Disclaimer: Both characters and series of Naruto entirely belongs to Kishimoto.

This plot has been in my mind for quite a while now, and it's basely loose on a story I read but sadly, I have forgotten the name of said story. Well, actually, it is slightly based on quite a number of stories but believe me when I say that this is entirely different. This is one of those stories where Hinata and Sakura is betrayed by Rookie 12, yada, yada, they go to Akatsuki, yada, yada, all those stuff, but with a twist.

Note: Okay, so I will not be following the events that are currently airing in the series and some characters will be a tad bit out of character while some are REALLY out of character, but please bear with me. The story will most likely center on Sakura more than Hinata.

Chapter 1

The Mirror Shattered

"Step aside, Uzumaki."

"S…Sakura…"

"I said, step aside."

"What…why are you-"

"I don't have time for this. Step. Aside."

"…No."

"…and why not?"

"Because letting you pass is like giving you permission to break our bond."

Sakura has always been an open book. Her eyes always exposing the emotions that she felt. It was one of those things everyone considered as a fact, just like how they consider Naruto will always be a knuckle-head as a fact. She knew that. But, that's just it. She knew it all too damn well. She was always an open book. So, how would they know when she was suppressing the anger that her so called friends evoke when they criticize her when they think she wasn't listening? How would they know when she try to ignore the sadness that seems to fill her up when she slowly drifts away? How would they know when she was fighting back the urge to just scream her heart out or cry until tears can no longer fall? Never. Because they assume that any emotion that swims in her eyes is the emotion she is feeling. Because they assume that Sakura is always –and always be- an open book.

When asked, she never denied it. What's the use of denying? Everyone had already judged her and decided who she was. It will only start some rumors and unnecessary events if she were ever to deny it. So, Sakura decided to just go with the flow, and always be the open book everyone knows. It did her more good than bad anyway.

But, then again…

There are only so many cracks that can be made before something shatters.

"Foolish boy. What makes you so sure that I need your permission?"

"I'm not. The only thing I'm sure of is that either way…I'll shatter."

"...then congratulations. That makes two of us."

Seventeen-year-old Sakura Haruno groaned in relief as she fell on her comfortable couch. It's been a long and tiring day, and all she wanted to do right now was give her body a relaxing treatment. She could almost sigh in bliss as she imagined a nice warm and scented bubble bath. Oh God, what she would kill for something like that right now. Her daydreaming was cut short when a rather soft knock was heard. Quickly composing herself, Sakura straighten her back and answered the door with a strong 'come in.' The door swung open to reveal a nervous looking nurse with pretty brown hair and eyes. Sakura immediately distinguish her to be new, if the tugging of clothes and shuffling of feet didn't tell her that already. Fresh nurses tend to feel uncomfortable when in the presence of her.

"H-Haruno-sama, the p-patient in room 213 requested y-you," the timid nurse said, stumbling only in a few words that made Sakura sigh in relief mentally. Usually, they would stutter like crazy with only minimum words spoken clearly which would lead to her nodding and, after dismissing them, asking a seasoned nurse what the problem was.

"Thank you, Misaki-san. I'll be there in a minute," Sakura replied back smoothly. She almost giggled in amusement when the nurse bowed deeply and hurriedly shut the door. They are just too cute.

Sakura stretched as she stood up and smoothened down any wrinkles on her coat before walking to the door. After shutting the door tightly and locking it, –paranoia at its best- Sakura quickly made her way to the room. Fortunately for her and the patient, room 213 and her office is on the same floor. Though, she was thoroughly curious who would request her. She narrowed it down to one of the Rookie 12 but other than that, she got nothing. Her musing was short lived when she reached her destination. Giving herself one last look over, Sakura planted a smile on her face and pushed the door open.

"Sakura!" Sakura's smile twitched but nonetheless, stayed in place. Shutting the door behind her, Sakura could only curse in her head for her bad luck.

"Naruto-san…Sasuke-san," Sakura said, quickly scanning their bodies for injuries.

Yes, you read it right. The 'almighty' Uchiha Sasuke returned to village after four years of absence in a sunny, Tuesday morning. His return was a complete surprise to everyone, especially to the members of Team 7. It was so sudden that everyone, even Naruto, couldn't help but feel suspicious. Though, after giving a long explanation and throwing an insult to Naruto, we found out that he actually successfully killed his brother a year before but was told soon after that said brother sacrificed everything for the sake of the village. After giving it a quick thought, to which Naruto snorted –because one year isn't giving it a 'quick thought,' he said- Sasuke came back, deciding that it was what his dear brother would want for him. And after ending his explanation with 'dobe' everyone accepted him and his team, whom he brought when he returned, with the exception with a few civilians and her, just like that. Yes, Sakura did not fully accept him –he fuckin' broke my heart to pieces and left me in a cold, hard bench, was her excuse- and she still doesn't.

She thinks she never will.

"What's up with the '-san' Sakura?"

"It's a policy in the hospital to always greet your patients formally," Sakura answered confidently, despite the fact she just made it up.

"What?! I never heard of that!"

"Why would you, dobe? When you hear things, it goes in one ear and out from the other," Sasuke said, not missing a beat.

"Hey! It does not!" Naruto yelled in defense but when the other two occupants, Sakura couldn't just resist it, gave him a knowing look; he pouted and crossed his arms. Sasuke's eyes danced with amusement as he glanced at the grumbling blonde while Sakura ignored him, intent on fixing up the broken arm as fast as possible.

"How did you get these kinds of injuries?" Sakura asked, curiosity seeping to her voice. She doesn't remember Tsunade telling her about any mission.

"We took training too far with Team Hebi and Kakshi-sensei today," Naruto replied sheepishly, oblivious to the fact that those words stung Sakura's heart. They didn't even bother to call me, Sakura thought scornfully.

"We thought you were busy with the hospital, so we didn't ask you to join," Sasuke said, noticing an emotion flash through his teammate's emerald eyes. Of course, he confuses anger with sadness, Sakura laughed at him internally.

"It's alright. You were right. I was quite busy in the hospital today," Sakura smiled brightly at them. She inwardly cheered when she finally finished mending the broken bone before hastily bowing and walking to the exit. She faintly heard the soft arguing of Sasuke and Naruto.

"Uhm…Sakura-chan?" Sakura froze as the hesitant voice of Naruto was heard, her hand on the handle of the door.

"Would…would you like to come with us for lunch? Everyone will be there…" Sakura bit her lip as anger and grief presented themselves in her eyes. And risk more cracks appearing because of the ignorance of my so called friends? I rather not.

"Sorry, Naruto. Maybe next time," Sakura replied, throwing a sorry look to Naruto over her shoulder before slightly opening the door.

"Please, Sakura-chan! It's been a while since we last ate together," Naruto cried, before nudging Sasuke and whispering, "Teme, say something!" Sasuke merely rolled his eyes.

"Naruto is right, Sakura. You've always been busy and we barely see each other. Plus, you could use a break." Sakura gritted her teeth, her grip on the handle tightening until her knuckle turned white.

"Well, alright," Sakura huffed before turning around, "When and where?"

"Seven o'clock at Ichiraku! Make sure you wear a pretty dress." Naruto ginned, glad that his female teammate agreed. Sakura shook her head at him before spinning around and leaving

"It always is, Naruto…" Sakura whispered as the door shut behind her.

"Don't leave, Sakura! Please…I...I just got Sasuke back…We were finally back to Team 7…"

"Team 7? We were NEVER Team 7, Naruto. We can never be. We weren't in the genin days, we weren't when Sasuke left, and we still are not, even with Sasuke back. It was just too impossible. Someone was bound to snap."

"Sakura, don't do this…if not for the team, then for me!"

"For you? You're one of the reasons why I'm doing this in the first place!"

"Sakura, over here!" Naruto yelled the moment he spotted Sakura come in the restaurant. That's right, restaurant. Over the years, the simple ramen shop slowly developed until it reached its current form. Naruto was a big help for them, considering the fact that he was Hokage-in-training and recommended Ichiraku to civilians and some ninjas.

"H-Hello, S-Sakura-chan," the shy Hyuuga Heiress greeted Sakura, who smiled brightly in response and immediately took the seat beside her. Glancing around the table, she could see Naruto chatting with Sasuke –though it looked one-sided- Shikamaru and Neji discussing some missions, while the others were simply waiting for the food to arrive. She also duly noted that Ino and K-

"Sasuke-kun!" Sakura winced at the volume. Never mind. They're here.

Looking towards the entrance, Sakura resisted the urge to barf right there and then. There, in all her red-headed glory, was Karin wearing a tight –as in second skin type of tight- bright yellow cocktail dress with black high heels. Beside her was Ino in a similar outfit, excluding the tightness and the color. She, at least, had some mercy on people's eyes.

Sakura suppressed a giggle when she saw Hinata cringe. Probably because of the horrible clash between Karin's hair and her dress.

"Oh…Sakura! You're here!" Sakura simply smiled at Karin's concealed detest. Don't worry, you piece of shit. The feelings mutual, her inner muttered in her mind.

Karin immediately sat next to Sasuke which, unfortunately, was beside Sakura. Ino, on the other hand, sat next to Naruto, right across Karin. This actually confused Sakura a bit. Did everyone purposely leave the two chairs vacant because they knew Ino and Karin would be there? Or was it just a coincidence? If it was the former, then thank God she didn't choose to seat there. That would have probably arisen some unnecessary drama because of the drama queen herself.

"So, how was your day, Sasuke-kun?" Karin practically screeched as she held on Sasuke's arm.

"You would know. You were stalking me the whole day." Sakura coughed lowly, replacing the giggle. She didn't bother to restrain the snort of amusement when she heard Karin mutter something that strangely sounded like, 'Damn, he found out…'

Noticing Hinata shaking slightly with her head down, Sakura could only guess she heard Karin too.

"Ne, Hinata-chan, how long do you think she will last?" Sakura whispered while nudging Hinata, who looked thoughtful.

"With the way things are going, I would say three minutes," Hinata whispered back. Sakura grinned, partly because Hinata didn't stutter.

"Meh…I'll give her one." Sakura shrugged while Hinata giggled. Sadly, they were both wrong because, apparently, they underestimated Karin's 'love' for Sasuke. After five minutes of failed attempts to capturing Sasuke's attention, Karin gave up and decided to chat with Ino. Before Sakura could make a comment, the waitress came with their food.

"Finally!" Sakura heard Chouji say and she couldn't help but agree. But she could understand. The restaurant was packed today that the only possible action you can do to get a seat is if you reserved one.

"So, Sakura," Sakura almost choked on her water when she heard Karin say her name, "How's life treating you?"

"Fairly well," Sakura replied, keeping her tone pleasant.

"I hope so. We haven't seen you for quite a while. Four months to be exact." Sakura almost frowned at those words. Keeping track of the time before we break, huh? Her inner sneered.

"It can't be helped."

"Yeah, but you don't even take the time to train with us anymore." Sakura's fist clenched under the table. Using the term 'us' as if she is part of the team! This time it was Sakura who sneered mentally.

"Like I said, it can't be helped. There are more important things to be done," Sakura said monotone. She didn't catch the look of sadness that flashed through Naruto's face when she said this.

"Oh? You don't consider your team important?" Karin smirked evilly at the pink-haired woman, who gave her a blank look.

"When you put me in a situation where I have to choose between saving a life or having a friendly spar with a team that I have barely have contact with, then I would have to say that, yes, I consider a person's life more important," Sakura replied, "Unlike you, Karin, I actually care for my fellow Konoha ninjas."

Well, that certainly got everyone to gasp.

"Sakura, how could you say that!? Of course Karin-chan care for Konoha!" Naruto said, staring at Sakura with wide-eyes.

"Yeah, Sakura! Of course I care!" Karin yelled almost in mockery that had Sakura narrow her eyes at her, her temper rising to its breaking point.

"…My apologies. That came out wrong," Sakura muttered, closing her eyes briefly to calm herself. She doesn't feel hungry anymore.

"I shall excuse myself. I forgot that I have paper works that I need to look over," Sakura said, rising up from her seat. After giving a slight bow, Sakura was off.

"Look at her. She talks as if she is higher than us," Ten-Ten scoffed at Sakura's back.

"Just because she is the head of the hospital, she thinks she's all high and mighty," Ino added, crossing her arms. Naruto clenched his knuckles and shut his eyes tightly. He knows she doesn't have any paper work. He came by her office window not too long after she healed them this afternoon.

Naruto was about to make a comment when a loud smack and a screeching of chair was heard.

"Excuse me, as well. I've lost my appetite."

Everyone could only stare in shock as the supposedly shy Hyuuga grabbed her shawl and walked away from the table.

"You didn't do anything, Naruto. You just stood there and let everything happen! You expected me to just ignore it and continue to smile as if it was nothing, just like how you all expect me to act! "

"S-Sakura, we-"

"Well, guess what Naruto? Your expectations are what driven me away! But, I guess it won't matter. Karin-chan could always replace me."

"Oh wait…She already did."

"Is that why you're leaving?! Because-"

"Because she took everything away from me! Everything I worked hard for! She took away my spot as Tsunade's apprentice, she took my spot on a team, Hell, she even took my –chan away!"

"Sakura…are you sure about this?" Hinata whispered as she stared at the packing girl.

"Never been so sure in my life." Hinata could only sigh and watch as Sakura maneuver all over the room, snatching clothes and other important objects. She knew it was only a matter of time before Sakura would shatter but she didn't expect it to be so soon. But Hinata couldn't blame her. She was so close to breaking, as well.

"Think about it, Saks. This is your home, you grew up here. Do you really want to leave?" Sakura paused mid-step, throwing a disbelieving look to Hinata.

"Are you seriously trying to make me doubt my decision?"

"Yes, but for the opposite reason. I want to make sure you have no regrets whatsoever if you leave." Sakura snorted at that.

"The only thing I would regret is probably not being able to beat the shit out of Karin." Hinata laughed softly at Sakura's words.

"Well, then…I'll see you soon?" Sakura's eyes snapped to Hinata, who took it upon herself to feel comfortable on her bed, and she momentarily froze in stuffing a shirt in.

"Are...are you serious?" Sakura whispered while Hinata nodded.

"I can't let my best friend go out all alone, now can I? Plus, I would be doing Father a favor," Hinata said, smiling sadly. Sakura smiled back with equal sadness.

What had happen to their lives? Everything is so different…so different that at times, Sakura would begin to question if it was all dream. But, she tends to dismiss it as fast as it came, because it would just fuel the gap in her heart when she realizes the harsh truth at the end of the day that it isn't a dream.

"But Sakura…"

"Hmm?"

"…I have a gut feeling something is going to happen…"

"No, Sakura! I am NOT letting you leave!"

"Your presence here means nothing. I would leave either way."

"Even if that's true, at least I know I tried to stop you. And if you really do leave, you will know that I won't stop at nothing until I bring you back!

"Aside, Uzumaki!"

"Never!"

"Naruto, are you okay?" Ino asked worriedly as she stared at the blonde-haired ninja.

"Yeah, why?"

"…You're crying." Naruto blinked.

"I am?" Naruto lifted his hand and touched his cheeks, "Huh…I am. Why am I crying?"

"Naruto, you sure you're okay?" Kiba questioned, his face, along with everyone else's, worried.

"…It won't stop falling," Naruto whispered as he rubbed his eyes furiously. When that did nothing more than get his shirt stained, Naruto gritted his teeth in frustration.

"Why won't it stop falling?"

"I won't hesitate to use force, Uzumaki. Move aside before I make you."

"I said, no!"

"…So be it."

"Sakura, what are you-!"

"I need to go," Naruto said, standing up urgently.

"I need to go…" Sakura whispered to Hinata, who only nodded at her statement. Opening the door of Sakura's apartment, the two girls exited.

"…I'll meet you soon." Sakura smiled slightly as she walked side by side with her best friend.

"You know where to meet right?"

"Yup. How could I forget?"

"C'mon, c'mon…please don't be true…" Naruto muttered as he vigorously leaped from one house to another.

"I think I'll head out from here," Sakura muttered as she estimated the distance of the village gate. Hinata hesitated but nodded anyways. Giving a hug, she whispered,

"Be careful…" Sakura's eyes softened as she deeply hugged back.

"I will…" And with that, Sakura and Hinata parted ways.

"She's…she's not here…" Naruto whispered in relief. He fell on his knees as he tried to stable his breathing. Finally calming his body, Naruto slowly stood up with a grin. As long as she isn't here…

"Step aside, Uzumaki."

His grin instantly dropped as dread filled his body faster than he thought was possible. Eyes wide, body tense, and pale as a ghost; Naruto robotically twisted his body and gasped out,

"S…Sakura…"

"…Goodnight."

"I'm sorry…Sakura-chan…"