Sakura cannot forgot the tragic afternoon at the academy when she left a helpless Uzumaki Naruto behind. When she finds a kitsune-masked ANBU member bleeding in the rain, she will have to face the whispers of the past. — naruxsaku, AU

A fish may love a bird, but where would they live? — Fiddler on the Roof (1971)

Chapter One: A fish may love a bird

Pitter patter pitter patter.

Raindrops drummed against the glass pane of a window layered with dust and dirt, setting a gentle rhythm occasionally interrupted by the soft crackling of thunder somewhere far away.

It was with an idle gaze that the pink-haired kunoichi watched the brewing storm outside her apartment. With her elbow resting on the countertop and her cheek cupped firmly against her palm, her face remained impassive. A couple of times, her eyes would close completely only for them to flutter open whenever the dimly lit kitchen became filled with sudden flashes of lighting.

She stood diligently next to the oven, standing on a foam mat that would lessen the punishment on her heels for standing so long in the same spot. The birthday cake had been baking inside the oven for the past thirty minutes. To the kunoichi, it felt like an impossibly long time of doing nothing.

As she exhaled small puffs of steam, a frown slowly emerged on her face. She regretted not buying replacements for the lights in the kitchen when it was still bright out.

Ding!

Her eyes moved to the enclosed compartment of the oven, studying the outline of the small roundish cake at the center. She tugged open the oven and was immediately greeted with a blast of warm air. Taking a clean chopstick off the dishrack, she poked an inconspicuous hole into the side of the cake. None of the dough clung onto the wooden utensil. She pressed the off button on the oven and pulled the cake over to the countertop to cool as she began washing the mixing bowls and measuring cups she used earlier.

Once the dishes were done and set on the rack to dry, she meandered back over to the cake and poked it with her index finger before deeming it decently cooled enough. The cream cheese frosting that took her five tries just so it wouldn't taste like a child's sugar experiment gone wrong was brought out of the refrigerator and delicately applied over the cake.

Stepping off the foam mat, she pitter-pattered over to the cabinets, where the spare boxes were stored and grabbed a large enough box that would be able to contain the cake. Sakura made sure to lift the cake gently from the countertop as she transferred it over to the white box.

As her eyes studied the analog clock that sat all the way at the end of the living room, they widened in panic. It was almost evening and she had yet to leave. Fishing for a plastic bag in one of the drawers next to the sink, she found one that was suitably clean to put the box in. It had the words "Ichiraku Ramen" on the front and smelled a little bit like soy sauce, but it would have to do.

She shuffled into her sandals hastily and pulled the straps of the bag around her fingers as she dashed out the doorway. As she exited her apartment, it was almost as if she had stepped into a different dimension. The colors of the outside world were washed away by the endless rain. Buildings became obscure figures in the background while people dashed frantically from rooftop to rooftop. She could hear little besides the soft rustling of leaves in the wind and the dull pounding of raindrops against pavement.

The downpour of rain was slowly driving the kunoichi insane. She felt every drop of water that landed on her hair and slid down her neck and arms. In hindsight, she should have known better and brought an umbrella before she ran out of her house unwittingly.

Sakura clutched the plastic bag closer to her chest, hoping her gesture would prevent the cake from getting wet. From the corner of her eyes, she watched as a trio of guys ran pass her in haste to get out of the rain. Meanwhile, she was running into the storm.

Murky puddles formed on the gravel path she walked on, making the small pebbles on the road even more slippery than normal. Twice she almost stepped into a puddle of muddy water, except she managed to sidestep at the last moment. It took around twice as long for her to reach the other end of town.

Really, if she had only been intelligent enough to bring an umbrella with her today. The pink-haired kunoichi sighed lightly as she peeked at the bag. Her tight grip was doing wonders in keeping the cake dry. Only a few more steps to go, she told herself. Then she would be out of the rain.

The apartment complex she was heading towards soon came in view. It was an old structure that looked as if it was built decades ago. The paint was constantly peeling off, and just last summer, when Sakura climbed up the stairs, she suffered a panic attack. One of the wooden steps was apparently rotten, so when she placed her weight on it, the wooden plank snapped. If she wasn't a ninja, she wouldn't have landed as gracefully as she did.

She approached the building with an increased enthusiasm until she was underneath the roof tiles. Rain still managed to slip through the cracks, but it was better than nothing. She climbed the usual set of stairs, hearing the familiar creak of wood as she walked up each step.

Creak creak creak. The sound was oddly relaxing, even though it was a stark reminder that any of the steps could break under her weight at any moment.

Once she reached the second floor, she stepped into the hallway. It wasn't a dim area normally, but with the sun out of commission and only gray clouds in the sky, the place looked a lot more sinister than Sakura would have liked.

Uzumaki Naruto.

It was almost as if his very presence was permanently etched within the walls. If she turned around, it felt as if he might just jump out of the darkness to stab her in the back. Her fingers tightened around the plastic bag as she forced herself to take a deep breath and remind herself that the last time she checked, Uzumaki Naruto had yet to make the news headline as a serial killer.

It was fine. Uzumaki would not be at his apartment during this time of the day. He was generally not in his apartment at all during the day. The most normal assumption would be that he was working a normal day job, but she still couldn't shake off the uneasy feeling every time she visited his apartment that she might be visiting a murderer.

His windows were covered by a combination of newspapers and black plastic trash bags, so that no one would be able to look inside and see what he was up to or if he was even home. The doorbell right of his door had long been ripped off and had yet to be replaced. On the center of the door, there was the faint imprint of "221". The brass numbers were also gone. It was clear. He really didn't want any visitors.

Unhooking the plastic strap of the bag from her hands, she realized she had to pull the bag from her fingers. There were angry looking welts where the handle of the bag had been. She chafed her fingers gently to ease back some of the blood.

Then she turned back to the door of Uzumaki's apartment to look for a suitable hiding spot for his birthday cake. She needed to find a place where both his snooping neighbors and the tabby cat that roamed around the alleyway wouldn't find it. After studying the worn down complex for a few seconds, she came to the conclusion that there was no suitable spot and if there was one, she would have found it on the numerous times she came over to leave something.

It was going to be the usual trick. She rounded to the back of the second floor of the complex until she was all the way at the empty space in the back that was enclosed by three walls. The tenants tended to leave reusable things such as boxes and old furniture here. Without any lights, the sounds of even her smaller movements seemed louder than usual. It was decidedly creepy by the kunoichi, and she wanted to get away as soon as possible. It meant grabbing the first decent cardboard box she found and dashing back to Uzumaki's apartment.

Putting the box originally meant to hold oranges over the cake, she messily scribbled his name on top of the box right below the words "Konoha Oranges, Fresh as it can get!" Then, after thinking on it for a few seconds, she wrote "happy birthday, thanks for being born".

From the corner of her eyes, she peered past the balcony and into the rain. It was back in the stormy weather for this pink-haired kunoichi, she thought. While she wasn't looking eager for the return trip home, it was certainly better than remaining on Uzumaki's turf past normal day hours.

Descending down the flight of stairs, her heart nearly stopped at the sight of a boy in a hooded sweater walking her way. Then, as the boy took off his hood and revealed his lack of blond hair, Sakura heaved a sigh of relief. That was definitely cutting it close and considering her proximity to Uzumaki's home, the chances of her meeting him was much too high for her comfort.

As she stepped off the last step and onto the pavement, she felt significantly better. Even after all these years of sneaking over to Uzumaki's apartment to leave little gifts, she still felt guilty every time she visited. There was no fixing the...incident. In a way, visiting his place served as a constant reminder of what she owed him.

It always left her with in uneasy feeling that dug at her appetite. Because, in the end, Sakura knew she had a terrible personality because why else would she have left him alone while she fled like a coward.

With such dark thoughts, she opened her mouth to breath, but stopped when she tasted the rain in her lips. If she didn't hurry up, she'd be caught out in a bigger storm with the luck she had. Normally, she wouldn't have ventured out in the rain and would have dropped off whatever it was whenever she got another chance.

It just had to be Uzumaki's cake day. Sakura didn't know his actual birthday, but she based it off the date he'd written down back when he was still attending the academy. She doubted he knew the actual date as well. After all, if the rumors about him were correct, he was an orphan with unknown parents. The nurses at the orphanage chose the dates in those cases (usually when the day the child was brought there).

She was almost near the corner of the block when the sight of Uzumaki Naruto caused the kunoichi to freeze in her step. He was walking down the same street she was heading towards, only in the opposite direction. The blond was in a black and orange jacket and pair of shinobi pants.

No forehead protector. As far as she remembered, he had only been in the Academy for one month before the bullying got too severe. Before that day happened. The boy was pulled away from the school. Sakura thought he would be back the next day, but he was ultimately sent elsewhere. It made Sakura sick just thinking about it.

Natural instincts kicked in, causing Sakura to avert her eyes towards a particularly grimey looking puddle filled with soggy looking napkins. She clenched her fists and exhaled before bringing her hand up awkwardly to catch his attention.

"H-Hi, I haven't seen you in years, Uzumaki-san," she wanted to say, except no sound escaped her lips. With a nervous smile gracing her lips that would rival the Hyuuga heiress, Sakura tried her best to pull her eyes away from the puddle. However, upon looking up, whatever shy state she was in disappeared once she saw the nasty cuts that marred his arms and face. His knuckles in particular were bloodied while there was a nasty bruise forming on his left cheek, right below the faint whiskers the other kids made fun of when he was younger. It looked like he had been in some kind of fight.

What was he doing with his life? For a moment, Sakura felt anger at the boy for seemingly treating his body so carelessly by getting himself injured. Then she remembered she was part of the reason he didn't become a ninja and promptly felt shame. She wondered if he had enough money to get his injuries checked at the hospital and if he would be willing to let a novice medic like her take a closer examination at his wounds. Instead, what she blurted out was scolding and not what she intended. "You're bleeding! Why the hell did you get in a fight?"

The blond stopped mid-step, his sandal hovering over a miniature puddle that had formed underneath the broken roof of one of the neighborhood's homes. If he wasn't staring at her before, he was now. A pair of blue eyes blinked in surprise before they honed in on her expression. Then, the boy gingerly pointed to himself as if asking a question to Sakura. "I guess there's no one else but me here huh…" Sakura had a feeling the words were more to himself than to her with the softness invoked in his tone.

"You should get your wounds checked at a hospital. Come on, I'll take you," she said with a much more gentle tone. Stepping forward and momentarily forgetting her fear, she reached out to grab his wrist. Surprise painted her jade eyes when cold fingers seized her wrist instead. She had not anticipated he would have such fast reflexes.

"I'm fine. Thank you for your concern though," he said, his voice much deeper than she imagined his voice to be now that he was sixteen instead of six.

While his hold wasn't hostile, it was much firmer than she'd expected an academy dropout to possess. She held her ground, meeting his cool gaze with her stubborn one. "I know you don't want to see or have anything to do with me, but putting a strong front won't help you." She meant to say "but please let me help you" but the other words fell out of her lips instead.

There was a slight tear in his shirt. He cleared his throat, effectively bringing her attention back to his face. She wondered if he was mad, considering they were virtually strangers and the first thing she did was scold him for getting into a fight and not being a ninja when he was practically kicked out of the Academy.

In the distant, she could hear the howling wind blow through the section of the neighborhood the two were standing in. Her legs felt clammy. It was almost suffocating to be next to Uzumaki Naruto, who was probably preparing his long-awaited speech on how much he hated her as a person.

Stop shaking, she told herself as she clenched both of her hands. Raindrops continuously dripped onto her head as clumps of pink hair stuck to her forehead. Crashing into Uzumaki was bound to happen, if she made visits to his apartment. Now that she was here though, she wanted more than to run away like she did the first time.

She didn't. Instead, she said, "It's still not too late to become a ninja, Uzu—"

He took a step forward, effectively shutting away her thoughts, as he got uncomfortably close. Sakura's heart skipped a beat. For a moment, she wondered if he was just going to ignore her and walk away. However, her hopes were dashed when he continued to hold her wrist and stare curiously in her direction.

Was he going to physically punch her instead? She was prepared for it, welcomed it even if it would make him feel better, but instead, he just stood perfectly still. Then finally, he opened his mouth and very quietly, told her "Today's the anniversary of an important person's death. Sorry, but I'd like to be alone."

Sakura blinked away the raindrops from her eyes. Before she had time to process his words, he looked down towards her with a simple grin. While there was a hint of sadness in his eyes, there was no malice. "You changed since then, Sakura-chan."

"Uzumaki—"

The blond took off his battered jacket and draped it across her shoulders and over her head. The smile was gone from his face and just like that, he looked like the intimidating boy she imagined him to be. Giving her a brief wave, he continued down the gravel path until his shadow disappeared around the corner.

It was only later when Sakura was back in her apartment and taking a hot shower, she realized Naruto's eyes were slightly red. Maybe it was not only the rain running down his face. She also washed his jacket and stored it away, intending to return it to him someday.

In the morning, she found herself visiting Uzumaki's apartment again. She told herself it was because the boy had wounds that were not going to heal overnight. However, when she rang the doorbell, no one came out to unlock the door for her. She was disappointed, because even if he did not want to get his wounds treated at the hospital, she could disinfect them for him.

She sighed. It figured he'd be out during the day, like always. She was able to turn away when she noticed a small blue note slipped in between the metal bars of the door.

"Neko-chan, I have no treats for you today," said Sakura to the orange tabby cat lounging lazily between the note and her. Yellow eyes stared back at her before they finally closed again. Apparently, the stray cat had deemed her to be benign. She reached over to where the note was, hoping not to scare away the cat. The first thing Sakura noticed was the messily scribbled smiley, right where Naruto wrote his name.

Hey! My beautiful or handsome stalker-san,

You've been sending me cakes

on September 4th for the past eight years

so I thought you should know —

my birthday is on October 10th.

Thanks for the cake, though! It was

delicious.

Uzumaki Naruto

PS: It's difficult for me to continue

receiving gifts from a stranger, as

nice as the gesture is. Maybe we

can meet someday for food? It'll

be my treat!

She read the note carefully, confusion grappling at her emotions when he revealed quite bluntly that she had mistakenly sent him a birthday on the wrong day and month. Sakura's memory was one of the things she was proud of. She was sure September 10th was the date Naruto wrote down during the academy days.

Of course, it was entirely possible that he had lied about it. Given his prankster nature back in the academy, Sakura wouldn't have put it past the blond to write a random date down. Despite herself, the pink haired kunoichi laughed at herself for falling for the six-year old's pranks still.

Her laughter subsided as she reached the end of the note. She wasn't sure if revealing her identity would have been wise, given their less than savory history together. Tucking the note in her pocket, she rapidly descended the stairs. A response was on the tip of her tongue. She could very easily explain that she did not wish to be known and that she'd just stop visiting from now on.

However, the lonely look in his eyes early made her give pause. And of all things to mistaken, she had to congratulate him on his "birthday" on the anniversary of the death of an important person. It was cruel and in the end, her doing. If she was Naruto, she would have flung the cake out.

The thoughts were enough to quiet the kunoichi on her way in Konoha. For once, instead of hoping she'd not have to see Naruto, her eyes would glance around and look for a tuft of blond hair. However, he was nowhere to be seen like always. If he had not grabbed her wrist, Sakura might have thought she dreamed the encounter up.

Either way, she rushed over to the Konoha hospital to begin her shift. As nice as it was to walk around with the sun out, she still needed to make enough money to pay the rent.

"Child, did something happen?" The voice caused Sakura snap out of her thoughts. She smiled apologetically to where the old woman was, returning back to her business of updating the woman's medical history. Glancing briefly at the report, Sakura noticed the old woman was in here for overworking. Again.

"With that solemn look, you won't be attracting any boys," chided the old lady.

Sakura mustered a smile. "Fusako baa-san, you're embarrassing me."

The old woman waved a dismissive hand in the kunoichi's direction. "Nonsense, you're a beautiful girl. Any guy who doesn't realize this is missing out."

Sakura's smile widened by a fraction as she realized what the old lady thought she was worried about. Boy troubles. Though, it would be more accurate if she was back as her twelve year old. "I was actually thinking about a—" She hesitated as she rattled her brains for an appropriate word to describe Naruto. "A childhood friend."

"That kind of romance is the best," said the old lady with an agreeable voice, to which Sakura responded with a resigned sigh. "Okay, okay. What are you worried about, child?"

Sakura thought back to the wounds on Naruto's body and the solemn expression on his face when he walked away. She frowned. "...A strange feeling I can't explain." As she stared out the window, she couldn't help but notice that the landscape was just as monochrome as yesterday and in some cases, even worse. There was a higher concentration of gray clouds in the sky, signalling that a storm was just around the corner.

"I just think something bad is about to happen."