Screams. The metallic smell of blood. A muttered string of swear words. All so close yet so far from me. I knew they weren't real but I believed in them.

Darkness was covering the sky and a path was forming in front of me. There was a boy, hovering on the edge of adulthood, standing there, bleeding. The strong smell of his blood and the even stronger waves of his emotions wafted toward me, making me want to turn and run.

I stepped towards him, feeling the need to heal his physical wounds. I placed my hands over the wound, on his bare chest, being careful not to hurt him. He continued to mutter the swear words until I emitted chakra from my palms. He was quiet for a second before letting out the most terrible scream I had ever heard in my life.

I woke from the dream panting, small shivers taking over my body. Sitting up and leaning back against the warm pillows. I whispered small string of curses and gibberish. Bigger shakes were starting to consume and I took deep, controlled breaths to fend them off. Since when does a simple dream scare me?

I wrapped myself in the blanket that Naruto and Sasuke had given me for my twelfth birthday. Sasuke hadn't wanted to get me anything but Naruto had forced him to. It was navy blue and embroidered with my name and cherry blossoms in light pink. Naruto had picked out what had been on it and Sasuke had picked out the materials. I absolutely loved it.

I got up and flew down the stairs, looking for something to eat. The sun was just barely out and the moon was still bright in the sky. The trees made eerie shadows on the clear pond water in our backyard. The faint blare of music form our neighbors filled the air, taking away the painful silence.

I grabbed a deep red apple form the table and took a bite out of it. The juices dripped down my chin and I wiped them away with the back of my wrist. I quickly made sure I had something suitable for the public to see on then pulled on my sandals and left the otherwise empty house.

I planned on being early for Tsunade-sama's lesson and getting extra work in. Then I would train until I could barely move. While I did this I would focus on nothing but the objects in front of me. I'd been having that same dream for weeks and today was the day I would start to figure out what it meant or forget it. I was hoping for the latter.

I rubbed at my eyes before looking up to see Naruto-kun and Ritsuki-san walking towards me. Naruto looked angry and Ritsuki looked quite amused. He was talking animatedly while Naruto clenched and unclenched his fists beside him.

"Hi, Naruto!" I bounded over to them and feel instep with Naruto-kun. "Ritsuki-san." I gave a sharp nod of my head to him.

Ritsuki talked louder as he looked over me. Naruto reached for my hand, looking like he wanted to be as far away as possible. I waved his hand away and listened to what Ritsuki-san was saying.

"I still don't get why you guys still want him back. I mean, Sasuke almost killed you and he doesn't give a damn about Sakura." By the time the word 'Sasuke' had escaped his lips I had thrown two kunai and a shuriken at him.

He dodged the three easily but left an opening for Naruto to swiftly punch in Ritsuki's stomach, all the anger he had been holding in, seeping out. I was more than willing to hurt Ritsuki further but I settled for yelling at him, reminding myself that I needn't end up in a terrible mood today.

"Don't you ever say that about Sasuke-kun again! If you do, I swear on the River Styx, that I'll kill you! Okay?!" I yelled so loudly that it felt as if my throat was being torn. It was all I could do to contain my anger.

Naruto-kun made to hit Ritsuki again but I held onto his wrist to stop him. We were both breathing through clenched teeth, trying to fend off the urges to kill Ritsuki. I dragged Naruto-kun away from him, remembering that I needed to get going.

"L-Let go of me! I n-need to-"

"Look! Just leave him be for now! When I get back form Tsunade-sama's lesson we'll… we'll think of something to make him stop. Okay?"

A low growl sounded, deep from his throat. I quickly let go of his wrist and watched as Naruto calmed down.

"Yeah. Fine." I didn't like the cold fury in his voice but I watched as he stalked off, his body rigid.

I sighed and to walk towards the Fifth's office. Upon entering the office I could sense something was terribly wrong. I kept a straight, disinterested face and asked a simple question. "What's up? Something seems… like it's missing."

"It's Shizune. She's gone." The fear in her voice was more than I'd expected. I had never heard her voice so quiet, sad, and fearful. It scared me almost more than anything ever had.