Team Kakashi had only just returned from the mission; find Sasuke and his older brother Itachi. The only lead they had from one of Kakashi's hounds had stopped in the center of a large crater, clearly created by an explosion. This find didn't seem to turn over any new stones. Although his promise rang in her ears clearly, Naruto still hadn't been able to bring Sasuke back.
Being one of the strongest female nin in the village wasn't enough to make her forget him—to forget Sasuke. Sakura stood quietly inside her room looking at the picture that brought back all those painful memories. It was of team seven, back when they had just become a team. Naruto and Sasuke had refused to smile, but that wouldn't bring Sakura down.
The pink haired girl was overjoyed when the group of three had passed the test and were declared a team. She smiled as a silent tear ran down the side of her face. Sakura's long pale fingers ran across the frame gently as she looked closer at Sasuke.
"Whoever would have thought… someone like you… could cause so much trouble…" She chuckled quietly to herself through her tears, and then looked at Naruto's picture. He hadn't changed much. Naruto was still that stubborn, embarrassing ninja he had always been. Sakura smiled at the thought of how someone in a bright orange jumpsuit could call himself a ninja.
The day was already coming to an end as the sun began to set. Sakura was sure she wasn't the only one who was disappointed by the lack of evidence they'd come up with lately. What she would give to just talk to Sasuke one more time, to tell him to come back to the village where everyone missed him… If only she had gone with him.
Sakura remembered when she had tried; she tried her hardest to get him to take her with. But she would have only slowed him down at the time. She didn't have any special abilities like everyone else; she could hardly handle a knife without cutting herself.
His cryptic thanks were still fresh in the back of her mind. "Sakura, thank you."
She felt like she could have done more, but knew otherwise. There was nothing anyone could have done to save him.
Sakura smoothed the sheets of her bed gently with one hand before walking to the doorway to switch off the lights. The moon was bright on this night; it shone directly through her bedroom window casting a yellow beam onto her bed.
The girl then walked to her window to open it for the night air. The cool breeze would comfort her while she slept, making her feel more rested when she woke. As she unlatched the window, she heard a knock at her door.
"Who could that be?" She asked herself quietly. No one had told her they'd be stopping by for a visit tonight. She figured maybe it was Naruto coming to try and cheer her up about not finding Sasuke today.
She traveled slowly down the hall to the front door. She was in no rush to get to the door, whoever it was could wait.
"I'm on my way, just a minute!" She spoke from behind the door as she slipped her shoes on. Turning the door knob slowly, she exposed her face to the outside only to notice a tall man with dark hair standing in front of her door. Sakura let go of the door knob and stumbled backwards.
"Sakura, I've come for you." The tall man stated quietly with a stern face. His red eyes gleamed brightly in the moonlight.
The tall man stepped past Sakura and shut the door behind him while looking down upon her. "Stand up." He stated bluntly as she followed his command.
"Sasuke…" Sakura whispered as she moved slowly closer. The pink haired girl couldn't believe her eyes; the man she had been looking for was standing right in front of her and in her house none the less!
As the two walked back to Sakura's bedroom, Sasuke told Sakura to sit on her bed. The girl followed his commands without hesitation.
"Sakura, I need you to do something for me." Sasuke stated, placing his hands on hers. His skin was cool and soft, just as she had always imagined.
"Yes?" Sakura asked him quietly.
Sasuke handed her a small blade. She fumbled it around in her hands for a moment while he began to explain what it was he wanted.
"You have to do it Sakura." He stated bluntly. Sakura blinked, and nodded.
"Do what, Sasuke?" She asked quietly. She didn't recall him telling her what to do yet.
"You're heart, Sakura. You have to stab it to break the curse. It's the only way I can come back home." The ebony haired boy whispered. A slight shadow cast across his face as his red eyes sparkled beautifully.
"I'm so sorry, Sasuke. Please, please come back home." Sakura spoke as tears began to trail her cheeks. It was her fault he wasn't able to come back. He left because of her. Sakura lifted the knife slowly, angling it just right towards her chest. She would choose the quickest way, regardless of the pain, as long as Sasuke could come home.
As she pulled the cold steel away from her invisible target on her chest, she drew in a breath. She still hadn't told Sasuke she loved him. Was it already too late?
As she pulled the knife back towards her chest with speed, a set of ice cold hands found their place on top of hers, preventing the knife from entering her chest. Blinking with confusion, Sakura turned slowly to see what had prevented her from letting Sasuke come home only to see a bright orange blur rush past and collide with Sasuke. The large set of hands took the knife from her smaller hands as a familiar voice rang through her mind.
"Release." Kakashi stated as the color of the room returned in a violent flash. Sakura looked around in confusion, unsure of what had just happened.
"Are you okay, Sakura?" Kakashi said with a smile behind the mask that always hid his face. She nodded slowly, still absorbing what had just happened. A small stampede of black snakes rushed forward from behind her and Kakashi – Sai was there too.
The destruction of her house became apparent only now, now that the Genjutsu had been removed. As Sakura looked around, she noticed the window she had opened before Sasuke appeared was no longer attached. It slowly became clear what had happened.
There had been a silent struggle between her and Sasuke as he came in through the window. He had cast the Genjutsu before she had even noticed him. A few shards of glass were thrown across her bed. From the looks of it, Sasuke had jumped through the window and grabbed her throwing her onto her own bed before the struggle had ceased. During the whole struggle Sakura was filled with the visions of opening her front door, which was still locked.
As Sakura began to think about how everything happened, Kakashi started to explain how they had seen her.
He stated that Sai was unable to sleep and had been walking around the city when he heard the glass break. Quickly sending out a set of ink rats, he investigated what had caused the break and alerted Naruto first. After Naruto was alerted, Sai sent a message to Kakashi along with Yamato.
Sakura remained sitting still in the position Sasuke had left her in, listening to this story that seemed impossible. At that moment, Kakashi shot up and out of the room, running after Sasuke and Naruto. Yamato placed a gentle hand on Sakura's shoulder as Sai also left the room.
Sakura looked up at Yamato's face only to realize he looked very concerned. "Sakura you need to stay-" Before he could finish his sentence, the pink haired woman had already stood up; grabbing the knife Kakashi had taken from her and ran out of the room after the group.
Yamato stood slowly and took a deep breath. The last time he had seen her get this worked up was when Naruto had transformed into a miniature Kyubii. The thought of Naruto striking her made Yamato cringe slightly and he too traveled quickly after the group.
Sakura had quickly realized that the fight wasn't staying in her home, but now moving into the streets and quickly out of the village and not by foot, but by snake. She stopped a gapped at the large monsters as they plowed through the village gates—just like when Orochimaru had killed the third.
"Sasuke!" Sakura screamed as she ran forward. She wouldn't let him do this, she wouldn't let him become the deranged man who had destroyed most of the leaf… who had taken him away from her—she wouldn't let him become Orochimaru. The young female ran as fast as her feet could carry her in this state. She was still exhausted from the genjutsu and the struggle she didn't know had happened. Fatigue from today's mission wasn't helping either as the tip of her shoe caught an uneven stone. She fell forward in what seemed to be slow motion as the ground approached her face.
Sakura brought her arms up to shield herself as her body collided with the hard ground. She rolled a few times and stood up again, taking off after the cloud of dust the snakes were creating. She couldn't let him escape again.
As she got closer to the village gates that were carelessly smashed, she took only a moment to examine the damage. Looking closely upon the rubble, a dash of orange caught her eye. Sakura's world seemed to go cold for a moment as everything around her grew silent. The only thoughts that ran through her head for a moment was of the only ninja who wore an orange jumpsuit.
She darted off to the spot of orange that was buried under large rocks and other broken pieces of the gates. With shaking hands she began to pull the rocks away with her super human strength.
"No… Naruto… don't you dare be dead… you can't be dead…" she thought to herself as her fists continued to move the rubble at an increasing speed. As she cleared enough rubble to see the back of the orange jumpsuit, she reached down to grab hold and pull Naruto out.
As she tugged, the jacket gave way easier than she had thought—only for her to realize Naruto was not inside the jacket. Naruto was nowhere to be seen. The painful tears that had welled up in the bright green eyes of the girl dripped from the corners of her eyes. Naruto wasn't dead yet—he was still somewhere and alive but without a jacket.
Sakura stood up quickly and began running again after the dust cloud that could only be from the snakes Sasuke had summoned to escape. Leaving the village without the Hokage's approval was forbidden, but at this point the young woman didn't care. Kakashi, Naruto, and Sai were already out there after the ebony haired male that had almost killed her. She wasn't about to let him escape again.
The night air was heavy with cool moisture as Sakura gasped for air while running. The dark shadows of the trees played tricks on her eyes as she ran, making small shadows dance as if someone was there watching her.
The cloud of smoke seemed to be fading quickly as she continued to run through the Konoha forest. From her left, the cracking of a branch caused her to jump. Sakura quickly threw a Kunai to be safe as she jumped backwards, already concentrating the chakra to her fists.
To her surprise, there was nothing there. Not even a hint of anyone else chakra was around her. Her heart was pounding heavy in her chest as she continued, her ears ringing with the adrenaline rush. Sakura continued forward, pushing herself as hard as she could.
There was a bright flash of lightening and the sound of a thousand birds. Chidori. It was either Sasuke or Kakashi. Sakura moved quickly to locate the source, only to find a scene being played out before her eyes.
Naruto as approaching Sasuke fast, the dark haired male stood cool and content as Naruto rushed in recklessly as usual. Sakura gritted her teeth for she knew what would happen next.
"NARUTO!" Sakura screamed out without thinking, catching the attention of the two below her. When the blonde reacted to his name, Sakura was able to catch glimpse of his eyes—the Kyubii was waking. With a scream that could wake the dead, Naruto let off a blast of chakra in all directions around him. He was unstable and considerably dangerous at this point and unable to tell friend from foe.
Sakura covered her head with her hands as she turned her back at the explosion. Yamato passed over her not even a moment later. He must have felt the Kyubii's presence rising and had been since on his way here. Sasuke took that moment to retreat out of site, and still Kakashi and Sai were nowhere to be seen.
Sakura gathered her courage to rush after Sasuke, regardless of Yamato struggling with Naruto. Her mission was to stop Sasuke at all costs. The young ninja wouldn't be fooled by another trick this time—she was going to save Sasuke for Naruto.