Disclaimer: Me no own Naruto and 'tis is applied to all the other chapters. (Nice English, I know. Do you still wish to continue? ;P)

A/N: The main theme song I'm using is "Scarlet" from the anime "Ayashi no Ceres". There's a link to it on my profile.

A young maiden laid in a deep pit of sorrow and despair. Beautiful pink hair spread around her heart-shape face in ghostly elegance. Dead emerald eyes stared back into nothingness. The shining background of blazing white light outlined her soft curves; a common courtesy for an angel.

A fallen angel.

Scarlet

haruka na hoshizora ni yume wa mada miemasu ka?
osanai ano hi yori azayaka desu ka?

mune ni afurete tsunoru omoi
nemuri wasurete jounetsu no iro

tatoe tookute mo kitto tadoritsukeru tsuyoku shinjite'ta
ano hi no watashi ga ima mo kokoro de nemutte-iru

GARASU no bara yori mo hakanakute moroi no ni
yume miru koto wa naze sadame na no deshou

futatsu no yume ga ai ni natte
ai ni narenai koto mo atte

hito wa hitori da to wakariaitai no ni nante muzukashii
kotoba wa muryoku de toki ni wa gin no NAIFU ni naru

hito wa hitori da to wakariaitai no ni nante muzukashii
kotoba wa muryoku de toki ni wa gin no NAIFU ni...

tatoe tookute mo kitto tadoritsukeru tsuyoku shinjite'ta
ano hi no watashi ga ima mo kokoro de nemutte-iru

Can you still see your dreams in the distant, starry sky?
Are they more vivid than they were when you were little?

When one forgets to put the emotions that overflow in her heart
to rest, they burn the color of passion.

I used to believe without a doubt that I could reach my dreams, no matter how far off they were.
But that me from long ago now sleeps inside my heart.

Dreams are more fragile and fleeting than a glass rose,
so then why are we destined to dream?

Sometimes two dreams can turn into love,
but there are also times when they can't.

Even when they're alone, people want to share their feelings, but it can be so hard.
Words are powerless to express one's feelings, and sometimes they become a silver knife.

Even when they're alone, people want to share their feelings, but it can be so hard.
Words are powerless to express one's feelings, and sometimes they become a silver knife.

I used to believe without a doubt that I could reach my dreams, no matter how far off they were.
But that me from long ago now sleeps inside my heart.

Chapter 1: Changes

Although it was difficult to tell in the darkness of the night, long pink hair was dancing freely to the rhythm of the wind. The moon seemed abnormally large from the treetop of an ancient pine. Its luminous shines reflected off the armour of its admirer. What kind of person admired the moon in the mist of battle?

Dark shadows scurried through the tree, surrounding the ancient pine where the maiden sat.

A person who was winning the battle of course.

Three kunais flung themselves at the goddess who was sitting peacefully on the treetop. Not only were the kunais easily dodged, but was deflected back toward their original owner. One of the shadows crumbled to the ground. Violent shouts escaped from his comrades.

Two slim legs dangled from the branches of the pine tree in absolute gracefulness. Long hair continues to bide to the cold wind's silent will as a few strands found their way to the front; covering their owner's face. Slender fingers pushed the strands back, revealing a blood-stained ANBU mask with only sinister slit for eyes; a mask too hideous to belong to the face of any animal.

The remaining shadows charged.

For many people, their story will start off under the blinding morning sun. But for Haruno Sakura?

The maiden stood up; the tips of her blade shone with an eerie glow under the glowing moonlight.

Her story started in the dead of night with only the moon as her witness.

Sunlight shone into a relatively large room. The door leading to the bathroom was partly open, revealing a clean white tub and a sink that was blocking the lavatory out of view. Beside the bathroom was a walk-in closet that split into two parts; one for clothing and another for weapons and scrolls.

At the opposite of the room was a queen size bed, with no bedposts. On right-hand side of the bed was a bed stand, and on top of it was a digital alarm clock that read 7:35. Beside the clock was an empty glass cup and some white round pills encaged in their aluminums package. Next to the bed stand was a comfortable leather armchair with two unrolled scrolls still scattered on top of it.

On the left hand side of the bed was a simple but richly coloured wooden desk with a table lamp perched on the top left hand corner. A tall bookshelf made out of the same material was placed perpendicular with the desk, back against the wall.

A little towards the left-hand side of the bookshelf was the white translucent curtains that fluttered gently in front of the open French doors which led to the balcony. Directly across from it, on the other side of the room, was the entrance door to the room. On the left hand side of the door, was a decent size T.V, angled to face the bed and the armchair.

A huge, red mat with a hollow white circle was centered in the middle of the room. At each corner of the room was a tall floor lamp with cylinder heads that faced upwards, (one beside the armchair, one trapped behind the desk and the bookshelf, one by the bathroom door and balcony doors, one by closet door and the entrance door. )

The wind that blew into the room gave it an extremely fresh scent. It was definitely one of the most well-kept rooms in all of Konoha. The only thing wrong with the room was that there was no decorations… at all. However, this did not seem to bother its female inhabitant, who was now stirring up from her bed.

Strands of long pink hair fell across her face as Sakura reached for her alarm clock and gave it a swift glance. "I overslept…"

Getting out of bed with her petal-coloured hair still covering her eyes, Sakura stepped out onto the balcony.

The balcony was connected to the room next to Sakura's bedroom, which was used as a medical study office. Neatly lined up on the balcony was pots after pots of various plants. Though some of them were quite beautiful, none of them were used for decorations. They were all part of Sakura's medical studies.

Leaning gently onto the railing, Sakura continued to let the morning breeze play gently with her hair. Her lavender short shorts framed her buttock nicely as her long pink hair covered most of the white tank top on her back. Suddenly a passer-by on the busy street spotted her. He quickly adverted his gaze and fastened his pace by the double. Others did like wise. A small sadistic smirk appeared on the girl's pink lips. Those foolish villagers weren't expecting to see her because she always left her apartment before dawn.

Her smirk left her when Sakura heard a loud ruckus inside her apartment. A low groan escaped her throat and right on cue the bedroom door flung opened. A seventeen-years-old boy stood at the doorway with his hand still on the door knob which seemed to be the only thing supporting him. Breathing heavily with his blond bangs covering his eyes, the boy panted, "H-he's back…"

A bead of sweat slid down his cheek as he raised his head. Crystal blue eyes shone brightly as Uzumaki Naruto smiled up at his pink haired friend. "He's back, that bastard Sasuke is finally back!"

The girl by the balcony slowly turned around, her silky hair was blowing gently behind her. The translucent curtains flew in front of the pink haired beauty, blocking everything from the waist up. When the wind died down and the curtains backed away, a cold pair of dull green eyes was staring emotionlessly back.

'What of it?' Sakura wanted to ask, but not wanting to ruin Naruto's good mood, she just smiled and walked over to her blue-eyed friend.

After giving him a nice hard whack on the head, Sakura threw him out of her room head first.

"Next time…remember to knock," grinned Sakura with closed eyes before slamming the door shut, and leaving a semi-confused Naruto blinking after her, wondering what he did this time.

Tsunade sighed as she carelessly threw the file she was reading back onto the desk. It was the same old boring crap over and over again. Lifting the terracotta cup to her lips, the female Hokage barely had a sip of the warm liquid before a loud clash of the door made her choke on her tea.

"What's the matter Shizune?" The Godaime asked, wiping her mouth with the back of her hand.

"Missing-nin Uchiha Sasuke is at the gate right now, demanding to see the Hokage!" Shizune exclaimed, panting heavily.

"What?!" Tsunade raged, getting up from her chair so fast that she knocked over the tea cup.

"What should we do?!" Shizune panicked. "He even brought three other followers with him!"

Taking a deep breath, Tsunade thought for a second before ordering Shizune to send him to her.

"I have a bad feeling about this," whispered Tsunade before facing out the window and closing her eyes to meet darkness.

"Sensei…"

"Sakura…" spoke the Hokage's voice in the dark turmoil.

"I c-can't…. I d-don't know w-what to… please… sensei… h-help me…"

"It'll be alright… we're all here for-"

Hysterical laughter of mockery shot through the darkness. "All here?? All? Please…no more lies… I c-can't take it… n-no… no… NO!!"

Tsunade's eyes shot open to the sound of the knocks on the door. Rubbing her temples with her thumb and her fingers, the Hokage sat back onto her seat. Damn… she was getting old.

"Come in."

The door opened and in came one of the last remaining Uchiha and his little minions.

"You have some nerve coming back in broad daylight Uchiha," Tsunade said, a hint of venom dripped from her calm voice. Sasuke stayed silent. His "friends", on the other hand, did not.

"Is this the famous sannin who knew that fucker Orochimaru?" Sneered a boy with white hair and shark-like teeth . "I was expecting to see a shrivelled up old hag. Hey miss, are you really Hokage Tsunade?"

Tsunade felt a vain twitching violently at her temple.

"She is, she uses her ninja art to disguise herself as a younger woman." The girl in the group replied, adjusting her glasses upwards. "Gees Suigestu, you're so useless."

"Shut-up Karin!" Retorted the shark boy, "You're so annoying! Right Juugo?"

The spiky hair boy in the back just remained silent as he gazed at Sasuke as if waiting for instructions.

Narrowing her eyes, Tsunade glared at Sasuke, "Just what have you come back for?"

Sasuke paused for a second before answering, "I want to join the Leaf again."

Sakura and Naruto walked side-by-side down the streets of Konoha. Villagers backed away as soon as they saw them. It didn't seem to bother Naruto (or maybe because he was so used to it) who had on his usual foxy grin. Sakura's face was passive, but she was secretly enjoying the fear of the villagers. Though after a while, that twisted enjoyment becomes so bitter that it made her feel sick to her stomach.

Naruto had on a simple black T-shirt with an orange spiral in the middle and a pair of beige paints. He wore a pair of navy blue sandals which was typical ninja footwear.

Sakura on the other hand, had on something much more flashier. Two Chinese buttons secured her strapless, red top which exposed her collar bones and extended down to her mid thighs, forming an upside-down "V" shaped around the stomach, revealing her bellybutton. A white belt wrapped around her waist, making sure the bottom part does not interfere by flapping too much. The belt also helped keep the very very short shorts in check. Though it was quite unnecessary since the black shorts was so tight that it was practically attached to the skin.

At the back of her red shirt was a white circle that represented the Haruno clan which was visible only once in a while when the wind blew the long pink hair aside. A semi-circle pouch that was attached to the belt and was wore on the back. Sakura also wore a shuriken/kunai holster on her right thigh and a pair of black, fingerless gloves. Instead of the typical ninja footwear (dark blue sandals) she wore a pair of black high heel boots that was laced from the bottom up.

The Konoha headband that once upon a time was secured tightly on her head was now dangling loosely around her neck.

The entire outfit, if worn by any other woman, she will be immediately labelled as a slut. But when Haruno Sakura wore them, the message was all too clear. "I'm luscious aren't I? Come at me if you dare, but don't complain when I chop your hands off."

"Come on, Sakura-chan!" Naruto whined, "I know there are faster ways to get to the Hokage building than walking."

Seeing that Sakura obviously wasn't going to make that effort, Naruto pouted and continued to yak away. "I was eating ramen as usual when Sai came along and told me he saw Sasuke and some other people following Shizune-san to see the old hag. Then I immediately came to get you. I still can't believe that after all these years… blah blah blah… "

Sakura restrain the urge to roll her eyes at the sky. A long time ago (two years to be exact), she would have literally jumped at the idea of seeing Sasuke again. But now… there was nothing. In all honesty, her pulse did not even quicken at all when she heard that the younger Uchiha prodigy had returned.

For Sakura, she felt no emotion. None at all. Just emptiness. If there must be an emotion presented, then it'll be hatred, but Sakura managed quite well to bury that inside. In fact, she buried so much, that she couldn't even remember what Sasuke looked like anymore. All she could recall was a blurry image of a boy with mid-night blue hair and raven eyes that can change into the famous Sharigan. Those were distant memories to her and everything else just seemed liked a distant dream.

'Have I really changed that much?'

The irony of the question was that the answer cannot get anymore clearer.

Suddenly, Sakura thought of something and stopped walking. Turning to Naruto, she asked, "What happen to Sai? Where did he go?"

Naruto stopped his rambling and concentrated very hard for one whole minute before replying, "I don't know."

The look Sakura gave him was chillingly cold, making him gulp and back away a couple of steps.

'Sai? Are you okay? What are feeling right now? Are you alone? Are you scared?'

Of course, her telepathic messages had no way of reaching him, but it still killed Sakura a little bit inside to ask those questions in her head.

"I hope he's okay," Sakura unconsciously said out loud.

"He's tough, you don't have to worry about him," said Naruto before grinning naughtily at Sakura, "I knew you still care about Sasuke! You can't conceal from me! Wahahahaha!"

Sakura sweatdropped at Naruto's stupidity and had to hold her arm back to prevent herself from smashing him into the nearest fruit stand. It was much nicer to just let Naruto live on his illusions.

After a while, a small smile appeared on Sakura's lips. It was one of her few true smiles during the past two years.

'I guess some things will never change.'

Tsunade was stunned at the young Uchiha's request. She had a hundred reasons regarding why Sasuke came back, but this was not one of them.

"May I have your reply, Hokage-sama?" Sasuke asked, eyeing the gawking Godaime.

Regaining her composer, Tsunade snarled, "Why do you want to come back?"

"Though I'll much prefer not having to answer such a trivial question, I guess it's unavoidable." Sasuke replied in the same monotone, "I've realize that I'll need the help of a village in order to track down and defeat the Akatsuki and Itachi."

Tsunade glared, "What makes you think I'll let you come back?"

"I'm the only one that can defeat Itachi," said Sasuke, hiding the smug tone very well in his voice, "If you do not accept my request, I can always go to another village that'll be more than happy to acquire my assistance."

"What makes you think I'll let you get out of here alive?" Tsunade snarled. She really hated the little punk's attitude.

All three followers of Sasuke reached for their weapons but stopped when their leader gave them a sharp glance.

The atmosphere in the room was so tense that the Hokage's pet pig backed away from its food dish in fright. Luckily, the atmosphere quickly depleted by the noise coming from outside the room.

"Hey!! You can't go in there!" A guard's voice yelled, but that didn't stop the door from banging open. In came Naruto with tears practically shining in his eyes. No one in the room (including Sasuke) was able to find the right thing to say.

"TEME!! HOW DARE YOU NOT TELL ME THAT YOU'RE COMING BACK!!"

The atmosphere was now changing into pure awkwardness. Luckily, again it was interrupted by a light, feminine voice.

"Naruto, where are your manners?"

A maiden stepped into the room. Her boots thumped gently as her headband shifted slightly against her collarbone to one side then back again. Graceful pink hair blew gently behind her (the window was probably open).

A political smile was pasted on her lips as she gave her sensei a bow. "Good morning Tsunade-sama, Shizune-san," Sakura's eyes wandered onto Sasuke, "and Uchiha-san, long time no see."

A/N: Well? What do you think?? I want your honest opinions!! XD

:remember to please review!!: X3

Lidiya