WARNINGS: Slight Yaoi
DISCLAIMER: I do not own anything in the story, save for the words. All characters, names, places, ect. belong to Masashi Kishimoto.

FREE ME
Chapter I - A New Beginning
By Klondike-Ninja

"Naruto, you do know where we're going, right?" Sakura asked as the team of four moved swiftly through the trees.

"Sakura, it's Sasuke we're going after. Do you honestly think he'd go in the wrong direction?" Kakashi, the elected leader whispered.

Sakura smiled slightly. "Yeah. I guess you're right…" I hope we find him… she thought as she followed to orange-clad ninja in front of her.

"Sasuke-kun should be right ahead." Sai said, glancing at the book he held in one hand. "If we hurry, we could be there in ten minutes."

"Sai," Sakura whispered to him. "Don't say that! Now we have to-"

"SASUKE!" Naruto yelled, as he kicked of a tree branch, sending him faster through the dense forest.

"Oh… Great." Sakura muttered.

"Sakura, remember our plan if Sasuke isn't there."

"Right. You'll summon Pakkun to catch a scent, and Sai and I will hold Naruto down and send word to the Hokage about a search party."

"Very good. And if he is there?" Kakashi raised an eyebrow. He enjoyed testing his old students, particularly Sakura. He hadn't told them the plan for actually catching Sasuke, yet, and decided it would help them more if they figured it out on their own.

"We'll have to keep Naruto from overreacting, and lure him back somehow." Sai guessed, but Sakura laughed darkly.

"No. Sasuke's not stupid. But if Naruto just charges at him, he'll blow the poor kid back and walk away." Sakura glanced at her sensei, and continued, knowing from the slight smile that she was on the right course. "We'd have to keep him from running long enough to get behind him and catch him… What if Naruto used his Rasen Shuriken to show Sasuke he was getting more powerful, but didn't use it enough to hurt him too bad? Then make him think that he went after Sasuke alone so they could fight, and when Sasuke believes him, you could grab his arms, sensei, so he can't use Chidori, and then knock him out?" She hated the thought of using violence against her old teammate, but she'd do anything to get Sasuke-kun back.

"Naruto!" Kakashi called. "Come here for a sec. We need to discuss battle tactics."

Finally, Naruto stopped, but he was getting impatient. "What's there to discuss? We see him, we catch him. But we gotta hurry, or he'll get away again!" He was about to turn and continue, but Kakashi caught his arm.

"Naruto, if we don't go in with a plan, he will get away again, no doubt. Now, please pay attention, because Sakura has an idea."

"Fine." Naruto sat on the tree and crossed his arms, but listened intently as Sakura relayed the plan.

"Sai, how much farther do we have?" Kakashi asked.

"About a kilometer and a half. But there's a ridge that we have to climb down once we get there." Sai rolled out a scroll, pointing at the corresponding areas.

"Okay. Naruto, you go ahead, and if you see Sasuke, make sure he thinks you're alone. If you don't see him, come directly back here. We'll follow up in about ten minutes, so try to get Sasuke into a fight and we'll get him when he's distracted." Sakura told them, tightening her gloves.

You've really grown, Sakura… Kakashi thought nostalgically. I can't believe it's only been three years since you were my student…

"Right. I'm going now." Naruto jumped up and headed into the trees. Sasuke… Please be there… I don't think I can last any longer… he thought, pushing farther and faster.

"Now what?" Sai asked, watching after his comrade.

"Now, we wait." Kakashi sighed, sitting next to Sakura. "Sai, could you do me a favor and go scout for Orochimaru's lackeys on the ground. They'll likely be hanging around, training or something. I'll call you up when it's time."

"Alright." Sai said, jumping down through the branches.

"I'll go, too, so he has some backup." Sakura offered, standing.

"No, no. I need you here. To plan." Which wasn't completely true, but Sakura didn't have to know.

"Okay. What sort of planning?"

"Well, that plan you came up with was good, but not completely foolproof. It was a rough draft. For example, what would we do with him when we do manage to catch him? Sure, knock him out, but then what?"

Sakura thought for a moment, and then replied, "I guess we'll just have to work with the situation. I can't analyze like Shikamaru, you know."

Kakashi laughed at that, and said, "No. I s'pose you're right…"

"Sensei… What if he's not there…?" Her voice sounded empty then, as if it had lost all hope, and Kakashi put an arm around her, pulling her close.

"He'll be there." He promised, and she felt a little better. She rested her head on his shoulder and closed her eyes, imagining the boy's face in front of her. Not the one with hate-filled eyes, the one who, she knew in her heart, would never feel anything close to love, for anyone, but the old Sasuke. The one she'd loved for years, and even now, still held a special place in her heart.

But the way she felt about him was different now. She didn't think of him as a boyfriend, but more as a brother, kind of like Sai. She knew she'd never love Sasuke again, but that didn't make her feel any worse, because she felt protected now, leaning into Kakashi like this.

It was nice…

"Sai, it's time!" Kakashi called down, breaking Sakura's line of thought, and she sat bolt upright, realizing at once what that scene might've looked like from the outside.

"Ready?" The Copycat ninja asked, and they both nodded, fists clenched.

Sasuke…

Author's Notes:

This is the first fanfic I've uploaded here (As I usually put them on Deviantart) so I'm a bit of a Newfag. xDD
Anyhoo, there will be lemons between both Sakura and Kakashi, as well as Sasuke and Naruto.
So, if lemons, yaoi, or teacher/student relationships offend you, I suggest to not get too attached.

But who am I to tell you that? =D