Authors Note: So, I stumbled upon my old, forgotten account, and decided to continue this story. I know it has been long, and I've forgotten what I had planned, but that's okay, I'll work this out.

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto.

Chapter 1: A New Path

Dark eyes watched the crying girl. His eyes narrowed. All his companions had left believing there was no one left, but he knew better. "I've found you." It was no more than a whisper.

He got up from behind the shade of a tree he had hid behind and pulled out an old rusted blade. With a battle cry,

he surged forward.

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Something was wrong. There was someone here. The girl's eyes widened. Quickly turning to face her assailant, fear overwhelmed her. Expecting a blow that would surely end her life, she shut her eyes tightly and waited the seconds.

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Soft white snow touched her face...

"It's alright, everything his fine."

The pain never came.

Sakura tentatively opened her eyes. The necklace her mother had given her was gleaming a pale blue, an aurora. Further observations of her surroundings revealed that her attacker was ensnared in ice and was knocked unconscious. The young girl smiled sadly.

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"Whenever you're lonely…

just look at this necklace, and remember us,

your parents…"

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always…

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She turned to her parents, their bodies still and lifeless. Tears welled up in her eyes once more. She walked up to them and gave each of them a light hug. How she longed for them to hug her back, but they were gone. She looked down at her necklace that hung from her neck. She grasped the small gemstone in her tiny hands, and closed here eyes.

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embraces

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smiles

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laughter

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love…

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I'll remember… always…

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Crunch… Crunch… Crunch…

Small feet sank into the dark stained snow. Her pink hair was slightly disheveled and her once brilliant green eyes were dull, red from the tears she had shed. Her hands clutched the small pack her parents had left her, and she walked. Her small uncoordinated feet would stumble, but still, she would walk. She walked with no destination in mind; the direction didn't seem to matter.

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Because…

you can't step back in time…

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Suddenly, the small child's feet caught onto the root of an old overgrown tree. Feeling herself fall, she put her hands out in front of her. The palms of her hands and knees hit the stinging cold of the hard ice below her. Her pack slipped off her back and went into the air, it's contents flying out. She winced and let out a small cry.

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no one to catch her…

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Slowly getting up, Sakura saw the slight crimson tinge in the snow beneath her feet. She looked to the palms of her hands and to her dainty knees. They were bleeding.

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no one to stop the pain…

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The fall had stung. Tears welled up in her eyes. She didn't know what to do. She was so young, only four, and she was all by herself. What could she, a small helpless four year old who lost her parents do? There was no one.

She bawled her small fists and blocked out the pain. Recollecting herself, she glanced to her side remembering the spilled contents of the small brown backpack. She got up cautiously and began to pick them up. Whilst gathering the the canned food and water bottles in her arms, she noticed the papers that littered the ground, most notable of them being a pale pink envelope. Quickly, she collected all the papers in her arms. They had gotten slightly wet from the ice and she didn't want the wind to suddenly blow them away. She carefully put them into the bag, except for the pale pink envelope. She peered down at it, and her eyes widened. It was written neatly and elegantly on the front of the envelope.

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Sakura

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It was for her. Her parents had taught her to read and she had learned quickly so they knew she could read it; it must have been for her. Tentatively, she broke the seal to see the envelope's contents.

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Dear Sakura,

By the time you read this, we have most likely passed away.

Out there, there are bad people, people who want to get us, people who want us to disappear. Eventually, they may get to us, but stay strong.

Know that while we may be gone, we'll always be with you. No matter how alone you think you are, we'll always be in your heart.

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We only wish that things had been different, but you are strong Sakura. You were always smart, always quick to learn despite your young age.

Even though we are gone, we want you to be happy. This might be hard to understand if you are still little, but you need to leave the Water Country.

Tell no one of what your father could do and tell no one of your surname.

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It will be hard, but you will need to find a boat to the mainland that will safely take you away from the Land of Water.

Sakura, we know this is lot to take in, but we believe in you. We're so, so sorry that we can't be there with you.

Just always remember that we love you.

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~ Mom and Dad

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The four year old read the letter slowly, taking in each and every word. She began to cry.

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why did this have to happen?

why

why

why? …

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Fresh tears spilled onto the letter as she carefully folded it and put it back into the pale pink envelope. She had to be strong. She had to.

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We'll always be in your heart…

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Sakura zipped up the backpack, strapping it to her small back.

"I know what I have to do." She whispered to no one except herself.

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"I want you to take this to your aunt…

She lives in a small village not far from Konohagakure and she'll know what to do when she gets it.

Can you do that for me?"

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Sakura took the folded piece of parchment out of her pockets and eyed it carefully. A flimsy piece of paper was tied to the front, also keeping the paper folded.

It read: Ikisu.

The small girl guessed that that was the small village her mother told her about. Putting the folded sheet back into her coat pocket, she began to walk again. It was still early morning, and the sun began to peak through the clouds, the warm beams of light touching her face. It soothed her, almost like her parents were reaching out to her, comforting her. They'd always be in her heart, wouldn't they? She beamed out a smile.

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'Otou-san, Okaa-san, I'll do my best!'

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The little girl sped off, hoping to reach the next town soon. She didn't know what she was going to do, but it was a start.

The landscape was cold, dark, and bloody. Two bodies lay dead, hands intertwined together until the very end. Not far from the couple was a man in ragged clothes. He lay on the ground, ice wrapping around him like the veins in his body. The sun's rays blared at his scarred face too many scars, and the ice encasement was slowly melting. Feeling the heat of the sun against his face with contrasting feeling of the ice on the ground caused him to stir.

His eyes shot open. Looking around his surroundings he bared his teeth and grimaced. The memories of the events prior to his awakening flooded back. 'That damn Haruno girl!' he thought. She was still alive, and it angered him. It was people like her that had caused the death of his wife, of his kids. Their blood was tainted. Roughly, he broke his arm free of the ice surrounding it. He then proceeded to do the same with the rest of his body, and jerked himself up.

He glanced at the dead couple to his right, to the intertwined fingers. His face softened for a second before it was replaced with a scowl. He wouldn't feel remorse. No, they were the reason he wasn't happy. He had helped kill the two, and he would kill that pink haired girl too. He frowned once again and headed back, back to the rest of the group.

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She doesn't deserve to live!

he kept telling himself that…

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"What is it Ichiro?!" A kirigakure ninja shot a glare at the man who stood before him. They had set up camp and were making their way back to wherever they came. "We already killed that accursed couple. I saw no reason for you to continue the search."

"There was one left. They had a daughter!" Ichiro spat back. He was so close to ending it, but that damn pale blue light!

The ninja rose a single eyebrow. "Then why didn't you end it?" He obviously wasn't pleased.

"There was a light, and before I knew it, I passed out!" Ichiro didn't have to explain himself to this guy. He sneered. It wasn't his fault. They were the ones who decided to leave right away.

The ninja snickered. His laugh was dark. "Then we'll just have to go after her, won't we?" He laughed again, and made his way back into his tent, leaving a slightly perturbed Ichiro behind. The man almost seemed like he enjoyed killing. He choked a bit, and reevaluated himself. Was this feeling guilt?

Ichiro shook his head. He wanted this. He wanted her dead. She was damned.

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I'm not guilty, am I?

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Along the encampment, Ichiro could hear the dogs snarl. They would tear the pink little girl apart. But… why did he care? He wanted to kill her just as much when he encountered her. This was for his wife… for his family.

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'Isn't that what the couple had done to save their daughter?'

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He threw those thoughts away. He didn't care. If he didn't get her killed, she would surely cause pain to others, pain that he felt to this day, pain of loss.

"I don't care!" He scowled at his self. Setting up his own tent in a far off corner he chanted it in his head.

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'I don't care!'

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'I don't care'

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'I don't care…

do I?'

Sakura gripped the metal tab with her hand and pulled. She was hungry, and she had stopped awhile to eat breakfast. It was difficult to open the can despite the easy open tab. She was only four after all. Mustering up as much strength as she possibly could, she gave it one last tug. 'pop!'

She smiled at the sound of can opening. She quickly dug into her backpack for a bottle of water and a pair of chopsticks. She then turned back to the food, and dug her chopsticks inside, clumsily grabbing a fish and plopping it into her mouth. Canned fish. It was cold and it tasted a bit funny, but she bared with it. She was hungry after all. She sighed. The young girl wondered how she was going to do all this alone. The canned food was not going to last forever.

After taking another bite and getting a sip of water, she looked up to the sky.

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'Are you watching me from up there?'

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After finishing her meal, Sakura had quickly packed her things, and set off again. The walk was long and tiring. In a matter of hours she had managed to make it to a nearby village, slightly out of breath and her legs a bit wobbly. She had no idea where she was. Her parents rarely went to town. They had told her it was dangerous.

she now knew why…

She stepped into the village cautiously, careful to not make any eye contact. If people knew about her blood, it would not end well.

Her small feet pattered on the stone paved path that branched out to others. She needed to find someone who could take her the mainland and away from the Land of Water.

"Hey, you there?" Her ears perked up. Was someone addressing her? She turned around to see, her eyes meeting the dark brown eyes of a young boy that was older than her.

After he saw that he got her attention, he asked, "What is a little girl like you doing all by yourself?" His voice wasn't angry. It was soft and gentle, but could she trust him? She didn't know.

"Who are you?" She asked. She didn't know who he was. For all she knew, he could be out to get her.

'there are bad people, people who want to get us, people who want us to disappear.'

"Oh, I'm sorry. You don't even know me." He smiled lightly, but he looked pained. His clothes were a bit tattered, but it wasn't that. It was something else. "My name is Haku."

Sakura didn't know why, but she made a decision.

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She would trust him.

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And now I have to remember or figure out what the hell I was going for in this story. I promise to update soon. Like that went well at all the last time I promised… Also, I hadn't planned on making Ichiro when I first started this story, but it just sort of happened. With the long hiatus, the original story I was thinking is kind of lost, but this new one is still pretty good. Anyway, I just know this story is going to be long. Sakura is only four.

So, what do you guys think of the story so far? I threw Haku in there, so it's going to be interesting. The Hidden Mist is going to be playing a large part in the rest of the story line.