HEY! Decided to write a new story. Hope you guys enjoy this one.

For those who have read or maybe are reading my other stories...I have a writers block on those ones and I kinda don't like my style of writing so there are no updates for those.

But this story will be completed!

ENJOY!

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto

Chapter 1-Beginnings

As children, we've all been taught that if you poke and prod at something long enough it'll eventually break. Humans are no different.

You can say that she was pretty amazing. Nineteen years old and already a senior jounin, far surpassing other kunoichi's her age. But of course, this title was simply one of the many feats she accomplished throughout her life. At sixteen and barely a chunin, she managed to take down an Akatsuki. Seventeen, she finally fought as equals with her teammates, no longer being that same weak twelve year old that hid behind her boys. That same year, she and Naruto dragged their third teammate home and they were once again reunited.

Everything was falling into the right place. But of course, life happens. Just when you think everything is going great and you're finally happy, life decides you're too happy and will be the ruthless bitch it is and slam you back to reality.

When Sakura was eighteen, she realized just how petty and callous she truly was.

"HARUNO-TAICHO!" A petite blond girl whined as she playfully shoved the tall, broad male in front of her. "You cheated!"

The male turned with a smirk present on his handsome features. "You're just too slow."

A small pout made its way up the girl's face. "Just wait till Sakura-chan catches up. She'll totally punish you for cheating."

"Geez, you guys are worse than Naruto and Sasuke," Sakura wheezed as she finally caught up to her team.

"Ne, ne Sakura-chan, you saw him cheat, didn't you?" The blond girl now latching herself onto Sakura, big blue eyes stared back up at her. Sakura mentally rolled her own eyes. Seriously, this girl was supposed to be a jounin and yet her maturity level was below Naruto's.

"Yes, yes Akiko, you won," Sakura replied as she tried to shove the girl off.

"Sakura nee-chan, you've really fallen since the Uchiha returned. Not even able to keep up with us, and you call yourself a jounin." The male in front of Sakura scoffed.

Sakura glared at the red haired male. How dare he mock her? In case he forgot, she spent the last 14 hours trying to revive a half dead guy.

"Well, unlike you, I didn't just spend the last 14 hours standing around like some pathetic bastard," Sakura snapped.

The red head's glare hardened. "Why don't you just be grateful that I was there to protect your weak ass self?"

"Well, why don't-" Sakura was cut off when she saw a splatter of red streaks across the red head's vest. A sharp pain soon overcame her shoulder.

They were under attack.

"Shouta, prepare yourself," Sakura said as she got into an attacking position.

"I don't need you to tell me, damn woman," Shouta gritted back.

Sakura frowned, wanting to snap back but decided against it.

There were five enemies in total. It seemed like they were rogue ninjas from Rain. Gathering chakra to her fist, she slammed it down on the earth in front of her. One of the unlucky Rain ninja fell into the cracks.

'Good, one down 4 to go,' Sakura thought as she turned her body towards the remaining ninjas.

From the corner of her eye, she watched as her brother performed a series of hand signs before a large mass of water erupted from his mouth and towards his enemy.

Damn him and his affinity for water.

The battle was not difficult. In fact, Sakura saw a very clear chance of winning. However, what she didn't expect was the last ninja's sneak attack from behind. She watched as the last ninja charged at Shouta with his katana out in front ready to strike. Her brain screaming at her to warn him, but she hesitated.

"…SHO-"

"SHOUTA!" A new voice cut Sakura off.

Her head snapped to her left, just in time to see Akiko charge at the remaining ninja but the damage was done.

Sakura felt blood spray onto her face and vest. She watched as Shouta collapsed to the ground with a soft thud, blood slowly seeping out from the gaping wound in his back. The blood in her veins ran cold. Her brother was dead. She let her brother die when there might have been a chance that she could have prevented it. It was just that moment of hesitance where Sakura thought what it would be like if she wasn't treated like the outsider of her family.

She knew from the age of three that her family didn't truly want her. They've always wanted a boy, and when they finally did, she felt herself slowly being wedged out from her family.

"WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING?" Akiko screamed at Sakura as she tried to stop the blood from flowing out.

Sakura snapped out from her thoughts

'What the hell am I doing?' Sakura mused, 'I killed my own brother just so that I would have a chance of not being treated like an outsider.'

"HEAL HIM. YOU'RE A MEDIC, AREN'T YOU? DON'T JUST FUCKING STAND THERE. HEAL HIM."

Sakura scanned the wound and shook her head. "I-I can't. He's already dead," Sakura whispered.

"What do you mean? You've healed worse wounds then this. WHY AREN'T YOU DOING ANYTHING?" Angry tears flowed down Akiko's face, her tiny hands desperately trying to block any more blood from flowing out.

Sakura knelt down to Akiko's level and placed her hands upon the girl's blood drenched ones.

"When that last enemy struck him, he aimed to kill. The sword severed two of the major arteries to his heart."

Akiko's pulled her hands away from Sakura. Small shoulders trembled.

"Akiko," Sakura began.

"No, don't," she whispered, "Don't fucking touch me or talk to me. I saw you. You could have saved him. You saw the enemy. You could have stopped him, yet you just stood there. Shouta was right, you are a burden."

Sakura's eyes hardened. 'Burden.'

"How do you know me warning him could have saved him? What makes you so damn sure that if I warned him he would still be alive right now?" Sakura growled, getting angrier by the second. "By the time we noticed the enemy, he was already too close to Shouta. Even if I warned him, the only difference it would have made would be that he's stabbed in the front instead of from the back."

Akiko grabbed the front of Sakura's collar, who tried to pry her hands off. "Believe what you want, Haruno. But just remember he was your brother and you didn't even have the heart to warn him he was under attack."

Sakura's arms fell slack. Akiko was right. Even if there were no chance her brother would have made it out alive from the attack, at the time, a part of Sakura wanted Shouta to just disappear. If she had warned him, the sword maybe would have missed his vital arteries and he maybe would have still been alive.

Tears trickled down Akiko's face.

"You are a traitorous whore, you know that? So willing to sacrifice everything to save that Uchiha, yet not even willing to open your mouth and say 'watch out' to your own brother." Akiko dropped the collar of the pink haired medic in disgust.

"He's my teammate, he was there for me during my times of need," Sakura managed to choke out.

Akiko glared at Sakura. "AND SHOUTA WAS YOUR BROTHER. HE WAS YOUR GODDAMN FAMILY AND YOU KILLED HIM."

Sakura's knees felt weak.

She just killed her own brother.

And it was simply because she, for once, didn't want to be the outsider in her family.

Present time-

Sakura repositioned her medic pack. Slightly wincing as it pressed down on a small bruise located near the back of her shoulder blade. Damn stupid mission. Sure, it was easy enough. Get some medicinal herbs and report back to Konoha. But who would have thought a ninja of her caliber would trip on a rock and fall down a cliff.

Ok, so it wasn't so much of a cliff as to a steep hill.

Sakura sighed as her foot finally stepped inside her village. 'Finally home'

"SAKURA-CHAN!" A blur of orange and black tackled her. "We were so worried that something happened to you. I mean, this three-day mission took you a week. I thought you were attacked or something and that you were lying somewhere in the outskirts, bloodied and dying."

Ah, Naruto. Him and his dramatic and overly active imagination

"Sorry, finding the herbs took longer than I thought."

'Yeah, that and nursing my broken ankle from my oh-so-graceful tumble,' Sakura bitterly thought.

"Hn, glad you're back." Sakura peered over the blond's shoulder and stared dumbfounded at the brooding male behind the blond. Did he just show concern? Well, sure, he has become less of a jackass after the war, but still. Concern for her? "At least now the dobe will finally shut up."

Oh, now that's the Uchiha Sasuke we know.

"Ne, Sakura-chan, wanna go for ramen with us?" Naruto asked as he finally let go of the girl.

Sakura chuckled at the blond's eagerness. She had to admit, a week without Naruto's loud, obnoxious voice got her kinda lonely. Sakura inwardly scoffed. She never thought that she would actually miss the blond and his slightly annoying ways.

Hoisting the medic bag to her other shoulder, Sakura pinched Naruto's cheek. "After. Let me drop my bag off at home."

Naruto's grin widened. "Alright, see you at Ichiraku." With that said, Naruto grabbed the Uchiha and dragged him towards the direction of the ramen stand.

Sakura stared after her two teammates. A smile made its way up Sakura's face.

Sakura walked up the stony steps of her apartment. A small grimace made its way up Sakura's face. 'Wonder what the sight will be today.'

Digging into her pocket, Sakura pulled out a small copper key. Taking in a deep breath, she shoved it into the key hole and twisted. A small click could be heard in the empty hall. Taking the key out, she pushed open the oak door. The strong scent of alcohol wafted to her nose, wrinkling her nose she stepped in and quietly shut the door behind her.

The sight of broken bottles littered her hardwood floor coupled with a few half full bottles stationed on the dinner table.

'Damn, just how much did he drink?'

"Kaa-san, Tou-san?" Sakura called out, as she carefully stepped over the bottles.

"Are you home?" Sakura asked again as she peered into the kitchen.

Empty.

"Kaa-san, Tou-san?" This time a low mumble answered her.

Turning her direction towards the sound, Sakura made her way to the living room.

"I'm home from my mission," she said as she stepped into her living room.

"Oh, so you didn't die. Bummer," a low gruff voice answered the medic.

Sakura gave a small bitter laugh as she stared at her drunken father who was half sprawled on the couch. "Maybe next time."

Her father scoffed as he reached for the half drunken sake bottle on the counter beside him.

Turning her attention away from her drunken father, Sakura turned to her mother who was curled up on the other side of the couch and holding a picture of Shouta, mumbling incoherent phrases.

"Kaa-san, do you guys want food? I'm going to Ichiraku and I can bring home some." Sakura spoke softly as she knelt down in front of her mother.

"Shouta." A glassy look stared at Sakura.

Sakura's eyes pained. Reaching her hand out, she cupped her mother's trembling ones within hers. "No, Kaa-san, Shouta's gone. He's been gone for a year. It's me, Sakura."

Tears fell down the older woman's face. "I want my son back."

Sakura stiffened. "I'm sorry, but I'm still here. Your daughter."

Sakura felt her mother tense up. "You killed my son."

Her hands were smacked away.

"No, no Kaa-san you're not thinking correctly. I didn't kill Shouta. There was nothing I could have done." Sakura slightly panicked.

A glass bottle smashed against Sakura's shoulder, shattering upon impact. Wincing at the new pain, Sakura turned to her father. She almost took a step back at the cold glare in his eyes.

"Don't you dare lie to us, you worthless little bitch. We heard all about your little mission from Akiko-san."

Sakura sputtered. "W-What?"

Sakura's father sat up from the couch. "You thought you could hide it from us? The fact that during the mission, you couldn't even find it within yourself to warn your brother."

Sakura glared back. "Well, did Akiko-san tell you that even if I did warn him, it wouldn't have made any difference?"

Her father's glare hardened. "It doesn't matter, because it should have been you to die on that mission not your brother."

Even though his words were whispered, Sakura still heard them.

She wanted to believe that his words did not hurt, but they hurt more than she wants to admit.

"So, are you saying that if I was the one to die on that mission and Shouta was still alive, you guys would be fine?" Sakura's voice cracked. She was not going to cry.

"Yes." This time it was her mother who answered her. Sakura whipped her head back towards her mother.

"And I agree with her," her father piled on.

Sakura felt her knees weaken as she took a small step back. "But aren't I your daughter?" she whispered.

Her father stood up from the couch and went to help her mother up from her spot. "He was our son."

A five-year-old girl with pink hair ran down the busy street of Konoha. Her face was covered in dirt and her hands were adorned with small cuts, but a smile was present.

She made it. She got into the academy. She finally got a chance at becoming a super strong ninja who will marry Sasuke-kun. At this thought, a small blush crawled its way up her face.

As she got closer to her home, her smile grew larger. Her parents would be so proud of her. Her hard work will finally pay off.

"Okaa-san! Guess what! I got into the academy," Sakura called out to her mother who was with her three-year-old brother outside her building.

Her mother ignored her. Sakura frowned. 'Maybe she didn't hear."

Sakura tried again, this time tugging on the sleeve of her mother. "I got into the academy."

An annoyed looked crossed her mother's eyes as she turned around. "Sakura, I don't have time for your constant needs."

Sakura felt her mother yank her arm out of her grip. Tears welled up in her large emerald eyes. "But… but I got in. I thought you would be proud."

Picking up her brother, her mother turned to face Sakura. "Sakura! Your father and I both agree that you need to be less selfish. For once in your life, stop thinking just about yourself. Learn from your brother."

Shouta stuck his tongue out at Sakura.

Droplets of tears streamed down her face.

Her brother was always the apple of their eye, and Sakura knew that. But she was not going to let their words affect her. She was their daughter too, and she was willing to do anything to make her parents give her the same attention and love they gave to her brother. This determination gave her hope. The ability to move on from their cruel words.

So that's the first chapter to this new fanfic. What you guys think?

Any who please read and review!