Naruto 1. Prologue

**Wolf** (AKA: little.red's alter ego with a penchant for the cruel and sarcastic…also enjoys midnight walks and eating little children, usually likes to pick his own prey but will work for hire)

**Little.red** (AKA: your stunning authoress who enjoys writing enough to take all English and creative writing courses in university, has a fear of the telephone and tends to start things but not finish them)

**Reader** (AKA: you, the wonderful person reading this with that look on your face that wonders if the person who wrote this is even halfway sane and, who will, at the end of this chapter, no doubt –because you're so very nice and wonderful- review)

**Disclaimer** (AKA: the 'I don't own Naruto so don't eat me' speech)

**Sacred Innocence**

Beginning

"Itachi, what's wrong?" Itachi glanced up angrily at his father, wondering if the man was truly human.

"What do you mean what's wrong, she's just a little girl!" His father shrugged carelessly, his mouth forming into a disapproving frown.

"So? She was created in order to breed with the strongest Uchiha to create a child that would hold the ultimate power of the sharingan within its grasp. Just think of the power our clan would hold with such a tool at out disposal." Itachi stared at his father, feeling slightly sick. He had seen many things in his short lifetime, hell, he'd killed many men in more ways than he should have had to know at his age, and he had always known that his father was power hungry.

But this? This was something else entirely, this was worse, it was true insanity, the kind that continued to grow, corrupting all it came into contact with. For once in his life Itachi was frightened, but it wasn't for himself that he felt fear, it was for the little girl in the picture and what his father planned to do with her and eventually her future offspring.

"No." It was the first time he had ever denied his father, but in this Itachi knew he had to, he couldn't do it, he couldn't take such a young girl, not even old enough to know a thing about real life, and bring her into his father's corruption, into his plans, he couldn't, especially with the innocence he saw shinning through her eyes even though it was only a picture.

"What did you just say?" His father's face was slowly turning an angry purple, his eyes feverish and hard, yet also fearful, because his father knew he couldn't overpower him, so his father was left with the one choice he had always used before, intimidation.

"Listen here you little brat, you'll do what I tell you if you know what's good for you, don't forget who owns this house and who leads this clan." Itachi took a calming breath, looking once more at the picture his father had given him, seeing the innocent smile already coated with a sadness of the pure, no, he couldn't aid in the corruption of such a creature.

"I said no father." His father seemed to realize that intimidation and threats wouldn't work this time because his eyes grew even colder and he spun on his heel, throwing his parting words over his shoulder before disappearing entirely.

"Fine then, you may be the strongest Itachi, but Shisui is almost as powerful as you, and he at least knows how to follow the orders of his betters. I had thought to make you into someone the Uchiha clan could be proud of Itachi, but I see it is Shisui that will get that honor." Itachi sat back and glared at where his father had been, digesting his words and cursing inwardly, knowing that his father was right and that Shisui wouldn't have a problem going along with the plan.

Shisui was ambitious and coveted power, it was one of the reasons Itachi had become friends with him, because it was a personality he knew how to deal with and admired in some way, but Shisui wouldn't say no, he didn't have a conscience, he wouldn't see the innocence shinning up from emerald green eyes. He would have to be stopped, no matter the cost, just so long that that innocence remained intact.

Itachi stared out at the devastation, at the blood and death, even as his brother lay unconscious on the cold earthen floor. His father's words from after he had discovered that Itachi had killed Shisui still rung in his head.

"_It matters not who it is, understand me boy, so long as there is just one Uchiha left standing that girl will be used for her purpose and the most powerful Uchiha ever created will be born, there is nothing you can do to stop it."_

But he had, he had stopped it, he had killed his entire clan, but he couldn't kill his little brother. He couldn't destroy innocence for innocence; he couldn't kill his own brother, not even for her. So instead he let his brother live, but he had turned Sasuke's mind onto one thing, revenge.

He knew how Sasuke worked, his little brother would focus only on getting revenge, on killing him, and thus, he would never seek out the girl and even if she came to him, unknowing of her part in the plot, he would ignore her, he would be blind and she would remain safe from taint.

Yes, she was safe now, that little girl could live out her life in peace. And yet, he didn't know why he had gone to such extremes, he couldn't understand, all he knew was that there was something in her eyes, something that needed to be protected above all else, something he wanted to keep intact, something he would go to the ends of the earth to sustain.

Looking out once more at the destruction he had wrought for one little girl he quietly left his village, his home, his life, whispering a few last words into the night.

"Stay innocent Sakura, stay pure little blossom."

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Well, that's the prologue for you, hope you enjoyed it._ Review, it makes me like you..._well...that and type more because people actual read what I write, but let's not get into that shall we? 


	2. Chapter One

Thank you for all the reviews, they were awesome _and ego boosting_ I loved them. And yes, just to warn you, I will be one of those evil writers that doesn't thank you individually and only answers questions that won't be answered in the story as it progresses. Why? _Because I'm running for the Evil Representative (vote now)_ ah, no, it's because I'm already skiving off my small mountain of homework to write this and get it to you, and the less time I take writing the intro _which everyone skips anyways_ the more time I have to write a chapter that everyone can enjoy _or so I tell myself_.

**Wolf** (AKA: little.red's alter ego with a penchant for the cruel and sarcastic…also enjoys midnight walks and eating little children, usually likes to pick his own prey but will work for hire)

**Little.red** (AKA: your stunning authoress who enjoys writing enough to take all English and creative writing courses in university, has a fear of the telephone and tends to start things but not finish them)

**Reader** (AKA: you, the wonderful person reading this with that look on your face that wonders if the person who wrote this is even halfway sane and, who will, at the end of this chapter, no doubt –because you're so very nice and wonderful- review)

**Disclaimer** (AKA: the 'I don't own Naruto so don't eat me' speech)

Okay, so this is for ANBU Inu, I'm sorry for your loss (yes, overused, sappy and cliché by hey, it works).

**Sacred Innocence**

.::Thoughts::.

Sakura sat on the bridge, her legs stuck through the gaps in the railing posts and swinging back and forth, dangling just over the clear water below. She had a day off from the hospital and she was enjoying it, or so she told herself. But she wasn't, no really, having a day off gave her too much time to think and reflect and wonder what happened to her life and her view of the world.

And so, with too many thoughts running around in her head and causing havoc, she had come to the old meeting bridge of Team 7, plunked herself down and decided to stare out at the water like a lump. Yes, she was having immense amounts of fun. If Ino had been there Sakura was sure she would have dragged her off somewhere and not given her even a second to think about anything.

But Ino was currently on a mission with the rest of her team, with Kakashi replacing Asuma as their team leader. Sakura snorted slightly. If she and Naruto had thought that their team was changed without Sasuke they were left floundering for something to hold onto when Kakashi was moved to another team. No, very little of Team 7 remained anymore.

Then again, her team didn't go out much anyways unless it had to deal with Sasuke. Tsunade wanted Naruto in sight at all times, especially after Jiraiya had been declared killed in action. Tsunade never seemed to be far from her sake at all these days. Sakura wondered when her sensei would finally break from the stress and pain.

No, Sakura reflected, Konoha was nothing like she remembered it as being in her childhood. It wasn't a happy place anymore, well, at least, not for her. Oh, people were sill cheerful and oblivious to the outside world, but Sakura knew that Konoha was on the brink of war. She knew that the Akatsuki were overdue and that they were coming for Naruto. She knew that Sasuke had been given up on by everyone but her and Naruto, and, worst of all, she knew that Naruto was slowly losing control of the Kyuubi and there was nothing she could do about it.

But all of that had plagued her for months now and it was nothing new. No, what had her running to a spot she usually avoided like the plague was her mother. Lately her mother had been acting strange, jumpy almost, and she kept begging Sakura to stop being a shinobi, to stop getting herself into such dangerous situations.

Sakura thought that it might have something to do with the fact that she had gone to the old Uchiha compound just to remember the Sasuke she used to know, and she had been caught in the middle of both Sasuke and Itachi fighting. She hadn't known what to do; she hadn't even realized they were there until she had walked into the secret chamber she had found. And there, she had found herself directly between the two brothers with Sasuke's chidori aimed right at her chest.

Everything got rather fuzzy at that point, she could remember Sasuke widen his eyes before narrowing them in determination, she could feel the pain as his chidori started to eat at her flash, and then the next thing she knew she was in front of the hospital with staff swarming over her and Tsunade shouting orders, bringing her inside. Nobody knew how she got there, all they knew was that a civilian had run in screaming for help and then they had found her, bleeding to death on the front steps.

Sakura liked to think that Sasuke had stopped and brought her there, but she knew it wasn't true, the best she could come up with was that her survival instincts had taken over and she had made her way unconsciously to the hospital while her mind repressed everything else, hiding from the pain. Still, she had almost died and while the wound had healed she still had a rather large scar in the middle of her upper chest.

Ever since then her mother had become different, not that Sakura blamed her mother, but really, she wondered how her mother, a civilian, had learned about the wound in the first place. Then again, the man that had found her had been a civilian and unlike shinobi they had trouble keeping potential gossip to themselves.

Sighing to herself when she realized that the day was almost over, Sakura lazily got to her feet and took one last look at the water below the bridge, stained orange from the brightly coloured sunset before looking away. She set off in the direction of her house, she was considering getting her own apartment, especially with her mother constantly on her case. Really, most shinobi moved out on their own at young ages, they matured much faster than civilians after all, plus, if Naruto could do it why couldn't she?

Shaking her head at herself, knowing that Naruto was much stronger than he looked and that she was too dependant on others to live on her own, Sakura opened her front door and headed straight for her room, pretending not to see her mother, perched on the couch and just waiting to launch into some speech about how she should become a citizen and put the dangerous life behind her. Sakura snorted, as if she could ever stop being a shinobi when it was all she had ever known and all the people she knew were shinobi.

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Well, that was the first chapter, hope you liked it _review even if you didn't. _I realise that my chapters are short (well, they seem longer when they're in my word program, it's actually quite depressing) but I like to change the point of view -_I have a short attention span-_ a lot and changing halfway through a chapter always seems strange to me, so I just start a new chapter. But hopefully as I go on my chapter lengths will grow. Thanks again for all you're wonderful reviews, they keep me typing _now if only I could live off of them. _Bye.

little.red


	3. Chapter Two

**Little.red** (AKA: your stunning authoress who enjoys writing enough to take all English and creative writing courses in university, has a fear of the telephone and tends to start things but not finish them)

**Reader** (AKA: you, the wonderful person reading this with that look on your face that wonders if the person who wrote this is even halfway sane and, who will, at the end of this chapter, no doubt –because you're so very nice and wonderful- review)

**Disclaimer** (AKA: the 'I don't own Naruto so don't eat me' speech)

Okay, here's the third chapter, thank-you so much to everyone that reviewed, you made me want to update as fast as possible. Enjoy!

**Sacred Innocence**

.::Beginning of the Last::.

Sakura groaned into her pillow when the tapping on her window continued. She already knew he was there, she had woken up the instant she felt someone's chakra outside her window and she had calmed down considerably when she recognized his chakra signature. Still though, she wished that Naruto would just use the damn door for once. Then again, most shinobi had forsaken doors altogether and always used windows, hell, Kakashi always seemed to make his way into Tsunade's office by the window whether it was open or not.

As he continued his tapping, growing increasingly louder as she continued to ignore him Sakura sighed animatedly to herself. If she was honest with herself she used windows to, doors just seemed obsolete, but the problem was that she had gotten hot sometime in the night and kicked off everything but her small tank and underwear. Sure, Naruto was he team member and sometimes they came out of a battlefield with very little of their clothes left intact, but this was different.

Sighing inwardly and telling herself to suck it up Sakura rose from her bed, kicking off her sheet in annoyance when it tried to keep her tangled in itself. She watched, somewhat humorously as Naruto's eyes seemed to bug a little and a pale pink stained his cheeks. Sakura frowned and looked down at herself when she noticed the blush, just to make sure she hadn't taken anything else off in the night. Seeing nothing else missing Sakura shrugged to herself, wondering why someone who had spent three years traveling with the most perverted man she knew of was blushing just because she was dressed in next to nothing.

She unlocked the window and moved away, heading for her dresser to grab a pair of baggy black pants and put them on rather hurriedly while Naruto climbed through her window.

"Wow Sakura-chan, you look even better when you don't wear-" Sakura cut him off with a deathly glare, daring him to continue his sentence on pain of death. Luckily Naruto had grown, if nothing else, a little smarter over the years and wisely shut up.

"What are you here for Naruto, it's too early to even be considered morning yet. Did something happen?" Sakura felt her stomach clench at the thought that someone they knew was hurt and her mind quickly went into overdrive, trying to recall who was on a mission that held potential risk at the moment, her mind instantly going to Ino and Kakashi's team. As though he knew what Sakura was doing, which he probably did Naruto quickly corrected her assumption.

"No. Everyone's fine Sakura, don't worry. But Tsunade-baa-chan wants us to come to her office right away, Sai and Yamato are already there, so we'd better hurry." Nodding to him and feeling much calmer Sakura ran a hand through her sleep-tousled pink hair before giving up when her fingers pulled painfully on the knots and she followed Naruto out her bedroom window.

When they reached the Hokage's tower neither of them bothered actually entering the building, both of them just using the window to get it, although Sakura wryly noted that Tsunade would be at least completely dressed, considering she didn't actually sleep in her office. When she and Naruto entered the office she glared at both Yamato and Sai for staring at her knotted hair that probably resembled more of a nest than actual hair before she took a seat in front of Tsunade.

"Good, you're all here, I have a mission for you all and I suggest you leave as soon as possible." Sakura frowned slightly at Tsunade, wondering what was so important that they had to leave before first light.

"What's going on Tsunade-shishou?" Tsunade looked at Sakura and then her gaze traveled to Naruto and stayed there, analyzing everything that went through his gaze.

"Sasuke's been spotted moving through Stone, I want the four of you to try and track him down but be careful, he's bound to be tracking his brother and I would prefer you four not to get involved with the Akatsuki at this time. Your priority is to bring Sasuke back alive, nothing else. You have no time limit, this is your last chance to bring him back, after this his death will be the only important thing to Konoha."

"What!?" Sakura winced at Naruto's outburst, but she didn't say anything, she understood. Tsunade was giving them a final chance, one last chance to save their lost team member from becoming another Orochimaru. She smiled slightly and clasped a hand over Naruto's mouth to stop him from talking.

"Thank-you Tsunade-shishou, we won't let you down." Tsunade nodded and took a sip of the sake she never bothered to hide at that time of the day.

"I know. I wish I could send Kakashi with you but I can't, and he'll be needed when he gets back, so Yamato will be your team leader. Go." All of them nodded and jumped out of the window, silently agreeing to gather their things and meet at the gates before first light.

Sakura raced home and quickly had a shower, for once not bothering to straighten her unruly hair, too worked up at the prospect of the true final chance to bring Sasuke back to care that her hair would dry un an unruly symphony of wavy pink strands. On her way out the door she grabbed her pack that was always kept waiting in case of an emergency. She took one last look at her small room, wrote a note to her mother that she would be gone for a while, and left. As she made her way to the Konoha gates her footsteps stirred the fog that sat on the ground coiled like a snake of some kind.

Sakura was relieved to see that Naruto was arriving at the same time as her and both Yamato and Sai were already there, meaning that they could leave immediately. A small tingle made its way down Sakura's spine, not because she was about to see her childhood love again, but because she and Naruto would finally have some semblance of closure, no matter the outcome, although Sakura still held some small hope that Sasuke would come back and complete their team once more. With a silent nod to each other they set off under the lightening night, beginning the final search for Uchiha Sasuke.

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Well, hope you liked it, I know, not much happened in this chapter, but hey, you have to start somewhere, and look, I sent them on a mission! _As though that's never been done before._ Anyway, tell me what you thought, bye!

Little.red


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