A pink haired boy was running in front of me, pulling me along by my hand, he was smiling at me over his shoulder, "Come on, Sakura wait till you show Igneel what you can do! He's going to be so proud of you! Just like me!"

A laugh bubbled up my throat as I followed my big brother through the trees into the small clearing we called home, "Igneel, Sakura just learnt how to use Dragon Fire Claw, it was so awesome you should have seen her!"

There was no answer. No deep voice congratulating me and filling my heart with warm pride like it had on many different occasions. There were no deep red scaled decorating a large tail. There was Igneel.

"Igneel?" My voice was soft "Are you playing a prank?"

"If you are it's not funny!" Natsu called as he pulled me closer, "Igneel!"

Silence followed and dread pooled in my stomach and tears welled in my eyes, "Natsu, where is he?"

Deep brown eyes look down at me, he wasn't much taller than me but he was tell enough that I had to crane my head slightly.

"I don't know Kura-Chan. I don't know." I for a moment I thought it was raining because a drop of water was sliding down Natsu's cheek. Then I realised he was crying. I had never seen my big brother cry before.

Then the scene changed. We were no longer in the clearing but in the hall of a large building surrounded by laughter and warmth. Rain was beating against the windows but no one paid any attention to that as they sang 'happy birthday'.

"Blow out your candles." Natsu urged with a giant smile on his face.

"Don't forget to make a wish!" A dark haired boy told me,

"I was just about to say that, Ice-cube!" Natsu shouted at Gray.

"Well I beat you to it, Flame brain!" was the retort.

"Will you two shut up?" Erza yelled before turning her dark brown eyes to me and smiling "Ignore those two morons."

I closed my eyes and took a deep breath, I wish that we're going to stay together forever, I thought as I blew out the candles. A loud cheer echoed around the Guild hall, and Master Makarov (a short man with a moustache and a kind smile) handed me square shaped package wrapped in pale green paper.

"A present from the Guild." He smiled

"Thank you all so much!" I said once I'd opened it, it was a photo album filled with pictures that ranged from the day Natsu and I had arrived to just the other day when Lisanna (my best friend) and I had dressed Happy (Natsu's cat) in a cute dress and matching bow.

A tall man with curly brown hair stepped forward, "Everyone stand together I'm going to take a picture for you to put in your new photo album!"

"Okay Reedus!" We chorused and huddled together. Reedus took the picture and handed it to me a large grin found its way to my face.

"I love it! It's the best picture in the world!" I exclaimed.

Suddenly Cana let out a yell, "What the hecks going on?" She slurred dropping her beer. Everyone tried to look around but something was preventing us from moving. A large gust of wind blew the Guild doors open and three figures walked in.

Makarov was livid, his face was turning bright red and it contrasted starkly against his white moustache, "Who are you and why you are here?"

"They always ask that." The figure heading the group chuckled, his voice low and dark.

"I know. It's annoying." The man to the left snickered, his voice was nasally.

"Your voice is annoying!" Natsu yelled, his face turning pink with the effort to move.

"Now, now we're only here for the girl." The last figure said, her voice was slow and seductive as she walked towards me, I felt my heart speed up. Something wasn't right, it felt as though I was missing something but I couldn't put my finger on what it was.

"Release us and fight us fairly!" Erza shouted at the woman who was drawing closer, the woman laughed. It was a sound like breaking glass.

"Don't worry you'll see her again. One day."

With that everything seemed to happen quickly, one minute everyone was frozen in place and the next they were rushing towards me.

My screams bounced of the wall and I heard someone shout my name.

"Sakura wake up." I was being shaken, "It's a dream. You're okay." Shikamaru pulled me into a hug and I realised I was in my room.

"Sorry." I said pushing him away and running a hand through my choppy pink locks

"Do you want a drink?" He asked, he seemed nervous as though he didn't know what to do with himself. His face dissolved into a relieve smile when I nodded and he got up to get me a glass of water.

Scrubbing my hands over my face I swung my legs out from under my covers and looked up at the pictures I had put up yesterday, my eyes resting on the one of my old family.

"Those are new." Shika said as he sat next to me, "I see you moved your things over."

"Yeah I thought id get it done." I told him taking the glass water he offered me.

Shika looked at me for a god few minutes before talking, "Do you want to talk about it?"

I was quiet for a moment and then I decided I might as well tell him about my past.

"It was a nightmare. I haven't had it since I was a little girl."

"What was it about?" He pushed, he had realised that I was about to tell him something bug and he knew I would need some nudging to spill it.

"I wasn't born in Kohona." I blurted, but before he could say anything I continued, "I was adopted by my parents when I was five. They found me alone in the forest wandering about, I apparently walked up to them and showed them a picture of my family and asked for help. They took me to the Hokage and then they went to look for the people in that photograph." I nodded to the picture of the Guild, "They couldn't find them anywhere and the Hokage sent a copy of the picture to all the villages, but no-one knew who they were. I was declared an orphan and the Harunos took me in."

Shika looked thoughtful for a moment, "So the nightmare was about wheat ever lead up to you being found in the forest."

"One point for you." I joked, "Yeah, It was on my fifth birthday and my family had thrown me a surprise party, you know cake balloons the works, and I blow the candles out on my cake- a strawberry cheesecake- and Makarov had given me my present, a photo album full of photos. Then Reedus took a picture of us all."

Shika pointed "Let me guess that one?"

"Correct again. Anyway Reedus had just handed me the picture and the doors blew open, none of us could move. We were stuck and it didn't feel right, at the time I thought it was some type of magic but know I know it was a Genjutsu, and these three people walked in and said a few things that I can't really remember and then one of them- a woman- walked up to me and the next thing I knew I was in the middle of nowhere, and the only thing I had with me was that picture."

"Wait you said you though the Genjutsu was magic. Does that mean you know how to do what those rogues were doing?"
I smiled slightly, trust Shika to pick up on that.

"Yeah, but there are loads of different types of magic. My brother and I do what is called Dragon Slayer Magic, an ancient technique that used to be used to kill dragons but not so much an more because no one really knows how to do it. We learnt it off Igneel, who happened to be a dragon. It's kind of like how ninjas use different techniques."

"Right I get you. So how come I've never seen you use magic?"

"Because the Hokage told me to keep it a secret he didn't want people finding out. He was trying to keep me safe."

Shika stood up and held out a hand, "Let's go get some dango. I'm starving."

One thing I have always loved about Shika is that he knows when to drop a topic, he knows when people are uncomfortable talking about something and so he gives them space until they're ready to talk.

"Alright, get out so I can get dressed." I shooed him out my room,

"It's nothing I haven't seen before!" he joked as I pushed him through the door.

"You wish!" I called and shut the door. I could hear him laughing as he walked down the hall.