AN/ Yes, this is the new Softer than Scarlet. I ask that you please review, fav and alert it if you enjoyed it.

Disclaimer/ (laugh) No! I don't own Naruto and I don't think I ever will. So, you can stop asking me now...It's starting to make me feel bad.


Chapter Seven

VII

-

'I was twelve when I first noticed the change.

The shower's water was scalding hot, filling up the room with steam as I stood frozen in front of the mirror. The long, jagged opening that had cut across my chest and in between my breasts, was gone. All that was left as evidence was a small pink line that was fading to a peachy color right before my eyes. My hands were trembling as I searched for the raised lump that should have been there with the dried blood.

It was smooth under my touch.

The tears of fear mixed with the streams of water as I screamed and stumbled backwards in shock. I couldn't believe it was my body I was seeing. I turned around suddenly, my long, wet hair flying out around me as I let my scared back see the mirror in my hast to flea from the scene.

"Chiyo baa sama!"

She said it was because of that the disease had manifested its self so early that I was without another scar. Her voice was grave as she explained how I would die an early death, thanks to my body's greed for stealing cells that were needed later in life. That didn't matter to me. As long as I had this cell regeneration, nothing would be able to hurt me from that moment on. I would be invincible.

I knew this to be true after I woke up from being run over by a trunk, and later, Suna's famed, underground bullet train. All that remained as proof for the accidents were a few bloodied rags that had once served as clothes. I'd wake up dizzy and disorientated, thinking the experience I lived through had been just a dream. None of it could have been real, right? Cutting under the water in the shower proved a less painful way to prove my unbelievable ability.

And yet, in all of this, there were still some things that couldn't be healed.

The scars from the fire that twisted up and down my back wouldn't heal, because they were old wounds that came before the sickness woke up. Those ugly manifestations of sin that stuck to my body would forever haunt me in the mirror when I chose to turn around. That was something I couldn't heal.

So, I asked my caretaker for her to do something for me for the first and last time.

Now, over those scars there is a brown trunk that is surrounded by pink and light red flowers of a Sakura tree that covers the ugly burns. My back is no longer ugly and gnarled. It's tattooed with the ink of a cherry blossom's petals. And just like the tree I am named after, I will keep coming back every season to fight until I'm cut down...and even then, I'll leave a stump for people to stand on.'

-

Being in and out of the hospital with as many injuries from the fights she took place in, the young female boxer had been exposed to the nasty smell of medicine and sterilizers more than most people her age. However, that didn't mean she was tolerant of the God forsaken stench, birthed from the bowels of hell. In fact, she hated that smell more than most anything in the world. She was only exposed to that smell when she was weak enough to let herself get hurt, so it brought back bad memories.

Mumbling to herself in irritation, Sakura stirred in her bed and breathed out a bit too loudly than she should have if she wanted to avoid detection.

"Oh you're awake!"

Sakura twitched when she heard the voice of someone she was not familiar with. Rolling her neck, she let her head fell to the side so that she could get a look at who was sitting in the chair next to her bed. Her vision was still blurry, but she could see a mass of blond hair and what appeared to be a pair of bright blue eyes staring back at her. "Neh?"

"You really scared a lot of us when you just fell over and passed out. We though there was something really seriously wrong with you, but the nurse just said it was from over exhaustion. You must have been pushing yourself yesterday or something. You really shouldn't do that anymore, since you seem to take badly towards working too much."

What was this kid's name again? Something that started with a N. "Who are you?"

"Ah, my name's Naruto! I was with Sasuke and Neji yesterday when you were at your locker. You remember us, right?"

Sakura narrowed her perfectly shaped eyes of bright green in a lazy manner only she could pull off and stared hard at the blue eyed boy before her. Naruto flinched under her gaze with good reason. "No. Not particularly." That was only half a lie on her par. She remember the encounter, but not because she wanted to. It was only a meaningless scene in the back of her mind.

Naruto sweat dropped a bit and chuckled nervously. "Maybe you got bumped on the head a bit too much. I've never known a girl to forget someone like Sasuke or Neji. And at least I'm loud enough to be remembered most of the time..."

"I'm not your average girl, I'll tell you that now so, that you are aware later on."

"Huh? Later on? What was that suppose to mean?"

Sakura sighed and rolled her head back so she was staring up at the ceiling and it's popcorn like surface. She remembered hating ceilings like that. "Nothing. Absolutely nothing." Then with some effort she rolled back her blankets and dangled her legs over the side of the bed, preparing to jump off.

"Hey, hey, hey wait! You can't be getting up yet! You still should rest until the nurse comes back. She has to check you before you can leave."

Ignoring him, Sakura slipped off from the bed and began straightening her cloths and patting the wrinkles out. "Were you the one that brought me here?"

Naruto blushed a little but nodded. "Yeah, I carried you."

"Than I'll thank you. But for now I have to get to class. I'll see you around Naruto san."

"But-"

With a wave over the shoulder Sakura picked up her bag and began walking out the door with a straight pace that never wavered once. It was the walk of someone with confidence and determination. The majority of people who saw her wouldn't notice this, but no one could deny that there was an aura around her that demanded respect, keeping her head held high.

"I really appreciate your kindness Naruto san," Sakura called reaching the door.

"You don't remember do you?" Naruto called out in a bit of a desperate tone, causing Sakura to halt in her tracks. "You don't seem like the same person you were years ago, but I know that the kind Sakura chan is in there deep down, sleeping. That Sakura chan is too strong and stubborn to stay down for long."

Sakura paused, trying to make sense of his words but came to nothing. Her childhood was remote and distant in her mind. It held no real value so she chose to forget it. From what Naruto told her, it sounded like he knew her from some time long ago. "I'm sorry, but I don't understand what you're talking about."

"That's okay, the Sakura chan I know will come out soon enough. You don't have to remember me. I'll see you in the next class I guess, okay Sakura chan?"

She paused, feeling weird and out of place for once. She wanted to walk off, cold and distant as ever, but for some reason, that didn't feel right. "Ah, fine. I still have one more class left before school ends. See ya around Naruto."

Naruto smiled and nodded, "See ya, Sakura chan." Sakura didn't say anything more as she shifted the weight of her bag and left the room. Naruto smiled brightly to himself, noticing how she had dropped the san from his name.

-

World History was an advanced class that went deep into detail about foreign countries and their (you guessed it) history. Sakura had good marks, so she was able to take the class with the rest of the third and forth years.

This didn't mean she liked the class. No. She much preferred classes that were easy so that she could sleep the whole time or draw sketchy anime characters. She didn't have troubles with advanced classes, but she was super lazy when it came to school work and had zero motivation.

"Okay class, as you know we've been planning a one week project for quite some time and it's come time to pair up for the event. I'll call out your names now. "Karin, Aoi, Seki for team one. Itachi, Tobi and Hana for team two. Team three, Sakura, Deidara and Zetsu. Team four will have Ume, Shinzu and Nana..."

Sakura snapped to attention when she heard her name being called and tuned out the rest of the names. Zetsu and Deidara both sounded like people she didn't know. But judging by the flow of people headed towards and away from her seat, she would guess they were the green haired youth and the Blond male with long hair that dropped over one eye.

"You're Sakura, un?" the blond one asked with a bright smile and a wave with one gloved hand.

Sakura nodded her head slowly, not really knowing what to make of his happy outlook. "Hai."

"The name's Deidara and this here is Zetsu. I guess we're going to be your partners for this project," He replied pulling up a chair and falling down into it. Zetsu pulled up a chair as well but sat himself down in a softer manner with a bit more honor to his demeanor.

"What is this project we're suppose to be working on?"

"Ah that's right, you just moved here so you wouldn't know. It's pretty much something on American history. You can build a model of a civil war fort or write a poem. Just something to present to the class that takes at least twelve hours to work on, yeah.

"Do you have any ideas?" Sakura asked, looking at Zetsu who sat quietly between the two.

"I...am okay with anything...I guess."

"That's good, cause I already have an idea for the project. A clay model, painted, of a 19th century house. I have the layout and everything planned out."

"What do you need from us?" Sakura asked, knowing he would do the clay part.

"If you want to help, I need a painter and someone to work on the shrubs on the outside. Whatever is good with you two."

"I can paint, if you can do the shrubs Zetsu san?"

Zetsu looked at Sakura and nodded. Sakura took that as a yes and tried to shake off the feeling of someone watching her. Zetsu seemed to be studying her a bit too much for her taste. What was wrong with her. Did she have something on her face? In her teeth? That would be embarasing.

"Great, look at this design and we can pick out the colors and plants, yeah." Deidara explained pulling out some designs from a folder.

For the remainder of the class Sakura and Zetsu looked over the designs and Deidara walked them through on what he thought it should look like. After a while, Zetsu stood up to take a quick break and left the two alone. Deidara sighed removing his one fingerless glove and wiped it on his pants leg, hoping to reduce the seat. It was then that Sakura caught a glimpse of the burn mark on his hand. Without thinking she let the word escape her lips and voice it's self.

"Iwa."

Deidara looked surprised at first, even a little shocked, but smiled softly and chuckled,pulling his glove back on. "I guess you known then. About that other world."

"I know enough to remember Iwa hated Leaf enough to want it hurt it, inside and out," Sakura replied with narrowed eyes, her every guard turned on as she watched the blond with weary eyes. She didn't trust him. Anyone from Iwa was a bad sign.

"I know you won't trust me, but if it matters at all to you, I hate Iwa as much as you do."

Sakura narrowed her eyes in disbelief. "Really? I find that hard to believe."

"Believe it. It's just the government that hates Leaf, not the majority of it's people. Families like my own were taxed to poverty and killed on the streets because of the greed the government bathed in. After watching my family die like that, you think I still love them?" he asked with a chuckle, grin still in place.

"You worked for them in the Underground," Sakura pointed out.

"Only cause I had to. There is scarcely a bloke in the lifestyle over there that likes where he is, ya know? I was pretty much sold into that life, hating ever day of it. That's why I came to Leaf, un."

Sakura pressed her lips together and furrowed her brow. "It's not that simple, I'm not an idiot. As if Iwa would actually let one of the underground solders waltz across enemy lines and join their ranks."

"I had a lot of help. Working as a double agent for six years will get you that. Remember the terrorist bombing on July 8th?"

"The flashy explosions that blew up the High stone stadium?" Sakura asked, knowing the bombing took place to cave in one of the upper levels of an underground ring that specialized in drug dealing. The fighting rinks were much deeper down for obvious reasons, one being the threat of bombing. Sakura remembered the day the bombing took place and was glad when she found out the stadium was empty and a lot of drug dealers had lost their meth labs and lifelong businesses. Iwa was not happy about the loss of their stadium and shady source of income.

"Glad you liked my handiwork?"

Sakura's eyes grew wide with amazement. "That was you?"

"Yup, it was really something, wasn't it? I doubt anyone else could pull off something so flashy, un."

"Stop showing off so much in such a public place, Deidara," Zetsu interrupted.

Sakura flushed in embarrassment, knowing she was partly at fault for bringing up the matter.

"No one's going to hear us this far back, right Sakura chan?"

"I...yeah. There's not a whole lot of people that could hear, regardless, I think it's best to keep this conversation to a minimal," She answered looking around, knowing no one had heard their conversation.

"See, Sakura chan agrees with me!" Deidara chirped, swinging an arm around her shoulder in a half hug, smiling brightly like a blond idiot.

Sakura was going to say something before lipping the male's arm off her shoulder when the dark haired Uchiha she remembered from the other day stood up and approached them with a stern expression. What was his first name again...Itachi wasn't it?

"Class is over you two. You can let Sakura san go now Deidara." His tone left no room for argument.

Deidara pouted like a child who was denied a treat and allowed Sakura to stand up and retreat to her desk and belongings with a curt nod from her head and a silent message held behind her eyes.

Once she was gone, Itachi turned to glare hatefully down at the blond. "What was that?"

"What was what?"

"You know what I mean."

Deidara folded his hands behind his head and looked away. "I don't know what you're talking about, Itachi."

The Uchiha frowned. "Don't even try acting less intelligent than normally this time, Deidara. You know the rule regarding new members."

"Yeah, but she's so cute. How do you expect me to act like that when she so bloody adorable, un?"

"The same way the rest of us manage."

Deidara looked up at the dark haired youth and smirked. "Does that include you. Uchiha?"

Itachi was silent for a long while before replying with a monotone command that ended their discussion. "Just leave the negotiations to me and stay relatively distant for the time being." With that said, he was gone.

"Relatively distant eh? That's going to be pretty hard when we're partners on this project, eh Zetsu?"

The red haired youth with golden eyes sighed, knowing his old friend too well to stop what was bound to take place in the coming week. "Just try to be quiet about it, will you?" Sasori said.

"Yeah, yeah, yeah. But what's the fun if you can't express your art in things like this? I want to have a bit of fun."

"Deidara...." His tone was warning.

"I'm just kidding. I'll see ya around," the blond laughed, standing up and gathering his stylishly torn school bag in one fluid motion. "Don't worry too much about me, I can take care of myself pretty well, un."

Sasori's expression was anything but amused as he watched his friend retreat in a hurry. The blond was long gone and nowhere near close enough to hear the words of Suna's strongest male fighter. "It's not you I'm worried about, baka."

Tobi popped up behind Zetsu and glanced at the retreating figure of his upperclassman. "What's wrong, zetsu sempi?"

the older classmate sighed heavily and shook his head before answering in a voice that was dry and cracking. "Too much, kid...too much."-

-

Sauke kun, you're playing with ear again. You must be thinking about something really hard. I know that's a habit of you's," Ino purred from across the room, pulling her shirt back into place before fixing her hair and putting in her dangly silver hoop earrings.

"Hn."

The part time sale girl stutter over to the brooding Uchiha and began to rub his back. "Are you planning on destroying someone? You were so violent with me I could almost taste your killing intent. There must be someone you hate a lot."

"Not hate..."

"What?" Ino asked, suprised to recieve an answer.

"I just want to destroy here. I want to see her broken. I don't know why I'm feeling this way now, but I want to see her bloodied and socially destroyed." His voice was low and cold, chilling the air around the two a good three or four degrees.

Ino stuttered under the preasure. "W-wh-who is it?"

"Sakura Haruno."

-

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I think Sakura has too many men interested in her (there is never a thing as too many men!) and I hate Sasuke, soooo I'm making him the enemy! Everything works out perfectly like this, no?

(Warning, random ranting ahead)

Holy Sh*t, I almost died of shock (in a good way) the other day when I opened my email and saw a PM from Lady Hanaka about the amazing fan art she did for Softer than Scarlet. It made me so happy and inspired me more than most will ever know. I want to thank the lovely Landy Hanaka for reading, reviewing, and illustrating this story and I plan on updating my other stories soon. Please go check out her art!

Please review!

REVIEW I SAY!

Ja ne