Chapter 1: New Beginning
Haru opened her eyes to a pale ceiling, covered in blinding lights. ‘Where am I?’ She thought, struggling to sit up.
“You shouldn’t exert yourself. Lay back down.” Haru flinched at the sharp tone of the woman, and turned to study her. The beautiful woman was simply dressed in a low cut shirt with black pants that cut off just below her knees. She had light brown eyes and long butterscotch blonde hair tied in two ponytails hanging past her shoulders. The lady was carefully scanning a clipboard of complicated charts, and Haru opened her mouth to speak.
“Where am I?” The woman looked up, before answering.
“Konoha Hospital. You were found last night on the Izuko Bridge, covered in your own blood. You were brought here, where we hooked you up to a couple machines and tested for your condition. Sakura Haruno, who is your nurse, will be able to explain it more. I just wanted to check up on you.” As she finished that sentence, a young woman that looked Haru’s age walked in, and smiled warmly at her. Haru stared at her. Everything seemed so…joyful here. Haru didn’t know how to handle how cheerful this pink haired mystery was.
“Tsunade-sensei, I hope you aren’t harassing my patient.” The girl teased, and Tsunade snorted.
“Just checking in. I’ve got to get back to the office anyway. Got to separate the incoming genin into teams.” Tsunade shuddered as she explained, and Sakura smiled at her as she left, shutting the door behind her before turning to Haru.
“Hello, my name is Sakura, and I’ll be your nurse for the next few days.” She held out her hand, and Haru looked at it in confusion. What was she supposed to do with a hand? ‘Why can’t I remember anything? I feel like I’m seeing the world for the first time…’
Sakura frowned slightly, lowering her hand and looking at the charts again, her frown deepening, her deep emerald eyes confused. Haru tilted her head slightly, absorbing all of her expressions, biting her lip to hold back the tears. What had she done to upset her? It had been like that…once….people never were happy with her around. What was wrong with her?
“Hm. It seems that you have a case of amnesia, but your charts say that nothing is wrong with you except a few deep cuts in your legs.” She seemed to be speaking more to herself than to Haru. She shook her head, smiling again. “Do you know your name?”
“Yes.” Sakura seemed surprised at the sound of Haru’s voice, but quickly covered it up. Haru stared at her, waiting for her to speak. She smiled at her, motioning for her to continue. “It’s…Haru.”
Sakura smiled warmly. “That’s a very pretty name.”
Haru said nothing, but her lips twitched into a smile that was so unfamiliar it felt painful. Sakura seemed also dazed by the smile, but didn’t comment. Sakura continued her questions.
“How old are you?”
“Eighteen.”
“Where did you come from?”
“I don’t…remember…” Haru frowned, and her face contorted as she attempted to remember.
But when the thought to even try to remember entered her mind, something at the back of her neck began to burn like a branding iron. Haru screamed, and clutched her neck so tightly she felt her nails pierce the skin. The small pricks were nothing, a warm bath next to the iciness of the coldest winter, compared with the pain coming from her neck.
Pain pounded so harshly in her entire body that it was all she could do not to stab the nearest sharp object into her heart, anything to stop the torture. She felt her mind going through images so fast it was as if her life was in fast-forward. Sakura’s alarmed face flickered past, and Haru heard her yell something into a walkie talkie.
“Tsunade-sensei!! Get in here NOW!” The door slammed open, and Haru saw through a haze the same blonde from before. All else was swept into nothing as another wave of agony, making her scream again, curling into a ball of hurt. Haru felt hands brushing against her neck, and snarled at them, crouching like a wounded animal, glaring at the two women who were touching her. Every touch was an attack, and she had to fight it off. Haru tried to calm down as she looked at the attractive pink haired woman who looked terrified.
No.
Haru had hurt too many people. She had invoked that same fear in so many, too many to count. Haru didn’t know why, but she felt tired of being hated, despised. She wanted…she didn’t know the word, but ‘someone’ to feel safe and happy with. The pink haired girl, Sakura, seemed so happy it glowed from every part of her body, so infectious, Haru felt attached to her, like a puppy to its owner. Haru didn’t know how to handle it, she couldn’t remember how.
Sakura studied Haru’s face of calm concentration that was twisted with torturous misery, decided to end her pain, for the moment anyway. She nodded to Tsunade, who stabbed a needle into the girl’s pale neck. Haru grabbed Tsunade’s arm, and exerted hard but steady pressure. Tsunade hissed under her breath, but as soon as the painful pressure was exerted, it was gone.
Haru felt her grasp on consciousness slipping, gray fog clouding her vision. She released the blonde woman’s arm, and closed her eyes, and fell into absolutely pain-free blackness.
***
The pink haired medic watched as the strange girl closed her impossibly deep violet eyes, and fell back into the pillows, face smoothing out as the drugs kicked in. Haru’s long silver hair seemed to shimmer in the fluorescent lights, and her snowy white skin reminded Sakura of the moon somehow, seeming to have a radiant glow underneath. Sakura sighed, moving forward to cover her with the blankets once more. Tsunade came forward also, standing by her apprentice to also study the girl who they knew absolutely nothing about, save perhaps her name and age.
“Sakura, what the hell was that?”
“I’m not sure sensei; it seemed to be coming from the back of her neck.” The two women moved Haru a little so they could get a good view of her neck. Tsunade leaned forward, running her fingers over the intricate tattoo, a light green glow surrounding her hand as she sifted through the inner workings of the seal without altering them.
It was a rather pretty thing, the center of it being an elaborately detailed flower that was shaped like a five pointed star. The flower had vines that ran in twists and swirls around the flower itself, which had a single sign in the middle of its petals.
“Sensei, what kind of seal is it. Is it even a seal? I’ve never seen anything so detailed…” Sakura asked, also examining the tattoo. Tsunade frowned, leaning away and thinking hard.
“It’s a seal all right, but I have no idea what kind. It is vaguely similar to the Hyuuga seal, seeing as it has a trigger reaction, meaning that something must have happened to trigger it, but I can’t imagine what, and I definitely didn’t feel any chakra presence that could possibly have the power to do that. It seems odd…”
‘But wait…she was fine up to the point where I asked her about where she came from…and then…’ Sakura remembered Haru’s attempt to remember, the pain that exploded the second after.
“Tsunade-sensei, I think I know!” Sakura exclaimed, and Tsunade waited patiently. “I was asking her questions, and she was fine until I asked about where she came from. She said she didn’t know, and when she tried to remember, the seal reacted.” Tsunade’s eyes narrowed and she studied the seal even more closely.
“If that’s true, than it’s more like the Hyuuga seal than I imagined. It reacts in almost the same way, only the Hyuuga seal is triggered by someone else, while this girl’s attempts to remember triggered it from inside her own mind. Seeing that it causes her extreme pain, the person who put it on her doesn’t want anyone, including her, to know anything about where she came from.” Sakura frowned.
“Do you have any idea who?”
“No. But it seems to not be a very crucial problem right now. It only triggers when she remembers her past, so she should refrain from thinking about it until we know more about the seal. We should let her get used to her surroundings more before doing any tests on it.”
“Should I have the teams come and see her, or should it wait? They all heard about it from Neji and are very curious.”
Tsunade’s lips twitched, but she said in a calm voice. “That would be good. Just make sure Naruto doesn’t wake her up.” She made her way toward the door, and called over her shoulder. “Oh, and Sakura?”
“Yes?”
“As soon as she gets better, send her into my office. I need to talk to her about her skill level as a ninja and if she wishes to become a citizen or not.” Sakura smiled in agreement, and the Fifth Hokage closed the door behind her. Sakura turned back to Haru, and shrugged. It was unusual of Tsunade to be so welcoming of a complete stranger, but maybe she had been affected as much as Sakura by Haru’s appearance.
When Sakura had seen her at first, she hadn’t how to react. The new girl had been so breathtakingly gorgeous she didn’t seem real, more resembling a flawless goddess in a painting. Haru was tall, with a slender figure that was the definition of delicate. Her forehead was covered by silver bangs that stopped at exactly eyebrow level. Haru’s hair was an odd color of silver, not like Kakashi’s darker gray, but instead luminous silver that made the finest silver pieces look like garbage. That perfect silver hair went in graceful waves to her lower back, and looked amazing no matter what situation. But the most beautiful thing was Haru’s eyes. They were an entrancing violet color, making Sakura want to hug her on impulse. Those eyes were scared, and innocent, and longing for friendship so strongly it made Sakura want to cry. When she had spoke, Sakura had been surprised by how low it was, but not too low, the perfect pitch that made even her heartbeat pick up slightly.
Sakura was suddenly very afraid for the single male population of Konoha. The thought of this goddess of a girl walking down the main street and the expressions of men as she passed was hilarious.
And even more surprisingly, her loveliness wasn’t something that made Sakura jealous. The girl seemed devastatingly beautiful, as if that beauty had made her feel so much pain…
Sakura almost felt protective, and stroked her hair softly. The girl flinched in her sleep, but when she heard Sakura murmur to her soothingly, she relaxed. Sakura smiled, and immediately made a goal to get the girl more used to having physical contact, because if she was a ninja, that would be crucial to have. She pressed her hand to the girl’s forehead and exerted a small amount of chakra to slowly awaken the senses, assuring that Haru would wake up in half an hour so she could meet some people her age.
“Hey!” Sakura suddenly called to a passing nurse. The lady was older, and stepped into the room.
“Yes Haruno-sama?”
“Would you watch, or get someone to watch Haru while I’m gone? She’ll be waking up in a few minutes, and I’ll only be gone for a few hours; also, can you alert the receptionist that a large group will be coming up with me to visit Haru?” The nurse nodded, and Sakura waved before opening the window and lightly slipping out, and falling gracefully onto a house roof. She scanned the roads for any familiar faces, and grinned when she found the one she had been looking for. She jumped down and walked briskly through the street until she was right behind him.
“Sakura.” Sasuke tilted his head back slightly to look down at her. Sakura smiled, linking her arm loosely with his.
“Hello Sasuke. I wanted to know if you would help me round up everyone.”
“Hn?” That translated to ‘why’.
“Because I want you all to meet the new girl that Neji found last night.”
“Who do you want me to find?”
“Let’s see, I’ll find Ino, Hinata, Tenten, Shikamaru, and Choji. You can find Shino, Kiba, Naruto, and Neji. Can you find them and meet up with us in an hour at the hospital in an hour?”
“Fine.”
“Thanks!” Sakura hugged her boyfriend tight, and he lightly returned the embrace. Sakura pulled away, and kissed him quickly on the lips before running off, smiling at the slight blush on Sasuke’s face at being kissed in public.
Okay, first stop, Yamanaka Flower Shop.
Sakura turned at the first right turn and looked down a small street that was the residence of Konoha’s one and only flower shop. It was a small place, but packed full of both simple and extravagant flowers. A pleasant wave of different fragrances swept over Sakura as she stepped inside. A familiar face smiled at Sakura through the many flowers that were piled everywhere.
“Hey Forehead girl! What’s up?” Sakura grinned at her best friend.
“Nice to see you too Ino-pig. I want you to come with me and everyone to see the new girl Neji found last night.” Ino Yamanaka perked up at that news.
“Really? Who is she?”
“Her name is Haru, and let me just say in advance that all of the ninja males are going to be swooning after her in no time at all.”
Ino’s eyes widened. “She’s that pretty?”
“She’s drop dead gorgeous.” Sakura amended, and Ino grinned slyly.
“I can’t wait to see their faces.” By ‘their’ faces, Sakura knew that Ino was referring to all the boys who were single among our group of friends: Shino, Choji, Kiba, and Neji.
Sakura and Ino grinned, and the pink haired medic led the way out the door and into the now bustling street.
An hour later, seven people were grouped at the hospital gate. Shikamaru was rubbing his head with a scowl on his face. This was a result of Sakura and Ino finding him in his favorite cloud watching spot and so deeply asleep that Ino had to kick him awake. Tenten was juggling a few razor sharp kunai carelessly in her hands, a bored expression on her face. Kiba and Naruto were busy arguing about whose jutsu was stronger, and Ino and Hinata were busy pondering on what the new girl would be like. How pretty she would be, and if she would be shy or outgoing, or if she was arrogant and nasty…and so on and so forth. Sakura frowned, wondering who, other then Choji, was missing.
Sasuke, noticing Sakura’s searches, answered that question. “Shino wouldn’t come. He said he had to work with his dad to do research.” Sakura nodded, and led the eager group into the hospital. The receptionist nodded to Sakura, and the medic led the group up the stairs and stopped when they were just outside earshot of Haru’s room. She told the ninja to quiet down, and spoke in a whisper.
“Okay you guys, this girl’s name is Haru, and she doesn’t like physical contact. She also is very sensitive to loud noises and voice tones; so no matter what she says or does; try to be as unthreatening and quiet as you can while still being friendly. Now, I want all of you to go in there, and ‘calmly’,” Sakura glared pointedly at Naruto, who grinned sheepishly, “introduce yourselves. And you can ask her questions too, but whatever you do, do ‘not’ ask her about her past, at ‘all’. Just ask her about things she likes and dislikes, what her hobbies are, that sort of stuff. Okay?”
Everyone nodded, and Sakura opened Haru’s door and let the ninja file in quietly, closing the door behind herself.
Haru was sitting up, hands resting in her lap, eyes wide and shocked as she took in all the people suddenly staring at her. She tensed, hand clenching the side of her bed and tried to pull herself up. Sakura rushed forward, and touched her arm gently. Haru flinched, but allowed the gesture. It was apparent the group standing in silence that this girl trusted Sakura, enough to let her touch her at least.
While Sakura patted the girl’s arm soothingly, every male in the room had some degree of incredulity in their thoughts.
Sasuke was the first to get over her dazzling radiance, looking instead at his pink haired medic, and personally thinking that the latter was much more his type. More durable, more…special in a way nobody could ever match. The raven haired boy had to admit that the new girl was indeed beautiful, but he wasn’t attracted to her the way he was to Sakura.
Shikamaru’s thoughts were very similar to Sasuke’s, and he moved closer to Ino, wrapping an arm around her waist. Ino was happy for his comforting presence. Sakura had been right; this girl was beyond beautiful, but she was also slightly disconcerted by those eyes. They were so captivating she almost couldn’t look away.
Naruto was staring open mouthed at the exotic girl in front of him. He had never seen anyone so beautiful. But he suddenly noticed Hinata moving closer to him, and realized that he too saw what Sakura had seen. Those eyes were so lonely and sad. They made him want to branch out and make her smile, but only as a friend. Hinata was the one for him, and that couldn’t be thrown aside.
Neji just stared. She was indeed beautiful, so stunning it made Neji’s head spin. The Hyuuga couldn’t help remembering when he had seen her the night before, bathed in moonlight, staring at him with those violet eyes that were questioning and relieved when he had told her what she wanted to hear, that she had arrived in Konoha. The girl’s voice sounded like the most beautiful sound Neji had ever heard, almost part of the night itself. He reluctantly recalled the feel of her silky silver hair against his arms as he carried her to the hospital. Her skin as it glowed in the moon’s pale light…
“Haru, these are my friends. They are very excited to meet you.” Sakura spoke slowly and calmly, and Haru cocked her head slightly, looking each person in the eye before asking.
“Friends?” Every person in the room, particularly the boys, felt their heartbeat quicken at the sound of Haru’s voice.
Sakura smiled. “Yes. Do you want to meet them?”
Haru looked around at the people standing around her bed, and suddenly caught the eye of Neji. She stared unblinkingly, and everyone watched as Neji met her gaze without flinching. She suddenly smiled hesitantly, making the men gasp silently. It was as if the sun had suddenly come out after days of relentless rain. She silently stepped out of the bed, and brushed off Sakura’s hands trying to help her. She walked, almost glided over to where the white eyed boy stood. She was a good head shorter than the Hyuuga, but that didn’t seem to deter her.
Neji looked down at her flawless face, feeling her warmth radiate from her closeness, smelled the fragrance that came off of her skin and hair. A mild, but intoxicating scent…magnolia and roses…
The girl slowly reached up with a slender hand, and touched his cheek. Neji felt a shiver go through him as her surprisingly cool hand touched his skin. Her hand traced slowly up his face, to rest on his eyes, which had slowly closed as he gave in to the feeling of her hand on his face. Her fingers drifted over his closed lids, and she stopped, pulling away slightly. Neji opened his eyes almost unwillingly, to find himself inches from violet orbs. She was much too close now, and a slight blush colored his cheeks at the closeness, but she was staring at his eyes curiously.
Finally, after a few long moments, she released him, looking back at Sakura, who was a bit shocked at Haru’s study of the Hyuuga.
Haru turned again to Neji, and asked. “Are your eyes pieces of the moon?” Neji stared at her, and when he didn’t answer, she continued. “And you are not blind, but your eyes don’t change in the light. They’re…different from others I have seen.” Sakura suddenly started laughing. Naruto soon couldn’t hold it in, and started cracking up. Everyone began laughing, and Haru’s eyes went wide in fright at the sudden noise. Neji glared at Sakura, who soon realized her error and made everyone stop.
“No,” Neji spoke gently, “my eyes are not part of the moon. They are different because they allow me to do different things. It is called the Byakugan, and it is a trait of the Hyuuga clan. It allows me to see everything around me, and even through things if I wish.”
Sakura cleared her throat, and led Haru back to the bed, trying not to look too pleased. Haru was already getting more comfortable with other people, and seemed to be intrigued by Neji in ways that Sakura could not comprehend. Now that she had met Neji, she needed to meet the others.
“Here, let’s introduce everyone else.” Haru nodded, and looked at the person farthest to the right. Hinata.
“Uh, hello Haru. My name is Hinata Hyuuga.” And Haru nodded, moving on to the next person.
“Yo! I’m Naruto Uzumaki, the next amazing Hokage!!”
“Hi, I’m Ino Yamanaka!”
“Shikamaru Nara.”
“Sasuke Uchiha.”
“I’m Tenten!”
“I’m Kiba Inuzuka. And I have a canine pal named Akamaru, but he’s getting checked up by Sis!”
“I’m Hyuuga Neji.” Haru’s eyes lingered on Neji the longest, and smiled widely, looking to the room at large.
“Thank you all for coming to see me. I’m Haru, and I hope to become your…um…what’s the word Haruno-san used?”
It was Sasuke who answered. “Friend.”
Haru nodded. “Yes, a ‘friend’. I don’t remember where I came from, but I would be very…happy…if I could stay here in Konoha, even if it’s only temporary.”
Kiba laughed. “You don’t need our permission. Do what you want!”
She smiled, and glanced at each person once more. “Thank you.”
Sakura glanced at the clock. “Okay, everyone, I think we should give Haru some time to sleep. You can visit tomorrow.” She ushered everyone out, and Haru lay back obediently.
“Haruno-san?”
“Please, call me Sakura.”
“Sakura…did, Kiba I think his name was, speak the truth? Can I really stay here?” Sakura grinned.
“Only if you think you can stand us!”
Haru looked puzzled for a second, and then she got the joke. A trilling laugh filled the room, full of amusement and was as lovely as the prettiest bird song.
“Actually, I think all of your friends are very nice.” Haru settled back into the lumpy pillows, and Sakura made for the door. She was about to close the door when she heard Haru mutter to herself. “Especially Hyuuga Neji…” But then she was asleep. Sakura smiled inwardly, softly closing the door and making her way to the group that was waiting for her.
For Haru, Konoha was a new beginning.
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Chapter notes: okay heres chapter 1!!!!
im definitely going to continue this, but im also writing another story at the same time so update times may vary, so please be patient with me!
Special thanks to these people: ItachiUchihaLover, Sasuke Sakura17, and Redbunny13 for being my first 3 reviewers!!! You guys totally made my day!!!
enjoy and review!!!