Hi! Here's a little bit of need to know stuff. First, My friend sekesakura and I co-write this. She writes team seven and I write Kabuto, Itachi, and Orochimaru. Secondly, I definitely do not own Naruto! If I did, I'd have written the manga completely different and added an itachi-sakura-kabuto love triangle. And thirdly, any ratings, suggestions, or criticism is welcome! I hope you enjoy c:

Also, just in case you're not familiar with some of the common Japanese terms we (mostly she because she's awesome) use..

Kami - God

Itaii - ow

Arigato - Thank you

Baka - stupid, idiot, ect.

Nonde - Why

Nani - What

Matte - Wait

Demo - But

Ano - Uhh..

Sakura

"Sakura, I have a task of great importance for you, I need someone to act as a spy in the midst of the Sound. Be forewarned, I am sure I do not have to tell you that this is very dangerous. We've already lost a few operatives to this. I don't know what's going on, but I need you to find out, can you do this for me? I knew if I told Naruto what was going on, he'd do everything in his power to keep you from going, and yet you're the only one that's managed to get into their hideout before…I do understand if you wish to decline.." Lady Tsunade's words rang in the pink haired kunoichi's mind as she sat, perched, in a tree, watching, waiting. "I'll do it, Lady Tsunade. I accept this with full confidence. Don't worry about Naruto, he'll just think I've gone off to the training fields again…When do I leave…?".

This was all so boring. The discussion between her and Tsunade continuously replayed in her mind until finally, she snapped out of it and managed to focus. Large and tired emerald-green eyes slowly started to flutter shut. She was so exhausted. No ninja, no matter how strong nor resilient could stay up for three days straight and be fully focused and energized. Finally, after another hour, her eyes shut all the way. Sakura leaned against the tree and started to fall into slumber, a deep slumber, but then she realized it and stabbed herself in the leg, just enough to get the message across. I have to stay awake, she thought, rubbing her tired and bloodshot eyes as well as healing her small wound. Lady Tsunade is counting on me and I can't fail her....

The girl let out a small yawn. If she could get a bit farther, just enough to where it was safe, then she could set up somewhere to sleep until morning.But where is that stupid base...? she wondered, annoyed with herself for not being awake enough to assess this properly. They're constantly on the move, it's hard to place where they could be now…Come to think of it, I'm starting to wonder why she would send me anyway..I'm a medical nin, not an Anbu or a spy…Although, she did mention that part of it had to do with my earlier endeavors….

Sakura sighed and pushed back a few strands of her bubblegum pink hair. Even if it was short, it tended to get in her face and annoy her.

"Ugh.." she grumbled to herself as the wind picked up immensely.

The air was crisp and unbearably bitter. The cold air sent chills down the girl's spine just by being out in it for a few seconds. It's too freaking cold out here! CHAA! Her inner self was even complaining, that was never a good thing. You shouldn't even be here! You should be training! Do you 'want' to keep having that dream?! "I suppose, it could not hurt to sleep. I can always pick back up in the morning, right?" Having ignored her inner self and convinced of her own dire need for rest , Sakura yawned, a bit bigger this time, and lay back against the tree she was in.

She was not worried about falling, because as long as she kept her chakra flowing, she could stick herself to the tree. The truly amazing part was that she'd gotten so good at it lately that she could do it in her sleep.

"At least one good thing has come out of my constant training. Goodnight…" she said to no one in particular, half expecting to see Naruto beside her.

When the bubbly blond-haired boy was not there however, Sakura became sad. Only lately had she noticed that she felt rather lonely without him. She only let her face fall for a moment though, because this mission was important and she could not allow herself to be distracted by anyone or anything.

"It's alright.." she said very quietly, "I'll see you again soon, Naruto, I have to finish this for Lady Tsunade, then we can go get ramen at Ichira-..." Sakura did not even get to finish her sentence because she was asleep about halfway through it. That was all it had taken. Thankfully, she slept well, until the very next morning.

A loud noise awoke the pink haired kunoichi. Her still exhausted eyes glanced about, darting from side to side in trying to find the source in its entirety.

"What on earth..?" she mumbled, again half expecting to wake in bed while Naruto clumsily crawled in her window.

After a moment or two, she looked over and saw something that looked like a sand ninja clashing with one wearing a sound headband. Sakura quirked a brow and watched the fight for a few moments. The sand ninja was victorious but at the cost of bleeding to death. They had both perished, and that was when Sakura began to realize just how dangerous this could be.

"It doesn't matter…" she spoke very quietly, her throat was hoarse and her body was aching, "I'll not fail Lady Tsunade. I have to show them, I have to prove to everyone that I can do this and I'm not weak. I have to prove that I've changed and I can protect them now, not the other way around…"

The newly determined rosette stood up from her hiding place. To jump out now would not be wise, but the good thing was, if there were a sound ninja here, the newest hideout site could not be too far away. The girl was not a tracking ninja like Kiba so she didn't really specialize in that area, but she found enough clues after searching the corpses that got her the information she sought.

Pretty soon, she was off. Sakura leaped from the tree in the direction the ninja had come from, soon coming upon what looked like a normal cave. However, the girl's piercing gaze saw through it and she felt a tad triumphant realizing upon further investigation that she'd found it. Well, this is it... she thought, a smile coming across her facial features at the simple thought of how well this was going so far. Now I just have to remain undetected.. Slipping into the entrance, the girl stayed as quiet as possible. For now, everything seemed normal. No one was around and that made things a lot easier. After a few minutes of sneaking around, Sakura spotted something that caught her attention. It was what appeared to be a journal or some sort of entry log, sitting atop a desk that looked like it had recently been used. Skimming through the pages, the pink haired girl found something she had needed and slipped the book into her pack, quietly darting back into the darkness as she began to make her way through the maze back to the entrance.

Kabuto

Kabuto was unhappy. No, that wasn't quite right. He was discontent. Uninterested. Unusually unmotivated. He aspired to be useful, and today he was feeling useless. Orochimaru-sama was busy with his Sasuke-kun yet again, leaving the completely indifferent grey haired male with useless busy work. Although there was no sun light in this dark cave he called home, he knew it was early in the morning and time to begin his tasks of the day.

Orochimaru-sama ordered me to guard the area. However, he also told me to replenish my supply of medical goods and be ready for several of any possible injuries. He also mentioned taking care of some of the very uncooperative convicts, snatch a specific scroll from the wife of an important military leader, and develop an even higher dose of medicine for his deteriorating body. Frankly, I believe doing all of this at once is impossible.

The chair he was sitting in screeched against the cold hard ground as he pushed away and rose from his worn, rusty desk. He gazed at the coppery tarnish with a fixed expression.

The odds are greatly against any intruder, even without my help. The odds are any medication I give Orochimaru-sama will only help for a short period, which I greatly regret but can't change. The odds are stubborn convicts will remain silent. At least that task might be slightly entertaining. Medicine is of course the first priority, both for Orochimaru-sama and for whoever he deems worthy of life..

Being a medical ninja had its perks. He wasn't going to be dead any time soon, for one. Not that many people had the skill and knowledge to kill him, and he had the knowledge to save himself from any injury that wasn't instantly fatal. He pushed his glasses up with two fingers, adjusting them to fit more comfortably, and a mischievous grin ran across his also took advantage of you, of course. But as long as you knew that, it was okay. If they need you more than you need them, you'll be the one throwing the dice.

Whether Orochimaru knew it or not, Kabuto was controlling the game.

Still, he gladly did what he told him to do, because he had nothing but utter respect for the serpent. One day he would be like him. Orochimaru-sama was slick, coy, and filled with malicious intent that was almost as sadistic as the medic nin. He knew who he was, and Kabuto wanted the same for himself. It seems he had found it in these years of being his right hand man.

Still, something wasn't right.

He left the bland room surround by cave walls and followed the path of several distinct winding paths until met with the outside glow of daylight. He leaped up on a tree branch before making his way into the forest. If he listened closely, he could hear the quiet chirping of birds and the steps of smaller creatures beneath him. They neither bothered nor interested him at the moment, although animal behavior was interesting to study. He casually jumped down from a tree as he recognized the area. The plants he was looking for now were easy to find and close by, thus taking very little time at all. He quickly picked them from the ground, and traveled back. He would have to go farther out next trip. For now, he would return with these plants and perhaps take a leisurely break down to the inmates and captives that held potentially vital information.

He first stored away the herbs and flowers that would later need to be crushed and transformed into medicine, but on his way out he noticed something. Or rather, noticed the lack of something. His desk appeared much emptier than it should, and he easily recognized what was missing. His onyx eyes narrowed in suspicion, because this was not something that he would have simply misplaced. He didn't loose things.

He turned his head to the left when he sensed a very faint chakra source. It was much too miniscule to recognize, but somehow it seemed familiar to him in some way. All he could tell was that this person - perhaps an intruder - was either too exhausted or injured to continue hiding his presence. In a second he was off, silently tailing whoever dared to enter and probably steal belongings.

Whoever it was seemed in a hurry, making it nearly certain that they had a secretive purpose for being here. This wasn't a random stranger stopping by to say hello. Kabuto knew it would be wise to confront the person inside, but instincts were telling him to continue outside. He decided to ignore them, much preferring statistical odds. He decided to corner the person he was following, which was easy when he knew the confusing hallways better than anyone else could. He simply took a shortcut to the way outside. By the time he reached the end of his path, he could also faintly hear footsteps approaching. He leaned against the wall, positioned to jump out and strike as soon as she passed the corner. His hands filled with chakra and glowed, and it was time. Without hesitation, he lunged at the intruder and attempted to injure and push him into the wall.

And as soon as his eyes connected with hers, they widened slightly.

It didn't really matter to him who it was, but it did surprise him to see her. She looked much, much different from the last time he had seen her. Although she certainly looked a bit more mature, he doubted she actually was. Perhaps it was just because she wasn't being protected by Naruto, a boy Kabuto himself had grown a slight liking to. Even if he was a bit idiotic and not at all rational, his determination was..interesting.

He pushed her against the wall, holding her back.

"Long time no see, Sakura. I must say, I really wasn't expecting you. No offense of course, but I thought you konaha ninja had learned when to give up by now."

He was a good half a foot taller than her, and undoubtedly stronger. She also looked fairly exhausted, so he had no doubts that he could defeat her. Although, knowing the style of ninja from Konahagakure, she wasn't likely to give up.

Kabuto also knew that she, or someone she was with, had stolen the journal. But letting her know that he knew was probably not wise."If you tell me what you're doing here, maybe I'll be kind enough to let you go. If there is no reason to kill you, I wont. Of course, it might be a little fun.."he offered, chuckling.

He then slowly glided his glowing hand down her neck, watching as a small line of blood slowly trickled from her vein and seeped out from the wound before dripping on the floor below them. Every droplet splashed, and the splashes echoed in the quiet cave.

"I wonder what Sasuke would think about this. It is very unlikely, and disturbing, that he would be concerned. Most likely he wouldn't even care. I genuinely feel bad for you, even if it would be amusing for me to watch him watch me kill you, and him standing there apathetic towards the situation. If you'd like me to take you to him, I can. Maybe I'll even give you some time alone."he suggested. Looks like I've proved myself useful once again. He smirked, pushing her tighter against the wall. "And then maybe I'll keep you here for a bit. You can join the others. You might even be a tad bit useful to Orochimaru-sama. If not though, I'm afraid I will have to kill you."