Chapter 1

Sakura woke up, rubbing her groggy eyes. The Chunnin exams began today. It seemed to come so quick.

Sakura slipped out of bed, and quickly changed into her usual uniform. A red qipao dress with white circular designs, with short sleeves, a zipper, tight dark green shorts, and a forehead protector she uses to accentuate her face. Sakura made her way out of her room, downstairs, and into the dining room. It was eerily quiet, making it obvious her mom and sister weren't home.

"It's Ok, I didn't want to say bye to you guys either…" Sakura mumbled sadly. She grabbed a pear and stalked out of the house unhappily.

It wasn't hard to believe her mom and Rima wouldn't waste time to say goodbye. Sakura knew they didn't love her, because of how weak she was. She remembered Rima laughing in her face when Sakura told her about how Sasuke called weak.

"Hah! He really cant tell a lie, can he?! Weak?! Oh my god, so fucking true!" She cried, bursting in hysterics.

A grimace covered the pink-haired girls face, and she balled her hands into fists. The bear she had been holding was smushed, and Sakura flew the chunks of fruit at the ground.

"I'M NOT WEAK, DAMN IT" She screamed to no one in particular. Sakura huffed, and collected her nerves slightly. She checked no one was watching, before continuing her walk to the bridge where she was meeting Naruto and Sasuke. She was completely unaware of a certain sand ninja watching her every move.

Sakura finally appeared next to Naruto, who was currently playing with a loose string on his orange jacket.

"Sakura-chaaaan! I'm so happy you're finally here!" Naruto exclaimed, reaching his arms out to hug her. She avoided his reach, and walked right past him, not at all in the mood for Naruto's annoyance. Sakura walked past Sasuke, wanting to punch him so hard his teeth flew out for making her sister laugh at her. He watched her walk with a cold expression, though his eyes showed confusion at the fact that she was ignoring him. He must be so used to his fan girls screaming over him, that he wasn't used to the cold-shoulder from one of his biggest fans.

"Sakura? Why are you so moody today?" Sasuke asked, his voice robotic. I stopped walking and clenched my jaw.

"I saw your face, and this sick feeling suddenly filled my stomach." I remarked, a small smirk coming onto my face. I heard Naruto begin to laugh loudly, and smiled. Annoying or not, he still had good tastes in jokes.

"What the fuck?! I thought you liked me!" Sasuke yelled. I turned to look at him with a deadly glare.

"I know. I was so stupid to have liked such an intolerable, anti-social, rude-ass, arrogant ego-maniac ass wipe like you." I replied coolly. Sasuke looked extremely taken aback, and as soon as he opened his mouth to say something, Kakashi cut in.

"Now, now children, settle down. We wouldn't want to start a fight before the exams even before the exams begin, do we?" He tsked. I turn to look at him, the anger in me only settling down a little, but I saw amusement in his eyes. He was amused? AMUSED?! I gritted my teeth, and crossed my arms over my chest. I leaned back on the railing of the bridge, and tried to keep inner Sakura under control.

Inner Sakura: LET ME AT 'EM! LET ME AT HIM!

Sakura's own mind: No. It'll only make things messy.

Inner Sakura: Awwwww, why not?! Cant I just take over for like…2 seconds and knock 'em out?

Sakura's own mind: No.

Sakura was so busy arguing with her inner demon, she didn't notice Kakashi-sensei speaking.

"Sakura…Sakura?!" Kakashi yelled, waving his hand in front of my face. I turned to give him a pissed off glare.

"WHAT?! I'M HAVING A CONVERSATION WITH MYSELF!" She yelled. He backed away, his eyes wide in shock. Sakura mentally cursed myself.

Sakura's mind: DAMN IT! SEE WHAT YOU DID?!

Inner Sakura: Hehe, sorry…

"Sakura, please don't yell at your sensei." Kakashi grumbled, giving her an odd glance. She mumbled a sorry, not really meaning it.

"I just wanted to wish you good luck on the Chunnin exams. You've all trained hard. Some harder then others." Kakashi said this, looking at Sakura on the last part. Crap…had he caught her practicing after hours? Sakura shifted her gaze away from his, finding it intense and awkward. He went on babbling about how hard they trained, and studied for this day, and blah blah blah… Sakura focused her attention on a tree, where one branch looked like it had a weird dark bulge on it. Staring more closely, Sakura realized it wasn't a bulge, but a person. He was staring directly at Sakura, making her shift uncomfortably. From what she could see, He had red hair, some sort of gourd on his back, and dark rings around his eyes. She couldn't tell what color his eyes were, because they were hidding in the shadow of his hair. Sakura yearned to know who the mysterious ninja was, but the voice of Kakashi forced her to remain where she was.

"Alright. Lets go."

Inside Examining Room

Sakura and her teammates found herself staring at around 100 different Genins, all waiting to begin the first part of the exams. They all turned to acknowledge the newcomers, eyes boring into them. One particular burning gaze caught Sakura's attention. She turned to look at a certain red-head, with jade green eyes that had black rings around them, and messy red hair. A large tan gourd with a cork in it hung on his back, and his aura was unpleasant. She recognized him from earlier, and swallowed a lump in her throat. This guy was definitely scary. She turned away from his gaze and stuck her chin in the air. No way was she going to let someone intimidate her so easily!

"Oh, Sakura, I didn't think you would actually come!" Ino, Sakura's person ball of annoyance, mocked from her place next to Shikamaru. He was sleeping, but that wasn't a surprise.

"Shut up Ino. Nobody cares what you think. Besides, that annoying voice of yours is going to give everyone headaches if you don't." Sakura remarked, raising her hand to her head dramatically. Ino scowled, and rolled her eyes.

"Whatever, Sakura-slut." Ino hissed. Sakura dropped her arm, and glared at Ino darkly.

"What did you call me?" Sakura growled. Ino opened her mouth to say something, but when she saw the look on her face, seemed to not be able to speak anymore.

"That's what I thought, Ino-whore." Sakura said with a smirk. Ino slammed her fist down on the desk, waking Shikamaru from his slumber.

"Excuse me?!" She screamed, causing everyone's gaze to shift to the scene unfolding.

"Your excused." Sakura replied. Ino flipped the desk and charged at Sakura, her fists ready to hit something. Sakura easily side-stepped and tripped an unexpecting Ino. She fell to the floor, flat on her face, and cried out in a mixture of shock and pain. A smirk came over Sakura's pretty features, and she sighed.

"I guess you'll never learn." Sakura sighed, shrugging. She rolled Ino over with her foot, and placed it on her stomach.

"Last time you tried to attack me like this, I did the same exact thing. Why don't you remember these things?" Sakura sniggered. Ino knit her eyebrows together, and pushed Sakura's foot off of her. The blonde stood up and brushed some of the dirt off her clothes, before giving Sakura an ugly glare, and stalking away. Sakura was about to smirk, when someones hand grabbed her arm, and dragged her back out of the room.

Gaara's P.O.V

Gaara watched the blonde who had attacked Sakura sulk back to her seat, fury covering her toned face. She was pretty, but not as pretty as Sakura. Gaara wanted to confront Sakura, and stepped forward, only to see her being dragged out by a raven-haired boy. He glared after them, waved a dismissive hand to Temari and Kankuro, and disappeared in a thick of sand.

Gaara reappeared behind a corner, where he could hear everything The boy said to Sakura.

"Sakura, stop putting all the attention on you! What about me and Naruto!" The boy shouted, emphazing the word 'me'.

"Putting all the attention on me? Did you want me to let Ino hit me? And why does everything have to be about you and Naruto! I'm part of the team to!" Sakura yelled back, the anger thick in her voice.

"Sakura…I just don't want you to get hurt.." The boy whispered. A loud 'smack' went through the air, and a shocked gasp.

"BULL SHIT! You don't give a damn about me, Sasuke Uchiha! You don't give a damn about anyone but yourself!" Sakura yelled. Gaara peaked around the corner, and saw a big red mark in the shape of a hand on Sasuke's face.

"How dare you hit me! You weak lit-" Sasuke was cut off by another slap to the face.

"DON'T EVEN SAY IT! I ALREADY KNOW YOU THINK I'M WEAK! BUT YOU DON'T EVEN KNOW THE FIRST THING ABOUT ME AND MY STRENGTH!" Sakura's face was turning dark red, her hands were balled up in fists, and her eyes were hard with anger. Sasuke flinched away from the anger in her voice and eyes, and backed away.

"Fine. I'm sorry. I went to far." He growled, looking like he didn't mean it. He probably didn't. Gaara watched the boy walk inside, then turned his gaze back to Sakura. He was surprised to see all the anger on her face gone, and instead replaced with sadness. Her eyes were hazy, like she was remembering something.

Sakura's P.O.V

"Babe, shes worthless. Weak and annoying. Nothing but a burden on us." Sakura's father said from his study.

"I know, but she still has the thing inside of her. If we just get rid of her, it'll unleash itself." Her mom's voice said.

"I supposed you're right. But what are we supposed to do with her?" Her dad asked. There was a moment of silence, and then the sound of dark laughing. The tears that had formed in Sakura's eyes finally ran down her cheeks, and her small 8 year old hands clutched the cake she just gotten done baking for her parents.

"Make sure we discipline her very well." Her mom laughed. Cake momentarily forgotten, Sakura raised her hands to cover up a sob that threatened to come out, dropping the cake and it's glass tray to the floor. The laughing inside the study stopped, and the sound of footsteps coming to door made panic arise in Sakura. The door slid open, and dark angry eyes bored into Sakura's frightened green ones.

"D-daddy? I'm sorry…I'll clean it up…" Sakura whimpered, backing away slowly. A shard of glass cut at her foot, and she winced.

"I know you will. But first I must punish you." Her dad sniggered. His eyes were wide and looked crazy, and a sick grin played on his face. The pink-haired women behind him placed a spiked belt in his hand, the same grin on her face.

"Shirt up, down on your knees." Her dad commanded. Sakura didn't have any choice but to obey, cutting her hands as she did.

Sakura gingerly placed a hand on her back, where many of the scars still remained. Her memory fogged up from there, though she could still remember the sound of her screaming, parents laughing, and the whip of the belt connecting with her small back. Sakura wiped away the tears that had fallen onto her cheek, and clenched her fists. She turned to face the wall closest to her, and slammed her fist into it. Blood trickled slowly from her knuckles, but she continued to pound it.

After only five punches from each fist, the wall had deep holes in it, and her knuckles were torn and bleeding badly. She braced herself for another hit, but was blocked by a wall of sand. Sakura pulled back her hand, her eyes wide in surprise. It was only then did she feel the chakra of another person.

"W-wha-?" Sakura stammered, searching for the hidden person. He finally stepped out from behind a corner, his eyes shining with something like pity and anger at the same time.

"You pity yourself. You act as if no one has had it worse then you. But what do you know?" His voice was hard and cold, but there was something else in it to. It sounded like her parents. Sakura clenched her teeth and glared at him.

"What do I know? What do you know? Why do you watch me, huh? You watch me, and then critisce me. You don't know anything about my life, you don't even know me, so why act like you do?" Sakura hissed back. The red-head looked taken aback for a moment, but it disappeared from his face as soon as it came.

"I don't act like I know you, I do know you." He replied calmly. Sakura knitted her eyebrows together in confusion. What was he trying to get at.

"You're family. They treat you like dirt. Laugh at you. Call you weak. Just like everyone else. But theres something nobody else knows. Only you. Isn't there? You're strong. And you know it. But you don't show it." The boy went on, his eyes growing darker and darker with every word. Sakura backed away from the weird kid, fear rising up in her. He suddenly vanished, confusing her more, and appeared behind her. Sakura felt him lift up her shirt, making her gasp, and felt his eyes boring into the scars on her back. Sakura pushed away from him, and bit back more tears. How dare he.

"Scars. They looked like they were painful to receive." His voice was cool, but the anger in it was audible.

"Stop…" Sakura whispered, her voice choking.

"You're parents did that to you. With a pointed object. And they wanted to cause you pain." He didn't stop, he just went on. Sakura's body was shocking, and fear was racking her entire body.

"No…No! Shut up! Stop it, stop it, stop it! You don't know anything!" Sakura screamed, making an attempt to push past him. A wall of sand blocked her way though, and she was forced to take steps back as it moved closer.

"You want to prove to them, prove that you're strong. Stronger than anyone else." His voice grew closer and closer, until Sakura was pushed into him. A strong tan arm wrapped itself around her waist, and pulled her close to his chest. He raised his mouth to her ear, and his breath tickled her neck.

"I can make you stronger." He whispered. She stopped struggling in his hold, and swallowed the words she was about to scream at him.

I can make you stronger….

Could he really?

"You're bluffing." Sakura mumbled.

"No. My name is Gaara. If you wish to become stronger, you will come to me." He whispered. Her heart did a back-flip at the thought of becoming stronger. Kakashi was doing a good job, but something about what he said made her want to accept. He heald onto her for a little longer, before disappearing in a wave of sand, leaving Sakura to her thoughts, alone.