Naruto 1. Chapter 1

(A/N: Sooo… here's my newest story, "The Sakura Archives" I really couldn't figure out what to call it and this is as close as I got to something original. This story is a bit dark and focuses on Sakura more than anything. What can I say? She's my favorite Naruto character besides Hinata. By the way I'll start making stories about her too when Kishi decides to show her fight.)

**Disclaimer: What do you think?**

**Title: The Sakura Archives **

**Prologue: 'The Heck is This?**

_Peridot eyes looked down at a rather bulky looking rectangle box covered in red gift wrap accented with a pink bow on top. Sure the package looked impressive enough from an outside perspective, but what was inside? A pink eyebrow rose above its usual position showing the owner's skepticism. The Peridot eyes looked at a girl, the same age as her, with blonde hair and deep blue eyes look back at her with anticipation and excitement dancing in them. The one owning those features shifts them into the expression of irritation. Right deep blue eye twitching while the left narrows, button nose scrunches upwards, and lips smothered in purple gloss matching her clothes pouts._

_Cute features for a 13 year old girl only to be rivaled by the one across from her who naturally had the color of cherry blossoms for hair, with cherry red lips in a straight composed line, and dazzling bejeweled green eyes staring indifferently at her companion's current demeanor. She herself was wearing a white spring dress turning heads along with her friend as they sat on chairs on the patio of a restaurant. Both were off duty but the one irritated still had her "work clothes" on. "C'mon open it, forehead! I went to the trouble of getting you a birthday present. You should see what I sacrificed my money for!" The blonde exploded, clearly disappointed that her friend wasn't willing to accept a cherished gift from a close friend/rival._

_"What is it?" The one dubbed "forehead," ever since the tender age of nine, asked glancing at it then continued to lick the shaved ice she'd ordered earlier. "Tch, if I wanted to tell you I wouldn't have gone to the trouble of wrapping it up. Now stop being a smartass. We both know you are. The girl who had been insulted in less than a minute smirked haughtily and shrugged lifting her hand once again to lap up more of the treat. Her Peridot twinkled with mischief for a couple of seconds watching the one across squirm a little. "My birthday was a month ago Ino-pig-," "I know! I know! So sue me, I had a mission!" the one given the moniker "pig" groaned out taking her parfait into her mouth without a spoon not caring if some of it smeared off that pretty lip gloss._

_"Yes you did," the pink haired girl stated nodding knowingly then looked down at the neatly wrapped package from her friend's heart, on her lap. She smiled gently at the peace offering. The past month was a bit turbulent as of late with the two young kunoichi-in-training studying to become medical nin of Konoha. They hadn't spoken to each other since Ino came back from a very long and strenuous C ranked mission. The one receiving the gift had mused that she'd been a bit unfair, even though it was one of the most important days of her life, and felt bad that they were fighting over something so tedious (like birthdays) to jeopardize their friendship. There was always something that made their bond break but just as quickly mend. "But you didn't have to get me a present Ino…I-," the said object was snatched from her lap in a split second before she finished what she had to say._

_"Good then I can get my money back for some new shoes I saw yesterday in the store across from the place I got your present." Ino stroked it longingly already plotting what she'd buy then saw that out of the corner of her eye, her friend, deflated in disappointment. Ino smiled and shoved the package back in her face, "Last chance, Sa-ku-ra," she purred mockingly. The one known as Sakura snatched the object and ripped off the paper frantically. Ino laughed and batted her eyelashes beckoning the waiter to come with their check. Sakura pulled out a red leather book embroidered with white velvet forming roses as its design. The spine was an ivory dagger entwined with a golden snake and had something sticking out of its handle with 3 strings attached to them dangling a pearl, orichalum shaped into a lotus, and a bloodstone at each end. _

_Sakura's eyes glowed over the gorgeous text then looked up at her friend across from her. Ino gave a sheepish smile and asked, "Like it?"_

Sandaled boots made their way across the water turning to ice because of the snow to the Water Country where they would find themselves stepping on land soon. They were owned by a teenage ninja of 17 years whose young name has struck fear into the most evil beings in the world of shinobi but had the appearance of a handsome youth, resembling his mother's features, conflicted with who he was supposed to be portrayed as, an S-Class criminal of Konohagakure: the Village Hidden in the Leaves. What was the reason for their fear? The fact that he'd killed his own brother a year ago, who was once a threat to many and had the reputation of a murderer of his own clan, would be reason enough. His name is Uchiha Sasuke who currently has his own assembled team Hebi, way past their expiration date, still following him. The dark spiky haired boy was getting tired of them doing so as he couldn't help but listen to two of them arguing over something stupid once again.

One of them was Karin, the kunoichi of the team, a four-eyed carrot top gifted with an ability to locate and track anyone upon will. She was smart and studious and highly annoying as she clings to Sasuke anytime she can to flirt despite his protests. She heavily reminded him of Haruno Sakura, a kunoichi of his old cell from his native village, who was cuter but had the personality of her 12 year old self mirrored tightly by Karin. The other was a male shinobi named Suigetsu who wields a total of four swords out of eight that belonged to a group he was to join called the Seven Swordsmen of the Mist. Unlike Karin, he had unusual features for a human being. His teeth looked sharp to the point almost resembling a shark's as he opened his mouth, his hair was white putting any old man to shame and although it was cold enough to freeze a penguin he was wearing a short sleeved shirt and low cut pants as if it was summer and never shivered. He also had the ability to turn to water whenever cut or hit by an enemy making him virtually invincible. Both happened to be experiments of the late Orochimaru, a terror that Sasuke had killed as well.

"Seriously Karin, what are you still doing here with us? Didn't you have somewhere to go in the opposite direction or something? You tagging along is getting annoying…" Suigetsu complains getting a swig of water out his water bottle, walking directly in back of Sasuke. Karin growls glaring in his direction being ignored, "It's none of your business you asshole! Besides why are you still following Sasuke? Don't you have something to do too, like collect those stupid swords for no apparent reason?" Suigetsu snorts and looks back at Karin with a toothy sneer, "Who says I'm following him? At best we might as well be traveling companions, he happened to be going the same way I was to actually get this sword, you even saw me get it, so what's your problem?" He points to his newest blade or twin blades hanging off his belt that he'd gotten a couple of months ago by killing its owner. "Plus the direction I'm going to _collect another_ happens to be where he's going, Karin," he drawled looking at her and challenging her argument. Karin was about to say something else only to be interrupted by Juugo suddenly sneezing.

They both looked back at him as he rubbed his nose going red from irritation. He had caught a cold yesterday and it was showing. "Bless you," Sasuke tells him. They look back at Sasuke in surprise. When it came to manners he really didn't feel obligated to display them to his team so what was unheard of came as a shock. Sasuke actually didn't mind this gentle giant being around. It turns out he was thankful that Juugo, whether on purpose or not, created an interval of quiet (something he hadn't had in a long time) which would probably explain his behavior. In fact he had made a promise to Juugo to become his "cage" when he had freed him from captivity in one of the holding cells that Orochimaru had put him in. He has an uncontrollable split personality, containing the origin of Sasuke's curse seal on the left side of his neck, which thrives on nonstop killing. The current Juugo is afraid of his other self and what he'd do without being held back and has given up on a cure resulting in Sasuke's promise that was made a year and a half ago.

Juugo still unaware of Sasuke's thinking pattern or personality was grateful for Sasuke's remark and thanked him with a nasal accent sniffing. They walked on for a couple of more minutes filled with silence. Sometimes Sasuke missed the solitude that came with the silence, even though it was full of pain, which had come along with it. That solitude was usually guaranteed at Konoha when he wasn't a missing nin in a span of 4 years alone living there. When he had turned thirteen he was finally apart of his first cell, Team 7, filled with his old teammates that broke away the solitude never to mend itself ever again. Still despite his loss he was thankful they did even though he never appeared appreciative for their meddling.

The people that were part of that team still existed and he's seen them a couple of times apart from the instances they'd tried to retrieve him. The last person he saw was the sensei of their team, Hatake Kakashi, a highly skillful jounin of the village Hidden in the Leaves. He was in a one manned mission in the red light district of the Tea Country. Sasuke himself was there because he had just killed his elder brother and was paranoid and numb. Sasuke threw away the sensation of guilt a long time ago but he would be shocked to know that he was feeling something akin to it. He remembered the haunting words of a teammate, the female one that he hadn't seen for a year and was rumored to be missing, before he ran away from home had said, _"It won't make you happy nor I."_ Sasuke ignored the rest of the flashback. It wasn't exactly a painful memory but more of an annoying one… because she was right.

Forcing his mind back into the present his senses rapidly focused on two enormous chakra patterns southeast of their position. He along with the other three in his company looked towards a swirling jade chakra rising up to the sky. At the pinnacle of its ascension it started to spread out into a circle causing the gentle snow falling onto them to turn green. Sasuke narrowed his black diamond eyes towards the stimulus for the strange snow. The whole site looked like a tree. He held out a hand catching the thick snowflakes in his semi-gloved hand and used his blood line limit of his extinguished clan, the Sharingan, to look at the strange adjustment of precipitation. As his eyes examined it more closely with its three tomoe swirling to get a better focused look he saw the green chakra circulate within the crystallized water then stood still in its motion and melted into his hand. As they did so his now red eyes widened in disbelief because the chakra had decided to get itself absorbed into his skin, and warmed his hand considerably. He looked out to the surface of the ice that they had been walking on and saw steam rising out of broken patterns of water and ice. Raising a brow and looked to his teammates that were stunned as well.

Looking towards the source of the miraculous event he called out, "Karin," She snapped her head towards him with a smile but he wasn't looking her way. Pouting she sighed, "Understood," and tried to sense what was going on behind them but something was blocking her ability. Frustrated she glared and focused on the force blocking her out. It was a barrier but had a hole in it as it was impaled earlier by the chakra that was causing the green snow. Seeing the hole as an opening for her to peek into, she delved into the dome.

"Well? What is it?" Suigetsu asked impatient. She narrowed her eyes in annoyance and snapped, "Shut up," then reported what she found, "There are two shinobi engaged in a battle, both are extremely strong and happen to be of Sasuke's caliber. One is a kunoichi and she seems to have the upper hand but I can't identify her properly though she seems familiar, and the other is a blur, there was a barrier to begin with in the first place. To be able to create a barrier solely on water alone is amazing. It's almost impossible because it's not a solid feature to rely on to make a barrier that would stay put."

Sasuke deactivated his eyes and continued towards the shores of the Water Country. It wasn't his business or his nature to look into strange happenings. Besides, he felt as if the chakra pattern was eerily familiar and had no desire to meet up with anything or anybody from the past at this moment lest they try his patience, like the ones behind him. "Eh? Wait up, Sasuke!" he heard Karin call out but he didn't comply and kept walking. Something was tugging at him to run to the disturbance and run away at the same time. He hadn't felt this anxious since his genin days in Konoha. "Odd," he thought but at the end of that thought a huge explosion sounded behind them along with an incredible force of its contents. He found himself being pushed by an intense energy and saw the green chakra force its way around his person gushing towards the shore melting the rest of the ice he was standing on. It blew his hair and clothes in that direction as well and he couldn't help but bend to the chakra's will. Cursing he adjusted the chakra on his feet so he could stand properly and looked behind him.

It seemed as if the battle had ended because as soon as he turned around the ice that was now water became calm and the chakra was evaporating into the air being sucked up by the clouds still spewing green snow. It was as if the battle had never happened at all. He looked at the rest of his team, Suigetsu was struggling to become whole again and muttering a stream of his own curses. Karin was soaked from head to toe and pulled her hair back announcing she had lost her glasses and could barely see with a frown. Juugo… was missing. "Karin where's Juugo?" she looked up in mid-thought to find her glasses and stuttered out, "I-I don't know, my ability is a bit clouded. I… wait, he's under water." Sasuke looked down with his eyes already activated and scanned for Juugo's body. He saw it moving up to the surface and it was moving. Sasuke blinked and sighed, he hadn't cared about anyone's well being for awhile. What was wrong with him?

Juugo burst out of the water gasping and coughing a little and settled down as soon as he got a grip on the water's surface with his chakra. Relying solely on his arms that were holding him up he held up one of them revealing Karin's coke-bottle black rimmed glasses. "I found this while I was down there," he exhaled tiredly. Karin's mouth opened into an "o," before she rushed over to Juugo and helped him out of the water. "Thanks," she mumbled before sticking them on but frowned again when she still wasn't able to see properly. "What the hell was that?!" the three of them stared at Suigestu who was still getting himself together and still irritated. Sasuke shrugged and kept walking surveying the area until something red in the water caught his eye. He walked up to it and knelt down to get a better look at it.

It was a leather book that looked a little worn with an intricate design of flowers covering the entire text. Cocking his head in curiosity he fished it out of the water and stood up. There was a barrier covering it, which would explain why it was currently burning his hand and completely dry despite it floating in the water like a boat. He examined it with his blood red Sharingan that happened to match the book's overall color. The spine was made out of ivory and gold of which looked like a snake entwined with a dagger. There was something sticking out of the dagger's handle which had three strings attached to it. Two of them were occupied by a precious stone and jewel, a pearl and a bloodstone. He was so intrigued by the book's appearance that he didn't notice Suigetsu looking over his shoulder for about a minute.

He sighed, "What is it, Suigetsu?" Suigetsu alarmed that Sasuke had noticed him already backed away from the last Uchiha and said after a moment of awkwardness, "Nothing it's just that you were ignoring me for the longest time, that's all," He looked off to the side not meeting up with his companions eyes, they were still activated and deadly if he got on his bad side. Taking a chance he decided to glance at Sasuke out of the corner of his eye not turning his head only to see the boy continue his walk towards shore where there were some spectators looking out to sea pointing where the explosion took place and the green snow and some looked at the group walking on water as if it was their fault. He ignored them and continued to walk to the shore as if nothing had happened hurriedly being followed by his, supposed, disbanded team Hebi.

Preview: Hee hee- none. Sorry folks this is a prologue. I think prologues shouldn't get previews.

(A/N: Okay… here's what's up. In this dark story the point of views are in 3rd person. They aren't just entrees from Sakura's pen. The story kind of jumps around in three time sequences, one would be random experiences of Sakura that aren't written in her diary in italics, another would mainly be in the present following Sasuke as he reads her diary in normal font, and the last sequence of this story would be the past working it's way up to the present as Sakura writes in her diary in underlined italics.)


	2. What's Up?

(A/N: Erm, This story is pretty tricky but I'll try to update as soon as I can. I myself have never kept a diary. Have you?)

**Disclaimer: What do you think?**

**Title: The Sakura Archives**

**Entry 1: What's up?**

_April 28__th___

_Dear Diary,_

_You would happen to be my month late birthday present from my best friend Ino. My birthday was March 28__th__. My name is Haruno Sakura. I'm thirteen years old and currently studying under the Hokage to be a medical nin of Konoha. I'm a member of Team 7, composed of Hatake Kakashi, the sensei of my three man cell, a.k.a. Copy Eye Ninja Kakashi of the Hidden Leaf, Uchiha Sasuke, my crush since the age of nine and top of our graduating class of the rookie nine, and Uzumaki Naruto, the knucklehead of the team but gifted with a heart of gold. _

_Um… what else should I write? This is really hard. I never kept a diary before even though it's perfectly normal for someone my age to have one. Ino who is currently looking over my shoulder tells me I should tell my reader in the future (if there ever is one: aren't diaries supposed to be kept secret?) what the gorgeous design stands for. I didn't even know at first either so I'll share it with you now. If you don't know… the reason for your cover color, red, happens to be my favorite color. It could've come in black, white, or blue but Ino knows me like the back of her hand._

Sasuke couldn't believe what he just read. It was… this was Sakura's diary. How many girls named Haruno Sakura were living in Konoha about his age that can claim to be his old teammate? Who else knows an Ino, in the village Hidden in the Leaves and sound overly conflicting with herself? She was always like that. He even recognized her hand writing. When he first found out that she became the Hokage's apprentice he couldn't believe it or refused to. Sakura was always the weak link of the team. There was no way a Sannin would be a teacher of someone so… lacking. Or so he thought. Two cracked ribs was the result of his carelessness due to his thoughts of her **not** becoming a threat a year ago, the second time they met after he had abandoned Konohagakure. Even now when he had found her diary and read the very first passage of her first entry when he left was astounding. Then does that mean that what he saw was a display of her power?

He was almost 87 sure that the kunoichi Karin referred to earlier was in fact her. He recognized her chakra pattern but it was such a huge amount that he doubted it. Karin mentioned something about caliber. A year and a half ago she was strong just not as strong as himself or Naruto. What happened? If that was her… how did she get so strong within a year? She wasn't like Naruto or Sasuke who had either a demon inside or a blood line limit. On top of all that she was rumored to be M.I.A. a year ago. He had a contact inside of Konoha that confirmed the rumor to be true. What would she be doing near Mist? He knew his questions would be answered within the book that he had spent a whole hour breaking a seal on but he wasn't a naturally curious person.

After walking onto dry land Suigetsu had told them of a place where they could all stay for the night that hid criminals in their rooms despite the danger of being closed down. These places were always run down, dirty, depressing, smelled of piss, rotten food, and sex. It was places like these that made him want to go back to Konoha but decided to get rid of that train of thought as quickly as it came. He'd have to admit though. A prison cell was cleaner than this dump. There was nothing entertaining around to do or look at unless you counted the tavern downstairs that had whores doing strip teases, lap dances, exotic dances, and acting as waitresses in skimpy outfits. (He of course didn't consider that to be entertaining.) He very well knew that if he appeared at a place like that, with his looks he'd be swarmed with them in a matter of seconds being smothered with tits and coos to come with them to a private section for a quick fuck. Women like that sickened him. But then again was there ever any girl of his species that he approved of? He couldn't help but think of the few girls he knew pretty well. Karin… and Sakura.

Sasuke was currently sharing a room with Juugo who had mysteriously gotten over his cold after the mind blowing event on the water. He was taking a nap claiming he was tired and plopped on the bed snoring. Knowing that he wouldn't be able to sleep at all due to that little factor and bored out of his mind he took one more look at the diary.

_Um…should I say "the" or "your?" (Ino says "your," which I disagree with because this is just an inanimate object…) __**The**__ spine: the ivory dagger entwined in a golden snake -which happens to be real gold by the way- should be a dead giveaway. Technically the ivory should be wood but Ino had it custom made because she thought it looked ugly. "Besides," she says, "Doesn't it look cool this way? The dagger says you live a profession of danger!" (Sure Ino.) My profession mostly dwells in the art of healing and that's what the symbol stands for, healing. The white roses for the pattern signalize secrecy. At least that little tidbit makes sense._

_The precious stones at the end of the straps peaking from the dagger are actually from the pen that I'm writing on the pages with now. The pearl stands for health and longevity, apparently Ino-pig wants this gift to last, so I'll write as much as I can. The bloodstone happens to be my birthstone along with aquamarine, but Ino wanted a theme going: so she chose the bloodstone, but both stand for courage. I guess I'm pretty brave. Now here's the annoying part; the orichalum shaped into a lotus has a bunch of my chakra in it (because Ino made me transfer some into it before I started writing- I knew it was a trap). Apparently you have a twin because Ino, since she was so impressed with mine, had her own custom made as well. It's purple, her favorite color. Anyway this is connected to her diary as well so when she feels like writing and I'm at max 10 miles away from her we can communicate. This brings a whole new meaning to the term pen-pal._

_**Damn straight!**__ Ino? __**Hmm?**__...Nevermind. __**Okay! .**__ Ugh…I'm beginning to hate this present already. __**Hey!**__ Anyway the lotus that the orichalum is shaped into stands for life giving. Personally I think such a thing should be given to mothers. I haven't given life yet just saved it. __**Would you like to?**__ …Not yet. __**Aw how cute.**__ …__**What? **__Nothing. Well that's about it for now._

_--Sakura_

_Sakura shut the book and sighed. She wasn't a really good autobiographer like Ino had expected her to be. She didn't even know if she could write in her diary consistently because she was so busy. Really thinking about it her life had been really boring for a ninja lately. All she has done since seeing Sasuke leave Konoha last year is study and train. Naruto and Sasuke's lives were the only one's she was really interested in. "Hellooooo?" Sakura blinked at Ino staring right back with an irritated look on her face. "What's up?" Sakura said back and stood up from a stool she had sat on to write her very first entry. If it hadn't been for Ino she wouldn't have wrote in it at all today or probably the next. Now she felt obligated to do so._

_"Uh… nothing except you seemed depressed all of a sudden. Don't you like my present?" Sakura stretched her arms above her head with the book in one of her raised hands. She yawned, "Of course I do. Thank you. It's beautiful but what do you expect from me?" Retracting her arms from above her head she looked at kids playing on a playground. After the restaurant, Ino had walked her friend to the park where she was to wait for her team to go out for a barbeque. A kid was crying and holding his knee. He had fallen from the monkey bars and other kids were starting to crowd around and contemplate what to do next. One started to look around for an adult to help but only saw old people way past what you'd call an adult but then recognized Sakura and called out to her._

_Understanding Sakura walked over to the group of kids to help out. Ino walked with her. "I expect you to write in it and enjoy it!" she exclaimed waving her hands up in the air like a mad woman. Sakura nodded but sighed as she said, "But my life isn't very eventful at the moment. No one, in the future would be reading it, because it's so boring."_

_Ino ran in front of her friend and blocked her path from the kids. "Are you kidding me? This is an event right here! You need to think more highly of yourself. I told you it's a bad habit to put yourself do-," The kids behind her flinched from her shriek making Sakura snicker. Angry that she thought Sakura was making fun of her she sucked her teeth and folded her arms as if waiting for the pink haired medic nin to explain herself._

_Instead Sakura walked past her and apologized, "Sorry, it's just that, how do I portray my everyday events. Do I doggedly declare that I healed a kid at the park because he fell and then move on to brushing my teeth and went to bed?" Ino didn't answer as Sakura knelt down by the kid and practiced her field of training. The kids surrounding the one crying spread out for her to come through and grew quiet. "What happened?" she asked rubbing the blubbering child's back. The poor boy was so upset that every time he took a breath to answer more tears started to run down his face and he started to hiccup. "T-Tak-kun, hiccup and me wuz pwaying "follow thuh leadah" and he wuz thuh leadah 'n… 'n he went on thuh monkey barhs hic 'n then I we-went on thuh monkey barhs and Suzu-chahn was pwaying "Tag" undah us 'cuz she wuzziiiit-," Sakura felt her impatience sinking in. Her maturity level had swelled over the past year as she started her training under Kakashi-sensei. It had only been 8 years since she used to talk just like that, as if she was a rabbit on crack and couldn't calm down, but already she felt a gap of the age difference._

_She wasn't going to start reverting now to communicate so she stomped out her irritation chewing out her mind and asked the kid to take deep breaths and stop crying. "You're a big boy now so start acting like it," she smiled and continued to rub his back in comfort. He nodded sniffing loudly and continued, "Suzu-gaspchan bumped inta me 'n I f-fell." He looked tearfully up at the nice lady with pink hair in expectation of a scolding but got none as he saw her concentrate on his leg. "Hmm," she replied placing her hand right below the sore. She examined it more thoroughly and called out to Ino, "Hey pig, you got any tweezers with you?" the one who was standing there silently rolled her eyes and said yes while digging into her kunai pouch for the said object. The boy looked from one pretty lady to the other and blushed as he caught Sakura's eye who winked at him in reassurance. Ino chucked the tool at her friend's head but Sakura caught it midair and began to work._

_"There's some dirt in there that I'm going to have to get it out so be brave and bear with me okay?" He nodded anxiously and watched her work, hissing every time he felt a pang when she picked at his wound. "Do you have some antiseptic?" The pretty lady behind her scowled and replied, "What do I look like a pharmacy?" Sakura shook her head. "No you look like a pissed off medical-nin-in-training scaring little kids in the park," she answered back. Ino blinked and looked around her. Sure enough the little kids that had surrounded them earlier backed away from the area while they had exchanged conversation. Giving off a nervous smile she laughed embarrassed and gave Sakura the antiseptic holding out her hand expectantly._

_"This is going to sting a little bit," Sakura told him holding his leg in place as she spilled the substance on his knee. The boy groaned and shut his eyes tight feeling the liquid bite into the wound then felt something warm cover his skin. He opened his eyes in shock at how comfortable he became in such a short time and looked at his knee. Sakura was holding out her hand over the wound emitting green chakra. His eyes widened as he saw his skin repair itself quickly under her touch. This went on for another minute and then she let go of his leg and stood up. "How does it feel?" she asked looking expectantly at him. He blinked and stood up as well and looked down at the newly healed leg. There wasn't even a scar like his other cuts had when healing up, "L…like I never got hurt," he murmured amazed._

_Sakura smiled and told him to be more careful as she walked away with Ino. Her teammates were there as well apparently witnesses to the feat she had just accomplished. Realizing she had just zoned out everything around her and practiced her healing justu without a hitch, in front of not just kids but adults who had gathered around and were looking at her in admiration, made her blush. Ino looked out of the corner of her eye and said, "You became a hero today, you can write about that, and stop being so bashful you just helped a snot nosed brat," Sakura sighed and called Ino's name out of scorn but was smiling as she did so._

_April 28__th__- Later on…_

_Dear Diary,_

_So that's why I have a second journal entry today. Although the event wasn't as nearly as heroic as Ino exaggerated it to be the kid ran up to me and called me a "Pretty Angel Lady." I haven't been called "pretty" in awhile. In fact the last time I was called that it was in a letter from my late father. Mom never did tell me how and where he died or how come there wasn't a funeral for him here. I guess, for a 6 year old child to ask an adult such depressing, mature, and convicting questions weren't normal so I let it go and stopped the asking. A few weeks later after getting the news that he died we got another letter from my father's side of the family. It then dawned on me when she had received news of his death she wasn't given the answers I asked questions to until that day. I even told her what I thought and recall looking at her eyes. They were so tired and full of sadness. She told me I was smart and that I should never let anyone tell me I'm not and continue to find answers to all my questions as I grow up. For some reason I remember the rest of her face too that day. Although she had on a smile, her face was completely blank of any other emotion._

_Over the years I've subconsciously adopted the same smile whenever I don't feel like showing how hurt I am, but somehow Sasuke-kun and Kakashi-sensei, before Team 7 (my first team) disbanded they could always tell that I was hurt no matter what I showed. I guess it was because they themselves know what it's like to have so much pain that it shows through no matter how much you hide it from others. As the Hokage's apprentice I was able to learn a little about my sensei's past (Sasuke-kun's on the other hand was from another source) through mission scrolls and archives of reports that dated back years ago. I never knew that Kakashi-sensei, as a child, was a jounin…no wonder he seems to be so bored with all the missions he had with us. Anyway, I learned that Kakashi-sensei used to be a stickler for the rules. To think that he used to be on time, "all the time," is so hard to believe._

_The Fourth Hokage was his designated teacher when he was our age, (how cool is that?) He also had an Uchiha Obito and Rin…(there was no last name for some reason) as teammates when he was my age. Kakashi-sensei lost his father at an early age just like me but it was due to suicide because of social pressure. I can't bear to tell him what I learned especially after I just wrote it here. It's not that it's too sad (it is by the way) it just feels as if I was snooping (which I was) but the point is, I felt it was too personal a thing to talk to him about. Although I had something in common with him and desperately wanted to know how to fully heal, because I still haven't, I couldn't. I mean I told myself that if someone who I'd kept my past and generally everything about me a secret on purpose, walked up to me and told me they know what happened and wanted to talk to you about it, I pictured myself getting angry._

_I had to face it. When it comes to Kakashi-sensei I really don't know anything about him. I don't know what he's really like, heck I don't even know what he really looks like under that mask of his. (he had one as a kid too, I even saw his old team photo, how irritating) So how could I be sure he wouldn't get mad like I know I would or deeply hurt and feel overly exposed? I know that he isn't me, someone who's never comfortable in their own skin, but it's better than judging him right away. Same thing with Sasuke-kun. I wanted to ask him how he got through being alone and without both parents. But I didn't have enough nerve not after how I found out about his clan and when. (around the time he became a missing nin)I always wondered why he seemed to pay attention to Sasuke more. They were a lot alike; child prodigies, secretive, strong, but weak in their own little way. Look at me sounding like some scholar I've got some nerve. How ironic._

_--Sakura_

A glass bottle broke against the door to his room preventing him from turning the page as he turned his head towards it. Suigetsu was out hunting for information about the next Swordsmen he'd take the life and sword of so the option of suspecting him was null and void. He was gone, end of that part of the story, good riddance. Karin on the other hand stayed around to get some information about what had happened on the water. As far as he was concerned they were the only ones who knew that it was a shinobi battle between probably one of his old teammates and another powerful being. Just because she was near Mist it doesn't mean she was there. He heard the drunken laughter of a man and the irritated voice of Karin screeching, "I said that I wasn't interested get lost and go screw one of the whores downstairs!" A thud and another breaking of glass on the other side of the door, "Aw c'mon, please? Besides you're much cheaper than they are. You won't charge for your pussy and I guarantee you'll like it as much as I do. All I need is some tight pussy tonight that's alllll," the man on the other side with Karin mewled no doubt not taking a hint and cornering Karin where she stood.

The next thing he heard was her cursing and banging for about 10 seconds before he couldn't take anymore and stormed out the door catching the man trying to kiss her pinning her under him with a broken nose. They were on the floor. Karin unlike Suigetsu had mercy and couldn't just kill a drunken man. Alcohol was influencing his system and behavior. She was about to kick him in the crotch but froze as she saw Sasuke glaring at the man with his Sharingan clearly pissed. All she could do was blush and think, "Omigod… this isn't what it looks like Sasuke!" but before she could say it the man was in a heap next to her, bloody and probably dead. She blinked staring at the man Sasuke had rescued her from.

Sitting up she looked at him with admiration in her eyes and exclaimed, "Oh, Sasuke you saved me how could I ever repay yo-," "No," he interrupted her rather harshly than he usually did, so she studied him more. He looked irritated as he stared at her with crimson eyes. Was he sleeping? He's been known to be cranky whenever woken up. She gulped. "I didn't, I couldn't concentrate so I came out here to see what was making all that noise and I see you on the floor with that weakling. You could've have taken him out by yourself." He turned towards his room and slammed the door behind him leaving her in stunned silence besides the rest of the rooms emitting moans, groans, screaming, and laughing. "Crap," she muttered to herself and went to her room leaving the incapacitated man on the floor in his own blood. Her plan failed.

Sasuke deactivated his eyes and looked at Juugo who had slept through the whole thing still loudly snoring. Maybe his snores drowned out all the racket being made? The dark haired nin shrugged and looked at Sakura's diary on his bed. Walking towards it he contemplated sleeping. When he read her second passage he was amazed that she had so little self-confidence or esteem in herself. She was constantly comparing herself to others who obviously had it worse than her and thought that because they had experienced something horrible, that was what made them stronger. In theory her assumption was correct and she herself suffered things that took time to heal from. Is that how she had gotten so strong? Did something more happen to Sakura that the text has yet to show him? He stared at the red book for the longest time. For some reason something was telling him to read. So he did.

_April 29__th___

_Dear Diary,_

_Today I got my butt handed to me on a silver platter by Tsunade-sama again…(she's my current teacher: one of the Sannin; the Slug Princess) I've got bruises and cuts on top of bruises and cuts trying to dodge her attacks. She even yelled at me before giving me an education on pain drilling into my head that medical nin are trained to evade attacks from enemy ninja so that we'd be in shape to heal fallen comrades. "And if you can't evade you must learn how to protect yourself, which is why you should improve your taijutsu," she says all this while trying to kill me with a huge chest that I have no idea how she happens to be so quick with. At first I thought she was unbalanced and slow because of her appearance which is why I have a bruised rib and a broken collarbone._

_Evade basically means to avoid and dodge. How can I do that if I have no agility, speed, or endurance whatsoever? I asked her that while trying to catch my breath from a kick to the gut. She folded her hands and looked at me expectantly, "You're smart figure it out," never have I been haunted by words meant to compliment me. Well me being smart, and looking like what the cat dragged in, went to the library to find methods on becoming doing just that. I've always learned better from books anyway. As I read I was well aware that people were looking at me and whispering about me no doubt. For some reason I was so self conscious that I sharpened all of my senses including sight and hearing. It was the same sensation I felt during dangerous missions with my team. This was nowhere near dangerous yet I felt nervous and anxious like I was under a magnifying glass so much that I took out 3 books I found and ran out like a bat out of hell to the nearest training ground._

_I don't get it. How did Naruto and Sasuke get through that? To be able to go through that every single day and not feel as if they had to melt into the shadows to not be noticed at all. That's one lesson I'd love to learn from them. They already taught me one lesson why not teach me another? __**What was the other lesson?**__ Ino…you got home already? __**Yep! . It wasn't that big of a deal. We just had to escort a local lord back home. He lived on the outskirts of the border. It just took the whole day.**__ You asked about the other lesson? __**Duh.**__ …Well it was during the chuunin exam remember? __**Which part?**__ The one where we entered the Forest of Death. __**Oh yeah! That time when you cut off your hair because that Kin girl was keeping you from protecting your team while they were out of it?**__ Yeah. For some reason Shikamaru was looking wary of me and you as soon as the 3__rd__ part was done. Why did he do that? __**It was because we both cut off of our hair off voluntarily. The way you did it freaked him out more though.**__ Why? __**'Cuz you were kneeling down and crying as you did it. He probably thought the reason for crying was because you worked so hard to keep it in check.**__ Oh…well I had to or else Sasuke and Naruto would've been dead by now. I did cry for three days straight though… __**So Shika-kun was right? I thought he was clueless about girls but it turns out he really is a genius!**__ Ino… that wasn't the reason why I was crying that day! I barely realized what I did until Naruto noticed it when he woke up.__** It wasn't?**__ No…__**Then why**__? …I was thinking how weak I was not to be able to protect my teammates even once. I thought that during that time that this was my chance and responsibility to finally be useful and there for my team. __**But you were… until you met that stalemate and that bonehead Zaku was beating you like there was no tomorrow.**__ …Thanks Ino… I think. __**You're welcome! .**__ Ino?... Okay, I guess she's gone._

_Where was I? Oh yeah… the lesson. To get stronger so I wouldn't have to watch my comrades backs while being protected. I told myself that my being protected would no longer be appreciated. It would be an insult. I'm a full fledged ninja- a kunoichi of the Hidden Leaf Village- I should start acting like one._

"A lesson, huh?" he thought. He looked outside. It was noon and he decided to go get something to eat. But paused when hearing that it was eerily quiet outside his room. He activated his eyes and looked through the door seeing 2 shapes sneaking around. They seemed to be nin and looking for something going in and out of doors, "Or someone," he thought. Glancing at Juugo who was still snoring he initiated a genjutsu for anyone who came in through the door. He took the book and tucked it into his shirt under his belt to prevent it from falling out then took a post on top of the ceiling above the door. It opened and revealed two Mist nin that scanned the area seeing nothing but an empty room as Sasuke had made the genjutsu out to be. Meanwhile he was stuck hearing Juugo's snores.

They left the door open and continued their search. He detached his feet from the ceiling and soundlessly dropped to the floor with his hands and pushed himself up so he could land on his feet. He looked out of the edge of the store staying stationary and patient. They went into Karin's room but came out just as quickly. He looked through the wall, which held Karin's room just beyond it, as much as his blood line limit would allow him to. She wasn't in her room. Deciding to see if they really were a threat –though doubting it because they didn't recognize a mediocre genjutsu– he stepped outside the door and latched himself to the ceiling once again and used his stealth to follow them.

He was getting bored fast as he followed them everywhere undetected and fighting the sudden desire to yawn. Seeing that they were rounding a corner in the hall he realized that he was in danger of being spotted so he ran closer to their position almost right above them. "W-what was that?" one of them, a female, whispered in a panic sensing his presence. He rolled his eyes, they were inexperienced chuunin at best, had finally noticed him because of a stealth mistake he had made. Honestly he really didn't feel the need to be so cautious around such weaklings which why was he was so sloppy in the first place. That and the need for sleep and food. "What was what?" the other, a male nin who sounded annoyed, asked her stopping in his tracks and turned to face his comrade forcing Sasuke to stand right above them.

"Didn't you feel that sudden gust of air?" Sasuke paid attention to their conversation with little interest focusing on something happening upstairs. His training still led him to keep an ear out just in case they noticed that he had been a spider on the ceiling ready to capture its prey. He activated his eyes as he saw that this part of the building was dark. The lights were turned off. Thinking it was odd that this type of establishment would have some sort of peace and quiet like this tugged at the back of his mind but he pushed it down looking at a ninja fight in

Preview: _Sakura stared up at the missing Rain nin holding the unconscious mother up to him. She looked back down and away to the closet she had knocked out the kids and shoved into. She had gotten his attention… now what? The kunoichi-in-training looked back up at the man who looked displeased at her interference. "T-take me instead," she suggested. Her whole body heated up with adrenaline aware of what its owner was about to do. She gulped and fought to keep her eyes in contact with the man and ignored her loud protesting mind. This was the only way that they'd get out of this alive, never mind her innocence. It was nothing compared to a life or two. Sakura stood up and knew her legs were shaking visibly. The man looked down at those knobby knees of hers and started to laugh showing her his missing rotten teeth._

(A/N: If you haven't figured it out now, the Italics underlined would be Sakura writing in her new diary and the bold underlined would be Ino, budding into Sakura's writing. They will share dialogue a few times in the story but not as much as I'd like her to. Have to make room somewhere. Anyway's M.I.A. means, Missing-In-Action, just like K.I.A., Killed-In-Action.)


	3. Hard Knock Life

(A/N: This story is really hard to follow up on. I read it over and discovered some errors at the end (how embarrassing). Here's my 3rd chapter, hope you like it! I edited it a bit. Those of you who have gotten an update note should take this as a sign of me coming off hiatus.)

Disclaimer: What do you think?

Title: Saga of the Sakura Archives

Entry 2: Hard-Knock Life

Karin… from the looks of things was winning but even if she was loosing he wouldn't have helped. Deciding he was now bored, he turned to go back to his room and wake up Juugo just in case they had to leave, he stopped his upside down trek, however when an explosion sounded from the room he saw Karin in, he turned around to see the chuunin below him rush towards the now imploded smoking room. Karin was clutching her side and stumbled from the extended entrance into the room. A figure was just beyond her and she noticed she was cornered by the two chuunin and the leader it seemed. Sasuke sighed and told himself that if he allowed her to die as she looked like she was about to right now then he wouldn't be able to find the owner of the diary. Irritated that this factor bothered him he inwardly sighed and patiently waited until she'd be helpless. She was doing that a lot lately and frankly was getting annoyed.

"I won't ask you again, you little bitch, where is Uchiha Sasuke? We know you've been traveling in the same group with him for quite sometime now," Karin glared but didn't answer. Sasuke once again bored saw that Karin was preparing an attack that could overpower them if they didn't suspect her plan. So he just stood there waiting for her attack. It never happened as dozens of Mist Hunter nin swarmed the place in an instant. Sasuke had sensed them all 3 seconds before they popped in. Maybe he was getting rusty? He hadn't trained in awhile… Either way it didn't change the fact that he was cornered, as a Hunter nin held a chokuto to his neck and hissed out, "Uchiha Sasuke… what a pleasant surprise." Instantaneously the ones below looked up in surprise. Whoop-freakin-do.

"See?! I told you I felt something!" the female of the duo yelled at her partner, pointing at Sasuke, who had ignored her and asked a hunter nin who seemed to be in charge, "What is the meaning of this? We weren't told that we'd be receiving back up." Sasuke sighed and ignored his stomach's churning. It didn't make a sound or anything. It just tortured him silently and made his eye twitch. The one in charge pointed upwards at Sasuke as well and stated, "Take a good look at this person right here. He's Uchiha Sasuke, an S-class criminal from the Village-Hidden-in-the-Leaves. He's the one that killed his older brother Uchiha Itachi."

The two chuunin gasped in awe when given the information. Sasuke had heard something along the lines of Itachi's infamy within the Mist. Everybody there hated him from his Anbu days and the feelings never went away when he killed his entire family. Honestly Sasuke didn't care but it irritated him that his elder brother had left a legacy behind him. It was as if he was laughing at him from beyond the grave to carry out what he had left in his stead.

Kind of annoyed that he was being ignored he announced, "I'd hate to be the bearer of bad news but," he closed his eyes gently and heard a few of them murmur not to look into them when they opened; "you came here in vain tonight." The one behind him holding the kunai scoffed, "Huh, is that so?" Oh yeah… he would definitely be the first one to go. He grabbed the man's arm and broke it in an instant. It seemed as if it took awhile to register in the nin's mind that his own arm was snapped in half, because it had been done so fast, but Sasuke was finally sated as the man screamed and fell down forgetting his chakra control. That's when Sasuke opened his Sharingan and all the nin shifted or froze in place.

Sometimes being an S-class criminal had its perks… He reviewed all of the fallen nin one by one and found that he'd only left two conscious. The nin he had followed earlier. Karin was nowhere in sight. 'What luck…' he mused. Sasuke lazily strolled over to them lying awkwardly and said, "I have questions regarding early afternoon." The kunoichi was red faced as she scrutinized him looking at her bored and impatient, "Ehm… what happened this afternoon?" she asked, "Do not engage him, Tomo! He's an enemy!" the other warned, but it seemed as if the plea fell on deaf ears. Sasuke ignored him as well and raised an eyebrow in question. "You mean you didn't witness what happened on the border of your own country?"

The girl's face was blank as if she was thinking, "Even if we did know anything about that weird surge over the water we wouldn't tell you, scum," Sasuke's dark eyes shifted to the man from earlier. He looked like he was ready to die but Sasuke wasn't in the mood to spill blood tonight. In fact none of his pursuers were dead, they were knocked out. He was famished. "So you're saying you don't know…" he trailed off leaving an assumption in his words, "You didn't know what happened yourself?" the girl asked him puzzled. He didn't look at her but he nodded, "Well… we know that what caused it were two kunoichi," he turned to her with a deep calculating gaze as if probing if she was lying or not, "Nothing else," she added, aware of the look he gave her. "Thank you for your cooperation, now if you'll excuse me, I must find something to eat."

_May 2nd_

_Dear Diary,_

_Today is my first official one-man, technically kunoichi, mission. To tell you the truth I'm kind of scared. I haven't had a mission in awhile but that's not what I'm so nervous about. I get to make decisions on my own and without the supervision of an adult nin, not only that but I think that my clients won't listen to me or put their trust in me. I mean, I'm only 13 years old and I don't look very impressive at all. I have pink hair, green eyes, a HUGE forehead, I'm flat as a board both ways and just now experiencing my period. Someone like Ino or even Hinata (a shy girl from a noble clan with a stuttering problem and white eyes), would look more intimidating, I'm a helpless fairy compared to them. I know that with my looks I'll be a target for unwanted attention. It's always been that way ever since I could remember, but I'm a kunoichi now, I should be able to handle anything as a chuunin. SHANNARO Oh yeah, that's right! I never said I became a chuunin. That's why I haven't written for a couple of days._

_With Tsunade-sama's teaching I was able to ace the test with some other genin I barely knew. Ino was so jealous that I finally got back at her. I took the test in Grass this time. A lot of weird and creepy boys were staring at me. I honestly don't know what they were staring at. I mean I can handle boys like Naruto and even Lee but not boys I didn't even know. I think I reverted a little into my former self because I didn't have enough courage (or nerve) to tell them to get lost or look somewhere else. As if having all the local lords ogle me wasn't bad enough. They always kept saying that I had inherited Tsunade-sama's beauty and would hope that I gained her strength as well. I'm still not as strong as her and my medical skills are excelling past her expectations, but what do they mean by beauty? Oh well, I think I spotted my client's house._

_--Sakura_

He guessed his hunch was wrong. It's not like he had ESP, though it would help. Sasuke looked behind him seeing Juugo tiredly trudge along. It was dawn and they had put a good distance away from them and the inn. He was able to eat like he wanted but he had to get it from the bar downstairs and was instantly swarmed with whores. It puzzled him why that area wasn't affected at all by the nin that were upstairs. He stared at the book before tucking it under his belt. Sasuke didn't know why but he felt obligated to find Sakura and their only clue would have to be what he had. They were almost at the shore when he heard, "Sasuke-kun, there you are! I thought you left me!" he abstained from sighing and turned around. Karin.

In less than 10 seconds she latched onto his arm and he could feel his circulation stop. He tried to pry her off to save his appendage, he really did. Why didn't she just go away like Suigetsu? "Didn't think I'd find you back here," another voice sounded. Jinx. Now Sasuke really did sigh. 'They're like cockroaches,' he reflected, "So were you curious too? Or does it have to deal with that?" Suigestu asked pointing at Sasuke's belt. He narrowed his eyes but didn't say anything and felt it snatched from its position on his side. Sasuke's spikes whipped towards Karin who was naive of his killing intent. She held it up with two fingers as if it was diseased.

"It looks like a journal," her face scrunched up, "Like something a girl would own, why are you so fascinated by it, Sasuke-kun?" She held it level with her face and started to open it but he snatched it away in time. All hell would break loose if she read the contents written on those pages. She wanted to protest but when she noticed his death glare, she pouted, "Oh fine." Suigetsu watched the two and took another glance at the book, then out to sea. Now he was really interested. Out of all the times he's known the dark haired boy was never possessive. Not even when people touched Kusanagi. Did he know who it belonged to? And if he did, what was in it that was so important? Sasuke never held any value for anything. "Well are we going or do we have to wait until Juugo finishes his nap?" he asked him, pointing a thumb at the half awake giant, making sure to keep his eyes away from the text in Sasuke's hand. Sasuke stared at the white haired boy across from him and narrowed his eyes. He didn't say anything as he walked on the surface of the water. The rest followed.

_"Excuse me? Are you Fujiyama-san?" Sakura asked a woman in her 20's occupied by two small boys. Sakura gulped. The woman was gorgeous. She had dark curly hair that was pulled back but still reached all the way down to her backside and her eyes accented them with a sky blue. Her face reminded her of tragic movie star, as the cheek bones were high but elegantly proportioned and there was a beauty mark under her lips towards the right._

_Her figure was amazing, something only Sakura could aspire to, as she walked with her hourglass shape towards Sakura. Who at the moment felt intimidated, because not only of her looks, but because of the way she carried herself. It was almost ethereal. Sakura couldn't hide her deep blush. As soon as the woman reached her she said, "Yes I am. And you are?" Sakura stopped ogling her and said, "My name is Haruno Sakura. I'm a Leaf nin. I understand you've been having a bandit problem?" Sakura kept up her friendly business façade until, "They send a china doll to me?" Sakura could feel her Inner wanting to punch in that beautiful woman's face right then and there._

_May 3__rd_

_Dear Diary,_

_Can you believe the nerve of that woman? I wanted to rip her head off! But I couldn't… that means I'd be no better than Naruto. He wanted to kill the old man we were protecting from our first C-ranked mission because of the same attitude I was shown today. The only thing that kept me from exploding were the two her children. For some reason they looked afraid. I avoided asking where the father was but it still bugged me. I hope I didn't have on a face when I calmly explained that she could put her trust into a toothpick like me. After that she was still rude but told me to come with her. Apparently she came back from the market. I remember looking at a picture of her in the mission scroll and thinking, "Wow she's beautiful," she was even more so in person but her personality was hideous. She acted differently towards her own kids as if she had a split personality. I considered the odds and even compared her to my inner self but rejected the notion. This woman is not me. A shinobi who knows what they're perfectly capable of._

_Moving on… she owns a small farm on the outskirts of the nearby town I met her in. About 3 months ago, men have come and raided her crops in the stead of raping her. Those crops are to be sold at the market. She and her sons can't survive without the fruits and vegetables they grow. If the men that she couldn't drive away keep taking more of the food they'll starve for the summer. It's also been explained that they come every 5 nights. I just missed them yesterday. Why it was so important that I was to come in a disguise instead of my kunoichi outfit? She was cooking at the time and facing me, so as soon as I asked, she turned pale and turned around quickly while giving me an answer. The threats that she told me about earlier were to be carried out if they knew she called for help._

_That means the town didn't know of her situation. She sent for help by a friend of hers that was driving a wagon to Konoha and that's how I got the mission. We're still short of shinobi from the invasion. If it hadn't been for that factor Sasuke and Naruto would probably still be here and I would have a more experienced Chuunin, an adult no less, in my place but Tsunade-sama told me that I would be able to handle it. So I went and here I am in farm girl's clothing under the guise that I'm the "hired help."_

_OMG! Her sons are so adorable! They're coloring right in front of me right now. If Kakashi-sensei were here he'd jolt at hearing me squeal every five seconds whenever they came up to me to show me their drawings. I can't help it, I mean… I want to pinch their cheeks so badly but I could definitely remember my grandmother doing that to me whenever she visited. I hated that and I'm pretty much sure they would too so I hugged instead. They've been blushing ever since and showing me more of their drawings. The twins have their mother's hair but have two different colored eyes each. One of them is blue and the other is green. It makes them look just as mysterious as their mother who had her fair share of calling me a fragile flower child but I didn't mind. It's much better than being called "forehead" by someone I barely know. Tomorrow I start helping out on the farm. Wish me luck._

_Sakura_

Sasuke stopped reading. He ended up in back of his companions because he didn't trust them. They could've looked over his shoulder and see some very personal and embarrassing things written here and he didn't want to exploit them to people she didn't know. Then it occurred to him that a diary was private. He shouldn't be reading it either. But he convinced himself over and over, ever since he started reading it at the inn that he needed to in order to find out why she went missing recently. No matter how many times he repeated the excuse he couldn't help but feel a little guilty. Especially when he knew he could just skip ahead to a more recent date, but he didn't want to. He didn't even know why it bothered him that he was being nosy. What did he care if Sakura disapproved?

"Hey look!" Suigetsu called out. Sasuke looked up, discovering that he had stopped walking awhile ago, and was staring down. Ignoring his reverie, he teleported to his group that was a few feet away from his position and looked in the direction they were all looking. On the surface of the water they found a body. Juugo walked up to the floating cadaver and pulled it out of the water. It was a woman with an Akatsuki cloak on. She had blue hair matching her open eyes and apart from that distinction, a lip ring. The blank gaze she gave them intimidated all but Sasuke. So Sakura was able to handle the Akatsuki on her own?

"Why would Akatsuki be way out here?" Karin asked aloud. Juugo was about to drop the woman's body back, that was still intact for some reason, but Sasuke stopped him. He wanted answers. "Suigetsu do you know any doctors that would keep their mouths shut and perform an autopsy?" He turned towards the said boy who was scrutinizing the woman as well. She didn't die like a normal shinobi would have suffered in battle. There wasn't a scratch on her and there seemed to be no cause of her demise. Suigetsu turned his gaze towards his ex-leader and nodded but asked, "Why does it matter to you?" Sasuke narrowed his eyes in frustration. He didn't know.

_May 6th_

_Dear Diary,_

_Today is the day that I stake out the crops for our "guests." Over the past few days besides performing my chores, I set traps around the perimeter of Fujiyama-san's property and checked them over and over again while scouting at night just in case they sent a spy of their own. I've even had a few slugs go out to shop in human form and collect information on this family. It turns out that Fujiyama-san is a widow. At least that's what everyone thinks since they found a torn piece of his clothing in the mountains covered in blood 4 weeks ago. So far I've been on top of things for a one-man/woman/girl show. Fujiyama-san keeps insisting that I shouldn't take on so many precautions but I don't think I can never be too careful. Suppose they hired a ninja themselves? It was just a joke but she took it pretty hard considering that she was sewing and stuck herself with the needle._

_Every time I made a joke like that she always had a violent reaction. I wanted to ask her if there was more to say but every time I tease her like that she's already thermal. For example, I walked over to heal her finger and stop the blood from flowing out but she slapped my hand away and walked over to the sink to wash it off instead. The boys, Jin and Gin, were silent like always but I could feel the tension that came with their behavior. Something's up, but I wish I knew what. So I walked out the house and said sorry, for what I don't know but I said it anyway, and claimed that I had to make my rounds. Three seconds later the boys came out and told me that she sent them to me with some money to get some groceries. I shrugged and thought nothing of it, summoned Katsuko to scout the area while I was gone, and brought them with me to the market. We had a lot of fun but I could tell they were a bit nervous about tonight. I did my best to console them and held back my own nervousness. I mean I was the one that was supposed to get rid of the "pests." What were they worried about?_

_Katsuko just appeared through the ground… judging by the silence she's giving me something serious happened. I just hope it's not too bad._

_Sakura_

_Sakura sped on the path to the cottage and reviewed the last 10 minutes. Katsuko had burst through the ground just as she was leaving the town with the twins. After a minute of silence, her ninken relayed that she had seen a total of 10 men surround the perimeter and avoid the traps that were set. Katsuko herself had taken out 2 of their scouts that they had sent ahead. She said that they were ninja of the chuunin level from the Village-Hidden-in-the-Rain. Sakura had never liked those ninja ever since she saw them from her first chuunin exam. They all had nasty looks on their faces and short tempers._

_A lock of her pink hair released itself from the binding of a red bandana and found its way in front of her eyes. She growled at the tendril and slapped it out of her face, heart beating fast. There were only a few scenarios that could explain why Sakura was so out of it._

_1. Fujiyama-san knew that the men were ninja and not normal trash. She probably withheld the information from her because she thought that Sakura wouldn't be enough._

_2. Fujiyama-san was involved with this whole scandal. She could be a partner or even the leader of the gang. (but then why would she bother to call for help)_

_3. There's more than meets the eye here. Maybe a missing factor that Sakura over looked. They probably knew she was here._

_She took a deep breath and released it. Nerves weren't going to help. There was nothing to worry about. Katsuko was far away from the cottage with the twins keeping them safe. All she had to do was ambush them one by one. It wouldn't be too hard considering all the training she's had in just one year. Her super-human strength was just starting to make itself known in full bloom. It wasn't as potent as her shishou's but it was enough to knock anyone out and create small craters with. Sakura spotted the landmark that indicating she was 200 feet away from the house and knew that from then on she should be careful. They could've set up other traps while she was gone and be checking to see if she would return soon._

_Stiffening for a split second after feeling a chakra come at her fast she jumped upwards with chakra and looked down. A Rain nin had missed his mark with a huge axe in mid air and was looking up at her grinning. She raised a brow. Why was he so happy? Sakura's eyes expanded as she did her best to avoid a couple of shuriken that sliced her a bit. She didn't have to time to recover as two more came from opposite sides. Knowing that she couldn't dodge them in mid air she brought out a couple of kunai and threw it at them. They blocked it with their own but gasped in shock when hearing the clank that came from the metal. Sakura smirked as she landed on a tree branch. They were caught in her newest genjutsu. As soon as an opponent's weapon hits those special kunai the technique uses the vibration and chakra stored in them to infiltrate the ears that amplify a certain frequency messing with their neural systems, causing deliria._

_They fell to the ground but still made too much noise, so she got out some senbon needles, and stuck them in their pressure points. Even if they did wake up soon after, they wouldn't be able to move later on. She stood up and looked around. Wasn't there another one? Sakura felt a slight shift in the air behind her and turned around to block the axe if she could, closed her eyes, tightened her muscles bracing for impact, and waited for the sensation of her head lop over her shoulders. But it never came. Or maybe it did? She popped one curious green eye open and looked through her guard. Katsuko was there flattening the man that was struggling under her weight._

_Blinking, Sakura crouched down and ended his loosing battle of gravity with another needle. She looked up and raised a brow at the twins that popped over the slugs head. "I thought I gave you specific orders to lay low away from the cottage," she said standing up and folding her arms over her chest. "Forgive me, Sakura-sama but we were ambushed ourselves," Sakura reviewed her ninken's condition. The slug was covered in bruises, "I came to warn you but I couldn't just leave the twins alone and-," Sakura held up her hand. "How many attacked you?" The twins got off Katsuko and ran towards Sakura embracing her legs into a hug. She could feel them shaking. She didn't blame them. "Three."_

_She thought for awhile and tried to come up with a new plan. It was foolish of her not to be more cautious. There was a possibility that they had spread out and that there were more apart from the four that were counted. Katsuko looked as if she would dismiss herself at any moment and that wasn't good. She needed her ninken and gave her a meaningful look. "I need you to secure the perimeter. The twin's will stay with me." For the past half hour Katsuko did as she was told and Sakura took out 3 extra nin. She asked a couple of them for information but they wouldn't talk much. 'Not until their completely defeated. They must have a leader that's still in the cottage with Fujiyama-san._

_Katsuko couldn't keep up her post so Sakura was on her own with the twins. She looked up and thought about ways to counter the leader who didn't know that she had gotten rid of his followers. So far she learned that his name was Ame no Tohru. She remembered that among the paper work that she had to help her teacher with, that he was in one of the files. The profile showed his picture that was none to pleasant to look at. He was in his thirties, balding, dark-skinned, tattooed, and scarred. The profile said that he took delight in women young and old._

_Sakura shivered at that part knowing that she would probably have to do something she wasn't ready for. A missing nin from his own village, held a small resistance North of Konoha and was only of chuunin level in the bingo book so Tsunade never thought of him as a threat and neither did Sakura. Big mistake. He was probably doing all sorts of terrible things to the twin's mother and was in perfect health unlike her who had to counter the poison from the shuriken earlier. If Sakura had another comrade with her this would be easy. But there was no one else to help her. She had to do this all by herself and somehow come out victorious._

_She was behind a tree several yards away from the cottage that was now visible. Screaming and yelling could be heard making Sakura and the twins a little jittery. Sakura took a deep breath and reviewed all that's happened since she first became a kunoichi. She would not screw this up… even if she didn't have a plan. How could she when she didn't know any of his abilities? The files on him just explained his likes, dislikes, and even a picture as if he was an eligible bachelor. If she ever got out of this alive she'd make sure that she'd stress the importance of finding out what the target's abilities were and not a description of what they're like. She took a deep breath and stood up, "Okay you two stay here. I know it's a bit much to ask since it's scary out here but be brave and stay hidden." She was about to walk off and stealthily make her way into the cottage but two small hands wrapped themselves around her arm before she could go any further._

_Sakura looked back and saw the two twins keeping their tears in check. "Take us with you please?" she shook her head with a sincere smile but they added, "We know a way in without using the door," Gin looked at her pointedly and Sakura crouched down to continue the conversation on their level._

_"What do you mean?"_

_The twins stared at each other then back up at her. Jin answered, "Before the bad men came, me and Gin would sneak out the house at night to catch fireflies by the pond. Mommy said that the path was to be used for emergencies."_

_Now they were getting somewhere, "Show me."_

_Who would've thought that there would be an underground tunnel leading up to the twin's bedroom? They explained that their great grandfather constructed it along with the house several years ago before passing it on to their grandfather who later passed it on to their father. It was a little over 10 minutes before she decided to ask them about their father. He'd disappeared because he had made a deal with the ninja that were invading their house right now…_

_When he discovered who they were, and went back to them to cancel their contract, he didn't come back home. Sakura understood everything now when they added that Tohru threatened his wife on two conditions. One was her freedom and the other was her husband's life. She was told that he was still alive but Sakura doubted it. It was no wonder why so much important information was being held back. But Fujiyama's misplaced faith cause so many things to go wrong. She knew she was underestimated but she would have a better chance if she knew what she was up against. 'Note to self: Look more intimidating. Maybe then my patrons will respect me.'_

_A crash sounded throughout the tunnel. There were other sounds just like it getting louder as they continued. "How much closer are we?" she asked them, "Not far," Gin whispered back. She nodded seeing a dim light appear up ahead. "There it is," Jin said loudly. Sakura hushed him and narrowed her eyes to get a better look. Sure enough something like a door could be seen. She could hear rain falling on their window. It became quiet all of a sudden. No doubt that Jin's shout was heard. She held in a curse and told the boys to huddle around for a plan. As soon as they brought their heads together she hit their pressure points behind the necks. They would only get in the way and it was better if the nin only knew he would be dealing with a kunoichi._

_Sakura pulled them with her up towards the exit of the tunnel and kept her breathing low. She laid the twins behind the door of the closet she saw from afar and dumped a bunch of clothes on them to hide them. She closed the door behind her while scouting out the room. It was empty but she could feel the man's chakra next door. He was fanning it out as if challenging her. She gulped aware of how low her own chakra levels were before stepping out her door and then stepped back as soon as kunai almost clipped her nose. She was caught. A deep throaty laugh sounded down the hallway, "Show yourself kunoichi, I know you're there." The bastard even knew what gender she was. Didn't Sakura feel special?_

_Doing as she was told, she dashed out with kunai in hand and scanned the dark corridor. Her viridian never caught anything until she was slammed against the opposite end with a watery limb. Literally there was an arm of no real physical proportion in the form of the powerful element fusing her to the wall. The pressure it created on her body was almost insufferable. Then she heard the same chuckle fill her ears as she let out a groan._

_"It seems that you met a couple of my men. I'm surprised you could still move," Sakura glowered at the darkness as heavy footsteps came closer along with the slight hint of dragging on the floor._

_"My, your cute, Konoha broads always are." Her mouth let out another gas. Her neck ached as the pressure increased around it._

_He was choking her. "Fuji…ya…ma-san," slowly the light from the twin's room revealed the man as described in the reports._

_"Hm? Oh you mean the whore that hired you?" as he came closer into the light she could see that his right arm was holding some sort of jutsu that assumed its shape and acted upon his will. In his left hand, was what was dragging earlier._

_The twin's mother was fine, out cold, but okay. She let out one last moan before Sakura looked up at her captor in contempt. He was dragging her by the hair. Sakura herself had grown out her hair again and found it very offensive but she held in her fury a little while longer,_

_"Husband…"_

_The guy blinked at her surprised, "Eh? You know about that fool too?" he noticed her unwavering façade and answered, "If it'll ease your worries, the weakling's working for us at the moment. He's not much help though. His wife is the one that's actually keeping him alive," he lifted the woman by the hair higher off the floor._

_"Let her go you pig!" He frowned and dropped the woman as commanded. Sakura could feel the pressure lessen around her body and noticed she could breathe easier along with seeing him suddenly hold up a hand sign. Her eyes widened as her voice involuntarily shrieked from her mouth. An immense pain ravaged her body as a tremendous surge of electricity channeled from his arm that was holding her up. Sakura's world went dark for awhile but when she came to she was on the floor and numb. Her hair could be seen spread out around her as she stared at it for awhile. 'Sasuke…I dreamt about him. Why did I…?' her thoughts cut off as she heard something ripping from up ahead._

_Her eyes went in and out of focus as they shifted upwards and landed on a pair. It was Tohru and Fujiyama-san. Sakura could feel her pulse quicken as everything came back to her. She was still in the cottage and her mission wasn't done yet. Feeling flowed back into her body as her inner egged her on to kick the man's ass. Her body felt stiff and burned as it shook. She knew why it was so hard to move but didn't understand. Wisdom and knowledge were two different things but they were always thought as one by the misinformed. Sakura was one of them. He seemed to have noticed her movements as he stopped his own. "Wait…she doesn't… they don't deserve this." Words just spilled out of her mouth as he became spellbound by her stamina. "I've…failed… them," the man smirked a bit. "So what are you willing to offer?" he tantalized her aware of her self-esteem dwindling._

_Sakura stared up at the missing Rain nin holding the unconscious mother up to him. She looked back down and away to the closet she had knocked out the kids and shoved into. She had gotten his attention… now what? The kunoichi-in-training looked back up at the man who looked displeased at her interference. "T-take me instead," she suggested. Her whole body heated up with adrenaline aware of what its owner was about to do. She gulped and fought to keep her eyes in contact with the man and ignored her loud protesting mind. This was the only way that they'd get out of this alive, never mind her innocence. It was nothing compared to a life or two. Sakura stood up and knew her legs were shaking visibly. The man looked down at those knobby knees of hers and started to laugh showing her his missing rotten teeth._

_"Fine, since you want it so much," he agreed once again dropping the farmer's wife. He was crouched down and the twin's mother was right in front of her so it was an upset to her when his lower portion was revealed. He had already gotten rid of his pants and she noticed that they were nowhere to be found on the floor. She sucked in a breath and looked away as he approached. Sakura could feel his amusement rolling off of his adult body as well as the sweat that spilled down her forehead to her chin. "Heh, c'mon it's not that scary sweetheart," he joked, "Just be thankful that I'm so experienced and well endowed," she gasped as he grabbed her crotch and hauled her up from the floor._

_Sakura couldn't hold back the deep tremors that ran throughout her body even if she wanted to. She wouldn't lie to anybody. She was deeply terrified. His head rested in the crook of her neck as he ripped off her shorts and harshly whispered, "Relax and enjoy. Give me something to work with." Tohru hefted up her left leg and wrapped it around his waist and it stayed there. Sakura didn't understand the way she clung to him as her arms snaked their way around his torso and her hands found his back. A lump formed in her throat as he zipped down her dress and moaned at the way she stiffened when feeling something hard poke her abdomen. Her nails dug into his back and dragged them down but it didn't seem to faze him. Her body still wanted to hurt him even though it gave up._

_Her viridian looked over his shoulder to the one she protected from this horror. Sakura's visualization became blurry as lukewarm tears packed her eyes. Then he grabbed her bottom and shoved her down. His member firmly sheaved into her and she let out the saddest sickening scream into his shoulder as she bit down onto it drawing blood. He only laughed and mercilessly pounded on. She was sure her virtue and honor were gone as soon as her insides felt as though they ripped in two. There was no pleasure like her first partner felt. Only seclusion, discomfort, and apprehension, filled her being as he groaned in her ear, "Ugh, you're so tight. Just the way I like it. The whore would've been too loose anyway." The deeper he went the more she felt vulnerable as her tears finally slipped from the brims of her eyelids. 'I have to do it now,' she told herself gripping him tighter._

_Her right hand memorized where his heart was as she stifled a sob through her torment. She didn't know if it was primal or not but she could sense the intruding rod harden some more in her slick folds, signaling him coming to an end. He felt like he was ready to explode. Sakura braced herself for whatever might come and in the next moment something warm really did explode inside of her. She could feel a fluid drip out of her and heard it drip onto the floor as it stung the hell out of her. She hoped it wasn't blood and noticed that he was unexpectedly so worn-out so she ran her hand over his back again, and gazed hard ahead of her in determination. His body convulsed and he sputtered pushing off of her. Sakura grabbed at what clothing was still in tact, covered herself, and glared implacably at the man who grimaced back. "You little bitch… what did you do to me?!"_

_"Does the term chakra scalpel mean anything to you?" she monotonously retorted. Her gaze was cool but under all that she was really shattering. He could see it in her eyes and laughed. She was confused. Why was he happy that he was dying? "It's because I'll be taking a piece of your soul with me, girl." She flinched back into wall as he fell onto the floor. How did he know? "You'll never be at rest, heh," her lips quivered as she watched him die. Blood trailed out from his lips onto the cold hardwood floor and gaze became distant as she saw her reflection in them. She held both hands in front of her mouth to keep from screaming at him that it wasn't true. But it was. She felt she lost even though she barely won. All of the foreign ninja won._

_'Am I still so powerless that I needed something so important to me to be lost in order to accomplish my mission?'_

_'I still can't do anything without them.'_

_Their faces popped up one by one in her head. Smiling and then frowning as if they disapproved._

_Naruto's warm impish grin… then his disgusted mug._

_Kakashi-sensei's proud smile hidden behind his mask… then his disappointed gaze._

_Sasuke's amused smirk… then his annoyed scowl._

_'I'm still weak… oh kami… if anyone finds out what are they going to say?!'_

_"Whore," Naruto called out._

_"I never knew I'd be so disappointed in you of all people. You //were// weak but…" Kakashi trailed off._

_"Worthless you always were. I should know I had to protect you //all// the time," Sasuke muttered out._

_'They won't find out…no one will… calm down be in control… control …'_

_But she couldn't have power over the emotions that poured out as she collapsed and pulled at her hair, silently crying._

Preview: Sasuke closed the book and set it down on the table. He tiredly rubbed his eyes, the spot in between his eyes, and his temples. He couldn't believe she relayed every detail of it in her diary and not her mission report. He couldn't hold her responsible for what happened though he felt something akin to terrible deep down. She was only 13… He slowly opened his eyes and was met with the view of Suigetsu sitting across from him drinking water. "It's that cutie we met awhile back isn't it? The one with the pink hair…" Sasuke's eyes held nothing as he continued to look on forward. He raised a pale brow and shook his head, "She your girlfriend?" Sasuke looked at him in the corner of his eye. He was getting irritated, "No," he answered head strong. The boy scoffed at his leader, "Were you at least attracted to her?" Sasuke's eyes narrowed, "What do you want, Suigetsu?" The wielder of many swords laughed out, "It's not what I want, it's what you want," the last Uchiha finally turned to his teammate. "I'm listening."

(A/N: It was really hard writing the last part but I wanted her to go through as many hardships as the rest of her team did so she'd come out strong, even if it would take forever to read. I'm sorry about that. From the beginning of the story I wanted her raped, (Does that make me a bad person?) because what better way for her to be more or just as emotionally scarred as the rest of team? Review?)


	4. Clandestine

(A/N: I have nothing to say today…odd

(A/N: Dedicated to HarmonyRose. You're the best love. For those who are interested in _**ItaSaku**_ check out the story: _**One Petite Kunoichi**_, one of HarmonyRose's best stories. I should know. I'm her Beta Reader.)

**Disclaimer: What do you think?**

**Title: Saga of the Sakura Archives**

**Entry 3: Clandestine**

_May 8__th_

_Dear Diary,_

_Forgive me for the smudges on the pages but I can't stop crying. I held it in as long as I could when I was still in the Fujiyama residence. After… the incident, I put on a different pair of clothes and fixed everything up as best I could before treating the twin's mother. She woke up hours later with her relieved sons surrounding her when I was making soup. I was so engrossed in pushing out Tohru's face in my head that I didn't even notice her come into the kitchen. She tapped me on the shoulder to let me know she was awake with her boys and I jumped like a frightened rabbit. I could tell she was still a bit skeptical of my victory when she observed my appearance in ninja gear. I made sure my undercover attire was burned. That's how unclean I felt. But… I should feel… at least some form of contentment. Right? I did save this family, as pathetic as the attempt was._

_After I assured her of Tohru and his accomplice's demise I infiltrated their hideout as a whore under a genjutsu I conjured up. The rest of his followers weren't even ninja. Just regular bandits as reported in the original request. I couldn't help but see the irony as I slaughtered each and every single one of them like pigs. The fact that they followed the man that stole the one thing that had any value to me made my blood boil. I don't remember much except that I was covered in blood and was holding up the farmer by the collar of his shirt in one hand, begging me not to kill him, and some other guy's head in the other. It looked like I ripped it right off of the poor man's shoulders. I felt even worse than I started out when I escorted him back home. He avoided eye contact the whole way back and only looked at me when I asked him for his part of the story. The rest of the prisoners, he later told me, ran for their lives. From me… their only salvation._

_I couldn't help but give him a smile to hide the pain. Killing, isn't my purpose, healing is. I am training to be a medical nin after all. If Tsunade-sama had heard how savagely I killed them all, I think she would put me under surveillance in an asylum. I certainly feel like I should be in one now. Many times I banned myself from crying and screaming like a mad person. When we finally arrived back at the cottage he was engulfed in hugs from head to toe and his wife couldn't stop crying, ignoring me. The twins, after letting go of his legs, looked at me with caution. I probably looked like a mess. The couple finally remembered I was still there and before they could say anything I asked if I could take a shower. The farmer's wife told me that I didn't have to ask them. It was practically my right to do so. I did help them, after all._

_All I could do was nod, walk slowly to the bathroom feeling their eyes on my back, and aware of the silence until I closed the door behind me. I heard the words, monster, frightening, insane, and many more like those as I peeled off my clothes soaked in blood. I can distinctly remember a shiver run down my spine after my skin was free of the cold wet cloth and the rubbing harshly at my body, desperate to be clean. When I came out, I was surprised that the farmer's wife called out to me from the spare bedroom I was given. I wasn't aware of my self inflicted wounds until she gently rubbed my forehead and neck. My flinch was ignored as her fingers stroked one of many bruises I gave myself where that man touched me. It was as if she was trying to comfort me as a surrogate mother… as if she understood. That's when I knew that she knew what happened._

_We were quiet as she brought out a first-aid kit and started to treat the marks on my skin. She actually asked me if I was alright and of course I lied. Was it so obvious that something had happened to me? When I get back to the village, I need to act as normal as possible. I don't want anybody finding out even if it will be hard to do. _

_The next day… today, the twin's hugged me and was sorry to see me go. They each gave me a drawing of their family and me with a cape flowing behind me. I guess all they saw when they looked at me was a hero. It would feel nice if their assumption was actually correct. I couldn't help but hug back twice as hard. They were so adorable. Fujiyama-san gave me his gratitude and told me he would pay in full what was due for this sort of mission but I refused. I didn't do anything great. All I did was sell "my soul" as Tohru phrased it. People do that all the time. His wife packed me a lunch and dinner then apologized for her bad hospitality but I paid her repent no mind. I was too focused on the tears that were trying to poke through. She hugged me gently and whispered into my ear, "Thank you for your sacrifice. I am forever in your debt."_

_After a couple of seconds I couldn't breathe. Even though in their opinion's I was a blessing… I've never felt so cursed. They unknowingly made it worse, somehow._

_--Sakura_

Sasuke closed the book and set it down on the table. He tiredly rubbed his eyes, the spot in between his eyes, and his temples. He couldn't believe she relayed every detail of it in her diary and not her mission report. He couldn't hold her responsible for what happened though he felt something akin to terrible deep down. She was only 13… He slowly opened his eyes and was met with the view of Suigetsu sitting across from him drinking water.

"It's that cutie we met awhile back isn't it? The one with the pink hair…"

Sasuke's eyes held nothing as he continued to look on forward. He raised a pale brow and shook his head, "She your girlfriend?" Sasuke looked at him in the corner of his eye. He was getting irritated, "No," he answered head strong. The boy scoffed at his leader, "Were you at least attracted to her?" Sasuke's eyes narrowed, "What do you want, Suigetsu?" The wielder of many swords laughed out, "It's not what I want, it's what you want," the last Uchiha finally turned to his teammate. "I'm listening."

"The guys who did the autopsy of that chick in the Akatsuki uniform want to know if they could buy her from us." Sasuke sighed out that he didn't care and that Suigetsu should've known he wouldn't. Why was he wasting his time? He thought the human experiment would have something worthwhile to say to him. "Patience, I'm getting to the good part," the dark haired teenager frowned and narrowed his eyes that were flashing red. Patience? What the hell is that? Sasuke, sure as hell didn't know. "They were sort of freaked out because they couldn't determine any causes of her death. I think you should check out the corpse with your Sharingan before we "sell" it to them." The dark haired avenger raised a brow, "Whatever for?" Suigetsu stared at him for awhile before breaking his mouth into a sharp toothy grin.

"Isn't it obvious?" Sasuke blinked and stared back. Apparently it wasn't.

Suigetsu rolled his eyes. "So we won't be cheated out of information. They want a body that has no indication of its cause of death and they want to buy it? Doesn't that seem a little suspicious?" Sasuke had to admit that his teammate did have a point but he didn't like the factor of being dragged to kami knows where to confirm some foul play in the black market. It didn't make sense anyway. There was no justice in the trade, save for the reassurance of well priced goods that would otherwise be too expensive or unavailable to the public. Nevertheless he was curious about the cause of death and if it would bring some closure on Sakura's whereabouts he guessed he should deal with it for now.

They had stopped at another inn along the shallows of the ocean. It was uncharacteristically accepted by Sasuke considering decency. The establishment was clean, had no room for whores, its entertainment consisted of music at its underground restaurant, and was cheap. Right now he was at the restaurant and had barely touched his tea. He shrugged and asked Juugo to tell Karin that they were going out. The big man nodded his head, keeping his eyes trained on the musicians playing a gig on the stage.

Putting down the money for the tea he didn't drink, he scanned the crowd for Karin to make sure he could leave in peace. Of course he didn't care about what she did with her time but her habits still annoyed the hell out of him. Every time he wanted to set out, knowing that she wasn't there to leave with them, she suddenly appears and latches onto one of his limbs in a heartbeat.

Resisting the urge to rub his arm as if a ghost of a wound was there, he walked towards the exit of the restaurant, and then minutes later left the inn with Suigetsu. An hour later he found himself in probably what was considered the worst part of town. He inwardly shrugged and asked his teammate how far was their destination. Without turning back he said, "I guess you should start reading that book again. It's another hour's journey." Sasuke's eye twitched. If this whole tripped proved detrimental to his time he would let Suigetsu know in a heartbeat. On the other hand Sasuke seriously considered the suggestion offered. It really wouldn't hurt.

_May 10__th_

_Dear Diary,_

_I arrived at the village a quarter to midnight and couldn't sleep so I'm writing. It was at that point that I knew no matter what happens to one person the whole world goes about its business. It never stops for one person or even more to express empathy. It still spins and orbits the sun. It still reassures the coming of the four seasons and global warming. I hate the world right now. My village is calm, safe, and powerful. The very opposites of how I feel. It isn't fair. Tomorrow, or is it today? In the morning I have to give in my mission report. I spent hours figuring out what to put down. Of course I left out a couple of things like being raped, losing my mind, killing humans as if they were livestock for dinner. Only kami knows what good it would do my personal bubble._

"_What's my personal bubble?" you ask._

_From now on, if I suffer more than what people expect me to, I'll keep it all in this bubble of mine. No one besides shishou or Shizune senpai will know that I lost my parents. No one will know that I was raped. I'm pretty much sure the list will go on as time goes on. No one will know but this book. I'll write down in the context "No one will know…" and let's leave it at that. I don't know why I haven't gone crazy yet. It's strange. I guess writing down one's thoughts consistently does wonders for one's mentality. Maybe… wherever I go I'll take it with me, just to make sure I'm not crazy. I can't risk others knowing about it and I definitely have to cancel the bond between my own diary and Ino's._

_I could just see it now. Whenever something bad happens, I'll write it down and she'll be exposed to everything. I can't deal with that type of exposure. I'm already too ashamed to face Tsunade-sama in the middle of the night. I don't even know what I'll do once I meet others my age or older tomorrow. Will I freak out and start attacking them out of fear? Kami I hope not._

_No one will know that I'm a crybaby._

_I just read over my rant above. I sound really selfish and depressing. I'm tired but I know I can't sleep. I couldn't sleep yesterday. Looks like a case of insomnia. I'm afraid of seeing my failure in my dreams. It may not seem very serious to others… to fail once in awhile. The thing I despise most is failure. I've only done so three times in my short life, wait four, and each time leaves me a wreck. Like right now. I can't sleep, I'm no longer a virgin, I'm weak, I'm paranoid, and I think I got a cold._

_--Sakura_

...

_As she predicted, she wasn't able to sleep at all. After she stopped writing in her diary she held it to her chest as if it was her life line and stroked at its embroidery. Sakura stared at her ceiling until the light of dawn filled her room. It was only till 6 that she realized she was silently crying. Her analytical mind was still working somehow telling her that she was under a lot of stress. She absentmindedly nodded to her thoughts and got up to prepare for the day. The girl was a bit iffy about leaving her diary on the counter near the sink. She turned on the shower and stared at the steam rise from the surface of the tub the hot water fell from. Sighing she left it on the floor instead where she could keep a better eye on it, not realizing that she still scrubbed at herself as if something was stuck to her skin._

_After drying off she grabbed the diary and never let go as she fixed her hair and dressed. Everything seemed slow today. She didn't know why. Sakura's steps were so light on the stairs as if she was performing stealth. 'Stealth in my own house… So much for getting rid of my paranoia. As if contemplating between pants and skirts wasn't enough,' Sure enough, Sakura was wearing pants today. She preferred skirts more than anything but now she felt as if she should have them on 24/7. After what happened to her a couple of days ago she conjured up the idea that it would feel more like insurance than anything. If she had another sexual predator it'd be more difficult to get to her core that way._

_It was stupid, yes, but it made her feel better. The more comfortable she appeared the less suspicious people would be. The girl made her way over to the refrigerator and stared at almost nothing. She forgot to shop for food before she came back. Now that she thought about it she wasn't hungry. It was a mental reminder and she realized she should've written it down instead. As the door to the food preserver closed Sakura got an idea._

...

_May 10__th _

_Dear Diary,_

_You're serving as a to-do-list today. I've finally decided to call you… well "you" on account that you seem as important as a living thing to me. It makes me feel better so deal with it._

_No one will know about this "To-do-list."_

_Find a way to sleep._

_Break the bond between Ino's diary and my own._

_Come up with a water proof seal for you._

_Put a seal on you so no one will be able to find a way to open you and see all my secrets._

_Get rid of the emptiness that I feel._

_Get stronger._

_Buy more pants, capris, shorts for summer._

_Buy groceries and force myself to eat._

_I think that's enough for now._

_--Sakura_

...

Sasuke raised a brow. Although she said that the book was insurance on her sanity he thought she already lost it. The last page screamed insecurity and obsession. He looked up before turning the page. They were outside the town now and heading towards the mountains. He figured it made sense. No government would allow unauthorized autopsies for customers that happened to be S-class criminals. He looked at the snow caps covering the pinnacles of the mountains ahead. It was cold enough to preserve the bodies that they were given on a yearly rate.

...

_Peridot eyes surveyed the village slowly coming to life. Everyone looked so damn cheerful and bright that Sakura "absentmindedly" shielded her eyes from the sight a couple of times. The Hokage's apprentice didn't care if she left nearly half of the people on the main road confused on her way to the tower. It literally felt like she was a sloth trying to catch up with all of the short spanned bugs buzzing by it. Greetings of "Good morning!" went through one ear and out the other. What she did notice was that if she could help it, she would subconsciously avoid the males in her path. Sakura frowned. No one else seemed to notice that she did this but then again no one else seemed to be watching her either as she felt she was being monitored._

_It was stifling and she needed some relief soon. Chakra pumped all the way down to the soles of her feet helped her reach the roof of her destination in three leaps. The kunoichi sighed as she surveyed the public go about their business. She needed to train herself to act normal. "Sakura is that you?" The girl stiffened in response with utter fear rolling off of her in waves. She didn't even sense the presence behind her. Slowly turning around and willing herself to breathe sounded a lot easier than done. What met her eyes was a familiar figure of a Jounin with grey hair, an orange book in hand, standard blue and green uniform, a mask that covered most of his face, and a hitai-ate covering an eye that she knew he wasn't born with._

_After fully facing him she still couldn't relax and berated herself for it. This was Kakashi-sensei. Not a rapist. She trusted him with her life. He wouldn't do anything to harm her in anyway. 'Right?' she asked herself. Inwardly shaking her head of her doubts she answered, 'Of course. What the heck is the matter with you, Sakura?' He seemed to notice the war within her green eyes and narrowed his one slate visible one. "Is everything okay? You look a bit tired." This time Sakura outwardly responded, "Other than the cold I think I caught yesterday, I'm fine. Did you just come from a mission, too? I haven't seen you in awhile." She changed the subject with a bright smile, surprised she was doing so well with the façade. He seemed to become a little wary of her but was overall, relieved that his student that was actually staying home was alright._

"_Yes, I did. Lady Hokage seems to be working us all to the bone." He paused for a minute observing her more._

_"A little tired," was a sugar coated way of telling the girl that she looked horrible. It was obvious that her mission took a toll on her. The 13 year old, pink haired girl had red bruises all over her skin, a scary contrast to the rest that was pale. Her cheeks were a little flush and there were dark circles under her eyes. What mission exactly had the Hokage sent her on? The girl looked like the wind could knock her down if it wanted to. He received the news that she had just turned Chuunin and was proud but a bit worried. Sakura was the weakest out of all of Team 7. She wasn't exposed to too much danger because he and the boys had protected her from the worst of it._

_He regretted doing that to her. The girl had to figure out things the hard way and it was his fault. The forlorn man reached out to pat her head, if not for her comfort, then for his own. All that mattered was that she was fine and now strong enough to manage herself. He didn't have to worry about her as much anymore. As soon as he touched her she backed away immediately. Puzzled he looked down at her wide green eyes. The girl looked absolutely terrified. What did he do? Most importantly, what happened during the mission, to make her act this way towards him?_

_His slate eye asked her what was wrong but all she did was look down once she calmed down. "Ano… sorry sensei. I'm not a kid anymore. I'm a Chuunin, remember? I can handle anything!" She lied, gawking pointedly at him as if disapproving of the gesture. She really wanted that hand on its usual spot though. It was a form of comfort. Sakura frowned knowing that it couldn't be the case anymore. Fear of men was the comfort zone's blockade. 'That was so lame! Now he's going to investigate. Stupid! Stupid! Stupid!' His own gaze softened as he brought back his suspended hand and looked at it. He sighed turning to the Hokage faces. They were beginning the construction of Tsunade's visage this time. He didn't think he'd witness two christenings of Hokage sculptures on the mountain during his life time. But he was._

"_It's alright. You may think that it's uncommon to be anxious after a tough job but it isn't. Just promise me to get some sleep, okay? It does wonders." He had to restrain himself from touching her again. It was a habit that he had developed after his students accomplished something that he thought was important. Instead he gave her a hidden knowing smile. Sakura was stunned that Kakashi saw through the lie. The girl knew that she was a bad liar but no one confronted her about her fibs before. Relief washed over her when she noticed that he suspected nothing more. Or seemed like it anyway. She looked down feeling a blush form on her cheeks as her body temperature went up._

'_I'm so horrible. If anything, Kakashi-sensei is like a father to me. I just hurt him,' "H-hai, Kaka-sensei," she said the confirmation so fast she clipped his name in half. They both blinked at the nickname. Surely it was inappropriate, given the positions of status. She shot her head up ready to apologize but stopped once seeing a blush of his own cover a part of his cheek that was visible. It made him happy that she called him that. She could see the grin poking out from his mask. Sakura's shoulders slumped down as the familiar look of a stare took over in fascination. The unintentional moniker would stick from then on. It was like a daughter calling her father "daddy" instead._

_Affection for a male figure, accept Sasuke and maybe Naruto, was strange to her. Sakura never had a father. Well she did, but she didn't remember him much and felt nothing close to sadness when learning of his death. It was cold-hearted she knew and it was strangely his fault. Sakura never knew what her father looked like and only knew him from letters. The Haruno clan had disapproved of her birth outside of his marriage with a peasant girl, her mother, so they made sure that father and daughter wasn't exactly close. Ridding her thoughts of her biological father's estrangement she watched Kakashi bid her goodbye and a promise to see her later. She nodded dumbly and felt an odd sensation of warmth surround her heart._

...

_May 10__th__,_

_Dear Diary,_

_No one will know that I consider Kakashi sensei as a father._

_I avoided every other male but him. At first I treated him as if he was a disease but I realized he never would hurt me. He's always protected me and helped me out. It made me feel horrible like how right after Tsunade, drunk as hell, told me I looked like crap. "Go get some rest and come back a week from now," she orders me. I don't know if she said that because she was being considerate or intoxicated but I accepted her "order" all the same. I guess I'll start with my to-do-list, starting with the last one. By the way the smudge at the beginning of the sentence is NOT from a tear._

_--Sakura_

...

She sounded normal and on her way to recovery in the last passage. He wasn't worried in the least considering the last time she saw him she looked completely healthy. Sasuke couldn't possibly fathom the transition from a wound like that to a healed but barely noticeable scar. The confidence she had to install into her mind that she wouldn't get hurt again must've been hard.

"We're here," Suigetsu announced.

Dark eyes covered by dark bangs surveyed the area and the breath released in the cold atmosphere. He hadn't really paid attention to his surroundings while reading so he had no idea how far up or deep in the mountain he was. Spotting a huge iron bolted door, he saw the white haired boy walk up to it and knock three times. A portion of it slid for a peep hole. "Oh it's you," Suigetsu raised a brow but the person behind the door didn't elaborate. He couldn't hide it though. The man was expecting someone else. "Who's your friend there?" The sword wielder smiled ruefully. "That's all he is. Don't worry your pretty little head about it. Just let us in. I imagine he's freezing." Sasuke noticed the jibe but ignored it. He prided himself on not being able to be provoked by idiots like him.

The peep hole slid closed and in the seconds that they waited for the door to open the clanking of keys and a series of locks could be heard. It was obvious that this business took no chances. A terrible shrieking of rusted metal sounded through the cliffs that surrounded them as the door opened. Suigetsu walked in first, whistling at the new bodies that they had since he'd been there. Sasuke walked in next and looked at what he was admiring. A pile of naked infant bodies was on the floor. Blood was seeping from the collection and spreading on the floor. You could tell the man had cleaned up what he could. He was glad that Juugo wasn't here. The man would go crazy from the sight alone.

"Dropped off an hour ago by another customer of mine… They were slaves that couldn't handle the trip to Earth."

The caretaker of the place, Sasuke assumed, eyed him warily with a nervous smile. He was a man of his late forties, balding, skinny, tall, and pale. He looked more like an undertaker with the attire he donned and his facial features. The man seemed like the walking dead himself with his sunken in cheeks, dark circles around red eyes, pupils dilated surrounded by icy gray irises. He had on a white medical coat over a black turtle neck and slacks. For some reason Sasuke was reminded of that bastard Kabuto. Don't get him started on that pathetic excuse of a human being.

The avenger had found himself staring into the blue eyes of a particular infant that looked like Naruto. _'Where did that come from?'_ he thought. He looked at the poor boy some more. The last emotion he ever showed this world was fear as it was stuck on his mug. Blood dribbled from the boy's mouth down to his sandy blonde hair as he was hanging upside down on top of the mound. There were female bodies too that were missing heads, arms, etc. When the man said "trip" Sasuke knew that he meant "slaughter."

They were probably crying so much that their captor became tired of them, decided to get rid of them, take their valuables (clothes, dolls, keepsakes), and dump them at this morgue where no questions would be asked. Orphanages, normal morgues, and open villages would ask questions. It was deeds like these that made Sasuke feel like a saint. He followed Suigetsu and the caretaker that was later introduced as Mako. There were others there as well. Some looked like they worked there, others looked like them, and others (though clearly customers) did not look like them. Why was this? Two of them, he knew, were Daimyo's of the Fire country. Who had died, that was so important, to make them travel all the way into Mist where there was no safety?

"The one in red killed his wife over a money dispute and the other had his rival killed so he could take his land. I was told that it took the utmost difficulty getting here without looking suspicious. They even had to hire rogue ninja such as yourselves."

Sasuke stared at the man that obviously enjoyed himself with the details of his swindled customers. He was sick, the avenger could tell. The three men rounded a corner in which there was a stair case leading downward. At the base of the steps, although the last person in line, Sasuke could see that there was a door very much like the one at the entrance. When they reached where his line of sight showed him Mako shoved a strange looking key into a hole. Anyone could tell that this door was tended to more than the one above. Sasuke smelled oil in which was probably used for the door's bolts. A chilly air rushed past them all and gave them a whiff of what a hospital usually smells like.

Bleach.

Medicine.

Vomit.

Blood.

Suigetsu practically skipped to the body of Konan, the blue haired woman they had found in the water a couple of days ago. She was naked and her only covering was a thin white sheet and lay on a metal table. A fluorescent light hung above her and illuminated her open lifeless eyes. It was obvious that none of this bothered any of the men much. Sasuke had seen worse but it still annoyed him how he really didn't know anybody "normal" anymore. Was it really too much to ask? Without warning the Sharingan was activated and Sasuke felt himself scanning the body as Suigetsu asked. It was then that he realized why they couldn't figure out the determining factor of her death. The woman was affected in a molecular way.

He couldn't explain it even if he wanted to. The woman was there but then again she wasn't there. The atoms that made up her whole being were just floating there. They would connect for one moment in one spot and separate in another. Technically the body was supposed to be dust. What kept it together was the water it was submerged in. What exactly did Sakura do? He knew that the green snow he'd witnessed a couple of days ago was responsible for this. Would he and the others, who came in contact with the strange precipitation, end up this way as well? Sasuke tilted his head. No, they wouldn't die, or disperse into millions of molecules, not yet anyway.

He remembered the sensation once touching the green substance. The chakra was obviously healing chakra. He actually believed the technique she used relaxed muscles, healed wounds, and got rid of colds. Now that he thought about it Juugo didn't have any urges to kill in awhile. Juugo also had a cold that mysteriously disappeared without any treatments. They needed to go back and get him checked out. Sasuke walked towards the exit and Suigetsu called after him.

"Give him what he wants," he told him in a strong voice.

...

Peridot orbs looked up at a comforting baby blue sky in wonder. Strands of pink hair blocked her vision as a strong wind blew by. Eyelids closed tight over the orbs to protect it and pale hands brushed the tendrils away. The owner of those features breathed in the air that was blown, deeply.

INHALE.

EXHALE.

INHALE.

SIGH.

INHALE.

When the wind calmed down to a gentle breeze the lids slowly opened again to the sea before her. Her heart felt like it was ready to burst. She hadn't felt like this in a long time and gasped at the sensation of something wet streaked down her cheek.

"Free," chapped lips whispered to their owner.

It wasn't enough for her. The same pale hands wiped at the tears frantically but just as happily. A tongue slipped out from the young woman's mouth to lick her cherry red lips. The nightmare was over. At least it seemed a nightmare as soon as she woke up from what felt like a deep slumber on a shoreline. No one was there but she had to yell it anyway. To let someone… something know… other than herself. She extended her fist to the sky as if in thanksgiving to the kami. It had to be said again this time in victory.

"I'M FREEEEEEEEEEEE!"

Seagulls heard her as they squawked back giving her the impression of a "Congratulations!" The sky heard her as it echoed back what she declared, giving her the impression of derision. She inwardly shrugged and laughed running around in the waves like a stupid child but she didn't care. She was free. She laughed as she fell backwards into the water. The water rolled past her reaching up to her chest, covering her neck but not her face. Her ears were plugged in but she didn't care. She was free. She was wet but she didn't care. She was free. She was hungry but she didn't care. She was free. She was tired and stiff but didn't care. She was free.

The girl couldn't wait to tell her diary. She shot up forward in realization. Where is her diary? The girl looked around. None of her other stuff could be found either. Something felt like it dropped in her chest. Another breeze flew by and she breathed in again deeply.

INHALE.

EXHALE.

INHALE.

SIGH.

INHALE.

"It's okay," her traitorous lips mumbled. It was like its own set of chains itself. This is what she thought. But inside she was crying. She lost herself. She lost a friend. Her only friend. She has other friends but… she won't face them just yet. She'll enjoy her freedom while it lasts. Her friends will take her back to the village and she'll feel chained up again. "Maybe 3 to 4 more months," she tells herself.

THREE MONTHS.

FOUR MONTHS.

THREE MONTHS.

FOUR MONTHS.

FIVE MONTHS.

FOUR MONTHS.

SIX MONTHS.

The kunoichi, M.I.A., nodded to herself. "Six months it is."

Preview: _She couldn't take anymore. Even though it was just a week she wanted to sleep. Not being able to relax and feel that she could let it all go was getting to be too much. Keeping her diary was the only way to comfort her this past week. It was the only thing that was able to steady her. Sakura looked at the needle then out the door of the office she helped in. No one was there. It wouldn't hurt to try it one time. Sleep. That was the goal here. Nothing else. Kaka-sensei told her sleep was important and the girl couldn't help but violently agree. The needle pricked her skin then forced the rest of its spine into a vein and released its contents. The kunoichi felt her nerves go numb. A giggle left her lips and she covered her mouth with one hand as she ripped the metal away and threw it in the garbage with the other._

(A/N: Oh my gawd this took a long time. I think I'm ready to faint. Sakura in the current time is finally introduced. So did you guys like it? I tried a few new things. The experiments didn't take as long a time the plot did though. If any of you accuse me of KakaSaku I'll send my rabid man-eating bunnies to your front door. Dead serious. My brain is so annoying sometimes.)


	5. Fall From Grace

(A/N: I know, I know, I know! Violet Kat you suck! You took years to update this, blah, blah, blah. It's up now so read. :D)

**Disclaimer: What do you think?**

**Title: Saga of the Sakura Archives**

**Entry 4: Fall From Grace**

_Sakura felt kind of guilty about what she was going to do, as she took a deep breath, right outside the Yamanaka flower shop. It was a bit busy today, and her friend-sometimes-rival was too engrossed with her customers to notice her acting like an airhead. 'Get a move on forehead!' the pinkette yelled at herself. A couple of the Yamanaka's neighbors looked on in curiosity, wondering if she'd had another fight with her friend._

"_If only that were the case," she mumbled to herself. _

_ It would be a lot easier to do this if she was mad at Ino but she wasn't. Sakura was too busy being scared of her own shadow to be mad at anything Ino said or did. The teenager was also too tired to have any energy to retaliate even if she did get offended. It had been 2 months since Ame no Tohru and she still couldn't get a proper night's rest. He was right about taking a piece of her with him… a huge piece, the bastard._

_ She'd learned to adapt herself to the fatigue she'd been developing and was acting semi-normal around anyone male. Fortunately, or unfortunately, she hadn't seen Kakashi since her mini freak out. So she wasn't able to see if her efforts made any difference. It was kind of taxing, this cover up of hers. She wanted to sleep so badly. It isn't normal to get used to daily hallucinations and terrifying nightmares waking you up at midnight. Sakura would feel so disgusted by the sweat and tears that poured out of her body that it would remind her of that night all over again, making her attempt to remove her skin in the shower. She vaguely remembered being called haggard by Ino a couple of days ago… or was it weeks?_

"_Hey billboard brow!" Sakura nearly jumped out of her skin as she found herself facing Ino's annoyed baby blues._

"_I-Ino?"_

"_Yeah?"_

"_How did I-," Sakura took in her surroundings._

_She had somehow missed, actually walking into the store and towards the counter that her friend was manning today. That fact made Sakura even more desperate, anxious, and determined to get it over with. She was starting to lose it near the 3 month mark. Ino gave her an impatient stare, waiting._

"_Look, you're scaring off all the customers, if you've got nothing to say then help me out."_

_There was NO way that was going to happen… at least not today. "Um, remember that diary you gave me awhile back?" Ino pouted in disappointment and started to put some freshly cut flowers into a bouquet. Put out, but listening. This made it a lot easier for Sakura to lie, as she wasn't making any eye contact at all. So she pretended to be interested in what Ino was doing._

"_You mean the one we barely talk to each other in?" Ino registered with a bored tone._

_Sakura smothered a wince into a minute twitch, just a random muscle spasm… yeah right. She couldn't risk Ino seeing one of her soul baring entries so every time she wanted to write something devastating, she'd spy on Ino until the girl fell asleep. Then she'd jot down her feelings for hours back in her own room. A bit creepy, but it kept her sane… most of the time. There was several times where she'd find Ino holding open the diary and writing in it or just staring at it, waiting for Sakura to write. She hated to admit it but it crushed her that she already had a friend who was ready and willing to keep all of her secrets and help her through the hard times. But she was ashamed to share her mortifying experience with the blonde… or maybe to prideful._

"_Sorry about that. I keep weird hours. SinceI'mnotpartofasquadanymore."Sakura was still looking down but saw the other girl's hands stop mid motion after she got it out of the way._

"_Oh," was all Ino said in a soft tone. That subject was still so raw, especially when Sakura brought it up all on her own._

"…"

"… _do you at least use it?" Ino tested out._

_This time Sakura looked up with a grateful and honest smile on her face. The blonde looked a bit mystified at the heartfelt expression the pinkette showed._

"_Everyday."_

…

_May 13th_

_Dear Diary,_

_Today, on my day off, I asked Ino where she bought the diary. It was not easy, especially since I haven't been "writing" to her in awhile. I admit it's not fair that I see some of her entries when she gets the urge to write while I'm aiming to prevent her from doing the same to me. It really isn't and it makes me feel like a brat. But geez, it's always like pulling teeth when it comes to asking her a simple question._

…

"_Why do you want to know?"_

"_No reason."_

"_Oh well then I guess there's no reason for you to know."_

"_This little…"_

"_What?"Ino was smirking as she gave the pinkette a hard time. Her irritation mounted._

"_I wanted to know if they had any other interesting products because I wanted to redecorate my room." That part was of course a lie._

"_Oh."_

_Then Sakura ended up staring at the blonde arrange flowers for 10 minutes. Ino could get seriously annoying when she wanted to be. _

"_Well?" Sakura prodded._

"_Well… the diary was handmade by an artisan who has a shop outside of Stone. I got it while on my last mission there."_

…

_You ever have that jarring feeling where your heart skips a beat then drops into your stomach? That's what I experienced as soon as she said let it slip. It was highly uncomfortable. I guess my disappointment must've had made its way on my face because Ino tried to make it all better by giving me the exact location and name of the store, so the next time I had a mission near the area, I'd be able to "Pop by, as she said."_

_Let me explain something about the travel laws of Konoha. Shinobi must "file" to temporarily leave the village on personal grounds. You can't just have it in your mind to just up and leave like that. It's not a normal village in which your business is your own. If your leave without any prior and proper notification you could be considered as AWOL or simply a missing nin. You will be hunted by your fellow comrades in arms. Depending on the degree of seriousness of your disappearance, the time, and your shinobi level you may be considered to be taken in dead, alive or both._

_Those who wish to leave the village, whether temporarily or permanently; must state their reasons, the duration of the absence, and reveal their supposed destination. Not only do we have to go through that torture, (the department who's in charge of this has really nasty people working there) we also have to be put on a waiting list based on the nature of our leave, our shinobi level and social status. If you have to visit your sick Aunt Chisa, and you're a first generation Chuunin you have to wait until the Genin of a prominent shinobi clan with a blood line limit finishes their shopping spree. Even if you signed up first!_

_I am not the first person to say that the system has flaws. Civilians have a less severe process but they go through one of their methods as well. Konohagakure wants to keep tabs on their shinobi to make sure that they don't defect and become potential threats in the future. It's ironic because they had established this rule right after shishou had decided to just up and leave on one drunken night out. That and I'm still in training. It's suspicious for someone like me to have no ties to that area to want to travel at such a crucial time in their shinobi career. I'll have to wait until I receive a mission to go there which could take months. Though I could just leave like shishou did, without the alcohol part… that's not happening either. This is so depressing; it seems lately I've been taking 2 steps forward while taking 1 step back. I'm barely able to accomplish anything because of my teacher's whims! I'm going to try to take a nap now. I'll feel better afterwards… I hope._

_-Sakura_

…

When Sasuke and Suigetsu got back to the inn at break neck speed he made a subtle suggestion to the others that they get a check up as soon as possible, successfully scaring them out of their wits. If he was alarmed, to the point where he cared enough for their well being, than there was great reason to be anxious enough yourself. You'd be wise to do so. While he was running, he kept checking with the Sharingan but didn't see any evidence of his own molecules mimicking what happened to the woman at all. It was better to be safe than sorry. He didn't want to be whole one minute and dust the next any time soon.

He wasn't going to be killed by some unknown jutsu, that even his own eyes had the trouble detecting the cause of. Sasuke didn't have anymore goals to attend to, but that didn't mean he'd forfeit his life because it currently didn't have a purpose. So what if he decided not to live in the village anymore, where he'd be most useful, safe, and occupied? There were other ways to survive in this life, to make money, to simply exist. He'd already gotten used to the routine of occasionally evading Anbu forces from all the hidden nations. He was a survivor and living, however aimlessly or humbly, a life. Sasuke was not going to give up the ghost because of his potentially crazy ex-team mate. He glared at the text tucked under his arm.

…

Somewhere on the shores of a beach, Sakura sneezed, and thought that maybe she should get out of the water now. Especially since it seemed a typhoon was rolling in. Her green eyes reflected the lightning off in the distance on the water as she stared out into the sea. It was a couple of miles off but moving in fast. The waves were already mirroring its impending brutal influence, rolling towards her and submerging her legs up to the calves. She vaguely remembered surfing when she was younger, during the summer, before the…

"Excuse me, miss?" The kunoichi swiveled towards the nervous sounding voice.

It was an old man. Sakura's pupils dilated dangerously as she emitted killing intent on impulse. All the man saw was a teenage girl in shredded, soaked, clothing staring back at him. As if she was lost and yet completely aware of where she was. It was an odd contradiction that popped up in his mind as he contemplated her presence. The poor guy couldn't understand why this forlorn looking girl seemed threatening to him. She was all skin and bones, as if she hadn't had eaten a proper meal in weeks and had various cuts and bruises littering her person. Her face was completely devoid of emotion. His heart went out to her but he felt as if he was dealing with a wild animal. It was rude of him to think that way, but she reminded him of the stray cats that the local youth would always hurt for kicks in their spare time. The felines were always weary of everything and everyone, as if they couldn't trust their senses, keeping others at a distance by their eyes and body language.

She didn't reply to his call so he took the liberty of carrying on the conversation. "Hrm… there's a pretty bad storm headed this way. You should take shelter soon."

Sakura already knew that but she couldn't move. He was just an elderly local who was nice enough to let her know that her life was in danger. But she couldn't help but read into it more. Maybe the organization had sent in spies after they realized their lone female member wasn't coming back. 'Too bad,' she thought smugly, 'the witch is dead.' She regarded the individual who called out to her. She had been too preoccupied with her thoughts to sense him and she couldn't help but suspect him of foul play. The young woman was completely still taking him all in. He was perfectly composed though he seemed to be smart enough to keep his distance. As if he understood that she appreciated her personal space in a generous amount of meters. The wind howled harshly at them both, blustering so hard that she had to fight to keep her balance.

Annoyed, she looked back at the storm that really was closing in fast, as if it were a wolf on a hunt for prey. Sakura regarded her own body. She had a slight case of malnutrition, resulting in a significant loss of body mass, which is why the wind had the potential of knocking her over in the first place. The young woman had almost forgotten the stranger was still there as she missed something he said, and looked up with a puzzled expression. He looked almost relieved she'd heard him, as if he assumed that she was deaf or ignoring him. She kind of was and was a little embarrassed. How long had it been since she was in polite company? It felt like eons, besides, it had only probably been a day since her opponent's death. That organization wouldn't move until a couple of more days after noticing her lack of contact. Sakura could stay here, wherever here was, for 2 days max.

"Do you have anywhere to go?" The man asked. She shook her head and looked past him up into the hills where she could see a bit of light pollution emerging in between its mounds. It seemed that there was a village a couple of miles away. The old man noticed her eyes drift towards the nearest village.

"If you wouldn't feel too offended, could I offer up my home to shelter you from the storm? Anri, that's my wife, would be delighted to have the company of another woman. I fear she's getting bored of my companionship as of late."

"…" Sakura must have given him a look because he added.

"I reside closer to the coast than the village. It would take hours to get there by foot. A warm bath and an equally warm meal along with some," he coughed a little, "clothes as well. I promise you won't regret it." Sakura's ears picked up a murmur of thunder behind her and nodded.

"By the way my name's Watanabe Souichi." He gave her a gentle smile as he turned to where, she assumed, was the direction of his house. It was a total of 10 minutes later, when she'd remembered her manners and whispered,

"Sakura."

He jumped, a little startled as he heard her voice. It was a bit raspy and small, so small. Souichi hadn't expected her to speak at all. He didn't believe that she was incapable of speech rather he suspected that she just didn't want to. She wasn't looking at him and had a slight blush that wasn't there before, as if embarrassed, though he couldn't imagine why. It took him awhile to realize that they had stopped walking and that she was a considerable distance away and behind him.

"It is a pleasure to meet you Sakura-san."

…

_ This shift was killing her, literally. It had been 6 days since she last slept. Her eyes hadn't even considered closing themselves for relief. She had to remind herself to blink and was so wired and tense. A civilian man had accidently bumped into her on the weekend and it took all of her strength not to scream and send a hundred kunai with paper bombs attached into his body. After that, all of her efforts to seem normal were shot right out of her. Sakura kept looking over her shoulder every five minutes, had twitched at every sound she heard, and had frequent panic attacks that would render her unconscious and gasping for air._

_ It is a proven fact that a human being, no matter how strong or advanced they were in any aspect, could die after a week of sleep deprivation. The brain couldn't handle that much lack of rest. Sakura was nearing the completion of a week of involuntary induced insomnia. She was terrified that she'd drop dead in the middle of the street sometime soon while doing some inane errand for the 5__th__. Lately Sakura had found out that she had a rather active imagination. Every time she couldn't sleep she imagined that Ame no Tohru was still alive and that she had the privilege of torturing him for revenge._

_Sasuke's drive for revenge was now understandable only it was much more agonizing that the source of her anguish was already gone from this world. Sakura couldn't do all the things she conjured up. Sakura knew that this was unacceptable and that her mother, who was a civilian, wouldn't approve of such thoughts. Just the other day she hallucinated her mother's stern frown and disapproving green eyes, the same eyes as her own, while in the middle of training. It felt like hours when she snapped out of it and found that she'd just been standing there with a dumb look on her face and a tree as her only companion._

_Sighing at her predicament she stared at the clock across the wall. Today she was helping out in the hospital utilizing her skills for planned operations on civilians. If she was really good at what she did she would soon help out on emergency surgeries for shinobi, coming in from high risk missions with serious trauma attached. It had to be done if she was going to be an accomplished medical nin in the field any time soon. Her teacher was thinking of dumping some more missions on her after this, the village still had a shortage that would be solved in 3 years. But in the mean time Sakura and her peers had to step up their game. Sakura felt she was losing though._

_She couldn't take it anymore. Even though it was just a week she wanted to sleep. Not being able to relax and the desire to let it all go was getting to be too much. Keeping her diary was the only way to comfort her and able to steady her. Sakura looked at the needle then out the door of the office she helped in. No one was there. It wouldn't hurt to try it one time. Sleep. That was the goal here. Nothing else. Kaka-sensei told her sleep was important and the girl couldn't help but violently agree. The needle pricked her skin then forced the rest of its spine into a vein and released its contents. The kunoichi felt her nerves go numb. A giggle left her lips and she slapped a hand on her mouth as she ripped the metal away and threw it in the garbage with the other unmentionables._

_Looking around, apprehensive and a little high, she went back to the drawer she'd found the drug from and stuffed a bunch in her backpack. Her inner was screaming at her that it was wrong and that she was absolutely crazy. Sakura agreed with her and the inner shut up, probably not knowing what to say to that. Sweat rolled down her neck as she kept her senses on high alert so that she wouldn't be caught. 'I'll replace them later,' she told herself, zipping up the bag. The urgency to go to sleep was creeping up on her so she decided to get a move on and decided to sign out of the hospital for the day. She did some hand signs and found herself at the front desk. A couple of minutes of idle chatter with the clerk, one last teleport home, and her eyes were ready to shut close. Her world became dark as she descended into a world of darkness. The last thing she saw were the steps leading to her bedroom door._

…

_May 17__th_

_Dear Diary,_

_For the first time in days I was finally able to have a whole 10 hours of sleep. I'm smiling as I write this although I shouldn't be. If I was found out, I would be seriously reprimanded by both shishou and the Board of Directors. I'd be fired from the hospital and probably arrested. Imprisoned then tried and stripped of my rank. That's what scares me. I became a medical nin to be of help to Naruto and possibly Sasuke in the future. I became a kunoichi to protect my mother and make something of myself. I became a shinobi to better myself physically, mentally, and spiritually. Why is everything going wrong? Why am I so weak? My first kill was last week so why wasn't I satisfied that I had matured? In terms of first kills I've probably surpassed Naruto and Sasuke by now. It was always rewarding to know that there was something I could do that they couldn't, well at least not right away._

_But now? No one will know I have occasional hallucinations during self-training. No one will know that I'm a criminal that has yet to be discovered. No one will know that I've gone through one-fourth of the hoarded sleep inducing syringes. I feel pathetic and yet I'm still smiling. I think I'm going crazy. Or maybe I already am?_

_On another note I decided to spend my hard earned money to replace the syringes I stole. Someone will notice soon and push for an investigation when they can't be found. And even though I complained about it before I filed for temporary leave from the village to go visit relatives in the country of Earth where Stone resided. My mother originally came from Earth and my father, I was told came from a prominent noble clan that supported the Stone village financially. I'm visiting family on my mother's side. I've never went to father's family because they tried to have my mother killed when she was pregnant with me so… yeah. I may have his last name but that's it. There's no such thing as immunity in Earth. They're very unyielding just like their shinobi village name._

_It's been awhile since I last saw my grandmother and I don't think I ever told her that mom died a year ago. I know what you're thinking. Shame on you, Sakura, for not keeping up to date on such an important topic. But life happens… as a kunoichi of the Hidden Leaf that had just survived an invasion, (okay the invasion was a year ago, so sue me) I had to help rebuild it. I also had to grow and make good on my promise with Naruto to bring back Sasuke together next time. That required strength and skills that had to be acquired at a fast pace. I'm no blood line limit wielder but I have made, in Shizune's own words, "astounding progress" so far. I only hope that I'm able to keep up such results with so many things on my plate right now._

_It's 5:15 right now and I have training with shishou right now so I have to get going. Wish me luck… and peace of mind._

_-Sakura_

…

"Anri dear, I'm back with company." The old man called out into the house.

The two were now in a little cottage on a hill a ways away from the beach. It was surrounded by trees and had no neighbors. If this wasn't a trap and just good will from one human being to another it would be good cover from the organization that would definitely hunt her down. This Watanabe Souichi character was around 73 years old with a wife and a couple of kids who live in the village that she had spotted on the coast. He has 2 grandchildren and 1 great grandchild on the way. He used to be a fisherman but retired when his hip went out five years ago. His wife was a seamstress for kimono that were bought by well to do families in the nearby village. Why does she know this? Because the old man would not stop talking the whole way here. It was obvious that he, as a civilian, was very accomplished. He was happy and whole unlike Sakura.

She frowned at her surroundings not particularly offended, but it had been awhile since she'd been polite enough to smile and compliment them on their taste in terms of interior decorating. It had been years since color and harmony in a room mattered to her. But she could tell that the house was filled with a lot of memories of love, life, and happiness. Sakura shivered a bit which was odd considering that the place was very warm unlike outside. Rapid movements of shuffling sounded beyond the walls of the room they were currently in as someone hurried to their location. Sakura resisted the urge to force killing intent out like before. That would be rude and totally uncalled for.

A moment later and a woman around the same age as the old man waddled through a doorway. The brightness of her green eyes startled the kunoichi a bit and the woman seemed to mirror her own surprise.

"Oh my, you poor thing! Where did you find her Souichi? She looks like something the cat dragged in." Sakura looked down feeling her ears go red.

"Along the coast. It looks like she was shipwrecked but she has yet to tell me the real reason."

"How did you get like that on the coast, sweetie?" The woman prodded.

"Now, now. Miss Sakura, that's her name, doesn't speak much so don't make her feel uncomfortable. I took it upon myself to offer her shelter for as long as she needs it." The kunoichi was squirming inside. They were just so kind. They also talked a mile a minute. Sakura forgot that old people liked to talk a lot especially to tell stories of their past. She felt the urge to check for genjutsu.

"Well, I stand by my husband's decision as well. I would've done the same thing if I was in the same position. Come along dear so I can draw a bath for you. I was about to start dinner so you're lucky you came when you did. I'll be able to make enough for all three of us. My your pretty under all that skin and bones. You wouldn't mind dressing in one of my old kimono's would you?"

Sakura's head spun a little bit trying to keep up with all the yammering. She shook her head and stamped down the reflex to throw her throw her through the dusty blue walls of the hallway as Anri grabbed a hold of her arm to pull her further into the house. In a panic she turned her head to look at Souichi who had a sheepish smile on her face. He knew his wife was pushy, it was all in the look, so Sakura bore it. They were being… kind and it would be rude to screw up her face in annoyance. So her visage only looked a bit confused as she was dragged to a bedroom.

Preview: _"What the-," Sakura stared down at the woman on the floor before her. There was so much blood, but it was old and finally browning, the sound of flies buzzing all over the carcass echoed in her ears. Tears snuck their way down her face as she choked on the smell of rotting meat. She slapped her hand across her mouth and nose so that she wouldn't breathe any of it in anymore. It had been days since the death occurred. Sakura couldn't believe she was mentally diagnosing what had happened to her own flesh and blood. "Guess I don't have to tell her what happened to mom anymore," she laughed out. The familiar taste of bile came to her tongue as she ran outside and threw up her lunch on the front porch. Sakura would never look at kimchi the same way ever again._

(A/N: I'm glad that I'm writing again. I'm taking a break from college and trying to find a job in the mean time, so yeah, it's pretty self explanatory. Also on another note this story follows the manga up until Sasuke kills Itachi. He doesn't join Akatsuki in my story.)


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