Chapter 1

The alarm clock screamed in my ear that it was time to wake up. Moaning, I sat up and turned it off. I had forgotten to switch it off last night and now I was awake at six in the morning on a Saturday. I knew there was no chance of me being able to go back to sleep, so I got up and got dressed. After rummaging through my drawers, I settled on an orange t-shirt, a cream colored mini skirt, and matching leggings. After a battle with my hair, I managed it into a ponytail and headed downstairs to get some breakfast.

Quietly, I snuck into the kitchen, careful not to wake up my parents. My dad had been up all night studying for a test he had today. He was going back to college to get a degree as a historian so my mom had to work late nights to help pay the bills. Neither of them had been morning people before, but now they certainly weren't with the long hours and late nights. Just as I was about to poke my head into the refrigerator, my cell phone started ringing. It was my friend Ayame. I picked it up, but before I could even say hello she started running her mouth.

"Sakura, you HAVE to come to the clubhouse like right now! You're not going to believe what I found!" She was talking so fast, that was all I could make out and the rest was a long, blurred syllable.

"Ayame, AYAME!" I stopped her indecipherable blabbering. "Look, whatever it is, I'm sure it's great. I'll be over there just as soon as I eat some breakfast. Ok?"

"NO, YOU HAVE TO GET HERE NOW!" she demanded. "We can get some breakfast at McDonald's later! It'll be my treat, just get over here NOW!"

"OK, ok." I gave in. "I'll see you at the clubhouse in a few minutes." I hung up and left a note on the counter for my parents to find when they got up. I ran out the front door after slipping on my shoes and headed for the clubhouse at top speed.

I only saw the clubhouse after I broke through the final bushes and appeared at the front steps of the old building. Our clubhouse was actually an old abandoned house that we had found when we were six. We fixed it up a bit over the years and it's become almost like a second home to us. We live out in the country and it's a thirty minute drive to the city. There are plenty of trees around to keep it hidden so it's perfect for us to come when we want to have sleepovers or hide things that we don't want others to know about. Ayame was waiting for me on the porch. With a big giddy grin on her face.

"What took you so long to get here Sakura?" She asked, then shook her head. "Never mind, come on! You won't believe what I found here this morning!" she grabbed my wrist and dragged me through the door. She was walking so fast, her red hair bounced like crazy and I couldn't understand word that she was saying. It all became clear though when she opened the kitchen door and something fuzzy tackled me to the ground and started licking my face.

"Isn't she cute?" Ayame squealed, but I was laughing too hard from the surprise dog kisses to reply. It was a little puppy, a Husky to be exact. It was pure white with shining blue eyes.

"Ayame, it's a boy." I said after catching my breath. "Where did you find him?"

"He was in here rummaging through our food stash when I came here this morning." She said. "You know my parents won't let me have a dog in the house, so I thought that maybe we could keep him here as our dog! Whaddya think?" I sat up, pushing the dog off of me and looked at Ayame's pleading, eyes. She dyed her hair bright, fiery red and because she cut it so short it looked boyish and added with her black eyes she had an overall somewhat gothic appearance. But underneath all that she was just an upbeat, happy person that I knew I couldn't say no to.

"Well, I see no harm in it as long as no one else is looking for him!" I said. Ayame jumped up and cheered at the top of her lungs which seemed louder than humanly possible.

"THANKS SAKURA! YOU'RE THE BEST!" She squeezed my neck until I felt my face turning red and my eyes bulge out of my head.

"It's not like I did anything." I said. "Now can we go to the bus stop? I need to do some shopping today in town and you promised me breakfast." Ayame nodded and we said goodbye to our new friend.

...

Over the long bus ride into town, we debated about what we should name the dog. I wanted to name him Snowball, but Ayame said that that was too simple. She thought he needed a unique name that would stand out like Ice Blade.

"What kind of a name is that?" I asked.

"A really cool one, that's what." She countered. We couldn't decide on a name by the time we made it to the McDonald's at the edge of the city, so we dropped the subject for the time being and got my long awaited breakfast.

The day went by uneventfully after I ate Ayame out of her allowance for the week. She was mad, but I just told her that she should have known better than to promise to treat me of all people to food a meal. We went to the library to study, did the shopping for our parents and our "little friend" as we were calling him that until we settled on a name. By the time we left the city and came to our bus stop, the sun was setting and creating a spectacular array of reds, oranges, yellows, and golds.

"Wow! That's a stunning sunset!" I said.

"You can say that again!" Ayame replied, then she gasped. "OH DARN IT!" she yelled.

"What is it?" I asked.

"My mom needs me to cook dinner tonight! I totally forgot!" She said and dug something from out of one of her grocery bags. "Here, could you stop by the clubhouse on your way home and give this to our little friend? I got it for him but I don't have time to put it on him. Thanks bye!" She shoved a blue collar into my hand before I could respond and ran off. I sighed and began the fairly long walk home alone.

When I reached the clubhouse, I put my things on the porch and opened the door. I was greeted again by barking and a failed attempt to overpower me.

"Hey there Buddy." I said as I bent down to pet his soft white fur. "Ayame got you something today." I pulled out the blue collar from behind my back. "Here, let's just put this on you and…" as I tried to wrap it around him, he jumped away. "Ok, let's try this again." I gave it a second attempt and he ran around me. "Come on. It's not going to hurt you. Now come here!" I got up and tried to grab him, but he bolted out the door that I had left open by mistake. "NO! COME BACK YOU!" I ran out after him because there was no way I was going to lose this dog that Ayame wanted to have so badly the same day we got him.

I caught a glimpse of his tail as he disappeared into the bushes and ran after him. I hadn't gotten too far when I heard him growling. When I finally caught up, I stopped a few feet behind him and looked around.

"What's the matter boy?" I asked him. "Something the matter?" His ears were flat on his head and his lips were curled in a snarl. I tried to think of what would make him act so hostile all of a sudden when a strong gust of wind came from nowhere. I shrieked in surprised and closed my eyes. When I opened them again, I looked up and froze with my mouth hanging open. In front of me someone was lying on the ground covered in blood.

A/N: How do you think I did? This is my first Fanfiction so sorry if it sucks. It'll get better I promise! I'm not 100% sure where this is going, so I'm open to ideas from anyone who leaves a comment. I'd love to know what you guys think, so please review! I'm open to everything you say!