Chapter One

Sakura and Naruto had been running for a full day now, without stopping. Sakura, exhausted, but driven on by her adoration for Sasuke, and her will to see him again. Naruto...just driven on by pure stamina and perhaps the fact that maybe when they were finished with the mission, he could sit and have a proper bowl of ramen.

"Naruto, maybe we should take a break. If we spend up all our energy just by running, how do you think we'll bring Sasuke back? I'm pretty sure he won't go quietly," Sakura said.

"Fine, but not yet. Something's following us," Naruto said, narrowing his eyes. Sakura felt the presence too, but they both kept running.

"What do think it is?" Sakura said, without turning around to look.

"I dunno- maybe-" Naruto stopped abruptly and swung around, with a fist drawn back. Sakura sighed. Reckless as usual.

"OW! WHAT THE-PAKKUN!" Naruto yelled. Sakura kneeled beside him and widened her eyes. It was Pakkun-one of Kakashi's summoning dogs-who had the keenest sense of smell and eyesight. He had just collided painfully with Naruto.

"What are you doing here?" Sakura asked in surprise.

"Whaddya think! I've been following you two- for the past two days...Kakashi wanted to keep an eye on you'll," Pakkun said, out of breath.

"Oh- well, did you have to be so darn scary? We thought you were a ninja or something!" Naruto pointed accusingly.

"Sorry-anyways, you'll are going the wrong way. Sasuke's that way," Pakkun said, gesturing to the right.

"How far away?" Sakura said in a low voice. Pakkun sniffed the air.

"Maybe about a half day's run- maybe more," he said, still sniffing.

"LET'S GO THEN! I CAN'T WAIT T-" Naruto started, but Sakura slapped a hand over his mouth.

"Shut up, Naruto! We can't let them know we're coming or they're sure to change their course."

"Where do think they're going?" Naruto said. Pakkun looked at him with his half drooping eyes.

"By the looks of it, Orochimaru's Castle."

Naruto and Sakura were silent. They had been there once before, but that was with Jiraiya. There was no telling whether they would come out alive this time- especially with Pakkun.

"Let's go," Naruto said automatically, and began to run from tree to tree. Sakura closed her eyes.

"Wait for us, Sasuke." And she followed Naruto, with Pakkun right behind her.

"Naruto..." Sakura said in a small voice a while later.

"Yeah?" He said without looking back at her. Sakura bit her bottom lip.

"Do you think Sasuke forgot us?"

It was such an incredibly long silence that Sakura thought Naruto ignored the question.

"No," he said defiantly after another long while. Sakura widened her eyes.

"No, what?"

"No, Sasuke did not forget us." Sakura smiled at this. Naruto continued,

"Did you forget Ino?" Sakura raised her eyebrows.

"Of course not!"

"And why is that?" Naruto said, still not looking at her. Sakura was genuinely surprised.

"Because...we've been friends (and rivals) for a long time."

"And Sasuke hasn't been our friend for a long time?" Sakura thought of this.

"Well, he has, but we haven't seen him in over three years and..."

"You haven't seen Ino or anybody else's cell (except for Gai's) either. Because you were training."

"That's true..." Sakura murmured.

Naruto turned around and flashed her one of his big trademark grins.

"He can't have forgotten us-even if he wanted to. We've known each other too long."

Sakura closed her eyes and smiled, still running. He was right.

"Thank you, Naruto."

"HEY!" Pakkun exclaimed, stopping abruptly. Sakura and Naruto skidded on a thick tree branch and swung themselves around back to Pakkun.

"What is it?" Sakura asked Pakkun breathlessly. He looked at Naruto and Sakura very solemnly.

"Sasuke's about a mile away- we're near the cliffs. Definitely towards Orochimaru's castle."

Naruto heard, but hardly believed. It was hard to believe that after months and years of searching, they were only a mile away from their mission. Of course, there would be fighting, but only a mile. That was hardly a five-minute walk.

"Naruto..." Sakura said blindly to him. She gripped his arm rather hard and gave a heartfelt smile.

"...we can bring him back, Sakura," Naruto said, wincing under her deathly strong grip.

"They're moving faster," Pakkun said. Ignoring this, Naruto turned to Sakura.

"Sakura...knowing Tsunade, she must have taught you a Trump-Card move," he said quickly.

"What?"

"A Forbidden, Special Technique."

Sakura looked down at her feet.

"Yes."

"Well, before we go to battle, I just wanna say..."

Sakura looked at him.

"...you might have to use that move."

Sakura widened her eyes. She couldn't help but feel the slightest bit afraid.

"We're ready, Pakkun," Naruto said, and they were off again. Naruto looked behind him at Sakura, whose face had fallen slightly.

It had to be only a walk around the park's worth when they found themselves braced on a massive tree, well hidden behind the leaves, and staring into the distance where they could see a Sound Ninja group of four walking towards a...village?

"There's a village here!" Naruto whispered urgently. "With people inside- we have to go help them! Sound's sure to kill everybody!" He was about to start of, but Sakura grabbed his arm.

"WAIT!" Pakkun gently leaped to another branch to get a closer look at the tiny village. There were only a few buildings- nothing like Konoha, but it had a tall gate stretching out on either side for miles.

"Wait a second...this isn't a village...this is...a Konoha Base!" he exclaimed. He leapt back to Naruto and Sakura.

"When Kakashi just became a Chuunin, the Hokage ordered that a base be built for several of Konoha's Jounin as a sort of border so that allies could pass through, but with papers permitting them to do so."

"Allies...like the Sand?" Sakura said. Pakkun nodded.

"This is the only way to get into Konoha village...except for, well..." he half glanced a look at Naruto.

Naruto knew what he was implying. His past battle with Sasuke was at the Valley of the End- another one of Konoha's borders. Sasuke had gotten away, and it had been Naruto's first attempt to bring him back to Konoha. He had lost.

"Well, we just can't let them enter first!" Sakura said urgently to Pakkun. "Like, Naruto said-they're sure to kill everybody inside the base!"

"No. This base hasn't been used for a long time...unless..." Pakkun said. He crept closer and sniffed.

"There are shinobi inside!"

"We have to go! Before the Sound get there!" Sakura whispered urgently.

Naruto searched the lower grounds for another way in.

"We can jump the gate," he said. Sakura looked at him in disbelief.

"Are you insane! That gate is over 20 feet high! There's no way we would make it-least of all, Pakkun!"

"We don't have another option or choice- but if you do, I'd like to hear it," Naruto snapped, watching the Sound as they got closer to the entrance border.

Sakura was silent. It was the first time Naruto ever said something to her so sharply. She smiled weakly. He wanted to get to Sasuke as fast as possible. She grabbed a kunai from her pack.

"Let's go then, Naruto. I'll trust you this time."

"We're gonna die," Pakkun groaned, but jumped to the gate nonetheless.

"So, how are we going to do this?" Sakura asked looking up. The gate seemed to reach the sky and it made them feel quite small as they looked up at it. It was a hard, steel, metal wall, with no openings.

"Um...I really don't know anymore," Naruto said, sweatdropping.

"Wait!" Sakura ran along the fence and looked closely at something perched on the border's gate.

"A...a bug!" Naruto said.

Sakura's sharp and insightful mind worked quickly.

"Not just any bug...this is...this is Shino's bug! Shino! That means Kurenai's team is here!" Sakura exclaimed.

On the other side of the gate...

"Byakugan!" Hinata whispered. "They're here! Sakura-chan and N-Naruto-kun and...a dog?"

"Probably Pakkun," Shikamaru said, rolling his eyes. "Met him a couple years ago after the Chuunin Exam. It's Kakashi's dog."

"Wait," Neji said in a harsh whisper, "there are Sound Ninja coming from over there." He gestured towards the border entrance.

"Sound Ninja?" Ino said. "With Sasuke-kun?"

There was a few seconds' silence before Neji answered.

"Yes. He's with them." Everybody went quiet.

"SHINO!" Sakura's voice came floating on the other side of the gate.

"Yup, that's my bug," Shino said, slightly smiling.

Naruto tapped the hard steel gate. "Well, how do we get in?" he said, pressing his ear to the wall.

"Go, TenTen!"

"HAI!"

Abruptly, Naruto was surrounded by kunai that had shoved their way through the wall to make a perforated door that trembled and then fell inward- with Naruto pinned to it with a few of TenTen's beloved kunai knives.

Their old friends, and Konoha's 9 shinobi were all standing around Naruto, who was still pinned to the fallen metal rectangle now lying on the dirt floor.

"Hehehe...hey guys...long time, no see?" Naruto squeaked.

this chaprter is by aNdreaa