There's a reason why no one has heard of a blind shinobi. A childhood incident goes very, very wrong, and suddenly, a six-year old claws herself onto the path for glory. "Hi, I'm Sakura Haruno, and my dream is to..."

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I really should stop writing new stories when I haven't even updated my other ones in like, 2 months.

Imsosorry

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"Forehead!"

"Billboard-Brow!"

"Where ya' goin', Pinkie-chan? We just wanna play!"

The taunts echoed, reverberating within her skull- filling it to the brim with painful vibrations as tears stung the edge of her eyes- dry sobs tearing their way out of her mouth as she pushed herself to go faster. Laughter followed her actions from further behind her, mocking and sharp and cruelcruelcruel.

Small feet pounded down the stubborn grass, wispy green flares whipping back up with a vengeance to slap against bare chubby arms.

Sakura had just been trying to make friends… She had no idea how it went wrong in the first place! Months and months of excited research went into her holidays for the day she could finally join the other kids, it wasn't meant to be like this!

'Get your head in the game, girl! Tripping hazard at 12 o'clock!' Barely managing to avoid slamming her toes into a particularly pointy stone jutting out from dirt, Sakura gave a quick thanks to Inner before setting her mind to the task of escaping.

Well, she was until she got caught.

A choked cry escapes her clenched lips as she heard the distinct sound of crunching earth behind her- how had they managed to catch up so fast?- before an attacker managed to snag a couple strands of strawberry-cream hair and pulling.

'Tuck in your head-!'

Her head snapped back at the sudden opposing force, aching legs becoming tangled amongst themselves as she desperately sought a purchase, arms flying out in front of her before gravity reclaimed its hold. Pure, unadulterated fear spiking through her system as she began to tip.

Oh gods, Sakura had barely managed to jump over the stone, what if..?

"THE STONE, OUTER, TUCK IN YOUR HEAD-"

The last thing she saw was the pale faces of her tormentors.

The last thing she heard was an unsettling crunch and squelch.

Then, all she knew was black.

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Kurenai was having a pretty shit day, to be completely honest.

First, her mission was cancelled due to "complications" with the administration officer, which was really just shinobi-talk for 'go fuck yourself'. Your teammates scare off one guy from the golden days of genin, and suddenly the fellow decides to protest against your missions. Something about volatile and distrustful behaviour amongst the team.

Which was bullshit.

Granted, they would get the mission regardless once the Hokage sorted things out, but it was pushed back to at least noon, so they wouldn't really get to leave until tomorrow.

Then came the really shitty news.

She had wall duty.

In fact, Kurenai couldn't even say that it was wall-watching, due to the fact that she was posted near the Forest of Death and surrounded by trees, bushes, massive animals and annoying brats that tried to escape Academy classes during break, who then got lost and got themselves killed because they want to pat the pretty kitties.

Really, usually she was okay around kids- enjoyed it, even!

But there was just something about the fluctuating chakra in the forestry around Training Ground 44 that just… spelled bad news.

The heart-breaking type of news.

Kurenai turned slightly, prepared to call down for reinforcements from the nearby chunins patrolling near the Uzushio district, the closest shinobi in the vicinity.

Then the chakra let out one, final, pulse before fading.

Kurenai had never ran so fast in her life.

.

..

.

'Head trauma… T-there's so much nerve damage-'

'..Clean out the entry hol-…'

'-She's so young…'

'…Permanent optical dama-'

'Optical cortex has be-'

'-damaged-'

'…-the pathways a-'

'..blind...'

'SHUT UP AND DO SOMETHING!'

.

..

.

Sakura woke to the incessant, but constant, beep of machinery.

Her body felt… well, it felt sore.

Like someone just grabbed a random chair and decided to beat her with it. Repeatedly. With chakra. And maybe they decided to set the chair on fire just to complete the whole shebang. Who knew that little girls from the academy managed to dish out that much damage?

Maybe she should petition the Hokage into getting them to train ANBU… They were certainly vicious enough.

Her eyelids felt like lead, Sakura's attempts at opening them being a lesson in futility as the muscles refused to obey. Opening her mouth, she let out a quiet groan as her dried lips crackled, throat parched and feeling as if someone had force-fed her sand.

"Ugh…"

Mustering up all of her strength, Sakura heaved. Slowly, oh-so-very slowly, her arms began to crawl across the soft sheets, using what little energy she had to force herself into an upright position on the bed. Leaning back against the scratchy pillows, Sakura swung her head around blindly, trying to gain some semblance of equilibrium against the inky-blackness before her eyes.

Her brows knit together, forming a soft frown on her forehead before she felt gauze scratch against her flesh at the movement. Wrinkling her face, Sakura paused in the action as the material grinded uncomfortably into the bridge of her nose. 'Huh, why would they bandage my face?'

'No idea, pipsqueak.'

'Inner! What happened? Are we in the hospital? Are the mean girls gone?'

'Calm down, information comes in droves to the patient. Take a moment to identify with your surroundings first, just like Iruka-sensei taught us, alright?'

Feeling the panic well up within her, Sakura breathed in slowly, counting to ten in her head before exhaling, relaxing her body. Forcing down the urge to cry and flail and possibly fall off of the bed, she slowly reached out to her left, waiting for her hand to come in contact with something.

Nothing.

Frowning, the little girl moved her hand, jerking her limb back as it made contact with something cold and solid. Tentatively extending her fingers out again, Sakura's nails pressed against the strange object before prodding it. Ignoring the icy feeling of… whatever it was pressing against the pads of her appendages, she wrapped her hand around it and gave it a gentle shake.

The sound of a thin plastic packet squishing against the hard pole met her ears, the sound of liquid swirling accompanying it. 'Maybe it's tha' drip machine or somethin'? I think it's for hy… hide… hy-dray-ti-on, but it didn't do a very good job if I feel like a desert.'

'IV drip. We read about those in civilian books about medicine, 'member?'

'Right! Thanks Inner!'

'Don' worry 'bout it, Outer-chan.'

Curiosity abated, Sakura withdrew her hand from the medical machine- just in time for the door to slam open. "Sakura-chan! Gods, are you alright? Does anything hurt? You still remember your name, right sweetie? By the First, I will annihilate those snot-nosed brats!" The girl cringed as the feminine voice assaulted her poor, poor eardrums.

"Asaya-chaaan, I'm okay! I just feel a lil' bit sore, tha's all!" Cue the bright, sunny grin!

"Aaa… I'm sorry Sa-chan, I didn't mean to make so much noise," Her voice sounded much closer than it was previously, lower too. 'Maybe she grabbed a seat or somethin'?' As Inner gave no reply, Sakura simply shrugged before Asaya continued, "When I heard that you were in the hospital, I was so worried… I was this close to throwing Tetsumi out the window!"

Giggling, Sakura reached out blindly for her hand, Asaya not acknowledging the gesture with any words as she simply cradled the child's hand. If the little girl could see, the woman would be as pale as the moon, tears leaving silent trails down her cheek.

But she couldn't.

And she never would.

"Ne, ne, 'Saya-chan, wha' 'appened? There's itchy stuff 'round my head an' it's all dark- I hate the dark, it's scary!"

Quietly, Asaya lowered her head to press her forehead against the little girl's wrist, barely managing to reign in her soft sobs as she kissed Sakura's small, all-too-small, hand. "..'Saya-chan? Are ya' okay?"

"S-Sakura… I-I…" How could she have let this happen to her little girl? What sort of caretaker was she? What sort of aunt was she? To let her baby-girl get into this much danger at the mere age of six… What was wrong with her-

"Sakura. T-there was permanent damage to your h-head. Y-you'll... I... I'm s-sorry but-"

Her brain whipped into overdrive, taking into account the utterly depressing lilt to her aunt's voice as she took note of what she has discovered so far, 'Bandages around head and eyes, sensitivity to contact, all-round soreness... Wait, my eyes are open. I should at least see the texture of the bandages- I-Inner, my eyes are open and I can-'

'I know.'

'My eyes a-are open, why c-can't I see, INNER WHY CAN'T I SEE-'

"Asaya-chan."

'Go to sleep Inner-chan, I... I'll handle this.'

Sakura had a gentle, fragile little smile on her face, the picture perfect image of an angel with her fuzzy pink hair and soft exposition. Sometimes, Asaya Haruno wondered what she had ever done to deserve someone like her.

"Dun' cry for me, m'kay? S'everythin's gonna be jus' fine. I don't needa' be able ta' see in order to live, ya' know!"

'Inner…'

Internally, Sakura felt like crying. Screaming, even! Throwing a massive tantrum and thinking, 'why me, why me?' while shovelling dango obsessively down her throat and drowning in self-pity. Why was it always her?

Sometimes, she hated her own intellect.

At least, if no one told her, then she'd be able to at least pretend like… like…

"Sakura."

Raising her head at the address, she aimed her head blankly at the direction she heard the voice originate from. Her lower lip wobbled, voice shaky from the gut-wrenching amount of sorrow, sadness and 'why me why me whymewhyalwaysme,' "Hai?"

Inner Sakura may have taken control of the reigns, but even she can't deny that this was hitting her hard. She'd never... See. Ever. The sun, the sky, the stars... Not even her Okaa-san, if she ever returned.

She'd never be able to be a kunoichi-

"You're going to get into the Academy."

Well.

She didn't expect that.

Aforementioned girl blinked, tilting her head in confusion at the sheer audacity of the statement, voicing her reluctance of the statement with a curious twist of her lips, "'Saya-chan… There's no such thin' as a blind shinobi." At least such a shocker managed to stall the emotive onslaught of all the things she took for granted.

"Then train."

The grip around her hand tightened slightly, the pressure on her wrist disappearing as the woman stared grimly, unknowing of just how much the world was about to change.

"Become the first."

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To continue or to not continue… bleughhhh…

SAKURA NEEDS MORE STORIES ABOUT HER

THERE ARE NOT ENOUGH

NEVER ENOUGH

REEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE

I should probably make longer chapters but it's hhhhaaarrrrdddddd ggguuuyyyysssss

Catch y'all on the flip side

o7