Disclaimer: All the characters in this chapter are strictly Misashi Kishimoto's.......... even though it would be awesome if they were mine...T-T.......

Chapter 1:

Sakura twisted and turned in her sleep, and suddenly, woke up sweating. She was dreaming of him again........

"Sasuke.........."

He was still gone and so was Naruto. Sakura has had dreams like this since they left........... Sasuke leaving and Naruto's promise and departure with Jirayia. After Naruto left to train, she dedicated her self to her training. She wanted to become stronger, not to forget, but to accept what has and may happen in the near future. It's been three years of hard work, sweat and tears. Through the years, Sakura has become an

ANBU captain and has surpassed her sensei in strength, skill, and medical abilities. She had indeed become stronger, but Sakura had also become a mere shadow of her former self. She barely smiled anymore, and if she did it was fake. Working, training, missions....... she never did much else. She had truly changed.

Sighing, Sakura looked over at her alarm clock. It was a quarter until three. Sakura pondered over whether she should just stay awake. It would only be about three hours until she had to wake up anyway. Eventually, she decided (thinking medically) that it would be best to get as much sleep as possible, so she slowly drifted back into slumber as dreams overcame her.

"Ringggg! Ringggg! Ringggg! Ri---------"

CRASHHH!!!!!!

"Crap! That was the third one this month!"

Apparently, as Sakura was still very drowsy, she had some trouble shutting off her alarm. So eventually, getting frustrated she accidentally punched through the wall.

"Just another normal start to a normal day," Sakura thought with a sigh as she started to get ready for the day.

First, Sakura had to work at the hospital with Ino. Ino may not be as skilled as Sakura, but she was still a pretty good medic. It was a pretty slow day at work. The most exciting things that happened were a broken leg and a minor surgery. Ending their shifts, Sakura and Ino went over to Ichiraku's for lunch. Just as they arrived, Kakashi appeared.

"Yo," he said calmly.

"Hi kakashi-sensei!" Ino said, "Would you like to join us?"

"Thanks for the offer, Ino, but I just came to tell Sakura that Tsunade has a mission for you, Sai, Yamoto, and I. She wants you to report to the Hokages Tower immediately."

"There goes lunch," Sakura said with a sigh. "Oh well..... Let's go Kakashi- sensei."

Sakura made her way to the Hokage's Tower quickly, but calmly. There was no need to rush.

*Knock Knock*

"Come in!"

Sakura entered through the wooden door and closed it quietly behind her. As usual, her Shisui was looking at Sakura over her intertwined fingers. Looking to her left, Sakura saw that Kakashi, Yamoto, and Sai were already there.

" Good, you've all arrived.," Tsunade stated over her I connected hands.

" We have reason to believe that some of the Akatsuki are near Kiyoko Pass. Your mission is to investigate around the area, but be cautious, and avoid fighting unless it is absolutely necessary. Kakashi is team leader. Understood?"

"Hai," the four said in unison.

And with that the four disappeared to start their mission.

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Sakura, Sai, Yamoto, and Kakashi were running through the trees, making their way to Kiyoko Pass, which was about six hours away. After running for about three hours, the group slowly came to a stop to take a break.

" What's our plan, Kakashi-san?" Sai asked uncertainly.

"Ok, here's what we'll do. Does everyone have their earpieces?"

"Hai."

" Good. We'll split up into two groups. That way we can cover more of the area, but we won't be alone. This will allow us to complete our mission in a more efficient and timely manner. We'll radio in if we have any problems. Questions?"

Everyone was quiet for a moment when Sakura spoke up.

"What if we encounter any Akatsuki?"

"Radio in and the other group will be right over. Don't just jump into a fight if you can avoid it though. We are only here to investigate. Understood?"

"Hai," said three voices.

"Good. Now let's split up. Sakura, you and Sai will be in one group, and Yamoto and I will be in the other."

So the leaf ninja started running again, Sakura and Sai heading towards the left, and Kakashi and Yamoto heading towards the right. Just then

a bright blue eye, a pair of dark black, beady eyes, and two deep red eyes appeared from in a bush.

"Leaf ninja, huh? Well this should be fun, un."

"It looks like we've found ourselves some practice dummies."

"Hn."

And with that, the three strangers disappeared out of site.