Disclaimer: Hey. You. Yeah, yeah you. Yeah. I don't own Naruto.

A/W: I have yet to see all of the episodes of Naruto! I have no idea if this follows with the story line, or if something is off. If this bothers you, DO NOT READ IT!

I HEREBY DEDICATE THIS STORY TO DEVAN! THANK YOU FOR ALL OF YOUR ART MY DEAR, DEAR FRIEND! .

Chapter One

A seventeen year old Sakura stared at herself in her very own full length mirror. She 'humphed' at what she saw but decided that she wasn't about to get any prettier unless she tried out a new jutsu. And she just wasn't up for that right now; way to many things to go wrong. Especially since the whole 'dog/maraca/taco' incident…

"Never again shall I try out a new jutsu without somebody more experienced around…And next time I'll make sure there aren't any dogs, maracas, or tacos around either…" Sakura giggled aloud to herself, enjoying the freedom of finally being able to do that.

Sakura snuck another small peek at herself in the mirror. It had been several years since she had last worn her red dress and black bicycle shorts. Her black shorts had been switched to a khaki green, knee length pair of shorts, much looser than her black ones and with a plethora of pockets with which to hide many things. Including her kunai, which were already in her side pockets. The shorts were held up by a matching green belt. Hell, she had even picked out the belt on her own!

Her shirt had been changed to a black tank-top with a green one (matching her shorts, of course!) layered beneath it. Her hair remained short, still held back by her Hidden Leaf Village headband. A new one, since unfortunately her old one had recently been broken.

Taking a deep breath, Sakura stared out the window and was delighted to find that instead of clouds or buckets of rain, as there had been for the past few days, she saw clear blue skies with fluffy white clouds drifting lazily along. A perfect day to undertake her mission.

Ah yes. Her 'mission'. Well… not so much a mission as a personal quest of her own. No reason to do it, but she had already long ago decided to do it. She had even mentioned it to her sensei, Kakashi.

"Errrrrrrr………"

That had been about the length of her conversation with her sensei before he had wandered off in the opposite direction, his nose already back in his book.

That book… If it was the last thing she did, she was going to take that damned book away from him. If only to get some of his attention for more than a few seconds. That, too, would be a marvelous day. A marvelous day indeed! She grinned happily. Perhaps another day… For today! Today, she was going to deliver…it.

She nodded solemnly, preparing herself for what was to come. Already she knew that it was going to be a long and difficult journey. Well… okay maybe not incredibly long or all too difficult. But she was still going to have to get past various people.

Sakura shivered. The heating in her apartment had gone off again. It wasn't like she didn't pay her rent, because she sure as hell worked hard to do that. Her apartment managers just weren't all that reliable… She would be lucky if she came home and the water was clear. Or if the water was even working.

Carefully Sakura wrapped the present up in a piece of cloth designed for transporting these things. Her sandals made only a tiny bit of noise as she crossed the mold ridden boards beneath her. As she reached her door, she looked up into the flickering light above her. Slowly Sakura reached out for the light switch, yet even before she touched it, the light went out… As did the two clocks, fan, and other various electronic objects she had in her apartment of doom.

"Oh happy, happy, joy, joy. Eh… I'll fix it later…" And with that final, lovely remark, Sakura opened the rotting door, and slammed it with a bit more force than necessary, only to hear the doorknob fall out onto the floor behind her.

"Oh that's just absolutely wonderful…"

8 8 8

Sakura was slightly on edge as she made her way through the village. She was fairly sure where she would find him, but she knew that she was probably going to have a few problems here and there getting to him. Almost as though fate had been listening and had decided that it just didn't like her shirt, she passed by the noodle shop.

"Sakura! Hey Saaaaaaaakura!" Sakura froze in her steps, not even bothering to turn around. Her first nuisance had arrived.

"Hold it right there!" She shouted back at Naruto as he dashed towards her. He paused in his steps, a hurt and confused look on his face. Was he really that stupid?

"But…But Sakura I'm here with Hinata! See?" He pointed behind himself towards the noodle shop. Sakura visibly rolled her eyes, attempting (and succeeding) in looking incredibly annoyed.

"First of all Naruto, you do realize just how rude you're being right, leaving Hinata to come and talk to me?" He cringed, starting to turn back towards the noodle shop.

"And second of all… I'M THE ONE WHO SET YOU TWO UP!" Her shout seemed to wake up him, as he jumped several feet into the air and about-faced, chasing after a very hurt looking Hinata.

The first distraction was over and dealt with. Sakura sighed and looked up at the sky where a few clouds had snuck past her and were starting to swell in size.

"But are the other ones going to be this easy?" With a set look of determination, Sakura turned back towards her destination and strode confidently off. She was off, once more!

A/N: Okay peoples! Yes, I do realize that this is the shortest chapter I've ever written, but for those of you who follow what I do write, you understand why. I'm not too good with fics that aren't Hellsing; so of course, I'm always a bit cautious when first starting one. If enough people review, then I will continue! As always, I remain your humble servant.

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