doesn't anyone understand me? They all think that I'm weird for not staying with Sasuke, who is apparently is the "most perfect guy any girl could ask for" (rolling eyes) "Even me reading as much as I do seems to have everyone thinking that I'm not a normal girl. What's so bad about a woman that wants to smart? Really it's just everything that I believe in that's got the whole village in an uproar. I don't see what's so weird about the way I am.

And that damn bastard just doesn't want to leave me alone! When is he going to get it through his duckbutt head that I-Don't-Like-Him! God, what do I have to do? Put a giant billboard over the hokage mountain saying "I don't want to be with you Sasuke Uchiha!" cause it sure seems like I'm going to have to to make him understand that I don't want anything to do with him ever again. But of course he would just come right back giving me more trouble than it's worth. Along with the villagers and Uchiha, Tsunade is really enforcing her "rules" more than usual, I can barely even do anything anymore in the village without her coming in saying that it's too dangerous for me.

It's like I'm a piece of fragile china that could brake just from the smallest tap, I mean really what was the point in becoming a shinobi if I was going to be protected my entire life like some princess. I think I would have to do something even more drastic to make her see that I don't need to be protected or watched over anymore. I'm going to have to think of something later on." The pinkette looked away from the window with a sigh, turning so she was facing her door that was right across from the window.

She just stared at the plain wooden door for a while, until she gave another sigh, her eyes closing as her head hung down "It seems like there's just too many problems all of a sudden and I can't keep up with them…...What am I going to do?" Sakura leaned her head back against the window sill, eyes still closed as she tried desperately to think of anything that could solve her problems. Suddenly she gasped when Aiko jumped at her from the bed, knocking her over and pinning her to the floor with a groan. Sakura couldn't help but laugh as Aiko barked excitedly, her tail wagging happily at hearing the pinkette laughing. Sakura reached up with one of her hands, ruffling Aiko's semi-long hair "Haha! Well, at least I have you Aiko." chuckling when Aiko started licking her face "Ahhhhh! Stop, stop! Haha!" trying half-heartedly to get the huge dog off of her.

XxXxXxX

It was already mid afternoon by now, the entire village was filled with the constant noise of the villagers and shinobi that inhabited it. Through the many busy villagers and patrolling ninjas, there was a certain blonde haired boy that stuck out from them all. Naruto had gotten stuck with the job of restocking their food supply for the week, so that meant that he had to enter the village, which proved to be one of the more dangerous chores. He had grown in the past nine years, his outfit now made of orange pants, a black t-shirt under a black and orange jacket, and brown ninja shoes.

Though he wasn't considered a ninja of the village and didn't wear the headband. His hair had grown a bit longer and was as spikey as ever, his sapphire eyes were strangely dulled instead of the bright blue they once were, his skin tanned from training in the sun, and the three whisker marks on each of his cheeks still visible. Over all, he had grown into quite an attractive young man, sadly this still didn't get him noticed by the villagers. He had to stay hidden while he was in the village, if the villagers were to spot him, they would surely chase him out again or worse he could get killed.

When the boys had made their first reappearance so many years ago, most of the villagers grew to believe that he, Gaara, and Sai were trying to ruin every one's lives, that they wanted revenge, so they were chased out on sight now. They weren't even given a chance by any of the villagers. In a blonde blur he jumped on top of the high buildings, he was searching for an easy place to grab some food 'The quicker I get the food, the quicker I can get out of this village.'

Ever since that day that Jiraya has left, Naruto has not liked the fact that they have to return to this village that had thrown them out, them three innocent five year olds with no family or place to go. Now, it wasn't usual for the hyper active blonde to think bad of anyone, but the villagers went too far that day, 'They hurt my brothers and no one hurts my brothers.' Since they weren't a loud to be in the village, there was no possible way for them to earn money, so stealing was all they could do. So of course this earned them even more hate from the villagers, even a couple of shinobi.

Though now, they had become pros at the art and most of the time the villagers didn't even know that things went missing. With one final leap, the blonde stopped on top a high pole, scanning the wide view of venders down on the street below him 'Hmmmmm, what should I grab today? There's the sweet stand…..nah Gaara needs to lay off that stuff for awhile haha. The sandwich place? No, Sai got that last time. There's an art supply place, maybe I should get Sai more stuff cause he was complaining that he was running out earlier. But what is there for food?' His sapphire eyes moved across from left to right slowly, stopping to look at a stand then moving on when he decided against it.

Soon his eyes caught the sight of a vender who was selling fruits by the end of the very busy street, helping a couple of mid aged women at the front. The man working the stand seemed to be the only one handling the rather large fruit stand. He was rather old, maybe in his late 50s or so, gray hair shown through his brown shaggy hair, few wrinkles on his face, and his hands still held the muscle that was slowly warring out from his age. To make it even better for the blonde, the old man was actually an old "friend" of the blonde's and was known through the city for being a grouch but had some of the best fruit in the village.

His famous fox grin appeared on his face 'Perfect! Fruit it is then!' as he watched the man finish with the women, yelling as the two girls left with their bag. Naruto dropped down to the ground soundlessly, moving so that he was close by the stand, waiting for the right moment. The old man moved about the stand, rearranging his wide variety of fruits, grumbling about who knows what as he did so. After the stand was deemed suitable by the owner, the old man walked back to his comfy seat in the front, sitting with a scrual and another curse. Very carefully, Naruto moved from his hiding spot, taking refuge underneath one of the rather large tables, the cloth hiding him from sight.

He peered from underneath making sure that no one was watching 'Time to get to work.' he reached out and grabbed about a dozen apples off the table above him, then pulling his hands back under quickly right before the vender could see him. The old man's eyes narrowed as he scanned his three huge tables of fruit, turning slowly back to face the crowd of people in the street. The blonde couldn't help but chuckle under his breath 'That old douche, he makes this too easy sometimes hahaha!' he spotted a large pull string bag under the table he was using for a hiding spot, grabbing it and dropping the apples into the bag 'Haha, at this rate I might just get enough fruit to last us a couple of weeks along with the sandwiches Sai got last time.'

He peered from his hiding spot again, smirking when he saw the man falling asleep, his grin just grew 'This must be my lucky day!' He grabbed three bunches of bananas, two huge containers of grapes, five pears, four peaches, and the largest watermelon. Naruto huffed as he place all the items in the bag, that was looking ready to burst by now 'Hmmmmm, this should be enough I think. But what are a couple of oranges going to hurt anyone!' The blonde placed the heavy bag on the floor beside him carefully, not wanting to make any noise, shifting to the corner closest to the snoozing old man where the oranges were at.

His sapphire eyes poked out from underneath, watching as the man snored away 'Geez, how the hell does he make any money when he falls asleep on the job and he even yells at every single customer. Whatever, as long as I get what I need without trouble is fine by me.' he slowly reached out for his prize, but when he tried to go for some oranges, one of the them fell from the table making a weird squishy sound waking the old man from his nap, who quickly saw the hand sticking out from underneath the table and a pair of familiar looking blue eyes. "You thief! Give me back my fruit!" the old man leaped from his seat, knocking over the chair, reaching out to grab the blonde.

Naruto quickly retracted his arm back under the table, grabbing his bag of goodies and dashing out from underneath the table. The many villagers didn't stop in their tracks as they heard the old man yelling, thinking that it was usual for him to cursing about something, but when they saw the blonde, the entire crowd stopped to watch the scene. The old man stepped out from his stand, stomping each foot as he went to stand face to face with the grinning boy that had the pull string bag slung over his shoulder, surprisingly he hadn't ran off yet. "You filthy little turd! How dare you steal from my stand!" each word coming out with a bit as he tried to burn a hole through Naruto's head with his glare.

Naruto just chuckled "Don't you mean steal from your stand again. I mean really, I pretty much lost track of how many times that I've caught you snoring away on the job. You don't even notice half the time hahaha!" throwing his head back, laughing even harder as the old man growled like an enraged bear. The old man's eyes seemed to change from their dulled green to flaring red as the blonde continued to laugh in his face. The other villagers watched with their own srowls at the boy, he was the only one laughing and smiling about the whole thing. A couple of the men in the crowd looked ready to step out and help the old man, mostly likely looking to beat the shit out of the boy.

"You fucking worthless shit. You should of never even come back to this village." Naruto stopped laughing quickly, his eyes looking down at the ground with a glare. The old man grinned at the sudden change "Oh, did I hit a nerve there? Haha, every bit of it is true though. Can't you see that none of us want you here. That everyone would be better off if you and those other two pieces of craps would have never existed in the first place. All three of you should just get lost and never return." Everyone in the crowd seemed to be grinning along with the cruel old man, finally his terrible words were being useful. Naruto lowered his head so that his long bangs were hiding his eyes from everyone "You're lying." the words came out of the blonde's mouth before he could really think of what he was saying.

The old man laughed like a maniac, he was enjoying every minute of this "Lying? Is that what you believe? You really think that anyone in this village, no, anyone on this planet would care for two outcasted weaklings and a monster that could only cause pain to anyone around. You need to get your head out of those clouds and wake up from that dream world that your living in." By now Naruto was shacking, whether it was from sadness or anger Naruto couldn't tell, but he knew that he couldn't just stand there and listen to this man or anyone talk to him like he was some kind of horrible demon that was going to destroy everything one day, no he wasn't going to take it anymore.

Naruto slowly lifted his head, his eyes staring right into the eyes of the grinning old man "You're the ones that need to wake up not me. All of you are still seeing a nightmare that you just don't want to wake up from. And all your fear and hate are being directed towards me who hadn't asked for this. Even when I was a kid you all treated me like some kind of disease that needed to be cured. None of you seemed to think that I was just some poor kid that didn't have a choice! So old man, you need to wake up, cause I'm getting tired of waiting." Each word caused all the villagers' glares to flare even more, the old man's the most of all.

Naruto stared down the old man, never even faultering from where he stood "Why you good for nothing brat!" The old man suddenly charged at the boy, fist pulled back ready to deliver a bunch to his jaw. Naruto saw right through the old man's move, he dived out of reach, turning just in time to see the vender fall to the floor in a cloud of dust. He couldn't help but laugh at the man groaning lowly, pushing himself out of the dirt "You're going to pay for that." Naruto gave out another chuckle "I like to see you try you old douche." The vender growled like a crazed animal at the laughing blonde, who quickly made a run for it "Catch me if you can!" as the man chased him down the streets:

Gotta keep one jump ahead of the breadline

One swing ahead of the sword {Dodges the seller's attack}

I steal only what I can't afford {Dangling the bag of food teasingly}

That's everything {Vender getting more pissed}

One jump ahead of the lawmen

That's all and that's no joke {Running down the street}

These guys don't appreciate I'm broke {Passing by the other many villagers}

(Villagers) Riffraff! Street rat! Scoundrel! Take that! {Villagers yelling}

Just a little snack, guys

(Vender) Rip him open, take it back guys {The seller yelling at him}

I can take a hint

Gotta face the facts {Knocking over a villager}

You're my only friends, Gaara and Sai

(Villager) Who?

(Villager) Oh it's sad Naruto hit the bottom {Villagers that are watching and whispering}

(Villager) He's become a one-man rise in crime {Two teens his age glaring at him}

(Villager) I'd blame parents except he hasn't got'em {A group of women gossiping}

Gotta eat to live, gotta steal to eat {Jumping up onto a stand to evade a barrage of stones}

Tell you all about it when I got the time {Naruto evaded the other villagers}

One jump ahead of the slowpokes

One skip ahead of my doom {Vender right behind him}

Next time gonna use a nom de plume {Seeing villagers blocking his path, changing his direction}

One jump ahead of the hit men {Quickly getting cornered}

One hit ahead of the flock {Villagers closing in on him}

I think I'll take a stroll around the block {They lung at him}

(Villagers) Stop, thief! Vandal! Scoundrel! {Barely escapes, taking off down the street again}

Let's not be too hasty {Teasing the seller}

(Random Person) Still I think he's rather tasty {Random girl shows up}

Gotta eat to live, gotta steal to eat {The girl is clinging to the blonde}

Otherwise we'd get along {Naruto gets away from the random girl}

(Villagers) Wrong! {Being chased by a small mop of villagers}

One jump ahead of the hoofbeats [Vandal!] {Runs into ally, evading the mop}

One hop ahead of the hump [Street rat!] {Old manenters right behind him}

One trick ahead of disaster [Scoundrel!] {Cornered in the ally}

They're quick, but I'm much faster [Take that!] {Uses chakra to climb the high wall}

Here goes, better throw my hand in {Old man glares up the wall at him}

Wish me happy landin {He looks back to the old man and grins}

All I gotta do is jump {Jumps, escaping for the moment}

Naruto leaped to the next building, landed on the other side of softly, he took shelter from the pursuing old man behind the building. The blonde sighed out in relief when he didn't hear any other footsteps coming towards him "Guess I finally lost that old bastard." a small smile appearing on his lips. He dropped the bag down, sitting cross legged next to it, opening it up and counting what he had in the bag making sure that everything was still in one piece. He smiled "At least I still got what I came for. Gaara would have had my head if I had come back with nothing." he couldn't help but smile at the thought of his closest friends.

Pulling the string tightly, he placed the bag to his left, leaning up against the wall. The only sound heard now was the faint noises of the villagers in the nearby street and a couple of birds that were somewhere on the high buildings. In all the silence and peace, Naruto couldn't help but let his mind wonder back to what the old man had told him.

'Was he really lying? Or was I just trying to convince myself that someone could care for me? Who knows, all I care about is paying each of those pissy villagers back. Is violence all you ever care about? Pretty much, yeah. You need to get a life. And you need to learn to kill some. Like I would ever listen to you. You are the one that is causing all this anyway. If I didn't have you inside me, I wouldn't be hated so much in the village. Yeah, yeah. Keep blaming all your problems and hardships on me you damn brat. Cause it's your fault. No. I'm not the one that has tried to kill you. I haven't thrown you out of your own home. I didn't kill your parents. I didn't get to decide to be put in you. Personally if I was able to choose, I would of just returned to my own world instead. And I'm not the one that hates you. It's not my fault that these people are still living in the past. I guess you got a point….this time.' Just then Naruto saw the old man run pass him, looking like he was ready to kill someone. 'What the hell? This guy just doesn't want to give up today. Yup, he's being as stubborn as a donkey's shit……um, I think that's the wrong saying. Trust me every word was right.' The blonde shock his head quickly, trying to clear it 'I need to really stop talking to you.' He looked down at the food that he had stolen from the old man "Why can't they understand? Doesn't anyone see the truth?" sighing:

Riff raff, street rat {Still gazing at the bag of food sadly}

I don't buy that {Pushing himself on to his feet}

If only they'd look closer {Picks up the bag, slinging in over his shoulder}

Would they see a poor boy? {Starts walking done the empty street}

No siree {Looking around at the quiet buildings}

They'd find out

There's so much more to me {The old man spots him passing by}

XxXxXxX

Sakura had was laying on the couch, Aiko on the floor under her sleeping peacefully, while the flat screen tv blazed with color that lit up the room lightly. The pinkette held the remote in her hand loosely as she flipped threw channels bored out of her mind. "Nope…nope….nope…nope…nope…nope." finally she just turned off the tv "Geez, there just isn't anything on. So what else is there for me to do?" she sat up leaning forward her arms holding up her face while her elbows were supported by her knees. "There's no one to hang out with, nothing on tv, already went to the library, hm maybe I could just go train? But master said that if she found me training that my ass would be grass."

She held her chin with her right hand in a thinking position for a couple of seconds before a grin appeared on her face "Well what master doesn't know won't hurt her and more importantly my ass." Aiko looked up at the pinkette, she was giving Sakura the look that said "well it's your funeral", before laying her head back down to continue her nap. Sakura rolled her eyes at Aiko's warning "Well it's great that you're so supportive Aiko." her voice was dripping with sarcasim as she got up from the couch and went up to her room to change.

She quickly located her training gear and threw them on, grabbing her brown gloves on the way out. The young shinobi pulled on her gloves as she walked down the stairs "Ok Aiko I'm leaving! Try not to miss me too much ok!" and with that she had put on her shoes and was out the door. Once she had locked the door, Sakura leaped out the rooftops and was off to Tsunade's personal training grounds. Since she really didn't want anyone that would tell Tsunade that she was off training, she figured it would be better to use the roofs instead of walking the streets. 'It's about a little after three so I should have at least five hours until Tsunade gets home.

That should be enough for a quick training session. Best part is that she'll never know haha.' a small smile came to her face as she leaped to another roof. 'Some times I can't believe that I have to sneak around my own home. I can't even remember how it was before-' her thought was stopped suddenly 'No, I don't want to think about that. Never again.' The smile had completely fanished, leaving behind only an emotionless figure running jumping through the village. Luckly, the training grounds came into view "Finally." With ease, the pinkette landed in the clearing in a squatted position, slowly straightning herself to her full height. She glanced around the area quickly checking to see if anyone was around, no other chakra signatures were detected. Sakura then formed quick hand seals, then eight puffs of smoke surrounded her in a instant.

*About two hours later*

She was running through the trees when shuriken and kunai came raining down upon her from all sides. Easily deflecting and dodging the projectiles, Sakura jumped away when having three kunai with explosive tags come flying at her from the left. She lifted her arms in front of her as the force from the combined blasts sent her flying a little ways, landing on her feet and skidding to a stop. Just as she came to a stop, a clone of herself jumped out with its right fist pulled back ready to make a crater out of her face. Sakura side stepped her clone causing it to hit the boulder behind her instead, the boulder crumbled to nothing but tiny pieces from the chakra enhanced punch in a matter of seconds.

Pulling out a kunai from her weapons pouch on her leg and she stabbed her clone in the back, it vanished in a puff of smoke that surrounded her. Sakura stood in the cloud of smoke blinded for a couple of seconds to only get hit with a kick to her stomach and sent flying, slamming her back first into a tree far off from where she once stood, sliding down to the floor in a sitting position. The young shinobi groaned a bit from the pain in her back, she concentrated her chakra to her back, letting it heal her bruises. As she was healing, Sakura heard a tiny slicing sound, her eyes widened a little in realization.

Changing the direction of chakra flow from her back to her feet, the pinkette dived away from the tree she was leaning on just in time for the trunk to be sliced into many pieces by the thin wires that were directed at her. The small chunks of tree fell to the floor were the pinkette once sat, the rest of the tree following shortly after, falling with a great thud and scaring all the birds out of the trees. The clone that had sent Sakura flying early stood a couple of feet away from the fallen tree a serious look on its face as always. Sakura was laying on her stomach, a small bit of blood coming from her mouth, and breathing heavily from the suddenly excursion 'Shit, they're getting better at this. It's like they're really trying to kill me this time.'

Lifting herself off the ground and spitting out the last of the blood, five more clones appeared beside the first clone each with the same expression. Sakura turned towards the group of clones, breathing out a slow breath, then lowing herself into a fighting stance yet again. Two clones came dashing towards her each with shuriken in their hands ready to be thrown. The pinkette dashed to the side evading the shuriken, then catching the punch from one of the clones that appeared on her right with her left hand. Using her inhuman strength, she easily pulled her right fist back and destroyed the clone with one punch to the head.

She reached into her weapons pouch, wiping out a kunai to block another clone's kunai, locking them in place as they tried to overpower each other. One of the clones then appeared behind the real Sakura, taking out its own kunai and stabbed her. A log took Sakura's place confusing all the clones. They all looked around desperately trying to spot her "CHA!" the real Sakura yelled falling from the sky with her fist pulled back and glowing a dull blue with chakra. With one punch, Sakura hit the ground causing a small earthquake and for the ground to cave in a circle around all the clone, destroying each in an instant.

She was hunched over her hands on her knees breathing heavily 'Damn, fighting with my clones is getting pretty hard ever since Kakashi taught me all those different ways to trap the target. Sometimes I wish that shadow clones didn't know every single thing that you do…and that it didn't take so much chakra to make them.' she straightened out, pulling her arms up into the air, until a satisfying crack was produced from her back. "GET BACK HERE YOU THIEF!" she jumped a little from the sudden voice, turning to see a blonde boy running with a huge bag thrown over his shoulder and grinning like if he was having the time of his life.

XxXxXxX

Naruto dashed down street after street, taking as many difficult ways as he could, but the damn old man just wouldn't give up on catching him this time. The blonde made a sharp turn down an dissertted street that seemed to lead towards one of the forested areas in the village, he was pumping a steady flow of chakra into his legs as he ran 'What the hell! He just won't give up! He must really be pissed this time. At this rate I won't make it back home before Gaara and Sai come back from training. Shit, what the hell should I do?' he glanced behind him to only see the blazing red eyes of the old man, he looked like some kind of crazed bull charging 'That guy sure can run.'

Naruto then saw a sign up ahead of him that read "Private Property. No trespassing", it was placed right before you entered the piece of forest and was surrounded by a high metal fence. He skitted to a stop in front of the fence, looking up at the emence height of the thing 'Wow, they really must not want anyone coming in here. Perfect place to lose this stubborn old geezer.' a smirk appearing on his face. The blonde crouched low then suddenly shot up into the air and over the fence in one leap. Naruto had just landed on the other side when the old man came running up "You blonde shit! Get back here!" stopping just before he touched the fence, glaring at Naruto through the small holes.

Naruto smirked back at the glaring old man, sticking out his tongue "Yeah right, like I would! Why don't you come in here after me or are you scared you old fart!" the entire time he was teasing the man by making all kinds of rediculess faces and posses. The old man stood there for a couple of minutes, his anger getting so bad that you could clearly see him being engulfed in a huge flame. Just when Naruto was about to walk off, the old man leaped onto the fence and started to climb the high piece of metal, apparently he could climb just as fast as he could run.

Naruto's eyes grew huge when he saw the man reach the top of the fencing in a matter of minutes 'This guy just won't give up!' turning around quickly and running into the forest. He had entered the training grounds thinking that since it was a private training grounds the vender wouldn't follow him, but of course it didn't go as planned. He had gotten an head start before the old vender, but sadly that didn't last very long cause he could hear the old man's curses getting closer and closer to him as he ran deeper into the area. After some time of running around he heard a loud bang coming from a clearing up ahead, not really thinking, and began to run towards the source.

When he entered the clearing he spotted a pink-haired girl standing in the middle of a crater 'What the fuck! Who the hell- No time for that. I got to hide from that walking bag of dust!' The blonde stopped just at the edge of the crater, his eyes locking with the pinkette's confused ones, making a quick decision "Can you please help me out, when the old man comes by looking for me tell him I wasn't here." he quickly hid behind some bushes, completely out of sight. Sakura stayed frozen in the middle of the crater 'What the heck just happened?' she stared at the spot where the blonde had disappeared in confusion 'Who the hell is this guy? And hide him from wh-?' she was interrupted when an old man came running up, stopping were the blonde had once stood at the edge of the crater.

The old man turned his quickly to the left and right, looking everywhere in the clearing for the blonde "Where the hell are you hiding shithead! I swear I'm going to-!" he quickly spotted Sakura standing there, his eyes growing wide when he recognized who she was "Oh Sakura-sama, I'm so sorry for interrupting you (bowing to the pinkette)." Naruto peaked out through the leaves of the bushes he was hiding behind 'Woah, how the hell did she get that stubborn mule to actually be nice?' staring dumbfounded at the sight of the old man showing anyone respect 'Guess there's a first for everything.'

Sakura rolled her eyes at the man's action "It's fine, don't worry. So why have you entered the hokage's private training grounds?" giving the old man a fake smile to reinsure him. The old man straightened back to his full height, not making eye contact with the pinkette "Sorry, I had no idea. Have you seen a blonde kid come running through here holding a bag?" the vender never lifted his head, waiting for her to answer. Sakura silently sighed to herself, without thinking "He went running that way." pointing back towards the village in the direction he had come.

The man said a quick thanks and took off running in the direction she had given him, she watched his fading back 'What was all that about? He looked ready to murder someone, wonder what blondie did to piss him off so bad.' when he was out of sight Naruto came out from behind the bushes. One hand holding onto the bag's string while the other one was rubbing the back of his head "Hey thanks for the help." a goofy smile coving his entire face. Sakura stared at him for a couple of minutes, getting a weird dejavu feeling "Yeah. No problem. Why was he chasing you anyway?" slowly climbing out of the crater to the edge where a single tree still stood in one piece.

'Why does this guy seem so familiar? It's like I've seen him somewhere before?...Nah, it's probably nothing.' Naruto chuckled nervously "Uh it's kind of a long story." looking back at her a bit confused 'Why do I get the feeling like if I have met her before? Hm…..That hair does look familiar….but why?' Sakura just shrugged, rolling her shoulders until she heard the satisfying crack "Well I got nothing else better to do so tell. I was going to take a break anyway." making her way to the nearby tree and sitting underneath. Naruto hesitated, not moving from his spot 'Should I really tell her? What if that old fart shows up?...Really…..Why hasn't she already told me to get lost or something anyway? Is it possible that she…..doesn't know?' the idea left a tiny bit of hope in his heart that there was someone in this entire village that wouldn't treat him like some common monster.

This gave him enough reason, he slowly walked around the crater to the tree, sitting next to her. He placed his bag of food down on his right so that he could relax a bit, stretching his arms out before placing them behind his head to lean on the tree trunk. A couple minutes passed in silence "So are you going to tell or am I supposed to guess?" the pinkette gave Naruto a nudge in his gut with her elbow. He groaned a bit from her strength but smiled "Ok-ok I'll tell, just thought I'd keep you wondering a bit longer. So….well…I had entered the village to get some food for me and my brothers…..but I don't have money with me so of course that was a problem." he watched her from the corner of his eye to see if she was listening, seeing that she was pulling stray grass mindlessly.

"So, that old grouch earlier, I hid underneath his stand. When he was snoring away on the job I snuck some of his food. It was working to, but then I went back for some oranges and got caught so I ran away with him chasing after me yelling things like 'Thief! You're going to pay for this!' blah, blah, blah. I ended up at the fence of this training ground. I thought he wouldn't dare enter cause of all the "Keep Out" signs." A frown suddenly appeared on his face "Hey, why are there so many warning signs and how the heck did you get that old bat to actually respect you?" he turned his head to stare at the pinkette who was still attacking the grass.

She looked up for a second to see him staring, looking back at the ground quickly to continue her attack "This is the hokage's private training grounds. Only the hokage and me are aloud in here, anyone else would be in big trouble if they're found in here." She finally stopped pulling at the grass, Naruto just nodded his head "Ok, so I get why the hokage since this is her training grounds, but why are you aloud in here?" Sakura kept her eyes on the pile of grass that she had built "I'm really respected through out the entire village, that's why the old guy bowed to me, but I really wish that they would stop, it annoys the hell out of me."

Naruto noticed that she evoded his question "Well, to end my story, I heard an explosion coming from here and ran towards it. So here I am talking with you." the blonde waved his arms in the air to emphasize his point. "So you stole some fruit." she stated plainly like if it was something she talked about everyday, going back to pulling at the grass. He only nodded his head waiting for her to scold him or rat him out, he was in for a surprise "That wasn't such a long story you liar." getting hit on his shoulder with a rather hard hit.

Naruto was shocked out of his mind, she didn't seem to care that he had just come into her village and stole usually people kind of freaked out or at least would try and beat him 'I don't get this girl, it's like she doesn't know who I am. Is it really possible for there to be a villager that doesn't think of me as a demon? How couldn't she have heard about me from the villagers?' He shock himself out of his daze as he rubbed his injury playfully "Well that is only part of the story. The rest you don't get to hear." sticking his tongue out at her. "Awwww, why not? You don't trust me or something?" her bottom lip pushed out in a pout to try and cute it out of him. He just laughed "Sorry. That's not going to work on me." crossing his arms and sticking his chin up in the air to emphasize his decision.

"Damn. That always works." she playfully crossed her own arms and pouting more. Naruto chuckled at how childish she was being, but soon frowned a bit as he finally took in the state she was in, how the hell didn't he notice it before. Most of her clothes were either torn or stained with blood and dirt, he could even still see some of the cuts and bruises on her arms, legs, and sides "Hey what happened to you? You look like you got into a fight or something. Now that I think about it, why were you standing in the middle of that crater?" Sakura glimpsed at him before returning her attention back to pulling the grass "Nothing really, I was just in the middle of training when you and that old fart came running." pulling at a hand full of grass.

"Training? So that mean you're a shinobi?" looking at the girl kind of shocked that she was one 'Wow, I can't believe that someone like her would be a ninja. Wonder how good she is and what kind of jutsus she knows. If she was able to create a crater that big then she must be pretty strong.' he couldn't help but get excited at the thought of sparing with her. Sakura sighed a little "Yeah, supposed to be one of the best or that's what everyone else says. That's why I'm respected."

Naruto took note that she sounded kind of sad when she said it "Really, well maybe me and you should spar some day." shoving her shoulder a little. Sakura returned the shove with her own laugh "Yeah maybe we should, but you'll just end up at the bottom of that crater." Naruto laughed, grinning "I would like to see you try and beat me in a fight. Warning you now that I'm one of the strongest around." he made a superman pose, both of his hands in fist resting on his hips, his chest pushed out, and chin held up high in the air. Sakura couldn't help but laugh at his attempt to be intimidating.

Naruto laughed along with her 'It's weird. I really like it when she laughs.' smiling more at his thought. The pinkette continued her attack on the grass, a decent pile of it piling up next to her right thigh "So what did you mean when you said that you entered the village? Don't you live here like everyone else?" "No. My brothers and I live in a small cabin on the outskirts of the village. So we have to come here once and in while for supplies." he replied grabbing a twig from the ground and drawing circles in the dirt. "Really? But don't you have family or someone here in the village? I mean how did you end up living out there?" by now Sakura's eyes were watching him with curiosity burning deep in them. "Well it just sort of happened really. But we're happy living without anyone, training hard, watching each other's backs, out there we're free to be ourselves." a warm smile spread across his face 'Why am I telling her this? I just met her and she already got me to say so much. But I get the feeling that I can trust her, like if I've known her my whole life.'

"Wow. I wish I had that kind of freedom. Instead I'm stuck here in this boring village." Sakura was looking up through the leaves, her head against the trunk, catching a few that would fall with the passing wind. Naruto looked at her like if she was insane "What? Why would you want freedom? Don't you already have that here?" Her gaze was glued on a blossom on the lowest branch "This village is more like my prison then home now. Master doesn't send me out on many hard missions, afraid that I'm going to get "hurt" or something. I'm a ninja of this village, one of the best, yet she still doesn't understand that. I have my own personal babysitters even. I can't even go for a walk around the village without someone having to be sent to watch over me like some five year old. I just wish that I was able to really live, not just exist." her face was emotionless, she just watched as the blossom was blown off the branch and carried away with the rest of the leaves by the wind.

Naruto gazed at her 'She really wants to get out of the village? I would give anything to be able to live here like anyone else. Not having all the villagers looking at me like some kind of monster. Hm, maybe…..' a mischievous smile crossed his face "Hey." She turned to look at him "What?" Naruto stood grabbing his bag "You think you could meet me here tomorrow at around….noon." walking away from her a little before looking back at her. Sakura just raised an eyebrow in confusion "Uh…..Yeah. After I'm done with helping my friend but-?""Great! I'll see ya tomorrow then." giving her a huge grin and wave before running off into the far off trees.

"HEY! WAIT! YOU DIDN'T EVEN….tell me…..your name." the last part came out as a whisper since he had already gotten too far. 'Wonder why he wants me to meet him tomorrow? And this dejavu feeling is really starting to get annoying!' she sighed, pushing herself to her feet 'Wish I knew who he was. I still can't believe that I told him all that. It felt so right talking to him though...like…..he deserved to know or something.' she stared at the spot in the trees that he had disappeared in "Tomorrow is going to be tiring as hell I can already tell." She chuckled a little, walking away towards her home 'Tsunade is sooooo going to kill me when I get home.' the sun setting in the distance.

---

yay! they are finally reunited but will they ever remember who each other are? guess you'll have to wait and find out until then laters