It wasn't hard for Konan to find Nagato, there were six of him after all. Also, she was quite certain that Pein kept tabs on her at all times. The minute she left the room, he knew about it. Perhaps she should have cared about that, but she didn't. It wasn't like she had any secrets to keep from him.

She met the Deva Path in the corridor and he guided her into one of the empty rooms. Most rooms on the higher levels of the building had giant windows, and this one was no exception. The sound of Nagato's rain echoed through the room as well as the hustle and bustle of the villagers going about their business.

There was no danger of them being overheard. The only people who were in this building were the Akatsuki, and none of them would have left the meeting room. If they had, either Zetsu or Pein's Asura Path would have noticed. Even Zetsu himself couldn't leave the room without Pein noticing.

"What did you learn?" Pein asked

Konan was used to this behaviour. Neither she nor Nagato made small talk anymore. They both knew each other too well to bother.

"She knows things, but it's impossible for her to access the information without it being necessary in that current moment. She didn't know how to heal her finger until I broke it, then the information came into her head. A minute later, it was mostly gone."

Yahiko's face gave nothing away as he stared down at her. Why would it? Konan thought bitterly. It's nothing but a dead body. She never voiced these thoughts out loud, knowing that they were pointless. Yahiko's death had changed everything and Nagato knew this as much as she did. She didn't need to burden him with irrelevant moments of grief.

"What of her personal memories? Can she access them?"

Konan shook her head.

"No. She doesn't remember anything about her past. She looked into a mirror and it didn't trigger anything. I've checked her body for seals but there are none. It's highly unlikely that her memories will come back, and considering her age if they do come back in a few years the time period would have erased most of them anyway. She might remember a few memories if she accidentally finds her home, but not enough to grow a big attachment to it. In short, there's hardly any fear of her leaking information about us to an enemy. She wasn't sent here to infiltrate the Akatsuki."

"Then why is she here? How is she so skilled as a shinobi? If she belonged to one of the Hidden Villages surely we would have heard something about her? "

"Perhaps she is just a special case. Do you remember the information we got about Danzo's ROOT? She could be an elite member of a group like that. Or perhaps she is a natural prodigy like the Hatake boy that the village wanted to keep secret."

"No." Pein replied "Our spies say that it takes years for Danzo to train his ROOT members to this girl's standard, and if she was a normal shinobi like Hatake then surely we would have noticed her in a Chunin Exam?"

"That's all I can think of." Konan said "We don't know how she lost her memory, but I suspect that it was an accident. Perhaps a secret mission or training went wrong. Either way, she's here now and wherever she came from can't get her back. She's stuck like this."

"True, but for how long?"

"That depends," Konan said carefully, "What do you plan to do with her?"

Pein didn't reply, and Konan was unable to guess what he was thinking. His eyes were guarded, as if he didn't want her to try at all. Normally she could read his mood through his Deva Path, but whatever he was thinking of now he didn't want her to know.

Finally, he seemed to come to a conclusion within his thoughts.

"So she has no memory whatsoever, including morals that her parents or guardians might have given her, correct?"

"I can't be completely certain on that." Konan replied, "She said that red clouds scared her, which is why she tried to fight us. If she is from a neighbouring land, it stands to reason that she might have heard of us and is fearful of us. Perhaps vague non-jutsu related instincts also remain behind, but if they do they seem to be a lot weaker than her chakra related instincts."

"I see." said Pein. He seemed to think for a bit longer before continuing. "So she is a young girl with no identity and programmed with enough skills to pass a Jonin Exam, correct? I believe that I can work with that."

"How so?" Konan asked.

"If she had memories, I could convince her that her family had abandoned her, and by treating her well I could make her loyal to us. But in her current state she has no memories, which means she has no idea how people treat each other. Whatever way we treat her, she will accept it as normal."

"What are you planning Nagato?" Konan asked sharply. She wasn't completely comfortable with his talk about manipulating a young girl's emotions, but she knew that she would do whatever he asked of her.

"I will turn her into a weapon." he announced, "I will train her so that she will not think for herself. I will make her believe that she exists only to serve me."

"Why?" Konan asked, a note of incredulously slipping into her voice.

"I have been given the opportunity." he replied "It takes years for Danzo to strip ROOT of their free will and gain their loyalty. All shinobi are supposed to be merely tools to protect their villages, but most of them cannot reach their full potential because they have people they love that cloud their judgement. Even Danzo's shinobi carry the memories of their childhood, and some part of them will always think for themselves. But this girl has no memories, which means that in a matter of months we can achieve the level of control that takes ROOT years."

"Nagato," Konan whispered, "You know what kind of man Danzo is. Do you really want to become like him?"

"I am nothing like Danzo." Pein said sharply "Danzo deliberately took children from their families all so that he would have his own army. Why? So he could grow more powerful. I, on the other hand, did not kidnap this child away from her loving family. Fate presented her to me, and I am merely choosing the most useful path she could take. Why? So that it will help with the cause, and we will be one step closer to world peace. Danzo trains his children to be useful to him, while I will train this child to help bring peace to the world. There is quite a difference."

Konan still didn't fully feel right about this, and she knew that Nagato could sense that.

"Don't think too hard about this. All I'm doing is gratefully using a gift that has been given to me. It's not like this girl truly matters anyway. Yahiko's dream of peace is the only thing that matters, and if this girl will give us even the slightest advantage, then we would be fools not to use her. Having a living weapon will be very useful, particularly whenever Madara comes. I still don't fully trust him."

"Very well." Konan said. Her eyes strayed up to meet Nagato's purple ones. "But Nagato, what will this girl mean to you?"

Nagato stared back at her calmly.

"She will be nothing more than a pet project. If her training takes too long and she becomes a hindrance, then I will dispose of her. Do not worry about growing an attachment to her, I will ensure that she doesn't feel anything towards anyone."

"Other than you."

"She will feel loyalty, devotion and commitment to me, yes." he agreed "But that is it."

They lapsed into an uneasy silence. Konan was still filled with doubts, but there was no point voicing them to Nagato. Once he had decided something, he rarely changed his mind.

"Have you given her a name?" Pein asked.

"Not quite." Konan answered. "I decided to call her Pink during the interrogation, but she has no official name."

"I see." Pein mulled it over in silence for a few seconds. "She can't be Pink. That word could come up in a conversation and confuse us. However, I agree that she should be named after her hair. It will make it easier for me to remember her name when I address her."

Konan waited patiently for him to finish.

"We will name her Sakura. It's common enough not to draw suspicion, it's easy to remember because of her hair, and we can always distinguish the name from the object by putting the word tree after it when referring to the object."

"I will inform her of her name as soon as possible." Konan promised "But Nagato, when will you talk to her?"

He turned around and walked to the large window. Konan wasn't sure what he saw when he looked outside. Perhaps he was relieving memories of dropping out the window alongside Yahiko. This place had been one of their main bases back when the Akatsuki was starting to grow.

"I will talk to her whenever I have the time." he said "Until then, tell Sakura her name and lock her in one of the rooms with a bathroom and some form of bedding. Make sure that there are no windows. For now, the less she knows about the world the better. Once you've done that, go to the Torture and Interrogation Office, and tell Baiu that I have a new assignment for him."

Konan nodded. Once it was clear that Nagato had nothing more to say, she left. She walked back the way she came, the clacking of her heels the only sound to be heard. She reached the room where she had left Sakura and paused outside to listen. It was quiet inside. She was fairly sure that Sakura hadn't managed to escape, but she could be waiting inside to attack whoever opened the door. Konan took a minute to push the chakra through her body, so that she could turn to paper in a second. Then she opened the door.

Sakura was sitting on the floor, knees tucked under her chin. She looked up fearfully at Konan when she entered, but made no move to attack her.

"Pein has reached his decision." Konan said "You're name is Sakura, and you are his weapon. You exist only to serve Pein, our leader. Do you understand?"

Sakura seemed to think this over for a minute, then she stood up.

"I don't think I want to become a weapon." she said, her voice trembling "Isn't there anything else I could do?"

Konan regarded the child coldly. It could be courage, or it could be stupidity, but she needed to get it out of Sakura's head that she had any control over her fate.

"You don't get to choose what you are Sakura. You are to become a weapon. Pein's decision is final. Follow me."

She opened the door and led Sakura to another room. The walls and floor were stone, but this room had a bed tucked into a corner, and a toilet in another corner. There were no windows, and the only light came from a flickering bulb.

"You are to stay here until Pein comes for you. Don't attempt to leave, and don't create any hassle for us. You're lucky that Pein thinks you're useful, otherwise you'd be dead. But if you push your luck, he'll change his mind. So stay put, understood?"

Sakura nodded, making her way over to the bed and sitting on it. Konan shut the door behind her and locked it. Once she was alone, she let out a sigh. It would be hard not to think about the girl, but she trusted Pein. If he thought the girl was useful, he wouldn't let her waste away in the room.

Sakura curled into a small ball on the bed, and closed her eyes. She tried falling asleep, but her mind was filled with everything Konan had said. It seemed that all her worries had doubled. She could still die, she still had no memories, and now she was to become a weapon for a man who she didn't know.

But she managed to find something good about her situation. At first, she hadn't wanted to become a weapon at all, but something Konan said before she left had struck a chord with Sakura.

You're lucky Pein thinks you're useful.

Something about those words filled her with a happiness she couldn't explain. Even though she was worried, those words relaxed her enough to make her feel sleepy. As her eyes grew heavier and her vision grew murkier, a small smile made its way onto her face.

Maybe being a weapon wouldn't be so bad after all.

Amegakure's Intelligence Division was a small grey building, tucked away behind the main Akatsuki tower like it was trying to hide from the rest of the village. From the outside, it looked dreary and bleak. The inside wasn't much better. The walls and the rooms were dark and damp, with the occasional bit of dull green mold sprinkled around the place for colour.

However, seeing as the rest of the Akatsuki's buildings weren't that much better, Konan didn't really mind. In fact, the shape of the building reminded her of one of the warehouses she had lived in when she was a child. Back when Yahiko-

She stopped herself there, a small frown creasing her face. His death was always with her, like a dull ache in her chest, but she didn't normally reminisce that much about it. Maybe it was the girl that was affecting her; seeing the innocence in her eyes, and knowing that the Akatsuki was no place for a child. Konan had been forced to grow up in a horrible world, one just as dangerous as the one Sakura was living in now. It wasn't fair on the girl, but neither was life. That was what the Akatsuki was trying to change.

Or rather, that's what she and Nagato were trying to change. Madara… Konan didn't trust him. Nagato didn't seem to think he was a threat, but Nagato didn't think anything was a threat to himself nowadays. Konan trusted Nagato, and she trusted Nagato's power. But it never hurt to be prepared.

That was where Sakura would come in handy, and that was why Konan was currently stopped outside a large wooden door, with 'Torture and Interrogation Office.' written in kanji on it. The shinobi stationed outside the door bowed respectfully as he opened it up, letting her walk in.

Konan strode into the office. Immediately, all talking ceased, and the shinobi sitting around the place stood up and pretended to look busy. Konan ignored them, focusing on the man filing paperwork in the corner. He was short and plump, with a black bandana hitai-ate covering his hair.

"Baiu." she said, watching his head snap up at the mention of his name. "Our leader has a new job for you."

She could sense the uneasiness in the silence that followed. She knew full well that at least half the shinobi in the room didn't fully believe that Pein existed. It didn't matter to her. They would do their jobs, if not from belief then from fear. They knew what happened to those who opposed her. Or rather, they didn't. There one day, gone the next, never to be heard of again. That was what happened to those who questioned her authority.

Baiu was not afraid of her, which was probably why he had done so well in this line of work. Although he too had never met Pein, he was important enough to know that Pein really did exist. He was loyal, and not out of fear.

True, he was loyal because they allowed him free reign to indulge his sick fantasies when he was torturing people, but everyone had their faults. He was efficient, and really that was all Konan cared about.

She gestured for him to follow her, and they made their way down the hall and into an empty room. Once she was sure it was secure, she turned to face him.

"Pein has a new assignment for you." she informed him "There's a young girl, around four to six years old. She has no memories, but she's skilled, good enough to be a jonin. Pein wants to use her as a weapon, and he needs you to get her into the right mentality. Train her, condition her, until she can kill effectively and without remorse whenever we order her to. Strip her of her impulses, but teach her to be tactical and creative when in battle. We don't need a mindless drone, we need someone who can understand our orders, and make decisions accordingly. Above all, she must be utterly loyal to us, and she must understand her place."

"A tool." he said.

"A tool." she agreed. "Pein demands a minimum of three hours training a day. You'll be paid overtime, naturally, for every extra hour you spend with her. You will start tomorrow, however the time you start at is up to you."

He nodded, black eyes sharp and calculating.

"Where will I find her?" he asked.

"The main building, sixth floor, third door down. If anyone questions you just give them your name, and they will let you through."

He nodded again, the edges of his lips curling upwards. Konan knew that he would enjoy this. This was the kind of work he loved; playing with people's minds, twisting them into puppets. Doing it to a child? Even better.

Konan had to remind herself that his enjoyment was a good thing. If he took pride in his work, he would do it right.

She left him to mull his new assignment over. There was more work for her to do.

Once she was outside again, she tilted her head back and closed her eyes, feeling the light rain trickle gently down her face. She took a deep breath, and as she let it out, she scattered her chakra, turning her entire body into tiny paper butterflies.

Nagato thought seeing through six different bodies was difficult. Konan would like to see him try and handle her usual three hundred, never mind the thousands of sheets she used in battl . Managing each little piece of herself required immense control, but it was also freeing for her, letting all the worry, hurt and stress go and allowing herself to finally break and tear.

She sorted the butterflies into three groups, and they scattered into different directions. At this point, Konan wasn't really focused in a single group. She wasn't sure where exactly her consciousness went when she dissolved, but it was no longer in her body. She was in all her paper butterflies, and yet at the same time, she was in none of them. It was a bizarre feeling, one that took time to adjust to. Years and years of training, managing the Akatsuki and running Amegakure had given Konan plenty of time to perfect it.

The first batch of butterflies flew north, heading towards the third floor of the main tower. They flew through one of the windows that Pein always left open for her and down the hall to the fourth door on the left. Then they folded back into perfectly straight pieces of paper, and slipped through the cracks around the door.

Kakuzu stood inside, his arms shooting around the room, throwing clothes and money into his suitcase. Konan wasn't surprised. Kakuzu didn't normally stay here for very long. Once he received his mission, he took off, impatient to collect his next bounty. His partner, Nadare, didn't have a choice. If you irritated Kakuzu, you died. They had yet to find a partner strong enough to work alongside him, although Konan was of the opinion that is wasn't strength you needed, it was a lack of sanity and intelligence. Luckily for now, there were plenty of gullible fools like Nadare, eager for promotion and unaware of what exactly they were getting themselves into.

Kakuzu noticed the paper, but didn't stop packing. His face, at least the part of it that was visible, was emotionless. The paper swirled around the centre of the room, until it came together, forming Konan's face.

"The sixth floor is out of bounds until further notice. Only a man named Baiu and I are allowed there. I trust you will inform Nadare as soon as possible."

Kakuzu's forehead creased just a little more, but he gave a gruff nod, and continued to pack. Konan separated into paper again, and flew back to her starting point.

The second batch of butterflies headed south, to a small dark one-story building. She flew inside and down two flights of stairs, stopping in front of a door marked NO ENTRY. A few of the butterflies broke off to form her Akatsuki ring. She waved it in front of the door handle, and heard the lock click. A second later, the door swung open, and she flew down another flight of stairs.

This room was dark, the only light coming from a dim bulb and some glowing, bubbling liquids sitting in the test tubes. In the centre of the room, Orochimaru and Sasori were leaning over a table. She couldn't see clearly what was on the table, but she could hear screaming.

She reformed her head again, and repeated the message. Sasori practically ignored her, focusing on whatever was on the table. Orochimaru stood up and gave her a sickening grin, assuring her that they understood. Konan made a mental note to keep a closer eye on his whereabouts.

Another scream came from the table, this time a plea for help. Orochimaru turned back to the table, and as he did Konan was able to see what was there. A young boy, around ten years old, was strapped down to the table. Konan could see that his stomach had been cut open, and Sasori was pouring a tube of purple liquid down his throat.

Konan left quickly after that, the boy's agonized screams still ringing in her ears. Every time she visited Orochimaru's laboratory, she left with the desire to take a long bath or shower. Even while living amongst the filthiest, most murderous criminals in the world, Orochimaru still repulsed her.

The second group of butterflies flew back to join with the first.

The third group of butterflies headed towards the fifth floor of the main building. This time, the window she chose led straight to Kisame. He and his partner Aoi was eating sushi. If her sense of humour hadn't withered and died many years ago, she might have made a comment. As it was, she simply repeated the message and left.

However, one thing she heard as she flew out the window made her decide to leave a butterfly under the windowsill. It seemed Kisame had something to say about her.

"What do you think of her?" she heard him ask, his tone light and playful. Since it was Kisame, 'playful' meant terrifying Aoi until he was a nervous wreck.

"Konan?" Aoi replied carefully "I don't really think anything of her. I mean, she's attractive, but… Leader's right hand, you know? I wouldn't really go there."

"Mm." Kisame seemed to agree. "It just makes a man wonder." He chuckled. "Look around Aoi, we're all freaks here, aren't we?"

"Uh," was Aoi's smart response. "We are?"

"Come now, you don't really think everyone in Kiri has my skin tone, do you?"

"Um," Aoi stammered. "I-I never really- Well, I guess they don't."

"Exactly," Kisame agreed. "Neither Kakuzu, Sasori or Orochimaru could be classified as 'normal' shinobi either, and Leader has those creepy eyes. But what's her thing? She seems normal enough. Professional, cold and dangerous, but normal. I'm just curious, you know? How did she end up here? Why is she Leader's right hand?"

"Does it matter?" Aoi asked.

"I suppose not." Kisame replied. "Still, if it wasn't for that mysterious vibe she's got going as well as Leader's protection, I would have probably fucked her a long time ago. It's not that often you meet a girl like her in our business, you know?"

"You think she'd want you?"

Kisame laughed unpleasantly.

"Again, Leader's protection. If she didn't have that, I wouldn't give a damn whether she wanted me or not, if you catch my drift."

Konan moved most of her consciousness back into steering the third group of butterflies. Kisame's talk was nothing new. He never said anything about her in front of Pein, but when he was away from him, he ran his mouth about her to all his partners. Konan was fairly sure he knew that she was spying on him, and just didn't care. It was entertaining to him. He knew they needed him, and so he knew she wouldn't take the bait.

But Konan was not one to idly sit by when someone insulted her pride. Although she could do nothing now, she had already made an agreement with Pein. If Kisame Hoshigaki was still alive when they achieved world peace, Konan would be given the first chance to kill him.

She didn't intend to fail.

That night, Sakura dreamt.

She dreamt that she was standing in the middle of a bustling street. Someone was holding her hand, but she couldn't tell who it was. For some reason, she couldn't look upwards. She could hear the person's voice though. It was a woman.

"Aren't you excited Sakura? You're at starting the Academy tomorrow! Remember, being a shinobi isn't fun and games, so listen to your instructors and follow their orders."

"Yeah, yeah." she heard herself say. "Oooh! Ice-cream! Can I have some?"

The part of her that knew she was dreaming wondered what ice-cream was.

"Not before you're dinner. You don't want Daddy to be mad at me, do you?"

She felt herself shake her head. They started walking, and Sakura looked around. People of all ages crowded the streets, most of them carrying bags of some sort. Others were wearing some sort of uniform: Blue trousers, a blue undershirt and a green, sleeveless jacket. Nearly everyone was taller than her.

A flash of gold caught her eye, and she noticed a small boy with spiky blond hair standing ahead of her. He was staring into a shop window, but the minute she noticed him he turned and looked at her, almost as if he had known she was watching. He had bright blue eyes and marks like whiskers on his cheeks. He was wearing what had probably once been a white t-shirt, but had been worn into a dull grey colour. He wore green shorts and black sandals that both looked slightly too big for him.

When he noticed her staring at him, she saw his eyes widen. He stared at her, and she stared back, unsure of what to make of this boy.

He smiled hesitant and nervous, and she felt herself take a step forward. He looked at her in surprise, his eyes wide and hopeful. She took another step towards him, and his face split into a giant grin.

Suddenly, she felt someone grab her arm and tug her away. She lost sight of the boy as she was dragged through the crowd.

"Sakura! Don't ever go near that boy again! You hear me? He's dangerous!"

It was the same voice as before, except instead of being filled with warmth and love, it was filled with fear, and something ugly that she couldn't quite identify.

She felt her head snap upwards, and finally, she could see the owner of the voice. It was a fair-skinned woman with shoulder-length, blonde hair and eyes a darker shade of green than Sakura's own. Her forehead was wrinkled, and she stared down at Sakura with concern written all over her face. She was wearing a white dress with three red circles on it. Sakura wondered what the symbol meant.

The woman dragged her to a bench and sat her down.

"I'm just going to nip into the liquor store for a minute. Stay here and don't move. If that boy comes near you, you run straight to me, got it?"

She felt herself nod. The woman stood up until Sakura could no longer see her face, and walked off. Sakura sat on the bench, swinging her legs.

Suddenly, she felt something strange happen. It was like someone had punched a giant hole in her gut.

'You punched a hole in someone once.' whispered a small reedy voice that seemed to echo round her mind.

She saw the white dress coming towards her, and felt relieved. She would explain what was wrong, and the woman would help her.

She looked up at the woman's face. It was filled with panic and terror, more than Sakura thought possible. This woman just seemed to ooze a natural serenity and seeing her this frightened was jarring.

"Sakura! Sakura! Where are you?"

"I'm right here!" she tried to reply, but the woman didn't seem to hear her.

"Sakura!" she screamed.

Most of the people gave the hysterical woman a wide berth, but one of the men in uniform came towards them.

"What seems to be the problem, miss?" he asked.

"My daughter! My daughter's gone missing! I left her for a minute and now I can't find her!"

"I'm here!" Sakura called again, certain now that she was this woman's daughter.

"Calm down ma'am." the uniformed man said "You know, there are a lot of people here. We'll look through the crowd and I'm sure we'll find her."

"She has bright pink hair! I would have seen her by now if she was anywhere nearby! It was that Uzumaki brat, he kidnapped her!"

The officer's face went cold and hard at the mention of 'Uzumaki'.

"I assure you miss, that Naruto Uzumaki had no part to play in this incident. He is currently three streets down trying to buy tools for the Academy, much like all the five-year old boys are doing today."

"It was him, I know it!" she shrieked.

Then her voice dropped.

"You know what he is." she hissed. "We all know what he is, what he's capable of!"

The man simply looked bored.

"As I said before, he is a five-year old child. We'll find your daughter as soon as possible, but I would advise you to steer clear of Naruto. The Hokage is quite fond of the boy, and wouldn't take kindly to people badmouthing him for no reason. I'll find your daughter for you as soon as possible. Try to stay calm."

The man vanished, and the woman collapsed crying on the street. Sakura stood beside her, yelling desperately at her.

"I'm right here! Look, I'm touching your arm right now! Mommy please, I'm right here!"

When she woke up the next morning, the only thing she remembered was the little boy's face, blue eyes staring at her curiously.

Miles away in the village of Konoha, the blond haired boy was also dreaming.

He ran through the village streets, imagining that the people that passed him by were smiling and waving, not glaring and whispering.

He screeched to a halt in front of the weapons shop, the same one he had visited that morning. Some small part of him remembered what was going to happen next, but in his dreamy haze that part seemed insignificant.

A beautiful set of kunai were on display in the window. Naruto rubbed his hands gleefully; he had been saving up for months just to buy this set. Not even the Uchiha had kunai as nice as these!

He took a step inside the shop, and suddenly the owner was standing in front of him.

"We're closed for the day." he said coldly.

Naruto peeked around him. People were still standing inside the shop, picking up items and examining them. One was waiting at the counter.

"But what about them?" he asked.

"I said that we're closed." the man said, his eyes focused at a point above Naruto's head.

Naruto opened his mouth to argue, but the man had already turned around, and slammed the shop door in Naruto's face.

Naruto stood outside, staring angrily at the kunai. What was the point of saving money like the Hokage told him to if no one would let him buy anything?

Suddenly, the back of his neck started to tingle, the way it did when someone was staring at him. He turned around and saw a small girl, around his age. She looked familiar, and the part of him that knew he was dreaming remembered seeing her when he had gone shopping that morning.

'She has pretty hair.' was the first thought that popped into his head.

The girl walked closer to him. Naruto's eyes widened in surprise, was she actually going to talk to him? No one talked to him!

As the girl got closer, Naruto noticed an orange glow surrounding her. As she walked towards him, she started to age. By the time she reached him, she had grown much, much taller than him. He had to crane his neck upwards to see her face. She looked terrified.

Her mouth opened as if to scream, but instead orange bubbly liquid spilled out, soaking Naruto's clothes and making them feel unbearably heavy. He felt them dragging him down, and then he was falling through the earth, through fire, through darkness.

He landed with a splash in front of a giant cage. He couldn't see what was inside it, but his instinct was screaming at him to run.

The thing in the cage started laughing.

It laughed and laughed. Dim red eyes appeared and started growing brighter. Naruto squinted, almost able to make out the shape-

He woke up with a start, his eyes snapping open. The beast's laughter was still ringing in his ears.

He flipped his pillow onto the cool side and tried to go back to sleep. The monster had been scary, but only a dream. The girl on the other hand, was real. He remembered seeing her that morning, when he had been staring at the kunai. Only, instead of walking towards him, she had taken two steps before a woman had dragged her away. He wondered why he had dreamt about her, and why he had imagined such a scary monster.

Tomorrow, he decided, he would look for the girl. Maybe she would be in his class at the Academy! They could be friends!

With that cheerful thought, he fell back asleep

Unknown to both Naruto and Sakura, it would be seven years before they came face to face again.

A/N Thanks for the reviews. If you have any thoughts, opinions or ideas, please tell me. Feedback is always appreciated.