High Hopes

"Sasuke! What are you doing here?" Sakura asked nervously, backing up slowly.

He approaches with a smirk, trapping her against the wall.

"S-Seriously, Sasuke what are you doing here?!" She stuttered, still freaked out from the last time she ran into him. It had been about a month since Sasuke nearly slit her throat, but the memory replayed over and over. Sakura could feel herself quivering as his blood red eyes pierced into her big, teal orbs. He never broke his penetrating stare, but instead leaned in close to her ear.

"Sakura...come with me..." he whispered.

Come with him? Is this a trap!? Sakura knew she could never trust him no matter how deeply she loved him. She had to let her feelings go - he wasn't the same Sasuke as he was before.

Sasuke leaned in even closer, grazing a finger along her jawline.

"Sakura...Sakura, Sakuraaa...SAKURA!

A shrill voice snapped me straight out of my dream. Wait, was that just a dream? It did feel surreal, yet so livid...I shook my head in disbelief, trying to clear my head of such thoughts. This wasn't the time to be thinking about him. Immensley irritated, I turned my attention to my (slightly obxinous) roomate and best friend, Ino.

"Sa-ku-ra! Hurry and get ready we have a mission. We need to get packed soon! We will be gone for 2 weeks at least!" I glanced over at the clock and groaned. It's 4:00AM in the morning, how does she have this much energy!?

"Alright, I'll be ready in 10! Meet me at the front gate."

Ino pouted in response. "Fine, just hurry up... Kiba and I are all packed and ready." With that, she pivoted on her heel and left to join Kiba at the gates.

Yawning loudly, I managed to drag myself out of bed and got dressed. The fourth great Shinobi war was about to begin and things were becoming rather hectic around the village. Many were out gathering supplies, but our mission today was to find suitable recruits to join the alliance. Not just any type of Shinobi, but rather rogue ones that weren't affiliated with any Village, yet still had enough strength to fight. From what I can remember there were five Shinobi on our list that we needed to contact, though I scan over the names again before we leave.

Sighing, I reached for my normal ninja wear and began to get dressed. Lady Tsunade selected each of us because we apparently had skills that were "necessary in order for this mission to be completed quick and efficiently." I rolled my eyes at her words, not buying a single bit of it. If there was anything I had learned about Shishou, it was that she would never admit to anything that put her in a bad light. In this case, I honestly feel like she just said that because everyone else is already off on missions and is yet to return. Though, I guess we were the best she could scrape up together last minute.

Just as I finished getting my belongins to together, I saw a vague, silhoutte in my curtains. Immediately, I rubbed my eyes before taking a second glance. To my relief, it was gone.

"It must be my imagnation, especially after that disturbing dream. " Wordlessly, I continued getting ready for the mission. My thoughts suddenly wandered to Ino and Kiba gates who were probably both at the gates by now. I could feel a smirk spread on my face b y just imagining the scene. I guess it would be fine if I took a little longer than expected - it would give those love birds a little more alone time anyway.

Ino's POV

Damn it! Where's Sakura!? I screamed mentally. She said 10 minutes,not hours! And besides, this is getting so awkward... For once, even I'm speechless. What do I say? What do i do!? AHH! How dare she leave me alone with Kiba she know I have a huge crush on him? Nervously, I chewed on my lip, trying desparately to avoid eye contact with the boy next to me.

Kiba's POV

Where the heck is Sakura? This is driving me crazy! What am I supposed to say to Ino? I had always hoped that we could spend time alone together, but I didn't expect it to turn out like this. I glance at her from the corner of my eye and see she's biting her lip... She always does that when she's anixious, it's so cute...Gah! I can't control my instincts around her! God Sakura, where are you?! That's it. I can't take this anymore.

"DAMN IT" I finally shout in frustration. Ino looks at me with a puzzled expressed and adorably tilts her head to the side.

"What's wrong, Kiba?"

I say nothing and she turns her gaze a way, seeming to lost in a little fantasie.

Oh god... Sakura, hurry up already!

Sakura's POV

It's 4:42am already! "Crap, I'd better get going", I whisper aloud and reach for my pack. Quickly, I rush out and the lock the door to our apartment. As soon as I shoved my pockets, a shiver runs down my spine. Why do I feel like someone is watching me? It must be paranoia...ya let's just keep going, Sakura.

As I continue to proceed to the gates, I can't help but survery the area. The streets of konoha are empty, as expected by this hour and everything seems dark sorta sketchy. I sigh loudly, we just had to get up this freaking early for a mission. The worst part was, it was going to be a long trip just to reach the Hidden Sound village - our first destination.

I can feel myself shudder as a breeze drifts by. For whatever reason, it's pretty cold for spring in Konoha. Ignoring it, I just keep marching forward towards the front gate, until suddenly, I hear a twig snap. My eyes widen slightly, as a rustling sound becomes louder. With the war beginning Lady Tsunade warned everyone to be onn high alert. Holding my breath, I slowly turn around.

Ino's POV

"Kiba? KIBA!" I whack his head as he's gazing off into space. He had looked so cute...Ahem! Putting those thoughts aside.

"I'm sorry! What?" He replies, with a dazed look still evident on his face. I giggle at how oblivious he is.

"I think we should just head out a little further and we can wait for her in the middle of the forest, you know, where we're going to camp out."

Kiba stilfed a yawn. "But, should'nt we let her know where we are?"

Already got that covered. I got my writing scroll out and started to write a note to sakura. Kiba watched as I performed the correct hand seals to summon the bird. "Pink hair", I whispered to the creature, "you can't miss her." As it took flight, I turned around and smiled.

"Dont worry, I just sent her a message. So, let's go!"

Hey, so this is my first story :) So, please don't be too harsh when comes to reviewing.