DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN ANY OF THE CHARACTERS BELOW AND MOST DEFINITELY NOT NARUTO

P.S. THIS STORY WAS INSPIRED BY SEVERAL STORIES I'VE READ IN SO, THANK YOU TO THOSE AUTHORS.

CHAPTER TWO: THE LOST SOUL

Dews were left on the leaves as it had been raining just last night, leaving a sweet aroma of the fresh morning. Birds start twittering and chirping, interacting with one another as a new day was born. The early morning light shone through the heavily curtained window, absorbing most of the brightness. Darkness was mostly what that surrounded this room as if morning wasn't even present at all. Blood red eyes searched through this room, a huge contrast to the blackness that occupied the room. Yet, it still could be seen, even by slight chance - a smirk that tore its way through the person's mouth. Closing his or her eyes, the person once again camouflaged into his or her comfort zone - the darkness. A whisper broke the calmness in the room... It's time. She's awakening... No more cat and mouse game... I'm coming... And then, there were no longer any signs of any living thing being in that very room, not even the sound of breathing. Perhaps, that person was already gone. Just, perhaps...

Degup... Degup... The sound of heart pounding was loud, in Sakura's ears anyway. Slitted eyes, red and filled with black circles, checked out her own room. It was pretty apparent that she had not been sleeping. The realisation was still pretty new and being absorbed into her mind. A huge conflict has occured and the world outside doesn't seem to notice it. Birds twittered and sung, squirrels looked for their precious acorns, grass grew and dawn had continued growing into precious morning. It had rained temporarily yesterday, short but definitely very heavy with lightnings and thunders. Just like her dream. Her sleep had been short, she noted that it had only been for one and a half hour but yet many things had happened. Groaning, Sakura slammed her head onto her table as she felt a headache forming. She had been awake for the whole night long... Too many things too little time! Argh... As she caught sight of her bed, she literally drooled at the comfort it could offer. Yet, a strange side in her refuse to absorb this source of comfort and instead settled for thinking. Strange, how she could actually think of such a thing when she had bigger problems. Then again, she's only 12. Let's see what she progress she had made. She's Uchiha Sak--

Thump... Thump... Thump...

A sound of someone coming.

THUMP... THUMP... THUMP...

The floor grumbled in protest as it was still getting used harshly at its old age, as if shouting a protest of 'get me repaired'. The footsteps got louder and nearer. Sakura's ears perked up. It was heading for her room. Quickly, Sakura climbed onto her bed, pretending to be asleep: slowing her breathing, calming her heart and closing her eyes. Somehow, she did it, perfectly, without a flaw as if she had done it since forever. The door creaked open but stopped as the person caught sight of Sakura's sleeping form. A funny feeling bubbled in Sakura's chest, a kind of ... familiar power... Somehow... just by slight chance, she felt her brother's... chakra? A slight comforting wave of it had caressed her very own. But, she had never had just a training before, so how is it even possible that such could have happened? However, suddenly, she felt her brother's chakra coming closer and closer. Had it been her mistake? Maybe she had let out a surprise expression when she had first felt his chakra. Sakura's confusion rose another level when she suddenly felt Itachi's hand touching her cheek.

"Sakura..." A whisper came out of his mouth.

But Sakura did not flinch or opened her eyes. Instead, she chose to continue pretending, still keeping her breathing, heartbeat and position of her eyes in check. Perhaps because she kept her eyes shut, she didn't see how Itachi's mouth curled up into an evil grin. A smirk beginning to form...

"Itachi! Itachi!"

The smirk turned downwards quickly instead to form a frown. Sighing, Itachi left to attend to his mother's calling. As soon as the door shut, Sakura immediately opened her eyes. Confusion began to gather into her head. What was that about? Her eyes began fluttering and her mind calling her back to the realm of her dreams. Sakura... Sakura... Come on... Let's play together... With as little sleep as she got, she barely got out her words - I don't want to... - before falling out of conscious, entering once again to the other part of her life. The last thought laid forgotten in her head as the lack of sleep begin to take its toll on poor young Sakura.

Outside, somewhere far far away, a crackling laughter could be heard, getting louder and louder. A loud voice then boomed," Let the dance of Genocide finally begin!" And this sentence echoed through the whole sky.

" The Dance of Mass Murder and Death shall begin very soon... Won't it, HARUNO Sakura?"

"Sakura... Sakura... Wakey-wakey!"

"Sakura! Wake up right now!"

Sakura just tossed and turned, refusing to budge from her sleep, swatting randomly at anything that was disturbing her serene sleep. The air was cool with air constantly blowing at a gentle speed. The only sounds that could be heard were the songs of nature, and that annoying kid.

"Haha. That's cute. Now wakey!! Or else you'll get it!"

"1...2...3! Don't say I didn't warn you!"

"AHHH!!!!"

And thus, ended the beautiful sleep of Sakura, and so did the peace of quiet of the area with Sakura's shrieking. Laughter could be heard, a kiddy one, of a guy, a boy, one who haven't broke his voice yet - definitely. Tears fell from Sakura's eyes and her stomach begin aching as her sides were once again punished with skilful hands as he tickled her at her most sensitive places. Through tear-filled eyes, Sakura could barely even see the outline of that boy. Finally, his torture ended and Sakura quickly calmed down her breathing and heart beat. Grumpily, she punched whoever that boy was, anyone who take away her beauty sleep cannot be forgiven. Another laughter followed as her fist was easily caught, which was then kissed by him. A blush broke out and blood rushed towards Sakura's face and this made her too shy to open her eyes. At this, another laugh sounded and echoed through Sakura's ears. Well someone's in a good mood today, Sakura thought, with a nice laugh too.

Grumpily, Sakura finally complied and opened her eyes to greet... the beautiful chirpings of birds and the beginning of sunrise? Confusion clouded Sakura's face as she stood up, hurriedly, twirled around and stared at the place she was at. Where was she, actually? Suddenly, another hand found its way into hers, bringing her attention that there was another person with her. She turned her face to stare at that person to see Itachi? No... Wait... They have their resemblance but, they're different. Who is he? Where is she? Did she die? Was this the after-life? GOD!!! Why was this happening to her? Tears gathered at her eyes when her head began to hurt again. She couldn't remember. She can't understand what is going on. Where is she? Who is he? Where's mama, papa and Itachi? But, the biggest question was who is she? She was so caught up in her thoughts that she nearly jumped out of fright when she felt the boy's hand wipe her tears. Surprised, she rose her eyes to stare at his own and got caught up in the passion and love in them.

"Sakura sweetie, what's wrong? Come on, you can tell me," he said.

Strangely, Sakura felt a huge trust was placed on him. She... trusted this guy that she didn't even know, a pure stranger. But.. he.. reminds her of... someone... Flashes appeared again in her head, causing it to ache. Comfort came in the form of that guy. His hands came to her temple and massaged it as gently as he could, while he whispered soothing words for her ears only. Then, as if on trance, Sakura whispered his name - Sasuke... Confused, the boy looked down at her, wondering why he was called. He too was... unsure of what was happening. His Sakura was behaving weirdly ever since she decided to nap for awhile. He was watching over her when he remembered that they only had a short break and therefore woke her up. They were supposed to spend time together, not for Sakura to sleep her way through it.

As if it was destiny, a bell rang loudly, its ticking bringing sound waves throughout the whole area. Grudgingly, Sasuke hugged Sakura, hard, one last tme before holding her hands in his and dragging her towards somewhere. Sakura allowed herself to be pulled even though she broke out of her reverie. She just looked at the scenery before her. Grass, trees, flowers, birds, squirrels, insects - nature - basically decorated the area. As they walked through the grass, Sakura noticed that her feet was barefooted, feeling the morning dews. Her eyes just stared and admired her surroundings, placing complete trust in the boy who held her hands in his. Wordlessly, she allowed herself to be dragged and took this opportunity to sum of the guy in front of her.

He looked around... seven-eight years old? He had dark blue hair, just like Itachi's, except, his was short unlike her stupid brother who's hair is even longer than hers. Giggling to herself, Sakura imagined Itachi to be a gay guy, with his girly-features and the long hair tied into a ponytail. Once again, lost in her thoughts, she never noticed that they had stopped moving, having reached their destination. At this point, Sasuke tightened his hold on her hand before turning around sharply. Sighing, Sasuke gaved her a big hug before planting a light kiss on her forehead. Whispering," Be tough, Sakura. Remember, we'll be free one day." At this, Sakura finally realised that they were standing in front of some kind of factory. The building was large, supposedly painted white but seemed to have gone mouldy and filled with moss with its old age. Then, Sakura got hit by another flashback. This area ... seemed to be like the laboratory she had dreamt about. But, the main thing that snatched Sakura's breathe away was the eerie feeling it gave out. Bile gathered in Sakura's throat as she could smell blood even from out here. Screams of pain seemed to be the music of death, coming from inside the factory.

At Sasuke's command, the door opening to the factory guided them into the new hell hole. Two man dressed in all white coats came up to them. One grabbed Sakura's hand, another grabbed Sasuke's hand. Struggling, Sakura tried to escape them into the safety of Sasuke's arms but it was futile. Scared, Sakura yelled out his name only to have Sasuke suddenly punch the scientists in the face, hard. A scary aura enveloped Sasuke as his electricity bolted around him. His eyes slitted angrily, showing his anger for touching his property. Sakura just ran into his arms as he tried to calm her down but before they could touch one another, they were once again separated. Both were injected by some liquid, causing them to lose consciousness quickly. Then, more scientists came, bringing them to their respective rooms. Somewhere in the higher levels of the factory, one man stared at the incident that just occured and his lips curled up in malice.

"It seems that Sasuke's power is getting stronger, sir,"

"Good. Perhaps his overprotectiveness of Sakura had finally resulted in something good. Keep monitoring them."

"Yes, sir!"

"My dear friend, Uchiha Makoto. Isn't that your son? Tsk tsk... Experimenting on your own son?"

Makoto looked up to find his subordinate, Orochimaru staring at him. Ignoring him, Makoto continued working without fail. Orochimaru's tongue slithered out from his mouth as his eyes gleamed blood red. Oh yes... Sasuke, you would be the greatest prodigy...

The man climbed into Sakura's bedroom and watched as she slept peacefully in the cottage, fully aware of the dreams that she was having. Coming closer, he petted her hair and wondered when she would fully reawakened her powers. Chuckling darkly, he thought about the horror and war that would soon occur. He stayed for a moment before jumping out of her windows when he heard Itachi's chakra coming nearer Sakura's room.

"Enjoy the sweeter memories, my dear one. You would soon remember the darker ones as well. Those aren't so nice..."

TO BE CONTINUED

Sorry for the late update! D Give your reviews and support please! Thanks. And once again, I apologise if anyone finds my story very offensive. Thanks.