Who Am I?

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto.

So here is the fight against Gaara, and Sakura will have a reveal at the end, something that will kick off her own journey. A big revelation...a glimpse behind the curtain.

Chapter 10

Sakura cursed as she entered the area where Gaara and Sasuke we're fighting. Naruto and Pakkun were the only ones left with her, the other being sent off to deal with annoyances that got in their way at the moment. Sakura didn't like the idea of using her nakama as decoys, despite how much she despised them at times, it just went against her morals to let them hold off the enemy while they continued on. She hoped that they would be okay, but there wasn't much time to think about that now that she was staring down the beast.

Gaara had begun transforming, he looked exactly how she saw him in her visions, except now he had a tail. One side of his face had morphed, along with his teeth, and he was drooling at the mouth in anticipation of blood. Sakura didn't know what to think of him, but she knew now he was more powerful than before...his chakra was powerful and intense and a little terrifying. Something about it just...just made he want to go to a corner and cry in fear. Looking down at her hands she noticed they were shaking, why were they shaking? She wasn't a coward, she faced people and opponents before that were stronger than her and never faltered, hell she didn't with Orochimaru. So why did she have this terrible feeling now?

Raising one of her hands she bit down on it, drawing blood and bringing her back to the present. She didn't have time to think about her own fear, she didn't have time to think about anything other than the situation at hand. Sasuke had activated his curse seal while they were absent and he was down for the count, bleeding and in pain. He would only get in their way at the moment. Naruto was gaping at Gaara, not believing that the beast in front of them was the same Gaara from the arena. She needed to make him snap out of it before Gaara used his shocked state to get rid of him. Pakkun had told her he wasn't one for much combat. Temari was hiding in fear of her own teammate, so she wouldn't be much of a problem.

Taking a deep breath and releasing it Sakura straightened herself and stared into Gaara's eyes. Both were wide and crazed, lusting for blood. For their blood especially at the moment. She knew he used Sand, but now it seemed like he was sand, it wasn't just his weapon, it was within him. He wasn't an opponent she could form a strategy for at the moment. "Well, well, well, looks like my main prey isn't as tough as others believe, fear is delicious on you," Gaara's voice rasped to her and Sakura sneered and took more breaths.

"Give up now Sand ninja, Konoha knew of your attack long before the exams even began. We were prepared today, your forces are falling to us. This was a stupid move, attacking Konoha, but a fool like you would never be able to see that error, now would you?" Sakura tilted her head to the side and smirked, her fear melting away as she bantered with the enemy.

"Like I care about that plan anymore, I just want your blood." His sandy tail whipped back and forth in an agitated and aggressive manner, ready to strike.

"And I want your head, so let's stop this pointless chit chat, and let's get on with it," Sakura whipped out her kusarigama and began twirling it. "Sunny, move Icy away from the area, then come back and help me with this guy...Sunny!" Naruto was still in shock before her loud voice woke him and he nodded his head, picking Sasuke up and moving away, placing Sasuke on a tree branch farther away, Pakkun watching over him. "Icy, rest up as much as you can, we may need you later."

Gaara was transforming again, his entire face and upper body was wrapped and sand, his arms now sand claws and his face like that of a beast dog or racoon. His legs were still human, though the sand was slowly slinking around them, soon they would transform into something else as well. "Sakura, we should run away, this guy isn't normal."

"Sunny...I know that he isn't, it doesn't surprise me at all, what does surprise me is you running away. That isn't normal," Sakura looked at him besides her and saw him still at her words, knowing she was right. He looked down and Sakura noticed something, his eyes. She remembered them….looking to Gaara she saw the same eyes as Naruto had before. Before when Naruto was alone...he had the same eyes as Gaara. Gaara was alone, no one had ever recognized him. He was suffering and relying on himself to compensate for the pain he felt inside, Naruto was thinking the same thing, it was in his eyes. Was that why Naruto was hesitating? She didn't have time for this sentimental crap.

Sakura no longer felt like being idle, her fear was being replaced by something else, anger, rage, pure hatred. The emotions came and fired her insides, and she tried to quell them so they wouldn't block her judgement. "I don't care why you're acting like this, Sunny, but we are ninja of Konoha. We cannot run from an enemy that attacks in our own home. So I'm going to fight." Sakura jumped forward and threw her kusarigama towards Gaara, but his sand shielded him and grabbed onto it. His tail came and rammed into her, throwing her into a tree and Sakura cursed. Using her chakra she pulled her kusarigama back to her. Her weapon was too small and light to do any hard damage, his shell to hard to crack.

"You're going to fight me, for people! You're weak, I thought you might actually be strong, but I was wrong. People can only be strong when they fight for themselves!" Gaara began laughing, a creepy sound in Sakura's opinion. HIs mind was so twisted, she wondered if she would've turned out like this had Shisui not been there for her, cared for her. It was a weird thought, not having Shisui, and she didn't like it.

"You're wrong, Panda...you're weak, not me. Yeah sometime the people I fight for are pains in the ass, but they rely on me, look to me because I am strong. That faith they put in me drives me to win, to kick your ass and take no prisoners. You fight for a feeling of being, but I already have that, and it's in the people that look to me for strength. To keep that feeling alive I fight for them, not for me. It is a far more powerful emotion that what you feel," Sakura said and jumped away as he launched sand shuriken at her, obviously displeased with her words.

"Sakura...I'll back you up!" Looking over she saw Naruto giving her his signature thumbs up and smiling like a complete goof. Chuckling Sakura reached for her back pocket, pulling out an explosive tag and a kunai. Wrapping the shaft with the tag Sakura nodded his head and jerked it forward in a sign to start. Naruto jumped into the battle, creating kage bunshin in mass numbers, and oddly enough, a frog was with him...weird. It was small and orange...like Naruto. Throwing the kunai to Naruto she watched as he fought, before planting the knife literally in Gaara's ass, pulling a move from Kakashi, and it exploding there, making the sand crumble and fall a bit. "How was that, Sakura?"

"Idiotic," Sakura said and his head fell a bit.

"Yeah well just wait till you see this!" Naruto exclaimed as chakra poured out from him in an enormous wave and he made a hand sign. Performing his jutsu the woods were filled with Naruto Kage bunshins, more than she had ever seen him make before, or anyone for that matter. It was like a small army of orange. Even Gaara was shocked, unsure of what to do when faced by so many blonde haired idiots. Laughing Sakura threw her head back, he had gone back to being the reckless idiot she knew, now she knew how to work with him again.

"Alright, Sunny, let him have it, he's been weakened from the kunai from earlier. His sand isn't responding well it would seem. It's now or never," Sakura said and she got calls of agreement from all the different Naruto's before his assault began on Gaara, and when it ended, Gaara crashed into the forest floor. But Gaara got right back up, his sand responding...and he transformed into something else entirely. Now Sakura knew what he was...he was a jinchuuriki, like Naruto. He was larger than anything she had ever seen, he had let the demon out. "Sunny! He's the houser of the Ichibi, Shukaku!"

Naruto jumped up besides her and Sakura was going through every jutsu she knew...but none of them would be able to take down this thing. They weren't big enough for something like that. "What's the plan?"

"At this point...survive and attack. You got anything large enough now than you did before you're training?" Sakura asked as she draped her kusarigama around her neck, not placing it completely away incase she needed it. And it looked like she would need it soon. A large sand paw was coming down to them. Whipping it out Sakura held both blades' hilts in an 'x' pattern over her head and poured chakra into it. The chains created a circle above them and inside was her white chakra, creating a shield that was strong enough to hold back the giant Sand arm.

"I got it!" Sakura didn't have time to question him as she kicked away some sand that had seeped around the shield, destroying it before it reformed and more came at them. A poof of smoke sounded behind her and Sakura cursed and thought of the worst before she was suddenly high above the trees, on the back of something and the sand was now falling down. Turning around she saw Naruto and his little frog smiling big. Looking down she noticed she was on the back of something, or on the head. There was a large pipe from its mouth, and it wore a jacket and had bindings.

"What the hell? You again? What do you want?" The large...summon asked and Sakura wasn't sure what to think of it. It didn't see happy to have been summoned by Naruto though.

"Gama-oyabin, fight with me," Naruto said and Sakura now understood that he probably had no control over his summon, or respect from it would be more precise. The puff of smoke that came from the apparent toad, now, showed his displeasure in the situation.

"Nope," was the toad's response and Sakura sighed and shook her head. Of course it would turn out something like this. "Why do I have to fight that guy? That's stupid." Naruto on the other hand was freaking out at the rejection. It was a good idea though, this toad was large enough to take Shukaku on.

"Pops this guy picked on me! And then the orange one here protected me, he did really well!" The small orange toad from earlier tattled and Sakura took a look between the two toads. This small one was the child of the large toad beast they were on! Well...that was a shock, Sakura didn't know what to think of that at all. It was weird to even here a toad speak though or a boy turn into his bijuus form but it was a day for rarities and Sakura had a feeling this would not be the last one.

"Alright, I'll help, but only because this punk actually had the gall to pick on my son. You all might want to hold on tight," the large toad said before drawing a sword from his hip and attacking the demon. Sakura channeled chakra to her feet to attach herself to the toad's head and held onto Naruto and the toad with her free hands, the two were about to go flying if she hadn't and then the toad might've turned on them for dropping his son. Sakura did not want to deal with that, especially when said toad was very skilled with the sword he wielded which was larger than the Hokage's tower.

Shukaku would dodge every attempt that the toad threw at him, despite being sand and quite large the demon was agile and quick. And the toad couldn't grab onto the demon because he had no claws. Gaara had put himself to sleep and the demon, Shukaku was now free as Gaara's body was limp on its snout. Sakura wondered what it would be like to have your psyche chipped away at due to insomnia, and he had been through it his entire life no doubt.

"Sunny, Gama-chan, I have an idea. Naruto you have to wake Panda up, to do that we need to get in close. But Shukaku is too fast for Gama-chan to grab onto. So Sunny you're going to transform Gama-chan into something with claws for him to get a grip, and I'll slow him down. You'll know when, okay? Just don't move him too much and don't get close until it's all set up," Sakura explained before jumping down, not waiting for their answers.

It was difficult to run through the trees when they had been massacred by the giants fighting above her, each step they made shook the earth beneath her, and making her fall from the trees and fall to the earth. Shaking her head Sakura decided the trees were not the best idea just in case she didn't catch herself next time and wound up with head trauma. Adding chakra to her feet Sakura skated over the earth towards her destination. Shukaku's feet.

His massive paws were a problem and so was his tail, but the tail moved just as much as the feet and wouldn't serve the purpose she was going for. This would waste a lot of chakra and she was low from the matches, run here, brief fight, and now she would be using a hell of a lot of chakra for what she was planning to do.

Once she was close enough Sakura went through hand signs as she brought force a mixture of both her chakras while still circulating white separately through her feet, it was difficult and a pain in the ass, but she needed to be quick and agile while still dealing major damage to his movement. Once she was ready she skate forward and took in a breath before letting out a breath, "Katon: Dragon's Fire Roar." An emerald, large pillar of flames erupted from her mouth and Sakura aimed for the feet, thankful Gama-chan had already taken off one, because three would be a stretch. Aiming it at the only front paw she began to melt the sand and turn it into glass that melted to the ground, the intense flamed transforming the sand quickly enough, before moving to the other two. Shukaku was giving off yowls but she paid them little mind and moved to the back as he began to thrash around. She got one of back paws and noticed that the glass was beginning to break. Getting the last paw Sakura aimed the last of her strength at his belly, weighing him down even more before skating away as she felt the earth shake. Naruto and Gama-chan were on the move.

Sakura moved as quick as she could to get out of the area and looking up she saw the Kyuubi and had a mini heart attack before realizing that Naruto had transformed the toad into that form. Calming down Sakura watched as Naruto woke Gaara before she continued on her way, heading to Sasuke to see how he was doing. When she reached him Shukaku was falling apart and Naruto and Gaara were falling towards the earth.

Sasuke was up and looked at her with confusing, the curse marking still on him, weirdly enough. "What did you do to stop him?" Sasuke asked as he supported her when she got to him, Sakura was panting and the edges of her vision were blurring. She had never used this much chakra in a fight before, and she gripped her stomach as she calmed down. Looking there she saw blood pouring from her abdomen, it had probably happened when she was smashed into that tree. She hadn't noticed it because of the adrenalin in her system. "Hey, we need to get you to the hospital. You're bleeding badly."

"I'll be fine, Icy, Sunny still needs us...we need to get to him," Sakura said and moved towards the area Naruto had fallen towards and adding chakra to her feet again, skated along the ground, Sasuke calling to her from behind, telling her to stop before she hurt herself even more. She didn't care though, she wouldn't allow them to tell her what to do, it was her body and she would push it if she wanted to. Naruto was alone with Gaara though, and she didn't even want to think about the possibilities of what was happening. Naruto was talking to Gaara about protecting the people he loves when she got there and she leaned against a tree, nothing bad was going on and she didn't have to worry.

Gaara's teammates appeared and it made her still a bit and then winced from the pain of the small action. Gaara called them off like dogs, and then they were gone, and Sasuke appeared besides Naruto who was so weak from the battle he couldn't even move his arms and legs anymore. Sakura crumbled to the ground, and before she could meet the ground properly, everything went black.

'My darling daughter...my darling daughter...begin. Begin. My darling daughter.' A voice sounded from the light which Sakura was blinded by. Trying to shield her eyes Sakura tried to look desperately into the light, a figure was barely visible, but it was definitely a woman's figure. But the outline was all Sakura could see. 'The book was our hope for you, and now it is time your battles begin. You don't need to worry about us, the book and all that it will lead you to, was meant to help you survive. I wish my darling daughter, that I could hold you one more time, but...'

The image cleared, or the scenery around her did and so did her own image, but the woman was still just an outlined figure of light. Around her there was smoke, and her body was small, the size it had been when she woke up in Konoha. She was surrounded by a large and pristine room, beautiful and elegant. White marble and thick curtains with paintings were all around. There was an open wall that had a small gate so that you wouldn't fall, and columns of great detail were around. Past the window was a large city, and it was on fire.

She was picked up by someone, this time made of black, nothing but a figure with no features. But this one was male, and he was next to another figure of black. He held her black pack and placed in in her arms, she unconsciously gripped it, she had no control over this small body. She felt sadness shake her being, and tears fall from her eyes and she began to wail.

'My angel, you must be quiet, he will hear. We do not have much time, you will leave this place...it is not safe, he will find you like he did us. He can not be allowed to know of your existence. And to keep you a secret, even you may not know who you are. You will forget us, I will take your memories away for your own protection. Everything about this place, your favorite games to play, your aunts and uncles, even us, you will forget. But we will always love you,' the man's voice was torn, yet it was masculine and gruff, deep and calming, but on his blank face, tears fell over it, and onto her. "One day the memories will come back, people will watch over you, check in on you at times till you are ready to know of their existence. But we...we will never see you again most likely, my angel. I wanted to see you grow up, teach you to fight and crush any boy who came near you. I should've known...he'd find us eventually. Tear us apart, and now you must suffer for my mistake. I'm sorry...I'm so sorry."

"Sir, he'll be here in moments. If she is to survive I must take her now," the other shadowed man said and held out his arms. Sakura began to hold tight to the man who now held her.

"Mama, Papa, I don't want to go, I want to be with you...I don't want to be alone," Sakura's voice was hoarse with tears as she sniffled.

"You won't be...one day the light that shines within you will lead you to people who will love and cherish you like we do. Someone to keep you safe from the darkness," the man said again and a shining light came and it was the woman again.

"My darling daughter...this is for you," the woman's hands held within them the necklace Sakura always wore. "It will hide you from the man who hunts us know. Promise me you will never take it off, it will hide you from his and his comrades sight."

"I promise...Mama."

"Good girl...and goodbye," the man's voice said and his hand came towards her.

Sakura startled up, tears so hot they nearly burned rushed down her face. She took heaving breaths of air from the dream she had...no...it wasn't a dream. That was a memory of hers, most likely from right before her memories disappeared...when they were taken away by her father. To keep her safe from the enemy who had found them.

A hand fell on her shoulder and she looked to the source to fight Shisui and Kakashi looking down at her, and the world swirled into focus.

Machines...beeping noises gave them away in the quiet room where she now was. The air smelt clean...too clean. She was in the hospital/ She had only been in this position one time before, when she woke up four years ago with Shisui in the room. Just like now.

Wiping her eyes Sakura got rid of the tears and gripped onto the necklace which still dangled from her neck, thankfully. Looking around the rest of the room she saw the Hokage and Asuma, Sasuke and Naruto, a man with white hair, and all the other genin and their senseis she had met were all crowded into one room. It was large for a hospital room, larger than one she had been in before.

"Sakura, welcome back to the world of the living," Shisui joked and held out a glass of water which she took grateful gulps up, her throat dry and scratchy feeling. No one else agreed with his humor, instead all shooting him glares which he waved off as he jumped onto the side of her bed and hugged her to him while someone not crushing the glass in her hands.

"How long was I out?" Sakura croaked before she erupted into a fit of coughing from that scratchy feeling she had in her throat. Grabbing her throat in pain Sakura took another gulp of water.

"A few days, your injury was serious, apparently it was touch and go there for a bit. It's a good thing I know you're tough or I would've been worried about you," Shisui laughed at this and Sakura smiled at him before placing the water back down and looking to the Hokage who was looking quite weary at the moment, he looked older than he ever had before.

"So? We're all here in Konoha if I'm not mistaken. What happened, Jii-sama,?" Sakura asked and cocked her head to the side a bit.

"Casualties...but not as many as there would've been if you hadn't of warned us. The memorial will be tomorrow. Orochimaru escaped, he ran once he realized that he was outclassed from a combination of Itachi-kun and myself he ran, though his assault has left Konoha in need of repairs. Sand left the moment they saw that Shukaku was no longer visible, realizing their plan had failed and once they realized that their Kazekage had been murdered by Orochimaru in reality," Hiruzen explained and got up, his back cracking as he did so before he reached for his pipe and lit it. "Good work, Sakura. But I expect a report on my desk by the end of the week. But for now get some rest, tomorrow will be quite packed for you."

With that he left, leaving the room in silence before Sakura noticed Shisui playing with her hair, braiding it. Sighing Sakura tried to swat at him only to have him swat right back. "Ne, Sakura, so it's true then...you can see the future?" Sasuke asked and tilted his head with a small glare on his face, though it was more because he was thinking, there was no malice behind it, just curiosity.

"Yeah...but don't start asking me to give you a reading. This was the first time it's ever happened, I can't control the visions."

"What were the visions of?" Sakura paused, deciding how to answer that correctly.

"I saw Gaara transforming...Konoha under attack, Orochimaru as the Kazekage, Jii-sama dying by Orochimaru's hands, and Konoha up in flames," Sakura said and took another drink water, her hands shaking as her minds reeled back to the past she had seen. Past and future? Or perhaps it had been a spark memory as she woke up, maybe it wasn't her in her sleep.

The room grew silent at her words once more and Shisui hugged her to him and Sakura relaxed against him. He placed a kiss on her temple and she laughed a bit, looking up to his and making a face, he doing the same back to her. He was always so good at breaking awkward situations.

"Well if that was supposed to happen I'm glad you reported it, little princess," the man with white hair said and bowed as he came up towards her. Then took her hand and laid a kiss on it. "So it would seem that the future can change then...the questions of fate and destiny finally coming to an end with your appearance. Though I think everyone here realizes no one can know of this ability. Other villages, if hearing of this, will come for you, kidnap you and try to use you."

"They can try, but I'll kick their asses," Sakura said before stretching and yawning.

"You can do that after you sleep, Sakura," Kakashi's voice spoke and Sakura had no strength left to argue, she merely nodded her head and fell back against the pillows, her mind falling into a blank state as she rested for whatever schedule she would go through tomorrow. But what would make it so busy? There was the funeral...but what else was planned?

There was finally a bit of her past for you to see, but only just a glimpse as she is still working to recover them all.

Next chapter will be the funeral and Sakura getting very annoyed with various people, as is the usual, a run in, and training.

Please Review!

~Stay Free!